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Ascension Of The Ashen Fiend: Chapter 3 Running on Fumes
🕑 Added 2022-08-18 02:04:36 +0000 UTCThane slammed the door behind him as he ripped off his mask and threw it aside, "That son of a bitch, what the fuck is he thinking!"
In a few minutes, Thane's entire world was turned upside down. So much as asking about power armor was a quick way to get the D.O.B. breathing down your neck. The Defenders of Bastion or D.O.B. was the name of Bastion's military, which included law enforcement.
That, however, wasn't even the most terrifying part. No, the part that had Thane pacing the length of his room was that the D.O.B. was in direct control of Bastion's Arbiter forces or BAF.
Power armor just so happened to be the universal uniform of the BAF, and rumor had it they didn't take too kindly to impersonators. To deter people from inventing their own power armor or stealing a set, the BAF made it very clear that the only way to pilot a set of power armor was to be an Arbiter yourself.
He had no idea how Victor expected Thane to overcome this iron-clad rule, but it seemed Thane would die trying. The crime lord was Adrain's only supply of medicine. Without Victor, Thane was as good as dead.
Collapsing into his chair, Adrain pulled up his PRD and started to search the Leywork for any documents, articles, or files related to power armor.
Even though Thane didn't expect much, he cursed as he found absolutely nothing regarding even the most basic information about power armor. Reaching a dead end, Thane changed directions, deciding that if he couldn't find any schematic, he would have to take the thing apart himself.
With a new goal in mind, Thane began to compile a list of everything little thing he might possibly need for the upcoming task. It wasn't long before the cost was in the high tens of thousands in credits, and Adrain felt a sort of sick vindictive pleasure about how much his little task would cost the crime lord.
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[Bastion First Ring: District 4]
"Colonel on deck!" The shout rang through the air, and everyone in the room shot to their feet. Years of training had drilled the response to the point where it was a reflex.
Colonel Juliet looked around the room, checking to ensure every single face was on her, "At ease." Immediately the room lurched back into motion, people spinning around to face screens as they talked into headsets.
"Colonel, the Major General is waiting to see you." Juliet spared a glance to stare at the mountain of a man who was her escort. She had already forgotten his name, "Best not to keep her waiting."
Juliet then turned on her heel and began to walk around the catwalk that lined the command center built into the ground. Not bothering to check whether or not her guide was behind her, Juliet's eyes were focused on a pair of opaque glass doors that slid aside seamlessly, allowing her to enter the room.
"Colonel Juliet Gallant reporting to Major General Aanya Marja," Juliet's jacket snapped as she saluted, her right hand to her temple so her fingers grazed her hairline and her palm was raised facing away from her. Juliet's feet were pressed together as she stood ramrod straight, chest held high and left arm behind her back, her hand made into a tight fist.
Two people were in the room, Major General Aanya Marja and a much younger woman Juliet didn't know but assumed she was some type of assistant with how she was dressed.
Aanya was behind her desk while her assistant stood in the corner as if trying not to be noticed, "At ease, Colonel, we have much to discuss." The older woman's heavy accent was rare but signified a strong sense of heritage that was hard to find in Bastion.
Juliet let her salute drop instead, letting her right arm join her left as she widened her stance, so her legs were shoulder-width apart, "From your ping, I gathered this matter was of some importance."
Aanya nodded in affirmation, "Yes, it is a pressing matter, so I am going to be blunt. Someone has stolen a set of power armor."
Juliet sucked in an involuntary breath as the sudden weight of the situation made itself known, "General, how is this possible? Knowledge on anything related to the armor is only accessible for a ranking officer."
"Correct again, Colonel, which is why this matter is so troubling. Someone has betrayed the trust of the BAF, and now those above me have tasked me with finding this traitor and the missing suit of armor. This is why you are here, I have read your file, and it states you were born in the sixth ring" Aayan sat at her desk while gesturing at an electronic pad with an image of Juliet's face.
"Yes, Major General, though I don't see why that is of any importance." Juliet's mouth soured as yet again her upbringing was held against her.
Aayan pinned Juliet in place, no doubt, seeing the defiance in her eyes, "It is the sole reason why I chose you, Colonel; I have reason to suspect that someone rather important in the criminal underworld is involved with this matter. To what degree and who is unknown, which is why I need someone I can trust to investigate. By next week you will be deployed, and a file containing all assignment details will be sent to you via ping. You are to report back to me every five days. Do you understand your assignment, Colonel?"
Juliet wanted to shout no and refuse the assignment but felt that doing so would get her court-martialed, "Yes, Major General."
"Prepare yourself for deployment. A railcar will be provided as your main method of transportation. Where you begin your investigation, I leave it to your discretion. You are dismissed, Colonel." Juliet saluted the Major General, not daring to look her in the eyes, and without another word, she turned around and left her face stormy.
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"Motherfucker!" Thane swore as he dropped the hammer, his hands throbbing in agony, "What the fuck is this stuff made of!" Blowing on his swollen hands, Thane glared at the suit of armor. For the past hour, he had tried every method he could think of in an attempt to scratch, mark or ding the armor.
Thane needed some type of sample from the armor. Even the smallest fragment of paint or metal would do. It would be one step closer to figuring out how the armor was made.
"I hope this isn't how you've been spending all your time." Thane whirled around as a voice came from behind him. Victor was standing in the doorway accompanied by the same bodyguard that was in his office.
Thane grunted at the crime lord, his tolerance for mind games at an all-time low, "Unfortunately, it is. I've told you time and time again that what you're trying to get me to do is impossible. It's been three days now, and I still haven't been able to scratch the thing."
"And why are you physically attacking the priceless set of armor that I have entrusted you with," Victor questioned without any real anger in his voice.
"I doubt you want to hear me prattle on. Don't you have a big job to plan?" Thane said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Victor's face didn't change, and his bodyguard grabbed a chair from one of Thane's workbenches for him to sit, "Indulge me."
Pausing for a moment to see if the crime lord was serious, Thane sighed, "The reason I'm trying to attack the power armor is to collect a sample and test its composition, to see if I could possibly make a set myself."
"I asked you to modify the suit so it could be worn by someone other than an Arbiter," Victor said with a hint of frustration.
"And I told you that's impossible. I've run every test I can, and as far as I can tell, power armor without an Arbiter has as much use as a sculpture. The armor doesn't have a Layline or emit an electronic signal, and whatever the armor is made out of is such dense x-rays won't penetrate, so I don't even know how to open up the damn thing to look inside" Thane was ready to go on a rant with all his bottled up frustration coming out in a stream.
Unimpressed with his lack of control, Victor stared at Thane with impassive eyes, "Are you finished?"
Head hung low, Thane nodded, "Yes, sorry, that's been building up in me for quite…some… time…" Adrain's words slowed as he slowly turned to look at the armor, "That could work."
Victor raised an eyebrow as Adrain began to run around the room, grabbing thick electrical cables and hauling them over his back to throw them at the armor's feet. Instead of interrupting the boy and demanding he answer him, Victor was content to watch as Adrain began dismantling every electronic device he could get his hands on.
'Is he taking out the batteries?' Victor's eyes squinted as Adrain began to wrap batteries together with metal wires before connecting them with jumper cables. Before long, Adrain had one big bundle that looked more akin to a bomb than a collection of batteries.
Crab walking the heavy lump of metal and wires over to the armor, Adrain carefully put it onto the floor, "Okay, so the positive ends of the batteries give enough energy…I just need to solder these wires to the capacitor and circuit boards. That's all good now. I need to take this one here and plug it into the power outlet….and done!"
When Thane was finished, Victor was sure that the teenager had made a bomb. It was a mass of batteries with jumper cables connected to a series of circuit boards, all fueled by a high-capacity wire plugged directly into the warehouse power outlet.
"Hey Victor, this warehouse is five miles away from the nearest residential area, right?" Victor blinked before he coughed, "Closer to six, but I have to ask why does that matter?"
Thane grinned with a glint in his eyes, "Because I just made an E.M.P. bomb which will kill everything with a mote of electricity. If Arbiters really use this armor, I bet it's going to be made out of some pretty conductive material. If it does, the E.M.P. will fry it and deactivate anything that might be blocking me out."
Victor shot to his feet, " How do you go from banging on something with a hammer to creating a bomb out of household electronics?! Are you insane?!"
Thane looked over his shoulder at the crime lord, "Quite possibly, I've been running on fumes for the last few days. Who knows, this just might be my suicide attempt."
Before the crime lord could utter a single word, Thane whirled around and activated his PRD, "See you on the other side, Victor."
A silent scream ripped its way out of Victor's throat before it was washed away in a flash of light and sound.
