So, apparently if he died, he would lose his memories of the whole experience. Skye supposed he should have known that, since it sounded like everyone’s consciousness was downloaded before the fighting started. That must have meant they would only remember everything up ‘til the battle. He wasn’t sure if that was relieving or disappointing. On one hand, it was probably a good thing that he wouldn’t wake up knowing the pain of losing his life, so he wouldn’t be afraid to face death again. But on the other hand, he still had no answer as to what it would feel like to take a mortal wound—no expectations to prepare him to face something like that. He kind of wanted to have some way to brace himself if he was going to “have his innards ripped out” in the field, as the brick he’d been talking to earlier had so elegantly put it. Unfortunately, it looked like he would be going in blind.

[color=#16B887][i]Not that it’s any different than it would have been if I’d fought in a war on Earth,[/i][/color] he reminded himself. Just because there was respawning tech in space didn’t mean he could let himself be spoiled. The only change was that if he died out here, he could come back to fight another day. He shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Focusing on the conversation, he couldn’t help but notice the way the little woman’s smile lit up her face. It was kind of cute and made him wonder what the rest of her looked like beneath the visor she was wearing. He also thought it made her look even more out of place among all the rough-and-tough soldiers in the mess hall. How the hell had a girl like her ended up in the military? She had to have been more than just talk if she was still alive and kicking after seeing a few battles against bloodthirsty aliens.

When she said she was a sniper, that explained it—involved in the fighting, but not close enough to need much brute strength. [color=#16B887]“Sounds like the place to be,”[/color] he downed the rest of his coffee and crumpled the empty paper cup into a wad before tossing it in the trash. [color=#16B887]“Sit back, watch the show, and shoot a few enemies between the eyes. Well, assuming they have eyes. I still haven’t seen what these fuckers look like for myself.”[/color]

When she announced that she had work to do, he took a step back to give her room to leave. [color=#16B887]“I just hope someone tells me soon who the hell I’m supposed to report to on this goddamn ship,”[/color] he shrugged. [color=#16B887]“Later, short stuff. Try not to get stepped on first.”[/color]

He watched her go before he headed out of the mess hall too, deciding he might as well do a little exploring while he had the chance. Who knew how long he would be stuck on this big piece of metal, after all? He liked to knowing his home field.