Boys will be Boys

[Tod Marr]

The Termagant's engineering bay doors parted with the screech of metal against rusting metal. The duranium alloy triple-layered faded-chrome doors had seen better days. They were well in need of repair. But the Termagants engineers had more exciting things to do for the time being. The buzz of cutting blades and the roar of kefropane torches filled the air. The walls flashed brightly as sparks flew beneath fighter bellies, casting long, stark shadows for a fraction of a second at a time. The low, vibrating hum of machinery provided a base tone for the higher, syncopated rhythm of the hammers and drills.

'Catch you guys later, I'm off duty.'

Tod threw his dirty hand-rag onto the worktop; it was littered with tools and plans and charts, with the odd assortment of nuts and bolts scattered about for good measure. He gave one of the engineers a thumbs up as he departed through the doors. They began to seal again behind him. A passing ensign managed to catch a glimpse of a large fighter in the background. It resembled a TIE Interceptor but it was much bigger. Her view quickly became a narrow slit before vanishing as the doors sealed tightly with a loud clang followed by a brief hiss of escaping gas from the closing mechanism.

A few minutes later, Tod was in the shower room. They weren't barracks; the comforts within were quite pleasant. Other officers of varying rank and experience came in and out, grabbing shower gel and towels as needed. A thick steam lingered everywhere, the overhead lights giving off the impression of search lamps in the fog. The humidity of the room accentuated just how cold the wet floor was. One ensign, a nugget from Hellfire squadron, slipped and fell backwards, landing on his ass. He discarded the saturated towel, but there were no fresh ones on the rack. He turned to grab his previous one, but someone had already swiped it and was using it to stand on, protecting his oh-so-delicate little feetsy-weetsies from the nasty wet-tiled floor. The ensign, somewhat embarrassed, bit the bullet and strolled out into the corridor, butt-naked, back to his dorm.

Five minutes later, Tod emerged form the shower room, feeling incredibly fresh, and incredibly horny.

'Gotta love unisex showers!' he remarked to a topless female ensign who was looking for another towel. Tod revealed himself and handed her his towel.

'Go ahead, you take it. It's cool. I can protect myself.' She laughed as she took it from him, am impressed smile sweeping over her mouth as he turned and started jumping down the corridor to his dorm as he sang, clapping his hands together with each footfall.

'She's got my towel, I've got my gun - Hhers is for fighting, mine is for fun!'

As he entered the dormitory, the occupying members of Shadow squadron exalted his arrival in such a splendid and Maniac-manner. He took a bow.

'Well what can I say - I take my work very seriously.' He proceeded to get dressed, pulling on his more casual-looking but still standard issue dark blue sweatpants and his personal preference of a baby-blue coloured t-shirt. The name Maniac was printed on the back in bold, black lettering.