Chapter 336 – Of Smoke And Ash

December 14th, 2499

05:22 SCT

Wasteland Evacuation Zone

"That felt... incredible."

"It was good for me too, darlin'. I don't think I ever had a partner quite like you before." John replied, brushing a stray lock of sweaty red hair off Sarah's cheek before turning his attention back to the camp's perimeter.

They sat atop one of the large concrete structures on the north side of the evacuation camp. He leaned against an old air duct while she rested her head on his lap. She was supposed to be trying to rest for a few minutes while they waited for Aqua to return, but apparently she was more interested in chatting than closing her eyes.  

"Partners? Is that what we are now? Slow down, Cowboy; at least take a girl out for dinner first before you drop that on her." She teased, her soft green eyes filled with mirth.

"That can be arranged, though we need to bring Aqua with us. Pretty sure she would kill us both if we tried to leave her out of it." He said, pulling a cigar out of his pocket. He didn't light it right away; instead, he chewed on it while contemplating their situation. They had survived, but they had pretty much outed themselves to the entire camp at this point. Right now everyone was too damn tired to care, but that would change soon.  

"Heh, you're probably right. You know, you have a woman resting her head in your lap, and you haven't had a single sexual thought about me. If I hadn't caught you and Aqua together, I would almost think you didn't like women. It's making me question my own looks now."

"Oh, don't worry yourself there, Darlin'. You’re a very beautiful woman; I've just had a lot of practice recently holding back those urges. Now that my hormones are not in overdrive, it's much easier to blank out those blatantly sexual impulses. Why? Do you want a dirty thought? Or were you just fishing for a compliment?"

"No, that's- Oh! Well, that was a nice kiss. I was expecting you to fondle my breasts or something more... dirty."

"What kind of pig do you think I am? Wait! You actually thought I was a pig?" John said, pulling the cigar from his mouth and looking down at her. They had this weird half-spoken, half-thought conversation going. He had one of his Parallel Minds just holding Scouter on her, letting him know what she was thinking and passing on what he wanted her to do. It worked quite well during the fight, as she responded nearly as fast as he thought. It wasn't true telepathy like her and Aqua could do, but it was close enough.

"After you hit me with that... healing magic of yours last night, what else was I supposed to think?" She said, her cheeks burning as red as her hair.

"That you were grateful that I pulled that spike out of your neck and saved your life?" He replied, brushing that lock of hair off her face again. It was stubborn, almost like it had a mind of its own.

"I am grateful... and I'm sorry about that. I just got caught up in the moment trying to keep up with you."

"It's fine. It was nice having someone covering my back while fighting."

"I still can't believe that you and Aqua came from another world... Is...is she the same as the Aqua I knew? Or...is my Aqua gone now?"

"Well, Darlin'. Let me show you some thoughts of a man I replaced in another world." He said, and then showed her his memories of the prince in Warcraft. "I've got all of his memories since he was a kid, along with all the feelings he felt for those around him. While I can separate them from my own, for all intents and purposes, I am that prince. It's the same as this body. I have his memories of his time in the army and why he deserted, his time as an outlaw, his memories of a friend who went to jail for him. Of my- his dead wife and child, and his absolute distaste for the Confederacy.

Most of these worlds I travelled to have something like that. I am a combination of all of these people now. Aqua... is the same... if not even more so. She... she had memory issues and can barely remember anything that happened beyond three months ago. Now, now she has all the memories from this world since she was eight and met you for the first time in the Ghost program, and they’re filling in all those gaps in her memory. If anything, she is closer to your Aqua now than mine. Mine wouldn't have hopped in that mech and started fighting, not unless she had no other choice. It just isn't, or wasn't, in her nature to fight...well, if they were undead, devils, or demons, she would jump right in, but that isn't the case here."

"I read ya. It's just all so surreal. I guess I'll have to talk with her and decide for myself." She sighed. "Not exactly what I was planning on happening coming to Mar Sara. I was supposed to help foment some unrest, then use the uprising as cover to infiltrate a couple of covert Confederate installations on the planet, then make for our next target while the Sons of Korhal cleaned up the mess behind me."

"I'm not sure anyone here knew that the Zerg and Protoss would start duking it out in this system. I don't know much of this world's- this sector's future, other than that the Zerg are going to start overrunning everything. We got off lucky last night; if they had attacked us all at once instead of in waves, and had air support, things might have ended up very differently."

"I was thinking the same thing. Your mechs are powerful, but from what I can tell, hundreds of thousands of Zerg are arriving in orbit. Mengsk has a plan, but we need to buy him time."

"Oh? And what is this guy's plan?"

"Well, he was going to offer to pull the survivors off the planet under the Confederates noses, but when I told him how many were here in the evacuation area, he told me he needed more time. Time to assemble an actual strike force and not just a few dozen dropships with a small escort. If he hasn't already, he should be contacting Aqua soon through official channels to offer the planet aid from the Sons of Korhal. That should let her keep her cover longer, if that even matters now."

"Hopefully we didn't bugger that up too much last night. We weren't exactly subtle in using our powers and equipment."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't worry about it... calling it Umojan tech is probably for the best. It's not like anyone except the Umojans themselves could confirm it, and they have been aiding our operations since before I even joined the Sons of Korhal. Speaking of which, I need to check in soon. I was headed to my ship last night for that reason when I diverted to check on the distress beacon. Now that you decided to use my bike as a spear, I find myself without a quick way to get there."

"Heh, sorry about that. Seemed like a good idea at the time. If you can wait a few hours, I'll give you a lift."

"Such a gentleman. You can smoke that thing; I don't care."

"Oh, I forgot about it," John said, then ignited the tip of the cigar with a little bit of fire magic. He puffed on it a few times to get it going, then took a drag and savoured the flavour. It wasn't anything special, just a cheap stogie this body seemed to carry around more out of habit than anything else. He used to smoke them more often as an outlaw, usually after he and his partner Tychus finished a job.  

"Well... this is nice," Sarah said, finally closing her eyes.

"Yeah... yeah it is." He replied, looking out over the northern wastelands.

They sat there like that for some time, Sarah finally drifting off, her body exhausted from the battle. John slowly smoked the cigar, his thoughts split between maintaining his vigil over the camp and how they were going to protect these people. Eventually, he spotted Suzy Q in the distance, walking slowly towards his position. He could make out twenty militia in CMC suits following alongside it, the hunting party finally returning from their counterattack. The mech's armour was slightly battered, but it appeared to still be functioning fine. That wasn't surprising; its armour was only three to four inches thick compared to the Timberwolf's six inches or greater.

Still, it was tougher than anything else the militia had; the CMC suits were at best not even an inch thick, and they lacked the extra layers the mech armour used to absorb and disperse impacts across its surface. Its medium lasers could make quick work of the Zerg they had come across so far, and the Inferno rounds in its little SRM launcher were probably even more devastating against unarmoured flesh than an entire LRM volley from his other mech.

I really should see if I can load Suzy Q up with Clan tech and larger heat sinks. There were a ton of options I could add to it to toughen it up too. 

It made it to the building, and Aqua rested its forward-mounted cockpit on the roof, waking Sarah with the vibrations. She waved at them through the cockpit glass. A moment later, the roof hatch opened, and a very green-looking Michael Liberty climbed out, followed by Aqua. 

After a quick good morning to him, she and Sarah embraced and started to talk to each other through their thoughts. John shut off Scouter to give them privacy and gestured for Michael to join him.

"So, this is where you got off to." The man said as he sat down, still looking rather shaken. "I thought you would have joined us on the assault."

"No. One of us needed to stay behind, and Aqua was already in her machine. As to why I'm up here, I ran out of wounded to heal, and the boys are dead on their feet, so I sent them to their racks to get some proper sleep. I'd rather stand watch for a few hours while they rest than have them fall asleep at their post and we get surprised. Cigar?" John replied, offering him one from his pocket.

"Oh, thank you. I guess that makes sense, though aren't you tired too?"

"I'll be good for a day or two yet. How much did Aqua tell you?"

"I'd like to say all of it, but I'd like your side of the story."

"Don't play that game. You know I can read your mind too, right?"

"Ahh... right. But seriously, the story she told me is so far out of this world that if I wasn't seated in that machine she expanded from a little figure, and she didn't use this... magic right in front of me, I would never believe it." He said, biting the cap off the cigar and patting his pockets for a lighter.

"Here, let me light that for you," John said, using magic to light the man's cigar. 

"Yeah... shit like this." He said, leaning back on the air duct and taking a puff off the cigar. "Seriously, I'm a journalist, you know, but how am I supposed to report on this? I could have video footage, and I'd still be laughed out of the office."

"Well... you could just say it was experimental Umojan tech."

"That's the plan, though once we got the call from Duke, we crafted an even more elaborate story. Gods, I know I'm supposed to be reporting the truth, to be impartial, but that man is just an arrogant asshole."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Alpha Squadron is pulling out of the system, leaving us to fend for ourselves. When Colonel Duke learned I was down here with Lieutenant Swallow, he just laughed and said it must have been good fortune that he was getting rid of two more problems without dirtying his hands. If I can only get off world, I could break this whole story on BNN and smear his name from Tarsonis to Dead Man's Port."

"I'm sure that could work. So, if you're not reporting on us being... from out of this world, what's the plan?"

"A breakaway Confederate Black Ops team, armed with stolen experimental Umojan tech, are now working with the Sons of Korhal to rescue the citizens of Mar Sara from the alien invasions of both Zerg and Protoss."

"Oh, she told you about that too? That is those two; I really am just a Marshal, albeit one with a checkered past."

"The truth won't matter here. They will deny whatever I say, but saying you're some breakaway black ops team will make them scramble to find out who it could be. The Confederation's bureaucracy is massive; its military equally so. So, by sowing discord like this, we'll help paint them in a bad light in the public eye and make them expend resources finding this black ops team. Technically, Aqua and Sarah were Ghost, so it isn't even a lie."  

"Well. Hopefully it works out. You seem to be taking this... well." John said, then noticed the ash on the end of Michael's cigar was already halfway down its length. 

Maybe not so well.

"Hah. You know, I was an atheist until last night. I never thought about higher powers or felt the need to subscribe to some archaic belief system. Then you charged through the camp wearing plate mail out of a fantasy novel, wielding a sword that could cut down Zergs with a single swing in one hand, while healing people nearly torn apart with the other. Even Nanobots and laser scalpels can't do that, not that quickly anyways. Then you threw that woman around like she weighed no more than a baseball, called lightning, literal lightning, from thin air, and shrugged off attacks while glowing like... well, like some golden god of battle.

Now I'm sitting beside that god, smoking a cheap cigar he gave me, talking about human conflicts like they were even a concern of his. Do I need to start praying to you now? How does that even look? Do I just keep you in my thoughts, or do you require some blood sacrifices like some weird death cult? Should I go find some black robes and an altar to sacrifice some goats on?"

"Pffft. Well, start by taking it easy on that cigar. I know it's cheap, but if you smoked it any faster, you would think it was just a piece of paper." John chuckled, knocking the ash off his own smoke before taking another puff. "As for worship, I technically have a church, though that is in another world. Aqua would know more about how they worship me, since she is part of it, but I haven't paid much attention to it. Seriously, I don't need a worshiper right now, but a friend. You up for that, Michael? Or is my divinity a bit too much for you to handle?"

"Friends with a god? Hell, why not. I've done some crazy stuff in my life, but this has got to be a first for anyone in this universe."

"Well, technically I'm just a Demigod, and a weak one at that."

"That's weak?"

"Let me tell you about this Devil I met once. He casually cast a spell that absorbed nearly everything in my office as if it fell into a black hole. It was just pure luck I survived that one. Then there was the time I fought a villain who could control your body if he got a drop of your blood. More recently, a magic demigod bear nearly burned me alive. Or the time I fought a fallen angel turned lich that could summon thousands of undead zombies and skeletons."

"A... fallen angel lich? How did you beat him?"

"Well, actually, that one was rather easy. I accidentally landed on top of him when I jumped that mech you were riding in inside of a castle's walls. Destroyed his body, though apparently his soul might still be floating around somewhere in that world.” He replied, then belatedly realized Aqua was right there. Thankfully, she didn’t appear to have heard him mention the lich who had killed her back in her world, so he continued. “Still, I've dealt with actual gods who can literally change reality with a snap of their fingers. The God of Fate and Goddess of Destiny were the ones to actually make me a Demigod. Then there are the DEN beings, which are even more powerful and are who Aqua and I technically work for."

"A God and Goddess of Fate and Destiny?"

"Yeah. They are married, but have a rather... interesting relationship. My becoming a Demigod was just a side effect of the little game they play to keep some spice in their marriage."

"John... I'm... what am I supposed to say to that?"

"I dunno. That you will hang out and enjoy a drink and a cigar with me once in a while? That despite knowing what you know, you will try to treat me just like any other guy?"

"HAH... You're crazy, you know that?" Michael said. He flicked the long ash off to the side, then took another puff. "Friends with a god, huh? Well, I suppose that would be one way to keep life interesting at any rate. Just don't expect me to try and keep up with that bullshit you can pull off; I'm a reporter, not some battle-crazed lunatic. If you want that, talk to Lieutenant Swallow."

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind. Speaking of which, have you seen her since you found out the news from Duke?"

"No, and that worries me. She is literally wired to serve the Confederacy. I have no idea how she is going to take being abandoned by them here, or the fact that the only way we survive is to work with the Sons of Korhal, whom she knows only as terrorists. I hate to say it, mainly since she has saved my life a few times now, not to mention the lives of many of the militia and evacuees, but you might need to... deal with her permanently before she snaps and becomes a problem."

John took a last drag off the stub of his cigar, then flicked the butt over the building's edge with a sigh. Michael didn't say it directly, but he didn't really need to. It would be easier for all involved if they killed Emily before she had the chance to cause any harm, and since she was a murderer before becoming a Resoc, that was no great loss. 

"This whole world's a damn mess." He said, standing and looking back down at the reporter. "Michael, I know what you're thinking, but I won't be pulling that trigger unless there is no other choice. I believe there is more to this Resoc program than what they've told people, maybe more than they realize themselves. I don't get the feeling of talking with a psychotic murderer when I talk with her; all I get is the feeling of someone trapped. Trapped in their own body and forced to follow this... programming they've implanted in her head, forced to relive memories that are not actually their own... well, not anymore anyway. I'm not saying she shouldn't have been held responsible for her actions, but what they did to her mind... I don't think it's the same person in there any longer."

"A feeling? Would you exonerate a convicted murderer on a feeling? You would deny the families of the dead justice on a feeling?"

"Well, when I say a feeling, it's not just some gut instinct. I have abilities that let me read deeper into a person's mind than even those two can." John replied, gesturing at Aqua and Sarah, who seemed done 'talking' and were now just watching and listening to the pair of them. "I don't use them very often because I respect people's right to privacy of their own thoughts. That said, when you told me she was a Resoc, I checked. What I found conflicts with what I knew about that program and how she presents herself. I believe she has been altered to the point that she is no longer that psychopath who committed those murders and is now a normal person trapped, forced to relive it over and over again. I'm not sure yet, but if it is true, all the Resocs might actually be different people now. People trapped in some sort of living hell forced on them by the Confederacy to make them expendable soldiers."

Michael ran his hand through his thinning hair, then took another puff on the cigar. "Fuck. The surprises just don't end today, do they? So... are they innocent now? Why go to all that effort to change how they think yet retain those memories?"

"Good question. I won't even pretend to know how it all works, though I do know they can wipe memories completely; the Ghost program proves that. Speaking of, did you know they kidnapped kids for their Ghost program at around 8 years old?"

"Damn it, man. Stop dropping this heavy shit on me right now. I'm too damn tired to process it."

"Sorry, just wanted you to know the truth. You should probably go find somewhere to get some sleep; we have a long day ahead of us and much bigger concerns than Confederate mind control programs."

"Sleep? You've got to be kidding me. I need about ten shots of whiskey and a punch to the face to wake me up from whatever nightmare this is that I seem to be having."

"You and me both, buddy. You and me both." John said, raising his rifle and firing a burst at a lone Zergling approaching the wall. A moment later, Sarah's rifle barked, killing the thing off. "Sadly, this is one nightmare that a slap to the face isn't going to fix."