After speaking with Sigurd, Morrigan went back to her quarters and created files on each prisoner before informing the brig crew to transfer the first person to an interrogation room.

  She found Xol waiting for her in front of the interrogation room, waiting patiently before bowing his head as she approached.

  “Chieftain, I have brought the first one,” Xol’s deep, gravelly voice reached her ear, his tone ever-filled with a sense of duty and pride.

  She cocked her head to the side in curiosity, having realized that he had not been hovering menacingly by her side since they originally returned from the battle. “You know, I rarely go this long without seeing you around,” Morrigan pointed out sarcastically, ignoring the fact that he had some how known she would be there.

  Xol gave her a firm nod before kneeling, “Yes… H?’tet required my assistance…” he informed her, refusing to look up from his bowed position.

  “Everyone is acting weird today…” she noted to herself as anxiety creeped up her spine. She shivered before shaking her head, “What did he need help with? It seems like you two are hiding something.”

  Xol refused to look up or rise from his position however, as obedient as ever, he answered her, “H?’tet is honorable warrior but requested I take him to your human doctor…”

  Morrigan’s eyebrows raised in surprise as her jaw nearly hit the floor, “What’s going on? Why has no one said anything to me?!”

  Xol lowered himself slightly, as if ashamed, “Injury was nothing and you were unwell after battle, my chieftain. It is something your doctor calls a… s-rain… to his leg,” he informed her sharply though he struggled to find an acceptable alternative to the word used.

  Morrigan’s heart sank at the reminder of how she had acted, even more so that H?’tet and Xol couldn’t approach her with the problem. She knew the Marmuro’k couldn’t pronounce the consonant P, so it was clear to her that H?’tet had sprained part of his leg, likely his ankle.

  “Xol, no one should feel they can’t say anything to me, I don’t care how tired I am… please get off the floor, this is unnecessary,” she snapped, getting tired of his subservient behavior.

  Xol grunted as if not approving of the request but obeyed either way as he pushed himself off the floor. She looked up into his eyes as she continued, “Seriously though, you shouldn’t keep anything from me.”

  Xol let out a low hum as he considered her words before giving her a sharp nod, “as you wish, Chieftain Mirina Sor.”

  Xol reverting to using the name he had given her made her roll her eyes though it brought the slightest sense of normalcy back into her life, “There’s the Xol I know,” she commented with a sly smirk.

  Ending the conversation, Morrigan opened the door to only to feel Xol looming behind her as if to make sure she wouldn’t lock him out. “Now everything is feeling as it should,” she thought with a subtle shake of her head before stepping inside to find her first interview, an Egyptian woman by the name of Ebony Salah.

  It was initially hard for Morrigan to tell who the woman was afraid of more, her or Xol, the menacing eight-foot reptilian creature that blocked the only door to the cold, metal room that held nothing but two chairs and a steel table in which her hands had been cuffed to.

  “You… you’re h-her,” the woman stuttered in fear as Morrigan sat down across from her, the cause of her fear quite apparent as her eyes were locked onto Morrigan.

  Morrigan however, was unsure how to feel about that reaction. Part of her was hurt by the woman’s reaction but at the same time, her infamy spreading across the Federation would serve the Inquisition’s purpose and hopefully keep the Federation in line, at least, that is what she wanted to believe.

  Morrigan cleared her throat as she looked at the now pale woman, playing aloof as she cocked her head in curiosity, “And who is it you think I am?” she asked, her tone soft with a touch of authority.

  Ebony looked away, attempting to shrink in the chair that had been bolted to the floor, “I saw you… t-that was you on the prison…what you did.”

  Morrigan went to speak before Ebony cut her off, “the Rose. The Scourge of Mars…” she stated her recognized titles before muttering “monster” under her breath.

  Morrigan heard the word though which caused her to lean back biting her tongue sharply. Her irritation spiked into anger at the word as one of her new fangs pierced her tongue, the warm blood flooding her mouth distracting her from her aggravation as she froze, swallowing the blood and waiting for her tongue to heal.

  Morrigan looked at the woman who did her best to keep from shaking with a sigh before she sighed, “You look at me as if I’m the greater evil, yet you served the largest war machine in this galaxy.”

  Ebony’s eyes darted to Morrigan, “You killed hundreds of thousands of people!” she said as if instinctually.

  Morrigan’s fist slammed into the steel table with an ear-splitting resonance as her hand and wrist warped the metal it touched, “And how many did they kill as they bombarded one of the labor prisons!” she stated in sharp aggression.

  Ebony jumped, doing her best to pull away from Morrigan with a whimper, “But they were prisoners…”

  Crimson energy crackled as Morrigan jumped upright, her chair flying back into the wall as she forcefully leaned across the table, “That was my father!” she growled in a primal tone, resisting the urge to rip the woman’s head of her shoulders, “How many have they killed? How many have you? Look at me!” she snapped loudly as a spectral claw seized Ebony around the throat and jaw, forcing her to look in her direction.

  Ebony cried out and whimpered as she tried to speak only to mutter incoherently as the smell of piss hit Morrigan’s nostrils.

  She growled before releasing Ebony who began crying, realizing that she went to far and only solidified the woman’s view of her.

  “Don’t try and believe they’re better than me; unlike them, I actually care about the lives I’ve taken…” Morrigan’s tone was hollow as she set the chair upright and took her seat again.

  The woman didn’t stop silently crying as settled herself and unlocked the data-slate on the table, “They don't care, Ebony Salah. I passed out from overexertion that day… but the first thing I asked when I woke was, how many did I kill? Yet, they will kill as many as necessary to get what they want-as long as it serves their purpose. Much like you…”

  Ebony focused on stifling her cry as she focused on Morrigan,, forcing herself to meet the terrifying woman in her dark red eyes, which was different than the description she read.

  “I am aware that you, Taylor and everyone else with you are part of a death squad, expendable tools forced to serve until you die with no options to escape your fate, to actually live your own life…” Morrigan paused with a sigh before lifting her shoulders stoically, “I on the other hand, don’t believe in such things. However, I could easily judge your crimes against every species of the galaxy and end your life now or I could also turn you over to the Marmuro’k seeing as they are your latest victims,” Morrigan stated before she looked to Xol.

  “Xol, what will your people do with the prisoners aboard the Cruiser?” she asked.

  Xol lifted his chin as he looked directly at his chieftain, “Made to fight in the arena, until none are left,” he answered in Terran so the prisoner could understand.

  Impressively, Ebony became even paler, her silent tears halting in terror at the judgement being rendered against her as Morrigan focused back on her, “There is a third option though… instead of being sentenced to death of any kind or attempting to run from the Federation; you can serve the Inquisition.”

  “W-what do you mean?” Ebony asked.

  Morrigan looked at her notes on the data-slate, “Information gathered states that you are the team leader as well as an expert hacker, both roles you took great pride in. That leads me to believe your knowledge of the Federation is a bit higher than the rest of your team which would be very useful to me. Sister assessed your skills and said your efficiency is quite remarkable for only being human,” Morrigan looked up from her notes, “I can offer you a chance at freedom, all of you. You’ll be under my command and under tight scrutiny however, once this war ends, you can do whatever you like.”

  Ebony’s face scrunched in confusion, “How is that any different than a death squad?”

  Interlacing her fingers, Morrigan nodded in understanding, “Because unlike the Federation, you would only serve until the war ends. After that, I don’t care what you do or where you go, but until then, you will have to follow orders, be under guard and honestly, if you manage to prove trustworthy and dedicated to stopping the Federation, you may even have some freedoms within reason.”

  Morrigan was working on selling the opportunity to get the enemy to switch sides. Given that the Federation condemned them to death, offering the chance at survival was a very high reward for switching any loyalties they may have. For those who do say yes, she hoped to show just how much good the Inquisition did for everyone and how they held everyone accountable for their actions, as hypocritical as it sounded seeing as her deal meant overlooking all the bad things each member of the death squad had done.

  In the end, Ebony cautiously accepted the offer, the need for survival winning against her prejudices and was sent escorted to a shower before returned to the brig. Morrigan moved to a different room while the recent one was cleaned while Xol fetched the next prisoner, Nora’s sister, Stephanie.

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  Morrigan waited for a long moment before the room door flew open, Xol lugging a struggling Stephanie over his shoulder as he knelt through the doorway. Morrigan could tell that the smack to the head against the door frame was intentional on Xol's part as he roughly planted her onto the chair and hooked the heavy chain bolted to the table onto her handcuffs.

  Stephanie continued to struggle against the chain before taking notice of her surroundings as well as Morrigan patiently waiting for her to calm down.

  After a few moments, Stephanie’s breathing steadied as she shifted in her seat, regaining her composure.

  “She is just like your mate, her kin,” Xol stated in annoyance.

  Morrigan snorted as she opened her relevant notes, still surprised Sigurd managed to get as much information as he did. It turned out, Sigurd’s grandmother was deaf and learned the past form of sign language when he was young but supposedly, much like spoken language, the sign language Stephanie used was similar to having a different dialect.

  “You know, I always wanted to meet you as Nora’s older sister but when she originally told me what happened…” Morrigan paused as Stephanie glared at her, “Well, we both thought you were dead.” Morrigan finished reading the notes before she switched to a word processing program on her data-slate and sliding it between them.

  Stephanie immediately began typing, “Why I am here?”

  Morrigan found that to be a reasonable question as she leaned back and studied the woman, her long dreads encapsulating a face that looked so much like Nora’s with the same piercing blue eyes.

  “Frankly, it’s a miracle I don't hate you even if I feel like I should,” she mentioned as she recalled how Sigurd found out that Stephanie and Taylor were together. As crazy as the man is, Sigurd seemed to be a really good interrogator.

  “Fact of the matter is, you're still Nora’s sister, Stephanie, and I know she doesn’t want you dead. For her sake, I’m trying to be forgiving,” Morrigan added as she fidgeting her fingers in her lap. The tension in her nerves were pushing her to be impulsive however, she tried as hard as she could to fight her desire to finish the job Nora started.

  “Not for his sake?” Stephanie typed before giving her an inquiring look. Morrigan knew the look, it was someone that was trying to instigate and feel as if they had the upper hand.

  Morrigan ground her teeth as she clenched her fists out of view, “I am aware… that doesn’t matter, Stephanie. What matters to me is whether or not you can behave yourself,” her words causing a look of surprised confusion on her face.

  “Look, I'll just get straight to the point; I am offering each member of your team the opportunity to switch sides. I know what you all are and I’m giving you the opportunity to make amends for what the Federation made you do by serving the Inquisition. Follow my orders, cause no problems and hopefully at some point when this war ends, we’ll all be alive to go our separate way,” Morrigan said firmly, holding back as much irritation as possible.

  She watched Stephanie sit there with a surprised expression; her blonde eyebrows raised perpetually as she could tell that Stephanie was calculating what she said in her mind.

  After a long moment, Stephanie typed, “Are you really as badass as they say?”

  The question confused Morrigan however, she figured she could use the opportunity to turn Stephanie’s game around on her, “Well, I am dating Nora, so I kind of have to be.”

  Stephanie snorted as she rolled her eyes, “No, that just means your crazy for loving that psychopath,” her mannerism punctuating hostile sarcasm.

  Crimson claws silently enveloped her hands underneath the table, her abilities silently responding to her growing anger and she let out a long, steady breath, “Yes, I do love your sister. She may be a bit wild but she’s actually a wonderful woman. Sure, she’s vulgar, enjoys annoying people and a bit scatter brained but she’s also strong, determined and one of the kindest women I have ever met,” Morrigan paused as she leaned forward, secretly ready to strike, “If you would just get to know her instead of holding a grudge, even as one as relevant as yours, you may just find out what a wonderful woman your sister became, what she’s gone through to get to where she is now… then maybe, just maybe, you’d be able to remember what it meant to actually have family.”

  Morrigan knew she was talking out of her ass through most of her speech. Granted, she did love Nora and find her amazing, but she knew this grudge against her would lead to her killing Stephanie. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew Nora would forgive her but Taylor likely wouldn’t.

  It was clear to her that they both moved on in a way, miraculously by getting involved with sisters which was astronomically improbable, but she was the reason Taylor was stuck on a Federation death squad, why his life was on the chopping block and doomed to never live a real life anymore. All she could do was sympathize and hope, as much as she hated it, that Stephanie gave him some comfort in his life.

  At the same time, the woman tried to dangle him in front of her as if she had taken him away, when it was truly her own actions that led up to the present situation. However, all she could do is try to respect the passage of time and look past everything.

  Stephanie leaned back in her seat in surprise once more, taken aback by what Morrigan had said as her mouth twitched. Morrigan could see that she tried to hide a smirk as if trying to refrain from smiling before Stephanie looked down into her own lap, hiding her face from view. Her fingers though, tapped away on the screen.

  “Fair enough. I'll behave but I'm not ready to forgive her. My chainblade is yours to command,” she typed out before raising her head to look at Xol. She rattled the chain to signify she was ready to be taken back to the brig as Xol looked to Morrigan.

  She could see that something she said struck deep as Stephanie’s entire demeanor changed. Instead of obstinate defiance, she appeared to be civilly obedient and relaxed as she waited to be escorted. What or why was a mystery as she didn’t even manage to fully explain what joining the Inquisition would entail.

  Morrigan dispelled her power and leaned back in her seat to relax as she gave Xol a nod. Xol obediently stepped forward and unhooked the cuffs, hauling the woman up only for her to hold a finger up and reaching for the data-slate again. Morrigan had to hold a hand up quickly to keep Xol from attacking the woman as she watched her quickly type a message and sliding it towards her before giving Morrigan an uncertain, thin-lipped smile and letting Xol walk her out.

  “I can see why he obsessed about you for so long…” was the message typed out on the screen. Morrigan’s heart clenched painfully at the realization that Taylor had to have held on to her for a long time. It made her wonder how much pain she put him through, what it was he had to endure just to survive her mistakes all because he loved her all those years ago.

  Morrigan shoved her emotions to the back by the time Xol brought in her next interview, the process of speaking to each member turned out to be a unique experience after realizing that their team was just as rag tag as her own.

  To her surprise, everyone but Ebony had a different reason to join her side than just survival.

  Jackson Balasong, the combat medic, saw a huge opportunity to study both Marmuro’k and Eskarii physiology and expand his medical knowledge. While Aleksei Rhadamov, their demolition specialist and chemical engineer, was solely content with being given the opportunity to continue to blow things up. His fascination with the story of her using a Super-Class starship engine to cause wide spread devastation on Mars, albeit accidentally, was unnerving given the fact that the man had been born on Mars. Henry McFadden, the team sniper, however, was the oddest one aside from Stephanie, telling her that he wanted revenge against the Federation for taking away a life of luxury from him.

  The only one left was who she had been pushing off as long as possible, Taylor. Morrigan’s nerves were on edge as she waited for Xol to escort him to the interrogation room, only to jump as the door opened and both of them stepped inside.

  As Xol went to chain him to the table, Morrigan raised her hand stopping him, “That won’t be necessary, Xol.” Her faithful guardian eyed her intently as if he wanted to argue it however, he chose to keep quiet as he moved back to guard the door.

  Morrigan and Taylor stared at each other in awkward silence, as if both were attempting to formulate something to say before Taylor broke the silence.

  “Hi,” he said with embarrassed levity, obvious that he felt how awkward the situation was though the smile on his face told her just how relieved he was to see her.

  Morrigan couldn't deny how weird the situation felt, so many years since they last saw each other only to end up at the opposite sides of a metal table. “How have you been?” she asked.

  Taylor chuckled and looked at the cuffs around his wrist, the humor in his brown eyes real, “Could be worse I suppose.”

  She studied his face, seeing just how much older he looked now, more rugged and worm. She could also see that the military life made him larger, battle wounds scarring the dense skin of his exposed arms. She could barely see the young man she one knew.

  “You know, I spoke your mom, and Jen… and that Eskarii girl you used to talk about,” he stated nervously.

  Morrigan smiled at the reminder of her family, “Yeah, I saw them not too long ago. On the Void Star shortly after graduating and earning my title as Inquisitor, but Mo’Emori was called home and I had to set out to Tik’Taq’To… Jen’s pregnant,” she rambled with the same level of nervousness.

  Taylor chuckled at that, “Really?” he asked with complete surprise, “Wow, that’s awesome, I’m happy for her.”

  Morrigan sighed blissfully at that, “Yeah, Torvil however, panicked like a typical man. I guess it’s a male thing rather just a human thing,” she mused.

  They both laughed lightly as they both pictured that situation, Morrigan having a clear memory of what happened.

  “So, Inquisitor huh? That’s a fancy title. Is this ship, like, yours?” he asked looking around the room.

  Morrigan let a long sigh blow out her nose, shaking her head at the question, “Taylor… I’m sorry,” she said as she couldn’t keep her regret from showing on her face.

  Taylor gave her a confused look, “For what? I mean if it’s about your girlfriend then… well, I need to tell you…”

  Morrigan cut him off though, “I know about Stephanie, and it’s not that…” she watched the split reaction of further confusion mixed with worried surprise as he waited for her to elaborate. “I’m the reason you were picked. There is a colonel that goes by the name Sanders who wanted revenge against me. You and the eight other kids were chosen all because he wanted me, because the cop I killed three years prior was his nephew…”

  Taylor’s brows furrowed as he struggled to comprehend what he was hearing, “But that… I mean, that’s not your fault, Mori. Besides, I don’t know if you were aware but someone took over the entire upper echelon of the Federation. This Lord Commander Amaranthe…”

  “Oh, I know who that sick fuck is,” she snapped, her memories of the man rushing through her mind, “That psychopath tortured me, all before Sanders ordered me to be shipped off to a mining colony,” she bit out furiously, crimson energy crackling across her shoulders which caused Taylor to lean back.

  “What happened to you?” he asked cautiously even though his words were filled with worry.

  Morrigan let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down before looking at Taylor again, “You go first… I want to know what happened to you since graduation,” she demanded, forcing herself back into a symbol of authority.

  Taylor saw the shift in her demeanor as she sat up straight which made him question how much she had changed as well, “Well… alright,” he said before leaning against the table.

  Taylor spent an hour and a half retelling his story from his tour to the middle east to being court martialed, eventually to being placed in Master Chief Rosaline’s death squad. Morrigan only interrupted him to get a description before informing him that the woman was very much dead by her own hands.

  He finished the story about the missions his team had been given, lightly touching on her relationship with Stephanie to their current predicament. All the while, Morrigan took notes and listened carefully, fully absorbing the consequences of her past actions.

  Reluctantly, Morrigan told him her story, purposefully omitting or twisting the truth to hide a lot of bad things she experienced over the last several years, skipping over her experience at Castile V and spending more time talking about the Inquisition more than anything. She even spent a half hour speaking about how wonderful Tik’Taq’To was, and the intriguing hierarchy of the Marmuro’k before Sister interrupted her through a hidden speaker within the room.

  “Mori, your presence is requested on the bridge.” Sister stated.

  Morrigan looked around the room unable to find the intercom, “Is it important? I’m in the middle of my last interview,” she inquired with subtle annoyance.

  “I believe it requires your immediate attention,” Sister stated factually.

  Morrigan sighed and looked at Taylor, “Sorry, I gotta go. Once this is taken care of I will schedule your team’s integration into the Archangel crew…” She then turned to Xol and nodded at him before stepping out of the room, leaving Xol to handle Taylor as she made her way to the bridge.