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Votecount 7.2

~Bledavik Palace, Medical Ward~

“Hyuga, I would request a favor from you.”

Citan’s eyes perked up at this. Not that Cain used his former Solarian name, for he was used to that, but that Cain would directly ask for something without being roundabout with it. The deposed emperor had grown frail, both in his old age and through his experiences, that Citan knew he did not wish to be indebted to anyone.

It didn’t matter. Few people knew the emperor as Citan did. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

“...I cannot currently boast the faculties I once possessed. I do not wish to sugar coat it, but the medical staff and technology we have available simply do not compare to what Krelian used to prolong both his own life and mine.”

Citan said nothing. They both knew this to be true.

“I feel that you have handled the situation with the current contact admirably. With Miang’s influence eliminated from his life, Id may yet remain contained forever.

“Yet there is still an injustice that stands unrectified.”

Citan listened with rapt attention. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“The former contact. Created in my image.”

The doctor frowned. “Kahr? What about him?”

“...You must bring him to me.”

Citan did not wish to question the former emperor’s orders, but in this case, he had no idea where Cain was going with this. “Might I respectfully ask for what purpose?”

“Of course you may, Hyuga. We are past such petty displays of sycophancy.” Cain sighed.

“I wish for Kahran Ramsus to end my life.”

Of all the things he thought Cain might say, he had to admit that this hadn’t even crossed his mind. “But Sire, what of reclaiming Solaris?”

“I cannot,” Cain said. “I am not fit to rule. Any chance of that died with Krelian.”

For a while, they both said nothing. Then Cain spoke again.

“You told me you once believed in Kahran Ramsus, Hyuga.”

Citan nodded. “Yes. Sigurd thought this, as well.”

“What changed?”

That was a complex situation. “Well, Kahr had his own way of separating the haves from the have-nots. For that short while, It was no longer birthright, but ability, that gave one value in Solaris. All others were deemed of little use.”

“And I assume it was that last part that gave you pause.”

“Of course,” Citan assented.

“Then let me tell you, from someone who knows Ramsus as well as he knows himself, that perhaps you were seeing the manifestation of another’s will, subtly corrupting, polluting, and eventually, overpowering his own.”

Citan was able to follow this line of thought to its logical conclusion by himself. “You think we should try again, free from her influence?”

“Miang poisons everything she touches. Ramsus, Fei, Krelian…”

, Citan allowed the thought to glance across his mind. “I see your point. There is a problem, though -- I don’t believe his whereabouts are currently accounted for.”

Cain let out a low, guttural sound that Citan could only hope was a laugh. “Believe me, Hyuga, when I say that if I had been betrayed, scorned, and cast out by someone I thought I loved, I would not be easily inclined to move on.”

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~Kislev, D-Block~

A piercing shriek tore hammer from his bed.

He checked his watch:

He felt like he hadn’t slept in a week.

And since his ‘business’ was at a lull for the moment, that feeling was not terribly far off. The problem was not demand, as traffic, in the form of new prisoners, was at an all time high ever since the Solarians had demanded access.

The alternative would have been an all-out occupation, and Kaiser Sigmund didn’t seem to have the stones for it. Instead, under the pretense of cooperation, Kislev was currently “paying tribute” as it were, allowing Solaris to siphon resources as well as use both their facilities and population, for, well, Hammer didn’t want to know.

No, the true issue was supply. A number of his scavenger contacts had either been spooked, bribed, or had outright disappeared since Solaris had sunk its claws into the prison system.

And that was, not at all coincidentally, Hammer was sure, when the strange happenings had started. As he threw a pair of work pants on, he never for a moment thought the sound he had just heard could possibly not be yet another, what? Abduction, Attack?

The place, for all its shortcomings, was relatively well-lit at night, and Hammer could see silhouettes of people crowded near one of the streetlights.

He ran up, and immediately noticed that others were turning away in disgust. Waiting to find a clear path, he was finally able to sneak between two onlookers and catch a glimpse of the scene before him.

He immediately wished he hadn’t. A young woman--and Hammer immediately realized by what was left of her outfit that it was Suzarn, one of the battling crowd--lay dead in a pool of what was obviously blood, even if its hue couldn’t be made out in the nighttime glow.

But the face would probably have been unrecognizable at midday, with lacerations covering her figure, skin missing, and blood everywhere.

Hammer had seen plenty of battlers wounded, even killed. It had fazed him at first, but he had grown accustomed to it, accepting it as part of life here, and wisely avoiding it himself.

This was different: this was terror, pure and simple. Whether a deliberate action by their hidden oppressors, or just some horrible by-product of some experiment they conducted in the shadows, these people wouldn’t have the luxury of choosing their own fate.

And Hammer was not going to stand for it.

Sleep could wait. He got to work.

~Yggdrasil, currently birthed in Bledavik~

“You must let me see him,” said the stranger in the mask.

“Why?” Citan responded. “Where were you earlier when he was rampaging around the desert?”

“...I have my own problems,” the other man responded.

“Don’t we all,” remarked Citan dryly. “I daresay that doesn’t excuse you for abandoning him when he needed you most.”

“Are you going to let your moral outrage at what I’ve done preempt what you know is best for him now?”

Citan paused at that. “All right,” he finally said. “Exactly what are you going to tell him?”

“Enough to likely reactivate the Id persona, for a time being at least.”

Citan snorted. “And you think this is wise?”

“The medical staff can subdue him with drugs and restraints. He will not pose a threat. Not to me.”

“And then what? Cain does not think Id will continue to be a problem with Miang out the picture.”

The stranger crossed his arms. “Miang is never out the picture. You know that.”

Citan smiled. “Oh? Because Cain doesn’t necessarily agree with that, either.”

“Explain.”

“Unnecessary. Take my word that we have a plan on that front. Are you still sure you want to risk this?”

“At least let me see him!” The masked man said, animated for the first time.

Citan had planned to relent the entire time, but he was still upset enough that he wanted to make the other man work for it, wanted to see just how bad he felt. “Fine. Go ahead, but I insist that I remain present.”

“...As you wish,

.”

Votecount 8.0