The Beast

The Beast - Part 47

Behind the door was the control room as promised. The wall next to him was lined with screens that showed everything from the Hanger to the City streets. To his left and right were control panels and a surprisingly well armed man aiming at him and on the far end of the room was a throne that looked comically large compared to the size of the fishlike woman that sat in it.

He started moving to take a step but was interrupted by a barrage of fire against his front. He patiently waited, certain that his armor would hold until fire ceased again. The room was in silence as the soldiers were unsure about the result of their attack. He gave them an answer by flipping a switch on the back of his neck, activating the emergency leave. Every piece of the suit unlocked and dropped off him. He hoped Elle would keep her word as he tried to take a step again, this time it was unopposed so he kept going for the throne. The fish-lady grabbed a pistol from a secret compartment on the throne and unloaded it into him. Each bullet dug deep into his chest but Elle was quick to close the gaps. Elle's black nanos sprayed across the room only to crawl back to him while he continued towards his goal. His mind was empty, fully confident in Elle's ability as he reached the thorne.

He reached out with his right arm. The pistol tore a hole through his palm but it was healed by the time he grabbed her head. Thinking about what he was about to do gave him a warm calmness. It was his first interaction with Tibi, the reason why he became part of Taro's crew and would end this life like it did so many others. He increased the pressure and the skull in his hand, ending the battle.

The headless body dropped to his feet. He softly kicked it to the side before sitting down on his new thorne. He could now oversee the room much better, in front of him were approximately two dozen people visibly wishing they weren't here right now. He took a while to look around the room for anyone to address but all eyes were focused on avoiding him. So he tried something different. In his most intimidating voice he said: "Lock down the base. I want nobody to leave." He was convinced that it wouldn't work by the time he had said it out loud and the unsure faces around confirmed his doubts. Then he contemplated killing them but shot that down quickly, even blood had been spilled. So he tried again but this time louder. "Now!", he screamed and this time they turned towards their consoles and started working, even if he didn't know if they were faking or not.

Elle took the moment to speak again: "Rule by fear. I suppose that will suffice for the time being but don't expect it to last in the long run. I advise you don't answer me in consideration of the audience. Them thinking you lost your mind might not be for the best." She was right but he couldn't just sit here and watch them.

So he stood up and got his helmet. The glanzes he saw from the corner of his eye made his trip exponentially more uncomfortable but he didn't blame them. It was in two halves just like the rest of the suit. Chip had told him not to use the emergency leave but the moment demanded something more dramatic than 15 minutes of him getting the armor off. At least he now knew why he shouldn't use the emergency option. It was a pain in the ass to put the two pieces together and not to think about the pile of armor still lying on the floor and needed work.

However, he got the thing together after a few attempts. "Tibi, can you hear me?"

She answered quickly: "You cut out and the place went into lockdown. We are stuck in the hangar. What happened down there?

"Took over the control room. Can you come here? We have a lot to do."

Tibi was unsure but said she, Chip and the Pilot would try to break through to him. He ended the call with a new issue on his mind. How to make sure that they arrived safe? First he considered violence as always but leaving the control sounded like a bad idea. Then he realized he was in the control room.

He took the helmet off again out of politeness and stood up again. Looking around for someone to speak to was futile because yet again nobody wanted to draw his attention. So he spoke with the room in general: "There is stuff to do. I want somebody to address when I give orders."

A nian with a slightly more colorful uniform stepped forward. He did something with his hands that Gabriel assumed was a salute before speaking in a professional tone: "What are your demands?"

"First and most importantly, I need you to make sure that three friends make it here unharmed. Secondly, I want to make contact with the remaining forces of this stronghold and then the city after that I need to call the head of the Purists. Is that possible?" Gabriel was tired from fighting but many things needed his attention before he could allow himself to rest.

The nians mimic changed in a way he couldn't quite comprehend before answering: "The first demand is easy once we make contact with your allies and so is calling a cruiser. The issue is request number two. I assume you are thinking about taking control over the base?" Gabriel nodded, "Our forces are split in 4 units. The control group, those are the man and woman before you. We have no option but to obey your commands after you take out our commander. The other three units don't."

"What about them?"

"There are the inner guards, they are the patrols controlling the tunnels who are the most fond of you because you spared a patrol's life, but that doesn't mean they will follow your orders. Then there is the fighter group, a third of them were outside when we locked the place down, the rest were scattered around the base. They have not responded to our calls. The last group is the biggest in the base, the city militia. You killed many of them in horrific ways. The few that aren't trapped between the corridor doors are currently ralling forces in the city and have deemed us traitors for cooperating with you." The militia had a point.

"Why are you cooperating? Aren't you scared I would kill you too?"

The soldier responded in an ominously relaxed way: "You aren't the first person to come here, spill blood, proclaim themself to be a king or god but still need a crew to operate the base. The only difference is that you might actually be one."

Gabriel didn't get it: "actually one of what?"

The soldier turned around because another crewmember shouted from across the room. Then he pointed at the throne: "The admiral of the purists has accepted the call, sit down." He did and the guy continued counting down with his fingers, "4, 3, 2, 1, go." By the time he had said go the room was in total silence and Taro appeared on the main screen with guards to either side of him.

Taro opened the conversation with a harsh tone: "Why is a dead man calling me?"

Gabriel had luckily prepared his talking points because he had no whitty counter to Taro: "I have a deal for you but make sure nobody listens that you don't trust."

The main screen died however Taro's voice continued over speakers: "Don't waste my time boy. I'm listening."

This was his chance to get a rare win: "I have Verona and don't even try to short sell me. She isn't a slave like you present her. I have seen your man obey her orders without hesitation and it doesn't stop there. I asked you to make sure only people you trust are listening and instead of sending a few people out the room you choose that no one was worthy of your trust. You never send her out, which means she is way more valuable than you would ever admit."

Taro confirmed his theory by cutting in to tell him to get to the point.

"We can have a Win-Win Situation here. Imagine this, the ships that already pursue us show up at the" He didn't know where he was, panicky he stared a hole into the guy he addressed. Luckily he understood it and whispered, Stahlring base. "Stahlring base and after a short firefight, in which my defenses will somehow miss them by a mile and find an escape pod with Verona. They could return with a prisoner and proclaim victory. You could boast about defeating me and in return you stop pursuing me and owe me a favor."

Taro thought for a moment before answering in a cold manner he had only heard from Aina before: "Cut the favor and we have a deal. If you ever try to use Verona against me again I'll drop everything and hunt you down like the animal you are."

Gabriel quickly ended the call by saying: "Deal."