Chapter 3 – Debriefing
Ajay Che blinked a few times and began to breathe. Her head was throbbing as reality was reintroduced. Her eyes flickered to adjust to the light. Chestnut hues accommodated to their surroundings. The transport ship was simple. It was a small ship to transport Legends from the map to Head Quarters. It didn't take very long to get to HQ. Maybe 10 minutes. Everyone sat quietly in their sits. 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. Or they were just adjusting to reality again.
There was silence the entire way back. As the ship landed and the legends were about to exit the ship MRVN (Pathfinder), a sweet be insensitive robot), said, "Oh, am I supposed to talk?" Everyone seem to stir and laugh a little. Makoa Gibraltar (Gibraltar) laughed whole heartedly at MRVN. He laughed and hit MRVN so hard that the poor robot tumbled down the exit ramp. The ship was positioned in the air hanger. Luckily Pathfinder didn't have to worry about tumbling over an edge, again. MRVN was quick to get up and walk inside.
Ajay chuckled just a little. She was emotionally exhausted. She walked down the ramp, her shoulders slumped. She looked almost defeated. 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 stood at 6'0" tall; and by tall she always stood at attention. Anita release her grasp on Ajay's shoulder, "You did good today kid." Anita patted her on the shoulder and 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.
Ajay stood there in shock as Renee walked by and gave Ajay a nod and then a hostile look. Ajay just gave Renee and unsettled smile and thought to herself "The voices never stop now do they?" She rubbed the back of her neck and turned around to walk into the building they called HQ for debriefing.
The walk wasn't long because most of it was in the air hanger. The cool night breeze swayed in and out of the hanger. It felt nice to Ajay. It wasn't suffocating or full of tension or haste. Just nice and easy. She enjoyed a few more seconds of it before walking inside. Debriefing took place in an office with two office personnel. One of them was there to ask questions and the other was there to be an emotional support person.
Ajay thought it was kind of odd. The battle royale was a blood sport and all the therapy in the world was not going to fix anything. The questions 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. She had the same debriefings after trainings sessions. She never did remember anyone's name in the office. "Did they even give me their names? Were they even the same people every time?" She really didn't give it much more thought. By the time she started thinking about it the meeting was over and she was done with the debriefing.
Generally, after all the paperwork was done some of the other Legends would go out and celebrate. No one in the group seemed like they loved to party. Back home, when Ajay spent time with her childhood friend Silva (Octavio Silva), they would party all the time. "That boy really knew how to party." She loved to party with him, to a point, and then she had to stop partying and drag his ass home. She wondered how he was doing. She followed his career every chance she got until is accident. Her heart felt heavy and her eyes, "AJAY!" Makoa yelled. Well he didn't yell, his voice just knew how to fill a room.
The thought dissipated as she was standing in the doorway of the office. "How did I even get here?" Makoa spoke once more, "What do you say Ajay?" She looked at him a little confused. He looked at her even more confused and attempted the whole conversation once more, "What you say we all out to the bar for a drink?" She put on a smile and nodded. She could use some time outside of this place. The last few months were spent training, eating, sleeping, rinse and repeat. She felt like a damn cassette constantly be flipped from side A to B and then back to A and then to B and so on. "Okay Legends. Out in front of HQ in 30 minutes!" Makoa announced as he left.
Ajay's apartment was dark except for the soft glow of D.O.C. as she released the drone into her apartment after entering. During the off time, when she wasn't training or in the arena, D.O.C. was free to roam the apartment. D.O.C. followed Ajay around the apartment when she was home. Ajay had been working on some new programs with D.O.C. and it was just easier to allow D.O.C. to roam the apartment while she tested the programs out.
She flipped on a light to reveal a well-kept, almost sterile apartment. She stood in the entry way for a moment, or rather living room with a sofa that could fit three and a love seat; both heather gray in color. The living room was just slightly right of the entry way. The entire apartment had wood floors that were dark in color. The living room, where she stood, had a single accent rug between the sofas to break up the space. To the left of the entry way was a small table and two chairs. Further to the left, beyond the table and chairs there was a set of French doors that led out onto a small balcony area that was comprised of railing and an open, empty space. Moving forward past the living room and dining area was the kitchen on the left, nothing special, and a bathroom. The bathroom might as well have been bigger than the kitchen as it had a huge corner tub and separate shower. On the right, just past the living room was her bedroom. Her room was simple as it had the essentials.
Ajay had time for a quick shower and a change of clothing. Ajay was quick; this was not new for her. She was used to being on the field. In no time she was showered and dressed. They weren't going anywhere fancy. She put on the essentials and a black colored tank top with some black jean shorts; they were a little on the short side for her taste but at this point she didn't care. Shopping would have to wait until pay day. She put on some black wedge, ankle high lace up boots. She wore her brown; red toned hair down. Her hair was almost down to her waist. She would not dare have it down during a battle day. Makeup was not essential for her so she didn't put it on.
She had 10 minutes to spare. She wondered if she drink ahead of time to get the party started. She giggled as she thought that was something that Silva would say. She shook her head. She did not want to put herself in a terrible mood and think about Silva. She trotted over to her backpack and pulled out a pill bottle. The bottle had no label on it. "One or two? Better start small." She opened the bottle and pulled out one small, white round pill. She took it with a sip of water and put the bottle into her backpack. She grabbed her wallet, which was a wristlet, and her cell phone. She gave D.O.C. a quick pat and a smile before leaving. She didn't own a vehicle and her apartment used a passcode to get through the door so she didn't bother having keys with her.
