"The story is actually rather straightforward." Tohasandra walked out in front of the guild members and turned so she was facing The Huntress.
"I talked to Hortan for about three hours, and I must say that he has some very weird ideas of how the world runs. To highlight how strange he thinks, he is a complete pacifist. He abhors weapons and will not even transport weapons or parts that can make them. He believes that if he is very nice to the pirates, they will feel petty for him, and so not be able to attack him. Which is bullocks of course."
Tohasandra took a small sip of the whisky, nodded and smiled as it warmed all the way to her feet, and continued.
"But most strange of all, is the fact that he continues to insist that The Huntress taught him to mine in Helios. He even calls her My Queen, or My Latin Queen."
The Huntress narrowed her eyes, something was trying to force its way past the impervious facade of the swashbuckling pirate.
"He is fixated on her, and will do almost anything to be near her. Which is not very compatible with one of the most feared pirates of The Syndicate."
Tohasandra turned and faced Ecka.
"So basically, what you have here is a very strange young man, who is obsessed with the delusion that.."
"He is right." The words from The Huntress were said in a low voice, but they cut through the room like a xiRite plasma torch through butter. Everybody turned towards The Huntress, and what they saw was entirely different than the person that had swaggered into the room earlier. The aura of invincibility and confidence had disappeared, and she was now merely a beautiful young woman. The revolver, before so very fitting, was now completely out of place.
"He is right, and he is wrong."
Ecka leant back in his seat, narrowed his eyes, and poured another dram from the stash.
"Care to explain Hunt?" his deep voice and tone making the question into a statement of what was going to happen.
The Huntress looked at Ecka, at Hortan and at Tohasandra. She went over to Hortan and put a hand on his head. He looked up at her, but stayed seated on the floor before Ecka. It reminded Tohasandra of the dog she had seen in the temple on Eo. The complete trust was apparent in Hortans posture, and the trust was enforced and reciprocated by the way The Huntress held his head.
"I met Hortan for the first time, about two years ago. It was back when I was a peaceful trader and miner, he was a rookie pilot, and I helped him to mine the first Heliocene."
"You were a peaceful trader? I am sorry if I have a hard time believing that Huntress," Pasqual said. "I have only seen your name, either in relation to somebody getting pirated, or given as warning of where not to go."
The Huntress smiled at Paqual, the predatory look once more inhabiting her dark latina features.
"And that is how it would have continued, if not for Hort here." She looked down at him, the predator turning into concern. "When he met me, I was flying under another name. I was named as Latin Queen Isabella, and that is why he refers to me as his Queen."
"That makes some weird sense" Tohasandra said. "Why did you change name Huntress?"
"I found an artefact. Or it found me. The Darque Orbs of Geira. It demands that I feed them with combat and violence, and so I became The Huntress. It is my destiny, and I neither can nor will flee from it."
John Eldritch looked at Ecka. This sounded annoyingly familiar to a certain situation with a certain high ranking member of the TGFT council. Ecka looked back and nodded ever so slightly. John took his raven marked jacket from his shoulder, put it on, turned and walked out to find her.
"How does this solve the situation, and how does it fit in with the pirates? Am I unusually dense since I cannot see the solution?" Lambin was more than a little annoyed. And to top it off, his whisky glass was empty. The last problem was quickly remedied by Pasqual, who poured from his own personal bottle of Helio Mists.
"Now, that is what I was talking to Hunt about earlier." Ecka rose from the chair and went over to Pasqual. Not one to miss an opportunity, he thrust out his tin cup as well.
"It seems that Unknown player node has declared a personal vendetta on young Horton here." He drank deeply from the cup, smacked once with his tongue and brought the cup up to Pasqual to fill it again.
"If what Huntress here has told me is true, it has been brewing for quite a while. And what I think is the worst is, some of us here has contributed to it. It comes down to what he calls "carebearing"." Once more Ecka drank deep from the cup, lifted it to his eye and winked at it. He went over to his chair and sat down. His eyes fixed on the top monitor on the left side and stayed there.
"Sir, carebearing?" Surbius prodded.
"Och, aye, was drifting a bit there. Which reminds me of a story about a fellow and a wheelbarrow. But that is for later. Seems Unknown player node has been fuming at friendly helpless traders for a very long time, and the fact that young Horton managed to escape him in a Behemoth XC while Unknown player node was flying under false name, was the drop that initiated it all."
"So, a misunderstanding, it was all a misunderstanding," Tohasandra said frowning.
"Aye, a very expensive one indeed" Ecka mused, with a crooked smile on his lips. "I have been talking to Jolly Roger and MysticRogue, and they have nothing guild wise against young Horton here, so I consider that part of it closed. What we do with the lad and Huntress, is something else, but I will leave it to them. If you would care to assist Tohasandra, your help will be appreciated." Ecka leant back once more and brought the bottle of Pylatis Delicht from his stash and poured himself a dram more. The problem was over, they were all dismissed.
Tohasandra went over to Hortan and The Huntress. Even if she could in no way set herself in The Huntress's place, or even condone the piracy she performed, the two women were connected through the young man, that was sitting on the floor. She looked over at Mor Isil and tossed her head in Hortans direction. Mor Isil came over and helped getting Hortan on his feet.
The Huntress looked up into Hortans eyes and got his complete attention. "Listen to me now. Even if I do not fly as Latin Queen Isabella, you can still be my friend, ok? And if I at any time feel like going back to a more peaceful life, I can become your Queen once more. But for now it is too dangerous, and I do not want to see you get hurt, do you understand me?"
He looked at her. "But you are my Queen?"
"No, I am not. Not anymore dear, not anymore. Have patience, and maybe one day I will be. But not now."
She looked to Tohasandra and nodded. Tohasandra grabbed Hortans arm, motioned for Mor Isil to take the other, and The Huntress walked off. Vardonx escorted her all the way out to the matte black Corvus Vulturius and made sure she was not harassed on the way. As if that was going to happen, but he felt better now she had left the station. As she undocked, he could hear the klaxons go off, and the SF pilots run to their ships. Silently, and for the first time, he wished The Huntress best of luck in getting away.
Hortan could not believe what had happened, but he allowed himself to be led down to his cubicle. Mor Isil tucked him in, and left him with Nic, or Ms. Chi.
"I must say, I am very impressed Hortan" Tohasandra said. "I am not sure I could keep my love for a person going for years if I was not affirmed back. She must be very special. I know you are." She stroke him across the cheek, and he fell asleep. He never noticed her sneaking out, he never heard the noise from the hallway, he was for once not dreaming of his Queen.
Epilogue:
Hortan woke up to Surbius, Vardonx, Moda, Lambin, Waldoze and Pasqual. They were all smiling at him. Quickly, he got up and looked for his clothes.
"Get dressed mate, you have a busy day," Waldoze said, a huge grin under the immaculate, large mustache.
He took the clothes next to his bed, and winced at the thought of his very chafed thighs. However, the pants fit, the jacket felt good and the name tag said Hortan in neon yellow letters. The ball cap with the propeller said MINER in yellow letters.
"I had the size problem fixed" Surbius said, smiling, "so I expect you to dress properly from now on."
"And I have installed an autolog in you personal assistant so you don't have to fill out all those forms anymore" Moda beamed at him.
"And I am thirsty" Pasqual said, "Lets go mine and have some whisky, what do you say?"
Hortan got up. He was among friends. His guild was a good one. He was going to have whisky. And he was going mining. Sometimes, it really is a flashy life roid miners live.
