Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 16:05:03 GMT
At this point, it wasn't able to be kept secret for too much longer, Uproth had fallen, a major cyber-terrorist attack occurred on the Dectrothian Network, and that the Dectrothian Corsairs and Imperial Border Guard, with help from the Imperial Space Force, had captured some of those responsible. As others took control of other pressing issues involving the attack, another ship entered the Opus System, with different intentions.
It had been passed through the Network that an Annointed Shield Guardian was captured along with the BSO from the cyber-terrorist attack on Uproth, and that it had not presented any of the normal signs of those that where openly hostile towards the Dectrose. The IBG documented and sent in their report on this Annointed, as the ATAF 'Flanker' slid into orbit above the planet, a shuttle taking the interrogators down to the holding facility.
Soon after, ATAF Captain Ludorf Markow stepped off, as well as IC Knight Pierre De'voll and STIU Interrogator Nathen Buck, and made their way to the facility, stopping to show clearance, and eventually made their way to the interrogation room, the Knight and Captain standing on either side of the Interrogator, as he sat down in the chair opposite the Shield Guardian, a psionic barrier separating the three and the Annointed, as Nathen began "Now, for the record, please state your name, rank and serial number or identification number."
The Guardian stares at her interrogator from behind her mask apathy brazen in her eyes.
"Fuck you, fuck you, 1234 go fuck yourself.
Unfazed, Nathen repeated himself "Again, name, rank, serial number or identification number." He had expected resistance, by volunteering with this BSO outfit, he had determined that they where loyal to their comrades that where elsewhere, but he had long ordered them to be separated, putting the Guardian into quarantine to avoid any exposure to anyone other than him or the others he had brought. He wanted no one else but himself, the ATAF and the Bi'jorn behind him to contact the resisting Annointed.
He spoke aloud again "Name. Rank. Serial number or identification number."
"Oh yeah sorry i just remembered."
She growls angrily.
"It was go, fuck, your, self if you think I'm going to sit here and be interrogated by some meat fuck boy that's not handing me right back over to the Empire like he should be."
"Ms. Go Fuck Yourself, the assumption of your rights after you helped participate in a cyber-terrorist attack on the Dectrose Empire, is enlightening." He leaned back, taking in a deep breath, then allowed his augmentations to purge the air out of his lungs, making a deep synthetic noise "As far as the Dectrose Empire is concerned, your nation is embroiled in a civil war, Priestess Skalia personally destroyed Kaikoma, and rogue Annointed belonging to some 'Red Letter Day Soldiers' attempted to assassinate Admiral Terri."
He resumed his normal posture now "So, Ms. Go Fuck Yourself, your return to the Annointed, safely, depends on how well you answer my questions. Otherwise I can simply send you to Alqursan or Zykira, and you can be tried as a terrorist to the Empire. If you want to be returned so badly, answers shouldn't be too hard. So.."
"Name. Rank. Serial number or Identification number."
She snorts dismissively at the interrogator.
"You know literally the only reason I haven't killed myself is because I thought you were sending me back right?"
She turns her hand around observing her finger nails a few seconds.
"How about you try being a little politer?"
"Well then, madam, all I require is information, and you can be set free to join whichever side you happen to belong to in this Annointed issue. This information is simple, and to the point. You know most soldiers usually give up their name, rank and identification number and never say anything else, but we're not going to torture you or force you to divulge information. For all I know, if we do try, you could say that Skalia didn't destroy Kaikoma but that you did, but that doesn't necessarily make that true." He fidgeted with his finger augment, twisting it around fully before spinning it lazily back into place.
"So, we can start with some basic credentials, who are you and what do you do? In exchange, I have the authority to grant some liberties, but just know that I have plenty of questions, and you may or may not have answers to them all, but if you can answer what you can, I will let you go free in exchange for that information."
"Quid pro quo, madam."
"My name is long to the point of obscenity so lets just settle ooooonnnnnnn uuhhhh, Ash that works and as for what I do well I'm a living shield system you see."
She explains very non-committedly her bored eyes tracing her fingernails.
"Alright Ash, what was your mission with the Black Sail Organization?"
"To provide shields to the primitive and unshielded BSO vessels we were aboard... oh no wait or was I the living fucking shield system there to hunt fucking elephants."
She spits out sarcastically.
"Well, there's a start. So you had no prior knowledge of any mission they where going on?"
"I can read fucking minds, I knew what they thought before they did."
She snorts.
"Unless you mean before I joined the crew in which case no I didn't."
"As much as I'd love a debrief, Other sources have already confirmed their mission. But now give me an answer to this." He leaned over towards her "Lethalon mentioned Shades, it was something to do with the Annointed problems we've been having. I want to know more."
She tilts her head confused.
"A fucking what?"
She asks.
The ATAF Captain came in at this point, now that their primary goal was being spoken of, he laid down an RAVD node containing documents, from Kaikoma all the way back to some of Terri's diplomatic missions with Skalia. "The Shades, we believe the mention of these by Lethalon has a large part to do with the 'USS' Designation, the Red Letter Day Soldier Units, Skalia's assassination by these agents that concealed themselves as 'Church' members, impersonated Skalia by her own admission, wielding a blade like this in order to kill her" He pointed at the footage of her assassination "As well as Skalia's increased power, her desire to exterminate people regardless of collateral, and several other factors including the psionic capture of our men to turn them against us following Kaikoma's destruction that we believe hold the key as to how we can fight back. What we need to know, Ash, is what are they, what is their goal and how can we defeat them in conventional and unconventional means."
And that was it, the Dectrose laid their cards on the table, they had several puzzle pieces, and this was the first Annointed they've had a chance to sit down with and have a chit chat with since the events began. Orders began coming in on what the Dectrose would do to those they've captured, and they needed every piece of information they could get their hands on in order to complete the puzzle.
She looks at the ATAF soldier am eye brow raising slightly as she tilts her head.
"Is... is this a fucking prank?"
She asks clearly irritated.
"Does it look like I'm pranking you, Ash?"
He replied in a deadpan tone.
"If you don't know, tell us who would."
She stares at him for a good long while her face shifting through alien and frankly unreadable expressions for a good while before it settles on a flat look.
"Well see, no idea what a red letter whats it is... never heard of a fucking Shade ever like what? And as for who would know.. well apparently she's running around nuking planets."
"Skalia, I don't suppose we can simply call her on a telephone and ask her." The Captain sighed "Alright, what about the blade here, you ever seen something like that?" The STIU Interrogator stepped closer "What about the other leaders, priests or priestesses or lamb or sheep or whatever you call them" He shook his head in slight annoyance as he mentioned the sheep and lambs.
"Well the knifes a soul eating blade I can tell you that much."
She grumbles.
"And well... we are sort of autocratic you know? So uhh... I guess you could try speaking to Elizabeth she's got a lil bit of clout."
Buck stared incredulously at her "A.. Soul Eating Blade. Is that even fucking possible?" he glanced back to De'voll, the large armored bird shrugging "I dunno, sounds like some holy crusade weapon." Before Markow interjected "Well, it did something to Skalia, so there's a start. Have DRI comb it over and see what we can fish up." Directing the comment to De'voll, before he turned to Ash.
"Alright, there's a start, Pierre, drop the barrier, give our guest some breathing space." With a shimmer, the barrier dropped "Ash, how can we contact Elizabeth?"
She shrugs.
"No fucking idea I just make shields and suck dicks."
There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence, the three Dectrose men staring at her until Markow coughed "Well, then, you're not one of them, so then who's your superior? Who sent ya to work for the BSO?"
"Skalia."
She answers apparently unmiffed by the pregnant silence.
"Ahh.. Yeah." Of course, the only easy day was yesterday. "Well then, we can't exactly have you report back to the Far Reach, or else you'd turn or get soul eaten." He rested his stomach on the edge of the chair "So, then we're in a bit of a pickle, we can't let you leave to Skalia for your own safety, and we likely can't keep you here either. I'm sure DRI would enjoy working with someone such as yourself, but ultimately, what do you want to do once you're out of our conversation?"
She shrugs.
"Send me where you're sending the rest of the crew and if I don't like it I'll just kill my self."
"As much as I would like to, we're under orders to separate you from the rest of the crew. Suffice to say those that are taking the rest of the crew don't exactly want you with them." He sat down in the chair "Ash, we have facilities here and outside the Empire to keep you safe until we figure out this mess, I don't know if you resurrect after death like us, but you don't need to resort to that."
She snorts waving a hand dismissively.
"Scientifically proven afterlife takes the sting out of death I'll have you know."
He let out a huff of a half-contained chuckle "I'll have to take your word for it, still, where would you end up? Would you just return to the fleets or would you be contained to the afterlife?"
She shrugs
"If a fleets close enough I'd be there, if not its retirement for me baby."
"Don't ya enjoy your job?" Markow asked "I know once my time is up I'd probably sign on with another branch or some mercenary group."
"We don't actually retire, I'm referring to death."
"I'm aware, would rather see you be useful than throwing away your skills, personally." He reached out his hand to place on her shoulder "But, it's ultimately your life, if you wish to, we can leave the room."
"Uuhhhhh man you're putting like way to much weight onto this its just dying like jeeze."
She replies awkwardly, she never understood peoples hangup about dying after all it was only death nothing serious.
Markow smirked "Well, it's the same way with the buggers in our noggins, the cloning chips revive us when we die. Though the only thing that has effectively stopped us is the soul capture tech we had in it's infancy some time ago, as our researchers hit a brick wall. But, death is still considered an unpleasant occurrence, so it's still suggested that we fight to survive, rather than give our enemy the satisfaction of killing us. It's an honor thing, you see."
She shrugs.
"Seems silly to me, death is just an event that denies you access to certain parts of existence but gives you access to another."
Buck silently stands in the corner as Markow took over his interrogation, a certain phrase from Nivia would be appropriate at this point, as he continued "Well, the Empire simply values skills and experience over death, not much use for a soldier if he dies immediately and don't have more chances to learn from his mistakes." He slowly stood up from the chair and placed his hand on the table "So, Miss Ash, would you take a chance of staying with the Dectrose, or would you prefer to go your own way out?"
"Oh you think I'm literally going to kill myself right now."
She chuckles.
"No no the church will be here to pick me up soon enough."
She responds jovially.
He raised a brow "Who runs Church?"
Her grin grows even bigger.
"You'll never fucking guess."
"I don't think I need to."
He stepped away, looking towards Pierre, the barrier returning as he opened the door "Buck, see to it that Decoroso Command knows that Ash is to be sent with the rest of them, we don't need a repeat of previous events." He looked back to Ash "We got enough for now to keep things busy."
"Oh no you misunderstand, I'd wager you're blocking my telepathy at the moment, I wouldn't know I haven't bothered to check but see if I don't report back with the fleet every now and then they come looking, so I hope what ever you're doing you do it quickly.
Standing still in his place, still looking at her, he nodded "Yes, we are blocking the telepathy, and as far as we're concerned, we are currently working on a solution. Don't worry, I'm sure the Dectrose will remedy things somehow." He stepped through the door, speaking up as he went "Should you need anything else, tap the button to call someone." Pierre nodded, stepping out of the door as Buck stared at her intensely, his face easily displaying annoyance at Markow, before he too left the room.
It had been passed through the Network that an Annointed Shield Guardian was captured along with the BSO from the cyber-terrorist attack on Uproth, and that it had not presented any of the normal signs of those that where openly hostile towards the Dectrose. The IBG documented and sent in their report on this Annointed, as the ATAF 'Flanker' slid into orbit above the planet, a shuttle taking the interrogators down to the holding facility.
Soon after, ATAF Captain Ludorf Markow stepped off, as well as IC Knight Pierre De'voll and STIU Interrogator Nathen Buck, and made their way to the facility, stopping to show clearance, and eventually made their way to the interrogation room, the Knight and Captain standing on either side of the Interrogator, as he sat down in the chair opposite the Shield Guardian, a psionic barrier separating the three and the Annointed, as Nathen began "Now, for the record, please state your name, rank and serial number or identification number."
The Guardian stares at her interrogator from behind her mask apathy brazen in her eyes.
"Fuck you, fuck you, 1234 go fuck yourself.
Unfazed, Nathen repeated himself "Again, name, rank, serial number or identification number." He had expected resistance, by volunteering with this BSO outfit, he had determined that they where loyal to their comrades that where elsewhere, but he had long ordered them to be separated, putting the Guardian into quarantine to avoid any exposure to anyone other than him or the others he had brought. He wanted no one else but himself, the ATAF and the Bi'jorn behind him to contact the resisting Annointed.
He spoke aloud again "Name. Rank. Serial number or identification number."
"Oh yeah sorry i just remembered."
She growls angrily.
"It was go, fuck, your, self if you think I'm going to sit here and be interrogated by some meat fuck boy that's not handing me right back over to the Empire like he should be."
"Ms. Go Fuck Yourself, the assumption of your rights after you helped participate in a cyber-terrorist attack on the Dectrose Empire, is enlightening." He leaned back, taking in a deep breath, then allowed his augmentations to purge the air out of his lungs, making a deep synthetic noise "As far as the Dectrose Empire is concerned, your nation is embroiled in a civil war, Priestess Skalia personally destroyed Kaikoma, and rogue Annointed belonging to some 'Red Letter Day Soldiers' attempted to assassinate Admiral Terri."
He resumed his normal posture now "So, Ms. Go Fuck Yourself, your return to the Annointed, safely, depends on how well you answer my questions. Otherwise I can simply send you to Alqursan or Zykira, and you can be tried as a terrorist to the Empire. If you want to be returned so badly, answers shouldn't be too hard. So.."
"Name. Rank. Serial number or Identification number."
She snorts dismissively at the interrogator.
"You know literally the only reason I haven't killed myself is because I thought you were sending me back right?"
She turns her hand around observing her finger nails a few seconds.
"How about you try being a little politer?"
"Well then, madam, all I require is information, and you can be set free to join whichever side you happen to belong to in this Annointed issue. This information is simple, and to the point. You know most soldiers usually give up their name, rank and identification number and never say anything else, but we're not going to torture you or force you to divulge information. For all I know, if we do try, you could say that Skalia didn't destroy Kaikoma but that you did, but that doesn't necessarily make that true." He fidgeted with his finger augment, twisting it around fully before spinning it lazily back into place.
"So, we can start with some basic credentials, who are you and what do you do? In exchange, I have the authority to grant some liberties, but just know that I have plenty of questions, and you may or may not have answers to them all, but if you can answer what you can, I will let you go free in exchange for that information."
"Quid pro quo, madam."
"My name is long to the point of obscenity so lets just settle ooooonnnnnnn uuhhhh, Ash that works and as for what I do well I'm a living shield system you see."
She explains very non-committedly her bored eyes tracing her fingernails.
"Alright Ash, what was your mission with the Black Sail Organization?"
"To provide shields to the primitive and unshielded BSO vessels we were aboard... oh no wait or was I the living fucking shield system there to hunt fucking elephants."
She spits out sarcastically.
"Well, there's a start. So you had no prior knowledge of any mission they where going on?"
"I can read fucking minds, I knew what they thought before they did."
She snorts.
"Unless you mean before I joined the crew in which case no I didn't."
"As much as I'd love a debrief, Other sources have already confirmed their mission. But now give me an answer to this." He leaned over towards her "Lethalon mentioned Shades, it was something to do with the Annointed problems we've been having. I want to know more."
She tilts her head confused.
"A fucking what?"
She asks.
The ATAF Captain came in at this point, now that their primary goal was being spoken of, he laid down an RAVD node containing documents, from Kaikoma all the way back to some of Terri's diplomatic missions with Skalia. "The Shades, we believe the mention of these by Lethalon has a large part to do with the 'USS' Designation, the Red Letter Day Soldier Units, Skalia's assassination by these agents that concealed themselves as 'Church' members, impersonated Skalia by her own admission, wielding a blade like this in order to kill her" He pointed at the footage of her assassination "As well as Skalia's increased power, her desire to exterminate people regardless of collateral, and several other factors including the psionic capture of our men to turn them against us following Kaikoma's destruction that we believe hold the key as to how we can fight back. What we need to know, Ash, is what are they, what is their goal and how can we defeat them in conventional and unconventional means."
And that was it, the Dectrose laid their cards on the table, they had several puzzle pieces, and this was the first Annointed they've had a chance to sit down with and have a chit chat with since the events began. Orders began coming in on what the Dectrose would do to those they've captured, and they needed every piece of information they could get their hands on in order to complete the puzzle.
She looks at the ATAF soldier am eye brow raising slightly as she tilts her head.
"Is... is this a fucking prank?"
She asks clearly irritated.
"Does it look like I'm pranking you, Ash?"
He replied in a deadpan tone.
"If you don't know, tell us who would."
She stares at him for a good long while her face shifting through alien and frankly unreadable expressions for a good while before it settles on a flat look.
"Well see, no idea what a red letter whats it is... never heard of a fucking Shade ever like what? And as for who would know.. well apparently she's running around nuking planets."
"Skalia, I don't suppose we can simply call her on a telephone and ask her." The Captain sighed "Alright, what about the blade here, you ever seen something like that?" The STIU Interrogator stepped closer "What about the other leaders, priests or priestesses or lamb or sheep or whatever you call them" He shook his head in slight annoyance as he mentioned the sheep and lambs.
"Well the knifes a soul eating blade I can tell you that much."
She grumbles.
"And well... we are sort of autocratic you know? So uhh... I guess you could try speaking to Elizabeth she's got a lil bit of clout."
Buck stared incredulously at her "A.. Soul Eating Blade. Is that even fucking possible?" he glanced back to De'voll, the large armored bird shrugging "I dunno, sounds like some holy crusade weapon." Before Markow interjected "Well, it did something to Skalia, so there's a start. Have DRI comb it over and see what we can fish up." Directing the comment to De'voll, before he turned to Ash.
"Alright, there's a start, Pierre, drop the barrier, give our guest some breathing space." With a shimmer, the barrier dropped "Ash, how can we contact Elizabeth?"
She shrugs.
"No fucking idea I just make shields and suck dicks."
There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence, the three Dectrose men staring at her until Markow coughed "Well, then, you're not one of them, so then who's your superior? Who sent ya to work for the BSO?"
"Skalia."
She answers apparently unmiffed by the pregnant silence.
"Ahh.. Yeah." Of course, the only easy day was yesterday. "Well then, we can't exactly have you report back to the Far Reach, or else you'd turn or get soul eaten." He rested his stomach on the edge of the chair "So, then we're in a bit of a pickle, we can't let you leave to Skalia for your own safety, and we likely can't keep you here either. I'm sure DRI would enjoy working with someone such as yourself, but ultimately, what do you want to do once you're out of our conversation?"
She shrugs.
"Send me where you're sending the rest of the crew and if I don't like it I'll just kill my self."
"As much as I would like to, we're under orders to separate you from the rest of the crew. Suffice to say those that are taking the rest of the crew don't exactly want you with them." He sat down in the chair "Ash, we have facilities here and outside the Empire to keep you safe until we figure out this mess, I don't know if you resurrect after death like us, but you don't need to resort to that."
She snorts waving a hand dismissively.
"Scientifically proven afterlife takes the sting out of death I'll have you know."
He let out a huff of a half-contained chuckle "I'll have to take your word for it, still, where would you end up? Would you just return to the fleets or would you be contained to the afterlife?"
She shrugs
"If a fleets close enough I'd be there, if not its retirement for me baby."
"Don't ya enjoy your job?" Markow asked "I know once my time is up I'd probably sign on with another branch or some mercenary group."
"We don't actually retire, I'm referring to death."
"I'm aware, would rather see you be useful than throwing away your skills, personally." He reached out his hand to place on her shoulder "But, it's ultimately your life, if you wish to, we can leave the room."
"Uuhhhhh man you're putting like way to much weight onto this its just dying like jeeze."
She replies awkwardly, she never understood peoples hangup about dying after all it was only death nothing serious.
Markow smirked "Well, it's the same way with the buggers in our noggins, the cloning chips revive us when we die. Though the only thing that has effectively stopped us is the soul capture tech we had in it's infancy some time ago, as our researchers hit a brick wall. But, death is still considered an unpleasant occurrence, so it's still suggested that we fight to survive, rather than give our enemy the satisfaction of killing us. It's an honor thing, you see."
She shrugs.
"Seems silly to me, death is just an event that denies you access to certain parts of existence but gives you access to another."
Buck silently stands in the corner as Markow took over his interrogation, a certain phrase from Nivia would be appropriate at this point, as he continued "Well, the Empire simply values skills and experience over death, not much use for a soldier if he dies immediately and don't have more chances to learn from his mistakes." He slowly stood up from the chair and placed his hand on the table "So, Miss Ash, would you take a chance of staying with the Dectrose, or would you prefer to go your own way out?"
"Oh you think I'm literally going to kill myself right now."
She chuckles.
"No no the church will be here to pick me up soon enough."
She responds jovially.
He raised a brow "Who runs Church?"
Her grin grows even bigger.
"You'll never fucking guess."
"I don't think I need to."
He stepped away, looking towards Pierre, the barrier returning as he opened the door "Buck, see to it that Decoroso Command knows that Ash is to be sent with the rest of them, we don't need a repeat of previous events." He looked back to Ash "We got enough for now to keep things busy."
"Oh no you misunderstand, I'd wager you're blocking my telepathy at the moment, I wouldn't know I haven't bothered to check but see if I don't report back with the fleet every now and then they come looking, so I hope what ever you're doing you do it quickly.
Standing still in his place, still looking at her, he nodded "Yes, we are blocking the telepathy, and as far as we're concerned, we are currently working on a solution. Don't worry, I'm sure the Dectrose will remedy things somehow." He stepped through the door, speaking up as he went "Should you need anything else, tap the button to call someone." Pierre nodded, stepping out of the door as Buck stared at her intensely, his face easily displaying annoyance at Markow, before he too left the room.