<strong>First Sergeant Kerry Page.</strong><br/><br/>"ALLRIGHT YOU GRUNTS, You 'eard tha hofficer, get on board them CRAFT!"<br/><br/>Paige didn't need to shout the orders like that, but hell, if you couldn't shout, what the fuck was the point of being a sergeant! She would be showing the new transfers what she was made of in real terms soon enough. She watched Kara shadow the LT onto the one decent looking shuttle they had. That one actually had a gun turret, although whether it worked or not was anyone's guess.<br/><br/>Paige surveyed her lander with delight. This was going to be such a fun ride! The dam thing was a cargo container with wings welded on. At least that was what it looked like. She marshalled her squad into the back of the craft. One of the grunts that had survived the Roger young with her looked scared. "Sarge, is this thing spaceworthy?"<br/><br/>Paige grinned at the young man. "Kid, look at it this way. If it ain't, you won't have to face what's waiting for us on the ground!" Someone in the make-shift landing craft laughed and began singing an old, old song that, if the PD heard it, she would probably have arrested the guy for sedition, or tried to. Right now, the men in her squad were more valuable to her than a PD, and if Reinfeldt had tried, Paige would have shot her out of hand and worried about the consequences later.<br/><br/><em>Some things in life are bad<br/>They can really make you mad<br/>Other things just make you swear and curse.<br/>When you're chewing on life's gristle<br/>Don't grumble, give a whistle<br/>And this'll help things turn out for the best...</em><br/><br/>In fact, Paige started singing the chorus right along with the others...<br/><br/>"Always look on the bright side of life", She whistled the next bit.<br/>"Always look on the light side of life."<br/><br/>It seemed that the trooper singing the verses knew the song by heart, as he regaled them with it, and the entire squad joined in as the could.<br/><br/><em>If life seems jolly rotten<br/>There's something you've forgotten<br/>And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.<br/>When you're feeling in the dumps<br/>Don't be silly chumps<br/>Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.<br/><br/>    And...always look on the bright side of life...<br/>    Always look on the light side of life... <br/><br/>For life is quite absurd<br/>And death's the final word<br/>You must always face the curtain with a bow.<br/>Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin<br/>Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.<br/><br/>    So always look on the bright side of death<br/>    Just before you draw your terminal breath <br/><br/>Life's a piece of shit<br/>When you look at it<br/>Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.<br/>You'll see it's all a show<br/>Keep 'em laughing as you go<br/>Just remember that the last laugh is on you.<br/><br/>    And always look on the bright side of life...<br/>    Always look on the right side of life...<br/>    (Come on guys, cheer up!)<br/>    Always look on the bright side of life...<br/>    Always look on the bright side of life...<br/>    (Worse things happen at sea, you know.)<br/>    Always look on the bright side of life...<br/>    (I mean - what have you got to lose?)<br/>    (You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.<br/>    What have you lost? Nothing!)<br/>    Always look on the right side of life...</em><br/><br/>Paige heard the song coming from outside, spreading from one lander to another, although most were just singing and whistling the chorus, and then the ramp ground slowly up and sealed with a his and a thud. She checked her weapon and her webbing, for the gazillionth time and then in the old, old tradition of the army, waited.....