Seriously, how shitty was the Hearts security? Astarte had stepped out to get some time to calm herself down, maybe break a few things until she felt better, before going back in to face the two men who might be her father.

But then Zera shows up, and for some reason she brought Rachel. Or maybe Rachel had followed Astarte to try and spy on her.

Seriously what even was today?

She usually only dealt with this much crap over the course of several months, but ever since arriving on Unity it had been one thing after another. Her few weeks here felt like months.

Astarte looked down at Rachel. She wasn’t on the ground, but just short enough Astarte felt like she had to crouch to talk to her. “So, shits about to go down, either step back or step up, because I doubt I’ll be able to protect you.”

Rachel blinked “Your going to fight here?” She asked incredulously.

“Well I doubt Zera’s here to swap fashion advice. Though she could really use it.” Astarte said as she began to rip her sleeves and skirt off.

“What are you babbling about Daisey?” Zera growled.

“You, and your whole weird bug obsession. I already know who you are so why wear a mask?”

Her head tilted to the side. “Funny I seem to recall you wearing an Oni mask into battle.”

Astarte winced “It was a phase. I’m over that.”

Zera looked unconvinced. “Astaroth, Astarte, you even have a red eye. You’re still clinging to your little fantasy about being a devil. And you think you can criticize me?” Zera stepped forward “Its pathe-“

She was cut short by the palm sized dagger now sticking out of her throat.

Astarte, who had used the banter as a distraction, was still leaning on the foot she had put forward for her throw, and using the momentum, stepped forward and slashed at Zera’s neck with a hardened ceramic knife she had strapped to her thigh.

She had used the movement of ripping her tight dress to secretly draw the dagger and the knife, and had waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Zera lurched back, her prodigious strength and the low gravity allowing her to get away from Astarte’s fatal swipe.

Astarte wasted no time, she turned on her heel, threw Rachel over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and ran.

Rachel let out a squawk of surprise. But didn’t struggle as Astarte bolted away from the cyborg assassin.

Seriously, what even was today?

Astarte refused to be cornered by Zera. And while she had wanted to press the attack she was lightly armed at best, and her dress wasn’t reinforced titanium nano plating like her armor.

So she gallantly ran away.

She wasn’t fully familiar with the property grounds. But she remembered the maze-like garden.

She heard an enraged scream from behind her and pumped her legs harder.

“Put me down” Rachel gasped, “I can run just fine.”

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“Not fast enough.” Astarte barked. Rachel was surprisingly dense for someone of her height, but she simply couldn’t match up to Astarte’s super human strength.

She saw the sides of the hedge maze, and no longer concerned about hiding her strength, leapt over the taller hedge and immediately dashed down the side, keeping close to the strange pink hedge plant.

She heard Zera crash through the bush behind her. But she had already made several turns into the maze. Now assuming Zera didn’t take the exact same path as she had, Aster had only a few minutes before Zera realized she could jump up and run over the top of the maze.

She never was the sharpest tool in Greyson’s arsenal. That’s why she had ultimately been replaced.

Astarte pulled out a second knife and began cutting at Rachels sleeves to free her up.

“Where are you getting all of these knives?” Rachel hissed.

“Would you believe me if I said Victoria’s secret pocket.” Aster teased.

Rachel gave her a blank look.

“Right, not the time or place.” Astarte said. “Wouldn’t be a believable lie anyway. On the plus side I have like zero back pain.”

“You said now wasn’t the time for jokes.” Rachel said pointedly.

“I meant it wasn’t time for flirting, telling jokes is a whole different matter entirely.”

“How so?”

“Well right now I’m facing a deranged cyborg assassin who takes pleasure in slowly killing her victims. I know you’ve seen the results of her ‘fun’ before so I wont bother explaining that to you.” Aster said, making air quotes around ‘fun’.

“How do you know-?” Rachel began to ask but Aster continued on.

“Right now I’m stressed out and terrified because I’m woefully unarmed and unprepared. So jokes and quips are my only means of dealing with that tension.” Astarte finished cutting and pressed a knife into Rachel’s hands. “Now you and I need to have a candid talk.”

“Candid talk?” Rachel parroted back.

“Yes. You see, right now we’re both pretty thoroughly fucked” Aster said bluntly. “We could call your family’s security, but assuming they actually showed up they’d be little more than a speed bump to Zera.”

“So you need to stand and fight.” Rachel surmised.

“We, we need to stand and fight. You and I faced Zera before, and while your nowhere near as strong as me having some one to flank her is beyond useful.”

Rachel blinked “When did we ever-”

Astarte rolled her eyes “Oh please, even if I hadn’t seen your face that day you came to my ship you’re so bad at keeping secrets I would have figured it out sooner or later. Arbiter.”

Her face froze. Then it hardened. As if the name were a trigger Rachels face hardened into a deep angry scowl. One that greatly resembled her own father. “So you knew?” she said, her voice deep and assertive.

“The whole time, really its been amusing watching you pretend to not be the uncaring fist of an oppressive and genocidal government. But the time for games is over.”

Her scowl deepened “Dammed pirate. You’ve been toying with me this whole time.”

Astarte smirked. “Allegedly. You have no proof of any untoward activity on my behalf. The most you know is that I’m from a Hellworld and have a ship. Any assumptions you make from there are your own prejudices.”

“Are you calling me a speciest, we’re the same species?”

Astarte’s face flashed with anger. “I told you before that I saw everyone at that party as a race traitor. People who benefit from the oppression of Terrans. What I didn’t say was that I saw you as one and the same. You’re the literal tool of Terran misery on this station, and you take pride in that. I’ve seen recordings of how the ADCU handle my people, the words ‘excessive force’ come to mind and also seem like an understatement. So you tell me, are we really the same?”

“And what have you done to fix that?” she shot back. “You revel in your own vices and depravity.”

Astarte grinned, and nearly let her secret slip. She wanted to tell this face of Terran oppression that she had built a fleet of warships, trained an army of Hellworlders, and conquered another deathworld, all under the Union’s nose.

But the edge of a green tinted blade poking out of the pink hedge bush told her that her time was up.

Astarte grabbed Rachel and rolled to the side to avoid the blade coming for the officer’s back.

Zera burst through the hedge, and Astarte stepped forward to meet her. Whether the Arbiter joined Astarte or not was up to her now.

~~~*~~~

The Arbiter/Rachel felt a cold fury at the pirate.

Of course she had been toying with them/her.

Even if Astarte was a perverted deviant, someone like that would never stoop so low to pursue Rachel/The Arbiter.

But her/their feelings of betrayal could wait.

She/they still remembered the smell of Blik, the only lab tech who didn’t look at them/her like she/they were a monster.

Her/their head was in two places. Astarte’s confrontation had drawn out the Arbiter, and the cold fury burning in their chest was exactly what they needed to get through this.

But while she felt the fury of the Arbiter, Rachel was still just herself. Without the cloak she was just the little deathworlder girl who wanted desperately to feel accepted.

But they/she couldn’t dwell on the splitting headache that was her split mind state. Right now she/they needed to handle the murderer before them.

Rachel/Arbiter saw an opportunity the moment Zera faced Astarte. And they/she took the chance.

The white colored knife buried itself in the assassin’s shoulder.

The blade slipped between two metal plates, and them cracked in half as Zera swatted The Arbiter/Rachel back.

She /they went flying back, but the distraction was enough for Astarte to lash out with her own blade.

~~~*~~~

The Astarte’s knife once more cut into the assassin’s throat.

The assassin’s head snapped back towards Astarte, and the lower half of her mask opened up to reveal a gaping maw, as well as the small flame within.

Instinct more than actual thought had her let go of her knife to fall back from the assassin as a gout of flame leaped out from where a mouth showed have been.

She pulled an arm up and screamed in pain as the fire ate at her skin.

The mask closed and Astarte realized that it wasn’t a mask anymore, but the assassin’s actual face.

“Fire, really.” Astarte quipped through gritted teeth. “I thought you were mantis themed. Mantis don’t breathe fire!”

“My creators decided I needed upgrades if I was to kill you this time.” Zera said with a cocky swagger to her shoulders.

“A gun would have been cheaper!” Astarte complained.

“That would have been too quick. And you, more than anyone deserve a slow, painful death Daisey. I thought the fire would be a good taste of what awaits you below when I’m all done with you.”

“Oh that’s rich coming from you. They probably have a whole new ring for psycho bitches like you.”