A siren seared through the barracks. Its echoes hadn't finished reverating off the walls before it roared again, accompanied by sudden onrush of white flood lights.

Weiss violently jolted awake from a deep sleep, finding herself stunned and immobilized by the alarm. Some of the others in her section reacted similarly, others seemed used to the sensory assault in the morning or had been awake already.

In a way, she was lucky. She was so shocked that her mind was knocked fully alert, skipping the painful suffering of drowsiness that usually came with being forced to rise too early in the morning.

As Weiss blinked and found her bearings, Trina lowered herself to the floor from the bunk above. She turned and exchanged a glance with Weiss; her face revealed that she was just as maladjusted to the schedule. Weiss allowed herself a single very long yawn before she accepted the situation and clambered out of bed.

The morning routine was far from desirable. Thankfully, the women's section had its own sanitary facilities, but there were limited spots and a fair amount of waiting for others to finish. Despite herself, Weiss wasn't particularly bothered. She was still preoccupied with adjusting to her new environment.

After she cleaned up, she tried on her issued 'casual' clothing. She chose a well fitting navy blue v-neck T-shirt and a matching pair of shorts. The clothes weren't particularly stylish - she would have never been seen on Beacon's campus with them - but they were surprisingly comfortable. Most of the other women had changed into the civilian clothes they brought with them, but Weiss didn't feel her all-purpose combat dress would be appropriate here.

Some of the others left the sleeping area; others lounged on their beds with strange technology, probably entertainment devices. Unsure of what to do next, Weiss stood by the door uncertainty.

"You ok?" Trina asked, stopping as she walked by.

"I'm fine, thanks. I just, umm…"

"I like your hair," Trina said. "It's really nice."

"Thanks," Weiss replied, reaching up to run her hand through it. She hadn't had time to tie it up up before someone had demanded she give up the bathroom, and it was loosely flowing down to the small of her back. Trina wore her hair in a tight bun.

"Do you know anyone else here?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Better come with me then," Trina said with a smile.

"To where?" Weiss responded.

Trina shrugged. "Wherever. I know we start official training tomorrow, so I'm sure they'll have stuff for us to take care of. And I can show you around."

Weiss smiled. "Thanks. I wouldn't mind that."

The two girls left the women's section and walked through the barracks, ignoring any stares they attracted.

In the grass outside of the building, Trina stopped and put her hands in her pockets. "I like to enjoy the fresh air when I get up," she explained. "Anaxes III is a new planet. Well, it's been here forever, but no one cared about it until Anaxes was ruined." She took a deep breath. "The air here is nice and clean. Not polluted and unbearable like on old Anaxes."

"Did you live on Anaxes?" Weiss asked.

Before an answer could come, another tocsin sounded, similar to the morning alarm. "Breakfast," Trina supplied. "Let's go."

They followed the sound - and other cadets - to a broad, wide building. It was indistinguishable from the others in terms of external furnishings, but once inside Weiss found herself in a massive cafeteria.

She followed Trina's lead into a long line that moved surprisingly fast. When they reached a distribution window, they quickly found out why. Each person was handled a thin rectangular container with an eating utensil attached to the left side, and a container of some viscous liquid.

"Delicious," Trina said in a tone that Weiss didn't trust.

Trina chose the far end of a long unoccupied table. They put their ration containers on it and sat down. Following Trina's movements, Weiss removed her spoon and pressed an indentation on the side of the container. It opened like a drawer, revealing a brownish, clunky sludge inside.

"They say this is the most healthy food in the galaxy," Trina said. "It probably is. But that won't help you get it down," she said with a wink.

Weiss tried the food. It tasted like a vast number of different foods had simply been thrown in a blender and mixed. She guessed that was probably exactly how it was made. Surprisingly, it wasn't disgusting. The mixture of various tastes made the overall product taste bland and dull; no one flavor was strong enough to be distinct and they all cancelled each other. It was like eating wet cardboard.

She took a sip of her drink to help her process the stew. Her cheeks puffed as soon as she tasted it, and she had to fight to swallow rather than spit it out. Trina seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

Winter Schnee had been an avid supporter of protein drinks, and had encouraged Weiss to have them before and after her practices. Weiss always hated the taste, though she learned to gulp it down.

Whatever was in her cup now was a protein drink taken to an extreme. It tasted like every possible brand of protein drink and healthy smoothie had been filtered into their richest, thickest state, and then mixed together with just enough water to be runny enough to drink.

"I don't think I can finish that," Weiss said, gesturing at her cup. Trina grinned and shook her head like a dissatisfied parent. She swiveled around and pointed to a sign behind her.

YOU MUST FINISH ALL FOOD YOU PROCURE. VIOLATORS WILL BE DISCIPLINED.

Weiss groaned. Trina took her drink and gulped down the entire thing in a very drawn out swig. Weiss looked at her with shock.

Trina looked nauseous for a few moments, then forced it away and took a spoonful of her stew.

"That's the best way," she said. "You just hold your tongue down and gulp down the whole thing at once. Take breaks to breath through your nose if you need, but don't put the cup down. It's a lot easier that way." She took another spoonful of stew and flushed it around her mouth, apparently using it to wipe out the previous liquid. "If you drink it all at once, your mouth kinda adjusts to the taste and you can ignore it. It just feels like a thick liquid. But if you keep taking small sips and then putting it down, you have to get through that initial part every time."

Weiss groaned again. Trina's logic made sense.

"Oh, and do it at the very beginning of your meal. That way you can use this stuff to completely drown out the taste by the time you're done," she said, gesturing with another spoonful.

Weiss glared at her cup with displeasure. She hated the very idea, but procrastinating would only make it worse. She took a deep breath, picked up the cup, and squeezed her nostrils shut with her other hand.

She slugged it down as Trina had, and then covered her mouth. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Trina's eyes widened. "Don't you dare."

Weiss closed her eyes and looked down until the suffering had somewhat passed. Then she forced herself to start eating the stew. Trina was right, the lifeless sludge was a welcome relief. It almost tasted good.

The two girls stayed in the cafeteria long after they were finished, it was apparently open all day. They chatted about various things, often with Trina explaining aspects of galactic life. Trina didn't seem judgemental or even suspicious, which Weiss appreciated. She was rarely serious and liked to tease, but the girls shared an often cynical sense of humor and Weiss found herself easily going along. Neither talked or inquired about their personal lives, but Weiss could tell Trina didn't have the easiest background. She was playful and somewhat energetic, but she wasn't naive.

Their conversation was interrupted by an announcement over the omnipresent loudspeakers.

"Today is the final day of inspection and orientation. If you have not yet been issued a biocard and identification number, report to Zone 2A immediately."

"That's us," Trina said. "I've been here for a while but I've been putting this off. Zone 2A is the parade ground outside of the main administrative building, I can take you there."

They weaved through the complex together until they arrived at a crowded grass park. In the distance, the gargantuan administrative structure dominated the view. Built in imposing Imperial style, it looked more appropriate for a seat of planetary government than a military academy. In front of it, a row of tables was set up, with lines of recruits trailing off in front of each. Weiss and Trina joined one of the shorter ones.

It took a good twenty minutes before it was Weiss' turn. She stepped forward to the table, not knowing what to expect. A young man in partial armor was waiting with a large datapad.

"Name," he said bluntly, more like a statement than a question.

"Weiss Schnee."

"Planet of origin."

"R-Remnant," she said hesitantly. She wondered if it was a good idea to state her true home, but it was too late now.

He scrolled a datapad for a short time. "Spell it out."

"R-E-M-N-A-N-T."

He played with the datapad some more, then shook his head curtly. "It's not in here."

Weiss thought quickly. "It's the local name for it. I don't know the official name. I'm from, uh, a rural area."

He tapped some information into the device. "Wait. Weiss Schnee, correct? You were impressed aboard a Star Destroyer after a minor anti-trafficking operation."

Weiss froze somewhat and nervously moved her eyes from side to side, worried about whether others had heard that. She didn't want people to think she was a criminal, much less a slaver.

The man she was talking with didn't seem to care, focusing more on tapping away at his datapad. "Alright," he said, "you're in the system and it's ready to print your ID. Just answer a few health questions. Do you need eyesight assistance?"

"No."

"Do you need hearing assistance?"

"No."

He rattled off a list of similar issues as well as various allergies and ailments. Weiss had answered no for every item, though there were many she had never heard of and she really couldn't say for sure.

"Alright, now for the behavioral portion," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Have you ever abused alcohol? Abuse is defined as passing out due to alcohol inebriation."

"No," Weiss answered, somewhat galled by the question.

"Have you ever been addicted to any intoxicating substance? Addiction is defined as the presence of moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms."

"No."

"Do you currently abuse medications prescribed by a doctor?"

She crossed her arms. "No."

"Do you currently use any intoxicating or mood altering drug regularly, not including alcohol?"

"No! I don't do any of that!"

He ignored her protest. "Have you ever used death sticks?"

"Death...sticks? What's a death stick?"

"No," he murmured, answering for her.

He tapped his datapad's screen some more. "Finally, are you pregnant?"

"What? No, I'm not pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

"Excuse me?"

"If the conception happened recently, you may not have experienced any signs yet."

Weiss groaned. "I'm not pregnant."

"It's very important for you to tell us if you're not sure. Even a single time is enough to conceive. Have there recently been any incidents of sexual-"

"No! There have been no 'incidents!'" she shouted.

He frowned. Weiss looked around, embarrassed.

"...okay then," he said, once again tapping his datapad. "Please put your forefinger forward."

She extended her left arm with her forefinger pointing out. He reached out and pressed it down against a handheld device which pricked her for a blood sample. After that, a machine under his desk rumbled and he picked up a card from it.

"Here's your biocard. Your identification number is on the other side." He hesitated and frowned as she took it from him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, realizing he hadn't really looked at her until now.

"Not at all," he said, going back to the datapad. "Stay here for a moment."

After a minute, he looked up. "I managed to get you a barber appointment right away. There was an opening that's coming up right now."

"Wh-what? Wait, you don't mean-"

"You need a haircut. Your hair is completely out of regulations." He gave her directions to the barber, and then sent her on her way. Trina was next in line, and Weiss gave her a panicked glance as they passed each other. Trina just cocked her head questionably.

Weiss trudged to the building she had been instructed to go. The academy was huge, possibly larger than Beacon, and it seemed like getting anywhere took an inordinate amount of time.

The barber was a sub-building in a strip mall style complex near the middle of the grounds. It shared space with various recreational establishments. All of them were run by stormtroopers or the cadets themselves, as no non-military personnel were allowed on site.

Weiss entered and took in the parlor. It was remarkably similar to barbershops on Remnant, with a lobby at the front and the salon area beyond it. Several electronic signs lined a horizontal bar on the ceiling, indicating the client's position in queue and where they were supposed to sit. Two semi-armored soldiers flanked the door; their armor markings indicated they were military police. Weiss thought that was odd, but she dismissed it and took her position to wait. Most of the others waiting were women with similarly long hair, and from the looks of it none of them were here by choice.

Weiss' turn came quickly. As she stood up and started walking to the designated styling chair, she couldn't help but fondle her beautiful platinum hair. She grimaced when she saw the chopped locks around another chair being sucked into the floor by an automated cleaning system. This was too much.

She turned and ran for the door, but just before she touched it the two MPs grabbed her.

'This is apparently why they're here.'

They unceremoniously dragged her over to the barber chair, ignoring both her desperate kicks and hopeless pleads. She calmed down by the time they put her in the chair, sparing herself the further indignity of being shackled to it.

An older woman, about thirty or so, came up and smiled at her. She was sporting a rather cute short hairstyle, no doubt to offer some measure of reassurance to the women she was servicing.

"Hi sweetie, which one would you like?"

She held up a set of three hairstyle pictures for Weiss could see. One was a very short pixie cut, the next was shaved on both sides of the head with longer hair at the the very top, and the final one was a very short uniform cut, almost to the skull. Weiss just moaned and whimpered, tears starting to form in her eyes. They were all horrible.

"I'll give you the pixie cut then," the woman said. She wasted no time in preparing her equipment and Weiss' hair.

Weiss squealed through her teeth when she heard the first cut behind her head. She bleated impotently as more followed, and closed her eyes so she wouldn't risk seeing any of her platinum hair on the floor.

The woman worked very quickly, obviously used to this and on a tight schedule. Weiss held her head down and clenched her teeth the entire time.

"All done sweetie."

Weiss slowly opened her eyes and looked into the mirror. She was almost unrecognizable. She had the exact pixie cut the model in the picture had, with the tips just barely long enough to cover the top half of her ears. Everything else was gone. She let her head fall into her hands and groaned loudly.

The hairdresser pushed on her back. "You've got to go, dear. I have others waiting."

Weiss stood up and looked at the ground. It was covered in long, white hair. As silly as it was, she was about to ask if she could keep it when the floor turned into a series of small vents, sucking all of it away. Weiss groaned again and staggered away.

She met Trina halfway back to the barracks.

"It looks good on you," she offered.

"Don't. Don't talk about it. Ever." Weiss had decided she was going to just push this out of her mind entirely.

Trina shrugged, then adopted a mischievous grin.

"So Weiss, are you sure you're not pregnant? I don't think you announced it loudly enough back there."

Forgetting her hair, Weiss whirled on Trina. "What? You heard that!?"

"I mean, I'd like to hear the story about the 'incident' in question. It sounds like it was pretty hot."

Her eyes widened. "Don't! Stop."

Trina didn't stop. "You know, this is why it's very important to always use a condom," she said loudly enough for others to hear.

Weiss felt her face turn red. "Trina!" She quickly looked around, then turned back to the redhead. "I will hurt you."

Trina raised an eyebrow. "You're not supposed to engage in physical activity like that. It could hurt the baby."

Weiss growled incoherently, trying to silence her companion.

She laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll make it up to you. Want me to show you around Dantis tonight? We could get some real food from a restaurant too."

"Dantis?"

"The city we're right next to. One of the biggest ones on Anaxes III too. I'm gonna go either way, I might not get to for awhile after today. You might as well come with me, it'll be fun."

Weiss studied her, still somewhat flustered. "...real food?"

"Real food."

"Alright. Deal."

"Can you please stop fidgeting?" groaned Trina as they road the sub-light train underneath the city.

"It's not my fault! The sides of my head are absolutely frozen!" growled Weiss as she absently scratched at her freshly cut hair, the tips brushing lightly against her ears. Huffing angrily as wind whipped past her freshly exposed head, causing Trina to laugh as her soon-to-be classmate twitched with every slight breeze that made its way through the train cars ventilation system.

"Besides," Weiss whirled on the unprepared redhead, leaning threateningly against her as she eyed her new friend's neatly shoulder length hair flowing gently in the wind, "Why in the world don't you have to cut your hair?"

Laughing weakly, Trina tried in vain to subtly put a bit of distance between herself and the twitchy girl. "Uh well... you see...I... um-" She looked at the gathering storm behind the already miffed young woman next to her and decided to cut her losses.

"They said it was short enough to just tie up?" she winced as she spoke, one didn't need to be some Jedi in order to see the anger radiating off Weiss at that very moment. Several commuters shuffled around them, eyes flickering away and towards the duo in hopes of a show.

The anger on Weiss' face slowly melted into disbelief and horror, "Wait, seriously?"

Sensing her escape, Trina let a smirk cross her lips as she nodded, shrugging in sympathy for the army they had just enlisted in.

Slumping back into her seat, Weiss was silent for a few more moments as she absently touched the short tips of her hair, unconsciously rolling her head with the absence of its typical weight.

"Well," she began slowly, a smile spreading across her face as she turned to face Trina, "Since you didn't cover for me, that means I get to choose where we eat!" Seeing Trina raise her hand in protest, Weiss cut her off by standing sharply out of her seat and approaching a door as they slowed to a stop. "No arguments! I'll have you know, I have great taste."

"You have horrible taste."

Weiss thumped her chest to spit out the foul drink she had just downed, its murky grey substances being the complete opposite of food to the heiress. Next to the cup was a ball of mucus green paste and a paper thin slice of bantha-steak.

Across from the scratched, partly broken duraplast table sat Trina, long since given up on eating her food and much more focused on seeing which of the foreign sauces provided to them would dissolve the paste.

"I do-" Weiss wiped the remnants of the 'drink' from her lips and shuddered before continuing, "I do not! I'll have you know I have a very refined pallet!"

"Oh yeah," asked Trina with a raised eyebrow as she leaned in, "Then why are we eating ground up Umbaran Rot-Worm with a side of bantha that probably doesn't come from any of the edible parts."

Wide-eyed, Weiss pushed the plate as far away from herself as she could, bumping it against Trina's as she did the same.

"Well… I think i'm good on food for the moment after all." Weiss said, her eyes still trained on the ominous paste.

"Yeah, it's probably in our best interest to not eat anything from a world nicknamed the Shadow Planet." snorted Trina, her eyes drifting to the Umbaran sitting behind the counter, his eyes soft as he stared at a small drawing of the CIS emblem on one of the walls above them.

"Wait a minute," said Weiss, her eyes shooting up from the table and into Trina's own. "You knew what this stuff was? Even the planet it's from? Why in the hell did you let me bring us in here you dolt!?"

"Eh. You looked like you needed a win and seemed like you knew what you were doing, so I went along with it."

"I didn't know at all! The sign was flashy and it was the only place that didn't look filled with weird-"

A huff from the register drew her ire for a moment as the Umbaran buried a fork into the countertop and stalked off into the kitchens. As Weiss watched the suited alien disappear, Trina shrugged and lean back against her rickety seat, "It's no sweat off my back if you decide to take me to a place like this." Picking at her nails, she continued, "Plenty of species have restaurants just like this on Annaxes III, most of em' suck."

"Did you grow up here?" Asked Weiss as the red haired woman tentatively dipped a rolled up napkin into her grey drink.

Pulling it up and finding the drink already beginning to crystalize, Trina grimaced before throwing it under her seat.; "What in the world do you think this swill is?" Weiss rolled her eyes at the obvious deflection, but relented in her line of questioning.

"I don't know. Probably some form of sewage that leaked into the water supply."

Trina shook her head and wafted the stench into her nose before crinkling it up in consternation. "I don't know, smells kind of like a... hmmm" Trina pondered before one eye flicked wide open to stare at Weiss, "…like something flammable to be honest."

Now it was Weiss' turn to snort derisively at the theory, "Pft. As if. You can't set a liquid on fire, that's just science."

Trina's face shifted from confused to bemused, before finally settling on disbelief. "Wow, you really are a bumpkin aren't you?"

Feeling her face get hot, Weiss slammed a manicured hand onto the rickety table while shooting a venomous glare at her companion.

"I am not a bumpkin!"

Trina chuffed at the petite woman in front of her before adding; "Oh yeah, and let me guess… you guys don't have speeders either?"

The unexpected silence and the puffed out cheeks of the white haired girl proved too much for the redhead, and she cackled at the lunacy of it all.

Standing up, Weiss straightened out her dress and breathed deeply before reacting to Trina,"Don;t you think it's time we head back? Now go ahead and pay the nice…" she sought for words as the helmeted being shuffled behind the window to his kitchen. "Man?" She settled on as Trina coughed uncomfortably into her fist.

Seeing the unspoken question, Trina muttered an explanation; "Uh… I thought you had this one?"

Silence flitted through the restaurant for a brief moment before Weiss shot forwards and right into Trina's personal space.

"What?! How could I have 'it'! I didn't even know there was another currency than the one on my home planet until a month ago!" Weiss hissed, spittle hitting Trina in the eye as she winced. Pushing back, Trina hissed right back at her enigmatic soon-to-be partner in crime.

"Well I don't have any money! Why else do you think I took the worst possible job in the galaxy that didn't involve working in a mine or catching something you would name a Mon Calamarian!"

"What even is a-" Weiss stopped as the Umbaran started to walk towards their table with a small datapad bearing the universal sign for the galactic credit.

The Bill.

Weiss hit the ground first, the shards of what had once been a poorly cleaned window followed soon after. Landing on her feet, she rolled out from below the falling glass and across the ceramic plating beneath her.

"Weiss! The hell?!" Screamed Trina, who slammed open the door of the diner before sprinting towards her. Weiss took a second to look back through the window of the restaurant, where the Umbaran stood with an open mouth and a universal look of fury as he took in the remains of his window.

"What? He cornered me! I didn't have a door next to me." argued Weiss, carefully plucking glass out of her jacket as Trina closed the gap between them.

"So your first instinct was to leap through his kriffing window?" cried Trina, hands already raised in frustration. "The worst he would have made you do is the dishes, why in the world did you think that jumping out of the window was your best option?"

Pushing past the white haired girl, Trina broke into a sprint down the rather barren street. "I panicked!" shouted Weiss in defense, hot on her heels. "Besides, that's pretty common in my line of work."

"You mean former work, right?" Trina jabbed, eliciting a frown from Weiss as the slip up registered in her mind. Running neck in neck with Trina, she was about to reply when the vicious shouts of the chef sounded off behind her; accompanied by the swift tap of boots gaining on them.

"Aw fierfeck." cursed Trina, taking a swift turn down an alleyway. The duo ran through the turf of some homeless sapients, one swaying on his feet precariously in the middle of the narrow passage. Trina, being in the lead, tried to slip past him only to stumble forwards. The redhead hit the edge of a stack of precariously placed crates, collapsing them right behind her.

Before she could yell a warning, Weiss was already in the air. Without her aura, the exercise was a bit more strenuous than she was used to, but that didn't mean Weiss was out of shape. To a trained huntress, a somersault was child's play.

Landing on her feet without missing a beat, much to the applause of the drunken man, Weiss raced past a stunned Trina.

"What in the hell did you do for a living?"

"I was a huntress." Supplied Weiss carefully, still unsure how the rest of the galaxy would look on Remnant if they learned of their apparently unique abilities. From what she had read, no one even knew where the planet was - and if her being stranded meant it stayed that way? Then so be it.

"A huntress?" Trina snorted. "Nice. I share a bunk with someone who kills small animals for fun."

Spluttering her indignation as the two burst out of the alleyway and dove into another side alley, Weiss clarified, "It wasn't small animals! It was big ones!"

Stopping for breath behind the cover of a burnt out concession stand, Trina found the energy to raise an eyebrow at her partner in crime. "...what?" she gasped.

Face growing red with frustration, Weiss continued. "It's a proud and ancient position of noble bearings! Of course you wouldn't understand."

Herself not being immune to snark, Trina sneered at Weiss. "Wouldn't understand what? Why killing small animals is a tradition or why that involves breaking through windows?"

"I told you, they were big! And evil! They needed to die!" Weiss growled before peeking out from behind their cover. There was no sight or sound of their pursuer, probably still trying to clamber over the toppled crates or given up already. "I think we made it, he's not following any-"

A shadow cast over them as a foreign language was screamed from the outcropping above.

"WO CALLA, DO CALLA!" screamed the Umbaran, landing right in front of them. One hand was dusty and cut up from climbing, and in the other he clutched a datapad, their bill still firmly in his sights.

"Oh for the love of-!" Weiss ducked out of the way of the alien's outstretched hand, spinning past him and back out the alley he had cornered them in. Trina grabbed the front of his suit and tore off a small patch before throwing it into the alley.

As the Umbaran scrambled to save it, Trina joined Weiss outside. Seeing her raised eyebrow, Trina smirked and leaned in conspiratorially. "It's those former Separatists, that emblem means a lot to them." Seeing her confusion, Trina waved her hand, dismissing the conversation for later.

Scrambling down the main street, the duo saw a large market place. The area was absolutely packed, but a thin corridor had opened. Looking back for a second, Weiss saw the chef once again on their trail. He no longer had the bill in his hand, and his apron was torn off to reveal the classic hardsuit that Umbaran military had once worn. His eyes were feral as he tore after them.

With a yelp, Weiss dove into the press of bodies in the nick of time, the great body of an Ithorian barely blocking the crazed Umbaran. Slipping uncomfortably close to the various aliens in the crowd, Weiss managed to pop out on the other side of the marketplace. There, she met an equally bedraggled and wheezing Trina.

The two stumbled down the street, the shouting Umbaran slowly fading into the background.

Weiss frowned at the whole ordeal, particularly the thought of having a debt unsettled already in this new galaxy. Trina, however, was already rationalizing their crime.

"-And I mean, why should we even pay for that? It was practically inedible! Maybe the reason Umbara is a death world is because all their frakkin' food is a threat."

Shrugging her worn out shoulders with indifference, Weiss trudged forwards. Trina dragged her feet alongside her, leading the two of them back to the compound as Weiss' first real day on Anaxses III came to a close.

"Stop. Whatever is doing this, please stop." whimpered Trina to whichever deity might be listening, as the guards to the compound patrolled in front of its sealed entrance. The sun had long since set behind the grey, squat buildings, leaving only a few lights scattered across the compound.

"I don't see the problem. Why don't we just go inform them of the situation and then finally go to sleep?" asked Weiss, her freshly cut hair frayed and haggard.

As she spoke, a few drunks stumbled towards the gates. Whether they were cadets or not was unclear to Weiss, and mattered even less so to the troopers on duty. Rings of blue flashed out from the ramparts of the compound, knocking the group into unconsciousness with ease. Two stormtroopers jogged up, dragged the bodies into an alley and left them there before returning to their posts.

"Did...did they just kill them? In cold blood?!" gasped Weiss, turning to demand an explanation from Trina. But the coarse woman was already walking off around the outskirts of the walls, flitting between walls and pre-fabbed buildings.

"Nah," Trina said, stepping over a bag of what Weiss hoped was rotten fruit. "They just stunned em, some of the rougher troopers don't hesitate to blast away, but Anaxes is pretty used to it. And I mean hey, we're loyal; why kill us?"

Unconvinced, Weiss looked over her shoulder back towards the still forms still hidden away under the shadows of that alley. Whatever the circumstances, Weiss wasn't entirely sure the response was necessary.

'Couldn't they have just asked for ID?'

"Hey that reminds me, what are we even doing out? Because I'll tell you right now, I am not sleeping in the trash." growled Weiss, arms crossed as they walked around another corner.

In front of Weiss were the large durasteel walls of the compound, electricity arcing along the edges of the ramparts. No guards patrolled its walls, and the buildings around it seemed to be closer than the others they had seen.

"Here we go," Trina dusted her hands off on her shirt before stooping down into the nearby piles of debris that littered the back alleys.

"Spotted this when I was walking in for the first time. Walls are close, should be able to hop it here; that is-" her half-lidded eyes dragged themselves to look at her bedraggled friend, "unless you've suddenly lost all ability to move after today's spectacle?"

Ignoring the pointed question, Weiss looked up at the height of the pre-fab buildings and then the wall. "What makes you think we can even jump that? The gap isn't too wide, but the height is almost an extra three feet taller, not to mention we have to clear the fence."

Trina tore a rotten and molding sofa from the pile and began dragging it to the closest house, "Duh. That's why we're gonna build a ramp. Out of...well… garbage."

Disgust rolling threw her, Weiss couldn't help but object, "So we want to build a tower of this filthy garbage… on top of someone's house, and then jump over an electric fence?"

Trina paused, before looking over her shoulder sheepishly, "Yup?"

"All in order to break into a military compound, so that we can then join the military?"

"...Yup."

"The galaxy sucks."

"Eee-yup."

After a good half an hour passed, the duo managed to break their backs in finally stacking a tottering and unsteady pile of trash high enough for the two of them to stand on. Trina had argued they should go one at a time, but Weiss didn't trust the platform to withstand one jump; much less two.

Shoulder to shoulder on the slowly leaning pile of trash, the duo had settled on jumping together. Counting down outloud, the duo leapt from their perch and almost skimmed the outskirts of the fence before Weiss rolled to a neat stop. Trina, however, landed flat on her rump, the tanned woman rubbing her back and hissing.

The two made eye contact and started to giggle, before breaking into full blown laughter. Their day had been so mind-numbing, so absolutely ridiculous that they simply couldn't hold it together anymore.

Before they could take the final step towards cackling, however, the noble tower of garbage they had built crashed to the ground out the walls with a great racket. Lights began to flicker on in the nearby area, and the shouts of distant troopers could be heard.

Grabbing Trina's arm, Weiss hauled the woman to her feet and rushed down the steps and off towards their quarters, giggling the whole way.

And it could have been her imagination, but Weiss could have sworn she heard an Umbaran cursing from that house as they ran away.

A/N: Hello hello! Jupitermonkey4 here coming to you live from a brand new update! Here we have chapter 3, where Weiss is introduced to the very surface of what life as a Stormtrooper entails... And she hasn't even started training yet!

As always, big shoutout to my Co-author, Darth Browser. You can check out this story on Ao3 if you prefer that site, or feel free to check out some of his other stories!

There was a line in here about Weiss not having flammable gas; the reason for that was that Remnant simply wouldn't have fossil fuels like we do, and while gas isn't a big surprise to be explosive (plenty of gases do that), liquids that go bang are a lot more difficult to find.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always feel free to favorite, follow and review! We love reviews especially, so tell us about what you thought of the chapter!

Have a great time, and we'll see you all soon... hopefully.

(PS: some grammar in the earlier chapter has been buggin me, not gonna make an big changes but just a heads up in case you get notified of it!)