Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The palace goes into lockdown so fast that you hardly even have time to react. You’re standing in the main corridor on your way to the throne room at the end of it when it happens. Trolls from the entire hemospectrum are milling about, along with some tense looking humans still working on peace talks with Feferi. It’s a typical appearance for the main corridor.

There are lights flashing everywhere and everyone goes wild. The words ‘assassination’ ring out above all else. Your blood runs cold and all you can think about is Feferi lying there dead, barely 12 sweeps old and her hopes and dreams for the Empire lost with her. Your heart clenches painfully and you jump to action, reaching for your sickles—

But you’re not at war anymore. You’re not longer a rebel who, everyday, feared your throat might be slit every time you shut your eyes and let your guard down. Your sickles, not the nice polished ceremonial bullshit Eridan pushed on you (which are back in your quarters), have been literally hung up in some hall of fame bullshit. Your hand itches for them and you’re not actually that far from the museum. Breaking the glass keeping your sickles would be amazing. Then you could get to Feferi’s side.

“Kar!” Eridan shouts and—shit—his right shoulder is caked in violet blood.

He’s got that ridiculous rifle, Ahab’s Crosshair, found on some FLARP adventure when you were all still on Alternia, in his arms. His posture is tense and the injury is forcing him to rely on his left arm. If this were any other time, you’d gripe about how Eridan got to keep his weapon and yours had to be locked up.

“What the fuck is going on—is Feferi okay?” you demand.

Eridan ignores you, grabbing your shoulder roughly, dragging you into one of the side corridors.As he shoves you along, Eridan checks each new hallway with intense caution. You’re becoming more and more aggravated at being pushed around—fucking high blood thinks he can just shove you around and get whatever he wants. You rip yourself free once you’ve deemed that Eridan’s taken you to a decently quiet corridor. You don’t feel guilty when Eridan winces in pain.

“What the fuck is going on?” you hiss, repeating yourself. “Where’s Feferi?”

“She’s fine an’ in her typical manner is more concerned with the rest of you than herself. Just a little assassination attempt, that’s all,” he replies, scowling at you. “Whoever orchestrated this wanted Fef an’ the rest of her rebel gang out of the way too.”

You knew this was an eventuality. A great deal of the high bloods weren’t impressed with Feferi’s ruling style. Dismantling the hemospectrum wasn’t something that fell into favour with the high bloods. You just didn’t think the first attempt would be of this magnitude.

“What’s the game plan then?” you demand.

Since Eridan is captain of the guard, he likely already has something planned. You can see it glinting in his eyes. This is a complex plan and there are probably a million threads that will need to be dealt with once the palace has been cleared.

“The game plan is to get you the fuck out of here,” Eridan snarls back at you. “You’re the fuckin’ voice of the lowbloods, Vantas, that has made you a pretty big target. Your face was literally on all the rebel propaganda right beside Fef’s—you’re not conspicuous.”

“I can stay and fight,” you protest, pissed off and annoyed that you’re again relegated to the back of the fight.

This has always been the reason. You’ve got guards on you almost all the time. You missed the rebellion days when, if you died, it meant you’d be a martyr and only strengthen the cause. Your death now would mean the loss of a very important voice on Feferi’s council and thus lead to low blood unrest.

“We’re not arguin’ here, Kar. You’re gettin’ the fuck out an’ when all this shit’s clear you can come back,” Eridan says and grimaces because he’s still fucking bleeding. “We need to get to the private docks. Fef’s already gone along with a couple others. If you wait any longer, you’re goin’ to be stuck here with the rest of us.”

“Who?” you grit out. “Who’s staying and who’s going?”

You have a pretty good idea of who will get to stay and fight for Feferi and who is forced into hiding.

“Kan, Fef, an’ yourself,” he tells you and it feels like a punch to the chest. “Everyone else is staying.”

The three whose deaths would probably impact the Empire the most—send it crumbling back to when the race was still on Beforus.

“Like hell Vriska isn’t big enough to be conspicuous,” you hiss.

“Yeah but her death could bring unity not complete anarchy,” he snaps. “Now get to the docks, this corridor leads straight there.”

“What about you?” you question, eyes darting to his shoulder.

Eridan smirks at you and, Gl’bgolyb, you hate it when he does that.

“Aw are you worried about me, Kar?” he teases.

“Fuck no, you’re a creepy prick,” you reply hotly. “But you are the Empress’ morail, so if you die I’m going to head to the afterlife and kill you again.”

You expect a quip about waxing black for him and already have a sharp response on your tongue. But Eridan just adjusts that eyesore of a weapon of his and looks at you seriously.

“I have no plans on dying, Kar. Now get out of here.”

“Good,” you reply and when Eridan nods you know he understood your underlying message.

‘Stay safe.’

You run down the empty corridor and arrive at the docks. There’s one pod remaining and you leap inside, the door hissing shut behind you. The pilot, a human, which only briefly catches you offguard, gives you a thumbs up. You only offer a sharp jerk of your chin in response. Then, the pod jettisons out of the launch bay.

Leaving your home behind.

Gasping when you see the smoke billowing out of the west wing, you wonder how many innocent lives were killed in the explosion. You tear yourself away after watching it for a few minutes. The image of the crumbling palace is already burned into your mind. That will cause you nightmares for sweeps to come. There’s nearly enough smoke to blot out the entirety of the moon you fought so hard to take during the rebellion.

Facing the front of the pod, you stare into the blank abyss of space ahead of you. You’re familiar with this ship; it’s a stealth class transport vessel designed for getting in and out of ports undetected. Sollux designed them to infiltrate the palace during the rebellion. You know how to pilot one yourself and had assumed, since Sollux flat out told you, that it would be impossible to pilot by humans.

You crawl out of the cramped backspace and into the navigator’s seat. How the fuck did you get four others in here before? The pilot spares you a brief glance since you’re still within the gravitational pull of the moon. Alternia is visible just below you, huge and hulking in the distance. You miss it more than the palace on the moon. You miss your lusus and your old hive. You miss when you were just a bunch of kids playing a game of rebellion instead of a bunch of kids at the end of an actual one, now responsible for running an Empire. But Alternia is still for raising the young—Feferi has yet to decide if it would be best to reintegrate adults to the planet.

(All of you were forced out too soon and you know she misses it too. But she has nothing to go back to ever since the Condesce killed their shared lusus. It’s cold, but you understand Feferi’s reasoning for not wanting to return.)

The dials of the pod are stable and nothing has started to screech yet. The human pilot knows what they’re doing it seems. The image of the palace burning is etched into your mind and it’s only amplified by the silence in the pod.

Finally, after several tense moments and you watch the dial go down signifying that the pod is no longer at risk of being dragged into the moon, the pilot slips up his visor.

“Wow that certainly was a doozy,” he sighs and fucking grins at you, pulling his hands off the steering consol and wiping his forehead. 

You don’t say anything back to him. He’s got thick black hair and dark green eyes. Somehow he’s got freckles standing out on his brown skin. You briefly wonder if he’s from Earth, since there are no stars strong enough out here to give humans a freckled appearance. Other humans in the Empire live in the synthetic lights of space stations.

“Name’s Jake English and I’m the best damn pilot you’ll find on this side of Empire space,” he announces a little too eagerly, holding his gloved hand out to you.

You’re a dignitary and council member and despite your easily irate nature, you have fucking manners and understand human cultural norms. You take his hand and give it a firm shake, which causes him to grin back at you. But, you also know the rules of laying low. So you don’t give him your name in return.

“Where are you taking me?” you question and skim over the star map where no point has been marked.

“A little place I like to call home,” he tells you cheerfully. “And you won’t find it on any Empire sanctioned maps since thanks to a little deal with your Empress. It’s to be completely left alone by the Empire.”

He reaches over and taps a few commands into the navigational unit and the star map does this little dance. Suddenly a bright red blip appears off in the corner of the map. You wrinkle your nose slightly. It’s on the edge of wild space. Pretty much the worst place for any good Empire citizen to be. Wild space is the rough, lawless area that the Empire has deemed ‘unsavoury’ and not worth conquering. It’s the largest third of the galaxy, neither the Empire or Human Sovereignty willing to try and push their borders into wild space.

“Skaia,” Jake says, as if it’s the most magical place in the entire galaxy.

“I’ve heard of it,” you reply hotly. “It’s one of the biggest trafficking outposts for illegal goods in the Empire.”

“Not in the Empire,” Jake corrects and you hear a bit of pride in his voice.

So for all his initial friendliness, he still has something against trolls.

“What are you doing here then?” you question.

It’s not even remotely close to normal for a human to be working in the palace. Even less so for a human to be a member of the Imperial Fleet. From the arks on his flight suit, Jake is low ranking but a pilot for the Empire nonetheless.

“I was hired on as a pilot after I broke into the monstrosity they built to replace Prospit to see these babies fly. Said something about having a more human staff to broker peace,” Jake replies casually as if he’s not the only human to pilot a ship Sollux designed specifically so a human couldn’t do just that.

You go quiet again, playing with the star map. You wonder where Feferi and Kanaya are being taken to. It gnaws at your stomach that your moirail is going somewhere you don’t know. You don’t even know if she’s safe or uninjured—she doesn’t know if the same is true for you either. Even though you can’t talk to her, knowing Kanaya is safe would help you rest a lot easier. 

“I know we’re being secretive and all, but I don’t suppose you could give me something to call you?” Jake questions and you give him a side-glance to see that he’s almost overflowing with curiosity.

“K,” you say after some pause.

It’s short, it’s sweet, and you think it’s pretty lame, actually. You can practically hear Terezi cackling at you from the palace—if she’s still alive.

“Sound a bit like a secret agent there,” Jake replies and he’s still grinning. “Something straight out of James Bond.”

“So what happens when we reach Skaia?” you question, ignoring Jake’s reference mostly because you don’t understand it.

“Got a contact there who will take you in and keep it all under wraps until I’m given the go ahead to bring you back,” Jake explains.

“Why are you helping?” you ask, a little more harshly than intended.

“That’s a question for another day,” Jake answers and returns his gaze to the vast expanse of space.

Neither of you speak for the rest of the trip.

Skaia is an interesting shamble of buildings, leaning precariously onto each other. Each home has been rebuilt on the foundations of the rubble of another. You think that if you were to knock down a single building, the entire colony would collapse upon itself.

Jake lands the pod in a port that looks like it has seen better days. The ships there are all built from scraps and look like a good kick would turn them into a scrap heap again. Looking out the windows, you can see dozens of creatures scurrying around, it’s mostly humans with a good mix of carapacians but you catch the odd troll—probably a low blood—and a few pockets of other aliens. You’ve never seen this kind of interspecies jamboree before.

The sun has set and the colony is covered by artificial light. The station that replaced Prospit bears down on the colony like a large, ugly moon. Skaia’s own moon is tiny in comparison, a sliver of light in the dark sky. The streets are bustling with movement and lanterns light the jagged streets.

There is a woman waiting as you disembark from the pod. Jake embraces her tightly and they have a discussion in a tongue you don’t understand. It is probably a language from Earth or a developed dialect of Skaia. The Empire has an Alternian standard everyone speaks but Feferi made you learn the common human tongue after the rebellion was over, since peace with the humans was a priority.

“Here,” the woman says, and she tosses a thick brown cloak over your shoulders.

You tug the hood over your head and hunch slightly. You’ve never felt more like your ancestor in your entire life—not even when you were preaching about a better life during the rebellion. The cloak smells musty, but warm, and with a hint of something you can’t quite place. The scent is all over the woman as well.

You’re thankful for the cloak since you’re still swathed in the black robes, lined with gray, that you wear at the palace. One would normally have their blood colour on display, but gray has been your colour longer than it’s been safe to be a mutant. Although you no longer have to fear being culled, the prejudice still remains. Feferi also allowed you into the mating pool, but no one wants a candy red-blooded mutant as their kismesis or matesprit.

It’s also luck that today is the day that you wore the eye covers Sollux made for you many sweeps ago. Before you had plans for the rebellion, your friends were desperate to keep you alive well into adulthood. If the rebellion hadn’t happened and somehow you had slipped past the culling, you probably would have ended up on a planet like Skaia. Far from the version of the Empire that considered you a waste of life.

“Thank you,” you say curtly, realizing that you’ve spent too much time being introspective.

“Jane,” she greets.

“K,” you reply.

“No one else will know you’re here. Only Jake and I,” she murmurs quietly. “No one asks questions about your history on Skaia anyway.”

You nod.

“Come on, I’ll get you settled in,” Jane replies and turns away.

“I need to do some checks on the ship,” Jake tells you. “I’ll catch you tomorrow, mate.”

You take that dismissal and hurry to follow Jane. The people of Skaia are dressed in well worn clothing that has been patched back together again and again, often using different fabrics to fill holes. Faces are weary but joyful, life on Skaia is good it seems. Hard, but still good. You thought, that since the colony had suffered heavily during the Troll-Human war, the inhabitants might be heavy hearted and glum. Instead there’s laughter and bright faces everywhere, despite the exhaustion from having such a hard existence.

The hustle and bustle and general atmosphere reminds you of the rebel camp you lead many sweeps ago. Spirits were always bright, except for maybe yours, despite the constant threat of complete elimination. The hard worked people and clothing and shamble of structures remind you of the camp and its inhabitants too. Your heart clenches when the memories of camaraderie during the rebellion lead you to the thoughts of your friends still at the palace.

Jane leads you through the winding streets and seems to enjoy your open curiosity. No one else notices, which is good. The less attention drawn to you, the better. The road she’s been following leads to a square, where a single tree grows at the center. Its trunk is gnarled and curved while its branches reach out and fill the entire square. It’s covered in pink flowers. You reach out and touch the flowers with your fingers. Alternia has pink trees like this too.

“The Last Tree from Prospit,” Jane explains. “During the exodus, someone managed to bring it with them. We’ve been collecting seeds and planting them on the outskirts of the city, in hopes of bringing some life back to Skaia. The war wasn’t kind to the flora here.”

“A noble cause,” you agree.

Jane walks around the tree and you find yourself standing in front of a fairly nice building. It certainly stands out from the rest of the shambling shacks. It’s covered in a mural of Prospitians and gold buildings in homage to the lost home. A sign proudly announces the building as ‘Crocker’s Inn.’

“This yours?” you ask.

“All mine,” she agrees. “Built it up with my own two hands. Well—there was some help from my friends but they’re more about space ships and scrapyards than my old inn.”

“Who painted the mural?” you question.

“Dave did, if you’re here long enough you might meet him. The crew he’s part of is out running an errand in wild space,” Jane explains and pulls the inn door open.

It smells warm and cozy. The inn is the origin of the smell that both the cloak and Jane carry. The scent mostly likely belongs to the food made here or the soap used to wash the laundry. Either way, it's a scent meant to welcome and warm visitors. You find it slightly intoxicating.

“I’ve prepped a room on the second floor for you,” Jane says, heading through the main room, which has several tables set up and a long bar on the other end. “If you need anything from me, I’ll be through the door on the right.”

Jane gestures to a door behind the bar and to the right. You assume that’s her living quarters, probably also containing a kitchen and a laundry room. She moves around the tables with practiced ease and to the stairs tucked to the left. You follow closely behind her. They creak under your weight and some of the panels rattle with each step. Soon after arriving on the next floor, filled with rooms for patrons, Jane stops in front of one the shut doors.

“Here we are,” Jane announces and pulls a key from her pocket.

She hands it to you and you’re quick to open the door. You need a nap.

“I know Trolls don’t generally use beds, but sopor isn’t something one can buy on Skaia,” Jane replies apologetically.

“It’s fine, you’ve done enough already,” you reply, pushing the door open.

“There’s clothes for you to wear in the dresser, so you’re not in your robes all the time. And I tried to put the communicator on the Empire channels but there’s something blocking it,” Jane explains while you take in the room.

The room is tiny, with a window overlooking the square. There’s a bed crammed into the corner by the window and a dresser tucked on the perpendicular wall. A desk with an old communicator sits on the wall with the door. It’s nothing like your quarters at the palace but it reminds you of your hive back on Alternia, cluttered and cramped.

“The channels close in a state of emergency,” you reply and move to the bed. “Thank you, I will repay you for this someday.”

“It’s fine,” Jane tells you, waving her hand dismissively. “The Empress and I have had this deal worked out for some time.”

You furrow your brow in confusion. You didn’t know Feferi had connections on Skaia. It's not really like her to be so closely involved in such a distant planet's affairs. Particularly one with a reputation like Skaia.  

“Ah,” you reply quietly.

Jane hangs in the doorway a bit longer, watching as you sit on the bed and take in the room. After awhile, you begin to feel uncomfortable with her watching so you clear your throat.

“Oh!” she exclaims and her face turns slightly pink. “I’ll leave you be. If you need anything, I’m not far. I could make something for you to eat—you just missed dinner.”

“I’m fine,” you tell her, gritting your teeth. “Really.”

“Alright,” she swallows and leaves you alone, shutting the door behind her.

You lean back onto the bed really wishing you had sopor to slide into. The images plaguing your mind are going to be unbearable and have already nestled next to the harshest memories of the rebellion. Eridan’s pained expression as you turned away from him haunts you. Since the channels aren’t working, you know that this is big. It’ll be long time before you’re back at the palace and have something to help keep the nightmares at bay.

Shutting your eyes, you try to push the memories and thoughts away. Leaving your friends behind is really difficult to process. It isn’t in Troll nature to flee from a battle. Although you don’t have the thirst for violence like others, you’ve still be socialized to never back down from a challenge.

Feferi and Kanaya are probably feeling similar, if not the same. Both are incredibly proud and unwavering. You can only imagine what turmoil they are going through knowing that trolls are dying for them while they are in hiding.

Being separated from Kanaya and knowing Eridan is back at the palace, fighting, is one of the hardest things to process. During the rebellion, the three of you had been a team. Originally it had just been you and Kanaya for your regiment but no one could put up with Eridan like the two of you. Younger Eridan had been nigh unbearable; he’s mellowed considerably but still holds some of his young angst and flirts with his former irritating traits. Despite your differences, the three of you were a team and now you are all scattered across the galaxy. Unknowing of each other’s fates.

Eventually, you drift off to sleep thinking about the fates of your friends and if they are sleeping tonight or if their lives have already ended.

The next morning you wake up still tired and incredibly hungry. Your muscles are tight from spending most of the day traveling in Jake's pod. The Skaian sun flutters through the window and you’re pleased to find it far less intense than the Alternia's counterpart. Kanaya brought you out into the sun when you were younger and although you enjoyed the warmth on your skin, it often became unbearable quickly. The Skaian sun also gives you less risk of going blind if you look at it.

You pull off your robes and shove them to the very back of the dresser. They smell of your quarters back home and bring up too many memories. The clothes Jane provided fit decently, but are far too loose on your frame in several places. Thankfully, nothing is too tight. A simple shirt and pants to help you blend in with the Skaian population. It helps the clothes are gray as well; your colour.

There isn’t anyone else downstairs when you arrive, other than Jane and Jake. Jane is on the opposite side of the bar, going through what appears to be a ledger while Jake fiddles with his hands. The two seem to be in a quiet argument. You hear the name ‘Dirk’ thrown around quite a bit before you make you presence known.

“K!” they say in unison, giving you tense smiles.

“Good morning,” you say curtly and move across the room to sit next to Jake at the bar.

“I’ll get you something to eat.” Jane excuses herself and heads through the side door she pointed out the previous evening.

“Is there anyone else here?” you inquire.

“People arrive late at night and leave early in the morning,” Jake replies easily. “For your stay it’ll probably be just you and Jane, until everyone else comes back.”

“Everyone else? More people live here with Jane?”

Jake gestures towards the door that Jane went through.

“Leads to the neighbouring house. Houses all the utilities for the inn and living quarters for Jane and our friends when they’re planet side.”

“Bandits?” you question curiously. “Jane mentioned something about wild space.”

“You could say they're somewhat of space Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor,” Jake says. “But bandit fits as well.”

You don’t tell Jake that you don’t know who Robin Hood is. Maybe you’ll look it up one day.

“I’ll be returning back to Empire space tomorrow,” Jake tells you.

“So?” you reply, voice coming out harsher than intended.

“I’ll be in contact with the other pilots who moved the Empress and the other troll. Do you have any messages you’d like to pass on?” Jake asks.

You could contact Kanaya. You could let her know you’re alive and find out if she’s alive in turn.

“Yes, I do,” you reply curtly.

“I’ll be around until tomorrow morning, bring it to me any time today. I’m going to be spending most of the day helping Jane around the inn,” he tells you.

Jane returns and sets a bowl of a lumpy substance in front of you. It steams pleasantly and smells delicious. You spent too many sweeps alternating between nothing and dried rations. You don’t take any food for granted anymore. Jane laughs when you dive right, nearly inhaling the meal. Jake and Jane return to having a quiet conversation while you eat.

“Do you have any paper?” you question when you’re finished.

Jane hums in affirmation as she takes the bowl from you. She exits the main room again, leaving you with Jake.

“How long have you known Jane?” you ask him.

“Nearly my entire life,” Jake says. “She’s the glue that holds together the little family we’ve made for ourselves here. Unfortunately, I’ve gone and mucked that all up. Jane’s doing her best to keep the others together while I go gallivanting in Empire space. They want to blast out there, tie me up, and drag me back here. Never safe for a chap like me in the Empire.”

“I know that feeling,” you mumble.

Jake looks at you with an expression of curiosity.

“I’m a mutant blood. One of kind. Mutants and trolls with genetic undesirability were culled the moment they are considered adults by the Empire,” you explain. “Even under the new leadership and changes, I’m still looked down upon by most of the hemospectrum.”

“Well Skaia is home for misfits and outcasts, I’m sure you’ll find you’re less likely to be judged for your eccentricities,” Jake replies. “I was born on Prospit and there is still a great deal of people who’d see me dead for it.”

“And you have to look at that eyesore every day you’re on Skaia,” you hiss.

Jake nods solemnly.

“Jane and the others are better about it. I can’t really stomach the thought of knowing that my home was once up there. Jane was too young to remember. Jade and John were born on Skaia, but I still remember arriving on Skaia and looking up at the sky to see Prospit in its last moments. The others don’t really get why I can’t spend too much time here.”

Jane returns with a paper and a writing instrument after that. You hate that you have to rely on her so much. You’re a troll and have been raised from birth to mostly take care of yourself.

“Thanks,” you say when she hands it to you.

“What are you using them for?” she inquires politely.

“Jake says he can get a message to my moirail,” you reply.

“That’s good,” Jane replies and you don’t miss the look she gives Jake.

She doesn’t like that he’s leaving.

“You’ll be back for the festival?” she questions.

“Of course, I have a duty to the people,” Jake tells her, puffing out his chest like he’s some big deal.

Jane rolls her eyes.

“Jane,” you say to draw her attention. “I know that you said you had a deal for payment worked out, but I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

“I’m an inn owner, K, it’s my job,” she points out.

“Maybe I could help around a bit, it’s a big place,” you counter.

“I thought you might want to look around Skaia,” Jane says, genuinely surprised that you’re offering to help her.

“I’d rather not,” you reply, grimacing. “I’d spend too much time in my head; thinking about home. Some hard labour would help distract me. Besides, trolls like me aren’t meant to be lavished and live in luxury. I’ve always worked for everything.”

“I suppose you have,” Jane says thoughtfully and you know she’s going to reject your offer.

“Jane, cut the fellow some slack,” Jake interrupts.  “I know for a fact you work yourself silly everyday keeping this place in check by yourself. Give the good troll a job to earn his keep. It won’t hurt you to have some help.”

Jane scowls at Jake but agrees to allow you to help.

“What can you do?” she asks.

“I designed a house when I was barely a sweep old, I can do whatever you tell me to do,” you reply haughtily, crossing your arms defiantly. “I may be a dignitary but I was still raised on Alternia.”

You don’t mention the part where you lived and breathed a rebellion for a sweep and a half. That was all labour and taking care of yourself and hundreds of other rebels.

“Alright, I’ll teach you how things work around here,” Jane replies.

“Just let me write this letter first,” you tell her and stare down at the blank paper.

Jane and Jake start their own conversation, leaving you to your writing. They’re speaking again in the language you can’t understand and from the tone of their voices, you judge it’s more of that earlier argument. Jane really doesn’t like Jake leaving and avoiding the others that you’ve heard of. It's likely something to do with that.

You tap your writing utensil on the paper. It’s a light blue ink and all sorts of wrong. What the fuck are you even going to write to Kanaya? You can say you're safe, but that will hardly placate her. Kanaya won’t stop worrying about you until she sees you in one piece with her own eyes. You feel a very similar way, but you don’t have the same instincts that Kanaya has and a simple message can placate as well as a good shoosh and pap.

You have to be careful, in case the message is intercepted. You can write the message in the special code you, Kanaya, and Eridan perfected during the rebellion. It worked well when the three of you were separated and knew each message was a dangerous risk of getting someone caught. The modified Alternian quickly became a special thing between you and Kanaya when passing notes in boring council meetings (however, Feferi starting bringing Eridan along to intercept them forcing the two of you to stop).

Finally, you settle on a simple message. It just informs Kanaya that you are safe and well cared for. You briefly consider writing down your deeper worries, as Kanaya will definitely want to know them at some point. It will pain her, however, knowing that she is unable to comfort you from such a distance. The feelings are mutual.

“Here,” you say, folding the paper and sliding it over to Jake. “Not to the Empress, the other troll. The Jade Blood.”

“That was quick, I thought you might want to write an essay,” Jake says with surprise but takes the paper.

“I don’t want to worry her,” you tell him. “Too much information and there is nothing that will stop her from getting to me.”

“You said she was your moirail?” Jane questions curiously.

“What do you know of the quadrants?” it comes off ruder than intended but you’re actually quite interested.

“I haven’t always been an inn owner,” Jane replies. “I use to be a captain of one of the best ships wild space has ever seen. Worked with a troll or two during the Rebellion. No one wanted HIC gone as much as the people of Skaia. I’m retired now though--Skaia needs me here more than it needs me out there.”

You look at Jane with a bit of awe. She is an incredibly fascinating human.

Although you know how to do most things, Jane still takes the time to explicitly explain how she runs the inn. She outright refuses to let you cook, which you easily allow her to do. Troll cooking is so vastly different to human food; you imagine it would not sit well with most guests coming through Skaia. Jane gives you responsibilities taking care of the garden and doing laundry. In a wise move, she doesn’t put you on guest duty often--Jane came to understand your nature very quickly.

Jake leaves the next morning, heading back to the Empire. He promises to bring news back upon his return, but you know the likelihood of him learning anything is very poor. When something bad happens, the entire Empire shuts down. Nothing gets in or out since it’ll make the Empire vulnerable to its multitude of enemies.

The next few days are spent working by Jane’s side in the inn. The work during the day manages to distract you enough and exhaust you to a degree that you fall asleep without thinking too much about your friends. However, nightmares still occur frequently but that’s just the result of not having any sopor to sleep in.

It’s a quaint existence that you’ve never really known. First, you competed to survive and earn a lusus. Then you lived in fear of your mutant blood, knowing with every day you got closer to adulthood and your death. Third, you were part of rebellion that had you working every single day, often against unknown challenges. Lastly, life at the palace had you working to restore the Empire surrounded by the unnecessary wealth and luxury Feferi was slowly getting rid of to compensate for the rebellion and the war.

Living in a constant rhythm everyday wasn’t something you really knew. Every night, you’d find yourself tucked into Jane’s side house while she explained life on Skaia and you shared Troll culture. Even though worry gnawed at your mind, you couldn’t help but find yourself enjoying your time on Skaia.

Until the others Jake and Jane spoke of finally returned home.

You’re standing behind the bar, flipping through a book Jane let borrow for when you had nothing to do. She’s currently out, purchasing some provisions for the inn. A Dersite wrapped in a dirty sheet comes barreling into through the front doors. The Dersite’s arms are waving wildly and although you can't see their mouth, you can see obvious joy in their single visible eye.

“Can I help you?” you question trying to be polite because Jane will allow you to be rude to humans and most other species--just not the Carapacians.

The answer is given to you when the door is kicked open and someone announces:

“The Prince has returned!”

You have a brief moment where you’re about to leap to the offensive and look around for a weapon. Unfortunately Jane hasn’t told you where she’s hidden them yet. However, when six humans enter through the door, you force yourself to relax. They don’t immediately notice you, far too busy bickering amongst themselves.

“I told you to cut that out, Rox,” one of them says, glaring at the woman who entered the door and mostly likely was the one to kick the door open.

“Can’t hide the truth,” she singsongs. “Hey Janey, what’s--what the fuck.”

The woman freezes and stares at you. The others slowly pull themselves out of their own discussions and stare at you as well. You can feel your eyes twitch in vague annoyance. Of course these humans would have issues with a Troll. Of course Jane didn’t tell them that you were here because why would she? You’re K, just a regular traveler.

“What the fuck did you do to Janey?” the woman demands and she’s reaching for the rifle strapped to her back.

Now you’re really glad Jane didn’t tell you where she hides the weapons, since your first instinct is to fight. But that wouldn’t really help your case. The rest of the humans are slowly pulling out their own weapons. You put your hands up in defense.

“She’s out at the market,” you reply and it comes out far angrier than you intended.

Kanaya would be face palming if she were here. How the fuck are you even a dignitary if you can’t even pretend to be non-hostile?

“Bullshit,” the woman mutters and her rifles out and pointing at you. “I’m going to ask you again, what did you do with Janey?”

You roll your eyes. The woman cocks the gun. You meet the eyes of the other five. Two of them are wearing ridiculous sunglasses (seriously, the sun isn’t even that strong here) so you can’t read them. While one, a blonde female, has an incredibly calm and blank face. The remaining two, who remind you of Jake and Jane, look incredibly pissed off.

“Look, I ran out of money and I’m working to earn my keep,” you lie through clenched teeth.

“Jane would rather let someone stay here for free than accept help,” the woman counters.

You mentally curse because from what you know from Jane, that’s what she would do.

The side door bursts open and all seven of you whip around to see Jane and a tiny robotic rabbit. Jane’s face is flushed and she’s panting, probably having run from the market. But the other humans don’t seem to put that together.

“Good job, Seb,” the woman congratulates the tiny rabbit. “Freeing Jane from whatever trap this troll had you in.”

“Roxy put your gun away. Everyone, it’s all good. K’s a friend,” Jane explains, moving to stand between you and the other humans. “Lil’ Seb was just retrieving me from the market when he saw that you were probably going to shoot K.”

They are all reluctant to put their weapons away. The male who had been arguing with Roxy earlier sheathes his sword first and kicks the other male with sunglasses to do the same.

“This is K, he ran out of money and felt bad for taking advantage of my generosity, so I’m letting him help out for the duration of his stay,” Jane explains. “K this is the crew of the Rogue of Void--I told you I was the captain of a ship before, well this is my former crew. Roxy’s the captain now.”

Roxy marches forward and leans over the bar, looking you over with suspicious eyes. After a few tense moments, she laughs and claps you on the back.

“Welcome to Skaia, K! If Jane says you’re cool, you’re cool with me,” she announces. “Sorry about the gun thing, but I haven’t exactly had the best experiences with Trolls.”

“I was part of the rebellion, I get it,” you tell her, grimacing. “And I’m a low blood. I wouldn’t exactly hesitate to attack another Troll either.”

“I like you,” Roxy says and you’re confused because you didn’t actually do anything.

“The others are John, Jade, Rosie, Dirk, and the asshole who still hasn’t put away his weapon is Dave,” Roxy introduces.

“Please just call me Rose,” Rose says tightly, crossing her arms. “I do not understand why Roxy continues to try and keep a name that was given to me in my youth.”

Roxy purses her lips and Rose just stares back at her, clearly challenging her. They look very much alike, so you assume they must be related. Familial relationships that the humans have are still something that you do not quite get, so you just ignore them.

“I have work to do. The Rogue’s stealth system needs an upgrade before we take off again. I’m glad this all a misunderstanding and Jane isn’t really being held hostage by a Troll,” Dirk announces and walks up Jane, presses a kiss to her cheek before disappearing through the door to the side house.

“He’s in a mood,” Jane comments.

“I think he was hoping Jake would be here,” Roxy murmurs.

“He was here last week,” Jane replies. “He says he’ll be back for the festival.”

“He better be or I’m taking the risk and flying to the Empress’ palace to get him,” Roxy says. “But I’m exhausted as well, Janey. Love to talk about the trip but I’d like a shower with real water first.”

Roxy too gives Jane a quick kiss on the cheek before heading off to the side house. The four others have settled themselves into one of the tables. Dave is directly facing you and despite his shades, you can tell he’s staring at you.

“Well I need to finish my errands,” Jane says to you. “I’ll be back in a bit, you still got this?”

You nod.

“What’s with the tiny robot?” you ask, gesturing the robot dancing at Jane’s feet.

“Oh that’s Lil’ Sebastian. Dirk made him for me when I retired as captain so I could have someone else to watch my back. He’s pretty useful for informing me when the crew is making a ruckus,” Jane explains.

“And the Carapacian?” you ask since he’s now pulling a seat up at the table with the humans.

“The mayor,” Dave cuts in. “He’s cool.”

“He united the Dersites and Prospitians so they could live on Skaia in peace,” Jane adds. “He’s a pretty good friend to everyone here. Let’s me know when everyone gets back because he’s always watching the skies.”

You don’t say anything and meet Dave’s gaze. Jane takes that as a goodbye and walks past the table, pulling John and Jade into tight hugs before disappearing. The moment the door closes, they all turn to you.

“So what brings you to Skaia?” John asks, more curious than anything. “Trolls don’t come here very often.”

“I was suddenly no longer welcome in the Empire,” you reply coolly. “I thought it was common courtesy on Skaia to not ask where someone was from.”

“That doesn’t really extend to Trolls,” Dave says.

Rose elbows him harshly.

“Excuse him, he doesn’t exactly have the best manners. You’ll have to excuse our curiosity as well. Most Trolls who come to Skaia do so because they did something illegal. The Empire can’t really touch them here without breaching the pact made with the Sovereignty,” Rose says. “But yes we tend to ask Trolls much more, albeit in a bit more polite manner.”

“Talk much, Lalonde,” Dave mumbles and she glares at him.

“I’m not a criminal,” you snap.

“Perhaps we should let K have his secrets. Skaia is meant to be a safe haven,” Jade suggests.

“What colour is your blood?” John blurts. “Don’t most trolls wear their colours?”

“That’s a pretty rude question,” you reply hotly.

“Sorry!” John exclaims and he appears to be pretty honest about it. “Can I ask about your symbol?”

“Not unless I want the Troll authorities down on me,” you grumble, rolling your eyes.

Your symbol is that of the Sufferer and the moment that gets out, even some humans from Skaia are bound to know who you are. It’s unique and absolutely one of kind--specially prepared for the one who would have the same blood colour as the Sufferer.

“That would be breaking the truce agreement,” Rose points out.

“The Trolls after me would rather go back to war,” you says, shrugging.

“We wouldn’t want that,” John murmurs. “Is there anything you can tell us about, K?”

“No.”

The four go back to keeping to themselves and Dave finally stops staring at you to have a silent conversation with the Mayor. You get back to your book.

“Are you against the Empress?” Jade asks after a short time. “Is that why you fled the Empire? You said you were part of the rebellion.”

“I also said I was a low blood,” you remind her. “I’d have to have a death wish if I was against the rebellion.”

“And yet you’re fine with having another Empress,” Dave says, raising a brow. “I thought the purpose of a rebellion was to change the type of government, not continue it.”

“You’re not familiar with Troll government are you? Every so often, there is a single fuchsia blooded heiress born who will grow up and eventually challenge the current Empress. Fef--,” you stop yourself and force yourself to remember that you’re no longer Karkat. You’re K. “The current Empress, challenged the former Empress in the form of a rebellion. Anyway, would it do good to lose complete governance of the Empire? If we lost the government, the entire Empire would be vulnerable. If we want to rebuild, we need the Empress’ leadership for some time.”

“Interesting take,” Dirk says appearing from the side and he’s regarding you with a great deal of suspicion. “Many would disagree that, as a fuchsia blood, the current Empress is still at much risk of becoming like her predecessor. She’s young and naïve right now. A fuchsia blood lives for a long time.”

You grit your teeth in annoyance. You want to defend Feferi further, talking about Gl’bgolyb’s prophecy before her death but that would give far too much away. And you’ve already given the humans too many details on what you’re doing in Skaia. You want to talk about the low bloods and their faith in Feferi and defend your friend. But you can’t. And you hate it.

“Perhaps,” you concede, scowling deeply. “Only time will tell.”

“Where did Jane go? I need her opinion on something,” Dirk asks and the question is directed at you.

“Back to the market, she wasn’t finished when she ran back here,” you tell him.

Dirk nods.

“Dave, you’re the next best thing, come and give me your opinion on whether or not this upgrade would work in the Rogue,” Dirk says.

“Come on, bro, I was really hoping to spend some time in Can Town,” Dave complains but he’s standing anyway.

“The mayor is over four hundred years old, he can wait 20 minutes,” Dirk counters before the two disappear behind the door.

“Sorry about Dave,” Rose says almost immediately. “You must understand that it’s hard for the people of Skaia to trust Trolls.”

“If you give him some time, he’ll come around,” Jade adds.

“I’m not really the patient type,” you grumble.

Jade laughs at this and thankfully their curiosity has been sated for now.  The three of them start their own conversation and let you go back to reading your book in peace.

With the others back, the inn is much livelier. At any given time, you’ll find any two of them arguing over something unimportant or huddled over some project. You had hoped they would keep to the side house--since their living quarters were contained there. But the inn was just as much their home and they spent as much time in the main room as they did in the side house.

Jane forces you to continue taking meals with her in the side house, despite you wanting to avoid the others. You don’t mind Jade and John that much, though they can be a bit overbearing at times. You’re a bit nervous around Roxy, since if you do anything to upset Jane you’d probably end up with the barrel of her rifle against your forehead. Dirk and Dave are the two you don’t trust at all. They’re always watching you when you find yourself in the same room as them. Dirk is much more subtle about it but it’s plain to see he’s suspicious as to why you’re actually here. Dave, on the other hand, radiates hostility towards you for just being a Troll.

A meal in the side house with the eight of you is an event. There is almost always a verbal fight over something and it’s not out of place for a physical altercation to break out. However, this keeps the attention off of you. You try to keep to yourself, eat your meal, and often help Jane clean up.

“So I was standing in the middle of the market place and out of nowhere Roxy comes tearing out of a shop run by some very irate species of alien,” John begins.

“No,” Jane cuts in. “I don’t want to know how that story ends. I’ve spent enough time with Roxy to know exactly what went down in that shop.”

“Jane, it’s not as bad as you think,” Dirk says and you can’t tell if he’s being facetious. “She only ripped the alien off about 200 credits.”

“Because that’s so much better,” you mutter under your breath.

Jade giggles at that, covering her mouth. You like Jade, even though she laughs when you’re not being funny.

“What did you say about me?” Roxy calls from the other end of the table.

“Nothing,” you reply, and decide Fuck It, you're going to go for gold tonight. “I was thinking that for a captain of a ship named after a type of thief--you’re not very subtle.”

Roxy narrows her eyes at you. And great, you’ve accidently been the one to initiate the verbal sparring match at the table.

“I’ll have you know,” she says, pointing with the bread she’s holding, “that I can be very sneaky when the time calls for it. You yell when you speak, so maybe you shouldn’t comment on other people’s sneakiness levels.”

Everyone turns to look at you, waiting for a response.

“I can be very quiet,” you reply, dropping your voice to a whisper. “But it’s considered cowardly to attack from behind.”

“What are the rules of courtesy when it comes to a rebellion?” Dave cuts in.

You turn to look at him and narrow your eyes. He’s trying to rile you up.

“As I mentioned before, the heir to the Empire must challenge the current Empress for the throne. A rebellion is an acceptable way to do so.”

“Isn’t a challenge like that supposed to be one on one? Getting an entire army to fight for you seems pretty cowardly,” Dave says, shrugging.

You breathe heavily through your nose. He’s trying to get a reaction out of you. He’s trying to get one of your secrets out. You just really want to defend Feferi. Falling for Dave's bait is far too easy.

“The new Empress is a new type of ruler,” you settle on after a long pause.

“You’re avoiding the question,” Dave scoffs.

“I don’t need to explain the rules of my Empire to a human who doesn’t even live in it,” you snap.

Dave’s eyebrows raise ever so subtly. He’s enjoying getting a rise out of you. The rest of the table is avoiding your gaze. A Troll who believes in the Empire doesn’t belong on Skaia. You swallow heavily.

“I’m finished. I’ll be in my room if you need me,” you say quietly and hurry out of the room.

Some time later there’s a knock on your door. You’ve spent the time since dinner lying on your bed just staring at the ceiling. You never wished more for any other Troll to be here--to back you up against seven humans who have pretty heavy biases against Trolls. You don’t blame them, considering the history Trolls have with Skaia, but it would be nice if you could just explain what the Empire is doing. That it isn’t bad as it seems from the outside. These things just take time. Reform is a process.

“K?” Jade calls. “May I come in?”

“If you must,” you growl and you feel a rising panic in your chest--they’re going to kick you out.

Jade pushes the door open slowly, peeking her head in. She smiles apologetically.

“What do you want?” you question roughly, swinging your legs around and sitting up on the bed.

She steps in and her skirt swishes around her feet as she moves. She shuts the door delicately and for a moment just wrings her hands nervously. Here it comes. You don’t belong anywhere. You don’t belong with the Trolls because you’re a mutant and you don’t belong with the misfits because you care too much about your friends in the Empire.

“Why do you continue to defend the Empire?” she blurts out and you inhale sharply. “It doesn’t make sense! People don’t come to Skaia if they like the Empire--they come here to get away from it.”

Your jaw drops open and you just gape at Jade in surprise. She’s not here to kick you out--she just wants answers.

“It’s complicated,” you reply.

“And by complicated you mean…” Jade trails off meaningfully.

“That I’m a member of the Empress’ council,” you admit because you can’t hold it back any longer.

You don’t wait for Jade’s reaction because it’s already out the bag. You might as well just go ahead and tell the whole story.

“I was a pretty major figure in the rebellion because I could unite the low bloods for Feferi, the Empress. As a result, when Feferi became Empress, I was pretty integral to maintaining order--I still am. There was an assassination attempt on Feferi and all of her generals from the rebellion. I was deemed too important to risk, so I was taken to Skaia to be hidden until it’s safe.”

You bow your head, ashamed that you’ve blown your secret. There is a very long pause before Jade speaks.

“You’re Karkat Vantas,” she says with awe in her voice.

“Even famous in the Human Sovereignty,” you remark self-deprecatingly.

“What you did was amazing!” Jade gushes and she moves forward to sit on the bed next to you.

She takes your hands in hers. They’re soft and warm. You wonder, in the back of your mind, how someone living on Skaia managed to keep such smooth hands.

“The Empress is your friend,” Jade says and there is no question, only a statement.

“She changed the law so I wouldn’t be killed when I reached adulthood,” you explain. “I owe her my life.”

“Being Empress is hard work,” Jade hums.

“People will slander her regardless, but at least when I was in the palace I didn’t have to hear it. Out here, it’s much harder to avoid it. Feferi is a good Troll, Jade. You have to believe me.”

“I do believe you,” Jade assures you, “but it’s hard for us out here to put our faith in the Empire. The Empire has done very little to show that it keeps to its promises. The opening of the space station, for example.”

“We used it during the rebellion,” you explain. “It needed to be cleared out. If you went up there, you’d find it empty.”

“Maybe,” Jade replies. “Or it could be full of military vessels prepared to neutralize a human threat.”

You exhale deeply. She’s right. You may not be privy to the military operations of the Empire, but you know Vriska well enough. There is a very long pause between the two of you. Jade continues to hold your hands.

“None of us are mad at you,” Jade says, breaking the silence. “You’re loyal to your Empress, that’s not a fault. It’s just hard to trust someone who supports the same Empire that a few years ago had us living in fear.”

“Not the same Empire,” you correct. “The former Empress, she ruled alone. Feferi is slowly turning the Empire into something more equal. More voices to make decisions. We were working on a senate before the assassination.”

Jade’s eyebrows rise in surprise.

“We may be violent, but we can do politics,” you add defensively.

Jade laughs a little bit at that. You feel your cheeks getting hot, embarrassed.

“You won’t tell anyone what I told you, right?” you ask feeling nervous.

“You can trust me,” Jade says nodding. “No one else will know. Does Jane know?”

“I suspect she does but we’re both pretending that she doesn’t.”

“She’s very well connected. Don’t let her baby blues trick you.”

You let out a bark of laughter at this before the two of you lapse into silence again.

“Dave does that a lot,” Jade finally says and you suppose this is the real reason she came up here.

She slips her hand away from yours and goes back to wringing it in her lap. You cannot fathom why she's nervous discussing her friend.

“Being an asshole?” you mutter, anger returning from Dave’s words.

“Winds people up until they get so angry that they storm off and leave. I think it might be a defense mechanism, to not let people get too close. He perceives you as a threat to the family we have here.”

Oh. She’s spilling Dave’s secrets, that’s why Jade is uncomfortable. It’s not really her place, but Dave isn’t exactly going to explain himself.

“That’s ridiculous,” you snort. “I have no intentions of becoming a part of your family."

“Still,” Jade replies keeping her voice even. “Jane letting you help her represents a change in balance here. I’m not even sure if he’s aware he’s doing it. He’s got this façade that he’s cool all the time, it can be hard to tell if he’s being deliberate or not.”

“Are you trying to tell me to forgive him without Dave actually apologizing?”

“No. I’m just trying to explain Dave to you. He’s my best friend and he can be difficult. I like you being here too because it’s been just us for so long. I’d hate for you have to leave because you and Dave can’t get along,” Jade explains.

“I’m not sure I follow.”

Jade sighs and mutters something under her breath that sounds like ‘stupid boys.’

“Just don’t take what he says personally,” she states firmly. “You’ll live a much happier life that way. Arguing with Dave is an unwinnable battle.”

You curl your lips back because that sounds like a challenge. You’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. Jade punches your arm. She looks annoyed.

“I see that look. Don’t even think about it,” Jade scolds.

You put your hands up in defense. Jade grins at you in response and pats your thigh before standing.

“Glad we had this talk,” she says. “You should come back down, we’re having a game of Monopoly. It’s some old Earth game--half the pieces are missing and Rose always wins but it’s a good time.”

“I’ve actually had a long day. I think I’m just going to go to bed,” you reply and you rub the back of your neck nervously. “Uh, thanks for being cool though, Jade. I appreciate it.”

Jade nods and exits the room. You lie back down and stare at the ceiling again. Despite Jade’s warning, you can’t help but think about challenging Dave. You’ve dealt with Eridan and your friends have always told you that you’re one of the thickest headed and stubborn people they know. You kind of want to try to beat the apparently unbeatable Dave at his own game.

Gardening is probably your favourite job to do for the inn. Jane often does it herself since, she too, finds it too be a very relaxing task. Back on Alternia, your lawn ring was one of the finest in the neighbourhood. Gardening on Skaia distracts you from life after the rebellion by taking you back to a simpler time on Alternia.

With the Rogue crew back, Jane is spending a lot of time at the port working on the ship. Dirk managed to bang out a plan for new stealth technology, recruiting Jane and Roxy to help install it. You’ve managed to piece together that the Rogue is their baby, the three of them formerly working in a scrap yard and finding its burnt out husk. Then they rebuilt it from parts they found and bargained for.

Even though Jane isn’t at the inn constantly, the jobs still must get done. You manage to split the tasks up with Jade and Rose. The two of them had taken care of the inn in Jane’s absence previously. You quickly claim garden duty as your own, mostly because you enjoy it but partly because being in the garden out back means you don’t have to worry about running into Dave.

Unfortunately, he seeks you out.

“Former military, right?” Dave calls out.

You look up from the hole you had been digging to see Dave leaning casually against the wall of the inn. You must look confused because he quickly clarifies what he meant. It's an amusing picture, as Dave physically rearranges himself to present a different image. Looks like the cool guy approach failed.

“You’re holding the shovel like a weapon,” he says. “Like you’re ready to strike if someone were to attack. So am I right? Are you former military? Like you were part of the rebellion. Did you join the military before or after the rebellion?”

You spike the shovel into the ground and lean against the handle. It takes a moment for you to answer. You were never formally trained to be in the military, but like all young trolls you learned to fight. When you were young you dreamed of being a threshcutioner and working in the military. Later you became a rebel leader, one of Feferi’s generals. That could be considered military even though Dave knows you were part of the rebellion. You could also just throw vague facts out to confuse him.

“Something like that,” you reply after a pause. 

“That’s really informative,” Dave replies sarcastically and you think he might be rolling his eyes behind his omnipresent shades.

“It’s complicated,” you growl and grab the shovel before thrusting it back into the ground again.

So maybe you’re making a bit of display to casually display your strength. Dave’s a human, however. A completely unflappable human. The action doesn’t even faze him. He probably has no basis to even understand Troll strength.

“Isn’t it always complicated? Isn’t being complicated what it means to be alive?” Dave says and he looks up at the sky.

“What the fuck.”

Dave just shrugs and looks back at you. His head is cocked slightly in interest.

“What was your weapon of choice?” he asks and sounds genuinely curious.

You meet his gaze evenly. It feels like he’s looking for someone to fight with.

“Are you looking for a fight?” you ask, narrowing your eyes trying to find out his motives.

In Troll society this could be considered black flirting. Most of Dave’s challenges could be considered black flirting. You don’t really think a human with an extreme dislike of Trolls living outside of the Empire would have an understanding of the quadrants. Most Trolls revile at the thought of having anything other than a Troll in a quadrant. So the information is scarcely shared.

There’s nothing really going on in your quadrants, other than Kanaya, and Trolls aren’t exactly lining up for a mutant blood like you. Maybe trying to explain black romance to Dave wouldn’t be such a terrible thing. He seems like he could be worth it.

“I wouldn’t be adverse to a spar,” he replies casually and oh yeah, he definitely came looking for you to have a fight.

“I don’t have to prove myself to you,” you hiss because you’re going to do this the right way.

Dave smirks and it really pisses you off.

“I didn’t say anything like that,” he says in that frustratingly cool tone.

“Alright then, let’s strife. It’s been a while,” you reply, yanking the shovel out the dirt.

“Jane will kill us if we do it in the garden,” Dave interjects suddenly, pushing himself off the wall. “There’s a place we can do it back behind the house.”

That takes you by surprise. You didn’t really Dave think could be considerate. From what you’ve seen in his interactions with the other humans, he generally appears to be a major ass to them. You recall what Jade said about Dave and this being a family. You understand Dave’s behaviour a bit more, since you too can be an asshole to the people you care the most about.

“Are you going to use that shovel or what?” Dave questions.

“I use sickles,” you mutter.

“Alright, so a shovel could work with the gardening theme,” he says in what almost seems like a teasing tone.

You’re slightly confused since last time you interacted his goal was to piss you off. Maybe Jade gave him a talking to as well, telling him to play nice or something. Whatever it is, you prefer this side of Dave much more.

“Sickles are a deadly and well respected weapon in the Empire,” you tell him.

Dave just shrugs.

“I think Jane might keep some in the shed,” he directs.

You watch him for a couple of seconds before turning towards the shed. It takes a few minutes but you manage to find the sickles Dave had mentioned. They’re fairly old and the blade is less curved than you’re use to, but it’s better than nothing. You’d take these ones over those bullshit ceremonial ones back at the palace.

“Alright then, follow me,” Dave says and turns to head back into the inn.

You trail behind him, gripping the sickles and quietly weighing them in your hand. You’re not really sure what to expect from Dave, but know that you’ll be giving it your all regardless. He’s 100% testing you.

Rose and Jade watch you curiously as you pass through the main room. The sickles catch their attentions immediately.

“Where you going with K, Dave?” Rose inquires primly.

Dave shrugs in response and keeps going. Rose sighs in annoyance, a regular occurrence when it comes to Dave. When Jade catches your eyes, you just nod and hope she’ll understand that it will all be okay. Both of them return to what they were as the two of you exit the main room, so it must be okay.

Dave leads through the house to a tiny area back outside. No grass is growing on the ground and the dirt is packed down. Sparring must be a regular thing here.

“Dirk and I come back here to deal with our issues rather than using our words,” Dave says casually as he walks over to what looks like a pile of swords.

When Dave reaches down and picks up a blade, you realize that, holy shit, they just keep a pile of swords in their backyard.

“That’s fucking insane,” you comment.

“Coming from the Troll,” Dave says and lets your insult slide off of him as he continues to sort through the blades.

You growl in annoyance and wait for Dave to pick his weapon. You pass the time by giving the sickles a couple of spins, getting more of a feel for them. You lose yourself in the familiar motions. It reminds you of the training regiment you’d go through every morning during the rebellion. It’s all muscle memory at this point and as long as you remember the rebellion, you won’t forget how to fight.

“We going to do this or what?” Dave asks, sounding bored.

You stop spinning the sickles to look at him with annoyance. You were waiting on him. Dave sounds bored but he’s clearly watching you with extreme interest, probably still trying to gauge where you learned your skills.

“You’re using a broken sword?” you demand, looking at the broken blade in his hands.

“This would be a great time for a Lord of the Rings reference, but it’s wasted because the only other person here is not a person, but a Troll,” Dave laments to himself. “Roxy would be proud.”

“What.”

“My last name is Strider and the character--you know what never mind--it’s just some old Earth bullshit. But hell yeah I use a broken sword,” Dave sort of explains. “Anyway Dirk won’t let me use any whole blades since I’m pretty much guaranteed to break them.”

“Dumbass,” you mutter. “We’re doing this.”

“We’re making this happen,” Dave replies under his breath with unrestrained glee.

Must be more Earth bullshit.

Dave steps back a few feet and places himself so he’s standing directly across from you in the backyard. His face is back to neutral and it enrages you off that he’s so chill about this. So, despite knowing it’s foolish, you decide to make the first move.

You charge forward, holding the sickles at the ready but when you arrive at the space where you think Dave is--

But find it empty.

You force yourself to an abrupt stop and whirl around. Dave is standing where you just were, giving you an infuriating smirk.

He’s fast--you didn’t even see him move. Dave casually readjusts his grip on his broken sword, pulling it into attack position. This time he makes the move, dashing up to you. It happens too quickly that you barely have any time to react.

You pull the sickles upwards to block his blow, holding them parallel to each other in front of your face. It doesn’t take much to shove him backwards, he may have speed but you have a fair bit of strength. Dave quickly recovers and you scowl when you see that his face is still calm and collected.

He comes at you again with a different strategy. The first movement was to gauge your strength, which he’s unable to match. Dave brings his blade up and begins a series of quick assaults. You’re struggling to keep up with the light blows. Some of which you only just manage to knock away before the jagged edge of the broken sword can touch your skin.

You’re so caught up in blocking, you don’t notice when Dave brings down the hilt of his sword and smashes through the wooden handle of one of the sickles. You completely stall at this point and he uses it to his advantage, knocking the remaining part out of your hand. It goes flying across the yard and hits the pile of swords, scattering them into a bigger mess.

Hissing in annoyance, you grip your remaining sickle with two hands and start to parry his blows with much more vigour. With each block, you push forward. This forces Dave to readjust his hits, which has them coming slower as a result. Now that he’s slowed, this is your chance. Between one of his swings, you shove the hilt of the sickle forward hoping to knock him down.

Dave reacts immediately and grabs it was his hand, effectively stopping the movement. You stare at each other for a brief moment before Dave smirks and then you’re on the ground. Bastard swung his leg out and knocked you over because you were too focused on getting him between his hits.

He brings the blade down and points it at your neck. The spar is over.

“I win,” he says, smirking at you. “Didn’t think your tiny frame had so much strength behind it.”

“I’m not tiny,” you growl as you shove the blade away.

Dave lets it. It goes clattering off to the side, joining the disarray of broken weapons.

You’re preparing to get up when Dave offers you his hand. There’s a brief moment when you think about knocking it away like you did his sword. That would appear petty though. You take his hand and allow him to help you back up.

“You gave me a run for my money,” he admits quietly. “I was a little caught off guard when you threw me off so easily. Hate to fight you if you had real sickles though.”

You suppress the grin that threatens to spread across your face.

“How did you get so fast?” you ask. “I’ve never seen someone move so quickly.”

“Dirk trained me,” Dave replies, shrugging. “You’d have to ask him where he discovered the secret to flash stepping.”

You realize you’re still holding hands and quickly pull yours away.

“And I thought we were having a moment,” Dave announces, voice full of mock hurt.

You roll your eyes.

“Did I pass your little test?” you ask.

“This wasn’t a test,” Dave tells you with his best ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ face.

“Theoretically then,” you concede.

“Theoretically yes,” Dave says and turns away to head back into the house.

With his back turned, you allow the grin to appear on your face.

“Hey,” Dave calls, but doesn’t turn around. “You still got some work in the garden to do before Jane gets back--want some help?”

You’re slightly confused at this offer. Although you know Dave is human and has little grasp of black romance, he’s still hasn’t been anything but an annoying shit to you. It doesn’t really add up.

“I suppose,” you drawl.

“Cool,” he says and heads back into the house. “I’ll meet you back in the garden then.”

You toss the remaining sickle into the sword pile just in case you and Dave decide to do this again. You’ll be planning, just in case.  Now that you have a general understanding of his style, there’s a better chance for you to beat him next time. He relies far too much on his speed to fluster his opponents. It worked on you this time but if there’s a next time, you’ll be ready.

Deciding that you’ve wasted enough time lost in your own thoughts, you head towards the door and back to the garden to finish your work.

Since your spar with Dave, there’s been an uplift in the air around you. Or maybe you had just been focusing far too much on Dave’s dislike of you that it messed with the rest of the atmosphere. You feel more welcomed at the inn and with the humans, taking a more active part in discussions. You managed to even offer a suggestion to Dirk about the new stealth technology, which he agreed with.

You don’t know much about building space ships, but you did help Sollux some when he designed the pods. So you have a bit of an edge on the whole ‘top of the line’ stealth technology that Dirk is aiming for with the Rogue.

“Jake pilots the pod K is talking about,” Jane says.

The three of you are in the main room of the inn surrounding one of the many tables. You had noticed Jane and Dirk bickering over the blueprints for the Rogue. Dirk’s original plan didn’t work out like he thought, so he's back to the drawing board. You quickly interjected what Dirk is designing would only work if you had a particular kind of adaptor, which had been uniquely designed by Sollux. The adaptor works to disperse the energy from the generator in a fashion that masks the generator’s energy signal and creates the masking technology itself. You can’t exactly explain it the way Sollux understands it but you can help lead Dirk to the discovery.

Dirk regards you with suspicious eyes that you meet evenly. Let him think what he wants. You have faith that Dirk believes in Jane enough that he wouldn’t risk your secret if he continued to theorize what your history was.

“But when’s the next time Jake is coming to Skaia,” Dirk states blandly.

“He said he’d back for the festival,” Jane reminds him softly.

“Wouldn’t be the first promise he broke,” Dirk snips. “So unless I can get my hands on another pod, this isn’t going to work.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” you cut in and point to where Dirk has the adaptor on the blueprint and begin running your finger around the shape of the Rogue. “This needs to be able to take the load and hide the energy signature of the generator. If you designed the adaptor to disperse the energy from the generator, it wouldn’t make a detectable signature.”

“And the energy itself could be used to create the actual stealth technology, since if harnessed in a particular way it would allow any detection technology to pass harmlessly though it,” Dirk says in amazement. “That’s perfect. We could also remove the bulky add-ons that disrupt detection signals and instead install a single generator.”

“So our baby won’t be dragged down by unnecessary bulk and remain sleek,” Jane sighs happily. “I think this calls for a bit of a celebration! I have some alcohol squirreled away in the pantry.”

“I’ll get it,” you offer.

“It’s on the top left shelf,” Jane instructs. “The label says bleach but that’s only to keep everyone else out.”

“Why would you keep bleach in the pantry in the first place?” Dirk inquires, giving Jane a confused look.

“You hide your alcohol your way and I’ll hide it my way,” Jane replies, "Mr. 'I keep motor oil under my bed.'"

You head off to the side house and through the kitchen to the large pantry Jane modified from what you assume use to be another bedroom. The alcohol is easier enough to locate in a large bottle that Jane has marked ‘Bleach! Do not drink!’ The bottle isn’t full so maybe Jane’s approach isn’t quite working.

Alcohol doesn’t affect trolls the same way it does humans--there are other substances to do that--but it’s fairly plentiful. It has its uses in cleaning wounds and the like. It must be more rare out here if Jane is keeping it hidden for celebrations.

As you exit the pantry you hear a voice in the room next to it. The door is shut, like you’ve always seen it. This is the first time since you’ve been here that someone has been inside of it. Curiosity gets the better of you and you knock on the door.

“Can Town officials only!” Dave’s voice resonates through the wooden door.

So this is where Dave disappears to during the day. You set the alcohol bottle down and push the door open.

“Hey I said--oh it’s just you,” Dave says looking up at you from the floor. “You can come in, since you’ve never experienced the majesty of Can Town before.”

He and the Mayor are both in here, sitting on the floor surrounded by stacks of cans, the occasional book, and tons of chalk drawings. The entire room is filled with it, coming together to create a coherent picture of a town. Maybe a town that looks like Skaia, judging from the shamble of streets and closeness of buildings. The Mayor looks pretty damn excited to see you there. It’s kind of cute, but you can only admit that privately.

“What is this?” you question, looking around.

“Close the door and find a place to sit, you’ll make the citizens nervous,” Dave orders. “The others don’t really get the Can Town project.”

“Can Town?” you say slowly as you carefully sink to the ground.

“Something me and a friend started a couple years back. She left but I continued on since it meant that I got to spend time with the Mayor,” Dave explains. “But I ended up getting just as invested in the project as the Mayor.”

“So this is why he’s called the Mayor,” you conclude.

“Pretty much,” Dave replies and he’s arranging some cans neatly to form a tower.

“What are you building?” you question.

“Clock Tower, every decent town needs a massive time keeping device,” he says.

“And the Mayor?” you asks.

The Carapacian seems to be happily skirting about the town, just examining it.

“Being the mayor,” Dave shrugs. “I do most of the building, he’s mostly here to be cute.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

You watch as Dave finishes up stacking the cans before grabbing another and quickly drawing out a clock in chalk before placing it on top.

“Are you going to help because only one person in here is getting away with doing nothing and it sure as hell isn’t you,” Dave says turning to face you.

“I can help?” you ask incredulously

“Why not? Can Town can always use another build crew.”

“Alright. I just need to bring something to Dirk and Jane and I’ll be right back.”

“Cool.”

That’s definitely not a black heart flutter you get when Dave asks you to help with Can Town.

You grab the alcohol bottle not so cleverly disguised as bleach and bring it out to Jane and Dirk. Jane already has three cups ready when you return. She takes the bottle eagerly from you.

“Alcohol doesn’t have the same effect on me as it does you,” you tell Jane as she begins to pour. “So I’ll have to pass.”

“Dave has you helping with Can Town doesn’t he?” Dirk says almost immediately.

“How did you know?”

“I know that he’s in there right now and it took some time for you to bring this back,” Dirk says shrugging. “Plus you have the ‘I just saw the Mayor do something cute’ look on your face.”

“Bring this back to the pantry first, will you?” Jane says, handing you the bottle. “Try not to get to absorbed into Can Town. You’re a good worker.”

You take the bottle back as Jane pushes a glass in front of Dirk.

“How long has this project been going on?”

“Since the last Troll came to Skaia,” Jane starts to explain. “She was a lot of fun until she--“

“Jane!” Dirk cuts in harshly.

“Am I missing something?” you ask.

“Not our story to tell,” Dirk says tightly, giving Jane the angriest look you’ve ever seen him direct at her.

“Is the Troll still here?”

“No, she’s been gone for ages,” Jane elaborates. “She was here clearing this place of military presence, spent a couple of months coming back and forth so we could let the Empress know Skaia was pleased with her quick action.”

“I know a few Trolls who had jobs like that,” you muse. 

“Don’t go looking into it,” Dirk cuts in, his voice firm.

You nod and decide now is the best time to leave. Who knows how much more hostile Dirk is going to get with you? And you had only just gotten on his good side. You quickly tuck the alcohol bottle back into the pantry before returning to Can Town.

Dave and the Mayor are both waiting for you.

“The Mayor thinks, since you’re new to Can Town, the first project you do should be a joint one,” Dave explains. “Come over to this empty patch over here.”

“I didn’t think the Mayor spoke,” you say as you carefully step over the cans to where Dave is sitting.

Dave and the Mayor share a look.

“He doesn’t but I’ve known him long enough to interpret his body language,” Dave clarifies quickly.

You kneel down next to him and Dave hands you a box of chalk.

“What’s your favourite colour?” Dave asks.

In a moment of wild insanity, you consider taking the candy red chalk. However, it’s already missing so you settle for your usual gray.

“Totally hoping you’d take your blood colour,” Dave quips lightly.

You gently prod him with your elbow.

“Your manners would have you culled in the Empire,” you shoot back.

“I thought the Empress redefined culling."

“Fuck off,” you mutter because he’s got you there.

A grin tugs at the edge of Dave’s lips but he quickly schools the expression. You then notice that he’s using the red chalk.

“So we’re going to build the Troll Embassy,” Dave explains and begins to draw a rectangle on the ground. “Seems fitting for your first project.” 

“Trolls don’t have embassies,” you reply.

“Yet,” Dave counters.

Dave brings up a good point. Maybe that’s something you could bring up with Feferi when you return home.

“What do I need to do?”

Dave quickly launches into an explanation on how new additions work in Can Town. First you have to plan it out with chalk then you can place a requisition for some cans with the Mayor. He generally lets you have them. Once you have acquired the cans, you can start to build the structure. Additional flare is added after the build is complete. Everything must be within strict building regulations, however.

You and Dave spend a great deal of time arguing over how to design the embassy. You come out on top when you mention that trolls are raised to be savvy in architecture from a very young age. The Mayor takes your side and you can’t help the triumphant laugh that bubbles up when Dave visibly deflates. The Mayor hands you the very first can for the embassy and gives you the honour of placing it. The carapacian claps politely, like it's a real ground-breaking ceremony.

Time passes easily as the two of you build the embassy. Dave adds some artistic flair to the building when he finds out that, for all your big talk, you’re a really terrible artist and can’t actually draw what you're talking about. You personally add lettering in both human common and Alternian standard to the entrance. Dave adds a third language to it after a brief thought.

“What is that?” you ask curiously, the lettering is completely foreign to you.

“Skaian,” Dave explains. “It’s just a bunch of languages that have melded together, particularly common and Alternian.”

It’s odd that you can speak both those languages but don’t understand Skaian at all.

“Is this what you speak when you don’t want me to understand?” you question.

Dave nods and pushes one of the cans supporting the entrance back a little bit.

“I can teach you a bit if you want. If you’re going to stick around any longer, it would be best if you spoke the local tongue,” he offers casually. “I probably wouldn’t be the best teacher though, Rose is the academic of the family.”

“I’d like if you could teach me,” you answer, quite grateful that Dave would even offer.

“Cool,” is all he says before shuffling backwards from the Embassy and looking to the Mayor. “Can Town Troll Embassy is a completed project. Only a bit slower than usual build time, but the Troll consultant was difficult to work with.”

The Mayor nods happily and you scowl.

“I thought it went by quickly,” you argue.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t enjoyable.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway it’s been just over an hour, time for dinner,” Dave says standing and dusting his pants off of red and grey chalk.

“How can you tell how much time has passed? There’s no clock in here,” you ask, standing up yourself.

“Just some bullshit quirk.”

You turn and admire your work. Personally, you think it’s one of the finer establishments in Can Town.

“Nice work, K. Think we’ll be seeing you around here again?” Dave questions.

Even though half his face is hidden by shades, you know that he’s trying to play cool and not sound too desperate.

“I think Can Town needs me,” you respond. “It’s in serious need of some real architectural advice.”

Dave scoffs but you can tell he’s hiding a grin.

“We should get out of here before Jane sends someone to drag us out. Some people have no respect for building codes.”

Laundry is probably the task you hate the most. It wasn’t so bad when it was just you and Jane since that meant there were very little clothes to deal with. Fifty percent of them belonged to you and everything else was well mixed with the bed sheets used by guests. Since Skaia is about hard work and practicality, an outfit was worn more than four times a week so there wasn't actually that much laundry to do in the first place. With the addition of the Rogue crew, the amount of clothes that you are responsible for cleaning grew exponentially. And it’s not like you have a little issue with touching someone else’s unmentionables--you have a HUGE FUCKING issue with touching someone else’s unmentionables.

The strategy is to spend as little time as possible touching the clothes and then finding the nearest sink to scrub your hands raw. Repeat as many times necessary or until the laundry is complete.

Jane told you earlier that she and the Rogue crew were going out to find some supplies for the festival they’re always talking about. There have only been vague explanations of the festival when you ask about it, so you figure maybe you should just wait and see what it’s all about. Regardless, on your typical rush from the laundry room to the kitchen sink, you nearly jump out of your skin when you see Dave.

He’s leaning back in a chair, only two of its legs touching the ground, while his feet are kicked up onto the kitchen table. Jane would kill him if she saw that. He appears to be tossing a tiny black ball up in the air before catching it and repeating the process.

“Where’s the fire?” he asks casually and not even looking at you.

“There is no fire,” you reply harshly and for some reason you are completely enraged that Dave is here and caught you in your ridiculous laundry act. “Why are you not with the others?”

“Wow did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or what?” Dave replies.

“Why are you?” you repeat.

“I wasn’t feeling well this morning, so I stayed behind,” he explains.

Dave kicks his feet off the table and lands them on the ground, in sync with the once elevated chair legs. You scowl at him for the unnecessary display before heading to the sink to wash your hands.

“Playing in the mud or something?” he asks now rolling the ball on the table between his hands.

“I was doing laundry.”

“Isn’t that meant to clean?” he asks, clearly confused.

“I don’t like touching other people’s clothes,” you admit. "Clean or dirty."

“That’s ridiculous.”

You growl in the back of your throat and focus on violently scrubbing your hands.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure the laundry uses soap and water so you could just stick your little hands in there and give ‘em a good stir,” he continues.

“And touch the water where all the filth is collecting in?” you say, wrinkling your nose in disgust. “I’ve seen the colour that it turns after I put all your clothes in there.”

“You have a point there,” Dave concedes.

“Why are you in the kitchen if you’re not feeling well?” you ask.

You turn the tap off and shake your hands free of water before turning to face Dave. He’s absently rolling the ball along and mostly focused on you.

“I was waiting for you to show up. I got bored of sitting around it bed,” he replies. “Hoping you’d play nursemaid K for a little bit.”

“In your dreams, Dave,” you scoff.

“Worth a try. But can you do me one thing?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“Don’t tell Dirk I got out of bed when he gets back. Sometimes he likes to pretend I’m still a kid and gets all grouchy when he’s worried.”

“Are you seriously ill?” you ask looking Dave over for any outward signs of distress.

“Just a stomach bug, nothing too bad,” he says shrugging. “Enough to make it a bad idea to go walking around all day.”

“I suppose I can keep your secret,” Dave stops rolling the ball in surprise, “if you tell me what that thing you keep your rolling around.”

“This old thing?” he says and holds it up in his palm for you to see.

You lean forward to inspect is, placing your palms on the table. It’s a tiny black orb with little holes covering it and and a single button, curved into the surface.

“Yeah, you rolling it around is pissing me off.”

“Doesn’t take much to piss you off, dude.”

“Ignoring that comment. What is it?”

“It’s a projection of the night sky as it’s seen on Earth. Dirk made it for me when we first came to Skaia. I wanted to see Earth when I was that age and,” Dave’s ears go pink in embarrassment, “I was afraid to go to sleep with the Prospit station hanging above. I was used to seeing the night sky every night. He made it for me so I’d fall asleep easier.”

“So it’s a comfort device. You have it out because you’re sick and require comforting,” you point out.

“Makes me sound lame when you put it like that,” Dave replies, scowling. “But yeah, I brought it out because it has a bunch of nice memories attached to it.”

“It’s not weak to have something that comforts you,” you tell him softly.

He just shrugs.

“Do you want to see it?” he offers.

“Sure.”

“Okay, turn off all the lights and shut the blinds. Needs to be dark for the best effect,” Dave instructs.

He sets the tiny orb in the centre of the table while you go about the kitchen, making it as dark as possible. After you’re done, you settle into the chair across from Dave.

“Ready to get your mind fucking blown?” he asks.

You nod and he press the button on the tiny orb. It explodes with light and you’re transported from Jane’s tiny kitchen to the surface of Earth. You stare upwards and take in the night sky with awe. Alternia never looked like this and even though you live in space, there is nothing like looking up at the stars from a planet.

Dave is also staring up at the hologram, taking it all in. He must have seen this a hundred times before but never tires of its beauty.

“Have you heard of Earth’s constellations?” he asks.

“Yes, but I’ve never seen them. Alternia has it’s own set, but Trolls have nowhere near the creativity of humans,” you admit.

“Awesome, then I get to take you on your first tour of the Earth’s sky. Prepare for a journey through the fucking magnificence of the Sol system."

It’s easy to tell that this is something that is important to him. Mapping out the stars is something that Dave keeps very close to his heart.

“Who taught you this?” you ask before he starts.

“Dirk. It inspired me to start making star maps and shit. I’m the Rogue’s navigator so I've got to understand it all,” he replies.

Dave begins to point out various stars in the hologram, briefly explaining the background of each one. You don’t always really see what he’s pointing out but enjoy the consideration he’s putting into it anyway. Your favourite part is when he starts to explain the zodiac because each of the symbols reminds you of your friends. It’s kind of funny since some of the stories behind the constellations can actually be associated with them.

Cancer is the one that belongs to you. You don’t tell Dave this because that would involve revealing yourself as Karkat Vantas and you’re not at all ready to tell such an extreme Anti-Empire human that you’re a pretty important figure in the government.

“Have you ever been to Earth?” you ask once he’s finished. “You mentioned that you wanted to see it when you were younger. Did that ever come true?”

“Sure I wanted to go to Earth when I was kid, but then I realized that at the beginning of the war and when Prospit was destroyed, the united government made a decision to pull out from the outer edges of the Sovereignty. Earth left us to die out here. Offered no support when the Trolls came to occupy Skaia and we haven’t even heard from Earth since the war ended,” Dave replies angrily. “Why would I want to see a planet that abandoned my people and left us for dead?”

You don’t miss the way he says ‘my people,’ but you choose to ignore it for now.

“You’ve got a point there, but it is the home of your species.”

“It’s not my home. My home is Skaia and my duty is to the people here.”

“Jane said something similar not too long ago.”

“Her job is a bit more important,” he replies, unsurprisingly vague because other than Jake, the other humans have been deliberately secretive when it comes to how they arrived on Skaia and this ‘duty’ they speak so highly of. “I can’t just go running off to Earth because it’s the birthplace of my species or whatever. There is nothing for me on that planet.”

The two of you go quiet as you allow Dave to settle down somewhat.

“Do you want to return to Alternia, even though you were forced off of it at adulthood?” Dave asks.

“I miss it most days,” you admit. “Those were the easy days of my life and the simplest. I had my own hive, all to myself, and I could do whatever I wanted with my friends. I mostly miss my lusus though--a lusus is a caretaker for young Trolls.”

“I know what a lusus is. It’s kind of like my parents and then Dirk after they died.”

You nod even though you’re not really sure what that means.

“What was your lusus?”

“A giant crab.”

Dave lets out of shout of unprecedented laughter.

“You’re lusus was a crab? That’s gold, man!”

You scowl at him.

“The similarities have been pointed out to me on multiple occasions, thank you,” you sneer.

Dave lifts his shades slightly and wipes away a tear. That only causes you to get even more annoyed with him. A couple of moments pass while Dave collects himself. You just glower at him from across the table. After enough time has passed, you take the initiative to drive the conversation as far away as possible from your lusus.

“So you said Dirk was like your lusus--what exactly is his relationship to you?”

“He’s my brother,” Dave tells you as if it’s no big deal.

“I don’t really understand human familial relationships. You’ll need to elaborate further.”

“Seriously--oh yeah the whole ‘incestuous slurry’ thing,” he says thoughtfully.

Your mind drifts back to the other Troll that Jane mentioned staying here a few years ago. It would be odd that another Troll would be so forth coming with details of Troll reproduction and rearing, but it would be the only way that Dave would know about lusii and the incestuous slurry. To know about this information would imply a less than platonic relationship. Or it was a particularly helpful Troll.

“So a brother pretty much comes from the same set of genetic material,” Dave explains. “There can also be a sister, which is pretty much the same thing but the result is a girl and not a boy. Roxy and Rose are sisters.”

“What about Jane, John, and Jade they all appear to come from the same genetic sources as well?”

“They’re cousins, which is a bit more complicated.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” you say and you don’t really want to know the nitty gritty details of human relationships. “What about Jake?”

“How do you know about Jake?” Dave questions sharply.

You’re reminded that he doesn’t know that Jake brought you here. To him, you arrived on a regular transport vessel.

“He was here when I arrived, for a brief time,” you say, not really lying.

“Oh. Well it gets even more complicated with Jake, since he’s John and Jade’s cousin but not Jane’s. I don’t even know how their family tree works, but Jake and Jane are unrelated.”

You puff your cheeks out, trying to wrap your mind on what exactly it all means.

“Humans are so complicated. One person lineages are much easier,” you tell him, feeling superior.

“At least we don’t have a complicated quadrant system,” Dave shoots back.

“I’ll have you know that the quadrant system is very sophisticated and fulfilling,” you lie.

You like talking about the theory of the quadrant system but have nothing to show for it. One measly quadrant filled--that’s no to disrespect Kanaya--but you’ve long screwed over a chance for a matespritship with Terezi and various black feelings that you have embarrassingly flung everywhere. The idea of having black feelings for Dave quickly flew out the window when you found him far too endearing and likeable to truly hate him.

“You’ve got your quadrants filled then?” Dave asks with genuine curiosity.

“That’s a pretty rude question,” you tell him haughtily.

You don’t need Dave mocking you for your single quadrant, despite your pride in Kanaya.

“So for all your big talk, you’re still a single Troll,” Dave teases regardless of you giving him a straight answer. “Probably never even had a date or even a hate date.”

You glare at him and give him a swift kick from underneath the table before turning back to look at the holographic stars. They’ve shifted somewhat since Dave first started the hologram.

“S’okay if you’ve never had a date. On Earth, being out under the stars could be considered the date,” Dave murmurs softly. “I don’t mind if you consider this one.”

You turn to look at him, your mouth gaping open a little bit. Dave is staring up at the stars, his eyes still frustratingly hidden by his sunglasses. Even though the lights are dim, the twinkling of the stars reflecting onto his face shows a light blush dusting his skin. You feel as if his admission was probably accidental. You gently bump his leg again so he’ll look at you.

“Thanks for showing me this,” you tell him sincerely. “It’s really something.”

“Anytime,” Dave replies and snatches the ball off the table.

The holograph abruptly ends and the two of you are left sitting in the dark.

“I should get back to bed,” Dave says. “The others will be home soon and I don’t feel like getting a lecture from Dirk while I feel like shit.”

“Feel better, Dave.”

He nods and exits the kitchen leaving you alone in the dark kitchen wondering what the hell just happened.

“It occurs to me that, for all this time that you’ve been here, you’ve never seen the Rogue,” Roxy says over dinner.

“I’ve heard enough stories to make my own picture,” you grouse, but you’re interested in the ship the humans all speak so highly of.

“After dinner, you and me,” Roxy says, winking. “As the official Captain and all.”

“Maybe that makes you overqualified,” John cuts in. “I mean should the important Captain Lalonde be demoted to lowly tour guide?”

“But the Rogue is my baby,” Roxy retorts. “I’ll always love showing her off to people.”

“And that’s something that’s got us into trouble more than once,” Dirk points out.

Roxy pouts at him.

“I know you’re equally as happy to show her off as well,” Roxy counters.

Dirk merely shrugs in response and goes back to his meal. Your plate is cleared and so is Roxy’s. This doesn’t escape her notice at all.

“You’re done--let’s go!” Roxy says, jumping up.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Rose tells you. “Roxy can certainly wait a few days until the mood strikes you for an overly enthusiastic tour. Maybe give yourself some time to prepare for the undertaking.”

“I should just get it over with,” you sigh and stand up to join Roxy. “If I don’t come back assume the worst.”

“You will be missed,” Dave says offering you a mock salute.

“Ignore them, my tours are fun!” Roxy exclaims and grabs you by the arm.

She drags you all the way to the port, chattering inanely about the technology the Rogue has. It’s the best cloaking technology in the galaxy and with the addition of the new stealth technology it will be a true Rogue of Void.

On the outside, the ship is nothing short of impressive. It’s painted dark blue with a symbol you’ve seen embroidered onto each member of the crew’s clothes in some form. The ship is made even more impressive knowing that Dirk, Jane, and Roxy built it out of a burnt out husk of a former bandit ship they found in the scrap yard. The exterior is sleek and edgy. It’s nowhere near the caliber of design of the Empire vessels but still much higher quality than a bandit ship in wild space.

Roxy hits a code into the outside and hull door hisses open. She bounds up the walkway without waiting for you to follow. It takes a little longer for you to head in since you’re busy taking in the exterior of the Rogue. Eventually, you enter the ship finding yourself situated in the hull.

A ladder leads upward to what you assume is the main deck. To maximize space, a door is right behind the ladder. You can hear the faint humming of a warp core. The wall is lined with a variety of tools and rifles, easy for storage and kept out of the way.

“Behind the door is the warp core,” Roxy explains. “Don’t tell anyone, but Jane stole it from the space station above us, so it’s one of the best models we can get our hands on.”

“She stole it?”

“When the Station was functional and not mostly abandoned because of the rebellion,” Roxy says proudly. “Who knew Janey was such a badass? Anyway, Jane use to be our mechanic and maintained the warp core and energy systems but since she’s retired John and Dirk split those duties. John’s the only one who really gets the warp core. He kind of breathes life into the ship by keeping it running. I would show you, but he gets kind of touchy when other people mess around with his system.”

“I didn’t know John was good with that kind of stuff, he seems kind of clueless,” you offer.

“He’s hopeless when it comes to coding and running all other stuff about the ship. The core though--he’s fucking brilliant.”

Roxy then grabs the rope ladder leading upwards and quickly scales it with practiced ease. It takes you a couple goes, your feet getting tangled several times. Due to the material of the ladder, you have a fear of the ladder breaking up underneath you. Roxy mostly looks amused when you finally manage to arrive on the next floor.

“Don’t fucking say anything,” you hiss.

She puts her hands up in surrender and turns around. The small area you climbed up into opens into a larger room with a table at the centre. Past that is the cockpit, home to the steering and navigational systems. Off to each side of the main room are small corridors. The interior is lit well and appears very natural, instead of hollow light.

“The main conference room or where we eat,” Roxy explains as she walks through it. “The more exciting stuff is in the cockpit.”

You follow into the cockpit and Roxy flops into the pilot’s chair. The system is one that you don’t recognize

“Jade’s our pilot,” Roxy says. “She and Jake adapted the steering system from the rudimentary one Dirk and Jane installed. Jake had all this information from the ships that the Sovereignty uses as well as Troll tech so they put this together. I think Dave knows how to use it too, since he’s up here, as the navigator, but probably not as well as Jade. She’s a goddamn genius, a flying ace. She’s been there bail us out more than once.”

You turn to look at the navigator’s consol. Something about it rings out ‘Dave.’ It also has a very unique appearance and the systems are unrecognizable to you.

“Dave has some bullshit method of mapping the stars,” Roxy sighs dramatically. “He’s the only fucking person who can read his maps. Still, he can also instantly understand cryptic ones all the baddies use.”

“What do you do aboard the ship? Other than captaining I mean.”

“I’m the hacker,” Roxy says grinning deviously and points at a comm unit tucked into the back wall of the cockpit. “Ain’t a system that can keep me out.”

“How did you all learn these things? Skaia isn’t exactly the epitome of technological advancement.”

“Harsh words about my home, K, but Jane, Dirk, Jake, and I worked at a scrapyard for a long time. We picked up a bunch of our skills messing around with the scrap and fixing it up. Jake learned a bunch of his piloting garbage when he left us for the military, but made up for it by bringing it back when the war ended. Put it to his own use though. Stole a ship and nearly had his ass arrested by the Empire.”

Roxy looks thoughtful for a moment before leaping off and heading back to the main room and into the left corridor. She shoves one door open and shows you a tiny kitchen. Several doors are crammed along the corridor.

“Since we’ve got to live on board,” she explains. “We’ve only got four incredibly tiny rooms. I get my own since I’m the captain. Jade and Rose share, Dirk gets his own, and Dave and John share. I’d show them to you but I’m ‘fraid that would be an extreme invasion of their privacy. Each room has bunk beds built into the wall and two really tiny storage units--it’s not much. We decorate them as much we can, but it’s kind of hard with a lack of space.”

“I don’t really have a desire to see the messy rooms you keep anyway,” you reply.

“Dirk’s the only real slob and that’s because he’s always got a million projects going on," Roxy says, sounding vaguely insulted at the implication, but you've seen her room back at the house. "Speaking of Dirk and his projects, let’s check out the other side.”

Roxy heads across the ship to the opposite corridor. There are far fewer doors, giving it a less cramped appearance. She pushes the first one open and shows you a workshop filled with half built devices and tools scattered everywhere.

“Dirk’s our engineer,” Roxy says. “Keeps the Rogue in tip top shape and designs new gizmos to make her better all the time. His workshop in the inn is much more impressive, but we’ve only got so much space on the Rogue. Despite his lack of formal education, Dirk’s probably the smartest person I know.”

“What’s the difference between Jane and Dirk’s jobs?”

“Jane fixes things and Dirk builds them, sometimes they design together. Their jobs can be interchangeable but Dirk’s just a whole hell of a lot better at making crazy stuff. Jane’s been the one who cleans up our messes, so it makes sense that she can fix things,” Roxy explains and shuts the door.

She pushes another door open and in it reveals a fairly large room, which has large windows instead of metal walls. There are a few old couches filling the space and bookshelves tucked against the wall. You think the cabinet tucked off to the side might be filled with various types of alcohol based on types of bottles you can make out through the glass of the cabinet door.

“The rec room,” Roxy says. “When we’re in transit to some place and have extra people, we give them this space. Sometimes we just have wild parties. Washroom is tucked off to the side there,” she points to a door in the back left corner, “but it’s a bit of a waste to carry water for showers, especially when on Skaia it isn’t really a priority to be clean.”

“What does Rose do?” you ask, noticing that she has yet to be brought up, other than where she sleeps.

“I was getting there! Impatient much? There’s another room on this side,” Roxy replies, rolling her eyes.

She leaves the rec room and pushes open the final door. It reveals a very tiny office with a desk and a bookshelf behind it.

“Rosie’s office,” Roxy announces. “She’s the archivist.”

“She keeps records?”

“When the kids were all younger, they all wanted to fight space pirates--it was pretty cute--but not Rosie. She was more about writing, but she never wanted to be apart from the others. So she started to keep records, figured someone needs to know the shit the Rogue’s been through. Has everything from the building of the Rogue to Jane’s retirement as captain to our last trip. She’s pretty good at keep up with it all.”

“All those books--are your history?”

“She’s a little wordy.”

You laugh a bit at that.

“It’s a pretty amazing ship,” you say.

“The tour isn’t finished yet! I haven’t even shown you the best part of the Rogue,” Roxy says and she heads back to the main room.

You take your time following her, giving Rose’s room one last look over before going to find Roxy. She’s seated at the central table and has pulled out a communications unit and is rapidly typing into it.

“Take a seat,” she tells you, patting the chair next to her.

You sit down and look around the space, trying to find what Roxy claims is the best part of the ship. She presses a few more buttons and offers a small ‘aha!’ before looking upwards. You follow her line of sight and see that the roof is receding to reveal a skylight above.

“It be a little more impressive if there wasn’t just a metal ceiling above us,” Roxy murmurs. “Makes for a killer sight when you’re up there.”

You can imagine that it would be beautiful. Troll ships have no room for such frivolities. The Spartan ships used during the rebellion were made for one thing and one thing only. Even Feferi’s personal cruiser is void of any flair.

“Why the name?” you ask, looking back down and turning to look at Roxy.

Her pink eyes meet yours evenly.

“I was born on Derse and my family was pretty important but we weren’t that important. I kind of felt useless, especially when I met Dirk ‘cause he was a pretty big deal back on Derse. Then we came to Skaia after the exodus and met Jane and Jake,” Roxy begins. “I just felt like we always had this big hole in our hearts after the loss of our homes and it turns out we all felt pretty useless. We lost our homes and there was nothing we could do about it--we were supposed to be the leaders and instead all our people ended up here on Skaia.

“So we’ve got this big space in our hearts and then we build this ship with the big idea that we’re going to help the people of Skaia. We’re going to go off into wild space or the Empire or maybe even back to Earth and just get what they need. At first it was really hard to steal things because other people needed them too. But the ship became like this beacon of hope and life and soul for the people of Skaia, our people, and maybe we weren’t really stealing supplies, but we were taking the void from our people’s hearts, and our own and filling it with life and hope again. Skaia could be our home. And I’m rambling, sorry.”

“No it’s fine, it’s a good name. So she’s the Rogue of Void cause she takes away the nothingness?”

“Pretty much, it’s a bit of stretch, but I thought it sounded cool when I came up with it.”

“Sounds pretty dangerous, maybe you should just keep the sappy origin story to yourself.”

Roxy gives you a light punch in the shoulder.

“You’re not that bad, K,” Roxy says. “Sorry I tried to shoot you when we first met.”

“I’ve had worse first meetings.”

Roxy throws her head back and lets out a full laugh.

“You’re older than Dave, John, Jade, and Rose right?” you ask suddenly.

“Yeah. Practically raised Rose myself when we arrived on Skaia. Same with Dave. Dirk and I were kind of like their parents instead of siblings since ours were dead. John, Jade, and Jane have a similar relationship. Jake was always more of the dopey uncle and could never be too strict when raising the kids. Jake’s the oldest though--by two years--and Jane, Dirk, and I are older than the other four by five years. Why do you ask?”

“You never mentioned them in the building of the Rogue,” you answer. “When did you let them join the crew?”

“When they turned 18,” Roxy says shrugging. “Couldn’t keep away from the Rogue for much longer. It was their ship as much as ours. We built it for them too since they are in included in our people. Our responsibility.”

“Must have been hard.”

“Sure was. They were kids we had been protecting and raising for years and now we would be taking them with us to fight bandits in wild space. Dirk was all about training Dave from a young age, but I couldn’t be rough with Rosie like that. However, they prove themselves more than capable everyday.”

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence. You have much more information to think about now. The pieces of the humans’ story fall together more and more each day. There is some guilt as you root for their story since you’re not being honest about your own, but you can mostly ignore it since your story would get you and all the humans killed. Their story seems less harmless and more like they’re typical refugees.

“We should get back though,” Roxy finally says. “As much as I love the Rogue, I want to enjoy my time on Skaia before I’m back out there.”

Roxy hits a few commands on the comm unit and the roof slides back shut, hiding the skylight again. You manage to get down the rope ladder without too much issue and bid the ship goodbye as Roxy closes it back up.

Your conversation on the way back to the inn is calm and friendly, like you’re old friends. Roxy tells you fond memories about building the Rogue and how difficult it was to get all the pieces together. Jake was in the military at the time and often risked dishonourable discharge by slipping them designs and parts to rebuild it.

The calm is immediately broken when you return to the inn. The others have started a game of Monopoly and already John is accusing Dave of cheating. Roxy gives a brief sigh before jumping right in and pestering Dave about his apparently rampant cheating record.

You take a seat beside Jane and watch as the game unfolds, watching them all fondly.

You’re actually going to miss this place when you have to go back home.