Epiphany and guilt

She woke up with a terrible headache and immediately stood up and looked around. She was on a spaceship, but it wasn't Merciless . She was lying on a narrow bed that looked like a portable camp bed. She was strapped to it, although not very tightly. There were three people around, two girls and Bina. One of the girls had white hair and strangely deformed ears. She seemed a bit scared and kind of lost. Bina looked almost the same as before, apart from the distinctive vest worn by many adventurer captains who travel through space on their own. This time she exuded an aura of professionalism and smiled cheekily. The third one looked the most unusual. She was similar to Catra, not only because of her feline things, but her facial features also made her similar... She seemed depressed, although she hid it. As soon as they noticed that she had woken up, the white-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief.

„Oh, I was afraid I killed you, I'm glad you're okay... Because you're okay? Don't you have brain damage or something?" she said, speaking in sign language, and the gloves translated her gestures into speech. The cat-like girl ran up to her and lifted her eyelid.

„There doesn't seem to be any damage to her brain, but maybe I should trepan her skull to reduce the intracranial pressure...„ she said in a dull voice. She pushed her hand away violently and said.

„ I'm fine! I mean, nothing new. Please don't make a hole in my head."

Burgundy-haired woman sighed heavily.

„No one can guarantee a joyful awakening like Eti.„ she said in a sarcastic tone „Well, I guess I didn't tell you everything about myself earlier. As you may have already guessed, I am the captain of this ship and you are currently our captive. It wasn't my idea, but my wards. They want to trade you for She-Ra's broken sword, I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of. But don't worry, you're in no danger here. Even if you tried to escape, we would probably tie you up at worst, so don't worry... I have no idea what Lonnie will do if your captain doesn't want to trade you for a sword, but it doesn't matter at all, because you are mine, or rather our prisoner. I must admit that I absolutely did not suspect Captain Moonshadow of having an Azlantean among her crew members , but it's probably good that something can still surprise me in life. Anyway, welcome aboard." she explained and unbuckled her seat belt and then went somewhere else. Two girls remained. This feline sat on the floor and limped with her head down. The white-haired woman sat down next to her and hugged her tightly.

„So it's because of you that I ended up here?" she asked uncertainly. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what to do now... The white-haired woman nodded and said.

„I hit you when you bumped into me. I got scared, and when I'm scared, I sometimes do weird things. I'm sorry if it hurts you." she blushed.

„Nothing happened to m, I've experienced worse things." she smiled at her. "I'm Tirin, although I think your captain told you that.

„My name is Rosie, this is Eti and... well, she's Catra's sister. I know it's quite strange, but your captain is the queen of Etheria ... Does she know it?" Rosie said, returning her smile.

„I guess so, but I'm not sure how much she remembers. Her memory was taken away... She didn't even know her real name... „ she said, carefully lowering her head and adding. "Apparently Adora took her sword... That's what the captain says... But I'm not sure how much truth there is in it."

Rosie shook her head vigorously from side to side.

„This can not be true. Adora is very nice. She couldn't do something so horrible to anyone. You should talk to someone about what happened here... Preferably Kyle ... He's cool and I think he's the one most willing to tell us about everything from the Rebellion." she said and jumped for joy.

„If so, take us to him." she said, feeling the girl's enthusiasm starting to rub off on her. Deep down, however, she was worried about what the Captain would do if the truth turned out to be different from her expectations...

Everyone aboard the Merciless celebrated the great spoils, except her. She stared at the remains of the sword. Her sword, which was once taken away from her... and she felt nothing. But it was supposed to be different... When she got him back, she was supposed to regain her memories... past... life... everything... But nothing happened... Nothing at all...

„The captain has a good head on her shoulders.„ Boatswain Kaert exclaimed in a slightly drunk voice. „If we look for buyers, the things we stole will be worth two million credits... And your sword will be worth three times as much if we sell it to the Anacites . As long as you're willing to sell it to anyone.„ he added hastily when she gave him a stern look.

„The captain always knows what she's doing, even if some of you sometimes say otherwise.„ First Mate Tonado gave the bosun a superior look. He was the only officer and pirate in general who sat at her table. He occupied the place that Reh-zar usually occupied, and she missed him very much, especially now, when the treasure she had found, which she had wanted for so long, turned out to not bring the solace she had hoped for.

They were in the mess hall, which had now become the place to celebrate their easy victory. There were treasures on the tables, mainly artifacts previously taken from Horde-Prime, who in turn took them from the civilizations he conquered. Many of them no longer existed, which made them much more valuable than Kaert thought, if only they could prove that they were the last remnants of a people annihilated by a mad tyrant... Yes, they had acquired a great fortune at almost no cost. Almost…

„Captain, don't worry about the girl... She just got lost somewhere along the way, but she'll be found before we know it! „ said Petty Officer Kaert, waving his hand. Tonado looked at him and said with irritation in his voice.

„She's not as stupid and clumsy as you all want her to be! It was thanks to her that we managed to rob it all. If she hadn't scouted, we would all have wandered around this city until we ran into that admiral's soldiers, or worse yet, that monster that attacked in the dark. We should all drink to her health now, right after we drink to the Captain's health." He banged his four fists on the table. Skittermander liked and understood their navigator. They were both seen as weaker than others. It was enough for Tonado to draw his sabers to silence all the taunts, for a girl with a body destroyed by the toxic environment of Jadehell it was much more difficult. They were both absolutely loyal to their Captain, and not only because there was nothing waiting for them outside the pirate ship, no dreams… Nothing at all.

"Actually, we could have bumped into them because you had another task." Kaert said and laughed. The Skittermander growled and started to get up from the table, but she signaled him to stay where he was and spoke to the boatswain in a warning tone.

"Be careful what you say and to whom... And as for Tirin, she is not a stupid girl who would drink in a tavern and let someone escape through the toilet!" she recalled a certain failure involving Verthani traveling on Bina's ship.

Keart scratched his head, clearly embarrassed

„I'm sorry, Captain, but when I have a drink, I start talking whatever comes to my mind. And I had something to drink, because we did great... You know, Captain? If I can be honest, we should stay here permanently. We are the only real pirates here. Aside from that Lord Admiral and those Prime heirs, I think we're the only ones with a decent warship here, and once your guy gets here with his new ship, everyone's going to be a force to be reckoned with. I'm thinking that we could come to an agreement with the Lord Admiral and ask him for a letter of marque or something like that... After all, she's a galactic bigwig, not the queen of some provincial planet... Please forgive me, Captain!" he bowed to her apologetically when he realized what stupidity she had said.

„You're right, Boatswain, when you drink, you talk terrible nonsense, so I'll forgive you for what you just said, and as for your proposal, it's worth considering." she said completely honestly, and Boatswain, satisfied with her answer, returned to the partying. What he said was an interesting idea, because cooperation with someone like Antares made sense. Although he was human, his daughter was a mixed breed, and from what she heard, he treated his subordinates equally, regardless of their species. While there were sinister rumors about him, there were all kinds of dark stories told about her, although she had to admit that many of them were true. Maybe if they joined forces, they would succeed... What was she thinking? She didn't come here to build an empire, but... To reclaim her inheritance... Only it was Etheria... A planet ruled by her daughter... Her daughter was alive... For so many years she was sure that her daughter was dead... And she robbed her... At her own wedding...

„Captain." asked Tonado in Skittermander version of conspiratorial tone, the kind that would attract the attention of everyone around them if they weren't drunk. :I'm not questioning your decisions, nothing like that, the Captain knows very well that I would gladly give my life for you, one word would be enough...„ he was saying with absolute sincerity, but she interrupted him.

„I love you, Tonado, and I don't doubt your loyalty, but please, get to the point." she smiled, because no one else had cheered her up so much , except maybe Tirin. Skittermander took a deep breath and said aloud what she had just been wondering .

„Why won't Mrs. Captain meet her daughter? I'm talking about the family and things like that, I know that sometimes things are different in the family, but from what I've noticed, it seems to me that she's a good girl and she certainly didn't have a hand in what happened to you. Maybe it would be worth... I don't know, talk to her or something...„ Skittermander looked down in shame. She wiped her face with her hand and smiled sadly.

„It's not that simple... I admit that ever since I found this sword, I started wondering... Why am I hiding from her... This weapon... it was supposed to bring me answers to all my questions... It was supposed to fix everything, but when I look at it, I only see a few pieces of metal, completely useless. If only someone would take him away from my eyes, I wouldn't be able to think about anything else, as if someone had forced these thoughts into my head... „ and she fell silent , because she suddenly had an epiphany.

"He's a fucking blood-sucking bastard!" she screamed, and all her crew members present in the mess hall looked at her. However, before she could fully formulate this thought, Gozamund, who was not playing with the others, entered the mess and said.

„There's a problem, Captain... Someone sent an announcement and you have to come with me." said the gloomy Nuar , and she nodded and followed him…

He looked at his sword, smiling to himself, only when no one was looking, of course. So actually, not very often, but he was still so happy... He was a hero, a real hero! He defeated a terrible monster and saved Scorpia . The former Force Captain was nice to him and he liked her, as did everyone else. When he used this sword, he became brave, strong, powerful... He just felt invincible, it was so wonderful! He, Kyle, the biggest lame duck of the Horde and then the People's Rebellion, could finally become useful, help others... So what if no one knew the truth? He didn't want to be a hero for fame... He wanted to help others, that was all that mattered to him... One day, he will tell all about it to his friends and loved ones... For example, on his deathbed... And then he will die immediately, so as not to see the disappointment in Rogelio's eyes and Lonnie's furious outburst... Maybe his girlfriend won't have time to kill him...

„Hey Blonde Boy, sorry to bother you while you're playing with your sword, there's an issue.„ he heard Eti's voice from the side and he jumped with fear... As Kyle, he wasn't even half as brave as when he was the Other. Eti wasn't half as scary as Catra, though he didn't want to tell her that, but she found him in a moment looking at his sword... That probably sounded weirder than it should have. He sheathed the blade and smiled insincerely.

„Oh, Eti, it's good to see you... and Rosie is here." he looked at the nice deaf girl who scared him much more than Catra's Sister. "I see that you also brought a prisoner." he looked at the girl wearing strange overalls. She had disturbing almost monochromatic eyes and half-translucent hair. She seemed nice, but she was probably hiding some secret that would make her scary.

This is Tirin, and she would like to ask you about the Captain Wingy, you know, she used to be your queen or something... „ Eti explained in that dull voice. Tirin nodded and seemed to even smile, although he couldn't see her mouth because she was wearing an oxygen mask and when she spoke, her voice didn't come out of her mouth.

„Captain Moonshadow always claimed to be from here, but she didn't know she was... well, a queen... She always acted like she was just like us... like prisoners, that is, not like me..."

He was aware that Queen Angela was alive, Shadow Weaver had told Lonnie about it, and she had repeated it to the rest, though he didn't care much... To them, the Queen of Etheria had always been a distant and unimportant figure that they knew almost nothing about. They got to know her daughter Glimmer much better, who had faced them many times... However, one thing interested him in the words of the girl in the strange suit.

„What did you mean, not like you?" he asked curiously. Tirin looked down and said as if she was embarrassed.

„I am Azlanti, a pure-blooded one, a citizen of an empire that proclaims the supremacy of the human race..."

„The Azlanti are terrible, they enslave members of other species. Mixed relationships in their empire are prohibited under penalty of death, and hybrids are killed on the spot. We fought them on the way here." Rosie added and glanced at Eti when she mentioned the ban on mixed relationships and the killing of Hybrids. A shiver ran through him. Would anyone want to kill him and Rogelio just because they're together? This is a monstrosity worthy of Horde Prime ... He looked at the girl with fear, and she lowered her eyes, very sad.

„My people have committed many evil deeds that you here on Etheria don't even immagine... she said and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, which she put in the compartment of her suit." Excuse me, do you have a toxic waste container around here somewhere? Because these are my tears...

He felt sorry for her. He himself served in the Etherian Horde, which may not have been as terrible as the Galactic Horde, but had also done a lot of evil. They were victims, but also perpetrators, although Lonnie seemed to forget that sometimes. He didn't know who the Azlanti were, but they certainly weren't born evil and could become good if they wanted to, at least sometimes they needed a little help. It was the same with them, with Catra, and even Hordak ... He walked up to Azlanti and hugged her, although he wasn't sure if it was pleasant for someone wearing such an outfit. Tirin smiled again, this time it felt like a much warmer smile, and she returned the hug. But then a voice came from the intercom.

„Rosie, Eti, can you bring Tirin to the bridge because we will be talking to Moonshadow and it would be good for us to show that we didn't eat her or that." the voice seemed to belong to that strange and terrible creature living in the tank inside the ship. He was afraid of him too, so he obeyed without a murmur and followed the others.

"So I stormed into the Power Plant and started yelling that they had to surrender on behalf of the Lord Admiral, and if they didn't want to do it, they would have to deal with him and Grand Marshal Catra. Strangely enough, they were much more scared by our Eti's sister than Antares, cursed by devils and demon , although maybe that shouldn't surprise me. Even without the authority of power, Eti can scare those who don't know her." She was telling to Wrongdak, Ireanis and the even stranger girl with purple hair that she seemed to have control over. Her name was Entrapta, and she was apparently a princess, as was Huntara, a term used extremely broadly here.

„Catra used to often resort to threats and intimidation as a method of exercising power, but she has changed a lot and hardly uses them anymore." the technician said, constantly writing something down on her Datapad.

„It's very interesting." she said, remembering Igzar, the uncle of both girls, were such behaviors hereditary? – Anyway, I had to tie a rag around my face because I didn't have a half-mask on hand, but I'm great at parodying Ka, too good, because then I start acting like a bigger freak even than her, and believe me, it's quite a feat. They got so terrorized that they followed all my commands as if someone was aiming at them... Although that's basically what I did, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, we are all safe and happy now." she finished her story and looked at everyone, expecting delighted glances, because this time she was very proud of herself. She received them from all but one

„Shadow Weaver may be safe, because she's probably out of danger, but she's definitely not happy." Entrapta explained and started looking around the bridge. Well, maybe that wasn't the best of her anecdotes, she'll tell it better next time, when she'll think it over. Despite everything, she was happy. Her kids were by her side, and most importantly, safe and sound, at least for now, and the dark bitch was trapped. Even Dilayla and the others were safe, Huntara informed her about it. Yes, the future seemed uncertain, but there was no point in worrying in advance.

Of course, a lot has changed in her absence. First of all, her wards joined the People's Rebellion. It was apparently the idea of Shadow Weaver, who wanted to hide from the Lord Admiral in a fortress hidden in the mountains, although her children eagerly approved of this idea, but this should not be surprising, Itel has always been a rebel, always attracted to various anti-system individuals and soldiers, and Comrade General Lonnie was both. She reluctantly had to admit that the idea was theoretically good, because under the circumstances the most important thing was to find protection from the Lord Admiral, but they didn't have to get so involved in this idiotic conflict. She wasn't sure if Shadow Weaver had encouraged them to do this, to get revenge on her former friends, she would have to ask Rosie and Eti about it, both girls were even too honest.

Rosie and Eti. In fact, she knew from the very beginning that they were attracted to each other, so when she found out that they were a couple, she happily applauded them. The former intern fit Eti and had a soothing effect on her, soothing her aggressive instincts. And the cat-like girl protected the white-haired girl from the mean world, although she was not sure how much the deaf girl needed anyone's protection. Alatar briefly told her about what happened between Rosie and Itel. Rosie admitted that Lady Cala's expedition was linked to the Lord Admiral from the very beginning, and then the Elf attacked her with a moonblade, although she suspected that the main reason was jealousy of the shooter. She had no grudge against the former intern, who knew absolutely nothing about Antares' true nature or his very close ties to Eti... She could have been much more furious with Dilayla , but from what she understood from Huntara's message, Lady Cala rewarded her for her silence with an attempt. murders. She wasn't sure of the connection between the beautiful Aristocrat and the Lord Admiral, and from the behavior of the cursed sorceress she could conclude that they probably didn't work for Antares . Well, she probably should have trusted Eti's nose very literally from the very beginning. As for Rosie and Itel's conflict, it ended when the former intern started throwing tanks and then almost killed Elf, but Eti stopped her. Anyway, things were good between them now, the girls apologized and reconciled... At least in theory, because Itel tried to kill the Lord Admiral on her own, which ended very badly...

It all started when itel decided to break into Brightmoon Castle because she didn't believe that others weren't as crazy as her and would dismantle weapons of mass destruction. It was hard to believe, but this whole crazy thing wasn't Shadow Weaver's idea. In the end, the break-in ended with Eti's imprisonment, which might not have been so bad because he would have met his sister under controlled conditions, but then Antares showed up and everything changed. Now they were embroiled in a conflict that could destroy them all.

"And you are responsible for it." She looked at the two girls entering the bridge and told Wrongdak and Ireanis to leave them . Lonnie and Itel, both of them had gotten them into this mess that she would have to get them out of somehow, or rather they would all have to get themselves out of... Comrade General was limping, and she was leaning on the cane they had lent her. Apparently she had a close encounter with someone armed with a storm hammer, and was saved by Wrongdak... He really was a nice and helpful guy. Lonnie looked like someone her age, and was chronologically older than her, but after exchanging a few words with her, she realized that she was actually a kid who didn't have the opportunity to fully grow up because she was raised in the barracks. She only knew one thing and didn't understand the real world, so she decided to escape from it into the one she knew and understood. The problem was that once you challenged the world, there was no way back. Itel was more seriously injured, although from what she heard, if it weren't for Entrapta, her fucked up sister would have blown her head off. However, it was Itel that she was more furious with. Lonnie had every right to not know who she was messing with, but itel knew the threat very well. She exposed them all to a terrible fate, even though she always claimed that her friends were the most important to them.

"Oh, my two Mean Chaos Queens have arrived" she said, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling sarcastically. Lonnie scowled at her and said, trying to sound tough.

„I am a Comrade General of the People's Rebellion, not a queen… „ she had no intention of letting her finish.

„One does not exclude the other, and besides, on my ship, you are to address me as Captain." she said, still smiling. Someone had to bring this girl down to earth before she hurt herself or someone else with her arrogance.

„You have no right to admonish me! Who are you...„ Lonnie started, turning red with anger, but she interrupted her again so that the girl wouldn't take the initiative.

„I told you, I am the captain of this ship and on board my word is law. Even your Shadow Weaver understood that, although from what I heard she was a mean and sadistic bitch. You can play this People's Rebellion, please, but don't involve me or my kids in it." she approached Lonnie, who was much more massively built, but she still seemed to be in control of the situation. Lonnie didn't understand that a true Leader is determined by how others perceive him. There was no real force needed, just projection. Antares, Shadow Weaver and probably even Adora understood this, although the last one did it subconsciously, of course she did not know this girl well enough to be able to express her opinion.

„I'm not messing around, and if your crew decides to leave us, they'll be considered deserters!" drawled Comrade General, but she just shook her head and replied with undisguised contempt.

„So what about this? Don't think you can scare me. I knew Igzar and he was terrible. When he was in a good and happy mood, he was like your Catra in her worst moments. And yes, I'll tell you again, you're playing rebellion. Nobody on this planet cares about you. Some people may support some of your demands, maybe they would even be ready to shout for you, but they will not be ready to die for you... or kill. You may think you have allies, but believe me, to all of them you are just a tool with which to fight proxy wars. People like you are always just tools. Maybe if you were as cunning as Igzar or Antares you could use this to your advantage, but you're not. Even Itel didn't join you because she cares about your vendetta with Eti's sister, but because she needed you to fight the Lord Admiral, as evidenced by the fact that she attacked him with her blade when she had the chance. opportunity."

Lonnie looked at Itel, who looked down. She approached the green-haired Elf and, looking her straight in the eyes, said in a much gentler, even sad voice.

„I'm disappointed in you, Itel, I'm very disappointed. It's not about breaking into the castle, as idiotic as that was. Or even the fact that you attacked Rosie with a blade because you were jealous of Eti. But because of your sheer child like thoughtlessness, you put a lot of people at risk of death. How many people died because of you..."

„Three." Eti's voice rang out from behind her. She turned and looked at the cat girl with everyone else. She came with Rosie and Tirin, and also that blond man who still had that sword on his belt, even though he looked like he could hurt himself with it. "There will now be eleven in total." The cat girl continued.

What are you talking about?" When she saw Itel lower her eyes, she understood what the shooter was referring to.

„Yesterday I killed three people, so I have eleven kills in total, and it's only two thousand two hundred and sixty days old... Quite a feat." Eti said in a voice that this time contained anger, bitter amusement and sadness, a very toxic mix. "I did it for you, Itel... If you hadn't wanted to kill my father, they would still be alive. I know they weren't good beings, but I'll still have to live with it... thank you, Itel." she said, not taking her eyes off the Elf.

"I... I'm sorry..." she said, tears streaming down her face.

„You're welcome. „ said the cat girl and laughed such a painful, joyless laugh that Bina had difficulty refraining from hugging her, because Eti hated it. But to her surprise, when Rosie wrapped her in a tight hug right after, Eti relaxed and rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. There was silence because no one knew what to say to this confession. Lonnie broke the silence.

„I took the lives of three people... At least, because I fired from the tank several times and I'm not sure of the results. The first was a rebel women from Thymor, it was during our first Action. That was when Adora first came against us. She attacked me unnecessarily because we were already retreating. I guess she felt a surge of bravado because of what She-Ra and the others did... She had a knife in her hand, I don't know what she wanted to do, but she was threatened me and wouldn't drop the weapon, so I hit her and took her prisoner. It was only during transport that I realized that she was dead." Lonnie's voice changed during this story. She was no longer the great leader of the People's Rebellion, all her stubbornness and anger were gone. At this point, she was just a kid again who was forced to do bad things.

„It was accident the first time I took a life... „ Itel said. „ It was during the Swarm invasion, before I got to the refugee camp... I fell asleep on the boat and when I woke up, a woman approached her... She wanted to get into my boat, but I got scared and stabbed her with a knife... „ she spoke in a quiet voice, devoid of her frequent anger.

„I only killed once." Kyle said without looking anyone in the eye. "It was when we occupied one of the towns... There was this old man there. He was furious because someone had ruined his garden... He picked on me, started shouting at me and pushing me... Finally, he pushed me hard and then I shocked him... Instinctively, I didn't want to do anything to him, but his heart couldn't stand it. I tried to help him, I even took him to a field hospital... Rogelio helped me, I didn't want to tell you anything, I haven't talked to Rogelio about it since then... With anyone." the boy didn't cry. His eyes where so empty

„I killed fifty-four people." Tirin said suddenly. Everyone looked at her in disbelief. „I do not regret it. It was in the Jadehell labor camp . It's... A terrible place. I was the daughter of the camp commandant. After he died, I stayed there... No one paid any attention to me, I was just a pathetic crippled girl whose existence was an insult to all the ideals of the empire. But I kept all the codes and access cards... Captain Moonshadow was planning a mutiny... I decided to help. While there was a fall of Skullrot, an extremely murderous spore, I decided to unseal the soldiers' barracks. It was a very painful death... But they deserved it. They did terrible things to prisoners...„ explained the girl. Her voice was confident… Well, as soon as she found out that Tirin worked for Captain Moonshadow, she was relieved because she liked this girl and could feel sympathy for her, and now she realized that she had to keep an eye on her as well.

„Once, at the very beginning of my work for the Horde, I hacked a network of runestones...„ Entrapta said in a quiet voice, with her back turned to them. No one had paid any attention to her until now. "This led to a cataclysm on a planetary scale. It may not have lasted long, but the damages where... significant."

Bina looked at the inventor, who was cowering inwardly as if overwhelmed by the responsibility for what she had done. Well, the whole galaxy should be keeping an eye on her….

„I once heard that everyone is guilty, but not everyone got the punishment they deserved... For me, it's just bullshit. I much prefer the words the priestess of Cayden once told me . She said that it doesn't matter what we did, but how we feel about it. Truth be told, I'm not an authority on morality. So why don't we end this difficult day with a talk with Captain Moonshadow and then get some sleep in Castle Crypto, what do you say?" she asked everyone gathered. As they slowly gave her thoughtful nods one by one, she asked Tirin to make contact with the Captain who had once been queen.

She was glad she didn't drink that day. Generally speaking, she avoided alcohol abuse, and for a pirate, she was practically a teetotaller. Now she needed a clear and sober mind. She had to be absolutely focused on the negotiations. With only Gozamund and Tonado on the communications screen, she decided it would be better if the rest of her crew were unaware of what might be at stake during these conversations. It was a good thing that she was completely sober, because when she saw what she saw on the screen, she would seriously wonder if she was drunk. She saw Bina, along with her two wards, Itel and Eti, and this deaf girl named Rosie, who had apparently also become a member of their ship's crew. Apart from them, there was a dark"skinned woman leaning on a crutch, a blond"haired boy with a strange sword at his belt, and a purple"haired woman whose long ponytails clapped at the sight of her. The most important person was not immediately visible, but despite her frail stature, Tirin made her way to the very front of the crowd gathered in front of the screen. She was relieved to see that she was fine, except for a black eye.

„I'm terribly sorry, Captain, but I was about to run in, but I bumped into Rosie and she hit me, but she's very sorry." she pointed to the deaf girl, who hung her head apologetically. "I'm fine, I'm just a kind of prisoner now , but not entirely..."

„Of course you are our prisoner!" exclaimed the woman leaning on the crutch. "I am Comrade General Lonnie and I demand from you… „ she did not finish because Bina interrupted her.

„Maybe I'll take care of it, honey, because, don't be offended, but I'm better at negotiations and things like that... My father has already taken care of it." She smiled grimly, and Lonnie looked at her resentfully, but not too much, because then she collapsed onto the crutch, clearly exhausted. "I admit that I was a bit shocked when I found out that you were the queen and everything, but you were probably more shocked... It should surprise me, but it doesn't , which I think shows what a fucked up world we live in. Personally, I would give you Tirin without any conditions, because he's a nice kid, but it so happens that maybe an equally nice kids made a deal with this Lonnie and she wants Adora's sword from you, which you stole from the museum." when she heard that it was Adora's sword, she almost interrupted Bina , but she caught herself in time. She finally knew the truth, or at least she suspected it. „In my opinion, it's just a worthless piece of iron... To put it simply, so if I were you, I wouldn't hesitate. I'm not someone who has the right to lecture anyone on life choices, but I feel like there are more important things you should be concerned with right now."

She thought for a few minutes what she should do, and no one on the other side dared to interrupt her, although she could see that the purple-haired woman was just waiting to bombard her with questions, they probably knew each other from their old life, although she couldn't remember her name, she only had the impression that it was connected with some very sad events. Finally she was ready and said.

„My conditions are these. Comrade General will issue me a Letter of Marque and agree to supply my people with supplies, and you will give me a place on your staff. There will be a few more things related to the chain of command, but that's something you should accept." She said in a serious voice. Lonnie, when she heard her terms, immediately nodded, after all, they were more than generous. "There's just one more thing. You will answer my question, Bina, but absolutely honestly. I'm guessing you didn't buy this ship penny by penny. Tell me who your patron is."

Bina hesitated for a moment, as did Itel, but then Eti spoke.

„Doctor Sidonius, who else could do that?"

„Yes, there are so few people in the galaxy who have ever heard of my home planet... Do you have any way to contact him?" she asked, smiling under her mask.

Dr. Sidonius felt filled with guilty pleasure. He drank real blood while preying on wedding guests. He didn't kill anyone, he wasn't out of practice, even though he hadn't hunted for many years. It was also nice to observe all these people, the queen, the Grand Marshal, the monster from the Dark Between the Stars and others, completely unaware of its existence. He wasn't a voyeur or anything like that, but there was a certain wicked pleasure in looking at others without being seen. Now he wasn't even sure if he would leave this place to join the Archduke, because being so close to the royal court had many advantages.

He suddenly felt that the certain gem he had given to the certain extraordinary group of kids he had sent ahead to help him search this planet, the cure to Captain Blazebringer's terrible ailment, was just as important, if not more important. He had almost forgotten about those kids, only yesterday when he was following Catra witnessed the meeting of both sisters, although from what he managed to determine, it was not their first meeting, which is a pity because he would have liked to see their reaction, especially Catra's. And so, the most interesting thing about the whole event was meeting this strange white-haired girl. She defeated She-Ra, even though she was not in the best mental state, but it was still something amazing. He regretted not sending his daughter with them, because she would have watched the activities of Bina's crew closely. She and Eti liked each other very much. But then she would be within Lady Cali's reach, and he had no intention of putting her through that. After all, his daughter was all that was really important to him. Except for the memories that were taken from him. He smiled darkly to himself and took a small datapad and entered a special encrypted channel. He didn't expect who he would see on the screen at all.

„I am so glad to se you after so many years, Dr. Sidonius." Captain Moonshadow said. At first he was even happy to see her, this woman was very useful, and an additional spaceship could be very useful in this situation. However, he saw coldness in the eyes visible above the mask.

„ Oh, I'm so pleased. Probably yo, what you recently learned about yourself was extremely surprising to you, but with absolute honesty I must assure you that for me... „ he said as politely as he could, but the captain didn't let him finish.

„Save it to yourself, you fucking leech!" the woman growled at him. "I already know what you did to me…"

„But what did I do to you? If I remember, it was thanks to me that you managed to free yourself from Azlantean captivity... Right?" he said, holding back his anger at being called a leech.

„You didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart... You implanted a lie in my mind... the need to obtain the artifact that you saw in my mind... You could have restored my memories... But instead you distorted them. You only did it because you wanted it„ she showed him the sword broken in half... „You won't get it... I'll give it to someone who will make better use of it."

Feel his dead heart fill with fury.

„You stupid idiot! You can't understand what's at stake!" he shouted at Moonshadow.

„ In this game, my life is at stake... mine and my daughter's, which you treated as just another resource to be used up in your damned game... Enough of this!" and she hung up. For a moment, the ancient vampire stared ahead, trying to quench the cold undead anger smoldering in his heart. He knew that it was Bina and her children who gave the pirate information about him, but unfortunately he couldn't get back at them in any way, because he would still need their help... But as for the not-so-former queen... she had a few weak points... she herself revealed them to him... In a sense, he understood her well. After all, for every parent, children are the most important thing.