Background
Audio log #1 - Year 2067, exact date unknown.
(A calm and firm young woman's voice starts speaking as the recorder plays)
"My name is Julia Sage, and I'm a soldier serving in the War on Titan.
I've been a soldier for what seems to be a long time now, though I'm a lot younger than most of the men and women I've served with. I turn 18 tomorrow, it'll be the first day when I can actually legally be called a member of the army. Not that it's ever stopped the military when it's served their needs to say I'm older.
I was 7 when my parents realized I was sensitive. I could... feel the world around me in ways no one else could. I knew things I shouldn't have; I was special, they said. I never really realized just how special - they tried to keep it from me. We were a part of the Jovian Confederacy, lived in a small military town on Europa. Other sensitive kids would disappear and never be heard of again. Sometimes if their families asked too many questions, the same would happen to them. My parents thought that if I knew, I'd brag about it. They were probably right.
On my eighth birthday I scraped my knee chasing after a bird - one of the species imported over from Earth - and the stupid little thing slammed into a window and was bleeding on the ground. I gave it a little touch and it started hopping around. They tried not to believe it, to just pretend it hadn't happened. My mom just put a bandage over its wing anyway, even though I insisted it was fine. My dad closed his eyes and held his hands up to his head, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He looked resigned, almost.
It wasn't until a year later that the police came for me. I don't know what gave me away, if anything. Maybe my parents turned me over. Maybe they were too afraid to keep living with me."
Audio log #2 - Year 2067, exact date unknown.
"It's been a long day. Enemy units overran one of our outposts, the wounded are pouring in and Captain Harven says we all have to be ready to hold against serious bombardment. He expects us to defend the place with our lives. I wonder why?
There aren't a lot of psychics serving on Titan, though that might just be because there aren't many of us. I know there are a lot more than just the people down here though. In training they said I was only grouped with other psychics. They had a whole asteroid base or something dedicated to us. I think. I was never sure, they made certain we'd never know where the facilities were in case we escaped.
Training was terrible. I missed home, my parents. They encouraged our abilities, which was somewhat interesting, no one can say a psychic's powers aren't fun to use - but they did it against all costs. For some of us the strain was too much. Some went on rampages. I saw a kid, he was barely eleven, almost half my height, burned three men alive before he cooked himself inside out. I tried to help him heal after but the damage was done, and I wasn't good enough yet.
Others just receded into themselves. There was a girl, Melissa I think her name was. She was good at seeing into other people's heads. She scared the rest of us, so we kind of just stayed away from her. No one really noticed when she lost herself except for the trainers. They tried to coax her out of her sleep but she just stayed in there. Eventually they gave up and she disappeared. Some of the boys made up nasty rumors that they'd given her to the soldiers. I tried not to think about that too often."
Audio log #3 - Year 2067, exact date unknown.
"Captain Harven is dead. His lieutenant, Daniel, has taken over. He's trying to hold the place together but he's doing a pretty bad job. Only reason no one's deserted yet is because there's nowhere to run if we get off this base. Titan is an inhospitably hot and arid warzone, all our ships were shot down, and half our base is infested with enemy soldiers.
One of the worst parts of training was the tracking implants. Small chips implanted into the root stems of our brains. If we ever tried to remove them, the parts of our brains controlling our vital functions would be damaged and we'd probably die. The things itched and there was always the worry that we might make a mistake and get killed, or - although they assured us it wasn't possible - that the things might short-circuit because we bump our heads or an EMP goes off near us and our brains get fried.
My head's throbbing right now. The itching isn't too bad, but it's been hard helping the wounded. It's been harder since I can't let them know I can heal anything more than a superficial wound. Not yet."
Audio log #4 - Year 2067, exact date unknown.
"They're outside my room now. I'm here with most of the other wounded. One of them's also a psychic. His name's James. A Telekinetic. He's saved me a few times, and I him. It's going to be bad watching him die.
I don't want to be here when they break in. They only show pity to the female soldiers after they're done with them. James is asking me to take out his chip to kill him. If he's going to die, he says he wants to die knowing he's at least a little free. After I take his out I'm going to put a bullet in my brain."
Audio log #5 - Year 2067, exact date unknown.
"It worked. I'm not sure I'm all too happy about it, but it worked.
I kept these audio recordings on me after I made the shot. I was careful that I wouldn't hit anything crucial. I had to still be alive, but it had to look too bad for anyone to think I'd make it.
The enemy soldiers broke through and saw James dead and me with a gun in my hand and my blood all over the wall. They listened to the recordings, heard me say I'd kill myself. They knew we were psychics. Maybe they hoped to capture us?
They still sent me, uniform, weapons and all, to a surgeon. They left us alone.
The surprise on his face was palpable when he saw me get up stumbling from exhaustion, the hole in my head gone. I didn't kill him, he was only doing what I did. Helping his friends survive.
I managed to sneak off to a ship and get away before anyone could think to look for me. I have some supplies and materials, some weapons, but nothing special. I got rid of my uniform. I don't want to look at it anymore. I tried hard not too fall asleep at the helm. They tell us healing yourself is much harder than healing anyone else, no one really knows why but it's incredibly draining.
I don't know why I'm still keeping these logs. Maybe I need someone to talk to."
Audio log #6 - Year 2068, exact date unknown.
"I guess I should have figured they'd still be looking for me. It's been over a year since I escaped, and a bounty with my face and name's been plastered all over the solar system. I've had to abandon the ship and most of my supplies. I wear something to keep my face covered most of the time. I'd cut my hair short but it would show off the hole with the scar from when I tore out my tracking implant, so it seems I'm stuck as a woman. I've been making money where I can by offering my help as a doctor. Got an aid kid and medicine and everything. Keeps the people seeing what they want to see.
I had my first run in with a bounty hunter today. Hit me from behind with a stun baton. Lucky for me they make sure we don't go down on the first hit in the military. Heh.
I'm going to have to leave Venus soon. From the looks of the man I killed he's a syndicate member. Lucky me. Of all the people on Venus, one of the only ones who anyone would miss finds his way to my doorstep.
Going to smuggle myself onto a trade ship headed for earth. I saved the captain's daughter from a nasty fever, he'll probably let me in no questions asked."
Audio log #7 - Year 2069, exact date unknown.
"I've been on Mars for almost 5 months now, I had to leave when the police on Earth caught wind of me. Mars is much nicer. No one cares about the poor people on mars. The rich families pay a lot for doctors to keep their sons and daughters healthy too. No one looks at me too close and no one wants to share me so I'm relatively unknown. Hope it stays that way. I still can't quite make myself head back to the Jovian confederacy."
Audio log #8 - Year 2069, exact date unknown.
"Ugh. I should have known. Rich men always want everything. One of my clients called me over to have a look at his worrying cough. Thought it would be the usual easy money, instead he tries to pin me down and "give me some spiritual healing".
I shot him in the gut and then healed him just enough that he wouldn't die. He probably deserves it but I don't want the cops on me any more than they'll already be.
I guess I'm headed to the Jovian confederacy after all. Mom, dad, I'm coming home."
Audio log #9 - Year 2069, exact date unknown.
"I should have killed the bastard. He told everyone who'd listen that I came in with a gun and asked him where his family fortune was hidden, then shot him when he wouldn't tell me. Stupid stupid stupid! Ugh!" (Sound of something breaking)
Audio log #10 - Year 2069, exact date unknown.
"That was a close one. According to the captain we managed to get off the surface only an hour before the SSPB figured out where I was. A little while more and we'll be out of their jurisdiction and home free.
I saved his wife so he was rather willing to take me aboard. He plans to claim I forced him to take me or be killed. It's a fair excuse, to be sure."
Audio log #11 - Year 2069, exact date unknown.
"Damn. I forgot about the bounty hunters. Our ship stopped moving midflight, it's just been hanging midspace for the past few minutes. The captain's terrified.
Well, my guns are still working, and that's something. Bounty hunters have to take their guys alive right? Well, I've put a bullet in my brain before, I can do it again. Maybe this time for the last time."
Audio log #12 - Year 2070, exact date unknown.
"It's been a while, I've had to spend a bit of time putting my little room up here together. I have a nice view, makes me forget how small this floating piece of shit is. Who the hell thought painting the ship's name across the side like that was a good idea?
Oh. Yeah. Really, that is the captain's style. Montoya's a pretty weird guy, but decent enough. When the bounty hunters burst onto the ship, they saw me holding the gun to my head and realized they weren't going to get any pay. Grew pretty willing to listen to reason at that point. I explained the situation to them. Got them to agree to take me on. They figured any amount of money's worthless if they'll never live to spend it. I'm rather an expert at keeping things alive.
I considered asking the captain to take me to Europa. My signing bonus, I could call it. Decided against it. Don't have a life there any more.
When they asked what to call me, I remembered those stories I'd hear back in the academy. About how some early day psychic healers were called faith healers, because they believed that their faith in god would heal those they touched. I thought Faith was a little too obvious a name, so I went with Crystal, after people who thought crystals could heal them with their magic powers. I'm their healing crystal.
It's a bad joke, I know.
I wonder if this little outfit will survive much longer? I hope it does. Better here than it's been in a long time. I'm keeping these audio logs but I don't think i'll be recording any more for a while.
I have people to talk to again."
---
Addendum - Doctor James Benson is Dead (reportedly killed by A.P.E. Agents aboard the cruise ship Circes, during a terrorist plot to remove Psychic Powers from the world).
Crystal knew of Dr. James Benson, who was Chief Administrator of the European Government’s Psychic Research Program.
He was one of the assholes that headed the Jovian Military's Covert Psychic Program that put Crystal through all that hell.
While she never met him personally, he was one of the brass at the top of the food-chain that everyone knew was in charge.
Crystal was actually the one to kill Doctor Benson, using the chaos of the A.P.E. attack to cover her assassination of him.
R.I.P. Dr. James Benson.
Author
Topic: Crystal (Drak's Psychic Survivor) (Read 17621 times)