#syll

The End of It, The Start of It Again

Starting a new life after 2,000 years was interesting. I didn't even need to be retrained. That was good. I was Captain again. I could rebuild the respect that got me the Earth Federation mission.

The very second Sector I ever visited, the Maise Sector, was a simple one. One planet, Maise Prime. I decided to gather some resources there. While on Maise Prime I met her… Syl, short for Syll. More specifically she bit me with her psychoactive toxin and used me as a thrall for a time, but soon we left that planet together. It might be strange to say, but I saw a lot of myself in Syl. Hungry for respect, constantly dismissed by those who saw themselves as her betters. Irritated by the way the structures treated her (not quite as corporate as the ones I had faced, but comparable). We had a lot in common, for a Transport Captain from the past and a Snake-like alien from a world mostly unaware of how the Galaxy worked. She was with me through it all. Dripberg once called her my First Officer, the first time we visited Weekra III and that ended up sort of true. Always by my side, even before an Amalgam Gunship (I never asked her how she knew what 'Birthday Strippers' were). Always trying to help (pushed me to finally talk about my past with the Altar). Being more helpful than she felt she was. We had become involved romantically before… I lost her.

I'm with my crew still. I'm uncomfortable around Second, who was my Second, since having learned his true nature. Was I right to hold such information back? Yes, I think I was. I ruined Bragg's career further than she ruined it herself. She's admitted she wants to slack off and no longer truly cares. I have not been a good influence on her. Even though I have helped Magu as much as I can, she has lapses. She struggles to comprehend sometimes (well, often). I'm romantically involved with Kas. I do like her, but is staying here with me truly what she needs anymore? She needed to temper herself, her future self was clear there. Has she settled down enough already? I can't help but notice a stagnation in the Crew. They stay with me. We deliver crates on The Vagabond. We pursue frivolities. They don't notice the implications of my now green hair and outfits. Am I… holding them back from their future career potential?

It's a thought that's been on my mind since I saw that cryopod the Nyuffles created. If I was no longer Captain, they would have to move on. What's another 2,000 years for me?

[2,000 years later]

I'm here. 2,000 years later. I've done it. Datapads? Kas. She was angry. Sarcastic. Determined. I think she's taking over the ship. Good. She wasn't impressed with what I have done. I never expected her to be. Second. He's saddened, but he respects it. I feel some guilt I hid the truth from him, but without me near and knowing it, hopefully it will not come up. He's staying on the ship. Second, the Second Officer of Captain Kairos. Bragg… Melinda. She thinks this is a rest for me? A reward for what I did for the galaxy and her? I don't understand that woman, even now. Magu. She's unhappy, in that way she sometimes is, but she sees this as a new chapter. Go to college, study coding, rewrite herself to 'fall in love with sensible things'. It seems, of all people, Magu Pai understood my motivation the most.

Looks like this planet is now barren. Or was I moved at some point? Impossible to say. I was hoping the Nyuffles would be here, so I could get passage to find a new job. Now what to do?

Oh. Is that a cargo platform? A final datapad. Someone has abandoned a ship here! It's small, cramped, but warp capable. My body has withered somewhat since the cryostasis began, but it would seem that, once again, I am a transporter Captain.