A Much Needed Drink

-6:52 PM, July 7th, 2054-

-ANV Main Base, Kessel-

I swore to myself that the sunsets on Kessel were the most magnificent I had ever seen. The rain had cleared up, the clouds far off in the distance now. The setting sun painted them in shades of orange, pink, and purple.

To my right was Violet. We were sitting on the roof of the command building in a pair of lawn chairs that I had thrown together using hardware, wood, and tent fabric that I had found scattered about.

I laughed and took a sip of my liquor. "And can you guess what they did next?"

I looked into her eyes, ignoring the slight blush on her face. "What did they do?"

I smirked. "They started throwing drinks at us! I always laugh when I think back to that night."

She giggled, the blush on her face growing ever more pronounced with the setting sun.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat. "Well, let's just say that from then on, we were much more careful with who we let into our parties."

Violet and I have really grown close over this short amount of time. It felt good though. I liked her.

Man, how did we end up here? At least everything went smoothly following the escape of Andrews. Alpha team packed into a shuttle that we stole and then we left the rest to our other forces. Our job was done.

After we left, our guild members swept through the base and executed all of them on sight. There were no locals with them so they'd all just respawn elsewhere after we helped ourselves to their gear. Jacob was the only survivor form Forest since the PMCs from Andrews International cleared out before we could even react, not that capturing them was worth anything.

I took another sip of my drunk as I appreciated the setting sun. All the tension was leaving my body. Well, most of the tension if you get my drift.

I shifted in my seat and faced Vi. "So, tell me about yourself."

She smiled softly. "Well, you know my name already-"

I shook my head and cut her off. "Oh don't give me that. What's your real name?"

She stammered, struggling to get words out. "Uhhh, I-"

I laughed. "My name is Kyle, your turn." I put a gentle smile on my face as I softened my gaze.

She sighed. "Mine is Vanessa."

I sighed, shaking my head. "Damn, I was hoping you'd have an ugly name. What am I supposed to make fun of now?"

Her brow twitched briefly before she blushed. Apparently she discovered the flirty compliment below the surface. "Where are you from?"

I exhaled, sinking into my chair. "New York. You?"

She smiled. "Connecticut. Not that far form each other, eh?"

I shook my head. "I'm actually not in New York at the moment and probably won't be going back there for a while."

She tilted her head in curiosity. "Why not?"

I sighed and sipped my drink before sitting up slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. My eyes glazed over as I zoned out onto the horizon. "It's not safe. I almost died and nearly got other people killed in the process."

She sat up and placed her drink aside. I felt the warmth and genuine concern from her. It made my heart race with excitement. "What happened?"

I swirled my drink and sat back in the chair, my back pressing against the canvas. "Russian and Chinese mobsters raided my house."

Blood and death flashed through my mind. The walls painted red. The chunks of brain matter. The piles of dead bodies. "I killed so many of them…"

She shook her head like she thought she understood. "You were just defending yourself."

I shook my head, closing my eyes with a deep breath. "It's not that simple. A 10 year old kid nearly died because of me. I was careless in thinking I could live a normal life."

She sighed, grabbing her drink before sitting back in her chair. "The kid is okay, right?"

I turned my head and looked into her eyes. "Physically? Yes. Mentally? He'll never be the same. Oh, it's Samir's kid by the way."

Violet's eyes widened upon the revelation of that fact. "So you know the guild leader back home?"

I nodded, chuckling darkly. "Yep. He works for my aunt, Rosalina, and is my neighbor."

Violet sipped her drink and shook her head, clearly confused. "Isn't this just a game?"

I sighed. "No… Not at all. It's so much more. I'll show you soon."

A glint of fear flashed through her eyes as her shoulders sunk. "How? We can't see each other?"

I shook my head. "Not for long. I'm going to mandate that all level 3+ guild members relocate to our temporary headquarters back on Earth where there is round the clock heavily armed security. None of us are safe. That is especially true now that we are about to have trillions of credits rolling in."

My comm link suddenly beeped. I sighed and downed the rest of my drink before setting the cup aside. "Well, duty calls."

She giggled. "What's so important that you didn't even take your time with your drink?"

I stood up and stretched my arms. "My aunt as arrived on world."

Violet tilted her head. "Your aunt?"

I nodded and tapped my comm link, indicating that I was on my way. "Yep. The grand elders are my aunt and uncle."

Violet shook her head in disbelief. "Paolo too?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Yep. They're married in case you couldn't tell."

Violet nodded. "Ah, I see. Shall I come with you?"

I shrugged as I heard the sound of the shuttle coming to pick me up. "She'll likely be in a foul mood but I won't say no to spending more time with you."