The Long Night of Solace

Posted on Sun Feb 3rd, 2013 @ 11:52pm by Lieutenant JG Paul Harrison & Captain Torilla Yamaguchi
Edited on on Mon Feb 4th, 2013 @ 12:10am

3,076 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Mission 82 - The Aggressor
Location: Promenade - Starbase 400
Timeline: Afternoon before the Christmas Party

OOC: Folks. this is a backpost from the previous mission that was never finished in time, I apologize for the confusion and the error.

"The Long Night of Solace"

Racheal Yamaguchi
Civilian - Teenager
Starbase 400

Paul Harrison
Civilian - Teenager
Starbase 400

Music Soundtrack: Halo Reach - Track 5: Long Night of Solace

***** Promenade - Starbase 400 *****

"By the gods, I need a vacation." Racheal Yamaguchi sighed softly as she was sitting at one of the smaller replimats located on the promenade, she had decided to explore the base rather then remain cooped up in her new quarters while her mother went off to meet with the Admiral about work.

Racheal missed her father who was off commanding a Galaxy class starship which was supposed to be undergoing a refit at some point or something like that, as far as Racheal was concerned, it was above her level of worry when she heard another person's voice.

She raised an eyebrow as she placed the PADD down as she turned her attention to whoever wanted her time.

"Hi. I've never seen you here before. " A tall boy, almost 16 years old with dark hair was standing there observing her, "Are you new to Starbase 400?"

The twelve year old was suddenly intimidated by the larger male standing before her. "Umm... yeah.." she paused. "You busy?" she added.

"Yeah, busy talking to you." He broke a smile, "So, what does your mother do here on SB400?"

Racheal indicated a chair across from her. "She's the new Strategic Operations Officer.... whatever that means.." she responded.

"My mother is Special Ops XO. She used to be the Chief Security and Tactical Officer but she got promoted. "Have you had a tour of the base? If not, I can show you around."

Racheal found herself smiling. "I've only been on base about ninety minutes or so... I don't know where anything is.." she paused. "a tour.. sure... why not."

"Cool." He started to walk, motioning her to follow him, "So what kind of stuff do you like to do?"

Racheal looked at the larger male as she hopped off of her chair and obediently followed him out of the replimat. "Well I dabble in many of my mom's interests but then I have more interests in music, I also enjoy my training... I do like teaching people who pick on others why its unwise." she explained. "I wonder if our parents will get along.." the twelve year old mused aloud.

"They're both in OPS so I don't see why not." He looked over at her, "Um, how old are you anyway?"

The child smiled as she followed behind the larger male. "I'm twelve years old." she responded. "I'm told I'm very advanced for my age... I think its because I was forced to grow up quickly... which is a long story." she shrugged. "How old are you?"

"I'll be sixteen in another month. I thought you were older."

The child nodded as she had clearly heard that statement or something to that effect before. "Yes... so I'm told..." she sighed softly. "I'm sorry.." she shook her head, she had lost friends because she acted so much older then she actually was, but then she was more advanced then the usual preteen.

"Don't be sorry. I've met a lot of kids my age that don't act their age. Are you hungry?"

Racheal smiled. "I've only been on base a couple of hours and I can't find a decent bowl of Idanian spice pudding anywhere... " she looked up at him with a rather impish grin. "You know of where to get a large bowl.... I am a growing kid after all..." she responded.

He thought for a moment, "Yeah coming to think of it. Come on. they make the best curry too." He led her to a little whole in the wall.

Racheal followed obediantly as she raised an eyebrow as she took in the sights. "Nice place here...." she looked at the Waitress who gave her a funny look which clearly said. 'so we're serving to children now...' and Racheal sighed softly. "Paul... what do you do for fun?"

"I like computer games and to hang out with friends but that's about it." He looked at her, "How about you?"

Racheal smiled as she watched him with her blue eyes, one of the many things she had inherited from her father. "Oh lets see... aside from flying. There is orbital skydiving, surfing, my kendo training.." she shrugged sheepishly. "I also like to ..." her smile slightly widened. "deal with people who prey on those weaker then themselves.... the school bully."

"All of that. You sound like a dare devil. I've never gone skydiving before or surfing. I do know how to do some martial arts but I'm not very good." Paul admitted.

The smaller child grinned across the table as she regarded him. "Oh we simply must fix that." she responded. "Wave walking is not for everyone though... it will require you to face one of your most primal fears.... tidal waves." she explained. "Would you try surfing a thirty foot wave or run from it?" she looked at him as she asked him the question.

He didn't want to look like a wimp, "Try to surf it of course."

Racheal smiled warmly at him. "Paul, you don't need to worry about impressing me... if you ran from it, I would understand... I would run from it unless I knew it was safe to surf." she watched him carefully. "You're not like the average kid our age..." she paused.

"You caught me. And you're not like the average kid our age either." He smirked. The waitress came back and took their orders. "Maybe one day, we'll have to try that surfing thing in one of the holodecks. I'm sure that I can make a program for it."

"No need.. I have my own program... my Dad made it for me for Christmas last year..." Racheal explained with a smile. "Well.. I kinda had to grow up quickly... I'm part Hallian, they grow up a little faster then humans do."

"What is a Hallian?" He was still getting used to seeing various aliens on the base.

Racheal chuckled softly. "You will need to ask my mother that... She can give you a better answer then I can since I consider myself to be human, except a little more grown up then most girls my age." she explained.

"I don't need to really know. I'm not going to like snub you because of what race you are. So when we are done here, what do you want to do?"

She suddenly grinned at him. "We head to a holodeck and I will show you my hobbies... you look like you need to get out more."

Paul chuckled, "I do. Okay, the holodeck it is. Whenever you're ready."

Her smile widened into a rather evil looking grin. "Well. lets eat first... we both will need the calories."

He laughed, "You're so weird."

Racheal raised an eyebrow as a mirthful grin tugged at her lips. "Define: weird?" she inquired as she looked at him with her lovely dark brown eyes.

"You're the only twelve year old that I know who is concerned about calories. Girls my age are a different story."

"I am also likely the only Hallian you know my good man. We develop faster then your average human and while I am part human, I'm still developing faster, it was the same with my siblings."

"Well don't develop too fast. You might surpass me too."

"Maybe... " she responded evenly.

"Maybe? Is that like we'll see?" He waved his hand, "Nevermind." They get to the holodeck, "It's all yours."

Racheal looked up at the larger guy standing next to her. "Halians are somewhat rare these days... its not helped that we mate for life... so no daliances for me." she then smiled sweetly up at him as it quickly became clear that she knew precisly what she was talking about. "Computer." she
said evenly as she tapped the display next to her on the wall, once with her finger. "Lets see.... program Yamaguchi Nerubian one." she then chuckled softly. "This was one of the more intresting programs my sister made for me.. "

"Program complete, you may enter when ready" the computer intoned as Racheal rolled her eyes. "Sounds like my aunt Talon..." she muttered. "Can you handle cold?"

"Yeah, sure, why? Should I be worried?"

Racheal looked up at him. "I'm being polite Paul." she raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have many female friends... do you?" she raised an eyebrow as she
tapped the door release and before he could answer, she turned and walked onto the holodeck where they were greeted by a scene of dark cold as Racheal sighed, her breathe coming out in a ragged, puffy cloud. "Mmmm taste that air.."

"If you must know, you're the first girl I've actually hung out with. I went to an all boys school." He shivered, "You weren't kidding, were you?"

"Mmm.. about minus 10 degrees celcius." she responded as she looked up towards the top of the frozen plain they were standing on, the sky was overcast and flashes of lightning could be seen but it was the stillness and darkness that were quite unnerving.

He looked around, "Impressive."

"Yeah, this was something Beth designed from a video game that was supost to be quite popular a few centuries ago... Warcraft or something like that."

"Hmm. Never heard of it."

"Its not a bad place to visit..." she looked around as she began walking forward towards the massive and squad looking metalic building off in the distance as they were bathed in a soft mild blue light which Racheal knew to be anything but soothing. "Welcome to Icecrown."

"This is so cool. A guy could get used to this place." He smiled.

Racheal smiled as her footfalls crunched into the hard packed ice and snow which covered the land in a white blanket. "Beth designed this program to be adaptable to the user... you can face monsters if you wish but right now, there is none."

"Monsters? I definitely could get used to this."

Racheal chuckled softly. "You'll need a weapon... whats your preferance?" she inquired but before he could respond. "Computer, one Magai staff for a Ice Mage." and with that a rather ornate looking staff appeared and she grasped it, it was about twice as long as she was tall but that was because she was only twelve years old. "You'll find lots of undead around here, ghouls and gargoyles... Oh and watch out for the Abominations.... you can't miss them... litteraly." she added the last word with a grin.

"So do we chop off their heads or do we dig out their hearts?" He wasn't familiar with the game.

"No... we just kill them." she responded as she turned to regard him. "Its not too cold for you?." she inquired.

"Naah, it's fine. Let's do this."

She raised an eyebrow. "Very well... Computer, Claymore.." and with that a massive looking broadsword appeared in midair as if defying gravity. "Can you fight?" she looked up at him.

"I've learned some things from Captain Pike. I guess I won't know until I try."

"Alright.. then we'll walk around and try our skills against some of these monsters then." she responded evenly as she watched, several monsters that seemed to roam around appeared, some looked human but almost skelital and frail while others looked downright evil and one lookad gigantic. "Watch the Abomination... he has a hook ability that can grab you and pull you to him."

"I'll try to remember that." He followed her as he watched all of the creatures around him. His first encounter with one of the monsters wasn't the greatest but he did okay. The monster hit him in the shoulder, knocking him down. Paul grew frustrated .

Racheal watched him fight. "You've had training...?" she inquired as she noticed that his form was decent but needed refining as she offered him her hand, as he grasped it, she slowly pulled him up to his feet, revealing that while she may be smaller then he was, she packed a lot of power for someone her age. "Come on big guy.." she responded "Lets try our hands against something a little smaller... that skelital worker over there... the one with the
axe." she indicated her target.

"I said that I learned a few things. I didn't say I was good at it. Sheesh." He followed her, "The one with the axe? You think he is easier? Okay." He approached it and jumped back when the skeleton swung the axe. The axe swing once more, just missing his stomach, "Are you sure that the safeties are on?" The axe swung once more. The skeleton over compensated and the axe made the skeleton stumble. Paul ran and kicked the skeleton with his feet. Paul landed on the ground as the skeleton flew a few feet from Paul. Paul got up and took the axe from the skeleton and went to town on him, separating the skeletal limbs from the skeleton. Paul looked over at Racheal and smiled proudly.

Racheal looked up at him, a smile gracing her delicate features. "You did alright.. and yes, the safties are always on... I can't turn them off and even if I could... I would not do it." she explained as she held the staff in the hand, she raised an eyebrow as she looked off to her right as she heard something large comming towards them. "Mmm... we have company."

"Mmm... you are comming with me" the massive figure responded with a soft growl, its armored visage was extreamly threaterning and spoke of much evil.

"I see..." Racheal responded cooly. "If I refuse?"

"Then I rend you limb from limb.... your.. boyfriend can watch."

"Tempting." Racheal responded. "However, I will have to decline." she added a moment later as she prepared herself as she held her Bo staff in her right hand as she held up her left hand, forefinger and middle fingers fully extended while the other fingers were bent and curled, her thumb was straight as well. "Come then....."

Paul watched on with his mouth almost hanging open. He had become quite infatuated with her. He had never met anyone like her.

Racheal smiled as she moved, quickly disarming her opponant before driving her boot once into its ribcage, a loud snap that sounded like something tearing could be heard as the undead being roared with a combination of anger and pain before she finished it off by severing its head from its body. "Ahh... now that was fullfilling..." she turned to regard her companion. "Paul?"

Paul didn't say anything for a few minutes. He looked down at the body, holding his neck with one hand, not sure what to say, "Glad you are on my side." He swallowed.

Racheal turned her attention from her downed victim over to Paul. "Paul.. you okay?" she inquired with a smile. "You should see my mother do this program..."

"I'm fine. It's just that I have never seen a girl handle herself like you did. I am very impressed. Are you really sure that you are twelve?"

Racheal smiled at him under the dim blueish light. "I'm sure... unless Mom and Dad lied to me all these years..." she commented. "Which I don't think is likely."

Paul laughed, "I don't think so either."

"In any case.. mom and dad thought it was important for their children to be able to defend themselves from whatever might try to harm them." she explained breifly. "Physical as well as mental... it paid off for Beth when some guy tried to rape her... she made him eat concrete."

"Ouch." He cringed, "I wonder if I would have been able to do that if my life started out differently. Dad didn't want me to be anything like my mother. I wanted to take Karate but he said that he didn't believe in violence."

Racheal looked up at him. "Its a matter of physical and mental discipline." she explained. "It doesn't matter where you started, what matters is where you are now." she explained as she stabbed her staff into the snowpacked ground as she inquired. "Show me your best defenseive stance."

"Um, I don't exactly have one." He shyly admitted.

Racheal nodded her head as she looked at him, she then stepped into the stance she was taught how to use. "Left foot foreward... arm's raised like so." the twelve year old explained gently Step back slightly wider than shoulders width apart, both heels are down "Turn the lead foot at angle inward and the rear foot at an angle outward. Lower your weight and sit into the stance to control your posture. The lead hand and arm is in front prepared to block, grab or strike, this is usualy the left because they are right handed. if you are left handed then you want to use the right instead, save your strong hand for your attacks, also the rear hand and arm is near chest prepared to help manipulate the opponent or attack"

She showed him exacly as she smiled. "Also, mental training is needed. Can you control your temper?"

"I don't have a temper. My dad was the one with a temper and I promised myself that I would never lose control like him."

Racheal might have been twelve but she was excepionaly advanced for her age and she was also rather self controled. "There is a difference Paul, between self-control and self-repression... Don't let others mistakes become your own." she explained. "your oath does you credit but... unless you learn real control and be able to handle yourself... people will walk all over you for the rest of your life."

Paul shrugged, "I guess you're right. So, how about showing me some more things."

Racheal nodded. "I'll help with the basics but my mom is the real master, she can teach you everything you need to know... but we'd best get going... we're already going to be late for the party."

"I guess we'd better. I wouldn't want to be blamed for getting you there late.
He smiled at her, letting her know that he was joking.

"Alrighty then." the twelve year old replied evenly. "Lets go."

***** Here's where the fun begins - Anakin Skywalker *****

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