Heartbeats

Chapter 16 : The storyteller's heart

The Community was young. The scars, from the violent war of fire, were still fresh and tender in the memories of each and every one; while the poisons, from the war of ice, still ran through their arteries and veins, pumped by their own hearts that were still eager to live.

They were all survivors per se. They, who had lived through the dark skies, scorched seas and burnt lands. They, who had breathed, drank and ate the venom that filtered humanity, separating the weak from the strong.

It was the early days of the Communities, when its number could still be counted in one hand, and the people inside were still uncertain if this would actually work or not.

It was back in those days, when Artemis and Artanis became Captains. The twins, both decorated soldiers, volunteered and pledged under the rule of the inexperienced Council.

Back then, there were a lot of resistance from the barbarians. It was never easy to teach people how to trust. But Captain Artanis destroyed the resistance, and plowed over the forces that tried to prevent the rise of the Communities. Captain Artanis was devoted into making this Community successful, and his passion radiated through the fierceness of his actions.

On the other hand, Captain Artemis was a good negotiator. His missions were mostly rescue and civilian transport. Even through a barbarian camp, Captain Artemis could bring more people in the Community with little to no casualty on both parties. Captain Artemis never had a single prisoner. If he came back from a mission, he would always bring a crowd refugees behind his back.

Stories about the two formed vividly inside Sasha's head through Henry. He was like a bard that sang tales of tragedy and triumph of heroes of old.

Inside Henry's quaint study room, were walls filled with shelves of binders and books, each labelled and organized in a way that only Henry knew. The binders and books, had some pages made with actual paper, but mostly, the pages were made of glass pads even thinner than paper. Due to the confidentiality of those information, Sasha had to ask Henry for the password to those pages, before she could continue read.

But it was not all about Captain Artemis, Henry also had some stuff about Captain Artanis, but he told the little girl that if she wanted to learn more about Artanis she had to ask the Commander.

The world inside that study room was rich in history about the early third recon squad, where data that even the Community network did not have could be found inside a binder there.

Sasha was surprised and taken aback by the enthusiasm that Henry had. He was a storyteller that was eager to pass down the lessons of these Captains of the past.

It was quite odd for the girl, as she had just seen him with his wife at the dining table, happily eating the second to fourth servings of rice his wife continuously offered him. Sasha learned that night that despite Henry being a smaller man compared to Borian, he too ate like a bear.

She too had seen him tuck his eight year old daughter to bed. Sasha blushed and looked away when she saw that. It was a scene too beautiful to be seen by a stranger's eyes.

She never knew until that night how many faces Henry had. The subordinate who would follow her every command, the loving husband who would continue to eat whatever his wife served him, and the kind father who would coo his little girl to sleep.

But she enjoyed most of all was the Henry inside the study room. The Henry who would pull out a binder after another in a particular manner that helped Sasha see the stories he told. The Henry who would explain with all enthusiasm and vigor, the stories behind the reports, cases and articles.

Sasha read and absorbed as much as she could. The twins were everything she wanted to be. The confidence, the intelligence, the influence, the success and the power they had could never be achieved by any of the present Captains.