The Heart Line Story - Burden of Memory [Gabriel]

[Magdalena Lethe]

Refuel Station E-Beta
Kamino System
Aboard the Nova 235

The Heartline Project: GUIDE's slow return into the spotlight. A great, rallying cry followed Magda's press conference announcing the commencement of The Heartline Hyperlane. Garnering not just local media, but galactic-spanning attention. GNN had stopped in for an interview, HYPERLAND Zine was scheduled for photo-ops, and a steady outpouring of support from the Confederacy systems had landed Magda back into a place of euphoria she'd not known for several years now.

Though only operating at a fraction of the size they when they first began, GUIDE's team was small but mighty in their drive to see this new project through and their vigor for making their mission mean something again.

"It's about the people," said her voice on a radiocast interview later that evening, "it's always been about the people. Connecting and understanding the many nations, cultures, and lives of the galaxy. Years ago when we first began, I thought expensive technology and big fancy ships was going to get the job done. They help, but they're useless without the people. It's taken me a while to come to terms with this idea and I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made along the way. We lost a lot of good souls over the years, lives have ended because of my shortsightedness. But ... even despite that, my crew still believes that what we are doing is worth the trials and the risks. I'm so proud of my team and I'm so glad we've been given this second chance at making a difference. The Heartline Project will be the key to our continued success or the nail in GUIDE's coffin. I'm excited to see it through to the end, no matter what, and I hope we can leave a positive mark on the galaxy. I hope we can all go to sleep at night knowing we've made something worth being proud of."



"It's your magnum opus,"

The voice speaking to her on the bridge of the Nova sounded from a speaker system connected to the central comm. Magda slowly turned the Comm Officer's chair, sunken into it with the straw of a nutrient pouch fed through the induction port of her mask. She smiled behind the tinted visor, pulling the straw away, "I'd like to think it was only the beginning to my magnum opus."

"Well, it's a good start nevertheless," Atheema's face had never looked quite so blue. Truly, Magda had never thought it could get any more vibrant, yet there it was staring at her in pixelated glory.

"When will you arrive?"
"We're about two weeks out. Captain Ra says we're on schedule, though I've never known her to admit anything otherwise."
"She hates being late."
"You're on time if you're early," Atheema began.
"You're late if you're on time," Magda finished for her, chuckling, "Izzy can't stand her. My brother couldn't either."
"She does seem to be an acquired taste for personality. I do think being under her Command has been useful for Mr. Dashiell."
"In what way?"
"Well, for one, he's given ample opportunity to practice biting his tongue."
"Never insult a cat."

@Gabriel Lethe

 

[Jairus Starvald]

"The Heartline Project will be the key to our continued success or the nail in GUIDE's coffin. I'm excited to see it through to the end, no matter what, and I hope we can leave a positive mark on the galaxy. I hope we can all go to sleep at night knowing we've made something worth being proud of."

Gabriel sat back and smiled.

"Looks like ya back, sis."

Why she was wearing that hazard suit in the middle of a presser was anyone's guess though. He supposed it did make her look very classy. Authentic. Stuff like that, she probably knew better than him.

"Time to come knocking then."

---

​

---

​

It took some time to track her down.

Always on the move and all that, but she was back in the limelight now. Made it easier. Plus, he didn't have a Huttese black mark on his back anymore. Made that easier as well. His ship hailed the station. The one thing that might immediately catch their attention and Magda's? It was his old IFF code. The one he had used back when he still ran with them.

Before.

Before everything turned difficult and Gabriel had faded into the background.

"I know how this looks, boys, but trust me- this isn't a lizard masquerading as her dear brother." Gabriel repeated himself for the umpteenth time. The security officer on the comm was skeptical.

Was understandable, of course.

"Just relay me to her, it will be fiiiiiineeee." The officer's frown frown'ed even harder.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Wasn't much left to the GUIDE security teams first pledged to the company all those years ago. Many of the brave men and women had taken their leave when their contract was up. A small handful had found themselves enamored enough with the mission to sign on, even with a marked pay cut. Those few left? Well, they were the ones that were most dedicated and passionate.

Sometimes a little too passionate.

"Ma'am?"
Magda looked up from the holo of Atheema and waved the officer in.
"Sorry to interrupt-"
"It's fine, Officer Garrel, what is it?"
Garrel released a short breath, clearly irritated, "There is a man on the comm requesting to speak with you."
"Really? Well who is he? Perhaps he's a Confederacy Representative."
"He claims to be your brother."
Silence from the Captain.
"Gabriel Lethe."
More silence.
"Orders, Ma'am?"

"Magdalena," Atheema's voice from the holocomm, "you should take this. I need to go, anyway."

Frowning deeply behind her visor, Magda found herself wishing the woman were here with her. The distance really put a damper on that reassuring tone of hers. A nod finally emerged, Atheema's face blinked out.

"Put him through."
"Yes Ma'am."

A moment, then a beep signaling the incoming call. Magda reached to engage.

"This is Captain Lethe of the Nova 235."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Took 'em like two ages and an eternity.

But eventually they were patched through.

It took Gabriel a moment, if he was honest. Just that voice. Vibrating through after all those years. Hard years, difficult ones... defining. He wouldn't have traded for the world, but just in that small sentence Gabe realized something succinct. He had missed things. Things he would never get back. There was an edge to Magda's voice. Authority that didn't come from play-acting. Only from experience. Hard-fought battles that were settled in sweat and tears.

Well.

They had both grown then.

No sense in chitting about it, right? "Well, helloooo, Captain Lethe of the Nova 235," Gabriel murmured with half a smile. Leaning back, one leg crossed against the other. Relaxing. Against the tune of that voice. "This is Captain Lethe of the Sparrow 103, requesting entry, if it pleases the Captain of Nova 235."

A theatrical sigh at the end of that transmission, before it cut away for her.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

There were very few things in this galaxy that could set off Magdalena Lethe into a swell of anger. Two things came to mind immediately:

1. [member="Isaiah Dashiell"] being a prat in front of their Sponsors and/or Business Partners and/or people of importance or rank and/or people she held a great deal of respect for. Really, Izzy being a prat just about covered most of it. This was an unfortunate personality quirk of his that was both charming and infuriating all at once.

2. Those that refused to consider the bigger picture when making mission-critical decisions.

Today enlightened her to a third thing: Pretending as if everything was perfectly OK when it was perfectly NOT.

"Orders Ma'am?"

She silently seethed behind her helmet, bolstered only by the suddenness with which Gabriel - oh yes, it was most certainly him - had cut the line and disallowed her any chance for response. How unprofessional of him. How utterly rude. How very dare he.

As if nothing was wrong. As if everything was just fine.

Well it wasn't.

"Ma'am?"

Was keel-hauling still a thing? That was probably a pirate thing - not likely a good option, especially now that GUIDE was back in the spotlight. Normal people tended to frown upon those sorts of things and bad publicity would do them no favors here. Magda's head began to hurt, reminding her of just how much effort it took to be angry with someone. The day following the ATC Trade Bazaar and Isaiah's drunken shenanigans had left her mentally exhausted. Magda's frown frown'ed even harder.

The Officer wavered on the spot, noting by the Captain's body language that she was not at all pleased. "Shall I dismiss him, Ma'am?"

Grimacing and ever-thankful for the visor hiding her face, Magda slumped so deep into the Captain's chair that she nearly became one with it. Part of the furniture, nothing to see here.

"No..." the woman murmured back, half-heartedly gesturing towards the officer with a gloved hand, "let him in."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

There. We. Go

Honestly, it took them so long... that Gabriel wondered if he was at the right spot. Maybe there were a couple of GUIDEs out there? That would be awkward. Not that Gabey really believed in that option. Too much like Magda for that.

Not even an AI would have been able to mimic her like that.

One sentence was enough.

Ship docked. Out came Gabriel, smug and all relaxed, greeting at least two guards like he knew them. Of course... Gabe did. He had trained them after all. "Hey Barnabas, I see your zits disappeared. Nice man!" He called out before disappearing into the elevator.

All the way towards Magda.

With a guard. Which told him his sister wasn't happy with him. That wouldn't be a first. He tried making conversation, but Officer Simmons was having none of it.

"Well, okay, don't tell me how your dog is then." Gabe huffed before stepping out onto the bridge.

"Heeeeeey Maaaagpieeee...."

Still wearing that suit. What the kark though.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda hadn't moved from her chair, which was presently facing towards the forward viewport of the bridge - as most Captain chairs were want to do. She'd picked herself up a bit, appearing less like a melting clock and more like a Captain who was most displeased with the present course of things. Internally, though, she felt more like the former.

Caught between the anger and a strangely overwhelming sense of loss and grief. Magda was somewhat surprised to realize she wasn't happy he was here. Not at all. This only made the turmoil within worse. She should have been elated to know he was alive, to see him still full of spunk and walking on his own two feet. She should have run and hugged him.

Couldn't.

Officer Garrel, who was decidedly not someone Gabe had trained, but a woman from Zy Corp's premiere investment Security Force, loomed by the doorway behind him.

"Just say the word Ma'am."

Magda should have wanted for privacy.

Didn't.

"Heeeey Maaaaagpiiiieeee."

Magda bristled where she sat.

"Don't call me that." It was pretty clear she was referring to Gabe's favorite nickname for her and not Officer Garrel's 'Ma'am.'

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Head tilted.

He leaned against one of the consoles and watched his sister for a brief moment.

"Okaaaay, Ma'am Magpie then?" Flashing a dazzling smile there, but it was more hesitant now. Oh, Gabriel had figured she wouldn't be ecstatic. Years passed. Chit happened, they were different people than when they had been just kids. This seemed different though. A curt hostility that Gabe wasn't used to- and hadn't really expected it either. Which really begged the question. What did Gabriel expect? After so many years of not showing his face or trying to get in touch?

Oh, he had his reasons, but... was it really fair to expect a warm welcome now?

Scratching his neck Gabe's expression fell a bit. "I uh... I am sorry. I karked up." Brows furrowed a bit. "Miss Lethe." Back stiff there as he righted himself. "Would you prefer I left again?" Not accusing, but just a little bit deflated there.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda was not aware that her grimace could get any worse, but when Ma'am Magpie hit the air it suddenly devolved into the downright ugly. Thank goodness no one could see. She felt her blood boiling, anger rising and flooding her chest with painful heat. She wanted to yell and scream at him, throw things, shoot him out the airlock.

But when breath met throat, she only managed to croak out a sob.

"You don't get to do that," the mechanical nature of her voice through the speaker of her helmet took a turn for the hoarse as it choked out through a tightening grip of grief, "you don't get to leave for two years with no word and come back like nothing happened."

"I needed you. We all needed you. People died. You're all I have left from before. I was trying to do what needed to be done to get us home. I needed you and you weren't there."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Grimace there.

Head hanging low, shoulders too.

"I know. I know..." Lifting his arms up in defeat. "I had to. I karked up, if I had stayed I'd have put you and everyone else in danger." And then his absence had caused deaths regardless. That was painful to realize. Here Gabriel thought that the toughest thing would be to come back. Instead? Instead it was facing his failure to be there for his little sister. When she needed him most. He hadn't realized it. Or maybe... maybe he hadn't wanted to realize it.

Easier to pretend it was all good and okay and she was better off without him.

Then to take responsibility.

"Had a black mark on me, Huttese clans hunting me down. If they knew we were family...."

Helpless gesture there too.

"I am sorry, Magda."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Gorramnit she hated crying in this suit. It fogged up her visor something awful. She took a deep breath, eyes squeezed shut, and swallowed the feeling of sick. Pressed it down into her middle real hard, then slowly stood from her seat. Turning to step around the Captain's chair she faced her brother with her head held high. Taller now, leaner, the silhouette of a woman beneath the fitted enviro-suit. Magda had always carried herself with a sense of pride, but only recently could she claim to have that stately presence of their mother.

"You should have said something," she replied, the wavering of her voice exchanged for stern disappointment, "anything. I would have understood. We could have found some way to help. We had Sponsors, supporters, friends who would have gladly stepped in."

Looking her brother over she found him much changed as well. He'd be the spitting image of their father if it weren't for the sandy mop on his head. Tall and broad, scruffy but handsome. It pained her to think how much between them was gone now. Could it ever go back to the way it was?

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

A shake of the head.

"I thought if I reached out, it would lead them to you and then to everything you had build." Not that it mattered a lot, apparently. "I didn't want you hurt. Didn't want my problems to kark up all the things you had made here." And Gabriel had known then, just as he knew now, that Magda would have done anything in her power to help him. Even if it would have put her in danger. Even if it would have risked her getting hurt.

That was something he couldn't allow back then.

Then again.

"Not that it mattered..." Pained expression there. "I didn't know... what happened to you, Magda?" A hesitant step towards her. "I didn't know- I thought if I left, I'd keep you safe... I didn't think it would have karked things up even more."

Was there anything Gabe could really say here?

Anything he could do to make it better? No, he didn't think so. Hadn't been here. Hadn't protected his little sister, when she needed him most. What could one really do -- even if they had been doing it with their best intentions -- to fix that?

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Your problems?"

Magda's helmet cocked to one side, "Our problems. Do you remember what you said to me when we first realized what had happened?" It had taken them both a good deal of time to understand the consequences of Magda's impromptu and uncontrolled hyper-hiccup. She'd carried the weight of the blame ever since. Them being here, as they were, this was her fault.

"You said we're in this together."

"Everything that happens here to either of us is our problem until the day we find our way home."

"You're all I have, Gabe," she was trying really hard not to cry again, "you disappeared and I thought you were dead. I thought I was all alone...everything went wrong after you left. War erupted across the galaxy, we lost three major sponsors in less than half a year. GUIDE started hemorrhaging funds, I had to let go of half the staff. We started taking on research expeditions to find new inhabitable planets to make ends meet. I-" she pressed a hand to her head, gloved fingers touching at hand-woven fabric of the headdress, "I made some bad calls, got our teams into trouble. A lot of people died and I ... will be living with the consequences of my decisions for the rest of my life."

The weight of the words, ones she'd spoken before, felt heavier this time because Gabe was hearing them and she was listening to herself saying them in a different light. This wasn't Gabe's fault. Him leaving hadn't caused this. Circumstances beyond their control caused this. Magda's hand dropped back to her front where she crossed her arms. Her anger at him had been misplaced - the person she was really angry with was herself. Passing the blame had just made it worse.

"Are...are you back to stay?"