Silence and Scream
Rosie always tried to eat alone first before eating with others. She was very fond of talking, and eating and talking would be uncomfortable for her.
- Well, I'm an intern working for Dr. Qin. The university pays my salary for next half a year. My job is to help the doctor with everything. - She looked askance at the doctor. - Which usually comes down to this, I have to carry her equipment.
Ysoka snorted.
- You have to work hard to get anything done. Nothing comes for free... Unless you're an aristocrat. - she ostentatiously tried not to look at Lady Caly - You will learn how to handle expensive equipment. It will come in handy in your life for sure. - the doctor continued. Rosie clenched her teeth tightly but didn't answer her.
The others ate dinner together at the table. There was Akitonese rice with vegetables, spicy soup with lizard tails, and some kind of reptile bird. The latter was too dry, but still tasty. There was also candied fruit and sweet alcohol made of something like apples, and juice. None of the dishes were salted, which Arkan-tar said meant they respected the guests here. Rosie had no opinion on that. After carrying the Doctor's equipment, she felt so hungry and tired that she absolutely didn't care. Now she looked at the others.
Lady Cala ate like a dame, listening politely as she told her about herself. Miss Daisy sat to one side and thoughtfully ate her dinner, washing it down with sweet Liquor. She liked the young aristocrat, though she was a little intimidating. Her guardian… There was something dark about her, but also some sadness that shone through the dark veil she covered herself with.
- So what's your plan? Because you understand that I'm not one of those who are in planning? You tell me where to aim and I'm the one pulling the trigger. - Dilayla said with her mouth full of food. The woman looked soured all the time, as if she had been forced to drink vinegar. It was as tough as the steel from which her cybernetic prosthetics were made. She also drank alcohol, though she looked like she could drink more than they were brought. She eyed them all suspiciously.
- Well, the plan is not complicated, just difficult to execute. We need to find a ship on a planet where no one seems to want to go to where we want to go. - said Arkan-tar. He struck her as a charming scholar who had explored places in the galaxy she had never dreamed of. Only there was something about him…as if he was always pleased with his cleverness.
- Do we have a choice? We'll tell someone like the Lord Admiral something went wrong? This planet was once supposed to be a prosperous colony, so maybe there is an old ship left somewhere... Or maybe someone will want to go in the same direction as us. - finished Rechiza, digging the meat on the plate with a fork. In her opinion, Lashunti was reserved, but also very penetrating. From the moment of their first conversation, she was very cold towards Miss Daisy. She seemed to notice that the woman was wearing a holographic mask. Rosie had noticed it the first time they met, she had good eyesight, which she often used to compensate for her lack of hearing. She understood that something like this might inspire mistrust, but she had the impression that Lashunti didn't trust anyone. She was a little terrified of it, but she understood that everyone has different experiences and that they shape their personal worlds. For her, most people she came across were kind and showed her support.
- I have the vague impression, my dears, that you regard this expedition as, at best, an attempt to infiltrate an enemy camp, and at worst a suicide mission. - said Lady Cala, rising. She leaned towards them, looking down at them.
- Honey, this is a suicide mission. We're going to the Ravaged Zone, where no one comes back. Only death lurks there. - Dilayla said with a predatory smile.
- If only death awaits us there, then why are you coming with us on this journey? - If my memory serves me right, then you are a mercenary – the aristocrat asked with a gentle smile.
- I've just been paid so much that if everything goes well and, most importantly, I survive, I'll have enough to spend the rest of my life farting - The half-elf straightened up in her chair, crossing her arms behind her head. She put her feet on the table, apparently not caring what others thought. Rosie, however, was convinced that the mercenary was hiding something. Something important to her.
If you say so…- Lady Cala shrugged. - My family… The founder of my house is from there. Her name was Mara and she fought for that place and gave her life for it. If Etheria is worth dying for, then it can't be that terrible.
- I've seen soldiers die for a pile of rubble. Besides, since you left this whole Eterntia thing, it wasn't much fun there, was it? - Dilayla said and yawned.
Arkan-tar stood up and said
- I think we're looking too far into the future. It will be a long time before we reach Etheria. We may never get there if it turns out that along the way there are threats that even the "Research and Exploration Fleet" will not resist. In fact, no one requires us to fight what we encounter there. It can be said that in our hearts we all want to believe what Lady Cala says, but our mind tells us to prepare for what Dilayla warns us against.
Everyone nodded reluctantly, as if it was a compromise that no one liked. By the time the others had gone back to eating, Rosie had gotten up and started speaking in sign language as the gloved voiceover began translating everything aloud.
- I... I'm just an intern. I don't even remember my family. My capsule was found on the border of the Pact Worlds and a couple of learned people decided to take care of me. I have no one. My capsule had been in space for hundreds of years while I was frozen. I'm just a deaf-mute girl assigned by fate and the gods to this mission. I know that all this can end tragically for us ... But deep down I feel that we are part of something great. Something unusual. What can change the world. - She said and blushed, feeling that she had made a fool of herself in front of everyone. - These are real travelers, they know what they're doing. I just carry things.- She thought and looked down. The others were silent for a moment, but finally Lady Cala stood up, walked over to them, put her hand on her shoulder, and said.
- You have a big and brave heart, Rosie. It's good that you're with us. - The aristocrat smiled at her and Rosie felt her blush.
Miss Daisy looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.
- So you're an orphan? - she asked thoughtfully. Rosie turned to her and smiled.
- I think so, I don't remember my parents and after so many years probably all my loved ones have already gone to a better place. Maybe it's better that I remember very little? - she said, feeling a strange, indescribable emptiness in her heart.
- Miss Daisy knows very well about raising orphans. She raised me and many others and they all remember her fondly. - said Lady Cala, smiling at her tutor.
Miss. Daisy pursed her lips tightly and spoke hard.
- Indeed, they will never forget me.
Dilayla was more annoyed than usual. Previously, she had thought that the gloomy and overly secretive Rechiza and the nosy and insistently polite Arkan-tar would get on her nerves, but they were just an itch on her back. You could get used to them eventually. The rest of her companions began to annoy her very quickly. Dr. Qin is a over smart scholar trying to mask her lack of creativity with academic snobbery. Miss Daisy… She was strange and far too gloomy for someone who claimed to be an aristocrat's tutor. She had a dark past, though Dilayla shouldn't remind anyone of that. Rosie Pearl was kind and naive, though there could only be someone raised on Absalom, though later it turned out that her story was a bit more complicated. She was afraid that the world would eat her up, chew her up and spit out her torn corpse. She was pretty, but she would feel bad hitting on her. But it was Lady Cala that worried her the most. At first she expected to be a pretty sweet idiot with too much money, not enough brains, who had fantasized about a magical quest after reading some old chronicles. Instead, she met a beautiful, strong and smart young woman who knows exactly what she wants. And that was unsettling, for such people did not engage in such endeavors unless their minds were tainted by madness or fanaticism, and she saw neither in her. She was way too beautiful and smart, too perfect. It made her uneasy in some way, though she couldn't quite tell how. He has to watch out for her...
After dinner, when the dishes had been removed, Lady Cala spread out a map of the city on the table.
- Listen, we need to find someone willing to sell us, or at least rent a ship that will take us to Etheria. I know it won't be easy, but we have to make it. - She looked at them surprisingly imperiously, which contrasted so much with her earlier image of a nice and understanding girl, but Dilayla was not surprised. After all, she was an aristocrat, and what they had no problems with putting on such "masks" they needed.
- I can definitely visit the canteen at the port. They say they serve pretty good beer for this planet," Arkan tar said, smiling contentedly.
- It's good that you've found the perfect place to work, Arkan. - said Rechiza sarcastically. Lashunt asked.
- I guess this is Respite. - said Lady Cala, looking over her notes. They sell Coffee, Tea, and Ashrak there. The latter is a sobering drink made from the underground lichen that grows on Atrax.
- Yes, it's very tasty. I will go there. Anyone coming with me? – She asked, smiling slyly – Maybe you, Miss Daisy? You seem to like tea and other types of drink - she asked the grim elf. Miss Daisy turned to her and looked at her carefully, she answered slowly.
- Well, I don't like the sun here, but I'll gladly take the offer.
Well, Dilayla had already noticed that the mysterious sorceress wasn't pouring by the collar. The same could be said about her too. She was a mercenary, at least in theory, and had gotten drunk quite often, though she always went sober to the battlefield.
„Speaking of liquors," she got up and leaned over the table.
- And what is the name of the haven here for mercenaries and other adventurers? - she asked looking at the aristocrat. She if she'll play innocent or show off.
- There is a bar… Red Water. I think it's run by a Pahtra, a veteran of the Tarak War.
Rechiza frowned.
-Isn't that where the Lord Admiral comes from? - she asked, frowning.
- Yes, there was a civil war there, although I don't know the details, except that it was very bloody. Our great commander was then exiled, and began a new career. In fact, it seems to have worked out for him. It doesn't change anything, we don't tell anyone about our true purpose of our mission anyway, do we? - she raised an eyebrow.
- Okay, now that we've all divided up the chores, you can go. - I have some errands to run here. said Lady Cala and rolled up the maps.
- I'll stay here and check the equipment. Rosie will help me. said the doctor, stretching herself out on the sofa,
- Unless someone takes me, right?" Maybe someone needs me more? - asked the intern, looking pleadingly at the others. Dilayla sighed. "The rat will torment her if I don't do anything"
- You can come with me. – she asked the girl getting up – Just remember, I don't avoid brawl. - She went to put on her power armor. Rosie jumped for joy.
As she donned the power armor, she thought about her past.
Her real life began with a scream.
That was over thirty years ago. It wasn't that much for a half-elf, but that's when she became what she is now. She was sixteen then. Her parents were visiting her uncle from capital at the time and left her to look after her younger sister Joan. In fact, she treated it like a punishnent. After all, she had better things to do, like going out with friends or something, but on the other hand, she hoped her parents would appreciate her "Adult and Responsible Behavior." She never saw them again.
The attack took place at night. They didn't really feel the first effects. There was just no electricity at night. Water was still flowing from the tap, they couldn't hear explosions. Only in the morning, a friendly couple of neighbors knocked on their door and said that something terrible had happened in the capital of the planet, The Blackstone, and that the government had ordered an evacuation. But they didn't know anything specific. She woke up her sister and told her to pack. She had no idea where they were going, so she decided to go to the station. For a moment she considered visiting Gloria, her girlfriend at the time, and taking her with her, but then she decided that her mothers would take them to the country. They have their own all-terrain vehicle. Besides, she had to take care of Joan. Her younger sister was terribly clumsy at times. She never saw Gloria again after that, had no idea what happened to her.
When they left the house, the first thing she saw were dark clouds hovering over their capital. She could see silhouettes of strange warships hovering over the city in the distance, but she couldn't observe them. Clouds obscured them… Only they weren't clouds, but smoke from burning houses. „We've been attacked" she thought in horror. Minitar was an isolated planet with a relatively small population, but they possessed enough forces to defend themselves from pirate attacks. Who could the invaders be? The Azlanti that have been talked about with fear for years? The Corpse Fleet she had been scared with since she was a child? She had no idea. "My parents were there." She felt sadness grip her heart.
She didn't stop any more, just ran to the train station, didn't let go of her sister's hand even for a moment. They quickly reached the station, where crowds of people, mostly parents with children, were already waiting. They did not take much belongings, only a few cans of food and bottles of water, and two blankets. They didn't even have enough supplies at home, no one was prepared for something like this. At first she was worried that she would look too grown up, that she would not be allowed to board and that she would have to let her sister go alone, but the carabineer at the entrance didn;t stopped her. He was not much older than her and looked like he wanted to join the rest of the passengers. It was cramped inside until she was suffocating. In front of her sat an old man holding the hand of a little boy, probably his grandson. Then the train started. She never saw her old home again and the town she grew up in adjacent to the capital. It probably wasn't destroyed, ironically, if they hadn't obeyed the command, the tragedy probably wouldn't have happened.
The journey took several hours. At some point, she began to feel overwhelming pressure on the bladder. Somehow she held out, but she felt that several children pis themselves. She had no idea where they were going. Minitar was a relatively recently colonized world with less than fifty million inhabitants. Only the southern part of one of the three continents was inhabited. At first she thought they were going to Silverfall, the second largest city on the planet, but then it turned out they were going to the high mountains in the northeast. Now she understood that the major urban centers were the first targets of attack. Minitar, rich in resources, had an extensive railway network, but only one highway ran through the entire inhabited area, which they had passed long ago. Behind this piece of the window that they saw, she saw only an endless forest-steppe.
Most of the passengers were half-orcs and half-elves, the original colonizers of the planet, but there were many Aasimar and Tieflings. Minitar was supposed to be a planet for hybrids, their new home. Unfortunately, due to its remoteness from the other major planets, there has been little immigration here. All she heard was a familiar accent over the din of gossiping voices. They talked mainly about the attacker, what he wanted from them and whether someone would drive him away, because no one believed in the strength of the local military forces. Everyone thought it must have been the Azlanti. According to them, a planet full of hybrids must have been an abomination. However, in the end one of the passengers decided to turn on the long-range receiver. A spirited voice echoed in the carriage.
- Do not be afraid! Horde Prime has come here to bring his light to this darkened world. Your false leaders are dead or have fled in terror at the scale of their iniquity. But there is still hope for you. Humble yourself and submit to his judgment. You and your world will be transformed according to his will. Prime sees everything, Prime knows everything. Fear righteous judgment.
The message then looped. They listened to it for several minutes without saying anything, then someone shouted to turn it off. This was done immediately. There was silence for an hour or two. Then a few people started whispering that the invader was quite reasonable and that he couldn't be that bad. But to Dilayla, he sounded like a complete madman. She was afraid to think what someone like that might want from them. The Azlanti might have been imperialist speciesists, but at least everyone knew they were reasonable and predictable to some degree. This someone seemed capable of absolutely anything.
They finally got there. It was a mountain town where wealthier citizens came to rest in the winter. Now they have been accommodated in hotels and sports halls. She and her sister got a bed and some food. Then they waited in silence. Joan had always been a quiet and slightly clumsy kid. Now she had withdrawn into herself, but at least she was obeying orders. Several people tried to turn on radios and other receivers, but received the same eerie messages.
In the morning, a message from the Elder, the speaker of parliament, was broadcast from the cars through loudspeakers, informing them that the army was putting up a valiant resistance to the enemy. But no one really believed it. There were rumors that the Capital and Silverfall had been taken, that the attacker was an AI, or that they were white demons from the Ravaged Zone. It was said that temples were attacked with particular ferocity and that mystics were killed on the spot. Nobody knew anything for sure.
Now, after all these years of fighting, she knew that the enemy had simply moved his forces to the other side of the continent to avoid the enemy's fortified positions. The first explosions were heard in the night. Donor station destroyed. She and her sister ran outside and saw the same alien ships in the sky as before. They also saw the real enemy. Walking machines of various kinds were moving towards the few defending soldiers. She saw them too, White Demons. They didn't really look that scary. Tall white figures slipped under the defenders' fire, knocking them down with well-aimed shots. She turned and saw Joan kneeling by some crying litle girl.
- Joan, we have to run. - She grabbed her sister by the shoulder.
- But we can't leave her here. - Joan said, staring at her with her over-mature eyes. The baby was cowering and no one was around. They can't leave her.
- What is your name? - she asked, barely controlling her terror.
"I'm Asin," she turned a tearful face to her.
- I'm Dilayla and this is my sister Joan. Now we're going to run, run as fast as we can. she said and stood up
They moved forward. She just didn't know where. They had to stay away from the attacker. Farther from death. She tried to run crouched. Some people tried to seek shelter in the cellars, while others tried to get out of the combat zone. She saw her one of the ships fired a green beam that hit temple of Desna. Many refugees, including children, found shelter there. They had to be far away or they too would suffer the same fate.
They came to a bridge where the army was trying to make some sort of barricade out of a couple of vehicles and sandbags. It was futile, but it stopped many civilians from escaping. Now she knew that the commander was as much an idiot as he was a warcriminal who had killed many innocents with his senseless stubbornness. She took the girl in her arms and turned into a side street. There were a lot less people here, maybe they'll make it.
Then they saw the enemy, the detachment circled the city, separating the people hiding there from the shelter of the mountain forests. Several different kinds of droids and two aliens. She threw herself into the bushes growing in the nearby yard, but Joan stumbled and one of the droids noticed her. He fired a warning shot, and all three froze in horror. One of the soldiers moved towards them. He slowly walked over to Joan and aimed the gun at her, but hesitated.
- It's a waste of Horde Prima resources. Mercy was shown to you…- He turned sharply. She looked in that direction. New ships appeared in the sky. Black purple with sharp edges. Their appearance must have been terrifying even to unsuspecting people, but she knew what fleet they belonged to.
„Hellknights, gods…" - she thought. At that moment, she took it for granted that they had come to support the invaders. They were chsracters of countless tales about the crimes they committed in the name of absolute order... Allies of the devils who carried the fire of hell where they saw iniquity.
But then the ships of the hellknights opened fire on the ships of the invanders.
The alien turned and looked back, and she grabbed her sister's hand, and they started to run again, No one paid any attention to them now.
He ran to the side, trying to somehow slip between the planetary defense and the invaders. She didn't think, she was too scared to think. She couldn't feel the girl's weight. Adrenaline was pumping too much through her veins.
Finally, after long minutes, they managed to get out of the battlefield. The city was on fire, and so were the skies where the ships clashed. Again she heard the sounds of the war machines, so the three of them hid in a drainage ditch. She began to pray to all the gods she knew that no one would hurt them this time. The girl had pee herself long ago, soiling Dilayla's clothes.
She heard an inhuman roar, and then she felt herself losing control of her own bladder. She lifted her head and saw a monster coming out of the nearby forest. On six metal insect legs rose a corpus that made one think of a monstrous knight with a burning body. He held a huge trident in one hand and a steel net with hooks in the other. A second creature soon appeared, and red laser beams shot from the tridents. She heard an explosion and fragments of some droid flew past her. Then the infernal beasts charged. She clung to the ground, certain that they would be trampled by creatures from hell. However, by a miraculous twist of fate, they ran over the three of them. She heard the sounds of fighting, and the other shouts, much more human this time.
The clash didn't last long. Even such a ruthless opponent was not ready to face the unleashed fury of hell. Soon the soldiers moved on, with exception of one. He heard heavy metal footsteps approaching them.
-Please spare us. - she moaned with difficulty.
- I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to get out of here as soon as possible. - she heard a strong but surprisingly ordinary voice. She turned to see the hellknight towering over her. He had an eclipse sun sign on his chest. In one hand he held a morningstar. With some hesitation, she got up and told her sister to do the same.
- Go that way. I have already informed my people that you are here…- He did not finish because they heard a powerful explosion. One of the attackers' ships was hit and taxi towards them. The knight looked at them and, after a short hesitation, jumped to cover the girl. Dilayla curled up and covered her head with her hands. Then she heard her sister scream, drowned out by the sound of the explosion
The first thing she saw was a sword. A sword surrounded by a golden solar rim. It was around the doctor's neck of android.
- Calm down, don't get up. You've been through a lot.- he said in a calm, gentle voice.
- Where am I? What happened to me? - she asked. Her throat hurt, she felt as if she had swallowed gravel.
- You survived the ship's explosion, but you were seriously injured. You are in the hospital in Ironhill, on your planet.
Memories slowly came back to her. She rose sharply.
- Where's my sister… - she called and looked at her hand. It was made of metal, cybernetical.
- Your arms and leg suffered enough damage that it was decided that it would be easier to amputate them and replace them with cybernetic prostheses, similarly your hearing was saved ... As for your sister, the knight Janos di Vir ordered to give her the best medical care and ... She survived, but her the damage was much more extensive, and there wasn't much biological tissue left, but after a long period of rehabilitation, she would function almost as before.
„Almost like before" she thought.
- What about the invaders? - did we win? She asked feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
- Yes, the enemy retreated, although almost a hundred thousand inhabitants of your planet died. The Order says it was the Dominion of Black - the doctor explained slowly.
„But who Horde Prime..." she thought as she felt a dull throbbing pain throbbing throughout her body.
- What will become of us now? she asked resignedly.
- As far as I know, the Order will take care of you. - said the android.
In fact, that's what happened. She had been under the protection of the Order of Eclipse for four years, but refused to join it. She couldn't accept the lies they were telling. She has been a mercenary for thirty years, training until the day she meets hert foe again.
She met her sister only once after that. She wouldn't recognize her, not only from her appearance, but also from her behavior... Both of them were then born again. With that scream.
Writing this chapter was extremely slow, but here it is!