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“Once a week I’ll visit one of the various medical centers in Venal. With as much combat the Guristas see, it’s expected that they’ll have their fair share of wounded laid up in hospital beds for dreadful lengths of time while they recover. Most without any family or surviving friends to visit them and lift their spirits up. If nobody else will take the time to visit them? Then I will. I’ll humor them, talk to them and listen to their stories, I’ll make them feel like they actually matter. Make them feel like they need to make a quick recovery so they can get back out there! And if I win a few hearts and minds in the process? So be it…”
- Suha Raibuya.
“Do you know how Fatal died?”
August - 19th YC 122
6NJ8-V VII - Moon 2 - Guristas Logistic Support Station - Guristas Medical Treatment Center.
“So what happened?”
"Heh, shot three times in the back by a combat rifle, old school ballistic projectiles. "
“Wow! No idea what it’s like being shot, but I imagine something like that is excruciating.”
“It could be much worse, I’ve been shot with plasma before, see this burn here on my right shoulder? Plasma. Now that ■■■■ hurts! This right here? Eh, this is nothing. Doc said I’ll make a full recovery in no time.”
“That’s gold to hear!”
“Yeah! Now if you wanna see something that’s true pain! Check out this scar on my stomach…”
“Ancestor’s choke! That is… Grisly.”
“Go ahead, touch it.”
“… Certainly has a thick texture to it.”
“Knife cut, thing is though, ■■■■■■■ things were covered in filth to create infections. ■■■■■■ sliced me with one coming round a corner on this Freighter we were boarding. I was laid up in the hospital for months getting pumped with antibiotics in agonizing pain! God damn! Just talking about it makes the hair on my arms stand up!”
“We don’t have to talk about it if-”
“Nah, I’m comfortable discussing this. I gotta take these deformities I’ve accumulated over the years with pride so they don’t weigh me down.”
“That’s an inspiring way to put it! Care to show me some more then?”
“It’s all my fault…”
“No it’s not. You don’t need to be so hard on yourself…”
“You weren’t there, alright? I’m the reason our cover was blown. I’m the reason the base goes on high alert and as a result, I’m the reason why Tors got killed! All because I was being a god damn idiot… He called out to me, you know? I’m stuck behind some cover while he’s out in the open bleeding out… I feel like a coward and an idiot at the same time.”
“… Well what are you going to do about it?”
“…?”
“You have a second chance to make up on these shortcomings. You’ve experienced some traumatizing failure, and I understand that’s not something easy to get over… But you’re still alive and have a chance to do better next time. If you’re gonna sit here in this room and dwell on what you did wrong that costed your comrade’s life - then at least keep note of everything you could had did better and move forward.”
“But I-”
“-It’s all you can do…”
“I… I guess you’re right. Thank you. Sorry, I’m still mourning Tors’ death… Only adds to the pain that I feel responsible.”
“I understand that, but beating yourself up like this won’t do you no good. Think constructively about how you can do better to prevent incidents like this from happening again. Okay?”
“… I loved him, you know?”
“Oh…”
“And not just like a brother-in-arms or some comrade. I ■■■■■■■ LOVED this man… You know how people motivated by love do such heroic things in holo-reel? I wasn’t that… That wasn’t reality, I was to much of a coward to make it so…”
"…Would you like a hug Virvo?
“Y-Yes!”
“Say ‘Ahh’~!”
“C-Come on lady… Bad enough my arms are broken, but you’re gonna do this to me?”
“Do what~?”
“Y-You know… This! Feeding me like I’m a… Baby.”
“Awww, come on~! You’re too tense! Loosen up a little… Say Ahh for me…”
“…”
“Please?”
“…A-Ahh-MM!”
“There you go! Was that so hard?”
“Ugh…”
“Now! Open the docking bay for the cargo ship~!”
“Please kill me.”
"After you finish your vegetables!~ "
“Oh, what’s good Suha? Good to see you again!”
“Celdre! God dammit! You’re here AGAIN?! What did you do this time?!”
“Some ■■■■■■■ Warclone was talking ■■■■, so I went up and fought the mother ■■■■■■ with these hands right here.”
“… And?”
“Broke all my ribs and dislocated both my legs.”
“… You seem surprisingly in good spirits despite that kind of injury.”
“Oh, I’m ■■■■■■ up on morphine right now.”
“That would do it… Celdre, tell me - Why do you keep ending up like this?”
“Oh you know how it is Suha, I’m just out there trying to inspire my boys and girls to go above and beyond. I’m trying to be a leader that leads by example. The kind of leader you follow into hell and out!”
“And I admire that, truly I do. Though… Don’t you ever stop to consider that maaaaaaaybe you can tone it down a bit?”
“Whatchu mean?”
“I mean, try not to start a first fight with some super augmented freak that you know could mangle you far worse than he already did? Nobody can follow a leader that can’t even walk…”
“Oooh, cut deep with that one! And I hear ya, but this is the kinda ■■■■ I live for! I didn’t want to fight a Warclone in a bare knuckle fist fight I would’ve stuck to my desk job back with Hyasoda!”
“Could you do it for me?”
“For you?”
“Yeah just… Try to avoid being hospitalized like this for once? Just for me Celdre…Please?”
“… Okay fine, on one condition.”
“Go ahead.”
“C-Could you get a nurse? I think the morphine is starting to wear off.”
'I’ll go get one for you…"
'Whoo-hooo… Damn! When my mates said they were bringing over some entertainment I didn’t expect something as high-class as this!"
“Excuse me?”
“My crew was sad I couldn’t hit up the pleasure nodes on the Warren anymore while I’m up here bound to this bed. So they said they would send the pleasure node to me! Haha! Why don’t you come little closer and give daddy some sugar, eh?”
“I think you got me confused with someone else…”
“Oh, do I? Guess you look too much like a prude anyway…”
“No, it’s just you or your crew couldn’t even afford me.”
“I somehow it is! Alright then, how about you show me them titties at least? Hehehe…”
“…”
“…”
“… Fiiiiiiine.”
“… Holy ■■■■!”
“Impressed?”
“Impressed you actually did it. Your titties on the other hand? Eh, little too small for my liking. Ain’t anything there to even grab onto!”
“Jackass…”
“Helloooo~ I’m terribly sorry to intrude on your recovery! My name…Is…”
“…Suha?”
“…I-Inasto?”
“…”
“…”
“W-What are you doing here?”
“I’m…I’m visiting the wounded being taken care of here… W-What happened to you? Why are you missing an arm?”
“…”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine… Suha. This is just my doing…”
“What happened?”
“…I choked in the heat of the moment.”
“Can you elaborate?”
“… I’m a trained demolitions man now. Well, dunno if I can consider myself trained anymore now that i managed to blow my own left arm off arming an explosive for the first time in a real mission.”
“Was there something pressuring you into making a mistake?”
“…We were under fire, I was with the ground team aboard a Lai Dai facility on the surface of this moon in orbit of Tamo V. Alarm was raised and we needed to push on, I was ordered to plant an explosive on a bulkhead door to make us a way to our objective. So I’m planting an explosive while under fire, I’m trying to remember my training, and I forget what exactly happened, but I turn my body to my squad, asking for a tool with my left hand still on the bomb - and Bam! Bomb goes off prematurely…”
“Remarkable you managed to survive that.”
“My squad leader is only keeping me on the team still because he was impressed I didn’t die right there from shock and I managed to stand up for the remainder of the op to get myself to extraction.”
“Did you get what you were after?”
“Yeah… Yeah we got it. Dunno what it was we were getting, and if I did know I’d probably get killed telling you, so…”
“Don’t worry about it… Didn’t assume you’d be the one carrying it anyway!”
“…”
“S-Sorry…”
“Again, it’s fine. Just can’t stand that I ■■■■■■ up that badly. I was trained! I thought I was perfect for the job! Flying colors on all my tests! And first live missions I blow my own arm off accidentally by missing a step in the arming process? ■■■■ me.”
“Human error.”
“What?”
“You’re human Inasto. You’re a flawed creature, perfection is not for us, neither physically or mentally. There will come a time where we will have these moments and fumble. Even with activities or tasks that we are typically comfortable and familiar with.”
“I ■■■■■■ up so badly and it costed me my arm! That’s more than a little 'mistake if you ask me.”
“Do you know how Fatal died?”
“…O-Of course I do! Capsuleers podded him.”
“And he had an outdated and faulty clone as a backup… Something so important to any Capsuleer to make sure they have updated, that the man whose said to be one of the most brilliant tactical geniuses of his generation and a legendary combat pilot would be the one to not think about having it updated. That Inasto, is the ultimate example of human error to me. Because despite all the hype, despite all the respect Fatal earned for himself as being one of the best of all time - Even he was not perfect - Even he would have that moment to fumble and make a mistake. No, it’s a mistake that costed him everything. YOU are still alive Inatso, by all comparisons available I’d say you’re far from having committed a bigger blunder. To me, Fatal made the most foolish mistake, so nobody else in the Guristas would ever have to feel ashamed.”
“I guess I didn’t think about it like that…”
“It’s fine, that’s why I’m explaining it to you.”
“…”
“… I assume you’re getting a cybernetic arm as a replacement?”
“Yeah… I know who you are Suha, you were talking about how much you didn’t like implants or cybernetics back home.”
“Honestly I see nothing wrong with you getting an artificial arm if it’s to serve as a replacement. My problem is when people give up parts of themselves in favor of artificial limbs or enhancements. When part of you is already taken away… No harm there.”
“But why?”
“Because I believe in preserving our human form as long as we have it as it is. From head to toes, my spirit fills every gap of this corporeal form. Our bodies are the mold to shape our spirits to that of a human being. Our body is a living entity created by nature so that we can physically interact with this masterpiece of a universe we find ourselves in. From pain to pleasure, I will feel this world as nature intended me to.”
“Hmph… You know I would agree with Akko that you were going off about some strange ■■■■.”
"Oh I know all to well your thoughts about my teaching… You were there to stop my first shrine being built after all! Smile on your face… "
“Yeah…I guess I’m sorry for that Suha.”
“… I accept your apology Inasto.”
“Cool… So I hear you’ve been doing real good for yourself of late.”
“You know, come to think of it? Yeah, I suppose I have been doing real good for myself!.. Not to gloat or anything.”
“No, I asked. When you washed out of the milita, thought that was it for you. Just be working fields rest your life… Never expected you to get where you are now. Be lying if I said I didn’t envy you.”
“If I’m being honest, I envy you in a way Inasto. You actually managed to join the Guristas where… As you said, I washed out of training for the common milita unit for our colony… At least YOU’RE accepted. I’m not…”
“Why’s it matter?”
“…”
"Why do you need their validation? You’re already more powerful and wealthy than most Gurista in this region with the exception of any cell leaders and The Rabbit himself. Hell, with this whole ‘Agency’ and banking system you got acting as a money laundering mill. You’re practically a functioning cell in your own right.
“What more do I need to do then…”
“To what end? If I was in your position Suha, I’d just kickback and enjoy what you got. I imagine you’re living far more comfortably than you were back home. Don’t gotta ever lift a finger again if you choose to.”
"No… No, that won’t due. I’m unsatisfied by that! I want to work! I want to DO something! Expand upon what I’ve made thus far and do more to be of benefit to the Guristas…
“Push to hard and you might end up making the wrong enemies… Suha, even down at my lowly level as a demolitions ‘expert’ in the ranks, you’re still very much at risk at making rivals being too ambitious and try to move up.”
“I’m not scared.”
“I didn’t say-”
“No! I’m telling you - that I am not afraid… You know how many Gurista I met this month? Hundreds. A lot of them had it in their head that I would scare easily, that I would be shy and timid, all because I’m some ‘Cute little starry-eyed girl with a countryside accent that’s too sweet and pure to know what it’s like for pirates!’… I’m tired of letting people think I’m scared of them, I’m tired of BEING scared… You wanna know why I’m doing so well for myself Inasto? It’s because I refuse to show anyone here fear… To show fear around the Guristas is to show weakness, and when they see weakness? They’ll see someone to exploit. You wanna know the secret of why I am where I am today? Because I stopped showing fear and people around me started seeing that as a strength. And If I’m being entirely honest Inasto? I get off on it…”
“Wow…”
“Yes ‘Wow’, now I truly appreciate your concern for me Inasto, but I’m not afraid of any ‘rival’ that may come my way. I will continue to expand until I see that there is no more I can do in my lifespan. As should you, be all you can be Inasto, never back down, never be afraid.”
“… Alright. Alright, I can do that… Give it a shot, you know?”
“Good, that’s all I ask… Now, I think I bothered you long enough Inatso. You need your rest…”
“Actually, think you could stay a bit longer…?”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me… Tell me more about Wayism, yeah? I never really listened much of it back home, just the highlights that Akko brought up.”
“I’d…I’d be happy to!”