Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Worst Enemy is Your Family

The transport shuddered slightly as it docked in the Ishukone factory in orbit above the second moon of the tenth planet in Huola. The intercom pinged an arrival message and the passengers began to disembark. Among the poorest dressed was Katerina Tzestu. She kept her hood as far over her face as she could, hoping to slip unnoticed into the station in enemy territory.

"You lost miss?" A deep voice came from behind her, sounding bored. She jumped slightly and whirled around to face the large Ishukone security officer. She cast her eyes down and bent her head slightly, acting like a scared, lost poor migratory worker, the first emotion not entirely feigned. She shakes her head slightly, "N-no sir. I just got a job here working in the factory lines." He grunts, "Well assigned worker quarters are on decks 5 through 11." and he walked away before she could reply.

An hour later she had managed to sneak into an unoccupied office. She sat down at the desk and activated the data terminal, hoping desperately that she was equal to the task of finding out what her brother was up to now. She had received word several weeks ago that her brother had once again followed her.

He still blamed her for the death of her sister, Kat knew. He hated her so much that when she had left the high security regions of space to depart for the region of Cobalt Edge as a capsuleer member of the Intrepid Crossing alliance, he had signed on to help the Goonswarm Federation, leader of the CFC coalition, enemies of Intrepid Crossing, since they were the most likely to be able to kill her. And when she had moved south to join Test Alliance in Delve, he had followed, this time joining the Blood Raider Covenant and assuming command of many of their operations in Delve, so as to have the best chance to destroy her ships, and though it was never likely, kill her.

And now, he had done the same thing again, leaving the Blood Raiders in order to become an agent of the Minmatar Militia once he had heard that she had joined the Amarr Militia, as always, with the sole intent of destroying her life's work. The only time he had not been able to follow her was when she had left known space entirely, instead living inside the unknowns of wormhole space. And even then, he'd always been watching for her to appear in known space. And now she had found out through an Amarr agent that he'd been sighted in Huola -- on this exact station. All Kat had to do, was find him. She wasn't sure what she was going to do next. Talk to him? If only that would work. Kill him? As far from human as she felt, she still wasn't sure she could do that, regardless of what her brother had done.

Her eyes never left the screen, and her fingers flicked keys without pause, until a voice interrupted the silence.

"Been a while, Katie." She jerked up, and her green eyes flicked up towards the now open door, and locked with his green eyes. She cautiously stood, and said, "Michael. What are you doing here?" He laughed and held his arms up in a mocking gesture for a hug. Kat pulled a gun from behind her and barked, "Stop! Don't make me shoot you." Michael only laughed and put his hands up, making the gesture sarcastic. He then backed up towards the door slightly, snapped his fingers, then said, "You remember Greg right?" as the large Ishukone security officer entered the room. "Well, we both know that Mom and Dad would be so sad to hear that I killed their darling girl, so I think I'll just let Greg here handle that." He then pulled out his own weapon and fired three shots at her, none of them hitting her, but distracting her while the security officer battered into her. Michael then left the room while the two of them wrestled around. The security officer lay on top of her, attempting to stop her squirming while he wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed.

As her vision faded, her fingers brushed up against the checkered handle of her pistol. Her eyes widened and she gripped the handle with all her strength. She then brought it up to the side of the security officer's head and squeezed the trigger twice, and gasped as she was showered with hot blood, bone, and brain matter. She rolled the now lifeless corpse off her and lay there coughing for a minute. After she'd regained her breath, she got up and staggered out of the room. Another security officer was nearby, and rushed over in shock at her bloodied, battered form. Before he could say anything, or do anything other than reach for her shoulders, Kat quickly jabber an elbow into his throat, and the last thing he saw was her running form retreating down the passageway as he struggled for a breath that his crushed larynx could no longer allow into his lungs.

The next time she encountered a living soul that acknowledged her was in one of the docking bays, she stumbled blindly, still choking and blood splattered into a family that was heading towards a transport similar to the one that brought her to the station.

She bounced off of an older man, who was still strong enough to catch her before she could fall. He looked her over in alarm, then asked her, "Are you alright? What's going on?" She managed to whisper back, "Nothing, I just need to get off this station." And pulled the hood of her cloak back over her face. He gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him, and kindly said, "You need to see a doctor, and to report whatever happened to the station security." At the mention of the station's security, she tried to break free, but he wouldn't let her. She started sobbing, and managed to get a few words out "No-no, please, I just need off....of this station." He mumbled "Okay, you're safe now." and gently guided her along with the rest of his family into the transport, the crew of which completely ignoring them as yet another group of migrant workers.

Friday, February 15, 2013

What Makes a Capsuleer?

Kat woke up slowly, idly stroking the hand that was cupping her breast. He was rather cute, she thought, but why would he risk sleeping with a capsuleer? Aren't we supposed to be dangerous to mortals? She made a mental note to ask him when he woke up, along with his name.

After hearing the news of her brother's most recent actions, she'd hidden away for a bit in her room, then when that became to oppressive, in space, trying to run from it. But to no avail. Last night had been the lowest point, she'd gotten drunk enough as to not be thinking, but still not drunk enough to pass out or stumble too badly. And she'd wandered around the station she was in, she still wasn't sure whether it was in Siseide or Egghelende, eventually finding a bar. She'd drank, and danced, then pulled a random guy who she'd been dancing with out of the bar, and by the time they'd stumbled back to her apartment, he could barely keep his hands off her.

She'd loved the feeling as he unfastened her bra, and the look of pure lust gleaming in his eyes as he looked her over in the dim light. She reflected on the pure ecstasy as he penetrated her, and his hands caressed her breats, or her face. She felt no guilt at all about the meaningless sex, or knowing that she would toss him out soon and never see him again. Surely I would have never done this before becoming what I am. Her mental train slammed to a halt at that thought. Is this what it means to be a capsuleer? That I am to forsake what good was in me, to kill and fuck and otherwise ignore those lesser humans who do not have the option to live more than once?

Kat got up, put on a robe and put an instant breakfast tray into the cooker. She then looked at the sleeping form on her bed, and for a second saw someone else, not a random stranger. She popped a second tray into the cooker. When it was done, she took them both over to the bed, and gently woke him.

"Good morning." Kat said with a slight grin. "Morning, what time is it?" He said as he got up. She handed him a tray, which he accepted with a smile. "It's about 9, you have somewhere to be?" He shakes his head, "No, but I was expecting to be sleeping for a while longer." She sat next to him, and said, "We don't require that much sleep. But I was meaning to ask your name, since if we were introduced, I must not remember it." He takes a fork full of eggs from the tray, and after swallowing them says, "Pete. And we weren't introduced, you just started dancing with me, then pulled me away." She blushes a bit and looks down, "Kat." He chuckles a bit and says, "You've never done this before, have you?" "No," She replies, "It's not like many people to sleep with a capsuleer." She says in a slightly anxious tone. He nods, and says, "I will admit, if I'd known when you pulled me away, I might not have come. But by the time I'd noticed, I wasn't about to stop. Why were you in that bar anyways? It's not a normal place to find one such as yourself" She blushes again, and says quietly, "I was lost, and in the mood to stay that way. I'd rather not say further."

He nods quickly, and says, "I've heard stories, you know." She looks over at him, and says, "About?" He looks a bit hesitant to say, but eventually replied, "About your kind, and what they do to normal humans. I was hoping just to make it out alive, when I saw your back. Speaking of which, I should go." She nodded, and said, "It was nice meeting you Pete, but I doubt we'll meet again." and made no move to get up or show him out as he dressed and left.

"It's better this way." Kat said softly after he left.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Sands of Time, Part I

The young redhead girl was sitting rather dejectedly, with her arms folded defiantly across her chest. Her father had condemned her to her room yet again for disobeying him. The door opened, and her father came in, "What am I going to do with you?" he asked. She simply pouted some more.

He sighs, and sits down on the bed next to her. "Katie, I'm not mad at you. I promise. But you cannot just go wondering off into the woods like that, ok?" She turns to him, still stubborn. "But you let Michael go off with his friends!" she says in a pout. He looks at her kindly and says, "That's because he's thirteen and goes out with his friends." She continues to pout, "But I'm almost ten daddy, I'm old enough that I don't need you or mom to go with me!". He sighs again, "Sweetie, you know that I worry, and that I know that you think you can handle it." He hugs her to him before continuing. "But you're my little girl, " he says with a smile, "and no matter how old you get, or how strong you get, that'll never change." He straightens up, and says, "But that doesn't mean that you can go into the woods without an adult missy! You're to stay here until you are called for dinner." Kat starts to object, but he cuts her off, "No buts! You knew that you were not allowed outside the house, so this punishment is to remind you of that."

The next day, Kat went up to her brother after breakfast. "Are you and your friends going to the woods after school today?" She asks with earnest eyes. He looks at her with a look of annoyance and asks, "Why do you care?" She says, "I want to go with you guys! daddy won't let me go out alone, and he's always too busy to go out with me!" He gives her a little shove as he brushes past, "No Katie, you're not going with us into the woods!" She tags along after him and whines, "Why not? I'll be good, I won't get in the way, I promise!" He responds by slamming the front door on his way out, and Kat tries to hold back tears.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Kamela

Kat sat down at the computer terminal, exhausted.

The day had been hectic, trying to keep the Minmatar from taking Kamela. It had failed, but they'd held on and even won a battle that had cost the Minmatar more than they had hoped to lose, but in the end, Kamela still fell. She had lost two ships, a cruiser and a destroyer, but she still felt like she'd acquitted herself well. Not that it mattered.

She was surprised that Almity, the fleet commander in her corporation, could keep leading fleets out again and again in the face of the odds that the Minmatar, newly reinforced (at least it seemed) and pushing in against all opposition. That only increased her respect for Almity.

She reflected on the last time she had been to Cerra Manor to relax. She'd ended up heading to a club with Shalee, her new friend, despite being part of the corp directorate, in search of some dancing. Even though the club had been fairly empty, she'd enjoyed chatting with Shalee greatly. She sighed, leaned back and rubbed her eyes with her hands.

The computer chimed that she had a new message.
"Alright, Alright." She said tiredly, "Time to get to report writing, I know."

As she prepared to go back to typing up her after action reports, her thoughts went to her family for a quick second, but she brushed them aside, mentally telling them that she was doing this for them, so what had happened to them wouldn't happen to others, and tried not to think of the hypocrisy inherent in that thought, since she had killed thousands just that day, both on her own ships, and on the ships her weapons had ravaged.