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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/KamchatkasRevenge on 2024-09-06 23:12:08+00:00.

The elevator was her first challenge. It was unguarded but there would be cameras everywhere. Then there was the matter of ‘the combo’. It was the same across the entire Black Khans, a complex numerical series of passwords that were based on Cannidor numerology.

It changed every now and then, but the ‘recognition’ phrase was always the same, as was an ‘identity’ phrase for different girls who left their parent Khan’s turf regularly. Jab considers the board, and punches the first recognition phrase in, a numerical representation of the founding alliance of organizations that became the Black Khans. Then her own recognition code.

The screen goes black, and Jab waits in the dim elevator for a moment, anxiety growing quietly in the pit of her stomach. If she’d been burned, if she wasn’t supposed to survive the attack on the Crimson Tear, she’d be finding out right about now.

Instead the screen lights up again, and Jab quickly begins punching in the series of counter signs that become the ‘combination’ to access the hidden den of the Black Khans in this city.

In a few moments the elevator starts to slowly slide down into darkness, and Jab purges herself of emotions again. A simple axiom trick, but a critical one for the high stakes world she’d grown up in. Any emotion besides rage and hate could be perceived as a weakness and used by a rival or enemy. For that reason alone, Jab’s playful attitude had always annoyed some of the older Khans, who felt she wasn’t serious enough.

When she’d started pulling in big credits, they’d shut up, except for a few, muttering to each other behind her back.

The worst of those had finally shut up when Jab killed her. The back biter had picked a fight, lost, and Jab had taken what had been the other woman’s and had been running with it ever since.

That’s when she’d started getting real jobs and more responsibilities from Big Mama.

The Demon’s waiting for her when the elevator doors open again, like she’d suspected. The guardian of the lair, an older Black Khan whose primary skill set was violence, the Demon was in charge of security for a Khan headquarters. Smaller bases had ‘Terrors’ occasionally, but without one of the bosses on hand, an actual Black Khan, most didn’t bother to stand on ceremony.

The Cannidor warrior, scarred up and brutalized nearly beyond recognition, lightly sniffs Jab before snarling; “Search her.” To her subordinates.

Jab’s patted down briefly, her weapons cataloged, but not taken. They’re searching for wires and recording materials.

“Heavy plasma pistol, sword, combat knife, boot knife. Nothin else.”

Jab suppresses any hint of a reaction. They hadn’t found her trump card, the Human style pistol hidden in the axiom tattoo on her thigh.

The Demon snorts approvingly.

“Fine. Come on. They’re waiting.”

“Whose waiting?”

“The Black Khan of the worlds of the Charocan, and head of the Cruelfang Cartel, Madame Cruelfang and you damn well better show proper respect pup, or I’ll beat your ass so severely they won’t even think you’re a Cannidor when you get back to Coburnia’s Rest. Pretty sure she’s got your boss on the holo too.”

Jab nods slowly, as if it was just information, but Cruelfang had already contacted Big Mama. Had they been waiting for her? Or had Cruelfang just called her fellow boss when one of Big Mama’s girls had turned up on her doorstep?

She’s led into a large throne room, something altogether more ostentatious than Big Mama’s comparatively humble office. Differences in style, not so much status really.

Madame Cruelfang is a giant white furred Cannidor with what Jab figured was dyed white hair. She’s got a few scars, and a rail cannon that was nearly as tall as some of the smaller Cannidor watching the proceedings leaned against her throne. There were a few guards in power armor lingering nearby, looking more like they were guarding an actual Khan of a warrior house instead of a queen of the underworld.

Big Mama is ‘standing’ nearby on a holo pad, conversing with the other woman amicably.

“Here’s your girl now, Calra.”

Cruelfang leans forward, her smile revealing the origin of her name. Her mouth was a mess of teeth growing at odd angles and positions. A normal Cannidor bite was devastating, but even a light bite from Cruelfang would be more akin to making minced meat than cutting anything.

“I just had to call when she ID’d herself. Wasn’t expecting a guest. Or a messenger, no smuggling at the moment. So I was curious.”

Big Mama smiles at Jab. “There’s my girl! Like I told you Cruelfang, she’s just on a little job for her Mama.” Big Mama’s face takes a more stern, aggressive turn, her eyes narrowing as her nostrils flare. “Though I’d like an explanation about why you stopped your check ins like I damn told you. I didn’t give you that secure communicator just so it could gather dust.”

Fire rushes through Jab’s veins in an instant as she remembers her righteous indignation.

“I had to destroy it. The Undaunted were going to make me. Security tightened like crazy after the Hag’s pirates tried to destroy the ship. I thought you said they weren’t out to kill the Human! They were going to kill or enslave us all, I’m damn sure of it. Did you know when you sent me? There was a location beacon in that damn communicator wasn’t there?”

Anger leaks into Jab’s tone as she presses Big Mama. She probably wouldn’t get the truth, but the type of lie would tell her a lot.

“Jab, Jab. I wouldn’t just… throw you away like that. I wouldn’t want you to die. It’s me, your Big Mama we’re talking about here. I don’t send my girls into the shit like that, and I wouldn’t just give you a secret location beacon, that’d be silly. Telling you would let you better handle the device and do your job. All I wanted was contact reports and information about the Undaunted, and you did a good job for me.”

Big Mama was lying. What about exactly Jab couldn’t tell, but she used that same sickly sweet tone she was using with her now whenever she was trying to pull one over on one of her girls… and once upon a time, Jab had bought this little routine.

“As to what happened, you can trust that I called the Hag and got some damn answers out of her as soon as I’d heard what happened. It wasn’t part of the plan. Spontaneous operation. The Hag told me some of her girls got a little overexcited. Overzealous. Wanted to bring the Hag a rich prize. You’re an ambitious girl after all, you can understand that right? Doing something impulsive in the name of getting what you want out of life?”

Jab wanted to laugh. She really wanted to laugh, because a few weeks ago… this would have worked on her, but now, for whatever reason, perhaps just time away among decent people. People who treated her well and actually respected her, she could tell it was so much bullshit.

“So… You okay letting bygones be by ones and taking another comm unit back aboard the ship? Once you finish this gig and we get our pay out… I’ve been needing a new lieutenant for the docks district. All yours. Just do this one little thing for me.”

So many ways to respond, even as Big Mama dangled a juicy prize in front of her, dripping with fresh blood. The docks were a very lucrative district. It had a fair amount of girls and room to expand. Perfect for a new lieutenant to make her mark… and yet. Yes wasn’t the answer that came to mind immediately. Instead it was telling Big Mama to shove it down her own throat or blow it out her ass, going for her field pistol and killing as many as she could, one of a billion answers… but instead things line up clearly in her mind and Jab pounces on a good path forward.

“…If you’re finally gonna promote me. I’ll do it.” Jab bows to Madame Cruelfang. “Can I assume Madame Cruelfang’s people will hook me up with the comm system? And let’s skip the location beacon this time. If the Hag wants location data I can provide it, but we need to charge her extra. She wanted information, not pathfinding, and that makes this job a lot more dangerous.”

Big Mama leans toward the Camera, all smiles now. "Oh Jab, of course sweetie. I’ll make sure you get what your owed. Now… do you have any information you can give me now since your last check in? About damage to the ship? Numbers of pirates captured? Something about missile weapons?”

Jab’s mind flashes to the report she’d heard about the Tear being short on torpedoes and immediately discards giving Big Mama that information. There were some tidbits Jab could give her that wouldn’t be a problem, and maybe even lie here and there to give the Tear an advantage.

“Ten thousand per chunk of info.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Information’s got value. Twist the Hag’s nipples for twenty thousand a chunk and I want half up front.”

Big Mama’s eyes narrow. “…Fine. If it’s good enough info.”

“I got the goods. A lot of the Hag’s girls died in action. Those boarding torpedoes got ravaged. There was a girl from one of the fighter squadrons playing gun camera footage on her phone in the bar. It was a massacre. I heard from a maintenance girl that they converted a decent sized cargo bay to hold all the survivors and another one for the wounded. They’re all going to the Charocan. The Khan will get the ones she wants to keep, the rest will go to the council. Everyone involved in the action gets a slice of the bounty.”

Including Jab herself, but that little detail wasn’t something Big Mama needed either.

“Okay. Good. That’ll piss the Hag…

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