Eyre had barely reached NAFTA dome when she had to take her private suborbital shuttle back to New Amazon. They were at Maria’s home. Eyre was pacing back and forth waving a tablet around like it was a weapon.

“Aunt Maria, what did you do?”

Maria watched her very angry and very animated niece walk back and forth in front of her. She was truly clueless as to what she was so angry about. Eyre hadn’t managed to get out a coherent reason for her anger. Finally, she threw the tablet at Maria. The pale girl caught it easily with her vampiric reflexes.

“Just watch!”

Maria lifted the tablet up and waited for the video to right itself. She blinked a few times as she watched a bulk class transport do things she didn’t believe were possible as it flipped, dodged and weaved through a busy line of other transports while being pursued by Corporate Security Starfighters. It barely made it out of the blast doors that slammed shut causing the fighters to have to abort their chase.

The next video feed she had of the transport was of it weaving around a Corporate Security frigate. Being chased by space based starfighters. She quirked her head to the side as the transport weaved through two barrages of rail gun fire and then vanished in a flash of blue light when it jumped to FTL.

The video cut once again. To the same transport exiting FTL at 10% of light speed. It blew past a System’s Alliance Interceptor blockade narrowly missing the escort carrier at its center. The six ships fired all weapons, but the transport expertly evaded their attacks. The starfighters and Alliance ships tried to catch up, but the transport never slowed enough for them to even come close before it vanished into another flash of blue light.

Maria looked at the scans of the transport. The fusion core was red lined. The hull integrity was almost non-existent, its thrusters were trashed, and they detected toxins in the air supply. It also had no ID beacon. Whoever was flying it, seemed to be following the old adage, fly it like you stole it. She handed the tablet back to Eyre.

“They will never land it in one piece. I would love to hire them for the military though. They can fly.”

Eyre gave Maria a look. Maria was still confused.

“What? Someone stole a transport, which happens all the time. Corporate espionage. Why did you fly all the way back here, you could have just sent me the videos, I didn’t hire anyone to break into BMC facilities on Titan.”

Eyre shook her fists at her sides. Maria raised an eyebrow.

“Eyre, what is wrong? The only time I have ever seen you this upset, is with your mom.”

Eyre waved the tablet at Maria.

“You already have this person working for the military. It’s obviously my sister.”

Maria laughed.

“What makes you think that?”

Eyre shook her head.

“The only person I knew that was dumb enough to pull this… ridiculousness was my mother. She was also the only one arrogant enough to think she could pull it off.”

Maria stood up and put her hands around Eyre’s wrists.

“Eyre, you are finding things to get upset about. Allison is not flying that transport. She is in her Starfighter on route to Sauroid Prime sleeping off a hangover while in FTL. She is taking a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Universe for a school project. If you can identify whomever this pirate is though, I would love to give them an offer they cannot refuse.”

Maria released Eyre’s wrists. Eyre got a look in her eyes and lifted the tablet then tapped through it until she found an image then zoomed in. She pointed at it.

“Red hair, gold eyes, Atlantean armor.”

She swiped again.

“Red hair, gold eyes, holo-web showing a suit scanned from the last photo.”

Eyre lifted her finger.

“And… and.”

She swiped up and then tapped an icon. She showed the tablet’s screen to Maria.

“Oh, and I tracked her personal holo-phone all over Titan Corporate dome!”

Maria took the tablet and frowned. The evidence against Allison was mounting pretty quickly. Eyre snatched the tablet back and then opened another image.

“Oh, and that delinquent Hazel used to date is on Titan too, along with his crew of miscreants. Miles is the one she’s gotten drunk with two nights in a row. You tell me again how she’s not flying that transport.”

Eyre swiped again and pulled up medical reports for some injured officers, she zoomed into a photo and pointed at a burn mark.

“Oh, and this burn mark is unique to Qual’sa pistols on stun setting. You know the pistol Allison carries around. Several security officers were hit with a Qual’sa pistol on stun setting, in fact, one was shot three times. Whomever was firing that pistol, it was Allison by the way, broke Miles and his gang out of a Security Checkpoint.”

Maria nodded.

“Do you have any video of the rescue?”

Eyre pursed her lips.

“No, because she was using the distortion field setting on the holo-web you gave her. Case closed it was my sister flying that transport.”

Maria nodded.

“Okay, I believe you, but what do you want me to do about it? Have her arrested?”

Eyre exhaled slowly. She was still very frustrated with Maria.

“This is your doing. What did my mother tell you to do this time?”

Maria turned away from Eyre and started to stroke her crucifix.

“I can tell you this, it did not involve telling her to steal a transport and god knows what else from Titan Corporate Dome.”

Eyre dropped the tablet on Maria’s table.

“What did you do?”

Maria sighed.

“The first thing was to send a comm signal to Miles from the penthouse, wait precisely twenty-seven minutes and eight seconds then leak the rogue planet files.”

Eyre paced back and forth. She looked like she wanted to punch someone, but she wasn’t sure who. She was usually calm and rational but her mother’s continued meddling with her children’s lives was starting to damage her calm.

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“You need to stop. Just stop. My mother is dead and gone. Leave her that way.”

Maria turned around; She was still holding her crucifix between her fingers.

“Eyre, I cannot do that. Whatever she put into motion is already moving forward at a pace that I cannot stop. Also, she is my sister. I swore I would do anything for her. You do not understand.”

“Aunt Maria, that girl that is my sister. My baby sister. She’s sixteen! She should be worried about pimples, her first love, her first kiss, her winter finals. She should not be doing… whatever she is doing.”

Maria released her crucifix.

“Eyre, four days ago you had no idea she existed.”

Eyre collapsed on Maria’s couch and wiped away the blood tears that had started to drip from her eyes.

“Aunt Maria she is all that I have left of my mother and my best friend. I still can’t believe you hid her for me!”

Maria sat down beside Eyre and wrapped her arm around the larger woman’s shoulders.

“Eyre, trust that I am doing what is for the greater good. I have faith in your mother. Whatever she was planning is working. You know Allison exists now. You were able to spend time with her. She trusts you. Do not ruin the relationship you have started with her. Give her the same freedom your mother gave you. To make mistakes and learn from them.”

Eyre leaned against Maria.

“I miss them Aunt Maria. I miss them so much. I miss Hazel’s smelly feet. I miss fighting with my mom. I miss Amee’s smile.”

Maria hugged Eyre tightly.

“If it will make you feel better, I will ask Olga to try and figure out what they were up to. She is the best asset I have. That way System’s Alliance and Aurelius corp aren’t involved and we can keep Allison’s name out of it.”

Eyre took a deep breath and nodded.

“I would appreciate that.”

Maria kissed Eyre’s forehead.

“Anything for my favorite niece.”

Eyre smiled.

*****

Olga got off of her motorcycle and walked inside the Harbor. She had long since given up her organic body and was now a full conversion borg. Not that someone could tell by looking at her. She’d been forced into this body. Her old one had failed her. Exposure to asbestos as a child had seen to that. First it was lung cancer, then it metastasized. Even with all the modern science her only choice was to pull her brain out of her body before the cancer reached it. Maria was like a second mother to her now. She had taken over for Amee after her first patron had died.

Maria had offered her a second chance at life, if she wanted it. She could turn her into a vampire, or she could pay for a body like no other. She’d seen vampires up close for a decade by the time she had received the offer. She decided she didn’t want to live forever, but she did want to live a little longer. Thus, her new body. With the liquid metal and synthetic flesh, she could be anyone she wanted.

Olga pulled her sunglasses off and looked around the bar. It was midafternoon and the unofficial merc headquarters was quiet. Olga approached Widow at the bar and nodded to her. Widow looked Olga up and down.

“It’s been a while. What can I do for you?”

Olga leaned on the bar holding the arm of her sunglasses between her index and middle finger.

“I know you hate talking out of turn Widow, but I need some information. I can pay, or… well we can make a mess of the bar. You’ll shift, you’ll hit me a lot, I’ll hit you a lot, eventually you’ll get exhausted and tell me what I want to know anyway just so I’ll leave you alone. So lets save a repair bill on both sides, huh?”

Widow smiled and shook her head.

“I still want to know who paid for that body. You’re the only borg I know that can one up a wolf-born.”

Olga chuckled.

“Well, well its your lucky day. My employer is a vampire, a very old, and very powerful vampire. An Imperial. She told me to tell you, she demands your aid under the treaty. That is how important this is to her.”

Widow dropped the glass she was drying off.

“Treaty? No fucking way.”

She looked into a mirror and spoke briefly to something Olga couldn’t see. Widow turned to Olga with wide eyes.

“Guess you pulled the right strings, what do you want to know?”

Olga pulled out a handheld phone. She showed an image of Miles then flipped through his crew one by one.

“They are on a job. I need to know what fixer hired them.”

Widow frowned.

“Those are good people. Are you going to hurt them?”

Olga shook her head.

“No.”

Widow frowned.

“That’s all you’re going to give me?”

Olga nodded. Widow sighed.

“I saw them talking to Dante. I saw Dante speaking to a priestess of the Dark Mother. Didn’t see her face, she had a cloak and kept the hood up. A lot of credits changed hands. When I was delivering a drink order I overheard them saying they needed a pilot who could plot long distance FTL courses.”

Olga nodded and slipped her phone into her pocket.

“Is Dante here today?”

Widow pointed to one of the soundproof VIP rooms.

“Hey, please don’t break anything, huh?”

Olga tossed a black credit chit on the bar.

“Sorry, it’s Dante, he’s going to make me break something. That should cover it and any inconvenience.”

Olga approached the booth. Widow unlocked the door with a remote in an attempt avoid damage to her bar. Olga walked inside. Dante was a large black man with a lot of flashy chrome. He was a former mercenary turned Fixer. He was smoking a cigar and talking to the Blades. One of the best merc crews on Earth. The Blades all looked at Olga. Olga pointed her thumb at the booth’s door.

“Leave.”

The Blades all hurried to leave the booth. The door closed behind them. Dante leaned forward and tapped his cigar on an ashtray. He looked up at Olga.

“I mean this with all due respect but fuck off you crazy Russian bitch.”

Olga crossed her arms and leaned her head to the side.

“Why is it when someone says with all due respect, it is always followed by something that is anything but respectful?”

Dante stood up and extended blades from his arms. Olga sighed.

“I told Widow you were going to make me break something.”

She lunged at him and ripped his mantis blades out of their sockets. She kicked him in the chest. He went flying through the armored glass and smashed through three tables and hit the armor-plated bar. He groaned and held his chest. Olga nodded to Widow and dug her fingers into the flesh around Dante’s Supremacy spinal mod, she carried him through the bar and kicked the doors open. Once she reached the parking lot she hurled him toward the reservoir. He smashed into the concrete hard enough to crack it.

Dante was wheezing and trying to get up. Olga walked up to him and stepped on his back, pressing him against the cement. She leaned down.

“Dante, you didn’t even wait until I asked a question. I thought you were a professional. You lose some of your brain when you got those eye mods?”

He spit out blood and wheezed while he spoke.

“I don’t care what you want you psychopath. I ain’t telling you shit.”

Olga sighed.

“What are we going to do about that?”

She put her foot under him and kicked him over on his back.

“Oh, that is a fancy new arm you got there. Is that a Crusader Tech Max Alpha targeting system?”

She reached down and tore the targeting system out then tossed it over her shoulder into the reservoir. She eyed one of his cybernetic ears.

“Oh, Echo 6200 ear mod. Pricey.”

She reached down and ripped the cybernetic ear off and tossed it over her shoulder. Dante held his hand to the side of his head. He was screaming. She reached down and slapped his face plate hard a few times.

“Dante, pay attention. Miles, and his little band of idiots, you arranged a job with them. What was it?”

Dante spit out more blood.

“Fuck you.”

Olga sighed.

“Dante, there are a lot of hours in the day, and you have oh so many parts I can rip off without killing you.”

Her eyes drifted down between his legs, his pants looked very full.

“Oh, I just know you got something in there that you spent a lot of credits on. I wonder, will it feel like I ripped your real one off all over again or not?”

He spit out more blood.

“Fuck, fuck you’re done in this town. No one will hire you after this.”

Olga punched her hand into his left thigh and pulled out a piston. White hydraulic fluid started squirting everywhere. She wiped her hand off on his expensive shirt.

“Dante, when is the last time I took a job from one of you lowlifes? I’m a one-woman girl. Hmm, what next… what next. I would love to rip out your other ear, but then you can’t hear my questions. Hey, do you have one of those fancy cybernetic livers? I’ve always wanted to see one of those up close.”

Olga kneeled down and started digging her fingers into his still organic stomach.

“Just give me a sec, I got to get through a few things to find it here.”

Dante screamed.

“Fuck! Fuck! Crazy bitch I’ll tell you! Stop!”

Olga lifted his shirt and wiped the blood and hydraulic fluid off her hands. He started holding his gut. He looked up at her.

“Fuck. The Dark Mother’s church hired them to retrieve some Nazi shit from Titan. Some iron tube and fucking other random shit. Worthless shit. They think they’re some holy relics. Fuck.”

Olga started reaching for his abdomen again.

“Stop! Fuck. They’re supposed to arrive in five or six hours. Cash on delivery to the Temple of the Universe on Sauroid prime.”

Olga grinned.

“See how easy that was? Next time just tell me.”

She pointed at his chest.

“You might want to go with the honeycomb reinforced ribs next time.”

Olga backed away. TraumaTech had arrived several minutes ago but were waiting for Olga to finish before getting involved she looked at the group of med techs.

“He’s all yours.”

She put her hands in her pockets and wandered towards her motorcycle. She blinked to trigger a phone call.

“Hey boss, I’ll need a ship, and a pilot. Something fast. Or I’ll need wormhole approval. They’re on their way to Sauroid prime and they’ve got a head start.”

Maria responded.

“I’ll make the arrangements.”

Olga ended the call and hopped on her motorcycle. She pulled out of the parking lot and started towards New Amazon Space Port.