Average Day

All I can say is: glitter makes for a great icebreaker…

I was trying to talk to Marty yesterday, and as you’d expect, he wasn’t exactly what you’d call open. He’s very reclusive, staying in his room and searching through youtube. Even when I spoke to him, he hardly said a word.

I took him for a walk around the base, trying desperately to make conversation. It was difficult, seeing as how I know next to nothing about him. I mean, I know he was in the trade, but I’d be damned before I talked about that. So, failing in my conversation, I brought him to the rec room for some bonding (watching tv… same thing)

We watched stupid show after stupid show. I looked over, noticing his puzzled expression.

“It’s okay,” I broke the silence, “I don’t get some of these shows either. People are too wierd.”

And as if to prove my point, suggested we pour glitter on ourselves. It seems to make Olo happy, so I figured it would do the same for Marty.

One tube of glitter later and I was right. Of course, I was also very shiny. I even put it in my hair and on my jacket, which made for some strange looks by the base members. The best stare I received was from Maria. I can’t even describe how hard she laughed at that. 

I think I might put glitter on myself for the conference. It would keep the reporters wondering.

Paul!

He had a surprised expression, as if he didn’t know I would choose him. How could I not? Paul has done so much for us that we’ve never asked of him. It takes a lot of courage to come to this base and say that you’ll take responsibility for our lives. Protecting us with a gun, and now with authority. He’s a natural at what he does. Anyways, I think he should speak for himself. The rest of this will be written by him. Here ya go:

Hello everyone. It’s Paul here. Just want to say that I’m honored to hold my new position as 2nd in command at the ARFA. I know I don’t have a lot of experience with leadership, but I’ll try to do my best.

I think you should at least get a picture of who I am so, here it goes.

I was an orphan from the earliest I can remember. My parent died one way or another (probably from MNU) and I was taken in by an elder. I always called him “Parent” even though we weren’t truly related to one another. He taught me about the traditional ways of our people, and about life on the homeworld. To be honest, I remember very little of it, since I was more preoccupied with trying to buy food and music.

That’s my addiction: music. I’m not interested in popular music, or electronic beats for that matter. I enjoy well made pieces, mostly classical, but some of the modern music is ok. I write it sometimes too, both in English and Poleepkwan. Wish I could sing in English.

I go for runs a lot. That could be considered a hobby. I guess I won’t be doing much of it anymore!

I think that pretty much covers who I am. Back to you, commander.

Alright then, it’s nice to hear from you. And it’s nice to send Walt off too. He’ll be moving to the base in Egypt ( yes, we do have a base there. More of a collection of safehouses). Also, I feel bad for having to call Paul merely second to myself. I think he deserves a title of his own. Something to set him apart from the rest. I’ve wanted to make him more… memorable. So from now on I will be calling him the “Guardian of ARFA”. I think it’s fitting, seeing as how he’s protected me since we met. I still remember that too. Your bravery is why you’re being promoted and why you’ve been given this authority. May you protect us well, Guardian.

p.s. I also offered it to Maria, for her help within the organization, but she’s obviously got too much to do. I’ve wanted to promote her to SOMETHING since she helped me. *sigh* Time will tell. Also: I’d give Maria a nickname too, but I can’t seem to think of one.

…an apology

If you live in any of the bases, you already know what happened.  You probably got to see the blindingly fast fight since the video’s out by now. Well, this isn’t about what went on in our little sparring session. It’s about the pain I’ve caused so many people.

I haven’t had the best life. I think that much should be obvious to those that know me. I know of pain all too well… so when I was given a way out, some freedom from the cycle, I jumped right on the opportunity.

Judith’s training, though not to blame on its own, was my plan of escape. She taught me ways to remove myself from emotions, and from pain. I’ve been misusing the technique for my own personal gain. Its icy sensation became my drug, taking me far away from the problems in my life. I “injected”  so often that I started to forget who I was… I guess it took the courage of one of my own to bring me back.

Maria, I have to thank you and apologize at the same time here. What you did was absolutely incredible. I’m also… very sorry… for what I did…

Please, don’t hold it against me. It wasn’t even the real “me” that caused you those injuries.

I never want to let that part of me out again. I never want to hurt anyone…

Walt p.2

“You’ve been sort of…” I hesitated, standing next to a tired Alice, losing my train of thought as Walt burst into the room.

“Commander, we need you to get over to the gym.”

“Why?”

“You’re gonna watch your little P.R. bitch get knocked out.”

“I’m assuming stupid crap like this can’t wait, can it?”

“No sir. “

“Fine.” I stormed out, trailing behind Walt.

In a way, this was better than the tension in the room behind me. (I’d rather not say) At least in the gym I could be a spectator and not a participant.

Maria was already in the ring, reluctant and staring intently at the floor. Her eyes stayed hidden from my view, as if this act brought a certain shame with it. Walt went to her, laughing and mocking senselessly. It took quite a bit of badgering before she even looked at him with any sort of anger. I analyzed her, trying to see how she could possibly win. It looked pretty bleak.

Walt outclassed her by miles. He was larger, more experienced, and more willing to fight. I readied myself to break up the fight by zoning out just slightly. The air felt loose around me, my eardrums being sucked into a vacuum. Variations on the cheers barely made a sound in my ears. I picked up the microphone, my own words seeming distant and foreign though ringing loudly.

“Begin.” I spoke, hardly caring about the world, so long as Maria wasn’t being pummled.

I drew back on the day. It was just full of argument and hatred. All I’d done was break fights apart or participate in them. To tell you the truth, the only relief I got from the maelstrom of yelling thrown my way was to talk to Paul. He’s my personal rant-wall. It surprises me how much he listens to.

Putting that aside, Maria was dodging things she shouldn’t have been able to. Walt wasn’t phased by this display of stamina. He kept on firing away. It was an endless loop of movement.

Paul. God I’ve neglected him in my posts.  I’ve never told anyone how he was raised by an adoptive parent, practically born into the ways of the traditional poleepkwan society, and living as an outcast amongst all because of his knowledge. Eyes haven’t seen the way he described his love for the night and yearning for the stars. I’ve left him in the dark. He’s been hidden.

Walt was being blocked, hit and kicked. It slowed him down more than I thought it would. Maria’s speed increased dramatically, making her nearly as fast as some people under Judith’s training. I had to admit, I was impressed by this display…

I wish everything were as straight-forward as fighting. If only words could be so carefully measured and weighed as blows of a fist. Argumentative… that’s the word I was going to send flying at Alice. Also on that list of available moves were angry, avoidant, and even hateful.

Walt struck out at her, shouting in rage, and discovered  what the floor tasted like all in one fluid motion. Maria pulled his arm behind his back and pressed him into the ground.

“Holy fuck that was fast.” I whispered in amazement, taking in the fact that only a few mintues had ever elapsed.

Maria leaned over slightly, patting Walt’s head with her free hand, laughing, “See? We could’ve avoided all this…”

“Tha fuck?! Get off me!”

In other news, the argument with Alice is over, I was writing this post mostly to get it out of my system.

 I’ve heard rumors about the Trade resurfacing. I don’t have the mental energy to rant about it. I’ll keep updates posted on the fanpage. Maria’s more aware of that situation than I am. She’ll have something about it in her blog.

Lastly: Judith is more open lately. Don’t know why.

Walt

I’m used to the darkness of the room we train in. It reminds me of who I am there. I’m not their commander. I don’t lead them or control them. In that place, we are equals. We are all nothing more than trained soldiers. It’s a nice feeling, in a way. Nobody complains about it, so they must agree with me on that.

Right now, I feel the sweat leaving my body, drop by drop. The cold release of emotions and tension. I remember the training quite well. I become cold. I do not feel. I am made of ice…

It was a normal day, beginning with the usual breakfast and the usual whining from Walt. I ignored the latter and went out of the office to stretch for a bit. I walked around for a while before I stopped by my room to kill time with Alice.

“Whatcha doin’?” I said, noticing her interest in whatever was going on in the world of her laptop.

“Mindlessly murdering things.” She managed with a plain tone.

“Ah. That’s nice.”

I laughed and walked out, remembering to catch the punch of one of Judith’s officers before tossing him to the floor.

“Close, but not quite.” I shook my head.

I went back to the main office. The door was open and I could hear a small argument. I peered in, immediately noticing Walt towering over Maria, and as expected, being an ass to her.

“Hey, commander,” He caught my attention, “when are ya planning to give my job to her?”

“What?”

“She pretty much does it already. Fucking advising you every fifteen fucking minutes!” He laughed loudly. Maria stormed out, fuming, but it was later that day things went downhill completely…

Maria had to come into the office for something so I let her in. I didn’t notice Walt stumbling in behind her. From the way he walked I think he drank about 4 gallons of hard liquor. It wasn’t long before a string of profanities left his mouth.

Walt approached Maria, who was calm until he tried to shove her. My eyes had to adjust to the sight of Walt being smacked hard into the floor by Maria…

Definitely didn’t expect that one. Anyways guys, it’s late, I’m tired as hell. I know the first part of the post makes no sense with the rest of it but with today’s events I couldn’t remember what else I was going to write this morning. :/

Passing… out… now….