Jack Pine
Well-Known Member
- RP Date
- YE 40, 5 hours after S6 departure
- RP Location
- S6S-Anvil: Hangar A
The hangar was oddly quiet and cold, a sensation that was amplified by the sight before him. 18 body bags, all filled with someone he knew, someone who he cared for in at least a small way. And most importantly, people who were his job to look after, ones he all made a promise to.
At the back of his mind, Jack could hear a voice that told him he was a fool for expecting less, that it was just exactly like over a year ago. The one that hit him hardest of all, was the man who had been there since the beginning, with the same dream, who in a way had been like a brother. Just like his comrades from the marines.
It all weighed so heavily, as he scanned each barcode as he updated the personnel manifest.
Not far away, a young woman brushed her hair back, fluffing the messy black pixie into place and double checking her notebook for what seemed the thousandth time. "So they're really gone, then."
Jack wasn't sure he wanted to answer that. Not because he hated the question, but the answer. "Yes, they're all gone. We don't have ST anymore. There is no bringing these people back.", he said solemnly.
"I'll get a detail on the service." Spark nodded, still not used to dealing with funeral duties. "We'll pull something to remember these people by. Who were the civilians?"
Jack lists off the names of the civilians, all ten of them. He let his mind wander as the mention of a funeral service came up. Another reminder of just how much of this should have been able to be avoided.
The white haired man gave a sad look over those he had just named off, before starting to walk down the line. Jack stopped at on particular before walking up beside it and crouching. The barcode triggering the display of the name of body on his HUD. Rorik Istavan.
"Boomer and Thud did most of the heavy lifting for those eight, sir. That was... Difficult. We should have gotten there sooner. Maybe then..." Spark was usually tall, proud, and boistrous. But looking at the bodies of Alpha, she shrank down some, retreating into a careful stoicism that hid her emotions. "I'm sorry, sir. We did everything we could."
Jack was quiet for a long moment, but he unzipped the bag and flipped the flap over to reveal the face of the man inside. Rorik's skin was ashen white, his pupils grey and lacking of natural eye color. A mark of a deceased Geist user. Spark stiffened behind him, the body of someone closer to her than she would like to admit was heavy, even in power armor. The face was hard to see.
Jack gently placed a hand on the deceased man's forehead, haltingly. He was silent even now, but a slight movement of his throat foreshadowed his finally speaking a Seraphim prayer, "Pax ruina cumulant. somnus meus frater, et invenietis aequilibrium inter animam tuam. Sit tibi sit semper cor et animus in Recordatus. Olim rursus occurremus in litoribus maris in infinitum. cum quidem bellum est finis. Angeli in poena est, gratis tibi. Nomen Roricum Istavan et vivat."
As the final word rolled into the air, he slid the man's eyelids closed, the hangar falling into an eerie, heavy quiet. Spark was behind him, only seeing his back, but within the deafening silence. She would hear the faint sound of drips as Jack hung his head.
A gentle hand found Jack's shoulder with a strong grip. Her chest hurt, and she knew that Jack had felt that more times than he'd ever feel comfortable admitting. She gave a slight squeeze, reasuring and calm. "Here lies one of the few I was okay with caring about me. His brother doing okay?"
He quickly wiped away the tears before answering, "Quiet, become a bit of a shut in. To be expected after losing your only remaining family."
Jack gave her hand a gentle pat before standing, "No this is my fault as it should be. We knew they had stolen tech. The fact that we didn't detect their landing should have made that clear to me. So while I was getting nice and dressed up, my men were chewed through when they needed me most. Now those bastards have my granddaughter a.."
"Not your fault." The interjection was out of line, she knew. But she sent it anyway. "No one could have known what they had. The Eyes were on traffic, not looking for ECS. They found a perfect moment and made a good strike. Alpha got taken by surprise. We'll get your granddaughter back, and we'll burn psychopomp from the sector again."
"She had her infant girl with her. If they did what they did to Nora, to that baby. I will personally light the match we use. That girl is only over a year old, and they made her into a grown woman....we find those monsters, and we make sure there isn't anything left.", Jack said letting some of his anger he'd felt since the attack leak through.
It was short lived however as his shoulders slumped again, "But first the dead."
"Leave the ceremony for our fallen warriors to me. You have other things to be worried about right now." Spark let her tone be filled with an unusual warmth and kindness. "Blake and I will come up with something to honor them.
"I already have an idea for that. When I lost my men more then a year ago. I didn't even have bodies to bury. 29 men and women, just gone. No, we'll take the ashes of our fallen and reforge them into the memories they've left with us, that not even time will be able to easily wear away.", he said turning to her, "I'll send Blake the concept."
"There is no rest for the living, for work must yet be done. Just as there is no rest from the wicked, so is there none for good men to standby. Sergeant, you're being assigned to the new Alpha team under the replacement Lt. Commander. You'll be his second."
"Understood, sir," Spark nodded, her brows furrowing as she slipped into an easy Parade Rest. "Though I don't remember being a sergent, sir."
"This isn't the time for formalities Sparks. You can drop the stance and protocol. I honestly don't feel up for being treated as the Commander. Even I need a break.", Jack said giving a sympathetic yet tired smile. Strange to think he used to be so cocky and prideful, So lacking in full responsibility. But now everything weighed on his shoulders, and it made him feel far older beyond his years.
"You were promoted. With the old sergeant of alpha among the dead, a new one must take his place. I want that to be you. Someone I know and trust will do me proud in such a position.", he explained.
The white haired man began to stroll further down the line, wondering how much more of these bags he would see in the near future. Because no one was safe from death anymore.
"Even I have called to be a replacement. Because even Jack needs one when he falls."
"No one will ever be you, sir. I won't let you down, and I won't let Rorik down. Go home, sir. Get some rest." Spark gave a warm, simple smile. "I'll take it from here, sir."
"Someone already is Sparks. I'm just an ST copy. Mark is the real one, and I'm just living his life. He hates that I am, I'm jealous of him because he got his shit together. But neither of us can change what happened."
"I think you know how I feel about my batch sisters. Take that woe is me attitude and stuff it till we don't have a job to do, yea?" The smile disappeared in her annoyance, but the warmth was still there. "There's a lot of paperwork, nav, and we've still gotta be combat ready in case things go sideways. You're the best for that job, Jack. And no one could ever replace that. Not now, and not in the past. Now go get some rest before I call your wife."
"OH that's a dirty move. You've learned, and that's why I promoted you. Victory goes to you sis.", Jack said with a bit of a.chuckle before heading off.
Spark nodded, "Sleep well, sir. Just remember to eat something."
"I'll steal one of.mom's food bars.", He called back with a wave.
At the back of his mind, Jack could hear a voice that told him he was a fool for expecting less, that it was just exactly like over a year ago. The one that hit him hardest of all, was the man who had been there since the beginning, with the same dream, who in a way had been like a brother. Just like his comrades from the marines.
It all weighed so heavily, as he scanned each barcode as he updated the personnel manifest.
Not far away, a young woman brushed her hair back, fluffing the messy black pixie into place and double checking her notebook for what seemed the thousandth time. "So they're really gone, then."
Jack wasn't sure he wanted to answer that. Not because he hated the question, but the answer. "Yes, they're all gone. We don't have ST anymore. There is no bringing these people back.", he said solemnly.
"I'll get a detail on the service." Spark nodded, still not used to dealing with funeral duties. "We'll pull something to remember these people by. Who were the civilians?"
Jack lists off the names of the civilians, all ten of them. He let his mind wander as the mention of a funeral service came up. Another reminder of just how much of this should have been able to be avoided.
The white haired man gave a sad look over those he had just named off, before starting to walk down the line. Jack stopped at on particular before walking up beside it and crouching. The barcode triggering the display of the name of body on his HUD. Rorik Istavan.
"Boomer and Thud did most of the heavy lifting for those eight, sir. That was... Difficult. We should have gotten there sooner. Maybe then..." Spark was usually tall, proud, and boistrous. But looking at the bodies of Alpha, she shrank down some, retreating into a careful stoicism that hid her emotions. "I'm sorry, sir. We did everything we could."
Jack was quiet for a long moment, but he unzipped the bag and flipped the flap over to reveal the face of the man inside. Rorik's skin was ashen white, his pupils grey and lacking of natural eye color. A mark of a deceased Geist user. Spark stiffened behind him, the body of someone closer to her than she would like to admit was heavy, even in power armor. The face was hard to see.
Jack gently placed a hand on the deceased man's forehead, haltingly. He was silent even now, but a slight movement of his throat foreshadowed his finally speaking a Seraphim prayer, "Pax ruina cumulant. somnus meus frater, et invenietis aequilibrium inter animam tuam. Sit tibi sit semper cor et animus in Recordatus. Olim rursus occurremus in litoribus maris in infinitum. cum quidem bellum est finis. Angeli in poena est, gratis tibi. Nomen Roricum Istavan et vivat."
As the final word rolled into the air, he slid the man's eyelids closed, the hangar falling into an eerie, heavy quiet. Spark was behind him, only seeing his back, but within the deafening silence. She would hear the faint sound of drips as Jack hung his head.
A gentle hand found Jack's shoulder with a strong grip. Her chest hurt, and she knew that Jack had felt that more times than he'd ever feel comfortable admitting. She gave a slight squeeze, reasuring and calm. "Here lies one of the few I was okay with caring about me. His brother doing okay?"
He quickly wiped away the tears before answering, "Quiet, become a bit of a shut in. To be expected after losing your only remaining family."
Jack gave her hand a gentle pat before standing, "No this is my fault as it should be. We knew they had stolen tech. The fact that we didn't detect their landing should have made that clear to me. So while I was getting nice and dressed up, my men were chewed through when they needed me most. Now those bastards have my granddaughter a.."
"Not your fault." The interjection was out of line, she knew. But she sent it anyway. "No one could have known what they had. The Eyes were on traffic, not looking for ECS. They found a perfect moment and made a good strike. Alpha got taken by surprise. We'll get your granddaughter back, and we'll burn psychopomp from the sector again."
"She had her infant girl with her. If they did what they did to Nora, to that baby. I will personally light the match we use. That girl is only over a year old, and they made her into a grown woman....we find those monsters, and we make sure there isn't anything left.", Jack said letting some of his anger he'd felt since the attack leak through.
It was short lived however as his shoulders slumped again, "But first the dead."
"Leave the ceremony for our fallen warriors to me. You have other things to be worried about right now." Spark let her tone be filled with an unusual warmth and kindness. "Blake and I will come up with something to honor them.
"I already have an idea for that. When I lost my men more then a year ago. I didn't even have bodies to bury. 29 men and women, just gone. No, we'll take the ashes of our fallen and reforge them into the memories they've left with us, that not even time will be able to easily wear away.", he said turning to her, "I'll send Blake the concept."
"There is no rest for the living, for work must yet be done. Just as there is no rest from the wicked, so is there none for good men to standby. Sergeant, you're being assigned to the new Alpha team under the replacement Lt. Commander. You'll be his second."
"Understood, sir," Spark nodded, her brows furrowing as she slipped into an easy Parade Rest. "Though I don't remember being a sergent, sir."
"This isn't the time for formalities Sparks. You can drop the stance and protocol. I honestly don't feel up for being treated as the Commander. Even I need a break.", Jack said giving a sympathetic yet tired smile. Strange to think he used to be so cocky and prideful, So lacking in full responsibility. But now everything weighed on his shoulders, and it made him feel far older beyond his years.
"You were promoted. With the old sergeant of alpha among the dead, a new one must take his place. I want that to be you. Someone I know and trust will do me proud in such a position.", he explained.
The white haired man began to stroll further down the line, wondering how much more of these bags he would see in the near future. Because no one was safe from death anymore.
"Even I have called to be a replacement. Because even Jack needs one when he falls."
"No one will ever be you, sir. I won't let you down, and I won't let Rorik down. Go home, sir. Get some rest." Spark gave a warm, simple smile. "I'll take it from here, sir."
"Someone already is Sparks. I'm just an ST copy. Mark is the real one, and I'm just living his life. He hates that I am, I'm jealous of him because he got his shit together. But neither of us can change what happened."
"I think you know how I feel about my batch sisters. Take that woe is me attitude and stuff it till we don't have a job to do, yea?" The smile disappeared in her annoyance, but the warmth was still there. "There's a lot of paperwork, nav, and we've still gotta be combat ready in case things go sideways. You're the best for that job, Jack. And no one could ever replace that. Not now, and not in the past. Now go get some rest before I call your wife."
"OH that's a dirty move. You've learned, and that's why I promoted you. Victory goes to you sis.", Jack said with a bit of a.chuckle before heading off.
Spark nodded, "Sleep well, sir. Just remember to eat something."
"I'll steal one of.mom's food bars.", He called back with a wave.
