Divergence

The planet was an almost uninhabitable wasteland of ruins and deserts. Many hundreds of years before great cities had been here, now only skeletal remains picked clean by decades of scavengers and near destroyed by nature. Wind howled through the skeletal fragments of a building, blowing the heavy cloth that was wrapped around the person walking through the storm. A heavy rifle was slung over the persons shoulder and a long curved sword was held carefully. Stopping at a column undistinguishable from countless others a panel was opened and a button pressed. With impassive eyes hidden behind tarnished goggles an elevator rose up through the sands in a gout of compressed air and opened. The figure walked in and pressed the button to descend.

Deep underground Dr Leannder saw the figure descend and frowned. That the person coming knew she was here, was annoying, that they they had picked the right elevator was a concern. She handed the knife to her assistant and pulled off her blood stained gloves and walked out through the bio-screen and began to clean up, slipping on a new lab coat. She took a seat at her table and waited, pouring a cup of tea while she waited.

The elevator opened and the person walked in, stopping before one of the near transparent bio-screens and tilting her head. 

"You going to disable it?" The voice came through distorted

Kim nodded and pressed a button on the table. The figure placed her weapons on a table near the door and stepped through, then removed the heavy wound headscarf and the goggles.

"Hello, mother."

She looked into the silver eyes of her daughters clone, the psycopathic 'Little Snake'. Snake unwound the protective desert gear and sat down at the table, reaching over and pouring a cup of tea for herself.

"So there I was, at this concord event. A database purge for some of my less reputable friends, when I found out that I, sorry, my dear weaker half, Carmilla, had vanished."

She sipped her tea and sat back.

"And not just vanished, I mean, really vanished. I checked her corp, her favorite ships, her haunts. No one had seen her for months. So I checked myself, and I flashed up, not as I used to do, as an error, a mistake in the system... but as Carmilla. And not just that...." she placed the cup down, " But as a Holder! Lady Carmilla Jobias. Oh how I laughed when I heard that."

Kim placed her cup down gently. She could feel the danger in the air, palpable.

"And as there are a few people in this universe who have... shall we say, an understanding about what pain really is... I thought I'd come to see you first. So you can tell me. Where, is Carmilla?"

The last sentance carried with it an anger that shone through her silver eyes, her hand closed over the cup and crushed it. Kim cleared her throat.

"Well.... about that...."

Kim reached into a drawer and pulled out a small remote, pointed it at her. She pressed the button, the Snake looked at her, tilting her head and making a sad face.

"Aaah, forgot to mention. Kill switch is gone."

She got up and walked around, Kim had gone white.

"I was going to do this the easy way, but I guess you just love pain. Now I'm going to start hurting you, when I stop, I'm going to start again. Then, I'll think about asking you... where... is Carmilla."

Two Days Later...

Abaddon Class Battleship Aliti-Stalker, Location undisclosed

Ithiria Deritan stormed into her personal chambers, her major domo scurrying after her. Standing in the middle of the room she spread her arms apart and waited as the slaves removed her armour. With anger she dismissed them and turned to the man behind her.

"I want the up to date figures on the archon construction and the details of the system security. Have the rest of the supplies been loaded?"

"Yes my Lady, the last cargo shuttles have completed their runs. The outpost has given us access to leave."

"Did you find out what their security problem was?"

"No, my Lady. They were reticent to even accept they had a problem."

"Spies most likely."

She sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Is he here yet?"

"On his way I understand."

"I wish...." She bit back what she was going to say and looked over at a picture on the wall, from happier times. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck and she rubbed at it.

"Leave me. And find out why it's so damn hot in here."

The doors to her chambers closed and she walked over to the bed and sat down. I miss her, she said to herself, but it needed to be done. Damn, why is it so hot?

She got up and walked over the control panel on the wall and checked the panel. She felt more than heard something behind her and turned around. There was nothing there, yet the feeling couldn't be shaken. Reaching out to the control panel she hit the silent alarm.

"Won't do you any good...."

Instinct took over and she leapt sideways, rolling towards the..... The impact was like running into a steel wall. Little Snake moved quickly, incapacitating her, putting a bag over her head and holding a knife to her throat.

"As I said, won't do you any good."

"You are dead, no one touches me!"

"If you don't answer my questions I will kill every member of your crew until you tell me what I want to know. I'll make them scream and beg and plead, I'll let you listen to every whimper as they die!"

"Your suffering will be legendary!"

Snake stabbed the knife into Ithiria's side, deep enough to bleed freely, not deep enough to be fatal. Ithiria was silent.

"I want to know what you did to Carmilla....."

"Ithiria, I have those figures for you...."

The door opened and a man walked in. Eric Lancier looked up to see the two women. His eyes opened at what he knew couldn't be true.

"Carmilla?"

Realisation hit Ithira like a cold wave.

"Snake!"

The dagger in her hand flew towards Eric and in a daze he looked down, wondering why he had a dagger in his chest. As he fell over Ithiria screamed.

"Eric!"

"That's one."

She pulled Ithiria around and punched her hard in the stomach and cuffed her hands behind her back, ripping off the hood. Anger and hate filled both their eyes, neither would back down.

"Where is Carmilla. The longer you take to tell me, the better his chances of bleeding to death."

"No one talks to me like this."

"You think Kim hasn't already paid for her part in this? How do you think I know it was you? Think Ithiria... think! I know what you did, I want to hear it from you. Why? And where is she?"

"She had to be punished! You know that, as she did! Rebellion does not go unpunished!"

"This is not punishment, you are torturing her! Every minute of every day do you learn nothing from our past? Do you think you can get away with it?"

"Yes! Because I am Ithiria Fucking Deritan and she is my bitch of her own free will! You know that, I know that, every fucking person knows Carmilla D'morenta crawlled on her belly and begged to be my slave! And that is where she will fucking stay! Where she belongs!"

Silence reigned.

 "Its.... where she belongs.." she said in a quieter voice.

Little Snake looked at Ithiria and knelt down on one knee before her, grabbing her face in one of her hands and looking at her.

"I need a name. Kim didn't give me a name." Snakes voice was quiet as well.

"Alexandra DeLacey. You know, Snake. I don't have to do anything. If Eric dies Lasa will kill you. You know what you are like when you protect someone you love, Lasa is just the same."

The Snake stood up and went over to the control panel and pressed a few buttons.

"You'll never escape."

"Cliche, Ithiria. Cliche."

The lights went out all over the ship as priority signals shut down the lighting and then the anti-gravity fields. 

"Better if you don't follow me," the voice said from the darkness,"I dont want any more blood on my hands until I see her."

It took a few minutes, but eventually the lights and gravity were restored, guards thundered into the room.
"Get him to medical! If he dies you'll be following him! And send out a system wide alert for the apprehens.... kill on sight anyone that looks like Carmilla D'morenta.  I'm placing a personal bounty on her head! I want her head nailed to the hull!" she screamed.

Several Hours Later

Lasairiona Raske sat down next to Eric's bed, holding his hand as he slept. Ithiria was standing behind her, hand on her shoulder. Lasa wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Why did she do it? I mean Eric's never hurt a fly...."

"It's what she does. If she'd meant to kill him, make no mistake, he'd be dead."

"We just dont seem to get a break. First Leo, now Carmilla? I mean, how can it be her... when she's.... I just don't understand!"

"It all began before I met her, when Carmilla was a slave of the Serpentis, to a dangerous piece of work known as Gallicia Tavrook. What they did to her....."

Ithi related to Lasa what she knew of Carmilla, and of her twin, known as Little Snake.

"I'll kill her, for what she did. I'll kill her."

"I know Lasa, but I recommend you don't. Wait til Eric is better. And then, I still don't recommend it."

Two days Later

Lexa sat at her usual place at the bar in The Broken Piano and talked and laughed with Victor. She had noticed the increase in security around her and Victor and not worried about it. All part of doing business with the pirates she mused. She was annoyed however, that she had to put off the present she had arranged for Lasa and Eric, ever since Eric's near death at the hands of an assassin. She'd laughed at the story, and only Victors grim face made her believe something like it had happened. 

As she turned around to get the bartenders attention she looked up to see Victor go rigid and reach for his cane. Turning she looked into the smiling face of a woman, a strangely familiar sebiestor, beside her a smart suited Khanid Lord.

"You must be Alexandra DeLacey. A pleasure to meet you. Victor has told me so much about you."

Lexa smiled in confusion and offered her hand looking over the newcomers jacket, wincing at the strength of the grasp. The symbols for the Angel Cartel were clearly embossed and the corp patch for Stillwater corporation. She tried to look in the woman's eyes, but the twin disks of smoked glass simply reflected her own.

"And you are?"

"My name," said the Little Snake," Is Carmilla D'morenta. And this is my boss, Lord Caine, Leopold Caine of the Stillwater Corporation."

Lord Caine smiled and nodded at Lexa and Victor.

"A pleasure, always good to hang with Serpentis. Carm, sort out the drinks, I'll be over there."

"Yes boss, now..... Can I buy you a drink? And that is not a question, no matter how it sounded."

Lasa and Eric walked into The Broken Piano and looked up, seeing Carmilla with Alex and Victor.

"Lasa... don't...."

Lasa went to the bar, picked up a bottle and smashed it over the edge and grabbing Carmilla's hair in one hand brought the broken bottle to her neck, the edge piercing the skin, a trickle of blood running.

Carm slowly pulled off her shades and looked up.

"Hello Lasa. I had hoped to meet you under more... social circumstances."

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now for what you did to Eric?"

"Lasa," Eric stood by her side,"Don't do this."

"No, if you want to do it, do it."

"I will!" Her voice was shrill, her hand trembling, cutting her neck more.

 "You do that and you'll have more than just my blood on your hands. Do you think Stillwater will just sit back and let you slaughter one of their own? There will be war. And it will all your causing. Do it, and the next time we meet you won't see me. You won't even hear me. But you'll feel me."

"Lasa," Eric pleaded with her, "This is not Carmilla. You can't reason with her...."

"This is not over Carmilla, not by a long shot. You don't threaten mine and get away with it."

"I know. And I'll get what's coming to me, one day. But not today."

There was a tinkling crash as the bottle hit the floor, Eric swept in and guided Lasa away.

"Lexa, be careful. Don't be around Her when I come for her."

Lexa looked on, confused, but inside she could hear something. A cry, a scream, laughter? Or was it all three?