[b][u]Transgressions of the Past[/u][/b] [i][b]"Yesterday's loss leads to madness. And the hero becomes tyrant. Becomes Outcast. Becomes ... Dust. Soon enough, the lines that were once so clearly drawn become ... blurred." [/b][/i] [b][u]Dojoville, 09:50 hours[/u][/b] Cylus sat alone at a table in courtyard A1, relaxing as he wrote in his log. He had had the log from the start of his "career" back on Earth, but decided to hold it until now. Within its pages was his story, and to whoever read it, may they pass it on. Pausing for a moment, he took a sip of his coffee and watched as people passed by, each with their own destination. His pet bird, Grifter, perched on Cylus' helmet on the opposite end of the table and let out a chirp. "It's okay, go spread your wings." he said. Grifter, still being a hatchling, had just learned to fly. Despite his young age, Grifter was the size of a falcon, given as a gift to Cylus from a friend. Cylus let out a sigh and continued writing. ... The other day at Station Seven, Sgt. Carly said something to me. She said "moving on with life is essential to survival sometimes. It's always good to mourn though..." That made me realize something. The only way I could ever survive, or rather, live on, is if I move on. More importantly, forgive myself. I blamed Rachel's death on myself from the start, and now I can clearly see how it changed me. To fully understand, we have to go back to that night... the night she died. ... [b][u]------- --, some years ago -------- City, Earth. 23:21 hours[/u][/b] [u]Dates and Locations have been changed for discretion.[/u] It was supposed to be a snatch and grab, nothing more. Rachel and I had been at the docks, watching as Vector's goons unloaded illegal shipments of weapons. Take surveillance, grab a piece of tech, and leave. Vector himself wasn't supposed to be there, something had tipped him off. He knew we were there. It was nearing the time to move in. With 4 minutes to go, I contacted Rachel through the comms. No response. Q, still in an early stage of development, was unable to ping her location. I shrugged it off, as it wouldn't have been the first time Rach decided to go offline. I checked my watch, time passed. Rachel wasn't signaling to go in. 5 minutes... 10 minutes... 15. I got antsy. I assumed she was upset because of an argument we had earlier that night, so I figured I would go in alone. I dropped down from my position atop a shipping container and stuck to the shadows. As I made my way to the clearing, I overheard two men walking in the snow. Their walkies went off and Vector's voice asked "If their was any sign of him yet." I didn't realize that "him" was me, I was focusing on the fact that Vecor was there. I quietly followed the two men until they came to an opening in which multiple of the black suvs were parked. In the center stood Vector, his back to me, using a computer in the trunk of one of his cars. His men just kept unloading crates of their smuggled weaponry, one large man in particular watching all of them. Vector stopped typing on the keyboard and looked to his right, kneeling down to talk to someone. Obscured by the car, I couldn't see who. I decided to get a better view by grappling up to a shipping container. Still too far to see, I had Q enhance the image and audio. Vector was talking to a woman with a sac on her head, hands and feet tied together. It was Rachel. "Your boyfriend is here" he said, walking around her. "In fact... he's listening us right now. Isn't that right, ------?" "You won't get him!" Rachel screamed. "If you so much as touch a hair on my head, he will come for you. And he'll never stop." "That's what I'm counting on..." Vector whispered, turning to look straight at me, this psychotic smile strectching across his face. The gunshot rang throughout the docks. I couldn't move, not even when the red laser appeared on my chest. Next thing I know, I had been shot in the chest by a tranq dart. I instantly became dizzy and fell 2 stories from the shipping containers, face first into the snow. I was in and out of consciousness. I was being dragged to him. To her. I tried to talk but nothing came out. I was helpless. Time passed and i finally woke up. My wrists and ankles were bound and tied around a post. In front of me was Rachel's body, the sac still on her head, caked in blood. The snow around her was dyed red, and as I looked up, Vector came into view. "Too slow this time ------. If only you had stayed with her, maybe she'd be alive." he said with a laugh. Two things ran across my mind. The burning rage I felt for Vector and all that he had taken from me, and the deep sorrow I felt for Rachel. Vector's words got to me, and all I could think about was how the last words I ever said to Rachel were in an argument. ... A single tear fell on the page. Cylus looks up and wipes his eye, sniffling. The memories were still as painful as they were all those years ago. Grifter came into view above him and landed back on his helmet, letting out a satisfied chirp. Cylus looked at him and forced a smile and began writing again until he saw something in the reflection of his helmet. Somebody was behind him, reading as he wrote. [spoiler]open[/spoiler]