Nothing filled her with dread more than the lack of feedback from her Brother. He never went missing for this long. Never. Ordinarily she wouldn't be bothered about his laziness or lack of response. She hated that about him, and more often than not he chose to deliberately ignore her for no other reason than to wind her up. It was different this time. He was under contract, as much as she was. There was no excuse for him to be ignoring her, especially when her queries had been about work.
Imperial Shipping had told her he was on a mission for them, establishing a secure position to further ops in Omegas. A stupid idea in her mind, but there was little to be done about it. The thought of losing him, no matter how much they argued or fought, was sickening."Once my patrol duties here finish, I'm going to look for him."The rigidity of the decision made her more confident, but there was a little waver deep down that a lone Engel pilot wouldn't suffice."How much trouble can a Carrier even get into these days?"She didn't have an answer, nor would she want to. As soon as her contract finished, she would look for him. That was enough to settle her concerns for the time being.
Corsair raiders had become an issue. Even in Sigma Fifteen, they had begun to creep in like a plague. Patrol routes were littered with debris of both Rheinland vessels and those of their enemies. One or two bore insignia's of the Gas Miners Guild too, but were more often than not surrounded by more debris than their own ships could have become. After the sale of Weiss Shipping to Imperial Shipping, each previous company member had been offered a job opportunity within Imperial Shipping while remaining under the ‘banner’ of Weiss, as an honorary arrangement. Both her and her brother had stayed on as employees, now tasked with security and patrols in order to secure routes for trade.
{SYSTEMS ALERT! HOSTILE CONTACT DETECTED!}
The thoughts would have to wait, she had work to do.
After her wing's bout with Corsairs in Sigma Fifteen, she moved on alone to clock in the end of her shift in New Berlin. A Hessian patrol had been sighted moving from Stuttgart into the system, and they looked fairly beaten up. Word had reached her that the "Fafnir" and its defensive bomber wing had been attacked by them. She was to meet up with the other Engels and eliminate this threat, then proceed to the Carrier located deep in Omega Three. Anger rose. He wasn't lazy. He had been in danger and said nothing to her. The things she would do to him when she had him in front of her, face-to-face...
First though, she had to clean up after him. Using that anger to fuel her actions, she engaged while the other forces remained en-route. The targets had less will to fight than her and was made apparent when the rest had turned up to see the wreck of two "Thor" class bombers drift by them. Clean-up commenced and those that surrendered were taken into Polizei custody. Their bounties were distributed, of course with the Polizei taking a cut for their ‘efforts’. A move that only served to stoke her rage.
"You better be cowering for the shit you've left us to sort out, brother."Though she didn't really mean it deep down. Nor did she know if he was even okay. Strict orders to not reach out had been issued, their last known co-ordinates had been dispatched to her and the wing. They pushed out through Stuttgart into Omega Seven, only for three of the four to be recalled for another security concern that had been raised in Frankfurt. She would be going alone, from Freistadt onwards. Not that she really cared now. Her brother was reportedly safe enough, and still had one bomber escort left. A second would be enough for their mission, in accordance to their contract.
Omega Three never truly felt like a system with much to give, but somewhere in this barren scape was her own flesh and blood. Tessa took her time, the co-ordinates being a little ways off the well-travelled routes. Would it not have been more advisable to use the Freeport? Even Sprague would have been a better rendezvous than out here.
Minutes of scouring an exclusion zone later, there was still no sign of anything. Nothing. No whisper of any kind. Fafnir was nowhere to be seen. It did have a cloaking module, but they were not supposed to use it under the current circumstances. She wouldn’t put it past him though to do so. A practical joke of his amusement. He was really racking up quite the punch-up when she found him.
An anomaly ahead, some few klicks out. Hull debris. But off what?“Surely not… No. I don’t believe its off her… Cant be..”There was hardly enough debris for a full Carrier of any kind, so it couldn’t be pieces of the Fafnir, could it…? She got a tingling sensation down her spine, a chill. The feeling of not being alone, and not the kind she got when her brother was being an ass to her. She almost knew what the automated voice was relaying before it had.
{SENSOR ALERT! HOSTILE CONTACT APPROACHING!}
She turned her vessel in time to see the very-much not-friendly.. thing closing fast.
The contact closed down, very hostile and very dangerous. She knew she had met a far more formidable force than she could really hope to beat. It was definitely unfriendly too. Precious moments were wasted while she weighed up her options. Combat was not going to do her so well, judging by the unknown energy readings of the vessel's approach, and there was no help around to support her. Was there any chance of escape?"I've got to try..."Charging. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Engaged.
{INCOMING MISSILE}
A glance over to her ammunition readings told her she had exactly three chances to escape. A quiet breath to herself in order to steady the nerves, and a tap to eject countermeasures with evasive manoeuvres for maximum impact. All three were launched, one after the other. A glance towards what she could see behind revealed that fate had not been too kind. There was no change in its trajectory.
{ENGINES HIT! CRUISE POWER OVERLOADED! ENGINES REBOOT, INITIALISED!}
Trapped. No way out but to fight. The usual trigger-happy lass became nervous, but she flipped her weapons online. A quiet buzzing in the back of her head, a sensation that was not easily described set in, but she paid it no mind, locking onto the target's engines. A single breath in and out, before she squeezed the trigger, not unlike the times before. The bursts hit their mark, but did nothing. She shot again, and again, and again. Nothing. Some kind of unknown shielding. A burst from the opponent and her shields shutdown immediately. She cried out:
”W-what...? No!"
But no sooner had the words left her mouth, did the buzz become a heavy pressure and she blacked out.
Everything was black. Even as she opened her eyes, she could not see anything. Almost as though there was nothing to see. She had no idea where or when it was, but there was no indication for anything other than the beating of her heart. Rapid, panicked, fearful. Nothing felt her own, not even the clothes on her back. Sweat dripped down not from the heat, but the feeling of being trapped and in danger. Silence too surrounded her. A silence almost deafening. There was nothing she could trust, no senses she could rely on. A whimper as she slumped forward in defeat.
Moments passed before she managed to steady herself enough to reach out towards anything. Slowly at first, almost wishing the wall into existence. The heat-draining touch of metal brushed her fingertips: It was there. Cold and unforgiving, but there. A breath out, almost calmed by the contact. Now, to find the corner. Running her left hand along the wall as she stood up carefully and moved forwards, her right hand in front to stop her walking into what she hoped would be there. The very same cool contact to her palm was a relief."A door. There must be a door..."
No sooner had the words left her lips, did a door open. Not to her cell, but to another wing of the place she was in. A single ray of light, from some unknown source cut through the black. She squinted and sat down in the corner. It was blinding in comparison to the surrounding black. Then, footsteps. Heavy clanging each pace, Rubber on metal, foreboding. Louder and louder, though the shadows did not shift."Please don't come here, please... don't..."She closed her eyes tight as each pace continued to increase in volume, each one sounding akin to an impending doom.
Silence. The pacing stopped. Shakily opening her eyes, she saw the silhouette of a man, one she had seen before.
It was him. He was here to free her. In that instant, she forgot the anger that brought her to this point, the need to locate and bruise him. Now, all's she wanted was to hug him tight and let him lead her to safety. He looked either way for a moment, before he reached into a pocket and pulled out a key. A rattle, then the soft thud as the lock clicked open and the heavy creak as the door opened. Forwards, and a big, warm embrace. Almost too warm. This she attributed to the cell and its conditions, though. She didn't want to let go, but she had to."Thank you..."
"Don't.Youaren'toutofthewoodsyet."
His tone seemed off and she felt a shiver as he directed it to her, but she shrugged it off. The place was unsettling enough without needing to doubt her saviour. He closed and locked the door behind her, stuffing the key into his pocket as he began to guide her through the winding corridors. Occasionally the wailing cry of someone in pain could be heard echoing throughout the maze, followed by the silence once more. People suffered here. A fate she hoped to avoid.
He handed a blindfold to her, with a whisper. The light would be too bright for her with how long she had been down here."How long...?""Fivedays."She almost tripped over her own feet in shock. It had taken him that long to find her."Where...?""Doesn'tmatternow.You'llseesoonenough."
A door close by in front of her opened, sounding similar to the one she was set free from."Keepiton."She listened as though her life depended on it. The door closed behind them, unlocked. Her breath was calm and even, her usual bounce in her stride re-emerging. He smiled, though she couldn't see it, before grabbing her wrist firmly. He pulled her forwards, she stumbled into the dark. A buckle rattled, before the metal was pressed against her wrist and fastened up tight."W-what are you doing!?"No answer. Her right arm was restrained, each attempt to break free only serving to rattle it louder than the last. Her left arm experienced the same, the feeling of betrayal not yet sinking in as her closest family member bound her to whatever it was that she was laying against. Now the panic set in. More pointless struggles, and her legs too were lashed to it, all of the restraints being right enough to mark her skin. Now there was no chance of escape.
The blindfold was tugged off from covering her eyes, to reveal his snake-like smile.
The light was bright, but his face, that smile, those eyes… she began to hurt all over from the restraints, the light and the betrayal. He hadn’t come to save her from what awaited her here, he had sealed it. She screamed out for help, in pain.“Comenow,youdidnotreallythinkthatKaarstwouldbeescapablenow,didyou?”The laugh sent shivers down her spine, even through her struggles and hurt. Silent tears trickled down her cheeks, dripping down onto the floor.“This isn’t real…”Again, he laughed.
His words hung in the air. Her eyes closed and let more tears fall. She couldn't help the mounting emotional distress, nor the tremor in her voice. It had finally sunk in. No way out. Not as she was in that moment. She braced for the next words, wishing nothing more than it to be a nightmare."Youcan'twishthisaway,dearSister,nomatterhowhardyouthink."She opened her eyes to a squint, staring at him. His eyes were glowing an odd shade of indigo, where before they were a deep sea blue.
"JoinUs,spareyourselfthecominghoursandit'llbefareasieronyou.Bothyourbodyandyourmind.Openyourthoughtstogreaterpossibilities."She managed to cry out"Never!", her final act of defiance towards her predicament, before she heard a metal on metal scrape behind her."Sobeit."
She saw his nod, then felt the needle plunge into her right arm.
Everything from the moment the vile liquid was plungered into her body was surreal. Everything except the sheer agony from her injuries. Her pain senses had become amplified and it was almost unbearable. Every nerve, every inch of her body cried out for relief, every new teardrop taking the place of another that had fallen down. The screams echoed around the room, with little escaping out into the corridors of Kaarst. All while she experienced the pain, his smile remained. That smile cut deeper than any wound, seeing her own flesh and blood so heartless, so dark. And yet he preached of joining the Light, to serve it without question, to bear it as one would a gift bestowed by a friend.
She lost track of his voice amidst the swirling vibrancy of the room around her as she descended down a pit of falsehoods and warped perception. Lights danced in her eyes, and shadows became the forms of monsters that clawed at her. Each gash felt real, only adding to her torments as the blood trickled from each, the metallic smell rising up to her nose. Every moment felt an eternity, and every eternity just delaying death by another.
Her warped perception saw her bathed in her own blood, it pooling beneath her. In her mind, she lifted her shaking hands and stared at them, the world in front of her spiralling as she felt the life drain from inside. Her eyes snapped open, the silent scream from within as she awoke from the first living nightmare, only to become one with the next. This next became one in an endless cycle of pain, torment and death. A whisper, almost pleading from her:"Let it end... Please..."
It didn’t matter how she died in each nightmare, she always woke up into the next. And it continued, this time a fang of her assailant remaining lodged into her arm. She prised it out, whimpering from the venom and the damage. Her brother watched her there in the dream state, stood as he was in the room with her. His smile never faltered, even as she raised the fang still oozing the toxic substance and plunged it into her own heart. The pain, for a moment, stopped. She felt nothing. For the first time in the seeming endless cycles, time ceased to exist.
AreYourthoughtstobecomeoneandboundbyUs?
“No… I just want to die…”A breath of wind, a conjuring of a scene in which time stood still. There was a dull throbbing in the back of her mind, a reminder that her state could return to the endless loop if this being grew bored. It became clear that it was here to offer her something, a way out. At a price.
HegaveHimselfwillingly;HewatchedHiscrewperish
She sat there, staring out into the stars, a swirling mass of light and colour. The hues were far more vibrant than she remembered, especially the blues and pinks of the scape. Everything she thought she felt was twisted to cater. The thought echoed all around her, as though its very being was both within and without, though it was never in sight.“What do you want…?”
“I don’t want to serve you…”As soon as the thought echoed into the scape, the flood of pain washed over her, multiplying to the point where she thought she would die, and relief of passing beyond this creature’s reach peaked. She fell forwards, back into the nightmare, with the fang pressed against her heart. It pierced true, and her lungs filled with the warm blood from the still beating muscle. Coughing and spluttering, torn and broken far beyond what anyone could withstand, she awaited death. But death did not come.
Her will to resist had grown weak. She had little left to fight with while each death left her a little more drained than the last. Nothing she did provided solace, no ending gave her a way out. All's she had was the ill-fated offer to be a servant to a species that held her captive. Little more existed than the desire to give up and accept the new path she was to be forced on. They had broken her, completely, not in her mind and within her body's tolerance of torture. It was something the presence within her brother sensed too, though chose to be silent and wait.
In her last tormented vision, she found herself surrounded by the endless sea of sand. Deprived of fluids and sustenance left her drained. There was nothing but the heat radiating both from above and below. Her hands sunk into the grainy sea, beginning to slip into the desert itself. She couldn't resist it, not with how weakened she was. Gradually, she sank lower and lower, on her back as though the sand were more like water and she was a little too heavy to float without motion.
Moments passed, her thoughts screamed at her to surrender, but the words struggled to escape. Until only her head remained above the surface of the sand-sea. Her eyes closed, half wincing as her vocals strained against the heated pressure. Eventually, before the sand filled her open mouth, she managed to utter out her surrender."Isubmit..."
As she did, both her surroundings and her pain dissipated into nothing once more.
