<b>"Grey forces detected, drone carriers confirmed. ETA 10 minutes. All marines report to armory immediately. This is not a drill."</b>The strident alarm and almost shouted orders from all the loudspeakers caused Sydney to freeze for a split second to put the sounds into a semblence of<i>real</i>.  This was it.  The entire reason she joined, to contribute in the war against the Grey menace.  She jumped up and ran for her medical locker and grabbed her kits.  Without thinking, she grabbed more painkillers and compresses and stuffed those into free pockets and pouches, then she ran as fast as the bustle would allow to the armory and waited in the back of the line for her sidearm.  Watching her marine compatriots, she almost could tell who was a rookie, like her.  They had two reactions, one was the 'excited guy' who eagerly anticipated meeting the enemy and proving themselves better, then there was the 'scared guy'.  Terrified they'd fail in front of their team mates and their race as a whole.  Sydney knew many of these she'd be treating, even just giving them pain meds until they died.  Then there were the veterans.  Tired, grim, determined, or in some cases already fighting psychiatric battles in their own minds.  She watched the veterans carefully and felt a chill to her very soul.<br/><br/>She'd be facing death very soon and had never gone all the way with anyone.  She could very well die and never done more than kissed or had some 'slap and tickle'.  Even with her best friend in nursing school Rosie Clanaghan, all they had ever done was heavy petting and trading tongues.<i>Damn she was horny now.</i>Go figure.<br/><br/><b>"Report in, we don't have time to waste men!" </b>Sydney shook the thought from her head and finished getting into the light space suit.  Being a medic, she was supposed to need as full range of unrestricted motion possible so if anything her suit was even less protection than that of a standard spacesuit, much less the armored suits of the line grunts.  Funny since she was expected to run<i>into</i>the thick of combat and under fire, tend casualties and try to get them back to an aid point or evac.  She sighed and checked the seals and O-2 supplies and everything there was good.<br/><br/>Sydney adjusted the 'feel' of her kits and nodded.  She was ready as she'd ever be now.  She trotted to the squad leader and saluted.<span style="color: blue">"Corpsman Morimoto reporting ready for duty, Sir!"</span>She blushed a brilliant scarlet when she noticed everyone looking at her.  Then she realized a simple<i>"Yo"</i>was the most everyone else responded with.  Mentally she damned herself for her rookie mistake and tried to melt into the bulkhead.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>