Staring at the Ceiling - Chapter 1

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Windstil, ik hoor niets
Alleen de klok, de ijskast
En de vlieg
~Judith Herzberg

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To me it seems like I've been in this isolation cell for an eternity. The days pass very slowly in here: seconds become minutes, minutes seem like hours and hours seem like days.

I have completely forgotten the track of time, I wouldn't know what day it is. All I know is that I'm locked up in this little prison of mine.

What do I do to fill the days? Not much. There's nothing much I can do here anyway.

The isolation cell is very small, the only furniture that's standing in it includes a very uncomfortable bed (man, what I wouldn't give for a nice soft bed with thick filled pillows and a warm blanket), a very dirty toilet, a sink and a lamp. I feel like I'm staying at the fucking Hilton Hotel.

Most of the time I just lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Spending too much time in this place will drive you crazy, and considering I will be stuck here for quite some time, I will end up crazy and probably claustrofobic too.

I never get outside, not even to have to go eat and drink. The food here is really bad, just as bad as hospital food. You have to put your IQ to zero before you can eat it. Oh, and don't look at, the sight is not very satisfying. Even the food Star makes when she's trying to cook tastes much better. And man, she is a bad cook.

I never see anyone either, except for the guard who brings me my food. Not a very chatty person though. They never event sent me a lawyer to defend me and I didn't even get a trial or convicted.

Not long a go I caught myself at talking to myself. Guess that means I must be getting crazy already.

It's really quiet in here. I guess that's why they call it an isolation cell. I can't even hear people talking in the hallway. That's frightening and crazy making. Guess that's why I started talking to myself, to break the nerving quietness.

Ringo my boy, you really did it this time. I remember the day I got into this mess very clearly. How could I forget?

It all happened in the United Earth Year 198. A group of Tekkaman who fell oppressed and pressured by the United Government, succeeded in finishing the Tekk Plant Development. To me and the other Space Knights, the birth of other Battle Tekkamen shifted the balance of power out of alignment. And with that, the Sotai Tekkamen gathered on Plaher at the Headquarters of Space Development. They declared themselves an independent government. The United Government took this as an act of open rebellion. They asked for military deployment and so the 17th Sol Tekkamen were dispatched. In September everyone was preparing for an oncoming war.

I still wonder if those jerks realised then at the time what their actions would cause. Certainly not, I guess. If they had been thinking about it, maybe they would have never done it. But that's just some afterward thinking. What has happened, happened and what is done, can't be undone.

But anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Both sides were never able to resolve anything. And the military was getting very impatient, they couldn't wait any longer. At the United Earth Government Conference, some of the big bosses in black suits decided they would drop the Doomsday Bomb on Plaher to stop the Sotai.

That day was the last day I saw Tina, Star and the rest of our bunch. Two soldiers came to arrest me that day, after I told Tina they would drop the Doomsday Bomb. They weren't even at liberty to tell me if the order came from the High Command.

I'm not sure if the others were told why I got arrested, I even doubt they know I'm still alive and where I am. I don't even know where I am, the vehicle that brought me was completely closed.

But I do know that what I did was right and I would not hesitate to do it again. It was worth it if the others are still alive. Heroes do what they have to do to save the world. And somebody had to play the hero. That somebody was me, ofcourse.

And so here I am now.

I don't know how long I will stay in this hellhole. No one ever tells me anything. Why wasting their precious time on an enemy of the state? Yes, that day I tried to keep the military from dropping the Doomsday Bomb. I just had to try, Star was fighting down there all alone! I couldn't just let her get killed, could I?

Tina.... Maggie.... Blade.... Star..... I'm sorry for everything that has happened. I hope you all survived that day. I don't know what has become of you, but I wish you nothing but the best.

I think about you a lot. The good times we had. You had become my family. You will stay in my memory forever. I hold on to those memories. Somehow they are what give me strength and hope. I'll never forget you. Even if I don't survive this.

And so I lay here on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Again.

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Translation:

Calm, I don't hear a thing
Only the clock, the refrigerator
And the fly

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Author's Notes:

Canon expansion for the Tekkaman Blade series. Takes place between Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Blade 2.

Loads of stories have been written about D-Boy and Star after the first war with the Radam. I thought it would be nice to write something about Ringo after he got arrested at Black September. I find it really hard to write about characters who have already been made like Ringo, to imagine how they would respond in certain situations. I like it better if I can make my own characters, so don't yell at me if this doesn't really sound like Ringo.