RavensDagger

  Chapter Sixteen - Spectre

  People who had cores could call themselves whatever they damned well pleased. Still, there were certain ventions. The Wars and Warmimes of the Lunatics were a good example. They had a cultural identity freely given to their own core-wielders.

  Outside of that text, civilians with cores often tried to avoid any specific bels, while soldiers with cores teo have their own categorization.

  On Mars, they called the core-wielders of the military Valkyries.

  A Valkyrie was the reaping angel of Mars. Not just a soldier with superhuman abilities. They were the best. They kicked ass, took names, chewed bubble gum, and they never, ever, lost.

  At least, that's how the propaganda went.

  The truth was that each Valkyrie was hand-picked from the most talented individuals in the Martian military apparatus, then given training that would make an Olympic athlete look like a zy underachiever.

  This produced the best possible didates to receive a core and bee part of the army's bae of hyper-elite batants. They were few in number, but that didn't matter when they were just better.

  Sonic Spectre must, therefore, have beey damned good. B-cssers were unon enough already. There were probably only a few dozen in the Martian navy.

  Ivil was keeping that in mind as she pihe helpless Valkyrie to her room's door. Sonic Spectre was utterly outcssed, sure, but she was also not even trying to fight back. Her powers, those shifts iy that had made her look so jittery, would have been perfect to escape this situation... for about a fra of a sed before Ivil caught her again. But Sonic wasn't trying anything of the sort.

  The emotionless doll mask shifted slightly to meet Ivil's gaze. "I'm following orders from High and," she said.

  "The brass sent you?" Ivil asked.

  There was a slight shift, a nod. "They're ed about your as. Though... to be perfectly ho, I volunteered for the position. It was me or a deep-cover MINT operative, and I thought that I would be a better option."

  Ivil loosehe hold, very slightly. She didn't quite let go, however. "You might promise my mission."

  "I aim to do the opposite," Sonic replied. "I'm here to assist you. This mission came with two parameters. To ensure your safety, and to assist you in your task."

  "High and has no idea what the task is, do they?" Ivil asked.

  Sonic shrugged faintly. "They don't. But it's... you?"

  Ivil supposed that that much did make sense. She had a... well-cultivated reputation for doing what she thought was best, and often she was right about it. Certainly, her idea of what was the best a to take was sometimes politically unpopur, or caused a signifit increase in casualties, but it also ofteo success.

  With a sigh, Ivil pulled back. "You might as well leave," she said. "This mission won't be helped by your presence."

  "Ma'am?" Sonic asked. "I'm aware. You are without a doubt the most powerful person in the system. But if you would be so kind as to tolerate me, I'll be certain to not stand in your way as you... do whatever your mission is."

  "Are you so certain? You still don't know what that mission is."

  Sonic shrugged. "Theories range from you preventing a fourth inter-system war, to you causing the , to you wanting a vacation."

  "Hmm, all wrong," Ivil dismissed. "Besides, you might give me away with that disguise of yours."

  "I'm actually a practising member of the Adeptus Ancillia," Sonic replied. "Though I have pced my military service ahead of my religious beliefs, as befits a Martian Valkyrie. I know enough of the rites and beliefs of the Tech-Maids that I certainly pass myself for one."

  Ivil hummed. The options here were simple enough. Kick the woman off the ship, or keep her here. "If you will stay, then you'll be ging and s," Ivil said.

  "Pardon?" Sonic asked.

  "Yes, I think that's a fantastic idea," Ivil said with a nod to herself. "If you want to stay, then you'll be w for me."

  "I... do that, yes. If it would assist you."

  "Good. Your first task is to write a letter nation to the admiralty. I won't have you splitting loyalties, and if yn, then none of their orders will be able to supersede my own."

  It was a hard ultimatum. Valkyries might have been powerful and even well-loved members of the Martiae, but their servid training didn't e freely. One of the rger costs was a life-time of indoation and a hard loyalty to the brass. They were not-so-secretly terrified of another Ivil rising through the ranks. Of course, that sometimes meant that loyalty rized more than petence.

  It was a fault Ivil was aware of, but it didn't make the military suffer so much that she cared to fix it.

  Sonic took a long, long moment to think things through, then she nodded. "I will," she said. "If that's what's required of me, then I will."

  Ivil was, relutly, impressed.

  Obviously the brass would overlook such a thing. It would be a bck mark on Sonic's record, but there robably a fresh medal or endation that would e with it as soon as she 'rejoihe military after this i. It was still a hard move for Sonic to take, and spoke well of her character.

  Loyal to the point of being disloyal if that was the best option. It wasirely tradictory, but it did take some thinking to see it.

  "Fihen," Ivil said, finally letting Sonic free as she stepped back.

  Sonic adjusted her dress, then bowed her head a little to Ivil. "I'm at your service, ma'am. What would you have me do?"

  "Are you gay?"

  Sonic froze. "Um. No?"

  "Are you certain?" Ivil asked. "Bisexual, maybe?"

  "I'm... not that either, ma'am," Sonic replied. "I, uh, am not currently in a retionship, but I'm mostly attracted to men."

  "Are you certain?" Ivil asked. That mostly might have been carrying a lot of weight.

  "I'm entirely certain. May I ask how this is relevant?"

  "No."

  "Very well," Sonic said.

  Ivil eyed Sonic up and down, then shrugged mostly to herself. "This mission is cssified," she said.

  "I uand, ma'am. My clearaing is blue," Sonic replied.

  "This is cssified Ultra ic," Ivil said.

  Sonic stared. "I... wasn't aware that the cssification system extended beyond a cole, ma'am."

  "Obviously because you don't have a clearance level high enough," Ivil said. "If you viote this level of secrecy you will cease to exist. Mars will put all of its efforts into removing every trace that you ever existed. Your parents won't remember you. Every friend, lover, colleague, business parthe person at your favourite restaurant that remembers your order. Everyone will pletely fail to remember you. Any impact you had on society, positive or otherwise, will be reversed. You will cease to matter on a level that most ot prehend."

  Sonic likely cked the biology to swallow, but Ivil still had the impression that the Valkyrie had done just that.

  "And then, while your existence is being erased, you will be made to suffer unimaginably. Obviously, the goal of the torture will be purely academic at that point, but it's a principle that matters."

  "Of course, ma'am," Sonic replied. She was doing a good job of not sounding faint.

  Ivil crossed her arms. "Good. The goal of this mission is for me to find love."

  Sonic stared. "As in... sexual gratification?"

  "If I wao fuck I'd hire a whore," Ivil dismissed. "Or accept one of the many offers I've received for an iing night. I'm not so unattractive that no one flirts with me. I mean love-love. Romantic love. I'm here to find my soulmate."

  "Is that what the oracle was for?"

  "Yes. I asked her where I could start. This ship was her answer," Ivil said.

  "You... andeered an Imperial fleet, to fly to the far end of the system, to ask an oracle... about your love life?"

  "Is that judgement I hear?" Ivil asked.

  "Permission to be ho?"

  "No."

  "No judgement, ma'am."

  Ivil raised an eyebrow. "I would hope not, especially not with your new duties."

  Sonic straightened. "Ma'am? You have orders for me?"

  "Yes. gratutions, you've been promoted from... what was your rank?"

  "Captain."

  "From captain to wing-woman," Ivil said. "I hope you serve me well in that position, Wing-Woman Sonic Spectre."

  Sonic almost saluted. Her arm started to raise before it stuttered to a stop as years of navy training ran into the realities of her current situation. "I'll do my utmost, ma'am," Sonic said. "On that note, are you aware of who the, ah, target is?"

  "No, actually. I have a short-list of suspects onboard the Held Together. I suspect the first part of this operation will mostly involve disc who the primary target is. Hopefully you will be able to assist me with that as well."

  "I'll do my best," Sonic said. She did salute this time.

  ***

  RavensDagger

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