Figured I'd add some drama to L'Kas's story, some narrative, and maybe some romance. We'll see where it goes.
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L’Kas had awoken early. 1130 hours Zulu. For L’Kas, that was early, but then his day usually went from 1230 to 0400 Zulu. A full 16 hours, just like most everybody else. After his usual routine, L’Kas began to meditate. Izumi had taught him how many years ago, and he kept it up. It centered him and kept him balanced throughout the day so that his fuse would be harder to light. It kept him out of trouble, and saved him more than a few times. Otherwise, he’d be rotting away in the brig of some station or another.
His meditation sessions usually lasted a couple hours, but this one was cut short. A metallic thud reverberated throughout the little Diamondback Scout. Since L’Kas was suspended in the null-gravity of a planetary orbit, he only heard it, not felt it. His instincts kicked in. He pushed against the wall toward the hatch leading to the cockpit. He opened it and killed his forward motion using his chair. He checked the hull integrity readings, as well as the module integrity readings. The cargo hatch went down by 1 percent, 97 from the previous 98. He pushed off from his chair toward the cargo area.
It may have been packed full with the ADS, DSS, fuel scoop system, AFMU, and food cartridges, but there was enough room for maintenance work. He sealed his flight suit, closed the cabin hatch, depressurised the hold, and opened the cargo hatch. He saw an escape capsule drifting away from his ship. “Oh, no you don’t.” he said as he grabbed the grappling tether. He activated the micro-thrusters on his suit and aimed for the pod. When the magnetic hook had a good seal, he climbed the tether back to his ship and reeled it in as far he could. No cargo room meant no room for the pod, but he could at least see if the pilot inside was still alive, and take them aboard.
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Rakhi didn’t know how long she had been drifting. Hours, days, weeks, she wasn’t sure. It didn’t help that the escape capsule was so cramped that you couldn’t get good sleep in one. She felt the thud of her pod hitting something. It didn’t feel like it was that hard of a hit, but she had a finger hovering above the sealing activator on her helmet just in case. She turned off the automation, so as to conserve her emergency supply of air. She didn’t need her emergency supply to run out before there was an actual emergency. She waited for the tell-tale hiss of atmosphere escaping into the void. She instead heard another, lighter thud, then a latching sound. Someone must’ve found her.
-----
L’Kas activated his suit’s comm system and broadcast on all frequencies to make sure the pod’s transceiver picked it up. “If you’re alive in there, seal your suit. I have to open the pod up outside.” He repeated the message and gave the pilot time to follow his instructions. L’Kas felt three knocks from the pod. He took it as a sign that the pilot did what he said and opened it. The first thing he saw coming from the pod’s hatch was a gun. He raised his hands and said, “Woah, there. No need for that, I’m not a pirate.”
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“I repeat, If you’re alive in there, seal your suit. We’re still in vacuum.”
Rakhi heard the command the first time and hit the sealing activator immediately. She drew her sidearm, just in case, and knocked on the pod’s wall. Before the hatch opened, the pod was depressurised. As soon as it opened, Rakhi wormed her gun through the opening and pointed it at the commander outside. His hands were up immediately. “Woah, there. No need for that, I’m not a pirate.”
-----
A woman’s form emerged from the pod, gun still trained on L’Kas. “Prove it.” she commanded
“Can’t say I know how.” He quickly remembered how his ship was configured, so he went with that. “I can say, though, that my Diamondback has no room for cargo and no weapons. She’s configured for exploration only. No defensive or offensive units at all, other than the sidearm on my hip and the knife on my back.” He twisted so that she could see exactly where his personal weapons were, but kept his hands up where she could still see them, too. She stared at him, probably weighing his words. L’Kas checked the timer on his helmet’s HUD. Twenty minutes left. Having a high-grade life support system came in handy. He nodded up to the ship. “I’ve got twenty minutes of emergency air left. I can stay out here a while, provided you don’t shoot me. You?”
After a few more long seconds, she nodded and grabbed the grappling line. L’Kas slowly moved to the hook, released the pod, and pushed it away from the ship. The woman started climbing, keeping her gun on L’Kas. He looked up at the woman and asked, “Permission to come aboard?”
“It’s your ship, isn’t it?”
“You’ve got the gun.” A few more seconds crawled past before the woman holstered her piece. L’Kas climbed the tether, reeled it in, shut the hatch, and re-pressurised the hold. The woman waited to unseal her helmet until L’Kas unsealed his. Despite their meeting, L’Kas showed the first sign of trust by turning toward the cabin hatch and opening it. “She’s only a Scout, so there isn’t a lot of room. Only one set of quarters and one chair in the cockpit. I can’t imagine you got much sleep in that pod, I never did, so feel free to use my bunk. I promise that I won’t try anything stupid.”
“You better not. I’m a light sleeper and have seen my fair share of hand-to-hand combat.”
“Not to mention I’ve got a couple mean swords in easy reach from the bunk. I’m not stupid. An attitude like that, I’m going to assume you are not one piss off.”
“Good assumption. Keep it in mind. I’ve got a short fuse, and my little pod trip made it even shorter. You headed home?”
“Sagittarius A, actually. And I don’t really feel like turning around yet. Unless you decide to insist.” He pointedly glanced at her sidearm. Yet another few seconds crawled by as she thought about it.
“No, that’s fine. Honestly, I haven’t been there yet, and wouldn’t mind seeing it at least once in my life. And I do believe you’re not a pirate, by the way. You’re ship’s way too clean for that kind of life. Anyway, stay out of your room until I tell you otherwise.”
L’Kas gave a mock salute and said, “Yes, ma’am. Name’s L’Kas, by the way. L’Kas Rykr.”
“Rakhi Victoria. Try not to make too much noise out here.”
L’Kas nodded and Rakhi slipped past him and into his quarters.
The quarters, if they could be called that, were small. The sleeping area took up half the room, and no doubt the sink and toilet drawers took up the other half when opened. Rakhi saw the swords L’Kas had mentioned. They were indeed mean-looking. Too bad she wasn’t good with a sword, but then L’Kas didn’t need to know that. If he thought she could defend herself, he wouldn’t mess with her.
Rakhi climbed into the sleeping bag. As per usual, it was stuffy. That was okay, though. A modern Pilots Federation flightsuit was designed to keep the pilot comfortable and protected in all but the most hostile environments. Corrosion was about the only thing it was vulnerable to. Vacuum, heat, cold, radiation, even a decent amount of pressure were shrugged off by a pilot wearing this suit. Since L’Kas was also wearing a tailor-made suit, he had to have been in the PF recently, maybe even still. She let a little smile come across her lips as she inhaled the scent of her rescuer.
It wasn’t that Rakhi distrusted men. In fact, she rather liked the idea of a young, male commander coming to her rescue. But out in the black, you never know what or who you’re going to find. She may have been a romantic at heart, but she wasn’t going to let her guard down. At least not until she knew L’Kas better. Seeing as how they were headed to the core and only 4,000 lightyears away from home, not to mention in a Diamondback Scout, they’d have plenty of time to get to know each other. She drifted off to sleep rather quickly. It was about time someone found her.
It had been a few hours since L’Kas rescued Rakhi. As far as he knew, she was still sleeping. He wasn’t going to check, as she did tell him to keep his distance. He wasn’t sure what to make of this situation, and meditation wasn’t helping. He decided that for now, it was probably a good idea to just go about his business and let her do any talking. If she wanted to interact, she would. Most people willing to go this far from civilization tended to be that way. He posted his log entry then went back to checking his modules.
L’Kas probably didn’t need to do manual, hands-on diagnostics, but being that this was just a Diamondback Scout, he wasn’t taking any chances. Between meditation, logging, and eating, it usually took him a good several hours to check everything. He looked down the corridor and saw Rakhi floating across to the kitchen closet. She started rummaging around and said, most likely to herself, “Please tell me you have some coffee.”
L’Kas answered, “Other pantry, middle shelf. Wouldn’t dream of leaving home without it.”
She found it quickly enough and began to process some of an already-opened cartridge. As usual, it came out in a dark gelatinous blob. Being a space pilot, Rakhi wasn’t at all bothered by that. Zero-Gee, and the required procedures therein, tended to grow on you pretty quick out here. After several minutes of her wake-up routine, Rakhi pushed off the bulkhead and floated to the cargo hold. She knocked to let L’Kas know she was there so as not to startle him. She looked at the equipment he had outfitted his ship with.
A fuel scoop, a standard for any long-range configured vessel. An Advanced discovery scanner. Beat her Intermediate scanner, for sure. An automatic field-maintenance unit, another standard for long-range flying. A detailed surface scanner. Yeah, this Scout was configured for pure exploration. No shield generator, most likely a high grade frame shift drive and the powerplant to match. A seemingly high-grade life support module as well, considering L’Kas had at least twenty minutes of emergency air by the time they entered the ship. The paint looked a bit worn from what she could see, but everything else was well taken care of.
“Told you, no cargo room. Barely enough room to get around.” The voice came from next to her.
“Definitely not a pirate’s setup. What do you do back here anyway?”
L’Kas braced himself between the AFMU and the ADS blocks. “I check my modules by hand. It’s my first time out, and Izumi’s Intrigue is a small ship.”
“Izumi’s Intrigue? Interesting name.”
“Named after my late adoptive mother and mentor. I may have lost her physically, but I keep her memory alive through my ships’ names.”
“Names, plural? as in more than one ship?” Her eyes widened at that. This kid must’ve been doing pretty well for himself if he had more than one ship.
“Yup. This DB Scout, a Cobra Mk.III, and a Vulture. Izumi’s Intrigue, Favor, and Ire II, respectively. The Vulture just recently replaced my Viper, Izumi’s Ire.”
“So an explorer, a fighter, and a… light trader? Not sure what you want to do yet?”
“Actually, the Cobra’s an armed courier. I take a faction’s product from A to B. I don’t deal with commodities yet. I might later, when I have my Anaconda. And yeah, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do. I’m hoping this trip will give me some insight. Meditation, contemplation, soul-searching, that kind of thing.”
“And you’re going to a supermassive black hole for this why?”
“Call me superstitious, but I see it as the greatest example of balance in nature. It destroys everything unfortunate enough to get too close, but it also holds this entire galaxy together. I plan on using it as a divination tool of sorts.”
Rakhi almost laughed, but caught herself when she read L’Kas’s face. He looked so serious, and a little embarrassed. This was supposed to be a personal, spiritual trip for him. His seriousness almost made her regret being rescued. She cleared her throat, acknowledging the sudden awkwardness. “Well, a supermassive black hole is certainly a hell of a divination tool. Sorry for the smirk. I saw pretty quickly how much your mission means to you.”
L’Kas waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. To be honest, on any other trip, I’d think it was ridiculous too. I’d like to think I’m a rational thinker, but even this means more than I’d have ever figured it would.”
Rakhi nodded in thanks to the forgiving gesture. “Don’t let me stop you. Speaking of, where to next?"
"Good question. Let's see what's next." With that, L'Kas pushed off toward the cockpit.
Just another pilot's story with some added drama
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L'Kas Rykr
- Mostly Harmless
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:35 pm
- CMDR: L'Kas Rykr
- CMDR_Platform: None Specified
- Contact:
-
L'Kas Rykr
- Mostly Harmless
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:35 pm
- CMDR: L'Kas Rykr
- CMDR_Platform: None Specified
- Contact:
Re: Just another pilot's story with some added drama
AN: The problem with serialization, as some are no doubt aware, is that playing the game often far out-races the story. So while my logs are current, the story will lag behind. /AN
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L’Kas woke up to the sound of heavy coughing in his quarters. He checked the time, 0836. He’d only gotten four hours of sleep. Usually, that amount of noise wouldn’t have bothered him, as he was used to the louder constant sounds of a station’s docking bay. But then he wasn’t usually carrying a passenger. L’Kas disengaged the straps on his pilot’s chair and pushed off toward the back. He knocked on the door to his quarters and asked, “You okay in there?”
“Yeah, I’m…” Rakhi was interrupted by a another fit of coughs, punctuated by a pained expletive.
“Far be it from me to tell you how you’re feeling, but that doesn’t sound good.”
“Just a cold. I’m *cough* fine.”
That was what she said. But after several hours of looking after her, L’Kas knew Rakhi wasn’t doing well. According to the medical scanner, it was just a particularly bad rhinovirus, so nothing life-threatening. Coughing, sore throat, stuffy head, body aches, the usual. But Rakhi couldn’t even get out of the 0-G bag, let alone stop her momentum against a bulkhead, she hurt so much.
As L’Kas delivered another bag of gelatinous fluids, Rakhi gave a pathetic scoff. “I guess the stress of being in that damned pod for days on end caught up with me. Maybe we ought to power our fsd’s with that, huh?”
L’Kas gave an amused chuckle. “I can see the ads now. ‘All new from Lakon Spaceways! Stress-driven Frame Shift Drives! Get yours today, and you can go to Sagittarius A* and back in hours, instead of days! And remember: If you’re not stressed, It’s not working!’”
Rakhi gave a weak smile then doubled over in yet another coughing fit. L’Kas had already inoculated himself and gave Rakhi some medicine, so he knew she’d be okay. No need to turn back, as she didn’t need a hospital. Again, Lady Luck was favoring the two of them.
L’Kas stayed by Rakhi’s bedside to give her company. The two gave each other more details of their lives and pasts. Rakhi seemed to be quite a bit luckier than L’Kas, as she had a good upbringing by decently wealthy parents and got into good schools for her childhood education and later pilot training. She was able to experience life much more fully than L’Kas. He envied her, but he didn’t begrudge her. Everybody is different, and these two people turned out to be similar, despite totally different upbringings.
L’Kas didn’t go into much details, and tended to focus on the good times, but Rakhi could tell he was holding back. To her, that meant he didn’t fully trust her. She didn’t feel insulted by it, but she now knew that L’Kas’ trust was not easy to earn. And she wanted to earn it, but she wouldn’t try to force it. She was one who was fairly open, outgoing, and made herself fairly easy to read, but L’Kas obviously played his hand close to his chest and shared only what he wanted to. Despite only knowing the man for several days, Rakhi wanted to be someone he could lean on, even if only as a friend. She didn’t much care for being sick, but it did bring the two a little closer together.
Sunday, L’Kas awoke to his alarm. 1230, on the dot. He spent the first half of his day checking up on and looking after Rakhi. The woman was easy to read, but she wasn’t naive. That suggested to L’Kas that she was easy to read on purpose. He “read” something interesting, too. She seemed to like him, even though they only knew each other for less than a week. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. The cynical part of his mind told him she was using him for something, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially after yesterday’s talk. He acknowledged the cynicism, let it speak its piece, but put it on the back burner.
After an hour or so of flying, L’Kas felt a presence behind him. Rakhi must’ve been feeling good enough to join him in the cockpit. L’Kas turned his head toward her and said, “Just about halfway there. Still feel up to it?”
“Keep going.” she responded, “I’m up for it if you are.”
L’Kas focused his view back to the front. When the computer signaled a full tank, L’Kas turned the ship toward the next star, throttled up, and charged up the FSD. In fifteen seconds, the stars began to coalesce and warp together as they breached the barrier into witchspace. He repeated the routine several times before Rakhi spoke up while fuel scooping on yet another class M red dwarf.
“L’kas,” she began with an uncharacteristically low tone, “you’ve told me this trip is important to you and even told me why, but not in detail. I won’t try to force it, but I think you taking care of me yesterday has brought us a little closer together.” She paused as she thought of where this train of thought was even going. “I guess… I guess I just wanted to let you know that if you want or need to talk, I’m here, and I’ll listen.”
L’Kas continued his routine for a minute or two while he absorbed Rakhi’s words. What he thought he read really was what he read. She wouldn’t have made an offer like that if she didn’t like him in some real way. He kept an eye on his flying, as well as fuel gauge, but he spoke. “Izumi and I, we’re actually pretty similar.” he began, his voice low and somber. This was the first time he was opening up in person, as he’d already explained his past in his logs.
“You know the hand I was given, and that it was rough. If it weren’t for Elizabeth, I wouldn’t have been able to stay in the orphanage as long as I did. They would’ve kicked me out. Or sent me to some behavioral adjustment camp. When Izumi adopted me, It was the happiest day of my life. I was lucky, compared to her. The hand she was given was worse than mine, but she made it through sheer determination and self-teaching. What she taught me, she had to first teach herself.”
Rakhi listened without comment. L’Kas was opening up to her, and she wasn’t about to ruin it. She moved her hand from the chair to his shoulder and gave a supportive squeeze. He continued, and she thought she saw a slight nod of thanks.
“If she couldn’t have taught herself how to cope with the hand she was dealt, Izumi told me she likely would’ve ended up as a Reaver, killing for the sake of killing. Like me, she disliked Humanity as a whole, but acknowledged that there are exceptions.” He looked back at Rakhi, and she saw it in his eyes. His look said, “You’re one of those exceptions.” She nodded, to tell L’Kas that he didn’t have to say it, she read it clear as day.
“Like Izumi, I dislike Humanity as a whole, but I know there are exceptions. And I’ll deal with people within society’s rules, even if I don’t particularly like the individual. Also Like Izumi, If I hadn’t been taught to control my emotions, I’d wind up a Reaver at worst, or convicted criminal at best.”
“Wow.” Rakhi shook her head. “You really were dealt a rough hand, huh?”
“It depends on how you look at it. At first, yeah. But I got help and now, while I may be stand-offish and cynical, I am still a functioning member of society, able to see and follow society’s rules. So in the end, things did work out.”
“Well, I’m glad things worked out for you, despite everything you’ve been through.”
“Hell, I’m not even done. When Izumi died, I fell deeper into the pit of depression she helped me climb out of. I was in a bad way. Meditation cooled my anger, but did nothing to stem the tide of suicidal thoughts. I had just lost the best support I thought I’d ever have, and was willing to throw in the towel. I may tend to think rationally and realistically, but I do actually believe in the concept of Luck. Elizabeth just happened to call when I was having a particularly bad time. Somehow she had heard about what happened and wanted to know if I was okay. I was her little brother, and despite her harsh attempts to control me, she loved me. Loves me.
“That woman was willing to, and did, put her own finally decent life on hold to take care of her little brother in his time of need. By that time, Elizabeth had a husband, a kid, and a good job and she was willing to pause all of it for the solid month it took for me to make my way out of that hole enough to not actively pursue suicide.”
L’Kas made another jump before he continued. “I don’t have that kind of support anymore. Izumi’s dead, and I won’t ask Elizabeth to drop her life again to rescue me. Which is why I need to figure my life out. Make some sort of plan, or find a cause to support, or something. Find a reason to live. A lot of people use a form of divination to help them figure things out, so I figured that maybe it could work for me.”
Another couple jumps passed in silence. Rakhi squeezed L’Kas’ shoulder again as she absorbed his words. This is why this trip is so important to him, she thought. And maybe this is why we found each other. Rakhi wasn’t usually so superstitious, but maybe there was something they could equate to Fate, and maybe this Fate brought her to L’Kas for a reason. A reason Rakhi was pretty sure she knew, now that L’Kas had opened up this much.
“Maybe you do have that support still.”
L’Kas looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“You said yourself that you believe in the concept of Luck. Well isn’t that just a precursor to Fate, the way Jealousy is often the precursor to Greed? What if, and hear me out, what if you and I were fated to meet? I know it sounds irrational and there’s no scientific basis for the concept of Fate, but think about it. Maybe I was fated to drift into your ship so that you could have some support in your life. What I’m saying, L’Kas, is that I’m willing to let you lean on me when you need to. We’ve only known each other for several days, but that doesn’t mean I can’t offer to help you. I’d like to consider you a friend, and I would let you consider me a friend, and friends help each other.”
L’Kas was stunned by Rakhi’s offer and reasoning. He shook his head to clear it. “Rakhi, first, thank you. I really appreciate the offer, and yes, I’d also like to think of you as a friend. But I can’t in good conscience burden you like that.”
“What If I don’t see it as a burden?”
“It’s a bigger commitment than you realize. I’ve been down that hole twice, Rakhi.”
She cut him off. “But you got out of it.”
“With a lot of help. Again, Elizabeth had to put her life on hold for a month just to get me well enough to where I wasn’t seriously considering giving in to my suicidal thoughts. If it weren’t for her, I’d have killed myself long ago. You’d have to go where I go. Put your career and your life on the same path as mine. Again, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I can’t ask you to wait on me like that.”
Rakhi folded her arms across her chest. “Why not?”
“You have your own life, and you deserve to live it the way you want to live it. I don’t deserve that kind of attention. I don’t deserve that kind of devotion.”
Rakhi gave a look of overly exaggerated indignance. “You’re right, I do have my own life, but the truth is that I’m just as lost as you, just without the depression. You know why I decided to go exploring?”
L’Kas shook his head. “No, why?”
“I went exploring to see what was out here. That’s it. No design, no grand plan, no set destination. No direction for my life, no path to head down, no goals to shoot for. I’m sure I could find something eventually, but then again, I just did.”
“And that would be?”
“Support you. I’m willing to go where you go. Follow you, sit in the co-pilot’s chair, combine our career paths. So, it’ll be a one-way street for a while. I really don’t mind, to be honest.”
L’Kas was silent for a while. Rakhi seemed to know exactly what she was getting herself into, but she made the offer so quickly that L’Kas wasn’t so sure. He had to be sure. “I’m just trying to tell you what you’d be getting yourself into. Even as controlled as it is, my mind is pretty high-maintenance.”
Rakhi put her hand back on his shoulder. “Trust me, I know full well what I’m offering. I found out at some point in highschool that I need someone to take care of. Someone who isn’t so self-sufficient or put together that I feel unchallenged. I like to be challenged by my partner. With you, it’ll be a challenge to keep you out of that hole of yours. And from what you’ve said, it could likely be a life-long challenge, no matter how close we become.
“I know that it’s likely that I’ll have to pull you away from the edge many times, and that I’ll have to be able to stay sane myself throughout it. I know there could come a day where I walk or float into a room and find that gun in your mouth, or that knife against your wrists. I know it’ll upset me to see you like that, and that I’ll have to weather those storms for your sake as well as mine. I know that I could walk in and see you mere seconds away from death and have to save you. I know all that. I see that you need someone to take care of you, and I’m offering to be that someone, even if it’s for the rest of our lives. I feel like we ran into each other for a reason. It may be luck, it may be fate, it may be random chance. But you need someone to take care of you, and I want someone to take care of. Besides, I owe you my life, and this is how I want to repay you.”
L’Kas put his hand on Rakhi’s. She knew what she was doing, far better than L’Kas thought she did. “Alright,” he said, “I guess that settles that. I really do appreciate this, Rakhi. This’ll be tough. Meditation doesn’t always work for me. Nonetheless, I’m glad you’ll be here when I need you. And I will need you.”
“And I’ll be here. On a lighter subject, how far out are we?”
L’Kas moved his hand back to the flight stick. He was glad for the change in subject, but was also glad the previous subject came up. It seemed he now had a copilot for life. They’d need a bigger ship. “About eleven thousand lightyears from home. Just about halfway. Give me another day and we’ll be on the downhill slope.”
-----
L’Kas woke up to the sound of heavy coughing in his quarters. He checked the time, 0836. He’d only gotten four hours of sleep. Usually, that amount of noise wouldn’t have bothered him, as he was used to the louder constant sounds of a station’s docking bay. But then he wasn’t usually carrying a passenger. L’Kas disengaged the straps on his pilot’s chair and pushed off toward the back. He knocked on the door to his quarters and asked, “You okay in there?”
“Yeah, I’m…” Rakhi was interrupted by a another fit of coughs, punctuated by a pained expletive.
“Far be it from me to tell you how you’re feeling, but that doesn’t sound good.”
“Just a cold. I’m *cough* fine.”
That was what she said. But after several hours of looking after her, L’Kas knew Rakhi wasn’t doing well. According to the medical scanner, it was just a particularly bad rhinovirus, so nothing life-threatening. Coughing, sore throat, stuffy head, body aches, the usual. But Rakhi couldn’t even get out of the 0-G bag, let alone stop her momentum against a bulkhead, she hurt so much.
As L’Kas delivered another bag of gelatinous fluids, Rakhi gave a pathetic scoff. “I guess the stress of being in that damned pod for days on end caught up with me. Maybe we ought to power our fsd’s with that, huh?”
L’Kas gave an amused chuckle. “I can see the ads now. ‘All new from Lakon Spaceways! Stress-driven Frame Shift Drives! Get yours today, and you can go to Sagittarius A* and back in hours, instead of days! And remember: If you’re not stressed, It’s not working!’”
Rakhi gave a weak smile then doubled over in yet another coughing fit. L’Kas had already inoculated himself and gave Rakhi some medicine, so he knew she’d be okay. No need to turn back, as she didn’t need a hospital. Again, Lady Luck was favoring the two of them.
L’Kas stayed by Rakhi’s bedside to give her company. The two gave each other more details of their lives and pasts. Rakhi seemed to be quite a bit luckier than L’Kas, as she had a good upbringing by decently wealthy parents and got into good schools for her childhood education and later pilot training. She was able to experience life much more fully than L’Kas. He envied her, but he didn’t begrudge her. Everybody is different, and these two people turned out to be similar, despite totally different upbringings.
L’Kas didn’t go into much details, and tended to focus on the good times, but Rakhi could tell he was holding back. To her, that meant he didn’t fully trust her. She didn’t feel insulted by it, but she now knew that L’Kas’ trust was not easy to earn. And she wanted to earn it, but she wouldn’t try to force it. She was one who was fairly open, outgoing, and made herself fairly easy to read, but L’Kas obviously played his hand close to his chest and shared only what he wanted to. Despite only knowing the man for several days, Rakhi wanted to be someone he could lean on, even if only as a friend. She didn’t much care for being sick, but it did bring the two a little closer together.
Sunday, L’Kas awoke to his alarm. 1230, on the dot. He spent the first half of his day checking up on and looking after Rakhi. The woman was easy to read, but she wasn’t naive. That suggested to L’Kas that she was easy to read on purpose. He “read” something interesting, too. She seemed to like him, even though they only knew each other for less than a week. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. The cynical part of his mind told him she was using him for something, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially after yesterday’s talk. He acknowledged the cynicism, let it speak its piece, but put it on the back burner.
After an hour or so of flying, L’Kas felt a presence behind him. Rakhi must’ve been feeling good enough to join him in the cockpit. L’Kas turned his head toward her and said, “Just about halfway there. Still feel up to it?”
“Keep going.” she responded, “I’m up for it if you are.”
L’Kas focused his view back to the front. When the computer signaled a full tank, L’Kas turned the ship toward the next star, throttled up, and charged up the FSD. In fifteen seconds, the stars began to coalesce and warp together as they breached the barrier into witchspace. He repeated the routine several times before Rakhi spoke up while fuel scooping on yet another class M red dwarf.
“L’kas,” she began with an uncharacteristically low tone, “you’ve told me this trip is important to you and even told me why, but not in detail. I won’t try to force it, but I think you taking care of me yesterday has brought us a little closer together.” She paused as she thought of where this train of thought was even going. “I guess… I guess I just wanted to let you know that if you want or need to talk, I’m here, and I’ll listen.”
L’Kas continued his routine for a minute or two while he absorbed Rakhi’s words. What he thought he read really was what he read. She wouldn’t have made an offer like that if she didn’t like him in some real way. He kept an eye on his flying, as well as fuel gauge, but he spoke. “Izumi and I, we’re actually pretty similar.” he began, his voice low and somber. This was the first time he was opening up in person, as he’d already explained his past in his logs.
“You know the hand I was given, and that it was rough. If it weren’t for Elizabeth, I wouldn’t have been able to stay in the orphanage as long as I did. They would’ve kicked me out. Or sent me to some behavioral adjustment camp. When Izumi adopted me, It was the happiest day of my life. I was lucky, compared to her. The hand she was given was worse than mine, but she made it through sheer determination and self-teaching. What she taught me, she had to first teach herself.”
Rakhi listened without comment. L’Kas was opening up to her, and she wasn’t about to ruin it. She moved her hand from the chair to his shoulder and gave a supportive squeeze. He continued, and she thought she saw a slight nod of thanks.
“If she couldn’t have taught herself how to cope with the hand she was dealt, Izumi told me she likely would’ve ended up as a Reaver, killing for the sake of killing. Like me, she disliked Humanity as a whole, but acknowledged that there are exceptions.” He looked back at Rakhi, and she saw it in his eyes. His look said, “You’re one of those exceptions.” She nodded, to tell L’Kas that he didn’t have to say it, she read it clear as day.
“Like Izumi, I dislike Humanity as a whole, but I know there are exceptions. And I’ll deal with people within society’s rules, even if I don’t particularly like the individual. Also Like Izumi, If I hadn’t been taught to control my emotions, I’d wind up a Reaver at worst, or convicted criminal at best.”
“Wow.” Rakhi shook her head. “You really were dealt a rough hand, huh?”
“It depends on how you look at it. At first, yeah. But I got help and now, while I may be stand-offish and cynical, I am still a functioning member of society, able to see and follow society’s rules. So in the end, things did work out.”
“Well, I’m glad things worked out for you, despite everything you’ve been through.”
“Hell, I’m not even done. When Izumi died, I fell deeper into the pit of depression she helped me climb out of. I was in a bad way. Meditation cooled my anger, but did nothing to stem the tide of suicidal thoughts. I had just lost the best support I thought I’d ever have, and was willing to throw in the towel. I may tend to think rationally and realistically, but I do actually believe in the concept of Luck. Elizabeth just happened to call when I was having a particularly bad time. Somehow she had heard about what happened and wanted to know if I was okay. I was her little brother, and despite her harsh attempts to control me, she loved me. Loves me.
“That woman was willing to, and did, put her own finally decent life on hold to take care of her little brother in his time of need. By that time, Elizabeth had a husband, a kid, and a good job and she was willing to pause all of it for the solid month it took for me to make my way out of that hole enough to not actively pursue suicide.”
L’Kas made another jump before he continued. “I don’t have that kind of support anymore. Izumi’s dead, and I won’t ask Elizabeth to drop her life again to rescue me. Which is why I need to figure my life out. Make some sort of plan, or find a cause to support, or something. Find a reason to live. A lot of people use a form of divination to help them figure things out, so I figured that maybe it could work for me.”
Another couple jumps passed in silence. Rakhi squeezed L’Kas’ shoulder again as she absorbed his words. This is why this trip is so important to him, she thought. And maybe this is why we found each other. Rakhi wasn’t usually so superstitious, but maybe there was something they could equate to Fate, and maybe this Fate brought her to L’Kas for a reason. A reason Rakhi was pretty sure she knew, now that L’Kas had opened up this much.
“Maybe you do have that support still.”
L’Kas looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“You said yourself that you believe in the concept of Luck. Well isn’t that just a precursor to Fate, the way Jealousy is often the precursor to Greed? What if, and hear me out, what if you and I were fated to meet? I know it sounds irrational and there’s no scientific basis for the concept of Fate, but think about it. Maybe I was fated to drift into your ship so that you could have some support in your life. What I’m saying, L’Kas, is that I’m willing to let you lean on me when you need to. We’ve only known each other for several days, but that doesn’t mean I can’t offer to help you. I’d like to consider you a friend, and I would let you consider me a friend, and friends help each other.”
L’Kas was stunned by Rakhi’s offer and reasoning. He shook his head to clear it. “Rakhi, first, thank you. I really appreciate the offer, and yes, I’d also like to think of you as a friend. But I can’t in good conscience burden you like that.”
“What If I don’t see it as a burden?”
“It’s a bigger commitment than you realize. I’ve been down that hole twice, Rakhi.”
She cut him off. “But you got out of it.”
“With a lot of help. Again, Elizabeth had to put her life on hold for a month just to get me well enough to where I wasn’t seriously considering giving in to my suicidal thoughts. If it weren’t for her, I’d have killed myself long ago. You’d have to go where I go. Put your career and your life on the same path as mine. Again, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I can’t ask you to wait on me like that.”
Rakhi folded her arms across her chest. “Why not?”
“You have your own life, and you deserve to live it the way you want to live it. I don’t deserve that kind of attention. I don’t deserve that kind of devotion.”
Rakhi gave a look of overly exaggerated indignance. “You’re right, I do have my own life, but the truth is that I’m just as lost as you, just without the depression. You know why I decided to go exploring?”
L’Kas shook his head. “No, why?”
“I went exploring to see what was out here. That’s it. No design, no grand plan, no set destination. No direction for my life, no path to head down, no goals to shoot for. I’m sure I could find something eventually, but then again, I just did.”
“And that would be?”
“Support you. I’m willing to go where you go. Follow you, sit in the co-pilot’s chair, combine our career paths. So, it’ll be a one-way street for a while. I really don’t mind, to be honest.”
L’Kas was silent for a while. Rakhi seemed to know exactly what she was getting herself into, but she made the offer so quickly that L’Kas wasn’t so sure. He had to be sure. “I’m just trying to tell you what you’d be getting yourself into. Even as controlled as it is, my mind is pretty high-maintenance.”
Rakhi put her hand back on his shoulder. “Trust me, I know full well what I’m offering. I found out at some point in highschool that I need someone to take care of. Someone who isn’t so self-sufficient or put together that I feel unchallenged. I like to be challenged by my partner. With you, it’ll be a challenge to keep you out of that hole of yours. And from what you’ve said, it could likely be a life-long challenge, no matter how close we become.
“I know that it’s likely that I’ll have to pull you away from the edge many times, and that I’ll have to be able to stay sane myself throughout it. I know there could come a day where I walk or float into a room and find that gun in your mouth, or that knife against your wrists. I know it’ll upset me to see you like that, and that I’ll have to weather those storms for your sake as well as mine. I know that I could walk in and see you mere seconds away from death and have to save you. I know all that. I see that you need someone to take care of you, and I’m offering to be that someone, even if it’s for the rest of our lives. I feel like we ran into each other for a reason. It may be luck, it may be fate, it may be random chance. But you need someone to take care of you, and I want someone to take care of. Besides, I owe you my life, and this is how I want to repay you.”
L’Kas put his hand on Rakhi’s. She knew what she was doing, far better than L’Kas thought she did. “Alright,” he said, “I guess that settles that. I really do appreciate this, Rakhi. This’ll be tough. Meditation doesn’t always work for me. Nonetheless, I’m glad you’ll be here when I need you. And I will need you.”
“And I’ll be here. On a lighter subject, how far out are we?”
L’Kas moved his hand back to the flight stick. He was glad for the change in subject, but was also glad the previous subject came up. It seemed he now had a copilot for life. They’d need a bigger ship. “About eleven thousand lightyears from home. Just about halfway. Give me another day and we’ll be on the downhill slope.”
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L'Kas Rykr
- Mostly Harmless
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:35 pm
- CMDR: L'Kas Rykr
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Re: Just another pilot's story with some added drama
Fair warning, This one's quite sappy.
-----
L’Kas came out of his meditation as Rakhi entered the cockpit. She didn’t disturb him, he coincidentally ended his cycle as she floated in. “Rakhi, we need to talk.” he said.
“Oh? What about?” Rakhi was surprised her pilot knew she was there.
“Us.” L’Kas spoke simply. So much so that Rakhi started to worry a bit.
“What about ‘us’?”
L’Kas turned toward her and took a deep breath. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. They’d been sharing this small ship for the last week and a half at least. “I know that you’re willing to support me, and that you’re willing to go all the way in order to do so. Well, I’ve been thinking about that while meditating. Rakhi,” he paused, not exactly sure how to work up to the question burning in his mind and heart.
Rakhi saw L’Kas’ nervousness. She doubted anyone but her would, except maybe his sister. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable and risk him closing off. She had an idea of what he wanted to say, but she’d let him say it when he was ready to. All she did was put a hand on his arm.
L’Kas closed his eyes to pick hick his words. He felt her hand on his arm and let out a small smile. Without opening his eyes, he continued. “Rakhi, I love you. I’m in love with you. We’ve known each other for a little more than a week, but I feel so drawn to you.” He opened his eyes to stare into hers. “If you’ll have me, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. And to make that official. Will you marry me?”
Rakhi couldn’t help the smile spreading across her lips as L’Kas worked out his thoughts. She could tell that the weight of his love for her was almost as massive as the black hole outside the canopy. He must have gotten what he needed from this massive cosmic phenomenon. As soon as the words left his lips, Rakhi replaced those words with her lips. When she broke the kiss, she said one word, quietly, and attached all the feeling she could to it. “Yes.”
One word. One word was all it would take to either save him, or destroy him. L’Kas hated the fact that his life hinged on one of two possible words. He wasn’t prepared for the kiss, but accepted it all the same. He listened and watched Rakhi’s lips intently. It seemed like hours were passing. His heart was threatening to make him deaf as it tried to burst out of his chest, every beat a trip-hammer blow. “Yes.”
He thought he imagined it. Then he saw the smile on her face. She really said yes. Rakhi probably didn’t know it, but she just saved his life with that one, deceptively heavy word. A smile sprang to L’Kas’ lips as the reality dawned on him. Rakhi really was willing to go so far as to marry him if he needed it. His smile faded, and Rakhi was quick on the uptake.
“L’Kas, I told you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you well. I love you, too, and I don’t want you to be unhappy. I know it’ll be one-sided for a while, but I also know that despite your struggles, you’ll give me everything you can. And I’ll tell you this right now, L’Kas: All I need in return is your heart. I know how much love is in there, and that you can’t possibly get it all out, and that’s fine. If I have your heart, I have all the love you could ever give me. Okay?” She moved closer as she spoke, and prompted him to hold her. When she finished, she looked into his eyes to see if he understood. L’Kas nodded. “You have it.” He could barely get the words out through the lump in his throat.
Rakhi just made L’Kas one of the happiest men in the galaxy. The sheer weight of it threatened to overwhelm him, as he’d known nothing but sorrow, anger, and despair for most of his life. He nearly broke down, but he took a deep, steadying breath. “I love you, Rakhi.”
“I love you,too, L’Kas.”
-----
L’Kas came out of his meditation as Rakhi entered the cockpit. She didn’t disturb him, he coincidentally ended his cycle as she floated in. “Rakhi, we need to talk.” he said.
“Oh? What about?” Rakhi was surprised her pilot knew she was there.
“Us.” L’Kas spoke simply. So much so that Rakhi started to worry a bit.
“What about ‘us’?”
L’Kas turned toward her and took a deep breath. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. They’d been sharing this small ship for the last week and a half at least. “I know that you’re willing to support me, and that you’re willing to go all the way in order to do so. Well, I’ve been thinking about that while meditating. Rakhi,” he paused, not exactly sure how to work up to the question burning in his mind and heart.
Rakhi saw L’Kas’ nervousness. She doubted anyone but her would, except maybe his sister. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable and risk him closing off. She had an idea of what he wanted to say, but she’d let him say it when he was ready to. All she did was put a hand on his arm.
L’Kas closed his eyes to pick hick his words. He felt her hand on his arm and let out a small smile. Without opening his eyes, he continued. “Rakhi, I love you. I’m in love with you. We’ve known each other for a little more than a week, but I feel so drawn to you.” He opened his eyes to stare into hers. “If you’ll have me, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. And to make that official. Will you marry me?”
Rakhi couldn’t help the smile spreading across her lips as L’Kas worked out his thoughts. She could tell that the weight of his love for her was almost as massive as the black hole outside the canopy. He must have gotten what he needed from this massive cosmic phenomenon. As soon as the words left his lips, Rakhi replaced those words with her lips. When she broke the kiss, she said one word, quietly, and attached all the feeling she could to it. “Yes.”
One word. One word was all it would take to either save him, or destroy him. L’Kas hated the fact that his life hinged on one of two possible words. He wasn’t prepared for the kiss, but accepted it all the same. He listened and watched Rakhi’s lips intently. It seemed like hours were passing. His heart was threatening to make him deaf as it tried to burst out of his chest, every beat a trip-hammer blow. “Yes.”
He thought he imagined it. Then he saw the smile on her face. She really said yes. Rakhi probably didn’t know it, but she just saved his life with that one, deceptively heavy word. A smile sprang to L’Kas’ lips as the reality dawned on him. Rakhi really was willing to go so far as to marry him if he needed it. His smile faded, and Rakhi was quick on the uptake.
“L’Kas, I told you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you well. I love you, too, and I don’t want you to be unhappy. I know it’ll be one-sided for a while, but I also know that despite your struggles, you’ll give me everything you can. And I’ll tell you this right now, L’Kas: All I need in return is your heart. I know how much love is in there, and that you can’t possibly get it all out, and that’s fine. If I have your heart, I have all the love you could ever give me. Okay?” She moved closer as she spoke, and prompted him to hold her. When she finished, she looked into his eyes to see if he understood. L’Kas nodded. “You have it.” He could barely get the words out through the lump in his throat.
Rakhi just made L’Kas one of the happiest men in the galaxy. The sheer weight of it threatened to overwhelm him, as he’d known nothing but sorrow, anger, and despair for most of his life. He nearly broke down, but he took a deep, steadying breath. “I love you, Rakhi.”
“I love you,too, L’Kas.”
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