Log #26 This is my Story
11 May 2021Isabella Levine
[RETCON MATERIAL][11/05/3307]
[06:34]
[Audio Log]
[User voice identified as: Isabella Levine]
"Well. Now that the cat is officially out of the box with me burning bridges with the Empire, I guess I don't have to worry about what others might think of me once this goes public. This isn't a confession or anything if someone's thinking that, no, this is a story about myself and how I got here. Here as in born into this beautiful but hostile galaxy."
"It actually starts with a happily married couple, living on a terraformed world known for its agriculture called Ekono A1. Or as I call it, our little Garden World. The man, a loyal, stubborn as rocks, Imperial Captain and the woman, probably a caring but strict/firm woman who stuck to her morals, lived in an Imperial city. The two one day decided on bringing a child into their lives and so they tried...but as fate would have it...it didn't work out. Didn't work the first time, the second or the third. Turned out the wife was infertile. Couldn't have a baby. Obviously, this news struck hard and put the relationship into jeopardy as things began crumbling apart. The husband wanted to keep trying while the wife gave up."
"So the husband figured out an idea. Something he thought might heal the breaking marriage and give them what they wanted. A child. That child being me. You might be thinking that my father might have adopted an orphan, right? A little girl without parents and in need of an Imperial loving family. But no. That's not what he did. It had to be something out of his bloodline, something that he could control. So what my father decided to do was to pay to have a zygote cell be developed inside an artificial uterus or an exowomb with part of his own DNA within. So you know, it was his kid."
"So yeah. Nine months later and here's a little baby girl named Isabella. Me. But just before I was...artificially birthed, however that looked or went, my father eventually told my mother - his wife - what he did as if it was some...surprise or something. That bright move completely shattered the marriage and right before I was born they divorced and my mother disappeared somewhere into Alliance space. So when I was born and for my entire sheltered life, all I've known was an Imperial slave who was my caretaker that I loved dearly, and a bit of my very busy father that instead of fathering me like a normal dad, instead tried to indoctrinate me with Imperial propaganda and make me into a soldier. And it worked. At 16 I could fight, at 19 I could precision shoot with a Laser Rifle, at 20 I joined the Imperial Navy for three years after being pressured into it. Now at 25 years, I'm here, telling this to log what I learned several months ago after stumbling into my old caretaker who raised me. Bumped into her at the Rescue Megaship during the Kepler Orbital bombing. She was rescued along with others by brave Commanders out there. She's now a citizen of the Federation. Long story that she explained to me on how that became but that's her story and this is mine. During our time of reminiscing, she said a few things that caught my attention. I pulled the thread that unveiled half of what I've just told. I then confronted my father and he told me the whole story. I was brought up thinking I was a normal child without a mom and a busy father. But this truth...hurt me. Took me a while to swallow it. Took me longer to get to now and talk about it. I was worried about my reputation within the Empire but it's not like my lineage is of any significance. I'm just a little miss nobody with a father who's a Captain of a Majestic-Class Interdictor."
"Anyway, I've burned bridges with the Empire and now I just Freelance and explore. Recently I've been spending a lot of time with the Marlinist population watching the Federation and Empire claw at each other's throats. Most people don't want any kind of war but me? I think it's inevitable. It's going to happen sooner or later. Just watch. Whatever though, not my place. In a few weeks, I'm thinking on heading out into the black. Look at things and explore. Getting bored a bit here at Stillman Hub. But until then, that's all. Commander signing off."