Outsider

[Laowai]

In the past, he had come here as part of a fighter wing. Stationed in Leon he would radio in an engine failure, navigation failure, or in some cases he would not radio at all. Questions had been asked, but because it only happened periodically it was explainable - Corsair pilots in the front line often didn’t live very long, it was quite conceivable for there to be a few equipment failures a year.
He had been lucky that no one noticed that these failures seemed to happen at roughly regular 6 monthly intervals, and always in the same system.
Later, after his return of service obligation was over and he was free to make his own fortune and path, he no longer had to lie. He came alone in his Titan, stopping off on battleship Fes to visit and drink with his friends there, disappearing for days, then returning.
They did notice the 6 monthly intervals in visits, which while initially raising a curious eyebrow or two quickly took on the mantle of “tradition” and thus was never questioned further.

Now, “for the sake of tradition and friendship” he told them, he came as he pleased, and in a style that those who still remembered the old days could not help but be impressed by. Battleship Fes was an Osiris class battleship, marginally smaller than the Legate class battleship that now pulled up alongside her, the massive bulk of the Venganza slid gently through the orange gas clouds and meteors, to take up station beside this, the loneliest of Corsair outposts.
Nowadays, he came in style.




She moored beside the Fes. The two battleships joined by tethers and airlocks, both her crews enjoying the novelty of each others bars and populations. Usually sometime in the morning after it arrived, Elder Ben Laowai would embark from the docking bay on the Venganza onboard a titan, and vanish for a few days.
Those who were still around who remembered the old days, noted to themselves that he always did this, knew that he never answered their questions as to “why?” and smiled and shook their heads.
They did notice however, that the visits had started to become more frequent, more often than “every 6 months”, none of them yet had felt the need to ask. Protocol demanded that he dine with the Fes's captain, but afterwards he would retire to the bar to meet his old friends They enjoyed the company, the war stories, the banter – and they enjoyed the looks of bewilderment from the younger pilots who had the misfortune of being posted to this backwater that an Elder sat at their table.
The “Kusari” Elder at that.
Venganza was here often they noted, Elders had these kinds of discretionary powers, and none asked the obvious questions.

It was just as well, for none could have possibly conceived the answer.

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