Chapter 8: Licking Our Wounds.
"A new biohazardous ore has been discovered across multiple planetside reports, including one from Lord-Captain Faust himself. Current records from siphoned and translated voxlog recordings all designate it as Originium; Imperial name is pending designation. Biohazard gear above grade-level B filters invisible Originium particles emitted from these crystalline structures and afflicted corpses. Lead Orders Hospitlier, Francine, has logged that individuals coming into contact have medical diagnoses that indicate internal organic structures being corroded after a set period of time between 1 and 4 days. These symptoms include melting skin tissue, brittle bone matter, muscle atrophy, internal bleeding and other related diagnoses. Additionally, it interferes with vox equipment and auspex scanners by unknown methods. More testing regarding this material is in progress; Minimum contact is advised. Information has been sent to all individuals by the Lord-Captain's order." —TE-61's priority report distributed into the Clad in Ire's voxnet and local noosphere.
Faust drank a good helping of aged amasec from his canteen as he leaned against Lucky 12–his helmet off placed in one of the storage compartments. The battle a few hours before was just an unexpected mess, both in gathering information and the actual fight.
What they had fought for was some type of prison camp, as further investigations revealed shackles, mining equipment, and what were fallen prisoners. Those who didn't surrender after his attack, were either eliminated or had retreated into the white wasteland, falling snowflakes burying their tracks. Yet, not one remained, leaving only Faust and the dead.
Speaking of, these people weren't humans, at least, not truly. They had animalistic features such as ears or tails under their armor, but they were almost consistent enough to dismiss the idea of them being mutants. Almost. One of the corpses had a serpentine tail and another captured soldier had feathers growing out of his hair, but it only begged the question whether these humanoids were also separate species of humans or despicable mutants.
After a brief period of discussion between his entourage, as well as Brogg voicing his opinion that they "got the same stuff on da inside," the current betting was that they were abhumans. However, it did take restraining conscript Kazi, who was actively against letting any stragglers just up and leave without chasing them down. Now it made sense why she didn't respond to Brogg at all during their travels.
As far as Faust was concerned, abhumans were still humans in his eyes. If they did their jobs on his ship, weren't a nuisance, and were fine members that served humanity, then a blind eye he shall turn. Mutants were a different story, especially the worshiping ones. That very reason was why Faust enjoyed going on hunts within his ship, as he would never let foul cultists take hold of it.
Which is why it bothered him deeply that Kazi had such a terrible viewpoint. The best example was none other than his bodyguard, as Brogg was one of the finest men to ever serve Faust. If you wanted Brogg to be a wall, then by the God-Emperor's might, he would not let any undesirables through. If you asked for an intimidating presence, then you would look no further than the slab of muscle who could dent a chimera with a headbutt. And if you wished for a savior… Brogg would be the first to charge through enemy lines to reach you. Always.
Faust blinked, shaking away those empty thoughts. They weren't important and he needed to get his mind back in order.
Because of Kazi's dislike of abhumans, she was becoming restless, especially after a certain action Faust had taken regarding one. She was more than just irritating; Kazi had become imbecilic.
The Lord-Captain was starting to reasonably consider killing her and being done with it—hands needed be damned. All it took was one more screw-up, especially after she wounded Antoni in their last scuffle, breaking his nose in the process. She carried too little regard for authority and Faust wasn't going to take that standing while he was right there—even if he portrayed himself just as a normal captain. It just had to be Jarrackus who got critically injured during the fight
Faust entered the makeshift triage tent with the wounded conscript. The poor boy had received the worst of it on this adventure, yet he bravely stood at death's door each time. The arrow had somehow punctured the flak armor and dug deeply into his right pectoral. It was by luck that he was still alive.
He briefly wondered why he wasn't met with any Skitarii who were supposed to be here. Maybe he arrived here earlier, or perhaps the other search and rescue groups were preoccupied. He couldn't be sure.
The encounter had also made Faust gravely aware of the local abhumans strength in combat. Antoni had been pushed to the ground by a sword slash that was blocked by his lasgun, which was cause for concern since he was a true guardsman, unlike the conscripts. This theory was proven as soon as Faust tested the tensile strength of their crossbows. Sure enough, it had the same heavy pull as his looted bow. Their bolts, while primitive in intentions, were effective enough to break through flak armor through sheer strength.
Luckily, lasguns and autoguns beat primitive strength each and every time, with Faust's encounters with Freebooter pirates being his best examples to date.
Hopefully, Delta would be able to find the specifics on their… what was the word, anatomy? Faust wagered she was the most brilliant mind and xenobiologist they had on the Clad in Ire, to which she was always elated to hear the words come from his mouth.
Faust turned around upon hearing a soft groan and looked at the individual he had found half-dead in the prisoner camp. This woman was the only prisoner who hadn't run away, but that was likely because she had passed out. She looked—and smelled—like a lower deck sewage treatment plant. She was caked in dry blood across her rags and new bandages, and riddled with scars or cuts across her skinny body. Her hair was sable as midnight, and her skin deathly pale. There was also a set of short, round animal ears on the top of her head, with a small, stubby tail above her tattered pants. However, the most concerning part was the same crystals in the run-down village growing on areas of her, like the shattered one from her shoulder—yet his heads-up display had no indicators of biohazardous substances earlier.
Honestly, Faust thought she was dead when she suddenly dropped, but upon closer examination, she clung to life—if barely. Now, he had a reasonable source of information if he played his cards right, as what indebted captive wouldn't pay for his kindness without answering a few questions?
Though, he had also noticed the sheer brutality she had done, as the person she most certainly killed had his skull shattered inward. From the blood that had dripped from her knuckles, she had mauled him to death, which made him cautiously reconsider standing closer.
"Let's try again," Faust muttered to himself, grabbing his Elucidator as she blinked awake. She looked around confusedly as she rose, glancing at her bandages before looking straight at him. The woman instinctively backed away, trying to grab something on her, eyes widened when she felt it missing.
Faust flicked the switch on the Elucidator as she spoke. Her whispered, aggressive-sounding words were the same monotonous and unknowable language as before, but his translating cogitator churned out a message nonetheless. Faust pressed a few buttons on it, working out the message, before finally succeeding in updating its parameters.
"W-Who are you, where am I…" The Elucidator copied, mimicking the same harsh voice, but in Low Gothic.
Faust bore a small smile on his lips. Finally, actual communication.
"Faust van Decimbrus of House Decimbrus, and currently, you are in a tent taking care of those nasty wounds you received. You're still in this… mining camp, but I am the one holding the reins, not the idiots who decided to attack my men. It's a miracle that you even live."
The Elucidator spoke back after a brief pose, mimicking her language. She sat up more, her eyes now bearing a new mixture of awe from previous fear. The woman relaxed slightly but was still tense as she straightened from her seat.
"What do you want?" The abhuman glared, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Faust raised an eyebrow, before sternly speaking back, "Where are your manners, girl? I have introduced myself and so you shall do the same."
"Why should I tell you?"
"Would you rather I strip you of your bandages? If it were not for me, you would have not only frozen to death but suffered the entire time. But, I can make an exception and do that now," Faust said, smugly shrugging. He looked for the primitive knife he took off of her, handing it back, "I believe this is yours. Quite a piece of weaponry, taking it from plasteel debris."
The woman opened her mouth to speak, but growled quietly, looking downward in contemplation after accepting the shiv. She spoke after a short while, glancing upwards at his face.
"Katya… Katya Kerenov."
Faust chuckled, crossing his arms, "Better. As for what I want, well, it would seem having a local explain a few things would be the easiest for me. I'm not from around here, if you couldn't tell already."
Katya peered at him, tilting her head as if she scanned his features for signs of dishonesty. "Why… did you come here? To this mining camp, I mean. Surely even you would know of Ursus' reputation and how easy they are to provoke into attacking."
Faust scoffed, "No, I don't, and I also don't enjoy it when someone touches my things, more so when it doesn't belong to them."
"Touches your…" Katya trailed off, before widening her eyes at the casual revelation, "Y-Y-You're from the Falling City!"
Is that what the planetary population is calling it? Faust thought to himself. Well, half right still isn't technically right. Ah, whatever.
Faust scratched his chin, "Yes, you could say that."
"Oh…"
"Oh?"
Katya waved her hands defensively, "Nothing, it's just, I thought you'd look more like an… alien. No offense"
The Lord-Captain immediately frowned. "I assure you that it's better we aren't Xenos," Faust answered ambiguously, silently recounting every bad encounter with aliens. Before she could respond through the Elucidator, he continued, "But we're getting off-topic, I'd like to know more of this world, if you would not mind sharing."
Katya, feeling a shred of long-forgotten excitement that bubbled up, nodded eagerly at the idea of sharing some of Terra's history with actual space travelers. Although…
"D-Do you want me to take you to our leaders?" Katya shyly asked, seeing if that fictional statement held.
"What was that?"
"N-Nevermind! I'd be happy to tell you all I know about our world."
Excellent. "Thank you kindly, now–" A wet cough and a strained moan interrupted their conversation, as Jarrackus started writhing on his bed. Faust turned, witnessing what looked to be a bad nightmare.
"...Is he okay?"
Faust shook his head, "Not likely, but he'll be better in a matter of days."
Katya stood up from her bed, walking over to the Conscript's side, and wincing from the sight of his numerous soaked bandages and wounds. "How did he get wounded this badly? Did he fight off multiple Ursus Enforcers?"
"No, we had come into contact with those black crystals, much like the one growing from your shoulder. It may or may not have melted parts of his skin off from being in the area."
Katya looked at him horrified, "Originium is not supposed to do that!"
Faust ignored her disgusted terror, "Is that what it's called?"
Katya nodded, "Yes, and it simply causes Oripathy, but nothing to this extreme. It's what I have as an Infected… I hope he's not an Infected now…"
Faust moved to the other side of Jarrackus, "Infected? So this… disease creates crystalline growths?" That would explain the conditions of the corpses he saw, as well as Katya's shoulder. His guardsman escort being "Infected" gave Faust a small worry, but he also had a strange feeling it wasn't the case, mostly because they're not this type of abhuman. It would also explain Brogg's immunity, but this would be something to look into at a later date with Delta. "If that's the case, why are the shards not growing at a rapid pace on you? Or, better yet, why don't you spread it."
"Simple, I'm not dead. If an Infected dies, that's when they start spreading Originium dust through disintegration. And besides, I think it spreads through the air, not by physical contact. Not that the fragging Ursus Empire seems to care…" The Elucidator translated, her empty glare being the only thing lost in translation.
There was a sudden, realized silence between the two of them, as Faust had seen dead prisoners start crystallizing, and Katya knew the consequences when they did.
"Did you dispose of the dead bodies?" Katya asked seriously.
"With what? Digging? We don't have the luxury to do that!"
"Burning! We can't stay in this area! Contamination is going to spread soon!"
"Emperor's mercy on us then. Can you carry the boy?"
Katya paused, "Carry? You want me to carry him? I'm an Infected, I thought you'd just want to get rid of me."
Didn't she just say that it doesn't spread through physical contact? "Yes or no, we do not have time for this!"
Katya blinked once, before nodding, "Yes!"
"Good, get to it."
Faust promptly left the tent, before carelessly shooting his auto-pistol once at the sky, gathering everyone's attention. He gave no quarter to the waste of ammunition, as Orignium was deemed a higher threat in regards to wasting ammo.
"Compatriots, we are leaving this area! Contamination will be spreading throughout this area. Pack what you can unless you want to end up like Jarrackus. Ome, leave a tracker here as well for eventual recovery—mark it as a biohazard."
"It shall be done," Ome responded, quickly jogging off.
"Sah, yes, Sah!" Brogg asked, saluting straight away, trudging to grab his things.
"We've only just arrived and now you want us to leave? This place doesn't even look like a biohazardous zone!" Kazi growled, setting her foot down.
"Do you have a problem with that, conscript?" Faust glared.
"Matter of fact, I do have a fragging problem with that! We've been shot at, and attacked by these abhuman filth and we can't even rest for more than a moment? How do you even know this place will be contaminated!"
Katya conveniently emerged from the tent carrying Jarrackus over her shoulders, doing it effortlessly, causing Kazi's eyes to bulge out of her sockets.
"You cannot be serious…" Kazi's face twitched, immediately knowing where his conclusion stemmed from.
"I can, I will, and I am," Faust replied.
"No."
Faust looked at her, wondering if she said what he thought she said, "Come again?"
"I said no, damn you!"
"That is an order, and one you cannot refuse."
Kazi glared daggers at him, "Piss off, I ain't doing it!" Her hands slowly started to raise her lasgun towards Katya.
"Lass… let's not do anything stupid, now," Antoni glared, reaching for his own.
Kazi glared back, her fingers twitching as she carelessly aimed at Katya—who was too preoccupied to even notice the danger she was in.
Faust pursed his lips, nodding carefully, before shooting the Conscript in the face. Kazi's head exploded into sanguine confetti before she could even let loose a lasbolt, spraying bits as her corpse stood there for a brief moment before toppling over.
"Kakogo cherta ty tol'ko chto sdelal eto!" Katya called out, looking aghast.
Stazia looked to her side at the Ursus girl, confused, "W-What?"
Faust sighed, gingerly putting his gun back in the holster. He hated executing idiots, but this was exactly why he made sure his temporary retinue was loyal—either to him or his fortune. That, or a useful idiot. Next time, he would make sure to bring along more guardsmen and not conscripts–regardless of who they could spare.
Antoni walked over to the corpse, grabbing the lasgun off of her arms, "Tch, serves you right you fragging karker." He began stripping off the flak armor, salvaging what could be used for later.
Faust waited for everyone to go inside Lucky 12, stopping Katya as soon as he brought his Elucidator back out while she let the others carry Jarrackus.
Faust cleared his throat, staring deeply into Katya's maroon eyes, "Kazi was… a problem in my group. It looked like she was about to shoot any one of us. I simply got rid of her for insubordination, among other things, for that very reason. You don't have to watch your back while you're here if that is what you are likely wondering. And… make no mistake, you will be compensated for your efforts of carrying one of my men and relaying need-to-know information."
Katya swallowed the lump in her throat, still moderately wary of Faust, "I… understand."
"Good." Faust raised his hand for the deal he was about to strike, "I am also in need of someone who can speak the local language as a backup, and who can tell me what they know of this planet. I don't believe I made it clear earlier that I will reward you handsomely for these efforts if you take this deal. You don't have to decide now, but I'd advise thinking about it as we relocate."
Faust's hand was met with a firm shake in turn and a thorough look from Katya's eyes, "I'll think about it… thank you."
Faust merely nodded, deciding one last thing. He handed her the Elucidator, "If you wish to ask the others more questions, feel free to. And do be careful with this cogitator, it does not handle brute strength very well."
Katya looked at the device in slight wonder as she was given the chance to truly inspect the translator. Her lips faintly curved upwards as she jumped up into Lucky got in after her and upon seeing Otto already at the wheel, sat down in the passenger seat.
"Get us away from here, Otto."
Katya sat awkwardly in the back of the vehicle, both uncomfortable about riding with strangers that could easily kill her and at the proposition she was offered. This vehicle was a little dimly lit for her taste, but it had enough light to see what needed to be seen. It wasn't too cramped, but it wasn't comfy either. It was… okay; she could live with okay. Katya looked to her right, seeing the wounded boy—Jarrackus if she remembered correctly—fading in and out of consciousness.
Jarrackus was terribly wounded, and she felt a slight guilt knowing she could heal him. But she wasn't going to make the same mistake of showing off her powers, especially to people who were technically aliens with futuristic technological advancements. Just cause they called themselves human didn't mean they exactly were, but then again, they looked the part just enough to make her consider it. However, the feathers on their helmets initially made her mistake them for Liberi.
Yet… they were amiable to her. She had talked both to the man in metal, Ome 12–whatever extra numbers, and the normal-looking "Guardsman," Antoni. Antoni spoke to her like any other person, even with her condition, not even batting that much of an eye other than a joke to not let himself get poked.
Ome regarded her with a strange curiosity, bombarding her with question after question of her condition and all the specifics of it. She didn't even know that much, but he wanted to know everything that Oripathy did, caused, or affected.
She left out the details on the fact she could cast Arts at her own peril, because again, trust needed to be made.
The most friendly was the giant man manning what they called a stubber—a gun turret from the looks of it. Even while she could only see his legs from where he stood, he responded with jokes or friendliness, calling her an abhuman-in-arms—whatever that meant.
Even Faust seemed to easily talk to her, despite the fact he was clearly of noble birth. Sure, he hadn't outright said it other than the fact he had a family history, but the way he spoke, his mannerisms, and the air that clung to him said otherwise. Only, rather than one who saw everyone beneath him, he seemed to enjoy the company of others, conversing with not only her but the others with ease. Maybe slightly psychopathic after the fact he executed Kazi like she was nothing, but someone reliable and took great care in his actions. Like that of a representative from another country.
But they had all talked to her because she was Katya, not because she was Infected. And so… what Faust offered returned to her mind.
Sure, she likely wouldn't have her store, but to be rewarded with just giving out information or being a translator and understanding local customs was an incentive. Two choices were in front of her to grasp.
Now, her old life may have been gone, but she could also eventually return to it, get her bakery back, and live normally again. Maybe settle down in Columbia somewhere nice, or perhaps go to Bolivar. She could get treatment that way, live happily, and never return to the hellhole that was Ursus. The only downside was she would need to get there in the first place, and she didn't think Sir Decimbrus was just going to let her hitch a ride there.
The other choice was to just agree to come along with Faust. He had protection around him and being paid by him likely guaranteed safety. She wasn't a fighter at heart, but she had a rage like no other when her patience was at the limit—but, she truly hated fighting. Killing. To what end her use would be, she didn't know, but she did realize this was the offer of a lifetime.
Katya settled into her seat, thinking deeper about it. She glanced at her lesion. What if they had treatment as a payment as well? Ome's metallic existence seemed to allude that she could be given bionic replacements for limbs, maybe even organs if it came to it. This would be the most daring choice she ever made, and maybe she'd even be able to see the city they were from. Untold wonders awaited her but all she could do was consider the dangers, uncertainty, and her potential livelihood at stake.
Katya looked at her hands, now bandaged, recovering. They had helped her. Indirectly, yes, but Mikhail was dead because of their distraction.
The answer came to Katya as she clenched her hands, smiling softly.
Lieutenant Gate: Eh, let's say it's better to not stay near it since particles are bad, and Originium is worse.
Silentrobin: You won't have to worry, I'm planning on both worlds keeping to their respective powers. Arknights actually has some pretty powerful individuals or weapons, Rosmontis with actual "psychic" prowess to probably level a city, or Kal'tsit with tactical planning, pulling the strings in the shadows–to name just a few. However, in respect to the universe, Arknights wouldn't survive Imperial colonization at full force, much less, any other faction. With that being said, it sure is a good thing I made the Clad in Ire come from an entirely different Universe, that's also a separated instance, eh? (More on that later should y'all ask). I don't like the fics that bash another over "power level," cause its boring and lame, so this Fic will prioritize both having strengths, weaknesses, etc. etc. I love both universes, and I'm not just going to bash one over the head with another. Especially cause I very much want to experiment with combined technologies or culture clash (y'all have no idea how much I want to have a tech-priest interact with an in-universe, sentient robot like Lancet-2 or better yet, Friston, because... you get the picture.) Roseblade out, next chapter will be a little lengthy, but I hope it won't be boring in terms of interactions.