Lt Colonel Thomas Hill considered himself a survivor. Joining the Confederate Marines as an 2nd lieutenant he'd managed to work his way up to Captain before Tarsonis. He'd managed to survive the harsh transition from Confederate to Dominion, being the highest ranked surviving officer in your Battalion did wonders for your career. Over the last 4 years he'd continued to shoot up through the ranks, eventually taking over the 13th Marine Division. They'd just finished a tour of the Tridek system, frightening the local yokels into submission.
Amazing what a few Siege Tank shells could do to a town.
Last night he'd attended a welcoming party for his unit, the elite of Korhal were there, even the Prince had stopped by and shook his hand. It had started to drag long though, until she showed up. Black hair, bright blue eyes and quite the figure, she'd arrived late for some reason or another, he hadn't bothered to remember. As luck would have it, she seemed to be in a hurry to make up for being late. They flirted and it wasn't long before he'd offered to take her to his place, an apartment in one of the planet's most expensive complexes. Her dress hadn't survived the trip to the bedroom, their actions frantic with lust.
That was the last thing he remembered. Now he was in his undershirt and underwear, strapped to a chair facing the living room wall. He could hear water running in the bathroom and the sound of someone moving in his bedroom. A male's voice. "Look, I'm just saying the mindscrew is what did him in. I don't care if the dress helped, ultimately you cheated."
His date's voice responded, light with amusement. "You bet that I couldn't get him alone in under an hour, you never said I couldn't use my abilities. In fact, I think I can chalk them up as natural talents."
What was her name? Melissa or something like that?
"Look, Miranda I still say you cheated. I'm not giving up something as important as my Tauren Totem for an bet. Besides, it's not like you haven't taken most of my collection anyway."
"Brandon, just give it to me already. If you want me to stop taking them, stopping making bad bets or better yet don't bet them at all."
The 2 voices got closer, coming out of the back part of the apartment before stopping right in front of him. A pair of firm hands picked up the chair and turned it around. Miranda was sitting on a small chair he used for guests, her hair tied back and dressed as one would expect one of the elite to dress for casual occasions. The male, Brandon, was dressed in overalls, 'Augustgrad Plumbing Service' emblazoned on the back. "We'll talk about it later, our host is awake."
The woman turned to him, her eyes which once seemed so full of lust were now cold, reminding him of a ghost he'd once seen without a mask. "Ah Thomas, glad you're finally awake. I was afraid I'd hit your brain a bit too hard."
His lips were suddenly dry as he responded. "Who are you?"
This time it was the male who responded. "Well, that doesn't matter because you won't remember this conversation in 10 minutes. Blue."
"What?" Thomas knew his voice was incredulous.
"Green, orange, 7, yellow, 9, 4, a pink Hydralisk doing the worm, the code to the door in Area 15."
"What are you talking about?" His heart sank as the male grinned. "I've got it, he's all yours."
She came over and leaned in front of him, her hands on his head, making him look directly into eyes, the light blue seeming to give off a faint glow. "It's ok, it's all ok. You're going to go to sleep when I go and when you wake up, you won't remember anything since arriving on Korhal. You're going to be confused, stumble into work and make a final mistake that gets you killed. It's all ok."
Yes, it was all ok. His eyes began to close, the last sensation he felt was that of his wrists being freed.
{[-]}
So that was my first chapter of Shadow of a doubt, a story that's been kicking around in my head for awhile. Please review, they feed my soul.
If you're a fan of XCOM: In Remembrance I'm sorry for not updating in so long, I lost my notebook so i have to rebuild it all from scratch.