Story:Outline (First Person)

This is the outline of the story from Lily's perspective. What she experiences, when she experiences it, as she experiences it, with nothing outside her view. 120% spoilers.

Act I: About a Girl
This is how it all began. Finding the love of my life... and losing her. Finding more than I bargained for on a simple job and ending up an intergalactically wanted fugitive.

Chapter 1: Sara
This is how I met my True Love. Well, I think she was my true love. We were meant to be together. And we were.
 * Jason invited me to a college party one night. I was just looking to get drunk, get high, and fuck. But there was a shy wallflower who caught my eye. Sara. We ended up spending most of the party talking. She was an Elvish literature major and we spoke in Elvish for a while, her teaching me proper form and me teaching her colloquialisms. We really hit it off. I refrained from hooking up with anyone and tenderly kissed Sara goodnight.
 * It didn't take long to make Sara mine. Before I knew it we were banging like rabbits in her dorm room. What she lacked in experience she more than made up for in enthusiasm. And with love in the mix, it was some of the best sex of my life, and that was saying something.
 * One day Sara tracked me down... at work. She was so innocent, she didn't fully understand what kind of place it was. But she would figure it out, so I came clean to her. I told her I was a prostitute, that I had sex with strange women - and only women! I was emphatic - for money. Sara didn't take it well initially. I told her I'd understand if she left me, if she didn't want to be with a whore. But she didn't leave me. She cried and held me tight and told me she loved me. She paid the madame for an hour of my time and took me upstairs; afterward I paid the madame back and insisted she refund Sara's money. After some awkwardness about it, our relationship emerged stronger than ever.
 * Spring break was coming up and Sara wanted me to meet her parents. Her father was on leave, so we planned to go to San Diego to meet them. We video chatted with them; they seemed to like me, and it helped that Sara thought, and spoke, the world of me. She didn't let anything slip about my disreputable employment, she just said that I worked in a clinic as a nurse's assistant, also true. We seemed to have their blessing. Nothing could go wrong.

Chapter 2: The Heist
Where did it all go wrong? Here. It all went wrong here, with this goddamned job.
 * I dropped by Jason's room on the way to Sara's to sell him some stimulants. He let slip that he, Ty, and Manny had been hired for a little theft. Medical supplies were involved, so I insisted on going. The extra cash would be nice for spring break and the supplies, which we got to keep, would help the clinic. I went to Sara's to do our thing, then took off for the job that night.
 * I picked the low-tech lock to the cargo area of the port, and again on the shipping container. We stole the package, a large box on wheels, and got it in the van. Ty went back with our employer's "representative", Misha, to get the medical supplies, while I waited in the van with Manny, who was really on edge. Shots rang out and before I could go help Ty, Manny took off. I couldn't raise Ty or Jason on my commlink and demanded Manny turn around, to no avail. I had to know what got them arrested or killed. Manny told me not to, but I told him to fuck off and opened the package anyway. It was a girl, a bound, naked girl. I told Manny to stop the van. When I looked up, he had a gun pointed at me. "Sorry," he said, and pulled the trigger; the bullet ripped through my chest. I gasped, trying to curse him, but I couldn't make a sound. The world faded to black.
 * I awoke in a hospital bed, bound to the railing. A doctor silently checked on me while a mercenary type talked at me. He said they knew who I was and they'd turn me over to the authorities as soon as their job was finished. I asked for what, who was I, what did I need to be turned over to the authorities for? His friend called me a terrorist, he said they knew about the bomb I set. I didn't know about any bomb, but they wouldn't listen. A girl got their attention, said there was some conference call they all needed to be on. They left me.
 * The girl from the box woke up in the bed next to me. I asked her name. She didn't know. She didn't know anything, and I mean anything beyond how to talk. I tried to make conversation, but it went nowhere. Hours of silence passed. "He's going to kill her," she whispered to me after the doctor passed. I told her to cut me free. After some begging, she reluctantly did, then hid behind her bed. I caught the doctor in the act of strangling the woman with the mercenaries. I paralyzed him with my shock hand and stabbed him in the neck with a scalpel. The woman hastily thanked me before warning them that the whole job was probably a setup and they should come back immediately without delivering their payload.

Chapter 3: On The Run
We tried to get away. I guess we did get away. But at what cost?
 * The mercenaries got back, one with a shot in his arm, insistent they cover their tracks and leave - and that meant dealing with me. The woman, Ori they called her, jumped to my defense and told them I saved her. I told them it was the girl who really saved her. They agreed to take us both along, but I got the feeling they intended to turn us over at the first sign it would get them out of trouble. As we took off in their getaway truck, they introduced themselves. The bossy, dour one was Rooster. The driver, all grins and wry remarks, was Lansdowne. I'd already met Ori, the perky hacker. They didn't say where they were going, just that they knew a place.
 * Out of the blue, Rooster asked me if I knew someone named Sara. I frantically insisted he tell me what he'd heard about her, if she was okay. He told me he got a message that their enemies had her and they'd let her go as soon as Rooster and the gang turned over me and the girl. I told them to do it, turn us over. The girl cried, "don't make me go back;" she was starting to remember and it clearly wasn't pretty. But I had to save Sara. I insisted again that they turn us over, even as I apologized to the girl. They tried to reason with me - Sara didn't know anything, but I did, so if they got me, if they could interrogate me, they had no reason to hold on to her and they might let her go. I argued they might not, but Lansdowne told me they might not let her go even if they get the girl. I begged them, please... and Rooster shot me with a dart. I collapsed.
 * I awoke to a splash of cold water, gasping. I was tied to a chair; Sara was there, in another chair opposite, whimpering. I cried out to her, she cried back; I asked her if she was okay and she just sniffled and shook her head. The interrogator insisted that they hadn't hurt her; I called him a liar. He said they wouldn't hurt her unless I gave them cause to. He demanded to know where to package was; I told him I didn't know, the mercenaries took it. He reminded me that Sara didn't have to get hurt, I just had to tell them where the package was. When I said I didn't know, they tazed Sara, powerfully. I begged them to just have a psionicist read my mind; the interrogator told me he was one but that my mind was obfuscated. I told him again that I really didn't know. They put Sara's feet in water and hooked electrodes to her. I begged them to hurt me instead. They electrocuted her. "Tell us," he insisted. I said I'd tell them everything, just leave her alone. I did. I told them the whole story, from getting hired to Rooster knocking me out. They electrocuted her into unconsciousness, then woke her up again. I begged, pleaded... I told them everything, why couldn't they just keep me and let her go? But they didn't believe me. They escalated their torture. They started cutting off her fingers and toes, one knuckle at a time. "What do you want me to tell you? I'll tell you anything!" My interrogator suggested they might have to "drill down" for the information. The torturer produced a drill and revved it by my head. My interrogator said "no;" the torturer moved back to Sara and revved the drill again. I begged, sobbed, screamed. "You could have saved her from this." The torturer plunged the drill into the side of her skull; she couldn't even scream anymore at this point.
 * There was an explosion. Shouts, gunfire. At some point it stopped. I felt my restraints cut. "We're here for you, Lily," Lansdowne told me. I just cried. "Sara... Sara!" I sprung to my feet. Rooster cut her restraints and she fell to the ground. I pulled her close in my arms. "Sara?" "Lily," she whispered, pleading. I assured her we'd get her help before asking Rooster and Lansdowne "we're gonna get her help, right?" Rooster scooped her up. "Let's go." They got us in the van and took off, Ori and the girl already waiting. "Sara... I'm here for you." "Lily," she begged me, "hold me. I'm scared." I held her tight. I drew her in for a kiss... and she went slack. I cried over her body for I don't know how long, begging her to wake up. The van stopped. We were at a street doc. But it was too late. They wanted to dispose of the body; I attacked the doc when he offered that 'service', beat him senseless before Rooster managed to get me off of him. She deserved a proper burial. But she wasn't going to get one. They gave me 15 minutes to say my goodbyes. Then she was left to be dissolved in hydrofluoric acid.
 * The mercenaries took me away with them, going south. Ori tried to comfort me and I socked her in the mouth. I blamed them for Sara's death. I blamed the girl for Sara's death. She was curled in a ball in the corner, whimpering. That didn't stop me from raging at her. "This is your fault! You did this!" I slapped her and she fell into a seizure. When Ori went to tend to the girl, I grabbed her gun. I pointed it at Rooster and screamed at Lansdowne to stop the truck. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to shoot all of them or just myself. Maybe both. Ori begged me to stop, to let them get the girl to a doctor. "What, so he can dissolve her in acid, too? Stop the car!" Lansdowne tried to reason with me: stop the truck, then what? Then I'd kill them all, I didn't say. I didn't have an answer. I snatched Ori away from tending to the girl and took her hostage. She screamed and cried. She begged for her life. Rooster said Ori wanted to help all along - it was him I wanted, he refused. I hesitated. Ori sniffled and meekly begged again. I saw Sara in her and I collapsed on the ground against the wall. "I'm sorry," I muttered. I lifted the gun to my head. Ori knelt down and put her hand around mine on the gun. "Don't," she pleaded. She forgave me. I let her gently take her gun back, buried my face in my knees, and sobbed.
 * The girl was asleep but stable. I just sat there sniffling, staring to infinity, seeing Sara being tortured all over again. Ori announced that "The Oracle" was withholding their new identity credentials - "they" provided credentials for me and the girl, but not for the others. The Oracle was dissatisfied with the rescue. Their credentials were promised contingent on a successful rescue and this was only partially successful. The Oracle said this reflected poorly on their abilities and morals and they wanted assurances that the team would change for the better. To that end, they demanded that the team protect not only the girl, as they'd promised, but also me until such time as The Oracle released them from that duty. They agreed and The Oracle provided their credentials. The girl awoke and seemed confused but okay. Ori went to touch her and she flinched away. "No! Not again." It seemed skin-to-skin contact with another had that effect on her. I apologized profusely for slapping her. She forced a weak smile in acknowledgement.
 * We arrived at a place in the LA suburbs. Lansdowne went and knocked on the door while the rest of us waited in the new car The Oracle had arranged. It was a long conversation, maybe an argument from the looks of things, but the woman in the doorway relented and he waved us inside. The house belonged to a woman, Samantha - Lansdowne's ex, I quickly realized. She took us in for the night and I got a desperately needed shower. Things were awkward between her and Lansdowne and Rooster was standoffish with her; Ori was too shy and immersed in cyberspace to interact much. But Samantha was very friendly to me and the girl, who we'd taken to calling Cassandra, or Cassie, as her credentials identified her. Samantha fed us dinner and pointed us to couches and a guest bed for us to sleep on. There were two couches and a guest bed for two; she said she'd share her bed with me. I should have known she was trying to hook up with me - she had no clue my girlfriend had died earlier that day. She woke me up in the middle of the night; she said I was crying in my sleep. I told her what happened - the relevant part at least. I even told her Lansdowne saved me. She held me, she wiped away my tears; we fell back asleep cuddling.
 * The next morning, Samantha fed us breakfast and we went on our way. She kissed me goodbye. She hugged Lansdowne. And we left for the mid-Pacific spaceport. We boarded our flight without incident and were destined for Lowell, Mars.

Chapter 4: Mars
Our new home on Mars. Now I was part of the team. Now I had to be part of the team.
 * The Oracle set us up with a 3 bedroom apartment in Lowell. Rooster and Lansdowne shared one room, me and Ori shared another room, and Cassie got her own. Rooster and Lansdowne took me down to a bar; Rooster disappeared for a while. Lansdowne bought me another round and asked me how Samantha was. "What? You talked to her. She seemed fine, right?" "That's not what I meant, Pixie." So I was "Pixie" now. I took another drink and it dawned on me what he meant. "We cuddled and I cried a lot. That's all that happened." Lansdowne seemed disappointed to hear that. Rooster returned and beckoned; we followed him to a secured private booth far in the back. A man was waiting for us. The man was a fixer, and Rooster had offered our services. He sized us up, asked us some questions, then shook hands with all of us and said he'd be in touch when a job becomes available. Lansdowne then treated me to getting blacked out drunk to forget Earth.
 * I woke up in a strange bed. There was a girl next to me. An orc girl, but a cute one. I slipped out unnoticed before she woke up and found my way back to the apartment. I nursed my hangover and watched the trid with Cassie. I settled into this as a routine for our first week, avoiding drinking when I did go out so I wouldn't hook up like that again. Not for a while. Not while the wound was still raw.
 * About a week later, Cassie was talking to me when she suddenly started slurring, then slumped over and seized again. I hadn't even touched her. She seemed okay afterward, but didn't have any idea what happened. She said she was fine and we shouldn't worry, but it seemed like it could be a quintessent seizure.
 * We got a job offer. Someone, probably the guy's wife, wanted us to record this guy cheating on his wife with a girl. I was the obvious honeypot, Ori could deal with security and surveillance, Lansdowne could get a microdrone in there, and Rooster would just sit on his ass pretending something might go wrong. It was a hell of an offer, $10k upfront and $30k on delivery of an incriminating video. He was loaded, so the wife must have been expecting a boatload of money from the ensuing divorce.
 * It was easy enough to seduce Miles, the mark, and he took me back to his place out on the edge of the suburbs. We did some flirting, had some drinks, and he invited me up to his bedroom. I was a little apprehensive about his thing for bondage, specifically tying me up, but I'd done it before with clients and my take alone was $10k - I could do that for $10k. At least, so I thought. He tied me to the bed, blindfolded me, and fucked me from behind increasingly hard. Suddenly, I felt something around my neck and it closed tight. I struggled and tried to gasp for air, to no avail. Spots filled my blackened vision and my lungs burned. I desperately hitched against my restraints. I could feel my life leaving when my cyberarm suddenly broke free and connected with him. I gasped and coughed and struggled to remove my restraints and blindfold while he was stunned. I tried to run, but collapsed into the hole of my blackened vision. He pounced on top of me and began wailing on me. I got off another shock and ran as best I could. I fell down the stairs and staggered out the front door, naked and bloody. Rooster just got there and caught me, carrying me to the waiting car.
 * We got the pay, and another $10k bonus for it being extreme enough to ruin his reputation, but I didn't care. What happened to Tiffany almost happened to me. I despondently drank myself into a stupor, crying about Tiffany. I wanted to go back and kill the fucker, but the others wouldn't let me. Too much risk, they said; bound to get caught, if not in the act then any investigation. The authorities were already looking for me as a witness.
 * After I recovered, I needed sex, real sex, to ease the pain. I went out to a bar and hooked up with a cute dwarf, I don't even remember her name. The next weekend a human girl; don't remember her name either. It became a regular thing for me. I'd go to some bar, find some girl I liked who tripped my gaydar, and hook up with her.

Chapter 5: Seize Her
Cassie's seizures got worse and more frequent. We had to do something.
 * Cassie had another seizure a few weeks later. Then another the next week. I went to Murph ("Mr. Murphy"), our fixer, and asked for a discreet street doc. The doctor examined Cassie, careful not to touch her directly, and found no signs of epilepsy. However, she did show signs of unchecked quintessent exertion. He referred us to a medical psionicist. The psionicist said Cassie was "burning hot" - her psionics were running fast and out of control. That explained why she always ate so much. She said Cassie needed anti-psionic drugs to keep her powers at a reasonable level - she'd clearly been having quintessent seizures and it would just get worse the longer she went without treatment. Unfortunately, those were highly controlled substances and getting legitimate access would mean effectively announcing Cassie's location to Them when we got her in the system for it. I asked Murph to put us in touch with black market sources of quiescetone or other anti-psionics, but he didn't know any suppliers, so Cassie was just going to have to suffer for the time being.
 * A few weeks and as many seizures later (and they seemed to really be hurting Cassie by then), Murph told us he had a job we'd be interested in. A Johnson wanted a shipment of quiescetone stolen. We'd get $30,000 and a 10% cut of the product. It was a no-brainer; we took the job. The Oracle forged me credentials and I talked my way past the shipping yard guards. Once inside I located the payload and confirmed it was there. Then came Ori's disinformation. The payload was being re-routed to a different shipping container. She also got Lansdowne in as a driver with Rooster as his cargo master. We loaded it into the truck and made for the exit. At the weigh-in, Ori got locked out and we were stopped for having unauthorized cargo. Ori broke back in and removed the lockdown, but we were made. Lansdowne took off and that's when the shooting started. Rooster laid down covering fire as we made our getaway; I got hit in the arm - my real arm. The chase was nerve wracking, but we got away and delivered the goods. The recipients wanted to know why we wanted a cut of the product, and a large one at that. "None of your damn business." They said if we were protecting an ill psionicist they could do a better job. "Noted. Are we done here?" We took our cut and parted ways.
 * As soon as I injected Cassie with the quiescetone, the color returned to her face. She roused from her daze and grabbed my arm, not seizing from metahuman contact for the first time I witnessed. She was overjoyed and held my hand to her face. Over the next few weeks, we figured out the dose and frequency to give to her.
 * The Oracle decided there was too high a chance of the heat catching up with us after how that last job went. It was time for us to leave the system entirely. They gave us new new identities and booked us passage to Beira.
 * One of our last nights there, a girl approached me at the bar. It was the orc I hooked up with. Her name was Ling and she was an immigrant from China. She didn't begrudge me slipping away, it was supposed to be a one-night stand after all. But she wanted to make it a two-night stand, one I'd actually remember. I was happy to oblige.
 * We took passage to Beira to start a new life all over again.

Chapter 6: Wahnardelv
Beira. The center of the multiverse. Every time I heard and spoke Elvish here, which was often, I felt sick, remembering my times with Sara.


 * We settled in and found a fixer. I immediately resumed my string of one-night stands. The selection of girls in Wahnardelv was amazing. It was right on the north coast of Duglinden, the main port of access to Eveska, so lots of beautiful Eveskan elves and so many lesbian bars.
 * At one point, I asked the girl which she preferred: Cassie or Amelia. She just shrugged. I started calling her Amelia then.
 * We settled into steady work, nothing too daring since we didn't have any reputation going in and nothing too shady because that's not how we rolled. It kept us away from the big paydays, but we lived comfortably. Pretty soon we were renting a 5-bedroom house, rented another apartment as a safehouse, and owned our own ops van. It was nice being able to bring a girl back from the bar and have my own bedroom with her.
 * One night I was walking from the bar we all went to to go to a lesbian bar on my own when I noticed a man following me. I took a few turns to make sure he was actually following, and yes he was. I thought They had caught up with us. So I lured him into an alley and kicked the shit out of him, screaming at him that they'll never get the girl, that we'd kill anyone who came for her. I told him I'd only let him live so he could take that message to his bosses. He didn't put up a fight, not at all. He merely whimpered and begged forgiveness. He insisted he meant no harm. Even as I beat and kicked him he called me "my lady," and "your holiness." When he called me "my Goddess," I stopped cold. The man was clearly mentally ill and believed I was a goddess. I apologized profusely, I kept asking if he was okay and he insisted he would be. He asked if the girl was my daughter. I apologized that no, I had to disappoint him. I told him I was no goddess, I was just a normal woman. I slotted a credstick, put $1,000 on it, placed it in his hand, apologized again, and went on my way, telling him not to follow.

Chapter 7: The Guardians
It seemed like just another job, albeit for some white night psionicist liberators. It turned out to be the salvation the girl needed.
 * Our fixer connected us with a job. A group calling itself the Children of Llethalen wanted us to free a psionicist held against his will by a corporation. The pay was good and The Oracle vouched for them, so we took it.
 * It was surprisingly easy. Lansdowne and I posed as escorts to transfer him; I did all the talking. Ori forged the transfer request. We simply walked him out of there - he bitched all the way, clueless to our actual purpose - and loaded him into the transport we acquired just before (thanks to smooth talking by yours truly and some help from Ori), and Rooster drove us out of there. By the time they figured it out, we were long gone.
 * We delivered him to the Children of Llethalen, who were grateful for his freedom - as was he. They told us someone called The Oracle contacted them and said we had another psionicist with us in need of protection. The Oracle confirmed this, so we said we would ask her and get back to them.
 * Amelia agreed to go with them - she didn't want to burden us any longer, and maybe they could teach her to control her powers. Besides, we were close to running low on quiescetone. We arranged another meeting and handed her to them.
 * The Oracle told us it was best to go our separate ways now that Amelia was safe. We cashed out all our resources and departed after a heartfelt goodbye. None of us knew where the others were going or their new aliases. Goodbye, friends.

Act II: The 13th Colony
I left for the colonies. Time to forge a new life all my own.

Chapter 8: Emily
As I got settled in on Anadea, I made new friends. One of them just came out of nowhere.
 * The main settlement of Anadea, Serenity, was already the size of a small city, spread out and patchy. Colonist affairs found me an apartment on the east side and flagged a few job offers for me. My apartment was nicer than I expected for a colony. It was one bedroom, so small, but it felt a lot more spacious than it was. I interviewed for a bartending job at Daln's Dive, a nearby dive-y joint maybe a 20-30 minute walk away, naturally owned by Daln, a grumpy Tellusian guy, maybe a veteran. Getting home, I ran into Zoe, an Amathiri elf downstairs who worked as a nurse at the local clinic. She invited me over for tea and we got to know each other. Well, she got to know fictional me. "Lilith Pond." The Oracle let me pick my name, and I wanted to be a punny Lily again. There might have been a little something between us, or maybe it was all in my head - she wasn't tripping my gaydar.
 * After my first pay cycle, I splurged on some luxuries. Nice widdas, a bottle of salmeth, some EM Greens, Eveskan teas, etc. I opened the door to my apartment and almost tripped over a girl bleeding on my floor. Elven, blond hair and freckled skin, maybe 14 or 15 years old. I freaked out. I tried and tried to find a pulse... and finally did. I called Zoe, frantic, and she was over in a minute with her trauma kit. Zoe got her stabilized and we flagged down a vehicle to get her to the clinic. She needed minor surgery to repair the wound on her neck, but the doctor said she should be fine with rest, nourishment, and medigel for a week. Zoe joined me in lying about where we found her - if they knew she was in my apartment, I'd be the prime suspect for whatever happened to her. We said we found her out walking the outskirts. They asked more questions, we gave answers. They became convinced based on what I told them that the girl probably got free from metahuman traffickers. When the girl woke up they interviewed her; they left with her crying. I got them to let me talk to her and I comforted the girl. Emily, she said her name was. The police told us the girl was confused and couldn't tell fact from fantasy, she believed she was in the Battle of Earth. They believed her captors may have used mind-altering techniques on her. I asked what would happen to her. They said she'd go to a foster home once they found one for her. It took some convincing, but I persuaded them to let me take her home. I wasn't going to let this poor girl into foster care if I could help it.
 * I gave Emily the benefit of the doubt and believed, or tried to believe, she knew where and when she was from. She pieced it together seeing the sky on the way back - it really was the future and she was on another planet. I did my best to explain her situation to her and answer any questions. I should have paid some attention to history growing up, but all I could do was look things up and read the pedia articles with her. She cried over her family and especially her sister. I held her and comforted her. She asked what she was going to do. I promised I'd take care of her and would make sure no one ever hurt her again. And I meant it. She was lost and helpless and completely alone without me. I couldn't abandon her.
 * Emily soon met a neighbor girl her age, Beth, and Beth's little sister, Sylvie. They became fast friends. Emily told them I was her cousin and she came to live with me after losing her parents in an accident, a nice excuse. Meanwhile, I was getting into the swing of tending bar. I got to know some of the regulars: Reph, the Loframi power plant engineer who only drank Gean beer; Nol, the Tulan orc pilot with a taste for Dunkrelan whiskey; and Amy, a very quiet elf who was apparently retired, probably ex-Alliance Navy (maybe Marines), either Terran or Martian, couldn't quite place her accent, mostly drank gin and tonic.
 * I taught Emily as best I could and in a couple months she was ready to start school.

Chapter 9: Love
I learned to love again, and Emily learned to love for the first time.
 * At work one night, a girl shyly approached me at the bar; I agreed to join her and her friends after my shift ended. Her name was Eila, she came from Tula three years ago to make a life of her own. She just worked at PlanEx, whatever payed the bills and let her stay on Anadea. She was so nervous around me, but had this infectious happiness about her. She reminded me of Sara a little. Once she relaxed, we made out awhile, then went our separate ways home.
 * She sent me a message the next morning: a semi-formal "thanks for last night. If you feel like it, call me and we can maybe do it again sometime..." I debated making her wait to hear back from me, but couldn't resist. I took her on a date the next night I had off work and it went spectacularly. We started dating regularly and Emily even met Eila.
 * One night Eila was staying with me. We locked the nearly-soundproof door and started to do our thing. Just when it was getting good, Emily banged on the door begging us to stop. We threw clothes on and I asked her what was wrong. She cried and cried that she was cursed and probably dangerous and I must hate her. She confessed that she could feel our arousal and she probably would have shared our orgasms if we didn't stop. She said the same thing happened with her sister. I hugged her and told her it was okay, I was sorry I hurt her and it was fine that she was awakened, I'd get her help and everything would be okay. Eila was there for all of this.
 * Months passed. Emily lost some of the weight on her shoulders and was off to a good start in psi school. I'd saved up enough to move us to a small 3 bedroom house in the north heights. We had a place picked out and everything. Eila wanted to join us. Despite the problem of Emily, I was happy to live with her, assuming Emily was okay with it. She was and that's how I got my wholesome little family, complete with miniature tea garden. It was everything missing from my life: love, family, stability. I was setting down roots on my terms, not snared into the mire of the Bay. I didn't mind that I was being domesticated by it, it was liberating to have nothing more serious to deal with. It felt good, it felt wholesome, it felt right. But sometimes I wished it was Sara with me instead.
 * One day, Eila and I came home unannounced and walked in on Emily and Beth kissing. They were horribly embarrassed, and I fell over myself assuring them it was okay. We apologized for interrupting, told them we would give them some space and let them enjoy themselves, and promptly left. 3 hours later I got a message on my commlink: Emily was spending the night at Beth's. The next day, I had a little talk with Emily. Be good to Beth, don't take any shit from her, I'm really happy for you, yadda yadda. They told Beth's parents, who wanted to meet meet me and Eila. It went well and then we had "family friends." My domestication continued apace.
 * The celebrations for the 100th anniversary of V-day were approaching. Emily and Beth got home from school late, giggling. Emily was practically jumping up and down with excitement telling me about her extra credit assignment for V-day. They each had to do a report on a Dawn War hero and Emily got assigned her big sister, Jill. Reading about Colonel Cartwright was the first Emily learned of her sister's fate. She, naturally, told everything to Beth, but I really couldn't blame her. Besides, Beth promised to keep it secret. I convinced Amy, whose wife served under Jill for a time, to help Emily with her report. The two bonded quite a bit over it.

Chapter 10: Traffic
Those imaginary metahuman traffickers? So they were a thing. And they ruined everything.
 * A few days after V-day, the police made an announcement: they'd broken up a metahuman trafficking ring, killing a half dozen and arresting a dozen more while freeing more than 20 captives. Qesh'yam came by to thank me for contributing to the effort in the department to really do something about it. I protested that I had nothing to do with it, but she said finding Emily satisfied her superiors that there really was a problem.
 * A couple weeks later I got a call at work from Eila. "Come home. Now." Eila was home alone, crying. She was bruised and holding her head. She told me "they" kidnapped Emily. It was a textbook run, the way Eila described it. She swore she tried to protect Emily, but it was 3 v 1 and she wasn't a fighter. They beat her up and gave her a message before shooting her with a tranquilizer. The message was: we know who you are. If you want that to remain between us, do as you're told. If you want Emily back in one piece, do as you're told. Don't go to the police, they can't help you anymore. We require your services. Wait for instructions.
 * Eila asked who they thought I was and what services of mine? I confessed everything to her. She took it fairly in stride. We were most concerned for Emily and how to get her back. One thing was for sure, we couldn't go to the cops. We told Beth that Emily wasn't feeling well and should be left alone for a while. That bought us a couple days, tops.
 * I got a message. Report to such and such location for a job I'll be briefed on. I met a group of runners who told me I'd be talking past security at the spaceport. I did my thing, and they got away with a stolen shipping container - I thought stolen. But when we got to our destination, the container was full of people. The rest of the team started picking out an apparent form of bonus pay, captives to "break in." One runner raped a woman right there in front of everyone. They noticed my disgust and told me to pick one out. When I declined, they became insistent and eventually picked one out for me, a human girl not much older than Emily. They threatened to kill her if I didn't break her in. I ended up taking her virginity with my fist, anything it took to save her life.
 * I returned from that job in a rage. I took sleeping pills with Eila and woke up with a purpose: destroy those slavers. They had Emily, and I was taking her back by force. I went to Amy's and explained the situation to her. As soon as she heard they had Emily, she was completely on board with any kind of rescue or retaliation. Planning began immediately.
 * Beth came by, and she wouldn't be deterred from seeing Emily. I reluctantly let her in and told her what happened. She was nearly inconsolable, but with help from me and Eila, she was able to calm down and let it sink in. She knew she couldn't tell anyone, and already with Emily she was used to keeping secrets.
 * Amy found a fixer who may have worked with the slavers, so we paid him a visit and strong-armed him into giving up a contact with the slavers. The contact knew we were coming, but didn't run. He had an offer: help his superior take control of the organization and I'd walk away with Emily safe and sound that night. Or I was welcome to try on my own, in which case they'd fight me the whole way. I thought about having Emily safe once again, then thought about the girl I "broke in" and how many more like her there will be until the slavers are stopped. I asked what would happen to all the people. "Business as usual." I told him I'd have to think about it.
 * Amy suggested I go along with it until Emily's safe, then turn on them. She swore to back me up and promised more help if I could wait a few days. I held off. I worked like things were normal. It was taking its toll on me, and on Eila. She was desperate to do something, anything to help. Amy put her to work printing and sorting ammo.
 * Amy's friend Zeryn arrived from somewhere offworld, she didn't say. She was a Phelami dark elf and probably an old war buddy of Amy's. She looked and acted young, but she was probably Amy's age, if not older. She was eager to help and immediately got to work scouting.
 * I got another call for my services. This time to raid a hospital for their antipsionic drugs. I was to carry a computer virus inside with me, then insert it into the network to take down security. I got a message from someone called "M". M said there was a way to hurt the people doing this to us: use M's virus instead. M said it would work, but it would deliberately leave clues for the police. I used M's virus. When we got back, the others pressed me into taking my "bonus": pick out a captive, any one, and have my way with them. There was one girl on the verge of tears, trembling. I took her into a private room and just comforted her for half an hour. I swore to her I'd get her free. M thanked me for my part afterward and said we should meet.
 * The next day, another job. Intimidate someone who saw something. It made me sick, but I did it.
 * I brought Amy and Zeryn to the meeting with M. At the meeting spot were a gang of mercenaries, some familiar faces. One opened a van door and Emily stepped out. The mercenary led her by the hand and when she saw me she took off running. We had a tearful reunion, interrupted by the mercenary. She greeted me by name - by my full, real name. Lilianne Anade Meadows. Her voice was familiar. I looked up to see Misha there, smiling. "You bitch!" She caught my swing at her. And my other. Emily told me to stop, that Misha had protected and freed her. I relented. Misha said she 'regretted' the 'circumstances' of our previous encounter, but now we had a common enemy. Her plan was good... right up until the part where she kept running the trafficking operation instead of setting the people free. She wouldn't budge and had a million excuses for it. Eventually I relented and agreed to her plan. I just wanted to get home with Emily.
 * Emily was thrilled to see Eila; she thought she saw them kill her. We invited Zoe over to check on Emily and brought her into this mess. She offered to join us on our run in case we needed a medic and after some debate Amy agreed. We worked out our plan. Go along with Misha all the way, but set Zeryn up for a shot on her at the final objective point. Give her an ultimatum: walk away, or die. Seemed simple enough.
 * I got another assignment. I went along and this got me inside when it all went down. I started it off by offing my crew, with help from Zeryn. I got her, Amy, and Zoe inside and we made our way through the complex. I took a hit, but Zoe took good care of it. We cornered the on-site boss trying to escape. Misha caught up and took him down. We gathered in the command center, where Misha thanked us for our services and sent us on our ways. We didn't go. The standoff with her grew tense, someone made a false move and it all went to shit. By the time the smoke cleared, Amy was on the ground shot multiple times, Zoe was shot, I was shot and I was staring down the barrel of Misha's gun while she stated down mine. I gave up. She told me it needn't have ended like this - we could have worked together. Before she could pull the trigger, Zeryn did, taking her down with a headshot. I called the cops and immediately began freeing captives with Zeryn while Zoe tended to Amy. I encountered both the slaves I'd had run-ins with, the traumatized girl who could never look at me again, and the skittish girl who gushed with joy when I told her she was free.
 * Talking to the cops, they were surprisingly understanding once I explained everything. Well, most everything - I left out my history with Misha and all that stuff about my identity. They never found Misha's body, even though it was right there and she was definitely dead - no one just walks away from a headshot. Eila took care of Emily while all of us went through the clinic and endless questioning.
 * I finally returned home two days later, a free woman, again with a safe, happy family. A couple days later Amy got out of the clinic and we had a small party - us, Amy, Zeryn, and Zoe. And Beth, of course - she and Emily were more inseparable than ever.
 * A week later, the police wanted to hold an event thanking us for our service, for freeing all those people and putting a stop to the metahuman trafficking on Anadea. We agreed to it and they held a gathering in a local park. I was kissing Eila when she jolted into me and there was a loud crack. She collapsed to the ground, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. The shooter vanished without a trace. When I finally checked my commlink again after that, there was a message: "No one double crosses me. -M"

Chapter 11: It's Complicated
Trying to move forward after losing Eila, a new visitor arrives in my life.
 * I'd grown more attached to Emily, almost smothering. I started walking her home from school, as I did with Beth on this day. We opened the front door to find a wounded Alliance Marine unconscious on the ground. Far from Zoe, I called emergency services.
 * The cops believed it had to be connected to the retaliation against me by Misha. Another message? No messages from Misha. I came clean to them about finding Emily like that, but they didn't seem to care much.
 * The Marine was as "disoriented" as Emily - she believed she was in Salingal, 2057. Riflewoman Second Class Jennifer Sands, 349th Light Rifles Regiment, she said she was. I suggested maybe Amy should talk to her. Amy had a long talk with her and she seemed to be taking her situation rather well. The question arose of what to do with her. Feeling like the house was empty without Eila, I offered to put her up in the guest bedroom.
 * Emily took a liking to Jen and things were working out well. Zoe occasionally came by to check on her and she spent many nights at my bar with Amy and Zeryn, talking about the war. I found her fascinating. She was a veteran, but not like the others. She was only on her first deployment when she disappeared, so she was still idealistic.
 * I was trying to get past Eila, but all I could do was slip into the old cycle of casual hook-ups followed by crying alone. Zoe and Amy both offered me shoulders to cry on and I just pushed them away.
 * Jen spotted a picture on the display next to Emily's bed: a group shot of Jill with a dozen other women of her unit and attached units. Emily explained that Amy gave it to her and that Zeryn was in the picture. Jen insisted that she'd seen the picture before and that her girlfriend, now 120-years-ex girlfriend - was in it. She immediately took a copy to Zeryn, who remembered Keira, Jen's girlfriend. When Jen asked why Amy had the picture, Zeryn ominously told her to ask Amy. Doing so, it came out that Amy eventually married Keira, after Jen's apparent death.
 * Though Jen spoke most with Amy and Zeryn, she increasingly came to me for comfort after all she heard. Meanwhile, Zoe had persisted on me to use her as my own crutch. I spent more time with Amy, though, and we got to know each other well.
 * One day, while comforting Jen, she leaned in and kissed me. We started to make out when pangs of regret urged me to stop. Later, talking with Zoe, she leaned in and kissed me. More making out, more regret. I went to Amy about it. She told me to talk to Zeryn, that she knew something about moving on with love after loss. Zeryn told me about losing her first love, finding comfort in the arms of another soon after, then immediately losing her at Salingal, a fling in training, stolen kisses in the trenches, an affair with her spotter, love on occupied Tellios. So many of them dead, but at least they knew love first, she told me. She said to take comfort where I could find it and bring joy where I could bring it.
 * I asked Jen what she expected of me in a relationship - did she expect it to be serious, or did she want something more casual? She took the middle road - 'let's just see where it leads' - but I couldn't get too close. I didn't have it in me to be that close anymore. So I asked her if she expected our relationship to be exclusive. That was a dealbreaker to her. It wasn't for Zoe, so you know who I chose.
 * The police obviously got nowhere in their investigations of Emily and Jen. Qesh'yam, at least, finally seemed willing to entertain the possibility that they really are from the past. Jen's DNA matched her service file, after all. We invited Qesh'yam to a girls' night to discuss what we knew. All of us gathered at my place - me, Zoe, Amy, Zeryn, Jen, Emily, Beth, and Qesh'yam. We knew both were saved from wounds inflicted by the Phfohr. They were both from the 2050s. Both were wounded by the Phfohr. Both spoke English. Both Terran, female, and gay. But that's where the similarities ended. Soldier in combat on Phelam vs. teen girl on Earth. Everything else, really. But they also both came to me. What was their connection to me? Terran, female, gay, speak English. That was it. Zoe proposed that Melathe saved them and brought them to me for some great purpose. We were so bad at solving this that that ended up being no worse than any other idea.
 * The investigation takes a low priority and things settle down to normal. The new, new, new normal. The five of us formed a tight little band of friends: me, Zoe, Amy, Zeryn, and Jennifer. Jennifer moved in to her own place, leaving the house feeling empty again. I spent a lot of time hanging out and hooking up with Zoe, and we started to drift into an actual relationship.

Chapter 12: Skyfall
We had a good thing going. I should have known the demons great demons of legend would rise from the dead to take it away. Or at least that something would.
 * I awoke to an explosion. I checked my commlink: emergency situation, shelter in place. More explosions, alarms. I ran to Emily. She was crying. She said she just knew it was them: the aliens. They'd come back for her, she said. I did my best to comfort her. She called Beth and leaned on each other until Beth's parents called her away. "I love you." Emily ended the call, the first time I'd heard her say those words to Beth. Half an hour later, there was pounding on my door. It was Amy, Jennifer, and Zeryn, armed to the teeth and carrying an extra gun and ammo for me. We had to get to the spaceport and evacuate - but not before getting Zoe and Beth and her family.
 * We brought my neighbors with us, them hanging back while we cleared the way. Amy took point with Jennifer while Zeryn perched in sniping positions and I stayed close to the unarmed people. Emily insisted on 'helping', following along with a pistol. Even mostly out of the fight, I had to fend off some grays and even cryssalids that got through. Emily killed one of the grays. She was so proud; "don't mess with a Cartwright," she screamed at it. Just like her big sis; I was proud of her, too.
 * Fighting was intense outside the old apartment building. Zoe was out in the open, tending the wounded. A hulk overran the militia line; Amy charged in with her sword, but before she could get there the hulk got to Zoe. It picked Zoe up and smashed her to a pulp against the ground as she screamed in terror. Amy took down the hulk, but it was too late for Zoe, and others.
 * The building was being overrun, but we fought our way inside. We got to Beth's apartment and a cryssalid leapt out the door. After killing it, we charged inside. There was Beth, and her parents, rising from the dead. Emily tried to appeal to Beth, she insisted there was still something of her left. Then she felt it - Beth crying out for true death. Sobbing, Emily gave her release. We killed the rest of her family and left.
 * We fled to the spaceport with what militia and survivors we could round up - not many, alas. Just me, Emily, 9 other civilians (3 wounded), Amy, Jennifer, Zeryn, and 3 security officers (1 wounded). By the time we got there, only a few transorbitals remained. Amy, Jennifer, and Zeryn joined and the other security forces protecting the site. Qesh'yam was in command of the few remaining. The five of us - me, Emily, and the three furies - waited and helped while the others boarded, wounded first. We were down to the last transorbital; we were actually stealing it, and it was broken down - an engineer and a pilot who made it were hastily getting it running. Qesh'yam ordered us all aboard. Emily refused, but I persuaded her to go. Amy refused on behalf of herself, Zeryn, and Jennifer - she insisted it was their duty to stay and fight the Phfohr. I almost stayed, I wanted to fight and probably die, but I looked at Emily - she needed me, I couldn't leave her like that. I reluctantly turned to climb aboard. A cry rang out; Zeryn was hit. Amy shouted at me to get Zeryn on the transport over her objections. She didn't fight me, though, just pleaded with Amy. They couldn't tend Zeryn's wounds properly there, she had to be evacuated. I dragged her aboard. I stared sadly at Amy and Jennifer as the door closed.
 * Daln's ship was still untouched in orbit. The suborbital docked to it and we moved over to its much more spacious accommodations, soon with artificial gravity. A paramedic tending to the wounded civilians finally got to Zeryn; she was going to be fine once she got to a hospital. Emily was inconsolable. Daln started bossing me around like I was on the clock or something. I caved when he said I could just go be an extra pair of hands for the engineer instead of running all over the ship. We got underway and I went back up to Emily and Zeryn. The next day, an alarm sounded; someone shouted that we were being boarded. I grabbed my gun and waited behind cover. When I popped up to shoot, nothing was there. Gas shot into the ship from the airlock; I shouted at Emily to hold her breath and futily did the same. I eventually breathed, and it was lights out.

Act III: Viva La Resistance
Life took a turn for the surreal. Playing the rebel leader isn't as fun as it sounds.