Preface: I write this story from two perspectives. Of course, only one of them is mine. The other belongs to an old enemy from Ushra'Khan. I hope I haven't broken any taboos by writing as someone else.
Two Ships in the Dark
Part One
I saw this person yesterday--I was making my way towards the marketplace and as I pushed my way through a clot of people I noticed her...she was an island of stillness in a sea of heaving humanity. That's what made her stand out. She just sat there looking out into space. I resolved to talk to her if she was still there after I met with my buyer. As I haggled with the mangle-faced Sebestior my thoughts kept returning to the woman at the window. I couldn't see her face except for a hazy reflection but there was something in her eyes...perhaps I had imagined it. Refocussing on my buyer I made my final offer.
"Look, if you can find another Coreli B-Type microwarp in this size then maybe you should go buy it--'cause I can tell you that I will find another buyer. 9 million ISK. Final offer."
Well, he walked. I was a little mad but it passed. I quickly arranged a meeting with another buyer while I sat at the bar. He said he would meet me in a half hour. Finishing my drink, I ordered two more gy'nan tonix--one for me and one for her.
She was still standing at the window looking out at the stars. Her eyes were motionless; I would have thought her dead except there was a tiny spot of condensation from her breath on the window...the biggest in the whole Ealurian Citadel.
"Mind some company?" I asked in my smoothest voice.
"Is that drink for me?" Her accent suprised me. I'd figured she was Gallente by the transparent clothing, but her voice betrayed only the smallest hint of Federation accent.
"It sure is" I said, handing to her. She reached around with her opposite arm to take it, maintaining her position at the window as she took a sip.
"Umm" she said in appreciation. "This reminds me of a drink I used to enjoy as a child. Minus the alcohol, of course. Thanks."
"So, what do you see out there?" I asked.
"I see space, neverending and in abundance. And I feel time, eternally limited. The two are inextricably linked despite their contrary natures."
"Are you sure you aren't Amarrian?" I asked in jest.
"Yes. I'm from Lirsautton." She punctuated the statement with a sip from her drink. A Jin-Mei. That explains the accent.
"You're a long way from Everyshore!" I exclaimed.
"I couldn't find a place far enough from Lirsautton in Gallente space. I lingered for a time in Rens, but the Brutor taste for reven...um, expedited justice started to change me, and not for the better...no offense." She tipped the beverage back, finishing it off before she handed the glass back to me.
"I must be going. Perhaps we will meet again." I was going to stop her, and find out her name but as I turned I saw my next appointment. As much as I like the ladies, I like the ISK more. ISK will get you women. It doesn't work so well the other way around.
Part Two
He was cute for a Brutor, and well mannered but he had these facial tattoos (eew!) and I have things I need to attend to. Space is without limit, but time is the rarest jewel of all. I've got a lot of market orders to look after before I return to my true calling: Speed. Distance over time. This measures all. From the wavelength of an Amarrian Laser to the reach of a Caldari Missile, it's all about speed. How far will you get in life? How much time is left? That question echoed in my mind as I compared prices and explored the Donchian Channel. That happens to me a lot--I'll get some abstract question stuck in my head and there's only one way to get it out.
I supposed to rendevous with Achilleus but there was no way I was going join a fleet as distracted as I was. I needed to clear my head so I boarded the Masuimi Max, an Ares fit for raw speed. My snake implants were sitting toasty in a spare body I kept at Atlantis Revisited, but this wasn't going to be a serious run. I just needed to clear my head. Picking a belt at random I warped 100 Km out. I waited until I came to a full stop. Speed is nothing without its brother, acceleration.
The belt was invisible, save for a few of the most massive boulders. One was almost right in front of me. I savored the moment of weightlessness, the stillness before the motion. I let it build. The time I'd just spent training was about to be put to the test. Most people would rely on math to tell them how fast they could go. Not me.
I punch it. The Ares, made light by it's barely existant structure, leaps towards my target. For a second it seems that my tail will overtake my nose, but things settle down as I continue to pick up speed. When I get going really fast I experience a strangeness, like the axes of space begin to turn around me...space begins to become time: I move in one direction, powerless to affect my course. Simultaneously, time becomes like space: probability opens like a lotus and all my possible histories become open and navigable. The past and the future merge into the present. The asteroid crosses into my targeting range and I lock it. As soon as the lock is solid I call upon speed's cousin, maneuverability. I pass the rock at a range of 1,246 meters and pull hard into the turn that will take me into a 1k radius orbit...impossibly tight given my speed, but I want to see what my new polycarbon engine housings will let me do. That's when I see it. A vagabond has dropped out of warp just 5k away. SHIT! I should have paid more attention!
Part Three
The sale went more smoothly that expected, leaving me a little time to mess around. I saw a ship leave the station a little while ago...maybe I'll get lucky. Jumping to my sanctuary in the blackness of interplanetary space I peruse the output data from my scanner. I raise an eyebrow when amongst the clutter of asteroids and control towers I spy an Ares, all by itself. I waste no time. I come out of warp a little further away than I'd prefer, but between my jump momentum and my Vaga's natural speed I close the distance quickly.
What the hell's going on? The ares could have escaped, but instead it's barreling right at me, blasters blazing. No problem. I fire up my warp disruptor and let loose my drones. This will be done in seconds. I won't even have to use up any ammo...or maybe not. The Ares has a smartbomb fitted and my drones are badly damaged--I recall them but two get caught in a wave of plasma and explode. My ship rocks a little, those drones must have been really close to docking when they blew up. I check my targeting scanner. The ares has taken a lot of armor damage and it's rapid-firing blasters are starting to pepper my ship. Enough. My autocannons bark at the Ares but even without a microwarpdrive it's got enough speed to avoid my fire...not that it would take that much at the distance it's orbiting me. Time to end this. I align to the Ealurian Citadel and open the throttle. At first the little ship keeps up with me; cutting it's tight orbits, avoiding burst after burst. It doesn't last for long. As I pick up speed the ares' orbit becomes more and more elliptical, allowing me to get a good hit at it's perigee. One hit is all it takes...wreckage almost splatters across the stars as the little ship tears apart. The pod vainly tries to escape but I put an end to that. That'll show ya. Nobody outruns Karn Mithralia. I slow and come about. I doubt that there'll be anything in the wreckage that will compensate for the ammo and drones but at this point it's about the principal of the thing. I drift into the midst of the twisted metal and frayed composites. Overdrives (surprise!) and some Null. I scoop it up and begin to salvage, but change my mind. It's not worth the risk. That Ares pilot might have sent out an SOS and these guys from Aegis Militia want me bad. As I pull around I see something floating out there in space. I look closer and...shit! It's that girl from the window. She doesn't look so good now. Explosive decompression will do that, I guess...oh well. Time to scoot back to my hideout, cloak up and wait for the next sucker.
Part Four
The last thing I remember is that biting cold, the vacuum that makes your blood boil as it freezes. I fly down a pipe made of brilliant, luminescent colors and awake in a vat of body-temperature saline. I nearly explode from the water and suck in a huge breath. I can hear a voice, my own voice talking to me.
"So you died? Try not to be so stupid next time...and enjoy your afterlife!" Looking around I remember that I'd meant to move my clone to a station in the shieldlands. It's a long haul from Synchelle.
Space. They say it's linked to time and I couldn't agree more.
Afterword: This story is based on an actual fight between me and Karn. As a rule, he did not usually pod, but I think my hubris in attacking him when I was so outmatched made him change his policy on that occasion.
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Topic: Old Story told here for the First time (Read 816 times)