Dawn watched Edmund speak, her grey eyes bright and thoughtful as he described their situation. She’d been right about the refueling, of course, but the situation was far more dangerous than she would’ve liked.<i>Four gas giants...</i>While she’d never been on the wrong end of a Grey ambush in space herself, she’d heard the tales; they could rend a ship in two without a second thought, or worse, tear it apart from the inside using their drones. At least the first way was relatively quick and painless...<br/><br/>She was in no particular hurry to leave, like some of the greener soldiers seemed to be. It wasn’t as if she had anywhere else to be, anyway. So she watched quietly, smiling to herself as a girl she didn’t recognise went up to ask a question. That was good. Too many took their orders without question; they would be ill-prepared for the dangers ahead. Not many would return home. Even she was only in one piece because she had “the devil’s own luck,” as they told her. Better to have luck than to be bisected by a drone, she supposed.<br/><br/>Presently, a white-haired girl blundered into the room. Dawn quirked an eyebrow from her seat, her eyes tracing the girl’s movements. She didn’t recognise this one, either, she concluded after a moment. She’d definitely have remembered a girl with her strange hair. Rookies were raining from the sky. They were always harder to protect, always so full of life... while it lasted. It always hurt losing them the most, somehow, even more than people she’d known for years. The veterans were prepared for death, but the rookies... they had no idea.<br/><br/>The rookies didn’t know her well enough to see beyond her veil of silent scrutiny. It took battle for them to know that she was with them every step of the way. It took battle to make comrades out of strangers. It took battle for her to be Dawn instead of the Wraith, the pretty, silent girl with the unsettling gaze. She was fine with that. They didn’t have to know that she cared about them; it didn’t really mean anything until they found it out for themselves, anyway.<br/><br/>As Hannah fled the room, Dawn hopped to her feet. She understand how the girl felt; she was a lot like that, herself. She’d understand eventually, she hoped. She padded over to where Donovan was standing, offering him a smirk and a nod before pressing her back against the wall and turning her gaze back to Edmund and the rookie. Donovan and Edmund were good men, strong men, forged by battle and hardened in its ashes. She’d happily die for them if she had to – and maybe she would have to – and whether they knew that or not didn’t matter. They were here now, and they’d be here as long as she had anything to say about it.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>