THE FORGOTTEN PART 1 Beginnings “Take it from me, kid. Get out of this with your soul intact. Live in blissful ignorance. Once you peer under the veil of the Human Sphere, nothing will ever be seen the same way ever again.” - M Human Edge... September 8th, 2197... 14:34 Universal Time... Free Enterprise Station ‘OASIS-4’... Two Druze sentries stood on either side of a doorway, combi rifles in hand as a woman in black tactical gear approached. The station’s lights flickered and hummed, trying to provide what last light they could before inevitably burning out. The low light turned the woman’s figure into a simple silhouette. Two points jutted out from her head, and a tail swayed out behind the woman with every step. Her amethyst purple eyes reflected in the low light, shining back on the Druze and making them stand straighter as the woman glared at them. The Druze glanced at one another, then back at the woman. One of the Druze held up a hand and said, “Hold it,” to the woman as she came out from the low light. His voice was synthesized by his helmet’s vocoder, masking his identity. The woman glared at the Druze, “I’m expected,” she said coldly. The Druze nodded, “We know.” “So,” the womans started, “You’re holding me up.” “You know the rules. No weapons.” the Druze said, turning his head to the pistols holstered on either thigh. The woman rolled her eyes and reached down to her pistols, slipping them out of their holsters one at a time and placing them in a plastic bin. As she did, the other Druze ran a scan on her. “No hidden weapons,” he reported to his partner before looking back to the woman and reaching out to stroke her feline tail, “Nice mods. I know a Silk trader who’d love to get his hands all over you, sweety.” The woman turned and shoved his hand away from her tail. She closed in on him, pinning him to the wall and drawing his own pistol from his holster. She pressed the muzzle of the pistol under the Druze’s chin, “Did I say you could touch me?” The Druze held both of his hands up in the air. His helmet’s single offset eye-slit shined a bright blue as it stared back into Lynn’s eyes. The Druze that had initiated the stop reached out slowly, “Now, now... As fun as this is to watch, there’s no need to cause a mess. Too much paperwork.” He grabbed the pistol calmly and redirected it away from his partner’s chin. The woman glanced back at him, “He new?” she asked, gesturing to the Druze she had pinned against the wall. The senior Druze nodded, “Sure is. Stupid too to try and pick a fight with you.” “I’m missing something here,” the new guy said, groaning as her arm was still pressing on his neck, “Mind filling me in?” The senior Druze opened the door for the woman to pass. Loud music, heavy bass, and colorful lights poured out from the open door. The woman let go of the man and made her way past the two Druze to enter. The younger Druze gasped and coughed while the woman smirked at the senior merc, “See you ‘round, Amir.” The senior Druze nodded to her and stepped aside, “Always a pleasure, M.” He then looked back to his panting partner, gesturing toward the woman with his head, “She’s a regular, Bilal. And one you really don’t wanna fuck with.” “Thanks for the heads up...” Bilal grumbled, “Asshole...” Amir chuckled at that as the door closed behind them. M stepped out to a balcony overlooking a dance club and leaned on the handrail. There was a crowd on the dance floor below and a DJ spinning some hard dance music in a booth overhead. Holographic projections of scantily clad women danced on either side of the DJ, while more stood in midair and span around floating holographic poles. M pinned her feline ears back against her head to drown out some of the loud noise. In the corner of her eye, M spotted a woman approaching her, a server dressed in a provocative belly dancer outfit. Like M, this woman was modded with feline features as well, though where M preferred a conservative look with her mods, the server’s hair and tail were bright neon colors that glowed and changed colors in sync with the music. “Welcome back, M!” M nodded, “Thanks, Lisette.” The server smiled brightly at M’s acknowledgment before reaching over the large platter in her hand and pulling one of several liquor-filled glasses from it. She extended it out toward M who gladly took it from her. M brought the glass to her nose and gave it a subtle sniff before downing it. Lisette took her empty glass and placed it back on the platter before pointing across the club to an upper level, “Mr. Qasim is waiting for you up there.” M followed Lisette’s finger and saw the one-way window. No doubt Mr. Qasim was looking back at her. She gave another nod to Lisette and pushed herself from the handrail. The server stepped aside, letting M pass to continue with her business. M stepped up some stairs, earning the attention of a few Druze standing guard on the club’s periphery, most of them looked tense. She stepped up to the door leading to the private booth, finding herself intercepted once again by another guard. This time though, the guard was wearing a neat suit rather than the signature combat gear that the Druze sported. M wasn’t harassed like she was at the club’s entrance. This bodyguard didn’t have the same crude mannerisms as the Druze, a trait she appreciated. He stepped to one side and gestured M through the door, following her in as she entered. The music was noticeably quieter inside the room, as it was more of background thump rather than all-encompassing like in the main area. The room smelled of spices and smoke which made M crunch her nose. She looked around, spotting three naked women dancing together on a table in front of formally dressed down businessman that M didn’t recognize. Her purple eyes traced left, catching sight of an old Sierra DronBot scanning the room with a combi rifle fitted to its weapon mount and the Druze emblem spraypainted onto its front plating. Tracking further left to the window overlooking the club, Lynn spotted a chubby Haqqislam man standing at the window and smoking a cigarette. He regarded M in the window’s reflection, “Ah! If it isn’t my favorite assassin!” he said, feigning surprise. “Mr. Qasim.” M said back. “I trust with you being here, that the conditions of our contract are complete, yes?” the man said as he ashed his cigarette onto the floor. M glared at the pile of ash on the floor resentfully, but she didn’t comment on it. Her eyes turned back to the big man. “Yes. No trace left behind. No witnesses. You are now the sole shareholder of the Emerald Road Caravansary. All of its estate has defaulted to your ownership. Congratulations, Mr. Qasim.” M said, bowing her head slightly. “That makes me a very happy man indeed!” Mr. Qasim said, finally turning to face her with a big smile on his bearded face and his arms splayed out to either side of him, “I’ll admit. I was a little skeptical when my contact in Submondo forwarded me your details. Most notorious assassins have a laundry list of exploits attributed to them in some record or another. But you...” he pointed at her with his cigarette, “You are remarkably... Unknown, in comparison. But despite that, my contact couldn’t speak higher of you. Now I see why.” M bowed again, “You’re too kind, Mr. Qasim. Though I hope you can keep our dealings discreet.” “Of course, M. Of course! I’m sure you are expecting your pay now, yes?” Mr. Qasim asked as he raised his commlog into view. After a few taps on Mr. Qasim’s commlog, M’s own log would ping. She looked down at her commlog and saw her credits gain another zero at the end. “And with that, our business is concluded.” M said before turning to make her leave. A clearing of Mr. Qasim’s throat stopped her. “I do have one concern however.” M turned around on the spot and raised a brow. Mr. Qasim stepped closer to her, “There is the matter of... Resurrection... What guarantees do I have that my deceased partners won't come back?” M nodded, “I extracted the cubes myself and launched them in a torpedo bound for Bourak’s sun. As for resurrection, well... The chance is always there. But with the Combined Army’s third offensive in full swing, resurrection priority has shifted to military personnel to keep up manpower. So long as the war rages on, you’ll have plenty of time to secure your new holdings under your name. I suggest you work quickly, Mr. Qasim.” M said before turning once again to leave. She looked back over her shoulder as she stepped out, “Pleasure doing business with you, sir.” ---------- Human Edge... September 8th, 2197... 17:12 Universal Time... Independent Starship ‘Cat’s Paw’... “Biometric analysis complete... Identification confirmed... Welcome home, Madelynn.” the ship’s computer said over the intercom system as M lazily strode in. She sighed and dropped a kit bag on the floor near the airlock of her ship. Her free hand was busy tangling with her raven black hair to undo her ponytail and let it fall to her shoulders. M didn’t waste any time unbuckling the straps of her kit and dropping it off her body. The kit hit the floor with heavy thuds and clatters. While she de-kitted, the ship’s computer continued briefing her. “Madelynn. You have twenty new messages, four have been deemed critical for your attention. OASIS-4 maintenance crews have finished their refueling of the ship. All systems green. You can depart at your leisure.” M rolled her tired shoulders as she rotated her head to stretch her neck. “Give me the news.” M commanded. The ship’s intercom was replaced by the sterile computer’s voice with a music sting and a man’s deep voice. “Reporting from Studio B at Portobello, Aconticimento. My name is Vince Mahogany, and this is Panorama! Three weeks have passed since the Combined Army incursion on Concilium Prima’s Durgam Peninsula was thwarted by the coordinated efforts of nations of the Human Sphere. Much remains a mystery as emergency aid crews work tirelessly to sift through the wreckage of the battlefields, and-” “Next...” M said with a sigh. “-PanOceania faces several accusations of foul play during the Durgama Crisis. PanO officials have denounced the alleg-” “Next...” M said again. “-CEO of the Magna-Astra Corporation, Walther Kessler, stands with his wife at the ALEPH resurrection facility on Varuna today to await the arrival of their son, Jackson Kessler, who was killed in a pirate raid on a corporate shipyard two years ago. Due to the Combined Army incursions on both Concilium Prima and Paradiso, civilian resurrections have been stifled by a large backlog of priority military resurrections. M.A.C has been recovering from severe financial losses after employees of the Starship Manufacturer began a high profile, three-month long strike demanding better security measures for their stations to prevent another pirate incident. Mr. Kessler has since reached amicable terms with the worker’s union, resulting in a large contract with Kaplan Tactical Servic-” “Stop the news.” M said as she slipped herself out from her armored undersuit, “Playback priority message one.” The intercom fizzed with static before an explosive burst of music and drama flooded the ship from the intercoms. “HEY YOU! YEAH YOU! IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN! THAT’S RIGHT! IT’S TIME FOR... KRUUUUUG-MANIAAAA!” M pinned her ears to her head and held her hands over them, gritting her teeth and yelling over the noise, “Christ! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!” The gruff voice immediately vanished, and silence was restored in the ship. M growled, “What the hell was that doing in my priority messages?!” The ship’s computer responded in its flat, emotionless voice, “Your Ad-Filter subscription expired two hours ago, Madelynn. Basic Ad-Filters can scrub most ads from the MayaNet, but ArachneNet is much less accommodating. Would you like to renew your subscription?” M hung her undersuit up and tidied up her gear that she had thrown all over the floor before making her way further into the ship. “Yeah and delete that message. My ears are still ringing from that... Are all my priority messages like that?” “No. One message from an anonymous sender. After scanning the message, I have identified several keywords that you are interested in. They are: Client, Money, Business, and-” “Yeah, yeah... Play it- and keep the volume down!” M said as she entered the small lounge area of her personal ship. She dropped herself onto the sofa built into the wall and stared at the holographic display projecting itself from the central table. The display changed into the form of a man in a suit, though his face was distorted and replaced with a simple featureless head devoid of any eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. His voice was also synthesized and deepened. “M, I was told by a mutual contact to reach out to you for help in certain... sensitive matters. I hear you pick your clients carefully, and that you only take jobs when the money is well worth the risk. I assure you, business with us will be worth your time. This is a complex situation I find myself in, so my face cannot be seen if this message is intercepted. I am willing to meet you in person so that you may judge for yourself whether this is a job you are willing to take. Our mutual contact has the information for a meeting-” the voice is cut off by another, more distant voice in the recording. “Sir? Your wife is waiting for you in the car,” The hologram looked away at the source of the voice and nodded before finishing his message, “I hope for a quick reply, M. I hear good things.” The hologram fizzled away as the message ended. M pursed her lips as she stared at the fizzling, staticky hologram over the table. She was hoping for a vacation before taking another job, but unfortunately for her, she had little agency over when she had to work and when she didn’t. M sighed again and threw her head back against the headrest of the couch, staring up out the window to the asteroids of Human Edge and the sea of stars beyond. “Paw, open an encrypted line with the Handler.” There was a quick double-tap of beeps before the ship’s computer responded, “Encrypted line established. Would you like hologram casting, Madelynn?” “No, voices only." She said. A man’s voice came in over the ship’s intercom, “Lynn. I take it you got the message.” M rubbed her eyes and yawned before responding, “I did. It said you had the deets on a meet-up?” “Correct. I’ll send them to you now.” There was a pause as M’s commlog beeped. She checked the new info and gave it once over. “Got it.” “Good. By the way, I hear Mr. Qasim is pleased with your work.” The Handler said. M rolled her eyes, “He was. Maybe a little jumpy at the thought of ghosts coming out of his closet, but overall he was happy.” “And when can I expect my cut of the pay? Don’t forget you have obligations.” The Handler’s voice was more sinister in that line. M clicked her tongue and looked back at her commlog, swiping her hand over it and watching a zero vanish from the end of her account. A chuckle came over the intercom, “Money received. Always a pleasure, Lynn. I expect good results from this next job. Have fun on the beach.” “Bite me...” M grumbled before closing the call. M sat in her seat for five long minutes while she pondered. She felt the vibrations of her ship’s life support system working diligently, listening to the low hum as it reverberated through the hull. A large silhouette in the overhead window cast a dark shadow on M as an ice hauler came in to dock with the OASIS-4 Station, obscuring her view of the asteroid belt and stars. M came out of her reverie and pulled herself up from her couch, “Alright, Paw... Set a course for Varuna.” “Confirmed. Passenger and Ship Ferry tickets for Circulars C8 and C6 have been added to your cart. Your total, including customs is: 3,320 Credits. I require your verbal authorization to purchase.” “Yes.” M said as she made her way out of the lounge, past the airlock, and into the cockpit. “Your tickets have been verified, Madelynn. Circular C8 is currently in transit to the Human Edge from Paradiso, and will arrive in system in four hours. Circular control suggests that you be present at the Paradiso Gate for early docking and service.” M sat in the pilot’s seat as the ship’s computer automatically undocked itself from OASIS-4. She looked out the cockpit window at three Druze lazing around on the docks who were looking back her way. Two of them looked relieved that the ship was leaving. M grinned and reversed the ship slowly out through the air-shields into open space. Next to the ice hauler that was docked just above her, the Cat’s Paw was tiny. Not that the Cat’s Paw was a large ship in its own right since it was meant for just two people anyways. Once she was clear of the inbound and outbound traffic around the trading station, M pushed the throttle forward. She was sucked back in her seat immediately as the engine went into full burn ahead. “Distance to Paradiso Gate: 367,234 kilometers. Time to arrival: Three hours, and forty-two minutes.” the ship’s computer said. “Flight path locked in. No obstructions detected. Would you like to activate autopilot, Madelynn?” M took her hands off the controls as she said ‘Yes’ to the computer. She reclined the pilot seat and looked out into the void of space. “Wake me when I’ve arrived.” M commanded. The windows tinted to darken the cockpit and all of the lights turned off. “Affirmative, Madelynn. Enjoy your rest.” M closed her eyes, and it didn’t take long before she was sound asleep. THE FORGOTTEN Madelynn Serras, a notorious Submondo assassin, is looking for a way out and for some control over her life. Branded a traitor to PanOceania and an exile to the Nomad Nation, Madelynn has little chance at finding a place with no extradition where she can lead a quiet life. Her only hope is to work up the credits and forge a new identity for herself. When a job promising extremely high pay lands on her lap, Madelynn has no choice but to accept and embroil herself in a corporate shadow war that could land her on O-12's most wanted shitlist.
Hey folks! Been a few months since I last posted something here. The last piece I wrote was Diaries of a CSU: The Kruggernaut. I had originally planned on writing more Diaries of a CSU shorts here in the run-up to the campaign this year, but life took a hold of my time and I sadly didn't get around to writing more. Now that Shattergrounds is done, Larry has found himself captured! He is off the radar, and it wouldn't make much sense for me to write more for him as I have very detailed plans for exactly what is going to happen with Larry in the next campaign. And those plans involve a new character, Madelynn Serras, who if you haven't already read this short, is a new character who will be playing a major role in next year's campaign. So I figured while Larry is off somewhere in the Human Sphere being a P.O.W, I'd establish a foundation of my original character Madelynn (more commonly known as just 'Lynn'). She is an original character of mine that I've been writing stories for for over the past fifteen years. She is my brainchild, and I knew since last year that I'd love to have her share some scenes with CSU Larry and the crew of the Hasselhoff, so here I am actioning that endeavor! I hope you all enjoy reading this! I have plans to regularly put up more shorts for the Forgotten here (this time I wont be letting things get in the way). Stay tuned as this standalone story about Lynn unfolds in the Human Sphere!
