CHAPTER 52 – KNIFEPOINT
DATE POINT: MAY 30th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)
LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, NEAR JUPITER,
ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
CAPTAIN HENRY O’TOOLE
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Hang in there! Please don't be too late... Henry thought as he huffed his way down the corridor.
A series of muffled pops rang out amid faint screams of pain and terror. Henry’s heart pounded away in his chest and his lungs burned.
“Hurry!” Henry shouted as they pushed their way through a crowd of angry and scared faces.
“Clear the goddamn path!” Ariana shouted from behind him as the sound of heavy boot falls thudded behind him.
They rounded the final corner to the sound of a man’s scream. Henry's rage flared as a bloodied MA slammed into the opposite wall with a gruesome crack. He grimaced as the poor bastard’s head rolled to the side as a pool of blood spread beneath him.
“Paul, check on him and call the hospitalmen, then hang back to guard the corridor. Nobody goes in or out of the gym unless they’re an MA!” Henry ordered.
“On it! If you need me in there….” Paul replied before he slung his rifle to allow him to feel for a pulse. He then ripped at the Velcro pouch on his tac vest to retrieve his medical kit.
“Don't worry, if I need you, I’ll call for you. Ariana, be ready to separate the combatants. Doc, prep that grenade and be ready to deploy it on my orders, but otherwise stay behind us. I don’t want you risking your life, so no heroics.” Henry said as they lined up on the wall next to the door.
“Understood, Captain.” The alien replied as he reached into his dimensional sling to remove a grenade with glowing lines and runes.
Henry raised his rifle and rounded the corner into the gym. As he swept the room the true scope of the massacre slugged him in the gut as the sight of the broken bodies of the dismembered caused Henry’s stomach to lurch. He set his jaw and moved quickly to the back corner towards the last survivors. Lance stood with his boot on the back of a thoroughly bruised and beaten man who stared defiantly into the gore-spattered face of Anubis.
“Stand the fuck down! He’s incapable of fighting anymore!” Lance shouted.
“He must pay with his life for his crimes! The utter blackness of his heavy heart condemns him! Step aside, and justice will be dispensed quickly." Anubis snarled, a pair of curved blades of field-shaped null matter floated in the air before him.
“Halt, Anubis! You will do no such thing! This isn't justice, this is vengeance!” Henry shouted with all the authority he could muster. I have to stop this, now!
“Captain! Thank God!” Lance said with a relieved look.
“Do it you hateful, murderous, honorless coward! I dare you! Kill me, Xeno… Prove to everyone… I was right… all… along!” A familiar voice said with a wheezing laugh.
“I should have fucking known this was going to be your fault.” Ariana snarled. “I wouldn’t be talking so much shit if I were you, Bruce. All you managed to accomplish was to get your lackeys killed and your ass beat. Give it up, your manipulations end now, everyone has seen you for who you really are.”
“Still the same self righteous, stupid… arrogant… bitch. You still don’t get it, do you? We didn't fail at all... We knew the risks when we decided to kill the traitor… her poison-pill alliance is finished! The truth is, we've already won. I'm leaving this world feeling... fucking ecstatic!” Bruce growled before coughing up flecks of blood.
Henry felt the telltale static form in the air next to him as Ariana activated her telekinetic generating field.
“No! By honor, he is mine to kill, whelp! The lady Gardner was tasked to my care and protection! Thus, mine is the responsibility of avenging her.” Anubis shouted before he turned his head back towards the prostrated man.
“No more killing; if he dies now, we make him a martyr instead of an example. He has to be seen to answer for his crimes!” Lance shouted.
“Captain, not to distract you, but I have located Ambassador Gardner. She was shot twice yet still clings to life. We need to remove the bullets before her flesh heals over them. I must perform surgery now to avoid further complications. I have my toolkit with me in my sling.” Doctor Silvar’Esh said.
“Do it then, quickly.” Henry said.
“What?! Fucking xenotech… bullshit! This.. isn’t over!” Bruce shouted before devolving into more coughing.
“The lady Gardner still lives, your men lay dead about you, and your plans have failed. Yet even now you refuse to recognize your folly, nor will you turn away from your bitter wickedness.” Anubis snarled.
“Anubis! This is not the way! We have a process, he will see justice served, I promise you! Now step aside, you have done enough. You ended the threat, protected yourself and kept them from successfully killing the ambassador. Stop now, while you have the moral high ground. Killing him now would be murder.” Henry warned with a growl in his voice as he took a few cautious steps forward to try and intercede.
“You can’t trust them! I’ll expose the truth at my tribunal… expose their xeno lies! I’ve got nothing left to lose… There are plenty of others who will listen… there are always others with doubts! You can’t bury this Captain! I will not be silenced!” Bruce shouted with flecks of spittle and blood flying.
"No. The only way to end this is to seal the fount of wickedness at the source.” Anubis said as he threw a null matter blade into Bruce’s skull, splitting it wide open. “Go and beg your own gods for mercy, for I have none to give.”
“Dammit! Anubis! What the hell?!” Lance shouted as he jumped backwards and wiped at the gore he was spattered with.
“This is not the way we handle things! We have a legal process to prove his guilt before we deprive one of their life or property!” Henry shouted as he stared the alien down.
“Then you are fools blinded by your ideals to the harsh truth of reality. The only way to fight the forces of chaos is to purge the source of corruption before it can spread!” Anubis replied.
“Dead men can’t be questioned. Did you stop to think he might have other collaborators?! Are there other threats he has planned? What if he had planted a bomb?! We have to know these things!” Henry shouted.
“He wouldn't have talked, blinded by hate and ideology as he was. If there are others like him that remain, then they too must die. You know this to be true, you are simply too cowardly to admit it or act upon it.” Anubis replied coldly.
“You leave me no choice then. Anubis, you are hereby confined to your quarters until we can decide what to do with you. If you resist, you will be seen as an existential threat that will be dealt with severely." Henry said.
“Perhaps you do understand the harsh needs of reality after all. Very well, for the sake of Lady Gardner and to remain true to the spirit of the orders of Lord Osiris, I will not fight your men when the time comes. However, I am honor bound to remain by Lady Gardner’s side through her surgery to ensure her safety.” Anubis replied in an even tone. He stared Henry straight in his eyes without so much as a waver. Henry delivered it right back.
“No need, she’s ready to be moved to the hospital. I have already administered anesthesia, removed the bullets, applied an accelerated healing gel to assist her medical suite in healing, then finally sealed and sanitized the skin penetrations.” Dr Silvar’Esh said from behind them.
Well, shit, that was fast. Henry thought as he watched the Alderei sterilize his equipment with a bright blue field generated by a small handheld device. He then stowed them all in a hard case which he deposited right back into his dimensional sling.
“Thank you, Doctor. Lance, take Paul and escort Anubis to his quarters, then lock the door down. Once Gardner wakes back up we will reunite the two of them.” Henry said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“Sir!” Lance replied before he turned around to face the giant. “Alright, Anubis, you heard the Captain; follow me.”
"Very well, lead the way, Adamu. I will stand by my word." The three of them then turned and filed out of the room.
MEET ME IN THE CIC WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED WITH ANUBIS. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE UPCOMING MISSION, AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS MASSACRE. SOMETHING LIKE THIS CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
-- CPT. O’TOOLE
AGREED. WE NEED TO UPDATE OUR CONTINGENCY PLANNING IN CASE THINGS GO SIDEWAYS ON MISSION.
-- LT. KARST
Henry grit his teeth as he dismissed the message from his expanded consciousness and looked over the gory tableau of broken bodies.
What a goddamn mess. Henry thought miserably before a pair of hospitalmen arrived with four MA’s as their escorts.
“Come on in, there’s no more danger. Some marines with a death wish decided to assault Anubis and Gardner. They defended themselves and Ambassador Gardner was shot in a cowardly assassination attempt. This is all that’s left of them. I need you to bag, tag, and identify the remains.”
He then looked around at them and said, “Make sure that is the story you relay when the other crew asks what happened here. I don't want to be seen as burying the story, but we do need to control the message, as a lie spread here could be incredibly destabilizing. This whole mess was already caused by the intentional spread of misinformation to stoke up speciest backlash and rage.”
“Yes, Captain.” a handful of morose voices chimed in. One unfortunate MA excused themselves to hurl in the hallway while the others sighed and got to work.
TWO DAYS LATER….
DATE POINT: JUNE 1ST 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)
LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, NEAR JUPITER,
ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
COMMANDER RICARDO ALVAREZ
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“So how is Gardner settling in?” The Captain asked,
“She’s healing up at a feverish pace and has been accepted into the care of the Fist of the Argonauts to finish her recovery.”
“What about Anubis? What did they say about the armor stands?” Henry nodded along as he kept watch over the crew working below. Henry held onto the railing. Loose grip, his stress levels are coming down more and more it seems. Good. Let's double down on that.
“Leah had it covered. They will be bunking in the Archangel bay with the guardians. They even found a spot on the far wall for their armor. She did ask that we stop adding giants to their crew complement though.” Even Alvarez couldn’t help but chuckle before he added in. “Oh, and there was a request for extra rations, she was rather adamant about that.”
“Fair enough, if any one of our crews could take it all in stride, it’s definitely them. I’ll approve the extra rations for them, also." Henry said with a laugh. "This is good. Things should run smoother around here with just one alien walking around the place. People actually like him.”
“They like what he represents; something other than an eternal war against an unforgiving cosmos awaits us. The thought that we might have friends out there is a powerful tool to build up morale.” Alvarez replied after a moment to think.
“To get there, we need to be in political control of the surface. Our new friendship has its strings attached, let's not forget...” Henry replied. Alvarez found he had nothing to say to that, forcing a long awkward pause.
“Tell me honestly, are they going to be mission-ready?” Henry asked, after finally breaking the silence.
“I took the liberty of approving the extra supplies, so they’re likely filling their storage bays to the brim as we speak. Crew morale was reported to be good, and the new crewmates are acclimating well. They all know the stakes of the mission, or will shortly; I feel confident in sending them.” Alvarez nodded as he spoke.
“Perfect. Go and see to the final preparations then. Our sensor techs have generated a short list of heat anomalies for them to investigate out in the belt, I’ll be transmitting them over shortly. Go with our full confidence and tell them to launch when ready.” Henry replied.
“By your orders, Sir.”
Now to see to that one last matter. They’re going to need that tac nuke.
He looked down at the datapad with the Captain’s pre-signed release on it. He then opened the mental interface to fire off a handful of texts.
MEET ME AT ARMORY A-1 FOR PACKAGE RELEASE.
-- CMDR. ALVAREZ
I NEED YOU AND YOUR WEAPONS OFFICER TO MEET ME AT ARMORY A-1 FOR PACKAGE HANDOFF
-- CMDR. ALVAREZ
Alvarez completed and sent his messages then turned to exit the CIC.
FINALLY! BE THERE IN 5.
-- LT. CMDR. BLACKFORD
ALERTING THE SKIPPER THEN RETRIEVING WEPS. WE’LL BE THERE ASAP
-- LT. CMDR. SEYDOUX
The other reply came as Alvarez reached the quick lift. He grabbed a loop on the upward line and rode it to the deck he needed before he stepped off. Moments later, he turned the corner and walked into the armory. He couldn’t help but linger his gaze over the multiple missing Paladin suits that lined the wall. The visceral reminder of the high cost of the last battle hit him harder than he would ever care to show or admit. He took great care to control his expression, even when it seemed nobody was watching.
“Ah! Commander, I didn’t see you there, sir.” Their weapons officer said with a salute. “Are you here to follow up on the repair status of the Paladin suits?”
Alvarez turned towards the shorter man and returned the salute.
“Not originally, but I’ll take the report while we wait for the others.” He replied with a nod.
“Yes, sir! Our techs have retrieved and cleaned the suits of the fallen and we have them disassembled for full service now. The top half of one suit was effectively vaporized, another two are fit only for spare parts due to heavy frame damage, and the other four are waiting on replacement parts from the Daedalus.”
“So that leaves us with thirty three working suits now, and as many as thirty seven after repairs. How far are we out on those parts?” Alvarez replied.
“At least a month, unless there’s something you can do to intervene and jump the priority of our requisitions request.”
Alvarez fixed the young officer with a grim faced stare before he spoke.
“You know how badly the Captain wants his ship back in full working order. Messing with the Daedalus and its workflow is to invite the wrath of the captain himself.”
“Well… in that case, a month sounds just great. We can probably get two of them working sooner than that by cannibalizing the parts and with what spares we have on hand. I just… what if we get boarded? That’s what worries me. We'll need every one we can get."
“We were never going to have space or resources to equip everyone with them. If we do get boarded, the Paladin suits will be reserved for squad leaders anyway. Most of our marines will make do with personal rebreather helms and their standard armor kit. You should know this, given your position.” Alvarez replied with his arms folded.
“I know the plans! It just bothers me to see so many out of commission for so long in my primary AOR is all.”
“Don’t worry, the Captain isn’t looking for a scapegoat here. We understand you’re working hard on getting them back in working order. Also, don’t worry about getting boarded. We’ve got plenty of guns, gear, and grit to kick the bastards off our ship if and when they are stupid enough to try.”
“Sir! So… then if you weren’t here about the Paladin suits, what were you here for? I mean... Shit. What can I do for you, sir!?” The young officer corrected himself.
"Clearly he’s here to browbeat and intimidate his junior officers for his own amusement. Did he not get the memo?” Lance said from behind them. Sneaky bastard.
“Ignore the Lieutenant, I would clearly never do such a thing.” Alvarez replied with an eye roll before he turned to Lance.
“The Captain didn’t send the authorization through FleetNet, so no, he wouldn’t have received the memo.”
“Ah, well, in that case, we would like one tac nuke please. We've gotta make something go extra boom. Full atomization. No kill like overkill.” Lance said with a grin.
“Again, ignore him. I have the orders right here, along with my executive key. Lieutenant Commander Seydoux of the Fist of the Argonauts will be taking receivership as soon as she arrives with her weapons officer.” Alvarez interceded quickly.
“A tac nuke huh? You are playing with some serious hardware. What are you going to blow up?” The weapons officer asked with a giddy expression.
“Can’t tell you that; the mission profile is need to know only, and you don't. You’ll find the cryptographic key embedded in the captain’s orders. I have my physical key right here.” Alvarez replied before he fished his keycard from the loop around his neck and handed over the open datapad.
“Well, in that case, come with me and I’ll help you retrieve one from secure storage.”
“Stay here and wait for the others.” Alvarez said before he followed the man through a thick blast door into the back room. They passed several rooms in a corridor before they arrived at another thick blast door.
“This door will require my biometrics as well as your key in the slot right here.” He said as he palmed a scanner on the wall.
Alvarez nodded and inserted his key before a series of locks clinked and the door swung open. Embedded into the back wall were four cases locked into glowing cradles. The weapons officer walked over and began entering a series of codes into a console. Moments later, a small cover door slid open to reveal another key slot. As soon as he inserted his key, a hissing sound alerted him to the release of the nuke from its cradle.
“Alright, so N-01 has been officially removed from our inventory." The weapons officer said as he retrieved the case.
“Let’s go hand this off then.” Alvarez said.
They exited and sealed the room behind them and began the walk back to the main armory. Thankfully, Olivia had arrived in their absence.
“You must be Lieutenant-Commander Seydoux, if I may, the rumors of your beauty have nothing on its true face. Pardon me for being so bold. If I could have you and your weapons officers enter their cryptographic keys in the display here, it will activate it and assign it to your care and inventory. Whatever your mission is; god speed. I hope to see you come by here again.”
"Have some decorum, Chief. Listen to yourself." She replied with smoldering eyes.
I'd better bail this poor fellow out...
“Lance and I will escort you back to your ship in the meantime. The Captain has given the green light for you to launch as soon as the package is secure in your armory.” Alvarez added in, giving her a perfect pivot point in the conversation.
“So, none of the usual pomp and circumstance this time, huh?” Olivia replied with a smirk.
“Nah, we’ll save it for when you return to us safe and successful after your mission.” Alvarez replied.
“If we return, you mean.” Her weapons officer replied under his breath.
“We will, you’ll see. We have the best of the best on board with us and a solid set of mission plans.” Olivia replied with a smile.
“Yeah, the best of the best with a lying xeno murderer on board….” He muttered.
“It was all in self-defense, I know because I was there under attack by those speciest fucks too. He was rather more brutal than we like, but he wasn’t killing just for the sake of killing.” Lance said.
“What do we do if we can’t trust him? What if he betrays us or picks a deadly fight on board our ship!? Wait. That's not what this nuke is for, is it?”
“In that case, Lance here has a specific set of orders, and no, the nuke is for the mission. This will not happen again; I can assure you. We have planned though as many possible situations as we could think up. I can’t spare any more details than that.” Alvarez said.
“Then in that case, I withdraw my concerns.”
“Damn right you do, we got this, don’t stress yourself out over it. If I’m not worried, you shouldn't be either.” Lance said as he clapped his new weapons officer on the shoulder.
They should be just fine.
The mask didn't slip for one minute.