“I’ve lost everything…It wasn’t a war or some accident that took it away from me. It was my own pride, my own selfish vision. I put so much into this company that it’s cost me my sanity, my marriage, my savings, and my right to call myself a Father! All that was left for me was this company, all that was left was Lucrative Excavations…and even that I don’t own anymore, it got bought out by this “Patriarch” at such a convenient time…And now I’m here, light years away from my home in a culture I don’t really have the patience for…But this is the consequence of all my choices, there’s nothing left for me back in the Federation. Lucrative Excavations, is all I have. The Raata Zaibatsu, is all I have.”
- Monden Searbier
“Things could’ve been different.”
August 28th YC 121
Room G-18 - Mandatory Care wing of Ohrion Conglomerate Rehabilitation Facility, Nannaras X
“Dad, I know it sounds ba-”
“Why the ■■■■ are you so passive, letting these people funnel abillion ISK into the Guristas?! You’re even supporting them as they do it! Hell, Stelmari gave me a damn concussion, but I’m happy to see he’s not letting something like this slide.”
“Look, I understand at a glance this all looks very incriminating, but you gotta understand the sentimental value this trip holds for Suh-”
“Akels, I don’t care if Suha wanted to go a ■■■■■■■ pleasure world in Venal with unlimited individualy wrapped starcakes and Quafe. Do you not see what she’s doing? Do you not see the strings she’s pulling around here?”
“You make it sound like she has something malicious planned!”
“Those backwater Guristas scumbags are always up to something malicious! Always manipulating people, always exploiting the weak, always looking to turn a profit. And thanks to Suha? They just made a billion ISK…She’s manipulating people-”
“Dad.”
“- she’s clearly manipulated you-”
“H-Hey now…”
“- and she’s manipulated half this god damn colony! I was shocked to hear that only a minority was against this, that the majority of colonists here supported it! It’s unbelievable!”
“I-I assure you that if you took a second to understand the context then-”
“The context here is that Suha clearly has the Guristas’ best interests in mind, she has the best intrests at heart for a cartel of pirate psychopaths that loot, murder and destroy everything in their path. Hell, don’t you remember what they did to us? How they raided our warehouses years back, killed all of our employees there, took everything we worked to dig up! Sent the entire company into bankruptcy! Anyone with ties or dealings these monsters has something malicious in mind.”
“What malicious plan do you have in mind then?”
“What the f- What are you talking about Akels?!”
“You took money from the Guristas!”
“…”
“…Yeah I said it. Did you forget I was your CFO up to Lucrative Excavations’ bankruptcy? You didn’t think I see the random injection of funds into our account from an “Investor” you recently made contact with?”
“…Now Akels I think you got the wro-”
“Stop! No! Stop talking to me like I don’t know anything! You keep doing this to me! You never let me get a word in and keep talking over me! You never take me seriously! You never listen to what I have to say about something! I knew damn well what was going on! What “investor” was out there that wanted to put money into a failing company that hasn’t seen steady profit growth for twenty consecutive quarters? What bank or company saw value in us?”
“…”
“The money we got came from a corporation that had next to no traceable origin, I looked into it and couldn’t find anything where it came from or who even works for it. It was a shell corporation that magically appeared alongside news of a Guristas outpost being erected in the system…Do you not see the dots I’m trying to connect here Dad?”
“Yes and it’s a ridiculous conspiracy theory! Akels you can’t be serious!”
“There it is! Your not taking me seriously! You’re trying to make me sound ridiculous to cover for your own ass! To avoid taking responsibility for your own actions.”
“Taking responsibility? What are you implying?!”
“I’m implying you need to own up to the fact that our warehouses were attacked because you took the Guristas’ money! That our employees were killed because you failed to keep your end of the bargain!”
“No, you’re talking craz-”
“-J-Just think about it! What did you expect taking money the Guristas? You just got done making them out to be the biggest scumbags in New Eden that loot and pillage. What you expect was going to happen taking money from them and failing to pay them back? That they just forget about it? That they’ll take it to the courts? No! You knew damn well who you were dealing with when you took their money, and I kept my mouth shut because I knew how desperate you were trying to keep this company afloat! Because your pride demanded that you wouldn’t give up! That you wouldn’t dedicate your life to anything or anyone else, you became obsessed in the worst way possible and it has done nothing - NOTHING - but destroy the man I looked up to for a role model! The man that I called my Father!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Things could’ve been different…Everything could’ve been so different Akels…I just never thought to cash out while it was good. I gambled everything away on this company because luck was just so-so kind to me growing…I didn’t grow up privileged, both my parents worked manual labour on our homeworld to keep the lights on, keep me fed and clothed with a roof over my head. My parents went to no end to provide for me, to build a foundation under me to move upwards, to move past them. They wanted a better life for me and in turn, when I wanted kids I didn’t want them to have the life I did…I wanted them to have things! A nice house, good food! An actual parent to be around them! I didn’t want your mother to be off working a job, I wanted her to be with you and your sister!”
“What about you though!? Your job made sure you were never around! And as your obsession grew, the longer it be before we’d see you. Even then you were still worried about work, even at home you couldn’t keep away, and as it got worse and worse you’d keep telling me that it would all “work out” in the end. That life would be normal soon and back to the way it was….It never did. I got so sick of waiting for you come home and tell us everything was normal now that I jumped systems to come work for you! So I can help make things normal! So I could see you for once!”
“Yes! And it ■■■■■■■ broke me on the inside Akels!”
“…”
“You’re too young to understand this…But it’s a harrowing thing to be so far away from your family for so long, and have your son walk up to your door a grown man you don’t recognize at first…You’re right…I wasn’t around you son, I wasn’t there for most of your life and it broke me on the inside to see just how much I’ve missed. I felt pathetic, a terrible excuse for a father…”
“…You wanted what was best for us.”
"And I had that going! I had it! You were going to good schools, lived in a good neighborhood, eating good proper wholesome food, I could take you to places…and it was all thanks to Lucrative Excavations that I could afford that lifestyle for you and your sister. I’d hoped to pass it onto you two to run together! Leave a legacy for you two to inherit!
“That’s not what we wanted though…Y-Yeah it was nice, I had a good childhood all things considered but…What I was missing was…well…my Father.”
"…Akels, I’m so sorry. I-I-I just…Should’ve listened to your mother, I kept thinking this company was more important than the family because I thought that’s what kept it together in the first place. I should had just sold everything and returned home…Things would’ve
been different. I wouldn’t have to endure so much pain, so much loss and guilt if I just let go years back. I-I wouldn’t be here of all places! I wouldn’t be here of all places! I’d be someone where I could be happier! Be in a culture that isn’t alien to me!"
“…Well, there’s no point in worrying about “What could’ve been” Dad…”
“I can’t help it, I failed you as a Father, Akels! Not to say I didn’t raise you right…Just I didn’t raise you at all …I was just some stranger that would appear home once a week each month…Shower you both with money that the company earned then leave again…That’s not what a real Father does Akels, I showed my love through wealth rather than actually making you, your sister and your mother my priority and being there for you all.”
“I…I appreciate you saying that and all…But don’t think I don’t love you as a Father despite that. I admired you growing up and it’s just now that I’m an adult…I notice concerning things about who you are, who you’ve become and I’ve been trying to find some way to tell you…”
“Yeah…This certainly isn’t my highest point in life.”
“I wouldn’t say that!”
"Look at me Akels! I let my drinking get out of hand, never sought help for my heap of medical issues - mainly because I refused to pay for them - so new problems I developed kept piling onto each other! And now I’m here a prisoner in a hospital until I get “healthier” "
“And you look great! You look healthy! You look like you dropped eighteen pounds! And…Really you don’t need to stress about what you’ve done wrong…you’re not a superhero just because you’re my Dad or anything, you’re a human being like the rest of us! Imperfect, and that’s fine! That’s what the Zaibatsu embraces, it’s what makes us human!”
“Heh, if you say so.”
"The Ohrions placed you here so you can become a better you! So you can return as CEO of Lucrative Excavations and start a new chapter! A fresh start!
"Come back and take leadership of the company away from you? I mean…My plan was to hand the company off to you, just…Never thought of taking it away from you.
“Trust me, I’m more than ready to get back to just book balancing. If anything, my time as CEO has given me a taste of what will be expected of me. However I’ll be more than happy to return to being the CFO and handling all the number crunching.”
“Heh…Yeah you did always enjoy your numbers…Your Mother’s math wizardry definitely rubbed off onto you…”
“…Look, visitation is almost over and I need to catch the tram back to the administration complex. Put some more work in be-”
“Ah just go, don’t need to explain yourself to me. Good luck out there son.”
“Thanks…Oh! And Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“…I love you too.”
