no good reason

‘I’m not going to justify what I did Li-’

‘You couldn't if you tried. You ordered us into a bloodbath, Syraw. I know people don’t believe in your little cultists but your obsession got my... my Billy killed for no good reason.’

Her blue eyes were icy and tears smudged what little makeup she’d seen fit to apply in her state of raw mourning, a droplet gathering at the tip of her nose.

‘I know, I’m sorry about your husband Liz, I really am.’

‘No, you’re not. How many others have been killed like that under your command? They slit his fucking throat, Syraw. I watched them slit his throat.’

‘I know... I know. If we don’t stop the Cult though-’

‘Then what? There are plenty of crackpot religions spouting all kinds of nonsense, are you gonna have them all locked up or shot?’

It had come to the point where I’d run out of words. I couldn’t make her understand. Not if I moved the heavens for her. Not unless I could prove what I knew about the Cult with hard, irrevocable evidence, which of course I couldn’t. I knew how much it was harming Elizabeth to be in the same ship as me, breathing the same air, but I doubted it would be for too much longer, remembering Dr Jonko’s wise words - Let her go. Clean slate. She doesn’t want to be on the Dog’s Head. I looked from Elizabeth’s swollen lips, pale nose and cheeks to her watering eyes. Lips and eyes that had so recently loved and been loved, before I ripped love from her completely.

Recap #1

I am Syraw, a space man hunting down a mysterious cult I believe have the power and the inclination to destroy life as we know it. I wear a suit full of needles and I sometimes wear a mask too. Most of the time in fact, well - when I’m not in my spaceship the Dog’s Head. My crew consists of Tam (the pilot), Melody, Davvy (the ship’s doctor), Elizabeth, Lem (a thieving wretch), Billy and the ship’s computer. In my quarters I have a program featuring an assimilated friend called Dr Jonko, who also acts as my conscience when that part of my brain is fried.

Recently I went on an excursion to look for cultists but found a different kind of trouble, then I caught up with my crew and found yet more trouble, resulting in Billy’s death. Elizabeth, Billy’s wife, is about to get off the ship at the Ludenguard installation so she never has to see me again and I’m beginning to think this is a good idea. While we’re there we’re going to barter for much-needed fuel so we can get to the nearest mass-relay and catapult ourselves back into civilized space. Also, I’m sending Lem (currently in solitary for stealing rations) into the installation undercover; to pinch parts for the illegal energy weapon I hope to build with the aid of my Skyripper schematics. Things could be about to get hairy...

Dr Jonko

Davvy isn’t my cup of tea and like I said, I’m not keen on doctors in general. Dr Jonko however – now he’s a different kettle of fish. We sat on the sun-kissed Crown Plaza in Araypter and I told him all about Liz.

‘So, what do you think I should do?’

‘Let her go. Clean slate. She doesn’t want to be on the Dog’s Head. Then you have to mend things with the rest of them, with her out of the way they won’t be constantly reminded of your slip-ups.’

‘I’m a good Captain.’

‘Perhaps. You did get a few good people killed though. Chess?’

We played five games of chess and then I exited the Dr Jonko program, rubbing my temple as I readjusted to the light in my personal quarters of the Dog’s Head, also a mini-spacecraft of its own, called Tooth. I wriggled out of my suit, feeling the needles leave me for another day, then I loaded up the Warpath program to test out the Skyripper.