Equal Measure - Part 1

Introduction:

I tried to come up with names which I thought would fit the different races. Here's a short sort-of phonetic English pronounciation guide for the dramatis personae:

Alira Tjalgard: AwLEErah CHAllguard
Cedrien Roucellis : SAYdreeun RUEsaylees
Keram Themas: KAYruhm THEYmuss
Halis Ettin: HUHlees AYttin
Dirgren Briguduttin: DEARgrehn BreegYOUdotin
Sandrielle Jaunes: SAWndrEEel JAWnes
Sylera Aulithe: SYlAIra AWleeTHAY
Shisei Kanioota: SHEsay KAWneeAWtah

'Space is silent. Humans - however - did not evolve in an environment of silence.
For us, orientation depends on sound as much as it does on vision, and to orient oneself in space is essential for a capsuleer. This is the reason why the neural interface of the capsule translates specific energy-waves into sound. Uncannily the right emissions from the outer space environment are selected to be conveyed to the nervous system in such a way, that the brain hears something, even though the eardrums remain untouched, immersed in capsule fluid.'

Alira was idly reminiscing about this introduction by one of her instructors from capsuleer training, when the passage of mass excited the gravitons forming the wormhole tunnel before her. The effect sent impulses to her brain creating the illusion of a swelling sound washing over her. Her brain reflexively sent the signal to open her eyes, and - although her eyelids remained closed - the sensors of her ship activated and fed information back to her. Light flickered along the rim of the undulating wormhole, but no ship became visible. Whoever had just come through remained unmoving and maintained the jump cloak.

Her body moved subtly inside it's pod while Alira brought the ship's systems online.
She felt the familiar tingle in her gut as the vessel accelerated. Cloaked as it was, it would not go very fast, but it would be sufficient to get within range to whatever came through the wormhole and at the same time get out of any immediately obvious jump trajectories the other one might choose. Willing her mind to convey speech through the neural interface, she engaged the intel channel to signal the other pilots dispersed throughout the wormhole system.

'Wormhole fire on alpha' she tersely reported.

'Copy that, it can't be one of ours' Alira would have identified the distinct Gallente accent of Cedrien, their chief officer, even if his name didn't flash before her mind's eye.

'I am on optimal, all systems standing by for decloak. As soon as he moves i'll have him pinned' Her awareness heightened, she was poised like a cat ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey. She knew that she had to be fast and time her reactions well, or else the intruder would slip away.

'Don't worry tribal princess, we'll be there to support you' A slight hint of an annoyed sneer momentarily appeared on Alira's features. Keram kept throwing those jabs at her. Despite being an excommunicated renegade, the Amarrian still retained a certain attitude of chauvinist superiority. He enjoyed provoking her. As usual she did not indulge him.

'Their phase alignment threshold is going to be reached in a few seconds. I'll time my decloaking to sync with theirs'

It must be a single ship. Alira thought. The wormhole lead to an isolated system in low-security space of the Arida region. The pirates haunting such sectors hardly ever cared about wormholes. Chances are it would be a lone explorer. Maybe a forward-scout for a bigger party? It was late at night according to standard time. Most of their fellow wormhole settlers were fast asleep in their bunks back at one of the small stations they had painstakingly built in this isolated system. Only Keram, Cedrien and herself were on active duty. Hardly an effective fighting force, but enough to deal with small groups of inexperienced intruders.

Her mind signaled the ship to decloak, and the outlines of her Loki appeared in space as if emerging from a mirage. The other ship appeared at the same time ... it was a Prowler Class Minmatar deep-space transport.

Alira's body stirred in her pod while the neural interface translated the action of reaching out and grabbing something into an activation of her stasis web and warp scrambler.
A second later she spread her fingers and the artillery cannons on her ship reacted by swiveling and pointing themselves at the target.

'Please don't shoot. Mayday! Mayday! Please don't fire!' A panicked voice intruded on an emergency frequency.

Alira hesitated, not yet releasing the massive projectiles chambered in her cannons.
The other ship was obviously damaged. She could see breaches venting burning gases.
Many of the viewport lights were off or flickering.

'Warp on my position, but hold cloak' she relayed to her companions. 'This might be a trap, but it seems like those people are in trouble ... and then I don't mean from us.'

Switching to the emergency channel she replied to the Minmatar ship. 'This is Alira Tjalgard of the Sebiestor Tribe' she chose to emphasize her Minmatar background to put the other party at ease. The ship showed markings and signatures of the Republic Fleet 'You have intruded into a settled wormhole system, state your business'

Relief was clearly audible in the voice of the man on the transport ship 'Greetings Daughter of Matar. I am Halis Ettin of Sebiestor. Technician first class, Republic Transport Liberty Sun'
He sounded young and determined despite signs of adrenaline-related strain in his voice
'We have been waylaid by pirates. Most of our crew are dead or injured. Our capsuleer pilot has been rendered comatose by an odd feedback malfunction. Me and some other technicians managed to mount and activate a probe launcher we had in cargo. The pirates had all exit gates and stations watched, we needed a way out.'

Smart and resourceful under pressure. Alira thought. She liked the way this boy was thinking.

'Alira, you keep them where they are. Keram stay cloaked and ready for trouble. I will jump through to the other side and check out that system over there.' Cedrien ordered via the intel-channel.

'Copy' Alira replied and switched back to the emergency frequency 'Halis Ettin. Hold your position and power down your engines. We will confirm your story'

'Odd feedback malfunction' Keram taunted 'Did you Minmatar people still not work that glitch out of the neurolink'

Alira again ignored his provocation. 'Let's maintain comm discipline Keram' was her only answer. Keram chuckled 'Yes Ma'm'

The wormhole flared when Cedrien jumped through. The smooth lines of his Proteus hull became visible only for a second before he vanished down the spatial funnel.
'Looks like their story is true. I have two stations and three gates on scan over here. All are crawling with pirate vessels. No probes, though. Space around the wormhole is clear.' He reported after some time. 'I'm jumping back. Let's escort those guys back to our station before the pirates out here figure out where they went.'

'Which pirates are that?' Keram inquired.

'The Empire's Rejects, that's what their ship-beacons say at least' came Cedrien's answer just before the wormhole sent another energy burst when he passed back through.

'Aah the Rejects. I flew with them for some time. Don't worry. Uriel will not send his guys into a wormhole. He is too scared of the Sleepers after they lost a whole contingent in an attempted raid.'

Alira was grudgingly reminded, how useful is is to have ex-pirates on their side, even if they are obnoxious Amarrians like Keram. She weighed his statement. She knew the Rejects were a band of Amarr outcasts and heretics, second only to the Blood Raiders in size and danger. More pragmatists than fanatics, though. Keram's assessment seemed plausible.

'I am taking no chances Keram' Cedrien replied. 'You park your bomber here at the wormhole, Alira and me will take our guests to the listening post'
'Liberty Sun, align your ship to the following coordinates. Warp there on the shortest trajectory. Any deviation and you will be fired upon without further warning' he instructed the transport.
'Alira, I'll jump ahead to open the station shield for them. You follow them in warp, if they do anything suspicious, blow them apart.' Cedrien added on intel comms.

***

In time, the damaged transport was docked in the angular shadow of their Caldari-manufactured listening post tower. Alira and Cedrien walked through the badly damaged interiour of the ship, lead by Halis and a whipcord-thin Sebiestor girl who looked young enough to be Alira's daughter.

"Sorry, we had to take the long way around. Decks three through five are irradiated. They breached one of our cargo holds full of enriched uranium." Halis excused himself to Alira.

Like most Sebiestor he was of light build, only slightly bigger than Alira herself. Lean hard muscles stood out beneath his grimy and torn utility clothing with almost every movement.
He was not unattractive with his boyish tussle of blue-dyed hair, alert grey eyes and ready wry smile.

'How many casualties?' Cedrien asked while he sidestepped a spontaneous shower of sparks. His tone had the usual all-business military dryness. He even wore his old Federal Navy uniform, even though out here he neither held rank nor office besides the role assigned to him by their corporation.

'We undocked with a crew of twentyfive plus our capsuleer pilot.' Halis began 'Three got sucked out a breach. Seven succumbed to radiation. One got fried by a power conduit explosion.' He paused while climbing over a girder in a half collapsed part of the corridor. 'Several burns of various degrees, cuts, bruises, fractures ... Dirgren' he indicated the girl with a gesture 'me and three others are the only ones who came out of it more or less unharmed'.

'I didn't know the Republic Fleet directly employed capsuleer pilots in their ranks' Alira interjected.

'It's ... part of a new program' Halis explained. They had arrived at the blast doors leading to the pod chamber.

Dirgren entered the access code and the double layer of movable bulkheads slid apart with a metallic rumble. Amid a circle of instruments, cables, pipes and conduits rested the pilot's pod. Her body frozen in a rigid position of cramped contortion. The fair skin tone, flowing whitish-blond hair, sharp features and slender feminine form looked out of place on this Republic ship.

'I am especially surprised to see they employ Amarr capsuleers' Cedrien stated with a look demanding explanation directed at the Sebiestor technician.

Equal Measure - Part 2

'Aah, there we have our sleeping beauty' Keram said. A satisfied smile spread on his thin lips. He looked older than he was due to his expressive aquiline features, as Amarr men often do, but when he got that smile and sparkle in his eyes - the one he always got when he successfully did something illegal or amoral - the deviant spirit of reckless youth showed itself.

'One day you'll have to tell me how you got access to the CONCORD capsuleer registry' Cedrien commented with barely concealed surprise. He sat down beside Keram at the console and activated another holographic terminal, joining it to the same fluid-router link.

'Sylera Aulithe, reported missing in a contested border system between Amarr and Minmatar space, in Devoid region ... hmmm' Cedrien drew his eyebrows together. 'She has no ties to any Minmatar corporate or tribal authority'

'Quite the opposite' Keram threw a datasheet he had pulled up over to Cedrien's display with a quick gesture 'She has been a volunteer in the 24th Imperial Crusade.'

The elevator door of operations-control opened and Alira stepped in. She crossed over to the raised command platform in the centre of the octagonal hall. The cold efficiency of Caldari design had long turned into a drab greyness due to lack of maintenance and cleaning out here in this frontier environment. It's functional austerity was further degraded by a clutter of toolboxes, non-standard equipment and all kinds of personal touches added by the users of the station.

Alira bent over to lean her arms on the backrest of Cedrien's chair and looked over his shoulder. 'I have arranged bunks for them in one of our secured cargo hangars. They have enough medical supplies, and my crew are busy helping them with anything they need.'
Cedrien looked up at her over his shoulder, about to say something.
'There's no-way they are getting out of there ... effectively we have them imprisoned' Alira reassured him before he could voice his concerns.

Cedrien smiled and nodded at the display. 'Look what Keram found. The whole background on that comatose capsuleer' he pointed at the holographic layers of information.

Alira's eyes jumped from one piece to the other. She twisted her androgynous features into a worried expression and ran slender fingers through her short red hair. 'It gets stranger. I had two of my tech staff inspect the pod of that transport. They assure me that the specs on that system could not possibly have caused a disabling neural feedback'

Keram grinned wolfishly. 'You're saying this Minnie trash actually works according to safety specs?'

'Looks like' Alira replied coldly and straightened. She looked down at Keram through narrowed eyelids. 'Apparently an Amarr capsuleer entrusted herself to it.'

'Ha! I doubt it was voluntary' Keram scoffed and shook his mane of wavy auburn hair in disbelief.

Cedrien slighly cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow. Alira liked when he did that. Not only was it usually an indication that he got one of his uncanny moments of insight, but it also made him look cute in that particular Gallente way. She suppressed a smile and the familiar pang she often got when she found herself feeling attracted to Cedrien. One day she would just have to come out to him. 'If only I had the attitude of a Brutor woman.' She was about to sigh when Cedrien interrupted her musing.

'What if you are right, and she didn't volunteer?' he ventured

Keram suddenly made a serious face. An expression that seemed to age him by ten years. 'Fedocrap!' he exclaimed 'That was a joke! No way you could make a capsuleer pilot a ship against her will!'

'Well ...' Cedrien continued with a concentrated frown. 'The Sansha managed to turn capsuleers, right?' He got up from his chair and turned to Alira. 'Instruct your technicians to look for anything that might be Sansha technology' he straightened his Gallente uniform jacket and smoothed his almost black hair back with his hand. Yet another one of those mannerisms Alira liked to watch. It gave him a certain air of authority. She could actually imagine him on the bridge of a Federation Navy ship, issuing commands as he used to before his political views made him lose favour in the ranks and he was forced to leave.

'I'll oversee the search personally, Cedrien' Alira announced and turned to leave.

Keram reclined in his chair and drowsily looked at the holographic display, running his eyes over the information again. 'You can't seriously expect her to find anything like that, right? I mean Sansha equipment on a Republic Fleet transport?! You're stretching it a bit there Cedrien.'

Cedrien took a few steps and looked out the slightly grimy viewport of the command center.
The cold light of the white dwarf star outside cast harsh shadows on his thoughtful face.
'Am I Keram? You were a capsuleer pirate, you should know that people will try anything to achieve a goal.'

Keram yawned and reclined even deeper. 'I just think you are wasting your time with this. But well, you're actually wasting Alira's time, so I don't really care. I am also officially off duty in ten minutes'

Cedrien smirked with annoyance. Keram was a good fighter, and he was loyal to the corp, but the Amarrian's attitude disturbed him sometimes. It did not fit with his military mindset deeply ingrained by two decades of service. Also he resented Keram's constant remarks against Alira. He shook his head slightly 'Who ever thought of having an Amarr renegade and a Minmatar vagabond in the same team?'

***

The crew assigned to shelter the wounded and survivors of the Liberty Sun had left them to their own devices. Halis knew that they felt safe. The fact was not lost on him that their hosts had chosen a cargo hangar with only one exit, nothing really useful or valuable in it, and no way for them to leave. He slipped from his bunk and signaled to Dirgren who nodded and followed him behind a stack of freight containers. Halis pulled out a remote control console from his satchel and sank down on his haunches, resting the device on his thighs.

'Are you sure everything is disabled' he asked the young technician while he started up his controller.

The immature looking woman nodded and made a few hand-signals of non-verbal Minmatar battle language. Halis smiled inwardly. Dirgren Brigiduttin had been specifically selected for her inability to speak and the genetic nervous-system aberration which rendered her immune to any attempts at neural mapping. That, and her absolute loyalty, made her the perfect person for a classified assignment like this. As it turned out, she was right. Halis looked at the simple non-holographic readout. The nanites they had injected earlier into the pod's command-and-control system were doing their destructive work. Only a few minutes, and there would not be a molecule of evidence left.

'Make sure you store our results safely, once they have no reference it will just be inconclusive flight recorder data' he added. Dirgren nodded again. Halis shut down his controller device and got up, flashing a quirky smile. 'Ok let's be poor marooned transport ship crew and go to sleep'

Equal Measure - Part 3

Frustrated Alira kicked an empty can of Quafe across the Liberty Sun's pod chamber and spat a string of curses to follow it in it's path. The instruments controlling the pod's functions had shown signs of deterioration, but now they were completely dysfunctional. She was locked out of the system.

It was late, or rather, it was early on the next day. Rows of Quafe cans all around were a silent testimony to feverishly worked hours, and the body of Sylera Aulithe, floating in her pod like a bizarre sculpture, was a reminder of failure despite all the effort.
Alira had kept working long after she had sent her crew to sleep, and now the realization sunk in that she had promised too much. She sat down on an equipment crate and rested her face in her palms. 'How am I supposed to find Sansha technology anyway? I don't even know how that differs from any other commonly used standard.' She sighed deeply and inwardly cursed herself for getting in over her head in an attempt to look good for Cedrien. Now she would look even worse.

'I hope you are not crying over an Amarr capsuleer' a smooth voice with a clear ironic inflection halted Alira's threatening descent into self-loathing.

She started and looked up. Sandrielle Jaunes. She would even have preferred the company of Keram at this moment.

Alira was plagued by severe jealousy when it came to Sandrielle. That Gallente woman was everything she wasn't: Feminine, mysteriously beautiful, professionally detached and always in perfect control of herself. She had the looks and aura of a holoreel heroine in a Gallente spy thriller. Worst of all she, was one of the few people in this odd band of wormhole settlers that Cedrien looked up to. Sometimes the way he would look at her bordered on admiration.

Alira straightened herself and stood up. 'No ... I was ... just thinking'
Sandrielle looked at her with those dark almond-shaped eyes as if she could read her mind.
It made Alira nervous and she turned away to point at the diverse instrument-consoles surrounding the pod. 'The command-and-control system has completely collapsed, all we have now is rudimentary life support readouts and emergency systems'

Sandrielle walked over to the disassembled instrument-consoles with casual grace and ran her gaze over the assortment of diagnostic units, backup controllers and secondary devices which had been connected to the array in an attempt to salvage it. 'It looks like you and your team did the best you could.' She rested two fingers against her cheek and pursed her lips. 'It surprises me that you didn't succeed'

'Was that a compliment or a veiled insult?' Alira never knew with this woman. She cast a droopy look at the jumble of cables, connectors and devices, resting her chin on her hands, her elbows on her knees. 'I don't know what it was ... we were getting somewhere but the whole system broke down for no reason'

'Oh ... ' Sandrielle breathed and turned around with a sphinx-smile. Alira almost rolled her eyes. She knew that expression. The next thing would be some cryptic statement. 'There is always a reason for every thing that happens' Sandrielle pointed out. Quite unnecessarily in Alira's opinion.

Alira got up and stretched her slim body. 'How long since you slept?' Sandrielle asked with more of a professional interest than personal concern.

'No idea ... too long' Alira replied

'Why don't you take some rest. Cedrien filled me in on the whole background. I will take over from here.' Sandrielle suggested 'You are not the only one with a good tech crew' she added.

'Why did she have to mention him?' Alira stopped herself from retorting with a defensive challenge. Did she just hear a certain element of personal concern behind the other woman's aloofness?

Sandrielle looked at Alira with the warmest smile the tired Sebiestor woman had ever seen on her. 'Alira, I mean it. You did your best. Find some sleep. Come back to it with a rested mind. We'll keep up the good work.'

Her exhaustion tugged successfully at Alira's resolve to defy that woman she could never really bring herself to trust. Sandrielle had appeared at their doorstep one day after a career as 'Diplomat' for an Alliance of dangerously sociopathic capsuleers living in the deepest recesses of the lawless Tenerifis region, on the fringes of the galaxy. Many of the settlers had accepted her for her skill and smarts. Keram, who usually managed to find out a lot of dirty secrets about anyone he takes the time to investigate, hardly found a shred of information about her at all. Alira remembered what he said back then 'Her record is way too clean for someone who lived in Nullsec space. Something's not right about her' It was one of the few times Alira agreed with the Amarrian.

'I guess you are right' Alira eventually replied. Dissatisfied she left the pod chamber that looked like the site of a lost battle fought with technology, sweat, smarts and semi-legal stimulants.

***

Alira walked down the corridor of gunmetal-gray industrial construction modules which lead to the docking ring. She had never liked the feel of the Caldari tower. Others might sleep in the station, but she preferred her ship. 'There are just too many questions' She thought as she slammed the airlock release with the last remnant of tired frustration. '... and one person who could provide answers' she realized.

Shortly after, her ship engaged with the docking system of the cargo-hangar floating a short distance off the main control tower.

***

Alira passed the rows of bunks in the emergency quarters they had set up for the crew of the Liberty Sun. Most of them were asleep. She saw mainly Sebiestor, a Brutor or two.
'A crew more fitted for a science vessel than for a deep-space transport' it crossed her mind.
She approached a small group of battered crewmen sitting around a small heat emitter drinking caffeinated breakfast stew from cups. 'Where can I find Halis Ettin?' she asked once she arrived at the small circle. 'Right over there, third bunk on the left' A swarthy Brutor boy told her 'The crew on this flight are generally quite young' she mentally registered. For a moment she fancied she was thinking like Cedrien, analyzing the situation, or even like Sandrielle, paying attention to every little detail. '

'Halis?' she whispered when she found him lying in a fold-up bunk bed. The blue-haired Sebiestor opened his eyes momentarily and looked at her, following with a tired smile. 'Alira Tjalgard ... you've come to wake me up?' he asked in an almost flirtatious tone.

'I am sorry' she knelt beside the bunk, feeling slightly embarrassed. 'I ... I just had a few questions that crossed my mind'

'I see' Halis replied. He swung his legs out of the bunk and stretched. Alira could not help but notice the play of taut muscles in his legs and arms. 'How long since I saw someone from my tribe' she inwardly wondered.

'Of course you have analyzed our vessel, and of course your Gallente captain has come to some conclusions by now.' Halis stated with an encouraging tone.

Alira unconsciously latched on to his direct opening 'Yes, we can't figure out how that Amarr loyalist capsuleer would voluntarily work on your ship, and why the pod's control systems have fallen to pieces like they did'

Only a second later her tired mind registered that she probably should not have said this.
The realization came too late.

Halis' hand shot out to her throat and cut off the inevitable scream at her larynx. The trauma to her windpipe deprived her brain of oxygen within moments as she choked for air. A blow that she did not even see coming in her stunned state sent her off into the void of unconsciousness.

Equal Measure - Part 4

Alira woke up to a feeling of panic. Her body reflexively wanted to get up from it's prone position but her forehead slammed into something hard and metallic sending her barely regained consciousness reeling again. Dazed she tried to determine where she was. Utter darkness surrounded her. She explored it with her hands and felt them brush against cool metal surfaces all around. Her fingers traced the objects chafing her back. 'Water containers. At least I wont die from thirst' She almost chuckled but her throat was still sore and swollen. Her jaw felt like something had hit her there too. 'How long have I been lying here' She examined her various pockets and found that they had all been emptied. She felt along along the lining of her utility jacket. Satisfied she noticed a slight resilience as she kneaded a seam. 'They haven't found the emergency comm circuit braided into my jacket. They must have been in a hurry' She pressed the button on her collar 'Operations control, do you copy?'

'This is OC ... is that you Alira?' Despite the low quality of the receiver she recognized the voice of Shisei Kanioota, the Achura scientist who ran most of the complex research and development projects they were conducting in the wormhole system. 'If Shisei is in ops then only a few hours could have passed, at most ' Alira concluded. 'I am stuck in a crate here. Most likely hangar two, bay seven, that was my last known location' she responded.

'Most surprising' Shisei answered with a calmness contradicting the stated sentiment. 'Your ship was registered as leaving the station shield'

A sensation like burning heat and freezing cold blended into one washed over her, followed by intense anger. 'Those sons of mangy slaver dogs stole my ship!' she slammed her fist into the side of the cargo crate confining her. 'I'm telling you, home in on my signal and get me out of this box!' she snarled.

***

'They could not have gotten very far' Alira rasped, her voice still not quite recovered 'To make all the subsystems of the Loki work together, you need a capsuleer pilot and a crew trained to use that kind of technology' She paced briskly around the command platform in the operations centre. 'I also made so many custom modifications to the ship that you'd need yet another technical manual to understand those'

'Would you please sit down Alira. We need to focus, and your agitation is not conducive to the process.' Shisei requested with his usual composure. Alira stopped herself but the habitual stoicism of the middle-aged Achura man annoyed her even more right now. 'It's not your half billion ISK flying around out there in the hands of ship thieves.' She stabbed a finger at the wide viewport and spat the last words with such a hateful emphasis as if she was talking about rape.

'Get a grip on yourself Alira!' Cedrien snapped with a commanding voice. 'As you said yourself, they could not have gotten far.' he continued with a more lenient tone while he stepped away from a holographic readout. He put his hands comfortingly on Alira's shoulders and bent slightly at the knees to level his gaze with hers. 'I need you here, allright'

Alira's inner turmoil dissolved in the deep pools of those almost indigo eyes. She nodded slowly 'I'm here, I'm allright'

Cedrien straightened and nodded. 'Good' he returned to the command console, all-business again 'Keram is already out there probing the system for them. They are moving, but he has a signal. It wont be long until he has pinpointed them'

'Leave it to a predator to track the prey' Shisei added with an inscrutable smile.

'Shisei, I want you to mobilize your crew and prepare your Falcon. Go for a full Ladar jammer configuration.' Cedrien ordered 'I will take my Proteus, and you ...' he turned to Alira with an almost boyish smile '... you will have the privilege of catching your own ship'

***

Alira had always loved the exhilaration of flying the Stiletto. No other ship she was proficient in responded in such an immediate way. Without any crew necessary, the small, fragile hull was like an extension of her body. The way it reacted to the impulses of her nervous system made it perform like a skilled acrobat under the guidance of her quick mind, now also spurred on by the determination of catching those who stole her most valuable vessel.

'I have visual' Keram announced via commlink. 'I am practically sitting on top of them' predatory amusement was apparent in his tone. 'Seems they haven't figured out how to make the cloak work on your ship'

'I am in warp to your position' Alira announced.

'I pray that your flimsy toy doesn't fall apart before you land' Keram quipped.

'Oh, go to whatever hell you Amarr believe in' Alira was in no mood to ignore him this time, as space washed out around her and she felt the sensation of taking a deep plunge twisting at her innards.

'Comms discipline people' Cedrien's voice demanded 'This is not a pleasure cruise. And remember, we want to board them, not destroy them. Be prepared to take fire though'

'Unlikely' Shisei stated matter-of-factly 'I am in position, ready to decloak and jam them. They won't be able to achieve target lock before long'

The small team of pilots had quickly fallen back on their extensive experience at flying together. Raiding ancient structures protected by the enigmatic and dangerous Sleeper Drones, as well as engaging capsuleer intruders, had forged them them all into a well coordinated fighting group in a way that superseded all personal differences.

The visual representation of surrounding space, created by the capsule-system's translation of sensor input, came into focus again as Alira decelerated out of warp. The hijackers had chosen the edge of the accretion disk as their temporary hiding place, probably hoping for the intensely radiating matter to foil attempts at finding them with scanner probes. A storm of superheated particles from the outer shell of the bloated red giant main star raged past them on it's spiral path into the deep gravity well of the nearby white dwarf.

Immediately she willed her ship into a tight orbit around the elongated form of the Loki's hull. What would otherwise have been an intense stare sent signals from her visual cortex to the targeting systems. She had the vessel locked in a mere second or two. An attempt of her opponents to achieve target lock themselves became a chirping sound in her mind. However, at the edge of her simulated field of vision Alira could see the angular shape of Shisei's Falcon emerge from obscurity and begin it's onslaught against the advanced sensor systems of the Loki.

Her hands twitched only slightly in her pod as a residual reaction to her mental grasping action while she disrupted the coalescing modulation of a warp field around the target. The glistening hull of Keram's Anathema now also decloaked at close range and added it's own warp-disruption effect for good measure. Finally Cedrien's Proteus shot out of warp. The organic looking Gallente ship cast the strongly amplified energy strands of a stasis web around the Loki, Alira followed with her own.

Their execution was flawlessly effective. Their quarry was virtually immobilized, unable to escape into warp, and sat there with overloaded targeting sensors, unable to attack.

'To the crew commandeering the Sei'R. Power down your shields and prepare to be boarded' Cedrien called out on an open frequency.

Halis Ettin replied with a mocking voice 'Or else? I doubt you will shoot at one of your own ships. I guess we are at a stalemate here and should start nego ...' he was cut off by agitated shouts in the background.

'Guess again' Alira interrupted grimly. 'I just powered down the shields by remote command.'
She willed another sequence of encrypted commands to transmit to her stolen ship 'Also you will find that all doors and airlocks have been overridden and locked. You are confined wherever you are on my ship!' Unimpaired by her physical condition, the electronic representation of her voice tore through the bridge of the Sei'R with unrestrained rage as she shouted the last words.

'You should know, Matari boy.' Keram added smugly 'You lay hands on a Minmatar woman's ship at your own peril'

***

Sandrielle looked down at the bound and broken remnant of what once was the defiant Sebiestor agent Halis Ettin working on one of the most innovative and sinister projects the Minmatar Republic had ever sanctioned. There were no obvious wounds or signs of abuse. She was above such crude methods to break a subject, but she always got her results. Interestingly enough, Alira wanted to be present at the interrogation. Sandrielle had made a mental note to not underestimate the capacity for vengeful callousness in the other woman ever again. 'Isn't it ironic' she mused at her - by now barely responsive - subject. 'You almost had us confounded. Only a bit longer and your nanites would have destroyed the brain of your captive capsuleer. We actually got lucky that we triggered the dysfunctional emergency-eject of the pod through an accident, and retained her alive.' she looked coldly amused by the memory.
'What do you suggest we do with our captives Alira?'

'Tug their ship to the exit and let the pirates sort them out' Alira responded dispassionately. 'That wormhole should collapse soon after and they wont be able to bother us again'

'You pass harsh sentence on one of your own, Alira' Sandrielle observed.

Alira spat 'He is not one of my own. Using Sansha Kuvakei's abominations to turn captive capsuleers into mindless beings forced to run ships? Forcefully drafting young technicians into unethical projects that will haunt them for the rest of their lives? The Amarr might have enslaved us and abused us, but that does not give us the right to do this to one of them.' She turned to leave 'He called it repayment in equal measure' She stopped on her way out and looked over her shoulder with a stony face. 'At least we will give them a chance they never gave that Amarr woman ... they will be able to meet the pirates out there with an intact mind and the freedom to choose their actions.'

***