Sally Struthers

Synopsis
Sally Struthers is employed by Martin Esteban and flies a Salvager Frigate.

Her Story
There was no talk happening in the room. All you could hear, if you were an insect on the wall, would be a lot of moaning, panting, and the sound of the bed spreads rustling about in the commotion. Sally was having a rather violent nightmare, one she no longer remembers after waking but one that she had almost every night of her life since the Corsairs captured her and her family.

Sally was a little girl, around the age of 7, and her family was on a vacation cruise on Luxury Liner Hawaii. Her father was an important scientist working for the LSF and, after 10 years, had saved enough credits to take his family on a well deserved vacation. It was the 4th day into the cruise that the Corsair raid happened and the alarm klaxon sounded throughout the ship.

There were a number of scientists, engineers, and politicians on board the liner that trip and the Corsairs somehow learned of it. The raid was about capturing the important people and holding them for ransom. Many of the ships crew died after putting up a valiant fight. There was even a group of commandos on board that killed many of the Corsairs before they themselves were finally killed.

Sally was huddled in one of the closets in their suite, with every door locked in the entire suite. Sally's father quietly spoke to his family, "We have to be quiet! Those cannibals will be starting to search the rooms any time now. I have an idea that might save us, I'm not sure if it will work but I have to try. Please just go along with what I say if we're found, okay?" Sally and her mother both nodded their agreement. He continued, "All I want to do is keep the two of you safe, any way I can."

Sally didn't understand what a cannibal was yet, but she knew by the way her father said it that it was a very bad thing. She was shaking with fear for what seemed like an eternity when suddenly they heard the outer door to the suite burst open with the use of small explosives. She heard her mother let out a quiet scream. The kind of quiet scream the Corsiars couldn't have heard out in the main room but seemed deafeningly loud inside the bedroom closet where they were hiding. Her mother quickly covered her own mouth as tears were streaming down her face. This was the first time Sally ever seen her parents truly terrified.

They heard more doors being violently broken inside the suite, the Corsairs were searching every room methodically. Then, finally, the door to the bedroom they were in burst to the floor. She heard a woman giving orders, "You two, overturn the bed and search the dresser for markers. I want to know who was using this suite. You two, check the closets, and don't forget to look behind the clothes this time!"

Sally's family were huddling, holding on to each other for dear life when they were found in the back corner, behind the luggage and under a pile of clothing, in their closet. Guns were raised at her parents and at Sally. Her father raised his hands in surrender while her mother held onto her even more tightly, Sally had a hard time breathing. Her father said to the invaders, "Please, don't kill us! We're just on vacation, we don't want to cause any trouble!" Sally didn't know it at the time, but her father was having a hard time thinking through his overwhelming fear of the Corsairs.

The woman giving the orders barked at Sally's father, "Markers!" He needed a few seconds to process the demand because his mind was too clouded to think rationally. She barked again, "Markers!! And if you do anything stupid we'll kill your family first so you can watch them die!" Guns were pointed at Sally and her mother, with emphasis for her father to understand that the woman meant what she said.

"Okay, okay, I just need to get them from our pockets." He said to the woman before turning to us and getting our identity markers. He then got his own out of his pocket, slowly, and offered them to the nearest Corsair.

The woman came two strides forward and grabbed them herself. After reading them she instructed the others "He's a scientist, the other two are useless." The woman then started to turn to leave the room.

Sally's father looked side to side rapidly with his eyes, trying to think, then spoke up just before the woman left through the doorway, "We defect!"

The woman stopped, turned, and instructed her men to hold. "What did you say," she checked the markers in her hand again, "Mister Struthers?"

Sally's father took the opportunity to save his wife and child enthusiastically, leaning his body forward for emphasis, "We defect! We defect to the Corsairs! Just, please, let my wife and daughter live?" The woman instructed Sally's family and the soldiers to wait then she went to the corridor outside the suite. They could barely hear her voice and couldn't make out what she was saying or to whom. Nor could they make out what the male voice said in return.

Sally's mom whispered to Sally's dad, "Are you sure about this?"

Sally's dad whispered back, "It's all I can think of to keep you safe."

Sally's mom replied, still in a hushed tone, "But how safe is THIS?" The soldier in charge in the room told the family to be quiet. He was straining to hear the conversation in the corridor from his post near the door.

What the family did not know is, while their whispered conversation took place, that the Corsairs in the corridor couldn't fully read Mr. Struther's marker because it was encrypted. They knew he was a scientist but couldn't read who he worked for or what his area of specialty was. Sally's mom knew the employer but couldn't say what Sally's dad did either. Dad wasn't allowed to talk about his work, not even with his family, because it was Top Secret. All Sally knew was that daddy went to work every day and came home grateful to spend time with her and mommy.

The woman came back to the room, followed by a man that looked to be even older than Sally's dad. Much older. The woman demanded to know who Sally's dad was working for. This was the first time Sally herd the words "Liberty Security Force." The woman and the man that followed her in looked at each other, then the man wanted to know, "And what do you do for the LSF?"

Here, again, Sally learned something new. Her dad experimented on captured Nomads and with artifacts. Sally had no idea what either of those things were at the time. The man older than Sally's dad and the woman left the room again to talk. Sally's mom looked at dad with a questioning gaze. Dad looked at mom, saw the look, and nodded that it was true. Mom was still holding onto Sally for dear life, but no longer so tight that Sally couldn't breathe.

After a few more minutes the man and woman returned and he asked Sally's father "You would be willing to sign papers and make a video statement?" Sally's father seemed both happy and sad when he said that he would do those things. Happy to save his family, sad to become a traitor and start to work for the corsairs. Sally and her family were then told to get up. they were escorted to the corridor and then to the ship that would take them deep into Corsair space. In the corridor the klaxon was even louder, Sally had to cover her ears because it hurt.

The klaxon didn't go away though, and it sounded somehow different, more familiar. Something different from her nightmare memory, something that somehow sounded more urgent to her. Then she woke up, drenched in sweat and tears. The comm unit was flashing and beeping that she has an urgent message, 5 minutes old already. She opened it and saw that she was called to Martin Esteban's office. Seeing it as nothing of true importance she made a quick reply that she will be there soon.

This was the first time in many years that she had been woken during the dream. Sally knew she often woke up, covered in sweat, but this time she remembered why. She sat there, on her bed, and let herself cry for the first time in years.

Her Ship
Junker Salvage Frigate - JSI-Sally.Struthers