Log Entry 5: Freedom!
25 Oct 2021Cicadia
The vidcam blinks on, a perspective captured from the camera optics of a handheld terminal pad. A habitation apartment came into focus. A large, square living space formed by steel walls covered with plasticard printed to resemble marbled stone. Thick, beige carpet with few of those irritating little tufts that are born from the tread of many feet. Potted plants and a white faux-wooden shelving unit mark where a corner was given over to a tiled kitchen area. It was kept in safe condition. Utensils, mugs, flasks, and anything that could pose a hazard in low or zero grav was locked away or fastened to the racks above the cooking unit. A large stack of empty half-closed cardboard boxes, red and white with 'Gupta Pizzaria' marked on the sides. Complete with the image of a pizza orbiting a star.Thallia throws herself into view, popping up from below shot. Champagne coloured hair tied back in a bun behind her head. Skin free of the caked grim and dust that had been building on her face over the course of several weeks. Blue eyes bright with delight. With relief. "I'm FREEEEEE baby, WOOOOO!" Bursting into a laughing fit, it takes several moments and a long sigh of contented relief to calm herself down enough to talk.
"I'm free, Doc! To hell with FS-Penal! To hell with Merryweather, to Geoffrey, to Delta Pavonis, the whole bloody lot! If it wasn't for my shot-through thigh, I'd be dancing right now!" A grin erupts on her lips as Thallia glances off-camera, seemingly checking something, before looking over her shoulder. "Freedom tastes so good~ Check that out... a single evenings celebration party. Absolutely divine; they did those thin crispy crusts and SO. MUCH. CHEESE!"
"Look at this." Tilting her head to one side, pressing her ear to her shoulder, the vidcam is brought to a top-down view of her neck. Circular, slightly spiral patterns left by micro-needles, speckled her pale skin. Subtle discolouration ran in a band around her the circumference of her neck. "No more collar of explosive death! Neat right! Isabella managed to deactivate the detonator and remove the latches holding it in place. She claims not to be a doctor but I'm not buying it."
"Commander Isabella Levine. A guardian angel. Stars... I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for her. Swooping onto the scene in her Asp Scout. Tearing it up in the skies of Camp Mitterand before jumping us out here to Lacielle, ur... 2947. I think. Gupty city by any means." Sliding down the back of the sofa she was on until she lay flat on it's cotton covered cushions, Thallia's smile turned soft. Warm. "Now... if you feel something for someone who saves your life... is that weird? A syndrome of sorts? Or just... totally natural when the person who plucks you from the precipice of death is gorgeously brilliant?!" A flash of nervousness breaks out over her expression, leaning up and glancing off camera again. Speaking in quieter tones, she brings the video a little closer. "She's an ex-Imperial super-soldier, genetically altered and trained from youth... she hates her experience but... doesn't that sound badass?! Isabella wants to move on from it though.. To heal the soul, I think. Says that life has taken it's toll. I'm going to help her. Least I can do in return, right? Besides, in this bleak galaxy, every angel is precious."
"I, ur... I think I'm going to continue these logs. In memory of the Doc on that detention centre. Turns out, they seemed to genuinely help with the stress of dealing with FS-P. Who knows... maybe I can cash in on writing up memoirs one day! Perhaps it's just for vanity... thinking one day someone might hack them, give them a read and mutter a curt 'oh, cool.' Shrug.." Chuckling, two fingers pinch the bridge of her nose as she takes a series of deep, long breaths.
"Laser seared into the thigh. It's a right sod to walk on so I'm looking for opportunities whilst it heals up. Saw an advert for Titan Contractors on our way up here... might reach out to them. See if there's any remote work this ex-corpo can munch through in the downtime. Take my mind off things a bit... might order some Imperial cuisine. Never tried it before. In celebration of the future!"
Just before the video cuts out, Thallia's fingers move deftly across the screen. Music plays, emanating from the pad and captured through the recording. Xiona's 'You got this!' from the 'Alliance's Greatest Hits Compilation Album 3307'. Pop, it seems, has barely evolved in the last millennia.