I finish my drink and decide to head back to my quarters.
Tonight is too introspective of a night for me to be out in public. I turn down the hallway and hear footsteps
behind me. Well, it’s a busy station. No reason for alarm. I continue on my
way, punching in the code for my door. It closes behind me, and I punch in the
lock code again. There; my door is
locked now. I sit down on the sofa and put my feet up. I rest my head on the cushion behind me and
close my eyes. Perhaps it’s time to take a rest.
I stand over her unconscious
body. I could kill her; I should kill her. One less Amarrian to enslave another
one of us; but I love her still. Even after everything, I still love her. I
pace back and forth, do I do it? Can I really kill her? I sigh, I know I can’t.
I hit her with the pistol once more, and start walking. Hopefully I’ll make it
to the next town before she wakes up. From there, buy my way onto the first
transport off-world and I’m free. I’ll never be a slave again. I pull the hood up on the stolen coat and set
myself to walking. It’s a long way to the next town. It’s dark by the time I
get there, but the Transports run constantly. First one’s to Caldari space. Not
somewhere I particularly want to go to, but it’s better than here. I pay my
way, get on and settle in. I’ve got a long journey ahead of me, and a lot to
think about.
I wake up and glance at the clock. Damn, I only got about 30
minutes. Well, I guess it’s time to get moving again. I stand and walk to the
ship hangar attached to my quarters. I
could probably fit a mission or two in before anything interesting starts
happening. I step into my capsule and plug in. Just another day in the office –
right? I smile widely as I feel the pod
become part of me…or I part of it. Not really sure which would apply. I decide on my Rifter today, I haven’t taken
it out in a while. I speak with my agent quickly as I’m preparing the ship.
Hmmm, Angel Cartel again? Do they never get tired of being pulverized? Ah well,
simple enough to handle. I undock and
warp to the mission beacon, and decide on some music for my missioning today. I see the pirates as I drop out of warp, and
lock them up. I approach the first one, deciding on the one on the left. I
cycle my guns once and alpha-strike him. These Angels really need better
defenses. I quickly change trajectory and engage the second pirate. Those two
dispatched, I get ready to take on the next group. Same thing with them, they
barely even put up a fight. Time to head back home; that was quicker than
expected. I dock up, and tell my agent
that I’ve completed his task. I step out of my pod, leaving it inside the
Rifter – I’ll be back for it later. I do believe, however, it’s time for a
snack. As I walk down the hallway towards a restaurant on-station, I notice a
young couple hidden away in an alcove. Huh, love. I don’t think I’ll ever deal
with the mushy emotional crap again.
I notice the young Matari
watching me. I sigh to myself, waiting for him to come over and mock me. This is
the first Matari I’ve seen since I left Amarr, and I’ve been dreading it. I was
always told that I was denied my tattoos as a way to keep me enslaved; because
no Matari would ever accept me without them. He approaches me, and sits at my
table. I keep my eyes pointed towards my drink, hoping that he’ll get the hint
that I know I’m shamed. He greets me pleasantly enough, and I politely respond.
He asks me if I used to be a slave. I look up before I can stop myself and
blink. He points at my wrists. Curses! My sleeves are rolled up. I pull them
down quickly to hide the scars, but he reaches across and stops me. “Why hide
your courage?” My jaw drops. What is he talking about? I guess he must have
realized that the blank stare of confusion I was giving him meant I had no
blinking clue what he was talking about. He smiled at me and explained that
being denied my birthright like I had been was seen by some as a mark of
courage, rather than one of shame. He spoke like I should be proud of my past,
and prouder still that I’ve escaped it. I couldn’t believe the things he was
saying…they’re too good to be true. Maybe one day my own will actually accept
me, blank and all.
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