Pausing, he scratched at his jaw.
"You are sojourners among us, and transient," he closed. "We will not abuse you; on the other hand, we will not coddle you. We tell all new inmates, as I'm now telling you: cooperate, and you'll find your stay tolerable, resist, and take the consequences."
A stern, hard stare, a shrug and his features relaxed.
"OK, that's the official greeting for all newcomers. I know you've all had a long, boring trip on a beat-up transport. I expect you'll want to unwind a bit."
He glanced at the forward guard, back against the bulkhead, and turned back to the prisoners.
"First, we'll get you into some decent quarters, and let you clean up and rest. Get to know each other; you'll be together for a long time.
"The guards will escort you to your core compartment. Normally, you would have started orientation and psy-phys testing immediately. Your schedule is different. Your first orientation lecture will be in two hours. Sergeant Jenkins," he motioned the lead guard forward, "will escort you to and from orientation. Don't play games with him; he knows them all."
"All yours, Jenks," he said. "Move 'em out."
Jenkins came forward, pointed to a hatch further along the passageway.
"Follow me."