Log 9 - CMDR Alexis Bright
20 Oct 2021Alexis Bright
Log status: Private- EncryptedDate: 21 OCT 3307*START OF TRANSMISSION*So I guess I should make a log again... Now that I managed to process it all a bit...
A lot has happened, it all started with a fairly uneventful stay at the Solaris after Aurora invited me to stay there..
But - at one point - she suddenly mentioned she had to leave all by herself and didn't want me to join. Without a reason given... And off she went.
So I just roamed the Solaris, finding stuff to do here and there... I felt useless with all the stuff happening with the squadron, wanted to do something to help...
I often wondered if I did, or said, something wrong for her to suddenly ditch me... but that was until I received a message from Aurora.
Just a plain and simple: "Help me" and a location... Long story short, apparently she went after Hivemind alone and got shot in the process.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't rush to my ship. Upon taking off, I didn't even ask for clearance from the Solaris ATC... I only realized that when I suddenly heard angry yelling over my comms. But... whatever.
It was a very tedious travel while worrying myself to death if she'd still be alive or not... I'd never forgive myself if I arrived too late and lost her because of that...
I really need a ship with better jump range, damnit!
When arriving at the location at HIP 18177 - thank god the coordinates got included - I quickly rushed inside the eerie alien structure that was right where the coordinates pointed me to.
I didn't even bother with the creatures droning around, but I'd have killed them if that's what it took to save Aurora...
I know, I know... Very dumb in hindsight, didn't even know what they were capable of... But I read reports about them not minding you if you left them alone, though.
So... once I made my way in - there were some... items left holding the 'doors' open, I guess, I found Aurora in shock inside, so I started asking her questions, comforting her.
I was worried sick and I guess I was kind of panicking when I saw blood on her...
Doesn't happen too often I get spooked by blood... but I guess I thought I'd lose her then and there...
Anyway, I swiftly left a message on the concourse channel of the squadron net, asking for an evacuation team, before I turned most of my suit's functions off to preserve battery power... I had no idea how long they'd take to arrive after all - and I wasn't leaving Aurora behind.
We waited some time, I don't even know how long... But at one moment I felt the structure rumble and I figured it'd be BLUSTAR to evacuate Aurora. So I cautiously went back outside to show them the way, the same way I got in from. They... well... Did their job... Carried her back to the medical ship.
But before departing, Aurora asked me to fly her Krait Phantom back. Apparently she didn't trust anyone else with her ship... boy, you should've seen the face of one of the pilots from CSF, who was about to fly the ship! I happily obliged, my Diamondback is way cheaper anyway so I can perfectly understand her wanting her ship in the hands of someone she trusts. I've got to admit, that Phantom was very fun to fly! I didn't go too crazy with it of course, didn't want to break her trust in me.. But I'm certainly in the market for one, once I saved enough money.
Anyway, after Aurora got dismissed from the medbay, she invited me to have dinner with her and Tori. Something to take our minds of all the hectic stuff that's been happening. Of course I accepted the invitation. I always wanted to meet Tori, since I only heard about her from Aurora.
It was mostly a fun evening, got to know Tori a bit and we exchanged stories... Her stories from being a dropship trooper in the federal navy, how she got that scar on her cheek... It was all very intriguing and I really enjoyed hearing her stories.
Then the conversation shifted more towards Aurora and Tori... They started to catch-up and talk about things of the past... I don't know I- ... I started to feel left out.. And at one point... Jealous? I suddenly got this feeling that I was losing my chance to stay close to Aurora.. You know, that kind of close...
So I wanted to express my feelings towards Aurora somehow, show how much I appreciate her... I started by saying how I'm glad she survived getting shot... Twice... How I didn't want to lose her... How much I like her... And...
That I had feelings for her...
I don't know what happened.. It suddenly just came out... I suddenly had no control over my mouth - and my thoughts... Full autopilot. That quickly changed the mood, as you can imagine... Tori was... Very dumbfound when she heard about it, kept staring in disbelief at us... But mainly fixated on Aurora.
Aurora on the other hand... She couldn't turn any more red.
I honestly have no idea what made me suddenly blurt it out... It just... Happened... It was far from my goal to expose my true feelings, lay it out right there and then... Because Tori just got out of the medbay... But I felt what we had was slipping away for some reason... And I... just had to make a move.
As you can imagine, it got silent pretty quickly after that... I realized what I had done and I openly apologized... Not that it helped the situation, though.
But then... Tori's reaction... All she said was: "Oh wow"... Like... Suddenly it all clicked together for her, for some reason...
Honestly, I kind of wished for the ground to swallow me on the spot... Or for an attack by Hivemind or... Just something to take the spotlight of this damned situation and what I said....
And then Tori asked how long we've been together... Both me and Aurora stared at Tori... To which she repeated her question. Aurora immediately tried to ask Tori to stop... shyly saying "Tori... Please.."
But Tori quickly continued and said... "sounds like you guys have been hanging out a while now... Seems like you're also more than friends."
Aurora just.. visibly died inside... and Tori had this look on her face... She wasn't letting us off the hook easily... So I gave her an explanation.
I told her what happened - how it happened. How I suddenly felt attracted to Aurora and kissed her when we were taken captive by Hivemind... How we slept together...
I didn't give her all the details, though... For example how Aurora didn't want us to continue the way we did and we moved on as friends...
Tori asked what happened... Not sure which kind of "happened" she meant.. Did she mean to elaborate on what happened that got Aurora shot, what happened during Hivemind... What me and Aurora exactly did together..? But seems like Aurora dodged the question, or didn't understand either... She quickly answered Tori's question by explaining how we got taken captive by Hivemind, how we escaped... Orion Drake...
As was expected, Tori laughed and said: "No silly, are you guys a thing then?
... And honestly, I don't know the answer myself... It went silent again.
But Aurora broke the silence by saying she fucked up... Got scared. And she kept looking down at the candle on the table.
She then continued, and said something like "I should've spoke to you about... I didn't mean to..."
Tori - finally - broke the tension. She made the remark that this was the reason Aurora was dressed in a 'new outfit'... one she hadn't worn often...
And I've got to admit, she did look stunning... I certainly felt underdressed for the situation... I mean, I don't have a lot of clothes... I try to keep a few eyecatchers, but I certainly couldn't match what Aurora was wearing...
Tori went on, encouraging Aurora to keep talking about her feelings. But Aurora asked if we really had to talk about this right now. Of course, Tori insisted.
I still remember exactly what she said... "Ugh... Okay, fine... uhm... I guess... I did get dressed up for... this... and... uhm, I wanted to talk to you about it some other time but... I... Look, I was... uhh... scared that it was in the moment... that it would be temporary, and... I made a mistake and cut it off... And then I got worried that I'd ruin our relationship or whatever... so that's why I asked you to stay and... I don't know... I'm sorry... I... uhm."
I cut her off myself, saying that I understand and I wasn't sure about how to move forward either.
And then it went quiet again, but Tori wasn't having it. She kept pushing, saying: "Come on... don't leave it at that".
All of a sudden, Aurora got a little angry and very sternly asked her to stop.
She then told me she was sorry and that we should talk about this some other time... After some pause, the conversation got directed to other subjects... Thank god.
Other than that, it was a... very fun evening... I guess, and it was nice meeting Tori in person... But boy does she not let go of something she wants. She'd make a nice interrogator, that's for sure! And uh... hopefully I get to talk to Aurora soon about this. Here's hoping I'm not the one who messed it up this time.
Alexis out.
*END OF TRANSMISSION*Thanks to Radium for the help by giving advice and proofreading. Also a huge thanks to allow me to build on top of the awesome lore you write!