Just Another Day

I only had to go onto base for 6 hours today, mainly to check up on my troops, inspect kit, sit through meetings, planning for possible outings. Bodie, Edee and I sat in the office in the apartment for several hours reviewing surveillance data to package and send on to other intelligence officers who determine what may or may not be interesting to the intelligence community. The voorpaks find the job much more entertaining than I do. Whoever set the cameras had some interesting ideas about what qualifies as a strategic location. I mean, honestly, who talks politics in the loo? The Naboo, Alderaanian, and Chandrilan were all quietly advised that now would be a great time to remodel certain rooms, which required construction that damaged our surveillance cameras. Shame.

After watching various senators do not much of anything but eat and complain for several hours, I called it a day for reviewing and monitoring the residents of the complex. Have I ever mentioned how damn creepy I feel watching people where they live? Super creepy. But anyhoo…

I have to clean up some, I do have a guest coming over later, and I really need to organize a few things so the apartment looks presentable

So Now What?

Well, Coruscant is certainly interesting. But it is a bit lonely. Dante is still on Naboo, as is Padme. Cmdr Andros returns tomorrow from a mission. My clones have been pretty patient to hang out with me, but they all seem like they’d rather being doing something that involved shooting or blowing things up. We eventually got the giant gift (a huge hot tub) figured out. We had to adapt my terrace to accommodate the thing, install a security screen that now domes over the terrace. And I’ll not tell you how we acquired the hot water hook up, we just did, and it works great.

So since I haven’t had much of a social life, when I’m done with my work, I’ve had a lot of time to contemplate what I’ll do when I leave the military, and I have yet to come up with a real idea. To be honest, I’ve been trying to get out for so long that I’ve kind of forgotten why I wanted to get out in the first place. One of the big pushes was so I could have a regular life, be with Dante, live in one, that whole routine, you know, be normal. But then we broke up. The goal of getting out still hadn’t been achieved yet though, so I kept at it, determined to achieve what I’d started after. And here I am, 4 years later, and now, there is a pretty good chance I’ll be able to get out. And I have no idea what to do with that. No idea what to do, where I’d fit in, and I really don’t want to go back home and live with my parents.

Once in a while I think for a moment that maybe I should stay in the Navy. It’s a job I know, people I usually like. Then I laugh for a while. Let’s be honest, who in their right mind wants to stay in a profession where you could die in the blink of an eye? Bleh. I’ll talk to Mal about this, he wanted to stop by and say hi after his ship docked. Maybe he can provide some perspective on all of this.

Named

Thanks for all the name ideas, and I think I’m going with Edee and Bodooka, though I think that one might get shortened to Bodie. They seem to be ok with living in an apartment, and since they’re pretty small, they won’t take up too much space.

Speaking of things that take up space, I got a delivery of several different packages from Naboo. One is enormous, I had to ask a few of my troopers to come help me with that. I’m not sure what it is, or more importantly, where it’ll go. I’ll let you know what I got when Tak and Sev show up to help me open it up. Perhaps Dante and I need to have another chat about gifts. I was absolutely thrilled with the voorpaks, so much so he could dent my speeder and still be forgiven. He really doesn't need to send me things. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to get presents, but I don't expect them. The big gift has me worried. And now that I think about it, perhaps I should open the smaller packages.

Opening the package, she pulls something out, then blushes. Then she sees the little card in the bottom. She reaches in, takes the card out of the package and opens it. She blushes all the way down to her elbows, then quickly scoops up the items and takes them into her bedroom.

My clones would never let me hear the end of it if they knew I’d just gotten silk sheets and a gift card to Fredericks of Coruscant. They might also never stop asking me what I’d bought with the gift card. Every once in a while I get the impression that some of them might possibly have a thing for me. Which I know is really vain to even think, but I get that vibe from some of them once in a while. Probably just me being silly.

I Got a Present!

Two, actually. Dante sent me a pair of Voorpaks, he's such a sweet heart. I'm absolutely thrilled. I love voorpak, I had several growing up, very sweet creatures, though they do have pointy teeth, and will eat your younger brother's pet lizards.





















So I'm thinking of naming the female Lelu, but am not set on anything. I have no idea what to name the boy. Any thoughts or comments on the naming issue would be appreciated. Thanks!

A to Z of Me, Oh Boy!

I found this while reading a rather random blog that is not one I'd normally admit to reading. So, to maintain my dignity, I'm just going to say I stole the idea from one of Captain Typho's old posts. I really miss him. He should be back soon, I'm not sure if he'll go see his family. Other than them, I don't think he has any commitments on Naboo. One of my troopers keeps pestering me about the rumors regarding Dante. Fi really wants to know what would happen if the rumor about him and a handmaiden were true. Fi is probably more persistent than is good for him.

Onto the questionnaire.

Accent: Southern Naboo, but not quite as heavy as Queen Jamilla's accent
Booze: No thanks
Chore I Hate: Dishes
Dog or Cat: a what or a what? I'd like a voorpak...
Essential Electronics: iPod
Favorite Perfume: Arden Beauty
Gold or Silver: Hmm, why isn't platinum an option?
Hometown: Deeja Peak
Insomnia: Nope, thank the force
Job Title: Leader of Asskicking Clones
Kids: None yet, maybe later, much later
Living arrangements: Me, myself and I
Mom's birthplace: Somewhere on Alderan, she was a bit early
Number pets you've had: I grew up on a working ranch, so a lot
Overnight hospital stays: Many
Phobias: I really dislike small cramped spaces
Quote: Be the change that you want to see in the world. Mohandas Gandhi
Religion: Heathen
Siblings: An older brother and a younger brother
Time I wake up: whenever the klaxion goes off
Unusual talent or skill: I know all 32 native Naboo dances (hey, it said unusual, not useful)
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Okra
Worst habit: Procrastination
X-rays: A few, but mainly they just use the med scanner to see what I broke
Zodiac sign: Gemini

Ahhh, do you now feel like you know me well? That you have a deep and intimate bond with me because of the info I've shared? No? Me either, oh well, maybe next time.

Got Purpose?

Have you ever had moments where you stop mid-action and realize you have no idea what you’re doing? And not just what you are doing in that moment, but overall, what you are doing on the planet you’re on, what you are doing with the people who surround you, what your place is in the whole thing. A moment where there is no way you can rationalize your life up to this point to yourself.

I had one of those moments this morning as I watered the two little plants I have. As I watched the chaos that is Coruscant outside my window, I realized I had no idea what I was doing here. My presence or absence would have very little impact on the people here. And honestly, what do I care for most of them? Why am I here risking my life? So a bunch of people can keep shopping in safety, so their moments at the café are undisturbed? Why do I have to die for them? Why do my men have to die for them? I put down the watering can and let the feeling linger.

And because I have zero serious honest resolve, I put on my uniform, left my apartment and went to work. I wish I could say that I picked up and left, that I refused to continue with something I disagreed with, something that left me feeling so detached. But I can’t imagine myself actually just walking away, dropping everything and creating a new life. Ever have one of those days where you just realize that you suck? I’m having one of those days. I’ll go find Tak or Sev, they’re usually pretty good at cheering me up. Tak’s had guard duty with one of the Senators, that usually yields pretty funny stories. And don’t worry about me, I’ll probably find some purpose in a cup of caf.

It's Friday and...

...and I am without a funny thought/post for you all today. I have a self indulgent whiny one, but I'll spare you all that. So here's funny picture or two for your viewing pleasure.



























Actually while spell checking this epic post of mine, I had some fun with the dictionary, not that I don't trust blogger spell check or anything, well, actually, I don't.

whinny adj covered with whin or furze
what the heck is furze??? or whin for that matter???

whin n. furze

furze n. whin (haha, not really, that was the second definition) a prickly evergreen shrub of the pea family, with dark green spines and yellow flowers, native to European wastelands furzy adj.

So that's the educational post for this blog. Being whinny sounds painful and a bit bleak. Who knew Europe had wastelands?

Today's post was brought to you by the letter C

Adjusting to City Life

Bleh, I’m starting to miss the peace and quiet of a star cruiser. This planet/city makes so much noise all the time. My apartment walls and windows dampen most of the sound, but still, every once in a while, the sound of a car accident/explosion makes its muffled way into my abode. And the planet smells, well, dirty in a chemical sort of way. Some of my clones have been getting a rash at the joint areas of their armor like on their shoulder and their legs. We’re trying to find a way to reduce that, though bacta does seem to do a pretty good job clearing it up when it appears.

So my mission here will have two parts. The first and somewhat acknowledged part is that I will be running support for special ops missions here on the planet. There have been several attacks on government buildings recently, and Separatist sympathizers are suspected. There had been a series of attacks last year, but they were dealt with and there had been no activity until recently. The second part of my mission is to monitor the goings on within my building, apparently the Chancellor feels that there may be Separatist leaning senators, and he wants to know who, as well as what ever else I find out in my spying. So, I have some issues with the second part of my mission, you know, the moral kind of issues. Why would the Chancellor need to spy on his Senators?

Ok, let me just get this said and out of the way. The Chancellor creeps me out, epically. Always has, even when he was just a Senator, there is just something about him, icky, creepy, wouldn’t want to leave your puppy with him type of vibe. Eirtaé and I just never liked him, so much so that we could almost tell when he was about to enter the room. We’d both get stressed and nervous, then in he’d glide. We tried sharing this with others, but all of the other handmaidens thought he was just a nice old man. Padmé was happy that Naboo had a serious place within the Republic government, so she suggested we temper our opinions some. Then I got shipped off to the Academy, and Eirtaé kept quite about it all, choosing to retire her position when she turned 18.

I’ve gotten more stuff for my apartment, it’s starting to look homey and welcoming. I also did a sweep for bugs. Lots of listening devices, had to take those out, and then removed half the cameras and left the other half on a loop. No need to make whoever is watching me think that I’m completely aware of it. My clones come by once in a while and keep me company, though I do get to see everyone almost daily when I head into the main base. Big Brother: Naboo should be almost finished, so hopefully that means I’ll get to see Dante again soon.

Well, I’m off, I need to warn Bail Organa’s senatorial aide that someone put cameras in locations throughout her living quarters that she may not appreciate.

Breakfast Insight

Over never ending caf, a plate full of eggs, nerf strips and toast, my clones filled me in on a world that I was unaware existed. I knew that due to the tight living situations and sense of brotherhood the clones have, there are really very few secrets amongst them all. What I didn’t know is that their incredible intellect loves to collect and share all types of information, but most especially about people they know and know of, which is a pretty impressive group of beings.

Not surprisingly, they knew quite a bit of gossip about the officers. They were pretty mum about gossip about other clone troopers, but the non-clone folk were areas of active discussion. Being that I’d just spent a lot of time in front of cameras, I was amongst the gossip subjects, but nothing particularly scandalous. All four of them did want to know if I’d be dating Cpt. Typho in the future. “Yes, most likely since we do live on the same planet now.” Sev sipped his caf, made a face, then added two spoonfuls of sugar, “Well, are you two going to date exclusively?” “I guess so, I hadn’t really talked to him about that.” I paused and looked hard at Sev, he looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding back. “Why do you ask,” I inquired, looking first at Sev and then at the other three. Wil coughed, or giggled and tried to make it into a cough. I arched an eye brow and let the full weight of my gaze rest on him. He tried to make a straight face, “Well, there was a rumor going around for a bit that he’d gotten a handmaiden pregnant, but then that rumor changed into rumors that the handmaiden had left to marry a man with suspected CIS sympathies. But we’ve also heard that a certain Jedi hangs out at the Naboo apartments quite a bit when a certain Senator is on planet.” “I doubt that,” I replied, “Anyways, I think he’s been pretty busy with a pretty blonde non-handmaiden up until right before the show started.” They all gave me lame knowing looks, then continued on with various bits of information.

I felt left out of the flow, so I contributed the only piece of info I had, “Well, I heard that a commando trooper got a Jedi pregnant and she’s been stationed to some very mundane duty on some remote planet.” They all looked shocked, but not the type of shock of being scandalized by some falsity. Oh no, this was the look of ‘how the fierfek did you know that?’ I looked at all of them, shook my head and sighed, “I don’t even want to contemplate that one being true, lets move on. What else have you heard about Senators?” They all glanced at each other, then Tak started talking about the delegation from Garos IV, then onto some gossip about a prominent ship builder. Sorry, no gossip good or bad about Sen. Organa.

The conversation continued on, but I kept going back to what I’d said that had caught them so off guard. I know that quite a few of them hold some hope that the war will indeed end at that they might get a short chance at the type of life they have lost so many to defend. And why shouldn’t they? But unless there is a way to stop the aging process, I don’t think many will get the chance to try what most consider a normal life. And this type of work brings people together, I could see a commando and a Jedi as a couple. I just don't want to imagine their child. But that is just one solider, it seems unfair that so many others don't have a chance at a family.

By the time we left, my head was swimming with all the random information I’d just gotten from my guys. I think I should make breakfast with my unit a weekly thing, it was all very enlightening. And I’m sure when Dante gets back from Naboo, he’ll just be thrilled with the rumors regarding him.

One More RL Thing...

Michelle/Cpt. Typho had her little one and has posted a picture and an update on her non-Star Wars webpage. Go check it out, he's a cutie :)

Now For Something Completely Off Topic

Hi folks, it’s the Lt. Cmdr’s intern. I know, I know, you all really want to know the latest clone gossip. And she’ll get to that, but not right now. Right now you’ll have to bear with me for a bit. Today is World Health Day 2006. This year, the World Health Organization is celebrating healthcare workers around the globe. They also want to highlight the need for more healthcare workers, particularly in developing countries. Why am I telling you this? So the next time you have to go to the doctor, see a nurse, or get care from a first responder, you say thank you. Say thank you to the people who have dedicated their lives to making your life easier, healthier and longer. And also realize not everyone in this world has someone to thank, so please appreciate who you have taking care of you, if only for a day.

Furniture 'Shopping'

The ship made it back to Coruscant in a short time. I haven’t been told my complete assignment, but I do know that it has me living off base. A few of my guys offered to drive me over to the building and help me move my stuff in, not that I have all that much, but the help is welcome. And I figure I can take them out to lunch afterwards.

My orders state that my apartment is in 500 Republica, the same building that houses so many senators. From that alone I can make a guess at what most of my home time is to be spent doing. We all managed to fit on the lift with my stuff. It shot upwards at speeds that could qualify it as an amusement park ride back home on Naboo. My quarters are located about midway up the building, I think it’s more of an administrative worker area, which works for me, no being kept up at all hours because of a noisy Senator’s party.

The apartment is actually quite nice. It was completely empty except for one room, which had a large desk and was filled with computer equipment, monitors, and a variety of surveillance equipment. My troopers and I looked at each other, then closed the door. No need to mess with the expensive delicate equipment before I got my orders.

Tak looked around the empty apartment. “May I make a suggestion, ma’am?” I nodded, trying to figure out where I could get some furniture. “I believe the Corellian Senator is redecorating, I doubt Senator Bel Ibis would mind if we took a couch or a chair that was on its way out.” I looked at Tak incredulously, “You mean dumpster diving?” I asked, a slow smile sneaking up despite my best efforts to look shocked. “Whatever you want to call it, Oneida, but it’s certainly nicer than what you’ve got,” he replied teasingly. Wil(WK315) looked up, “Well, I don’t know about that, this imaginary couch goes with simply everything, it’ll never go out of style, and it’s easy to move, though it isn’t very comfy.” I laughed, “Ok, I get it, let's go. And it’ll be from the Corellian delegation, so it’s probably pretty nice.” As we got in the lift, I looked at Tak, “You do realize that this is not how I’m going to find a bed, right?” He colored a bit and shrugged, “I haven’t given your sleeping situation much thought.” Wil rolled his eyes.

After applying our military skills in stealth, evasion, and coordination, we had a really nice comfy couch, two chairs and a few other things. Your tax dollars at work, and recycling in action. By that time, we were famished, so we dropped the things off, and I took them out to eat. Only four of my guys, Tak, Wil, Sev and Fi had come, so it was pretty easy to find a place to eat, and being clones who usually get ration cubes, they’ll eat just about anything. We found a diner nearby on one of the lower levels of Coruscant. I’ve eaten many meals with clones before, but not all of my meals, and not always during down time. Either I’d never noticed before or they’d never done it before, but these boys could gossip something fierce. And no topic was safe. I’ll tell you about the gossip tomorrow.

Hurricane Season

Guess what came out today on both Naboo and the planet my intern lives on? That’s right boys and girls, the high anticipated predictions for the hurricane season! Yay! Dr. Grey of Quolorado Province University on Naboo predicts the storms every year, and has been fairly accurate. And predicting weather, while not easy, is usually not something of note. Until you look at where QPU is located.

Yeah, nowhere near the water. Why would the world’s foremost hurricane expert live in a completely landlocked area? Why wouldn’t he want to live in a place where he could be close to that which he studies? Well, simply put, because the man isn’t dumb.

The same can be said for the man who is the world expert on hurricane prediction on my intern’s planet. Dr. Gray, out of Colorado State University, issues the predictions for the hurricane season on his continent. Reporters pounce of the report with glee and a bit of drool as they ponder all the possible devastation the storms could bring. They dreams of the shots of them valiantly standing out in gale force winds, and gee, they make it look fun. They fantasize over families getting torn apart and exploiting that grief. Though, reporting on hurricanes is not a job for the morally strong and weak of hairspray.

Like Dr. Grey of QPU, Dr. Gray of CSU is a wise man. He lives in a land locked state surrounded by more landlocked states.

So my happy coast dwelling friends, take heart that those of us smart enough to live away from house smashing, car tossing, boat sinking, tree breaking, creature smiting acts of nature keep you in our thoughts by not only yelling “look out!” but also by telling you how many times you’ll probably have to do that every year.

Cheers!

-Hurricane Season was brought you by grants from Quolorado Province University & Colorado State University.

Another Day In The Field

So, how’s your day been? Me? Oh, just smashing, couldn’t be better. I had to pop into an abandoned Separatist droid storage facility, do a little recon work, nothing major. Got shot at by a couple Super Battle droids, walked into a room with unknown spider droids hanging from the ceiling, disabled half of them, which caused them to fall of the ceiling, ended up fragging the whole bunch. Found out the power source of the facility was rigged to blow if we turned it on. But why let a little thing like that slow us down? We nabbed all the info we needed, but then we ran into a bunch of regular Sepie droids that absolutely insisted we surrender and drop our weapons. No ‘please’, no ‘would you kindly’, just a demand. Well, you know how I simply hate rude things, so they’re now a pile of parts, them and their friends, bunch of cheeky bastards. And wouldn’t you know, they had more Super Battle droids waiting for us as we came out the back entrance. But we all made it back to the ship with all our bits and pieces still attached.

If I have one complaint about all this, it’s that the Separatists don’t know how to properly abandon a place. When you abandon a place, you’re supposed to take all your military stuff with you, leave as little behind as is possible. That’s why we’ll eventually win this war, a lack of attention to details on the part of our opposition. If people would just pay attention to the small things, the big picture would become strikingly clear.

So, enough about me, tell me how your day's gone.