Upon entering the Officers Lounge, Charles Gray felt a fond, almost paternal smile lift the corners of his mouth as he surveyed the darkened room. By and large it was still but it certainly was not silent, the background hum of the life support systems punctuated by soft snores, the odd muffled grumbling noise, and a rustle of clothing as someone shifted.
Right now the Lounge was only lit by the moonlight coming in from the twin portholes so he stood at the doorway a little longer, giving his eyes time to adjust from the slightly brighter light in the hallway. Considering the recumbent figures strewn across whatever could be considered a soft and/or horizontal surface, ensuring he wouldn’t trip or tread on anyone was imperative. While he waited, a quick headcount confirmed his suspicions. ‘Not one of them made it out of the Lounge. All things considered, I am not surprised in the slightest.’
Today’s mission had been, in a word, brutal. A tight deadline that needed two officers recalled from their precious Christmas vacation time had been combined with a cruel, high stakes target in the form of the infant crown princess of Denmark, and it’d been capped off by a howling gale that had left his five captains soaked to the bone and shivering with cold. They’d saved the day by the skin of their teeth, rescued the baby from the replicated nanny and bodyguard who’d kidnapped her, and returned the child to her grateful parents before scraping themselves together and retreating to the comfort and security of their home base.
Already forewarned by Harmony (she’d flown out to fetch them) when the quintet dragged themselves into the Control Room for the debrief, he and Green had been able to keep their amusement well hidden. Dressed in a patchwork of pieces of spare uniforms, the one-size-fits-all coveralls kept in the vehicles for if someone was really caught short, and whatever else they had that wasn’t completely soaked through or had partially dried, the captains had certainly made for quite a sight. Taking mercy on the exhausted men, he’d made the debrief short and turned them loose with an order to get something to eat and drink from the Lounge - since it was closer than the commissary - before going to bed.
‘And I’d been on my way to my own room when Green noticed that their cabin doors hadn’t been accessed and called me,’ White reminded himself. ‘I must make mention of that to him tomorrow, keeping tabs on them was a smart move.’
Now that his eyes had properly adjusted, Charles surveyed the room once again. Grey was the nearest, stretched out on the floor with a pillow under his head and his ‘cap over his face. Ochre was half an arm-length away, sprawled on his belly with his head cushioned on his folded arms. Four chairs had been dragged closer together so both Scarlet and Magenta could both sit (or more accurately slump) in one and rest their feet on the other. ‘They’re both going to have terrible cricks in their necks if they stay there,’ Charles observed as he took a few steps deeper into the room. Blue had had the worst time out of them all, obliged to wade almost a kilometer through shin-deep slush with the baby, so he was quite rightfully lying on the couch, on his side with his back to the wall. It arguably was the most comfortable spot for a kip and it was well deserved.
‘Now, how to best address this…’ Charles considered his options as he moved around the room and checked on his men. He took care to make a little noise; they had to have heard the door opening and sensing a person moving silently would have had them surging awake, primed for a fight. ‘And that would be unconscionable.’ Charles stood in their midst, arms crossed. ‘It is tempting to lock the door and let them sleep where they are - heaven knows I’ve done similar at their age - but heaven also knows how much I regretted it afterwards.’ Decision made, Charles stepped across to the nearest slumbering figure - Magenta - and knocked on the leg of one of the chairs with his foot. “Magenta, wake up,” he quietly urged.
“Uh?” A bleary blink as Magenta raised his head, a yawn and a stretch, and once the instruction had finally sunk in and been processed, the Irish-American captain was carefully getting to his feet. Another knock and soft order got almost the same response out of Scarlet, except for the standing part. He remained sitting for a little longer and watched without really seeing as White carefully tapped Ochre and Grey’s booted feet with his own to safely rouse them. A tap on the foot wasn’t as personal nor as gentle as touching someone’s shoulder, but it was by far the safest option when dealing with special agents. Blue was last, a firm tap on his shin first getting a confused noise, then a thud as he half-fell off the couch before clambering to his feet and standing there, swaying slightly and squinting in the dim light.
“All of you, to your cabins,” Charles ordered, pointing to the door. He had to fight to keep the smile from showing too much as the five highly dangerous, extremely skilled, and very competent special agents grunted their comprehension and shuffled in that direction like a pack of overtired toddlers, yawning and scrubbing at their eyes as they went.
He continued to watch as they meandered out and turned in the direction of ‘Officer Country’ - the section of cabins assigned to them. Once the last stumbling figure had successfully negotiated the doorway, he also exited the Lounge and made to go to his cabin… then paused. A moment of consideration, then Charles turned on his heel and started after his captains. ‘I had best ensure that they actually get to their cabins and don’t simply pass out in the hallways. They didn’t quite make it the first time, after all.’ He was, however, careful to trail them at a discreet distance: he had appearances to keep up after all. It wouldn’t do to appear to be fussing over his officers by shepherding them off to bed. ‘But I do have a duty of care to discharge, and discharge it I shall.’