>>5128259>>5128260>>5128273>>5128315You blush, flustering and trying to save your reputation reply loudly. "No thank you! That is private information, you don't have to tell me that." You watch a corner of the room that no one was in until your face cools down. Without further restraint it was time to attack. Twisting the bayonet hard you pull the foot stool beside the large chair over and sit down. Face like the armour of a Phobos. Calm and collected. The girl watching you like prey, only occasionally blinking. Almost never. Unlike you, you were blinking like crazy. Not very calm and only partially collected. You just wanted to make small talk like a regular person. But Katerina had asked and you would share, there wasn't anything in your past that ashamed you. And that knowledge gave you strength. You are Theta, the small dinosaur in your grip reinforced that. It made you feel secure even under the unwarranted meanness.
Pushing any hint of anger aside you spoke, low enough for her alone to hear. Trying your best to not hesitate. Trying to sound normal, no matter how abnormal it was. "Theta was manageable, it was good. I passed, I guess. I must be better than the others too… I'm Corporal. I mean my name is Mortimer, I am a Corporal." You are not ashamed. Keeping up the assault you drove a knee into her. Tapping the skull on your beret and shooting her a soft smile.
Well you hope that's how it looked. "Theta was tough... It has pretty much been just me for the last two years, I think it was the meshed interference trails that really filtered out the other candidates. But no one ever told me, they'd just leave and never come back. We underwent a lot of endurance PT between bouts of neural strain. We would do it for days on end… We were whittled away until it was just me." You chuckle, trying to break the rather dark turn. A joke might save it before she thought you were a complete headcase. You gave her some more rope to work with. Trying to be down to earth. Not strange. "Was it like that in Eta? Is that how you got that noir aura of venomous mystery? Because I really dig it." Do people say dig? A staffer used to say it on base all the damn time. Yah dig? She gives you a rather puzzled look, but seems to be mulling over your words.
