Chapter 16 - Shade

  

“I WANT HER FLESH AND I WANT IT NOW!” The Baron Chief-Seer spat a mouth of stringy chicken and phlegmy saliva across the table, slamming his heavy fist down with a thunderous bang. Plates rattled, and knives clinked together as the wooden surface shook.

 

A Vora Baron mothership is truly a sight to behold, a beast in its own right. They are much larger than the usual barges and tugboats you’d find prowling about nomad space; large enough to comfortably house hundreds of Barons at a time, but just as rugged and poorly maintained. In this instance, several dozen Barons of various forms and sizes (although generally on the larger side) were crowded around a large table in the ship's main hall. Thick, creaking brass grating lined the floors, dripping with freshly spilt viscera. The grease-lined walls were adorned with poorly-hung weapons, trophies, and prisoners, crudely strung up by puncturing bare metal cables that weaved in and out of their limp bodies.

 

The Baron Chief-Seer was sat at the head of the table. He was draconic, with deep red scales glittering against his skin, violent orange eyes, and a pair of tattered, large wings sat upon his shoulders. The hall was busy with the sound of chatter and discussion, but also with the clumsy scratching of pencil on grease-stained paper. Sheets were scattered about in seeming disarray across the table, and several had also been pinned up against the walls. Some were covered in notes, written in a messy illegible scrawl for the most part, but most had a familiar amethystine face drawn on them, with varying degrees of accuracy. 

 

“If I may, Chief-Seer…” A smaller, human male stood by the side of the gluttonous dragon. He stood out a little from everyone else in the hall, thanks to his somewhat normal weight and height. He had a slick, black side-swept fringe and a cunning guile to his step. His voice had a synthesised hum to it, emanating from the bionic neck that connected his head to his otherwise completely organic body. He clearly shared something in common with his larger cousins, but seemed distinctly different to them in another, more insidious way.

 

The man raised a far more accurate and well-drawn portrait of Seeth up to the Baron, and tapped on it with the pen in his other hand.

 

“...This is the closest image we can verify… but this really isn’t the issue. And I think you know that.” He gestured to the litany of drawings strewn around the hall.

 

The Baron huffed loudly, swiping a fist-full of paper off the table and reaching for a fresh leg of meat as his lesser continued.  

 

“You’re fighting an opponent that is wielding no less than field artillery, that can overpower us Barons up close, and seems remarkably illusive for such a physically dominating presence. There needs to be a shift in tactics - a shift in priorities.”

 

“Get to the POINT, Theyrun.” The Baron rasped, his throat thick with juices and mucus. His beady eyes drifted towards the human's throat in a not so subtle manner.

Despite the Baron’s threat, Theyrun seemed unphased.

 

“You said it yourself, Chief-Seer. You want her flesh. Your Barons are trying to bring her down in the usual prey manner, ideally preserving her life or, failing that, preserving as much of her meat as possible. It should appear obvious at this point that she is not prey. Our supplies have decreased dramatically since she appeared, we’re having to launch more and more attacks that we no longer have the manpower for, and we are coming back less and less successful each time. We are both painfully aware of this fact, and she is too. She is using our own greed against us.”

 

“So, what do you suggest? You think we should go open season on her? For just one woman?”

 

“With respect, Chief-Seer, this ‘one woman’ has single-handedly disabled over fifteen barges over the course of this week alone. We were at our peak a few mere months ago. Our hunts were more successful, and our bounties bigger, than they’d ever been before in Baron history. But now? We’ve hit some of our worst casualty rates since the Cyrune incident.” 

 

Theyrun quickly cast his gaze towards the entrance of the hall where several Barons were just lumbering in, wearing masks and full environmental suits, and carrying huge silver casks on their shoulders. “She has restored the nomad’s confidence in the sector to the point where even our prisoners know who she is! They speak of ‘Lockblade’ in the cells of this very ship, right now, hoping that she comes for us.”

 

“Famine Bringer…” The Baron growled. The bone in his hand, which had already been picked clean of its flesh, was promptly snapped in two with a loud crack that echoed around the hall. 

 

“Your efforts to not appear intimidated by her has only enabled her further. We cannot pretend that she hasn’t affected us, else we may give her the room to destroy the entire fleet. How many Barons has she slain? How much cattle does she need to ‘liberate’ before you consider open season? She has taken several hundred times her own body-weight in food from us! The scales are unbalanced! Need I remind you what happened to the last Baron lord who failed to feed his kin?”

 

“No…” The Baron replied in a surprisingly soft tone, sinking back slowly into his creaking chair. “I was her body. Her meat. I will not be embarrassed by one single woman. The Barons will not be dominated by this… thing.” He flicked at the drawing of Seeth in a mixture of embarrassment and disgust.

 

“Doubling down will not solve this issue.” Theyrun continued to press his master. “If you’re not willing to recall the barges or to issue a kill on sight order, then I propose a counterintelligence strategy. She must have a support network, and there are only a few merc dens still in operation. Let's track down who is still supplying contracts, and cut the creature’s head off at its source.”

 

“And get burned by every den this side of the DA’s border…!? Hmm...” The dragon pondered Theyrun's words, scratching his chin as he weighed up the potential consequences of attacking a merc den. Generally, dens were seen as true neutral zones, and anyone stupid enough to mess with them would paint a target on their back for every merc in the guild to see. But these were the Barons, and the Barons were seen as fair game anyway… Besides, the nomads hadn’t been much of a challenge up until this point. Once that godforsaken czarite was taken care of, there’d be no resistance at all…

 

 “The priority is still to have her meat on our hooks. I will keep the bounty. But I heed your words, Theyrun. Perhaps it's time we go on the offensive.”

 

The dragon fixed his gaze on the drawing of Seeth in front of him. His eyes stared into the paper as a concoction of feelings coursing through him.

 

“You still have contacts at the Black Lance?” The Baron asked, his mouth curling into a snarl. 

 

Theyrun nodded in response, with the slightest grin visible at the corner of his pointed lips.

 

“Reach out to them, find who’s dealing with her contracts. Let's pull the curtain back on this dick-swinging, top-heavy tart. If that means being burned by the rest of the mercs, then so let it be.”

 

  *

 

“This fuckin’ BITCH! SHOW YOUR FACE!”

 

From deep within the darkness of the barge's interior, a faint metallic jangle echoed through the Baron’s ears.

 

“L-Lockblade! S-She’s here!” A nomad cried out from behind his cell bars, prompting a rush of footsteps behind him. Suddenly, dozens of bodies were pressing themselves up against the metal, staring intently out through the bars at the two Barons who were marching forward in the dark, each armed with a massive auto-cannon. Thick metallic flashlights were bolted to the bottom of the weapons, along with a softly beeping motion sensor, which was shining a weak green glow over their bodies as their eyes darted between the beam of light shining ahead of them, and the motion display. There were numerous doors on both sides of the corridor ahead, draped in shadow and interconnected by the labyrinthian design of the barge.

 

“Shut ya damn trap, meat! Before I pull you through the bars and eat you!” One of the Barons snapped at the prisoner.

 

“You’re gonna die, Baron! And not a moment too soon!” Another nomad shouted, his voice hoarse and croaky.

 

The Baron turned and went to respond, but just as he did, the bleep of the motion sense caught his attention. Straight down the corridor, there had been a flash of movement.

 

“LIGHT HER UP!”

 

The auto-cannons roared to life and bright orange sparks of explosive lead hurtled down the corridor. 

 

BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!

 

The corridor shook violently with each ear-piercing shot, shell casings clattering to the ground as the Barons held on tightly to their death-dealing machines. After several long seconds of sustained fire, the barrels rested, smoke wafting out from the glowing steel.

 

The motion sensors were silent.

 

“Did we get her?” The Baron’s voice cracked slightly.

 

“Well I’m not fucking checking. I can’t see shit down there!”

 

It was even harder to see down the corridor now than it had been before, thanks to the lead rain which had served only to further shroud the black interior with thick smoke, rising from the holes and craters where the bullets had impacted. Both of the Vora Barons stared down at their motion sensors blankly.

 

“You should -”

 

*Crack!*

 

The Baron tumbled forward as his knee suddenly buckled from beneath him, but before another syllable of pain could dribble out from his slobbering lips Seeth’s hands had seized his head, and were twisting sharply. A bassy, muffled crack echoed down the corridor as he slumped forward and collapsed with a heavy, metallic thud.

 

The second Baron spun around on the spot and was immediately met with an earth-shattering punch, right in the ribs, sending blood rushing to his head. His autocannon was ripped out of his hands, but his vision was blurry, and all he could do was swing his fists clumsily into the darkness.

 

The darkness responded with overwhelming force.

 

Blow after crunching blow smashed into his body in a bone-shattering flurry. Blood leaking from his nose and mouth, his body quickly crumpled and keeled over. The corridor shook as the Baron hit the floor with a painful but unceremonious thump. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, not even as Seeth drew her axe and brought it down on his neck, severing it cleanly. The head rolled along the floor ungracefully as the body rapidly exsanguinated at the stump.

 

As his blood slowly leaked out over the floor, the corridor was suddenly immersed in a deep crimson hue as the emergency lights clacked back on. 

 

Finally. Took ‘em long enough to get those back on, the fat sacks of shit.

 

Seeth sighed gently and turned to face the cell full of nomad prisoners. They were staring at her, a mix of awe and gratitude.

 

“I-It's really her! Lockblade! You’ve come for us!” One of them shouted out, his hands tightening around the metal bars, his tired face now full of hope.

 

“Lockblade?” Seeth raised an eyebrow.

 

Her axe jangled as she hooked it across her back. A thick ring of ornate keys hung from the base of the handle, all taken from other Baron barges, other victories. A suitable memento, she thought.

 

“Ohh… I see. C’mon, let's get you all out of there. Ship isn’t clear yet.”

She marched towards the bars and went to rip them from their hinges, but the prisoners inside shook their heads violently.

 

“D-Don’t! You need the key!” They pointed to a vent in the ceiling, centred in the middle of the cell. “They have Ten Percent hooked up to us!”

 

“Ten Percent?”

 

“I-It's the gas they use! We don’t know what sort it is, but we’ve heard the Barons talking about it! Five Percent to stun, Ten Percent to kill. That's how they talk about it.”

 

“Right.” Seeth stifled a sigh but nodded firmly at the nomads, loading the SAFU cannon and flicking the safety off.

 

Captain likely has the master key. I'll need to clear the rest of the ship.

 

And so, she proceeded through this ship as she’d done with all the others. 

 

Thunder in her hand, blade guarding her back.

 

Their panic was palpable. Under a torrent of tungsten rain, Seeth cleared room after room. No Rager could withstand her blows, no Baron could halt her advance.

 

Every roaring shell painted the ship with a spatter of bright red blood, like flicking a wet brush at a canvas.

 

She noted a deliberate shift in their tactics the closer she got to the heart of the barge. Panic was starting to set in, now that they knew who was attacking. The Barons were becoming more and more willing to use their guns to try and take her down. Seeth's bully diagnosis had been correct from the very beginning; Vora Barons were quick to crumble under anyone capable of standing up to them.

 

Mere minutes later, Seeth had all but cleared the barge. She’d shot and cleaved her way through body after body like they were nothing, and made her way to the cockpit.

 

A thick metal security door stood between Seeth and the cockpit, which had been locked tight from the inside. The metal had been defaced with a crude writing, spelling out the word ‘COWARD’ in bright yellow letters. Seeth’s eyes drifted down to the Baron slumped to the side of the door with patches of yellow paint on their broken body, split open by the SAFU mere moments ago.

 

She quickly loaded a new shell into the SAFU and blasted the handle clean off, before unhooking a grenade from her belt and launching it through the watermelon-sized hole left in the door.

 

A flash of white-hot heat erupted inside the room, with a quick boot of the door it buckled inwards off its hinges and Seeth charged inside, pointing the SAFU at all four corners.

 

The room was empty. A heavily worn pilot's chair was positioned in front of several large screens and the ship's main controls, complete with the usual Baron decoration of gnawed bones and discarded litter.

There was a supply room on her left which looked like it had been hastily raided, but otherwise the room seemed undisturbed. She quickly looked around for any lurking Barons, but all seemed to be clear. Hiding and stealth wasn't exactly a Vora Baron's strength, after all. However, something in the corner of the room did catch her eye.

 

That's unusual…

 

A massive shiny white crate, standing nearly as long as Seeth was tall, was opened and looted.

 

That looks like DA tech.

 

She approached the crate, examining it closely. She recognised it from her military days as a twelfth generation security crate, guarded with nigh-unbreachable code locks. Curiously, the lock was completely intact.

 

They didn't brute force this open - they must have had the code. How..?

 

It was impossible to say what had once been in the crate, however there was still a large sum of Dies within, spilt over the armoured base. As she peered inside, to get a closer look… her body suddenly shuddered.

 

Someone was watching her. 

 

She swung back round, hands gripped around her shotgun, ready to fire… but there was no-one there…

 

No. She could still feel it. That chill along her spine. Someone was watching her, someone was here.

 

Cloaking!

 

She raised the SAFU and fired. The roar from the blast was followed immediately by the static buzz of an energy shield being struck.

 

It was a direct hit. A huge Baron suddenly fizzled into existence. The armour may have stopped the SAFU shot from barreling through her attacker, but it had taken all of its power to do so. Seeth cocked her weapon, ready to fire, but just before she could pull the trigger, a flash of familiarity caught her off guard.

 

Black skin, purple eyes.

 

And she froze.

 

It was just the briefest hesitation. But it was all that he needed.

 

*CLUNK*

 

In just one second of hesitation the hulking man had swung for her head with all his might, landing a shattering blow which instantly knocked her down. Seeth hit the floor with a muffled thump. Reality swayed. Her vision went blurry.

 

A strong, greasy, hand reached down and seized a fist full of her dreadlocks, pulling it tightly. Slowly, her exposed body was pulled upright as her eyes fluttered around desperately, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

 

“I can see why the boss wants you. Thick meat. Juicy. Heavy. Too bad he's not here to taste it.” 

 

A torrid breath filled the air, a rancid taste heavy on her tongue. 

 

Her body hung clumsily from her hair. She was still reeling from that first blow. The Baron yanked on Seeth’s neck and pulled her neck painfully to the side, exposing her bare skin.

 

*THUNK*

 

Hot fluid gushed from her neck, and with a shiver Seeth tumbled back into reality. 

 

Her eyes found the Baron before her, gripping her hair, ready to slam his cleaver into her neck once more. His stare was desperate and hungry, his mouth frothing for a taste of her succulent flesh.

 

He swung again, the cleaver burrowing deeper into the spewing wound. It impacted the bone with a head-rattling thwack.

 

With a loud cry Seeth suddenly started flailing at him, eyes wide, the strength quickly leaving her body as blood oozed down her chest. He swung again but she raised her arm and interrupted the strike. The cleaver smacked straight into her carapace, and as Seeth pulled her arm away the weapon lurched free from the Baron's sweaty grip, and clattered to the floor. Enraged, the Baron changed tactics and with his now free hand, shoved her back. She hit the ground and the Baron landed directly on top of her, his fat, sweaty form pinning her down as she tried to get away.

 

Seeth’s heart pounded against her ribs. This was not a situation she was used to, this guy was bigger than her… He pulled himself up, purposely keeping his heavy body on hers and reached towards her face, wrapping his thick fingers around her neck and squeezing tightly. His other hand grabbed her body, groping anything and everything it could, squeezing her hips and thighs tightly.

 

His fingers tightened around her throat, his disgusting, weighted form bearing down on her. Seeth was in an all-out panic now, blurred images, half-formed thoughts and streaks of colour flashed through her brain. She flailed again, wildly, desperately trying to push his otherworldly girth off of her, but her attempts just seemed to antagonise him, and he pushed down harder.

 

Feeling victory in his grasp, the Baron pulled back on her back, then slammed her head hard against the floor, staring deep into her eyes as his gross form sat across her chest.

 

She was going to die here. To this fat sack of greasy filth. And then he was going to eat her. 

 

No. I can’t go out like this.

*BANG*

 

“This… is what happens…” The Baron panted, spittle flying out of his mouth. “To people… who challenge… THE BARONS!” 

 

He smacked her head against the metal panelling, and a high-pitched ringing echoed around her head. His weight was squeezing the breath out of her chest. Her hands pushed against his body, but they just seemed to sink into his fat and fur. There was nothing to grab, or to pull. She was running out of fight. It was like a nightmare.

 

The room began to fade. Black fur, purple eyes. Another Baron victim on the ever-growing pile.

 

Desperation filled her, pouring into every crack and crevice of her heart.

 

There was a way out of this… something she could do…

 

With every blink of his eyes, her body lurched with a profound rush of freedom. She wouldn’t even have to concentrate. At this point, it was taking more effort not to teleport. Her resistance sat uncomfortably in her stomach, as though she were about to vomit.

 

Some might call it a gift. But with every jolt that shot through her body, Seeth could only think of the nomad she’d tele-fragged on Barru X. An unknown, unsuspecting, innocent person, who’d been terrified for their life…

 

To end up splattered against the walls of their own living room.

 

NO! I REFUSE! EITHER I WIN WITH MY MIGHT, OR I DIE BY IT!

 

Seeth swallowed hard and grit her teeth. She pulled her hands away from the Baron’s torso and clasped her fingers around his.

 

One sharp twist!

 

*CRACK*

 

He howled in pain as she pulled on his fingers and snapped them back. His fingers loosened, and she shook his grip loose.

 

As the fat sack of shit recoiled in pain, Seeth launched herself upwards and seized him by the scruff of his neck, pulling his face down towards the crown of her carapace.

 

*SMACK*

 

His freshly-broken snout dribbled with blood as he fell backwards, bellowing loudly. Seeth gasped loudly and clawed at the floor as his gigantic girth finally rolled off of her chest, desperate to pull herself away. 

 

The floor shook as the Baron stumbled heavily to the ground, reaching towards his dropped cleaver. Seeth felt over the wound in her neck. The wound was deep and bleeding profusely. As she continued to move her fingers over it, she suddenly felt something cold, and solid.

 

This needs to end soon, or it's over.

 

A surge of adrenaline pushed her to her feet, and Seeth pounced onto his collapsed body. As she crashed down on top of him, the Baron twisted and snapped his jaws at her, her face inches from his gnashing teeth. He bear-hugged her close, trying to pin her arms to her side.

 

To his surprise, Seeth quickly yanked one of her arms free. He wasn’t surprised for long though, and almost immediately he snapped the full force of his leering bite onto her forearm, teeth sinking into the fleshy parts of her forearm.

 

He strained and clamped down as hard as he could, the delicious blood dripping onto his tongue. The taste only made him more ravenous, more determined, and the feeling of their struggling bodies rubbing against each-other caused a disgusting, aroused growl to gurgle from his throat.

 

No, NO! Absolutely not, FUCK THIS SHIT!

 

Just as the Baron began to feel victory in his grasp, Seeth yanked her other arm out from his grip and she pushed herself further up his body, until she was leaning over his face. She grabbed her ensnared fist with her now free arm, and with a single, overpowering motion, twisted her forearm in the Baron's mouth.

 

A bassy *CRUNCH* vibrated through his skull as his jaw popped out of place, immediately falling slack and weak. Before he even had time to realise what had happened, Seeth yanked her forearm free and grabbed the base of his flopping maw. He roared out in pain, releasing his grip on her body and grabbing at her wrist instead. Slowly, determinedly, she stood up, pulling on his jaw with every ounce of strength she had.

 

This ends now.

 

The Baron's jaw was torn free from its hinges, and splattered to the ground behind them. One last burst of strength flowed through her aching limbs. The Baron gargled on his own tongue in anger, and grabbed Seeth’s thigh with his one intact hand, half-groping, half-grappling. She brought her fists down on his wrist in retaliation, breaking through it as though it were nothing more than rotting wood.

 

Fury bubbled in Seeth’s body and brain. The idea that this man was going to kill her? That he had his hands over her? Was holding her by her hair?

 

No. This would not do. This had to be answered in kind.

 

She stood above his growling body as he tried to push himself onto his feet. His giant round belly rolled around the floor as the Baron desperately fumbled about for anything he could use as a weapon. As she watched him blunder about, pure rage besieged her mind.

 

He would not get the mercy of a professional kill.

She raised her fists above her head and slammed them down onto his chest, feeling the crunch of his ribs under his greasy skin and fur, as his body lurched in pain.

 

She immediately raised her fists again and brought them down with all the force as she could muster.

 

The Baron gargled and projectile-vomited a tube of mustard-yellow spew into the air as Seeth’s fists mauled his obese body.

 

Again.

 

His skin ruptured. His ribs snapped inwards, skewering and slicing at his internal organs.

 

Again.

 

A dying gasp filled the air. As her fists crushed his chest, blood erupted from his nose and mouth, spraying into the air and painting the already dripping ceiling a dark crimson hue.

 

She screamed out in a blind, unmasked rage, a thunderous screech. 

 

“YOU DARE MAKE ME THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT I WAS WITH HIM? THAT YOU WERE HIM?!”

 

Again. 

 

He sagged against the floor, convulsing on the floor, weak and broken. Bile and blood staining his tattered fur.

 

Again.

 

He’d stopped breathing. His body was disfigured and his chest crushed, blood pooling around his body.

 

AGAIN!

 

With her final blow, blood and mucus oozed from his face and chest where her fists had broken him. Seeth stumbled backwards and clutched tightly at her wound. 

 

It was over.

 

She felt quickly for the med-kit on her belt. Her eyes remained glued to the mountain of a Baron, pierced for even the slightest sign of life.

 

She sprayed a neon-blue gel over her wound slowly. It puffed and foamed around her neck, and the bleeding stopped. 

 

Now that she could look at him properly, the Baron didn't look like Diego at all. He was a wolf-breed of some sort, with black fur and purple eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. A few minutes ago he’d been a ten-foot tall mountain of teeth, hunger and flesh, bent on making her body his next feast, but now he was just a mangled pile of broken bones and split flesh, rapidly haemorrhaging onto the metal around him. Vomit trickled from his mouth and out onto the floor. 

 

She sunk back against the wall behind her, hands trembling as her mind finally began to process what had just happened.

 

“I need him back… Where are you, Diego?”

 

*

 

Seeth was sitting in the far corner of the loading bay, leaning heavily against a stack of cargo crates. Her eyes were tightly closed, her hands visibly shaking. It had been a week since the attack on Barru X, a week since she’d lost him… and they’d spent that whole week on Venner’s ship which was far too small for her - to be honest, was far too small for any of them to stay on for such an extended period. It has come to this, Seeth effectively hiding from the others in the back of the loading bay, just to try and get a little peace.

 

Venner had spent the last seven days calling in every favour she had, and while she was… somewhat grateful, it wasn’t enough to even begin to sate the hatred she had for the rat. Venner had finally managed to secure herself a work transfer, and them an extortionately overpriced flat on the edge of some nomad space station that was in the middle of fucking nowhere. And that was nowhere by nomad standards.

 

Her urges were getting harder and harder to control. She dug her shaking fingers into her thighs and squeezed them tightly, breathing slowly, trying desperately to calm both the burn she was feeling in her loins, and the anxiety churning in her stomach.

 

I’m so sorry, Diego… I’m so sorry I wasn’t there…

 

“Seeth! Seeth, are you here?”

 

Seeth’s eyes snapped open into an expression of frustration and annoyance. It took everything to stifle the growl in her chest as Tivy came bounding round the corner.

 

“Found her, Oxyi!”

 

Humming happily, Tivy pulled herself up onto one of the boxes and smiled across at Seeth, swinging her legs back and forth. Seeth glared back at her. 

 

Oxyi appeared round the corner, panting slightly after running all around the ship after her friend. “Oh, well done, Tiv.” She breathed. 

 

Seeth’s glare slowly moved from Tivy to Oxyi. “Can I help you?” She snapped.

 

“Um, w-well…” Oxyi seemed a little taken aback by Seeth’s tone, and shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “We were just thinking about food! We were gonna order something, and wanted to ask if you wanted anything -”

 

“Trent wants pizza, Oxyi wants sushi, we all want different things!” Tivy chimed in. “I wanted to get the massive veggie platter from the takeout we got the other day but nobody else wanted it!” She suddenly pouted very solemnly. 

 

“Y-Yeah.” Oxyi forced a laugh. “So, uh, if we order, d’you want anything?”

 

Seeth slowly moved her glare away from Oxyi. She stared out, straight ahead at the wall.

 

“No.”

 

“Awh c’mon, Seeth!” You didn’t eat with us yesterday either!” Tivy stood up on her box and started bobbing up and down. “We miss you! You gotta have somethi-”

 

“Can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?” Seeth snapped. “Haven’t you two got anything better to do, besides follow me round like lost puppies?” She was staring back at Tivy now, pain and fury in her eyes. “I know for a fact that you have much better things to be doing.”

 

Tivy cocked her head and stared back confusedly at the Controller. “What do you mean?”

 

“Tiv, maybe we should come back later.” Oxyi quickly tried to guide Tivy away, but Tivy hopped back from her outstretched arm. 

 

“Have I upset you, Seeth?”

 

“UPSET ME?!” Seeth leapt to her feet, her body trembling with rage. She towered over Tivy, even with the cargo crate. To Oxyi’s surprise though, Tivy didn’t even flinch.

 

“You… THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” Seeth barked. “Y-You were too busy FUCKING YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND to notice that Plasia was stripping the ship apart! You were too busy SHOVING YOUR TONGUE DOWN HIS THROAT to notice that she’d changed! If you had taken one second to take Trent’s fluffy orange DICK OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, we might still have a working strike-ship! Diego might still be here!”

 

Seeth’s voice echoed loudly around the confines of the loading bay. There was anger, sadness, desperation and just a glint of insanity in Seeth’s eyes. Her chest was heaving. she clenched her fists by her sides. Oxyi froze under the Controller’s powerful poise. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. Slowly, she forced her head to move, and she looked over at Tivy in fear… 

 

Tivy, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed by Seeth’s outburst. She cleared her throat softly, and quickly climbed up the next stack of cargo crates behind her, so that when she stood on them, she was eye level with Seeth. Seeth’s eyelid twitched as she watched the critter clamber up the boxes, but was too thrown off by her actions to say anything.

 

“Seeth. That's not fair. We’re all missing him.” Tivy said calmly. “But you can’t stand there and say any of those things are true!”

 

Oxyi’s jaw dropped. Where had this big-balled little Tivy been during the attack?! Seeth too seemed taken aback; she wasn’t used to being back-chatted like this.

“You knew Plasia better than anybody else here!” Tivy continued. “Or atleast, you were supposed to! How come YOU didn’t notice, hmm?! Maybe if YOU weren’t so busy STARING AT YOUR MAN’S ASS ALL THE TIME, they’d both still be here!”

 

“Tivy! Tivy that’s enough now!” Oxyi interrupted. “Let’s go back to the others now!” She made an attempt to reach out for her friend, but she absolutely refused to cross in front of Seeth; she could feel the heat and the anger emanating off of her.

 

“No! I’m not done! Speaking of THEM -” Tivy had hit her stride now; she spoke loudly and confidently and stared right in the Controller’s eyes as she did so “- WHERE IS PLASIA?! Do you EVEN CARE?! Not once have you even mentioned Plasia! She could be anywhere! She could be dead! You’re SUPPOSED to be her FRIEND, but every time we’ve talked about a rescue, it’s only been Diego Diego Diego! Did you even want her to come with us? You’re not acting like a friend! You’re acting like a BITCH!”

 

Seeth opened her mouth to speak, but Tivy actually reached up and pushed the Controller’s lips back together.

 

“Shush! I’m not finished! Out of everybody on this ship, YOU have absolutely no right to judge ANYBODY for who they have sex with! No right at all!”

 

The room fell into a heavy silence. Tivy didn’t need to say any more than that; her message had been delivered loud and clear. She hopped down from the cargo crates and took Oxyi by the hand. Oxyi stared up at Seeth, unsure of what to do. Seeth had been visibly struck by Tivy’s words. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth open slightly agape. Suddenly, she was back in the dungeon, with Moltezz and Leech, and she was doing some terrible, terrible things… 

 

But that… that’s not me anymore… I want to atone, I want to change… I promised Diego - 

 

- But Diego’s not here anymore.

 

“I… I’m sorry, guys. I’m sorry, Tiv. I… I think I need to be alone right now…”

 

And with that, Seeth fled as quietly but as quickly as possible from the bay. She could feel their gaze burning into her back as they watched her leave.

 

Her shoulders shook as she walked down the corridor. She managed to make it to the single bedroom on the ship unnoticed by the others. By some small miracle it was empty. Seeth flopped heavily onto the bed and tried to make sense of her thoughts. Tivy’s words swirled around her head.

 

N-No. It doesn’t matter if Diego’s here or not. I refuse to be that person again! I’ll f-fight it! I’ll fight this with everything I have!

 

She glared down at the growing bulge in her trousers with disgust, that seemed to be triggered at just the very thought of his name. She dug her fingers tightly into the mattress beneath her.

 

“I’ll fight it to the death if I have to…”

 

“...I gotcha the good stuff to regenerate that gash of yours! Garnet’s been telling me all ‘bout your adventures this week, shootin’ them Barons up and stuffin’ they’re nasty bodies into corpse barrels - or what's left of ‘em anyway!”

 

A warm and gentle voice interrupted Seeth’s thoughts, and suddenly she was back in the Fixer Den’s infirmary. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, and was surprised when she pulled her hands away to find that her fingers were wet. Seeth had returned to the Fixer Den about an hour ago, battered bloody and bruised, wearing a gaunt expression that no-one had seen on her before. She could hear a concerned crowd gathering outside the door, all told firmly to stay outside while Garnet’s wife attended to the strider’s wounds.

 

Unlike Garnet, Veronica (or V, as she liked to be called) was an immaculately well-groomed otter, with all her limbs still intact. She had a shapely, plump and short figure, with curly soft hair and bright green eyes, creased with years of laughs, smiles and love. The otter had an equally southern twang, but a much softer voice than that of her husband. Her fingers moved delicately over Seeth’s butchered skin, and her expression was warm and comforting, but also sharp. This wasn’t the sort of woman you wanted to mess with; she had a gleam in her eye and a strong right-hook she wasn’t afraid to use on anybody that got too close. Luckily, the right-hook was seldom required, thanks to her renowned home-baked cookies and cakes. Her freshly-made treats were usually enough to placate even the most irate of Garnet’s customers.

 

Veronica pulled out a blue gel-filled needle attached to a large metallic container, stamped with the words ‘Rev X formula’ in bold green writing. Gently, she pushed the needle into Seeth’s medi-gel covered neck wound, and a fizzling warmth immediately coursed through her body.

 

“Thanks, V. How much do I owe you?” Seeth murmured, her eyes fixed firmly to the floor.

 

“Nothin’ hun. It's on the den.” Veronica smiled, throwing the used needle into a bin behind her.

 

“You sure? Rev X isn’t exactly cheap in this part of the universe. I can pay.”

 

“I know you can, hun. But I couldn’t charge you even if I wanted to, Garnet would give me heck for it! Besides, the influx of folks we’ve had staying here all said they’d pay for you’s, even if the Den didn’t.” She paused, watching Seeth closely. Seeth hadn't reacted at all to her words, she just stared, blankly at the floor. She looked… empty. Veronica’s face flickered with concern. “You… don’t seem right since you got back… I hate to state the obvious but something happened on that barge, didn’t it? And I don’t just mean the neck chop.”

 

Seeth sighed and sank down into her seat.. Maybe it was Veronica’s disarming attitude, or maybe she just really needed to talk to someone, but finally, after months of pushing her thoughts and feelings down, they spilled out onto her tongue.

 

“I lost someone, about six months ago… Someone very important to me, and I'm missing him dearly.”

 

“Oh, hun I’m sorry.” The otter replied sincerely. “Was it on Barru X? Did he die in the attack?”

 

“No,  he's not dead. I… I don’t think so anyway, but I don’t know exactly. I think the DA has him.” Seeth fought back her upset and rage, clenching her fists tightly.

“The DA?! Say, Garnet’s on the line with the Commander Koa fella from over yonder. Having a right old chat, have you asked him about your friend?”

 

“Yeah, ages ago. Several times. Said there wasn’t much he could do.”

 

Veronica pondered the Controller’s words for a few seconds. A mischievous look twinkled in the otter's eyes.

 

“Y’know, I hear from Garnet that that Koa fella is mighty grateful for all the work you’ve been doing.”

 

Seeth glanced over towards the otter, her eyes heavy and tired. “Yeah?”

 

“Mmm-hmm! They go back a long way. The DA are trying hard to repair some of the damage they’ve done with the other systems over the years, especially us nomads. I’m sure ya know this already, but that Koa’s been on the front lines for years, main correspondence between the DA and nomads, trying to form some sorta relationship. Hasn’t had too much success, up until now.”

 

“What do you mean?” Seeth asked, a little curious now.

 

“Them Vora Barons have been plaguing this side-ah space for years now! Hunting down nomads while the DA sat back, promising with all their fancy words and contracts that they’d do something about it. Took a rogue czarite bounty hunter to finally make a dent! You wanna make sure that people know there’s no DA affiliations. Koa’s a nice guy, but I’m sure he’d happily let the DA take the credit if it meant the nomads warming up to his cause. Unless, of course -”' Veronica lowered her voice slightly “- there’s somethin’ other than credit you want from him.”  

 

“You… You think I should speak to him? Try and force his hand?” Seeth raised an eyebrow. There was a cunning streak to Veronica that Seeth hadn’t noticed until now, which was both impressive and concerning, given how well she hid it. 

 

“I reckon he’s the type to hate owing people.” Veronica’s voice was determined. She took hold of Seeth’s fingers and squeezed them firmly. “From the chats he’s been having with Garnet, I'd say he sounds pretty indebted to you right about now. I’d press that on him.”

 

Seeth pondered Veronica’s words closely, her free hand feeling over the goo filled gash in her neck.

 

“Fuck it. Worth a shot. I’ve got some pretty strong words for the commander anyway.” Seeth’s face suddenly twisted into a scowl. A fresh feeling of rage was starting to burn in her stomach. The Rev X healing process was uncomfortable at best and downright painful at worst, but she’d be fully healed by the end of the day - physically at least.

 

“Why don’t you head out the back and avoid the crowd? I reckon speakin’ to the Koa fella is more important than making friendlies right now, even if Tora is desperate to know where you’re at.”

 

Seeth thanked the otter then made her way out back, straight towards Garnet’s office. Her scowl intensified as she heard Jace’s gravelly voice from the corridor. She wasted no time eavesdropping, and instead ploughed straight into Garnet’s office, making the portly man jump out of his seat.

“S-Seeth?! I’m assuming that’s you! Geez, girl! You could knock first!”

 

“Sorry Garnet. I need a word with Commander Koa here. Am I coming through?”

 

“You are.” Jace replied calmly. He couldn't see her, but he was able to hear her thanks to a specialised analog microphone installed in Garnet’s office. The dragon wore a cool smile but his dark eyes and sloping shoulders conveyed a type of tiredness that sleep could not fix. 

 

Unfortunately for him, Seeth didn’t really care. 

 

“Do you want me in or out?” Garnet laughed awkwardly, the tension in the room unmistakable.

 

“You can stay. You might want to hear what I have to say anyway.”

 

Sensing a confrontation, Jace slowly sat up straight in his chair, and cleared his throat. He clasped his hands on the desk in front of him as his face hardened. “I’m glad you’re here Seeth. I heard you liberated another barge. Everyone here is grateful for the risks you've been taking to help wipe this scourge out.”

 

“Mhmm.” Seeth scowled, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me Jace, why do you care so much about me taking the Barons on?”

 

Jace slowly raised his eyebrow as he contemplated her question. “Part of my role as border commander is to repair the relationships with our neighbours that my predecessors did such a fine job of destroying. I’m also personally invested in seeing those bandits disposed of. Barons are nothing but a blight, hearing tales of you destroying them is… satisfying. Why do you ask?”

 

“I don’t suppose having Barons around killing all the nomad’s you’ve worked so hard to repair relations with is a good idea.” Seeth continued bluntly, studying the dragon’s face closely.

 

“That too… But that is a colder way of looking at it. I do genuinely care -”

 

“Do you?” She interrupted. “Because from where I'm standing Jace, it does not look like you care. Not even slightly.”

 

Both Jace and Garnet recoiled in their chairs respectively, Garnet choking a stifled cough.

 

“I… don’t understand. Have I done something?” Jace asked, his face unreadable. 

 

“I don’t know, Jace. Have you? Let me lay this out for you, in simple terms. I have been asking you about Diego for months now and every single time, I get nothing in response. Nothing. I KNOW you have him. He’s somewhere in the DA and you won’t do anything for me. I want him back, Jace. I am losing my patience.” Seeth felt her heart beating against her ribs, defiant and angry.

 

“Seeth. I told you before that it is not that simple. I can't be seen poking my nose somewhere it doesn't belong. I don't have division-crossing authority when it comes to prisoners. I’ve called in some favours, but to be quite frank with you, I have bigger fish to fry.”

 

“Well, it's about time you sorted your priorities out, Jace, because you owe me. I’m out here saving lives and risking my neck right now. But you - you’re all show and no tell. Maybe we shouldn’t even be trusting you at all!”

 

There was a very obvious shift in Jace's attitude; although he remained silent, he tilted his snout, and his eyes narrowed.

 

“After all - ” Seeth continued, before the silence could get to her “- the barge I hit today had twelfth generation DA security boxes on it, opened via code.”

 

“What?” Jace’s cool demeanour suddenly broke,  his face a mixture of anger and confusion. “You’re sure? Opened via code?”

 

“Not a scratch on the lock. Full of Dies and a loomer-sized piece of stealth armour, which was used to ambush me. You want to tell me what a random Baron barge was doing with that level of gear, and the access code? It must have been provided or sold to them. Either that, or your borders are breached, which means you’re not doing as good a job as you think.”

 

“Are you suggesting that I, or the DA, is deliberately working with the Barons?!” Jace slowly stood from his chair.

 

“Who knows? Maybe the commander that is stringing us along a breadcrumb trail of false promises is also hiding something else from us. Wouldn’t be a stretch based on what I witnessed today.”

 

Jace remained silent for a moment, carefully considering his next words as Garnet fidgeted about awkwardly. After several long moments, the dragon leaned forward.

 

“Just a few days ago, a Xeno Investigation and Threat Dismissal research space station near our border was attacked by a crew of czarites, and was completely destroyed. Not even the dorm barges were spared. Thousands died. Students - teenagers - died. Some of the staff were deserving, sure. Most were not. And these czarites looked suspiciously similar to the ones that you were affiliated with, not so long ago.”

 

“...Right?” Seeth responded, cautiously. She was a little curious, but unsure exactly of what the commander was getting at.

 

“I was trying to help you. A student was suspicious of malpractice, and sounded the alarm. She lost her life for it. I was investigating that station because I suspected your missing friend from Barru X was located there. And from the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one who suspected it either. I have an eye-witness report of one of the czarites carrying your friend through the station.”

 

“They… They rescued Plasia..?” For a brief second, the rage in Seeth's stomach was replaced with a deep aching feeling of guilt. She'd done it again. She was thinking of Diego, thinking of only herself, again!

 

“That’s what it looks like, Seeth! I sent one of my best friends and most loyal soldiers to investigate that station, and he nearly died for it too, at the hands of your ex-colleagues! Interesting isn't it, that days after your kin attack a DA station you start accusing me of working for the enemy. I don’t know what exactly is going on with the Barons, but I am not going to sit here and have my life's cause shouted down by one ignorant nomad. You have NO IDEA the work I put into helping these people, Seeth!” Jace was running out of patience now; his face twisted into a snarl and his hands clenched into fists. “If your czarites hadn’t attacked us, I could have rescued your friend and got her back to you!”

 

“Save it, Jace! They are NOTHING to do with me anymore!” Seeth spat back. “And how do I know any of this is even true? Last time we spoke you told me Plasia had probably been killed! I don’t know if I can trust you! All I know is that I'm killing Barons, and you’re just sitting there, talking. As usual. Don’t bother contacting us again unless you have something of actual value. Remember, you fucking owe me, Jace. Stop fucking around and actually do something useful for me. Or just send your Baron friends in to finish the job already.” 

 

Jace was glaring at Seeth with such rage, such blinding piercing fury that for a moment, she actually started to wonder if he could see her after all. After several uncomfortable seconds, Jace swiped his hand, and the call cut off. As the connection died, Seeth was left staring at her own fuming reflection, as static hissed behind the black screen on the wall. Her burst of energy was already beginning to fade away though, and suddenly she just felt exhausted. Exhausted, and sad. She could hear the faint shuffling of feet outside the door; it seemed that several people had been listening in on their conversation.

 

“D-Do you really think Jace could be working with them Barons?” Garnet finally asked, dabbing his forehead nervously.

 

Seeth let out a long sigh and sank back into one of the chairs in front of Garnet’s desk. “No, I don’t think he is. But I can’t say anything for sure right now, Garnet. Today’s been… confusing.” She pressed her fingers up against her forehead. “A box on a barge doesn’t confirm anything, but I’d bet that the cargo aboard that ship was given to the Barons, not stolen by them. And that doesn’t bode well for any of us.”