Corruption and Change

[Zepphos]

Nothing had changed. The cell was as empty, cold and dark as before. Harrisson was half standing, half hanging in the centre of the cell. No sound had entered the cell ever since he awoke in there, and he was toying with the idea that they had left him to rot... Then, he heard footsteps somewhere outside of the walls. Some muffled conversation followed, then a lock in the far side of the room clicked and light began to flood the cell. The light blinded Harrisson and forced him to close his eyes and take a few steps back. The light left the room quickly, but left footsteps in its place.

Harrisson opened his eyes to the cell and let his eyes wander. The room was shrouded in a dim blue light. Upwards, the walls were everlasting and disappeared into darkness. The floor was plain and bare, except for a table in the corner. Then Harrisson became aware of the footsteps, getting closer from behind him. He turned as much as his restraints would let him. What he saw surprised him. Completely clothed in leather, a woman stood behind him.

Her black hair shone in the dim blue light. The suit stuck tightly to her body, her curves enhanced by the shine of the leather. Harrisson was completely entranced for a second... Then he noticed the bag. The trance left him immediately. Fear took over and he began to back away across the room. The woman watched him and smiled, as she set the bag on the floor. Harrisson heard the clinking and shuddered. Her smile widened,

"Scared?"

He tried to regain his composure,

"In front of a woman like yourself? Heh, not likely!"

Her smile faded slightly,

"Now now, you know nothing about me. Don't judge by first impressions... Just so happens I'm only here to talk."

This took Harrisson completely by surprise. In any normal situation he would have evaluated his surroundings and completely dismissed that statement as false. This situation, however, left him longing for hope and safety. Though this woman seemed strange, her smile was warming to him. He began to relax and the fear began to leave him.

"So, Admiral Harrisson of the South Alliance, how did you end up way out here, outside your precious Liberty?"

"Well, I would assume you already know that. Those 'things' on my ship didn't appear by accident."

"Ah, not too bad in the intelligence department, are you? I suppose we have some explaining to do..."

She sat down on the floor. The creases in the leather folded in all the right places, making her even more distracting. Looking up at Harrisson, she smiled a friendly smile and began to explain.

"We have taken a pleasure in watching you from afar for a while. The corruption and decomposition of the houses is a wonderful thing, Admiral, something that you seem rather good at. I'd like to thank you on behalf of all of us for making our job much easier, by the way. Corruption is but one step to destruction."

There was a twinkle in her eye as she said this. Harrisson didn't notice...

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