>>6036020Words on a screen alone won't do. You have to do this face-to-face. “How do I look?” Tim hastily wipes the camera lens with his handkerchief. “Splendid as always, Commander. If only some idiot has not swiped his filthy paws across this thing while bracing earlier.”
“High-bandwidth comms array aligned. At this distance, there will be a 3-second light lag. Proceed?” Before you can nod, Moynihan looks up from the screen with raised eyebrows, “Ma'am, incoming video transmission from the Shishi, seems urgent. Should we...” Tim snaps at him, “Put it on speaker, he better makes this quick.”
You are greeted by a scene straight out of a crime movie. “C-Captain Thornton, I'm afraid the Shishi won't be of, of, any further use. This battle.” A fit of coughing bends low the proud commander. “GO help someone else, I'm fine.” He spats out some blood before standing up again, as tall as he still can, “Two, three, maybe four torpedo hits, still assessing the damage. Autoloaders blasted to all hell, Sparrow-4 was the last missile barrage you will see from us. Engine seems to be in good shape, however...”
You interrupt Hara's train of thought before it can wreck itself, “Commander Hara, radio the Armitage and get permission to retire. You have done more than enough. Over and out.” You cut off the transmission link before he can protest. “Moynihan, get Ienaga on screen right now. If he figures out how fucked his sister ship is, Okwonko is as good as dead.”
Ienaga looks at you incredulously, as if beholding someone who should have stayed dead. “Captain Thornton, that was the ballsiest move I have ever seen a big-bird commander makes. And you even live to make it again in the future. Over." You try to relax your tense muscle as much as you can, “What is ballsy for me is routine for you tin-can folks. I won't lie, we need you right now. You have to buy Okwonko time until we return. Over.”
“And why should I do that, Captain? Remember, he sold you out to the stragglers over there. Over.” He points out the two dots on his tactical screen speeding to intercept the wounded Snapdragon. “He sacrificed his own fighter and bombers to cover for us. There, is someone worth saving. Look within yourself, and fight for what is right. Over.”
His palm squeezes around the longer sword's hilt, “Samurais are dead for nearly a thousand years now, their ashes now blowing across an equally dead world.” You lean in close to the webcam. “No, nothing is dead as long as it is not forgotten. I haven't forgotten you. You haven't forgotten yourself. That makes two of us.” Ienaga voice suddenly sounds so distant, as if you two are divided by a bitter wall of years, “What do I remember, but a bastardised, banal version of the real thing? Better to stay dead."
