A Kusari Story

[Cat]

The Director almost seems to enjoy revealing what happened until this point and outlining my possible future. "Norman O'Connor used to be a wanted man in Kusari and Rheinland. With Cooper's intervention, it hopefully won't be long until the Kusarians lift their charges against you. In that case the Rheinlanders will do so too: after all, Liberty and Rheinland have signed a peace treaty, so even an ex-LSF agent wouldn't have too much trouble with the authorities there, I believe. You could simply return to your old life. I'd go as far as provide you some funds to repair and refurnish your old apartment, just to prove that I'm no enemy to you."

"Make no mistake though: the Kusarians would still want to question you about some events. But I doubt they'd put you in prison, especially considering that you were defending yourself from a Blood Dragon operative and tried to investigate the attack by the request of the former owner of Shinchoku." - I realize that the Director knows even the parts I tried to leave out of the story.

"But then again, you could carry on as Aiden McFarlane, discarding your old persona altogether. You could continue to work as an escort pilot here at Ajax, making Sprague your new home. It's not the best place in Sirius, but you did want to start a new life away from Liberty back in the day, right? Eventually we could get you a place better than the refugee apartment where you're living at. Not to mention that I'd always be glad to enlist the help of one more former agent."

"And what if I haven't decided yet?" - I ask, a little estranged, still thinking the whole thing through. It definitely wasn't anything that I expected. The Director shrugs: "You're a former agent, so you know it's possible as well. Leading two lives at once is an option, yet it gets confusing at times. That's why I prefer to remain Arnold Bravo, at least while I'm outside of classified and governmental Libertonian facilities. Speaking of which, I might also be able to help with your reinstatement in the LSF, should you choose that path. Agents get to lead many lives, after all."

The Director's face gets even more serious, if not menacing, for a moment: "Make no mistake though: regardless of what option you choose, nobody outside this room should know about this talk. Even if you want to part ways with us for good and forget everything. Otherwise we're going to have a problem. But I'm sure that wouldn't be the case." - the Director searches through a drawer, before putting the sunglasses on the table. I recognize the Enhanced Reality System v.2.0, that used to be a prototype when I left the force. - "You can take these, I heard your old ones got broken."

I take the sunglasses, unsure what to say, other than: "Thank you... sir." The Director's ensuing silence doesn't help me either, so I add: "I need to think it through." Then the Director nods and turns in his chair to look at the holographic screen on the wall. I realize that it's my cue to leave, so I walk out of the library, eventually making my way out of Ajax Combine HQ.

What should I do now? I don't really know. I guess the only thing I really learned from all of this is what I told to Joseph Dawson: "The world isn't black an white". Everyone has their own motives and goals. Do my goals align with those of Ajax Combine? Maybe. After all, I still care about Liberty. The question is, do I really want to get myself involved in yet another shadow war? Should I just settle down? Only time will tell. I only know for sure that this weird chapter of my life is over.