[Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/26/2021)

A spot for collections of Outsider-related original fan fiction and related works.

Moderator: Outsider Moderators

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

That's a major plot point of both this and the next story so... :P

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by entity2636 »

Bravo. I was expecting them to find a live loroi male in stasis, but this way is much simpler.

But indeed, Alexandra now has quite the Catch-22 in her hands.

And who the hell are the Enforcers? Just another gang, or government black ops?

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

It will be fully explained later but in essence they are a type of gang that 'settles' disputes between gangs, handles assassinations and cleans up the mess when a gang gets busted. This usually involves plenty of 'accidents' and dead body disposals.

Warringrose
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:32 pm

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by Warringrose »

I was curious as to the premise of the story and did a few mins of research, came up with this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... tists.html Is it assumed that Loroi cannot reproduce without male sperm? That seems kind of low tech doesn't it? I'd imagine they'd do w/e they had to do to get pregnant, including cloning if necessary, at least for a while. Great story btw, keep up the awesome work!

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

It is not farfetched for the Loroi to not be able to reproduce without male sperm, it is my assumption that the lopsided male to female ratio was to serve as a long term population control by the Soians to their telepathic race. The subservient Loroi easily bypassing this due to a low level trick would be counter to such a design so there could be plenty of failsafes put in place to minimize the risk of unwanted growth.

We are going into minor spoiler territory here however so read at your own risk:
SpoilerShow
There have been Confederation led experiments with cloning, the clones however were considered to be unviable for a number of reasons; low clone viability (not just in gestation), the biological age of the clones being the age of the mother's and the fact that enhanced psionic powers weren't exhibited by the successfully gestated clones that reached maturity.
With everything taken into account the cloning experiments were branded a dead end for research as they did not produce the end result that was desired: Individuals with enhanced psionic abilities for telekinetic and farseer class research.
Current avenues of research have taken a radical turn.
Also make no mistake, the Confederation is certain that the war with the Union is inevitable as they don't consider the Union capable of accepting an advanced and independent Terran interstellar state to be a desirable neighbor due to the Human Lotai and the havoc human fleets would cause with a second 'Lotai incursion' of their own.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/29/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Chapter 4, part 1

Several decades ago it would have been really bad for both her physical and mental wellbeing to be the one having to explain to a Mizol what happened and who is responsible but that was then and this is now.

“As I have already told you the criminal investigation is still underway and as such I cannot divulge any information about the incident.” Alexandra repeated dryly and Mizol Losat Redmoon finally got it through her thick skull that she wouldn’t get any details about the investigation any time soon.

“As a diplomatic and legal representative of the Union I would also like to question the four suspects in your custody.” The Mizol continued.

“All four of these suspects fall under the jurisdiction of Confederation law and as such I cannot allow any Union representative access to them unless the suspects themselves ask to meet such a representative.” Alexandra said with the same dry voice which apparently served to further annoy the Losat who was trying her best to not glance at the Marine Lieutenant who sat between the two of them, there to serve as both an observer and a chaperone for the duration of the meeting.

“All four of them are Union civilians who are wanted for questioning in regards to their criminal activities. As a legal representative of the Union I demand access to all four of them and your help to arrange for their transport back to the Union.” The Mizol replied with a forced steady voice.

“It is within your rights to make such demands but I have no authority to make such a decision nor there is any treaty about the cooperation of our police forces and the automatic extradition of suspected criminals to each other. I will forward the Union’s demands to the appropriate Confederation authorities when the ‘Lucky dime’ reaches Earth to deliver the suspects in question to the regional immigration headquarters for processing according to Confederation law and interests. Until then I will follow the rules and regulations I have sworn myself to abide by and as thus I will not allow you and any other Union representative to meet any suspect in our custody without their expressed desire to meet a Union representative.” Alexandra said with her most formal and diplomatic tone, it was obvious that the Mizol didn’t like that but she would like the next part even less, especially if Alexandra was right and the Mizol was indeed well over her head. “To continue I would like two know why two Mizol agents entered the Confederation illegally and ended up caught in the incident in which the four suspects in our custody were apprehended.” The Mizol’s mind flared up briefly at that before becoming fully guarded again.

“The two agents in question were tasked with the surveillance of a suspected criminal by orders of Minzan sector intelligence. Said suspect is currently in your custody.” Alexandra was genuinely surprised at that as she half expected the Mizol to throw the two agents under the proverbial bus but instead she elected to spill some harmless information to cover them somewhat. Alexandra just nodded at that and waited for a couple of seconds before replying.

“I understand but as I told you already the Confederation and the Union have not signed any treaty about the cooperation of our police forces and as such the two agents in question as not covered by the Confederation’s diplomatic immunity laws and they will be expelled back to the Union after being tried for illegal entry into Confederation territory.” Alexandra paused again for effect at that before giving the Mizol a bone to keep the warriors off her hair on the way to Earth. “However I do have the legal discretion to release them to a Union diplomatic representative pending their trial and since, by your admission, the agents involved were part of a police investigation I have no problem in doing that; provided of course that the representative in question vouches and assumes legal responsibility for them for as long they are under their supervision.”

“Yes, I would like for them to be released under my supervision and I will sign all the necessary paperwork involved.” The Mizol agreed without even thinking about it.

“Good, I will see to the necessary paperwork for their release.” Alexandra said as she stood up. “With this I consider this meeting to be closed.”

“I understand.” The Mizol acknowledged as she stood up and left.

“I half expected you to keep the two warriors detained all the way to Earth.” Marine Lieutenant Garnet commented as the doors slid shut behind the Mizol Losat.

“Not worth the hassle to do that, I would have to keep them under guard all the way to Earth and the warriors would be constantly pestering us both about them. This and the issue with the four criminals we caught is beyond my pay grade, I will just get them all to Earth and have the powers that be decide about all six of them.” Alexandra replied.

“Any idea what the criminals were doing in the cargo bay?” The marine asked at that.

“Not really.” Alexandra said nonchalantly with a shrug. “From what I gathered they are from competing gangs on Deinar and they wanted to solve a few ‘debts’.”

“And there I was thinking that inherent Loroi telepathic honesty would preclude Loroi criminality.”

“What’s the expression? If there is a demand there is going to be a supply? There are plenty of things Loroi of all walks of life want that are otherwise forbidden which fuels a relatively small criminal underworld, when compared with other races that is.” Alexandra explained.

“Makes sense, I am just glad that you will pass the ball upstairs and won’t make my life any harder for the rest of the way to Atlantis.” Lieutenant Garnet commented.

“We don’t need the headache about things that are above our pay grade; just make sure that your men don’t cause a mess that will warrant me getting an even bigger headache.” Alexandra said.

“My men know how to be professional.”

“Oh really?” For a moment Alexandra brought the incident at the men’s bathroom almost a week before and couldn’t help to form a mischievous smile on her face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The marine asked with obvious annoyance.

“It means that we both know each other’s base natures, some things are bound to happen if they haven’t happened already and it will be at everyone’s best interests if things are kept discreet and unrecorded.” Alexandra said dryly.

“The Harem king…” The marine muttered with a sigh.

“The latest from among the noteworthy incidents.” Alexandra agreed. “And the reason they might actually introduce flogging as punishment for disciplinary infractions.”

“That’s just talk, they won’t go that far.”

“Hello, I am sergeant Douchebag and today I will have a nice and tight Doranzer; watch me as I show her what she has been missing all her life.” Alexandra said with the most sarcastic voice she could manage as she remembered the fight she had with Matthew after he caught him watching one of those widely circulated underground videos that had caused an uproar years ago.

“Alright, you made your point, I doubt that my men are that kind of criminally stupid but I will keep an eye on them.” The marine conceded.

“That’s all I ask.”

Chapter 4, part 2: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 995#p31995
Last edited by Guest on Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/29/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Late for two reasons:

Taking part in the 'writing prompts' story :mrgreen:

And because parts after this one require a restructuring and a rewrite.

Also, it's weird setting the stage up for stuff that will happen in the next story.

User avatar
Werra
Posts: 840
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:27 pm

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/29/2018)

Post by Werra »

Good thing Alexandra totally managed to fool that Mizol. I'm sure the matter is settled now.

Krulle
Posts: 1413
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:14 am

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 07/16/2018)

Post by Krulle »

SpoilerShow
dragoongfa wrote:Chapter 3, part 4

[...]

The two Mizol were also acting weird, doing their best not to look bothered about something. They were undoubtedly unhappy that their investigation had stalled but the they still kept shadowing the ganger although their efforts had been split lately, one of them was always keeping tabs on the ganger but the other one seemed to be investigating on one of the ganger’s students, probably in the belief that the civilian might have gleaned something out of her ‘teacher’.

[...]

It can’t be an Enforcer. (I think there should not be a new paragraph here.... The next few paragraphs too have an unusual thought patern, new paragraph, "Alexandra thought"...)

Alexandra thought as her mind recalled the panic she had felt the last time she had a run in with an Enforcer gang. She drew her sidearm out of reflex and readied herself.

[...]

“I AM REFORGED!” Alexandra yelled as she punched the container she was hiding behind with her right fist, the pain of her fracturing knuckles pushing her mind back from the bring brink a moment before she jumped out of cover with her blaster drawn.

[...]

“And what makes you think that we want to be warriors?” Alexandra’s comm unit buzzed in her ear as a warning and she switched her blaster to stun for what was about to happen.
A moment later the doors to the cargo bay burst open, Astarte and her squad rushing in with their blasters aimed and at the ready. Alexandra fired her blaster at the lone enforcer in front of her, the two electrostun shots hitting her hitting her in the torso before she could even realize what was happening. Astarte’s squad immediately stunned the remaining two enforcers who stumbled down with their two unconscious victims.

[...]
dragoongfa wrote:Chapter 4, part 1

[...]

“It is within your rights to make such demands but I have no authority to make such a decision nor there is is there any treaty about the cooperation of our police forces and the automatic extradition of suspected criminals to each other. I will forward the Union’s demands to the appropriate Confederation authorities when the ‘Lucky dime’ reaches Earth to deliver the suspects in question to the regional immigration headquarters for processing according to Confederation law and interests. Until then I will follow the rules and regulations I have sworn myself to abide by and as thus I will not allow you and any other Union representative to meet any suspect in our custody without their expressed desire to meet a Union representative.” Alexandra said with her most formal and diplomatic tone, it was obvious that the Mizol didn’t like that but she would like the next part even less, especially if Alexandra was right and the Mizol was indeed well over her head. “To continue I would like two to know why two Mizol agents entered the Confederation illegally and ended up caught in the incident in which the four suspects in our custody were apprehended.” The Mizol’s mind flared up briefly at that before becoming fully guarded again.

[...]

“I understand but as I told you already the Confederation and the Union have not signed any treaty about the cooperation of our police forces and as such the two agents in question as are not covered by the Confederation’s diplomatic immunity laws and they will be expelled back to the Union after being tried for illegal entry into Confederation territory.” Alexandra paused again for effect at that before giving the Mizol a bone to keep the warriors off her hair on the way to Earth. “However I do have the legal discretion to release them to a Union diplomatic representative pending their trial and since, by your admission, the agents involved were part of a police investigation I have no problem in doing that; provided of course that the representative in question vouches and assumes legal responsibility for them for as long they are under their supervision.”

[...]

“Oh really?” For a moment Alexandra brought thought of the incident at the men’s bathroom almost a week before and couldn’t help to form a mischievous smile on her face. (the sentence seems to be lacking something)

[...]
Finally got around to reading the new episodes.

So, 64 males as (unknowing) founders of a Union-independent Loroi population?

Not as bad as our own Human genetic bottlenecks have been. Especially thanks to the large variety of females...

And it is nice that someone recognizes this as going well above her pay grade.

Very good read, once again.
Thank You, dragoongfa!

Werra wrote:Good thing Alexandra totally managed to fool that Mizol. I'm sure the matter is settled now.
I'm not so sure.
We do not know how much the Mizol knew, and whether the Mizol is just lying low about her knowledge.
Once she gets hold of her two operatives, she has more possibilities to start getting back strategic Union "property"....
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 08/13/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Chapter 4, part 2

“And you didn’t realize that she was an enforcer until she actually pulled her blade at you?” Alexandra asked.


“No I didn’t.” The ganger replied, her expression and body language betraying her anxiety and tension. “Do I have to keep wearing this contraption?”

“Yes.”

“Can I at least take it off when I am sleeping?”

“No.”

Full spectrum suppressors weren’t a new design; the first ones were produced right after the Mezan expedition more than a millennium ago but they never saw much use, not because they didn’t work as intended but because they worked exactly as intended by directly interfering and suppressing the telepathic abilities of whoever wore one.

The design was simple enough, comprised by three pieces that connected with each other when worn. The forehead piece was very much like an amplifier, worn as a crown and held in place with straps, the second piece was worn at the base of the skull, covering it whole while it connected with the forehead piece with wires that run from behind the ears and up to the forehead. The final piece was worn under the clothes and over the spine, flexible enough in order not to hinder the wearer’s movements and held in place by suction force while it directly connected itself with the piece worn at the base of the skull.

The suppression method was simple enough but disconcerting to all Loroi who wore one. It didn’t minimize the telepathic potential like a regular suppressor would; instead it caused the wearer’s telepathic potential to create a self-contained jamming field by amplifying and suppressing their powers at the same time, creating an out of control telepathic noise that almost matched the human Lotai in its effects.

These suppressors were at first intended to be used on extremely dangerous prisoners but the problem was that the artificial Lotai made handling such prisoners difficult since the vast majority of guards couldn’t be counted to watch over their prisoners without relying on their innate telepathic talents.

The Reforged had been extensively trained while wearing such suppressors and Alexandra still remembered how mind numbing the telepathic noise was the first few weeks.

“One thing I would like to know is how you got the access codes necessary to roam this ship freely.” Alexandra asked as she tapped the small evidence bag that contained the data card they took out of the ganger’s provided for tablet.

“I was given the card by the gang that arranged my passage. They told me that it contained codes to access most areas on any human civilian ship.” The ganger replied.

“A gang arranged for your passage?”

“Yes, they came to me when I was hiding. They told me that they could arrange for passage to human space provided that I could make it worth their while.”

“The semen…” Alexandra said out loud.

“Yes, that was the only thing they were interested in. I told them that I wasn’t sure that I could get to the samples with most of the gang captured, dead or in hiding but they wouldn’t help me otherwise. I knew that our storage room and its vault hadn’t been raided yet but I thought that they were just waiting for someone to show up. No one was waiting; I took what I could and started a fire to destroy the rest.” The ganger said.

“The Mizol had yet to break the ones they captured.” Alexandra commented.

“That’s what they thought as well.” The ganger begun. “They arranged for my passage and for the means to preserve my cargo. It worked well at first by the cryo container stopped charging two days before we reached Mirror, the connection wasn’t stable and I had to check it regularly after that.”

“Your regular visits to the cargo bay, you had to make sure that your cargo was still intact.”

“Yes, the cargo would self-destruct if the container run out of power. I had to make sure that it was properly powered but someone triggered a silent alarm that was planted on the Miros container by opening it.” The ganger continued.

“That was us trying to find your cargo, I had you under watch since the moment I first laid my eyes on you.” The ganger’s eyes grew wide at that. “My gang specialized in transportation, I knew what to look out for.”

“…I had to check the cargo but I knew that someone was on to me. I waited for days before deciding to go for it, either I would be caught or I would keep going as I was.”

“And then the enforcer made herself known…” Alexandra added.

“Yes… the gang was caught and the enforcers were called to destroy the evidence left behind and silence all witnesses according to the pact. She was about to kill me but they didn’t know about the cargo, she realized this and had me bring her to it.”

“All evidence would be destroyed and all witnesses silenced…” Alexandra said out loud before realizing something. “Did you notice any Mizol surveillance on the way to Mirror?”

“…Yes… I thought that they were on to me and that I would be grabbed at any solon but they were just observing all of us without bothering anyone.” The ganger replied after a few moments of thinking about it.

“Bait…” Alexandra said at that. “You were bait! Did the Mizol give any hints of them suspecting you of having a cargo?”

“No, I know that they never checked the container but I had to check on the cargo every few days. I was certain that I wasn’t followed or witnessed but…”

“But they are Mizols… Were you told to whom you would deliver your cargo to?” Alexandra asked.

“No, they told me that someone would approach me soon after we would arrive at Atlantis. They would ask if I had ever read the works of William Shakespeare and I would reply with ‘Yes but I have yet to start reading a Dream of Spring’.” The ganger replied.

“William Shakespeare?”

“Yes, is he an important person?”

“He was an important person, long before humans reached the stars but…” Alexandra made to reply but she remembered something in mid-sentence which made her take out her personal tablet and look into some random notes she had written down after her briefing about the acclimation routing.

Potential keywords… Recent top chart singers and unrelated songs, Recent Olympian tournaments and old champions, Ancient writers and unrelated literary works… Alexandra read and her eyes froze in place at the last part.

“Is something the matter?” The ganger asked after a long silent moments.

Beyond the fact that this is well and truly above my pay grade? Alexandra thought before replying.

“The Confederation has an underground network in place to help persons of interest fleet the Union. The greeting and your response match the general outline of the keywords this underground currently uses.” Alexandra replied as she hid her tablet away. “The gang that sent you were probably Confederation agents and the one who would approach you would probably be one of my superiors.” The ganger’s eyes went wide again at that.

“I had thought that you would be the one who would approach me because of the attention you and your warriors put on me and the two Mizols that followed me but no one said the greeting.”

“I and my warriors got interested because you and the two Mizols drew our attention to you and information about the underground and the code phrases is strictly need to know. I am a low level officer, I wouldn’t have been loosely briefed about this if I wasn’t in command of this acclimation mission and I was told that a special officer would be attached to us if such a passenger was expected.” Alexandra replied before deciding to change the subject. “In any case this is something that I will have to look into on our way to Earth. What I want to know revolves around your cargo and how you secured it without the caretakers realizing anything.”

“Our gang specialized in ensuring an impregnation after an approved of mating encounter, we didn’t just impregnate anyone who could afford us. They had to have mated before we could help them. We would extract the stored sperm from them a day or two after the encounter and we would trigger the reproductive system to ovulate with a hormonal treatment. Once the client was ready we would extract an ovum from them, inseminate it with the recovered sperm and then implant it. As far as the caretakers and the system were concerned our clients got impregnated in their mating encounter without outside interference.” The ganger explained.

“Sounds simple enough…” Alexandra replied as she took everything in. “Why save the recovered sperm?”

“The viability of the recovered sperm isn’t always certain for a variety of reasons. If we couldn’t use the sperm extracted from our client then we would use the sperm in our vault, provided that we had a sample from the same male our client had mated with.”

“Makes sense, did you also allow them to select the sex of the child?” Alexandra asked.

“Guaranteeing the insemination of a male was a premium service that we sold to our more influential clients. Our regular clients had to draw a lottery with the same odds as a natural insemination.” The ganger replied, drawing a nod of understanding our of Alexandra.

“I see… Do you believe that the Mizol weren’t even aware of your vault?”

“I don’t know. I know for a fact that the first ones who were caught were our two client hunters. They knew how our gang was structured and that we had a storage room with a vault but they didn’t know the medical details or the inventory. The doctor of our gang who was also our leader took her last resort when the Mizol tried to capture her and she knew everything there was to know. Her assistants went to ground and I hadn’t heard from them after the warning came out.” The ganger explained as best as she could.

“How many gangs did you cooperate with?” Alexandra asked.

“Several… We had to launder our earnings and secure our equipment in an untraceable way. These kinds of gangs were the ones I worked with. I hadn’t ever met any of our clients but some of them must have been gangers themselves.”

“No wonder that the enforcers would come this far to ensure that the pact would be upheld…” Alexandra connected. “A well connected gang caught and dismantled. Pact or not the other gangs and the richest of your clients would pay good money to ensure that any traces of their involvement would be gone.”

“The others must be dead then…” The ganger commented dejectedly.

“Yes, the pact isn’t ambiguous when it comes with the safe guarding of the entire underworld.” Alexandra said at that. “However you are still alive and we have your would be assassins in the brig, you are safe from here on out.”

“What will happen to me?”

“I don’t know, normally you would be processed and given a new identity but the enforcers and the mizol have complicated things. I will make sure that you and your cargo are delivered to the proper authorities and they will be the ones who decide.”

Chapter 4, Part 3: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 803#p32803
Last edited by dragoongfa on Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 08/13/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Next part is up.

The story really took roots in my head as I was toying with the idea of what a Loroi criminal underworld would really look like. The inter-connectivity of human criminal gangs is well known and documented, with large gangs having 'departments' for all their needs.

A Loroi criminal underground however would be far more insular due to the nature of telepathy. Small and highly specialized gangs that put a lot of effort in staying hidden and not making waves. Naturally they would need to cooperate with each other for things and services that they couldn't legally purchase but that introduces a whole can of worms in terms of trust, both to upheld the deals and to ensure that any leaks are plugged as quickly as possible.

This is where the 'Pact' and the 'Enforcers' come in. Unspoken of rules that cover the basic conduct of all gangs and what they are to do if the authorities capture them (usually suicide and destruction of evidence) with the 'Enforcers' being the ones who make sure that the Pact is upheld no matter the cost (while also being assassins for hire when things are quiet).

Krulle
Posts: 1413
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:14 am

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 08/13/2018)

Post by Krulle »

I like it.
You really made me curious to see where this goes.

Thank You!
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

Rogue1115
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 12:51 pm

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 08/13/2018)

Post by Rogue1115 »

Hey dragoongfa, just wanted to say that you have an awesome story here. Really don’t know how to say this without sounding like a whiny commentor, but I was wondering if this story has been shelved to pursue other projects or is it just on a temporary hiatus? Not trying to complain, just curious.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 08/13/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Temporary hiatus, have been awfully busy in RL (work and personal) lately. Should be able to have the next part out 'soon enough' provided I don't sleep like a rock through most of the weekend again.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/14/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Chapter 4, part 3

The three Enforcers were hard to ‘cold read’, they seemed perfectly calm and collected but the minor signs of them being agitated and shaken were still there; especially when they were alone. Their bodies were tenser, their breathing somewhat faster and shallower, they even had trouble sleeping if she was to judge by the video feeds. All of that clear signs that the full spectrum suppressors had gotten them riled up.

She would have liked to have a series of one to one sessions with all of them but she knew that would take too much time and she wasn’t certain that any one of them would have opened up anyway. A different approach was required to get something out of them, in a perfect universe she would make them believe that they still had a shot at their target; their stony facades would waver just a bit if that was the case but she wasn’t going to allow the ganger anywhere near them before they had been thoroughly and completely broken.

“Can they even be broken?”
Astarte asked as the two of them stared down at the three shackled and suppressed Enforcers.

“Everyone breaks, we just have to find the right breaking point.”


“They are Enforcers.”
Astarte pointed out. “I had thought that they were over exaggerations of ganger backstabbing, not an actual type of gang.”

“Among the things I don’t want to remember are a couple of run ins I had with Enforcers. The first time was when a client gang complained that we had tampered with the goods in transit. It was… disconcerting.”
Alexandra replied and mentally shuddered at that.

“So how are you going to do this? Telepathy is out of the question, even if they didn’t have the suppressors on.”
Astarte asked, her question helping push the discomfort from her mind away.

“The only way for them to break and then turn into something useful is to Reforge them.”
Alexandra replied and got ready to cut off Astarte’s inevitable tirade.

“What? They haven’t even properly met a human yet!”


“It’s either that or we grant them the death they now seek.”
Alexandra replied dryly. “They want nothing more than to kill their target and die. That’s how loyal and disconnected they are, in order for them to break they need to have something important in their lives. I will see into providing just that as they are Reforged.”

“You will need someone extraordinary to play the part.”
Astarte pointed out.

“We are already at the middle of a black op and the higher ups will want what these three can give if they become cooperative.”


“The brass may just elect to discard everything and bury the whole thing.”
Astarte replied.

“That’s up to them to decide.”
Alexandra agreed. “Until then I will see into providing all possible avenues for them to choose from.”

“I don’t like this but I can’t argue against that. Just be careful, these are hardened killers, not browbeaten civilians in need of some backbone.”


“You have no idea…”
Alexandra replied as she signaled for Astarte to leave. It was the first time they had brought them in the same room but the three enforcers just stared down at the floor with expressionless faces as she left, just like they always did as individuals when someone else was in the same room. Alexandra had hoped that she would illicit a reaction out of them if the first thing they got from her was seeing their comrades for a the first time since their capture but they still seemed cold and aloof.

“I have to admit that I didn’t even suspect any of the three of you.” Alexandra begun as she stared at the bowed head of the same Loroi she had processed right before the ganger. “I had tagged your target the moment I first sensed her and the two Mizol were found out the moment they were processed but you three? You were quite an unexpected surprise. Especially you!” Alexandra said as she tapped the top of the head of the enforcer whose sight triggered the dormant suggestion in her mind. “I still can’t remember you properly but I know that we have met once before, probably right before the coup against Greywind when my gang was smuggling weapons and explosives on Deinar. I almost froze and panicked at your sight, the suggestion was deep and thorough but I am not the same I was back then and you are now shackled and suppressed in front of me. A captured enforcer, practically unheard of to capture one, how much three of you at the same time. You would all be a guaranteed promotion for any Mizol who would bring you forth to her superiors but I am not a Mizol so you can rest easy in that regard.” She paused for a moment to observe them, hoping to see a reaction from anyone of them but all three of them were unmoving, bowed and silent. “I have to commend you for your discipline, able to betray nothing in either mind or body. Not many are able to do that but you enforcers are a different kind of breed. How many of you are there on Deinar? A few hundred? A thousand at the most? So few and yet able to keep all the other gangs in line and safe; enforcing the contracts whenever someone breaks faith, always making sure that the pact is upheld and let’s not forget the assassination jobs you pick up on the side if the money is right.” She paused again for effect at that.

“My guess is that this mess was due to a call for a cleanup after a gang was captured; evidence needed to disappear and witnesses needed to be silenced, the pact demands all that but I am certain that several gangs and even guilds paid good money to ensure all loose ends were severed, especially if the gang in question specialized in what I think it did. All in all I wager that the combined total of the bounty would be enough to buy a couple of starships but the problem was that one of the targets not only packed up and left but that she also picked up some unwanted Mizol attention, or to be more precise the Mizol somehow learned of the Enforcer hit against her; their interest drawn not to a lone ganger on the run but on those who would come after her. I can only imagine how rare it is for them to learn of an impending hit, how much the possibility of reaping the rewards of successfully capturing one of you; I can actually picture the line of Mizol interrogators that would pay any favors for getting a chance to gleam anything from your minds. It’s no wonder that they kept your target under watch all the way to the Confederation, not to protect her but as bait so they could catch you in the act. They probably even gave you plenty of obvious opportunities for the kill but you obviously weren’t foolish enough to get caught by such a simple trap.” All three of them remained reactionless and emotionless, staring down blankly at her feet, she elected to continue despite the lack of even a hint of getting through to them, for a moment she even thought that they didn’t even speak Trade. They certainly hadn’t betrayed the ability like the two Mizol did during the various lessons but she still remembered the standoff at the cargo bay and how all three reacted when she challenged them, not just the one who spoke to her. “Yet you were foolishly caught… Was your foolishness caused because we are civilians playing warrior games? Did three Enforcers actually grow complacent?” They didn’t react at all, they just stared at her feet, expressionless and unmoving; without letting out any sound whatsoever.

She couldn’t do anything but stare at them in silence for over a minute, waiting to see any kind of hint until she noticed something peculiar with their breathing. It took some moments but she realized that all three of them were breathing in unison at the exact same rhythm. She clicked her tongue in agitation without even realizing it and immediately tried to cover the ‘tell’ of her realization.

“This is useless, give me something, anything so I may not have to give you to the warriors!” She pleaded while making sure her feet’s movements betrayed agitation. “Fools!” With that she put out a show of storming out of the interrogation room in agitation.

“Astarte, I want you to gather three DNA sample without them realizing it and then have them compared!” She ordered the moment the door close behind.

“Compared? You think they are related?”
Astarte asked.

“I am certain of that, they have gone through the exact kind of mental training, they even perfectly matched each other’s breathing while they were at the same room. All gangs teach their initiates their hard learned techniques but Enforcers are far more tight knit and unbelievably loyal to each other; I had once worked with a thieves’ gang which exhibited such unified discipline, focus and loyalty; they did that by keeping things within the family, each gang member closely related with all others, their lineage going as far back as Deinar’s classical era.” Alexandra explained and she could sense the dawn of understanding in Astarte’s mind.

“And you still think that they can be broken? Even Reforged?”
The Master Sergeant asked as she came up to her.

“Everyone can be broken and put back together.”
Alexandra recited. “But it will be tricky. They will have to be separated before shaking the very foundations of their being.”

“And how are you planning to do that?”


“We will keep them separate at all times for now. The shock will be the hard part but that’s something for after their trail is erased.”
Alexandra replied.

“And how are we going to do that? We are not in a position to make several prisoners disappear without someone asking questions.”
Astarte pointed out.

“We have three Enforcers, the ganger and her package. We can't clear the trail on our own but hopefully Earth’s Reforged will be in a position to do something about it when the ‘Lucky Dime’ gets there."

Chapter 5, Part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 852#p32852
Last edited by dragoongfa on Sun Oct 28, 2018 10:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/14/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Wew, unplanned hiatus due to a multitude of reasons, ranging from me being lazy to several other things catching my eyes.

Sorry about that, I will see if I can throw myself back into a proper schedule.

Krulle
Posts: 1413
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:14 am

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/14/2018)

Post by Krulle »

SpoilerShow
dragoongfa wrote:Chapter 4, part 3

[...]
“Astarte, I want you to gather three DNA samples without them realizing it and then have them compared!” She ordered the moment the door close behind.

“Compared? You thing think they are related?”
Astarte asked.

[...]
I just stumbled over that one.
But with the trail these three have, erasing sufficient may be a rather hard task. Good the trails lead into Humanities SOI anyway, and makes trail hunting more difficult....
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/29/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Chapter 5, Part 1

If your plan hinges on your opponent acting like they told you they would act then discard it and proceed to demolish a wall with your head because that’s the only thing it is good at!
The Major who oversaw the officer school’s wargames had ranted at her after she failed at a relatively simple scenario. It was a simple but important lesson that brought down her misconception that warriors were by nature truthful and as such incapable of deception.

She knew of course that the Mizol were the very image of deception but her civilian bias was that all the other warriors loathed the mere thought of deception and were always honorable. Maybe some fools in the other warrior castes were like but Humans weren’t and they made sure to teach them just how deceitful warriors must be in their duties.

“A Mizol actually bit the bait! Can you believe the audacity?” Private Sorcha said out loud as the watched the video feed from the ship’s brig.

“Quiet!” Alexandra shushed her as they saw a Loroi in a Reforged’s uniform tamper with the video feed of the brig’s cameras, making the image loop on half of the monitors, the very half that were part of the ship’s systems. The other half, those were part of their own gear, discreet and well camouflaged cameras that were standard issue for ‘just in case’.

To no one’s surprise the cameras saw frequent use whenever Mizol were involved but in her experience it paid well to take a couple of extra precautions in any circumstances where Mizol were likely to snoop around. They had already taken the steps so she only had to sit back and observe how things would unfold.

She had been worried that the Mizol would not fall into the trap so easily, announcing to the civilians that they would be having a ‘Lotai drill’ with suppressors and then having some of her girls become sloppy their spare uniforms after cleaning them was too obvious of a set up but someone actually fell for it. What was really surprising was the fact that the ‘infiltrator’ was naturally fluent in English and wore both the uniform and the interference suppressor properly. She had to give the Mizol credit for having brought their own suppressor, especially since they hadn’t picked it up from their ‘diplomatic’ cargo
.
The moment of truth…
Alexandra thought as she saw the Mizol read the brig’s unencrypted datalogs on the console; after a minute of reading she made her way to the cells and stood right in front of the closed cell she had hoped for. The records that the Mizol was just read showed that inside was a cooperative prisoner who was charged with assault with a lethal weapon and kidnapping.

It was at that moment that Alexandra regretted not having some extra cameras installed at the cell, if only to have a recording of what followed from different angles. The Mizol should have realized that something was off the moment she saw the prisoner huddled on the bed, covered from head to toe with a sheet but she didn’t. She just walked up to the sleeping prisoner and yanked the sheet off the sleeping Loroi, finally realizing that not only the prisoner had a head full of hair but that she also didn’t like to be rudely awakened.

“The Master Sergeant actually slept?” Sorcha asked as Astarte lunged at the shocked Mizol, yelling a variety of colorful expletives as she landed the first couple of punches on the Mizol’s face.

“It’s a decent bed, a quiet room and she is used wearing a suppressor.” Alexandra said as the Mizol tried to defend herself only to see her arms brushed aside by an invisible force; her expression must have been one of bewildered shock as Astarte let out a laugh as she pummeled the hapless infiltrator to submission, like a bully who was letting herself loose on a victim. A Human would have intervened to put the beating to a stop but it was rare for Astarte to vent her frustrations from her time as a civilian to a Mizol and she knew when to stop herself.

She would have been inducted to the Teidar if she had been born to a warrior, she was strong enough to use her powers in the brawls she frequently took part in and she was certainly lethal when amplified but that didn’t mean anything in the caste system. A telekinetic child born to a civilian had to be naturally lethal for the Teidar to find a ‘genealogical excuse’ to induct her to their numbers; a rarity in and onto itself, more so for civilians who not only copulated sparingly but the odds of them being paired with a telekinetic male were slim to begin with.

Telekinesis was hereditary after all, the odds of a child being born with such powers increased if both parents exhibited tangible powers but telekinetic males were highly sought after by warriors; especially those who were at Astarte’s level and above. Perhaps Astarte would have given birth to a true Teidar if she had been given the opportunity to pair with such a male but she was never given the opportunity to do that.

“What are we going to do with her?” Astarte finally asked as she pinned the battered Mizol down with an arm grip.

“Give her a haircut, take back Confederation property and get her out of the brig.” Alexandra instructed.

“Just that?” Astarte asked at that.

“She is an idiot and she will remember this lesson.” Alexandra replied knowing that this wasn’t the time for an interrogation, she wanted to know if the Mizol suspected the ganger of having a cargo but it was too dangerous and the Mizol’s actions already proved that they were far more interested into the Enforcers rather than the ganger which indicated that they didn’t know about the cargo.

“Guess I will have to enjoy the haircut then.” Astarte said gleefully as the door to the cell slid open to let in a couple of true Reforged who then proceeded to shear off the hair of the struggling Mizol before stripping her down to her underwear.

“Damn it! She wore her own underwear.” Sorcha commented dejectedly as the now shaved infiltrator was frog marched out of the brig.

“We can’t have everything.” Alexandra replied as they watched the half-naked, shaved and bruised Mizol make her way back to the warrior’s area under the sounds of laughter and jeering from the civilians who realized what had happened. “I am going to go inform the Marines about what happened and buy them some beers to keep their nagging to a minimum.”

Chapter 5, part 2: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 375#p33375
Last edited by dragoongfa on Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
dragoongfa
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/29/2018)

Post by dragoongfa »

Actually forgot of writing the date of the latest update in the topic's description.

Other than that:
SpoilerShow
I wonder if people will realize that I just set up the foundations for a major character that will appear in the next story.

Krulle
Posts: 1413
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:14 am

Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 10/29/2018)

Post by Krulle »

Nice.
It's harsh being a woman....
It's even harsher being a Mizol in enemy territory.

(Took me a while to find time to read, even if this part was shorter than most of your installments.
Thanks, once again!)
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

Post Reply