Rotten to the Core

[Implosion]

Chapter 3: Scars
818 A.S.

-Daniels! Daniels get the hell over here, man! We’re in deep! - The screams of Guildkeeper Damoclass in his ears woke him up. He sure felt like hammered crap, but his survival instincts kicked in. The buzz from the cardamine was gone but he felt another dose being released into his system. The new subdermal implant really helped with hiding Jack’s addiction. However, no amount of cardamine could help numb all the pain. The ship had taken a serious hit, but apart from a few non-critical systems, it was holding.
-Frak, yeah...I’m ready, Damian! Where do you want me? - Jack had became fanatically loyal to the Core over the last couple years. He would nuke an entire planet if they told him to. And that’s exactly why they were in Omicron Minor. The siege was going strong and the Core had nearly wiped out all Order defenders. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the end was near. Daniels could feel it.
-Proceed as planned, I’ll be on the Ehrgeiz to act as distraction while you approach, lead the secondary strike team towards Toledo. There is an Osiris in your way, OCV-Matareya. Hit it swift and hit it hard. And Jack, try not to hit us this time, okay? - Damoclass’ voice was calm, despite the fact his Thresher, the Ehrgeiz, was under heavy fire.

-Roger that, Damoclass, we can see the Battleship. All hands, battlestations! Lock on and fire all antimatter torpedos!

As the words came out of his mouth, the interior lighting on the Battleshark went from warm simulated daylight to dark blue combat lighting. Multiple torpedos violently left their tubes and headed for their target. The Matareya was prepared, however, gatling fire combined with flak turrets exploded the warheads before they could reach the destination.

-Core vessel, cease fire! I repeat, CEASE FIRE! This is Commander Jessica Scarlet of the order defense fleets! We’re en route to intercept a nomad fleet, a threat to us both! If you have any dignity left, turn your ship around and join us! They are the enemy!

“Would you look at that, Danny boy, your old saviour has given you a choice! Return the favor or destroy her. What would you do, el cazador?”

-Scarlet, it’s been a while. But I see you have chosen your side and I have chosen mine. Turn your ship around and get out of our way. This is an order. - He wasn’t sure if she would recognize his voice, but he didn’t care. He had a mission and he was going to see it through. - I highly suggest you comply.

-Damn you, Daniels! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance, you backsta…. - Suddenly the channels were filled with white noise.

-Price! Report! - He asked his XO for an update, but he already knew what happened.
A massive alien ship, like nothing they’ve seen before simply ran the Osiris over. Without a firing a single shot it had decimated the warship.
-Price, search and rescue! I want every single one of those order agents captured!DOUBLE TIME! PERRY! Fire the remaining warheads at Toledo, we came here for a rea…

He couldn’t yell out the rest of his orders. The nomads were here for the same reasons, apparently. A massive orbital bombardment unleashed shockwaves throughout the system. Toledo’s surface was reduced to ashes in just a few minutes. When the S&R ships returned to the Battleshark, Daniels was already at the helm. The Core was pulling out of Minor, but their way was blocked by a portion of the nomad armada. The Core flagship, Athena, was spearheading the extraction with dreadful brutality. It cut through the enemies like a supernova cannon cuts through steel. A hundred meters behind it, another legendary Mako, The Sargasso, was dishing out long range mortar fire at the pursuing capital ships. The two battleships were being escorted by a fleet of Threshers and Bullheads. Damian Damoclass on the Ehrgeiz was leading the pack. Battlecruiser “Victoria”, a “missile boat” of sorts, was relentlessly launching hundreds of different guided projectiles in all directions. The 22nd was there in force as well, their Light Fighters buzzed around like mosquitoes, slowly draining the life out of their targets, while the Morays and the Mantas made quick work of gunships and hostile fighters. But everybody knew it was going to be tight. Every second could be their last. Luckily, the Nomads were still busy eradicating the rest of the Order. The Core fleet jumped to Delta and to nobody’s surprise, a welcoming party was already there. But that wasn’t going to be a problem for them. The backup fleet was on it’s way. The Diaboli, The Moorwen and the Comnenos launched all their support craft and unleashed hell on everything that wasn’t part of the Core. Three Makos, freshly loaded with supplies and crews that weren’t half asleep by now, really made a difference. The Battlegroup moved back to Dabadoru and awaited the Nomad armada. But it never came. Their purpose was to destroy Toledo and they had used the Core as a mere distraction. Either way, the mission was a success. Surely, the Order couldn’t possibly survive devastation of this magnitude. Daniels saw the lava blasting from the planet’s core. The Nomads had the technology to somehow trigger such a cataclysmic event. Their knowledge was Jack’s next goal. Another dose of cardamine was released into his system by the implant. That made him lean back in his seat, whiskey in his hand and a barely noticeable smile on his face.

-Price. Go and check on the survivors from that Osiris. Look for the captain, Jessica Scarlet and if she’s alive, bring her to me. I believe I’ve an offer she simply cannot refuse. After all, the faith of humanity as we know it is riding on her answer.

“Danny boy, you’re in over your head. There’s nothing you can do, the Nomads are beyond your comprehension, you dumb shmuck. With or without her, you will eventually bow down to your new maste...”

And yet again, the voice was interrupted. The culprit was standing on the far side of the room and it was actually a she.
Jessica Scarlet had somehow overpowered the guards and made her way to the bridge. Before Daniels could draw his weapon, she closed in and landed an uppercut so strong, it severely reduced the number of teeth in Jack's mouth.

-You sick son of a gun, you selfish piece of crap! - Each insult was backed by a inhumanly strong punch in the gut -Do you really thought you can contain me?! ME?! Have you no idea what I've become? I've more nanotech in my bloodstreams than you have in your entire pathetic Battleship!

-Listen to me Jessica! I'm on your side! I'm on humanity's side! - Another punch found his way to the general area where his cardamine dispensing implant was placed. Luckily, it didn't have enough to overdose the man, but it sure felt like a lot. - STOP HITTING ME!
The "exchange" went on for a while and hit after hit, Daniels' major organs began to shut down.
-Jessica...please, listen to me...we need to work togethe...UMPGH...please...that's the only way we can...OW...the only way we can stop them! -

"There's a stun gun under the seat, Danny boy! In case of mutiny on the bridge, you idiot! USE IT!"

-Took your sweet time, didn't ye?! - He yelled, while gathering his last strength to kick the woman back, grab the stunner and discharge the battery into her. To his surprise, the electric shock managed to not only temporarily stun the woman, but also disable most of her augments. She barely got back to her feet.
-Look, I don't enjoy doing what I do, but it's the end result that really matters!- -He took a deep breath and threw a datapad in her feet -Have a look at the intel we've gathered. There's info about the order and it's black ops. The way they silenced politicians that are bad for business. They way they sold alien technology to the highest bidder.ALIEN JESSICA! The order is turning into a pseudo empire and humanity means nothing for them! All they care about is power and credits!

Jessica had no choice but to read the documents, seeing how Jack had now armed himself with an additional battery and a plasma shotgun. The data was surprisingly detailed. She could recognize ops that she took part in, only this time, the stuff they didn't told her was written here. All the doubts she ever had about questionable orders were answered with just a few rows and some video footage. Earlier, she was ordered to torch a civilian shuttle with two dozen researches on board. She was told they were infected, but in reality, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shuttle's computers recorded an exchange between the Order and a group of extremists, so they had to be silenced. With everybody that saw it. The shock from this sudden revelation didn't slow her recovery down, on the contrary, she was back to full power and she was contemplating her next move. Working with Daniels was the only reasonable choice now. She wanted revenge and she wanted justice. Trusting him was not an option, but she could still use him as means to an end. Scarlet just nodded at the man and ripped the patches from her uniform. She was an order Captain no more. As they hit the floor, the bridge's doors opened and seven marines walked in with their guns drawn. Before Daniels could order them to stand down, all hell had broken loose.

"Bloody hell, Danny boy!"

They were gunning for Scarlet, as she was public enemy number one on this ship. Heavy assault rifle fire was directed towards Jessica, but not before she had hid behind a console. When she attempted to switch positions and retaliate, one of the marines fired a supercharged antimatter projectile at Scarlet, but she swiftly dashed to the side. With nothing in it's way, the hot mass of evisceration shattered one of the massive illuminators to a million pieces, completely exposing them to the vacuum of space. Unlike the marines and Jessica, Daniels had no mag boots. With nothing to hold him in place, he was sucked out of the bridge and into the abyss.
Moments later, when he looked back, he saw her. Scarlet pushed herself from the exterior armor plates of the Battleshark and straights towards Daniels. As she grabbed his hand, the man stared into Jessica's eyes and saw the vivid light blue glow in them. They were synthetic, but unlike anything he has seen before. They were not natural, yet they had more life in them. Much more than the real thing. He felt shivers, most likely from the lack of any heat or oxygen around him, or maybe the reason was Scarlet. He couldn't know for sure and he couldn't care less either. He was just wanted to die now. As they floated away from the ship, everything went dark and he completely lost consciousness. Not even that cheeky voice in his head had something to say about it.

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