Unexpected Ambivalence - Part I

[Laehval tTemarr 0]

Unexpected Ambivalence - Part I

A shoreleave log by

El'Riov Laehval t'Temarr

 

 

I have always considered myself a sensible person. I do not have lofty goals or aspirations or dreams about the future as some do. The only true goal I have ever set for myself was to become a Galae engineer, which I accomplished as soon as I possibly could. I fix things – tangible, mechanical things. I am quite good at it. And that which I am unable to fix, like people and relationships, I try to ignore. My relationship with my mother is a prime example.

 

I am practical, I am a realist, and I do not do things on a whim. I plan my day and list the tasks I need to complete, even if those plans are simplistic and those lists only consist of one or two items. I do not take risks unless those risks involve life and death situations in my engineering department. I am not adventurous or thrill-seeking. And I certainly do not take unplanned vacations to unvisited areas and take up with strange men I hardly know.

 

Only… that is precisely what I have done.

Or is it?

The truth is, though this little jaunt seems spontaneous, it isn’t. Not completely.

 

D’elon tr’Rehu was not always a guide of the famed Firefalls of Gath Gal'thong. He was once Ranos’imana tr’Lleayyan, a highly respected doctor from the capital city. He was noted for his revolutionary ideas in biometrics and genetic reconstruction as cures for disease, cellular regeneration, and the elimination of certain birth defects. However, as with many other things in the Empire, his ideas were taken and twisted to be utilized in military applications for abhorrent purposes. Angered by this, he destroyed his research and fled the city, changing his name, altering his appearance, and cutting himself off from any of his former contacts. I do not know why he remains on ch’Rihan. Perhaps he loves his native planet too much to leave.

 

Amazingly, none of this matters to me. I stumbled onto his past while researching his present, though I am certain that no other could possibly do so. Firstly, who would ever need to delve into the background of a tour guide? When planning a trip to the Firefalls, most have little interest in their guides, only the information their guides can give them. Secondly, very few would ever search for references and background information for said tour guides. Fewer still would have the skill or clearance to access private information regarding the personal lives, hobbies, and vehicular registrations. That I discovered the discrepancies in his records and was able to cross-reference his vital statistics with his former identity was a fluke, attributed to my skills in programming and algorithms coupled with a large portion of sheer dumb luck.

 

It all started with my search for a high-altitude glider. My brother Pritus had one when I was a child. I have fond memories of helping him work on the circuitry; my tiny fingers able to easily repair what his larger ones could not. When I helped him, he would repay me with short flights over the countryside, which was always an exciting event. It has been a long time since I have flown in one; since I have felt the utter exhilaration and freedom that they bestow. To ride as a passenger in one requires that you surrender yourself to the pilot’s skill and competence. They are not easily tamed and fatal accidents do occur. I have not allowed myself to experience that level of trust in another for longer than I care to remember.

 

D’elon has a high-altitude glider registered in his name. The company he is with requires that he complete extensive training in its operation every year. Should he use it to take a client on an aerial tour, he must also log all flights and duration. In fifteen years of recorded flights, he has never had a single mishap. I wagered that he was competent enough to trust.

 

When I discovered his background, it gave me pause, but only because his level of sacrifice surprised me. Some would have seen him as a fugitive or traitor. I saw him as someone courageous enough to relinquish everything, even his identity, to support his moral standards. The idea to warn him that he could be discovered, as I discovered him, did not even cross my mind… until our conversation on the transport.

 

He was persistent and annoying, though in the most charming way possible. Although my normal inclination is to distance myself from people, I found myself liking him. He was intelligent and humorous and extremely affable, despite the pain I knew he had suffered and the sacrifices I knew he had made. I allowed him to think that I was beholden to him. He thought that it was his choice to accompany me, but I could have easily found another candidate if he had not been acceptable.

 

I have decided to reveal to him what I know and to tell him how he can rectify the situation so that no one can ever find him again – not even me.

 

But I am not saying a word until I get my tour in his high-altitude glider.