SCASSSS - Space Medic

With the new Raata Sunset skins why not turn your Augoror into a proper space medic?

Someone call for the Waaaaaaaaaaaabulance?

The Journey

Friday fiction time! Escape pod here.

I think I'll put this in as a Pod and Planet entry. It can probably go in the lore category as I'm pretty sure I'm not breaking any canon. The Burning Life tells us the boosters we use in-game are available as narcotics to 'norms' and I just need to remember what that Matari weapon is called! Ah, its not what I thought it was. I'll go simple then!

The Journey

The smartly-suited man sat on the old dusty chair. It looked to be a plastic chair from an old school. The construction lighting in the half built structure was bright white. Plastic sheeting gently swayed from the ceilings. He noisily sucked on the cigar and blew out a cloud of smoke. With no walls and being on what will eventually be the 5th floor of the construction the light breeze quickly dispersed the cigar smoke.

"You know, I don't really blame you." he spoke calmly. "You might have heard some things and thought you knew about me, but the fact is you didn't. Nobody really does. Not you, not the women I share my bed with, not my associates hiding back there in the shadows. You see its been a journey for me to get where I am and I'd like to share that with you tonight."

He took another drag from the cigar and began.

"My earliest memories were not happy ones. My father was a construction worker. Not a rich man and his family, well I never knew them. They had practically disowned him for marrying a Matari immigrant. They were very racist and not what you'd normally expect in Gallente society. So it was me, my father and a cheap apartment in a downtown hab-block. When I was old enough I started to ask about my mother. I was told I was too young to understand and my questions were casually dismissed. By the time I started school I was being bullied. Poor, half-Matari and a single parent family, it was bound to happen. Eventually my father told me my mother was killed in an accident and that was that. The bullying made me tough and I started to fight back. In high-school I finally snapped. Egomo Hitama was his name. Leader of a gang of three other thugs. He thought he was top dog. One day he decided to pick on me. It didn't go well for him. An hour later I was sat in the principal's office battered and bruised. Egomo had gone to the hospital. My father was there and so were the bully's parents, both of them. The Principal was fair and when the snooty bitch started ranting how it was my fault the Principal calmly explained that it was her son who was a known bully. Well that just made her go mad! She started shouting and screaming and saying it had to be my fault. Then she said the line that set me on this journey. 'You only need to look at what happened to his mother to know what kind of boy he is!'. My father jumped up furious, Egomo's dad and the Principal had to restrain him. I just sat there as the grown-ups shouted and struggled.

A few days later I started to look into my mothers past. Have you any idea how much of our lives are available for all to see if someone looks properly? Government records, the GalNet, freedom of information laws and the networks that store information for ever. It soon came apparent why my dad never talked about her. She was a junkie. I found news of arrests and prosecutions in the paper's court session sections. Mindflood, Exile, Blue Pill. She did it all. I went home and confronted my father. We almost came to blows I was so angry. Why didn't he stop her? Why didn't he get her clean? What happened to her? In the end my father opened the small valuables safe and took out an old-style holodisk. He told me he did everything he could to stop my mother from using and tried to save her countless time. With a tear in his eye he said he never, ever gave up on her right to the very end. However she was too far gone. He told me she owed a local gang far too much money and they took her. The amount they wanted for her return was far too much for him to ever be able to pay. He offered them everything he had. He found the holodisk at home after returning from his shift. In the end he went to the Police, however she was never seen again. If I wanted the truth I could watch the holodisk. It also contained the messages back and forth. However he warned me it would also destroy me. I was 18, he said I was a man and could make the choice. He slammed it down on the table, grabbed his coat and left the flat. I looked out the window and saw him cross the street far below to the Thanatos Bar. Man, I miss that dive. Anyway, sitting down on our raggy sofa I stared at the disk. My fathers words swimming through my head.

I made a massive mistake that night. I played the disk. My father had been truthful. The first message from the gang was a simple 'Your wife owes us this much and if you want to see her again pay!'. He said they didn't have that money and offered all they had. Not even a quarter of what she owed. The gang refused and threatened her again. My father offered to pay monthly from his meagre salary cheque. He begged them not to harm her. I sat and cried reading his hearth-felt pleas to the drug pedlars. Towards the end there was a video attachment. I knew I shouldn't open it, but I couldn't stop myself.

It was poor quality. A Matari woman was kneeling on the floor. She was naked and looked completely out of it. Drugged up to the eyeballs. Five or six men where there, their faces hidden by shadows. They used her every way a man could, teasing her with more drugs she'd willingly do anything to obtain. The message finished with one saying the interest on the debt had been paid but the debt itself was outstanding. More begging messages from my father, no interest in negotiating from the gang. The final message was from them 'We know you went to the Police. Game over.'

I ran to the bathroom and threw up. My hands were shaking and my cheeks were an angry red. Tears streaked down my face. Fifteen years ago that gang had abused and killed my mother. That angry young man suddenly had a purpose.

I was able to get a look at the police files. A sympathetic officer understood I needed closure after recently finding out about my mothers death and was happy to take me through the investigation all those years ago. The file was sparse but said it was almost certainly the local Serpentis Syndicate was to blame as no other gangs operated in our area. The Serpentis were very good at holding their territory apparently.

I didn't do well at many things in school however I found I had a natural talent for chemistry. That was my way in. I finished school, moved out of home and got a fake identity from an old contact and used it to get a job in a bar. It wasn't hard as I wanted a dive-bar where my prey would frequent and they were always looking for staff. Its funny when you think about it. An eighteen year old boy going up against the Serpentis. Anyway I started cooking my own product. I made sure I used high quality ingredients. I needed my shit to be better than theirs. I started selling it on the side at the bar at a substantial loss. I knew this would attract the bad guys. Of course it did. Thankfully I was waiting for it and prepared. They sent some low-level thugs. I left one alive, gave him a sample of my product and told him to report back to his bosses. The next day they came. I realised it was the real deal when the bar suddenly emptied. A smartly dressed man entered alone, however I noticed shadows moving in all the exits. He sat at the bar and ordered a Gallente Sunrise. A difficult cocktail but I pulled it off. He then casually placed a Douvalle Labs pistol on the bar top and asked why he should not unload the clip into my face. I told him I was a great cook and could look after myself, as the goons he sent the previous night found out. I said honestly I thought it would be the best way to attract the top guys without too much hassle. He appeared to chew over my reasoning whilst tasting the drink. He had a surprised look on his face as he sampled the cocktail and nodded to himself. He finished the drink in silence, stood and walked out taking his gun with him. Two guys entered the moment he left and took me away with them. I had no idea if I was in or whether they were taking me out back to blow my brains out or to offer me a job. Nothing I could do about it. These weren't simple street thugs. These were professionals. The real deal.

I was driven to the up-market side of town. We entered a property through a secure gate with armoured guards carrying Ishukone assault rifles. The grounds were amazing, but also dotted with more heavily armed guards holding drooling Slaver Hounds on short leashes. If I had even found out about this place there is no way I could have got in myself. However, here I was being driven in by the gang themselves.

The first few days there were a blur. I was the hired help. I had a small lab which I was expected to make high-quality shit for the personal consumption of the top guys and their guests. They didn't want the cheap mass produced poison they peddled to women and kids on the street. I was also expected to man the bar during parties, and there were parties all the time. As time went by I was given more freedom and spent more time in front of the bar than behind it. One day the man who had come to the bar that night came to my room. His name I knew was Tuvan but what I didn't know was who he was other than he was fairly highly up in the food chain. I was playing the long game. I wanted to take the whole lot of them down. I knew he was leadership but not high enough. He took me to a room. I felt sick. It had hardly changed in the 15 years. It was the room from the video. A naked man was tied to a chair. His eyes wide with terror. A white rag stuffed in his mouth stifling his cries. I was told he was a street dealer, skimming money from the organisation. The only thing worse than informing on the Serpentis was stealing their hard-earnt drugs money. I was to punish him. A big Matari hunting knife was handed to me. They probably thought it was funny, give the half-Matari guy a knife from Pator. I knew this was my chance. I could have plunged the knife into his chest, game over. However I needed to show I could be more useful. I told myself this guy was old enough to have been one of the ones in the holovid. That's all I needed. Whether he was or not didn't matter to me. He was a means to an end. After twenty minutes Tuvan said enough and finish it. One of his men had even thrown up. I looked at Tuvan and he looked at me. I was a state, panting, covered in sweat and the man's blood. He gave a smile and the same nod I'd seen at the bar. I'd done a good job.

From then on, I was Serpentis. Whilst I still got behind the bar occasionally when people begged for one of my specials or I cooked up something nice for a special occasion I was beyond that. I was a lieutenant in the biggest crime-syndicate in Gallente space. I played the part. I partied every night, my bed was never empty of a beautiful woman, or women. The money, the power, it was like a drug. I still needed to know how high the local leadership went. I still couldn't take my vengeance yet. So I continued playing the part. I was expected to dole out punishments and became one of the most feared members. One of our own even tried to kill. After what I did to him nobody else tried. I justified everything by thinking I was paying them back, the whole stinking organisation, for what they did to my mother. I never realised what I had become. How deep I was sinking into the filth.

It all came to a head later that year. I was told we were going to a party. Every party had been at the mansion where I lived. I'd not left the estate since arriving. If I thought Tuvan's place was amazing, this other one was fit for an Amarrian Emperor. It had military scale defences and the house itself was the size of an average spaceport. The party was posh. I saw the planetary governor and the chief of police who I reconsigned from the news reports. They had the entire planet in their back pocket. At on point Tuvan came over and ushered me to a side door. Inside the elegant room as a smaller party. My boss led me over to a corner where a man was sat with four scantily clad women. He saw Tuvan approach. He introduced me and the man stood and shook my hand. He introduced himself as Raikanen and welcomed me to his home. He said he'd heard a lot about me and was impressed. We joined them and out of nowhere more girls arrived to ensure we were entertained. Towards the end of the night the girls begged Raikanen to do the 'thing'. He laughed and took his shirt off, flexing his massive muscles making them dance to the delight of the inebriated girls. I looked in stunned silence. The tattoos were familiar to me, I had seen them before. He had been one of the men.

We stayed there that night. I lay awake staring at the ceiling as two beautiful women worked on me. I wasn't really interested. Soon it would all be over, I had found him. The man who ruined my life and my father's, the man who killed my mother. Would soon be dead. However he had to be the last. I needed to track down the others first.

The next morning after breakfast I was escorted to Raikanen's office. It was like a museum with various ancient weapons mounted on the wall and ornate suits of armour from the distant past. Raikanen was seated behind a huge desk and explained to me there was a general problem with many of the men skimming money from the organisation. He had heard how many feared me. He wanted me to lead a small team as their own 'internal affairs'. I was appointed judge, jury and executioner. I had to stop myself from laughing. He'd just given me free reign to explore their entire organisation.

Over the next month profits went up. Not because I was stopping the internal corruption. Well, that's not true, I was indirectly stopping it. Using the holovid I was able to identify three of the others who had collected the 'interest'. I simply planted evidence and then dispensed the justice to them and their families. I didn't need to look for those who were really skimming money. They either stopped or fled after the rumours circulated about what I was doing to the men that I punished. I was the most feared man in the solar system.

The next invite I received to the leaders mansion was to a party in my honour. Whilst Raikanen hadn't named the party "Look as this amazing sadistic brute who has stopped our drug dealers stealing from us party" that's what it was. I partied like it was my last night alive, because that's what I thought it would be. I had a great time and when I was summoned I was giddy. This was it. I was taken back to Raikanen's office and he had a stack of cash for me. I was the prodigal son, so trusted I didn't need an escort. His number one man. He said I could ask for anything. I pointed to Matari short sword on the wall. A vicious weapon that bore Thukker markings. He bounded up and got it down for me. As we was walking me out I grabbed a pole-axe from a display and jammed it between the door handles. He looked stunned and suddenly scared. I ask him if he remembered my mother. The name meant nothing to him. Of course his screams brought security. They hammered on the door as I took my time carefully glancing back at the pole jammed in the door as it flex under the blows. As it cracked I brought the cold steel down into his cold, black heart and twisted. Finally the doors burst open and Tuvan leapt into the room gun drawn with half a dozen others. They froze at the scene in front of them. Me covered in blood holding an ancient Thukker sword deep in the chest of their boss' mutilated corpse. I couldn't be taken alive. I pulled the sword free and faced them down. I screamed at them to come at me. They didn't move. They simply stared at the horrific scene in front of them. The bullets I craved never came. Finally Tuvan spoke. His words were not what I expected. He said he'd get the cleaners to clean up MY office and that he'd come back tomorrow to ensure the organisation had a smooth transition period. They left, closing the doors behind them leaving me standing there like some battle-bloodied tribal warrior. I was stunned. Numb. Walking behind the desk I slumped into the huge chair. How could this happen? I was supposed to be dead. My viciousness and drive had got me to the top of the local Serpentis cell. I was their new leader. Now I can look back I see it. I had become worse than those who had killed my junkie mother. You may ask how did that happen? How can a man who went out to destroy the thing that killed his own mother end up leading it. How can a man who suffered such pain now inflict that same pain on others? I'm not sure I can answer that. Is it the power, respect, fear, money, wealth or the women? Likely all of them, it is no different a drug to any other drug my men sell on the corners of the streets. Perhaps I am just wired differently, a hypocrite of the worse kind. I went on a killing spree to avenge the murder of an innocent by killing more innocents. Whatever the reason, I'm sure it would take a lot of highly paid quacks to explain this.

So here we are at the end. The avenging angel of our story is now the demon. What I set out to destroy, I became. And then you turn up thinking you can sell your poor quality shit on MY streets? Didn't you even think for a moment to find out who this territory belonged to really? To find out what sort of beast I am? Its sad to think you could have avoided this by simply asking any low-life scum in this city about me. You'd have not got the finer details but the abridged version of the story would have been enough I'm sure to have you and your pretty petite girlfriend on the next InterBus shuttle out of here."

He sighed, stretched and rose from the chair. The man tied to another chair struggled as he picked up a bucket from the floor and walked to another chair where a woman was tied facing the man. He dumped the contents of the bucket over the screaming woman. A white rag stifling her protests. A strong smell of chemicals filled the air. The tied man screamed behind his gag, his nostrils flaring and his eyes pleading.

"For your transgression your girlfriend here has to pay the price from the lost business." he stated casually taking a lighter and new cigar from his pocket.

The bound man struggled and rocked the chair screaming loudly through his own gag. The suited man flicked the lighter, lit the cigar and then tossed the lighter at the woman. There was a 'whoomp' sound as the liquid caught. Within a minute her screams had stopped and the only sound was the crackling of the dying flames and the anguished weeping of the bound man. He then picked up a second bucket and poured the contents over him making him scream again.

"And you? Well you have to pay the interest I'm owed."

The suited half-Matari turned and walked away, tossing his cigar over his shoulder. The same 'whoomp' sound came a second later as he vanished into the shadows.

Back in the Goo

Sod it. Blood pressure be damned. I wanted to go and shoot stuffz last night.

I logged on after the patch and saw a war target in local. I love it when they come to me! I looked him up on the killboard and see he likes flying Enyos. So I hop in a Thrasher (I know, shocking right!) and undock. He's not on scan but there is a plex 20au off so I warp there. Enyo on scan, obviously this guy really, really, really likes Enyos. His board was full of them. I activate gate, land, he's not there. Not on scan so off I got to search.

I don't get him on scan anywhere in system. Is he using a deep safe? Is he warping in circles? I warp back to the distant plex and there he is. I enter. No sign. What the deuce is going on?

I go back to his killboard. Then I see it. Do you spot what I missed dear readers?

Of course you do. You'd have also probably looked around and seen this...

...and are saying "Seriously Drack? How long did you spend away from PvP? That's an LP farmer!"

So I know the Enyo is cloaked in the plex and as a medium he's already ran it for 18 minutes. He was only 2 minutes off getting his LP. So what do I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I simply sit there and watch the timer roll back.

Eventually he gets bored and decloaks 50km off and warps to a small plex. I follow him. Then its back to the medium. I am still stopping this poor farmer from farming. Then another Frog enters system. I spam short scan (the new scanner is awesome). Stabber.

I warp back into station. I have a single Stabber hull but its still this awful fit I created specifically to kill a certain ship. I have a Flabber. Would he engage that? May be? I jump in the Flabber and warp to the plex assuming Mr Cloaky Enyo doesn't have the balls to decloak even with a friendly Stabber there. The stabber has drones out when I arrive and its on like Donkey Kong. We're both AC fit and we start slugging it out. My shield drops much faster but incoming damage drops dramatically as he hits my armour tank. He see's this and tries to run. He gets out of scram range but the falloff from my autocannons and my drones kill him before he can warp off. GFs in local and back into a Thrasher to see if Enyo will decloak.

Another Frog enters system and looking at his KB he flies T1 frigates. I swap to a Kestrel and head over to a remote Novice Plex I assume he's in. At the gate I have an Atron on short scan and I entered. I glimpse the Atron as he warps off. I hope he'll return so wait. He does. He comes in and attacks me, his blasters hurting my shields badly. However I am dual web and AB and with a bit of overheating I'm scam-kiting him and my Nova Rage rockets win the day.

Back in the Kestrel, back in the Medium with Mr Cloaky. He won't even decloak for a T1 frigate. Stabber bloke comes back in another Stabber. Two options here. He's really dumb and come back with same fit and tactics which he lost to my Flabber or it's option 2. Option 2 could involve a refit to counter my Flabber or a small collection of mates the other side of the gate after he asked in his corp chat "Anyone want to kill a Fleet Stabber?"

I assume option two and swap to a Twin Prop Vexor with a flight of ECM drones. If it is a trap then I have some GTFOability before his mates arrive. He's kitey and I cannot catch him even with my MWD on. We play the range game but he keeps out of range. In the end I recall the damage drones, stick the ECM on him and warp out. He can have the plex! Two kills, no loses. That'll do me.

An Eve Vegas Skill Plan?

My skill plan these days is a simple one.

"Meh, just train all the things!"

All the skills I use in day-to-day Eve are level 5's. I'm nearing 140m skill points. I just added every ship and module related skill to the queue and let it run. Doing signature focusing V currently. 5% to target painters, woo hoo. Basically when my skill queue finishes in 537 days there is nothing but the skills I'll probably never use left to change. Years of science and industry skills, but nothing Drack needs.

Towards the end of that queue are the capital skills. I rarely use caps. Dreads rarely these days, carriers more for moving than fighting. I stuck in a few skills but do you really need V's for every cap skill if you rarely use caps? Meh.

However.... Eve Vegas!

The headlines as I saw it were:-

Titans and Supercarriers can be "docked" in XL Citadels meaning they are no longer space-coffins.
Carriers losing their logistics role and will no longer have repair bonus or triage. Their new role is to project damage over an entire battlefield.
A new capital logistics ship will be introduced to take over from carrier reps.
Dreadnoughts are the in your face DPS masters but will have the option of capital/structure or sub-cap shredding guns.

Titans will become bigger dreadnoughts and the feared power!

Interesting. very interesting. It appears capital warfare may get a bit more fun. The use of carriers especially so. Carriers will no longer be able to use drones. Instead they will use squadrons of fighters. Fighters will come in three flavors. Lights that are good versus smaller ships and other fighters, support (ewar?) and heavy which I assume will be good against bigger ships.

You'll be able to control three squadrons so technically you could be using one of each. It all sounds a bit "Homeworldy" and looks amazing fun (especially as nobody is relying on you to save their arse!"

The other thing is that new capital modules are coming. These include plates and shield extenders, T2 guns and.....

Wait! T2 guns? That means I need level 5 in the capital guns skills.

So I am now looking at changing my skill plan.

Gallente Dreadnought V was a few months away, I'm certainly pulling that up the queue the same with Capital Hybrid V. Capital ships V is also being hauled up from the bottom of the queue. I have Amarr Carrier V already but fighters are only at 3 and not even in the queue. 4 and 5 are being added.

So basically my skill plan has gone from "train all the things in any order" to "Hey I need these skills!"

You know, its almost like CCP planned it this way!

SCASSSS - The View

Sometimes I spend time creating pictures for my fiction. Sometimes I don't need to do anything other than point the camera and hit a button. Far too often in Eve between the pew pew I forget how amazing space is. These are the ones I used for Friday's fiction, so if you don't read fiction here they are for your viewing pleasure.

(OK, it was Eve Dubai this weekend and I'm playing catching up!)

The Maniacs

Fiction Friday and you know what tomorrow is don't you....

Escape pod here!

The Maniacs.

Senator Sivanne took his seat at the conference table. To be called in at this time of the morning meant there was a serious military emergency. As head of the Senate Military Oversight Committee he assumed this was a big one. His suspicions were confirmed as both political and military heavy-weights entered. The Vice-President made him spring up from his chair to shake his hand. The final man entered, Admiral Adune of the Federal Navy and everyone sat down.

"Sorry to wake you all at this hour but this could not wait and neither could it be done over comms. At 0300 this morning Admiral Breau went rouge. He stole an experimental TCOW and fled in a shuttle."

"Sorry Admiral, a tea cow? Sounds something the Caldari would invent!" the Vice-President asked drawing a small laugh from the people around the table.

"Captain, please." the Admiral said to the uniformed man to his right indicating he should take over.

"A TCOW is a tactical covert-ops weapon. It is a pre-first strike weapon designed to hit the enemy hard before a formal declaration of war is given by either side."

"Sorry Captain, surely if its a weapon designed to be used first that IS the first strike?" Sivanne stated.

"No sir. The TCOW is designed to look like a natural disaster. We've looked at weapons that generate earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and even devastating hurricanes. The idea is to soften an enemy before we launch a first strike or to delay them if we believe they are about to launch a first strike to buy us time."

The Senator nodded and things fell into place. The committee had appointed Admiral Breau as chief overseer of their special weapons development as he was very against any weapon that could be used to target population centres. They had thought he would be the best choice, obviously they were wrong.

"Where is it now?" the Vice-President asked.

"The shuttle jumped into the Odotte system two hours ago. An interceptor followed him through before he used his command codes to turn the gate off."

"You can turn gates off?" Sivanne said in surprise.

"In case of invasion our stargates have failsafes and all at rank Admiral and above have the codes. Its a short-term solution designed to slow an advancing fleet. We hope to have the gate back online in four hours. The problem was the fluid-routers that handle FTL communications go down a few minutes later. The last communication we got was from our interceptor pilot that he had engaged and shot down the Admirals shuttle as it was entering the atmosphere of planet Odotte IV."

"What weapon was aboard?" the Vice-president asked.

"Captain." the Admiral said.

"Its an untested one. New tech. Given the Nation incursions over the last few years we have been working with captured nanite-tech. There are a range of people working for Sansha Kuvakei. Some have little or no mind-control and follow out of free choice, others are completely bereft of free-will, True Slaves. We have been looking at their nanites that affect certain areas of the brain and trying to change them, namely empathy and aggression to make the populace the weapon."

"Layman's terms Captain. What does it do?"

The Captain and Admiral looked sheepish as they started to explain.

-o0o-

The steel axe was raised high and brought down at lightening speed. The young man just stood there for a second before his body peeled in half. Loud slopping noises were made as his internal organs fell from his body cavity and hit the floor.

"Urrrghhhhh!" type noises could be heard around the seated viewers. Essinan struggled to see the screen as Menivare kissed her neck.

"Come on, you're making me miss the best bit!" she hissed quietly. Menivare slumped back into his seat and grabbed his oversized cup of Quafe.

The masked killer was on the move again, his bloody axe swinging in great detail in a high-definition hologram.

"Flayen and Nimestre don't seem to care." Menivare whispered petulantly.

Essinan looked down the almost empty row to their two friends. Menivare was right, Flayen was sat in Nimestre's lap with her back to the screen, Nimestre's hands vanishing up her tight black vest as they kissed passionately.

"Later!" Essinan whispered to Menivare as she turned her attention back to the big screen.

It was their last weeks at Choutchat High School. Most of their exams were finished and they were looking forward to starting colleges or universities in the autumn. Essinan had applied to the University of Poteque on Gallente Prime. An opportunity to escape this backwater planet and escape to civilization. Menivare had applied to the Federal Navy. His bio-screening had shown they may be a possibility his genetics were capsule-compliant. If he got the top grades then he might get a place as a Navy pilot and even turned into a Capsuleer. They had already had the talk. Their six-month romance had been fun, but they were both pragmatic. They knew being solar systems apart was too far. They would have a wild summer and then say their goodbyes.

Essinan watched as the killer stalked the last girl. He'd already cut her leg badly and she was dragging herself along the floor as he approached with his axe. Essinan felt a hand on her knee, slowly snaking up under her skirt. She placed her own hand on Menivare's and guided it back down to a respectable location. She shot him a "not now" look and he rolled his eyes.

Shots rang out making her jump. The heroine had got the dead policemans dropped gun and was pumping the killer with hybrid rounds. Menivare said to herself he wasn't dead and sure enough after the survivor was limping out of the house where most of the killings had happened a big hand came out of the darkness over her face and pulled her screaming back inside. The door slammed shut and the credits started to roll. As the cinema lights came on Flayen and Nimestre quickly adjusted their clothing.

"Come on tiger." Essinan said to Menivare "Buy me dinner and I'll make you get some of that!"

Across town Mrs Catelnau was just putting the fries on to cook as she prepared her dinner. She heard the front door open and glanced at the clock, that would be her husband home. Their son wouldn't be far behind. He entered the kitchen and looked at the table.

"Dinner not ready?" he asked emotionless.

"Not yet darling. I got hung up at the shops ten minutes and...." as she turned he rammed his fist into her stomach. The air was blasted out of her and she fell to the floor gasping like a fish. Her husband reached down and grabbed her by the hair lifting her up. She wanted to scream but there was no air in her lungs. He casually pulled her to the stove where the deep fat frier was bubbling hard. Her eyes went wide in horror as she realised too late what he was doing. Her face was pushed into the boiling oil and her whole body convulsed. After 20 seconds she went limp and he released her, letting her drop to the tiled floor. He picked up the prepared salad that was sitting on the side and sat down at the table. A minute later his teenage son entered with his hoverboard under his arm. He looked down where his mother lay, her face bright red, blistered and peeling.

"You killed mom?" he said with no emotion.

"Yeah. Dinner was late."

"You killed mom?" he repeated.

"Yeah. Dinner. Was. Late." his father said between mouthfuls of salad.

The son walked to the counter behind his father, slid the carving knife from the knife block and raised it high bringing it arcing over his father's shoulder. The steel plunged deep into the man's chest chest. His father slumped forward onto the dining table. A ping from the deep fat frier indicated the fries were ready.

"Timing!" the son said gleefully as he opened the fridge, tugging on the door to move his mother's dead corpse out of the way as he grabbed some sauce to go with the fries.

-o0o-

Senator Sivanne was stood with the rest on the bridge of the Lady of Caille, an Eos Command Ship waiting near the offline stargate.

"Admiral. What is our best-case scenario?" Sivanne asked.

"Well, that would be the interceptor hit the shuttle on one side and sent it into an uncontrolled spin into the atmosphere. The weapons shell is tough, but not indestructible. Hopefully the whole thing burnt up on re-entry."

The Senator nodded. "Lets hope so. However what is the likely scenario in your opinion?"

"The canister survived and broke open as it crashed. Anyone going near it within the first few hours would be infected."

"OK, one last one, what is the worst case you can imagine."

The Admiral paused.

"The ship survived re-entry, just. As it plummeted through the lower atmosphere the increased air pressure combined with speed caused the shuttle to break apart. As soon as the containment on the warp drive failed the ship would explode. A warp core going critical would crack open the case but the nanites may survive inside. If this all breaks apart over a populated area anyone outside would be infected. Hundreds or thousands of calm people who would kill rather than roll their eyes. Anyone going out after the nanites fell are likely to experiencing other effects. Namely rage and psychotic tendencies. Those who stay inside are likely to find themselves unaffected but surrounded by homicidal maniacs.

The Senator took it all in and then guessed at the probability of the worse-case scenario. Given the size of the planet it was highly unlikely.

-o0o-

Essinan chewed on her burger and looked at the screen above the bar. Most people were watching it. A meteor or small asteroid had burnt up directly above the town and someone with a camera had captured the light show. It was fairly spectacular. Pity they had been stuck inside the mall at the time. Menivare and Nimestre were discussing sport with Flayen listening intently. The news program moved on to some report about a malfunction of the stargate meaning not only travel being disrupted but access to the wider GalNet being down. It was a busy day for the news on a planet that was usually so boring Essinan thought.

As the group finished their meal Nimestre asked where they were heading to next. Flayen immediately answered with the park. It was no surprise to Essinan, she knew Flayen very well and after what she'd seen in the cinema she knew he would be keen to get Nimestre somewhere dark and secluded. It would also mean she'd be fighting off Menivare. However it was a warm night and there was always the chance of more meteors. They all agreed and paid the bill and left the mall via the underground carpark in Nimestre's old battered car.

"Whats with all cops?" Nimestre asked allowed as they reached the elevated road way. Essinan looked out of the window. From their higher position she could see a number of blue flashing lights.

"Probably A-holes all thinking every bang is a meteor impacting in their garden!" Menivare said dismissively. 

Essinan continued to gaze out of the window at a distant flashing light wondering what was going on.

Over on Hueromont street Officer Roysen entered through the open front door. His gun drawn and held in both hands but lowered.

"Hello? Police!" he shouted. Silence.

"Shit." he whispered to himself. The town had gone nuts and emergency calls were so high they'd split partners up sending them out on their own. A call had been made that screams had been heard from this address. He continued into the house.

"Police! Identify yourselves!"

Still silence. He didn't even have a drone to back him up. At least he could have sent it in to see what was inside. They had already all been checked out by the time he got on duty. He edged to the doorway in front of him and heard a humming. A tune. He poked his head around the door. A woman was at a large wooden table taking flowers from a wicker basket and arranging them in a vase whilst humming to herself. A man lay on the floor near by. Training the gun on the woman he entered.

"Don't move! Police!"

She just continued to arrange the flowers. Officer Roysen saw the small gardening fork embedded in the man's neck. He was very dead. On the sofa was a young boy, probably eight or nine. A large pair of scissors jutted from his right eye socket.

"What happened here?" he shouted.

"Oh this?" the woman said as if she wasn't particularly bothered. "He had the Mindclash on. I hate that Caldari nonsense. So I killed him."

Officer Roysen stared open mouthed.

"What about the kid?" he hissed.

"Oh little Bique? Yeah he wouldn't stop screaming so I had to end him too."

Finally the woman turned. Early 40's and wearing a summer dress splattered with blood.

"I had only been gardening outside to pick some flowers." she said advancing. Roysen eyed the large knife she held at her side that she had been using to trim the flower stems.

"Stop right there or I'll shoot!" he said sternly. She advanced.

"Freeze lady!"

Suddenly she broke into a sprint raising the knife.

Five shots rang out.

-o0o-

"A bomb? You want the Federal Navy to drop a bomb on a Federation town?" the Senator asked in disbelief.

"An EMP device. Casualties would be minimal. Those with cybernetic implants sustaining them, anyone in surgery at the time, some traffic collisions. However it would fry the nanites." the Admiral replied looking over the holographic representation of the town. The fluid routers in the gates had come back online and FTL communications were back. The gates were now generating the wormhole connection and in a matter of minutes they would be able to jump in. A simple glance at the news coming through the gate had confirmed the worst fears had been realised. A small town in the northern hemisphere of planet two had been infected with the modified Sansha nanites.

"And how do we explain that? A Hound Class stealth bomber was lost and thought it was New Caldari!" the Senator bellowed.

The Admiral remain quiet looking at the damage projects on the hologram.

"Solar flare." he finally answered.

"Really? Thats the best we can come up with. A solar flare. People aren't stupid!" Sivanne cried.

"Yes they are." the Admiral flashed him a look which indicated the discussion was over. He picked up his datapad and spoke into it. "Bridge, as soon as we're in system order the carrier to launch the bomber and get them to warp immediately to the co-ordinates and await orders. Also I want our 'other' frigate on remote and in space and ready."

The Admiral put the datapad down and turned to the Senator.

"So who is calling President Roden for the Executive Order?" he asked.

-o0o-

Essinan pulled Menivare's roaming hands out from under her skirt. He gave her the puppy dog eyes. She rolled her own.

"After Prom, I promise." she said.

Menivare looked over his shoulder at the bush that separated the two couples. The noises from the other side left them in no doubt that Flayen and Nimestre were getting it on. Sighs and moans of passion drifted in the still evening night. Menivare looked back to her with pleading eyes. She pulled him in close for a deep kiss guiding his hands up her t-shirt hoping that would satisfy him for now.

The scream was earsplitting. A duet of agony and terror. Menivare and Essinan jumped to their feet and ran around the hedge. Essinan slammed into the back of Menivare who had stopped dead. She looked around him and cried out. There was Nimestre semi naked on top of Flayen . A strange man had plunged a long metal spike into Nimestre's back and clearly it had penetrated them both. The man twisted the rod mercilessly as the two teenagers screamed. Blood spraying from both their mouths.

"Nearly there and we'll have peace and quiet!" the man said cheerfully. "Wait... you two! Were you about to make noise? You were weren't you!"

Menivare took a step back. The man heaved the metal pole out of the now still bodies of Nimestre and Flayen. The teenagers turned and ran.

They had entered the vast park through a side gate to a secluded and quiet area. They were now sprinting to the well lit commercial side. They knew there would still be people there at this time. Late night dog walkers, lovers having a stroll after a romantic meal. Turning a corner in the path they skidding to a halt. A young woman was sat on a prone mad. She held a large rock in both hands and was lifting it high above her head and slamming it back down. His head was gone. A flat mess of crushed skull and brains. However she didn't stop. Menivare grabbed Essinan's hand and pulled her along. They rounded a wall into the plaza. Everywhere people were either fighting or laying still.

"The towns gone mad!" Menivare gasped. A small group of boys were busy kicking an old lady on the ground. One snapped his head around and looked directly at them. The others then turned their own heads.

"We cannot out run them all." Menivare said out of breath as they turned and slowly started to walk towards them. Essinan was about to say something when Menivare punched her swiftly in the stomach. She fell to the floor gasping.

"Sorry! Pretty sure they'll take a probe piece of ass over a sprinting jock!" he sneered and took off.

Essinan lay on the cold ground gasping as the boys approached, ignoring the fleeing Menivare. His rapid footfalls crunching on the gravel as he escaped.

"Back of boys, I'm first!" the bigger boy said producing a flick-knife. The blade sprang open with a snap.

-o0o-

Menivare leaned against a tree in the darkness. The green of the Gallente nebular gave some light to see the park by. He was sure he was alone. Yeah, he had to sacrifice his girlfriend but he could get another one. In fact he could get one now. The woman who was bashing that man's brains in, she was alone. He briskly walked around the edge of the park and back to where they had passed her. He crept close and peered over the bush. The body was there but the girl was gone. Pity, he thought taking her by force would have been fun. Anyway there may be more about. The blow to the back of the head knocked him to the ground. For a split second the small number of modified nanites that had gotten into his brain released their control. He was confused as he opened his eyes. Essinan! What had he done! Before he could answer that that grinning girl landed on top of him smiling wildly holding her rock high.

He screamed as it crashed into his head.

Back at the plaza Essinan struggled as the group held her down. Most of her clothing had been cut away. Several times they had cut her as she struggled and blood ran down her arms and legs. The bigger boy grabbed the material of her bra strap and flashed the knife in front of her face.

"Unless you want me to cut a tit off you better keep still for this next bit or...."

The bang made him stop dead. The boys parted as the police officer approached. His gun still pointing in the air.

"What do we have here?" he said with a grin. The boys looked scared.

"Oh don't stop on my account boys. Get the bitch naked, but I go first!" he said with a snarl.

The boys fearful expression gave way to wide grins. They turned back to Essinan.

The light was blinding. It illuminated the entire sky. People cried out in pain, dropping to their knees and holding their heads. Dozens of screams echoing from every direction. Then it was dark. Pitch dark. The pale green of the nebula and the faint moon providing the only illumination. No lights, no vehicles, nothing. The boys looked at each other confused.

"Freeze!" the cop shouted pointing his gun at the older boy with the knife. The boy dropped the weapon as his friends darted in all directions. He too turned tail and ran hoping that the policeman would not shoot a fleeing suspect. The officer knelt down by Essinan.

"Are you OK miss?" he asked concerned.

She rubbed her head wondering why of all the injuries she had the headache that appeared with the massive flash would be the worse.

"I'm OK... but you were...." he voice trailed off.

"Look I don't know what just happened there. All I know we need to get to a hospital. You need attention and I want a brain scan and some answers.

-o0o-

The Senator and the Admiral watched the large dot of light on the planet flare up and die.

"So it's over?" the Senator said.

"Almost. The solar flare can be explained. The hundreds of murders cannot. Anyone who was outside this night there will have been affected at some level. All depends on their exposure and their brain chemistry. Some will have murdered, some will have done other things nearly as bad. Some will have just have been in a bad mood. People will want answers."

"How in Divinity's Edge can we do that."

"We blame Sansha's Nation!" he replied.

The Senator looked at him.

"Wait a minute. You said ready the two frigates. We only needed one. That second one was a Nation ship wasn't it?"

The Admiral smiled.

"It was a captured frigate from an incursion a few months ago. We put it in a low orbit near the city when the EMP went off. It crashed during the lightshow. Local law enforcement will find it in the morning I'm sure. With nobody on board they will assume it went down earlier that night and the meteor wasn't what they thought. The Sansha will be blamed for what happened and everyone will thank the stars that a freak solar flare saved them all."

The Senator shook his head at how easy the lies would be. They had gotten away with it.

-o0o-

On the outskirts of the city the Succubus lay in a field in two halves, smoking. Partly from the crash and partly from the explosives planted to vapourise the Federation tech that was remote controlling it. Any investigation would conclude that it was a standard Sansha frigate and the crew had taken the ejection pod shortly before the crash. The Navy had thought of everything, other than running a bio-scanner over the frigate when they salvaged it from the engagement. It had been depressurised so they had not seen the point. None of the crew had survived.

In the silence there was a scraping sound. A sheet of charred metal wobbled and fell. A pale grey hand reaching from a dark hidden compartment. True Slave 749003 was free at last. He had work to do.

The end

BB68 - My Cat's Bed aka Eve Online PC!

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 68th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page.

This is my Rig, There are Many Like it...
What do you play Eve on? I'll show you mine if you show me yours! Are you pew-pewing on a laptop? Plotting universal domination on a 12 monitor set up? Mining away on a 50" TV? Is your set up located where your other half can speak to you or do you lock yourself away for hours in your Eve themed shed? How do you play your important internet spaceships?

Banter on!

-o0o-

My PC has many uses including a nice warm bed for Evie the cat.

However I prefer to use it for important internet spaceships.

You'll notice if you look hard most of the front of the tower has been pushed in. Because of Falcon cats. You'll also note that 6 months after I transported them from Iceland to the middle of the desert, my Rixx Javix posters are still not mounted on the wall because of reasons. They do hide the boxed PS3 though that I bought for Dust514 and then didn't like it.

 

On that table I also have my Eve stuffz including reading material on hand for references. The Empyrean Age, Templar One and Eve Source. "But where is The Burning Life" I hear you say. It is in one of the above photos and is serving an important part of my Eve Online life. Can you see it?

The PC is a Arabian Mau* modified Cooler Master nVidia case. Graphics is a Gigabyte GTX 760 2gb. CPU i5-3450 running at 3.5GHz. 8gb RAM. Nothing special really. Monitors have been added one at a time so running two (LG and Samsung) 24" widescreens (both 1920x1080) with a LG super-wide 2560x1080 in the middle. 

The Eve Probe screensaver looks good on them!

It can run 4 clients in max settings but I'm usually only running Drackarn on the middle one, zKillboard on the left (to check potential targets loss mails) and my digital shrine to Sindel on the right.

*That's the breed of Evie the cat who has battered the case!

** The Burning Life is under the centre monitor as the stand was too low compared to the others.

*** Before someone says it, yes, the electrical extensions are not ideal but housing here tends to have minimal wall sockets and anyway, everything is made of marble and concrete so nothing to catch fire!

**** Of course I don't have a digital shrine to Sin (other than the one I just made for this post). However, I just spent ages searching the web and Twitter for suitable images and then took the time put it together. So... yeah.... :s

Eve Blog Banter 68 - This is My Rig.

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 68th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page.

This is my Rig, There are Many Like it...
What do you play Eve on? I'll show you mine if you show me yours! Are you pew-pewing on a laptop? Plotting universal domination on a 12 monitor set up? Mining away on a 50" TV? Is your set up located where your other half can speak to you or do you lock yourself away for hours in your Eve themed shed? How do you play your important internet spaceships?

Banter on!

Contributors:-

The Hermit Cave - The Eve Hermit
@tgl3 cannot be arse to blog but Tweeted a photo :S
Go Fund Me - Eveoganda
Get yer rigs oot - Notes from New Eden
My Rig - Morphisat's Blog
Its not Much, But its Mine - Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah
Rig Check - The Ancient Gaming Noob
Show me yours and I'll show you mine - Absence of Substance
The Cat's Bed aka The Eve Gaming PC - SCAS
Flying the Deadly Skies on Ductape and a Prayer - A CARBON Based Life
If I show you my rig, will you show me yours? - CrazyKinux's Musing
BB68 - Back In The Saddle? - Diaries of a Space Noob
TECH/RIGPORN!!!!!!!!!!!!! - The Ramblings Of An Eve-Radio DJ

SCASSSS - Big Citadels are Big

800km wide player built stations? Soon (TM)

The Raid - The Conclusion

Friday fiction! Escape pod here!

The Raid - The Conclusion

Raysere stood looking down at the body of Draclira. Her white lab coat was soaked in blood. The lifeless eyes stared up at him, her mouth frozen in a silent scream. His crew stood back at a respectable distance. There had been rumors about the High Priest and the Chief Bleeder on the ship. The distance they made was a combination of out of respect and fear on how he would react.

He squatted down and ran a hand over her eyes closing them. He then whispered a prayer for the dead. She had been a true believer and his lover. Finally he stood and looked around at the mostly empty alcoves. Only the ones at the far end were occupied. They still contained the bodies of the first ones to be bled and were already dead. Grey bodies of Minmatars who had been completely drained of blood and left by the others.

"Any sign of the others?" he asked not addressing anyone in particular.

"No sir. We assume they made their way back to the Matari ship. This side of the ship is deserted, everyone is fighting the fires on the other side sir. Even the ones in the slave pens are gone. Someone took out the guards and let them out."

The saboteur had done an excellent job against them. Disabling the warp drive, destroying the primary and backup diagnostic terminals and disabling the fire suppression systems before torching sector 22. He couldn't destroy the captured Matari vessel, he needed it just in case they had to abandon their own ship. Now it was infested by those Matari sub-humans again.

"Chief Ezion. Form a detail with four other good men. Go back to the Mammoth and make sure we have control."

"Sir, just five of us aren't going to be able to recapture over 100 Matari...."

"Did I say anything about capture?" the Captain hissed. "This mission is BoB'd. Head over there, kill them all if you have to and ensure we have control of the ship. The rest of you either fight the fires or bring me the head of that damn saboteur!" he snapped.

The men quickly dispersed leaving him looking down at his ex-lover. He was about to leave when he noticed her data-badge. A clip on device she wore to monitor their captives. It also contained a small camera. He pulled it from her coat and linked it to his data pad. He watched silently the scene unfolding. He listened and then rewound the recording, playing a section back at a higher volume. He could hear one of the Matari speaking.

"...killed my loving husband, sold my son to slavery and given my young daughter to your twisted Captain....."

He sped it on again, fast forwarding where he heard her cry out and then fall to the floor. The camera now only showed the deck plates and a pair of Matari boots.

"Where is Aellike?"
"The Captain had her sent to his quarters. Only the Elders know what he has done to her!"

The Captain smiled and briskly turned to the door.

-o0o-

Chief Ezion stood by airlock four which linked to the captured Mammoth class hauler. It had taken too long to get ready. The small armoury nearest to the entrance to the Matari ship was found to be empty. The cowards in his crew had obviously armed themselves hearing there was a saboteur on-board. He had been worried the Matari had taken the weapons but he's checked the logs of the secure locker and one of his security staff had opened it and then closed it again a minute later with his hand-print so all was well.

"OK men, we're dealing with some terrified Matari refugees. They'll be cowering somewhere. Hopefully together so we can seal them in then cut life support. The only issue I can see is if they rush us, so we'll stick to choke-points and make sure they can't. Ready?"

The men nodded and confirmed their readiness. Each carried a laser carbine. An excellent weapon for fighting in a starship. It was a good close-quarters weapon and as a solid-state laser it was devastating against flesh. It was almost useless against armour meaning on the battlefield it was a poor choice, but in a pressurised can in space, it was ideal as it would be almost impossible to puncture the hull.

The team headed to the cargo bays assuming that was where the passengers and crew had gone to hide. Chief Ezion stayed towards the middle of the group as they advanced, weapons ready. Ahead they saw the closed door of cargo bay 2. The corridor was wide here to allow crates to be moved betweens the different bays. Various small shipping containers were lined up against the high walls. Ezion wondered why they had stacked cargo containers here and not in the hold.

"Pity we didn't know in advance they were heading back here Chief." one of his men commented. "This would make a great spot for an am...."

The security officer never finished his sentence. A bright red laser bolt shot down from upon high. His head exploded in a flash of super-heated blood, flesh and bone.

Another cried out, finishing the sentence his dead crewmate didn't.

"AMBUSH!"

Within seconds it was over. A sudden dazzling light show of bright red laser light and then the corridor was plunged into its dim flickering lights again. Ezion lay on the cold deck plate gasping, he felt his life slipping away. From where he'd fallen he could see between two of the larger crates. In the gap the body of Security Officer Nathrim was slumped against the wall, his right hand missing.

"So that's how they got the weapons." Ezion mused as a hulking Brutor rolled him onto his back with a boot. Ezion looked up at the sneering face of the Matari man which was then obscured by the muzzle of a laser-carbine.

A flash of light and it was over.

-o0o-

Hakar peaked around the corner. It looked to be clear. He advanced slowly towards the emergency stairwell. He hoped the route to the Captain's quarters would be clear with everyone fighting the fires he's started. Getting a starship to burn was not easy. For obvious reasons they made as much as possible from fireproof materials. However somethings could not be helped and too much reliance was placed on the high-tech fire suppression system. By disabling that in certain areas he had been able to create an excellent distraction.

"Daddy?"

Hakar froze at the sound of his daughters voice over the loud speakers.

"I hope I have your attention now you Matari dog!" a man's voice replaced his daughters.

"I have your little girl here. I will do things to her that would make Court Chamberlain Karsoth feel sick!" referring to the disgraced pervert who headed the empire for so many years. "Undo what you have done to the warp drive and the fire suppression systems. Return to the Mammoth and decouple. Once I have confirmed that is done I'll stick your daughter in an escape pod and you can scoop her and be on your way. We'll call it even."

Hakar powered up the stairs. He knew the Blood Raider had no interest in that deal. He'd destroy the unarmed Mammoth as soon as it was clear and keep his daughter for..." he tried not to think of what would happen as he landed with both feet on the stairwell landing. He stood to the side of the door and hit the open button getting the pistol ready. Nothing happened. He hit the button again. Still nothing. The system was powered and the door didn't appeared locked. It just wouldn't open. He moved to the middle and inspected the seal. He could see the discolouration on this side. It was welded shut from the inside.

"I'm not seeing my warp drive online. May be I should start slicing?" the Captains voice echoed through the speakers.

Hakar sprinted back down the stairs. He'd passed a maintenance locker a minute ago on the deck below. His heart was pounding in his ears as he ran.

"I'm pretty sure you have had chance to reach a terminal by now." Raysere said as if he was talking to a naughty child. Hakar burst into the maintenance room. There was a terminal there. However he knew if he did as was asked they would all die. The crew busy fighting the fires would come for him and with the warp drive active they no longer had a need for the Mammoth.

"OK, lets see how you feel after I've cut her pretty face off."

Hakar froze as he reached for a plasma torch. The scream was ear splitting. A high-pitched wail of agony. He dropped to his knees sobbing as the sound assaulted him. He didn't believe the Captain would follow through. He thought the Captain would keep her unharmed as a bargaining chip for his own life. He rose to his feet and grabbed the torch, tears streaming from his eyes. The screaming stopped abruptly.

"You might want to check channel 12" the Captain laughed through the speakers.

He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't stop himself. He walked over to the terminal and pressed a few buttons. The sight made him heave. The young face was bloodied muscle and teeth. The eyes stared forward, she'd passed out thought the pain but with her eyelids gone there was nothing to hide them. Brown. The eyes were brown. His daughters were green. The hair wasn't right either. He looked more carefully. With such wounds it was difficult to tell but the victim was older. He ran back to the stairs.

"She's still alive Daddy, just. If you undo what you have done then I'll throw in her detached face and an advanced medikit into the escape pod. You can return her to the way she was. But you'd better hurry, the flesh is dying."

Hakar reached the door and thumbed the switch on the plasma torch. The blue flame roared and then spat as he placed it between the two halves of the door.

-o0o-

Raysere checked the console in his quarters. The warp drive was still offline. This man wasn't taking the bait. He looked behind him. The daughter was in the corner sobbing, the remaining two slaves each side of her. He'd sacrificed the older one of the three he kept hoping to force the father to cooperate. It didn't look like his gamble was paying off. He stormed up to the young girl and grabbed her by the front of her t-shirt.

"WHO IS HE?" he screamed in her face "WHO IS YOUR FATHER!"

She looked him in the eye. She was no longer crying. The fear in his eye's giving her all the confidence she needed.

"To an Amarrian dog like you? Well, he is death. He is nemesis. He is justice." she sneered.

The Captain roughly backhanded her across the face and she screamed as she was knocked back.

"Well he's not getting in here any time soon with the doors welded so I'll show you what a real nemesis is!" he growled. He grabbed her t-shirt and ripped it from her before throwing her on the bed.

"Sounds like I'm going to have to kill daddy dearest." There was a clunk as he dropped his pants "But we've got plenty of time to have some fun! Ready to become a woman?" he snarled.

She screamed as he pulled at her jeans. She fought but he was too strong. He'd just got her belt unclasped and was trying to pull them down when he heard the door to his quarters hiss open. He turned, unbelieving that anyone could get in. In the doorway he saw him, a Matari man holding a laser pistol that glinting in the light. He looked down at his feet. His own pistol was in its holster which was now pooled around his ankles. He looked back at the Matari man and then down the crying, half-dressed girl below him with the bloodied lip from where he struck her. He swallowed hard. He had been caught with his pants down, literally.

-o0o-

"How are you doing here?" First Officer Hooran asked the man with the portable fire suppression gear as he sprayed white gas at the flames.

"OK sir, we're not really making any head-way but we are holding the fire back. The fire suppression in the centre of the sector is completely offline, out here on the edge it is intermittent. Whatever the intruder did, he didn't do it properly."

Hooran watched as the fire rolled forward and the team beat it back again and again. The fire suppression system helping every now and again. It wasn't totally disabled and the system in this area occasionally activated but only for a few seconds. Whoever that Matari intruder was he was both a genius and an idiot. You needed brains to be able to hack and disable the fire suppression system on a starship, but he was relying on the crew to stop it going out of control and killing everyone on board. It was a stupid risk and....

"Everyone, fall back to Sector 21!" he suddenly shouted.

The men looked at him in shock.

"But sir, we have the fire contained. If we pull back..."

"That is an order!"

The men started to pull back and immediately the fire advanced. The retreating men looked puzzled as their first officer stood where he was, facing down the approaching flames. Just as the flames were about to cross sectors the fire suppression system activated. White gases bellowed down from the ceiling beating the flames back. Then it cut off suddenly. It wasn't poorly hacked, he'd partially disabled it. Just enough to keep the fire from engulfing the ship and to make them think they were keeping it back themselves. A distraction. Hooran turned and ran to the bridge.

It took less than three minutes for him to burst onto the con of the cruiser. He hated being right. Everyone was dead. Slumped at their console, executed where they sat. A horrific sight awaited him at the front. The captain had been nailed to the black viewscreen with his arms outstretched. The screen itself sparked and hissed through the cracks. The captain was gagged and wore a blindfold. A blinking datapad was hung around his neck.

Hooran cautiously approached. He took the datapad. He felt a sudden resistance that gave as soon as he encountered it. The Captain woke suddenly, screaming behind his gag, he wasn't dead. Hooran noticed the wire coming out of the back of the datapad which had caused the resistance. There was also a faint hissing now. He realised what was happening and he moved fast, twisting away and leaping over a console to shield himself. It wasn't as much as a blast as a whoosh. The unmistakable blue flame of raw plasma lit up the room roaring over the top of the console he was hid behind. Then it was quiet. He slowly poked his head over the console. The Captain was still handing by the metal rods through his hands, however the blast had torn the lower part of his body apart. His torso twitched and his legs were either side of the room. Coils of intestine pooled below him making a wet slapping noise as more fell.

The First Officer stood their in shock. Almost on autopilot he pressed a blinking button in front of him indicating a priority message from their escort ships.

"WHAT THE FRACK ARE YOU DOING? YOUR NEUTING US BOTH DRY AND THAT MATARI RUST BUCKET IS ALMOST AT THE GATE. WHAT IS GOING ON?"

As if in a trance Hooran walked over to the weapons console and looked down. The two modified energy neutralisers the ship carried were firing on their escort frigates. He deactivated the weapons and took one last look around the carnage. For no reason other than morbid curiosity his mind then wandered. It had to have been a plasma torch and been turned into a bomb. So where did he hide it on the Captain? He would have seen it. He then looked at the damage and realised where it had been inserted.

"Oh my....." he said out aloud feeling a little queasy.

-o0o-

The Gallente coffee was strong and sweet. Hakar and Waninna sat at the small table at the street cafe. They had a good view of Aellike across the concourse wandering through the boutique. Thankfully she had gotten over the ordeal with the Raiders quickly.

"So consultancy?" Waninna asked.

"Yes, simply a desk job." Hakar replied sheepishly "After the debriefing they contacted the Republic Fleet and were able to pull my old record. Not sure they believed what everyone told them. I guess those idiots at my old HQ felt they needed to keep the Gallente paymasters happy."

"But you said....."

"I know. When I did my 10 in the special forces I was out and a civilian, but we are now refugees. This is an opportunity and pays well with no risk. Just me telling these soft Gallente how to really fight." he laughed. "Look, if it bothers you that much I can find anything else."

"Like what?" she sighed, already resigned to the fact they had little choice.

"Well we are now in the land of the free and liberated. I heard that there is a special adults club near here. With my new found skills of inserting...."

Waninna held up a hand to stop him.

"If it means I never have to hear about where you stuck that plasma torch again, you can work on the frontline for all I care." she replied spluttering her coffee.

They both laughed as Aellike returned with her purchase.

The end.