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Description

Kimber and I were both up all night.

Ordinarily, saying that about her and I would be a very good, a very pleasant thing. This time, though, we were both loaded on stims, clutching our rifles and waiting to be attacked.

The attack never came.

We could hear movement out in the dark. Sometimes we even heard voices. It was as though they were encircling us, trapping us. I was in a fair amount of pain; every breath I took felt like flames in my side. Kimber would whisper encouraging things to me, telling me we had this, that help would come. Even in the darkness, I could see the concern in her eyes. Every hour she would gently check my injuries; they were not getting any better.

Sunrise eventually came, the skies were blue, a gentle breeze, all such things alien to somebody who lived in the belt region of space. Even in my pain, it still looked incredibly beautiful.

Then we heard a voice, somebody calling to us. Kimber was watching out of our dismal little shelter. She motioned for me to peer over the edge of the windowsill. About a hundred meters away, fully we could see three people. They were standing just out in the open. Two of them were women, well dressed. One of them was a man. He looked to be tall, dressed in black, wearing what looked like some kind of face visor.

The voice called to us again, said they wanted to talk, for us not to fire on them. Kimber and I both agreed that talking to them might, at least, buy us some time. Kimber waved for them to approach us.

The two women strode quickly across the ground, this ground that could have been a killing field if they had assaulted us. Now they reminded me of how the officials at a soccer game would come onto the field to issue calls.

The man remained behind, watching.

As the women approached, they held their hands out beside themselves. They stopped and turned, showing us they were unarmed. One was a dirty blonde, hair unkempt, but wearing what looked like a leather uniform. The other had short, cropped hair. Under the light it was difficult to tell what color it was, the cut was military, precise. She was also in some sort of uniform.

Kimber kept her rifle on them, ran her eyes over them and waved them into our ramshackle shed. We were NOT going to talk to them out in the open. I could feel eyes all around us, watching us. There was no telling how many of those eyes were peering across a gun barrel.

The women entered our one room world; it was clear they were both examining us. I tried to stand up, look strong, but my pain must have been clear. I wasn’t sure what to expect from either of them. I looked in their eyes, though.

I saw fear.

The one in the leather was the first to speak up. I knew her voice. I’d heard it yesterday coming from the android.

“I’m Loretta Genovese, I represent the Genovese Cartel. My associate beside me is Lisa Roman, she is with the Kali Syndicate. We need to talk to you to explain what is happening.”

There was a very real tension in her voice. It was like she was holding back desperate thoughts. The fear in her eyes only reinforced that perception.

“The man who was with us is a Master White.”

“He is with the Ministry.”

This piece of information cut through the fog of my pain. I had NOT expected this. I glanced at Kimber and could tell those words had affected her as well, her hands gripping her rifle more tightly.

Loretta continued.

“We’re here to negotiate your surrender. There are over a hundred-armed men surrounding you. We have cut off every potential escape route. Our observation posts see no sign of the Guild coming to rescue you.”

She then looked at me, assessing me.

“It also looks like you’re in no condition to run or fight. At least one of you isn’t.”

When she had said ‘surrender’ I could feel the anger radiating from Kimber. Guild Marines do not surrender. Never.

I built up the energy to reply. I’m sure both Kimber and I were just flying on the stims. The sad fact was Kimber had been swallowing them for at least twenty-four hours now. I tried, somewhat futilely, to respond and not show my pain.

“Who are we surrendering to? You or the Ministry?”

The Guild didn’t know a lot about the Ministry. That was the whole reason I was here, to gather intelligence about them. This was all supposed to be covert. Things did not work out that way.

Loretta glanced at the other woman. I could see a flame of anger in her eyes. The other woman, Lisa, only avoided her glare, she kept her eyes focused on me.

Loretta turned to me again, closed her eyes for a moment, as though calculating her words. Then she started again.

“Malley? I believe your name is Malley?”

I nodded to confirm. It made sense that she might know my name. I’d been sharing it readily back at the spaceport. I Just never planned on them connecting it up to my association with the Guild.

I really am a lousy spy.

Once we found out you were Guild agents and your friend showed her fighting skills, the Cartel wanted to talk to you. I want to emphasize now that we had no intention of the situation developing this way."

Loretta glanced again at Lisa. The anger in her eyes had not lessened.

“The Kali’s also learned of your status."

“The Kali’s attempted to intercept you. They destroyed our android. We immediately sent out some of our people to prevent them from taking you. Then your friend killed six of their soldiers. They had not expected that.”

Kimber’s eyes grew wider. She spoke.

“Six? I only counted Four.”

Finally, Lisa broke her silence, her eyes now turned to the ground. Her voice had an odd accent, one that I’d heard before but couldn’t place.

“You killed six, wounded four. Made our men run like chickens.”

I saw the briefest of smiles touch on Kimber’s face. Then that cold stoic Marine calm came back to her.

Loretta continued. Now there was a new tone of stress in her voice.

“We arrived; we then engaged the Kali’s. Their people and ours ended up in a standoff. The two of you were right in the middle of it.”

“Then Master Snow arrived.”

“He instructed all of us that the Ministry wanted both of you. They wanted you alive.”

“He said they wanted the Heretics alive.”

The Guild was unaware of the Ministry's actions, except for how they treated 'Heretics'. I saw videos of their victims being burned alive.

I couldn’t help myself. Maybe it was the stims, maybe it was the pain. The words just erupted from me. I was shouting even though the effort sent new daggers of pain through me.

“HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU EVEN THINK OF HANDING US OVER TO THOSE ANIMALS!”

I locked my eyes on them both. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. Everyone knew the Ministry thought of the Guild as demon angels. They’d even murdered several of our relief workers!

Now Loretta brought her eyes to mine. I could feel the pain, shame and fear that now came from them. Her voice took on an almost ice-like tone.

“You can’t understand. You never saw what I saw.”

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes again. I could literally feel the energy leaving her spirit.

“The Ministry first arrived at our western checkpoints a little over a year ago. About a hundred of their own men approached our guards. Their organization and weapons were better than ours. They said they wanted to talk about trade. We were always in need of things; we were open to the idea of trading with them.”

“They sent Master Snow as their emissary. He and one of their acolytes.”

“We welcomed them the same way we welcomed any trade partner. We acted completely in good faith.”

“One of the very first things the Ministry did was advise us they would set up food distribution shelters near our checkpoints. They said it was part of their calling to feed the starving. We saw it as an act of charity. Our own efforts to provide food to the people within our territory had not gone so well. There had been unrest and food riots. The Ministry was offering us a way to ease that.”

“People would go to their food distribution sites. The food was completely free other than one catch. Before they would provide you food, you had to sit through one of their sermons.”

“It seemed harmless enough until some of our officers listened in on these sermons. The messages were disturbing, sometime even horrifying. Their so-called faith was based on fear and hatred. They openly stated that their God sanctioned the use of force and that it was their mission to cleanse the world of the Great Heresy.

“But they fed people.”

“About a month into this, a recent change took place. Along with the food, they were now handing out old-style FM radio receivers. Not much to them, hand cranked batteries, the frequencies all pre-programmed. The only broadcast stations were all within Ministry territory. We were concerned about their sermons but decided to not intervene. We did nothing about the radios.”

“After all, they were feeding our people. For the first time in years, starvation was no longer an issue.”

“Then there was an incident with a neighboring Cartel, the Gotti’s. Their leader, a man named Renaldo, took issue with how much influence the Ministry was having over his community. The Ministry set up the same sort of food distribution effort all along the Strip. Renaldo took issue with it, stated he would feed his own people, then slammed their gates on the Ministry.”

“Shortly after this, a young man carried out a suicide bombing inside the Gotti Cartel headquarters. He killed Renaldo and several of his officers. He also killed several women and children that were only guilty of being there. The last thing survivors heard the kid screaming was something about acting in the name of God.”

“The Gotti’s opened their gates, allowed people to go to the Ministry food distribution sites again.”

“We soon found out there was more to the free radios than we realized. They were broadcasting music, news, their news, and these tirades on how evil non-believers were. That it was the Holy Mission of the Ministry and all True Believers to eradicate Heresy. They were converting many people. There were some ugly incidents, people turning on each other in the name of their new faith.”

“We tried to limit access to their broadcasts. Not much luck with that. That was when we contacted the Ministry to tell them we were closing the food distribution sites.”

“That was when Master Snow asked for a formal meeting with us.”

“We met at one of our checkpoints near the Ministry food distribution sites. There were additional guards at the checkpoint in case of trouble. I was there representing the Cartel.”

“The Ministry was there; they were there in force. At least one hundred of their soldiers. There was a crowd forming on our side, wanting to see what was going to happen. The space between our checkpoint and them wasn’t that much, maybe fifty meters.”

“Master Snow and his acolytes walked to the ground between the two sides. He and this young man, the kid was maybe eighteen years old. They stood there. Serenely, both even seemed to smile.”

“I approached them alone but advised our people to be alert. Nothing felt right about this.”

“Once I came to stand in front of Master Snow he spoke in this tone as though I wasn’t even there. His eyes turned to the sky, his hands, palms out, stretched out to either side of him. He was wearing one of their black suits, they wear them like some kind of sacramental robe.”

“He spoke. He was bellowing it out, he wanted everybody to hear him.”

Loretta’s eyes seemed to cloud over. She continued.

“Loretta Genovese, Mighty Jehovah has called for a lesson and a warning. The Ministry will not tolerate Heresy, it will not allow the Word to be hindered.”

“His eyes remained on the sky, but his voice now went to the young man beside him.”

“Jason Anhalt, are you True in Faith, Confident of the Resurrection, Strong in the Promise's Belief of our Holy Mission? Do you trust the Mighty Jehovah?’

“The boy simply said ‘yes’.”

“Jason Anhalt, Jehovah calls on you to show your Faith! Show the Strength of God’s Will in your Life!”

“Jehovah Demands Your Martyrdom!”

“With that, the young man, Jason Anhalt, pulled a small dagger from his belt. He kissed the blade. Then he stabbed it brutally into the right side of his neck. He didn’t even wince.”

“He collapsed at my feet. I saw his last spasms as life left him. Some of his blood hit my face.”

“Again, Master Snow spoke, his hands raised even higher, palms to the sky.”

“Loretta Genovese, ten thousand of Jehovah’s Faithful Stand Ready for Sacrifice, for Martyrdom. With a word, one word, they will assault the walls of the Heathen! They will strike with a Righteous Fury! God’s Warriors will hurtle themselves against the Heretic’s Sanctuary! They will not stop or turn back. They will even throw themselves onto barbwire and form a wall with their bodies to protect their brothers. They are willing to die for their cause, like this young man.

“If they fail, another ten thousand will follow. There will be no mercy for the Godless! We will strike down every soul behind your walls, regardless of age, regardless of gender.”

“With one word from me, and if I am struck down, the word from one of my Holy Brothers. We will destroy everything you cherish and the Heresy you are promoting.”

“I then looked to the Ministry soldiers. There were now more of them, many more of them. They stood looking toward me, toward our settlement. Their faces were blank but focused. I could tell they were waiting. Ready to die, ready to kill.”

“I knew right then that Armageddon was at hand.”

“Master Snow continued to stand there, eyes toward the sky, hands upwards. He was silent.”

“I signaled for the gates to be opened, for the checkpoint to be opened again.”

There were tears now in Loretta’s eyes. You could feel the fear in her voice.

“They have an army out there, an army of blood-thirsty animals. They outnumber us, they out gun us, and I’m convinced they would be perfectly happy to slaughter us all.”

“Yes, we are going to turn you over to the Ministry.”

Description

Kimber and I were both up all night.

Ordinarily, saying that about her and I would be a very good, a very pleasant thing. This time, though, we were both loaded on stims, clutching our rifles and waiting to be attacked.

The attack never came.

We could hear movement out in the dark. Sometimes we even heard voices. It was as though they were encircling us, trapping us. I was in a fair amount of pain; every breath I took felt like flames in my side. Kimber would whisper encouraging things to me, telling me we had this, that help would come. Even in the darkness, I could see the concern in her eyes. Every hour she would gently check my injuries; they were not getting any better.

Sunrise eventually came, the skies were blue, a gentle breeze, all such things alien to somebody who lived in the belt region of space. Even in my pain, it still looked incredibly beautiful.

Then we heard a voice, somebody calling to us. Kimber was watching out of our dismal little shelter. She motioned for me to peer over the edge of the windowsill. About a hundred meters away, fully we could see three people. They were standing just out in the open. Two of them were women, well dressed. One of them was a man. He looked to be tall, dressed in black, wearing what looked like some kind of face visor.

The voice called to us again, said they wanted to talk, for us not to fire on them. Kimber and I both agreed that talking to them might, at least, buy us some time. Kimber waved for them to approach us.

The two women strode quickly across the ground, this ground that could have been a killing field if they had assaulted us. Now they reminded me of how the officials at a soccer game would come onto the field to issue calls.

The man remained behind, watching.

As the women approached, they held their hands out beside themselves. They stopped and turned, showing us they were unarmed. One was a dirty blonde, hair unkempt, but wearing what looked like a leather uniform. The other had short, cropped hair. Under the light it was difficult to tell what color it was, the cut was military, precise. She was also in some sort of uniform.

Kimber kept her rifle on them, ran her eyes over them and waved them into our ramshackle shed. We were NOT going to talk to them out in the open. I could feel eyes all around us, watching us. There was no telling how many of those eyes were peering across a gun barrel.

The women entered our one room world; it was clear they were both examining us. I tried to stand up, look strong, but my pain must have been clear. I wasn’t sure what to expect from either of them. I looked in their eyes, though.

I saw fear.

The one in the leather was the first to speak up. I knew her voice. I’d heard it yesterday coming from the android.

“I’m Loretta Genovese, I represent the Genovese Cartel. My associate beside me is Lisa Roman, she is with the Kali Syndicate. We need to talk to you to explain what is happening.”

There was a very real tension in her voice. It was like she was holding back desperate thoughts. The fear in her eyes only reinforced that perception.

“The man who was with us is a Master White.”

“He is with the Ministry.”

This piece of information cut through the fog of my pain. I had NOT expected this. I glanced at Kimber and could tell those words had affected her as well, her hands gripping her rifle more tightly.

Loretta continued.

“We’re here to negotiate your surrender. There are over a hundred-armed men surrounding you. We have cut off every potential escape route. Our observation posts see no sign of the Guild coming to rescue you.”

She then looked at me, assessing me.

“It also looks like you’re in no condition to run or fight. At least one of you isn’t.”

When she had said ‘surrender’ I could feel the anger radiating from Kimber. Guild Marines do not surrender. Never.

I built up the energy to reply. I’m sure both Kimber and I were just flying on the stims. The sad fact was Kimber had been swallowing them for at least twenty-four hours now. I tried, somewhat futilely, to respond and not show my pain.

“Who are we surrendering to? You or the Ministry?”

The Guild didn’t know a lot about the Ministry. That was the whole reason I was here, to gather intelligence about them. This was all supposed to be covert. Things did not work out that way.

Loretta glanced at the other woman. I could see a flame of anger in her eyes. The other woman, Lisa, only avoided her glare, she kept her eyes focused on me.

Loretta turned to me again, closed her eyes for a moment, as though calculating her words. Then she started again.

“Malley? I believe your name is Malley?”

I nodded to confirm. It made sense that she might know my name. I’d been sharing it readily back at the spaceport. I Just never planned on them connecting it up to my association with the Guild.

I really am a lousy spy.

Once we found out you were Guild agents and your friend showed her fighting skills, the Cartel wanted to talk to you. I want to emphasize now that we had no intention of the situation developing this way."

Loretta glanced again at Lisa. The anger in her eyes had not lessened.

“The Kali’s also learned of your status."

“The Kali’s attempted to intercept you. They destroyed our android. We immediately sent out some of our people to prevent them from taking you. Then your friend killed six of their soldiers. They had not expected that.”

Kimber’s eyes grew wider. She spoke.

“Six? I only counted Four.”

Finally, Lisa broke her silence, her eyes now turned to the ground. Her voice had an odd accent, one that I’d heard before but couldn’t place.

“You killed six, wounded four. Made our men run like chickens.”

I saw the briefest of smiles touch on Kimber’s face. Then that cold stoic Marine calm came back to her.

Loretta continued. Now there was a new tone of stress in her voice.

“We arrived; we then engaged the Kali’s. Their people and ours ended up in a standoff. The two of you were right in the middle of it.”

“Then Master Snow arrived.”

“He instructed all of us that the Ministry wanted both of you. They wanted you alive.”

“He said they wanted the Heretics alive.”

The Guild was unaware of the Ministry's actions, except for how they treated 'Heretics'. I saw videos of their victims being burned alive.

I couldn’t help myself. Maybe it was the stims, maybe it was the pain. The words just erupted from me. I was shouting even though the effort sent new daggers of pain through me.

“HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU EVEN THINK OF HANDING US OVER TO THOSE ANIMALS!”

I locked my eyes on them both. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. Everyone knew the Ministry thought of the Guild as demon angels. They’d even murdered several of our relief workers!

Now Loretta brought her eyes to mine. I could feel the pain, shame and fear that now came from them. Her voice took on an almost ice-like tone.

“You can’t understand. You never saw what I saw.”

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes again. I could literally feel the energy leaving her spirit.

“The Ministry first arrived at our western checkpoints a little over a year ago. About a hundred of their own men approached our guards. Their organization and weapons were better than ours. They said they wanted to talk about trade. We were always in need of things; we were open to the idea of trading with them.”

“They sent Master Snow as their emissary. He and one of their acolytes.”

“We welcomed them the same way we welcomed any trade partner. We acted completely in good faith.”

“One of the very first things the Ministry did was advise us they would set up food distribution shelters near our checkpoints. They said it was part of their calling to feed the starving. We saw it as an act of charity. Our own efforts to provide food to the people within our territory had not gone so well. There had been unrest and food riots. The Ministry was offering us a way to ease that.”

“People would go to their food distribution sites. The food was completely free other than one catch. Before they would provide you food, you had to sit through one of their sermons.”

“It seemed harmless enough until some of our officers listened in on these sermons. The messages were disturbing, sometime even horrifying. Their so-called faith was based on fear and hatred. They openly stated that their God sanctioned the use of force and that it was their mission to cleanse the world of the Great Heresy.

“But they fed people.”

“About a month into this, a recent change took place. Along with the food, they were now handing out old-style FM radio receivers. Not much to them, hand cranked batteries, the frequencies all pre-programmed. The only broadcast stations were all within Ministry territory. We were concerned about their sermons but decided to not intervene. We did nothing about the radios.”

“After all, they were feeding our people. For the first time in years, starvation was no longer an issue.”

“Then there was an incident with a neighboring Cartel, the Gotti’s. Their leader, a man named Renaldo, took issue with how much influence the Ministry was having over his community. The Ministry set up the same sort of food distribution effort all along the Strip. Renaldo took issue with it, stated he would feed his own people, then slammed their gates on the Ministry.”

“Shortly after this, a young man carried out a suicide bombing inside the Gotti Cartel headquarters. He killed Renaldo and several of his officers. He also killed several women and children that were only guilty of being there. The last thing survivors heard the kid screaming was something about acting in the name of God.”

“The Gotti’s opened their gates, allowed people to go to the Ministry food distribution sites again.”

“We soon found out there was more to the free radios than we realized. They were broadcasting music, news, their news, and these tirades on how evil non-believers were. That it was the Holy Mission of the Ministry and all True Believers to eradicate Heresy. They were converting many people. There were some ugly incidents, people turning on each other in the name of their new faith.”

“We tried to limit access to their broadcasts. Not much luck with that. That was when we contacted the Ministry to tell them we were closing the food distribution sites.”

“That was when Master Snow asked for a formal meeting with us.”

“We met at one of our checkpoints near the Ministry food distribution sites. There were additional guards at the checkpoint in case of trouble. I was there representing the Cartel.”

“The Ministry was there; they were there in force. At least one hundred of their soldiers. There was a crowd forming on our side, wanting to see what was going to happen. The space between our checkpoint and them wasn’t that much, maybe fifty meters.”

“Master Snow and his acolytes walked to the ground between the two sides. He and this young man, the kid was maybe eighteen years old. They stood there. Serenely, both even seemed to smile.”

“I approached them alone but advised our people to be alert. Nothing felt right about this.”

“Once I came to stand in front of Master Snow he spoke in this tone as though I wasn’t even there. His eyes turned to the sky, his hands, palms out, stretched out to either side of him. He was wearing one of their black suits, they wear them like some kind of sacramental robe.”

“He spoke. He was bellowing it out, he wanted everybody to hear him.”

Loretta’s eyes seemed to cloud over. She continued.

“Loretta Genovese, Mighty Jehovah has called for a lesson and a warning. The Ministry will not tolerate Heresy, it will not allow the Word to be hindered.”

“His eyes remained on the sky, but his voice now went to the young man beside him.”

“Jason Anhalt, are you True in Faith, Confident of the Resurrection, Strong in the Promise's Belief of our Holy Mission? Do you trust the Mighty Jehovah?’

“The boy simply said ‘yes’.”

“Jason Anhalt, Jehovah calls on you to show your Faith! Show the Strength of God’s Will in your Life!”

“Jehovah Demands Your Martyrdom!”

“With that, the young man, Jason Anhalt, pulled a small dagger from his belt. He kissed the blade. Then he stabbed it brutally into the right side of his neck. He didn’t even wince.”

“He collapsed at my feet. I saw his last spasms as life left him. Some of his blood hit my face.”

“Again, Master Snow spoke, his hands raised even higher, palms to the sky.”

“Loretta Genovese, ten thousand of Jehovah’s Faithful Stand Ready for Sacrifice, for Martyrdom. With a word, one word, they will assault the walls of the Heathen! They will strike with a Righteous Fury! God’s Warriors will hurtle themselves against the Heretic’s Sanctuary! They will not stop or turn back. They will even throw themselves onto barbwire and form a wall with their bodies to protect their brothers. They are willing to die for their cause, like this young man.

“If they fail, another ten thousand will follow. There will be no mercy for the Godless! We will strike down every soul behind your walls, regardless of age, regardless of gender.”

“With one word from me, and if I am struck down, the word from one of my Holy Brothers. We will destroy everything you cherish and the Heresy you are promoting.”

“I then looked to the Ministry soldiers. There were now more of them, many more of them. They stood looking toward me, toward our settlement. Their faces were blank but focused. I could tell they were waiting. Ready to die, ready to kill.”

“I knew right then that Armageddon was at hand.”

“Master Snow continued to stand there, eyes toward the sky, hands upwards. He was silent.”

“I signaled for the gates to be opened, for the checkpoint to be opened again.”

There were tears now in Loretta’s eyes. You could feel the fear in her voice.

“They have an army out there, an army of blood-thirsty animals. They outnumber us, they out gun us, and I’m convinced they would be perfectly happy to slaughter us all.”

“Yes, we are going to turn you over to the Ministry.”