Darklight: Precipice

Part 33: A Guilty Conscience

"He's awake, you know".

"I'm well aware of that, thanks" Raine replied shortly. He didn't say anything in response. "Are you trying to guilt me into seeing him?"She asked. "Because that's not going to happen".

"You really should".

"Oh, and why's that?" She asked, snapping her head to the side to look at the smirking face of Gaius.

"Because he owes you his life" He chuckled.

"Yes, well..." Raine started, moving her head back to look out over Eresami from the balcony on which they were standing whilst drinking their coffee.

"I was only doing my job. Besides, I'm sure Natasha wouldn't want me going anywhere near him now".

"Are you telling me that the great Commander Raine is scared of Natasha Renton?" Gaius joked with her.

"Carry on if you want this coffee all over your face, old man" She replied with the faintest of smiles.

"No, I'm most certainly not scared of Natasha. But I think I've rocked the boat enough with my actions, wouldn't you say?"

"Actions that may well of saved us all" Gaius retorted. Raine snorted in agreement. "Besides, Natasha isn't exactly sat at his bedside catering to his every whim. She's in the middle of investigating The Device and something she's calling 'Crystalline Focal Points' or something. Since she came back from the dead their marriage hasn't exactly been 'matrimonial perfection'". Gaius held up his fingers and used them to represent the inverted comma's for the last two words of that sentence.

"Come, Gaius. This kind of bitching is what starts rumours" Raine warned, wagging a sarcastic finger in his direction.

"Oh please. We're both far too old for that" he replied. "But you did the right thing, Raine. I'm sure Soran would like to see you". There was silence again for a while.

"Maybe soon. It seems that ever since Yasmine died he's lost his confidence and... retreated back into his shell. He can't seem to connect to anyone and with Master Kisa now apparently our enemy, well..." She tapered off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well...?" Gaius pushed.

"Well...I'm concerned that Soran may become so detached that he may take action that has unintended consequences".

"Consequences for who?"

"That's the point. For everyone".

Gaius pondered on this point for some time.

"You know" He said slowly. "When you've been around as long as I have, you start to notice little things" He said. Raine was looking at him with high eyebrows as if to say 'go on...' as she took a long drink from her takeaway cardboard coffee cup.

"And Soran is... certainly a little different. Challenging, I'd say".

"Understatement of the year..." Raine interjected. Gaius smirked and continued.

"I see your point, I do. But my primary concern for Soran is that he maybelieve he's being used as a tool by politics. Since he 'appeared', shall we say, it just so happens that his opinions, aspirations and goals have aligned with ours – namely seeking out and destroying the Leon sisters and their infrastructure. We're into the new age -standing on the precipice, if you will. Even with this new threat from another world – what is it they've called themselves again?"

"The Faceless" Raine confirmed.

"Ah yes. Even with 'The Faceless' threat from this new planet, they have no way to come here and so Soran doesn't really have a goal. Ever since the Leon's were defeated he's been floating without a target, without a purpose. The 'tool' has no use. When it comes down to it Soran is a man of honour, but what does a man of honour do in a world with no use for it?"