First Night

Carmilla closed the door to her apartment and leant against it. A tired smile came over her face as she looked over the room and saw all the things the girls had packed for her. This place, now, was her home. With everything that had happened in the past couple of hours she realised that she was amongst kindred spirits, people who had suffered as she had.

Kicking off her heels and letting her skirt drop to the floor she hung up her jacket and sat at the little table in her blouse and clicked the small tea maker to start. Pulling a datatablet from her bag she began reading a few messages while one handed making the tea and sipping it. Cradling the cup in both hands she read a mail from Whisper and smiled, looking up at the picture frame on the desk of the two of them together.

She reached over and tapped the frame in a certain way and the picture changed from her and Whisper, to her and Ithiria. It was an old picture, taken years ago now the two of them on a beach, both wearing kimono's, both laughing. Carm could see the collar around her neck, the look on her face. The happiness. The love. Just as she had seen hours before.

She had expected many things on joining the Teraa Matar. She knew in part what she was getting into. But she was out, by a magnitude! The looks the two of them shared as the rest of them talked and drank Rek's tea brought everything back. Gone were the reasons why, the barriers she had put up, the lies she had told herself. To look once again at a Sebeistor and Khanid so obviously in love....

The memories had come flooding back, and with them she had sobbed openly and then revealed everything. What she was running from, why she was here. They all had guessed at the level of emotion running through her, but even she was unprepared for the support she was given. Ava, Astrid and Rek giving her compassion, love and understanding. The tears came soon after along with the understanding.

She was not alone. And now would never be alone.

And then Kikia had come. And while she had shown her around the facility they had talked. An understanding was reached, a story was told. More pain, more suffering. Another friend.

With a smile she thought back on how she had reacted when Rek had decided to shoot up the VR. Instinct, protect Kikia and seek out what was wrong. How easy it had been to fall back into the role. How easy to be relieved that the gunshot was benign. That everything was fine.

As she sat on the bed she thought how natural it was to be concerned about her new corp, and ways she could help. Her new family. And yet how deeply she felt the pain that her wife was not here.

Before long, she fell into a deep slumber.

Carmilla stood on the shore of a large body of water, her kimono blowing in the breeze. Looking as far as she could see in either direction the beach was empty, with just the waves lapping on the shore. As she turned she saw the other woman, the kimono, like hers but more decorated. With a frown she saw the patterns, the khanid symbols were replaced by minmatar tribal. As the woman moved she looked up into the face of....
"Kikia.... what are...."
Confused she looked at her new friend, her mind telling her something was wrong. The young Sebiestor looking at her, pain in her eyes, holding our her hands to Carm, her manerisms beckoning her. She moved foward, walked, then started to run, but always Kikia was just out of her reach.

She screamed and tripped, landing not on the warm sand but on cold concrete. She looked up and saw Kikia being dragged away between two hulking soldiers. All around she saw slaves being dragged towards a large building. The wailing of the women, the laughter of the men, all of them Amarrian. Looking from face to face she recognised them, Kikia, Ava, Astrid... all being dragged away, all looking at her. Then two soldiers grabbed her and she was dragged screaming with them, through the great double doors.

In the building, as far as the eye could see there were just beds and each bed held a sebiestor woman. A familiar sebiestor woman, each being taken against their will. The guard held her head and forced her to watch and all she could hear was the screams, the grunts, the cries, the laughter. The eyes, all looking at her, accusing her.

You did this to us...
By giving yourself freely...
You condemned us...
You failed us...
You failed yourself... slave... whore... traitor!!

Thrown onto a bed two guards held her down while a third pulled off his helmet and stared into her face.
"Looks like we have a fresh one here, dont we? Little snake!"
She looked up into the face of Gallicia, the giant laughing face of her despoiler of her innocence.

And she screamed.


The door to Carmilla's room was kicked in. Rek, pistol in hand was first in, followed by Ava, then Kikia. They found her in the corner of the room backed into the corner, looking more like a small frightened girl than anything, a large tribal dagger in her hands pointed at them. Tears streaked down her face, her whole body shaking and repeating like a mantra the same words.
"I didn't do it... I'm sorry... I didn't do it... I'm sorry..."

Ava looked down on her as Rek gently removed the dagger from her hands.
"I don't want her alone tonight."
Kikia walked over and pulling the blanket from the bed sat down next to Carmilla and pulled it around them both.
"I'll do it tonight. I know she'd do the same for us. We look after our own."

Escaping the Fact

Carmilla sat on the edge of the cliff and looked out over the ocean before her. Beneath her was a great slab of marble, worn down in places by the passage of time. In the local dialect, it was called the Leap of Faith. Strange that not too far distant was another smaller pillar of rock, which the locals called Faith.

Before her the dark clouds blanked out the moon mostly and only a little light filtered through to shine across the dark waters. Far below she could hear the water crashing against the rocks. The storm was coming.

How easy to just take a step forward, but then that would be escaping the fact. Even down there, in the dark cold depths of the ocean she would still find her.
"And she would stand before me, with that look in her eyes, scowling at me for daring to die without her permission."
She looked up at the clouds as the storm became more apparent, her hair flailing around behind her and she howled defiance at the very gods. At the small shrine behind her the candles guttered and went out, the scents of incense dashed away with the fury of the storm that was approaching. And still she screamed. Cursing with all her breath and falling to her knees sobbing.

As the rain lashed down, soaking her in moments hands came out of nowhere and pulled her back into the lee of the overhang. The wind followed them in but the rain stayed away. In the corner a fire was started and practiced hands removed her suit and wrapped her in a large blanket. She looked up into the kindly face of Winter, who as ever was smiling warmly at her.
"How did she know, Winter? How could she have known."
"Her ways are mysterious, but you should know the bond between you two is strong."
"But how? Seeing Wuadias there chilled me to the bone, there was no reason for her to be there."
"And there was for you? You have tried to find yourself before and came back with a tattoo and a few more scars."
"And a father. Don't forget that."
"Then what do you hope to find this time?"
"Acceptance... redemption... retribution... one way or another my path leads me back to Minmatar space. The shamans I have spoken to have revealed much. Even Kiki...."
She bit back something and looked at Winter.
"I can't escape her on my own. Her pull is too powerful. I need help. But when I go looking for help, it isnt' there."
"Aaaah, but then isn't that also one way of looking at it? Because you want it so badly you are looking for it... in all the wrong places.... You demand the help, but it's not forthcoming. Maybe because you are demanding it in the wrong way?"

Carm looked into the fire and sat down against the back of the wall and watched the storm outside. As forks of lightning appeared the thunder rolled over them. A storm in all it's glory was brewing, coming closer with the fury of a lover spurned. And here she was, an outcast, an exile. Revered by those who wished to become her, hated by those who could never admit to wanting her place. Hunted by those who wished to see her fall, supported by those who wished to save her soul. There are some things, she mused, I just can't escape from.

Here I sit, nearly naked wrapped in a blanket while my closest companion dries my clothes next to a fire in a shrine I found on an island in the middle of an ocean a hundred miles from the nearest landmass. What pilgrims came here to pray to the statue that is here. How many of their bones lie mouldering at the bottom of the ocean, picked clean by the scavenger fish. How many more wore down the stairs that were cut into the living rock of this island. Here, in the middle of a great grandmother of a storm I sit. Here, where the faithful came in their droves to worship. Perhaps here I will be reborn, taking the wisdom of my good and faithful friend and becoming that which I am meant to be.

Or maybe I really am just escaping the fact.

That once I told her as I stood before her without chains or collar or restraints or brands, that there are chains which bind us all that are in our minds, and no power in this universe can break it. Although many will try.

Slowly she stood up and removed the rest of her clothing and stood before the fire. Whisper looked at her and nodded, understanding and opened a pocket pulling out a bracelet. The chrome band that slipped around her wrist reminded her immediately of her collar, light years away in her asteroidal retreat. Touching a spot on the underside she saw it was fully charged and working as expected.

There is no escaping the fact she mused, that you occasionally have to weather the storm. And, if you are strong enough, you can come out the other side with insight. But first, you have to fight the storm and that which would kill you. She started to run, building up speed until she stood on the slab known as leap of faith and leapt, diving into the white topped waves and under the blackness of the midnight ocean.

Race Against Time

So two friends sit across from each other in a deserted bar, two drinks between them. Over some general chit chat and the drinks an understanding is reached over a subject. A little confession, revelation and a laugh. A little conspiracy. A secret is revealed by one of them, a secret which may have drastic consequences for one, maybe both of them. Certainly for a lot of innocent people, and maybe some who are not so innocent. A deal is struck, a price agreed upon, there is no need to shake hands, no gentlemens agreement. Women dont need it. Especially not these two. So they go on their way and one of them thinks long and hard about the secret, as it is her secret to keep. The other uses her connections to look for the secret. But secrets have a life of their own, they need to be told, they will someone to tell them. Or failing that, they will someone to find it and steal it.

She sat behind the desk and looked at the people before her. Three Serpentis and two Gurista, the best on her staff at locating people. And all three had drawn blanks. Their searches through the networks and information superhighways had been covert, penetrating and revealing. Leads a plenty, but all leading to dead ends. It was as if the person just simply did not exist. She slammed her fist on the table.
"I know she exists. I know it's not a lot to go on but we have to find her."
"Not a lot to go on? You gave us a name. One name. Amongst trillions."
"So what leads do you have?"
"We got shit. Everything is years old. A crew listing from a skirmish in gallentey space where a freighter was torpedoed has a Toria Mariska as a passenger. Three days later a Tania Makisra appears on a list of people arrested on Caldari for political dissent."
"You got the name of the prison?"
"Yes, but the prisoner was gone two days later, escaped."
"What else? The only solid thing we have is the one we thing we all believe is a plant.
Carmilla sighed and poured a glass of quaffe and leaned back in her chair and gestured for them to continue.

"Two weeks ago a Matari named Jias Ginare was added to the watch list of two seperate intelligence concerns."
Carm sat up and put her glass down, an eager look on her face.
"But you didn't search on that name, right?"
"That's right. So, we ignored it and moved on, making sure we left our tracks on similar searches and went back and started looking around, real quite like. Someone had been there before us. Someone had changed the name."
"Who?"
"That we can determine, one of the intelligence concerns. The buffer patterns still held the original name, as it was a security encrypt you can't totally delete it. So, we added you onto the watch list."
"And?"
One of the hackers keyed in the terminal to his datapad and tapped away bringing up a four split window of a hotel.
"Looks like one of the rat traps in Pator. I just came back from there. What is this?"
"Current surveillance on Jias Ginare.... and, this is the person they are looking at."
He clicked several freeze frame pictures of a woman at a large computer console array, definately a brutor, and as the last frame showed a close of of the woman looking out of the window Carmilla looked into a familiar face.
"By the sacred teats of the Empress. It was true."

Tira Mariska sat at the expansive computer console array and looked at the door when she heard the knocking sound. She wasn't expecting anyone, anyone friendly that was. Picking up the pistol by the keyboard she slipped over to the door and looked through the eyehole.
"A geisha?" she whispered to herself.
Padding back to the computer she tapped a few keys and checked the security cameras she had placed and cursed loudly. People were coming up the elevator with poorly concealed weaponry, and front and back stairs were blocked. The sound of gunfire had her pointing her weapon at the door. There was the knocking at the door, more frantic this time.
"Open the fucking door...."
A window smashed and a stun grenade rolled across the floor and for a moment everything went white for Tira. More glass smashed and she fired her pistol wildly to where she thought the window was.....

The door burst in and the geisha surveyed the room quickly. Target down, four hostiles. She started moving, her pistols flying fowards and being replaced by two blades from forearm sheaths, screaming as she leapt at the surprised men.

Tira came around slowly then looked up into the painted face of the woman she had seen through the door. Her hand instinctively went for her pistol.
"Who the hell are you, painted lady?"
"I'm a friend of the family so to speak and trying to get you out of this. What the hell did you do to warrent all this attention?"
Tira was pulled up to her feet, the geisha ignoring the pistol pointed at her. She held a hand up to her ear and went and peered around the door corner
"I need an out. What do you have?"
She pulled her head back as the door frame exploded from the shell fire down the corridor. Tira watched as the geisha nodded and slipped her weapons away.
"You, if you got anything you need to take with you get it, we're leaving in thirty seconds."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who the hell you are!"
"I'm a friend of your sisters. Those people out there are trying to get you for something, but hurry up. We have to go."
"No. I can't leave this stuff!"

The geisha sighed and rubbed her temples then went over to the console and removed the memeory chips and handed them to Tira. Tira never saw how the fire started as she was too busy pocketing the chips and found herself being dragged at a run towards the window. She screamed as the two of them smashed through the glass and out into the air while a dull whump transformed the rooms interior into a fireball. As they fell they geisha laughed.

Tira woke up on a sandy beach and looked around shocked. Four women in various states of undress were running up and down the beach and falling into the water, laughing and screaming. The sun was high in the sky, the water looked inviting and she sat up and pulled her legs towards her and held them while she tried to work out what was going on. One of the women broke away and walked over to her. Even without the kimono and makeup she recognised the geisha.
"Who are you? And why did you bring me here?"
"I told you, I'm a friend of your sisters."
"I dont' have a sister anymore."
"You do. She's on her way here to see you. Took us a while to track you down. I'm guessing you were the one who managed to clean away all the references to yourself?"
"Yes. I like my privacy."
"I dont, my life is an open book."
The woman sat down next to her and held out a hand.
"Carmilla D'morenta. Welcome to my island."
"Tira Mariska. When can I leave?"
"When you meet your sister."
A shuttle flew overhead and landed beyond the sanddunes.
"Once you talk, you can go anywhere you want, my ships are at your disposal if you dont want to go with her."
Carmilla slapped her on the shoulder and grinned.
"And I'll get my techs to show you how we found you. Was a race against time for a while, but I like to win every now and then."

It's Who you Are

The three woman sat on the beach and looked out over the ocean. Behind them the sounds of a wild party could be heard, before them the waves were lapping on the shore. As the sun started to creep below the horizon people came out, hanging up ornate khanid style lanterns at regular spaces along the shore and around the pier. Two burly men in military fatigues were starting a fire pit and before long a great driftwood fire was burning. The sounds of merryment continued far into the early morning.

Together the three women watched the moon rise. It's pale disc casting a reflection across the near millpond ocean. Around them there were sleeping figures, alone or together who simply dropped where they fell. The fire was burning low and the taller of the woman reached over and threw another log on, cinders flickering into the sky as the fire started to come alive again. Still, in utter silence they sat and just stared.

With the coming of the morning sun the three of them were woken up by one of the Geisha. Leaving a tray of tea and cups she bowed and headed off. Two of them yawned and stretched and felt the cooling breeze coming off the ocean and smelt the hot tea that had been prepared for them. The third, slept.

Carmilla looked around, pulling her hair back and sighing, took the offered cup and smiled before standing up and walking to the edge of the shore. The waves lapped the shore and she could smell the tea, the scent of the saltbreeze and the woodsmoke from the fire. Her hair was a mess, but here, now, in this company she didn't care in the slightest. Sipping her tea she looked out over the ocean, and smiled in contentment. Turning she took in her companions on their lonely vigil.

Angelina took the cup and took a good mouthful before lying back and looking up at the distant clouds as they moved on their never ending journey. With the last battle finished, and the planet won she was free for a while, or until she went back. She had come back to see her sister. When she had met her on the landing pads, clad in her geisha attire and wearing the collar she had swept her up in her arms. For hours they had talked and drank and eaten. They had bandied around the names of old friends and comrades, talked about fighting and love, conquests and trades, of fortunes won and fortunes lost. And eventually the talk had come closer to home. Names were mentioned and dismissed, voices raised, tears shed and harsh biting words had come. Insults, threats.... and then pleading. Ever did two sisters fight, as they had done. But some words were said, and sometimes even though something needs to be said, there are places to say it and times to say it. But at the end of the day, sisters will always be sisters.

Angelina stood up and walked over to her sister and slung her arm around her and laid her head on her shoulder.
"Carm, I'm sorry about what I said. I truly am."
"Don't worry about it sis. Some of what you said was true. Actually... a lot of what you said was true. And I didn't like it because you told me what I had to hear, not what I needed to hear."
"Why dont you come with me? Leave all this behind, your geishas, your collar, your Mistress...."
"Could I cut off my hand and leave it here too?"
"Yes! You can replace your hand.... your arm, your leg. I did it, you can too."
Carmilla smiled softly, the patient smile she used on people, the one that compartmented what she wanted to say and kept a civil tongue.
"Angelina, you are my sister and I love you. But no matter what I do, or what I say, or how I behave, I love her too. And I can't leave her, I've tried. I keep coming back to her. Even though she is away for months at a time and I see her so infrequently. There is something about her. About this..." She tapped the collar.
Ang slipped away from her and stood in the ocean, then turned to her.
"What about your exile?"
"Self imposed...."
"But she begged you to come back!"
"No, I begged her."
"Carm, you are so infuriating!"
She smiled again. "Yes, I am."
"And what would you do if she came over that sand dune now?"
"I'd kneel and serve her. It is my place."
"Bullshit. Your place is with me. Is your need to serve her stronger than family?"
"She is my family. We have a daughter."
"And where is your daughter now? You dont know, do you?"
For a moment, Carm was uncertain.
"No. But she is safe."
"Yes. Safe... from you. Where is she? What estate, what planet, what region?"
"I do not need to know. Ithiria is looking after her."
"By the sacred moons Carm, open your eyes. You are tied to a rock waiting for a glimpse of her."
Carmilla turned around and walked a few paces to the pier.
"That's not true. I can leave any time I want. But why should I?"
Angelina walked out of the beach and over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her face.
"Carm, I say this with all the love a sister can give you. You need to choose what is important to you. Your sister or your wife and mistress."
"Why can't I have both? WHy must I always have to choose? Who does that hurt?"
Angelina shook her head and turned and walked up the beach, shouting over her shoulder.
"Why dont you ask Bill that question."

Carmilla felt a pang of pain at the name. Bill, oh how she had loved him, but had hurt him bad. Choosing to go with her Mistress instead of the man she loved. One love instead of another. Back then she had believed she could love them both, and had hurt them both, had hurt all three of them. Bill, hurt, the pain in his eyes as she walked away from him. The hurt in her eyes as she watched him destroy the piano, smash it to pieces and withdraw within himself. The hurt in Ithiria's eyes as she saw that she wasn't the only one who had Carm's heart. And the hurt within herself that was all pervading like a cancer, gnawing away at her. She wondered how many people she had hurt, how many had tasted her love and wanted more only to be hurt by her black heart. Bill, Ithiria... Mizhara. But then, hadn't they hurt her more?

She sat back down in the sand and looked over at her other sleeping friend. Whisper, dear Whisper. So tranquil asleep, as if all the cares in the world were not yours. How I wish life was simple again. How I wish that my choices were simple.

Brushing a strand of hair from Whispers face she smiled and stood up, dusting the sand from her kimono and breathing in deeply.
"No," she said to the sky, "They hadn't. It's always been me, I have always tortured the ones I love. Just as I torture myself."
Below her Whisper stirred and stretched as she woke, looking up at Carmilla.
"Oh my, what a sight to wake up to."
Carm giggled, reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and dusting the sand from her.
"Oh Whisper, you do make me chuckle."
"Then that is good. So what shall we do today? And where is your sister?"
"I think I.. annoyed her again. But she'll be back. They all come back until they tire of me."
"I will never tire of you. Just as you never tire of her."

Carmilla stood looking at the blind face of her closest friend and saw in the serenity of her face the look she had seen before on so many of her lovers and partners.
"Whisper, I dont want to loose you as I've lost those before."
"Regardless what anyone says, Carmilla, you know the value of loyalty. And you know the cost of love and devotion."
"Whisper?"
She smiled, the same patient smile that Carmilla used.
"Yes my dear?"
"Who will I never tire of?"
Whisper smiled, and took her arm and led her towards the Geisha House.
"You know in your heart."
Carmilla smiled, then chuckled then threw her head back and laughed. As she was taken to her house, led by a blind geisha she realised that this was ever her way in life. The blind leading the blind. She stopped suddenly and watched as Angelina's shuttle departed from the landing platforms.
"You can't go with her Carmilla, that is not your path. Your path is more arduous, and potentially more fatal."
"Fatal for whom?"
"For everyone you love. You cant' help it. It's your nature. It's your calling. It's who you are."

Letter to a Sister

Dear Angelina....

I hope this letter gets to you as I'm sure some of the ones I have sent you before must have just not arrived. Or maybe they did and you just havent' had the time to reply. You are fighting a war after all! It's been too long since I was in a good war, one that actually meant something and had a point. But, there are times when I just prefer to mine rather than fight. Hell, I even went through low sec near our old industrial base and it was so empty, no one noticed I was there.

I spoke to our parents just the other day. They both send their best wishes and love. Father is trying to get me to take more of an interest in my heritage again, I remember how well that went last time, though I can see his point. My work with the distrubution side of the corp has shown me the horrors that exist below the minmatar society. In truth I didn't know that it existed to that level, I'd heard rumours naturally, but getting there was... an experience. I think I now have a bit more respect for certain people than I did before. Father has given me some pointers, places to go, people to speak to. Mother did the same, but it was a more esoteric list. I still think she hasn't forgiven me for what I did. But as I told you before, no one raises their hand to her and lives.

Oh I almost forgot to mention. I was murdered last week! I still have to find out who it was who did it, though the main suspect is Eliza. Why... I'm not sure, though I did start a bar fight with her before I was thrown out of the Broken Piano. Why? Again, I'm not sure. But it did create something unique.... apparently a few weeks before I had let Ithi collar me again. I know, I know, but I did. And when I died, the collar was taken from my body. So Ithiria gave me a replacement... my original collar and cuffs. It was quite emotional. For a while. They are now in my roid, hidden away with all my precious treasures. I just cant' do it. When she's not here, my will leaves me. I rebel. I become someone else. The only problem is I've been more of the someone else now than I have been her wife and slave. Maybe it is time to change? Or maybe I'll just fail again and take my place. I swear it's like I have something in my brain that orders me. Maybe I'll see if my body is still in the police lockup and look see.

The girls at the Geisha House are still missing you, so you have to come back and see us. You must get some leave, my dear sister! It's not like you are indispensible, as I remember you saying you didn't want to be promoted incase you'd be recognised. Well, other people have been asking about you. One of our old friends wants to sign you on for a tour with their alliance in a wormhole. Maybe once you've finished doing whatever it is you are doing, proving to yourself or getting out of your system you'll take him up on the offer. Judging by what I have seen and he has said it will be more profitable for you. For us both maybe.

Anyway, as you requested before this has been forwarded to the usual address. Maybe oneday you'll come and open it and check what is there and find every mail I've ever sent you. Or maybe you get them and just dont want to reply. Regardless, you are my sister and I love you and I always will. I just want to see you safe again.

Love
Carmilla

p.s. Since my last body died it seems my addiction for Vitoc has gone. But so has my addiction to blue pill. I guess things can and do change

C x

Watchtower of my Dreams

The Inspector of the local police looked down on the body and shook his head. In all his years on the job he thought he had seen it all, but this was new to him. A length of the maintenance tape that was across the opening flapped in the updraft coming out of the elevator shaft and the smoke from his cigarette wafted upwards and outwards.
"Okay we got the car coming up, stand away please."

He stepped back as the elevator was powered up and the car rose slowly until it was level with the floor. Checking that the area around him had been cleared he dropped the cigarette and pulled some gloves from his pocket before walking onto the elevator.
"Who found her?"
"Security was watching the fight in the Broken Piano. The security drones dragged her out screaming and then she ran. We followed her mostly on the tapes, copies probably already forwarded to you."
"Details, I want details."
"Well.... she ran straight into the elevator, through the maintence strips and plunged to her death. So it seems. She wasn't running very fast."
He looked at the body and sighed. The short white hair was matted with blood and the pink and white kimono she wore wasn't much better. Carefully he rolled her over and looked into the face of Carmilla D'morenta.
"It's a pity. She was cute."

Casting a trained eye down the front of the body he noticed something, a thin cut in the outer fabric of the kimono. Carefully he opened the blood stained belt and drew aside the inner layers. The cut went through all of them, and as he felt, through the body. Thin blade, stabbed with some force into the body. He gestured his companion over.
"What do you make of this?"
"Well I'll be damned. Someone stabbed her and she ran. Panic, fear?"
"I'll check the tapes, might be some clue there. We'll have to find her Master or Mistress as well."
He tapped the collar with his finger, then looked around.
"Where is her bag?"
"There was no bag, this is as we found her. No one else has been here."

Stepping away from the body he went over to the desk that had been setup for him by the junior officers. Pulling the surveilance data he watched her leave the Piano. Slung over her shoulder was a bag. He followed her to the elevator. When she went in, she had a bag. As he watched the screen flickered and he cursed, slapping the side of the terminal. Then he stopped and wound the tape back. It wasn't console interferance, the recording had been filleted.
"Hey, this has been editted. Who had this before you sent it to me?"
"No one. It was pulled straight out of the archives when we asked for it, all backed up to computer core."
Rolling it back and forth he watched it. Two, maybe three minutes he reckoned had been cut. Time enough for someone to get down and up. Assuming they climbed like a daredevil in and out.
"Pull me an ID on the body. I want to know the minute we find out who she is and where she recloned."

Carmilla D'morenta sat watching the sunset. It hadn't taken long to travel down to the Geisha House from the cloning facility in Nonni. What had taken a while was finding out what had happened in the last three weeks. Silently she listened to Whisper as she retold her some of what had happened, and pulled datalogs from her diary and various databases.
"Why didn't I scan myself, Whisper? I used to do it every week, regular as clockwork. Sometimes more, when I had things I needed to remember. But three weeks?"
Folding her jacket she put it over the back of her chair and sat down at her terminal and gazed at the screen.
"Three weeks... it's almost as if they never happened. I dont think I've lost that much time before."
"Well I've informed Victor, he says he is sending you the up to date details of the last three weeks transactions, and he has pulled the changes you made to your security codes and they are coming by courier."
"He can do that?"
"He's the CEO, he has all the toys, remember?"
"Yes, I do. Where did I die?"
"Thukker Space. Apparently you were at the Piano again. I've pulled the security feeds from The Piano, and before that at the Skyhook. It seems you were getting on well with a young lady, and you took her to the piano."
"And that's where the fight started? I started a fight?"
"In between the alcohol and probably the lack of vitoc you must have been hurting. The security feeds show you staggering... and then you tried to attack another patron. You were thrown out by security drones, I'm not sure what happened to her."
"Her?"
"Eliza."
"I started a fight with Eliza? Huh, that figures... though I thought she wanted me dead."
"She might have been the one to push you down the elevator shaft."
"No, I probably ran to get away from her. Hell, you know what she's like. She can take on twenty men barehanded and walk out alive."
"So could you....."
"Yeah, but not intoxicated and poisoned...."
"But not suicide."
"No, probably just hallucinating and scared. Hell, death by accident. Aaaah, wake me in a few hours please Whisper?"
"Of course I will. Sleep, it'll do you good."

Carmilla settled back into the soft comfort of the bed and kicked her shoes off. Corporate certainly appealed to her more than some of the things she had worn. The smart suits looked good on her, and from what she had seen, she was doing well working for Victor. Still the stigma of working for the people who had brutalised her so much when she was younger. But times change she mused as she drifted off to sleep.

In her mind, she dreamed. The grey fugue of sleep rolled around like clouds and in the middle stood the watchtower. Lights streamed out from within and pushed back the darkness and the grey. Step by step she walked to the tower, through the whisps and wraiths that danced and writhed in the air before her. A great stone watchtower that stood firm. Climbing the stairs inside she stood on the top, holding onto the railings looking out, watching the darkness being pushed back by the light. Strange shadows rolled around the billowing clouds of fog and mist. Noises, cries and screams came from the shadows, a cacophony of sounds, and she strained to hear what they were saying as the winds howled and bashed themselves into the tower.

Firm, proud and undetered she stood there, in her dreams while the darkness was held back. And she watched as a snake appeared, multicoloured and long, winding itself up the tower and standing next to her. She watched as the snake looked at her, and in her minds eye she saw that the snake was not just a snake, it was also herself. And becuase it was here, in the watchtower of her dreams, she knew it was not here to make trouble for her.

In her sleep she snored softly, a smile occasionally on her face. By the side of her bed a figure stood in the darkness, quicksilver eyes watching her sleep. Eventually the figure dropped a bag on the side of the bed and walked into the darkness of the room and vanished. Moments later Whisper and several geisha ran in and flicked on the lights, all of them looking around, weapons in hand. Carmilla awoke.
"Whisper? What's going on?"
"Who was here?"
"Other than you? No one... I've been asleep."
Whisper walked over and picked up the bag. It was familiar enough and she recognised it, as did Carmilla.
"My bag. How...."
"I dont know. But a silent alarm went off in here, which is why we came running. Someone brought it here. Looks like your guardian angel is taking a bit more interest."
Carmilla laid back down and closed her eyes.
"If she was, she'd have stopped me falling down an elevator shaft. Good night Whisper.. and thank you."

From the windowledge the Little Snake watched silently, and smiled before departing into the islands darkness.

Fighting the System

Rens.

Always it comes back to Rens.

I hate the place. The sickly orange glow from the sun and the strange reds of the nebula, looks more like a burlesque house on a grande scale.

Every time I come here I feel the need to clean myself. I may be Minmatar, well, half Minmatar, but I'm also half Amarr. Talk about a conflict. Maybe it's just that part of me that sees the shining golden spires of Amarr in the morning sunlight gleaming that cant' bare to see what the locals call architecture here. Rust, ruin, and degredation. Perhaps this is freedom.

If so, why can't they tidy up?

Rens?

I hate Rens.

Rens System - Anonymous Wormhole Entrance

The scouts popped out of the whirling maelstrom of the wormhole and scanned the area. One of them aligned and departed while the second took up a position and cloaked. A few minutes later a ship approached, scanned the wormhole and entered. Over the comms the scout heard the confirmation the target had been neutralised. The secound scout returned, took up a position an d waited. Then the all clear was given.

The prow of the providence came through the maelstrom, the golden hull turning a sickly umber in the light of the sun. Behind it came several brutix class battlecruisers, all bearing the markings of the Serpentis. With neolithic slowness the freighter aligned and the trio departed towards their rendevous. Moments later several republic fleet tempests and hurricane decelerated outside the wormhole, under the careful eye of the scout.

Inside a deadspace pocket four cruisers surrounded the remains of a battleship, a capsuleer pod caught in the midst of stasis fields and warp scramblers. The cries of the capsuleer within were being dampened by a powerful jamming signal from one of the nearby frigates which was looting the wreck and performing a salvage operation. With a flash the freighter decelerated fifty klicks away, followed by the brutix. From the bridge Carmilla watched with anger at the wreck. Not that it had been done, but that their base of operations had been located so easily. She sat down and keyed the comms, wincing at the jamming then sending a direct laser comm.
"Report."
"Nothing much. We caught a raven, it was scanning various pockets and found us by accident. No one else has approached and we are preparing to evacuate."
"Transfer the merchandise from our holds and take it to the stations via the hoarders."
"And the capsuleer?"
She looked at the pod.
"Destroy it. And the body. And the wreck when it's finished. Leave no trace we were ever here."

The freighter docked at the Brutor Tribe Treasury. As ever with Rens a firefight was taking place outside. The local channels were awash with the vibrancy of the capsuleers who considered Rens their home. Dozens of ships bearing the markings from countless corporations and alliances came and went with a monotonous regularity. Traders, mercenaries, pirates with the right connections, all docked at the decaying stations that were the pride of the Minmatar in this region. Constant repairs were being done on them. It wouldn't take a supercarrier to destroy a minmatar station, she mused. A can of glue solvent should do.

As the automatic systems brought the freighter to a halt, cables and pipes snaked out of the nearby walls and connected, robot drones began unloading and Carmilla and the crew made their way to the boarding ramps. Republic Fleet Security were waiting for them. As she tried to pass one held up his hand and looked at her, then over at the others. Wrapped up in a long leather duster, with a wide brimmed hat she looked like an old preacher from the dark days of the occupation, a look not ignored by several of the guards. The officer sneered at her and looked up at the ship.
"You are the pilot of this freighter?"
"I am. Your reason for stopping me? I have legitimate business at this station for my corporation."
"Yes. I'm sure you do. You will naturally consent to having your ship searched for contraband?"
"Naturally I will not."
He blinked and scowled and gestured to one of his men who spoke into his communit.
"I think you will find that all legitimate corporations submit to a search."
"I dare say. Just not on this ship."
"Then your docking permit is revoked. Reboard your ship and....."
The guard moved up behind the officer and whispered in his ear. He turned his head fast.
"What?"
"They said immediately....."
He turned to her and looked at her with apprehension.
"I will.... let the inspection pass this once. But we will be watching you, Serpentis and other pirate organisations are not welcome here. Bare that in mind woman."
"You look a little tense. Perhaps there is something we can do to relax you? Perhaps you would like to spend some time with some of my crew? I'm sure I have some to your tastes, or failing that I could always arrange something a bit more chemical....."
She smiled from under the brim of her hat and watched the fury across his face.
"But then again, I dare say you can't afford my girls on your salary. If you ever need some extra money call me. I may be in the market soon for some men who know how to fuck."

As she pushed past him with her crew in tow she could hear the button on his holster snap open and the weapon being withdrawn... and then the sound of his arm being held by his subordinates.
"Tell me the hoarders docked and were unloaded safely?"
"All of them. The cargo is now being disseminated to the various dealers and agents."
"Good. Give the rest of the crew a days shore leave. I'll be here for some time I have business to take care of."
"Then we come with you. And Carm, when are you going to take that silly collar off? It doesn't become you."
"You are a good navigator, Tomas. But you are not my keeper, no matter what my brother says. The collar stays on until she tells me otherwise."
"Aaach, I never could understand you and that woman."
Carm stopped and turned on her navigator grabbing his collar and pushing him against a wall, a knife from her hip up and at his throat. She glared into his eyes.
"And I never understood why you find it necessary to insult my wife."
She felt the blade tip at her navel.
"You cut me, I cut you. I am guide you remember through the dark places we must go. And with what we've been through I've earned the right to call you a silly bitch for what you do."
"Yes you have, but maybe I'll give you a cut to remind you anyway...."
One of the other crew slipped infront of them, blocking them from the corridor.
"More guards... knifes away!"
Both blades vanished and Carm smiled and leaned in, kissing his cheek.
"I know you do, old friend. But I cant' stop being who I am. The collar stays, and your percentage for the journey goes up."
As a group they started walking again and headed down several levels to the great doors that lead into the parts of the station that were reserved for the local inhabitants. Already as they went down they had passed the darkened levels, lit only by flickering lights and hidden fires. Here were the unwanted people, those rescued from slavery by the capsuleers and dropped here to be looked after by the Minmatar government. Hands were held out, the cries and whispers for financial support, or food, or relief from the hardships.

Once it had turned her, made her fight back against those who had done this. And in the process she had lost part of her soul, lost a part of her sister and her heritage. The crimes that were committed in the cause of freedom were more than the crimes committed by simply being a Holder and keeping slaves. She had seen the Holders and their guards gutted like fish and their slaves taken away to be free. Free to rot in the stations, pray for the gutter gangs of minmatar youth, free to be taken from all they knew and thrown into this anarchy of freedom. Everyone talked of freedom, talked of being rescued by the Freedom Fighters, but few knew what would happen after. Perhaps if they knew, they wouldn't be so eager to leave.

But, there was that part of her that felt for them. As she stopped, she heard the groans of her crew. They too knew well what was coming and what would be asked of her.
"Come on guys, dig deep. You can have half of my cut."
The crew pulled out money and food that they had on them and handed it out. People appeared from darkned doorways and hallways, praising them for their generosity. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the lean figures of a guttergang, their colours marking them and the markings on the wall indicating this was their territory. Most likely they would come by when they had gone and tax these poor people. Dog eat dog. At least as slaves they were kept and cared for, she mused, and maybe my perspective is a little warped, but I never had to starve in a metal coffin that was falling apart.
"Come on. We have work to do, we're not a charity."
With a scowl at the gutter gangers she swept past them and deeper into the station.

Once at the meeting location she removed her long coat revealing the pure white business suit underneath. A pendant of finest jade dug from Serpentis Prime hung at her neck, and around it a collar of chrome. In her hand she toyed with a silenced pistol while her brothers people sorted out the crates that had been delivered from the hoarders. Around them three dozen dealers and agents. Sections of the cargo were delivered, payments recieved. Guards, both hers and theirs patrolled the corridors and the hangers they were in. The local inhabitants paid well to keep their eyes and ears shut.

A violent shudder ran through her, as once again she could feel the effects of the vitoc on her. It seemed that the dose she took lasted a shorter and shorter time. Taking out her box she flicked a vial and slipped it into the hypo and pressed it against her neck and injected herself. Closing her eyes she felt the relief as it pulsed through her, with heavy eyes she looked up and found herself moaning, her hand touching her collar and the other hand grasping the pistol.

Damn, she thought, that these people should see me like this. Perhaps I should kill them all, kill every last one of them. Start shooting and not stop til only I am left alive kill them all kill them all kill them all

Smack

The slap brought her around and she looked into Tomas's face. Everything was silent, and she noticed a lot of guns pointing at her.
"Carmilla. Let go of the gun. Please."
She felt his insistant hand at hers and felt the weapon slip into his hand. People were whispering, some with fearful looks on her face.
"What did I just do, " she whispered.
"You shot the Angel Cartels local distributor for the lower reaches. The only reason you are not dead is out crew outnumbers theres and we have more guns."
She stood up and walked over to Angel, two holes in his suit, the smell of blood and fear in the air. Kneeling before him, aware of the guns pointed at her she reached down and slapped his face gently.
"That is a reminder that we know when you are cheating us. If I had meant business I would have put bullets in your head."
The man looked at her, anger in his eyes and waved his hands at his men.
"Your reputation preceeds you. Your predecessor would have killed me outright."
"That is bad for business. Here you will live, so you can learn from your mistakes. And so will the others."
"Be warned though, Carmilla of the Collar. I will report this to my people. They will not be happy."
Carmilla stood up and straightened her skirt and smoothed it out.
"People rarely are when I take an interest in things."

The rest of the business processed quick and the payments were divided and despatched.
"Pay the men, Tomas and remember we leave first thing in the morning."
"And where are you going?"
"To find a hotel and sleep. And to shower. Goddam I hate this place. When you get time contact my brother and tell him to move me out of this shit hole."
They turned as they heard the sound of people running and watched as a squad of Republic Fleet Security poured in through the doors, weapons out and pointing.
"I hate this place. I really do."
"Lower your weapons! You are all under arrest for crimes against the state!"
"Screw you! You'll never take us alive!"
She raised her pistol and screamed as she ran for cover and pulled the trigger, behind her other crew members were also firing. Before long the air was filled with the screams of weaponry and wounded people.


Rens. Home of freedom and liberty. Home of the free and those who believe they are.
I hate this place. I hate what it stands for. I hate the hypocrisy.

I hate that it reminds me that there is only one place I belong. Perhaps I should do something about it.

Assuming I survive the night.