TotHB: Seelah

"Kalus Haijikioten was always the more hot-tempered of us two brothers. We were consummate Civire children. There was never a task we couldn't rise up to meet, and to be honest, we were very close for the majority of our lives, until he met Seelah" -Titus to Ryven


Bridge of the Battlecruiser, Lyssa

Titus stood gazing at his tactical display.  Out there in the cold and black of space was his brother, Kalus.  Titus sighed, accepting the inevitable, knowing his brother as he did.  Immediately he knew they were both there for the same thing, but Titus had arrived first and had already completed his mission.  Ynnas' escape pod had been retrieved.  She was already on board, her new identity assumed.  Seelah she would be called from now on.  Kalus, Titus knew, was here to kill her, his clients would naturally be the Guristas pirates.  Titus shook his head.  Kalus would take a contract from anyone with no thought or question.  He had no scruples.  Titus had been hired by Seelah to fake her death, and he had succeeded in doing so.  Kalus, he knew, would assume that Titus had just stolen his contract.  Titus waited for the alarm to alert him to incoming fire.  He had already attempted to contact Kalus, but received no answer.

Titus didn't have to wait long.  Alarms blared as the first rounds struck his ship's shields.  He waited a few moments, railing within against the insanity of having to destroy his brother's ship.  Finally, sighing deeply, his eyes closed, he gave the order he had been dreading for the eternity of the past five minutes.  "Open fire."

Kalus's cruiser was outmatched.  Rounds from the Lyssa's batteries of blasters ate through the cruiser's shields quickly and Caldari ships were not heavily armored.  Titus hated to do what he was about to, knowing full well that it was probable his brother would not survive it, but he watched as the cruiser exploded, debris twirling off into the cold vacuum of space.  He shut his eyes and felt a tear streak salty warmth down his cheek.  He swore loudly.

He finally regained his composure and ordered the bridge crew to take the Lyssa in and search for any escape pods.  He held out one last hope.

***********************************

Several days had passed since he had been forced to destroy his brother's ship.  He had been a mess right up until one of his junior officers knocked on his cabin door and informed him that they had retrieved his brother's escape pod.  Titus had never known such relief.

As an added bonus, the woman Seelah had been comforting him.  He was quite taken with her, had been ever since he had accepted her contract in a backwater station cantina.  She apparently felt she should supplement her payment of credits with payment of a more intimate nature.  Every night he had returned to his cabin to find her waiting there.  He had lost a lot of sleep, but he considered that a fair trade.

Further, she had agreed to stay on as part of his crew for the time being, which made Titus quite happy.  She was an extremely skilled pilot and knew her way around a ship.  He had already agreed to pay her a cut on their next contract if she stayed on.

Kalus had stayed in his quarters.  Titus refused to let him leave the ship, even if they docked up.  He wanted to keep an eye on his brother and he hadn't quite forgiven him for trying to kill him, or for running out on him to start his own business, a competing firm no less.  

Little did Titus know that the recipe for disaster was already completed and that in a few weeks time, he would speak to his brother for the last time.

Melody

The Rowdy Stray

7-13 YC115 1350

Ryven sat on the piano bench, his fingers  finding thier long forgotten home on the keys of a glistening black piano.  He pressed the keys, delicately at first, finding the melody slowly in tentative steps.  His mind was furiosly racing through a cornucopia of thoughts and recollections, his heart a tempest of emotions.  Thee music came out in sombre notes, a composition in a minor key, probably E.

The bar was empty, as it always was.  Zhou had abandoned it when he moved in with Leela.  Still, it looked exactly as it had the last time he had been here, with Shalee. It seemed so long ago, now, as though he were looking back at another life.  In a sense, he was.  There was a line of demarcation, bisecting his time before and after her.  He was convinced now that there was no return to that time.  She was no longer his, nor he hers.  This had finally become clear with the arrival of feelings for another.

Ryven was still surprised at himself.  He had not intended for it to happen, and he was still completely vexed as to the actual nature of the emotions he felt.  All he could say for certain was that he wanted to be around her, to know her, and most alarmingly, to have her know him.  When he was with her, he didn't feel he had to hide himself behind the usual mask.  He could simply be himself. This was both exhilirating and terrifying.  Yet, he wanted it still.

But, what did it all mean?  How did it even happen?  When he returned from his binge, his breakdown, he had sworn off romantic relationships, and he could sense he had hurt Shalee.  But, then this new presence swooped in, and despite himself, he could feel the tugging, the tightness and warmth in his chest.  His feet only barely touched the ground these days.

Ryven realized his melody had changed.  Without meaning to, his playing had become a song, not of sombreness or mourning, but one of light and warmth, a happy song. 

"What has happened to me?" He asked the empty bar.

Only silence answered, but his eyes found his face in the mirror behind the bar, and in his reflection, he was smiling.

An Afternoon Chat

06-31 YC 115
Huola VII
Cerra Manor

Leela stepped through the door to Ryven's suite at Cerra Manor, followed by Zhou.  Leela had recieved a message from Ryven that morning asking them both to come by.  She was worried.  The last time she had seen or heard from Ryven was the day she informed him of the behavioral modification experiment which had radically altered his personality so much that he had found God, sworn service to the Amarr Empire, and gone as far as marrying her.  The marriage hadn't lasted, but everything else had.  To be honest, she liked this version of Ryven far more than she ever had the old version.  She had never questioned his conversion, though.  She'd simply assumed he had finally grown up and taken stock of his life.  Still, this version was her preferred version, even if it were artificially created. 

Ryven stood next to a coffee table and sofa and beckoned both of them to have a seat.  A carafe of freshly brewed coffee awaited, three cups already poured.  Steam wafted over the rim of each of the mugs.  Sunlight streamed through the window, the dimmers in the glass turned off to allow the natural lighting (a feature Ryven seldom utilized).  He smiled as they sat down on the sofa, and Ryven took a seat in a nearby chair, coffee in hand, his posture relaxed.

Ryven spoke first. "So, I invited you two here to apologize for not being in touch sooner and to share my thoughts and decisions regarding the information you gave me, as well as to thank you for it."

Leela relaxed visibly, the tension flowing out of her.  This was off to a good start. "The apology is unnecessary, Ryven.  You had a lot to think about and it was a lot to absorb, really."

Zhou's expression remained blank, but he nodded his agreement.  He did not know Ryven all that well, truly.  He had never known the old Ryven.  The new Ryven had saved his life at considerable risk.  From what Leela had told him, the old Ryven would never have considered such a thing, much less done it. 

Ryven nodded gratefully.  "I appreciate your understanding.  I also appreciate you telling me about Dr. Tobit, even knowing what it would do to me."

Leela's expression showed her concern for him. "I didn't enjoy it, but I never really considered not telling you.  You needed to know."  She didn't voice the contradictory emotions she had felt after she had told him.  She knew she had done the right thing, but her nights brought nothing but worry over him.  She had been doing her best for her relationship with Zhou, but Ryven was always going to be important to her.  He was her first love, and likely she would always love him.

Zhou was oblivious to Leela's current thoughts, but had been acutely aware of the strain it had put on her.  Still, he recognized that Leela had made the right choice and he felt deep sympathy for Ryven's position.  It is no small burden to learn that one's existence may very well be a fabrication.  No one likes to discover that what he believes most deeply to be true is a well-constructed lie.  "We both believe it was the right thing to do, Ryven."

Ryven nodded.  "I want you to know that I came by Dr. Tobit's research notes.  I had already made my decision regarding how to move forward beforehand, but even after receiving the notes, I have decided to make no attempts to reverse the changes."  He gestured toward a datapad on the coffee table. "I want you to hold onto those, Leela."

"Why?  Why not destroy them?" She couldn't think of any reason not to.

Ryven shrugged. "If you wish to do so, then that's fine.  I would recommend you read them first, though.  It could be very illuminating." He let the faintest of smiles play at the corner of his lips. "I read them and found it fascinating."

Leela's face showed her confusion, not knowing how to feel about this gift.  Still, she would honor his wishes.  How could she not?  Besides, her curiosity had been piqued, and that was a force to be reckoned with.  "Okay."

Ryven's face broke into a full smile, his eyes gleaming.  "Excellent."  He leaned forward, seeming lighter than he had in a very long time, a burden of sorts lifted. "So, that business taken care of, what's been going on with you two?"

Meeting, Continued

Ryven looked at the mysterious man, amused. "You realize that was extremely cheesy, right?  You do realize that.  You have to."

The man sat silently for a moment before speaking. "Okay, perhaps that is cliche, but it is also sincere.  What is good for the State is good for the cluster and vice versa."

Ryven frowned. "Not necessarily.  If the State posed a real threat to the entire cluster, then, I would argue that what is good for the State is most certainly not good for the cluster.  Even moreso, I am not terribly interested in what is good for the State, seeing as the State has made a habit of trying to have me killed, jailed, and a host of other unpleasantries."

The man nodded. "Okay, I'll give you that one.  However, the offer still stands, and you can retain the right to refuse an assignment if it conflicts with your newfound loyalties to the Empire, which we can blame Dr. Tobit for, I presume."

Ryven shrugged. "I can't say, honestly.  This is who I am now.  There's no sense in dredging up all of the reasons.  I like this version of me.  Who I was before is of little importance except as a reminder of why I don't want to go back to that life."

The man nodded again. "Fair enough."  He stood up and stretched, stifling a yawn. "So, what's it gonna be, Mr. Krennel?"

Ryven thought for a moment before answering. "Okay.  Inasmuch as it doesn't conflict with my loyalties to the Empire and the militia."

The man nodded. "Agreed."  He started to walk toward the door out into the hallway.

"Wait." Ryven spoke. "What do I call you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're clearly not going to give me your real name, but I'd like to at least have a name I can call you.  Makes these conversations more, well, friendly."

The man stood there, lost in memories of a different life and a different time.  He finally spoke. "It's Kaden."