Darkbane Prison.

After Alexander was first transported to the prison island that was Darkbane Prison, he expected himself to be taken in for questioning immediately. Instead, he was thrown into a private cell. The only interaction he had with the outside world was by the meals he was given, which were delivered to him with metal trays from time to time.

The agonizing silence continued for an unknown period of time. Alexander had no way of telling what time it was, and for one reason or another, there was no way for him to see the outside world via a window or something. All the young man could do was cower in the dark cell and tolerate the stench that seemed to be coming from every single corner. It made a noble-born like Alexander sick to his stomach, but he kept his vomit in and did his best to stomach whatever food he was able to eat.

Waiting was boring, and even painful, but it gave Alexander time to truly process what had happened. After all, a lot of life-changing things occurred in a very brief period of time. From all the betrayals to becoming a Lord of Agony to being tossed into this supposedly inescapable prison...it was a lot to handle.

The period of reflection came to an end when the electrified door to his cell buzzed and slid open, and two guards walked in. Both of them were in black uniforms, with standard black Imperial helmets that fully concealed their faces and gloves that covered their fingers. On their arms were MIs that granted them control over the automated systems in this prison, including the door controls, the security cameras, and the automatic turrets. The pair of guards had a wide array of weapons attached to their belts, including tasers, gauss handguns, handcuffs, and shotguns.

The two guards were members of the Darkbane Prison Security Forces. These soldiers were trained and equipped for the special purpose of controlling the prisoners. Their standard weapons would be nearly useless against military forces, but when dealing with prisoners who were unarmed and unarmored, it should be no surprise that they were extremely effective. Even if intruders in military gear stormed the facility, the guards could access the local armory, arm themselves with additional firepower, and at least have a fighting chance.

The two guards grabbed onto Alexander by his arms. The young man had no intention of resisting, but that didn't stop one of the sadistic guards from drawing his taser and jamming it onto Alexander’s neck. As the electricity knocked him out and his body collapsed on the ground, the guards finally restrained his hands and dragged him out of his cell and toward the interrogation room.

As the Warden of Darkbane Prison, Henry Locke was a man in his forties. He had served in a number of different Imperial military units before landing himself the position as the warden of this infamous prison. He had been a marine and a police officer. This was his first year as the Warden of Darkbane Prison, and Locke swore this would also be his last. He had seen a lot of shit, but being kept on a prison island with no way to talk to the outside world aside from receiving orders...it was a nightmare. It was as if he was being carved out and held in stasis while the world he knew moved on.

The only other time he had felt so isolated was during a campaign he took part in as an Imperial Marine. Still, he was aboard a Battlecruiser for most of the campaign, and the Battlecruiser had a hundred times more entertainment than this prison.

As he sat in the interrogation room, waiting for his guest to arrive, the Warden’s thoughts wandered to his family in the small town of Trenton, which would be around 400 Imperial miles from where he was now. He thought of his two daughters and how adorable they were. They were 5 and 7, respectively, although Isabella should have her 8th birthday coming up in a week. It was a birthday that he wouldn’t be there to celebrate.

From time to time, the Warden questioned the need for such excessive security policies. He had to stay on the island, fine, but why couldn’t he even call his family back home? How would that compromise the security of this prison? Still, he wisely kept his mouth shut, knowing none of the higher-ups would give a damn about how much he missed home.

9 months...he had already served as the Warden for 9 months, and in 3 months, he would be free to return home and go back to his family again...and he would be returning with a fat paycheck. Truth to be told, the money was the only reason he was doing this. After this position, he was planning on retiring. The credit balance he had built up would be more than enough for him and his family to live in peace. Although peace...was feeling more and more distant, given the tsunami of events that occurred in the past days.

The door was opened up, and two guards dragged a young boy in. Warden Locke glanced at the boy, who was clearly tased and knocked out. Hmmm...either the boy was resisting especially hard, or the guards decided that they preferred to drag someone in than to escort him.

So these two were some of those guards...Warden Locke thought darkly as he glanced across the dark helmets of the guards. Many of the guards on this nightmare of an island work for one year and then quit, but there were some who preferred things like this. These were the guards who had no family or friends to care for, and the only thing that satisfied them was seeing people suffer. Darkbane Prison was one of the only places that the guards could torture prisoners with impunity...at least back in the days of the Wolf.

“Sir.” One of the guards saluted the Warden under his helmet before helping his colleague take Alexander to a chair and put on the metal restraints. After that was done, the guards stood at the side, eager to bear witness to whatever that would come next.

But the Warden preferred a more private conversation.

“Leave us.”

The guards obeyed quickly. “As you wish, sir. I wish you a good time.” One of them said to Locke before leaving. He was the same one that tased Alexander.

Locke snickered darkly. A part of him despised people like the guards. These people have never seen a day of real combat. They have never fought in the real wars, where entire fleets could be burned away in mere hours due to a simple mistake. They haven’t stepped on the battlefield against real enemies like Republic Rangers. Instead, all they knew and did was stay in this prison and abuse defenseless prisoners. Now that was pathetic.

That was when the realization hit him. Whether he liked it or not, he was just like the guards. He was no longer a soldier or a police officer protecting the citizens of the Holy Phoenix Empire against the plague that was the Republic of Dorn. Instead, he was just another glorified prison guard, tasked with beating the crap out of restrained people, and now, he was going to torture a 15-year-old boy for answers.

Making things even worse was the fact that this 15-year-old boy was the son of the Obsidian Wolf. The man who he swore his allegiance to...up until two days ago.

Locke sighed and made his way to a counter on the side of the interrogation room. The room was awfully bright, with two large lights hanging from the ceiling. If required, the guards could leave the prisoners in these rooms, turn the lights to maximum power, and leave and come back in several hours. In some cases, the prisoners would feel a lot more chatty after that.

Still, the Warden had no intention for that just yet. Instead, he picked up a cup, opened a tank of cold water, filled the cup to the brim, and then splashed the water all across Alexander’s face. That was enough to wake the young man up.

When he was conscious again, Alexander didn't cry out in fear or shock. Instead, with cold eyes, he glanced across the room before his eyes landed on the Warden.

For a second, neither of the two said anything. Locke slowly made his way to his seat before sitting down in front of Alexander. Only then did he introduce himself to the young wolf.

“Prisoner 4938. My name is Henry Locke. I am the Warden of Darkbane Prison, where you will be staying until the end of your days.” He said simply. “And I have some questions for you.” He glanced at the table on the side, where a vast array of torture devices were lined up.

Alexander chuckled, a response that Locke found surprising, especially since it was coming from a noble-born boy. Most prisoners would find themselves either very scared or very mad in this scenario.

“Lamb is truly going through a lot of trouble to get a name from me. Is he really so terrified of the entity that saved me?”

“I can’t ever hope to assume the will of the Count.” Locke replied quietly, carefully avoiding Alexander’s question. “However, I do suggest that you talk sooner than later, Prisoner 4938.”

“My name is Alexander Wolf and you know it.” Alexander retaliated, unfazed by the obviously terrible situation he was in. He was young and defenseless, but he was also fierce. After all, he had little to lose. “I am the son of Gerard Wolf, the rightful ruler of the Obsidian System!”

“Hmmm…perhaps.” Locke chuckled and dodged the topic once again. “Whoever you are, the facts are absolute. Your traitorous father is dead. Your family is gone. Whatever influence your name once had...it is no more.” He paused before raising his voice a little to give it some more authority. A neat trick he learned in his days as a Marine. “Do you know why it took me two days to get to you?”

“You caught a virus?”

“It took me two days because every single person in the prison had been under investigation for the past two days.” The Warden replied, unimpressed. “Even as we speak, Count Lamb is scouring across the entire solar system, rooting out every single Wolf sympathizer he can get his hands on. This includes those in this prison. In fact, especially those in this prison.”

“Two days ago, ONI agents essentially took over this entire facility by force. Everyone got their belongings and electronic records checked. Those who were determined to be a threat were immediately arrested. By the end, over 50 of us were deemed to be potential traitors. Less than I feared, yet...still a lot.”

The mocking tone in his voice was gone. Now, there was a haunted look in the Warden’s eyes. His voice became quieter as well despite his previous attempts to raise it.

“The ONI people said perhaps some of those 50 people were innocent, but they didn't care. They would rather burn ten innocent than let one traitor go. After all, this is the only way to maintain the strength of the Empire and the integrity of its citizens. By being willing to do what had to be done.”

“Wait...burn?” Alexander’s eyes widened in disbelief. Some of the fearlessness in his voice was no more.

“Yes, burn. Just 30 minutes ago, I watched with my own eyes as 50 of my colleagues were tied to the stakes and burned alive.” The man replied as he observed the look of horror on Alexander’s face. Even his own voice was shaking. A part of him regretted bringing this topic up in an effort to get to Alexander, but the Warden proceeded nonetheless. “We were forced to watch it. All of us. Two thousand people stood by and observed as our innocent colleagues were bathed in the flaming glory of the Great Phoenix himself. They screamed and begged, but all of us remained silent for the simple reason that we don’t want to be the next ones on the stakes.”

“In the end, as the cries halted and the flames died, one message became clear to every single one of us. Kneel and live. Resist...and burn.”

The Warden froze for a second before doing his best to scoff at Alexander.

"So you see, whatever power your family once had is no more. Whatever hope you might have had, meaningless. Lord Lamb made sure of it. No one is coming to save you, and the best option you have now...is a quick and painless death. Now...start talking."