He looked at the still water. Not a great ending, is it? The sun was coming up, and streams of orange and red reflected off of the chrome of the "wheel chair". The mountains off in the distance were purple, and the brilliance of the green of the plants around him seemed as unnatural as the empty space where his legs used to be. In truth, the color of the foillage was as real as the missing limbs, but it seemed too sureal. The small mountain lake was being visited by only him, and the few squirrels that ran around. Everything about him was peaceful and beautiful, and his hatred for it all intensified. As he stared at the water, as though looking for an answer, he saw the stretched and wrinkled face of an old man. He brought his hands up to his face, "Where did the youth go?"
He sat back, deep into the hovering chair and closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of the rising sun. Feeling somewhat out of place in the world, he frowned. Thousands of memories played in his head. Those of forgotten friends, adventures that had made a man out of him, and the silence of a life that had once... meant something. Everytime he sat back to think, his thoughts would return there, to that awfull planet Klendathu. The home of the bugs. He had been on many campaigns, to many different planets, fighting the bugs even on his own planet - Earth, but Klendathu he had hated the most. He would fight bugs in his dreams, always watching someone of his old squad die. The war was over though, the bugs had been defeated, and now, now he was nothing more than a shadow of his former self. A tear fell down the lines of his cheek as he thought about failure. He hadn't really failed, the war was over, the bugs were gone, most everyone had made it back alive, but somehow the thoughts of not being able to help everyone back home had hurt him deeper than any wounds he had ever received.
"You're nothing but a washed up old man, who couldn't, who can't, and who won't be any good to anyone else." he loathed the oncoming sun, almost as if he wished he could stop time.
The screeches of arachnids blasted his ears, and the memories of battle were so real to him, that he could almost feel the morita in his hands. Opening his eyes again, he slowly pulled out a picture from his shirt pocket. It was a picture of a woman from his old squad, and on seeing it, he wept like a child. "Why oh why was I such an idiot? I was too slow and muddle headed to realize anything. You deserved someone so much better..." and his words faded into choking sobs.
After crying for a while, he put the picture back into his pocket. "Why you foolish boy? Your father was rich, you were rich, your mother loved you very much. You had a life in front of you for the taking, and instead you chose MI. Military service, do your part..." he stopped momentarily as he fought back more tears, "and now look at you, nothing but a used up old man. You never did anyone any good, and nothing has changed. You stupid stupid foolish boy..." this time the tears swelled up and he couldn't hold them back.
He fiddled with opening the compartment in the arm of his chair and pulled out the small bottle. Reading the label carefully he shoved it back. "There's not much time left, so I must hurry." he said to himself.
Searching the back of his chair, he put into his lap a small bowl with two fish swimming in it. Getting as close to the water's edge as he could, he dropped the two fish in the lake, and watched as they scuttled off together. Tossing the bowl to the side, the sun rose higher into the morning sky. He damned time and all eternity, because it would not stop for him. Thinking about the battles he had been through, he coughed a little, "Finally, this old man can rest his bones. I can end what I should have all those years ago... you foolish boy, Johnny Rico."