Hell, I even got to see the Red Sox beat the Yankees live before I was handed over to the tender mercies of these fine examples of the UN Military. They could have locked me in solitaire on quarter rations and I'd still be on top of the world.
I was feeling mean, lean and 100% Marine by the time I boosted out of the Well. I was looking forward to this assignment. I had heard of the Top. He could be a hardass when you managed to screw up by the numbers. Real Marines did well by him and vice versa from what I'd heard.
My new Squad leader was going to be a Sergeant Williams. I didn't know anything about him, except that when that hatch opens, he's gonna be on the other side. I had been well warned not to screw the pooch on this first impression.
I squared my shoulders as much as I could in Zero-G and waited at the back of the bunch of mixed Navy personnel & Marines. All of which outranked me, so I was schedule to be last off this shuttle. My uniform was impeccable, even the MP Captain couldn't find fault with it. I'm sober, focused and totally Gung Ho. I crossed myself quickly as the seal on the hatch broke, hoping Murphy hadn't heard me saying everything was perfect.
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