#current day

“Thank you for coming here on such short notice,” Jaime de Valencia walked down the corridor from the Queen Esther's docking station.  Beside him, the captain was scowling.

“I hate to admit it,” she growled, “but these bastards are better at void combat that the cults in this sector usually are.”

“Well, they’re not great at picking targets, that’s for sure-” Blue muttered, glancing down at the data pad in her hands.  “Any clue why they’re going after you?”

“The usual reasons,” Jamie sighed, “they’ve decided to try and lay claim to this bit of the stars.  Since we’re not interested in joining forces, they want to make a reputation for themselves bringing us down.  We’re used to it, so it’s not really a problem- but since you mentioned you were investigating some incidents that match their particular iconography, I thought you might be able to deal with them in a way that’ll put fewer of our people at risk…:

Blue frowned thoughtfully.  “Sure, I’d be happy to- but why did you say you need me to be here myself.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see you both but…”

“Right,” the captain sighed, “well, the fact of the matter is, we need you to take someone off our hands for us.”

Blue stopped walking.  “What?”

Jaime held up his hands.  “I know, I know- but it’s not what it sounds like.  Come with us, you’ll see.”

They came to a small chamber on deck that served for the Queen’s brig.  After taping at the main terminal for a moment or two, Jaime pulled up a live feed of the particular cell he wanted.

Confinement, among the pirates, was treated more as a last-case necessity than a punishment in of itself, and that showed in quality of the cells.  They were clean, if spare, and small rather than cramped.  

Kneeling on the floor, face contorted with grief and rage, was a girl.  Twelve, Blue though, although malnutrition and sun-starved pale skin made her look younger.

“She’s one of the last batch of rescuees,” the captain said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet, “the records we pulled from the ship say she was tithed young.  Infant-young.  Who knows how she made it, like that.”

Blue swallowed.  “So why is she in there?”

Jaime sighed.  “You have to understand, there aren’t- there aren’t many children by the time we manage to arrive.”

Blue didn’t take her eyes off the screen.  “Yeah.  I know.”

“She’s fighting us,” the Captain said.  “She didn’t settle when we told her we weren’t slavers.  Or when we tried to make sure she got medical care.  It’s not unusual- there are always a few that fight after each run- but…”

“She’s quite powerful, of course,” Jaime added.  “The early ones always are…” he looked at the floor, “we can’t keep her here.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

The captain rolled her eyes.  “What do you think?  Show her that rosette of yours and let it do some good for once.”

Blue glanced between them both in disbelief.  “Wait, what?”

“She’s Imperial, Blue- and you’re an Inquisitor.  She’d listen to you.”  Jaime ran an hand through his hair.  “ You could take her away, order her to stay silent about what she’s seen.  It may not work in the long run, but it would buy us time…”

“No.  There’s no way I-” Blue glanced over at the screen.  The girl was rocking back on her heals a little, clearly lost in a spiral of panic.  “... shit.  It’s this or kill her, isn’t it?”

The captain nodded.  “I don’t want to, but- I have to keep this crew safe.”