>>36667177
Holding the boy in your arms, you dash out of the building's front door, and into the street just as the ceiling that was over your head collapses. You look at him, he looks at you.
The burns covering his face do nothing to hide the smile, the sincere look in his eyes as he mouths a "Thank you". You put him onto the stretcher as carefully as can, the EMTs quickly getting to work. Cheers and shouts erupt from around you, the tournament ending as the boy abruptly takes a baseball bat from the attending pathologist and hits a homerun.
Two SWAT officers and the now-handcuffed criminal walk through the rubble, repeatedly shouting "We got him!" while ignoring the yellow-orange dancing upon them and the crook. They uncuff the suspect and hand him a trash bag.
Confusion is present upon the perp's face as the SWAT officers gesture to the garden on the side of the (still-burning and loudly crumbling) building, indicating for him to join the other inmates in litter pickup.
You smile, taking a tiny amount of pride in your efficient usage of tax dollars while the construction of the castle on the other side of the street is completed, firefighters filling the moat with water. It'll provide protection against the barbarians who have plagued these lands and the generated from the tourists will finally fix the budget problems.
The still-burning-and-collapsing building detonates, soldiers besides shouting and emitting victory cries with the destruction of the enemy headquarters. You close your eyes and breathe a heavy sigh of relief, after all the hardships and losses it was finally over. Deciding that now's the best time to unwind, you strip down to your swimming boxers and dive into the pool surrounding the castle, a barbarian leaping off the diving board at the same time.
You open your eyes in the water of the pool, watching with satisfaction as the enemy submarines detonates. Seeing the deceased colossal squid being hauled up, you rise the surface of the pond.

>>36667189
You blink, gazing at the dark blue walls of your tent.
Probably time to get up...

>Stay in the tent a little longer and think
>Check the time
>See if it's possible for you to consume a snack
>Turn on and try to watch a little TV, keeping the volume low
>Investigate the practicality of using the computer in your real form
>(insert option)
Then...
>Wake up Rodney politely
>Wake up Rodney with some loud chittering
>Don't even bother and just attach to Rodney
>(insert option)

>>36667209
>Check the time
>Wake up Rodney politely

I apologize for the huge delay.

>Check the time
>Wake up Rodney politely

You get off of your back and skitter to the tent's exit, using two of your legs to unzip it. You crawl out into the living room, zipping the tent closed behind you.
The apartment without the lights on is well, dark. Wasn't that bright even with the lights on, but it's pitch-black. After looking around in the darkness for a minute your eyes abruptly twitch, causing you to blink. The contents of the room gradually look more visible, in a half-minute you can make outlines of anything and see anything that's close enough clearly. Experimentally you try making your eyes twitch like that a second time.
Pitch-black again. Twitch. Outlines and anything within a couple feet. Limited nightvision's nice.
After a little searching on the walls you find a silent analog clock.
8:45, and your "vacation" lasts until 10.

You skitter over to Rodney, climbing onto the bedframe built into the wall, moving towards his head. The soldier is sleeping silently, slight movements of his throat and his head are the only indications that he isn't dead.
"Rodney. Rodney. Rodney. Rodney. Rodney."
"Mughh...hmm?" Rodney's eyes dart open, he jumps slightly at the sight of you so close to his face.
"Huh?"
"Little over an hour until 10 AM."
"Shit..." He yawns. "Fuck, I'm feeling sluggish. Hop in me."
You oblige and leap towards his head, passing through flesh and bone towards his brain and instinctively stabbing a gel-like thing in his brain with your ten legs. You "slide" into the gel, entering your Prime Host once again.
Within a moment you're seeing through Rodney's eyes. His body does feel plenty sluggish but well-rested. You remove any urges to stay in bed this morning from your Host's brain and slide out from under the blankets, stretching.

Now...
>Turn on some lights
>Turn on the news
>Make breakfast
>Take your morning shower
>Try to paint something
>Text the AI with a greeting
>(insert option)

>>36669992
>Turn on some lights
>Turn on the news
>Take your morning shower
>text the AI hello
We don't have time to dawdle.

>Turn on some lights
>Turn on the news
>Take your morning shower
>text the AI hello

Your nightvision doesn't seem to work in a Host, so it takes a few moments of stumbling around to find the light switchboard. With a flick the dim red, orange, and purple lights return.
Wasting no time, you grab the remote off the couch and turn on the news before pressing the button for the TV to relocate, in this case to the shower. After hearing it move you toss the remote back to where it was and head into the shower, disrobing as the TV reappears.
"Contact was lost yesterday with Aegisoro, a colony jointly formed by several powerful galactic powers such as the Terran Hegemony, the Motian Systems Union, Asharn Alliance, and the Borlav Federation." That reporter again. You should learn her name sometime.
You head into the shower, activating the water with your preferred temperature via a panel.
"Aegisoro is home to over four million sapient beings and serves to many as a symbol of progress and cooperation in these brutal times."
Soap onto sponge...
"Suspicions range from the colony being a victim of yesterday's 'Afternoon of Murder', to a rare type of storm composed of magical phenomena, to a full-scale invasion."
Body done, hair...
"The Colony Pact, as the cooperative effort is called, has ordered that no ships enter or leave Aeigoro's system until their investigation is finished."
Done. You turn off and then exit the shower. Drying off...
"There are unconfirmed reports of a rescue team sent to the planet failing to return. Officials have however, denied this."
Finished...

Nude, you exit the bathroom, and after a multi-second detour to use the remote to return the TV to it's place in the living room, head for Rodney's closet by his bed. Draws built into the walls of the closet somehow.
You quickly get dressed into one of Rodney's uniforms. It feels comfortable now that you think about it. You grad your PDA off a nightstand by the bed and text the AI.

>>36672869
[Morning.]
[Salutations my friend! How are you?]
[Just showered, you?]
[Took care of the remaining drones, quite satisfying.]
[Yay.]
[Indeed! Also, you appear to be in a hurry. Your water was used a minute after your lights were activated.]
[Yeah, I kinda am.]
[I assume it concerns an event at 10 AM?]
[Yep, don't think I ever asked what was I supposed to do then.]
[Able is expected to report to a hangar bay for transport to a major Hegemony vessel. My trams will get you there in two minutes.]
[Thanks, I'll tell you when I'm ready for a ride.]
[No problem at all, my good friend.]

Going to eat anything?
>Nope.
>Make some breakfast
>I'll bug Command into giving me food later
>There's always HegemoBars...
>A few snacks should do.
>(insert option)

>>36672892
>Make some breakfast

>Make some breakfast
You should eat something before you go.

Go into kitchen, look through the cupboards. Bag of bread slices, cereal. Why not both?
You take out a couple slices and put them into the toaster, activating the device with a button press. Bowl, pour cereal from box, spoon i-, ah screw it everyone knows how it goes. The butter on the toast tastes good, as do the marshmellows mixed with the cereal.
Not enough. You make more cereal and pour more toast. And it takes another repetition to finally sate your hunger.

9:01 AM...
>Head straight to the hangar via the trams
>Walk with one of your squadmates to the hangar
Who then?
>Nobody, taking a tram courtesy of the AI
>Jezori
>Suko
>Veronika
>Vivel
>Hazuko
>Teza
>Shizi

>>36673954
>Head straight to the hangar via the trams
>Nobody, taking a tram courtesy of the AI

And sorry but that's all for tonight.
I'll be running tomorrow too though.