Pearl
The Unbroken

Rat stopped us before we could charge off and try and rip Gigacorp limb from limb.

"Don't do anything rash, Little Moon. Don't go charging off to some noble death like Evan did." he cautioned. I didn't even question who Evan was.

"We won't. But if I have to die to bring Gigacorp down, I will without hesitation." I said softly.

Rat sighed, a metallic rasp transmitted through the vacuum just outside the window.

"Don't. We'll find a way that doesn't require any of you to die. If you ever need backup, call me. I'll drop whatever I'm doing and bring the entire Polaris Fleet to back you up. You don't have to fight this alone." Rat promised.

A lump formed in my throat.

"No. Don't waste your fleet on me. I'm not worth it. If you're going to send it for anyone, send it for B and Nafia. They're the most deserving of a better life." I said. Rat hummed in thought.

"You'd be worth it, Little Moon. I know you don't believe it now. But you are. The Gods set you on this path for a reason." he assured. I winced, neck popping.

"There are no gods in this Galaxy, Rat. If there ever were they abandoned us long ago." I whispered.

"You may believe that. But I see them in everything that happens. Good luck, Moon." he said, the line cutting.

A sudden presence behind me made my hair stand on end.

I immediately grabbed my axe, swinging around and almost taking poor Nafia's head off.

"Whoa!" she yelped. I swore, managing to stop it before disaster.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, kid!" I snapped. She started an angry retort, but stopped herself with a frustrated sigh. I frowned.

"You good?" I asked. She folded her arms, gripping her biceps tightly.

"What do I need to do to prove myself in the crew? I-" she blurted. I stopped her at that, sitting her down before leaning against the console. I pulled my mask off, softly placing it on the table.

"You already have, princess. Without you this whole damn thing would've fallen apart," I chuckled, continuing, "literally and figuratively. You've held this crew together for months. And this lovely piece of junk called a ship, too."

She frowned.

"But I haven't done anything. Just repairs. I haven't fought once." she protested. I shook my head.

"Those little repairs save us as much as the fighting does, kid. Don't put that down." I said assuringly, sitting down.

"But-"

"Shut up and take the compliment. Because it's true."

She recoiled slightly, but let out a little laugh.

"I'll try." she said with a small smile.

"Look, kid. I come from Hermitcraft. I would PAY to see a more dysfunctional, varied family than that. We had multiple people like you who held it all together. The Glue. TFC. Stress. Grian. And," my voice broke, "and Xisuma."

She was silent for a moment.

"Was it really you and your Hermits who set off the explosion that almost killed my dad?" she asked softly.

My heart sank. I had this was coming.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing.

"We were there that night. X had been chasing down a particularly nasty Admin who had come to Therllyria to escape. It was my first time leaving Hermitcraft since Xisuma had found my siblings and I on a collapsing server when I was seven." I started. She frowned at the new information.

"Void Bringer wasn't your dad?" she questioned. I shook my head.

"Adopted. Anyways, I came with him to chase the Admin down. He didn't want me to. But I was a stupid teenager and made him bring me. And when we found the Admin..." I trailed off, voice hitching.

"Did he set it off?" she asked. I shook my head again.

"No. Shush. I killed him myself in a warehouse on the outskirts of town. He was my first kill. Ever. Hell, I hadn't even seen a dead body since I was seven. But he burned the warehouse down in the fight. Guards showed up. They grabbed me, and I made X and B run for it. They brought me back to the Palace for trial." I said. She sucked in a sharp breath.

"B was there?" she said softly.

"Not my story to tell. I was fully expecting to be executed in the morning. And, to be honest, I felt like I deserved it. But Xisuma had gone back to Hermitcraft with B and rallied almost the entire server to come and storm the Palace to break me out." I said.

"Is that what the riot was? The Hermits?" Nafia asked. I nodded slightly, closing my eyes.

"They got me out. A sobbing train wreck of a sixteen year old who wanted to die. They risked their lives to get me out. And we were almost out, too. But someone set off an explosion in the tunnels between the ballroom. We lost a few Hermits down there. Genrick and Python. We almost lost False, too. She still had burns across almost her entire body. But it took out the guards who were chasing us as well. It's the only reason we escaped." I finished, the screams of the Hermits lost still echoing in my ears. Nafia had been gripping the handle of her chair tightly the entire story.

"You were only sixteen?" she whispered. I nodded tiredly.

"We never found out who set the explosion off. Neither could the Empire or Gigacorp. They just found it would be easier to make up a story about a new terrorist who had set it off to save her own skin. They called their character the Scarlet Killer. A woman straight from hell with the sole goal of bringing anarchy to the Galaxy. But the real Scarlet Killer was a scared little girl who just wanted to go home and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." I sighed, closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead. She put a hand on my arm. I tensed.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't..." she trailed off. I relaxed slightly.

"You had no way of knowing. They fed you stories about it for years. Of course you didn't." I assured.

Someone in the doorway cleared their throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. BigB.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked, taking his seat anyways. I nodded, standing.

"Yeah. What's Free Station's status?" I asked. B sighed, booting systems up.

"They're fine. Scott's getting all flirty with Jimmy, much to his annoyance, Impulse is rooting through the Gigacorp files, and Gem is keeping moral up. As she does." he chuckled. I snorted.

"To Karnvas?" I said. B grimaced.

"To Karnvas."