Deniable Asset #3
04 Sep 2020Servatrix
>$ ls -a OCSN-Servatrix/Records
...
>$ ls -a 3264/Records
...
>$ xdg-open Incident1-HospitalFootage
Playback Begins:
[Camera starts overlooking an ICU unit, the occupant is a young male, dozens of tubes and devices surround him, the lights are almost off due to them being subdued so much. The door opens and the hallway light casts a massive beam across the room onto the occupant, which screams a muffled cry.]
A man enters the room, the camera cannot make out his features due to standing with his back to it, as well as his figure appears hazy in general. "So, you're the survivor eh?" He walks closer and grabs a nearby chair to sit next to the bed, still with his back facing the camera. "You're a scrawny thing. It's a wonder you survived being spaced." The man grabs the chart pad at the end of the bed and looks through it. "Hmm, looks like you didn't survive," he flips the pad around so the occupant on the bed can read, "They struggled to bring you back it looks like. A few times at that."
The occupant on the bed let out a strangled sob, struggling to sit up, his fists are clenched and the sound of crackling skin can be heard as his skin breaks, still not having been recovered from being subjected to space.
The man leans forward and gently pushes the occupant back down. "Oh, hush," he admonished. "A man like you, I can tell you're a survivor. Probably survived some fights in your time, and likely to survive more in the future. This," he waves around to the hospital room, "just another chapter." He put the pad back in the slot and sat back in the chair silent for a moment. "However, this kind of medical care doesn't come cheap. And judging by what I saw on your chart, it'll be something you'll be paying off for a long time." He stood up and leaned slightly over the man on the bed, "Dozens of blood vessels were ruptured, in your right leg alone. Almost all your skin was frozen off and will take months to grow back, even then it'll be a miracle if you don't have heavy scaring, at the least. Your eyes were blinded almost completely because you got spaced on the sun-side of the ship you were traveling on. Radiation is almost through the roof, they barely managed to get it below fatal levels with how long you were in the black." He walked over to the other side of the bed, the camera cannot render his face as it appears as just a white dot, a sign of electronic tampering. The man continued speaking, regardless of the muffled cries from the man on the bed, "Your tendons were flash-frozen and snapped almost everywhere in your body. They are only working due to quick repairs during your fourth surgery, they won't last long either. Your arms and legs won't regain full function either. It's only due to the surgeon's skill you can even move what little you are currently. Your internal organs are moderately ok, apart from your lungs and esophagus, those will probably have to be fully replaced. Your heart was also severely damaged, both by your blood flash-boiling and freezing and by the many resuscitation attempts from the doctors."
The man on the bed stopped struggling slowly as the man continued to speak, realizations hitting him with each bit of information being spoken. As the strange man stopped speaking, he turned slowly to face him, a pleading look on his face.
The visitor stood straighter and looked down on the man in the bed, "As for your family, there is no news. You were alone in the black when I heard of the attack, but there were other ships in the area. It's possible they were rescued and delivered to other trauma centers. I do not know." He walked to the other side of the bed and put the seat back where he got it from, and the approached the door, "I'm afraid I must be going now. I'll be back in a few days, I've got business to attend to. In the meantime, think of what you would like to do. As it stands now, your on your own, the only one left alive from what we can tell. It may be best for you to just remain here until you are fully recovered, or at least as recovered as one can be in your situations. I do not envy the bill that will come due though." And with that, the visitor left, the glaring beam of light from the hallway disappearing as the door was closed.
The man on the bed slumped further into it staring at the ceiling, weeping.
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Servatrix opened his eyes to a pinging from his terminal, an audio message was left for his review. He sat down and opened it, it was from Korie.
"Commander, I want to thank you for returning those hostages. I applaud you were able to get to them so quickly. Had they been left on the surface of that moon, there's no telling how bad it could have been," was the opening line.
Servatrix allowed an amused smirk to cross his lips as he continued to listen, "As it stands, that was the last action we could have done to help the recent war. Alas, it's over for now. We weren't as successful as we wanted to be, but even then we made some progress. For now, we don't have any additional orders, most of our combat pilots are on a holding pattern until the next major conflict. I may not know much about who you are, but from the records, I do have I know you'll find something productive to do. It's my hope-" Servatrix terminated the playback and deleted the recording, having heard enough.
He got dressed and exited his quarters, intent on unwinding he decided to tour the older parts of the station he was docked at. Making his way through the bowels after several hours he somehow stumbled back towards the faction lounge and bar. Seeing it was practically empty in the wee hours of the morning he'd be shocked if it was full, he decided to sit down and enjoy a meal that didn't come prepackaged and dehydrated. He sat down in a corner booth and perused the menu before ordering several smaller items and a large beverage. Just as his food was delivered another commander walked in, he recognized her from the reports as Commander Blitzkrieg.
"Oh, I thought I was the only one that came here this early in the morning," commented Blitzkrieg while strangely touching her ear and sitting down across from him.
Servatrix grunted as he started in on his food, after a few bites he replied, "I generally like the quiet times. Only decent time I can think really."
"Can't say I blame ya, it's peaceful in here this early. By the way, I'm Blitzkrieg Judy, but Judy alone is fine." Says Judy while ordering whiskey from the bar.
Servatrix nodded and swallowed some food before speaking, "Servatrix. Serv will work as well." He paused to take another few bites, "So, what brings you my way?"
"Coincidence, to be honest. I thought I'd be alone but hey, I'm not complaining. Plus, this stuff tastes better when sharing, wanna join me after you're done with that?"
He thought for a moment while slowly chewing the last of his food. "Fuck it. Sure. Nothing else really to do for me currently. What are you thinking?"
"Fix yourself a drink first, man." Says Judy, followed by another comment, "You're a real mystery around these parts. Hell, some of the others think you're not even real."
"I have a ton of questions but I'm only gonna make three, is that okay with you?" Judy spurts out after finishing her glass.
Servatrix sighed and ordered a bottle of malt liquor. "Ah, I see," he took a slow drink and set down the glass fiddling with it for a bit on the table. "Fair, three questions."
"First of all, how did you find out about OCSN?" asked Judy to the mysterious man.
He took another slow drink and thought about his answer. "To be honest, a while ago I heard about this group of people coming together, independent contractors basically, who were tired of most of the larger factions politics. Tired of people being used and tossed when the government felt like it. After some of my," he paused mulling over the words, "past experiences, I decided to throw in my lot with y'all. Figured the rest of the galaxy has too much bureaucracy."
"Yes, that is true, most of us were tired of having the government tell us what to do. Personally, I left an Empire aligned faction because they didn't like my way of doing things, said it was too erratic. Bunch of cowards is what they are."
"Second question," she pauses thinking, "I've seen in the reports that you're very experienced in combat but you're more uh professional than, I don't know, me. Were you some kind of military before becoming one of us?" Blitz says while opening a pack of cigarettes and taking one out.
Servatrix idly nodded his head taking another drink and motioning for one of the cigarettes, "I was yes. Fed Black Ops. Learned quite a bit from them while I was with them. I was with them for about," he pauses thinking back, "around forty-some odd years."
"Very interesting." Judy nods her head in approval. "I actually became the first Black Ops of the faction I mentioned, they needed someone to do their wetwork. It was fun for a while."
"It's a different pace compared to pirate hunting that's for sure. More open-ended in the orders you can carry out. Nowadays with our faction, I've found I still lean towards Black Ops type contracts. Keeps things interesting." He lit his cigarette and took a long drag.
"Enough with the past talk, It's boring and sad. My third and last question is," Blitz lights her cigarette and takes a long drag "Why don't you ever hang out with us at the bar, man? You're missing out on a lot of fun."
"And before you answer, nice timing with the ciggies."
Servatrix smirked and paused for a long few minutes before answering. "Up until I joined, and for about the last half of my former career, I was a solo operator. After twenty plus years operating in the black alone, no backup, no communication channels or anything that could keep me in touch with the galaxy at large, it's hard to break those habits," he took a drag and continued, "I'm working on changing it slowly. But even then, some people just wouldn't understand what it is we Black Ops people go through. Honestly? It's better for them if they don't. We," he pointed to himself and Blitz, "know what goes on beyond the curtain. The rest of the regular pilots don't, and for their sake, it's probably better if they never find out either. Despite the toll it takes on me, or us, they need their peace of mind. I'm fine with the demons I carry. I'll be gathering more before the end I know. But to share those with people who've never lived the life? No, I'll let them live in their naivete."
He finished his cigarette and downed the rest of his drink before nodding to Blitz and standing up. "As for now, I've got some ideas on what I want to get done. I'll see you out there Blitz," He rapped his knuckles twice on the table and headed out of the bar.