Something's been going down for the past couple of weeks that I thought it best to keep a lid on. I'm not up on how Null Sec politics work or the inner workings of Alliances or Coalitions either. It's only now that things have been made official that I can say anything. I wasn't specifically told not to, but I felt it was best to wait.
My Corporation is moving.
We're leaving FCON and Branch up north to head to more forgiving space, an alliance without Paps or any other significant requirements. A place where we can truly do what we want. We're joining a new alliance and moving to space close to Amarr, where the Blood Raiders fly.
This means I may need to train up my armor skills, or at least, my EM and Thermal shield skills. I also have to switch drones to the right type, pick up the right missiles, etc. It's going to be a good change though. Something to alleviate the stagnation I started to feel once again. I hope the space is less noisy as Branch, with less Neuts.
We're currently waiting for our allegiance to change and sitting in out staging system. One good thing is that it's not that far from where Osiph is living in Kusomonmon.
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"Something's fishy." Osiph said as she sat on her couch. Her Captain's quarters was as spotless as ever, and Maya leaned forward to take her drink from the coaster on the glass table.
"What's going on?" Maya asked. Amalea looked up from her terminal. She had been watching a fiction holoreel.
"Sain just contracted me alot of assets in Jita, with a note asking me to haul it all out to a remote system in Kahnid." She said.
"What?" Maya asked, "Why?"
"Not sure." she replied, but was cut short by a chirp from the door, "Who is it?" She called, without getting up. She heard a muffled voice from behind the door.
"......right place.....hack...door....open...me.." was all she could make out through the door and the distance to it. The girls tensed as Osiph slowly drew a parapistol from her jacket and stood up, laying her terminal on the glass table.
"Ah! There!" came a voice as the door suddenly slid open in a blur and Osiph jumped, squeezing the trigger. The shot zipped through the air and caught the intruder in the shoulder, where he was knocked backward into the hallway and slumped to the floor against the wall.
"Holy crap, Osiph! Who did you just shoot?" Amalea gasped. Maya approached the door and peered outside at the unconscious man in the hallway.
"Your Brother...." She muttered.
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Why do I frequently lose consciousness every time I come to High Sec recently? My last trip was fuzzy in my memory and I'm still trying to piece that trip together. This time, it's something else.
I figured I'd surprise the girls again and come unannounced. I checked with the port authority to find Osiph's Captain's quarters and made my way there alone, among the regular folk on public transport. When I arrived, I rang the door chime, but couldn't hear much of what's going on inside.
"I think this is the right place." I muttered to myself, "Maybe I can hack the door..." I started pressing buttons on the keypad, "Hey! Open up! It's me!" When there was no response, I began to type faster.
"Ah! There!" The door slid open and I looked up with a smile on my face, trying to look as smug as possible, however, all I saw was a bright flash of light, then nothing...
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"You almost killed him!" Amalea shouted. She alone had rushed into the hallway and started dragging his limp body back inside Osiph's Captain's quarters. Osiph and Maya watched as the small woman seemed to effortlessly carry the man across the room and deposit him on the sofa. In a flash, she had a medical scanner and was waving it over his body, "Wait a minute. This isn't a jump clone. He has a set of Implants!"
"He flew back from Null sec? In what?" Osiph grabbed her terminal and checked the docking records, "He came in a Bestower? How did he survive a trip like that?"
"He almost didn't, Osiph. How could you shoot your own Brother?" Amalea scolded, now holding Sain's hand without realizing.
"I'm sorry! He startled me! I didn't mean to!" Osiph retorted, trying to mount some sort of defense.
"Why do you have a Parapistol?" Maya asked, taking another chair in the room.
"Protection! You know we can die outside of our pods, right? I mean Perma Death!" she cried. Apparently adrenaline still running high, "How is he?" Amalea looked at her scanner.
"He's just stunned. He'll be fine. His implants look unaffected as well. It's a good thing you didn't hit him in the head."
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I woke with a pulsating, throbbing pain in my head. I tried to sit up, but a strong arm suddenly laid across my chest and held me down.
"Shhh. Just stay still. You're going to be fine. You were hit by a Parapistol." It was Amalea's voice, but I couldn't see clearly. I was still trying to figure out how what I thought was her face was at such an odd angle. Very close and almost ninety degrees to my own. Then I realized my head was on her lap as I laid on the couch. Again I tried to sit up but was held down by her single arm.
"I'm sorry!" I grunted as I tried to sit up.
"Stay!" She commanded. I gave in and laid there, staring up at the ceiling as my head slowly cleared.
"So you said I was shot?" I asked, "A Parapistol?
"Mmmhmm." she said, nodding.
"Who?"
"Osiph." she said, "She thought you were breaking in." I huffed with a smile.
"Well, I was." I said, "I meant it to be a joke. It kind of backfired. I wanted to surprise you all."
"Oh it was." Amalea laughed. Her shoulders shook as she laughed, causing her chest to bounce near my face. I tried to ignore it, but it was distracting.
"Where is she now?" I asked, "Osiph and your Sister?"
"At the bar." Amalea said, "Osiph didn't really want to be here when you woke up for fear of retaliation." She giggled, "She thought you would beat her for shooting you." I sighed heavily. Still my head pounded but was getting better by the minute.
"I'm in no shape for giving beatings." I sighed.
"How did you get here. You flew out here from Null Sec, didn't you?" she asked, almost sounding accusatory. I felt like I was being scolded.
"A wormhole. Came right from Branch to a low sec system one jump from high sec." I said, "My corporation is moving to a new alliance. I thought I'd stop in to say hi. It's on the way really."
"Well it is good to see you." She said, "I really wish I could get back out there with you and make some ISK."
"Yeah, you and Maya were a huge help out there." I said. Things got quiet for an awkward amount of time as I stared at the ceiling. I soon looked to Amalea and she was staring forward at the hologram of my old Orca on the coffee table.
"Do you remember what happened the last time you were here?" she suddenly asked, "Do you recall anything from that night?" Her eyes remained fixed on the transparent ship on the table.
"No, sorry. Not much at all." I said. I started feeling better so again I tried to sit up, but her arm didn't move and still held me down. I gave up and just laid there, staring up at her blank face as she continued to stare at the Orca.
"Nothing?" she asked.
"I remember the bar, you girls dancing...Something about CONCORD...I was in a limo with you...and something about a dare. The rest is a blur." I said, "Did I miss something important?" I paused for a moment, then it hit me, "I didn't do anything bad did I? Did I do something to you? I'm sorry!"
"No, no!" she said, finally taking a breath and looking down at me, "N-Nothing bad."
"But something." I said, "To you."
"No." She said, "I think I did something bad to you."
"I think I can guess what happened." I said, "I remember the next morning and where I ended up."
"I can't believe I did that..." she groaned, throwing her head back against the couch cushion. She put her free hand over her face in shame, "Twice!"
"Twice?" I raised an eyebrow, "Now I feel used."
"You liked it." she teased, tapping me on the forehead with her index finger. Another uncomfortable silence followed.
"So what do we do now?" I ask, "Where do we go from here?"
"Well I was the instigator, so I'm sure you know how I feel." She said, "What do you think?" She paused for a moment, swallowed a lump in her throat and looked down at me over the front of her jacket, "H-How do you feel?"
A lump seemed to form in my own throat. I've never even thought about romance since becoming a Capsuleer. Just knowing that anyone I courted would eventually grow old and die long before I did. I wasn't even sure I could ever die if I stuck to my ship. Just the thought of trying to love another who I knew would fade and disappear while I carried on and lived with the loss; it was too much to bear.
But why didn't I think of this? If I loved another Capsuleer, we could be together forever. We'd both be in the same boat, so to speak. Maybe it could work out.
"I feel..." I began.
"Yes?" she asked, leaning in closer.
"I feel..."
"Yes, Sain?" She leaned in even closer, her face now inches from mine.
"I feel..."
"What?" she asked in a hush, I could feel her breath against my cheek now.
"I feel...like we're being watched." I said. She stopped and opened her eyes. Her face turned a bright pink and straightened up quickly, then craned her neck around to find only Maya standing in the open doorway, her hand over her mouth as if trying to hold back all sound. I could see the tears stream down her face from here.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt." Maya said, wiping her eyes, "The air in the hallway is dusty. I think some Mercenaries went by with muddy boots or something."
"What did you see?" Amalea demanded.
"No. Nothing..." Maya said, trailing off.
"How long were you there?!" She asked.
"Mmmm...Five minutes or so. Give or take a feel or two..." she teased. I was surprised Amalea didn't run off or chase after her sister for eavesdropping. Instead she remained still, and kept her arm steadfast around my chest to hold me down. By now, I felt perfectly fine.
"Maya why are you crying?" I asked. It was now her turn to turn crimson.
"I was not!"
"You were." I said.
"I'm just so happy that she found someone, you know?" she said, "You better not hurt her, you hear?! I'm not above putting a bounty or two on your ass if you do!" Amalea had hung her head in her hand and her hair covered her face. I could tell she was embarrassed beyond belief. Especially since I hadn't properly answered her.
"I would never hurt her." I said. She removed her hand and looked down at me, her grip on my chest seemed to tighten.
"Really? Is that a yes?" She whispered.
"Yes." I said with a smile and a stomach full of butterflies. Her hand across my chest moved to my face and she smiled, leaning down to plant a shy kiss on my forehead. She release me and moved her arm to the top of the sofa. I took the opportunity to sit up as I started to feel sleepy.
"Wow. This is history in the making." Maya said with a smile, "My androphobic sister has finally found a man! Osiph needs to be informed!"
"I do have a bone to pick with my gun wielding sister." I said, standing up sharply. "Let's g..."
I fell over backwards and sprawled on the floor as the room began to spin once more.
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