[Roleplay] Un-Epilogue
21 Dec 2022CrazyGolm
This was originally written (by me) for the Buur Pit Community Chronicle 2022.It was a cold Saturday afternoon. The sky was overcast, and there was a good chance the rain would come again.
The man looked out over the river. He leaned against the pathway railing, deep in thought.
It was an average path along the riverside. At a glance, the man appeared undistinguished, ordinary. This is what he had chosen to be. Blending in helped him avoid trouble.
Trouble. He had faced a lot of that. Enough to make him disappear from his career. Enough to make him even now feel paranoid about returning.
It was one year since he’d taken his secret retirement. Before, he had been one of the Agency’s brightest. Now, he lived in self-imposed exile.
He had still flown occasionally, and had embarked on several adventures of his own. He had sometimes encountered Agency Commanders, but he’d still felt like he was in hiding.
In reality, he had no reason to hide. He was innocent, but he needed to convince himself of that. That, and that the Agency thought so too.
In truth, he was stronger, kinder, and more considerate than he knew.
He was also more different than he looked. He wasn’t just a Commander in disguise; he was a man of faith. His convictions and attitudes made him stand out.
The man opened his backpack and lifted out an orange Remlok pilot’s helmet. The visor was opaque. He gazed at it pensively.
To return, or not?
For a moment, he pondered what would happen if he threw the helmet into the water.
But only for a moment.
Placing the helmet over his head, and fastening it to his undergarment flight-suit, the man acted with resolve. Though his mind was still turbulent, he had made his decision.
Rolling up his raincoat sleeve, the man tapped an InSight wristpad. A brief blink of multiple yellow-orange lights came from the water below, illuminating a large snake-head silhouette. Above him, light was beginning to break through gaps in the clouds. The sun was coming out after all.
He readied himself for what he was about to do.
He could return on his own terms.
There had been too much bad blood.
It was about time he let go of it.
“I can’t do this.” he thought.
He could do this.
He took a last breath, just in case the helmet hadn’t sealed correctly.
Then in a single move, he leapt over the railing and into the river below.
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From the depths, a Viper Defence Craft surfaced in the river, the water frothing around it. Its hull was weathered, but it was still in working order. In its cockpit, CMDR CrazyGolm throttled up the engines, a pilot once more. His hair was just a little wet.
Like a dart, the Validius shot along the river’s surface, kicking up a wake of spray that glistened brilliantly in the sunlight. Then, in a graceful motion, it pitched up and climbed into the magnificent sky above.
He would fly again.