The Fire that Never Goes Out...
05 Nov 2024Gaz Ubermick
+// Log Entry Start+// [Date: 05.11.3310]
+// [Location: Cheranovsky City, Ngurii]
I can't take my eyes off the flames.
The small fire in my cabin onboard the Pawn is flickering merrily, but that flickering is sucking me in. Reminding me of a thousand burning ships. Burning stations. Burning titans. It's been just a few short days since I slumped in the seat of the Vasquez after unloading salvo after salvo of AX missiles on that damned core. The message flashed in front of me "Alert: All Titan Hearts Destroyed" accompanied by the cheers of other pilots. Shouts of joy and vengeance accompanied the now familiar explosions kicking off around Indra - the sure sign that we'd had downed another one, ticking another box in this slog towards safety. Seven down, just one to go.
I'm so feckin' tired.
It seems everyone else is too. I glance at the comms panel, the cursor blinking steadily, waiting for responses. The squadron is scattered and torn, and the solitude was setting in. Scrolling through the latest messages... hell knows where the kid is, last I heard from Merope she found a lead on one of the Fednecks who were on Hartsfield and had gone dark. Doggo was off seeking his "destiny" somewhere with Kal and Omni. Zero was engaging in final fantasies (more power to him!), and it seemed Oak was just done. He'd had enough. Honestly I couldn't blame him to some extent, but I missed our Fleshlight Cup winner. I missed them all.
But a steady diet of insectoid gruel was hard to digest. Day after day after day. It took a toll. It made it easier to swallow doing it with friends. Did I mention I'm tired? The Lavian brandy in my glass doesn't even taste right.
Keep scrolling. Two new members. Good kids, still newish. Eager to fly, but my ops schedule didn't give me much chance to cross paths with them. I need to change that.
Meanwhile the bubble is buzzing with news of political shifts. Mark's girl Felicia finally took office in Fedland, and apparently she's recruiting agents to her cause. Similar stories coming out of Alliance and Imperial space as well. I even got a message from Fat Eddie Mahon, asking me if I was willing to let bygones be bygones, and help out his poxy Alliance. No Ed, I'm not. You sat back and stuffed your face while the Federation laid waste to Lugh. And besides, the kid would put a knife in my ribs if I even entertained the idea.
Hmm, more chance of me helping this Nakato Kaine. The enemy of my enemy and all that. Or maybe Li Rong Yui. Might be a snake, but at least he's never hidden the fact like the career politicians in the Federation and Empire do.
Nah. What am I thinking??! I ran screaming from dealing with politics before, and that was just local level idiocy. Not a chance I'm getting into bed with career reptiles. The only snakes I want to deal with are the ones I fly.
Speaking of, time to take the new Mandalay for a spin...
+// Log Entry Ends