The Duality - Part V

[Victria 0]

"Going off shift now?" Haiin paused in the corridor, hefting his plasma rifle up on his shoulder.

 

"Yes. Just finished," Cin replied as he loosened his protective armor and helmet. "I am scheduled for six hours sleep before I report back. You are just starting?"

 

"Yes, start of my own double shift. Section Uooli. See you next shift?"

 

"Possibly. I have been stationed in Section Erat lately. Tough shift. I have no idea if I am being assigned back there. Maybe the Commander will take pity and give me easy duty in Uooli for once."

 

"Easy duty?" Haiin snorted. "If watching the Eritan and Al-Ucard feed on the enslaved is easy, you must be suffering from space sickness."

 

"Better them than us," Cin replied, shrugging. "Easier to watch than to have to dispose of the remains. But I need sleep and you do not want to be late, lest you join the ranks of the consumed."

 

"Yes... Masn and Porill were both late yesterday," Haiin said quietly. He stared off down the corridor and shook his head after a moment. "They deserved better."

 

"No," he argued. "They received what was their due. They knew the penalty for disobedience."

 

"How can you say that? They were our friends!" Haiin said hotly, glaring at his fellow soldier. "They were only a few minutes late for shift and the Commander tossed them away to be sucked dry by a pair of parasitic Eritans like they were nothing more than filthy slaves. How was that fair?"

 

"Careful of what you say," Cin hissed, grabbing Haiin by the vest and shoving him against the wall. "Unless you want to be someone's next meal. Your attitude borders on insubordination and if anyone were to overhear you, your life would be meaningless."

 

"Isn't it already?" Haiin shrugged out of his grip and pushed him away. "Sleep well if you think you are able," he said with a slight sneer. "I have a duty shift to get to."

 

Cin stared at the other soldier's back and shook his head in disgust as he resumed his path to his quarters. More and more soldiers were being poisoned by outside rumors of uprisings against the Scorpiad. Some, like Masn and Porill had become despondent and insubordinate, and had paid severely for their mistake. And now Haiin seemed to be slipping further from his obligations. Like it or not, Cin would have to report his comments to the Commander. He doubted Haiin would be alive much longer.

 

Reaching the room he shared with three others, he was pleased to find it empty. His bunkmates were either on duty or seeking out a meal for there were no other diversions in the complex. Removing his helmet as he stepped inside, he turned to toss it on his bed and found himself face to face with a female that hadn't been there a heartbeat before. Her blue gaze and bared fangs marked her as Al-Ucard. Had she heard the conversation in the hallway? Mouth suddenly dry, he opened it to greet the newcomer but could not seem to remember the proper words.

 

Horrified, he heard himself stammering. "H-h-h-h-haiin made th-those comments. I w-was going to r-r-report him n-next shift."

 

The Al-Ucard did not speak, but lunged at him faster than he could follow. He felt her jerk his head backward and winced as her fangs sank deep into his flesh. He could also feel the urgency as she began to drink, clinging to him as a drifter in space would cling to a safety-tether. He struggled, but her raw strength prevented him from breaking away.

 

"But, I serve faithfully!" He choked out in a harsh whisper, eyes wide in disbelief as his body weakened. "I serve the Scorpiad..."

 

"That was your first mistake," she whispered in his ear when she had drained almost all life from him. "Your blind faith has been your undoing." She turned his head to face her and smiled, beatific and frightening all in the same moment. She licked the blood that lingered on her lips without breaking his gaze, the icy blue depths of her eyes mesmerizing.

 

"And no one likes a traitor that turns on his own friends," she said, seemingly amused by some private thought. "Sleep now. You are overdue for your generous six hours. Die content knowing your blood has contributed to the downfall of the Scorpiad you so dearly love."

 

Cin barely had time to register the words before she snapped his neck.

 

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"Was that entirely necessary?" R'eln asked as he watched Victria heft the lifeless soldier in her arms. The display of Al-Ucardian violence was unsettling as it was the one thing his people had been trying to avoid since their liberation from the Scorpiad.

 

"Yes," she said as she arranged the dead soldier in a parody of sleep on his own bed.

 

"Yes? That is all you are going to say?"

 

Flipping the blanket over the corpse, Victria glanced over her shoulder. "What answer would you like, exactly?"

 

"That you feel some sort of remorse? That you did not want to kill him, but had to anyhow? I do not know. Maybe some shred of proof that you are not the monster my people think you are?" He stared at her from across the room, standing by the closed door and unwilling to move any closer.

 

"But I am that monster," she said, mouth twisting into a fanged smile. One boot slid the rug on the floor a few inches to the left to cover up what little blood she had spilled. "By your definition at least. I could tell you that I did not wish to end his life, but that would be a lie. I needed his blood to survive, and my survival is most important to me."

 

"But what of his family? Or his life? Do you never think that each individual you so casually slaughter has an entire existence of his own?"

 

"Not really, no. He is prey and I am the Hunter. I either catch him or I do not. If he escapes, he lives another day. If he falls beneath my blade, I live another day. Do you feel remorse when you eat? Does it bother you that the food need was once a living organism before you killed it to consume?"

 

"Of course not. That is a ridiculous statement. Plants and animals have no soul. And I do not drink people to death."

 

Victria shrugged. "The concept is still the same, but if you still begrudge me my meal, then consider this... he died so you did not have to." She paused and let a small fraction of the Hunter rise to the surface, holding his gaze so that he was unable to look away. "Now before we waste any more time arguing over how much of a monster I am, I suggest you use the terminal to download their plans so we can leave."

 

He shook himself out of his stare as Victria finally glanced away and moved to the room console, placing both hands on the control panel. Commands flashed across the screen faster than the eye could follow. Suddenly they stopped, displaying the central core security lockout. R'eln slumped further over the console, his head dropping.

 

"We have a problem."

 

"What?" Standing near the door in case of intrusion, she stared his back.

 

"When I break through their security measures, the entire complex will be on full alert and will know our location. I can reroute the inquiry through several different levels so we will not be immediately traced, but I doubt we will have more than five or six minutes before they find us here."

 

"Check to see if my shuttle is still docked, how long it will take us to reach it, and then complete the download. After you have what you need, I want you to disable all of their systems. Shut down everything except life support and make it extremely difficult for them to repair. We will take the maintenance tubes again to avoid detection."

 

R'eln nodded and peered back at the screen, manipulating the controls again. "It is necessary, I suppose, though I dislike wanton destruction."

 

Victria snorted and turned her attention to the door once more.

 

"Something humorous?" He asked dryly without glancing in her direction.

 

"More ironic than anything," she replied, still listening for any movement in the hallway. "I am in one of the most important compounds of the species I loathe most, with you -- who has suffered much at their hands... pincers... -- and you hesitate to cripple them."

 

"I told you that we were not bred for violence."

 

"That is quite possibly the biggest understatement of the millennium. Were you anything else but a Shalia, you would revel in the chance you have now."

 

"We only wish to be let alone," he replied quietly,

 

"And you never will be until the Scorpiad are fully eradicated," she replied, just as quietly.

 

Alarms suddenly began to blare throughout the compound and Victria swung her head to watch R'eln work. The information flowing across the screen was moving faster than even she could process, but he seemed to be having no trouble. Impatiently she waited, her posture tense as she heard the first sounds of booted feet pounding down the corridor. She had already engaged the door's locking mechanism, but no one attempted to bypass it to enter. Apparently the diversion had worked as planned and the soliders were headed to a false location to apprehend intruders that were not there.

 

"Done," he announced as he pulled a data storage chip from the console and tucked it into his boot.

 

"Good. Now destroy their central core beyond repair," she ordered, staring at him again. "Win a small victory for your people, R'eln."

 

He frowned, but reconnected with the terminal. Immediately, the lights went dark and dim orange emergency lighting appeared to outline the floor and door. She heard the air processors shut down as well, though they resumed function at half power a few moments later. Victria nodded in satisfaction and left her position at the door.

 

"You saw the layout and memorized it, I am sure. Lead the way," she opened the room's maintenance hatch and waited for him to crawl inside. As he passed, she smiled to herself, savoring the fear he radiated. For some strange reason, she still made him nervous...

Edited May 27, 2007 by Victria

[Marius Tr'Lorin 0]

I can't wait to see the next part! Nice logs! :lol: