It was sometime in the afternoon when she finally arrived at the base. It hadn’t changed much since the last time she had been there—perhaps a touch of paint here and there, a few light fixtures replaced, but everything was essentially the same. New faces certainly roamed the hallways; she knew that she didn’t know everyone at the base last time, but she was sure there were plenty of new faces around.
The other soldiers certainly weren’t the only thing that had changed. The young woman had been required to change her appearance while she was away on ‘leave’. That was the official story she was to tell people, for her real location for the past year was certainly not on leave. Her dark hair fell down long, almost to her waist, with bangs straight across her forehead. Her long hair was swept back into a pony tail to keep it from getting caught and a navy headband sat atop her head. She was as small and as slight as ever, but she had deserted her baggy combat pants and white tank top for a slim navy pencil skirt and blazer. Her small feet were fit into a pair of heels that she walked in with ease. She had been practicing for over a year now.
Corporal Finch had indeed changed in the time she had been away. The changes, however, were temporary—she had already set a time for later on in the day to stop by the barber droid to trim her hair back to its normal short style and had her normal clothes and boots in her bags ready to go. That didn’t deter, however, from the looks she got as she all but glided down the hallway.
“Hey, girlie,” A voice sounded off behind her. Finch turned, a frown already on her full lips. The small band of idiots that had called her name sneered, their leader beckoning arrogantly. The twenty-two year old quirked her eyebrows, acknowledging his request but refusing to move towards him. The male soldier grinned cheekily.
“Hey princess, where you headed?” The dark-haired soldier asked, leaning casually against the wall. Finch studied his uniform, spying his insignia. Private First Class. The woman tilted her chin a bit, looking down her nose at the man.
“Princess?” the young woman spat, tucking her arms behind her in an authoritative manner, “You’re mistaken, PFC. My rank is not Princess, it’s Corporal, and you’d do well to remember that.” With that, she turned heel and strode off, leaving the soldiers with their stammered apologies behind.
Stopping outside the door of her old apartment, she set her bags down and pulled out her card key. The doors opened once the card was swiped and the small girl brought her things inside. It had been a long time since anyone had used her room and a layer of dust lay over everything. Her gun-safe lay locked, as did her armor-safe. After she got her hair cut, she would pull them all out and clean them. Throwing a bag onto her bed, she unbuttoned her blazer and kicked off her shoes. First she would get out of those dreadful clothes…
—Later—
Finch emerged from her rooms, dressed in her comfy combat pants tucked into her comfy boots and a white tank top. Her hair hung loose now, falling to her waist in cascading waves of chocolate brown. Pinned to her chest was her Corporal insignia and around her neck was he good luck charm, a polished gem from her home planet hanging on a black chord. She turned to walk down the hall when she heard a voice calling down the hall.
“Finch!”
The woman turned around, peering in the direction of the voice. It was Luckystar, or Lucky, her old friend and new Squad Leader. Finch grinned as the other woman approached.
“Lucky!” She said, extending her arms for a hug. Lucky complied, giving the tiny woman a quick hug before chattering at great speed.
“I heard you were back! You’re in my squad now! I’m a SL, isn’t it great!” She said with a grin. Finch smiled.
“Good for you, Lucky! You always were a hard worker,” Finch congratulated her friend. Lucky laughed.
“Thanks. Where are you headed?” Lucky asked.
“To chop off my hair. I hate wearing it long when I’m fighting.”
“Oh, but it’s so pretty!” Finch chuckled at Lucky’s fretting.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to have them save it to make into a wig. Come on, you can tag along.”
“Alright!” Lucky said, and the two women set off down the hall, chatting like old friends.
