Consequences

[Android 17]

While he had been expecting some sort of map with blips and arrows, the hologram had been a recorded message. The speaker was someone called Colonel Gallant, which apparently meant he was some tough shit or something. Like many things with the Omniverse, Seventeen wondered how much the man had actually dealt with over the last however many years he had been kicking around in this place.

A one-way electronic missive, Gallant had spoken a lot of nonsense, but the gist of his message was clear. Seventeen had been ‘recruited’ into the Imperial military service. Where the Empire drew the line between soldier and policeman, the cyborg didn’t know. The colonel told him that he would be operating with the 13th Legion, which made the woman next to him one of his ‘superiors.’ A perennial embodiment of ‘fight the power’ and ‘fuck the police’, Seventeen balked at the notion of having to wear fatigues and dive into foxholes. Or would they force him to dress up in one of those white, plastic-looking suits? Unfortunately, he didn’t feel like getting thrown into whatever sort of nonsense they used to jail magical beings who could will shit into existence and melt the world around them with their thoughts.

“So does this make me a cop?” Seventeen asked once the message had concluded. “Do I get a badge?”

Lieutenant Skleros scowled as she closed the device on her wrist and went to retrieve her helmet. “You’re an Imperial soldier, not a beat trooper.” She replied as tied back her hair and popped the white helm down over her face. Once it had clicked into place and sealed back up with a whoosh of pressurized air, she turned and gestured toward the exit.

“What’s next?” Seventeen asked. “Basic training? Drill sergeant?”

“Your mouth doesn’t stop,” the woman replied, her voice once again partially muffled and gender incoherent through the helmet’s voice tech. “You’re going to be paired with a Staff Sergeant, who should be arriving shortly. Once she’s here, you’ll be given further instructions on how you will be utilized by the 13th and the Imperial military.”

“Lady sergeant?” Seventeen inquired. “Man, for a fascist dictatorship, this place sure does bludgeon you with the strong female lead trope, doesn’t it?”

The lieutenant, ignoring the scrawny man’s question, stepped out of the room and gave him another gesture to follow. “The transport should already be outside.”

Seventeen followed Bianca back through the barracks to the front room where he’d first entered the compound. By the time they arrived, the doors were already parted. A figure outfitted in a version of the Stormtrooper armor strode through the opening and paused as it swung shut. Although the basics were the same, the new arrival’s armor had a variety of accents and modifications that made it stand out from its peers. Some blue color accents on the shoulders, knees, boots, and hands gave a bit of flair that the run-of-the-mill troopers lacked. Instead of the little cape that the lieutenant wore, the new arrival was clad in a heavy cloak, and a heavy belt could be spotted around the waist.

The cyborg leaned in toward the lieutenant. “You could use some racing stripes to really make your outfit pop.”

Since the woman wore a helmet, Seventeen couldn’t tell if he got a reaction out of her. She simply stepped forward and shared a salute with the new arrival. “Welcome, Staff Sergeant Zulenka.”

Without a response, the trooper peeled off her helmet and dropped it onto a nearby bench. A stern yet attractive face fell upon the raven-haired man and the lieutenant. “Reporting for duty, Ma’am.” Although cordial, it was clearly evident that the woman had zero desire to be down in the barracks.