[h3][color=tomato]Krista Reynolds[/color][/h3]
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   The shuttle captain's voice rang through the passenger compartment, announcing the approaching shift into local gravity. Krista stowed her duffel bag of belongings before strapping herself into the shuttle's seat. She flipped through her datapad, reviewing the Solaire Battalion's recent history. [color=tomato]"Oh, so that's what happened to Archer..."[/color] she said with a mild sense of loss. 
   
   She skimmed until she got to the section of the briefing on their most recent battle, with The Mist. Even through the dry writing of the after action reports, the numbers were staggering. She'd spent most of the week prepping for the transfer from her old unit to this new one. From what she'd seen, it did seem that the Hou Yi's Plasma Cannon could be a effective countermeasure should it come back. 
   
   Still, the damage the Mist did to the squad was worrying. She'd been part of a research project, refining weapon ideas for basic viability before they were deployed. This would be where she faced actual combat for the first time. "No better place to test then in the field?" her previous CO had explained. "Besides, you've always said you wanted to actually fight, right?"
   
   She couldn't argue with that, not that she could refuse an order either way. As the shuttle made its final approach for landing she tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She would be an 'FNG' to the group, not to mention she'd be showing up at the end of a week off so she'd have to hit the ground running. By the time they landed, it was evening. She was directed to the sleeping quarters and where to be tomorrow before she went to sleep.
   
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   The next morning, Krista ate breakfast in the cafeteria with the other cadets, keeping to herself as she ate. Similarly she stayed towards the back of the group in the briefing hall, trying to get used to attaching faces to names. [color=tomato]"Katya...Sarah... Mai..."[/color] She hoped that there would be an opportunity to introduce herself properly later. Zim caught her attention with his questioning, and by the fact she was sure that she might be a hair taller than him.