Rage (Chapter 2)

Joseph moved around the training room floor with speed and a deadly, yet beautiful grace. His movement was without sound; the only proof of his presence was the sound from the 45a’s shooting blanks at the holographic enemies. Anna watched him from one of the long windows outside the training room. She noticed that since his secret of being a Knight came out the previous week, he had stopped wearing the usual black Z28s that all the Paladins used. The shining silver titanium and platinum stood out in sharp contrast to even the officer’s A228 sidearms. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and stepped into the training room. Joseph continued through the program shooting at enemies as they appeared. She started to step on the platform to interrupt the program. Joseph didn’t even look her way and he fired a shot right in front of her feet. Even though she knew that only blanks were used on the training field, she jumped back reflexively off the platform. She sighed to herself and stepped back to wait for him to finish the program. She thought to herself that she couldn’t even pull rank on him anymore. Two days after the incident with Branden, the Dean of the institute had taken Joseph out of her command and raised him to the rank of major. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Joseph’s 45a’s sliding into the holsters.

“May I help you with something lieutenant?”

“Actually Major, I was hoping to speak to you if I have the permission to do so.”

“Subject matter?”

“The Branden incident.”

“Permission denied, excuse me.”

With that Joseph, walked past her, picking up his jacket and walked out of the training area. She took a deep breath and walked out of the area after him.

“Major, I’d like to speak with you please.”

“And I already told you Anna, permission denied.”

She grabbed his hand trying to stop him but only started to fall forward. Joseph turned around and she ended up falling to his arms. The was a moment of silence when she was only aware of the strong sound his heartbeat and he of the sweet smell of her hair. But only in that second, for he put his hands on her shoulders and moved her back.

“Look Anna, I don’t want to talk about it and that’s all there is to it.”

“I understand that the rest of us made a bad judgment call and that we should have listened to you…”

She stopped midsentence as she looked at his eyes. She could literally see lightning crackle within his eyes.

“A bad judgment call? You all picked him on based on something you all should have grown out of a long time ago. Because when you pick him for the reasons that you do shit happens like it did and people can die.”

Joseph walked off, his boots ringing on the marble floor of hall. This time all Anna could do is watch him walk away and ponder how her own heart had raced just by hearing his…

Tenchi

“…the cultivation of the mind, the body, and the soul, and we must always cultivate the soul.”