Tales of Sol, Volume I: Rise

by crcookie

Petra Venj has always been resilient, or she would never have survived her childhood. When a sudden friendship spirals into something else, will she cling to the recognition she thought she wanted, or put her name at risk for a chance to have something truly worth fighting for? And how far will she take it when getting caught could result in a punishment as terrible as exile?

6. May 28th, 5034

"I'm sorry," The medic looked apologetic as he answered her question. "She told me to tell you 'They didn't leave, they died.' That's all. I don't know what she's referring to."

"They-?" Petra choked on a sob. Could she be talking about… their parents?

"Unfortunately, Vyda Venj was pronounced dead upon arrival of severe head injuries and internal bleeding, and Lylla Venj passed away at approximately 7:15 on May 24th from extensive brain damage due to rupture of the veins bringing oxygenated blood to the brain. Her last words before going unconscious on May 21st were "Tell Petra that they didn't leave, they died."

She let her head fall back onto the pillow, her mind reeling in shock and horror. "And.. today is….?"

"The 28th. You've been under anesthetics for a week while your injuries were treated. Unfortunately, we had to remove the remains of your left eye and some of that scarring may never fully heal."

"That's alright," Petra mumbled, taking the hand-held mirror he offered her and glancing at her new reflection. She almost didn't recognize her own face. She was much paler than she remembered, and one of her blue eyes was covered by a thick bandage, with two long, fresh scars twisting outward from it. Her other eye seemed to have lost some of its brightness. But what most surprised her was that she didn't look tired or scared or lost. Everyone she'd ever cared about was gone, even the only two people who cared about her, but she didn't look sad. She looked angry. She was angry. Angry at the Fallen, angry at her sisters, angry at herself. But most of all, she was…. Free. she made the decisions now. She could choose what she wanted.

"You're the only survivor of the destruction of the Awoken space station Amethyst. You were one of the techeun apprentices, correct? What level were you? You can join a new training program to complete your learnings if you wish."

"No," she said, savoring this first big decision all to herself, "I've had enough of the techeuns. I was never very good anyways." She looked out the window into the darkness of space, imagining herself tracking down the fallen responsible for the destruction and ending them in the name of the Queen. "How old d'you have to be, to be a corsair?"