Everyone in the conference room knew about it, and were prepared to act normally until Costan had been subdued. None of the immortals liked the plan, or what was going to be done. The only reason they were not intervening was because it wasn't worth war with the normals. While what was planned would continue to upset the predetermined path of the species, war would do permanent damage.

The guy with the dart gun drew the short straw. The whole medical staff aboard were forced into the lottery to see who would be the one to purposefully commit friendly fire, outside of combat, on the guy who would likely summarily execute them for using a poisoned projectile. While the paralytic agent was technically safe to use in a properly equipped medical room, it was strictly outlawed for any use that did not have a respirator and an A.E.D. on hand expressly for use with the drug, and forbidden as a weapon of any sort.

It fully paralyzed the subject, but didn't effect pain response. It was typically used with potent anaesthetic, and caused the subject to be unable to breath on their own. It also caused the heart to stop, hence the required medical equipment to keep the patient alive. The only legal use of it outside of heavily monitored operating rooms was euthanasia of feral animals and the rare death sentence, which were both done with anesthesia and sedatives.

He tried to beg and borrow armor to help him not die, because he was about to shoot the guy who took on an entire enemy carrier with a sword. The chemical would take between five to fifty seconds to take full effect. That would likely be more than enough time for Costan, the sword wielding maniac, to tear him limb from limb, or shoot him full of enough holes to rival a screen door.

Nobody lent him any armor, just suggested he updated his will. Even if Costan didn't kill him, he would become an enemy of the "motherfuckin War Shaman", and by extension, enemy of the Emish and probably all of the Immortals as well. Even the Quartermaster and Armorer refused to let him check out any equipment because "It would not be helpful and probably get broken when he kicks your sorry ass through hull of the ship."

He even took it up with the Emperor and the Immortals. While Karcos was offering him a full pardon for it, Emish vowed that he would never forgive such an act. Furthermore, pardoning someone for such actions against a member of the Emish community would earn the Empire another strike against.

"While we conceded to your hard headedness, we will never condone anything you have done, or will do, in regards to Costan. You have made more mistakes than could be reconciled, and you are making even more. Do not turn to me when Costan decides to kill you. Do not turn to any of us or our communities, for we will side with the wronged, and never side with the wrong doer." Emish was colder than normal, Turnunder was getting worried, more worried.

He knew that his fate was sealed after that. He was never going to get to play the next installments of his favorite role playing games. Looking back, he should have done more with his life, he was thirty five and never had a girlfriend. Now he was doomed to die darting a twenty four year old who had done more than entire governments, and to surgically castrate the already chemically castrated genius of technology and war, of all things.

He didn't want to do it, but he was enlisted. All the effort of the multiple rights committees were apparently for nothing. They wasted decades to ensure that nothing like torture or forced sterilization were permitted again. The Empire swore an oath to never infringe on someone's personal rights, let them be friend, foe, or what have you.

The little guy with the dart gun really was thinking about going AWOL and running away, at least he would have better chances in prison. He had to do it, he was already serving oath breakers that would treat him no better if he failed. His internal struggle was interrupted when Karcos started his one sided pre rehearsed "talk with Costan", which was just a "this is how it is" lecture. He was supposed to dart him while he was listening to Karcos.

He looked back, the others had the medical equipment ready, and were patiently waiting around the corner of the junction. They had two gurneys, one with stuff to keep Costan alive, and one prepared for trying to piece him back together when Costan was done with him. He carefully crept up to the conference room door, it was still open, and he peered inside.

He saw the massive black form of Costan, with the sword on one hip, and pistol on the other. His last thought before his life would end was "I hope they have video games in the afterlife." He quickly took aim and tried to fire, but the trigger clicked against the safety uselessly. He frantically took it off of safe and panic fired at Costan, who had began to turn and face the noise.

Costan had prepared to put on a show, but was startled enough that the word came out panicked as he flailed and fell backwards. He didn't expect to get darted in the face. The guy with the gun put it up in an attempt to counter an expected sword strike, but wasn't processing what was happening until Costan, with a dart in his face reacted.

The startled word sounded out like someone had just found a blood viper in their cabinet.

"NYAAAAAAAH"

Everyone was processing what was going on, but it made little sense. They knew he was going to be darted, except for Costan and Shasha. They didn't expect him to fall backwards out of panic, yelling with a dart in his face. They also were not expecting a bunch of random stuff to fall out of nowhere and Costan's body to fade away.

Costan had expected something underhanded like that, and planned for it. Most of the spell chain went off without a hitch, but he was now standing at the fabled Gates of the Judge instead of in his new house. He died, for real, when he was hoping to fake his death.

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The Judge showed up with three books. "I shall begin your final judgement, Costan, reincarnate of Nihil, embodiment of the god Nihil, Prince of the K.A.R. Empire, Emperor of Two Hells, Conscript Private Marine, assailant of the Gods, destroyer of ancient horrors, Savior of Never Frost", the Judge continued on as Costan waited patiently, despite being naked.

It had been a few minutes, and the medical team came running in. Everyone was still piecing together what happened, then Costan's body fell from the ceiling. The medical team quickly went to work, making his heart beat and running oxygen into his unmoving lungs. They were unaware that he had already died.

The Judge eventually finished with the titles and addressed the three books. "This, smaller one covers what was done in your life as a god up to choosing to become a physical being. I already covered this one with you a long time ago. This one, about your life as the immortal Nekogian Nihil, is where we shall begin."

They hooked up some electrical stuff to his head to see how stressed out he was. They put the surgery on hold, due to lack of brain function. They took a scan of his head to get a look at what was going on. They found that the dart had penetrated the skull and delivered the large dose of the drug into his brain. A call was made to the Emperor.

Even as someone was explaining the situation to his father, the doctors had Costan's body fully restrained. They put the paralytic agent into a body vein, as intended, then opened his skull to relieve pressure and administer a brain safe antitoxin. They were really hoping that they hadn't just killed Costan because of a moronic order.

He was medically brain dead; but was, in fact, dead dead. They spent over a month trying to bring him back, but had no luck. The Emperor refused to make the call to take him off of life support, mostly because as soon as he was pronounced dead, the Immortals would declare war.

The Judge sent him to hell for a year, hell local time, for something he did, specifically attacking a god. Then the gods declared that he was pivotal to their plans and made him go back to living. He was awake long enough to learn that it was his birthday, then they stuck him with more of the paralytic. He had the worst birthday of his life, and was forced to watch his two triplet brothers as they got drunk and had fun while he was tortured, because that was what everyone else wanted to watch.

It was a blatant shame when a reporter asked where the other brother was and Karcos completely forgot that Costan was the other triplet. He floundered about the question until Captain Giagan quietly reminded him. The expression changed to one of confusion, but only for a second before the party continued with Karcos not answering the reporter.

They had all just left him in the medical bay of the Namaste and went back to their lives, like he wasn't a brain dead corpse then ordered him surgically castrated without anesthetic when they found out that he was alive. Costan was already planning to bring them all down. He would make them pay, make them beg for mercy in the mud, blood, and excrement of war. He just had to wait and work patiently, starting with the fact that the Marines don't take lightly to people messing with their fellows.

Costan had time to think, too much of it, in fact. He went through his own memories and learnings. He realized that the gods had used the truck on him five times, possibly a sixth, but he couldn't positively conclude it as fact.

He could conclude that most mammalian species found Nekogians, or at least him, to smell nice, even when he hadn't bathed in years. It could be a fluke, or his absence of puberty, but he chose to ignore that it should be a theory. Then the scientist in him demanded it be fully proven or relegated to theoretics until such time as more data could back up or debunk it as a fluke.

He had encountered an Ork chief that became chief simply because he smelled like dondon flowers all the time. They didn't even have knowledge of what the smell was similar to. They had captured him for the same reason, he smelled good. According to them, he smelled like sh!chata! blooms, which he later found out were roses.

The doctors kept him paralyzed until they transferred him to the Void Hammer. It was a ship made for his mercenaries, but commandeered by the Emperor for the Navy. The cowardly bastards wouldn't give him a chance to take retribution. He was assigned a physical therapist, one he hated for his loyalty to Karcos.

"Grimclaw, get out. You are a walking conflict of interests. You aren't here by means of the medical staff, you're here by means of the interests the Emperor."

"That so, because"

"Keep your words to yourself and get lost. I'm on the opposite of good terms with him and anyone who"

"LET ME TELL YOU HOW IT'S GONNA BE PRIVATE"

The shouting didn't last long, mainly because Costan jumped off the bed and punched Grimclaw in the mouth.

"I THOUGHT YOU WOULD'VE LEARNED FROM THE LAST TIME. I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP, AND I DON'T NEED IT."

Grimclaw got the message, and picked himself up off the floor. "For someone who was paralyzed for two months, you throw a nasty jab."

"It takes more than a couple of months of paralyzation and a month of brain death to stop me bitch. Now get out before I throw you out an airlock."

One fistfight later, and Grimclaw was pondering how strong Costan actually was before two months of paralysis, considering that the whelp was holding his own against him. It was just Costan's imagination, however, he was still paralyzed and being moved to the medical bay on the Void Hammer.

Yes, Grimclaw was there, and was prescribed as Costan's physical therapist. For now, he was helping transfer him to the Void Hammer and getting him briefed on the situation with the Grequenok, his new commanding officer, and everything else that happened over the four months. Costan had lost track of time and space for a while.

When they administered the antitoxin, they pulled all intravenous tubes and associated life support and tried to hide behind the armed Marines sent to oversee his recovery. The medical team quickly got themselves at gunpoint, then returned to their stations. The K.A.R. Marine Corps would not be overcome by any attempts to use them as test subjects for their next surgery.

They started pumping air into his lungs and making his heart beat again because he had not recovered, and because the Marines were ready to murder them. The Marines were very ready to end them all if another thing happened out of the ordinary, if a speck of dust was out of place. The Marines were not on pleasant terms with anyone anymore.

The immortals and various communities had shunned them and the Empire gave them more than enough reason to rebel with the other branches being complacent in the acts. The Emperor had personally wronged a Marine, singled them out for it and broke a foundation tenant. They would not forget it. They would not forgive it.

The Marine Doctor had been dishonorably discharged for refusing to perform torture, another reason why. Costan's fiance was discharged from being unable to follow the orders of those who perpetrate such crimes, yet another reason why. The reasons why the Marines were no longer a loyal branch of the K.A.R. military were many. They performed their orders, but that was all outside of protecting their interests, and Costan was one of those interests.