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Julie had high hopes that Emie would talk to her after the general meeting. The First Guardian<br />
had left so suddenly after the meeting that she hadn't been able to reach her in time.<br />
The muted chime from the door to her ready room drew her back from those depressing<br />
memories. With a small nudge through the mental bond she shared with the ship, the doors slid<br />
open just as the Marine on the other side drew to attention. Julie smiled slightly at the sight.<br />
Clarice had stopped following her everywhere she went after their talk earlier, and Julie was<br />
finding that she rather liked having the Marine as a friend.<br />
"Clarice, you don't have to come to attention every time you see me you know."<br />
What might have been a swiftly gone smile crossed the Marine's face.<br />
"Yes, Guardian."<br />
Giving up the battle for now, Julie waved her inside. When the Marine stayed where she was, the<br />
human looked at her questioningly.<br />
"Your new Lance leader has arrived."<br />
Each Guardian ship would hold a staggering thousand Marines. They weren't all front line<br />
soldiers of course, but it still shocked Julie to think about how many people that was. It was only<br />
a fraction of her crew number of course. The newly formed Imperial forces had stuck with the<br />
old Tiri way of defining their fighting unit strengths. A dagger was ten men, a sword was ten<br />
daggers, or a hundred men. While a Lance, was ten swords, or a thousand men. As she<br />
understood it, they'd adopted the same system for designating everything from men to Guardians.<br />
"Already? We were just notified that our Marines would start arriving in the general meeting<br />
today."<br />
"Shall I send her in, Ma'am?"<br />
"Please, Clarice."<br />
The woman who stepped past the Honor Guard into the ready room was no stranger, even in the<br />
new uniform.<br />
"God!"<br />
Smiling the first true smile in what felt like weeks, Julie moved towards the taller, spiky blond<br />
and hugged the startled Lance commander.<br />
"Good to see someone missed me, ugh, I think you broke a rib."<br />
Julie laughed and ignored the slightly scandalized look on Clarice's face as she closed the doors<br />
to the ready room.
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