Hey, guess what? I'M ALIVE! Yes, I know that it's been a while since I've updated any of my works besides contributing to the Collaboration. Oh writer's block and preparing for college, how I hated thee. Let me count the ways...or days. Either way, I'm back with some new material, and I'll be updating my works gradually, and hopefully more often than...I can't remember when I last updated.
So, glad to be back, guys, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 30
Carolina stumbled blindly in the dark of the underground tunnel as the gigantic thing that she had stumbled across chased after her, rocks cracking as it shifted its enormous bulk through the too-small passage to get to its prey. After she had first crashed into the hissing, hard-shelled creature, she had first tried to fight it with her bare hands, then a large rock. If the spitting and a burning wound in her leg was anything to go by, that only made the situation worse.
Carolina sidled through a large crack that she tripped in front of and found herself in a large cavern, standing on a stone bridge about ten feet across. High above her, a single crack in the ceiling shone light down on her, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. A single pincer came through the crack, and she shifted backwards away from the disgusting, mottled grey weapon. It shifted from side to side, trying to get through the crack without success. And withdrew.
The second after Carolina released a breath of relief, a huge weight slammed against the thin stone, widening the crack significantly. "Shit!" Carolina cursed as she shuffled backwards, but her leg gave out from beneath her with a fiery blast of pain. A single barb was embedded in her calf, oozing a yellow viscous liquid that mixed with a thin trickle of blood. The crack widened further. A gigantic scorpion-thing came missing at her and charged. This was the end.
Something leapt in front of Carolina and slammed into the charging creature, sending it crashing into the stone bridge face first. Arms wrapped around Carolina's torso and hoisted her upright, pulling her across the cavern and away from the light. "Le…mego…take care of myself…" Carolina tried to talk as she was pulled through another crack and set against a large boulder.
"Shut up for a moment and let me take care of the pest," a loud, clear voice snarled down at her as her rescuer turned back towards the crack. In what little lighting there was, Carolina saw a long braid of black hair and tanned skin.
Dawn slipped back through the crack to the stone bridge and saw that furry scorpion mutation, an Arachnatica, getting back to its multitude of legs. She felt by her feet for a minute, found the thinnest point in the stone, and stomped down on it as hard as she could. The stone shuddered under her feet, and Dawn leapt backward as the Arachnatica race forward at the being that had disturbed its hunting. She slid back through the crack partway as it came closer and closer, baiting it to come to the weak spot. With a menacing click, one of the Arachnatica's legs hit the stone that she had pressured, and it disintegrated under the mottled grey appendage. The bridge rocked and fell away into the endless chasm below, carrying the flailing and growling Arachnatica with the rubble.
"Don't move," Dawn said as she knelt down by the weak Carolina, who had her head tilted back against the boulder. "You've been poisoned."
"Thanks…stating the…obvious," Carolina mumbled. Dawn slapped the red-head hard across the face.
"You stay with me there. Don't close your eyes." In the darkness, Dawn spotted a dangling root system. Using the sharp rock she had grabbed, she cut a bit of the drying, dead woody stuff away from the ceiling. She struck her makeshift weapon against the wall and let the roots catch the sparks. A few moments of blowing on the embers and waving away the pungent smoke, Dawn had a steady flame going. She used the light to examine the wound in Carolina's leg. Using her knife again, Dawn opened the wound slightly (despite Carolina's yowl of pain) and extracted the poisoned barb.
"The poison went pretty deep, but you should be fine," Dawn said distractedly as she started heating the stone in her hand with the fire. "I'm going to burn the wound to mitigate the venom."
"Why are…you helping me?" Carolina asked, a little stronger without the stabbing pain of the Arachnatica's barb in her leg. Dawn said nothing for a moment, concentrating on not burning herself as she prepared the stone for cauterizing the wound.
"I need to get you out of here, and you do me no good dead," came the gruff response. "Bite down on this," she handed a stick up to Carolina for her to bite on. The red head stuck the object in her mouth and held it with her teeth, then bit down hard as the hot stone cauterized her wound. The residual liquid and pus around the wound hissed and sputtered nastily as the tissue was super heated. The pain was almost unbearable, but Carolina wasn't a Freelancer for nothing. She could handle worse pain than this, and she had once upon a time.
"It's done," Dawn said finally, pulling the stone away. Where once there had been an ugly barb spewing venom and blood, there was now a light red and pink burn scar. "Can you get up?"
Carolina pushed herself into a standing position and tried to put some weight on her healing leg. She staggered and shook for a moment, then stood up straighter and took a few hesitant steps. "I'm good," she said gruffly.
"Good." Dawn folded her arms. "Carolina, what are you doing here on my planet?"
Carolina leaned against the rock and folded her arms across her chest as well. "Freelancer business. You don't need to know."
"I obviously do if it helped my deranged ex-boyfriend to kidnap you. Who else was with you?"
"South and Virginia, but they should be fine," Carolina shrugged. Dawn's eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes lit dangerously. "They're not little kids, Dawn. It's not going to be a problem."
Dawn looked for a moment like she was going to argue, then let out a huge puff of air.
"Fine. Let's just get out of here. Can you walk?" she asked the injured Freelancer. Carolina took a few tentative steps while placing as little weight on her injured leg as possible, then shrugged.
"More or less."
"Good. The quicker we get moving, the faster we can get out of here, and the harder it'll be for Kao Jin to try and surprise us again." Dawn picked up her makeshift torch and carried it gingerly so that the hanging branches couldn't burn her, and started walking. She looked back at Carolina when she noticed the other wasn't following. "Well, come on!" she beckoned impatiently. "I'm not carrying you out of here."
With a sigh and a shrug, Carolina did something that didn't feel quite natural to her: she followed behind the ex-Freelancer silently in the faint hope that she knew where they were going.
"How're my contestants progressing through the Labyrinth?" Kao Jin asked from his revolving chair in his command's "studio" to the line of attendants at the monitors for the cameras underground.
"They're progressing slowly, sir," one man called back to his commander. "The Black Phoenix just took out the Arachnatica, and she's trying to lead Carolina through the tunnels. So far, South Dakota is still alone, and the Admiral and Virginia are together."
"Unexpected, but it will make this game very interesting," Kao Jin snickered as he stood from his chair. "Keep me posted."
"Yes, sir!" the monitor responded, and Kao Jin abandoned the progression of his female prisoners in his twisted game show to attend to other matters. He walked to a set of five plasma screens and stood on a platform in front of them.
"Sir, I have the United Rebel Front, the Freedom and Liberation Party, and the Staff of Charon ready for you," a female comm. Officer called to him. He motioned for her to start the connection, and faces appeared on the screen. For the United Rebel Front, a sunken-eyed, pale man with a wild case of five o'clock shadow; the Freedom and Liberation Party, a slightly pudgy-faced woman with mousy grey hair and watery eyes; and the Staff of Charon, the red-helmet of the Leader, and the brown helmet of former Freelancer CT.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for this opportunity to convene a private meeting," Kao Jin purred, bowing slightly to the leaders of the Insurrection movements online.
"Kao Jin, we'd heard of your wild schemes previously through our network of connections," the URF representative, General Lee Sampson spoke first, his voice gravelly and hoarse. "However, your broadcast across every accessible communications network left little doubt of your…imagination."
"I'll take that as a compliment, General," Kao Jin nodded.
"I have a question," Lady Brydle of the Freedom and Liberation Party spoke in a high-pitched voice that seemed quite unbefitting of her person. "Where did you acquire that armour?"
"What, this?" Jin motioned to the glossy black armour that he wore, complete with gold and red bands on the forearm. "I acquisitioned it from the renegade Black Phoenix, one of the contestants on my show. Do you like it?"
"It's interesting, though clearly made for a female soldier," the Lady pointed out. Kao Jin resisted the urge to make a scathing remark about the ill-fitting desert fatigues she was wearing.
"Why did you call us together?" the Leader of the Staff of Charon asked, weariness in his voice. "We are very busy."
"Yes, yes, to the point," Kao Jin reminded himself of why he had called these people together. "You see, I have something to offer you; a stronghold planet from which you are able to fully fund and fuel your own wars against the UNSC."
"You have such a planet? One with the necessary raw supplies and manufacturing facilities?" General Sampson asked, one eyebrow raised. Kao Jin shook his head.
"Not as of yet. However, that will not take too long. Terra Beta will soon experience my full wrath and come to heel like the obedient dogs that they are."
"You say that as if it's so simple," CT spoke up. "Why haven't you been able to do it before? From what I know, you've been trying to gain control of that planet for almost twenty years."
"Several series of events, miss," Jin nodded towards the ex-Freelancer. "The formation of that fallacy, the Council of Operators impeded my goal because of their own agenda of separation from the UNSC. However, they are too soft in their governance, and the planet's people are growing soft with their freedoms. By taking an Operator and placing her in my little…obstacle course, I am determined to show them that these Operators that they depend on for governance are little more than foolish mortals, far from the gods that they are portrayed as. Once Black Phoenix is killed, the spirit of Terra Beta's people will be broken, and the planet will be rightfully ours."
"An elaborate scheme," Lady Brydle said after a moment of thought. "However, can't we simply persuade these Operators to join our cause, instead of undermining our image by completely breaking a planet's people? It detracts from potential Separatists joining our cause willingly."
"I assure you that strict action is necessary when handling these rogues. Among the Operators and their staff are some former Spartans and former UNSC military personnel that still maintain their roots in the UNSC. They will not hesitate to be brought back under UNSC control if properly persuaded," Kao Jin argued. Even though Brydle didn't look convinced, she kept quiet.
"So, you're offering us a stronghold on Terra Firma," Sampson summarized. "What do you want in return?"
"Soldiers to make sure that my stronghold doesn't remain vacant, and your support and recognition of my own Separatist force," Jin answered smoothly. "Very little, in all honesty. Simply broadcast to the UNSC High Brass that your three groups, very intimidating in their reputation, support my own group. Imagine the added force that I could provide so that you may be able to effectively separate from the UNSC."
The last statement, he realized too late, was not going to gain him brownie points. "You're suggesting that we aren't successful already?" the Leader asked, his voice deadly calm.
"My mistake," Jin admitted.
"We will consult each other in private conferences," General Sampson said finally, deciding for the whole group. "Do not expect an immediate decision, Kao Jin."
"Of course, sir."
"Very well," Brydle concluded. "Signing off." One by one, each screen flickered to black. As soon as communication was cut off, Kao Jin stomped off his platform, grumbling under his breath.
"Those fools," he snarled as his followers fell out of the way, not wanting to be in range of his mad hands.
"Do not fear, Master," a shimmering grey form appeared alongside Kao and met his pace, moving as a ghostly spectre alongside his host. "I predict a 62% chance that you will be gaining support from the Staff of Charon, and even higher percentages from the URF and the Freedom and Liberation Party."
"Small comfort, Nameless," Jin hissed to his smart AI. "I need control of this planet immediately if I can sufficiently contribute to the Insurrectionist cause."
"Immediately is not possible," Nameless conceded. "Fear not, sir. Your goals are attainable." The AI paused for a moment and shuttered with static. "A recent update. The dispatch group intercepted the transport taking your son to the UNSC for trial and have retrieved him. En route currently."
"That, at least, is good news," Jin said, though a smile didn't crack his face. "Maybe our luck is improving." He turned to a screen that showed Black Phoenix checking the red-headed Carolina once again. Intense grey eyes met the lens of the camera in the tunnel, and they seemed to meet Jin's own green ones with purest hatred and loathing. That made him smile.
"Black Phoenix will fall without grace or poise, just like the little bitch that she is," he hissed happily, gripping a handrail as he stared at her visage. "Though, maybe I'll keep her alive enough just to see all that she's ever worked crumble around her. Then, I'll keep her around as a pet, or kill her in front of her own people."
"Many options available, sir," Nameless snickered.
"All of them ripe for the picking, and perfect for all that she deserves," Kao Jin stepped away, leaving the handrail crumpled from where he gripped it. He chuckled to himself as he walked away to elsewhere, his AI trotting dutifully at his side.
Nobody noticed that an AI pedestal in the corner, connected to the main computer, briefly flickered with the faint image of a holographic sparrow before disappearing back into the computer again.
Everything in his body burned, like every cell that made up his body was injected with acid. Victory shrunk up against himself and huddled into the small metal container that was moving he didn't know where. When he had been dragged away by the two Brutes from…there, something else with claws and multiple jaws had taken him to somewhere else. He kept on blacking out along the way, but he barely remembered the thing speaking to him before closing a door, then, the pressure in the capsule that he was in had increased, and he knew that he was travelling somewhere, probably in an automated escape capsule.
Wherever it went, Splendid Victory didn't care. Nothing mattered right now besides the pain running through him. It hurt to keep his eyes open, even to breathe. It felt like his youth stages were coming back to him, like his soft baby fur was growing back through his skin with the thickness of needles. Fire tingled along his spine, then raged into an inferno, and he let loose a scream for no one to hear. He curled into a ball on the floor, and he closed his eyes so that, for one of the few times in his life, he could sleep and escape this horrible pain.
So, what did you guys think? Constructive criticism, please.
Also, I am preparing the plot line for my sequel to Retribution, which is Revenge. I posted a survey a while back for who you wanted featured in Revenge. I haven't closed the poll yet, so if you want your opinion heard, head on over. I'll post it on my profile page, if it's not there already.
I appreciate all your guys' support, and I'll be updating more stories for you to enjoy (which I hope that you do).
Sincerely,
anna1795