Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Arriving at the council chambers, you and Kanaya find that you’re among the last to arrive. Many of the older members glare at the two of as you enter. They don’t see you as suitable members of the council. Maybe Kanaya, one day, will be suitable. But not you. Never you.

The two of you make your way to your seats at the lowest row of the horseshoe chamber.

“I wonder if they’ll give Feferi the same disapproving looks,” you mumble to Kanaya.

Kanaya covers her mouth with her free hand as she lets out some tinkly laughter. She’s already slipped on her council mask; it’s probably time that you did the same. Although, spending hours hunched over your desk completing paperwork doesn’t really help. That only leaves you with mild annoyance and back pain. Kanaya squeezes the arm she’s holding tightly – a warning sign to be pleasant.

You haven’t exactly been the easiest to get along with these past few months. In the council meetings you’ve been outright disrespectful and in the personal meetings with just Kanaya and Feferi you’ve been downright rude. It’s not your fault that Kanaya and Feferi keep making poor choices as to who to put on the senate. The old council members have experience, yes, but they’re also cranky old crooks that have lingering doubts on Feferi’s ability to maintain the Empire. Feferi trusts them but you know, if given the chance, they’ll stab her in the back to restart an Empire.

“Behave,” Kanaya warns you once before releasing your arm and sliding into her seat.

There’s a brief pause where you take a deep breath and square your shoulders before following Kanaya. Maybe throwing yourself into paperwork isn’t the best way to run from the lingering feelings of hurt and anger you have. It doesn’t help that Jake’s brief visit has completely torn off the makeshift patch over your heart that you spent the last months painstakingly putting together.

When you take your seat, a sigh escapes from your throat and your shoulders sag. You miss Skaia immensely. You miss the freedom you felt and the friendships you made. You miss Dave, for all of the frustration and pain he’s caused you. It’s a different type of freedom here, the work is almost indentured servitude. The frustration is nowhere as satisfactory as that given by Dave.

Kanaya’s hand drops to your shoulder and she gives you a warm smile. She’s been nothing but understanding in these past few months, listening to your rants on Dave turn from complete anger to a pathetic sadness. She’s never judged you either, only comforts you and offers her best advice. You feel bad for being a completely selfish moirail, but you’ll make it up to her somehow.

Her hand slips from your shoulder when the side doors of  Feferi’s chambers open. She steps out, her thick black hair billowing behind her like a cloud. Instead of seeming like the white, fluffy clouds of Skaia, her hair bears down like a thick, angry storm cloud. Her face is no better. It’s stiff, serious, and conflicted. The war ground of an expression is one you have never seen before.

It’s a far cry from her usually joyful and bubbly look, just as far from  her face of determination. You don’t want to think of the possibility that being Empress is taking away everything that makes Feferi, well, Feferi. The Galaxy doesn’t need another fuchsia blood like the Condesce.

Eridan and Vriska follow after her, both looking more serious than Feferi and dressed in their respective guard and military uniforms. Vriska looks uncharacteristically troubled and worried. Now you get even more worried. Even in the worst situations, Vriska has never been one to waver in resolve. She always faces things were a smirk or a laugh.

Although you were expecting Vriska to take the stand and begin blathering about something unimportant, it’s Feferi who clears her throat.

“Members of the council: a few days ago, Commander Serket received a troubling transmission from one of our supply vessels heading to the Edge Colonies,” Feferi begins. “Our vessels are being attacked. All the supplies were taken and the crewmembers slaughtered. It was only by luck that a crewmember sent us the transmission before her death.”

Feferi’s voice breaks and she squeezes her eyes shut, clearly affected by the death of the crewmember. You wince, thinking of having to listen to someone, moments before their death. The fear and resignation must be playing over and over in Feferi’s head. After a long inhale and exhale, Feferi opens her eyes and resumes taking.

“We’ve known for some time, that our vessels were being attacked. The transports making it to their destination have been few in number. Those making it back have been even less. Commander Serket and I have both known that with the death of Lord English, an entity that caused a lot of  fear, we have unleashed forces that we don’t understand. It’s no coincidence that there has been an uptick in attacks on Imperial lands and vessels within the Empire territory. Evil is taking advantage of  the loss of Lord English.”

“We must fight back then!” a council member in the back calls out.

“You don’t think we’re already doing  that?” Vriska hisses, getting into a defensive posture. “These pirates have a fleet accumulated from sweeps of pillaging. Not to mention they’ve got their hands on Imperial stealth technology after robbing a particular transport. There’s no way to track them or tell where they’ll hit next!”

“Commander Serket,” Feferi scolds, frowning at Vriska’s unprofessional behaviour.

Vriska scowls but stands down.

“The pirates involved originate from wild space and have clearly been waiting for an opportunity to take down the Empire. We have no idea who their leader is or exactly how large the fleet is. We must proceed with extreme caution. That being said, we’re losing far too many, military and non military alike,” Feferi murmurs. “So, with a heavy heart, I have to cease all transport to the Edge Colonies, to save lives. At least until we’ve found who is behind the attacks. For the time being –“

“Wait!” you shout, leaping upwards. “You’re not even going to put it to a vote? You’ve just decided to make the choice?”

Feferi’s large eyes reflect her deep sadness and regret.

“Councilmember Vantas,” Eridan calls out, gritting his teeth. “This is the Empress you’re speaking too. And if you wish to not spend the night in a cell, I suggest you reel in your tone.”

Feferi raises her hand and surprisingly it’s for Eridan to stand down. You can see the irritated rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, but there’s a difference in arguing with your moirail and arguing with the Empress. Unfortunately for Eridan, this is the Empress right now.

“Councilmember Vantas, the decision was made between myself, Commander Serket, and Captain Ampora,” Feferi says slowly. “It was not made lightly or in a short period of time. If you have any alternative, I’d welcome it. But unfortunately, the situation required that I make the choice without the counsel. Those lives at risk couldn’t wait for the council to argue and, ultimately come to the same decision I did.”

“You don’t know that!” you respond hotly, fists curling up on the table in front of you. “You don’t know if we couldn’t come up with a better idea!”

“Karkat,” Kanaya says softly, her hand hovering on your back.

She is also warning you to stand down.

“The people in those outer colonies will die without the Empire’s direct assistance. Our wars have left them struggling to survive – your wars have made it so they are completely reliant on our aid. If we just pull away from the colonies, leaving them to die, they’ll turn on us!” you point out. “In the state it’s in, the Empire can’t risk having the Edge Colonies rebel.”

“I’m sorry,” Feferi says.  

But for the first time, you don’t believe her. The room goes completely silent and then you hear it. From the back someone scoffs.

“I can’t believe this council is always at the whims of Vantas and the crusade for those lesser than us.”

“Councilmember Durgas!” Kanaya exclaims in outrage on your behalf.

It’s too late. You shove away from the table and march out of the council chambers. Knowing what kind of life is on the Edge Colonies, you can’t just stand by while Feferi and the Empire stamp their lives out. You don’t care if you have to do it alone, you’ll find a way to save the Edge Colonies.

When the door to the council chambers slam shut, you hear the entire assembly completely erupt. The council will fight and cause Feferi to postpone her decision because she’s not a bad ruler. She’ll listen to her council and take your words to heart. Your only regret is that you had to be such an asshole for it to be this way.

You only make it about halfway through the main hall before someone is grabbing at your shoulder. You spin around violently, knocking their arm off of you in the process. Eridan glares at you, baring his sharp teeth. The main hall is nowhere near empty and all of them are going to witness two of the most respected members of the Empire at each other’s throats.

“That’s your fault,” he growls pointing back at the council chamber. “It’s completely in chaos because you had to make this about you .”

Eridan jabs a sharp finger into your chest and you narrow your eyes at him.

“If the three of you hadn’t made some completely outrageous decision – I wouldn’t have had to!” you snap back, shoving his hand away.

“You think we wanted to make this choice!” Eridan replies, scowling at you. “Those colonies are a part of this Empire. Fef cares about those people more than any of us!”

“I know that! But there has got to be another away – I’ll find another way.”

Eridan’s eyes narrow into slits. He grabs your arm and drags you into a more private corridor. Not being the one who’s in immediate danger, makes the whole thing feel like the past repeating itself.You go along with Eridan taking your argument to a more private location, but roughly shove him away once you’ve deemed the location ‘private enough.’

“As the Captain of the Guard, I’ll have to remind you that goin’ against the Empress’ word is treason,” Eridan says, voice quiet and deadly. “If you do anythin’, I’ll have no choice but to arrest you.”

“Have fun with the low blood rebellion,” you say sarcastically. “It’s not like they’ll go along with you completely blowing over the Edge Colonies, which are populated heavily by low bloods.”

“I’m not finished yet,” Eridan says, rolling his eyes. “As your friend, I can’t make you stay here when you think you can do somethin’ better. I know Fef would agree with me.”

“What are you saying?” you ask suspiciously.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Eridan orders and stalks off, presumably to return to the council chambers.

You remain in the quiet corridor for a few moments, mulling over your options in your head. Eridan’s quiet message was that you were completely on your own for this. That leaves you with very few options. Directly involving anyone from the Empire would be grounds for immediate arrest. Very few trolls would be willing to even consider going against the Empress’ decision. Despite your initial attitude, there’s not actually much you can do.

With a heavy heart you return to your office. Back to distracting yourself with paperwork. You’ll probably have to apologize to Feferi now, since your interruption of her meeting was completely unjustified now.

All the papers are spread across your desk, like usual. This time there’s a box sitting on your desk, set aside with a great deal of care. The gift from Jane that Jake brought you earlier. You step forward and pull the robe out the box, letting it cascade to the ground.

The material is much thicker and scratchier than the robe you’re wearing now, but you still privately prefer the red to the grey. With the red robe now in your possession, maybe you’ll wear it and test the waters. Hopefully, you’ll find that the hatred for mutants has gone down somewhat.

The robe still smells like that final night of the Freedom Festival. Your grip tightens on the fabric and you wish that you just disappear into the memories that it brings. But you know that on Skaia, you were only reminded of the pain of missing your friends in the Empire. It seems that now, you’re never going to get to have both.

Maybe you should visit Jake and convince him to take you to Skaia and –

And that’s it.  

The Rogue and her crew can help you. Certainly Jane could potentially have information on the pirates from wild space. She has hooks throughout out the galaxy and sources from wild space. With that information, you could help Vriska pinpoint the pirates and bring in the Imperial fleet to destroy them. Catching a fleet in a surprise, no matter the size, gives the Imperial Fleet a chance.

You shove the robe back into its box and grab your sickles, which haven’t been far from your person since breaking them out of the museum. You’re constantly afraid of having them returned to being displayed. Secretly, you’re more afraid of being caught unarmed in case of another coup. After attaching them to your belt, you stride purposefully out of your office and towards the hangar that Jake will mostly be found.

Mostly everyone jumps out of your way. On a normal day, those you pass in the hallway respectfully leap from your warpath. Today, you’ve got your sickles strapped to your side and a determined look on your face. You are a troll on a mission and no one will get in your way.

…Except for Kanaya.

She’s standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at you and completely blocking the entrance to the hangar. Before she has a chance to speak, you launch into your rationalization of causing havoc in the council and now running to the hangar.

“I have a plan,” you try to explain. “Trying to find the pirates could take months. The Edge Colonies can’t last that long, shorter if they realize what’s happening and decide to stage a rebellion. Putting them down would cause even more distress in the Empire. If I make it to Skaia, Jane could help us!”

“I am not here to stop you,” Kanaya interrupts. “I am here because you are not going alone.”

“Kanaya, this is treason,” you hiss quietly. “Like hell am I letting you come with me.”

“There is no argument. You are not doing this alone,” Kanaya informs you and turns around, skirts flaring out around her ankles. “Now let’s find Jake.”

You rush forward and grab her arm.

“Kanaya,” you beg.

“Karkat,” she replies.

“Please don’t do this.”

Kanaya gently pulls her arm from your grip and faces you completely. Her hands land on your shoulder and she meets your eyes, her jade ones meeting your masked ones.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” she tells you softly. “Don’t carry this burden alone. You don’t have to isolate yourself from your friends, not again.”

You bite your lip and avoid Kanaya’s open gaze.

“Alright. But I’m calling the shots.”

“Of course. You have and always will be, our fearless leader.”

“That better not be sarcasm, Maryam.”

“From me?”

You roll your eyes and sidestep out of Kanaya’s grip. The area where all of the pilots hang out is just ahead and it shouldn’t be too hard to find Jake since he’s the only human and the only one whose uniform is lined in emerald.

Jake is bent underneath a smaller shuttle while several young troll recruits watch him eagerly. When you arrive, he appears to be giving some sort of demonstration on how to properly maintain some gauge.

“- check it, oh fiddlesticks I’ve gone and dropped the pin again! Tritoh can you get that for me?”

The recruits titter in laughter when Jake jerks his head upwards and bangs it on the shuttle overhang he had been crouching underneath. Jake lets out a stream of words you think he means to be curses but you aren’t even sure could be considered swears for humans. The burgundy recruit with ‘Tritoh’ emblazoned on his uniform sweeps downwards and grabs the piece Jake dropped before handing it to the human.

“Thank you. Now back to what I was saying – make sure to check that this pin hasn’t been tampered or knocked loose, otherwise you’ll be making a rough landing. It’s seemly wildly inappropriate for such advance vessels to rely on a simple pin for a sophisticated landing, but I just fly. I’m not an engineer.”

“Does the Rogue of Void have such basic technology?” a recruit pipes up, Chamos is emblazoned on her jade uniform.

Jake pulls out from under the shuttle and his eyes immediately catch with yours. He seems a little put off by your presence but doesn’t let him hinder him. He smiles nonetheless, fondly thinking of his friends back on Skaia, and gives the recruit her answer.

“Not quite, but the chief engineer hasn’t really bother to give me the explanation. As I said, I’m not really one for the technical mumbo jumbo,” Jake says, cheek flushing lightly when Recruit Chamos makes a noise in disappointment. “Anyway, I think that’s enough for now. I can’t believe you dragged me in for another session to get you out of your duties.”

The recruits give Jake their thanks before breaking off and dispersing to various places around the hangar, presumably back to whatever work they had convinced Jake to free them from. Jake then grabs a rag on his workbench and gives his hands a rough rub. He exhales slowly and meets your eyes. The smile is slow to arrive, but it’s there.

“Is everything alright?” Kanaya asks, cutting off your request. “You seem less animated now.”

“You’d only be here if something was wrong. I’m dense, not stupid,” Jake admits freely. “What do you need?”

“I need you to take us to Skaia,” you reply quickly. “Feferi has decided to cut supplies to the outer colonies until the pirates robbing our shipments can be stopped. I need the Rogue ’s help to get rid of the pirates as quickly as possible.”

Jake’s face turns ashen at your words. His body seems to crumble in on itself.  

“What’s wrong?” you bark, ignoring the sharp look Kanaya gives you.

“Dirk told me that Skaia is dying when I was there. Jane plans on asking Feferi for support until a more long-term plan can be developed. If Skaia can’t get those supplies, it will die.”

“How long does Skaia have?” Kanaya asks, her voice is filled with sorrow and compassion for Jake.

“I don’t know,” Jake says quietly. “But Dirk doesn’t think it’s long – the farmers were trying to figure it out on their own for so long. It’s only been recently brought to Jane and Dirk’s attention. I’ve always known something like this would happen, but I thought it wouldn’t be our problem.”

“We need to get to Skaia then,” you say firmly. “This really involves them now.”

But Jake shakes his head.

“You can’t charge into Skaia with this knowledge blazing! Jane and Dirk have painstakingly kept this hush hush. I’m not even supposed to know – let Jane or Dirk inform you. Otherwise you’ll make quite a blunder! I’m surprised Dirk even confided this in me.”

“We won’t bring it up – we’ll be coming for the original reasons,” you promise.

“Excellent,” Jake says as he claps his hands together. “I’ll take you to Skaia.”

“You have to understand that this isn’t official Empire business,” Kanaya interjects. “You’re career and pardon could be in jeopardy for assisting us.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Skaia’s my home and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help Jane solve this problem. God only knows how much time I’ve spent running amok instead of being the older sibling she deserves,” Jake says solemnly.

“Alright then,” you say nodding at Jake’s proclamation. “Let’s commit treason.”

XXXXXXX

“We need to get out here!” Roxy shouts, running into the cockpit.

Her voice is frenzied and panicked. Jade and Dave whirl around to face the captain with John and Dirk crowd in after Roxy, hot on her heels. The three of them are all breathing hard and gripping their weapons tightly. There is a wild look in Roxy’s eyes as she meets both Dave and Jade’s bewildered stares.

“Get us out of here!” she repeats, voice hard and demanding.

Explosions from the formerly believed to be derelict station violently rock the Rogue. The five of them all lurch out to grab a solid piece to steady themselves. Roxy makes a noise of impatience as she hits the back of Dave’s seat. It’s enough to get Jade to leap into action and begin the process of take off, however Dave looks takes the time to check each of the returned member’s face.

“Where’s Rose?” Dave asks and his lips quirk up slightly. “She really need to document this even as we’re escaping from danger?”

Dave’s face clams up when Dirk quickly avoids his gaze, his grip tightening on his weapon. His older brother only acts like this when he’s ashamed of something – afraid that Dave might hate him. The humour Dave tried to bring and eliminate the worry of immediate danger dies a painful death, leaving only a tense hair between them all.

“Where’s Rose?” Dave asks again, voice cracking slightly.

“Worry about that later!” Roxy snaps and Dave notices that her eyes are rimmed with red, forcing back tears. “My first priority is getting the rest of you out of here alive before we go back for captured members.”

Dave whirls back around and slams his hands on the console, rising to his full height. He presses close to Roxy, crowding her space.

“We’re not leaving without Rose,” Dave argues and his voice gets a wild edge to it. “She’s your sister – she’s my sister .”

His cousin may be taller than him, but Dave is physically stronger by far. Roxy’s face shuts down and she puts back on the steel mask she had been wearing since she learned of John’s plan to leave Skaia. She prepares herself for Dave’s rage.

“I’m the captain and you’ll listen to me,” Roxy hisses, grabbing Dave’s shoulder. “Get back to your station.”

Dave violently jerks it off and immediately steps backwards – to the exit of the cockpit. John and Dirk press themselves to the walls in a feeble attempt to escape Dave’s rage. Dirk looks particularly guilty in being complicit in creating such distress for Dave. Rose is Dave’s sister in every way but genetics; she’s his closest confidant and best friend and now their abandoning her to save their own hides.  

“I don’t have to listen to a captain who would leave behind her own sister,” Dave bites back, lips curling back as he spits the words like venom at Roxy.

She flinches as the words are hatefully spewed out but doesn’t respond or call back for Dave as he storms out of the cockpit.

Dirk peels himself off the wall and out of guilt and brotherly concern, follows after Dave. Before he leaves, Dirk gives Roxy an apologetic look hoping she’ll understand that Dave will come around. The two older members of the Rogue both know that Rose begged them to get out of there when captured. It will hurt, but Dave will reluctantly understand when the situation is explained.

Roxy silently slips into the seat Dave just vacated and begins to set the coordinates for Skaia. The Rogue shakes more violently as another series of explosions hits the station, getting closer to where the Rogue is situated.

“We need to get out here,” Roxy repeats for a third time and her voice is tight. “Whenever ever you’re ready Jade.”

Jade doesn’t hesitate and slams the Rogue into action. The thrusters go from zero to 100 in a few seconds and they’re jettisoning off into space. John stumbles but catches the chair on Roxy’s station before he slams into the wall.  

Roxy hits a few more buttons on the navigator console before standing herself.

“Roxy – “ John begins, but the wound of his betrayal is too fresh.

Their relationship is still hanging in a limbo that neither of them is able to broach. John’s olive branch falls flat even though his heart is in the right place, but he’s not sure if he’s the right one for Roxy right now. Roxy, on the other hand, is still too hurt to accept John’s aid even if it’s all she wants at the moment.

“Take the nav system,” Roxy states woodenly.

John opens his mouth to protest. Maybe to say Roxy should listen to him for a change or ask if she needs someone to talk to. It dies on his lips as Roxy sees his response before John can even decide what he wants it to be.

“That’s an order, from your captain,” she tells him harshly.

Roxy spins on her heels and exits the cockpit, either to her own room or to Rose’s archivist office. Either way, she needs time to think through what has just happened.

John drops his weapon off to the side and sits meekly in Dave’s chair, slumping onto the console. Roxy has set the coordinates for Skaia and Jade has already gotten them out of range from the attacking station. The danger has passed for now.

Jade clicks a few buttons and the Rogue slips into warp drive. A short trip in warp drive and they’ll be back on Skaia. It’s childish to think that everything will be alright by that time, Rose will still be gone but it’s not too much to wish that Roxy and Dave will have at least made up.

Turning to face John, Jade reaches out and places a comforting hand on her cousin’s shoulder. John reaches up and tangles their fingers together in an attempt to ground himself.

“I wish Jane was here,” John murmurs quietly.

“What happened?” Jade questions, squeezing his hand and attempting to fill to role Jane has demonstrated so many times. “This was supposed to be a basic in and out looting of some abandoned bandit hideout.

She was able to talk John off the ledge of leaving for a while, Jade could at least calm John down.

John shakes his head and exhales shakily. His eyes meet Jade’s. They’re uncannily pale and filled with fear.

“We fucked up, Jade,” he mumbles. “This wasn’t just some abandoned bandit’s station – it was a trap meant to lure in would-be robbers and mostly indoctrinate them to their crew. We were lucky to escape – even if we lost Rose.”

“Who would do something like this?” Jade asks horrified that someone would make a trap just to capture people.

John shudders out a breath as if just thinking about the name would draw them back to the Rogue .

“Remember when Jane was stranded on Delta Station and she got all those rumours about this wannabe pirate that everyone was mocking?”

“Who ended up being the real deal before completely vanishing off the radar?” Jade questions.

“That’s the one,” John says, giving a small head bob. “It was her – this was her station and she’s trying to amass a huge fleet for some reason. The people she’s capturing – somehow she’s getting them to change their morals and fight for them.”

“Jane is confident that she was killed though and Jane is rarely wrong about things that go in the wild space bandit world,” Jade points out.

“Jane was wrong about this one,” John stresses. “We heard her underlings talking about her – she’s somewhere on the edge of Empire space right now. She’s planning something big, Jade, and now we’ve made ourselves a target by escaping her grasp.”

“And who knows what she’ll do to Rose because we escaped.” Jade say, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Then we’ll just have to double everything Aranea Serket inflicts on Rose onto the admiral herself,” Dave cuts in.

Jade and John both jerk in surprise and stare at Dave. He’s leaning coolly against the entrance of the cockpit, regarding them an extremely closed off look. Jade stands up and crosses the cockpit to pull Dave into a tight hug. He reciprocates somewhat reluctantly but melts into her embrace.

“We’re going to get her back,” Jade promises him. “Aranea Serket will pay for even daring to cross the Rogue. ”

“We’re going to wreck her shit,” John adds, giving Dave a thumbs up. “No one messes with the Betas.”

The three of them find themselves smiling at the old nickname for the four younger kids. In a fit of thirteen-year-old angst, after John’s father had passed away, Rose had bitterly declared that the four of them were merely ‘backups’ for their elder counterparts. They were only there to take over if for whatever reason their elder sibling or cousin couldn’t fulfill their role.

Jane had found out and in a fit of caring anger made sure each of them knew they were definitely more than just ‘backups.’ John later rebranded them the ‘Beta’ to the four older kids ‘Alpha,’ since they were the first and if they were to fail, the Beta’s would have all their knowledge when taking over. They were unlike the Alphas starting out with nothing, but far from backups.

They were the Betas.

Dave pulls free from Jade’s embrace and looks directly at John.

“Where did Roxy go? I need to apologize for being a colossal douche,” he says.

“Check her room or Rose’s office,” John replies shrugging. “I’m not exactly privy to Roxy’s every move ever since she found out I wanted to leave.”

“Alright, carry on then,” Dave says, saluting the two of them before exiting the cockpit again.

“Jane will know what we need to do,” Jade asserts, not turning to face John. “She always knows what to do.”

John slumps back onto Dave’s console.

“I really hope you’re right.”

XXXXXXX

You jerk awake when the pod makes an abrupt stop. Your head bangs against the poorly padded walls of the hull, causing your eyes to snap open in alarm. Across from you is a massive view window, not a standard piece of the Empire grade pods Sollux designed but this is clearly Jake’s personal vessel. Outside you can see Skaia looming below, unassuming and lives bustling like when you left.

“What’s going on?” you ask, moving forward to join Jake and Kanaya in the cockpit.

“Sorry about the rough landing there, mate!” Jake says grinning. “I had to make a hard stop before the planet’s gravity pulled us in – it seems I’ve been denied landing access.”

You hold onto the sides of both Jake and Kanaya’s seat. Kanaya tilts to the side so you can press forward and read the log they received moments before the stop. There’s nothing ominous about it, only says that Jake needs to remain off planet for a bit longer.

“I’m attempting to make contact with the port and solve this mystery asap,” Jake informs you and begins to press buttons on the communications panel.

After a brief pause, the communicator crackles to life and connects to the Skaian port.

“This is Captain Jake English of the Golgothas Terror and I’ve been denied landing access. Have my credentials suddenly been revoked?” Jake asks, pressing his face to the receiver closer than necessary.

It never occurred to you that Jake’s personal vessel might have a name. This is a different ship than the one he piloted when you first met him. It’s much sleeker and far more personalized, with the hull being modified into an armoury and bunkhouse. Feferi likely gifted it to him along with his promotion for helping restore the Empire after Lord English.

“There’s no issue,” a soft voice replies on the other end. “The Terror is clear to land from now to the end of time, Captain English.”

“Then what’s the issue? I’ve nearly missed the missive!”

“We weren’t expecting you and the Rogue to arrive at the same time, once she lands you’ll get clearance to land in your hangar,” the voice explains.

Jake’s brow furrows and he pulls slightly away from the receiver. He mulls over the operator’s words carefully.

“Hold them in the hangar, will you?” Jake directs after his pause. “We can walk home together.”

“I’ll pass your message onto the Rogue, Captain English. The go ahead to land will arrive at any second.”

“Thank you,” Jake finishes and pulls completely away from the receiver.

He slumps back into his chair, letting his arms flop dramatically to the sides.

“Jane told me that they left only a few days ago, it’s odd that they’re returning so soon,” Jake muses aloud. “Jane nor Roxy like to pull a mission before it’s completion – something must have happened to one of the extremes.”

You chew your lip in worry. Any of the crewmembers of the Rogue getting hurt makes you sick to your stomach.

“They are a very capable crew,” Kanaya assures you and Jake. “I’m sure that they are arriving back with a grand story in Rose’s archives.”

You nod slightly but Jake only wrinkles his nose, not accepting Kanaya’s rationalization. He has known the crew of the Rogue for much longer, after all.

The pod falls back into the tense silence it had been plagued with for most of the trip to Skaia, only to be broken by an “all clear”. Jake manually steers the Terror through the atmosphere of Skaia due to the hard stop killing the autopilot. It takes much longer than the descents that you’re used to, but it also gives the most breathtaking view of the landscape.

It burst to life before your eyes, sprawling outwards and reaching into farmlands and pink forests. There’s a large lake hidden in the dense forest and you wonder if the humans ever go there. Although you have little bearing of the city, you can clearly pick out different districts and major roadways.

“The inn is in just off to our right,” Jake points out. “We won’t be able to see it from here and the angle is all wrong, but when the Last Tree is in bloom you can see the square from this distance.”

“Is it in bloom?” Kanaya inquires, tilting her head to match your craning to try and see what Jake has described.

“It should be,” Jake replies. “But the cold season was a bit longer than usual, so it’ll be a few more weeks.”

Kanaya visibly deflates and you stifle back laughter at her inelegant behaviour.

“I suppose I’ll just have to return for the bloom,” Kanaya says firmly, catching your eye. “You’ll join me, Karkat?”

“If we’re not in jail for treason, sure why not. I’ll come see a tree with you.”

Just then the Terror slides into the hangar, tucking in neatly next to the Rogue. You immediately recognize the members of the Rogue watching Jake land with a great deal of curiosity.

Kanaya suddenly grabs your shoulder and gently shoves you backwards. Subconsciously, you had been leaning forward, desperately trying to read each of their faces. So far they all look gaunt, tired, and angry.

“Where’s Rose?” Jake says in alarm.

He’s tossing himself out of his seat and out of the pod before you can even react. Kanaya sets a hand on your forearm and gives you a soft smile.

“I think,” you begin, “with all these revelations, Dave Strider is the last of my concerns.”

“We’ll see,” Kanaya murmurs, a knowing look in her eyes.

“Don’t do that, it’s like you’re inviting my inevitable failure,” you growl as you shirk her arm off and head to the exit of the Terror. “Let’s commit treason, I guess.”

Kanaya nods solemnly and follows your lead off of the Terror. The humans are in the middle of an argument between Jake and Roxy, but the rest of also trying to explain what’s go on. One track minded Jake clearly took off with his missing Rose tangent and failed to inform them that his return was because of two trolls. All the humans freeze and stare at you and Kanaya, still dressed in some of your finest robes, in emotions ranging from disbelief and completely outrage. There’s not positive emotion that you’ve decided to arrive at this moment.

“Why are they here?” Roxy demands, voice tense and accusing.

Jake opens his mouth to respond but you’ve had enough of him being your messenger and step forward. You meet Roxy’s eyes evenly, completely recognizing the look she’s giving you as the same look she gave you when she first discovered you in the inn so many months ago.

“There’s an issue with pirates from wild space attacking Empire transports carrying crucial supplies,” you inform her. “We came hoping for help and if not, information on who it might be.”

Kanaya hums in approval, clearly pleased at your demonstration of restraint when presented with direct hostility. You’re eyes flicker to the other humans, not missing the looks of worry on Dirk, and surprisingly, John’s faces. The two of them must know that the Empire is Skaia’s last hope as well.

“We’re in the middle of several of our own crises at the moment,” Roxy mutters. “I’m afraid you’ll need to come back at another time.”

“We don’t have time,” you stress, stepping forward.

“My sister has been taken captive by the most notorious pirate in the galaxy, I don’t have time to play hero for the Empire again,” Roxy says, voice cracking.

And everything about her is breaking. You can feel the mistrust and unease that is emanating from her crew, Roxy’s position as captain is slipping. There’s a deep hurt in Roxy’s eyes at the same time – what has gone so completely wrong from the happy family you saw leave the palace months ago?

“Then we’ll help you get Rose back,” Kanaya interjects. “And in return you’ll give us what we want.”

Roxy purses her lips, considering Kanaya’s offer. After a few minutes, she nods.

“We’ll need to let Jane into the loop first,” Dirk says.

“Of course. Let’s go.” Roxy agrees.

“Wait!” Jake shouts and everyone turns to look at him. “Did Rose really ask to be left behind so you could escape?”

“Unfortunately,” Dave mutters bitterly but it’s a poor mask for his sadness.

“Then I owe you an apology, Roxy. I was too quick to lay blame,” Jake says, voice quiet.

Roxy’s face softens.

“It’s alright, Jakey. Dave and I already did this tango. It’s easy to blame and hard to accept the truth.”

Roxy turns away and leads the group solo out of the hangar. Dave, Jade, and John clump together behind her, pressing their shoulders together and heads bowed low in a deep conversation. Dirk turns to face you and Kanaya, eyes appraising you for a brief moment before letting out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t think I’d ever be so happy to see a troll in my life,” Dirk admits as his voice drops to a whisper. “But I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure Jake’s already let it slip what’s happening on Skaia?”

You and Kanaya both nod. Jake flushes in shame but Dirk gives him a fond look.

“Then let’s find Rose so we can stop the raiders and get supplies to Skaia,” Dirk says. “I’m almost positive with this news, Jane is probably going to tell everyone the truth. She was planning on telling them when we got back anyway. It could either make everyone super productive or our downfall, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Does John know?” you question. “He got a similar look to you when I brought up the supplies.”

“He does,” Dirk confirms. “Jane told him in both a gamble to get him to stay on Skaia and to have someone else to share the burden with.”

“Stay on Skaia?” Jake asks, voice very tiny. “John is planning on leaving?”

“All the kids are. Well they were, until Jane managed to talk John down,” Dirk explains. “It’s not your fault, Jake. It was bound to happen at some point or another. Anyways, Roxy found out and it wasn’t pretty. She and John had an extreme falling out, which was why she’s so on edge and planned such a reckless mission.”

“Maybe I should talk to John about it,” Jake wonders aloud. “Tell him how difficult it is to come back after leaving.”

Dirk places a hand on Jake’s shoulder and squeezes tightly.

“We should hurry back, if I am relieved to see you – Jane will be thrilled,” Dirk suggests.

“Lead the way,” you reply, gesturing for Dirk to go ahead.

He inclines his head and turns to exit the hangar. Jake walks next to him, pressing their shoulders together. You’re not sure if it’s for Jake’s comfort or to support Dirk. Maybe it’s both. You hesitate, pausing to think about how it feels like forever since you were on Skaia and thinking of these humans as your family. Now everyone but Dirk, a huge turn around, is treating you like a stranger.

Kanaya presses a warm hand to the small of your back. She doesn’t push, giving you time, but is still reminding you of the urgency of the situation. Your feet stutter forward and after a few jerky motions, you’re following the familiar path back to the inn. The people still do not stare at you, milling through their daily lives oblivious and at peace. Nothing seems to have changed since you’ve last been here.

“Have you forgotten the way?” Kanaya asks curiously, tilting her head.

You shake your head. Skaia has been burnt into your mind.

“Never,” you tell her with more heat than necessary.

Kanaya gives you a warm smile and you can see in her eyes that’s she’s happy for you. Happy that you believe you had a place on Skaia. It’s too soon to tell her that you once again feel like an outsider.

Arriving back in the square takes the air out of your lungs. You feel as if someone has punched you in the chest when you see the First Tree, its branches heavy with buds. The square looks eerie without the vibrancy of the First Tree. Only Dave’s mural on the inn seems to still give the square life. Despite the melancholy you feel seeing the tree so dead, the carapacians are merrily going about their day.

Out of the crowd, largely unaware or uncaring of your return, a small carapacian rips out of the crowd. His one visible eye is filled with glee as he wraps his spindly arms around your middle.

“Mayor,” you say and you can breathe again.

You’re tempted to just stay with the Mayor, but Dirk and Jake are already at the entrance of the side house. They’re watching you expectantly and in Dirk’s case, an ounce of impatience. Kanaya has stopped a few feet ahead of you to watch the interaction with interest.

“I’m sorry, but I’m here for something really important that can’t wait,” you explain. “We’ll have to work on Can Town some other time.”

The Mayor shakes his head and you can see worry in his eyes. He makes a brief gesture that you had come to know represents Dave.

“It’s going to be alright,” you assure him. “I’m okay, Dave’s okay, and you don’t have to worry about it.”

The Mayor gives you a wary look but nods and backs off. You hurry to catch up with Kanaya and meet Dirk and Jake at the side house’s entrance. Fortunately for you, no one asks what the Mayor wants. Although Dirk may understand Dave’s bond with the Mayor, Kanaya for sure doesn’t and Jake is an unknown. It’s surprising that Kanaya doesn’t even give you a look, but she’ll probably ask later.

“On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being everything is at peace and 10 is complete chaos, this house is going to be 15,” Dirk says, placing his hand on the door handle. “And 15 doesn’t mean yelling and fighting. Just be prepared for anything.”

Without waiting for any sort of response, Dirk pushes the door open and the four of you stumble through the doorway. You were bracing for some sort of shouting, instead the side house is dead quiet. Somehow it is worse than complete chaos. Instead, Roxy is sitting at the table with a small glass in front of her and the bottle you recognize as Jane’s secret alcohol stash.

Jane is sitting beside Roxy, murmuring words of comfort and rubbing circles on her back. At first she doesn’t look up to acknowledge your arrival. It’s likely that she thinks that it is just Dirk arriving late.

Then Dirk clears his throat and you catch a glimpse of his face. His eyes are unmoving from the half empty glass in front of Roxy and his lips are screwed into a tight grimace. Jane peers upwards, glasses slipping down her nose and there’s an apology on her lips. Instead, her eyes catch yours and then Jake. Her mouth falls open in shock.

She pulls herself from her seat beside Roxy and hysterical laughter bubbles up from her throat. Before she launches herself at Jake, you see the tears in bright blue eyes. Jake responds in kind, tugging her close and burying his own face into her hair.

The display of affection makes you uncomfortable and ends in what feels like an hour later. Jane slides her hands down Jake’s shoulder, completely in awe that he’s here. You wonder how often Jake truly visits and how many times Jane has had to do something difficult without Jake here for support. Exactly what is the nature of their friendship?

Jane’s gaze switches from Jake and she focuses her eyes on you. She releases Jake and uses the heel of her hand to rub away the tears before stepping towards you. Her hands then land softly on your cheeks and she tilts your head, as if inspecting you. A tender smile appears on her face and her hands drop back to her side.

“Thank you,” she says, voice nearly breaking. “Thank you so much for coming, I know what this is going to cost you. Even if you didn’t know this involved Skaia at first, I’m so glad you came back.”

“We’re going to fix this,” you tell her.

“Yes we are,” Jane says and she spins around to face Dirk and Roxy. “Because I’m coming out of retirement for this.”

“Oh thank god,” Roxy exclaims, a weak smile appearing on her face. “I think I’ve been emotionally compromised – and I’m not just quoting that wreck of a Star Trek movie.”

Dirk’s look darkens even further at this. Jane shoots him a scathing glare that you didn’t know she was even capable of. This is Captain Jane Crocker, you suppose.

“I let her have a drink, Dirk. She just lost her sister,” Jane informs him sharply. “Roxy is strong and can control herself, you know that better than anyone.”

“I’m going to be fine, Dirk,” Roxy pipes up. “I’m just having one.”

“I do trust you, Rox,” Dirk manages, voice somewhat strangled. “I just think that you should be leading this up. It’s your sister, your mistake, your mission.”

“I can’t,” Roxy admits. “I could barely keep Dave from jumping back onto the station to get her – it took Jade and John to talk him out of it. I can’t even look John in the eye. How can I call myself a captain if I can’t be strong when my crew isn’t?

“It just makes you human,” Dirk asserts.

“We need someone who can put aside her emotions if we’re going to rescue Rose,” Roxy says, voice strengthening.

You recognize the Roxy you remember there, maybe she needs to cut herself some slack. Dirk’s jaw tightens and it seems he agrees with your thought. However, he doesn’t push the issue any further.

“I’ll go round up the others then,” he says instead. “We’ve got a fair bit to talk about.”

“We do,” Jane agrees and then turns to the stove, placing the kettle on an element.

After Dirk disappears down the hall, Jake takes Jane’s place beside Roxy, but doesn’t say much to her. Roxy seems grateful for his presence regardless, leaning into him. You and Kanaya remain standing. Part of you wants you to take a seat at the table – the one you use to occupy. The other part thinks that you’re outsider, dressed in your fine robes compared to the human’s well worn jackets and pants. Maybe the humans aren’t the ones who’ve changed – maybe it’s you. Kanaya is following by your example having deemed you the expert in how to act on Skaia.

“Take a seat, Karkat and Kanaya,” Jane says warmly. “This is still your home, as long as you’ll have it. And Kanaya would you like some tea? I know Karkat doesn’t like it, but maybe you have a differ palette.

Nodding dumbly at Jane’s acknowledgement you flop into one of the chairs. Only Kanaya’s sliding in next to you is preventing you from crumpling into yourself.

“It’s some leaves in water,” you tell her.

“Sweetened with sugar and cream, if you want,” Jane adds.

“It can’t hurt to try,” Kanaya answers. “Thank you.”

Jane hums in response and begins assembling mugs on the counter, clearing knowing who will want some. A few seconds later Dirk returns to the kitchen with the three younger humans behind them. John’s got his hood up and hands stuffed in his pocket, clearly chastised. Jade fiddles nervously with the hem of her shirt, eyes downcast. Dave follows behind her, managing to appear the most sullen.

John, Jade, and Dirk all easily take seats at the table. Dirk sits on Roxy’s opposite side while John and Jade take their usual spots. In the end this leaves only the spot between you and Dirk or the spot between Jade and Jake. Dave stares at the two spots, conflicted. He could take Jane’s spot between Jake and Jade, telling everyone how not okay he is with you being here. Or he could pretend it’s normal and sit next to you.

“Sit down,” Dirk barks, clearly annoyed.

You don’t blame him. He’s had to put up with Dave’s bullshit for far longer than anyone at the table.

Dave jerks to attention and quickly slips into the seat next to Dirk. He pulls his chair closer to his brother, creating a literal chasm between the two of you. Not that you hadn’t been separated by nearly a week’s worth of space only a short while ago.

Jane finishes up with the tea, slipping mugs in front of everyone but you and John.

“Here’s some sugar and cream, if you want it,” Jane says as she hands Kanaya two tiny cups after the mugs are distributed.

“Thank you,” Kanaya replies appreciatively.

Jane nods and moves to her seat at the table, but doesn’t sit down. Instead she just presses her hands against the table and looks down, taking a deep breath. You imagine this can’t be easier for her.

“There’s a lot to discuss,” Jane begins. “The first thing is that, from now and until Rose is back with us, I’m going to be returning as Captain of the Rogue.”

“What?” Dave snaps, turning to stare at Roxy.

“It was my idea,” Roxy tells him, voice strong. “I can’t think clearly knowing Rosie’s in trouble. I’ll make reckless decisions and we’ll probably end up in more trouble.”

She then goes on to say exactly what she told Dirk. Dave and John both grow ashen at her words, regretful that they’ve taken so much out of Roxy.

“It’s going to be fine, Dave. This is temporary and didn’t you always want Jane to be your captain?”

“Not like this,” Dave whispers so quietly that you barely catch it.

“Now I need to know everything that happened on that station,” Jane says. “All I know so far is that it wasn’t what it seems and that Rose was left behind.”

You make a noise of shock and Kanaya elbows you sharply. No one else reacts. You saw how Jake blew up without explanation and heard about what happened with Dave. Jane must truly trust Roxy a great deal to just accept that Rose was left behind for a good reason without any explanation.

“The station is a cover up,” Dirk explains. “It only appears to be abandoned to lure in people, like us, looking for supplies or treasures. Those who are unlucky enough to get caught are captured and indoctrinated into joining the crew. It’s a way to build a huge fleet.”

“We saw some of the ships they’re using to fill with the captives,” John adds. “It’s really bad, whatever they’re planning.”

“As the crew of the Rogue , we’re naturally pretty fucking good at sneaking around,” Dirk continues. “We got a lot of details before being caught. It was only when we were making our way back to the ship that we got caught.”

“Rose was in the lead,” Roxy says quietly. “She was eager to document the findings – this station is a huge find. They caught her first and she,“ Roxy’s voice breaks, “she told us to get out of there and leave her behind. We had to warn everyone what we found.”

“Whose station is it?” Jane asks tightly, hands curling into fists. “Who did you find?”

“Aranea Serket,” Roxy murmurs.

“That’s a troll name,” Kanaya points out. “We know a Serket, but I thought there was only one.”

“Vriska would have a breakdown knowing there was a bigger, badder Serket around,” you muse.

Kanaya’s lips twist upwards at the thought.

“Vriska is the Empire’s military leader, formerly one of Feferi’s generals in the rebellion,” Kanaya tells the humans. “She’s also a Serket and, when younger, had an obsession with being a space pirate.”

“Last names are rarely shared,” you say. “Generally the last user has died out by the time the next comes along.”

“Could they be the same person?” Dirk questions, always the pragmatic one.

Kanaya shakes her head. Despite everything Vriska’s done, Kanaya will always come to her defense.

“Vriska is a lot of things, but endangering the Empire is not one of those,” Kanaya tells Dirk, voice politely clipped.

“I know you don’t trust trolls and if you met Vriska, you probably wouldn’t change your mind,” you say. “But please believe us. Vriska is a huge bitch, but she’s not evil. Even I have to admit that she was afraid of what this will do to the Empire.”

“I believe you,” Dave cuts in. “And everyone else should too.”

“Aranea has been around far longer than anyone Karkat’s age,” Jane adds. “Many of my contacts claim that Aranea started being active sometime when the humans arrived on Prospit and Derse.”

“A highblood then,” you conclude.

“They live much longer than low bloods. She must have left the Empire to escape the Condesce,” Kanaya ponders aloud.

“Another Mindfang wannabe,” you say.

“You know what they say, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the incestuous slurry,” Dave laughs quietly to himself.

You give him a small, appreciative grin and are pleased when he returns it.

“It would also explain the indoctrination – Vriska has the ability to telepathically control other trolls, which was shared by her ancestor. It’s not too far fetched to believe another Serket would have the same ability,” Kanaya says. “An older troll would also have much stronger abilities as well, maybe even crossing to other species. It definitely fits.”

“What does she want then?” Jake asks. “A troll who isn’t a fan of the Condesce has to be a supporter of Feferi by default.”

“Not necessarily,” Kanaya cuts in. “Troll politics are complicated, but even 100 years ago Alternia was vastly different than what it was at the end of the Condesce’s rule. She could have been born during the Summoner’s rebellion and fled when adults were banished from the planet. Or she could have been born into the strong anti-Imperial period that followed it when young heiresses were killed before they had a chance to even challenge the Condesce. Every generation is so different than those around it, it’s hard to say what this Aranea might feel towards the Empire. Current or past.”

“I think we should make the assumption that she is not friendly towards the Empire,” Jade says. “Anyone amassing a fleet has to be seen as a threat.”

“I doubt a Serket would be anything less than volatile,” you grumble. “She’s probably self-obsessed and hell bent on taking something over.”

“You said that you saw the ships she was using,” Jane says. “If we know their class, maybe we can figure out if she’s just into piracy or total destruction.”

“They were definitely fighter class but large enough to travel at warp speed,” John says. “Low speed warp cores, is my best bet.”

“There weren’t clear cut fighters, however,” Dirk says. “Their hulls were much larger.”

Jane looks at John, who nods in agreement.

“And not just large to carry weaponry or troops – like a weird mix of carrier and fighter vessels,” John agrees. “Like they were designed to pick up goods.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jane murmurs sounding troubled. “When I was on Delta Station , I learned a fair bit about Aranea. She had been looking into building the perfect piracy vessels. Able to fight and able to carry the treasure she won. It looks like she succeeded.”

“Describe these ships to me, John,” Kanaya commands, shutting her eyes.

John hesitates and looks at Jane for approval. Jane merely nods for him to go one. You watch Kanaya, curious as to what she has in mind. She’s never been very interested in ships and their classes, leaving it to Eridan and Vriska.

“They’re pitch black and incredibly sleek. It’s almost unbelievable how nice their quality is without belonging to a formal military. The edges are sharp though, like a bat or fangs. I felt like if I touched an edge, I’d cut myself.”

“Are there any particular markings? Like a brand?” Kanaya inquires.

John shakes his head and Kanaya makes a noise of frustration before opening her eyes. You’re about to ask her what she was thinking when Dirk cuts in.

“There were no brands, but some of the ships had these lines on them,” he says.

“Those were the edges!” John exclaims, eyes lighting up. “They were this blue colour, but not like the blue I’m wearing. It was more of a –“

“Cobalt,” Kanaya fills in.

“Yeah cobalt! Wait – how did you know that?”

“It looks like our situations are more connected than we thought,” Kanaya says, smiling mysteriously.

“Care to share with the class, Maryam?” you ask blandly, crossing your arms.

“If you hadn’t run out of the council meeting, you’d know this too,” Kanaya teases lightly.

You scowl at her. Now is not the time to be scolding you about your outburst during the council meeting. The humans regard you curiously and you feel your face grow hot. You do your best to focus on Kanaya.

“Some asked if there were any clues as to who the bandits might be – if the ships used were unique to any of the known pirates,” Kanaya begins. “Feferi explained, that although these attackers were no known bandits, the ships were indeed unique. An interesting mixture of fighter and carrier class vessels decorated with cobalt streaked lines. This also furthers the current theory that Aranea Serket is a high blooded telepath.”

“Our situations are much more connected than we thought,” Roxy says. “I guess I owe you an apology.”

“You owe us nothing,” Kanaya replies serenely. “But I do think that we should be more inclined to work together, instead of just making a deal.”

“There is another reason we should be working with the Karkat and Kanaya,” Jane murmurs, head bowed low.

“What are you talking about?” Jade asks, confused.

“This is hard for me to say and you have to understand that I kept it a secret for a reason,” Jane says, stressing the second half of her sentence. “But the Empire cutting supplies to the outer colonies affects Skaia, too. I spoke to the Empress not to long ago about getting supplies for Skaia until a more permanent plan could be brought up.”

“Jane, just tell them,” Dirk cuts in brusquely. “Stop beating around the bush.”

Jane sighs and her shoulders slump. She then stands up straight and meets everyone’s eyes at the table before continuing.

“A few weeks ago it was brought to my attention that Skaia’s population is far too large to allow for proper crop rotation. All the fields need to be used to get enough food out. This upcoming season, and with our cold season stores running low, the farmers are afraid that many of the fields will be fallow and unable to produce crops. There won’t be enough food in the upcoming year.”

“What are you saying?” Dave asks, voice accusing.

“Skaia is dying, Dave. People are going to starve and we need the Empire’s support to survive,” Jane tells him quietly.

Considering that only Jade, Dave, and Roxy didn’t know, the room goes very quiet. It must be hard for the humans to hear it said, even if they already knew the truth. Dave has stopped breathing beside you. He’s already lost one home because the fields were poisoned, now he’s on the brink of losing another.

“Then we have to take out the fleet in the process of rescuing Rosie, no biggie,” Roxy says, bringing forth false bravado but it falls flat.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Dirk promises everyone. “Skaia isn’t going to die – not on our watch. The people will only learn about this when we’re getting supplies from the Empire. We have to prevent mass panic at all cost.”

“You didn’t have to do this alone,” Roxy says, reaching out for Jane. “You never have to do this alone.”

“I didn’t want you all to be worried,” Jane confesses. “Everyone was struggling with their own things – I didn’t need to burden you with this too.”

Roxy furrows her brow and pulls back. You can see the life returning to her, no more falsities. From here on out, this will be genuine, non-diluted Roxy.

“Well no more. We’re going to kick this Aranea chick’s ass right back to the pit she crawled out of – no offense to the trolls present – while rescuing Rosie and saving the Empire, again. The Empress will once again be in our debt that she’ll give us enough resources that we won’t have to steal anymore.”

The other humans let out a cheer to go with Roxy’s rally. Jane just smiles.

“You need to be aware that her crew isn’t 100% aware of what they are doing,” Kanaya cuts in. “They are mostly likely under Aranea’s control. Our focus should be taking her out and not wrecking the fleet. With her gone, the fleet will scatter.”

“We’ll need to find Rose first, otherwise she will be lost to us when the fleet scatters,” Roxy agrees.

“Two teams then,” Jane announces. “One to find Rose and one to take down Aranea.”

“We’ll need to infiltrate fleet first,” Dirk reminds everyone. “We have no idea what the layout of her fleet is – where she’ll be or even what the fighter ships she’s using are like.”

“I’m way ahead of you, Dirk,” Jane says but she’s not smiling. “I know someone, who use to work with Aranea and taught me everything I know on what it means to be a captain.”

“Then why are you hesitating?” Jade asks. “We should be jumping on the Rogue and flying to them immediately.”

“We didn’t part on the best of terms,” Jane grimaces.

“It can’t be that bad!” Jake says, attempting to be cheerful.

“She threatened to run me through with my own trident if I ever stepped foot on Delta Station again.”

Everyone winces.

“But we don’t have time to waste – it’s a risk I just have to take. I have another contact if it doesn’t work out, but he’s a bit of massive ass, so I’d rather save him for a back up plan,” Jane says quickly.

“Who can be worse that a someone who gives threat like that?” John asks.

“I pray you never have to find out,” Jane replies.

XXXXXXX

After beating down a plan for Jane’s contact on Delta Station , everyone disperses to their rooms. With the exception of Jane, everyone has spent the last week in the cramped quarters of a ship. Everyone was eager to sleep on a real bed before an early start the next day. Jane gave you and Kanaya the rooms you have stayed in the inn, claiming she didn’t have it in her to rent your room away – it felt too much like your space.

The room in unchanged and still tiny and you welcome it wholeheartedly. Kanaya disappears to her own room, leaving you alone for the first time in days. After the discussion, you feel better and more connected to Skaia. She must sense that and know her intervention isn’t necessary.

Or maybe she just needed some time alone as well.

However, you don’t really want to be left alone in the room. Now back on Skaia, you’re suddenly back in the mentality that you want to be with the raucous humans all the time. Letting their shenanigans and absurdity completely engulf you. So after a few minutes of reacquainting yourself with your old room by lying on the bed, you head back to the side house.

Unsurprisingly, Jane is still at the table bent over a piece of paper and frantically writing down instructions.

“What are you doing?” you ask curiously, leaning against the doorframe.

Jane jumps slightly at your intrusion, having been so deeply engrossed in her task that she became unaware of her surroundings.

“Oh, Karkat!” she greets, looking up. “I’m just preparing a list of instructions on how to take care of the inn for the other employees.”

“You have other employees?”

Jane grins sheepishly.

“After you were here, I realized how much easier it was to run the inn with others helping. I hired a couple of people to help out.”

You laugh.

“What are you doing? Is everything alright?” Jane questions, setting her pencil down.

“It’s just weird being back,” you tell her. “At first I felt like a stranger, then like I was back at home, and now I’m in a sort of limbo. It kind of fucking sucks.”

Jane rolls her eyes but smiles fondly.

“We’ve all been in an odd space since you came here and shook everything up,” she explains. “You feel weird because it is off here. The kids – they aren’t content to just live on Skaia anymore. They want adventure! Fighting Lord English gave them a taste and now they can’t get rid of it.”

“I’m sorry,” you say sincerely.

“It’s not your fault. Well it is, but not directly. It would’ve happened even if you didn’t come to Skaia. They’ll grow out of it, we all do.”

“Like whatever happened on Delta Station ?”

Jane grins wolfishly and it’s so out of character, you’re taken aback. This is Captain Crocker, you’re dealing with now.

“That was my Lord English, in a sense,” she agrees.

“What exactly happened? Earlier you made it seem like you were a pathetic excuse for a captain before whatever shit happened.”

“Kind of. I was voted captain by Dirk and Roxy because I was the natural leader, but at the time I wasn’t really captain material. I was nineteen and had all these ideas of what it meant to be a captain, but no idea of the reality.

“Our early missions weren’t big – the kids were still kids. They were old enough to take care of themselves for a few days, but not old enough to be completely on their own. I made runs to work with that, we were gone for 2 weeks at the most and every run to wild space was basic. I did research for the least dangerous places and lists of what exactly people needed – medicine, ships parts, you name it.

“It started to seem all so easy and I wanted to do more than just the basic stuff. So I picked Delta Station to be the first ‘big’ target. Its former ruler was killed in some turf war with another station, so I figured it would be easier to get what we need. The plan was simple enough: the three of us would sneak aboard, get what we could, and then get off. Except Delta Station was on edge and wise to thieves like us. I got caught and ordered Roxy and Dirk to get off – their safety was more important that mine.

“I was thrown in jail and that’s where I met her . She had recently split with a former business partner and was responsible for the chaos of Delta Station. She was looking for someone to help her take it over completely and share in the wealth. How could I refuse? She was older and more experienced and taught me everything I know.

“Cracking Delta Station was a difficult talk. Took us months to get it under our control and by the time it was under our thumb, Roxy and Dirk managed to break back in. When I wanted to leave with Dirk and Roxy, rejoin the Rogue , she was angry and disappointed. Thought that I was different, not a goody two shoes Robin Hood but a real criminal ready to reform Delta Station .”

“So you helped a criminal take over Delta Station , one of the most ruthless and dangerous places in the galaxy?”

“Yes. I helped put that together.”

“You continue to surprise me, Jane. Each time I think I know everything, there’s one more thing.”

Jane laughs and shakes her head.

“I’m not that complicated.”

“But you are,” you tell her.

There’s no need to elaborate. Jane knows who she is.

“You should get some rest,” she tells you after a moment of silence. “It’s an early start tomorrow.”

“One more thing: why won’t you say her name?”

Jane doesn’t ask who you’re talking about. It’s painfully obvious since she’s doing it for a reason.

“I’m afraid that saying her name will endanger her,” Jane says and it’s clear from her tone she won’t elaborate. “Good night, Karkat.”

“Good night, Jane.”

XXXXXXX

The next morning everyone is in the hangar, prepping the Rogue for another trip. Jake is quietly lamenting leaving the Terror behind as he checks many of the gauges with John and Jade. To you, it’s surprising how easily he slips into the crew dynamic he’s never been apart of. You don’t think Jake has ever been directly involved with Rogue , only in aiding it in another vessel. If anything you feel out of place despite working with the crew before.

Jane is running through supplies with Roxy inside the Rogue while Dirk busies himself checking over the power balance. Dave vanished once arriving in the hangar, presumably to program his ridiculously complicated navigational system.

You and Kanaya attempt to stay out of everyone’s way by sitting on an unused bench tucked off to the side of the Rogue’ s hangar. No doubt even sitting innocuously in the rec room of the Rogue would get in someone’s way, judging from the way everyone is scurrying around.

“What is this?” Jake’s voice shouts from underneath the Rogue.

The concern in his voice brings Jade and John running from their own positions. Without thinking, you run over too. Kanaya follows behind you with a little hesitation. She probably doesn’t want to get in the way.

“What is it?” John asks, calling to Jake’s position.

He pulls out from underneath, holding a ten centimeter in diameter flat disk in his hand. It’s got a dark blue light at its center.

“Maybe you can tell me, I found it on the underbelly of the Rogue ,” Jake says.

John takes and weighs it in his hands before passing it off to Jade.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen it. I generally don’t work on exterior though – maybe Dirk installed it,” John says.

“He’d match it the colour of the Rogue ,” Jade points out. “It’s the wrong type of metal, it’s too dense.”

“He’s all about style, that one,” Jake agrees. “It’s not crucial to the support of the ship – it’s not wired directly in.”

“You just ripped it off?” John asks incredulously.

“And you don’t take off strange metal disks off your ship?” Jake sputters back. “Who taught you to care for a ship?”

“Not everyone has had military training,” John points out, not sounding the least bit insulted by Jake’s words.

“Remind me to give you a crash course of spacecraft care when we’re in transit. Jade, you too,” Jake says. “But we should take this to Dirk and hopefully I didn’t remove one of his installations.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Jade chirps and bounces ahead to take the disk Dirk.

Everyone follows her, interest piqued in the unknown device.

Dirk’s in the hull, checking that everything is securely tucked in. He’s crouched over a bin when you all arrive, but stands and turns to face you when he notices your arrival.

“What’s that?” Dirk asks holding his hand out.

Jade hands it to him, shrugging.

“Jake ripped it off the bottom of ship, hoping you’d be able to tell us,” John explains.

Dirk rolls his eyes and mutters something about ripping shit off of Jake to stop him from potentially breaking the ship. Weighing it in his hand and inspecting it, Dirk appears to be confused about it as much as Jake is.

“It’s pretty heavy duty,” Dirk says. “I’ll have to take it apart to learn what it is, but it’s non essential to the Rogue so let’s not worry about it.”

“How’d it get there?” you ask, concerned at how casual Dirk seems with it.

“People stick shit to the Rogue all the time while she grounded. It’s why we check before every take off,” Dirk explains.  “Probably some kid’s idea of a prank to scare us. I’ll take it apart, see what it really is.”

“Who are you talking to?” Roxy calls from the upper floors.

“Jake’s ripping shit off the Rogue again,” Dirk shouts back giving Jake a dirty look.

Roxy laughs loudly at that.

“Jakey you know better than to show off your fancy military training!” she scolds in a teasing voice. “But seriously, can you call everyone in? It’s time for take off.”

“Already here!” Jade exclaims. “I’m on my way up!”

“Let’s get this show on the road then!” Roxy shouts and bangs something in celebration. “We’ve got a pirate to find.”

XXXXXXX

The journey to Delta Station is uneventful. It’s not a far trip but a tense one – several asteroid belts lie between Skaia and Delta Station , which means that the entire crew is at their stations when not sleeping or eating. This leaves you, Kanaya, and Jake keeping to yourselves in the rec room – bored out of your fucking minds. Well, the other two seem fine with the relative peace with living such high paced and high pressure lives. You would take all the paperwork over just waiting in the rec room.

The worst part is when night comes since that’s when you’re left completely alone. Rose’s bed was offered to Kanaya while Jake takes the other bunk in Dirk’s room. You are left to sleep on the lumpy couches of the Rogue’ s rec room yet again. They’re the only thing you wish you had changed in your time away.

The arrival to Delta Station has you jittering upon arrival. If you’re not chosen for the ground team, you might have to throw yourself out the airlock.

“ Delta Station is now in sight. Arrival in five,” Dave says over the Rogue ’s intercom.

The window form the rec room doesn’t give a great view so you rush out and into the entrance of the cockpit. You gasp to yourself when you see it.

Delta Station has a reputation known even in the Empire. It’s a one of the most ruthless, wild, and lawless places in the galaxy. Run by a tyrant, who apparently Jane wants to protect, Delta Station ’s ruler could give the Condesce a run for her money – or so you’ve heard. But in all descriptions of the station, you were imagining this broken down and dying station.

Instead it’s covered with bright exterior lights, and has very little exterior damage. The metal has been aged, but it’s well kept and managed. Bright docking bays branch out from the main structure, revealing illicit clubs.

“Sure has changed,” Jane murmurs from her position behind Jade’s seat.

“Hunk of junk, I remember,” Roxy agrees. “I guess this is partly your doing?”

“I can’t take all the credit,” Jane laughs lightly. “I just helped put the current ruler in power. She did the rest.”

Jade gently guides the Rogue to one of the smaller docking bays, taking care to not draw any unnecessary attention to the ship.

“We’re being hailed,” Roxy says from her station.

“Open the channel,” Jane orders, stepping between Dave and Jade’s chairs.

This blocks your view of the station and the detail that is being revealed as the ship gets closer. Instead of slipping behind Dave’s chair to continue viewing, you just lean back against the wall. You still feel somewhat distanced from Dave and haven’t exactly gotten anytime to speak with him.

“Landing clearance,” a voice hisses from the comm.

“This is Captain Jane Crocker of the Rogue of Void . I have free clearance,” Jane says, clearly annoyed.

“I thought you retired,” the voice sneers on the street. “The Boss didn’t think ya’d be around to use her very thoughtful gift, despite ya being a traitor and all.”

“I’m back out of retirement,” Jane growls. “And tell your boss that I’m coming for a little chat.”

“You sure you want to risk that? Not many people on Delta don’t know what happened.”

“Tell her I’m coming,” Jane snaps and ends the call. “Take us in Jade. They won’t attack us.”

Jade nods clearly disturbed at now having clear landing clearance. She takes the ship in anyway, slipping it into the nearest docking bay.

“Karkat with me,” Jane says turning around. “Get Jake down to the hull.”

You jump at her acknowledgement. You didn’t even know that she was aware you entered the cockpit.

“I’m coming too,” Jade says, jumping up.

Jane freezes and she mouths ‘no’ to herself.

“I’m the best shot out of all of us,” Jade reasons. “If you get trouble, you’re going to need someone other than Jake and Karkat.”

“Karkat doesn’t use guns either,” Dave pipes up.

You shoot him an annoyed look but Dave is focused on Jane and concerned with getting Jade on the ground team.

“I always have to stay on the ship – let me come,” Jade begs, clasping her hands together.

Jane slowly spins around to look at Jade. The line of her shoulders are tense but slump once she sees the look on Jade’s face.

“Taking both of the pilots is a risk, but both of us are the best shots,” Jade says firmly. “You need someone to watch your back.”

“Belay the order to call Jake then,” Jane says. “We need a small team otherwise we’ll be seen as a threat.”

“Leave Karkat behind then,” Roxy suggests. “Dave said he doesn’t use guns.”

“No, he comes. She’ll love him,” Jane replies. “That’s the end of discussion. Jade, Karkat let’s go.”

Her tone leaves no room for argument so Dave and Roxy turn back to their posts. Jane turns back around and swiftly exits the hull, her brown coat fluttering behind her. Jade quickly follows after Jane, leaving you alone in the cockpit.

“Be careful out there,” Dave warns, not meeting your eyes.

“Thanks,” you mumble before scuttling after the other two humans.

Jane and Jade are already in the hull, weighing out what weapons they are going to bring. Jade is running her hand down the length of a barrel and while Jane strapping a few small guns to her side. You grab your sickles, stored safely off to the side and note, with displeasure, that you’re alone in non-projectiles. However, Jane starts looking at the netted ceiling of the hull. After a few seconds of searching she reaches upwards and yanks something down, breaking the snaps that were holding it up.

Surprisingly, she’s holding a trident in her hand. Take that, Dave.

“I knew you worked with Feferi but not to this length,” you comment.

“Feferi isn’t the reason this is my weapon of choice,” Jane retorts, dancing her fingers down the silver handle. “And it’s a fork – not a trident.”

Jade snaps the rifle she had been holding earlier to her back and looks at Jane expectantly.

“Almost,” Jane says and sets her trident off to the side.

She grabs the lapel of her coat and pulls it outwards before inspecting the interior. After a brief moment, she reaches inwards and pulls out a tiny pin. After affixing it to her lapel she grabs her fork and meets you straight in the eye.

“That’s the crest of Life. The coat of arms for the Fuchsia class,” you tell her quietly. “You’re also wearing their colours.

“I know I haven’t earned it,” Jane assures you, “but it was a gift from her . Maybe it will earn us favour.”

You furrow your brow and open your mouth to release a slew of questions. The more Jane reveals about this associate of hers, the more it makes you incredibly wary of who they are.

Jane shoots down your questions with a harsh look, causing your mouth to snap shut.

“Let’s go,” Jane says and presses the button for the hull to open. “I want to get this over with.”

Jane takes the lead while you and Jade flank her. The lights of the club flash before you, nearly blinding you. Even in the depths of wild space, you still don’t care for wild parties.

There’s a small line at the main entrance, all waiting to get into the club. Jane forgoes this and marches straight for the door. A large bouncer of some tentacled species you’ve never seen before blocks her way. Jane slams the butt of her fork against the ground threateningly. Both you and Jade react instinctively, gripping your weapons tighter and brandishing them.

“I have an appointment with your boss,” Jane announces, nowhere in the vicinity of fucking around.

“You are not in any place to be making threats, tiny human,” the bouncer wheezes out.

“I think I am,” Jane says calmly. “If you had any idea who I was, you’d be begging for mercy.”

Jade makes a small noise of shock, unaware that Jane had a side like this. Verbal reactions to Jane’s revelations are no longer an issue for you at this point. There’s been so many that you don’t need to react to them.

“You think so?”

“I do. Now get out of my way,” Jane orders, waving her fork dismissively.

The bouncer presses forward, attempting to scare Jane but she holds her ground. In a quick flash, the fork is pressed against the bouncer’s stomach. They make a noise of pain and displeasure.

“I hate asking twice,” Jane hisses and shoves the trident forward.

The bouncer lets out a gargled shriek and Jane easily shoves him off to the side. Then she turns to those waiting in the line.

“Enjoy the club on me,” she tells them before marching in. “Keep up, you two!”

You and Jane scurry forward to keep up with Jane. Looking backwards, you can see that those in line are hesitantly stepping out of the line to enter the club. It’s as if they think Jane’s generosity has a price. At least you don’t think there’s a cost.

You and Jade press close together as you follow Jane. She weaves expertly through the crowds and masses of drunk, high, or temporarily-altered-by-telepaths patrons. You’re not sure where Jane is heading but her strides are too purposeful to just be searching through the club. There is an obvious destination in mind.

“I’ve never seen Jane like this before,” Jade whispers to you when the music drops slightly.

You nod in agreement but don’t give a response as Jane has chosen to turn around and look at the two of you, her eyes narrowed. Jane jerks her head in the direction of what looks like an exit, waiting for the two of you to catch up.

“Some ground rules,” she whispers, voice rushed. “Let me do the speaking and don’t give her reaction. She feeds off of attention. Got it?”

Jade nods firmly and you give a little bob. And the reason behind her rushed instructions become apparently clear when the door slams open and another impressive tentacled alien appears. They toss out a scrawny looking troll who hisses menacingly at the four of you. You recognize the voice as belonging to the one who demanded landing clearance.

“She got your message,” the troll tells Jane.

“Get out of here!” the tentacled guard growls.

The troll bares his teeth and scuttles away, clearly displeased at having to play messenger.

“She’s waiting for you,” the guard grunts and moves aside.

Jane strides forward; unafraid of the glare the guard is giving you. Jade follows after her, her grip tight on her rifle. You take the rear giving the guard a wary look as they shuts the door behind you, muffling the club music. They narrow their eyes into slits, urging you to keep up or pay the price.

A little ways past the door is a set of winding stairs, leading upwards. It briefly reminds you of Spades’ own look out platform back on the Furthest Ring. Criminals just love to be physically above those they deem lesser.

Jane marches forward, the butt of her fork echoing off each step, until she arrives at an arch. It opens up into a large balcony devoid of anything and apparently anyone except a single couch.

“Well look who’s finally decided to return to my little corner of space – finally decide that you weren’t too good for criminal life?” a voice taunts.

Jane narrows her eyes and her grip tightens on her own trident. She steps around the couch to face the front. You and Jade quickly follow after her, holding formation. You let out a gasp of shock when you see who is on the couch.

It’s a troll sprawled out and completely relaxed, even with all the club lights flashing around her. The lights illuminate her weapon, a double ended trident, leaning casually by the troll’s head. Her fins fan out menacingly and her sharp teeth are revealed in a far too wide smile. She has horns distinct to the Peixes and Fuchsia bloodlines. Here before you is a royal troll. Who knows how old she might be? Jane’s wardrobe and weapon choices make sense now.

“You know why I’m here, Meenah” Jane says through tight teeth.

Meenah kicks her feet off the couch and rises slowly, like a predator circling her prey. Her fuchsia eyes run over Jane, Jade, and finally, you. It sends a shiver up your spine when and you reach down to clutch your sickles. For a second Meenah falters when she sees you but it happens to quickly that you think you’ve imagined it. Her grin turns more feral as she turns her attention back to Jane.

“A troll?” Meenah asks, her voice sharing a hint of genuine surprise. “I didn’t know your crew was getting more diverse, Crocker.”

Meenah makes a move to step closer but Jane slams her fork down in front of you. The protective gesture makes your heart swell with affection for the human. Meenah puts her hands up in surrender, but she takes a moment to study you.

“Candy red blood,” she muses. “Been a long time since I’ve seen one of those.”

Curiosity burns at you to ask her how she knew and exactly how long ago. However, you remember Jane’s warnings and remain quiet.

“I’m not here to play games, Meenah,” Jane hisses and slams forward to press her fork forward to Meenah’s throat.

A laugh bubbles up from Meenah’s throat.

“And I thought you went soft, Crocker,” Meenah giggles.

“Where’s Aranea?” Jane demands, pressing the fork harder.

“Fuck if I know,” Meenah hisses in pain. “We parted ways some time ago. You know that. Now get this thing outta my face.”

Reluctantly, Jane pulls the trident back and rests it beside her. Meenah scowls as she rubs her throat, mumbling about ever teaching Jane to use a trident.

“What do you want with Aranea?” Meenah questions curiously. “Must be something important if you’re here to visit little ol’ me.”

“I’m going to take her down,” Jane replies.

Meenah raises a brow in interest.

“And you thought asking me for help was the right choice?”

“She crossed you too.”

Mulling this over, Meenah flops back down on her couch. For a few tense moments, Meenah dramatically goes through various thinking poses. It’s clear to you what her answer would be before she even sat down.

“Nah, I don’t think I will,” Meenah sniffs and rolls onto her back, dismissing the three of you. “She may be a traitor, but she’s still all I got.”

Jane physically recoils backwards.

“I thought you were better than Aranea, Meenah,” Jane replies hotly.

Meenah’s head snaps back to meet Jane’s eyes.

“And I thought you weren’t just another two-faced human broad,” Meenah snaps. “Get your information from somewhere else. I’m not in the business of selling out friends like you, Crocker.”

“Fine. There’s others who I could get information on Aranea,” Jane says, turning around and clearly baiting Meenah. “Let’s go.”

But Meenah bites.

“Like who? Ain’t no other who knows Aranea like I do. I designed her ships.”

“Caliborn, for example,” Jane says and she’s got this devious grin.

Meenah wretches and sits up on the couch.

“That shark bait English wannabe?” she sneers.

“Oh I don’t know, I think he’s got a few cards up his sleeves,” Jane says and then she looks at you and Jade. “Let’s go, it’s obvious Meenah isn’t going to help us out.”

Meenah looks torn when you spare her a glance as if she’s trying to figure out whether or not she wants to help. You reluctantly follow after Jane who looks like she’s won something. You have no information and it’s possible that Meenah might even alert Aranea you’re on her tail. Jane still continues forward, unconcerned. Neither you or Jane challenge her until your back aboard the Rogue .

“What was that?” you and Jade shout in unison.

Jane sets her fork off to the side and smiles. Jade angrily tosses her rifle away and steps up to confront Jane.

“Meenah will come around,” Jane promises, voice sharp. “Tell Dave to set a course for the Red Planet , I have a feeling Karkat has some questions.”

“Karkat has questions?” Jade argues. “You just let one of the most dangerous criminals in our plans!”

“I know Meenah, Jade. I need you to trust me. Yes, I would have liked to have gotten the information forthright, but that’s not how she operates.”

“I do trust you,” Jade mumbles, shoulders slumping. “I just don’t want to waste time – Rose needs us.”

Jane pulls Jade into a tight hug.

“It’s going to be fine, Jade,” Jane assures her. “Now we need to get going to the Red Planet.”

Jade salutes and quickly leaves you and Jane alone in the hull.

“That’s a fuchsia blood,” you deadpan. “A member of the royal caste.”

“Meenah Peixes,” Jane confirms. “And before you ask, I don’t know how old she is or how long she’s been in wild space for.”

“An heiress who fled the Empire likely to avoid having to fight the Condesce,” you assume.

“Maybe you’ll get to ask her, she seemed to like you,” Jane says, winking.  

Before you get a chance to reply, Jane is already scaling the ladder back to the cockpit.