It took about 2 days by her reckoning before she felt good to meet her maker, otherwise known as command. They had waited on her, a rare enough thing to be notable by her reckoning, but on her 4th day aware, at 0800 on the dot, someone walked into her room.

  She had a lieutenant Colonels insignia. Standing at 5ft 8in, with a keen eyed look. She had a friendly smile on her face that put Nivka at ease. Not.

  I sat up as best as I could, and saluted. "Mam, Lieutenant Nivka, reporting, sir." I said.

  "At ease, Lieutenant, lest you make your condition worse." She said, before sitting down in a chair. She dropped her arm, but otherwise kept her tense posture and eyes straight ahead.

  "Tell me, how are you?" She inquired.

  "I am well, sir. Give me a month and I'll be up and killing again, you have my word on it." I said.

  "And how do you really feel?" She said, her smile widening a fraction.

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  I pause, before replying. "As I said sir, a month and I will be up and atem. I swear sir."

  She raised her eyebrows, not quite believing me. But, as she studied my face, her smile straightened into a flat line. "You would, wouldn't you. Hm. Suppose that, I guess." She mutters.

  "Ahem. A few things, Lieutenant. One, for your performance in battle, with distinction and valor, your getting a medal." She says, and peers at me. She begins smirking again. "Not happy, Lieutenant?" She asks

  "With all due respect, mam, I have over ten different types." I say, tensing.

  "HAH! Knew you would say that. He owes me. Ahem. Now, second thing. By commands reckoning, you preformed your duty above and beyond what was expected of you. We have helmet footage of the series of events that played out from multiple sources, including helmet cams." She says.

  I release my tension noticeably. That was... A relief. I had done her best, but... It was just a gigantic shitshow from start to finish.

  The Colonel nods at me, and pats me on the shoulder. "We saw your actions and can see no fault. But on that note..." She hesitates, any smile or smirk dying a cold death. She straightened, and looked at me in the eyes.

  "Due to your injuries, we can not send you back to a forward position." She says. I pause, then nod. I had predicted this, made peace with it. Front line infantry had to be at their peak, or they would break and leave vulnerabilities in the line. It hurt, terribly, but I had braced for it.

  "Y-yes sir. I understand sir." I say.

  "There are positions in the- ya. Didn't think you'd go for that." She muttered when she saw my face. Ya, as much as I loved that idea (I didn't), it wasn't going to fly.

  "Well Lieutenant, I'll be frank. That's the best you can get in the infantry, both marines and army. However, my superiors and I have been talking, and an alternative has been suggested. With discussions with the relevant parties and the standard background checks, they agreed happily." She said, and began smiling again.

  "What's your opinion of the void, Lieutenant?"