Do hot girls like chords?

A roving party of celebration rolled past the door, some banging on it as they ran through.

"You're kinda a big deal." Kat says jokingly.

"So the guy you're looking for is a direct decendant of Corath'thal, guy who led the second Tevarin war. I got eyes and ears around that say he may be working with the Vanduul in some capacity but it's unverified. Can't get a name for the guy but he seems tied to the Ashen Haunt." Ravi says confidently over the mobi.

"But the Ashen Haunt are the good guys, they're getting refugees out?" I ask and Ravi looks at me like I'm stupid.

"Callie, they're pirates. They're building in numbers to re-establish the Tevarin government." Ravi says.

"But the Tevarin are more family to me than humanity. Dad looked out for me, Vail came for help, and that's what I'm gonna do. I'm not on the Tevarin's side over the humans, I just dont want a third war to break out." I'm getting tired. "Does the UEEN know where this guy is?"

Ravi looked off-screen for a minute and came back with coordinates. "He's at the town of Ne'er, in the Branaugh system. Place is overrun with Tevvies so getting in and out with him will be impossible. Best we can do is hit him with a Colossus and wipe the town out."

I waved my hand dismissively. "We don't want genocide, I know you don't like aliens but we-" Ravi cuts me off.

"I am fine with Xi'an and Banu, but these assholes killed my ancestors, and Kat's, and more than likely yours. They can die."

"Ravi, I'm going to speak for Callie so she doesn't lose her shit." Kat interjects. "Jorg tala loved you, he loved ALL of us. He wanted the best for the org when we were small, and he was proud of us when we grew. There's good birds out there."

Ravi looked pissed and dropped off the call. Kat was right though, dad wanted us to succeed. He rescued me and the other kids out of pity and knowing bringing us into the war would have been wrong. And when he saw what we grew into, as people and an organization, he was beyond happy!

The UEE is still a Messer-run pet project, but dad did what he could to fix things.

In a gasp Kat looked at the time and shuffled me up off the bed I was sitting on and into a closet.

"Kat what the fuck are you-?!" I gasp and she puts fingers to lips.

"Shut the fuck up, don't move!" She says as she slams the door in my face, and I hear her hab door knocking.

A muffled female voice and Kat's can be heard, something something ship...something something Spacemom...and my mobi buzzes.

"Right on time" scrolls by in text and my heart sinks. Was I just sold out?!

And suddenly everything gets extremely bright, the doors are open, and a woman with a half-shaven head lets her jaw hit the floor.

"IS THAT HER?!" The woman shrieks and I reflexively pounce on her and cover her mouth.

"SHUT UP! I'M NOT HERE!" I hiss and she looks happy beyond all words. Pretty sure she just mumbled "It's her!" Into my hand.

"Callie, this is Tatya. Can you let her up, please?" Kat says in a slightly amused tone. She's my second-in-command."

I look at her with visible confusion and concern.

"Of fucking what?!" I say as I stand up and let the woman up.

"You think you're the only org in the 'verse?" She says slyly.

I look at this woman on the floor clearly excited beyond words and giddy as a sugar-addled toddler. She stands up, dusts herself off and hands me something. The weight, the heft, shape, all of it violently familiar until I look at it.

So fun fact, after the Terra camp was turned into a blacksite, all our assets, ships everything was auctioned off and we made a tiny bit of dosh from it.

I am now standing with the digikey for the Galaxy in my hand.

Spacemoms HQ.

"This can't be what I think it is, is it?" I ask and Tatya looks at me with a giant smile and nod.

"Uh huh!"

I look at Kat who is getting space gear ready and a box of stuff, looking ready to board already.

"We grabbed your ship the day of the sale, held onto it for the day we found you and the time was right." Tatya said lovingly. "The Corsair is pretty boned, I'm not gonna lie. You two should have died but your luck is something else!"

"My luck hasn't kicked in yet, trust me." I reply half here in the moment then Kat snatches the key out of my hand.

She says that my newfound fame is gonna be an issue, and we need to leave ASAP because it was only a matter of time until somebody said something somewhere.

"It's still got the builder module inside, the other modules are gone but we still have this to set up on Nyx I. It's our best bet to lay low." Kat says and my brain itches.

"Nyx is under terraforming by the UEEN, they're about to lay down roots here and I doubt they'll coexists with Levski. Just like Grim Hex and the corps in Stanton." I say but Tatya is quick on the draw.

"Grim Hex is pirates and criminals, Levski is refugees and people trying to make an honest living. Big difference."

"You ever been to Stanton?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever pick up an expel outlaws contract?"

Lengthy silence.

"I see your point." Tatya says.

"Ship is at my hangar, I can get the title transfered when we get there." Kat says and I mask up before we head out.

"You became a celebrity in seconds, Mrs. Casse." Tatya says. "But there's still a lot of people here who do not like you, so this is the best time to get us out of here."

Fame scares me.

We make our way down halls, past people cheering, some happily chattering about "what ifs" and "what abouts" pertaining to me. The temptation to rip my mask off and yell "I'm here!" never crossed my mind, never will. That elevator ride when visiting Fareeah and Marshal being a prime example.

Actually now I think about it, that whole elevator would have turned me in.

We step off the elevator and Kat leads us to a hangar elevator, we head off and before I know it, there's my boat. The flying death pizza, the home away from home, headquarters.

But...something is making my brain itch again as we head up the elevator.

Step off, hang a left, look straight down the hall and there it is. I freeze solid as I see that bullet hole in my door, still there and never repaired.

"Let it go, Callie. It wasn't your fault."

Pearl and Jojo, two people I could spend the rest of eternity killing again and again. Kat shakes me back to reality but my brain is still in a fog as I walk to my door, and step through to see the armor from the Idris incident in the locker, the same one the UEE stole from me.

"That wasn't easy to get, but it was at Terra's local security hub so I knicked it." Tatya says behind me. I nod and walk to the bed the lay on the side furthest from the wall.

"No sleep, we got things to do. Tatya says but I put up my finger in a "one moment" fashion.

Reach under, click lock sequence, and the bed tray drops and I slide it out.

"Fuck me dead, I never knew that was under...is that a fucking BR-2?!" Tatya says and I can tell she respects me WAY more than she did before.

"My beloved P4 is gone but that thing was lost years ago. The BR-2 is just a backup."

Kat steps in and tosses me something big, iron and heavy. It clanks as it hits my hand and I gaze at the beauty of it: Moira's trademark hole-puncher. Her Ascension Coda.

"Y'know I thought I knew everything about you, Callie." Tatya says. "Turns out I was wrong. Big respect for the iron."

"Thanks, it belonged to my sister, rest her soul forever." I say choking back tears.

"Well, it's Kastak so we got all the replacement parts you could ever need. Just let me know what you want for repairs." Tatya says and my spine tingles. I like her!

"Ravi trusted it to me after Moira died, said I should give it to you when you're doing better." Kat says lovingly. "Today is as good a day as any. You should consider joining us here at Blacktape Interstellar."

I look up at her with utter confusion. "Who?"

"We gather data, intel, we make people disappear." Kats says coldly. "Kastak Arms and Virgil sponsor and write off on everything we do."

"Corporate sponsors? No thanks." I reply and she's quick on the draw.

"Publicly they're buddies with the UEE, but morally they know the Empire let the Virgil system fall without a word. They're more like us than you realize." Tatya says.

"There's more going on in the background than you realize. Vash Derrin is a BIG fan of yours." Kat says, and it makes me feel weirdly comfortable. Finding out Aegis's CEO was a fan would make me barf, but Kastak and Virgil are people I can happily get behind.

"So how many people are in the org?" I ask, and all they do is wave at me.

Oh...oh fuck I have no idea what I got myself in to.

"We aren't an officially registered organization with the UEE, as that would create problems for Virgil and Kastak. We've been doing this for our whole lives and have yet to tip anybody off as to what's going on." Tatya says confidently. "Speaking of, I know that arm of yours needs a replacement. Kastak sent you something nice."