“Leave me fucking alone.”
“What is wrong with you? I thought you would like to get out and have some food.” “Tides, you… this is too much, Taleeze. You can’t just drag me out socializing all the time. This is not working. I have a hell of headache and it’ll ruin my day and yours. Just go and have some fun on your own for once.” “But ... you can’t just cave in all the time. This is not good.” “Who said I am good? Listen I don’t like how I feel any more than you do. The Matriarch thing is exhausting as hell. I will have to work a lot before I can perform anything remotely comparable to regular duty, so please --- give me some fucking space. Please.” Taleeze raised her hands, giving in. “All right, I get it. Don’t be mad: I just… I am still feeling around.” She let out a sigh and was speaking with a low voice. “Yeah…” “So, what will you do then while I am out?” She regretted the casual question the second it was out. “Gosh… I will take a run until I am exhausted. Then I will workout some more and then I will do pushups. Maybe I will call the Matriarch to complain a bit. Satisfying?” Taleeze was sad. I was so hard and it was hurting. But she understood Freh’ya. This was what it was going to be until it got better. This was just the start. At least it was a start. She sighed. “Yes. Sorry.” Freh’ya was chuckling. “Now go and have fun on your own. I’ll be here when you come back. Promise.” A small smile crossed her face. Their hands touched briefly, fingers sliding along each other. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few minutes later, Taleeze was in a Skycab on her way to the house at lake Ylica , a bag with BBQ food and beer in the backseat. The tensions with Freh’ya were increasing but deep down Taleeze knew this was inevitable. The process of settling in and beginning to seriously deal with her condition was tough. She should be more understanding and not push Freh’ya more than she was pushing herself anyway. But it wasn’t easy to always hit the right tone. Her batteries needed recharging as well and she was dedicated to do as Freh had asked her to, have a good time with Telos. The cab touched down on the landing pad in front of the estate. She grabbed the party stuff and exited the 'car. The sky was spotless and her shorts and tanktop were just the right thing for a sunny day out. She even had put on a special makeup for the occasion, her nose and jaw line being highlighted by a resemblance of reddish turian facemarkings. The colors and patterns of her father, gently dissolving with her light blue skin. Now, where was Telos? |
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Everything just had to go wrong.
As time passed, Telos grew more and more accustomed to this otherwise unknown law of the universe. But then again, he should expect an increased percentage of 'wrongly gone things' in his daily life given the what he had been signed up for. The mission was simple. Go to Dekuuna and escort the science vessel that will attempt to restore contact with the old elcor colony of Naltuune and lay the new comm buoy line. A routine mission one might say but no. Of course not. Pirates just had to be attempting to raid the small colony at the same time they approached. The result of the engagement is of course the need of emergency repairs. As well as a bad mission report and a fall back in schedule. Possibly, the only good thing that came out of this is the double length shore leave on possibly the best planet to be on shore leave. Anyway though; good or bad, these are the things that a captain must put up with. If you cannot manage, stick planeside. Oh yeah! A Captain. A Hierarchy firgate captain. This is the new adventure that Telos found himself in. He never expected that his life would reach this point before even reaching it's quarter. Of course, his surprise and astonishment at this post-war honorary promotion was has been held back well. He had gotten used to his life taking swooping turns and tumbles in the past few years. An extremely eventful few years. From a civilian space navigation student, to the captain of a brand new top-line exploration vessel and mentor of three aspiring flight academy graduates that served aboard. It was alienating; but it was definitely something to be proud of as well. As the cab flew over then Tephan mountains, speeding towards lake Ylica, the turian furiously typed on his omnitool. Getting reports on who was where, what was the state of the Rimor, manage several open tabs and of course finalize the catering supplies order. In other words, multitasking like a salarian on adrenalin rush. But that wasn't something he was not used to. Any pilot needs to be a fine multitasker. Switching tabs and control panels multiple times a second, pressing keys and managing power balances as well as have a firm grip of the navsticks in close-quarters engagements. The "Order" button is pressed and the final tab is closed. Shutting down his omnitool, Telos lets out a big sigh and looks outside over to the towering misty mountains. The cab slowly descends to the estate's landing pad, moments after another one took off the same spot. He had to admit that the mansion was beautiful. Combining classical turian architecture with modern asari elements. The architect did an amazing job. Tel had been hearing about this place when he was young. They never got to visit neither this nor any of the other of the notorious Mallenis estates scattered across the galaxy. They had all become some sort of mythical utopias to little Telos and his brother. Somewhat like the grand castles that towered above distant kingdoms which they heard about in bed-time stories, red to them by their beloved asari Nanny, Neff. This was no story though. It did feel somewhat weird to be here for Telos. But he didn't let that feeling overwhelm him. He was here to have a great time and make a new friend. Something that he was in great need of after the war. Telos steps out of the car. He stands for a moment and looks around at the landscape. Local fauna making beautiful sounds, the warm breeze gently blowing through the lush trees that surrounded the lot. It was a beautiful day. As the turian stretched himself a bit, he took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of Nevan country side. Smelled good. But the smell still had that odd hint to it... that weird 'levo smell' as he called it. Apparently only Palaven smelled minty. Tel peered across the wooden bridge that connected the landing pad to the main structure. He noticed a small blue figure on the far side. Smiling to himself, the turian walks closer... |
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There was a turian emerging from the other side, dark and tal. This could only be Telos. Taleeze waved and got closer, the cooler dangling on her side, with a strop over her shoulder. It's contol blinking slowly to indicate that all contens were kept at optimal temperature. It would have been quite heavy, the way Taleeze had stuffed it, but biotics were like a third hand, as Taleeze always said...
"Telos!" she greeted the turian with a cheerful voice. "Finally we meet. It's a so good to be here." She extended both hands, smiling. "How are you?" |
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Tel quickly crosses the wooden bridge. Planks creeking under his feet. He stops infront of the youthful looking asari and smiles widely. He stretches his clothes a bit.
He was dressed quite comfortably. Well, as comfortably as the standard red hierarchy off duty captain uniform could be. He turns to the asari "We do finally meet indeed! And I must say it is a great pleasure." He places his claws on both of Tal's hands, slipping his three talons between the asari's fingers. Though turians usally have trouble with this greeting gesture, Tel has figured it out after lots and lots of experience. "Oh yes, it's a wonderful day here isn't it? Nevos never lets you down when it comes to weather. I've always wondered why... it must probably be the arangement of the continents that keep the weather systems from developing too much before reaching the shore-but nevermind! I'm getting carried away there!" He chuckles. It happened to him quite often but Tel had it under control. He even used his 'cute' babbling as a method to melt the ice or lighten up the mood. "I'm feeling quite good I must say. I have my worries with the ship but today is not a day to think about it all! How about you?" Tel says with a big smile as he begins to walk towards the door, looking for the lock codes on his omnitool. |
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How was she feeling? The small fight with Freh had just been half an hour ago. But she was relaxed and she owed it to Freh and herself to enjoy this day.
"I am good. Finally I can catch some breath after a bit of a journey." That was an understatement and not completely true. But she wanted it to be that way today. "I'll tell you about it if you like ... and if you tell me about your adventures in return!" Taleeze was entering, as Telos opened the house. "Now I am quite curious about your place and what the plans are for today. We have bit of time to have a look around and set things up, I assume? When will your girls and guys roll in?" She would prefer to get rid of the bulky cooler first though. |
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The door opens, revealing a wide hallway stretching in front. Soft brown rugs cover the floor while the walls are lined with dark cream coloured wood. No wall decorations or anything. The room looked very minimalistic but it still has a beauty of it's own with the patterns on the wood acting as decorations themselves. A large room is visible at the end of the hallway, with a large glass wall the let the sun from the young day come inside and illuminate the house.
The house overall looked like it was in pristine condition. The automated air filters were doing a good job at removing all the dust from the interior. There were no signs of decay or abandonment whatsoever. But there was still that little vibe to the whole place... that little thing that made you realise that no soul has stepped in here for a long time besides the lack of any visible evidence to prove that. "Well here we are. Here let me help you with that thing." Tel says as he reaches for Tal's cooler. Tel takes a moment to look around. The place was surely impressive but it didn't really exceed any of the turian's expectations. He tried to suppress that weird feeling again "Oh I would love to. Travelling is one of the many many things in this universe that I'm in love with." He smiles "As for me, it has been a wild couple of years for me you know. I sure do have many things to narrate!" Tel checks his omnitool again. "Oh they will all be coming late in the evening from what they're telling me. All the pary supplies will be arriving in noon. Plenty of time to prepare!" |
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The interior looked somewhat typically turian. There was no unnecessary decoration and the style was clean and practical. A few details showed the hands of asari architects though which made Taleeze feel comfortable. The choice of materials fitted well with the design. The rooms were spacious and the large windows were offering a spectacular view.
“Very nice! Hard to imagine you haven’t been here in such a long time. Is really nobody else using this place? That’s almost a waste” She laughed. For a moment, the wicked thought of a party with Daia in this hall crossed her mind. One could do a few nasty things in front of this window. The thoughts about Daia brought back the memory of the fair haired Skylar, now somewhere on Illium. A pain shot through her heart. “Thanks, I thought I’d better be well equipped with levo stuff.” she added, when Telos placed the cooler next to the door. “I do like to travel as well, and truth be told, I have met a few very fine people lately, but when your travel has a purpose, you have to conclude it sometime. But it seems to be the start for many new things... Anyways, do we have time for a tour? What’s the history of this place?” |
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The two walk down the hall and enter the brightly lit seating area. The ceilling is tall, with beautifully carved patterns on the top, depicting historical scenes from the asari and turan middle ages. The walls that surrounded the room were covered in a greyish dark salmon coloured wood. On the wood, many kinds of old looking turian runes and scripts were carved in a variety of shapes and sizes Some of them were coloured with tones of silver.
It is customary for turians to decorate their walls with carvings of chants, quotes to live by, wise words, wishes and many other things. Most of the writings were written in dialects too ancient for Telos to fully comperhend, but he still appreciated their meaning. The turian takes a moment to look around. Four white couches aranged in a square shape in the center of the room, forming the main seating area. Two small staircases on either sides of the room lead to the gallery on the upper floor, both of them surrounded by small greenouse-like glas boxes that contained decorative trees and plans. On the wall opposite of the large glass window in front of Telos and Taleeze -to the left and right of the hallway- there were two big arches that lead to two smaller, slightly lowered areas. To the left was a kitchen and a dinning area, while to the right, there was a slightly smaller seating area that included a library and a centralised fireplace along with several comfortable looking armchairs. Telos presses a small button on the wall. The area's electronics beep and come to life. The small waterfall besides the dining table starts running, the holoscreen on the main sitting area opens, broadcasting live footage from the Nevos Planetary News Feed. "Welcome." An electronic female turian voice echoes throughout the area. There was a little bit of static at the beginning, probably due to lack of maintenace to the house's computer but it fortunately picked up. "Looks about right..." He mumbles to himself somewhat ignoring the computer. "Oh, a tour? I think we do have the time for one but to be honest I need a tour of the place myself."He chuckles. After pressing a couple of buttons on his omnitool he brings up a holographic map of the house. Two blue dots in the center represented their location. "I knew this would come in handy..." |
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The place was an actual castle, spring from the minds of turian-asari architects and designers who wanted to create something like a speed-lesson in history. As simple as the architectural style was, as laden with decoration and details were certain areas of the building. The living area and the furniture was elegant, yet not exactly what Taleeze would put into her much more modern (and seriously much smaller) living room. Here it fit though.
This place must have cost a fortune; she wondered how wealthy Telos’ family exactly was. She knew he was well off but this was really something else. He was loading plans on his omnitool. “Neat. We don’t want to get lost in here, don’t we? Looks like one could…” |
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"Oh we might as well get lost in here indeed" Telos jokes. "But fortunately we got the maps for that!"
"Anyways, you asked me about the history of this place right? Well I havent heard way too many things about this place. Read up on it a bit before coming too. There's a little article about it on extrapedia as well you know!" He says with a smile. "So. The house was built on request of Jarrar and Thanala Mallenis many decades ago. It was designed by architects Vasma K'tiris and Critun Santrus. It was inspired by pre-industrial asari and turian architecture to reflect my mother's love for the middle era. The interior was inspired from the most popular designs during the end of the turian TV era and dawn of our space-age. Very retro if you ask me. Worked out really well!" He pauses for a second. "But yeah... it wasnt really used a lot. It's a real shame. For the half century that this wonderous little retreat existed, the times that the Mallenis visited the place are very few." The turian steps forward into the seating area. He looks beyond the glass window. Apparently there is a sizable patio that extends infront of the living room. A glass door that perviously looked as a part of the window slides open. "Would you like to enjoy the view for a little bit? The sun's still low above the mountains... Won't get a view like that until tomorrow!" |
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That was quite the history. Obviously the Mallenis family was among the wealthiest of turians. Build and entertain such a place and then not use it? Okay it was a bit too big to serve as a simple love nest but still...
"Yes, of course, let's go outside." The window had been a promise but the patio was the revelation. The Tephan mountains were among the most spectacular of the hemisphere, about the only thing they missed were a direct view to the sea. But given the turian relationship with water that wasn't a problem to the planners of this place, and there still was the lake. A few boats could be identified. There still was snow on the highest peaks. Taleeze took a deep breath. "That is so amazing, Telos. are you planning to use this place some more in the future? It is a waste to let a place like this stay empty. Obviously your other family members have not much interest in it, am I right?" "Where will the BBQ actually taking place btw? Here on the patio?" |
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Tel gazes at the beautiful. Arms crossed and mandibles open wide in apreciation of the view.
"Oh there are virtually no family members other than could use this place unfortunately... As for the use of this lovely little place, that is something to think of. There are many options to consider really and I cannot live in here myself. I will be away most of the time due to my job. But that's a problem to take care of another day!" "Oh the BBQ? I guess we could set up the grills here... But let's have the people roam the place. I think they could use a little bit of freedom. Besides the lot's beautiful!" |
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Oh, Goddess, obviously Taleeze had hit a bad spot with the question about his family. But he didn’t react too emotional… puuuh. Lucky break. You could just never know what everyone had experienced in the war. Her own core family was well, her mum on Lusia and her big sister somewhere, digging in the dirt of colonial worlds.
Taleeze had seen turian crews on shore leave before and she would have let them ‘roam’ her own place. But well, here the Captain was on site, that may be different. “Yes, great idea. Do you want me to help you move stuff out here? Where the equipment? Show me your tools, man!” She was excited, grilling was serious business and checking the perfect condition of everything was as essential as preflight checks on a fighter! “And also, what do you say, we could move the stuff out here and then grab two chairs and two beers to enjoy this patio to its fullest after the heavy lifting is done? I’d like to hear your tales after all.” |
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"Sounds good to me!" Tel says happily, rubbing his claws with excitement. He shrugged off the thoughts about his now gone family rather successfully. He really didn't want to get that grim look on his face, especially right now.
"The kitchen appliances are modular. So the only thing we have to do is release the claps and drag it out here while the unit hovers. Quick and not tedious at all! Would you like us to get a look around the house later?" He asks "Oh... well that doesn't sound bad at all! Those chairs look quite comfy to me and the view is simply amazing! Yeah... not a bad idea at all. I could use some relaxation time before the rest come and the places will become packed..." "Besides we could get to know each other a bit better! The stories you mentioned? It would've been great to share them! You do seem like an interesting person you know." Tel came across as a bit invasive sometimes when it came to getting to know people. Over confidence, forwardness and general over the top openess to others intimidated some people. But that wasn't a problem for asari. Besides Tel knew how to adjust his manners according to each species. A skill that became vital to his already charismatic personality. |
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"Oh, that's easy then. You lead the way, Telos." As they went inside again and to kitchen, Taleeze chuckled over the personal comment of the turian.
"I'm Interesting, huh? Oh, well, what's to say about me? I grew up on Lusia, my dad was a turian pilot." she pointed to her makeup and grinned."That's his colors, I wear them on occasions like Unification Day ... or when I visit a honorable turian officer. Nayway, he was a pilot trainer for asari fighter jockeys. Back when I was a kid I wanted to become a pilot myself but I never made it to any huntress school. I guess mum was happy about that in the end." she laughed, as she unclasped the oven and was pulling it out of it's hinges. It was easy to push on it's hover field. "But I went to tech school, Monoi has an excellent university. I studied engineering and started out in the skycar industry. I worked for VeilStar for a while but you know, I wanted to see a bit of the galaxy. Dancing and performing had always been a passion of mine. Even my pildavi years with the Wildkats where just a form of stage display and entertainment." She pushed the grill oven outside and put it in place, deactivating the hover field. "Maybe after i finished my studies i missed that. That's why I started out to dance more and more professionally. When I moved to Nevos I had plenty of opportunities for that. There were great troupes and we toured all over C-Space. And the paydays were seriously better! Also Nevos is interesting as you can stay in one place and still see all kinds of people. The galaxy comes to you. I always put my engineering to good use though. A lot of clubs needed some tech taken care off as well. Stage tech or whatever - sometimes the carpark." And illegal guns, but no need to mention that. "Then I met Freh'ya and we became a couple, that was about twenty years ago. We purchased that beachouse near Astella together. Some may say, we are overdue for a bonding" She laughed a bitter laugh. "The War has.. complicated things but ... yeah well, we are working on it. This shit has not been easy on any of us, some more, some less. We are working on it at least." she laughed again, somewhat happier this time. "That's me and my optimism." |
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Tel's eyes light up "A fellow pilot? Oh that's amazing!" He says with exitement. "Spirits that must've been even before the foundation of the Edessan flight academy! You father must've truly been a great person! Do you know what he flew? A Trextus maybe? Or no... those came slightly later. Actually I don't quite remember..." He chuckles as he turns on the fridge's hoverpad and slides it out of its slot in the kitchen wall.
"Lusia looks like a nice place. Neffila's been telling me many things about numerous asari worlds. Both Nevos and lusia included. I remember that story about the emerald green lagoons on the southern shores of the Paya continent. I have to say, it sounded beautiful too. She said how she considered the planet to be the center of asari engineering developments outside of Thessia. So I feel safe to say that you've received exceptionaly high-quality expertise! Correct me if I'm wrong." The turian smiles happily as he pushes hovering fridge outside and settles it a little further away from the stove. "VeilStar is a great company... extremely good naviagtion equipment. I think I've heard people 'transplanting' entire VeilStar autopilot systems from salvaged models to light shuttles!" Tel adjusts the fridges position a little bit while he checks all the electronics. The thing's more than a bit dusty afterall. "VeilStar and Cision... top manufacturers! top-notch manufacturers!" He mumbles to himself. As he rubs the dust off his talons, he takes a quick glance back into the appartment, trying to see what else there's to carry outside. "Oh you dance? That's amazing! Do you like any particular styles?" And with that, Tel finally takes a breath and stops talking. He didn't make a habbit of babbling like that. But he couldn't help it whenever he felt comfortable and happy. |
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"Oh, you didn't know? I am a dancer mainly nowadays, yes... an 'entertainment worker' - or just stripper sometimes." she laughed and opened the lid of her cooler, pulled out a 'Blue Bullet' and popped it open.
"The pay per hour is just significantly better than it was with VeilStar. I mostly freelance and do my own choreographies. I like to look into some classical stuff, asari and lately a bit quarian. They have a great tradition. Of course in a club I mostly go with the popular music they play, but I want to use cross over elements to keep it interesting. I just came back from Illium where I was contracted to a super cool club, the Apricity. They let me do a lot exciting things with tech. I invented a show with techarmour effects and some cloaking patterns... you know, like, instead of clothing, make bodyparts invisile" She put one hand with the bottle in front of her breasts, the other between her legs and made a coquettish pose. "They loved it, I think, I will work a bit more on it. We even had the chance to perform at a really big event, a pildavi halftime show. We, that's Daia from the forums and I." She took a sip from her beer and dropped into the chair. "The fighters were Hyperion, the old one of course. They were doing mock fights out at sea or in orbit. He sometimes went as far and led a flyover over our neighborhood. There were a lot of turians from the base so nobody was mad." She pointed to that chair next to her. "I wanted to sit in the cockpit all the time when they had open base day. No comparison to a VeilStar X or something of course but hey, we did a few nice things! I was working on nav interfaces actually. But of course, that was..." she chuckled " a long time ago." Granted, the VS-X still looked basically the same as it did back then. Skycar companies were conservative about their designs. |
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Tel grins "Spirits that was your idea? A friend of mine from illium sent me a vid you know! It looked pretty damn amazing! You're really creative I'll give you that! I'm not sure if anyboby from that vid was actually you but all of them were doing an amazing job! You're very talented Tal! He says with a wide smile as he opens the fridge. There were a couple of sixpacks of Taetran Ale. Just as blue as any Blue Bullet. Whoever was here last time was up for a little private party... but never got around doing it. Oh well, thank the spirits for atomic cooling; because Telos can have a well deserved drink now. Grabbing a bottle in his claw he goes to sit on the comfy recliner next to the asari. "The Hyperion huh? Heh... that takes me back. Back to history class really!" He chuckles to himself. "An extremely good model I must say. Fast and nimble, yet extremely durable for it's class. Your father was must've been a great pilot!"
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"They were also decent for training purposes. I think they were already second line fighters back then, but the easy servicability and good handling made them ideal for the training squads. Yes, dad was a great pilot!" She said with some pride. "He was a veteran of the Curycien anti pirating raids. The batarians were trying to push their operations into C-space and for a time heavily defended convoys were flying back then. He racked up a good victory count and after the action died down, the asari started their 'Shootingstar' program, bringing turian and asari veterans into the schools to improve the education of the new pilots." She blinked into the sun, let out a grunt and produced her shades from a pocket. She cliped it to her Le'ku and looked over at Telos.
"To the fucking best pilots." - who didn't make it through the war, she didn't finish but was sure he would understand anyway. she made the bottles clonk and drank a good part of it. "aahhhh....." "He was a great dad. Couldn't wish for a better one. We used to take long walks on the beach or through the woods, he'd tell me all kinds of stuff, about the universe, about life... and then we came home and mum was already worrying and we would bug her about something to eat because we were so hungry." she laughed. "I was riding on his shoulders, holding onto his fringes. I believe he was the proudest when he saw me playing for the 'Kats. He didn't miss a home game." As long as he could. She took another long sip "Yeah I miss him. He'd have gone to Palaven on day one, fuck some Reapers up." Another sip, the bottle was empty. I should visit mum soon. She fished for another bottle and popped it open. |
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Telos smiles warmly. The memories that Tal shared with him were very heartwarming. They brought a wide smile to his face instantly, making his mandibles flutter. His thoughts quickly drifted to his own father. Famous, wealthy, successful. Skilled pilot and enterpreuer; but a cold man. He didn't really see him often. But thankfully his asari nanny Neffila was there to take care of him and his brother. His childhood wasn't so devoid of happy memories thanks to her.
"May their spirits be all blessed!" He says before taking a good sip from his drink. He thinks back to the crew of the Vectis. The ship he served on almost a decade. The flight academy on Edessan, his crew during the War. So many good many. Many have lived till today to see themselves live up to their worth. But sadly, not everyone of them is here. That really saddens the pilot... but he knew that their sacrifice wasn't in vain. Their spirits are in peace now, watching over everyone. "He sounds like a truly wonderful person, Taleeze" Tel says with another smile. |
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