The Farstrider Scout

Oh, it’s on now!

2010.02.05 06:34:00

Victim: Dereth Renner
Corp: Geezer Gaming corp.
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Destroyed: Abaddon
System: Eglennaert
Security: 0.8
Damage Taken: 22219

Involved parties:

Name: takedoom (laid the final blow)
Security: 4.5
Corp: Goram Innovations
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Hyperion
Weapon: Electron Blaster Cannon II
Damage Done: 16249

Name: Snake Bliskan
Security: 3.9
Corp: Goram Innovations
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Ishkur
Weapon: Hobgoblin II
Damage Done: 5970

Destroyed items:

Adaptive Nano Plating II
Proton L, Qty: 65 (Cargo)
Heavy Capacitor Booster II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I, Qty: 3
Multifrequency L, Qty: 5
Large Armor Repairer II
Reactor Control Unit II
Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Qty: 2
Cap Booster 800, Qty: 5
Cap Recharger II, Qty: 2
Valkyrie I (Cargo)
Carbonized Lead L, Qty: 100 (Cargo)
1600mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates I
Hammerhead I, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Nuclear L, Qty: 100 (Cargo)

Dropped items:

Damage Control II
Hobgoblin I (Cargo)
LiF Fueled I Booster Rockets
Multifrequency L, Qty: 3
Reactor Control Unit II
Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Qty: 6
Cap Booster 800, Qty: 16 (Cargo)
Valkyrie I, Qty: 3 (Cargo)
1600mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates I
Hammerhead I (Cargo)

Brexar pulled his axe from the chest of the last of the Sartosan pirates, and looked around the clearing as he yanked a cloak out from one of their number to clean the blade. No less than fifteen bodies lay scattered around in various forms of dismemberment, testament to the Slayer’s strength and combat prowess, yet his keen eye picked out several of their number that bore recent wounds not of his own making, perhaps only hours old.

It had probably been sheer bad luck on their part that he had run into them. It wasn’t as if he was trying to find trouble, at least not in them. The rumors of undead in the ruins of Organza had drawn him south from Altdorf, and these buffoons had merely gotten in his way. It didn’t help that they had challenged him as he passed on the road, despite the fact that they had been licking their wounds from another recent battle.

Whether they had won or lost that fight, he could not say, but there was a distinct lack of loot on their part, save for one thing… One of the few female members of the band was wearing a breastplate that was much cleaner than anything pirates normally owned, and looked very familiar. He slung his axe over his back and stomped over to the corpse. Miraculously, the armor itself was unscathed, the head of the pirate having been taken clean off.

Looking over the intricate skull and flame design on the chest, it slowly came to him – this had belonged to a Knight of the Blazing Sun, and female at that. Brexar wondered how many females were accepted into the order. Shrugging, he undid the clasps holding the armor on and hauled it off. Even if he couldn’t find the owner, who was likely dead, it might catch a decent price somewhere. Suddenly the sun caught the inside of the breastplate, illuminating an intricate engraving, and he peered closer to read it: “Giacinta Achille”

The armor dropped from his stunned fingers. He knew that name. He looked around rapidly, looking for anything else. No, this was the only piece… The lack of blood or damage meant that the woman might have lived… He walked around, piecing clues together, trying to think over the sounds of the birds, the trees, and the river…

The river! Gathering up the armor, he started moving towards the river, studying the ground intently. While he would never be as good a tracker as Arvelen, at least the elf had been able to teach him a little of the art. It became clear the direction the dance had taken the pirates – it ended at the river, and they had not bothered to cross. Probably because they couldn’t swim, he mused.

He stood there for a moment, studying the bank and the flowing river, until a gleam caught his eye. There, at the bottom of the river, gleamed yet another piece of armor. Divesting himself of his axe and the breastplate, he dove in after it, only to spot other pieces on his way down. By the time he had finished, he had uncovered almost a full suit of plate, stacked on the shore with his axe, but no body.

Deciding the armor would have to stay put, he did his best to conceal it on the bank of the river, then began to swim across to the other side, where he began his search anew. It didn’t take long to find footprints in the soft ground of the river bank, leading towards the forest. The sun was beginning to set, and so he began to hurry, knowing that despite his excellent night vision, it would be difficult to track Giacinta in the forest once night fell.

He began to hurry even faster when he spotted blood spattered here and there, brushed off on leaves and branches, and mixed in with the footprints on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye though, he spotted the faint gleam of fire deeper in. Perhaps it was her? Or someone else who had spotted her? Ignoring the tracks now, he forged towards it, bursting into the small clearing.

There before him was Giacinta, sitting on a log, a fire burning low. She turned to him slowly, clearly confused. Brexar looked at her quizzically, “Giacinta?”

“W… Wh… What?” Stammered the young woman, clearly bewildered. “Who are you?”

“I’m Brexar… You don’t remember me?” Brexar slowly eased his axe to the ground and took a few steps forward. Giacinta shied away, and he reached out with both hands, palms up. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to see if you’re wounded.”

She nodded, “My… head hurts… And I feel dizzy. And no, I don’t know you at all.”

Brexar lowered his hands and took a few more steps forward, examining her closely. She appeared mostly unscathed, save for a nasty looking head wound that was caked in dried blood, the hair matted across it. “You’d been hit in the head… Did you sleep at all?”

“What? Aye, I think so…”

“Right. Can you carry your sword? Walk? I can bandage you up a bit for now, but we should probably get you to Conserta in the morning, see if they have a healer. In the meantime I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Uh… All right?” Giacinta seemed to relax slightly.

“Good.” Brexar moved and sat down on the opposite side of the fire. “First, your name is Giacinta Achille, and, as I said, my name’s Brexar, and I’m a Slayer….”

Tall grass gave way to tall trees as she ran, and, gasping for air, exhausted, she tripped and fell flat on her stomach. Propping herself up on her elbows, she put one hand to her forehead to wipe away the trickling sweat, but when she pulled her hand away, it was covered with blood.

Dragging the heavy greatsword with her last bit of strength, she managed to get into the forest proper and, hugging a log, bowed her head and closed her eyes.

The sun was just setting when she awakened, and now, more rested but still a bit dizzy, it occurred to her to make a fire to ward off any creatures that prowled the area. Clad only in a silk blouse and leather trousers, she knew she’d be no match for whatever might come. She eyed the greatsword where she had dropped it. Why would she have something like this anyway?

Sitting before the newly made campfire, the young woman pushed her wavy auburn hair out of her eyes. She noticed a flash of light on her left ring finger, and indeed found a simple yet elegant band on it. Staring at it intently, she felt that perhaps she may have loved someone very deeply, and a shadow crossed her heart, like the brushing of a dove’s wing. And then it was gone, like the rest of her memories. Staring forlornly into the flames, she rubbed her eyes, and hoped that morning would show her the way home.

Whose head
Is often in the clouds,
Occasionally in the gutter,
Or even his pants,
Even sometimes in his heart,
But rarely where it belongs –
On his shoulders.

(Think of “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Mötley Crüe)

So yeah, right now is a really good (or bad, depending on your point of view) time to be a gamer… At least a PC gamer that is. Screw those console heathens. There’s a glut of newly released games and about to be released games, and for me, it’s really kind of an overload.

First off, you’ve got Dragon Age: Origins, which isn’t really a new release, as it came out last November, but for me, it only came out a month ago when I returned from my deployment. I still haven’t finished it, and have two different characters that I’m playing through with at the moment. It’s not that it’s a bad game – I love the gameplay and the story – it’s just that other games keep getting in the way, mostly because of beta testing.

Speaking of beta testing, two new MMO’s just finished their beta testing stage and are about to be birthed out into the open market – Global Agenda, and Star Trek: Online. I had the opportunity to beta test both, and while they really have no fear of competition from each other on the open market, when it comes to me, well… I can only play one game at a time.

And trust me, this is a problem, because not only do I have all those to choose from, but Mass Effect 2 just released, and I can’t really justify playing it until I play through the original on the character that I want to carry over… But I’ve also been playing EVE Online lately, and have actual commitments in that game, especially since our corporation is currently at war.

I think I just need to take leave again…

I hate how my mind thinks sometimes. I have an issue where I will have moments of pure clarity (these may be rare for some people, but not quite so for me, I think) regarding how I should be handling things… But that thought is almost always overridden by the thoughts of what I want to do. It’s very frustrating, not to mention BAD.

Now, how to get my shoulds to coincide with my wants……

“Let your arms enfold us,
through the dark of night.
Will your angels hold us,
Till we see the light.” – “Prayer” by Secret Garden

I had so much that I wanted to say here, and I was going to get it all down at work, but the sound of the TV drowned out my own thoughts and made that impossible. I’ll try my best, but I promise nothing.

I’m sure that even before I write this, you know my heart, and what I’m feeling, just as I know that what I have been taught is correct over what I think, but I want to get it out… Need to get it out. And this may be one of the hardest things I ever do.

I know I’ve talked to Gina about this, but it didn’t help, at least not entirely, now I’m going to the source, because I’m sure that if anyone understands, You do, because I highly doubt I am alone in my feelings.

Once again, I’ve hit rock bottom, or at least that’s how I feel, yet still I have not been able bring myself to ask for help, or guidance. Whether it’s You trying to get close to me, or me looking to You, I keep pushing away, no matter what. I feel as if perhaps, despite what I’ve been taught, that I do not deserve this, that I should be able to bear this burden, any burden on my own, without help, especially from You.

But now, after talking to Gina, and my father, and realizing that I’ve totally lost my way now, and because of this huge hole in my heart, I think things need to change. Hopefully this is the first step in the right direction. I don’t know, and only time will tell. I’m not even sure that I’m going about this the right way, but at the moment I feel like total shit, have no one to really talk to, unless I disturb someone’s rest, and when I can turn to You and know that You’ll just listen, without judging or anything, then this is the path I choose… Or is it the path that you have set before me? That’s the part I hate, never knowing if it’s predestined, or free will.

I need to start from the beginning though, because I don’t think I’ll feel right unless I do. I’ve never been one to thank You for all the good things in my life, because… I’ve never wanted to believe. Perhaps that is where my gift failed, because I ceased to believe. But You have given me so much, and I cannot thank you enough for all the joy the past five years of my life have been, despite all the pain and heartache that has accompanied with it. I know every road is not without it’s rough parts, and I’m willing to accept that.

But now I’ve hit a rough part that I know I can’t get through alone, because the part of my life that has helped me get through everything else these past few years is gone. It’s not her fault, and I forgive her for everything, because how could not forgive, how could I hate, someone I love so very much? I know she calls me a saint, but I also know that I’m anything but. So I’m asking for help, for the both of us, because I know that she needs it just as much as I, if not more. I ask for guidance, as we both need someone to show us the path we should take, whether it becomes the same path once more, or goes in two completly different directions. Lastly, I want to ask for help for everyone else, for them to understand, and be patient with us, especially Gina’s mother, for she seems to need it most of all.

I don’t expect anything out of this, because even though I am trying to take a step in the right direction, I still have difficulty accepting You, for how can you add to a cup that is already full with something else? From You, all I ask for, ultimately, is patience, and a listening, understanding ear.

Forrest.

After living with someone, plus two dogs, for five years, having an empty house is startlingly quiet.  You tend to jump at things that never would have bothered you in the past.  Take last night, for instance.

I had just gone to bed, and I hear a rattling from the back door. Now, the alarm system is armed, and had I thought things through, I probably would have taken the time to grab the shotgun and load it, and still be ready in time to blow a hole in whoever walked in the door before they set the alarm off… But no, I go down the hallway, buck naked, and grab the axe I had sitting by the garage door. By this point, the thought had crossed my mind that it might be one of the seemingly infinite number of cats we have plauging our neighborhood trying to get in, but by the time I picked up that axe, the thought was firmly in my mind that it was NOT just some cat, but someone trying to jimmy the door.

So, axe in hand, I flip on the back lights, and what do I see? A cat, running off to the fence. Boy do I feel like an idiot.

Still, it took me over half an hour to calm down… With a loaded shotgun under the bed.

The End.

I suppose it’s mostly common knowledge now, as my parents included it in their yearly Christmas letter, but I’ll start from the top…

In two days, I’ll be able to play whatever music I want, as loud as I want.
In two days, I will no longer have any incentives to come home quickly after work, for it will be empty.
In two days, this downward spiral will reach the bottom, thus ending what I feel has been, emotionally at least, the hardest three weeks of my life to date… Or is it merely the marker for the beginning?
In two days, all this and more will come to pass because I will, in our eyes, no longer have a wife, and she will no longer have a husband.

No retreat.
No surrender.
Victory or Death.

For Sigmar!