Military Science Fiction- JSgt. Jeanne Lankford- Part 2

     The Mess-Deck was mixture of khaki and olive uniforms. Info-screens were positioned in periodic intervals above the tables, displaying a commercial for the Interplanetary Marine Corps. They grabbed their trays and slopped food that reminded Jeanne of the stuff she was served in secondary school. Jeanne looked around for the familiar faces of her platoon. She spotted the silvery head of Platoon Sergeant Aesgir. She made her way past a pair of Ensigns discussing technical specs, and sat down at the table.

     “Ah look! The rest of Kitty Squad is here! Had a good sleep?” greeted PSgt. Asgeir.

     “I’ve had better,” replied Jeanne. 

     “How’s Ivanova?” asked a woman with orange frizzy hair. 

     “I’m fine Rolland,” rasped STpr. Ivanova as she plopped down next to Jeanne.

     “You don’t sound fine.”

     “She just had some trouble with the oxy-fluid, that’s all. I’ve already talked to Mom to give her a check up,” stated Sgt. Marlowe as she slid onto the other side of Jeanne. 

     “That’s the last thing Mom needs, another reason to worry,” japed Senior Trooper Noyla Rolland.

     “Don’t let him know that. You’ll get a firm scolding,” grunted Sgt. Marlowe chewing on a particularly tough piece of meat. “What the fuck’s this supposed to be?”

Jeanne leaned over to look, “Steak… I think.”

     “Mmph, it feels like rubber.”

     “Maybe it is,” grunted Ivanova.

     “Work continues as the search for survivors of the Government Complex Bombing drags on. Numerous people from dozens of planets have flocked to Jorrig in an attempt to help.” The Info-screen now broadcasted a news bulletin. Jeanne turned her attention from her food to the display. 

     “It’s been nearly two months since the bombing and work to clear the damage is still in progress. The official casualty count has not be released, but rumors estimate the total to be over two hundred thousand.” Jeanne’s eyes glazed as she remembered the letter she had received shortly before they shipped out of Port Erikson. It was from her mother. The contents informed her that her father, a government official, had died in the bombing.  

     She called up the memory of the last time they had all been together. She and her brother, Jack had been relaxing in the family pool, while her mother in her seemingly impossible youth sunbathed on the beach chair on the deck. Her father stood at the grill supported by a mechanical pair of legs, made visible by his shorts. The smell of freshly cooked burgers filled her nose as she asked her father how much longer it would be until they could eat. Before he could answer, Jack had performed a beautiful cannonball right next to her, spraying water over her and the pool deck. She remember taking a swing at him. She grinned, but that faded as she remembered how much she missed them.

     Then she was back on the mess deck, staring at canned corn, mashed potatoes and rubbery steak. She absent-mindedly pushed the kernels around with her spork.

     “Lankford? Lankford!?” Someone was calling her name.

     “Huh?” she looked around. Marlowe’s hand was on her shoulder.

     “Are you good?” asked Ruby.

     “Y-y-yeah,” she stammered, pushing a loose lock behind her ear, “I’m good.” Marlowe looked from her face to the Info-screen. She reached up and changed the frequency.

     “I can’t know how you feel Jeanne,” whispered Marlowe, “But I’m here for you, we all are.”

     “Thanks,” mumbled Jeanne.

Military Science Fiction- JSgt. Jeanne Lankford- Part 1

A while ago I wrote a piece called "Are You Sure?". This follows Jeanne Lankford, the wife in the couple depicted in that piece.

*****

     As she awoke, she was blinded by the fluorescent light overhead. She quickly blinked the tears from her lavender eyes as she tried to focus. Her stomach twisted. She leaned over the edge of the cryo-tube and gagged as oxy-fluid spilled from her lungs onto the floor.

Fuck, I hate cryo-travel, she thought as she swung her legs over the edge of the tube and straightened. She sucked her teeth as her bare feet hit the frigid metal. The film coating her skin began to peel as she stretched. She shivered and hurried from the cryo-bay and into the adjacent showers.  As the door hissed open, she was hit by a wave of steam; a pleasant change from the bitterly cold cryo-stasis chamber. 

     Her eyes barely open, she shuffled over to one of the spigots and punched the button. A heated jet of a mixture of cleaner and water rained down on her shoulders. She scrubbed her chestnut hair, washing out the stasis-gel. As she let the liquid wash over her body she felt someone move next to her. A girl with shorn mousy hair leaned against the shower wall, her eyes still squeezed shut.

     “Ivanova, are you okay?” she asked.

     “I… hate… cryo-travel,” hacked the girl. 

     “Me too.” She finished washing the residue off her body and headed into the locker room where her platoon had stored their gear before leaving Port Erikson. She pulled on her fatigue pants and slipped the suspenders over he shoulders. She pulled on her undershirt and jacket. She jumped as someone hugged her from behind and kissed her neck. She spun around and was greeted by the smiling face of Sergeant Ruby Marlowe.

     “Good Morning, Lankford! You’ve sleeping in again?” asked Marlowe grinning.

     “You know how cryo effects me, besides, I’d check on Cal, she was looking rough in the showers.” 

     “I’ll get Mom to check on her. You hungry?” asked Marlowe. Jeanne hadn’t thought about it. Her stomach growled.

     “Yeah… What’s on the menu?”

     “The usual, garbage.” joked Marlowe, “Though, it’s probably better than the shit at Fort Slyborn.” Jeanne smiled, she leaned forward to kiss her partner, but they were interrupted by a harsh cough. They stepped apart as Senior Trooper Calinka Ivanova, stumbled into the locker room. 

     “Cal!” cried Marlowe, rushing over to the wheezing girl.

     “I’m fine!” barked Ivanova, “Just give me a moment for fucks sake!” 

     “I want you to get Mom to check up on you. That’s an…” Marlowe was interrupted as another coughing fit over took Ivanova. The message got through though, as the mousy girl nodded between breaths. Jeanne smiled. She loved how Marlowe looked after the squad, kind of like a big sister. She scanned the locker room.

     “Where’s everyone else?” she asked. 

     “Oh, they’re already at the mess. I wanted to make sure you two were awake first.” explained Marlowe, “you can head over, I’ll take care of Cal.”

     “I’ll wait,” said Jeanne. Ivanova eventually coughed up the last of the oxy-fluid in her lungs and pulled on her fatigues. Marlowe gave her an another once over before they all headed for the elevators.

Are you sure?

     Something was wrong. He opened his eyes and turned to do discover his wife was missing. He sat up and looked around the bedroom. He tossed back the sheets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. A pair of metal dog-tags hung around his neck encased in rubber silencers; they rested against his toned bare chest. The alarm clock on the bedside table informed him that it was three-thirty in the morning. He got up, and stretched. Yawning, he headed into the hall. There was the distinctive woosh and thump of the back sliding-door. He made his way downstairs and through the kitchen. 

His wife was standing out in the backyard, staring up into the clear night sky. The stars twinkled like millions of candles. He slid the door open and was greeted by the cool summer air. He shivered, wishing he had put on a shirt. The grass was soft beneath his toes. His wife, in her tank top and shorts didn’t seem to hear him. Her brunette bob fluttered as a light breath blew past her. Her argent skin seemed to shine in the dual-moonlight.

     “Sweetheart?” he said. Her head adjusted slightly, acknowledging him. “What are you doing out her? Is everything okay? 

     “Yeah…” she muttered, “Just needed to think some.”

     “You had another nightmare, didn’t you?” He asked. She nodded. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and slouched to rest his chin on her shoulder. She barely reached his shoulder when she stood next to him. 

     “Whatchya looking at?”

     “The stars,” she muttered, turning her head skywards.

     “Thinking about the war?” he asked.

     “Yeah.”

     “It’s been a long time.” 

     “Yeah, but sometimes it feels like yesterday,” she commented.

     They stood there watching the sky until the sun’s rays began to peek over the horizon. 

     “Your daughter be up soon,” he yawned, releasing her from the embrace for the first time. She turned to him. Her natural lavender eyes looked into his hazel.

     “My daughter?” she hissed playfully.

     “Yuuuupp!” he stretched, grinning. She returned the smile and wrapped her arms around his neck.

     “I love you.”

     “I love you too,” he said before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

     “Chris, I want to go back,” she whispered.

     “Back to Elysia? Are you sure?

     “Yeah. I’m sure.”

     “Alright.”

---------------

I created these characters for a Halo/Red Vs. Blue Fan Fiction I wrote a while back. Yeah, I wrote a fan fiction, deal with it. I thought I had lost all the files when my laptop crashed, but I was looking through my iCloud documents  I discovered two of the documents. I read through them again and oh my god how my writing has improved! But I remembered how much I liked the characters of Chris, Jeanne, Alex, and Liz. So I thought about for a bit and decided to bring them into this Far flung Sci-Fi Universe I had in the back of my head. Those of you that have read the Jack and Rubi stuff might be familiar with the planet of Elysia, but I can't remember if it was in my reboot or the original...

But anyways, after spending 80+ pages with the characters they got burned into my mind. I love war stories, and enjoy military strategy and such. I've been toying with the idea of a military type story, and might do it with these characters.