Alert. Device group designated Callisto-E-A10 Online.

Error. Device group designated Callisto-E-A10 has detected signs of major damage.

Error. Device group designated Callisto-E-A10 has detected foreign components integrated into the system.

Doctor Preon stared at the screen in shock. Were the Imperials reusing her arms? Could she really be alive? She quickly ran to her remote diagnostic system, avoiding thinking of the worst. Any location tracking components were remotely fried the moment she had heard of the Moonrise’s fall. Couldn’t have the location of the base being broadcasted to Imperial hands.

Systems Online: HR-Sunrise, MS-G-1, MS-G-2

Systems Disabled: LR-Comms-Main (Partial), LR-Comms-Backup, SR-Comms-Main, SR-Comms-Backup, MS-G-3, Moon-Int-Sub

They’d taken off every form of communication, as well as the muscle group assigned to the hands? The systems for the arm muscles seemed to be well functioning, but any remote system control had been replaced. Preon’s system couldn’t tell what any of the foreign processes were, all obfuscated.

Why was the heart rate monitor intact? They had left a gap in the long-range communicator specifically for its functionality. I had added safeguards to the system, ensuring that it couldn’t be broken apart by Imperial meddling. Every process checked with one another to ensure that it wasn’t in a foreign environment, and it’d been haphazardly worked around. They’d left the system vulnerable solely for this system.

Preon stood and stared at her display for a moment. What use would an Imperial intelligence group have for a heart rate display for some random person? Were they trying to trace the signal back to base? It was such a small signal it would have been drowned out by even background noise from scanning modules on mechs. They wanted the functionality.

One obvious option. I couldn’t believe it. Every person on base had watched that video, the last moments of the Moonrise. She couldn’t have survived that. Her arms had been offline for over a month now. Even if the Imperial techs had been working on this in a closed system, they had let the arms out just to see the signals received by the heart rate system. It didn’t make sense.

Torture, then? Were they taunting Elara? The arms had muscle groups online though, they were being used. Had they put the arms on somebody else? Why disable the hand modules, then? Why even keep any of the old systems?

Elara was wearing the arms. She’d been given access to see Pyralis’ heart rate. Tormenting her.

Unless she was wrong. Maybe it was just a coincidence, the arms had been salvaged and everything just so happened to line up this way. The heart rate system had been left on as an accident. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed so purposeful. Nobody else could know. Everybody was moving on, at their own pace. This would send Pyralis spiraling again.

Preon would have to dig deeper. Understand what had been done to the machine. See if there was any way to send messages, maybe even start receiving them. If anything, it would give her a glimpse into Imperial biomedical technology. She’d have to grab an engineer who was knowledgeable enough, but wouldn’t immediately run off to tell the base.

She’d have a busy next few weeks.

===

Pyralis took a seat alongside Anna and Faust in the dining hall, putting down a tray of today’s meal. Some curry with bread.

“Good evening, Commander Pyralis.” Faust initiated conversation, moving their tray over so as to not get in her way. Traditionally, a Commander’s last name would be used, but everybody had taken to calling her Commander Pyralis, given what happened to Elara. “I see you’re eating again today. How are you on this day, ma’am?” Faust looked at her, hoping for an answer.

Pyr nodded, before digging into her meal. She didn’t feel like dignifying another “How are you?” with a response today. Open up, she thought. Preon had told her she needed to make friends, try to move on from Elara. She agreed, if only because she knew Elara would have wanted her to.

Anna shook her head at Faust, who nodded and went back to eating his meal. “Apologies, Captain. We have word of some of the first imperial mechs coming back towards us since the big attack. I thought it may be good for you to go out, let off some steam.” She treaded lightly, knowing Pyralis still partially blamed her for Elara’s death. “Of course, it’s alright if you wish to stay at base, Miss.”

Miss. Commander. Pyralis hated the titles, how everybody had taken to looking at her once Ellie was gone. She wasn’t the shining stone in the sky that Elara had been. Everybody except Preon had taken to treating her as human again. She missed the hands running through her head, letting her go blank and forget about everything else. They were afraid of her, unsure of what she wanted. Elara never needed to ask. She knew what Pyralis had wanted, given it freely.

“No, I won’t be joining you, Anna. Thank you for the offer.” Pyr hated the formality of everything now. She never had to deal with people with Elara, she could hide in her shadow and follow orders. Everything was better, simpler. Now she was expected to talk, and like everybody else. Sometimes Pyralis wished Anna had stayed angry at her, beaten her senseless every day until she saw stars. “You don’t need to tell me about missions, you know. I get the same messages you do.”

Faust swallowed their food, wiping their mouth a bit before turning back to Pyr. “We care, Commander. You’re one of our best pilo-” They were cut off before they could continue by Pyralis slamming her fist against the table.

“Shut up! I’m not some replacement for her, I was never as good a pilot as her! You want another person to lead you against the Imperials, but you all picked the wrong person if you thought I was that! I’m not that person, let alone a person.” She stood, her food still untouched. “I’ll be at the training room, if there’s an actual emergency, and you’re not too scared of breaking me in two to tell me to go out and fight!” Pyralis’ voice cracked, and she felt her eyes watering up. She stomped off, breaking into a run.

===

Elara woke up, her hands once again stuck together above her head. She was blindfolded, and hanging by her wrists from the ceiling. She could feel blood dripping down her leg, mixing with the nectar still dripping from her loins. “H-Help!” She felt the door in her mind still open, and everything still felt sore.

She could hear Thalia cackling, and felt a fist sink into her stomach. “Think you woke up in a little dream, did you?” Thalia asked. Elara felt a pair of lips press against hers, a tongue snaking its way between her teeth. The urge to bite, the idea to struggle against the rope ran wild like a bull in her mind. She held back. Physical torture. I was trained for this.

*“*T-ghk! Thank you Miss!” Elara almost gagged on the words.

***

Pyralis cracked her right fist against the punching bag. She reared back with her left, but couldn’t muster the effort to do more than a light tap. Pyr didn’t want to break the new robotic arm that she wore, afraid that she’d have to replace any one of the synthetic muscles. Elara’s muscles.

Anger. Funnel it, let it out. She sniffled, barking out as she swung again.

***

Slam.

Elara felt another fist impact her stomach, feeling her body fold into the blow. “Thank y-! Thank you!” She coughed, the taste of copper flooding her mouth. She reached out with her feet, trying to touch the ground as she swung around by her arms. Everything hurt. It felt wonderful.

Thalia yet again planted a kiss on her, as Elara let out a soft moan into her mouth. She felt a new gush of liquid rush between her legs, the droplets slipping down. Some splotches of it had dried, and felt vaguely sticky as she moved her legs around. “P-Please…”

“Please what, little dog?” Thalia purred, sliding her tongue along Elara’s cheek. Elara was whining, feeling the cold air dry the fresh saliva on her face, savoring the feeling of adoration.

“Touch me… I need you.” Elara was drooling, blood and spit splashing on her bare chest. “Please, Miss.”

***

Pyr spun, kicking the sandbag. She was sick of being treated like this reliable figure, this connection to something larger. Elara understood her, got that she wanted to be used, directed. She was strong. Pyralis was weak, a failure. She took Elara’s scraps because that’s all she was good for.

Elara wouldn’t break in the face of adversity. She fought for what she believed in, while Pyralis was barely surviving in the cold. Pyralis was close to joining those that took everything from her just to live, while Elara threw away everything she had to fight against her old home. She didn’t even quit after her parents death. Pyr could never be that strong, never stand so tall.

***

A hand snaked down Elara’s stomach. “I’m pretty sure I’m already touching you, Ellie.” Thalia kneed her in the crotch. “But I’m happy to oblige, mutt.” She sunk her teeth into Elara’s neck, drawing blood.

Elara gasped, the air ejecting itself out of her lungs as she pressed into the knee now between her legs. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! I love you, Miss!” She was grinding on the leg, trying to eek out every last bit of pleasure she could, while pain spread through her body. Elara barely noticed the teeth lodged in her neck, too busy whimpering as she continued pressing into Thalia.

“Good girl. This is your reward, mutt. For behaving, for taking this all so wonderfully. You’ve been such a good girl.” Thalia’s words snaked their way into Elara’s brain, wrapping themselves around her mind. She felt hands press around her windpipe, and couldn’t breathe as Thalia began choking her.

Her lungs burned, and Elara continued grinding on Thalia as she felt strength slowly sapping itself from her body. Thalia didn’t loosen her grip, squeezing tighter as Elara began to go limp, spending every last bit of fight in her to grind against the knee between her legs. Pleasure rocked through her, as she finally climaxed, and her vision fractured into little shards. Everything fell apart in front of her.

She would be happy to die here, in Thalia’s hands. Loved, cared for, shining with love.

***

Compared to Elara, Pyralis was nothing. She swung again, her fist burning. She was strong, good at talking. Broke free of everything she once called home, and barely hesitated to turn her blade on the Empire. She was Pyralis’ light in the sky, her everything. Perhaps it was better she was dead, having fulfilled her goal. Fought to her last breath against the enemy.

Pyralis couldn’t breathe, her chest pounding. She gasped for air, swinging again. She’d be strong, for Elara. Pyr had to fight for her memory. No matter how much her chest burned, or fist hurt, she had to avenge Elara.

She’d do anything to burn the Empire to the ground. Anything to honor that shining star that burned out before her very eyes.