Stinger knew immediately, as he looked at the little human girl in front of him, that this was why the Great Queen Seraphi Abrasax had died.

"Immortality without Renge-X?"

A firm nod, a direct look in his eyes. She did not flinch, did not falter at looking at a splice bred for war. The little Queen had frightfully clear eyes, distinct, with their different coloration, and too old for that of a girl who hadn't even hit puberty. Queen Seraphi had been a scary bitch, Stinger recalls. Beautiful, cold, and completely the embodiment of what an Entitled claimed to be. A frightful, untouchable goddess. Even covered in wrinkles and bent and worn as she had been, she had scared the shit out of him. He remembered his last assignment as a skyjacker squadron leader distinctly, and very vividly. It had been a simple mission with a simple objective:

Protect the Primary of House Abrasax.

The most important mission of his career and it had been failed with an accident. As far as he could put together, then with evidence, Queen Seraphi had simply fallen and snapped her neck. She had a habit of seclusion, had very few escorts and personal guards despite her status. She hadn't been using Regen-X, and her body was definitely frail because of it. It had simply taken too long for anyone to find her. She had fallen and died, and the entirety of his team was on the chopping block because of it. It hadn't helped what Caine had done- what had possessed his second in command to go so ape-shit, Stinger never knew. He never got to talk to him, after he had gone for Lord Balem's neck, and by the time he got to say his goodbyes, Stinger knew they had whipped Caine's memories clean, so even he had no idea what had happened to provoke the attack.

Stinger had no doubt then that the rumors going around at the time of the Queen going crazy had been right on the money. And he had figured Lord Balem had simply cut his losses, and Caine had been able to sniff that out. It hadn't been up for Stinger to really piece together. He didn't care for humans and their mind games with each other, and Queen Seraphi had meant nothing to him personally. It was all he could do to keep his squad alive and get the fuck away from House Abrasax after her death. But it was that very same incident that had forced Stinger to be stationed on Earth in the first place. Lord Titus had specifically requested his presence on the planet, and Lord Balem had allowed the outpost to be placed on Earth and approved his assignment. He had known forty-cycles ago that meant that he was going to be used by the House at some point in the future, and would live in squander and disgrace until that happened.

But he would live, and so would Kiza. And that was what had mattered.

Looking at the girl in front of him, seeing traces of the wrinkled little Queen that had been his hive's downfall, Stinger knew that the game had shifted, changed completely. A Recurrence. A mythical figure in the Entitled religion. Even splices knew the stories of it happening. Rebirth and reincarnation… This was Seraphi come again, and she just happened to move right next door to Stinger. He knew he would be used by the Abrasax House one day, but he had not expected it to be in such a manner. He knew what she was offering when she claimed she wanted to help them. And seeing this sheeve, this proof that the gods were liars, he knew what she was asking of him.

"This is worth the death of an Entitled Queen."

A grim smile from the child. A trill of anger from the Keeper.

"So it was. You… You were there when Seraphi died," Queen Jupiter said it with certainty, a surety, and she said it in perfect Orous language. Beautiful and flowing.

He blinked. Swallowed.

"I was the squadron leader assigned to Queen Seraphi at her death, yes."

A crumpled face. Despite how much she bloody scared Stinger, the sight of a child with such a distressed face made the father in him anxious. Because despite how she was acting, Stinger saw how young she was, saw that this little terrestrial girl was indeed a child. Not an Entitled.

"Your squad- did they live?" she was asking, but she was also begging for a lie, or reassurance, Stinger realized with a jolt.

"They lived… You… You remember Queen Seraphi's life?"

"Some of it. I… A Recurrence is rebirth. But it isn't repetition. I'm not Seraphi. I was her, but I'm not anymore. I'm Jupiter now. It's different. I'm different from her. I want to finish what she started. I want to destroy the Regen-X system, I want to destroy the massive amount of slavery that the Verse runs on. I want- I want to save the Verse if I can."

His hand was trembling around the sheeve that he had just poured over, and he vaguely remembers Caine right at that moment.

The albino runt, a pup with everything against him, surviving, thriving, despite it all.

Maybe it was because of her earnest face that reminded him so much of the boy that had been like a son to him, or maybe it was because Stinger was tired, and felt something like hope when it came to the words 'save the Verse'. Maybe it was because Stinger was a risk-taker.

Or maybe Stinger wanted to destroy the man that had torn him and what had been his hive apart just because he could and they were in the way.

Either way, Stinger made a choice.

"Well, little Majesty, I think we can be friends. If I understand you right, you want to destroy the Verse."

A smile. More of a snarl, really, one that exposed missing teeth and brightness to mismatched eyes.

"No, Mr. Apini, I want to revolutionize the Verse. I want to save it."

"I don't know about that. Saving the Verse? That's a big job. It'll take time, money, and loyal subjects little Majesty. You can start by saving one person. Kiza has the Bug."

Worry. Genuine worry flashed across the girl's face. So she actually cares. This… This is good. Fucking impossible, but good.

"We can fix that. Easy. There are an Entitled grade medical facility and a ship to get us there."

"Then you have your first loyal subject, little Majesty."

"I don't want a subject. I want friends."

Kiza, his little larva, smiled.

"And you'll have that, Jupiter."