Every night before bed, Aimee set a personal alarm for a half-hour before her squadmates woke up. The plan was always to enjoy a quiet hour to herself, a respite from the busy schedule that ruled her life these days. Unfortunately for Aimee, every morning she would sleepily cancel the alarm as soon as it went off, so in practice she tended to be woken by the same alarm that shrieked the other rookies out of bed. She spit a swear word as her feet hit the cold tile of the barracks floor, and she wasn't the only one, as the rest of her squadmates dragged themselves from their beds.
Samantha, sleeping across from Aimee, broke into a run as soon as she disentangled from her covers, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, yelling "First for showers! Dibs!" Aimee smiled, pulling her blankets around her like a makeshift cloak. "More time for us to get warm," she muttered sleepily to no one in particular. The Academy orbital station had many luxuries that the smaller civilian stations did not, but it didn't have the energy to waste on extra water or heating. The barracks was kept just warm enough to be livable, and its' two-unit shower only had the water for nine showers of exactly fifteen minutes each. Though the squaddies tried not to go over their time, the final two always had less water than everyone else. Aimee looked at the bunk next to her; Marcus still curled in a ball, and Li in the bunk above, awake but clearly not going anywhere. She cuddled into her blanket, confident that she wouldn't be last.