SYNC An Old Friend

[Commissar Farzi]

RP Date

YE44

From: Albert Steiner
To: Airwin Caeyara

I had heard an unusual report from our scouts that a Leviathan had been spotted in a nebula near a water planet, and I was even more surprised to learn that you had been seen on planet Yamatai.

It is good to see that you yet survive 'Airwin', tell me what is the fate of your people; have they found refuge? And do you require any aid?

 

[Andrew]

THE YAMATAIAN STATE OF TSENLAN - PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS, ENCRYPTED.

To: Albert Steiner
From: Airwin Caeyara

Several Leviathans my dear friend. It is good to see that your company escaped as well. Yamatai is an old friend to us, a partner from the era of my father during the Chaos Hive War - you know when wars made sense? The more I find myself a man among others, the more my mind begs me to forget the horrors that I have seen. The lengths we have gone to in order to survive are like the burning gashes of a whip on my back. It seems like a lifetime ago when we met upon the desolate sands of Orab celebrating what we mistook for a victory. Like those memories, that which slithers from the pried lid of 'pandora's box' will never truly be gone. The worry now is that our multiple universal jumps and ill timings have left the scourge upon Ayenee. A wise man would turn his back to even the suggestion of a step back into those throws. A good man however honors the deals made, even the ones of his...disconnected father.

We've found refuge among these souls, our hungry mouths are fed and the steps towards a new era have been made, and yet each footprint behind us seems to fill with mud and salt. I cannot escape the nightmares of those lost days, it within me scrapping at the walls of my mind like an animal shut out of a bedroom at night. It is there in those nightmares that I survive, old friend. I survive. My hope lies within the fact my people crave a simpler life, some to serve as they served the MERN within the Star Army while others seek hope through the restoration of artisan ventures. Sorry, I find nostalgia in the idea that despite what has been a near genocide they and I still find beauty in things like this old teapot that is on my desk. We have refuge my friend, but in a refuge, a man is always in need of his friends.

Write back, and share your thoughts with me Sentinel. My new friends embrace me, and yet - it is you who stood beside me, to lift me from a river of blood that could have only drowned my soul.

A toast of tea to you, and to my new friends here in Yamatai.
May this brief breath of tranquility be savored until the end.

Signed,

Airwin Caeyara

 

[Commissar Farzi]

+++IC COMM NET, ENCRYPTED LEVEL 5 FTL TRANSMISSION+++

From: Albert Steiner
To: Airwin Caeyara

You have naught to apologize for my friend; surviving sadly is all one can do against such horrors-I remember that day; satisfaction and relief when we closed that ancestor's damned rift. Unfortunately, it would seem that our efforts at the time were in vain, as those horrors once again surfaced. While I cannot speak for yourself-for myself and others in the ranks it felt far too much like home for our tastes. Unfortunately, I can offer little comfort for the nightmares that plague you. While it may seem callous-if not inhuman such things are routine for we Valhallans; if one sees enough of such horrors, witnesses enough planets burn and you will grow numb to these things; it becomes little more than repetition-move in, try to save who and what you can, then carry on as best able. War rarely makes sense, and likely never will.

In this regard, I sometimes wonder just how much of our humanity we have cast aside to leave us able to be able to face such things and walk away relatively unscarred. 'Tis a question that gnaws at me from time to time, but regardless of cost-such things must be combated. Perhaps it is this cold mentality that enables us to do so-an indication of something truly wrong with us...as for the Voidics potentially making their way here-that is something of a concern; If the taint were to spread to Kikyo, they more likely than not be unprepared to deal with it; soul transfers or no. Either that or some fool decides they wish to tempt the luck of the ancestors and ends up tampering with things they shouldn't. But, for the moment that will be a matter for another time.

Anyways, on a far happier note, 'tis good you and yours have found some succor amongst the people of this sector. I know when I give her the news Tacho will be overjoyed to know that her people still yet live. As for your choice of places to settle; whilst I am not overly fond of them the Star Empire of Yamatai is not a bad place if one wishes to settle anywhere in the sector; relatively stable and boasts some of the most advanced technology in the sector. Hopefully, things will remain peaceful for a time and give them a chance to flourish; the Kuvexian War ended a mere two years ago and the sector still seems to be worse for wear-but I suspect that the specter of that conflict will pass soon enough. That things will eventually return to a relative norm.

Anyways, perhaps at some point, we will be able to meet in person again; until then, I will keep in touch as best able.
On a side note; the men would likely prefer a toast with strong ale over tea, but the gesture is appreciated.

Signed,

Albert Steiner