H O R I Z O N // Sci-Fi // Literate (Accepting applicants!)

[Lysander the Poet]

The City of New Armstrong
Luna
Sol System
February 5, 2326
07:22 Galactic Standard Time

Halloran crossed his arms as he watched his forces set up a perimeter around the plaza. The Dominion has reassigned six full battalions to New Armstrong, all to prevent any trouble at the execution. While some had argued this was a bit much for the death of one man—however infamous he may be—Halloran convinced them after expressing concern over a rescue attempt from Alister Blood in the name of foolish rebellion. All he needed was to decorate his stories about the pirate with extra murder and intrigue, and the soldiers ate it up, giving him exactly what he wanted. McLaughlin, on the other hand, remained annoyed with Halloran’s posturing; the Rear Admiral’s promise of Tiberius’ corpse was not much of an incentive to him. Capturing Pearson would prove the true challenge, and Halloran was sure Alister had enough brains to not let the girl out of his sight during the perceived siege to save Tiberius. McLaughlin had graciously provided some…bestial…support for Halloran’s troops, hulking monstrosities engineered after the beasts of myth. Cyberteknik, not wanting to look unsupportive of the trial, sent Halloran a group of their newest ‘security’ mechs—if by ‘security’, one meant ‘murderous robot’. They had been specially programmed to capture Blood and Pearson at any cost, and had the weapons to secure that order. All of these measures weren’t even half of what Halloran had up his sleeve for the unlucky crew of the damned Persephone. As for Tiberius himself, he was still holed up in his cell, to be brought out only right before his appointed time. A crowd had begun to form, giving Halloran eager chills. Cameras and recording equipment hung high all around the plaza. A live, system-wide broadcast of the execution of the King of Pirates. His death would sound the funeral knell for pirates across the galaxy—and bring Halloran closer to his own goals.

Halloran stood upon a catwalk overlooking the plaza, giving one final analysis of the position and his defensive measures. The City of New Armstrong was built in a circular fashion, within the atmospheric dome, the streets all running out from the center, like spokes on a wheel. The plaza was in the heart of the city, where all the roads met, skyscrapers towering above. The plaza itself was a large, flat area, usually decorated with fountains, plants, and other amenities. As he officially represented the Terran Coalition, flags and banners honoring the long-dead husk of democracy flapped in simulated wind. It was one final insult to those who truly believed in the Coalition, and in democracy, while the Dominion was pulling the strings. Security checkpoints had been set up at each of the eight entrances to the plaza, with patrols marching through the streets, heavily armed. Halloran had stationed snipers and anti-air units on the rooftops, in case anyone were to try assault from above. The plaza contained most of Cyberteknik’s security mechs, armed to the teeth with weapons both lethal and non. Rocket launchers, mini-guns with armor piercing rounds, a cryo-cannon to quickly incapacitate enemies that needed to be taken alive. The mechs came in several different shapes and varieties. The simplest of them were analogous to the common foot soldier, while the larger units more resembled giant metal spiders, equivalent to tanks and such. Among the crowd of civilians, Halloran had even placed several highly skilled agents to solve the more difficult problems that might arise from the presence of Alister Blood’s arrival. The Admiral heard footsteps from behind him, turning to face a young corporal, who looked frightened to stand in Halloran’s presence. He saluted, which Halloran returned, before delivering his message. ”Sir, the Persephone has been detected in orbit. She’s made no move to land or dock, and is just out of range of our orbital defenses...what are your orders?” Halloran chuckled, wanting to look confident in the assembled company of allies accompanying him upon the catwalk. ”Do not fear Alister Blood, Corporal...his time is coming. Continue with operations as planned.”

The man they called Erebos did not wear the uniform of Dominion. No, as he pulled a grey t-shirt over his bulging muscles, or as he then donned a black leather jacket with honest-to-god metal studs on the shoulders, covering his tattooed arms, and tightened the thick belt around his waist, he did not look Dominion at all. Over his shirt he pulled a necklace, the Kolovrat hanging from his neck, as he donned fingerless black gloves with polished metal on each knuckle. Applied with his incredible physical strength, he could break anyone’s limbs with a well-aimed punch. One of the gloves was missing a sleeve for the pinky, as he did not have one on his right hand. He looked at himself in the mirror, ran his fingers through his slicked-back silver-grey hair, and smirked, before turning. Two guards, wearing armor that bore no Dominion logo, stood at attention as he walked by. ”Don’t try so hard to look professional,” Erebos spoke to them in a mocking voice, deep, cutting, and room-filling. ”You can’t take the criminal out of your blood.” A sob came from the bed in the corner of a room, and he regarded it with annoyance. A woman, covered in bruises, sporting a black eye, and bleeding from her lip and back, huddled against his headboard, trying not to make any noise. He frowned and began to walk over to her, which made her flinch as he towered over her. ”Stop your crying,” Erebos snapped. His hand came shooting forward, making the woman think he was going to hit her again, and she gasped and withdrew into herself in defense. Instead, he grabbed a silver tray on the bedside stand. Giving one last look to the woman, Erebos turned from her and placed the tray, covered in cocaine lines, on his vanity, and snorted every last line. The burning sensation hit his nose and he let out a shriek of excitement, sending the woman into another bout of fresh tears. ”Yeeeeesssss,” he hissed, sniffing a few times and feeling the energy crash into him. He then turned and waved a hand at the woman while looking at the guards. ”Get her out of here.”

He walked outside of the compound, taking in the crowd of people who had gathered to watch a man die. It made him laugh—the savagery of man, of all man, the need to watch a life end for their own twisted pleasure, and then go home and lead a ‘normal life.’ He did not delude himself into thinking he was normal. Not at all. Erebos made his way up to the catwalk, eyeing his ship—the ship he took—as it positioned itself overhead. His men could be seen on the ledges, as the ship was a fortress in atmosphere as much as it was out. The giant of a man spotted Halloran, gazing down at what he had wrought, and he laughed. The put-together Rear Admiral of the dear Dominion, just as vicious as the pirates he hunted. ”Excited? You look excited,” Erebos asked the man, coming to stand next to him and look down. ”Of course you would be. This delights you. I should know how much you enjoy giving pain to others,” he said, casting a glance down at his missing finger. ”You almost like it as much as me!” He laughed again, an unsettling dark tone, riddled with his cocaine high and a mad frenzy. When he stopped, he pointed down at the crowd. ”I have men stationed in the crowd, as civilians. If the crowd decides to get uppity when your Blood arrives, they’ll take care of it.” He scanned the skies. ”And once this day is over, we’ll all have what we want. It’ll be glorious. Mmmm, the sky does look beautiful, though, doesn’t it?” Erebos grinned with all of his teeth, the drug coursing through his system and cast an icy glance at Halloran. ”Absolutely breathtaking, wouldn’t you say, Rear Admiral? Especially when," his fingers gripped the edge of the rail and he squeezed. ”Especially when what I want comes back to me.” He took his hands off the rail, and an indentation where his fingers had been was left in the metal.

Halloran had regarded Erebos as both a massive asset, and an absurd risk. The man was a degenerate of the highest order, with his drugs and his little whores. He was hungry for power in the worst way possible, but it fit with the Admiral’s plans nicely. Where he was a proper officer, Erebos could be the savage, the monster, the villain. They would both have a victory this day, however, and that was the thing that mattered. Halloran’s old eyes looked down at the railing, and the damage Erebos had wrought in such a simple thing. It was beautiful, in its own way, and Halloran let something passing for a smile slither onto his lips. ”It is indeed a glorious day. I do hope you enjoy it to its fullest. You will reap much of the reward, of course. Our arrangement shall be quite fortuitous. Just remind your men, and yourself, that Alister Blood is mine, to be taken alive. We’ll fetch McLaughlin’s little pet as well, but I want to wrap my hands around Blood’s neck and watch the light leave his eyes as I destroy everything he could possibly hold dear. The preparations are almost complete...would you mind passing along a message for me, Erebos? Begin transporting Tiberius Pierce out from his little hole as soon as the last pieces are set. I wish to make a speech before the festivities commence.”

Halloran seemed to be looking forward to the day as much as Erebos, though sometimes he felt that the man, with his tight-lipped smile and disciplined posture needed to let loose a little. ”Of course. I wouldn’t want to mess up your little revenge fantasy,” Erebos replied. He examined his fingers, imagining them coiling around a soft, sweet throat. It sent pleasure up his spine, and, mixed with the cocaine, he let out a small satisfied moan crossed with a laugh. ”I got a couple of my own. You know, once you kill this guy, you should reward yourself.” Erebos pulled out a cigarette and lit it, puffing thoughtfully. ”I can hook you up. Anything you want. I know a few girls—the things they would do, you’d have a smile on your face for a week straight. You know, it’s a pity that McLaughlin wants his girl back so badly. She’s a pretty one. Too pretty, like a china doll. Just makes you want to break it that much more,” he mused with a sick grin. ”As long as I get a good seat, I’ll deliver any message you want,” Erebos replied. ”You may want me near you, after all. If Blood tries to attack you directly, I can snap a few of his bones. Not his neck though. That’s your territory.” Chewing on the end of his cigarette, Erebos headed back inside, to where they were keeping Tiberius. While heading there, he pressed a button on his glove, and a comm link opened up to his ship. ”Take your positions. When you see my target, tell me immediately.” He stopped in front of the guards to Tiberius’ cell. ”Halloran says it’s go-time soon. Get him prepared and ready for transport.” Erebos grinned at the Dominion soldiers, who regarded him with both fear and hesitant readiness. Oh, Dominion. His ‘enemy’. As long as they paid well and kept their end of the bargain, he could care less what they were to him.

He was overjoyed when that scum finally departed with his orders. Such depravity...the Admiral did not enjoy it. Halloran’s eyes drifted skywards as he noticed something tumbling towards them through space. It was common for debris to strike the surface. The atmospheric dome was heavily shielded for such a reason, to protect the colony from annihilation. This, however, was different. The velocity of the object in question was too concise and controlled to be some random space debris. It looked like an escape pod of some sort. The Admiral watched as whatever it was crashed into the surface, just outside the gates of New Armstrong. It had to have been Blood. None of the other ships in orbit would have sent out an escape pod, instead of just docking. Seems the pirate did have a bit of strategy in mind. The Admiral would have preferred to just shoot his ship out of the sky, but it’d be the safest place for Alister to keep McLaughlin’s little prize, and without knowing where Daniella was, he had to abstain from such action. He would have his prize, and his vengeance, soon enough. When Alister’s forces breached the gate and began their attack on New Armstrong, he merely smirked. There was much distance between the edges of the city and where Halloran stood. In one short hour, the King of Pirates would hang for his crimes. And Alister Blood would bring Halloran, and Erebos, exactly what they wanted. A day of victory, indeed.

[Yasha_Glory]

I'm miss autonomy, miss nowhere, I'm at the bottom of me
Miss androgyny, miss don't care, What I've done to me
¤Company: Sleeping Karl ¤Condition: 99% ¤Location: Persephone's Medical Bay
I am misused, I don't wanna do, Be not your slave
Misguided, I mind it, I'm missin' the train

It wasn’t long before word spread about a milky white dame roaming the halls and inhabiting the medical bay in place of the monstrous creature. It was rumored that the Skeleton Harvester was still on board, but at this point only a handful of people had laid eyes on it. Whether or not the stories were true, there was a new body on the Persephone that more than a couple of crewmates wanted to warm their beds at night, not that she’d oblige. In fact, the woman never seemed to venture to the front of the ship or join the rest of the crew for meals. With a figure like hers, many began to wonder if skipping meals was how she stayed so thin. One of the ship’s newest members, an older gentleman, even brought it upon himself to try and entice the woman with a nice hot meal, to which she of course turned down. Despite her cold gaze and urging for him to go elsewhere, the man seemed unafraid of the mysterious woman. The two exchanged words for a couple of minutes before he was actually allowed inside the medical bay and disappeared for a number of hours. Word of mouth mentioned the sounds of a broadcast coming from the bay, a soap opera perhaps, not that pirates watched such things. During this time there was a visit from the ever promiscuous informant, though she seemed to escape whatever horrible clutches a lot quicker than the older man who did not return to the kitchen until sometime later. Neither seemed eager to discuss what had gone on in the room, and as the beautiful woman hadn’t left, it left many to wonder if something a little more fun had gone on underneath their noses.

Like she had done time and time again, the blonde scampered into whatever room the Skeleton Harvester was in and greeted her with that same innocent smile of hers, and for once in the two weeks she had been on the ship the monster would actually respond in a non-abrasive manner. ‘Go away’s and ‘get out’s were replaced with ‘good evenings’ and ‘how are you’s, albeit the beast would continue to work on whatever it was that occupying her hands, that didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t shooing the girl away. It was as though she enjoyed her company, even if she had accidentally impaled her on a pipe. There was still the apologetic look in the young girl’s face, but at the older woman’s urging, everything seemed to be fine if not better between the two. The woman had even decided to set up a game of sorts on the empty table that had once supported the now finished medical bot for the two to play whenever she visited the cyborg. It was simple, a bunch of metallic nuts poured on the slab in a single layer and the blonde was instructed to move one at a time across the table by concentrating. The number of ‘accident’s were piling up, so who better to teach than someone who had, had to blindly figure out her own abilities?

The woman had her fingers laced, her button nose resting atop them as she watched the girl try to gain any sort of control over her powers. Even if she managed to just toss the parts all across the well-organized room, it would show some clue towards the key to full discipline. As she did though, something seemed to be troubling the woman. Her mind was racing with thoughts, the static most likely bothering the girl as she was trying to move the pieces on the table. Try as they might, neither could really focus with the thoughts buzzing through the cyborg’s head. She apologized, the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. Something seemed to be bothering the girl as well, though both were reluctant to tell the other what was going on.

The blonde left and for a while, the cyborg assumed that was the end of it, going back to triple checking Sara’s newly updated programming and processing units. As she sat in the medical bay’s rolling chair, crossing one supple leg over the other in her newest ensemble, she scanned over the robot’s screen, reading line after line of coding with ease. In her arms was her favorite flesh colored coat, a large hole still in its back and downy stuffing starting to spill out of the raggedy edges. She pulled out a fine needle and began making stitches so delicately minor in the fabric they seemed to fade into it and completely disappear as she went along. It was as though the material was being restored to its factory fresh appearance. It was a wonder how many times the coat had been brought back from the brink of existence in Róisín’s line of work. As Róisín snipped the last bit of loose string, the medical bay’s doors slid open with a characteristic hiss and a small bit of paper hopped inside, sliding across the floor as though someone had thrown it in and ran. The slender woman’s eyebrow forked as she set her coat on the back of her chair and rose to inspect the note, bending her knees to pick it up as she was in a pencil skirt with a rather high asymmetrical cut. The handwriting was neat, though a little bubbly, and each ‘I’ was adorned with a tiny floating heart hovering high above the text, a symbol of an imaginative dreamer.
Róisín,

I’d like to thank you for all your help...Especially your help in getting a better grip on my telekinesis. It will come in handy, I’m sure of it.
I’ve left this ship on my own accord. I have my own plans for the time being, and I don’t wish to put anyone but my own self in harm’s way. Responsibility, or something of the like I suppose.

Tell Karl goodbye for me, please.
I hope someday I’ll come across the two of you again.

Until next time,
Daniella
The woman turned the paper a couple of times in her hands, inspecting either side as though she were expecting to find something else written, or perhaps a clue that would indicate it was forged. When she found nothing of the sort, she simply turned back around to her seat and set the note on the counter for her fish companion to read whenever he awoke. It was back to reading for the classy lady, as she wanted to be sure there wouldn’t be a deadly error in her robot’s reasoning. Even when a frantic woman stormed into the medical bay yelling something about there being a meeting with the captain, the woman did not falter. In fact, she remained in the room during the entire briefing, her anger brewing beneath the calm exterior. She wasn’t going to have any part in this suicidal mission of stupidity, certainly not for the captain who had done the exact opposite of what he had promised. At least he was honest when he said he couldn’t be trusted. The woman would give him that much and resist her urge to take out her tension on the man’s scar ridden skin. The few times she had been close to him, she had been able to pick up the faint scent of cigarette smoke. It was undoubtable that his lungs were at least a little seasoned with tar, and his years as a pirate would have given him a much gamier taste, perhaps some undiagnosed problems rising to the surface after a good bite or two. Each person was different, but poor life choices made them so much more delectable to her sensitive pallet. Even instantaneous things, like flooding their body with fear, could make them a better meal to the woman. But before she ate the captain, she needed to take down a couple others. There was the man Daniella had asked her to eat and the woman who was still standing in the way of her last escapee. What wondrous serendipity that the two were now connected to one another. With all the blades and barrels ready to end her life at the slightest indication that she was going to hurt someone on the ship, it wasn’t going to be a simple act of waiting for them to go to sleep and picking them off. The captain and crew would notice they were gone immediately and something told the Skeleton Harvester that they would not be as forgiving as they had been when she killed the ship’s surgeon. No if her theory was correct, this would be a lot harder than initial purposed. Then there was the odd change in Daniella’s behavior and tone of voice. Had Róisín not been a dedicated audience member, she might’ve not caught such tiny details. Yes there was still that child-like cuteness to the blonde, but something went a little skewed in the cold storage; something that Róisín was all too familiar with in her learned apathy.

” Noooooow you say you're loneeeeely. Yooou cried the looong niiight throoooough. Well, you can crrrrrrry me a riverrrrrr, crrrry me a riverrr. IIIIIIIII cried a riverrr… over yooooooooou…”
As the rest of the ship grew quiet from its members emptying out to the cold hard rock below, the medical bay grew abundant with hauntingly beautiful notes of deep bass rifts and quick interjections of piano keys. The sweet duet of two female voices, which seemed to understand their lyrics enough to put an extra amount of feeling to their words, echoed through the empty halls. One was louder than the other, carrying a bit farther than the jazzy music and indicating that it was the voice of someone currently singing within the Persephone’s walls. ”Noooooow yoooooou say you're sorry, foooor being sooo uuuuuntrue… Weeeeell, you can crrry me a riverrrrr, crrrry me a riverr. IIII criiiiied, a river over you… Yoooou drove me, nearly drove me, ouuut of my heeead, while yoooooou never sheeeeeeed a teeeeeear. Remember, I remember, aaaaall that you saaaaaaid, you told me love was too plebeian. Told me you were through with meeeeeee and nooooow yoooou say, you say you love me… Well, just to prove yooooou doooo--Ow!” The woman looked down at the robot currently hacking away at her forearm with a pair of sharp tools. The machine retracted; a few whirrs and buzzes indicating that it was recalibrating itself. A simulated voice chimed out, ”Would You Like Some Medication For The Pain?” The woman’s stoic face stared at the bot before calmly replying, ”No.” The bot went back to its task, although it was obviously going at a slower and lighter pace, responding to the notion of discomfort. While the woman wasn’t actually in much pain, having developed a higher tolerance for it, she did need to make sure the robot was able to differentiate speech from actual outbursts of agony and make the proper adjustments. One of the robot’s arms plucked out a tiny microchip from the woman’s forearm and the other began suturing the wound with the precision of a GenEx surgeon. The woman took the chip from the machine’s clutches and placed it in jar on the counter behind her, settling back into the chair and humming in tune to the music slithering out of the rhinestone ridden headphones draped about her neck as she waited for the robot to complete its job. She’d have to take the stitches out right afterwards, but she needed to check how well the tiny robot parts could mimic actual human hands. It was traditional for her to test out her inventions on herself before releasing them to the general public, why should it be any different aboard a pirate ship?

And I don't know where I've been, And I don't know what I'm into, And I don't know what I've done to me
And as I watch you disappear into the ground, My one mistake was that I never let you down
So I'll waste my time and I'll burn my mind, On miss nothing, miss everything

[Sir Dietary Supplement]

Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｉａｎ Ａｄａｍ Ｂｅｒｎｅｔxxxxxxthe heir to GenEx


xxxxxxxweep » for yourself, my man,
xxxxxxxxx☎ You'll never be what is in your heart
xx■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
♔ x x WEEP LITTLE LION MAN
xxxxxxxxxxxxYou're not as brave as you were at the start
xx↷ *)Rate yourself and rake yourself
xxxx ● ● Tak ⊹ e all the courage you have left
xxxxxxxxxxxxxWasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head


████████████████████████████████████████████████████████



➤ new armstrongxx➤ alister, low teamxx➤ motivated


Things had seemed good, Christian had finally seemed to understand why he was willing to do so much for Daniella. Even if Alister had to be the one to spell it out for him. It only added to his motivation for getting Daniella somewhere safe, so he could go back and end programs at GenEx. Try to make his father see the wrong he had done by funding the programs in the first place. However, it seemed that those little times of happiness were always ended shortly on this journey. Dani had left and all he had was a note. To explain her actions. To explain why she had just left with Nova. On a mission that seemed like suicide.

Christian,

I’m afraid this is goodbye. It pains me to write it, or to think it, but it is true.
You have given me more happiness than I could have ever dreamed of.
So selfless, you helped me escape, and gave me a chance at having a life...But we both know a normal life will never be in the cards for me.

I want you safe.
I want you to go back home. Take your father’s place, and shut down the GenEx experimentation program. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and a good heart in your chest. Rid the company of all the corruption and evil. Those experiments are people, Christian. Helpless people, and you know it.
Either free them, or put them out of their misery if they can’t be helped. You’re the only person who can make that happen, I’m afraid.

Maybe sometime our paths will cross again. Hopefully without any death or destruction.
But whatever way this ends for me, I hope you will keep going.
This plan is foolish. I know it.
But it might be a last ditch opportunity for me to do something right. To help someone besides myself. I think it will be worth it, whatever the outcome.

Don’t give up on me.

Love,
Dani

He didn't get a goodbye. Nothing else. Just a note saying that she was going on a mission that could very well lead to her capture or even her death. They had been going to save Tiberius together. Why make it such a hard mission with Nova. He felt slightly betrayed by it all. He could of sworn he felt himself shatter. Just a tiny bit.

At first he didn't even leave his own room. Just flying through emotions. Anger, sadness, even a tinge of jealousy that she set out with Nova. He was a mess and anyone could tell that much. After a bit he retreated to where they did shooting practice. Spending hours in there just working on his own skills. Maybe it was silent motivation, but he was improving quickly given the fact he was going to go out on the mission to save Dani this time around. He could care less about some pirate king, Dani was putting herself in harms way and he had to find her before anything happened. If something did happen, it would tear him apart even more.

If anyone had tried to talk to him, they were ignored. He didn't want to hear it. That they would get her back, that it would be fine in the end. They couldn't know that for sure. He couldn't shake the bad feeling from his stomach either. This wouldn't go according to plan, something was going to happen and it wasn't going to be good either. He couldn't shake the feeling, no matter how much he tried. He just focused on other things to keep his mind from wrapping up into itself. To keep it settling on being depressed that Dani had just left, to keep it from thinking that she could already be dead.

He did his best not to think about that.

Rather focused on his own skills, on just making himself numb to everything that was going on. He didn't want to ruin things by letting his own emotions run amok, to control him when he needed to be there mentally. To take orders and not screw everything up. Even if it meant turning it all off for the time being.

For the sake of not screwing everything up he had to.

It was soon that they arrived at New Armstrong. Christian was geared, wearing borrowed armor as he wanted to be on the low team. It would give him a higher chance of running to Dani, of saving her if anything bad should happen. He couldn't lose her. He had come too far for her to die on some mission for a man that she didn't even know. Even if Alister said the team was there to save Tiberius it was clear to anyone that Christian was more focused on saving Daniella than anyone else. No doubt put himself in harms way to do it, even if Alister had just told him not to. He wouldn't be able to help you. Love always made people do stupid things after all.

Christian let out a heavy breath to himself. This entire thing was getting out of control. He thought it would of been simple to get Dani somewhere safe. For her to not have to worry about being used like some sort of weapon. It was a mess now, he was standing against the Dominion. The very thing he was going to be a part of once his father stepped down. He was standing against his own father, fighting people who had once defended him. It was like nothing made sense anymore. It was just a big mess. He was just trying to make sense of it, it was hard though. Dani made it so clear and now she had run off. He just needed to know she was safe. He needed to finish it. To see her safe, it was a promise he had made her, one that he wanted to see through to the very end. Even if she wanted him to go home, he couldn't yet.

He still wouldn't be able to promise that his own emotions wouldn't run away with themselves. It was hard to say what would happen once he got down there. He couldn't find himself to focus on saving Tiberius. Alister would know that, but the man didn't seem keen on stopping him. Maybe knew that he wouldn't be able to. That Christian was dead set on saving Daniella.

Once they reached the ground. He would be off, following his own heart, instead of Alister.

[Lysander the Poet]

”You all might want to hold on tight.”

That short sentence about summed up the entire experience as the pod jetted itself through space. The ride was quite smooth, considering the moon didn’t have an atmosphere, therefore making the approach an easy one. The pod relied on its own propulsion systems to slow itself just enough that it wouldn’t kill all passengers upon impact. Alister looked around at the mixture of crew members and ‘guests’, smirking with anticipation. This was going to be a good ********’ day. The escape pod slammed into the lunar surface, the interior violently rumbling as they came to a most immediate stop. As the ‘dust settled’, the lights flickered for a few moments, until everything in the pod stabilized. ”Alright everyone, helmets on. Check oxygen levels, grab your s**t, and let’s go. Kenway, get the charges ready...we’re going to blow main gates of the dome. The outer ring of the dome will contain the atmosphere within the dome’s inner shielding, but we’ll have an almost non-existent window to get through the outer ring and into the city before the blast doors lock the whole thing down, and the city goes into containment mode. One we get in, high team will take to the roof tops. Alexei, Elisia, you two are in charge up there. Low team will disperse from the main street into the side streets, clearing street by street until we reach the plaza. High team will supply covering fire, and we’ll coordinate over comms. Everyone should have their HUDs active, transponder signals should give you positions. Don’t leave your squadmates behind, and don’t get ahead of the other team. We’re in this together people. Time is of the essence...we’re here to save a life. Try not to cause civilian casualties.”

Even behind their helmets, Alister knew that not everyone was as confident in this mission as they could be. Even he had doubts that it would go off without a hitch, and he definitely felt that there was a hole left by Nova’s absence on the team. As his eyes set on Christian, he remarked how...ready the boy seemed. But he knew that Christian had an ulterior motive to their mission. He opened up a private channel, muting the outer speakers, only speaking to Alexei, Rhia, and Christian. ”Alright, you three. We may be here to save Tiberius, but we can’t leave without finding Daniella. If you see any trace of her whatsoever, break off from the group. I can’t spare anyone else, but I know you can handle it. I have faith in you. Try to find Nova as well...just to make sure they’re both safe. With any luck, we’ll save Tiberius, and bring Dani home.” Home. That’s what Persephone had been to him for so long...and now he had so many others that were a part of his little family. Losing Daniella...was like losing his little sister all over again. And he knew how it must have felt for Christian. ”Good luck.” He checked his gear once more, and after double checking that everyone was ready, he opened the escape pod doors, and stared out into the deep black of space, underlined by the grey, cratered surface of the moon. He stepped out of the pod, and drifted to the ground, planting his footprints in the dust. Motioning back to the others, they proceeded to join him on the surface, Kenway hefting a reasonably large pack of explosives. Not far from their current position, the great dome of New Armstrong could be seen, along with a massive set of doors, and a guard outpost.

Alister tugged the sniper rifle from his back, peering through the scope towards the outpost, counting the number of soldiers in his head. Twelve. The odds weren’t bad at all, for now. ”Alright everyone, we’re gonna clear this out at a distance. Mark your target on your HUD, and fire on my mark.” Those with long range weapons would take aim, and Alister grinned, finger ready to pull the trigger. ”Mark.” The twelve guards visible at the outpost dropped in unison. With another hand signal, Alister began moving up with the group, until they reached the gate. The motion tracker on his HUD indicated additional enemy presence as they grew near. ”Alright, high team, take our new friends and show them to the gates of Hell. Low team, cover Kenway so he can blow the gates.” While the high team engaged the enemy force, Alister, Kenway, and the rest of the low team proceeded to the large doors leading into the dome. Kenway pulled the explosives out of his bag, and started setting them along the base of the door. The explosives would effectively rupture the metal of the door, disable the power, and then blow that baby apart. It would take him a few minutes to set them all up, and Alister kept an eye on the outpost and surrounding areas, watching for anyone that could possibly make it by the high team.

”Captain, charges are set.” Alister nodded at Kenway, before radioing to the high team. ”Wrap it up and meet us at the door. It’s time for us to knock.” Once the teams mustered up again, Alister gave the go ahead. While the entire event lacked the reassuring sound of distraction, the metal of the door first began to buckle and bend, before it almost literally shattered into chunks of metal, catapulting through the empty air. Their window, as Alister had said, was short, as the crew rushed through the shielding of the dome, alarms sounding, blast doors sliding closed behind them as they flowed into the outskirts of New Armstrong. It was from here that the two teams would part from each other, and each team splitting into smaller squad to press their way towards the center of the city. It was a long push, with all manner of soldiers, mechs, and genetically engineered disasters lying in wake. It would be a miracle if everyone made it out alive.

---

McLaughlin was an intelligent man. Smart enough to know that Halloran was so obsessed with his own vengeance against Blood, and sending a message with the death of Tiberius Pierce, that he would find any excuse to push Daniella’s rescue to the wayside. She needed to come back to GenEx, where he could care for her, and nuture her, as she deserved. His contingency plan was in place, as he watched from his secure location as Alister Blood’s ship came into orbit, and eventually began their attack. With most of the pirate’s forces on the ground, it would be the perfect opportunity to go for the girl. Alister couldn’t have been dumb enough to allow her to join their little suicide mission. She would be tucked away aboard his ship. A small shuttle, filled to the brim with private GenEx soldiers, with some fun little modifications, and a squadron of Cyberteknik’s best hunter-killer mechs, drifted to the Persephone. With a little bit of ingenuity, the soldiers used the empty escape pod dock to access the ship, working their way through the airlock, which opened with little hassle. A nearby ship had transmitted a signal that Persephone had picked up, and it was slowly worming its way into the ship’s less vital systems, shifting the ship into survival mode. The change was so gradual, shifting the ship’s processes, that the AI aboard barely seemed to notice, as it subtly tricked her into thinking it was her doing. Another little gift from Cyberteknik. The troops had entered the ship, and began to systematically sweep from deck to deck, checking each and every room. They were split into several teams, following a precise set of orders: Find Daniella Pearson, and bring her back alive. Kill anyone else. Then destroy the ship. Several Coalition dreadnaughts had already received the encoded orders, the priority so high that it even outranked Admiral Halloran. They had no choice but to turn their guns on the ship in preparation to fulfill the orders, merely awaiting the signal.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Health: 43% - Stab wound in hand, broken nose, diagonal chest wound.

Location: Outer section of New Armstrong, Ground Level

Company: Rhia, Kenway, Christian, other members of low team.

Music: Suicide Mission - Mass Effect 2 OST

OOC:

[chibichick27]

Ʌℓεxεɪ Ϩαηʈɵɢɵℓ∂

"I need a FIX 'cuz I'm going down."

outfit // Rescuing Tiberius
stamina // 76% - anxious, upset, confused, alarmed
addiction status // satisfied (adrenaline rush from fighting)

Though traces of Alexei’s happiness from her time spent with Alister still lingered in her mind, they were overshadowed by that cold feeling that preceded any battle. To make matters worse, Nova and Daniella had gone off to New Armstrong on their own. Right when she had pledged to make it all better with the blonde, and take up the mantle of her bodyguard once again, something had once again wedged itself between them. Even the letter, which Alexei kept close in her breast pocket, was not enough to give her closure.

Alexei,

I know I left while we were on less than pleasant terms...Honestly, I am not exactly thrilled about what happened, but I have chosen to forgive you as well as Christian. I know it was a mistake. I apologize for not saying this in person, but time was of the essence and I had to leave quickly. It was a rather sudden decision, but I believe it will be for the best.

If things go well, I promise I will do good on my word. I will help you find Zeus, even if your intentions for that journey have changed.

See you,
Dani.

Oh Daniella. It wasn’t for the best. Not at all, Alexei thought as she was reminded of the contents. Things wouldn’t go well with her on her own, even if Nova was there to protect her. Daniella had been training, but she’d heard of the incident with Róisín and to have something that dangerous happen without her even remembering it didn’t bode well. Perhaps she’d end up snapping Nova’s neck by accident, or her own. It filled Alexei with anxiety, and while she was glad she could feel so much about another person, she hated it and really wanted something to take her mind off of things. She must have had the look on her face, though, because Rhia gave her a glance that made her stop immediately. The woman wasn’t skimping on her promise, that was for sure. Alexei listened to Alister talk, equipping her helmet as ordered and zipping up her armored bodysuit. Kenway sat next to her, and they exchanged a few glances as their captain spoke. He gave her the apologetic smile, which made the raven-haired woman feel bad, as she believed herself to be the one at fault. When the time came to leave the pod and head towards the dome, Alister spoke of Daniella and Nova to her, Christian, and Rhia. ”With any luck, we’ll save Tiberius, and bring Dani home.” Home. Alexei smiled. It was nice that she could call it that, too. Though it did make her miss Mars terribly, and her family. Perhaps after the mission was over, she’d call him.

Kenway set up the charges at the door as Alister confirmed the teams. Alexei did not like hearing that she would be part of the high team, leaving Christian, Kenway, Rhia, and Alister without her—a man she had sworn to protect for Daniella’s sake, a woman whom she owed a debt to, and two men who she…she didn’t know what, but she didn’t want to see them hurt. As Alister ordered other crew members to shoot down the guards at the outposts, Kenway snuck over to Alexei for a moment. ”Hey, so I’m supposed to be watching those bombs, but I figure I should say good luck to you,” he said with a grin. ”We’ll be fine down here. You’ve got Lissy, and she’s ********’ killer with her rifle, believe it or not. Just keep your eye on that Dommie. And…well, be safe.” Alexei nodded, giving a small smile back. ”I will. Don’t do anything too flashy,” she replied. They lingered a moment, and, Kenway unable to kiss her because of their helmets, opted to just squeeze her hand instead, warmly and tenderly, until Alister’s attention was on them again and he darted back to the charges, winking at her before he left. ”Alright, high team, take our new friends and take them to the gates of Hell,” Alister ordered, as enemy reinforcements showed up on everyone’s HUDs. Alexei didn’t have her on, because her eyesight gave her no need to track positions. She and Lissy turned, and they saw the soldiers climbing down the gates. Shock troops.

Alexei walked forward, activing her wrist crossbow and pulling out her SPK, taking out three men on the ropes with no sound echoing through the air. As Lissy, Marcus, and the other members of her team took care of the men who had made it to the ground, Alexei started running towards the rope, which one man had mistakenly tried to pull back up. She leapt forward and caught the edge of the dome with enough speed to run up to the rope and grab it. Before the Dominion soldier could cut it, she aimed her crossbow and shot him through the helmet—he went tumbling past her as she climbed up the rope and scurried onto the outpost ledge. She looked over the dome wall right as the charges blew, and saw what was waiting for them. ”O Νίκη , βόλτα άρμα σας στον αγώνα μας και να μας ευλογήσει με δάφνες σας για αυτή την ημέρα,”* Alexei whispered as she saw the fleet of soldiers, mechs and even monsters waiting for them all. She wasn’t entirely sure if their attack was supposed to be a surprise, but clearly Halloran knew of their coming. To see the monsters was the worst part. It reminded her of particularly gruesome contributions the Children of Olympus would make to Lethe to help with ‘interrogation.’ A woman, accused of selling cyanide-laced heroin to Olympian soldiers, had been turned into a harpy, her frame stretched and broken into a hideous thing with squashed feathers and a screech that could shatter glass. While Alexei didn’t see one of those, yet, she feared for the ground team.

She perceived a bullet in the distance and moved her head out of the way. Using her peripheral vision, the woman instead held out her crossbow and shot across the way, hitting a guard’s eye in the outpost across from them. He toppled over the wall. Lissy, Marcus and the others made their way up the rope, and the top half of New Armstrong was laid before them. When no one moved, it occurred to her that she was in charge, as Alister had said. She glanced at Lissy before speaking. ”Alright. We move quickly, quietly, and carefully. There’s enough noise down there to drown out our presence. We’re not the heavy hitters, though, so when we get to the plaza, we make sure Alis—Captain’s team is down there too.” ”We can provide cover fire for them too, if it gets too hot. And I’m noticing security drones, too, so if we can take out as many as possible it’ll really mess them up,” Lissy added with an excited giggle, her rifle (which seemed to be twice her size) strapped to her back.

Alexei nodded, and they took off. They went from rooftop to rooftop, Alexei’s body heat detection really coming in handy as she warned them of soldiers in cover. Two men on her team, Roderick and Zacharias, were particularly great at destroying said covers and slashing the men’s throats, so they couldn’t even call for help or make their presence known with noise. Lissy took care of the security drones, her anti-material rifle ripping through their titanium plating and frying their internal systems. Ella, another woman on their team, even threw a few grenades in ones that were falling, rattling the Dominion-addled ground with explosions. Alexei briefly wondered what Octavian was thinking of this, but she didn’t have time to seek his approval—though she did keep an eye on him, just in case. And Marcus seemed to be doing quite well on his own.

The beating of wings brought Alexei to attention as she saw something out of the corner of her eye—in the sky. As if her wicked memory had been brought to life, the sharp rattling of talons against her shoulder startled her. Ella screamed and shot at the creature as Alexei threw herself to the rooftop tile, rolling to look above her. It was a harpy—a man this time, his skin marbled between white and yellow, his teeth whittled into perfect sharpness, his eyes red and constantly crying, with sandpaper-skinned bird legs and claws where his normal limbs had once been. And on its back, two men. They were on them before Alexei could say anything. Roderick, his knives in between his fingers, punched at one charging at him. The knives buried themselves into the soldier’s shoulder, but he didn’t seem to mind and he punched Roderick right across the helmet, toppling the guy over.. Lissy struggled to shoot the harpy down as the other man leapt down onto Ella, who had been taken so aback by the monster that her reflexes had failed her. ”Awww dangit, Ella!” Lissy yelled, turning and smacking the man straight in the face with her rifle to get him off of the woman. Alexei charged forward at the man attacking Roderick, shooting him with the crossbow. The man paused and turned to look at the raven-haired woman. It was then that Alexei noticed he wasn’t wearing Dominion armor. And that he had a canister in his hand, complete with very specific slits at the top. ”BOMB!” Zacharias yelled, jerking backwards to find cover. But Alexei knew exactly what it was. ”That’s not a bomb,” she muttered as the non-Dominion man turned back to Roderick and charged at him, grabbing the man’s helmet. ”No! That’s not a bomb! Roderick, fall back! Fall back!” she yelled, grabbing the man by the back of the shirt and forcing him backwards. She twirled him around and fired the crossbow into the man’s helmet, cracking it and turning on his light. She saw him grin behind the helmet, say something into his communicator, and then, moments later, he began frothing at the mouth, and died in her balled-up fist.

Next to her, Roderick began screaming. The canister, still attached to his helmet, had cut into his oxygen supply. A sickly green gas floated around in his helmet. From his expression, he looked like he was experiencing the worst of Hades. He grabbed the edges of his helmet and began to force it off of it. She heard it begin to de-pressure. ”Stop it. Don’t do it, it’s not real! It’s in your head!” she yelled, but it was too late. The oxygen failed, and the exposure to the foreign air killed Roderick immediately. He slumped, and the green gas filtered out of the helmet and dissipated in the air. Lissy, turning around after shooting the harpy to death and throwing the second man off of the roof, squealed in surprise and sadness and rushed to him. ”What the hell was that? Poison?!” she asked. ”No,” Alexei said. ”It’s a weaponized hallucinogen. Small, concentrated amounts exposed directly to the eyes, mouth or nose will make you hallucinate your worst fears. You’ll either die of a heart attack, kill yourself to make it stop, or be paranoid for days after,” she explained. She knew this because she’d seen it in use many times before. Hell, she had used it herself a few times. Stomach twisting from unwanted anticipation, she dropped the man in her hand and bent down. Forcing the man’s boot off, she examined the ankle. The skeletal ferryman stared back at her.

That’s when she realized the shape of the ship floating above the plaza. It wasn’t the only ship, but in her mind, it was the most important. It had many levels, with balconies for atmospheric watchpoints. It was a deep blood-red, mixed with obsidian. A stain in the sky, and a warning to all.

The Charon.

Alexei opened up her comm channel, her heart heavy and her stomach squeezing with anxiety and screaming confusion. ”Captain,” she said, trying not to lose her composure over the radio. ”We were attacked by two men who weren’t Dominion. We lost Roderick. They—” The woman paused, glancing at the empty canister on the ground. ”Be careful. These soldiers have Nightmare. It’s a fear toxin, of sorts. It comes in a canister, and it can cut into your oxygen supply if they attach it.” The worst part was coming up. Looking away from the dead man at her feet, she took a long breath before continuing. ”It’s Lethe, Alister. The men were from Lethe. The Charon is here, above the plaza.” Lissy looked shocked; she didn’t know a lot about it, but she knew Alexei was technically still a part of them. ”I don’t know why they’re here, or why they’re helping the Dominion. But…stay alert.” Alexei turned towards the others and watched Ella take a pin, a memento, from Roderick’s armor. The raven-haired woman looked down at the battle below, and then up at the sky. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts. The tattoo, the one she shared with the dead man, began to hurt as it all sunk in.

*translation: O Nike, ride your chariot to our cause and bless us with your laurels this day. (Nike is the Goddess of Victory)




_____________________________________



I, too, saw God through mud —
The mud that cracked on cheeks when wretches smiled.
War brought more glory to their eyes than blood,
And gave their laughs more glee than shakes a child.
Merry it was to laugh there —
Where death becomes absurd and life absurder.
For power was on us as we slashed bones bare
Not to feel sickness or remorse of murder.


- "Apologia Pro Poemate Meo", Wilfred Owen


_____________________________________

[Sir Dietary Supplement]

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔XXX


gσ unnσtícєd lєt thє frєєdσm wαsh αwαч
lσsíng fσcus thє prєtєnsє ís sєcσnd nαturє
ít's α вrσkєn lífє thαt í clíng tσ trчíng tσ mαkє ríght
í fєєl dísmαч just líkє чσu dσ í fєєl dєcαчєd


чєs í sєє чσu surrσundєd вч thє hσpєlєss
whєn thєч nєєd чσu чσu'rє much tσσ gσσd αnd вlσαtєd
вч thє hσpєlєss lífє thαt чσu clíng tσ trч tσ mαkє ríght
í fєєl dísdαín just líkє чσu dσ í fєєl dєcαчєd
maya - #872657 || marcus - #27408B


Everyone seemed to make a big deal out of little things, like Will being on board. Maya would keep an eye on him, he would be good for information and he knew the favor would be returned should he make a tempting offer. Though it mostly seemed to have to deal with that Daniella girl. Maya had heard about her, she was wanted by GenEx, for matters that Maya didn’t really know. Either way, she seemed to have Alister wrapped around her pretty little finger. Maya had to give her props, she didn’t even seem to use sex as a weapon. Rather had some other trick up her sleeve, she would have to learn a few things on this Daniella girl. Figure out why she was so important for GenEx. It seemed they were helming this whole thing, the reason why Alister had such a large target painted on his back. She had to be special and she wanted to know why. Those things would come later.

She was just happy she had time to get her things before they left on a possible suicide mission to save the infamous Tiberius Pierce. Honestly, the whole matter left that sour feeling in Maya’s gut. She was good with information, but it was too easy to get a hold of where Pierce was to be killed, the time, the entire thing. It seemed too good to be true, even so. Her warning fell on deaf ears, even Marcus seemed in on saving Pierce. Something about a code. He had to at least try to help.

Maya was leaving herself out of it. She was neutral, if she took sides it would screw up her entire persona. If someone were to find out she tried to aid in the rescue of Pierce. She would stop getting clients from the Dominion and they always paid well. She had to keep her stance neutral. Which was why she agreed to keep an eye on the one prisoner that was sticking back. Jin or whoever, the young man that seemed to freeze up whenever a strong woman appeared in the room and tried to talk to him.

Honestly, it was fun to mess with the poor kid.

Than it happened, and it seemed to have thrown the ship into a small uproar, or at least caused a lot of emotional damage. Nova and Daniella were dumb enough to try to out on their own to rescue Pierce. She doubted that if it was solely Nova, her departure wouldn’t of left so much strain. It seemed about Daniella. The rich kid folded into himself, Alister seemed suddenly more serious, along with the others. She also seemed to have left letter for everyone, excluding Maya and Marcus as they never really had a face to face conversation or had a chance to do any bonding. Her leaving didn’t really bother Maya.

People were soon gone, the ship was left with only a few on board. Maya, Jin, and Roisin. Whom Maya had taken a liking too, if only for the killer body the woman rocked. It seemed Roisin liked Marcus a lot more the two shared a love for the same soap opera. They also gossiped like a pair of school girls, she would be surprised if she walked in on them having manis, pedis, and martinis one day. Still, the ship was quiet and Maya doubted much would happen. So he was taking the moment to hop in the shower after working out for a bit.

She didn’t even hear any noises that would make her think the ship had been breached. Percy gave no signals that they were, the ship was just quiet. At least fairly quiet, so she didn’t think of having her own guard up at all. It wasn’t until she stepped out her own shower, still drying her hair did she see the two soldiers in her room. There was a brief moment where they were all frozen. Maya just surprised, while the men were very obviously staring at her naked form.

Take advantage of the moment. Her two handguns were on the bed with her outfit. Just past one of the soldiers. Maya smirked to herself. ”Gentleman, I was aware we were having guests. I would have dressed a bit better if I knew,” she sheepishly said, her hand bunching up the damp towel. She tossed it at the soldier who stood closest it to the bed, distracting him just long enough for her to dive towards the bed. It seemed this is when the two soldiers also finally came back to their senses.

Maya grabbed one of his pistols and quickly fired off two shots as the soldiers raised their rifles to fire at her. A sigh left her lips and Maya fell back for a moment, bracing herself against the bed. Soldiers on the ship, her gunshots would grab attention as well. If the ship was being attacked. She had been right. It was a set up. Attacks on two fronts. No warnings were being triggered either. Something or someone was hacking the system. Maya shook her head.

”Never have it easy,” she muttered to herself and stood up. She glanced towards the mirror, noticing she had gained a bit of blood splatter on herself. And I just took a god damn shower, honestly its like they don’t even care about anyone but themselves,” wiping herself. Maya dressed in her armor rather than casual clothing. She would run into more. Holstering the pistols onto her thighs, she slid several knives into their places on her armo. Walking over to the dead soldiers she grabbed one of their rifles. Looks like it was time to have a bit of fun and find the others on the ship. Best to stick together.

A HUD monitor in Maya’s helmet gave her all the readings she needed. Showing her what was outside and also locked onto head signatures so she could keep an eye on where people were if they were it the scanners radius. Outside her room she could already see three more soldiers react to the noise and mostly likely the dead signal from their comrades, heading her way. Well armed as well. She was also getting a reading from a mecha unit. [********, they aren’t playing around on this,”
she muttered. Glancing back at the soldiers, the insinga they wore was of GenEx’s private units. Which meant this group was problem on a single mission to obtain Daniella.

That girl was important, Maya had to figure out why. Whenever she looked she only got covers. Falsified information that she had just done something to burn someone higher up in the company. Something like that didn’t explain why they sent a private force to obtain her. Still Maya had to focus. Find whoever was still on the ship. Sticking together would be for the best. She knew Jin was a pilot, if something was hacking the system. They might have to manually override Percy, Jin could do that.

It was time for her to move, she didn’t want to trap herself into a corner. Time to focus on keeping herself alive. She would rather take on a few trained soldiers then a mech unit. She turned down the hall towards the three soldiers. These ones were more on edge and must of caught her own approach. The first shots bounced off a walk next to Maya, she took cover around a corner.

”Come on out, we’ll make it quick for you,” one of them taunted.

Three against one, but it was cramped corners. Close range was what she was good at. She dropped the rifle and drew two durasteel daggers. Use the tight space and her own knowledge of the ship to her advantage. Maya let out a steady breath, she had to take her moment. They were moving up on her. Dropping low, Maya waited a moment until they were closer. She was quick to spin herself around the corner, stabbing a blade into the ribcage of the closest soldier. Using him as shield as his buddies fired their weapons. Ripping the blade out, Maya spun around to get behind the soldiers. Quickly stabbing them in the backs and ripping her blades up to make short work of them. There was more attention drawn to her.

She needed to find the others. Her HUD wasn’t picking up any familiar signatures, no one was close. Sliding the blades back onto her back, Maya was quick to move away from the remains of the fight. Doing her best to dodge any soldiers. ”Locate someone damn it,” she growled to herself.

"Outnumbered with all sorts of nasty things lurking about. Just my luck, Marcus is right. Alister is trouble," she could almost hear Marcus saying I told you so. Taunting the fact that she had placed herself in another dangerous position for payday. One where she didn't even have the whole story. Once this was all over. she was out. Back to sitting in some bar and giving information from here. Somewhere safe.

She just had to get out of this alive first.

{[ and woo posts! ]}


sσ fínd mє α wαч tσ lєαvє thís wαstєd lífє вєhínd mє
fínd mє α wαч tσ lєαvє thís wαstєd lífє вєhínd mє αftєr αll

[The Smut Peddler]

ⓒⓞⓜⓜⓐⓝⓓⓔⓡ ⓝⓞⓥⓐ ⓥⓔⓖⓐⓢ

╰☆╮░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░╭☆╯

╭☆╯░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░╰☆╮

❝As long as a word remains unspoken, you are it's master...❞

╔══════════════════════════════╗


I am strong, love is evil
It's a version of perversion that is only for the lucky people
Take your time and do with me what you will
I won't mind, you know I'm ill, you know I'm ill



╚══════════════════════════════╝

The detainment cell was dark, the only light coming from a slitted opening on the door which allowed the guards to hear into the small holding block. A woman in her mid forties had just left the cell as she had buff over some of the more serious injuries Tiberius has sustained during his time being tortured. It didn't look good on the Coalition to have caught an illusive pirate that looked like he was sickly and dying. It would just make them look incompetent. So he had an appearance that was 'roughed up severely' while still looking like he could have been behind the gruesome attacks they'd blame him and his kind for. It was unusual as Ti had little to say. So uncharacteristic of the usually rather mouthy captain. He understood the gravity of everything before him that day. Halloran was giving his body over for autopsy after the execution, which meant that now GenEx would have their little matching set of extra terrestrials they'd wanted. Even if for nothing more that to be a novelty taxidermy for their museums.

Tiberius would think on the young girl he was leaving behind and his heart became heavy. Though he'd tried for so many years to believe that she would never hold the place in his heart that his first love had, he could not deny that it pained him so to leave her behind. He loved her. Simple as that. She would never replace what he'd lost, but she had touched a part of his heart that he didn't know was missing anything. In those final moments, there were many regrets, many things he'd have done differently, and many things he'd wished he'd have said. The door opened and two goons held guns at him as a pair of red dots danced around his forehead.

"It's time." With that the man sighed heavily and stood. As he headed out of the cell his tail, usually whipping around and flicking about now drug lifelessly behind him. A reminder of his last attempt of escape and how well that went. His tail had been broken at its base and now was left completely destroyed. He headed out with his hands on the back of his head as he walked carefully to the plaza. He stood tall and proud as he lowered his hands as the final preparations were made. He showed no fear as he glanced over at a Dominion goon that was sneering at him in disgust. His appearance was appalling to the man and he made no effort at keeping that quiet. Captain Pierce smirked as he glanced over at the younger man that was bursting with muscles everywhere and he'd scoff. "I would give you some insight on myself, but unfortunately, It's all classified. In other words, everything about me is above yours, and Halloran's paygrade..."

---

Nova carefully guarded the hallway as Dani dressed, she scanned channels getting little useful information. She would reach into her pocket and pull out the gate key she'd taken from Octavian's things. She turned to Dani and smiled.

Well, can I pass for 'Fleet Captain Octavian White' or what? She would think to Dani, completely silent as she returned the key card back into her pocket. Perhaps we should leave it to them to assume you're Jin too. Judging by Octavian's status I'm thinking most Dominion goons aren't going to question much.

Nova looked over the passage they'd be heading to next to reach the holding cell Tiberius was assumed to be kept in. Ready? We don't have a lot of time...

Daniella adjusted her new outfit and checked her weapons before glancing to Nova. "I'll say you can. Though admittedly, you're much prettier." She grinned and moved closer to her companion. "If people think I am Jin, that's fine. I just won't say much. But I think you're right, as long as we don't run around putting bullet holes in the walls I don't think people will notice since we are dressed like this..."
Dani followed Nova's gaze. "Ready. I'll keep a lookout and warn you when there are people approaching. Let's get going."

Nova smiled back And Jin has nothing on you either. She'd chuckle inwardly before nodding and heading forward. This time was best spent memorizing the layout, Nova scanned the area and put to memory anything that appeared noteworthy. The place was swarming with soldiers, mechs, and things she'd thought lived solely in her nightmares. She swallowed hard her concerns and stood tall, if she was to impersonate Octavian, she'd have to have a bit more easiness in the situation. She passed a soldier and slid the card at an access point and was granted access. Continuing in she looked about the area where she was certain they would have her captain detained. That was of course, right before an alarm went off on the radio channel and addressed that New Armstrong had been breached by pirates. But looking around, it appeared as though this was old news. There was action being taken, but not nearly as much as one would imagine there should have been for a surprise attack. There should have been some readiness for a standoff, but this was downplayed, almost too downplayed.

Dammit, that has to be Captain Blood and the rest of the crew. But something's off Dani, I get the feeling they were prepared for this. Anything you can pick up on? Nova was starting to get a nervous, the feeling that they were way over their head was starting to sink in. This mission. There was just no way. Everything about it, felt off.

Daniella frowned as the alarm went off, but kept composure alongside Nova. "You're right. It is Blood...Idiots. It seems Halloran was expecting Blood to make some sort of move on Tiberius...They don't stand a chance, they're highly outnumbered and out-armed from what I can tell..." Dani frowned, keeping her gaze straight ahead. "This isn't good."

Those damn idiots. They'd come anyway. Part of Daniella had expected it, but a greater part of her hoped that Blood would turn his ship around and flee instead of diving headfirst into the chaos.
The pair continued down the hall, and Daniella watched as Nova slid her stolen access card through another lock. They were getting close to where Tiberius was being held...But wait.
"Stop." Daniella said to Nova, Ti's holding cell still a ways down the hall. "He's not in there. No one is." Daniella urged, looking around. They must have just missed him...She sighed. This just got ten times more difficult. "My guess is Blood's arrival pushed up the time of the execution. We need to get the plaza, and fast."

Nova's felt the stakes rise as Dani confirmed that it was Blood and his crew. This was going to turn into a slaughterhouse, and fast if they didn't do something. Nova made a hiss like growl of displeasure before responding back. No, it's not good at all. And I'm afraid their going to continue pushing forward until they find you, and confirm that you're safe... I am not the kind of person to force you back, you are quite capable of being the decider of your own future. And I know the crew all come off overbearing, but they care. All of them. All of us, really. You're a part of the full package deal. It wont be easy to shake them, that I can assure you.

As Dani told Nova to stop she did, frozen like a statue until she heard the details of the request. Nova's head slumped a little as she learned that Ti was not inside of the cell and she shook her head. She look towards the next pathway that would lead them back outside and towards the plaza, nodding over to Dani. Well, let's get to the plaza then. Let's just hope it's about as casual as it looks in here.

Nova knew it was not going to be walk in the park, if the Dominion knew they were coming, and confident about it that meant that the Dominion had plenty of coverage and muscle for the execution. She lead the way down the long stretch and out, nearing the plaza, where she stopped and stared recalculating their next move. This place... is swarming with Dominion scum. s**t. I'm gonna have to hack and slash my way through just to get close. I'm guessing the mechs are going to be the real issue though. Keep an eye out for snipers and anyone holding some sizable guns. We're gonna need to 'borrow' a few more things from our little Dominion buddies to get any closer.

The thought of Alister and all of her other friends coming after her filled Daniella with guilt. She had already put them through enough, and yet they were still risking life and limb to come and get her back. Daniella gritted her teeth, hoping that at least Christian had enough sense to not follow suit...But with how things between them had been recently she wasn't sure. She lifted a hand, brushing her fingers against her lips as she reminisced on their little lip-lock. At least her first kiss had been a good one. The memory was happy, but the more she thought about it the more she hated herself for Christian even being around. He wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were. They were supposed to leave, that's what she told them to do...She asked Alister to take Christian home. Why couldn't he do that instead of coming after her? All Daniella brought to the table was chaos and heartache...and eventually...

Eventually someone would die at her hands. On accident. Someone she cared about. Impaling Róisín was one step away from accidentally breaking someone's neck, or pulling their arm off, or...who knows what else.
And just like everything else that had happened....This was all her fault.

Daniella followed Nova as they headed down another path towards the plaza. She kept her eyes peeled for anything that might compromise them, but came to a halt with Nova as she reassessed the situation. "There's Dominion scum disguised as civilians also...They're working the crowd, I can hear some of them, but unfortunately I can't tell how many there are in total. If we gun for the execution site they will know something is up, even with our current uniforms." Dani nodded slowly. "I'll keep a look out...But I must warn you, crowds like this are harder for me to keep control of. There's so many thoughts swimming around, it's not easy to pin-point things. It would be helpful for me if you stayed in range, and continued to talk to me so I have some sort of ground. Does that make sense?" She gave Nova a wary glance. She hadn't been in a crowd this large since Kessel...The crowds when she and Róisín were out and about were sizeable, but due to healthy distraction she was able to block it out. This would be no such endeavor though.

Nova nodded as she took in a deep breath stood tall. She couldn't see anything useful yet, so the best thing would be to press forward. You're absolutely right, they'll out us before we make it half way. And I'm not surprised they've planted soldiers in the crowd. They're confident, because they've got us. I guess this is the end of our little charade, just get as close as possible and then start tearing a way through, it's the only thing I can think of. I'll stay as close as I can Dani, and I wont stop communication. I know what it's like to be filled with distractions...

The fully armored pink haired woman strummed her hand over the rifle she now carried before turning to Dani. Well, let's rock then.

╔══════════════════════════════╗


So hit me like a man, love me like a woman
Bury me alive, I can see it in your eyes, you want it
Some will give you pain, some will give you pleasure
Hit me like a man, love me like a woman



╚══════════════════════════════╝

❝...once you utter it, you are it's slave.❞

xxxx┇ ✦ Luna // Just outside plaza

xxxx┇ ♢ 75%
xxxx┇ ✦ Uneasy // Scared // Worried
xxxx┇ ✦ Feuer Frei

[Sir Dietary Supplement]

Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｉａｎ Ａｄａｍ Ｂｅｒｎｅｔxxxxxxthe heir to GenEx


xxxxxxxweep » for yourself, my man,
xxxxxxxxx☎ You'll never be what is in your heart
xx■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
♔ x x WEEP LITTLE LION MAN
xxxxxxxxxxxxYou're not as brave as you were at the start
xx↷ *)Rate yourself and rake yourself
xxxx ● ● Tak ⊹ e all the courage you have left
xxxxxxxxxxxxxWasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head


████████████████████████████████████████████████████████



➤ new armstrongxx➤ erebosxx➤ pretty ******** up


Christian listened to Alister as best as he could. He knew the moment he got a chance that he would be off, trying to find Daniella. To bring her to safety, it was all he wanted to do. It would make him feel more at ease, knowing that she was out of harms way. He would breath easy once he knew that fact. It seemed Alister was on the same page as him, the separate message to only a select few. The message was simple, almost like Alister was giving Christian permission to go on his own foolish mission to bring Dani back. Home was an odd way of putting it, but at the same time he was sure this place was more of a home than anywhere else Daniella had been. It felt a small bit like home to Christian as well. He didn't have to worry about so much here, didn't have to worry about pleasing so many people and always making it look like he was perfect. It was a home in its own way to Christian. Though he still knew where his home was and he had to go back there eventually. So he could head up GenEx and start to change things from the inside.

Christian was ready to go. His mind clearly set on saving Daniella, he didn't even care if Tiberius lived or not at this point. He never met the man, didn't know much about him aside from what Alister, Nova, and a few others had said about the 'pirate king.' Even if his death would case a major stir and put sides on the brink of war, Christian sole focus was on Daniella. Hopefully, she hadn't done anything major to risk her own safety, to risk the chance of someone catching her. To return her to GenEx and their labs. He wouldn't let that happen, he couldn't let her go back there. Not after how far they both had come.

The explosions brought Christian back to reality and out of his own head. He had made his choice, and Alister probably knew this already. It was why he had giving out the message, giving Christian permission to do just what he was planning to do. He figured Alister wouldn't be very happy about it, but wouldn't be able to stop him with everything else that was going on. Christian would just take advantage of a gun fight and start down some side street and start his vain attempts at find Daniella. She would have to be near the execution area. Once they were in the city, Christian was quick to move away from Alister and the others on the low team. Taking advantage of the moment when a group of armed Dominion soldiers rushed at them. He had faith they would all be okay, they could take care of themselves after all.

No one seemed to have followed him either as he weaved through the back streets of New Armstrong and made his way to the center square where the whole execution was going down. It wouldn't go above his lucky to make sure that he had to face some sort of trouble on his way. A trio of Dominion soldiers blocked his path. They didn't show any signs of being private GenEx forces, if they were they probably would of tried to take Christian in peacefully, at least if they saw his face. Weapons were raised at him and for a moment Christian felt himself freeze in fear. He was outnumbered and undoubtedly out gunned. He was still a lousy shot from any ranged distance. If he got in close enough and made himself point blank, it would throw them off and he could use it to his own advantage. He had to take the risk.

Rushing forward, Christian pulled out the pistol that he had on him, quickly lowering himself and sliding across the ground towards the soldiers. He kicked one of them in the knee and the man buckled to the force, Christian raised the gun to let off one shot between the man's eyes. Martial arts was working in his favor, Christian moved quick in close range. He ducked behind another solider and grabbed the man to use him as a personal shield as he sent three shots at the other soldier. The small firefight was ended quickly as Christian shot the last one down. He wouldn't question how he got out of that unscathed but he was happy he did.

Christian continued his rescue mission. Running blindly through New Armstrong for any sign of Daniella or Nova.

After making sure Tiberius was ready to be moved for the execution, Erebos had begun movement towards the Charon, which had parked itself above the plaza, just low enough that it could serve as a lookout platform without actually touching the ground. Everything about today was just so damn exciting to him. He didn’t know Alister Blood personally, but from the way Halloran had described him, he actually kinda liked the guy. Gutsy, hotheaded, and completely without regard for authority. That’s how he himself felt sometimes. To rule others wasn’t a question of authority. It was fear and power. People were fickle, as Erebos himself had proven during the Dominion’s interrogation of him. He glanced over at his missing finger, remembering the pain as if it were yesterday, and shivering in delight. How surprised they had been when he started laughing through his tears as they severed the appendage. Maybe it was then that they decided just to kill him, but he didn’t want to die, oh no. So, he chose a better team to play for. And it had made his existence much, much happier.

Speaking of happy, he was over the moon when he received the transmission from one of his suicide fighters. Soon, he’d be reunited with someone he missed terribly, and he’d have what he lost, and everyone would be singing praises by the end of the night. Erebos, somewhat tired of the streets covered in Dominion soldiers and stupid Olympian-style beasts, cut through an alley as he headed towards his target.

That’s when he crashed into someone also turning the corner. The poor thing bounced off of him, probably hitting the ground or at least being thrown back by the sheer weight of muscle Erebos carried with him. Coupled with a strict gym regimen, he also injected various illegal gen-mods centered around steroids, making him like a human wall. No one could knock him over. The cocaine swimming through his system, mixed with the gen-mods, didn’t make for a very stable frame of mind, but Erebos didn’t seem to mind. The thing that had hit him was a pale, white-haired boy with a pistol. The boy’s face looked familiar to him, and when it dawned on him who it was, Erebos’ grin stretched across his face.

”Oh, I’m just so [******** lucky today,” he said with an unhinged laugh. He took a step towards the boy. ”You’re the GenEx brat, right? Oh, Halloran is going to ******** die when he finds out what I found.” Extending a leather-gloved finger, he beckoned Christian towards him. ”Come here. Your daddy misses you, and blah blah blah I don’t give a ******** but yesssss you are just what I needed...the china doll would absolutely break apart if something happened to you...” Erebos hissed.

Maybe if he wasn't on such a single track mind, he could of paid a bit more attention. He had ran into a much larger man, full force. It sent Christian to the ground, lucky he had tightened his grasp on the gun so he didn't lose his grip on it. None the less, it felt like he ran into a brick wall. His shoulder throbbed a bit. It was the voice that pulled Christian out of it.

He looked up at the large man, taking him all in. He was large, well built and clearly modified. It would be an idiotic choice for Christian to take him on head on, at least in close combat. Which left him at a disadvantage. He knew who he was, which meant he was working for the Dominion. He could care less what his own father thought about at the moment. China doll. Who was he speaking of. The only person that came to his mind was Daniella. Any expression of fear that might of climbed onto Christian's face fell.

The GenEx heir gathered himself and got back to his feet. Without hesitation he pointed the piston at Erebos. Not caring what the man was capable of. "What do you know of Dani," Christian spat towards him. Maybe he would know her location, still Christian took a step back. Keeping himself an arms length away from Erebos. If it was one thing he could rely on, it was speed. Christian might of lacked the strength to take this man on, but would easily prove to be more agile. If it came down to that.

"If you hurt Dani..." they were sure to see another side of Christian. Still, this man could be a way to find Daniella. Christian just had to watch himself. He was alone and no doubt out trained in every point against this man. Except for sheer intelligence, Christian was sure he beat the man in that. Try to use that to his advantage. Use what he had around him to his own advantage. There was a small path not far from them. Too small for many to fit through, Christian could probably wedge himself through it. A good escape route should he need it.

Christian's gaze never fell. "If anything happens to her. I don't even care if you had nothing to do with it, you'll pay for it," Christian didn't even think of his own well being at this moment. He did have the advantage of being the heir to GenEx at the moment. Far too valuable to just be killed off, Halloran would never hear the end of it from his father if something serious happened to him. Maybe it made Christian a bit too cocky for his own good.

Adorable. The little boy was acting the hero, promising to protect Daniella no matter what. The stupid romantic. It made Erebos laugh, a low-pitched chuckle that frothed from his mouth and seeped into the air disturbingly. ”You’re just so cute,” Erebos spat in disgust. ”Threatening me? Sure, your daddy may be some sort of Dominion big-shot, but you need to be careful when you’re making threats.” He looked at the gun, and smirked. ”What is this. You gonna shoot me, boy? Go ahead. I don’t care.” He took a step towards Christian, his one step pressing the boy’s gun into one of his pecs. ”You have a lot of guts for a spoiled rich kid, I’ll give you that.” His fingers traced the sides of the gun, and without warning, he grabbed the barrel. Perhaps Christian shot him then, or not. Either way, he dug his fingers into the barrel and twisted the metal, rendering the gun useless, and he grabbed at the kid’s shirt. ”Ah-ah-ah. Don’t think about running off. I need you right by my side to draw out your little girlfriend. Who, by the way, is quite a cute girl. Too cute. She needs…I don’t know…her skin is just too pale. Needs some more color…a few good bruises, I think.” Erebos shivered thinking about it, grinning down at Christian.

The man was trying to scare him. To most it might of worked, Christian just had his eyes set too far ahead to worry about his own safety at the moment. The man stepped forward, taunting Christian to shoot him. If that was what he wished, Christian would do it. In such close range, surely he would hit something vital, or at least render one of his arms a bit ore useless. Christian acted to slowly, Erebos made sure the gun was useless before Christian had a chance to fire the gun. The man's hand grasping Christian's shirt tightly.

The threat towards Daniella left Christian glaring daggers at the man. [******** you," like he would help him drag Daniella out of hiding. Christian had dropped the gun once Erebos smashed its barrel. It wasn't the only weapon he had on him, Alister had made sure they were well armed before leaving. Christian still had his own arms open, he grabbed the wrist that held his shirt, his other hand reaching for the other pistol he had tucked away. "I would die before anything happened to Daniella," he shoved the gun against the man's gut and let two shots into it. Raising his legs to push himself away from Erebos. He barely managed to catch himself on the ground. He kept he gun on the man.

Why the hell would the Dominion hire a man like this. He cared little for the destruction he caused, while he might of had his eyes on the greater prize, the man's ego obviously made him a walking disaster. Still, it was a matter of getting past the man and to the alley if he wanted to keep on going. Christian couldn't get leave it here, the man was focused on finding Daniella and Christian didn't want to think about what he would do to her. He couldn't leave it here.

"Why the hell would you someone like you even interested in her. Must be one hell of a paycheck to sell yourself to the Dominion."

To his surprise, Christian wasn’t as useless as he looked. Upon breaking his first gun, he quickly withdrew another hidden gun and pressed the barrel against Erebos’ gut, shooting him twice. Erebos let go of the boy’s shirt in surprise, feeling the bullets press through the gen-modded muscles and bury into his body. His illegal mods hardened his skin against indirect gunfire, treating the bullets like a very hard punch instead, but the shots had been direct. He felt the burn enter his gut and the searing pain travel through him. Unfortunately for Christian, the pleasure center of his mind exploded upon feeling this, and he started laughing as he put his hand against the wound and saw the blood trickle out. ”You, you are gutsy,” he hissed, trembling in pain. ”I like you.” Erebos stepped forward, a hulking wall of muscle towering over Christian, and punched the boy straight across the face, holding back much of his force so as not to knock his teeth out or put him in a coma. He didn’t want to kill the kid, after all.

”You keep trying to pick at me, I can tell,” he spat some blood from his gut injury on the ground and examined the hand he used to punch Christian. Blood shone on the silver knuckles on his glove. ”Meanwhile, I hope I didn’t ruin your face, there. Almost as pretty as your girlfriend’s,” he said with disgust at the thought of a man being pretty. ”Now, I’m not interested in her, really. I’m here for someone else. The china doll’s just a little extra fun, that’s all.” Erebos, as he spoke, fiddled with a canister of some sort, filled with a green translucent smoke.

Christian started to feel a tinge of fear creep up his spine as Erebos only seemed to laugh after getting shot. Showing little sign of losing momentum even for the bleeding wound. He tried not to show it though. Registering weakness or would not be a good idea, not right now. The punch connected, hitting Christian in the nose, he could hear the crunch himself. The blood rushed forward quickly and Christian could even taste it in his mouth. Broken nose and busted lip. It knocked Christian back and he raised a hand to wipe a bit of the blood away. Ignoring the pain for the moment.

"Rather see you face me than get your hands on anyone else," or specifically Daniella. He could take a few punches, the man was obviously holding back. Knowing better than to kill Christian. If this man wasn't here for Daniella, who was he here for. Another man that Alister managed to pissed off. He wouldn't be surprised at that one. Still, Alister had his own things to worry about as well. Christian's eyes fell to the canister. It would be safe to assume he wanted nothing to do with that. Had to keep his head up and stay on top of this fight. "So, enlighten me then who are you here for."

The boy was resolute, being able to remain standing even after a punch. Erebos wondered if perhaps he miscalculated the amount of force he’d held back in attacking the boy. Honestly, the cocaine rushing through him mixed with the steroids was screaming at him to beat the kid senseless, but he had fun controlling himself. To push away that excitement until the brink, and the releasing all of it at once and absolutely dominating the other person. It was glorious. However, Erebos’ body was still unhappy that there were two bullets sitting in his gut. Being shot right against the skin guaranteed they would be pushed further in than he’d be able to get out himself, without some sort of tool. Clearly, Christian was trying to stall him, so he could make a run for it. Erebos briefly considered letting the kid get away, only to chase him down. Cat-and-mouse; it’d be fun. ”Now now, kid, don’t pretend you actually care who I’m here for. But, if you must know, it’s someone who ran away from me too. Just like you. I think we can relate to that. Two people we love, just abandoning us…” he said, actually sounding a little sad, though that quickly changed as he took another step toward Christian, canister in hand. ”But enough of that sentimental bullshit. C’mere, kid, I got something to show you…”

Christian wasn't lowering his guard, even if he was starting to feel the punch. His head was heavy and his entire face was feeling the punch. He kept on going, he had drive behind his actions. It would help him stand his ground. Christian shook his head. "I wasn't abandoned," Christian spat. Daniella just thought it was for the best, her attempt at protecting him from getting in any danger. "But I can understand why someone would leave you in the dust," Christian was no idiot. He didn't trust whatever was in the canister. Had to do his best to avoid it.

Maybe shoot the canister and unleash whatever was in it onto the man. Christian knew he was a bad shot, he couldn't hit something like that yet. "Do you really take me as an idiot," Christian kept the gun trained on the man as he set his free hand against his nose to wipe away more of the blood. He already got two fairly good hits on the man, he would have to feel the wounds sooner or later. Christian just had to endure whatever this man was going to do for long enough.

Just keep himself away from that canister. Would be a good plan.

Erebos paused, looking at Christian. Something he had said bothered him. ”Oh no, noooooo,” he said. ”She had to leave me. But what concerns me is that she didn’t come back. Why didn’t she come back to me…oh my sweet girl...” he began to get a little angry at the thought. His hands clenched into fists, the pain from the bullet wounds getting worse and making his head swim. He pulled out another item, a loaded auto-syringe, and pressed it against his shoulder, releasing a powerful dose of methamphetamine into his body. It pushed away the slight dizziness the wound was starting to give him, and energy coursed through him. ”Y’know kid, you’re starting to get on my nerves. Just standing around yappin’ and yappin’ like you know ******** everything. Time for you to shut up and come with me or I’ll break your ******** arms,” Erebos growled, his anger heightened by the duality of drugs in his system. He strode quickly towards Christian, loosening the trigger of the canister and grabbing at his hair.

Christian shook his head. Why would anyone return to someone like him. The man was insane, clearly lead by a lust for power and nothing but gaining more of it. Dangerous to anyone who got close to him. "She was smart to leave you when she could. Knew that she had to, sounds like a smart woman. I would have to wonder why she never returned, maybes its the sociopath like tendencies," Christian watched as the man drugged him. Cursing his own bad luck. A drug would give the man even more advantage, make him ignore his wounds and keep on fighting until he would pass out.

The man grabbed a fistful of Christian's hair and manged to get a good hold on it. Christian grimaced a bit. He still had a loaded gun. Still could get a good shot off. He pressed the barrel of the gun against the man's leg. He still couldn't bring himself to kill this particular man, maybe it was because he could be a good source of information. If Christian could get any out of him that was. Christian released another bullet into the mans leg.

"Like hell I'll just come with you."

That’s when the boy opened his mouth. ”…You…” did he think he know…know anything? Erebos thought it was so funny that he was trying to analyze him. He started laughing again and pulled the boy into him. ”You hide behind your precious ******** daddy, and you think I care what he’ll think when I deposit your half-dead ******** body on his front door,” Erebos hissed, punching Christian once more across the face. That’s when the kid decided to try and shoot him again, this time in the leg. But before he could shoot, Erebos threw the kid away from him and opened the canister. Leaning over him and pulling him up by the hair, Erebos stuffed the canister in his mouth, filling his lungs with the fear toxin contained inside. He then kicked Christian right in the gut, with heavy strength, hearing a few ribs crack under his foot, and threw him on the ground. [******** brat,” Erebos spat. ”s**t. I hope I didn’t poison him too much,” he said, sounding legitimately worried for a second, before bursting out into laughter and watching Christian with sadistic excitement.

It happened quickly. He seemed to have struck that final nerve. Christian pushed his luck a bit too much with this man. The punch this time made Christian see stars, black out for a moment. Long enough for Erebos to get the fear toxin into Christian's system. The kick to the ribs force the device back out. Christian coughed for a moment. Still seeing spots. The toxin not taking the effect just yet.

It would only take a few more moments. Fear trickled up his spine, this time he wasn't able to shake the feeling. It was like his worst fear was standing right in front of him. Christian froze, not even letting out a single breath. His own mind finally broke its own mental barriers in the vain attempts to tell Christian it wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Any feeling of pain was gone, replaced with fear. His heart rate picked up, beating against his chest like it was trying to burst out. Things started to dot across his vision, monstrous creatures that seemed to want to eat him.

The fear stricken Christian managed to glance over at Erebos, only the man was replaced by something that could only be made in nightmares. Christian backed himself against a wall, he had somehow manged to keep a hold on his own weapon. Mostly for the fact his body locked up. Still, he wanted this feeling to end, he wanted to stop seeing the monster lurking from around the corner.

That little voice in the back of his head told him the answer. He was hold it in his hand after all. There was still a bullet sitting in the chamber. It would end it all. His body wouldn't give out like some and his mind seemed to know that. Erebos standing there, laughing aided nothing in this fear. Christian raised the pistol.

"I..I want it stop."

[Kagome SB]

████████ ██ ᴏᴄᴛᴀᴠɪᴀɴ ｗｈｉｔｅ ██ ████████ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

⊰ ＵＮＩＴＹ ⊱ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx










Something had gone wrong in Rear Admiral Halloran’s mind; Octavian was convinced of that. Certainly, the King of Pirates needed to be put behind bars, but the man wasn’t half as vicious as most of the pirates he had come across. When he had received the summons to appear at court to determine Tiberius Pierce’s guilt, Octavian was admittedly excited to listen to the trial and come to a personal decision about the correct sentence for the man. But the longer his appearance was put off, and the news of the execution from Alister, showed Octavian that Halloran had once again acted the tyrant and thrown justice to the wind. Was it just to take a man’s life for a sheer statement? That was never the way Octavian thought. He did not ‘make examples’ of outlaws, like a few commanders he knew. In fact, there were a few former pirates on the Barzakh, men and women he had saved from that life. Why kill someone immediately over a label?

Time ticked onward for the dying man, and he felt overshadowed by the expectations of others. People who worried he would keel over, people who doubted his ability as Fleet Captain. But perhaps worse than that, people who expected him to act a certain way and were surprised when he didn’t. Alister’s words had stung him. He was not on anyone’s leash. Which is why, when the time came, he chose to help. Octavian loved the Dominion. But he would not spend his final months rotting away in an outlaw’s cell, knowing that he chose to doom himself because he wouldn’t fight against what he thought was wrong. Besides, he highly doubted that Tiberius would stay free long. A part of him knew that the pirate would probably end up dead within the year, chased to the end of the galaxy by bitter soldiers. Such was the fate of a pirate.

The man remained quiet in the shuttle to New Armstrong, his sniper rifle graciously returned to him. As Alister talked, Octavian removed the stints from his fingers, and dared to curl them. It hurt like hell, but thanks to the medicine provided by Jin and the parasite’s love-hate relationship with his body, he had healed fairly decently in the night. He watched the moon grow closer from the window, thinking about his decision. It felt wrong, but so did Tiberius’ execution. It all felt wrong.

He adjusted his helmet at Alister’s remark, turning on the cloaking apparatus. He didn’t want anyone to see him behind the material and recognize him. Luckily, his armor breathed fairly well, also, so his movement wouldn’t be compromised. They all emptied out, and when Alister gave the signal to take down the men at the outposts, Octavian’s stomach turned over. He knew most of the men sent to detail this event were immediately under Halloran and just as power-hungry as he, but that didn’t provide him any comfort that he was watching his own comrades die. Octavian silently went with Alexei, Marcus, Elisia, and the rest of the high team, eventually making their way to the roofs over the wall. As he observed the Dominion forces below, mixed with mechs and GenEx’s disgusting excuses for animals, Octavian grew somewhat angry. How could they allow themselves to stand by these monsters, and not see it as wrong? That question burned at him as they crossed from roof to roof, Dominion soldiers hitting hard and heavy and Octavian staying in back. He dropped to his knees one roof behind the others and placed his rifle against a crate. The sharp pop from his finger squeezing the trigger whistled into men’s shoulders or kneecaps, and every bullet he sent he prefaced with a small prayer for forgiveness. He noticed the others keeping an eye on him, but he paid no mind. Of course they would expect a bullet in the back.

One roof ahead, the others were dealing with two men and a harpy. Octavian couldn’t even look at the monster. “High team, I am cutting inside. Will rendezvous shortly," he spoke into the communicator before turning and pulling himself up against a door. It was steel-reinforced and code-locked. He became a little sour that he didn’t have his key-card on him, and narrowly dodged a bullet burst above his head. Surveying the HUD, a little blue dot sparked at the corner of its map and he set up, squeezed, and shot in a manner of seconds. The Fleet Captain smirked a little at his talent, in spite of himself, and turned back to the door. Without further hesitation, he punched in his personal key-code. The lock flashed green, and then turned yellow. A little V.I. ball popped up. ’Fleet Captain OCTAVIAN SAWYER WHITE is authorized for entrance into NEW ARMSTRONG SECURITY AND COMMUNICATION TOWER on behalf of UNITY CORPORATION. This account was suspended on FEBRUARY 4th, 2326 at 13:27 due to a flagging error. This account was unsuspended on FEBRUARY 4th, 2326 at 13:58 due to correction of a flagging error. This account is tracked, and all further uses will be uploaded to the UNITY MAINFRAME. This account was last used on FEBRUARY 5th, 2326 at 7:38 on NEW ARMSTRONG, LUNA, SOL SYSTEM, at SECURITY HOLDINGS AND DETAINMENT.’

When the V.I. finally stopped talking, the door popped open. As Octavian snuck in, he became very concerned that someone was using his key-card on Luna. But who—of course. It must have been Daniella Pearson and Nova Vegas. Alister had gone into an uproar about their flight from the ship, yelling about how Nova would do anything to rescue Tiberius. Her lover. And while he didn’t know Daniella’s motivations for running, he now knew how they were moving around the city. Octavian looked over at the security screens and saw the mainframe for the security mechs, guarded by a small squad of men. With a sigh, Octavian ducked behind the side grating and took aim with his rifle, shooting a screen towards the top, and then quickly turning and shooting a light hanging from the ceiling so that it fell to the ground. With enough distraction, Octavian managed to sneak to the security fame, and, with bated breath, shut down the control panel. Outside, perhaps the sirens would go off, but at the very least the security drones would be shut down and the mechs’ friend-and-foe differentials would be scrambled.

It didn’t take long for anyone to notice, however, but by then Octavian was out the door and a few rooftops away, catching up to the high team. “I shut down some security, for now," he spoke into the comm. “And…if you must know, I believe Miss Pearson and Miss Vegas are somewhere around the holding facility. They may have used my key-card to look for Mister Pierce." It was pertinent to his freedom that Tiberius survive, but Octavian didn’t feel right holding onto that information about the two women. He worried about what sort of environment Daniella was in, and how that might effect whatever GenEx had done to her. Octavian knew when he got into dangerous situations, his blood and temper could run hot, and he’d burned many a man that way. Who knew what Daniella was capable of?


۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞


WITH: Daniella || LOCATION: New Armstrong - the Moon || MOOD: cautious, quiet || MISSION/OBJECTIVE: to rescue Tiberius Pierce || OOC: decided to post purely as Octavian because of the length of mine and Yasha's collab!


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDo you think I'm special? Do you think I'm nice? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxAm I bright enough to shine in your spaces?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBetween the noise you hear, and the sound you like,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAre we just sinking in an ocean of faces?

[Space Candy]

xxxx"Speech."xxxxx"Thoughts."xxxxx"Others."

XXXXXXXXDaniella followed after Nova, hand on her weapon. Thankfully, their uniforms seemed to still be doing them a bit of good in the crowd. Still, it was clear that their little charade wouldn't hold up forever. Chaos was breaking out seemingly in every direction. It surrounded them, and though it unnerved Daniella she was not at all surprised. It was expected. She always seemed to cause these things. All her fault. All her fault. She gritted her teeth as she focused on Nova, trying to sort through the other thoughts in passing instead of shutting them out. There could be a potentially useful thought near her at any moment. Dani had to keep an open channel, but it was hard, and it was beginning to drive her a bit mad and even disorient her. All that, paired with the sighting of some of the GenEx monstrosoties...Daniella swallowed hard but kept a straight face. She knew some of them. Behind their generated deformities, Daniella knew who they were. She could hear their thoughts every so often, but none of them held any semblance of their humanity. They were all brainwashed and broken, drones for GenEx's use. It was getting to be too much. "Nova, I need to..."

She stopped short, grey eyes widening.
There it was, that familiar little blip on her radar. She'd pick up on it anywhere, and Daniella wasn't surprised that she'd caught onto it so quickly. But the content was different: sickening and dark. All that fear he held, Daniella felt it. She knew what he was thinking of doing. No. She couldn't let that happen. "Nova! It's Christian. I'm going." She turned briskly and forced her way through the crowd. With any luck the pink haired woman would follow, but Daniella couldn't wait and see. And as bad as she felt for turning and running off, she couldn't just let Christian do what he was going to do. He had been at the edge of her radar, and it would take her a moment or two to make her way to him physically, but for now...For now she could just talk to him, and hopefully that would be enough.

"Christian! Stop!" Daniella pushed through the people, her current guise giving her a bit of leeway. The headpiece masked her, making her look just like a small framed Dominion goon trying to get somewhere. She adjusted the machine gun she'd picked up, copying Nova, but wasn't so sure about using...at least not just yet. Daniella had been practicing with her handgun, and honestly it was a better suit for her. Something this big would just knock her on her a**...But carrying it made her look more official. More legitimate as a Dominion soldier..."I don't know what's happened. But I'm here for you. I'm coming Christian, just hold on." She tried to keep calm, her tone smooth and gentle. But really she was worried sick. He shouldn't have been there anyway. He should have been at home. All along, he should have been at home. Her heart twisted. All her fault. All her fault.

"Where you going? We're needed at the Gates." A gruff voice addressed her. Dani snapped her head to the side and her gaze landed on another soldier dressed just like herself, headset and all. Quick, quick. Think quickly. Daniella nodded to him, but he just stared her down. This wasn't going well, and Daniella knew exactly what was going through his head. Before things could go south, Daniella let out a piercing screech into his mind just as she'd done to the two soldiers earlier when she was with Nova. Only this time, she put a bit more force into it, and she watched as the man dropped his weapon and hunched over gripping his head. She moved quickly, slamming the butt of her rifle down onto his back, which caused him to fall to the ground. She bolted, back on track to finding Christian. But that little stunt likely would blow her cover---it was only a matter of time anyway. "Shhh. I'm almost there." Daniella cooed, her heart pumping with worry.
Daniella pushed passed a few more people, and finally come across Christian. He was leaning against a wall of one of the various buildings. Blood covered that perfect face of his, snowy hair and skin tainted with claret. It was obvious he was hurting in places other than his face, and it killed Daniella to see him in such a state. But the worst part was the fear in his face, and the gun in his hand. Dani shook her head and ran to him, barely saving time to fully slow down before dropping to the ground next to him. She dropped her gun on the ground next to her before reaching out and wrenching Christian's handgun out of his bloodied hand. "No." Daniella wrapped her free arm around his shoulders, dainty hand gripping his far shoulder tightly, and she pulled him close to her. It was apparent to anyone watching that this was not simply a Dominion soldier checking on the GenEx heir to make sure he was okay. Body language said a lot, that was for sure. Daniella hugged him, her ragged breathing slowing now that he was near her. "It's alright." He was hallucinating, that much Daniella could figure out. His thoughts didn't match up with what was happening around him. Daniella set his gun down as well so that she could hold him better. She twisted her fingers through his hair as his head rested against her chest. His blood stained her Dominion uniform, not that she really cared. "What you're seeing isn't real. You're hallucinating." Daniella had to talk him through it. That was the only thing she could do really...But who had done this to him?

A quick scan and Daniella's grey eyes landed on a hulking figure not too far off. His expression and the bullet holes in him were enough for Dani to figure things out, and his thoughts were a whole other store. "You." Daniella spat bitterly. She could feel the anger rising quickly in her gut, as well as her heart. And right now she didn't really care who she hurt. This man hurt Christian, and that was a big no-no in her book. Daniella gave Christian one last squeeze before gently moving him so that he was sitting against the wall again. He seemed stable enough for now, still scared, but at least not suicidal. But she needed to deal with that thing. Still kneeling on the ground, Daniella brushed a few strands of Christian's hair away from his face. "Concentrate on your breathing sweetie. I've got something to take care of." Her tone was sickeningly sweet, laced with something dark. That anger in her was coming out again, and it wouldn't be pretty. The crowds around them seemed to be becoming more and more chaotic. Waves of violence, and somewhere in the mix was Blood and the rest of her friends. All those people---they were here for her, just like Christian had been.

Daniella lifted her hands and removed her headset. Waves of blonde fell back into view, and her face was finally in full view. Daniella whipped around and snatched Christian's handgun up from where she'd placed it. She stood quickly and pointed the weapon at Erebos. It was larger than her own gun, but she steadied her arm and fired. Daniella didn't hesitate pulling the trigger, even if her target was a bit away. There may have been some people who got injured by accident, but she didn't care. Dani pulled that trigger until there no longer were bullets to use. By that time, Erebos was still standing. Daniella wasn't even sure if she'd actually hit him or not, but with any luck she had. Really, those bullets probably had pissed him off more than anything. "You son of a b***h." Daniella growled, focusing on the large man and clenching her hands into fists at her sides. "How dare you hurt him." Briefly she thought back to Róisín, and to the little 'game' she had set up for Dani to practice on. It wasn't the same as this, but she knew that if she just focused hard enough...put enough emotion into it---and yes, she was pretty damn emotional.

Erebos lifted off of the ground briefly, only to be slammed downward with a good amount of force. Daniella concentrated on him, and on the anger she was feeling. How could he hurt Christian like that? If anything, Daniella figured he would just be taken back somewhere safe. He was wanted alive and well, he was wanted back home, where he should have been all along. Dani moved closer to the man as he lifted from the ground again, and this time she flung him into the exterior wall nearest him. The stone cratered around him, and Daniella held him there as she moved to stand in front of him. "Such a big man, held up by little old me." Daniella teased. She pulled a knife from the strap on her leg and balanced it in her palm before looking back up to her current target. Those doe eyes glistened, and a twisted smile appeared. Yes. It was only right. For what he did to Christian, he deserved it. "I'm going to kill you."

But before she could do anything, Daniella caught onto something else. She flinched and turned, barely able to deflect a bullet that had been aimed at her. It grazed her arm, instead of her back. s**t. That distraction was enough to break the hold she had on Erebos. Distracted, and now in pain, Daniella would have to gather herself again. It seemed the other soldiers were moving in on her. This was not going well. Daniella looked back over to Christian and stepped backwards to move closer to him. She had to protect him, and she had to get rid of that monster over there...all while not getting taken out by other Dominion forces. She stared down at Christian as the realization finally hit her. Slowly she looked back to Erebos, who was no longer pinned against the wall.

She was in over her head.

xxxxLocation :: Luna - New Armstrong
xxxxCompany :: Christian & Erebos
xxxxHealth :: 80% - Black eye thanks to Mr. Buttface; bullet graze on upper left arm; pissed; worried
xxxxTunes ::The Mighty Fall - Fall Out Boy
xxxxAttire ::Dominion Soldier

[Yasha_Glory]

I'm miss autonomy, miss nowhere, I'm at the bottom of me
Miss androgyny, miss don't care, What I've done to me
¤Company: Jin, Maya, & Karl ¤Condition: 89% ¤Location: Persephone's Corridors
I am misused, I don't wanna do, Be not your slave
Misguided, I mind it, I'm missin' the train

With Octavian gone, Jin didn’t know what to do. Jin had been allowed to wander around the ship; granted there were usually eyes on him while he did so. However, the crew had essentially decided that he was harmless, because of the way he walked around wide-eyed like everything was new and cool, like a tourist attraction. Jin had actually been quite excited to explore the ship and view its nooks and crannies, check out the engine room and see the drive in action. But, he still couldn’t get the worry out of his head. Octavian was out, doing something incredibly dangerous, and he was stuck here. Of course, that’s how the routine sometimes went—Jin would settle the Barzakh near a small colony in Quadrant #4 that was being besieged by smugglers or raiders, Octavian would take a few men down to check it out and after a firefight, the men would usually be in Dominion custody. But this was a big campaign, and he was on a different side. Now, Jin didn’t have ultimate loyalty to the Dominion, though he did thank the men and women who put enough trust in a young pilot to allow him such success. Nonetheless, he wondered why Octavian would choose to take Alister Blood’s side, when a slip-up could reveal this particularly treasonous act. Actually, yes, it was treason. Then again, Octavian had changed in the past few months. He became more desperate, more questioning, more self-serving—and not in a bad way, but just…different. Maybe it was because it was his last year.

Those thoughts plagued Jin as he wandered down the hall. He decided to go back to the medical bay to check it out more carefully. Maybe he’d find something else to help Octavian out. Plus, no one would be in the medical bay to stare at him. That is, that’s what he thought until he pushed open the door and saw a woman inside—it was too late for him to turn around though, as he had opened the door all the way and stepped inside. Jin saw her, though he couldn’t really see what was happening. All he knew is that she was beautiful, and sad-looking, and serious, and really really beautiful. Róisín’s humming ceased at the sound of the medical bay’s door sliding open with a quiet hydrolyzed hiss. Her hair had been pinned up in a messy bun of curls by a pair of bones carved into ornate hair sticks with mismatched tassels dangling from the left side of her head. She hadn’t covered up her markings this time around, though she had stopped to apply her favorite shade of ruby lipstick with the same precision expected of the perfectionist. Keeping with her bone theme was a novelty bra with a pair of far too realistic to be fake skeleton hands holding up her breasts and a set of leather booties with silver skull accents. The black halter top and skirt contrasted her ivory skin, making her look a ghostly shade of white. Both arms were placed on her rolling chair’s armrests, her crossed leg bouncing its foot in tune with the placid music radiating from her neck. The cut in her skirt not only made her leg appear to go on for days, it also made one wonder if she indeed was wearing any underwear at that moment. She was, not that she intended to show anyone, for she needed an appropriate set to match the bra she had chosen to accent. It wouldn’t have set right in her mind to have one not complement the other. She had assumed that the entire crew had left to their demise, yet there stood a frail figure before her. Had he been assigned to stay behind and make sure the Skeleton Harvester didn’t double cross the crew while they were down on the moon? Her face was so indifferent that one would have never guessed that she was enduring minor surgery, until the medical droid’s voice rang out into the empty room. ”Procedure Completed. Now Displaying A List Of Recommended Post-Operative Care.” The woman looked away from the dark haired youth, lifting up her left arm to inspect the row of fresh stitching left behind, black goop seeping from each suture in small droplets, an occasional twinkle shining out. She brought her arm closer to her body, running her opposing thumb over each groove and bump in her tender flesh. Her silvery eyes flickered up behind a hunk of side swept ringlets, noticing that the other person was still in the same spot and staring at her surgical site. In a deadpan tone the woman remarked, ”It’s not polite to stare.”

From what Jin could see, she was getting stitched up by a medical robot, sitting there with an expression like nothing was going on. As if the sutures being stabbed into her skin were but a mere mosquito bite. He gawked, unable to look away. It was like a scene from one of his favorite anime, Bizarro Grave, where the heroin Tsukino would be healing herself after a particularly gruesome fight. Actually, with her pale complexion and gothic-style clothing, Jin was reminded a lot of Tsukino. Except more womanly, and poised. And because it was real life, that made it even more badass. He noticed the droplets, not of blood but of some black boo, dripping from her fresh stitches, and while initially a little freaked out, it interested him. Why would she be bleeding a different color? Was she like Octavian, and was her blood infected with something? That’s when she spoke to him, and he nearly buried his head in the ceiling in surprise. “Oh!" Jin shrieked, turning red at being discovered. Though, he was in the entrance of a brightly-lit medical room, and he wasn’t being very sneaky about the whole thing. “S-Sorry," he mumbled, looking at the floor. His eyes then darted up to her stitches, then back to the floor, then back to her. “So…does it hurt a lot?" he asked quietly. ’Wow, great question there Jin. Real smooth.’
“Mm?” the woman questioned with a blink as she studied the young man’s face that was becoming increasingly flushed the longer he stood around. Her eyes followed his as they darted about, settling on her arm. “This? No, not really. I’ve become so used to this kind of stuff that I’ve learned to just not pay attention to it. Mind over body and all that jazz.” She looked at her inner arm once more, watching the black liquid quiver in eagerness to seal the wound, yet unable to do anything with the solid object in the way. “The smaller diameter of the needles, along with the proper calibration of SARA Mark II, makes minor things like this hurt a lot less. My surge suppressor got damaged a while ago so I was due for an upgrade. I figured I might as well test out how well my bot is able to do simple tasks before I fully integrate her into the Persephone. The stitching is a little big for my liking, but she was able to implant the replacement part without nicking any nerves or vital blood vessels.” The woman spoke quite intelligently, actually talking more than he expected. This made Jin more flustered, triggering his social anxiety. He began to breathe a little heavier as she spoke, but he forced that nervousness down. ’Just think of Octavian. He’d have no problem talking to her. So you can do it too.’ Jin smiled, a little forcefully, though not trying to be rude about it. He nodded as she talked. “You seem to know a lot about that stuff," he said in reply. He took notice of the strange movement of her blood, and shifted in his spot. “So um…I’m Jin, by the way. Uh…yeah." Saying his name out loud to another person felt awkward. He didn’t like it. But the blood. He really wanted to ask about the blood. He stared at it. “U-Um…I’m not trying to be rude…but, uh, are you okay? You um…well, it’s…i-it’s black." Words tumbled out of his mouth with no purpose, and he couldn’t rearrange them to sound as elegantly as he wanted them to. ”Yes, it’s something I’m quite passionate about…” The woman became rather quiet after her reply, her thoughts of the past coming into her mind once again. She remembered what it was like to receive praise for her work, what it was like to see her name on another scientific journal that would eventually make its way into a textbook for those studying to be in her shoes, what it was like to believe she was actually doing something good for the entirely of the solar system. She began to wonder if she really cared about that anymore. Sure she had just repaired a medical bot and stocked some medications she was more than likely never going to use for complete strangers, but that could have easily been attributed to the fact that she was just plain bored, anxious even! There was nothing else to do on the ship, well nothing that suited her tastes, and the long sleepless hours just seemed to dwindle on. It was sad really. She knew that if she had wanted to, she could have destroyed the entire ship that night and harvested their bodies from the wreckage. Something had stopped her, or rather, someone. Now that someone was looking a lot more appetizing, yet at the same time he was also beginning to reveal a different layer to himself. She needed to seriously consider what it was she was going to do from this point on. There was nothing tying her to the ship or its crew anymore. Sure there was Daniella, but what did one little blossoming friendship matter? Would it really be so bad to be alone with Karl doing the exact same thing they had done for the past several years? Róisín was pulled from her racing mind as the man meagerly meeped out his name as though he was beginning to stumble over his own words. ”Jin…? I suppose you can refer to me by what everyone else seems to be calling me… I’m Ms. Róisín Verbena. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Jin,” she repeated his name, as though trying to categorize it into her memory banks. She extended her supple, unstitched, hand to the dark haired youth, fully expecting either a handshake or a kiss upon her knuckles. The cybernetic woman waited patiently as the man struggled to form a coherent sentence, keeping her eyes on him as she did so. When he mentioned something being black the woman straightened herself a bit in her seat, a realization slowly unfolding. ”Black…?” her words lingered in the air, ”So… you don’t know who--“ the woman’s voice faded as her eyes seemed to stare through the man rather than at him. Something had caught her ever observant eyes, causing her legs to uncross and her foot to rest on the ground. There was a figure walking across the frosted glass with something long and black in his hands, iconic colors draping the man’s body, and they weren’t the colors worn by pirates. When the medical bay’s doors slid open and a barrel dropped inside there was only seconds to react. The woman stood, her hand that had previously been hanging in the air flying towards the young man’s shoulder to push him to the side as she yelled, ”GET DOWN!” The first gunshot flew past the man and into Róisín’s shoulder, forcibly knocking her back down into the chair. Her head turned to the side to look at the wound, the beginnings of a hiss starting to form as the second shot rang out and blew off the front of her maw, her head falling back against the now ruined cushion and her pair of hair ornaments falling to the ground from the sheer force of the attack. The little fish AI, who had been snuggly sleeping amongst Róisín’s belongings was awoken by the loud noises, buzzed into the air. ”WHA-HUH-HUZZAH-MA-T’S GOING ON?!” Just as confused as the AI, the soldier looked up at the glowing orb darting around the ceiling, ignoring the popping and crackling coming from the supposed corpse. The woman’s arms were turning black, and seeming to melt over the armrests of the chair like thick oil, the stitches popping open and leaking out globs of mauve tinted fluid that was engulfing the area around the femme fatale. Her head rolled forward, the bones in her neck crackling as they set back into place, and bits of cheek meat dangling off her exposed molars. A deep growling reverberated from the woman’s throat as more of the black ooze dripped from her wounds and down her neck. Sharp fangs began to sprout from the destroyed pallet, the previously square molars becoming more carnivorous looking as the thick black ooze started to take over her face and pull the curtain of hair currently shielding it into itself. The soldier’s face filled with fear and he unloaded another bullet into the woman’s exposed gut. The melted face twisted into a sinister smile, a now enlarged claw raising from the floor with a single exposed digit waggling ‘no-no’. Where once was a pair of entrancing silver eyes now sat dark empty sockets. An ominous androgynous voice, with other tones reverberating over it, crept out from the toothy grin as a pair of bright white orbs flickered into the abyss. ”You missed.” The creature lunged forward, its massive claws sinking into both of the man’s shoulders and grazing his ears, pinning him to the ground as the hard metallic face grew closer to him. The holes in the woman’s shoulder and abdomen filled with the same dark matter, twisting and turning until they were seamlessly blended into the rest of her body. ”Now we have to kiss~!” The gargantuan jaws opened wide to sink its teeth into the bridge of the man’s nose and just underneath his jaw, a second set of humanoid jaws clamping about his lips to muffle his screaming. The larger jaws kept the man in place, providing a buffer for the noise, as the smaller set gnashed away at enamel, bone, and cartilage with stomach churning crunches. The man’s legs kicked and squirmed against the floor, his arms trying to decide between fiddling with his rifle and ripping the monster from his body. His arms had been pinned and the rest of her frame was so small and contorted that it made it difficult to throw her off as she feasted upon his face.

Róisín Verbena. What a pretty name. Jin smiled shyly. Maybe he wasn’t doing such a bad job at this whole socializing thing. But he still worried about her blood. Maybe she was sick too, and—her whole demeanor changed as she yelled at him and pushed him away. Not knowing what was going on, he heard a bullet whizz by and strike flesh. Whipping around to see a strange man, in Dominion uniform no less, his eyes widened when he realized Róisín had saved him at the cost of her life, even worse so as a second bullet hit her square in the face and tore off her jaw. Jin was paralyzed by the sudden fact of her death, his body unable to make heads or tails of what to do. Until she started moving again. “W-What is..." Jin was unable to say anything in particular, startled by the slow degeneration of the beautiful woman into a monster, a black creature with dark eyes and a gaping maw. She lunged forward, voice inhuman, and began to eat the soldier, tearing into his face like it was a snack. Jin stumbled, faint from the events, and caught himself on the chair Róisín had risen up from. It suddenly occurred to him that the gossip his cell guards were using to scare them—that there was a cannibal woman on the ship they were going to feed them to—wasn’t just a tactic. “Ohmygodwhat..." he burst out, wanting to tear his eyes away from her grisly assault but unable to look away, though occasionally he would glance at the little green fish A.I. bouncing around. ”You’re eating him." As if anyone could mistake her for doing anything else. After a bit, the man stopped moving, and all he could hear was her chewing. Jin grimaced. ”U-Um.. Róisín? I-I think…I think h-h-he’s dead. You c-can s-s-stop eat—um…doing that…" It took all of his strength not to faint where he stood. The crunching came to a grinding halt as the beast released the man from its jaws, a series of puncture marks, left in a bite impression, upon the man’s face and neck. The body jostled a bit as its claws ripped from their fleshy anchored and the intimidating figure rose up from the half faced corpse. Its long, prehensile, tongue lapped up bits of blood still dripping from its mask, cleaning each tooth like an animal as the exoskeletal jaws cracked back into place. Slowly the woman turned around, looking down at Jin with a pair of emotionless ghostly orbs. She took a few steps toward the mousey individual, reaching out with one of her enormous appendages. Instead of plucking the frail man’s heart out of his chest and eating it like a chocolate covered strawberry, the large black talons lifted up the coat still draped over the side of the chair carrying it (and the pair of hair ornaments that had fallen into the hood) closer to her body. ”You’d be surprised how many times I’ve been wrong about something like that… Never hurts to overkill and make sure.” The monster’s gargantuan forearms began to shrink beneath the fabric until they were the size of normal human hands, pulling on her signature coat and adjusting the shoulders and snaps that helped conceal her gender. As she pulled on the furry hood, Karl came buzzing over to illuminate her hideous face. ”RÓISÍN! What’s going on?! Why are people shooting guns again?!” The bright green light began to change to an ominous red before the woman put up her open palm and quickly reversed the change. ”That’s what I’d like to know…” she commented as her spooky eyes flickered back to the man she had saved from a couple of bullets. Her gaze remained on him as she spoke to Karl, almost as though she were watching to see if he would also pull a gun on her. ”The majority of people left to Luna’s surface to save Daniella and someone named ‘Tiberius Pierce’.” The little fish gasped loudly, putting his fins up against his cheeks. ”WHY DIDN’T YOU WAKE ME UP?!?! WHAT ARE WE STILL DOING HERE?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOMEONE?! HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK!? TIBERIUS PIERCE IS THE PIRATE KING! CANWEGOSEEHIMCANWECANWEISHEGOINGTOBEONTHESHIPWITHUSOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!” the fish squealed with delight, flying in circles about the woman’s head. ”KARL! FOCUS!” she bellowed, ”Daniella chose to go, as did the others, she left us a note and said to tell you goodbye. Blood went after her and Pierce, that’s why I didn’t wake you. This didn’t concern us until someone started firing. Now I’m in a really sour mood and I’ve had just about enough of this nonsense!” Karl stopped floating around the woman’s head, frowning sadly that they weren’t going to get to meet another of his idols. That was when he finally noticed the other person still alive in the room that Róisín had been staring at. His grin returned as he flew right up into Jin’s face with his ever chipper attitude. ”HI THERE, FRIEND, MY NAME’S KARL! WHY DIDN’T YOU GO WITH EVERYONE ELSE? DID YOU COME TO SAVE RÓISÍN?!” Róisín’s claws unsheathed, taking over the fabric of the coat as they regrew to their monstrous size while Karl interrogated the young man. ”Well he certainly didn’t come to kill us or he would have already tried. By the sounds of it, he didn’t even know the Skeleton Harvester was on board. PERSEPHONE!” the creature rang out, calling to the ship’s AI, “How many of Blood's allies are still on board the ship?” The AI flickered into view at its beckoning.
"There are approximately twenty three members of the crew currently aboard the Persephone. Not including Maya, and the prisoner. Not exactly a standing army, considering the circumstances..."
The monster growled rather quietly to itself, staring up at the AI’s hologram. At least it was being helpful. "What's the ship's status report? We've got a couple of Dominion soldiers on board and I want to know what hole these little vermin are pouring in through."
"The enemy forces seem to have originated from a shuttle, docked where escape pod 4C was previously located. I seem to be having trouble engaging the ship's autopilot system as well. I'm not sure if it's a malfunction, or..."
This wasn’t good. Without the autopilot in place the ship was doomed to crash and burn into the moon. With Captain Blood on the ground below, and far away from the controls, and many crew members probably lying dead or dying on both arenas; the ship had no one to steady the helm and keep it from becoming another pile of space wreckage.
”Damn it, this isn’t good! No one’s flying this thing and I don’t know if anyone is even trained to pilot something this large! Blood’s really done it now…” What was she to do? She and Karl were clearly the only two with a means of escape. Could she really just abandon the crew and let them all suffer for another one of Blood’s mistakes? Did she care? They were pirates; dirty, filthy, unkempt, pirates without the slightest of concern for what happened to her. If she died, that was one less problem for them. If they died, that was one giant smorgasbord for her. On one hand if they survived they’d hold it against her and use it as an excuse to blast off her face, on the other hand if she stayed on board there was the possibility of sticking a thorn in the Dominion’s side on their most blessed of days, execution day. At that moment it was a matter of whom she hated more, the Dominion or Alister Blood. As monster Róisín gathered her bearings, Jin tried not to stare too hard at the man’s half-eaten face. Luckily, a distraction in the form of a green fish came flying at him, speaking loudly and acting like a hyper seven-year old at the prospect of meeting Tiberius Pierce. Jin tried to keep his focus on Karl, as he learned the name, and not on the somewhat suspicious glare he was getting from the cannibal lady. ”R-Róisín’s right, Karl. My name i-is Jin, and I haven’t done anything…I don’t know where the guns came from, a-and I don’t even know, well, I didn’t know, who this Skeleton Harvester e-even is." Róisín was barking at Persephone when she mentioned that the autopilot had been damaged, and that they were hurtling towards the moon. For a woman who had just literally sucked the face off of another man, Róisín was slightly panicked at the thought of crashing. Jin realized exactly what they needed as she spoke. ”You need a pilot?" Oh no. What was he thinking? But really, there was nothing else he could do. If he sat on his hands, he’d die too. ”I-I’m a pilot. This ship, it’s a Starcaster Scout, right? So a frigate. I’m used to cruiser controls, but I can handle a frigate. J-Just get me to the cockpit and give me a few minutes, and I’ll be able to fly her."

The woman’s head whipped around to look at the slender man, staring at him with a wide and steady gaze that said, ‘really?’. If that wasn’t a textbook case of deus ex machina she didn’t know what was. At this particular moment in time, she didn’t have many options to choose from. If he was lying they were doomed, if they did nothing they were doomed; at least one of the options had a possibility of survival. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and in the end it ultimately wasn’t her ship that had the possibility of being wrecked. ”You know what will happen if you wreck this ship, right?” the woman warned as she relaxed her shoulders and looked up at Persephone’s hologram. "Persephone, I need you to turn off all the lights! Reroute the power if necessary to keep the engines running with the extra energy. Can you do that for me?" she inquired. Persephone took a few moments longer than usual to respond, as if she were thinking. In reality, she was having trouble with whatever interference was flooding her systems. The lights flickered for a moment, before they progressively died out through the entire ship.
"If you intend to introduce yourself to our guests, I do ask, on behalf of the Captain, that you keep the bloodstains on the ship's interior plating to a minimum."
The woman rolled her eyes at the notion, far too peeved to have the slightest bit of consideration for those who would have to sit in inches of rotting blood until the next time the ship docked. She walked towards the door of the medical bay using the dim light trickling in from the moon’s refractive surface and the twinkling light of nearby stars to gain even more of an advantage in the dark. ”That just makes me want to make it exceedingly messy, Persephone. I’ll be sure to put back the layers of grime that got scrubbed off.” Karl hovered over to Róisín’s silhouette, illuminating the darkness with his green glow and keeping an eye on Jin to make sure he was still following them through the ship. The monster reached up with one of its giant claws and gingerly clicked away at the dial on the pair of rhinestone headphones, not only lowering the volume but changing the station as well. At a rather brisk pace the woman began to make her way down the hallway, keeping an eye out for any more ‘surprises’ as they went along. She remembered seeing the cockpit on the map she had stolen, mostly so she could avoid going in that direction at any cost. She stopped at an intersection, pressed up against the wall as she heard a rather familiar sound of metal clanking. Though it was loud, the pitch was far too high to be human; obviously Cyberteknik had decided to help out on their little invasion and provided a couple of specialized droids to pick up the slack humans left behind. Quick to think of a solution, as fighting a robot would only raise more alarms and take much longer to destroy than a soft squishy human body, Róisín plucked Karl from the air and brought him closer to her face, speaking to him in a rushed tone, “Karl… Go play. I don’t want you eating Persephone but let’s give our little ‘friends’ something to report.” The fish gasped excitedly and immediately tore itself from the beast’s grasp, smiling wide in appreciation for the permission to do the thing he was designed to do. He gave Róisín a little salute and buzzed around the corner, making a beeline straight towards the multi-legged bot. His orb flashed a brighter shade of green before tiny electrical sparks began to surround it and eventually crackle like full blown electrical charges. What started as small lines of light became a large zigzagged aquatic monster made entirely of electricity that only flickered into existence for a moment or two before it flew straight into the cracks of the robot and the empty glass orb plopped to the ground below, completely devoid of power. The spidery device staggered and shorted, banging into walls and doorways as its many legs scraped against the floor like something was attacking its pseudo-nervous system and it was beginning to writhe. The attack lasted seconds before the menacing red light changed to a default white. When things grew quiet Róisín rounded the corner and snatched up the orb, looking face first at the robot sent to kill and collect anything interesting on board the Persephone. While she wasn’t the most experienced fighter on board, she certainly wasn’t stupid enough to take on more than she could chew in unfamiliar territory. She must’ve looked insane, like she had some sort of death wish, until the robot waved one of its arms at her and Karl’s voice rang out through its speakers system in a quiet, excited, voice. ”Róóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóisíííííííííín! Lookit how cool this is! It feels so smooooooooooth! And there’s even little compartment for me to store space churros in!” ”I don’t understand why you didn’t just eat it but if you’re going to take its body for a spin you might as well take out the other models on the ship for us.” The woman tucked the orb into an inner pocket of her jacket, walking past the body snatched robot that now eagerly followed alongside her like an excited puppy. She hadn’t even checked if Jin was still following along. She was more concerned with clearing out the intruders threatening to take down her pseudo-lunchbox. Whether or not she liked it, they were in her way between life and death. If the Persephone got saved along the way so be it. It was infuriating. They were on thin ice, covered in cracks and rapidly melting. They had flown right into a hive of angry wasps and shook up their home. The only way she was going to get out of this sticky situation was to help them escape the heated nest. She’d surely be shot down if she tried to fly her own tiny ship out of New Armstrong’s atmosphere. If she could at least find a small opening, they all could get out of there and she could finally go off on her own and return to the good old days of terrorizing the common populace. It was the most logical way to do things, and it made her blood boil to think of it. Enough so that when she heard some heavy footsteps and door kicking in the distance she sped from a brisk walk to a full animalistic sprint, her large claws outstretched in front of her and ready to both block bullets and rip a couple of hearts out of some chests. The first man got the full force of Róisín’s swing into the ground, one claw putting the entirety of her weight onto his now shattering ribs. The air was knocked out of his lungs with a large gasp, which caused the other two goons to spin around and shine their lights directly on the monster. She bore her fangs and hissed in response, snaking through the light beams to get close enough to them to do the thing she did best, devour a couple of lost souls. It was hard to see what was going on in the darkness, though the erratic movement of the soldiers’ flash lights, the grunts, screams, crunches, and splattering of intestines being ripped from bodies and scattered across the ground was enough nightmare fuel to keep one awake for several days. The tussle grew quiet, nothing but the gurgling sounds of someone choking on their own blood and the eerie scraping of metallic claws along the ship’s innards. It was akin to nails on a chalkboard, the only clue as to the sound’s origins being that they were still traveling towards the cockpit. When even that uncomforting noise became silent, there was still a sense of danger in the air. There was a bloodthirsty savage on board the ship, and now she was roaming free and in her element. A loud clang of something large hitting a cyber-suit was accented with scraping, buzzing, and deep growls that faded into hisses as the creature locked claws with someone wielding a pair of durasteel blades. While her teeth were strong, they couldn’t get through helmets because of their shape. She needed to rip whoever was holding her back open like a crab or tin can to get at the tasty meat inside the armor. One little kink in the armor, one little space to force her claws through, one tiny space added to the design to allow natural movement was all she needed to attain her prize. The prize however, was someone she had come to know on her short time aboard the Persephone.

And I don't know where I've been, And I don't know what I'm into, And I don't know what I've done to me
And as I watch you disappear into the ground, My one mistake was that I never let you down
So I'll waste my time and I'll burn my mind, On miss nothing, miss everything

[Resounding Memory]

William Howard Braxton

Terran Intelligence Agent

For the majority of the trip to Luna, Will remained in his cabin and kept to himself. His excursion on Copernicus with Maya had gone well. A bit of chatting and banter with her was enjoyable, and he did not have to put on an act. He felt a strange connection to her he did not feel he shared with any of the others. She was a part of his world, the one that lurked in the shadows of the politics and media. Things that went unseen, but affected so many people’s lives. The whole excursion, Will maintained a flirty demeanor, complimenting her and cracking wise. After cracking a joke, he remembered how he and Six used to do similar things during their rare downtime. Despite her rough nature and his cold attitude, they had managed to have a few moments that resembled the lives of normal people. At the thought of her and how she was still locked up aboard the ship, Will was quieter for the rest of the excursion.

Upon returning to the ship, he made a b-line for his cabin with the good he had purchased. Once inside, he locked the door and sat began setting up his room. He wanted to be alone and needed to do something to distract himself. A few paintings of landscapes, several books, and enough clothes to make a few decent outfits out of was all Will had on the ship, but these additions made his cabin feel a bit more welcoming. It was different from his space on the Cornucopia, which had been all about business. The creature comforts he was allowing himself here would hopefully help him blend better with the crew and allow him to have something resembling a sanctuary to find solace at. He knew the coming time on the ship would be challenging and wanted to make sure he had a place he could find some comfort at.

After establishing the cabin as his with the new decorations, Will grabbed a book, removed his shoes, and flopped down on the bed. He opened the book and began to read. Physical books always appealed to Will more than the digital versions. There was undeniable convenience and conservation with electronic versions, but the feel and smell of books always appealed to Will. Something about holding the book in his hands and flipping the pages relaxed him and was one of the few pleasures he indulged himself in.

Will awoke to the alarms blaring in his cabin with orders to prepare for combat. He quickly suited up and grabbed his weapons, proceeding to rendezvous at the escape pods. There, he met the others who had gathered around Blood. The news that Daniella and Nova had left the ship to attempt the mission by themselves came as a bit of a surprise to Will. He had gathered they cared deeply for their friends, but to take on the Dominion by themselves on Luna was damn near suicidal. The drop onto the surface was an interesting idea, and Will smirked a little under his helm as Blood quoted a line used by orbital insertion troopers. Getting shot towards the surface of a planet in a metal sarcophagus took a lot of guts; fortunately, Blood’s crew seemed willing to adopt whatever insanity the troopers in the military used to keep doing their job.

Things went pretty smoothly as they made their way towards New Armstrong. Coordination and tactics kept them alive and going, and Will could see why Blood’s crew trusted their captain so much. For having a ruthless and bloodthirsty attitude, he could certainly lead a good charge. Looks like you can’t quite leave the military life completely behind, eh Blood? Will thought as they prepared to breach. Once inside, Will stuck close to Six before splitting off to head up to the rooftops. Hand cannon drawn, Will followed Alexei’s lead. It was a bit ironic she was now leading him when the roles had been reversed not all that long ago. Regardless, he played along with Blood’s plan in order to stay alive. As they engaged the Dominion forces, Will dropped a few men. The rounds from his hand cannon pierced their armor with little resistance, tearing apart the flesh and bone inside.

When Lethe’s forces arrived, his mind began to race. If the Dominion was in league with Lethe, could that mean their loyalties were not so strong? For now, Will was not in a position to interrogate. The soldiers they had sent forward were hell bent on killing the group on the roof, even using the horrific amalgamations that used to be humans. One of the most gruesome things Will had ever seen was footage of a surgery to turn a person into a harpy. Even the most hardened of agents could barely stomach the sight of the transformation, and Will felt he was doing the victims a favor by helping to put them down. With the forces down and Alexei warning Blood, Will took a moment to scan the rooftops, eyeing the flak cannons. As Alexei gathered her thoughts, Will approached and said, If we can get to those flak cannons, we might be able to turn them on the Dominion and Lethe. Just give me a few moments with it, and I should be able to alter the targeting protocols to fire on their IFFs.” While it was not his place to give orders, this was more of a suggestion. With his neural link, the interfacing would not take long and would give them a leg up on their foes. The problem would be the guards, but if they could punch through the defenses now that Octavian had shut down some of the security, the odds would tip more in the rogues’ favor.

Current Name: Will
Status: 100% - Healthy, In Combat
Location: New Armstrong, Luna

[The Smut Peddler]

ⓒⓞⓜⓜⓐⓝⓓⓔⓡ ⓝⓞⓥⓐ ⓥⓔⓖⓐⓢ

╰☆╮░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░╭☆╯

╭☆╯░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░╰☆╮

❝As long as a word remains unspoken, you are it's master...❞

╔══════════════════════════════╗


I am strong, love is evil
It's a version of perversion that is only for the lucky people
Take your time and do with me what you will
I won't mind, you know I'm ill, you know I'm ill



╚══════════════════════════════╝

Upon seeing Christian move the gun towards his head, Erebos realized that he had to cut in before the kid killed himself. Though it would be quite funny to watch, the trouble it would cause wasn’t worth the entertainment. However, someone intervened instead. A small Dominion goon, saving Christian’s life. It didn’t make sense to him. That’s when he saw the gun. Not being a particularly fast man, he had no time to move before she emptied the bullets at him. Luckily for him, however, she had terrible aim, and while most of them did hit him, they were all indirect and therefore succeeded in bruising him painfully. He didn’t understand why this person was shooting at him, until he heard the voice and saw her take off her helmet. A girl, whose tone begged to be angry. Erebos grinned. ”If that’s who I think it is, the gods are happy with me today,” he spoke, brushing crushed bullets off of his purpling shoulders.

He felt the ground give out underneath him—no, he was floating, and suddenly, he crashed into the dirt. Before he could gather his thoughts, he was sent flying backwards into the concrete wall behind him, the force literally pushing the bullets in his gut towards the surface of his skin. It burned horribly, and the crunching of his back against the wall didn’t help. But it was glorious at the same time. The girl’s anger at him, the smile he saw behind her helmet, the knife…”You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, ‘Dani’,” Erebos spoke her nickname with playful flare. ”Yesssss, you’re strong, holding me like this…I like a woman who thinks she can control me…it’s endearing.” He felt something stir inside of him, a heat, which filled him at the mere thought of the girl’s power, and how twisted she looked at that moment.

The arrival of a few Dominion soldiers halted her attack, however, and Erebos fell back to his feet as she tried to avoid a bullet. That actually irritated him. He was looking forward to seeing the sweet, darling girl give into her twisted revenge and knife him a few times. As it dawned on Daniella that she had been a little rash, Erebos stepped forward and grabbed her by her skinny little arm and forced her towards him. ”Now that your temper tantrum’s over, let me look at you,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, eyes a little bloodshot from the drugs swimming through him. Her arm was a twig in between his fingers—he wanted to snap it so badly, but restrained himself. ”Oh, you’re pretty,” Erebos breathed. ”But you have a black eye…well…if you’re already a little broken...” his eyes widened with delight and he grabbed her around the throat with his other hand, squeezing her windpipe, his large fingers easily bruising her pale skin, ”Might as well take advantage of it!” Picking her up by her throat, he turned and slammed her into the crater he had made from her earlier attack. A Dominion soldier stepped forward. ”You can’t do that—Doctor McLaughlin will—“ Erebos turned and grinned at the soldier. ”He’ll what, you puny little ********? Are you going to tell him a thing? Now get the ******** out of here before I rip your ******** face off,” he growled, waiting for the soldiers to move before turning back to Daniella and stroking her cheek with his finger. ”Finally some privacy. Just you…me…and your boyfriend, I guess,” he said with a sickeningly sweet tone as he curled his fingers around the collar of Daniella’s stolen uniform. With a sharp tug, he ripped the fabric straight down the middle, exposing a black tank top. He frowned. ”You really are flat,” Erebos said with disappointment, cupping and squeezing them for confirmation. ”Well, at least you have a nice face…” He smirked and grabbed her face in his hand, then frowned again, noticing her eyes wander. ”Are you looking at—” He backhanded her, luckily sparing her from his silver knuckles. ”Stop looking at the little brat. He’s too ******** out of his mind to help you. You look at me, and only me, you hear?” Erebos hissed into her ear, before licking her earlobe and trailing down to her collarbone, smirking. One hand was underneath her bra, enjoying her softness, bruising her with how hard he was grabbing her. He had hooked the fingers of his other hand on her tank top, and was about to pull it down, when of course another interruption had to ruin his fun.

---

Things were going as well as one could imagine for impersonating dominion soldiers and passing through a crowd swarmed with them. Nova walked with a confident stride as she made her way further through. She paused as she heard Dani's voice in her head. She turned to look back, but Dani was making a beeline in another direction. Nova groaned from within the helmet and tried to casually head the direction Dani took off. This started to gather attention and she tried her best to play things casual. Which worked up until she reached a set of soldiers that followed after Dani, but had turned their attention now to her instead. Before Nova could even lift her rifle her helmet was struck and broke from an attack with a large blunt weapon. Her exceptionally long pink hair spilled out and revealed her young face and bright green eyes. Nova turned to look at the soldier behind her before making a dodge out of the way to keep from a second blow. The soldiers now stood in her path, her cover blown. Nova sighed before shaking her head. It had come down to this, and she was ready.

Taking out her chainsaw hilt she revved the engine as she lunged at the enemies. A wide swing took the back of a knee before she whipped herself around and dug into another's collar bone. The last soldier had came at her with knife and fought off her whirring chainsaw. She tried to shove him off but there was no getting the man off. As she had him held in place she reached back to pull out the knife on her suit and thrust it firmly into his shoulder before pulling back. With the men stunned she turned back to the direction Dani was and closed the gap.

When she arrived she was shocked at what was in front of her. Christian was up against a building wall, Dani had a hulk of a man towering in front of her, his hands following a sinister path as he overpowered the younger woman. It was vile laying witness to such a vulgar mind left to roam free. Nova could feel the presence of more soldiers hot on her trail. She turned behind her to see they hadn't come yet, but she knew they would. Nova put the knife in her hand back to the sheath on her thigh and stormed forward.

"Oh my God! Dani! Don't worry, I'll handle this..." She said with her mind, looking at the monster of a man before her, sizing him up, before standing in front of the large muscled man. "You looking for trouble big guy? Because trust me, you've found it..." She'd say, readying her chainsaw as she loosened up, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

The Dominion men that Erebos had sent away were as useless as they appeared, because someone had once again entered the alleyway. A woman, also wearing Dominion colors but clearly there to help Daniella and Christian. She seemed cocky. Erebos laughed. He pulled Daniella from the wall, holding her by her throat, and turned towards the woman. ”Come to join us, sweetheart?” he asked, eyeing her chainsaw with interest as he dropped Daniella to the floor, holding her up by her hair. ”Oh, I see. Playtime’s over.” He pouted for a moment before bursting out laughing again, pulling Daniella over towards Christian and throwing her on top of him in an unceremonious pile. He then walked over towards Nova, beckoning her with a finger. ”Come, then. I’m a little bored with all of the weak little brats I’ve been dealing with.”

As the man spoke it came as no surprise to Nova that the man felt very highly about himself. She glared as he tossed Dani aside, but despite the abusive discarding, it meant he was leaving her alone, and that was something. He called Nova at him, and it was without hesitation that she bolted forward, the massive roar of her laser chainsaw whirring and sputtering as she dove at him with a wide swing as she thrust the blade down with great force. "And I have grown tired of your repugnant presence..."

The woman had some bite to her, after all, Erebos noticed as she rushed at him with her chainsaw. She was fast, he would admit, as he didn’t have time to react. Though, to be honest, he was excited to feel what the laser would do to his skin, and as she thrust downward, he shot out his arm and felt the chainsaw hit his shoulder. Oh, how it burned, his flesh bursting under the heat of the weapon. His skin sizzled, turned red, and blackened, splitting open and leaving a pretty hefty burn through his jacket and into his shoulder. Stars burst in his eyes, and he let out a low moan mixed with pain and pleasure. ”Oooooh, that hit the spot,” Erebos moaned, before grabbing the solid part of her chainsaw and pulling her forward into his outstretched leg, hitting her right in the gut. He then pulled off her helmet, grabbed her by the hair, and punched her across the face, his knuckles digging into her cheek. He backed up, shaking her blood off of his knuckles, and smirked, pressing his other hand against his shoulder burn. ”So it is the Vegas b***h,” he observed, examining her with the same animalistic eye he did Daniella. ”All of the ladies want to dance with me today, it seems.”

Nova smirked in relief at the sight of her hit making it to Erebos' muscular flesh, but it seemed he enjoyed it about as much as she enjoyed delivering it. Once that sunk in she started to withdraw, but she was not fast enough. He had taken hold of the hilt and slammed viciously into her stomach, which caused her to bark out in pain, a splotch of blood escaping her mouth as she had the sense beaten out of her. She felt the large man grab a hold of her hair and she growled at him, inhuman, it sounded at best. Once his knuckles made contact with her she slumped over, the hilt of the chainsaw falling to the ground and fizzling out of power as it laid there idle. Her teeth, her nose, her jaw, a bloody mess as she scowled at the man before he released his grasp and she made an acrobatic back flip to get away. Wiping the excess blood on her lip she looked the man over once more. "Indeed. And you are Erebos, I know your name as well. So why, why are you working with the Dominion? When did they receive your loyalties in their back pocket? We pirates get the bad name, for being loyal to only ourselves, but at least we don't hide behind Gods and curtains of a false democracy. I would say we're not so different, but that would be untrue. I have not forgotten my code. Where as you, you revel in your land of the lost and misguided. Nothing personal, but I must stop you..."

With that she stood up from her weakened position and rush the man once more, hoping that her smaller size and exceptional speed would gain her an advantage, as she made a swing with her leg to slam up again Erebos' chest with her heel before twisting her torso, whipping out the knife on her thigh and bringing it to make contact with his face.

Erebos heard a voice in his comm, and he realized that he had spent a little too much time playing around in the alley. He had Christian and Daniella, after all, and all he needed to do was bring them to Halloran, and wait at the plaza for his prize to appear. Of course, Nova Vegas appearing was a bit more annoying than he expected, for she was a resilient woman, and unfortunately talkative. She seemed like Christian in that regard, analyzing his actions. He chuckled. ”Oh dear, she thinks I’m an Olympian!” Erebos yelled to no one in particular, laughing. ”Democracy? You think I care about that…oooooh, that’s funny, that you think I care about what other useless little ******** think of me.” He made a defensive stance as she rushed at him, unable to move as quickly as she, and felt her leg against his chest as she came at him with a knife. He braced himself for the impact, turned his body, and grabbed her leg, throwing her off-balance. The knife buried into his collarbone, blood oozing around the blade, and he hissed in pain. His body swam with adrenaline and uppers, pushing the real effects of his injuries to the back of his mind.

Poor Nova, however, was now in his grasp, and he pulled her against him, one of his arms curled around her body. ”You and your friends should stop trying to figure me out,” he hissed in her ear, flicking his tongue against it playfully. He pulled the knife from his collarbone, moaning a little, and grinned at her. ”Because you’re right. I don’t have a code. I do what I feel like. And right now, I feel like...well, you’ll see!” Erebos let go of her with a grin. He punched her in the gut, and slashed the knife deep across her face, catching her jaw and dragging the blade all the way up to her right eye. He left the blade sitting buried in her face. [******** hell…you’re bleeding all over me,” he growled, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he kicked her away from him. He backed up, fishing for some more methamphetamine to inject in order to push away his dizziness. He turned on his direct link to Halloran as he walked over to Christian and Daniella. Noticing Daniella was still conscious, he kicked her across the face, though not too hard so he didn’t break any of her bones. ”Hey, Halloran,” he said with a grin as he lifted the two onto his shoulders like they weighed nothing, ”You’ll never guess who I ran into. The GenEx brat and his girlfriend! I’m bringing them to you now.” He clicked off the comm, grinning. Before he headed off, he cast a glance back at Nova. ”Ooooh. You don’t look so good. Hope that doesn’t leave a scar. You want to look your best for Tiberius, don’t you?” he asked, letting out an unhinged laugh as he walked off into the streets.

"To be honest, I don't think you care about much. Kinda supports the whole arrogant to a fault thing you got going for ya..." Nova was glad to see the blade dive into the man, but she was thrown off balance and tried hard to get herself upright. As his arm wiggled its way around her like a filthy worm she moved away but he had her in his clutches. The touch of his tongue against her ear made her ear flicker about as she made a sour expression. He punched her in the gut once more and she could feel her body give up. Her will however, had not. She glanced up right as she saw a the blade coming at her straight on. The knife cutting deep into her face and half her vision was gone. She pulled back, her hands grasping fiercely on her face as she let out a shriek of pain immediately pulling the knife from her. She had suffered painful blows before, but none like this one. Being her face the wound bled quite a lot. The man even made mention of this, but Nova was writhing in pain, she did not even hear him. She stammered to get to her hands and knees as she saw him taking Dani and Christian, she reached for them, but to no avail. He made one last comment and with that Nova took a rock and tossed it, spitting in his direction as she glared, her face forever tainted with this blinding mark. She no longer looked like the little porcelain princess aboard the Pirate King's ship, she looked as rough and damaged as all the pirate low lives of the sea of endless skies.

Much to her dismay, the b*****d was taking Daniella and Christian, and there was nothing she could do about it. her head slumped down as she shook her head in ultimate defeat. She had nothing. The battle was lost.

Once Erebos left Nova rolled onto her back as the world spun around her. She looked to the sky and watched as the stars moved so fast on such a small surface compared to back home on Earth. She was near blacking out, but she still had something she had to do. Getting to her feet she looked about as she noticed another Dominion goon heading her way. She needed help. She needed to get Alister. Sighing heavily she noticed with her one good eye the soldier held a large grenade launcher, and on his person, a flare grenade. It appeared all was not lost. Even if things were not looking good for her, she could at least get Alister pointed in the right direction. Dani could not go back to GenEx. She deserved her freedom, and she deserved to be out of their grasps. With his back turned she pulled her dial up on the tractor beam and in an instant, the man's head was gone. She quickly headed to grab the weapon and assembled the flare. Pointing it up into the air as she worried that the kickback would knock her out. She took a deep breath before firing.

As the flare went off like a damned firecracker she pulled herself over to a small space between a building and its compactor and hid. Breathing heavily her hand reached up to feel her face. The scar was huge, and she wondered if she'd ever see through her right eye again. She shook her head of all her thoughts and wondered how soon someone would respond. Hopefully Alister would arrive, if he wasn't already dead. And hopefully before the Dominion did. This mission had become an absolute disaster. There was no other way of slicing it.

╔══════════════════════════════╗


So hit me like a man, love me like a woman
Bury me alive, I can see it in your eyes, you want it
Some will give you pain, some will give you pleasure
Hit me like a man, love me like a woman



╚══════════════════════════════╝

❝...once you utter it, you are it's slave.❞

xxxx┇ ✦ Luna // Alley
xxxx┇ ♢ 10% - Thoroughly beaten, blinded in one eye, large slash across right side of face
xxxx┇ ✦ Uneasy // Scared // Worried
xxxx┇ ✦ Save Yourself

[Lysander the Poet]

Alister Blood had been doing this job a long time. Before that, he’d been a soldier, much like the ones they were gunning down in the streets. All that considered, he knew, as they began their assault. Halloran had been waiting for them. He knew that they would be coming for Pierce. They would take Daniella once they found her, retrieve Christian for his daddy, and leave the rest of them dead in the dust. But if this was how it had to end for them, Alister would ensure that they went down fighting. He was surrounded by people that would give their lives at his order, without a second thought. A pirate could not wish for a better swan song than this. As if he had accepted his death, Alister moved forward with his squad. While all the others had split off, pressing the assault from multiple points at once, Alister had chosen to head up the main street, a straight shot between him and the plaza. The strongest opposing force would most likely be here. The comms were almost instantly filled with chatter as both teams began to engage enemies. Three squadrons of Dominion soldiers were moving up the street, with a large mech stomping in behind them. Looked to be some sort of long ranged artillery mech. The Dominion had been smart enough to set up gates and barricades along the procession. Alister and company could use them as cover, as well as the alleyways. ”Alright ladies and gents. We’ve got some dumb a** ******** coming in for the kill. Kenway, on my mark, give ‘em hell. Everyone else pick off the stragglers. Lissy, once you’ve got a moment...think you could give me a hand with that mech?” There was a slight beep of confirmation on his HUD from both Kenway and Harding, indicating they were prepared to engage. Alister could hear gunshots coming from above, assuming the high team had made some new friends. ”Kenway. Now.”

From somewhere behind him, Kenway let loose. In his hands he held a VF-24 Grenade Launcher, capable of firing six grenades before requiring a reload. A barrage of the small explosives catapulted through the air, landing in the midst of the oncoming Dominion force. Several detonations tore them to pieces, shaking the surrounding buildings, and leaving a small crater in the street. Those who had survived the opening salvo seemed determined to continue on. Alister spun out from cover, and took a few careful shots with his Raptors, eliminating six more of the soldiers. The rest of his squad picked off the last few, and they moved up. A large thud hit the air, and Alister’s gaze drifted up to the artillery shell falling towards them. ”Back to cover! Incoming artillery. LISSY, GET WORKING ON THAT THING!” The artillery shell struck the barricade in front of them, and the explosion ripped it to pieces, and collapsed the building on either side. The shockwave after tossed them back like ragdolls, and Alister watched in horror as the life signs of one of his crew went blank. Everything was aching, and Alister forced himself off the ground, rushing to the body. Checked for a pulse, a sign of breathing, anything that would indicate survival. There was nothing, and Alister gave a mere second of mourning, before retrieving a personal item from the corpse for later. The death toll had been slowly rising ever since he met Daniella. It was a moment of weakness and frustration that thrust that thought into his head. Just a momentary lapse, that melted away quickly. He had to concentrate on the mission. A pair of shots rang out, as if in reply to his new focus, and Alister watched as two large holes punched themselves through the mech, destroying its targeting system and power source. The metallic monstrosity collapsed, and Alister grinned behind his visor. ”Nice shooting, Harding. Next time, try not to wait so long. Let’s keep moving up, people.”

Up on the rooftops, things were getting out of hand. Ella, Roderick, Zacharais, Harding, and Alexei had encountered the first of many genetic monstrosities that had come to see them all off to their deaths. Roderick was dead, the Lethe were helping the Dominion, Just as Alister had regained his momentum, his focus, Alexei had managed to bring him down a peg. He had led them all into a ******** deathtrap. Every single life that was lost today would stain his soul with their blood. Alister’s crew...his family...he was responsible for them, and they might never see another day. Most jobs they had ever done were quick, quiet, and easy. It wasn’t often that Alister had ever lost someone. There was no level of acceptable human loss when it came to his crew. This mission was going to s**t. There was no way around that fact. And, whether or not things were going as planned, Tiberius Pierce was still going to be executed. They still owed it to Nova to save him, even if she had left to do it on her own. Alister’s thoughts once again drifted to the pair of women. He was worried for them. There had been no word, Christian had run off to find his lover, and here he was, huddled behind a wall, as gunshots filled his hearing. Lissy stared down the scope of her rifle, down onto the streets, her hands seeming to tremble slightly as images of that monster, and Roderick’s final moments, flashed before her eyes over and over. Octavian’s voice was practically lost in the horror, without a response to be made. She watched as a pair of security drones altered their course, identifying a group of Dominion soldiers, and opened fire, slaughtering them where they stood. The streets of New Armstrong would be filled with blood. ”We...we have to keep going,” she managed to mutter, her characteristic joy and overall giddiness taking a backseat.

Another voice blared over the comms soon after, full of frustration and heavy breathing. ”Captain Blood. We’ve got a heavy enemy presence on your left flank. I think-GET THE ******** OFF OF ME!” The outburst was followed by a chorus of gunshots, and something that sounded distinctly like a neck being snapped, and a few violent roars. The voice came back in after that, crackling over the channel, ”I think we’re in a bit over our heads here. These Lethe reinforcements...not to mention a few other monstrosities that definitely are not Olympian in origin. I think GenEx is trying to get into the nightmare business. I’ve got everyone running local gas and oxygen filtration in their suit, so they shouldn’t accidentally breath in any of this nightmare stuff. I think we’ll have to stop pushing further over here, and instead adopt a holding protocol, so your squad isn’t overrun. Whatever Octavian did, it’s working. The mechs aren’t properly identifying friend and foe, forcing the Dominion to take them out, or die trying, leaving us to mop up whatever’s left. It’s up to you, Blood.”

Not what Alister wanted to hear...all of it was piling up. He tried to shake away all the negative thoughts plowing through his head. He had to think like a military commander, not a pirate. He had to go back to thinking with his brain and guts, and not his heart. ”Roger that. Alexei, we need to keep pushing forward. Octavian, see if you can take down any more defenses, and get me an update on Tiberius. We may not have another chance to stop and rest ladies and gents.” Alister pulled himself away from safety, turning the corner just in time to see another one of those GenEx hulks charging down the road. He remembered his previous encounter, back on Calypso, and grinned. Holstering his pistols, he tugged free his pair of durasteel katanas, and watched the beast approach him. As it charged, he leaped out of the way, like a matador taunting a bull. The beast went careening into a building, attempting to change directions, taking out the entire first floor in an instant. The dust began to settle, and it pulled itself out of the rubble, crawling free from the confines of the building, and watching Alister twirl the twin blades in his hands. More Dominion soldiers were coming, but Kenway and the others would handle that. ”Lissy...I think I’m gonna need a few more of those magic shots from you.” The hulk roared furiously, and rushed Alister again. He dodged once more, barely moving out of the creature’s way as it swung a giant arm in an attempt to swat him aside. It was Blood’s turn, as he made a charge of his own, jumping up and stabbing both blades into the creatures side, ripping them free one at a time, trying to climb onto the beast's back. Inhuman blood seemed to ooze from the wounds, staining Alister’s armor as he began the ascent. The monster started to flail wildly, attempting to throw off the interloper. ”Captain, I can’t shoot the damn thing with you riding it like that. I’m just as likely to put a few holes in you.”

”Take the damn shot!” Alister had stopped climbing, and was holding on for dear life. This one was both bigger and stronger than the one he fought previously, and it showed. Lissy was watching through her scope, and nervously, she pulled the trigger. A huge chunk of flesh and muscle was obliterated as an armor piercing round made a path through the hulk’s shoulder, right next to Alister. It shrieked in agony, getting up on hind legs and giving an ear splitting roar. Alister quickly swung himself up, tearing out his blades as he took the air, and stabbed them into it’s throat, the blades piercing the creatures windpipe and coming out either side. It gurgled and groaned, flailing a bit more before it collapsed onto the ground. It took more than a few tugs for Alister to retrieve his blades, and he climbed down from the damned thing, exhausted. ”Good ********] Just as he had gotten a chance to breathe, one of those ballsy Dominion ******** came out from behind a wall, and shot him. The rounds struck Alister in the chest, his armor taking most of the impact. The pirate looked up at the soldier, who looked dumbfounded. The shots seemed to just make Alister even angrier. He took off, getting a running start, and with his bloodied blades, he cleaved the soldier in half. ”How much further do we have, Kenway?” He shouted over the comms, looking for something else to kill. ”We’re almost to the plaza, Captain.”

The only thing holding Alister together from his various injuries was the fun little genetic mods he had as a soldier, and his armor pumping him full of painkillers to counteract the agony. But now his adrenaline was taking over, and with the plaza near, he was ready to end it. And then he saw it; a flare. He considered for a moment it could be the Dominion, but they had no reason to signal anyone. There were only a few possibilities, and he didn’t like any of them. ”High team, keep working up there. Take down as many defenses as you can, and push hard. Low team, proceed with extreme prejudice. Kenway, Lissy, cover me. I’m heading for that flare. Six, Alexei, keep your groups alive for a little longer, and we’ll be out of here in no time...we don’t need to lose anyone else.” He hadn’t heard from Christian at all. They hadn’t found Daniella, or Nova. But as they approached the plaza, that’s where they would probably be...if they were still alive. That haunting possibility chilled him too his bones. Harding followed from above, her enormous rifle clutched tightly in her delicate hands, while Alister and Kenway took a side street that would lead them to the flare. Down one of the passages, a Dominion patrol with a spider-bot moved out in front of them. Lissy was quick to take down the mech, before it’s dual miniguns even started spinning up. Kenway opened fire, his bullets tearing through two of the soldiers in an instant. Alister whipped around with his katana’s, beheading the first with a clean swipe. His foot flew up, catching another one in the throat, crushing his windpipe. The third came at him, and slammed him into the alley wall. He was stronger than expected, and Alister suspected modification. The man placed both his hands around Alister’s throat, and began squeezing. As oxygen began to struggle entering his lungs, Alister slowly pulled his legs up, gritting his teeth, and placed one thigh on either side of the man’s head. Grabbing his neck between them, he twisted one way, then the other. The man’s grip instantly loosened, and Alister fell to the ground, the body doing nothing to stop his painful fall. Kenway took out two more men, clearing out the passage, before reaching down and pulling Alister off the ground. ”Thanks…”

Finally, they made it to the flare, which was finally dying off. That’s where they found Nova, her face mutilated. ”s**t, Captain…” Kenway knelt down next to her, giving a quick check. ”She’s still alive...but this is a pretty savage wound.” Alister growled, obviously furious. There was no sign of either Christian or Daniella as he looked around, just a few dead Dommies, and a lot of blood...and a nice sized crater. Alister lowered himself next to Nova, and brushed the strands of pink hair away from her damaged eye. He frowned, and spoke just loud enough that if she were conscious, she could hear him, ”Kenway’s going to take care of you...I’m gonna get Ti, you hear me? I made a promise…” He breathed out, stood up, and checked his weapons. ”I’m going into the plaza...once I get Ti, we’re going to need to need a pick up from Persephone. Someone make contact with her, and meet at the rendezvous point. Coordinates going through. Hopefully she can get down here…” There had been no contact with the ship since they landed, which was not how Persy usually operated. She typically liked to check in every so often. Maybe she was just distracted...or maybe something had happened. They were so close, and he couldn’t afford to think about it now. Alister could see the upper tiers of the plaza from where he stood, but he choose to take to the roof tops instead. He cleared through a building with relative ease, coming up to the roof, and gazing outwards. A huge crowd was assembled down below, and upon a catwalk, he could see Halloran...and Tiberius. True to his name, a set of gallows had been erected, and Ti stood upon the platform, noose around his neck. Halloran was about to make his speech.

”Glorious citizens of the Terran Coalition, honored guests...today, we claim a mighty victory against forces that seek to tear us apart for glory and profit. While we fight a war against the monstrous Olympian savages, the pirates and their Alliance, which they claim seeks a return of freedom and democracy, ravage our supply lines. They kill our soldiers and citizens for money and salvage. They are the reason that the Olympians stand a chance against us. Their meddling has cost us many innocent and valiant lives. But today, we show them we are not afraid. We show them that we will prevail, despite their efforts. I have always taken a hard stance against piracy, and am unpopular with many because of it. They think I squander resources on such petty things. But those who are truly faithful to the Coalition know that what I do is for the good of us all. I know many of you have heard the news. A pirate, named Alister Blood, has started a rebellion against us. Just as his predecessors have, he seeks to kill as many of us as he can. He wants to bring ruin to our way of life, and our freedom. And all for a quick bit of money and glory. He is the worst of their kind, and wants you to be afraid. We will not be. I have before you the mightiest of all these degenerates. The so called Pirate King, Tiberius Pierce. Today, we will kill the greatest of pirates, to show the rest of them we mean business. To bring them to their knees. And they will either submit...or share his fate.”

The plaza was shielded, so Alister wouldn’t be able to simply put a bullet in the man’s head. He’d have to physically approach, and before Halloran dropped Ti to his death. His speech was being met with much cheering and enthusiasm as he went on, and it disgusted Alister. He measured the distance with his HUD, and brought his rifle out. The shield operated in such a way that the velocity of the projectile object would determine whether it was stopped, relative to its mass. Therefore, a small bullet moving at a certain speed would be blocked, as would an artillery shell, slower, but of much more mass. Using this principle, Alister fitted a grapple to his rifle, and fired it through the shield. It hooked just beyond the catwalk, claws extending, embedding itself in the building. The other end, he set up on the wall behind him, high enough to allow him to zipline down, and grab Ti. Getting a running start, Alister jumped, attaching to the zipline, gliding across it, bracing himself for passing through the shield. As he approached, Halloran stopped abruptly. His men started opening fire, until he instructed them to stop...and then initiated the execution. The bottom of the platform gave way, and Alister watched as Tiberius dropped. Either his neck would shattered, or he would suffocate. If only he could get there to cut him down...but as he was reaching the catwalk, a strong force stopped his progress, knocking him from the line, and into the metal. One of the GenEx monsters looked on as Halloran approached Alister, his grin so wide it almost tore his face in half.

”And here he is, people of the Coalition! The illustrious pirate, Alister Blood! It seems this day is much more fortuitous than I could have imagined for our glorious people. With Pierce dead, and Blood soon to follow...no one will oppose us in our war against the Dominion.” Halloran knelt down, pressing his pistol into Alister’s gut, and whispered to the man, ”And there will be no one to save Mister Bernet or Miss Pearson. Or you, for that matter.” Alister gave Halloran a hard kick, knocking him back a few steps, and rolled over to face his enemy. Halloran was still smiling, and holstered his pistol. He looked to the side, to one of his men, and beckoned. The young man brought Halloran a hefty durasteel blade, which he unsheathed, bloodlust in his eyes. ”Come now, Alister. Let us settle our conflict...with some honor. If you aren’t completely devoid of it, that is.” Alister struggled to his feet, and removed his helmet, tossing it aside to look from his eyes into his foe’s. He tugged free one of his own blades, and smiled back. ”You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to kill you, do you, Gallows?” He stepped forward, not wanting to make the first attack, but so anxious. ”You know I hate being called that...Butcher.” The two traded reviled nicknames, as the crowd watched with bated breath, and Dominion forces started to pull out of the city, their prize already in hand, their victory already claimed. Halloran made it clear that he wanted to end Alister Blood.

The two of them stared at each other for an eternity, and Halloran moved first. For an older gentleman, he was fast. Layers of muscle, while not as impressive as Erebos’, rippled beneath his uniform. His demeanor was cold, calm, and contained, as he swung his blade towards Alister, who rose his own to block the strike. He felt his feet slide back a few centimeters as he blocked, gauging Halloran’s strength. Without sparing a second to savor the first attack, Halloran pulled back and swung horizontally at Alister, who ducked under the blow. Halloran responded by bringing up his knee, and smashing it into Alister’s face. The pirate stumbled back, but had no time to be distracted. Halloran continued his onslaught, bring his sword to bear against Blood, each swing seeming stronger and more overwhelming than the last. Each block seemed to be weaker and weaker, Alister having no time to regroup. Finally, his guard faltered, and Halloran’s blade descended, cutting deep between his throat and shoulder, his armor blocking the blade from being absolutely deadly, but bone shattered, and the blade still broke skin. Blood rushed out, and the armor attempted to seal the breach at skin level, and contain the wound. Halloran struggled pulling the blade from Alister, and Blood weakly swung his blade, cutting across Halloran’s chest and shearing away his uniform, revealing the musculature below. It wasn’t natural. Halloran finally tore his blade free, and Alister threw his entire body weight into this opponent, knocking him back. Drugs pumping into his system to dull the pain, the suit clamping down around the wound and stabilizing his arm, he felt some of his strength return. This time, he put Halloran on the defensive. The two swung, and parried and blocked, and clashed more than once. Back and forth across the catwalk they fought. Alister made a few shallow cuts, his blade barely tasting Halloran’s blood. Halloran definitely had years of experience over him, and some special gene mods that allowed him to keep up, even at his older age. While he never thought it would be easy, Alister hadn’t expected this. One particularly hard swing, he miscalculated by a moment, and Halloran plunged the blade into his gut. The admiral sneered, and Alister struggled, trying to strike at Halloran again. The admiral grabbed his left wrist, and peeled it away from the katana, which Alister held in both hands. He compressed his grip, his enormous strength crushing the metal, causing Alister’s katana to fall. Alister dropped to his knees, and Halloran was enjoying his torment. ”Beg,” he instructed.

”Never.”

Halloran chuckled, wrenching Alister’s arm back, shattering the bones within. Scooping up Alister’s katana, he inspected it casually, chuckling. ”Much finer make than mine...it could barely sheer through your armor. Let us see how much stronger this one is, yes?” He swung the blade down, as hard as he could with one hand, the blade striking just above Alister’s left bicep. Alister sharpened that blade every day. It was one of the strongest castings of durasteel ever forged. Even still, it only made it about halfway through his arm with that strike. Halloran seemed entertained as Alister screamed out in agony, squirming, but going nowhere between Halloran’s grip, his shattered arm, and the sword buried in his gut. With another swing, Halloran cleaved the rest of the way through Alister’s arm. Alister screamed out again, and fell to his side, onto what was left of his arm. Blood began to pool on the catwalk. Halloran dropped the blade, and tore his own from Alister’s gut, setting the blade at the pirate’s throat. ”And now I take your head...as a trophy.” A loud sound penetrated the airspace, as a rocket propelled grenade flew through the air, and hit the catwalk. The explosion destroyed the structure’s supports, and sent Halloran flying back. The low and high teams had converged on the plaza, as they had killed the rest of Halloran’s men who hadn’t returned to their ships. Half the catwalk still stood, barely, and Alister rolled off the edge, his blade falling with him, and he struck the ground with a crunch. the katana stabbing itself into the ground next to him. He groaned in agony, only managing to look around once more, trying to find Halloran, before he couldn’t bear it anymore, and just laid there, trying to hold back his cries of pain. It was done. Their mission was a failure. Kenway dropped his rocket launcher, and looked to Six, who was now holding Nova in her arms. Everyone was battered, broken, drenched in so much blood...the people of New Armstrong had fled the plaza. And there lay Alister Blood, a monument to this great failure. Halloran had won.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Health: 15% - Several stab and slash wounds, a shallow wound on his right side between throat and shoulder, broken nose, head trauma, and missing left arm. Massive amounts of blood loss.

Location: Plaza Wreckage, New Armstrong, Luna

Company: High and Low Teams.

Music: Suicide Mission - Mass Effect 2 OST

OOC:

[chibichick27]

Ʌℓεxεɪ Ϩαηʈɵɢɵℓ∂

"I need a FIX 'cuz I'm going down."

outfit // Rescuing Tiberius
stamina // 11% - windpipe partially shredded, head trauma, temporarily blind, weakened heart
addiction status // overdosed on methamphetamine (heart attack, cardiac arrest, adrenaline shot to the heart)

Everything was going wrong. Alexei spent a portion of the fight to the plaza keeping herself from falling into her head with anxiety about Lethe’s involvement. There were so many questions plaguing her about it, but every second she spent worrying was another second one of her teammates had to watch her back that much more carefully. Octavian had helped them out by rewiring the drones and mechs, and Will was luckily following her orders without complaint. She had tried to keep an eye on him throughout the mission, but with the revelation of her drug cartel flipping to Dominion mastership, she hadn’t really been keeping tabs on him. When he suggested turning the flak cannons, she looked at him and nodded. ”Do it.” She wondered if she would feel something at the thought of killing her own people, but unsurprisingly, she felt nothing. They were all a bunch of scum. She’d rather kill them than the Dominion, to be honest. But since they were all mixed up together, might as well go for gold.

As she relied on Will to do his thing, Alexei once again crossed the rooftops, keeping her team close and on the lookout for more Lethe soldiers, and Nightmare canisters. Any sign she saw of green fumes, she kept them far away. Six’s group was making mincemeat of the enemy on her end, and Lissy was providing Alister with cover fire as they shadowed his movements. She watched both Alister and Kenway closely. Kenway usually stayed further back, providing explosive support, but she kept a few bullets ready to keep him safe. Alister seemed to be having the time of his life, though she suspected he was funneling all of his anger at each setback into killing more of the enemy. When she heard Christian had gone missing, and that there was no sign of Daniella, her heart began to hurt with worry. And when they found Nova, her face mutilated and her spirit practically broken, Alexei saw just how bad the mission was going.

Alister rushed onward, leaving her team in the dust. ”Wait! Don’t be hasty!” Alexei warned into her comm, but the radio silence suggested he wasn’t listening. She crawled down from the roof, looking at Kenway as he applied first aid to Nova’s face. He looked back at her, his face having lost that optimistic grin he usually wore. ”s**t’s bad, Alexei. Real bad. She’ll make it…but who knows if she’ll come out better for it,” he muttered, throwing away a blood-soaked rag. ”Who the hell would do that to her? And right before seeing her lover again…” Alexei wondered out loud. It actually made her angry. ”Hey, don’t ask me. Some twisted b*****d. Sorry to put you a man down, but can you leave Ella with me? She’s better at this than I am. I’ll keep a lookout…” Alexei nodded, and Ella dropped her gun, and took over nursing Nova. Kenway, grenade launcher resting on his shoulder, walked over to Alexei. ”Go make sure our captain doesn’t do anything stupid, okay?” he asked. He opened the glass to his helmet and leaned his head through, kissing the front of her glass. He smiled, though his happiness at seeing her okay was still dulled by the losses they had suffered. Alexei heard Halloran’s voice echo from the plaza. ”I will. See you soon,” she replied, giving him an equally defeated smile.

Erebos stepped out onto an outer platform, near Halloran but not quite close enough to upstage him. Above him, the Charon floated, Lethe soldiers keeping their guns and Nightmare canisters ready. His wounds were dressed, the bullets having been scraped out somewhat crudely as soldiers prepared him for presentation to the crowd. Even though he knew Halloran would throw no credit his way, he still had to look menacing enough to the crowd. He wasn’t allowed to have injuries. Not that it mattered to him. Hell, let the masses see him battered and bruised. If only they had seen what he did to the other guy! Well, woman, in his case. Happily for him, he had been able to refill his methamphetamine syringe and get in a few extra cocaine lines after dropping off Daniella and Christian where he had been told to put them. He grew bored with Halloran’s speech, after all the man could drone on and on and on and—Alister Blood was here!

Erebos grinned upon seeing him. He’d always wanted to see the man in action after Halloran had made mention of him. And he was impressive indeed, trying to stop the rat boy from swinging. But he couldn’t. A swell of excitement buried under massive disappointment. ”Really?” Erebos said to Alister, though really it was to no one in particular because Alister was busy fighting Halloran and getting his a** kicked and clearly no one could hear him. And when the arm came off—off! how fun!—he snorted in disbelief. ”I was kinda hoping you’d kill Halloran. What a let-down.”

Alexei launched herself up onto the outer wall of the plaza. She activated her eye’s shielding, covering her with enough protection to break through the shield and leave a sizable hole for others to follow, and possibly collapse the shield if someone were to hit it with enough force. She saw a terrible sight—Tiberius Pierce, swinging dead from the rope. Her heart sank with the realization that the mission was a failure. Nova was mutilated, nearly dead in an alley far away, and they would have no good news to tell her. Trying to locate the ground team, she found them in combat with Dominion on the ground, fighting to reach Ti’s corpse, perhaps to cut it down. Alister came into view—he was fighting Halloran. ”Hold on! I’m coming!” she yelled as she saw the wretched man’s blade drive into Alister’s shoulder, under his throat. She pulled out her SPK, aiming carefully, with her wrist crossbow trained on Halloran’s leg. From this angle, I can take out his Achilles heel…give Alister some time to recover, Alexei thought as she readied the trigger on both weapons. Something flashed in her eye, however, and she jerked to the right, avoiding a bullet. The arrow meant to sink into Halloran’s leg went into a Lethe soldier, instead, who was across the platform, standing next to—

To—

To—

Alexei’s blood went cold. As she stared across the platform, the world momentarily stopped. Her SPK slid from her fingers, wet with a fearful sweat, and she went suddenly dizzy. N-no. I’m seeing things…I’m c-crazy. I-I-I… the raven-haired woman struggled to control her breath as her world broke apart even further.

Kessel Station falling to pieces underneath Dominion chaos. A man, shot several times and laying on top of her, handing over a briefcase. There is no time for intimacy in that moment, and she aches with unhappiness that they never had a proper goodbye. She loves him too much, and it hurts that he’s gone. Until she spends time on her own, without his influence, without his abuse, and she realizes she is much freer with him gone. That her love for him weighed her down, kept her meek and heartless for anyone else. And she will find her own way, now, away from that man.

Her next words barely afforded a whisper, though it felt louder than an earthquake when spoken. ”…Dominick?”

Erebos heard someone say his name, his real name. He perked up and stared across the way. His heart burst with joy, and a loving smile sprang onto his face. Suddenly, he felt warm, comfortable, happy. That beautiful hair, those drinkable lips, perfect breasts, shapely hips and long legs. Also, that piercing orange stare, looking straight through him. He felt all of the air leave his body, given gladly as he began to say her name, rolling it around in his tongue like a sweet treat that he couldn’t get enough of. ”Alexei! Oh, Alexei, Alexei, Alexei,” he gasped, feeling a swell of warmth ripple through him. ”I missed you, you can’t even believe how much I missed you—“
it then dawned on him that the Lethe goon next to him had shot at her. That warmth quickly backflipped into anger as his fists curled up, knuckles polished. He turned to the goon and growled at him. ”…you shot at her,” he accused in a low voice. The goon fidgeted and took a step back, realizing his mistake. ”S-She was aiming at Halloran, boss. I-I figured I’d stop her—I-I mean I w-wasn’t gonna kill he—“ he was quickly silenced by a punch to the face. ”You do not shoot her! You do not even think about HURTING HER YOU LITTLE PIECE OF ********! YOU. DON’T. HURT. HERRRR!” A sickening crunch crackled through the air as Erebos began to beat the man literally to death, caving in his face with his knuckles.

When he was finally done, he backed up, his newly clean knuckles now dripping with blood, bits of skull, and brain matter. ”No no no, caaaaaaalm yourself, Dominick. Caaaaalm,” he hissed at himself, convulsing in his spot. He then stood up straight, smiled lovingly, and headed across the walk towards Alexei. ”I’m sorry you had to see that, my love. Oooooh, but you know, it made me feel good. And now,” he said, stopping midway and holding out his hand. He snapped his fingers and pointed at his side, as if he were calling a pet. ”You can come back to me now. Come on. Come here, baby. You’ve had your fun, running around the galaxy with a rag-tag team of pirates, carrying around my precious cargo in the process, but it’s time to come back to Daddy.”

Alexei, still unable to believe it was Dominick on the other side, was quickly brought to reality when he mercilessly beat to death the Lethe lackey who attacked her. It hadn’t been the first time he’d killed someone who had touched her the wrong way—without his permission, that was. And as she watched him do it, all of those memories came flooding back to her. Each and every time she had been at his mercy. She felt herself freeze up in fear, her breath vanishing, her head rush deep into a comfortable place where no one could hurt her. She touched her throat, just to make sure it wasn’t his hands stealing away her air. Her gun lay at her feet. It was so close, if only she could lean down and grab it. No! You can’t grab it. You’ll make him mad. Never make Dom mad, or he’ll hurt you. And really, you’re stupid for even wanting to make him mad. It’s your fault, don’t you see? Your fault. If you were better to him, he wouldn’t have to hurt you. NO! That’s bullshit. He’s horrible. Stay away from him.

A snap reverberated in her ears, and she instinctively stood at attention towards him. Dominick was beckoning her. She took a few steps forward. After all, he had called her. If she didn’t hurry up and go to his side, she’d get hurt.

Something else caught her attention, however. A scream—Alister’s, from worlds away. Alexei turned and gasped in horror as she saw his arm, limp on the ground, severed by his own sword which Halloran gripped in victory. ”NO!” she screamed, and she made a move to go to him, her captain. But seeing Dominick approach made her freeze again. Her heart dropped into the ground. He owned her, not Alister. No one owned her. Her head screamed twenty different things and she wanted it to stop so badly. She squeezed her eyes shut and held up her gun. To her own surprise, it was pointed at Dominick. ”I-I…I can’t go back. I’m sorry…” Alexei stuttered out, barely keeping herself together. ”…I…I need to help…m-my captain.” There it was. She had admitted it. Alister was her captain—not her owner, but her superior. Someone she chose to follow, give or take a few incidents. ”I’m here for someone else. N-Not for you, anymore. The briefcase i-isn’t important, anymore. I-I’m here for…Alister, and Daniella, a-and Nova, a-and…” despite her words, Alexei didn’t feel secure at all. ”Not for you.”

Each dismissal hurt Erebos deeper than any bullet or stab wound. It wasn’t a good hurt, either, no, it was horrible. Like his heart was being sliced and quartered by a white-hot iron. That warmth that had enveloped him began to heat into anger. A low growl escaped from his throat, his muscles tightening with each word that came from her mouth. ”Stop talking,” he warned, but she kept speaking about other people. By name. As quickly as she had spoken his, she would dare talk about others and place them above him. He flexed his fingers, trying to keep calm and failing miserably. ”Stop talking!” he snapped, taking large strides towards her. She may have been a tall woman, but as the gap between them closed he saw how tiny she was compared to him, how utterly pliable and weak. ”Daniella? That little b***h? She’s just a frail ******** toy. And Nova, the rat-slut? One little knife to the face and she went down. They weren’t even worth playing around with. But you? I love you. I love you so much and you…you dare talk about other people? Like they matter to you as much as I do? Ohhhh,” Erebos broke out into a run, like a hulking wall coming straight towards Alexei, ”I’m going to beat their ******** NAMES OUT OF YOUR BRAIN!” he screamed, breaking down and grabbing Alexei with a meaty hand, lifting her up by the throat and slamming her into the ground, head-first.

Alexei saw him coming at her, bristling in fear as his chatter became more nonsensical and angry. She knew what she had done, but when he mentioned hurting both Daniella and Nova, she perked up. ”You hurt Nova?” she asked. Upon thinking back to her wound, it suddenly didn’t surprise her at its severity. ”What did you do to Daniella?!” she yelled, similar anger boiling up in her veins. Though Alexei had not been nearly as innocent as Daniella upon her first meeting with Dominick, she knew he liked to break people until he could remold them into something he could always play with. And she would never wish a girl as sweet as Daniella to ever cross paths with someone like Dominick. Knowing his transgressions, and plagued with terror at imagined abuses against Daniella, all coupled with Alister in dire need of help, made her strength burst through her fear. Dominick’s anger had reached a peak, but she flew down to grab her gun anyway. She felt his hand make contact with her throat, and about half of her bravery faltered from that one touch, and another third disappeared when she felt the wind rip against her skin and her head crunch into the ground. Her shield shattered, and her eyes rebooted from the sheer trauma. Head bursting with pain, she blindly kicked at Dominick, feeling his muscle against her boot, and she shot at him. ”Get away from me! I-I’m done with you!”

Erebos actually felt himself starting to cry from how miserable he felt. He just wanted to bring her back to the Charon, keep her safe, and give the ******** briefcase to Halloran so they’d stop bothering him about it. He’d missed her so much, and this is how she repaid him for letting her wander the stars while he was tortured in a Dominion cell? As if she had autonomy? As if she could be happy without him? Her kicks were particularly useless against him, for he could easily shatter all of the bones in her leg if he wished, but he didn’t want to hurt her that much. Until she told him she was done with him. ”Wha—you—“ a bullet pierced him for the third time that day, straight into a rib, which cracked. He actually stopped in his tracks and looked down at the fresh wound as blood began to seep from it. She had shot him. His precious little girl. His angel. His head exploded with confused pleasure and he let out a roar that echoed across the chaos of the plaza. ”YOU DARE SHOOT ME, ALEXEI?!” Unable to really understand his own actions, he pulled out his syringe and stabbed himself, pumping himself full of methamphetamine. He, ironically, had tried to use it to relax himself, but it of course did the opposite of that. It burned his mind and seared his muscles, and the rage all found a focal point. ”I can’t ******** think straight, you, you SHOT ME?! YOU SHOT ME?! I’LL KILL YOU!” Erebos screamed, grabbing her by the back of the neck, flipping her over, and bringing the syringe down into her throat. He stabbed her over and over, plunging the entirety of the needle, and the drug into her, until the syringe was dry and the needle broke off into her throat.

Alexei’s eyes weren’t restarting fast enough. In fact, the darkness destroyed her bravery against him fully as she felt him attack her, and suddenly the familiar needle plunge into her throat. She let out a yell, which died immediately as her windpipe was violated by the needle. The drug coursed into her system, and he wouldn’t stop stabbing. She couldn’t make any noise, and saliva mixed with blood filled her throat and white-red froth spilled from her lips. Any cleanse she had managed died as the mystery toxin flowed through her, shocking her ocular nerves into disconnecting from her eyes, and the split second of vision she was allowed—watching Dominick lean over her and stab her, again and again—darkened. Her thoughts raced a million miles a minute, ten times worse than her overdose on Copernicus. She literally wanted to die as she felt blood fill her throat. To make matters worse, her chest was on fire. She felt the earth swallow her up, her heart burst against her chest, as if it were convulsing and screaming to be let out. Simultaneously her limbs went numb, and her breath stopped, and then started again like a dying engine trying for a last hurrah. Alexei was having a heart attack, which was quickly slipping into cardiac arrest, and her last moments would be in the dark, hearing her team be slaughtered around her by a vengeful and evil man. In fact, her mind had turned to soup by that point, heartbeats dissolving into complete silence, and then her body into numbness.

Kenway had heard a distress call through his comm, chatter about Tiberius being dead and Alister being dead too, and he had raced to the plaza as quickly as he could, Ella supporting Nova on her back as he butchered a few GenEx monsters with well-timed grenades and gunshots. ”Come on, they can’t be ******** serious, they can’t be!” he shouted, whipping by a few civilians running away and screaming from the plaza. He pushed through the crowd with Ella until he reached the center, and saw the King of Pirates swinging from the rope. [******** me,” he muttered bitterly, hoping Nova wasn’t awake to see it. ”CAPTAIN! WHERE ARE YOU?!” he screamed, before he caught Alister’s shadow—and Halloran’s. His eyes widened with disbelief upon seeing his captain missing an arm. ”Captain?...You sonofabitch!” he yelled, taking aim with his grenade launcher and letting one loose at the catwalk supporting Halloran. Kenway began to make his way towards them as the other teams appeared for backup, but stopped when he heard someone scream Alexei’s name on the other side. He saw what he thought was a monster, but on second glance was just a very large man, but he was attacking her, and he growled and made his way up the stairs, pointing the launcher at him. ”Alexei!! I'm coming! You, get the ******** off of—“ the broken syringe in the man’s hand came into view. He saw a long, shining silver stick jutting from Alexei’s throat, and his eyes glazed over in fury. ”How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!” he screamed, rushing at the large man and releasing a smoke bomb, then pulling the pin off of a grenade. In the confusion, he pulled Alexei up, his back becoming soaked with the blood trickling from her mouth, and he dove towards a broken column, climbing down it just as the explosion went off.

Erebos didn’t expect someone to come to her rescue. One of her new friends? Right when he began to settle down, and was prepared to carry her off to make sure she didn’t die, someone had aimed their weapon at him. A skinny little ******** who dared to call her by name. ”Ooooh, have you come at the wrong time,” he hissed, cracking his knuckles and walking over towards him. He was prepared to cave the guy’s skull in when smoke filled his lungs and eyes. Erebos doubled over, hacking, trying to keep his sight on either Alexei or the b*****d. He just made them out through the smoke, when an explosion rattled his ears and he went flying, tumbling across the catwalk and careening over the edge.

Erebos hooked his fingers around a steel beam, crushing it with the sheer force he put into holding onto it, and climbed back up, breathing heavily and seeing red. ”You ******** little…” but they were nowhere in sight. Panic filled him as Lethe began to rendezvous around him and a Dominion soldier entered their ranks. ”We have to go, now. The structure’s falling apart and the Rear Admiral’s called a retreat. It’s over, we won—“ ”I DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Erebos screamed, nearly killing the messenger but instead punching a nearby guard tower whose side bent around his hand. ”Let’s just go. You know they aren’t going to be happy with how you treated Mister Bernet and the GenEx experiment. Plus you need to explain why you don’t have what you promised him.” The messenger took a step back, holding a tranquilizer just in case he went mad again. The Lethe leader turned and took a long, deep breath. He looked at the broken syringe in his hand and tossed it to the ground. ”Fiiiiineeeee……,” he growled lowly. ”It’s fiiiiiineeeeee. Let’s go, then, to his ******** Majesty,” Erebos hissed, taking one last look at the destruction in the plaza, and grinning widely. At least he got to see her face again. ”And now I know what we’ll have to work on next time.”

Kenway rushed over towards Ella, holding Alexei on his back. His heart burned with worry. The déjà vu of the whole scenario left a horrible taste in his mouth. He didn’t want to experience this again, but the time was here and he couldn’t push it away. And there was no hospital this time. ”Give me the kit!” he yelled frantically to Ella, who had stopped to try to clean Nova’s wound again, as well as keep her from seeing Tiberius’ body. She looked at Alexei, and realized what he was going to do. ”Oh god, Kenway, you can’t—“ she cautioned, but he ripped the kit from her and began rifling through the contents frantically. ”Well, there’s nothing else I can do, and she’s not dying! Not here, not like this!” he yelled, pulling an adrenaline shot from the bottom. ”Now, get to our captain! See if he’s ******** he’s still alive.” As Ella, Nova in tow, darted off to check on Alister, Kenway took the top off of the shot and prepped the needle. It was utterly terrifying. He gently removed the thinner, broken needle from Alexei’s throat, and stroked her hair. ”Oh god, what the hell are we doing,” he said to her, though he knew she couldn’t hear. ”Just one more shot. You can do it. Oh god, Grant, what the hell are you ********] he’d never been on a mission that had gone this badly. It had really shaken him. But he had to do one last thing before he broke down. He positioned the shot, gripping the syringe tightly. With a terrified yell, he plunged the syringe into her heart, and she shot up, machine eyes wide and dilated, her breathing hectic and heavy, blood sputtering from her lips. She looked at him, unseeing, before collapsing into his arms, covered in sweat, and weak. ”I got you, Alexei. I’m here,” he said in a barely comforting tone, holding her close and casting a wide glance over from Tiberius’ body, to the destruction of the plaza, to Ella trying to cauterize Alister’s wound as Nova lay nearby, tended to now by Six. His friends surrounded them, trying to make sense of the chaos, and Kenway also broke down, tears spilling down his cheeks as he cried into Alexei’s shoulder, happy nobody further had died but absolutely miserable about everything else. For everything around him was a ruin, and any solace to be found had been beaten out of them.



_____________________________________



I, too, saw God through mud —
The mud that cracked on cheeks when wretches smiled.
War brought more glory to their eyes than blood,
And gave their laughs more glee than shakes a child.
Merry it was to laugh there —
Where death becomes absurd and life absurder.
For power was on us as we slashed bones bare
Not to feel sickness or remorse of murder.


- "Apologia Pro Poemate Meo", Wilfred Owen


_____________________________________