"...Commander. Comrade. XO. To me, these words are...were synonyms for Falorn Grys. But first and foremost, he was a friend, taken from us too soon.", I paused for a moment, contemplating my next words "He died fighting those insurgents in the outer Earthsphere, saving the lives of most of our crew...and mine. I owe him a debt, and I will finish what he helped start. I will avenge him.", with that, I signaled the Scythe's minor guns: a traditional 3-round gun salute.
The crew salute as the coffin is lowered into the ground.
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The naval club in Geneva was packed tonight. Of course it was. After all, Falorn was the XO of one of the most significant ships in the Navy, a lot of captains and admirals wanted to pay their respects.
"Captain." a voice called from the side. I turned to see Admiral Turner, my mentor from back in the academy.
"Sir. It's good to see you again." I said, as I shook his hand.
"I only wish it was under better circumstances." he sighed, "Grys was a damn good man, from what you and everyone else told me. He was..is a credit to the service. He'll be sorely missed."
"He will, sir. It won't be the same without him on the Scythe." I say, slightly mournfully.
"...I know this is slightly insensitive, and I apologise for that, but I need to talk about his replacement-" I interrupt his sentence.
"Not tonight, Ruorn, please. I'd like to drink to the memory of my friend. Besides, I've already had a few cups, I don't think I can talk about serious business today."
The admiral sighs. "Very well, then. Tomorrow. My schedule should be open at about noon, I'll see you then."
"Yes, admiral."
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A few more drinks later, I was thoroughly drunk, raising a dozen toasts again and again to the memory of not just Falorn, but every other friend lost in the line of duty.
All the other crews joined in, adding the names of their own friends to the list:
John...Qorus...Paul...Bera...an innumerable number.
-------------[⚓]-------------
On the Scythe, there was trouble. While it was left with a reduced security complement, they were easily overpowered.
She flew off silently into the night, with the night shift knocked out or dead.
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A/N:
Dun dun dunnnnn
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Oblivion
Science FictionThis is a story of the future, of how humanity may end up. Warnings: This book contains both political and (unfortunately) what may come off as tinfoil hat theories. It also contains quite graphic content. If any of these things are not to your tas...
