Wayward

Pax In Tempestate

Kellerman could feel himself slipping away into his thoughts. It wasn't something he usually liked to do. Too many memories of past lives and long gone friends, a family he once knew, things he could never get back. The rain seemed to suppress any noise that might've mattered to him. the wave of cacophony and orderly chaos of it slamming into the foliage and jungle floor around the shelter washed over his senses. Kellerman looked at Kira, the only person he would consider a friend in the past ten years. It had been a long and grueling life for Max. He had made sure no one ever got too close. As close as he and her were. If she were to die here he hoped he wouldn't leave either. It wasn't a romantic attachment, no, it was a comradery that ran more than the brotherhood of the marines. Their souls were bound after all the pain, suffering, and death they had been put through by the Planets. If he could will the universe to make itself reverse course, to make it undo this situation, he would. But he knew he couldn't. He was slowly coming to terms that they were going to die here. Just another page in a book somewhere a new recruit will forget after being tested on it, before being sent out into this universe of chaos, this universe of hate and agony,  so the cycle could continue. He was starting to believe none of this ever really mattered. It was all just some game being played by the cosmic scriptwriters, the ones running the assembly line of this cruel existence. He tried to not let this happen to him, this thought process, this mindset, but it was hard. It was hard not to look at what he had been through, what he was going through. It was hard not to completely throw himself to the thought that it truly was going to end here. All the daring escapes, the last resort efforts, the sacrifices, were to end here, in a bleak hopeless way, a whimper, in a vanishing of the flame. And into the breach he would carry not only the memories of his own but the memories of those that time had forgot after their chapters had come to a close as well, just faceless names somewhere cut into a plaque on some backwater world the inhabitants would soon rather tear down than celebrate. "Max," Kira's warm voice said as it tore through the sea of agony and reached Kellerman, who, admittedly, was beginning to drown. "We need to get moving again," she said as she moved closer to him. Kellerman quickly slipped back on his mask of sanity "Bozeman, Kalil, forward," he said as he jumped back onto his aching knees. Only a few hundred more meters until they would get into another clearing. As Kellerman lead his group he began to hear crunching of the jungle floor. He quickly signaled to mount up and get clear of any lines of sight. Just as he calmed his breathing he could make out voices. "You wonder what those cat's eat regularly before we got here?" "Probably each other." Max glanced at Kira quickly and after getting a nod quickly yelled out, "Lightning!" Kellerman's challenge was followed by a quick "Thunder." As Kellerman stood up and began to try and see which fine members of the Union he had the pleasure of finding this evening he heard a familiar voice. "Max, this is two you owe me now after Paxis." "Cole," Kellerman said with an uncharacteristic grin, "I've never been happier to be in debt.

Tib second wind had really began to hit as he saw the meters tick down to ten, he could finally see the makeshift camp. "Tib what are you going to do if she's not there?," Sheeb asked quietly enough so that Zo couldn't hear as she trailed a few meters behind them. Tib's blood began to run like ice when he heard those words. "I've been trying not to think about that, Sheeb, I know Lark is out there, and she has to be here," he said as he slowed his pace, subconsciously trying to delay a now, to him, high chance he may find something he didn't want. "I hope she is Tib, but sometimes things don't happen the way they should," Sheeb said as she slowed up to stay a bit behind Tib. He nodded his head and trudged on as he could almost taste the difference in the air of the valley plains. After a quick few steps that seemed like the longest he ever took he finally was out of the jungle. The walk from there seemed quick as he finally met with another survivor. "Lt Com Frazier, Chief Engineer, reporting," he said he greeted the Lt that had met them halfway after seeing them emerge from the shroud of hate that was the surrounding jungle. "Lt Com Calot is acting commander of this station, Sir, she can be found in the rig beside the main comm array," the Lt said with a gesture. Tib had to contain his excitement as he hurried his pace. The world of chaos seemed to calm an anchor as he heard the voice he had been waiting so desperately to hear coming from inside the makeshift outpost. As he rounded the outer edge of the comm array he slowed down and gathered himself. He stopped in front of the door and got back into his right mind. just as he thought of something to say and began to walk in, Lark came through the door. It took her a fraction of a second to comprehend who was standing in front of her before she threw herself into a hug on Tib. As they both sat in that split second of happiness and elation Tib knew that after all that he had been through, there was peace in the storm, there was an anchor in this sea of chaos, maybe, just maybe, they would make out of this, together, all of them.