Have you ever woken from a dream in a sweat, swearing it was real? As the memory of the dream fades, you desperately try to grasp on to any detail because you know in your bones it was MORE than just a dream?
That is every waking moment for Ekim. You may know him as Wanderer #6416, but he hates that designation because he knows deep down there is more to his story. 6 months ago Ekim awoke in his ship, disoriented, not knowing the time or place, not knowing himself, yet surrounded by other crafts in the heat of battle. Vague memories of another life and a massive wormhole unlike anything he ever imagined lingered, but there wasn't time for contemplation. The battle raged around his ship, and survival instincts took over.
It was a blur of violence like nothing he'd ever imagined, but he was alive and clear most of the mayhem. Had he been boarded? How many confused faces had he seen cut down before him, how many did he cut down himself? How did the skull end up in his hand? Ekim couldn't focus, but then out of nowhere a white wormhole appeared just outside his craft. He wanted to get further away to safety, NEEDED to get a moment to better understand what was happening, so he took the risk and flew into it.
That was many months ago, Ekim survived the wormhole yet still had far too many questions and too few precious answers. He knows he lived another life in another place, he knows he's seen much death, but prefers life, REMEMBERS life. He's not sure why, but flowers remind him he's alive. Do they remind him of a wife? A daughter? Someone in his old life loved flowers. That Ekim knows. Why can't he remember? How can he get back?
The others he’s met since he woke only care about their dark god's religion or space weed or earning dust. Ekim has no need of these things. He knows these are just crutches for those too weak and unwilling to face the past. This is NOT where they belong. Ekim is certain of this, and his dogged pursuit of answers is all that matters. He will keep going, keep wandering the universe, until he knows who he is and what happened. Nothing will get in Ekim’s away, and that’s why he keeps the skull as a reminder of what sometimes must be done. Life is what drives him, what he is searching for, but he will kill if needed to find the truth.