Soul and Heart - Rift expedition part 1
13 Sep 2019Sagacious Panda
Darkness...Space supposed to be dark. At least that's what logic says.
Vast emptiness.
When we travel between stars we are always surrounded by dotted stars, the tapestry of the space.
Those tiny dots are giving us hope, a promise. That we can go reach out to light. The stars we see from our cockpits are not only stellar bodies, but they are also giving us the confidence of some form of familiarity. Our ancestors felt the same when they would see a geological structure they know from their own territories.
Now when Panda looked out from his canopy all he could see was darkness. The distance between stars grew and the amount of them reduced so much he could count them and couldn't reach even decimals.
And when he looked back, it was not comforting as well. Milkyway thinned out and became a single bright brush strike of a child.
Everything he knew, loved and hoped to see was in that small patch of glitter.
And he didn't know what to expect in this darkness he was headed to.
Legion accepted him as an Initiate. He felt the support and assistance of the Legion Commanders. They took him in as one of them. He flew in wings, accomplished missions, took part in wars.
For a brief moment in time, everything was good. Being in the bubble again, communicating with other human beings. Almost getting over the incident. Loss of Amy, distancing from friends, tasteless revenge, painful acceptance...
It all started with the search for some raw materials. Together with Legion commanders, he landed nearby fields of natural crystals to gather necessary materials. While others filled their tanks and returned to the bubble, he kept looking among the stars.
In the dark side of a moon, his lights were off, he kept looking up and kept thinking.
His ship "Rusty Nail" was a modified Diamond Back Explorer. Panda and Rusty Nail went way back. He loved his ship even before she had any modifications. He felt at peace in her cockpit. He loved taking a rover tour around her.
Now Rusty Nail could jump 55ly at once. There are other commanders with much larger jumping capabilities, sure. But Rusty Nail was good enough for Panda. She saved his life multiple times, allowed him to go where literally no one has ever been before.
So he did a final flight check, started engines, took one last glimpse to the field below and boosted out.
That was two weeks ago.
Now he was a little further from Soul nebula and nowhere near where he wanted to be.
He heard rumors about a Megaship called Zurara, and some listening posts far from the shiny skies.
What else could be better to wander around dug graves and learn more about victims, killers and tomb raiders...
Only this growing darkness was matching his heart
only this huge black patch was becoming an ache in his soul
Route planning became problematic after some point.
He wanted to stare back to the darkness with confidence, but just like the stars, it was also diminishing...