The Blood Stained Stars: Quality of Mercy (Part 2)

Jumping into Tak felt like but a milestone in what seemed to be an unending journey to the truth. A beacon lit up in space, a bracket around my destination in my mind. I quickly warp to the agent I was sent to meet, and land next to an Iteron V floating in space. It didn't even flinch as a Battlecruiser was suddenly looming over it. I opened comms with the pilot.

"Tevis Jak, this is Sain Darkwing. I was sent by Sister Alitura to speak with you about the Damsel and your involvement." I say, my thoughts transmitting as an audio signal to the man. He replied promptly.

"Yeah, I picked up the crew that outlived that explosion – pretty massive, whatever it was. I'll see if I can track down the facilities they were sent to if you can do me a favor. A bunch of pirates have been scavenging the explosion site. Go and take them out for me. It shouldn't be too much trouble for a capsuleer, and you might even find some extra information. Hell, you can probably get it done in the time I'll need to look up the rest of this data. Damn legacy systems..." He cursed.

"Sure thing." I replied. Another thought loaded all of my HAM launchers with Scourge missiles, I could almost feel the crew inside the ship working like a well oiled machine to replace the charges in the reloading mechanistic from the cargo bay. With that, I warped off to jump to Manarq, then to the co-ordinates he specified.

I was immediately targeted and fired upon by Corpii worshiper pirates, although I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish. They did minimal damage to my shields and one missile each was enough to take them out. I didn't even launch drones. After reinforcements arrived, they were dispatched just as quickly, and I'm assuming they didn't expect to go against a Drake. As they last one exploded, a cargo can was thrown from the wreckage and Tevis' voice came on comms.

"My sensors are picking up a strange bit of tech that just dropped in that can. Open the can, take the item, and bring it to me." He advised. He must have tied his sensors through mine, being in a different system and all. I didn't mind, but again, it was sneaky. I opened the can and transported the 'Strange Datacore' aboard, then warped off to meet again with my agent.

Once I landed on the Iteron once again, I opened the communications channel as I transported the datacore to him.

"Here's your ,um, thing." I said.

"Thanks." He replied, "I didn't expect you to be so fast with it."

"Did you even look to see what I was flying?" I ask. One of my camera drones see the agent's face in a porthole and he recoiled, obviously too busy to have checked before, which explains the lack of response when I first arrived.

"A bit overkill, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah, there was a misunderstanding with the initial request." I say.

"Anyway, I found your first guy, but it looks like he's already shipped out again. What a fighter, huh? He's down in the crew manifest as "Red", and his convoy has him listed under the same handle, so there you go. I'm giving you coordinates to intercept the convoy now. You should be able to catch them before they get too far. Go quick, though: I'm worried that they don't have enough security to deal with the number of 'rats – sorry, pirates – where they're headed. They might need your help."

"I'm on my way." Again I see the face in the porthole as I turned and warped off.

Still in the same system, I warp into the deadspace pocket and once again instantly destroy the Corpii Follower Pirates and again a cargo container is flung into open space. Wasn't there supposed to be a convoy here? Had these pirates already destroyed them? I retrieve the cargo container and find "Red" inside, not even in a body bag and exposed to space for quite some time. The body is placed in my cargo hold and I advise nearby crew to leave the body alone. I warp back to Tevis to advise him of our first attempt.

"Dead, is he? Figures. I'll keep the investigation open, but unless something changes there's little CONCORD can do."

They were at a dead end as well. To find out what happened to the Damsel, the survivors would need to be questioned. So far, we're not off to a good start. There was  a silence on comms for a moment before Tevis spoke up.

"Just got a message from Sister Alitura. I sent her that weird datacore you found at the site. She says they weren't able to decipher it. Pity. Still, she's very interested in consulting with you. So go do what she wishes. The Sisters are good people." he said.

"Yes. I'd assume so. Thanks for your help, Tevis." I replied and headed back to see Sister Alitura.

The Blood Stained Stars: Quality of Mercy (Part 1)

The handwritten letter felt like lead in my pocket as I returned to my Captain's quarters. The unrelenting door slid easily aside as I neared and closed effortlessly as well behind me. A quick message to the Nao Sisters updating them on the situation led to an onslaught of incoming messages from them, some messages congratulating me on the clone upgrade, others warnings of pending traps or scams, all of which I were expecting.

I called for my Drake to be prepared for launch and realized I had not re-fit the thing since moving here. Eglerin warned me to take a powerful ship; the Drake was probably the best I had at the moment. Putting my Pistol and the letter in the dry compartment of my pod, along with my clothes, I entered my Pod and boarded the Drake, then began a meticulous process of flying around to get the thing fitted and up to combat state. Once finished, I set my course for Arnon IX - Moon 3, where there was a Sisters of Eve station, and the recipient of the 'Important' letter.

The system seemed busy as I jumped in and warped to the station. Looking around, I noticed that my ship was probably the biggest, as most were flying frigates and destroyers. This system was close to what was referred to a 'Starting System' or a system which has the facilities to create Capsuleers and where most of them in the area originate from. Their current skills probably only allow them to fly what I see anyway.

I docked and exited my pod, dressing quickly and remembered to take the letter and my Parapistol, then headed to the door that still seemed to taunt me. It didn't open right away and I nearly slammed my face into it, then the lock disengaged and opened to a blindly lit hallway. This time, there was no escort and I was forced to look up the interior map of the station on my Neocom.

I spent most of my time on a moving sidewalk, staring down at a massive city like structure below me, mostly consisting of tall buildings and offices. This seemed to be a large Corporate office station for the SOE, and everything was very sharp, clean, and professional. I took a public transport to the main Security office and entered a tall building covered in reflective glass. The receptionist directed me to an elevator and advised to go to the top floor.

Once at the summit, The elevator door opened to a small lobby area and another receptionist dressed in a uniform, staring lazily at her terminal screen.

"Can I help you?" she mumbled.

"I'm here to see Sister Alitura." I said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm not sure." I said. Whether or not Eglerin had called to say I was coming was not confirmed.

"Name?"

"Sain Darkwing." I said. She typed on her keyboard and my file appeared on the screen. It took a few moments of her reading to notice that it said I was a Capsuleer.

"An Empryean? Here in station?!" she exclaimed, straightening up in her chair. Again, she seemed nervous just as Eglerin had been before. I know that being a Capsuleer held a sort of prestige among other people, a sort of celebrity status, if you will, but this was the first time I saw the effects of it first hand. It was a little embarrassing.

"Yes. I have a message I need to deliver."

"Why not just contact her from your ship as the other Capsuleer's do?" She asked. I produced the envelope and she eyed it curiously, "Ah, one moment." She pressed a button and spoke again, "Miss Alitura, I have Sain Darkwing to see you."

"Please patch him through." she flatly replied.

"No, I mean, He's here to see you. Personally." she added. There was a silence on the other end.

"He's here?"

"Right in front of me." The receptionist replied.

"Please send him in right away!" Alitura nearly shouted. The door beside the front desk slid open revealing a large office similar to Eglerin's, with the large window overlooking the front docking bay. I entered and she, at least got up to greet me at the door.

"Welcome. I am honored you would go out of your way to see me personally." she said, "But now is not a good time."

"I have a letter for you." I said, producing the envelope. She hesitated and snatched it from my hands then took a seat at her desk to read it over. Once finished, she sighed heavily.

"I ask for help, and they send me a capsuleer. You are a capsuleer, aren't you? An immortal pilot who subverts the rules of life and death, who shapes the fate of empires? You'll have to excuse my skepticism. I work with a humanitarian organization, the Sisters of EVE. I've seen your kind hasten the deaths of millions every day. You expect me to believe that you're different? To prove yourself, your actions will have to do the talking. We've just received a distress call from a ship called the Damsel, and you're the closest aid available right now. Get out there and save some lives. Prove to me you're not just another murderous liar with a god complex. With all the power at your disposal, you certainly could be a force for good. And one thing is certain: Good is in dire need of allies these days." she said, almost forcefully. I recoiled at her sudden demands and realized this was the trick. It was no 'love letter' as I had thought, but a request to take a mission for the SOE. I suppose Eglerin was afraid I would decline which was cause for subversion. Still, I did not take kindly to being played like this.

"Yes. I am a Capsuleer, and I understand that most people would think of us in that way. But I am different. I do give a shit about everyone and I do not disregard life as you claim I do." I snapped at her, "I wasn't told this would be a mission for you. All I was asked to do was deliver that letter and I have done so. But if you and your organization need help to save lives, all you had to do was ask."

"You didn't know what this letter was?" she asked, a smile formed on her face, "Eglerin is a sneaky bastard."

"You knew it was from him?" I ask.

"It's his handwriting. And he's the only one who would send a letter like this." she replied, "Please do what you can. Prove to me and all of us that there is some good left in some Empyrean's hearts."

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I remember the nervous look the Receptionist gave me as I left and finally realized the reputation that Capsuleers had among the general populace. It's understandable though, when one loses the fear of death, then life becomes less valued. I vowed to prove them wrong. Sister Alitura was right. I would need to prove myself through my actions as words are rarely trusted these days.

I approached the coordinates that she gave me and warped into a ship graveyard. 'The Damsel' was a mere wreck, along with several other battleships scattered around in pieces and drifting quietly in space. As I approached, I was contacted again by Alitura.

"It seems CONCORD was faster to respond, but your backup was definitely appreciated. There were a handful of survivors picked up. They‘ve been taken to various facilities in the area wherever vacancies could be found."

"I'm glad some could be saved, at least." I reply. My heart went to my throat as I slowly cruised around the wrecks, noting the twisted metal and several scorched bodies floating around. I sent my scan information back to Alitura and she replied a few minutes later.

"We got some interesting information out of your trip. It seems no one fired on the Damsel. Something must have happened inside the ship. We'd like you to track those survivors down, see if you can get any information about the ship's path, pilot, or cargo. We need to know what caused this disaster. CONCORD is the first logical step. I’ve gotten in touch with CONCORD Agent Tevis Jak, who may have information for you. His location is being uploaded to your NeoCom: he's currently acting as an ORE agent. Go see if you can find a piece of this puzzle."

"Roger." I replied. Time to head to Tar and find this CONCORD Agent. Something about this situation intrigued me. Maybe it was the mystery and drama surrounding it, but it kept me pressing on to follow this lead as far as it will take me. Reward was the last thing on my mind at this point. There were lives at risk here. I was determined to change people's minds about Capsuleers the best I can.