02-29-2016, 10:32 AM
Dry. Tall. Grass. Miles of the stuff. Always the same burnt brown, with flecks of green. A sandy, dusty earth that made little plumes of dirt and pieces of plants that got into your mouth, your eyes, your nose, just about every where it could. Soon enough Aadibah's boots and cargo pants were covered in the stuff, going from sandy brown to even more sandy brown, if that was even possible. The soldier marched on, having left the glowing white sphere that lead back to even more white at least half a mile behind. Her helmet had been foregone, replaced with her keffiyeh as a hood, shading her face and neck. Her sleeves were still rolled down, velcro straps now done tightly at the wrists.
At the same time as maintaining a ram-rod posture, shins and boots tearing through any pieces of underbrush that came in her way, the engineer huffed and puffed, coughing and spitting up wads of aerosols every now and again.
"You see back at home... Huuuu... We don't get all this khara floating around in the air." A moment to fish out a canteen, having been filled back at the Nexus, and taking a small sip, "Blehhh... Nah, all you gotta worry about is the heat and a little sand, not grass floating into your damned mou-BLLTHBHTHBHHBH-!" A small black speck leaped out from where Aadibah had taken her next step, torpedoing straight into her lips before ricocheting off back into the bush. The woman continued to intensely whack her face in all areas for the next minute and a half before finally letting down her arms, chest rising and falling about two inches at a time, mouth agape and eyes the size of dinner plates.
The engineer's pupils darted this way and that, zeroing in on the every particle of the ground in front of her, before finally locking onto a small, cricketing, green six-legged perpetrator. A quick extension of the right arm, left grasping the inside of the elbow, and the erection of a single finger was the only response given before the soldier continued her trek.
A full mile straight ahead from the gate, the sun was now at the midpoint between being perpendicular with the horizon and parallel with it. No matter the progress and dimming of the intense lighting and heat over the landscape, the monotonous dull, almost lifeless color rolled on for miles, save for a single, slightly darker speck that continued to wander on.
Aadibah held her hand up high, hand resting on her brow, blocking a good portion of the light that pierced her eyes as they tracked the orbiting ball of fire. Soon enough, her steps ceased, and she continued to follow its path, before finally nodding to herself. A large inhale, then exhale, then her rucksack being dropped to the ground gently, her rifle being laid to the side.
"Forgive me my god." The soldier spoke to the air, standing up straight, turning about to face the direction she had come from, and hands hanging to her thighs. "I have not washed my feet, and I have no idea where Ka' bah is. Hopefully you'll understand. You usually do." The phrase was spoken fluidly, without pause or stutter, before her hands were held up to each ear, palms forward. "Allah akbar."
The next fifteen minutes were spent with a lone woman chanting in Arabic, going through one final pose of the hands at the chest, then six different postures. First bowing over, hands on the knees, eyes to the ground, second her back straightening up with hands held outward for a time before being let down at the sides again. Third, back down to kneel on the ground, palms and face in the dirt, before rising again. The three final steps involved three different sitting positions, with the soldier turning her head to the left then right at the end of the final posture. All the while, her eyes remained affixed, almost frozen forward, never straying.
With the ritual concluded, Aadibah sat back into the dirt, legs popping forward from under and splaying out in front, arms hanging down in the middle, hands idly playing with the roots of some kind of weed. Her fingernails were quickly beginning to feel dried out, like paper.
"Where shall I go, my god. I found the closest thing to home here. It's dry as shit and there's sa-, well dirt everywhere. There's also people trying to kill you. The whole package." The soldier's right hand raised up, arm held out straight, dirt falling through the bottom of her enclosed palm and fingers akin to waterfall, minus the moisture.
"Bpfbpfbpfbpf...." Aadibah sent air through her lips, causing them to smack against each other rapidly. Like a small child in an over-sized life jacket, she simply sat there, her suit's chest piece riding up far enough to rest her chin on the edge, jack and under shirt providing enough cushioning between the bone and solid steel.
About ten more minutes passed before the engineer was back on her path to nowhere, backpack slung across only the left shoulder, butt of her rifle couched in her palm as it rested against the right, barrel to the sky.
"Alnnaml yadhhab yusirun wahidaan talu alakhira, wahidaan talu alakhar..."
At the same time as maintaining a ram-rod posture, shins and boots tearing through any pieces of underbrush that came in her way, the engineer huffed and puffed, coughing and spitting up wads of aerosols every now and again.
"You see back at home... Huuuu... We don't get all this khara floating around in the air." A moment to fish out a canteen, having been filled back at the Nexus, and taking a small sip, "Blehhh... Nah, all you gotta worry about is the heat and a little sand, not grass floating into your damned mou-BLLTHBHTHBHHBH-!" A small black speck leaped out from where Aadibah had taken her next step, torpedoing straight into her lips before ricocheting off back into the bush. The woman continued to intensely whack her face in all areas for the next minute and a half before finally letting down her arms, chest rising and falling about two inches at a time, mouth agape and eyes the size of dinner plates.
The engineer's pupils darted this way and that, zeroing in on the every particle of the ground in front of her, before finally locking onto a small, cricketing, green six-legged perpetrator. A quick extension of the right arm, left grasping the inside of the elbow, and the erection of a single finger was the only response given before the soldier continued her trek.
* * *
A full mile straight ahead from the gate, the sun was now at the midpoint between being perpendicular with the horizon and parallel with it. No matter the progress and dimming of the intense lighting and heat over the landscape, the monotonous dull, almost lifeless color rolled on for miles, save for a single, slightly darker speck that continued to wander on.
Aadibah held her hand up high, hand resting on her brow, blocking a good portion of the light that pierced her eyes as they tracked the orbiting ball of fire. Soon enough, her steps ceased, and she continued to follow its path, before finally nodding to herself. A large inhale, then exhale, then her rucksack being dropped to the ground gently, her rifle being laid to the side.
"Forgive me my god." The soldier spoke to the air, standing up straight, turning about to face the direction she had come from, and hands hanging to her thighs. "I have not washed my feet, and I have no idea where Ka' bah is. Hopefully you'll understand. You usually do." The phrase was spoken fluidly, without pause or stutter, before her hands were held up to each ear, palms forward. "Allah akbar."
The next fifteen minutes were spent with a lone woman chanting in Arabic, going through one final pose of the hands at the chest, then six different postures. First bowing over, hands on the knees, eyes to the ground, second her back straightening up with hands held outward for a time before being let down at the sides again. Third, back down to kneel on the ground, palms and face in the dirt, before rising again. The three final steps involved three different sitting positions, with the soldier turning her head to the left then right at the end of the final posture. All the while, her eyes remained affixed, almost frozen forward, never straying.
With the ritual concluded, Aadibah sat back into the dirt, legs popping forward from under and splaying out in front, arms hanging down in the middle, hands idly playing with the roots of some kind of weed. Her fingernails were quickly beginning to feel dried out, like paper.
"Where shall I go, my god. I found the closest thing to home here. It's dry as shit and there's sa-, well dirt everywhere. There's also people trying to kill you. The whole package." The soldier's right hand raised up, arm held out straight, dirt falling through the bottom of her enclosed palm and fingers akin to waterfall, minus the moisture.
"Bpfbpfbpfbpf...." Aadibah sent air through her lips, causing them to smack against each other rapidly. Like a small child in an over-sized life jacket, she simply sat there, her suit's chest piece riding up far enough to rest her chin on the edge, jack and under shirt providing enough cushioning between the bone and solid steel.
About ten more minutes passed before the engineer was back on her path to nowhere, backpack slung across only the left shoulder, butt of her rifle couched in her palm as it rested against the right, barrel to the sky.
"Alnnaml yadhhab yusirun wahidaan talu alakhira, wahidaan talu alakhar..."
Such terror you are facing
Isn't it wonderful?
Isn't it wonderful?