Gavin stared at the control panel in the cockpit of his freighter. Sai asked, “Have you made sure everyone knows what they need?” Gavin nodded. Sai was firm but cold, “We are about to enter the heart of corruption. Don’t let anything stop you from seeing this through. It will be the only chance we get.” Gavin nodded. He could feel Sai resisting the urge to make a joke, but he appreciated it anyway. There was no way he could prepare everyone for what was about to happen. How most of them would not survive. That they would be lucky to get out of her temple at all. But he had planned this to the last possibility. He knew his endgame and he knew that no matter what she did, if she let him on the station, it was already too late for her.
As they approached the space station she had twisted into her center of ‘worship’ the sensors showed many defensive emplacements zeroing in on them. Still they maintained course. Even as the weapons primed they made no adjustments to their path. As shots, both plasma and metal stakes were fired within measured inches of their hull, they did nothing to change course. The message Sai sent was simple. “Gavin Thalheed seeks an audience with the goddess.”
Approaching one of the hangers without slowing, the doors snapped open at the last moment and snapped shut so fast their thursters heated the door a little behind them as they finished their approach. As they landed, a loose assortment of Pierrot came to the landing bay to meet him. Gavin stepped out, a series of ‘offerings’ cuffed behind him, all those from the tournament save for one. This one seemed to be a mountain of a man, his skin seeming to shift into snake scales at various joints. His eyes were violent and intense.
After some time, a new Pierrot stepped out from the bay doors. Gavin had not seen him before but he knew the sort. His cold empty eyes were as familiar to him as his own face in a mirror. The man inspected the ‘sacrifices’ and motioned some of the Pierrot onto the ship. “She appreciates the gifts. She wants you to hear her thanks in person. But she did say that you shouldn’t play coy. That she would love to become familiar with Reijaa now that you have brought her in person.” There was a loud bang of metal on metal before the sound of crunching bones and shotgun blasts. He smirked, “I can see why. She serves the goddess well.” As the gold and purple snake slithered past Gavin, he didn’t make a move. The mass of Pierrot closed in around her, but between her powerful tail and shotgun she seemed to be making good progress. The man sighed, “It looks like she is making her way up to Lady Permiso on her own. I hope their conversation goes well. More will come to take these men to their chambers, or will use the hanger turrets to massacre them. Your bot will stay here and we will screen you for anything out of the ordinary for you. Permiso told us not to worry about it but killing us for caution would be a glorious reward.”
Gavin nodded, walking away from the throngs and stepping once more into Permiso’s embrace. Uncertainty filled him, despite his grim determination. His heart became a heavy stone as he walked into the open maw of death itself.
Gavin walked through the familiar halls, smeared with fresh blood, just as it often was. He walked these humid halls imagining where everyone was being taken. By now, Reijaa had either been captured or killed. The captives were being taken to the lower decks or had been bled like pigs in the hanger. From the moment he lost visuals on them, he could only assume that he was alone while hoping that his knowledge was enough. As they traveled, one of the ‘fresh’ Pierrot charged him, confused and desperate. He reminded himself that it was a mercy, loosing the knife hidden in his sleeve before effortlessly flicking it across their throat. As the boy held his neck, Gavin drove his blade just under the boy’s ribs before dragging it down, speeding up his death.
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Gavin’s escort seemed to be awestruck. He applauded, “That was art. Truly every inch the craftsman she claimed. No hesitation and a clean painless kill.” He spoke with a measure of reverence, “I am called Roland. I have served our Lady for the last few solar rotations. Much too long. I was worried you had returned with ulterior motives, but perhaps your arrival means the end of my service, at last.”
Gavin spoke coldly, “No. Your instincts were correct. I have come to end her false beliefs. If you intend to kill me for my heresy, you are welcome to try.” Roland looked him up and down, as if trying to figure out how serious he was. Despite his cold intensity, Roland still ended up laughing at him. That made sense. If someone told you they had come to kill god while bringing sacrifices to the altar, it would only be natural to find it ludicrous. Still, it remained his course.
As they traveled the halls were filled with the sounds of moans and screams. Whether they were in terror or joy, real or artificially looped, was unclear. As he took a deep breath of the chemicals she always pumped through the air, he remembered this feeling. The lines between the real and imagined becoming more of a suggestion than a certainty. The warmth filling his body a false and empty sense of euphoria. He knew they would try to make the sensation more intense as he got closer to her. It was all smoke and mirrors. He felt the bracer on his left arm spark, the heat burning him some as the air briefly smelt of burnt hair. Almost refreshing compared to the coppery smell of blood and rotting flesh. Still, as he felt the drugs she pumped through the vents taking effect, he felt his mouth begin to water some from the smell of copper. He was worried at first until he felt the wave of nausea behind it. He restrained the sensation, but a smile crossed his face. A satisfied smile that he saw Roland smirking at. He had no idea.
As they walked through the central courtyard of her ‘recreation sector’ home of her ‘Temple of Mortal Release’, he saw how empty it was. A haunting vision to those who didn’t know what purpose it served. To them it was the maw of the beast where the ‘goddess’ would gorge her appetite. Empty store fronts that were nothing but scenery for her games. As they entered her ‘temple’ and ascended her grand staircase, he felt it even now. His breathing hastened and his pulse quickened and a layer of dread weighed down his heart.
Roland opened the door and stepped in. “Lady Permiso, he has arrived.”
Gavin entered chilled by the familiar vision from his past. Permiso lounged on her bed next to her spent victim. The young man’s eyes were distant and glassy, his breath sharp and borderline frantic. She smiled a soft and warm smile before drawing a large curved knife from under the covers. Her aim was true and swift. As the knife passed through both arteries and his windpipe, his blank expression became one of bewilderment before the light slowly faded from his eyes. As his vital essence poured out, she licked her lips and softly held one of his cheeks in her hand. Once his light had completely faded, her hungry eyes turned to Gavin, drinking in his essence with just a glance.
She got out and hugged him, her hand still covered in her victim’s blood. She kissed him deeply, despite his lack of response, her tongue tasting of copper. Her voice was rich and enticing, “Hello, my dear Gavy. I’ve missed you.” Her sultry eyes doing nothing to hide the predator before him and nothing to make him doubt what he must do.