Signal Sources Part 3

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Chapter Twenty One

The rest of the journey was quiet.

She did sit next to me on the couch and play some more episodes of Captain DuHart though. I watched them beside her, it was strange and mechanical. Stephanie was finishing her nostalgic romp by receiving recognition for her actions, good and bad. The last episode of the series had her enact a gambit, alerting the authorities to her presence at a secret meeting of villains she had managed to get invited to. She was arrested alongside them all, to bring them to justice.

We caught the first few episodes of the next season before finishing the trip. Stephanie was acquitted of all charges and returned to the Naval fold in the first one. The Admiral said something I remembered to DuHart when he gave her back the Queentia-Iactura.

“Feliciter, Mecum per tuum latus.” For luck, I will be by your side. I had subtitles when he said it. DuHart shook his hand, but didn't seem to trust him anymore.

The system had a nearly touching binary pair at its center, one intense blue and the other brilliant yellow. There was a glut of things here, nearly-stars and many moons. Rings shimmering on most of the bodies as we passed.

The attempted dwarf-star was notable for being the plainest, the only one here without a ring of it's own. None of the four other proto-stars or the gas-giants had a moon like this one though. A thin and calm atmosphere comprised almost entirely of sulfur dioxide, occasional spots of volcanic activity. Metals, but mostly deep within. The moon consists mostly of mineral rock and endless plains of crystalline sand. It's a bit too hot to walk around on, even if you could breathe there.

Valence circled the moon a little before spotting a feature on the surface. I was strapped to the co-pilot's seat for the landing, for safety. She brought us down towards some mark I couldn't discern. As we got closer and closer I realized the smudge had been a mountain.

Once the plasma flare across the front of her ship calmed down, and the shaking too, I noticed that it wasn't a mountain, it was a volcano. A lightly roiling cloud was barely beginning to bubble over the rim of it. The side facing us was streaked with dirty wet furrows. Valence was headed straight into the mouth of it.

I wasn't sure what she was doing, and I very much wanted to say something. But I resolved to politely be killed, rather than risk offending her further. Fortunately I had made an incorrect assumption about the volcano. It was one, but only the extinct caldera. The opaque layer of smog was relatively thin, Valence's Cobra punched through it quite suddenly. Then we were inside the crater. The local stars' lights were being diffused by the cloud, creating a dim glow reminiscent of twilight during a rain.

I expected it to be pouring rain under that cloud, the ship got drenched during the fleeting moment it passed through. But underneath seemed to be lacking any precipitation. A cluster of buildings were located at the very bottom of the caldera, with a few vessels parked in the vague vicinity there-of. Valence put her ship down a few hundred meters away from the town. She powered down her engines and got up from her chair. Valence looked at me for a moment.

“I need to sort some things out.” Then she walked out of the cockpit.

About half an hour later Torr spoke up, I think he was worried about me.

“The atmosphere in the caldera is breathable, you may wish to get some fresh air.” The robot suggested.

“How fresh is it?” I mumbled, stalling.

“Debatably.” He waited for me to laugh, I think. “You will not be injured by stepping outside unprotected.”

“Will I be injured for staying inside?” Technically, I already had been.

“Pete Kenji, you should go for a walk, and perhaps something to eat. There is an entire colony outside.” Torr insisted.

“You think I should go do something to take my mind off things?” He was showing concern for me.

“I think that you and Ms. Valence need to sort some things out.” I was taken aback.

“What did I do to get you to start liking me?” I wondered aloud.

“I do not know.” He let me make a confused expression for a moment. “I have known Ms. Valence for some time, I expected her to kill you. I am pleased to be proven wrong.”

“You think she might change her mind, shoot me?” It's not like I really had anything else I could do though. Or much to lose.

“I have no idea. But I suspect that you have already decided your next course of action, regardless.” Torr replied.

“What makes you say that?” He was right, I would have probably gone to find her without his prompting, eventually.

“Humans are a decisive species.” He laughed, a joke for himself I guess. “This colony is relatively safe, there is a local statute not to brandish firearms indoors.”

“That's good to hear, very reassuring.” I muttered as I got up.

The air outside was thin, I'd thought she had left the gravity active on her ship. but I was less sure when I found the planet outside had the same pull to it. I also expected it to smell like sulfur, but it didn't. It smelled sort-of like burned plastic, but more like over-toasted bread. It was a short walk to town. More like a hop and a skip in the half of a G.

The amount of light down there varied while I walked, like cloud cover rolling in on a normal outdoor world. The lights in the town kept a sphere of illumination regardless. As I made it to the nearest cluster of structures I was greeted by a young woman sitting on a balcony.

“Hello!” She called and waved.

“Uh, hi.” I'd been walking almost directly towards her before I'd seen her. It was the closest structure.

“Welcome to my back yard, I hope you like it.” She snorted a laugh at me. Main street's on t'other side, just head through the alleyway.” She gestured broadly to the side of her home.

“Oh, thank you. Um, sorry about that.” The dirt received a more direct examination from me.

“Oh don't worry for a moment, If I cared at all I'd have a fence. Just don't trample the flowers.” She laughed again, there was nothing planted in her back yard.

I thanked her and walked through her alleyway, the main street of town was not paved, or really a street. It was certainly main though, ninety percent of the buildings faced inwards towards it.

“Hey mister!” A shrill voice called from behind me, I turned around to see a young child leaning out a front window of the woman's house. “Are you going to the bar?”

“I um... I'm-” The kid cut me off.

“Mom says that if you're going to the bar, tell Darryl that dinner's ready.” The kid leaned towards me slyly and added. “Dinner's not actually ready, but Darryl is a slowpoke. It'll be ready by the time he gets here, but just tell him that it's ready. Or it won't work.”

“Will do kiddo.” They thanked me and shot back inside, the kid's haste told me that they were pleased to have offloaded this chore.

Chapter Twenty Two

So I decided to head to the bar, it was also a hotel. The staff didn't wear uniforms and the person at the front desk just told me that Darryl was 'around'. So I hit the bar and asked the first person I saw if they knew him, they said no and moved on. After asking a few more people the first person and three others returned. One of them was Darryl.

“Who are you?” I assumed correctly that it was him when he asked me this.

“Hi, my name's Pete. I accidentally walked through, possibly your backyard on the way into town.” He seemed to understand immediately.

“It's alright boys, false alarm.” He gestured his tiny posse away. “Is dinner ready?”

“Yeah.” A nervous chuckle escaped me.

“Oh cool, thanks. Hey sorry, you thirsty?” I admitted that I was, Darryl led me to the bar.

“Oh man, where's Steve? Steve!?” He called out.

“What?!” Some one yelled from somewhere in the bar.

“Look I'm leaving, put this guy Pete on my tab!” Darryl replied loudly.

“Are you paying your tab before you leave?” A young man with thick facial hair stuck his head out from a doorway adjacent to the back of the bar.

“Tomorrow, unless this guy takes advantage, then never.” They laughed, Darryl left.

“So what'll it be?” Steve stepped out and took up a spot behind the bar proper, he had feline ears.

“Got uh, any wine?” I found the ears quite distracting, they were cosmetic I think. He also had a natural pair.

“Actually yes.” He sounded slightly bemused. “By virtue of almost no-one asking that; we have lots. Red? White?”

“Something sweet, and cheap.” He nodded to me and turned to the door he'd emerged from to retrieve it. I noticed he also had a tail sticking out of a hole cut into his pants, he looked to be in his mid twenties.

It was a passable wine, but only because it was strong. After returning with my order Steve proceeded to man the bar properly. I tried to think of a not rude way to ask him about his ears.

“Those are pretty neat.” He looked at me questioningly, so I pointed to my own ears.

“Oh, thanks.” He replied and nodded.

“Expensive?” I wondered.

“Way too expensive.” He chuckled. “You looking for a set?”

“I'm just a curious sort of guy, I guess. Pete Kenji, Freelance Reporter.” I held out my hand, he shook it.

“Oh hey, I'm supposed to tell you something.” He announced as he remembered.

“What's that?” I wondered some more.

“You can eat, or get a room on Commander Valence's tab. In fact, I'm taking the wine off Darryl's.” He answered plainly.

“Oh, thanks.” I replied hesitantly.

“I should be a reporter, I like free drinks.” Steve laughed.

“Do you know Valence well?” She definitely knew someone here.

“Just met her today. That's a strange question, do you not?” Steve smiled as he asked.

“Not really.” I answered truthfully.

“Well, lot's of folk around the Dive know her, I'm kinda new here myself.” Someone across the bar got his attention. “The front desk knows what's up. I gotta go.”

I didn't like the situation, but I couldn't argue with a free hotel room. The prefab architecture and modular structures gave the building a rustic aesthetic. It was a nice room, but still had the slightly odd smell of burnt. Oddly, it was evening around then. I didn't know that, couldn't tell by looking at the vaguely twilit sky either.

In the morning there was a knock at the door. I wasn't sure what time it was locally, but it was less than eight hours after I'd taken the key-card. I yelled for them to hold on and that I needed to find my pants. A muffled voice with a slightly Slavic accent responded positively. I got my pants back on and picked up my shirt.

“Come on in.” I didn't look up, just crammed my shirt over my head.

“Welcome to my system. I hope you have rested well.” Once inside the room the voice became rather powerful.

“Well enough-Oh my...” Once my shirt was back on I was face to gut with a werewolf, I instinctively backpedaled and fell into a sitting position on the bed.

“Feel free to order food, you may purchase alcohol but be forewarned that I will be aware of your purchases.” Twice my height, wearing a floral dress.

I think I nodded, definitely didn't manage to say anything.

“Tina has explained some of your situation, I wish to speak with you further, but not now.” She looked at me, I tensed and temporarily lost the ability to blink.

She turned her snout away slightly then back to me, maintaining eye contact. She didn't do so very quickly but I flinched. Her eyes narrowed very slightly before widening just as little.

“You were not warned, were you?” I shook my head slowly. She tilted her head the other way and smirked at me. “I see.”

She dropped her shoulders and crossed the room. I was frozen in place as she sat next to me on the bed. Her weight sank the mattress. I tipped into her side, in rigor. She placed her hand on my shoulder, pressing me down.

“Has she told you anything?” It was hard to tell, but she was bemused.

I squeaked a no, almost involuntarily after she looked down at me with a questioning look on her face. She sighed.

“I have little time for this, but I must speak with her.” She added 'And you' which caused me to recoil.

She tilted her head and stared at me again, her claws traced slightly on my shoulder. I've faced threats beyond my own scope, fears that transcend who I am alone, I told you about that. This was the first time I'd really been in close proximity to something so much larger than me on a personal scale. I'd once seen a few guys wearing power-suits standing around and looking cool, but this was something else. The only way my brain could cope was to stay perfectly still, felt like I stopped breathing.

“You did not know at all did you?” I didn't reply, but she understood. “Where you raised in a hole?” She laughed. “That is adorable. Next you will claim it is news that Admiral Iovianus-Wald and I worked together.”

It wasn't news in the sense she meant, I had heard rumors. If I had believed any of them, it would have been immediately obvious who she was. I just never really bought the story of The Last Moreau. She hugged me and made a cooing noise.

“Don't worry little-guy, my limb-from-limb-tearing days are over now.” They call what happened to me a cold-sweat, she laughed and patted me on the head. “I was expecting someone more stoic, less cute.” She added as she stood up and left the room.

The hotel room had a shower with water, hot and cold. Surely some people would have given much in order to be in my place on that bed, I wonder how many of them would regret it. I've never been accosted by a predatory animal before, not a large one. Like most humans even seeing an untamed creature in the wild was a fantasy. We tended to keep ourselves to the same manageable pet-species we'd taken with us into the stars from Sol.

She was like being borne down on by heavy industrial equipment, that had teeth and claws. I wondered what her trying not to be intimidating would have looked like. I knew that a half-human-tank like her was not normal for a spliced colonist, or descendant thereof. I wondered how old she was. I wondered which of the thirty year-old rumors about her were true.

Evidently Darryl worked at the hotel, he was manning the front desk when I eventually came downstairs. He waved to me when he saw me.

“Sleep good?” He asked.

“Eep.” I made a small squeaking noise in response.

“Need something to eat man? You look a little pale.” He scrunched up his face a little. “Momma-Shay didn't say you were feeling off or anything.”

“She is, very tall.” I muttered, Darryl laughed.

“Oh yeah, taller than you'd heard, right?” He grinned at me.

“I hadn't heard.” My shaky response was met with a broadening grin.

“Oh Geez, did Momma-Shay mess you you much? Last guy she caught off guard like that, she carried around for a bit.” He chuckled at the memory of it.

“Her hand is bigger than my head.” I quietly exclaimed.

“Oh, she just patted ya on the head? That's not messing with you. Just stay polite.” He chuckled and pointed at the bar. “Restaurant’s open, go get some breakfast.”

The time of day seemed to determine the name of the room, according to the schedule on it's door. It was emptier as a breakfast diner than it had been as a late night bar. Valence was there drinking a coffee and pretending not to have noticed me. I sat down at the bar and was greeted by the young woman whose yard I'd trespassed into.

“Hello again, what can I get for ya.” She was leaned towards me on the counter.

“Got any tea?” I tried.

“Only black tea, but I can spice it for ya if you want. Could do it sweet and iced as well.” Her answer was sensual.

“That sounds really nice, actually.” I admitted

“One sweet, spiced, iced tea. Hungry?” She tapped the order into her register.

“Something light?” A hefty breakfast never sat well with me, though it was traditional.

“Fries and Gravy.” She leaned in and winked as she added. “Easy to make too.”

“Uh, sure.” I chuckled. “Thanks.”

The tea was too sweet, not bad though. The spicing was okay but I would just order a plain steeped cup of it the next time. My breakfast was interesting. I'm from the Federation, I know what Fries are, but the idea of them as an entree intrigued me. Stringed, fried root veggies were usually a side dish. The gravy was rich, and some salty meat was crisped and included. The fries were bright green, traditionally a starchy vegetable was used.

Surprisingly they were starchy, and spicy. The gravy was a great offset to it. I usually didn't like spicy food first thing in the subjective morning, but those fries were very tasty. I wondered if they grew them locally, but had no-one to ask about it. She was just glaring at the back of my head.

I just ate, and wondered how I'd upset her this much. She eventually left the hotel. I nursed the tea, then after that I nursed a proper one. Once that was done, I wandered back into the foyer of the hotel.

“Can I ask you something?” I said to Darryl, he was reading something before I got his attention.

“Just did.” He smiled.

“You know Commander Valence very well?” Maybe Darryl would have a better answer than Steve had.

“Not that well, I mean she's a Commander. Been a while since she was last here, but she's no spook.” His answer was better, but only slightly.

“Spook?” Local slang, I didn't yet know.

“You know, Commanders you only ever see once, they go ghost on ya.” The Dive wasn't the only place with a name for that.

“Oh, okay. Do she and uh, Shay know each other?” I asked a sizable question.

“Bah, everyone knows Momma-Shay 'round here.” He chuckled a little.

I returned to my room and sat there. I wouldn't have guessed that Limbo had decent food, or private rooms. I returned downstairs for lunch and discovered that another ship had arrived. A group of no more than ten rough and tumble Spacers were enjoying some time with a bar beside them. In the fashion of any good backwater, the locals had flocked to the eatery to be nearer to anything unusual to see.

Chapter Twenty Three

The newcomers had grouped around the bar, Shay was behind it and enthusiastically taking their orders. It seemed they too were flocking to the unusual, meeting her was probably why they were here.

I found a secluded place to sit in a corner. Steve was taking orders, I just asked for a burger and some wine. I was surprised to find the burger wasn't printed, actually prepared with someone's hands, came with a side of the spicy green Fries too. I watched the Spacers laughing with the Moreau as she served them drinks, their jovial mood was permeating the place.

One of them took the mood apart swiftly by asking her a casual question I did not hear. She stopped laughing and started to glare at him. From nearly the opposite side of the room, she made me drop my fork when she stood up to full height and slowly told him that she did not.

The one who asked the question shrunk down into the bar-stool as she continued to stare at him. Another of the group laughed and apologized for her cohort.

“I told 'em Granny, they thought they were special.” She finished her drink and turned to the cowed man across the bar from her. “Can we head back to Sacaqawea and troll some rings now, Sir?” She was their fighter pilot, I guessed.

“Yeah we can Leigh, yeah. Tomorrow.” The leader replied, rapidly collecting himself as he stood up and staggered away.

A couple of his crew followed him, a couple stayed with Leah at the bar. A couple more stayed but milled around. The jovial mood was quick to return. I let about half the burger go cold. Valence came into the bar not long after the group of Spacers had left, I only noticed when she sat down across from me.

“We need to talk.” She announced, I nodded. “But I'm still mad at you, but... You don't know why, do you?”

I shook my head and started trying to answer her.

“Okay, okay... Ugh! We'll talk more later.” She stormed back out of the bar.

The floor shaking a little with each of her steps, alerted me that Shay was approaching. I finished my glass of wine.

“Was that Tina?” She stood beside the table to ask.

“C-Commander Valence?” She tilted her head and me and squinted before nodding. “Yeah.” I replied.

“What did she say?” She held her hand in front of me, a gesture of confusion. I stared at it.

“That umm, she wanted to talk.” I said to her massive fingers.

“Then what?” She was insistent, I flinched a little.

“She left.” I squeaked.

Shay considered this for a moment, then made a satisfied sound. Then she sat beside me at the table. The seat was a bench, she pushed me sideways with her hip to do so.

“This is good. Hrmm, for her.” Shay shook her head a little. “Tina can be troublesome, so far you have not lived up to her description, of you being the same.”

I wanted to ask 'She called me troublesome?' Or maybe even question the qualifier 'for her'. But instead I think I managed to mumble something affirmative sounding.

“She has not told you her name, has she?” At the time, I didn't know how astute Shay's question was.

“Just Valence.” My answer was met with a derisive snort.

“How did you- Oh shit.” She was distracted by something across the room.

I followed her gaze and saw one of the Spacers chatting with a local, they were drowned out by the light din of the bar but looked fine to me.

“Don't do it Errol, it's not even funny joke.” Shay muttered to herself, she could hear them talking.

Suddenly the Spacer became loudly offended and reached for something on his belt. Shay stood up, sliding the bench and me a few meters away from the table.

“No guns inside!” She declared, her voice rattling the windows. She continued to march towards them. The way she walked was odd, stooped forward. Her tail lifting the hem of her dress slightly, acting as counterbalance.

“He insults the Honor of the Empress.” The Spacer rebutted, but his hand hovered.

“It's just a joke!” Errol replied, the collar of his shirt gripped in the spacers other hand.

“Would it be funny if your mother fucked someone to get you a job?!” Ignoring what was bearing towards him, the Spacer shouted at the local.

“No. I'm not the Emperor.” The Spacer swore and made for his gun again.

Shay was already upon them, she just reached down and grabbed the Spacer's bicep.

“Outside. If you desire, you may shoot Errol, outside. I am growing tired of putting out his fires.” She said coldly.

“Then let go of me, so I can.” The Spacer was much braver than me, he still had the local by the scruff of his neck.

“I think it's funny.” Errol interjected, and was ignored.

“Before I do that, I am going to make us both listen to Errol attempt to explain the mechanics of his so-called joke.” Her more absurd declaration was delivered with the exact same intense lack of humor.

Both men questioned her, she insisted.

“Well, it's just chance right.” Errol said, to try and defend himself.

“That's not what you said! You said Empress Duval got where she is, by fucking her way to the top!”

“No, I said her mother did it for her.” In other circumstances, Errol's defensive insistence might have been funny to me.

With one hand Shay massaged the bridge of her nose, with the other she tightened her grip on the Spacer to keep his gun in it's holster.

“Errol, please. I could just let go of him.” Being addressed by her directly seemed to cue the local in on how far things had been pushed.

“Sorry Aunt-Shay.” He looked at his feet. “It was just a rude joke about how she was born into power, like she didn't have to do anything to get it. I'm sorry.” He directed his second apology to the Spacer.

“That's how a monarchy works, her family are the rulers.” The Spacer looked away for a moment. “Well when it works, that is.” They shared a fleeting sympathetic glance.

“Don't get me wrong, Aisling is by all accounts a great Empress. It's just... I dunno, maybe it would be funny if you were used to democracy.” When Errol said that, his collar was relinquished.

“If you think she's a good Empress, why make the joke?” Responding to his tone, Shay loosened her grip.

“Because it's funny.” The Spacer started to laugh at Errol, but insisted that it was not.

“Wonderful, you two have chosen to behave as adults.” She let go of the Spacer's arm and stepped back. “This calls for positive reinforcement, drinks are half price for next hour.”

Shay rendered herself too busy behind the bar to continue our conversation. A party like atmosphere flooded the establishment. Leigh, the fighter-pilot thanked Errol for being and ass and getting her cheap drinks. They laughed together with the rest of the Spacers still in the bar.

“How is life abroad treating you?” Shay asked her at some point during the evening.

“Psh, Sacaqawea's not 'abroad' Gran.” Leigh laughed. “Not bad at all. Smart-Mouth is a decent ship-master, crew's good people. Shooting bad-guys is fun.”

“I am glad to hear this. Your skills were wasted here.” Shay's tone was slightly proud.

“Oh don't give me that, like all I can do is fly?” Leigh lowered her eyelashes at the Moreau towering over her.

“May I give you, a refill?” Leigh rolled her eyes in response, then held out her glass.

“Oh yeah, ply me with alcohol first, of course.” She drank from her glass. “I forgot what a classy lady Granny-Shay was.”

“Not too classy to take your hard earned credits.” They shared a sly glance that quietly questioned 'credits for what?'.

“Get a room, you two.” Errol interjected.

“Who would serve your drinks then?” Shay called back to some laughter.

“Okay, don't get a room.” Errol replied.

“So if that's all, when's your shift over?” Leigh asked as she slowly sipped her drink.

“Oh, I have no time for myself these days Leigh, after I close bar Steve and I will clean up then I must attempt to sleep so I can open with Darryl.” She sighed. “Also one of the moisture reclamators is acting up, I need to get that looked at. Oh, and Tina is in town. I need to make time for her.”

“Oh I have to say hi.” Leigh narrowed her eyes in faux anger. “Thanks for telling me!” She laughed and sipped her drink. “What's up with Tina?”

“She's just being Tina. She brought her boyfriend.” Shay pointed at me, I quickly pretended to be reading from my P.A.D. and not eavesdropping.

“Hi! Hey!” Leigh waved and called, before turning back to Shay and asking what my name was. “Hi Pete!”

I waved back timidly, pretending she'd just caught my attention. Shay whispered something into Leigh's ear causing the fighter pilot to question it, then laugh.

“But he's scrawny.” She said quietly to Shay. “What, did you yell something creepy while you two were fucking?” She asked me rather loudly. I sunk into my seat at much as I could, I hadn't been able to shift the bench back to the table properly.

“Leigh, you are getting close to being cut off.” The Moreau warned in a friendly tone.

“Will you carry me to a room if I get too drunk?” The fighter pilot cooed as she finished her beverage.

“I might throw you into the street.” They both laughed, Leigh held out her empty glass again. “Last one.” Shay said as she filled it.

“I might not be back home for a while.” She drank half. “You know what room I'm staying in.” Then emptied it and got up from the bar.

“Goodnight Leigh.” Shay said as she shook her head a little.

Before I left the bar Shay told me that Valence could be very emotional, and needed some time to think. She implored me to be patient. Also, Errol congratulated me on what he assumed to be the state of my love life. I didn't really say anything to either of them.

Chapter Twenty Four

Three days went by without Valence speaking to me, I must admit that the rest of the people in town seemed to be trying to make up for her with their own friendliness. I met the guy who grew the spicy potatoes, he said they were just run of the mill tubers until about the fourth year of being grown in the caldera. They started turning green in the first year, but took a few to get spicy. He said it must be evolution in action, the plants adapting to the soil composition. Mister and Missus Yates are nice people, they heard I was visiting town and invited me to dinner. Mister Yates is proud of his potatoes.

I'm stalling, Valence came to my hotel room on the third night, she was a little drunk and still had the bottle with her.

“I'm gonna tell you what you did.” She said, looking at my feet.

“Thank you, I was-” She didn't let me speak.

“Shut up. You left your son, that's disgusting.” Her grip on the bottle tightened.

“When the pod-” I tried to explain.

“Then you had me take you away from him.” She turned her head. She was disgusted, with us both.

“No I didn't!” I was angry, she was wrong. Neither of us deserved what she was putting on us.

“Don't lie to-” She looked up at me and stopped.

“That cryopod took me away from him!” I tried to explain.

“You came back, you could have gone to him.” But she still didn't understand.

“And say what? 'Hi it's me, your dead dad. You're older than me now, got any money; I'm broke.' Would that be a good idea?” I literally cannot imagine anything worse I could do for him.

“Gottdamnit Pete! That wouldn't matter. Don't you miss him?” So much that I dodged her question.

“I couldn't disrupt the life he has now.” I said, a little mechanically.

“What the- Are you a psycho or something? He's your kid!” She wasn't wrong, but she didn't understand.

“It's a spectrum, everyone's on it somewhere.” Some of his patients treated the phrase as a mantra, I was told.

“Wait, what?” I probably shouldn't have said it to her though.

“Psychopathy, it's not like a switch. There's a gradient to it, everyone has at least a little in them.” She blinked at me, then drank from the bottle she had.

“I see.” She tensed slightly.

“I wasn't trying to trick you into anything.” I said quietly.

“It's not about what you were trying to do, it's about what you did.” She sulked back out of the hotel room.

I won't bore you with what happened for the next few days, I have lots of notes but none of it is truly pertinent to my story. Most of it is really no more that a snapshot of the local gossip. Valence needed another seventy some odd hours to collect her thoughts. I did get to see some of the local wildlife though.

It was roughly twenty centimeters long and looked like a feathered amphibian, too many legs though. It was pulled from a maintenance hatch on a moisture reclamator. I was told that the sulfuric acid condensing in the cloud dripped over the edge of the mountain and attracted them. The moisture and the nitrogen were vital to the creature's survival, and the area around the colony was ripe with both.

Sadly, the little things couldn't actually taste the contents of the liquid, knowing only to burrow and chase the moisture itself. A strategy that served the species well, until one ended up chasing the wetness down into the machinery and succumbing to the Sulfur-dioxide starved air on this side of the crater wall. A rare fate, I was told most of them hadn't the tenacity to get so deep.

The Moreau whose town we were staying at sat in on Valence's next attempt to talk to me. As best as Shay could, between intermittent errands around the hotel or for needy locals. Tina remained as unable as ever to put words to her feelings, and our conversation consisted mostly of mutterings. Valence was keeping everything to herself, caught between expecting me to understand, and not daring to let me know.

I was torn between the frustration that laid onto me, and how well I recognized the behavior. I wanted to tell her how I felt about what I'd done, tell her she was right about me being a terrible father. But that wouldn't help.

I wasn't really getting used to sitting next to Shay though, her supposedly funny invasions of my personal space were something I told myself she was doing to force me to get over it. She was clearly amused by my reactions though. Really though, her being so involved with me and Valence is how she helped me get over it. That's oversimplifying it, it was the way she just fit our problems into her densely packed schedule of helping everyone around her with theirs. Everyone local, Valence, even most of the people who passed through the Dive while I was there all referred to Shay like a direct relative of theirs. I didn't need to ask, such familiarity was earned.

Something happened while the three of us sat nearly silently around a table. Someone told Shay that someone else wanted to talk to her. This had happened already more times than I'd counted, only this time Valence knew who it was too.

She actually knew lots of people around Shay's Dive, I mean that she left the table with Shay to speak with them. When the two of them returned a few minutes later they carried a somber mood. Shay brought a couple of bottles of clear liquor from the bar, and two glasses.

The Moreau opened one of the bottles and poured a generous amount into each of the glasses before putting the rest of the bottle to her lips. Valence took one of the glasses and sipped from it. The remaining one was for me.

“I guess I'm supposed to give you shit for drinking again, aren't I Auntie?” Valence asked.

“This?” Shay held up the last dregs of the bottle before finishing it. “This is not falling off the wagon, this is just a taste for nerves.”

“What's happening?” I asked quietly.

“Oh it's... You wouldn't-” Valence's dismissal was cut short.

“Maebell is moving away.” Shay announced.

“The nice lady with the rude jokes?” She was wonderfully amused when I'd already heard a few of her older ones about Hudson's hobbies.

“Yes. She is going to Morten's Paradise to live with her son-in-law, and grandchildren.” Shay opened the second bottle and politely offered refills before taking a slug from it.

“That doesn't sound so bad.” I'm sure everyone would miss her, but it sounded to be for the best.

“Maebell and Fred were on the first ship that came here.” Valence scolded me.

“Oh.” I looked at her, then at Shay. “I understand.” Maebell had needed doors held for her, help to get up onto the bar-stool.

“This is best, for her.” Shay said, trying to convince herself to be okay with it.

“Is Fred staying?” I asked, she hadn't mentioned her husband.

Shay and Valence looked at me, then each other. Then Shay finished her drink, placing the bottle next to the other one.

“You two, come with me.” She stood up and started marching to the door.

I made a habitual effort to finish my drink before getting up, but it was hard liquor that tasted like a harsh cleaner. Also Valence just put her glass down and followed Shay, frankly her posture looked scared, like a little kid. I left my glass and followed.

We were led out of town, not very far. The lamps that marked the main street continued off this way, marking a path to one of several well planted groves around the edge of the town. Those lamps had open flames on them, I didn't notice at first because of the enclosures. This isn't the best time to bring this up, but they had a thing for fires at Shay's Dive. They planted fast growing trees to cut them down for firewood, I was told that the carbon being released into the air maintained the environmental status-quo of being able to breathe inside the caldera. This grove we were led to was apparently the first one, also where the graves are kept.

I didn't, but could have counted their number on my hands. Each plot marked with a carved stone, the way the wealthy are buried. Some had poems, some just names, but each stone had three dates on it. Birth and Death, with arrival at the Dive in between. Shay took us to a grave that had one of the oldest dates in the middle, and a long stretch between the other pair.

“Fred is staying.” Shay said and pointed at his resting place. The stone was double wide, engraved only on one half. “In greater Colonia there are doctors, professionals, medications will not take weeks to arrive.”

“She made the right choice, but I understand. It's sad for her to leave.” As I said it, I looked down at the grave-stone and the single flower someone had left there, recently.

“It is more than that, this was their home. Maebell does not want this, or at least she didn't when she told me she wanted to be buried with him.” Shay was also looking at the flower.

“Rocks and hard places.” I said reverently. Valence made a dismissive sound.

“Life is short, and I cannot fault a friend for doing what is best, for them.” She sighed. “Tina I am sorry, I'm telling him.”

Valence tensed up and gave Shay a desperate look, but before she could say anything to stop her, the Moreau turned to me and explained everything. Shay was more than exasperated with the pair of us, so she did what was best.

“Tina's mother abandoned her when she was young.” Swiftly Shay embraced Valence, maybe in case her reaction was intense, I'm not sure.

Valence just sobbed, but I think it caught her by surprise when I let one out too.

“Oh fuck.” I reacted, understanding hitting me like a punch. “I-I didn't... Oh gods I'm sorry.” I'm and idiot, she'd told me. I began to babble apologies, on behalf of her mom, for what happened to her. For what I'd done to him, to her and to him. Every hopeless lament I had tumbled out. It was like a siren going off.

Before I knew it Valence had pulled away from Shay and held me, she was saying that she was sorry too. Neither of us would tell the other that anything would be okay, instead we embraced and didn't need to. Valence and I sat on the moss with Maebell's husband, Aunt-Shay stood nearby with a little smile on her lips and a doughy look in her eyes.

Chapter Twenty Five

We enjoyed the quiet and the bitter-sweetness for some time. I didn't notice it, but felt Valence look up then heard Shay swear. A metallic-gray Gutamaya was slipping through the cloud and making landfall.

“Damn, now of all times? Bastards.” Shay put her hand gently onto Valence's shoulder, and therefore also mine. “Stay here.” She whispered before she took off.

Valence's arms tightened around me for only a fleeting moment before she drew in a breath, closed her visor, and stood up to follow. Shay was running, her bright green dress and tail billowing against the air. Valence marched for a few steps before her rig extended and took over. I tried to keep up, didn't though.

The small ship had touched down by the time I arrived, I think Shay beat it to its landing site. Valence skittered to a halt beside the Moreau and produced a pistol from the pocket across the front of her sweater. Shay gestured for her to put it away, so she did. A man with blonde hair and a lengthy pearl uniform stepped down the ramp.

“She is still not here.” Shay announced before his feet touched her dirt.

“That's not why I'm here.” He replied coldly.

“I still don't know where she is, either.” Shay growled her reply.

“I was going to ask, but also not why I'm here.” His uniform was almost as well maintained as his composure.

Shay has canine legs, I think I forgot to mention. She stood up to her full digitigrade height. She leans when she does that, but was still very tall. I was close enough to see and hear them, but still quite a distance away. I decided that I was close enough though.

“One of our investigators has missed a check in.” His accusation was veiled.

“So, you were sending someone to bother me.” Her reply was exasperated.

“They should have arrived a week ago, give or take a few days.” He pressed his lips together in anticipation after he said this.

“They did not.” Shays reply caused him to nod slightly.

“You would say that. I've scanned as best as I care to around your crater, but I think I should be looking inside of it.” Now, he was exasperated.

“Oh. Should you, now?” Shay had become slightly incensed though.

“I hope you wouldn't refuse to cooperate with an Inquisitorial investigation.” He met her challenging posture admirably.

“Is that what you think this is?” Her demeanor went softer, and she stopped being so tall. “I would have sent their bodies back to you, if they had arrived here and pressed me.”

“I don't believe you.” He wore half of a smile.

“So?” Shay shrugged and shook her head a little at him.

“So, I'm going to look around.” He still had the smirk, but it was starting to be strained.

“No you are not. This is not the Empire, you have no authority here.” Shay strained his grin even more.

“I can arrest you, then go about my-” She laughed in his face.

“Try.” She held out her arms, and started standing tall again.

“I have men aboard, I'm trying to be polite here.” With the smirk gone, he was now speaking through his teeth.

“That vessel could hold no more than fifteen soldiers, if they have scant equipment. You  cannot have brought enough men.” Her explanation was delivered slowly, as she leaned over him.

“Don't make me blast this crater any deeper from orbit.” She shook her head at him and rocked away again, returning to her casual flat-footed stance.

“The Inquisition used to pride itself on being better with threats, than that.” She pointed at the ship behind him and scoffed. “Go ahead, I can see how 'in orbit' you are.”

“I need to know what happened to our team, and I still think you know where Commander Quinn is hiding. Start talking, or I start executing people in your little village.” The man spoke firmly, in his mind the time had come to lay out his strongest card.

She listened carefully to what he said, looking slightly to her left and putting her hand to her chin pensively. I really do think that he thought she was all bluster, bought into her caring persona at face value. I don't think he really thought for a second that his authority was less of a threat to everyone around him, than Shay could be by not holding back as much. He was right about one thing though, the stakes of their debate had in fact peaked.

She snatched him from the ground by his throat with her other hand. Her fingers wrapped around to the back of his skull. He scrabbled at her wrist while she continued to make a show of carefully thinking and not looking in his direction, all while reeling back up to full height on her toes.

She turned to him suddenly and took her hand away from her chin, she patted him down with it until she found a handgun on his belt. It was a plasma pistol, I think. Maybe a mag-gun. I don't know, It was big and fancy though. It fit between her forefinger and thumb. She dropped him to the ground where he crumpled. He massaged his neck, but the look in his eyes suggested that is was his pride which was hurt.

“With this?” She asked him, incredulously.

“Y-y-ye- Euh.” He stopped trying to answer when she crushed the expensive looking weapon, by wrapping her hand into a fist around it.

“There, now that threat is idle too. I no longer need to kill you.” Shay explained, as her heels touched the ground, followed by the crumbs of his gun.

He scrabbled backwards towards the bottom step of the ramp, then to his feet onto it. Equipped the feeling of safety offered by standing on ground he felt he had authority on, he tried to keep face.

“This is conspiracy, aiding and abetting a terrorist.” He said, probably going for an accusatory tone. I've debated putting a question mark on this line.

“I haven't spoken with Commander Quinn since before I came here!” Shay told him, clearly not for the first time. Her tone exasperated but her volume cacophonous.

He stumbled up the ramp in response, muttering something about being back. Shay asked him why he would bother before wishing him a safe journey home. Valence had stood imposingly on her robotic legs for the entire encounter, until the ship was airborne.

When it was over her rig retracted, but she didn't stand to catch herself, just slumped onto the ground. It looked like it might have hurt in a whole G. I darted over to try and help her, but Shay noticed her fall and did so too. Shay's sharp movement made me stumble and fall into the dirt about five meters from Valence.

We shared an awkward glance before I held up my palm and shook my head apologetically, Shay swiftly recovered and helped Valence to her feet. We headed back to the restaurant, It was evening so it was the bar now.

Chapter Twenty Six

As we stepped inside, Steve caught sight of his boss and asked her if she was taking over the bar. He sounded like he wished she would. She could not though, and he seemed to understand. Valence needed to silently sit at a cozy table with familiar faces around her for a little while. Shay seemed more than happy to be one of those faces. Until we sat down, I didn't realize how much I needed to be another one.

I thought about telling her the facts, the details that I analyzed to justify myself. But to her those meant nothing, she already understood. Valence felt out what I didn't have facts for.

At this point, what could even be said?

Her and I were both doing the same thing. We were trying to keep moving forward with what we had done, or had been done to us. Sub-optimal at best, but still better than stopping in our tracks. Or going the wrong way. After the right length of silence and a little more, Shay spoke.

“Tina, you know I mean this constructively. You are lucky to have found a man who has yet to run away from you.” She put her hand onto the table, palm up.  “Pete seems relatively upstanding. This is doubly lucky, for you.”

“Aww, thanks. That's the second nicest thing anybody's ever said about me.” I had several glasses of wine in me. Valence sputtered when she tried to stifle her laugh.

“Thanks Auntie-Shay, for putting up with my shit.” She said quietly and placed her hand into the Moreau's.

“I am obliged to, but you aught to thank Pete.” Shay closed her fingers around Valence's hand and nodded across the table to me. “I am impressed with the stoicism he has shown here.” I had been joking, but Shay's new statement changed the order of nicest things.

I joked that Shay would have stopped me from leaving if I'd tried, Valence joked that I would have had a hard time getting another lift anyway. We all laughed.

Later that evening, I admitted to Tina in private that I didn't know why, but I never even thought of trying to leave.

“I think I love you too.” She'd replied.

We spent the night in the hotel together. It never really gets dark here, with the cloud it never gets that bright either. Evening is when curtains are drawn. There are occasions where nothing in the sky is shining, but this requires a timing of the hour of the day and the years of other bodies in the system, when it does happen it doesn't last very long either. Most colony planets are chosen for their environment matching Old Earth as closely as possible, or something worth having about the planet itself. Shay had picked a world with a twenty four hour day. No matter how bizarre the pattern of stellar ascendancy is here, it keeps tune with the human rhythm nicely.

Midnight was when the colony faced the brown dwarf whose moon it is on. This is only odd because it also happened at high-noon. The street-lights stay burning all the time, they aren't just to be able to see down here. In the morning the sound of a ship entering the crater woke Valence up.

“Does that sound like an Adder to you?” She'd woken me up to ask.

“Does what, sound like who?” It was, but I didn't know that.

She got out of bed and looked out the window, she swore when she verified her worries. Then Valence started hurriedly putting her flight-suit on.

“Oh no, it's in the cockpit.” She was searching for something.

“What is?” I was still groggy, but she was worried.

“My knife, fuck!” Valence was angry, and worried.

“Why do you need your knife? What's going on?” I was starting to worry, she knew by the sound of it's engines whose ship had arrived.

“This is such bullshit! Doesn't he have a single better thing to do? Do you have a knife?” She also knew that whoever it was, was bad news.

“No I don't. What's happening?” I got out of the bed and stepped toward her as I asked.

She stopped searching and zipped up her flight-suit, then she reached into the pile of her sweater still sitting on the bedside-table. She pulled her gun from it.

“I think I'm going to have to shoot Laertes.” She said slowly.

“That idiot wants to duel you again?” I looked out the window, but couldn't see a ship.

“I don't have a blade, I wouldn't be dueling him.” Valence explained, looking at her weapon.

“Oh.” We shared a worried look. ”Maybe he's here for something else?”

She shook her head slowly, finished dressing and started to leave. I got my clothes on as fast as I could and followed her, she had asked me not to.

Laertes stood at the far end of the main street, his crew and ship silhouetted behind him. His sword was already in his hand. Valence squared against him at least twenty meters away, just outside the hotel. People were watching from the windows.

“I'm here for a fair rematch, no funny business this time.” He pointed the sword at her, he didn't have his harness on.

“Go home Laertes.” She warned him, her hands were both inside the pocket across the front of her sweater. He didn't know it wasn't a knife in there.

“Not until we're finished.” He stepped forward and brought his weapon into a threatening posture.

“I'm done playing games with you!” She shouted and produced her handgun.

He switched to a defensive stance, I think it was reflex. You can't cut a bullet out of the air, but his crew pulled guns of their own. I jumped down from the hotel's porch and bolted in front of Valence.

“Woah.” I said to her.

Her and Laertes both started swearing at me.

“Just give me- Just hold on.” I told her, pushing the gun down a little. She was still holding it steady at Laertes, through me.

I wheeled around and held up my palms defensively, finding that I hadn't already been shot I cleared my throat.

“What is your problem?” I asked Laertes. He squinted at me for a moment.

“This is between me and her, I'm not here to explain myself to whoever you are.” He spoke down the me, I assume because I didn't wear a flight-suit and own a ship.

“No, fuck you. Why are you being such a piece of shit, here?” I was used to that though.

“Ask her what she's-” It took more tries than I'm writing here, but I cut the Commander off.

“I don't care about that. Right now, here. What do you think you are doing?” I demanded of him.

“I don't know what you mean.” Laertes was honest with me, still agitated though.

“I know you don't.” I shook my head. “You can go do just about anything you imagine, and you're using this limitless potential to come out here and be the villain for some reason. Does beating her in a duel get you money, or a trophy, or something?”

“Glory.” He responded. Valence snorted a little behind me.

“Ha!” Torr had taught me a good snide laugh. “Guess again ass-hole, Commander Valence is a good guy.”

“Oh please.” It was his turn to laugh. “The galaxy is painted in grays and red. As if she is flying around saving lives or someth-”

“She saved mine.” He stopped talking. “The past is the past, I just met you. You look like you want to be the villain to me.”

“Well, what do you know?” He wanted my opinion to be worthless.

“Your parents proud of you?” Technically it's rude to answer a question with another one, but that would have been rude anyway.

“How dare you?” He took a step forward, even with Valence leveling her gun over my shoulder.

I turned sideways, holding my hands up at each of them. I turned my head to Laertes and told him how I dared.

“I'm a father filled with regrets, who won't get to see my son again. Whose son are you?” He stopped, lowered his sword a little. I pushed Valence's weapon away again.

“What?” He asked me quietly, I stepped towards him.

“You clearly understand what you are capable of, you've chased her more than Ten-Thousand light years over a grudge.” I told him. “All she had to do to be a hero, was open an old cryopod and ask if I need help.”

He looked at me and blinked a few times, then over my shoulder at Valence. I assume she had put away her gun, maybe she was holding one arm with the other the way she does when she's embarrassed. I figure he saw most of the town peeking out of the hotel windows behind her as well. He looked back at me, then at the sword in his hand. He slid it into its sheath.

“I think, that I have some thinking to do.” He said to my feet.

“Good.” I put a hand lightly to his arm. “If you can manage a ship and a crew, I'll bet you can manage a little thinking.”

He nodded and turned back to his ship. Announced to his crew that there had been a change of plans. In no time they had left.

“Holy shit, who taught you to bullshit like that.” Valence said with a nervous laugh, once we were alone in the street.

“That was just spin.” I corrected, she tilted her head at me in confusion. “I'm a writer, aren't I?” She laughed.

“So I've heard. Let me buy you a drink, that was really cool.” Valence would have bought me drinks anyway, but I earned at least one with that.

Before we made it to the bar Darryl apologized to Valence on my behalf, for ruining a good fight. Then jokingly admonished me on her behalf. Once inside the bar so did Betty-Anne. She's the lady who's backyard I trespassed in. I thought Darryl was her boarder, or boyfriend. In fact Shay was the only person who congratulated me for breaking it up, but she did so privately.

Chapter Twenty Seven

It was the next day, the restaurant was empty before lunch. Shay was eating alone so she could man the front desk during lunchtime. I was walking past and she called to me.

“I wished to thank you for breaking up that fight.” She told me as I sat down. “Are you hungry?”

“No thank you.” I had eaten a late breakfast, Valence was still asleep. “Someone needed to set him straight.” I added dismissively.

“Yes.” She punctuated that by putting her hand on my shoulder, I was startled but looked up at her face. Her ears had gone flat. “You are good man. I am happy Tina is with someone like you.”

“Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.” Aunt-Shay has a nearly sixth-sense when it comes to people's character, this may have been the most honest thing to ever come out of my mouth.

“I suppose you know much about me.” At some point Valence had explained my quest to her, it was only now that Shay had the time or willingness to bring it up.

“Honesty time: I thought you were a myth.” She laughed. “I guess she's told you all about me?”

“Of course.” Shay smiled at me. “By the way, asking her ship's computer if she is single, was clever.”

“Wait, she knows I did that?” I asked, suddenly feeling betrayed.

“She has always been too comfortable speaking with that computer. It seems worrying to me, but yes it told her.” Aunt-Shays explanation was slightly eyebrow-raising.

“Mind if I ask you a few questions for my book?” My question was almost superfluous.

“Actually, I was awaiting this.” She quickly finished her plate and pushed it aside. “Go ahead.”

“So the riot at Jameson Memorial?” She nodded a little as I asked.

“I have seen worse.” Her answer was served with a small shrug.

“Know anything about why it happened?” I moved onto a more pointed question.

“No.” She shrugged. “I know it was fortunate that I was there.”

“Why is that?” She'd cut off that line of questions, but opened an interesting new one.

“Some of my friends were endangered during the fray, I was able to help.” She explained.

“What happened?” I wanted more explanation than that though.

“You have been told what we were doing?” I nodded. “One of the ships was overrun, I forced the mob away.”

“Alone?” I asked for clarification. For anyone else, my question would have been incredulous.

“I was not alone, but yes.” Shay is well aware of what her own presence could be.

“Is that what you meant by 'limb-from-limb-tearing days'?” I asked quietly.

“Oh good heavens no, that was joke.” She pointed behind the bar at the wall of photographs and mementos, they encircled a mounted sword I had assumed to be decorative. “I simply threatened to use that.”

“Holy shit. Ever really used it?” Impressed, I asked the first question I thought of.

“Hrmm, I have had to threaten to do so many times, usually that is more than enough.” Shay dodged my query.

“I guess if you don't know much about the riot, what can you tell me about the other Commanders working with Wald at the time.” I moved forward with my questions.

“Do you mean Allan?” Shay asked for clarification.

“Yes, he was going by Commander Revenant.” I answered.

“We are still friends, he makes habit of stopping here on his journeys between Colonia and the Bubble.” Her casual reply stunned me.

“He does?” I managed to ask after a moment.

“Yes, in fact he is due to arrive in a few weeks.” She could tell I was affected by her answer, but was bemused more-so than curious.

“Woah, that's... Woah.” Was what I was able to say.

“You wish to meet him?” She surmised, I've debated not including a question mark on this line.

“Yeah, I want to finish interviewing him.” I explained as I regained my composure.

“Finish? You spoke with him before leaving Bubble?” Shay was now, quite curious.

“Long before, I spoke with him Thirty years ago.” When I said this, her ears twitched.

“Oh, interesting.” She gave me a sly look. “He may also be interested in meeting with you.”

“What, why?” Now I was the curious one.

“I will not spoil surprise, in case I am wrong.” Aunt-Shay gave me a devilish smirk. “What is your next question?”

“How did Allan and Brent start trying to free Operarii?” It seemed this question was the hardest to find an answer for.

“I do not know exactly how Brent became involved, but Allan is old friend of his, and they met by chance. Allan took contract to move cryopods to Brent, without knowing what was going on.” Answering questions about Wald seemed to have that same property of raising more.

“Were you already working with Brent at this time?” I tried one of the more pertinent ones that she'd raised.

“No, at the time I was working as mercenary for the pirate attempting to stop Brent. He bought out my contract.” Shay's answer brought even further questions.

“That sounds like an interesting story.” I realized out loud.

“Well... It is, long one.” She shrugged. “To make it short: The original plan to move the cryopods was defeated shortly before my contract was re-negotiated. Plan B involved courting a favor in the Founder's System.”

“I was told that someone died, but not much else. What happened to the people you were trying to free?” As many questions as I now had, I opted to ask more about what happened at or after Jameson Memorial.

“I am not so sure I wish to answer that. I do not feel it is my place to do so.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “You said Commanders before, no other Commander was working with our group.”

“Another associate of Wald's was at Jameson memorial, I'm not sure if she was working with you or not.” I double checked my P.A.D. “She had a Lakon Type Nine?”

“Do you mean Eidolon?” Shay asked, intrigued.

“That's her, what can you tell me about her?” I leaned in.

“She was just leaving as we arrived, I only met her then.” Shay replied.

“Oh, I see.” I leaned back, slightly disappointed.

“She was a driven person, incredibly astute. I carried a secret back then, and she knew it as soon as we spoke.” The Moreau continued to explain.

“May I ask what that secret is?” I spoke carefully.

“It is no longer secret, I was looking for this place. I have since then found it.” Aunt-Shay answered, bemused.

“I don't think I follow you.” I had to admit.

“There are likely less than a handful of Moreaus left in the Milky-Way, I wish to meet them. I used to secretly be hunting for them while I took money to hunt bounty. Now I wait here.” Her explanation was simple and casual.

“You gave up?” I'd misinterpreted her though.

“No, goodness no. This place is what I was looking for, a respite where people like me reside.” I felt like getting further explanation on that, but Shay continued. “Commander Eidolon asked me if I had ever wondered if I was not the only one wandering, looking.”

“Is the new plan working?” Her last bit of explanation hit-home what she was trying to say to me.

“Almost two years ago, Steve arrived.” To Shay, an affirmative response was unnecessary, but she gave this one to me anyway.

“Steve isn't a Moreau.” I'd only thought I understood what she meant.

“I am aware. Steve was not well regarded for his choices where he is from. From his perspective it was hardly a choice. He is welcome here.” She pointed out the window at Betty-Anne's house. “Darryl is from the Empire, do you know what 'Pallaca' means?”

“Yes.” I've said it before, I'm and idiot. But I was being led down a path to understanding. “Is he supposed to be able to have a side job?” I asked, gathering a better footing.

“Usually not, his relationship with Betty-Anne is unique.” Shay's eyes went a little doughy again. “She used to drink quite heavily before she 'got desperate' and bought him.”

“They seem happy together.” Shay's Dive has this magical quality, this place makes me say honest things.

“Louis is happier now.” The kid who pawned off his chore on me that first day. Their kid. “I know you've met the Yates' but did they tell you how they met?” Shay added a question.

“No. Just everything I ever wanted to know about growing or cooking potatoes.” We smiled as I shared Mrs Yates' joke.

“They met in care facility. He was told that he would need to move somewhere with low gravity if he wanted to stay mobile, quit his agricultural job. She was not recovering from her tour, among the bustle of a large star-port.”

“Mrs. Yates is a veteran?” I couldn't believe it.

“They have been together, here for six years now. She was able to attend her first bonfire night earlier this year. It took her some time to adjust to the streetlights, I am told being in space is much worse for her. She likes the cloud for nighttime.” Shay might have been sharing too much, she might have shared just enough.

“You made this place when you couldn't find it. You don't care who else it's for.” I blinked a few times. “Still hoping for other Moreaus?”

“My hopes raise every time I pose for holograph, and with every ship that passes through. But this place is already more than I would have hoped. I have found that I care very much about the people, for whom this place has become for.” Aunt-Shay's doughy eyes could be a little contagious, if you let them be.

Chapter Twenty Eight

“Why do you call Valence, Tina?” I finally decided to ask.

“This is her name, I have always known her as such.” Shay was leaving out some details here, but I didn't know that then.

“How long have you known her?” My question was met with an apologetic expression.

“Oh dear, If she is still withholding this information, then the time is not right to answer that.” I would have guessed the answer was most of Valence's life, but apparently it was a secret.

“Why is she so guarded about her past, did she do something?” Lots of people did lots of things, that was no reason to give up on anyone.

“No no no, her past has clouded people's interactions with her before.” Shay replied, raising my eyebrows.

“Well I sorta know that she's famous-ish. I'm guessing she's holding some kind of rank with the Protectorate Fleet?” My exasperation just turned into speculation.

“Close enough, for now.” Shay sighed. “Tina is overreacting, you needn't worry about her secrets. They are both minor and something you will likely figure out soon enough. She prefers people she meets to not know who her parents are.”

“Like I would recognize anyone's name.” I joked.

“Hrmm.” Shay's ears twitched. “She tells me you enjoy similar shows to her, music.”

“Yeah.” I was intrigued by the sudden change of subject.

“That is wonderful, the pair of you seem to make great couple.” Shay's attempt at dishonesty was to refuse a subject, and offer an astute compliment.

“Do you watch Captain DuHart?” I accepted what she'd done, I'd seen worse methods.

“I have little time for Holo-Shows, I prefer music.” She shook her head dismissively. “Also Tina has shown me this several times, I do not like it.”

“Did you watch the older version?” It had been fairly popular in the Federation.

“They did make older version?” I nodded at her, she pursed her lips. “No I did not, I thought they had, but was never sure.”

“I think it's great, and I liked the old one.” At this point we were just conversing.

“Tina's show depicts that time very disingenuously, I was alive then. It was nothing like that.” Shay explained with a hint of sorrow.

“I'll give you that, but I think it's just rule-of-cool. The new show is definitely less of an Imperial propaganda piece, than the old one was for the Feds.” I received a sideways glance for that.

“That is not what I meant, though an interesting point. I can envision the type of show you mean from back then, the new one is much better than that.” She shook her head.

“What did you mean?” My question gave Shay pause.

“How many background characters were drawn to have fur and tails in the old version?” She answered with a question of her own, but her point was made.

“Oh, well none, but it wasn't animated.” I shook my head at myself.

“Was the main character of the show always Feline?” She was curious now.

“Yes.” She pondered my answer for a moment.

“Was it makeup, someone with cosmetics?” She asked astutely.

“I think makeup.“ I thought back. “Probably touched up digitally.”

“Of course. Many shows seem to think that Moreaus made up half the population at the time. I'm sure you realize how bizarre this is.” I hadn't really, but it was one of the oldest tropes in the genre. Rather than make an argument that Moreaus actually existing was trumped by fiction, I ignored the rules of precedent that had no place in reality and agreed with her.

“You know, I don't think the show knows Halsey was ever president either.” Her perspective on the subject was fascinating to me, but I didn't want to upset her.

“That wouldn't just be that show, Pete. I haven't heard that name in years.” She laughed, so did I.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me about what happened, were you at the race?” I tried another interview question.

“I was, and I will have to tell you more. But I must go, there is some preparatory work to be done at the front desk.” Shay answered as she stood up.

I went back to the room, Valence was awake but still in bed.

“Hey.” She greeted me as I entered.

“How you feeling.” My question received a yawn before an answer.

“Great, haven't slept that well in a while.” Valence told me.

“Good.” I said.

“Thanks for backing me up back there, with Laertes. I don't think I've thanked you properly yet.” She was lying, she had.

“Anytime.” I said.

“I guess you probably want to know what's going on with him, don't you?” Valence asked me hesitantly.

“Fleet politic, he's your ex, or both. I really don't care.” I looked her in the eyes. “You didn't want to put a bullet in him, did you?”

“Not really.” She admitted.

“Then I'm glad I could help.” She leaned over and embraced me.

“Thank you Pete.” I embraced her back.

“Aunt-Shay tells me you don't want me to know who your folks are. That's fine, saves the awkward bit where you introduce me to them.” I let her know.

“Uhm, I uhm...” She tensed in my arms, and wasn't sure what to say.

“Whenever you're ready, or never. Whatever you want.” I shook my head at myself, and held her tighter. “I don't care. You like having me around, and you like being on this ridiculous quest with me. I care about you.”

“It's not ridiculous.” I grasped her shoulder. “Flying you halfway across the galaxy isn't even that hard. Hell it's been pretty fun, at times.” She rolled her eyes at me, and squeezed my midsection.

“At this point, if I gave up and just lived out my days here.” I took a deep breath, her hair smelled a little bit like industrial lubricant and a whole lot like recycled air. You know; Like Adventure. “I'd be happy if you visited.”

“I'd stay.” She tensed very slightly and added. “But fuck that, I'm gonna fly you out to Colonia.”

“Oh yeah, it turns out this space trucker I want to talk to, comes through here.” Our hug ended a short while after I mentioned that.

“Oh, convenient.” She smirked. “Was that Commander Eidolon, with the Type-Nine?”

“No um, Revenant. With a Federal Assault Ship.” I answered.

“That's not a space truck.” She mused.

“I guess he's got one now, I dunno. He's a friend of Admiral Iovianus-Wald's.” I explained as best as I could at the time.

“Well, the Admiral has plenty of space-trucker friends.” She shook her head dismissively. ”What ever shall we do to occupy ourselves in the meantime?”

I was going to suggest lunch, and that we could watch more Captain DuHart. We did those things after we did what Valence had in mind, and I caught my breath.

Chapter Twenty Nine

About a day and a half later, Shay found time to tell me about what happened after that race thirty years ago. The aftermath I witnessed when I stepped out of the washroom, was the result of a skirmish. Between the contingent of Kumo-Crew, and her. Shay tells it best

Brent and Allan had been taken hostage and were being escorted away. I knew that I needed to intervene, but doing so while they were still present offered the pirates the opportunity to threaten them. So I waited.

I was sitting at a small table with five others, I was across the table from the three armed men who remained in the bar. This left my friends dangerously close to the field of fire. Once I heard the airlock seal in the distance, I knew I could begin without fear of Brent or Allan being harmed to stop me.

I reached under the table and pulled the chairs on which my friends were sitting aside. This drew the attention of the pirates. They leveled their weapons at me, one of them had a small automatic slug thrower, the other two wielded laser carbines. They had overestimated the level of threat such weapons posed to me.

“Don't move!” One of them told me.

“I in fact, will move. I will stand up, and I suspect you will do nothing.” I stood, and was proven correct.

“That is close enough!” He attempted, I gripped the edge of the table.

“More than close enough.” They understood my implied threat.

“Move, and we'll shoot you.” One of them made another attempt to control the situation.

“You will try. You may even hurt me. But I will crush you with this table, and it will do more than hurt.” After telling them as much, I did so.

The table proved more than able to absorb the rounds from the firearm. One of them was thrown aside as the furniture and I landed. He fired his laser rifle into my center of mass, a decently aimed shot.

“Do you have your weapon's settings on titillate?” The shirt was easily replaced, and the spot of fur grew back after only a few weeks. That pirate may have recovered eventually, but I doubt it.

With those three taken care of, I escorted my friends to the nearest of our vessels, where they would be safe. Most ships present were launching as quickly as possible, the Kumo-Crew seemed uninterested in preventing this. They had also only secured the airlock they were utilizing. Without Void-provisions I was forced to head to that airlock in order to retrieve information from the garrison there.

The pirate's plan was to extract my friends as quickly as possible. The men they left behind were there to prevent us from giving immediate chase. These pirates would have been given the information of where to make rendezvous. Thus, I needed only to get that information from them, and a direct chase would become unnecessary.

As I approached the airlock I was fired upon, there were several more laser weapons and at least one slug thrower. These types of weapons are devised specifically to limit penetration, for use in situations where you expect unarmored targets. Or I suppose, smaller ones.

One of the pirates guarding the airlock had a plasma rifle, this was of concern to me. I had a firearm with me, but mine is not hampered by worries of over-penetration. This meant that I was less than prepared to fire my weapon within the enclosure.

I had procured a large metal platter from the now abandoned bar. I held it aside as they peppered me, and the area near me with their weapons ineffectually. It was only after this did nothing to dissuade me that the one with the plasma rifle chose to use it.

Had they been thinking clearly, they would have concluded that I could not use what was left of the platter to absorb a second round. But having witnessed the splatter of liquefied metal, they were no longer thinking clearly. The one holding the only weapon dangerous at range threw it to a crew-mate, and produced an electrified baton.

He was braver than the one who was forced to produce his own and take up position as second. The three that remained trained their weapons at me but did nothing, it was about all they could do.

I blocked the first strike with my forearm, this proved a poor choice. The batons they were using were stepped up to have a nearly fatal discharge, my arm went partially numb.  I dodged the second and third strikes from the more eager of the two. Then the lesser one thought he had an opening.

I was able to grasp his wrist as he drew his weapon at my midsection, it broke beneath my fingers and he dropped the baton. I kicked it at his ally, who managed to swat it away with his own. So I threw his second at him, the pair of men collided with enough force to send the mass of limbs skittering towards the remaining pirates.

The one holding two weapons stepped forward and brandished both of them, she attempted to give me a command of some kind. This nearly had a chance to embolden the other two. I took a large step and crossed the distance between me and her, then I swatted the guns away. The broken parts of the two weapons clattered into the pirate to the left, and he fell down. I grabbed the remaining bold one by her throat and held her up to the pirate on my right. He was the only one still standing, or holding a weapon.

“You will tell me where my friends are being taken.” I explained to him.

He did his best to steel himself to answer, while the one in my grasp clawed ineffectually at my fingers.

“What if I don't?” His attempted loyalty for his pirate captain surprised me, I must admit.

“Should you not, he will.” I gestured at the one behind me, who was still on the floor, not coping very well with the situation.

“What makes you so sure?” The one I was questioning was already convinced, he had lowered his weapon as he asked.

“Because he will have just seen me beat you to death with her.” This statement brought pause to the scratching at my hand, increased the pitch of the noise coming from behind, and procured rapid compliance from in front of me.

Even with Allan and Brent gone, our group had a gifted pilot with us. This was fortunate as we tracked the Commanders to a crater on an un-populated outdoor world, where the pirate was holding them hostage.

The history behind the situation between Brent and this pirate captain are both extremely complicated and unknown to me, suffice to say that this was an overly dramatic attempt on Brent's life. He and Allan were fighting in melee with a group of pirates, I believe it was a contest of some sort. I also believe that Allan was only a target of opportunity for this pirate captain.

You asked before about using my sword, on that day I leaped from an airborne craft into a melee and killed several people with it. I did so to save my friends, and regardless of my presence those people had already accepted death as a possibility. Several of them made the correct choice to flee. Those that were brave or foolish enough not to, had only themselves to blame.

That situation, having collapsed for this pirate troublemaker, eventually came back under some kind of control. Though it was less simple than I am going to describe, I do not think it is the time to explain that part of this story. The pirate was defeated, Allan and Brent were safe.

This does not represent the plans of our group going well, quite the opposite. Victory was barely snatched from the jaws of defeat. The pirate had some inkling of Brent's plans, but this was only an excuse for rivalry to him. Captain Wald was a worthy adversary to those seeking glory, and poor at making decisions.

This is the pirate that Brent bought my contract from, their rivalry predates me meeting either of them. His crew was not an entirely unpleasant one to work amongst, though he could not really afford my services. At the time I believed that my reputation as a bounty hunter could be spread about the Kumo-Crew nicely, should I be able to complete this impossible contract for one of the lesser captains.

There was no love for someone like me in the old Federation, should I have been lucky I might have found a place with just passing tolerance. When I was younger I traveled to the rim-ward fringe of Federal space and met the kind of Imperials who would be willing to do more than tolerate my presence. I hold no ill will to either peoples, too many years have passed for that to be sensible. I simply could not live those ways.

The first person to 'chat me up' was a pirate, a Kumo-Crew hopeful in an underground dive for the same reason as I was; to meet someone less hopeful. I had been propositioned in what I thought to be every possible manner in the galaxy. All of them a mask to an ulterior motive.

“Woah baby, do you wanna fuck?” He was crude and drunk, but it was the first time a man had been so honest with what he wanted from me.

“I am here looking for contracts, bounty.” I politely declined.

“Shit, me too. You might have better luck, but I dunno.” He shrugged and pointed drunkenly at me then himself. “You are hot, I'm gonna sit right here in case you change your mind.” It was also the first time a man had been so open to my choice on the matter.

He was enthusiastic, but perhaps too much so. He also asked if I had found any bounties where he hadn't. This question came to him some time afterwards, I lied and told him I hadn't. He told me he thought that was unfortunate, and named a few people to be worthy of derogatory titles. Then he thanked me and left.

I do not wish to paint the Kumo-Crew as some secretly progressive wonder-society. They were, and are far from this. I only wish to explain how I found myself working among them: I can only describe what passed for acceptance of me, as being comparatively more benign than elsewhere. The Federal Navy certainly had no intentions of paying me to hunt people for them. At the time it was simple to behold, and extremely lucrative. Obviously there were times when I was being payed to do things that I would have rather not.

I was able to tell myself that if anyone was truly not worthy of what was coming to them, then they would be able to put up the kind of credits my services cost, or their enemies would not. This is why a bounty hunter who specializes in extraction is so valued, I told myself. This high price was a limiting factor that weeded out the instances where people did not somehow deserve their fate.

Then I became tasked by an idiot with hunting down a hero. Like many others, I had heard of Captain Wald's exploits. I assumed it to be exaggeration, like most. I observed his operations on a planet long enough to predict his movements and arrive somewhere he was going before him, usually from there my size is enough to derive a surrender.

Instead I was met with an excited man drawing a sword with a flourish and exclaiming that the situation was 'Just like the Holo-Shows'. I was impressed with his tenacity, at the time I was actually worried that I would be forced to shoot him. Brent Iovianus-Wald is a man without fear, I have rarely seen others like him, and never seen someone who uses this trait so tacitly.

His friend Allan crashed his vessel nearby and emerged with an un-readied plasma rifle and a broken ankle to make what I can only describe as the single most pathetic display I have ever heard someone willing to call an attempt at help. It was inspiring, until he did this I would have killed Brent if I thought I had to. But, I could not kill the man whose friend was this willing to die so pointlessly for him.

This decision became a complication when I was tasked with killing Brent Wald upon completion of my contract to bring him to the pirate, alive. Though this was yet another instance of this pirate showing his ineptitude, it would have been bad business to decline. I found myself in a strange position of needing to speak with someone about the situation, and though I had developed a rapport with one or two of the pirate-crew, I was not going to discuss this with them.

I spoke with Allan, I cannot say our conversation truly changed the situation but it felt good to speak with him. Before I knew it, I wanted my bounty to live and enjoyed spending time with his wing-mate. The situation was poised to become embarrassing when this pirate revealed to me that he would not be able to pay all at once, I immediately planned to refrain from killing Brent for as long as this allowed.

Fortunately for us all, Brent overheard this discussion. As I've mentioned this pirate had some gaps in his expertise. This is when my contract was bought out, settling the pirate's debts with me, and securing my services for Captain Wald.

I have told it somewhat out of order, and this is as shortened a version as I am capable of, but that is what happened after the race. I realize that I have also explained much of what happened before it as well, I believe this to be relevant. Perhaps the time will be right someday to fill in the most egregious missing parts, though this is mostly Tina's decision to make. I hope this is enough.

Chapter Thirty

It was either later in the day or sometime the next one, Valence needed to ask about her. I can't blame her for that. We were in the hotel room after dinner.

“You said you were married?” Valence asked me while we lay together in the bed.

“I did.” I felt like I was admitting to a crime.

“You don't have to tell me anything, if you don't want.” Valence was ready to retreat from the subject she brought up.

“You want to know though, ask me.” I encouraged her, before I lost my nerve.

“What was her name?” Valence asked a very important question.

I told Valence, but I'm not telling you.

“How did you two meet?” She asked another good one.

“She worked at an office that I did some grounds-keeping at. We cracked jokes on her lunch break sometimes.” My reply was quiet.

“When did you decide to get married?” Valence would be good at my job.

“We lived on Wingqvist Enterprise, there was a siege in Thirty-Three-Oh-One.” My answer meant more to her and I, than to Valence.

“After it ended, the two of you got together?” She asked for clarification.

“It never ended.” She tilted her head at me a little. “We got married and adopted him without looking back.”

“Were, his birth parents...?” Valence inhaled sharply instead of finishing her question.

“Yeah, in the siege.” I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment.

“Oh...” She nodded back. “You said something about a plan, what did-”

“Life insurance policy.” I explained our plan as succinctly and objectively as I could.

“Oh.” Valence looked away for a moment.

“Our marriage wasn't loveless by any means, but both of us were practical people.” My explanation gave some context and humanity.

“I'm sorry Pete, it wasn't fair how I've treated you.” She turned back and looked at me.

“You didn't know, I didn't know. You've already apologized.” I smiled at her.

“Did you want to head back to my ship tonight, maybe watch some more Captain DuHart?” Valence asked, a little seductively.

“Sure, sounds good.” I watched her pull a baggy sweater over her flight-suit. “You should wear that blue jacket more often.”

“What, why?” She thought I might have been joking.

“It suits you.” I explained.

“I'd make you look even blander though.” She deflected.

“No, I'm the sidekick.” Smiling, I let her know. “I'm supposed to look bland next to you.”

“Oh, come on Pete.” She chuckled at me. “You're not my sidekick.”

“Why not?” My question was sly.

“I'm not cool enough to have a sidekick.” Valence waved her hand.

“You would be, if you dressed the part.” My tone became an iota more serious.

“Shut up.” She started laughing.

We walked to the end of main street and through the grove planted at that end of town. This was the long way to her ship, but we didn't care. The cloud was turning pink as mid-day settled in.

“My name's Valentina.” She admitted it like it was a crime.

“That's a pretty name.” I replied openly.

“It's where Auntie-Shay gets Tina from.” She added quietly.

“Fits with Valence too.” I pointed out.

“Yeah, I've had a lot of input on my Call-sign.” She muttered, embarrassed.

“Can I keep calling you Valence?” I'd gotten used to it.

“That's fine, perfectly fine.” She had too.

“Still worried I'd bug out, if you told me your last name?” I joked.

“I know you would.” She took my hand, but didn't look at me. “I really don't want you to think I'm worth grilling with questions.”

“Are you?” I smirked and fought a laugh.

“No, but you'd think I was.” She sighed. “I guess that's still better than trying to date me for political favors.”

“Stop trying to make me curious, you are awful at secrets.” Her hand was still in mine, I waved it around indignantly. “Are we going to get going? You said we're nearly done this arc.”

“Yeah, there's the rest of series three, then series four.” Valence answered excitedly and directed us toward her ship.

The first half of the season was quiet, DuHart was being given assignments that befell the consular status of the INV Queentia Iactura. Her crew and her were vastly overqualified for the tasks they had to do, but this seemed not to bother her. The Admiral she reported to was becoming more and more reluctant to take her reports live, but this too seemed not to bother her.

Finally, Stephanie's tactical officer had been transferred away from her. They gave him command of his own small vessel, and replaced him with a stern officer who reported directly to that Admiral. Stephanie did seem to mind this, but convinced herself that it would be best in the long run, this way.

Stephanie spent a lot of time making justifications to herself, while her girlfriend sat with her. DuHart's Pallaca was making every outward effort not to let Stephanie know that she minded how her lover was being treated by the fleet. She was doing a good job of it too.

Halfway through the series, while on an assignment to provide personnel at a small meeting of dignitaries. DuHart happened to be present on the surface, taking a lonely walk to clear her mind. When a robbery occurred nearby. She was able to stop the thief. While this was of incredibly little importance to her assignment, it became all she could speak about with her girlfriend that night.

Stephanie became aware something was wrong when her excitement brought tears to her lover's eyes.

“What's the matter?” DuHart's excitement was gone, leaving only concern.

“No, it's nothing I'm sorry.” Her love replied, trying to wipe her face.

“Don't apologize for crying.” Stephanie looked into her eyes. “Ever. Please, tell me what's wrong.”

“You're happy, I want you to keep being that way.” Stephanie's Pallaca sobbed her reply.

“What do you mean? Why wouldn't I stay happy?” DuHart all-but begged for an answer.

“You were miserable before you caught that thief.” Her lover's answer cut her, it showed on DuHart's face.

“What makes you say that?” Stephanie looked away, and wrapped one of her hands around her other arm.

“Don't.” They were too close for either of them to be convinced by that.

“Maybe this isn't glorious, but assignments like this are safe.” Stephanie sighed.

“I won't fault you for that, just...” Her Pallaca sighed too. “Be true to who you are.”

Captain DuHart did her best with what the fleet gave her for the rest of the season. The Admiral at least pretending to be on her side of the trust struggle. Little was changing for the first few episodes of the next season, despite the Captain's efforts to re-prove her worth. DuHart was beginning to show hints of her disenfranchisement when she did speak with the Admiral. Her Pallaca was having trouble hiding her worry, and they were becoming very slightly distant. It wasn't how far apart they had become, it was that it had happened at all; they both knew it.

With only a handful of episodes left in the season, the Admiral offered to meet with Captain DuHart in person, he happened to be nearby. She agreed, they both thought this could improve her feeling towards the fleet. He chose to meet her in her quarters when he arrived aboard, rather than the ready room as she requested.

“It's good to see you.” He said to DuHart as she entered her room, he sounded sincere.

“Agreed.” She smiled at him, but looked around the room subtly.

“I know this is a step back in your career, and I know that hurts Stephanie. But it is only temporary.” The Admiral explained to her.

“Can I speak frankly, Admiral?” Captain DuHart asked.

“With me, always.” He replied.

“What career do I have left?” Stephanie DuHart asked.

“There is a time for us all, where it seems that the Imperial Navy can only take and take.” The man under that uniform replied. “But we are the Imperial Navy. It cannot take from us, we are a part of it.”

DuHart shook her head, almost imperceptibly. He noticed.

“Sacrifice is rewarded, in due time. Honor and Trust are hard to build, because they are strong.” The Admiral explained.

“I hope so.” DuHart sighed. “But this is reassuring to hear. Thank you.”

They saluted each-other and he left. DuHart Immediately began looking around her quarters, worry on her face. The absence of her girlfriend was something pertinent to her. She eventually found her Pallaca in a closet, huddled on the floor.

“You don't have to hide, everything is fine. You know you're safe here.” DuHart wrapped her arms around her shaking girlfriend, trying to calm her down.

“I wasn't safe Stephanie, I wasn't.” Tears streamed down her face, a droplet hung from her nose. “That was Him.” She sobbed.

DuHart held her weeping girlfriend at arm's length and looked her over, Stephanie's expression sliding from shock to understanding. She pulled her close and held her as tightly as she could. Stephanie closed her eyes as she let her lover cry into her shoulder.

“Tactical team to hab-ring, sector Alpha. Detain the Admiral.” Captain DuHart said through her teeth into a device in her hand, as the episode ended.

The next episode was queued up, but I had to use the washroom. Valence was too excited about what was coming, to let that stand.

“Hurry up, the next episode is awesome.” She implored, banging on the door.

“I am hurrying.” I called back.

“The opening fight scene is great, and DuHart gives The Mutiny Speech in this one.” Valence almost whined.

“Don't just tell me about the episode, I can't pee any faster.” I whined back.

“And the duel only starts in this one.” Valence was getting insistent.

“Oh by gods, I'm almost done.” Fighting laughter, I replied.

“What the fuck?” Valence asked herself, clearly walking away from the door.

“What?” I called, getting no reply.

I finished and washed my hands before scurrying out into the cabin, then the cockpit, to find Valence examining her Comms panel.

“What's going on?” I asked her, she was glaring at the hologram before her.

“I don't know, this guy just swooped in hard, and sent a message not to panic.” She shook her head. “C'mon, I think we should get back to the hotel.”

Chapter Thirty One

There were only a few people in the bar, Shay was manning it and in the midst of an angry exchange with the Commander who had just arrived.

“We have rules here, you are lucky you were quick to put it away.” Shay had been stooped over the bar aggressively.

“I'm sorry Ma'am, I got a distress call and thought the worst. I can see you've got it all handled here.” He was still snapping his holster closed.

“What sort of distress call?” She asked the Commander.

“Must have been a prank call. Something about an officer down.” The pearl of his flight-suit implied whose officer.

Valence and I took a seat in one of the booths, she was relieved that everything was under control. But I noticed that Valence kept her visor closed.

“You represent law enforcement?” Shay squinted at him as she asked, he clearly did.

“Oh not really Ma'am, just trying to stay in the good-guys' good-books.” But was uninterested in admitting it anymore.

“The last Imperial officer to visit left unharmed and under his own power, though I suspect he was not pleased with me.” Shay put it out into the open, she's not a fan of working around secrets.

“Haven't heard anything about that. Sorry again, I'm gonna sweep around with my sensors before I leave, for the records. But I'm done here.” The Commander didn't seem as interested in having a part in this, once he got an idea of it.

“No you aren't.” A woman with fiery eyes and long blonde hair said as she stepped out of the kitchen.

She was wearing a white flight-suit, cleaner and brighter than the one the wannabe cop had on. But her left arm had shiny black weave tracing down from her shoulder. Valence slid a little deeper into the seat. The fur on the back of Shay's neck and shoulders stood on end.

“You?!” The shocked Commander said as he stepped backwards towards the door.

“Me.” The woman replied as she produced a handgun and leveled it at him.

“No, not here.” Shay mumbled. “No guns inside.” She added, louder.

“Oh, you want it to be fair Shay? Okay.” An evil grin spread across the woman's face. “Point your gun at me, she wants it to be fair when you die.” She added to the man in front of her, less jovially.

A strange series of events occurred. First he hesitated, so the woman put a warning shot through the window behind him. He reacted by drawing his weapon and holding it out in front of himself defensively, he was still backpedaling only with more hesitation. Shay reacted by ripping the sword off of the wall behind her and slashing it through the air at the woman. I thought I saw blood, blinked until I realized that the Moreau had halted her strike at the instant of contact with the woman's throat.

“Is that how it is, now?” The woman asked conversationally, she hadn't flinched.

“No guns inside. There are rules.” Shay explained, a fleeting hint of desperation in her voice.

“Exceptions must be made, Shay.” She tried to push past the blade, aiming her pistol.

I'm told the blue fluid comes from inside the flight-suit, it scabs over to seal the suit against vacuum. A thin streak of it ran down Shay's sword and the woman stopped pressing her throat against the blade.

“I cannot make exceptions like that.” Shay said, quietly.

“Not even for me?” The woman asked, bemused.

“Especially for you.” Shay sounded like she was begging the woman.

“I don't want to know.” The Commander had finally shuffled into the doorway and turned to run.

The woman loosed another round, hitting the frame of the door a few centimeters from the now escaping man. The pressure from the blade to her neck was stoically maintained.

“I missed.” She quipped maniacally.

“I know.” Shay hadn't broken eye contact with the woman. “This is why you are alive.”

“I know, I was testing you.” She palmed the edge of Shay's sword and spun out from under it.

The woman took a twirling step away from Shay, the left arm of her flight-suit was sliced in several places. More of the blue sealant flew through the air, as did a tiny shower of sparks. A cybernetic forelimb was revealed as the shreds of suit fell away. Shay halfway stepped onto the bar and moved to block with her sword, but was stopped dead by the muzzle of the woman's gun.

“Good to know.” She only held the pistol over Shay for a moment, before pointing it at the ceiling. “What side you're on.” She started walking backwards towards the door.

“No, no. You are wrong.” The woman laughed at Shay.

“Am I?” She laughed again, Shay dropped her sword and recoiled from her. “He'll be ready for me by now, you're not going to help?”

“Please, don't do this.” Shay said quietly, her ears and shoulders falling.

“Well, it was lovely catching up. We'll have to do it again sometime.” Her second sentence was delivered deadpan, while the first was bubbly.

“No, no no.” Shay repeated quietly as the woman stepped backwards out of the bar.

The frame was spattered with a burst from a slug-thrower, barely missing her. She was running across the street and returning fire, judging from the sound of it. A few iridescent bursts shone through the frosted windows, laser-fire. That Commander had brought a few friends.

It didn't last more than a couple of moments, ending with a couple of stand-alone reports that cut off cries of pain. I would have heard the woman walking out of town, if Shay hadn't snatched up the sword and slammed it back onto the wall. She dislodged a couple of empty glasses and picture frames.

She bent over and started picking them up, muttering quietly. She put the first frame back in place and then tried with another, tipping the first one over in the process.

“Shit, stupid.” Shay sputtered, failing to fight a sob.

“Momma-Shay it's alright.” Steve came jogging towards the bar from the front desk. “I can get this, go take a seat.”

“Thank you, Steve.” Shay mumbled as she stood up, wiped her face with her hands, and grabbed a bottle from the bar. Before heading towards our table.

Shay sat down beside Valence, where Valence had been sitting, she had slid under the table at some point. Shay opened the liquor and began to drink it thirstily.

“Is-is... she- is-” Valence was terrified, I leaned under the table and looked at her, she still had her visor up.

“Yes, your mother has gone.” Shay answered, whistling slightly when she pronounced an S.

Valence banged her head on the underside of the table scrambling to get out from under it. Her visor slid away and she gave Shay an accusatory glare. Then Valence shot me a fleeting look of worry.

“Your mom's a little intense, Valence. I can see why you didn't mention her.” I held out my hand, Valence almost put hers into it.

Shay sputtered, trying desperately not to laugh before containing herself. Then she gave Valence an apologetic look.

“This is not appropriate.” She tried to scold me, while still snickering.

“It's okay.” Valence said into the table, folding her arms in front of her. “I guess that's the awkward part done with then, right Pete?”

“I'd still need to meet your dad.” My words were met with a desperate glance from Valence.

“You already did.” She said as she looked back down at the table.

“Wait, your dad is Admiral Wald?” It was obvious with hindsight, but at the time I wasn't looking.

“Iovianus-Wald, Valentina. Daughter of Quintina and Brent. No, my dad never bothered with a call-sign Yes, I mean Commander Quinn.” She rattled off as she let her head fall onto her arms on the table.

“You were damn right not to tell me that. You have no clue why she's like that do you?” I leaned away from the table and let my head hang over the back of the seat.

“Not one.” She sounded ready to cry.

“That's fine. You don't need to.” I leaned over and put my arm around her. “Thanks for introducing me to your dad, he seems cool.”

“He does his best.” She said and took a steadying breath.

“Brent has been through a lot. But as I assume you can imagine Pete, fatherhood is something that he is forced to split his time on.” Shay said, gently sliding her finger down Valence's cheek.

I looked up at her and nodded. She took another swig from her bottle.

“Quintina was the slave he was attempting to free, Twenty-Eight years ago.” Shay finished what was left of the bottle in one gulp and looked at us. “I will require another, if I am to tell this story. You may wish to avoid it Tina.”

“Another one? Auntie-Shay, you're supposed to be cutting back.” Valence dodged the implied question, she wanted to stay.

“Tonight, I have more pressing concerns than the longevity of my third liver.” Shay turned to me. “Pete, you have explained to Brent about your writings?”

“Yes, of course.” I answered.

“After which, he sent you here?” Aunt-Shay added another question.

“Well to Colonia... But yeah, basically.” My explanation took a moment of thought.

“Then I believe he desires that I tell you this story. I know why Commander Quinn has become this way.” Shay stood up and headed towards the bar. Leaving the pair of us at the table for a moment.

“You okay?” Valence wasn't crying, but she didn't look like she felt very well.

“I'll be fine, I'm... Mom told me my uncle was murdered.” She steeled herself as she told me.

“By who?” I wanted to hold her hand, but she was wringing them in her lap.

“Either a demon or the Imperial war machine, depending on her mood.” Valence answered sullenly.

“Did you know that Shay knew what happened?” She sighed before answering me.

“No, but I think she was right to wait.” She sighed after as well.

Shay returned to the table, carrying another bottle and a stern expression. She sat down and took a deep breath before pulling the cork. Valence Slapped Shay's arm lightly to interrupt her attack on the bottle.

“Gimme some.” Valence took the bottle from Shay, and a long draw from it. “Alright, tell me why my mom's crazy.”

“You never met your uncle, he was killed nearly thirty years ago.” Shay took the bottle back. “He was an accountant, and he thought that he could do good by releasing information he had found.”

“Information about the Operarii trade?” Shay nodded to answer me. “That explains why the Kumo-Crew was upset with Captain Wald.”

“He did not want money in exchange for this information, he only wanted freedom for a single Imperial Slave.” Shay turned to Valence, who was a little uncomfortable looking. “Your mother.”

“It was them who won the race wasn't it?” Shay nodded again. Last minute entry, no name given, crew of two. They'd won by a huge margin, I think I remember that space-trucker saying he knew them.

“Quintina's brother was killed only a few hours after that.” Shay took another drink from the bottle. “A rogue Inquisitor intervened on the planet Brent and Allan were taken too.”

“The Empire killed my uncle?” Valence wondered aloud.

“No Tina, a monster wearing human skin killed him.” Shay took a breath, and another swig. “The Empire only made the foolish mistake of furbishing that monster with a badge.”

“What happened Auntie?” Valence beat me to asking.

“The Inquisitor was named Eloise Guy-Faustine, she followed us there because I fascinated her.” An ominous venom flooded Shay's voice.

“She wanted to, see you?” Shay responded to her niece's question with a long blink.

“The Inquisitor had a fetishistic urge to fight me.” Shay shuddered. “I was stupid, and thought there was a person behind her eyes, I allowed too much leash.”

“Making mistakes doesn't mean you're stupid, that's how you get smart.” I said, Shay smiled thinly into her bottle, Valence gave her a hug.

“It was my fault that he found himself forced into that position, but he died to save my life.” Aunt-Shay admitted, like she was a criminal.

“It wasn't your fault, don't say that Auntie.” Valence Implored her aunt.

“Thank you Tina, but it is my fault.” Shay sighed, Valence tightened her grip on her.

“So Commander Quinn never got over her brother being killed?” I asked after a minute.

“The situation is more complex than that.” Shay Shook her head. “She seemed to be coping well for years.”

“Hold on. You're you, and Commander Quinn seemed a capable woman, why haven't either of you gone after this Inquisitor Eloise?” I probed carefully. “It might help give her some closure.”

“Eloise Guy-Faustine has been dead for nine years.” Shay said quietly.

“Oh. Oh, mom...” Valence mumbled to herself. “That's why she left isn't it?”

“She came to me for help, I hadn't seen her since you were Eight in Thirty-Three-Sixteen.” Shay said quietly, through her teeth.

“When she left me with you.” Valence muttered.

“It turned out, she had been looking for, and found the Inquisitor.” Shay spat the words.

Chapter Thirty Two

At the time I was living in Colonia proper, working security at Colonia Dream. Valence was still busy earning the title of Commander. It was my day off and I was not expecting visitors. Yet there was someone buzzing my room.

“I need your help Shay.” Quintina told me unceremoniously as the door slid open.

“Your arm!” There were many questions I had for her, but they were put aside when I saw that her left arm had been amputated, recently.

“It's nothing, I need your help.” Her flight-suit had sealed around the stump, that was good but meant she had not yet received first aid.

“Goodness, of course I'll help you. Please come to med-bay” For reasons I cannot fathom, the Pilots Federation attracts people who like to refuse proper medical care.

She was prepared to have them clean her up and leave immediately. I needed to talk her into allowing them to fit a cybernetic. She had stumbled onto a lead, and needed my help to track down the Inquisitor.

She had just lost her arm to her first attempt to do so. I do not know why she didn't come to me first. The Inquisitor was traipsing about the ruins of the Federation, hunting former Naval personnel for sport.

In terms less tacit than this, I was told that the Protectorate could not spare any assets to find Eloise in a reasonable time-frame I feel no need to verify this with him, but I believe that this surmises the disagreement that caused Quintina to leave Brent. The journey back to the Bubble in Quintina's Adder was both cramped and awkward.

Eloise Guy-Faustine was clearly working with a disregard for being followed. She was easy to find by her trail of destruction. We found her on a bombed out, formerly industrial, outdoor world. She was returning to her vessel after her most recent kill.

Quintina and I were hiding behind some nearby rubble. A commander stepped out from the vessel to meet Eloise at the bottom of the ramp. Quintina leaped over our cover with her handgun ready.

“Hands where I can see them!” Quintina hadn't given me enough warning.

“Are you going to shoot Us?” The Inquisitor liked to wear a suit of power armor, the incredulous tone of her voice was well founded.

“I'll shoot him.” Commander Quinn shifted her aim slightly, and her threat became real.

The Inquisitor slowly raised her hands, and began to glower at Quintina. Her compatriot had put his hands up the moment they had first been ordered to.

“You get closer then.” The Inquisitor's dare was enticing to her. “Try and take your prize, Scavver scum.”

“You don't remember me?” Quintina began to draw nearer to the Inquisitor.

“Should I?” Eloise's arms began to slip lower.

I jumped over the rubble and put myself between Quintina and that monster. I'm sure Pete will edit this so I ask her if she did, but I did not need to say anything. The Inquisitor remembered who I was. She made an attempt to speak, and possibly move, but she had already received more than her fair share of chances from me.

I grabbed both of her biceps so she could not move her arms, then I carefully stepped down onto each of her knees in turn to break her legs again. Once this was complete I twisted each of her arms until I heard a bone break, then I threw her on the ground. Commander Quinn thanked me.

The man who was with her fell to his knees and started to beg for her life. The Inquisitor was smiling where she had landed.

“You'll be fine, the Monstrum only wants me.” She stifled a laugh, barely having to ignore the pain.

“He'll be fine?” Quintina asked quietly. I did not yet understand what was happening, but it was at this moment that the situation left my control.

She grabbed the man and dragged him past me to where the Inquisitor lay broken. Pulling him into Eloise's view by the back of his collar. Commander Quinn put her gun to his head.

“Tell him again how he'll be fine.” Quintina's lips were twitching.

“She's bluffing, amica mea. She'll ask a question next.” Eloise reassured the trembling Commander.

“Do you know who I am?” Quintina slowly asked this question as it dawned on her, that the Inquisitor truly did not.

“The Monstrum's crepundia?” Eloise gave her reply with a hint of mirth.

I too thought Quintina was bluffing. The smile stuck to the Inquisitor's face like the man's brains, but something shifted behind her eyes.

“Now do you remember me?” Quinn received no response. “Terrentius Iovanius?! Tu occidit fratrem meum!”

“Oh.” The Inquisitor's smile faltered, but only barely. “Okay.”

“That's it?” Quinn cast the corpse in her grasp aside.

“Utquomque.” Eloise shrugged, as best as she was able.

“Quintina, just... Get it over with.” I implored her, we were now past the point of no return. I was clinging to the hope that my friend could still flush whatever had come over her, out of her system.

“If you wouldn't mind.” Eloise agreed with me, dryly. She was still grinning, but there was a desperation to her expression.

“Open her bodice.” Commander Quinn spoke under her breath.

“What?” I'd heard her, but didn't understand.

“Her... Chest-plate. Open it for me.” She clarified, a little louder but with no inflection to her voice.

“You've already put a bullet in my heart.” The Inquisitor said quietly, looking at the corpse beside her.

I gripped her right pauldron with my left hand, and wrapped the fingers of my right inside her gorget. She turned to look at me while I tore the plating. Her Clavicle was broken, if not her Scapula as well. The Inquisitor didn't show any pain on her face. Her pupils were shaking, she was laughing at me. It took less effort than I had expected to open the suit of armor, it was far from easy though. I was about to tell Commander Quinn to make it quick when her gun went off and the Inquisitor's laughter ceased.

Eloise Guy-Faustine let out an animistic cry of pain as an involuntary convulsion rolled her onto her side. Quinn had carefully placed a round into the Inquisitor's liver. The bullet would have shattered and rebounded on impact with the remaining armor against her back. Eloise began to make the sound of trying to weep with a perforated lung.

“Why?!” The word left my mouth as a shocked reaction.

“I missed.” Quinn lied to me, smiling.

“Like this? She could take hours to die like this.” I felt as though I had been misled to this place.

“I'll watch.” She crouched down beside the bleeding wheezing woman.

“That will not bring him back.” She went rigid, and took some time to reply.

“I... Know... That...” She shuddered. “I know, that.” Tears began to roll down Quintina's face.

I knelt beside her and put my arm around her. I tried to pull her away from the Inquisitor but she resisted. So I tried to comfort her there.

“He's...  He's never coming back, is he Shay?” We had both been misled there.

“He is avenged today, and this thing has been put to rest. But I'm sorry Tina, Terry cannot come back.” I thought the time was right for us to leave, I was wrong.

“Quinn! My name is Quinn!” She tried to push away from me. “Don't ever call me that!”

“Qu-Quinn. I'm sorry.” I have no idea when it became too late for Quintina to leave.

“What did you say?” She calmed so suddenly, it shocked me.

“I'm sorry.” Over time she stopped being the girl whose friend I was.

“Why would you say that?” She asked me this with bemused confusion in her voice, she had become something else.

“I wish I could bring him back, I wish I had never let him near her.” Quinn followed my gesture to the dieing monster in front of us.

“No, why would- No.” Quinn tried to stand up, I held on to her and came to my feet. “No, we couldn't- He was- If we'd, we could have- No there wasn't-” She started rambling and fighting me. Increasing in volume steadily. “We didn't, we could have- You could have- You didn't stop him!”

“I'm sorry.” She struck me in the stomach trying to get away, but I continued to try and embrace her.

“Why didn't you stop him?!” She put her hand against my ribs and pushed against my grip with all of her might.

“Please, I'm sorry.” I tried to hold on to her, I was afraid of letting her go.

“You killed him! Monstrum!” She drew her gun and put it against my sternum, I let go. She stepped backwards, away from me.

“Quintina?” I know when I say: it would have hurt less if she had shot me, and said nothing.

“You led her to him, then you let him die! Monstrum!” She shook as she shouted the accusation at me.

“Please, stop saying this.” Unspeakable things have been done in an attempt to subdue me, and nothing has ever worked. Except for when Quintina called me that.

“Will it bring him back if I do?” Her words cut deeper than any blade.

There was nothing I could say. I had done everything I knew to help her, but she still fell. I stammered a bit at the time, but before long she stowed her weapon and stormed away. I was being stranded, more or less, but this was not my principal concern. Nor was I concerned with what lay discarded alongside me. After a few minutes of consideration, I wept.

“Mater only calls you that when she's angry, Atta. She doesn't mean it.” A soft whisper came from behind me.

I turned around, startled. Eloise Guy-Faustine was crumpled with her cheek pressed into the pool of her own blood she was sitting in. She was hideously pale, her eyes were cloudy, and her breathing was shallow. A small and hesitant smile came to her parted lips.

“Subito, it's me Atta.” A shy giggle was stymied by more blood, her pupils were just pin-pricks. “She'll calm down when she sees, I'm finally home.” There was scant air left in her to speak with, but I could still make out what she was slowly trying to say. “It's cold Atta, thank you. The heat makes me so uncomfortable.”

The Bubble is covered in graves. On a forgotten ruin of a world somewhere, lies buried my friend's soul. We were supposed to be burying a demon, we fed it instead. Evil wears people like a mask, and it wears them down to nothing while it does. I do not hunt bounty anymore. It took three years to make preparations, but it was after this that I began working in earnest to build my colony. I always told myself that if Quintina ever wanted to find me, she would know where to look. I imagined different circumstances.

Chapter Thirty Three

“Gottdamnit, mom.” Valence muttered once Shay finished her story.

“You do not need to apologize for your-” Her niece didn't let her finish.

“No. I'm not.” Valence wrapped her arms back around Shay's midsection. “I can't believe she did that to my Auntie.”

“Please don't resent her for it, your mother is in pain.” Shay implored sullenly.

“I can resent my mom all I want.” Valence sniffed back a tear. “We're all in pain, that's no excuse.”

“This is first time you've seen her, since?” Shay's question trailed off, but Valence understood.

“In person? Thirty-Three-Sixteen.” Their hug ended with a nod of understanding.

“Your father?” Shay added another question.

“He wouldn't talk about it, either way.” Valence admitted.

“Pete.” Aunt-Shay turned to me suddenly. “I believe Brent is attempting to foist some responsibility onto you.”

“If he wanted me to write favorably about Commander Quinn, he's probably betting wrong.” I was ready to apologize to Valence for that, but she turned to me and nodded.

“Brent is a more tacit man than that, I suspect he wanted you to get a rounded view of what happened to her.” Shay shook her head a little. “Should you include any of this, I suspect he hopes she may see it.”

“He hopes she might see what she looks like, to us?” Valence asked.

“Maybe, but knowing him that is but one potential outcome of his plan.” Shay replied.

“A Batman Gambit?” Shay gave me a very perturbed look when I said this.

“Was this saying in Old Federation?” Her question was a little incredulous.

“I don't think so, it means-” She cut me off.

“To have a plan where all possible outcomes are varying levels of success, I know. Brent has used this description before, as has Allan.” Shay pointed an accusatory finger at me. “You are first other person I have met to know this phrase.”

“Oh, that's a Trope isn't it?” Valence had been scrunching her face, trying to remember things.

“Yeah, it is.” Shay raised one eyebrow at me, and let her ears go flat. “In fiction, the smallest definable chunks of plot are called Tropes. So the Hero's Journey is like Trope number one.”

“The what?” Shay wasn't following as well as Valence. This was newer information to her.

“You know how most adventure stories have the Hero start out not being the Hero, then something happens and at first they don't want in, but later they become convinced?” It had been some time since I had answers to the questions floating around.

“Yes, now that you mention it.” Shay was a quick learner, I suppose she would have had to be.

“Well that progression is called The Hero's Journey. In fact the thing that forces them to be involved is named The Call to Action, and the part where they hesitate is named The Refusal of The Call.” Valence looked like my explanation was half familiar to her, Shay was rapidly catching up anyway.

“Is there a generic name for every part of this generic adventure?” Shay didn't seem to even need the rest of my explanation.

“Oh yeah of course, it's meant as a teaching tool Auntie.” Valence chimed in.

“It's really good to know this stuff for analytics too.” They both looked at me and tilted their heads slightly, almost in unison. It suddenly dawned on me how honest Valence was being by calling Shay her Aunt. “Writing reviews, that sort of thing.”

“So the name for Brent's hobby comes from obscure fiction-writing circles? This should not surprise me.” Shay shook her head. “My point, is that I suspect he wants his wife to know that he still thinks of her.”

“How's he handled all of this?” The Admiral knew his way around a Batman Gambit, I just found out I was being played the whole time and it emboldened me to help.

“That question has complicated answer.” The Moreau replied slowly.

“Perfectly fine.” Valence said and let out a tiny laugh. “He says they're still together.”

“What, why?” This sounds rude written here, but her laugh was contagious. Well, not to Shay.

“He's like 'Haven't heard from your mother all year again, that's probably great news'. He told me that she never actually said goodbye, so she's not really 'gone'.” Valence's mirth calmed by her second sentence.

“That's sweet.” I admitted.

“Is he still trying to protect her from investigation?” Shay's question was less sweet.

“I don't think so. We don't really talk about that kind of stuff.” She didn't need to include 'Anymore' when she said that.

“The top brass of the Protectorate get a lot of leeway, I guess?” I wondered aloud.

“That's not true.” Valence let me know. “Just because my dad helped build it, doesn't mean he's above it.”

“How does it work then?” I had assumed that the Protectorate worked like any other Naval branch of any other interstellar government, I was wrong.

“There are Fifteen Admirals right now, they each get a vote. Their council must agree in majority with the Captains Council.” Valence rattled off her old lessons at me.

“How many Captains are on that one?” I asked an obvious question.

“All of them.” She gave me the obvious answer.

“How does the civilian government get their say in this?” I assumed she was just getting to that part.

“The Civilian Governance Bureau of the Protectorate is just administrative.” But she had dismissed it.

“Are you telling me the Alliance is a Police-State?” It was unbelievable.

“Uhm, it's called a Stratocracy.” Because I was picturing something else.

“But it's... Nice there?” My question distilled my confusion as best as possible.

“Why wouldn't it be?” Valence and I looked at each-other and failed to see eye to eye for a moment before Shay stopped being able to hide her smile.

“Pete, can you answer a question for me?” Shay leaned over.

“I can try.” She was smiling broadly but looking at me intensely.

“How many hospital beds can fit into a Farragut?” She asked, like it was a trick question.

“I think they have two primary med-bays, and four secondaries. That's probably under two hundred beds.” There had been a series of commercials about jobs in the Navy.

“That is not what I've asked. You can fit Seven-Hundred-Thousand hospital beds, with the equipment and staff to make use of them, into a Farragut.” Shay's answer was incredible.

“How would you do that?” It wouldn't be a Battle-cruiser anymore if you did that.

“You replace the gun decks, then remove the magazines.” Valence explained. “The APV Glory.”

“Does she still have the Bombardment Accelerator?” I was still having trouble wrapping my head around it.

“The Glory didn't have one of those before long before she became a hospital ship.” To someone else, it had been the only way.

“Why does a Farragut named Glory sound so damn familiar?” I had heard it's name before, I was sure.

“It was hijacked by Pirates early in Thirty-Three-Oh-Two, you might have heard.” Shay explained. That didn't sound familiar.

“Didn't that ship used to Garrison Sol?” But I was sure I had heard of it somewhere.

“I do not know.” Shay answered. Maybe they had stopped mentioning it when the pirates got involved.

“She's a Protectorate boat now, I met her Captain once.” Valence continued with a story. “She's been her Captain since the Pleiades War. Told me she put in the first vote to call the Alliance. But I think she was fibbing about that. She said that Glory had lost her Siege-Gun, shortly after she became first mate.”

“It had to have one at some point.” Shay said, a tiny smile on her lips.

“Well, she told me that the previous Captain had it removed.” Valence smirked. “She also told me that the previous Captain was the man who took Glory from the Federal Navy, but again she liked to embellish her stories.”

“Did this woman say why the weapon was removed?” I didn't ask why Shay had taken a sudden interest in the story of that ship, yet.

“She only told me that Glory's first Captain and her, didn't want their vessel cradling that kind of evil anymore.” Valence took a little glance at her own hands. “I think they used it, and I think it scared them.”

“That is a good story, I think.” The Moreau seemed extremely satisfied to hear it.

“The Glory's Captain, do you know her name? Did she tell you how she met the first one?” Some details, I asked for context.

“Captain Lucile Kane. She claimed they fell in love, and she helped commandeer the thing.” Valence said dismissively. ”When they were pirates. She went from gunner to first-mate after a while, then ended up Captain while they repelled a boarding in the Pleiades.” Valence's answer caused Shay to look away. “You know, I think she said she turned down an Admiralty too.”

“That boarding action. Was that before or after they were trying to help, out there?” My question caused Shay to look back.

“She told me Glory's first Captain knew the right thing to do as soon as they got to the nebula, that he personally met with Delaine to tell him to go to hell. Then she said that the APS Glory, as she flies now, would have made him proud.” She shook her head slightly. “I only think she was making up the first part.”

“Do you think any of this is true?” Shay asked, more fascinated than she was showing.

“I'm not sure, she also told me that his old Captain was a huge fan of my Dad's. I think she was full of shit. She was pretty drunk, probably just trying to chat me up.” Valence dismissed.

“Probably.” Shay agreed, but she was still smiling.

Chapter Thirty Four

That night insomnia took hold of Shay's Dive. The activity in the bar lasted long past the normal closing time, Valence and I watched some more Holo-Shows. Not Captain DuHart though, not that night. At some point I decided that I wanted to go for a walk, Valence declined.

“I'm gonna stay here, too cozy.” She had a well worn blanket thrown over us.

“Okay, I'll head back to the hotel, when I'm done.” I smiled at her. “In case you've fallen asleep.”

“Okay... Pete?” She looked me over for a moment.

“Yeah?” I asked in reply.

“Do things, scare you?” Valence was squinting at me.

“What kind of things?” I figured she was thinking about what I'd let slip about spectrums, and places on them.

“Anything?” She quietly demanded.

“Yeah, lots of things do.” I quietly gave her the truth.

“Like what?” She asked, less intensely.

“Being helpless, forgotten.” I replied.

“That's intense.” She let out a tiny nervous snort.

“What scares you?” I asked.

“Oh, uhm... The usual, death mostly.” She replied, dismissively.

“Death is pretty scary, that's mostly what I'm afraid of. Well, the circumstances being wrong, I guess.” I admitted.

“Yeah, dying's pretty scary too.” Valence was afraid of having a different relationship with death though.

“I meant what I said to Laertes, you know.” She squinted at me again when I said this, but only for a moment.

“That was good advice, I've told him about the same thing before.” She muttered.

“What I said about you.” She blushed in response to me. “You give yourself an awfully hard time, for what a good person you are.”

“Maybe that's how I do it...” She looked embarrassed, I leaned over under the blanket and hugged her. “Oh, Pete... Were you going for that walk?”

“I dunno, it is really cozy here.” I replied slyly.

“Well I think you should.” She pushed me out from under the blanket with her feet. “You need some exercise.”

“Were we getting to intimate for you or something?” I faux complained, she had a point.

“Oh you've got me all wrong Pete, but you need to get in shape so I can stop holding back.” She knows how to motivate me.

My walk took me through the grove closest to Valence's ship, then up main street. I considered visiting the bar as I walked past it, but decided otherwise. I could hear a repetitious thwacking sound, and I wanted to investigate. It was coming from one of the less decorative, newer tree plantings.

I found Shay felling trees with an ax, she had already taken down several. I had seen the little machine they used to process the wood, it drove right up and cut down the tree for you. She was meticulously shaving the foliage away and dividing the trunks into logs, by hand.

“Where did you even get an ax that big?” I asked as I got a little closer.

“I believe this was meant to be a battle-ax. I took it from a trouble-making visitor some time last year.” She leaned it against her log-pile and sat on the ground. “I am just using this as excuse to get some exercise, I have been falling behind.”

“Yeah, exercise.” I chuckled. “That's why I'm out taking a walk.”

“Pete, today was unexpectable.” Aunt-Shay admitted, sighing.

“That's an understatement.” I nodded along with her.

“You said you thought you'd heard that the Glory was stationed in Sol?” She asked, suddenly allowing for her curiosity.

“I think it was, I can ask Torr when I'm back on Valence's ship.” I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb, vaguely.

“Is that... The computer?” I nodded to answer her question. “Hold on.”

Shay pulled an old style P.A.D. similar to mine out of her pocket and flitted at the screen for a second. Then after a few more had passed she nodded at it and put it away.

“I've asked Tina to ask her ship, it has confirmed this.” Shay lifted her eyebrows and ears slightly for a moment. “There is an undeniable practicality to that device.”

“He sure knows his way around research.” I quipped.

“'He'?” She squinted at me a little.

“Torr might be a computer, but I have no doubt in my mind that he's a computer who gets to be called “He' if he wants.” I told her.

“Fair enough.” She shrugged. “But I did not receive such an impression the last time I was on-board Tina's vessel.”

“What impression did you get?” I asked Shay.

“A decade or two ago, the voices for ships could only say a set of pre-determined lines, only the most expensive could receive spoken commands. Those too needed to be quite specific.” She looked at me. “Tina's ship is superior to this, at the least. Nonetheless, I found conversing with it to be... Uncanny.”

“I was with you on that until I asked him for his opinion on something.” Her ears turned when I said it, I'd intrigued her. “It's like, talking to someone with a holographic-memory, while they run everything you're saying through Galnet?”

“Your metaphor is quite good.” I didn't feel like being pedantic so I let Shay continue. “I suspect speaking with anyone who was in such circumstances, might feel slightly uncanny.”

“His memory is better than a computer's, he can think faster than I can navigate a menu on my P.A.D.” I chuckled, remembering. “He just casually rattled off the catalog number for the system where Valence was born.”

“Why was that necessary?” Shay was suddenly confused. “I have submitted my paperwork with Universal Cartographics some time ago.”

“She... Just mentioned that she couldn't remember it.” Now I was confused.

Shay made a strange face, I think she was a little upset with her niece.

“Would you give me a moment, thank you.” Shay said as she pulled her P.A.D. back out of her pocket.

“What's going on?” I quietly asked Shay after a few minutes of of her squinting at the device in her hands and firing off messages with it.

“I am questioning my niece as to how true it is that she has forgotten where she was born.” Shay muttered.

“Oh gods, I didn't say something I shouldn't have, did I?” Please, no more fighting with Valence.

“No, no.” She sent a final message, as a smile spread on her lips. “My niece is many things, but attentive is not always one of them.”

“Can I be filled in?” Shay rolled her eyes jokingly at me when I asked this.

“Maybe...” She chuckled. “I told her that I was selecting this system when I set out to build this place, I did not realize she had forgotten the catalog entry when I did so.” Shay explained.

“Valence was born here?” Shay nodded. “Well 'Shay's Dive' is way easier to remember.”

“Ha! I am going to tell Tina this.” Shay said, then did so with her P.A.D. before pocketing it again.

“You still think it's creepy to know Torr's name?” I mostly joked.

“Creepy is perhaps too strong a word, and you are exaggerating.” Shay shook her head. “I just worry about Tina, that is all.”

“You know, Torr also worries about her.” She laughed at that. “Would it be rude of me to guess why you care so much about that Farragut?”

“Probably not, go ahead.” She gestured at me.

“You recognized the name too, didn't you?” I asked, she closed her eyes for a moment.

“Yes, the pirate whose rivalry with Brent brought him to contract me, Captained The Glory. Though he did not call it that at the time.” Shay explained solemnly.

“What did he call it?” For completeness.

“Kraken.” Shay very slightly rolled her eyes as she answered.

“How, original.” We shared sarcastic smiles.

“Brent convinced him to change it back, for good luck, I believe.” She continued to explain, a little less solemnly though.

“I thought you said they were enemies?” I asked, for clarification.

“I never found myself able to define their relationship.” Shay sighed. “After the Inquisitor arrived, and wrought havoc on both his and our own plans, the pair of them seemed to just... Stop.”

“What do you mean?” She thought about my question for a moment.

“I was ready to kill him, considered myself at the very least contractually obligated to do so. Brent payed for his drinks... to apologize for... Winning?” She shook her head. “I still do not understand.”

“Well, I still have one more question about that ship though.” I let her know.

“What is it?” Shay's curiosity was piqued.

“Why were you so happy to hear about it again?” I asked.

“It was not that I was hearing about it, it was what I heard.” She looked at the cloud for a moment. “I never trusted Wald's faith in that man. I am so very happy to be proven wrong.”

“You didn't think he'd ever be able to accomplish something like that?” She treated it like a question, but I was more coming to the conclusion aloud.

“Something like it? Yes.” Shay looked at the ground for a moment. “I just thought he would accomplish something terrible... I thought that a person like that couldn't change.”

“But Wald thought he could?” She smiled very slightly when I asked this.

“Wald knew it. He never stopped speaking of him as a close friend, even when Brent was paying me for protection from him.” Shay spoke quietly, still a little awed, I think.

“They way he acts, about his wife.” I realized out loud.

“Yes.” Shay sighed and looked at me. “It took quite some time for me to be proven wrong about my old employer. Unfortunately I do not believe as much time is available for my friend.”

“What do you mean?” I was confused by how severe her tone had become.

“I have no idea how Quinn would have reacted to discovering Tina here.” Shay Shuddered a little. “Brent refused to allow her to take Tina along on many occasions. She never seemed to feel comfortable with how much time her daughter was spending with other adults.”

“You mean, her friends?” Shay nodded. “Well, where was she?”

“Evidently, moonlighting as a mercenary.” Aunt-Shay shook her head.

“Fuck me, that's bullshit.” I said.

“Your anger with how Quintina acts as a mother is not unfounded, this is the root of my concern.” Shay quietly explained to her feet.

“Oh.” She turned to me and I put a hand on her shoulder, well I got her bicep by reaching. “You don't want to have to get between them?”

“I already am, if Quinn tries to do anything to Tina...” Shay looked back at the ground. “We should not speak of this.”

I did my best to give her a reassuring hug, Valence made it look easy. Shay put her hand on my head after a moment.

“Thank you Pete.” Shay smiled. “I am glad to see my size is no longer so frightening to you.”

“You're only scary when you want to be.” Her hand slid to my shoulder and pulled me a little closer. “Besides, you didn't give me a choice.”

“That was the idea. Or you would cry, which would have been amusing.” She snickered a little.

“Ha, do you lay it on that thick for everybody you meet?” I asked.

“No.” She gave my shoulder a final little squeeze. “Just family.”

Chapter Thirty Five

You'll know when you see it, an interesting phrase. I didn't, as it turns out. While I was writing this later, I was thinking about when I knew it happened and I realized it then, but at the time it wasn't a revelation or anything. I don't even remember exactly when it was, sometime around here in the timeline of events though.

“So what brought you down to the Dive, anyway?” Darryl asked me, either in the restaurant or bar.

“I was headed out to Colonia, got sidetracked a little bit.” I told him, mostly as a joke.

Steve was passing behind me with some dishes in one hand when I said it, he did something that set off a tiny little social chain reaction. It started with him giving me a little reassuring slap on the back with his free hand.

“Hey, me too.” Steve's casual affirmation was only the first.

There were only five or six other people in the bar. The Yates' were there, as was Errol. I know the others' names, but that came after this story ends. In what has to be loosely described as unison, they all threw in agreements of their own.

“I told a sorry excuse for a freighter captain to go eat a singularity.” Betty Anne added from behind the counter with a broad smile.

“Cool.” Chuckling, I replied. At the time It didn't seem like such a big deal.

That's the moment Shay's Dive became Home. Later that day, for what I called some strange reason, I went to Edd the Forestry Equipment Specialist. He prefers when people say that, it's a scooter with a chainsaw attached to it. The point I'm getting at, is that I spent the rest of the day getting a proper lesson on how to drive it. He'd offered to do so when I asked him a few questions about the groves, for completeness. He tried to tell me it would be hard to learn.

That scooter beeps when it backs up, it's basically a siren. I'm only now realising this, as I write. I've been driving it for a while now, that's never been a problem. It's strange how things happen.

Like this story, I never had enough notes to finish my book. It's not that they were incomplete, just not enough story there. Then I had the other pile of notes, that only pertained to my experience. I think you may already understand what I decided to do. But that brings us here, and to the strange impasse I found myself at with my notes. I had a third set, most of them were duplicated, only there to keep them sorted.

That third file is named The Raptor, it's where I was collecting information I found about my hero. It was a late addition to my notes, something I found necessary as things piled up. It originally just included a little bit of the docking logs and the words 'She was here', it took thirty years to start being more comprehensive.

She had a name she was born with, and a home where it happened. No-one would ever know them again, a decision that was made against her will. For most of her life she killed for fun, taking money more as an excuse. She lingered on a protection contract with a smuggling team for longer than she usually did. She evidently enjoyed the company of the two other Commanders. That contract eventually came to a halt, because she was unstable and drew too much attention. Commander Eidolon returned to her wandering mercenary lifestyle.

Years later, someone from that crew got desperate and called to anyone he knew for help. She happened to be nearby and decided on a whim to see what he wanted. He needed help bailing a little system named Korwei out of a little hole. Even he had no real idea why he was involved. This brings us to the next part of the story.

Not too much later, a Faulcon Delacy Anaconda came through the yellow cloud of mid-afternoon. It still had some of the factory paint clinging to parts of it. It landed between two of the groves, shortly thereafter it's crew entered town.

A tall young man in a black flight-suit was the first to enter the bar. He held the door for a round old man who walked with a cane, even though there was an assist harness on his leg. A teenage girl in a dark blue flight-suit followed him. Just shy of twenty kids streamed into the bar, The youngest looked to be just pre-teen, and the oldest was the young man in black. All of them clad in top of the line Rem-Loc suits but the old man; he was wearing an incredibly beaten-up cheap one. It might have been a Zorgon-Peterson, they made the most affordable ones, they might still.

Betty-Anne had a hot cup of coffee ready for him, then started taking orders from his clutch in tow. She obviously knew him already, but that wasn't enough to clue me in that it was him. Steve helped take the orders.

The tall one in the black suit asked me if he could share my table, I obliged. He ate most of his food before even slowing down. Once he did, he made some conversation.

“This is a pretty neat set up, down here.” The kid said.

“Yeah, it's a cool trick alright. Takes a little work though, you guys staying overnight?” He nodded at me.

“Yeah, the er, Bonfire Night?” He asked, for clarification.

“That's it, you've heard?” He obviously had, but we were making conversation.

“We rushed to get here in time, Captain thought it would be a great learning experience.” He gestured with his fork.

“Training ship?” It seemed a likely answer, but that was the first time I'd seen a child-sized flight-suit

“Yep, Vessels Operations Practical, Colonia Community College.” He answered.

“Neat. Your Captain been here before?” I wondered.

“He knows the founder.” The kid tried one of his fries, and made a surprised expression. “These are good. Says he takes his students through here more often than not.”

“All of you are college students?” I looked around. “Some young kids on your crew.”

“Oh, I'm just Ops, we're Allan's crew. And not really, no. Colonia Community just administrates the class, we're all from the R.E.C.” He spelled it out, I guess the acronym was well known in Greater Colonia.

“Another school?” I asked.

“More or less, the Ratherford Education Center.” The kid smiled at me. ”You from the Bubble?”

“Barely, newcomer here though.” I explained.

“Neat, how do you like it?” He asked.

“Love it.” I glanced back at the counter and at the fat old man sipping his coffee. “You said your Captain's name is Allan?”

“Yep, you know him?” The kid asked.

“If he's also Altairian, then I want to.” I admitted.

He's got a Funny-Bubble accent, if that's what you mean.” He smirked again.

I told him to enjoy his stay, and excused myself from the table. I walked across the restaurant and sat down beside Allan at the counter. He looked tired, the way he held and drank his coffee. But his lips had a thin smile on them.

“Hi.” I said.

“Hello.” A drawl so thick, it sounded like he said 'yellow'.

“You're Allan, Space-Trucker friend of Admiral Iovianus-Wald?” My question came slower than I'd intended.

“Indeed I am.” He gave me a side-eyed look. “Ta whom to I owe the pleasure?”

“Pete Kenji, Freelance Reporter.” His eyes shone for a moment.

“Holy shit, it- it's...” It may be cliche, but he looked at me like he was seeing a ghost.

Chapter Thirty Six

“Is everything okay?” The girl in the blue flight-suit asked him.

“Yeah Rose, It's just... Holy shit, this is him!” He pointed at me.

“Who am I?” I don't think they heard me.

“This is him?!” Rose exclaimed.

The attention of most of his class was drawn to me, after the first few of them thanked me for what I'd done I asked for an explanation. In response the old Space-Trucker handed me his P.A.D. it had an article brought up. An old one, archived because it was important to him.

“They published it?” I muttered in bewilderment.

Back in Korwei, when I first got the notion in my head to write. I managed to snag what I thought to be a fantastic break. A politician who lost most of her public confidence over the war, she was sneaking out of the system so she could at least enjoy her retirement. Even with an interview, the response to my shopping the piece around had been less than lukewarm. With the editing that the Wingqvist Evening Star put it through, I'm surprised they even kept my name on it.

“I don't understand.” I said to the screen in my hands.

“Between you and Cly, Gott rest the madman's soul: I found Hux again.” Allan said with more gravitas than I had understanding.

“Mrs. Ratherford always says that the school wouldn't exist without The Captain.” The one who'd shared my table interjected, seeing my confused expression. “And he's told all of us about you, rather than take the credit.”

“Yer my Hero, Mister Kenji. You and Cly, never thought I'd get the chance to thank either of you.” He shook my hand. “You must be doing well for yourself, don't look like you've aged a day.”

“Oh, fuck no.” I tried not to burst out laughing. “Do you remember us speaking thirty years ago?”

“Gottdamn... Barely. I looked for yer name in the News-net for that interview, I remember not sein' it.”

“I didn't get a chance. I've aged more than one day since we last spoke, but not that many.” He gave me a confused look. “I went Missing.” I added for clarification.

“Well, I'll be damned.” My words carried a gravitas I still feel uncomfortable being a part of.

“I wouldn't have this chance to speak with you if not for a huge streak of lucky coincidences. It all started when I was rescued by a well connected Commander named Valence.” He responded by looking around, like he was unsure of the nature of this conversation anymore.

“You shittin' me.” He stifled a laugh. “My Gottdamn Niece found you?”

I suppose that should have been shocking, but it also seemed so obvious with immediate hindsight. I blinked at Allan a few times before replying.

“Are you married to Shay?” I'll admit, it wasn't the smartest question.

“What? No.” He started laughing. “Oh Gott, she'd get a laugh outta hearin' that. I'm Huxley Ratherford's happy husband, and right in tha middle o' thankin' ya for helpin' make it happen. Ya dork.”

“Oh.” I was catching his laughter a little. “What's the Archaic again... God-parent?” He nodded, still chuckling.

“So my Niece is here?” I nodded to him. “She knew I's comin'?”

“I don't think so.” I looked aside for a minute to gather my thoughts. “Actually we stopped here while trying to meet you in Colonia. I don't think she knows we were looking for her uncle, I didn't. Like I said, lucky coincidences.”

“That's called Serendipity, jus' so ya know.” I thanked Allan for that. “So how long you been waitin' fer me here?”

“It's a little more complicated than that, we weren't waiting for you the whole time.” He smiled a little and shook his head at me.

“What, you datin' my Niece?” He made a cold face as I very slowly nodded in reply, then he burst out laughing. “Okay, does the Robot-voice Waldo bought fer her ship think yer a scumbag?”

“Torr changed his mind about me recently... Wait, is Waldo the Admiral?” I was caught a little off guard by that.

“Shit really? That's... What'd you do?” What I'd said did much the same to him.

“I... Think I... Might have... Told her Ex to go get his shit together... Possibly.” I answered as I tried to figure it out.

“Tall guy, likes reds. Flies an Adder with all his buddies packed into it?” Allan asked, for clarification.

“Yeah, his name is... Laertes.” It took me a moment to remember it.

“Oh, okay.” Allan shrugged. “Did he?”

“He looked like he might have, when he left.” I replied with a shrug of my own.

“That's why you been hanging around?” He was still sizing me up.

“Just a reason, a bunch of stuff's been going on here, actually.” I explained.

“Like what?” He shot me a little smirk.

“You're probably going to want to speak with Shay and Valence in private about the important things that happened.” I let him know.

“Errybody okay?” His voice got a little quieter.

“Yeah, a little shook up.” I wondered if I was close enough. “Her mom was here, but she's gone now.”

“Oh Shit! What went on?” It seemed I was.

“A broken window and some future headaches for Shay, I'm sure. But nothing bad. She didn't know Valence was here.” As I told him, he blinked a few times.

“If we'd gotten here sooner...” He shook his head.

“She showed up a little while ago, got Valence and I to stop fighting though.” He seemed intrigued by this.

“You two had a disagreement?” He asked me with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, no big deal. She just almost shot me, then we argued a bit. Aunt-Shay got us talking, really. We talked it out, we're good now.” I filled Allan in on the story.

He looked at me like I'd started speaking another language. Blinking and opening his mouth a few times.

“Did she shoot you?” He sputtered.

“No, nearly did though.” I said.

“What were you arguing about when she tried to shoot you?” His next question was more pointed.

“Most of the arguing happened after, actually.” I replied.

“Gottdamn.” He gave me a more piercing look. “You sure puttin' up with a lot.”

“What, you think I'm just gonna admit I've been hanging around to get to you?” I laughed a little, he didn't. “Your Niece has been doing nearly all of the putting up with, trust me.” He looked like he was about to ask for specifics. “I asked her to bring me out here, she was willing to take me this far again too.”

“Well, what you payin' her?” Allan knew the right question to ask.

“I don't have any money. I wasn't doing that well, before I went into Cryo.” I let him know.

“No offense, but I think I may need to speak with my Niece.” He shook his head at me.

“None taken, you absolutely do.” I sighed. “We've been on a little ride to get here, she'd probably want to tell you about it even if I wasn't here. Like I said, you'll want to speak with Shay too.”

“Well, alright then.” He seemed satisfied. “So, would I be wrong ta guess that ya want another interview?”

“No you wouldn't, when we last met I didn't know some things about you.” I took a breath. “If I did, I would have asked you other questions.”

“So, what are they?” He leaned in a little.

“Where do I even begin?” What happened to Eidolon. “A pirate kidnapped you and the Admiral, and I've been told most of what happened just after we last met. Can you please explain those events in your own words?”

“So this piece of shit named Kane has this grudge on Ol' Waldo, I don't know the meat of it. He shows up at the worst possible time, and just put afoul everything.” He shook his head. “Not to mention that crazy bitch who showed up... How much detail you want?”

“I think that might be enough.” Why did you call her a hero. “You are going to want to ask Shay about that pirate, some things have come up.”

“Valence's Mother won that race ya know, her an' her brother. Me an' Waldo were trying to get 'em into the Pilots Federation.” He sighed. “They could have done some real damage to tha Illegal Operarii trade, with what he knew.”

“The Inquisition stopped that?” He gave me a look when I said it.

“That lunatic's bosses had no idea what she was doing with their badge... I Gottdamn hope.” He muttered.

“You know that she's-” He nodded to cut me off.

“Shay told you?” Now, I nodded. “Hmm.” He made a satisfied face to go with his sound.

“I have a few questions left to ask, but I can at least start with this.” It wasn't her, there's a fucking procedure to these things. ”You remember the riot?”

“Of course I do.” He admitted.

“What can you tell me about the causes of it?” I asked.

“I ain't got no clue. Quintina and I took the ships for a little test run before the race, and that shit was in full swing when we got back.” He answered.

“What Does the name 'Church of The Space Cat' mean to you?” I moved to my next line of questions.

“I think they used to call the old group that.” He postulated.

“What, who is 'they'?” He'd piqued my interest.

“Wandering Siamese. Most folks pick their favorite of the two words, and go by that though.” His answer was given casually.

“In Colonia?” I asked for clarification.

“Yeah, of course. Not many Wander back towards The Bubble.” He let me be bewildered for a moment before continuing. “Ain't no hostility 'bout it, just a matter of preference. Some folk just go with whatever they feel like, just right then. A few go with the whole name erry time too, but they tend ta be folks with sticks up their butts anywhoo.”

“How big a religion is it, out there?” I wondered.

“It ain't really a religion, there ain't no Temple-Days or Holy-Bureaucracy or nothin' like that.” He thought for a moment. “It's a system o' belief, an' it's concerned more with fitting into the universe than t'other way around.” After a tiny moment where he smiled he added. “Pretty popular among folk who live out in the void proper, or fly through it all their lives.”

“It's, your belief system?” I was already sure, but asked anyway.

“I've always liked the way Wanderers sounds.” He smiled. “I think it's cool to say 'I'm a Wanderer.'”

“Do you know anything about the old church getting caught up in that riot?” I asked him.

“Did they, now?” He snorted. “Well shit, seems like somethin' they'd get up ta. Real Old-Bubble, they used ta be.”

“It's not like that anymore?” I wanted clarification.

“Nah, these days we're more about appreciating the stars around us, and about not forgettin' history.” He explained.

“I think I like the sound of that.” I admitted.

“I always liked the way that part sounds too.” He looked at me again. “You trying to figure out how they, became this?”

“I didn't even know.” I kept it simple for him. “I wanted to know why they were claws out with EXO.”

“Because communication is hard, when you don't see eye to eye.” He sighed. “Errythin' I know's second hand at best, when it comes ta that.”

“What do you know?” I still wanted to hear what he had.

“Ever have a brother or sister?” He asked me pointedly.

“No.” I answered.

“Real close friend?” He tried.

“Yeah, sure.” I knew what he meant.

“There anything you know you coulda said to 'em, that there woulda been no turnin' back from?” I think he could have left it at that.

“Maybe, yeah.” But he didn't.

“Somethin' ya only knew about, cus o' how good a pair of pals y'all were?” He was hammering his point a little though.

“...Okay.” I said.

“Well now imagine the pair o' y'all were groups of folk so powerful that their behavior could do real damage, even if they tried not to.” He said with a little rise in intensity.

“You're good at telling that story.” I told him.

“I got practice, it's gotta good moral. Don't burn bridges.” He added.

“Because you might need to come back over it.” I said in solidarity.

“That ain't the only reason, bridges ain't there just for you.” He scolded me a little. “Not to mention, folk sometimes live under bridges. Folk who ain't need that.”

“By gods, that's the truth.” I exhaled. “You get practice telling your class that story?”

“Yer Gottdamned right, I do.” He slapped me on my shoulder. “Your's too. Get this, they pay me to fill my ship with youngins, show em how to make it go, an' ramble on at 'em about whatever things happened to me that I think got a moral to 'em.”

“The crazy part is that it works. First flight-stick I ever held was on The Husvogn, and the Captain let me land her here.” Allan's helmsman added. “Ask the Captain what he says the moral of your story is.”

“Well?” I urged Allan to explain.

“More good came outta you writin' that, than I got outta the first two thirds o' my life. I'm gonna wager that I might have been tryin' harder to do good than you were.” He said.

“So the moral is don't try?” I joked.

“No.” he waved his hand at me. “It's that you might never know what you did right, but it might have been huge.”

“I can see that.” Sort of, but I wanted to get further down my list of questions.

“I guess it's got more impact when I tell it ta kids comin' from the orphanage y'all helped build.” Allan added casually.

Chapter Thirty Seven

They'd already told me, I'm an idiot. This is when it really hit me what he meant when he'd called me his hero. Huxley Ratherford had heard about Jaques Big Jump, that's where she told me she was going. As far away from Korwei as she could. Captain Wald had showed up in Korwei after Eidolon, I always thought he had just been keeping a low profile, and that it had only been them.

“You met Huxley Ratherford in Korwei?” He nodded. “During the war?”

It wasn't The War, it was barely even a war. But Allan knew what I meant. He nodded to me.

“You called The Raptor, didn't you?” Between realizing this, and learning that I'd helped build an orphanage, I was losing the battle to fight back the tears.

“Good Gott...I haven't heard that name in...” He realized. “Yer from Korwei aren't ya?”

“Born in Hartsfield Landing, but I lived on Wingqvist.” He knew what that meant.

“Gottdamn, Pete.” He consoled me. “Yeah, I put out the call, Eidolon answered first.”

“Why did you do it?” I felt like I'd always wanted to know, but the question was fresh in my mind.

“I dunno, somebody had to do somethin'.” He muttered.

“What... Made you care?” I'd spent a lot of time in the company of a few different Commanders, he knew exactly what I meant.

“Huxley did.” He sighed. “She's made a career of gettin' folks to wanna do the right thing.”

“But she... That's not...” Everyone knew it was her fault.

“Reporters ate her alive, thought she made a good villain in all of it. Your's was the most balanced mention she got, only one that said where she went.” He explained quietly.

“That's fucked up.” I blurted out. Like I said, I'm surprised they'd kept my name on it.

“So it goes, ain't like it held her back none.” He chuckled. “Gettin lost in Witch-space couldn't even do that to my Hux.”

“You called it Serendipity?” He looked at me when I asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“It's a silly name, you saved my world you know.” He gave me a sideways smile. “Then so did your Niece.”

“You wanna ask me why I decided to take up a 'religion' younger than myself?” He offered.

“That's a good question, why?” It hadn't occurred to me, it should have.

“Shit like this just keeps Gottdamn goin' on in my life.” He smiled at me. “I get the feelin' you gettin' all worked up to ask me about Eidolon, ain't ya.”

“Yeah, but not in Korwei.” He became interested, I took a deep breath. “Your pal Waldo pointed me at you, he told me something that sent me at least this far.”

“What was that?” Allan was intrigued.

“You told him she died a hero, she left Korwei alive. What happened to Eidolon?” I felt light headed as the words came out.

“How's that go with what you asked 'bout everything else?” He smirked.

“It doesn't, but I have to know.” I said, he thought pensively for a moment.

“She died puttin' a knife in the heart o' the Federal War Machine.” Allan announced.

“Tell me everything.” I begged.

“You ever hear of a ship they used to call The Formidable?” He probably assumed I wouldn't have.

“I have, that ship opened fire on a star-port” I let him know.

“More than one.” He said with a sudden venom, looking away. “It was in the Pleiades early in the war there, one o' the first. Eidolon knew it was the weak link in their support chain, so she loads a fuckin' Lakon-Heavy with troops and heads out there to put the hurt on it.”

“How early did this happen, did it work?” You aren't supposed to double up your questions, but I was excited.

“Sorta yeah, an' sorta no.” He looked around for a moment. “The only bit o' info I ever got after she told me her plan and left, was a report that the Formidable had been crippled and needed to be repaired in-situ. Just around the time it started to get hot out there. All that mattered was that it put the Federation military on the back leg, and she did it before anyone else even tried to touch 'em.”

“Are you telling me one woman with a Type-Nine pushed the first domino on the Federation collapsing?” It sounded a little far-fetched.

“Oh Gott no.” He shook his head. “She knew the dominoes were falling though. She told me she needed to head out there and make sure they fell as quick and neat as she could.”

“No, that's crazy.” I shook my head. “It would have been a suicide mission.”

“She told me that too, told me that it had to happen, because she had a chance to do it.” He spoke into the middle distance.

“She was crazy.” I muttered.

“She told me she flew on stims for Seventy-Six hours of combat over Wingqvist.” He reminisced.

“No.” I spat out.

“It takes a special kinda crazy to change the world, I guess.” He shrugged at me.

“No. I don't want to hear that.” The market for stims on Wingqvist was strong through most of the war, they'd never been cheaper.

“What?” He noticed that I'd gone pale.

“That's not heroism.” I sputtered. “Heroes don't save your fucking home tweaking out of their skulls.”

“They save people's homes and tweak out of their skulls because there's a hole in 'em, and blood fills it.” Allan told me. “Heroes are the ones who keep an eye on whose blood they use.”

“Oh by gods.” I felt like having a smoke, but Aunt-Shay preferred people do that outside.

“You aughta ask me why there was a hole in her.” I looked at him, wearing a desperate expression. “She came from somewhere that got burned, if I had to guess the Feds probably did it. But I ain't know that, she hated talkin' about it. That event defined who she was and it had nothing to do with her. She was made up more of someone else's callousness than of who she was born as.” He looked at his hands. “She knew it, and it hurt.”

“We're all in pain, that's no excuse.” I said the words as I remembered them.

“You hear that from Valence?” He asked me suddenly.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“Good girl.” He made fists fleetingly. “Eidolon knew what was happenin' in the Pleiades and all she could see was that war spreadin' an' what happened to her, happenin' again and again for far too long. I think she would have personally shot every pilot in any Navy she had to, to stop that.”

“What makes you think she had this much of an Impact?” I didn't doubt it, but I asked for completeness.

“She named that Type-Nine, Titania.” Allan explained, in his mind effectively.

“Is that in reference to something?” I asked.

“That don't matter. Eidolon never named any of her other ships. She told me that they didn't need names because they didn't matter.” He turned to me. “Titania mattered. So The Raptor could be more than just yer Hero.”

“What do you think she did with Titania?” I wondered aloud.

“Knowing Eidolon, her plan wouldn't have involved leavin'. I think she probably put that Lakon into the Farragut's central structural member, right at the back of the docking section. As hard as Titania would go.” He knew where to hurt one of those battle-cruisers

“Think she filled it with explosives first?” I offered.

“She might have, I like the way ya think.” He nodded.

“You know what happened to the Formidable?” I asked him leadingly.

“It got shredded once the war got hot, didn't it?” He wasn't sure.

“Destroyed with an opening salvo, 'A gross underestimation of the Farragut's structural integrity' I was told. Like it was already damaged from some long ago attack, or something.” I explained.

“Well I'll be damned, I didn't know that.” His smile made me feel better about what I'd left out.

“So Commander Eidolon died a hero.” I concluded aloud.

“She most surely did.” Allan agreed.

“Not just in Korwei either.” I sighed. “There might not be a way to count how many lives she saved.”

“I wish more'n just me an' you knew about it though.” He sighed. “I tend not to talk about her with my classes, her story don't fit well to a Parable format.”

“It doesn't fit with a historical text either.” I admitted.

The door into the bar opened, Shay stepped inside. Valence following her, wearing her hair up in twin ponytails.

“I thought I heard your vessel.” Shay announced smiling at Allan.

Valence sidestepped the throng of the youngest of Allan's crew, as they surrounded Shay with exuberance and questions. The Moreau sat down on the floor with her legs crossed to better speak with the children.

“So you've met my uncle Allan, was he the space trucker you wanted to talk to?” Valence asked me as she sat down. I nodded with a little grin on my face, she chuckled a little.

“What no hug? No how ya doin'?” Allan interjected.

“Hey, It's good to see you.” She said and gave him a hug.

“So you like this weirdo?” Allan asked her, nodding his head in my direction.

“Hell yeah I do, and Auntie Shay thinks he's great.” Valence giggled as she replied.

“Does she now?” Shay nodded at Allan, he nodded at me.

“He's great in bed too.” Valence interjected, looking at me.

“Oh shit, I don't wanna hear that.” Fortunately, my nervous laughter was contagious. Once the three of us contained our mirth, Allan spoke back up. “I haven't seen yer hair up like that since you were little. It's nice.”

“Thanks.” Valence replied. “Did you know this hairstyle was from Panem?” She added her question after a moment.

“Ya know, I thought so.” He answered.

“I put my hair up like this in front of Pete, and he recognized it.” She gestured at me. “Asked me where I learned it from.”

“Shay started doin' it for ya that way, when you were little, yeah?” Allan asked.

“Well I asked her about it, She told me that her lawyer showed her.” Valence glanced over at me, making sure I was interested. Of course I was. “Auntie Shay told me that her lawyer taught it to her, then insisted that she teach it to someone else.”

“You gonna teach it ta somebody?” Allan asked.

“I am now.” She turned to me. “Thanks for noticing my hair, Pete.”