Baron Bob’s Bar
Saltwater Villa
Galatea System
Second Quarter 3057
The metal bar slammed hard into the back of Sir Alec de Payens’ neck. Doubling over under
the impact against his skull and spine, Alec tried to deflect the next blow with his left forearm.
Unfortunately the attempt failed as the wooden board cracked his bone and pushed his arm back
into his face. The enemy wasn’t letting up.
Only minutes ago Alec had been minding his own business, having drinks at the pub in his latest
effort to drown some of his sorrows. It had been just one year since the passing of his wife and
child, and Alec was still having a hard time setting things right within his soul. He had his goal in
mind, a clear and effective way of combating that which had destroyed his own life. Living that
new way of life, however, was an entirely different thing.
Alec still had those days, days when he was a different person altogether. It was those days
when he wanted to kill himself or drink his life away. No matter what the future held, it would
never bring back his family. That grim realization was exactly the thing that kept Alec from
recovering from his loss. He could only hope that the future he might build by himself could
somehow compare to that of his past.
As his enemies struck their final blow, an unforgiving kiss with the metal bar, Alec drifted into
unconsciousness. His mind was active, but only filled with dreams of his past and never realizing
the desperate situation that his physical body now lie in. The rowdy drunks who had first hurled
bottles at him now plucked his body from the floor and slowly rose it over their heads. They felt
no mercy when it came to the hired guns, the dirty mercenaries that they so often spoke of.
Tonight’s example would be made by none other than Alec himself. Clumsily, wavering, the two
thugs bonked into the emergency exit door. The latch held at first, but after some fumbling with it
one of the two men was able to open it. Shortly outside the pub’s exitway, the two dropped
Alec into a pile of garbage. As they struggled with the alcohol that was coursing through their
veins, they propped the door open again and disappeared inside.
Hillcrest Hospital
Saltwater Villa
2 days later
Alec woke to the rhythmic beat of a high pitched bleep. His perception’s clarity increased as his
drugged body slowly allowed him to focus on the sound. Moaning and twitching, as if in some
sort of nightmare, he woke with a startled cough. His eyes betrayed him, permitting the intensely
bright lights of the hospital room to instantly bring tears to his eyes. To his left set an array of
various monitors and machines. On his right, Alec could just make out the figure of a woman.
She appeared to be adjusting the controls of his bed. She moved closer to him and her face
became clearer, finally blocking out some of the terrible light that was irritating Alec’s pupils.
She smiled and spoke.
“Sir de Payens, its good to see you’re back with us. Sir, you have a visitor.”
The nurse moved away from Alec and exited the room. A few seconds after the hinged door
shut, it opened again. Alec couldn’t make out the person’s sex at first, but guessed it a man by
the stride. Within a few seconds, the figure was towering over him at his bedside. It was
definitely a man, but Alec couldn’t tell who.
“Who are you?” Alec said, his voice cracking under strained vocal chords. Apparently his
attackers had hit him with a blow to the trachea. He coughed and wheezed in pain as he waited
for the man to identify himself.
“Alec, its Rick. I heard about your beating in the newsvids. What the hell were you doing out
there? You know how the locals treat mercs.”
Sir Rick Ridges was one of Alec’s closest friends. He’d fought with Alec during his first days in
the Knights of the Inner Sphere. The two had become close after they’d saved each other
during a training simulation. It had, of course, been simple training, but both warriors
acknowledged that had anything been real, they’d have owed one another their lives. They
hoped to prove themselves worthy of such maneuvers in real combat one day.
Alec tried to focus his eyes on Rick’s face, but it just wasn’t happening. Whoever had hit him
had done a hell of a job. He could remember one of the bastards’ faces, but he had no clue on
any names. As he tried repeatedly to make out Rick’s short goatee and widow’s peak, he came
to imagine his other friends’ faces instead. Where the hell were they last night? Alfred? Bob?
A wave of anger and disappointment jolted his senses as it tracked its way through his blood.
“Oh you know, huh? And where the hell were you when I needed you? We’re supposed to be
a team.” Though he lacked control over his body, Alec sat up quickly, his right arm searing in
pain from the violent movement.
Rick immediately reached out to Alec, gently nudging him to lie back down. It was obvious the
painkillers were affecting his judgement, and he hoped Alec wouldn’t hurt himself any further.
“For starters, it was you who ran off Alec.” Rick shook his head slowly. “Come on, you have
got to lie back down before you affect that splint and wrap on your left arm.” Rick laid his palm
on Alec’s shoulder and gave him a light push.
“I ran off? What the hell do you know?!...” Alec surrendered to the overwhelming pain and
leaned back in bed. He realized that his arm must have been broken sometime in the fight, but
couldn’t quite mentally lay out the events yet. His right arm too was covered in some sort of
wrap. He noticed his own speech sounded slurred, and that he had to have been administered
some sort of strong painkiller. “Probably steroids...” he said aloud.
“Yeah Alec. They asked a few hours ago. From your vitals they’d guessed you’d regain
consciousness today. I approved of all of the drugs.” Rick smiled slightly. He hoped his friend
would come to his senses soon, but knew it was going to be a long week of recovery. Rick
silently thanked the heavens that it was drugs causing the distorted speech.
Rick looked up to the ceiling and thought silently for a moment. He decided he’d let Alec rest,
hoping that some time alone would clear some of the confusion that now plagued him. He leaned
down to his friend.
“I’m going to leave you alone for awhile Alec. Take it easy, and for God’s sakes don’t strain
yourself any more today. They’ll be plenty of time for flexing those muscles when you’re rehab
starts.”
With that, Rick turned and left the room. Alec lie silently, doing his best to focus on the pasty
white ceiling above him.
Saltwater Villa
Galatea System
Second Quarter 3057
The metal bar slammed hard into the back of Sir Alec de Payens’ neck. Doubling over under
the impact against his skull and spine, Alec tried to deflect the next blow with his left forearm.
Unfortunately the attempt failed as the wooden board cracked his bone and pushed his arm back
into his face. The enemy wasn’t letting up.
Only minutes ago Alec had been minding his own business, having drinks at the pub in his latest
effort to drown some of his sorrows. It had been just one year since the passing of his wife and
child, and Alec was still having a hard time setting things right within his soul. He had his goal in
mind, a clear and effective way of combating that which had destroyed his own life. Living that
new way of life, however, was an entirely different thing.
Alec still had those days, days when he was a different person altogether. It was those days
when he wanted to kill himself or drink his life away. No matter what the future held, it would
never bring back his family. That grim realization was exactly the thing that kept Alec from
recovering from his loss. He could only hope that the future he might build by himself could
somehow compare to that of his past.
As his enemies struck their final blow, an unforgiving kiss with the metal bar, Alec drifted into
unconsciousness. His mind was active, but only filled with dreams of his past and never realizing
the desperate situation that his physical body now lie in. The rowdy drunks who had first hurled
bottles at him now plucked his body from the floor and slowly rose it over their heads. They felt
no mercy when it came to the hired guns, the dirty mercenaries that they so often spoke of.
Tonight’s example would be made by none other than Alec himself. Clumsily, wavering, the two
thugs bonked into the emergency exit door. The latch held at first, but after some fumbling with it
one of the two men was able to open it. Shortly outside the pub’s exitway, the two dropped
Alec into a pile of garbage. As they struggled with the alcohol that was coursing through their
veins, they propped the door open again and disappeared inside.
Hillcrest Hospital
Saltwater Villa
2 days later
Alec woke to the rhythmic beat of a high pitched bleep. His perception’s clarity increased as his
drugged body slowly allowed him to focus on the sound. Moaning and twitching, as if in some
sort of nightmare, he woke with a startled cough. His eyes betrayed him, permitting the intensely
bright lights of the hospital room to instantly bring tears to his eyes. To his left set an array of
various monitors and machines. On his right, Alec could just make out the figure of a woman.
She appeared to be adjusting the controls of his bed. She moved closer to him and her face
became clearer, finally blocking out some of the terrible light that was irritating Alec’s pupils.
She smiled and spoke.
“Sir de Payens, its good to see you’re back with us. Sir, you have a visitor.”
The nurse moved away from Alec and exited the room. A few seconds after the hinged door
shut, it opened again. Alec couldn’t make out the person’s sex at first, but guessed it a man by
the stride. Within a few seconds, the figure was towering over him at his bedside. It was
definitely a man, but Alec couldn’t tell who.
“Who are you?” Alec said, his voice cracking under strained vocal chords. Apparently his
attackers had hit him with a blow to the trachea. He coughed and wheezed in pain as he waited
for the man to identify himself.
“Alec, its Rick. I heard about your beating in the newsvids. What the hell were you doing out
there? You know how the locals treat mercs.”
Sir Rick Ridges was one of Alec’s closest friends. He’d fought with Alec during his first days in
the Knights of the Inner Sphere. The two had become close after they’d saved each other
during a training simulation. It had, of course, been simple training, but both warriors
acknowledged that had anything been real, they’d have owed one another their lives. They
hoped to prove themselves worthy of such maneuvers in real combat one day.
Alec tried to focus his eyes on Rick’s face, but it just wasn’t happening. Whoever had hit him
had done a hell of a job. He could remember one of the bastards’ faces, but he had no clue on
any names. As he tried repeatedly to make out Rick’s short goatee and widow’s peak, he came
to imagine his other friends’ faces instead. Where the hell were they last night? Alfred? Bob?
A wave of anger and disappointment jolted his senses as it tracked its way through his blood.
“Oh you know, huh? And where the hell were you when I needed you? We’re supposed to be
a team.” Though he lacked control over his body, Alec sat up quickly, his right arm searing in
pain from the violent movement.
Rick immediately reached out to Alec, gently nudging him to lie back down. It was obvious the
painkillers were affecting his judgement, and he hoped Alec wouldn’t hurt himself any further.
“For starters, it was you who ran off Alec.” Rick shook his head slowly. “Come on, you have
got to lie back down before you affect that splint and wrap on your left arm.” Rick laid his palm
on Alec’s shoulder and gave him a light push.
“I ran off? What the hell do you know?!...” Alec surrendered to the overwhelming pain and
leaned back in bed. He realized that his arm must have been broken sometime in the fight, but
couldn’t quite mentally lay out the events yet. His right arm too was covered in some sort of
wrap. He noticed his own speech sounded slurred, and that he had to have been administered
some sort of strong painkiller. “Probably steroids...” he said aloud.
“Yeah Alec. They asked a few hours ago. From your vitals they’d guessed you’d regain
consciousness today. I approved of all of the drugs.” Rick smiled slightly. He hoped his friend
would come to his senses soon, but knew it was going to be a long week of recovery. Rick
silently thanked the heavens that it was drugs causing the distorted speech.
Rick looked up to the ceiling and thought silently for a moment. He decided he’d let Alec rest,
hoping that some time alone would clear some of the confusion that now plagued him. He leaned
down to his friend.
“I’m going to leave you alone for awhile Alec. Take it easy, and for God’s sakes don’t strain
yourself any more today. They’ll be plenty of time for flexing those muscles when you’re rehab
starts.”
With that, Rick turned and left the room. Alec lie silently, doing his best to focus on the pasty
white ceiling above him.
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| An Eye for an Eye, Etc. (1)... |