The passing stars (open)

[Jeff Weston]

Date: January 30


Staring out into the black at night was a human thing one that Weston had not done in a very long while not since his only friend died in his arms. They were on a black spec ops mission when every thing went sideways. Their cover was blown and quiet probably known before they arrived which made escape nearly impossible for both of them. On the escape route the lead commander had layed out for them, Heather Quin was herded into a spike trap though she narrowly avoided the trap but was gut shot in the end.

In a rage Jeff wiped the hunting party clean from the verse even the target that was to be taken alive. When he finally got to Heather's side she was nearly dead. Her skin was cold and pale white and her breathing was shallow. She never asked anything of Jeff but for him to lay be side her and waited for her to die. So there they laid staring up to the stars. The sounds of two people breathing slowly faded to one breath. Sitting up Jeff rolled Heather onto his shoulders and made for the drop point. He also dragged the target with him pain and rage gave his muscles the needed strength to achieve this feat.

Jeff opened his eyes as once again he was on the bridge while the stars passed before him. In his hands layed his sonic weapon set on the highest setting and with the silencer on. One shot and a pencil sized hole would be found on his skull and his brains pureed into pudding. Death was not some thing he liked. He like living and fighting for another day but doing it alone was getting harder for him to do.

The ship had become quietly eerily. Either by ones being a sleep or simply having to be off the ship for other side missions. His time on the ship he feared was drawing to an end, but her hoped not. Well at least not now he was just getting use to this crew and the quirks they had. Any ways he sighed and stared out into the black.

[Lars Engström]

Lars awoke with a start, having the distinct feeling that he had just been dreaming, but unable to call up any images from what had caused him to wake. He shivered slightly, and rubbed his eyes. He sat up and then turned to sit off the side of the bed, allowing his mind to catch up. He knew he wouldn't be able to get to sleep right away, and he decided to go and check on things, what with Trace still being on the tail end of his forced medical rest. Lars rose, and stretched, before heading out the door in his customary sweats and a slightly loose tee shirt.

He made his way softly towards the bridge, not sure why he was being so careful, it just didn't seem right to be making so much noise at such an hour. But as he got close, he noticed that it wasn't as deserted as he expected. He narrowed his eyes, and continued until he was leaning against the door frame. The other insomniac turned out to be Weston, and Lars was slightly confused. It seemed as though everyone on the boat was starting to catch what he had begun calling "Jordan Fever." Privately, of course.

"There is a certain wild beauty, isn't there." He said, softly, hoping not to startle the man. "Makes you wonder what they really are. The stars I mean." He sighed, "Its been said a man can drive himself mad though, just looses the will to do much but look out into the void and wonder." He stepped inside and took a seat behind the controls, turning the chair so he could stretch his legs out. "You ain't goin' mad on me, are you Jeff?"

[Jeff Weston]

Jeff silently smirked at the thought of going mad but it was not him. His psych report from his school noted him being strong willed with a tendancy to emotion out bursts without words. Giving a 'yup' to the statement about the beauty of it all Jeff added.....
Yea like a falling into a event horizion of a black hole you'd want to know and not know how it would be. .... Or finding out that the first love you had had just died by your side with out the words spoken. Wonderful and lonely at the same time. .... Have you ever free walked in the black?

Jeff stated this because the cap had seen him do this a while back and wanted to know what ones thought. To him it was a free as one could get but just beyond his suit was the cold death of space. What was going through his mind? he himself had yet to find out was it a mid-life crisus. What ever it was he was working it out like a deep thorn buried deep within his heel.

[Lars Engström]

Lars smiled at the general roughness that was Weston. "Once, back before i was captain." He said, closing his eyes, "Piece of space junk got caught up in the sensor array and we had to get it out." He sighed, "Needless to say, the new kid got the job." He smiled and chuckled, "They suited me up and pushed me out the door without so much as a do you mind." Lars sighed. "It was quite the experience, although i haven't had to duplicate it.... yet."

Weston's words caught Lars off guard. He sat in silence for a moment and thought hard about what to say. He hadn't found a woman who he cared for like that yet, although he often wondered if he was even looking for one. Shaking his head slightly, he looked at Jeff, and then spoke softly. "What was she like?"

[Jeff Weston]

Jeff thought for only four seconds before answering.
-
'She was wild and dangerous like a new born pulsar. There was no machine could not drive and field strip while under fire. When on down time she'd watch old romance drama movies and fall asleep halfway through. She had a look that made most men forget that they could walk. Her laugh was like clear bells especially when she's on a long range 50cal sniper rifle. Heather was some girl. I never met anyone like her. Nothing could get her down even when her planet Shadow was slagged.'
-
Jeff wondered what it would have been like if she'd live. No reaver attack would have phazed either of them. They might even had bought a ship and traveling the verse by now.

[Lars Engström]

Lars heard the rough, almost poetry of Weston's words, and it startled him. He never pegged Jeff as that sort, it hadn't even occurred to him. He was curious about the girl he had named as Heather, but not sure if the topic was even something he had any room to pursue. He knew that whatever had happened was none of his business, but that didn't sate his curiosity. He thought very hard over his next words, choosing them carefully.

"How?" He asked, all his thought falling to the side. His tone was raspy, his throat had become dry. He cleared it and looked at Jeff. "If you don't mind me asking." He knew they both understood what he was asking about, he didn't need or want to say the whole question, he didn't know why.

[Jeff Weston]

Jeff sighed when he first met Heather.

'At first I had no thought of such things, love and being loved was never in my future at that time. When I first noticed Heather having a liking to me was on a training mission she was to blow a compound that held a rebel group of suiciders. I had gone in to do recon but was trapped when my cover was blown. I was thrown into a concretted cell with no way out. She gave me three seconds more than she should have. Ofcourse that gave me the time I needed to break out and run for it, though the fireball and the shock wave did mash me into a freight container that I was running for. Yea I know what your thinking 'where's the love well she never let my hand go all the while as they shipped me to St. Lucy.

The second time was when we were bunkering down and was running low on ammo she gave me her last clip of armor piercing rounds. The thrid time was when we had crashed on St. Alban during a low orbit dog fight. She never blinked at the thought of heat sharing while we waited out a recon party to show. The final time was when she died. Heather wished me a long life, happiness and endless ammo. So I guess the one who'd love you the most would come as quiet as an assassin and steal your heart before you know it.'

Weston got up and walked over to the glass. Placing his hand on the glass he sighed again. Never had he shown this side of himself. He hated how weak it made him feel. Weakness was another trait that he never let have a hold upon him for to long. With another sigh the cold curtian of Jeff Weston black ops came down and he returned to his seat. Picking up his sonic weapon he retweaked it to back to it's normal levels and harmonics.

[Lars Engström]

Lars was silent. He didn't really know how to react. This was the man he had seen as hard and stone to the core. He never expected there was, well, he felt bad for thinking it, but he hadn't expected so much of a human side of Jeff. "Well," he thought, "I suppose that just goes to show..." He looked briefly out into the black, and then turned back to Jeff. He didn't think an "I'm so sorry." was the right move, for God's sake he was only what, 20 years younger than Jeff? He felt the awkward silence begin to descend, and he felt the need to avoid it.

"Should be hitting Whitefall soon.." He said, stupidly. Having said the first thing that came to mind. "Get paid, take some time to rest." He sighed. "Seems like things have been pretty intense recently." Lars knew he sounded silly, and he knew Jeff had probably picked up on it. He didn't know whether or not it would be better to just stop talking, or what. "With so much going on, it will be nice to just sorta take a break."

He smiled and ran his eyes over the displays on the console, making sure everything was as it should be. As he spoke his next words, he thought of his crew, and the simple overwhelming feeling of near dispair swept over him. "Sooner or later, everyone breaks." He nearly whispered. Unsure where the feelings had come from, he shook his head, and pushed them away. "It will be good to get some time off, yeah?"