The Will of Revenge

by Gamer83888

Fifteen years have passed since the event that changed history. Flare Prime, under the guidance of United Nations, prospers and develops. It's nations, united under the UNSA Andromeda Branch banner, look into bright future. However, old enemies long presumed dead or missing return to bring chaos. A new war is on the horizon and the outcome will decide the fate of billions of lives.

31. Part 4, Chapter 5

Hi, nice seeing you back in The Will of Revenge. Previously on, we saw our heroes in the Milky Way, as they basically performed a prison break, so they could perform the new plan designed by the ICTA. Now, that they successfully performed said prison break, the time has come for them to actually do the plan.

But before we get to it, reviews.

To DevilEmperorDragon: Nice to hear that.

To Supreme Supra: Thank you, as always.

Alright, with that done, let us begin.

Chapter 5

July 30, 2166

13:32

UNSA San Antonio, Uni System

Following the official end of the mission and the funeral of the four SOF operatives killed in action, Ester, Delilah and Elsa went to the common room. There, accompanied by the rest of the Warrior Bunnies, they told them, with Emmy, about everything that went down during the mission.

"And then Elsa threw a grenade inside that APC."Emmy said.
"I had no idea you can do stuff like that."Heley said.

Elsa just scratched the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly.

"As I said, I also had no idea about having such abilities."she stated.
"But if it wasn't for them, we would not succeed."Delilah stated.
"By the way, where is Norrine?"Macy asked.
"Well, she's talking with the freed prisoner."Ester replied."You know, they have a lot to catch up on."
"I bet."Kenya stated.

"So, I guess that next we'll be going to that pirate base?"Ves asked.
The three looked at each other.
"Well…"Elsa said.
"We decided, that only me, Ester, Elsa, Norrine and Shiada will go."Delilah said.

This immediately sparked the reaction of Emmy, who almost spewed the drink she had. She stood up.
"Oh, come on, why not all of us?"she asked.
"Simple."Ester said."We decided, that the smaller the team, the better. We don't want to antagonize that whole 'Pirate King' guy, you know."
"Imagine how hard the negotiations would be, if we barged in with an entire company or even battalion worth of soldiers."Elsa added."It would either end really well or really bad."
"So we have to take it easy."Delilah ended.

Emmy just waved it off. She already knew, that there was no reason to argue with the commanders, but she always had to try at least a bit. She knew she would fail, but she simply couldn't stop herself.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there will be some other mission you will be needed for."Delilah said, patting her arm."Maybe while we're still gone."
"I can go with that."Emmy threw up her arms.

Right then, the voice in the PA spoke:
"Colonel Barkhorn, commander Delilah and corporal Steier, come to the briefing room."

Ester, Delilah and Elsa put down their drinks.
"Alright, free time's over."Ester stated.
"Let's get this taken care of."Delilah agreed.

Elsa just nodded her head.

Soon after, the three of them left.

July 30

13:46

Briefing room

Ester, Delilah and Elsa entered the briefing room. Immediately, they saw Vlad, Norrine and Shiada inside. The latter two were sitting on the chairs, while Vlad stood in his usual place behind the podium.

"So, I guess everything was talked through?"Ester asked, taking her seat.
"Yes."Vlad replied.

Saying that, he pressed some buttons and the screen behind him came to life. Once more, it showed the map of the galaxy, with numerous pirate bases still marked on it. However, this time, something new appeared on it: a big, yellow dot on the border of UNSA and Tertan Protectorate space.

Everyone immediately understood what that was.
"No way."Ester said."You mean to tell me, that this, let's call it 'pirate capital', was literally in the middle of UN territory?"

"Not in the middle, but yes."Vlad replied.
Everyone looked at Shiada.

"You have any idea how did they hide this place from the public eye?"Delilah asked.
"Well, the system in which The Eye is placed is pretty empty and uninhabited. It's easy to hide something in a place where no one ever goes."the Native Martian explained.

Ester and Delila had nothing to say to that. Mainly because it was true.

"As we planned before."Vlad continued."You will go there and negotiate with the Pirate King to join the fight against Laconians."
"But first, you will give me a new ship."Shiada demanded.

The handler rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, we already requested a new ship for you. It should be here within a few hours."he replied.

"Good."

Vlad once more looked at Ester, Elsa, Norrine and Delilah.
"In that time, you should go and prepare your equipment for the mission. Take whatever you see fit for the occasion."
"Can do."Ester replied.

"Good. Dismissed."

With that surprisingly short briefing done, everyone exited the briefing room to prepare for the upcoming journey.

July 31

10:49

Unnamed system

The system was really small. It had only one planet orbiting in a long distance from the star, making it an icy wasteland. Two asteroid belts, one between the star and the planet, second beyond the planet, were the only other two features of the system.

And although that, movement could be observed in the system. It was minimal. Barely anything, but it was happening. It was one of the rules of the system that the ships will fly in as small groups as possible, to avoid detection and not bring anyone interested in the traffic going to the system.

This is why just a single ship exiting hyperspace in the nearby vicinity of the single planet of the system didn't pull anyone's attention.

"You know what? I think I will like this ship better than my previous one."Shiada stated.

She was sitting at the pilot's console of the ship, making sure that the ship won't crash into anything on the way.

"Just don't lose it quickly."Ester said."Type 57 Corvettes are not cheap to make."
"And although it seemed like that, we had to pay a lot to the Chinese to give it to us."Delilah added.

Ester, Elsa, Delilah and Norrine were standing behind Shiada, dressed in more civilian outfits.
"Oh, don't worry."Shiada waved it off."I can take care of my ship."
Right as she said that, the whole vessel shook from a force of impact.
"You were saying?"Delilah asked through gritted teeth.
"It was just a small asteroid, nothing capable of breaking through the armor."the Native Martian replied.

"How long before we reach The Eye?"Ester asked.
"Around eight minutes. You can relax until then."
"Sure."Norrine said.

The four of them turned and left the bridge. They stopped outside. Ester, Elsa and Delilah looked at Norrine. Marines major seemed unaware of what was going on.
"What?"she asked.
"Well, we've been thinking…"Ester said.
"You have too many secrets."Delilah added.
"And we wanted to ask you some questions."Elsa finished.

Norrine looked at all three of them in order and sighed.
"Guess you can't evade not saying anything forever, right?"she asked.
"Yes."the three replied in unison.

"Alright, but I have a condition."
"What condition?"Ester asked.
"You can only ask me three questions. For now."

Colonel, corporal and commander looked at each other. Next, they looked at Norrine and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, ask."Norrine said.
"Then I'll go first."Ester said."We couldn't help but notice that there is some…tension between you and Shiada. Care to elaborate on that?"
Norrine nodded.

"Sure. She's my ex."

An awkward silence fell on them. Ester, Elsa and Delilah needed a few seconds to process what they just heard. And when it finally hit them, they widened their eyes and their jaws almost hit the floor.

"She's what?!"they exclaimed.
"Yeah, we used to be a thing. We knew each other for some time and after that, we simply…You know. Then, when I left for Earth she…didn't take it very well. We had an argument. She left me in the nearest port with all my belongings. Honestly, when I proposed that idea with finding her, I wasn't sure if she'll actually help us. By the way, that was your second question."
"Hey, that's not fair."Elsa stated.
"I said you can ask me three questions. And isn't 'Say what?' a question?"

"Well played, Norrine. Well played."Delilah admitted.
"Alright then…"Ester said calmly, although she just felt a sudden irritation spike within her."Third question. What were you doing before leaving her?"

For this question, Norrine didn't find an immediate answer. Of course, Ester noticed that. Actually, she was almost sure of the answer, considering that Norrine spent a part of her life with a pirate. So when the answer finally came, she wasn't surprised.
"I admit, while we were together, we did some…questionable things."major admitted."But that was our life. We had to survive somehow."

"From a pirate to EUJM major."Delilah said."Pretty interesting, if you ask me."

"Life works in mysterious ways."Norrine threw up her arms."Okay, you had your three questions."
"You bet this isn't everything we're gonna ask you."Ester said, pointing her finger at Norrine.
"I know. And when the time comes, I will answer all of your questions, whatever they might be."
"You promise?"Elsa asked.

Norrine then put her hand on her chest, over the place where heart was.

"Pirate's word."

"That's reassuring."Ester mumbled.

"Hey, sweet-cheeks."Shiada's voice came through the PA."We're almost there. You better come here."

Ester looked at everyone.
"You heard her."she said.

Next, the four of them returned to the bridge. Shiada quickly glanced behind them with a smile on her reptile-like face.
"Here it is."she said before turning back.

The four of them came up to the window and looked through it. And what they saw made all of them except Norrine drop their jaws.

On the 'horizon', slowly, emerging from behind the planet, was an enormous space station. It was honestly bigger than any other space station Ester and the others ever saw, even bigger than Angier Station, which was often called 'the biggest Human space station in existence'. But this was much bigger, nearly the size of a freaking moon. Looking at it, for some reason, reminded Ester of the Ichroid Queen's ship. But unlike that one, which looked like a big mass of crystals, this space station looked as if it was built from many different pieces of metal slapped together. It also had a big, red eye painted on it's side.

"Now we know where the name comes from."Delilah said.

"I'm honestly surprised it still orbits."Norrine stated.
"Why shouldn't it?"Elsa asked.
"As you may have noticed, this whole thing is made from various components taken by different pirates during raids. If the word 'makeshift' was a space station, this would be it."Shiada explained."But it's been holding up like this for the past three hundred years."
"And to think that all of this was hidden by so long…"Ester shook her head in disbelief. She then noticed several dots going to and out of the station."Seems like it's pretty lively there."

"As always."

As they got closer, a voice spoke to them:
"This is The Eye, unknown ship identify yourself, or we'll be forced to open fire."
"Huh, so they do have some procedures, too."Ester said, a bit surprised.
"What did you think? We're not some animals."Shiada scoffed and pressed the button."The Eye, this is Jerrus, requesting permission to land."
"Jerrus?"Delilah asked."When did you name the ship?"
"Just now."the Native Martian replied, smiling.

There was a short period of silence on the other side.

"Shiada?"the voice finally asked."Is that you?"
"In my full glory."Shiada replied.
"Holy shit, you old bitch!"Everyone heard a sharp laugh coming from the other side."Haven't seen you in a while! Where have you been?"

"Oh, there and there, having some adventures."She waved it off.

"And what happened to Grendr?"

"I had a run in with Laconian Coast Guard. Don't worry, I didn't let them catch me without a fight."

"Ha, good. They deserve it tenfold."
"So, how about that permission to land?"
"Oh, right! Come on right in!"

"Thanks."Shiada ended and disconnected.

The four behind her looked at each other.
"That was smooth."Ester admitted.
"I'm pretty known here."the Native Martian said with wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, we can tell."Norrine said.
"Oh, don't be so stuck up your ass, Ei."

Hearing the last word, Norrine visibly tensed, however the other three didn't comment on this in any way.

"We will go and prepare our stuff."Delilah said.
"Yeah, good idea."Norrine agreed."You go first, I'll join you soon."
"Whatever you say."Elsa said.

Next, the three left the bridge. Norrine waited until the door closes behind him, after which she looked at Shiada with irritation.
"I told you not to do that."she said.
"Do what?"Shiada risen her skeletal eyebrow.

"Call me that. I don't use that name anymore. I go by Norrine now."

"Come on, it's for the old times sake. Did you really forget about everything we did, my love?"
"It was long ago…"
"And you really don't want to return to it?"
"I have a new life now. I don't want to simply drop it and return to stealing and pillaging."
"I never knew I'd hear that from you of all people."

"And before you ask, now I only kill the bad guys."
"Whatever you say. I still like what I'm doing, but I won't force you to do anything…Ei."

"Whatever. I'll go and get ready with the rest."

Major turned and made her way to the door, but before she exited, she stopped and turned around.
"And I forgot to tell you something."

"What?"Shiada asked, looking back at her.
A small smile appeared on Norrine's face.
"Thanks…Shi."

"No problem."

With that said and done, Norrine left, while Shiada returned to steering the ship into the dock it was assigned.

July 31

11:13

The Eye, Dock 06

Jerrus came to a stop several minutes later. It flew into the assigned dock, where it approached the pier and soon, docking collar was extended, attaching itself to the ship's side. There were also two guards assigned to guarding the entrance, which was a bit surprising for Ester, Elsa and Delilah.

"Really?"colonel asked.
"What?"Norrine tilted her head."It's a lawless space, but security is important here too."

"After all, pirates will be pirates."Shiada added."They will try to steal even from their fellow pirates."

"What's new?"Delilah asked, looking up.

They walked down the pier, looking around. There were several other ships in the dock, but these looked much different than the sleek and new, straight out of the assembly line look of their Corvette. Many were painted in various colors, from simple greens to the most garish pinks and golds possible. Some also had rather…NSFW paintings on their hulls. They also looked like someone took several ships, slapped their parts together and called it a day. Ester even noticed one former tanker to which someone attached numerous small caliber guns and PDCs.
"These are pirates alright."she whispered.
"You expected pirates to have some actual ships?"Shiada asked."Well, we can't openly commission sips in shipyards. We have to work with what we have. And with what we steal. Hell, even my previous ship was just a Shakayan atmospheric bomber with guns from a Corvette attached."
"Can't argue with that."Delilah agreed.

They approached the door, where they met another pair of guards. They were wearing something that seemed like a mix between civilian and military clothes, with camouflage pants, sleeveless shirt and bulletproof vest. They were both wielding Shakayan Netrus-7 assault riffles although both were Human.

One of them put his hand forward to stop them.

"Identify yourselves."he said.
"Shiada, captain of Jerrus."Shiada said."And this is my crew."

"Shiada? Aren't you the captain of Grendr?"
"Used to. But I lost it. Then I stole this UNSA one and got here. I also decided that I need a crew."

This was the version of the story they decided to go with. That they are simply a crew hired by Shiada to help her pilot her new ship. Of course, there was no need for full crew, because the Type 57 Corvette could be easily operated by one person. But it was still a good cover.

"Alright then."guard said."You can pass."

He nodded to the second guard who pressed the button and the door started sliding open. When they did it enough for them to pass, they went through them.
"I didn't fail to notice that you are some kind of celebrity here."Elsa said.
"That I am."Shiada said proudly.

They walked down the corridor, passed by several other people. Some of them did look like a ship crew, while others looked like simple civilians.
"There are people living here?"Ester asked.
"Yeah, why shouldn't there be?"Norrine replied.
"I don't know, I thought it was just some stop for the pirates before they go for another hunt."colonel admitted.

"Well, no. Many pirate captains actually use this place as their home base, where they live between voyages. They have families here and all."

"Interesting."Elsa said.

Right then, they approached another door. This time, however, there were no guards and the only thing they needed to do was simply press the button.
"Ladies."Shiada said."Welcome…to The Eye."

The door opened fully and they entered. What they saw was as impressive as the sight of the station from the outside.

All around them, there were actual BUILDINGS set up, as if it was a normal city on a planet. There were even sometimes buildings standing on top of other buildings. Crowds of people were walking around, taking care of their normal business. Among them, they were able to notice several groups of armed people. Up above, there was nothing else except a metal ceiling and several drones flying around.

"Holy shit."Delilah said.

"Yeah, it's kinda impressive, if you think about it."Norrine said.
"It looks like a normal city."Elsa noticed.
"We pirates are pretty innovative."Shiada giggled.
"Alright, so, how do we get to the Pirate King?"Ester asked.

"Getting to him isn't easy."the pirate replied."To do that, you first must gain a favor of one of his lieutenants."
"And how do we do that?"Elsa asked.

"Well…"Norrine started.
"What the hell?"

Everyone quickly turned around at the sound of these words. Standing to their side was a man, probably a few years younger than Norrine, flanked by two pirates wearing combat armor. He was dressed in simple jeans and brown jacket, without shirt, showing off his well built abs. On his neck, he had at golden necklace with an ammo case hanging on it. His face had slight facial hair and his left eye was completely black.

Seeing him, Norrine immediately held her breath.
"Oh, hi, long time no see."Shiada said casually.

The rest decided to not say anything. In their opinion, it might have been the best course of action, because atmosphere just become very, very tense.
"Shiada."the man said, crossing his arms."We thought we'll never see you again."

"Well, I also have to come back home from time to time."the Native Martian laughed."Especially after adventures with Laconian Coast Guard."
"Oh, really? How did you even escape?"

"I barely did. I jumped last second and managed to get to some port, from which I stole new ship and after that, I hired a crew."Here, Shiada pointed at Ester, Elsa and Delilah.

Man narrowed his eyes.
"Riiiiiiiight…"he said protractedly. Next, he looked at Norrine, who tensed even more."From all people I could ever imagine, you coming back here was the least expected. What could've brought you back?"

Norrine let her breath out and shook her head.
"I don't have a time for this. We have a business to take care of."she said, trying to walk away, but one of the guards accompanying the man stepped into her way.

"I don't think so."the man said.

His other guard slightly lifted his weapon, prompting Ester, Elsa and Delilah to reach towards their holsters. The combat armor worn by the two was enough to withstand the small arms fire, but they could at least try. But there was also a crowd already gathering around them, so any kind of fight could result in bystander victims.

"Don't worry, we just want to talk."the man said, trying to calm them down."This whole situation don't have to get violent."

"It will, if you don't get out of our way."Norrine growled.

"You hurt me, you know that…"He made a pause for a better effect."…right, sis?"

This time, Ester, Elsa and Delilah just couldn't stay quiet and unanimously exclaimed:
"SIS?!"

"I don't care what you're gonna tell me, bro."Norrine shot back.

"BRO?!"

"Adam, there is no need to argue."Shiada said, trying to diffuse the situation.

Adam looked at her as if she was stupid."
"You serious? My sisters returns after so many years, probably to try and ask our father for forgiveness?"He shook his head."Sorry, but father is too busy with his Pirate King duties to worry about you."
"FATHER?!"

Norrine tightened her first and a blue flame appeared on it. She slowly lifted it.
"That's something new."Adam said, completely unmoved."But I dare you, try something and none of you will come out of here alive."
Major glanced at one guard and then at the other. Finally, she extinguished the flame. However, instead of saying anything, Norrine turned around, pushed some people out of her way and ran away.

"Norrine, wait!"Ester called out after her.

"So she has a new name now?"Adam teased."Interesting."
Ester shot him an annoyed glance and followed after Norrine. Elsa and Delilah did the same. Shiada stayed behind for a bit, looking at Adam with disgust.

"We're gonna talk later."she hissed.
"I'm looking forward to it."Adam replied.

Shiada left soon after than, with Adam looking as she ran away. He turned to his guards.
"I think we have to increase security with them here."he said.
"If you say so, sir."one of the guards replied.

Next, they turned around and left.

July 31

12:09

The Eye, Entertainment Area

Norrine disappeared from their radar after some time. This forced Ester, Elsa, Delilah and Shiada to go around, asking people if they did see her. After receiving some little to no helpful answers and running into several death ends, they were finally told that someone saw her going into an Entertainment Area of the station. There, they searched several entertainment facilities, until they finally found her.

She was sitting at a counter in one of the local bars, drinking. The four approached her quietly and took their seats on both her sides, with Ester and Elsa on the right, while Delilah and Shiada said on the left.

"So you found me."Norrine said, sighing.
"We had to."Elsa said.
"Norrine, what happened there…"Ester started, but was silenced when Norrine lifted her hand.
"No. He was right."

"So…he was your brother, right?"Delilah asked.
Major nodded.
"Yup. Biological. We both have the same genes."
"That was…certainly unexpected."colonel admitted.

Norrine took another sip from her cup.
"So, remember when I promised that I tell you everything once we're back on San Antonio?"she asked.
"Yeah…"Elsa replied.

"How about I tell you everything here and now?"

This was certainly a surprise.
"If you…don't mind."Warrior Bunny commander said.

"No, I don't. You already found out some things I wanted to tell you about anyway."

She finished her drink and gave the cup back to the barman.

"Well then. Where to begin? Maybe from the beginning. My and Adam's parents were simple people. Except, they were pirates, but you already knew that. Other than that, they weren't some high ranking people in pirate ranks. While our father, William 'The One Eye' Ternborn, was captain of the ship and enjoyed riding unsuspecting freighters and other cargo haulers, our mother was calmer than that. She was a warm, loving person, who could help you whenever you needed help. She and my father were married to each to end a years-long conflict between two pirate families, the Ternborns and the Browns. And once they did, father changed for her. He tried to be a good husband and father. And he was good at it."

"Weird to hear someone calling a pirate 'good husband and father'."Ester admitted.
"But that was the truth. The first years of my and Adam's life were great. We had a loving family, we had everything we needed to live…"
"We're not gonna talk about the fact most of that was taken from others."Shiada chimed in.

"Well said."Norrine admitted."However, one day…"

Twenty years ago…

September 23, 2146

17:32

Alion IV, Alion System

Alion System found itself under the Holy Order occupation only recently. This is why it was still pretty rare to see HO patrols on the streets, although their ships were visible in the sky over the planet. Their presence, however, didn't stop the main clients of local shipyards and facilities, pirates, from constantly going there to make repairs to their ships. Additionally, the HO occupation commander made a deal with the pirates and now, they were giving him twenty percent of whatever they got.

There were not many people on the streets, because it was already pretty dark outside, but there were two people of importance.

Ten year old Norrine and her mother, Liliana.

Not too long ago they decided to go to a local store to refill the ship's food supplies. William, although reluctant due to the reputation of the planet, finally agreed. He simply couldn't say no to his beloved wife.

"You liked our little trip, honey?"Liliana asked her daughter, who was jumping through the various puddles made by the falling rain.

"Yup!"the girls said cheerfully."With you mommy, every trip is great!"
Liliana giggled.
"I'm glad to hear it. By the way…you know it's daddy's birthday soon, right?"

Girl nodded her head.

"Of course!"
"What do you say we make him some big, sweet cake? But it has to be secret. Can you keep it a secret?"
"Yes, I can."Norrine said with stern face.

"I'm glad, honey."

As they continued to walk, they were unaware of one thing. A fundamental thing, that would shape the course of Norrine's for the nearby future.

Their walk was interrupted, when a man suddenly ran up to them from behind and grabbed onto Liliana's bag. He was certain, that he will easily tear it out of unsuspecting woman's hands. How big was his surprise, when Liliana wasn't shaken by this, but instead grabbed her bag tightly and held it with incredible strength. Norrine only yelped in surprise and hid behind her mother.

"Let it go!"the man exclaimed.

"No! You let it go! Or I will call for help!"
Their struggle resembled the typical tug of war, while Norrine observed it in fear. Right then, she noticed as the man reaches into something inside of his jacket.

"Someone help, please!"Liliana exclaimed.

"I said let go, you stupid bitch!"he exclaimed, pulling out a gun."And shut the fuck up!"

Shot was heard only seconds later. Liliana's eyes went wide, as she collapsed on the ground, letting the bag go. Man simply turned around and ran away, not looking back at the two. He disappeared behind the nearby corner.

Norrine, still shocked by what she just saw, fell to her knees beside her mother.

"Mommy…?"she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

"Honey…are you…alright…?"Liliana asked weakly.
"Yes, but…what about you?"

Right then, a red stain started spreading across Liliana's chest from the place where she was shot. There was also another stain forming under her.
"I'm so happy…you're okay…swee…"

Norrine could only watch, as her mother's eyes turn completely empty and as her last word doesn't even fully leave her mouth. Right then, rain started falling, as if to underline the whole tragedy of the situation, while Norrine just knelt there, in the stain of her mother's blood, unaware of the two figures approaching the scene.

Now…

As Norrine finished telling, Ester, Elsa and Delilah were unable to say anything.

"Norrine, I…"Ester said, but didn't finish.
"…am sorry for your loss?"Norrine finished instead."I know, everyone tells me that."
"What happened next?"Delilah asked.
"Not long after, two HO MPs appeared at the scene. I told them where the thief ran, but they didn't find him. Instead, I told them to call my father. They did and he was devastated. We took mom's body and gave her a funeral worth of a pirate."

"That means?"Elsa asked.
"Her body was jettisoned into a star."Shiada replied."This is how pirates bury their deceased. Among the stars they live among."

"Kinda poetic, not gonna lie."corporal stated.

"Yeah, it is."Norrine agreed, nodding."But after that, I admit, I…changed. I became more secluded and rarely left my room. And that's because I decided about something."
"About what?'Ester asked.

Major looked at her.
"I decided, that I will find the guy that killed my mother and make sure, that he will suffer for days before I let him die."

A shiver came down Ester's, Elsa's and Delilah's spines.

"And so I did. I started learning every possible way to kill. I trained long. For five years, I've been searching for that man. I traveled the galaxy, searching for and eliminating anyone that could possibly lead me to him. As it turned out, the guy was leader of some gang when I started my search. So I infiltrated that gang. And I killed my way up the chain of command. Until finally…I stood face to face with him."
She stopped and others waited with tension.

"He didn't recognize me at first, because it's been five years since he saw me. But one time, when we were all alone, I did what I wanted. I kidnapped his sorry ass, escaped his gang's hideout, found some secure place and slowly tortured every bit of his life out of him. He begged for mercy, wanted me to kill him already. He acted like I expected he would act. Of course, I didn't listen and prolonged his suffering as long as possible."
With every word, the other three felt more and more dread.

"And when the time come to finally finish the poor bastard, I revealed to him who I was. He looked at me with eyes filled with fear…right before I cut his head off and fed it to local wildlife."

Right then, the barman brought another cup and placed it in front of Norrine, who took a sip from it.
"Is it the end of the story?"Ester asked.
"No."Norrine replied."When I came back to father, I learned that he was elected the new Pirate King. I was actually proud of it. But then…well…"
"What?"Delilah asked.

"Dad changed following what happened to mom. He wasn't the same man. We moved away from each other as a family. He made Adam his chief security officer, while I…Let's just say my new killing skills couldn't be wasted in his opinion."

"So he turned you into his personal assassin."Elsa guessed.

Norrine nodded in confirmation.

"He was telling me who to kill and I did it. No questions asked. I though it was my duty. After all, he was not only my father but also king. I was doing it for years. I killed more people than you could count. It literally became a routine for me. Killed one guy, moved onto another. All because of my father's newly grown paranoia that someone will come after him and try to take his place. I killed and killed and killed until…I simply didn't want to anymore."

"Just like that?"Ester asked.
"Just like that."Norrine admitted."But I didn't tell him that. I knew that he could make up some theory, that I am after his position. So one day I simply packed my things and left."
"With my help, of course."Shiada added.

"Yeah. We traveled the galaxy, took any job to survive and lived our lives. Then, when my powers appeared, I decided to leave for Earth, where my great grandparents came from to learn to control it better. Fortunately, Human armies also give some kind of training in using these powers. Only basic, but I learned the rest myself. So I took a new name, signed up and here we are today."

"I'm still mad at you for leaving just like that."the Native Martian said, pouting.
"I already apologized."

"Okay, I think we get it."Ester said.
"But wait."Delilah said."If you adopted a new name, what is your real name?"

Norrine took another sip.

"Elis."she said."Elis Ternborn. But don't worry, you still can call me Norrine if you want."

"Sure thing."

They sat there in complete silence for a few minutes.

"So"Ester finally said"What do we do now?"
"What do you mean?"Norrine risen an eyebrow."We came here to get the pirates on our side. And we will do it."

"But how?"Elsa asked."From you told us, your father isn't gonna be pleased to see you."

"I know. But I have my ways."

Major finished her drink and stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

"Go where?"Delilah asked.

Norrine looked at them and smirked.
"We're gonna find my brother."

July 31

13:02

The Eye, Residential Area

It wasn't hard to find Adam. It wasn't hard to notice a group of well-armored pirates going everywhere with their boss surrounded by them. They were going around the station, making sure nobody was doing any problems.

"Adam!"Norrine exclaimed.

Chief security officer stepped out from between his subordinates and stood in front of them. He had the same smirk on his face as Norrine, so without a doubt they were brother and sister.

"What do you need, Elis?"he asked."Or is it Norrine? I'm lost here."
"Call me whatever you like."Norrine shot back."I came here with a proposition."

Adam risen an eyebrow.

"I'm all ears."

"Alright. How about a duel?"
"Interesting, go on. What's the stake?"
"If we win, you will take us to father."
"And if I win?"
"We will leave the station and you'll never see us again."

"I have a bad feeling about this."Delilah whispered.
"Join the club."Ester and Elsa whispered back.

"It's gonna be fun."Shiada stated.

Adam was rubbing his chin before nodding.
"Sounds good to me."he said."But we're gonna do it the Ternborn way."

Norrine smirked.
"Sure."

There was a period of silence, as neither Norrine and their companions, nor Adam and his security officers didn't do anything. Tension was rising and even crowd started gathering around them. Whatever was gonna happen within the next few minutes, it wasn't gonna be nice.

And then, it started.

Kenny Loggins-Footloose

Right as one of the security officers turned the music on, Adam started doing all kinds of dance moves, from jumping, clapping, tap dancing and even moon walking. He spun around and through out his shoulders, while Ester, Elsa and Delilah just stood there, watching, trying to understand what they were seeing.

And then, Norrine started doing exactly the same as her brother.

"Get him, Norrine!"Shiada exclaimed, clapping her hands.

Right then, security officers hung their weapons on their backs and joined Adam. It had to be pretty interesting for a simple bystander to see several security officers, dressed in full combat armor, dancing in the middle of the street. Immediately some people started recording this with their phones.

Ester came up to Norrine.
"What the hell are you doing?"she whispered.
"Protecting our honor, sister."Norrine whispered back."The Ternborn way."

"When Ternborns need to resolve some family dispute, they do a dance-off."Shiada explained.

"What do we do?"Delilah asked.

Ester looked at Norrine facing off against her brother and his security officers, she sighed.

"When among crows…"she whispered.

She looked and nodded at the others. They nodded back. They know what to do.

They stepped in and joined Norrine in her dance battle. They also started jumping, clapping, tap dancing and doing exactly the same moves as Norrine and her brother. Two teams danced off against each other, as crowds around started clapping and cheering.

"Holy shit, we're good at this!"Shiada laughed.
"Focus on dancing!"Ester reminded her.

Right then, the two dancing groups intertwined and passed each other. They started shaking their hips and clapping their hands in the air, spinning and just having fun. At one point, Elsa looked at one of the security officers and he looked back at her. For some reason, they seemed to understand each other without words, as they nodded towards each other.

Right then, they ran at each other and officer grabbed Elsa in her waist and lifted her above his head and started spinning with her. Not too far away, Delilah and another security officer were making a robot dance. Ester was dancing with another officer, while Shiada did with another officer what Elsa was doing with her now partner, although it was Shiada who had the officer above her head.

Two groups continued to dance-off for the next few minutes as the song continued. And when it finally was coming to an end, Norrine and the others finished their dance with a twine, much to the surprise of Adam and his officers.

"Wow, didn't see that one coming."Adam said.

"This is how I am, bro."Norrine said, standing up.

Chief security officer glanced at his sister, then at her companions and after a while, he started laughing. Norrine soon followed.
"Good to see you still have that in you, sis."Adam said."Although it pains me to say, this victory belongs to you."
"Thanks."

Next, the two hugged.

"Welcome home, Elis."

"I prefer if people call me Norrine, but sure."

"That was all it took, huh?"Ester asked, tilting her head.
"Never underestimate a power of a good dance-off."Shiada said."Things like that can work mir…"

Her words were interrupted, when out of nowhere, something made a hole in her chest, in the place where her heart should be. Immediately, a purple stain of blood started spreading across her clothes.
"Shi?"Norrine asked.

Native Martian started falling over, but before she hit the floor, Norrine quickly reached her and grabbed her. Shiada already started spewing blood as she looked at Norrine.
"Ei…"Shiada whispered.
"No, no, don't say anything."Norrine said."Save your strength, we're gonna get you to the hospital."

"Secure the area!"Adam ordered.

His security officers quickly surrounded the scene and instructed the people to go away.
"Shi, please…"Norrine pleaded, as tears started appearing in her eyes.
"Wow…"Shiada said."Never thought…this is how…it will end…"
"Don't say anything like that! You're gonna be fine!"major shouted.

"Not…this time…haha…"

With the last bit of her strength, she put her hand on Norrine's cheek.

"Time for me…to join…the Ancestors…Ei…"the Native Martian said.

"No, you can't…"
"Let go…Ei…I…love…you…"

As she said that, her head fell to the side, while the hand touching Norrine's cheek simply hung loosely. Norrine looked at Shiada for few seconds before closing her eyes and whispering:
"I love you too."

"We have to get out of here."Adam said, standing behind her.

Norrine looked at him with teary eyes.

"I can't just leave her here!"she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I will send someone to retrieve her. But we can't stay here."

"I…"
"Norrine."Ester said, putting her hand on major's arm."Listen to him. It's clearly not safe here. Let's just go."
"But…Fine."

Norrine slowly put down the body of her friend and joined the rest, as security officers surrounded them. They quickly left the scene, leaving Shiada's body and several surprised people, who still tried to digest what just happened.

July 31

13:52

Near the King's Seat

The group continued their way through the streets of the station, pushing the crowds out of the way, trying to get as far from the scene as possible. They were silent, still unable to believe in what just happened.

"Adam."Norrine said sharply."I want answers."
"Not now, we have to…"Adam tried to object.

"I WANT THEM NOW!"

"Fine!"

The whole group stopped in it's tracks. Security officers still surrounded them, scanning the area with the sensors in their armor, while Adam turned to his sister.

"We have…kind of a power struggle going on right now."he said.
"What do you mean by that?"Ester asked.

Adam sighed.
"I can't deny it, our father is getting old and…many see it as opportunity to take his place. But one that is most keen on becoming the next Pirate King is captain Vinsel Jones."

"Wait."Delilah frowned."I know this name. I seen it pop up in news a few times."

"Yeah, me too."Elsa said."Isn't he…?"
"A captain that basically sold his services to Laconians?"Adam finished for her."Yes. For years, he's been working together with Lacos and helped them eliminate the pirate activity in their space. But he still is considered one of us, so he still has access to The Eye."

Ester started rubbing her chin.

"So, if I'm correct, it's possible that if he becomes the next Pirate King…"
"…he might side with the Laconians against us."Norrine said."And do exactly what we wanted to do here."

Adam tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
"The reason we came here in the first place"Ester said"was because we wanted to negotiate an alliance between us and you. So you could help us in stopping the Laconians."

"That would make sense."Adam admitted."And honestly, with all the stuff Lacos are doing, I would more than gladly help you. But father…Yeah, it might be harder to convince him."

"And what about other captains?"Elsa asked."Wouldn't they object siding with the UNSA and our allies? After all we all…Well…"
"They must operate accordingly to the Pirate Codex."Norrine said."And it specifically says, that all captains have to listen to the orders given by the Pirate King. Disobedience equals execution."
"Damn."Ester said.
"We might be lawless, but we have our own laws."Adam stated.

"But that still didn't answer my question."Norrine noticed."Why did Shi had to die?"

Chief security officer hung his head.
"It was…probably an…attempt…on me."he said."Probably some of Jones' followers. They knew how much I meant to dad and probably…wanted to…"
"…get rid of you because they knew it would hurt him."Norrine ended.

Adam just nodded.
"And Shiada was accidental victim?"
Again, a nod.

Norrine just tightened her fists. She pushed past her brother and the security officers.
"You screwed up big time, buddy."Ester said, passing by Adam and patting him on the arm.
"I know."he said, as he watched her, Elsa and Delilah go after his sister.

They caught up with her.

"Hey, Norrine."Ester said.
"Yeah?"Norrine replied shortly.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure, whatever."
"I'm really sorry because of what happened to Shiada. You have my condolences."
"Mine too. Just when I started to like her…"Delilah shook her head.

"I'm also sorry."Elsa said."Considering your…relations…"

Norrine did not answer for a few seconds. But after that, she started giggling. And then, laughing. But they noticed, that it was a laughter through tears, considering the streams that were going down the sides of her face.

"Can you believe it? Shiada was probably the toughest bitch I ever knew. You know how we met? She was a bodyguard of one of the guys I had to kill to find my mother's killer. When she found out my true intentions, she tried to kill me. I beat her ass so hard she couldn't seat on it for few days. And when I did what I had to, she proposed to give me a lift back home. She lost money because of me and yet, she still offered to help. That's how it all began. She was my only friend when we were traveling the galaxy together. And now…she's gone. Just like fucking that."She snapped her fingers.

It was the first time they heard Norrine so…down. But considering she saw her friend bleed out in the middle of the street, they couldn't blame her.
"Let's deal with this stuff and let's get out of here."major stated, wiping the tears off."I don't want to stay here longer than necessary."

They continued to walk until they stopped in front a building that was bigger than anything else they saw before. There were guards at the gate and turrets right above it, aiming right at the group.

"This is it."Adam said."The King's Seat, where the Pirate King and his cabinet reside."

"Gotta admit, I'm impressed."Ester said.
"Yeah, but we didn't come here to admire the architecture."Norrine reminded.
"Alright, just let me deal with the security first."chief security officer said.

The whole group approached the gate, where two guards dressed in combat armor colored red stepped in their way, blocking the path into the building. One of them pulled out a hand held scanner.

"ID."he said.
Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID card. Guard scanned it and waited for few seconds.
"Identity confirmed, chief security officer Adam Ternborn."he said."You can enter."
"And them too."Adam said, pointing at Ester's team and his security officers."They're with me, so you don't have to worry."

Guards looked at the rest and nodded.
"Understood."

They stepped away, allowing them to pass, which they quickly did, entering the main hall of the building. It wasn't as flashy as Ester and the others would expect, but it was still pretty big. They came up to the desk, behind which sat a man.

"Steve."Adam said.
"Hi, princey boy."the man behind the desk said.

Adam growled.
"Told you not to call me that."
"But aren't you the son of Pirate King?"
"That's not important."
"Whatever. And who are your beautiful companions?"

Steve was looking over Adam's shoulder at Ester, Elsa, Delilah and Norrine.
"My sister and her friends."Adam replied.

This got some reaction from Steve.
"Sister?"he asked.
"Yes, Elis Ternborn."chief security officer confirmed.

Norrine additionally nodded.
"We want to see our father."Adam said.
"Of course."Steve said, grabbing his phone.

He talked with someone on the other side for a few seconds, before putting the device down and turning to the group.

"He's in the middle of the meeting with other captains."he said."But you can walk in there anyway."
"Sure."Adam said.

He turned to his bodyguards.
"You stay here, we'll be done soon."

"Yes, sir."they replied.

"Follow me."Adam said to Ester and the others.

The four followed the chief security officer through the halls of the King's Seat. They passed by several other guards in red armor, which Adam explained were the personal guard of the Pirate King. On their way, they also went through a corridor filled with portraits of various people, which Norrine in turn explained were portraits of previous Pirate Kings.

After a few minutes, they stood in front of a big door.

"Alright."Adam said."Behind this door is the meeting room of the captains and the Pirate King. And there is currently a meeting going on."
"So we're gonna crash the party."Ester said.
"Maybe we should simply wait until…"Elsa said.
"I ain't waiting for nothing, FYI."Norrine stated and went after the door.
Before anyone could stop her, she swung the door open and entered the room behind them.

It was a big, round room, with numerous seats going all around it. On these seats sat tens of people, which upon hearing the opening door, looked in that direction. Even the man that was currently in the middle of the room, probably speaking. He was dressed surprisingly ornately, like a noble of old and had an eye patch like an actual pirate.

There was also a throne-like seat opposite of the door, with an elderly man with one eye covered by an eye patch sitting in it. He seemed really bored and tired, but when the door opened, he immediately livened up.

"Sorry to interrupt."Norrine said.
"Who are you to come here unannounced and interrupt people?"the man in the middle of the room asked.

Ester, Elsa and Delilah recognized him from the photos they saw in news. Jones.

"We have a mission to do here."major replied, pointing back at her companions.

"Elis…?"Pirate King William 'The One Eye' Ternborn asked, trying to stand up."Is that you?"

Norrine looked towards the throne.
"Father."she said flatly."Long time no see."

People sitting around immediately started whispering. Most of them was aware of the situation with William's daughter.

"Is it really her?"

"After all these years?"
"Why is she here?"

Jones lifted his hand and everyone went silent. He looked at Norrine with an unpleasant look.
"Would you look at that."he hissed."The prodigal daughter returns."
"Shut up Jones."Norrine shot back."I'm not in a mood for arguments right now."

"Are you, Elis Ternborn?"
Norrine's right arm went ablaze.

"I'm not Elis."she said."You're speaking to major Norrine Bauer of EUJM Marine Corp. And we come here with a proposition."

Once more, people started murmuring. This time it was the Pirate King who silenced them with his hand.

"Elis…"he started.

"Norrine."Norrine said coldly.

"Norrine, then."William nodded."What is the business you need to take care of here, if I can know?"

Norrine looked at Ester and nodded at her to come forth. Colonel gulped and stepped forward.

"She will explain."Norrine said.
"Sure."Ester said."I'm colonel Ester Barkhorn of Intelligence and Counter-Terrorist Agency's Special Operations Force. We come here…"
Before she could finish, the whole room erupted with screams and shouts. Captains were clearly showing what were they thinking about the presence of UNSA officer in their midst. At one point, Ester barely evaded being hit by a flying chair.

"Throw her out!"someone shouted.
"What is UNSA doing here?!"someone else asked.
"Blasphemy!"

Once more, Pirate King silenced everything by lifting his hand.

"Let her speak."he said.
"Thank you."Colonel cleared her throat and continued."As I was saying, we come here to negotiate…"She had to pull her collar."…your involvement in the war on our side."

Expecting another wave of shouting and flying furniture, she was surprised when the whole room fell silent. It stayed like that for so long, that it started to be really awkward and eerie. Ester and Norrine looked at each other.

"Interesting."William finally said.
"Why is that?"Ester asked.
"Captain Jones here came with a similar proposition. But from the Laconians and Galactic Concordance."

Hearing this, Ester, Norrine, Elsa, Delilah and Adam widened their eyes. Norrine's brother joined his sister and Ester in the middle of the room.

"Dad, you can't be serious."he said."Please, don't tell me you are actually considering this. You know how Jones and Laconians are!"

"Jones is still one of us."Pirate King stated."As a Pirate King, I can't just ignore one of our own. All can give their propositions."

"But not ones that came from Lacos!"Adam argued.
"In what are UNSA and it's allies better than Lacos?"someone asked."They both try to exterminate us like vermin."
"But Laconians at least show that they want to talk."Jones said."My cooperation with them showed, that they are willing to support us."

"Yes, in killing our own!"another voice shouted."We still didn't forgive you for ratting out our bases in Laconian and Concordance's space!"

Jones just waved it off.
"This is how this world works."he stated."Money must flow."

"See?"Adam said."He would sell you all out if he wanted! And let's not forget that he wants to take your place!"
"And we can't forget that someone probably tried to kill Adam in the middle of the street."Norrine added.

This made the Pirate King wide eye.
"Are you alright son? Nothing happened to you?"he asked.
"To me? No. But…"
"Shiada was hit instead."Norrine said."You remember her, right?"
"I do. She helped you in your escape."William replied, growling."I heard you became close. I'm happy because of that. But I still didn't tell her what I think about it, although so many years have passed."
"And you won't. She's dead."

William winced.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Bullshit. I don't care what you think. What I care about, though, is that it was probably him who orchestrated that failed attempt."She pointed at Jones.

Captain seemed shocked.
"I would never go this low."he stated."I'm above such low plays."
The meaningful looks many other captains sitting in the room exchanged said otherwise.

"Do you have any proof?"William asked.
"Proof?"Ester asked."Isn't that obvious? He wants to put you out of position. I'm pretty sure assassination of a family member would help him in that."
"Either way, the proof needs to be shown."Pirate King stated."These are the rules we have here."

"But…"Ester tried to argue.
"No. I declare a break for now. We will meet again in five hours. In that time, I want you to get a proof for your accusations."

With these words, he stood up and walked out the door behind his seat. Other captains started standing up and leaving too. The crowd passed by Elsa and Delilah, who made their way to the rest of their group. Ester, Norrine and Adam joined them and they left the room. Once outside, Norrine activated her powers and slammed her flaming fist into the wall.

"DAMN IT!"she exclaimed.

Some guards took interest in them, but Adam quickly took care of them and they went away.
"Norrine, calm down, or I will have to arrest you for vandalism."he said.
"Really?"Delilah asked, crossing her arms.
"What? I'm the chief security officer."

"This cocksucker Jones really did it!"Norrine continued her rant."He wants them to join Laconians! And my godforsaken father is actually considering it!"

"And we have to somehow find a proof for Jones' involvement in the attempt."Elsa said.

Ester looked at Adam.
"By the way, will taking care of Jones help us in convincing your father?"she asked.
"Dad's got some morals. He pays his debts."Adam replied."And when it comes to stopping someone from taking over his position, that's one kind of debt he would never forget to pay."

"Let's hope so."Elsa said.

She then looked behind her. And there, she saw Jones talking to someone on his hand terminal.

Everyone else seemed to be too occupied with their conversation, so they didn't pay attention to what was happening behind them. Other people traversing the corridor also didn't seem interested. After few seconds, Jones ended the call and started walking.

Looking at the rest, which was still busy with talking, she quickly followed after the rogue captain. She watched him vanish behind the corner and after she reached it, she looked around it. There was no doubt. Jones was going towards the exit.

"Maybe…"she thought.

And soon after, she was following the pirate captain far enough that she wouldn't be noticed, but close enough to not lose the sight of him.

July 31

15:52

Entertainment District

Elsa followed Jones out of the building. On the outside, he was joined by two men, probably members of his crew. She had to extend the distance between them and her to decrease the risk of being spotted. After that, she followed him all the way. She saw him going to some jewelry store, to some grocery store and even to some weapons store. It was certainly an interesting plan of the day. But after she saw him entering some restaurant, she entered behind him. She saw him sitting at a table and after that, she took a table for herself, some distance away from Jones and two of his guards.

They sat there for an hour without moving or talking, just sitting there. Elsa sat there, too, simply watching, but started to get bored.
"Nah, this isn't gonna work."she thought."Maybe Jones actually isn't responsible? Maybe I should…"

Before she finished that thought, she noticed a pretty shady individual entering. They were wearing a cloak with a hood, but even then she could easily notice, that it was a Varian. And knowing who Varians were aligned with, she was certain, that this couldn't mean anything good. Although, he just could be some Varian pirate serving under Jones. Either option was possible.
Varian approached the table where Jones was sitting and took a sit in front of him. Elsa quickly got to work and pressed some buttons on her hand terminal, activating the recording option. She set the sensitivity to enough to be able to catch what Jones and Varian were talking about.

"You screwed up."Jones said.
"Not my fault."the Varian replied."The crowd was so big and was pushing me around, that I couldn't aim properly."

Jones shook his head.
"I was told, that your employers would send me the best assassin they could. You were supposed to kill Ternborn's spawn. Not some Native Martian whore."
"As I said, the crowd was pushing me around. Besides, you know how it is. We are stretched thin. Concordance needs all operatives. Be happy that they even sent me."

Elsa wasn't even surprised. She was sure, that Concordance had something to do with it. And she wasn't wrong.

"Still, the fact that Ternborn's daughter is back poses some problems."Jones continued."Not to mention that she brought some friends from UNSA."
"I don't think they will be a problem."
"If they somehow manage to discover the connection between you and me, we will both be out of business."

Varian spread his arms.
"They can try."
"You have some plan?"
"Sure. Me and the boys will easily deal with them."
"I hope so. Or the whole operation might fall apart."

"Don't worry. We will have them pirates on our side. Unless you have other plans?"

"Of course not. It will be just as we established. You will help me in taking over as the Pirate King, I make sure there will be no pirate activity in Galactic Concordance's space."
"Shame that same cannot be said about everyone else."
Next, they both laughed.
Right then, one of the guards leaned down towards Jones and started whispering something into his ear, but so quietly, that Elsa's terminal was unable to hear it. When he ended, Jones looked at him.

"Someone's recording us?"he asked.

Elsa tensed.

"Where?"
Guard pointed right towards Elsa. Jones and his Varian companion looked in her direction.

Without waiting, Elsa stood up from her chair and ran out of the restaurant. Jones looked at his guards.

"After here, you morons!"he exclaimed.

Guards nodded and quickly ran out of the restaurant. At the same time, Elsa was thinking of a way to get out of this. She looked back and saw the two guards chasing her. If she didn't come up with something quick, or else she could already start to say hello to that airlock.

July 31

19:16

In front of the meeting room

Ester was walking in circles, with hands behind her back. Others were simply standing there, watching.
"Es, you're gonna make a moat in the floor."Norrine said.

"What can I do?"colonel replied."It's been nearly five hours and we didn't even come up with a solution for this whole shit. Not to mention that Elsa went missing and she might be in trouble, but we can't do anything about it. Ouch…"

She grabbed her stomach.

"Is something wrong?"Delilah asked.

"No, I'm just so stressed my stomach hurts…It tends to happen to me."Ester replied."It still doesn't change anything."
"That Elsa seemed to be capable."Adam said."I'm sure that whatever she's doing, she can handle herself."
"I believe so too, but…"
She didn't finish and continued to walk in circles.

Not long after, the clock showed 19:20 and people started gathering. It's been exactly five hours since the previous meeting was stopped. Ester, Delilah, Norrine and Adam continued to watch the captains walk past them and into the room. At one point, they noticed Jones, smiling at them mockingly.

"Fucker."Norrine said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, we have to face it either way."Adam said."Let's go."

Everyone looked at each other and entered the room. William was already sitting in his seat, looking at them.
"Colonel Barkhorn, Norrine."he said."Come forth."

Ester and Norrine stepped forward, standing next to Jones, who was also standing in the middle of the room. He literally radiated with confidence.
"Regarding our last meeting."Pirate King continued."Did you find any proof for Jones' involvement in an attempt on my son's life?"

Ester and Norrine looked at each other.
"No."Norrine admitted.

Jones nodded, pleased.
"You see? These accusations were meaningless."he said."With this done, let us discuss the terms of our cooperation with the Concor…"

"Wait!"

Everyone looked towards the door. There, they saw Elsa, panting, with her clothes dirty. She ran inside and approached the middle.
"Elsa!"Ester exclaimed."Where have you been?"
"I was…following…Jones…"Elsa replied."And for the…last two…hours…I was hiding…from his bodyguards…"
"That would explain these dirty clothes."Norrine noticed.

Elsa took several few deep breaths. She also noticed, that Jones' expression didn't change when she mentioned following him and hiding from his men. She cleared her throat and stepped closer to the Pirate King. She hesitated for a second, before bowing.
"Um…Your Highness?"she asked.
"There is no need for such formalities."William said."We do not use such words. Call me however you like, but within certain boundaries."

Elsa nodded.

"Of course, mister Ternborn."she said."I have something all of you should hear, regarding Jones."

With that, she pressed the button and the recording played. Everyone could hear what Jones was talking about with the Galactic Concordance's agent. As they listened, more and more murmuring started appearing in the room. Only people not phased by this were Ester, Norrine, Delilah, Adam and, surprisingly, Jones. Captain still had the same smile on his face as before.

When the recording ended, everyone looked at Jones.

"You have anything to say about this, Jones?"William asked.

Jones shrugged.
"This is obviously fake."he stated.
"Why do you say so?"

"It's simple. I was doing business around the station. My contacts with Laconians and the GC are only business orientated, not political. Except the proposition they gave you. So me meeting some Varian agent in a restaurant is not something I have time for."

Silence fell around the room. Jones looked around.
"Oh, you fucked up now, buddy."Norrine snickered.

"What?"Jones asked.

"Nobody said anything about Varian agent and restaurant."William explained.

Jones immediately paled.
"So, now, how about you tell me more about overthrowing me and assassinating my spawn?"Pirate King asked.

Jones started quickly looking from one person to another, probably searching for some kind of support. But everyone just sat there, not doing or saying anything. Captain simply stood there, clenching his fists.
"Arrest him."William ordered.

But Jones then turned and ran for the door. He quickly left the room and found himself on the corridor. He had to get out of here and quick. He had to get on his ship and fire up the engines. If he couldn't get the position of Pirate King, nobody will have it. He will blow this place up to smithereens. He will probably kill everyone aboard, but that was probably better for him. He will have his last word.

Before he could even reach the first turn, a fireball hit him in the lower legs. The temperature made him scream in pain, as he fell on the ground. He managed to look behind him and saw Norrine, standing there, her right arm covered in flames.
"Where do you think you're going?"she asked.

Two guards quickly ran up to Jones and picked him up.

"Take him to the dungeon!"Adam ordered.

Guards nodded and pulled the screaming Jones away.

"You have a dungeon here?"Ester asked.
"When someone commits a crime here, it's quicker than taking him to the station's prison."Adam explained.
"Fair enough."Ester stated."Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised anymore."

Everyone turned back and returned to the room. They stood in front of William.

"Well, seems that this is done."colonel said."Now, let's…"

Before Ester could finish, William simply fell from his throne, face first. Everyone was shocked by this sight.

"Dad!"Adam and Norrine exclaimed, falling to their knees beside their father.

Pirate King didn't respond.

"Did anyone see what happened?"Delilah asked.

Everyone gathered simply shook their heads, wondering what the hell just happened. Meanwhile, Adam noticed something on his father's neck. It was small and certainly made of metal. He reached for it and grabbed it, pulling it out of William's neck. They all looked at it.

"What is it?"Elsa asked.
"Some kind of…small drone."Adam said."I know this type. It serves to insert poison into target without being noticed. Or at least hardly noticeable."

"Fuuuuuck…"Norrine said."Jones literally fucked us sideways even when he lost."
"Yeah."her brother admitted.

They stood up.

"What now?"Ester asked.
"Now, we have to choose a new Pirate King. But who…?"Adam wondered.

Norrine then put a hand on her brother's arm.

"I think I know."she said."Who's in favor of Adam Ternborn becoming the next Pirate King?"

Adam looked at his sister, surprised, while all around, other captains started whispering among each other.
"Ei, what are you doing?"Adam asked."I can't…"
"Yes, you can."Norrine stated."We all know, that father prepared you to take his place. You are capable, well organized and know how to command. Not to mention, that you know a lot about military tactics and policies. And if they also realize that, they will certainly make a good choice."
"But I…don't know if I can do it…"
"You can. I believe in you, bro."

Right then, captains stopped whispering. Not long after, they started standing up. Not all of them were doing this, but huge majority.
"Is this how you vote?"Ester asked.
"Yes."Adam replied.
"And? Result?"

"Seems like I'm the new Pirate King."

He looked at the captains.
"Thank you for putting your faith in me. I promise, that I will do my best to match my father and that I will try my best in leading you as your king."

Captains that voted in favor, as well as the ones that voted against, immediately started clapping.

Adam looked at Ester and the rest.
"Now excuse me."he said."I have to properly bury my father. After that, we can properly talk business."

"Of course."Ester said."But you don't have to hurry. We will wait."
"Thank you."
"I'll come too."Norrine said."He's also my father, after all."

"Thanks, Ei."

Siblings smiled at each other, before Adam called a pair of guards to help carry William's body's out.

August 1

03:12

UNSA Corvette Xend Song, Nebra System

Following the quick funeral of William, Adam quickly got to work. Of course, first order of business was to talk through the plan of alliance with UNSA and it's allies. After some talking and negotiating, the deal was made. Pirates would only target Galactic Concordance ships, while UNSA and it's allies will supply the pirates with weapons they will need to perform their part of the deal. But once the war was over, the weapons were to be returned to the allies. Adam agreed and with that, their adventure on The Eye was done. They boarded the Corvette and left the station and the system, while Adam started giving orders to captains both aboard the station and far away in other parts of the galaxy.

But once they found themselves on the ship, they knew, that they had one more thing to do.

As Adam promised, his men managed to retrieve Shiada's body and per Norrine's request, they delivered it to the ship. Only then did they left the station. Fortunately, each UNSA ship had a number of body bags, which were made of the same intelligent material as the uniforms, what meant that they could adjust themselves to the body size. This is why it wasn't hard to put Shiada in one of them.

Right now, they were all present in one of the airlocks of the ship. They put Shiada's body on a table that probably wouldn't be needed, so they could say their goodbyes, although Ester, Elsa and Delilah didn't know her that well. It was Norrine who took the longest time. She stood there, caressing Native Martian's cheek with her hand.

"Imagine meeting someone for the first time in so many years and not long after attending their funeral."Delilah said.
"Yeah."Ester said.

Elsa and Delilah looked at her.
"Why so gloomy?"Elsa asked.
"I'm thinking about Dora."colonel said."I still don't know what's going on with her in Andromeda and I fear that when I finally find out, she will…"She shuddered at the very thought.

Delilah put her hand on her arm.

"She'll manage. She's capable enough to take care of herself."
"I know, but still. Who knows what's going on in there?"

Right then, Norrine stopped caressing Shiada and turned around. However, before she stepped out of the airlock, she stopped. Then she turned back, bent over and kissed Shiada on the lips. After that, she zipped up the body bag, exited the airlock and stood before them.

"Are you ready?"Ester asked.

"Yes."Norrine replied with a sour voice.

Ester approached the door control panel and pressed some buttons. The door on their side closed, after which the airlock performed it's cycle. The other door opened and the body bag was jettisoned into the star visible in the distance, together with the table it was laying on.

"They're gonna make us pay for that table, won't they?"Delilah sighed.
"If they do, it's on me."Norrine said."It was my idea after all."
"We're gonna worry about it later."Elsa stated."For now, it's important if you feel okay Norrine?"

Major crossed her arms and sighed.
"Honestly, I've been better."she admitted."I had to bury my father and best friend in the spam of only few hours, yes, but what's new? Several funerals a day is part of pirate's life, after all."

The three nodded.
"Now let's get back."Norrine continued."I'm sure the higher ups will be very pleased with the results we achieved."

"If you say so."Ester said."But if you need some time off, just tell me. I can make it happen."

Norrine pondered for a few seconds.
"Nah."she said, waving it off."The best relax for me will be killing some Lacos or other Concordance people."
"Good to know you're still yourself."Delilah summed.

"Okay, let's fire up the engines. After we get back, we're probably gonna tell everyone about how it went."colonel stated.

"I'm sure Emmy will want to know."Warrior Bunny commander replied.

With that, they returned to the ship's bridge and turned on the engines. They jumped into hyperspace, while Shiada's body continued it's final journey into the star of the system, where it proceeded to burn into nothingness.

XXX

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