Chapter 1: Call to Live
In the elevator, Ovosh was a body among many. Not a word was spoken to the other occupants. The same blank stare covered all of their faces, filled with contemplation on their day's tasks. Not a single thought occurred as to why they were doing what they were doing, it was simply the way things were. It was dangerous, to consider "why" instead of "what". It lead to even more volatile perspectives, perspectives that the demons and barbarians of the unaligned systems held. Such an individual who held these thoughts close to their heart was useless, and liable for termination.
The gray, cold, precise mechanics of the elevator hissed to a halt, and opened up. The auditorium was large, open, allowing the citizens a grand view of the skyline of their city. The city's design was logical, precise and utilitarian; each part fit exactly where it needed to. No space was wasted, no building was larger than it ever needed to be. No skyscraper reached higher than what the Empire required. Everything was in balance, in perfect harmony. The hall of the city was large simply because a large area was essential so that many people could gather and witness the wisdom of their Emperor.
Ovosh found her place among the crowd, which was lined up in large blocks, forming straight lines and rows. Even the diagonals of these regulated square blocks of humanity were flawless. In her place, Ovosh was a dot, a piece in a grand formation.
Surrounding them, also in formation, were some of the local military, in full uniform. Their military jackets were steel gray, the helmets they wore led one to question whether a human being breathed through the air filters appended to them. Creases were nonexistent, the shoulders of the jackets were proudly angled, broad, and their black boots were devoid of smudges. No visible weapons could be found on these personnel. Since the tumultuous old days, the human body itself was a formidable weapon.
A whistle was heard, and immediately, Ovosh's spine, along with those of her fellow citizens', stiffened and straightened in response to it. There was a clearing in the middle of the formation of humanity, with a white podium standing proudly in the middle. It was clearly hiding some hidden mechanisms of an electronic nature within its divine exterior. A soldier maneuvered through the crowd, and made his way up to this podium. He was clearly a commander, for his jacket had several additional dark gray sashes going from his left shoulder down to his right hip. His voice carried throughout the room, for he had a small microphone in his hand that allowed him to transmit what he said into the surrounding speaker system of the hall.
"Citizens, you are ordered to give your full attention. Our most powerful and wise Emperor is about to impart words upon us."
With that, he retreated, and gave his full attention to a specter that was forming above the podium. Blue light emitted from the device, projecting an image of a hooded figure. While the holographic image was in blue-scale, many could tell that the hood the man wore was immaculate white. And every one recognized the mask that their Emperor wore, as his cold piercing gaze seemed to fill the room with his serene presence.
"Loyal citizens, of our great, Galactic Terran Empire. We stand as a beacon of order, in chaotic times. From the ashes of the demons of old, I built this Empire to display humanity's might to the denizens, heretics, and pagans of the galaxy. The once mighty alien forces, who viewed our blue world as nothing but commerce, now cower in fear of terra's power. The heretics, who rejected our enlightened teachings now slither and sulk in an unregulated chaotic mess, where they fight each other, as much as us."
The man's voice began increasing in intensity, and the crowd gravitated towards their Emperor, his mere words filling them with energy.
"I tell you! Who has the might to stand against us? The demons of the Planet Trade Organization who bicker in their decadence and pettiness? Whose only source of strength is reminiscing of their better days? And what about the terrorist organization 'Z'? Heretics who worship nothing but an echo! Who spend all their days wishing for a greater power to wipe us out! But I tell you my loyal citizens, my mighty military, there is no greater power in this universe than us! For even gods tremble, as they gnash their teeth! Long live the Empire!"
The Emperor's last words were not a simple statement, they were a command. A command that all repeat the glorious statement, "Long live the Empire." And the organized thongs of citizens did so, repeatedly, with thousands of voices mixing together, to create a massive crescendo, a symphony of dedication to their Emperor. For it was he who was the Empire.
Finally, the chant died down, and the citizens were dismissed. Even as they split up to attend their daily tasks, they still managed to form organized formations as they walked to the various transportation hubs. Ovosh had reached her transportation point, a high-speed monorail. As she waited, she could observe the morning sun break through the drab skyline.
How interesting it was, their sun. The Vega star was blue-white in color. It seemed to ignite the buildings with its brilliant light, coloring in the various structures and the sky. Ovosh could only stare, transfixed at its magnificence. The fact that it was mostly superheated Hydrogen was an insignificant tidbit, and an inadequate description of what she saw. The star seemed much more than that. And even though long-distance space travel was now possible, and incredibly common, the sun was still so far out of her reach.
The speeding monorail, with its logical utilitarian lines had the displeasure of blocking out the Vega star from Ovosh's sight. A sinking feeling was felt in her stomach, but once again, she could not put her finger on why that was. It was a simple sunrise, and not even that, the planet's rotation gave the illusion of the sun rising. This event occurred numerous times during her lifespan. What was so significant about it?
The monorail came to a stop, mechanical hissing could be heard as the brakes were applied. Ovosh stepped into its interior dutifully, quickly assuming her assigned seat in the transport. Once all citizens had boarded, the monorail sped off, ferrying the citizens to their duties. Once it had arrived to the power plant, Ovosh immediately rose from her seat, then disembarked. She walked in formation with a bunch of other fellow power plant workers. They were of different heights, different genders, different skin colors. But as they walked, each step matching the person ahead of them, they all looked exactly the same.
White doors greeted the dutiful workers, and parted to give them access to the building. The interior was less uniform than most of the other buildings of the city, steel pipes flowed erratically, and wires crossed to transport the needed power to critical sections. The formation held, as the group entered a mess hall, with long tables lining the inside of the room. A serving area could be found, as well as a line of human beings waiting to get their nutrition for the morning.
A tray was dispensed as each worker took one, then proceeded to grab a provisions box. Once it was Ovosh's turn, a mechanical voice reported, "Name: Ovosh, Id: SSJ-123, Gender: Female, partitioning recommended calorie intake for time slot 7-11am." Her provision box was then mechanically provided to her. Ovosh then took off, easily finding a seat within the hall. Opening her box, one could observe it was filled with many different colored cubes. These colors were for purely informational purposes of course. Brown was for starches, tan for proteins, green for vitamins, red for minerals, white for calcium, and so on. As she began supplying her body with these nutrients, her fellow co-workers began taking seats next to her, not saying a word, silently opening their nutrition packs and consuming them.
The cubes were stout, yet squishy. They had a very faint taste. Ovosh tended to savor the glucose cubes, though, again, she couldn't figure why this was the case. Every nutrient was important for her to function throughout the day, why did she favor the glucose cubes? And why were there so few of them? Ovosh shut her mind off to these incriminating questions. She had a duty to perform for the empire, taking her mind off her tasks for the day would only hinder her abilities. But first, she had to finish her supplements.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot a lone worker, who didn't have a nutrition box. He sat with his hands clasped, his right foot tapping on the cold tiled floor, creating a rhythmic beat. He was a very peculiar sight. His vibrant crimson hair, which was unkept and unruly, spiking out from all over his head, made him stick out even more. But the most unsettling thing about him, was that periodically, Ovosh would see him glance in her direction. She was sure he was staring at her, that he wasn't inspecting some nearby object in her vicinity.
Her co-workers also noticed this anomaly, as they began giving this unknown worker confused looks. He quickly looked away, looking back at his folded hands, as he continued tapping his foot against the floor.
"I do not recognize that man, do you think he is a new acquisition?" said one of the co-workers, a female by the name of Kras. She possessed strawberry blonde hair and muted green eyes. From her physical appearance, it one could discern that she had lived a bit longer a life than Ovosh.
"A very strange speciman," noted one of the male-coworkers, a brown haired man who went by the name of Boris. "His conditioning might have been inadequate."
But how could such conditioning be inadequate? Newborn humans were taught from birth, the proper protocols and regulations to observe. If the conditioning was not effective on the psyche, the subject would be terminated. Ovosh made this thought known out loud to her co-workers, "If he possessed inadequate conditioning, he would not be present here."
All of the co-workers, six in all, including Ovosh, nodded in agreement. It was indeed a comfort to be around people that shared perspectives. While all the people in the Empire were in agreement, smaller, subtler traits that aligned allowed these people to work more effectively and efficiently. But seeing such an anomaly such as this, piqued something dangerous within Ovosh.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to query him upon his strange condition?" Ovosh offered. "It would be best to know his eccentricities, so that we may better integrate him into the system."
"A prudent suggestion," responded a dark-skinned coworker, going by the name of Bosch, "But it is unnecessary. The overseer and the conditioning division are the ones who see to that. We must be mindful to never go beyond our assigned duties."
"Right," murmured the various other coworkers. Ovosh could not find herself agreeing. Of course Bosch's reasoning made sense, if they, power plant workers, tried performing the duties of the conditioning squad, they would fail, and it would distract from their true work, creating an imbalance whose effects would be felt throughout the Empire.
But still, Ovosh needed to exchange words with the strange newcomer. There was no pragmatic reason that required that she spoke to this stranger. This was not outlined in her duty description, nor was it specified in her conditioning. It was something far darker, and far more dangerous. It was not the Ovosh, loyal citizen and power grid maintainer of the Empire that thought this. It was that frightening specter that she saw in the mirror earlier that morning. The one with the golden hair. Whose face was contorted in ways Ovosh never even imagined a human face could be shaped in. The golden-haired beast experienced emotions that only the barbarians of old felt. And what this golden-haired fiend felt, was that she wanted to speak to the curious red-haired stranger.
And so, Ovosh's feet slowly caused her to stand, closing her provisions box, leaving some of the cubes in the vessel, and she began making her way towards the empty table. Her coworkers gave her confused looks, and rightfully so, Ovosh still believed this was an unnecessary act. But she still walked, until she had made it to the spot opposite of the newcomer.
His foot had stopped tapping, and he stopped looking at his clasped hands. His head slowly raised, to look directly at the woman across from him.
"Well?" he asked.
Well? What was the context of the question? At least, his exaggerated inflection seemed to indicate that it was a question. What use did he expect to gain from asking such a question? Ovosh attempted to dismiss it as another deviant quirk.
"You display deviant behavior, fellow co-worker. I was ..."
What were the words? Ovosh kept desperately searching for them. What made her come to him?
"Was your curiosity piqued?" filled in the stranger. Ovosh tilted her head, confused by the concept he presented.
"My curiosity?" Ovosh questioned, "I'm not sure what you mean by that."
"You know," he urged, his lips forming into a concave curve, the ends pointing upwards. It was an expression she had rarely seen, but she could tell what it meant. Usually, someone would perform this action if something productive was accomplished in less than the estimated time, or upon hearing news of Imperial victories over the barbarians and terrorists.
"Why else would you come here?" he finished, a question of his own, at least a coherent and complete one.
"I ... I..." The words, usually so regulated and rehearsed, were now dancing on the edge of Ovosh's tongue. Her eyes darted around, trying to engineer a solution to this problem. She felt herself staring into the stranger's face, into his vibrant eyes. Her face began to heat up, surely something was wrong. Why was this so? What purpose did her face heating up serve. The temperature in the room had not changed, there was no need for her body to compensate for loss of heat in the building.
"Overseer!" shouted a distant voice, staccato in its delivery.
Ovosh's spine once more straightened and stiffened, her hands, one of them still clutching her nutrition box, went limp, and down to her sides. The overseer was at the entrance to the mess hall, also exhibiting a strong posture, but his feet were spread a shoulder's length apart, and his hands were folded behind his back. He was a substantial man, height-wise, he had the advantage over nearly every worker in the power-plant, save for possibly Bosch. The overseer then loosened his posture, a signal that the other workers were to do the same.
He began making his way through the mess hall, clearly headed in Ovosh's, and the mysterious coworker's direction. Each step he made was heavy and controlled. His clean-shaven, slightly-aged face wore a neutral, yet serious expression. Finally, he reached their position, stopping almost instantaneously, his boots making a small squeak upon the clean floor. He gave Ovosh a rather unassuming glance, before turning to the stranger, his eyes narrowing.
"And who would you be?" he asked, his voice deep and commanding, as if not asking a question, but demanding an answer. "I was not notified of a new acquisition to Power Plant Vega 0x48ae."
"Oh!" the stranger responded, perspiration forming on his face, "Right! Ah, sorry about that sir. You should find me in the database, this was a rather quick transfer."
"Really?" inquired the overseer, raising an eyebrow. "It is protocol that new transfers, whether they be off or on-planet, are known by me, said information provided by the authorities of the source. It is not good practice to violate these rules; good communication is critical for the health and efficiency of the Empire."
"S-sorry!" apologized the man, head bowing down. As he did this, the overseer brought his right arm out in front of him, chest-level. There was a small key-pad attached to the limb, upon his wrist. He keyed in a sequence of inputs, and a holographic screen was projected, right in front of his face. The screen was an information table, possibly containing the names and ids of the workers at the power plant. The device scanned the stranger, taking in account his hair color, eye color, cell makeup, height, weight, and many other details.
"Id: TR-8R, Name: Kei, Status: newcomer, training required in the regulator division."
"Ah, I see," commented the overseer, his voice barely changing in inflection, unlike the stranger. The overseer then took his eyes off from the device on his wrist, and directed them towards the worker named "Kei". "It is fortunate," he added on, "that you have taken a position near the regulator division". He then motioned to Ovosh herself, who kept motionless, and at attention.
"We need a day to get you acquainted with the system. Unfortunately, since I wasn't notified of your transfer, we will not be able to provide provisions for you, until I send a notice to the metropolis center. Do you believe you can learn this duty to the best of your ability, despite insufficient nutrition?"
"Yes sir!" Kei responded loudly. The overseer grimaced at the unusually upfront statement. Turning completely around, he headed to the exit of the mess hall, saying not too subtly, "And we'll probably have to refine those behavioral quirks of yours, but it shouldn't require anything too drastic."
With his exit, Ovosh exhaled, her body able to release the strain previously exerted upon it. She looked to her new comrade. It was strange, they were fully staffed in the regulator and control division. It was indeed a while since they had a new acquisition. She was not the most recent addition, and from her tenure at the power station, she knew that several members had to be rotated out, depending on physical health, or need in other areas of the Empire.
Something did pop to the forefront of Ovosh's mind, something important. She still had provisions reserved in her container.
She held out the box in front of her, presenting it to Kei. "There are some provisions I have not yet consumed. It would be beneficial if I reserved them for you."
The man's eyes widened, taken off guard. Yes, she wouldn't blame him, it was indeed a strange thing that she was doing. But, he wouldn't learn if his body was completely depleted for the morning shift.
"T-that's very ... kind of you," he said, his mouth curling into that peculiar formation once more. There was something indeed intriguing about this action he did, it made Ovosh herself feel ... happy, an emotion, once again, rarely felt, but recognizable.
"There are many tasks and protocols to observe in this duty," Ovosh countered, "What I'm doing is logical."
"It's logically kind of you." he quipped, now his mouth was open, but his teeth were closed. This new expression, now displaying his incisors, and canines, did stir even more of this happiness within Ovosh. She prompted him to take the provisions box, and he did just that. Once he had opened it, he began consuming the nutrition cubes at a frighteningly fast rate.
"Slow down!" Ovosh cautioned, "There is still an insufficient amount for the morning, consuming them slower will allow your body to optimize nutrition intake."
"Sorry," he apologized, while some of the cubes were still partially broken down in his mouth. Ovosh winced at this, then felt a presence behind her. Turning her head, her coworkers had gathered around, clearly intrigued by the exchange taking place.
"We should hurry up," the blonde female, Kras, suggested, "It is nearing the hour that we begin our shift."
"Agreed," Ovosh concurred, then motioned to Kei to get into formation. He wasn't exactly the best at guiding to the line; he formed a clear aberration in their formation, now with seven people.
"Are you sure that was a pragmatic action?" a low voice questioned behind Ovosh. It was Bosch, and he was wearing a concerned expression upon his face.
"Would you please specify the action?" Ovosh asked back, now once again feeling her face heat up. But this was a different kind of heat, a more volatile one. The heat that the mysterious golden-haired monster in the mirror thrived on.
Bosch cleared his throat, "You partitioned your unfinished nutrition cubes to our new co-worker. You will both have insufficient nutrition for the morning. Are you sure you will be able to operate at 100% efficiency?"
"Your concern is noted," Ovosh responded, "I am confident that I will be productive this morning. In fact, I volunteer myself to instruct this 'Kei', in the workplace. Relaying information should not be as energy intensive."
"If you are to be instructing him, then the rest of the group will have to increase our efforts," Bosch noted. It was indeed a concern, the complete imbalance that this stranger had wrought. Usually, preparations would be made for a teaching day. Certain workers would be partitioned to teach new transfers the specifics, schedules would be adjusted, and nutrition would be modified to account for these modifications. But with no prior warning, as the overseer had mentioned, the entire system was crippled.
...
A mess of wires, color coded for convenience was in a wild bloom. Of course, the wires were well organized, at least to Ovosh's specifications. She was currently clipping some to various places upon the green board that she was working on. Kei was rather close behind her, a pleasant position. His eyes were wide with fascination.
"This is a simple rewiring. Different parts of the city require different voltages, gains, and current during different times of the day. This schedule varies depending upon which day of the week it is. Right now, the ore processing division of the city typically increases production by 40%, as the miners are currently delivering the raw ore to the plant. As such..."
A blue wire and yellow wire were loosened, then Ovosh directed these two wires to a different destination on the vast motherboard. She then flipped some switches, and her changes to the power portioning were saved.
"Your group has control over the entire city," Kei noted.
"Not exactly," Ovosh countered, "If an inefficient change is made, we are notified. The overseer enforces any change from then on. Failure to comply results in removal from the duty, and immediate termination."
"Scary," Kei commented.
Scary? What was there to fear? As long as she did her duty to the Empire correctly, there was no chance of her being terminated. Even drastic dips in efficiency were solved by relocation and reconditioning. But what was there to fear with termination? Ovosh herself possessed little, so by losing her life, she would lose little, and her duty to the Empire would be fulfilled either way.
"Think little of it, the Empire will provide," Ovosh recited.
She could observe the red-headed man bow down his head a little. Ovosh speculated that his rather sparse nutrition was running low. The administration should take care of this little hiccup in the system by the next day. Hopefully, efficiency would not drop below acceptable levels.
"Don't you feel scared?" he suddenly asked. It came from out of the blue, but Ovosh had come to expect that as of now.
"A peculiar, and rather unnecessary question." Ovosh countered, "Come," she stood up, "We are wasting time."
"But it is necessary," Kei responded, his look now of impressive seriousness, "Aren't you worried that you could be just tossed aside, without warning, at the whims of whoever is in charge? I don't know about you, but that fact ... frightens me. I can't sleep knowing someone has that kind of power over me."
It was Ovosh's turn to give him a long hard look. There was something wrong with this man. Something was fundamentally wrong. He could not think the correct way. He was one who let disturbing thoughts, no, welcomed the disturbing thoughts into his mind. He was one who stepped right into a taboo and barbaric deed of attempting to think about the system itself, not how to serve it. Barbaric, wait, then that means that ...
Before Ovosh could speak, the door to the regulator room was thrust open with incredible force. The overseer had appeared once more, and he wore the most stern expression on his face. Ovosh could tell that his expression was not directed towards her. The overseer was accompanied by two military personal, their sleek white helmets preventing Ovosh from identifying their gender.
He approached Kei rather slowly, like an rolling storm. Ovosh began perspiring once more. A deep desire began forming within the confines of her body, the need to exit the room as soon as possible. But, her muscles would not respond to her commands. So she stood there, at attention in respect for her overseer.
"I have double-checked the databases for our power plant. It appears as if you, TR-8R, are indeed a registered worker."
The overseer cleared his throat, while Ovosh could observe Kei swallow something, but she did not know what he had in his mouth previously. "I was concerned that I was not notified of your transfer. I wanted to ensure this would not occur again. So I checked the planetary database for your information, to ascertain your previous workplace ..."
At this, Kei's body visibly stiffened, and he began perspiring heavily. But, his expression changed, as his eyes began narrowing, and various facial muscles began contorting. And there was something else, something in the air that Ovosh could feel within her bones. Something large, something massive, something dangerous.
"... I found no record of citizen TR-8R. I then contacted the capital itself, and was granted a search. I still was unable to locate a TR-8R within the Imperial census. This means, you are unregistered in the Empire."
The overseer's mouth began to form into a strange formation. A smile, that's what it was called. But unlike when Kei would perform one, this action felt more ... frightening. Ovosh's body began generating tremors, struggling between trying to run, and trying to stay put.
"Now, why would there be an unregistered citizen in our power plant?" he questioned.
"Please sir, I can explain- " Kei began, but he was cut off swiftly. The tone of Kei's voice, however, had lost all desirable submissive qualities. It was laced with something quite different.
"Obviously, you wanted access to the power plant, but you do not seek to contribute to the Empire. Which leads me to conclude ... that you are a terrorist."
"I'm no terrorist," Kei countered. He stared straight into his interrogator's eyes, "I'm a freedom fighter."
The next sequence of events happened far too fast for Ovosh to comprehend. The terrorist thrust his hands forward, and from it, emerged a bright volatile yellow light, combined with an intense, almost inhuman shout. This light was clearly corporeal, it had mass, and weight. And a split second later, it had velocity. And this velocity carried the light straight into the overseer, forcing him through the adjacent wall, bending the metal material the wall was made of.
But all hell broke loose when the light detonated. The resulting explosion spewed an orange inferno of fire, and black clouds of smoke. The force from this explosion impacted Ovosh, sending her flying back, crashing into the wall closest to the control panel. Concrete, metal ,and various other materials that made up the building flew in a chaotic mess.
As the smoke began to clear, Ovosh could spot the outline of Kei. His hair was even more messed up than usual, and his eyes, his eyes held the most frightening light in them. He was visibly grunting, clearly struggling after having unleashed such destructive power. It was in Ovosh's natural instinct, to begin inching away slowly from this barbaric force of destruction incarnate.
But upon seeing Ovosh's struggling form, his expression changed from one of anger, to that of concern. He rushed over, holding out a hand to offer Ovosh assistance.
"Back off!" she shouted. A curious sensation on the vocal chords, shouting had, for Ovosh had so rarely done it.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't want to do this in such a destructive way, but the overseer left me no choice."
Ovosh's breathing eased as she heard this. He was a terrorist however, so she was not sure why she was instinctively trusting him.
An alarm began sounding, changing pitch continuously and periodically. Throughout the city it could be heard. Military personnel could be seen, levitating from their original positions, and engaging to where they were needed. There was little chatter, and panic among the civilians, as they received instruction from the citywide speakers and military.
Inside the power plant, Kei expressed his frustration. "Crap!" he swore, "This is going to get messier than I wanted."
He turned to Ovosh once more, "If you want to live, come with me."
Ovosh breathed out in surprise, "And what can you do to assist me? Only the Empire can provide such protection..."
"The Empire is after me, and because to the Empire, people are a replaceable asset, they'll cut their losses, especially if it gives them the advantage."
Upon finishing this statement, the two guards that had accompanied the overseer emerged from the rubble, clearly intending to engage Kei. Both guards fired off energy blasts of their own, substantially smaller and weaker than the attack Kei demonstrated against the overseer. Kei lifted his arms into a defensive formation, and then swung them aggressively towards the attacks, successfully batting the offending blasts away. The projectiles impacted against the ceiling of the room, causing chunks of it to come crashing down.
The guards used the long-range assault as a distraction. Now they were within close-combat distance of Kei, and began throwing punches at him. Kei, however, was all-to-willing to engage, absorbing the attacks with his elbows, and ducking under others. He delivered a punch of his own, right into one of the guards' stomachs, sending the soldier flying into a concrete wall. The second used this opportunity to prepare a more potent attack, but Kei got the jump on him, interrupting the guard with a quicker, and far more powerful projectile attack, that sent him flying into a far side wall.
As he secured victory, the ground beneath began to collapse, and unfortunately Ovosh was in the immediate area of the event. She reached out to nearby equipment for support, but she was too slow in her actions, and began to plummet to the ground below. The room below was a large chamber where the main power was supplied. Ovosh, in the back, or in the front of her mind, knew this would be fatal. And for the first time in her life, ever since she left the womb, she screamed.
But her death was not to come, at least, not in this moment, for Kei had dived in after her, and managed to grab a hold of her body, and cease her terminal velocity. For moments, he floated in the chamber, standing on nothing but his own power. Slowly, but surely, he descended to the ground, putting Ovosh down as carefully as possible.
"You ... you prevented my life from being terminated." Ovosh stuttered, clearly in shock. "But why? Why concern yourself with the integrity of my life?"
Kei gave her a lengthy stare, before responding, "Because I'm not a barbarian, or a terrorist, or whatever you Imperials call me. I care about you."
"Then what about the lives of those you endangered up above?"
This question clearly affected Kei, in a negative way. He was shaking, his eyes were wide, and his voice formed small whimpering stutters. It was as if Ovosh herself dealt him a deadly physical blow that he was still recovering from. He was backing away from her, as if she were now a disgusting creature that he had to be rid of.
"I - I didn't think about that. I didn't ..." he bowed down and shook his head. "I never intended to hurt any of the civilians." And as he said this, he looked up once more, eyes locking with Ovosh's, "But I'm only mortal, and if someone is going to attack me, I have to defend myself."
Ovosh looked up from where she had fallen. It appeared he was indeed concerned for her life. But if he did concern himself with the lives of civilians, then why rescue her of all beings? What did she hold that was more valuable than Kras, or Bosch, or any of her other coworkers?
"Why me?" she whispered.
Kei closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Upon opening them once more, his face wore a most serious expression, his tone matched that as well, "You, Ovosh, possess something very special. I don't know if you know about it, I don't even know the full extent of it. But, I do know that you possess power."
"Power?" Ovosh questioned, having difficulty comprehending what Kei was claiming.
"Yes, power," Kei confirmed, "Something within you, that when brought out, will change this galaxy forever."
He began slowly walking towards her, having fully regained his composure. "I once posed you a question earlier, that if you are scared of being a tool of your Empire. I asked if it bothers you, that you are nothing but a mere statistic, nothing but a number. That you are simply something to be used, and once used up, thrown away in the trash. Where I come from, the way I was raised, something like that frightens me down to my core. I don't like to feel powerless."
He paused, clearly impassioned.
"Ovosh, I want to give you something you have never possessed before as a citizen of the Galactic Terran Empire, a choice."
"A choice?" Ovosh queried. A choice, something that was better left off to those who were meant to. What business did he have offering her a choice? What indeed was a choice? Ovosh chose the pace at which she ate, was he saying that even the Empire determined that? Was it so bad that the Empire determined that?
"A real, actual choice," Kei elaborated, "I give you an offer to join Z, an alliance of warriors from around the galaxy who fear the Empire's shadow. Those who seek to offer the rest of the civilians of the galaxy, the freedom of decisions. The passion for life. And the opportunity to break their own limits."
Ovosh raised an eyebrow, "Those are blasphemous words you spout. I cannot trust you."
Kei nodded, "Know that I'm not forcing you to join Z. I would be no better than the Emperor himself if I did such a thing. But surely, there's some part of you that's intrigued by this? Some part of you that is itching to see, what's beyond the bubble the Empire has kept you in?"
There was. Something was drawing her in. It was on the tip of her tongue, to say "yes", and to depart, watching the blue sun of Vega in all its incandescent glory. Breathing air that the Empire did not instruct her to breath. But should she do that, she would betray everything her 18 year life had lead up to.
"I know this isn't easy for you. But, we don't really have forever for you to make this decision."
Yes, but such a so-called choice could not be rushed. As Ovosh pondered, debated and waited, an entirely new experience for her, she could see Kei disrobe his workers shirt, displaying a form fitting navy blue tank top. He was an impressive physical specimen, with stout muscles that were streamlined and toned enough not to be a burden. She could see him talking to a device on his wrist. Fellow terrorists? Perhaps. But did she desire to join up with these terrorists? Those who were so unenlightened?
But if that were the case, why did there seem to be ... more to this Kei? Something not entirely tangent was at the edge of her mind, something that concerned this stranger, this powerful soldier. Part of her wanted to explore that.
But, in the end, her logic won. He was a terrorist who had disrupted the peace of the land, and more importantly, the Empire.
"I cannot join you," Ovosh declared. She could not read Kei's expression, but continued with her elaboration, "it isn't possible. I cannot trust an enemy of the Empire. I can't do it."
"And that's your choice?" Kei inquired, his voice somber.
"Yes," Ovosh confirmed.
Kei exhaled deeply. He brought one of his hands up to rub his temples. Her decision clearly bothered him, but he shouldn't have been surprised. The Empire was too quick, and she was already in their clutches.
"Then ... I guess this is it," he whispered. There was a lump in his throat, a lingering sadness. Yes he had failed the mission, but there was something else. Beneath the programming, beneath the routine, beneath the logic...
"I can tell that you're a good person Ovosh," Kei said. He was now right up close to her, making Ovosh rather nervous. He put a hand on her shoulder. The physical contact made Ovosh incredibly uncomfortable, but she decided to tolerate the action. "Keep on being a good person, no matter what the Empire says. Think about what I have said to you, and perhaps, we'll meet again someday."
The words of Kei did stir something inside her, prompting her to say, "It was good meeting you Kei, I guess. You are indeed a peculiar specimen. Despite being a terrorist - I found you rather ..."
Something prevented Ovosh from finishing her statement. Her collar was filled with something hot, vibrant. It did not take long for her to realize it was an energy beam. This same energy beam had travelled through her left collar, and directly into the chest of Kei.
Behind Ovosh was the source of the attack, the overseer. He was breathing heavily, his right arm extended with two fingers pointed at his target. Smoke emitted from these fingers.
"Thank you Ovosh, you have gone above and beyond the call of duty." he declared, breathing heavily.
There was nothing to be said. A growing darkness expanded from the point of impact, and Ovosh felt her muscles grow limb, as she collapsed on the ground. She wanted to say something, but a viscious liquid flooded her mouth, preventing that. It began flowing out of her mouth, and matched the color of the liquid coming out of the hole in her collar. Red, bright red. It stained her uniform, painting it the morbid color of death.
Kei had it even worse. He was unable to speak, as the blood began to pool near his head. He was flat on his back, slowly soaking in a pool of the crimson liquid that tied him to the mortal realm. The overseer was now slowly approaching him, a satisfied expression on his face.
"Y...you b...astard," he struggled to say, his voice having trouble getting through the torrents of blood. "H..how could you? Your o..wn people?"
The overseer ignored him for the moment, glancing at Ovosh's fallen form. "Citizen SSJ-123, your sacrifice will not be forgotten. You will be held as an example of what every citizen in the Empire should aspire to be."
The honor was meaningless. Honor itself was irrelevant in the Empire. Ovosh was all alone now. Nothing but darkness was her company. She felt the conditioning the Empire had provided her beginning to slip, as feelings she had repressed were beginning to surface, burning through the barriers she had kept in place. What was the first one? It was fear, hopelessness. She was so easily sacrificed. She was just a number. She was just a cog, once found defective, tossed aside. The overseer was wrong, citizen SSJ-123 would not be remembered, she, it would fade into the same obscurity countless others had.
That fear was gradually replaced by something else, a intense burning. The feeling sent her body shaking, trembling. Perspiration was in her eyes, red hot as the feeling within her, the feeling that she had long kept repressed the day she was born. The feeling that she felt every time she looked upon her life, the emperor, her superiors, that she banished to the corners of her psyche. This feeling she experienced, every time she reminded that she was indeed a replaceable cog in the great machine of the Empire. The feeling she experienced every time she lamented her own insignificance.
Her vision was in clear focus. There was still darkness, but it had been illuminated by an intense light. A golden light. The golden haired monster was opposite of her once more. Ovosh's intense red-hot feelings somehow evoked the creature. It was giving her a long stern look, as if it was expecting Ovosh knew what to do next. It, no, she, opened her mouth, and let out a barbaric scream. It was a scream that personified this taboo emotion that Ovosh held in her heart, that had been brought to the surface this very moment. Ovosh could feel the scream inside her very heart, feel it give new life to her muscles, feel it stop the loss of blood just for one moment. But there was no mistaking it, that scream was with her voice, and it was the scream she was making just now. It was the second time in her life that she had screamed, but unlike the last one, this one was powered by the forbidden emotion, rage.
A pale-blue, volatile aura, shaped like the golden aura of the golden being, surrounded her. She was on her feet, still struggling to keep her balance. Yet, this rage allowed her enough energy to keep in balance. Her mind had lost all its sanity that the Empire had provided, and because of that, there was one clear action. The darkness had cleared, and the object of her rage was right in front of her.
"How dare you?" she seethed. Various materials began splintering under the weight of her rage. The ground underneath her feet began to crumble as well. Sparks of energy created even more rubble, Ovosh knew that these sparks were being emitted from her.
"How dare you!?" she repeated, her voice louder and more intense. The overseer wore an expression mixed with confusion and fright. It was his turn to begin slowly backing away.
"CITIZEN SSJ-123! STAND DOWN!" he demanded, holding out his arms in self-defense.
"HOW DARE YOU!" was the animalistic response. Her power swelled, as well as her rage. Her mind was now filled with a single task. The task that she had to eliminate the existence of the overseer. Whether or not it served the Empire was irrelevant. Whether or not it was logical was irrelevant.
The overseer managed to calm himself, and his expression took one of stern seriousness. If the citizen had gone insane, then she simply had to be terminated. "Hmph," he concluded, "Then you leave me no choice." He presented his left arm, with his palm fully revealed. A ball of energy began forming, gathering energy to put a stop to this newly powered being. As the ball was gathering in strength, so did the strength and intensity of the animal in front of him grow.
With another inhuman scream, Ovosh, accelerated forward. Dust and debris were swept out of her path, making way for the rage-filled being. The overseer gave a shout in response as he fired off his attack. But the energy beam was insufficiently charged, and did not slow the bulldozing Ovosh, who shortly after shrugging of the attack, impacted the overseer.
Ovosh crashed down onto the floor. Her blue-white aura began to weaken, as her rage began to dwindle. The pain from her earlier wound, and the trauma along with it began to creep back. Frightened at what had overcome her, she turned back to get her bearings. What she saw was even more disturbing.
The overseer was struggling to stay on his feet. For now, there was a gigantic gaping hole ripped through his chest. The insides of his body had been cauterized from the intensity of the earlier attack. He began wheezing, squandering the last breath he would take in this realm. He then collapsed on the ground, motionless. He had been terminated.
His impact on the ground snapped Ovosh out of her trance. She began quivering, in utter disbelief of what had transpired.
"D-did I do that?" she asked to no one in particular. "Did I take his life?" Again, to no one in particular.
The cold hard truth hit Ovosh, harder than anything in the past hour could. She had consciously turned against the Empire. And now, there was nothing to do, she was backed into a corner, and slowly bleeding out.
"What have I done?" she whispered. Her eyes darted, finally spotting Kei sprawled on the floor. She called out to him, "KEI!". But he was as motionless as the overseer. She repeated her cry out to him, but got the same response. A different liquid began flowing from her face, this time, the source was her eyes. It wasn't the crimson liquid blood, it was clear as water. Tears, generated when emotions of great distress or sorrow were experienced.
"What have I done?" Ovosh repeated, choking through her tears. She kept repeating this phrase, but no one was there to hear it. She was all alone.
Part of the ceiling collapsed. It was part of the room that was not under any other level. As the chalk-white debris disintegrated, Ovosh could barely observe a ship, just outside the premise. Light flooded in the room, the blue-white light generated by the Vega star. This light, as well as the moisture in her eyes, made it difficult for her to make out any specific detail about this particular ship.
A compartment on the underside of the ship opened up, and a figure emerged from it. Upon clearing the light, she could see that he was a lankier figure than Kei. It was apparent he wasn't empire, the blue jacket he wore that ended at his ankles was something that no one in the Empire would dare don. On closer inspection, particularly because he was hurrying to her proximity, he too had unregulated hair like Kei, but his hair was simply messy, instead of spiky. It was also dark brown, and poofy. He appeared older than Kei, but still appeared as if he had a full life ahead of him, barring the nature of his work. His eyes were narrower than Kei's, and right now, filled with desperation as he made his way to Kei's fallen form.
Crouching down, he began shaking the body. "Kei, KEI!" he shouted, in vain, "C'mon kid, Reitoko specifically said that you were to come back alive! Don't do this to me!"
But, as expected, Kei did not respond. And to this, the man bowed his head down, his hair covering his eyes. He stayed there for but a moment, before moving his right hand over Kei's face. "You did well kid," he stated, then rose up from his crouch, and began making his way to Ovosh. Death was now grabbing at her, and she felt as if the hour was upon her.
"So, you're the person Kei died for," he stated, his glare rather hard. Upon saying this, he softened his look, perhaps realizing himself that he came across rather harsh. Putting his hands into compartments upon his coat, he changed topics, "We knew the risks coming in here. It was a risk we were going to take. It looks like Kei went all in and lost, and from the looks of it, you might be seeing him soon."
Ovosh opened her mouth, but throaty whimpers escaped. She could feel darkness, this time, the final darkness she would see, closing in upon her conscious mind.
"I would like to bring you back in alive, but as my leader specified, you have to be committed to the cause," he claimed, his hands were now shuffling in his pockets, clearly searching for something, "I don't know if Kei already made an offer to you, but just in case..."
He pulled the object he was searching for out of his pocket, fully displaying it to Ovosh, whose eyes widened. The object itself was unimpressive, a small kernel that was light gray in color. The man offering this bean continued, "If you want to die a citizen of the Empire, that's out of my hands. Even if you recover from this, they're not going to like that you've killed one of their lacky's ... and yes, I can tell that you did that."
Ovosh didn't react to his statement, her gaze directly focused on the bean. Despite being on the knife's edge of death, she fully understood him.
"But, if you want to live, and see what it really means to live, then take this bean I'm holdin' out here. It's of the senzu variety, and it'll give you a clear path out of the woods. But, as it is, whether you want to live or die, it's your choice."
Ovosh still kept staring at this "senzu bean", the events of her life flooding back. There was nothing of note, nothing she was proud of, nothing she was ashamed of, until this day. This day, she felt afraid, this day she felt rage, and on this day, she had felt happy. This day, was the first day she had lived, this day was what she would lose if she were to die.
Her hand struggled to reach its destination. The wound had sapped nearly all of her strength. But she had enough. At last, her hand was upon the man's hand, and she clasped it, as well as the bean. Pulling his hand closer, and by extension the bean, Ovosh said the words that ultimately decided her fate, "I want to live." How rejuvenating those words felt.
As Ovosh took hold of the senzu bean itself, she could see the man smiling. As strength flowed back into her after she had consumed it, she began to smile too.
"You have chosen, wisely."
He lifted her new rejuvenated body up, one arm under her knees, and one arm supporting her back, as he made his way back to the detonated gap in the ceiling. There was a rope Ovosh did not observe before coming from the ship. The man then attached this rope to a compartment on his waist. The rope began ascending, lifting Ovosh up to the heavens, and to the beginning of her new life.
I've gotten back into Dragon Ball Z a bit, or at least related material. Because of this renewed interest, my interest in writing this story has been raised. Feedback is, of course, appreciated.