Threats from within.

[Exile]

A breath, a feeling.
The metal, I'm bleeding.
A breath, a feeling.
The spirit, she's healing.

I'm terrible at poetry, I know. But for some reason this little verse keeps on repeating itself inside of my head ever since my.... Return. If only it was the only thing that kept repeating itself in my head.. Words, sentences, sometimes uttered by a set of voices in stead of one. They're not annoying or anything, not disturbing me in any way. I'm not waking up with sweat on my forehead in the middle of the night like in those Kusarian horror movies. But I do suppose it isn't the healthiest of things, psychologically. But then again, I did just.... Yeah, that. Funnily enough, (if you can call it funny), this isn't the strangest of things I've been noticing since my return. I've felt.. Really good. Absolutely amazing. No headaches, no snapping bones, no tiny shocks of chest pain. Nothing. For the first time in ages, I'm feeling absolutely..... Stunning.


Altair Research complex. Iota nebula. Five weeks after the assignment's start.
It was a success. And what a success it was. I did not know to what end my assignment lead, but it would seem that I singlehandedly collected the equipment needed to build a warship. A warship so beautiful and graceful it caught the breath of every single Human arriving on the station. They called it a "Togo". I had never seen one before in my life, nor do I think I ever will again. But of one thing all of us were certain ; it felt as if this ship, the so called "Mandate of heaven", was meant for greatness.



Nomad and Human vessels alike circled the massive hulk, I assume for construction purposes. I watched them dance around it as I stood behind a window in the upper section of a tower on Altair research station, calmly circling the ice in my glass. The room I was in seemed to have been copied directly from a Liberty "lounge bar", if you will. Four low sofa's with corners placed in a square with a small glass table in the middle. Some dimmed red and purple lights in the corners, and smooth, relaxing music coming from behind a small bar in the back. Something they must have done to make us feel more comfortable. Yes, us. There were a bunch of us sitting up here. Three women, two men. There was a man and a woman standing a few meters to my left, gazing out of the window and pointing. I could overhear them talking about "The Mandate"(how I liked to call it). I looked down and smiled a bit before finishing my drink. I helped make her (I decided that the Mandate was a girl. I mean, come on, she's gorgeous!) possible. A little pride is never a mistake, right?

I swirled the ice in my drink one last time and sat down on one of the empty sofa's in the middle of the room. Two of the women were sitting across from me and the man on the one with his back to the door. They were talking about past assignments, I think. It didn't really matter to me. I felt I had earned the right to be a little arrogant, so I kicked off my shoes and lay down on the couch. I reached into my pocket for my PDA (I was reading "Confesiones de un amante de la pirateria". A book which came highly recommended from one of the Corsair colleagues.) but couldn't find it. I remembered I left it on the table and reached for it, when I almost had it, it just seemed to fly straight into my hand without me actually touching it physically. The feeling that rushed through my body when it happened was... Indescribable. Not pain, not pleasure but.. Awareness? Luckily, my colleagues were all too occupied with each other to notice my little.. Act. I pretended as if nothing had happened and continued reading, but tomorrow? Tomorrow I would seek out the one they call the "Emissary". She had some answers to give me. Voices, moving objects, a body that is mine but not mine and that (I'm not complaining) happens to function without any defects wasn't something every Human could claim to have or do.

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