FRS Chpt 26

==Falcon Rising - Chapter 26 -==
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===Mystery behind the Man===
Date: July 20th, 3052Location: Antares, Clan Jade Falcon/Clan Steel Viper Occupation Zone
"Star Captain," Aidan Pryde greeted the woman Marthe had assigned to brief him.
 
"Star Colonel, I was told that you desired to speak with me."
 
"Yes," Aidan replied. "I was told that you are close with Star Commander Mark. I would seek to understand his motivations and what drives him. He is an excellent warrior, yet I know almost nothing about him aside from the reports that were submitted upon his admittance as a Bondsman."
 
"Where would you like me to begin?" Darya Pryde asked. "There is much I could speak of here."
 
"In case I am missing something, give me his background, what drives him? Where did he come from? What are his plans for the future?"
 
"I will begin with the reported facts, and branch off from there."
 
Darya adjusted her seat to be more comfortable before leaning in.
 "Mark Hull, no reported rank or records aside from a brief mention of a 'civilian' mentioned in the writings of the late Captain James Cromwell. He is the last remaining survivor of the SLS Manassas. After waking up and dealing with the dead crew, he decided that it would be easier to survive on the planet they were orbiting than it would be to repair the ship."
 
"Given the reports I have on the Manassas's K-F Drive, he was not incorrect in that assessment," Aidan agreed.
 
"Still, he made landfall and began to eke out a life on the planet. Should the 2nd Falcon Jaegers have not stumbled upon the Manassas, I believe that he would have remained there until he eventually passed away."
 
"All of that is in his file," Aidan stated. "I have no need to learn of that which I can read from a report."
 
"He seeks change," Darya said after a brief pause. "You must remember that he grew up and knows what the Star League was at its height. What the Hegemony was, and how they worked. He wants to change the Jade Falcons, and the Clans with them. That is his goal. And now, it is mine as well."
 
"What would he change? And why? Have not the Clans proven themselves the most capable in this war so far?"
 
"Neg," Darya shook her head. "We lost at Tukayyid, despite the victory that we eked out along with the Ghost Bears. We lost at Twycross, and we have been forced to cease in our tracks. Star Colonel, the Clans must change, or we will die. I have chosen that which I believe to be the honorable path, all that is left is for you to choose for yourself as well. Just as Khan Crichell and saKhan Khistu have. If you require more, you must ask him yourself. But know that he does not think in the same manner that we do."
 
"I shall have to do so," Aidan wrote down another note. "You are dismissed, Star Captain, I expect that Star Colonel Marthe Pryde will need you back soon, quiaff?"
 
"Aff," She rose. "Star Colonel, something to consider before you approach him on your own. The Clans are supposed to abhor waste, and yet we waste the most precious thing available to us: The lives that we have been gifted with. Whether Tankborn or freebirth, each life must be weighed carefully and measured against that which we intend to pursue. Is the cost of such waste worth it in the end? Or have we all been caught up in folly?"
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===Choosing invisible sides within the Clan===
Location: Outskits of SLDF Cache - Antares, Clan Jade Falcon/Clan Steel Viper Occupation Zone
"Hey there," I looked as the door to my quarters slid open, revealing Darya Pryde. "I didn't expect to see you for another few months at the very least."
 
"I was summoned," she replied as she sat down on my desk. "Star Colonel Aidan will be coming to ask you some questions soon. I suspect that you have a lot of work ahead if you intend to persuade him to join your faction."
 
"Faction?" I scoffed. "Darya, I'm an old man and a mere Star Commander. I don't have a faction."
 
"Do you not?" Darya asked. "You, a bondsman who rose through the ranks to become a warrior, who works with other castes as needed to complete a mission. One of only two warriors to ensure that Clan Jade Falcon won the day on Tukayyid. You do not have a faction?" she sighed and rested her face in her hands. "Did you believe that your deeds were meaningless? Or that I alone would notice or care?"
 
"Kinda?" I replied as I took in just how exhausted she seemed to be. "It is easy to be caught up in the bubble of what your immediate Star, Trinary, and Cluster are doing. And I was a bit busy recovering and then preparing for our raid against the Steel Vipers."
 
"That is understandable, but you cannot remain in ignorance for much longer. The trials for Galaxy Commander Mar Helmer's position will begin soon, and you and I will have the opportunity to trial for the command of many Clusters. At least three Star Colonels perished in the fighting on Tukayyid, and while the trials were postponed they cannot be for much longer lest we lose the chance to advance."
 
"And if the Khan should perish?" I asked. "Khan Elias Crichell was wounded on Tukayyid. I suspect that if he dies, that Star Colonel Marthe shall try to push for the position of saKhan."
 
"She certainly does not lack ambition," I agreed. "But neither does Aidan lack ambition. And now that he has won honor and glory for restoring the Falcon Guards to a position of respect, I believe that he will at least push a claim for Mar Helmer's position."
 
"Regardless," Darya shifted her position and leaned in. "We have not spent much time together as of late. And I would do so before I depart."
 
"I know there are a few gorgeous parks around this city," I grabbed a map that I had collected earlier. "We can go look at the sights."
"Maybe later," She sighed. "For now, I simply wish to rest. You are not the only one that has been busy after the Battle of Tukayyid."
 
"Well come here then," We shifted to the bed and I pulled her close, her smaller body radiating warmth as I pulled a blanket over and whistled for Gray, the Octo-Wolf settling down at our feet. "Rest and recover. You are safe here."
 
Her breathing slowed and stilled as she drifted to sleep, and I shifted a bit to get her long hair out of my face before resting my head on the pillow and following suit.
 
I closed my eyes and inhaled, a warm feeling filling my body as I relaxed in a way that I hadn't relaxed since I'd first existed in this universe. And with a full exhale, I released a tension that had built up since our conversation on the Jade Talon.
 
She still wanted me, even as old and broken as I was, and if nothing else. Having someone that desired you for being you, was worth treasuring.
 
"It always comes down to time," I thought. "There's never enough of it to spend as you wish."
And as I slipped off into sleep, I thought about a poem I'd heard a long, long time ago.
 
"I have only just a minute, only sixty seconds in it. Forced upon me, can't refuse it. Didn't seek it, didn't choose it. But it's up to me to use it, I must suffer if I lose it. Give account if I abuse it. Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it."
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