"Cadet Haddock, why are there burn marks on your neck?"
Andy flinched at the sound of his booming voice, ear ringing from the shock of it. She had been expecting this question, seeing how showing up with hand-shaped burns wasn't considered a normal occurrence. Nor was the welt on her forehead, but that could be overlooked. Maybe.
"I was in a quarrel with one of the other cadets last night, sir." She answered back, mind flashing to the night previous. Kaliena hadn't returned, and for this Andy was grateful. She was pretty sure that at this point in her life, she was no match for the insane blonde. The girl had strength to boot, and there was some compound in her that obviously wasn't human. No human could heat himself or herself hot enough to burn someone.
The first time she had seen Kaliena since then was when she showed up for roll call that morning. Andy wasn't all too sure where she had gone, but she noticed that wherever it was, this princess wasn't used to the discomfort. Oh, how she couldn't wait for the day when she could possibly take this woman down. The more she thought about it, the more Andy realized that day was probably never coming.
Lt. Commander Bane raised an eyebrow. "Fighting within your team? That's against rules, minus sparring in training, cadet."
Flushing, Andy considered telling him that she was the one who started the fight. This gave her a greater chance of surviving another night with the she-devil. But she couldn't betray her instincts. Something inside of her told her maybe telling a tweaked version of the truth would work best. "I was attacked, sir. But it was instigated, I will admit."
Bane glanced down the line of people, curiosity mixed with an odd form of admiration in his eyes. "And which one of our lovely backstabbers would this happen to be, Haddock."
She swallowed. "I cannot say, sir. I respect my men, even if they do not do the same for me, regardless of my physical stature." Sweat was beading on her neck, stinging the burns as it rolled down her skin and drenching her collar under the hot sun.
The weather had changed in an instant. One moment it was pouring rain, and the other, the sun had come out and dried up the mud beneath them. All of them were drenched now in sweat, knowing it would only get worse as the day went along. Cadets that had been there for months had laughed and told them that it would eventually get easier to deal with the heat and rain, but for now it would be hell. Or at least feel like it.
A snake's form of a smile appeared on this man's face, slightly frightening Andy as he stepped away, turning his back and walking to where they could all see his face. "Cadet Haddock contains a trait most of you leeches will never possess—loyalty. Step one in trusting your team." He said, turning around once more.
For the second time in two days, cold, calculating, blue eyes swiveled over them all, reaching deep into their souls. "I must apologize for acting so harshly yesterday, but it's my way of seeing if you'll hold your resolve. Starfleet isn't entirely military operations, cadets. Exploration is a key part in knowing what's out there. But, Starfleet regulates that we train each and every cadet like they would be going into the military operations of things."
Patting a box on a table next to him, he continued talking. "In here, I have your dog tags. After graduating from Starfleet, you may choose to have them implanted in your skin, like most do now. But for now, you wear them everyday and never take them off. It is my job to train you, but it is not my job to keep you alive. That is why we have dog tags. You're bleeding out, people aren't sure what your blood type is, and that's when you'd be thankful to have two things of cold metal on you at all times. I will distribute said dog tag to you after my speech, and you will then immediately start on your fifteen mile run around camp. Just follow the big boys. They know where they're going. Next," he said. "You will train with them. That's sparring, stretching, pushups, pull ups, sit ups, more running or weight lifting, whatever they have in store for today. You will do this everyday until evaluations with Captain Pike roll around at the midway mark."
Lieutenant Commander Bane stared at them once more. "That is all." He said shortly, nodding his head and waiting for the men and women to swarm him, all trying to get their dog tags. As they did, he kept his eyes on one individual, Haddock, A. Something about her was off, he could tell. It just wasn't right, almost. How the smallest, weakest cadet he had ever seen would dare snitching at the risk of being beat up again. This girl was either used to it, or just plain crazy.
Whatever it was, he would find out soon enough.
After the last person (Andy), had taken their dog tags and slipped them over their heads and run off, the Lt. Cmdr. smiled to himself. Who knows, may this kid was the next Admiral.