20 - People from the Tower are here
| Session 0 | Session 19 | Session 20 | Session 21 | Session 23 |
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Octavia | Bolt Octavia | Bolt Lincoln Octavia | Bolt Lincoln Octavia | Bolt Octavia |
so much destruction
The Elder is no more! An inevitable fact I guess. Does that mean I am fine with it? Ready for it? I need to think about this for a bit, wrap my head around it. He was different than us, for many years he seemed immortal and all knowing. More than us in many ways. But apparently he was the same as well. Death was not different for him, just history. He was here before us and lead us. Almost lead us into doom. His downward path actually freed us. We have become more than a group grasping for survival. We have been growing beyond what he envisioned. I guess that does mean I am relatively fine with it and made ready as well. Our recent adventures made me ready, though that will not be the same for everyone. They will have to cope, but that they will have to do by themselves. Our leaders will lead and I still have many things to do.
I've been stripping the bus for parts that are not required for it to drive. Mostly. I think I know where all parts go and how I can use them for my dream. I am not totally convinced if I continue stripping it I will be able to make it work again. I need help, not technically, but as an extra memory. Max can help, but I need to start noting things down. I can make drawings I guess, but I need more. I need help from Octavia. Yes, I need to ask her to help me to learn to read and write. I've made up my mind, I'm going to ask her and I'm convinced she will help me.
The Ceremony
Rianna thinks I need to be at the burning of the Elders body. I know it's important for people, but I have already dealt with it in my way. A dead body needs to be burned obviously, but that is for health reasons. I don't care for a big ceremony, I don't want to be in a crowd of sad people. But I will be there because Rianna wants me to. We make our way there and Rianna leads me to a spot right next to Jo-Ann. Did she do that on purpose? Jo-Ann greets me with a smile and I return the favor. I guess I like her smile, it's.. comforting?
As I watch Octavia hold an uplifting speech for the Elder I also see Harper standing there, next to Lincoln and Elona. This ceremony might hold an interesting opportunity. I've got this new connection with other people's mind that might prove useful. Can I somehow leave a message inside someone's mind? A trickle of influence perhaps? I'm not quite sure if I can actually influence others? How about I create something inside the Harper's mind that shows something in the fire. A word of influence after death? A small thing to improve collaboration between him and Lincoln.
I make my way nearer to Harper and concentrate and try to find a connection to his mind. I quickly stop myself from showing the concentration on my face, don't want to be caught looking at him when he by accident looks my way. Just a small change in what he sees in the fire, a word, maybe a few more when that happens.
Octavia finishes her speech and holds the torch towards the pyre that holds our Elder. Not a small fire, but a huge fire suddenly erupts around the body. I feel strengthened by this unexpected effect and drive my mental tentacle towards Harpers brain and force him to see the Elder in his prime inside the flames. I make words appear inside his head as if the Elder spoke to him directly. The Elder tells him to work together with Lincoln and treat him as his equal and not to take steps against Lincoln authority. I feel truly empowered, this is far more than I ever expected to happen. I can see by the change on Harper's face that it actually happened and was not a figment of my imagination. I quickly make my way back towards Rianna and Jo-Ann. I have no idea how much impact this will have, but it sure feels great!
Into the fray
It was the next day and we were in the middle of what Octavia called a class, her teaching us to read and write. This is a skill I am going to like for sure and will be extremely useful! Suddenly shouting could be heard. The people from the Tower were coming. Two busses filled with armed people. We had been preparing for this, with limited time, but with healthy fervor. This was it!
No simple fight between two small groups, but this was a lot more. There will be death and chaos and I am not sure how I will even react to something big like this. Fighting is not really my thing, the chances of me actually fighting or cowering in a corner are about the same.
As always after a fight I can only remember a little of what happened, as if something protects me from harm. I know I moved my APC towards the gate, to make sure our temporary gate has a second line of defense. I hid in my APC at first, watching what happened outside. I was afraid, that's for sure. But then the drive of one of the enemy busses decided to use their bus to breach our compound through our badly constructed gate. The bus was in flames before it hit our gate, but that didn't slow it down and it rammed through it far too easily. Somehow that action pushed me into unexpected action and I apparently decided to use my APC to retaliate and slow down their progress.
When I returned to consciousness I saw the damage I had done to the bus, the people I killed. I know probably most of those actually died fighting when others joined in after my crash. But this was the first time my actions were either directly or maybe indirectly involved in killing someone. I was feeling horrible, both physically and mentally. Is there any way we could have prevented this? Could we have resolved this differently? We will probably never know.
Apparently it was clear to Rianna that I was disturbed by the whole situation, she was good with people like that. She also somehow felt she was not the one to help me through this specific situation and led me to Jo-Ann. I cannot exactly remember what we spoke about, it didn't matter, but we felt a need to share. It made me feel better, specially the hug we shared at the end. I was going to make it through the day.
| Session 0 | Session 19 | Session 20 | Session 21 | Session 23 |
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Octavia | Bolt Octavia | Bolt Lincoln Octavia | Bolt Lincoln Octavia | Bolt Octavia |
Updated on: 10:09
