Gavin sat down across from Reijaa, her cold stare piercing his every word and thought. It was enough to freeze his blood. Still, he rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, revealing his brand. Permiso’s brand. She looked directly at it, her face inscrutable to all but him. “When I left the planet when we were young, it wasn’t just for a tour as a smuggler. I found out once we were in the deep black that I had been hired by Permiso. Most don’t know it but her Pierrot have the harvesting process down to a science. Looking for the lost. The desperate. Those hungry for purpose. Breaking all anchors to their past. Their identity.” He rolled his sleeve back down, “By the time you realize what’s going on, there is nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and no turning back.” He looked away, having a hard time explaining what happens next. Trying to stay strong, he said what he could, “By the time I got home, trying to leave it behind, vanish into the dark, things had changed. Losing you when I came back felt like she had won. Destroyed everything I am, taken my identity. Killed the man I was becoming.”
Reijaa spoke firmly, “So, when do we kill her?” Gavin jolted from the darkness he was falling into. He looked up through tears he hadn’t noticed he was shedding, “Permiso. At what stage of this process do we kill her?” Her tone was even and cold, her face as stoic as ever. As Gavin stared at her, she spoke again, “We are already outlaws with the biggest gun in the cosmos. Let’s just go and disintegrate her.”
Gavin stared for a long time before beginning to laugh. A mad laugh. One accompanied by tears as he felt the weight of his scars on his heart. He eventually collected himself and said darkly, “Yeah, but I don’t know where she is. She lives out of a space station. Easier to keep control of her servants. She keeps moving systems to keep any outsiders from ruining her paradise. I don’t even have a place to start the trail from.”
“I have actually been meaning to help with that, young one.” Reijaa froze, her own expression mirroring his. He didn’t need to see the visitor to know the voice. She knew him as a myth. A folktale told around the galaxy. She could never understand the terror and joy Gavin was currently feeling. “I knew I remembered you back at the tournament. Hearing your story gives me a better idea of what old Red and Gold was telling me. Seems like he agrees with you.”
Gavin felt the hairs on his neck stand up and he asked carefully, “How did you get on our ship undetected?” He played with a few of the tools in his pocket. This was a very dangerous situation. Anything could cause things to get out of hand.
“Oh, please leave those toys in your pocket before you get yourself hurt.” The Moonlighter circled the table, his gleaming blue eyes stealing Gavin’s attention. As the glow slowly began to become the only thing Gavin could see, the gunman continued, “I was invited here. You knew me back there as Irving. One of my many jobs. That said, I’ve cashed in a lot of time off at various jobs for this.” He twirled his guns a little for fun and sat down, “And I’m glad I did. I spared you that day and now I’m asking a favor of you. To do a favor for yourself and the cosmos. I’m going to tell you where you all can find her.”
Reijaa remained entranced, clearly his effect on her, unmoved from when she saw him enter. Gavin asked, “And what will you do?”
The Moonlighter laughed, adjusting his hat, “Look, I have been around for longer than you were even a concept. But I know when a predator needs to be removed from an ecosystem.” He leaned back in his chair. “Just promise me that no matter what anyone else on the ship says, you will use this cannon when the time comes. Unless you do, I can’t be sure the job is done.”
Gavin smirked a dangerous smirk, “No worries there.”
The Moonlighter laughed, leaning forward in anticipation before feeling cold steel at his neck. Reijaa held a gun barrel at his neck, her tail now covering her eyes as she licked the air. “I don’t know how you could do that, but we will see the job done. Now get off the ship, or I’ll make you regrow your head.”
The Moonlighter laughed. Slipping quickly and smoothly out of her line of fire, making it look as natural as breathing. He returned one of his guns back to its holster, teasing, “This one is a legend and a keeper. Face to face with the Midnight Cowboy and she doesn’t flinch. Back in my partner days I might have dragged you to a few jobs before leaving you holding the bag.” He waved as he walked out the door, tossing a drive over his shoulder that landed with eerie precision on the table they were sitting at.
Reijaa tried to check on Gavin who cleared his throat, “That was the real deal… and we have history.” She glared and he motioned to his outfit. “He… he helped me find my way back home. I don’t know who Red and Gold is, but if this is what he says it is, I need to thank that man.”
Reijaa shifted a little and stated firmly, “We will make her suffer. I don’t know what she did to you, but in my family, every scar you give us is another tombstone.” Gavin couldn’t help but smile at the woman he adored.
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Eventually he affirmed, “I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Dreaming of it, whenever the nightmares settle.” His smile grew even as his eyes grew cold, “This will honestly be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life…”
“Of course it is, and I’ll be coming with.” Gavin turned to face Sai who was standing in the doorway. “I’ve got a score to settle with her.”
“No way. This isn’t your fight. All you have is memories.”
Sai laughed bleakly, “Yeah, which is why I can’t let that injustice pass. She may have never done any of it to me, but I know what she must have done to you in grave detail. That means you are stuck with me.”
Gavin sighed eventually realizing something and nodding, “Actually, you might be the perfect person to help with some of this…. Reijaa-“
She nodded, “I will speak with the inventor and captain about the situation.” When Gavin grew tense, she assured him, “I will be discreet. She needn’t know what our plans are-“
Gavin waved her silent and stated, “There are ways other than the Light of Dawn to purge her evil, but I will need everyone to work with me on this. And that may raise more questions than I am willing to answer.”
Sai waved that away, “Friendo, you don’t need to worry about that. You tell me what you need and I’ll make the case to Cappy.” Gavin tried to shake off his distant stare as his memories pressed against his mind. Sai spoke reassuringly, “You don’t have to let what happened effect today. Let’s make it a point to save everyone we can and close this chapter.
———
Tak shook her head sadly at the request, “Sai, I wish we could, but I just got a signal from my homeworld. It is a high priority channel. I have to go back.” The look of distress on her face made clear to him this wasn’t optional. The thought caused a pall to fall over his face.
Gavin sighed, “That’s fine, I guess. I can make it work with just us and a few of the volunteers we picked up.” The captain raised a brow at him and Katsi huffed, both clearly with an impression of the situation. Gavin stated firmly, “This is our one chance to eliminate her and save countless people from her. You have heard rumors, I’m sure and none of them even scratch the surface of what she does every day.”
“I understand, but are you really going to prioritize a personal vendetta over saving a planet? That seems like you need to check your priorities.” Anisa sighed, “I would rather we deal with this out of place mass recall that appears to be going on. I’ve never heard of anything like this and every comms array in the cosmos seems to agree.”
Sai nodded, “Yeah, I can imagine. I’ve only ever heard of it once before and it lead to the extinction of the species.” Tak froze at this idea and Sai nodded, “Yeah. So I can understand but I mean it when I say Permiso is worse than you could ever know and her agents sow political unrest and mass death everywhere they go. And every day she conditions and releases more of them. We need to take this chance because we may not get another.”
Katsi spat back, “You are really going to compare some criminal to geno-“
Gavin cut them off, pulling his hat in front of his eyes as he shouted, “She violated me!” When that settled in, he continued just as furious, “She kidnapped me, drugged me, bent me into her puppet and conditioned me to celebrate the brutality and horror she demanded I do to others. She forced herself on my body when I was too shattered and broken to know my own name. She doesn’t commit genocide because she believes it is too quick and lacks art.” The room chilled, he said quietly, “She is a false goddess and I will deal her a death blow for all she has cast into darkness. You don’t have to come, but you have no concept of the evil she represents. I mourn for a potential loss of a planet, but I cannot ignore what I know IS happening and I can’t walk away when I finally know how to stop it.”
The crew was the quietest they had been since they first fired The Light of Dawn. Those who had not been there before now sharing in the heavy silence. Eventually, Pine’s synthetic voice broke the silence, “You shall not. And neither can I.” He walked up to Gavin and did an oddly ceremonial bow. Gavin patted him on the shoulder and nodded, acknowledging his comfort and company.
Sai held up a finger in realization. “I have been working an idea that could help everyone. It will take a couple days to finish it though.”
Gavin nodded, “I need Katsi to help Reijaa and I with some aspects of the plan anyway. We will leave when he is done.”
Katsi was having a hard time looking at Gavin, not sure to process what she had heard. She wanted to talk with him. Try to heal it and make him feel better. But she couldn’t find the words. Gavin seemed to understand, but he just patted her on the shoulder. They could discuss this when he got back.