My name is Alia Xi, and this is the story of how I died.

The people had come from far and wide to attend this event, I was there too, which in itself was a great pity. I was escorted through the corridors of the station, my hands cuffed behind my back and my legs shackled as I walked. I was flanked by two guards on either side, and in front and behind too – they were taking no chances today.

I kept my eyes forward, staring into the back of one of the Gallente meat-heads who were escorting me. They may have been Gallante, but they had nice uniforms nonetheless. That thought, caused me to look down onto my own jacket. A slightly scruffy, slightly worn leather and suede one. The light and brown patches still very much intact. It was my original jacket from the State War Academy – I’d always worn it because it was practical, and also because I found it amusing that a pirate should wear the symbol of what she opposes.

My mind slipped and I found myself thinking “Oh if only I’d taken the other path, I wouldn’t be here now”. Quickly shaking the thoughts from my head, and my head as I did so I resumed my gaze upon my captors and a wry smirk crept across my face. I would have flicked my hair, but that wasn’t to be.

Along the brightly lit aquamarine colour of the Gallente corridor people had gathered to see me, some jostling, some jeering, some cheering and some just giving a respectful nod. One of the people, a Gallente woman with brightly coloured hair must have caught my smirk and lunged forwards screaming “Caldari bitch!”. She was quickly shoved aside by one of the guards but not before managing to spit in my face.

I was tempted to reply “If that’s the worst that’s going to happen today, then I thank you” but I didn’t, I just kept walking and held my gaze, again fixed on the uniformed Gallente man in front of me. I didn’t give her the satisfaction of even attempting to wipe her slobber from my face, I just let it roll off and onto the collar of my beloved jacket.

We proceeded down the corridor, the footsteps of the guards in time with a rhythmical clunk, clunk, clunk upon the metal floor as my shackles occasionally also made a metal upon metal “clink” as they struck the floor. We turned a corner, people still lining the way and stopped at a door.

After some security measures were taken, the door was opened. Before passing through, puzzled, I read the sign “Medical Centre”. Wondering if my Gallente captors had some other torment waiting for me, we continued into the room.

Upon entering there were technicians in white coats, higher ranking Gallente officers and some other busy-body officials hanging around. Our procession came to an abrupt halt, the guards all stopping perfectly in time. One of the officers, an Admiral, stepped forwards. With a slight head gesture he signalled the guards to retire. They did so, taking various positions around the room but keeping their weapons still firmly trained upon me.

“Ahhh Miss Xi, I presume?” said the stuck up old, dusty Admiral. Another grin crept across my pretty Caldari face, tilting my head slightly I replied “Of course, the one and only”.

“Not quite!” he snapped back barely giving me a chance to finish speaking. Looking around at his cohorts for an approving laugh – which came. “There’s someone, well actually, a group of people I’d like you to meet….” his voice suddenly turning sharp as he finished the sentence with “… pirate!”.

Clapping his hands the technicians hurried to work, quickly removing the screens dividing the room which was still bathed in the aqua-marine Gallente lighting. How I hated it! “Young lady, please let me introduce you to…”.

A turned my head 90 degrees and looked beyond the screen, coming face to face with none other than myself! In fact, 3 of me. The admiral looked at my face, now quickly drained of colour with a wry and self satisfied smirk.

“Yes pirate, meet none other than yourself!” he said in an authoritative tone. I stood, speechless looking at my lifeless clones in their bio containers, fluid surrounding them, attachments keeping them ready for use.

“I didn’t think you’d have much to say” he continued, as my still drained face stared blankly onwards at the copies of myself. How had they managed to get hold of my clones, my lifeline, my escape…. my only escape…..

I felt myself tugging at my restraints, slightly but nonetheless attempting to get out… There had to be some way out of there. He must have noticed “No, there’s only one way this ends Caldari, there’s no getting out of it this time” he finished snapping his fingers at the end of the sentence. A guard of yet more marines, heavily armed marched in. The drum, drum, drum of their boots on the floor followed by a sudden silence as they came to a halt and turned 90 degrees to face the bio containers.

“In your own time” said the admiral to the Sargent It seemed he had no time for himself, or he was late for an appointment. “VOLLEY FIRE, PRESENT!” he yelled, as he stood stiffly to attention in his pristine Gallente uniform. The marine squad un-slung their hybrid-blaster rifles from their shoulders in unison and took aim at the bio containers, at my clones, at what may as well have been me.

His head didn’t move, but his eyes did. He looked me up and down as the admiral stood calmly waiting for the next moves to be played out. His eyes didn’t move from me as he yelled the order. “FIRE!”.

You could hear them, the Gallente blasters. They took a moment to “warm up” as the anti matter rounds were processed and loaded into the chamber – a high pitched whining noise, almost like an ancient camera flash charging up. It seemed to take an eternity. The then almost silence was abruptly broken by the discharge of the high energy rounds leaving the rifles.

A bright flash filled the room as the rifles discharged within nanoseconds of each other. There followed the sound of breaking glass, evaporating liquid, liquid splashing onto the floor and finally the “thuds” of what remained of my clones hitting the floor.

The bio containers liquid spilled across the floor, lapping at my feet. I looked down at my shoes, now soaking wet. There was now no hope, no escape. “We’re not going to make you a martyr” said the admiral. “You will just quietly disappear”.

“Take her” he barked. The marine squad snapped into action, manhandling me across the room and past the remains of my clones. The Gallente squad attached me to some sturdy metal shelves at the side of the room. My shackles quickly connected to the shelf. That horrible sound of metal on metal sealing my fate.

I looked across the room, to a wall I’d not previously taken much notice of. It had a vast re-enforced observation and viewing window. Beyond the window, I could see more of the crowd that had managed to fight their way down. Their arms moved, their mouths opened but I couldn’t hear any sound for it was totally insulated. Jeering, booing and jostling around they worked themselves up, and up, and up. They looked like ants in an ant farm that had just been shaken violently.

The lab technicians continued their work, cleaning up, checking equipment, figuring out what was still usable after the rifle fire had ravaged side of the lab.

The admiral walked slowly, but confidently up to me. Standing in front of me, towering above me he raised his hand as if to strike. I flinched. I’d never flinched before. My Caldari Achura face downcast, as lashes of brown hair tumbled over to obscure it.

He lifted my chin, to look him eye to eye. There was no sorrow, there was no pity. “Now it’s you turn Caldari bitch” he spat. They were quite insane at times, quite devoted, quite unmoving from their virtues. The Gallente I mean. Some of them may have even lost themselves in pursuit of protecting their beloved Federation – like this one. His other hand then swung through the air, striking my uplifted face with such force it turned my head sideways, leaving a burning stinging hand print across it.

He retreated back, and the Gallente goon squad once again marched into position. Standing to attention, awaiting their orders. Still dazed from the violent slap, I thought I heard that familiar sound again… the ancient camera flash. But it wasn’t them, they’d been given no such order to fire.

The flash, the noise as the sub-atomic particles streaked across the room. Then another, but this was all together different. A loud bang, followed by splinters of metal striking areas of the room. I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen and a warm unpleasant sensation. I knew this, I’d felt it before.

My eyes clearing from the flash and my ears ringing, the admiral lay dead on the floor. Partly torn apart, partly vaporised by the high energy round that had been fired… but by whom? Blood, debris and smoke everywhere and an awful burning smell. I knew that one too.

Then I saw him, running through the room. The technician, only he seemed so familiar. “We have about 15 seconds” he said. His voice, so familiar. 15 seconds for what I wondered, before I bled to death from the shrapnel wound that had sliced upon part of my stomach?

Looking around trying to take it all in, the dead and maimed firing squad, the admiral, the people outside, the other technicians, and this one in front of me. My eyes finally fully readjusted and I could now see his face clearly in front of me. My XO.

My lips moved to ask “How?” but he quickly replied “No time, 10 seconds”. My eyes must have said it all, the begging of the question “Why?”. He placed a quick kiss on my lips as his hand took the top of my head and suddenly yanked it down, exposing the back of my next.

Sirens were already sounding, and strobe like lights filled the room. “Goodbye Alia” he said as I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, at the bottom of my skull. The lab doors sealed, the observation windows were locked down by heavy blast screens, and then I felt the heat, the pain, the burning.

The other technicians had sealed the lab, and purged it. Meaning all contents were to be destroyed by a high energy bio extermination blast.

“Auto pilot engaged, warping to stargate” the ships computer confirmed in familiar tones. Wha.. what! What!?!?! I don’t understand that day, and I never will. I don’t understand how, or why. Maybe a little of the why. The small frigate slipped down the warp tunnel towards the stargate as I took a few moments to compose myself, centre myself and figure out what the hell was going on.

“Approaching stargate” the soothing tones reassured.

I was not myself. I mean, I was myself. I don’t know any more. The ships engines smoothly kicked into action as we proceeded to slow-boat the remaining 15km of the journey to the gate. Checking the systems I noticed the Gallente stargate was requesting identity information from the ship before clearing it to jump, panic once again set in as I worried about being identified. Checking the readout from the ident computer confused me for a moment, and then my whole body gave a sigh of relief and relaxed:

 

DESTINATION: Rens

SHIP TYPE: Rifter

PASSENGERS: 1

SPECIES: Minmatar

NAME: Alexia Xias

 

CLEARANCE: GRANTED – Jump in sequence.

 

“Auto pilot jumping”

I must have blacked out during the jump sequence, because when I became aware of my surroundings once more I noted we were 5 jumps down the line. I was free, a new name, a new start. But at what cost… My ship? My crew? My XO? My old life?

Reaching around to the back of my neck, the base of my skull again there was something there.  The same place. It itched, I scratched and it became loose. Carefully removing the device and studying it I came to the conclusion it was what had brought me here, what had saved me – well, my essence at least. I’d never seen anything like it. It looked cobbled together, maybe bastardised from Jovian technology or secret Empire research. I would keep this, forever, as a reminder of my escape and the selflessness of my XO.

I punched in a course correction, entering the nearest low sec system – better safe than sorry and old habits die hard. The small frigate… if you could call it that, more like a tin can and some shelves bolted together by Caldari standards veered wildly and the warp engines kicked in. “Damn, these things are fast!” I said to myself.

I could get used to this…….