DORIAN
KING
Dorian Dante King is a 30-year-old pianist from the planet Persephone. He’s a very sensitive and emotional guy. He’s lived his whole life very sheltered and privileged with his parents and his cat, Phrygian (boy, does he love that cat). As much as he loves the life he lives, he longs to experience something new. When he got the chance to leave the planet, he was quite excited. His first time ever leaving his home was…traumatizing to say the least. Now he’s a part of the union and he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s decided to keep a diary to help him work through all the big feelings he has. Poor boy.
Diary Collection
by Hannah Trigg
A series of diary entries detailing the days following the summit from Dorian's perspective.
Entry I
I’ve decided to keep a diary. You know, in case I die or something. For posterity. And evidence. So basically, I thought this was going to be a normal job and I would play and spend a week on this planet to explore and enjoy a vacation. First time leaving my home planet of Persephone. I was excited but also very anxious. There was this strange man on the train. Then, I thought he was just spouting nonsense, honestly I was a little uncomfortable. But whatever. Weird guy. I got there, to Ametrine, and was escorted to the stage and eventually things got going and I was playing. Totally lost myself in the music. Typical me. And when I was finished I finally noticed the giant robot weapons, well I thought they were robots then anyway. Horrifying. The rest of what happened is honestly a blur. The big weapon robot guys started shooting. I think I might have lost an eardrum. I hid. Somehow someone found me and dragged me out and got me to safety. Oh I almost forgot, I saw Persephone Morningstar. What a woman. Beautiful like her namesake. I totally embarrassed myself in front of her and I don’t think I can ever speak to her again. But anyway whatever not relevant. Now we’re in Tenacity. The Union saved me. Or a man who’s a part of the Union. I forget his name. I’ve been recruited. To be a pilot of those robot weapon things. Which I now know are not robots. Mechanized combat frames. Mechs for short. I guess I’m expected to be a soldier. I leave the planet one time and now I’m fighting in a war. These frames are so interesting. Scary and horrifying but interesting. They performed this surgery on me and the other pilots. There’s a weird jack in the back of my head now. Feels strange. Hopefully, I’ll get used to it. The other members of this team are Persephone, a man named Jack, I think, our captain, Arven, and Constance. I don’t know much about her at all. But anyway, that’s the first entry. I feel scared. Anxious. I feel like a weapon but I guess I’m a weapon against the weapons. I hope my mom is okay with this. I’ll have to call her at some point. I’m going to try to sleep. I have a feeling it won’t come easy.
Entry II
I managed to sleep for at least two hours last night. Not all at once. This morning we did a simulation of the mechs. It was a battle between our team and the other team. Clay, the one who saved me and lots of others, Roland, he seems really nice, I met him at the summit. He plays the violin very well. Athena, and some other guy. Forget his name. Anyway, the simulation was so weird. Hooking up to the machine was weird. Everything was weird, honestly. I don’t know how else to describe it. While we were in the simulation we got to use our weapons and it felt so real. Our team won. It seemed like some people almost enjoyed it. Honestly, I hated it. It was scary. And fast. Just realizing how easily you could kill someone even when they were in those frames. I’m afraid of what I’ve agreed to do. After the simulation, I called my mom finally. I think she was happy to hear from me. I told her what I’m doing and now she thinks I’m a terrorist. Apparently, the news is painting a very different picture than what’s actually happening. I don’t want my family to be scared of me. Oh but my cat, Phrygian, is being shipped to me. I don’t know how long it will take and I hope he makes it okay. I miss him. I miss my family. After I talked to mom, Persy came to talk to me. I guess she heard me talking. I want to get to know her. I like her very much. She seems interested in others. I hope she likes me too. After that we all went rock climbing. It was hard. I’m not quite used to physical activity. But I didn’t want to seem like a wimp in front of Persy. When we got to the top this guy came out of nowhere. Steven. He said he was a salesman. Honestly, I wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying. I let the others talk with him. It wasn’t anything I knew how to talk about anyway. Stupid Steven and his stupid suits. My suits are way better than his was. Persy would like my suits. She said she wanted to see them. So take that, Steven. After we climbed back down, the General came out to talk to Steven. She also talked to Persy. I went to talk to her as well after the General left. I totally butchered the conversation. AGAIN. I don’t know how to talk to this woman. I’ll get better. I hope.
Entry III
We woke up so early today. But we did get to get into our mechs for the first time. It was interesting. It felt different from the simulation. Worse. We didn’t get much time to really get used to them before they were put to use. We were sent to Ametrine. I wasn’t too happy to be going back. The NEC’s mechs are better than ours. Scarier. We didn’t stand a chance. We lost so many people, including Clay. We retreated. I tried my best. I don’t think I’m cut out for this. I’m just a pianist not a soldier. I just feel terrible for Fireteam Raven. They’ve lost their captain. I spent some time with Roland when we got back. I feel drawn to him. Maybe it’s just because we’re both musicians. But I think we can become friends. After that we went back to our rooms. Apparently we were supposed to sleep. I really don’t think that will happen for me easily anymore. I knew I wouldn’t know what I was getting into when I agreed to do this but I know now it’s much worse than I thought. I guess I didn’t quite realize what war means. I’ve never had to experience anything like this before. I lived such a sheltered life. With a perfect family and with no fear of death and no fear of being a murderer. How do I explain to my parents what I am now? Will they understand? Will they disown me? Will they pity me? I’m scared. I’m sure I’ve written that down a lot by now, but it continues to be true. Yet, I feel as though I have an angel on my shoulder. A light to guide me. Something to keep me sane right now. And as I write this she’s asleep on me. Maybe one day I’ll tell her how I feel. Is it too early to be in love?