Epilogue
With slightly shaking hands I pin the letter to the cover of the top journal in the stack of notebooks I've left neatly assembled on my desk. There are four in all, three volumes span the journey of so many years ago and the fourth a diary of sorts with various mementos and photos attached inside. I step back and briefly admire my handiwork, taking in the entire room and the emptiness I find there. My study contains my desk, a few filing cabinets and bookshelves containing documents mostly relating to work—astronomy charts, books on sailing and nautical situations, weapons manufacturing and care, reports and copies of briefings from meetings past with my notes hastily scribbled in the margins—across the room is an unused desk completely devoid of any furnishings. Its surface is dust-free but bare. Before she moved out Amelia used to work there, we would spend hours in contemplative silence with our backs to one another, quietly absorbing information we would need for work. Now her desk is empty, just like the rest of her rooms in the house. Her bedroom now contains a guest bed—though there never are any—and all that lingers around the house are my sparse belongings. The only room I ever had slightly filled would have been the one I use as a range and practice area for my weapons. I converted the space from being a large parlour to one where dangerous arms are stored and sometimes altered. No one is allowed in there and normally I have the door locked and bolted but now it swings free. All of the weapons in it are gone, either moved, returned to the Navy's armoury, or packed away awaiting transport.
With one last look I shut off the light and back out of the room for the last time. The door swings shut silently behind me and I walk slowly down the hallway, closing doors and switching off lights as I go. I detour into the dining room where I change the scenery on the bay window from displaying an oceanic view to show what is actually outside with a quick touch on the panel. A ship is docked outside; it's waiting for me. A dark figure is making his way up my walkway and I hastily move to beat him to my door.
Lying against the wall closest to the door is my trusty rapier Rosalind and a newer companion I've taken to carrying, a shorter tanto blade I haven't named yet. I had a special harness made so that it could be strapped to my back against my spine tight enough to stay in place but limber enough that I could still bend. The harness let the blade be hidden under my hair and the blade lay flat flush with my spine. Without hesitation I could draw it and cut someone should the situation arise. I had also soldered special clips that I could attach pistol holsters to.
Not knowing the dangers I would soon be encountering had left me with a need to armour myself as much as possible. I would become the one-woman assault force with an arsenal to be reckoned with. If I were to be searched when in full gear the persons would discover a broad assortment of blades of differing sizes, shapes, and degrees of sharpness along with multiple handguns strapped to my body in random places. The time where I would only require my sword and an occasional pistol to get the job done had passed; the world I'm stepping into was a lot bloodier than normal and to go in with such little protection was downright idiotic.
After strapping and clipping on all of my weapons saving Rosalind and her concealed twin for last I finally shrug on my long obsidian black coat made of fabric designed to withstand fire, bullets, and weak throwing blades. I dig around in my pockets for a minute before I find a keyring from which I slide the largest key off of the ring. I toss the no longer needed set of keys onto the small shelf and they clatter to a stop after hitting the wall. My doorbell chimes and I open the door to find a weather-beaten face staring hard at me. His cyborg eye glows in the dusky half-light while he looks me up and down. I bend briefly to pick up the duffle bag that lay on the floor and throw it over my shoulder, my hands flutter to adjust the strap more comfortably across my chest before I grab the smaller bag that lay on the ground as well.
"You ready lass?" he asks with no real care in his voice. If I say no he will kill me here and now, but I have no inclination to say no. I nod curtly; my throat has closed up from the finality of it all. He about-faces with surprising swiftness and sets off towards the waiting ship.
I follow him out of the door but turn to lock the door with the large brass key I had saved. I briefly move to shove it in a nearby planter that is growing Annual Delphiniums the colour of lilac. Their purple hue reminds of my own amethyst that hangs from a chain around my neck. The pendant was given to me by Jim when we first began our relationship as a promise and reminder of our future together. That and the stone is notorious for its medicinal properties, it doubles as a protection stone and a guard against insomnia and unpleasant dreams. The stone was a little bit of an inside joke between he and I, a reference to the disease I outgrew as years went by. Alongside the pendant are twin sets of amber shards—symbolizing courage—and clear gemstone crystals—for tranquility and perseverance. The gems were birthday presents from Amelia; she thought my necklace could use a little sprucing up since it was the only jewelry I really wore.
I touch the pendant through the collar of my jacket and feel its warmth where it rests just under my collarbone's hollow at the base of my neck. The necklace has always reminded me of times past and the love Jim and I once felt for each other. But that was eight years ago. These days I'll be lucky if I get two letters in one year but more often than not I go without.
I shake my head and urge myself forward. As I board the ship I turn to gaze up the house that served as my home when I was away from home—my true home being out among the stars in the great frontier that is space—for the last time. Its darkened windows with their drawn curtains fill me with a kind of bittersweet longing for the past when the house was bustling with more activity than I was ever been able to give it all by myself. But now I have to turn my back on it all and betray everything I've ever stood for.
Command doesn't know anything except the fact that I am on indefinite leave until further notice; they probably assume it's something medical and since there were no major wars going on and were perfectly happy to grant my request. Little did they know I wouldn't be coming back and no one, not even those deemed closest to me would know where to find me. I am betraying them all and not a single person knows it save for the man responsible. My promise to him so long along has now been called in for collection. I leave my career, my life, and the possible promise of a future family behind all for the sake of redeeming myself.
Let it be known that on this day Kalena Aderyn, Admiral for the Royal Navy in service to the crown, weapons specialist, reconnaissance and security officer, and personal aircraft and arms mechanic turned her back on her destiny to become a creature she had sworn to fight against as part of her spacer's obligation. A pirate.