Session Twelve: Escape

Memory transcription 4621:
 
Silence…….
 
Darkness………..
 
Time is meaningless with no reference to denote its passing.
 
And then…….
 
The faintest light, a mere candle but blazing in the dark.
 
Whispers shouting in the silence.
 
I latch onto the first mind that I have encountered since my isolation, my imprisonment.
 
Perhaps too strongly I reach into this mind, this person. A barrage of information overwhelms me and I feel as though, if for only a moment, we become one. An instant later I wrench our minds apart, leaving behind a plea for aid.
 
The sound of glass breaking heralds a return of the world around me and I am met with chaos, a siren blares and I am surrounded by tension and argument. It is dangerous here but I do not know where ‘here’ is or how to leave. The only choice is to follow my rescuer and hope that she leads me to safety.
 
We move through corridors and 1 member stays behind, I feel resignation and the sense of a sacrifice. Fear and grief radiate from those around me. An explosion sends my companions sprawling and I am pushed by the blast, a quick inspection reveals that I have sustained no serious harm.
 
We arrive at a scene of pandemonium as a large gathering of sentients fight to move through a portal. Were they to que and remain calm the loss of life could be minimised. How wasteful.
 
My mind is drawn to the grief of my saviour, and its relation to that of a companion. a smaller lupine figure, whose mind is young in form but seems heavy with the grief of a lifetime. I see a memory of recording a message that has not reached all who it addresses, and send it to the one who has yet to hear it.
 
 
Transport arrives and I follow my saviour.
 
We arrive at an opulent residence and I engage in conversation with Starlene who I learn is referred to as the captain, I am optimistic that this means she has access to a starship. I introduce myself and we are addressed by a very rude individual, who seems to not regard me as sentient. Though I try to persuade him that I am not a threat and am capable of conducting myself in a respectable manner, he insists I not meet “her”. I find a suitable refreshment station and wait for my companions to return, what else am I to do? Though I am unable to experience what happens through any technological avenues, Stralene later shares with me these following memories of the events that take place in my absence.
 
*I was expecting Her to be angry about us blowing up the lab. I had been prepared to explain how we had no choice, but I didn’t have to. She let that go surprisingly quickly, saying at least the Imperium won’t work with her rival lord again anytime soon, then sent Gnarrgong’s crew out so she could speak with Iylrar, Chief and I alone. I tried to convince Adhza to stay with us, but once again, he followed his captain. I hated to let him go, but short of physically restraining the kid, I couldn’t see much I could do about it.
I was not prepared for the conversation that came next.
 
She wanted to know who grew the spopium we brought with us. Or, more specifically, “which of those stupid farmers let the Duke know about this operation”.
 
She said whoever did it would be punished.
 
I was terrified. There’s nothing I fear more than my family being hurt, especially because of my actions.
 
So I lied to Her.
 
I stuck with our original story about getting the crates from the Duke and having no idea what was in them.
She accused me of “playing dumb”, then asked Iylrar to “make it make sense”.
I can only assume the grief and shock of the day’s events made it hard for Iylrar to think rationally. I’ve behaved in really, really stupid ways while grieving, so I don’t blame her for it. But that didn’t change the way my blood ran cold as she said the words “we’re not with the Duke”.
I cut in and told Her we hadn’t signed a contract with the Duke, just agreed to do this job for him.
 
She clearly didn’t believe us. She even told us she was considering killing all of Walston’s farmers and replacing them.
She’d better have been fucking bluffing.
I don’t know how I managed to stay calm. I certainly didn’t manage that last time someone threatened my family, although those circumstances were quite different…
I pointed out the impracticality of killing all the farmers, and told her nothing had to change. I told her the people of Walston were proud, and stubborn, and she was better off earning their loyalty by keeping them happy than trying to break them.
 
I guess I learned a few valuable lessons from my former mentor after all, no matter how much that thought sickens me.
 
Chief then started going on about how She should intervene more in Walston society, because the people would be happier if they weren’t constrained by the planet’s strict gender roles.
 
While I was surprised and impressed by his commitment to feminism… I wished he’d stop fucking talking.
 
I said I didn’t think intervention in Walston society was necessary, as most people are happy on Walston.
 
It’s not a lie, exactly. Brainwashed people can still feel happy.
 
She didn’t seem to give a fuck about how happy the people of Walston were, anyway.
 
Somehow, she let us leave without any further questioning. I had been half expecting to find myself in another windowless room with a metal table and a trolley of surgical tools, only I doubted I’d be lucky enough to walk out unharmed this time.
 
Honestly, I probably would’ve preferred having a few teeth or fingernails ripped out over the way she called me by my first name as we left.
 
I never gave her my name.
 
Fuck.
 
If she’d figured out who I was, it wouldn’t be much of a leap to figure out who I was protecting.*
 
I experience a confrontation between the one whom I shared the recorded message with and a larger lupine figure, later revealed to me as Gnarrgong. The smaller one is pushed to the ground and left by the group of similar sentients. I reach out to him and provide reassurance.
 
My saviour and the rest of my companions return, again we take transportation now to a much larger vehicle. This is the kind of vehicle that will help me achieve my mission. Now I may truly be a wanderer among the stars.
 
Starlene addresses me again now and asks about the discrimination that we are subject to, I assure her that our communication is strictly consensual and that I will not “go prodding around their brains”. I interrogate a peacekeeping synthetic and learn that I am on Theev, 18 parsecs from my home cluster. The knowledge that the empire was willing to experiment on me with a deadly pathogen is troubling and the implications for what it could mean for us are catastrophic. I will be sharing this memory with any friends I come across on my travels.
 
We ascend into the void only to again dock at the orbital spaceport, though I am beginning to glean a semblance of context from my companions. I know not why we are here, nevertheless I follow them to a medical complex much like the one where my implants were administered. A frantic lupine sentient with cybernetic eyes greets Starlene and an aggressive discussion ensues. Many words and accusations are lobbed and another human sentient joins in. Although I lack context for this encounter, I can tell that something or someone that is not present has upset all involved. The one referred to as “her”.
 
Our injured companion stays at the facility and we make our way to an alcohol dispensary where I am delighted to procure some beer. The one referred to as “chief” asks for some financial aid and though I do not have much I am quick to offer him what support I can. If I am to be a surprise guest then let me be a welcome one. We rendezvous back at the star ship and prepare to venture out into the void.
 
We encounter a violent exchange between two space vessels on our journey to the jump mark and wisely decide to avoid becoming engaged. Though I am sure my companions are capable I lend my aid to the jump process and shortly after we enter jump space.
 
There are several exchanges between the ones called Adzha and Mary but they are mediated by Starlene and nothing serious comes to pass. I spend the next week building rapport with the crew and Starlene access if I intend to become a member of the ship, I assure her that I will be a valuable member and she agrees to bring me along.