#5 The Mess Hall…Again

Eight hours later, Goose had yet to become bored with the medbay. After further investigation, she'd discovered a small refresher, next to which was an even smaller on-call room, furnished only with a tiny cot reminiscent of the one she slept in on Virgillia. Goose made note of said cot, but had no intention of ever using it.

Once she discovered that none of the instruments or supplies were where she liked them to be, she'd taken it upon herself to reorganize it all. That alone had taken two hours. The rest of the time there was spent ogling the bacta tanks, dancing around like a maniac, and messing with the med droids.

When Jules and Coric came back, they returned to find Goose napping on a biobed. However, she was only sleeping lightly, and woke up quickly.

"Hello, guys," she greeted brightly, and gestured around the room. "I still love the place."

"What did you do?" Jules asked, wondering what she possibly could have done for eight hours.

"Oh, lots of things," she answered dismissively as she stretched. "I even named the med droids."

Sure enough, every droid had been labelled with a strip of surgical tape, which was usually used to secure bandages and such.

"Meet Alfonso, Morris, Clive, Max, Leonard, Pete, Eric, Steve, Dirk, and Bruce." Goose pointed out each 2-1B as she said its name. "The GH-7 is Frank, and the DD-13 is Wally."

Both clones looked thoroughly confused.

"Why bother with names?" Coric questioned. "They're just droids."

Goose thought for a moment before answering.

"If they're going to be my staff, I may as well make them my staff." She shrugged. "Besides, I like to be able to tell them apart." Her eyes fell to the plastoid container Jules was carrying. "Hey, what's that?"

Obviously very proud of themselves, they presented the package to her with a flourish. Goose opened it, and found a small earpiece and what looked like a contact lens.

"What is it?" she asked quizzically.

"It's your new HUD and comlink." Coric answered simply.

Goose continued to look confused.

"This is the kind of stuff that the bridge crew likes to use, because they don't usually wear helmets." Jules elaborated, "The contact can display the wounded, just like you wanted. The earpiece is hands free and compact. We thought it would be perfect for you."

She now looked down at the gear with amazement.

"This must have taken some work to get your hands on." Goose said appreciatively, "How did you do it on such short notice?"

"We had to ask a few favors, but it was nothing big. A friend in Engineering did some modifications, and that was it." Jules said modestly, "Go ahead and try it on."

Goose carefully removed the contact from its casing. The circuitry was microscopic, so she knew nobody would be able to see it once she put it on. Clearly, it was top of the line.

"Okay, here goes…" Goose muttered to herself.

She gently laid it on her left eye. Nothing happened.

"Blink twice rapidly to toggle between on and off," Jules explained quickly.

Goose blinked two times, and was so startled by how suddenly the display appeared that she took an involuntary step back. A glowing grid was now superimposed on her vision, with bright dots representing clones filling up her field of view.

"This is marvelous!" she exclaimed gleefully. "You guys are pure sabacc, you know that?"

The medics fidgeted with embarrassment at the compliment, yet they both radiated pride.

"How do you work the comlink?" Goose asked as she pushed it into her ear.

"By clicking your back teeth," said Coric. "You might want to spend some time later getting used to it. Also…" he trailed off.

They shared an unsure glance.

"Also, we can get you some new uniforms if you…you know…" Jules continued for him awkwardly, "We noticed that yours are a little…dated."

Goose sighed and looked at her fatigues. Not only were they old and dirty, as the whole mess hall probably noticed that morning, she had also not showered since before leaving Virgillia. How could she have forgotten something so simple? Goose cringed internally at the thought that she was starting to smell.

"Well…ahhh…maybe." She answered slowly, "It depends. What color are they?"

"White, I think." Jules replied.

Goose absentmindedly chewed on her lip as she considered it. White was…not a very good color for a uniform. It would be a hassle to clean them, and they'd also make her an obvious target to any snipers or enemy soldiers. However, she did not really want to hurt their feelings too badly.

"White? No, I don't think that'll work for me." She said finally, "They get dirty to easily, and stains are impossible to wash out. I'll stick with the green."

Goose rocked on her heels for a moment.

"And I'm sorry if I'm starting to stink…" she apologized, "I'm not used to taking regular showers anymore. I generally only manage one every two to three days, but I do promise to try a bit harder."

Visibly, they did not seem surprised, but Goose could only imagine what they were thinking.

"That is very understandable," Coric said tactfully. "It was a temporary hospital, after all."

She tried, yet could not suppress a snort.

"That doesn't quite cover it," Goose laughed grimly. "The showers were no more than wooden stalls with hoses in them." She smiled wryly "No one bathed in the winter, if they could help it."

"You'll like it on the Resolute, then," Jules said encouragingly. "There's never a shortage of hot water."

At that, Goose grinned like an idiot.

"Hot water, huh?" she said wistfully, "I haven't taken a warm shower in so long, I might accidentally develop pneumonia or something."

For the second time that day, Coric glanced at the wall chrono, and this time he saw that it was 1730.

"Hey, I'm starved." said Coric. "Let's go grab some dinner."

Jules cocked his head to the side, as if he'd remembered something.

"That reminds me. We missed you at lunch, Goose." added Jules.

Her eyes widened in sudden shock, and she gasped theatrically.

"Lunch! I forgot about lunch!" Goose pretended to be distraught. "Onwards, to the food!" she cried with enthusiasm.

Goose dramatically charged out of the medbay, leaving behind the two bewildered clones.

Not long later, after Goose had once more reassured her new friends that she wasn't insane and was simply very hungry, Coric asked if she'd rather eat at the officer's mess.

"No, I most certainly would not," Goose replied. "I'd much rather eat with you lot than a bunch of holier-than-thou military schmucks," she grinned. "Then again, if anyone starts quoting regulations, I'm out."

To that statement, Coric had merely nodded noncommittally. The rest of the short trip to the mess passed uneventfully. When she walked in the door, the noise subsided quickly and attention turned to her, just as it had last time. Anticipating this, Goose took an exaggerated bow as if she were some sort of celebrity, which at the moment it certainly it felt like it. More confused staring ensued.

"You know, I feel like I should be doing a song and dance routine right now, the way they're watching me," she said uneasily.

Coric had disappeared off somewhere, and she was left standing in the doorway with Jules. Thankfully, the attention of the dining clones had dissipated much more quickly than last time.

"They'll get over it, I'm sure." Jules said tactfully as he guided her toward the chow line.

Goose glanced around the room, and could not tell where Coric had gone to. Of course, this was not surprising, as they were clones, after all.

"Where'd Coric go?" she asked as they stepped into line.

"Probably went to check up on his squad." Jules answered.

"Oh. Are you part of the same squad?"

"No, Coric is a sergeant. He commands the squad, and it doesn't need more than one medic." Jules smiled shyly, "I'm just a private. Coric and I went through medic training together. We're still friends."

Goose just nodded. The line had reached the food, and she surveyed it with interest. The main course appeared to be a grilled nuna cutlet, with some sort of mashed tuber and badly overcooked vegetables. None of it looked like it had been seasoned, and the nuna seemed a bit dry. Overall, it was typical army fare.

While she helped herself, Goose noticed that the clone in front of her acted almost as if he were fearful of her. He flinched when she accidentally bumped his arm, and practically fled once he'd gotten all his food. Goose was perplexed by his behavior, but she realized that all the clones she'd seen so far had acted similarly.

Even Jules and Coric, who were perhaps the most outgoing out of all of them she'd met, with the exception of the Captain, seemed wary of her. She wondered why such physically strong soldiers were so nervous around her, especially since she was a good six inches shorter than all of them. They couldn't all be afraid of doctors, could they?

"Jules, what's up with everybody?" Goose asked carefully, "Haven't they ever seen a girl before?"

It took him a moment to respond.

"For the most part, no." answered Jules slowly. "We don't get out very much."

He said it so sincerely that she nearly believed him, then decided there was no way it could be true.

"You're joking," Goose snorted as they sat down at a partially filled table.

"No, I'm serious." Jules said quietly.

This time, she believed him.

"So…none of you have met a woman before?" Goose asked incredulously, "Before today, I mean."

"We've…heard about them before, and we saw pictures during flash training, but otherwise…no." Jules replied uncomfortably. "Never."

She absorbed this information for a while, and started to eat her dinner. Suddenly, something occurred to her.

"Why did you want to talk to me so much, if everyone else is so cautious of me?" Goose asked teasingly.

She began to busily slice up her nuna cutlet to hide her amusement as he blushed furiously. Fortunately for him, there was no one sitting close enough to hear him struggle.

"Well, I just- um, you see I-" he spluttered, "I've never met a surgeon before! And I was…curious."

Goose chuckled at his discomfort as she finished cutting the nuna. She'd made quick work of it, slicing with effortless surgical precision. In fact, she'd even held the table knife like a scalpel, just out of habit.

"If you want to see some surgery, I'm sure you'll get a front row view any day now." Goose muttered as she ate some nuna. It was dry, but acceptable.

"I think I'd like that," Jules replied, just as a group of clones sat down at their end of the table.

Goose spent the rest of the meal talking with these clones, and she learned a great deal more about the war and the Grand Army itself. She also learned their names, which were Ged, Hez, and Nax. Ged, Nax, and Jules were all in the same squad, and Hez was their sergeant. They too seemed mildly anxious around her, but became more comfortable as time went on. From them, and from Jules as well, she heard all about the many virtues of the DC-15 blaster and the superiority of Republic kit.

Over the course of their conversation, Goose began to notice a few things about them. The most important thing, she supposed, was that even though they all looked the same, they were all very different. Ged, a demolitions expert, seemed laid back but was in fact very curious about many things. Hez was stern, and it was clear that his squad respected him, but they interacted more as friends than officer and subordinate. Nax, who was quite the joker, possessed a type of cynicism that Goose simply had to applaud. Compared to his robust squad mates, Jules was actually a little more reserved.

Besides their different personalities, Goose also saw that they had their distinct mannerisms as well. Nax was very animated with his hands. He waved them around endlessly when he talked, as if it helped him get his point across. Hez had the most expressive eyebrows she'd ever seen, and Ged liked to look around a lot. From the forty-five minutes she met these men, she began to understand clones better. Not only that, but Goose started to see how they were individuals, when it would be so easy to only think of them as another face in the crowd.

When they finished, they said their goodbyes and left. The first wave of diners had mostly gone, and the latecomers were just arriving.

"Jules, I think I'm going to take a shower and hit the sack," Goose yawned quietly. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course,"

They both stood and returned their trays, then headed toward the door.

"Good night, Goose." said Jules.

"G' night." Goose mumbled back.

Then they parted company, Jules heading to the barracks, and Goose to her quarters. She almost couldn't find her way back because she hadn't been paying much attention earlier, and also because the hallways and doors all looked the same. Eventually, she made it, and walked in with a grateful sigh. Despite her nap and the fact that she hadn't done very much that day, she was still had the unmistakable feeling that she was bushed. She'd also just had a full meal, which only helped to add to her drowsiness.

However, she had not stopped thinking about taking a shower since she first remembered there was such a thing, and was determined to get washed up before she went to bed. Goose keyed open the door to the refresher. It was small and utilitarian, with a durasteel sink, a small mirror, a toilet, and tiny shower. The whole room was spotless, and she doubted it had ever been used before. Elated, Goose flipped on the hot water, and took the longest shower of her life.