'Three Enclavian years have passed and I still think that you're not cut out for this'. Williams said as he took a sip from a glass of strange cocktail mixed by the lady in front of him. He coughed a little and distorted his face in a weird way.
'That bad, huh?' Lisbeth said. 'Sorry. Here, have a raw drink.' She said as she poured Gourlon in a glass. It was a local alcoholic drink favored by the common folk. Probably because it was cheap and didn't taste like sewer water. Unfortunately, though someone did try to pass off sewer water as a refreshment drink a year ago. Blame the nonexistent public health system of this colony.
Williams looked at her for a bit and took another sip. Most would say that there was a hint of lust in his eyes but most would be wrong.
'Not bad enough.' He said with a smirk.
'Then I'm good to go as a bartender?' She said with a sarcastic tone.
'No way! People are dying enough as it is. We don't need poisonous cocktails on our menu. I sometimes wonder, how do you mess these recipes up so much?'
'I just can't take it anymore! Working as a miner ... all that labor and sweat. Everyone smells like a week old carcass after each shift!' She said suddenly changing the topic.
'Yeah. But you still earn more than me. I might even start working in the mines myself.'
'Mining sucks. Believe me.'
'Well, I've not made up my mind yet. I've also got my eyes on farming. I hear it's really profitable. More importantly, it's safe.'
'Why haven't I thought about that?! We can team up!' Lisbeth said with shiny eyes.
'Yeah. Keep dreaming. No way I'm teaming up with you again. You're crazy.'
'You've been planning this all along, huh? I should've known. After all, we've been through!'
Williams looked at her again with a serious expression.
'I'm glad you brought this up, Lisbeth. You know well that I didn't call you today to reevaluate your mixing skills. I've sold the bar to Oman for 12400 credits. I've been looking for a good deal for some time.'
'Oman?! The wannabe rebel? No! You can't do this... we've so many fond memories of this place.'
'Stop the drama. I know who you are. When did you first realize that I was planning to leave?'
She looked away. 'For some time. I was trained to be like this. Sorry, I can't stop myse..'
'It's okay. It was an honor serving under you. But I guess this is where we part. Everyone from our squad has moved on. I don't see why both of us should rot like this.'
'Where will you go?'
'I guess I will start with visiting Lilia. I have received news that she is pregnant. She has moved to a boundary galaxy. So I guess it's safe to visit her there.'
'Great. You do that. Meet your sister. I hope we've stayed incognito for long enough... Just remember that the system never forgives. So be careful.' She said with a serious tone.
'I have to take that risk. I can't live like this anymore.'
'Okay then. I guess I will just keep on working the mines.' She said with an awkward smile on her face. She certainly wasn't happy about this.
Williams smiled back. It went smoother than he expected. Much better than the worst case scenario where his former boss goes nuts and destroys everything around her.
'Let me make you a special drink. For old time's sake.'
'I'll just go. I'm really tired, Williams. You've been good to me. I thank you for putting up with me for such a long time. Goodbye'
'Goodbye.' Williams said as he looked down. He felt too guilty to look her in the eye. He couldn't figure out why he felt that way. He didn't owe her anything. In fact, it was she who owed him.
She came out of the bar. Bits of ice flakes were falling from the sky.
'I hate this planet.' She thought as she started to search for something in the deep pockets of her heavy suit. She couldn't find it, her smoking stick. And that was the moment she lost her temper. An empty table outside the bar became the victim of her assault as she punched on it in fury.
'Hey, stop there! What're you doing?!' A patron yelled.
'Shut up or you're next!' She yelled back.
He looked at the poor wooden table. It was in pieces, so he decided not to confront her further.
'Nothing. Absolutely nothing, ma'am. I must have drunk too much. I'm seeing things.'
Lisbeth started to walk away. This will be a long night, she thought.
Williams came out afterward.
'I heard a noise couple of minutes ago. Did you break that table, Anakin?!' He asked the lonely patron sitting in a corner.
'I didn't! It was a blue haired crazy woman. I've seen her come and go a couple of times.'
It was just a table then. He was worried if she had started to break down the bar to stop him from going.
'Oh. I see. No worries then. You want anything else?'
'No. I think I have had enough for today.'
'Then what the hell are you doing here? Get lost, you!' Williams yelled.
Three days later
Lisbeth had finished her shift.
'Hey, wanna hang out with us later? Rodou is throwing a farewell party for us. There will be lots of protein there if you're interested.' One of her coworkers said as he was coming out of his mining bot.
'I don't think so. I am not feeling well today. Thank you for asking.' She said. Looks like everyone was leaving this planet. Every day she worked an extra hour more than the other miners. But today she decided to stop here and go for the bath sooner.
She stood under the hot shower like an empty sack of meat. Every day the same thing. Work-take a shower-go home-eat-sleep. Her whole body was filled with bits of blue dust. Here they mined Satoshi's Tears. It was a compound of various higher metals and sulfur. When mixed with perspiration it created an unbearable smell that often made the miners cry. Of course, they wore industrial suits but trace amounts of dust would still get inside and make everyone smell like rotten meat. The water had cleaning agents that combined with those bits of dust and removed them completely from the body. She stood silently and listened to others gossiping. Normally she would take a bath after everyone was gone. There were too many scars on her body and most didn't like to see them.
'Did you hear? An actual scholar is coming soon.'
'Yeah. I heard that he will try to enhance the planet a bit more. 9.6g instead of 9.8g is okay. But those ice storms?! That has to go.'
'Yeah. It nearly destroyed my uncle's shop couple of days ago. I told him to give it a metallic layer. It's a miracle that it stood for a year.'
'By the way, tonight he was quite ... exciting. That nano pill worked well. '
'I told you! Verzoan traders never disappoint. It worked so well for me and my husband. You know, nothing better than good sex to improve a relationship.'
They moved out together while drying themselves using a hydrophobic cloth. Suddenly one of them noticed someone.
'Isn't that Lisbeth? I forgot she worked here. She works in your section, right?'
'Yeah. She is a weird one. She always bathes after everyone is gone though. I wonder what's up with her today.'
'What's up with all those scars on her body ?'
'Don't know. Don't care. I don't know why but my instincts tell me to stay away from her.' She whispered to her friend.
'You stay away from anyone who isn't a local here.'
'Can you blame me? You know well about the people who come to settle here these days.'
'You're right. We should just stick to our normal routine.' She said with a doubtful voice as she looked back at the scarred woman with suspicion.
Lisbeth could hear them. Once the scar on her body was a source of pride and confidence for her. But people change. Now those scars are there only to remind her that she was someone else once and to others they were nothing but a sign of danger or repulsion.
The colony was 30 minutes of walking distance from the mines Lisbeth worked on. For 3 years she walked these roads but today everything seemed different. The planet wasn't much but she had friends, people she could trust with her life. One by one all of them had left her. Williams wasn't just one of those friends, he was much more to her. During their time he used to be the second in command of her squad and after that, he was there to support her in every situation. Last two years she tried to make him notice that she felt differently about him. Either he didn't notice or deliberately avoided her signs. She was trained to weigh hundreds of events against one another. Those untrained in the arts of event weighing thought she could tell the future or read other's thoughts. But it was just a trick of the mind that some could perform while most couldn't. From a very young age, she was told of a great future awaiting her and she was also told that she was special. Indeed, she had many gifts but they never helped her get the things she really wanted.
A normal human being couldn't think as much as she could in a given interval of time and today was different. She walked silently and felt a tingling pain in her head. Thousands of probabilities running through her mind. Hundreds of events that could unfold. She wanted to go with Williams. It wasn't safe what he was doing. But no matter how much she wanted she couldn't bring herself to stop him or advise him otherwise.
'What is he thinking?! How can he be this clueless? Selling the bar to a rebel is too risky!' She thought and instantly shook her head in regret. 'No! He doesn't want me in this. So be it.' She said.
She walked until she had reached the center of the colony. The bazaar. This colony had a thriving marketplace in its center. Here everything was sold for a price. From fresh produce to human beings and many other interesting things in between if you know your way around the place. This was the only human colony on this planet. It was self-sufficient but poorly organized. There was no such thing as a planetary government. Just a crime lord who people knew as the 'Mayor'. Thus it was a haven for criminals, rebels and people who wanted to disappear as it was a planet on the edge of the imperial territory and one of farthest planets from the clutches of the system. No matter how much she hated it here, it did serve her and her traitor buddies quite well.
She sat down in a bar by the street. A couple of seats, a hardened poly ceiling on top for protection against sharp pieces of ice and an old bartender who never tried to start a conversation. This was mainly a mining planet and miners for some reason really liked to drink, thus there was no lack of bars and roadside stores like this but she preferred this place. Being a regular here, she was served a hot bottle as soon as she sat down.
'Give me something strong. Today is not a good day.' Lisbeth said hoping this would start some sort of conversation. But it didn't, like usual. The old man quietly took away the hot bottle of soft drink and put forward a glass half full of Brandeur heated to an optimal temperature. It was a universal strong alcoholic drink liked by many for its base flavor and was perfect for the icy weather of this planet.
She took a sip and relaxed her mind. For a moment she felt a fire burning her insides and then she felt a comfortable warmth. The guy knew what to serve.
'What is this?! How dare you lie about the products you sell, cretin?! These are not upples!' Lisbeth heard someone yell from behind her. It was an imperial military officer of some sort. She could tell from his clothing. There were 3 more with him who seemed too well equipped to be foot soldiers. Among them was a boy who looked too young to be in the military. As she was looking at them, he turned around. It was just a second, yet it seemed longer. She noticed his eye widen as if he saw something shocking. He tried to hide his shock as he immediately turned his head back.
She quietly looked at her glass. Three years had passed, she had forgotten who she was. Was this the end? Caught by some kid?
'Calm down.' She said to herself. It was not possible for someone to recognize her like this. She had gone through physical reconstruction. It changed her hair and eye color. Made her skin tone brownish from pale white. Only rigorous DNA analysis could get her. She didn't get rid of her scars but no one could identify her from those. Certainly not when she was wearing a couple of layers of heavy clothing. That left only one other possibility. He didn't recognize her, he felt her unusual existence. Yes, that was it. Although quite faint, she could feel his existence too when she concentrated harder. The boy was an aware.
'Captain Turok! Give this man a lesson on imperial laws. It's high time this disgusting planet saw some discipline and law enforcement.' The officer yelled again.
'As you command, Sir.' One of the men said and moved towards the store unsheathing his flame sword. Small bursts of flame flew off from the shiny black metallic blade, spreading through the air. Such weapons were reserved for highly skilled soldiers as they took a lot of skill and training to control properly. Albeit the basic principle was just to combust the gaseous elements in the air, it still was a highly complicated equipment made through the extensive use of particle engineering. One of the greatest scholar, Lazarus Shivaay, was the first to conceive and make an array of such swords. Now they were really popular in the higher military ranks for their diverse capabilities. A master sword dancer could control its power to perform incredible feats. Flame sword dancing, on the other hand, was of a lower form. It had destructive power but lacked precision. It certainly wasn't the proper tool to enforce law and order.
'It was not me! A traveling trader sold them to me as upples. Believe me, sir! I'm innocent. In fact, I'm a victim!'
'Say, I believe you. This is still unforgivable. People could die if you sell them things you yourself don't know about.'
'I will be more careful from now on! I promise!'
'Okay then. I guess you learned your lesson.' He said as he unsheathed his sword.
The shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief.
'So you'll pay us, your new protectors and enforcers of the law, a regular tribute from now on.' He said.
'Tribute?'
'You still don't understand, huh? Do you really want to be the example we use to clear the confusion of all these other low lives?' He asked giving a cold stare.
'Of course not, sir. I understand.'
'This planet was inside the boundary of the Empire but it was still independent. So what are they doing here? These guys are troublesome. No better than the system's military.' She thought after seeing the ordeal.
'The Imperial Military has come! You have been given unprecedented freedom up until now. Your imbecile leader is no more. That fool refused to pay the planetary taxes for 9 Enclavian years even after several imperial notices. Is anyone here who wants the same fate as him? If not, then each and every one of you will come to the colony center 3 days later to get registered and rechecked as imperial citizens. And then you will pay your due taxes afterward from now on. All businesses are hereby declared to be closed until further notice, as none of you have a trading permit or an overseer agency to verify quality and safety. An official announcement will be coming soon via the local news stations. So everyone will close their respective shops and go home right now. Military rations will be given from tomorrow.' Captain Turok announced with a sound amplifier and suddenly an unusual hurriedness could be seen in the streets and stores.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Her event weighing became unstable. The upcoming events became more and more unsure and cloudy due to sudden significant changes in the world around her. She couldn't deduce anything about the future events. A probabilistic catastrophe. Lisbeth had indeed become really rusty in using her abilities. But that was the least of her worries now. The officer in charge and the boy was moving towards her. The officer sat beside her as he took the glass of drink in his hand. He smelled it and then tasted it.
'A beautiful lady like you should refrain from drinking such ... unhealthy things.' He said with an empty stare.
'Don't kill him. Don't kill him.' She instinctively repeated to herself couple of times.
'It's just that the weather is really cold here. A strong drink helps sometimes.' She said with a smile.
'Does it now? Then drink some more.' He said as he gave her the glass back. She stretched her hand to take the glass.
'I could suggest some other things that could help you in this cold weather ...' He said with a disgusting look. His eyes were that of an animal.
'I think I should go.' Lisbeth said with a scared and confused face. It was all part of her disguise. If she didn't look flustered at this point anyone would find her to be suspicious.
'I think so too.' He said.
She stood up and started to walk fast. Her facade was a success. The afraid, don't-know- what-to-do woman. This personality had helped her get out of various sticky situations throughout the years. She felt relieved that she still had it in her. This could've ended in a bloodbath if she had snapped. She also felt glad that she didn't.
She got into her apartment and sat down with her back against the main door. She felt too tired to start another life and find another place she could barely call home. Her one bedroom apartment wasn't anything to be proud of but it was cozy enough. She didn't like her job but she was really good at it. She didn't like this colony or this icy planet but it protected her quite well from the ghosts of her past. But all her doubts subsided as soon as her years of experience as a fugitive on the run kicked in. She got up and started to prepare for another voyage into the unknown. A handful of necessary clothes. Gears she had hidden somewhere in the apartment. Quite an impressive amount of credits she had saved during her time here.
At least a bit of luck was on her side. They had given three days before they would start to recheck the validity of the citizens here. It was more than enough time for her to go into a deep meditative state and find an optimal solution for this situation. She sat down on her bed in a lotus position. For more than 15 minutes she sat there quietly but it didn't work. Seeing no other way, she tried to remember where she had hidden her gears. She needed the drugs to trigger the deep state.
Next Day
'That woman. She wasn't normal. I never felt someone like this. Her aura, it felt too strong to be true but she is real. I'm sure of it.' Ethen thought as he looked at the electromagnetic screen radiating from a device attached to his arm.
He knew that something was very wrong about her but decided not to disclose any information just now. She could be the chance he had been waiting for. He decided to seek her out. He moved out of his cabin in the strategic ship to meet Major Vlakoska. He was the leader of this skirmish. They were ordered to purify this planet from a high official of the Ministry of Warfare. Purification was a codeword for extermination of a populace. In simpler terms, they were ordered to perform a genocide. They could have used orbital bombing but it was to be carried out with discretion. Local people are thinking that the military is taking control. The poor bastards didn't even know that death was so close to them, drinking coffee and perfecting a strategy.
'Sir, I want to do an independent survey of this colony if you have no objections. To determine a better strategic plan to carry out our orders more effectively. ' He said standing before the Major.
No more planning was needed. 15 sword dancers were assigned to Major Vlakoska along with 1305 ordinary troops yet to arrive. More than enough to take care of an approximate population of ten thousand in a day or two.
Vlakoska thought for a moment.
'You outrank me in a way. So my opinion doesn't really matter. You were sent here to acquire field experience. So I don't see why not.'
'Still, I thought it would be polite to ask you first.'
'That is nice of you. Be careful out there. These low lives might not be as honorable and powerful as us but they do employ various dirty tricks to get an edge from time to time.'
Honorable? Ethen had been with them from time to time for 2 years. He was assigned to them to acquire 'field experience' as if the training he was going through wasn't traumatizing enough. He had realized from the beginning that Vlakoska and his right-hand man Turok were anything but honorable. They were part of a death brigade that specialized in committing atrocities throughout the empire. Murder, rape, human trafficking, genocide were nothing special for Vlakoska. He was sadistic and insane and he had a thing for young girls. Just like their previous skirmishes, he will surely take a girl as a trophy from this colony. The empire allows this. As Ethen's father told him,
'Know the difference between evil and necessary evil.'
Soldiers like Vlakoska are a necessary evil for the empire now. It didn't matter if one of them thought that raping and torturing young girls and then selling them to slavers was an 'exciting' thing to do.
After talking with the locals he had learned that the woman's name was Lisbeth. Nobody knew her full name but her landlord gave enough information about her after seeing Ethen's credentials. At first, he didn't believe that someone so young could be related to the government. Later, he was quite cooperative. Messing around with officials from the Ministry of Warfare is bad for health. Even people from these rogue colonies knew that. He even shared his contract of rent with him. It had the basic information he needed. Unfortunately, nobody is required to produce any official papers to rent housing on this planet. So it was still unclear if the information was authentic or fake.
Basic Tenant Information
Name : Lisbeth Hasko
Age : 22 Enclavian/ 25 Massian
Gender : Female
Birthplace: Cluster-Hashlaw, Galaxy- K9214C, System-AB8241, Planet-Suphroida B
It wasn't much. She is now 25 according to Enclavian. This was written 3 years ago. Hashlaw cluster had collided with a supermassive dark mass three years ago. Many took refuge in neighbor clusters. She must have used that as her backstory.
The building wasn't that fancy. Ethen had to climb three floors by stairs. There was no bell and camera. Just a metallic door. This was her apartment. He knocked on the door lightly. He could hear noise from the other side. A couple of moments later she opened the door a bit to take a peek outside.
'Ma'am. I'm an official of the Ministry of Warfare. I would like to talk to you.' He showed her his ID.
Lisbeth let him in. This was a new escalation. This kid knew something was really different about her. She wondered why he hadn't notified his higher ups. He must have ulterior motives.
'You can sit there.' She said showing him a sofa.
Ethen sat down quietly. He knew that this was dangerous but it had to be done.
'I know you're a really powerful aware. I can feel it.' He said.
'Directly to the point. Interesting. There is no point arguing. It is obvious that he wants something.' She thought.
'Let's assume I am. What of it?'
'I want you to help me with something.'
'And if I don't help you?'
'You will be exposed to the Systematic Government.' He said with a calm tone.
'This brat has figured out that I am wanted by the System somehow. He surely doesn't know my actual identity. He wouldn't have dared to blackmail me like this if he knew.' She thought.
'Okay. I'm listening.'
'I want you to help me escape from the Imperial territories.'
'That's a bit shocking. Let me guess, you're in some sort of brutal super soldier program because of your awareness.'
'Yes, you've guessed right. I'm sure you were part of something like this too. So you know where I'm coming from. They have been training me since I was 8. I've endured it for 6 years. I don't think that I will survive the next 4 years.' He said with a tired looking face.
She felt sympathetic towards the boy. She knew how inhuman these programs were. During her training period, she often imagined that someone would come and free her but that never happened.
'Besides you'll be leaving this planet soon. I don't see why I can't come along with you.'
'That would be too risky for me. I'm sorry. Escape on your own.' She said.
'Leaving me will be more risky for you.' He replied.
He didn't see her move. No human could possibly be this fast. Before he could realize he was being pushed onto the soft pillow behind him, her firm hand on his neck. He couldn't breathe, she was choking her.
'Do you even know who you are threatening, boy? I promise I will kill you if you try to threaten me again.' She said with a calm voice.
'Please help me.' He said with his last ounce of breath as she was choking him harder and harder. A bit of tear had accumulated in his eyes and that is when Lisbeth decided that she would help him.
She let him go and he started to breathe heavily for some air. This woman was more dangerous than he had previously thought. For a moment he felt that she was trying to kill him. What was he getting himself into?
'Okay. I will help.' She said hesitantly while looking at another direction.
'We should take the strategic ship. It is entangled with important fast travel stations.'
'And get hunted by the whole empire? You're actually an idiot, I see.'
'Well, you'll have to kill Major Vlaskoska and the 15 sword dancers he brought with him first. So stealing the strategic ship shouldn't be a problem.'
She couldn't believe the nonsense the boy in front of her was spouting. She thought that he was clever but now she felt disappointed in herself for making such a wrong observation.
'Let me plan, okay? You just stand in a corner there till I come for you after making the necessary arrangements.'
'I'm not stupid. They are here to kill everyone. There will be no arrangements to make after tomorrow. So you have no choice but to kill him and his elite soldiers. The larger force will arrive soon and they are unaware of what they are going to do here. Only Vlakoska and his sword dancers know about the purification order. It will make our escape much easier and will also give these people another chance at life.'
'That certainly is a big problem.' She said with a worried face.
'Will you be able to overwhelm them? They are quite capable.' He wanted to believe that she could.
Lisbeth didn't reply. She walked towards the kitchen counter. There was a thin metallic storage unit on it. It opened when she put her hand over it. Ethen stood up and followed her to see what this was all about. Inside was a hideous looking mask that shook him to the core.
'What is that thing?'
'It is a Mask of Chaos. An incredibly powerful spoil of war I kept for later use. Worshippers of the void use this to unleash their full psychic potential in exchange for immense physical pain and those are drug gauntlets. Aware's use them to balance their unstable physical state while using the outer layer of their mind. That is also quite painful to wear.' She said with an annoyed face.
'What am I? A masochist?' she said to herself.
Ethen felt a bit surprised that she wasn't hesitant about sharing such secrets with him. Who trusts someone so fast like this? He could feel that something was really wrong about her.
'I get it. Various instruments of pain and power. So can you take them down with these?'
'Shut up for a moment and let me concentrate, boy! This is hard for me.' She yelled at him.
Ethen moved away to give her some space. He watched silently as she prepared herself. After some breathing exercises, she slowly pushed both of her hands into the gauntlets and then began the screams of agony. It was too hard for him to watch someone suffer pain like this even though he was accustomed to pain.
'Fuck! I will never get used to this shit.' She said.
Ethen looked at her hands. It seemed like the gauntlet had fused with her flesh.
'It feels worse than it looks.' She said.
'I don't know if that is even possible.' Ethen replied.
'You will never understand what true power really means if you don't use these.'
'I don't want to know what true power means. That's why I'm running away.'
There was a deep-rooted cowardice inside this boy but it wasn't the thing to worry about now.
'Listen carefully. After I wear the mask you will feel it.'
'I don't understand. How will I feel it?'
'Let me finish. It will unleash my psychic potential. I don't want to brag about it but I'm probably one of the strongest aware in the universe. You will feel an enormous pressure on your body when I wear the mask. No matter what you do, you must not become unconscious. You will have to fight it. Because if you go to sleep you will be gone for 2 days at least. In that case, I will just leave you here.'
'I understand. I will try my best. How long do you think the pressure will last?'
'As long as I wear it. But I shouldn't be able to endure it for more than 25 minutes now.'
'Will it affect the local people too?'
'Of course, it will affect the nearby people. But being unconscious for couple days is better than death. Unfortunately, sword dancers are trained to withstand this pressure. As you're just 14, you must not have received your formal training in awareness abilities. Where did that creepy Major set up his base of operations?'
'In the right landing station.'
'That's good. Less population density there. We will move out soon.' She said.
'Absolutely nothing happens for three years and then out of nowhere things starts to escalate like wildfire. Yet this feels so familiar to me.' Lisbeth thought.
This is how Ethen came to know Lisbeth Hasko. A normal person wouldn't take so many risky decisions so rapidly. He started to wonder if following her would be a good idea after all.