Here I sit, cockpit to my lonesome, mandating non-warp travel for some piece of mind. There’s only one thing I can think of to get it in a hurry, but I don’t know if Kitty’s equipped for it.
“Kitty, do you have a sensory interface? I need to feel the void right now, and I don’t want to go for a space walk.”
\I . . . I have a control array. I don’t want to give it to you as you would be able to override my systems despite good sense.\
“Okay, that’s an interesting feature, but what about one of those jack things that help you make orders faster?”
\I can replicate that functionality with full sensor access.\
/Yes please./
A few minutes later, a panel opens up and some leads with stickers are offered to me. Kitty flashes a diagram to my HUD and I follow her advice. I focus on my Magitech integration talent that I stole and let my thoughts drift into the ship, into the sensors and the panels. I can tell immediately that this link is not connected to any of the classified systems, but that is fine for now. We can build trust, and the fact that she opened up to tell me she doesn’t trust me is a start.
The sensors onboard are more detailed than I could have ever expected, and I can now feel, see, hear and vibe with the void on a level I have never experienced. The rays from a nearby star feel like sparse tingles of warmth within a profound emptiness. The barely there wake of our hull passing through the stellar winds, the space distortion from our ripple drive swapping anchors at a high rate of speed, and the gentle vibrations of the hull with the various machines running within the heavily dampened frame. This is what I needed.
We approach the prominent gas giant in the B-2 system and I can feel the gyros shift and the field sensors awaken as the planet’s influence makes itself known. The engrossing envelopment of this experience nearly holds me hostage, but Kip emphasizes my bodily function alerts and the need to pee pulls me from my serenity.
When I stand to go to my quarters, I feel like my mind has been through a car wash. I must have picked the wax and shine option. “Kitty, can you hail AJ’s orbit control and tell them that we’ll be warping within 5k kilometers of the atmosphere for an approach to Radiant Red?”
“Sure, Marshal. Any special instructions? They have a landing pad on the building you’re scheduled to meet at and I have no jet wash to speak of.”
“Oh, you’re lovely. Please try to arrange that. It’ll make up a bit for my mental moment.”
Gods I could use some pixie smooches right now.
->P]If you think that seriously, hon, I can hear you. [<-
Holycrap! I aim my thoughts to Penny. ->M]I can hear you like you’re in my soul. I think I needed this.[<-
->P] For someone so strong, you really are adorable. Know that if you talk to me like this, I may not always be able to answer, but I can always hear you. [<-
How does she know what to say? Fuck I love her.
->P]About time you admitted it, or are you going to pretend to ignore how you feel for two more years?[<-
->M] It hurts when you call me out on it, Penny. I’m a bit of a mess inside. [<-
->P] Hon, I know you struggle with expression, but I can’t know more unless you talk about it. I turned down a very promising proposal for this, so I do expect you to learn how to be vulnerable around me. I don’t say that to be an ass, I just need you to know that we all risk failure for love, and it’s scary. [<-
->M] Someone proposed to you? Why would you chose me? [<-
I can hear her laughter titter in my mind, ->P] I have no idea. I just felt that if I accepted that I would miss out on something rare. Though I can’t imagine why it took you two years to admit to your feelings, I’m still here and I need you to be here too. [<-
->M] Gods, you’re lovely and I don’t think I deserve you, but okay. The next time I see you, I’ll tell you everything. [<-
Less than a minute later, Kitty tells me that she re-directed a teleport to the cockpit. I sprint to the door and down the hall to find the Empress in all her pixie splendor in my seat. I rush her and plant my desperate lips on hers and claw my fingers through her hair. The moan she gives my attention eggs me on until she’s pushing gently on my shoulders.
“You promised, now spill Miki.”
“Fuck. Yeah okay.” I slump into the copilot’s seat and stare at the stars. “I grew up in an environment much like the Merchant families, but where my parents were cold, distant, and completely disinterested in interacting with me aside from gifts that were intended to make up for their absent behavior.” Penny reaches over to hold my hand, but doesn’t speak.
“It’s not very complicated, it was just persistent and extended. A gift here, expecting me to achieve high marks, a gift there, expecting me to excel at violin. When I succeeded, they merely acknowledged that I met their expectations. When I failed, I always suffered.
“I joined the military to escape their expectations and reserved indifference. When you gave that offer to half a fleet around Bikini Atoll, I jumped on the chance to be on a completely different planet. That feeling continued until I found out they’d been killed because they stayed on Earth. All the money they’d worked for, that they’d neglected me for, ended up useless three years after Earth got the Matrix. The mercenaries they’d hired to protect them, turned on them when US dollars were properly replaced by credits.” I’d never tried to explain this to anyone before and the weight of my guilt and expectation are pressing me to the deckplates.
When I feel arms wrap around my neck, a hug coming from my lap, I finally come back to the present. I stare into Penny’s galaxy eyes, searching for judgement, indifference, anything that would validate my feelings. I see nothing but compassion.
“My experience wasn’t all that different. I mostly got abuse from my mother instead of indifference. My father had no interest in me until I graduated college and even then his concern was what I could provide to his business concerns and political aims.
“When I left Earth, it was one of the benefits, leaving them behind. Years later, my father comes back to interview for a job.”
“Holyshit, are you kidding me?!”
She licks my nose and giggles, “nope. Consul Mercer is my father. There are less than ten people in the Empire that I have told that. When he applied for the job, which I new he was the best candidate for, I stipulated that I never see my mother again, for any reason or they would both be banished to Earth. Haven’t seen that detestable woman since.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Before I know what I’m doing, my fingers are slow crawling across her scalp and I’m holding her head to my chest telling her that she’s loved and kissing her face. When I pull back to stare into her eyes again, she’s searching for something this time. And though I still have fear and doubt circling inside my brain, she sees something worth caring for.
“Andromeda’s going to play me for a fool, but I love you too.”
I don’t like being completely naked as it makes me feel like a fake, a phony person whose ideas don’t match reality. It feels like each glance in my time of vulnerability will completely destroy the barriers I’ve put up to protect that scared little human inside me. However, as the curvy pixie next to me teleports us to my cabin and strips every shred of clothing off me, I think that maybe, just maybe that with this person it’s the right thing to do. That in this moment, that it may not be safe, but it’s finally time to live in that fragile space and let someone see me.
With the lust I see in her eyes, the fear returns, the expectations mount, and I’m near to overwhelmed in and instant. She pulls back a little and rolls me to the side in my paralysis, whispering to me in mind and next to my ear ‘I’ve got you, You’re safe with me’. She holds me from behind, my skin to hers as I cry wracking sobs into my pillow.
***
I wake with a start, knowing that if I slept I missed my meeting. Arms squeeze me from behind.
“You’re fine, Mikaela, you have ten minutes to get dressed and down a few flights of stairs.”
I turn around, amazed that Penny is actually here, then remembering she teleported over to get a trauma story. I shudder at having to process that later, but kiss my helpful and caring Pixie girl before leaping out of bed.
“Should I ask how I had time to pass out and get to my meeting?” I say, opening a drawer to change my top and bottoms.
Penny sits up, perky chest appearing as the sheets slide off of her. What a vision she is. Then her wings pop out and shimmer while she emits sparkles from her fingers. “Pixie fuckery, my dear.”
I snort so hard I cough with laughter. That about sums up my experiences with her magic. She tells me a few shenanigan stories while I put my slacks and Asian collared vest on. With a quick look in the mirror and a suitably western hat, I’m ready to be only a few minutes late for my meeting.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least say goodbye, so I walk to the bed and pick her up in a tight hug, “Thanks for coming over today, but I gotta go.”
“You’re most welcome.” She kisses me then blips away, appearing fully clothed. Then, with a wave of her hand, I’m suddenly in an office downstairs. Pixie fuckery indeed.
A tall blond woman in off-Navy color fatigues turns toward me, her motions crisp, but the most arresting features are her piercing eyes and circular scars on her face.
“Oh, hello.” She says in a distinctly Russian accent, “Is Penny still around? I assume that’s how you arrived, dah?”
“Morning, she is not. Sent me here before she took off.” She huffs in disappointment.
“I was surprised when she asked me to do this work. We had a falling out after the Herrat War, and I thought that maybe this would be a good opportunity to clear the snow from our troubles and get rid of them properly.”
Not thinking that my myriad of questions as appropriate for a first meeting, I keep my mouth shut and wait for her to continue. She looks at me, takes a moment for an assessing sweep of me and then lowers her eyes to the glass in her hands.
“My manners are terrible today, would you like a drink, or maybe some coffee? And please take a seat.” She says, gesturing to a chair that would be more fitting in a cigar lounge than an office. I will say, though, that she’s made this space homey in very little time.
“Coffee would be great, thanks.”
Watching her pump dark liquid out of a carafe, I wonder at what point it becomes awkward that I don’t know who she is. When she hands me the cup, I decide to just go for it, “Thank you, miss . . .”
“Ah, yes. I know so much about you, but Penny is sometimes, distracted. I am Petra Volkov. You served in the sky, I served on the ground while we fought the cats.”
That name definitely rings a bell. Senior Chief Volkov and Master Chief Baiul directed the assault that ended the Herrati assault on Astorian soil. Even Penny almost died to re-take Clotho it was that brutal. I will definitely have to search what she’s been up to in the last ten years.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Mik Solari, and I look forward to figuring out what we’re supposed to be doing together.” A little joke to set a less formal tone. Volkov’s expression changes, but I can’t tell what emotion she’s displaying. Maybe she’s a scarier person than I thought.
I sip the coffee in my cup hand have to restrain a cough at the surprise ingredient of whisky. Oof, and it came out of the carafe that way.
“Yes, business. Good.” She walks up, sits on the edge of her desk and rests her heels on the armrest of the chair I’m sitting in. That is a power move if I’ve ever seen one. “From what I have read in the Protectorate papers that Penny sent back, the fewer ‘Official’ interactions we have, the better.”
“That is one way to look at it. The spirit of the agreement does picture my role as preserving the Prospect systems and interstellar space between them so that the Bronies can flourish or fail on their own merit. I’d like to think there can be more cooperation than that, sharing information on conflicts or tensions that might upset the locals or their wallets.”
“You do understand. You see, I like smart women, and as long as we understand each other then this business can be lucrative for the both of us.” The corners of her mouth twist up as though she layered hidden meaning and is proud of herself.
I know that Russians have a stereotype of being mobsters, even in Astorian space, but why would Penny put a mobster in charge of a planet? I get that she’s probably very powerful and as a former Senior Chief, she knows how to manage people and probably some logistics, but does that really warrant letting organized crime get a larger foothold out here? Maybe that was part of her plan, to show the Consuls that they can’t control their systems. Wait, Penny doesn’t root out organized crime, she just cracks down on crimes that kill Citizens.
I might be in over my head . . . again.
“Protector Volkov, I’ll admit to not knowing much about you or what you’ve been up to since the War, but your accent comes with a reputation.” She quirks and eyebrow, which I hope is wondering where I’m going with this, “I’m fine taking the Empire’s stance on organized crime, but I’d prefer all such activities remain in Protectorate system space, where I don’t have to see it.”
She slow blinks, and her smile rises with her eyelids, “Are you about to tell me that no one will like it if you get involved? Perhaps, trying to intimidate me?”
I snort at the postulate, “Not at all.” I take a sip of coffee, pausing slightly now that I have something that she doesn’t expect. “If it looks like a pirate, it dies like a pirate. I very much enjoy getting ‘involved’ in pirate business, and it’s amazing how much smuggling looks like pirate business at waypoint and prospecting systems.”
“And the mouse shows it’s teeth. Too bad, I was enjoying playing with you. It’s much less fun when you take it so seriously.” She gets up and heads back to her refreshment cart.
Just like that she passively confirms that she is a mobster. What a mess. Messing with my interface in a meeting is something I rarely do, but I’m feeling a little petty and seeing the hierarchy of this ‘arrangement’ may prove important later.
Hmm, it seems that Penny set me up as a mediator, a justice, an auditor, and some pretty hefty emergency powers. In any case, it seems like I get to look, but not touch, anything I want to unless it triggers an emergency condition. Interesting. I flag Volkov’s accounts and the government accounts on . . . Twilight?! What the hell.
I then look back through my schedule and my meeting in Apple Jack was moved to tomorrow. Apparently pixie fuckery was sending a few emails and re-routing my ship instead of some wonky time magic. What a brat. I like her brand of sass, though, so I shrug.
“Something funny?” She accuses.
I stand and set the coffee cup on the desk. “Not particularly, just remembering another moment relevant to this meeting.” I straiten my vest and put my hat back on. “It’s been informative, Protector, I’ll bring a chessboard next time.” I tip my hat to her and walk out.
\We haven’t talked about the base you’re putting in my system.\
/You get to pick the planet or moon we put it on, according to the documents, what more needs to be discussed?/
She sends a list of messages that sound a lot like demands that I am not in the right mindset to read through—I can’t tell what’s reasonable. I ask Kip to make me a list of her ‘suggestions’ and move on to finding the stairs to the roof of this building.
I get to the roof to find the large fighter hovering upright above the roof. As I approach a long cable extends from the hatch on the bottom with two loops near the end. That seems pretty obvious and is a neat, secret agent-style boarding maneuver. As soon as my foot and arm are in the loops, the ship reels me in and takes off from the government building I was in, with a nice view of the seventy-story library tower as we pull away. I don’t make it to Twilight very often, and now that Volkov is it’s Protector, I hope that trend continues.