15. Week One Events

Early on Tuesday, Carole met with Kimi and Mark at the BX for breakfast. Mark brought along the military waiver and consent and disclosure forms for Carole to fill out to become part of the training team, and briefed her on the nature of the training sessions. After breakfast they went to the gym, where Kimi and Mark went to their respective locker rooms to change while Carole signed for a locker tall enough to accept her Jo staff as well as her personal items, which she retrieved from her car while Mark continued building on Kimi's weight training and toning regimen. As Kimi went through her aerobics routine, Carole went into the locker room to change into her KISS suit. She came out and went to an unused corner of the exercise floor, going through a series of exercises of her own, focusing on loosening up her arms and upper torso with the assistance of the four-foot Jo staff.

During her own cooldown stretching, when she would bend in that direction, Kimi was drawn to watching the style of the tall blonde woman and how her movements seemed to give the illusion that the hardwood staff was more an extension of her body than merely a tool of defense. Carole was now swinging the staff back and forth in wide arcs. She next began weaving her arms figure-eight style, faster and faster, the ends of the staff slicing the air on either side of her like twin scythes. Carole then suddenly brought the staff down hard onto the floor in front of her and raised it quickly over her head, twirling it like the rotor of a helicopter, her hands mixing, working the center of the staff as it spun above her.

As the aerobics session ended, Mark and Kimi got to their feet, Mark going to the locker room for his laptop case. Kimi walking to the edge of the exercise floor and greeting Craig, who had brought out the cart and was setting up the table and chairs as she approached. By this time, most of the fight trainers had entered and changed into their impact suits. Some of them had been studying Carole's warmup routine with her Jo staff and they assembled in a small group on the other side of the exercise floor, talking with her while the rest of the fighters came from the locker rooms.

i. Unplugged.
Tuesday, June 25th, 9:08 AM, Eastgate time
Tuesday, June 25th, 5:08 PM, Cairo time
-19 Days
Mark returned from the locker room, connecting his laptop into the access panel in the floor and hooked up his microphone. He then reached into his gym bag, retrieving Kimi's chest holster and stepped around the table. "Ever done any sparring against a Jo or Bo staff, Ki?" he asked.

"A little," said Kimi. "I know my skillsheet says that I've been trained...but I haven't had any official testing. I know the key to beating someone who has one is all about get inside of the stick."

"That's it exactly," Mark replied. "The staff is a weapon of extension...so the way to make it ineffective is to get beyond the inside range of the extension...take away your opponent's advantage."

Kimi was reaching for her leather Escrima sleeve on the table when Mark stopped her. "Put this on first," he said, offering the black nylon holster. Kimi removed her hand from the sleeve and took the holster from Mark, sliding the shoulder strap up her arm and fastening the other two straps, snugging them into place. "Your sidearm is heavier than your sticks," he said. "Having something under the straps might make it more likely for the holster to shift."

Kimi picked up her Escrima sleeve, moving the strap over her head to her right shoulder and fastened the other strap around her waist. She then adjusted it slightly, tugging to make sure the straps of the sleeve were not sitting on top of the straps of the holster. "It's all about more equipment," she said, a slight apprehension in her voice as she gave the straps a final tug and swept her arms in front of her, checking her movement.

"That's why you're practicing with the equipment on," Mark said. "You'll get more used to it. In time, you won't even notice a difference." Mark then returned to the table, sitting in his chair and sliding the microphone clip behind his ear. "Ready?" Kimi nodded with a grin, and began to walk toward the center of the exercise floor, prompting a smile from Mark as he tapped a few keys to turn on the microphone. "Number Seven," he called out.

10:13 AM.
Mark had started the session slowly, allowing Kimi a moment to check and make adjustments to her holster and sleeve after each encounter with an opponent. As the morning progressed, the pace increased to that of the assessments on Saturday, with Kimi being challenged at a nearly constant rate.

"Number Fifteen" came through the speakers. A tall figure stood from a corner of the exercise floor. Kimi turned and squared in that direction as the figure approached, carrying the five-foot hardwood Jo staff. The figure stopped about six feet in front of Kimi and slowly bent, placing the staff on the floor; it then stood straight, struck a fight pose and moved a couple of steps to its left, away from the staff.

Kimi responded with a slight smile, knowing this was Carole - and wanting this chance to give Mark's friend a little display of what Craig had termed "Liquid Murder." She shook out her hands - then stood straight and tall. making a slight bowing motion in Carole's direction.

Mark pulled the microphone away from his face and snickered as Craig leaned to him. "She's doing the same thing Sievers did on Saturday," Craig said as Kimi brought her arms up in front of her, elbows even with her hands, and curled her left hand over her right fist.

"It's the Kempo Salute," Mark replied.

"And each of these motions means something?"

"Oh yeah," Mark translated as the teen continued. "She's saying, 'This is my style...Kempo Karate--'"

Kimi then uncurled her hands and moved her palms together, her fingers straight up.

"'--I pray we will not fight--'"

Kimi opened her palms toward the suited Carole, still connected at the thumbs and forefingers. She raised her hands slightly to look at her opponent through the diamond-shaped opening between her hands.

"'--I will try to see the good in you--'"

Kimi curled her fingers in, rolling her hands palm-up and opening them to Carole, now touching along her little fingers.

"'--I show you, my hands are empty--'"

She curled her fingers again and turned her fists over, touching thumb-to-thumb.

"'--but if we must fight--'"

Kimi then made a quick and sudden move, tightening her arms as her fists flashed apart from each other about two feet.

"'--I will tear you apart.'"

She then turned her fists knuckles-down, and brought them back to either side of her waist. "Why would she go through all that?" Craig asked. "This isn't formal karate."

"No, it's not," Mark said. "Most of the time in informal matches, the Salute is a show of respect to an opponent...but I think this is just a little bit of play on Ki's part. Ki knows her opponent is Carole...and the Salute is sometimes used to psyche an opponent into thinking you're a 'by the book' fighter."

Craig laughed softly. "From what I've seen her do, Kimi could write her own book."

"Carole doesn't know that," Mark smirked, adding, "...yet." He straightened in his chair, repositioning his microphone as Kimi now moved into a fight stance and took a slow step toward Carole to square off. Carole did the same, bringing the two to within a couple feet of each other.

Carole took the first swing, a flash of her right arm. Kimi brought her left up quickly, slapping Carole's strike away with the back of her fist. Both retracted quickly, each circling slowly to their left, sizing each other. Carole swung with her right again, closely followed by a left at Kimi's midsection. Kimi blocked both strikes, the fighters' retractions again as quick as their actions.

Carole took another cross-swing at Kimi, following it quickly with a roundhouse back kick with her left leg. Kimi again blocked the punch, swiping at it with her left hand - then suddenly crouched as Carole's leg swept above her. When Carole completed her spin and squared again, Kimi leaped into the air, planning to vault over the suited blonde woman, land behind her and give a quick kick to the kidney.

The second Kimi left the ground, Carole quickly bent and crouched, her head nearly on the floor. As Kimi sprang over her, Carole twisted and shot a leg into the air, catching Kimi on the thigh, causing her to spin in mid-air. Kimi caught her bearings, tumbling to the floor and rolling to a crouch about a foot from the Jo staff Carole had laid down. She spun quicky to see Carole roll her shoulder under and jump to her feet. Kimi reacted, grabbing the hardwood staff in her right hand, standing and bringing her arm up quickly, the staff sliding up until it was caught by her left hand and was now at an angle across her body.

"This is new," Craig said, watching Carole strike a defensive fighting stance, preparing for the unexpected threat posed by her opponent using her own weapon of choice against her.

"Yeah...it is," said Mark. "I know Ki has staff defense training on her skillsheet, but I didn't see anything about her working attacks with one."

The two watched as a smile slowly spread over Kimi's face. She stood for a moment - then thrust her hands at Carole, tossing her the staff and slowly circling to her right, reaching over her shoulder to slide her Escrima from their sleeve and bringing them down into both hands, the sticks shifting to an expanding "X" in front of her. Carole caught the staff, tilting it back and forth in a slight arc as the two edged toward each other.

Carole thrust the higher end of the staff at Kimi with her right hand. Kimi flashed her left hand up, her stick blocking the strike. Carole swung again with her right, instantly following with a lower swing with the opposite end of the 5' staff. Kimi blocked, repelling the staff, two loud "kleks" pealing through the gym from the collision of Jo and Escrima.

Carole suddenly swung the staff to point at Kimi and thrust the end at her shoulder. Kimi reacted by ducking slightly and bringing her left arm up to trap the staff against the top of her shoulder, the inside of her elbow wrapped against the wood.

Carole gripped her staff tighter and tugged it to her right, pushing against Kimi's elbow, jerking the teen in that direction - then quickly to the left in an effort to free it, withdrawing it at the same time. The staff burst free of Kimi's grip, slapping against the side of her head as it came back, its edge scratching deep into the skin just below her left ear.

Kimi uttered a quick, pained shriek as she recoiled from the blow, her left hand moving to her head as it reeled down and to the right. "Whoa!" Mark burst out, standing and reaching quickly for the whistle around his neck, giving three quick blows on it to stop the action.

Carole retracted and rested the end of the Jo staff against the floor, relaxing from her fight stance. "You okay, Kimi?" she asked.

Kimi said nothing as she slowly straightened and brought her hand from her head to look at it, now with crimson smears of blood along her fingertips. The wince of pain on her mouth slowly became a tight-lipped sneer of anger as her eyes shifted from her hand to Carole - eyes now narrowing and filling with a seething rage that Mark could see from across the floor as the silver streaks in the teen's pupils began to glint from the light in the room.

Mark took a step around the table, removing his earclip. "Ki?--"

"--Rrr-yAAAAAHHH!!!"

Kimi's face erupted into a fierce wild-eyed contortion as she screamed, now holding the two Escrima like a baseball bat. She took an explosive swing at Carole, who brought her Jo staff up from the floor to block. The hardwood of the staff stung against Carole's hands as it splintered into two, the top half twisting into the air out of Carole's grip. Another quick, vicious swing - and Kimi's sticks landed hard against the side of Carole's head, the force knocking her off her feet and sprawling her onto the floor.

"Jesus, she's come unplugged!" Craig exclaimed as he rose from his chair.

"Get the med staff!" Mark said quickly to Craig, then turned back to the floor and blew the whistle again. "Ki!?" he shouted, now running from the table toward the center of the floor. "KI!!"

Kimi lunged onto Carole holding both ends of the Escrima and drove them against the tall woman's throat as she landed, her arms stiff as she leaned into them, still growling through her gritted teeth, her eyes ablaze with rage. Carole was still a bit disoriented from the shock of Kimi's attack and the blow to her head. She brought up her hands, struggling against the teen's rage. A few of the fighters began to move quickly across the floor toward the scene. "Get out of the way!" Mark shouted at them as he raced across the floor.

Mark reached the two women on the floor and dived at Kimi, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her off of Carole as he rolled to his back, using the momentum to roll Kimi to the mat about five feet away. They both sprang to their feet simultaneously, Kimi still with a hold on one of her Escrima as she rose to face Mark's own expression of infuriation matching hers.

"What-the-HELL was--" Mark started - then stopped as Kimi, reacting more on instinct than on reason, cocked her arm back, her knuckles white as she gripped the stick tightly. Mark's voice lowered, still with a firm tone, his eyes locked on the teen's, shaking his head slightly "...if you so much as raise that stick to me--"

"WHAT, Cap'n Mark!?" Kimi shot out, her voice tinged with a mix of anger and emotion. "You're a black belt! It's all about trash me??"

Mark's expression softened a bit. "No, Ki," he said, loosening his stance to stand straighter, his arms slowly relaxing to his sides. "I would do nothing to stop you. But we'd be all done here...we'd pack it up. You'd go home to Eastgate...I'd go back to Cairo. There would be no point in training you any further if you can't even control --"

Kimi's grip loosened on the Escrima as Mark spoke - and he stopped as the stick slipped from her fingers, She sank into a sitting position on the floor, her legs crossing and her hands plopping limply into her lap. Her sneer melted as a tear slid down her cheek and edged her mouth into a deep frown, her bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.

Two members of the medical staff had run onto the floor to Carole, who was now sitting up. She pressed places on her forehead and her face patch fell away, revealing a mixed expression of slight shock and pain. One of the staff members gently helped Carole remove her headpiece, then began to examine her head, neck and throat.

Mark made his way to sit on the floor in front of Kimi as another man approached, crouched and set a small medical kit on the floor. The man looked into Kimi's eyes for a moment, checking for signs of a concussion - then tilted her head slightly to inspect the wound.

Mark was now trying to make some sense of what he had seen transpire as a result of Kimi's emotions taking her over in a fight. He slowly let out an exhale, and much of his aggravation left with it. "...'Hair trigger'?"

Kimi's eyes slowly rose from the floor to Mark. "Yeah..." she said sheepishly, "but I still defeated my opponent..."

"Ki..." Mark started, "you didn't defeat Carole. You ripped into her after I had blown the whistle to stop the fighting. She had stood down, and you took unfair advantage of that. Your actions were fueled by your emotions...when they should have been guided by your karate discipline and experience. The only person you defeated a few minutes ago...was yourself."

As Mark said the last, Kimi immediately recalled her mother's words after the incident at the Cairo airport; "Nobody...and nothing...can defeat you faster than your own emotions," she echoed them quietly, her eyes returning to the floor.

"Now she remembers," Mark said, his eyes rolling to the ceiling. "Ki...if there had been multiple opponents just then, your emotion would have left you vunerable to their attack while you were focused on a single target."

The medical attendant now brought a small cloth coated with an antiseptic and a topical anesthetic to Kimi's face to clean the trickles of blood and to slightly numb the area. Kimi winced a little as the cloth contacted the site. She glanced up at the man out of the corner of her eye as he treated her wound. "Will I need stitches?" she asked.

"No," the attendant said as he dabbed at the wound. "It's not much more than a bad scratch. The blood vessels just under the skin of the face are small, but they bleed a lot. They can make a wound look more dramatic than it really is." He then brought a small pencil-shaped object from the kit, connected to a long cord. "It should be alright after I seal it." He steadied his fingers on either side of Kimi's wound and brought the device up to the scratch. "You'll feel a little sting...sit still." A tiny light emitted from the device as the man slowly traced it along the wound.

"Am I going to have a scar?"

"Diamond-point laser cauterization," Mark said. "It seals the skin at a molecular level." He brought a finger up to trace over his right cheek. "I had a long cut on my cheek after a fight about six years ago. No scar."

The attendant placed the device back into the kit and touched along the side of Kimi's face with another small cloth. "All done," he said. Kimi slid her finger lightly over the side of her face, and noted that there was no "seam" at the site of the scratch that was usually present as a wound of this type healed.

Mark turned his attention to Carole. "How is she?"

One of the men tending to Carole turned back to look at Mark as he closed his kit. "She's a little sore...might bruise a bit...but she's fine. The suit took the brunt of the attack."

That last word - "attack" - sank into Kimi's mind, weighted by the gravity of her act against the blonde woman. Carole had been nice to her from the moment they met; upon learning of the true goal behind Mark and Kimi's presence and activities at the Air base, Carole didn't hesitate to offer help in any way possible to assist in the realization of that goal. And now, her new friend had narrowly escaped serious injury from Kimi's violent loss of control.

Kimi's gaze slowly moved from Mark to Carole. As her eyes were larger than that of a pure Flesher, they portrayed an even clearer expression of the remorse she was feeling. "Carole," she said, "...I made a terrible mistake during our match. I overreacted when you struck me...and I let my emotions make the next move. I know it wasn't even intentional...you weren't even trying to hit my head." Her eyes now dropped for a moment. "...I'd hate to lose the chance to train against someone who's as ace with a staff as you are...can you forgive me?"

Carole reached for the teen's hand. "Kimi, it wasn't all your fault," she said. "When I heard the whistle, I let my guard down completely without knowing what your reaction would be to being hit...and you're right, I had no intention of striking you in the head. I was trying to get my staff free...I've been hit in the head with a Jo before, and I know how much that smarts...wrapping the staff against your shoulder was a good move, though." She now leaned to reach to Kimi for a light hug. "Of course I forgive you," she said. As they parted, Carole looked at the site of Kimi's wound. "How do you feel?" she asked. "That was a nasty scratch."

"A bit embarassed," Kimi replied. "It's all about I've always had a little problem with my emotions after I get hit or surprised...Mom says I should use the pain as a lesson for letting emotion rule over experience. How do you feel? I...hit you a lot harder than you hit me, and...your staff is all about broken."

"Don't worry about the staff," Carole said. "It's replaceable. Say, What did you say yesterday morning? Someone called your style...'liquid murder'? I don't know about the 'murder' part--" Carole brought her hand up to her head "--but I sure feel...liquified. Please stay on our side."

This brought soft laughter from all three as Kimi moved to hug Carole again. "I promise," she said.

Mark glanced at his watch, then rose to his feet and turned to the other fight trainers who were still gathered around them. "I think we'll leave it here for today. Again, thanks to everyone for their time and participation. Let's pick it up at 0900 tomorrow." A few of the fighters nodded as the group began to make their way to the locker rooms. Mark turned back to the two women who had now stood. Kimi returned after retrieving her Escrima and sliding them into their sleeve. Mark placed his arms around both of their shoulders. "Go shower, you two. Craig and I will pack things up here." He then turned to Kimi, a bit of a smirk sneaking onto his face. "We had a good bleen...after a shower, let's go and get a bit of urgh!"

Kimi's eyes rolled skyward. "Cap'n Maarrrk," she grimaced. Carole burst into a snicker as Mark erupted into laughter.

Mark suspended the firearms training and target practice exercises for the day, to give Kimi more time to recover from the incident in the gym. Instead, he, Kimi and Carole spent the afternoon together, going into the main part of the BX after lunch. While Mark perused the shelves in the computer department looking for a small scanner that would allow him to computerize the forms filled out by the fight trainers, Carole and Kimi set off for the clothing department; Carole told Kimi that she had just fallen in love with her "Tiger Claw" practice shoes, and wanted to see if she could find something like them; Kimi made her way to the t-shirt shop, where she had a deep blue shirt emblazoned with brilliant yellow lettering - "It's LUNCH, not 'Dinner'" on the front, framing a picture of a sandwich and chips on a plate - and "All About URGH!" on the back, over an empty plate littered with part of a crust and chip crumbs.

The two women met again at the cashier. Carole held up her choice of shoe - black, like Kimi's, with no lettering, but red Japanese symbols for "karate" on each shoe.

"Did you find something good?" Carole inquired, motioning toward the small bag under Kimi's arm. A smug smirk spread over Kimi's face as she brought the shirt from the bag. Carole couldn't help laughing as Kimi unfurled it.

"Cap'n Mark will be seeing more of this shirt than he wants to," Kimi giggled.

After leaving the BX, the three returned to Mark's quarters, where Kimi spent the rest of the afternoon teaching Carole and Mark the game of Backgammon. As the nature of Carole's work in encryption dealt mainly with math, she took an instant shine to the game. Mark, on the other hand, never held a positive attitude toward items of chance, such as dice - and while the game held a momentary strategic allure, he didn't seem to develop the interest necessary to embrace it. After a few games, his attention turned toward setting up the scanner he had bought while Kimi and Carole continued to play until the early evening, when they decided on hamburgers for supper, Carole going to the BX to retrieve meals for the three. After supper, Kimi used Mark's computer to introduce Carole to the online backgammon forum and the youths who gathered there.

During the evening, Mark received a call from Craig, who told him that three of the fighters had called in the afternoon to withdraw from further sessions after seeing the incident with Carole - one of them going so far as to call Kimi's outburst "immature" and "undisciplined." Mark told Kimi about the resigning fighters, but wisely opted not to pass along their commentary.

----------

The karate training resumed on Wednesday, with Mark making an announcement during the pre-session meeting about the previous day's resignation of three fighters - and giving anyone present the option to do the same, adding that there would be no reprimand toward anyone who chose to withdraw from the group.

One person rose, apologizing to Mark, Kimi, and the group itself - then left the floor. This brought the total of fight trainers to nine, with the addition of Carole on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Kimi then stood before the group and apologized to them for her display after the weapons match with Carole. Several of the remaining fighters expressed their understanding. Kimi and Mark extended their thanks to the balance of the original group who chose to remain and continue to contribute their time and talent as part of Kimi's training. Mark initiated the morning's schedule, continuing the process of teaching Kimi new moves and routines, and also going over Monday's lessons - then having her use her new knowledge against opponents.

After lunch, Kimi and Mark moved to the firing range, where Kimi continued to practice making a smooth quick motion of unhooking the strap around the grip and drawing the weapon and firing it. She then started practicing a sequence, seeing how fast she could holster the weapon and strike a fight stance.

For the evening meal they stopped at the BX, where they purchased "hoagie" sandwiches and chips, taking them back to their respective quarters to eat. Kimi spent the evening in the online backgammon room, where a couple of the members expressed that they were looking forward to meeting Kimi at the youth club on Thursday evening, and that there would be pizza there. Kimi's mood was vastly improved since Tuesday's incident, fueled mostly by the level of Carole understanding her loss of control on the exercise floor.

----------

Thursday heralded the return of Carole to the training team. While her impact suit absorbed most of the force of Kimi's attack on Tuesday, there was still evidence to show that she had indeed been in an altercation; a large bruise on the front of her neck, just above where her collarbones met; and a smaller bruise at the hairline on the right side of her head, extending beneath her hair. One of the members of the karate club had brought Carole a Jo staff to replace the one that had been split on Tuesday, and another with inch-thick padding over the first foot of either end - a staff usually used for practice sessions or as a teaching aid.

During the "free" portion of the morning's training, Kimi and Carole squared again for their second encounter of the week. During the match, Carole attempted the same move which precipitated the incident on Tuesday, thrusting the end of the padded staff at Kimi's head. Once again, Kimi ducked and wrapped the staff in the same way she had the first time - but instead of giving Carole a chance to free her weapon, Kimi wrapped the staff tighter with her left arm and moved quickly to her left, locking her right hand hard against the staff and diving in that direction toward the floor. Carole tried to recover the staff from Kimi's grip and quick move - but suddenly found the new and added dilemma of Kimi's feet on either side of her neck, the teen having brought them up as she rolled. A quick twist - and Carole was now sprawled face-down on the floor, Kimi lying on her side perpendicular to her, her ankles still around Carole's neck.

Kimi gave a mock motion as if twisting quickly at the hips, barking "All about Snap" as she did so. Several of the other fighters groaned audibly in response.

Mark chuckled as Craig winced and turned his head. "Looks like she's grasped the concept of leverage since the last time she fought against a Jo staff," he said.

"Poor Carole," said Craig. "That's the second time Kimi has focused on her neck."

Mark sat up straight as Kimi helped Carole to her feet and hugged her. "Exploit your opponent's weak spots," he said with a father-proud smile.

During the afternoon, Kimi continued practicing her "draw and fire" technique, graduating to a routine of standing ready until Mark said "go" - and firing on the target as quickly as she could. A couple of times, she executed the motion perfectly, going from a standing position with her hands at her sides to unsheathing the pistol and firing on the cardboard silhouette in just under a second.

Mark was proud of how quickly Kimi had become accustomed to handling a firearm for the first time, and how well she adjusted to the extra equipment during her karate sessions. After the session on the firing range, he told Kimi that in the next week, her firearms training would intensify. She would start wearing her holster with an unloaded gun as she went through her karate training, and weighted clips to simulate the loaded clips she would be carrying in Cairo. Mark had set up time in the underground level of the firing range on the following Tuesday for Kimi's first "house clearing" - firing on cardboard targets during the first couple of sessions - then graduating into what Mark felt was the best "real world" exercise that would simulate and prepare Kimi for the most dangerous part of her mission - combining her firearms experience with her karate expertese against live opponents in the House Clearing Room.

Early in the morning, Kimi had reminded Mark that this evening she was meeting her friends from the online backgammon group at the youth club tonight for pizza. They left the firing range and drove back to the COTQ, so Kimi could change into a pair of black jeans and her Nytra "This Is Us" t-shirt. Mark then drove her to the youth club.

ii. Respite.
Thursday, June 27th, 5:52 PM, Eastgate time
Friday, June 28th, 1:52 AM, Cairo time
-16 Days
Mark drove to a low building just past the Officer's Club and brought the Jeep to a stop in front, jiggling the shifter into neutral. "This is the place," he said, pointing to the building. "Looks like someone is watching for you."

Kimi looked to a figure at the window next to the door, which quickly disappeared. She rotated the rear-view mirror toward her and swept her hair across her forehead, giving it a couple of pats, then turned to smile at Mark. "I'm all about pizza," she said, "but what are you having for dinner?"

Mark couldn't help but touch on the subject again. "You don't remember?" he smirked. "We had soup and salad. You were with me!"

Kimi's eyes slowly closed as her smile dripped into a sour frown. "...it's all about civilian interpreter," she drew out.

Mark gave a quick chuckle. "Carole is out buying the ingredients for spaghetti. Craig will be there too...after that, Craig and I will be going over the notes from your first week."

"You're all about work all the time, Cap'n Mark...don't you ever relax?"

"That's what the weekends are for," said Mark. "Unless something comes up with one of the other cases back in Cairo. During the week, I like to...keep busy."

Kimi brought a foot over the sill of the Jeep. "Well tonight, I'll be all about keep busy with pizza and backgammon," she grinned.

"Have a good time...you've earned it. I'm glad you found people in your age group to hang out with. Oh...what time should I pick you up? Remember, there's a 2200 curfew for minors on base."

"I remember...be here about quarter to ten...unless I call sooner?"

"You got it," Mark said, nudging the shifter into gear. He motioned again to the window. "Someone is waiting to meet you." Kimi got out of the Jeep. "Have fun, Ki. I'll be here tonight." Kimi waved, then turned toward the building as Mark eased the Jeep from the curb.

As she approached the door, Kimi read a sign on the glass: "No One Over the Age of 18 Admitted Without Teen or Minor Guardian." "All about 'nekkin already," she smiled.

The door was opened by a slightly overweight girl about 5'2" tall, with a long mane of dark brunette hair, brown eyes, and a warm vote-winning grin. "You're Kimi!" she perked. "Hi! You're right on time."

"And you're Amy," Kimi returned with a wide smile.

"You remembered the hair," Amy said, twirling one of her bangs amongst two fingers. "And speaking of hair - Wow! I know you said you had like, red hair, but....Wow!"

Kimi blushed slightly as she brushed her long bangs from in front of her left eye. "Thanks...I get the color from my mom-unit. It used to be long like yours until my birthday a few months ago...then it was all about a change."

The silver glint from Kimi's eyes caught Amy. "You...have...BEAUTIFUL eyes!" she squealed. "You said they were blue, but you never said anything about how they like, shine! Wow...Dani's gonna freak! I mean, she was always a freak," she tittered, "but when you said your mom is a Celler, she just about went crazy the next day when I told her."

Kimi blushed a bit again. "Well...I don't mean to be all about disappoint her...but I'm not a Celler. My dad is a Flesher...and I kind of got a mix of both of them."

Amy placed her hand on Kimi's shoulder, giggling again. "That's the thing...Dani is so desperate to meet a Celler, her thinking gets a little--" she curled her other hand and looked at Kimi through it. "She's actually really smart...she's been my best friend since ever. It's just this Celler thing. I'm not even sure she's grasped the concept of inter-environmental marriages. She's harmless, though. I'll handle her if she starts drooling all over the place."

Having enjoyed the honor of living with a Celler all of her life, Kimi had to laugh softly at Dani's plight as Amy held the door open. They walked through a vestibule into a large open area. The building had no rooms or partitions, other than two restrooms and an area toward the back which was a combination kitchen/serving area. The entire floor was covered in a dark gray carpeting, and the walls were paneling of a dark wood. There was a large array of tables and chairs.

Even though there were over 25 teens of various ages in the club, the ambiance wasn't exactly the "rowdy" teen environment Kimi had mistakenly prepared for. There was a stereo against the wall playing music, but it wasn't at a terribly loud volume. A few boys were hovering over one of the vid screens near the stereo, engaged in a multi-player fighting game. On the other side of the stereo was a long table on which sat several computers, a couple of them in use for web surfing or for trading and downloading songs onto MD players. It immediately struck Kimi as the kind of environment one could enter, and leave the rest of the world outside for a while.

Amy waved at a table of people near the serving area as they walked in. A thin, petite girl with short blonde hair immediately sprang from the table and approached the two girls at a quick pace, meeting them about halfway across the room. "Omigod Hi Kimi," she perked in an almost nervous tone, her hazel eyes locked on Kimi's. "I'm Danielle Bremer, but everybody calls me Dani. Amy, why didn't you tell me? She never tells me anything, I have to find out for myself. I'm sorry, I'm so nervous, I can't believe you're here!" She began to motion a hand toward Kimi. "Umm, can I...this is embarrassing...I've never--"

"Down, D," Amy admonished. "Kimi's not a true Celler...her mother is married to a Flesher...like I told you."

Dani looked back to Kimi with an expression of hope that her friend was only kidding. Kimi felt as if she was about to break her new friend's heart as she slowly nodded to affirm Amy's statement with a grin.

"But--" Dani stammered, "--your...skin...your eyes..."

"Well, yeah," Kimi said, "all about Celler...but that's it...Flesher hair," she said, combing her fingers through her bangs.

"Now you know why her other nickname is 'Danime'," Amy said, chuckling.

Dani now turned to Kimi. "I'm..sorry," she said. "I've...been wanting to meet a Celler ever since I heard about them." She extended her hand again. "I'm still glad to meet you, Kimi." Kimi took Dani's hand, her grin becoming a wrinkled-nose smile.

"C'mon and meet the rest of the troupe," Amy said, motioning toward the table. Dani continued her hold on Kimi's hand and led her in that direction. They walked to the table, which was two tables pushed together to accomodate the group. "Guys," said Amy, making a presenting motion with her arms, "this is Kimi." The four other people at the table gave a nearly simultaneous "Hey," as Amy introduced them.

She motioned to a tall boy with brown eyes and short brown hair seated at the end of the table, who nodded once in greeting as Amy spoke. "This is Jason...he's the 'techie' of the group...if it runs on electricity or batteries, he can build it or fix it."

Amy then moved her hand to the left of Jason, to a tall Asian girl with a flowing cascade of black hair, highlighted with streaks of deep burgundy. "This is Kathy."

Kathy stood and offered her hand. "Hey Kimi," she said "Call me Kat. Your name...it's Japanese, isn't it? 'She Who Is Without Equal'?"

Kimi's smile immediately broadened at Kat's recognition of her given name. "Yeah!"

Kat then motioned to Kimi's shirt. "Nytra is the group...I have everything they've done except for 'Personal Effluvia.' The BX is so putrid when it comes to music."

"I have it," Kimi beamed.

"Nekka!" Kat perked. "Can I copy it? We can use the computers here to copy to another MD."

"Can do," said Kimi. "and call me Ki." She then stopped, her eyes widening. "Wait...did you just say 'nekka'? As in...'shiznekka'?" As Kat nodded in response, Kimi took her hand into both of hers with a renewed vigor. "Extra 'nekka!" she blurted as the group laughed.

Amy swept her hand to another boy with wavy brunette hair sitting to the left of Kat. "This is Gregory--" she said, then pointed to a boy beside him with blonde hair - nearly shaved on the right side of his head - and past his shoulders on the left side and gathered into a ponytail "--and this is his boyfriend, Patrick."

Kimi extended her hand to each of the boys as they offered theirs. "I'm all about love your hair, Patrick," she said.

"The 'do was my idea," Gregory said rather proudly.

"His idea on my head," Patrick replied drippingly.

"Oh, you loved it, once you saw it," Gregory insisted.

"True," Patrick admitted, placing his hand on the table, taking Gregory's into it and smiling.

"Hey, you never mentioned that Kat was my girlfriend," Jason interjected with a slight smirk.

Kat quickly turned and leaned to Jason with a sly grin and a soft voice. "There's a very good reason for that, you know..." she purred - then her voice suddenly snapped to a higher volume. "It's because I'm NOT your girlfriend. You can't get your head out of my computer long enough to even have a girlfriend...and you can't have a girlfriend until I get my computer back...my computer that you BLEW UP, I might add!" She puncuated the last with her fist on his upper arm.

"Ow! Hey, I'm waiting for a part that I ordered to come in," said Jason in defense. He then added in a lower voice, "...I had it overclocked to 15 gigahertz before it blew...I'll dial it back to about 12 or so this time, then it should be just-Owww!"

Kat gave him another shot to the arm. "You were just supposed to put in the MD burner I bought," she snarled resignedly, "not try to see how fast you could blow it up, Diode Boy. You'll put it back to the 6 giga-whatevers it was at when I brought it over to you. I have to use the computers here until I get mine back." She finished and turned back to Kimi with a sweet smile. "Sooo, how's your life, Ki? Can I interest you in a computer geek? Low miles, only pounded on a couple of times, smells a bit like burned electronics!" The group burst into laughter again.

"This is the gang," Dani giggled sheepishly, "but I'm sure you didn't come here tonight just to see them--" she swept her eyes over the group, her brow furrowed "--BICK-er." Kimi had to titter in response.

"Pizza is a great calming food," perked Amy. "Dani, go get a box and some plates and napkins." Dani gave Amy a look as if she were thinking that her new Celleresque friend might disappear into thin air if she were to get out of arm's reach. Amy returned her to reality with a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently. "D...sometime before we all regress from hungry to starving would be nice..."

Dani started, rather reluctantly, for the large warming rack on the back counter of the kitchen area, where several boxes of pizza had been kept piping. Amy motioned Kimi to one of three empty seats at the center of the table. Sit here, Ki," she said. "Dani and I will take the other two."

"Thanks," Kimi said, taking a seat across from Kat. Amy sat to her right as Dani approached with a large flat pizza box, with paper plates and napkins on top. She took the seat to the right of Amy, placing the box on the table, sliding the plates and napkins from it and lifting the lid, letting the flap tap against the table. The aroma teased each of their noses as it awoke from the box and wafted over the table.

As Dani passed a napkin to everyone, Amy stood and pointed to Jason, winding around the table in a clockwise motion: "Cola-root beer-cola-cola-Sprite-cola--" she turned and brought her finger to point at Kimi.

"All about coffee!" Kimi perked. Amy lowered her head, giving Kimi a skeptical stare. Kimi shot a surprised expression at Amy, then the rest of the group. "What...?" she said. "Doesn't everyone have coffee with pizza??" Amy continued her stare as Kat's snickering pulled Kimi's face into a smirk. "Ooo-kaayyy," Kimi gave in, snickering a bit herself. "Cola."

Amy nodded and turned for the refrigerator, shooting a look back to Kimi. " she muttered, bringing laughter from the rest of the table.

Dani leaned to Kimi as Amy pulled sodas from the refrigerator onto a small tray. "Amy is kind of the unofficial leader of our group," she said as she slid a slice of pizza from the box onto a paper plate, then passed the plate to Kimi. "She's been on the base the longest...plus, she got us together here at the youth club for the weekly meal and 'gammon meetings. We've been coming here for almost a year now."

"My mom is part of a club that meets every Monday night...I've been going with her for a couple of years."

Amy had returned from the serving area with the tray, and moved around the table, placing a can of soda in front of each member of the group. Dani now served a slice across the table to Kat. "...and...your mom is the Celler," she continued as Kimi nodded in response. "Umm...how do people like, react to her the first time they meet her? I mean...here, Cellers look mostly like they do in their shows, right?"

As someone who had not only had spent her entire life in the presence of and living with a Celler and her uniqueness, but who had also inherited and possessed cosmetic properties of that genre, Kimi found Dani's position of never even having the pleasurable experience of meeting a Celler - interesting to say the least.

"It's like in the history books in school," she started. "Remember reading about in the 20th century, how blacks were treated in different ways? Many people, once they met and talked with blacks, realized that, even though there were differences, they were just like you or I or anyone else...their differences didn't make them any more or less...just unique. Some other people regarded the differences as enough to think of blacks as 'strange,' or like, not...'normal'...and those people always treated blacks just that way. And there were others--" Kimi paused for a second, remembering the incidents with Dick Pavelka and his feelings toward her mother; her face now fell a bit "--who thought that blacks were all about...freaks...that they didn't belong...that they...shouldn't be here."

The rest of the group listened more intently as Kimi spoke. Dani noted Kimi's expression, and slid over to the chair next to her, placing a hand on Kimi's back. "But," she asked, "blacks just came from a different part of the world...not from an entire different environment...but I see what you're saying--" she lightly rubbed the teen's back as she turned to her "--it's human nature to have different reactions to a group of people who are first seen as...different."

"It's all about the same degrees of acceptance, denial and even refusal." Kimi sighed.

Amy had finished serving the drinks and now sat in the chair Dani had moved from, listening to the conversation.

"New century...same old problems," Dani said, meeting Kimi's wide, warm eyes. "But I know that if I ever do meet-- I mean, when I meet a Celler...I know I wouldn't treat them any differently at all." Dani and Kimi shifted into a warm hug.

"Yeah...that's once you get past peeing yourself over finally meeting one," Amy added through a snicker, which turned into full laughter, joined by the rest of the group.

Dani parted from the hug and turned to her brunette friend, who was now accentuating her smile with the point of a slice of pizza. She then began a series of head twists while talking alternately to Amy and Kimi: "You're always so mean to me--See how mean she is?--You know I'd do anything to meet a Celler--She just doesn't understand!"

Amy leaned behind Dani to Kimi. "Isn't she just precious?" she tittered - then took another bite of pizza. Dani reached for her own slice, a deep mock pout on her face.

The pizza was eventually consumed throughout conversation, each of the group having at least two slices. After the meal, Kat went to a unit of shelves near the serving area and retrieved a backgammon set. She and Kimi engaged in the first match, which Kat won - and the games continued into the evening, the group changing chairs to play each successive winnner, and Jason nursing another slice of pizza almost as an afterthought.

8:48 PM.
"Well, hel-loooo!" Dani perked as she emptied her dice cup onto the board, rolling the number she was hoping for in order to send one of Kimi's pieces to the "bar." "Dots, dots, beautiful dots," she chimed as she touched one of her pieces to Kimi's, and removed it from the playing field to a space in the middle of the board. She then picked up her dice, slipping them back into the cup. "You're going to need a double-five just to get back on the board, much less beat me."

Kimi removed one of the dice from her cup. Her face spread into a smile as she shook her cup. "You mean you think it's all about my lucky streak is over?" She then tipped her cup and rolled out the die. It bounced to a stop on a five.

Dani's triumphant grin etched a bit. "You can't do that again," she huffed.

Kimi picked up her other die and dropped it into the cup, shaking it teasingly. All eyes were on the board as she looked at the diminutive blonde, and slowly tipped her cup, the die spilling onto the board.

A second five.

Amy squealed and turned to Kimi to share a double high-five. "I've never seen luck like that in my life!" Kimi turned as each of the others offered their raised hands to slap with hers.

Dani could only utter a "Pbbbbt" through her lips as she tossed her cup onto the board. "That's the fifth game in a row I've lost tonight."

"Maybe you'd have better luck if they were....Celler dice," Patrick quipped. The table again erupted into laughter.

"Shame on you," Gregory admonished the blonde boy. "Lady Luck has clearly given our poor Dani the finger tonight...and all you could do in consolation is to manicure it." Kat put her hand over her mouth, trying to control her snickers, without much success.

Amy looked to a large wall clock over the serving area with a mild expression of concern. "What up, Amy?" Kimi asked.

"I was expecting another new person to join us tonight," said Amy. "Now it's almost nine." She turned to the group. "Anyone get email from Kasey saying she wasn't coming?" The others shook their heads in response. Amy now exhaled in exaspiration. "I haven't heard anything from her. I should check my email and see if I got anything," she said, rising to walk to the computers on the other side of the room. "I'll be right back."

An idea struck Kimi as she was helping Kat set up the board for another game. "I'll be back in a sec," she said, excusing herself from the table and crossing the room. She sat down next to Amy as she was scanning through her messages. "Anything?"

"Not a word," Amy sighed. "Kasey didn't seem like the type to be a no-show when I met her. I hope nothing has happened."

She made a motion to close the program when Kimi stopped her. "Umm, Amy," she said, "I...have a kind of big favor to ask of you...if you say no, it's all about cool, though."

"Just name it, Kimi."

"Well...on the base here, I only have access to the local 'net. I don't even have web access to the outside, much less email. There was a friend of mine...I didn't get a mail to her even telling her I was leaving for a while...is there any way--"

She was stopped by Amy's hand on her arm. "You need to get a mail to her," she said. Kimi nodded. Amy flashed her head back to the table. "Jason!" she called. Jason rose from the table, walking to join them. "Got your utilities MD with you?" she asked.

Jason slipped his hand into his shirt pocket, pulling out a disk. "You know me," he smiled, "I'd forget my base ID before I'd leave the house without this."

Amy smiled. "A dependable geek," she said. Jason handed her the disk and she slipped it into the computer. A list came up, and she scanned her finger down it for a second, tapping an item, then typing for a moment. Her email program then returned to the screen. Amy rose from her chair, motioning Kimi to sit there. Kimi looked at Amy, slowly sinking into the seat. "Anonymous remail program," said Amy. "Anonymous...and untraceable. Go ahead, Kimi."

Kimi turned to Jason, who had a proud, smug smirk on his face. All about rightly so, thought Kimi. She then looked to Amy - her new friend who, without hesitation, offered help. "Thanks," she smiled.

Amy motioned to the screen. "Type, type," she said, grinning. "Just put something in the subject to let her know it's you, and not just junk mail. You might also put something in the email itself - something only you and she would recognize."

Jason returned to the table, and Amy took a few steps to the left to look at some MDs sitting on top of the stereo. Kimi smiled at the respect of privacy from her new friends, and turned to the keyboard:

-To:
From:
Subject: The Kempo Diamond

Fra,

All about hey. First, before you go freakoid and start calling the authority-units...I'm free, I'm safe, I'm fed well, I'M OKAY. I know I screamed out last weekend without a bye or anything...but I think you can probably figure out why. It's all about room and time to think. This is the first time I've had access to 'net or email. Sorry, no v-mail...but doi, i all about look the same as when you last saw me! =)

I'm all about getting my head clear here (can't tell you where 'here' is, but it's a good 'here' - and it's all about anonymous remailer, so the 'from' 'ddress means lead). I should be home in about a couple of weeks, so you'll have to virtu-lick your own belly button (sicky sick sick sick) until I come back to thrash you some more in our favorite post-lunch icy chicken sport thingy.

All about sis-unit hugs,
K-

Kimi moved the cursor to the "send" button and clicked it. She felt a small wave of relief that she could get a word to her best friend, and stop the worry she knew Frannie was capable of.

Kimi closed the mail program, retrieved the disk from the computer, and moved to where Amy was standing next to the stereo, giving her a warm hug. "You have no idea how much that meant to me," she said. "Thanks again."

"I think I know," Amy smiled. "I've been restricted to local intranet before. I know what it's like to be shut off from the outside net." She then gave a smirk, motioning back to the table. "It's handy to have a geek in the gang!" The two girls fell into giggles as they hugged again.

They returned to the table, where the others were beginnning to clean up their area, throwing trash away and returning the backgammon set to the shelf. They talked until nearly 10 O'clock, when they started making their way outside. As Kimi opened the door, she saw Mark sitting in the Jeep. "Anyone need a ride home?" she offered to the rest of the group.

"Nah," replied Dani, "we're all in base housing a couple blocks away...we can walk from here. Where are you staying? On base, or what?"

"It's a place near the gym,", Kimi said. "Some temporary quarters for visiting officers. Cap'n Mark is staying there, and I'm in another room."

"Shame it's only temporary," Amy said. "I'd love to have you become a permanent part of our troupe." The others nodded in agreement.

"Do you live far from the base?" Dani asked.

"Over in Eastgate," Kimi replied. "It's a little over a half-hour by helicopter."

"When your 'rents get back, maybe you can talk to them about coming out here on the weekends," said Amy. "I'm sure we could move the meeting day."

"And I could meet your mom!" Dani blurted, to the group's laughter.

Kat reached to hug Kimi. "Same time next week?" she asked.

"All about I'm there," Kimi beamed.

Kat turned for the sidewalk. "'Nekka, Ki. Hey, don't forget to bring that Nytra MD with you!"

The others said their goodbyes to Kimi, each giving her a hug, then hurrying to catch up with Kat. Kimi walked to the Jeep and climbed into the seat. "Hi Cap'n Mark," she smiled.

"Hi there," returned Mark. Had fun? Seems like a good group."

"The best," Kimi beamed. "They want me back next week."

"Any questions? You know...about why you're here, or anything?"

"No...remember what I told them on Sunday? It's all about you're watching me while the 'rents are on vacation." Her expression fell a little. "They want me to keep coming back...you know...after my mom--" The last of her statement faded as a small tear welled at the corner of her eye.

"--after your mom comes home," Mark finished for her.

Kimi looked at Mark for a few seconds, trying to stem the negative thoughts that escaped into her mind momentarily and recenter her focus on bringing about the only result she knew she - and Mark - would accept. She managed a wan smile and a slow nod as Mark tossled her hair a bit, then nudged the Jeep into gear.

iii. Life is Beautiful All The Time.
Thursday, June 27th, 10:15 PM, Eastgate time
Friday, June 28th, 6:15 AM, Cairo time
-16 Days
Eastgate General Hospital
4th Floor - Psychiatric Wing
A woman stood in a long hallway lined with doors, reading a chart. Another woman came through a door to join her, gently closing it. "Sorry about that, Christine," she said. "Sometimes it takes a little longer for Mr. Welsh's Haldol to kick in...but he's resting comfortably now. You just have to hold his hand, and he's calm until the drug takes effect."

"I understand, Sonya," Christine said. "I've been reading his chart while you and the attendants administered. It's good to know that he doesn't fight it...it's easier if you don't have to worry about violent outbursts."

Sonja turned to a small cart beside them and wrote on a clipboard. "So how does your first day of residency feel? Anything like you expected?"

"It's pretty much like the director described it," Christine replied. "I guess I still have a bit of butterflies about getting the job here in the first place. I've heard a lot of good things about Eastgate."

"It's a good place to work," said Sonja. "and it's best to start on the overnight shift, too...not too much, too soon. Most of the patients are more relaxed in the evenings...and the overnight hours are usually quiet." She turned to pluck a chart from the wall. handing it to Christine. "I'll have you take the next one."

The young nurse opened the chart. "...Hodge, William...36 years of age...self-admitted?"

"About ten days ago...after an incident at his place of work."

Christine read further. "...delusions induced by traumatic stress...?"

"I've talked with him a few times. His wife was abducted during a family vacation overseas. They don't know where she is. He has a fifteen-year old daughter, who seems to be handling the event, but...William told me that he's sure his wife won't escape alive from whoever has her."

Christine placed her hand to her mouth. "...that's horrible..."

"I think the delusions are a form of defense that...insulates him from having to deal with what he's told me about."

"What, uhh...what sort of delusions?" Christine asked. Sonja said nothing, but reached to the cart and passed Christine a small cup containing a couple of capsules; Zoloft, for depression; and Ambien, a sleep aid. She then placed a hand on the door, motioning into the room. Christine entered slowly. "...William?"

William was seated on a small bed. He perked slightly as Sonja entered. "Hi there Kim. You're a little late tonight."

Christine slowly turned back to Sonja, who was nodding slowly and motioning her further into the room. "Uhh, hi...William...sorry I'm late...how...how are you?"

"I feel better, now that you're here. I'm so lucky you're working in the hospital I'm in." William moved to slip his legs over the side of the bed, patting beside him. "Did you bring my evening pills, Kim? You can sit here and relax for a moment while I take them."

Christine cautiously moved to the bed. She passed the pill cup to William, and took a pitcher and another cup from his night stand, pouring him some water. Christine replaced the pitcher - then slowly sat down on the side of the bed, keeping a slight distance from William as she handed him the cup of water.

William smiled at Christine and brought the pill cup to his mouth, tipping it to let the capsules slide from it. He caught them between his lips, then brought the water to his mouth. "Thank you Kim," he said, smiling as he handed her the pill cup. "You always take such good care of me. I'd give you a big hug and a kiss, but I know...your work doesn't allow that."

"Yeah," Christine echoed quietly, "A shame." She rose from the bed, starting slowly toward the door. "I've...got to get back to work now, William. That sleeping pill will take effect in a little while."

"Thanks for stopping by, Kim," William said. "I know how your rounds can keep you busy."

Christine stopped at the door, turning back to William. "Goodnight, William," she said, turning off the light.

"Goodnight Kim," William returned. "See you in the morning."

Christine closed the door slowly and placed the empty pill cup on the med cart. She leaned to Sonja. "I...take it his wife's name is Kim..." she said in a low voice.

"Every woman who enters his room is Kim," said Sonja.

William swung his legs back onto the bed and crossed them, indian style. He sat in the darkened room rocking back and forth slowly, singing just above a whisper - "...I'm here without you, baby...but you're still on my lonely mind...I think about you, baby...and I dream about you all the time...I'm here without you, baby...but you're still with me in my dreams...and tonight...it's only you and me......"

to be continued...