Chapter One of Crion's Revenge
[From Chapter 12]
Alexia Khan walked into a rather seedy and disreputable establishment. 'Leonard's Cavern' was bar off the side of the North Piett Academy but not one attended by the elite of the students. The barely lit hyperpool hall and gambling parlor had a considerably lower class clientelle. It happened to be a location for students who wanted trouble to go to. Exactly where the man Alexia needed most should be found.
The tavern reaked of smoked stelium crystals, whiskey, and grime. The barely illuminated nature of the place helped conceal the patron's faces. A couple of barely functional holoscreens showed Crion gladiator fights and zoom bike racing on the backwall. The sun glowed brightly in the noonday sky but a half dozen people were already passed out drunk. A small group of students were next to a battered group of bystanders that looked out of place in such a disreputable locale.
"You people make me sick! You and the rest of your race are living fat off the glorious pureblooded Crion citizenry!" Elton Prescott the Third said as the genoid beat a smaller dark headed man. Hardly a fair fight given the slight fellow was being held by one of Elton's classmates. Alexia guessed the boy to be one of the many disliked minority groups that had been created by Crion's gene conscious society. She personally couldn't tell the difference between Crion's artificially created ethnic groups.
Elton blonde haired man with eyes almost like Cassius. They were about the same height and weight even though the Crimson Prince happened to be ten years Elton's senior. Prescott proudly wore the paramilitary uniform of a Crion Allegiance special serviceman. Stripes that made him appear to be higher ranking than his fellows, despite no such divisions existing in the Allegiance. Given Prescott had been kicked out of the military for his insubordination, it was no surprise he resented his loss in rank.
"Help...." a bruised blonde girl lay on the ground beside Prescott's feet even as yet another student had a knife drawn on her.
"You stay down! We're going to show your boyfriend what a real man can do," Elton snapped down at her. "You may even like it."
"Ahem," Alexia Khan coughed into her fist.
"Do you want some?" Elton spun around and pulled a energy pistol from his back pocket. He aimed it right at Alexia with a sneer.
Then Alexia narrowed her eyes. It only took a second for Elton to visibly pale.
"Mistress Khan!" Elton immediately entered a salute. Prescott's followers did the same and let their victim fall to the ground. The beaten couple then screambled to their feet before making a break for the door.
"Lousy pieces of...." the blonde haired student lifted his gun to blast the fleeing man's head in.
"Let him go. Genetrash is none of your concern right now," Alexia pushed the gun down with her forefinger.
"Yes mistress," Elton returned to saluting.
[from Chapter 14]
"Nice neighborhood," Ishikawa Amada said as he'd been forced by Admiral Katzman's two shocktrooper bodyguards to follow him. The quartet had been taken by black hoverlimo to a residential area in the South Quarter. The region was simultaneously the most heavily patrolled and least stable in the city. Sand colored buildings and boarded over windows gave the place the feel of a warzone.
Amada thought 'Which is what it is, I suppose.'
Widespread looting had accompanied the invasion and much of the devastation had been inflicted during the riots after Bast's government surrendered. The house they were visiting was one of the nicest ones in the area. It was two stories tall with ample windows and a pleasant yard in front of it. Children's toys were spread across the yard and a fountain still functioned to the left side of the sidewalk to the door. The windows had bars affixed to them now and the curtains were drawn behind every pane of glass.
"We evicted a family of seven for this house's usage," Admiral Katzman replied before they stopped. "The children have been shuffled off into various Earth institutions and the adults are been interred under a mountain of paperwork. The rest of the buildings in the city block are filled with sympathizers or damaged to the point of abandonment. No one questions the number of people we lead in or the number of crates that we carry out."
"Are you trying to sound like a psychopath?" Ishikawa said before thinking. That was when he realized what had just come out of his mouth.
"Hahahahahaha," Admiral Katzman showed emotion for the first real time. "I was wondering how long it would take you to show how much this disgusts you. That's good. It's the beginning of your new life. A person that doesn't have any strong opinions on what we do isn't a worthwhile candidate."
Ishikawa sarcastically had the idea 'Great, I've impressed him.'
"This shouldn't take more than an hour or two Captain Ishikawa," Berg replied before getting out of the car. "Then you can returned to the life that war has so cruely interrupted."
Amada stepped out of the limo and followed the Admiral "Why me?"
The Admiral seemed to consider that question when they arrived at the door "Why you?"
"There has to be a thousand pilots who'd be overjoyed to join the Titans. People with reputations as glowing as mine. Why are you going to such lengths for me?" Ishikawa just held out his hands in a plea.
"Because they weren't chosen. You were," The Admiral seemed annoyed. "That means that you will obey or die. We always get what we want and we never retreat."
The door to the house then opened to reveal a place that smelled of blood, sweat, excrement, and decay. The faceless metal trooper on the other side of the door had the benefit of his helmet to disguise the stench. The furniture had all been removed and the place had only empty bulbs illuminating the rooms. Another shocktrooper was located in the living room to the side. There a single chair contained a female prisoner. She was tied up and gagged but seemed quite lucid. A medical tray of various instruments that seemed to range from surgical to power tools was set beside her.
'Oh God...' Amada had the urge to vomit.
"This is the late and lamentable Serena Vhell. She will be confirmed KIA as of tomorrow morning. A statement will be released to the Crion government that she fell into their hands and was tortured to death by her terrorist allies. The woman has killed numerous Federation soldiers. This traitor is beneath contempt. Your mission is to prove your loyalty to the Titans by inflicting a painful death upon her. The methods you choose to do it are irrevalent. You are allowed to enjoy the method if you want. However, it must be over a minute long before ceasation. Otherwise, we shall determine that you do not have the stomach for this line of work," Admiral Katzman tugged on Serena Vhell's ear.
The woman was afraid but looked up at the Admiral with utter loathing. Her gaze
towards Amada wasn't flattering either. Ishikawa had seen photos of her in her dossier. His impression matched the reality. She was a very determined and lovely woman with every reason to hate the Federation.
"You..." Ishikawa Amada knew that there was no compromise possible anymore. They had tugged at his morals, stomped on his beliefs, spit on his ethics, and done their best to crush any lingering human sentiment. There was no way out of this situation save in a bodybag or becoming the very monster that they had been transformed into.
"You may proceed when ready Captain," Katzman said proudly. "We're waiting."
Admiral Katzman was the first to die. The sheer speed that the Captain drew the katana from his hands was such as to be blinding. Berg Katzman didn't even realize he'd been struck until his body was bisected. Blinding rage coupled with an instinctive awareness of the environment had him pierce the next trooper through his metal armor's rubber neck guard. The one beside him had his throat slit in the shock of the attack. Motoko's katana had been crafted as a true weapon rather than a showpiece.
'I've never felt so satisfied in my military service,' a crazed thought travelled through Ishikawa's mind.
The other troopers immediately unloaded into Amada with their hand rifles. They would have torn through him were not he using the first of the troopers he'd struck as a shield. It required him to disregard the sword in his hands but that wasn't going to be much use anyway. The pierced trooper was still alive too. There was a kind of scream from him when his back was shot into. A great deal of blood was spilling from the Titan's wound too. It was a disgusting experience.
"Die! Both of you!" Amada pulled his shield's rifle from the Titan's hands and shot both attacking troopers their chestplates. Tossing the bleeding body of his shield on the ground, it took the Captain a second to register he'd just killed five people.
"Oh.....Goooooddd....." Amada stared down at the bodies in abject horror. The reality of the situation caused him to fall to his knees. He ran his fingers through his hair before realizing that only spread the blood.
"MMmmmmmph," Serena Vhell looked over at him in shock.
"I've had one of those psychotic breaks. The kind that happen in wartime," Amada stared at the carnage. "I'm going to hang for this......"
