fandomhighdorms | Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

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Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

Zack was in a darn good mood, in spite of a pair of slightly blackened eyes and a tender nose that was a little on the crunchy side, but was totally hard-earned.

Why was he so chipper?

Because it was Rookie Day at the reserves, that was why! New people on the island meant that there were probably going to be new people here today, and Zack was totally happy to take the reigns and lead the troops!

"Okay! So, we've got a new term, and ~~possibly~~ a few new faces, so we're going to do our introductions over again! Names, fighting experience, and weapons proficiency, as well as any other skills you think might come in handy in the case of an invasion, if you please!"

Arthur shot him a slightly sideways look. "Before we get to that," he said, scraping his throat, "I am Prince Arthur Pendragon, leader of the reserves, and these are my," sidekicks, "fellow commanders, Lord Leto Atreides the Second, and Zack Fair, SOLDIER Second Class. We're willing to help you if you are in need of any further combat training, as are your fellow reserve members, I'm sure." Look, he was being good.

Zack blinked. Ooooh, right. Introductions for them was probably important too, huh?

"That's right! Come and see any of us if you're looking for help with..." Headtilt. Ponder. "Anything, really. Oh! And we have maps of the island, too! We're going to hand those out, and if the seasoned members would be so kind as to show the rookies what to look out for around here, like areas where the terrain might grant a tactical advantage, or training areas, or things to watch out for, that'd be great!"

"As for the rest of you, if you find anyone who might be interested in joining us, spread the word," Arthur called, "I know you lot think you're good, but you can always use another kick in the arse." This was what passed for humour, clearly. "Work well today. We'll see come next week."

[Open! Newbies, feel free to stumble in and get involved, too! This is behind the dorms, so it should be easy to find even if you haven't been informed IC about what's going on. Of course, everyone is welcome, not just students. Co-written with

bitch_prince, who is awesome like pie.]

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Ben blinked. "Huh. I won't get frustrated and do it," he said carefully. "The lightsaber is just, well, made of light. It kind of cuts through everything, given enough time."

"That's a pretty intense light," Zack mused, that same sense of awe still evident in his voice. "We don't have light-based weapons where I'm from, really. It's all swords, or explosives or projectile weapons, I guess. Magic, sure, but that still wouldn't be the same."

"And we don't have magic," Ben said, who, even after a year at Fandom, didn't think of what he could do as magic.

Meanwhile, scientists on Zack's world pitched fits over people calling what they could do 'magic.'

"Most people don't, I've noticed. And there are a lot of other students who think that swords are weird, too. All sorts of worlds kinda come together here, don't they?"

At least it kept things interesting!

"Definitely," Ben said. "At home, we deal with war on mostly a planetary scale. We haven't really worried about charges of troops in a while."

"There's a war going on where I come from, too," Zack noted. "Though it's between a country and a company, when you boil it down and really look at it. But it's a big enough deal that the company I'm working for really doesn't care how old its troops are, so long as they can fight. It's weird, how many people around here have something to say about a guy our age being a fairly decent rank in the military, you know?"

Ben nodded. "I've been training since I was nine," he said, "and telling people that gets me weirdly pitying looks."

"I can't stand that," Zack admitted. "I mean, I can understand people not liking the idea, sure. To them, we'd still be kids. But I don't want anybody's pity. I'm where I want to be. I'm proud of that. I think any one of us standing here right now is. We've got our honor. We've worked hard for it."

Ben nodded again. "Exactly. I'm a Jedi, like my father before me, and his father before him. To not be proud of who I am...it's a betrayal of what they stand for, too."

That earned a bit of a smile from Zack.

Okay, he liked Ben. It was official.

... Not that it took very much for Zack to decide that he liked anyone, but still.

"My mentor back home always says, 'Embrace your dreams. And no matter what happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER.' I think it's kind of universal, though. When we pick up our sword, or our lightsaber, or whatever we have. We're doing it to protect. To serve. We have something to be proud of. We've got lives saved, and peace made, and... I dunno. It kinda seems weird that other people don't want to see that."

Edited 2009-07-07 22:02 (UTC)

"They get stuck on 'you're fourteen,'" Ben said a little bitterly.

There was a hesitation there, while Zack pondered the wisdom of saying the next thing that popped into his head. The hesitation gave way into a sly kind of grin, and he crossed his arms over his chest, and he leaned forward a little.

"Between you and me," he said, with all the conviction of a fifteen-year-old super-soldier stuck at boarding school, "I think they're just jealous."

Ben grinned. "You think?"

"Oh, I mean, I know." Zack stuck out his chest a little, practically beaming. "They only wish that they could live up to our awesomeness, man."

"Back home, we use the word astral instead," Ben offered.

"Astral?" Zack pursed his lips a little, and then said it again, trying it out. "Astral. Huh. I like it! They only wish they they were... uh.. half as astral as us."

Ben buffed his nails against his robe. "That I can believe," he said, grinning. "When did you start training?"

"Just a few years ago," Zack admitted, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "I left home to join the military in the big city. Decided I wanted to be a hero."

Sheepish smile. Yep. He still wanted to be a hero.

"Made it out of Third Class pretty quickly. Uhm, that's kind of like the beginner level, you know? I'm a Second Class, now, which is... It's decent. Nothing to really sing accolades over."

Ben smiled. "Sounds like my father's story. He grew up in the middle of nowhere. He says that if there's a bright spot to the universe, Tatooine's the place it's furthest from. So he looked for a way out, and now he's kind of famous."

Only kind of.

"I've seen you in Fight Club," he continued. "You're not bad."

"Really?" Yes, that was practically a chirp. "Uh. I mean. I'm better with a sword, you know? I can fight hand-to-hand if I need to, but I'm not really a martial artist or anything."

The only thing keeping Zack from wiggling right now was the fact that his chest was still puffed out and he was trying to look all... macho. Or something.

It mostly came off as 'giddy dork.'

"And you, you're good, too! I mean, the few Jedi that I've seen in action so far. You can totally tell that you guys have put a lot of work into being what you are right now."

Ben smiled shyly. "That's because Granddad hasn't been there," he said. "On a good practice with him I can make him take maybe five steps. And my dad's better than that."

"And my mentor back home could totally wipe the floor with me in about five seconds," Zack laughed. "So we have some work to do. But that's what we're going to Fight Club and stuff for anyhow, right?"

Well, it was why Zack was going to Fight Club. Most people just went there to hit people.

For Ben, almost everything was tactical.

"Exactly. I'm not trying to release stress or anything."

Most weeks.

"You can't be good at what you're doing if your emotions control you."

Zack gave a wry little grin at that.

"I think I'd have trouble with that way of doing things," he admitted. "I'm that much stronger on the battlefield when I let myself feel things."

... Actually, he kind of had a sort of slot-machine in his head that affected how he fought based on how heightened his emotions were. ~~Oh, canon.~~

"But, to each their own. I get told to focus pretty constantly, so I really do have to work on that much."

Ben let out a humorless laugh. "I've gotten much better at that. Granddad is hell on you if you don't focus."

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