Daydreams….

As I lay in my bunk that night, I felt nothing short of uneasy. In a cold sweat and in fear of what this lonely and sober night had in store. If you would have seen me you would have sworn that I was being held hostage and tortured. In my mind I was, I was held hostage in this station, and tortured by a cruel reality that I could never seem to escape. The minutes seemed like hours as my restless body lay still, afraid that if sleep fell on me I would undoubtedly start dreaming. Though it seemed as if I could not stop the dreaming now even if I was awake. Somehow my fear took me back, back to a time that I wish I could somehow forget. I started to daydream about my past, my love, and my work during the Caldari/Gallente war.

Shortly after The Gallente-Caldari War ended, during which time my entire family was executed at the hands of The Federation, I had been assigned to run security patrols in The Citadel Region. My job was pretty easy, patrol the belts and clear any Pirates that might have a chance to harass any ships incapable of defending themselves. One night while making my last set of rounds, I happened across a Magnate mining in theUedama System. I passed through in my Merlin seeing that everything was clear and decided I would warp to a nearby station and dock up for the evening. Just as I started to hit warp speed I noticed what looked to be 5 Pirates warping in. As I approached the station I quickly went to warp back to the belt. Scotty however had different plans for me, as soon as I neared the station he seen me coming and activated the docking sequence. As soon as I hit the hanger I made Scotty undock my ship.

I entered space and hit my warp drive, knowing I was too late. Whoever that poor pilot was would be gone and I had not done my job. There was no way that Magnate would stand up to 5 Pirate ships. As I entered the belt I couldn’t believe my eyes, the Magnate was still in tact, but barely. I hit my afterburners and quickly made a pass right through the group of Pirates. I quickly targeted 4 of them and began orbiting tight. They were no match at all for my Blasters or my Rockets. All 4 went down in what seemed like seconds. Targeting the fifth I could see he was closing in on a final blow to the unknown pilot. I hit the Afterburners again headed straight for the Pirate, blasting rounds and rockets the entire way. The last ship exploded just before he would have laid a final blow to the Magnate.

As I approached the Magnate I could see it smoking and sputtering. I knew the chances of it making back to a station alone were anything but great. I did the only thing I could do, called over local comms and asked the pilot to Fleet up so I could escort the badly damaged ship back to a station. I received no verbal communication just some flashing lights and then the Magnate moved in close to me. I began to escort the ship to a nearby station, one that I knew had a damn good repair shop, as this was going to be a ton of work. It took us a few minutes but soon we approached the station and Scotty had the Magnate all docked up, I followed quickly after.

I was still in my ship when the Magnate pilot stepped out. I took a quick glance and looked back down at my controls, only to immediately realize what I had seen and look back up. Standing next to this badly beaten ship was the most beautiful Amarrian I had ever laid eyes on. I hastily exited my ship and made my way towards her. I could remember just how shaken she looked as I approached. I quickly introduced myself, and apologized for taking so long to get back to help her. She nodded and introduced herself as well, saying “Better late than never Denovin“. “I am Alyria, Alyria Kyrin” she said as she cordially put her hand out in front of her, obviously requesting a handshake. Everything still felt so real, I could almost feel her hand, the warmth that surrounded it.

Scotty quickly came around the ship to ensure that the mechanic on duty could fix her ship. Explaining that it would take a few hours, but it would be as good as new. “Put it on my tab” I said to Scotty, he nodded in agreement. I offered to take her to dinner, explaining that there was a nice little Civire spot in the station. Alyria quickly agreed and we made our way across the station. At dinner we laughed, talked about anything, everything and sometimes nothing at all. Dare I say it was love at first sight? It was for me anyways. After that night we spent a few months traveling various systems together. I would run personal security for her while she was mining, or doing various jobs while I was off the clock. It didn’t take too long for us to want to spend our lives together, we were married just 6 months after our initial meeting.

A few years after being married, 3 years, 5 months and 2 days to be exact, my dear bride said she needed to go to the Essence Region for business. Knowing that I could not make the journey due to patrolling duties I just asked that she get back as soon as possible. I didn’t like The Federation and didn’t trust them either. These trips went on for 2 years differing in length each time. The next time she said she had to go she begged me to come with. I agreed and asked for a week off from patrolling duties. We set off for the Essence Region arriving in Algogille. Our first stop was at Federation Navy Testing Facilities.

Suddenly as I was laying there I started sweating again, the love and warmth I felt just moments earlier were no longer there. My mind flashed ahead to our arrival in the station, the stampede of Federation Troops. It all happened so quickly, both us grabbed, restrained and dragged away to separate cells. I could still feel the torture, the burning flesh, the electricity running through my body. I could hear Alyria’s screams of desperation, all the while wondering why they would do this to her. Begging for them to let her go, she was a miner, what could they possibly want from her. I was obviously the one they wanted. Boy was I wrong, I remembered the questions, always getting to the same one. Did you know your wife was a spy, guilty of Corporate espionage? I remembered laughing, my tired, beaten, tortured body convulsing as I did so. A spy? My wife? There was no way she was a spy, no way she could keep this secret from a Military man such as myself.

I remembered the pictures spread out on the table in front of me. Pictures of my wife with various Federation diplomats. I remember closing my eyes, telling them I didn’t want to see anymore. Begging that they stop torturing us, begging for both of our lives. Even with undeniable proof of my wife, the love of my life, being a spy I still refused to face it. Suddenly my thoughts jumped straight to the end. I could see it all over again, two men dragging my beaten wife into my cell. Forcing her to admit to her crimes against The Federation. The pistol being pulled from the holster, I could hear the shot, smell the powder, see the blood. I could still taste the tears I shed as her body hit the floor of my cell.

I screamed as I jumped up from my bunk and punched the wall. My daydreams which used to be so warm, so loving, had been corrupted by the nightmares I had hid away with alcohol. I stood in the mirror, sobbing, wishing I could see her again. Wishing my last visions of her weren’t those of her death, her blood running under my boots. I ran out to the hanger and boarded my pod, knowing I had no ship but knowing I had to get out of here, knowing I had to get a drink. I undocked and set my systems for Sivala, and swore that nothing would keep me from my destination….