Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

Lazarus XY

"When the world was created, first there was the Golden Age. Mankind knew no fear and no punishment, there were no soldiers nor weapons, and they had not learned of injustice yet. Spring was eternal, with flowers born seedless, and the trees bore fruit aplenty to feed the hungry without labor. When the Titans were send to Tartaros and the world came under rule of the Gods, the Silver Age began. Spring gave way to summer, autumn and winter, and for the first time the air was blazing with searing heat and freezing with icy cold. Mankind sought shelter from the forces of nature, now lacking their former benevolence, and began to plant seeds in the soil. The third Age that followed was the Bronze Age, and that was when mankind learned of war. But they still had not learned of injustice yet. Then came the Iron Age, when honesty and truth were lost to violence, malice and greed. The earth was still touched by the same light and mankind was breathing the same air, but long borders were drawn to divide here and there, and one and another. And underneath the soil that became weary with bearing more seeds, they dug deep until they found the cursed blood of the earth: iron and gold. War was fought with them, and over them, among brothers and sisters just as among strangers. And as morality lay in defeat, the last of the Gods to leave the blood soiled earth and take her place among the stars was Astraea, the goddess of purity, innocence and justice."

"Hm. I'm not sure if I like that story very much, Calliope."

"I am sorry, Evelyn. Perhaps you will remember it more fondly one day, when you're older, and recall that your father named you after a goddess of justice who ascended to the stars."

~ ~ ~

Astraea...

The name echoed through their mind as Null and Lars stared at the woman before them in disbelief. Her face was completely impassive as she wiped the blood from her temple. For a moment, she looked at her bloodied finger tips as if they were the most curious thing in the world.

Oh no. Oh hell, no. That's too insane even for Orion's Reach, Null thought, The ultra-fanatic leader of the Saiph Guard is a fucking augment herself? I can't believe it.

They hadn't noticed it during the one occasion they had met the woman before, at the shuttle bay, because they had had no reason to scan her. But the scanner data made it glaringly obvious now. Yaremova was riddled with hardware. Tons of combat augments had been packed into her body, most of them subtle and well hidden. All of it was high quality tech, implemented so intricately that the scanner data looked more like art than science. Underneath her scalp, a metal plate had replaced a part of her skull, and underneath that, a piece of hardware had replaced a part of her brain.

Oh... I get it now, Lars thought, sounding dismayed. I know why we know that name, Astraea. It's your middle name, Null. That file we found at Riga's place, Lazarus EAL, that's for Evelyn Astraea Langdon. And Lazarus XY, that's her. Xenia Yaremova. How could I not have seen that sooner?

"Fuck..." she just whispered. "So she's the other subject Blake talked about... she's what the Reach has paid him for!"

Suddenly, Yaremova's gaze snapped up and she stared at them with a blank expression on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, vermin, but I will not tolerate your presence in this place. You're unworthy!"

She moved fast, even for an augment. Their body tensed in preparation to dodge an attack, but Yaremova didn't charge at Null and Lars. To their surprise, she turned and moved toward Nova instead, who had frozen in the doorway. He just stared at Yaremova as she charged at him with full force. Null burst into a dash but she knew that she wouldn't make it to him in time.

But their connection was still there. Null could feel it as clearly as if they were back on Six. The invisible blue energy connecting them allowed her to feel his utter confusion and skull-splitting headache, and the paralysis that had taken hold of him. Through his eyes, she could see Yaremova charge at him with madness in her eyes.