"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: Mid-October 1089
Location: Wastend near Kazdel.
POV: Narrator
Nyx could be seen standing on top of the ndship, her fingers have been pying with her wilted and burnt cigarette. She is gazing at a distant nd, a pce she is well-acquainted with. All around the ndship are nothing but the forgotten nd with mercifully fewer scars of war that could be seen littering the ground.
The Badnds, Wastends, or the nicer name of Free Zones is the perfect pce for Babel to avoid the General’s prying eyes. One might argue that a monarch on the run from her own country is a monarch no more. Nyx however couldn’t see the appeal to fight for someone and or a nation. She hoped that once home, she could … bury it and go about her days.
Especially with the storm brewing in her mind. Those words Kal’tsit had uttered had been on the loop inside her mind. Grief? Rage? Bewilderment? Understanding? None of these words could truly piece together the puzzle that had been turned into a billion more pieces of unrecognizable jigsaw. Her mind had yet come to term but from what exactly? Even more so when they are not exactly out of the woods yet.
She should deal with the immediate problems first, her heart could take a further battering after she is back at home. If she could stay calm (barely) after the unsolicited provocation levied by Agnese, what is a bit more patience? Nyx recalled her… negotiation… with Grey Hall’s personnel.
‘I was a goddamn asshole… CM would yell at me for that, but… ugh… fuck it.’ With an annoyed expression, she lit another cigarette and finished it in one deep puff of smoke. She threw them on the ground below before pying with more cigarettes.
Just when she concluded the problem with the 4th Convoy being stuck in Sette Colli, another one popped up and it concerned a move pyed by one of Terra’s most powerful nations; Ursus.
When the 2nd Convoy team brought along an envelope with Ursus Imperial Seal on it, she thought of its implications. She wonders whether it is a power py to imply that they know who the primary power behind Cordelia is, the matter with the 10th Kazimierz – Ursus War, or even a personal threat to her.
She doesn’t know what to make of the presumed threats or politicking with only staring at it. The 2nd Convoy’s leader assured her that the seal was authentic at least. So she braced herself for the worst. All that caution and misgivings only to be left incredulous.
‘Ursus reaches out to me?’ She recalled back to its content.
[To the esteemed Lady Nyx, written here to bring forth a message on behalf of the Tsar of Ursus.
I would be most gddened for us to convene directly but as such is a complicated possibility considering the reality. Of course, your distrust is understandable, your animosity mentable however duly noted, and thus you may ignore this letter or settle for fairer weather.
As a sign of goodwill, the matter of the present and the past shall be deemed void by the Imperial’s eyes. War happens, and I despise them. It would be of greater importance that we move past bloodshed. Sadly, the matter of reward for your life is a trickier part to deal with. If you’re interested, then we might be able to work out an understanding and cooperation.
I must note once more that I only hoped that further unnecessary altercations could be mitigated.
Sincerely, Fyodor Vdimirovich.]
A part of her wanted to rip it to shreds because all she sees are nothing more than an absurdly unbelievable tale, so she almost ughed seeing how much of a contrary was written inside. She expects them to dredge old wounds and force her to comply, but the perceived sincerity inside was just that baffling.
There is so much implication in there that Nyx is worried about how much Ursus knows about her. The logical part of her mind sees the merit and her more emotional part wants nothing to do with it and goes back to retaliation protocol.
Which doesn’t work 100% if she looked back on her duel with the Sanguinarch. So she is being forced to grapple with her emotions and the future. She knows that Ursus people are the way they are for a lot of reasons, but her view is attuned to the Ursus children who drifted away from home one way or another. She also knows that Kazimierz is not all sunshine and rainbow; svery exists.
While she is agonizing about the letter, this pce is not only hers.
Babel Operators, mercenaries, PMCs, or just the unfortunate people who were forced to leave their old lives behind, could be seen mingling and doing their tasks. It is undeniable that her presence evokes multitudes of emotions.
The Babel Operators viewed her with suspicion, even more so compared to the PMCs simply because her allegiance is certain only for herself. It is not to say that they are hostile; no, their stance is none other due to her proximity with the King of Sarkaz. None within Babel would deny her prowess and their circumstances. Hushed tones were exchanged, with the pessimists’ fear-mongering exacerbating the nonexistent problem.
The Mercenaries revered and feared her as the very manifestation of mortal might. On one hand, they had seen firsthand that the rumors were wrong. She is not untouchable, she is not unstoppable, and she is not invincible… one the other… she’s certainly one tough nail to crack, unbending and undeterred, and she has no shortages of tricks to tear someone from limb to limb. She is a rose with jagged, serrated, and rusted iron for thorns, with a name that is on itself an influence; many would scheme for her service, and most importantly she had showcased her seemingly limitless potential.
For the Private Military Contractors, they see a standard to aspire to but also a reminder that she is ultimately mortal. She is their teacher, instructor, and oftentimes protector in her own quirky, or perhaps deranged, ways. They did notice how while she still deigns to provide pointers and even sparring with anyone asking for a chance, she is unfocused for days. All they could do was watch and they knew better than trying to intrude on her privacy.
The unfortunate few are divided in their opinion, but most could hardly care other than acknowledging how dangerous it is to be on her wrong side. Rather than dealing with uncertainties like her, busying their hands with productive activity appeals much more. Their hands and minds are busy doing whatever they can to pay back the Monarch of Kazdel. She assures them that such is unnecessary, but her kindness and understanding only propelled them further.
Nyx has enough of the scenery, she lights her cigarette and goes downstairs. Sadly, the elevators are still non-functional, so either a dder, while exposed to the harsh weather, by a wayside and entering through a messy engineering bay, or the stairs that wind circles because of debris in the way prolonging anyone’s route. Nyx couldn’t just rip her way through, she doesn’t know which debris is keeping a section upright and Babel would never divulge something so vital to outsiders.
Her walks were uneventful until she met a grieving banshee. The female banshee looks even worse after the incident with her retive watching over her with clear worry. She was about to approach them, but she stopped. Despite all the pre-pnning and prior arrangements for the decoys and convoys, she is still complicit in Jordan’s death.
She was there when she broke down after the truth was revealed to her. Nyx's feet moved in the other direction, she was not so shameless to try and go buddy-buddy to pretend everything was fine. She also noticed Meteorite approaching the pair, so she decided to retire early in her allotted room. She rarely used them because of stuff happening, but she is about to.
On her way to the dormitory, she met the Zak girl, Sil. Nyx winced seeing her prosthetic arm. The girl though, practically skipped over the moment she locked eyes with her. Sil’s infamous scowl was nowhere and instead repced by genuine joy.
“Teach!” She hugged her tightly, Nyx was at a loss for what to do. Still, she reciprocates, prompting the Zak to squeal happily. Sil couldn’t believe that her teacher would respond positively, Nyx would usually flick her forehead after trying this.
“Hey there… Maelinda.”
“Thank you for not saying it too loud and Teach look at this!” She proudly showed her steel arm, Nyx tried her best to keep her expression ft. Thankfully her student is too busy marveling at this piece of engineering. She keeps prattling on and on about how awesome it is, while her Teacher feels like someone is stabbing her while standing. Fortunately, she returns to Terra soon enough.
“Babel sure knows how to create something good, I kinda see why you are so patronizing with the Sarkaz. Not all of them are bad.”
“Yes… how are you holding up?”
“Hmm? Oh, this? I’m fine really! I could still use my battleaxe, a bit stiff yeah but that also means that the girls and boys often give me an extra cold one more often. Heh, guess I’m real popur for being so dashing after all.” She smiled with surety, Nyx nodded at her admission. She admires her positive outlook despite losing her left arm.
“So Teach, could you train me again!? I don’t want to lose the cool dy status, my love life is still long after all!”
“Um… I…”
“Please?” She showed a puppy’s eyes and Nyx could only sigh. One of these days she would have a hard time declining anything…
“Alright… go ahead, I need to check my room first.”
“Awesome! See you love~!” She blows a kiss and leaves with a red face. Nyx could only stare at her with pity, she soon continued her silent walk to her room. After some more minutes, and a couple more faces she met along the way, she found it. She pushed the button and was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t jam.
Making her way inside, she found the room to be… better than a storage. She just cleaned it a little and hung her jacket nearby, any sensitive belongings are inside the VTOL. Nyx was about to leave immediately but fatigue washed over her. She slumped on the cold bed, more metal than fabric but it was clean at least, and thought back on the defect.
She couldn’t, for the life of her, get it out of her system. Agnese’s words were like hammering in the point of how her body has been growing uncontrolbly. Often she shivered despite herself, especially regarding physical pain. What if her body has a mind of its own? What if the reduction of pain was a defense mechanism to ensure she could outst everything thrown at her in due time?
That’s what frightens her the most, Kal’tsit underlined a point that she is at a loss on how to continue. Her current findings might be a dead end for her, which props up a small hope that there is someone out there who knows about a lot more. Of course, such a piece of information would not come cheap, and she technically has an unspoken debt to the Feline Doctor.
“God fucking dammit…” She shakes her head, trying to banish the image once more. She stares mutely at both the Cordelian and Catastrophe Messenger insignias. One being vital in how to move her assets and the other to gain an identification permit. Sighing again, she stands up from her bed and reaches inside her jacket.
She finds what she wants, a pack of cigarettes; her small respite that would give an iota of serenity amidst the raging storm. She won’t lie that she had more than once to entertain looking for an extremely lethal drug to see how it goes, but she discards it after her A.I. companions berate her for it. She chuckled remembering how Conrad threatened to tell Immanuel about it.
Thinking again, she decides to at least keep the pack for ter. Nyx then promptly leaves her room and heads to the training hall or whatever the equivalent there is around here. While she did so, Doctor Odysseus watched her from the shadow. Their face is still hidden by that signature mask of theirs, but it is clear that their attention is solely on the Pythia.
No one truly knows what sort of face they are making beneath that visor.
-
-
-
-
Ines watched as the Grey Serpent agreed to spar with those who dared to, be it PMCs or mercenaries, The Babel Loyalists, or the brave nobodies, she took them all on. The Caprinae noticed how her shadow had been wavering by merely looking at Nyx’s own. Still, this is also a good time to understand their potential adversary because the information is precious and even more so when her job as mercenary meant as much.
There was never any guarantee that they will meet her on some shitty battlefield and if that happened her best bet would be to stall. None within her group has any confidence that they could come out unscathed when facing the Grey Serpent… yet there is this one idiot that gives her a constant headache.
Said idiot would be W.
The Sarkaz girl is trading blows with the Pythia. W threw a straight job which was promptly deflected by Nyx who struck her wrist. She winced but continued her assault by using her feet to kick at Nyx’s neck. She dodged by a hairbreadth and smmed her fist towards W’s face. She was struck square on her face. She crumpled on her knees with a bleeding nose, yet her gre never left her expression.
“Too opportunistic, dial back your aggression and try not to use an obvious mix-up.” Nyx steps away momentarily to take a smoke break.
“Your tail is frail, but you can still it to poke an eye. Don’t try to fist an armored or thicker point, try pushing them around, break their stance, and do it again but now aim to the jugur or exposed gaps. Then just wait out a few more years, you’re still a pipsqueak right now, should get a couple of inches at worst.” She returned to the ring.
“Fuck you, stupid hag…” W said with a smile, trying to taunt her. Nyx doesn’t bite and instead rolls with it.
“Exactly, I’m a hag compared to you, so do well listen to your elder lest you die.” Her chill response irks her so much.
“Tch…” She stands back up, for the fifth time. The onlookers ughed at her perseverance in both amazement and incredulity, but she never paid them any mind. She took up her fighting stance and made her move before the referee could even give their word.
W spit out the blood pooling in her mouth, straight at Nyx who blocked it with her palm. The white-haired girl rush forward with her knee already poised to strike. Her kick almost connected, which was blocked by the Grey Serpent’s shin. They traded kicks with one another, with the aggressor visibly losing ground.
In contrast to Nyx whose expression is as ft as ever, W looks… alive. Ines had noticed that her hatred of Her Majesty the King seemed to have vanished, and repced it with something akin to adoration. She won’t admit it, but W does look kinda cute being so energetic despite her surroundings’ attention and more than a few choice of words.
“What do you think?” Hoederer stood next to her, doing the same thing she did. They’re probably not the only ones, Ines even believed that Ascalon was gripping her dagger somewhere. She turned her head to her Commander.
“Solid, she is improving. Still as rash and explosive as old W though.”
“Hmm… also happier.”
“Pfft, happy… I don’t know how Her Majesty did it… but that kid is smitten now.”
“If she wasn’t so tardy I would have been forced to learn reading. Oh well, being given a chance to spar with someone one the caliber of Grey Serpent is a good substitute.”
“Like you’re not one to talk, you got your ass handed to you. It was a miracle how the suplex didn’t shatter your spine, a pity. You would be easier to pawn being a cripple.”
“Sure, and you tried to perform a sneak attack which ended up kissing the cold hard floor. Shame, you would look prettier with mud on your face, making that scowl less noticeable with a bit of make-up.” He missed a tint of pink on her face, too focused on watching W tripping Nyx on her feet but failed to capitalize on it.
“Heh, go fuck yourself…. You left out the part I gouged out her left cheek. Being a part of the Elder Race sounds nice huh, got a fatal wound and just shrug them off… It made ordinary folks like us look like peasants.”
“True, but it has always been like this… we are all just the same by the end of the day.”
“Oh wow, here I am with Hoederer the romanticist again… ever tempted to work in those shitty and shifty underground colleges?”
“Can’t say I never wouldn’t that be nice, but oh well…”
Hoederer leaned forward on the railing, he was telegraphing W’s current strikes to what he used to remember. Before the utter mayhem of that incident weeks ago, W relied a lot on using tools, now she is more flexible and creative. Not to say she wasn’t before, but the comparison is like heaven and earth.
“She got better.” Note the Caprinae.
“Plus happier.”
“You’re hell-bent on that, huh?”
“Safe to say that the kid likes her majesty.”
“That’s her choice, none of us have any loyalty. We fight, we got paid, we got fucked, and we got paid, repeat ad nauseam. If she wanna go, then let her be.”
Hoederer just smiled all the way. He is really surprised at how far the two have gone, almost like Ines had become so subconsciously attached to the arsonist-extraordinaire Sarkaz. Now they turned their attention back on the spar.
W unched a one-two set of jabs, both were intercepted and countered when her overextended jabs were locked by Nyx’s palm. She flexed her whole arm to form a haymaker, enough to probably decapitate a human body when supported by enough velocity; something the Grey Serpent never found cking nor wanting.
Their little firebrand has seen death coming her way, but being mercenaries despite being so young tempered her. She surprised her combat mentor by stepping into Nyx’s range, bending her body backward… and headbutted Nyx when her body recoiled beautifully like a coiled spring. It hurts W more than it does Nyx, but that’s all she needs to stagger her.
With her posture broken, the crowds erupted in shocked cheers. The kid improved quickly, and that also tugged a small impressed grin from the corner of the Grey Serpent’s lips. Nyx body was then smmed to the ground, courtesy of her abnormally light body weight, the momentum of W’s tackle, and her broken posture.
Her fist connected with Nyx’s face, prompting the onlookers to cheer again while drawing disbelieving looks from Cordelian PMCs, especially from Maelinda. Sadly, her upper hand was turned upside down with a simple roll to the side, W is now the one being pinned beneath her. The Sarkaz crossed her arms in front of her face; bracing for impact.
The impact indeed came.
A visible indentation nded beside W’s face. Her face paled seeing how deep that was, but Nyx just stood up. She offered the dazed girl a hand, something she took absentmindedly.
“You improved.” Nyx reflexively tried to ruffle her hair, but W jumped back with her arms swatting away the incoming palm. For a brief moment, something is fleeting through her pink-tinted eyes which Ines had understood to be a form of pain. Her shadow rippled, it shook with fright… of what?
‘Curious…’
“… You wanna kill me, you dumb hag…?” Her voice was a notch higher, her breath irregur, and her pupils dited. Nyx’s arms are crossed, giving her prospective challenger a head tilt and an answer.
“Again?” W scoffed, still pretty much shell-shocked that Nyx threw a punch with an intention to kill. Her answer was uttered not with words but with a fighting stance. W briefly gnced to the side, seeing that Theresia smiling in delight watching her performance. A smug expression was etched on her lips.
Ines's face scrunched up, and Hoederer almost ughed seeing it. The man knew better than to stir a hornet nest, but sometimes… he couldn’t help it. Boys will be boys…
“You look real upset just now, jealous much?”
“I’m not.”
“And dishonest.”
“You taught me not to go buddy-buddy with everybody.”
“Fair.”
“… What’s next?”
“Get paid, maybe…”
Several days ter
“I suppose that would be all?” The CO said to Doctor Kal’tsit, that the Cordelian were hauling up their members and started forming a column to leave the ndship. After weeks, they finally reached a spot where they would avoid detection. The Feline nodded with her hand offering a handshake. The Kuranta reciprocates while Theresia is watching from the side.
“Indeed, Cordelia has been a valuable colborator with Babel. Your company's undivided support has been vital in ensuring non-combatants don’t have to suffer through the winter.”
“You don’t have to thank us, Good Doctor. We are just doing our job.”
“Which was invaluable, motives rarely come into the equation when merits are concerned.”
“Heh, I suppose that’s true.”
Ascalon is never far from Theresia’s side, but she appears to be truly worried about something. She has her mind firmly focused on a certain someone who had left first abruptly, the VTOL had been going ahead on a supposedly urgent situation. Her King noticed it, she put her palm on her hand; making her jump a little.
“Don’t be so tense, rex a little~.”
“… My apologies, The Grey Serpent is nowhere in sight… I’m just worried about the potential implication.”
“You need to ease up a little more, won’t you? Pretty please?”
“I’ll try, Your Majesty.” While they have their little chat, W is watching from the shadow. Surprisingly, Amiya stands beside her, the usually prickly girl doesn’t seem to mind the Cautus all that much. Ines and Hoederer could also be seen not too far, they are discussing with their fellow mercenaries about what needs to be done next. Some elected to stay, others will follow them. Come hell or high water. A truly tranquil scene…
-
-
-
-
The same couldn’t be said with Nyx, her face is a mess, and telltale tears were painted beneath her face. Tools were bent, supplies were scattered, drug vials were smashed, and even bdes and weaponry were strewn about near the armory. Conrad has been hard at work in scrapping the barrel for any usable personnel, leaving Nyx to wallow alone.
“What was that girl thinking?” Her voice is hoarse, dispirited, resigned, and just so done with the world. When the Babel’s ndship finally reached a point where her communication strobes and hidden links finally being usable, an urgent message came from Wdirosa.
Her agent that was embedded to safeguard the vilge intercepted a piece of truly damning information. She thought that the insider agent, one of her best, being embedded in the vilge would prevent espionage. While they did so, they also uncovered an awful truth.
[Margaret Nearl has left the Adeptus, reasons unknown. Zofia was suspected of being complicit in staying quiet. Lady Nelka Ramona doesn’t appear to be aware of this.] Nyx knows what will happen next.
Margaret had gained enough popurity by the border nobles, it is not an exaggeration to say that she is like the Tenebrous Hero but less politically savvy. Any attempt to derail her would anger those who support her aspirations but not the person herself.
Handled crudely, a civil war would erupt. Margaret probably wanted to win so she could show the despairing general popuce being forced to fend for themselves and the Knights being wronged by K.G.C.C. to see some measure of justice.
If only it would be so easy, but Nyx had now realized that there is indeed power bigger than herself, K.G.C.C. and her biggest saving grace is whoever they are not taking her seriously. The civil war would put her Dad and Lina in the crossfire too. Her fame wouldn’t do much if hated being the lingua franca, she couldn’t be everywhere at the same time.
No matter where she sees it, Kazimierz is still reeling from the war, the scorched earth tactic with Originium weaponry is even harder to solve. This piece of damnable rock is genuinely harder to threaten than nuclear radiation back in many of her old lives. Nelka had also informed her how separatists and ultra-conservative knights have been gathering power bases. It would be one hell of a recipe for manmade catastrophe… and we had not even touched the point about foreign intervention.
Forceful usurpation of K.G.C.C. would mean nothing. If anything, she is going to see an even bigger mayhem. Foreign interest would also plummet, isoting the nation where the Wdirosan, Lina, Immanuel, the Nearls, and even Margaret herself resided… Ursus Emperor appears to be powerless, so intervention would happen. Victoria would take every excuse it could to expand, while Leithanien and Columbia would try to py the good guys… She is so lost.
Then she could … coax those in power to agree and support Margaret. She is beautiful… she knows it… it doesn’t matter anymore, but that idea was always denied by her love for someone she adored. That’s when a disgust so vile forced itself through her throat. She had vomited on the spot forever considering that idea as legitimate. Such a wretched pile of bile; like what she is.
A radical one is also on the table; assassination of key figures… but would she do that? She would be killing more people as colteral, that’s true. What is truer would be the undeniable fact that she will rob even more innocent children of their parents, they don’t deserve to suffer. The current state where K.G.C.C. still needs to solidify its footing after Degenbrecher’s departure meant whoever was behind them would take drastic measures.
Nyx trained Margaret to be the finest knight there could ever be; not a politician. Margaret simply doesn’t cut it, she would be eaten alive. The dumb girl is too good for her own sake, she would be taken advantage of. She could protect her, but at that point, the civil war would be a lot worse and the reconstruction would just destroy every credibility.
The most logical way to prevent war… is Margaret’s death, and Nyx being used as a scapegoat. That way it would confuse everyone, making the Wdirosan doubt her, the Silvernce to despise her… and for M?ynar to hate her.
That is not something she would consider even an idea… and there are options.
Maybe if she begged and groveled on her knees to Margaret, she would listen. Yet she knows that girl like the back of her hand, so stubborn like her mother; one of her best friends in this life. Nyx turned her long-range terminal back on, she needed to set and choose her pieces. This would no doubt be an understandably colossal level of fuckery in the making.
The consequences would be dire and a lot of people would regard her as an unwanted pyer… maybe she could spin even that around… interesting.
‘So be it…’
“I’m sorry Lina, I’m so sorry… This is the only way for Kazimierz to be truly intact. Kiril would know the right way to spare this nation from the horrors of civil war… and Mwi…”
‘God… here I go dictating someone’s choice else again… I’m such a shitty hypocrite…’ Inhaling deeply, she starts plotting her scheme into the upcoming game. Just like a serpent’s venom, the very source of either a poison or a medicine.
‘I’m sorry Mwi… please forgive me…’
“Malicious compliance it is then…” Dialing some old friends, accomplices, and even nemeses, she starts to intrude in earnest.
“Yeah it is me, wanna gamble? What for, you ask? Well… how does the future sound? Yeah, I’m a vixen and femme fatale, a piece of shit most of the time; all true. Indeed… welcome aboard.”
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author whose life had turned into hell. Still, I’ll do my best.
Ho boy… things had escated and her mind was still in tatters. Let’s just hope she won’t explode.
Update as usual.
Ciao
