Resurrection - Chapter 3

NOTE: This story needs to be slightly retconned to take into consideration the events of YC121.03.18 that established that Ca'lik'bar is a subsurface mining colony and not an open air mining colony.

Mitara continued her walk down the street, through the mostly abandoned and run down buildings. She could feel the occasional stare of the remaining residents, their wondering about this new comer. The housing eventually gives way to open plains, the road in total disrepair and overrun by weeds. She enjoys the feeling of the breeze against her face as she goes forward. Before too long she stands at the fence gate, long ago busted through by vandals. Passing through the gate she looks at the support buildings, covered in graffiti. She continues on what used to be the main walkway, shortly coming to the shaft building itself. The R-37 sign is barely legible.

* * *

The last few days saw more food than before. One less mouth to feed helped, even though the worry of their missing mother kept her from sleeping. Her bruised cheek, and the cut across her lip probably helped with the miners sympathy too. With the sound of the shift change siren, she takes up her old violin, her muscles still sore from the encounter days before. A piece of bread crust, and a mostly eaten peach are the things she notes getting tossed into her brothers violin case, and she manages to smile a little.

"How are you feeling?" the vaguely familiar Amarr voice asks.

Startled, she looks up and over seeing the Navy officer at the front of a detachment of Imperial Marines. Looking away in embarrassment for not thanking him, she responds, "Ok, sir. Thank you... you know? The other day...?"

He smiles softly at her and then her brother, "And who is this?"

"I'm Kaleb!" her younger brother chimes in before she has a chance to respond. The young boy looks wide eyed at the Amarr officer, "Do you fly a spaceship!?" he asks excitedly.

The officer chuckles back at the inquisitive child, "I serve aboard one, yes."

"Wow!" The boy smiles broadly, enamored.

"I'd like to hear you play, " says the officer turning his gaze back to her.

She nods, trying to avoid his eyes. She brings her carefully chosen stick up to the rusted strings and does her best to not offend her audiences ears.

The officer puts on a forced expression of approval, trying to hide his amusement behind his smile. She plays a bit more before her brother breaks her concentration.

"Mommy!" he shouts and drops the violin case, spilling it's little contents onto the ground. He runs up to her hugging at her leg. She barely notices and approaches the officer.

The mother thrusts some papers at the man, shaking them, "Take them! For God, take them!" Out of reflex the officer responds, accepting the papers. She drops to the ground in front of him, grasping at his boot, kissing the toe of it, "Thank you, m'Lord!. By all that is Holy, thank you! They will serve you well."

The lump in the daughters throat prevents her from speaking, her body paralyzed at the implication.

The mother stands, pushing down the young boy who is still chanting, "Mommy! Mommy!" She turns away without looking at either of the children, running off into the cross traffic of arriving and leaving workers. Her wild, unwashed hair is the last they will ever see of her.

"Umm..." The Naval officer is the first to be able to respond, and he quickly glances over the papers he realizes he now holds. "Sergeant, take them" he calls out flatly.

The marines move swiftly, one grabbing the now crying boy off the ground, another scooping up the girl. She blinks in a daze and loses grip of the violin which falls to the ground, the aged cheap wood shattering into pieces. The troop quickly moves out towards the center of the city.

*

She stands with her younger brother at her side, the Naval officer behind them. She looks at the Amarr behind the counter as he finishes reading the papers their mother had thrust upon the officer.

"Yes, this is all in order. She has relinquished any claim to them. Do you have the registration forms for your new slaves?"

The officer hands him a data tablet. The clerk begins reading it, and almost immediately looks back up at the Navy man. "Sir, but this is..."

"I know." assures the officer in a commanding voice.

The clerk looks at the two children in front of him. He shrugs and continues reading partially out loud, "... Ni-Kunni female... age nine ... height, weight appear accurate..." He looks at the officer, "Name?"

The officer looks down at the girl, smiling, "Go ahead, tell him your name."

The girl looks up at the officer a moment then at the clerk. She says softly, "Mitara Cobestes"

"Mitara..." the clerk repeats back as he keys the datapad. He scrolls and reads more, ".. Ni-Kunni male... age 5... ok.." Knowing now what the response from the officer will be, this time he looks at the boy for the response, "Name?"

"Kaleb, sir"

"Kaleb..." more keying into the datapad followed by a press of a thumb. The clerk hands the datapad back to the Navy officer, "There you are sir, all set."

The Navy man places a hand on either of the siblings shoulders and turns them to walk. As they walk he looks down at the girl, she looks back up at him. "Mitara Newelle. You are Mitara Newelle now. Understand?"

She nods to him, even though she doesn't.

* * *

Mitara leans her back against the outer wall of the mineshaft and slowly slides down until she is sitting. She pulls her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her eyes close and her head lowers to rest against the top of her knees.

Emotion crashes down on her.

She sobs.

* * *

Kaleb lays curled on the bench of the transport, asleep. The young Ni-Kunni girl sits next to the Naval officer, unable to comprehend the happenings of the last several hours. The silence weighs down on her, and the fear of this unknown future scares her to her core. She tries not make any sounds as she can't help but cry. The Navy officer notices anyway.

"Why do you cry?" asks the officer in a kind voice.		"Why do you cry?" asks a voice.
"It has been so hard. I have done some bad things." the short life of the young girl plays itself back in her mind. All the worry and anguish of simply trying to survive. Visions of the places and the people from which she stole roll through her thoughts.		"It has been so hard. I have done some horrid things." the Captain thinks of the constant patrols and battles, all her duties to PIE and to the Empire. She sees the faces of her fellow pilots prominently: Shalee, Raphael, Zenton, Laerise, Aldrith; others fade quickly. Deep within her she knows she has wronged them all.
"Are you not also blessed?" the Amarr next to her says, gently placing his hand atop her head.		"Are you not also blessed?" the voice asks, the hair on her neck stands on end.
She had been bathed, fed, and given new cloths. Her wounds had been attended to by a physician. She was not separated from her brother. "Yes, I am blessed."		She was nearly immortal. She was Captain in the venerated Praetoria Imperialis Excubitoris. Rich beyond most commoners dreams. She had a family that cared for her. She had felt the elation of giving her heart away to another. "Yes, I am blessed."
The young girl looks up at the Amarr officer, "Who are you?"		The woman begins to look up, "Who are you?"
"I am your father, now." replies the man next to her.		"I am your Father, always." the voice fills her head.

Mitara sits straight up, sucking in a breath. Her heart races and her body trembles. She looks all around her. She is alone. What was once day has become night. There is a soft glow provided by the starlight.

A fresh stream of tears begin to fall, now tears of joy. She lifts her head to the stars, a smile slowly forms.

"Thank you."

END

Resurrection - Chapter 2

NOTE: This story needs to be slightly retconned to take into consideration the events of YC121.03.18 that established that Ca'lik'bar is a subsurface mining colony and not an open air mining colony.

The broken plastic lid skids to a stop, bumping into a pile of broken glass in the dimly lit alley.

“I win!” cheers the excited Ni-Kunni boy.

“Yes, you win. Now go back home and I'll be there in a while,” replies his thin... too thin, sister.

He scuttles off whence they came, giving his makeshift ball an occasional kick as he weaves between the junk and other debris littering the alley. She watches him as long as she can. Normally she would let him win, just to see his excitement. But not today. Her body ached so bad, her joints grinding like broken gears. She was certain the pain in her stomach meant that her body had begun to feed upon itself. It had been days since she allowed herself even the smallest bit of food. She made sure Kaleb got as much as she could, rationing only a tiny bit for what had once been their mother. “You git on home now before it gets too dark!” Her shout is weak and hoarse. She's not sure if her blurred vision is the reason she finally loses sight of him, or that he has rounded some corner, either way she must now focus on her task.

It had only been two weeks since they had cut back shaft R-37 to two shifts, and already there had been a few near riots that had quickly been dispersed by ever increasing Imperial patrols. They had suffered worse than she thought they might. There were more people vying for the attention of the remaining workers for starters, and what she was able to get from them was less and less as the miners started to horde what they could in anticipation of the shaft being shut down entirely. She was so tired. All she wanted was to sleep, yet she plodded on. The occasional functioning alley light helped guide her towards the center of the city. Usually a better chance to find something she could use would be had there.

“I could give you something. That is, if you have something to give me?” The Khanid accent was thick. The twenty-something man stepped down off what must have been some kind of loading dock. His dirty white shirt was not worn, or ripped at all. “I've seen you come by this way before. You need something to eat?”

She nods back to him, “I would make music for you, but...” she lifts her heavy arm, pointing far down the alley.

“S'ok, we can figure something else out.” he says as he pulls a low crate aside and sits on it. He reaches into one of the over sized leg pockets that adorn his pants and pulls out a packet of dried rations, something the miners are given when they go very deep below the surface. “I've got this for you.”

“But I don't have nothing to... “ she finds the words so hard to say, knowing the weeks worth of meals is beyond her. Her head droops and her lips involuntarily pout.

“You can dance, right?” the Khanid leans forward resting his elbows on his knees, “Let me see you dance, pretty thing.”

She bobs her head in agreement and begins swaying from side to side, trying with all her might to move her arms in a graceful motion. Tears begin to well up as she hears the sounds of his laughter.

“Ha ha! No, you silly girl, not like that!” He jumps up from his seat and moves behind her, half leaning over her, his sweaty face above her head. “I want you to do it like this.” Her puppeteer begins moving his hips against her back and she sways with him in return. She closes her eyes, focusing on the pain in her belly.. “Yeah like that, now you're getting it.” He reaches over the top of her, taking hold of her wrists. She lays her head to the side praying for sleep to take her. He guides her hands up and down her preteen body, “That's good, very good.” Tears roll down the side of her face.

“Mother and Kaleb need you” she tells herself.

* * *

“You don't like my song!” cries the young girl standing in front of her.

Mitara feels her wet cheeks and shakes her head at the distraught child. “No, no, you did fine.” She kneels down, “You did wonderfully” displaying the coin in her hand, she holds it out. Both Ni-Kunni, adult and child, smile at each other with water streaked faces.

The young child snatches the coin and runs down the street, “Thank you, thank you!”

Mitara remains kneeling a moment, watching the girl down the street turn up a flight of stairs into what passes as an apartment building. She then looks down at the rough sidewalk where a couple of tears have dropped from her face and splattered.

* * *

She falls forward, limp, as he tries to work his hand under her tattered dress.

“Don't you know anything!?” the Khanid yells at her.

Her face scrapes against the dirty concrete of the alleyway and she rolls to her side as the force of his kick connects to her lower back. Her body responds with a yelp and begins heaving with sobs. She blinks a couple times looking at the few drops of blood smeared on the pavement inches away from her mouth. A couple of his footsteps are heard before the flash of white and the sharp sting on the side of her face that immediately begins to throb.

“Now we have to start over!” He grabs her by the armpit and attempts to hoist her up, her body refuses to help and he loses his grip, “Damnit, get up!” The soft thud of his fist hitting the backside of her shoulder is easily drowned out by the cry she emits.

“Please please please” She sputters between gasping sobs.

He hovers over her and spits to the side, “You want what I got, I know you do! Now get up!” His body freezes has he begins to bend down.

“Stop!”

The voice is confident and authoritative. The sounds of many men running grow louder as the sound of his retreat grows softer. She closes her eyes and begins to tremble as the sounds become a roar closing in on her. Even as they pass, she is too terrified to move.

“Come now, it's ok, it's ok.” It's the same voice as before, now soft, gentle.

She recoils, balling up in a fetal position at the light touch.

“It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. Come on now.”

His hands and arms are strong. They pick her up and carry her to the nearby dock, gently he sets her at it's edge, sitting her up. She opens her eyes and sees a look of concern on the Amarrians face.

“We'll have to have that tended to. Can you tell me your name?”

She stares blankly at the Imperial Navy insignia on his uniform.

“I know you are scared, but I can help you. If...”

His head quirks away listening to something only he can hear, then back in a commanding voice says to nobody she can see, “Yes, thank you, Marine.”

His voice softens, “You're ok now. I'm going to help you. I'll be right back.”

She doesn't turn her head to watch him follow the way the rest went, she just sits looking forward.

“Mother and Kaleb” she says out loud.

She slides off the dock and her body wracks with pain as she lands. She whimpers as she tries to move with haste, grabbing the ration packet and starting towards home.

Her lungs are on fire and her muscles scream at her to stop as she nears the back of the apartment building. The sounds of Kaleb crying drives her to get there faster still even as her body rebels again her.

“Where is Mother?” she pants out.
“I don't know” wails her brother.

Resurrection - Chapter 1

NOTE: This story needs to be slightly retconned to take into consideration the events of YC121.03.18 that established that Ca'lik'bar is a subsurface mining colony and not an open air mining colony.

The Imperial Spaceport is an immaculate, gold and white structure, dwarfing all other buildings in the city of Ca'lik'bar on Anath II, Aridia. It is a conduit for ores and minerals extracted from below the surface of this nondescript planet to reach the greater Empire of which it belongs. The businessmen, Imperial Regulators, and Imperial Navy personnel that keep it all running also travel it's corridors. It is a shining beacon surrounded by the squalor that is the city.

Ca'lik'bar is home to mostly Ni-Kunni and Khanid miner families and to those that offer their services to them. There is little happiness there. Those families that are lucky enough to work the mines worry when their employment will be terminated, as the cheaper to operate and more efficient asteroid mining ships continue to increase in numbers. Those without, do what they can to survive. Cooking, cleaning, entertaining, begging, and even less dignified activities all are offered to the Elite of Ca'lik'bar, and to even the lowest mine worker.

Mitara Newelle, capsuleer, Captain of Preatoria Imperialis Excubitoris, waits in line to exit the Imperial Spaceport and enter the place of her birth, which she has not set foot in for over 20 years. Those next to her regard her with disdain at her less than tailored cloths, and disheveled look. She plays the part, keeping her head down, not looking any of them in the eye. Finally the guard scans her id badge. He gives her a puzzled look and opens his mouth to ask something. The glare that she gives him steals his voice, and he simply waves her though.

The assault on her senses as she steps out of the spaceport and into the huge expanse of the cities' market plaza is overbearing. The aroma of hundreds of types food, animals, and the sweat of the thousands of vendors and their patrons make her gag. She tries to block out the droning buzz of activity all around her as she moves her way through the plaza to one of the main artery streets that eventually lead to mineshaft R-37. Along the way a Khanid boy leaps in front of her offering some type soup. She smells it, fights back the urge to vomit, and pushes past the boy. As she starts down one of the many wide streetways, she stops to watch a troop of teenage Ni-Kunni perform a synchronized dance. The few people assembled watch with subtle amusement, cheering once in a while at some feat of acrobatics. After a few moments she continues on down the street.

It is less crowded now, and the smell isn't as horrible, but there are still the occasional civilians looking to earn their next meal. She walks for some time and the bustle of business gives way to the calmer and quieter atmosphere of the residential districts. She muses at the size and condition of the apartments. The amount she spends in broker fees in a month on the interstellar market could refurbish the buildings 10 times over. It isn't until she feels something tugging at her sleeve does she realize how far she has gone, and into the slums at the outskirts of the city. The sight of her childhood neighborhood stops her cold.

“Lady, some change for a song?”

Even with Mitara's low class disguise, the young Ni-Kunni girl sees someone of greater wealth than she.

Mitara looks at the child - dirty, malnourished, uneducated. “What song will you sing for me, young one?”

“I don't know the name. My mommy taught it to me. It's really old so I don't know what the words mean, but Mommy says it is about how God will provide to the faithful.”

“Very well.” Mitara produces a coin from her worn overcoat and shows it to the child, then crosses her arms expecting that services be rendered first. The girl smiles awkwardly and begins singing in undecipherable words, that may at one time have been of the oldest of language in the Scriptures, but after generations of being passed down have become nothing but nonsense. Mitara listens for a time before her mind starts to wander ever back, back to her life before being a Newelle.


***


The two siblings stood at the entrance of mine shaft R-37. The boy several years younger than the girl, barely able to hold the worn and beaten violin case. The girl held the instrument like she had seen in a picture, running a stick across the dirty and rusted strings. It had been about a year since the two discovered the treasure while scavenging through the dumpsters of an apartment building on the other side of the city. In that time she had learned a few ways to coax the thing into producing some tones that did not make ones teeth hurt. Every day, at every shift change, they would come in hopes one of the miners would toss something, anything – a coin, a piece of bread, something; into their case. If they were lucky enough, they would bring the booty to their mother, who would wait emotionless under the back alley rear stairs of a run down apartment building. Her heart and ability to provide for her children were broken several years prior, when her mate left off world as a slave. While his needs would be met, even if it was in a life time of service to another, they would have to fend for themselves. The betrayal, hurt, and fear were too much, and her mind left her.

“Look mother! Cheese! And a candy!” The young girl exclaimed as she and her brother ran to what they called home. Their mother greeted them with a blank stare. “Kaleb, divide this while I get us some water.” She takes a couple old metal cups and goes to the rail well at the corner of the building, dunking them into the barrel. Upon returning her younger brother has torn the cheese into four parts. “You take two, mother and I will have one, you need it to grow.” The daughter puts a single bit of the meal to her mothers lips, which instinctively take it. The bit of cheese is followed by a drink of water from the misshapen cup, again the mouth muscles react on their own. The two children quickly devour their scraps in silence.

“Can I go first?” Kaleb asks, as he smiles an unusually perfect smile for one of his class. His sister responds with a smile of her own, “Yes, but don't take too long.” The boy quickly picks up the piece of candy and plunks in his mouth, careful not to bite down on it. “Now me!” she says to him after a several seconds. Her brother takes the candy out of his mouth and hands it to his sister. She raises it to her full Ni-Kunni lips, eager to taste it's sweetness. They both start to giggle with glee as they take turns sucking on their deserved pay.