Bleed, Patch, And Keep Moving - An Apex Legends Story

Chapter 3 - Debriefing

Ajay Che blinked a few times and began to breathe like it was something she to relearn how to do. She filled her lungs with air like she struggling to breathe. Her head began throbbing as reality was reintroduced to her body. Her eyes flickered to accommodate to the light around her. Her chestnut eyes observed her surroundings. The transport ship was simple and always had a low, familiar hum as it flew.

The transport ship was small and it transported the Legends from the arena to the Head Quarters (HQ) or from HQ to the arena. It didn't take very long to get to HQ; maybe 10 minutes if Ajay had to count. Everyone sat quietly in their seats. The three women that had just won their match (Lifeline, Wraith, and Bangalore or Ajay Che, Renee Blasey, and Anita Williams; respectively) were humble about their win as they said nothing. Maybe they were just adjusting to reality again like everyone else on the ship.

There was silence amongst the transport ship the entire way back to HQ. As the ship landed and the legends were about to exit the ship, MRVN (arena name: Pathfinder), a sweet but insensitive robot, said, "Oh, am I supposed to talk?" Everyone seem to stir and laugh a little as the awkward silence had finally come to an end. Makoa Gibraltar (arena name: Gibraltar) laughed whole heartedly at MRVN.

Makoa was larger in stature with a heart and personality that was just as large. He laughed and hit MRVN so hard that the poor robot tumbled down the exit ramp of the transport ship. The ship was positioned in the air hanger of HQ. Luckily MRVN didn't have to worry about tumbling over the edge of a waterfall or fall off the side of the building. MRVN was quick to get up and walk inside.

Ajay chuckled just a little as she watched the whole interaction between Makoa and MRVN. She was emotionally exhausted from the battle. She walked down the ramp with her shoulders slumped over. She looked almost defeated even though she had won her first arena match. She stopped at the end of the ramp as she felt a familiar hand firmly grasp her shoulder.

Ajay turned around and looked up to Anita, who towered over Ajay by a handful of inches. Anita always seemed to stand at attention; it was the solider in her. Anita released her grip on Ajay's shoulder, "You did good today kid." Ajay watched as Anita's darkly pigmented hand patted her on the shoulder before she walked away. Ajay was almost paralyzed by Anita's words. She had trained with her for so long and that was the first time that Anita had ever said that to her.

Shock overtook Ajay as Renee walked by and gave Ajay a nod and then a hostile look. Ajay just gave Renee and unsettling smile and thought to herself "The voices never stop now do they Renee?" She rubbed the back of her neck, pulling her matted strands of hair from her skin. It wasn't until now that she felt all the dirt and grit from the arena along her body. She was in desperate need of a shower. She turned around and walked into the building that the Legends called HQ. She mentally prepared herself for the debriefing process.

The walk wasn't long because most of it was done through the air hanger. The hanger itself with dimly lit during the night. There was definitely a lack of personnel on night shift as well. The cool night breeze swayed in and out of the hanger, wrapping around her body every so often as it passed through. The air felt nice to Ajay. It was a welcome change from the stifling, almost suffocating, air of the arena. Just a nice cool breeze. She enjoyed a few more seconds of the breeze before she walked inside the building.

Debriefing took place in an office with two office personnel members. One of them was there to ask questions and the other was there to be an emotional support person. Ajay thought the whole process was bit odd but they never did ask for her opinion on the matter. The battle royale was a blood sport and all the therapy in the world was not going to fix anything that happened in the arena. The questions that the Legends were asked were simple yes or no questions. The focus was mainly to detect any glitches or malfunctions in the system or with the Legend's gear or abilities.