Standing a little ways away from the edge of the loading bay was a tall lioness, seemingly colored in sepia tones with her tan BDUs and sandy fur. The sun reflected her orange hair brightly, and it fluttered in the slight breeze that picked up sand and blew in in swirling clouds around Malayke's feet, the grains repelled by her short pelt. A brown duffle bag was slung over her shoulder, bulging with sundry supplies and personal effects. Being new to the LDF, this was her first deployment with them, so she had no quarters here on base. She had come from the temporary resident's hospice, and was now viewing the landship's docking area though slit eyes. The hulking machine hovered elegantly above the ground majestically, moving ever so slightly on its cables, lurking in the air with reigning superiority. In her time, Malayke had seen several landcruisers such as this, though never from such an intimate angle - no, she normally seen them as targets for infiltration. She stood there for a few moments, recalling previous encounters like this one, but after a moment her distracted gaze swept toward the ground, eyes clouded as she slowly made her way closer to the ship and its bay.
The bay was agog with technicians and mechanics dressed in the greasy garbs of their trades, and speaking loudly to each other over the roar of engines and the various sounds that went along with their duties. The lioness made it through a security checkpoint without difficulty, and a smile came to her face as she though of how contrapuntal that was to her previous experiences. She looked to the Claw through curious eyes, watching the mesmerizing sight of the cruiser floating above the ground. She adjusted her clothes as she walked through sparse crowds and toward the loading dock, seeing many extended ramps and lumbering beast of burden machines craning large palettes and vehicles into the cruiser. Her tail swayed gently, plume dragging across the ground and flicking up, only to pendulum down again. She looked at her watch, and with a slight sigh of agitation, quickened her steps toward the Claw's other docks, looking for a grizzled red fox with an eyepatch.
Sirens sounded, and a male voice boomed across the bay, signalling the incipient departure from the dock. Malayke silently cursed herself for getting lost in her reminiscences, quickening her pace to a trot as she merged with the crowds still streaming inside the cruiser. She made it to the appointed dock where she was supposedly going to meet her new CO, but got there only in time to see the departure of two of her, unbeknownst to her at this time, new comrades disappear into the throng of workers scurrying around the bay floor. She was reassured, however, as she made it deeper into the complex and spied Stalker amidst the towering mechs, a few techs beneath him carefully moving crates marked with skulls to display the danger of their contents. She hurried past, however, looking frantically around for someone who looked important. She didn't have any luck until meeting with a man dressed formally in badlands BDUs, who, after she quickly synced her PADD with the ship’s ‘Net, showed her how to get where she needed to be.
After a rushed show of gratitude, Malayke jogged onward, duffle bag bumping against her back as she rushed through narrow channels and steep stairs across the landcruiser, and scowled at the memories that came back with scorn. Running through the halls of a cruiser were not fond recollections, especially when it made her look back in response to heard pursuit, phantasms of her visions playing tricks on her senses. She forced herself to walk calmly as the desire to run threatened to overwhelm her, taking the space of the next few corridors to regain her breath and relax her features. When she came to the entrance of the 101st Tactical’s barracks, she had an easy going countenance with a hint of a smile.
Just as her paw pushed the door inward, a rough voice called “Hundred-first, fall in!” As the room came into view, she saw the fox she was scheduled to meet with earlier, and others exiting from curtains on the far walls and forming into a proper unit. She hesitated for only a moment, before falling into the group and saluting her new commander, her melodious voice speaking rhythmically as she addressed him, “Private Malayke Jutrell reporting, sir.”