Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VIII: A head in need of examining

26 Summer 1927

Dear Dr. Chambers,

I’m writing to you because I don’t know who else to write to. I’m pissed and I’m scared and I don’t know which is worse.

A few days ago we found some rovers in the mountains who had set up an ambush overlooking a caravanner road. We wound up ambushing their ambush and forcing them off the mountains, but they were pretty desperate and hungry. The CEF had burned them out of their farms, or something like that. Anyway, we left what food we could for them because it seemed like they needed it, and for a while that was that.

But Ennik’s got kind of a soft spot for desperate rovers and he remembered some food caches he and his resistance buddies had left in the mountains during the war, so we went to see if we could find any of them and maybe give them to the rovers. Because we’re good folk. Or something.

Anyway, we found one of the cache tunnels, but it turns out it was mined. We didn’t even have any idea what was at the end – might have been food, might have been weapons, might have been nothing at all.

As we were trying to figure out what to do about it, the rovers we’d stopped found us in the mountains. They must have followed us out there. Or maybe they knew about the caches already. Doesn’t matter. The point is that while we were trying to negotiate with them, win them over to our side and stuff… well, it wasn’t going well. So Todd shot the leader in the head. And then when they charged us he shot the second in command. And when I got on the radio to figure out how to salvage the situation, he shot a third. I finally managed to convince them all to leave and that we wouldn’t follow them, but it wasn’t easy.

And then Todd decided to check out the tunnel, the ones with the landmines, and I didn’t even try to stop him. I think I really didn’t care if he died. I think that’s the first time I ever thought that.

Look, it’s not that I’m squeamish about people dying. Sometimes folk have to die: when it’s them or you, or when they’re standing between you and escape, or… well, other times. And some people are just sick fucks who deserve to die. So I get it, I do. But these folk, they didn’t have to die. We could have talked to them. We were talking to them. Turns out they were just there looking for food and closure and to figure out what happened to some of their people during the war. That ain’t a crime, not in any law book I know.

So I don’t know what to do. Not about Todd, and not about me. Ennik said that you don’t really do the whole “shrink” thing, even though you’ve got the quals for it. But I think maybe Todd needs to talk to someone before he kills more people that don’t need to die. Hell, maybe I need to talk to someone. Prophet knows I ain’t handling things as well as I should.

Anyway. I’ll see you the next time we’re in KAD. Hopefully things will be better by then.

Best,
Lyta

*****

Lyta’s hand hovered over her datapad, and then firmly pressed the “delete” button. There was no way she could send a letter like that to Dr. Chambers, not without severely compromising their operational security. And, in truth, she wasn’t even certain the Doc could help. She sighed and put the pad away. There would be plenty of time for self-pitying reflection on the way to Port Arthur. There was no need to waste all of it now.



Heavy Gear Roleplaying Game

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