It was quite a party. The hanger deck was littered with empty bottles of alcohol, passed out Warriors of the Ushra’Khan and -A-. Xious could be seen staggering about with the assistance of quite a few ‘Ladies of Love’. He was smiling in a drunken stupor, singing some ancient song about a drunk Scotsman and a blue ribbon left by some admirers.
It was a glorious mess and it had been a long time coming. Unity Station had been freed after years of fighting. Now came the push further into Providence. CVA had been defeated again and again. They would continue to push deeper into their space.
CVA will fall. The death blow had been delivered, the rest of the body did not know it yet.
Ga’len stood, as best as the many spirits he had consumed would allow him. It was a hard fight, but he was finally aboard Unity Station.
“So,” Ga’len began to speak to a recently freed slave, “What do you plan to do now?”
“Well, the man over there,” the freed slave spoke while gesturing towards Xious and his gaggle of love,” he said, or rather slurred heavily, that I should speak with you.”
“Oh, what about?” Ga’len was looking at this man’s very intense look on his face.
“Well,” continued the man,” I think you may know about my daughter.”
***
Moments later…
“Whoa. I must have had to drink than I thought,” Ga’len said slowly. He was lying on the floor of the hanger, looking up at this man, “I thought you just said something about your daughter.”
“I did, but, uhm, perhaps you should let me explain,” continued the man as he extends his hand down to Ga’len, “I am Karled. Xious tells me that you have been taking care of a young girl that may be my daughter.”
Karled shows Ga’len a photograph of a younger Breanne. “Please, have you seen her?”
Ga’len graciously takes Karled’s hand and is helped to his feet. “Good sir, yes, my sister and I have been taking care of her. I will take you to her at once.”
Karled exclaimed, “Oh thank the Gods!”
Ga’len and Karled made it quickly across the hanger decks to Ga’len’s Vagabond, An Bealach an Vaga. After securing Karled in the rarely used passengers section, Ga’len got into his pod, his “Jovian Spud” as he sometimes called it and engaged the loading mechanism.
Undocking from Unity Station in 9UY4-H was fast and simple, not a single slaver in sight. As Ga’len willed his ship into motion, he willed the internal ship comms into life and brought Karled up to speed on the event leading to the discovery of his missing daughter.
“I can’t thank you enough. My wife is in Z-RFE3, looking for Breanne at the station there,” continued Karled, “Is it possible to send her word as to where we are going?”
“The panel in front of you should be active now,” Ga’len spoke from his mind’s voice over the internal comms, “Let her know that we will be arriving at the station in 15 minutes. Breanne is with my sister at the station in D-GTMI. I will be happy to take you both there .”
Ten minutes later, Ga’len jumped into a gate camp. Several tackler ships and a few battle cruisers to provide the damage dealing needed to destroy a target.
“Sod it,” Ga’len mutters in his mind. He aligns to a planet and engages his micro warp drive. The local comms channels come alive as Ga’len yells in his mind, “SLAVERS REPENT! LEAVE NOW AND YOU SHALL LIVE!”
The panel in front of Karled displays the visuals outside the ship. He chuckles to himself as the entire Slyph gate camp simply flees into random directions away from the gate.
“So,” Karled speaks slowly, “They flee before a single ship?”
Ga’len chuckles in his mind as he engages the internal comms, “The slavers who held this space know that they are defeated. It’s time for them to protect what they have left, tuck tail and run. We shall be in Z-R soon, I am alerting my sister, Leainati, that we will be arriving in D-GTMI later today.”
A few minutes later, Ga’len had his vagabond docked in station safely. Karled and Ga’len made their way from the hanger decks where they happened upon a very petite woman. She had to be Breanne’s mother. It was her eyes, they were so blue. She was trembling and it had been obvious that she had been crying recently. She tried to speak, but her voice failed her.
“Ma’am, I am Ga’len. Breanne is safe, she’s with my sister in D-GTMI. If you come this way, we will head there immediately.”
She said nothing, just smiled broadly as we turned back towards the hanger.
“Ga’len,” Karled spoke, “This is my wife Taren.” Taren nodded as they quickly walked toward the hanger.
“Don’t you worry,” Ga’len said quickly, “We will be there soon. My sister Leainati is expecting us. If I know her, she’s already alerted our fellow warriors to help secure our route, we should get there within the hour.”
“Is she….how is….,” Taren’s voice was very shaky, she could barely speak.
“She is safe and unharmed, ” Ga’len assured Taren, “She’s a beautiful child. Yes, she has all her fingers and toes and none the worse for wear so to speak. She does think that you two were killed when you were taken away, but that will all be over very soon. Let’s get you two aboard and get going.”
***
The trip to D-GTMI was fast and fortunately, without incident. Many Warriors of the Ushra’Khan who were in systems they had to travel through were actively providing intel on enemy movements. Before Ga’len realized it, they were on final approach to the station in D-GTMI.
Docking was quick as everyone had been alerted by Leainati that Ga’len had VIP passengers for D-GTMI station. She told everyone who the passengers were, but to keep things quiet around Breanne.
They were greeted by Leainati on the hanger deck, she spoke warmly as Karled and Taren were climbing down the embarkation ramp, “Breanne does not know you are here, I wanted to keep this a surprise. She’s on her way to the hanger as the thinks that ‘Uncle Twig’ is here for a quick visit.”
Karled and Taren looked at each other and then towards Ga’len with a shared questioning look between them.
“Well, she took to me. She’s a wonderful child, ” Ga’len smiled as he spoke, “everyone in Ushra’Khan has become her family these past few weeks.”
As they approached the corridor doors, they parted and out came running Breanne. She looked at Ga’len and then stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes wide, she stood with her jaw agape.
Ga’len walked over to Breanne and knelt down on one knee and spoke, “My little acorn, look who I found.”
Breanne’s eyes filled with tears as she slowly began to walk. Taren fell to her knees and she started to cry uncontrollably as Breanne started to run towards them. They all knelt there on the floor, hugging each other and crying.
Leainati walked over to her brother as he stood up, “How in the world did you find them?”
Ga’len shrugged, “He found me, said he heard from Xious that we were taking care of a little girl. He showed me a photograph of Breanne and I thought it would be best to get back here as soon as possible.”
They all gathered back together near the corridor door. Taren had regained some of her composure, walked up to Ga’len and gently slapped him across the face.
Ga’len was slightly stunned and glared at her as she spoke, “I hate all of you Amarrian bastards. Your people took us away from our daughter but you are not like your people are you? You take that slap to your face and you return it to them ten fold.”
“No, I am not,” Ga’len continued, “I hated how my family kept and abused slaves. It’s why I left that place. Don’t you worry, that slap has been delivered to them time and time again.”
Karled spoke, “And now -A- and Ushra’Khan are freeing Providence from that slaver oppresion.”
“Yes, they have,” Ga’len agreed, “We came for our people and now, my work here is done.”
Ga’len smiled as Leainati looked at him, “I joined Ushra’Khan with the hope of helping them return to their home at Unity Station. I joined them to help re-light the fires of hope, to light the beacons of truth. That part of my work is finished now.”
“So, with the slavers in Providence all but completely dead,” Leainati asks, “What will you do now?”
“I shall return to that which I know best,” Ga’len replied, “I shall go back to being the rogue who wandered. That was my home, it’s time I returned.”
Breanne looked up at Ga’len as he slowly knelt down to the ground, “My little acorn, oh my child, I must leave. It is time for me to go. Don’t you worry, my friends in Hellfleet are expecting me.”
Karled spoke, “Well, we can’t stay here. It’s still not that safe for us. May we come with you? We will find a way to pay you.”
Breanne threw her arms around Ga’len’s neck and hugged him, “Please take us with you!”
“If you wish, I will take you all with me,” Ga’len assured them, “but you need not worry about money. Loving hugs are the best currency. I must head back to Unity Station to say by goodbyes.
***
Back at Unity Station, the meeting hall was almost empty as Ga’len walked through the door. He was wearing his old clothes and was carrying a satchel with his Ushra’Khan uniform.
There was no one from leadership there as he had hoped. They were all called away for another battle. There was a note left for him however. It read simply, “We will miss you, Ga’len, take care. Keep the uniform, you may be back one day as the Ushra’Khan bug is not easily ‘cured’. We would have been here to say goodbye, but we had to go…for our people.”
Ga’len smiled as he looked out the window. He saw the massive fleet warp away to battle. They would free Providence of the slavers, that was to be sure.
For him, it was time to head back to D-GTMI, collect his “family” and head to his new home in low security space. The time for piracy had returned.
More of The Bleeding Rose
Tags:
-A-,
9UY4-H,
D-GTMI,
Piracy,
ProviWar,
Slyph,
Unity Station,
Ushra'khan
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