Written with conspicuousconartist in RPG Write.
Aboard the F.S.S. Redemption.
Connor looked at Nia dead in the eyes; he wasn't afraid of leadership, he was afraid more so of the truth. He opened his mouth, gulping, preparing himself for the worst of what could happen.
"I was in the fitness room when you gave the briefing apparently, making my way over to the recreation center where you'd probably give the briefing to everyone, and judging by the shit I got from all the other soldiers, I missed something important," he said, his voice still confident.
Nia bit her lip as she heard Connors explanation., waiting for him to finish before uncrossing her arms and placing her hands on her hips. "So you missed what the commander said over the intercom? You are supposed to report for your briefing, the fitness room is not a long walk exactly." Connor remained in his rather stiff posture, listening to what his commander had to say.
"It's not an easy walk when the ship is traversing the atmosphere, and I did hear Commander Walker, but what did I miss anyways?" he asked, getting a little more to the point. He wasn't interested in all the little details or critiques on his lateness to a briefing. The consequences of his actions would run their course, he thought.
The lieutenant lowered her eyebrows at Connor's response. Was he giving her attitude? She moved closer to him and raise her voice so that other people could hear, "I don't care if you lost one of your fucking legs, you come when you're ordered to." She looked him up and down before continuing, "You are to report to Lieutenant Joseph. You're in his firing team for our mission. We're going on the surface of the planet to gather information on the insurgency." She said with a calmer tone than before. Connor looked at her a bit more sincerely, not arguing with his commander, but rather agreeing.
"Thank you, lieutenant..." he said, his voice trailing off. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," he said in a lower voice. In his mind, thousands of scenarios of how the future could play out, what he could've done, started simulating in his mind. He expected something like, "Sorry doesn't cut it," or "Just don't do it again," or something of which would doubt him. But that's only because he doubted himself
Nia turned to looked back to the shower calling her name. Being trapped in a tin can for months at a time with mostly men was enough to make even the most rugged woman feel unclean. The lieutenant was one of the few female Marines on board, but the others were pilots and technicians mostly, not combat effective. She turned back to the Sargent Second class, keeping a stern look on her face. I can't believe Commander Walker wanted him as second in command of this mission. She thought.
"Well like I said before, you should be getting ready for the drop off. Have you done a drop off since training? The pods we use are a lot smaller and faster than most, designed for quicker insertion. Were you one of the ones that you throw up in the pod?" she asked with a slight smile.
"It's tough for me to handle the feeling of free-falling, but not much makes me vomit," Connor replied, "but that's only just a small part of the mission." He glanced over at the clock, and then began looking around the commander's quarters. His mind was always jumping from one thought to the next, sometimes he could be taken as not paying attention to the situation before him, but that wasn't necessarily true. The fact that Nia's top was a bit revealing didn't really seem to phase him. "Will we be given any information on the terrain or enemy's influence in the area?" he asked, thinking a bit further ahead for himself as an individual. "It'd help to give a general mindset of how we should go about this mission," he added.
"Well I did throw up my first few times." She admitted. "The drop off can be a bitch." Nia looked back into her room as she noticed something catching Connors attention. There was several articles of clothing thrown about everywhere and the trash was over flowing. This was not considered an acceptable living condition for a Marine officer, and Nia felt slightly more embarrassed about her filthy room than her inappropriate attire.
She turned back to Connor once he began asking more about the mission. "Never been to New Sydney? The whole place is a desert. We'll be landing near the outskirts of the city of Atom, a cliff city. We should be hitting ground a few hours before the first sunrise. As far aw we can tell, the insurgency isn't base in the city, but there has been reports of small enemy convoys traveling through. So we set up just out side the city and log any suspicious activity we see leaving or entering Atom." Nia explained as she glanced at the clock; there goes her opportunity to take a proper shower.
"Alright," he said, thinking more deeply inside his mind about the mission. "I'm going to go get ready with what time I have left," he said, waiting for something reminiscent of a dismissal from the lieutenant. If it wasn't for the trash or herself, Nia might smell Connor's sweat stronger.
"That would be wise," the lieutenant agreed. "See you at the drop off Seargent," she said before stepping back and typing the lock code on the keypad by the door, shutting it it immediately. Once she was alone in her quarters again she lifted her arm and brought her nose closer to her armpit, checking herself and quickly pulling her head back up. Eyes widened, she quickly wiggled out of her pants, leaving them on the floor as she pulled her tank top off and headed to the bathroom.
