TCS: Fate Of The Cosmos

Chapter 7: Off days

Just walking would hurt like a bitch for the next few days, he knew that much, but letting himself stumble around, limping was simply something he couldn't do. Through years of constant physical pains, waddling around with an injury like a handicapped person normally would, was something he had taught himself strictly not to do, as he could not afford the cost that would follow having inconveniences slow him down in his tracks. It hurt nonetheless though, but an injured body was honestly arguably better than having your stomach torn open from the inside, Locke comforted himself with that thought, at the least.

Apparently, their mission was successful, though Locke can't remember much of it, only having the vague recollection of strong winds pushing against him as he and another stood their ground amidst a high-speed chase through the colony ship's megastructure. The men and women around him were thriving though, which was easy to tell, from how energetic everyone was when he woke up from his concussion. This seemed to be the happiest they had been in a very long time, which he could very well understand. Getting out of the bed was the worst part of waking up, his head throbbing and his body was absolutely drained, it was as if he weighed twice as much now.

HLNA had been the one by Locke's side when he woke up, and she stuck there all the while it took him to compose himself and get out of his bed. Stumbling out of the tent he had awoken in, Locke decided to take a stroll around the military camp, hoping he could simply walk off his pains.

"Are you sure you're alright, Locke? I still really think you should be resting instead of limping around without aim!" HLNA said, in a concerned tone as she hovered next to Locke.
She was clearly very worried for her survivor, but was more thrown off, seeing Locke without a tek suit. It had kind of become a norm for her, to see the survivor inside a tek suit at all times. He wore a tek suit when he met her for the first time, throughout most of his stay in the genesis simulation, and even now, he had been wearing his new suit for days on end.

"Sort of. My head is killing me and so are my aches, but I can walk those off." Locke replied, in a tired voice, while scratching his face. The scritching was quite crispy and it took a second for Locke to realize he had begun growing light stubbles again. He had almost forgotten that his face was clean and shaven now, which it hadn't been for months, having sported a proper manly beard ever since he left earth for this mission. When Locke awoke from the genesis simulation, he had been neatly taken care of and fully shaven.
"Oh look at that. The facial hair is coming back."

"Planning to grow out that beard of yours again, hm?"

"Ehhh. Not really. I was never big on beards, to be honest. Do you think the feds have a tek razor or something?" Locke chuckled.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they do."

Half of the day had already passed by the time Locke forced himself out of bed, and it was a rather slow day at that. The military camp wasn't so full of life as it had been the last few days, and all of the federation personnel were lazing around, taking time to rest up from their mission yesterday. Luckily for them, it was a nice and hot, sunny day, with perfect temperatures just to relax and take some time off from one's usual chores.

Continuing on their stroll between tents and buildings, Locke was stopped in his tracks as a girl's voice called his name, approaching quickly from further behind. "Locke, Locke!" The voice attempted desperately to gain his attention. That voice was easy to recognize, and Locke turned around in one spin to see Nida running up and coming to a full stop next to him, panting and trying to catch her breath.
Locke was a bit surprised at what Nida was wearing, as now she was no longer in formal personnel clothing, but in a white summer dress, spotted with light blue flowers. The shoulders of the dress were short, and it clung tightly onto her waist and the rest of her body, getting looser down by her legs. It had been quite a while since Locke had seen anyone in this kind of clothing, as most of the people he had met up until now were wearing protective suits, were it tek or not.