"Hi mom"

"Hello mother. I hope you are in good health and not too worried when you receive this message. As you without a doubt already know, i am on board the ship belonging to Captain Eirik, the Terran that declared a personal war on our empire. However, what you do not know, is that after the recording he broadcasted, he offered me a choice between remaining a prisoner on his ship, or joining crew to spare us both the hassle of imprisonment. As a leader yourself, you surely understand, even if you would not agree with it. Forgive me mother, but i have accepted his offer of becoming a crew member. I am at the moment enjoying limited freedom on the ship with all privileges that comes with such a position. I have been granted a personal cabin, new clothes to fit in and to replace my Kloxna uniform (Do not worry, i have it in secure storage in my cabin). Know that, even though i am now a crew member of the ship, I am still a Kloxna soldier and will not raise weapons against my own people (I believe Captain Eirik knows this as well, as he has placed me on the internal ship security team, under the direct supervision of his head of security, so as to minimize the security risk i pose at the current time) Also know that i am well in all ways. I have plenty of food, entertainment for downtime, im slowly starting to get to know the crew and, you are not going to believe this mother, THEY BUILT AN ARTIFICIAL HOT SPRING ON THEIR SHIP!! They also have this strange room they call a *sauna* which is a closed room with with a heat source powerfull enough to heat volcanic rocks, which they then pour water on to create steam. The best thing about them is you can use them whenever you want. According to the Captain they are quite common among the Terran's and have been so for hundreds of years. Back to the subject. The Terran has honored his given word mother. He wishes for this conflict to end, as do i. These Terrans are VERY capable and i fear this conflict will cost us far more than we wish to loose.I urge you to seek peace, or at least resolve this through single combat as the Terran suggested. You can even appoint a champion, which could remove a political threat back home (I DID listen during your lessons, but as i also told you countless times, i'm simply bored by it)

This position on the Terran crew will let me experience life MY way, and you cannot stop me. if you manage to bring me back, i will leave again at first chance. I am happy here and you will not take that away as you did everything else i found that made me happy in my years growing up.

Some day i will return. Eventually. But Captain Eirik said something that resonates within me. That the highest freedom in the universe is the freedom of choice. I have chosen to become a member of this ship because i wanted to. Granted it was that or imprisonment, but that i could handle. I was enthralled by the idea of not being judged for wanting to be me.

And now mother, you also have a choice. You can choose to continue the conflict, risking my life in the line of fire. Or you can end it quickly, one way or another.

With love, Your first born daughter Las'Tai"

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Las'Tai looked over her message, not finding anything that could help her mother identify where she was. Her finger hovered over the send button. She felt that gut wrenching fear she always felt when disobeying her mother, but she pushed through and clicked the button. No going back now.

Having no work for another shift and having lost the interest in dazing in the heat, following the throwing incident, she wandered the ship looking for something to do. Suddenly her ears picked up what sounded like exercise or sparring. Interested in something to do, she followed the sounds and found herself at the ship gym. Seeing no one inside and a door at the far end, she figured the sounds where coming from inside and tried opening the door. However, *acces denied* flashed across the panel and she remembered she was still not given full access. disappointed she turned around to leave but suddenly the door opened as someone inside went to go out.

"Las'Tai??" She heard one of her fellow security guards say, "what are you doing here?? combat training is off limits to you."

"I didn't know this was combat training, i have never been here before. I just heard sounds and i was bored on my downtime"

"no games running in the entertainment room??" he said as the door closed behind him. She caught a quick glimpse of two rows of humans wielding large black shields, pressed closely together and beating away at each other with heavy batons. It looked like a scene of utter chaos, what were they doing?

"Only poker, but that is no fun, you Terrans somehow know my cards no matter what." she said sourly.

Laughing hard he managed to get out "I think its time you are told why that is Las'Tai"

She immediately focused on him, her large eyes growing even bigger "You are willing to tell me?!!?"

Still laughing he said "it's your tail Las'tai. when you get good cards you start swaying it from side to side. When you have bad cards you move it up and down. When you bluff you curl it up behind you. Try keeping it relaxed throughout the entire game and you will see a noticeable difference i think"

She Rushed off towards the entertainment room yelling "THANK YOU" over her shoulder as she scampered across the floor. It was time to win her matchsticks back!!!

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Eirik was restless. After taking over the salvaging mission, the final adrenaline faded. He needed a good meal, he needed a stiff drink and. .He needed a woman. It was the best way to get rid of all the nervous energy that comes after a fight, especially one to the death. It was also the most fun way, no arguing.

Calling the bridge, he Ordered a course set for the smuggler station orbiting a minor moon. They would not ask questions as long as the money was right and he had money to spend. The bounty for the 2 ships was big and the cargo he had taken did have a decent value as well. His crew would also need a fair share to spend out on the town and the extensive lists he was making as his crew found new things needing restocking and new ideas needing parts, he had to set aside some time to go shopping as well. he would need backup though, you never knew what these smugglers might do to a lone human. He better bring Las'Tai as well, so they were a group of 3. Being with 2 humans would also grant her a fair level of protection even if they were not right beside her.

he tapped a few buttons on his personal datapad and heard the beeping of the crew around him receiving a message. Leaning down and pressing the intercom button to broadcast to the ship he announced "Dear crew. You have all just received a message informing you of a transfer to your account. This is a bonus of 50.000 credits, from me to you, on account of a flawless snatch'n'grab boarding action and for following along with this madness i have begun. I gift this to you now, as i have ordered a course change for the nearby smuggler station where we will spend between 1 and 2 days before going out to finish these bastard pirates and get paid..... again." He heard the crew chuckling around him, their faces one of happiness and expectations at the course change. "I will not take any more of your time, so get back to work. we got shit to salvage. Crew member Las'Tai, please come to the cargo bay so we can set up your ships account."

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Las'Tai couldnt believe her ears. 50.000 credits. that was more than a lower caste family made in a lifetime, and the captain had just given that to each member of the crew, and was now asking to come to him and set up a ship account. Most likely meaning she would also get a share. She knew she was moving towards the cargo bay, but her mind had stayed behind, "how can be spread around his wealth so carelessly and still be the captain??" was all she thought as she entered the cargo bay and saw the captain smile big as he called her over. "Las'Tai, get over here, we got work to do"