Raven's Ark, Hangar
21:15
28/03/2106
The sound of rapturous cheering and applause filled the transporter hold as the ramp ahead of him slowly fell. As the brilliant lights of the Ark hold hit his dull, unfocused eyes, Berlioz Lamond stared at the massed crowd from the hold seat in utter disbelief.
It was full of people from wall to wall, they had packed even the vast space of the Ark's hangar almost shoulder to shoulder.
They didn't step onto the transporter ramp, but they were all virtually pushing to see him, their heads craning around the opening.
The noise was overwhelming, blending into an indistinct roar. Slowly on unsteady legs, he stood up, doing his best to try and dry his face with his jumpsuit sleaves.
I don't… I don't understand? He thought, walking to the end of the hold where the ramp dropped.
It was then that he could make out what some of the few at the front of the crowd were shouting at the bottom of the ramp.
"Props to the new Ninebreaker!"
"The monster got what she deserved!"
"You did the right thing man, we're proud of you!"
Two staff members were talking over the din loud enough for him to hear a snippet of their conversation, "I can't believe Wynne'd do that? I mean all those people, civilians no less, she killed all of them?"
The other nodded sagely, his arms folded across his chest, "Yep, Leonemeccanica's report says that Berlioz arrived just after she finished and he wiped the floor with her. Fucking scum had it coming. I'm glad our new Ninebreaker knows what to do with the bad guys."
The bad guys? What… What is happening?
He didn't understand, none of it made sense. Why were they talking about Wynne like that? The one they should be vilifying was him, but instead, according to what he heard, even Leonemeccanica was spreading this false version of the truth.
Knowing he couldn't just stand in silence at the mouth of the transporter hold, Berlioz stepped down onto the ramp, walking slowly towards the cheering mass.
Someone shouted, "She murdered all those people, but you avenged them good!"
He wanted to stop them and explain, they shouldn't be saying this. It wasn't right. It wasn't what happened. How could they believe something so wrong?
More voices carried, cutting through the din, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, Wynne's family lost everything. No settlement, her contract was voided so they get nothing. She served Leonemeccanica for six years, was Ninebreaker for over four of those, and she just loses her mind and fucks it all up. A real shame."
Berlioz reached the front of the crowd as he heard this, losing his footing slightly and staggering into the people at the front.
One caught him, laughing and said, "Woah there hero, you don't look so good, you need a drink."
Everyone's cheers renewed.
Berlioz almost threw up on the man.
Hero…
How could they? They called him hero, while he returned with the blood of children and families on his hands. He was no hero. He wasn't even a Raven. He was just a sad, pathetic bird with broken wings.
It hit him like a lightning bolt, everything made sense in a sickening way. Of course this was the story everyone believed, because in order for Berlioz to keep doing his work, he needed someone else to take the fall in his place.
The only person that would do something like that for him, was Victor Rayleonard.
Victor would have spoken to Leonemeccanica the moment the Operator confirmed Berlioz's completion of the mission. He would have likely levelled some threat or bargain against them, to force them into covering up the truth.
With Rayleonard now in control of the Ninebreaker, he had the leverage to make such things become reality.
…No one will mourn you. There will be no one to bury you…
She had told him this because she already knew that is what her fate held in stock for her. Wynne went into that fight, knowing full well what would happen if she failed. But instead, she had made the selfless choice, to protect the many.
Her last wish, to save innocent lives, was crushed by Berlioz and in turn, he stole what her family were entitled to on her passing.
Everyone around him was still smiling, laughing, joking. Patting him on the back and telling him what a good job he'd done.
The speaker system in the hanger crackled to life and the voice of Governor Archambault boomed out, silencing the gathering.
"Berlioz, I would like to personally congratulate you on achieving the S-Rank 1 position, as well as claiming the title of Ninebreaker. I am grateful to you for… Putting an end to Wynne D. Fanchon's actions this afternoon. You have my thanks, as well as the thanks of everyone on the Ark."
A roar like thunder rolled from the crowd as everyone cheered again, breaking the silence that had fallen moments earlier.
He knew.
The Governor knew what had happened and did nothing. His tone said it all, despite the words. There was unmistakeable resentment and spite in those words of praise.
Ninebreaker.
The weight of the word suddenly pressed down on him as Berlioz processed what exactly he had heard. There was no going back now. No way to reach for the comfort of the past.
He could never face Alicia now after what he had done. How could he ever expect her to forgive him for the horrific acts he committed?
Berlioz's knees gave out from under him, no longer able to support him as he collapsed to the Hangar deck.
No one seemed to care as he finally broke down completely, howling in grief. Sobbing shaking his entire body as he cried on his knees.
The world continued on as normal as Berlioz Lamond gave into his sorrow, unable to cope with his own actions. Knowing that he was responsible for his own self-destruction, he could do nothing but scream in anguish as the tears ran down his face and into his blood soaked hands.
#####
Toronto II, Rayleonard Recruitment Centre
21:05
22/02/2106
Justin Carpenter was on the verge of falling asleep when the door to the Recruitment Centre slid open, a quiet chime indicating that someone had entered.
He had specifically chosen to work the later shifts because the amount of people signing up to die for the Corporations typically dropped off to around zero once it went past dinner time and that suited him just fine.
The paperwork could take an age to fill out if a person's records weren't in order and often could get shirty with the staff if it seemed like they were being turned away for no good reason.
When Justin actually saw the person who had walked in, he was more shocked at her appearance than the time at which she decided to enter.
She had short black hair that looked like it had been hacked away at with a saw blade instead of a hairdresser's scissors. The thin black t-shirt she wore had a strange stain on the front but he couldn't get a good look at it as the long open woollen coat that she had on was waving in front of it.
The expression on her face was what scared him, she looked tired, but at the same time the hollows under her eyes did nothing to soften the piercing glare that bore into him as she approached.
"Can I… Help you?" He asked as she stopped abruptly at the front of the desk.
She looked him dead in the eye, "I want to sign up."
"Ok," Justin quickly looked around but unfortunately one of the downsides to the late shift was that you had to man the desk alone. "Do you have any identification?"
She took out her wallet and handed him a standard issue identification card, which he inspected.
The photo definitely looked like her, although she had long straight black hair instead of the short rough cut she had now.
"Can I see your personal records?"
As her eyes narrowed, Justin suddenly got the feeling this wasn't going to be like the other times he asked this question.
"Look," she said, "I don't have time for this so I'll make it easy for you."
A second later he was staring down the barrel of a Rayleonard service pistol that she had pulled out from the back of her trousers.
"Either you forget about the paperwork and sign me on, or the cleaning crew mop up your brains off the floor behind you."
The stains on her shirt gave him the impression that this wasn't the first time she'd had to do something like his.
He looked back to the ID card, before pulling out a registration form and started filling out the details.
A minute later he folded it in half and handed it back to her.
"Alice Hutchinson, welcome to the Rayleonard Armed Forces."
#####
Former Kansas State, Raven's Ark Crash Site
18:45
25/08/2112
With the last shovel load of dirt on the pile, Elijah Thomson drove the tool's blade into the charred ground, leaving it embedded there as he let back on a piece of debris.
The upper half of his jumpsuit was tied around his waist as the exertion from digging in the desert caused sweat to pour off him.
Letting out a long sigh, he picked up a large thin piece of metal that had been tied to a steel tube and started to scratch away at it with his utility knife.
As much as running and never stopping was the sensible idea, he'd burnt out what little energy Havok had returning to the Ark's resting place. The AC was left on one knee at the head of the dirt pile, watching over it.
So far he'd managed to hold it together, burying the swelling emotion in his chest under the task of digging.
It had worked so far, but once he was done with his work on the metal panel, there would be nothing left to distract him.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, he was finished. Walking around to the end of the pile where Havok knelt, he drove the pole into the ground, the dirt giving way enough that it wasn't necessary to dig a hole for it to stand in.
Then he walked to the other end to admire his craft.
Sure enough, he could feel it all boiling over as his eyes began to sting.
He didn't want to say it, but he had to say it out loud. He needed to hear it.
He swallowed painfully before speaking.
"I was never good at this so I'll make… I'll make it quick."
If he didn't he'd never be able to finish, "I wanted to say thank you, for the inspiration to do better. For the honest words you gave me and the story you told. It can't have been easy to tell me but I will always be grateful that you trusted me."
He sniffed, rubbing his eyes as he continued, "I don't have much left for me anymore. The first thing I did was come here so I could do this for you because you deserved this much. I wish I could have done more but for now, I can do something for you."
Elijah stood up straight, regaining his composure somewhat, "I'll make sure the world knows the truth. I'll make sure they know the hell you went through under the Corporations. Everyone will see through their lies, I promise you that. They will pay, all of them."
His fists hurt from clenching so hard but he carried on, "And I'll find Alicia, I'll find her, keep her safe because you can't anymore and that's ok that you can't. God knows you've earned it. So please… Please rest long, and rest well."
After a moment of silence, he turned and walked away, the metal plate wavering slightly, reading.
Here lies
Berlioz Lamond
05/01/2079 - 23/08/2112
A Good Man
[-]
The End
[-]
Afterword:
Well as I'm sure you can tell by the upload date on this and the last chapter, I unfortunately failed NaNoWriMo 2015. But without it, I likely would never have written this as quickly as I did.
I want to apologize for any lapse in quality during this fic as it was written with virtually no thought to spending time going over it like I did with Burning Path, but I feel that in a way, Broken Wings perhaps needed that sense of urgency to achieve the themes I wanted to carry across.
Like with Burning Path, I want to thank all the readers and reviewers, past, present and future for taking the time to read my work.
I hope that you continue to enjoy any future fics that I may write.
Thank you again, I hope you have a wonderful day.
-MrMasher