OOC

My blog is officially an EVE fan site. How awesome is that? Thanks to Kuan Yida for recommending that I submit it.

Blogs you should read:

Miner Inconveniences
This blog belongs to Raphael, a member of KOTMC and an ex fiance of Shalee.

Captain Raine

This blog belongs to Charles Raine, a member of KOTMC and the ex husband of Shalee. (arranged marriage, they since had it annulled). Charles is new to EVE and wants followers so go follow/read her blog!!

And, this link will take you to something I'll be posting on from time to time. It is Red's logs.

Also, I'll be opening my OOC blog up in the next day or two. Check the side bar of this blog for it.

Thanks everyone for reading! ♥

Entry 129: Saying Goodbye

Mercy's Keep Security Files
Location: Exterior
Date: 2.14.113
Time: 7:02

He had asked her for a private word, and the pair had stepped outside the Keep. Around them tiny snow flakes fell upon the slight breeze, twirling around them. It was dark out save for the firelight flickering in the the braziers that lined the path. She pulled on her gloves as she turned her gaze to him, "Is everything alright, Pred?"

Predator Elite paused and rubbed his hands together as if to ward off the cold, "Nothing ever is," he said as he looked to her.

"What's the matter? Tell me?" she asked.

"I...just wanted to let you know that I have dropped roles, and will be gone from militia in less than twenty four hours," he said quietly.

She quickly looked away, starring ahead at the landing pad in the distance. She had heard the rumors but hadn't believed them because she hadn't heard it from him. Apparently the time had come. A chill of unease settled upon her and for the moment she thought she'd be sick. "I see....who are you taking with you?"

"No one...why? Do you want to come?" he said hopefully, searching her face.

"You know I cannot leave..." she said heavily.

"Then why did you ask?" He frowned ever so slightly.

"I was just wondering if you were taking anyone with you."

"No... I feel that I have to move on," he confessed.

She nodded, "We do what me must do. If you have to go...then go."

"Alright. So... no hard feelings?" he asked hopefully.

Shalee shrugged, saying nothing.

"If something is wrong, tell me."

"Why?" She started to walk away, kicking her way through the snow.

"Because I care," he admitted.

"About what? What do you care about, really?" she asked, feeling as if her heart was shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.

"I care about living my life."

"Fine. Go live your life," she said in a chilly tone.

"What do you think I'm trying to do? Hell I can't even stay in one spot more than six months," he said with a hint of frustration.

"You've been in militia for longer than that..." she said as she turned around, standing a few feet away from him.

"Because I liked the people here and what we did ... but no more." he conceded.

She tensed ever so slightly. "Yeah. Okay."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked.

"Nothing at all. You've already said everything you needed to, right," she retorted.

"I'm not trying to say anything I'm just trying to make sure everyone is okay with me leaving."

"You know I am not but what can I do? What can I say? You're going to leave anyhow." she declared.

"Why aren't you alright with me leaving?" he asked, searching her eyes, as if waiting for her to say something important, something meaningful.

"Because I don't want you to go. We need you. I need you," she insisted.

He closed the space between them, "You don't need me. You are fine and strong without me," he said tentatively.

"But I'm not," she argued.

"I dont define you, I dont make you stronger or weaker," he tried to reason with her.

"But you do. You know you do," she continued to argue.

He put his hands on her arms, staring intently at her. "You have to look at what you have been through, those choices make you stronger or weaker. If you feel that I make you stronger you are just making your self weaker."

"But you make the militia stronger."

He chuckled, "Did you not see what happened tonight?"

"I see that you tried desperately to save Arzad."

He stared at her.

"I see that you risked, and lost one of your most expensive ships for the cause. I see that pilots followed you into a losing battle because they believe in you," she argued passionately as if willing him to understand.

"You are sweet to say that but I know myself that it was wrong and I'm paying for it now, might be better just to ride this one out."

She sighed. "And so just like that you leave. I hope it makes you happy."

"I have made too many mistakes and certain people aren't letting that go. By me staying here and in this militia, it wont help. It will only make matters worse, Shalee." He smiled softly, "I'm just trying to make things right."

"Do you honestly believe that? Because I don't. And I know there are many, many who do not believe that either."

He shrugged.

"Do you think you'll be happier?"

"I don't think I could be happier then when I'm talking to you," he whispered.

She leaned her head against his chest, "I'll miss you."

He pulled his arms around her, "I'll be missing you too." He held for a long while before letting her go, saying nothing as he walked off towards the landing pad.

"You could have stopped him."

Shalee turned around quickly at the sound of the soft spoken voice. A child's voice?

"You could have made him stay, you should have! He wanted you to say you loved him. He wanted you to make him stay, to give him a reason to stay."

"Who's there?" she called out in the darkness as her head throbbed. She rubbed her temples, feeling emotionally drained and physically sick.

"You know who I am," the child said as she appeared before Shalee out of no where, wearing a long red velvet gown, her hair a mass of curls. "You know everything you just don't want to think about it. And you know that you should stop him! Don't let him leave!"

"I can't stop him...he's going to do what he wants to."

"He wants you."

"He..."

"He loves you, you know he does. But he doesn't love the Empire like you do, he doesn't fight for it like you do...but he could. If you asked him to. You could make him believe in it like you did Eran! All you have to do is try!"

"I can't do that! I can't make someone believe in something they don't!"

"But you made Eran!"

"Stop..." She blinked several times as everything went blurry. The snowflakes bled into long strings of white light. Her nose started to drip blood. She wiped her gloved hand across her face as she stumbled, falling to the ground.

The child's voice faded as everything went dark.

***

Mercy's Keep Security Files
Location: Medical Bay
Date: 2.14.113
Time: 10:03

"Commodore Lianne?"

"Yes?" she blinked several times as her vision adjusted to the harsh white artifical light inside the med bay. "Jonathan?"

He nodded, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay...I think. I just..." Her brows scrunched up as she looked at him, remembering. "I fell?"

He nodded again. "I was called in a few hours ago. You've been asleep. I think you'll be fine, we just need to do a few adjustments with your implants."

"I saw her. Again."

"The little girl? The one from Eytjangard?" he asked.

She nodded, "Am I losing my mind?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed, "No. It's just the way you deal with problems. The mind is a remarkable thing you know. People often work out problems in their dreams, it's a natural thing to do."

"But most people don't turn themselves into child like holograms while they sleep and visit other people."

"True enough. I've never heard of such a thing happening, but it is fascinating all the same. To stop yourself from having nightmares, your mind has worked out a way to let you 'stay awake' in a sense. It keeps busy, engaged, so that deep dreaming never occurs."

"Why don't I ever remember doing these things?" she asked in a tired voice.

"You're not ready to remember. 'Red' typically ends up seeking out people that you're upset with. She tries to fix your problems, so to speak. She is ahead of the game in that way. You on the other hand, are not ready to make ammends or accept certain truths."

"Do you see her often?" Shalee asked, feeling strange to be talking about herself as if she were another person.

He nodded, "Quite."

"Is there any way I can control it?" she questioned.

"I haven't the foggiest idea, to be honest. Since I've been tracking her I-"

She interrupted him mid sentence, "How do you track her?"

"I follow your digital footprint so to speak. Sometimes she ends up in virtual world, but most often she uses the holodrones. I've kept a log of which she accesses."

"Oh."

"Like I said, it's quite fascinating. The people she interacts with, they all seem to know it's you- or some younger part of you, but seem reluctant to talk about it with you. Until Eran told you, I think it was probably one of the most well kept secrets in the Empire."

"I wonder why people wanted to keep it from me..."

"I would gather it's because ..." he paused thoughtfully, "because they wouldn't want you to 'fix' it. Talking with 'Red' is an easier way to connect with you, to find out what is going on, what upsets you....to find out your secrets. She has quite a little mouth on her, you know."

"Is there anything I can do to stop it from happening?"

"Nothing that I know of. The implants allow you the technology to access virtual world and holodrones...so unless you're willing to give up your life as a capsuleer...you'll have to live with this 'side affect'."

Entry 128: Imperial Traitors

"Oh god, I was just going to teach him a lesson....not fucking murder him!" Shalee screamed hysterically as she looked to the blood splattered across the dungeon cell wall.

In the center of the room hung the limp corpse of Adde Helecton, former Amarrian Militia pilot who had turned traitor over the past few months.

He had shown up at the Keep earlier, speaking of wanting redemption, saying that he was sorry. She didn't believe him, thinking he was there to make a mockery of the Knighthood and her beloved militia.

It was the last straw.

In an act that showed little mercy, she had the guards arrest him and drag him down to the dungeons below the Keep, a place seldom used, if ever. Eran followed her, ready to help. A few other Knights followed as well, some protesting, others urging her on.

She had Adde chained by the wrists, arms suspended above his head and asked him if he would consent to lashes. She told him he needed to suffer, needed to feel pain, to carry the marks of what he had done physically.

He had agreed.

Minutes later, Invelious had entered into the cell. She and Eran got into an argument with him over Adde's capture and before she could order his removal, he pulled a gun to Adde's temple and pulled the trigger.

"It's not murder," he said as he calmly put away the weapon. You can't really murder one of us now can you?" He pointed to Aldrith. "It was also protection, for us. The political spin on this would be immense. At least this way Adde wont remember shit."

Aldrith Shutaq agreed, "Yeah, how do you think it would have looked if he went crying to the IGS with a bunch of lash marks screaming,'The Knights did it!'"

"He asked for it," she said quietly.

"Exactly," Invelious countered.

"Ever stop to wonder why?" Aldrith said.

"To repent."

"No. To entrap. The only redemption is on the battlefield." Invelious said. "Eran is proof of that."

"Yep. He'd have to fight for us again." Aldrith agreed.

Shalee pulled her cloak off and laid it on the floor. "Whatever. Just help me get him to the incinerator." As gently as possible, she undid the handcuffs, guiding the body as it fell.

"How did you get the gun by security?" Aldrith asked as he leaned a bit to look at the splatter mark on the wall, looking slightly impressed.

Invelious watched him, "Years of service with the Ministy of Interal Order will teach you a thing or two about weapons concealment."

"Noted. Don't do that again though, nearly wet myself. And I was going to stop it myself, by the way." Aldrith said.

"I wont, and I promise," Invelious said.

She wrapped him up as best she could then grabbed his feet, leaving Invel to carry the head...or what was left of it. They moved down the corridor towards the end and tossed him into the flames.

"Sillyness... Shalee and Eran have so much pent up anger is ridiculous. Acting like anmials... really," Aldrith muttered as he watched Invelious and Shalee dragging the body away.

After they disposed of the body, Invelious left, leaving Shalee to clean the cell. She hosed it down with icy cold water, watching the water turn red from blood. Bits of brains hung up on the drain, clogging it. She shoved them down with the toe of her boot.

"I'm really getting way too used to this..." Aldrith said as he watched her from the cell's entrance. He gave her a judgmental glance, then sighed. "Hope you're proud of yourself. I honestly think you just wanted to whip someone. But hey... I've been there."

"He asked for it. I wouldn't have killed him, but he needed to be taught a lesson. We are far too easy on traitors." She towelled off her freezing cold hands.

"Doesn't matter. Torture is torture," he countered.

"Yes and murder is murder and betraying is betraying." she said with annoyance as she tossed the towel to the side, her ice blue gaze scanning across the holding cell critically.

Aldrith said, "A traitor can only teach himself. Especially a capsuleer one. What did you expect was going to happen? You make his back bleed and he suddenly understands everything he's done wrong? If only it worked like that..."

"No but he would feel the pain. He would carry with him the memory of what he'd done. But whatever, it doesn't matter now."

"He'd probably have just stuck another knife in our backs and called us all cruel, evil bastards. Have you ever been tortured, Shalee?"

She flicked her gaze to him, her expression cold, saying nothing.

Aldrith smiled a little at Shalee's look. "If you have, you'll know what you mean when I say it's very hard to forgive one's tormentor, no matter who they are or if you have consented or not. The very fact that person is even capable of torture makes them irredeemably evil in the sufferer's eyes. Like Vincent. Like Reimei. And like Verone."

"You're not one to preach to me. You are capable of much evil too," she said with a hint of defiance.

He laughed, "So is everyone else, you know. Point is not to fall to it. I've been trying. We all should be trying. Since the whole Amaterasu ordeal I think I've been doing a fairly decent job. I've only bopped Verone in the head once and I accidentally got Vincent shot."

Shalee threw her hands up in the air and sighed, "Why didn't you kill him? When he came here you should have killed him...I wanted you to," she said in a hushed whisper.

He gave her a droll look. "But I didn't want to."

She frowned deeply. "You should have."

"Even the devil has his purpose. Verone needs to be resisted in spirit, and that's what I tried to do that night. Damn... I nearly shook that evil shit's hand. Ew."

Shalee sighed again, seemingly having lost the mood to talk about him. "I don't care."

He glanced at the bullet hole in the wall. "This world really is confusing sometimes. Who to punish.... who to forgive... who to hate... who to love..."

She nodded, "Yeah. Everything is confusing."

"It all seems rather stupid in the end though, knowing we could have peaceful lives if we just gave up on this pod idiocy and disappeared to some nice planet with a warm sun and lots of trees..." He smirked. "You know Mitara is getting us a bloody mansion on Oris to 'retire' to."

"You're retiring?"

"No not yet. I sure as hell want to sometimes though. And once it's all too much, I'm sure I will. This is not a happy life, Shalee. I don't think God ever meant for humans to have as much power as we do."

"Of course he didn't," she agreed.

"All this power and none of the responsibility... it creates devils like Verone out of people such as us."

"We have too much power and theres no repercussion for evil." She looked at him intently, "That's why I think we should take matters into our own hands..."

"Shalee, the idea you had to punish evil here, tonight, in these holding cells would have required you to become evil yourself. People are not redeemed through suffering unless they bring it on themselves. Hence why I wanted that Adde child to do it himself."

"It was to teach him a lesson."

"He would have taught himself the lesson if he was really repentant. I've done it, actually...back in the Ordo I did some... questionable things. I used that flail almost every week..."

She shrugged, "I've done it too."

"Then you understand."

"If you say."

"What then, you whipped yourself for fun then? Or were you just going through the motions or something?"

"Of course I meant it, Aldrith."

"Well there you are. So, I have another question. When you were about to whip that traitor... are you sure you didn't want to whip yourself?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Are you certain? You are not burdened by any guilt at all? Or anger?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No I don't feel any guilt." Glancing towards the incinerator, she whispered, "Anger, maybe."

He nodded slowly, "Yes, and you have good right to... but that is not something you should bring with you when you bestow a punishment, otherwise it just becomes simple vengeance."

"Are you finished with your lecture?" she asked impatiently.

He grinned at her impatience, "I need to get podded soon; all of my hairs are turning grey because of you..." he muttered as he ushered her towards the exit, locking up the dungeon behind him.

Mercy's Keep Security Files
Location: Dungeon, Cell 1
Date: 1.19.112

Entry 127: Darkest Days

"Do you have any news of Yulai?" Commodore Shalee Lianne asked as she entered into the main hall of Mercy's Keep. She'd been out on patrol with militia when they received news of the incursion. By the time they had made it back to their home system, comms were overflowing with intel of Kuvakei and the Sansha.

She decided upon a short break, gather up what intel she could verify and then decide where next to go.

"None, I'm afraid." Karmilla answered as she stood to greet her.

"Last I heard there were over a thousand capsuleers in system." Shalee said as she activated her datapad, the neon blue screen illuminating her face in a soft glow.

"I'm not surprised."

"Surely with that many they were able to stop any abductions. I pray, anyhow."

"Attention pilots." Julianus Soter's form appeared holographically. "Nation is establishing a permanent portal within the Promised Land system, Genesis, Amarr Empire. This portal connects to Stain. The Amarr Empire's conventional forces are being prevented from interrupting this effort."

"Oh god..."

"The Amarr Empire is becoming a conduit for the arrival of Kuvakei's final assault. That is all." Julianus Soter's hologram switched to standby mode.

"It appears my dinner will have to wait." Karmilla headed towards the shuttle bay, nodding her head to Shalee, "Commodore."

Major James Silva's hologram flickered to life."James? What can you tell me?" Shalee asked, her expression worried.

"The Nation has the technology to create permanent wormholes it seems," he answered in a heavy voice.

Soter's form animated again, "Two super carriers, a hundred sympathizers in support ships. Kuvakei himself is overseeing the operation. Imperial Fleet Command has been paralyzed."

"What the...." Cold chills snaked down her spine. The Imperial Fleet Command paralyzed? How was that possible?

Soter's holo flickered off as Silva spoke, "In less then eight minutes they created a wormhole from Stain to the Promised Land to Yulai. I'm en route to Yulai currently, but I think my subsystems are damaged. My cloaking system says it's working but when I went to an engagement, I started taking precise laser fire."

"I heard that there were over a thousand pilots in Yulai....were they able to stop the abductions?"

"There were no abductions at Yulai. There were over fifteen hundred pilots in system."

"That's a relief, at least....but this wormhole technology...oh god. How is that even possible?"

"I don't know Shalee, but now we have to deal with this new threat," he said grimly.

Althea Ekran of Moira activated the hologram system. "Nation portal generator established, conduit complete. Next phase of Sansha Operation about to commence." The hologram flickered, "Kuvakei has left..."

Shalee glanced to Althea's holo form, her expression pale and etched with worry. "He left the Promised Land?"

"Kuvakei has published a new transmission." Althea said, activating the recording.

"It is done, my children. We have our path to the Promised Land. Soon, the rest of New Eden will wither under the firepower of my armada, but you, capsuleers, you are my chosen ones. I will share the glory of my Nation with you. In the coming months, when the days are darkest, look to the Promised Land for guidance. Find the conduit that remains and you will be rewarded."

"Oh God how is this even possible?" Shalee whispered to no one in particular as she paced between the holograms, arms folded, her boots thudding across the stone floor. "Any idea what is to happen next?" she looked to James.

"Open warfare, larger than anything we've seen with Nation's incursions before."

"Larger?! We have a hard enough time as it is fighting him."

"So it would seem."

"Are you in Yulai yet? How is it there?" she asked.

"I'm in Yulai, I'll show you what's here at planet two." The screen of her datapad flashed with an image.

"And that takes you to the Promised Land?"

"Only their ships." He answered.

"So they can control who goes through the wormholes too? Amazing..." She sent a message to both Predator Elite and Eran Mintor, forwarding the image.

"James, though we've just come in off of a Bleak's patrol, I think we can rally another fleet. Where are we needed most?"

"Start off in Araz. Get your fleet there as quickly as you can....and Shalee? Be prepared for any and everything...this is nothing like you've ever seen before."

OOC

I've launched a new site that will operate like the old FWReport, though I will focus more on interviews and the players behind FW.

If you are interested in writing for the site or just wish to relay news or give ideas for articles, please shoot me an eve mail.

http://sovereigntywars.wordpress.com/

Please show some love and link the new site on your bios for a while to get the word out there.

Love yall ♥

Entry 126: Eytjangard part 5

Everything was spinning.

Colors bled away until nothing was left but a swirl of black and white shadowy figures moving in perfect rhythm with one another.

She could hear soft music, as if someone had opened a music box across the far side of the room. She felt a hand against hers, another at her waist. "Dance," he commanded softly.

Her gaze met his as he pulled her to him, leading her to the center of the room. Around them, other couples swayed, elegantly floating across a ballroom floor. Chandeliers sparkled overhead, their crystals reflecting shards of light across the room, giving off a fairytale atmosphere.

"Vincent?" she asked with confusion as she felt him moving closer to her. "What's going on? Where are we?"

He merely smiled to her, saying nothing as he twirled her around.

She looked to the others as they swirled around her, Aldrith with Morwen, Raxip with Hitome.

The Knighthood with VETO, the Knights in white, VETO in black.

She opened her mouth to call out to Aldrith though her words faded into the music. He danced, oblivious to her, moving closer to Morwen. She could hear Morwen's beguiling laughter echoing around them.

"Dance," Vincent commanded again, trying to capture her attention away from the others.

"No...no somethings not right...you shouldn't be here, we shouldn't be here..."

The music grew louder, an eerie off key melody, a broken music box. She could feel her heart racing, thudding against her chest.

She broke out into a cold sweat as she tried to pull away from him. "Let me go..." she whimpered as she struggled, trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Stop fucking moving!" he yelled at her, yanking her by her hair as she stumbled to the ground.

Suddenly Raxip was in front of her, knife drawn, slashing through the air towards her exposed throat as he smiled sadistically.

Raxip's face bled into Galt Yasters and the ballroom faded to reality.

Sounds of the jungle, screams of guards dying, and explosions around the camp jolted her out of her shell shocked hallucinations.

"Hello Commander." said Kuan Yida, an officer of the Tribal Liberation Force, as he squatted above her. He smiled calmly at her as he sheathed his blade.

Gasping for breath, she stared at him as if trying to discern if he were real or not, then to the slain bodies around her. Severed heads spurted warm blood across the mud, some of it splattering against her bare arms.

She started to shake uncontrollably as she snaked her arms around his shoulders, burying her head against his neck, sobbing, "Are you really here?" she questioned, doubting her own sanity.

"Is this over? Can we go...oh god, Lora! I think they killed her," she sobbed, her voice muffled against his skin.

"She's okay. My men are leading her off now." He trailed a hand across the back of her head to soothe her as he gave a glance around, accessing the situation.

He bunched his fingers in her hair and tipped her head back, looking her in the eye. Her face was beyond pale with dark smudges beneath her glassy eyes. She looked exhausted and drugged. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath as he unhooked a medkit from his belt and found something that would counter what she'd been given. He broke a small vial and dribbled the liquid between her lips, "You have to drink this."

She nodded obediently and swallowed the foul tasting liquid as he hoisted her up and slung her across his shoulders. He carried her off into the shadows of a nearby building to wait for the antidote to kick in.

"What are you doing?" she asked groggily as she felt his hands around her waist.

"Arming you." He latched a shield-belt around her waist complete with stim nanites, a laser pistol, a pair of knives, and a few plasma grenades.

Several minutes passed as he traded intel over comms with the rest of his team.

After he finished, he knelt in front of her, his dark gaze questioning her, "Are you feeling better?"

She gave a quick nod as he tugged her to her feet. "Alright. Let's move out," he said as he moved to the corner of the building and pointed. "This area has been cleared, all hostages are heading to transports that'a way. The BT's still have a heavy presence there." He pointed in the opposite direction. "We need a major distraction to give them enough time to evacuate the rest."

Shalee nodded, "Alright." Her expression uncertain.

He side glanced, noting the doubt. "You've trained for this Commodore. You can do this." He gave her a quick smile. "On my mark."

The next few moments became a blur of explosions, fire, and blood. The pair of them methodically worked their way through the camp, tossing grenades into buildings and vehicles while taking down sentry guards in the process.

She paused to catch her breath, her back to Kuan as he conferred with his team over comms again. The stench of blood made her nauseated, her sleeves were drenched, hands and face sticky red. She wiped the blood-wet blade against her pants, mentally bracing herself for the next round.

"They need a few more minutes," he said as he took stock of what they had left. "How many grenades do you have left?"

"None..." she answered grimly.

"Alright. It's fine. We got this, okay? You trust me, right?" he said, turning to face another group of BT's that had neared them holding machetes and other crude weapons.

"With my life," she said wryly, "which, I might add, is probably going to be over soon."

"Just a few more minutes and it will all be over. You did inject the implant Nabole gave you?"

"Yup..." she said, having no idea what the implant did, only that he had sent it to her through the Vherokior spy.

"Perfect," he said as he lifted his blade. "Easy....easy..." he coaxed, staring at two Brutors as they arrogantly broke free of the group, charging them.

"Now!" In a fluid motion swift motion, twin blades arced through the air, slicing into the two Brutor's throats. Her boot slammed into her attacker's abdomen as his head rolled off of his shoulders. She kicked the body to the side and found her footing, ready for the next attack.

An eerie quiet settled over the blood traitors for a few seconds as they watched the severed heads roll across the muddy ground. As they came to a halt, a war cry erupted from behind them.

Another group was closing in on them, trapping them.

She pivoted around, her back to Kuan, blade raised, "Any bright ideas, Commander?"

"Yeah," he said a bit smugly, "Fight."

They slashed their way through the oncoming wave of bodies. Hands, heads, and arms fell around them as they fought with superior reflexes.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this!" she screamed as she ducked beneath a silver blade that swung towards her head, her knife slamming into the matar's gut. She yanked the blade up and out as he fell back.

Light flashed as tractor beams illuminated the thick dark smoke that covered the sky. Over comms, Kuan was given the good news. "They all have made it," he called out in an exhausted voice. "The rorqual is ready to jump."

"What about us?" she yelled out as she severed another head. Blood squirted, drenching her face, clotting her lashes. She blinked, unable to see clearly.

He didn't bother to answer her as he denoted an anti-matter grenade, one used for deep core moon mining. Everything exploded, the camps now leveled to nothing but a smoking crater.

***

She came to consciousness quickly as she felt hands pulling her from the cloning vat. Ambiotic fluid slid down her skin as she was wrapped with a towel.

Blinking open her eyes, she looked warily at the Vherokior pod tech.

"Who are you? Where is Jonathan?"

"I'm Lao." He smiled to her. "Jonathan?" he asked as he lead her over to the privacy showers.

"My chief pod tech..."

"I work for Commander Yida," he explained as she stepped into the stall. "You are aboard the Red Locus. We are just about to jump out of Eytjangard, I do believe."

"Wait...what?"

"Get cleaned up, Commander Yida is waiting for you on the bridge. "I'm sure he will explain everything."

***

Later that night she wrote in her journal:

Sometimes I question the purpose of this 'war', though I could never really admit it to anyone, not anyone I fly with anyhow. They have to believe that I believe.

I don't fight for what this Empire is, but what it can be. What it will be. I don't fight for slavery, but for God. In my heart I have to believe that God did not mean for humanity to succumb to such twisted evil, not in his name.

The Amarr are wrong and I believe the Empress knows this and that she will lead us out of this darkness. She is the one true beacon of hope in this chaotic madness.

It's not that I think all Amarr are evil. They are merely misguided, desperately clinging to the teachings of their pasts. Good men can do bad things without even realizing it.

And 'bad' men can do good things too.

Eytjangard taught me that much.

People like Admiral Newelle will have me think that people like Commander Yida are worthless, but had not Kuan saved me, I would still be there, I think. Trapped. Tortured. Sold, perhaps.

Captain Fierch would have me believe that men like SilenceIKillYou are wholly evil, but he risked his carrier to free thousands of refugees.

I cannot believe that any soul is inherently good or evil. I believe that we are the sum of many things, that we capable of both, but never truly one or the other. It's all a matter of perspective, anyhow.

On Eytjangard, I learned that good people like Lora can be brutally destroyed despite their good intentions. I learned that men can betray their own people for a simple sum of ISK.

But I also learned that some people, like Kuan, can and will go above the call of duty and the bounds of friendship, to do the right thing.

That is something I will never forget.

***

(( Kuan Yida's blog, Eytjangard Blues part 5, from his perspective))

Entry 125: Eytjangard part 4

Huola Star System


Predator Elite woke in a cold sweat, his heart thudding loudly, his fingers wound tightly around a thin gray blanket.

The nightmare hovered on the edge of his consciousness, fogging his thoughts and for the moment he couldn't let go of it. Despite the ending, he forced himself to remember the rest, if only to see her face again.

To remember.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.... long straight brown hair, sparkling green eyes that lit every time she looked at him.

His wife.

He sat up and dropped his feet to the floor as he rubbed his hands across his face.

He could still her voice. Such warmth, such love.

She had been everything to him. Wife, lover, friend. Mother to his two sons.

His breathing became ragged as the last few moments of the nightmare played out.

Her screaming, pleading not for herself but for her children.

All three of their voices melded together in one unbearable sound of torture.

And then there was silence.

A mind numbing stretch of silence. How long had it lasted? Hours? Days? Weeks?

He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember anything except an unquenchable thirst for revenge. The days following the murder of his family was nothing but a blur as he tracked down everyone responsible for their deaths.

Standing, he forced the dark memories away as he activated comms, listening to the endless flow of information over the various intel channels. It kept his mind busy, kept him from remembering, from feeling.

A few moments later after a quick shower and a cup of coffee, he stepped out of the captain's quarters of his Bhaalgorn.

As he rallied up a fleet for patrol, he scanned the joining members, noting that she wasn't there.

The second night in a row and she'd been absent, without a word as to why. It was unlike her. She'd been by his side almost unfailing since he'd join the Amarrian militia.

A feeling of dread washed over him. The not knowing was the worst, not that she owed him an explanation of where she was...but goddamn it.

Didn't she know he'd worry?

***

Shalee tightened her fingers in her hair as she laid her forehead against her knees, huddled in the corner of their cage. It had been thirty eight hours since she'd been captured.

It had been nearly four days since she'd truly slept. Exhaustion drenched every pore of her skin. She'd become feverish and started to hallucinate as she'd come down from the high of stims she'd used to keep awake during the exodus.

The stench of death hovered. They had left the one who had tried to protect her in the cell with her and the doctor and now he had begun to rot.

She barely noticed the smell and could only vaguely hear Lora's strained voice.

"Shalee, listen to me." Lora commanded. "You have to get some sleep."

"I have...remember?"

"You were unconscious, it's not the same thing. You need to rest..." she said with a mixture of worry and scolding.

"I'm fine."

"No. You're not. You have to sleep, you're getting sick and there's nothing I can do for you like this."

Before she could respond, the door opened.

Two Seibestor guards grabbed each woman and yanked them from the cage to tie their hands behind their backs.

Her body ached with protest at the sudden jarring, her muscles sore and stiff.

She blinked several times, trying to adjust her vision to the dim light. It was dark out though there were several fires lit along the way giving off enough light that she could make out the swarm of armed men huddled around the camp site.

She locked her gaze on one man as she passed by him. He leered in return.

They were taken towards a crude building made of wood and jagged pieces of metal.

"On your knees!" The two women were forced down a few feet from the door, pressed into the thick mud.

Galt Yaster, a tall, wiry Seibestor, stepped out wearing a dirty, bloodied uniform. He was older than the both of them, his face lined with wrinkles and scarring.

Defiantly, Shalee lifted her head and stared at him, her blue eyes lit with fury.

He laughed at her boldness. "Such spirit for someone so young." He neared them and cupped Shalee's chin, his thumb grazed along the edge of her jaw, smearing away the dirt. "Have you enjoyed my hospitality?"

She said nothing in return.

He chuckled as he squatted in front of her. She could smell a mixture of alcohol and cigarettes on his breath as he leaned in to whisper, "I will have fun breaking your spirit."

Her stomach lurched as she felt the tip of his tongue on her ear. In a swift movement, she jerked her head around and clamped her teeth against his chin, biting as hard as she possibly could before he shoved her away.

"You god damned whore!" He shouted as he stood, hand pressed against his bleeding chin. "You'll fucking pay for your insolence!" Yaster motioned several of his men forward. "Take her inside."

They neared Shalee, "No. Not her. The doctor. Leave the door open, let her hear everything."

The men drug Lora into the building.

Seconds later the doctor's screams filled the night air.

Shalee squeezed her eyes shut and started deliriously humming to herself to drown out the torture.

She gasped, choking on air as Yaster's knee slammed into her back, "Shut the fuck up. You'll listen to every god damned scream she makes and you'll know it's because of you. You'll hear everything, and you'll wonder exactly what they are doing to her. You can sit there with your pride and arrogance, fucking Amarrian whore, and you'll know that you did this to her."

He grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked her head back, "Open your god damned eyes. I want you to stare at the door and listen to what you've done. Are they raping her? Are they taking turns fucking her brains out? Are they slicing her open? I want you to fucking wonder whats going on in there, fear it, little one....because you're next."

***

(Eytjangard Blues, part 4)

Entry 124: Eytjangard part 3

"Are you awake?"

Consciousness came slowly, as if she were swimming through muddy water, trying to reach the shimmering light above the surface, following the sound of the woman's voice.

She heard the question again but couldn't tell where the voice was coming from or who it belonged to.

As she blinked open her eyes, a trickle of blood slithered down her forehead, wetting her lashes. Pain shot through her as she lifted a hand to wipe it away.

She couldn't quite catch her breath. Her vision was blurred, distorted images, shadows, and beams of light melded together.

Her body ached all over, feeling heavier than it should. As she tried to move she realized she was trapped beneath something.

Or someone...

"Oh god!" She started to panic as she struggled beneath his weight.

"Be quiet," the whisperer commanded. "And for the love of Junip stop moving, don't worry about him, he is dead."

Shalee went eerily still after resting her head against the back of the cage.

"He wouldn't leave you," the voice whispered to her. "He tried to protect you. They called him a hero... before they murdered him."

"He died?" Shalee gasped as tears streaked through the smeared blood and mud across her face. "Oh gods he died because of me? But how did we get here? Where are we?"

"You're in a slave prison camp."

"And who are you?" she asked as the memories slowly started to trickle through the fog in her mind.

"Doctor Lora Wells, from Otellen Prime. Part of the Amity Project. My team had been here for a few weeks...." she went silent for a moment, "...until the massacre."

She could hear the pain in her voice even if she couldn't see her in the darkness. "I'm sorry."

"I had went for supplies..." Her voice was soft, older. Compassionate. "I...when I got back, the entire hospital..." Her voice cracked, "They were all dead."

Lora explained in a tight voice, "They have no use for the sick, and I can only imagine that my team tried to fight back, tried to defend them. But they are doctors, not warriors, goddammit."

"I'm so sorry." Shalee apologized , feeling it were somehow her fault. If she would have arrived sooner, maybe she would have been able to rescue more. Done more.

"There was no one left. No one." Lora responded in a dull voice. "They slaughtered every single person there, struck them dead in their beds, left their mangled bodies across the floors. Some had tried to fight back I think, sick as they were. And I came back to it, walked through the carnage and wondered ...why not me? Why was I spared? Why..."

Silent tears snaked a steady path across her cheeks, dripped onto her filthy shirt, wetting it. "God must have a purpose for you still," Shalee whispered.

"You think I still believe in God?" Lora whispered grimly.

"You're angry. But God didn't kill those people. Men did. Evil, sadistic men."

"God didn't save them either." Lora said in a higher pitched voice, as if she were on the verge of hysteria.

"Maybe he did. Maybe that was his way of saving them...now they are with him." Shalee hesitated, "We are all meant to die eventually."

"How can you even say such a thing, being a capsuleer..."

"I know, I haven't the right to say anything. I'm sorry."

Lora sighed softly, "No, you're right, I shouldn't lose my faith. They can take everything else from me, but that's one thing I shouldn't let them murder. God damned savages."

"How long have you been here?" Shalee whispered.

"About a week. They caught me a few hours outside of Camp Louella, I was trying to get to the space port."

"Do you know how long I've been here?" she asked.

"A day or so. They brought you in with him. He was still fighting them when they brought you both in."

"Darg." Shalee shifted again, wincing as she tried to pull her leg out from beneath him. "He was a volunteer, he was....I don't know anything else about him." she said remorsefully.

They both fell silent.

She listened to the sound of rushing water nearby, the constant droning of insects, peppered with the occasional far away scream. She offered up a silent prayer.

"I'm Shalee, by the way."

"I know. You talk in your sleep....you've been pretty out of it. That's why they put you in here with me, told me to 'make sure she doesn't die'. You're obviously worth a lot of ISK to them." She gave Shalee a long speculative look. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here? Not in the camp I mean, but..why does someone from the Amarr militia fight to enslave people, then turn around and secretly try to set them free?"

"I didn't fight for Eytjangard. I'm in the militia to defend our sovereignty from invaders, terrorists. There's a difference. Most in the Knighthood only fight defensively...we are not part of the reclaiming. But we will defend what is ours by right."

"Do you own slaves?" she asked.

"No, of course not." Shalee said with frustration.

"Sorry, stupid question."

"It's alright. Most people hear an Amarrian accent and just automatically assume slaver. But slavers represent only a small faction of the population. The Fed's and Matar like to spread their propaganda and people just eat it up."

"I shouldn't have said anything, really sorry." Lora gave a sigh of exhaustion as she looked forward, peering through the bars of their crude cage. "I wonder what they are going to do with us..." She sounded afraid.

"I don't know..." Shalee replied. "But surely AP must know what has happened...surely they will send somebody..." Her brows furrowed, knowing that it would be impossible for the Project to get involved, technically Amity Project did not exist.

"Yeah. They will send someone. Surely." Lora agreed, knowing it was a lie but needing something to believe in.

A Vherokior slid two trays into the cell as the doors swung open. Moonlight spilled across the floor. Shalee blinked, her vision still blurry, her head aching. She looked to her captor, "I know you don't expect me to eat while I have a dead man laying across me." she said sharply.

"You will eat," he said matter of fact as he stooped over and shoved the body off of her. Two armed guards came up behind the Vherokior, smirking, leering.

He grabbed her by the ankle and slid her forward, towards him. She struggled frantically as raw fear seized her. "Please! No!"

He laughed as he grabbed her other foot, pinning her down, "She's a spirited one." He said to the two laughing behind him.

"Don't you dare touch me! I'll kill you I swear to God I'll slit your throat open!" She screamed, struggling as he climbed across her.

He shoved her bound hands above her head against the blood slicked floor. "That's it, fight me little Ni Kunni, makes it all the better," he said loudly, as if enjoying it.

She spit in his face.

Shalee squeezed her eyes shut and rolled her head to the side as he leaned his head down to hers. His mouth was on her ear, "The Commander is coming. He said you'd know what to do."

The scarred Vherokior pressed something into the palm of her hand as he climbed off of her, laughing.

The door slammed then locked, the Vherokior chuckled, pretending to threaten her, "I'll be back for you, little one."


****
(((OOC note. Check out Kuan Yida's blog, Eytjangard Blues 3, he is writing the Eytjangard story from his character's perspective. Also, the story is dedicated to SilenceIKillYou♥, since he is the one who asked us to write it.)))

Entry 123: Eytjangard, part 2

She sat, staring at two small girls. One with long red ringlet curls, the other with honey blonde straight hair and sparkling blue eyes.

They stared back at her, unblinking.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice sounding very far away, alien even to herself.

The smallest suddenly grinned, her dimples popping, her face animated with light. Angelic, almost.

"Oh god...am I dead?" Shalee looked around frantically as fear coursed through her. To be dead was to be judged by God. To finally pay the price for her sins.

"No. You are not dead. You are...sleeping. Sort of. You're unconscious." The red headed answered.

"I see..." she said in a very calm voice, her fear fading just a bit. "Wait. No, I don't. Where am I? Who are you?"

"We are you." The red headed answered her again while the blonde merely stared at her.

"Uh...?"

"Parts of you, anyhow. Raphael calls me Red."

"Raphael knows you?" Shalee asked.

"Of course. Everyone knows me. I visit them sometimes." Red puckered up her small mouth, lips pursed, expression stubborn. "I have to, because you wont."

"I don't understand..."

"I know." She said cryptically. "Cause I know everything about you." She tapped her fingertip to her temple. "I am here, remember?"

"I'm losing my mind, obviously." Shalee said as she glanced around the white room. A vast expanse of white, the corners thin streams of pale light.

"Not really. You're just afraid. You don't tell people what you really think or feel. You're always keeping secrets from everyone, afraid that if they know the truth they will hurt you. Like Hadrien did. But everyone isn't like him. You hide...so I come out. I try to fix things for you."

"Well obviously you're not doing too good of a job." She countered, thinking about all the fucked up things in her life.

Red sighed rather dramatically, "You do make things awfully hard, you know."

Shalee looked from Red to the blonde girl. "And who is she exactly?"

"You were her."

"Were?"

"Yeah. Before you were Shalee. Before you were born. Long time ago, you were her. She tried to show you stuff but you kept ignoring her and finally she stopped....but now she's back."

Shalee's face flashed with skepticism. "Look. I don't believe in any of that nonsense, reincarnation or whatever. I'm no Intaki." Shalee said matter of factly, almost as if she were lecturing the girl.

Red grinned mischievously, "No, but you were. And anyhow, doesn't matter if you believe. Doesn't take your belief in stars or planets or spaceships to make them so does it? They simply exist."

Shalee looked between Red and the blonde again. "Alright. So if I was her, what is she doing here now?"

Red shrugged, "I don't know. She doesn't really talk and she hardly ever comes around anymore. I try to find her sometimes but it's like...." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Like she's hiding behind something. And I can't really reach her."

"But she's here now." Shalee said, pointing to the blonde child.

"Yes, well, sort of. None of us are really here. It's like a dream, sort of. And anyhow, I'm only here because I can't get out..."

"What does that mean?"

"When you sleep I can go anywhere really. All the holoworlds. And I can use the holodrones and go to the real world too. Anywhere I want. I talk to all kinds of people, especially in the Keep. But....now I'm stuck. I can't get out. I think something happened. Or maybe it's because you're not really asleep, but unconscious. You're partially aware of what is happening out there, I think."

"Where?"

"In the jungle."

"The jungle...?"

"Try to remember. You're on Eytjangard. They invaded the camp as you were trying to leave. You almost died." Red frowned deeply, her tiny little face a picture of sorrow. "Reslye saved you."

Shalee nodded slowly as it started to come back to her. "I remember...it was raining. And I had a ship malfunction and...oh gods. Chase? He was coming back for me and they shot him out of the sky...."

Red widened her eyes. "He will live again, you needn't worry about him, he is a capsuleer. It's poor Reslye that you should mourn. She died trying to save you. She took the bullet that was meant for you. Then Darg picked you up cause you got hit with some debris as something exploded. Blood was everywhere, but you were alive and he picked you up and carried you. He stopped somewhere and wrapped your bleeding head with lots of bandages and now he is still running with you...but they are chasing."

Shalee paled, "Now?"

Red nodded, "Right now. He is running through the jungle with you...listen." She slanted her gaze as if looking elsewhere, "Can't you hear them? The guns? Listen. People are still dying." The little girl started to cry, "They keep shooting them. The ones that they can't sell. The very old and sick...they're all going to die!" she sobbed.

Shalee looked over Red's shoulder, staring at the white wall, as if hypnotized. A light appeared, a tiny pinpoint of yellow light. It started to spread, taking the shape of a moon. The dark sky surrounding it bled across the white wall. Stars twinkled against the sky, pieces of asteroids shimmered. Closer, leaves took shape, tangled vines, and plumes of smoke. She inhaled, smelling a mixture of blood, smoke, and sweat. A cacophony of sound assaulted her at once; gunfire, screams, and a steady rhythmic thumping. A heartbeat. Darg's heartbeat?

Her blue gaze met his as she looked up at him. "Commodore?" He said breathlessly. Sweat dripped down his face. She shivered, feeling cold and faint despite the humid jungle breeze.

Before she could respond, the room went white again. She looked to Red, "You need to do whatever it is that you do and go get help."

"I'm trying. I'm working on it, anyhow. But you're gonna have to go all the way asleep, I think. Or something. Maybe you hit your head too hard, maybe I'll never be able to leave again..."

Shalee tried to console the child, "We are going to be fine." She didn't really believe it.

Red pouted, "You shouldn't lie, I know when you're lying."

Shalee folded her arms across her chest. "This is fracked up," she muttered. "Talking to you. Who is me. Or was me." She shook her head, on the verge of hysteria.

Red stood up. "I saw something. Just before you were hit....in the camp. There were some people. Not BT's, not refugees either. And they weren't from the Amity Project, not the volunteers."

"Who were they?"

Red shrugged, "I don't know...but they were watching you. They have been watching you, I think. You just weren't paying attention."

"I was exhausted." She'd been living off stims to keep her going.

"I know."

"Did they look like Imperial Agents?"

The little girl shrugged, "I don't know, I couldn't tell really. They were just...out of place."

Shalee didn't know whether to be relieved or more afraid. Was it someone to help her or someone to harm her?

"When I fall asleep, I need you to tell someone...." But who? She couldn't involve anyone in the Amarr Empire. She could get in trouble, be branded a traitor to the Empire. Though she had pirate friends, could she really count on them to help? They might try to save her but they'd leave the rest to perish, or perhaps try to sell the people themselves. Anything for ISK. That left the enemy. Which Minmatar could she trust to intervene? Who would help and not sell her out in the process?"

"Mister Yida? He knows you help the slaves." Red said practically, "And he wouldn't want to hurt you."

"That will work...if you can reach him. We don't have very much time. Contact ...anyone from the Minmatar, anyone who is in local. We will just have to risk it."

Red nodded, "Alright. I can do that...but what if I can't get out?"

Shalee shook her head, "Then I don't know...."

***
(Eytjangard Blues part two, companion piece)

Entry 122: Eytjangard, Part 1

Eytjangard Star System


"We must fight them. We must beat them back with the plated fist of righteousness. We must take the flaming sword of Amarr and drive it deep into their stone cold hearts! Nay, my brothers; we don't do this for personal profit or fame. We don't drive back the darkness for medals or glory. Our pure motivation is LOVE! Love for God. Love for Empress. Love for those poor filthy Matari wretches."

Gabriel Theodoulo's speech played on a continuous loop over the airwaves as the Eytjangard system went through the gruelling process of changing hands. Every space port, every government building, any and all official holdings would change from the Minmatar to the Amarr.

It would take weeks for the Minmatar government to evacuate, officially.

During those weeks, Shalee spent her downtime helping with the unofficial evacuations.

It was a race against time. A race to clear out people before the slavers could get to them.

Like all things Amarrian, it took an enormous amount of time to go through proper protocols to get the government systems up and running. There was paperwork to file, ceremonies to be had, speeches to be given.

An Amarrian Reclaiming could be swift, but an Amarrian Occupancy took time.

Precious, precious time. Those hours, days, and weeks after a reclaiming was so tied up in pomp and circumstance that Slavers could come in and clear out entire villages without anyone ever being the wiser. They would come in the night, like the Sansha, using drop ships and soldiers and simply take what they wanted with little resistance. Simply because no one was there to stop them.

It was illegal in theory but far too common in practice for anyone in the upper echelons of Amarrian society to really care.

By the time the Amarrian government officials were in place, thousands upon thousands of Matari would simply be reported missing without any real effort to find them.

Missing, what the offical reports said.

Abducted, what everyone knew.

***

She'd been asked by the leaders of the Amity Project to intervene, to be a part of the Eytjangard exodus, to help clear out as many refugees as she could before the slavers could get to them. Naturally those who could afford to do so had already fled off world. The poor were left stranded.
For two days she flew with a team of other capsuleers, ferrying Matari from crude, makeshift landing pads to the spaceport where they would then be divided up and relocated to various other systems.

It was an exhausting process.

Thousands upon thousands wanted to leave. The refugee camps were overflowing with those waiting their turn, waiting for their chance for freedom, a new life elsewhere.

Young and old alike littered the muddy streets of Camp Louella, named for the infamous Space Nun. They carried suitcases, boxes, anything that could fit beneath their arms.

Smoke unfurled into the gray sky from fire pits spread along the camp, masking the smell of a thousand, rain drenched refugees.

Shalee stood on the platform, her clothes dirty, face streaked with mud, expression weary. Exhaustion colored the pale skin beneath her eyes a shade of dark blue.

She gave a tired sigh as she waited for the volunteers to settle the next batch of people into the hold of the cargo shuttle.

Her gaze slanted up, looking towards the clouded sky as she listened to the rain pelting against the tarp that had awkwardly been suspended across the landing pad's 'waiting station'.

The other capsuleers often stayed in their pods during their down time, but this go around she had opted to have a look around.

A part of her wished she hadn't. She'd seen too much in such a small amount of time. Too many desperate people, their dark eyes silently begging her to help them. Their fear was almost a palpable thing. The fear of the unknown, of their uncertain futures. That is, if they were lucky enough to make it off the planet in time.

Those that wouldn't be saved, those people would face a much worse fate.

"Commodore?" Reslye interrupted her reverie as she stepped up behind her. "It's time."

"Alright, thank you." She glanced to the Intaki, giving her a tired smile. "I'm ready." She followed her over to the transporter. "What's going to happen to all those people...." she asked as she changed into her pod suit.
"Some will start new lives and all of this will eventually be just a horrible memory. The lucky ones anyhow. Some will flourish, others will perish, unable to cope with the change. And those we wont be able to rescue in time?" Reslye shook her head, "They will be stolen away for the illegal slave markets or processed into the new regime for 'reeducation'."

"I wish we had more time. I wish..." Shalee trailed off, her expression grim. Wishing was useless. The only thing that mattered was ferrying off those people, as many as she could anyhow.

"I know." Res gave her a quick hug. "We are all doing what we can, and every little bit helps. Try not to dwell on the people we cannot save, but all of those who will have a chance just because you are here."

Shalee nodded, "I'm trying. It just seems so unfair, all of it."

"It is. The Amarrians come in and 'reclaim'...and yet most have no real idea of what that even means to these people. Uprooted from their homes, their lives turned upside down. These people haven't hurt anyone, these people...." She stared off into the distance, looking at the countless refugees huddled by the fires, shivering beneath makeshift tents.

It was Shalee's turn to say, "I know."

The two women looked at one another for a long moment. "You have a safe journey."

"I will. See you on the flipside, okay?"

Moments later, Shalee was preparing for take off when an explosion shook the landing pad. Over comms, another capsuleer who was on his way back down gave the grim news, "Looks like we've been discovered. Get the hell out of there Commodore."

"I'm trying...I'm trying!" Her body tensed as adrenaline coursed through her. She could hear another explosion as she tried to get airborne.

"Goddamnit, system malfunction! What's happening? Chase? What's going on out there?"

"BTs." Slang for Blood Traitors, bastards who would sell out their own people for ISK and protection of the new regime. "You have to get out of there Lianne, you can't be discovered you know that. You have to leave them behind!"

"Even if I wanted to I can't! Somethings wrong..."

"Fuck it," he uttered as he changed course, "I'm coming for you."

"No, Chase, don't. Don't risk it!" She quickly started the depodding procedure. Ambiotic fluid drained away as she disconnected. A minute later she was sliding onto the metal grating, listening to the dripping fluid splash in the vat below.

"Too late, we can't leave you behind. If you're caught, you'll jeopardize the whole mission."

"I wont get caught, I swear."

"I'm not going to risk it."

"Stupid, stupid man! I'll be okay, I know where the safe houses are. I'll be able to escape," she told him as she quickly dressed into commoner's clothing. Matari clothing, it would help her blend in better as she made her escape. "I'll comm you once I am.."

Another explosion rocked the landing pad. She lost her balance and fell forward, grasping onto the door. She crawled the short distance to the exit as smoke filled the corridor.

Coughing, she doubled over as she tried to catch her breath. She could barely hear Chase barking orders over the earpiece as the refugees screamed in terror all around her. Gunfire erupted, drowning out the sound of everything as the BT's moved in on the camp.

She stood there, frozen in place as the rain trickled down her face. Sound faded into nothingness, eerily silent as the world around her seemed to slow down, moving in slow motion.

She watched in horror as the traitors shot those who tried to run. Those who stayed were forced down upon their knees in the mud, their hands hastily tied behind their backs.

Above, the sky turned a myriad of colors as a rocket slammed into a returning shuttle.

"Chase..."

And just as suddenly as everything went silent, sound and motion returned with a sharp piercing bang.

Reslye was beside her, grabbing her by the arm, pulling her to safety as another volunteer shot one of the traitors who had spotted them.

She watched him fall, blood splattering across his dirty shirt, dripping down his torso.

"Run!" The last thing she heard before everything went black.

***

(( Eytjangard Blues, Part One ~ companion piece ))