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Chapter 43: Aftershock
June 13, 3239, 1256 hours
UEG Government Building
Manhattan, New York, Earth
What remained after John 117's charge through the basement loading bay was being taken away by several hundred city workers as emergency trucks and forklifts milled through crates, vehicle husks, craters and dents, as well as spent shell casings from dozens of rifles. ONI personnel still put up a hell of a fight after the Spartan turned tail and left. The reason why air support hadn't followed the missing Pelican to the upper levels was because of Roan and Jackson.
Shortly after gaining access to the building, the two kept hidden by cracking into more secure parts of the civil sectors on the lower floors of the building. This was typically meant for civil workers, janitors, repairmen, and even people who called the UEG tower home. Several thousand people had suites in the base as well as the tower neck. This was how the mercenaries kept a low profile. Jackson was posing as a high profile temporary resident who had just arrived from Mobius and needed to be shown to her quarters by a passing housekeeper. Roan was playing her bodyguard which was easier to pass off than say, a spouse or romantic fling. This also allowed him to carry his 1911 openly holstered. It would have been useful if things went wrong.
The housekeeper was rather helpful, but the balding Asian man of nearly sixty had something that they required: a skeleton keycard. Roan and Jackson realized they needed to make a move. In a quick motion, just when they arrived at a vacant room, Roan slipped his hand around the man's throat and quickly choked him to unconsciousness. The housekeeper was not even aware of what was going on even when he blacked out. Jackson quickly snatched the key off of the man's belt and swiped it on the lock, which cracked open. Quickly pulling inside, Roan placed the man in the bathroom and shut the door. With a master key, Jackson would be able to get into the more restricted areas. They would work from there and get into the military sectors.
The process was slow and methodical. They sneaked, choked, and shot their way through access corridors. Usually without hesitation unless there were civilians. These people were simply knocked out.
A lengthy crawl later, the pair arrived in a restricted area, and rather close to the area that John 117 had passed through to get to his Pelican. In fact, the pair watched the advance through security cameras, utterly mesmerized by the Spartan's speed and finesse. By the time they got to the hangar to help him out, he was gone. Still, there were still weapons and targets. Roan and Jackson kept the remaining ONI forces away from the remaining Pelicans. This involved physically destroying them with Chaos rifles. Each dropship turned into molten slag with hulls glowing dull red and sagging from the heat.
With the Spartan clear, Jackson and Roan could hold out until the UNSC rolled right into the building. Tanks with clattering treads paved way and shoved aside wreckage. Their massive turrets swung around looking for targets. Their machine gunners fired away at ONI agents. Jackson and Roan suspected they had the go-ahead to fire on hostiles, even if they were Naval Intelligence. Behind them, a column of Bandersnatch jeeps fanned out pacifying any survivors. Within five minutes, the battle was over. Prisoners were gathered in front of armed guards. The building belonged to the UNSC.
Jackson wandered around, still somewhat troubled by her foot. It was healing well, though she needed a vacation to ensure she was back in working condition. Roan on the other hand was jovial. They had won their battle down here, and by the sound of the radios it was clear that Marshall had finally thrown in the towel. He strode around nodding at Marines and surveying them as they worked. A surly man with a cap walked towards him. "Hey, are you Roan? Allen Roan?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Got a COM for you. They say it's important."
Roan took the earpiece that was offered for him. He gave it a quick wipe. The officer rolled his eyes. With a chuckle, he hooked it onto his ear. "Roan here."
"Roan, this is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson."
"Go ahead, Sergeant Major."
"How are things down stairs?"
"Fine." Roan announced. "UNSC's arrived onsite to clean up the area. Prisoners have been taken, situation A-OK."
"Good. Marshall's just surrendered. We're getting his ass out of here ASAP for incarceration."
"Yeah, good think Jackson and I backed up those flight data recorders when we got our hands on them."
"You did that?"
"Sure. Incriminating evidence should be handled accordingly."
"How many backups did you make?"
"Fourteen."
There was a slight pause. They heard Johnson laugh and then end it in a cough.
"Alright, listen, I've got a job for you. Captain's KIA."
"What?"
"He took one to the skull, blew half his head off. He's down and I don't think a healing touch is going to work this time."
"So you're serious. He's dead."
"Deader than disco."
"Fuck."
"What's happened?" Jackson asked.
"Captain got shot."
"Is he alright?"
"No. Kind of dead."
"Fuck."
"I know." Roan shrugged. "So, what do you need us to do? Move the body?"
"No, UNSC's going to handle pulling the bodies out. Three dead. The Captain, Major Hera, and Howard Tudyk."
"Wait, Hera's dead as well?" Roan asked.
"Took three shots, died right next to the Captain. Marshall shot Tudyk, then Hera."
"So... what do you need us to do if the UNSC's taking care of the bodies?"
"You've gotta find the Princess. You get her and you tell her what happened."
"I've got to do what?"
"You heard me. You're the only ones on the ground. Get a ride and pick her up."
"We're stuck doing notifications? We weren't hired to do this."
"Then what were you hired for?" Johnson asked.
"To guard him!"
"Well congratulations for fucking that up seven different ways! Make up for it by doing a simple little job for me, or are those Lone Wolf titles only for show?"
Roan sighed, ran his hand through his hair and said, "Alright fine. I'll do it. Where is she?"
"Cortana's already pinned her down. Columbus Plaza. Should be a short drive for you. You'll make it in less than a half hour. Use one of the vehicles down there. Hand me back over to that officer."
Roan shrugged and took the COM set from his ear. He handed it back to the waiting Marine. The uniform placed it to his ear, nodded his head and simply repeated, "Yes Sergeant Major." before saying, "Alright, the car's yours. Get on out here and we'll finish cleaning things up in here."
"Yeah, no problem. Don't have too much fun without us." Roan tapped Jackson on the shoulder. "Come on, Sam. Gotta break some bad news."
"I hate that. You know that, Allen."
"I know. But we owe it to the guy."
The jeep was a newer model Warthog without the chaingun on the roof. This was a sleek vehicle with large wheels. It still had the distinctive look of the M12 FAV that had graced the battlefields centuries before, but now it seemed more like a performance vehicle mixed with rugged military jeep. Roan slipped into the driver's seat. Samantha pulled herself shotgun and made herself comfortable in the bucket seat. Her leg was troubling her far less now. Both of them grabbed the door handles and slammed them shut. The seals hissed and soon, the Warthog was running. Roan tuned the jeep around and exited the hangar, passing by squads that moved in to secure the interior. Mashall's people probably hadn't all gotten the message because the radio scanner reported that minor firefights were occurring all around the building. The ships in the air above had pulled back, now receiving orders from HIGHCOM to back off.
"Hey Allen?"
"Yeah?"
"She's not going to take this well, you know that?"
"I know." he said. Roan signaled and turned left out of the courtyard and onto the cleared streets. A pair of walkers flanked the entrance to the government building. Reporters were already gathering around. "Fucking vultures." he said glaring at them. A few took snaps at the jeep. Roan fired back by flipping them off. "See what the editor thinks of this."
"I mean, Jesus, you know how she's going to react? Being as she is?"
"I know."
"The father of her child is dead, Allen. That kid's going to grow up with no father! She's going to raise it alone! She's going to be a pariah!"
"You're right." Allen said after a second. "Bastard kid, royal fooling around with a common soldier, with a Human... Christ, what's the kid going to look like?"
"I don't know! That's what worries me!"
"Well, why does that worry you?" He turned onto Broadway and got stuck behind a truck. He honked the Warthog's horn but the stubborn driver didn't get the message.
"Because she's my monarch. Allen, I was born on that planet and I lived under her parents. They're good people."
"Praise coming from you?"
"I'm serious for once." she said. "Look, she's going to vanish from public life. They may as well never have had a daughter. She's going to be under so much scrutiny and so much malice once the public finds out she's having a child of another damned race..."
"You know people have been doing this literally for thousands of years." Roan said, finally getting around the truck. He smiled for a second before a taxi cut in front of him. "Fucking morons can't drive in this damn city!" He leaned out the window. "Hey! UNSC! Get the fuck out of the way or get run over!"
That got the car to move.
"Subtle."
"The fucking logo's on the car, what are people in New York illiterate as well! This was never a problem on Sigma Octanis!"
"But think... what happens when that kid's born? What happens to her?"
"I don't know, Sam. It's not our issue. That's her problem."
Jackson leaned back and looked out the window at the pedestrians looking at the jeep. The desert-colored Warthog stood out in the crowded streets of Manhattan. Though she couldn't hear the crowds thanks to the sealed interior, she could imagine the din. They were far away from the government building. Life seemed somewhat normal. Humans walked the streets, though she could occasionally pick out some of her people mixed in among the mixture of the various shades. One or two Sangheili popped up every block or so. Jackson wondered just what they were doing on Earth. Datonians, Gallvente, Unggoy, even the Kig Yar... so many people here.
"I suppose it is." she said. "It's going to kill her though."
An hour of gridlock later, they arrived at where they needed to be. Columbus Plaza, at the edge of Central Park. It was the few areas of greenery in the city that remained untouched through the centuries. An officer tried to question them about their vehicle, but one look at the Vanguard patches on their clothing and he fell silent.
Roan looked at the buildings in front of him. He tracked them up into the sky. How were they supposed to find one person in all of this? He decided to call Cortana and ask. They still had the frequencies from when they were all in one unit. It was best to use them now that there was nobody listening in anymore.
"What can I do for you, Roan?" the AI asked. "Feeling lost?"
"Yes actually. We need to find the Princess. Can you help?"
"I can. Patching into the city's security cameras. This will take a second."
Precisely two seconds later, she said, "I've got her in the park."
"Where at?"
"Biggest bridge there, central lake. Looks like she has a friend with her."
"Yeah, Rabbot. We can handle it from here; thanks Cortana."
"No problem. Listen, don't give her the bad news all at once. Take it slowly. I've been noticing that she hasn't been on top of her game lately."
"Will do. I'll take that advice."
"Good man, Roan."
Allen closed the channel and shut down the earpiece. "Let's go for a walk. Cortana said that she would be on the central bridge. She'll be fairly noticeable."
"Right behind you." Jackson nodded. "What's the plan for breaking the news?"
"Don't say it right away." Allen repeated. "Lead into it."
The park was a collection of plants native to Earth as well as alien trees that had taken root in the Terran soil. The entire thing was beautiful with sunlight poking through the canopy and casting deep shadows on the ground below. Not very many people were walking around and police officers stood at many corners, sometimes huddled in twos or threes. Jackson and Roan stood out, but not to an absurd level. There were quite a few aliens in the park that day. It took a while before they found her on one of the big bridges crossing part of the central lake. Sally and Bunnie Rabbot sat huddled together with their backs to the mercenaries. Sally Barely moved, but Rabbot glared around at people passing them. Her ears perked every now and again at a sound that came from around the park. Jackson stepped forward.
"I'll deal with it, Roan." she said. "My people after all."
"Be my guest."
Jackson stepped gingerly forward. She cleared her throat to get their attention. Sally and Bunnie slowly turned to see her.
"Jackson." the Princess said. "What are you doing here?"
"We've been sent to find you." the mercenary responded. "We figured that you stayed behind."
"I did." Sally admitted. "I couldn't go on." she placed a hand to her abdomen. "I couldn't."
"I understand, Highness." Samantha said. "You made a critical decision, and I respect it."
"Marshall?" Sally asked.
"It's over. Marshall surrendered."
"Surrendered?" Bunnie piped up. "Surrendered? He locked us up and starved us! He wasn't going to give up!"
"But he did." Jackson said. "They caught him red handed in an admission."
Sally breathed a sigh of relief deeper than she ever thought she would. "It's over. Thank Aurora." she placed a hand to her head.
"You sound tired."
"I am, Jackson. More than you know."
"She hasn't slept a minute since Reyes, Rouge and Hera broke off." Bunnie explained. "I wanted her to get some sleep, but she refused."
"I needed to know what would happen. Too many nights I've been awake wondering about how this would turn out." she leaned forward and adjusted her cap. It hid her identity fairly well despite the obvious sign she was a Mobian.
"But, we took casualties."
Sally shrugged sadly. "I wish I could show more emotion. It's the lack of sleep." she paused. "Who did we lose?"
"Several of the STARs. They made an attack on Marshall's forces under Sergeant Johnson. A few mercenaries, and..."
"What?"
Jackson's gaze dropped to the floor. "Hera and the Captain are both dead."
There. She got it out. She spat the sentence out quickly and let it hang in the air. Both Bunnie and Sally sat motionless. There was no reaction. There was only the sound of birds chirping and distantly playing children.
"What do you mean?" Sally asked. "He can't be dead. What happened?"
Jackson noted the absence of concern for Hera. "The report is that when they went to apprehend Marshall, Chris was shot in the head with a medium caliber handgun. There was only one shot. He likely died instantly from trauma."
Sally again didn't respond. She turned to look into space. She made no motion but began breathe quickly.
Bunnie stammered. "B-buh-but the medics can help him, right? They can bring him back? Come on, they can do anything!"
NICOLE then made her presence known. "I think Jackson means that this time, it's not happening at all."
Her hologram appeared on the handheld. NICOLE looked at Sally. "I am so sorry." she said. "I can't even begin to tell you how I feel.", and in truth she could not. She had been with him from the very beginning across what felt like half a galaxy. Months on the run and it ended like this.
Sally blinked, but no tears fell. There was sadness, but shock and anger growing in her heart. They had been so close. So close to the end.
"I spent so much time with him." NICOLE continued. "He only thought of you. Every single day he was away he only wanted to see you again. He loved you so much."
"I know." Sally said in a small voice. "There... there was something telling me it wouldn't go well. Something I wanted to ignore." She sought tears but found none. "Something that said he would go and do this! I knew he wasn't well! I never should have left him!" her breathing became labored. "I should have stayed with him; I could have stopped it from happening!"
Bunnie leaned in to comfort her friend. "Come on, Sal. It's not your fault."
"Oh God, I'm a horrible person! Bunnie, I left him to die! I could have saved him!"
It wasn't the death that struck her. It was the ability to prevent it. In Sally's mind at that moment, she blamed herself. It was a deeper blame than anybody could have imagined.
"Listen, you can't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault." Bunnie said.
Then Sally stopped. She lifted herself to look at her friend. "You're right. You're right, it's not my fault." she wiped away the tears and instead anger started to creep into her voice. "It's Marshall's fault. It was all his fault. Every step he took, every thing he carried out, it all led to this."
She got up and walked to Jackson. Samantha noted that Sally seemed far different now. She wasn't sad, but what remained of tears were still on her face. Instead, the emotion she radiated was rage. Rage that made the mercenary slightly uncomfortable.
"Where's Marshall?" she asked.
"Holding facility."
"Where's that?"
"Dunno."
Sally flipped open NICOLE's cover. "Can you get me Admiral Andsworth?"
"I can." NICOLE responded.
"I want to see Marshall now."
Jackson and Roan looked at each other and then to Sally. There were no more tears, but an anger than scared them the longer they looked into her eyes. Both Allen and Samantha found it ironic that despite the enemies they faced, they couldn't be more frightened than an unarmed woman. Jackson was the first to remember the old saying.
"Hell hath no fury..."
Marshall was too dangerous to be held on Earth. The UEG had ordered him to be moved to the Io Holding Facility. Sally was on a shuttle within hours and flown out to Jupiter. She was one of only two passengers. The other was Admiral Andsworth. Gerome had heard of her plan to go find Marshall and immediately made his way to her. The two sat for the most part not talking to one another for the fifteen hour flight out to Jupiter. They mostly only responded to the attendant, a svelte man who wore a smart suit. They got expensive water, hot blankets and the occasional data pad when they asked for them. Sally could not bring NICOLE though. This was a secure facility and it wouldn't be safe to bring an unauthorized AI. Despite the mood of her friend, she chose to leave her behind in Sonic's care.
Just as Jupiter became the size of a golf ball to the pilots, Andsworth finally spoke.
"Listen, don't do anything that you may regret."
"What?" She turned to face Gerome. He had come straight from the General Assembly's chambers. He had a smartly pressed military uniform on and a look in his eyes that said he hadn't slept much.
"When you see Marshall, well, let's just say we want him alive."
Sally looked incredulous. "Just what do you think I'm going to do when I see him?"
"Can I be honest?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
Gerome shifted in his seat and sat towards her. "You want to hurt him."
"I don't want..."
"Why else would you be here instead of in the morgue to see your fiancee?"
"Don't bring him up."
"Why not? He served under my command as well. He was my responsibility too for a while! OMEGA reports to me in the end. But Sally, what you have to realize is that soldiers die. This isn't a career where we can just think we can all retire in the end. When we pick up those weapons, we realize that it could be the last time we do so. I expect you should know that as well."
Andsworth was right. Sally had been in her fair share of battle and realized that her life was just as fragile. She just didn't get why Chris had to die. What cosmic force demanded that he be exterminated? There had been no evidence of any alternate universe where he lived. Fate demanded he die. But for what purpose?
Maybe there was no purpose. His death may have been for nothing. A simple flick of the switch to an otherwise pointless life. The thought crossed her mind that her Human meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. This revelation upset her even more.
"I won't hurt him." Sally said. "But I will make sure he never hurts anybody ever again. Her ear twitched. "How much pull do you have in the General Assembly?"
Andsworth's mustache ruffled. "Why do you want to know?"
"I need to ask you something."
Hallway after hallway came when they landed on Io. The gravity was so low it may as well be non-existent. However, the facility they were in was equipped with graviton attracting plates. This created a somewhat more comfortable area to move around in that maintained something approaching 1G. This was a prison though and Sally received no less than five guards to bring her through the faclity, past jeering prisoners and armed guard robots that had cannons longer than her arm. Andsworth accompanied her through several secure areas, and before long, they had arrived at the supermaximum facility – a small section of the prison proper that held only the worst prisoners in the system. One of them was Troy Marshall. Only ten prisoners total were within these reinforced battleplate cells. These walls were rated only for the toughest of warships. There was no chance of escape. Guards were on duty providing twenty three hour a day surveillance. Only for one hour a day was a prisoner allowed to exit the cell for washing and whatnot.
Marshall's cell was without a name, but a number. The guard keyed open the door and allowed them inside. "He's not much of a talker." she said.
"That's alright." Sally said. "He's here to listen."
The interior was like an airlock. Two of the five guards stood behind both Andsworth and Sally. In front of them was a transparent metal buffer. Behind that was Marshall's cell. It was a spartan thing – sterile white walls, a hard bed with a thin excuse of a cover, a television bolted into the wall, and a toilet behind a small partition – the closest thing to privacy in the cell. Marshall was sitting on the bed looking at the visitors. He wore a snow white jumpsuit zipped up to the neck. He was shaved nearly bald and his goatee was gone. It was jarring to see him like this, but Sally recognized the smile. That sick smile that he flashed whenever he saw her, as if it were friendly in some way. Marshall got off the bed and walked straight up to the transparent sheet.
"Well, good afternoon! Or is it morning? They won't tell me which."
"Mister 'president'." Sally hissed through closed teeth.
"I hope you realize just how badly you've fucked up." Marshall's smile dropped at once.
"I could tell you the same thing."
"You are so precious." the man shook his head. Sally was taken aback at the folds in his skin now visible without his beard. "I had the fate of the galaxy in my hands. I could have stopped everything from happening. Could have put away the Prisoner for good. It wasn't even my fault, but that putz Tudyk. Only a few hundred people died. A few hundred for the exchange of untold pentillions of creatures in other universes alongside ours."
"Should have been on our side then." Andsworth growled. "Maybe we could have done this peacefully."
"Oh, is that what this is about? Talahan? My people being unfairly treated by the UEG and cast aside like cheap labor you thought we were? You think that's worth jailing me and killing untold souls? Can you sleep at night knowing that?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it doesn't matter one way or another and you'd still be in this cell for the rest of your life."
Marshall brushed this aside. "Answer me one question Gerome: how did you know I was Talahase?"
"Had a hunch." the Admiral said. "Terrorists like you tend to hit large targets and then chase after smaller prey. You detonated the Jones and the Reaper. Both blew up in close proximity to the Jumpgate with no sign of actual mechanical failure. That and the fact that your interrogation techniques are straight from the old movies. Tied to a chair? There are better ways to imprison someone like me. Rattling off that Talahase phrase though got you going. That was the clincher."
Marshall's eyes darted around. "So you never really knew."
"Not one hundred percent, no." Gerome hid a smile behind his mustache.
"Admiral, could I say a few words?" Sally asked.
"By all means, Highness."
Sally bored deep into Marshall's eyes. She sized up the man sitting behind the partition for a full ten seconds. "I just want you to know that everything that you attempted, your war on Mobius, the usurping of my parents' kingdom, the extermination of my friends, it failed spectacularly. But then you had to make it beyond personal."
"The Captain."
Sally closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not smart for someone like you." Then they were open and filled with icy rage. "He had a name once. Do you know what this man meant to me?"
"From your perspective? An exotic fucktoy with a ring on him."
That cruel joke stung deeply. Sally took that personally as well.
"You destroyed his life. Your jungle took away his chance of being a normal Human being. Your war killed whatever was left of his childhood. He was only a boy when he was out there."
"That was the UEG's fault, not mine."
"I don't care." Sally said. "Your people started that war. The Talahase were in the wrong."
"Nice historic relativism."
"History is written by the victor, and last I checked, your rebellion was smashed into the gravel."
"Spare me the big talk, little girl. In the end, I'll walk. I've got so much power you can't even dream of."
"Admiral?" Sally asked. A smile now crossed her face.
"Well," Andsworth said, "That just ain't gonna happen."
Marshall didn't respond, but looked inquisitively at Andsworth.
"You know, technically speaking the war on Talahan V never ended. We ended occupation, but we didn't cease hostilities – you know, the usual bureaucracy."
"What does that mean?" Marshall asked, still not getting it.
"That means, thanks to the fact that you outed yourself as a Talahase soldier, you are now officially a prisoner of war."
"It gets better." Sally grinned a Cheshire-esque smile.
"Which means that you are now no longer obligated to a trial by jury in a civilian court of law."
Marshall at last connected the dots. "Wait..."
"You are now required to stand trial by military tribunal." Andsworth bounced on the balls of his toes. "With your guilt already being determined of course thanks to your admission."
"You're not going anywhere." Sally said. "Your contacts? Worthless. Your money? Burn it. You want to know what else?" She actually laughed at the sweet taste of revenge. "This time we get to stack the deck! This is the first run of the paper tomorrow morning on Earth."
Sally retrieved a datapad Andsworth gave her. Marshall watched, color draining from his face.
"Presidential Treason." Sally read. "In a surprise indictment given by the United Earth Government General Assembly, former President of the UEG Troy Marshall was charged with over twenty counts of high treason against the UEG and was declared directly responsible for the loss of almost one thousand lives on several ships both civilian and military. Marshall was also directly responsible for plotting a conspiracy to commit genocide against the civilian population of Talahan V."
"I never did that!" Marshall blurted out. "I never wanted to kill civilians!"
"Well we can't be burdened by the facts now can we? I mean, you were just as honest when you said the Captain blew up hospital ships, which was actually you as it seems here... That's another life sentence." Sally said, smile now ear to ear.
"Stop it." Marshall said. "Stop it right now."
"You also subverted UEG regulations to overthrow a sovereign planetary nation by forcibly removing the ruling faction through threats and outright war. Life sentence number 3."
"STOP IT!" Marshall cried out, banging his hands on the barrier. The guards twitched, but Andsworth calmed them. "STOP IT YOU BITCH!"
Sally passed away the datapad. "And I've got one more thing to say to you." She went up next to the glass and stared the broken man dead in the face. "That bullet may as well have come from you, Marshall. For all it matters to me, you killed him."
"That was Tudyk!"
"Shut up!"
Marshall argued again, and Sally exchanged in a brief repetition. Then, silence.
"When they told me that he was gone, forever now, you made something – a void in my heart. This was the one man I wanted to save. The one person I thought I could bring back from the brink of hopelessness. When I saw him for the first time, I saw loss in his eyes and in his heart. I knew I had to try. I almost did it. I almost saved him. I chose him because I thought I could do it. Then you stole him from me. From us. You ruined everything."
She had tears again. When she looked into Marshall's eyes, they were wide in determination. Shining blue spotlights glaring deep into Marshall's very soul. The Princess' next words terrified him.
"What I am going to do to you will be worse than death. I will use every shred of my power, every connection I can make, to send you to the darkest corner of space. I will send you so far away you will forget what the Earth looks like. I will send you where you will not understand what words are said, where they will not know your name, and where kindness is a concept as alien as the Prisoner.
"I will make it so you never see another Human face for as long as I can force it. You will know nothing but the loneliness of your own mind. You will grow old in this place. You will be weak and feeble. Your mind will be broken and wandering. You will forget as he forgot. You will be beaten and bruised and whatever else they have in store for you. When you are clinging to the last vestige of your life, when you are about to die in this place, I will be there. I will stare into your blinded and fading eyes and I will remind you of what you did. I will remind you of your failure and what a pathetic waste of a soul you are. You will die there, Marshall. You will be buried in the sand of that place, and you will be forgotten. A fitting end to a man who took away my Humanity."
Marshall didn't dare speak. He couldn't. His mouth was dry. His eyes now starting to become moist himself. Jesus, this was it. His death began in this cell and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
"I don't deserve that."
"Yes you do." she whispered back. "All that and more. You'll see me again in court, Troy." She passed Andsworth and nodded. "Let's go."
"Where are you off to now?"
"I need to see him."
"Sally." Marshall stammered. "You can't be serious."
She didn't respond nor return. She was gone.
"Happy trails, mister President." Andsworth smiled. He gave the man a farce of a salute, turned on his heel and walked away.
"Gerome!" Marshall cried. "Princess! WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!"
But Marshall was alone. Alone with only his thoughts. He thought he could hear the faintest whisper from somewhere he didn't know. Giggling somewhat, he waited to hear that distant sound again.
June 13, 3239, 1256 hours
UEG Government Building
Manhattan, New York, Earth
What remained after John 117's charge through the basement loading bay was being taken away by several hundred city workers as emergency trucks and forklifts milled through crates, vehicle husks, craters and dents, as well as spent shell casings from dozens of rifles. ONI personnel still put up a hell of a fight after the Spartan turned tail and left. The reason why air support hadn't followed the missing Pelican to the upper levels was because of Roan and Jackson.
Shortly after gaining access to the building, the two kept hidden by cracking into more secure parts of the civil sectors on the lower floors of the building. This was typically meant for civil workers, janitors, repairmen, and even people who called the UEG tower home. Several thousand people had suites in the base as well as the tower neck. This was how the mercenaries kept a low profile. Jackson was posing as a high profile temporary resident who had just arrived from Mobius and needed to be shown to her quarters by a passing housekeeper. Roan was playing her bodyguard which was easier to pass off than say, a spouse or romantic fling. This also allowed him to carry his 1911 openly holstered. It would have been useful if things went wrong.
The housekeeper was rather helpful, but the balding Asian man of nearly sixty had something that they required: a skeleton keycard. Roan and Jackson realized they needed to make a move. In a quick motion, just when they arrived at a vacant room, Roan slipped his hand around the man's throat and quickly choked him to unconsciousness. The housekeeper was not even aware of what was going on even when he blacked out. Jackson quickly snatched the key off of the man's belt and swiped it on the lock, which cracked open. Quickly pulling inside, Roan placed the man in the bathroom and shut the door. With a master key, Jackson would be able to get into the more restricted areas. They would work from there and get into the military sectors.
The process was slow and methodical. They sneaked, choked, and shot their way through access corridors. Usually without hesitation unless there were civilians. These people were simply knocked out.
A lengthy crawl later, the pair arrived in a restricted area, and rather close to the area that John 117 had passed through to get to his Pelican. In fact, the pair watched the advance through security cameras, utterly mesmerized by the Spartan's speed and finesse. By the time they got to the hangar to help him out, he was gone. Still, there were still weapons and targets. Roan and Jackson kept the remaining ONI forces away from the remaining Pelicans. This involved physically destroying them with Chaos rifles. Each dropship turned into molten slag with hulls glowing dull red and sagging from the heat.
With the Spartan clear, Jackson and Roan could hold out until the UNSC rolled right into the building. Tanks with clattering treads paved way and shoved aside wreckage. Their massive turrets swung around looking for targets. Their machine gunners fired away at ONI agents. Jackson and Roan suspected they had the go-ahead to fire on hostiles, even if they were Naval Intelligence. Behind them, a column of Bandersnatch jeeps fanned out pacifying any survivors. Within five minutes, the battle was over. Prisoners were gathered in front of armed guards. The building belonged to the UNSC.
Jackson wandered around, still somewhat troubled by her foot. It was healing well, though she needed a vacation to ensure she was back in working condition. Roan on the other hand was jovial. They had won their battle down here, and by the sound of the radios it was clear that Marshall had finally thrown in the towel. He strode around nodding at Marines and surveying them as they worked. A surly man with a cap walked towards him. "Hey, are you Roan? Allen Roan?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Got a COM for you. They say it's important."
Roan took the earpiece that was offered for him. He gave it a quick wipe. The officer rolled his eyes. With a chuckle, he hooked it onto his ear. "Roan here."
"Roan, this is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson."
"Go ahead, Sergeant Major."
"How are things down stairs?"
"Fine." Roan announced. "UNSC's arrived onsite to clean up the area. Prisoners have been taken, situation A-OK."
"Good. Marshall's just surrendered. We're getting his ass out of here ASAP for incarceration."
"Yeah, good think Jackson and I backed up those flight data recorders when we got our hands on them."
"You did that?"
"Sure. Incriminating evidence should be handled accordingly."
"How many backups did you make?"
"Fourteen."
There was a slight pause. They heard Johnson laugh and then end it in a cough.
"Alright, listen, I've got a job for you. Captain's KIA."
"What?"
"He took one to the skull, blew half his head off. He's down and I don't think a healing touch is going to work this time."
"So you're serious. He's dead."
"Deader than disco."
"Fuck."
"What's happened?" Jackson asked.
"Captain got shot."
"Is he alright?"
"No. Kind of dead."
"Fuck."
"I know." Roan shrugged. "So, what do you need us to do? Move the body?"
"No, UNSC's going to handle pulling the bodies out. Three dead. The Captain, Major Hera, and Howard Tudyk."
"Wait, Hera's dead as well?" Roan asked.
"Took three shots, died right next to the Captain. Marshall shot Tudyk, then Hera."
"So... what do you need us to do if the UNSC's taking care of the bodies?"
"You've gotta find the Princess. You get her and you tell her what happened."
"I've got to do what?"
"You heard me. You're the only ones on the ground. Get a ride and pick her up."
"We're stuck doing notifications? We weren't hired to do this."
"Then what were you hired for?" Johnson asked.
"To guard him!"
"Well congratulations for fucking that up seven different ways! Make up for it by doing a simple little job for me, or are those Lone Wolf titles only for show?"
Roan sighed, ran his hand through his hair and said, "Alright fine. I'll do it. Where is she?"
"Cortana's already pinned her down. Columbus Plaza. Should be a short drive for you. You'll make it in less than a half hour. Use one of the vehicles down there. Hand me back over to that officer."
Roan shrugged and took the COM set from his ear. He handed it back to the waiting Marine. The uniform placed it to his ear, nodded his head and simply repeated, "Yes Sergeant Major." before saying, "Alright, the car's yours. Get on out here and we'll finish cleaning things up in here."
"Yeah, no problem. Don't have too much fun without us." Roan tapped Jackson on the shoulder. "Come on, Sam. Gotta break some bad news."
"I hate that. You know that, Allen."
"I know. But we owe it to the guy."
The jeep was a newer model Warthog without the chaingun on the roof. This was a sleek vehicle with large wheels. It still had the distinctive look of the M12 FAV that had graced the battlefields centuries before, but now it seemed more like a performance vehicle mixed with rugged military jeep. Roan slipped into the driver's seat. Samantha pulled herself shotgun and made herself comfortable in the bucket seat. Her leg was troubling her far less now. Both of them grabbed the door handles and slammed them shut. The seals hissed and soon, the Warthog was running. Roan tuned the jeep around and exited the hangar, passing by squads that moved in to secure the interior. Mashall's people probably hadn't all gotten the message because the radio scanner reported that minor firefights were occurring all around the building. The ships in the air above had pulled back, now receiving orders from HIGHCOM to back off.
"Hey Allen?"
"Yeah?"
"She's not going to take this well, you know that?"
"I know." he said. Roan signaled and turned left out of the courtyard and onto the cleared streets. A pair of walkers flanked the entrance to the government building. Reporters were already gathering around. "Fucking vultures." he said glaring at them. A few took snaps at the jeep. Roan fired back by flipping them off. "See what the editor thinks of this."
"I mean, Jesus, you know how she's going to react? Being as she is?"
"I know."
"The father of her child is dead, Allen. That kid's going to grow up with no father! She's going to raise it alone! She's going to be a pariah!"
"You're right." Allen said after a second. "Bastard kid, royal fooling around with a common soldier, with a Human... Christ, what's the kid going to look like?"
"I don't know! That's what worries me!"
"Well, why does that worry you?" He turned onto Broadway and got stuck behind a truck. He honked the Warthog's horn but the stubborn driver didn't get the message.
"Because she's my monarch. Allen, I was born on that planet and I lived under her parents. They're good people."
"Praise coming from you?"
"I'm serious for once." she said. "Look, she's going to vanish from public life. They may as well never have had a daughter. She's going to be under so much scrutiny and so much malice once the public finds out she's having a child of another damned race..."
"You know people have been doing this literally for thousands of years." Roan said, finally getting around the truck. He smiled for a second before a taxi cut in front of him. "Fucking morons can't drive in this damn city!" He leaned out the window. "Hey! UNSC! Get the fuck out of the way or get run over!"
That got the car to move.
"Subtle."
"The fucking logo's on the car, what are people in New York illiterate as well! This was never a problem on Sigma Octanis!"
"But think... what happens when that kid's born? What happens to her?"
"I don't know, Sam. It's not our issue. That's her problem."
Jackson leaned back and looked out the window at the pedestrians looking at the jeep. The desert-colored Warthog stood out in the crowded streets of Manhattan. Though she couldn't hear the crowds thanks to the sealed interior, she could imagine the din. They were far away from the government building. Life seemed somewhat normal. Humans walked the streets, though she could occasionally pick out some of her people mixed in among the mixture of the various shades. One or two Sangheili popped up every block or so. Jackson wondered just what they were doing on Earth. Datonians, Gallvente, Unggoy, even the Kig Yar... so many people here.
"I suppose it is." she said. "It's going to kill her though."
An hour of gridlock later, they arrived at where they needed to be. Columbus Plaza, at the edge of Central Park. It was the few areas of greenery in the city that remained untouched through the centuries. An officer tried to question them about their vehicle, but one look at the Vanguard patches on their clothing and he fell silent.
Roan looked at the buildings in front of him. He tracked them up into the sky. How were they supposed to find one person in all of this? He decided to call Cortana and ask. They still had the frequencies from when they were all in one unit. It was best to use them now that there was nobody listening in anymore.
"What can I do for you, Roan?" the AI asked. "Feeling lost?"
"Yes actually. We need to find the Princess. Can you help?"
"I can. Patching into the city's security cameras. This will take a second."
Precisely two seconds later, she said, "I've got her in the park."
"Where at?"
"Biggest bridge there, central lake. Looks like she has a friend with her."
"Yeah, Rabbot. We can handle it from here; thanks Cortana."
"No problem. Listen, don't give her the bad news all at once. Take it slowly. I've been noticing that she hasn't been on top of her game lately."
"Will do. I'll take that advice."
"Good man, Roan."
Allen closed the channel and shut down the earpiece. "Let's go for a walk. Cortana said that she would be on the central bridge. She'll be fairly noticeable."
"Right behind you." Jackson nodded. "What's the plan for breaking the news?"
"Don't say it right away." Allen repeated. "Lead into it."
The park was a collection of plants native to Earth as well as alien trees that had taken root in the Terran soil. The entire thing was beautiful with sunlight poking through the canopy and casting deep shadows on the ground below. Not very many people were walking around and police officers stood at many corners, sometimes huddled in twos or threes. Jackson and Roan stood out, but not to an absurd level. There were quite a few aliens in the park that day. It took a while before they found her on one of the big bridges crossing part of the central lake. Sally and Bunnie Rabbot sat huddled together with their backs to the mercenaries. Sally Barely moved, but Rabbot glared around at people passing them. Her ears perked every now and again at a sound that came from around the park. Jackson stepped forward.
"I'll deal with it, Roan." she said. "My people after all."
"Be my guest."
Jackson stepped gingerly forward. She cleared her throat to get their attention. Sally and Bunnie slowly turned to see her.
"Jackson." the Princess said. "What are you doing here?"
"We've been sent to find you." the mercenary responded. "We figured that you stayed behind."
"I did." Sally admitted. "I couldn't go on." she placed a hand to her abdomen. "I couldn't."
"I understand, Highness." Samantha said. "You made a critical decision, and I respect it."
"Marshall?" Sally asked.
"It's over. Marshall surrendered."
"Surrendered?" Bunnie piped up. "Surrendered? He locked us up and starved us! He wasn't going to give up!"
"But he did." Jackson said. "They caught him red handed in an admission."
Sally breathed a sigh of relief deeper than she ever thought she would. "It's over. Thank Aurora." she placed a hand to her head.
"You sound tired."
"I am, Jackson. More than you know."
"She hasn't slept a minute since Reyes, Rouge and Hera broke off." Bunnie explained. "I wanted her to get some sleep, but she refused."
"I needed to know what would happen. Too many nights I've been awake wondering about how this would turn out." she leaned forward and adjusted her cap. It hid her identity fairly well despite the obvious sign she was a Mobian.
"But, we took casualties."
Sally shrugged sadly. "I wish I could show more emotion. It's the lack of sleep." she paused. "Who did we lose?"
"Several of the STARs. They made an attack on Marshall's forces under Sergeant Johnson. A few mercenaries, and..."
"What?"
Jackson's gaze dropped to the floor. "Hera and the Captain are both dead."
There. She got it out. She spat the sentence out quickly and let it hang in the air. Both Bunnie and Sally sat motionless. There was no reaction. There was only the sound of birds chirping and distantly playing children.
"What do you mean?" Sally asked. "He can't be dead. What happened?"
Jackson noted the absence of concern for Hera. "The report is that when they went to apprehend Marshall, Chris was shot in the head with a medium caliber handgun. There was only one shot. He likely died instantly from trauma."
Sally again didn't respond. She turned to look into space. She made no motion but began breathe quickly.
Bunnie stammered. "B-buh-but the medics can help him, right? They can bring him back? Come on, they can do anything!"
NICOLE then made her presence known. "I think Jackson means that this time, it's not happening at all."
Her hologram appeared on the handheld. NICOLE looked at Sally. "I am so sorry." she said. "I can't even begin to tell you how I feel.", and in truth she could not. She had been with him from the very beginning across what felt like half a galaxy. Months on the run and it ended like this.
Sally blinked, but no tears fell. There was sadness, but shock and anger growing in her heart. They had been so close. So close to the end.
"I spent so much time with him." NICOLE continued. "He only thought of you. Every single day he was away he only wanted to see you again. He loved you so much."
"I know." Sally said in a small voice. "There... there was something telling me it wouldn't go well. Something I wanted to ignore." She sought tears but found none. "Something that said he would go and do this! I knew he wasn't well! I never should have left him!" her breathing became labored. "I should have stayed with him; I could have stopped it from happening!"
Bunnie leaned in to comfort her friend. "Come on, Sal. It's not your fault."
"Oh God, I'm a horrible person! Bunnie, I left him to die! I could have saved him!"
It wasn't the death that struck her. It was the ability to prevent it. In Sally's mind at that moment, she blamed herself. It was a deeper blame than anybody could have imagined.
"Listen, you can't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault." Bunnie said.
Then Sally stopped. She lifted herself to look at her friend. "You're right. You're right, it's not my fault." she wiped away the tears and instead anger started to creep into her voice. "It's Marshall's fault. It was all his fault. Every step he took, every thing he carried out, it all led to this."
She got up and walked to Jackson. Samantha noted that Sally seemed far different now. She wasn't sad, but what remained of tears were still on her face. Instead, the emotion she radiated was rage. Rage that made the mercenary slightly uncomfortable.
"Where's Marshall?" she asked.
"Holding facility."
"Where's that?"
"Dunno."
Sally flipped open NICOLE's cover. "Can you get me Admiral Andsworth?"
"I can." NICOLE responded.
"I want to see Marshall now."
Jackson and Roan looked at each other and then to Sally. There were no more tears, but an anger than scared them the longer they looked into her eyes. Both Allen and Samantha found it ironic that despite the enemies they faced, they couldn't be more frightened than an unarmed woman. Jackson was the first to remember the old saying.
"Hell hath no fury..."
Marshall was too dangerous to be held on Earth. The UEG had ordered him to be moved to the Io Holding Facility. Sally was on a shuttle within hours and flown out to Jupiter. She was one of only two passengers. The other was Admiral Andsworth. Gerome had heard of her plan to go find Marshall and immediately made his way to her. The two sat for the most part not talking to one another for the fifteen hour flight out to Jupiter. They mostly only responded to the attendant, a svelte man who wore a smart suit. They got expensive water, hot blankets and the occasional data pad when they asked for them. Sally could not bring NICOLE though. This was a secure facility and it wouldn't be safe to bring an unauthorized AI. Despite the mood of her friend, she chose to leave her behind in Sonic's care.
Just as Jupiter became the size of a golf ball to the pilots, Andsworth finally spoke.
"Listen, don't do anything that you may regret."
"What?" She turned to face Gerome. He had come straight from the General Assembly's chambers. He had a smartly pressed military uniform on and a look in his eyes that said he hadn't slept much.
"When you see Marshall, well, let's just say we want him alive."
Sally looked incredulous. "Just what do you think I'm going to do when I see him?"
"Can I be honest?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
Gerome shifted in his seat and sat towards her. "You want to hurt him."
"I don't want..."
"Why else would you be here instead of in the morgue to see your fiancee?"
"Don't bring him up."
"Why not? He served under my command as well. He was my responsibility too for a while! OMEGA reports to me in the end. But Sally, what you have to realize is that soldiers die. This isn't a career where we can just think we can all retire in the end. When we pick up those weapons, we realize that it could be the last time we do so. I expect you should know that as well."
Andsworth was right. Sally had been in her fair share of battle and realized that her life was just as fragile. She just didn't get why Chris had to die. What cosmic force demanded that he be exterminated? There had been no evidence of any alternate universe where he lived. Fate demanded he die. But for what purpose?
Maybe there was no purpose. His death may have been for nothing. A simple flick of the switch to an otherwise pointless life. The thought crossed her mind that her Human meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. This revelation upset her even more.
"I won't hurt him." Sally said. "But I will make sure he never hurts anybody ever again. Her ear twitched. "How much pull do you have in the General Assembly?"
Andsworth's mustache ruffled. "Why do you want to know?"
"I need to ask you something."
Hallway after hallway came when they landed on Io. The gravity was so low it may as well be non-existent. However, the facility they were in was equipped with graviton attracting plates. This created a somewhat more comfortable area to move around in that maintained something approaching 1G. This was a prison though and Sally received no less than five guards to bring her through the faclity, past jeering prisoners and armed guard robots that had cannons longer than her arm. Andsworth accompanied her through several secure areas, and before long, they had arrived at the supermaximum facility – a small section of the prison proper that held only the worst prisoners in the system. One of them was Troy Marshall. Only ten prisoners total were within these reinforced battleplate cells. These walls were rated only for the toughest of warships. There was no chance of escape. Guards were on duty providing twenty three hour a day surveillance. Only for one hour a day was a prisoner allowed to exit the cell for washing and whatnot.
Marshall's cell was without a name, but a number. The guard keyed open the door and allowed them inside. "He's not much of a talker." she said.
"That's alright." Sally said. "He's here to listen."
The interior was like an airlock. Two of the five guards stood behind both Andsworth and Sally. In front of them was a transparent metal buffer. Behind that was Marshall's cell. It was a spartan thing – sterile white walls, a hard bed with a thin excuse of a cover, a television bolted into the wall, and a toilet behind a small partition – the closest thing to privacy in the cell. Marshall was sitting on the bed looking at the visitors. He wore a snow white jumpsuit zipped up to the neck. He was shaved nearly bald and his goatee was gone. It was jarring to see him like this, but Sally recognized the smile. That sick smile that he flashed whenever he saw her, as if it were friendly in some way. Marshall got off the bed and walked straight up to the transparent sheet.
"Well, good afternoon! Or is it morning? They won't tell me which."
"Mister 'president'." Sally hissed through closed teeth.
"I hope you realize just how badly you've fucked up." Marshall's smile dropped at once.
"I could tell you the same thing."
"You are so precious." the man shook his head. Sally was taken aback at the folds in his skin now visible without his beard. "I had the fate of the galaxy in my hands. I could have stopped everything from happening. Could have put away the Prisoner for good. It wasn't even my fault, but that putz Tudyk. Only a few hundred people died. A few hundred for the exchange of untold pentillions of creatures in other universes alongside ours."
"Should have been on our side then." Andsworth growled. "Maybe we could have done this peacefully."
"Oh, is that what this is about? Talahan? My people being unfairly treated by the UEG and cast aside like cheap labor you thought we were? You think that's worth jailing me and killing untold souls? Can you sleep at night knowing that?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it doesn't matter one way or another and you'd still be in this cell for the rest of your life."
Marshall brushed this aside. "Answer me one question Gerome: how did you know I was Talahase?"
"Had a hunch." the Admiral said. "Terrorists like you tend to hit large targets and then chase after smaller prey. You detonated the Jones and the Reaper. Both blew up in close proximity to the Jumpgate with no sign of actual mechanical failure. That and the fact that your interrogation techniques are straight from the old movies. Tied to a chair? There are better ways to imprison someone like me. Rattling off that Talahase phrase though got you going. That was the clincher."
Marshall's eyes darted around. "So you never really knew."
"Not one hundred percent, no." Gerome hid a smile behind his mustache.
"Admiral, could I say a few words?" Sally asked.
"By all means, Highness."
Sally bored deep into Marshall's eyes. She sized up the man sitting behind the partition for a full ten seconds. "I just want you to know that everything that you attempted, your war on Mobius, the usurping of my parents' kingdom, the extermination of my friends, it failed spectacularly. But then you had to make it beyond personal."
"The Captain."
Sally closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not smart for someone like you." Then they were open and filled with icy rage. "He had a name once. Do you know what this man meant to me?"
"From your perspective? An exotic fucktoy with a ring on him."
That cruel joke stung deeply. Sally took that personally as well.
"You destroyed his life. Your jungle took away his chance of being a normal Human being. Your war killed whatever was left of his childhood. He was only a boy when he was out there."
"That was the UEG's fault, not mine."
"I don't care." Sally said. "Your people started that war. The Talahase were in the wrong."
"Nice historic relativism."
"History is written by the victor, and last I checked, your rebellion was smashed into the gravel."
"Spare me the big talk, little girl. In the end, I'll walk. I've got so much power you can't even dream of."
"Admiral?" Sally asked. A smile now crossed her face.
"Well," Andsworth said, "That just ain't gonna happen."
Marshall didn't respond, but looked inquisitively at Andsworth.
"You know, technically speaking the war on Talahan V never ended. We ended occupation, but we didn't cease hostilities – you know, the usual bureaucracy."
"What does that mean?" Marshall asked, still not getting it.
"That means, thanks to the fact that you outed yourself as a Talahase soldier, you are now officially a prisoner of war."
"It gets better." Sally grinned a Cheshire-esque smile.
"Which means that you are now no longer obligated to a trial by jury in a civilian court of law."
Marshall at last connected the dots. "Wait..."
"You are now required to stand trial by military tribunal." Andsworth bounced on the balls of his toes. "With your guilt already being determined of course thanks to your admission."
"You're not going anywhere." Sally said. "Your contacts? Worthless. Your money? Burn it. You want to know what else?" She actually laughed at the sweet taste of revenge. "This time we get to stack the deck! This is the first run of the paper tomorrow morning on Earth."
Sally retrieved a datapad Andsworth gave her. Marshall watched, color draining from his face.
"Presidential Treason." Sally read. "In a surprise indictment given by the United Earth Government General Assembly, former President of the UEG Troy Marshall was charged with over twenty counts of high treason against the UEG and was declared directly responsible for the loss of almost one thousand lives on several ships both civilian and military. Marshall was also directly responsible for plotting a conspiracy to commit genocide against the civilian population of Talahan V."
"I never did that!" Marshall blurted out. "I never wanted to kill civilians!"
"Well we can't be burdened by the facts now can we? I mean, you were just as honest when you said the Captain blew up hospital ships, which was actually you as it seems here... That's another life sentence." Sally said, smile now ear to ear.
"Stop it." Marshall said. "Stop it right now."
"You also subverted UEG regulations to overthrow a sovereign planetary nation by forcibly removing the ruling faction through threats and outright war. Life sentence number 3."
"STOP IT!" Marshall cried out, banging his hands on the barrier. The guards twitched, but Andsworth calmed them. "STOP IT YOU BITCH!"
Sally passed away the datapad. "And I've got one more thing to say to you." She went up next to the glass and stared the broken man dead in the face. "That bullet may as well have come from you, Marshall. For all it matters to me, you killed him."
"That was Tudyk!"
"Shut up!"
Marshall argued again, and Sally exchanged in a brief repetition. Then, silence.
"When they told me that he was gone, forever now, you made something – a void in my heart. This was the one man I wanted to save. The one person I thought I could bring back from the brink of hopelessness. When I saw him for the first time, I saw loss in his eyes and in his heart. I knew I had to try. I almost did it. I almost saved him. I chose him because I thought I could do it. Then you stole him from me. From us. You ruined everything."
She had tears again. When she looked into Marshall's eyes, they were wide in determination. Shining blue spotlights glaring deep into Marshall's very soul. The Princess' next words terrified him.
"What I am going to do to you will be worse than death. I will use every shred of my power, every connection I can make, to send you to the darkest corner of space. I will send you so far away you will forget what the Earth looks like. I will send you where you will not understand what words are said, where they will not know your name, and where kindness is a concept as alien as the Prisoner.
"I will make it so you never see another Human face for as long as I can force it. You will know nothing but the loneliness of your own mind. You will grow old in this place. You will be weak and feeble. Your mind will be broken and wandering. You will forget as he forgot. You will be beaten and bruised and whatever else they have in store for you. When you are clinging to the last vestige of your life, when you are about to die in this place, I will be there. I will stare into your blinded and fading eyes and I will remind you of what you did. I will remind you of your failure and what a pathetic waste of a soul you are. You will die there, Marshall. You will be buried in the sand of that place, and you will be forgotten. A fitting end to a man who took away my Humanity."
Marshall didn't dare speak. He couldn't. His mouth was dry. His eyes now starting to become moist himself. Jesus, this was it. His death began in this cell and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
"I don't deserve that."
"Yes you do." she whispered back. "All that and more. You'll see me again in court, Troy." She passed Andsworth and nodded. "Let's go."
"Where are you off to now?"
"I need to see him."
"Sally." Marshall stammered. "You can't be serious."
She didn't respond nor return. She was gone.
"Happy trails, mister President." Andsworth smiled. He gave the man a farce of a salute, turned on his heel and walked away.
"Gerome!" Marshall cried. "Princess! WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!"
But Marshall was alone. Alone with only his thoughts. He thought he could hear the faintest whisper from somewhere he didn't know. Giggling somewhat, he waited to hear that distant sound again.
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