Bad Harlequin
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Posted - 2003.07.08 18:10:00 -
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Bad Harlequin grew up among the Ammatars and all their propaganda, believing himself to be one of them. Growing up, he of course heard the history of his people and the Amarr's; of how the Amarr benefactors led The People into the modern age, despite the savage terrorists and rebel throwbacks who fought them.
Showing an affinity for both nonlinear thought processing and spacial awareness, he was admitted to a pilots' training program at a young age, which brought his family much honor and pride.
He thought he knew how the universe worked and the races' place in them.
He was proved very wrong when an advanced training excursion, shortly after his 25th cycle, stumbled upon a badly damaged Minmatar raiding party, limping home through Ammatar space. The training commander immediately opened a channel and began urging the rebels to allow the students to escort them in, to give themselves up and join a "progressive modern society," leaving their life of violence and outdated customs aside.
A heated debate at turret-point followed; the raiders didn't really want to open fire on the trainees, a group of what they viewed as wayward children; and their instructor seemed either unwilling to attack wounded Minmatar no matter their affiliation, or perhaps simply feared for his life...
During the exchange, "Harlequin" was shocked to discover that the evil terrorists he'd been brought up to fear were passionate, frank, literate, and persuasive. They had even begun exhorting the trainees to abandon their "lapdog's life" and accompany the raiders back to Minmatar, to see the homeworld, the start of their people, their language and culture... Harlequin could see some of his fellow students beginning to waver. After all, they were all here to learn how to be combat pilots, and here were real honest men and women of battle, actually asking them to join!
Harlequin wavered, and his mind whirled, and a quarter-century of propaganda and prejudice warred with the stirrings of his heart and soul, and that might have been the end of it had the Amarr cruiser not suddenly appeared and blasted the raiders into oblivion.
The trainer and students were awarded medals for their part in "delaying the raiders until the authorities could arrive."
Harlequin melted his down, left the still-cooling puddle with a note for his family, and secretly left Ammatar space without once looking back.
He goes by an alias for fear that his name may be traced back to his family, whom he has no desire to see harmed. He hopes he can one day extract them from the lie they live and show them what he has seen since he left... as his former life and its lies all seem a horrible, cruel joke, he called himself Bad Harlequin and wandered the region doing odd jobs and menial mining.
Until one day, docked at a station after selling off yet another interminable load of refined Omber, he saw men and women who reminded him of those impassioned raiders he once saw.
They wore their affiliation openly, not a ragtag band of terrorists and pirates but a corporation of belief, strength, tradition, and honor.
They bore the insignia of something called Oracle.
He found himself standing up from his table, his feet of their own accord walking, their eyes looking up from their drinks to size him up as he approached...
and he heard himself say, "I want to join you."
You are in a maze of twisty little asteroids, all alike. |