Disclaimer: UT2003 is the property of Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Other than its products is the imagination of the author. Characters such as Tanya Menace, Zack Vicklair, and others will make appearances in this book.
(a/n): Well, well, well. I wonder what all of you are thinking right now. This is the sequel to my previous work, "Vengeance For Blood". If you have not read the previous story, I advise you to do so because you will not know the main character's ambition and character. Those of you who have read it, I know you all and I love you all! Just want to say thanks one more time to all of you, that's all. Oh, and this story takes place during the UT2003.
Well, ENJOY.
Justified RevengeChapter 1 -Ruthless Wake-
"For hope is but the dream of those that wake." –Mathew Prior (1664-1721)
It was quite in the old tavern; a few groups of people scattered around corners, whispering and minding their own business. It wasn't one of the safest places to be during this time of day, but there are much more dangerous places, as well.
Alien races of different kind were up near the counter, drinking bear and other beverages. This is how it was today at Lunar Colonies, humans are not alone out there. Especially after a visit of the new Empire back at Earth, we had to escape it or face imprisonment.
Funny how humans used to have the cutting-edge technology and were at brink of a Golden Age, when suddenly all was taken away with one wave from the Emperor and all came crushing down under it's own weight. Cutting-edge technology didn't help with that and soon humans have joined the club of the slaves. Wonder what our ancestors think of us now.
There are not enough of us left as still free agents, most joining the resistance groups against the Emperor. Most of us are nothing but cowards, cowering in corners, praying to God for hope. What faith these people have. There are just a few that are lost to yet another deep misunderstanding. Misunderstanding about everything that this world is now today.
If you are a survivor, you'll understand soon enough that there is neither hope nor faith. Well maybe there is false hope but that's not something I'm ready to rely on. I don't have time to believe in things that do not exit.
Maybe some of these Sewer Rats will finally understand that God won't come down to Earth and just fix everything, giving humanity everything it ever had. Some believe that it is punishment from God, such as the Elders. But as I've heard God doesn't punish and I'm not a believer either.
The way I do my business is quite simple. No one out there can help you, if you fall behind you are left behind. Just like in the military but without the training. And so I'm a Loner or a Scaper as some might call me as. But I don't care what the world is turning to. I only have one concern, Dessloch.
The only man that I used to love. Even a fierce warrior has a weakness and it turns out that Dessloch is mine. I have a lot to thank him for, bringing me to the Lunar Colonies and keeping me safe. But I'm not those types of women that are damsels in distress. I'm going to find out what happened to him and I won't go quietly at that, either.
"Vicklair." I kept my voice cool and low so no one overheard what we are going to talk about. I walked over the round table he sat at and saw his smiling face. "Menace." He smiled as he offered me a seat, which I accepted with gratitude.
It wasn't easy to get here, through all the security and the Imperial Guards. It was a pain and chaos out there. Slowly but surely the Resistance Group will be destroyed. Bounty Hunters are everywhere these days, as well as spies. You can't trust anyone out here, not that I ever did.
The trip was long, I had to take the tunnels underneath the city and it wasn't pretty. Some are cut off from oxygen, those sewers where only the bots are allowed. Security found themselves down there as well, had to take a few of them out. But at least I owned myself another weapon.
"Is it ready?" I asked him, as I tried to sound excited and at the same time quiet.
Zack Vicklair is a very old friend of mine. We two go back in history when I was still a teen. That was about ten years ago. He's a good pal and I count him as my older brother if not like my father.
He is an expert in computers and designing. His other expertises are strategy and weapon classification. To me, Zack is like a walking encyclopedia; ask any question and he'll know the answer.
"As ready as it could be." Zack, unlike me, consumed his enthusiasm but was smiling viscously.
"Then let us go." I stood up from the table and he followed me.
"And go we shall."
The both of us headed for the exit but stopped short as a group in black capes went into the old tavern. "Beggars." I whispered quietly as I looked around for another way out. "No." Zack said and I stared back at him. "Runners."
Great. Runners are those people who are wanted by the Emperor. I don't want to be staying long enough for the League to come and arrest us. Runners are dangerous people, because they carry horrendous burdens on their shoulders and most of the time those burdens fall on others.
The Runner in the front looked up at us, as I couldn't read his face. Somehow I had a bad feeling that this certain individual knew who we were, and that is not a good thing.
"Tanya Menace? Zack Vicklair?" The hooded Runner asked.
"Who wants to know?" Zack sounded very dangerously, his mechanical, scarred eye proved that he means business; his hand slowly making it's away towards his hidden holster.
The Runner, as if knowing he is interrupting, raised his hands in alarm and sounded surprised, "We do not mean trouble, Vicklair. We are here to ask for help."
"We do not deal with outsiders." I answered him, noticing Zack didn't ease off. We don't need a riot here, but Zack seems to be more suspicious of them than I would expect. Maybe they are not Runners after all.
"We are from the Resistance Group. Our leaders would like to speak to you about an important matter." The man said, sounding sincere, but that doesn't really matter. He's a Rebel and we aren't what you would call friends. They are trying to recruit people to help the Resistance Group, but I had enough of action past few years to last a lifetime. We don't want to help them deal with their own problems; we have plenty of our own.
"We have no business with your leaders." Zack voiced my thoughts, finally taking his hand away from the hidden weapon.
"Please, we came a long way here. It was troublesome finding you." The Rebel pleaded.
"Then your search was in vain." This time I spoke. "We don't have any important matter to discuss with your leaders. You have chosen your path and so did we. Now if you would excuse us, we will—"
I didn't finish my sentence when the three Rebels swung their weapons in our faces at same time when my instincts kicked in, and I kicked away the assault gun from the guy in front of me as Zack drew out two Enforcer Navy Models and aimed at the other two.
The people at the tavern gasped behind us, but I had no time to look at them. "Like I said. If you would excuse us, we will be going." I picked up the assault weapon he dropped and the two of us slowly walked out of the bar, Zack still had his guns trained.
"They are starting to annoy me." I made myself clear when the two of us walked out. Both of us walked up to our GravBikes and I took my helmet and mounted the bike. It revved to life and we drove away.
The door swung up into the ceiling after I finished typing in the code. Home sweet home, I thought as I entered with Zack and dropped my helmet on the nearest couch. Would have been homier if Dessloch would still be here, but the past is history written in stone. There was no way I could change the past, but I still have a shot at a future. I had a feeling that he was still alive—no, I believed that he was still alive. Dessloch is a survivor, like I am.
"Well what have the crew said?" I asked as I drowned in the couch comfortably and closed my eyes.
"That we are ready to go." I heard Zack's footsteps as he walked over to the couch opposite of me. "They are waiting for you, but we don't want to be late or they'll charge more money." Zack sounded disgusted.
I opened my eyes and leaned forward with my hands knotted together. "How much will it cost?" I asked him in stillness. "Fifty thousand of American Dollars." I closed my eyes at his answer.
Bastards. The Albategnius Space Station is the only station that flies in Sector Double E, which is the closet to where we are. It doesn't help that they are the only space station that can be bribed, either.
Going to Earth is one of the craziest ideas any colonist will have these days. It's dangerous and most of the time the colonists get imprisoned because the new Empire has his soldiers setting up a perimeter. Places like police stations, laboratories, super markets, fire departments, and many more are all under control of the Emperor. Everyone who is part of the Resistance Group live underground or in abandoned stations. To make it sound easier, it is same thing as people living in the sewers or in trash back on Earth.
"We'll make a stop on our way to there." Zack said, leaving me in question.
"A stop?" I asked him, as I sounded surprised.
"Yeah." Zack smiled. "Cripton said he has a present for you."
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Cripton. He is definitely older than Zack and acts as though he was born yesterday; an optimist on the bright side but annoying on the dark one.
"A present? Like what? A C-4?" I made it sound like I was very interested, but Zack caught on quick, he always does.
"No, something else. I won't spoil it for the old fart bag. But if you really wanted a C-4, go ask an Imperial Guard." Zack smiled at his own words.
"Fart Bag? He isn't much older than you Zack? What does that make you?" I joked around with my clear voice.
"A young fart bag? No, how about an old fruit cake." Zack's humor didn't falter, glad that he didn't take these things seriously.
"Well then, we better hurry. The launch will start soon and as you have said before, we wouldn't want to be late." I stood up from the couch, Zack following me as he called to me, "You need to take anything?"
"No, I have arranged my equipment on Earth." I told him as the two of us went out and the door closed shut.
"You still have some connections back on Earth?" Zack sounded surprised, but I wouldn't blame him. He didn't spend enough time as I did with my old team that I used to serve on, the team of the first stage of the Unreal Tournament. Too bad I couldn't keep my champion position, hopefully Malcolm is kicking ass, and for a good purpose.
"Does Boris ring a bell?" I mounted the GravBike.
"Boris?"
"Uh-huh. Before Dessloch left he said that if anything happens, I should contact him and I did." After I finished I put the helmet on. Zack mounted his own GravBike and nodded. "Alright then. Let's move." He took the helmet and put it on as we both headed for Cripton.
"Electro-Trauma?" I asked aloud as we silenced the bikes in front of an old building, with the wording dimming with crackling noises. "Doesn't the guy have a better imagination?" I swung my leg from the bike and stood on the ground.
Electro-Trauma was, also, used back on Earth. Cripton, the guy operating that building, saved my life with the modern Unreal technology. The Liandri raided the building shortly after our leave to the Lunar Colonies, and now he is here with the same title. He has some guts to put that up, if one of the people comes by here who works for the Empire, Cripton is as good as dead.
"You know." Zack said as he mounted off his own bike and came up to the doors of the building. "You should be more thankful, that GUY saved your life, you know?"
I rolled my eyes at his answer as I came up to him. "Yeah, well I'm not because I need to face more torture, more frustration, more of combat, and—oh yeah—the 'how-you-can't-remember-me' speech from Cripton, who also, uses his full name as a password. I mean, he isn't Einstein, he BEATS Einstein." I tried to sound as sarcastic as possible, but my performance only ranked me a frown.
Zack shook his head, "You know, Tanya, that tournament has changed you."
"I'm glad you noticed. Too bad it didn't change you either. Maybe you'd be looking from my point of view instead." I walked passed him and opened the doors.
"But it didn't change me." Zack defended himself as he walked into the building with me. "And I'm glad that it didn't, we would have been dead with our pessimistic, suicidal attitude." He finished as I raised one eyebrow, and walked down the poorly lit hallway.
"Pessimistic, maybe. Suicidal, no." I pointed out as I crossed my hands and glanced over Zack. "You mean, pessimistic—yes, and suicidal, maybe?" His voice was dark with no humor written across his face.
I sighed as I dropped my hands to my side, trying to figure out if he was kidding or actually being serious. Sometimes it's hard to tell what Zack is up to, I give him credit for that, I always do.
We took a turn and walked up to what looked like a waiting room. Plenty of worn couches stood against the walls of the rectangular room and a huge chandelier with broken light bulbs. There was another exit opposite of which we came from.
"Well?" I stopped in the middle of the room. "What now?" I asked Zack, looking around the broken interior. Zack leaned against the east wall, ignoring my question. I frowned but said nothing as I just stood in the middle.
"Don't move." A voice quietly said as a man approached from the hallway I was facing. My hands went straight for my weapon but I got a nudge at the back of my head with a barrel instead. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Another sly voice behind me, said. Quickly, I was disarmed as Zack still stood against the wall, smiling at the strangers who filed into the room and trained their guns at him.
(a/n): First chapter up and took quite some time, even if I had it plan. Well, that's how it is. School started, and just wishing things would get easier, they have gotten harder instead. Well, at least the work isn't stopping me from writing.
Hope you like the idea that I have showed in this chapter. Tell me what you think. Do you like the first-person perspective? Or should I go back to third-person?
A presto.