"As queen of the Awoken, I hereby banish you, Silas Petrov, on the grounds of high treason. stepping foot in the Reef or any Vestian Outpost will result in instant death for you, and any accomplice. That is my final word. Any last requests, before you're sent off?"
He took one last sad look at Petra, before answering the queen. "No" He said. The guards led him into the ship that was waiting for him. There were a number of things he wanted to say, but he couldn't. He couldn't expose her for loving a criminal.
Silas woke from his dream. The event had happened over three years ago, yet it would still appear in his head every time he fell asleep. It was either his exile from the Reef, or his imprisonment with the Fallen that haunted his dreams. There, he would be taken to the Ishtar Sink to be abandoned. He was left with only a vestian dynasty sidearm that only contained one clip, courtesy of the queen. He knew what the sidearm was for, but he refused to even consider the option. Nobody ever survived exile. They were either killed by fallen, vex, Reef scouts, or most likely themselves to avoid the other possibilities. It was a final act of cowardice that he refused to give in to.
He'd spent only five days surviving off Venus, before the fallen found him. Then, he spent six months in that cell, where he was beaten, tortured and interrogated almost daily. After a group of guardians found his cell on a strike, he became a technician in the Tower. He worked on anything from guns, sparrows and ships, to the tower's own electricity source.
He must have made some noise waking up, because his roommate, Mark, groaned in the other room. He was a titan, who was mysteriously popular with the ladies. So naturally, sharing an apartment with him had its ups and downs. At least with a guardian as a roommate, he was usually left alone. He let himself drift back to sleep. The dreams continued until he woke up in the morning.
Mark woke up early, like usual. He slid on a pair of shorts and an undershirt. His ghost would equip his armor when he left the apartment. And as usual, Silas up before him, making coffee. He couldn't tell if Silas just had a habit of waking up early, or if he just didn't sleep.
"Morning." Silas said, while grinding coffee beans.
"Morning." Mark replied. He walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. His hair was short, maybe two to three inches, with a slight curl. It was dark brown, almost black, and he was usually clean shaven. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to style it, but quickly gave up. No matter what he did, it would always go back to curly and unorganized in a matter of hours. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a protein bar from the cupboard.
"Coffee?" Silas asked.
"Sure. I'm going to the Reef, be back in an hour." Mark said, as Silas passed him a cup.
"If you see Petra, can you tell her that I'm sorry?" Silas asked.
"That you're… how do you know Petra?" he asked.
"I used to live in the Reef." he replied.
"Really? You never mentioned that."
"It's not something I enjoy discussing."
"Well, I won't pry."
"Thanks. See ya." Silas said, as he left. Mark knew that Silas didn't like talking about his past, and he didn't wanna push him. He met up with Selena and Alice to get a ride to the Reef. Selena was a hunter, and Alice was a warlock. They'd all known each other pretty much since their first trip to the tower. He would have gone himself, but Silas had made the coffee just the way they liked it: mixed with vodka. He left the driving to Alice.
"So… is Silas single?" Selena asked, after about a minute in space.
He nearly choked. "Why Selena, I didn't realize you were into him. I believe he is."
"Great, but I just think he's really hot. That's it." Selena had a reputation for sleeping around, so he wasn't too surprised when she said this. Whether it was true or merely fabrication, he didn't really care. It was still shocking all the same.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do. But if you don't want a relationship, don't lead him on. That guy's been through a lot."
"Like what?" She asked.
In trying to answer the question, he realized that he knew almost nothing about his roommate. He knew that he'd been rescued from a fallen prison, something known by few at that. That was all anyone could get from him. How he'd gotten there, why he was in there, what he'd gone through, all these questions were a mystery.
"I don't actually know. But he clearly has PTSD, and he's certainly got a few gnarly scars. He has to drown himself in alcohol just to get through the day. It's actually quite ugly when he doesn't."
Selena was silent for the rest of the ride over. She was probably wondering what could have possibly caused a tower technician, one of the most peaceful jobs in the city, so much trauma.
Silas was curious to see how this would play out. It was something he'd wanted to do since he first arrived in the Tower, but only now worked up the courage to do. It could also be that he was caring less and less about his own life, and so the outcome would have less of an impact on him. Still, it was something he should have done a long time ago.
He reported in. Amanda Holliday was fixing a Ceres Galliot ship, one from the Reef. He noticed she was tightening one of the axils on the lower wing too tightly. Before he could think otherwise, he commented on it.
"The axils have to be kept loose. Response timing is really important for a Model 9 such as this." He said.
"How do you know about Reef ships?" Amanda asked, puzzled.
"Sorry, I'll get to work." He took a long swig from his coffee mug, and walked over to his area of the desk. Amanda had realised by now, that what he was drinking wasn't coffee, but she didn't really care. He was just a grumpy coworker, who was probably better off with it. Although, she wasn't entirely bored with him. He was very mysterious; barely ever opened up to anybody about anything concerning him. He knew more about engineering than he let on, she just couldn't figure out why he didn't do more with his knowledge. She could also pick out a slight accent in his voice, that she didn't quite recognise. Eventually her curiosity about the strange awoken got the best of her, and she finally asked the question dreaded amongst the tower.
"Hey Silas, where are you from?"
He dropped his coffee on the floor, revealing it to have a clear tint to it. He bent over and leaned on the desk, running his fingers through his silverish blonde hair. He let out long sigh and turned around. She expected anger on his face, since her question was considered so strictly taboo it must strike some sort of nerve with him. What she saw was only sadness. Now, what he said really caught her by surprise. It wasn't what he was actually saying, she expected him to say that, it was the kindness in his voice. Something she didn't even think he was capable of.
"I'd honestly rather not talk about it, if that's okay with you." He answered, picking up the gray thermus from the ground. Exactly what she thought he'd say. They got back to work, as a frame mopped up the spill.
"I'm from the Reef." He said, after a few minutes of silence. She just nodded, as her suspicions were confirmed. They kept working in silence for another hour.
The silence was broken when four vestian ships entered the hangar. Silas reached for his concealed sidearm, and slowly walked towards the ships. Two awoken guards emerged from each ship, and pointed their guns at him.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Amanda said, getting up from here work.
"Amanda Holliday, I presume? Hand over the fugitive, and there won't be any need for violence." One of the guards said.
"Are you threatenin' me? You have no authorized business here." Amanda replied.
Silas walked up to the guard, and looked her in the eye.
"I'm not a fugitive. I got my punishment, now I ask that you leave."
"Our orders come straight from Petra Venj."
"What!?"
"Petra thinks you have more to answer for. If you don't comply, we have permission to kill you. I don't know what you two had, but it's been over for quite some time."
His face darkened, and it was a few seconds before he spoke again. "I need more vodka."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not doing this sober."
The guard let out a sarcastic laugh, and pointed her gun at him. "Get in the fucking ship." She said.
"Now hold on just a minute," Amanda broke in. "Mr. Petrov here, is a citizen of the Last City. He received a brand new record when he arrived here. I don't know what he did in his past, but you have no right to do this. Silas, you don't have to go anywhere."
"Amanda, it's alright." Silas said. "Petra really doesn't care about me anymore?" The amount of pain in his eyes was unbearable, even to the guards. He couldn't even stand up straight without leaning against the railing.
Her tone sounded very taken it back, as she answered. "I'm sorry. She didn't seem like she did. She only said she wants you back to pay for your crimes in the way she thinks you deserve to."
"I don't have much of a choice, it seems. Well, this is my first time coming to the Reef in quite some time. Would you mind if I took a few minutes to shave and comb my hair? You can escort me to my apartment, if you'd like."
They looked at each other. "I don't see why not. But you will die if you try anything."
"Understood."
The two guards waited outside his bathroom door, as he got ready. He ran some water through his hair. He'd grown a lot of stubble since he'd last shaved, and his hair was quite long. He hadn't cut it since his imprisonment, a year ago. It went down just past his jaw. He took out his scissors, and began cutting a few inches from his scalp. It was about four inches, by the time he got it to look even.
He rubbed on some shaving cream onto his face, and pulled the straight edge razor from his drawer. He held it up against his face, but before he could even start shaving, he was crying. The only thing keeping him going was the thought that Petra still loved him as much as he loved her.
He wiped away his tears but they just kept coming. Looking at himself in the mirror, he set the razor on the counter, and removed the blade.