Corrupt Beauty
By- Zell's Girl
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The afternoon sun beat down on the deck as Zenan became present on the horizon. I was unaware of that at the time, for I was sitting in the cargo hold of an enemy ship. Karsh was next to me, polishing his axe. Zoah and Glenn were sitting this mission out. It made sense, since it was a small mission to begin with. That's why we alone were hiding in the enemy vessel in those annoying, itchy Porre uniforms.
I ran my fingers across my necklace chain. The lone charm slid about, but I really didn't notice. My thoughts were on something else. Well, more along the lines of someone… Van Rudalya.
No matter how hard I tried to remove Van from my chain of thought, the image of him grew more distinct in my head. I knew it was risky to be consumed by outside matters on a mission, but it seemed that he was there to stay, firmly planted in the back of my head.
Van…
I can't escape you even a million miles away, can I? I thought to myself, continuing to fiddle with my necklace.
"So, this is it?" I said looking about the new Viper Manor garden.
Van beamed at his design work, "Isn't it spectacular?"
I understood what he meant, but I really am not as sentimental as Van. The flowers were pretty, I suppose, a variety of colors and shapes, but spectacular wasn't quite the word I would have used.
"It's a nice place."
"Well… you may not see it the way I do, but this is a unique garden I designed, all the rarest flowers from as far as Zenan. A beautiful place for a beautiful girl. Oh, and the rest of the manor's residents." I smiled a little; Van's compliments meant very to me. Not many people can treat someone like me, with my job and duties, kindly.
"Remember Marcy, beauty is everywhere, whether in a rare purple iris or a glistening sword. It just needs to be found."
I shook the thought of that night and look to the lone porthole window. I could spot the port ahead. I signalled to Karsh that we are arriving. He nodded. My companion started rereading the debriefing and I looked over his shoulder down at the paper.
Mission- Infiltrate Porre missile silo and destroy computer panel.
Priority One- If not destroyed; El Nido could be easily destroyed.
Once mission is completed, head to the docks in Porre. An empty
black boat with a red Zenan emblem with no eyes will be waiting
for you. Remain inconspicuous. Take as few casualties as possible.
I stopped at those lines. I really didn't want to read any more of it. I focused on the mission. Destroy computer panel; try to make it in quick and simple. Board ship, sail home. That's only a day or two. Not much work.
Just then, the boat hit the shore. The impact nearly made me fall over, but I held steady. An actual soldier entered the room. My eyes widened under my goofy helmet.
"Hey, um, what are you guys doing down here?"
"Captain said that we need to guard the cargo; he says that sometimes stowaways come aboard." Karsh lied.
"Oh. Um, both of you?" he asked, rather confused.
"Marcus here was taking down records of the cargo for the captain while I searched for intruders." Karsh offered calmly. Karsh really had gotten the hang of lying to people long before I knew him.
"Hey, I have to head to Captain now, I'll take the reports for you if ya want." I noted that for the enemy, he sure seemed polite. They are such sweet, lovable morons, those curtious ones.
"No, Marcus has to deliver them. It's said that someone might tamper with them. Better not to take any risks."
"Oh, okay then! See ya at the base," the soldier said, walking out of the cargo hold.
I smiled at Karsh. If it weren't for him I don't know what I would have done. I probably would have tied the soldier up and shoved him in some cargo and run like hell. I guess I should learn to rely less on strength.
I followed Karsh up several stairs, passing by many other soldiers. I cloaked my nerves and anger as best as I could as I passed them by. The soldiers socialized normally. I glared at them. The Porre were just pointless monsters blocking my way. To slay one would have no effect then.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Making it out of the ship was rather simple; just go up every staircase to the bridge. From the bridge we left onto the dock's abandoned boardwalk. When we were far out of sight, Karsh and I removed our helmets. Karsh pulled out a map from his pocket.
"It's not far, and we should wait 'til night anyway." Karsh informed me. "Wanna go shopping or something? Most girls your age like shopping."
"Am I most girls?" I protested to Karsh's teasing. Karsh laughed; he knew I didn't fall into any stereotypes and he would use all of them as jokes.
"Let's stop at a bar, I'm parched as hell."
"Sounds good to me." We pulled our helmets back on and headed into town.
Porre was such a pretty and well-designed city. I didn't appreciate as a child the sheer beauty of the Porre architecture. I recalled what Van had said, 'there's beauty in everything'. This even applied to the city that posed greatest threat to El Nido.
"This looks nice." Karsh said, stopping outside a small bar. On a simple wooden sign it said 'Vemoria Tavern'. It had nicely painted red exterior walls and elm doors. It looked rather expensive place, but Karsh always had plenty of money on hand. We Devas made a nice salary. I actually had the most of all of us, considering that I was an Acacia Dragoon Deva since I was five years old and was never much to splurge on luxuries unless I wanted the item in question terribly.
When we walked into the bar, it looked pretty interesting. The walls were a pale blue with hardwood floors, and three sides of the wall were counters aligned with simple red stools. A few civilians were in there with around three soldiers. Karsh and I took a seat along the left wall.
"What'll it be, boys?" asked a young woman barkeeper, shaking up a drink for one of the other customers.
"A beer and a water," Karsh said.
"Water? We don't serve water." The bartender replied, easily annoyed.
"Um, how 'bout tomato juice?" Karsh answered, thinking of non-alcoholic drinks for me.
"Well, all right." The lady got right to work.
"Hey, I know you!" one of the soldiers said from behind us. Karsh and I looked at each other and turned around. I was ready to bolt out the door until I relized who the voice was from. "Yer those guys from the cargo hold patrol!"
It was just the guy from the ship. Good. He smiled and walked over to us. He sat next to Karsh and seemed pretty happy to see other soldiers. He peels off his helmet and puts it on the bar.
"Hey Anya! I'd like a coffee please."
"Comin' up sweety!" she chirped to him. She seemed much less hostile towards the cheerful soldier.
I look down and noticed my drink was there. I raise the glass and sipped a little from it.
The Porre man slapped himself in the head lightly. "Oh, sorry, my name's Trip," He introduced.
"I'm Keith, and that's Marcus. Pleasure to meet 'cha." Karsh extended his hand. The two grinned at each other and started to drink down their beverages.
"How long you two been with the Porre Army?" Trip asked. He obviously just wanted to socialize. He reminded me of Van a little as I inspected him. Their facial builds were quite similar and they shared rare purple eyes.
"We enlisted together about 7 years ago. We met up again for the first time in a year on the ship today." Karsh could always just make up things so well and remember them perfectly. I hoped he could remember it.
"Nifty." Trip chimmed vibrantly. "I guess Marcus is the quiet one?"
Karsh knew I had to keep quiet, due to my obviously feminine voice. "Marcus was injured in a mission in a few years ago; shredded his vocal chords."
Great, I thought, not only am I a guy I'm mute guy.
"I'm sorry." Trip stirred his coffee a little, looking down. "Are you guys on the mission tonight?"
Karsh raised an eyebrow. Anything to interfere could be huge trouble.
"Patrolling the main road to the silo for a couple hours."
"Nah, we're on guard," Karsh said happily. "And you shouldn't speak about the missions with civilians in the area, could be spies." Karsh removed his helmet and placed it on the table. I restrained a sigh in sorrow that my stuff helmet needed to remain on.
"Damn!" Trip sighed, sounding rather ashamed. "I am such a terrible soldier!"
"Don't worry, kid, just wait. You'll become better in time," Karsh reassured him. The two smiled at each other. Trip further reminded me of Van right then. His face, attitude, and smile were just too alike. With his spirit he shouldn't be a good soldier. The thought of Van as a dragoon scared me when it came to mind. Kind people weren't meant to be soldiers. It seemed possible that his spirit would dull and he would become a good soldier with time...
Sadly this man didn't have time on his side.
The two socialized while I listened to them for the next several hours. Trip was a really nice guy. He had a girlfriend who he worshipped. He loved to sing and write. The bartender and he were childhood friends. He didn't drink because he had a father who used to drink. He was at a literary art school until his parents pulled the tuition and he joined the military.
Karsh seemed pretty laid back from his usual edgy self that evening. When we were sneaking up the path at half past nine, he was careless about the amount of noise he made. I told him of this and he immediately snapped back into good old sneaky Karsh.
We made it to the silo dodging several guards. The doors weren't secured; there were probably snipers somewhere nearby though. Luckily, they wouldn't notice two of 'their own' soldiers walking into a weapon's silo.
When we got inside, I realized how big a missile actually was. I pulled off my helmet to see if I was just seeing an amplified version through the visor. I wasn't. Anything that big that exploded would kill everyone in a large radius. That proved to me the threat. We couldn't screw this one up.
Karsh moved directly to the panel. I stuck by the door, watching for men on patrol. Karsh took out his axe and stripped the top layer of metal off. He knew what he was looking for, a 'chip' as Norris used to say. It was a flat, small piece of metal usually at the center of a device. It was a computer-brain, so once you removed it the whole thing died.
I looked around as Karsh dug into the metal casing of the machine. The coast seemed clear. I just had to be careful, stay on guard.
"How's it coming?" I called up to Karsh.
"I should be able to find it before midnight." Karsh replied, not even looking out at me.
I relaxed against a wall and was covered by pleasent shadow. I closed my eyes. Van instantly invaded my thoughts. I pondered the life he lived. He was so idealistic, innocent-minded. Sometimes I thought that he and I were polar opposites.
Then, I noticed something in reality; footsteps. My well-trained ears could pick them up easily once I was paying attention. Up on the catwalk, someone was sneaking up behind Karsh. I knew if I yelled the guy would strike Karsh right in the back.
I climbed up few boxes and hopped onto the catwalk. The tearing and ripping of wires which sparked and sizzled from Karsh's direction blocked out the sound of my stealthy movements. I ran quickly. Step after step, I knew the guy was approaching Karsh with every intent to strike him down.
I would not let myself lose one of my few friends.
My steps grew faster. I drew my sword when I was about 20 feet away. The soldier noticed the vibrations of the floor. He turned around just in time to get an unintention full blow from my blade. To my horror, the blood literally sprayed at me. That had never happened before. I hit an artery or something I suppose. His blood collided with my face and uniform, causing me to shut my eyes for a second.
"Damn!" I yelled. Damn... damn... damn... the walls echoed. I wasn't aiming to kill. I wouldn't in this kind of mission. I intended just to injure him, but he had to turn around. He had to make my strike fatal.
I quickly removed the enemy's helmet. I looked at the soldier in horrified awe. It was Trip. He wasn't quite dead, but slipping fast.I looked to Karsh who was watching, I nodded and Karsh continued in the machine.
"Come on Trip, don't die." I said, placing my ear to his chest.
"Who…" He started. "The bar…"
"Shut up and don't die, kid!" I yell. Yelling at someone who's dying…
That's just how I was.
"You're… Acacians…" He knew who we were, it was obvious. Hell, how many people wouldn't recognize us? We're infamous. Man with purple hair, blonde girl who fights, 7-foot tall giant, how inconspicuous! "I'm… so… stupid…"
He stopped. He was dead. I stood up and grabbed my sword. I looked down at the blade. Covered in blood. I shoved it back in my scabbard. I stepped over the body cautiously and went to Karsh. He held up the chip up to me then shoved it in his pocket. He thoroughly destroyed the rest of the machine. Then, we simply left
We left Trip's body there, lifeless on the grated floor. His blood slipped through the grates, puddling on the floor twenty feet below.
We walked cautiously down the two-mile path back. When Karsh and I made it to the city, we ran down the empty streets to our Porre boat. It was quite easy to spot, being the only docked lifeboat. The motor turned on with ease, and we were off.
The sun came up after a sleepless night of silence. Karsh never talked on a boat he's piloting. I rubbed my eyes so I could get a nice view of the sunrise over Guldove. Then, I noticed my hands. Smears of dry blood were still on them. Also, Trip's blood was under my fingernails.
I dipped my hands into the water the boat passed over. I rubbed the cool liquid all over my face. I massaged my weary eyes for a few seconds more seconds. The manor was only about an hour away now. I was hoping the manor and my friends would ease my troubled mind.
Silence, bitter silence. I hate it sometimes. Silence seems melodically malicious, deceptively peaceful. In the silence, all my worst thoughts rose. All my regrets consumed me. The thoughts ran amok and trampled over the serenity I should find.
Karsh nearly crashed us into the Viper Manor bluffs. I hopped ashore and helped Karsh tie the boat up. We headed up the walls together, avoiding the off-sprays and falling rocks.
At the top, Zoah and Glenn awaited our arrival. The four Devas need to spend time together. A friendship was near imperative. We needed to be loyal so to make us feel responsible for each others. It's a genius plan really.
"Hey guys, how was the mission?" Glenn asked happily, his wiry little smile emerging. He was obviously happy to have us back, but I really wanted to go to my room. I was very distraught. I left silently, and no one would notice until I was gone. Karsh always did the talking anyway.
My head pounded as I walked through the halls still in Porre uniform. Many of the men drew ther swords but quickly returned them to their scabbards as they realized it was just me.
I slammed the door to my room as I entered; I felt that then the word would get around that I am in a bad mood.
Regretfully, I looked at my mirror. My fake uniform still had blood on it. My stomach turned at the sight. I immediately took off the wretched things and threw them into a corner.
I opened my closet and took out my training clothes. I knew that the dragoons would go for a couple of hours of training like we always do in the mornings. I pulled on a skintight sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts.
I didn't like the attention this kind of clothes give me from some of the more unintellegent male soldiers as I walk down the halls. But hell, they are the best things I could wear for working out. Anyway, when I had the other guys around, the soldiers don't even cast a glance near me without being snarled at.
I walk back over to the mirror and inspect myself. I fixed my hair and all that other stuff before I look back at my fingernails. I still had blood beneath them. It was in the process of frustrating me when I knock came on the door.
"WHAT!?" I yell, not noticing my tone or volume in my annoyance.
"Marcy, it's time for training." Glenn called in the door. "You coming, or do ya need some sleep or something?"
I opened the door and walk out of my room. Zoah and Glenn are outside waiting. "Hey, guys."
"Hey Marcy, why'd ya leave earlier?" Glenn asked as we all walked down the hallway.
"YES. IT WAS RATHER ODD," Zoah points out.
"Well, I wanted to change out of that itchy uniform as soon as possible. Where's Karsh?" I asked.
"HE SAID WRITING THE MISSION REPORT TO GENERAL." I felt informed then, which was always a good thing.
Glenn shook his head. "Nah, he's probably sleeping."
"The weak little jerk." I grumbled jokingly. "Can't even live without sleeping for a week!"
The others laughed a little as we all enter the training room. I still felt bad about last night. The thoughts started to seep in as I walk to the punching bag. I started pummeling the bag as my thoughts arose.
You never thought of the enemy as people. They aren't anyone. But look, you killed a real person, not some sort of enemy beast. He was a perfectly nice person at that.
How many people have you killed, Marcella? How many people have you murdered that had friends, family lives…? You are a self-righteous bastard, Marcy.
I didn't notice the speed of my fists. I was moving faster and faster. Glenn and Zoah stopped sparring and watched me. I was moving to fast with too little energy.
Marcy, you never want to lose anyone. The enemies aren't monsters, they are like you. No wait, they aren't like you, you're the monster.
According to Glenn and Zoah, I passed out after about 5 minutes of rampaging over the punching bag. They carried me off to the infirmary, where I lied asleep for about two days. The doctor said I overheated.