Post by Ilana Logan on Feb 4, 2013 11:55:07 GMT -5
Serenity Valley, Hera
January 12th, 2518
Local Time: 5:11 A.M.
As the sun rose over Serenity Valley, one could almost forget the things that had once happened here. The bloodshed, the loss, the broken families that began right here. Ilana sat on small hilltop right where the browncoats had once hunkered down to face the end of the war. She watched the sun slowly rise over the valley, as the sky went from black, to purple, to pink, to blue. Hours, it took. Still she sat, contemplating how she had ended up here. How her father and sisters had ended up here. She considered why she had continued resisting the alliance long after her family had been lost, and the war ended. In truth, she couldn't think of a reason.
Sure, she'd never in her life met an alliance officer with any compassion at all. In fact, they seemed to despise her just because she wasn't a rich aristocrat living in the central world. For many people, that was reason enough. She decided she could probably continue fighting with each and every one of them the way she usually did and end up living a short, meaningless life, or she could merely stand up for herself when she came across one of the more ignorant ones, and maybe live a longer life. Still yet, she could just give up the fight altogether, and live a long, mostly happy life somewhere with someone she loved. Get married. Maybe have some kids.
Her father wouldn't want her to waste her life fighting a battle that couldn't be won. Surely he would want her to be happy. He'd been a good man. She can't imagine him being disappointed in her for choosing to leave the path of the browncoats and moving on with her life, as so many refused to do.
She had begun this way in part because she felt she owed it to her father to stand up for what he had died to prove he believed in. Also because she'd been an incredibly rebellious 19 year old when she left home, and she'd thought she knew everything. From there she just got more and more angry. And further from the person her father and mother had raised her to be. She'd never truly contemplated this before, but now she did. The way Ray had balked at killing the fed that had threatened their lives, their safety, hadn't given her pause at the time, but now, as she sat staring at the sunset, thinking of how her father would feel, knowing she was willing to kill someone in cold blood because they were doing their job. . . It made her seriously think about all the little things that piled up to lead her here.
As the sun finally peeked over the horizon and washed the valley in light, chasing the darkness to the other side of the world, taking with it the remains of what held her to her path, she made a decision. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pocket watch she'd inherited from her father, and slipped it into a pocket on the leg of her pants. She sat for a moment longer, thinking on what she would do from here. She still wanted to guide the crew of the chainless, but now she was unsure how to do that. In the end, she figured it would be best for them to come to terms with things on their own.
She knew keeping her mouthy nature in check was going to be a chore, but eventually - she hoped - she could learn to be less of a hothead. She was naturally witty, and had a hard time controlling her reactions to things though. It would take time, and a lot of willpower to tamp that down some. She'd already begun that task since becoming captain though. She did have a short temper, and biting her tongue - literally - only worked for so long.
She heaved a heavy sigh and stood. She took off her duster - her brown coat - and dropped in it the dust on the top of the hill. Then she turned toward the town, away from the sun, and followed the receding darkness, hoping it wasn't a portent of what her future held.
January 12th, 2518
Local Time: 5:11 A.M.
As the sun rose over Serenity Valley, one could almost forget the things that had once happened here. The bloodshed, the loss, the broken families that began right here. Ilana sat on small hilltop right where the browncoats had once hunkered down to face the end of the war. She watched the sun slowly rise over the valley, as the sky went from black, to purple, to pink, to blue. Hours, it took. Still she sat, contemplating how she had ended up here. How her father and sisters had ended up here. She considered why she had continued resisting the alliance long after her family had been lost, and the war ended. In truth, she couldn't think of a reason.
Sure, she'd never in her life met an alliance officer with any compassion at all. In fact, they seemed to despise her just because she wasn't a rich aristocrat living in the central world. For many people, that was reason enough. She decided she could probably continue fighting with each and every one of them the way she usually did and end up living a short, meaningless life, or she could merely stand up for herself when she came across one of the more ignorant ones, and maybe live a longer life. Still yet, she could just give up the fight altogether, and live a long, mostly happy life somewhere with someone she loved. Get married. Maybe have some kids.
Her father wouldn't want her to waste her life fighting a battle that couldn't be won. Surely he would want her to be happy. He'd been a good man. She can't imagine him being disappointed in her for choosing to leave the path of the browncoats and moving on with her life, as so many refused to do.
She had begun this way in part because she felt she owed it to her father to stand up for what he had died to prove he believed in. Also because she'd been an incredibly rebellious 19 year old when she left home, and she'd thought she knew everything. From there she just got more and more angry. And further from the person her father and mother had raised her to be. She'd never truly contemplated this before, but now she did. The way Ray had balked at killing the fed that had threatened their lives, their safety, hadn't given her pause at the time, but now, as she sat staring at the sunset, thinking of how her father would feel, knowing she was willing to kill someone in cold blood because they were doing their job. . . It made her seriously think about all the little things that piled up to lead her here.
As the sun finally peeked over the horizon and washed the valley in light, chasing the darkness to the other side of the world, taking with it the remains of what held her to her path, she made a decision. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pocket watch she'd inherited from her father, and slipped it into a pocket on the leg of her pants. She sat for a moment longer, thinking on what she would do from here. She still wanted to guide the crew of the chainless, but now she was unsure how to do that. In the end, she figured it would be best for them to come to terms with things on their own.
She knew keeping her mouthy nature in check was going to be a chore, but eventually - she hoped - she could learn to be less of a hothead. She was naturally witty, and had a hard time controlling her reactions to things though. It would take time, and a lot of willpower to tamp that down some. She'd already begun that task since becoming captain though. She did have a short temper, and biting her tongue - literally - only worked for so long.
She heaved a heavy sigh and stood. She took off her duster - her brown coat - and dropped in it the dust on the top of the hill. Then she turned toward the town, away from the sun, and followed the receding darkness, hoping it wasn't a portent of what her future held.