Deliverance
24 Nov 2021Lily Flemmon
So now I have a few first footfalls to my name. Feels funny, especially since I'm not the most competent explorer in the slightest. Maybe it was the heat at the distress beacon sites, I sustained minor burns, even through my suit. But hey, 22 lives is worth a few second-degree burns, even if it… wasn’t all of them.Yesterday, I delivered the gift to Jaques Station. Gave them the gift of the herbs and seeds too- turns out those are worth a lot more out here than back in the Bubble. I was told Colonia might even develop its own unique cuisine in a couple years, which hopefully would help Rosa Dayette stop complaining so much.
But today was the day those people woke up. I worked with the search and rescue office to arrange for a second mission to get the rest of the crash victims, and to have crisis counselors there for the revival operations, but even then it wasn't an easy process for them at all. One group of 4 survivors had been under since before Jaques Station had its famous hyperdrive malfunction. Another group of 2, a pilot and co-pilot, were scouting for resources before the founding of Colonia, before Jaques station was rediscovered. But none of the 22 survivors ever expected to open their eyes again. And we were all together now, alive and breathing. survivors, medical teams, crisis counselors, and me. Many of the survivors called me a hero, and I just had to tell them that this kind of rescue isn't really uncommon out here in Colonia, and that they maybe should raise their standards when it comes to heroism. We were all together except… Except the ones I couldn’t save. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back tears, and I felt… I felt arms around me. One of the pilots was hugging me. I was a little caught off guard, but I hugged her back, and the tears began flowing from my eyes, and I felt I had to tell her…
“I couldn’t- I couldn’t save everyone…”
And then I heard her voice, softly in my ear: “And that’s okay. You’re still a hero to us. You don’t have to be perfect. You never have to be perfect.”
Her name is Ana Philoppe, and I will never forget her.