07-01-2018, 08:54 PM
Boot camp was rough. The lanky British boy and his several put-upon comrades had been woken up bright and early the next morning not just by Coruscant’s artificial sunlight, but also by the high-pitched yell of Sergeant Thorrun’s whistle. And for their first trick, the Empire has their cabal of orphans engage in a run through a treacherous obstacle course. A pre-test, they called it—to determine their physical aptitude.
Christopher surmounted the first muddy hill with relative ease, a teasing precursor to the unfortunate fall that followed. His combat boot hooked underneath an exposed root and he went tumbling, tumbling down the other side, somersaulting repeatedly until the wooden frame of the next obstacle brought him to a sudden stop. His back smacked against the structure, and for a few moments, he thought he might have time to groan about it.
“Up off your ass, Robin!” Thorrun boomed over the makeshift battlefield, his displeasure evident in his low growl. Christopher pulled himself up, his gray fatigues now shit-brown with mud, and dragged his already-exhausted body up the rope wall. His scrawny arms strained with the climb, reaching and missing two times too many with each step up.
“Nice tactic, Chris,” Lloyd panted as he sped past, “Roll down the hill. Gets you ahead. Not fast enough to beat me, though!” The boy chuckled as he passed, and Christopher could’ve sworn he saw him wink as he vaulted over the top and began to climb down the other side.
Christopher scowled. Lloyd’s incessant chatter had kept him up all night—he was probably part of the reason the British boy got off to such an epic failure of a start, come to think of it. And he had the nerve to taunt him?
Veins popped out of his pale arms as he upped the effort. Christopher could feel the tattered ropes digging into his skin as he climbed up, burning the palms of his hands red. His low, guttural grunts slowly fell into a rhythm, transforming into a soundtrack for this display of physical incompetence.
Incompetence? No -- determination.
“You can do this, Christopher Robin.”
Beady eyes pushed him forward.
At last, blistered fingers wrapped around the top rung of the rope wall, and Christopher Robin lifted himself up, up, over the wall, and then quickly found himself bouncing down the other side.
He landed with a plop in the mud below, tasting the sweet nectar of the original Coruscant’s earth before bounding up and onto his feet. Adrenaline pumping through his pulsing veins, he broke into a sprint and began to dodge the bars hanging in their way, ducking and weaving beneath them like a pro Sweat cut a path through the layer of mud that covered his scrunched up countenance, and he cut a path back into the race.
At the head of the pack, the cat-like Katrina pranced on all fours ahead of everyone else, her speed and agility unmatched by the septet of relatively humanoid orphans. The muscley Sampson, blue-skinned titan that he was, almost kept pace with her, and the picture of humanity perfected Jamie was just a few steps behind him; somehow, the most attractive of them had already found a way to rip through his shirt, and the remaining fabric clung to him as he glistened in the aritifical sun. Ariana, the ginger hothead, and Helena, the quiet, intense raven-haired girl that roomed with her, were neck and neck behind him; Helena stared straight forward, headphones stuck deep in her ears, while Ariana shot furious glances at her stalwart competitor. Lloyd lagged behind them, his confidence not compensating for the fact that he just wasn’t built for something like this.
Christopher encroached on Lloyd’s lead, edging so close to his roommate that the could see the hairs standing up on the back of his neck. Up ahead, Katrina leapt over a small chasm, followed close behind by the rest of their companions. When it was Lloyd’s turn to jump, Christopher was on his heels.
“Your friends are here to help, Christopher Robin! Let them help you!”
They careened over the gap, reaching desperately for the other side; the ledge was within Lloyd’s grasp, while the young Brit found himself falling short. Hoping to latch on to some of his partner’s momentum, Christopher reached out and grasped Lloyd’s ankle. The dark-skinned boy’s fingers, caught off guard by the new weight, slipped against the ledge and Lloyd found himself falling, along with his straggler, fifteen feet to the bottom of the chasm.
Christopher’s eyes popped open to find Lloyd lying on top of him, groaning.
“Ugh -- shit,” the kid muttered, looking up to gaze at their surroundings. He looked around, for a moment seeming frustrated, and then glanced back down at Christopher, noticing the way their bodies were entangled. Immediately, his glare softened. “If you wanted me on top of you, you didn’t have to drag me all the way down here,” he laughed.
Christopher Robin didn’t see the humor, and shoved his bunkmate off of him, sitting up. “Damn,” the Brit muttered, looking up. “How the fuck do we finish now?”
“We don’t,” Lloyd smirked, “You fucked that up for both of us.”
The former schoolboy’s cheeks grew bright red and he blustered frustratedly. “Sorry about that,” he frowned.
“Hey, don’t apologize to me,” Lloyd shrugged, “It’s your ass that’s gonna get fuckin’ beat.”
The more easygoing of the pair let out a hearty laugh as, back on the course, Katrina approached the finish line, having swept through most of the challenges as if they were nothing. Behind her, Sampson the brute brushed aside the final obstacle, clearing his way to second place.
Just before the cat-like girl crossed the finish line, though, the small-framed, blonde-haired Petey slid in on a hoverboard. He hopped off and onto solid ground, and stood before the two alien orphans with a sly smile on his face.
“Um, is that not absolutely breaking the rules?” Ariana roared, brushing past Jamie and snagging third place by a nose.
Sergeant Thorrun’s own hoverboard touched down just a few feet away. “Absolutely not breaking the rules,” the officer chortled, “I told you all to use any means necessary to get past the obstacles, and it seems we’ve got a clear idea of who the smartest of you is.”
He glanced around as the rest of the orphans filed in, counting six of eight. Nervous eyes flitted around the group as they all became aware who was missing.
Sergeant Thorrun let out a deep sigh. “...where’s Bachmann and Robin?”
Christopher surmounted the first muddy hill with relative ease, a teasing precursor to the unfortunate fall that followed. His combat boot hooked underneath an exposed root and he went tumbling, tumbling down the other side, somersaulting repeatedly until the wooden frame of the next obstacle brought him to a sudden stop. His back smacked against the structure, and for a few moments, he thought he might have time to groan about it.
“Up off your ass, Robin!” Thorrun boomed over the makeshift battlefield, his displeasure evident in his low growl. Christopher pulled himself up, his gray fatigues now shit-brown with mud, and dragged his already-exhausted body up the rope wall. His scrawny arms strained with the climb, reaching and missing two times too many with each step up.
“Nice tactic, Chris,” Lloyd panted as he sped past, “Roll down the hill. Gets you ahead. Not fast enough to beat me, though!” The boy chuckled as he passed, and Christopher could’ve sworn he saw him wink as he vaulted over the top and began to climb down the other side.
Christopher scowled. Lloyd’s incessant chatter had kept him up all night—he was probably part of the reason the British boy got off to such an epic failure of a start, come to think of it. And he had the nerve to taunt him?
Veins popped out of his pale arms as he upped the effort. Christopher could feel the tattered ropes digging into his skin as he climbed up, burning the palms of his hands red. His low, guttural grunts slowly fell into a rhythm, transforming into a soundtrack for this display of physical incompetence.
Incompetence? No -- determination.
“You can do this, Christopher Robin.”
Beady eyes pushed him forward.
At last, blistered fingers wrapped around the top rung of the rope wall, and Christopher Robin lifted himself up, up, over the wall, and then quickly found himself bouncing down the other side.
He landed with a plop in the mud below, tasting the sweet nectar of the original Coruscant’s earth before bounding up and onto his feet. Adrenaline pumping through his pulsing veins, he broke into a sprint and began to dodge the bars hanging in their way, ducking and weaving beneath them like a pro Sweat cut a path through the layer of mud that covered his scrunched up countenance, and he cut a path back into the race.
At the head of the pack, the cat-like Katrina pranced on all fours ahead of everyone else, her speed and agility unmatched by the septet of relatively humanoid orphans. The muscley Sampson, blue-skinned titan that he was, almost kept pace with her, and the picture of humanity perfected Jamie was just a few steps behind him; somehow, the most attractive of them had already found a way to rip through his shirt, and the remaining fabric clung to him as he glistened in the aritifical sun. Ariana, the ginger hothead, and Helena, the quiet, intense raven-haired girl that roomed with her, were neck and neck behind him; Helena stared straight forward, headphones stuck deep in her ears, while Ariana shot furious glances at her stalwart competitor. Lloyd lagged behind them, his confidence not compensating for the fact that he just wasn’t built for something like this.
Christopher encroached on Lloyd’s lead, edging so close to his roommate that the could see the hairs standing up on the back of his neck. Up ahead, Katrina leapt over a small chasm, followed close behind by the rest of their companions. When it was Lloyd’s turn to jump, Christopher was on his heels.
“Your friends are here to help, Christopher Robin! Let them help you!”
They careened over the gap, reaching desperately for the other side; the ledge was within Lloyd’s grasp, while the young Brit found himself falling short. Hoping to latch on to some of his partner’s momentum, Christopher reached out and grasped Lloyd’s ankle. The dark-skinned boy’s fingers, caught off guard by the new weight, slipped against the ledge and Lloyd found himself falling, along with his straggler, fifteen feet to the bottom of the chasm.
Christopher’s eyes popped open to find Lloyd lying on top of him, groaning.
“Ugh -- shit,” the kid muttered, looking up to gaze at their surroundings. He looked around, for a moment seeming frustrated, and then glanced back down at Christopher, noticing the way their bodies were entangled. Immediately, his glare softened. “If you wanted me on top of you, you didn’t have to drag me all the way down here,” he laughed.
Christopher Robin didn’t see the humor, and shoved his bunkmate off of him, sitting up. “Damn,” the Brit muttered, looking up. “How the fuck do we finish now?”
“We don’t,” Lloyd smirked, “You fucked that up for both of us.”
The former schoolboy’s cheeks grew bright red and he blustered frustratedly. “Sorry about that,” he frowned.
“Hey, don’t apologize to me,” Lloyd shrugged, “It’s your ass that’s gonna get fuckin’ beat.”
The more easygoing of the pair let out a hearty laugh as, back on the course, Katrina approached the finish line, having swept through most of the challenges as if they were nothing. Behind her, Sampson the brute brushed aside the final obstacle, clearing his way to second place.
Just before the cat-like girl crossed the finish line, though, the small-framed, blonde-haired Petey slid in on a hoverboard. He hopped off and onto solid ground, and stood before the two alien orphans with a sly smile on his face.
“Um, is that not absolutely breaking the rules?” Ariana roared, brushing past Jamie and snagging third place by a nose.
Sergeant Thorrun’s own hoverboard touched down just a few feet away. “Absolutely not breaking the rules,” the officer chortled, “I told you all to use any means necessary to get past the obstacles, and it seems we’ve got a clear idea of who the smartest of you is.”
He glanced around as the rest of the orphans filed in, counting six of eight. Nervous eyes flitted around the group as they all became aware who was missing.
Sergeant Thorrun let out a deep sigh. “...where’s Bachmann and Robin?”
![[Image: 2agonyw.png]](http://i68.tinypic.com/2agonyw.png)