Sydney followed Edmund close as her limp allowed her.  She hit herself with a painkiller just to keep moving, not the full dose, just a half squirt and hobbled along wishing she didn't feel so stupid, uselss or out of place.  She knew this was her baptism of fire and realized she'd gotten this far with sheer luck and that never lasted beyond the next second.  At each pause to recon, Sydney leaned against the bulkhead and shouldered the assault rifle and tried to look 'military' at least.  She giggled mostly to herself when she tried to push a non-existant lock of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit from her days in school.<br/><br/><span style="color: navy">"We didn't do so good against them, huh Sergeant?  Sorry I messed up back there.  I'm seriously thinking about transferring to something safer.  Maybe reactor cleaning or toxic waste removal.""</span>She somehow kept up.  Partly to not be left behind, partly to prove to them she could, and partly to prove to herself she deserved to help these marines.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>