Departure
28 Sep 2016Hersilia
The entry ramp thundered under the weight of Hersilias' boots as she hurried inside her new ship. The interior of the Asp explorer shined brightly. The ship was brand new, metallic surfaces bounced light across the cabin. The light shone from the station through the huge open window at the front of the ship, the space inside was a lot bigger than that of her fathers Cobra. Hersilia, too excited about her new ship to notice she was still wearing the bright orange prisoner uniform, sat herself down into the new, crisp pilots seat and ran her biological hand over the dashboard in admiration. "Mine" she grinned to herself. After some time of studying the controls to get herself familiar with the new lay out, she rose from the seat and turned to inspect the rest of her ship. Before she managed to look around properly she heard heavy foot-falls on the entry ramp. She turned to face the doorway, robotic fingers twitching in anticipation, ready for anything to happen. A unshaven, rough face poked round the edge of the door, an eye brow raised in recognition and the whole figure was brought into full view. He was a strong, well built man with broad shoulders and he always seemed to have a five o'clock shadow. A significant scar ran across the bridge of his nose, it wrinkled as he smiled.
"Hersilia.." his gruff voice caused her to smile, she had known the man a long time. Magnus Lowry had been her commanding officer since she had graduated from System Security training. She hadn't seen him for at least half a year, maybe even a full one.
"Dear, dear, Hersilia what have you done?" the smile faded from his face and his focus rested on her new limb. He moved over to her slowly as he reached into his back pocket, revealing a pack of Kamitra cigarillos and offering one to her. Daintily she took one, leaving her augment by her side and placed the cigarillo in between her lips after which she raised an eyebrow to Magnus, silently asking for a light. He reached into his pocket again. Flame. Smoke. A sigh of relief.
They sat down together at the helm of the Asp, talking about how Hersilia had lost her arm by the carelessness of a ground crew member, why she had ended up in prison and how, just how she managed to get a brand new Asp explorer without the correct funds.A large hand clasped round her shoulder as Magnus stood up. He turned to face her, his expression was of sorrow.
"When I heard about your exile.." he let out a sigh
"I requested to be your escort out of the bubble. I couldn't let some cruel official cast you out. We'll head out towards the elephant trunk nebula and I'll have to leave you there. I trust you'll do the right thing and keep going.." he paused or at least it seemed like a pause but he said nothing else. Before she could speak again he was already making his way down the entry ramp. Hersilia looked down at her feet knowing this could very well be the last time she would be in populated space.
The engines whined as the ship, the Indagator as she had named it, shuddered into life. The prospect of having a shiny new ship had quickly worn off during the talk with Magnus. Now she felt glum, she would probably never see another face again. Exile was the judges way of saying 'I can't save you from death, but I can extend your life a while longer.'
"Some thanks that is." she muttered to herself as the Indagator lifted off from it's pad, never to touch down in a station again. The station shined mockingly through the large front window, she could see tiny people going about their business, streams of them leading to large groups, some trickled off into the landing areas, while others lined up in large queues waiting for their turn to enter the ever moving stream. All leading their own lives, whether they knew it or not, they were free.
"Hotel-Echo-Romeo, you are clear for dispatch. See yo- uh...never mind" the comms channel closed quickly. Hersilia felt a twist in her gut, this was it. She would now only have the company of Magnus Lowry for around half a day, maybe a full day if she was lucky. After that...
"Stay close to me, Hersilia. Station security is watching you like a hawk, you don't want them thinking you're trying to escape escort." anyone listening to him would have thought Magnus was angry at her, but she knew his tone well and could hear the kindness behind the hard exterior. She pushed the throttle forwards and cringed at the scrape of her metallic fingers against the throttle. She shook off her annoyance and pushed the Indagator towards the mail slot, following closely behind Magnus is his Federal Corvette.