[Fic]gw500 prompt - friction, A Lesson Well Learned
Title: A Lesson Well Learned
Author: lil_1337
Pairing/Characters: Noin, mention of Wufei
Rating: G
Word count: 394
Warnings/Kinks: Introspection, angst with resolution
Summary: For the gw500 prompt friction.
Disclaimer: I don't own them and we are all okay with this arrangement.
The outer plates of the hull grated together in a way that would have kicked up sparks if there had been oxygen instead of vacuum. One slid under another in a mock up of tectonic plates causing rivets to pop and creating an up thrust of mangled metal. Here and there fires burned blast furnace hot, greedily devouring the gas that kept them alive. An explosion rocked ship, a final convulsion before it's spirit was consigned to the space equivalent of Davy Jones' locker for all eternity.
From a safe distance Noin watched, expressionless, as her cadets showed their mettle in deep space maneuvers. It was her first class of trainees since becoming an instructor for Preventers and though her face remained impassive emotions flowed through her fast and furious as she studied them. She no longer had the protective blanket of denial about survival of men she had spent the last months molding into keepers of the peace. No matter how well she trained them or how talented they were some of them would die in the line of duty. It was a simple matter of fact.
To presume other wise would be arrogant and naïve. Wufei had taught her that; driving the point home with the precision of a man who struck to heart of his enemies' weakness. There were times like now when she deeply resented having had the last of her innocence ripped away from her. She understood the reasons and had moved past the events of the war to find a peace within herself, but she was still a human. The loss of her men at Lake Victoria had formed the hardened soldier, who could now ruthlessly critique her charges.
In a few days this group would be Wufei's headache then God help them, especially those that complained she was tough on them. In a few days her tutelage would be remember as kind and gentle. What happened from there would not be her responsibility. They would survive or not as their personal destinies dictated. By then she would have already have moved on to another batch of raw recruits. This was her role, one that she had chosen for herself with her eyes wide open. Any ridiculous sentimentality or attachment would only serve to recreate the mistakes of her past and that was something she would not do.
Author: lil_1337
Pairing/Characters: Noin, mention of Wufei
Rating: G
Word count: 394
Warnings/Kinks: Introspection, angst with resolution
Summary: For the gw500 prompt friction.
Disclaimer: I don't own them and we are all okay with this arrangement.
The outer plates of the hull grated together in a way that would have kicked up sparks if there had been oxygen instead of vacuum. One slid under another in a mock up of tectonic plates causing rivets to pop and creating an up thrust of mangled metal. Here and there fires burned blast furnace hot, greedily devouring the gas that kept them alive. An explosion rocked ship, a final convulsion before it's spirit was consigned to the space equivalent of Davy Jones' locker for all eternity.
From a safe distance Noin watched, expressionless, as her cadets showed their mettle in deep space maneuvers. It was her first class of trainees since becoming an instructor for Preventers and though her face remained impassive emotions flowed through her fast and furious as she studied them. She no longer had the protective blanket of denial about survival of men she had spent the last months molding into keepers of the peace. No matter how well she trained them or how talented they were some of them would die in the line of duty. It was a simple matter of fact.
To presume other wise would be arrogant and naïve. Wufei had taught her that; driving the point home with the precision of a man who struck to heart of his enemies' weakness. There were times like now when she deeply resented having had the last of her innocence ripped away from her. She understood the reasons and had moved past the events of the war to find a peace within herself, but she was still a human. The loss of her men at Lake Victoria had formed the hardened soldier, who could now ruthlessly critique her charges.
In a few days this group would be Wufei's headache then God help them, especially those that complained she was tough on them. In a few days her tutelage would be remember as kind and gentle. What happened from there would not be her responsibility. They would survive or not as their personal destinies dictated. By then she would have already have moved on to another batch of raw recruits. This was her role, one that she had chosen for herself with her eyes wide open. Any ridiculous sentimentality or attachment would only serve to recreate the mistakes of her past and that was something she would not do.