Project - Prometheus Ch. 42

"There are days I wish could just snap that fucker's neck!" Daved seethed, wanting to crush the Confed spy's larynx beneath his boot.

"Like I told you earlier, hon, get in line!" Jenque told her husband as she fluffed out a blanket on Daniel, who was sleeping in a chair next to her.

"You two might want to move to the back of the bus on that. I get first crack at that asshole," an unfamiliar male voice stated from the doorway.

"And you are?" Jenque asked, wondering who this man was.

"Matthias Renauld. I lead the Shadow Dancers and I used Sargol as a means of gaining intel on this town, so we could step in and take what we needed," Matthias told them boldly.

"So, you helped contribute to the mess our town is in?!?" one of the deputies growled as he fingered his sidearm.

"I didn't know the fucker was a Confed! Had I known, I'd have done this to him!" the ebon skinned man said.

He embraced the Aetheric power, letting it flow through him as his mother had taught him. Matthias then used his power to pick up a nearby paperweight that was made of glass. Holding it aloft with his Aetheric energies, he then pressed in with it, crushing the paperweight in an instant. In less than a second, the glass that made up the paperweight was reduced to a super fine crystalline dust that fell to the floor in a pile.

"OK, I've seen some shit in my day, but that was fucking impressive!" Daved admitted. "You must be the help that Mr. Dragic said he was sending."

"That we are. Heard you were having trouble with making those three bottom feeders talk," Matthias smirked as he cracked his knuckles. Seeing what the powerfully built man was capable of, the deputies backed off. If he was on their side now, they wouldn't argue about it. Especially since he turned that solid chunk of glass into dust!

"Oh, he's not the only one capable of doing such things, you know," Gloria said as she came up behind her son, smirking like the cat that got the cream. Her cerulean energy flared out of her, pulsing with her heartbeat.

"Trust us when we say that... those three Confeds you have will be more than eager to spill the beans when we're done with them," Kasumi purred devilishly as her eyes glowed a bright red.

"Because there are things we are willing to do that most people here would not," Shazza stated as her own Aetheric power made her glow, almost like she was a ghost!

"You can... all do things... like that??" Jenque gasped, more than a little terrified at the raw power this quartet commanded.

"That and this," Shazza stated as she walked toward Jack, who was barely stirring.

Kasumi walked over with her friend and lover, having a good idea of what Shazza wanted to do. Clasping hands, their power intertwined, as they directed its flow into the boy. Slowly, Jack's wounds started to lessen, knitting back together before Jenque's and Daved's eyes. Wonder etched their faces as they watched their son's wounds go from obvious to barely even noticeable.

Shazza and Kasumi used the barest amount of power possible, having tapped into it as they tended the wounded on the Darkstrider. They were both tired, bordering on exhausted, but they kept on knowing that people needed help. The pair had watched what Korsa and Natalya were doing and did their best to mimic the women. It had worked so far, but they kept the increments small, so as not to tire themselves out.

"Jack?" Jenque whispered, scarcely believing his wounds were barely even scars!

"M-mom?" the boy asked weakly as he tried to sit up. The women then let go of their power, their work to heal Jack completed.

"How do you feel, son?" Daved asked, his eyes dancing with hope.

"Hungry," he said as he propped himself to sit up. Jenque cried out happily and hugged her son close, happy to see that he would be all right. She then broke her hug and ran to the pair of women, wrapping them both in her arms.

"Thank you!!" she blubbered, grateful to have her son as he was before the attack.

"You're welcome! Our work isn't done yet though. We still have a few scumbags to question," Kasumi replied as she returned the hug.

"Yes, of course!" Daved replied through his own tears of joy. "Donal! Take these four to where the prisoners are being sequestered and do whatever they ask!"

The deputy was shocked at this, but rolled with it, seeing as these people weren't out to hurt the residents of the town. He then smirked as he led the quartet out, hoping and praying that they'd hurt the Confed prisoners. Lord knew they needed some pain inflicted on them, as they were openly mocking the deputies' interrogation efforts.

While Prodosia was by and large, a world devoid of laws, in Tanith's Gully, they were used and not cast aside at the earliest convenience. People had to abide by the rules and laws of this town, if they were to live in it. Especially those who served as the law keepers of the town, as they not only upheld it, but they knew it, back to front. As it was right now, the only thing the deputies could do was deliver harsh words to prisoners.

"Here we are," Donal stated as he stopped in front of a house three doors down from the headquarters. "I sure as hell hope that you lot can make these fuckers talk! They've been mocking us to the point where we just want to break their fucking jaws, so they'll shut up!"

"Oh, don't worry. We'll ensure they tell us everything they know," Shazza grinned, making the deputy blush a little as the beautiful woman smiled at him. The Xuul'khani woman giggled, glad to know that she could affect men like that. They walked into the building and spotted the three prisoners right away.

"What is this? More idiots you brought in to question us? You all know it won't wor—" Sargol started before he cut himself off, mid-sentence. The moment he spotted Matthias, his cockiness evaporated like water on the surface of a star. Fear was now the prominent emotion he felt, as he knew he was a dead man.

"Really, Sargol? You honestly thought that I would be so easily killed? For a Confed spymaster, you do sloppy work," Matthias taunted. This earned a snorting laugh from the councilors, who were just as afraid, but glad they weren't the current target of Matthias' ire.

"H-how?" the man stuttered; disbelief pasted all over his face.

"Simple. Your assassin did sloppy work and didn't account for every possible factor," Matthias grinned.

"I am also certain that you know of the power that my son wields?" Gloria asked, drawing everyone's attention. Sargol nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going.

"Power?" Lohrek questioned, looking sideways at Sargol.

"She means things like this," Matthias stated, drawing upon the Aether once more, letting it coalesce in his hands.

Lohrek and Cahlayn's eyes bugged out of their heads, awestruck by what he was doing. Almost like it was a gravity well, several objects and knickknacks floated towards him, orbiting the man. The women there also embraced their power, their eyes lighting up as they did so. One by one, they reached out and annihilated the items in question, reducing them to their barest elements.

All three prisoners flinched at these actions, seeing with their own eyes what could happen to them. Sargol had nearly pissed his pants when he saw Matthias standing there, looking healthy and hale. But now, he was literally shitting himself as he watched not just Matthias, but these other three women use power like he had. The man gulped and wiped his face, as he was sweating profusely.

"Um... we'll talk! We'll talk, we'll talk, we'll talk!" Cahlayn told them, fearing the level of pain and torture they would exact before this was over. "Before we talk though, can we ask for two things?"

"What are they?" Donal questioned.

"Some water, please? Haven't had a drink all day," she begged. Lohrek nodded, as his throat was dry already, but his fear had turned it into a desert world.

"Done. The second thing?" the deputy asked.

"Take this guy to the bathroom so he can change his pants!" Lohrek stated as he wrinkled his nose at the stench of Sargol's shit. The quartet or Aether users smelled what the councilors were and while it reeked, they couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Even Deputy Donal couldn't help but snicker as he directed a couple of deputies to escort Sargol to the bathroom.

"Damn!! I'd say you got your wish!" Kasumi giggled, looking up at Matthias who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Damn right I did! Man, did that feel good!!" the man chuckled.

"I will admit, it felt good seeing that idiot taken down a peg or two," Lohrek said out loud with a smirk.

"While Sargol is... recovering what dignity he has left, how about you two start answering some questions?" Gloria asked with a predatory smile, seating herself in front of the councilors.

"What did you wish to know?" Cahlayn asked, calm as still water, yet screaming in fear on the inside.

"Why is Prodosia being targeted by the Confederacy after all this time? I mean, there must be other worlds that are worth more to them than the ones here in the Abandoned Frontier," Kasumi put forward, starting the line of questioning.

"Simple. Mineral resources and metals of astronomical value! Rare earths, diamonds and other gem variants that have never been seen before! All of which is here on Prodosia at insanely abundant levels!" Lohrek responded.

"Not just Prodosia, but the other seven devastated worlds as well! Each one has been scanned and surveyed, covertly. The results are... unimaginable!" Cahlayn stated.

"But why Prodosia first?" Shazza queried, not seeing the point of making this world their primary target.

"That is because Prodosia is the beating heart of the Abandoned Frontier, and the last fully habitable world in this cluster. Yes, living on the other worlds is possible, but it often requires certain equipment to do so and in the case of Vevilosi, living on the surface without some sort of habitat is impossible," Lohrek reminded them.

Vevilosi, which meant 'desecration' in the Greek language, was the worst world hit by the Confederacy's greed. It was a promising garden world, with so much potential, and was called Annagenisi, or Rebirth. It was this world that held the strongest level of resistance against them. When the Federation, along with the UCW, among others, showed up to drive the Confeds out, was when it was devastated.

The Confederacy tried their best to destroy these worlds, rather than lose them. It was on Annagenisi, or Vevilosi, as it was called now, where their campaign of scorched earth tactics was most successful. The world had been so badly hit from The Bombardment that the surface was a dusty and barren wasteland, with not even bacteria growing on the surface.

Some people, though, had refused to leave this world, despite there being chances for them to start over on Prodosia. Instead of leaving everything they had fought for, they erected protective habitats so they could live on this world they had bled for. The colonists of this world were practical and tenacious, eventually eking out a living on a world the rest of the galaxy had abandoned.

"So, control Prodosia and you control the entire Frontier?" Kasumi questioned.

"It makes sense. Access to every other world comes through this one. It is the only one that is developed to this state, and where the first and only line of defense for the Frontier is," Donal stated as he stood nearby.

"What sort of minerals have they found here?" Gloria asked, wanting to know just how much the Confederacy wanted this world.

"There are many deposits of titanium, samarium, and so on. The biggest draw is the massive amount of Trinium we have found here, on Prodosia," Sargol stated.

The man walked back slowly, joining the other prisoners, no longer stinking from having shit himself. Shazza and Kasumi exchanged a look, as Trinium was the one thing they need desperately to repair the hyperdrive on the Perseus. If the deposit was as big as Sargol was saying, they wouldn't have to make any other stops to collect what they needed!

"After taking Prodosia, what then?" Matthias demanded, glaring at the man who he wanted to kill for almost having killed him.

"Subvert the planet and its people, subjugating them to Confederacy rule, with me being the new planetary governor!" Sargol sighed, with a faraway look on his face. "It was going to my place to run as I saw fit, within what the Confederacy would allow, of course. But it was to be my place, under my rule!"

This triggered a few snickers from Lohrek and Cahlayn, who looked at the man like he was a blind fool. He turned and glared at them both, wondering what the deal was with that.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"You are! Thinking a sloppy ass like yourself was going to be allowed to govern this planet? You've lost your damn mind!" Cahlayn laughed.

"It is to be mine! Admiral Sawyer even told me as much!" Sargol argued, thinking the admiral's word would be enough.

"The admiral lied to you to get you to do his bidding. You must be a total fucking idiot to believe a slimeball like Sawyer!" Lohrek scoffed with a bout of laughter.

"What??"

"Yeah! You were to be the face of the operation, a patsy, in case things went sideways. You were never the brains of the operation! The admiral just made you believe you were!" Cahlayn told him snidely.

"The bastard! He lied to me?!?" Sargol railed.

"Of course he did! It's what he does to get what he wants! In this case, his son, Robert Sawyer, is to be the planetary governor when this world falls! Robert was brought into this when his other commitments were dealt with. He came here a few years ago, taking command of everything, as your running of this op was getting sloppy and needed correcting," Lohrek stated.

A heated argument then broke out between the prisoners, as their voices reached screaming levels in a matter of seconds. Gloria reined them in by dropping a cerulean flare in between them, shocking them into silence. The trio then remembered who they were in the presence of and gulped silently, adopting a calm demeanor once more.

"Now then, since we know the basic purpose of why you are here, tell me, what other details are there?" Gloria questioned; her quiet voice as deadly as a blade to the throat.

"Once the bombs were brought to an active state, everyone would get a signal to get out of town. With the town in ruins and the people here scrambling to restore order, all we would have to do is report to base and wait for the fleet to arrive," Lohrek told them.

"Fleet? What fleet?" Kasumi growled, her anger rising.

"A fleet that was put together to come here and take this world for our own. We know about your little picket ships and next to the fleet, they are a joke. The fleet will roll right through them and take position over Prodosia. Unlike the first time, there will be no collective outcry and no chance to get help here in time! The Confederacy will claim this world, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" Sargol chuckled.

"This base you speak of, where is it?" Shazza glowered, her voice sounding like she would murder one of them if they didn't give her an answer.

"I don't know," Cahlayn answered. Shazza huffed and embraced her Aetheric power, ready to flay this woman alive.

"I don't know either! None of us do!" Lohrek replied, giving a more complete answer.

"How do you not know?" Kasumi questioned, wondering about this oversight.

"It's the way Robert and many high-level operatives work. They tell people only what they need to know to get the job done. Any additional details are given only to those who perform exceptionally well. Any who don't are either told at the last minute, or not told at all. It's how the spy game works in the Confederacy. It's always been cutthroat like that," Cahlayn replied.

"Especially with those who are caught or captured. I noted you picked up more than half the operatives we had placed in town. Should anyone get caught, they are on their own. Even though we are high-level assets, the Confederacy won't take the time or effort to get us back. The plan is too far along to fail now, and that's how it has gone, even if our adversaries get ahold of us by this point," Lohrek detailed.

"Sir, you getting all of this?" Donal asked over his ear comms.

******************************

"Yeah! This isn't good! Things just went from tolerable to bad!" the sheriff growled. A beeping then sounded on Daved's comms, telling him he was getting a call. "Stay on them and wrangle every piece of info you can from those three!"

"Yes, sir!" Donal replied as Daved killed the call to take the one he was receiving.

"Hello?" the sheriff answered.

"Sheriff Madsen, I am calling to ask about those Confed prisoners you have. Are they still alive?" came the subdued voice of Dagan Min.

"They are. Why do you ask?" Daved wondered.

"Because I am going to kill them! I just found some of my men here at the rover depot. They've been murdered!" Dagan seethed over the line.

"Are you certain it was the Confederacy who did it?" Daved asked, thinking the same as Dagan was, but wanting to cover all his bases.

"They were murdered by Confederacy goons! I saw it happen with my own eyes!" a high-pitched voice said over the comms.

"Who is this?" Daved demanded, unfamiliar with the voice.

"Cluckster! Sorry! Vincent!" Dagan yelped over the line. "You saw it happen??"

"I did, Dagan. Was perched nearby, just monitoring things when I saw a bunch of people storm the depot and kill your men. After they had killed them and hid their bodies, one man pressed something in his hand, which I assumed was a remote. I was right, as the bombs went off in town a few seconds later," Vincent said to them, sounding like he was out of breath.

"Where are you right now?" Dagan asked.

"Following these people to wherever they are going. I thought it prudent to do so, as they are likely at the center of Prodosia's troubles," Vincent told them over the comms.

"Be careful! We don't want them to know they are being followed!!" Dagan said, out of concern.

"Don't worry, boss. I'm staying in the dust clouds they are kicking up with the rovers they stole. I'm far enough away where they won't spot me in the cloud, yet close enough to stay on them without giving away that I'm here," the Rondathan parrot told them.

"You said that these people are responsible for murdering my men?" Dagan questioned.

"They are."

"I am going to kill them myself!! Slowly, painfully!!" Dagan growled over the line.

"You will get your chance before long, but I must warn you, you will need some considerable luck on your side," Vincent told him.

"Why is that?" Dagan asked.

"Most of your men were killed by one man. He's a tall, dark-haired fellow who moved unnaturally fast! The way he moved also tells me he must have received either spec ops training or had a vocation as an assassin. Regardless of his training, he had to have been augmented to have done what he did," the bird replied.

"I appreciate the warning!" Dagan replied.

"I'm sorry, but how is it that your bird wound up here in the comms?" Daved asked, incredulous at this fact.

"When I reached full growth, Dagan had a small, but powerful comms device implanted into my head. It allows me to keep an eye on things wherever I am and let Dagan or his men know what's going on," the bird replied.

"Hmm! Now that's clever! Who would think a bird as an informant or spy?" Daved chuckled.

"That was exactly my thinking when I had the device implanted," Dagan said.

"Some might call what you did to this bird outright cruelty," Daved warned.

"It can't be called cruelty when I volunteered," the bird replied.

"Oh! Well, that certainly changes things. Captain, do you have a read on his position?" Daved asked the man.