24/48 Challenge, part four.
The Twenty Four in Forty Eight Drabble challenge
Drabbles Thirteen to Sixteen
Character:Micheal Garibaldi
Fandom: Babylon 5
Word: "Four"
Four steps. Four rules that have gotten him this far.
One: Stay sober at all times.
The drink is cold comfort when someone takes advantage of your addled wits to pull off something. You can't drink in moderation ergo you can't drink. One drink will only arrive in small glasses.
Two: No-one can be completely trusted.
Even the most decent person has different ideas of right and wrong. No matter how much you trust them with problems or secrets - always remember, they may not react the way you want them too.
Three: Don't tell people everything.
No matter how dire the situation, always operate on "Need to know." People work better without distractions.
Four: Remember that you're expendable.
Always leave backup plans, always have a wildcard up your sleeve. You follow those with higher moral aims, those who put the 'right' thing about all else. You know this so remember, the right thing will always matter more than you.
At times like this, Garibaldi toys with the idea of adding a fifth - get used to being alone. He sighs, pastes on a nochalant expression and steps out into the bustle of the station. He has a job to do.
Character: Bishamon
Fandom: Cyberpunk 2020
Word: "Mild"
Can one engineer emotions? Ishida-sama wrote a paper on it once, during the final stages of bio-engineering the ultimate Samurai - emotionless, ruthless with loyalty only to the greater Empire. Today that empire is built of euro-dollars and red-tape rather than isolated farmsteads and feudal values but the need is the same.
The perfect samurai. Devoid of any identity, any emotional connection except his devotion to the empire.
And so Bishamon was born. He is intelligent, efficent and utterly cold-blooded. He cultivates a mild, obedient persona and Arasaka scientists congradulate themselves on such a wondrous success. He is talked over and around, a tool that most notice only when they need it. He is on a par with the security cameras and automated defences, people pass him by without a second thought, confident he is fulfilling his purpose.
Only the street rats look into his almost pure black eyes and wonder about the soul within.
Character: Kyra
Fandom: Chronicles of Riddick
Word:"Kimono"
She's different. Riddick came to look for a girl - psuedo tough and naive. The woman he found is a surprise. Hard shelled but he can see the flicker of emotion that belies her bad-ass routine. She may not be 'Jack' any more but the young, enthuisiastic kid sister is still in there.
He can remember the last time he saw her, just before he dropped off the face of the galaxy...or tried to. She hadn't liked the idea of him leaving and he'd picked up a present for her - thinking it'd help her settle in. He couldn't find the robes that the Iman and his boys had worn but he did find a real silk kimono.
The image of Jack, swathed in silk and smiling like he'd given her her own personal planet has been a treasured keepsake for the lifetime he spent under the ice. Riddick looks around and catches a glimpse of her watching him from the shadows. If he tilts his head juuust right, he can see Jack in this "Kyra".
He smiles and settles down to wait for the right time to make his move.
Character: John Myers
Fandom: Hellboy
Word: "Ghost"
He sits in the Victorian library and looks around, uncomfortable in this place. Professor Broom's personality is imprinted everywhere and he jumps slightly at every creak. He's all alone here - Red and Liz are downstairs, visiting Abe. He had been invited but declined. It wasn't his place. He didn't belong there.
Sure, he'd done alright against Grigori and his minions but that didn't validate his presence on the team. Every word, every gesture reminded them all of those they'd lost to Samael and the clockwork man. He can see the grief, the loss but there's nothing he can do, no power he has that will make things better.
And so he sits here, among centuaries worth of arcane knowledge, haunted by the ghost of those who were here before him.
deannawol's reply to the same challenges can be found here
Drabbles Thirteen to Sixteen
Character:Micheal Garibaldi
Fandom: Babylon 5
Word: "Four"
Four steps. Four rules that have gotten him this far.
One: Stay sober at all times.
The drink is cold comfort when someone takes advantage of your addled wits to pull off something. You can't drink in moderation ergo you can't drink. One drink will only arrive in small glasses.
Two: No-one can be completely trusted.
Even the most decent person has different ideas of right and wrong. No matter how much you trust them with problems or secrets - always remember, they may not react the way you want them too.
Three: Don't tell people everything.
No matter how dire the situation, always operate on "Need to know." People work better without distractions.
Four: Remember that you're expendable.
Always leave backup plans, always have a wildcard up your sleeve. You follow those with higher moral aims, those who put the 'right' thing about all else. You know this so remember, the right thing will always matter more than you.
At times like this, Garibaldi toys with the idea of adding a fifth - get used to being alone. He sighs, pastes on a nochalant expression and steps out into the bustle of the station. He has a job to do.
Character: Bishamon
Fandom: Cyberpunk 2020
Word: "Mild"
Can one engineer emotions? Ishida-sama wrote a paper on it once, during the final stages of bio-engineering the ultimate Samurai - emotionless, ruthless with loyalty only to the greater Empire. Today that empire is built of euro-dollars and red-tape rather than isolated farmsteads and feudal values but the need is the same.
The perfect samurai. Devoid of any identity, any emotional connection except his devotion to the empire.
And so Bishamon was born. He is intelligent, efficent and utterly cold-blooded. He cultivates a mild, obedient persona and Arasaka scientists congradulate themselves on such a wondrous success. He is talked over and around, a tool that most notice only when they need it. He is on a par with the security cameras and automated defences, people pass him by without a second thought, confident he is fulfilling his purpose.
Only the street rats look into his almost pure black eyes and wonder about the soul within.
Character: Kyra
Fandom: Chronicles of Riddick
Word:"Kimono"
She's different. Riddick came to look for a girl - psuedo tough and naive. The woman he found is a surprise. Hard shelled but he can see the flicker of emotion that belies her bad-ass routine. She may not be 'Jack' any more but the young, enthuisiastic kid sister is still in there.
He can remember the last time he saw her, just before he dropped off the face of the galaxy...or tried to. She hadn't liked the idea of him leaving and he'd picked up a present for her - thinking it'd help her settle in. He couldn't find the robes that the Iman and his boys had worn but he did find a real silk kimono.
The image of Jack, swathed in silk and smiling like he'd given her her own personal planet has been a treasured keepsake for the lifetime he spent under the ice. Riddick looks around and catches a glimpse of her watching him from the shadows. If he tilts his head juuust right, he can see Jack in this "Kyra".
He smiles and settles down to wait for the right time to make his move.
Character: John Myers
Fandom: Hellboy
Word: "Ghost"
He sits in the Victorian library and looks around, uncomfortable in this place. Professor Broom's personality is imprinted everywhere and he jumps slightly at every creak. He's all alone here - Red and Liz are downstairs, visiting Abe. He had been invited but declined. It wasn't his place. He didn't belong there.
Sure, he'd done alright against Grigori and his minions but that didn't validate his presence on the team. Every word, every gesture reminded them all of those they'd lost to Samael and the clockwork man. He can see the grief, the loss but there's nothing he can do, no power he has that will make things better.
And so he sits here, among centuaries worth of arcane knowledge, haunted by the ghost of those who were here before him.
deannawol's reply to the same challenges can be found here