A Light in the Darkness

[why_so_serious]

.....

Location: somewhere Theta

"This is Reaper Ramires to unknow ships. Identify yourself!"
One of those boring days, Barto Ramires thought. Always the same. Patrolling around the Freeport and showing random pirates where their limits are. His sight went back to the scanners.

The voice of the AI ripped him out of his thoughts. "Attention! Interfering field detected! Scanners are only working on 50% of its normally output".

"Since when do pirates have EMPs or is it just a the sun over there?" He wondered and looked to the dazzling bright sun at the left side of his cockpit.

"Ah damn it", he thought. "These pirates are getting strong and stronger now days EMPs what will be the next?"

He opened another communication channel: "Again this is Reaper Ramires. Identify yourself. Please confirm interfering field. "

"Curious", he thought. "They still didn't answer, oh well. What do we have?" He mulled over the according data the scanner presented. "Fine 4 ships in formation, approximate 12km away, Getting closer fast."

Barto activated his shields, powered up weapons and said in the micro: "I am taking your maneuver as a hostile act. I am starting to power up my weapons. Don't get closer. That's my last warning." Finally. The unknow ships stopped at 8km. He still couldnt see the ships themselves just a faint gleam in the darkness...

Suddenly a voice appeared out of nowhere. Not in the speakers but somehow in his brain. It touched his innermost part of mind.

***-We- demonstrate 'it' -our- might ***
***-Our- infinity knowledge***

They are showing pictures containing their weapons incredible destructive potential, their jumpgates reaching other galaxies in the blink of an eye and how whole suns are being used to produce energy for them.

***'It' is misguided***
***-We- seek revenge***
***'It' shall feel -Our- pain***

And once again. Pictures of ships hunting down Nomads are crossing his mind


A pain he has never felt before explode in his brain. As he was about to drop into the darkness he heard how the Ship AI said: "Critical System fallout"...


***'It' is cleansed***

With a scream he woke up. "What just happened?!"
The ship AI was still saying "Critical System fallout" in kind of endless loop.

He remembered how his wing leader told him about some sort of aliens once. So long ago... His brain still hurt but somehow he liked the feeling. It means he was still able to feel something. At least something...

A brassy loud voice appeared in his cockpit: "This is Zoner patrol 14-Beta. We has got you on our scanner. Your ship seems to has no energy. We just received your emergency signal. Hold on Amigo. We are on our way!"

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[why_so_serious]

....
Location: Theta FP 9

Few days after the incident.

Barto was in his room and looked at himself in the mirror.
To take his daily Cardamine was a pain a horror trip with unknown results. "It's getting out of control". he whispered.
The meeting with the aliens was like a nightmare. It followed him through the night and sometimes also at day.
Last night he wake up in the bathroom, he had no idea how he got there. He felt like something is missing.
He was aggressive more often. It was getting hard to calm down.

Nothing could satisfy his itch for something he still didn't understand. Like a shadow on his mind.

Then something came what had to came some day. Recent hostilities between the Reapers of Sirius and the Nomads.
All vessels got the order to shot them on sight.
He swore an oath to kill the enemies of the Reapers. Damn! He was a part of the Reapers. But something inside of his mind - it was like a soft voice told him not to do so. Someone or something was calling...
It was more than a feeling, even more than an assumption.

"There are steps that has to be done. I cant live like this any longer.
"I am on a good way to get insane." , he thought and went out of his room.

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[why_so_serious]

....

Location: Cayman

2 weeks after the incident

Logbook entry 1- The first and probably my last entry.

"I cant stay here any longer", he started to speak. "I thought it would be okay, but it isn't. I saw the truth, I just cant live the wrong way anymore. It isn't the right choice. Aren't we made to go the way someone told us to go? I have no idea. I don't get more than 3 hours sleep each night. When i close my eyes I see the pain, blood on the wall of the station, blood of innocents.

Cardamine doesn't work like it should. It makes everything even more brighter.
Reapers don't fit me anymore. I cant simply cheat my own mind. Sometimes I see strange symbols. Symbols i saw at the first contact... Am I living in a dream world?

I need to find the way, I was meant to life. I need to find those aliens. How? I don't know there must be a way.
They did something with me. Something I didn't agree on..

But a thing has do be done before. Reapers won't be amused.

To whom am I talking anyway? Friend, enemy or whoever may hear this. Stay save. Find the way out of the darkness. There is always a way..."

Wanna hear a joke? Of course you want.

Once there was a man, who went to the doctor. "Doctor, doctor", he said, "i can't laugh anymore"...
The Doctor said: "There's a circus in town at the moment, the clown Paleacci will make you laugh!"
The man said: "But doctor, I'm Paleacci!"

At least I don't lose the hope."



Record over

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[why_so_serious]

Location: Omega 41, Freeport 5

Today I arrived at the Freeport. It feels like my mind has been released. I hadn't any temporary blackout since yesterday.

However the message to Valkyrie made me thoughtful. I have started to think about a higher power of live on my way to Freeport 5. But that doesn't make sense at all. 2 highly developed races. Can they live in peace? I overlooked something. But what? Once I could read a sentence in an old record. "God moves in mysterious ways". Are we just puppets and he is the "puppet master" ?

Well, I prefer my own way of thinking. We go our own way, a way we -alone- decide to go. A beautiful imagination.
Today I christened my ship "Sunrise". So a shimmer of hope..

The ship itself is a wonderful piece of technology, probably the best out there. Even thought the guns don't work like they should anymore. Maybe a legacy of RoS for preventing foreigns to use their tech. However I don't need guns right now.

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[why_so_serious]

Location: Omega 41, Freeport 5

Once again I'm recording something.
The dinner with the Freeport 5 leader was good so far.
I think he was a strong man once but somehow something changed his life and him completely.
However it was good to contact him. He is doing his job as Freeport leader pretty well and I think I can trust him.

Now the dark sides. I am starting to think about Nomads and their power again, things that happened in the past are getting more and more blurry.

I want to be a part of these so called Nomads, okay I am still a human but there must be a way to work for them at least.
They must have their own feelings and problems. They are also thinking beings after all. I doubt that they accept me, but Im lacking options so its worth a try.
I want to be part of their "revolution".

Today I met some old stranger. He constantly babbled something about how space fishes which killed his wife and kidnapped his son.
I bought him a beer and we began to talk a bit. Hell. At first I thought he was some silly idiot who keeps talking crap.
I figured fast that the man was once a smart guy.
What happened to him? I eavesdropped his story as good as possible.
But he spoke fast and noisy so I had quite a hard time to understand him.
It seems he was a trader who shipped goods between the Freeports. In Zeta next to a jumphole his trader got disabled by some unknown ships.

He heard some voices from nowhere. Suddenly purple lasers hit his ship hard and his wife died due to a fatal hull break.

However I bet my left hand that these unknown ships were Nomads. I think I will stay here for a while.
Each day more people arrive the Freeport. One of them should be able to give me more information.
Even when the fire in my mind threats to eat up myself. I have to wait and to gather more information if I want to have any success.

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[Nosferath]

It is often told by Outcasts, Oracles, and other nomad worshippers, that the Divine know when a new mind is ready and willing to serve, and somehow, the Divine will manage to put this mind into the path it was born to follow...

So was Liam asked to go to Freeport 5 in Omega-41, lamenting the fact those lands were too close to the Corsairs home, but the Divine shall be the wind and I shall be the sail, so he went there without refuse. Not long ago, the Divine had made a contact with a Reaver in Theta. "This one will serve us, we feel it, find it, bring it..." The Divine Song crossed his mind, pointing him to go to the freeport. He used to ask himself how come the Divine knew so much, now he was just thankful about that. He left the Emissary in Planet Malta, the crew will take care of it, mounted on a humble Dagger, the less attention, the better, and embarked on his flight to Omega-41.

Liam entered the bar, greeting a robot bartender as it passed, I love those mechanical things, and focused... The skill he was taught, the ability to perceive those glimpses of enlightenment inside minds... There he was, sitting close to a corner, looking worried. So, he approached...

---

Slomon K'Hara - Faction Recruitment - Faction Information

[why_so_serious]

It was late already. He searched the whole day for more informations about Aliens and unknown anomalies in the neural net. Not that successful when he was honest to himself.

It was hard to discern between the truth and the falsehood . Maybe the daily visit in the bar of the Freeport would bring better results. The last few days were really difficult when completely overwhelming... No proper successes and so much lies and false information. Black thoughts crossed his mind once again. A loud bang pried him out of his thoughts. "Oh, I arrived at the bar already", he thought. Colorful people sat around the tables and drank, laughed and told stories about their latest flights. He went straight for the bartender and asked for a cheap but strong drink.

His view glided carefully over the different tables with different people around them.

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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[why_so_serious]

When he looked around, he noticed a tall man who had just entered the bar. A mysterious feeling surrounded him. The man closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. This movement surprised him... It was like the man could see, while his eyes were closed. Then, for a sudden moment, he had the impression the man was looking right into his mind, and after that, the man started walking towards him. Excitement flow through his body. The man who just entered the bar, knows something he could feel it. But what? He started to observe the newcomer.


Liam: Excuse me, may I sit here? *Points to the seat next to Barto*

Ramirez: No problem Amigo, as long as you dont make any troubles.

Liam: *To the bartender* Good day, I'd like two Zoner Lagers.

The bartender hands him the two drinks. Liam takes one of the drinks and offers it to Ramirez.

Liam: Have a drink. *Waits for his response*

Ramirez: Thanks. Very polite of you. So since you offer the drink I am here for the small talk, eh? I am Barto Ramirez, Freelancer. Well, then what brings you down in this part of space?

Liam: Surprisingly, you are what brings me here...*Takes a sip off his drink* The Divine seem to have a plan for you, and I have the feeling... You too are looking for something... maybe from them. Or for them.

Ramirez: Wait, wait. What?! Who are you and who is the Divine you just talked about? I am just some Freelancer who randomly found that bar.

Liam: *Makes a gesture to calm him down* Let me introduce myself. *Brings one of his hands to one of his pockets* I am Liam, one of the Exarchs of the Cult of Sirius. The Divine... are what people usually call... "Nomads". The Divine have told me you had a sort of encounter with them (Yes, they speak to me, and I speak to them). And also, I can feel something in you... We call it the "Call of the Lights". This means... there's a purpose for you... But before I tell you more, please, tell me more about yourself and that which is worrying you.

Ramirez: *Takes a deep breath* Well, lets do like you would really be the person you just described me. I had an encounter with "The Divine", or how you would call them. *Takes a long slug of his drink* I dont think you know what I am talking about when I say: They touched my innermost part of mind. I for myself cant even believe in. They showed me the right way. To be honest whole sirius is one war field. The space is full of hate and evilness. You know I am a former member of the famous Reapers of Sirius. Elite fighters. One doesn't simply leave such a group, when you know what I mean. It usually ends with your dead. But I did it. And I did it for a might I dont understand, for something i just met. I am full of doubts. *Makes a little break* Well, I have no idea if you are the man I hope you are, but I have lost everything and I need... I demand answers. What are "The Divine"? How can I contact them? That and thousand questions more. It's like my brain would explode... *he pauses*

Liam: *Signs Ramirez to stop* You have been enlightened. The Divine have let you see the horrors and the sins of mankind. I may have the answers for all your questions. I can't yet tell you all, though. The Divine are superior beings, for they are as one, a large consciousness. There is no such thing as hate among them. They never fight each other. And they never die. Those are qualities we constantly seek, but that have been forbidden to us, because mankind carries a poison... the ego. Now, I can help you contact them, but not everyone is prepared for that. What you experienced was something very powerful, only strong minds can survive. It had the right effect on you: Now you see the evil of mankind, and you seek for answers. If you want to serve the Divine and join the Cult... We may have the answers to the questions you have... and maybe more.

Ramirez: *Shakes his head* I don't think i understand everything yet. However it seems you are telling the truth. *Calms down a bit* Do you know what they did with me? As you may know already I am not the man of words unlike you. I don't know what I would ask them.You told me something about "Joining the cult to seek for answers" I am afraid Which cult do you exactly mean? You see. I have many questions.

Liam: The Cult of Sirius. We are an arm of believers in the gift of the Divine, the use and spread of the Orange Dream as mean to save mankind from its self-destruction and approach to divinity. We aid the Divine to reach whatever goal is in their will, and spread the Orange Dream and the Gospel of the Divine across Sirius.
As for what they did to you, for now I can tell you they "sang" for you.

Ramirez: Fine. What will be the next step. I trust you. I have to trust you... How can i get into contact with The Divine? I have got another question. The cult your was talking about the cult you are a part of. The Cult of Sirius. Do they have constantly contact with The Divine?

Liam: Yes we do. We're closer than any other group to them... And to contact the Divine, there are two ways. One of them, is "random" chance (which is never random, as it is in the Divine's will). The other one is joining us. But tell me, what do you seek? Answers? Salvation? *Makes a pause* Both perhaps?

Ramirez: To be honest. I am seeking for both. Well, joining you actually doesn't sound like a bad idea but isn't there any other chance? I was a proud warrior once. I am sure The Divine chose me for my special abilities... I could fulfill some quests.. It might sound naive but everyone has his own way of life.

Liam: The Cult is a place for all kinds of people. Farmers, traders, and even warriors are useful to the cause. As a warrior... there may be a special place for you... But I can't disclose more. But I assure you, if you are used to fights, as a fighter you can remain.

*reserved*

---

They see me fightin', they hatin'

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