SPECTRES Act 11 : Revelations
19 Jun 2020Maggie Oz
Spoiler Alert. Act 11 is the big reveal.
If you haven't read along to date, J-Dog kicks off the Spectres series here
Maggie's full story starts here
It was late when I got back to Tannhauser.
The houses and pathways of the habs were dark, the good folk in bed asleep.
I was dog tired and not looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.
I walked from the tube to the palace, yawning and looking forward to my bed. It had been a long and eventful day.
I placed my hand upon the door, it swung open, it wasn't locked.
-Oh ...... so it's tonight then-
I walked cautiously into the front room and saw a figure seated on the lounge in the gloom
"Hello, Roy," I said levelly
"Hello, Maggie," came the equally guarded reply.
"Let yourself in then?"
"DAC remembers me"
"Quite," I said walking further in and taking a seat opposite him. "I'd never known you to be the jealous type, Roy."
"Jealous?" he laughed, "Whatever do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb Roy. Your little Mercenary told me everything. She sends her best "fuck you" by the way.
There were only two people that knew James would be coming home through Facece, James and I. So there had to be some form of a surveillance device in the house. DAC is programmed to detect such things so clearly there had to be a block on him. Only someone with occupant level access can do that. I know I didn't so it could only be you. No wonder you always knew what I was doing better than I did. Did it start as some kind of voyeur thing? I know you like to watch. Get a bit much for you did it when we got engaged?"
"I'm impressed. I've never had a problem with you screwing whom you wish, Maggie. No, you see I needed you angry, to want to hit back. Once you are put into the Senate you'll need that fire to start the ball rolling. "
"What ball?"
"Oh Maggie, don't you see? The Empire is rotten, the sycophantic system of patronage is just a self perpetuating club that never achieves anything but status quo. It's time for a ... cleansing. A New Order of things. Who better to lead that New Order than those of us who have been Empire since the beginning?"
"You .... you " I shook my head "You're trying to overthrow the Emperor?"
"No no no noo. There'll be no overthrowing, they'll want us to take over. You're part way there already. The will of the people will sweep away the old, just like you got them to sweep away silly old Gias. He was so easy to set up. His vanity and lack of self control."
"Oh! You are fucking kidding me?" said incredulously "You set that up? So he could rape me?"
"You were never in any danger, I had the call from the Emperor all planned. This is the work of decades and now it's finally coming to fruition. Getting rid of the 3Gens was the final move. It's got the people raging, "don't kill our clones" they chant and they call your name. Now we are only two they treasure us."
"Sorry what? YOU? You ordered the extermination of all 3Gens?"
"Yes, of course, we had to get rid of anyone who could challenge us. Complete stroke of luck they all got in contact with you, gave us a full list of who and where they were"
"You hacked my contacts list ...... I led you straight to them" I said in shame, " And then you tried to kill ME! "
"Oh no, no no no, that was just a cover, I knew DAC's capabilities. They'd have never gotten through, he's far too deadly"
Tears of rage and pain welled in my eyes "You killed Pris and Mon, a fucking gardener and her little girl"
"Yes well it was unfortunate the slave and its offspring were lost, but that was the mercenaries going off brief, couldn't be helped"
"This, this is insane! You've killed EVERYONE I know and love, you've even destroyed the person I thought you were. All for some ... lunatic notion of ruling the bloody Empire?!"
"Just think of it Maggie, the two of us, together, ruling in concert for the rest of time" he said looking into the distance.
"NEVER" I snarled" You are fucking bonkers Roy, stark raving mad. You killed them, you killed them all there's no one else left from our time, no one, you killed the man I love, you killed my friends, you've taken everything from me and you expect me to be a party to your madness? I'd rather die and throw my EBU into a star."
"Oh, dear. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this." he said, I saw him draw a pistol and begin screwing on a silencer "I'm afraid if you won't join me, I'll have to kill you and wipe you, like the others. Such a shame, but you understand how it is, I'm sure. Joe was the same."
Hearing that his treachery extended all the way back to Joe came as no surprise, there was nothing he could say that would shock me now.
I lunged towards him, driven by hate. There was a muffled pop and a sledgehammer hit my chest, just below my right breast. I screamed in agony and fell to the floor,
"DAC! Help ME!" I cried
The multicannon deployed from the ceiling but swung back and forth, unable to lock on
"I am sorry Madam I cannot target Lord Batty, there is a lockout protocol on my weapons."
I saw Roy rise from the couch and walk towards me, pointing the pistol at my forehead.
I looked up desperately at the mutlicannon, next to it I saw a vent, an atmosphere regulator.
"DAC, perhaps Lord Batty would prefer a WARM SHOWER," I shouted, tasting blood in my mouth
For all his faults and misunderstandings of humans, DAC was no moron, he got the message and as Roy walked under the vent DAC reversed a superheated steam pipe from the heat exchangers to send a blast down upon him. It was quick. He died in an instant in a cloud of steam, not even enough time to cry out as the flesh was seared from his bones.
I was bleeding heavily.
"DAC, thank you, DAC" I panted
"You are welcome Madam"
"DAC, contact Jock MacGoveren, tell him to come here right away," I ordered through gasps of pain
I lay on the floor holding my side for the few minutes it took Jock to arrive.
"Mar'm?" he called
"Over here, get the medkit from the bathroom"
He did so and returned. Painfully I stripped to the waist and he applied medigel patches over the entry and exit wounds.
"You're bleeding internally Mar'm, I canna fix that with this," he said indicating the Medkit.
"It's alright Jock, this will keep me going long enough"
"What's happened here Mar'm?"
"Don't ask Jock, and don't ever tell anyone what you saw here. I need you to help me get .. that ... to my ship" I said nodding at Roy's corpse
With me stabilised Jock fetched a body bag from the Marine store and we put Roy's body in it.
We carried it to the tubecar and thence to the starport. I bought a canister of Biowaste which we cracked and slid the body inside.
"Thank you, Jock, now go home and forget all of this."
"Will you be alright Mar'm? "
"Yes Jock and thank you Jock, for everything. You've been a loyal soldier to me and a friend. I can't thank you enough."
I rummaged in my handbag "Here," I said as I smiled and proferred him a Cr50 note, "I'll square things with Jamie"
Jock looked at me, I saw the realisation come upon him
"Och, I've no got ma wallet .... I'll get it from ye .. next time"
I looked at him, "Yes, ... next time." I said as I nodded, "Take care, Alister"
"Aye .... ye too .... Maggie," He nodded and walked reluctantly away.
Still tasting blood in my mouth. I prepped Always Forever for flight.
I punched in HR1185 on the Nav and launched.
Nine jumps later and I was hovering above HR1185 B .... a Black Hole.
This was the only way to be sure he would disappear forever and no one would ever know the madness that had overcome him and the wickedness he had done.
Were that to get out, the Generational program would undoubtedly be ceased, this way, he'd just be another loss in the Clone Purge. In time the status quo would return and people would remember the reasons why clones cannot be in politics.
I would be forgotten as just a passing fancy. The Galaxy would turn.
I punched the jettison and the canister sailed free. I nudged it with the bow and sent it spinning into the darkness, starting on its never ending plummet to oblivion. Despite all he had done, a deep sadness welled up from within me as I watched him disappear.
-oh Roy, you stupid bugger -
I coughed, thick blood drooled from my mouth and nose, my vision was shakey. I felt no fear, I would welcome death if it came, it would mean a new beginning.
But why begin again when you'd not finished .. ?
I cued up the status console and gave a little laugh, so close. I always did want to earn Elite in all my lives, a true Triple Elite.
But why finish when all was lost ..... ? There was nothing more for me here in this time but to wait.
I coughed again and more blood, my vision started to swim.
The pain had gone, there was just a growing numbness.
I selected a destination
FRAME SHIFT DRIVE ... CHARGING
I looked down and saw on the binnacle of Always Forever the Dzi bead Ling had given me.
I clutched in my hand and then slumped on my seat, weak, fading
004.0000....
003.5437....
002.1134 ....
001.6749 ....
000.0000
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I don't have the words to say how much I have enjoyed sharing my stories with you.
I hope you have enjoyed Maggie's journey as much as I have in bringing it to you. I hope that maybe I have brought just a little happiness to some in these dark times.
It's time to move on. I don't hear from Maggie anymore and my real life beckons as the world begins to return to a degree of normalcy and I return home to my loved ones after 3 months in an isolated community as an "essential worker". I have missed them so.
Thank you so much to Zedakiah Massacre, Lowbee, Amata Lirein, CecliaX23, Nighranger, Jav Marlo, Fatcat_25, TripleRazor, Synthryder and all the others who have read along with us. Thank you all for all those shinys and kind notes, every single one has given me such joy.
A huge thank you to author Nelson Rad for joining in and taking our series up another level!
Above all though, is my dear friend, J-Dog162, who's encouragement and amazing writing skills were my muse throughout.
See you all in the black as our Elite Dangerous journeys continue. XXX
