Repentence: Safety

Recorder on.

Repentence is in her quarters on Echidna's Daughter, sprawled lazily on the bed as usual and looking rather the worse for wear, but nevertheless happy.

I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something. All of my pastimes recently seem to involve pain... training with the guards on the Daughter, and of course spending time with the owner...

She smirks, and winces slightly.

I feel better. Emotionally, if not physically. Being out here in lowsec still makes me nervous, and on the bad days, it takes a lot of courage to go out alone. Those are becoming rarer, though. It's not that different from highsec. Just people trying to get by... only difference is, there's a lot more shady types out here. God knows I ran into a few back on Khanid Prime. If it were just me, I'd run back to Empire and hide, but it isn't.

I've got Mortis, however distant the old bastard is. The way he sent Elysa packing must mean that he still cares... and I don't know why I doubted that. I just hope that she stays a long way away. Bitch.

The last word is said with feeling, and she scowls.

Still. She's gone, and nothing more to do with me. I hope.

And I've got Inara. Quite how I ended up in her care, I don't know... let alone how we ended up as lovers.

She pauses.

If that's the right word, which I suspect it isn't. She's so cold sometimes... maybe it's a Caldari thing. We're close, at least. And I trust her.

She laughs.

Yeah, that's a weird thought. I'd trust my life to someone that I met a few weeks ago, someone who played me like a fiddle. But her favourite line about protecting what's hers... well. Again, Caldari thing, I guess. It's good enough for me. She wouldn't betray me. As for her taste in pleasure... I won't deny that it felt uncomfortable, hard to get into the first time. But I'm beginning to get used to it. Almost like normal sex would be just plain boring now.

Now there's another turn-up for the books...

She lies back, then winces again.

Now I just need to work out how to heal the damn training bruises faster...

Recorder off.

Mortis: Consequences

Recorder on.

The view is not of a screen room and indeed, the designs are indicate that he is not aboard Midnight's Embrace at all, but instead in the CONCORD-provided quarters. He looks tired and frustrated, fiddling with a datapad.

What a mess.

I've reassigned Elysa to Lonetrek, and she's taking the Embrace with her. Which means that I have to leave behind what for a long time seemed to be the ideal headquarters.

He glances around the room almost distastefully, the spaciousness and comfort apparently passing him by.

Damn Elysa and her stupid decisions. If she'd just left Reppy alone, it wouldn't have come to this. It's not like she was even outright wrong, her concerns were valid... I even share some of them. I'm still not yet convinced that my sister can survive out here, and I still think she would be better off in highsec. But instead of quietly taking her aside for a chat, Elysa goes into full bulldog mode...

And then Reppy runs to her lover.

He scowls, and pours himself a glass of water.

I really should have guessed when Kimochi said that Reppy was staying on board Echidna's Daughter, but I suppose I couldn't make myself think that she'd hooked up with Inara, not without some evidence. But it's not my business, and I've made my concerns known.

He takes a long drink.

I suppose it could be worse. There are worse Ghosts than Inara to end up hooked up with, and the woman's connections could no doubt prove useful. Still, I'm not happy, and I made sure that she knew it.

But on the other hand... maybe this is just what Reppy needs to get herself acquainted with the underworld of New Eden. Doing so from under the wing of a capsuleer of no small power.

He sighs, and takes another sip. He says nothing for a while, looking thoughtful.

In other news, I met an Exalted pilot the other day. Amieta Invelen, one of the Sansha-affiliated Naqam corporation. I've seen her in the Gate before, of course, and I suppose it is neutral ground... still, I was suspicious and didn't give her an inch. On the other hand, a connection within the Sansha could prove useful some day.

And... I finally lost the Feral Predator.

The usual set of statistics flashes up briefly.

Ironically, I had been speaking with Milo on the subject of overconfidence not ten minutes beforehand... and the Pandemic pilot took advantage of mine. She'll be missed. On the other hand, the Obsidian Fate has proved a worthy replacement thus far...

My other project has been put on hold. The market is proving more fluid than anticipated, so as much as it pains me, I have decided to delay my purchase. The concerns I spoke with Kimochi about have reduced, but... there is still a shadow of that fear haunting me, even now that the nightmares have finally faded.

And the Sansha work has also been put on hold. I need to hire a laboratory...

I just need a new flagship, period.

He sighs, and turns off the camera.

Recorder off.

Mortis: Death's Sweet Smile

Recorder on.

A rare view of Mortis' living quarters is visible; spartan, but comfortable enough in typical Caldari style. Mortis himself is replacing a glass into a cabinet to be washed and stored.

Kimochi came around.

He smiles, shaking his head in a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

I get the feeling that Elysa put her up to it, or at least implied that it might be a good idea to check up on me. Nobody's allowed to even breathe on the Embrace without the delicate Miss Varbolt's permission, so having Kimmy walk into my quarters, cool as you please...

He laughs shortly.

I suppose I should be grateful, though. The visit livened me up a little, made me engage parts of my brain not to do with cybernetics and dissection of vacuum-frozen corpses. She listened very sympathetically, and mentioned that she's had a nightmare or two herself...

It was a nice, quiet chat. She made me promise to go to the Last Gate again, though. Not a prospect I look forward to.

He sits thoughtfully.

VETO are good pilots, and I've worked with them successfully a few times since coming down to Goinard, my lack of concentration notwithstanding. But their idea of a bar is rather too loud for my tastes. The Skyhook appealed to me, with its quiet and refined nature, the Gate, less so...

Still. I'll manage. I've been to worse in the past.

C just sent me a report that she's received the funds, and has made the appropriate enquiries regarding my other project. I'm hoping that it'll all come together within a month, maybe a month and a half at most. Accidents notwithstanding, the nightmares should have cleared by then, and I can be a useful member of the Ghosts again... it'll be nice to jack into the Predator again without feeling jittery.

And when the Nex is complete...

He smiles slowly, broadly.

Well, then... maybe I'll find peace. Maybe even move off the Embrace. It's all to look forward to.

But I've got to continue my work on cybernetics research first. I'm sure I'm close to cracking the interlink of the microcircuitry in Sansha implants with that of normal brain tissue. In theory, I might even be able to adapt black market Sansha implants for my own use; I've heard stories about the effectiveness of such modified technology. Some old colleagues from Twisted have already dabbled in such things.

All to look forward to. Maybe the future is brighter than I thought.

That's the funny thing about Kimochi. She's got such a sweet temperament, it's hard to stay cynical and gloomy... I'm looking forward to her story tomorrow.

I'm tired.

He sighs.

I guess it's back to the nightmare.

Oh, note to self... find out what reason Inara has to shelter Reppy... find out why Reppy needs sheltering at all... and if necessary... deal with the problem.

He glowers.

Both problems.

He reaches out and flips a switch.

Recorder off.

Repentence: Strange Bedfellows

Recorder on.

The view is not of the screen room, nor is it of Mortis. Repentence is slumped back on a bed in a comfortable set of living quarters built in Caldari style, her PRELI uniform abandoned for more casual wear.

Mort's going to kill me if he finds I've stolen one of his camera drones. Let him. He's a multi-billionaire, he can afford to replace one little gadget.

I'm mostly just wondering how I ended up here. And whether it's all been a big mistake.

She waves a hand in the air, and sits up abruptly.

I started out with a few million to my name after I graduated... all of three weeks ago. God, is it really that little time? In that time, I've consorted with pirates, been reunited with my brother, and given access to a nine figure account, with more available on request. And right at this moment, here I am, on the Echidna's Daughter, a Chimera-class carrier, at the request of her commander, who just happens to be a sadist that lured me into her bed.

She considers this statement for a moment.

...metaphorically speaking.

I dread to think what Mortis will say. I can still remember how angry he was when he first saw me out here... but I think I'm only just beginning to understand why. I was nervous, coming out to lowsec to find him, but I didn't really take it all seriously, I guess.

Then I looked up Inara's criminal record, about half an hour ago...

She collapses back again, staring at the ceiling.

I knew she was a criminal, a pirate. I knew that all the Ghosts were. But the scale... the numbers just wouldn't process. Who are we to have the right to snuff out so many lives, and walk away laughing every time ourselves? The immortal, godlike capsuleer, the arbiter of fate for thousands of lives.

She grimaces.

I've only got a few dozen people on retainer, purely for managing cargo and suchlike, but when I start expanding into larger ships, I know that number's going to rise. And some day, I'm going to get caught, and people will die. And I won't. I'll just walk away, and get a new ship, and it won't matter.

Now I understand why my arrogant asshole of a brother, Purity, went on such long tirades about capsuleers and their view on warfare. He was a bastard, but he knew the value of lives. Probably doing well for himself in the Khanid navy.

How many capsuleers really understand what they control and are responsible for? It's insane.

That Brutor thug that unwittingly sent me on this path - don't even remember his name now - seemed like the height of criminality and rebellion once. Now I see that he was just a loudmouth, too stupid to keep a low profile in the heart of Empire space. Now I'm up around real criminals...

And it scares me. I don't know what to do.

She lies still for a while, then raises a hand and flicks a remote control.

Recorder off.

A Slave to His Work

Recorder on.

The room shown is not the Screen Room; indeed, it seems to be some kind of laboratory. There are several dissected bodies on tables, some rather the worse for wear, showing signs of vacuum freezing and damage from ship-mounted weapons. All have had skin and flesh peeled back to reveal bone and, in some cases, circuitry - at least two seem to be capsuleers, while one has such extensive modification that it is likely to be a Sansha corpse.

Strange days.

With little in the way of real combat recently, I've been turning to academic pursuits. The obvious topic being the main pirate presence in the area...

Sansha's work is a masterpiece. Even in these crude knockoffs...

He gestures to the Sansha corpse.

...there is undoubtedly some incredibly advanced ideas in here.

He was a complete madman, of course. There was good reason for the Empires to take him down, and the remnants of Sansha's Nation are rather sad cases... little more than animals to be put down in most cases...

And yet.

He looks at the capsuleer corpses impassively.

Much of New Eden remains suspicious of implants, because of Sansha's work. My own heritage among the Cyber Knights is not exactly hidden, but most Knights prefer not to make a big thing of it... even stop making significant use of implants upon becoming capsuleers. I wasn't one, but... where is the line between Sansha and the original Cyber Knights?

I've been doing some research on the effect of implants on bodies. Not easy to find subjects, of course. A lot of the bodies available are badly damaged by the loss of their ships and pods... but my collection has a reasonable number of suitably intact specimens.

This is, of course, merely theoretical research. But the effect of many common implants on brain tissue are... intriguing. I intend to pass a few questions onto other contacts with specialisations in nanotech... my own basis in cybernetics and biology only get me so far in the ideas.

But listen to me.

He laughs.

I'm probably sounding like Sansha in his early years. I need something to distract me, that's all.

He presses a few switches, and the bodies fold away into wall compartments. Then he leans against the side thoughtfully.

Repentence has been staying out of trouble thus far. Favourable reports everywhere, not heard a bad word about her yet. Perhaps my panic was premature.

No, that's not what I need distracting from. It's the nightmares.

I always get them after dying. Usually they don't last long, but... I've died three times in the course of a couple of weeks. They're still coming, hard and fast.

Sometimes I wonder if they mean anything, but the last thing I need is a psychologist. No, so long as it doesn't inhibit my flying...

He begins to pore over a computer screen showing various scans, then pauses.

Of course, I've been rather... reclusive recently. The nightmares again, I suppose. They don't leave me feeling that social.

He broods, then begins using the computer. After a few minutes, he remembers the camera, and reaches out.

Recorder off.