Regrets?

Valarissa sat in bed, tossing and turning, unable to clear her mind and drift to sleep. What had she done? Here she was, in low-sec space, roaming around with outlaws, pirates, and, as hard as it was to admit, murderers. Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought back to her parents, and her life before war had struck her homeworld. She wiped the tears from her eyes muttering, "Venom would rag on me if she saw me acting like this..." To think, crying over what was? It was soft... it wasn't even remotely acceptable for someone who had done the things she had.

She had killed people! She had scrambled a capsule's warp drive systems, webbed them, demanded money, and then proceeded to kill them in cold blood when they refused to pay! Sure, the capsuleer's consciousness lived on in a new clone, but it didn't stop the fact that she had murdered that person in cold blood.

She even had a bounty on her head to show for it too. 1,005,000 Interstellar Kredits. Was that what a life was worth? Was that what HER life was worth?

Thinking back to her parents again, Val couldn't help feel shame at what she was doing now. Her parents had done everything in their power to bring about change in a non-violent way. And here she was, Val, a Hellcat, roaming around, destroying ships and killing for money. Just another pirate in a band of murderers.

And yet, she couldn't help to think about how kind these women were. The members of the Bastards were top rate too. All of them lived such vibrant lives (many of them more than one life due to a few too many run ins with "pod malfunction." They all were such kind-natured individuals, just trying to survive in their own corner of space. Hunted down by CONCORD, hated by the corporations that would turn this area of space into their dust for their material gain.

It was for this reason, Val, remembered, that she joined. It wasn't about the money, it was about making a life for yourself. It was about finding a way to survive, even if it meant spitting in the eye of an entity much larger than yourself.

That was why she became a pirate. She drifted off to sleep only moments later with one last thought drifting through her head:

"But hey... the pay's damn good too."

Outlaw Oddities

Valarissa sat in a Velator outside of the Todifraun - Evati gate, staring at her navigation screens. Her eyes glazed over as she watched the ships drifting into and out of the range of the gate. Warping in, warping out. All the while, her fingers moved swiftly to lock targets and fire up her weapon systems.

"Got away... flew off... jumped in... OOH! Almost! Damn..."

She honestly wondered what the hell she was doing out here. She convinced herself it was some bizarre hazing ritual. That she needed to do this in order to initiate herself as an outlaw.

A few more ships lazily drift through the gate, the Velator's targeting systems struggling to keep up.

A rapier flew into Evati, the Velator locked and fired. In seconds gate sentry guns opened fire and shredded the feeble craft in seconds. She could only imagine what thoughts were floating through the Rapier pilot's head. ("Who the hell? What? A Velator? At a gate? What in the world is this place coming to?")

Valarissa set her pod's destination to the Kaalakiota station off of Evati VII. The pod docked and she set her docking procedures to prepare Freyja version: (more than she could remember). She strolled into the watering hole that the Hellcats liked to visit and grinned. "I'm an outlaw now."

The others in the bar all offered their congratulations. "It seemed like a good idea at the time... and you know what, it was just fugging funny." She grinned and ordered a round while she waited for the cooldown on her name.

Testing your Mettle/(Metal?)

After a brief chat with Mynxee and another pirate, Shae Tiann, Valarissa was ready and willing to dive into her new life as a pirate. Mynxee looked the new potential up and down, sizing her up. Val returned the gaze with the calm steady composure she had learned in the naval academy. She had just run from authority and orders and she wasn't about to be intimidated by anyone, even if they were rather notorious. Mynxee nodded to herself and cracked a wry smile. "Alright Val, let's see what you can do."

The two hopped into their respective frigates and sped off into the void. After a brief assessment Val heard the comms buzz into her pod. "Hey Mae, do you have some time for a little action? I've got a raw one here and I want to see what she can do." Valarissa swallowed, sweat beginning to release from her pores. She had no idea what to expect, had she just been once-overed by this woman?

Another voice chimed in on the comms, "Yeah sure, I'll be right there!" The voice was cheery, and eager to please. She sounded just a bit more raw than Val herself did. Val's navigation systems picked up a small frigate in system. Within seconds the Amarrian frigate was in view. Val's muscles tensed.

"So ummm... when do we st..?" Val's words choked off as the sound of her targeting computer fired up. She had already been targeted and this newcomer, Mae, was opening fire. Mynxee chuckled over comms, "It starts whenever it starts Val!"

Valarissa fired up her ion thrusters and set the navigation computers to orbit her target at 500 meters. She turned on the afterburner and raced towards Mae's ship. Val had already taken a pounding. Mae had already punched through her shields and most of her armor, she was beginning to panic. As the distance closed, she activated her subsytems, ensaring Mae in a Warp Scrambler and a Webifier, the Amarrian ship ground almost to a halt. Val closed the distance and opened fire when her blasters were at optimal range.

Mae didn't seem to be able to track her ship fast enough. Pulsing the afterburner, Val shot around Mae's ship, firing volley after volley into the stunted ship's shields. Suddenly Val remembered the drone she had loaded into the bay. "This should give me the advantage I need," she thought. The drone bay doors opened up and her Hobgoblin shot out, looking for it's prey.

Ever since she had closed range and been circling Mae's ship, Val had barely taken a hit, she was in a stupor as her intel systems showed her that her target's ship was just as poorly off as her own. "I've got this one pinned!" She felt a rush of pride and encouragement rush through her as she continued blasting away. Her pride got the best of her though, and Mae quickly began to land hit after hit. The two ships were taking a beating but Val had the edge now. It was so close! "Just a little more!"

Val's comms kicked in, it was Mae, "Ok enough, I give! I can't afford to lose this ship right now!" Val grinned, she had won. She disengaged her weapon systems and recalled her drone. She couldn't believe it. Looking at her ship's status again she realized just how close it was. Two or three more well placed shots would have ended it for either of them.

Mynxee's voice popped in on comms, "That was a great fight you guys. Thanks Mae. You both did great. Val, dock up and repair your ship. Mae, since you have that GCC, just take care of yourself."

As Val set her ship's systems to warp to the nearest station with a repair shop, her heart finally began slowing. She couldn't help but grin as she thought, "This wasn't anything like academy..."

Sinking In

Breathe in, breathe out... breathe in, breathe out. "I hate this part!" Valarissa thought as the amniotic gel came flowing up over her face.The cool viscous liquid slid over her skin like stepping into a vat of gelatin. It sent shivers down her spine. As the controls came online, the pod lit up, a tone signaling the connection had been completed. She opened her eyes and was greeted by a plethora of screens showing her every part of her ship. It was a frigate class vessel, so she was alone. Nobody else was needed to run the ship systems, it could all be controlled from within the sanctity of her pod.

As strange as it was, Valarissa felt at home in the quickly warming gel. It was where she felt most alive. She had grown up in the major Gallente systems, her parents, idealists and revolutionaries, brought her into the world believing that a world of truth and justice were not ideals, they were goals. Something that could be attained. As she sat in her pod bringing systems online, Val though back to those days.

Her parents vehemently opposed the Amarrian Empire slave trades, and the relative inaction by all the major governments and CONCORD to do anything about the trade. She remembered waiting, sitting on the steps of consulates, in the reception halls of embassies, and emissary dormitory hallways, waiting for her parents. Nothing ever changed.

The sound of the Incursus Ion thrusters firing up pierced straight through the pod, it was one of the only sounds she could hear from the outside world in that pod. The ship lurched as it began to undock from the station.

She grew up, constantly waiting for things to change, for wrongs to be righted. For the people to get their due. She believed what her parents had told her. Even though things never changed, from her perspective, they never grew worse either. She would have taken up the fight. She would have begun lobbying important governmental offices to hear the cries of the people through her voice. But then the violence started. War came to her system, the Caldari State Navy pushed into the system and began an open siege on her homeworld. Fire rained down from the sky, and for the first time, things changed.

The ferrying systems detatched and suddenly Valarissa found herself floating. All lurching and friction stopped. There was just grace. In her ship, in her mind. It was all so perfect.

Her parents died in a barrage and by some miracle she was spared. She had nowhere to turn to and immediately submitted herself to the Gallentean Federation Naval forces. The first change she had seen in her life had been caused by way, and they were for the worse. She intended to do everything in her power to put a stop to it all. Her marks far surpassed those of her peers and she was quickly elevated to an officer position on a cruiser. Her capsuleer saw in her the ability to command quickly and efficiently when in the heat of battle and suggested she be considered for capsuleer training. In a matter of weeks, she was prepping to become a capsuleer in the Federation Navy.

She pushed the ship as hard as it could go and engaged the afterburners feeling the inertia tug at her ever so slightly. She loved that feeling. The speed, the rush. It was everything she lived for. It was movement, it was grace and it was action.

Her training completed, she was given her first set of orders. They were simple. Embark on a roam into Caldari space to engage in a covert ops attack on a Caldari station to limit supply and increase the price of goods created and sold by a nearby Gallente station. It was about money. The stations population was in the millions, many of whom were civillians and would die in the attack. Had it not been for the threat of court marshalling and death, she would have flat-out refused on the spot. This was not the type of change she wanted to bring to the universe. She did not want to be a puppet in the schemes of a government who cared more about money and who let the cries of their people fall on deaf ears.

Her voice comms clicked on as the friendly voices of her fleet flowed into the pod. "Alright, we'll be doing a guerilla style roam into Siseide. Set destinations and warp to the Arnher gate."

While out with the navy frigate fleet, she broke off instead of following the rest of the fleet through a warp gate, jamming on the thrusters and engaging her warp drive. "I can't do this... not like this! I won't be used like this!" She jumped from gate to gate putting as much distance between herself and her home system as possible. When her heart finally stopped beating into her ears, she brought up her navigation system. She was in Evati according to the computer. "Low sec huh?... I guess they wouldn't bother coming all the way out here." She pulled her ship into a nearby station, disembarked from her frigate and walked into the bar. After ordering a few drinks she looked around and noticed everyone staring at her. "What are you all looking at!?"

"Hey Val, why don't you scout ahead for us on this one?" the familiar voice floated into her pod. "Ummm, you sure Mynx? I'm a little new to all of this scouting business... but sure, I'll give it a shot."

A woman approached her, "You're new here aren't you?" Val looked at her. "Yeah I'm new, what gives?" The woman smirked, "Well I was just wondering why someone would bring a Navy ship to a pirate station, I assume you have a story, because you're alone, and you don't look stupid. I'm Mynx by the way."

Val jumped through the gate, smiling to herself. She had run from the only home she had known and ended up in lowsec space with naught but a wing, a prayer, and her wits about her. She found the family she was hoping for, and the purpose she needed. "I've got an Iteron Mark III on scan... looks like they're shipping raw goods. Want me to tackle?" A voice chimed in, "Go ahead, we're jumping through now."

Val would use the only means she knew to bring change, and she would use it as SHE chose. As an outlaw, as a pirate.

As a Hellcat.