Chapter 9 Reunion

I didn't run into any issues on the way to Aikantoh. A few months ago the trip might have been an adventure, but I recently started doing jobs for the Caldari government to raise my sec status high enough to enter .5 systems.  My associates had convinced me to do it so I could help with a little POS removal project they had planned.  I uncloaked and warped away from each gate without so much as an attempted lock ringing in my head. For a moment I let my mind fill with memories of roaming around and hunting targets with the Hellcats. That didn’t last long though as the newer memories of the fight with the blood raiders seeped in. Maybe it was time for a vacation after I settled this mess with Geklov.

Aikantoh local wasn’t very busy.  The only ships I scanned in system belonged to Geklov's people.  After warping around making some safe spots, I headed to the Bio hazard Containment Facility. I made my final safe one hundred and fifty kilometers outside of the docking bay in case my security status wasn’t the same when I left as it was when I went in.

I was hesitant to go in. It wasn't the encounter with Geklov that I was worried about. It was meeting Tasha that had me all wound up. This time was worse than usual. I really wanted to understand what all I had missed that led her to make such shitty decisions. How the hell did she get to the point where a slime bag like Geklov owned her?

I shook the thoughts out of my head so I could focus.  Why could I never let go of us and just accept whatever it was that our relationship was about? I spent months telling myself she was a friend I cared about but didn't need in my life. Yet here I was again, running across half of known space to save her ass and buy her out of a bad deal.  When was I going to learn?  Someday I would have to let her go, but today was not going to be the day.

I warped back to the station and initiated the docking sequence. I handed over control of the ship to the stations docking computer and started the power down sequence. I felt the pods systems go offline as I mentally pulled the plug on each of them. After the docking sequence was complete the station machinery gently lifted the pod out of the ship and placed it on the ramp.

As soon as the pod was resting on the ramp I started the checklist for the power up. In my world you never know when you are going to have to get off a station in a hurry. I carefully placed each of the wires in the same order, same place, every time.  It was a habit that could be a life saver when seconds to launch could mean life or death to my fleet members.

I hurried over to the nearest communications panel and entered Tasha's number, waited about a minute, and disconnected.  I didn’t expect her to answer but I knew Geklov would be monitoring her communications and would now know I was here.  While I waited for some kind of response I watched the station’s massive machines move ships from one area to the next. The station’s network tracked everyone inside and it was virtually impossible to hide. The docking computers always knew when someone was headed toward the hanger and the machines made sure the ships were ready.

After about ten minutes one of Geklov's lackeys appeared in the hanger looking for me. I didn't recognize him from the assault on the science station but he was so obvious there was no doubt. I scanned the area to determine if he was alone then clicked my blaster off of safe and walked to meet him.

Up close he was not much to look at. He looked kind of like an earth worm. His bald head was wrinkled and he was so skinny that it looked like he had been working on a slave ship. He was wearing a white toga that did nothing to compliment his pale complexion.  I have no idea how I could be Caldari. I will never get their sense of style.

I walked up to him and waved. He flinched a little bit and stared back at me.

“Looking for me?”

“I am truly not sure. Are you Ms. Nachthexen?”

“Yep.”

 “You are to come with me to speak with Mr. Barkly immediately. I shall show you the way.”

That was cute. Geklov wanted to see me immediately. I wasn’t going to meet him without checking in with Tasha first and making sure she was okay. Besides, I needed to know what Geklov had said to her since I’d been gone. It hadn't taken long for me to finish the fight with the Blood Raiders and get up here, but several days had passed since both Tasha and Geklov left the station.

“I am afraid I will need to speak with Ms. Amira first.” I gave him my best “I am in charge here look” and waited for his reply.

He seemed to consider my statement for a second, too briefly, then nodded and started walking to the far lift.

“As you wish.”

I allowed the worm to lead and followed.  It was the first time, of many, that I felt tendrils of anxiety spread into my chest.  Geklov expected me to want to see her first, of course.   I could only guess at how he saw this as a tactical advantage.  As much as I hated the man I knew he was good at what he did. It would be a mistake to become arrogant.  He was as deadly as I, but in a more cowardly way than I was used to dealing with. 

The lift was a solid tube of shinny steel that spanned the entire length of the station. The stations are enormous and have a lot of angles on the outside so sometimes you have to use more than one lift to get to where you want to go. The docking areas normally had access to a station spanning lift. The one we were walking towards however was not one of those. I reasoned that Tasha’s room must be located at one of the angles near the outside of the station.

Was that important to know? Probably not, but it was a part of that obsessive paranoia that kicks in whenever I am in a situation that might go bad. You never know what little piece of information will be the key to saving your ass. As we walked, I observed my surroundings and started filing away little bits of information that might come in handy later.

“So...what is your name?” I asked, trying to get the little man to talk. Maybe if he relaxed he would let something slip.

“I am Pelton Freree”

“Well Pelton Freree, can I get you a couple more vowels for your name?” 

Okay, I said it in a dry sarcastic way. Because that is how I like to talk to people. It took the little guy forever to figure out the joke. He nodded and then I waited until a little spark of light shined in his eyes.

“Umm, no that won’t be necessary.  I have many already.” 

“What do you do for Mr. Barkly?”

“I provide administrative assistance”

“Aren't you a little too cute for that?” I said as flirty as I could.

He looked at me and I could see the wheels turning as he tried to decide if I was making fun of him or not. Before he decided, the lift arrived and the doors opened. Realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere with the conversation, I followed him in and resigned myself to gathering as much other information as I could.  Pelton carefully entered our destination into the control panel and stepped back as the doors closed.

The lift rose smoothly up the tube. They were quiet, but I expected them to be loud. Or maybe I was waiting for the grinding and screeching as the lift fell to the bottom of the shaft killing everyone on board. I didn’t like the lifts, but I wasn't willing to give into fear and walk up seventy flights of stairs. I occupied myself with happy thoughts of blowing up squishy pods and waited for the ride to be over.

The lift reached Tasha’s floor in under a minute and we stepped off into a residential area. It was busy with people going about their daily routine.  By the look of their clothes they were probably lower middle class.  Tasha's standard of living had dropped since returning to the station. I followed Pelton as he danced around the crowed and headed down the corridor. At each intersection the corridor became less crowded. 

Finally, we stood in front of a metal door leading to a living quarters. My heart pounded and my stomach gave a little roll to remind me it was there.  I didn’t know what to expect, a feeling I don’t like.  I didn’t know what shape Tasha would be in when the door opened, or if this was a trap. I smiled as a little burst of adrenalin hit my system and I moved my hand to rest it on my blaster.

Pelton entered a code and the door slid open reveling Tasha at a table reading on the other side.  Relief washed over me when I could tell she was alone and looked physically okay. Tension seeped out of the muscles in my back and I took a deep breath not caring if anyone noticed.

“I will leave you two. Mr. Barkly will be waiting. Please don't take too long,” Pelton said, and headed back the direction we came from. The next thing I knew he had melted into the small crowd near a lift. Maybe he was a little more than an administrative assistant.

I looked back in time to brace myself as Tasha wrapped her arms around me and held me in a tight embrace.  I returned the hug, relieved she was okay.

“The room is bugged,” she whispered as she let go and backed up a step.  I reluctantly let her slip free.

I looked into her tired eyes.  A light pink lined the beautiful green making them seem even brighter. It looked like she had been up crying for days.  Once I would have seen her soul by looking into those eyes but now all I saw was the reflection of her physical exhaustion.  A little of that heavy feeling returned to my heart as I thought about how much she had been through and how things had changed.  I knew she was worried about her association with Geklov, the loss of her research, and about a million other things. I let out a little sigh followed her into the room.


The room was a step down from where she was living before. The small living room led to an attached area for cooking. Off to the right was an entrance to what appeared to be a little bedroom. That was all there was. Geklov was the type who would consider a smaller living space punishment, but the way I saw it if he wanted to punish her she would be living with him.

The room was sparse but everything about it screamed Tasha. Back when we were in pilot training she liked to buy a lot of stuff.  As the years passed physical items never compared to the joy she got from being in a lab so those habits had changed.  She did however love art, and that was something that had never changed.

Around the room was a collection of very Tasha like art. Every wall had at least one painting. Each painting was a different artist but all of them were Tasha's style.  Everything was her style except for a hideous blue neon lamp on one of the tables. I never thought in a thousand years she would buy such garish novelty item. I turned my head eyebrows raised, and looked at her.  She gave me a noncommittal shrug in return. It probably involved a lot of Gallente alcohol.

We moved to the center of the room and sat on the small blanket lined couch, “Are you okay?” I asked.

“I am doing okay so far.  I didn't think I was going to live until you got here”

“Well I am here now, and I will take care of this. Okay?”

She nodded and slid over next to me on the couch resting her head on my shoulder.  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. I needed to get to Geklov and make this okay so she would be safe.   I hadn’t been there for her like I should have been.  I could be there for her now.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said as she snuggled closer.  I reached up and ran my fingers through her hair, not sure if I was comforting her or me.  Her body relaxed as she practically sank into me.  An old feeling of longing stirred that I had shutoff many years ago.  I stopped it cold but not before the memory of holding her against me as she slept flashed through my mind.

Those precious memories were all I had left of the one time in my life when I felt hope for myself.  I would lie next to her long after she had fallen asleep and run my fingers through her hair.  Never before or after had I felt such love for someone and felt loved as well.   I would close my eyes and feel like there were good things in the universe and I could be happy.  Peace, I guess is what people call it.

“I’ve missed you,” she sighed.  I missed her more than I thought was possible.  It broke my heart to know that it had all changed and we could never seem to get back to that special place again. Now wasn’t the time to think of that though.  I had a job to do to keep her safe.   

“Do you think you can keep Geklov from killing me?” her voice was a whisper and I hated to hear her sound so afraid.  Hatred filled me in a way I had never felt before.  I wanted to make sure he paid for all he had done. Not just to Tasha, but also to his people. The first thing I needed to do was get her free of him then I could worry about bringing a little balance to the universe.

“I think I can get him to let you go. He should be willing if I give him the right motivation.”  I said it as confidently as I could. There were a lot of factors involved in this deal.  Money wasn’t going to be enough to make him let her go. She was too valuable. Her research had the potential to make billions of ISK if she could find a way to finish. Even if she couldn't, she would come up with another profitable invention.  He had realized her profit potential and convinced her to sell her soul.  She hadn’t realized until too late what that bargain had cost her.

“I should go see Geklov.”

“Okay. Should I come with you?”

“No, stay here and lock the doors.  Don't let anyone in.”

I stood and pulled my blaster from its holster making sure it was fully charged.  Carrying a loaded blaster was illegal on the station but rules rarely applied to my kind. If I needed it I wasn't going to have time to load it because most people who carry a gun on a station already have it loaded.  The “good” citizens probably aren't carrying one to start with.

If I got caught, and that was a big IF, I would pay a fine.  The security forces on the station couldn't care less who was carrying a weapon let alone if it is loaded or not. Most of the security was automated anyway, and security guards didn’t get paid enough to take a blaster bolt to the chest. There were sensors to detect weapon discharges and panic buttons for station dwellers to alert security if something bad was going on.  Security never showed up until they were sure they wouldn’t get hurt.

“Anything else I need to know before I go see Geklov?  Has he said or done anything to you?”  She thought about it for a second and shook her head.

“He hasn't said much to me since we got back. He told me to stay on the station and he would see me after you got here. I think he wanted to see what kind of money you had to offer.”

I guess that made sense. He could talk to me first and see if I would offer him enough to make it worth letting her go. He knew if he hurt her before I got here I would kill him. It was better for him to keep his cards hidden and see what I was bringing to the table. Make me make the first move. He was smart. I just hoped I was smarter.

Chapter 8 Reboot

Even though I was in a hurry to get to Tasha I took a few minutes to enjoy the feel of my new clone.  I stood in the shower soaking in the hot water trying to feel each drop as it slid down my body. I was lucky to have survived the rocket blast in the hanger.  It had been a long time since I was hurt that bad.  Normally I do my fighting in a pod and I’m dead before I even know I’m hurt.   As the water pounded my back, a wave of anxiety washed over me as I thought about dying on that station and leaving Tasha to Geklov. 

After I was finished showering I wanted nothing more than to run straight to the hanger, grab a fast warping ship, and take the quickest route to Aikantoh.  But there were a couple of things I needed to do first.  Geklov wasn’t going to smile and say, “Thanks for saving my ass.  You and Tasha can leave now. Oh and here are a few million ISK to help Tasha get back on her feet .”  I went to my room and grabbed a few things I might need later then went to my office.

My office was in the same general disarray as it was when I left. There weren't many of us left now days, but we had a saying, “Once a Hellcat, always a Hellcat”. I had what I called an open door policy.  Anyone that ever held the title of Hellcat could come and go as needed.  I was always willing to use what resources I had left when one of the girls was in need. The only thing that had changed in my office since I left was a note stuck to my communications monitor.  Written was a barely legible note from Vicky explaining she had used my secure communications system, but not to worry because the deal was pretty legal.

Vicky was one of many who had come through the corporation only to move on to grander schemes.  I really liked her, which was a rare thing anymore.  She was a sharp pilot and always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. That of course had nothing to do with skill. She was the luckiest person I ever met.

Some of my instructors in pilot training use to say it is always better to be lucky than good.  I wasn't so sure about that. I figured my luck would run out right when I needed it the most, but I worry like that. Vicky was a more relaxed easy going person. Me, I work hard at what I do and Vicky makes a career of pushing her luck and winning every time.

The first order of business was to get some money together.  I was a little low on cash as I invested most of my ISK in the alliance. What was left was invested in a little cooperation located in high security space. High Security space or High Sec is where a lot of large scale alliances make the lion’s share of their money. It’s safer there because it’s where the “universal police” known as CONCORD provide the most protection.

Each of the four races went together and created the CONCORD organization. It is surprising they cooperated on the massive scale required to establish such an extensive police organization, since they hate each other so much.  In the interest in making money, and let’s face it all scum bag politicians want to make money, they agreed on a multiracial organization to police the large expanses of High Sec.

If you take the time to get to know the right people, such as those who are greedy and a little looser in their moral foundation then there is the potential to make a lot of money in High Sec.  Usually that included screwing over any number of corporations in any number of ways. Unfortunately for Tasha, a good chunk of my money was tied up in one of these little black operations.

I needed leverage with Geklov.  Like most shit bag business men, that leverage would probably come down to money.  I didn't have time to call in my resources that were invested in High Sec, so I started calling everyone I knew that could potentially loan me some ISK.

I’m sure you’re thinking it's unlikely that a pirate would trust another pirate with their money.  You would be wrong.  In general we are lying, cheating, killing, bastards. But we do form pretty close relationships under the right circumstances. There are several of my pirate friends that I would be more than willing to lose a ship for, and even a couple I would die for.

Most of my contacts are not that close, but we all like to make money.  If there is a chance for profit there are plenty of people that will loan you the ISK. I didn't have a good way to sell the idea that there was profit to be made by helping Tasha, but I could offer the money back with interest. For my closer associates that would be enough.

I contacted my closest friends first. Of the ones I could get a hold of, I managed to accumulate about five hundred million ISK. That with my own recourse left me slightly over one billion. After my previous meeting with Geklov I doubted it would be enough. I knew he was going to make this hurt no matter what I showed up with, but it would be enough to start. If needed, I can be pretty pushy when it comes to negotiations. By pushy I mean scary.  All I had to do was make a deal to get Tasha free and I could make him suffer later.

The next problem I needed to deal with was figuring out how Omir managed to get two Titans on the field. Okay, I didn't need to deal with that problem, but it was driving me crazy. There was no way a Blood Raider, even one as famous as Omir could get his hands on a Titan. It’s not only a matter of the billions upon billions of ISK needed to build one, but also the facilities and resources that are needed to produce a super capital ship.

During the fight I managed to get a good scan of the two Titans transponder readings. Each ship has a unique code that identifies the owner and ship type.  It’s continually broadcast throughout the system you are in, and picked up by receivers on the warp gates. It’s a way for CONCORD to keep an eye on all of the pilots out there. They collect the data for various reasons including commerce, statistics, and to be a general pain in the ass. The two massive ships transponder readings had been scrambled, of course.

Scrambling a transponder code is not as easy as you think. Sure you can do it, but it’s a waste of money to pay a hacker to hide your transponder readings. Even pirates don't really do it much. The data that CONCORD gets is usually delayed by hours. Also, CONCORD doesn't give a shit about what we are doing anyway. They long since quit caring about law enforcement preferring to concentrate on their goal of becoming the wealthiest and most powerful organization in the universe. They probably already are.

It was likely that whoever paid to have those transponders scrambled was pretty important somewhere. It was probably someone who did not want anyone making the connection between them and the Blood Raiders. Maybe someone who was in the middle of some great political or corporate takeover plan and wasn’t ready to show their hand.   

The more important question is why do I care? I guess there is something about a fleet of people trying to kill me and my friends that pisses me off. You could say that I am a bit vindictive. Whatever the reason, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to let it go. So I punched one last number into the communication system and waited for a response.

After about five minutes Karver's fat face appeared on the video screen. He looked more pissed than the last time I talked to him. The last time was after one of my corp mates had blown up his very expensive hauling ship. Then for fun, she popped his pod too without giving him a chance to pay a ransom. The clone she killed had several billion ISK worth of implants in its fat little skull. 

At the time Karver was under the impression that he was safe in our system.  He had paid us for protection in the areas under our control.  He should’ve kept track of the agreement better because his protection ran out two days prior.  As soon as his pass expired I changed his status back to neutral making him fair game for anyone in the alliance.  It’s not my fault that he doesn't keep track of his books as well as I keep track of mine. I mean, piracy is a business just like any other.

He stared at me and I stared back. Sweat poured down his face but I doubted it was an indication of any emotional response.  Fat just likes to sweat, and he was huge. I’m positive someone had to stuff him into his pod and ram the canopy down around his flabby ass. 

His size really wasn't much of an issue though.  Karver rarely left his pod. He spent most of his time in space, as he suffered from a phobia that revolved around the fear of being killed. Pod pilots have clones that are waiting for them on stations when their pods get destroyed.  Quite a few scientists have worked on ways to make clones viable outside of a pod, but so far none have been successful.  The need for an immediate brain scan at the exact time of death makes it an almost impossible dream. It’s easy to do with a pod because all of the equipment is right next to your skull and the computers know the instant the hull is breached to start the scan.  

Since I was the one needing a favor I put on my biggest smile and started the conversation.

“Hey Karver, how are things?”

“I thought I told you to fuck off,” his pleased smile made me want to go find him and give him another loss. I could take care of that later though and it wouldn’t hurt me to be nice for now.

“Well, that is one of the things you told me.” I kept smiling and waited for him to calm down.  I guess some people don't forget a fifteen billion ISK loss.

“I need a favor and you are one of the few people I know that might have the contacts that can help.” I threw it out there to see if he would take the bait.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I do shit for you?”

“I have two transponder signals that I need unscrambled. I want to know who the ships really belong to.”

He pursed his lips as he thought about it for a second.

“What kind of ships?”

“Two Leviathans.”

He started laughing and it was the highest pitched girly laugh I have ever heard come out of a man. I jumped a little in surprise, but he didn't notice.

“Oh my God, that is funny. Tell you what, just because I am pretty sure that anyone who would feel the need to scramble the transponder signal on two leviathans will find you and cut your head off I will do it for free.”

He leaned back and grinned ear to ear. I knew he was right. Anyone who had the resources to field two titans and went to the trouble to hide who they were was not going to be happy that I knew. But there was a part of me that needed to know.  There was a chance that knowledge like that could come in handy. Of course, that was assuming that Karver didn't stab me in the back. Yeah, right.

Karver assured me he would let me know as soon as he figured out who the owner of the ships was. I ended the convo and grabbed a few data drives with documentation of my current available assets.  I also threw a couple of extra knives in my flight suit and two extra blaster charges for my gun. I wanted to be ready because there was a good chance I would end up fighting my way out of the Biohazard Containment Facility in Aikantoh.

NaNoWriMo Winner

Hey everyone.

I completed my National Novel Writing Month story. Lakasha's story is all finished now. It ended up being just over 52,000 words and 79 pages. It feels good to have it finished and it is the first story I ever finished with a good start, middle, and ending.

It feels good for another reason. I have pretty much quit playing EvE. I don't have room for it in my life anymore. It was a long time coming, and I fought hard to keep playing longer then I should have. I plan on keeping my account for now, and updating the training because there have been many times in the past where I just needed a break from a game. So, who knows. But the point is, finishing her story makes me feel better about walking away.

Here is the deal for those of you who have contacted me and wanted to see the end. I am going to let the story rest for a month while I work on something else. Then I will start the editing process. I will do my best to either update the blog, or email out the entire story to those who have requested a copy. Honestly, the average blog post is only three pages. I will have to cut out a lot of story to make it work in the blog. But I will do my best.

I have always wanted to write, and I know I have a long way to go. I want to thank everyone who has emailed me and contacted me in game to encourage me to write this story. It has given me the confidence to keep writing. I might never be a published author, but I will keep getting better. If nothing else, it will continue to be something I do because I enjoy it just for me. Thanks again everyone for your support.

Still Around

I know, it has been forever. All I can say is life has been a little messy lately. But I am starting to feel like writing again. Which is good, since I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. It is a pretty cool event where people all over the world try to complete a 50,000 word novel in one month.

I outlined the story I wanted to write several months ago. But again, life has been messy and I have not had the time to get to know the new characters as well as I wanted. What does that mean for my very few faithful readers, LoL? Since I just finished the first arc of Lakashas story I can start my NaNoWriMo story with the next chapter. That is for the best, because Lakasha has been pissed for weeks that I haven't continued the story. Yeah, I talk to my characters, but its not like you don't talk to yourself also.

Writing 50,000 words in one month is going to keep me pretty busy. But I will do my best to edit as I go and post here. Wish me luck...I am going to need it.

Chapter 7 Part Two "Checkmate"

I was awaken by one of the men I recognized from Tasha’s lab. He pulled a large metal sheet off of me and was saying something I couldn’t quite understand. My body was a mess, but somehow I managed to stand with the short Caldari mans help. As soon as I stood though, the room started to spin and I doubled over vomiting on the floor in front of me.

I gave an embarrassed smile to the little man and tried to focus on the hanger around me. The far wall where the raiders had been streaming from was gone. It was replaced by piles of twisted metal. The rubble was burning, charring the buckled wall a deep black. It looked like several of our men were scouring the piles looking for anyone still alive.

I followed the little man back toward the pilots briefing room. His mouth was moving all the way there, but I couldn’t hear a word of it. Once we got there I found a chair and slid into it. There wasn’t one part of my body that wasn’t hurt. I don’t think I have ever had my ass this thoroughly kicked. But I was still alive so I guess that was something.

Looking up I noticed the man was still standing next to me. He started to talk again and I tried really hard to focus on what he was saying. “…then of course it blew up,” was all I managed to make out. I shook my head one more time and pulled him closer to me.

“What the fuck happened?” I was only able to make it a whisper. At least it seemed like a whisper to me.

“That is what I have been explaining over and over. Jaxel and I rigged a heavy missile and launched it in the hanger to kill the raiders.” He seemed quite pleased with himself and I was too hurt to get up and kick him in the face so I let him keep smiling. Was he fucking insane? God I hurt all over. Some of my ribs felt broken and my hands had what looked like second degree burns. At this point I wanted to get up, go get podded, and let these crazy people die.

I got up and limped back outside to look at the damage. I guess it could have been worse. My barricade was still in place about 500 meters from the far wall. The doors that the raiders were using were completely gone now. That only left the door to the lower level that needed to be defended. That wasn’t even going to matter as soon as we started the next part of Rod’s plan. Okay, the crazy scientist had managed to do something good.

My communicator vibrated inside my upper pocket. I jumped in response, burnt hands fumbling with my zipper. I pulled it out and put it against my ear hoping I would be able to hear it. Rod’s voice blared out of the speaker and the room spun a little as I yanked the damn thing away from my head. The message was simple; we were to initiate the second part the plan.

Perfect. That meant that it was time to get everyone out of here. I limped across the hanger to my Manacore. I was pretty excited about getting in my pod and not feeling any pain. I looked over the hull from a distance but didn’t do a full walk around. The thing was brand new anyway, what could go wrong? I never keep a ship long enough for it to need a detailed preflight inspection.

In the distance I could see the twenty shuttles lined up ready to launch. Some of the engineers figured out a way to link the shuttles together so only a few pods were needed to fly all of them. Three men were in charge of seventeen shuttles and their precious cargo. I always thought you could fit a lot into a cargo hold of a shuttle. But my experience was based on sneaking small items in and out of places I didn’t want to be noticed. Turns out you really have to work hard to get a large amount of people into the hold.

I nodded at Paul, one of the shuttle pilots, and then stepped up into my pod. It was cocked on, so most of the checklist was already complete. I opted to attach the three bio-interface circuits first instead of the neuro-interface so I wouldn’t be too overwhelmed with the pods output to finish plugging in. After that was done I slid my head back into the headrest and reached back plugging in the neuro-interface.

As soon as the interface made the connection reality shifted. My body was a distant memory, replaced by the low throb of energy flowing through my circuits. The entire cargo compartment filled my consciousness and I could see each person and ship. Data slipped through my processors telling me the status of our systems, negative threat warnings, and that my body was damaged. I pulled myself to the front of my mind enough to be in control but not have to feel my injuries too much.

With a thought I activated the loading sequence. The pod sealed itself as it was lifted to the top of the stealth bomber. As it was placed in its housing, connecting it to the ship, reality shifted again. The overwhelming power of the capacitor coursed through me. Not small like the one in the pod, but huge to power a covert ops ship. The ship was me, I was the ship.

The systems reached out for more data about our surroundings but they were blocked by the massive walls of the station. It made us angry. We like to be able to see. I struggled for control but it was like fighting with someone who knew every move you were going to make. It was dangerous flying a pod when you were tired or injured. There was always a fight for control and you had to be ready for it. I relaxed, trying to feel my body. Finally, I could feel the burns and the bruises. It hurt but it made me aware enough to yank control back from the pod.

The ships were ready. Now we were waiting for the signal to begin the assault. I am always glad when it is time for action. No turning back now. Either we would get everyone out of here or we wouldn’t, but at least we were doing something. I hated the wait.

At least I didn’t have to worry about Tasha anymore. I hugged her and told her I would meet her soon then sent her out in her pod. One of our scouts podded her as she left the station so I could be sure the raiders didn’t get her. It was a good feeling to be ready to fight and only have to worry about myself now.

After a short wait, Rod broadcast across the fleet communications frequency. In front of me two massive Ammar battle ships exited the docking bay. The Apocalypse and Armageddon were heavily armored and ready to take a pounding from the enemy ships. The pilots were two of the relic hunters that stayed behind to help. Neither had spent a lot of time training for this kind of combat but both had amazing battleship and defense skills. They were defiantly best suited for taking the punishment for as long as possible.

“Okay Lakasha, the exit is clear.”

It was my turn next. I sent the command to power up the warp drive and initiated the exit sequence. Power coursed through all of the systems getting them ready for combat as the ship accelerated out of the docking bay. I shot into space and activated my microwarp drive.

Sensor readings flooded my mind. The Blood Rader frigates littered the exit. The two battle ships were now ten kilometers off blowing the hell out of everything nearby with smart bombs. There were so many raiders swarming that it was hard to tell if we had hurt them too bad or not. But the exit was clear so I transmitted the signal to send out the three.

The Avatars remained in position about 300 kilometers off the station. The fleet of battleships maintained their defensive positions nearby protecting the gigantic structures. Maybe I had managed to shake him up a bit. That was good because we needed to keep the exit clear long enough for the shuttles to make their jump.

I interfaced with the targeting control and estimated a fire solution at the speed of thought. Once the data streamed through my mind I sent the command to the fire control and the ship shook with the thunk of a shrapnel bomb leaving the launcher. It sailed out 30 kilometers and detonated ripping into the hulls of every frigate in a 15 kilometer radius of the explosion. Small explosions lit up space as the group of Raiders who were guarding the exit corridor burst into flames.

The targeting tone was already screaming in my head as multiple Raiders converged on my position. I calculated the jump vector and sighed as the energy from the capacitor slammed into my warp drive for the short jump. In flight I gave Omir a little wave in local with no response. However, as I came out of warp 200 kilometers off the station about 40 frigates altered their course away from the station to converge on my ship.

“Oh, for me Omier, you shouldn’t have,” I said laughing over local as I banked hard right and activated the microwarp drive. I lined up on the first Avatar about 300 kilometers away and accelerated out as fast as I could before any of the frigates could get in targeting range. I didn’t have the shields to fight and the only thing I was armed with was a bomb launcher. There was no way could I deal with them. I was fit for speed and covert ops badassery.

I checked on the status of the other ships as I pulled farther away from my pursuers. The three shuttles made the jump to their safes and the two battleships were moving closer to the station. So far so good. I reached out again noting that three of the enemy interceptors were closing in on me fast. I needed to get good separation if we were going to pull this off.

I focused my concentration on the capacitor and the microwarp drive. I gave the command and shoved all the extra power the shielding could take into the thrusters. The extra energy burned into the circuits and I could feel the heat shields groan and begin to expand. I probably had thirty seconds before I needed to pull back power or risk losing the drive.

At 225 kilometers the interceptors were almost in targeting range. I pushed all the extra power I had into the drive. The ship shuddered and the master heat warning alarm sounded. At 210 kilometers the decision to shut down the dive was made for me as targeting alarms when off in my head.

I cutoff power to the drive and activated my cloak before the interceptors got a solid lock. Pushing over the nose I rolled the ship right and pulled hard into a split-S pointing my ship in the direction I came from. Once the interceptors shot by at an absurd speed I pulled left to arc back toward the Titan. The other ships finally made it to my last known location and spread out in a search pattern to find me.

I quickly checked back on the tactical situation at the station. The battleships were holding their own now that only about a quarter of the ships were left at the station. Between the 40 that chased me and the ones that left in pursuit of the shuttles, they might have a chance at keeping the exit clear long enough for the shuttles to jump. If everything went as planned though, that wouldn’t even be an issue.

“You ready to play Omier?”

“I am going to feast on your blood.”

“Fuck you.”

I worked the ship around the arc maintaining 200 kilometers from the first Titan. When the closest ship to me was 150 kilometers away I sent the command over fleet to begin the hot drop procedures. My overview lit up as three cynos dropped into local. Aligning the ship back to the station safe I dropped my cloak and lit a covert ops cyno.

Every sensor in the ship sent warnings streaming into my brain. I set priority to the overview and watched as a majority of the ships on the station jumped into warp tracking toward the cynos in local. The ships that originally had been looking for me changed their vector back to intercept.

As soon as the enemy ships warped, the rest of the shuttles undocked. The way the rigging worked was the navigation computer on each of the tied ships had to get the coordinates and jump command from the corresponding linked pod. Then each ship had to align, power up, and jump. The whole process was going to take about 45 seconds. It was going to take about 40 seconds for the enemy ships to get to each of those cyno shuttles, blow them to hell, then jump back. It was going to be close.

I held my position as the raiders closed. At 20 seconds two of the cynos dropped from my overview. The shuttles pulled away from the station, flanked by the two battle ships now providing protection. At 25 seconds I extinguished the cyno, and engaged my warp engines hurling me back to the station as enemy targeting computers locked my bomber. In warp I engaged the cloak.

My safe brought me out at 50 kilometers from the undock. The two battleships were in bad shape. The Apocalypse had fire venting from its engines and the Armageddon was listing to the right as it tried to maintain position. Skill alone had to be holding them together at this point. The final cyno flickered out on the overview which told me that all of the hostile ships would be inbound at any moment. This was confirmed when Omier’s laugh sounded across local.

At 35 seconds a Raider Apocalypse warped to 5 kilometers off of our battleships and launched its drones. Our wounded Apocalypse blew apart as a linked beam of light chewed into its structure. The Armageddon engaged the enemy and the space around the two ships seemed to burn. The fight didn’t last long though, ending the same as the first.

Multiple ships blinked back into my overview inbound to the station. I realigned my ship to warp to the rally point and waited. I sat there and watched as the warrior drones tore into each of the shuttles. I changed my overview setting and observed as each shuttle exploded sending piles of biomass streaming into space.

After the last shuttle exploded, I jumped to the rally point. Once there, I waited to see who was left. Two pods and one of the cyno shuttles were all that showed up. We silently aligned to the gate and jumped. Omier blabbed something across local but I decided not to respond. The fight was over and it was time to go home.

There were five enemy frigates on the gate when I came out of warp at five kilometers off. Targeting tones went off immediately. I commanded capacitor into the micorwarp drive and ran for the gate. Two lucky shots tore into my structure and the bomber exploded in space around me. I made the gate in my pod and jumped into the next system.

As soon as I came out of the wormhole I jumped to my 200 kilometer safe and waited to see what other ships made it though. Everyone made it and we aligned and continued to the next system. Once we got there we jumped to my deep safe and waited.

After about fifteen minutes the Raider Apocalypse that had destroyed the shuttles jumped to 5 kilometers off my port side.

“Evening Rod. How is the cargo?”

“Doing fine. Packed in tight back there but everyone is safe”

I let out a breath it felt like I had been holding for hours. It was a good plan, but one with lots of opportunity for disaster. Before we undocked, Harrier had taken his men down into the station where the employees had seen the raiders enter. He infiltrated the docked battleship and killed the crew. Then all of the civilians were loaded into the cargo compartment while Rod and a few others who had been around back in the day piloted the battleship.

The guys who stayed behind defending the hanger had stuffed the dead into the shuttle’s cargo holds. Then the rest was all distraction. It could have failed a million different ways, but it had worked.

“Paul is going to scout for you in his shuttle. Now if you don’t mind I would like to take the quick way home.”

“Not a problem Lakasha, it has been a pleasure.”

Targeting warnings went off in my pod. I took a deep breath and relaxed for a second, relived that this ordeal was over. Tasha never made it easy on me that was for sure. Now it was time to get back to Vit and make a new plan. I had a date with Geklov.

Chapter 7 Part One "Checkmate"

The man on the monitor seemed to be maintaining his composure like a champ. If it wasn’t for the furrows along his forehead I would have said he wasn’t concerned with me at all. I stood in front of the display, hands on my hips, and a cocky pirate smile on my lips waiting for him to make the first move. He didn’t look like the kind of man that was use to answering to anyone.

Finally, his eye twitched a bit and he said, “Are you the leader of the sheep to be sacrificed?”

“Yeah, I guess you could call me that.” I stared up at the ceiling as though I was thinking really hard about the right answer, “Come to think of it, that is probably one of the nicest things I have been called lately.” Then I pulled my eyes down to his and asked as disrespectfully as possible, “Who the fuck are you?” smile never leaving my face.

Rods words echoed in my head. “You got to piss them off and scare them Lakasha. Get in their heads,” he had said as he poked me on my head with a meaty finger. The battle might be won or lost with one convo. I had to set the mood for the fight to come or everything was already lost. “Battle is about making the enemy believe and see what you want them too. Sometimes you want them angry sometimes you want them calm but you always want to be in control.”

The Amarrian slammed his fist against the table and stood. I could hear the sound of his chair crashing on the metal floor behind him. The camera took a second to realize his face wasn’t there anymore then it slowly tracked up his black flight suit and centered back on target. He stared at the camera, face tight with rage. Yep, not someone use to a lot of disrespect. I would be willing to bet that getting that kind of disrespect from a woman was new to him too. Rod was a smart man picking me for this job.

“I am Omir Sarikusa. What may I call your corpse?”

My eyes responded to his name before I had a chance to hide my shock. This brought a slight smile to his face. I quickly regained my composer but it was too late, I lost points on that one. Omir Sarikusa was one of the most well known Blood Raider leaders in history. He had taken what was already a twisted blood thirsty cult and turned it into something even more terrifying. They believed the blood of clones to be the most pure for their dark rituals. Since his rise, countless lives were lost as his Raiders spread across Amarr space.

Every time I thought this situation couldn’t get more confusing it did. Why would this sect of the Sani Sabik end up raiding a station that for the most part only held civilians? Why expend this kind of resources for a handful of capsuleer sacrifices? Then of course there were the Titans. There was no way a Blood Raider, even this one, had the resources to field a Titan let alone two.

I concentrated on falling back into the nothingness of the pirate inside me before continuing the conversation. “I am Lakasha Nachtexen, leader of the Hellcats and CEO of Hellfleet Alliance.” Smile now gone, I stared at him with cold eyes. I thought about Geklov, Tasha, and all of the people on the station. I let the anger grow and compressed it into a little ball in my chest. “You have made a grave mistake Omir.”

He grabbed the camera, pulling it to his face. “You are already dead!”


“You know Omir it is funny how fast news can travel. You would be amazed at how large of a fleet you can assemble when you let a few of your pirate friends in on the secret location of not one but two Titans. Even alliances that hate you want in on the kill. So, I tell you what Omir, I am going to go get in my ship come out there and drop the biggest fleet ever seen in this part of space on top of your little toys. I am going to kill every one of your people and laugh over local as your Titans are blown to hell. Thanks for all of the extra time you gave me to get my people ready.”

The screen went blank and I turned and headed back toward the main hanger. The last hour had been filled with sporadic fire fights as raiders streamed in from different directions. Harrier had the men piling up Raider bodies as makeshift barricades along with all of the rubble. Even some of the older kids had guns now and were hunkered down at the fire points each with an adult to supervise.

It was getting bad quick. Each of the attacks so far was a small force to test our lines. But we knew there were at least a hundred more raiders that we couldn’t account for. They were no doubt massing for a multi-pronged assault from the lower levels.

The majority of the men, along with Harrier had moved to the lower levels for their part of the plan. He left a few of the more experienced fighters along with a few scientist and the kids to guard the hanger. Hopefully the hanger would be empty before the raiders attacked in force.

I was walking toward my Manicore at the far end of the bay when I noticed a young girl behind a barricade by herself. I changed direction to go and make sure she was okay just as a laser bolt priced the air where I had been standing. I dove to the floor as the room around me erupted into a fire fight. Shots sounded all around, but I stayed low and managed to pull myself over to the barricade and slip behind.

The girl was filthy and held her rifle across her chest like it was the only thing holding her to the ground. The adult laying on the ground next to her had a large pulpy hole in what was left of his head. Who knows how long she had been in the position by herself. She flinched as a blaster bold ricocheted off the barricade but never dropped her gaze from the man lying on the floor.

I slid the blaster from my holster and risked a peek over the metal beams. Raiders were streaming in from two doors near the maintenance area. I ducked as another laser bolt sizzled into the metal barricade two feet from my head. Putting the blaster back in its holster, I reached over and put my hands on the girl’s rifle. She didn’t move but she let go.

I never really cared for rifles. I love my blaster. The main reason is because I am not a great shot. I am fast, really fast, and I do pretty well on the range. But marksmanship has never been my thing. The blaster is a nasty weapon. Up close it can rip a body to shreds. The farther you get away though, the more dispersed the energy. Sure it will hurt anyway, but at a distance it probably won’t kill. Farther away it will just piss someone off.

I leaned up over the barricade and tired to remember all the lessons my training instructors taught me. Hmmm…breath, heart…um lungs?…ahh fuck it. I pointed at the door closest to me and started shooting one bolt after another at the Raiders coming through. It was actually pretty effective at first since they were not expecting fire from my direction. I took out two of them by luck. Then three more opened fire and I was forced to cower behind the barricade.

I realized it might not have been the smartest thing I ever done when they all started concentrating fire on my position. I have never been one to think these situations through too much. I run in headlong and don’t think about the consequences. I tend to lose a lot of ships that way too. Of course, dying in my pod sends me back to my clone. Dying here…

I looked over at the girl and she was staring at me now, eyes open with fright. It was an accusing kind of stare. I shrugged and pulled my blaster back out. I could hear the raider’s yells over the gunfire getting closer. I slid my back against the metal corner of the barricade and motioned with my hand for her to lie flat on the ground.

The first raider stuck his head over the barricade and my blaster caused his head to disappear in an impressive fountain of blood. I stood as I shot the first one and sent a bolt into the chest of two more raiders before they had a chance to react. Sliding back down to my cover I closed my eyes and tried to visualize where the remaining enemies were standing.

There were at least two more. One was toward the pile of rubble to the left and one ducked behind a steel beam to the right. They had to both be waiting for me. I could probably run for cover but I looked down at the girl, crying on the floor in front of me, and my heart sunk a little. I couldn’t leave her.

I have been close to death a few times in my life. Sometimes when I hang out with the boys at the pub we talk about our near death experiences. Some of the guys talk about their life flashing through their head. Not me though, my mind slips into this peaceful state that is hard to explain.

But today it wasn’t like that. Today I had a young girl next to me who would die along with me, if she was lucky. It made me mad. The people she trusted, and should have been there for her, had betrayed her. Geklov was slime for leading his people to their doom for his own profit. Her parents were no better for being greedy enough to follow. Or just being mindless sheep. Either way it didn’t matter.

For a second I thought about killing her before the raiders could get to her. I blushed with the shame of the thought. Sometimes the pirate in me can get a little too practical. It would be easy sometimes to completely give in and make those kinds of decisions. But then I would be no better than people like Geklov.

It was time to act, so I did. I dove over the barricade in the direction of the last raider I saw. Unfortunately, he was closer than I expected and I my head slammed into his chest knocking us both on the floor about three feet from the barricade. Everything went black for a second and my blaster bounced out of my hand as it impacted the floor.

I shook my head as my vision came back and noted two things quickly. One, I was on top of a large and pissed off raider. Two, I was surrounded by way more raiders than I expected. They seemed as shocked as I was because the barrage of laser bolts stopped for a second as they tried to decide what they should do. The decision was made for them though as several of them fell to the floor taken out by laser bolts fired from the other barricades.

As the raiders around me dove for cover the one beneath me reached up with two large hands and started to squeeze my throat. I tucked my chin down on his hands as hard as I could to try and maintain my airway. After years of training it was second nature. Then I slid my knee up and put my full weight on his groin.

He let out a surprised yell and the pressure on my throat lessened enough for me to get a good breath of air. It didn’t last long though as he lifted me off his chest by my throat and twisted, slamming me on the metal plated floor. He climbed on top of me, sitting on my hips, and used his full weight to try and choke the life out of me. I looked up at his face a mask of rage and hate.

I beat at his sides with my fists but they bounced off like a child throwing a tantrum. I could feel the energy draining out of my body. My neck was on fire but everything else seemed to be getting colder as the seconds passed. As my vision blurred, I thought about my blaster laying somewhere near me on the floor. I didn’t know where it was so I reached out with both arms feeling for it.

I found it to my right. My fingertips brushed the metal pushing it completely out of my reach. My hands dropped and I couldn’t move my arms anymore. This was it, and I didn’t feel anything. My life amounted to nothing, it was doubtful anyone would even notice I was gone, and I didn’t care. My mind wasn’t peaceful like all those other times I faced death. Today I felt empty, and for some reason it bothered me. But that feeling didn’t last long. Everything was a distant echo and the air was gone, somehow replaced by fire.

Suddenly the raider above me let go and the fire turned into lava as air poured back into my lungs. I put my hands on my throat, gasping for air and jerking back and forth on the floor. The pain was almost unbearable and I would have screamed if I could. I rolled left and ran into the body of the raider that had been on top of me.

I needed to get back to the barricade but my limbs weren’t responding yet. Through my blurry eyes I could see as far as the surprised dead face looking back at me. I calmed myself, tried to lie still, and waited for everything to come back into focus. As the rest of the room started to appear I looked back to the barricade to see the girl, standing in the middle of the fire fight, riffle in her hands.

I managed to raise my arm and motioned for her to get back down. She nodded and ducked back behind the barrier. The fire fight was intense around me but the raiders that had been around when I dove out were nowhere in sight. I started pulling my way across the floor toward the barrier, taking the time to grab my blaster on the way. My neck was still on fire but my vision had returned and I was managing to find the strength to continue the low crawl to safety.

I was almost back to the barricade when I heard the strangest sound I have ever heard on a space station. The sound started as a low rumble and quickly changed over to a deafening roar. The air around me hummed and the floor shook. All I could think was the station was coming apart around me.

The sound grew louder and I looked up to see a streak of smoke and light fly over my head. I put my hands over my ears and managed to scream, the pain in my throat nothing compared to the compression wave that struck my eardrums. My voice was lost in the roar and then the sudden explosion that followed.

The shockwave of the explosion threw me up and over the barricade, which was the last thing I saw as I tumbled through the air. Heat seared my exposed skin. I slammed into the floor, debris crashing around me, and everything went dark.

Chapter 6 Part Two "Check"

I’m not sure how long we sat in the hallway. But it seemed like forever. Eventually, she quit crying and I waited for a little longer to make sure she was finished. “We need to go now, okay?” I asked, like I was speaking to a child. She turned to look at me, eyes red and puffy. She nodded and stood up.

I got up and lead the way back down the corridor to the stairs. The walk took longer this time because every now and then she would stop and I had to encourage her to continue. I moved us slowly down the corridor taking cover and listening for Blood Raiders at every intersection. Luckily, there was no sign of additional invaders all the way up to the stairs leading to the hanger.

We climbed to the top of the stairs and I made eye contact with one of Harriers men. Once I was convinced they were not going to shoot I led Tasha back to the briefing room. The room was still packed. Some of the people had found a place to sleep while others talked. The children had fallen asleep in the middle of the floor, their toy ships scattered around them. I pulled her over to a chair near the door and told her to stay there. She nodded and stared ahead.

After I was convened she would not bolt back down to the labs I went back out to the hanger. It had been a while since the last attack so some of the men were sleeping inside a makeshift barricade while others maintained watch. The large hanger looked like a battle field now. Debris covered the floor and bodies were stacked near the forward air lock awaiting proper disposal.

I spotted Harrier sitting on top of a Rifter and headed his direction. This whole situation was fucked up. How could anyone lead their people to death like this and not care. Sure I am a pirate, but I do have a moral code, skewed as it may be. If Harrier knew about this I was going to teach him about my moral code up close and personal. I moved my hand down to rest on my blaster as I approached the Rifter and waited for him to come down to me.

When I was close he gave me a little nod and slid down the side of the Minmatar rust bucket. Taking a position just out of my reach he rested a hand on his hip and the other on his carbine pistol. He was relaxed on the outside but he still managed an “I’m ready for trouble and I don’t mind killing you” kind of look. I smiled as my mind slipped to nothingness.

“Geklov left and he took Antov with him,” I said, smile never leaving my lips.

He looked at me for as second then shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. “He doesn’t pay me enough for this bullshit,” he said turning his back on me and walking toward the Rifter. He stood in front of it for a second and gave it two hard kicks with his booted foot.

“The lower levels are undefended,” I said relaxing a bit. I was pretty sure his anger wasn’t an act for my benefit. He paced back and forth and finally turned to face me.

“How long have they been gone?” he asked, now looking more determined then pissed.

“At least an hour, probably more,” I said watching his reactions.

“This is not good. There were three battle ships that managed to figure out a way to dock and send in the raiders for the station assaults. The station employee that saw the raiders enter through the lower air locks counted way more than we killed. If the corridor is undefended and our scouts are gone then we don’t know where the rest of them are.”

I could see it all in my head. The Raiders had docked three battle ships worth of assault forces. One ship at the main hanger, and the other two ships down below. Antov had sealed off access to the main hanger and was holding off the assault down stairs. Geklov made a deal with the leader of invading force to let him go and he would give up his people. Right now there could be hundreds of Blood Raiders opening back up multiple access points to the hanger getting ready for a final assault.

What I didn’t understand was why. They could have easily invaded a settlement or taken a transport ship. They would have had way more sacrifices that way than they were going to get from the people here. They brought two Titans and expended a lot of resources to be able to breach the station defenses. Unless, of course, someone had let them in. Who the hell was in the lead Titan anyway?

At this point I would just be happy getting everyone off the station. I could worry about answering questions later. “I am going to go tell Rod we need to get the fuck out of here. Get your men together and do what you can,” I said as I turned and ran back toward the briefing room.

“Hurry, they will be here soon,” he yelled over his shoulder while walking toward the barricade.

Tasha was still sitting where I left her. She looked a lot better though. Her eyes seem to have a spark in them that had been missing earlier. I grabbed her hand and said, “come on, we need to get you out of here.”

“Where are we going?” she asked stumbling behind me.

“Cloning facility,” was all I said as we rushed down the stairs. I wasn’t sure what we would be able to do for the people that were left behind, but I was going to get her out of here safe.

I pulled her up to the control panel and she looked at me like she needed instructions. “Just set your clone to somewhere safe.”

“We are leaving?” she asked sounding almost amused.

“Set yourself to somewhere safe. I am going make sure you get out of here one way or another.”

“You’re staying?”

“Yeah, I need to help get these people out of here, but I need to know you are safe.”

“Don’t stay here and help them. Don’t you even care what they have done to me,” she yelled. She stood there shaking, eyes boring a hole into mine. “How can you pick them over me?” she hissed as she turned from me and started walking away.

I was shocked by her response. I knew she had just lost everything, but I didn’t expect for her to lash out at a bunch of Corp mates and their kids who were here to make money helping her.

I grabbed her hand and made her turn to look at me. “I know you have lost so much, Tash. I’m not picking them over you, but I can’t just let these people die because that piece of shit left them here. I promise I will come to you as soon as this is over,” I said, fear that she wouldn’t get over this stirring in the back of my mind.

“I can get the money you need to pay Geklov off. I have associates that will let me borrow it. We can get everything started for you again, I promise. I have never broken a promise to you no matter how much I had to give up keeping it,” I pleaded.

She stood there and stared at me for an eternity. Then finally, she relaxed a little and nodded. “Okay,” she said stepping up to the panel. I watched as she set the Genolution Biohazard Containment Facility in Aikantoh as her new clone location. The machine accepted her credentials and acknowledged the change in cloning facilities.

After she was done I reset mine. At least if I was podded I would get to her faster. Thank goodness I had worked my sec status high enough to enter .6 space. After I was done I met her at the stairs and we started the climb back to the top.

By the time we were at the hanger she seemed like a different person. She was smiling and confident again. Years of practice being in control of herself I guess. She went back into the briefing room to gather up some of her stuff and I headed to the pilots briefing room to talk to Rod.

When I got in the room it was alive with movement and voices. The word had already made it to the pilots, and now there was a fevered effort to get everyone off the station. Rod stood in the middle of the madness somehow soaking in all the conversations going on around him. It was impressive, and I hoped if I lived through this that someday I would have that kind of situational awareness.

I pushed my way up to the main display so I could hear what was going on. But it was a jumble of masculine voices yelling back and forth at each other. I noticed Rod looking at me and I just shrugged. It was nice he thought enough of me to “ask” for my opinion.

After about two more minutes of listening to the vortex of ideas swirl around my head I jumped as Rod yelled, “Shut the fuck up.” I let out a little laugh as silence fell across the room. I couldn’t help myself. He stood at the center, all eyes on him, and it seemed like the most natural thing ever. I had to find out where he came from.

“Okay, the way I see it we are out of time, so here is the plan.”

We stood there for the next thirty minutes as the most detailed plan I have ever heard flowed from Rod. I had never seen someone who could weave a plan in such a short amount of time with such limited resources. He made it sound like something that should be in a military training manual. When we walked out of the briefing room to our ships not only did I think the plan had a chance, but I was ready to follow Rod to hell. Chances were good that I was.