Warriors of Valour: Part 2
Posted By: Ghost sniper<taylorboys@vtown.com.au>
Date: 4 October 2003, 8:00 AM
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'WARNING, WARNING CRASH IMMINENT.'
The monitors all held the same message with the computers flat toned voice ringing through the compartment. The cryo sleep had weakened me and a manual wake up had drained all my energy plus without anyone else I couldn't tell if there was permanent damage. I fell to the floor sending a crash through the small cabin. I tried to crawl forward towards the control panel, each reach of the arm seeming a lifetime. I reached the control panel and hauled myself up, my legs not responding. I bashed the keys with my hands scrolling through possible landing vectors; I selected one and fell to the floor blacking out before the crash sent me against the wall.
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I awoke against the back wall, sparks flying out of the controls, orange sand the only visible thing through the front viewpoint. I got up, apart from the severe bruise on my back I felt all right. Able to walk I opened the rear door and fell three feet to the ground. Looking back the longsword had landed nose first into the planet leaving the back feet in the air. I looked around seeing absolutely nothing but a stream of dust from afar. As it came closer I could see it was a car, a civilian car, thank god. It stopped just in front of me and a really built man got out his short brown hair not moving in the severe winds.
'Where am I' I asked first before he could say anything.
'You are on Eridanus 2 in the Eridanus Star System, Elysium City is just that way.' He said pointing from where he came. 'Why is a marine as young as you being a sergeant, you would of only joined the corps?'
'What year is it?'
'It is the year 2515'
'Well I'm twenty not to young and I'm not in the corps.'
'Then why do you wear a uniform?'
Oh shit, I spoke too much; well he looked like a good guy. So I told him about my father being killed and me stealing the ship.
'Ah yes I remember you. You where from Sigma weren't you, there was a small broadcast about being on alert for you. They still have a wanted notice on you though.'
'Wha- how do you know that?'
'I like to keep tabs on the military, I don't particularly like them.'
'Well neither do I.'
'Good, well you seem alright' he said looking at my back 'but you can stay with me and my wife till you're ready to go.'
'Where am I going to go?'
'Anywhere, but I suggest the Resistance.'
'The Resistance'
'Yeah, it's a little movement on the outer colonies; they help mercenaries, enemies of the state and people like you with nothing left. They have recruiting officers coming every two months.'
'Well I hate the UNSC and I am a wanted criminal so I guess I don't have a choice.'
'Good lad, I can keep you hiding in my house till you're ready.'
With that I got into his car and we set off talking about his and my family. I learnt his name was Robert and was married to a woman named Jane and had a four-year-old boy named John.
'Yeah John the apple in my eye. He's a very smart and strong boy. A little while back some military people came to see if they could recruit him for a new program called... oh what was it some Greek people in very ancient time...'
'Spartan' I suggested.
'Yeah that's it how did you know.'
'One of the fellow slaves was an ex-history lecturer. I got most of my schooling from him. The Spartan's where people who were great warriors it's an obvious choice for a military project.'
'Yes well where was I. Oh that's right, so we agreed to let them have him for the project, we are not very rich, we are having trouble keeping him now let alone when he grows, and any chance for John to have a good life we would jump at. Even if it meant we may never see him again at least he would be able to get an education and have food in his stomach.'
'That's sad, so is he gone?'
'No they come back in two years, 2517 in fact to pick him up. We're going to try and see him as much as we can till then.'
We suddenly stopped in front of a run down house. Robert got out and walked up the steps.
'This is my wife Jane.' He said gesturing to a very tall blonde woman in the kitchen. 'Jane this is Frederick he's going to stay for a while.'
'Oh Robert not another criminal.'
'Don't worry it's only for a month max.'
With that he led me outside to meet his son. He was only four but was moving bricks from one spot to another with great ease.
'John, I want you too meet Frederick he's going to be staying with us.'
'Wow another person to play with, come here Fred I want to show you my cubby house.'
His little hand grabbed mine and led me off his brown almost black hair swaying in the breeze his smile and laughter contagious and soon I too was laughing and smiling forgetting what had and was to happen. For a month I stayed there helping Robert at his day job of a builder. But then the day came for when I had to go into the spaceport to meet with the Resistance officials. Robert was taking me too the port but before I left I talked with John.
'Why do you have to go Uncle Fred?' He asked with wide eyes
'Its complicated but perhaps your father can tell you when you're older.'
'Will you come back?'
'I'm not sure but here's a little something you can have it used to be my fathers.' I said handing the knife I used back outside Sigma. 'Its lesson is why I must go.'
He cradled the knife in its holster and slowly took it out. On the blade was engraved a message
"To fight in what you believe takes great valour."
I had spent the month tossing and turning wether joining the resistance is the right thing to do and that knife's message kept coming back to me, and the decision became clear. I'm not sure Dad knew that the knife would alter his son's life son much. The message sparked his want for a mutiny, which had cost his life, his son then used it to kill his first person and then again use the message to motivate him towards a life in the resistance.
'Just don't tell your Dad, your only 4 after all.'
'Okay.'
The ride to the port was quite with Robert only shaking hands in silence before departing. I found the greasy fat man who took me on and pushed me into his ship with the rest of the universes' unwanted scum. My new life was starting one that I'm sure would finish the same time my life did, it was something I had to accept because there was nothing left so I might as well make the most of it.
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