An unlikely pirate.

[Himura Suzume]

.Her quarters aboard the Rhino freighter were cramped and dark. Suzume sat on the bed, her face lit up by the glow of her comm-unit. She watched the message again, as she had done countless times allready. She watch her father's image as he, in a cold and formal way, denounced her due to her dishonoring actions. She looked at the face of her mother, standing behind him, looking down at the floor. There was no reaction in her mothers face. Suzume started to cry again. How could she have been so stupid?

.They had been traveling for a day and Suzume had hardly left her room. She and the captain had agreed on a fare and she had been informed that they were heading for Rochester Base in New York. Suzume didn't ask what they were shipping. Judging from the fact that she had still not heard the recognizable booms from the trade lane accelerators she assumed they were staying off the grid.

.The hours passed when the intercom finally sparked to life and the captain spoke.
."Miss Himura. We'll be arriving at Rochester within the hour. I'm going to have to ask you to immediately leave the ship and hangar as we land. My business associates don't like bystanders much." there was a pause. "And take care of yourself."

.As soon as the cargo ramp of the Rhino hit the hangar floor, Suzume were out. She passed a group of men standing outside. Some of them wore what looked like home made pieces of body armor and all of them were armed. Suzume avoided eye contact as she left the hangar. Not knowing what to do or where to go she wandered the station aimlessly. She came upon a bar and immediately knew what she wanted, a warm meal and something strong to drink.

.As she stepped into the bar, more than a few heads turned to her for a little while before they lost interest. Not everyone seemed to lose interest, however. She could see the desire in the eyes of some of the patrons as she walked up to the bar disk. She was a bit scared, almost everyone had a visible weapon of some sort and more than a few of them looked used. She tried to hide her nervousness, not wanting them to see that she was frightened. She sat down on a stool and waited for the bartender. She noticed a man walking up behind her and she could smell the mans breath before he put a hand on her shoulder and spoke.
."'Ello lass, 'aven't seen yer purty face 'round 'ere before." he said as he was swaying back an forth. " care ta 'ave a lil' drink with me?" he asked.
."You seem like you've had plenty to drink, sir." Suzume answered, keeping her head high and staring into his face. "Now I suggest you go have a seat somewhere else before I show you the door myself!" She hoped he wouldn't see through her bluff. She was afraid he'd hear her heart race. Either the man smelled her fear or he was simply too drunk, he pulled his arm back and sent it flying, trying to hit Suzume with the back of his hand. Time seemed to slow down. Suzume had been taking martial arts classes as extracurricular activity for almost ten years now. The drunken mans obvious swing was easy enough to dodge, even without getting of the bar stool. The drunken man stumbled forward from the force of the missed swing, tripped on his own feet and smashed his forehead into the bar disk. He fell to the ground unconscious.

.Suzume looked around the bar, expecting the mans friends to come storming at her. Surprisingly few even seemed to have registered the event and those who had simply nodded in surprised approval before returning to their drinks and conversations.
."That was a nice little move there, little miss." the bartender said from across the bar disk. "I wouldn't have branded you a fighter. And neither did he I reckon" he continued with a chuckle. He was an older man with grey beard and a smile that reached his eyes. He came off as very likable.
."I... I didn't even do anything." Suzume said with a slight blush.
.The bartender laughed. "And that was the best part. Now, what can I get for you?" he asked as he picked up a glass and started cleaning it out with a towel.
."I'll have something to eat and something strong to drink." Suzume answered, calming down slightly.

.Suzume later rented a room on the station and stayed there for a couple of weeks while she tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't go back home and she couldn't go back to school. She spent a lot of her time in the bar, where she and the bartender became fast friends. More men tried to forcefully put their hands on her but Suzume was better than she had ever known. She'd never used her martial arts outside of the dojo before but these men were slow and clumsy and handling them was easy. The more people tried and failed, the more she seemed to gain some respect among the patrons. The bar was frequented by all sorts of people. From law abiding workers and traders to smugglers and pirates. Suzume chatted with everyone she could, fascinated by their stories. She soon learned how to act and talk to fit in.

.One night, as she was sitting at the bar disk, a woman sat down next to her. Suzume found her strangely familiar. As was her nature and because she were curious she chatted with her for several hours. Instead of hearing the woman's stories, Suzume found herself to be telling hers. She seemed very interested in Suzume's flight training and when she found out Suzume were out of a job and slowly draining her savings account, she smiled and paused for a while, seemingly thinking something through.
."Alright, lets play a little game." she said. "I have a ship that I have no pilot for. Your savings won't cover the cost of it, but I'll sell it to you if you agree to come work for me." she paused for a while.
."I don..." Suzume started.
."Wait, let me finish." the woman interrupted. "This is a one time, generous offer. You work for me, flying the ship. You get an equal share of profits to me and my other... employees." she grinned. "Now here's the fun part. I won't accept any questions. Your decision needs to be made now. I want either a yes or a no from you. Nothing else."
.Suzume could see the woman's eyes shining with delight at the situation. Suzume didn't very much like the thought of accepting a deal without having any information. Her account was running thin tho, and she needed a job. Being offered one flying a ship was more than she could have hoped for. After a few minutes of silently pondering, she answered.
."Yes." she said.
.The woman lit up with an even wider smile. "Excellent!" she exclaimed. "Meet me in hangar nine after lunch tomorrow." she said as she got up and walked out the door, leaving her bill with Suzume.

.The following day Suzume walked into hangar nine to lay eyes on the ship. She stood there, gaping at the fully armed fighter before her. She couldn't tell how long she'd been standing there when she suddenly heard the woman's voice from behind.
."She's a beauty, isn't she?" she said as she walked up next to Suzume. "Of course, I assume you'll need some practice flying that thing. It's not like a training shuttle." she smiled at a shocked Suzume.
."Oh yeah." she continued. "We might have to teach you how to use those guns" she laughed.
.Suzume couldn't say a word, she kept looking from the fighter to the woman, wondering what she had gotten herself into. The woman simply smiled back at her.
."By the way, you can call me Kamikazee." her facial expression turned serious as she continued. "Welcome to the Pirates Committee."

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To possibly be continued