When the four plastic men reached the post, Sharon felt the instinct to stand on attention before the Sargeant, but didn't follow that pulsion and instead just waited just outside, leaning on the post's fake sandbags. The three men stayed back while the sargeant faced Sharon directly. Sharon could make out some details of his face, and his expression was mildly surprised. This was a tough man, she could tell, but not necessarily a mean one.
"You've got to be the new guy. Didn't know they let women take line positions now... oh well. Name, soldier?"
"Sharon, sir... hey, wait a minute. Where am I?"
"Well, sis, right in the middle of no-freaking-where, if you ask me. That's where they send us new recruits anyway."
Sharon didn't fail to notice the lack of any question about her own provenience. She was greeted by the three troopers with a trimmed-down version of the rude comments she'd expected, and the five moved on. Sharon was amazed by the fact that after some inches she didn't have much trouble keeping the regular, fast pace of the soldiers as they marched to a wall and then along it, across the featureless room. To Sharon's estimates, the trip took the best part of a day.
Only when they reached their destination -- a rathole, apparently, but Sharon could see other plastic men inside the wall, who were probably manning the passage -- she noticed that her own skin was now green and smooth as plastic. Finally able to look at her image on the surface of a steel bolt, she notice that despite this she retained her female features -- thanks goodness for small favors, she thought.
The Sargeant waved to the rathole guards and the five, including Sharon, were let in. Within the wall, a sort of makeshift relay station and mobile HQ had been set up, all in green plastic. The new recruits were brought in a small room under a wooden beam and briefed by another graduate.
Wed Jul 14 16:39:18 1999