Thursday, August 6, 2015

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter IX: An Apology

Lukas found the wreckage of three Jagers about 50 meters from the camp. They were sand-blasted clean and the dry desert air around New Baja kept them rust free. He knew they must have been stripped of anything of worth long ago, but their outward appearance in the pre-dawn light was still remarkably intact and threatening. Somewhere in the distance helios was pulling itself over the horizon to announce a new day.

Looking back at the camp he saw the fire Fennec has sparked. Todd had been up before Lukas and was quietly reading. Lyta wasn’t out of her tent yet. In Lukas' hand was a small recorder Fennec had wordlessly given him when he had inquired about the Ranger’s missing animal. He pressed play.

“Hi Lukas. As I sit here recording this I realize just how easy it is to get caught up in your own head.Turning thoughts and words over without really forming coherent thoughts. The problem is that we need to talk things out with others to really understand ourselves. At least, that’s how I feel and I’ve spent a lot of time alone. Most recently I spent too much time alone in Nazarene and I came to some pretty bad conclusions. Because of that I need to tell you that I’m sorry.

You may think I have a lot of things to apologize to you for. Maybe I do to, but right now I’ve got one specific thing in mind. I thought that Lyta and I couldn’t be together with you in between. That’s why I let you know I was alive first. I figured that if you didn’t tell her, then you didn’t want us to be together and there was no point in fighting that.

I talked it out with Jonas and he helped me see that was unfair to Lyta. She deserved the right to make her own choices. However late that realization came to me, I knew one thing from the beginning, it was unfair to you and I’m sorry. I had no business making any assumptions about your intentions or feelings. It was wrong of me to lay that on you like that but I did it anyway because I was pissed off at you. We both know why, I don’t want to rehash that now.

Still, whatever happened between us I made you the root of all my problems and that was unfair. My relationship with Lyta wasn’t on you. My relationship with you wasn’t even on you, at least not entirely. I made assumptions and I wished for things instead of recognizing what was really happening. I could have been and should have been more honest to myself and to you.

So here’s the deal. The stuff between us is still unresolved. I know that an apology won’t make it go away so I’m going away. I’m not running away from this, you and I still need to have a talk about...well about everything. But right now you and Lyta and Todd and even Fennec need to learn how to trust each other again and work together and I’m in the way of that.

We all need to get out of our heads and open up to other people. I once thought you and I could be like that, maybe someday we even can? Right now though I’m not helping any by being around. You know what you need to do: follow the webble and find Jonas. You’ve always been this team’s leader. It’s what you need to do and what they need from you, so do it. I’ll wait for your call when you need me.

One last thing. I said I could have been more honest so I should tell you that in investigating the Bear’s money I found your dad’s connection. I’ve been following up on it. It looks like your family fortune might have been the cornerstone the Bear built his empire on. If that’s the case, retrieving it might be the way to pull his whole organization down. This isn’t meant to incentivize you, I’m not making promises or dangling carrots. I don’t even know if this matters to you anymore, but it concerns you and I’m just trying to be honest with you, for a change.

Take care.”

Ti’s recorded voice stopped and Lukas was alone in silence. Dawn was upon him now and the newly shaped dunes from last night’s storm undulated like suspended russet waves. There was a solitary set of prints in the virgin sand which clearly walked away from Fennec, Todd and Lyta. Lukas stood in the shadows of the heavy gears. In the morning light he saw them for what they were. Their threatening appearance in the half-light was revealed in the brilliant sunrise to be no more than gutted shells, pathetic and empty. He pocketed the recorder and traced his steps back to his teammates.



Heavy Gear Roleplaying Game

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