Adventures of Eira

chapter 2

The moment I log out I hear my phone buzzing next to me as I pull off my helmet. Who would be calling me this late at night?

I glance at the screen to see that it's my friend and former superior Bell. "Hello?"

"Eira, how is establishing the new colony going? Surely you've made some progress by now," she asked in a cheery voice.

"Other than wasting my time I haven't accomplished anything," I say as I reach out for a half empty bottle of soda and chug it down before throwing it at an overflowing trash bag full of bottles. "I've gone thousands of light years away from the inhabited sectors and all I've found is a single old world ship with potentially intact cryo pods."

I can practically feel the drool flowing from her mouth in the silence that followed. "Ha ha, good one. Next time, try not to make it so obvious if you want me to join you... You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking!"

"No I'm not," I say with a bit of ice flowing off my words. "I would never joke about old world artifacts. That said, can you and your team load onto one of the Generation Ships? If we're going to have even the faintest chance to revive one I'm going to need our best."

"It will take about an hour to get everyone still loyal online," Bell says as the sounds of things being kicked aside come through followed by the sound of metal objects bouncing off the floor. "By the way how many chances do we have? Or did you not bother to check?"

"I was told to establish a new colony and to report anything strange I find. That's what I've been doing and that's what I'll keep doing." I step out of my dark room and head towards the kitchen to grab a midnight snack.

The kitchen is lit by a buzzing light sitting over the cluttered sink embedded into a fake marble countertop with scratches so deep it will catch your nails.

"You need to wind down a bit."

"You need to stop prancing around like a noble so we're even." I swing open the door and pull out some chicken and dumplings.

"Alright fair, I've already sent out the message on the group chat asking for people to join. I will be on in a few minutes to get everything prepped."

"Good. We'll talk once I'm back online." I end the call and stuff the phone into my pocket before heating up my food in the microwave, which requires an eye hook to keep it closed.

I start thinking about her last character, Alwine Von Kristallturm, leader of the house of Kristallturm and medical advancements within the Imperium. Bell never really played as any other kind of profession with her current being a back up to Alwine but without the authority.

Now that I'm thinking about it, she is the reason I ventured so far. Her and the other members of the nobility with surviving backups to be more precise. They want to reestablish what they lost meanwhile I just want to lead fleets around and blow stuff up. I don't want to be tied down with a colonization fleet so they can talk petty politics and flaunt their wealth. Why can't I bring myself to say no.

The microwave cries out and I pop out my food. The steam wafting out of the bowl and crawling around my face. The scent is rather bland and faded due to it being in the fridge for a few days.

I take a few bites, not bothering to savor the taste, before tossing it back into the microwave for another round. As I wait, I stare blankly into the dimly lit room.

The truth is, I'm tired. Tired of politics, tired of responsibilities, tired doing other's work. But most of all, I'm tired of pretending to care about things that mean nothing to me.

I only joined Eisesland because they let me be the warfighter without having to worry about the politics. I want to be the one to wander about the trade lane for pirates. Be the one to organize the mercenaries during raids. Give me a reason and a target and I'm happy. Not this bullshit baby sitting with less than adequate fire power, approving the new laws to the people, handling the unrest from being trapped on the generation ship with little to do.

I can order for the player ship aboard the stations to be commandeered but that takes time I don't have during a fight. I scoff at the idea that so many want to bring back the Imperium but don't want to put in the effort and let their ships sit idle when it could mean the difference between success or failure.

The microwave dings, snapping me out of my thoughts. I grab my food and take it back to my room, where I collapse onto my bed.

"I just hope this will be over soon," I say as I stuff my mouth.