The dining hall was another needlessly large space, filled with dozens of tables that sat empty and alone. Closest to the door, only one was occupied, all six teens sitting in uncomfortable silence, the only sounds coming from the clinking and clattering of utensils as they ate, eyes cast down to stare at their food.

Behind them, two guards stood, one older and one younger, in the same unfamiliar camouflage that the Sargeant had worn, deep black and with flecks of white and cool grey. Ash knew it wasn't the Navy camouflage, at least. She had seen plenty of uniforms just be being around her mother, and this wasn't one of them.

Neither the Sargeant nor the Doctor had been seen that day, just these two guards and their cold, unmoving faces. And of course, the guns that they carried. That was the main reason Ash hadn't made any attempts to get away, or convince the other teens to help her overpower them. So the six of them sat there in complete silence, not willing to brave any anger or punishment they might unleash by speaking.

Ash cast uneasy glances around her, studying the other teens. It had only been a day, but for some reason she had expected them to rally together somehow, to become a cohesive unit. Looking at them though, that glimmer of hope inside of her seemed to fade. They were all just scared teens who wanted to get away from here. Her expectations were just as ridiculous as the Doctor's. He wanted them to be a team to go into space. She wanted a team to finally go home.

The doors to the dining hall opened, and all on the teens shifted their attention to see who had just come through. Well, almost all. Carter was still doggedly eating his food, though Ash couldn't fathom how he found this unidentifiable mush appetizing.

Sargeant Dafferney stood there, a low scowl on her face as she stared at them. Two other people were behind her, a man in a jumpsuit like theirs, but in a crisp navy blue instead, and a woman in a long white lab coat, just like what London had worn the day before. "Receuits," Sargeant Dafferney said, her face still just as emotionless. "Today you will be beginning your training for the mission. Clarkston, London, please follow your mentors for specialized training, the rest of you, are to report to the simulation room at 0900 hours. Understood?"

No one moved. No one spoke. Tension simmered in the air, and Ash could almost see it, could feel it crawling along her skin, goosflesh sending shivers along her arms. Ash stood and saluted, the tension crackling now as she felt everyone's gazes shift to her. "Yes Ma'am. Understood Ma'am."

Sargeant Dafferney nodded. The action snapped inside Ash's chest, and suddenly, she could breathe again. Had she not been able to do so before? The burning in her lungs, the stinging to her throat told her that she hadn't been. "You could all stand to learn from this recruit." Her words were an admonishing to the other teens, yet somehow they felt like praise to Ash. This was praise, right? Her gaze was more careful this time as she looked at Ash, consideration in her eyes. "Perhaps we made the wrong choice in leadership."

The two guards stepped forward, and London and Clarkston, realizing that they still had expectations placed on them, quickly rose from the table and went to go stand with their "mentors". Ash remained in her salute until the Sargeant and the others had left, before dropping down to the table and sagging with relief.

"Kiss-up," Darius muttered, scraping his fork along his plate.

Ash inhaled sharply, but Kennedy was the one to speak first. "Let's not get into that again, you guys. I'm sure Ash is just trying to keep the peace. Right, Ash?" Her eyes impressed agreement upon Ash, who said and ducked her head.

"Yeah. Just trying to make the Sargeant happy." Ash sighed and let her head fall the the table with a thunk, making her dish and silverware clatter from the impact. "I'm so sick of this place," she muttered wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Get used to it," Carter said, pushing his chair away from the table, the legs of it squealing as it scraped against the floor. Ash tilted her head as she watched him walk around the edge of the table, stopping a foot away from their two guards. "I'm leaving this room now. You will not attempt to stop me."

Kennedy lurched from her chair and grabbed Carter's arm, trying to pull him back, though she had little effect on him. "Carter, no. Stop saying stupid stuff and get back to the table."

Carter shoved her away, and Kennedy stumbled, hitting into Darius's chair. He barely caught her before she dropped to the ground, and she rose, panting. Both of the guards were grabbing for Carter, who was dodging and ducking to throw quick punches at a guard's torso, and then a fist was colliding with his jaw. Carter faltered, before dropping to one knee.

Kennedy was back up again tugging at the arm of a guard and the other guard was reaching for his gun and Ash was jumping for the gun and she didn't know why and someone was yelling and the gun—

Bang.

Once. Just once. Someone was screaming now, and the world was dizzying and Ash's ears were ringing so loudly she couldn't hear anything but the sound of the gun, again and again and again. She stumbled, then dropped to her knees, hunching over in an attempt to hold herself together, to not fall apart, to stop hearing the gun.

The screaming stopped.

Someone grabbed her hands and Ash inhed sharply, everything clicking into exact focus, the world crystal clear around her.

One of the guards was restraining Carter, the sound of handcuffs clicked together. The other was holding a sobbing Kennedy, his hands gripping her arms as he spoke to her. And Darius was in front of Ash, eyes full of concern, mouth moving in hasty words.

"Ash. Ash, did they shoot you? Did you get hit?" He pulled her hands away from her face, clutching to them, almost like an anchor. But was he trying to anchor her, or himself? "Are you bleeding?"

Ash hesitated, her breathing muddled and going too fast. "No." Three more breaths. If she could just get enough oxygen in her lungs, she would be ok. "No, they didn't... I'm not hurt. I'm fine." Was she really fine, though? This didn't feel like fine. This room, this situation, the anxiety and adrenalin jittering through her veins, the nervousness causing her arms to shake, for her lungs to feel too tight to breathe, that wasn't "fine", was it?

"What happened?" she whispered, her voice too unsure to speak any louder. At least, she thought she had spoken. Everything sounded so far away, as if hearing people speak from another room. 
.
"Let's get you a chair first," Darius said. He was avoiding her question. He didn't know what had happened either. Ash wondered if anyone knew what had just gone on. It had all passed so quickly, too many actions and reactions for her to process.

London had been forced to sit down as well, and Darius spun around a chair at the table so Ash could be seated. Their hands brushed from where the hung at their sides, and almost instinctively, they both reached to lace their fingers together, seeking comfort in each other's touch. Darius sat down to her other side, and that made three. Three teens, quietly, frightenedly, respectfully watching the guards.

The fourth was still on the floor. Carter was on his stomach, arms handcuffed behind him, and the gun from before trained on his leg by the younger guard, should he have any thoughts of running. The one without the gun stood in front of the three, a scowl on his face.

"I have had enough of this!" He spat, starting to pace before them. "Let me make this abundantly clear. You act up? I shoot you. You try to run away? I shoot you. You even give us so much as an indication that you're going to be trouble, and my gun will be out, and you will be on the floor."

The other guard looked at the first, somewhat bewildered. But he didn't say anything, just kept his aim on Carter.

"The Doctor may not be keen on any of you dying, but Sargeant Dafferney was completely correct yesterday when she said that you lot are expendable. You are not special, you are not valuable, you are test subjects. We could train rats and they would probably do better jobs than you. Your deaths mean nothing to us, beyond having to pick up another kid from the streets."

He stopped in front of Kennedy, and grabbed at her jaw, squeezing tightly. "No more being the hero, you got that?" She whimpered in reply, and he pushed her away, making a small sound of disgust. "Pathetic." Then he turned to the other guard and took the gun from his hands. "Johnson, I want you to get this lot to the simulation room. I'll be taking this one—" he gestured to Carter, still on the floor. "To the Sargeant for discipline. I have a feeling she'll know what to do with him."

Kennedy slumped against Ash, her breathing ragged as if she had just ran for miles, tears streaking across her cheeks. Ash squeezed at her hand, but remained silence, keeping an eye on the guards as the older one hauled Carter up and started to leave the dining hall. The younger one stood there, almost as if torn, staring at the huddled teens sitting at the table before him.

Then his face hardened, and he grabbed Kennedy's wrist and pulled her to standing. "Everyone out. We wouldn't want you to be late to training."

○○○
The three remaining teens were led back into the hallway that went to their bunkroom, more people now navigating around them and chattering quietly amongst themselves, shuffled papers and harried footsteps.

Their guard stopped them at a door not far from the dining hall and held it open, gesturing for them to enter. Kennedy went first, with Darius not far behind her and Ash bringing up the rear. The whole smelled of chemicals and cleanness, and filled with various medical equipment with several areas curtained off. Three people stood in scrubs before them, and it took Ash a moment to determine the genders of the people she was looking at, before settling on two women and a man, who appeared to be smiling behind the mask stretched over his face.

"My new patients," he remarked. His gaze darted to the guard, who still remained by the door. No... this doctor may have been smiling, but it was too strained, to forced to be genuine, as if it was all for show. The crinkle to his forehead betrayed his true worries. And the other two women in the room also had that look of silent, submissive fear, those same forced smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes. Had they also been kidnapped? Taken or threatened to take part in this project?

"My name is Dr. Adams. I'll be in charge of keepjng all of you healthy so you're prepared for the day of your big space flight." And this, muttered under his breath. "However far away that may be."

Dr. Adams grabbed a stethoscope from a desk standing near him, draping it over his neck. "So... who's first?"

Ash had barely a heartbeat before Kennedy was stepping forward, head tilted back to look him square in the eye. "I am," she said, her confidence betrayed only by a quick glance over at Ash, who rushed to give her a quick thumbs-up. Of course she wished she had gone first. Ash could handle whatever situations were thrown her way, but she didn't think either of these two could. She wanted to be able to warn them of what was coming ahead, of what to expect, but how was she meant to do that when they stole her chances to by volunteering first?

Maybe Kennedy was just scared and wanted to get over with first. Ash could get that. Doctors had always been a strange place to deal with when she was a kid, and even now being in this place made her skin crawl, with all of the tools and machines seeming to crowd closer around her.

Doctor Andrews led Kennedy to a small cupboard, which he opened with a small key that hung around his neck. The two women approached Darius and Kennedy, not speaking as they gestured to a small row of chairs near the door. Perhaps they were meant to be nurses, or assistants to Doctor Adams.

The guard by the door was stood motionless beside it, and Ash took the time to study him, to draw away her own nerves and distract from the tension knotting itself inside her chest. When she had noticed he seemed young before, she hadn't realized quite how young that was. He barely seemed older than Clarkston even, and that hardened look he had on his face when instructing them to leave the dining hall had since faded, leaving him to appear almost hesitant in this situation.

But he hadn't hesitated earlier. He had had a gun aimed right at Carter's head, and he didn't have even a glint of worry or remorse in his eyes.

"Ash?"

Her head snapped up, eyes settling on the doctor, who was holding a small bundle of pale blue in his hands. "You're next, I believe?" Ash's hands went clammy, and she swiped them across her pants, forcing herself to stand. "Please, follow me. You'll want to put these on."

Numbly, Ash registered the bundle being placed into her hands and the sound of a curtain being pulled back. "I'll give you some privacy to change." The curtain rattled again, and Ash stood alone, her eyes fixated on the bed before her, the space seeming to contract around her.

Heart in her throat, Ash slowly bent to unlace her boots. She felt blocky, wooden, like her muscles had turned still and she was nothing but a puppet pulled along by the control of someone else, her hands going along the motions of undressing and changing. The paper on the bed crinkled as Ash lay down her jumpsuit, the slippers she had been giving scuffing against the slick tiled flooring.

The hospital gown was a pale periwinkle, in deep contrast with the darker shade of their jumpsuits, and felt like she was wearing air, the lightness of it making her feel unprotected. She longed for the weight of the jumpsuit, for the coverage and protection it provided.

There was shuffling outside the curtain, and one of the assistants or nurses or whoever peeked through. "Ready, hon?" Ash nodded, holding her arms across her stomach, as if they were a protective shield. As if she could gain safety from such a small action.

The nurse opened it fully. Doctor Andrews stood behind her gripping at his stethoscope. "Hi there, Ash. Are you ready to see what makes you tick?"

A shiver ran down her spine. She was really wishing to have her jumpsuit back on right now.