Update: Tweaked/rewritten July 2020

Fitting In

Eclipse could never remember hating working out so much in her young life. Were these not some of her prime years when she was supposed to like doing this sort of thing? After only getting a few hours of sleep and realizing that the last time she ran long distance she was dreaming, her view on morning runs was changing drastically. It wouldn't have been so bad if they would have given her a set distance and said, "as soon as you're done with this distance, you can go," but their method was a little bit different. Instead of a distance, they gave a pace and just had the trainees run.

And run.

A greencoat was shouting at the stragglers from a quad at the end of the bundle of bodies, using batons to whack those whose pace was just not as fast as the others ahead of them. She got hit once despite the fact that she was matching pace just fine. The reason for the strike, apparently, had to do with her shifting outside of the designated running lane. It sounded ridiculous to her even after the training, so she figured it was just some kind of excuse. Even if the reasoning was false, however, she had a very real welt growing black and blue on her bicep.

After the "healthy bit of exercise," the redhead dragged herself to her room and fell onto her bed after the door shut. Every muscle in her body was jelly and the thought of getting up to take a shower caused each of those muscles to whine simultaneously. "You know you have to move so stop complaining!" she shouted, feeling foolish about screaming at her own body, but based on what she had been through that morning, she figured that wouldn't be the last time she would be verbally abusing herself to the audience of an empty room. Swiveling, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and sat up before trying to stand.

The weakness in her limbs was nothing compared to the head rush that met her once she got to her feet. "Yikes," she muttered and sat back down. Easing herself back to the light through some slow breathing, it wasn't until her vision cleared that she could see the time. She cursed.

It was 0650 and breakfast started at 0700.

Breakfast ended promptly at 0730, which gave Eclipse about 15 minutes before her first class of the day began. The meal wasn't particularly enjoyable, only being a small bowl of oatmeal and a slice of toast, but after her workout that morning, she really wasn't hungry yet. Lunch would be a different story, she knew, so she assumed she would make up for lost calories then.

There were only a few others in the room when she arrived at the first class and looking a bit ragged. The back seats were open this time and she immediately headed towards them. A boy with brown, unkempt hair sat in front of her, avoiding eye contact. She figured that he only sat there because it was in the back of the class. Eclipse really didn't mind going unnoticed, but there was also the itch in the back of her conscious reminder her that it might be in her best interests to make a few connections. Without someone to interact with, it was going to be a long two years.

The others started filing in about five minutes before the class started and once Lieutenant Kross arrived, the firearms class began.

The class had a similar pace to the day before and, just as she feared, she could see some of the other students starting to fumble. Eclipse, however, was determined to not stand out. She kept her eyes open, but it was hard to keep her mind from wandering.

The lieutenant announced a break an hour in and called Eclipse, along with a few others, up to talk to him. "I only just received your full reports this morning and I can see this pace might be a little below you at the moment. I've decided that the five of you can use the shooting range while I finish up with the others in here. From now on, I want you to remain in the classroom for at least the first half, but after that you're free to leave the room and practice your form at the range." Eclipse and the others saluted, smiling to themselves. This was the type of singling out she could handle, she decided.

It was a bit surprising to see that there we actually four others like herself who had had previous training. In the back of her mind, she always hoped that she'd be the one and only "advanced trainee," but as her ego started nosediving to a healthy level, the notion began making sense. While most of the trainees there were fresh off the sign-up list, some like her had come from different divisions and academies. She had never been sure what qualifications were necessarily needed to attend this program, but there must have been something on her record. Or, as she had previously thought, it was a matter of wrong place and wrong time. Perhaps she would never know, and right then, the truth was further from her mind than the relief of getting to leave the study session of the firearms class and move onto more hands-on training.

One of the greencoats directed the group to the shooting range. Eclipse set down her things and grabbed a set of headphones, glasses, and a handgun. She examined it carefully, making sure that nothing was loose or missing, and put in a few bullets. Taking the nearest cubby, she fiddled with the computer until the silhouette of a man popped up fifteen feet away. Putting on her gear, she brought the gun up and shot.

It felt good to fire a gun again, the redhead had to admit, but was surprised at how much higher a score the others got than she did. Eclipse remembered the long hours in front of the same type of target at her old facility and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Her determination set in and she brought up another target to finish off the class.

Liking how the firearms class ended, Eclipse was actually a little excited for the next one. There were three others this time that were able to advance with her from her self-defense class, making it an even four and perfect for sparring. They fought for the next two hours, evaluating each other carefully and offering pointers as needed. There was a boy about her age code named Fire Storm that was the most help to her. Apparently, he had been taking some sort of martial arts since he was little and knew the amount of discipline and dedication needed to take someone down. The three others learned a lot from him before the class even ended.

"Hey Lunar Eclipse, what class you got after lunch?" Fire Storm asked as they were leaving.

"I've got tactics and code breaking. What about you? You got the same?"

"Nah, I have current events. One of the more pointless classes I think, but I didn't make the schedule. You headin' to lunch now then?"

Eclipse shrugged. Her raging appetite actually didn't surface and she was debating whether or not to just skip lunch and take a nap. "Not sure," she replied.

"Well, why don't ya? My roommates and I were gonna go down there now and hopefully catch a short nap before class. You don't want to sit by yourself, do you?"

Eclipse blinked, as well as blushed, she realized, a moment later. "Who said that I'd be eating alone?" she asked, avoiding the boy's warm, red-orange eyes. His code name makes sense, she thought.

"I know full well that everyone says about you, so stop denying it and let's go. I'm starved."

Eclipse flinched when she heard his statement. It was one thing to guess the statements that were being made behind your back, and another to actually know that some of were probably true. Thanks for the bluntness, she thought and followed him to the dining hall.

Fire Storm's roommates were, to put it lightly, quirky. When a person tries to siphon something out of his milk carton with the random comb in his pocket, Eclipse couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He had silvery hair and grey eyes and seemed to be a year or so older than her, but it was hard to tell. "At least it was his comb this time," Fire Storm whispered almost causing Eclipse to vomit up her half-eaten turkey sandwich.

"What time is it?" she asked instead, masking her disgust.

"About 1237. We got a little less than a half hour," said the boy to her left. Out of Fire Storm's two roommates, he was the one most normal, if you call a boy with long pink hair and violet eyes normal. She just couldn't figure out why a guy with his looks was code named Midnight Raptor. After Fire Storm's name seemed so fitting, she had been lured into the idea that others held similar traits.

"Well, it's too late for us to go back and get some shut eye. Sorry LE, I know you were thinking about it," Fire Storm said, turning to the redhead.

Eclipse blinked, not quite sure if he was talking to her or not. "LE?"

"Yeah, you like it? Short for 'Lunar Eclipse' of course. It's just too difficult to use the full name, so we shortened it. I'm FS and Midnight Raptor over there is MR."

"Ah ha!" the final roommate chimed in. He pulled the comb out of his milk carton and pulled the speck off with his fingers. "Got it!" Eclipse wasn't able to withhold the gag when she saw him finish off the milk seconds later.

"Stray, do you have to do that?" MR asked, pushing his tray as far away from him as he could. "Haven't you ever realized that you probably leave hair in there?"

"Hair?" He licked his lips, thinking it over. "So that's what that long and stringy thing was yesterday."

"Enough!" FS shouted, both on the verge of laughter and sickness. "LE, want to get a head start?"

"Head start?" she asked, unable to get Stray's mannerisms out of her head.

"To class, of course."

"Sure." Eclipse pushed out her chair, grabbed her tray and left the cafeteria.

"I'll see you two later," FS said before following after her.

"Okay!" MR shouted and turned back to Stray, who was now cutting a piece of lettuce with a fork and knife. "Stray, tell me. How were you picked to come here?"

"I'm sorry about my roommates. They're actually pretty cool once you get to know them," FS said once he caught up to her.

"And not watch them eat right?" Eclipse responded, chuckling slightly at the memory. "No, I believe you and don't get me wrong, you were right. It's nice to sit with someone at lunch." FS smiled and Eclipse quickly turned away, not wanting him to see her blush.

Fire Storm dropped Eclipse off at her tactics class and waved a goodbye before heading off to his current events. She watched him go, feeling a little giddy inside. Maybe this won't be so bad, she thought and walked inside, choosing a seat in the back.

Eclipse didn't see FS and his roommates until later that night after her own current events class. Classes ended earlier that day so that the recruits could catch up on some personal training. Eclipse still had enough energy to explore the dorms a little before settling in. There was only one floor of rooms so finding their place wasn't exactly all that difficult. Noticing that their door was open, she didn't hesitate to knock. "Hey, it's Eclipse."

FS opened the door to let her in, motioning for her to sit on the stool in the corner. The room was a little bigger than hers, probably because there were three people in there instead of one, with a set of bunk beds in the corner and a single bed across from it. There were two study desks near the door and one with a laptop. A closet off to the right was big enough to hold the things of two people, but not three. Eclipse had to wonder where they put all their stuff. "Hey, LE, how was the rest of your day?"

"Boring actually," she admitted, moving away from the interior to pay attention to the others.

"Oh yeah, you've gone through most of this before, haven't you?" FS asked, sitting with his legs crossed on the floor. Stray was lying on the single bed, his bed with an arm over his eyes. At first glance he looked asleep, but once she listened closely Eclipse could hear him muttering to himself.

"Yeah, most of it," she responded, shaking her head and turning back to FS, "but I didn't get very far. Only three months."

"Ah, I see. How did you start so early though? Most of us only had a month or even less."

She shrugged. "Luck of the draw, I suppose. Hey, where's MR?"

"Oh, he was called out of our firearms class, but that was after dinner. I figured he would've been back by now." FE shrugged. "I'm sure he'll show up eventually. It's not that late yet."

The three of them sat in the room for about an hour, sharing stories and just enjoying each other's company until MR finally walked in through the door. By then they were giddy and tired from the early morning and the long day, so a loud and obnoxious welcome was only appropriate.

Well, usually.

MR was pale and shaking so bad that the others could feel the vibrations in the floor. "Hey MR, you alright?" FS asked, getting up to help him into the room. The boy didn't respond, not even offering a thanks when Stray move from his bed to let MR sit. "What happened?" FS prodded again.

"It took me hours," MR said slowly.

"What did?" Eclipse asked.

"I didn't even know what I was doing."

"What do you mean?" Stray chimed in, kneeling down with the rest of them.

"They said that I'd get used to it."

"Get used to what? For fuck's sake, Midnight, what happened?" FS scowled slightly, getting a little frustrated with his roommate despite his obvious distress. MR was in shock, and even she felt the sense of urgency and fear in his irritation.

"Well, it was easy. I mean I've been shooting guns for the past three years. All you have to do is pull the trigger."

"MR—" FS started but stopped when he saw his roommate's face.

MR finally looked up and over at Fire Storm, his violet eyes so distant and clouded over. He ethereal in that moment; like the shell of his human self. Everything just seemed off. At lunch he was happy, hyper almost, but now he was like a glass doll. "MR?"

"I just killed someone."

In that moment, the world seemed to shift.

A/N: Yeah, this one was a little harder for me to get into, but after I got going I didn't stop. I think it'll be a few more chapters yet before I get the main SEED characters into the fray. Sorry, but please stick with me! I feel like I need to do a lot on this facility in order for some things to make sense in the future. Anyway, here's chapter 3. There might be a few mistakes, so lease let me know. I hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and thank you for the support! Dearka and Yzak were actually in her dream, but she was in their division before she came to this one. She mentioned that in her first journal entry. I'm sorry if that part was a little sketchy. I'll work on it.

Strata