#lawbringerjunior

Rodriguez yawned as she dragged herself towards the lab Oriana Lawson seemed to call home. The older girl was always working, it seemed, and probably for good reason. It was common knowledge that both she and her older sister were genetically engineered to be insanely smart and... superior. There were other rumors as well, and less flattering gossip surrounding them, but since trading a few messages with Oriana and having breakfast together, Rodriguez tried to ignore them, or at least block them out and not be amused by them. 

She stopped to let a cargo cart pass by and stretched, groaning at the unpleasant sting in her muscles. Jack had run her ragged during morning drills and these lessons would cut deep into valuable sleeping time. Rodriguez wagered she'd be feeling like shit far more often and more intensely than she had before, but it seemed worth it. 

Oriana threw herself over, flopping onto her stomach on her narrow cot. The joints creaked in complaint as she tossed again, but she could not sleep. If the cot would just give out and collapse at least she would have a decent reason why. Instead she just buried her face into the pillow and groaned. She was so exhausted. But sleep refused to come, like so many nights.

How long she lay like that, tossing and turning, flopping from one position to another, she could not say. But after what felt like an entire night’s worth of tortured half-rest, she gave up with a sigh. Sitting up on the cot she grabbed her pants and pulled them on. Maybe a walk would clear her head.

Without bothering to put on shoes, she rose and walked out of her room. She, unlike most of the team she had been roped into supervising, was quartered in the research tent. Most of her team was scattered to wherever beds were available. At least one had a bunk in the Marines tent, several were in the refugee section of the camp, and only two of them were in the research tent with her.

For a while she wandered about the camp in the dark. It never got truly dark, maybe the equivalent of late dusk. The camp was littered with spotlights and emergency lights and they were never turned off. With husks and abominations and all sorts of disgusting Reaper ground forces still filling the cities and countryside, no one was willing to actually sleep in the dark.

There were Marines scattered every so many feet, weapons drawn, ready for the slightest hint of danger. A lot of them were young. Very young. The Alliance was desperate and had been desperate throughout the war. Age restrictions had vanished pretty quickly, although she suspected the youngest here was probably at least fifteen. A few of the soldiers waved to her and she waved back. Most were friendly, but these days you had to be careful about being too welcoming to anyone. It was pretty much assumed everyone had PTSD now.

Before she could really think about it, she had made her way to the research tent Miranda was bunking in. She stared at the entrance for a few minutes, chewing her lip. Miranda was probably awake. It wasn’t that late, and besides it felt like Miranda never slept anyway. Still, she wasn’t sure she wanted to bother her sister with the fact she could not sleep. It was such a petty thing, really.

Or she could just pretend she was worried about her. And hope Miranda did not notice the bags under her eyes, the cracked skin on her lips, the bloodshot look to the edges of her eyes, or all the other signs of exhaustion. Yeah. That would work.

Oriana woke early, long before the sun came up, and at least an hour ahead of her scattered team of scientists. She woke up exhausted, every morning, and physically dragged herself from bed. Getting herself cleaned and dressed was a special torment, but she would not leave small private section of the researchers’ barracks without doing it. And like every other morning now, she slogged out of the tent with a loud yawn.

The camp was quiet at this early hour, just before the general population woke up. There were still people about, mostly soldiers or Miranda’s long suffering subordinates, groggily making their way through the morning hours. For the soldiers it was either the last minutes of their overnight watch or the pre-dawn preparations of the morning shift. No one smiled at her, or even acknowledged her, as she made her way to the mess hall. Blessedly it was in operation almost entirely around the clock, aside from a few short hours in the middle of the night.

Once she stepped through the swinging door of the mess, however, she did what she could to make herself look alert and happy. It took only a few minutes to get her food, the cooks on duty given to little more than grunts as communication. She smiled at them politely and picked a table near the door to settle herself.

LawBringerSR2: I cannot stress enough the importance of you retaining your sobriety while operating an omnitool, let alone terraforming equipment.

LawbringerJunior: I assure you I am shamefully sober at the moment.

LawBringerSR2: I’m not amused.

LawbringerJunior: I’m aware. But I am.

LawBringerSR2: Good night, Oriana. I hope you finish your reports.

LawBringerSR2 has connected.

LawbringerJunior has connected.

LawbringerJunior: MIRANDA!

LawbringerJunior: MIRANDA!

LawbringerJunior: RANDA!

LawBringerSR2: Hello, Oriana.

LawbringerJunior: Finally. Hello :)

LawBringerSR2: What can I do for you, Ori?

LawBringerSR2: Is your new extranet handle meant to amuse me?

LawbringerJunior: Does that mean it doesn’t?

LawBringerSR2: …

LawbringerJunior: :(

LawBringerSR2: I thought you had lab work to finish.

LawbringerJunior: I finished it two hours ago.

LawbringerJunior: And I can only stare at my assistant’s butt for so long before I get reported.

LawBringerSR2: Sexual harassment is a very serious matter, Oriana.

LawbringerJunior: It’s only sexual harassment if he says it is. Just yesterday he said he enjoyed my attention

LawbringerJunior: Besides, his butt does more thinking than his brain.

LawBringerSR2: Would you like me to have him removed from the team?

LawBringerSR2 ‘s connection has idled.

LawbringerJunior: No need. He’s fantastic at organization. Just not so much at independent thinking.

LawbringerJunior: Hey! Don’t idle out on me!

LawBringerSR2 ‘s connection has refreshed.

LawBringerSR2: His files aren’t very impressive. How did he manage a place on your team when he has accomplished so little?

LawBringerSR2: I can purchase an organizer for you. Engineers, on the other hand, should be more helpful.

LawbringerJunior: DId I mention his butt is fantastic? I’m pretty sure I mentioned that

LawbringerJunior: He’s not an Engineer. He’s an Alliance grunt I stole from Hackett.

LawBringerSR2: …

LawBringerSR2: I’m having him transferred.