The group sat around in a circle: Vinn, knee in a brace, Nicole on the other knee. Silverback and Dee, and Vicki sitting alone as Jack remained the only one standing up.

“So…what the hell are you, Jack? WHO are you?” Dee asked.

“It’s complicated but explainable. Short answer, Human. Long answer will take some time. As far as you know this habitat is one of the first 3 selected for population relocation both in case of the inevitable destruction of Earth, and the integration of humans to the rest of the universe.

This isn’t the first wave of human habitats. The first ones were mostly trial runs to see what worked, and for ethical reasons they used prisoners for the experimental habitats. One in particular was self governed, Amenthis, they just let the prisoners build their own society of crime to see wherever it went, and you can imagine it went to hell.

My father was one of the prisoners, selected as a guard to keep things under control from the inside. They called them Surgeons: Killers running the government by a code. The guards got privileges if they played by the rules and the rules bred some rather efficient killing machines. My father was the best, they say. Roman Blue, AKA the Roman, AKA Caesar himself.” He said holding up the bloody coin. “If you got one of these, you were about to meet your hero or your maker. They say you never actually retire from this business, it either pulls you back in or hunts you down, so one way or another it kills you some day…you either die operating or you die unexpectedly from a bullet to the head from a thousand yards.”

“So you’re still… ‘Operational’ then” Dee asked.

“Semi-retired, more of a special occasion player. When you have a boss like Gizzy, you can’t really get away from it. She knows how to draw you back in. Not even with threats, just facts, reminders, hints that you still owe a debt. The prisoners were supposed to be sterilized on entry but on a rare occasion it didn’t work, so a few system bastards like me, got born into hell and raised there. She got me out of that prison when I was little, gave me a chance at a better life than constantly being hunted and facing the worst monsters ever to be called human. She gave me a home, a job, some surrogate parents, adequate but hardly genuine, but something in me just wasn’t happy whittling wood and making furniture. I joined the military at 16, and when she saw my scores she knew I may have been raised a civilian, but I had the Roman blood in there still working its magic. I wasn’t happy unless I was defending something worth fighting for. She called it the red knight syndrome. A white night who craved being the hero and fighting for the good guys, but soaked red with the blood of his enemies with a lust to kill. Before long you don’t even need to know why you’re doing it, or who the target is. You just learn to trust the orders. Gizzy always had a plan and a reason and I don’t think I’ve ever known her to be wrong about a target. Some ultimate good always comes from it. So I just…stopped questioning it.”

“You really trust her entirely.” Vicki confirmed.

“I have to. She gave me a life. She healed my medical defects and made sure I was the peak of human perfection, top doctors, immaculate nutrition, constant training, fitness, latest in health technology. Every opportunity to be what I wanted and I chose this, one way or another. She pulled my ass out of countless situations, some my fault and some ‘shit-happens’ ones. She’s the closest I have to a real parent and we’re not even the same species. I got tired of it, retired from it, decided to travel and took a job as security and surveillance, 2 boring years back and forth, shore leave on Earth fronting as an HVAC repairman and that’s when I met Vicki… desperate girl with a broken AC. Knew she was different, fell for her immediately and when I realized she had cancer and the only treatments available were offworld, well…I just had to call ‘mother’ and beg for a favor. You know how curious and uh, good Dee is at keeping secrets. The secret got out, and needed to be contained, so the deal was simple, move the whole business, the 12 people running it, the whole house, just move it here where Gizzy could filter and control communications, ensure no leaks compromised the security. The occasional favor, in exchange for packing up your life and business, she gave you all everything you asked for, money, healthcare, protection, special privileges, occasional trips to Earth with restrictions, and basically the promise of a better and longer life than you could have back on Earth.”

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“Damn. One hell of a reward for a security breech.” Vinn huffed.

“Favored human pet privileges. Any other Surgeon, retired from Operations or not, would have been taken out for the security breech, and the problem contained through a series of erased memories, cover stories and fabricated events that would cost far less than moving a house of 12 humans 19 lightyears away to a bigger, better home with constant special care. Money isn’t free, favors are even less so, and mistakes cost you. Everything was on my shoulders. So you rack up a debt bigger then you can pay off with someone you already trust and owe your life several times over, so when she calls and says there is an operation only the steadiest of hands can perform, I don’t argue.

“Wild.” Vinn nodded.

“Her insanity always ends up looking a lot like genius in the end, and you learn to stop looking for the flaws and risks in the plans. Sometimes even the most brilliant plans either have gaps, flaws or known risks, and occasional sacrifices to be made. She owns me, but I don’t even regret it. Her highest prices are always still worth the value.” He said looking at Vicki as she leaned her head on him. “And you assholes too I guess.”

“Yay for Jack.” Vinn whispered.

“So yea. I’m a broken toy, a polished weapon, a scary, dangerous bastard who’s willing to barter anything to keep what I love safe and happy, and that does not turn out well for those who cross her or me. You should be glad I’m on your side, but don’t you dare think that makes me perfect or beyond failure as a person. Vicki accepts that, and loves me for some reason. She may not like or trust Gizzy but she understands how the cost of things work, and even when she is not thrilled about it, she doesn’t fight me. Or make shit worse by running her mouth when it’s a bad time.” He said staring at Dee.

“So when I run my big stupid mouth, you have to clean up the mess. And if I screw up big time, they’ll just wipe my memory of it, and you’d have to go kill someone to fix it?” Dee asked, feeling sick.

“Oh you have, twice now.”

“So 2 random people are dead because of me?” she said in shock.

“Think of it this way. Two people would have died regardless, there’s no blood on your hands, and no shortage of Surgeons routinely operating full time. But your antics have changed my weekend plans from a little vacation with Vicki to performing emergency “surgery” somewhere, and the blood that would have been on someone’s hands ended up on mine. Relax, it’s a drop or two in a bucket and it gets easier every time, but it’s never what I wanted to do on a Sunday evening. So next time there’s a situation you think is so far beyond fixing and we’re all screwed, and Vicki tells you Jack is handling it…maybe just assume it’s handled and sleep easy knowing someone you know can get the job done. And is willing to forgive you.”

“Yea I’ll just do that now. Thanks Jack. I owe you an apology and apparently…like a lot more.” Dee cringed.

“The apology is enough, consider it even, and please keep it that way.”

“I’m scared to even ask this but I gotta know, bro.” Vinn asked. “If Gizzy never told you to take the shot, and I didn’t have it in me to kill Kraken…would you have taken the shot anyway and paid for it, or just let me die so everyone else could keep living the good life under mommy’s protected hand?...claw.”

“Honestly I ask myself that now and then. My heart says that I’d take the shot for a friend, my training says to follow orders. I’d prefer to never know myself.”

“Yea that’s fair, kinda preferred you’d lie and say you’d just take the shot, but It’s cool. I believe you would have, and we’re not gonna ever test that again anyway to find out. I’ve killed too now, I have nightmares. That’s plenty for me. How do you sleep, like at all?”

“Badly, usually medicated, in short intervals and often with nightmares.” Vicki yawned. “And he wakes me up with that stuff.”

“Oh, fun.” Dee smiled.

“Yea it’s fun for both of us.” Vicki smiled back.

“So what now?” asked Vinn. Jack shrugged.

“Well, now we go back to building free human housing and odd jobs, You heal up here in the cave with your wife, and finish up this potentially nice home, and hopefully the only thing I pull the trigger on is a nail-gun for as long as humanly possible. Things around here are about to change for the better, and Nicole…please don’t go spelunking anymore.

“I don’t need to. I found myself down there, and she’s stronger then I ever thought. And Just a little bit of a monster all along.”

“I always knew it.” bragged Vinn.

“So…” Vicki sighed deeply. “We still doing game night and pizza?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” Vinn said ruffling Nicole’s hair. “This time, different pizza place. Delivery driver really gave me the creeps.”