Alot goes on in a short amount of time. That's for damn sure. Isaac was not aware of the fact that Jean had gone off to hear from Middleton, or knew when he'd gotten back. All that had happened in another section, while he was essentially trying to help Private Lucia regain some of her sanity. This was day one, certainly, but day one was alot more for some, than others. For Isaac, day one had been when his country turned on him by forcing him into the service. Day one had been when they took him from his family, his friends, and his responsibilities in order to transform him into a killing machine. Day one was when he began to hate his country, and when he was done defending it from Imperial bullets, he was going to tell it how much of a coward it was for telling a [i]farmer[/i] to go fight when other more-willing people were obviously out there, all of whom have to EAT. Alot of people were gonna be put in their place when he was done. That's what was getting his ire up, and that's why he didn't have the same shock as other people. He'd already been stunned on some levels, so he'd been able to power through the rest to get this far. There was alot of difference between him and Lucia. Anyone could see that. He didn't know her story at all, but clearly their induction into this hellhole wasn't the same. She'd been put through training, possibly with the growing fear of war ever-present in her mind, and then while ffacing the same tension as the rest of them all, in comes Middleton, who gives her an unthinkable command. Isaac didn't know why the Lieutenant would do that to anyone. It was completely unnecessary, since anyone who's been through training would've been told the penalty for desertion and treason. Namely, that you either hung or shot, dependent upon whether they want to spare the bullets or not. They won't knife you. That's too personal. Well...maybe Middleton would manage it. He was cold as ice. He'd ordered a girl even younger than he was to execute people who were afraid, who might come back even though they might only be throwing themselves at bullets uselessly otherwise. [i]No one[/i] should have to do that. If there was anyone who had less of a reason to be in this war than him, it was Lucia Farris. You could really argue that with alot of people, but then this was day one and Isaac didn't really know everyone else's story, to be fair. They'd all been through a charge with each other. That's it. They hadn't had time to bond much, although the Lance already felt a certain protective instinct for these people. He wasn't going to judge how much they deserved to be here against his own problems. For all he knew, the 15th Atlantic Rifles were a motley crew of unwilling people recruited into a great mess of a war and flung full-force at the Imperial threat without care. That was why he [i]needed[/i] to care. They just wanted an attack wolf, but they didn't understand what rearing a wolf was like. You have to address ALL of the instincts, understand the camaraderie that goes with it. They need unification, caring for one another, and they needed outlets for aggression that was something other than fighting for their lives. And whatever that outlet is has to be cared for so that it doesn't break, especially if it turned out to be a person. You don't want a pack omega in a wartime situation, but if it happens, you have to build that person up so they don't feel that way. The tension-breaker probably had to shift, and that's why... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Isaac wasn't aware that he was drifting off as he started thinking up ways to handle the group so that their people wouldn't break. Not long after Lucia succumbed to sleep, trying not to dream of the girl she'd had to kill or the Lieutenant who'd ordered her so - like he was right there and she was being ordered to execute her on the spot, and that the girl was herself - the Lance-Corporal also ran out of energy, which was kind of why time passed him over a bit. Michael had gone to help Franz and Mila - or Mimi - the crazy lady had frozen at the sight of him. He wasn't aware of Jean's girl trouble or that Daniel was chastizing people. That was all stuff that happened under the observation of [i]Britta[/i]. The female Gunner had been patrolling as she'd been asked to, namely to give people the chance to do what they were doing: Recovering from the shock of battle and trying to piece together their senses. She had seen Jean heading off and she had seen Isaac helping Lucia, and she had seen things developing in the former Imperial trench where people had penetrated. Things being the way they were, she kind of wanted to bring other Lance-Corporal to help sort out things with Jean, but as she had been watching things unfold herself, it might've been better if she did so herself. Really, Jean's words were to be taken to heart. They [i]should[/i] appreciate what it's like to think and act like normal human beings in the face of the uglier side of things. It warmed the heart to hear him say so. The Gunner stepped on over as Daniel left. [color=ed1c24][b]"I appreciate you saying that, Jean, and I agree that we should all hold onto whatever humanity we have."[/b][/color] She remembered now how she saw even the toughened Isaac showed some of his true self on the way here, the way he was now using that humanity to reach out to Lucia and let her know that it was alright to be human, that they should strive for that as they look after one another. [b][color=ed1c24]"If you want, I can see about talking a little sense into him. It was a human being worrying about others that got us up this hill, not the whistle and a man shouting 'Go'."[/color][/b] Britta wasn't sure if she'd really get through to Daniel, exactly, but the words that this squad lived by AS a squad and not just as a loose collection of fighting soldiers dictated that she [i]try[/i] to reach him. She just wanted Jean's opinion on whether it was better to let him stew for a while [i]before[/i] confronting him, or doing it now while it was still fresh in mind. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Isaac awoke with a start. It wasn't because of anything he'd been dreaming. His dream had been of the Atlantic Rifles getting wolves to imprint upon them as he and his whole family all helped them. You [i]could[/i] say that he really thought of those creatures too much, but you don't raise them without them raising you, a bit. You get attached and you become influenced by it. Nothing can make you appreciate nature more than someone who lives with it always, and that's what they were. [color=f7941d][i]And I guess that's why I fell asleep in this trench. I can sleep almost anywhere, really.[/i][/color] He looked around. Everyone had moved off. There wasn't any explosion or fighting - might've been some shouting, but he didn't hear it - or anything like that. What'd startled him into the waking world so suddenly was a physical jolt. It was Lucia, right next to him. Honestly, he was just planning to let her rest, keep an eye on her or let somebody else do so while he was busy being a Corporal, but he'd fallen asleep and he'd been stationary human contact. He imagined nobody wanted to disturb them because it would disrupt the recovery that was going on. What Isaac didn't know was that he had introduced a foreign element into the so-called experiment that Middleton had engaged in. He was completely unaware off what the Lieutenant was trying to do, of course, but he'd done it: He'd instilled the notion that people could care for and take care of each other in war, that people are not meat puppets to be sacrificed to the bullet, as it was to the sword in days of old. This would undoubtedly alter things in a way that he did not like. What a shame that Isaac was unaware... He'd probably do it more if he DID know, though. Let's be perfectly honest there. Now, the Lance-Corporal moved to get up, but as he tried...well...there was a whimper and he felt his arm get caught. Hoo boy... This was gonna take some explaining. Isaac pulled out his machine gun - NO, NOT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, GOD DAMMIT! - and held it up so he could wave it around, trying to flag someone down. [color=f7941d]"Hello? Anyone there? I kinda' dozed off and I don't know what's going on now."[/color]