Vampires

"Mom, I need a place to stay. Fast." Kreyla says in a burst-transmission call.

"Did you do another big crime?" I say while looking at her distraught face.

"No, I just...mom help!"

Without a shred of hesitation I tell her to come over and we'll amp up the turrets along with security.

<R: Is she good?>

<S: Never seen her so freaked out, which is weird because she's usually pretty tough. Looks like she's in-system already>

Fuck. Kreyla never freaks out like this. I've seen her holding it down when her crew is in critical condition or the odds are insanely stacked against her.

In about twenty-ish minutes I hear the engines off in the distance, sounds like a Buccaneer and...a Cutter?

Two ships come in, one at mach-fuck and sets at the pad while the turrets lock the smaller boat.

///Commence firing?///

I ping the nope option and hail the ship. In seconds I'm seeing scars and a black eye on a half shaven head with a fat lip.

I feel like I should know this person...

"Can we help you? Why are you chasing my daughter?"

"Help...me...please..." She says, as blood leaks from her mouth.

Maternal instincts set in and I ask her to land on the ground as close to the medical building as she can get.

"Get a bed, rest, and then we'll talk. MOVE IT!" I bark at her and she winces when I raise my voice.

"Mom, what the fuck? Do you know her? Is that Pearl?" Kreyla asks as she runs up to me on foot.

"No, but she seems familiar." I reply in a near whisper.

<R: She has no mobi, and facial recognition is being thrown off by the abuse>

<C: Leave her be, I'll deal with it>

<R: Callie I...have a REALLY bad feeling about this, but in a good way?>

<C: No I get it, I feel it too>

I send Kreyla to the boardroom so Ravi can stash her in the server room, and as I leave her at the door I walk to the clinic and the door slides open.

As I step through the air smells of blood, gunpowder and cheap booze.

And death. You never forget that smell.

I approach the single occupied bed and upon seeing the healed face I freeze in my tracks.

"You're...fucking...I...I'm so fucking sorry..." I say and drop to my knees with my head in my hands with tears running down my face. Flashbacks to that day replay vividly in slow motion, the sound loud and clear. The sound of a heavily armored glove smashing into a face, bones cracking with every hit.

I hear a muffled voice, a calm mid-tone and hands on my shoulders as Pearl is shoving me off followed by...holding me?

I look up and see Kat's face drenched in tears, looking beyond distraught.

As she speaks it becomes clearer and more audible.

"Callie, mom, I don't know what happened to me. But whatever you did I don't hold it against you." She says as her arms wrap around me and holds me tight.

Wake up Calliope, this is a bad dream. It's all just a bad dream.

<R: Callie, are you okay?!>

"Everybody to the clinic, now. Please. Kreyla stay where you are." I say over voice comms and everybody agrees.

"Callie whatever I did to deserve that death, I forgive it." Kat says through tears and she squeezes me tighter.

"I...I don't blame you for attacking me. Jojo and Pearl fucked with your head and drugged you up...I just massively overreacted."

"You shot me, but I agree with Callie. This isn't your fault, I forgive you!" Ravi says as she runs over to join the group hug in the floor.

Verdi isn't far behind her girlfriend who joins without a word, but a thud can be heard as a body flies through the door and Arcantha comes in behind it.

"WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM?!" Pearl says as Arcantha drags her off and out the door.

"God damned stowaways! EVA!" She screams. "GET THIS FUCKER OUT OF HERE! KILL HER IF YOU HAVE TO!"

Arcantha never resorts to violence so quickly, but even more unexpected was when Kat stands up and walks out the door with a facial expression I've never seen from her.

Ravi, Veridian and I look at each other in confusion and before we know it a loud bang makes us jump.

Coda, point blank, and I hear Arcantha say "Awwe I wanted Eva to do it!" outside.

Kat calmly walks in with blood all over her right arm and we can confirm Pearl's super power is getting shot in the head. She walks over to a sink and washes it off and grabs a medical gown from the rack and changes in the bathroom.

She then proceeds to walk out the door after a massive sigh and we eventually hear two more bangs.

"That's understoodable, I'd shoot the bitch twice too." I hear from Arcantha outside. "Keep the heat if you want it, I can get another. Oh, your choice!"

Kat walks back in to wash even more blood off and change gowns again.

The door to the datacenter opens and my heart drops as Kreyla comes through in a rush.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!"

Kat looks at her and her tears come back even stronger than before.

"Dear gods you're beautiful, you grew up so much..."

Kreyla looks at me confused with a hint of rage.

"Mom, did you set this shit up?! You invited my stalker here?!"

My head drops and there's a tension of uncertainty in the air.

"Kreyla...that's uh..." I say struggling to find the words.

Kat walks over to her and extends her arms outwards. "I'm Katherine, I'm your uh. I'm your mother."

Kreyla's readiness to fight and stomp her way out melts into abject horror and silence.

"You're fucking dead, Ravi shot you I HEARD ALL ABOUT IT THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY!"

Kat's arms drop slowly and I explain everything that happened on that fateful day.

"Then why did you give me up?! WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE FOR ME?!" Kreyla yelled and Kat winced.

"I thought I had found something in your father, but he turned out to be a horrible piece of shit and beat me. Tried to beat YOU out of me."

Kreyla took a few steps back and looked more pissed than before.

I stood up and started to hustle Ravi and Verdi out the door. "C'mon, let's leave these two alone to hash it out." I say and look over my shoulder. "No killing each other you two! Keep it non-violent!"

The door hisses behind me and I hear it clunk.

"Locked, open from the inside" Ravi says lowering her wrist.

Inside...

"He was rejected by the UEEN, his psyche profile made him a risk of desertion, assault, insubordination, everything. When I met him I thought I found heaven but his colors showed when we found out I was pregnant."

"You should have run away, or called for help."

"Blackjack security doesn't give a shit, never did. I was on my own. When I gave birth he told me to get rid of you and I dropped you with an orphanage but I was DETERMINED to find you later."

"Where is the piece of shit now?"

"In the dirt! He came after me when I told him it needed to end and I put a knife in his throat. I did my time in Klesher but afterwards I started collecting knives from pirates and gangs because if I saw him I would stab him a million times again."

"Why?"

"Because by the time I could come find you, you were long gone and I thought I lost my chance to see my little girl again."

"Wait, didn't Callie find you at a Caterpillar wreckage?"

"Yeah, the rats downed my ship and I dropped an emergency beacon. After a few hours nobody came but Callie picked up a contract to deal with the stragglers and found me."

"When did you give up on finding me? How long did it take to stop caring?"

"I...I never did. Never seen your face past the day you were born, and I always wanted to know how my little girl turned out! I always loved you, Kreyla!"

"I need time to process this. Give me a week."

Outside

Pearl's corpse was in the back of the Cutter that was clearly commandeered, and sent in the direction of the sun through quantum. Eva threw the brick on the pedal and hopped out before it jumped then Arcantha picked her up.

Back on the ground, Ravi was on her mobi flicking messages I wasn't privvy to but I had a feeling it was related to Pearl's persistence.

Kreyla walked out of the clinic, got into her ship and took off without a word. We all agreed to leave her alone and cut comms until she reached out first.

"Callie, can I ask something?" Kat said as she walked over.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I know you forgive me, but I'm guessing I have no chance in hell of being a spacemom again?" She said and she leaned against me.

"You've always been a spacemom. Just because you got junked up and fed bullshit doesn't mean you're the enemy. You're still my little sister."

I could hear her sniffles and weeping, but didn't need to look to confirm. I turned to hug her once more, Ravi and Verdi joined again, and the universe had a familiar comfort added to it.

"I need a new mobi and ship. The burner watch had to get tossed so Pearl couldn't find me."

Ah, yeah about that.

"How did you even find me?" I ask as my ears prick up off in the distance. Valkyrie.

"Pearl tracked me down to Nyx and begged me to help her get back into the moms. I should have stabbed her but she gave me your location."

That's a fair trade, but she disagreed.

"Oh no, we were even when I smacked her in the head with a bottle and she paid my tab. Still mad she stowed away on that boat though."

A Valkyrie sets down on the pad and the rear hatch opens.

"Is...is that a fucking Tevarin?!"