06-11-2017, 03:14 PM
The fuck kind of society am I in now?
In the span of a few hours, Seventeen had been shunted around from one place to another.
At last, it seemed like he would have someplace where he’d be ‘stationed’ for at least the present time (however long that was supposed to be). The cyborg’s current locus—to steal an aptly fitting military term—was apparently his new sergeant’s personal base of operations. There was a little too much character to be found in the structure for it to be part of the official military apparatus of the Empire.
“These are your quarters.” Meredith complemented the announcement with a wave of her hand and a gentle bob of her head. Seventeen didn’t linger on her strange eyes or mildly unhuman demeanor. He flashed her a smile and walked into the apartment room. Once he heard the woman start to the walk away, he leaned back and casually slid the door shut, leaving him alone inside the quaint room. His pallid finger found the button that controlled the overhead lights, and with a nice hum, the rows of fluorescent track lighting embedded in the corners of the ceiling flashed to life.
“Not bad.”
Ignoring the majority of the room for the moment, the machine-hybrid made his way over to the couch. On the way, he quickly shed his boots and chucked them back from whence he came, where they came to a rest as a haphazard pile near the doorway. Just as he was about to hop the remainder of the way to his destination, Seventeen paused halfway through the motion. In his head, the image of his new ‘leader’ suddenly set off a handful of chimes.
Wait a second…
With a quick spin, the cyborg rushed to the door and slid it open. He leaned out into the hallway and shouted without much regard for anyone else who might be sleeping in one of the other apartments. “Hey, Meredith!”
There were a few moments of silence before the woman popped up around the corner. With a confused look on her face, she slowly made her way back to the pale young man.
“May I help you, Sergeant?”
“The sergeant… what was her name again?”
“Staff Sergeant Zulenka.”
Seventeen paused. “Her first name. She has one of those, right?”
Meredith’s lips twisted up for a brief moment, and the cyborg wondered if he’d accidentally violated some military norm. “Staff Sergeant Beatrix Zulenka.”
The raven-haired fighter’s eyes went wide. No fucking way. Can’t be. When he realized he was staring at the woman, Seventeen fixed his expression. “She married?”
At that, Meredith rolled her eyes and seemed to puff up a little. “Sergeant Seventeen, is that really an appropriate question to be asking?”
The machine-hybrid rolled his eyes right back at the building’s caretaker. “Lady, I’m the closest you can get to be married without having to fork over a ring. I have no creepy intentions.”
Meredith seemed to relax enough to offer the response. “She’s not.”
Seventeen started to chew his lower lip—that wasn’t the response he had hoped for at all. “No previous marriage?” The woman shook her head from side to side. “You know where she’s from? Is it some demon world?”
“You should sleep,” Meredith laughed. “She’s from somewhere in the Outer Rim.”
“Oh,” the cyborg relented. “Thanks, Meredith. I’ll let you go dust or whatever it is you do around here.”
“Thanks,” the woman shot back as she left.
Once he was back inside his apartment, Seventeen frowned as he trudged his way over to the couch. What were the fucking odds that an attractive redhead with the name Beatrix-fucking-Zulenka wouldn’t be the same damn Beatrix Zulenka from his own realm? Was there some mirror version of him out in another universe? Was there some version of him who rode horses and shot magic missiles from his hands as he sought to bring outlaw justice to some fanciful hinterland.
“I can’t even…”
The cyborg reached over for the remote and turned on the television. After it warmed up, he was greeted by a commercial. A commercial with a well-coifed man in a purple suit. A very familiar man with a sly little grin…
“Hi, I’m Karl Jak, and I want to talk to you about Dante’s Abyss. It’s co—”
The television clicked off a moment before the remote landed on the ground a few feet away.
“FUCK. NO.” Seventeen barked as he dropped his head down to the couch. “I can’t handle all of this nonsense in one day.”
In the span of a few hours, Seventeen had been shunted around from one place to another.
At last, it seemed like he would have someplace where he’d be ‘stationed’ for at least the present time (however long that was supposed to be). The cyborg’s current locus—to steal an aptly fitting military term—was apparently his new sergeant’s personal base of operations. There was a little too much character to be found in the structure for it to be part of the official military apparatus of the Empire.
“These are your quarters.” Meredith complemented the announcement with a wave of her hand and a gentle bob of her head. Seventeen didn’t linger on her strange eyes or mildly unhuman demeanor. He flashed her a smile and walked into the apartment room. Once he heard the woman start to the walk away, he leaned back and casually slid the door shut, leaving him alone inside the quaint room. His pallid finger found the button that controlled the overhead lights, and with a nice hum, the rows of fluorescent track lighting embedded in the corners of the ceiling flashed to life.
“Not bad.”
Ignoring the majority of the room for the moment, the machine-hybrid made his way over to the couch. On the way, he quickly shed his boots and chucked them back from whence he came, where they came to a rest as a haphazard pile near the doorway. Just as he was about to hop the remainder of the way to his destination, Seventeen paused halfway through the motion. In his head, the image of his new ‘leader’ suddenly set off a handful of chimes.
Wait a second…
With a quick spin, the cyborg rushed to the door and slid it open. He leaned out into the hallway and shouted without much regard for anyone else who might be sleeping in one of the other apartments. “Hey, Meredith!”
There were a few moments of silence before the woman popped up around the corner. With a confused look on her face, she slowly made her way back to the pale young man.
“May I help you, Sergeant?”
“The sergeant… what was her name again?”
“Staff Sergeant Zulenka.”
Seventeen paused. “Her first name. She has one of those, right?”
Meredith’s lips twisted up for a brief moment, and the cyborg wondered if he’d accidentally violated some military norm. “Staff Sergeant Beatrix Zulenka.”
The raven-haired fighter’s eyes went wide. No fucking way. Can’t be. When he realized he was staring at the woman, Seventeen fixed his expression. “She married?”
At that, Meredith rolled her eyes and seemed to puff up a little. “Sergeant Seventeen, is that really an appropriate question to be asking?”
The machine-hybrid rolled his eyes right back at the building’s caretaker. “Lady, I’m the closest you can get to be married without having to fork over a ring. I have no creepy intentions.”
Meredith seemed to relax enough to offer the response. “She’s not.”
Seventeen started to chew his lower lip—that wasn’t the response he had hoped for at all. “No previous marriage?” The woman shook her head from side to side. “You know where she’s from? Is it some demon world?”
“You should sleep,” Meredith laughed. “She’s from somewhere in the Outer Rim.”
“Oh,” the cyborg relented. “Thanks, Meredith. I’ll let you go dust or whatever it is you do around here.”
“Thanks,” the woman shot back as she left.
Once he was back inside his apartment, Seventeen frowned as he trudged his way over to the couch. What were the fucking odds that an attractive redhead with the name Beatrix-fucking-Zulenka wouldn’t be the same damn Beatrix Zulenka from his own realm? Was there some mirror version of him out in another universe? Was there some version of him who rode horses and shot magic missiles from his hands as he sought to bring outlaw justice to some fanciful hinterland.
“I can’t even…”
The cyborg reached over for the remote and turned on the television. After it warmed up, he was greeted by a commercial. A commercial with a well-coifed man in a purple suit. A very familiar man with a sly little grin…
“Hi, I’m Karl Jak, and I want to talk to you about Dante’s Abyss. It’s co—”
The television clicked off a moment before the remote landed on the ground a few feet away.
“FUCK. NO.” Seventeen barked as he dropped his head down to the couch. “I can’t handle all of this nonsense in one day.”