Book 2: Living free from Jupiter's law - Rising from the ashes of Herbay

Jupiter's repentance

Guy was the first out of the house that morning. He knew that Raoul had been summoned for nine o'clock, so he arranged to reach Jupiter Tower at least half an hour before him. In the entrance lobby of the modern skyscraper, he found the captain of the guards waiting for him, who, having been informed of his arrival, told him to follow him into the elevator.

What Saurus couldn't imagine was that the mongrel's feelings toward him had changed enormously in the last 24 hours. If the day before Guy had only looked at him with suspicion and mistrust, now he hated him to the core because he knew every detail of his role in the abuse perpetrated on Raoul.

Guy had many merits, including a very strong sense of justice, and flaws, including an inability to understand when to keep his mouth shut. When these two aspects of his personality intersected, the effects could be disastrous. That's why, as he climbed the floors to the dome, he couldn't prevent the angry grimace on his face from turning into a defiance sneer.

"It must have filled you with satisfaction," he declared, in a deliberately sarcastic tone.

"What?" Not sure he understood correctly, Saurus looked at the human in confusion.

"Torturing Raoul. You Onyx are the lowest social class among the Elites, how did you feel about torturing a Blondie? Was it better than skinning human beings?"

The captain of the guards, knowing that he was in an official role and in the company of a guest of Jupiter, no matter how annoying and insignificant he was, maintained a poised demeanor.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Lord Am underwent a regular interrogation and I just followed orders."

"Sure, and you would have me believe that it wasn't your moment of glory? Didn't you get turned on while you stuck an electric pole up the ass of one of Jupiter's favorite sons? Didn't you feel repaid for centuries of envy looking up to other Elites just because they had snazzier hair than yours? If I'm not mistaken, you Onyx don't even have a title, you are android scum; you are basically the same as us slumdogs. You must have felt powerful as you raged at a Blondie unable to defend himself. Tell me, Saurus, did you not enjoy it? How did you keep your cock in your pants while you heard his cries of agony? How many times have you masturbated, afterward, thinking back about it?"

Guy had hit the mark. Each of his insinuations, so precise, sure, and to the point, drilled into the Onyx's pride like red-hot pins. Out of rage, Saurus lunged forward, clenched his fist around his throat, and smashed him against the elevator wall.

"How dare you... I'll make you pay, you damn human flea!"

"Did... did I touch your weak spot?" The mongrel stammered, but mockery turned to terror at the thought that perhaps, by not thinking enough about the consequences of his actions, he had blown his last chance to save Raoul.

His vision blurred and his lips lost color. Soon even his heart would have stopped beating but suddenly the captain loosened his grip and slumped to the ground, gnashing his teeth. Guy fell after him and gasped for oxygen. The elevator doors opened, Saurus was sucked out, and the dome, now tinged with red light, swallowed him.

When Guy managed to recover and reach his initial destination, the scene before him was surreal: the android was being thrown, violently and repeatedly, against the wall of the sanctuary and then crushed to the ground. The voice of Jupiter's wrath rumbled mercilessly. The imposing humanoid figure materialized surrounded by an aura of fire.

"How dare you, Saurus, raise your hands over a guest of mine on the threshold of my own house!"

With his hands on his temples, shattered by the mental attack he was undergoing, the Onyx cried out shrilly. When finally the AI, without dampening the flames surrounding its metaphysical projection, intimated him to get up, Saurus struggled to his feet. He appeared to be in pain, his eyes scrambled, his face flushed, and two streams of blue blood poured from his nose and left ear.