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“Hey Bree, I don’t think it’s a good idea for any of us to go wandering off by ourselves. Come sit next to me,” Ryan said.
Bree reluctantly walked back to the table and plopped herself next to Ryan. "They don't get it," she mumbled to herself as she laid her head down.
"and just who the bloody heck made you our god? go get your own food you fat, hairy, smelly pompous ass. we aren't your dang servants!" called ark, practiacally spitting the words out.
"Kami, you're my friend so I say this with love...shut the hell up would ya. We just barely got out of a fight and now you've gone and shot your mouth off again. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like getting another concussion so soon.
As to this government thing, you obviously weren't listening to me when I said we've tried this method in our launch and it failed miserably. Even with the best intentions, there's always going to be trouble and someone who doesn't agree."
"And you," Bree said looking at the rude older soldier who had just come in, "Just cause you're older doesn't give you the right to order us around. I'm not in your army, so get over yourself would you? There are bigger things going on here."
Bree placed her head back down on the table, staring down the table towards Ryan and Ark, praying she could just go back to the barracks and sleep.
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Ark was dumbfounded. for one of the few (and highly cherished by his parents) moments in his lif,e he was unable to think of a reply, and sat their, mouth hanging open, staring at bree, looking for all the world like he was about to make some sort of retort, but nothing coming out.
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Almost immediately Baron was cast a food bar. Good, this group of bugger-fodder knew their place, even if the kid's attitude with his comment wasn't quite right.
"And just who the bloody heck made you our god? Go get your own food you fat, hairy, smelly pompous ass. We aren't your dang servants!"
Baron was so shocked he almost spat out the mouthful of food he had just bitten off. Who did this kid think he was? How old was he? Six, seven at the most, but looking at the size of the other launchies at the table he reckoned it was probably the younger. In any case, he obviously hadn't been aboard the station long if he thought he could talk like that to older kids and get away with it. Fuming with anger, he took a step around the table.
"Kami, you're my friend so I say this with love...shut the hell up would ya. We just barely got out of a fight and now you've gone and shot your mouth off again. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like getting another concussion so soon."
Baron stopped and looked at the little girl doing the talking. It was hardly a wonder they had been in one fight already with mouths like these. At least her words were heading in the right direction though. He turned his glare back on the first kid and was just about to let him know how lucky he had been when the girl continued.
"And you. . .just cause you're older doesn't give you the right to order us around. I'm not in your army, so get over yourself would you? There are bigger things going on here."
Baron turned and stared at her, then laughed.
"So why don't you leave it to the bigger kids, eh? You might have been more intelligent than your friends back home but here us older kids have had years more learning and experience in dealing with difficult situations. The best thing you can do is just shut up and wait for somebody to tell you to do something and then do it when they do.
"And as for having no right to order you around just cos I'm older. . . ." He shook his head. "You obviously haven't been up here long because that gives me every right. I'm bigger than you, I've had more training than you and right at this moment, if the buggers attacked it would be me and the other older kids who'd be called on to help. What could you do? Nothing.
"Every time a bunch of kids comes up from earthside it's the same. They think they're something special then after a little time up here they soon find they're not. We rule this school, we're the one's with the knowledge, and any shuttle-baby upstarts who get in our way soon find themselves bouncing off the walls. Your launch-mom should have given you this warning on your first day, and if he didn't, I have now, okay? So don't go giving me any lip. Better you behave a little more like this kid here." He nodded at the boy who had given him the food bar. "He might not like it but he knows there's a pecking order and that right now you guys are at the bottom of it."
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"Just because you're older and you tell us what to do doesn't mean we have to listen." said Ziggy to the older kid, "So why don't you just run along and find someone else to annoy."
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Baron gaped in shock and shook his head. What the. . . ? Obviously the kid had to be deranged. Raising a hand, he tapped on the top of the launchie's head.
"Nope, thought so; nothing in there. You've left your brains down earthside, buggerlover, so let me spell out exactly what you're missing for you. Firstly. . ." he pushed the kid's head back gently for emphasis. "You're probably about six. Secondly. . ." he pushed the kid's head again. "So are all your mates. If you want to argue with any older kid he could paste the lot of you across the walls as new decoration. Take a look at the size difference. You're a bunch of weaklings only fit for bugger fodder. I could take the lot of you with one hand behind my back, any older kid with a bit of training could do, and right now it might not be such a bad idea. You wouldn't be the first bunch of launchies I''ve had to teach to respect the older kids who know what they're doing, and then maybe you'd sit down, shut up and wait for somebody to tell you what to do once we've figured out the best course of action. Back home you might have had adults you could run to to tell tales but let me tell you that up here no one cares. Up here, a little kid gets knocked about a bit and goes to the teacher's, he's told it's his own fault and there is no punishment, end of story.
"So do I get a bit more of a civil tone voluntarily or do I have to physically show you how things work up here?"
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ooc. I am weak. I am spineless. I just can't can't can't resist the temptation.
"So do I get a bit more of a civil tone voluntarily or do I have to physically show you how things work up here?"
The Rabbit could not see the shadow that has risen above him. Like fireflies to the new-lit fire; like sharks, smelling blood nearby; like magnets to... other magents... Otto Mandrake have always had great hearing skills, when it came to bullies, threats, and fights. Or rather, situations that had the potential to become fights.
Some would think it's an important skill for a Battle School trainee. Know when fights might begin - unite the ranks, stop the violence, bring peace. They would be mistaken - as Otto Mandrake's skill was in nurturing these fights, these violent incidents. In making sure they reach their full potential. And in making sure everyone knew who came out the winner in the end. And that that winner was Otto Mandrake.
He was sitting in the mess hall all day, biding his time. Word come around he will graduate - real soon. Oh, he was still in Griffin. But Griffin has lost its soul. Mandrake has lost interest in the game. And the teachers figured that instead of potentially dangerous but useful student, they just had a bomb, ready to go off. Otto Mandrake was no longer necessary for Battle School. The bored 13 year old thug, the huge, muscled bully who shadowed generations of Launchies - and soldiers - and Commanders - in his 6-year-stay in this school, was ready to move on to the next level of his training. He had already got his transfer note, dating for, well, now. He was already supposed to be on the Shuttle, the one that would bring him to ISL, to pre-Command School. Mandrake might have been a bully - but even the teachers knew his value. He failed to mention it to his other friends, the big Griffin soldiers Mordrid has so labouriously collected over the years. It was no longer relevant - with the current mess in Battle School, he would go nowhere, not soon.
He could afford sitting here like this, one last time.
He could afford one last fight.
And that dumb, arrogant, mindless Rabbit was jsut the right guy for the job. Who would have thought? Otto Mandrake, protector of the small and weak Launchies from the big, bad bully. Almost like Robin Hood.
"Well, kid," he put his hand on the Rabbits shoulder, making sure the weight of his grasp is fully appreciated, his strength fully felt, never bothering introducing himself, because everyone knew who Mandrake is, even the Launchies! - "why shouldn't we show these small, pitifull Launchies how people speak to their superiors in Battle School? Y'know, the bigger kids. The kids with rank. Those who have been here longer. That sort of kids... ... and you know what? I don't like your tone!"
He grinned his evil grin at the Rabbit. Now, if onyl he judged correctly, and the Rabbit would have no brains whatsoever... Mandrake might even enjoy this a bit!
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"i'll keep this one simple so a lughead like you can understand. *bleep* you. you get respect by earning it. so go ahead and beat us up you insignificant little chimp. doesn't mean we'll listen to you afterwards. you have to earn that." said ark.
/ooc if this is too far out of line, i'll edit. but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. at this pooint, we either fight or we dont./ooc
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"If you want a peaceful tone out of me," Ziggy said to the older kid, "you'll have to beat it out of me. You're nothin' but a clown who's about to be taught a lesson by a bunch of launchies."
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Ryan starred, incredulous that Ark and Ziggy would so quickly pick another fight with the first soldier who walked into the mess. He watched it turn from friendly banter from Cole, to an all-out battle by Ark and Ziggy that was about to turn nasty. To Ryan’s surprise, it wasn’t Nikki or Spencer that intervened, but a rather large and intimidating commander from Griffin army. Ryan didn’t appreciate being referred to as â€small’ and â€pitiful’, but he was grateful that someone had effectively put a stop to what looked to be another brawl breaking out.
Catching Ark’s eye, he motioned for him to settle down. He whispered to Bree. “God help us if we get into a fight with this lot.”
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Ziggy saw Ryan motion to Ark to settle down and figured that maybe they should let the other commander settle this. Now was not the time for a fight and Ziggy figured he would be the one to be taught the lesson anyway.
Ziggy turned to Ark and whispered softly, "I guess maybe we shouldn't start a fight this time."
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not one to take an insult lightly (as had been witnessed many times by his fellow lanuchies) it took everything ark could muster within himself to settle down, as ryan had suggested. it also helped that he caught sisght fo the patch on the large griffin's arm. he was, apprently, a commander. now that was someone ark could respect.
fuming quietly, ark took his seat.
/ooc and away from near death we go. /ooc
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Baron felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. The impulsive urge to spin round and swing for its owner was quickly fought back as he felt its weight and grip digging into his shoulder. Whoever it was, it clearly wasn't somebody you fought with on a whim so instead he shrugged the hand aside and turned slowly to size up the newcomer.
His heart sank as he saw the Griffin uniform of the newcomer. Everybody in Battle School knew this kid and it was undoubtedly a good job he hadn't spun round flailing wildly. He would be sitting down on the florr right now if he had. Mandrake. How he had survived int he school this long was something nobody knew. Sure he was good with a toon but. . .well, the rest didn't bear thinking about. But what was he doing standing up for the launchies? It was all very well demanding respect, and as far as Mandrake was concerned he was one kid who didn't have to demand, but to ridicule someone his age in front of a group of launchies wasn't setting too good an example and could only mean one thing. . .Mandrake was out for trouble.
"Heard you was iced," he said cooly, trying not to let his fear show. If Mandrake was going to make an example of him for whatever reason, he had to put on some sort of front to avoid losing too much face in front of the launchies. Not that getting a pasting from Mandrake was anything to be too ashamed of, but he had appearances of his own to maintain. "And I don't think there was anything in my tone that hasn't been in yours at some point while you've been here. Look, we've never had trouble before and there's no reason why we should now if you don't go starting any. What's happening with these launchies is my business not yours,that's the way things work. You know what new launchies are like. They need to learn to respect their elders and betters, and sometimes they need to learn it the hard way. All I asked for was something to eat and all I got in return was mouth. That's no way to talk to a vet and you know it too, so I don't know why you'd want to defend them."
Baron closed his mouth and looked the kid in the eye to try to project a facade of boldness. If he was lucky Mandrake might do just what he had asked. However, knowing Mandrake, he would need more than luck for that to happen.
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Ziggy turned around and watched in amusement at the confrontation unfolding between Baron and Mandrake. He was hoping that Baron would get the beating he deserved.
"Just sit back and enjoy the show." Ziggy said to everyone sitting nearby, "This is gonna be fun."
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Why did he intervene? He never had a problem with other bullies, as long as they learned their place in the food-chain. And Launchies did deserve a good beatin'... regardless of what they did or said. That Rabbit made sense.
And that was it. Not exactly boredom, not exactly annoyance, not exactly the wish to make sure the newer Launchies still knew who he was... it was the utter smugness, the way this Rabbit, even trembling with fear - and oh, how obvious that was - tried to reason, was sure he was right.... It was the Rabbit who didn't know his place. As for the Launchies... they were young, they would have their chance at beating enough in the years to come. But the Rabbit should know better.
"Oh, I'm afraid you're quite mistaken," he muttered at the boy. "See this? Pre-Command, Kid. Icing isn't exactly what the teachers had in mind. What d'ya say, you see me again in a couple of years?" he sneered. He never thought he'd be flashing around his transfer form! "If you can make it. I don't think you can, personally. "And you know what I don't get? How a kid like you hasn't learned by now not to mouth off people who have been here longer. Smarter. Stronger. S..."
He never got to finish that sentence, as an annoying, jumpy, happy - fluffy was the best word, he'd think as he would recognise the kid - jumped in and hugged them both. Hugged.
He should have known. Normally he wouldn't know this kid. Rabbit didn't get anything from Griffins other than getting smashed, in the game-room, in battles, in the corridors... But unfortunately, this kid he knew, because he knew his friends. But Bugs, stupid, annoying menace that you are, none of your bigger friends stayed in Battle School. They all graduated.
And still he continued hugging them both, talking and talking to no end.
"...So glad I found you both, you have no idea how great this is! See here, those are the painkillers for th Centipede, and any other wounded - now that we got them we can take care of anyone who's wounded, dontcha think? And y'know, I was thinking maybe we should go the corridors looking for people, trying to see whether everyone's okay, and thinking of how strong the two of you are, you'd be just perfect for the job! And i even got a prize for you! Y'know, the throat-ache candy!" the annoyance threw around a handful of red pills. What the....?! "...Now what I was thinking, we need to find a teacher, don't you agree? It shoudln't be that hard, I mean I'm sure they know what's going on and patrolling around, the poor people, must be so so worried! So maybe we could start sending squadrons of people looking them up - although I'm sure we're bound to find them, no problem! And then let's jsut show our lovely friends the Launchies here how things are really going on in Battle School, I mean, poor souls, they must be frighteened to death! And you know, you guys making faces and all, they don't know you as well as I do, your kind, generous souls, hey might actually think you mean that! How silly is that, huh?! So we better make sure and tell them it's all a joke and everything's just fine fine fine!"
How do you get that creature off of your back?! Mandrake eyed the other Rabbit desperately. He was stupid and clumsy and arrogant, yes, but at least he didn't make you want to jump on him and grind him to dust jsut to make hum shut up! And the problem with Bugs was, no matte rhow many beatings he got - and he definitely got his share in his time - nothing could squash this cheerfulness. Nothing Mandrake has ever done managed to keep the kid's mouth shut for longer than he was in the Infirmary. At the time, both Dal, Jabal and Stronghope came over to tell him to leave Bugs alone, and always he told them, Sure, make him be quiet! It never worked.
If he and the other rRabbit - who seemed to hate Bugs as much as Mandrake did - no wonder! He had to sleep in the same room with that thing! - could drag him someplace else... that'd be perfect....
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the situation had gone from a near garuntee of bloodshed (probably his own) to... hugging. and really really fast talking. it was so utterly unexpected, ark could do nothing but sit there and stare at the newcomer.
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Well, everything had started off just as he had feared. Mandrake wasn't exactly appeased by his words and seemed on the verge of working his way up to giving him a beating. . .which was just when Bugs bounded into the room. An instant later he found himself locked together with his adversary in the toon leader's embrace. For a moment he breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that Bugs' actions would postpone any fight for the time being and maybe divert Mandrake's attention permanently but then the toon leader began to speak and Baron was unable to keep from rolling his eyes in exasperation.
Blah, blah, blah, painkillers. Blah, blah, blah, find a teacher. Blah, blah, blah, lovely friends the launchies. Blah, blah. . . . Baron blinked and gaped in shock. Lovely friends the launchies! Poor souls! He twisted round and took a look at the table. Were they talking about the same group of people here? He could just wait until he had spoken to them for a bit. Then he'd see the right of it.
Glancing back across at Mandrake, Baron saw the suffering look on his face and realised that he wasn't alone in his loathing of Bugs. As he watched him, Mandrake turned his gaze back on him and for a moment Baron had the idea that he was silently questioning him as to whether he fancied shutting Bugs up for once.
A slow grin spread across his face. The idea was definitely a tempting one. There were no teachers around to interfere right now and with Mandrake on his side it was doubtful anybody else would be overly quick to step in and break them up.
He opened his mouth to make a sly suggestion but paused when he felt a gentle touch on his back.
"No, Will. Please."
Henry. He had forgotten about him. Bugs was his toon leader and very protective of him for that reason. He was probably about the only person in the whole school who admired the toon leader and didn't like it when he made fun of him. If he were to join forces with Mandrake to beat him up, the chances were Henry would never forgive him. No, unfortunately, now wasn't the time.
"Bugs, gerroff me!" he protested, pushing the toon leader away and ducking under his arm. "Why can't you go and find someone else to be cheerful to for a change. . .like these launchies for instance. I'm sure they need cheering up. They're so very, very frightened after all. Poor souls."
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Mouse watched the scene unfolding before him in horror. Trust to Baron to start bullying launchies at a time like this. Then when Mandrake appeared from nowhere to apparently take the side of the launchies, he began to feel fear. He knew Mandrake on sight, most people in the school did, but he had always made sure to keep his distance on making the sighting.
Baron, like the stubborn fool he could be, didn't back down and he was anticipating the start of a brutal fight when Bugs came to the rescue, clasping the pair together as friends and urging them to help make their general situation better. How he could fearlessly put himself between those two, Mouse didn't know, but he was certainly making a fantastic effort at geeing them along.
With cheerfulness, with cheerfulness and gregariousness, was how Bugs approached every situation he found himself in and his pure energy always saw him through, though he had to admit it had made him some enemies too amongst a certain type of student. Mandrake and Baron appeared to be two of them and Mouse thought he saw a look pass between them; at least, he was sure he could see Baron getting ideas.
A new wave of trepidation swept through his body. Nothing could be allowed to happen, not now, not here. With no teachers around there would be nobody to step in if things got out of hand, and at a time like this they needed somebody with Bugs' drive to bring everybody together. Well, he had no hope standing against Mandrake if he was plotting something, but Baron was a different matter. He stepped forward and touched him on the back.
"No, Will. Please," he said softly.
It wasn't much but he knew it would be enough, although prevailing upon Baron to go against his nature and do something like this for him twice in such a short time was pushing his luck a little. He saw Baron's back grow tense and for a moment thought he wasn't going to listen, but then the older boy pushed Bugs away with a sarcastic comment and Mouse knew with relief that nothing more would come from him. He held his breath and crossed his fingers as he waited to see what Mandrake would do, hoping he wouldn't feel compelled to work out a little of his anger just yet.
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Bree sat there, her head still on the table and listened as the situation unfolded. She really didn't care what the older kid had to say, for he had not earned her trust nor her respect. She had understood that in the military, fear was often a motivator that some officials needed to rely on to get their troops to do what they asked. She was somewhat relieved when another kid...a commander stepped in on their behalf.
"Why can’t you go and find someone else to be cheerful to for a change. . .like these launchies for instance. I’m sure they need cheering up. They’re so very, very frightened after all. Poor souls.”
"Frightened?" Bree said in voice a little louder than she had meant it to be, "Do I look like I'm frightened?" she said now staring at the older boy. "Save your pity for someone who cares what you think."
She knew she had started it up again, but she wasn't in the mood to take any crap from the older kids. All she wanted to do was sleep, she didn't want to have to deal with any of it.
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“Okay, that’s it.” Ryan said. “We’re outa here.” He knew that if they stayed much longer they would get into serious trouble with the older kids, and sooner or later there wouldn’t be someone to settle things down.
“We came here looking for people willing to find out what’s going on, but all we’ve found is a bunch of argumentative bullies who wont listen to us just because we’re launchies.” Ryan turned away from the older soldiers in disgust. He knew that given time the launch would have the same training as they had, but he knew that he would prefer any one of his launch mates over these soldiers. Speaking to the launch members, Ryan said, “We’re heading back.”
Ryan called Jimmy over the radio. “Jimmy, open the doors and lifts. We’re coming back to you.”
“Okay.” Jimmy replied.
“Nikki, Spencer. You’re welcome to join us if you want.” Ryan said. "You too Toby since your launch is nowhere to be found."
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Ziggy listened to Ryan tell them all to leave the mess. "You're right," said Ziggy, "If we stay, something bad is gonna happen."
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Having managed to remain unnoticed through everything, Huitzilopochtli cautiously followed his companions out of the mess hall. Trying not to be noticed, he trailed them to wherever they were going.
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Ziggy turned and followed the rest of the launch out of the mess. He was glad to be leaving, the tension in there had been getting pretty bad.
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Following Bree, Cole trudged from the Mess. Turning back as he reached the door, he gave the older soldiers a final farewell by holding up his hand and extending his middle finger.
Laughing, he walked out the door towards the communications center.
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"Nikki, Spencer. You're welcome to join us if you want." Ryan said. "You too Toby since your launch is nowhere to be found."
Toby jumped up straightaway and tagged onto the end of the group. After what he had just seen there was no way he was going to hang around here waiting to see if the rest of his launch group were around. His experience with the older kids so far had been bad enough but these two looked like they might take things one step further if pushed and he didn't think the sudden appearance of the bouncy motormouth would do much to keep them from each other's throats. How the other launchies had dared backchat the first soldier he didn't know. They were a whole lot braver than he was that was for sure.
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"Nikki, Spencer. You’re welcome to join us if you want." "I don't want," Spencer said looking at Nikki. But he knew she wanted to go and that she wouldn't without any backup. "But I will as long as we can find a coat closet on the way." He winked at her. "You poor stupid boy," she said shaking her head, "there are no coats up here" Then she stood and followed the launchies. It was her way of saying 'thanks'. "Coming sweetheart!" he mocked almost cheerfully, as he followed behind her.
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(ooc- backtracking; Sasha, a Centipede recently transfered from Rabbit, was helping Baron move AJ)
Baron was content to drop his share of AJ's weight the moment they were anywhere near a table -- a crowded one, at that! -- and it was all Sasha could do, lagging slightly behind as he was, to see to it that AJ landed gently enough not to do worse damage. Sasha himself sat down on the floor, too exhausted to care about the stares he was getting from those few Launchies at the table who weren't staring at Baron. Maybe that was a blessing, of sorts. He could count on Baron's rudeness to attract attention away from him, Sasha, when he would rather have space to breathe. Of course, eventually he would have to try to stop Baron from getting out of hand. Sasha knew how cruel Baron could be to the new Rabbits fresh out of launch -- with the unexplained exception of Mouse -- and he supposed it would be worse with genuine Launchies.
In Baron's defense, he thought, as the Launchies defiantly held their ground, the little kids really were annoying. Arrogant, even.
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Koi noticed all of the armies flocking together, and suddenly remembered her own army that was stuck in the battle room, she had a feeling of extreme guilt form in the pit of her stomach. "Umm, sorry but I have to go," she said to the kids she was talking to, as she rushed out of the mess and toward the gravity room.
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Finding his way to the mess had been easier than Rafhiu had expected. The Battleschool had a very natural layout, and he knew once he got the feel of it he'd be able to find things more intuitively. For now, he had to rely on the built-in guidance systems, but when he'd finished with that . . .
The food, quite frankly, was on the far side from appetizing. Rafhiu normally didn't eat much or care what he ate, but honestly, couldn't they give it the semblance of real food? Whatever happened to the time-honored tradition of sculpting lumps of protein-rich mush into elegant fake stalks of broccoli? He felt direly tempted to advertise his artistic services to the kitchen workers, but beat down the impulse.
He settled at a table, waiting for the other launchies to show up. He didn't much like the thought of sitting near the bigger kids, so he had located an isolated spot in the corner. Rafhiu pulled out his desk and logged back in, surprised to see a message immediately pop up:
Message: We send this note to Raven Army, and we send a messanger to Lion Army. The note tells Raven Army that we've been acting under duress from Lion Army, while our messanger tells Lion Army that Raven Army is planning something against them.
That way when we use Jontoms access to the S.O.D. protocol to mess with both armies each of them will think it's all the others fault. Thus moving heat off of us and onto eachother.
If your wondering why they'll see it that way it's simple. The one thing thats plain here in Battle School is that everyones playing it pretty close to their chest. And everyone thinks their smarter than everyone else. To both armies we are just a bunch of launchies. How could we possibily fool one army, let alone two.
If you look closer at the situation I think that you'll find this tactic has merit. End Message
"Alex Star, I presume", he said under his breath. He almost started tapping out a message back, but changed his mind. He'd talk to Alex in person later. Instead he pulled up the little trick they'd been putting together and started working a good tangle around it.
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Berric walks into the mess and spots Rafhiu sitting at a table away from the bigger kids. "Yeah man probably good idea for us to stay away from the bigger guys, lord knows we've caused enough trouble in here huh" he then grabs a chair and sits across from Raf.
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Rafhiu grinned. "Besides, some of those guys are ugly enough to seriously put me off my food." He picked at said food, then looked up suddenly. "So what do you think of this whole situation? Does our pride really demand revenge, or would we do better making them think we were planning something, then sitting back and relaxing?"
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"The best kind of revenge is the kind that only we know we got. I really do like the idea of sending messages to both raven and lion, but at the same time it'll probably turn bad, our Launch has a real nack for gettin into trouble." He bit into somethin he thought was a bisquit "Besides, half the launch is still probably bickering about whether we even should have gone to lunch or not"
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Rafhiu laughed, swirling what looked like a miserable excuse for peas into powdery mashed potatoes. "Yeah, obviously initiative is one of the qualities they waive when they're testing kids for Battleschool."
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"Speak for yourself, Raf", said Jimmy as he put his tray of food on the table and grabbed a chair.
He swung himself into the chair and then arranged his tray so that everything was where he liked it, ready to begin eating.
"Some of us have initiative and independence - stuff that leaders need. Some of us, no mentioning who, are just a walking ego trying to boss everyone around - stuff that no-one needs. And some of us are just sheep, licking the wounds of home-sickness and generally being wet. Personally I find I get on with the first type better, even if it does get us into trouble sometimes. Trouble is a challenge and I love a good challenge!"
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Berric looked at Jimmy and raised his eyebrow "Dude there's a difference between loving a good challenge and asking for trouble. you might think of me as a sheep or whatever but ya know what I prefer to do things in a way that it can't get back to me....I'm sick of being everyone's punching bag around here and I think it's time we make it known that we will be the greatest soldiers this place ever created"
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"High on confidence, huh?" Rafhiu shrugged. "See, me, I have the lethal disease of overconfidence. I already know I'm going to end up the best, so I'm not too worried. And Jimmy, I got no trouble being a walking ego. To me, that just means be who I am as hard as I can possibly be. Hey, sometimes it means be a bit arrogant. Oh well."
Rafhiu stretched back and yawned. Overconfidence is a disease, to be sure. Luckily, it was one he only claimed to have. He knew his limitations exactly, and so his cool mind and apt self-knowledge meant he never seemed hesitant or shaken. It was useful.
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Cole overheard the conversation as he approached the table where the others were sitting. He couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard Rafhiu saying "I already know I'm going to end up the best..."
"Don't go there with Jimmy man! We've already had this argument and he'd be willing to kill just so he can beat you!" As he walked by Jimmy he patted him on the back to show that he was kidding and that he meant no harm.
Taking up a tray he walked along the line of food and piled his plate high with generous helpings of what could only be loosely described as edible. Cole returned to the table and sat next to Jimmy. “Besides, there’s no point in trying because we all know that I win hands down.”
Filling his mouth full with a mostly creamy colored with flecks of green paste, he pulled a face that you would see on any other six year old when they’d been told to eat something they didn’t like. But rather than spitting it out he scooped up more and shoveled it in.
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Rafhiu smiled vaguely. "Yeah, it's a good thing I slipped cyanide into his lunch while he wasn't looking. Otherwise we'd have some real problems." He laughed at the face Cole made, then grew serious.
"We're not exactly signing up for an easy term here, are we? This is the next ten or twelve years of our lives we'll spend out in space, here or at command school or wherever. And it doesn't matter how smart any of us are. They're used to stunningly brilliant kids up here. They're gonna be pushing us as far as we can go."
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"while I do agree that they are gonna push us as far as we can go, I think some of our own launch-mates are already starting in on that" Berric said as he scooped some more "food" into his mouth.
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"Well then we just need to push back! Or you could just ignore them." Cole said around his mouthful of food. "But that's not why we were selected to come here really is it?"
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"If we are gonna push back we need to do it in a big way...we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, jimmy's a good leader, so I say first off we get him into the launch leader position, as for the rest of the plan I'm up for suggestions"
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"Push back? Against who? Frankly, other than the little pranks, the only launchy I've noticed trying to actively exploit other people at Battleschool for their own ends is me, and I haven't done that in a while. I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to people trying to control my mind. Really, you guys should take tips from the aliens that used to abduct people way back before the Buggers. They were all into mind control." Rafhiu spun his fork on the table, watching it thoughtfully. He wondered how the artificial gravity on the station worked. Yes, yes, the spin of the wheel and all that, but something nagged at his brain, that surely there was more than that. Some part of him was hoping he'd see the fork move oddly, that something would catch his attention. Alas, nothing.
"What we're supposed to do isn't to ignore our launch or fight with them. What we're trying to do now is to get in armies as soon as possible, and the people that the good commanders will be most likely to choose are those who hold the launch together and mend the rifts. They want people who can be part of a team for now. So whatever someone in the launch does to you, don't make them your enemy. Make them your friend, your ally." Or better yet, he said to himself, try and make them your follower.
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"Back down mind controll boy, we're not out to make anyone obey us, we're out to put an enemy down, the worst thing you can do with an enemy is turn them into your ally, and here I thought you had guts...looks more like a wimps way, as for getting into an army, that might be your ultimate goal, but as for me, mine is to prove to them that the only way to have a strong army is to weed out the weak, the part of the army that doesn't go with the whole, and right now there are 2 or more in our launch who just wanna cause trouble, so I'll just cause worse trouble for them" Berric said as he got up to go throw away his trash.
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After negotiating the corridors with Sara and Ryan and joining the dinner queue, Toby wandered over to where he had seen a couple of his launchmates sitting. From the looks of things they’d had an easier time getting through the queue than he had and he sat down next to them. As he was easing into his place he had a thought and stopped midway down, casting his eyes about the rest of the hall. No, no sign of Volker or any of the others anywhere. Briefly he wondered where they might be but then the thought was interrupted all of a sudden when he spotted a couple of kids with Rabbit uniforms on a few tables over. Hurriedly he plonked himself down, hoping that he wouldn’t have been noticed. That was the last thing they needed, being spotted and recognised by certain of their soldiers. Funny thing was, he had forgotten all about that little incident with the excitement of the Lion prank.
“And right now there are 2 or more in our launch who just wanna cause trouble, so I'll just cause worse trouble for them.”
The voice brought him back to his immediate setting and he saw Berric getting up with his empty tray from the opposite side of the table.
“So, what did I miss?” he asked, tucking in.
OOC Don't panic, I'm not bringing him back for a cameo. OOC
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"Now there's one who couldn't recognize the tail end of a joke if it tried to throttle him. And doesn't look like he's going to be a great source of human glue. Eh, oh well." Rafhiu turned to Toby. "You missed . . . let's see . . . minor plotting, a few jokes, and Berric storming off in a huff. That boy pitches fits like a prima donna, ne?"
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berric walks back over and sits down "Hey just because I'm willing to play their game doesn't mean I'm a prima donna, a prima donna would want control, and that's you buddy, me I just like revenge and right now nava has drawn my ire."
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