Summary: The Spectrum Cadet's get to know each other better.
Notes: This is a bit of a ramble fic, it gives a bit of background on some of the characters, and introduces a couple more of the players. Language warning.

The Roasting of the Spectrum Cadets

It was a scorching hot day in the middle of the Australian outback and Spectrum Cadet's Mahogany, Turquoise, Coral, Amber, Navy, Copper, and Rose had been stuck in the middle of it for a couple of hours, after the Koala base instructors had dumped them unceremoniously there a couple of hours earlier.

After erecting a make shift shelter, to wait out the heat, the cadet's were trying to keep cool as they waited for the sun to go down. Some of the Cadets handling the heat better than others.

"Shut the fuck up, Turkey!" Amber snarled. "No one wants to hear your belly aching, we are all cooking out here!"

"Fuck you, Panda," Turquoise growled. "Who died and put you in charge?"

"Oh, will you two just Shut up," Navy, former undercover police officer Enrique Sanchez, growled at the two whining cadets. "I can understand the Scot or is it Irish man, bitching about the heat, but what's your excuse Surfer boy?"

"Surfer boy?" Turquoise replied. "Where the fuck did you get that idea from?"

"Because you look like you're fresh from the beaches, Turkey," Mahogany snarked, as he looked down at Turquoise beside him. Out of all the Cadets Mahogany and Navy seemed to be the least bothered by the heat.

"Can it, Swine," Turquoise snapped. "Unlike you, I didn't grow up on a tropical island in the sun."

"But your old man is from Texas," Rose, Maire Violet Gray-Maro, who was sitting next to Amber, pointed out. "And your mother's mother is from Trinidad, isn't she?"

"And I grew up on Skybase, with you, Nutsy and Panda, Posey," Turquoise growled. "In a nice temperature-controlled environment, away from extremes like this."

"Nutsy?" Copper, former GDF captain Yuniko Honda, and seated next to Navy, asked. "Who's that?"

"He's talking about me," Coral groaned, from the other side of Mahogany.

"How did you get a nickname like that?" Copper asked.

"From the Nutcracker," Amber sniggered. "Screw with her, either she or Colonel Scarlet will crack your nuts."

"Shut up, Panda!" Coral snapped.

"Okay, now I have got to ask this," Mahogany cut in. "How the fuck did you get nicknamed, Panda?" He asked Amber. "I mean Turkey is an obvious one, for Turquoise, as is Posey for Rose, and if you know Coral's real name, Nutsy makes sense, but Panda? Amber, you are going to have to explain that one."

Amber groaned as the other three Skybase cadets sniggered, "Don't you three, dare tell him," he growled.

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a good story?" Navy asked.

"Probably because, Amber doesn't want it to be told," Copper replied.

"Oh, it's pretty embarrassing," Rose giggled.

"Shut up, Posey."

"In his defence he was about five at the time," Coral added.

"Nutsy… I am warning you."

"But you looked so cute in that onesie," Turquoise needled.

"Tur-Key…"

"Onesie?" Copper asked.

"Yes, onesie," Coral snickered. "You see when Amber was five, he was given a panda onesie, and for the next six months afterwards, he only identified as a panda."

"Aww," Navy teased. "Did he laze around and only eat bamboo?"

"If it wasn't so hot, I would be punching you out Anchor Wank," Amber growled. "Yes, for a while I acted like I was a panda, I was five, and I grew out of it, end of story."

"Anchor Wank? I didn't work for the Navy before I joined you guys in this paradise," Navy snapped.

"So Navy isn't a nod to your previous life," Amber replied. "Good to know."

"I was a cop, if you have to know, Panda Bear," Navy grumbled. "I don't have to be told where you teenagers come from, I didn't realize nepotism was big in Spectrum."

"It isn't, actually," Coral replied. "But the four of us are unique, in a sense."

"Four?" Navy questioned. "I thought-" he looked at Mahogany. "You're not a Skybase kid?" he asked.

"Nope," Mahogany answered. "Heck, if my family didn't think I was dead, they would be howling mad that I joined Spectrum."

"Wait," Copper cut in. "Your family thinks you are dead? You actually faked your death to join Spectrum?"

"I didn't fake anything," Mahogany replied. "And if you survive training and get your commission, I will tell you all about it – not before," he sighed. "I will tell you that I worked in security and did a bit search and rescue on the side, before joining."

"Is that all you are going to tell us?" Navy asked.

"It's all I can tell you," Mahogany replied. "You and Copper don't have clearance to that information yet," he looked at Copper. "And Copper here is former GDF, she worked under Colonel Rigby."

"Do I know you?" Copper asked, surprised that Mahogany knew that much about her.

"You know a couple of my former work colleagues," Mahogany answered. "I can't tell you who they are yet, sorry."

"Well, isn't that convenient," Navy muttered. "Okay, Mahogany why did Turkey call you a Swine, or is that classified information as well?"

"It's because he's Ma-HOG-any," Turquoise replied. "Okay let's change the subject, which part of the world are you and Copper from?"

"I was born and bred in Mexico," Navy answered. "I assume you are American, Turquoise?"

"I was born on Skybase," Turquoise replied. "But yes, I'm considered American."

"I am from Japan, originally," Copper commented. "But my family travelled a lot when I was younger."

"Since you had trouble identifying my background before, Navy," Amber grumbled. "I'm both Irish and Scottish, but I was born on Skybase, just like Turkey and Nutsy."

"I'm a dual-citizen of the US and the UK," Coral growled, as she shot a glare at Amber.

"I am the only Skybase kid that wasn't born there," Rose added. "I'm British, with some American Italian mixed in."

Copper glanced at Mahogany, "And you are?"

"Considered American, not that I spent a lot of time there," Mahogany replied, as he threw a look to Turquoise. "I did grow up on a tropical island after all…" he sighed. "My mother is Euro-Asian."

"Wait, Turkey wasn't kidding when he said you grew up on a tropical island?" Navy asked. "Are you some kind of rich kid or something?"

"No, he wasn't and classified," Mahogany answered. "I can't really discuss much about my family either."

There was a silence around the group, then Navy asked, "So, Copper, Mahogany why did you join Spectrum?"

"I wanted a challenge, where I felt I was making a difference," Copper replied. "I felt like I was spinning my wheels in the GDF, not helped by the fact that we were constantly shown up by the kids in International Rescue or other organisations like Spectrum."

"And the GDF has just lost another competent officer due their own ineptitude," Mahogany muttered. "I'm not surprised."

"You don't hold the GDF in high regard, do you Mahogany?" Copper asked, sightly annoyed.

"In general? No, I don't," Mahogany replied. "It comes from being forced into doing their jobs for them."

"You were one of the people at showed us up?" Copper growled. "Why ever did you leave your obviously superior organisation?"

"I wasn't given much choice," Mahogany snapped back. "And we are going back into classified territory, Copper," he sighed. "I'm sorry, but I didn't really choose to join Spectrum, it was one of those things, where I could do this and still do my job and move around freely or be put into some version of witness protection, because I am classified," he looked at Navy. "Okay, why did you sign up to this crazy train?"

"Maybe I wanted a change in scenery," Navy replied. "That, and my last undercover job forced me into having gay relationship with a man I despised," he sighed. "I'm not gay or bi, and my colleges only saw the funny side of me sleeping with a dude."

It was silent for a while after that, until Turquoise spoke up, "Man, we are a messed-up bunch, aren't we?" he commented.

"How do you figure that?" Navy asked.

"It will come a bit clearer, once you and Copper are given clearance," Amber replied. "But we grew up on an active military base, and our folks couldn't protect us from everything, and," he pointed to Mahogany. "The Swine here, has a few of his own stories to tell as well, heck, the whole reason why he is even part of Spectrum is a head fuck in itself."

"And also classified," Mahogany grumbled. "The only reason you know anything about my past is because you're a Skybase kid, Amber, and you only know about what I shared with you."

"Which is why I am not saying anything more, in regards to your past," Amber replied. "That's your story to tell when you're ready to tell it," he sighed. "What I am trying to say is, we are Skybase kids, we have seen and been through some fucked up shit and one of Spectrum's main enemies seriously fucked with Mahogany – you're not alone when comes going through messed up shit, Navy."

"Emphasis, on the messed up," Turquoise growled. "Most of our enemies want us dead, and they can get very inventive with the how."

"If you want to run," Rose added. "Now's the time to do it, before you get in too deep."

"Bit hard to do that if I wanted to at this moment, Rose," Navy replied. "Considering we are stuck in the middle of the desert, but thanks for caring."

The group was silent for a while after that, "How long until sunset?" Amber asked.

Mahogany looked up at the sun, "Couple of hours," he replied. "Get comfortable, Panda."

Amber and Turquoise groaned, as the rest of the group snickered.

Notes: Considering that Spectrum doesn't encourage the use of real names, the nicknames Turkey, Panda, Swine, Nutsy and Posey were the result of the cadets wanting to call each other something other than their real names. These names are usually used in irritation, as a warning, and if anyone else but a close colleague or friend use them, they are asking for a beat down – the guy's use the names more often than the girls.