Passerby

[sincerelymatthew]

Ash from the clouds settled on a single green blade of grass, freshly emerged from the snow just a few feet away. The fire had melted the snow. Hot ship panels littered the ground. Fires belted from the humble ship's engines and also from the passenger cabin. The fjord walls obscured the crash scene as something approached from the far end of the cliffs.

- - -

As a young child, I had always been intrigued by space. I would look up at the stars from the slums of planet Manhattan.
The nearby space port, Space Port Hoover, was solemnly visited by police or foe. Every so often, smugglers for the Liberty Rogues would land there.
I lived with my mother, who had told me that my dad had died of a disease a long time ago.

Then all it took was one day to change my life.

In a relatively unknown year (we didn't keep track in the slums) a strange border world vessel landed at SP-Hoover and we rushed to see the awkward ship. He was a smuggler and his name was Ulan Masey. He had been to all corners of the Sirius Galaxy. His ship was called a Raven's Talon. He had bought it in some outer rim system. Nights passed, and I would find myself everyday listening to his stories, helping him repair his ship. He told me of the great adventures that he had gone on against groups I had never heard of. Groups like Corsair and even Outcast. He told me about the different houses in Sirius: Rhineland, Kursari and Bretonia. All worlds vastly different from ours. He taught me how to fire my first gun, something my mother didn't take kindly too. She told me I should be studying medicine not violence. This went on for 5 more days.

On the night of the 5th day, tragedy struck. Masey was telling me about how sorry he was. Mumbling at best. He kept on telling me he could have hid somewhere else. That's when I heard the engines in the distance.

Fighters tore through the sky, followed by a gunboat that layed siege to the slums. Buildings exploded all around each other. I watched the building where my mother had been, incinerated by a huge turret. Explosions rocked the ground. Masey was dragging me somewhere while I clawed the ground. I screamed for my mother, but Masey insisted in telling me that she was dead.

Finally, he turned me around and grabbed me by the collar with his fist.

"You either come with me or you can die here along with your mother," hissed Masey.

I'm not sure what exactly compelled me to grab his hand. And to this day my decision haunts me. Me and Masey ran to the port which was mostly rubble. He tucked me into the back seat of his ship and we took off.

I was much to young to remember that moment. I do remember hearing turret fire, loud blasts and screams over the comm.

After a long time, we finally docked with a station, Gate Barrier Station. I got out of the ship and walked to the door.

Masey told another person who had run up to him, "I'm going to make sure they don't find us. I'm going to cut them off at the Cortez jump hole!"

Masey's Raven Talon spun and rocketed out of the landing dock with tremendous force. And that was the last time I ever heard or saw Masey. I spent my next 10 years alone.

---

In the duty of war. There is no substitute for someone who has already accepted death.