For SRWU, an attempt at a different kind of story

[killed_the_cat]

 1.) [New guy's wandering around base. No military insignia of any kind, but he's got an ID badge clipped to his chest that reads "JOHNATHAN VALE-PRESS".]

So this is the unity group, huh...
[He can be seen taking pictures as he wanders around.]

2.) [Later, the same guy can be found wandering around the hangar, though he's got an escort as he takes more of his pictures.]
Quite the variety, isn't it...

[He's probably even taking pictures of your robot.]


3.)
[If you're going out to the bar in town, who should you happen to see there but-Johnathan Vale, Freelance Reporter. He's got a laptop, a notebook, and dozens of sheets of paper arrayed in front of him on the table. The ashtray's got plenty of cigarette butts in it, so he's probably been here a while.]


Heh, I'll probably be doing this until the day I die...
[He takes a drink of his scotch.]

Comments

2/2

[killed_the_cat]

...creepy. Excuse me.

[He takes out a cigarette and lights it-or tries to. His hands are shaking, and the first two tries he doesn't get the lighter to work. On the third one a bit of flame leaps up, and the sudden flash of pain across his face starts to subside.

He takes out a small notebook from his back pocket, and starts scratching something down in it.]

Re: 2/2

[majestic_keiki]

I guess I am. Though I'm surprised there aren't creepy guys among them as well.

And, yes...Is something wrong? [Her expression changed pretty suddenly from an unamused one, to a faint look of concern.]

[killed_the_cat]

I said less, not none...

[There's a ringing in his skull, a single high-pitched tone. Kei sound's like she's 100 feet away, not right beside him. There are flashes of something, scraps of a memory unforgotten-a view of the ocean. The smell of salt. Her desperate, final pleas for life. Cotton candy on the fourth of july.]

...I'm fine. I might...Get a slight nosebleed, though.

[majestic_keiki]

Are you sure? We have medics on base who can check up on you if something's wrong.

[killed_the_cat]

Don't think...it's gonna do much good, one way or another.

[Dark hair, pale skin. Blindingly white lights, surgical scrubs. A summer night sky, red with the glow of fires. The pain shifts location, moves towards the front of his head-it feels like it's gonna explode-and a bit of blood does start to trickle down from his nose.

Then, it fades back away into nothingness. Johnny takes out a worn handkerchief from his back pocket, and dabs away the blood.]

...Yeah. There we go, it's done now. Sorry, that...happens to me, sometimes.

[majestic_keiki]

Have you had a doctor check it? Sounds like it could be something bad.

[killed_the_cat]

Yeah, he said if they ever figure out what's going on they'll name it after me.

[majestic_keiki]

That sounds bad. Who knows what it might do later.