Of Men and Spiders

Scott, Alice, and Cleo were working in the garden when he felt something subtly shift. It was a sensation he was unfamiliar with; in a way, it felt like his body was stretching out, almost like there were two of him, but when he looked up, what he saw was more familiar. All visible stars appeared to be receding to a single infinitesimally blinding point while the rest of space turned dark as the void. They were moving faster than the speed of light.

While Cleo and Alice were still distracted, Scott walked over to Charlotte. "Why are we moving? What's going on?"

Charlotte's expression was as inscrutable as ever, though, for some reason, Scott picked up a tinge of something like shame or regret as she answered. "This was your mother's contingency plan for if something went wrong. I am to take you and Alice and move you out of the reach of your grandfather."

Scott didn't like the sound of that. He stared down the intimidating seven-foot-tall alien. "What do you mean contingency? What happened?"

Charlotte was silent for a moment before responding. "I am afraid your mother's plan has failed, and I could not protect her. She was taken captive by your grandfather's people."

Scott felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with FTL travel. It seemed like they'd just gotten their mother back, their real mother, not the drugged-out has-been that had taken her place lately, and now she was gone...again. Somehow, that hurt as severely as having the memories of his father trampled upon. He stood there silently, processing everything for a moment before speaking. "So, what, we're just going to run away and abandon her then?"

Of course, Charlotte's answer was a matter of fact. "Yes. That was her request."

Scott didn't particularly like that. "Well, I don't accept that! We have to go rescue her! Her and Alice's dad!"

Charlotte examined Scott momentarily as if contemplating his words before responding. "And how do you propose we do that? Do you possess weapons or abilities that exceed your mother's when dealing with pirates? Do you have allies your mother lacked? Do you have a plan?"

Scott felt his face burn in anger and frustration after being faced with his helplessness. "That doesn't matter! We can't just leave them like that!"

Charlotte tilted her head to examine him better. "I'm afraid that does matter. I am unwilling to risk your well-being over such a doomed endeavor. I have observed some of what your grandfather is capable of, and even at my full strength, I would be unable to contest his strength. Perhaps with your help and several years of growth and evolution, I will be better able to contend with him, but at this time, you and I are incapable of freeing your family."

Scott's mind raced. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Despite his urge to act, there was little he could actually do, and he had to take Charlotte's word on what she was capable of. And it's not like he could convince his mother's allies to follow him. At least, not so long as he had so little to offer them. After all, to them, this wasn't about rescuing family; it was a business proposition. That meant he'd need leverage and a plan if he wanted them to risk their necks in a rescue attempt, and he simply lacked both.

That was about when Cleo and Alice came over, with the pirate girl offering a simple "What's up?" That clearly implied more than the two words seemed to convey.

Scott didn't know how to answer or explain to his sister what had happened, though judging from the expression on her face, she already knew something was wrong, possibly due to her connection with Charlotte. Instead, he just allowed Charlotte to answer for them. "Lacy has been taken captive, and I am now moving Scott and Alice out of their grandfather's reach to safety."

Alice stayed uncharacteristically silent, likely having her own conversation with Charlotte. On the other hand, Cleo quickly made her thoughts clear as her expression settled into something inscrutable. "Well, you've got your work set out for you then. There's nowhere in known space Captain Drake's reach can't spread to. He's even got connections and operatives on the core worlds. If Lucy the Red couldn't handle him, I doubt you all stand much chance. It's probably best to just arrange a meeting and get it over with. At least you can save face and dictate a few terms that way."

Charlotte turned her attention to Cleo. "In my travels with Lacy, I learned about what you call 'known space.' You have explored less than one percent of the galaxy, with many of those systems having been given only an automated cursory scan at best, and you've settled in less than two percent of that. There are many more places available for us to escape to other than that which you define as 'known space.'"

Cleo scrunched her nose and frowned. "So you're just gonna go out and do what? Find a random star to park beside and sit in this ship forever? We'd all go stir-crazy in a year or two. Or are you gonna try and find a planet to park on? Because barring some divine intervention, it'll take you more than a lifetime to explore enough planets to find one that is habitable and safe for humans, bringing you right back to the whole stir-crazy problem I mentioned. They're extremely rare, borderline unheard of without some serious terraforming!"

Charlotte turned and examined Scott and Alice before returning her attention to Cleo. "What you fail to take into account is that not all explored space was explored by humans."

That comment snapped Scott out of his daze as he immediately realized the implication. "Wait, so what you're saying is..."

He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought, but Charlotte seemed to realize what he'd been about to say and explained further. "Yes. I believe it is time to reclaim my place among my people, where you will remain firmly outside the reach of your grandfather. I will act as your advocate, and you will be your people's representatives. In return for your contributions to the She, I believe you will be granted a form of sanctuary."

-

Lucy woke up with a raging headache, though the fact she woke up at all hadn't escaped her notice. The only explanation was they must have used stun rounds. As she slowly sat up, she also realized she was wearing a loose-fitting robe and nothing else. So they'd searched her while she was unconscious. Several bruises and sore spots indicated they hadn't been too gentle with her, though at least she wasn't sore in a way that indicated they'd sought to punish or take advantage of her. If their skill and coordination hadn't already proven it, that was all the confirmation she needed. These guys were professionals.

Realizing she was bound hand and foot, Lucy tried shouting. "Hey! What's going on here? I want to speak to whoever's in charge!" More than likely, someone heard her, but no one responded. So either they were going to ignore her, or they were sending word to someone else to deal with her now that she was awake.

With little else to do while she waited, Lucy looked around and took stock of her situation. The room she was in was pretty bare except for the cot she was on, a toilet, and a sink, and all those were firmly bolted to the wall and floor so that she wouldn't be moving them any time soon. Even the barebones mattress on the cot seemed to be secured to the frame in such a way that she wasn't likely to be able to do much with it. Basically, she was screwed.

After a few minutes of fidgeting, Lucy realized a problem with her bound hands; she couldn't really use the toilet, not if she wanted to clean herself up after she was done. She shouted again. "Hey! I need to use the toilet, but my hands are tied! I need someone to let me free!"

After a few more minutes, the door opened, and two guards walked in, guns drawn. One spoke to her. "Stand against the far wall, facing the wall."

Lucy tried to work her charms. "Come on! What is little ol me gonna do against a couple of armed guards like yourselves?"

However, the guard only repeated himself. "Stand against the far wall, facing the wall."

Lucy sighed but did as she was commanded. Eventually, she felt one of the guards behind her, and her cuffs were removed. As she turned around, she could see one guard in the far corner with their gun still drawn while facing her and the other one stepping back to cover her from a different angle. There was little chance she could incapacitate both. Instead, she tried appealing to them again. "Can't you give me a little privacy while I use the toilet?"

The guard didn't seem swayed. "You can have your hands free while we're here to make sure you don't try anything, or I can put you back in handcuffs, and you can try to figure the rest out yourself. Those are your options."

Well, at least they weren't leering or anything. But still, it didn't look like they'd give Lucy a chance to pull anything, even relieving herself. She sighed. Professionals, to be sure. No one else would have that big a stick shoved up their... She shook her head. No use complaining about it. Instead, she decided to show she wasn't just playing games and took care of business, after which the guard addressed her again. "Stand against the far wall and put your hands behind yourself."

Lucy did as she was told, and soon enough, she was cuffed again. The two guards then wordlessly walked out of the room, leaving her in much the same situation as before. This was going to be a long trip...