[font=BatangChe]4.5.818 A.S. - Pennsylvania System
[font=BatangChe]"Boss, we've got another couple of hullbreaks in one of the storage depots, not to speak of all the micro-fractures gradually cropping up all along the panels which haven't been renewed yet."
[color=#000000][font=BatangChe]Damnit Dutton! What d'ya think I needed to invest in this project?! Could you imagine the effort I put into this?! D'ya really believe I'll abandon the base because of petty fractures? Solve that stuff as soon as possible, and make sure the accomodations for all the newcomers keep being guaranteed."
[color=#CCCCFF][font=BatangChe]"Yes boss."
[font=BatangChe]The man called Dutton left the room. Andrew sat on a crate, his arms lying on a bigger crate, which was supposed to be his desk. The room was dark, five small, round windows allowed sight on Erie, a few shy sunrays enlightened the miserably battered cabin. Andrew felt just as miserably downcast. It had crept on him for months now, debilitating and discouraging him, although he had managed to evade the primary bullet... until now, seemingly.
A striking vein located below his left temple rapidly pulsated, it almost seemed as though it was prone to burst every second. It was a sign of Andrew's strained thinking. Suddenly it stopped pulsating, Andrew looked ahead expressionlessly, got up from his seating, left the room and apparently aimlessly walked through the corridors, gazing in an artificial infinity, not noticing or caring about the various people's brief greetings who were passing by. Andrew knew this was too big for him, he had overstretched his measures and abilities. Why, just why hadn't he been able to refrain from doing such a move, why?
[font=BatangChe]BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. The fire-alarm system went up in a rather disturbing manner than in an alarming one, hence causing Andrew to startle up and lose his target in the crosshair for a moment. But wasn't it actually supposed to be disturbing? Any kind of acustic alarms had a frightening impact on Andrew, as soon as such started roaring, he was prone to lose his poise. Andrew yelled a couple of swearwords out loud while silently blaming himself for not having adjusted the alarm settings before he had started off that day. The fire wasn't serious, at all. Of course it would eventually lead to the destruction of his ship, sure, but that would take more time than he needed in order to fulfill his task.
Andrew's almost daily tasks were wearing him off, he felt that, more and more. It was too much effort for too little yield. These pirates were reckless, cunning and malicious. He often admired them, their mind was always at ease, even during a heated fight. Andrew imagined doing the same. Was a life as an independent lawless bomber pilot really as airy and careless as it always appeared to him? He did not know, but it was definitely a temptation, one he might fall fall to some day...
[font=BatangChe]4.6.818 A.S. - Pennsylvania System
[font=BatangChe]"Gentlemen, the past days were hard and extremely tiresome, for all of us. We hoped to succeed in our project, but the longer I speculate about its outcome, the less I think it's actually feasible or lucrative. It is a dream of mine to establish a hideout for cast-out people, for the banished subcultur of all Sirius, right here, in the heart of Liberty. Yet I've recently started to believe that this dream will stay a dream, at least for the next few years. And I openly admit I underestimated it, all the aspect I guess. We need to abandon this. I need every bugger off this station within two days. The proviant and other useful materials will be taken by our utmostly adjuvant Zoner friend. Highest importance has the covering of our tracks, we mustn't leave anything behind which could imply on our presence here, not like any police patrol would ever decide to take a visit to this dead end location, but we don't wanna take any risks, now do we? So, Dutton will assign you all individual tasks for the evacuation process. I want to get this done fast, swiftly and most importantly, with style, clear?
[font=BatangChe]The four mean standing in front of Andrew's makeshift desk slowly nodded and shuffled out of the room after he had ordered them out.
They were all servants to Andrew, not being really intelligent and overall charismatic, he had made them to his henchmen. They trusted him, they had faith in him, they would never fail him, they were too dumb to think on their own, so thought Andrew.
[font=BatangChe]"Alright Dutton, take these papers and hand them over to Philips, Morris, Howard and Bennett, everything should be self-explanatory."
[font=BatangChe]"Okay.. boss... by the way, my I ask about your sudden change of mind? It actually all seemed to be leading in the direction you predicted it into, at least it appeared so to me."
[color=#000000][font=BatangChe]"Well, you're obviously wrong there, frankly, it was a fail, a complete and utter miscalculation. I'm going to wipe it out before any negative consequences ensue..."
[font=BatangChe]Dutton put on a contemplative expression. "Hm.. if you say so, um, I'll rather go now I guess."
[font=BatangChe]There was nothing but the charred remains of his home and possessions. Not that it had been worth much for the government and the society, it was an acceptable loss, a sustainable one, an expected one, seeing as this was the most war-torn area of whole Bretonia. Though it had also been Andrew's home for his entire life. And this home had now been washed away in one night. Andrew lost everything one could imagine, and not only his physical possessions. Family, friends, relatives, girlfriend. Not a bit was spared, not a single part of what had had slightest importance in his life wasn't begrudged to him. Andrew felt absolutely nothing but pointless nothingness in the first moment. After a while an awkward feeling of having been utterly spoofed cropped up. It was a joke, nothing but a joke, the biggest joke ever done to him, a joke that hurted indescribably immensely and would remain in his heart for the rest of his life. At some point he felt like a newborn baby. He was at zero, with zero past, a human at stage one. The only difference was the experience and memories he had. Often he would wish he could simply turn them off, with time he would learn to accept the facts as they were. In that right moment though it was too much for a human's mind, way too much. The more astonishing it was that Andrew didn't turn insane but rather deafend himself, put everything inside him on ice, closed and barred all hatches, sealed and encrypted every dangerous thought so it was denied to him to access these. This was truly an admirable ability, a sign of extremely high self-restraint only one human in Sirius possessed, Andrew Carter.