Zero Drift - Chapter 2

Chapter Two The system used the word anomaly the way a survey log used unclassified: to mark the specimen it intended to come back to, not the specimen it had decided to ignore. She was awake before anyone screamed and shouted to get up. 0500 after a long day of travel was nothing new for her. The cold hard floor against the soles of her feet was bracing. No soft rug, no private, cramped cabin. No hurried cup of coffee on the way out to an observation post before sunrise. Now she was in a different sort of new environment. The bunk room was still dim, with only shadows affording any sense of privacy. She understood the psychology of the intake process. It was the first steps in breaking recruits down. Stripping for the medical scan set the tone. She grabbed her issued clothing, walked to the communal showers and took care of her morning routine without appearing to notice the semi-clad flesh around her. Once clean and dressed, she returned to her bunk, stripped it and deposited the sheets and blankets in the marked bins. Her notice went into the left shoulder pocket of her...