Stanley was sitting across from the blonde haired man known as Albert, who was now dressed in more casual attire. The sun had risen once again, and no buildings had exploded.

Already a good start to a day.

He was still somewhat bewildered by the events of the previous night. Everything from an A.I raining down balls of plasma from an orbiting satellite to setting up shield generators to stop further artillery from hitting the town of Algebra.

A low tired meow escaped a cat from somewhere nearby. Stanley went to investigate. It was a small calico cat in a bundle under a couch side table. She stared at him from the darkness which hid most of her features.

“There you are,” he said to the ball of smooth and soft long fur.

Albert briefly glanced at the interaction, before returning to his contemplation of how to explain the system to Stanley. It was a day of dark clouds, rainfall a distinct possibility.

Stanley held out a clenched fist to his cat, waiting for her to respond. Seeing the open invitation, she promptly head butted his hand before rubbing her face along it.

“You can start your explanation whenever, I’ll be listening,” he said before returning his attention to his cat Nancy.

Albert suppressed his displeasure at not commanding his full attention before beginning. “This system, like all tools, is only as effective as the person using it. Right now, you’ll be able to rely on a small array of previously constructed weapons and defences to secure yourself against any adversaries you might encounter. But this will not continue for long. To be a true commander, you’ll need to be able to create and alter weapons during a fire fight,”

Nancy circled around Stanley and started meowing while observing the contents of the room, particularly the blonde man that had only been introduced to her within the last day or so.

“Because if your tactics stay unchanging and inflexible, then your enemy will take advantage of that weakness with perfect counters to everything you dish out. That isn’t to say that you must design things from scratch, such a method is completely impractical,”

She approached the unfamiliar man, and waited for any sign that she should come closer.

“Hold out your hand,” Stanley said, interrupting his explanation. Albert stalled as he tried to figure out the reasoning behind the request.

“Oh,” Albert said, finally noticing the small animal staring up at him. He did as instructed, which led to him being assaulted with what had to be the softest fur he’d ever felt. He continued, this time with a slight smile. “What you must do is be able to understand the most crucial building blocks of each piece of equipment enough so that you can combine them in ways that will keep you unpredictable. It’s possible to further augment technology if you understand the scientific processes at work, but is normally too time consuming to implement except in a narrow manner. Once you have experience using certain types of technology, it’ll be useful for you to be thinking of how you can use them in unique and often unintended ways. Just don’t blow yourself up in the process,”

* * * * *

Two men stood facing the edge of a sugar cane field, which stretched beyond the horizon. An incomplete housing development was behind them, but its construction wouldn’t continue on that day.

“I refuse,” Stanley stated, meeting the other man’s gaze.

“You think you can defend people with such pacifist ideals? Not only will you get yourself killed, but everyone who lives in this town you seem to care about so much,” Albert replied in frustration.

All this for a promise? Yes. And more.

“I’m unwilling to take another person’s life. I’ve made my decision,” Stanley said as a few kangaroos hopped by. He watched them go until they disappeared behind some tall grass.

It’s who I am now. I’m unwilling to change.

“We’re all relying on you now, you know that?” Albert pleaded.

“I’ll find a way to make it work. No one is going to die,”

“Says the guy on his second week of the job,” Albert replied sarcastically. “Look. I respect your decision, but I can’t have someone like you stay as the commander of such an important facility. So just do your best until I can find a replacement for you,”

“Fine,” said Stanley.

Could do without this responsibility anyway. Too stressful.

“I do have something else that you could help with though. I think this position will be one you’re much more suited to,”

* * * * *

I want to be free.

Stanley walked along the Esplanade beneath a seemingly never ending stretch of Pandanus trees.

Freedom from what though? The inability to become independent in regards to my living situation? Or perhaps the common destiny of many people around me who seem to accept working a job that they hate, one that completely squanders their talents.

To his left waves endlessly crashed onto a sandy beach. To his right cars raced by, each rushing to some unknown destination. An old brick path lay beneath him, and ran parallel to the road for its entire existence, each accompanying the other until the end of time.

I don’t know exactly why, but it’s definitely important to me. It’s hard to put a price on it. The ability to go where you want when you want to. To rest when you desire, work when you’re ready, fight for the things that are important to you. Indeed, freedom is what I desire. It’s true what Albert always says, patriots do fight. But there is more than one way to fight for something. I hope he realises that.