Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Resurrection ❯ The Raven and The Phoenix ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"God and Devil are two sides of the same coin. Just as Earth and Mars are two sides of the same Universe."
- UNSF General Randolf Schmeitzer, paraphrased with Anatoly Mikoyan

Chapter 6: The Raven and The Phoenix

In a cloak of dark, a strange figure snuck into the movie theater's projector room. Although cast in shadow, one could see the figure was dressed in an cloak and hood that hid the body armor he wore underneath. His face was shrouded in shadow, but one discernable feature of his was his hands and feet. His hands, that were strangely covered in some metallic gauntlet while his feet seemed to be in skin tight footwear, as if the man was wearing a bodysuit underneath his overcoat.

He saw General Paul De Franz of the United Nations Space Forces take a seat in one of the chairs. Around him were several bodyguards, all dressed in black business suits rather than the regular military uniform. There weren't any guards at the projector room or anywhere else in the theater; and even if there were, he could deal with them easily. It was the perfect set-up. The only problem with it was he couldn't sneak any weapons into the theater; he would've been lucky enough to get a knife into the building, let alone a sniper rifle. Fortunately, he had gotten his opportunity and planted the plastic explosives behind one of the light fixtures on the staircase, which was more than enough to level the entire auditorium into a pile of burning ash.

Two of the bodyguards got up from their seats and exited the theater, probably on patrol. The other four remained seated, as the feature slowly began. The apparent ninja took out the detonation remote from his cloak pocket and laughed a silent laugh of amusement. This was too easy. All he had to do was wait for the right moment, when the guards returned, so there would be no one left to suspect him. And even if the bomb failed, his comrades would take it from there.

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"Theater 7, to the left" the doorman indicated plainly, tearing Raven's ticket in half. "Have a good show." Raven nodded and walked down the lobby to the concession stand. It was late on a Thursday night, so the Shannon Esperanza 14 wasn't as packed as it usually was. It was, after all, one of the fanciest theaters on Mars, usually reserved for the upper-classes such as businessmen or UNSF officers. Like himself. The concession boy was writing on a piece of paper when Raven came up, drawing his attention. "What can I get for you sir?"

"Lets see, 'Marco'..." Raven started, reading the boy's name tag and then looking at the menu, "I'll take a Large-sized bag of popcorn, no butter, a large Vanilla Pepsi, in a souvenir cup if you have any."

Marco nodded and typed in the order. Then he looked over to the paper again and read one of the sentences, "Are you sure about that?" Marco asked, "for seventy five cents more, you can get a jumbo-sized popcorn with any choice of butter or caramel."

Raven sighed. "Why do you people do that? You only annoy customers more."

"Do what sir?" the cashier asked.

"I only want a large popcorn, no butter and a large Vanilla Pepsi in a fucking souvenir cup. Isn't that enough money to earn on one order?" Raven growled in irritation.

Marco nodded, "Sorry, just upper management wants to upsell as many of our products as they can, and they threatened our jobs for it." he explained, "I'm new here, and it was a big enough pain in the ass to get this job in the first place, y'know?"

"I assume." Raven shrugged, looking at the menu again, "are the Pretzels really oven-baked?"

"Are you kidding?" Marco exclaimed. He looked around to see if there was anyone else in the auditorium. Seeing nobody within hearing distance, he moved the food station behind the cashier stand, and pulled out a metal drawer below the popcorn display. A large blast of steam shot out of the drawer, as the boy slipped on a plastic glove and picked out a pretzel. He showed it to Raven. "We've had this one for three days. When we don't sell it, we put it back in the fridge and take it out the next day."

"Isn't there a health code against that?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"There's also a health code against selling the same hotdog for over a week." He pointed to the machine behind the food station, where a single, shriveled frankfurter was rotating on metal bars. "I think this is now the fourth week we've had that same weenie, maybe the fifth." He shrugged, "I stopped counting after the second week."

Raven's stomach churned at that. "What about the cheese sticks, are those fresh?"

"As fresh as any frozen TV dinner" Marco answered. "It has a lot of calories, but other than that, they're very good. I eat em for lunch every day."

"Ok, I'll take an order of cheesesticks" Raven replied. "You want anything? I'm feeling generous."

Marco shook his head, "Can't eat on duty. A friend of mine got scolded last week for eating a piece of popcorn. Man, did Mrs. Tucker go berserk over that."

"Mrs. Tucker?" Raven inquired.

"One of our three 'lovely' theater managers. She has the approximate temper of a bull in a blood drive, the personality of an army Sergeant and the intellect of a five pound bag of fertilizer." Marco answered with a grim smile.

Raven nodded, fully knowing what he was talking about. "Ok, my movie starts in five minutes. Nice talking to you."

"Same, it's nice having someone to chat with once in a while." Marco moved to the fridge to get Raven's cheesesticks. Raven sat back on the counter, watching the various movie previews on the theater screen above the concession stand.

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Outside the theater, Taine Nikolai strolled around the building, moving toward the freight entrance. A single truck was parked outside, with two men standing around the entryway. They were dressed in suits, just like the bodyguards inside were, if only slightly sagging; probably the result of standing in a boring guard post. Taine pulled his Walther P199K handgun from his coat, slipping on a silencer. He hid behind the corner, then tapped the wall twice. That caught the attention of one of them. Taine could've sworn he saw an exclamation point appear over the guard's head. "There is somebody there?" the guard asked the air in a thick Ukrainian accent. He walked toward the corner, his hand slipping around a handgun inside his suit while the other remained at his post.

"Relax, Perchek" called the other. "Who in their right mind would enter a movie theater from the back way?"

"Anyone interest in killing that General, Manning." Perchek replied, slipping around the corner. After that, it was dead silent for a moment. At first, Manning remained at his post, but as time passed, he started to grow a little uneasy. "This isn't funny, Perchek." Manning muttered quietly, walking toward the corner. He turned and saw to his terror Perchek's dead body sprawled across the pavement. His throat had been slit through. "Oh shi..." Manning said reaching for his gun and radio. He never finished the sentence. A single bullet shot reached his scalp, piercing straight through his brain before it lost velocity and dropped harmlessly into the man's open mouth. A breath visible in the chilly air floated from his mouth as he dropped to the ground above his friend.

Taine had climbed up the building's side in the pause between each man's death, standing on a light-fixture which fortunately was stable enough to support his weight. He dropped down from the lamppost and searched the corpses, opening their suits. "Shit" he finished Manning's phrase, in reaction at what he found.

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"Excuse me sir." A stern voice behind Raven's back. He turned around to face a medium-sized woman with messy blonde hair and fiery red eyes, a fixated grimace on her face. "May I see your ticket?"

Marco had just finished Raven's cheesesticks, placing them at the pick-up station with Raven's popcorn and Pepsi, when she came up. It was at that point he decided to take a break, even though there was only three other people on duty. Raven stared at the woman's nametag. Emily Tucker. Figures.

"Fine." Raven took out his ticket stub and gave it to Tucker.

The manager ripped it from his hands and read it. "May I see your ID?"

"What did I do?" Raven demanded.

"You're going to watch a film that may be beyond your age." Tucker explained. "Now give me your ID.” She snapped, sounding more like a cross school teacher than a theater manager.

"I thought Ninja Sword II was rated PG-13." Raven stated. "Do I look like I'm under that age?"

"Watch it, young man, or I'll throw you out of my theater" Tucker growled. "I don't care what you look like, if you say anything that concession boy said to the public..."

"Are you threatening me, lady?" Raven asked, bemused.

"I'm threatening to throw you out of my theater, and if I must, I'll have security do it."

Raven pointed to the stub. "I bought that ticket with my six credits and fifty cents. Ask the box office if you wish."

"It's my theater, I say who comes in and who doesn't, now give me your ID" she raged.

"Fine." Raven yelled back, flipping open his wallet. Even though he was trying to avoid it, he enjoyed watching the color run out of her skin. "Lieutenant Raven Vostrikov, UNSF" Raven read off his card. "You wanna call security on me n-..." Cutting him off mid-sentence, the shock-wave of a massive explosion blew out of theater 7, rocking the entire building. Raven instinctively leapt over the concession stand and ducked, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough, gunmen walked through the front door and began unloading machine-gun fire into the theater. The first victim was Mrs. Tucker, being caught in the first hail of bullets before she could run for cover. The sounds of the theater's staff and customers screaming rang from every side; some of them were running for the exit, while the others were helplessly gunned down by the intruders.

Raven, wishing he had a decent long-range weapon, sat under the cash register with his staff and shot energy into it, causing it to extend. Thank God for Elemental powers… He breathed heavily, the shock of an attack in one of the least likely places catching him off-guard. As he guessed, one of the gunmen peeked over the stand, his machine gun barrel being thrust down next to Raven's head. That's when the boy struck. Before he could move the gun at Raven, his Staff was in the man's throat. Blood trickled down the blade, landing on Raven's face as he looked up. He removed the staff and let the body flop over the counter, as he grabbed a cloth behind the cash register and wiped the blood off his face. "For crying out loud..." he growled, as he looked at the red stains on the wipe. A few more gunshots rang out, but rounds seem to be going back and forth, indicating the other gunman was in a fight with another gunman...

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Taine busted open the theater door, entering the loading area of the movie theater, pointing his Walther P199K around the corners. That's when the explosion occurred and he almost fell, only barely keeping his balance. "Damn VANGUARD..." he swore at the air. He didn't have much time; he had to capture a VANGUARD lackie before the SWATs arrived. He already got information from a 'reliable source' in VANGUARD that one of their officers, a Lieutenant Dolk, had implemented an assassination attempt on General Wilhelm at this movie theater. Apparently, Mason had gotten too close to something regarding the terrorists or he just screwed with Dolk's wife or girlfriend, something like that. Either way, once again according to the source, Dolk was close to Browning, being an OF test runner and all. It didn't take half a brain to know that if he was going to get close to Browning, he had to take down Dolk alive.

Moving past crates of popcorn, artificial butter and other miscellaneous food products, he managed to get to the main theater door. The sound of machine gun fire could be heard on the other side, as well as the screams of random people either being gunned down or just running madly to the exits. He didn't open the door until he was certain that the gunner had moved past. Taking a risk, he peered inside to see that the gunner had his back turned at him, as he was moving toward one of the left-wing theaters. With that, Taine let loose a bullet and nailed the man right in the back. The gunner dropped his weapon and fell face-first onto the carpeting. This signaled his partner on the opposite end, and he began opening up on Taine's position. Taine burst from the door and ran, as fast as he could, strafing to one of the pillars and letting a few .40 rounds from his pistol. Four rounds were fired. All four hit their mark, two on the front knee, while the last two hit the heart and throat. The gunner fell flat, joining his partner.

That taken care of, Taine dashed to Theater 7. In the theater, General De Franz's bodyguards were in a gunfight with about three more VANGUARD thugs. Mason and the bodyguards managed to take cover in the projector room, somehow, while the opposing gunners were at the bottom of the theater, firing from the front area between the bleachers and front seats. Two of the thugs were dead, leaving three to pick away at the bodyguards above. Taine decided to help the bodyguards out, particularly because Dolk was part of the VANGUARD side, and he didn't want to get on a wanted poster himself because he aided in the death of a General. Slipping his hand into his jacket, he pulled out a grenade, flicked the pin off with his thumb, and tossed it at the trio. The grenade hit the carpeted portion of the floor, and with the machine guns firing, the three thugs didn't hear the grenade until it was too late. The resulting fireball sent all three flying to different directions.

Taine mockingly dusted himself off, then moved to the thug that had been tossed his direction. She was still breathing, but she clutched her stomach in pain, probably having a bullet wound in addition to the shrapnel lacerating her features. Taine leaned forward and aimed his pistol at her head. "I'm looking for Lieutenant Dolk. Tell me where he is, and you'll live."

"Go...to hell..." the woman choked out bitterly.

Taine fired a round at the side of her ear, letting the loud 'bang' disorient and shock her a bit. The shot left a mark on the floor, but the woman wasn't harmed. "I don't like shooting women, especially beautiful ones like yourself" he insisted, running his hands across her red hair. She reached her left hand out, but he grabbed it with his own free one. "I'll ask again" he offered, applying pressure, "Where is Lieutenant Dolk?"

The woman growled, "Arlene Dolk, 1st Lieutenant, Special Forces VANGUARD, serial number 671394."

The bounty hunter and energy fleet captain raised an eyebrow, "Whoa, I don't get many female captives. This could get interesting." he said sinisterly. Natalie struggled again, but he held against her, "I'm kidding of course. I was raised to respect woman, especially female officers such as yourself. Still though, I need information, not just the 'Big Four'.

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Raven waited until he heard no more screaming or people running to the door before he looked up. The theater was clear now, aside from the corpses on the floor and people hiding in the theater's arcade. Since the attackers were nowhere to be seen, and they apparently weren't after Raven anyway, he leapt over the counter, staff still drawn. He had cleaned the blood with a napkin from the counter while he was taking cover, so the blade could still cut through anyone he came across. The sound of a gunfight was still going on in theater 7 between two parties, so Raven prepared to make his way to the right. That's when a man dressed in a black cloak came out from the shadows. He spotted Raven and to everyone's surprise, he leapt into the air in an attempt to stomp over him with his right foot. Raven dove for a nearby pillar just as the man landed, creating a rather large crater under his foot. "Kids shouldn't be playing with blades." the man said, in an inhuman, metallic voice.

"Shut up." Raven snarled, diving away from the pillar and sprinting toward man, zig-zagging as he went to make it harder for him to aim, in case the guy drew a gun. As expected, the strange attacker started to fire, shooting two bullets, but Raven moved too fast for either to land and he missed both shots, though the second nicked Raven's jacket. As he dashed, Raven cut a deep gash into the gun arm. Thing was, Raven didn't feel any blood or flesh from the cut, rather, he felt something metallic. The feeling of metal and circuitry placed over some traces of flesh. Raven immediately looked up at the man's head, now that he was so close. "What the hell?" he blurted out. The head was covered over by a metal helmet of sorts, colored in silver with hints of green and gold. The faceplate was smoothed over, rounded and shaped that it covered over the face of the man or machine. Only a pair of dark eye slits and a bright mono-eye situated in the middle of the head was present.

Raven leapt back, holding his staff in a defensive posture, definitely unnerved, "Are you from VANGUARD?"

"I am." the apparent ninja replied.

"Who are you?" Raven demanded.

"That doesn't matter, but for now, you can refer to me as Phoenix, if you so wish." the ninja said, "For that is what I am, one that has burned in the inferno, but has risen back into this world." Phoenix grabbed his cloak and tore it off of his body, revealing the body armor he wore. Like the helmet, it covered his entire body from neck to toe, similar to a "normal suit". Difference was, it was metallic, and yet organic, tangible metal that outlined and moved with Phoenix's body. The armored portions were colored in a dark green, with silver and gold points around the 'organic' areas. Aside from the body suit, a wing like cape covered Phoenix's shoulders, green colored like the armor, but outlined in gold and with feather-like end points.

At first, Raven thought he was hallucinating, that he had played too many PS3K video games, but then the green ninja outstretched his right hand. Before Raven's eyes, it transformed into a blade. "Metatron?" Raven exclaimed, seeing gold energy veins flow into the arm as it transformed. He looked at his own arm and saw purple lines begin to flow as well. Phoenix thrust the blade just as Raven thrust his staff, both blades hitting each other atthe tip. Raven recovered first, swiping the staff with both hands at Phoenix's hip, to which Phoenix deflected with his armblade. Raven then rebounded and brought the staff across Phoenix's knee, but Phoenix spun the pole and shrugged that attack off as well. A third attack came to his chest. With superhuman speed, Phoenix brought the spear up again and blocked the blow, placing the bottom tip of the pole on the ground and letting up one foot to place his weight against it. This time metal ninja went on the offensive, and tried impaling Raven on the blade with two piercing jabs to the torso. Raven somersaulted backward, seeing that he couldn't take this guy on in a direct fight. Phoenix followed, jumping into the air again, hovering for a good few seconds, and then dropping down. Raven rolled to the side as he landed, busting his foot again through the carpet.

"It's been a long time since I've had a good fight." Phoenix seemingly gasped, as if he were exhausted. No, not exhausted. Raven realized it was from excitement, "Come on, boy, attack me! Show me your true power!"

Raven got up and made a dash to the lobby, where he might have a better chance at taking the bastard out. Since Phoenix was wearing body armor and Raven wasn't, the ninja definitely had the better defensive measure, so Raven figured he'd at least try to outmaneuver him. Phoenix gave chase, leaping onto the concession counter as Raven ran by it, landing on the palm of his left hand, and then pushing himself into another jump, effectively flipping in front of Raven and cutting him off. Raven managed to tumble away from a lethal strike, but the blade had pierced through the back of his right leg. "Gaaaah!" he screamed, forcing the weapon out of him. Phoenix landed on the ground, content for a second that he wounded the boy. Raven stumbled, and Phoenix took the opportunity to make three jabs at non-vital points along his body, one slash on the right side of the chest along one of the ribs, a thrust into the right knee and a third, final slash across Raven's back. "Gwu-ah!" Raven roared, turning around fully and bringing the staff for another strike, this time at the headpiece. The ninja ducked, but Raven recovered before Phoenix realized, and the staff made a long gash along the man's chest.

Phoenix growled in pain, turning around and transforming his other arm into a blade. Raven spat in response and slashed at the cyborg, who once again deflected the blow with his blades. He used that time to make a kick to Phoenix's unarmored lower torso. Naturally, the armored cyborg absorbed the kick and dodged the oncoming second kick toward the head. He walked forward and punched Raven in the face, with little force so that he didn't damage his face too badly, then knocking him back, slashing his left shoulder with his left blade. Raven backed off, managing to shrug another swipe off from the blade, barely. He dashed again, Phoenix giving chase.

Raven grimaced at the pain in his right leg, focusing his strength into the left. Phoenix caught up to him swiped with his blades, but Raven twisted and dodged the thrust, then locked the staff with the twin arm blades. It soon became a fight of pure power, as both fighters focused theirs to overcome the other. Fortunately, Raven slowly began to overpower the cyborg, and although the boy couldn't see his adversaries face, he could feel pressure building behind the armblades, meaning the cyborg wasn't just back off. The boy took advantage and backed away, letting the blades make an x-cut in the air, and allowing him to strike. Phoenix had no time to react. Raven jumped up, spun and focusing his weight and power though his staff, made a slash at the faceplate. The blow was enough that it took a good chunk off, revealing a portion of the right face. Raven could see pale skin, like that of a corpse, with no sign of blood flow whatsoever. The right eye was closed shut, and after a careful observation, Raven could see it was stitched shut. He gasped, both out of breath and shock at the horrid eye.

"So you see me now? This is the punishment that was placed upon me, for I made a grave sin in my previous life. One so bad, that it is only by God's divine mercy that I still live now." Phoenix explained, "But, at the cost of my eyes."

"Shut up asshole!" Raven commanded, breathing heavily. His own injuries were sapping at his energy slowly, bringing him dangerously close to blacking out. He placed the tip of his staff to the ground, using it for leverage, and then cleared his throat. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here, really?" he looked up and remembered the damned fat general that had cut his way into the ticket line. "It's obvious you're not after the UNSF General, otherwise, you would've attacked him instead of me."

"Very observant. I wanted to see the Domineus of Anubis' power for myself, so I fought you. You see, I am a coordinator, one who puts together great works in order to create a masterpiece. I care not for the life of an incompotent military officer, for I am attracted to your power, Lieutenant Raven Pavelovich Vostrikov. The power that lies dormant within you, that the King Eagle has mentioned." Phoenix replied.

"King Eagle?" Raven exclaimed.

"The leader of VANGUARD. He wishes to fight you himself someday, but at this point, you are not ready for that battle. As a coordinator, I have measured your skill and judged your soul." Phoenix said, "You are a vigilant and skilled warrior, but you are still young and inexperienced. Only on the battlefield can you overcome such a fault."

"Really?" Raven asked, not impressed, "Before you go on, should I refer to you as Gray Fox or Frank Jaeger?"

"Heh heh." Phoenix laughed sinisterly, "It has been a while since I've laughed at a joke. I must admit, you are the first human to make me laugh again, little Raven."

Raven's blood froze when Phoenix said those words, and his rage returned. He attempted to slash at Phoenix again, but the ninja simply grabbed the blade with his right hand. "I don't know how you learned that name or who I am" Raven growled angrily, "but don't call me that name when I'm right in front of you..." Phoenix said nothing. Instead, he pushed the blade away from him and then, with superhuman power, leapt into the air, seemingly flying through the ceiling. Raven, so drunk over with rage that the logic of his actions didn't apply, was about to run out the back to follow, when two strong hands grabbed him.

"Let him go, son." A SWAT officer ordered from behind, his two subordinates holding Raven back.

Raven at first struggled, but he soon relaxed, sagging. The officer nodded, content at seeing the apparent staffsman calm down. "Alright, I want the paramedics in here on the double!" he ordered his men, who rushed back through the left side of the theater. Raven laughed; he was so tired that he didn't see them coming.

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Raven woke up on one of the examination beds at Aegis HQ, still feeling drowsy from the fight, whether be it his wounds or whatever drugs were pumped into his body when he was out. Beside him, Mirielle noticed his eyes open, and turned to greet him. "Had a nice nap sleepy-head?" she joked in her soft, friendly voice. Raven remained silent, just breathing and staring at the ceiling. This didn't go over too well with Mirielle. Not that Raven ignored her, she knew it was one of his habits, but because he acted as though he didn't hear her. That in mind, Mirielle took some rubbing alcohol, doused a large ball of cotton in it, and then applied it to Raven's exposed chest. Raven cringed at the sting, letting out a sharp shriek.

"Awake now?" Mirielle smiled innocently.

"What the-? I was having such a wonderful dream" Raven complained weakly, still not at full strength.

"A wonderful dream?" Mirielle asked, "Care to talk about it?"

"I prefer not to." Raven replied quietly, trying to get up. Mirielle applied the cotton again, causing him to cringe. He hesitantly laid back down.

"Sorry, but until you can ignore the pain of that piece of cotton, you're going to remain in bed" Mirielle ordered, her face showing a caring but stern expression. Raven backed down slightly in response.

"Can you tell me what happened last night? What got me into this bed?" Raven asked.

Mirielle cleared her throat at that. "I don't know the details, but there was a major assassination attempt on General De Franz last night. His bodyguards and a few bounty hunters fought them off and the UNSF has them in custody. One of the assassins is an officer of VANGUARD, I believe. She and another assassin have been taken in for questioning"

Raven started to get up again, scowling at the pain. This time, Mirielle didn't apply the cotton, but instead gently placed her arms on Raven and started to push him back into bed. "You've got a broken rib and your upper Fibula isn't looking good either, plus cuts and bruises all over your body. You're in no shape to be out of bed."

"I've been through worse." Raven grimaced.

"Not that gangster-boy attitude again, Raven. You're not in Razgriz anymore." Mirielle ordered sternly, "General Taggart has placed you under my care. Until I say you can leave, you're not going anywhere.”

"I don't give a damn..." Raven firmly stated, clearly annoyed. He didn't care about his body condition right now; he had to know who this Phoenix guy truly was and what he knew. Little Raven... Despite Mirielle's effort, Raven was just too strong for her to keep down. However, just as Raven put his foot on the floor and began placing weight on it, he felt a long, jabbing pain. The pain didn't bother him, it was the fact he felt his bone may slide out from under him.

Mirielle pushed him back down. "I'm the Medical Officer of this base, and I'm ordering you back to bed, LIEUTENANT!"

Raven was about to say something else, but he stopped midway when Mirielle's eyes narrowed into a glare. Just by looking at her, it felt like a pillar of ice had formed around his body, chilling him, especially his wounds. He didn't argue with her from that point on.

"Good..." Mirielle chirped happily. She continued to look at Raven's wounds.

"The dream I had..." Raven began, drawing Mirielle's attention, "I've never felt so at peace before..."

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Nadia walked into the meeting room, followed by Taine. She noticed that there was someone else other than General Taggart in the room. A handsome-looking man, dressed in the white uniform of an Admiral, turned to the newcomers and eyed Nadia. "Sir." Nadia uttered, saluting immediately.

"At ease, Colonel." Taggart ordered. "This is Admiral Nungesser, representing the High Command. He's here on special assignment." The General's tone turned to a grim one at that last statement.

"Special assignment?" Taine observed, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing too serious. These criminals have some information that concerns High Command, so they sent my men and I down to this red ball of scum to extract that information" Nungesser explained with a French accent and arrogance that humbled even Esteraund's ego. Both Nadia and Taine knew they'd grow to hate this guy, if they didn't already.

"With all due respect, Admiral" Nadia began, "I believe the prisoners are under Special Taskforce Aegis' jurisdiction. There is no need for High Command to send an emissary to get information that Aegis will submit to High Command anyway."

"Colonel, 'with all due respect', it is not your place to dictate what High Command should and should not do." Nungesser snapped back. "If it were up to me, I would not waste my time at this backwater post, but it is not up to me. And until you can prove to me that you can do your job, which is doubtful, I will remain here."

"Is there a problem with Mars, Admiral?" Taine asked, "The air perhaps? Or the fact Martians dwell in spheres? Or is it something else...?"

Nungesser's eyes narrowed and a sneer drew on his face. "Is the fact I have to deal with incompetent Martians such as the Colonel and yourself, Mr..."

"Captain Taine Nikolai, Antilia Energy Fleet, at your service." Taine reached out to shake the Admiral's hand in the traditional Terran greeting, "but I'm afraid you're mistaken, Admiral. I'm Terran, just like yourself and many of the people at this base."

Nungesser nodded, taking Taine's hand. "Even Terrans can become weaker just by living on this world, Mr. Nikolai. I however, trust that you haven't spent too much time here. It's bad for your health."

"Of course not. I spend most of my time out in space, running errands for the Earth." Taine explained.

"Good, and let us keep it at that." Nungesser turned to Taggart, "When will the interrogation begin?"

"Tomorrow, 0700 hours. I think a good night's sleep will 'refresh' any mental lapses" Taggart suggested.

"Good. I'm sure Colonel Nander won't mind the early start." Nungesser observed.

"What?" Nadia exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Colonel, but you weren't in the room. General Taggart and I both agreed that Colonel Nander will perform the interrogation. Do not worry, he specializes in this field." Nungesser grinned. "I trained him personally."

Great... Taine thought

"Are there any problems with that, Colonel?" Nungesser asked, mockingly of course.

Nadia held back her urge to snarl, along with the accompanying urge to punch this racist Terran bastard. She remained strong. "No sir. It isn't my place, as you said."

"Good." Nungesser replied, victorious, "then I will check into my `suite' until tomorrow. I suggest the rest of you do the same, since you'll need extra rest to do your jobs properly." With that, the Admiral walked out the door.

Taine shook his head, feeling the Admiral's incompetence start to rub off on him like oil. "General, what possessed you to agree with anything that man said? That fool will take everything we need to know and kill the prisoner so 'he won't speak to the wrong people again'."

"Taine's right, Alan. Why?" Nadia demanded.

"I had no choice. These orders came straight from High Command, and we can't go against their word." Taggart resigned.

"It's not fair..." Taine was now quite pissed. It was bad enough that he lost the bounty, but after tonight, he felt obligated to help Nadia with whatever she needed. That damnable racist Frenchman wasn't making it any easier for either of them. He sighed, "If it's alright, General, I'd like to stick around for the interrogation myself."

"Oh? And why should I allow that?" Taggart asked, intrigued.

"Call it an obligation, sir. I'd like to help out with this anyway I can, but to do that, I need to know as much as I can."

Taggart nodded, "All right, you're in. But whatever I say, goes, understand?"

"Of course, General." Taine responded, "The Antilia Energy Fleet is at your full service. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to my hotel room. I'll see you two tomorrow" he finished, waving off as he left.

Taggart turned to Nadia. "Are you sure we can trust him, Colonel? We have enough shady allies already."

"I know sir, but Taine Nikolai is an honorable man. He won't betray us." Nadia confirmed.

"I hope you're right..."

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The next morning had been a long one for the VANGUARD assassin. His body was ragged and beaten by the obnoxious Colonel Nander, which everyone recognized as the lead LEV pilot in the UNSF. His last remaining arm was broken, hanging at his side, while the wound where his left arm had been still ached from the night before, curtosy of that damned bounty hunter's hand grenade. The drugs that had been injected into his neck didn't help either. The UNSF's version of truth serum was really a stimulant, about two hundred times more potent than caffeine. The man's body shook violently from the effect. In the back corner was the red-haired woman, Lieutenant Dolk. Unlike the man, the drugs injected into her took away energy, to the point she couldn't move a toe or add one plus one.

Nadia felt sick at the sight, as well as the company around her. Aside from Admiral Nungesser, General De Franz wanted to hear what was going on, so he and one of his bodyguards were present at the interrogation. De Franz was just as much of a racist as Nungesser was, but he was even more incompetently favor-riding if that was possible. Thankfully, Taine, Yuriko, Xander and Esteraund were there to make sure everyone remained in line, since they were, after all, in Aegis' main headquarters. Back to the interrogation; Nadia knew she'd regret it, but she turned up the volume on her headset. She needed to know what was going on down there.

"I told you everything I fucking know!" the man cried out, almost falling out of his chair.

Colonel Nander was not convinced. He took the man's broken arm and slammed it onto the metal table next to him, with a force that even dented the table. The man just grimaced from the pain. "Strong, I'm honestly impressed." Nander complimented, "but all you've told us is a bunch of shit. I want to know the juicy stuff, like where your paycheck is coming from."

"What?"

Nander grumbled. "Don't play dumb, you damned Martian. We know your boss has been using the UNSF's money to fund his own anti-Terran crusade! How the hell is he getting the money?"

So that's where the budget went… Nadia thought, then wondering why High Command didn't give this information to Aegis beforehand. However, that was for another time; she needed to learn as much as she could right now.

"I told you, I don't know!" the VANGUARD assassin cried out again.

Nander sighed, taking out another needle and dipping it into a chemical bag. "Watch carefully" he ordered, as he took some of the chemical into the needle. He then let a few drops out onto the table. Fen's eyes shrank as he watched the chemical dissolve through the metal in a matter of seconds, then drip down onto the floor. "Heh, I rather like this one." Nander laughed, fully enjoying himself. "The only thing it can't dissolve is the fibers that make up this needle and the bag. It's the same fibers that make up your blood lines, except processed." he explained, "You're educated, you know what will happen if I inject this into your blood stream? It'll dissolve all your blood vessels, leaving the walls of your nerves and organs intact while taking out the good stuff."

The assassin quivered at the thought. It was a really bad way to go...

"Now tell me, how did Shale get this money? TALK BASTARD!" Nander yelled into the man's ear, bringing the needle closer to Fen's throat.

Fen finally gave up and coughed the answer. "ELENA WEINBURG!"

Nadia, Mason and the others all froze at that name. Nungesser just nodded. "Finally..." he said triumphantly, with a sadistic grin.

"You're saying one of the most decorated officers in the UNSF and a member of the High Command would fund your pathetic group? You're lying!" Nander accused, jabbing the needle into his throat.

"No! It's the truth!" the assassin cried out, before Nander could inject the chemical, "she's running her own anti-Earth group now, and funding another one! She has a hacker working for her that drained funds from the UN's budget to fuel the rebellion! I swear, the woman has a grudge against you guys for some reason!"

"She's funding one other than VANGUARD?" Nander demanded, "Which one? ARCADIA? The Sentinels? Synapse? Midnight Fenrir? Any of these ring a fucking bell?"

"I'm not sure..." the assassin confessed, before feeling the pressure from the needle begin to enter his throat, "WAIT! I think they're called 'Einherjar' or something like that! I swear to God, that's all I know! EINHERJAR!"

Nungesser shook his head. "Figures..." he took the microphone, "All right, that's enough Colonel. I doubt he has anything else of importance." He then turned to Mason, "Is that enough for you two, General?"

Mason grinned, "Yes, it is, Admiral. It's all I needed to know." He glanced toward his bodyguard and gestured at the door. They both left soon after, making Nadia feel a little relieved.

Nander nodded. "Yes sir." he started to walk out, until he realized that he forgot something. Arlene Dolk, still lying in the corner, helpless and defenseless. Nander rang up Nungesser again. "What about the girl? Do you need anything else from her?"

Nungesser thought for a second, then shook his head. "No, we have what we need from her. Do as you wish."

"You're wonderful, Admiral..." Nander praised with a suddenly perverted look, nodding at his two aides who shared the same grin. He began to make her way toward her with his field knife.

"That's enough, Admiral!" Nadia shouted, grabbing Nungesser by the shoulder like a school teacher would a troublemaker. She turned Nungesser around and glared straight into the man's eyes. For once, Nungesser actually felt some fear. "That prisoner is still under Aegis' jurisdiction. If your men touch her, I'll send this report straight to High Command!"

"High Command sent me here with their full authority, Colonel, you cannot do a thing." Nungesser retorted.

"But..." Nadia snarled, "Damn it!" she growled, throwing the Admiral back. She took one last moment to see Nander' aids were also coming at her, one of which had grabbed one of the bottles of chemicals from the interrogation table. She snarled with rage, and ran toward the door. Taine cast Nungesser a dirty look, while Esteraund looked ready to tear Nungesser's arms off. However, Yuriko, Xander and Taggart looked toward him solemnly, telling him there was nothing he could do. The only thing that kept Esteraund back was he could see hellfire behind Taggart's eyes, the kind of fire that meant 'after the deed is done, Nungesser will pay for his sin'.

Then the cries began, as one of the men had injected her with adrenaline to the heart. Yuriko could hear Dolk crying for help, before one of the aids put an old rag in her mouth, as Nander proceeded to tear her clothes to shreds. The frame runner decided she had enough at that point. The VANGUARD woman would be dead now that all questions had been answered, and there was nothing she or the rest of Aegis, despite how much power the possessed, could do anything about it. She cast her own glare at Nungesser, one that actually broke past his facade and made him jump back a bit. He could have sworn her eyes flashed a crimson red for a moment, the same color as an inferno. But that was only for a moment, as Yuriko also charged out the door, disgusted.

She found Colonel Nadia slumped against the corridor, trying her hardest to keep herself from crying, or letting her rage overcome her. "Colonel, ma'am." Yuriko said, a little hesitant, "Just give me the order, and I'll rid the Earth of that bastard."

Nadia looked up at her, trying to keep her expression like that of her rank, but Yuriko could tell she felt pain. "It's not that, Yuriko." she sighed, "Killing Nunguesser won't take away the pain inside me."

"What is causing the pain then, ma'am?" Yuriko asked, silently seating herself next to her superior officer.

Nadia tilted her head back and drew in a long breath, "I'm just tired of this, Lieutenant. Tired of working against my own kind. Against my own people. I feel like such a traitor, you know?" she turned toward her, and drew a small grin, "I envy you in a way, Lieutenant. You don't have to experience the horrors of working with the devil, like I did. You were automatically placed in this organization when you joined; not having to experience what it is to be a McCoy among the Hatfields."

"But, Colonel, I'm a Martian just like yourself. Yes, my ancestors were from Earth, but that doesn't mean I don't feel the same kind of pain like you do!" Yuriko shot out, "Personally, I chose to work with the Earth to ensure peace, not to take advantage of their power. Don't think I'm too naive to not know reality."

Nadia chuckled a little at that, even though she still felt sick in the gut, "You're right, Lieutenant. You aren't naive at all. But, don't repeat the mistake I made a long time ago, Yuriko." she looked her in the eye, making sure her next piece of advice would reach into her soul, "Never forget you are Martian, or the sacrifices you have made for our planet."

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"Looks like you're coming along just fine..." Mirielle commented as she finished changing a bandage on Raven's arm. "All the cuts are healing nicely. That only leaves your leg."

"Am I fit for combat duty?" Raven asked hopefully.

"Well, usually, I wouldn't let you out so soon, but General Taggart wants you ready for combat as soon as possible. And since the orbital frame doesn't require you to use your legs, I see no reason to hold you here.”

"You're too kind" Raven replied with somewhat less sarcasm than usual, moving his arm around to make sure the bandage stayed.

"So, is there anything else I can do for you, Raven? You're here now, so don't hesitate to ask" Mirielle offered.

"Nah, I'm tired of sitting around while you get my food and my paperwork." Raven answered, "that's something for a secretary to do, not a doctor."

Mirielle put her hands on her hips, as if she were offended. "You have a problem with a woman helping you out?"

Raven shook his head. "No, of course not. Just...I prefer to do my own work myself instead of someone else doing it for me."

Mirielle chuckled. "I thought you'd lighten up while you were here. Didn't I say you needed to lighten up on the day we met?"

"I thought you'd get to know me more." Raven countered. "There's one part of me that wants to relax and the other part that wants to get up and work."

"So which side wants to get up and work in the state you're in?" Mirielle asked, "your Martian side or your Terran side?"

Raven arched an eyebrow. Mirielle bowed her head, realizing what she just said. "Sorry, I forgot how sensitive you were about that..."

"Nah, it's fine" Raven replied, although his voice seemed `out of it' all of a sudden. "When it's coming from you, it doesn't hurt."

That's when an alarm on Mirielle's watch went off. She looked at the time, seeing it was 6:00 in the evening. "It's my leave time now" she said to Raven. "I heard Ninja Staff II got a lot of good ratings..."

"That hurt." Raven responded.

"I know." Mirielle chuckled softly, getting up and taking off her lab coat. "Anyway, watch the place while I'm gone, ok?"

"Sure." Raven replied, watching Mirielle wave goodbye and smile warmly as she left. When the door closed, the room seemed to grow a bit darker around him.

It had only been a few days since the fight with Phoenix, and Raven was healing quickly. But he still had a long way to go, according Mirielle. He didn't feel like rebelling against her for some reason, so he did as he was told. As an excuse to walk around, he helped her out around the 'clinic', doing some random chores like mopping the floor or taking inventory, small things that involved little physical effort.

During that time, he found himself growing a little fond of the young doctor. She was annoying at times, and a bit pushy, but at least she was intelligent and a nice person to talk to. And for Raven, that was a lot. She was neither affected by the change of environment like he was, and neither did she grow up in a harsh, cruel world, making her a kind and warm-hearted woman. Raven would've felt disgusted around such company, had she not shown him compassion and kindness. It was strange. Despite his origins, despite the monster he was, despite the warrior he had become, it didn't change her views of him; and it wasn't just him either. Whereas he felt contempt for Terrans and Martians alike, she treated everyone as human beings, no matter where they came from.

Then a sudden thought came into Raven's mind. What if everyone he had held a grudge against had just been like her? He never thought about the other person, because he was fighting for his own life. What if... He held the same beliefs as she did years ago? Would he have still turned into the monster he was today?

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TO BE CONTINUED...