Trouble in the voids between the living
24 May 2021D. James Totendost
The gaps in what I refer to as "living" are often ear-marked by apathy, malaise, or general disconnection from ones' mind. In a larger sense though it can also be defined by the vacuum that exists between points of matter. I also consider the sort-of luminous aether which makes up the mostly intangible mediums, from thought to digital data, as a void as well. The space between where the occasional electron passes en route to perform some function which could be considered 'living'. When something moves into that space and acts with malice of forethought by manipulating a creatures' well-being, the vacuum's properties, or the electrons' pathing there is a discord that takes hold and chokes those nearby into a state of complacency which can be defined by the silencing of complaint. A sickening and begrudging silence made of under-the-breath grumbling. When all that clears up are we the same or did we lose something and begin working at some fraction other than our previous whole? Something like a virus, called "Blue Cobra", hit the GalNet pretty hard and put several of us on the outs during critical stages of operations. We lost a couple recruits planet-side when their systems failed mid-operation. I was among those in our ranks who found themselves drifting in space after a particularly jarring drop from supercruise. One of our flagships went dark, apparently a station almost fell out of orbit, and a contact of ours with Aegis said that it may have been responsible for the failure in equipment which allowed the 'goids to track the Alexandria. When the net came back on they pushed an update and suddenly, though shakily, I had control of all my systems again. I grounded the 242 at their current locations and authorized an emergency credit stipend from financials for as long as it takes to make sure nobody else falls prey to gravity.
Meanwhile, the Alliance languishes politics, the Feds and the Empire contort their people while posturing for war, and all I can do is check out mentally. I just have to wonder what I'll do after the chaos settles back into a routine and if I'll be left intact. Regardless of what happens I'm going to make sure to build my people back up. The least I can do is ensure they get more emergency gliding and landing training.
