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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 20, 2014 22:52:59 GMT -5
Hancock System, Stataca, Lier Contenient, Threstfold Beach
October 12, 2758
1845 Hours
Hobbar was glad he was finally able to walk again. Being crammed with other civilians in the plane was a real hassle. It wasn’t that he didn’t mind civilians, but he just had to have a seat with a crying baby…that also managed to not only cry but also throw up some sort of green stuff on his bright orange shirt. Michael changed in the bathroom airport now in a striped brown and white horizontal shirt. Having flip flops on and carrying his two luggage bags with him he made his way towards Riika hotel, a modest hotel. Not a dump but also not the fanciest place to stay but a nice and comfortable place. Walking through the large door, as the doorman opened it for him he smiled back. The hotel was nice compared to where he had been for the past few months. The floor was a bage color some sort of marble. There were two stairways on either side of the lobby leading up to the second floor. Far in the back were numerous couches and chairs and tables for people to sit at. And at the very end was a bar, there were only a few people in the lobby. The checkout counter was not that crowded. Walking up to the counter he was greeted by one of the self serving machine clerks. It was a computer attached to the counter, and had a large screen. It asked him his name and other information. Signing in his name, he checked into the room 101.
After checking in he took the stairs with his luggage. Hobbar had no trouble going up only one story and with two bags of luggage. Finding the room he got out the card for the room and swiped the door. The door then unlocked, it was a dark grey color with a small panel to the right of it. This is where the card was swiped. Going into the room on the right hand side was a bathroom , it was a little larger then the one he had back at the base. But just a little larger. Going farther into the room he saw one large bed on the left hand side, and on his right was the holographic television hanging on the wall. Beyond that was a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony. Michael started to put his clothes in the closet and placed his shirts, shorts and bathing suit in the closet. He placed his bag neatly next to the wall. He also decided to change clothes and take a shower. After a thirty minute hot shower and changing clothes again, Michael fell down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. The fan turning slowly and he really couldn’t make up his mind of what he had wanted to do.
It was too late to go outside and enjoy the beach, he might be able to grab a bite to eat. Deciding against that he decided to head for the bar and have a few drinks. He was not that hungry. His mind was made up, go to the bar, have a few drinks and then sleep. Tomorrow he could go to the beach and go out on the sand and enjoy the nice sun. Walking down to the bar, Hobbar didn’t see anyone else except for the automated bartender robot. It was a large square objet with long arms. “What will you have.” It asked in a robotic voice. “Whatever can drown my memories.” Hobbar replied. “Does not compute.” He shook his head “German Beer.” He said. The robot then grabbed some German beer and shot the dark brown liquid in a small glass. It was then placed in front of Hobbar. He took a sip and sighed to himself.
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 21, 2014 20:58:11 GMT -5
Stephanie cringed hearing a familiar voice asking about beer and drowning memories... oh gawd it brought back memories of far too much when she was young. In fact, Stephanie wouldn't touch any alcohol; but that was not her place to take it away from him so she bit her lip and walked towards him taking a seat at the barstool beside him. "I don't think anything drowns in beer Lieutenant, I mean not 22 ounces of it anyway." she pointed out in a rather flat manner with a somewhat pleasant smirk on her face. If anything she could at least be somewhat friendly right. But on the inside she was seeing the images of the abuse and the constant arguing that had gone on in foster house #7. Seven had definitely not been her lucky number that was for sure. She remembered it, she had only been 10 when they had removed her after the cops had been called and yet again lost another "family" that had supposedly cared for her. She tried to wipe that image out of her mind. There had to be better images there for now. Biting her lip she looked back to Hobbar and tried to figure out how to get him to hand over the bottle.
Most normal people would try to get the other person to talk, but Stephanie was not a talker and she had a feeling that Hobbar wasn't either then again she was wrong about most people but honestly right now she didn't expect anymore other than an I am fine or something of the sort out of him. He was obviously trying to enjoy himself if he was ... out here anyway. Wait why was she even out here? Honestly she couldnt even remember getting out of bed this morning, one of those untold blonde moments she had on occasion that she would never ever admit to. There was a soft sigh as she waited for a response. Her jeans and tank top seeming very dressed for the beach side but Stephanie was not the suntan bathing bikini babe that most men expected from women on the beach. Ha if anyone expected that out of her, there would not be enough money to pay her. Wishful thinking for those that would expect it out here. It wouldn't be the first or last time she went against the flow of what was to be expected from people in general. The woman was far to against the grain on everything for anyone to expect anything from her really. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 21, 2014 21:28:58 GMT -5
Hobbar looked over to his right and couldn’t believe whom he had just run into. What the hell was Amberson doing all the way out here. It took a few seconds in his brain for it to register, he had a look on his face that was very surprised. Quickly it disappeared. “No I don’t think it can really drown my memories. It’s…..just been a while since I’ve actually had time away from all the stress. Not having to write any action reports, or go seeing the Captain, writing letters to families of people whom were lost. It feels good, I’m at a loss at what to do. I haven’t been on R&R since…a year ago.” He said and began to slowly drink the beer. He was shocked that Amberson was actually wearing a tank top, he wasn’t used to seeing her outside of uniform. And of all the people to run into! He was worried he’d had nothing to do but at least tonight would be interesting.
They could talk. And then tomorrow he could begin the real vacation at least for himself. If she wanted to be with him he wouldn’t mind it. He looked forward to surfing tomorrow although it’d been years since he had been out among the waves. The way she said it though, her tone of voice. It seemed as if it was something personal to her. Sensing that it might be better not to drink it he pushed it towards the barkeeper. Immediately the robot grabbed the glass and put it away. “So how is it that you ended up here among all the other places to take some R&R? It isn’t that popular with Naval or Troopers and that’s a good thing, and it’s more for tourists. What, were you wanting to run into me?” He asked and smiled a little at her. “I’m going to be here for the next month in case your wondering.”
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 21, 2014 22:01:38 GMT -5
He was starting to blabber again, well at least that was the usual, always looking for something to say and never knowing how to say it. "Forgot how to do the unwind thing the old fashioned way eh?"she mused as she turned her head toward him as he spoke. Technically speaking she didn't have to address him properly but she knew better. "I came to relax" she pointed out with a small shrug as she noticed him push his beer back, well at least there could be no drunken episodes tonight at any rate. She just listen as he kept rambling. "Come on Mr. Monologue, I was about to go for a walk" she offered with a small teasing in her tone. It was more she could tell that he needed the company, in all honesty she could have just kept walking but there was the fact that he seemed bothered. Normally Stephanie could care less but for some reason she was trying to show that she was capable of being a normal person or something, who knew.
Oh great, so he was going to be here the entire time she was... she was going to have to have her work cut out for her. Not anything she couldn't handle but why did she have any sense of responsibility for her superior officer when they were away? She did not understand how to handle any sort of friendship or any working relationship with people this was slightly awkward. She stood up and wandered towards the door, either he would follow or he would stay, that decision was going to have to be his and his alone because she would not drag him kicking and screaming onto the beach outside to go for a walk. However the beach was something that seemed to calm her down just a little. Her comfort place but no one needed to know that. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 21, 2014 22:15:31 GMT -5
Hobbar liked her response. It wasn’t that he was feeling upset or anything but the fact that he hadn’t had time off in so long. He realized that he had actually forgotten how to relax. Being on the job for so long he never had a moment for himself to rest. Watching her get up and heading towards the door he watched her head on over towards the door. As she walked over his mind raced on how to handle the situation. This was the first time ever that he could remember Amberson being…nice. No nice wasn’t the right word, compassionate was probably the closest. She was always so ice cold and pushed everyone out that he thought this must be the real Amberson. This is who she really was, a nice and very sweet individual. If this was her idea of sweet, then Hobbar accepted it because she never showed any kind of emotion other then being a queen of ice. Rather that was not always true, he felt like she pushed people away because she did not want to hurt anyone.
Slowly he got up and multiple thoughts ran through his mind. ‘What does she want to do. What do I do? What is she planning?’ But he pushed those thoughts aside as he walked up towards her. He still couldn’t get over the outfit. Wearing jeans for goodness sakes! Jeans! So she did have civilian clothes after all and wasn’t born in uniform. Maybe she would open up a little tonight. But whatever happened at the resort he would make sure not to tell anyone, because whatever happened during the trip was their business. And only their business, no one else’s. He wouldn’t tell a soul what happened her, not in a million years. He only said “Ok, I’ll walk with you.”
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 21, 2014 22:53:47 GMT -5
Okay how does one explain how she should react to running into Hobbar, I mean she could just ignore him but there was no one here to judge her and she felt mostly like being who she was. Well who she was on the inside, perhaps he had cracked her turtling shell of a casing? Who knew but regardless it could be a nice evening and the point was to relax not to cause chaos. although the thought amused her greatly. She headed for the door and suddenly he was following her, she raised a brow... okay well that was an unexpected reaction but she could handle it. She took a deep breath and tugged her jacket off from around her waist and tossed it on, the evening air on the beach no matter what time of year seemed nippy to her. Though she was not one to complain but she might as well be comfortable.
(Blah forgot what i was gonna finish this with when i went afk so here) |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 21, 2014 23:10:32 GMT -5
The outside was a little chilly for Michael. He hadn’t brought with him a jacket but it wasn’t cold enough for him to be freezing. It was a little nippy but it was fine, he could handle it. Following Amberson to the outside he saw the outline of the beach. They came outside among a large patio with multiple tables with umbrellas, sunbathing chairs and what looked like to be a snack shack of some sort. He The floor was a red wood, and there were trees and shrubs around the patio. She went left and he followed her. The beach was to the right, so then where was she going to be taking him? He hoped wherever it was it would calm him down if only a little. Perhaps this was a longer way to the beach, after all she did say she wanted to go for a walk. Knowing her she walked around this place before to get a good idea of the land before coming out tonight.
They started walking down a wooden path with a railing. Every now and then a fire was lit to guide the path. Hobbar watched and realized it would be a very very long walk to the beach, but he didn’t mind. He couldn’t get his mind off of it but what was her real plan after all? Was she going to really just go for a walk? Or was all of this a ruse for her to get more treatment? He pushed the thoughts away again, he was over-analyzing things again. As he did with everything. Trying to break the silence he just had to say something. ‘Well don’t just be silent you idiot say something!’ “ What do ya wanna do once we get down to the beach?” was all he could say. His mind was screaming. ‘You idiot, that’s all you could say? Now she’s really gonna be icy tonight. Say something, anything else!’ “ My home town was actually on the beach. I had a house five minutes from the shore.”
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 23, 2014 0:46:16 GMT -5
Stephanie just kind of shrugged, she was listening but she really didn't have any idea of really what people did on the beach, walking worked for her. She was still listening for some reason and kind of just replied in a very normal tone for her, which always sounded sharp edged. "Beach is about the only place I HAVEN'T lived" while there was a bit of an intonation that showed there was more there than expected she just kept walking. It didn't matter to her that it was the long way. Her mind was drifting first to the country where she had lived when she was young. She absentmindedly bit her lip as she saw the stampeding cattle flash through her mind, closing her eyes as she drifted to the mountains she had lived near next and the camping trips she had endured. There were the trips to the beach but never a place she had lived near. There was even the high rise apartments in New York she had been to at one time. She took a deep breathe and just kept walking, she could find something to blame it on right? Well that was if she could come up with some excuse that would not put her in the hospital while she was on vacation, that was the last thing she wanted so yeah lying about something small like that and she wouldn't put it past Hobbar.
The beach was relaxing because it did not bring back any of the horrible memories that she had in her childhood. She seemed to be counting on her fingers as she seemed to be double checking herself. Stephanie had already counted to 5 on both hands and was now on 1 for the fourth time in a row. The total of fingers that had risen and fallen was 16 and she seemed to be counting her head, with her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Okay right now was not the time to be bothered by her past, she had better things to do she was on vacation for pete's sake, the best thing she could do was enjoy herself and she was at it again harping on her past. Then again it was Stephani, there was not much else that she did, rarely did she look forward; in her opinion there was never much to look forward to. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 23, 2014 1:30:30 GMT -5
Hobbar and her continued down the path. He only smiled at her comment, as was typical of her. He thought he was beginning to realize that she to be sarcastic. So maybe this was her way of defending herself or perhaps this was her real self. He didn’t know what to expect but what he did expect from her was that they would one way or another have some sort of adventure. And if he knew her well, she’d be the first to confront it. He wondered how someone like this could end up in the military of all things. Well maybe Special Security would of given her a chec for her services. Special Security would probably of hired her right on no questions asked. However Hobbar didn’t think of her as some cold icy assassin. She had issues like every other human being had. Everyone had darkness in their past, it might have been a home, school or work related issue. But everyone had some sort of issue in their past.
As they continued to walk, the two of them came upon a bench, it was made of stone. Behind the bench was garden with some flowers. He decided that she probably wouldn’t want to sit down, so unless she made a point of sitting down he wouldn’t press it. “Yeah well I wasn’t some rich kid who had money like some of the people in the neighborhood.” That made him think about his childhood, going to school, hanging out with his friends. He only had a few real friends but when they were together they usually went to the basketball court. He hadn’t really been the most social kid in the neighborhood but he wasn’t a loner either. He was happiest whenever he sat down on top of the hill near school looking down the city. The beautiful buildings shining off in the distance were just….an amazing display of light. He could never actually describe what the city looked like to anyone because to him it was indescribable. “You never got to grow up near the beach? What was your life like….before you joined up?”
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 23, 2014 1:54:24 GMT -5
Stephanie sit down... now if that happened there was probably some sort of apocalypse coming or something. The woman didn't sit down unless she was comfortable and to be honest a stone bench near the beach was not somewhere she viewed as her comfort zone so to speak. She was quiet for a time until he mentioned her past. Eyes frostily shot up and she just stared straight at him and her eyes if they were bullets he would have been dead ten times over. It took her a moment before she reached out her hands and pushed back against Hobbar in the direction of the flowerbed. "16 foster 'parents' in 15 years, You. Tell. Me." her voice was ice hard and cold. It was evident that was all she was going to say for now. No he didn't need to know about all of that. She was trying to forget it. Stephanie stood there and then glanced away after a moment. The woman did not need him looking into her emotional turmoil that had now risen to the surface. No Dammit she was strong than that she lifted her head up and swallowed the lump in her throat. Great now she was probably gonna get chalked up on shoving superiors even if she was on leave.
Stephanie took a moment to gather her thoughts, she planted one foot up on the bench and just waited to see if he even had a response to that. Stephanie thought about walking away but honestly in two seconds flat her had completely ruined any sense of relaxation she had for the time being as she felt her muscles tense up in frustration. Right now she was in fight or flight mode and flight was not one of Stephanie's stronger points. The woman kicked the stone bench hard and stubbed her toe hard into the bench. That was going to smart in the morning but whatever, she was not in the mood to deal with any of this at the moment. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 23, 2014 2:11:13 GMT -5
Hobbar was quite shocked when she icily said those words to him. ‘Great job Michael what the hell did you do to piss her off now?! Look on the bright side at least you didn’t ask about Bulgaria!’ He watched her kick the bench hard. He could tell that at this very moment she was pissed off beyond belief. Not knowing all of her past he didn’t her to be upset at him. He was debating with himself about what to do. Clearly she probably wanted to pounce on him. But what happened at the Beach Resort stayed at the beach resort. “Alright Stephanie.” Michael said. “I can tell your beyond pissed and I somehow fucked up. I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Hobbar didn’t move an inch while he talked. “ I clearly don’t know your past. I’m just trying to grasp how I can try and have a conversation with you.” He then turned around and made a face to himself ‘What the hell are you doing?!’ he thought. Turning back around he said “Look, I’ve fucked up and we both know it. I know your upset. I talked about something that has deeply hurt you. I didn’t mean anything by it. If you want to finish your walk without me, I understand.” He decided to leave it right there. If he said anything more he would probably piss her off even more.
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 23, 2014 2:28:51 GMT -5
Okay now he was rambling... "You do know apologising makes you sound like a rambling idiot right?" her tone was laced with sarcasm and drenched in the whole get the hell out of my face tone, but on the same front he was about the only person who did understand her on some level and right now when she was like this, it was good for her even if he was the cause of their issues. Just as she was about to say something she heard a voice behind them "You two sound like an old married couple when you fight" Stephanie shot him a death glare and all of the sudden Hobbar was no longer the target of her massive anger strike but Stephanie did an about face and tackled Connor to the ground with his hands behind his back and his face in the dirt. When she let him up Connor went scampering off and Stephanie shook her hands off like she had handled the situation, well at least for now.
Taking a few deep breathes she started just letting her eyes wanderer back into the ground. "it's fine" she mused simply. Quite honestly she was torn between walking alone and wishing he wouldn't offer to leave her alone. Her mind drifted as she hugged her jacket sleeves to her body now lost in complete thought. Why did everyone else have to have such normal lives? Why did she had to get stuck with so many morons her whole life. She was who she was because she had to raise herself. The people she had lived with had been nothing more than a roof over her head. Then the screaming and yelling and the abuse from when she was younger flooded her mind again; almost the same as when she had seen the beer bottle earlier but this was more painful memories. Michael was par for the course this time around in bringing up every horrible memory that she had possibly every had in one night. It could be worse but it could be better. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 23, 2014 2:43:58 GMT -5
Michael heard a familiar voice. As soon as he heard the voice, Amberson turned around and tackled the person. He was able to tell that it was her spotter, other wise how would she get away with tackling someone like say Zhour? Even if he was here he was a quiet enough of a person not to say anything. He then watched herself brush herself off and tell him she was fine. She’s fine? Really? After what had just happened how could she say she’s fine? He tried to think of something to say but couldn’t at least not at that very moment in time. He could tell she was having some deep thoughts the way she put her arms around her shoulder and didn’t look at him but rather off into space. He was hoping that she might be able to try and come out of her shell more. But probably not tonight.
He suddenly had a thought in his mind. Why exactly did she tackle Connor? Was it because she was upset at the comment that he made towards her or towards them? If the latter then that would imply that at the present she viewed Hobbar as…an associate. So that was a big step for her. He couldn’t remember her socializing with other men or women for that matter in the platoon except him and Connor. And they only had gotten to know one another because of what had happened on the Dauntless Fury. Perhaps she viewed him as a extension of her comfort zone? No that wasn’t the right word at all, but there was a connection of some sort between them. If anyone dared say anything about her he’d defend her. But at the same time he wouldn’t kill a person for her. He couldn’t even describe what kind of relationship they had with one another because neither of them knew. At the present Hobbar was only hoping to finish the walk that she had wanted. “Come on, let’s get down to the beach Stephanie.” He suddenly realized he had said her first name…again. Why?
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Post by Stephanie Amberson on Feb 23, 2014 3:25:12 GMT -5
Wait? Had he just called her Stephanie? She turned to look at him with a raised brow. No, she wasn't even going to ask how that one happened or even why. If it was one person who knew her well it was Connor, there had been romantic interest well more than that in the past between the two and now Connor was more or less the brother figure who watched out for her. Most people did not know that about the two. Her attention was not on Connor, her attention was on Michael who was apparently using her first name. Right, well she wasn't sure how to address him at this point, for a second a look of confusion was marred across her face. How does one address their commanding officer when they are on leave and has just addressed them by their first name.... well she wasn't about to ask and she wasn't about to fudge up either. Actually quite shocking she wasn't in trouble right about now.
The woman just nodded and headed towards the beach. For once he hadn't walked away, granted her anger had not just lashed out at him in the whole scheme of things. She was upset at him still but she refused to show it. Walking down towards the beach she was more watching the water than she was anything else. Closing her eyes when she got to the edge of the water she just took in the air and everything around her, she was obviously trying to calm down. Stephanie however was silent and trying to center her attention back on trying to relax. It was evident she was having to fight against her inner self at the moment, her mind was going in more than direction at the moment. Honestly, she was not sure if it was going to stop reeling or not at this point. |
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Post by Michael Hobbar on Feb 23, 2014 3:47:14 GMT -5
As they walked down to the beach Hobbar went over in his mind. Why the hell did he say her first name? That wasn’t like him at all. Every other time it had been Amberson. Now it was Stephanie? Had it just been a slip up for him? He made sure to remember to call her Amberson, right now she was probably wondering the exact same thing. But if he hadn’t said it than how would it of effected the relationship between the two of them? He decided it’d be best not to speculate as he usually did. Always over analyzing things and trying to find the perfect solution for everything under the sun. As they finally came to the beach, he watched Stephanie go down by the water. Slowly he walked on the sand and got behind her. He was not directly behind her, and he thought to himself as to why the hell Conner was here in the first place. He decided to try and find him in the morning. Right now it was getting late.
The two moons Lares and Larunda were both above horizon. They were not as big as Luna was but they could easily be seen. They were only a few inches away from where the duo was standing. The moonlight was shining down onto the water and to the beach. The light was reflecting off the both of them, in a pale white. It was beautiful. Hobbar didn’t move nor did he sit down he just stared at the two moons. A soft wind blew down the beach making the trees’s leaves rustle. Palm Trees imported from Earth down by the beach also added to the harmony. Here and there a few coconuts were on the sand. The waves were very calm and inviting. Hobbar didn’t want to ruin the moment of silence, because who knew especially the two of them would ever get this chance again. He smelled the crisp wet air as the night set in and hoped that Amberson was slowly calming down.
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