Song: Radical Face - Welcome Home, Son; The Deep Dark Woods - Big City Lights
"Looks like no one else is home..." the young woman said when we went into the house. It didn't exactly look stable, but it was about as well-built as most bandit places on Pandora. It felt a little strange to actually be in Mordecai's old house. Only that he didn't live there anymore and probably hadn't lived there in a good while.
"Is there anything we can help you with?" I asked the girl. She shook her head. On the way she had told us that her name was Camila.
"I should be alright. Yolanda is never out for too long. She is the one renting out this place to us." Camila answered.
"Let's wait until she's back, so. Wouldn't wanna leave you on your own. So what was that shooting about? It was over so quickly. Really weird." I asked, looking at Mordecai. He shrugged.
"Not sure. I don't really know what things are like at the moment, but it was probably something gang related. They knew where their targets would be and they got them and got away quickly. People get hurt by the crossfire. It happens a lot out here." he answered, as he tried looking around the house inconspicuously. Something was up here and he was trying to hide it. Maybe it was just because this was his old house, but something just seemed off.
"How did you ever get out of here?" Camila asked, gently rocking her baby in her arms to calm it down.
"My parents were deported when I ran away from home. I got into an orphanage and then went off planet when I was 17. Long story." he said.
"Truxican?" she wanted to know with a smile. I mean, it was kind of obvious with his accent. Mordecai nodded.
"You're not from here either." he replied, stating the obvious.
"No, I'm from Promethea. Figured I'd start new here and would hopefully be able to have a better life at some stage. But I'm still here after five years." she answered. She was from Promethea? Wow. Promethea sounded like it could be a really rough place. If you weren't working for Atlas, that is. And Atlas was apparently pretty much non-existent at this point, so...
"How old is your child?" I asked her.
"He's a year old. I left Promethea when I was 16. Had him last year, but his daddy got killed." she answered, smiling down at the child. Fuck. I realized that that would have probably been me if I had kept Anouk. The few times I had seen the slums on Aquator were when I was going out with her father. When I became pregnant, I didn't have any contact with him anymore and last I heard was that he was arrested for something. It was like I was seeing how things could have turned out for me.
"Oh, sorry to hear that. So, who are the other two girls you're sharing with?" I asked to change the topic.
"One of them works at the market, the other one... I don't know, she hasn't been living here for very long. I'm not really sure what she's doing or why exactly she's here. And Yolanda... I think she used to live in this house as well, but I'm not sure. She doesn't talk too much about her past or her family." Camila explained, as we heard someone at the door fiddling with the lock. She held her baby closer to her chest, watching the door intently.
"Yolanda?" she asked, tensely waiting for an answer. I put my hand down on my gun, getting ready to use it if I needed to. I looked over at Mordecai and he seemed to be somewhat uneasy.
"Sí, sí, it's me. Don't worry." we heard a muffled voice from the door. Camila relaxed and smiled at us, as the door opened. At the door there was a woman that was maybe around 60 years old. She had shoulder length white hair and warm, dark brown eyes that were surrounded by a few wrinkles. Her eyes fell on Camila and the bandage around her leg. She looked worried all of a sudden and rushed over to her. I wasn't even sure she had noticed us.
"Dear God, what happened to you, Camila? Did they shoot you? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? What happened?" she started asking when she saw the bloody bandages. Surprisingly, Mordecai had taken off his goggles at this stage. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
"There was a shooting, I got caught in the crossfire. But it's okay, these two helped me. They took care of the wound in my leg and brought me home." Camila answered quickly. Yolanda stood up and looked at me and Mordecai. She only glanced at me quickly, but she squinted at him, as if she was trying to see something that wasn't there. There was a weird atmosphere in the room.
"Their names are Nova and-" Camila started, but she got interrupted by Yolanda.
"Mordecai?"
It sounded more like a question. How did she know? What was happening? Mordecai smiled at her shyly.
"Hola, mamá." he replied quietly.
Everything was silent for about a minute. Mordecai looked up at Yolanda nervously, she looked at him in complete disbelief, I tried to process what had just happened and so did Camila. I mean, I figured I'd never meet Mordecai's parents ever. I wasn't prepared for any of this. And then all hell broke loose.
"Mordecai! How dare you?! How dare you just turn up here after all those years, after you disappeared because of that stupid, silly fight? How dare you? I've been worried about you, worried sick!" Yolanda shouted and walked towards him. She poked him in the chest every time she started a new sentence.
"How dare you just waltz in here after you've been gone for so long and after everything that happened to your brother! You never even let me know that you were alive and that you were okay and how do you think I felt getting shipped off this planet, to some dump, without you? I can't believe you just show up without even warning me! I had made my peace with not knowing what happened, I thought you were dead!"
"I'm sorry, mamá." Mordecai said gently and just hugged her. She stopped talking and just started sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry." Mordecai said again, as he held his crying mother. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as well, I didn't even know why. Maybe I realized how much I regretted not talking to my family more after I had left. Maybe it was seeing Mordecai this upset about his mother crying.
"Where have you been all this time, tesoro? Why didn't you let me know you were alright?" Yolanda asked.
"I... I didn't know where you were or what happened. I came back after a week and the house was empty and the neighbours said you were deported and... I got scared they'd get me, too, so... I don't know. They found me and put me in an orphanage. I didn't know where you were. And then I had to leave, because they put a bounty on my head and I just kept travelling around..."
"25 years... what did you do for 25 years... how did you manage to survive with a bounty on your head?" she asked.
"Well, I had... Bloodwing. And I learned how to use a gun. Made money by winning competitions. And then I ended up on Pandora and..."
"Pandora? That crazy planet where everything tries to kill you? The one with all the stories of the Vault?"
"That one. We found it. I found the Vault with some friends. Both of them actually. God, there is so much that happened, I don't even know where to start... is... is he still alive?" Mordecai replied.
"No. Your father is dead. Drowned after falling into a river when he was drunk." she answered.
"I see." Mordecai said, looking like he was not sure what to say.
"I came back here after that, seven years ago. Found the house again, managed to buy it back. I was hoping you'd come back for about two years, then I decided to take in some girls to live here. I really thought you were dead, Mordecai."
"I'm not. I... I didn't think I'd ever see you again, I... there's someone you gotta meet..." he replied and looked over to me. Yolanda turned around and gave me a smile. She looked back at Mordecai with an even wider smile. I gave Camila a confused look, as I had no idea what was going on. I still had trouble processing what had just happened, but she just smiled reassuringly.
"Mordecai, I... I didn't know you had a family... I never thought I'd see the day..." Yolanda said, looking touched.
"Well, ma, it's only her, really. I... uh... I met her on Pandora." he explained. I smiled at her, not sure what I was supposed to say.
"Hi, I'm Nova." I introduced myself and gave her an awkward wave. Yolanda was wiping another tear from her face.
"It's nice to meet you. I'd come over and give you a hug, but I haven't seen this one here in so long." she replied. I laughed. It was quite a relief to see her reacting that well. I mean, I wasn't exactly a good person and I doubted that she'd be as happy if she'd know that. Then again, maybe she wouldn't care at all.
"It's... uh... nice to meet you, too." I answered and leaned against a wall. I felt a little like I was intruding in their family reunion, so I just tried to stay in the background as good as possible.
"So how come you are back on Artemis now? Do you need a place to stay? You can stay here with us, if you want. I'll make us a meal, how about that? You have to stay at least for dinner." Yolanda said and let go of Mordecai, so she could get started on a meal. This whole situation was still really confusing for me.
"Ma, I didn't think you'd be here. They revoked the bounty on me, so Nova and I are here for the competition. We need to win some money, so she can get a cybernetic leg. We got here by coincidence, really. We're actually staying in one of the tree houses they built." Mordecai explained.
"I've heard about them on the news. They seem to be really nice. Nova, is there anything you don't eat?"
"No, I eat pretty much anything."
"Don't be shy, there are so many things Mordecai doesn't like, I'm used to it."
"No, it's fine. I really do eat anything. Do you want me to help with anything?" I asked. Maybe I could at least make myself useful.
"Oh no, no, you just sit back and relax. Unless you want to help poor Camila pack away her shopping?" Yolanda suggested. I looked at Camila and she gave me a big smile. She looked exhausted.
"That would be a great help, thank you." she replied. I went over to the bags and started packing the food away in the kitchen, hoping I'd put them all where they belonged. Or at least that Camila would correct me if I was completely off.
"Is Bloodwing still as picky with his food as well?" Yolanda asked. I stopped what I was doing and looked over to Mordecai. The room was completely silent and Yolanda looked up from what she was doing.
"What? Oh no. What happened?" she wanted to know.
"Bloodwing, she... she's dead. She was killed." Mordecai answered. Yolanda gave him a sympathetic look.
"Oh no, sweetheart. I know how much Bloodwing meant to you. I remember when you brought him home and you just took care of him every day. I'm so sorry." she replied. Mordecai looked a little embarrassed, but also sad.
"Yeah, let's... let's not talk about this. I have found a new bird, Talon. Eats pretty much everything at this stage." he replied.
"That's good to hear. We don't have much, anyways, it's difficult to take care of myself with your father... gone." Yoland answered and smiled weakly.
"What about Felipe? Where is he?"
"Felipe, he... well... I don't know how to say this..."
"What happened to him?"
"He got in trouble a lot, got involved in some gangs when he got older..." Yolanda started, but trailed off. Mordecai was shaking his head, looking like something terrible was dawning on him.
"No... no, no, no. Don't tell me he's dead, ma." he said.
"He's not, he... he got in trouble and he's been in prison for the last... seven years I think. I don't know what exactly he did or for how long they are trying to keep him in or how he is doing right now. I haven't heard from him since he got there. All I know is that he kept saying he was innocent and that was the last I heard of him."
"Is he innocent?" Mordecai asked.
"I don't know. I have no idea who to believe. It all happened really fast and I don't know if he did anything wrong. If you're still travelling all around the universe... please, if you find out what happened, let me know. I have gotten one son back already, maybe I can get my other son back as well."