…it was so simple.  Each morning came to light the day, just as the last one had.  The sun would slowly rise over the horizon, the house would begin to stir and the call of the forest would drift through the window into the room.

His sleeping mind would be awakened by the smell of the trees, that musty freshness that sweetened the air from the morning dew.  It would greet him with the hope that one day, he would be far from this place and living in peace.

The sensor alerts echoed in the distance and moved closer to the front of Ga’len’s mind.  His daydream of memories past was cut short.  Another ship was coming into his hunting area.

Revenge, for my friend, Ga’len grinned his evil grin in his mind, alas, it is afoot now.

The An Bealach an Vaga decloaked quickly, locked it’s weapons and began to open fire.  As the shields of the incoming rifter melted away, sensors dectected more ships appearing in range.

Blast, they were waiting for me this time, Ga’len’s smile was detected by his sensors in his pod.  No matter, to it then!

First was the Rifter frigate.  It closed on his ship quickly, spewing rounds into his shields as it’s warp scrambler locked him down.  Ga’len turned his ship and aligned out to a planet, trying to put distance between him and the closing frigate.  Sensors had detected something unexpected in the rest of the hostile gang.  A Loki and it was closing fast.

As the Loki closed range and engaged it’s warp disruptor, the rifter’s hull gave way to the vacuum of space.  Suddenly, Ga’len’s ship began to move faster, but not as expected.  Yes, the microwarp drive was working, but not as it should.

So, webbed me as well? No matter, I can still outrun you.

The engines of An Bealach an Vaga overloaded and Ga’len lurched forward, moving away from the Loki.  By this point, the Loki was deep into it’s armor and for a split second, Ga’len thought about staying in the fight, but the lack of shields and armor made that decision for him.

As Ga’len moved out of range of the Loki’s warp disruptor, he willed his comms to life.

“Nice trap my friend, well played.  I would taunt you, but I can see from my sensors the 2 interceptors closing in on you and the 3 battle cruisers who just fired on you are more worthy of your attention than I.”

Ga’len warped off towards a planet as the Loki fell prey to the other roaming pirate gang.  All that he could hear on his comms were the threats of revenge from the doomed Loki pilot.

Sometimes, it pays to not be the biggest fish in the pond, Ga’len pondered.

Slowly Neresa’s eyes opened and the blinding pain coursed through her body like a flooded river in a rainstorm.

Am I dead? Oh dear lord, please let me die, this is unbearable, Neresa thought.

“Neresa,” a familiar voice rang in softly in her ears, “Can you hear me?”

Neresa slowly, painfully opened her eyes. She gasped in shock, pain and joy. “GA’LEN! YOU’RE BACK!?”

Ga’len stood bent over to look closely in her eyes. Breanne was at his side, clinging to him as if she was drawing in fear of loosing her mother. “Yes old friend, I am back. You took quite a beating out there, good thing I came along when I did.”

“Mommy!” Breanne threw her arms around Neresa’s neck. She choked a bit and Ga’len managed to pry her arms away.

“Now, now my little Acorn, you need to be careful,” Ga’len continued, “Your mommy is hurt pretty bad, but she will be okay soon. Why don’t you go grab your book from the table over there and read to her so she can rest.”

“Ga’len, thank you,” Neresa’s eyes filled with tears, “I thought I would be in a new clone by now or worse.”

“Don’t you worry, let the doctors fix you up. I’ve taken care of your ship, it will be as good as new in a few days,” Ga’len smirked his evil pirate booty filled wallet smirk, “It was a good trip. I’ll be by later to check on you.”

As Ga’len started for the door, Breanne called, “I’ll take care of mommy Uncle Twig, see you later!”

***

Elsewhere, in the station hanger, the ground crews were organizing the new arrivals for Ga’len.

“This pirate is nuts, flying such an expensive ship like this,” Murray mumbled as he moved more crates of Republic Fleet EMP ammo into the cargo hold, “This guy is a badass, but he’s just bonkers for risking a ship like this one.”

“Ahem,” Ga’len cleared his throat, “Murray, I thank you for your concern.”

Murray stopped cold in his tracks.

Ga’len continued as he patted Murray’s shoulder, “Of course, you do have a valid point my friend, it is risky to fly such a ship. I’ve lost a Proteus and another Loki already. It hurts, but these ships can do some very useful things. Is the An Bealach an Vaga ready to go?”

Murray relaxed a bit, “Yes sir, it’s fully loaded as you requested, repaired and the rust has been polished.”

Ga’len grinned, “Very good Murray. After you load that crate, call it a day and have a round on me in the bar.”

Ga’len tossed him a isk card with a few thousand isk on it and smiled, “I’m gonna have a little party of my own now.”

Murray chuckled, “May whatever divine being they believe in have mercy on their souls. If I may ask, why head out so soon? Why not stay and join the party?”

“Indeed,” Ga’len agreed, “Indeed, it’s party time, however, I need to stop those who are attacking me and mine. It’s time for me to party Vagabond style!”