Anamnesis

[Leo]

A short story detailing Leo's return to Sirius

A man in loose linen clothes was crouched low and bent over a small garden picking vegetables, pulling up others, and depositing them in to a large basket to his right. He stood, dusting his clothes off before picking up his bounty and carrying it to a home made of what appeared to be Bamboo. The cabin overlooked a valley with a small lake and an ocean shining in the distance, the systems star beginning to set along the horizon.

He brought the vegetables into a kitchen and began preparing them for dinner. He turned on the sink and began washing each item with care and set them aside on a chopping block. Once he finished, he began chopping, peeling, and cleaning all the planet materials. As he did, he put them into a small bowl. Once finished, he poured what looked like olive oil mixed with herbs into the basin and picked up the bowl, heading to his front porch. He sat and absently munched on the vegetables as he watched the star set over the horizon, the stars beginning to shine in the sky and the Mekong Nebula ominously lurking in the night sky, obscuring a region of stars along the edge of the ocean.

Ports along his arms and legs showed locations where implants were designed to connect, scars ran in between these docking ports, showing that ultra-high speed nerve bus lines connected each docking port together for quick communication between the man and his implants or armor; a constant reminder of his past--of a past that he had long since abandoned in favor of a simple life far away from the issues that others suffered up outside of the well. He took another bite of his dinner, examining his thoughts concerning his past and whether or not he cared enough to even regret leaving it behind. This was a ritual he did every night...it probably wasn't healthy, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like anyone else was here for him to discuss it with.

As he did, a streak of light illuminated distantly along the horizon. A meteorite falling with the assistance of the planets gravity. As he watched, pieces of the meteorite broke off and tumbled to the ground. As he examined the object, he noticed pieces of metal along the side. He jumped up quickly, discarding his bowl and dinner to the ground. Without a second thought, he grabbed the rifle along the front of his cabin and headed out into the wilderness, ready to kill who ever had ruined his quiet night and dinner.

---

He smelled the MOX fuel first, indicating that his hunch was correct. The meteorite wasn't a meteorite at all, but a crashing ship. Bringing the weapon up to the pocket in his shoulder, he aimed down the iron sight towards the wreckage, looking for movement. As he did, he saw two shadows run from the wreckage and stumble into the jungle. Two shadows: One small lithe shadow, and another even smaller one. A woman and child. He hesitated for a fraction of a second but found his resolve. He came around the corner where the shadows disappeared and levied the gun at the two subjects. A dark haired woman was checking over a small boy, concern writ on her face. The boy looked up and saw him first, crying for his mother. The woman spun and protected her child, keeping her arms out to her side.

"Please! Don't hurt us!"

The man narrowed his eyes at the two. It was the first time he'd heard another voice in ten years. He didn't drop his weapon and kept it trained on the two.

"Names." he said hoarsely, realizing he hadn't spoken in months, his voice sounding weird even to his own ears.

"M-my name is Ashlynn Schneider. This is my son, Leopold." she said, her arms still out at her sides shielding her son from the crazy man with a rifle.

"Hmph. Leopold, huh?" he said lowering his rifle. "Where are you from and what are you doing here?" he said, his voice beginning sounding normal to him again.

"It wasn't our choice." she said with an edge to her voice, she lowered her arms but kept herself between him and the boy. "We were chased here."

"By?" he said, his eyes narrowing further.

"How the hell should I know?!"

"Didn't you have scanners on that wreck?" he asked, pointing his thumb at the burning wreck behind him.

"I was a bit busy trying to survive. Sorry I couldn't give you more reliable information, sir." she said punctuating the sir with a hint of sarcasm.

He chuckled a little, he couldn't help it. She reminded him of someone else named Schneider that he'd once known. With that thought, his sour mood returned as quickly as it had left.

"I'm guessing you'll be calling for rescue?"

"You guessed right."

"Good. Do it down by the ocean, far from this area. I don't want any visitors. I've taken care to choose a place far off the beaten path so as to not be bothered. I don't need any Kusari Naval Jockeys or Police coming down here and bothering me for settling here. Nor do I want GMG bothering me either. So you and your boy head down to the ocean shore, it's a couple of kilometers from here. Most plants here are edible, but avoid anything that looks like a berry unless you want the shits for a week."

With that he turned his back to the two and walked back into the jungle.

"H-hey! Wait!" the woman called, but he ignored the cries and kept walking. "Please!"

The man stopped and sighed, half turning to face the woman who was running after him, her small son in tow.

"Don't just leave us out here. We have no provisions."

"Not my problem, lady. There's a lake not that far from here, fresh water too. You can survive on water for a while and some of the native wildlife. Enough to get you to the shore for rescue. I don't like strangers which means I don't like you. Best of luck."

The woman stood by herself in the foilage looking dejected and alone. As the man walked away, she turned and took a knee in front of her son offering him assurances that they would be okay. He started sobbing as he clutched his arm. The man stopped again, sighing outwardly.

"Fuck." He turned to face the two. "Follow me. If you get left behind, I'm not coming back for you. At dawn, you two can head out for the shore with some of my food. After that I don't want to see your faces again."

The woman picked up her son and ran after the man. "Thank you! Thank you! What's your name by the way?"

The man half smiled as he began climbing back up the hill towards his home. "Leo."

---

I'm no longer playing on Discovery. The toxicity of this place has brought out the worst in me and I'm no longer interested in experiencing that side of myself. I choose peace over this place.
~Leo