The Lords of The Bottom

Carut and Therod were the heroes of the day. They had successfully defended the shit factory and so were lauded for their efforts. Even got a trophy from Ross that declared them "King Shit of Turd Hill." It wasn't exactly a great honor, but after being berated for screwing up, it was pleasant to be applauded for doing the opposite. Though it didn't buy them out of the trouble they were in. Shortly after the small award ceremony Ross informed them they would in charge of security for the repairs at the shit plant. It made sense for Therod, while doing one thing well it doesn't ultimately make them less screw ups from before. Still it also made her sad because the smell was still ever present and she figured her and Carut had at least done something more useful than stop drinking for a bit like the former guards had done. But she didn't argue the point so with their trophy in two they reported for work back at the plant as people helped to put it back together.

"You know I actually am finding I like this place more now." Carut had settled in to his position holding up the wall. He said due to his height sitting for long periods was painful, he'd rather stand. Therod didn't mind, it meant the one chair they had in their check point was mostly hers.

"I've red studies about prisoners of war eventually loving their captors."

"Ouch."

"You brought it up, you're just institutionalized, soon enough you'll let your plumbing back up at the barracks so you can never be rid of this smell."

"You get mean when you are stuck doing bad jobs."

"You think this is mean you should have seen me when I was exploratory duty, years of being the only group in deep space, we started at genetics ended up bagging on people for distant relatives. I had no idea one of my ancestors once executed a man for improperly crossing the street."

"Sounds like a story I'd like to hear."

"Not really? I mean she killed a man because he crossed the street improperly, what the proper way was was not listed. Though to be fair we only had a history of this because of Trezlan Lorentino, so we might have to take it with a grain of salt." Carut laughed, Therod did find it funny herself that Trezlan had supposedly been around so long there were distinct historical records that just listed him as the source. She doubted them as most people tended to, but she did almost want to ask about his recollection of events if only to hear the bullshit itself.

"Well I'll remember your families history next time I cross a street improperly."

"Please do." With that they went back to waiting around, but they could at least take solace they were the lord of being on the bottom of things. As far as things went there was always that.

Double The Death

"Pleasure doing business with you Trezlan." It was weird that a group of killers had a receptionist. Trezlan felt that they had normalized murder a little too much now. Gone were the days you'd leave an envelope with weird instruction on it in an undisclosed place. Now you'd contact a group and like ordering food they'd go over the menu of murder options and then you paid them at a sanitized location. Could even deduct it on your taxes if you paid them, which Trezlan didn't any more since he wasn't officially a citizen of anywhere. His civic pride long forgotten.

"So how do you kill a person who can see the future?" Trezlan had been curious how they'd killed Brubaker without him seeing it coming.

"Well its like anything else you just have to be prepared. We had four people on deck in the general area who weren't told the target until right before the trigger pull. In that way it would be hard for him to see his own death was coming unless he knew it was about to happen which from our result he didn't."

"Impressive and for as little as I paid you, that's the kind of service I appreciate."

"To be fair Mr. Lorentino you weren't the only one who paid for Brubaker's death." That did surprise Trezlan.

"Well now I feel silly for paying if you were planning on killing him anyway." The receptionist smiled, there wasn't really anything to say to that. "I'm curious though if someone were to order me dead how would you people kill me?

"Hypothetically?"

"Hypothetically."

"Multiple bombs at different locations. You're wearabouts are not immediately known and you somehow avoid tracking software to a freakish degree. So we'd have to hit multiple places at once, bombs because of your necromancy."

"Impressive."

"Don't worry Mr. Lorentino we have and continue to not accept contracts on your life." She smiled but it wasn't very reassuring. Still always nice to know he'd go out in a flash and not suffer horribly through poison or a gunshot. It helped Trezlan Sleep at night.

There Are No Good People

Reading the report brought a smile to Brubaker's face. It was an incident report at one of the sanitation facilities his company owned. The kind of place no one thought about until something bad had happened there. Two separate incidents, one a group of anarchist kids, the other a coordinated mercenary assault that had been put down by on staff security. It wasn't exactly a smile worthy document aside from seeing Therod's name in it. Brubaker hadn't given her much thought since they'd separated. He hoped she would find her way and from seeing the report she mostly had. True she had been guarding a sanitation plant, but people have to start somewhere. It was almost enough for Brubaker to feel ok about what happened.

Almost, he was angry because he had personally set those mercenaries to blow up that plant, and he had seen in his mind it was successful. But now it hadn't been, and he hadn't seen the negative there. His vision wasn't as clear as it had been once, and now he was worried what else he wasn't seeing and why he wasn't seeing it. Brubaker had gotten used to using the sight again, but if it was going to fail him it was almost better not to see things. That was the last thought on his mind as the bullet blew his brains against the wall. The shot boomed after his body crumpled, the high rise window giving way under the new stress and blowing out scaring everyone on the floor.

Brubaker's killed dropped the rifle up top, something for the authorities to find and ultimately decide it wasn't worth pursuing. She made one call to her client and then hung up, having to leave the area lest she have to answer awkward questions to the authorities.

****

"Thank you." Trezlan hung up his phone and Rolando looked at him with the same hurt expression he usually wore when he felt Trezlan was being dishonest with him.

"Why? Why did he have to die?"

"Because he was dangerous, the sight is like that, it shows you what you want to see without seeing consequences or other failings. Brubaker would eventually do something bad, or worse so I stopped him."

"You just assume because you're awful everyone is like you, and that's not true, you're just a terrible person." Trezlan let that go, Rolando hadn't gotten over being possessed and he hadn't seen the world like Trezlan had, he was hurt and lashing out. But Trezlan already knew Brubaker was bad, he had known as soon as the man wound up in a corp instead of just winning the lottery, he had chosen to do awful things to get ahead and Trezlan knew that was a path that would ultimately be the worse for the galaxy.

"I know what I know, now why don't you leave me alone son only so much I can stand with your righteousness." Father and son glared at each other, and the galaxy relaxed as things had returned to normal.

In The Shit

Gunshots hit all around the factory. Shit was leaking from a variety of pipes as Therod and Carut moved towards the sound of gun fire they had become coated in the foul grey liquid. Therod knew no amount of showering would ever make her clean again. Carut seemed not to put off by the crap, but she figured he was putting on a show, as each extra geyser of filth hit them from another pipe she could tell he was feeling worse and worse for it. Carut and Therod had locked up the young terrorists in what was left of their guard station. Therod suggested they just shoot them, Carut decided he didn't want to commit murder based on people being dumb. Therod thought it wasn't murder so much as helping what will eventually come anyway, Carut was unconvinced with the argument.

The gun ship attackers didn't seem to have much of a plan. They were rounding up workers and shooting shit pipes, but that was all Therod could see they had done. The damage to the plant wasn't irreparable it was just superficial and disgusting. That they were incompetent only seemed par for the course for Therod, the job was crap and the people attacking the plant equally crap. Eventually the two of them came upon the group as they were lining up plant workers for an execution, there were six of them from what she could make out. They had their backs to Carut and Therod she looked at him, and then he at her and then they opened fire. Their weapons cut down the attackers without much issue what body armor they had on did not have much rear protection. Therod was going to ask what of the ship overhead when she heard a horrific noise somewhere else in the plant and then an explosion shortly thereafter.

"This job is shit." Carut sounded so crest fallen.

"Shit that pays." It was all Therod had left, the plant workers were happy, but she knew in her heart that no matter how many people thought she was cool, the stink of shit would not wash out of her clothes.

And then the Shit Hit the Fan

"Another day at the shit factory." They had been there a week. On top of being boring Therod could swear the smell was getting through the masks and she was literally breathing it in. On top of all the extra long showers to remove the stink from herself. Carut said it wasn't that bad, but wouldn't elaborate on what would be worse. Nothing in Therod's mind could be worse, but she didn't want to tempt the universe by saying that.

"Of all the places in the universe Trezlan Lorention at least won't come here." Therod had never really told Carut about her issue with Trezlan. It had just become a common enough theme for the man to be seen as the ultimate agent of chaos.

"There is that." Therod was about to start reading a book she'd purchased to speed up the boredom when she saw a van coming down the road pretty fast. It didn't look like a work van for the company, and it was going way faster than it should be.

"Whoa look at these assholes." Carut had stood up from where he was sitting and unslung his rifle. The building had a fortified gate, so no matter how hard they hit it, it wouldn't actually go down, but apparently the van driver was not aware of that, or the van was loaded with explosives, which didn't make Therod feel safer sitting next to the gate.

"Should we shoot them?"

"Nah gate should be fine, I want to be amused by this." Therod didn't feel that way, but the van accelerated and crashed in a metal screeching cacophony of noise. It was one of the loudest things Therod had ever heard. Out of the crash stumbled three long haired males dressed in jump suits and masks and staggering around because they just got in a major collision. Carut and Therod made a move toward the group when they pulled pisols shakily from their suits and pointed at them.

"Stay back and open the, gods damn it my neck hur..." Therod rushed forward, disarming the first of the three. Carut followed suit grabbing one of them in a choke hold and pointing his little crossbow at the last one who put his hands up.

"Whoa aren't you guys supposed to be drunks?"

"Nah that shift left an hour ago, who put you up this dumb ass?" Before the kid could answer a gun ship emerged overhead and laid into the front gate with missiles, exploding it in shrapnel and fire.

"This is all your fault Therod." Everyone was huddled near the wreck of the gate. Therod shrugged her shoulders.

"Look just because I say I want excitement, doesn't make this shit my fault." Both of them got up and collected their weapons, the gun ship was dropping off men in the plant and it looked like their day was just starting.

"Shall we?" Carut had his arm out towards the fire and sounds of gun fire.

"Sure what's the worst that can happen?"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

A Real Shit Job

"You know when you said this can be a real shit job I should have known you meant literally." Carut and Therod were stationed outside of a waste processing plant. It was apparently a target for chemical warfare or something, really it seemed like it was a Sun Star client specifically for punishment duty. The people they had replaced had previously been busted to the job for drinking, Therod felt it unfair for her to be there but she had screwed up along with Carut and so they had to have their punishment.

"I want to thank you for this, I have never actually gotten assigned to guard shit before, and this is a new low." Carut was in better spirits than Therod. They both had to wear breathing masks so as to not die from the fumes.

"I aim to set the bar low Carut. Honestly who would attack a shit factory?"

"Shitty terrorists."

"I hate you, even though I know I should have seen that coming."

****

"So once we get the shit what do we do with it?" Anarchists were rarely smart, the group planning their assault on the sanitation plant set that already low bar even lower. There were three of them, all under the age of twenty and living off their parents but wanting to disrupt the system they felt was keeping them down.

"We turn into a bomb dumb ass that's why they guard it, I read some stuff on the net, just apply some chemicals and boom!"

"Won't it be guarded?" Each one of them were really hard to tell apart, all long hair and teen age angst.

"Nah just a couple drunks, I chatted with them the other day, neither one will really stop us, but we have guns, you know what they say can't make an omlette without shooting people."

"Who says that?"

"Shut up and get in the van!"

****

"Unguarded, couple drunks really, should be easy to stage an assault on." The pros were better armed then the anarchists, there were also six of them and they had a better plan than get shit and make shit into bomb.

"And why are we doing this again?"

"Bosses want to build a new treatment plant, can't do that while the other one is still in operation."

"Makes sense, but won't we be suspected?"

"Nah I have a couple idiot anarchists I can blame this, been talking it up to them online."

"Excellent." And thus the least guarded shit factory in the galaxy came under assault by two completely related/unrelated parties.

The Land of The Screw Up

"I don't even want to look at you two right now." The captain of the sun stars was an older lady that went by Ross, Therod figured it was her last name, but she never knew if she had a name other than Ross. It was always Captain Ross in her limited interaction with her. Ross has dirty grey hair and a variety of scars on her face and other parts of her visible body. She also had a lot of cybernetics. Her entire chest was a bunch of whirring blinking computers, when she got angry they went from a neutral green to a flashing red. They were flashing red at Carut and Therod.

"Sir it was my fault I didn't check." Carut was accepting blame even though neither he nor Therod had foreseen the attack, and the ship they were in couldn't possibly have fought it off, even if they had.

"Out of here both of you, you're both on shit detail until I figure out how to like you again." They left her office and heard something getting smashed on the way out. The rest of the Sun Stars didn't say anything as they slinked off to the back of barracks. Therod just breathed out, she was glad she hadn't gotten kicked off her first job, but was mad this blew back on her despite doing everything she could.

"You know I thought we already were on shit detail."

"Oh it gets worse, what we were on before was new person detail, shit details involve actual shit like you would not believe."

"I made the correct life decision Carut I can feel it." The old man smiled and laid back on his bunk.

"Don't worry about Ross, she'll forgive us for being screws up and then we'll go back into her good graces just long enough to make another error and start it all over again."

"I'm hearing the reason I failed is because you're bad luck Carut." The old man laughed and Therod just laid down in her own bunk. All she really knew is that this was all Lorentino's fault and that at least made her feel better. Because at least she had someone to blame.

Better Than Bored

A combination of bullets and energy weaponry slammed into the bulkhead in front of her. Therod was crouched waiting for her attackers. Carut was behind her watching the rear. They were surrounded, what had seemed like a simple transport mission had turned into a fire fight almost immediately, the client was dead, Carut and Therod the only survivors as it stood and she didn't think their chances were looking great.

"Well this is exciting." Carut was armed with only a rifle and some weird crossbow contraption he had on his wrist "just in case". Therod had thought the crossbow weapon was stupid, but she'd seen him kill two people with it already, so it had its uses.

"I'd say I'd want to be bored over possibly being killed, but you know I'd rather die in excitement over live in boredom." She was running out of ammunition, the attackers did not seem to be running out of men, and last she heard they had an hour before support could reach them on the rock their ship had touched down on.

"We aren't dying here, most likely you know, I mean I don't even know why these dick holes are trying to kill us, they got the VIP, what more can we do?" They could talk which is why people were after them, not like Therod knew anything, but its hard to tell people that when they are shooting at you.

"Complete the set I guess." Therod figured the other team had to be running out of ammunition as well, a strike team only has so much ammo, and they couldn't have planned for the protracted fire fight they found themselves in.

"How you doing on bang bangs?"

"Screwed, you?"

"About to have to resort to bad language and my genitalia."

"So less than screwed."

"That hurts Therod." The enemy fire had stopped, Carut and Therod looked at each other, things were about to get better or worse depending on why the firing had stopped. Therod peaked around her corner and didn't see anyone. Carut also came up empty.

"I guess the threat of your dick was too much for them."

"Or your caustic personality."

"Well we're back to being bored."

"You're always looking on the bright side here." There wasn't much bright side, they had failed in their mission and hopefully their distress signal had been heard. And not by whoever had killed their VIP.

For the Service and The Inconvenience

The relic fell out of Rolando, leaving the young man back to himself, if only feeling naked and confused. Barnes collected it in a small sack he brought for the purpose. He hadn't had to do much to dislodge it, just knowing the proper phase to free it, which Trezlan in all his random shit apparently never figured it out. Barnes had to laugh a little bit that for all his knowledge he couldn't have figured out this simple thing.

"Who are you?"

"Ray Barnes, you're welcome." Barnes left and Rolando collapsed. Trezlan who never really left rushed to the boys side.

"Will he be..."

"Alright, yes he will be, I'm taking the artifact, its worth nothing to you and I have a use for it." Trezlan just waved him off, and Barnes didn't force the issue. The voice in his head was confused.

"We have a use for this?"

"We do, someday we'll use this for an important purpose." Barnes shrugged. The voice had gotten increasingly cryptic as of late, but he was Barnes's passenger, and he had to believe the voice had his best interest in heart, it had previously but Barnes was worrying maybe it didn't. But as the old saying went, in for a little, in for a lot.

****

"Who was that?"

"You know its funny I'm pretty sure that was the guy who paid me to get that relic in the first place, strange he didn't seem to recognize me at all."

"Well lets not do that again ok, I think I became a vegetarian." Trezlan laughed and clapped Rolando on his shoulder which caused the younger Lorentino to wince. But Trezlan didn't care he had his son back.

Who Is Mr. Barnes

Barnes at one point in his life had been an accountant. Just a normal person doing his normal person duties hoping to get a promotion, but never expecting it like all the other people above him tended to do. He would have been content to just keep doing that until his death if not for the quirk of chance that lead him to being possessed. It wasn't even an evil spirit that took him over, just a lonely one. Barnes could relate to the creature, he himself lived a solitary life, no spouse, no children, not even a pet. His parents died when he was a young man and he had no real friends. He made a bond with the creature, and instead of the possession being a one sided affair they worked with each other, and through this he found he found with the spirits help he could relieve others of their possession which were not beneficial.

Barnes still lead a mostly solitary life, but he at least felt better about helping people. Even if it meant helping someone like Trezlan Lorentino a name his spirit recognized from when he was alive (which had been hundreds of years before Barnes's birth). But he was not a picky guy, he didn't choose his cases or who he helped, he just helped because that was who Barnes was. Which meant at times helping some awful people like Lorentino. Barnes made his peace with it being that he was helping his son who suffered more by extension.

He also did so as a favor to the god of Death, so it was a two for one deal even if he didn't know how he'd ever ask for death's help in the future. It was the crazy life Mr. Barnes found himself in.

The Curt Mr. Barnes

"I don't have a lot of time Mr. Lorentino, I'd appreciate if your respect that." Trezlan didn't even say hell, he just opened the door and Barnes came inside. He had on a crisp black suit with white shirt and black tie, he looked more like an accountant than a possession expert. He handed Trezlan a satchel that smelled awfully and then looked around the fairly boring looking main room.

"Where is the boy?"

"Downstairs, I've tried a lot..."

"Less talk more showing me the problem." They descended down to where Rolando was. He was chewing meat Trezlan had tossed into the room and fled fearing the creature would break loose.

"So leeches, necromancy, a variety of rituals I'd rather not get into, tried calling three separate gods, and when all else failed therapy, nothing worked." The therapy was for Trezlan, he just thought he'd list it in case it helped.

"Do you have the artifact?" Trezlan wondered where Barnes got his information, Hanlon might have told him, but he seemed to just know.

"It was absorbed when he touched it."

"Explains why everything else failed, ok well give me a moment and then I'll do what I can do. If you have somewhere else to be, be there."

"I'm not leaving my son."

"Oh please sentimentality is beyond you, and don't even levy a threat against my person, you called me for help you get my help, now make yourself somewhere else I have work to do." Trezlan reluctantly agreed and Barnes opened the cell door and stood staring at the creature that had been Rolando Lorentino.

"Aren't you a pretty one." It was the last thing he said to the creature, and then the battle was on.

It Would Almost Be Hilarious

"What took you so long?" Trezlan was waiting for Hanlon, he had been waiting all morning, not like he had any real conscious way of calling Hanlon, but he did his usual floundering and expected the god to show up. But now here he was hours late and the man just strolled in like Trezlan hadn't been waiting for him. It was enough to make Trezlan think the god didn't care anymore.

"I had other business, no don't ask it was sad and yet funny and completely not related to anything with you. Let me guess this is about your son?"

"Of course its about my son, I've exhaused my list of things to do and now I need your help."

"Your list of things being kill him kill him slowly or kill someone else so that he can live?"

"That's patently insulting there are plenty of things I do that don't involve death like uhhh shit, look are you going to help me or just bother me here?"

"Well Trezlan I'm a death god, what do you want me to do? Kill him? What he's inflicted with is beyond my realm, but before you throw a damned fit like a child without food I already asked around and I have a guy, now you won't like him, I don't like him, but he's the best at this kind of thing. So you'll have to deal."

Trezlan was going to say something in return, but Hanlon was gone, in his place was a crisp business card that was white with bold type face on it. It was weird for someone to still use a printed business card, but I guess when you work for Gods you are expected to be weird. The card just had his name and a number, nothing else. His name didn't even stand out, Ray Barnes. But if Hanlon said he was the best, well then Trezlan was screwed.

"Barnes." Voice was clipped, not a syllable too long, only voice, no visual.

"This is Trezla..."

"Lorentino, possession, expect me within the hour." And the line went dead, Trezlan was barely into his thought process for asking for help and Barnes was already on the way, he was confused passed the point of even knowing what to do.

After Exhausting All Others

"And now you come to me." Hanlon smiled at Valrym, he loved that the little godling had come. It was a delight to see someone else brought low, especially someone who openly despised him. Valrym had attempted to kill Trezlan for years, he had failed for years and now he came to Hanlon as Hanlon always knew he would.

"He's insane, even for your whatever, he's lost it, he turned his son into a monster or something now? I don't even know, the man has always been on the edge, but now he jumped off straight into crazy town. It was probably when you let him use that ship of yours, too much power and you should have known that. You have to destroy him, at the very least for the galaxy." Hanlon almost wanted to have this conversation in one of his godly places, just to taunt the godling about power he would never have again. Alas the creature wouldn't agree to that so he was meeting him in a shady restaurant.

"And you think that's something I care about or haven't already accounted for? Dear Valrym if anyone should be destroyed its you. You who are full of lies and betrayal, you who has clung on to this world despite adding nothing to it. You who is tainted with necromancy yet do not worship at death. No I will not destroy Trezlan, he amuses me, you on the other hand do not, do not contact me again, and before you think about it, I'm pretty sure the Fire God would destroy you all the same without the polite conversation." Valrym felt suddenly very angry, and yet Hanlon held all the cards, and Valrym knew that, he was burning with shame and rage.

"You and he will ruin this existence."

"I doubt that, we're done I'll cover the check I know things are tough for you." Valrym got up and hurried away. He had one more card to play though he really didn't want to rely on another necromancer, but Morley was his only hope to bring sanity to the world, and Valrym really wanted that sanity even if it cost him what little he had left for ethics.

I know you Will

"General, I have to wonder what you're doing here?" Brubaker had managed to get an audience with a low level corporate diplomat. It was the best he'd been able to manage since separating himself from Lorentino. Even with the sight he saw no way of going back to the empire, he would have to wait and see, hopefully a later vision would show him more clarity.

"You need an analyst I need a job."

"Yes I got that from your application, but I'm confused as to how or why you think your skill applies to what we need." Brubaker smiled, he'd seen this conversation play out so many ways, it was hard to keep track if he was actually doing it now or its another vision.

"I have the sight, its why I fled the empire and why I'm no longer a general. Your rivals feel they can see the future, I can actually do it." Brubaker had seen like in most things, honesty was the be policy dealing with this low level exec. Who was soon to become director.

"And for this you'll expect?"

"Moderate compensation, a simple analysts pay, I'm not asking for control or anything outlandish, I just need money and your company will benefit from what I can see. As it has in several visions director." The other man's smile already sealed the deal. In a month his company was making more money than it had in several years of opening, designing new research they hadn't dreamed of. And Brubaker would be comfortable.

"Sounds like we have a deal General Brubaker."

"Please just Brubaker I left being a General behind." The for now was what he said in his mind, but no need for this low level corper to know that, eventually Brubaker would need something better, but being the man behind the man had its benefits he'd seen them, also its dangers he'd seen those as well. But like most things he'd get to them in time, he had a lot of it available to him now.

Merc Work Sucks

"This is what we do all day?" Therod had been with the Sun Stars, a name she felt was at least redudant, for two weeks and she was bored. Her application was a physical grueling test of combat and endurance. Her actual job was standing around watching over corporate assets as a glorified security guard. The only endurance was not passing out while waiting for something or anything to do.

"Its a shit job but the pay is good." Carut was the only other person working with her. He was a giant of a man with an unnaturally white skin, some kind of planetary condition that had nothing to do with not seeing sunlight as he didn't seem to get sun burned no matter how long he was in the sun from what Therod had seen.

"Is the pay good? I have no idea, I was in Imperial government for too long, I have no idea how things operate in the corporate sector." Carut chuckled.

"Now see this is like an ethical problem, you basically admitted you have no idea of the value of money here, and you're basically daring me to not take advantage of that."

"Do realize even though you are bigger than me I can crush your testicles."

"Fair enough, the money here is better than you'd expect at most merc jobs, and we don't really do that morally shitty work, just a lot of boring guarding of things."

"Could be worse."

"Don't say that, don't ever say that, I said that and those bio monsters attacked and we lost like half our group, just say 'it's another day in paradise' nothing shitty ever comes from that."

"Ok, just another day in paradise." Therod shifted her weight and wished she bought more supportive shoes with her first paycheck since leaving the military. Carut leaned back on the packing container and they kept waiting, for what neither one was really sure.

We're All At Fault

"Rolando I know you blame me for this but really you have to admit this is partially your fault. Sure I was the one who sought the object out. And yes I did reach in there and grab it despite you warning me we should wait, and yes I maybe didn't fully read the warnings in the ancient language as they had been written, these things might seem like its my fault, but that's not entirely fair because you were also there and could have stopped me maybe so you know I think were also equally at fault. I mean no one said you couldn't read the texts, I don't remember saying that. Sure you'd have to learn the language that's been dead before you were born by a couple hundred years but we had some downtime on this thing so you know you could partially also be at fault for what happened just saying." Rolando was chained up with several different rune inscribed chains. His body mass had swollen by at least 5 times and he had huge claws extending out of his forearms. The creature didn't really speak so much as foam at the mouth and lunge at Trezlan, but Trezlan could tell Rolando was still in there he just had to figure out a way to reach his son.

Made worse was Valrym had been missing for a bit and Trezlan couldn't rely on the earthen godlings no doubt caustic wisdom. So Trezlan didn't know how he was going to fix Rolando, but he figured he would, he had to, because he had to explain to his son how this was actually his fault.

Hurt and Alone

"Well you can't go home, both of you are in your own way compromised." Trezlan was trying to break the news gently. Which to him meant bluntly with no regard to feelings. Brubaker at least accepted it since he figured he was screwed when he left and reawakend his magical power. For Therod it was a harder sell, she had been brainwashed by a member of the military and now here she was being told by an enemy of the state she was the real problem. It was a lot to take in.

"So you screwed me out of my career? I should have listened to the warnings about dealing with Lorentinos." Therod stomped out of the cargo area and Trezlan just let her go.

"You're a real nice guy Trezlan you know that."

"I saved her dumb life from the hell she was in and this is the thanks I get? Next time either of you two idiots are in trouble don't come looking for me, also you have a day and then I want both of you out of my shit." Trezlan was hurt because he figured they would at least appreciate what he did for them, but no just like always people turned on him when they didn't need him anymore. So no one was happy.

Brubaker ended up leaving first, hoping to levy using his sight to get back into the good graces of the Imperial military. Therod after him, hoping to find a job. Trezlan didn't leave because Rolando was down stairs the whole time currently fighting his own possession and like a dutiful father he was hoping to get back to him sometime.

Oh Great You're Here

Brubaker was about to wonder what he was about to do in the mind scape he found himself in before Trezlan showed up. He looked even younger, but Brubaker figured it was how he saw himself and not how he looked, it explained the flowing red hair when by all accounts Lorentino had been bald for hundreds of years.

"Trezlan if you're in here how in the gods names will we get out of here?"

"I'm not really here with you right now, I mean I am in that you see me, but I'm more a representation of the spell than the actual person Trezlan, its complicated, but know I'm here to help." Brubaker shook his head even inside someone else's mind scape that explanation hurt.

"Ok so where do we start?"

"I don't entirely know, and before you start no it has nothing to do with limitations. It's just this mind is so dark, I'm hoping this is from the cybernetic aspect, otherwise we're in for a world of shit." Just as Not Trezlan said that three versions of Therod showed up. One of them had no cybernetic eye, one looked like the real Therod, and another looked horrible, her body twisted and bloodied like she'd been in an accidnet she couldn't recover from.

"You are not welcome here." They spoke in harmony though the mangled one did not sound good.

"Well at least the persona's showed up this is a positive development." Brubaker was styll completely lost but at least the avatar of Trezlan wasn't.

"You are not welcome here, leave."

"We can't ladies, me and my friend are here to help you recover, general?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"You have a personal connection with her, so utilize that." Brubaker thought that was the worst instruction ever, but he was in the mind of someone brainwashed being instructed by the mental representation of a necromancer who had supposedly lived for years, things had taken a dive for the worst a while back.

"Therod I'm your general, you will sort your shit out right quick or there will be consequences."

"Sir yes sir." Like a light going on the personalities folded in to each other and the darkness turned to light. Trezlan disappeared and Brubaker wondered how he was going to leave when he suddenly awoke next to Therod with a blistering head ache.

"You work fast general, when I had this happen to me took me like days." Brubaker wanted to slug the man, but Therod did regain her conscious will and immediately she began weeping at the things she'd done. Brubaker didn't know what to say, and Trezlan left saying something about how this is Brubaker's issue. Which made sense but still infuriated Brubaker at the response. Trezlan had turned out to be every awful thing he'd heard and worse.

Where Is Your Mind

"What's wrong with her?" Brubaker was standing next to Trezlan Lorentino. Trezlan had Therod strapped into a chair, her broken arm already in a medical contraption to immobilize and heal it. He was laying out a bunch of runes and other magical symbols that Brubaker didn't understand, though he was barely aware of what had happened. Trezlan had saved both him and Theord and got them off planet and now they were in some kind of holding warehouse. Brubaker saw all kind of weaponry lying around which fit the motif that Lorentino was an arms dealer, but he was still mystified how any of this happened. It didn't help that the sight didn't really see the past, and he was worried about the corruption so he wasn't seeing the future either. He was in the hands of a dangerous possibly immortal killer who was working out a ritual he couldn't understand, Brubaker almost wondered if it was better to be with Keith.

"Mind got all screwed with, have to unscrew that or she'll just turn on us when she comes to."

"So you've done this before?" Trezlan sucked in wind a little bit.

"Had it done to me, but you know the theory is similar mostly."

"Mostly? THEORY?! You're not really making me feel better about letting you do this to my person."

"Oh I'm not doing it, you are." And then Brubaker heard a phrase and he was all of a sudden in a dark place. He could only blame himself he knew Lorentino was an asshole and this just confirmed it, but still he didn't expect the betrayal so fast.

Saved By A Lorentino

"Don't look at me like that." Trezlan could feel the eyes of hate on him from Brubaker. Which seemed completely assholish considering he just saved the man from some weird indoctrination. But there he was staring a hole through him like some kind of freaky hate machine.

"You don't die, ever." Brubaker was using the sight as much as he could at this point fear of being corrupted be damned and he couldn't see Trezlan ever dying. No scenario in all of Brubakers scrying saw his death. None! The man never died, it was a first for Brubaker he'd never seen that ever.

"Well its nice of you to say Brubaker, but come now we have to get you out of..." The blow hit Trezlan between his shoulder blades, it stung and collapsed him to the ground forcing him to let go of Brubaker. Trezlan turned around his eyes swimming pain to see a huge red head staring him down with one mechanical eye. She looked a lot like Captain Therod, made worse by her name tag saying Therod on it. Trezlan almost figured she was Therod in his hurt state of mind. He didn't have time to even ask, she swung another heavy fist down and he barely blocked it aside. Her blow was hard and strong and he was still wrapped up with Brubaker. Ordinarily he would just blast her with fire and consider it done, but he knew the majority of the people working with Keith weren't doing it willingly.

"Look Therod I know we have history, but if you stop trying to hit me for a second..." This didn't stop the attack. She rushed again and he countered her strength with a pressure point hit on her arm, he heard a snap and that at least slowed her down a bit enough for him to get his bearings. He pulled a syringe from his kit and when she tried to use her off hand to attack him he got it into her neck and she fell into a heap. Trezlan looked at her, looked at Brubaker and then sighed.

"Gods give me strength not to kill everyone today." The gods really weren't listening, or if they were they didn't care, and so Trezlan drug two people out of the fire and destruction he had caused before disappearing once again. It was almost enough for him to reconsider that whole "not taking over the galaxy to save it from itself" plan he always had rattling around in his head.

This Is Your Life Colonel Keith

"You die horribly." Brubaker was locked into a chair, Colonel Keith was administering a "serum" to help him see the truth, but Brubaker already knew the truth he had seen it shortly after meeting Keith. The future had turned, something had changed somewhere and now Brubaker wasn't doomed, Keith was. And it was hilarious to Brubaker who has just come to grips with his own mortality. Now he saw scenarios that were insane and yet the sight didn't lie or it hadn't in Brubakers experience.

"And you know this how?"

"I can see the future Keith, its my curse, earlier I was sobbing because I saw I was doomed, but now, now something hilarious and terrifying is about to happen." Keith paused for a moment looking Brubaker in the eye as if to try and understand whats going on.

"You know I have to hand it to your Brubaker, I've had a lot of people try and get out of this, I've never had someone fake being able to see the future."

"It's a shame you die Keith if only you lived long enough to know how stupid you were." Keith was about to respond when an explosion blew out the wall behind him trapping him underneath. The fire was so hot it burned the material which slowly coated Keith in construction material. His screams dying off when the material drained into his sinus cavities. Brubaker felt better up until he saw Trezlan Lorentino walk on top of Keith's corpse. Then he felt the worst he'd felt in a while. He knew this was going to happen, but he still refused to believe the sight was correct about this.

In a way being saved by the man he'd hunted for so long was almost worse than being turned into a killer by a mad man, almost worse.

A Day Made for Bad Solutions

"And you're sure its Keith?" Head Guardsman Lucer hated his job. It was a field promotion at the end of the recent bio war the original head guardsman had been killed in the waning days of the conflict and so Lucer had been given his position and it sucked. Everything about the job was the worst part of command. Like getting word a Sanctuary had been wiped out and it appeared to have been one of their own who did the wiping, an annoying gnat of an officer named Keith. Keith was an asshole when Lucer was first coming up, it wasn't much of a surprise he had continued being asshole, though the killing all magical people was new. Lucer was mainly angry at himself, he had gotten word about some kind of dumb project the previous Head Guardsman had authorized regarding Keith but he figured it was some pr bullshit like all the others. Not some anti-magical hit squad.

"Yes sir confirmation by video analysis, its Keith." The Royal Guard were good at keeping things quiet, it was in their job description. But Lucer could tell if it got out that they the imperial military not only authorized a hit squad, but had it kill its own people? He'd be screwed, on top of losing his rank he'd face execution and it wasn't even he who set the stupid thing up.

"Well shit, ok sanitize what you can and then get back here I'll have to figure some way out of this shit storm." He turned the com off and just sat back in his chair almost numb. Lucer didn't want to be executed, and yet he had to deal with Keith one way or another. So with a heavy sigh and a lot of filters between he connected with someone he hoped to never see again.

"Who is this?"

"Lucer."

"Which Lucer?"

"You know a lot of Lucer's?"

"I know a few yeah, though the uniform tells me which one, I'm just screwing with you, been a hard day, what can I do for the empire Head Guardsman?" Lucer sighed he knew calling this man was a bad idea for a lot of reasons, but his attitude was one of the worst.

"I need your help Lorentino, you and the boy." Trezlan smiled, he knew this call was coming, but it still brought a big smile to his face. Nothing quite as good as being someones last resort.

The Downsides of Seeing The Future

Brubaker knew he was going to die. He'd seen it ever since they took the shackles off. He saw it play out a hundred different ways, but in each one he died. It was something everyone who ever had sight had to deal with, seeing their own end. It was alarming the first time. Brubaker remembered his first premature death, he stepped off a curb too fast and got splattered by an AI delivery truck. Brubaker had forgotten what it was like to know his own demise, having been off the sight for so long. But now it was back and every scenario he saw ended up awful for him.

Colonel Keith and his brand of wackjobs hadn't said much to him since they kidnapped him. But he saw all he needed to about the man and what he does. He saw the brainwashing and how just about everyone at his compound weren't even really people anymore. He saw this as his future, saw himself loving Keith enough to blow up a space port, or to go out in a hail of bullets. He could see these outcomes as clear as he could see the cell he was in could also become his tomb should he say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing.

Which lead Brubaker to just waiting for the end, however it would come it was pretty much a certainty at this point and in that Brubaker cursed the sight for letting him see there was no way out. It was the worst part of the curse of seeing.

Being Left in the Dark

"So when were you going to tell me about Sanctuary being taken out?" Rolando and Trezlan were in the cargo bay of a ship Trezlan had "borrowed". They were going through boxes looking for something that Trezlan said was dangerous but Rolando suspected was more expensive and something Trezlan wanted. This was his life now being a basic thief with his dad, he was just more aware of the illegal acts than when he was a child.

"Never does never work for you?" Trezlan had also upped the honesty about being dishonest. It was comforting if only infuriating. Rolando found out several lies he had been told were flat out wrong, but Trezlan wanted the younger Lorentino to believe them if only to keep him "safe".

"I liked it better when you lied, now you are just flat out telling me you like for me not to know my life is in danger." Rolando found a crate of what appeared to be statues which appeared to be what his father was looking for.

"At least you can work while you yap. And what happened at sanctuary wasn't related to you, I looked into it, just a wacko military unit within your former organization that has decided magical people should be exterminated."

"I uhh what how did you even we've been searching dirty bullshit for days..."

"Well one of us actually pays attention to things. I was alerted to this group a while ago, and when they finally attacked I got another notice. See don't you feel better you didn't know?"

"No? This is terrible I have to do something." Rolando wanted to leave the hold but his father grabbed hold of him.

"You don't and you won't. You aren't exactly welcome back home Rolando and this is not your issue, the people you care about are dead, which welcome to my life over the last hundreds of years, but still, you're going to help me and that will be the end of this." Rolando wanted to protest, but just then Trezlan said some thing on the statues and they came to life, changing from being little statues that were wonky, into huge creatures that almost blocked the cargo bay.

"What did you do father?"

"These are our friends, they are going to help us, aren't you boys?" Rolando rolled his eyes, his life had gotten so much worse since he'd reconnected with his father. Just like he knew it would.

Seeing Is Too Late

There were bodies everywhere. Brubaker could just look in horror at the carnage at sanctuary. He was too late. He knew that from when he first arrived and could see the doors had been blown off. He had hoped he was halfway through the attack and people were able to be saved, but this was not the case. Everyone was dead. Magical and normal alike had been senselessly murdered. Brubaker had saved himself with the sight but no one else. He hit his knees among the carnage and just wept. That's where the Imperial Guard found him moments later. The young lieutenant who had responded to the calls for assistance didn't even know how to respond to the violence and destruction he saw.

"General?" The lieutenant brushed Brubakers hand and that set off another vision, this was of the young lieutenant being killed which happened half a second after Brubaker saw it. He saw the men in the black jackets had returned killing the first responders.

"General its so nice to see you." Brubaker didn't know at the time he'd just run into Colonel Keith, but he sensed that things had gotten worse for him even without the sight showing him the horrors that awaited. It was a curse the sight, and he was thankful when the shackles locked on and the visions were cut off, temporarily blinding him to what was coming.

I See Blood

Brubaker worried for a moment that the visions wouldn't come back. That he had been too long from seeing and now his sight was gone. But shortly after that initial panic'd thought the sight was on full blast. He saw everything, and everyone. It was confusing at first, decades had gone by and so his ability to parse the sight was limited at first. Too many images, too many outcomes. It was hard to see beyond the immediate area and everyones petty shitty futures. Someone about to die, someone about to have their heart broken, someone who should have decided to avoid the seafood vendor. It was the kind of maddening thing that drove Brubaker to block the sight in the first place.

Eventually things cleared, the vision settled on Sanctuary and what Brubaker saw did not instill confidence. There was blood, people screaming, and some kind of attack going on. He wanted to shut it off, but he couldn't. So he got to watch as his people were gunned down. At first he couldn't see who was doing it, just the black jackets, and then in a moment of clarity he could see Therod. She was leading the attack. He shut his eyes and fought back against the sight and it faded, but not all together the memory remained in the back of his mind like a bad dream he couldn't forget.

Brubaker had to act fast, his visions of the future weren't always correct, but they couldn't always be stopped either. He tried to contact someone at sanctuary, but no one was answering and so he had to move. Things had gotten out of hand. but there had to be a way to stop it, the vision couldn't be the reality he was going to live in, he was destined to not see this be reality even if it meant disclosing he had visions in the first place.

Substance 4 Doesn't Exist

Substance 4 was a myth. Or at least that's what the Imperial military claimed. It was one of those spook stories told among magical and anti magical alike. A mythical blue fluid that could lock away or free someones inherent magical ability. Why it was called substance 4, was up for debate. Some say there were three previous trials, or the 4 meant the compounds within. The legends here and there though put the substance firmly in the made up realm. Most people when you talk about it, laugh off the idea of the substance and ask if you're with the Imperial Military attempting to shake them down. That part was all part of the counter intelligence behind the real substance 4.

The imperial military in conjunction with a bunch of now long dead magical users had created the substance as a final solution to the dangerously magical. Something that could be injected that would suppress abilities until another solution was applied. How the substance came about is still shrouded in mystery to anyone in the Imperial military. That it just works was all that was important. It was hard to find, and harder to keep, since the idea of it falling in the wrong hands lead to self destruct devices and impossible personal codes.

Brubaker had only come by his substance 4 by dishonest means. The end result of his sight, knowing exactly where to find it before someone else knew where it was. His final vision finally letting him off the visions. He had hid the substance as a special shaving cream for years, no one in the imperial military ever clued in that he had one of their best kept secrets just hiding out in his toiletries. No one even knew Brubaker had magical ability, so complete was the substance 4 masking.

But now he'd been pushed into a corner, he knew something bad was going to happen, it wasn't sight, but it was a gut feeling, and he knew if he didn't see people would get hurt more than normal. And so he filled the vial with substance 4 and injected in his arm. He was in a shitty run down hotel in the poorer part of town, the kind of place that didn't ask questions or take names. He only had a bed and a barely functioning toilet. He felt like a drug user, and in a way he was. Except his drug of choice was the future, and like an addict he had just gotten back on the sauce.

Who In the What? Why?

Who was Colonel Keith? Brubaker was going insane trying to find this out. Ever since Therod seemingly walked off without even a word to anyone the only explanation he could get was Keith. It was maddening. Brubaker was a general, he ran a sanctuary, he should not have been running into smoke and mirrors bullshit looking up a colonel who most people were having trouble even remembering. Brubaker had spent all morning running down all his contacts to find out anything about this Keith guy and was coming up short.

For all Brubaker could discover was the man was named Keith and he was a Colonel. He may or may not wear a black jacket and he apparently has a nice smile. That was all anyone at sanctuary remembered about the man. What he wanted with Therod was probably not good, nor was his ability to escape all kind of surveillance or security. He literally just walked in and walked out, and no one knew differently.

It was enough to have Brubaker leave sanctuary all together and connect to his own investigative roots. Which meant tapping into magic again, which unlocked all kinds of bad things for the general, but it was all he had left, and so he told his secretary he was going on a bit of a vacation. Packed his bag, with a couple vials of substance 4 and left. He also made sure to bring a small arsenal with him, because he just knew that this Colonel Keith was bad news and sooner or later it'd come to bullets over words. He didn't even need the sight to see that coming.

Not Everyone Plays By the Same Rules

"Magic is evil, you know this, I know this, everyone knows this, but we all pretend regular people who can spew fire or suck the life out of others are normal, and that's bullshit they aren't." The Colonel had let Therod put on her uniform and gather her things before they left. Brubaker was no where to be found, but Therod figured Keith had worked it out with him or she wouldn't be allowed to leave as easily as she did. They were now in another facility that appeared abandoned, but like a lot of the dark sites of the Empire was just hiding that it was a real place. Something Therod found out during the Bio war, a lot of bases were off the books, to keep the Emperor in the dark about a lot of awful shit.

"Isn't sanctuary to protect the magical?"

"No its the emperors stupidity thinking if he placates the bastards they'll not murder our people, history has proven this wrong time and time again and yet he and his family keep trying." Keith stopped and put his hand on a scanner. The wall opened up and a new hub of activity was revealed behind it, everyone wore the black Jackets that Keith did. They all seemed to have a task or something to be doing, and so they paid the Keith and Therod no mind.

"So your group kills them?"

"We identify threats and eliminate them before they can become worse. Like say Lieutenant Lorentino, next time he emerges we'll make sure to deal with him, I hope this isn't an issue for you."

"I think it would be the man saved my life."

"Only to put it more in danger by the bio threat, and his connection to his father means he's as evil as they come, don't you see Therod, these people are evil creatures not good natured humans! But you'll see that soon enough." He waved at a person behind her and she felt a needle insert into her neck. She tried to fight the drug, but it was a very high dose sedative and she collapsed.

"Welcome to your reeducation Sergeant Therod." The voice droned overhead, and Therod felt she probably made a mistake coming with the Colonel.

Black Jackets, Bad News

The man in the jacket was a Colonel, Therod could see that at least. He was the tall lean sort they put on recruiting posters. Keith was all he went by, Therod didn't know if it was his first or last name, just he was Colonel Keith. When he introduced himself to Therod he was polite, with a disarming smile.

"Sergeant Ruth Therod correct?" She was working out again, training for the purpose of nothing, in her mind. She felt a burning embarassment for the casual nature of her dress, just a sports bra and gym shorts, so much for modesty.

"Correct Colonel." Her eye flashed his record, it was mostly unremarkable, she was surprised he had attained the rank of Colonel, and that he wore the jacket, most RIG military never worse unapproved apparel and the big heavy leather jacket was not standard issue anywhere.

"Keith, you can call me Keith, I'm sure you've seen my record, what you haven't seen is what's not there Sergeant what's between the lines as it were." He had a confident way of talking, the kind of voice and diction that made you want to follow anywhere.

"And what Keith is not in the record?"

"What I do for our emperor Sergeant." The one thing Therod could see that wasn't readily apparent with Keith is the intensity of hatred in his eyes. It was hidden behind the smile and the voice, but it was there clear as day to Therod, she saw it in the same way she saw her own eyes in the mirror.

"And what would that be?" Therod did not know Keith very well, but she already could see he was a man that was difficult to deal with.

"Kill some magical people, and I invite you to join me." She should have said no, on its face his proposal was ludicrous, but Therod was worried about her career and what she'd be doing, so she did the stupid thing and said yes and everything that followed was mostly the result of this one bad decision, almost like she was infected by being near a Lorentino and her decision making ability was hampered.

I'd Ask Why, but I Know

"I'm glad you decided to stick things out with me boy." Trezlan and Rolando were in the ruin of some kind of ancient species. Trezlan had found his way there somehow, and Rolando hadn't bothered to ask why, he just let it go. Just like everything else post them losing their dead man's ship he was just not bothering to care anymore. His career was over, and now he was stuck with the Trezlan, as whatever god's out there clearly intended.

"First I'm a man not a boy, secondly I didn't have a choice there is no way I'll be able to get back to the Imperial Military, especially now that I know you did something to me that means I'm a freaking necromancer too."

"Oh you just figured that out? Well after losing your mother to a bone disease I knew I had to do something for you, don't worry most people never check the runes on someones bones, let alone know what any of them mean." Rolando was appalled at how casually his father mentioned something as awful as runeing his bones. The thought of how his dad did that without him noticing was terrifying.

"You're a terrible father."

"You'll thank me later, or now, otherwise your bones would have already started the hardening that kills most shifters before their fortieth birthday." Rolando knew that was right, but he still hated his father for it anyway. He hated Trezlan for all the things the old man was right about, it was maddening to disagree and be proved wrong by his dad time and time again. It was partially what lead him away from the man in the first place, and now thanks to Trezlan he was stuck wit him, probably forever, which was a sad sad thing for Rolando to admit to if only to himself.

"All that shit aside, what are we even doing here?"

"Well you see what got me interested in this particular ruin..." And so the Lorentinos were back together much to their mutual dislike of each other. And all was wrong in the universe.

No Purpose

Therod was very tired. She had been part of the front line forces against the Bios. Her experience dealing with the creatures had put her from being sidelined guarding magic users, to front and center slugging it out with other soldiers. She liked the work, even though it was a losing battle and she saw more death in a month than she'd thought possible. But now the war was over, and she was back at Sanctuary. She was tired of being useful one minute and cast aside the next. She had asked of Lorentino, Brubaker told her he was gone, didn't know if he'd be coming back. The young hound Sergeant said the same when he swung by, saying he got separated from Rolando and didn't know where he was now.

Therod was still without work, still without purpose. She trained day and night, but for what she had no idea? She wasn't anti magical, she was a soldier, and only wound up at Sanctuary because of Rolando. Now he was gone and she was left standing around while Brubaker decided what to do with her. She figured she'd be back on Exploration detail soon enough. Banished to the ass end of the galaxy just like before.

So she trained until her body hurt and then rested. It was all she had left at this point, the training and the waiting. She wondered how long the waiting would last, she figured maybe a month. But it was only two days later the man in the black Jacket made everything go wrong. It made her long for her days in the exploration service.

Missing Is a Nice Way of Saying Left

"Gone sir, officially listed as missing." Brubaker was reporting to the head guardsman, it seemed strange to Brubaker everyone had military ranks but the head Guardsman, but some of the old ways still remained. The Lorentinos had both disappeared. There were reports of some huge ship slugging it out on the rim against the bios, and Trezlan was suspected, but there was no proof to any of it. All Brubaker knew was Rolando was no more for the time being.

"Disappointing, the emperor will not be pleased to hear of the young lieutenant."

"Understandably sir, he was weird, but I guess he's doing what we always figured he was doing."

"Well this at least confirms the Lorentinos were working with each other." Brubaker had his doubts about that, but command was convinced this was true, and so he just let it slide.

"Officially he's just listed as missing sir, he may return." The head guardsmen smiled.

"Sure Brubaker, and one day the Fire God will reward us for worship, we all like to believe in convenient lies." That was the end of the conversation. Command wrote off Lorentino and Brubaker couldn't blame them, he had been a risk his entire career and now after a huge incident he may or may not have been involved in he just disappeared. Brubaker just sighed to himself, he had hoped that Rolando would go on to have a prosperous career, be a useful member of the empire, but in the end he was a Lorentino, and that's just not something they ever did. Brubaker turned off his monitors and sat by himself in the dark, he wanted to be alone for a time. In the morning he'd do the daily brief, but for now he just wanted to relax and forget the whole damn thing.

I Believe That's My Victory

"I thought you were concerned about direct involvement." The gods were playing their game again, this time in the Fire God's domain, a white marbled empty cafe in the midst of a sea of flame. Hanlong had his long hair and the Fire god still was dressed modestly even in her own domain.

"I did not have direct involvement. I merely leant my vessel and crew to Trezlan Lorentino." The fire god smiled.

"Sure and you didn't at all influence events in the end with said vessel when it looked to be overtaken." Hanlon moved his cards and rotated some of the ones from his false deck to his open one.

"I did not, other than providing the source of the power, that was all Trezlan."

"Right I'm sure one necromancer could wipe out an entire species of people with a simple ritual." The Fire god said it in jest, but she was actually curious if it was true.

"Ordinarily no, creatures are at their very nature too different to have a spell kill all of them at once, but the bio's main feature was making things like themselves, and so all Trezlan had to do was effectively 'curse their generation' and buoyed by my ships inherent focal point of death magic it expanded and wiped them out. Genius really wish I'd thought to do it, saved myself the trouble of being so obvious in my intention."

"Well now I'm more terrified than ever I didn't wipe out the Lorentino when I had a chance."

"It's not like we can't kill him later if he proves a bother." The Fire god placed both of her decks on the table in victory.

"Can we? I honestly wonder at times, looks like I win again."

"You usually do, I think you're better at these games than you let on." Hanlon left and the Fire God just smiled to herself. She was better than she lets on, but the death god still managed to hold his own as he had for all the years. Enough so the Fire God had to start to wonder if he's better at playing games than he let on as well.

Gone They're All Gone

"What do you mean empty?" Morley's team on the large construct were coming up with nothing. His scans had shown the same thing, but he didn't want to believe that. He needed to not believe that. How could all of the bio creatures been dead? It was impossible.

"Lot of blood and various metallic bits, but as far as living creatures nothing." Morley had sent the team over fully expecting to lose them, and here they were being able to walk through the main lair of the creatures with little effort. He didn't know how Trezlan had done it. They had detected a pulse of energy that swept the system eminating from Trezlan's ship. For a brief moment Morley hoped that was some kind of dying gasp of Trezlan. One last attempt to save himself from annihilation. And apparently it was and it had been radically successful. Which of course made Morley suspicious it wasn't Lorentino at all, but the damnable death god. He'd have asked Trezlan what he did himself, but of course soon after the pulse fired Trezlan's ship disappeared.

"Come back exploratory team, plant your charges and leave."

"Sir there is valuable..."

"Did I stutter in my command."

"No sir you did not." Morley was done with the exercise. His anger at the Death god paramount. There were supposed to be rules, and yet again Hanlon intervened to save Lorentino. It solified his nerve he had to find a way to kill the god and take its place. If only for his own survival among other things. But he at least knew the god was not infallible prior to saving Trezlan his ship was almost destroyed by the bios, so that was at least something. He almost got Trezlan. Almost, never time would be better. Hanlon sat back on the throne and breathed an almost comforting metallic sigh. Almost.

Meant To Be

"I knew we'd go out together dad, I just assumed it would be because of something stupid you did, not something someone did to you." Trezlan and Rolando were holed up in the captain's quarters. Rolando had some weapons out, Trezlan was busy drawing all kinds of sigils and working out a ritual of some kind, he kept counting on his fingers in a way that seemed threatening.

"We're not dying stop that stupid talk, just buy me some time." Rolando had never known his father to be an optimist, but he also never knew the elder Lorentino do ever be a defeatist either. Trezlan seemed to exist in that level of cynicism that said "things will get screwed up, by the grace of the gods I'll live." Rolando was not feeling the optimism.

"Dad I just want you to know I love you even if I've said mean things to you and said I hoped you'd end up in jail."

"Touching boy, but please stop with this we're going to die talk, and again secure the door, like thirty more seconds." There was a lot of thumping against the door, the bio's had dealt with the honored dead already, they had been able to give Trezlan and Rolando at least an hour.

"I just wanted you to kno..." The door burst open and Rolando killed the first creatures with gun fire, which slowed the rest down for a half second before they rushed in, Rolando prepared to grab his father and shift somewhere else when the creatures stopped stuck in some kind of ritual. Trezlan walked forward, Rolando tried to stop him, but the creatures did him no harm. They were all stopped. The corridor beyond the room was full of ugly bio's just stuck dead in their tracks. Trezlan waved his hand and threw blood onto the first one and there was a roar that seemed to come from the ship and everything beyond it. And in an instant the creatures exploded in a gush of blood, their splattered remains casking both Lorentinos.

"What was it that you wanted me to know?" Trezlan was wiping his face off of blood with a towel.

"That you're some kind of deranged demi god who terrifies me."

"Oh well I'm glad you're catching up son."

Morley'd

"We can't take this many hits Sir." Trezlan had been Morley'd again. He knew that slimy bastard would screw him, he just didn't know he would do it so obviously. Trezlan had only been in system for a minute when Morley's fleet showed up. He figured the two of them would team up against the bios, but no Morley's ship emitted some signal that sent all the damned bios after Trezlan. He figured it would be enough to wipe them all out and then of course annihilate Morley out of principal. But there were too many, so many Bios. Their ships were like a bunch of stinging flies. Even Hanlon's spooky death ship could not hold up to their assault. Trezlan saw all kinds of alarm and warning klaxon's firing across the board, every second they remained they risked annihilation. Still it pissed Trezlan off it had come to this he was hesitant to just let Morley win.

"Get us out of here Gods damn Morley." The space cut engine's kicked up, and then died. The helmsman tried several times and each time it wouldn't initiate.

"It's not working sir, what do we do?"

"Well for the rest of you you'll just go back to non existence, for Rolando and myself shit's about to get real bad real fast." It wasn't much of an inspirational statement, but Trezlan was fresh out of inspiration.

So That's Why It was a Losing Battle

Four hundred separate encounters. Four hundred victories, and still the bio threat continued. It seemed to Trezlan despite using the awful weapons at his disposal it didn't matter how he blased the creatures they'd just keep coming, and they were getting smarter. Each encounter the damnable creatures adjusted to his tactics and so he had to rely more and more on Hanlon's exalted dead's tactical expertise to win the battles

So far all of that had been enough, but the damned bio's were getting smarter and smarter. Setting up ambush's and attempting to board the ship multiple times. Thankfully Hanlon's creepy death properties had kept the creatures from having any kind of chance, but Trezlan figured that could not last forever. Nor could he expect his groups expertise to continue. He had no idea how Morley was doing, but he assumed he was running into the same problem. That at least brought a smile to Trezlan's face.

He was kind of surprised he hadn't run into imperial military or corporate fleets aside from Morley's, but he figured they had pulled back to their more developed planets and were setting up a blockade. Leaving the outer worlds to Trezlan playing the most aggravating game of smash an infection he'd ever been involved with. He figured there had to be some kind of central intelligence somewhere. He just had to get there and kill the damned thing. Or talk with it, or whatever.

Rolando had an idea on where it could be based on where he originally encountered the creatures, but unfortunately he wasn't much for star navigation, and the deeper they went into the Rim, the more infested and dangerous with Bio's it became. So either they would find the bio group, or kill them all on the way to finding it. Either way Trezlan liked the plan better than what they had going on anyway.

Unfortunately for Trezlan, Morley also had the exact same idea, and both men were on another collision course this time a lot nastier than the first one.

And Now You Know

Trezlan and Morley were seated across from each other. Though it was in a holographic display in both ships, the hatred was palpable. Rolando could tell from his father and Morley's demeanor neither man even pretended to like the other. Morley did not appear to have a second in his room wherever it was on whichever ship his signal was coming from.

"Glad to see the Death God has gotten involved in this little dispute." Morley didn't have time to play games with Lorentino, he needed to stop the bios, not dick around with an insect like Trezlan Lorentino.

"He's not directly involved, I'm just borrowing his ship and resources."

"Right so he's not personally leading it, but he has his number one disciple out front." Rolando was continually surprised at how all the bullshit about his father was seemingly true. He always just suspected the old man was a huge liar. And yet here people were saying he was the real deal which was terrifying. His father's file alledged a lot of terrible awful things, and if all of them were true well Trezlan was truly an awful awful person.

"Morley lets cut the shit shall we, these things are your problem, and you're claiming to help so you can try and avoid the shit storm that will fall on your company when you're horrific science experiment come to light with the general public." Morley could barely contain his rage at Trezlan, mostly because he was right, but also Lorentino's perfect health just infuriated his failing body.

"And?"

"And I just want you to know that I will not go along with whatever bullshit you've got cooked up, I'm going to kill those things my way and you can do it your way, and neither the two of us shall meet." Trezlan turned off the holo communication device.

"What did that accomplish father?" Rolando was perplexed by the hostility, but Imperial government had little on Morley.

"Just wanted Morley to know I still hate him, now come on we have a galaxy to save." Rolando followed his father and they made their way to the bridge and into history.

****

"Damned idiot Lorentino." Morley was fuming, not only would Trezlan be a thorn in his side, with his support by the Death God he knew Trezlan's inability to be afflicted by the Rot was because of that god. It was enough to make him spit were he still capable. Still maybe one of those bio's would get lucky and kill him for Morley, they were after all designed to kill Trezlan in the first place.

Never Enough Time for the What's

"I don't even know where to begin." The ship was massive, made out of some kind of metal Rolando had never seen, and staffed by a dizzying array of people dressed in clothing of all walks of life. How his father had acquired it, what he planned on doing with it, and just what? Were constantly on Rolando's mind. He knew Trezlan was dangerous, he had no idea he had the kind of resources on display.

"Thank you is a start son." Even when Trezlan was correct he was still a dick.

"You do realize my career is..."

"Effectively over, yes you keep telling me this even when it wouldn't be the worst thing ever, and its not like after we save the galaxy they'll punish you because you worked with your supremely competent father and his crew of undead mercenaries." The two made the bridge and a man in a uniform from at least three hundred years earlier (according to history that Rolando had studied) saluted Trezlan.

"Sir the bio's space force has been annihilated."

"Excellent, not a problem I assume?"

"No sir, the destabilizing weaponry worked as advertised."

"Of course it did, there's a reason it was banned in the first place, but desperate times, and its not like anyone alive cares." Rolando was a bit appaled, not only was his father in charge of a warship they were using banned weapons? He knew his career was most definitely over.

"Sir we have another cut opening up near by."

"Bios?"

"Negative corporate identifier, Morlatech ships, a lot of them." Trezlan frowned, he was under orders to destroy the bios and not take the ship on any kind of vengeance mission against Morley. Which unfortunately meant not killing Morley even if he showed up.

"Unidentified ship, identify yourself or be destroyed." Morlatech's officers order made Trezlan laugh, he didn't know much about the ship Hanlon had given him, but he knew that even though Morley had sent fifteen ships he doubted they could destroy his.

"This is Trezlan Lorentino of the Profit Margin, I'm well aware of who you assholes are, so you might want to state your business before we destroy you." Trezlan felt quite smug about that, it was nice to be in power if only for a little bit. The morlatech ships did not send a signal back, most likely conferring among themselves. Eventually a signal was sent back.

"This is Morley, nice to see you decided to do Trezlan, we have come to help."

It's Like Everything I Never Wanted

The bios had given up taking the port, and with it securing the planet. They had already signaled the fleet to leave behind a token force and move on. Their calculations could not account for Rolando's sporadic shift movements, and despite repeatedly sending overwhelming forces his way he destroyed them. The creatures logged what they had learned and added it to their previous encounter with this life form. Space cut drives were initiated and then halted, a large ship appeared behind the bio force and in one opening salvo annihilated them. Their last message to the collective was one of warning "The dark is coming."

****

Death. Death was everywhere. Rolando looked among the creatures, he'd stabbed, shot, impaled, and ripped apart with his bare hands. They were scattered around the remnant of the town center. He had shifted so much, so fast, he was twitching almost uncontrollably. For a moment he'd worried he'd just gone and given in to the corruption and he was lost to the blood disease. But he was in control what little that mattered. His equipment had fallen apart, too many shifts had destroyed the buckles on his armor and pants, he was down to his under ware holding a knife covered in the black blood of his enemies and an empty pistol.

They had stopped coming, Rolando did not know why. One moment he was surrounded and everyone around him was dying or becoming the biomechanicals. And then he had murdered them all. Just giving in to the death. He fully expected to become corrupted, but instead he just felt invigorated. He didn't even notice the drop ship land behind him or the men in black that exited it. He almost turned around and killed the first one until his father's voice shook him out of it.

"Rolando, my god son what have you done?" Trezlan's voice was more in awe than fear.

"I took care of things, who are these men, what in the gods name are you doing here?"

"I'm here to fix things boy, get in the ship we've got work to do."

"Yes this seems like a great idea father, just super." Rolando got into the ship all the same, He didn't know Kyriac and his group were still alive, nor did they know he was still alive. But at least he was off the planet, even if it was to nebulously "fix" things with his father. Yet again the Lorentino's were back together like the universe hated him.

I Do Not Grovel

"And so I need your help." Trezlan looked at Hanlon with disdain. He was currently in the middle of six conversations about arming several different groups all across the galaxy, and here comes Hanlon acting like Trezlan should drop all things to help him. Sure Trezlan's entire existence and arms business was tied up in Hanlon, but the profits were not going to make themselves!

"I feel like we've had these conversations in the past, except I didn't know you were the death god before, and now that I do..."

"I can't directly interfere you ingrate, and recall I've done several things for you over these hundreds of years including allowing you to live." Hanlon had long hair, it was disturbing to Trezlan. He couldn't put his finger on why, but it did.

"So you want me to do what to destroy a mechanical race of creatures that threatens to overwhelm the galaxy?" Trezlan was beyond skeptical, though his previous efforts at saving the galaxy had been equally ridiculous.

"Sooner rather than later, they are getting stronger by the day."

"Sure Hanlon and how will I accomplish this fact? I mean I'm good, but I'm not a god like you are."

"Oh you sell yourself short Trezlan, but don't worry I've seen fit to arrange for some folks to help you, you'll know them when they get here."

"Delightfully vague, still haven't said yes."

"If you are expecting me to beg for your help you'll find yourself wanting, but do this and you'll be rewarded in the usual way." Hanlon went to leave and Trezlan didn't stop him.

"Money?"

"Continued existence." And just like that the God was gone, Trezlan sighed a bit, though he would be lying to himself if he hadn't looked into stopping the mechanical creature threat. He had a couple ideas, most of them magical and dangerous, but what wasn't with him. It wasn't living if he wasn't almost about to blow himself up in a horrific way.

There Are Rules, Or Not

They were seated across from each other. The Fire God without her pomp, just wearing a simple business suit her hair short. Hanlon had on a more elaborate suit, and he now wore his hair long and black. The Fire God didn't care for his long hair, which is probably why he had it like that. They were playing a card game, the rules were never said aloud and they changed all the time. It was the kind of game gods loved to play because it meant to an outside observer there was no form or function. Not like in the place they were in anyone was around, but the sentiment remained.

The place was a swirling darkness. One of Hanlon's creations. Just an endless black cloud. The Fire God found it a little cliche for the death god. But Hanlon was all about Cliches. Especially since he re-arose to prominence all those hundreds of years prior. She still wasn't sure how he managed to do it, especially with a smattering of necromancers and death magic still thought of as something you never ever do. Still she had to respect him for managing it with all the restrictions, even if it infuriated her.

"It's your turn." Hanlon was showing all the cards in his visible hand, but according to the rules they were playing on now he had another true hand elsewhere.

"Are we doing turns today?" Her answer was another chance to change the rules.

"Sure, I like turns." Hanlon smiled back, though there was no warmth to it.

"Do you enjoy all the death being caused right now?" The creatures Morley had created were causing quite a ruckus. The Fire God looked on them with disgust, but the conflict was helping her every day.

"No, that bastard Morley causes me so much turmoil everyday. His creatures don't even kill things most of the time, just convert them. So much suffering, none of it ending. If not for our arrangement I would have already destroyed their metallic asses already." The Fire God smiled.

"So kind of you to claim to honor our arrangement when I know for a fact you don't honor anything."

"It is the rules of the game."

"Which is to say there are no rules, but still those creatures do irk me so. And I worry they will destroy the people who offer me worship."

"To be a god ruling nothing would be to be nothing."

"So it has been, perhaps I'll look into their destruction, or not, that is what it is to see all things." The fire god played her hand and Hanlon smiled and played his, he had the winning hand.

"Looks like you lose today."

"Did I Hanlon? Or did I win and I just haven't found the rule to say it yet."

"Sure." The Fire God left and the table disappeared with the cards. Hanlon smiled to himself, he would need to contact Trezlan, it always came back to that old necromancer when he needed something done.

Mostly Culpable

"Mostly sir." Morley was looking at the incursion of the biomechanicals displayed across the galaxy. They had hit corporate and RiG space evenly so far the damnable creatures. He didn't even have a fail safe against them, something he would have to discuss with the R&D division should everyone live through the crisis.

"And they can be traced back to us?"

"The young Lieutenant's report mentioned us specifically with these creatures."

"Gods damn it." Morley felt all the hundreds of years old right then. This was a crisis for his organization and it was mainly of their own making. He couldn't even blame Lorentino for it as much as he wanted to.

"Sir I think the best thing is for us to launch a massive counter offensive with our bots. We could save the galaxy."

"Or we could lose our entire force in one fell swoop," Morley held up his hand before the young man could respond, "Fine fine do it, better to save everyone and then get blamed than the idiots some how figure out how to kill the creatures and then come for us."

"You mad the right decision sir."

"I made the only decision, now get out of my sight as I watch my empire potentially implode." The young man didn't wait around Morley's temper was legendary among the corporation. In fact he only got the job after his last assistant was impaled by Morley after a disagreement. Morley just sat on his throne and watched the battle number rattle off and news casts talk about the doom of humanity, it would almost have made him laugh at one point. Now all he could do is hope, and that was the worst emotion in the world for him.

War Is Not Going Well

"Lieutenant!" Dead and dying were laying next to haphazard barriers. Rolando was trying to save a man with what little medical training he had, Kyriac was long gone, having been folded in with a strike team hoping to cut off the enemy. Rolando had stayed behind to hold the fall back position and it wasn't working, the enemy was just advancing relentlessly and the dead were piling up. Rolando could figure they would, he'd fought the damnable creatures before, but now they were smarter. They had integrated ranged weaponry into their attacks and some how had figured out how to pilot starships.

"What?" The young man calling for Rolando was one of the farmers who had been press ganged into service, before that day he hadn't even fired a weapon not in some kind of video game.

"I don't think we can hold this position." It was really just Rolando and the farm boy left, everyone else was dying or already dead, the creatures weren't even attacking they were waiting.

"Where do suggest we go son? There ain't no evac." The landing ships that had deployed originally had gone, they were joining a space offensive somewhere else. The force on planet was just to keep the planet from falling to the mechanoids, and that hadn't worked for shit. Most of the planet was now dead or had been converted in methods that horrified Rolando.

"We could hide." The thought had occured to Rolando, but he couldn't leave the men behind to their fate, and he wasn't about to execute them either. Which meant they were stuck there.

"Just watch your damn zone boy." The boy did not, by the evening he was gone and Rolando was left with the dead and dying. He wrote in his journal the war was going great he hoped it would be over soon. He did not say which side he assumed would win.

And Just Like That Money From the Sky

Wars were great for business. Trezlan didn't supply armies directly, didn't have the infrastructure nor the firepower to directly arm a side. But Armies weren't the only people buying in a war, or at least not government armies. Plenty of smaller private security firms were looking for the best they could get, or to replenish stocks in case they were needed. In the wake of the new conflict Trezlan was extremely busy. He had to close his store front to just deal with all the extra orders he had coming in. It was remarkable, he was in danger of running out weapons something he didn't think was possible.

The conflict itself was worrying of course. Their were rumors of a second red war; which Trezlan did not believe because the first one was the last one as it were, a second one would be a catastrophic event that could not possibly have been repeated. This just was some kind of new conflict involving a nebulous force of awful slowly taking over the galaxy. Completely different from the red war which was a force of souls freed from their awful afterlife trying to take over the galaxy.

Trezlan was a bit concerned about Rolando though, he was apparently in the middle of the conflict area and no one had gotten word if he'd survived or not. Which was as a father something that worried him, if only because Rolando was important for what was to come, though Trezlan surmised the galaxy would have to survive for that to be an issue in the first place. Still business was good while it lasted, he hoped he lived long enough to spend the money.

In the Midst of Boredom

Excerpts from Lieutenant Rolando Lorentino's journal

Day 6: I think Kyriac is trying to kill me. First he offered to get breakfast this morning, but it tasted slightly different. He said they just didn't use enough salt, I believe it was some kind of low level poison. I am not letting him buy lunch for fear of the second dose of poison.

Day 7: Kyriac is totally trying to poison me. I know it now. He's offered to get me water three times this afternoon, no one does that. Clearly he's moved beyond food and into drinks. I'm on to him.

Day 8: It is now my fault that we can't get off this awful planet. Kyriac listed his reasons on a white board he had procured from a gift shop. I think he's using the white board in secret to plot out how he plans on killing me. He's arranged this with the cleaning crew, they are coming for me tonight, I know it.

Day 9: Transport is coming tomorrow. Kyriac is being annoying, saying I don't even know if its coming and I just say that to make myself feel better we're stuck here. Festival is almost up, so we can finally get a place to stay.

Day 10: No transport, no hotel room, no hope. Apparently there is a system wide issue effecting transport. I don't know what it is, or if there even is one. At this point I've given into the conspiracy theory the gods hate me and this is my punishment. To live out my days in a transport station's arrivals/departures lounge with a short asshole who hates me.

Day 11: Temporary event has expanded, now it appears to not be some kind of environmental thing. Whispers of a second Red War. Kyriac and I are now in danger of being left behind. I've got to figure out what to do.

Day 12: The war is here.

Even the Luck of the Lorentino's Runs Out

Rolando and Kyriac had been sitting in the transport station for two days. There had been no shuttles or any outbound traffic due for at least a week. Rolando thought this was an oversight by command, Kyriac thought it was just Rolando not paying attention to schedules. Either way it meant both men spent time in the transport station trying not to kill each other while they waited. As to why they were in the station and not in a hotel, those had all been booked up by a local festival, something about comets. Rolando theorized this was probably what the cult was doing there, planning on killing everyone in time for one of the comets, but he had nothing to back that up and so it was just a theory.

"This sucks." Kyriac was laying face down on one of the benches, he'd been throwing a ball to himself but recently lost it.

"I keep calling command they keep telling me they'll send someone when someone is available."

"They are liars and you should have checked to see how backwater this place was."

"You keep blaming me, but I don't think this is my fault." Rolando had taken to starting a journal, he had only gotten one sentence down -This Place sucks. He felt it was representative of the experience.

"Of course not Lieutenant, its not like this wasn't your operation and its not like you didn't properly scout out an ex filtration."

"Well when you say it like that."

"You just hoped your stupid luck would carry the day and there would be like a freighter or something to pick us up didn't you?"

"I'm not going to say no to that instead I'll just focus intently on my journal and pretend you don't exist."

"Why do I get the feeling this is almost an exact word for word conversation that has occured between your father and someone else?" Rolando didn't answer and Kyriac went to find his ball, it was amazing how unprepared the Lieutenant really was, it was almost enough for him to file a report, but he figured why even waste the report.

I'd Rather Not

Rolando had two more applications of sedative he could give Devis, but he had no idea what the breaking point was regarding too much, or too little. So he was hesitant to just inject him again while the drama with the cultists played out in front of him. It was almost enough to make him laugh, here he was worrying about Devis's health when his own was in doubt. The cultists had blocked off the room, but had not advanced. Kyriac had pushed over some of the furniture to create make shift barriers, though they wouldn't hold anyone for long.

"Why aren't they rushing us?" It seemed like a good question, Rolando didn't know, he was worried about structural integrity. The building was literally just a ranch, if they wanted to they could easily blow out a wall and assault their back.

"Must be waiting to see if we are going to come out."

"We were setting up the poison gentleman, its what took so long." Sand seemed confident to Rolando, and he should have been considering he did in fact have a lot of poison available to him.

"You gas us you kill your leader."

"We're a death cult Mr. Lorentino, he'd rather die free than live with as a prisoner." Kyriac looked back at Trezlan and shrugged.

"Well then Sand prepare to join your boss." He didn't have much of a bead on where the cultists were, but the walls shittyness could work in his favor. He and Kyraic opened up on the sides of the door, their weapon fire split open the entry way and through a quirk of luck happened to detonate the poison canisters in the hallway with the cultists., though it did mean the poison was now unleashed. Rolando acted fast, and grabbed Kyriac's hand leaving behind Devis. He shifted, thinking of the ridge way they'd been watching in the first place.

"So basically we shouldn't have tried at all." Kyriac was the first to point out the obvious.

"Right, lesson learned, orbital bombardment of cult camps." In the distance the compound was slowly being engulfed in a poison cloud. Both men didn't even have to say what they were thinking.

Best Laid Plans of Assholes

Devis was getting bored. He'd thought running a cult dedicated to his fire would be fun, and it mostly was when the sex was good, but now the women in the cult were all boring and more devoted to fire than he personally as their avatar. He also didn't trust Sand, the man who had one point had been his confident seemingly was moving against him everyday and Devis couldn't abide by that, but at the same point Sand ran the cult and Devis would be lost about anything even the daily bills. So that left him with killing everyone and starting over somewhere else. He had resigned himself to doing it right after he burned alive the two assholes the imperial military sent after him. He was about call up Sand when he heard a noise behind him and felt a sharp prick in the back of his neck. Then the world went black.

"Well that's at least one thing down." Rolando hoped the sedative dose was enough to get Devis out of the complex, and on to a ship.

"Right so just blink us out of here right?"

"Umm hmmm actually haven't ever done that with two people." Kyriac frowned.

"And you don't want to try?"

"Do you want to find out what happens when I shift with too many people?"

"No not really."

"Ok so that means we have to fight our way out." Kyriac was about to say something when a lot of foot work was coming to where they were.

"And probably pretty fast Lieutenant."

"Probably."