30-1-111YC - A Long Shift

Math'ra lay down on his couch, looking over the spactious apartment with relief.

It was nice to be back home.

Funny

he thought to himself.

That I now call this place home.

Looking up at the ceiling, which was the standard intricate and delicate style of an Amarrian Architect he had hired to build this place for him.

Letting out a long sigh he closed his eyes and spoke, while the faithful computer began its usual recordings.

"It's nice to be back, such a long 3 days.

Three days in Fountain space, dealing with Pandemic Legion pilots and workers.

Three days in one of the toughest and nastiest areas of known space.

And now I'm back again."

A small smile came over his face as he relaxed and just enjoyed being able to let the stress wash away.

"And now I am moving corporations.

I filed my resignation today, after just over a year with QAI I'm leaving.

It's hard to believe, I never thought I could do it.

Ah well, I'm leaving good people in my stead, although it is amusing to note it is taking at least two or three people to do what I did by myself."

Math'ra chuckles to himself

"And now im returning to the Empire.

I'm going back, it is time to face those bastards at High Command and take them on.

I'm going to make them sorry that they kicked me out.

I just hope Vigilia Valeria Expeditionary Forces don't find anything untoward in my service records.

I hope that they are locked away securely enough that they don't come to light, for that would surely give them cause to doubt."

Math'ra props himself up on the couch and turns to the holo-display and calls up some of the service records he obtained in his snooping around during the last year.
Casting his eye over the recording of the council that passed down the verdict that shattered his life.

And he noticed something that he had never picked up before.

That Khanid was fimiliar...

It was Tiyran Khanid.
The man who had taken him under his wing after his father had died, he had been the way he had sourced alot of the information that he had accumulated while investigating the incident, although who was in command of the whole operation still remained a mystery.

"You slimy bastard, you twisted little fucker.

You could have saved me, just one vote from you and they wouldn't have been able to capture me."

Math'ra by now had stood up from the couch and was trying to control his trembling.

"I'm coming back you bastard, and if I find you.
God have mercy on your twisted soul."

24-1-111YC - A Day From Hell

Math'ra Hiede storms into his apartment walks into a large training room, he can be heard visciously swearing and loud thumping sounds can be heard from the room.

After about ten minutes he walks back out, looking annoyed but decidedly less angry.

As he starts to speak the computers automated recording starts.

"That dumb stupid bitch.

Who is she to tell me about such things.

Fucking hell, she has never had to deal with being in a situation where your best mate gets his fucking head blown off by a Matari projectile cannon, or your Sergeant's body being torn in two by some crazed fucking pysco bastard.

Loosing her father my fucking arse!

Mine is DEAD DAMNIT! HE ISN'T COMING BACK

Hers is just walking around as someone else, but HE IS STILL THERE, he CAN be fixed!

Mine is gone, never coming back, made of ashes now.

*long elongated sigh*

Fucking whore."

Math'ra stands and walks around the room a bit before pulling up a holo of his Family,

His Mother and Father, Him and his younger sister.

"They are all out of reach now.

Even when I tried to go home, they shut the doors on me.

I couldn't even say Hi, hows mum, hows the rest of the family, how are you
anything, they just shut me off.

I'm an outcast.

Sure I can legally fly in Amarr Space, and sure I work for Carthum Conglomerate and rent my apartment from them.

But in my families eyes

I'm still the man who got booted from the Imperial Navy for heresy."

Math'ra takes off his long black leather cloak and pulls out one of his Matte Black Kaalakiota-Issue Military Sidearm and stares at it, loading an Anti-Matter shell he points it at the holo and mimes shooting it before unloading the gun and placing it on a nearby desk.

"It didn't help that the first part of the day has been horrible.

After concluding some talks with Gallente Diplomats I went and viewed the survey repots from one of my men about the viability of setting up a Portable Tower in Fountain.

It wasn't very good.

The rest of they day involved dealing with a rogue group of Sansha's Vessels that had invaded a local deadspace complex and I was ordered to clear it out by sector command.

It was hell to fight those.. Nightmares...

Even with my Judgement flagship Paladin.
They just threw themselves at me without a care for themselves, they where the True Slaves.
Mindless Zombies to the dead Sansha's ideals."

Math'ra slumps down in his favourite couch and looks up at the ceiling, clearly drained.

"To relax I flew to the Gate.

And ran into Ciarente and Vikarion, there was someone else.
But I don't remember them well.

And I have already spoken about that anyway.

Computer, stop recording and save in personal. Then initiate Shutdown"

22-1-111YC - A Long Journey

Math'ra walks slowly into his quarters, breathing heavily he slumps down on his favorite couch.

Sighing heavily he looks up at the ceiling.

"What a day... a long long day.

Scouting in Nul Sec in semi-friendly space for a new corporate venture where we nearly had an incident with some of the locals.

Jump-Cloning 30 systems to retrieve my Judgment Paladin-Class Marauder.
Then, as part of a diplomatic relations project for the corporation, flying to Gallente space to talk with some diplomats about resource contracts.

Then Ciarente called, she was having some serious issues with an Agent Mission in Vay, seeing as I was in a nearby system I flew over to assist her, along with a certain Abbess Kor-Azor, who's name is familar, but I can't place it.."

Math'ra lies down on the sofa and notes the computer blinking at him again.

Pulling up a holo of his ship he sits their watching it sit in space.

Serene and steady.

"The mission itself was no problem, aproximately twenty small Angel Cartel Frigates with one Cruiser.
I suspect one of the frigates was a rookie Pod Pilot for the Cartel, as it prooved a lot harder to neutralise.

It took maybe a quarter of an hour at most."

Math'ra Hiede sits up and pulls out a hardcopy picture of a beautiful young Khanid woman

"It was after that I visited the Caldari State's Leviathan-Class Titan, Orbiting Caldari Prime in Luminaire.

I started to reflect on some things that I hadn't thought about for a long time"

Shaking his head, as if trying to clear his mind of unwanted thoughts.

"I needed to relax, so I stopped in at the Gate, just making it into dock after Ms. Roth

But I was delayed by some obnoxious Guristas station manager who insisted on having my vessel scanned.
No idea what for though.

But I stopped in at the gate for a little while and ran into Ciarente, slightly drunk already and talking with Silver Night.
She proceeded to fling herself onto me and worship me for my herioc action in saving her and her crew."

Math'ra turns to face a wall where a small holo of his family was displayed, His Mother and Father, and his younger sister.

He shivered

"I am no hero, If anything I'm a Heretic, cast out of the Empire I swore to protect and defend.

I'm not that special.

But aparently that made no difference to Ms. Roth, as she got progressivly drunker she started embelishing the story and making me sound even more couragious ad heroic, barely mentioning Abbess Kor-Azor who came and did alot of the work."

Math'ra forms a faint smile on his lips before continuing

"It was even funny and I started to relax, and seeing as she thought it was some sort of occasion I got some shots of Single Malt Whiskey for her to try.

First one we had, she was still co-herant and relatively sober, although she didn't cope with it well and had to drink extensively from the can of Quafe that Zergeth Kelja had sent over.

Second one was worse, she was well and truly drunk.

we should have stopped but we didn't, I was enjoying myself and not thinking entirely straight."

Math'ra walks back over to the couch and slumped back down into it's comfortable embrace.

"Zergeth now joined us and Ciarente flung herself at Kelja apologising for all sorts of things, during this Amieta joined us and agreed to have a drink as well.

The third whiskey we shared finally knocked the poor Intaki women out, she fell asleep on the floor of the Gate

Seeing as I was the only one who knew where he ship was, I carried her back to her quarters and left her on her bed."

Math'ra begins to tremble and he looks at his shaking hand

"It was so strange, having the young women lying infront of me, sound asleep and seemingly content.

I... I choked up... It was too much like Yuri.

The girl I knew back home, before I was a pod pilot and everything changed.

I got a sense of De Ja Vu, it was exactly like It had been before.

I had taken Yuri home after a long night, I barely even knew her then.

But I fell asleep on the chair outside her room.
To remain proper, as both of our familes where Zealots, they didn't allow anything that could be taken sexually before marriage, thats where I stayed.

This was too much, I fled - I ran to god knows where, some dark alley in the god-forsaken.."

Math'ra laughed harshly

"I AM god-forsaken, so maybe it was appropriate, but it was somewhere in the damned Guristas base.

Then they tried to mug me, some random thugs that had no markings on them, 3 of them.

I.. I defended myself, turning and using all those years of hand-to-hand combat training, grabing the nearest and breaking his arm and kicking his face, sending him reeling unconscious into a wall which must of split his skull because it sounded bad.

The second and third had backed off and pulled knives, then the second thug had charged.

I spun and pulled one of my guns, a trusty Kaalakiota Military Issue pistol.

I shot him three times in the back, every single anti-matter shot tearing apart his spine and most of his torso.

The third thug stopped and went to back away and run, but I pulled the second gun and shot his right knee, severing his damned leg.

He tried to crawl, but I walked up and kicked him over.

He tried to plead, but all I did was shoot him."

Math'ra leans down and puts his head in his hands.

"What have I become, when I murder 3 men without so much as a second thought."

Math'ra stands up and looks at the computer

"Save file and store in Personal Files, then initiate shutdown"

19-1-111YC - Indescision

Math'ra stalks into his cabin and slumps down on his couch in his spaceitious apartment.

Putting his hands to head and looking at the floor he sits there. Still and Silent for what seemes like hours before he begins to sob softly, crying into his own arms as the stress and tension come pouring out like rain off of ships hull.

After a few minutes he sits back up looking drained and empty, raising his hands to look at them as if they belonged to someone else.

Beginning to speak, but with no-one but the blinking computer listening he starts to speak

"Why was I so careless... why why why!

DAMNIT ALL TO HELL!

THAT SHIP SHOULD HAVE BEEN FINE! LORD I BLAME YOU! YOU CHEATED ME! YOU BASTARD!

*sighing*

This isn't going to do anything but get me kicked out of this home as well."

as Math'ra's tirade finishes he turns to look at the holo of his beloved ship..

thinking about Apocalypse Navy Issue that had, not 24 hours previously been turned into just so much slag during a routine raid on some Rogue Drones, when things had turned extremely ugly.

starting to talk again, and again the computer in the corner blinks as it begins to record again.

"All her crew... All those devoted to me... They would have followed me anywhere, and done anything I would have ever asked...

And this is how they end up, torn corpses for drones to pick over... denied even a proper burial on the planet they all came from.

*elongated sigh*

I HATE drones... unfeeling pieces of compiled slag, with no rational thoughts...

But then why is it that these Sansha's men and women that I know don't bother me?

Especially Zegerth Kelja...

I mean, with that creepy device she has, and the incredible thing that she caries about...

Argh! I don't know any more...

Then there was Vaden Khale...
The Sani-Sabik man...
The blood-drinker...

I don't know anymore...

The Last Gate has really been more of an education in the rest of New Eden than any of my work with the Imperial Navy..."

Math'ra seems to shudder slightly at the mention of the Navy

"No, that is done and gone.

I'm not subject to them anymore, I forge my own path.

But where does that lead...?"

Math'ra shakes his head as he gets up from where he was sitting and looks over at the computer.

"Computer, stop recording and file in personal. Then activate shutdown."

11-1-111YC - A time to reminise

What a day.... It started like any other that had come before it.

Except this day had had special meaning for him, something that he wasn't all that happy about.

it had been 3 years since this fateful day. And yet it still felt like yesterday when he thought of it.

He had just been put into active duty in the Imperial Navy and was on his first tour of duty with his squad when the NeoCom message had appeared.

He could still see it.

As the squad had jumped into the Pimebeka System it had flashed as a prioty message to Captain Hiede - His eyes only.

It had been the message that had changed his life forever.

and it had read.

"Captain Hiede.

We are deeply sorry to have to tell you that your father.

Captain Yaur'an Hiede has perished in the line of duty."

and that had been as far as he had gotten with that message.
He had been in shock when one of his squad mates hailed him down to see what was wrong.

He hadn't said anything to his pilot, but he had kept on with his patrol that lasted 2 days.

When he finally docked in his posted station in Tash-Murkon Prime he had immediately requested compassion leave for his father's funeral.

He had been granted this leave with god's blessing from his superior.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that fateful day he had continued to in his work for the Imperial Navy, but he had become more reserved, less open.

after a few months he started to make discreet inquiries about the incident, but met with some resistence from his superiors over his request for the logs and reports.

knowning full well that if he pushed to hard with this quest that he wouldn't get anywhere, so he waited and watched and slowly aquired the reports and logs over the course of a year and a half.

This is when his faith was shaken to the core. His father had been part of a detachment that was sent into the Bleak Lands to deal with some minmatar terrorists.

Although he had been sent with a larger taskforce, when their mission there had been completed the high command had recalled the fleet, even though there where serious doubts about the safety of the colonies there.

So in all their infinite wisdom, they prayed to god and left his father's command to guard the system.

One lone wing of cruisers.

That was it, for one ENTIRE system that was rated as extremely dangerous.

Then, 2 weeks after the taskforce left, the Terrorists came again, a full battlegroup was recorded on scan, complete with everything from Interceptor Frigates to Maelstrom Class-Battleships.

They where overwhelmed, even though they managed to neutralise a small portion of the fleet arrayed against them.

none where spared.

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Refocusing on the present Math'ra looked up from the photo he had sitting on the desk in his Aphend apartment.

looked starved and depleted he gathered himself slowly and shook himself out
"Snap out of it Hiede, what would pa think?"

slowly rising from his slumped position with the old reports and logs on the floor around him he gathered his travelling gear and made his way to his shuttle and loaded them onboard and then entered the pod and set course to "home."

Time to pay the family a visit.