(Posted on PIE forums Jan 19th)
Five days ago:
Garst Tyrell returned to his shuttle after pounding on Shalee's door, asking the doorman and finding out she had left hours ago. He stormed into the cockpit and commed her, waiting for her to pickup as he started to pace.
Seconds later, Shalee replied with a weary tone, "What."
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! I told you specifically to wait in your apartment. Nothing complicated, nothing difficult, and now I have to ask some two-bit minmatar doorman where you are.
"...did he tell you?"
He continued to rage, obviously not hearing her. "Only to find that 'The Misses left two hours ago'. TWO HOURS ago."
"Did you really think I'd be there?"
"Yes?" His tone was cuttingly sarcastic, "Why wouldn't a friend, a lover wait for me to arrive so she could be with me? I'd have to be pretty damn crazy to believe that."
"Lover? Since when are we lovers Garst?"
"I told you I loved you."
"I don't trust you."
"How could you say such a thing?" He glanced around to make sure none of the crew was watching.
"Because of the things you've done. Davlos told me that you were attacking the Amarr militia! With the aide of the TLF! You're an enemy now Garst. How can I trust you when you've lost you way?"
"Who the hell is this Davlos to say what I did or didnt do?! I never attacked any Amarr and I'll be damned if you can provide the proof that I did. I'm not Militia anymore, I'm something beyond that. What do I care about petty Empire politics?"
"If you cared about me you would care!"
"I do care about you, goddammit! I said I cared about you!" He took a moment to reign in his temper, then mumbled, "What the hell kind of question is that... it's like talking to a wall sometimes."
"Yes it is so why do you bother."
"You must have the ears of a cat, woman." He leaned his hands against the console, "So lets cut to the chase. Where are you now?"
"I wont tell you."
"Do I need to hire an agent to stalk you?"
"You're doing a good enough job of that yourself."
"It's not hard to call your known voicecomms number. Now stop playing hard to get, if you didnt want to talk to me you wouldnt have picked up."
"Habit, really. And a desperate hope that you're going to be the man I once knew."
"Why do you refuse to believe that I'm not?"
"Your actions say that you're not."
"What actions."
"We've been over this. Attacking Amarrian ships. Leaving the Empire."
"And that means you cant love me as a person?"
"I'm not having this conversation anymore." She clicked the comm off.
***
She had decided to walk the few blocks from the hangar to the Pax Praetoria. It was a warm night out and she needed the time alone to clear her head. It had been a grueling, long day. It started with an early patrol of two overlapping shifts. A fleet of two Captains, an Admiral and a scattering of Novices had her on the edge of her seat.
They just gotten the call over voice comms that Admiral Konstantinov and Novice Escobar had just been shot down by a rupture. Both she and Captain Laerise were just a few jumps out. She had confidence in taking down a rupture with two slicers, they had done it before. But once they got into the complex, there were two other ships plus the rupture waiting for them, with five other coming in on their tail. Flying with Laerise made her too nervous. With her display flashing eight reds, she told the Captain she was warping out despite orders to stay.
No doubt she'd be called out for insubordination later and humiliated. Laerise had a way of making her doubt everything about herself, of making her feel worse than the lowest slave in the Empire. Probably because she pretty much said that she was the last time she'd run into the Captain off duty.
After her short lived patrol, she made it back to Amarr and spent her down time catching up on her recruitment work. She'd put together a proposal for the rest of the staff for a meeting they had scheduled later, then met up with a new recruit for an interview.
She then made it out onto the battlefield for a short round of patrols. PIE had a lot of recruits out and about and she sent an invitation over the Corp channel for them to meet her at the Paradiso for a drink afterwards.
Once at the Paradiso, she realized it was a mistake. The recruits were entirely too eager to reinforce the self-righteous pompus Amarrian attitude that PIE is infamous for. They started bossing around the bartending staff as if they were slaves and making lavish demands. It embarassed Shalee. The bar owner, Eido, was a particular friend of hers and she had hoped that she'd be able to spend more down time there with her corp mates but after what happened she thought it was for the best to just keep the two worlds seperate, as before.
She broke away from them and went for a dance with Eido, which won her a few disapproving looks from Captain Mitara. Eventually the Captain pulled her off the dance floor, reminding her they had a Recruitment meeting. Which of course was her not-so-subtle way of telling her to stay away from the Caldari. Moments later she was being pulled into Mitara's office for a proper ass chewing on decorum.
Sullen, she joined the recruitment meeting with Senior Guardian Condor, Captain Mitara and Admiral Ruah. The four of them went over her proposal and a hundred other things.
She left the meeting exhausted and decided to stay at the Pax Praetoria for the night instead of making the trek back down to the war front. The lounge, a place for loyalists, owned by Raphael Saint, had an apartment in the back that she and Saint sometimes stayed at. It was quiet, private, and would offer her the sanctuary she desperately needed after the bad day she'd just had.
She had no idea it was about to get much, much worse...
***
He pulled Shalee into the alley as she passed in front, stifling her screams with a hand clamped over her mouth and the other arm wrapped around her waist. He lifted her off the ground and jogged back into the alley, around a corner and into a nook.
He slamed her against the wall as he whispered, "I've been looking all for you girl, do you know how much trouble you've put me through? If you promise not to scream I'll let you speak. Nod yes if you agree."
Instinctively, she bit his hand as he slammed her against the wall, for the moment having no idea who it was until she heard his voice. She widened her eyes as she nodded.
"Remember, no screaming." His eyes were cold but uncertain. He took his hand from her mouth and frowned at the blood.
She trembled, "How did you find me?"
"Thats for me to know and you to pray I don't have to do again. You've really let me on a chase."
"I...I told you I wouldn't be there."
"When are you going to learn you can't tell me no." He grabbed her chin with his bloodied hand and clamped her mouth shut.
"The time for talking is over, now you are going to listen."
She gave a quick nod of her head, eyes bright with terror.
He wiped his bloody hand across her mouth, leaving her lips bloodied and his hand clean again for the second. "I really do care about you, you know... but I'm starting to think that you dont know after all all this chasing, all this back and forth. It's ridiculous and im tired of it." He ran his hand down the side of her waist gently, brushing her hips before bringing his hand back up to her gently touch her cheek. "You've had youre fun, the games over. Where are you staying now? You're coming with me, we can go get your things."
She darted her tongue out and drug it across her lower lip, smearing his blood. "Don't do this Garst. This isn't you." She shook her head, pleading. "This isn't who you are."
"When you ran away with my best friend, did you know who I was then!"
"I never meant to hurt you...it was never about you..."Rage consumed him and before he realized it, his hands were around her throat, choaking her. "I hope im not hurting you". He held it for a few seconds then loosened his hold. "Bullshit. BULL-shit. What happened to us, to you? You came to me in your hour of need, I told you I loved you and you were so overtaken with emotion that you didnt contact me for days after. Now I go off to the front, slave my ass off against the TLF and I come home, to find a proverbial "dear john" letter."
"Smiling at me, "welcoming" me home. Welcome Home Garst, by the way im now engaged to your best friend. Bullshit baby girl, he ran out on you and now it's time we start over and correct that bastards mistake."He brushed his hands down her sides and grabbed her by the hips as he pressed her against the wall, "Kiss me."
"No."
"Did you really think I was asking?"
He grabbed her wrists and pressed them against the wall as his mouth clamped over hers. He bit into her bottom lip, causing her to bleed. The blood excited him. She struggled as his mouth worked down the side of her throat, teeth grazing along her skin harshly. His hands were suddenly everywhere.
She screamed, "I'm not doing this. Im NOT doing this!"
"Oh. Yes. You. Are." He gave a glance around to make certain no one was watching before he continued. His hands were tugging at her thighs now, pushing up her dress. His mouth was on her neck, his body pressed into hers, trapping her.
Rage washed away her fear as she started to wail at him. "No, stop." Her hands were against his shoulders, shoving him away with every bit of strength she could muster. Finally she had proceeded to push him off and stumbled to the side.
She stared at him with terror as she started to back away, making her way towards the exit.
"You....look dreadful darling, I hate to see such an expression on your face. You're right, this alley is no place for love making, come, take my hand, I've got an apartment up the hill, we wont be bothered." Eerily calm, he outstretched a hand to her.
"No, Garst, no! What is wrong with you! Why are you doing this! Why?" She kept walking backwards, edging towards the exit, ignoring his outstretched hands.
He stood there silent, staring at her.
She finally made it to the exit and disappeared into the crowd, never looking back.He drug his finger across his lower lip, tasting her blood still, whispering to himself, "I'll get you yet, my pet..."
Ever so calmly he walked out of the alley, ignoring the eyes of the passerbys.
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