Logbook entry

THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES BLAZE FORTH

TSU ANNABELLE SINGH

I didn’t know her long and I didn’t like her much at first. The first thing she said to me was “And who is this?” She looked down her nose at me. I thought she was a stuck up arrogant bitch. That Imperial accent and her haughty stare; always challenging you, always demanding.

We argued, a lot. Through that I found she was smart and clever. It was impossible to change her mind once she’d made it up. She was hard and brutal at times. She had the cold eyes of a killer. I saw her kill once… her sword bloodstained… I think she liked it up close and personal.

It was the little things I noticed first. She had a way of sighing and running her hand through her hair when she was thinking. There was a softer side to her that hardly anyone saw. She never let her guard down, never allowed herself to love… but she cared.

She suffered alone. She suffered more hurt in her short life than most suffer in a lifetime. She hide it well but I’m sure she was broken up inside. She felt the responsibility and the guilt. She hated putting people at risk, even if it was necessary. She hated what she was forced to do, weighing lives against the truth.

She didn’t tell us everything, I guess she was trying to protect us. Maybe she even gave her life so we could survive. I wish I knew.

But I’ll tell you something. I would have died for her. So long, Salomé. I will remember.

ALESSIA VERDI

My father told me about Salomé. The daughter of an Imperial Senator. She had privilege and power. More money than any of us will ever see. He told me he’d rescued her. He often seemed to be in the right place at the right time. One day I hope I will get some answers out of him.

We were once caught and locked in a cell by Federal agents, sentenced to execution. She saved my life that day. I remember being terrified, but I never saw fear on her face no matter what the circumstances. She was driven, burdened by the past and anxious for the future. I knew a little of her motivation. She was wracked with guilt over what happened in the skies here above Chione. Much of what she did afterwards was to atone for what she saw as her greatest sin. She would cry out when she was sleeping. The deaths she caused haunted her.

She didn’t let anyone close, showed only the briefest glimpse of any affection. Perhaps she was terrified of losing anyone else to allow any attachment.

This conspiracy, this strange mission she embroiled us all in. I don’t quite know what it was about her that inspired loyalty and devotion. She had a … way about her. She knew it too, she manipulated people to her advantage – maybe us as well. She had this allure… this spell.

But there was no malice there. She was dogged and determined, but convinced she was doing the right thing. She knew the risk she was running, she did it anyway. She spoke fondly of her home and those who she knew. Cuthrick, Hassan, us Children and those of Loren’s Legion. She valued loyalty and service.

If she were here she would have a bold and impassioned speech for us. I wish I could hear it one more time.

But her memory and her fortitude is all that is left to us. I know I speak for all of you when I say that we will always, always… Remember.

Farewell, Salomé.