Starcraft Fan Fiction ❯ Interstellar Explorers ❯ Ρσiητ, Αim αηd Firε ( Chapter 6 )

Thank you Hecate'sHufflepuff for your review! I'm secretly very glad that someone decided to give some feedback! :D

~ Ρσiητ, Αim αηd Firε ~

Paige Brewer watched her good acquaintances leave the robotics lab. In a fit of childish displeasure Elliot swung the door behind him but Milo caught it and closed it gently. She turned back to her work immediately, paying no attention to the sulky dramas of others. Sexuality was a very personal thing and private to a lot of people. Still, it was the twenty-fourth century. The only morons who would discriminate on someone's preferences were misguided, something that is agreed upon by all sensible people. In the same respect, wishing to craft an image that is anything but your true self is absurd. It is always better to be who you are. Paige had no patience for people who couldn't come to this conclusion on their own. She herself was bisexual, although didn't feel the need to spread that fact around. Regardless of any issues a person might have with expressing who they are, it is for them to recognise this truth and get over whatever trauma is holding them back. Sensitivity towards people who just hadn't gotten this yet sounded to Paige like patience wasted.

While disregarding the sensitivities of others was her normal reaction, all these thoughts did play out in the back of her mind. The active part of her mind was focussed intently on the task at hand. Which gear went where... the correct amount of force to be applied to that part there... Another part of her mind was keeping track of her conversation with Juno, but its awareness was diminishing as her friend became silent. In truth Paige only had six people in her life she would inwardly refer to as friends. Milo had always just been Juno's boyfriend to her, and Elliot his add-on best pal. Even back then though, she'd always thought Milo was cute. Practically everyone in their group did, he was a good-looking guy. Shortly after Milo and Juno broke up however, the only seventh person that Paige considered a friend committed heinous crimes. His betrayal to their group was one of utter malice and vulgarity. Now she was careful about who she trusted, so even though it was a year later and Milo and Elliot were still a part of her life inside they were just good acquaintances.

It was weird that Juno hadn't spoken, but by this stage the part of Paige's mind that was following conversation had faded out and all of her foreground focus was on the arm she'd built. It was of exquisite design, the detail and shine was beyond that of a master's perfection. The chrome in the alloy made sure it would never rust, erode or lose its shimmer. The titanium made the tool powerful and unbendable. While Juno had marvelled at how the masterpiece looked and felt she couldn't fully comprehend the magnificence of its interior. Every cog and gear fit together efficiently, such a design would have gotten her more than perfect marks in her Gadgetry major project. It was the most valuable thing she'd ever given a friend, but when Juno had laid there on that medical gourney with tears in her eyes saying she wanted to be stronger... Paige had known exactly what that meant. So she built this, and it went to good use. Paige may have been seen as cold and indifferent when people got their feelings hurt but that was only because she wanted people to understand and get over things on their own. None of them intentionally wanted to hurt each other so they should just toughen up about it. There was too much childhood drama when they were younger, and Paige didn't fancy their friendship becoming some awkward and formal dance because they were too afraid of stepping on each other's toes. However that guy had taken things way too far...

It wasn't long until Paige had almost finished the upgrade for Juno's arm. That was when her friend finally broke the long silence.

"Hmmm."

"Hm?"

"I guess giving Sayuri the heads up wasn't the best thing I could've done."

"Huh?" Paige turned away from her work and saw Juno sitting at the bench with her IM Buzzer out. She was awkwardly typing on the holographic keyboard with one hand. "You told her Elliot was angry and coming after her? What possessed you to do that?"

"Well, I figured it would be the friendly thing to do."

"Hm." Paige stared forward. "Normally yeah, but Elliot's a scary guy. I wouldn't want him to be angry at me. He's rarely ever angry, I think that's why she'll get worried."

"Yeah, I think you're right..."

Paige paused for a moment. She was aware that despite wanting the best for everyone she was not a faultless person. She was actually a natural attention seeker and had a tendency to cattiness, but because she was aware of these problems she'd learnt to recognise them in herself and focus on rising above them, being a better person as a result. When they were all younger and their group was rife with childish girly conflict Paige may have been the worst one of them all. She had a tendency to drag conversations and make everything about herself. She also got too sensitive to criticism and over-thought everything, making whoever tried to point out her flaws the bad guys regardless of what their intention was. They all grew up with time, except for that guy it seemed. Paige understood her own character flaws but instead of hating herself she worked to gradually remove them. Her old self did still show through at times, for example she couldn't help but be deeply impressed in the core of her being when she happened to be in a positive spotlight. She also couldn't help talking about her friends when they weren't there, but now she tried to keep all the things she said positive. Although every now and again the urge would be too great and she just couldn't quite help herself...

"I think Elliot is being ridiculous."

"You do?"

"He needs to get over it and stop caring about what other people think of him."

"Oh?"

"He knows Sayuri well by now. She's innocent. She just talks too much, it's not really her fault. Now he's going to make her feel bad when the real reason he's angry has nothing to do with what she's been doing."

"I guess you've got a point. But doesn't he have a right to be angry? I mean she is our friend but Sayuri's still in the wrong here. Boys are different to girls, and people have always been less judgemental to bi people than they've been to gays. Plus we don't know what Elliot could be really dealing with here. He's usually quiet, we can't assume we know what his life's like."

Paige clenched and unclenched her hands, saying nothing. Juno never talked about people behind her back, she thought of it as cowardly. If she had a problem she would only take it up with that person and to their face. From the tone of her voice Paige could tell she was unhappy talking about someone who wasn't in the room. Juno was right, of course. The two girls were very different in some ways. While Paige knew Juno had a point, she still disagreed with her. Everyone has to overcome their own obstacles. Everyone should do everything in their power to be the best person they can on their own, not make excuses to get angry and be difficult. Paige didn't explain this, there would be no point. They simply had different opinions. So instead, despite the proud little monster that hated being proven wrong that Paige had long suppressed, she looked at her friend with a smile.

"You're right. Let's stop talking about it."

Juno didn't have any urge to fill the silence with awkward chatter. It was one thing Paige liked about her. Juno didn't have to stay and she knew that, but she did anyway and that was appreciated. In a few minutes the upgrade was done, Paige moved her legs apart and got into a good stance before attempting to lift the arm.

"Alright, let's do this!"

Juno was leaning back on her stool looking at the ceiling, she hopped off and hurried over. The arm fitted on with a click and Paige reached for her bionic screwdriver. The nerves connected with a quiet hiss and she made sure all the bolts were done up right.

Paige wiped the sweat from her brow "How does it feel."

"Not much different." Juno flexed the fingers then moved her arm "The socket is smoother."

"It won't kink as much now and won't jam when you fight with it."

"Thanks Paige, you're great!"

"Don't mention it." another smile.

Afterwards the thought of momentarily sensitive friends made Paige think she should visit her ex, Lauren. Lauren usually sat with the other girls in the Atrium Dome at lunch unless she had an upcoming exam in her favourite subject, Weaponry. As it happened she did and Paige thought this was convenient because it lessened the chance of getting involved with Sayuri and Elliot as well as whatever antics they might have gotten up to. Lauren was a very skilled marksman and boasted a shooting accuracy of 98%. She had an obsession with ancient weapons, not the varying hand-held blades Elliot was into but the primitive bullet-firing weapons of centuries past. She had an impressive collection of firearms containing rifles, automatic handguns, magnums and many other varieties. The school had not permitted her to have a machine gun, much to her very vocal disappointment. Modern energy-based weapons could effectively stun people without causing much harm, this made the lethal weapons of old look barbaric and dangerous. Paige guessed this was part of the appeal for Lauren however.

She headed down to the foyer and then into the arcadium room. It was dark and there were flashy games and lights everywhere. Paige had absolutely loved this place when she was younger, her friends used to come here all the time. After the years it stopped being so great and she quickly wound her way to the back of the room before all the flashing colours gave her a headache. This room led to the shooting range, where a certain let-down friend would have retreated to let off steam as well as practice for her exam. Paige had to shove all her weight against the heavy door and once she was inside a loud bang almost made her jump out of her socks.

"Good grief!" she exclaimed, Lauren raised her head from the scope of her gun. She wore ear-muffs to prevent damaging her hearing from the primitive weapon's fire. The echo in the isolated room made it more pronounced.

The door swung closed and Paige lowered her hands from her ears, fixing her circular glasses as well.

"Oh. What's up, Paige?" Lauren pulled her ear-muffs back and they rested on her shoulders.

"Geez, Lauren. I don't understand your fascination with those things. Modern weapons make very little noise."

"I'm being cautious." she indicated to the ear-muffs.

"Well we certainly don't need another friend to lose her hearing." Paige spoke gruffly as she walked over. Lauren lowered her weapon, her straight blonde hair was almost always tied back into a single pony-tail and she had a bizarrely intense love for flannel and jeans. It was very much a fault in fashion, Paige muchly preferred her own dark skirts and comfy jumpers.

"How have you been?" she asked, very much like a platonicly concerned and dutiful friend.

"Oh, good."

"Even after you found out Juno...?"

"Wasn't keen on minge-munching like us?"

"Lauren! You know I don't like it when you get crass!"

"Oh well," she looked back at her target on the other end of her shooting column. "You win some and you lose some. I guess it's hard to find someone who's like you when there's so few of us on this lonely spaceship. Sometimes I get jealous of you Paige, cause at least there are plenty of boys you can date. But then I remember, ew boys are fucking dirty and I get over it."

"Well, that is the appropriate attitude to have I guess."

"It's sweet that you came to check up on me, but I'm fine."

Paige pursed her lips in consideration. Lauren wanted nothing more than a girlfriend when they were young. She used to not really get along with the girly members of their group until she started looking at all of them in a new way. When Paige started questioning her own sexuality they dated for a while but Lauren got too clingy so eventually Paige decided to end it. Lauren wasn't one to show her feelings, but things between them didn't go so well after that. Admittedly Paige hadn't been as upfront as she should have, and for a while she was just hoping Lauren would end it if she kept her distance for long enough. Sadly Lauren was the type who seemed to fall head over heels in all of her crushes. When Amelia found out Paige was secretly attracted to her confidence and wit she decided to let her down easily. Paige had still found the rejection humiliating and couldn't help holding a grudge on someone who could read her so embarrassingly well. She could've explained this to make Lauren feel better but Paige knew she wouldn't. Lauren wasn't as good at keeping secrets as Juno and Amelia, plus ever since they broke up they just weren't that close anymore.

How did you feel about seeing things from another character's perspective? I thought I'd give poor Milo a rest for a bit. XD