Intermission - World of Tanks

Just a break from the Eve blog :)

I have finally managed to get into one of my favorite tanks, the Jagdpanzer IV. And gawd it's been a hell of a journey as I don't bother doing one tree, I have several tanks going, as you can see from the bottom. But this one, I just love the look of it, and now I have it upgraded to nearly the max, only one gun left to get, I'm finding I can cope vs the tier VII, VIII and IX's a hell of a lot better :D Going to keep going on this one and get the Jadgpanther, the second most beautiful tank there is in game :)

Then there is my russian beast, the KV. I have a lot of fun in this tank, even though I'm not going any further. Dont like the other russian tanks, except for one of the tank hunters.... but can't be arsed as even though it kicks ass, I prefer the one above.

The only other tank I'm really looking to get is the Tiger, and maybe the Panther, but it'll take a lot of gaming to get it :)

http://worldoftanks.com/ it's free to play and it's fun :)

The Search for Truth

From the balcony of the hotel Carmilla looked down upon the bustling station city below her. She sighed heavily as she listened to the party behind her and shivered in the cold. The long red dress she was wearing was not much against the cold, but was fashionable, and her wrap was somewhere by the bar.

Looking up through the great crystal dome the trails of the ships coming and going lit up the sky. Most of them capsuleers, flying in heaven. No longer men, but gods, deities swept along by the wings of angels. So many years she had been out with them, but now, her mind was blank to those she knew..... as if she was new born. But it was still.... intimidating. And lonely.

An arm slipped around her waist and a man pulled himself beside her. She looked up and smiled. One of her new friends, a captain in Republic Fleet, all chrome interfaces and tribal tattoos. When she had first seen him, the interplay of the chrome pod interfaces and how they were intertwined fluently with the patterns on the tattoos were mesmerising. And now that she had seen them upclose, all over his more than perfect body, he was still mesmerising.
"What are you thinking of?"
"Oh, just thinking of all the things I'm going to do to you tonight."
He hesitated then laughed as he steered her towards the open windows and the party. It was a forced laugh, she realised, one he wasn't intending. She turned around and looked back out the window, but up this time. There, one of the ubiquitous news drones, ever recording, reporting and monitoring. I wonder....

As they walked into the party again she looked around, a smile on her face and she brushed her long white hair back from her shoulders. Again she played the game she played ever day. Two suits in the corner, heavy set slabs of meat, guards for someone, been watching her since she entered the station. Tall woman with the cats eyes and long nails, looking at her out of the corner of her eyes, in mirrors, every way except direct. Short gallente officer, long white fleet coat, fake arm and the constant scent of cinnamon and copper.....

At the bar she pulled out her quaffe box and slipped a vial into the applicator. Already she could feel the concentric waves of pain that were rolling over her like fog. A gentle pressure and relief settled in, that certain sharpness. A giggle as she put the box away and looked up at the brutor. He handed her a drink and she took it, knocking it back quickly. A faint acrid, yet familiar taste on the end, residue in the bottom of the glass.
"Dance with me? Make me feel wanted?"
He laughed, the corners of his mouth twisting into a spiral before he whirled her out and started to dance. The sound of the music, the laughter of the people in the room and the constanc cacophony of noise began to irk her and caused her to snap her head around to quick sounds. All around people were pointing at her and laughing, hook nailed fingers pointing, mouths filled with serrated teeth thrown back and laughing, cackling. Coldness caressed her body and she watched as red flowed over the floor and away from her.

The captain twirled her and stood back, laughing and pointing at her. When she stopped she looked down, her nakedness was on show for everyone to see. Fear gripped her, fear compounded by the drugs slipped to her and the effect of the vitoc and she ran, ran where the crowd seemed to chase her, out the window onto the patio.
"Fly, my pretty! Fly to safety! Spread your wings..... you slave whore....."
The words and laugher became less as she ran, hands over her ears, eyes closed and she hit the railing, tottering and falling.....

A band of steel gripped her right ankle and for a moment the building slammed into her, knocking the air out of her. The bitterly cold wind howled around her and for a moment she realised she was upside down, on the wrong side of the balcony, naked.
"Fuck...."
As she hung, not caring to look up she watched the city and wondered where the sound of fighting was coming from, then watched as people flew past her. Somewhere in her drugged mind she wondered why they were flying without wings, and spread her arms and flapped them. Slowly she started laughing and was pulled over the side and she looked up into the rather unfriendly face of one of the slabs. He looked down at her, she looked up at him, then clapped her hand to her mouth, bent over and vomitted all over his shoes. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder and walked into the mess of the party and picked up her dress and her wrap while his partner opened the doors and walked out. Then she blacked out.

She awoke to the smell of hot coffee and stirred cautiously, her head pounding. Sitting up and holding a head to her ear to stop her brain from jumping out she sighed and worked out it was from whatever she had been drinking, rather than the vitoc. Opening her eyes she looked around and blinked. The slabs, and several other people, were looking at her intently.
"Uuuh... hello?"
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never have believed it."
One of the slabs held out a cup of coffee to her and she took it, sipping it and making a face.
"God, that's rough. If this is some sort of torture device then I'll tell you everything."
Everyone laughed, but they stayed looking at her. As she looked over the faces, none of them looked familiar, though a feeling at the back of her mind made her believe she wasn't in any danger.
"Well, you do prefer tea to coffee. And I'm sorry."
"About what?"
"About your loosing your memory. If it makes you feel any better, even if you don't remember any of us, we are still your crew."
"How do you....."
"Oh come on. Like you would have even given that guy the time of day. Especially after what you did to him. They still call him gelding behind his back."
There was a sniggering behind them as the group began moving around and heading out.
"I can't believe it... I want my life back!"

She stood up and walked around the room, looking from case to case at the pieces of art that were around her.
"I know all this don't I? I mean, I'm supposed to. This all means something to me?"
"This is all yours. You acquired it all."
"What am I? Some kind of thief? For the love of whatever god there is out there, tell me what I am!"
The slab took her hands in his and led her over to a wall and he pointed up as a curtain parted revealing a life size painting. Carmilla looked at it and took a step back, her hand reaching up to her neck, a feeling at the back of her head, a powerful emotion. She shivered.
"Who is that?"
The slab looked up at the picture. It showed a young khanid woman, dressed in the robes of a holder, a look of tranquility upon her face, yet the artist managed to show the haggard look in her eyes. It didn't take away from the beauty of the woman, but it did show that there was more to her than it looked. Many times he had looked at this painting to try and think about what she was thinking, and always he came up with a new answer. Her left hand was resting on the shoulder of a woman kneeling before her, a naked woman, collared and tattooed. Her head was raised, a look on her face of contentment, a slight smile on her lips. She was looking up at the holder. Pride, love, respect.... all that was painted there. The chome collar at her neck proclaiming her place. He cleared his throat as he kept looking.
"That, my dear.... is your wife."
"But why am I like that? On my knees, collared and naked?"
"Because, that was where you wanted to be. That was where you were happy and content. That, Carmilla, was also your Mistress."
Silence. He squeezed her hand and sighed softly.
"At least, that is how we remember it. Things have not been as they were recently, even before your memory loss."
"I dont understand. I don't believe it, it seems unreal."
"Then maybe the place we are going to will make it seem more real. We are packing up here, the lads will take all this and we are going. I think after this evening we will be unwelcome here."
"Then where are we going?"
Before he could reply she turned around and looked behind her.
"Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"That woman... I'm sure other people must be able to hear her. I can't be going mad. There is someone following me and whispering to me....."
"What did they say? What did they sound like?"
"....Seshala.... there is something there I need to see."
The slab frowned and looked at her.
"You sure your memory has still gone?"
"Yes? Why?"
"That... is where we are going. To your place."
Carmilla looked back up at the picture. Again, intense emotion ran through her head, powerful and intense. And still, she didn't remember.

It only took a handful of hours to load the entire contents of the offices and warehouse into the transports. All through Carm walked around and looked at things, read inscriptions, tried to remember. Anger was building up within her and as the last crate was moved out she looked at the empty rooms. Tears came to her eyes, but it was more from the whispers at the back of her mind than anything else. She walked out without looking back and followed the men to the transports.

For the whole journey she kept to her cabin and refused to come out. She had been given a list of her old passwords and the datatablet she found in the locker when she had come out of the cryo-chamber now gave out it's secrets. She read them, horror intermingled with shock, pride, sadness and, occasionally, revulsion. But above all it was noticed, that even to the last there was only love for her wife, Ithiria.

The knock at her cabin door awoke her from her daydreams and she opened the door and looked out. She smiled weakly.
"Hi.. are we there yet?"
He laughed and gestured with his head.
"We're in the orbital warehouse, a shuttle is waiting for you. There are people down there who have prepared and know you are coming."
"What people?"
"Your friends. You'll see."
"I'm scared...."
"No need to be. That's what friends are for."

Stepping out from the shuttle she looked up into the blue sky of Seshala. The fresh breeze from the ocean was rustling her hair and she breathed deeply, remembering the sensations. She walked down the path towards what looked like the entrance to the building. The structure was massive and in the old khanid style. As she cast her eyes over it she looked to the rear and gasped. She looked up and saw the statue, the vast forty meter tall statue of Ithiria.
"By the sacred moons....."
"It's good, is it not, Carmilla?"
A soft singsong voice appeared behind her and she turned around and looked at.....

I've had enough. This is pure torture, I cannot bear it.

And what makes you think you can escape?

This is my head, my brain, my soul if you will
She stood and paced up and down, somewhere in the distance the sound of thunder started rolling in
I will not go quietly into the night, not any more!

As if people care who you are
You?
Slave... failure... even your wife has cast you aside

You are nothing, no one cares, no one notices

I am Carmilla Deritan!

The slave? The warrior? The poet? The miner? What are you? What makes you special?

The scream started low, but built up quickly. Glasses shattered, the great screen before them cracked and exploded....
ITHIRIA!!!!

Carmilla clutched her head and fell to her knees, a silent scream echoed in her ears. Images, visions filled her mind, her eyes. Memories flashed into being, echoes of someone else running her life. The silent scream ended and became a roar of anger as she shot to her feet and waved her fist at the sky and screamed blasphemous names at the sky.

When she stopped she took a deep breath and turned around. A petite blind woman wrapped in a crimson kimono was standing next to the slab. Both were smiling. She took in her surroundings and ran her hand through her hair as she bit her lip.
"What.... the hell....."
Turning back she looked at the little geisha.
"Whisper... what's going on? what am I doing here? And what the hell happened to my hair?"
The slab grinned and slapped her arm and pulled her into a tight bear hug.
"You're back! Thank everything... your back...."
Carmilla looked around a little bemused and sighed.
"God I feel like I havn't been myself... "
"You havn't.. not for a while."
"Aaaah, why does it always happen to me. Tell Ithiria that I'll attend to her as soon as I....."
"About Ithiria Carm...."
She turned back to the little geisha who had lost her smile.
"What about her... what's wrong..."
Scratching her neck she realised something was missing and patted her pockets with a look of horror on her face.
"Where is my collar... where is my bag? Where is Ithiria???"

Through a Gossamer Veil

She opened her eyes, slowly

Cold marble under her back sent a shiver down her spine and she sighed and made a movement with her mind and was standing with a slight crunch

The room was as she left it the night before

A thousand vid-screens showed a thousand images, a thousand more were smashed. Crystal and glass shards littered the floor of the room that went on for miles in every direction. The screens followed a giant curve that moved over marble floors through gossamer walls of mist, over hills and through forests. Everything went on for miles in every direction, there was no curve of a planet, no wall at the far end of vision, there was just... infinity.

Again....

She sighed scowling.

With a blink she was clothed and walked around stretching and stopped at a table. The heavy blanket of sleep that used to take so long to get out of wasn't here. One minute she was asleep, then she was awake. That too caused her to scowl. She used to like crossing the boarder between sleep and being awake, a small victory in a day which could go either way. Now gone.

The table was laid for breakfast, a hundred plates of food were stretched out before her. As she had correctly mused before, almost every breakfast she had ever eaten was here. From the slave gruel to the steaks of endangered species. She didn't need to eat, she had found that out quickly enough, but habits are habits and she selected a plate and walked towards one of the screens and watched while she ate. Eventually, she mused, she would work out this place.

With a gesture of her mind she fell backwards into a large comfortable sofa and started watching what was on the screen.....

Carmilla lay down on the doctors couch and watched the dust in the air glimmering as it fell slowly through the beams of sunlight coming through the office window. Far away the star Rens shone like a jewl in the darkness, set against the dust clouds of the far off nebula. She tilted her head and watched as the window slowly polarised.

"How are you feeling today?"
She stretched slightly and looked up at the doctor. For the past week they had worked together to try and retun the parts of her memory she had lost. It hadn't worked.
"I feel good, Doctor. I seem to be dreaming a lot. Strange dreams, but I just can't pin any details down."
"We did monitor you last night and didn't notice any change to your sleep pattern, or excessive REM. All in all, you seem to be in almost perfect health. You do have an addiction to blue pill and to, I hate to say it, Vitoc. Luckily your medical records are complete and up to date, so I was able to give you the right amounts, of the right varients."
"Did you check my other clones?"
"That we can find, there is only one. It seems that when you found out you had been infected with Vitoc you destroyed them yourself."

She let the words sink in. So many questions, so much she needed to know, to find out. The answere were there, she knew, but hidden just out of touch, behind a gossamer veil.
"Why would I do that? Unless I thought I could have found a cure."
"There is no cure, and the one that people talk about is a myth."
"Regardless, it may have been that someone I know, who cared about me was trying to find one."
"Well they didn't. They can't. You can't find somethign that doesn't exist. I'm sorry if I'm upfront on this, but you have this for the rest of your life. Luckily for you it seems you have found your own way around this in public. I must say I do like your quaffe injectors."
"Is my other clone infected as well? And how did you find it?"
"We found it when we checked the logs and backtracked to your corporation station. I can confirm that you have been a member of the Red Federation for over a month and a half. Before that, as the record says, you were a Disciple, but that corp seems to have folded, the alliance broken up."
She rolled over onto her side and looked at the doctor.
"I dont remember any of it. I mean... I have skills.... I can fly all sorts of ships, but I can't remember doing it... and I dont' remember the vitoc.. or the quaffe."
The doctor took out a datatablet and began taking notes.
"Well what do you mean? Can you elaborate?"
"I pulled my details from various nets while you were away. I could break into your computer easily and then into the station net. I found records, details, pictures, movies.... rewards. But I dont remember any of it, not even when I try."
She sighed and got up and walked to the window.
"How many times have I looked at this view. Maybe not from here, but from other rooms in this station, or others. I dont know. It's.... infuriating. From what I've seen, I have a rich and interesting past, even if some of it seems unreal."
"There is nothing more I can do for you. I can only hope that in the passing of time whatever has caused this memory loss will go fade, or go away, or break. And you'll have your memory back."
"Maybe... this is all for the good. I mean, I'll have some learning to do, but every time I go to use my skills they are there. The potential is there."

She turned and walked back to the doctor and offered her hand. He took it and grasped it between his own.
"Doctor, I have to thank you. You've been most helpful."
"Aach, I have done nothing, I feel a failure for not doing more.... Are you allright?"

Failure, yes I can remember when I thought I was, when everything I did to keep her failed. And yet now, I walked away from her, and look what has happened. Can I take all the blame on myself? Or even a part of it? I failed her more than anyone will ever know

Carmilla shuddered violently and looked around her. The shivers down her spine as of someone walking over her grave.
"I.. dont' know. Something, a reaction a very powerful emotional reaction to what you said."
"Then there is still work to do... but I am not the person to help you it seems. Here, I have a list of places that I could obtain that you have been recently. Perhaps a visit to these places will stir some memories, and here, a list of people who you may have had interactions with."
"Doctor....."
She looked at the list on the datatablet he passed her and transfered it to her own.
"What if I don't like who I was. I mean, Vitoc is used for slaves. Was I a slave?"
"A capsuleer slave? I find that very unlikely. But it merits a search. There is another problem."
"More?"
She sighed and walked over to a wall covered in pictures and traced her finger over the profile of a typhoon battleship.
"There are large parts of your past that I simply can't find. I've checked various databases, the entries have been wiped, scrambled, and in one case replaced with music. Someone out there doesn't want you to remember who you are, or what you were."
"Was I that hated? I wonder.... was I a monster?"
"Regardless my dear, for one such as yourself what has been done to you is a crime. Don't be surprised if security or the local police come to see you. If this can be done once, it can be done again."
"I thank you Doctor. Please, keep in touch if you find anything else. I think I'm going to go to the Eystur system. My quaffe-vitoc capsules are stamped with the local factory there. It's as good as any other place to start."

Eystur.... aaah yes my home away from home, when I'm not at Seshala. Go there next, Seshala. Seshala!

Carmilla stopped and turned to the Doctor with another shiver.
"Was there anything in those records about.... the Seshala system?"

Interaction? To something I shouted? Interesting...This is a screen to watch. Perhaps I am in my own mind, locked out and watching what is happening. A real, this is your life. It makes sense, this all this is my mind, the screens are my memories, everything that happens here is because I want it to.... so there must be a way out.

"Why yes, there was a delivery note for a consignment to go to a planet in the Seshala system. I transfered the details to you. Why? Do you remember something?"
She reached behind her head and massaged the pod interface ports, hidden under their faux-skin covering.
"Just a hunch... or perhaps a whisper from a ghost."
She looked into the mirror by the door and stared at her face, her one good eye twinkling.
"Regardless, when I am ready I will return..."

A ghost. Yes. Though maybe with me here to guide you we'll make less mistakes than we did before. I wish though... that.....

A hand reached down and touched her shoulder and a voice as soft as honey and as tranquil as the morning whispered in her ear
I am here, I will always be here

She reached up and took hold of the hand and sighed happily. The khanid woman slipped onto the chair with her and together they watched the screen. All around them everything else faded away until all there was was just the one screen and the chair.

When I am ready, I will return. I know how, I think. Regardless, this will be a journey of discovery for all of us...

Waking into Darkness

Three men sat around the table. Two were scientists, long white coats, datapads on hand with constant streaming reports, the smell of drugs and chemicals on them. Both were young men, but their eyes told a different story. The third wore white also, but a suit of immaculate smartness, a cane with a silver head and the pockmarks on his skin where skinderms covered pod connections. Brushing his hand carefully over his styled white hair he watched them, as a serpents watches its next meal. He smoked as they talked, and looked at what they had created at his behest. Even with his foreknowledge it did not make it less blasphemous.


"We need a proper test subject now. The ones before, they were all implanted by us. We need a proper one...
"An actual capsuleer," he spoke with venom in his voice, "One of the blessed immortals."
The white haired man nodded and stubbed the nic.
"A capsuleer I can get. I can get a hundred, or a thousand. All I have to do is mention isk and they will fall over themselves to get here. No... we need a specific test subject. For this... we need someone we know how they behave, how they act, we must have detailed files on them to prove it will work."
The venomous one snorted.
"That will take years."
The smoker smiled and placed a memory crystal onto the table before them. They both looked at it as if trying to determine it's contents from just looking at it.
"Lucky then that I have had several people under surveillance for just something like this."

A lighter composed of the symbol of the Serpentis came out of an inner pocket and he lit up another nic. Leaning back he watch them as they loaded up the crystal on the big screen and he saw the face on the monitor. The scar over one eye, the neck length white hair, the dark tattoo over her eyes. The look in the remaining eye, pure mystery. Her smile, slightly mocking.
"And who is this woman? This Carmilla D'morenta?"

The man got up and walked over to the wall screen and looked at his half sister.
"Some one dangerous. Some one who is predictable. And someone who won't see it coming."
Looking at his half sister, knowing what was going to happen, the hideous blasphemy that they were about to unleash upon her..... he smiled. He was, after all, Serpentis first, family second.
"And do we know where she is going to be? Is she that predictable?"
"Oh yes. She'll be in the Rens system, planet VI, eighth moon. The Brutor Tribe Treasury."
"How do you know? If they pick up on what we are going to do they will inform her and rescan the clones."
"I know... because I used the right piece of cheese for our test subject."

Hageken System - Lonetrek

The small fleet of frigates, destroyers and cruisers docked at the various bays in the station. Repair crews moved in almost immediately, trucks with ammunition and fuel already unloading, crews attending to their duties. In the midst, all across the stations pods were withdrawn from the ships and the pilots decanted. One such pilot, one of many in the Red Federation bathed quickly and then joined the others in the pilots bar. Clad in tight fitting red leather trousers and a quaffe t-shirt she walked in and thumped the air with a scream of victory.
"We showed those Blues! It's time to drink and celebrate!"
A chorus of cheers went up and the bar was thronged. The bartenders simply putting crates up on the bar and cases of bottles. By the time the last was taken from a crate the first bottle was empty already. The doors to the bar opened and closed softly as the FC walked in and looked at them all, a smile on his face. Several of the pilots turned around and cheers and the group saluted him, and he returned it.
"Okay quick break guys and gals. We're going back out in about twenty minutes. So make merry quickly! We earned it!"
With a bottle in one hand and a chicken leg in the other from the constant buffet Carmilla D'morenta sat down at a table with several other pilots. The group of them replayed the battle with oaths and curses and sound effects amidst copious amounts of beer and wine and spirits. Leaning back in her chair she looked at her datatablet, a message was blinking and she read it quickly.
"Damn....."
She got up and headed over to the FC and slapped him on the back and slipped a beer into his pocket.
"I got to miss the next one. I got a contract to collect in Rens. Seems someone finally sold me a cheap Daredevil."
"Maybe you'll be able to keep up now, Carm...."
"... unless she keeps the handbrake on that one as well...."
"... Does she even have a pilots licence?..."
"Hey hey! I loose less ships than you do, compadre, and your damn head is so snaked out that your ships need three clicks to decelerate!"
They all laughed and she shook his hand.
"Get some for me, I'll bring you a bottle of that Matari Whiskey you like so much."
"As long as you keep away from the Khanid version....."
She lowered her voice, "Hey.... those days are over. You know me, little blue pill, little vitoc is all I need," she raised her voice, "That and an ac packing Rifter wrapped around my pod killing Blues!"
They cheered and as she finished her beer she headed out to the medical bay. On the way she pulled up several schematics for daredevil layouts and ran the numbers. It was going to be a good day!

As she walked into the medical bay she went over to one of the lockers and coded in her ID. Her clothes and equipment securely locked away she walked naked to the clone chamber and sneaked up behind the overseer, wrapping her arms around him.
"Guess who, Clay."
"I'd know your soft touch anywhere, Penelope!"
She thumped him on the shoulder and laughed.
"What are you like."
"Where you off to today, Carm?"
"Rens. Got a pickup to make and I'll fly it back. Twenty five odd jumps in a pimped out Daredevil..."
"Ooh, nice one," he checked his console," And looks like bay 17 is the closest one. See you on the flip side."
She slipped into the bay and adjusted the location of the hypo-injectors and laid back, nodding to Clay as he operated the control from the outside, feeling the pricks of the injector and then drifted into darkness.

Rens system, planet VI, moon 8 - The Brutor Tribe Treasury

The duty overseer sat slumped at his console, an erotic magazine in his hands. With a quick eye he could cover the many screens of his console and see any problems. Out there in the clone bays dozens of servitors were bustling around the new arrivals and those departing. His free hand went again to his inner pocket and felt the thick wad of notes that was there. A fat payout for letting some techs look over the technology. Typical, he sneered, always someone wanting to ferret out the secrets of Matari technology. Let they try, as long as they pay. Changing the page he grunted at the intermingled bodies on the page and licked his lips.

With a hiss of escaping air the clone tube seal broke and the glass panel slid out and up revealing the naked body of sebiestor woman. She blinked and stretched, stepping out of the tube and looking around with a very confused look. Other naked travellers passed by her on their way to and from the tubes. Still, she just looked around, at everyone coming and going, eventually she drew the attention of one of the servitors, a kindly looking old brutor. He put his hand on her shoulder and spun her slowly around.
"You okay, hay? You want some help missy?"
"Do... I know you?"
The servitor laughed.
"Me? I'm just here to make sure people get in and out safely. You okay? The lockers are down that corridor. Here, let me take you, whatsay?"
She nodded and let herself be walked down the corridor, none of it looked familiar.
"We get it some times, people come out and are a bit groggy. Best you get down to medical once you dressed, yesno?"
"I guess so. Where are we?"
He laughed again as they walked into the long gallery filled with lockers.
"Locker room. Now then, what's your name lass?"
"I... I dont know....."
She looked at him and gripped his shoulders strong enough to make him wince.
"By the moons, I don't know.... who am I?"
Walking down the line of lockers she looked at names on the little displays, then noticed a console against a wall and ran over to it, pushing a man out of the way. The kindly brutor moved beside her and pushed the man away as he tried to come back.
"Leave her be now, or I'll make an issue, yes?"
Running her hand over the console she brought up command screens from a supposedly locked menu and started sifting until she found the right ones and activated a function. A panel opened on the console revealing a palm scanner and a blood tester. Blowing the dust from it she placed her hand on it and squeezed. The screens ran a quick diagnostic then flashed up a picture and a small biography. The old man looked back at her.
"That's station security files. How in the pits of the pilgrims did you do that?"
"I don't know. It just seemed the right thing to do."
She looked at the picture. It was definately her, but with long black hair, and no tattoo. She read the name out loud.
"Carmilla D'morenta. That's who I am apparently."
Turning to the brutor she smiled weakly.
"Lets find my locker, then if you can show me to the medical bay I'd apprecaite it. Somehow I dont recognise this place, I feel blind, like my memory is clouded."
"Well lets get you dressed first, yesno?"

Looking into the locker she found her clothes, or at least she assumed they were hers. A crimson kimono with a large pale blue belt, high heeled boots and a small purse with identification documents. She looked at them, but it had a different name, Carmilla Deritan. At the back a heavy pistol and a discrete makeup bag and overnight case. Dressing she turned to the old brutor.
"Well missy, you sure look beautiful. You look like one of those Khanid Geisha."
"It's all I have here. Come on, take me to the medical bay. I want to find out what's wrong with me."
"Well then missy, take my arm if you will."
Together, they walked to the medical bay, again as she looked around, none of it was familiar. Though she didn't show it, inside, she was scared.

Your Move

The chess set was an old one. The pieces had been hand carved by a master craftsman, as had the board, from precious stones and metals. Intricate detail on all the pieces, even the pawns told a story on the chequered board that echoed through antiquity.

The last rays of the sun shone in through the window as it dipped below the horizon and for a moment caused the gem in the queens staff to glow with balefire before the lights seemed to fade all through the house.

Carmilla noticed the balefire in the staff and the fading of the lights and put the small glass she was sipping from back on the table and, after replacing a book mark, laid a small tome on the table by the chess set. Without looking up she smiled.
"Good evening, I have been waiting for you."

Across the table from her sat a tall dark figure, clad in a heavy cowled robe, a heavy scythe leant against the wall behind him, easily within reach. The robe nodded and a skeletal hand reached out to take the glass that had been set down by the opposite side of the chess board.
"You wish a game? To pit your wits against mine?"
"Yes. I have that right."
There was a throaty chuckle from beneath the robes.
"I will collect you one day, Carmilla, regardless you do know that?"
"Aaah yes. I have walked with you as a constant companion, but always just beyond your grasp. The Immortals dance with death but never give in to his demands...."
"Until now.... now you are dying. And there is no immortality for you. I can sense myself in you, writhing around you, an insidious death."
Carmilla picked up the small glass with the pale green liquid inside and swirled it gently, the ice cubes clinking softly. Aaah yes, Vitoc. The insidious death that is kept at bay by the daily dose of poison. Institutionalised bondage.

Carmilla set up the pieces on the chessboard and placing two pawns in the palm of her hand offered them to the figure before her.
"So what are the stakes for this game?"
"If I win, you die."
"And if I win?"
The robed figure just laughed, outside there was a howling of dogs and the lights in the room dimmed, though on the chessboard it seemed more illuminated. The robed figure took the black pawn and placed it on his side of the table.
"Let is see how the game progresses. But I dare say you'll get what you wish for.... if you win."
She placed her pawn on the table, her move made. Her acceptance of the tems made in that move.
"Then let us play. Your move...."

Time Enough....

Wrapped in a long heavy fur coat Carmilla sat on the porch of the small hunting lodge and watched. She watched everything, the stars glittering to her from deep space, the glistening ball of the planet and it's larger moons. Across the darkside of the planet the tracery of lights indicated the presence of population centres, the occasional flare in the sky as ships ascended or descended through the atmosphere. All visible in the crystal clear air of the moon she was on.

All around her the trees were covered in a coating of snow, the floor thick with it as well, save only where the carriage had travelled. Several hours earlier she had heard it arrive, the sound of doors opening and closing, and the departure. Now, all was silent.

Night fell before she stirred and made her way inside, the lights had automatically come on as the sun set, and the sparse heating of the other rooms had begun. A well stoked fire was already in the grate and the warmth was penetrating, welcoming. Sitting in her chair she saw the terminal was flashing with stored messages. She ignored it, and closed the screen down and saw the letter.

Pulling her gloves off she slipped out of the coat and poured a glass of wine, settling down infront of the fire to read. She recognised Mona's handwriting.

My Dearest Carmilla,

From the little time I have spent with you I know that you have not bothered to read the messages that are on your terminal. But I know you will be reading this.

You will have to forgive me sneaking out as I did, for I could not face you, all my resolve would have melted. I have been summoned back, my duties as your guardian are.... no longer required. And from what I understand.... you have been exiled. Never more allowed back into the Disciples.

I can't claim to understand why you did what you had to do, or why Ithiria reacted the way she did. But it is not my place. And I must do my duty.

We all must follow our own paths, you have chosen yours and I can do no less than follow mine.

Your friend,

Mona Deveraux

Carmilla read the letter several times before folding it up and replacing it in the envelope. Walking over to the terminal she flipped up the screen and looked at the flashing icon. Two messages. She ran her crimson nails over the keypad and gently pressed the purge button. The two messages dissapeared. Closing the terminal again she picked up the book that was resting beside the terminal and settled back into the chair by the fire.

Far far away in space, the pilots of her new corporation were fighting, the call to be there was strong. But first.... there was the fire and the book... and the wine. Time enough to fight, time enough to die.

Time enough....

The Road Ahead

Clad in her paladins armour Mona Deveraux looked fierce, the gloss black of the armour, the heavy blade on her back and the pistols on her hips. However, even with the attire, the scowl on her face and the anger in her voice, Carmilla did not care and was unrepentant. Her torso and arms were buried in the rear sensor array of the Coercer class destroyer she was building.
"You can't do it Carm. Espcially not without telling your wife. She has a right to know."
"And she'll find out..... pass me a molecular bonder please?"
Mona looked around and picked up the tool and handed it into the hole in the ship then knelt down beside her.
"It's not right Carm."
"I have to do this Mona. But look on the bright side, you're coming with me."
"Me?" Carm smilled at the shock in her voice, "I'm not compounding your...."
"Your job is to guard me Mona and make sure I'm not a silly cow getting kidnapped, assaulted, arrested, shot, killed or a number of horrible things."
"But you are leaving your corporation!" The wail in her voice belied the look on her face.
"Yes, but I'm not getting divorced... or giving up my collar. So I still need you. Anyway... look upon this as an adventure."
"Huh, I know all about your adventures Carm. I'm not sure it's a good idea."

Carmilla pulled out of the hole and closed it, flaring up her welding torch and sealing the hatch. For the time it took to seal the hatch, smooth it down and buff the armour to a high sheen they were both silent. Mona looked across the bay, dozens of ships were here. Frigates, destroyers, cruisers, even the vast hurricanes at the far end. All of them had been built, either in part or directed by her ward. How long had she planned this?

She watched as Carm handed the gear over to the workers who were fitting in the weapon systems and making the final checks. Frowning as she watched the old orange robbed priest walk to the front of the ship and seemingly shake something at it, Carm with her head bowed. Piety? From the Destroyer? She shrugged and by the time she had walked over he had moved onto the next ship.
"What was he doing?"
"Blessing the ship. I prefer to have it done to all mine before I go into battle. And all of these will be going into battle."
"You sure you won't reconsider?"
"Nope. Now come on, we have to visit the planet below. I need to check on my estate."
"You have an estate here? I didn't know about it.... nor did Ithiria if I recollect my list of your possessions."
"She runs an entire alliance. She doesn't have time to catch up with every little thing to do with me. That's your job."
Carmilla smiled. Mona didn't.

The shuttle ride to the planet below was quiet and as they departed the coldness outside bit deeply. Snow covered the ground and the trees, their breath came out in fierce clouds. Not far away from the shuttle pad a horse drawn carriage was waiting. Lanterns were being lit around the edge of the landing pad, and down the road towards the estate. Night was closing in, the stars coming out.
"You really do like to surprise dont you. Hand lit lanterns.... and that carriage doesn't even have an engine. "
"It does, it's a horse. It's called binky."
"How do you know?"
Carmilla frowned as she walked over and patted and rubbed the animal with familiarity.
"Because I called her binky. In the back hun...."
Carm and Mona sat in the back and the driver turned to them from the seat and handed them both heavy blankets with a smile.
"Here now, you both wrap up warm. And hold tight, the road ahead is cold and could be dangerous. More wolves have been sighted in the forest."
"Never a more true word said my friend."
Carmilla looked up at the stars and sighed, a mixture of happiness and sadness. One chapter of her life was closing, and another was opening. It would be a sad time to leave the Disciples, but needs must she mused. There were things that needed to be done and promises to be kept. She reached up and touched her collar, a gesture that Mona noticed, and she saw the welling up in her eyes.
"Carm...." Mona reached over and grasped her hand gently and squeezed it, "She'll understand. Few have been as loyal or dedicated as you have been. The road ahead will be dangerous, but you will never be alone. Ever."
Carm pulled Mona towards her and gripped her in a hug. The old driver looking around grinned and started singing an old matari folksong as the snow started to fall again and the carriage jingled towards the estate hidden in the depths of the forest.