Ruach Valiente

[Xing]

((Had that idea while drawing a masked character for fun... and made me remember how I missed flying a Sabre...

Name:Ruach Valiente
Age: 15
Gender: Male
E. Color: Green
H. Color: Blond
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 68 kg

Birthplace: Planet Malta
Actual residence: None

The Valiente family was once, like many Outcast family, owner of large propriety where was mainly grown the cardamine plant. While Ruach was only 6 years old, his parents were arrested and charged with treason against the Outcast people for fraternalism with the Corsairs. He was forced by the Malta Court to watch the public execution of his parents, as well as any other people who bore the name of Valiente
Ruach himself was nothing more but a slave boy at the service of another dynasty of rich cardamine land owner. Slavery was indeed being quickly spread in the Borderworld by the Slaver Union, and the notion of using lower human being to cultivate the cardamine drug was quite interesting to Maltians.
Still, due to the fact that Ruach was a pure Outcast-blood, he did received better treatment than the other slaves; while most had to stand outside in the arid, cutting the cardamine weed, Ruach was rather given easier task in the cardamine factory labs. Being only a kid, he was quite submissive, too traumatised by the live death of his whole family to argue against his lack of freedom.
Once, his masters son a bullying boy of 19 years old and proud to be an Outcast flyer, chained Ruach in an old battered Dromadery mk. I class freighter, and forced him to fly the junk, or hed just smoke him with his prized Stiletto fighter, just for fun of killing something.
Maybe it was instinct of survival or pure talent, Ruach actually managed to lift off the ship without ever reading instruction on how to fly a ship and even propelled it in space!
With satisfaction at discovering a new way to use his domestic servant, his master decided he would be allowed to fly the Dromadery ship to haul the cardamine from starports to starports. Of course, he was always chained to the pilot seat at the end of a day, Ruach would barely even be able to stand. The man didnt have much concern about him running away that Dromadery would probably never be able to make a hyperspace jump.
Ruach for his part managed to replace his sorrow with a certain interest, then a real passion for flying. At the age of 12, he was able to perform extreme manoeuvres in atmosphere all that without any instructor ever telling him how to fly a ship.
Through the year, he became a handsome young man, with developed muscles as the first generation of Dromadery didnt even have inertial and artificial compensators, one had to be very strong to keep flying the ship hours after hours.
But flying in the same restricted path, days after day, even if performing some wild manoeuvres when there are no surveillance drones passing by, was dull. Only now after he understood all the secrets of flying did he truly understood how he missed his freedom
3 years later.
Although still in a state of servitude, Ruach was looked upon more as a very good employee than a slave, and was treated quite decently he would occasionally be invited to his masters table to dine, he was given more time to sleep than the other slaves, he was even given some free time to wander around the large property of the cardamine field.
But he would never really be free if he stayed here
The son of his master was now a real monster to the Bounty Hunters Guild. Apparently he scored over 56 kills by now, ranking among some of the most prestigious young pilots. Ruach often looked with envy at the mans ship now a beautiful battle-burned Sabre with numerous kill paints on the sides. Such a beautiful warbird
Ruach might hate forever what the Outcasts have done to his family, but he admitted freely, his people built the best ships.
Damned he wanted that ship

By an obscure night, Ruach looked at the dark-greenish sky of Malta and just stayed immobile over his couch. For minutes, he wondered. Would he do it? What if he was caught? But, his plan was perfect, right?
He smirked and came out with a small laser cutter, used to cut small metal surfaces. Being a slave pilot did have other advantages: access to all the necessary equipment to repair a ship or get free from his prison. He cut down with ease the metal bars that have maintained him in servitude for years, and went outside, in the heat summer air of Malta.
He walked silently through the long cardamine fields, making himself unseen. After nearly a whole hour of tedious walking ah there he was. The local starport. And he guessed his schedule right, a squad of Sabre fighters were indeed landing over the grounds with majesty, their engine humming loudly.
He waited until the pilots went out, the mechanic made their inspection
Yes, the pilots would take some time off. Stretch their body. Eat some food.
Damn, somebody eventually had to go to the
Ah there he was!
A pilot was coming out from the main starport building toward a smaller house, where were housed the refreshers. Ruach smirked and jumped toward the unsuspecting pilot
The man was obviously startled by his strength. Those new Outcast pilots didnt need strength, only reflexes inertial compensators made things so much easier for them
Hed have to thank that idiot who first chained him to that Dromadery mk 1
With one hand, he managed to silence the pilot and with the other, he cut the throat with his laser cutter, using it as if it was a knife.
Good thing, no blood splatter, the heat of the cutter immediately coagulated the liquid. He looked down upon his first kill, with a little feel of remorse
For a moment he wanted to cry, to abandon all
No he WOULDNT do that. Not now. He killed someone, but he was prepared to do just that.
His freedom. That was all that counted.
He quickly stripped the dead pilot and clothed himself with the black garment. Then, he put on the mans gasmask seems it was a pilot that went raiding outside Alpha, and quickly put on the full helm over his head. After what he disposed of the corpse in a cardamine field it would be months before the slaves would find the decomposed corpse.
And he waited
The pilots didnt asked much question why he didnt re-entered after going to the refresher. Apparently he was supposed to love smoking cardamine.
They took off, everyone acknowledging two engines green and read to go. Another good thing at his advantage; his voice came out of the COM channel distorted enough he didnt even recognised himself.
.
Loosing his squadron was quite easy. Instead of going through Omicron Eta, he waited to be last to jump, aborted and went toward the Beta hole
Flying in space was really amazing. He wasnt restricted anymore to gravity, to air resistance
Also, he had inertial compensator. He frowned at the thought of the weak Outcast pilot. No way he was ending like that. He ordered the navcomp to disengage the the compensators, and immediately felt the familiar, painful push on him by the accelerating engines. Good. Pain was good. Kept you concentrated on reality.
He jumped to Beta, where he was pretty much ignored by Ruiz base he knew about this base but that! Outcast who built a base inside such a large asteroid! Ingenious.
Yes, he had a lot to discover yet
When he finally jumped to Sigma a very nice gift from the previous owner of this ship to have a near full map of Sirius, he breathed a sigh of relief and threw the helmet away.
Free. He was finally free

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