Maniacal laughter echoed through the ship.

"You're too late, Space Captain!" Lord Evil pointed down at the hero, a manic grin pasted across his features. The human was dressed in a tuxedo, accented by a purple cape with a collar that stood half a meter past his shoulders, framing his bald head. He was tall, fit, and full of menace. No matter how many times Yvian saw him, Lord Evil's dastardly visage shot fear up and down her spine. "My Super Death Beam is almost charged! Lady Blue has no choice but to marry me, or else see her world burn!"

"No!" Lady Blue wailed in protest. The pixen woman wore a silver bikini that left very little to the imagination. The Diadem of Cerulean was woven into the mass of violet curls that was her hair. She was being held by Thug and Mook, Lord Evil's most trusted enforcers.

"You're wrong, Lord Evil," the greatest hero the verse had ever known declared. Space Captain, Captain of Space, stood tall. As always, the Champion of Justice wore his trademark red and gold void suit. Light gleamed off his helmet as he raised his trusty blaster in the air. "It is never too late! Not so long as I have justice in my heart, and my trusty blaster in my hand!"

"It's never too late for Space Captain," Yvian told Skygem. The Skygem was a ship made entirely of crystal. She, Yvian had decided it was a she, was a living ship, fully sapient even if she didn't think in quite the same way as Yvian. At a hundred twenty meters in length Skygem was roughly the same size as the Random Encounter. Yvian had rescued her from the Crystal Mother four months ago, in a sector heavily infested with the Vore. The Crystal Mother had generated a field that rendered the Vore inert, but to do so it had drained most of the energy out of Yvian's new friend. Yvian hadn't seen much of the Skygem since they dropped her off in the Captain's hidden base, but she'd been taking the time to connect with her after training the past few weeks.

Skygem gave a pulse of pleased emotion. Yvian didn't think the ship could understand and appreciate the Space Captain broadcast the way she did, but Skygem seemed to enjoy the company and responded to Yvian's emotional state. Yvian had learned they could share basic feelings as long as she was near one of the control crystals, though her consciousness would fully merge with the ship if she actually touched one. Full immersion in the crystal ship was an intense experience, and made it impossible to properly enjoy her favorite show, but this way they could watch it together. Sort of.

"We'll see about that, you dratted do-gooder!" The dastardly Lord Evil raised a gloved fist. "Minions! Attack!"

A dozen burly krog jump out from behind the rocks. It was an ambush. Space Captain fired his trusty blaster, then rolled behind a rock to engage the human's mighty minions.

"Yvian!" Lissa's voice cracked through the comm. "Get to the bridge! Now!"

Yvian paused the holovid and jumped up. Normally she'd object to anyone interrupting her precious Space Captain, but the panic in Lissa's voice meant it was an emergency, and anyone who got huffy about emergencies didn't last long in the void. Yvian responded with a quick "On my way." She placed a hand on Skygem's door and said, "Sorry sweetie, looks like we'll have to finish this one later." Skygem pulsed a feeling that reminded Yvian of waving goodbye and the door opened.

Yvian felt her body gearing up. Was it the pirates? Had the Freedom Republic found them? If so, they were in deep shit. The Captain's hidden base was the only refuge they had, and the Recompense was still under repairs. Without a stealth ship or a place to hide Yvian and company would have to fight an endless stream of pirates and vengeful humans. They'd last a while, but not forever. Assuming, of course, that they had time to run or fight and the pirates weren't about to riddle them all with holes.

Yvian broke into a sprint as soon as the door was open. A few seconds later she activated ENERGIZER, a feature in her voidarmor that let her keep up a frantic pace for as long as she wanted. The Skygem's bay was just over a kilometer from where the Random Encounter was parked. Rather than waste time questioning Lissa, Yvian decided to act as if every second counted.

She stopped exactly long enough to open the Encounter's airlock and shut it behind her, then continued her mad dash for the bridge. She found Lissa sitting at her console, tears running down her face. Mims stood nearby with a concerned expression. Yvian came to a stop. She was breathing hard, but not as hard as she should be after sprinting over a kilometer. She knew from experience that deactivating ENERGIZER now would leave her gasping on the ground.

"Skygem?" asked the Captain.

Yvian nodded. "I wish she'd learn not to flood the ship with methane every time." Yvian suspected that methane was what the Lucendians who built the crystal ship breathed, but knowing why didn't make it more convenient. She removed her helmet. "What's going on?"

Instead of answering, the human turned to Lissa. "Alright, we're all here. What's this about?"

Wordlessly, Lissa activated her wrist console. It displayed a holoprojection. A woman bound to a chair. A pixen. Young, wearing a skimpy but clearly expensive outfit.The woman was bloody, and her quiet sobs echoed through the bridge. Yvian peered closer. A shock of recognition sent adrenaline shooting up her legs.

"Yasme!?" She looked younger than Yvian, now, but it was definitely her. Yasme Kiver. Lissa's mother, and formerly Yvian's. The rejuvenation process she'd undergone had removed all traces of the damage time and drug abuse had done to the woman, but Yvian would know that face anywhere. It featured in several of her nightmares.

The Captain swore.

"Mom?" Lissa's startled voice came out of the wrist console. Yvian realized she was seeing a replay of a comm link.

"I see that I have your attention," a voice spoke. Yvian thought it was a male voice, but she couldn't be sure. Whoever it was had a voice modulator.

"Who are you?" Lissa demanded.

"Ah, ah, ah..." tsked the voice. "You're in no position to be asking questions." A form stepped into view. Male. Pixenoid. Clad in military grade powered armor. The man pointed a metal rod at Yasme Kiver. Electricity arced. Lissa's mother bucked and screamed.

Lissa yelled at the man to stop. He didn't. It went on for roughly 30 seconds, then the voice said. "That's enough for now." The man lowered the rod.

"You see how it is," the voice continued. "We have your mother. You will do as I say, or she will suffer."

Yasme Kiver sobbed in her chair. She started begging the armored man to let her go.

"Mom? Mom? It'll be alright," Lissa tried to reassure her.

"Oh, she can't hear you," the voice told her, "but don't worry. We'll make sure she knows this is happening because of you."

"You motherless son," Lissa spat. "You let her go right now or I'll kill you. I'll kill you and everyone you fucking know."

"Now, see that?" The voice tsked again. "That defiance? That's bad for business, Lissa. I think you need another demonstration. Two fingers. Right hand."

The armored man drew a knife and stepped forward. Yasme saw the blade and resumed screaming. She bucked and threw her weight around, trying to get away. The violence of her motion should have upended the chair, but Yvian guessed it had been bolted in place. The armored man grabbed her hand. Yasme screamed "No, no, no!" over and over, clenching her fist. The armored man squeezed with his armored gauntlet. Yasme's hand shattered. She screamed louder and her fist opened.

Yvian was nauseous. She came very close to vomiting as the armored man went about his grisly work. Her former mother's screams somehow became even louder when the first finger was severed.

Yvian had hated few people the way she hated Yasme. The woman who had been her mother had seen terrible things done to her daughter, and had done terrible things herself. She'd mostly left Yvian to fend for herself and for Lissa, when she wasn't beating them or selling their bodies. Yvian had escaped eventually, and taken her sister with her to find their fortune in the void.

Yasme had not been happy about that. She'd declared Yvian motherless, and stricken her name from the Registry of Families. To be motherless was to be outcast. Anyone so worthless their own mother couldn't love them could never be allowed to mix with good, honest pixens. Pixens would look at Yvian with a loathing only exceeded by that for matricides and child murderers. Yvian was a pariah, now, exiled from her species on pain of death.

The last time Yvian had seen her, Yasme had tried to have her killed. Her and Lissa both. Yvian hated her in ways she could barely describe. Yvian should be enjoying this woman's pain, or at least be indifferent to it. She couldn't. Yasme was a monster. She was the most evil, self-centered, malignant person Yvian had ever met, but she'd been her mother once. Yvian couldn't not love her mother, even knowing that her mother didn't love her.

The screaming went on for several seconds after the second finger had been removed, then the audio cut out. Yvian could still see Yasme wailing, but not having to hear it came as something of a guilty relief.

"That's a bit loud," the voice remarked. "Now, are you going to be a good girl, or do we need to carve off a few more pieces? I'm thinking a foot next. Or maybe the eyes."

"No," Lissa's voice cracked. "Please don't."

"That's better," said the voice. "Do as your told, and we won't have to send Mrs. Kiver back to you one piece at a time."

"What do you want?" asked Lissa.

"There you go with the questions, again," the voice chided. "Are you trying to make us kill your mother?"

"No, please, I didn't mean..."

"I'll allow it this once," the voice decided. "It's come my attention that you are the current Vice President of Special Projects at Venturetech. Is that correct?"

"I..." Lissa floundered for a second, then composed herself. "Yes."

"Odd," said the voice. "I never expected a pixen whore to rise so far in a major company."

Lissa was silent.

"Venturetech has been making some very interesting purchases, lately," the voice continued. "Stations. Planetary defenses. Farming equipment. You follow?"

"How..." Lissa stopped herself. "Yes."

"Your learning," the voice approved. "Venture tech has found a planet. A class five, if I were to guess. You will give me the location."

"I..." Lissa's voice wavered. "I don't have the location."

"Lying to me? Even now?" The voice sighed. "Left foot."

The armored man put his knife away and stepped out of view. He came back with a small saw. Yasme Kiver was screaming and kicking again. Yvian wasn't sure if the lack of audio made the sight better or worse. She didn't have to hear it, but that also meant she couldn't look away.

"No, please, I mean it," Lissa begged. "I don't know."

"Then you'd better find out, hadn't you?" The voice told her. "You have twelve hours, but I would hurry if I were you." The voice was silent for a few seconds as the armored man began to saw through Yasme's ankle. "The longer we have to wait, the less of her you'll get back."

The transmission ended.

"God damn it," the Captain swore. "I was hoping it would just be pirates."