New Elysium: Breakout

"Pray to whatever gods you believe in." 29

Red rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn. In front of him, Andrea shifted on her feet. The commons was stuffed with people, it was standing room only. They'd come to trust Red now as a leader, of sorts anyway. They listened and stayed out of his way. But Ember had informed him that the passengers were uneasy and that he needed to address it. It's her ship, he grumbled to himself. She'd handle it better by venting them all portside pronto.

"Waypoint?" Red watched Andrea's confused face as she processed their location. The woman looked even more aged than when they'd first encountered her on New Caledonia. Her long white hair was pulled up into a clumsy knot, and if it was possible she'd picked up a few more wrinkles, but the intensity of her gaze was still there. She was still on a mission to protect her people. Red could respect that even if he couldn't get past her sentencing Ember to death. Just standing in her presence caused him to tighten his hands into fists subconsciously.

"It's the furthest point out... all unexplored from here on out." He tried explaining. Her eyes widened and then she was nodding in agreement.

He shrugged, he'd spent years out here just on the edge, never crossing over. That didn't mean he hadn't spent plenty of time staring out into space, literally, wondering what lay beyond in the darkness.

"And New Elysium is out there." Her voice brought him back to the present.

"Well someone sent us the satellite with directions to it." Dag offered. He crossed his arms over his massive chest, the silver contrasting against his dark skin. He looked to Red with a lifted eyebrow. Well?

I used to be better at this. Red tried remembering the old days. But this wasn't like that; these people weren't trained in the arts of war on any level. They were settlers, not soldiers, not fighters, scavenging the wastelands of what Neo-Tokyo had reduced them to.

He grimaced, running a hand through his hair, tugging at it so it covered half his face. He'd never had to do that before, but now, he wanted a barrier or at least the illusion of one between himself and the people he'd taken on.

And these people, they wanted answers, answers he couldn't give them. Hell, he didn't want to give them a shred of hope. He had no idea what they would be facing, or if they would survive. That's the answer they wanted, that they'd live. He couldn't give them that.

When he'd served it was Lars who did all the comforting. The AI had an uncanny ability at knowing what to say while Red knew what to do. Now he was fulfilling both roles and Red found himself coming up short in the comfort department. These people, they just wanted to be somewhere, anywhere to call home. He rubbed his forehead again.

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"Most people just want a sense of hope. Something they can hang onto." Lars's voice interrupted as he looked up at Red. "Isn't that why so many of them are invested in some belief in the afterlife?"

"Now you're mixing your philosophy with work Lars." Red had reminded him.

"No sir, merely discussing human nature."

"Some human nature."

"Most humans, Sir. They all want to hope that they will live, get through whatever ordeal they are in...or better yet, that it serves a purpose, a greater good if you want to call it that..."

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"I just need to know if I'll be able to get my people there safely." Andrea's voice cut in. Red stared at her coming back to the present. His eyes narrowed. "So, pray to whatever gods you believe in."