Toda Una Vida

[GhothaAyala]

Toda Una Vida
"A Lifetime"

Crete was not yet a barren Rock and as far away from paradise as possible. The most habitable places featured sandstorms that often buried the small settlements, the jagged terrain of these few areas was an after thought. The difference between day and night was from freezing point to a scorching forty degrees. Arable land was scarce, making food even harder to come by, thirst and hunger where part of the daily life. It was no wonder that life was called the struggle, the question was a simple one, to die or to live, and this simple reasoning was the basis of the mindset of a people, to do or die. This was life for them, it became as natural to them as natural could be, because there was always an alternative of things being much worse and few chances of getting better..

This was the world Mercedes Burgos was born into, and after a lifetime here and there, if she had been given the choice she would have chosen Crete, every time. The fourth child after a miscarriage and a 'defective' birth, her mother however did not survive the ordeal. One would say tragedy had marked her birth but the mundane could not be called tragedy, her mother had lived to the age of forty-two, twelve years over the average life expectancy.

Little can be said about her mother because she never met her, it was her older sister, Altagracia, born five years earlier who shared her memories of their mama with her. She was the one who raised her and raised herself as she could.

Ignacio Burgos was a Corsair in service of The Empire but firstly in service of himself. He spent more time in space than planetside, he would be gone for seasons at a time but would not quite stay for a full season.

Existence was hard but not without joy and happiness, as a child she threw rocks at the untameable Toro Diablo's restrained into their corals and watched them go berserk on on another. There was never a shortage of games or things to do to.

Once upon a time someone decided to have a snowball fight but there was no snow where she lived, rocks where used instead. It was not long before something went wrong.

She sat on the red dirt of Crete wailing as she held her forehead with a hand which did little to stop the bleeding. "I'll tell my dad and he'll kill ya!" She cried out at the top of her lungs.

The oldery boy, sensing the mortal danger that his blunder had gotten him into approched her to apologize. "Perdon Mecho... I din' think I'd hit.'." He managed to say, he was truly sorry he had hurt the smaller girl.

But Mercedes had only been crying to lure him closer to her, she had been clutching a rock in her other hand and when the time was right she jumped him managing to hit him twice before an older kid managed to restrain her but not without giving the boy two scars to remember her by.

Measured by other standards her upbringing would have been all but typical but she only knew about one way of life. Tales of other worlds reached her like they did everyone else, namely Canaria, but also Brettonia and Rheinland where life was... Better? Mercedes had never longed for something she never knew, she had her own life to live and she made the best out of it. What little reached her hands was shared with those around them as they too shared it with her. In the shadow of the valley, there was laughter and there was music and there was dancing. Knowledge was freely given in the form of advices and the shared experience of those older made her wiser than her years.

When struck by tragedy these people knew how to get back on their feet again and did not easily lose hope in the face of hardships. Not easily at least, but it did happen. From the experience of others she learned a few valuable words of wisdom that one day would become her own motto.

“The ungrateful have no memory.”

“So much you have so much you're worth.”

“Feed the crows and they will carve your eyes out.”

“Cursed is the man who trusts another man.”

Because there where some that just like everyone had the do or die mentality except that they had little regards for those around them. They stole, they killed, betrayal was their nature, honor meant nothing to them. Puppets of selfishness who only cared about themselves. The parasites of society driven by greed who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

The nature of things meant opportunities to move ahead in life where few, and despite the similar challenges and opportunities of both sexes, mortality amongst women due to childbirth meant that most if not all field where dominated by men. It was a “man's world” and marriage was one of the most common ways for women to move ahead in life.

Mercedes was fourteen and Altagracia recently turned nineteen when a charming Corsair in service of The Empire managed to steal her older sister's heart. He carried himself with the determination of someone who knew what he wanted and the confidence that he would get it. He took it unto himself to take care of her and her sister whenever he could, their meals became richer and more regular and when the need was great he could always be relied on. Not long after that Altagracia decided to go away with him, Mercedes was old enough to take care of herself and she was happy that her older sister had found someone and was moving on to a better life.

Her sister visited once.

“It's going great in Asuncion, he's gong away for a week or two soon and I really hope he stays safe up there.” Altagracia once told Mercedes beaming with pride and a voice filled with concern for the man she loved.

She visited a few weeks after that.

“I can't complain, life is good.” Her smile was reassuring but the excitement in her voice was fading.

Her next visit.

“I got something to tell you.” She said hesitantly and started to confess.

What Mercedes heard saddened her but also sparked the rage in her heart. Her father, though a distant figure loved them, in his own way, and if he would hear about this...

“Please... No le diga' na' al viejo.” Altagracia swore her to secrecy.

It was hard to digest, all the things that coward did to her sister, and how she could not do anything about it. Even as things escalated and she feared for her sister's life, she could not betray her trust. But she would not have to, her death would speak volumes of what she had endured.

Then she learned another proverb. “Beware of the vengeance of a Corsair.” The path of blood and the trial of destruction Ignacio Burgos left behind in retaliation for the life of his first daughter had no comparison to anything in decades. In a world where life was cheap and honor was a personal matter it was not uncommon for the wolves to eat each other, so his actions were justified.

And his actions where fully supported by Mercedes who only wished she could have been there, she knew all too well all Altagracia had endured and would know how to multiply it tenfold. She also knew that, if not for her vow of secrecy she could have saved her and given that bastard what he deserved. Her papa had done his worst, there were no words to describe how proud she was, he was a hero in her eyes. Now the closest person to her, her sister and rolemodel was buried next to her mother. The same mother that died bringing her into this world, she was responsible for more than one tragedy.

“Let's go.” Ignaco ordered. “Recoge to lo tuyo, no' largamo' de aqui.”

Her heart sank for a moment but she nodded. “I'm ready to go to the Malvada Cloud.” She spoke with the gravity of stars, her eyes filled with determination.

The veteran pirate smiled, if the recent tragedy had not been fresh on his memory he would have laughed. “You really think I'm gonna send you in an unshielded ship into a radiation field?”

So began her own career, as a Corsair, in service of The Empire.

Space was a dangerous place, at any given time as little as two inches separated the fragile body from the unwelcoming vacuum of space. The failure of a life support system was the difference between life and death. An engine failures would leave one spaced and the sheer scale of the emptiness makes any hopes of rescue all but a fantasy. Debris, asteroids,radiation, unstable holes, the numerous enemies of the Empire and even Aliens, it was as if the universe was against them. It was against these odds that the Corsairs thrived.

“How can you guys fly in those ships in this space?” A zoner once asked. “No redundant systems and insufficient radiation shielding, just flying that will cut your life expectancy in half.”

“Easy pardnar...” Mercedes grinned. “Don't take life too seriously, no one ever makes it out alive.

Under the mentorship of her father, she became a proficient pilot, being his only wingwoman and the only one hhe trusted the pair developed a synergy that made them lethal in dogfights, even against superior odds. Life as a space pirate was the way out for the denizens of Crete, it was one of the few ways to make it up the food chain, the social ladder. Together Ignacio and his daughter where pretty much living the life.

The Omega Highway between Rheinland and Bretonian space, or as the Corsairs fondly called it, the supermarket. This was their prime hunting grounds, the amount of credits that came into their hands was as plentyfull as a nebula and as constant as sunlight. Somehow they managed to spend it as fast as it came, hunger was a thing of the past and alcohol was their substitute for water. From Bretonian Whiskey, to Rheinlandish Ale and Liberty Wine.

“Open.” The old pirate told his daughter as he guided a piece of cake they seized from a captain in the Rheinland Merchant Navy.

Mercedes complied and eagerly chewed on the cake the surprise and disgust evident in her face evident as she chewed into the soft cream. She tried to ask what she was eating with her mouth full, the actual sounds she made where unintelligible.

Ignacio understood her though. “It's cake.”

“Ish shwee!” She managed to say disgusted.

“Don't like it?”

“I prefer the rotten stuff we used to get from Zoners over this.”

There was never a dull moment as a pirate, between the two the collections of stories they had to tell always gathered a crowd around them. By her eighteen birthday the father and daughter duo had made a name for themselves, Ignacio was the diplomatic one, as subtle as battleship, with the finesse of a mountain and the grace of an asteroid tumbling through space. Taking into consideration that Mercedes was consider the rabid dog snarling over his shoulder, it said a lot about the reputation she had.

Truth was she never got the closure she thought she would get, the memories of her sister haunted her and every time she remembered she would feel her blood warming up, her anger rising until she saw red. And there was not a day that went by that she would not remember her, even the slightest resemblance to that parasite and coward of a man could mark anyone as her enemy. But the mix of negative emotions brewing in her heart had left scars in her that slowly changed her over time. Rage made her deadly on the field, but also reckless. Hate fueled her, making her fearless but also bordering with the insane.

Oddly enough, when she finally decided to act on her interests on the opposite sex she found herself attracted to the same type she had grown to detest. Those arrogant Corsairs, pretending to be the ace of the Empire. She had fun toying with them, knowing how competitive they could get she loved to pit them against each other, instigating bar brawls, and duels. She also had a soft spot for the more reserved and less volatile Zoners. Despite being a space faring folk they where not as dominant or aggressive as the Corsairs, she found their docile nature... Cute. No matter their affiliation she knew how to wrap them around her fingers and her legs around their waists to keep them in line, in an enivronment where no one could be trusted she made a few 'friends' and when their raids went sour, backup or shelter was never too far away.

The most fun was the hurt look on their faces when they realized the truth. “Papi, it was all a game... Or did you really think I loved ya?” She would laugh in their faces. “Save yer crocodile tears” These where all dangerous men that had spaced, blasted, glassed and vaporized many men just as lethal as them. To see them grovelling at her feet was a thrill.

She was cold as interstellar space, but she might had gotten too close to a star at some point. She often crossed paths with a long range escort pilot, a Zoner by the name of Maximus Redoran. He was as dangerous as any pirate, she once 'convinced' a suitor to fight him and it didn't go as planned. The only lover to ever stand face to face with her father and keep all his teeth. He was seemingly impervious to her battle tested charms at first until she realized she had given too much of herself to win him over.

These where her golden years. It was all for fun, they lived their lives a moment at a time, tomorrow was a concept as uncertain as the next ten years. Still, the consequences would catch up to her and she was not ready for them.

“Uhh... I think I'm pregnant.” She told Ignacio from the safety of her cockpit.

The video channel she had opened to him suddenly blurred as the pilot spat a mouthful of whiskey on the screen. Followed by the longest rant she had ever heard coming from him which ended with the most dreaded phrase of all. “You're going back to Crete.”

She would not last long planetside, the bulging belly did not stop her from using skulls to break bottles, throwing rocks or punching faces. After giving birth she set two houses on fire and somehow damaged the spaceport which made Ignacio reconsider his decision.

After four months back in space Mercedes suddenly opened a channel to her father. “Oye viejo...” She was looking away as if embarrassed. “Think we can stop at Crete?”

“You miss her right?”

Mercedes would have blushed if her skin tone would have allowed it. “Yeah...” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Thought of a name yet?” The grandfather smiled.

“Dayayra.”

Motherhood made Mercedes put things into perspective, she was now responsible for a little one, she had to make sure she was taken care off, she had to make sure she would get her plates on time and hopefully not go through the things she went through. Unlike her father she spent less than half a year in space before returning to raise her daughter, a task she found quite difficult with only the memory of her sister as a guide.

But becoming a mother was not the only thing she unknowingly brought unto herself. “Beware of the revenge of the Corsair.” She always knew she would have to deal with that someday, she had made quite a few enemies, but she never thought it would come to bite her back this way.

For the first time in many years, all the pilots of the Empire where gathered for a strike deep within Rheinland space. Despite the careful planning and the initial surprise, it was the discipline of the Rheinland Navy and the lack of discipline of the rag tag Corsair Armada which decided the fate of the operation.

Routed and with their escape routes cut they had no choice but to retreat to Nomad space, home of the jellies. Their alien technology and unorthodox fighting style made their ships lethal, it took a real ace to win a dogfight, being a veteran was not enough.

Their routed band of pirates was far from friendly space when four nomad 'fighters' and a 'gunboat' appeared on intercept course, their technology making them invisible to sensors. Mercedes recieved a video transmitted to her, since it was a prerecorded message and not two way channel she ignored it and tried to use the jumphole except that she appeared no more than 18k's away from the jump point.

Her heart sank when she realized that the hole had collapsed and that Ignacio was left to fend off with the Alien Wing by himself.

At that moment her father managed to open a video channel to her. “Mujer, you better open that message!” He was more concentrated in staying alive and returning the ill intentions to the jellies than be mad at her.

As she set her drives to get back into the fight she played the message and only had to glance at the face of the pilot who appeared on it to know what this was about. “Ese hijo de la gran...” A missile coming her way interrupted her cursing.

It was a fight for their lives. Nomad ships where invisible to sensors, their missiles ignored countermeasures and their shields could guess where incoming fire would land and focus their strength on that area. It took all their wits and lots of coordination to outrun the gunboat while engaging the four fighters, they managed to down two of them but by then Mercedes's ship had taken too much damage. Her hull was leaking and bent, panels and screws flew around the cockpit.

A third Nomad fighter went down but not without a fight in the heat of the moment the Corsairs had left their guard down a mistake the Aliens did not let pass.

A burst of blue energy was followed by a cheer. “Heh, y tu puede conmigo' carajo?” The veteran pilot taunted the aliens.

“One more to go viejo.” His daughter added filled with confidence.

“Nah, we get out of here, one fighter can't chase us both." He said sternly. “Set a course for... Missile!”

The last she saw of him was his escape pod detaching. “Dammit.” She used her tractor beam to pull him in. Too late to avoid the huge discharge from the gunboat's main gun. Just like that, he had been there a second ago and all that was left in his place was space filled with static electricity. Before she could mourn him another missile caught her attention, she deployed countermeasures and mines to avoid it but none of them hit their target. She had lost a wing and all weapons that had been attached to it, the debris in her cockpit flew in all directions as the ship spun out of control.

Death was all that certain and she knew it would take nothing less than a miracle to come out alive. She checked her balance in the bank of the gods and found herself without much credit to her name. Still she had nothing else to loose. “God? If you even exist... Please let me get out of this one so I can kill that bastard...” Just as she said that, the fighter and the gunboat set a course for deep space.

It took her a few hours to realize what had just happened, she took a few more hours to make sure they where gone and the trip to the nearest jumphole took over twenty hours and two full days to arrive at Crete. It left her with more than enough time to think about what she would do once she got there.

In the state her ship was it would be suicide to fight in it, the only other weapon around was a rusty machete she kept around for a rainyday, Ignacio had all the guns and in their current state, broken down into atoms, they where of little use.

Crete was in turmoil after the defeat at the hands of Rheinland no one paid any attention to the limping ship as it landed, or to the lightly injured pilot that stuck her head into every bar in Asuncion until she found what she was looking for in the Golden Cage.

She was a feral beast driven by anger, but in that bar was a man who's heart had been carved out of his chest and trampled before him. The patrons could do nothing but watch, some of them horrified, and to take into consideration that these where all men who where accustomed to stare death in the eye on a regular basis, that meant something. The outcome was uncertain, the scorned lover was dead, but she looked as if she would follow soon after.

With the life slipping out of her Mercedes last thoughts went to her daughter, she wondered what would become of her, she tried to imagine what she would become but despite trying her best all she saw was her own life replaying itself only with Dayayra in the starring role.

She pulled strength from where there was none and got on her feet, she would take her away from here, to a better place and hopefully she would not have to go down the path that she had. In the cockpit of the stolen ship of the deceased she tried comforting the little four years old girl that her mother, despite all the red water coming out of her, would be okay. As if the gods had not already done enough for her she was lucky to meet the only other person she had feelings for in the whole of Sirius. Maximus.

The doctors at the Grand Canaria Medical Center suggested to putting the woman out of her misery but after hearing how far she had traveled and how she still clung to life it would be murderous to not try and save her life. The escort pilot sat in the waiting room with the tired little girl's head resting on his lap wondering what this intrusion into his life would cost him, looking down at the clone of her mother he made a choice, it was the only choice. He could not turn them away.

Mercedes lived but not without the scars and the crippling reminders of her short visit to the other side. Here she had the chance to start a new life, to wipe the slate clean and hopefully do something good with the second chance she undeservedly got. Now married to Redoran the former pirate settled as a housewife, a role she was ill fitted for but managed quite well. With the passage of the years one could say she had been tamed, adapted and embraced her new role, her new life. To her neighbors the woman from Crete was a secretive person, while outgoing she was reserved about her past. An aggressive and intimidating woman at times, as sharp as razor blades and wiser than the neural net.

Mercedes was sweeping the porch one day when she saw her daughter come back home from volleyball practice with a limp an many bruises.

“Hazme el favor...” She started in a menacing tone. “Tell me you did not loose that fight.”

The little girl sobbed and sniffed before answering. “There was five of them.”

“Good grief, hit them with a stick, throw rocks or something.” She shook her head in disappointment. “Here...” Mercedes grabbed the broomstick and broke it in two over her thigh giving her the stick without the brush. “Don't come back without some blood on that stick.” She said as she doubled over to reach the floor with the much shorter stick.

Despite her successful integration, Mercedes had always avoided the nagging feeling in the back of her head which grew over the years to become a looming sense of dread. The inevitable confrontation with herself.

One could say she was never made for times of peace, or that the weight of her sins made her feel guilty. Maybe the fear of uncollected debts haunted her, or her own insecurities as a mother and a wife. The fact was that despite all her bravado, all her courage, and the many times it had been put to test against much larger odds in the past, this new life scared her. It scared her.

It was another sleepless night for Maximus, the icy woman was colder than usual, more aggressive than ever, and as enigmatic as the meaning of life. He felt her sit up in their bed and he to followed suit. “Mecho... What is it?”

She laughed softly and looked over her shoulder, she flashed him a grin, the malice behind it was plain to see. “Papi, you thought I loved you?” She looked away for a second before climbing on the bed and crawling over him. “It was all a game...”

For the second time she cut all ties with her past and moved on ahead without looking back, just like before she limped away, the familiar feeling of life slipping out of her returned and one could say that she died that night the way she should had died ten years earlier.

The Empire had undergone many changes since she left, the Corsair navy no longer relied on the undisciplined pilots but had set the foundations of a modern navy that would rival that of Brettonia or Rheinland. With Academia Del Perdido as a military academy that would train the officers and crewmen of the newly built battleships that would form the tip of the spear of the Corsair Armada.

Mercedes arrived just in time to Omega-47 as the Red Hessians and the Corsair Armada traded blood for empty space. She fell in line and did her duty for the Empire, becoming part of the much larger machine. It was a much simpler existence, Hessians where enemies and enemies had to die.

No trace was left of the housewife once was. She once again was that snarling rabid dog, with little regards for the lives of her enemies, her allies, or her own. A skilled flier, dauntless fighter and an ace pilot. A violent woman and aggressive woman. On thing did change though, no longer was she uppity and extroverted, she became more distant and reserved... As if her personality did not already keep people away.

After five years of war, the conflict of Omega-47 reached a stalemate, and suddenly Mercedes found herself without a purpose. It did not last long though, she received her next set of orders. “You will be transferred to the Research Ship Penelope.”

Truth was she had not been in Crete despite moving back to Corsair space and seeing the planet from orbit brought back many memories of her youth and of her sister. During her guard duty she would spent hours on end watching the planet and picking away at the collection of experiences that she had gathered in her forty some years. Replaying key moments and wondering what the result would be if she had chosen Beta instead of Alpha. She protected the ship from Nomads, Meltese and even tested prototypes. In her free time she wondered how Dayayra was faring, who would be twenty two by that time and Maximus who was the only other person alive she could say she felt something for.

One day before departure the head of research requested to see her in the mess hall but when she arrived she found nothing but a dark room. In an instant a bright light blinded her followed by a crowd shouting two words. “Happy Birthday!” Without noticing a year had passed.

What was more surprising was that this was all organized by the head of research herself, Valeria Benitez, still surprised and being polite Mercedes approached her. “Ya didn't have to this Jefa.” She said in a rare attempt of diplomacy. “I don't think this is needed.”

“Nonsense.” Valeria answered. “You've been good to the Penelope, I would have done this for anyone.”

And so she became acquainted with Valeria, she was about the same age her daughter would be she was also raised on Canaria just like Dayayra was. She hated to admit it but it was that fact alone that placed Valeria on her good side.

Valeria was a good leader despite her age, she knew how to work with people very well, she never let her position get to her head and always set a good example by going on patrols along the patrols of the research ship she should be commandeering

A certain day while flying through Omega-41 Mercedes decided to jump to Sigma-11 To make sure no one was waiting at the other end. There was just enough empty space between the two stars and the hole to Omega-41 to hide a fleet but to her surprise he found a Decurion piloted by the woman she was supposed to protect.

“What are you doing here cheerleader?” Mercedes opened a channel to her.

“Isn't it beautiful here?” She replied peering out of her cockpit. “I used to come to this place many times to light up my day.”

“Uhu...” Mercedes grinned on her screen. “Bet you lost your virginity here eh?”

“N-No...” Was all Valeria could manage, her face glowed redder than the sun in Gamma.

During a stop on Crete she wandered into the first bar she had found, called, La Barra De Ronaldo. There was a parrot that was getting on her nerves and the rum was not helping to keep her entertained. A young man walked in, he was a pilot judging by his flight suit. Unlike the haughty and arrogant types that were prancing around this one did no puff his chest out, he seemed to be minding his own business.

Mercedes felt a tingle run down her spine that she had not felt in a while as she got up and walked over to the young pilot with a swinging gait and introduced herself.

“Mercedes Burgos, encantada.”

“Tiberio Benitez, mucho gusto señorita.”

“Wow... I haven't been called señorita in a long while.” She smiled back. “Would you happen to be related to Valeria Benitez?” She asked out of curiosity.

It seemed to get the attention of the Corsair who returned an even bigger smile, she liked the way he smiled. “Si, we are all brothers and sisters en la familia Benitez.” He then motioned to his right. “This is Enrico Benitez.” Somehow she had missed his brother.

She was still not aware of the major players nowadays in Crete, a lot had changed since she left so the name did not ring a bell. However the dirty look the other Benitez gave her, she didn't like it and with reason.

“Like if you didn't know that already, we haven't come here looking for women like you.” Enrico was not trying to be friendly in the least. “Go away now.” He shooed her with a wave of the hand.

Her immediate reaction was to grab Tiberio's beer and slam it against Enrico's head but the more experienced fighter caught her hand just as she was about to connect while he grabbed his own beer and reached to return the favor. With no other way to defend himself Mercedes flipped the now wet table which blinded Enrico enough for her to punch him in the ribs making him loose his grip on her.

The fight that ensued trashed the bar and it was Tiberio who managed to defuse the situation, any other citizen of Crete would have watched and laugh from the distance but he proved to be a gentleman and a kind soul with much patience.

Mercedes later learned from Valeria that los Benitez held a seat in the elder council of the Empire and that she had gotten in a brawl with a pretty renowned enforcer. “And here I was thinking about bringing you into our family”

“Huh?” Mercedes mocked confusion, the smile broke to her charade shortly after. "You swing that side of the fence too cheerleader?”

“Not through marriage!” She was blushing again. “We always are on the look out for people with honor, reliable and skilled people.” The young woman paused to think. “I think I'll let Trueno have a look at you, he's a better judge of character than I am.”

Trueno happened to be a man heavily involved in politics, he was no less of a fighter than anyone else but his words where deadlier than a battleship when the time came to it. She became her unnoficial body guard and had to accompany him on very boring visits to talk to all sorts of people that where so called 'allies' of the empire. In her eyes they where just a bunch of cowards playing on the fence, allies did not hold hands with your enemies.

In her time with him she learned the extend of the changes the empire was undergoing. The fleet was now independent of the many individual pirates and pirate groups, they where still in service of the empire and could be called at any time though but the Corsair Armada had it's own fighter wings. The Armada was now fielding battleships and was growing strong, with five shipyards churning out ships as fast as they could be fed in a decade from now the Corsairs would have a force that could rival Rheinland or Brettonia.

She learned how to private sector was growing thanks to the added safety of the reorganized Armada which gave civilians the safety to go into space for other purposes other than piracy, though the army was still the best bet of getting off Crete the examples of self made men where rising. It made her feel proud that her homeworld and her flag where making their mark in Sirius.

After a diplomatic mission into Kusari space Trueno invited Mercedes to the very same bar she had helped trash along with the other Benitez. Reluctantly and after much convincing she agreed to go. She shared a table with Valeria, Tiberio, Trueno and... Enrico. After many rounds of drinks, laughter and silent threats they decided to continue the party elsewhere, Mercedes was unaware that she had been led to the Benitez Villa and was about to partake in her initiation as a member of the family.

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