Star Wars: The Earthling Gamer

Chapter 25 - The War Council

I woke up the following morning in a cold sweat, as Kara, once again, persuaded me to sleep before this meeting. I glanced at the clock, and noted the time. 8:40 AM. I rolled out of bed, equipped my armor, and went to the kitchen, grabbing a granola bar to munch on.

"Good morning." I heard Hazel say, as we turned to face each other. She frowned. "Nightmares again?" She asked. I nodded. "Look, about yesterday..." I started. "Don't. I know you're sorry about what you said, and I was wrong to be that reckless yesterday morning. We were both wrong. Let's just be adults about this and move on." She said firmly.

"Alright. Thank you, Hazel." I told her, quickly finishing my granola bar. "I'd been thinking... Maybe it'd be better if Kara and myself didn't go to this meeting today. We won't be able to contribute anything." Hazel told me hesitantly. "Contrary to that, I think it's better we continue to present ourselves as a group. Splitting up never goes well, and it earns all of you the same respect as me, in theory, which might come in handy." I countered.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I've never gone to war before, nor have I strategized for such a thing before, if that wasn't clear, since we're both still minors. Even if you don't think you can contribute anything, I think there's a possibility you both might contribute greatly. You come from the family of an agent, and Kara gives a civilian perspective to these people. So we act together, or not at all." I advised her.

She sighs. "I get your point. Part of me just doesn't want to bring Kara to this, because I'm scared she'll get overwhelmed by it." She tries. "When was the last time she got overwhelmed in a group meeting with us?" Hazel was silent after that. "Fine. We'll go." She relented.

I smile at her. "Thank you." I hug her, and she freezes up for a second before hugging me back. "Can I be completely honest with you?" She asked me. "You can tell me anything. Don't worry." I assured her. "You're... terrifying when you're mad. Your pupils turn a sickly yellow, the air around me grows cold, and through the Force... I feel death's grip on me." She shudders.

I falter at that. My best guess? The Bloodlust ability was to blame for that. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that happened when I was angry." I apologized. "It's fine. Just... beware of the effects your powers have on you, especially when fueled by emotions." She says shakily. I peek into her thoughts, and pale at what I see. Even I terrified myself.

I hear two sets of feet walking into the kitchen, so I break myself from examining the image of my anger, and refocus on the two girls who just walked in, wearing their full gear. "Are we ready to go?" Mana asked. Kara glanced at the two of us, and Hazel seemed to have a short exchange with her mentally.

"I think so. Hazel, are you ready?" I ask gently. She nods, seemingly having shaken off the fear of me again. I felt terrible. She was scared of me. As we all walked out the door, I locked eyes with Hazel, lowering my mental guards. "I'm never going to hurt any of you, okay? I know it might not be reassuring coming from me, but my anger was just that. Anger. No matter how furious I may be, I would never harm a friend." I tried to assure her.

::I wish I could believe that so easily. It'll take time before I'm going to be completely over that.:: She responded. I nod, and throw up my mental guards again. We all sit on the front porch, awaiting our transportation.

It was half an hour before we arrived in the bunker. We took the elevator, same as before, into the meeting room for the war council. There was a large, round table, with an assortment of papers and maps piled around. Hell, there was even a projector and SmartBoard in here, along with other white boards, like the ones you'd see hanging on walls in a classroom, and they all had hastily written words or maps drawn on them.