The Privateer

After several more beers, the High Commander had a couple of cots brought into his office. The sisters took them into the room behind the desk. Mims was on a cot of his own, snoring. Yvian was still processing what she'd learned about the human. It...explained some things.

Mims had lost everyone he'd ever loved. By his own hand, no less. The High Commander believed the Captain had done the right thing. The only thing he could do, really. Yvian agreed. The Klaath were truly to blame. But she doubted she'd feel that way, if she'd been in the Captain's place. Especially with so many people trying to murder him for revenge.

He'd been forced to flee. He'd found himself in the Confed, a place that hated his species almost as much as his species hated him. He spent thirty years alone as a hired gun, knowing his entire species and half the rest of the verse wanted him dead. She tried to imagine what that would be like. She couldn't.

No wonder he was so cold. No wonder he was so awkward. No wonder he'd been so kind. Yvian and Lissa were the first people he'd cared about since the death of his family. They were the first people to care about him.

It was the saddest thing she'd ever heard.

Lissa was shaking. Yvian glanced over to see tears falling down her cheeks. She put an arm around her shoulders. Lissa cried harder, trying to stay quiet. She didn't want to wake the Captain. Yvian thought that was sweet, but she suspected her sister needn't worry. That man looked like he'd sleep through a gunfight. Then again, it was Mims. He was not a man to be underestimated. The sisters did not speak. They simply held one another while Lissa cried herself out. Yvian was feeling a little emotional (and drunk) herself, but she held the tears back. Her sister needed her.

It took a few minutes for Lissa to cry herself out. When she'd finished she withdrew, wiping her eyes. Then she realized she didn't have anything to wipe her nose with. After looking around for a few seconds, frustrated, she donned her helmet and activated its cleaning function. Nose clean, she took it off again. Yvian gave her shoulder a squeeze, then started to set up her cot. Lissa didn't bother readying hers. Instead she curled up on the Captain. By the time Yvian managed to lie down, the two of them were snoring together.

At 0800 hours, the door opened. The High Commander walked in, followed by Hamilton with a cart full of breakfast. General Young wore his dress uniform. It was similar to General Devera's, but with more ribbons and five stars on each shoulder in stead of Devera's two. The uniform was perfectly tailored, but the High Commander's massive muscles gave the impression the crisp white cloth would burst into crisp white rags the moment he decided to flex.

"Best eat up while you got the chance," said the General. "We've got a lot to do today."

Yvian rolled off her cot, groaning. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest. ENERGIZER had allowed her to maintain yesterday's punishing run without discomfort, but the damage to her muscles remained. She considered activating PAIN REMOVAL, then thought better of it. Lissa didn't seem to be faring any better.

Mims rose calmly and tore into his breakfast. He showed no sign of discomfort. Yvian was one hundred percent certain he was hurting just as much as they were, but the motherless son refused to let it show.

As they ate, the General continued. "It'll take two days to organize and deploy the delegation to the Xill. We want you to escort them there once they're ready. In the meantime, you'll be staying here. We'll arrange quarters and a security detail." He paused. "You're not part of the SDF. Technically, you're not supposed to be armed. But General Devera made you out yourself on an open comm, and God only knows how many people on this station want to take a poke at you. I trust my people, but it's better if you can defend yourselves. Just in case."

"What's gonna happen to Devera?" Lissa asked.

"He's being court martialed on multiple counts of dereliction of duty, attempted murder, and high treason. We've rounded up the other officers that helped him. They're facing similar charges." The High Commander frowned. "He knew what would happen, you know. They all did. General Devera threw away his career and maybe his life for a shot at killing you."

"He threw away his people on the Sirocco, as well." Mims tilted his head, thinking while he chewed a piece of bacon. "How did he know it was me, anyway?"

"He recognized your voice."

Mims frowned. "I was using a voice modulator."

"This is Stellar Command, son," the High Commander gave him a patronizing look. "Did you think we wouldn't have the tech to filter that out?"

Mims cursed, then went back to shoveling food down his throat.

Satisfied there were no more questions, the General continued," As long as you're here, some of our eggheads want a look at that crystal implant Yvian's got." Yvian's alarm must have been visible, because he quickly continued, "Noninvasive, little lady. We just want to scan the thing and see how it interacts with your nervous system."

Yvian considered. The High Commander seemed pretty trustworthy, and Mims was armed. She decided it was unlikely they'd try to dissect her. She nodded.

"Good to go," said the High Commander. "We'll do that after we update your armor."

Updating the armor turned out to be a simple affair. Hamilton plugged a data cartridge into their GR17s. The cartridge beeped. Hamilton pulled it out. A list of new features appeared on Yvian's HUD. She selected PALLETTESWAP and had her voidarmor mimic the colors the SDF soldiers used.

That done, the General led the crew and a sizable armed escort to a medical bay. Yvian started to notice the soldiers were sneaking glances, not just at Mims, but at her and her sister as well. They tried to be subtle about it, and the visors made it hard to know for sure, but Yvian became fairly certain over the course of the walk. The glances made her nervous, at first. Was it because she wasn't human? Because she'd come with the hated Kinslayer? Eventually, she realized it was neither of those things. Her voidarmor was form fitting, The SDF men (and one woman) were admiring the view.

Yvian decided the glances were harmless, and proceeded to ignore them. Lissa, on the other hand, preened at the attention.

They entered a large medical bay. There were several rows of med pods in the middle of the room, and a number of instruments she didn't recognize. Humans in long white coats monitored the pods and other equipment, speaking softly between themselves. Yvian noted that the med pods the Federation used were almost exactly the same as the ones on the Random Encounter. Was that Terran tech, as well?

The tests were boring and inconclusive. The scientists confirmed the crystal implant had fused with Yvian's brain, but the crystal's energy absorbing properties made it difficult to make out its structure. The implant appeared to be inert, and it was theorized that it would only activate when Yvian was exposed to Lucendian technology.

The testing was almost complete when one of the other doctors recognized Mims, and immediately attacked. The man was unarmed, and unarmored. Yvian expected the Captain to handle him easily, but Mims chose not to respond with his customary violence. He simply let the man strike and grab and scream at him until their escort could rally themselves and pry him off the Captain. Once he was restrained, the man broke down, weeping for the daughters he had lost. When the High Commander had asked Mims if he wanted to press charges, the Captain just shook his head.

After the tests, The High Commander brought them to their temporary quarters. The room was comfortably furnished, and had an attached bathroom. Guards were posted, and the crew of the Random Encounter was ordered not to leave. Meals would be brought by Hamilton. While Yvian understood the necessity, she chafed at being restricted. She was also frightfully bored.

Yvian gave a wistful sigh. "I wonder what Space Captain's up to right now?"

"Space Captain?" Mims looked up from his wrist console. "I didn't know you were a fan."

"A fan?" Lissa snorted. "She's obsessed. She has six different pairs of Space Captain underwear."

"Twelve pairs," Yvian proudly corrected. "All my underwear is Space Captain." She frowned. "We've been away from the Nexus since the attack on Krog Prime. I haven't seen an episode in over a month."

"You're not missing much," Mims harrumphed.

"You're not a fan?" Lissa asked. "It it because Lord Evil's a human?"

"It's because it's trite and derivative," said the Captain. "Every episode's basically the same."

"Every episode is full of adventure and suspense!" Yvian protested, scandalized. What kind of monster would insult Space Captain? "Wicked villains, cunning schemes, daring rescues..."

"I used to wish I could be Lady Blue," Lissa confessed. "She was so beautiful and glamorous."

"You're prettier," Mims told her. "And you're probably harder to kidnap." Lissa flashed him a grin.

"How could you not love Space Captain?" Yvian demanded. "It's the best show ever made!"

The Captain considered. "It probably is the best show produced in the Confed," he allowed. "But you've only been making serials for twenty years or so. Humans were making better shows before we achieved space travel."

Lissa gave Mims a sly look. "Would you like to rephrase that in the form of a wager?"

The human smiled.

When Hamilton brought dinner, she was startled to see the girls huddled in front of a view screen, their underwear on their heads. Yvian wondered if Hamilton's translator could read the words "SPACE CAPTAIN" in bold letters, or if she just saw them as squiggly gold lines sprawled across the red material.

When the High Commander's assistant raised an eyebrow in askance, Lissa giggled. Yvian just sighed.

"I want a lightsaber."