Ice Cold

Day 1

         The wind moaned sadly across the tundra. Mardon stood still, watching the silent white field. Even through his heavy armor,the cold bit at him. One foot shifted against the ice under his boots. The resulting crunch was satisfying, but did little to lift Mardon's mood.

          Nothing. There was always nothing. Just the ice, the cold, and the mournful wind. Not even snow dared break the calm of the tundra.That, at least, would have broken up the monotony. The last station had more to look at on watch... Mardon shrugged off the thought, not wanting to go down into the rabbit hole his memory would take him. He stretched his shoulders, a barely perceptible movement, beyond his military demeanor.

         "Yo, sarge," The tinny voice broke through his concentration, "Time's up. Come in and get some soup."

         "Yep." Mardon replied.

***

         The beeps were almost satisfying, as Mardon disconnected the computer in his suit. The O2 vented into the armory around him as he lifted the helmet from his head. He sighed deeply as the weight left him.

         "See anything?" The voice asked, this time not tinny,as she stood in the doorway. Mardon looked toward Grace. She leaned nonchalantly against the door frame, smiling at him. He gave a deep scoff, then gestured at her hands. More importantly, the mug of coffee that she held.

         "That for me?" his voice rasped, as though he had swallowed gravel. Her smile widened, she offered the mug to him. He took it gratefully, drinking a big swallow and savoring the burn as it clung to his throat on the way down. Hot, but so satisfying.

         "Well, you haven't missed anything." Grace said,stepping into the armory, next to him. She began to undress, as he continued to strip the heavy armor off. It was almost a ritual by this time. "Shelly and Chris sat in barely concealed romance,"Mardon had to give a short laugh at that, "Kevin was bored, and the Cap just read the bulletins and drank his coffee."

         Grace lifted her armor over the tank-top she wore, and shifted uneasily as she tried to adjust to the weight. "Radio?"Mardon asked as he pulled his BDU pants on.

         "Will." She cursed under her breath as something,somewhere, pinched her. "I swear, if we don't get new armor soon, these suits are all going to fall apart." Mardon smirked.With a sigh she lifted the helmet above head and pulled it over her short brown hair. "At least they still work, for now." The tinny quality was back. Mardon put his hat on and looked at her, his usual half smile present. "Thanks for not talking my ear off,like usual!" She said, the playful sarcasm wasn't lost in the transmission. "See ya later, babe." He practically heard the wink behind the reflective shield on the helmet.

         "Don't freeze, you still owe me a good cup of coffee." He said.

         "Dick." She turned, with a laugh, and left through the blast doors, leaving Mardon alone again.

         Grace was professional, when she needed to be. That was probably what Mardon liked best about her. She understood the need for both seriousness and levity. He tossed back the rest of the coffee and left the armory.

***

         Kevin, though arguably Mardon's best friend, was his polar opposite. While Mardon was a man of few words, Kevin could talk a wall to death. Just as expected, when Mardon entered the mess, Kevin was chattering away... to himself. How that man ever made it as a sniper, was beyond Mardon. He grabbed a bowl and pushed it under the Machine. A button push later and the whirring produced a thin white soup with pink chunks in it.