I Didn't Really Believe Him at First...
13 Apr 2021Atlas Farron
Hey all, Ida here!So, I'm on my buddy Atlas' carrier, the Auriga. Been part of the crew now for...God it feels like years. Friendliest bunch of goons and dorks you'll ever meet all compiled into one place. The dear 'Admiral' (yes I am NEVER letting him live that honorary title down), and I go back much further than that, when I met him as just a wee babby Ranger for the Protectorate.
I'd asked him before what he did when he was younger. He responded that he was a pirate, a rather notorious one at that. I never really believed him at first. I mean, who would? This was the nicest man I'd ever really met! Granted, the rest of the crew is great (especially Antonia and Bernando because those two know how to party!).
Then the call came in. A system supporting the NMLA had been found and the Empire was going to war. And I saw the crew change.
It took all of a few days to realize what this ship really was, the Auriga. Underneath all the goon and dork were hard lines and bloody hands. This was a collective of former pirates, murderers, thieves...people from all walks of life that wanted a new start. People that were more than willing to dip their hands back into the blood of their pasts if it meant battling the most recent galactic enemy. Their ships, the fleet this carrier stores, downed what feels like hundreds of NMLA vessels. The capital class lasers on the Auriga took out just as many on it's own. Then Atlas came back with a few lifepods from the battle.
'Rescues' from the people he fought.
There were no smiles that day. No friendly chats or nerd outs about different ammo and ships and the blueprints in the engineering bay. Honestly, the guys that the Admiral brought back were all bluster, claiming that they'd be martyrs to the cause, that Atlas had no power over them. And he smiled.
Just....smiled.
The shiver that went down my spine forced me to take a step back. See...when Atlas is truly, unfathomably angry, he doesn't laugh. Doesn't yell or scream or even so much as raise his voice or furrow his brow. He smiles. It's such a terrifying smile that I can now easily see the pirate he'd been in it; glimpse that still impossibly keen edge that had been slowly dulled away by kindness and time.
"That's a shame." I remember him saying. "See, in order to be a martyr, your people need to know you were even here. They won't. Your name will be forgotten, your deeds and accolades lost to time. Eventually so too will the little pissant of an organization you call a revolution of Marlinist ideals." The fierce light in his eyes almost sharpened then I think, as he leaned in to the slowly un-nerved terrorists. "And when we're through? Not even history will know what you've done. You are worthless. Forgotten. A tiny, insignificant little ant pretending to be part of some great and noble ideal." He pulled out his pistol then, shushing the crowd that surrounded the captives with just a glance, the aura of command prevalent.
"I want you to do something for me. Ask the ashes of the thousands of dead souls you've left in your wake how noble your cause really is." The terrorists tried to speak, they really did, but he shushed them immediately. "Aaaah see...that right there. That's just you talking. Them? Their silence is your answer."
Then as cold and robotic as can be, he executed them all on the deck. Laser through the skull.
I'm writing this little tidbit down to remind myself of this...I love everyone here dearly, I really do! However, I can't ever forget that this is a crew of battle-hardened veterans, pirates, and thieves. As much of a new leaf that they've turned over...the people they used to be will never go away. Not completely. That being said...if they're channeling all that skill and experience into trying to make the galaxy a better place? Protecting people from terrorists? I think I can live with that.
This is Ida, signing off.