-(Idunn)-

Hidden Garden space station, 12 hours later

*How interesting.*

The rest of the crew of the captured ship surrendered when Fenicia strolled in the bridge while being splattered with blood and grey matter from their colonel. Some leftover of the super soldier platoon tried some shenanigans but were put down by Ell Evan. This delightful young woman was wasted on the like of a mercenary outfit; I saw inside her mind what they did to her. I hope that she will stay and accompany my beloved daughter in her adventures.

Now, I am meddling with the computer of the Warsong, looking at the parameters of their mission that brought them to my little abode. Their clients, two Assurians paid the Ares mercenaries 1 billion credits for my head and the destruction of my space station. I felt flattered that they want to pay such an exorbitant price to “put me down” like they said on the message with all my information. It seems they obtained some clue about where I am from the Idrissan university I communicated my researches about terraformation.

*How unfortunate.*

Fenicia entered my laboratory wearing her normal sportswear consisting of a white T-shirt, black leggings and sport shoes. She placed herself in the viewing room and slept on the sofa there. How weird, why doesn’t she enters and kisses me good morning like any good and proper daughter should? She must not have accepted me yet, but she’s trying. I remember her confession of not wanting to give me problems by disappearing and that she is worried about me. I felt warm and teary eyed just by remembering. My fingers glided on the mechanical keyboard, inserting commands and shutting down the computer. I stood and decided to look at Fenicia, she is still recovering from our ordeal. Her left arm and shoulder are still not in any condition to permit their use and the blow she received to the head made her unbalanced for some time, even if she is good at hiding it. She didn’t want to enter a medical tank; I couldn’t force her when she looked at me like a cornered animal. The medical nanites in her body should suffice to make her like new in another 12 hours. But to be certain I took my medical scanners on my desk.

Entering the viewing room, I took out the drone scanner and activate it.

The little sphere floated away from my hand and I directed it to scan the body of my daughter. Blue light projected from an aperture from the little black sphere. Information about Fenicia’s body filled the screen of my tablet. The nanites are mending her arm and shoulder and have already fixed the light fracture on her skull. I am surprised that she could still move with that kind of wound, that’s Saryans for you. All of them are tough beings. Fenicia is a bit dehydrated and exhausted by the healing process and is in danger of not having sufficient energy to sustain it.

So, I did the only sensible things to do and called a bot to serve cold drinks and food. I choose to sit near her and to wait for the bot to come here.

 

***

-(Fenicia)-

 

I woke up bleary eyed with the smell of food in my nose; my growling tummy woke up too. My optical HUD tells me it is six in the morning, oh and I am not seeing double anymore! That’s awesome. I hate it when something or someone hit my head, I may have a dense skull, but it still hurt. It’s been one 13 hours since I killed all those humans; my wounds are getting better too. I righted myself on the sofa, sitting and was surprised by finding Idunn here looking at me with a warm smile on her face. She is wearing a white body fitting suit hugging her petite form, with a lab coat to cover everything.

“Hello, dear.”

“Uh-Hi?” I said unsure.

“I took the liberty to bring you food.” And she presented me a plastic tray with an unknown drink and a mountain of pancakes with syrup.

My traitorous stomach growled even strongly.

“Eat.” Idunn ordered, shoving the tray to me.

“But that’s human food…” I said. “I can’t stomach some of it.”

Idunn looked at me, still smiling and… insistent. So, I gave in and stab my eating tool into the weird flat brown cake with all that sticky goo on it. The petite Assurian heavily sighed and took the disposable cutlery from me and sliced into the top flat cake, stabbed it and presented it to me.

“Eat.” She said forcefully.

Our eyes and wills dueled for long seconds, and I am ashamed to say that I lost and lowered them. So I opened my mouth slowly and she put the food in it. When it hit my tongue, myriad of savors filled my sense. It made me moan in pleasure and I dexterously snatched the fork in Idunn hand and began to dig in the food.

“Slowly, Fenicia! The food won’t run…”

“viou nievier hiad tio yit fiasht.” I said with my mouth full.

I continued to inhale the food.

“Excuse me, what was that?! Watch your manners young lady!” It sounded harsh but the mirth in Idunn’s eyes showed me that she isn’t serious.

The little woman took the glass of purple like drink and presented it to me; I promptly snatched it of her hand and drank. It’s a sugary and satisfying drink, reminding me of an alcohol I had on the Saint Patrick, the first ship I have been on.

“It’s grape juice.”

I sighed in contentment. “That’s really good! Can I have more please?”

 

***

-(Ell Evan)-

 

The degree of trust I was given astounded me; Idunn gave me a suite in the housing quarter. It is sparsely furnished, has three rooms a toilet, a bedroom and a lounge. The blank customizable VR-walls of this suite permit me to personalize it; I opted for a view which simulates a portside viewing window on the garden world lazily spinning on itself. The planet called Qualia look likes earth with its Blue Ocean and a super continent full of forested greenery with mountains and lakes doting it. M class world are prized by every government bodies, even more when they are in a star system this rich. The two asteroid belts, gas giant and metallic rich planet near the white star would be great find for miners and other industries. But it all belonged to Vice Industries, there are hidden defenses all around the system Fenicia told me. Cloaked mines field, arrays of beam banks, particles canons, and cloaked satellites forming a quantum detection grid around the whole system!

*Ha, no wonder even stealth tech doesn’t work!*

A Holo window appeared in front of me and I yelped in surprise. My heart beat quickened.

 

Welcome miss Evan,

I am Sandra, the A.I. charged with facilitating your stay on this station.

Do you have any question?

 

My heart settled, and my brain went into overdrive. Idunn still monitor me it seems even though I am on their side, but I understand the move. Trust is earned.

“Yes, are you the one operating the services in this suite?”

 

Indeed, miss.

Do you have any further preferences to add to the load out of the room?

I can advise you in the selection of your furniture, wardrobe, weapons and induction to the Vice Industries citizenship.

 

What?! Citizenship!

*Oh by the stars…* Emotion burst forth, citizenship had always been one of the goals of super soldiers. I didn’t think Vice Industries handed it so easily.

 

Director Idunn recommendation was given. She has decided that following your recent service and bravery in saving this station that you are eligible to be a citizen.

 

I can’t believe it! Everything! Everything I’ve set to do was finally rewarded. On countless human worlds, Ell is not considered human because of the engineered augments given to her at birth. I think that it’s bullshit! I breathe! I laugh, I feel and I think! My fist clenched and unclenched just by thinking of that injustice. Calming myself I walked toward the sofa I roughly sat in its grey embrace.

“Sandra gives me everything on Vice industries, history, economy, number of colonized world and more about centurions!”

One moment please.

 

Second later, the com Idunn gave me chimed. When she gave me the com while Fenicia slept she said that it is basic equipment that the personnel onboard should have on them at all times. I mean, it’s important that people can get ahold of me and that I can interface with the computers of the station. From the holo projected information on Vice Industries appears; Bio of the owner, history, products, capital is made known. I make the 3D web page scroll down. The corporation Belong to Helena Theresa Vice the sole owner, she is now 205 years old. Originally from Neo Mexico in the Federation sector of the human sphere. She’s a graduate from the University Neo Mexico and Studied Astronomy and Space Vessels Engineering simultaneously. Helena T. Vice is one of those rare humans who are genuine genius who obtained multiple doctorates. Her father and mother, who were bounty hunters at the time, disappeared when they took on a coalition of pirates with other colleagues. Helena became a bounty hunter herself, built her own ship from seven different Junkyard and made the lives of a lot pirates outfits difficult in the human sphere’s rim…

 

Do you wish for refreshments, Miss Evan?

 

The Ai asked me.

“Yes I’m thirsty, and do you have any snacks available?”

 

Yes of course, Miss Evan.

Can I recommend you some hotcakes and orange juice?

 

Does she take me for a child? Why not alcohol? But I agree that getting some sugar might be good… The squad owner viciously confiscated any sugary treats while we trained in the nursery camp when I was younger. Will it affect me? Pushing myself in the sofa’s back I pondered if I could alter my diet without risk. But I told myself that it maybe just another way to control us, super soldiers.

“Let’s have that, Sandra. I want to treat myself.”

I came back to my reading and a Valet bot brought me a tray of food with a pitcher of orange colored liquid. The Valet bot served me the juice and I took it from its hands. So where was I? Ah, yeah. Helena T. Vice. I drank a bit and hmm this is delicious! Adjusting myself in my seat, I continued to read.

So Helena T. Vice scoured the whole human frontier to look for her parents tearing apart pirate bases, defending colony worlds, recruiting crews, she even destroyed star bases. Then things went to shit, Cartels, Pirates, criminal families, rogue mercenaries banded together to take her out. Her ship was destroyed and she was presumed dead for one year… well, shit. The woman kicked a hornet nest!

I took a slice of cake and put it in my mouth, it was so soft and tasty that it made me moan in pleasure. No wonder they forbade us to consume pastries, candies and made us survive on nutritional paste!

The holo web page turned with a movement of my finger and the story continued to unfold. The story didn’t finish here because obviously the owner is still alive. That’s where the story diverges from the common data of the other human territory and is only available for V. I. citizens. Helena came back with a ship with alien tech so powerful that she took out all her enemies one by one. Wow, Helena you go girl! And then she found her parents on a rogue colony world, enslaved and in a Tritanium mine. Ok, so she freed the colony and took possession of the planet but gave share to some of the ex-slave. Then with the money she went into researching the alien tech she obtained from the ship she mopped the crime association with. Three years later the human market was flooded with a little bit of tech like the Star Gazers, those glasses that act like a HUD and make you see data, the entire light spectrum and can fold and unfold with nanotech. Compact hyperdrive, and a lot of revolutionary tech. Vice enterprise rose to be unequalled in a lot of different fields and industries and that’s why it’s called Vice Industries now. Science, Pharmaceutical, Medical, Metallurgy, Weaponry, Mining, Space Industries and Colonization. And lot of other theoretical fields are under their purview.

It’s when the Federation, US Conglomerate and the Asian Great Alliance tried to nationalize Vice Industries that the corporation moved. In the year 238 of the Unified alliance in the human sphere “The Hostile Takeover” war begun. Helena T. Vice had secreted a fleet of the most advanced ships in this quadrant of the galaxy. The war was swift and in favor of Vice Industries. Those super powers in the human sphere sued for peace, Helena forced their hand and took other a lot of colonies and habitable planets from them.

My hand reached for a slice of cake and I’m surprised to find that none remain! Oh, I’m a glutton! Ok, no biggie.

 

This is the form you must fill, Miss Evan.

 

A file appeared in holo on my com tablet while I cursed my new found sweet tooth. The file asked rather pointed question like my name and surname, race, age, military service, where I was stationed, the number of the nursery I come from. And why I want to become a citizen of Vice Industries. I explained that I want to join because it has always been my goal to become recognized as a person. That normally people with my background are not considered humans by the standards of the principal main players in humanity’s sphere of influence. That I agree with the meritocracy that Vice Industries is, the constant betterment of mankind on all fields and that we should defend ourselves against corruption and the evil intents of the old system. There was even a case to check if I was interested in joining the centurion corps or the civil militia. I paused, looking hard at the option. I remembered how Fenicia killed her way in the ship and how she dispatched everyone. Fuck yeah. I clicked on the case. And finally on the submit green button on the file.

Thank you for completing the form to join Vice Industries and affiliated worlds, an answer to your Application Process for Naturalized Citizenship will be delivered in 48 hours. However, Miss Evan. I would not worry, with the recommendation of the top scientist in the corporation you are guaranteed to be accepted.

“Yes!”

 

***

-(Fenicia)-

 

Lady Idunn, Lady Fenicia

A flotilla of ships appeared in system.

 

My fork stopped from stabbing the 18th pancakes I was about to devour. My eyes searched the face of Idunn, who didn’t seem surprised at all. Idunn made an enigmatic smile and looked at me lazily. I continued to eat the pancakes –more like inhaled it- and drank my purplie, calling it grape juice is not doing it justice… I struck the plastic glasses loudly on the plastic tray and gave it to the bot near me. Standing up, my mind went into overdrive thinking of the implication of ships in the system.

*The Warsong might have been the vanguard of a more sizable force, charged with scouting the defenses-*

<No, you are wrong.> Said a voice in my mind.

I looked at m-Idunn.

“Then who are they? Should I gear for war? Put you in that hyperdrive capable shuttles secreted in the depth of the Station? Activate the defenses of the system?!” I screamed.

I paced like a drakkil*(Sort of dragon like quadruped) in a cage. The viewing area seemed stuffy now… how weird. My arm and the blow to my head are still not cured, and I realize that my stubbornness might be our downfall. But I think I have an actual trauma about waking up in a healing tank now. God know what people can do to others in those!

Sigh.

“Ok, let’s prepare for a fight and charge up everything. Do you hear me, Daneel?”

 

Yes, Lady Fenicia?

 

“Prepare plan 05-B.”

 

Are you sure, my Lady?

 

“Certain.”

I looked at Idunn and decided to not shy away from my feelings anymore. Approaching her, I hugged her, smelled the fragrance of her hair and skin. Still conflicted about everything, I didn’t shy from telling her how I feel. The little woman froze while in my arms.

“Whatever happens, even if my head still doubts you I still feel that in my heart you are Kin. And Kin protect each others.”

Idunn hugged me in turn quite tightly. We stayed like this for a long moment, until we let go of each others. Still not wanting to face Idunn’s full gaze, I turned on my heel and got out of the stuffy viewing room.

Walking with determination toward the Armory, I pray to the stars that we are all not going to die.