《Violence of Action- Cyberpunk/ Mil Sci-fi》15. Interlude: Network- ( S:) Service Drive- Date 26 August 2121 -Supplemental
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“I want everyone called in off leave, I don’t care if they are at the hospital about to squirt out their firstborn,” Rooker growled as he peered at his Admin Officer.
“Sir, all our female forward action war fighters are in the field,” the young man answered unhelpfully, and Rooker rolled his eyes so hard he ended up looking toward the celling.
“Just call everyone in, dang it. I swear I never should have let Diz pick an AO, she went for Chip and Dales over brains,” he complained, not caring that the young man could hear him.
“Wilhelmina Of Idaho, Sir,” the man responded.
“What the hell you are going on about?” Rooker said looking up confused.
“Chip and Dales requires you to dance, I’m not very coordinated, so I went to Wilhel-“
“Shut the hell up and make the dang call,” Rooker laughed, as if pained.
“You shouldn’t be so hostile to your admins, you never know when one will become important someday,” a professionally sounding female voice cut in.
Turning, Rooker spied the curvy figure, as she stood holding a black gift bag and a professionally tailored smile.
“Fashionable high heels, a black and white pants suit, and cat’s eyeglasses, don’t you look like you mean trouble? “Rooker said, but if his eyes were tracing her figure, it was because he was looking for her hold out gun.
“What did Gordon send his man-eating siren for this time?” Rooker said as he glowered at her.
“Man Eater? Mr. Rooker, my tastes are gender neutral, but Mr. Gordon has sent me to discuss the current situation with your unsuccessful sortie in the Outlands, not my appetites,” she said in an even tone that was all business.
“How the hell would he know anything about that? I just found out about it, and hell, here you are, what is he bugging people’s offices now?” Rooker asked as he glared at her.
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“Besides Erin, from what I understand it’s not just your morbid tastes that are gender neutral, not that many have lived to tell the tale,” he scoffed.
“But how did you find out about the convoy being raided? What business is it of Gordons?” Rooker said, dropping into a slightly less openly antagonistic tone.
“Mr. Gordon has a multifaceted enterprise. If you like we can review your own past dealings with Vision Dynamics, or we could take this to your office and have a commemorative drink to honor the dead,” She raised the black gift bag once again, a cryptic smile touching her full down turned lips.
“It’s a bit too soon to be memoralizing, we don’t even know who survived yet. Besides, I doubt Gordon sent you down here just for that,” he said.
Erin raised a brow and smiled a little more, “That and perhaps talk about a little tactical cooperation.”
Rooker paused just a moment and realized the silence meant everyone had eyes on their interaction. “Yeah, we can talk in my office,” Rooker said uncertainly, went to his office without waiting for her.
Moving to the self behind his desk Rooker grabbed two glasses from the decanter set, then turned and plopped down in his chair. The cut crystal was out of place in the tactical atmosphere, but somehow Rooker felt like it was right for the situation.
Erin moved into the room, lingering for a moment at the open door, her dark brown eyes sliding from Rooker to the glasses. She closed the door behind her, then made her way to his desk and took the seat opposite him.
“Mr. Gordon wants you to stand down all current operations in the Outlands, effective immediately,” she said, as if the matter was of passing interest.
Pulling the Glen-Freeze Scotch from the bag, she unsealed it. The top was a press-in cork, sealed with a blue sealing wax. It was impressive, but Rooker’s eyes were fixed on Erin.
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“The fuuuuck I will,” Rooker drew out the word like the anticipation would have an effect.
“He is very insistent that you do, his own people in the area will conduct the recovery operations,” She countered and tilted the bottle until some of the expensive amber liquid sloshed around in each glass.
“Those are my people. I won’t leave them out there until Vision Dynamics lets them come in. Hell, if it suits Gordon, he might leave them out there, or kill them himself. I’m not about to let that happen. I’m loyal to my team,” Rooker said in a rush, and picked up his glass with attitude.
“I understand loyalty, Rooker. You have my word we won’t take any action against your people,” Erin picked up her own glass with care, then raised the glass to the light before bringing it to her nose and sniffing.
“You’re something else, Erin. After you defected to play fetch and step for Gordon, you’re going to talk to me about loyalty?” Rooker laughed and took a gulp of the whiskey.
“That was a professional choice, it shouldn’t make our current roles any less friendly,” Erin said still examining her drink.
“Gordon offered a better opportunity with his team than I had previously. Besides, after the Kane incident, you can’t exactly use the loyalty line, now can you?” Erin said, her brows slightly knit.
“Diz, Jensen, Beto, hell even Abby is out there, you can’t seriously expect me to stand down!” Rooker nearly shouted.
“Abby Emerson?” Erin laughed. “What kind of idiot puts a drunk cripple in the field? You can’t still have a flame for her.”
“I only ever had a flame for one woman,” Rooker growled, “she found a better opportunity.”
Erin sat back in her seat her eyebrows raised. Slowly she relaxed and with it a soft chuckle escaped Erin’s lips. “Oh Rooker, you always were a day late and a dollar short.”
Rooker downed his whiskey and casually put his glass back on the table. For a moment, they both sat in silence, each contemplating his words, and their options they were left with.
“You swear no harm will come to them?” Rooker asked, his eyes locking onto Erin’s own with a mixture of pleading and menace.
“I swear that as long as they stand down, and take no actions against Vision Dynamics, then we will ensure they safety, and,” Erin paused and reached for the glass again filling it, “we can discuss financial compensation.”
Rooker shook his head in annoyance and reached for the glass once more. Erin put her hand on his, her red painted nails pressing slightly into the skin as she peered at him intently.
“Do we have a deal, Mr. Rooker?”
“You want me to sell out the settlers, leave my people in your organization’s hands, for assurances and a payoff?” Rooker said evenly.
“I want you to do it for a significant consultation fee, and my personal assurances,” Erin relaxed her fingers and lightly slid one over his knuckles, “We can work together again, Rooker. We can get through this and maybe see where it goes?”
Erin released his hand then lifted her glass in salute.
Rooker raised his own, somberly, “to the past and all those who sacrificed,” Rooker said his tone both subdued and flat.
“To the future, and further negotiations,” Erin smiled and as Rooker nodded, they touched glasses and drank.
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Transposition
Please note: the Sexual Content tag is there due to a single brief plot-relevant scene, which has a warning at the beginning. For other details, read the full description below. Rating breakdown, since that should be public info: 5 x 5*, 2 x 4.5*, 1 x 0.5* During a blackout, a frail and ragged old woman stops to ask for a glass of water from a backyard barbecue party. Given a good supper instead, she looks around the group, and tells them, "Be who and what you truly are." Days later, seven of the people from the barbecue find themselves drawn into a trap laid by a pair of wizards and their accomplices, who kidnap them into a bubble reality. All seven, who have known each other all their lives, are informed that they are not in fact entirely human: they have active fae blood, due to a series of conditions culminating with the blessing of the elderly fae woman. The transformation into fae form comes as a shock: all seven, whether originally female or male, find themselves now unreasonably beautiful women. More urgent even than that, though, is their captivity. Getting back to the real world is a higher priority than this metamorphosis that rapidly begins to feel natural... but this is only the first step, as the diverse types of fae blood they carry begin to surface. With no resources except themselves, how can they escape this prison? If they succeed, how can they possibly reclaim their lives? Just how many other faelings have been kidnapped, anyway, and what happened to them? And is there a way to make sure that their captors never put anyone else through this? Back in the real world, Kayla, who learned long ago to trust her gut instincts, is absolutely certain that something is very wrong. The pattern in the list of missing friends is easy to spot, but makes no sense at all. Then a young woman turns up at the backyard gate who knows more than she should, and even though her explanation makes even less sense, every instinct tells Kayla that Riley is her only way to get them back. If they're not quite what they were, well, that's a bridge to cross later... Just a little note: I'm a big believer in endings that are upbeat but not candy-coated, and not a fan of grim-and-gritty or of glamorized violence. These are adults in a difficult situation. However, no one gets raped, and the physical violence is, all things considered, fairly minimal. There is some harassment, sexual and otherwise, and also some mild restraint and mild verbal abuse. Complicating factors are generally wizardly or fae in nature. If I need to warn you about gender in this being all over the map, some of it reality-based rather than fantasy-based, highly diverse sexuality, or that there is (especially later) some indirect fetish/BDSM imagery and honest character discussion, then you probably should just avoid everything I write. :-) Also available on Scribble Hub.
8 183Deeper Darker
Sci-fi dungeon crawler. Set in the far future when humanity has reached the stars and finds it is not the first to do so. Alien technology has been left behind by a long dead race. Ancient cities, abandoned starships, temples and fortified bunkers all contain artefacts and devices far in advance of what humans have been able to produce. Technology that feels more akin to magic, so powerful it can allow a single person to dominate a star system. But these relics of another time have been left well-defended and behind bewildering and impenetrable security measures. There are those who are compatible with the alien technology, who can augment themselves to face the evermore extreme protocols in the depths of the alien ruins, and by doing so attain greater power. And there are those who just want to sell what they find to the highest bidder. The rewards are high, but you have to be prepared to go further and risk more to discover the greatest secrets of a civilisation that vanished long before the first human walked upright. Secrets that could irrevocably change humanity's future, or end it.
8 837The Little Black Umbrella
Gillean had just lost his best friend and is feeling utterly miserable and lonely. Being smart doesn't fend off loneliness. If nothing having the combination of smarts AND the lack of forward planning got him into the state he currently was in - rejection and the feeling of being a failure. Cue in the sounds of angelic trumpets. RaRa, his best friend, returns to "save the day". Well. What she thinks of as saving the day that is. Corny ideals, lame ideas. The two get into one last patch of trouble together as they sneak back into RaRa's home. Just what kind of family secrets has RaRa been keeping from Gill. In blood and thunder, Gill finds out. Please read the content warnings (there may be spoilers within though) if you have triggers. Also there is a slight mention of LGBTQ+, so please don't read this short story if even a short mention bothers you. ======================= My first short story (It's short - 5 chapters, 10,000 word-ish kinda short! And also completed *self pats* that I will be releasing in mini chapters (of 500-800 words each) on Fridays and Saturdays.). Happy to hear actionable and constructive criticisms on how I can improve, but please don't be too harsh okay? :) I know it's not perfect. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.
8 144The Harvester
Rakna was not normal. No, unmistakably not. Whether it was his appearance, his personality, his abilities, his identity, nothing about him had ever been banal. Was it his choice? No. He was merely but a tormented soul doing its utmost to live the life it had learned to never enjoy. Would being picked by a glorified universal abductor calling itself a system bring something out of him? Would he finally learn to breathe in the pool of blood that suffocated him? The Harvester does not sow, he only collects. All he has ever known to feel was loss and the only thing he can do is take. He will devour their hearts and drink their blood if it is what it takes. --- Update Schedule: In Flux (6 PM UTC)
8 236The Assassin Chronicles: Part I
Iryal and McKayla Asha are not normal. They were raised by their uncle and trained at a highly secret academy in the northern mountains of Scotland. One became a deadly, highly skilled, and talented assassin. The other became a gifted alchemist. Together, they form one of the most formidible teams within the whole of the Assassins. Dean and Sam Winchester have been hunting monsters for as long as either can remember. After finding a Men of Letters bunker, they surreptitiously become members. The bunker holds a treasure trove of knowledge, including a scant amount on the Assassins. Little do they know that their two worlds are about to collide, in a very big way.
8 89Summer Anarchy (Permanent Hiatus)
Izuku is fed up. After months of dealing with off-putting behaviour, the strain of an abusive relationship and the heavy neglect of a once looked up to mentor, the final straw is pulled when Izuku's quirk is taken away. He leaves to America, to reconcile with old faces and start anew. 10 months later, when Class 1-A makes a trip to California for the summer, they think of it as nothing more than a great time to relax and wind down from their hero training. They certainly don't expect to run into the familiar gaze of viridian eyes. Viridian eyes that left without so much as a 'goodbye'. Safe to say it's absolute ANARCHY. ***- Class 1-A and All Might bashing- LGBTQ+ & poly relationships- TW: homophobia; violence; abuse; self-harm; anxiety; underage drinking/drug use- Izuku x maleOC(s)(none of the artwork/ MHA characters is mine)Permanent Hiatus/Discontinued as of Dec 30, 2021
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