This story was a lot of fun to write.
Ironically, this story was inspired by a scene I didn't even end up using! I had a scene in my head of Zero actually going to confession himself, just to try it, grumping all along. It ended up not fitting, and I excised it, but I got a neat story out of the idea.
Religion plays such a large role in today's society it is hard to imagine it not existing in the future. You don't see it a whole lot—don't even really see it mentioned, except in swear words that linger on like vestigial organs. So I wanted to explore the idea a bit, especially as it relates to reploids. Reploids wouldn't need religion for one of its functions (they have an answer to "where did I come from?" and the second-order question, "so where did humans come from?" would have less urgency); yet at the same time, religion has long been the salve and boon of the oppressed. Given a reading on the X-series world of reploids as a discriminated-against minority, religion would seem to be able to gain some purchase in their numbers.
When I created Rekir and Mace (and Boj, for that matter) in "False Dawn", I never intended for them to be, you know, a thing. They were there merely because Zero wasn't going to be alone during the events of the story. As some of my reviewers noted, I didn't even really bother to describe them. That oversight happened because, in my head, they were expendable. But that's what they say about best-laid plans. I think that X and Zero interact with each other a lot, but each one is a Squad Leader, with all the responsibilities that that entails. Aside from major, Maverick War-level incidents, they probably don't work together day-to-day. Since this was a smaller incident, and it was really about Zero and not the Zero-X dynamic, it wouldn't have made sense for X to play a big part. (I take unreasonable amusement from the fact that I wrote an X story of this length without X actually getting any "screen time".) That meant Zero needed a supporting cast, which meant digging Mace and (especially) Rekir back out.
They are minor, non-canonical characters though, so that means at some point that they must die to keep them out of the way during later games—X5, in particular. Sort of like I had to kill off Haley Paschal. (Poor Haley Paschal.) In my head-canon I know how and when, and there's a remote possibility of a story at some point saying why and when. But that feels like all kinds of self-indulgence, so probably not.
Mace's design is based off of a character of the same name from the late '80s cartoon "Cops". That Mace was probably not a Muslim, but as short as that series lasted, who knows? The name 'Rekir' is an extremely thinly disguised Star Trek reference. That and his post as Zero's "number one" were as far as that reference was supposed to go, but when this story started rolling I got really excited about sticking in the scene with him playing the trombone. Not everything needs a reason, darn it.
Vito's extended quotation in chapter eight is from one of Orson Scott Card's Ender sequels; I can't remember which. Card's recent output has been disappointing, by his standards, but the first Ender cycle (Ender's Game, Speaker For the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind) I would recommend without reservation.
The name "Vanzetti" is from a famous court case from the 1930s. Sacco and Vanzetti were two Italian immigrants to America who had the misfortune to arrive during the "Red Scare", one of America's periodic anti-immigration paroxysms. The two were accused of robbing a bank, killing a person along the way. The trial was a bit of a farce, the outcome a foregone conclusion. The names became a rallying cry for opposition to the Red Scare. Oddly, modern ballistics testing shows that Sacco's gun was the murder weapon. Vanzetti, at least, might still have been innocent. Either way, the association of a false Maverick with this famously corrupt court case was the goal.
Some of you who know movies might be saying, "Of course, it was the one-armed man!" regarding the ending. Although it bears a strong resemblance to certain elements of "The Fugitive", I contend that my true inspiration was a throwaway cartoon, almost a margin note, in the "Ghost in the Shell" manga. It explained, graphically, the whole "cybernetic-body-or-don't-bother" concept, at least as it relates to trying to punch above your weight. Ever since I saw it I had a low-level desire to make that a relevant point somewhere. And now I did, so, yay me.
My favorite scene to write was probably the one with Delphi and Mr. Slate (the latter being a subtle Discworld reference). If you observe any social or political movement, you will see something remarkable happen when the movement achieves success. Success tends to fracture the coalition that tried to compel the change. Some elements go conservative, to try and merely retain the gains that have been made. What remains is usually the more radical elements of the group, and they tend to drive the agenda to its logical extreme—because that's the only way to stay relevant. The same applies to people, too.
There's a different sort of convergence at work, too. Delphi is rather foul-mouthed, but aside from the Maverick-esque slurs he throws at Mr. Slate, he mostly swears like a human instead of using the usual reploid profanity ("rust", "verdigris", "scrap"). Long and close association between Delphi and Mr. Slate has drawn them to be more like each other in some ways. Human (and, by extension, reploid) instinct: be part of your pack.
This story is set between X2 and X3, which seems to me to be the most fertile period for writing outside-the-canon stories. X1 and X2 are on a strict timetable and, well, there's no Zero between; after X3, X's premonition of killing Zero would act as a damper of sorts. Plus there's no stated timeframe between X2 and X3 that I'm aware of, so there's plenty of time to play in.
Signas' background is that he was an "investigator" before joining/becoming the leader of the Maverick Hunters. Since no one ever bothered to say what it was he was investigating (in a virus-'verse, the virus would be the logical thing, even though that would seem to guarantee his infection, but as noted before I write out the virus), this seemed like as good a place as any for me to propose a solution.
Thanks to everyone for your continued patronage. I'm publishing a little fluff piece right now ("One Link in the Cable"), about Zero being bored and an initiative to train rookie Hunters. The next major story I'm working on will not be ready for several weeks, but when it is published it will quickly change rating to 'M', as it is an exceptionally dark alternate universe—a universe so dark that Mavericks are the good guys.
Thanks again!
