Social BBQ during downtime.

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
Community Park...
...Hopefully about to own his sister at GravBall

As Hawk left, Killinger had returned to his parents vehicle and grabbed the extra pair of shorts he had in the trunk. They were one of those 'one sizes fits all' type of shorts with a string. He was going to use them later at the gym, but at the moment they were still clean... besides, he probably wasn't going to go to the gym anyways. When he got home he was going to sleep like a rock. Not moving, no sounds other than breathing and hopefully no nightmares about his engagement with the Covenant.

Kyle returned to his original spot and almost insensitively stood with his hands behind his back, which hid the shorts unintentionally. That instinct had been, literally, drilled into him. It was almost like he was standing at ease but not yet dismissed. When Hawk re approached he had changed.

"Sorry to make you wait, sir. I'm ready now... If you've got those shorts, that is." Hawk said with a grin. Kyle nearly forgot about the shorts because he was to focused on the honorific Hawk had just used.

"What?" Kyle said. "OH! Right." He said, chuckling. He brought his hands out and handed the shorts over to the Second Lieutenant. "You don't need to call me sir, you can call me Kyle or Kill. I'm only a First Lieutenant because I had a rough first deployment, so I haven't actually been deployed as a First Lieutenant yet."

Kyle turned to his left half way and looked towards the GravBall arena. "My prides on the line with this one. If I lose I have to wear a pink shirt that says 'my sister is better than me'. So lets not lose." Kyle said half nervously. "Her friend is also a professional GravBall player playing for the New Alexandria Aces... but... We're Marines." Kyle said with a half evil smile.

"Let's show 'em how Marines get it done!"

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

Community Park BBQ

Gabe chuckled at First Lieutenant Killinger's words, wondering if that kind of stuff was what he'd been missing by not having a sister. He and his brothers pulled pranks on each other too and joked around all the time, but Damon and Logan also seemed to respect him a little more and knew when to be serious and listen. With their parents gone on deployment so often, it had fallen on Gabriel to be a parent figure to his younger twin brothers and mentor them both growing up. Though they split their time between both sets of their grandparents' homes on Mars, Hawk had still always seen it as his responsibility to look after his siblings, being their only immediate family around. He'd grown up a little fast himself because of that, and already had a good understanding of what it meant to lead even before he'd entered the Academy. All in all, it had been good preparation for an officership in the military, and he had his parents' and his brothers' gratitude for it as well.

Luckily though, that wasn't something he needed to worry about now. At the moment, his own concern was just to have a little fun himself for a change. He quickly went back to the car to change, threw his uniform pants in the backseat with his jacket and shoes, and ran back down the field toward Kyle.

"Okay, I'm all set," Hawk said to the first lieutenant. "Thanks for the gear, man. So how do we play?"

And when do we get to meet these girls? he added to himself.

[Llau]

First Lieutenant Alex J. Bishop, UNSC Marines 

Community Park BBQ 

Alexander Jonathon (or AJ by those who knew him) Bishop pulled up to the other vehicles parked in the lot of the community park, sighed, and muttered under his breath while he turned off the ignition of the Jeep, and quietly looked on at the other marines who were there. He really didn't want to go to the BBQ at first since he was still a bit drugged up by the pain medication the doctor made him take all this week after his surgery they did to his thigh. Bishop was lucky where the sniper fire went through his leg; if it was a couple millimeters over, it would've severed the major artery, and he would've bled out rather quickly during that long firefight on Gemini Sigma. Kiley, his fiancée, nudged him lightly in the arm to get his attention. One of the best things since arriving was seeing her face when he woke up in the hospital last week after his surgery. It was a nice surprise, and he was glad she was here with him. He didn't know what he would do if she hadn't shown up.

"Alex..." Kiley raised an eyebrow. "C'mon." 

He sighed. "I know...give me a minute." He unbuckled his seat-belt, but continued sitting there as she unbuckled hers and hopped out of the Jeep. He rolled his eyes as she kept coaxing him - at least one of them was excited for the BBQ, although, he might feel better once he ate and conversed with some of them. He opened the door, and carefully hopped out; wincing anyway when he accidentally put some weight on his bad leg. 

"I freakin' hope this stops hurting before my next deployment...damn..." He whispered through grit teeth. Before he went to mingle, he went to open the door to the backseat, and pulled out a pair of crutches to help him walk a little easier without putting weight on the bad leg that needed time to heal. 

Kiley walked with him as the couple headed toward the gathering, both quietly bantering about making him go here. Secretly, he was glad to have something take off what was bothering him since returning - his brother. 

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
Community Park...
...going to kill his sister.

"It's a fairly simple game," Kyle replied. "In the Marines it's known as 'Grifball' - a fun little simulator game. The GravBall is suspended in gravity above a repulsor court. On each side of the court there is a goal 'plate', where we must drop the ball in order to score a point. At the same time we have to defend against the other team as they try to score against us. Call it the modernization of the sport football."

Kyle just finished when they reached the court entrance, and the girls immediately started chirping on them. They weren't personal insults, but they were chirping them. The entrance door closed and the court's perimeter highlighted in a soft blue and the main score board turned on, revealing the number of players and the total score.

"This is a non physical match, so if you throw a check or something you'll get flagged and penalized for it." Kyle mentioned. "Heads or tails." He called out. His sister made a box around her head which identified the selection she wanted to make. The scoreboard started to switch between A and H for possession, which stood for Home and Away, but Kyle and Adrianna played it like it was heads and tails.

It landed on tails.

The gravball lurched into the air and hovered over a ring on Hawk's and his side of the court. Kyle approached the ball and grabbed it and pushed. The ball effortlessly slid towards Hawk. "Game on." Kyle said, jogging over the half court line.

[Martial Virtue]

Lieutenant Colonel Adrienne Jackson, UNSC Marines

Community Park BBQ

"I think we have, ma'am," the young medic in front of her said. "I've had some.....special-duty assignments in the past, and I believe I saw you a few times. And it's just a day's work, ma'am, not dissimilar from what you yourself do."

Lieutenant Colonel Jackson snorted. "I'm in the business of taking out aliens, Corpsman. Not saving lives. I'd say you took the nobler path in life. But thank you." She gave him a second glance after looking out at the field again, spotting her two young kids continuing to run after the soccer ball. She hoped to get back to them soon, but thought maybe the corpsman needed someone to talk to. Jackson wasn't going to push him, but if he needed it she'd lend him an ear.

The lieutenant colonel shifted her stance and crossed her arms across her chest. "So I'd say from the looks of things something's upsetting you today. And since you've risked your butt for Marines hundreds of times, let one of us return the favor. What's going on with you, son? Why the long face?"

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

Community Park BBQ

Hawk knew that it would be problematic if he became attracted to Killinger's sister, considering they'd only just met and it was generally a poor rule even among good friends - sisters were always off-limits. Luckily she had a friend with her, too, but still the young second lieutenant tried his best to tune into what Kyle was talking about.

Oh, right. He'd asked about how the game was played...

"It's a fairly simple game," Kyle explained to a mostly listening Gabe. "In the Marines it's known as 'Grifball' - a fun little simulator game. The GravBall is suspended in gravity above a repulsor court. On each side of the court there is a goal 'plate', where we must drop the ball in order to score a point. At the same time we have to defend against the other team as they try to score against us. Call it the modernization of the sport football."

Gabriel chuckled nervously again. "Right. It's been a while since I played to be honest. But since you said your pride's on the line, I promise to do my best."

They went through the initial sequence of the game, determining who got possession first. It seemed the ball was his and Killinger's. Gabriel grinned as the first lieutenant called out, "Game on!"

It certainly is, Hawk thought. He took the ball in his hands once Kyle had given him the first pass and pushed it down the court toward his new buddy. Then he sprinted ahead himself.

"Come on, LT! I got you on the left if you need it!" Gabriel cried.

[AlphaWolf]

Hospital Corpsman Second Class Mark Phillips
Depressed and Dejected

 "So I'd say from the looks of things something's upsetting you today. And since you've risked your butt for Marines hundreds of times, let one of us return the favor. What's going on with you, son? Why the long face?"

Mark looked over at the Colonel.

"Well, to begin with, ma'am, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me 'son'.  Mark is just fine."

Running a hand through his short hair, Mark sighed.  He wasn't sure he should confide in this Colonel, but hell, he'd confided in a shrink before.  No difference, right?

"It's hard being in this line of work, ma'am.  Civilian or military.  You see people die on a regular basis, often in your arms or as a direct result of your failure or lack of action.  It takes its toll on a person, mentally and emotionally.  Most people have people they can confide in, a friend or a family member.  I've got no friends, and I haven't spoken to my two surviving family members in months.  All three of us are in the service, with two of us deployed and one in boot.  Makes for a hard time talking, you know?  And when I'm on leave, especially when I run across something like this, it just gets so much worse.  I've tried drinking, I've tried hooking up with whoever I can find at the bars, I've tried it all.  Nothing helps."

As Mark stood there, confiding in this Colonel he had never met before, relating his problems, a single tear leaked down his cheek.

[Martial Virtue]

Lieutenant Colonel Adrienne Jackson, UNSC Marines

Community Park BBQ

"Okay, Mark."

The lieutenant colonel blew out a breath at the corpsman's confession. There were many who felt like he did in the service, no matter what branch, no matter what duty, after deployments. She understood the sentiment well, and what Phillips didn't realize was that it wasn't always better simply because you had people around you that you could theoretically confide in. She'd always tried her best with her husband, but often didn't feel like talking about the things she saw and experienced to him because he was a civilian, had never been through anything like that and wouldn't understand.

Then there was the personal hell she'd gone through twice when she'd been younger, in her mid-twenties. She'd come back from her first combat mission - a decidedly FUBAR op involving a Pelican crash - more messed up than most. For a long time after she'd gotten home she'd been unable to sleep, plagued by nightmares when she did, and was generally hostile to those around her and easily angered by the smallest things. At that point she'd been sure her career in the Marines was over if she didn't get her issues fixed...and, not surprisingly, she and Sam had been headed for divorce. Losing their first baby around the same time hadn't helped matters much, either.

In hindsight, Jackson didn't know which of the two - the op or the miscarriage - was worse. What was for sure was that both had done a number on her and her marriage.

Yet somehow, they'd made it through. Jackson had gotten up the courage to get up every morning and return to her job, even started to excel in it again, and she and Sam had slowly fought their way back onto the right track. Eventually she'd returned to combat, done exceptionally well as a field commander, and had later gotten pregnant again with the twins. Things had turned around for her, and she was sure they would do the same for the young man in front of her as well.

Adrienne wasn't sure how to relay the message to Phillips without revealing how she knew that, however. He was a subordinate and they didn't know each other well at all; she wasn't about to tell him anything of a highly personal nature like what she'd experienced as a junior officer, both on a personal and a professional level. She hoped her words and the manner in which she conveyed them would be enough to make him understand that there'd been a time when she'd only seen the darkness, too, but there was still light.

"I'm sorry for calling you 'son'. I didn't mean to offend," Jackson began. "And I know how hard it is to be away from family for long periods of time, and how isolating that can be." She gave a short, sad chuckle. "And everything you said about being a medic - people dying as a direct result of your failure...I've felt that a lot of times as a military leader. It doesn't get any easier." Adrienne looked over at him, studying Mark's face. "But I know that however bad it may be, it's not anything a lot of other young servicemen and women haven't felt themselves. You'd be surprised how many share your feelings, if not your exact experiences. And I can tell you that it does get better, over time and with perseverance."

The lieutenant colonel gestured at the park then, alive with the sound of adults talking and children playing. "The world's still out there, Phillips. Maybe you don't know many people here but every one of us has been down that road before, one way or another. Give some of them a try and you might not be disappointed."

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin 'Jay' Jenkins

Community Park - New Alexandria Outskirts

UNSC Funded Military get together / BBQ

'You have reached your destination' Justin's GPS sounded off as he pulled into one of the car parks of the community park, Justin leaned forward in his seat to look around the park, there were lots of cars here, mainly family cars, Justin felt a bit odd, he was on his own and to make it worse he was in an extremely flash sports car he paid using some fathers trust money given to Justin when his father passed away, Justin cursed a little to himself, thinking he probably should have gotten a cap or taken his mothers car, driving down to the end of the car park he finally found an empty space, sliding his sports car into the space he turned off the engine and slid the keys out of the ignition before sinking into his seat and letting out a sigh.

"Well, time to go make some new friends" He said as he popped the door open and slid out, standing up and stretching out to his full height, he was wearing semi beige tinted aviators and sleek Nike sneakers, a navy blue polo shirt and beige tinted cargo shorts, even though he was in civilian gear he was really well presented, his hair was over regulation size due to not having been deployed yet so the length of the front was combed neatly over to the right.

Sliding his hands into his pockets he let of his car keys so they slid to the bottom of his pocket, taking out his smart-phone with his right hand he pressed a button on the screen to check the time before sliding it back into his pocket, despite being an adult now he was still a guy who used his phone a lot and played a lot of games when he was home, stepping onto the grass at the edge of the field he looked around, instantly noticing plenty of families with kids walking around, there were many activities going on among children as well as adults, however Justin kinda just stood there with his hands jammed into his pockets looking awkward.

For a few seconds Justin still continued to stand there until a football (american) went seemingly rogue and drifted off into his direction, due to his skill in the sport and his reflexes he pulled his hands swiftly out of his pockets and caught it with ease, looking around to see where it came from, he was soon greeted by a young thirteen year old who extended his hands and asked for the football back.

"Here ya go buddy..." Justin said before handing it over with a smile, his eye's partially hidden behind his aviators, after the small interaction Justin proceeded to slide his hands back into his pockets and watch the families from the edge of the park, sighing to himself he took a look around, spotting a group of men in lawn chairs, stepping over to them he thought he'd introduce himself to the group, as he got closer he noticed one man sitting in a lawn chair with a young girl and as he got EVEN closer, he noticed a familiar face among one of the men, one he hadn't seen since his fathers funeral service.

"Afternoon..." Justin said tilting his head awkwardly among the men, looking at each of them with a small awkward smile, Justin looked a lot like his father, he wasn't sure if the larger man Justin knew as John would pick up on that. "...My names Justin... Or Second Lieutenant Jenkins" Justin said in a friendly manner, he was considerably younger than any of the men around him and he looked it too.

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathon B'Sheau Killinger
Community Park...
...Just about finished stuffing his face.

"We're getting old, hey, Coops." John said, chuckling at the Conversation the two Colonels had started. He remembered, way back in 2531, Cooper had given John permission to call him 'Coops' because John allowed her to call him 'Kill', which had become a running joke before Zenith - an operation that had haunted John to this day. He had nightmares about climbing the building on nothing more than a loose power wire and, mentally and physically, probably wouldn't be able to do it again.

"Afternoon..." A newcomer said. John looked at the man with the aviators as he introduced himself by identifying his name and rank. John stood up in disbelief after, took the mans aviators right off his face, and was stunned by who he saw. John had remembered changing the kids diaper.

"Well holy shit," John mumbled as he handed the aviators back over. "I don't forget a face." John added coarsely, his tone laced over with sadness - he fought hard to hold back the tears. Memories flooded into his head. Jenkins and Killinger at his home during a leave, exchanging cocky jokes as John and Beth visited with Kyle, their practically newborn - who ironically was goofing around with the same kid standing in front of the Colonel.

John shook lightly as he pulled out a cigar and lit in quickly, taking a quick puff to perhaps sooth the increasing stress. His shoulders felt like the weight of the world had just hit him, feelings he'd refused to acknowledge collided with his mental wall with a force so strong it was getting through anyways.

"I don't forget a face," John repeated. He grabbed Justin's shoulder and shook it hard, his left hand pinching the bridge of his noise. He was struggling to fight the waive of emotion that had taken over, the weight that could crush him and the memories that were playing like a video.

That training exercise, on the 'playground' above water, was the last time John would talk freely as a friend to Travis. John had personally retrieved the body of the deceased Captain. John rotated his jaw and then clenched it. He took another drag of his cigar and released his grip. "I'm sorry about your father."

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
Community Park...
...Owning his sister and cocky friend!

Kyle received the gravball from Hawk and shot forward, side stepping his sisters dancing hands. He grinned as he pushed away with his left foot, then right, and effectively got around his sister... but she was extremely quick. Within seconds Kyle found himself on the attack again as his sister was able to get in front of him again by using Kyle's body weight against him.

Kyle had no choice. He threw the GravBall behind his back, watched it bounce off the wall and behind his sister. Kyle launched forward, confused his sister and caused her to trip over her own two feet. "Ha," Kyle said, looking back as he chased towards the floating gravball. He grabbed it and spotted Hawk wide open. He pushed the gravball a moment before his sisters hand shot out, wrapped its-self around Kyle's ankle, and tripped him.

Kyle fumbled to the ground and was pleasantly surprised they had fooled Adrianna's friend as well. She was quick to adjust though. She was a professional gravball player. Adrianna rustled and struggled to keep Kyle down but in a moment, before the Gravball reached Hawk he was up and running down the field again - his sister in close pursuit.

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin 'Jay' Jenkins
Community Park - New Alexandria Outskirts
UNSC Funded Military get together / BBQ

"Well holy shit, I don't forget a face..." The man paused. "...I don't forget a face, I'm sorry about your father." The man finished, shaking Justin a little roughly, Justin took his aviators back and folded them up, sliding them into his pocket, Justin frowned as he looked at the mans face, it was clear to Justin the type of invisible emotional outburst the man was suffering from, Justin felt the same thing when he heard of his fathers death out in the field, sighing he lifted a hand and placed it atop the older mans hand which rested of Justin's shoulder.

"It's ok Sir..." Justin said, he felt like he was about to start trembling as flashbacks appeared throughout his mind to when he first heard about his fathers death, a man rocked up on the door of his house to personally let Justin and his mother know, a man which was most likely the man standing in front of him, however the memory was foggy. "...I've waited a long time to see you again Sir, can we take a walk?" Justin said letting his hand drop and taking a step back so John's hand would slide off his shoulder.

Justin looked at the man who was sitting down on the lawn chair a few feet away with the little girl then back to the Colonel it somewhat annoyed Justin a little, although he loved his father a great deal and the impact hit him really hard, judging from the body language the Colonel was giving off the impact had a greater affect on him than it ever did on Justin, then again the Colonel and Justin's dad were good friends, good enough to have real personal relationships with families involved, Justin sighed softly and waited for the Colonel to respond.



Staff Sergeant Jason Bowers
Community Park - New Alexandria Outskirts
UNSC Funded Military get together / BBQ

Jason's eye's and ears perked up as he saw the newcomer arrive among the group, he was about to raised a hand and introduce himself until the Colonel jumped in seemingly going to in to introduce himself, however something happened that Jason didn't anticipate, it pretty much looked like a family reunion between two people who hadn't seen each other in years, which pretty much was what it was, Jason's suspicions were confirmed when the Colonel mentioned never forgetting a face again, in fact the man seemingly repeated it a second time, the individual in front of the Colonel seemingly had quite a heavy impact on the man, in fact Jason thought the huge Colonel with a bad ass reputation was about to start trembling.

Jason continued to look at the pair and his heart went dark and heavy at the mention of a father and an apology, Jason immediatly knew that the young kid the Colonel was talking too had a dead father, a father which the Colonel probably knew personally judging from the body language and mini conversation the pair was having, Jason took a sip from his beer before placing it down and placing his hands around his little girl.

"Do you need us to give you some space Colonel?" Jason said to the man.

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

Community Park BBQ

Suddenly Gabe found himself holding the ball, after Killinger and his sister had faked each other out and made trying to score from the right impossible. Hawk was the one in perfect position now, but the sister's friend was attempting to slow him up. As he held the ball in his hands, almost face-to-face with her, he smiled a little as he remembered Kyle's words.

"I hear you're a pro at this," he said to her, as much to start a conversation as to distract her. He tried to jerk around her before she answered, but being a novice, Hawk was caught and blocked immediately.

"I am," the young woman replied, giving him a true competitor's look. "I play for the New Alexandria Aces."

"And I bet that makes you feel like hot shit, huh?"

Gabe could tell he'd caught her off-guard with the comment, but figured she knew he was joking when she gave a short laugh.

"I can certainly wipe the court with you. This your first time playing?"

"Second. And I like to think I'm okay for never having played this much."

He tried again to get past her, and almost, almost succeeded. But again, he was caught. He was checking his peripheral vision for Killinger when the girl spoke once more.

She nodded over at him. "What's your name?"

"Gabriel Hawk. I'm in the Marines, too, like your friend's brother."

"Officer?"

"Yup. Does that mean I can get your name in return?"

This time, she gave a hearty laugh. "Not that easy, Hawk. You're going to have to earn it. Let's see what you got."

The young second lieutenant did just that, noticing that she was finally distracted enough by the talk for Hawk to catch Kyle down the court. He pushed the ball hard and said, "Kill, heads up!"

[Ward, J.]

Corporal Jonathan Ward pulled into an unoccupied parking space in the southern lot of the New Alexandria Community Park. He'd driven across the Viery territory for nearly two hours to make it here. Saint Rose was by no means close to the city, but he'd heard about the little barbeque that was being brought together from a buddy and decided to take his family.

With the thought of his family in mind, he glanced over at his wife in the passenger seat, who coincidentally was looking over at him. Jon smiled and his eyes darted to the rear view mirror, where his four month old daughter sat in a car seat. He couldn't help it, a smile from ear-to-ear washed over his face. "Ready, honey?" he asked his wife.

"Yeah," she replied with a curt nod.

Jon nodded at her and stepped out of the car, the engine automatically cutting off as he did so. He moved to the driver side rear door and opened it wide. He unbuckled the seat belt around his daughter's waist and lifted her up, cradling her in his arms. Ward then shut the door and locked the car.

He and his wife marched into the park and the first person his eyes affixed to was Colonel Killinger. A small smirk etched its way onto his face, and he made a beeline for him with Marlene not far behind. As soon as he made it up to the Colonel, smiled at the officer and said, "Afternoon, Colonel."

He waited for the man's response and then said, "This is my wife Marlene and the lovely lady in my arms is my daughter, Sarah." His smile grew a little bit wider.

Marlene stepped forward and extended her hand to the Colonel to shake. "A pleasure to meet you, Colonel. Jon's talked about you. Says you saved him during a firefight."

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathon B'Sheau Killinger
Community Park...
...With Jenkins.

John was about to respond to Jenkins when another Marine, one the Colonel had recognized from the still unidentified/unnamed planet, approached his his wife and daughter. Ward, if the Colonel remembered correctly, introduced himself and his family.

"Good afternoon," John replied. "I think..." He added, not sure if it was technically evening yet. The sun wasn't exactly high in the sky but wasn't low to the horizon either. It didn't matter, John was having a relaxing time and his kids were... somewhere... hopefully getting along. They were siblings, they fought from time to time like any other family but, surprisingly, John's absence in their lives also resulted in them being closer than ever.

Ward's wife offered her hand, which John accepted, and explained a bit about Jon's stories of the mission they'd just gotten back from. It wasn't entirely true, though. The Colonel simply walked up and helped the Corporal with a wounded Sergeant. Anything other than that the veteran marine has forgotten.

"Out on the battlefield, ma'am, we watch each others back." John said, with a half smile. "I honestly don't remember, but at one point every Marine has been saved by another, including me."

(OOC: Martial, PM! XD)

[Ward, J.]

Ward's lips curled into what quite couldn't be described as a frown and shook his head slightly at his wife's words. He looked to the Colonel and smiled nervously at him. "You did help me, sir. When I got hit by that damned spike to the leg. I'm happy to say I've since recovered."

Jon glanced over at the young man next to Killinger and the other slightly older individual. A thought occurred to him and he locked eyes with the Colonel once more. "Are we... interupting something?" He hoped he hadn't, as he didn't want to come off as rude to the other two individuals beside the Colonel. He noted they looked to both be members of the military, judging by their regulation haircuts and just the way they carried themselves.

"If we are, we can leave you three alone for a little while," he said, then added with a slight smirk, "Just point me in the direction of some chow and I'll be out of your hair."

[Cabel]

[Inner Colonies: Epsilon Eridani System: Planet Reach: Viery Territory: Eposz: New Alexandria: Outskirts: Large Community Park: First Lieutenant Mark “Spade” Seamus Sorelson: Year 2547] 

“Mind if an old devil dog joins in?” Mark asked having made the decision to join the festivities and maybe have a burger or two in the process. He’d crossed from the tree-line towards the center of the festivities, and softly smiled seeing children and even young marines running around having the time of their lives.

The aroma of marinated meat to the sound of the grease sizzling on the grills with the tables lined with condiments off to the side had roused the First Lieutenant’s hunger, and if there had been one of at least several forces in the galaxy he hadn’t been able to ignore it had been when his stomach after it had caught the scent of chow or at least now hadn’t been a time he’d ignored it. The other forces in the galaxy had been his wife Alyssa, as when she wanted something whenever he’d been back on Earth he’d see to it and she had all too real of knack of getting his attention. His children, though grown had been another force in his life he hadn’t been able to ignore though if he’d had the choice he’d have been there for the more important moments in their lives. R&R had a disturbing tendency to force one to reflect on their choices in life, their career and more importantly the ones they’d left behind though they still held love. He’d worn his fatigues rather than the marine dress uniform, complete with the starch in the britches and shoulders that made the one that wore it feel like a fish out of water at times.