Prologue…
2:00 am. Southern Verci, Mars… eight years after the Agon disaster.
Three minutes before angels took my mother, she made me promise her a very important promise. A promise that is almost impossible to keep, a promise that should never be made, but she did say in her last whisper,
"A promise made, a promise kept…"
And it was that very promise that is the reason I'm here. I open the door, my seven year old daughter sleeping calmly in her bed, the cat silently resting its white head against her smooth-as-silk brown hair. I look at her in despair however, because I made a promise to myself, a promise I regret – That's why I'm here. I continue watching her sleep, quiet breathing and crickets chirping. I grip my knife harder and think,
Why does a promise made have to be kept?
A promise is a promise, I honor my promises. So the kindness of the heart, I leave behind. I leave a lotus flower comb and a pink leather collar. My wolf pack howls, now is the call for heart. I open her window; a light gust of wind comes in, making a silk hair rise and dance with pace and rhythm. I look at the bright moon reflecting on the whole night sky looking down upon us with a thousand pretty and bright eyes. Somewhere, my mother is watching me; she decides right from wrong, good from bad, I wish she would stop watching… I begin to pull my leg over the window-
"Are you Santa Claus?"
I look back; my daughter was wide awake, her cat resting in her arms. I look at myself in her mirror; my small beard reflecting off the bright moonlight as my brown trench coat rests on the windowsill. I hop off and walk over to her side- I sit on the bed.
"Did you get me a pony?" she asks,
I rest my hand on her shoulder, "No I didn't, and I got you something really special,"
"What is it?" she asks, "Is it a doll? Mommy doesn't allow me to have them anymore,"
I wish I could've given you everything I could… I say in my mind.
"Hey, go to sleep," I whisper, "I'll put everything you want in your dreams, a pony, a doll, a whole house," I pat her on the head.
"Okay then," She says.
I give her another pat on the head and head for the window. I sheathe my knife.
"Goodnight Santa," she whispers,
"Goodnight, Sarah," I whisper.
I jump out the window; landing hard on my boots. I wish I said something, something of a hint that let her know the truth, but I'm too much of a coward, a stupid shit coward, a coward that is part of a lonely life – A life that involves killing people. I'm a sniper, my laser rifle cuts down life like a scalpel; a very picky and sharp scalpel. A scalpel that has been taking lives since the end of the Agon Wars.
The Agon Disaster was a horrible nuclear accident, killing three million innocent people- the worst nuclear incident since Chernobyl on Earth one hundred and twenty years ago. After the Agon, a great and bloody civil war took place, the red sands only getting redder and redder. Four years later, a man stood up, a man who would 'end the war' by oppressing the weak and inducing the strong- Aeris Hath. Since then, the world has been ruled by a dark faction that calls itself, "The OMNI," but a dark faction always has an oppressor- Us, The rebels. We fight for what we believe, what we know is right. The OMNI are all blind, all stupid. They see us as simpletons, lowly cockroaches. This war isn't a fair war, it's a damn bloodbath. They don't take heretics as prisoners; we are hunted, executed publicly to make an example. Acid baths and Fire Pits, but those are just the lower executions. Nothings worse than getting eaten alive by Mars Piranhas; they begin with the feet, working slowly and painfully to the head.
I walk onwards down the road, streetlights and rainstorms brightening up my path. I never wanted to be here, but Earth wasn't destined to live forever. Earth was headed into a black-hole, everybody wanted to leave, and everybody almost did.
By the time we learned of the black-hole, Designated XX7, We had over forty eight ships, each ship housing five million people. We left hours before Earth entered, only the first thirty two ships made it off earth, my mother and father being on shuttle nineteen. Three years after they left earth, a horrible virus plagued ships three through ten; turning the entire passenger manifest and crew into mindless mutants- there were no survivors. A year after that, the ships got struck by a large asteroid storm. Ship 1 was destroyed in seconds; ships seventeen, fourteen and thirteen were destroyed. The rest except ship two were damaged. One and a half year later shuttle two decompressed. Three months later the ships finally reached Colony Z4a, the only colony at that time to be on red sand.
If god exists, why does he just sit there and watch us die?
That question has stuck on me since the demise of my loving wife, Suki. She had the most beautiful face and shiniest brown hair, mint green eyes and warmest smile. She was killed in an assassination by a DEK spy, along with her sister and brother. I still hold that knife, that spy screamed like a girl.
"Hey, what are you doing out so late?" Female, six o'clock.
I looked back. There stood Vex, her black hair hidden by her father's coat. She was rarely seen without it- that along with her red eyes that always looked green from a distance and her fifteen-aged look. She was a twelve year old girl, but one of the best shots I'd ever seen. There's a rumor that she killed three-for-one at over two-hundred and fifty yards, seven mile per hour winds, with her left hand (because her right held a grenade,) and without scoping. From what I've seen of her, I believe it. She has pulled my ass out of situations I'd never thought to make out alive. However, she can be very sensitive; I've seen her cry at least twelve times in combat.
"Just taking a leisure stroll through some nice quiet neighborhoods, want to join?" I reply.
"That would be nice," she said.
We continued walking down the street, taking a right turn onto an avenue. We stopped for a quick bathroom break she needed, and then carried onwards. I decided I was going to take her out for target practice tomorrow. Keep it a surprise however, she does horribly if she goes out training anxious or excited.
"Stop," she said as she pulled up her sniper rifle, "forty-five yards, eleven o'clock, three soldiers, rifles, stuns, one light machine gun and one dog. What's the game-plan on this one?"
I assess the situation and think a second,
That building should provide perfect cover for her; I should pull up hugging the walls. She takes out the dog, I come up and slit that guy's throat and she pulls up for another two-for-one… Whoa, those cars seem suspiciously close…
"Pull your scope on the yellow car at one o'clock." I command.
"Ok, yeah, I see a man… he appears drunk, possibly asleep, rocket launcher." She says.
I hope that guys asleep, that rocket could destroy her vantage point; she should take him out first then. Ill sneak up hugging the wall and Vex will kill rocket then the dog. I'll come up under the confusion and kill the closest guard and the one to the left of him, Vex will take the last shot.
I inform her of the plan and direct her to the 'birds nest,' a small ruined building with a window covering the street. I pull out my pistol and add the silencer, pull my hood to cover my face, then head into position; waiting for her signal. I wait for at least another three minutes, then,
Coo, Cooo, Cooo, Coo.
I begin to silently creep alongside the wall, getting close enough to hear them speak. I hear a cough and I see the yellow cars window smash. Then, I see the dog go down in a mist of red. I pull out my knife and stab the closest guy in the back of the neck, his vertebrae crushed inwards in a pool of blood. I pull his body over in front of me and shoot the guy to the left; the bullet hits him dead in the face. Before the last guy can pull out his pistol, a hole appears in his head. I police the weapons and ammo, and head back to her building. I stare up at the stars for a brief moment…
Mom, if you're watching me, I want you to watch my daughter instead. She deserves a better life than the one she already lives in… and if you talk to her in her dreams tell her, "Happy Birthday." I love you.