On Betrayal
03 May 2017Isaiah Evanson
<<Begin recording>>02MAY3303 // UNKNOWN
Moving through the night.
I lurked in Maia for a couple of days, but everything seems normal for the most part. Tourists continue to visit the black hole even though a war rages only a few lightyears away. Explorers still flit about, talking of barnacles and meta-alloys and unknown objects and crash sites. It's nothing I haven't heard before.
But the rumors persist. Someone witnessed the aftermath of an attack, and a very distinctive flower-shaped vessel leaving the scene.
I don't know whether to believe it or not.
I'm leaving the bubble for a while. Taking a Diamondback Explorer and going to look in on these Dynasty expedition sites. Seems like an appropriate excuse for keeping my head down while things blow over.
I've been thinking a lot - about what happened. How I'm supposed to feel. I should feel some sense of guilt, and it's not like I don't have moments where I do feel guilty.
They trusted me.
She trusted me.
I wonder if she knew I was doing everything I could to get to her? Did she feel as though I abandoned her? Did she feel alone in that moment just before oblivion?
....
A man could go insane thinking about that. So I try my best not to. Doesn't always work, but... it's the trying that counts, I guess.
I should make mention of something though. Something that's been gnawing away at my mind. There was an incident the night before Salomé made her flight.
One of her cohorts, Raan Corsen, was spotted heading for T Tauri. Cornelius contacted me and I scrambled to intercept him. I hailed him, asked him to return with me to our rally point. He said he was looking for someone...
I didn't know what that meant at the time. Maybe I do now.
See, I followed him to T Tauri. I docked at Hind Mine and saw him there. There were other Children ships gathered around. But what I found curious was that none of them were in his flight.
I'll never forget this for as long as I live - the pilot who killed Kahina, Besieger... he was there.
With Raan.
I don't know what to think, but my gut tells me that maybe Raan sold Kahina out. I don't know what was said, if anything, but a fellow Commander related to me after the fact that Raan was in contact with Besieger.
I can't help but think he betrayed her. Like Judas to Christ in the garden. Brutus to Caesar in the forum. Ephialtes to the Spartans at Thermopylae.
Maybe he asked for protection in exchange for her life. Hell, maybe he was just being reckless and stupid. Seems like he was known for that. But I know this much - Kahina's assassin used the opportunity to groom his prey. People willingly disabled their weapons. I didn't, of course - you never take your guns off - but the fact people were wiling to let known killers so close to someone so important...
I will never understand it. How naive of them.
....
I can't say with any certainty that that's the truth. It's just a gut feeling. My gut has been wrong before - but not often.
I'm about 8,000 lightyears from the bubble now. Riding through a neutron star field. It's beautiful here. Makes me feel... at peace.
I have a long way to go until I reach the Gap. Going to bed down for the night now.
Hope I don't have the nightmares I've been having.
<<End recording>>