Shattered
19 Dec 2016Niatra
Niatra opened his eyes. Lying in the dust of the explosion caused by the crashed cutter, he looked up. The shockwave must have hit him against the drop pod but no enemy soldier was standing around nor threatening him. Only in the distance the federal corvettes were scanning the area for survivors. No other threat was to be seen. Niatra jumped on his feet, grabbed his gear and the rations he was left with and sprinted off into the distance, away from the enemy wing.Whilst the rhythmic clapping of his feet on the ground felt somewhat monotone, it was perfect to reflect on what has happened. Nothing seemed to make sense. He felt the wounds issued by the guard, the pain when Faheer touched him, the hatred to everything he remembered, but nothing made sense. The emotional confusion of his reflection had its impact on him.
Standing at the side of a cliff, looking down, Niatra had stopped. He had not realised until this moment. The moment he saw the blue eyes in front of him, in nothingness. They vanished as fast as they appeared and he was alone again. His past in pieces, whatever he did feeling somewhat irrelevant, he was watching federal fleets gather around a distant Farragut battlecruiser. Vultures and dropships took off from the base below and joined their mothership, taking formation and waiting for orders. Troops were dispatched for transfer whilst new ones were loaded onto the vessel.
Watching a capital vessel return into dark space was always a phenomenon. Either sitting in a vessel yourself, standing on board of the bridge or merely watching it leave the planet’s orbit…it was always like a miracle.
An hour or two later, Niatra was walking alongside the many men in the military base. Without any issue he was able to sneak into the compound only lightly guarded, fetch the correct uniform and smuggle himself onto a transport. The fact he was an admiral of the federal navy made it easy for him to flip the switch in his brain. Only hours later, after a calm travel, he had left the group he had travelled with and was standing on Deadalus, the orbis station around Earth.
He sat in the little room he rented and unpacked his personal rifle. Gladly the superiors of federal soldiers never conducted routine checks directly before or after operations, so it was easy to transport the folded gear in the luggage.
Niatra sat on the bed, breathing calmly and stared out of the window, down at Earth, beholding its beautiful green and blue surface and he dreamed of Topaz, his past, everything he has ever achieved and a pair of blue eyes.
A loud continuing banging tore Niatra out of his dreams. The blue eyes vanished in the dark as he was trying to figure out what was going on.
“FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE! OPEN THE DOOR!”
Niatra rolled over his bed in one motion pulled out his sidearm from under the bed and strolled to the door. He opened it.
“Sir, on behalf of the law we hereby search this room for illegal goods and ilicit cargo as well as arms and clues on an ongoing investiga…”
His voice was cut off as Niatra grabbed him by the throat, lifted his sidearm to the head of the second in line and choked the sergeant that was talking to him against the wall.
“Leave. NOW!”
Niatra screamed in a grim and dark voice, terrifying for the men under the sergeant’s control and they backed off slowly, their arms lifted and vanished around the next corner.
He kicked the second in command to the floor, hit the sergeant against the wall, making him clap to the ground and pressed his foot against the 2nd’s throat until he went silent, fainting below the pressure.
Calm as always, Niatra strolled back to the bed, ducked and pulled out his luggage, already packed to leave. He walked out, his sidearm raised and shot the guard left by the retreating group in the foot. He stepped over the wimping soldier and walked off towards the hangars.
The station was in high alert when his Beluga departed. Controls have been tripled and the guards were heavily armed. He had to slip past via the cargo containers to make his way into the luxury liner. It was on its way to LFT 37….home.
Watching the station grow smaller and smaller he chuckled upon the irony. The occurrence that started all of this, happened on a Beluga liner. It was flying the same route this was going to take and met a fate no one should wish another being. And there he was, now safe as the threat was eliminated, cold as a stone, with a lot of new blood on his hands. He was flying home, never to be the person he has been.
Niatra sat, patiently waiting for FC Paroxsym to end his speech.
“Niatra you know we want to keep you safe and everything, but what you have done is just not ignorable. Members have already asked why we have not contained you yet, locked you away…”
He was walking up and down the room, looking at Niatra concerned. The guards at the door nerviously stood, awaiting for what everyone expected.
“Niatra….Leadership has agreed…to not demote you, nor to kick you out and ban you of Paladin Systems. Instead we give you a new title. Adjuster. It suits you perfectly and we can now answer member’s questions properly on what exactly you do around here…you adjust…things, people, everything.”
He stopped, both the walking and the talking and looked at Niatra in slight fear.
Niatra though was calm. His breath was slow but steady, his hands rested on his legs and he looked into Paroxsym’s eyes, well aware of the situation.
“I accept under one condition. I want Andy at my side.”
Paroxsym gulped and replied slowly:” Fine, but promise me to not go after anyone that has not deserved it.”
Niatra chuckled and got up, his hands at his hips, giggling slightly about the guards longing for their sidearms.
“Glad we came to that conclusion. And don’t worry, if they behave, nothing will need to be adjusted.”
With a smile on his lips, Niatra walked out of the room into his office to check in with the Empire.
-Prince Niatra, the Emperor sends you her regards. She wants you to transport top secret datacores around the centre of the empire safely. Additionally, war will commence in Khary with Remus Salvus Mortem again, so your combat ship is to be used accordingly.
After that she wants you to meet her on Capitol for dinner. Fly safe, Prince-
Acknowledging the news and orders, Niatra made himself some coffee sat down in his chair and admired the tore that was still present in the picture opposite of his desk.