Chapter 1
Asger was waiting, alone, in the holding cell he was pushed into by the reluctant guards. The look in their eyes revealed a shame that they could neither shake nor justify. It was all the same to him, however, for he knew that the entirety of this trial was fake, a sham that had to be played out. ‘ I wonder how long my sentencing is?’ he thought, as he heard the gunshots outside, signaling the new wave of riots. He felt a warmth in his chest as he heard them though, not fear or worry. ‘There truly is a spirit of resistance among the people. Perhaps, we can survive.’ He commented, silently. He only found himself here after finding those internal documents from the topmost military leaders for the Imperium. Realizing that his once revered leaders for the Imperial military had secretly struck a deal with the alien race they were still currently locked in combat with, continuing a conflict nearly 800 years old, He could hardly believe his eyes. However, being a man who never was too reckless, he put a plan into place. Gathering his subordinates, friends from old military campaigns, and their families, he gave them access to a private military radio channel, and told them to disseminate the information across Mundus, to incite the population into riots, hopefully buying them time to escape to the old military facility in the arctic. However, he also did one other thing. He broadcast to all local planetary defense armies and fortresses that their government had failed them and to join in a resistance against The complete surrender of our people to an alien race. All in all, he was found in less than a day. And even though the broadcast worked - hundreds of of the members of the guard, after recognizing the man who had fought in nearly every stalemate and turned the tides for them, saving millions, began to steal military hardware and vehicles, driving them down the streets in an attempt to aid the civilians who were resisting- He was caught by the Inquisitorial guard. The next part, to him, was brief, though. Endless questions in a small interrogation room, along with liberal amounts of torture, filled his days as two special investigators, Kenner and Maatsen, demanded to know where the members of his battalion disappeared to. He took pride in never answering this one. Eventually this line of questioning stopped, however, and they dragged him to a court. Of the three judges, only one was clearly indifferent to the situation, while the other two were actively attempting to punish him. The trial too, passed quickly, mostly on account of Asger not saying anything in his defense, and his attorney being state provided, did not do anything to make an argument against the accusations. When asked, however, for his closing statement, he did say one thing. Asger stood up in front of the crowd watching, the jury, and the three judges, and simply said the words. “When this nation crumbles from within, and the people look for someone to save them. They will know at that time, I was right.” The judges all called for deliberation, and Asger was sent to this cell, being escorted by guards who looked about ready to throw off his shackles and make an escape. His facial expression, however, showed a determination that kept the two guards at bay. There he stayed, for nearly a day, without food, all the while listening to the sounds of outraged citizens resist and bite against the coming darkness, with a happy smile on his face.
* * * *
Inquisitor Kenner was having a headache. He had spent nearly a month trying to break his prisoner to no avail. He has done nearly everything he could to get him to spill information on the network he had been able to set up in so little time. Yet nothing worked, it was like trying to take down a brick wall with eggs. Turning to his partner, Maatsen, He asked, “We have the judges in the bag, but what about the jury?”
Maatsen, a tall, lanky man nearly six feet tall, with beady, piercing eyes, replied,” We don’t need to do anything. He will get stasis as punishment.” Kenner’s eyes widened at the revelation. ‘Stasis is the worst punishment a criminal can have, it can easily cause them to go insane!’ Kenner smiled at the thought. This man had caught his ire from the lack of response during the torturing sessions, so he felt that giving the man something to really scream about would be cathartic. The two then opened the door to face the jury. “Hello, honorable jurors, we would like to inform you that if you do not see this man as guilty, you will be the first ones to be marked for liquidation under the new government.” Maatsen began, much to the chagrin of Kenner, who also wanted to experience the faces of outrage and horror at the fact two members of their government, fully armed, had walked into a deliberation room and threatened them to see Asger as guilty.
“You can't do this! We have the right to decide his punishment, not the government! These were our rights bestowed upon us as citizens!” One man, well built and red faced from anger, shouted; while taking an aggressive stance, closed the distance between himself and Inquisitor Maatsen. Before he got within three feet of the Inquisitor, Maatsen drew his pistol and blasted the man in the chest, stopping him dead in his tracks and igniting screams of horror within the crowd. Maatsen, now wearing a joyous smile, looked at the terrified jurors, and announced, “You all know how you should vote, right?”
* * * *
Asger was confident he would only get life in prison at his sentencing, so he was not worried when the soldiers came to get him, he calmly walked out of the cell, face serene, and a light smile danced momentarily on his face. Taking a look at the two guards that looked distraught, he gave them a few calming words, and a request to join the resistance movement should they get the chance. The walk outside the military precinct was relaxing, and he felt like he was simply taking a stroll in one of the many parks and nature preserves on Mundus. The offices of the protection officers were bustling with activity, apparently trying to allocate resources to different sectors to slow the oncoming mob of people marching toward the capital buildings in Berlin. When Asger was spotted by them, they didnt stop, but rather gave subtle nods of acknowledgement, then returned to their work. ‘This is good, there are far more people willing to join the cause than I thought. Even if I get life in prison at the highest level of security, I should be able to muster enough manpower to get out and lead the guard regiments to victory.’ Asger thought to himself when he noticed there were no venomous stares like he would have thought. He would have been unfazed by such stares, however, as he had previously mentally prepared for it to happen. The soldiers opened the door to the outside, wisps of smoke and the smell of something burning forcing their way inside to assault the nostrils of the three. Down the steps lay an armored truck in the middle of a convoy. The burnished black steel of the truck gave off the impression that it was more a funeral hearse than an armored police vehicle. The guard on his left went to open the truck, while the other marched him towards the back of it. That's when Asger noticed there were no people on the street, it was completely quiet.Without turning his head to the soldiers, he asked, “I'm surprised there's no people in the streets, did the mob already pass this location?”, in his calmest voice possible.
“Aye, we had to hunker down for awhile, in addition, a large number of protection officers went out and joined them, so they thought the rest of us were on their side and continued on towards the capital buildings.”
“Well, it's not like they are wrong.” The other man interjected.
The soldier closest to Asger lay quiet at this remark as the other man continued.
“We know your right, sir, but we can't abandon our families for something that could easily get them erased by the Inquisition. My wife and daughter are neighbors with one of those guys after all.”
Asger was calm and kind when he heard this. He looked at the man square in the face and replied. “You have a duty to your family. That is one of the most honorable things a man can swear loyalty to. I do not blame you taking up arms against them, however, there will come a time, very soon, when order will break down even more so than what is happening here. When that happens, my people will welcome you with open arms.” The man looked at Asger for a moment, and heaved a great sigh of relief. With that, Asger stepped into the back of the truck of his own volition, and the two closed their doors on him. While they were walking toward the front of the truck, the man who received the praise from Asger told his comrade, “I'm going to get my family out of here tonight. We’ll follow the group at a distance and see what they plan to do. This is goodbye my friend.”
Hopping up into the driver's seat, he turned on the vehicle, unsure of how to continue conversation with his friend. Meanwhile, Asger sits in the back, mind still serene and pondering about the progress of the riots, and if his battalion managed to take global control of the rioting civilians yet. As they made their way down the road, Asger noticed small clanging noises along the reinforced walls of the truck, likely caused by small arms fire being fired from whatever weapons the civilians could get their hands on. Asger shifted his thoughts to the family he left behind. ' Mother, ' he began, internally, 'I'm sorry the last thing you saw of me was being cuffed on live television. The last thing I wanted was for you and father to be labeled the parents of a traitor. I hope Fjolla is doing well, perhaps she will make it out of here too.' Hoping his thoughts would reach them, he stayed in a meditative silence, until the truck reached his destination.
Amidst the shouting and yelling of the crowd screaming in support of the government, the door was thrown open and the two inquisitors, Maatsen and Kenner, dragged him out to rapturous cheers. Waves of mockery came after, pelting Asgers lonely body with insults as he was half marched, half dragged to the courthouse. The trek wasn't a long distance, but it was arduous, with teams of protection officers holding back the seething masses of angry masses raging at the destruction of their comfortable life. At one point, one of the screaming civilians broke through the line and punched Asger directly in the gut just before they got Asger through the door.
Once inside, he was led to the courtroom, handcuffed and in leg shackles while wearing a striped prison uniform, with the word ‘traitor’ emblazoned on the backside, and forced to sit in a glass box where all the jurors and the crowd could see. The judge at the center hammered on his gavel for the crowd to be quiet, and stated. “Captain Asger Dorn, you have been tried on these counts. On one count of conspiracy to commit treason against the Solarrian Imperium, one count of incitement to uprising, and one count of providing false information to the public. The jury has read over all the evidence, and will now produce your verdict.” On cue, the first juror stood up, paper in hand.
“Your Honorable Judges, we have reached a verdict on all three counts. For the defendant, on the first count, with the penalty at the maximum, we find Asger Dorn guilty. For the second count, with the same penalty, We find Asger Dorn guilty. On the final count, we also find Asger Dorn guilty.” Taking a seat, the juror looked at Asger, trying to find a shred of emotion on his stoic face. Finding none, he felt justified in his choice, realizing that the man before him was unconcerned about the outcome, as though he knew what was going to happen.
“In light of all of these charges, Instead of the defendant simply serving time normally in prison, we three judges have concluded that Asger Dorn will be sentenced to 100 years of stasis confinement at an undisclosed black site.” The judge who had been constantly hammering down leading questions and attempting to trap Asger into making statements that could be spun through the government news broadcasts, announced before the court, with an air of righteousness, causing a ripple among the crowd. Journalists, who were rabid at the beginning of the trial, now stood, whispering amongst their comrades, shocked by the change in tone the punishment had taken.
“A question sir?” One reporter, of a large and muscular build, said, out loud to the judge.
Since the ruling had already been passed down, as per the rules of court behavior, the judges were now free to answer questions from the crowd.
“Why was the punishment changed from serving 25 years in a penal battalion to 100 years in stasis? The only time when such punishments were carried out was when military commanders had defected to the Grex!” The reporter commented. He was obviously upset at this act of injustice done to this man. Eyes narrowing, the judge, seemingly calm, responded. “Due to his rampant disregard of Solarrian life, Captain Dorn was judged not as a civilian uprising, but as a treasonous military officer actively undermining the work that our Imperial armies so desperately undertake to keep this nation safe.”
That quieted down the reporters and soothed their consciousness such that they no longer asked any questions. Following this, Asger was removed from the glass box and marched down a side hall to where the grav-train lay docked at the station. Asger, however, was deep in thought the entire time. ‘Stasis… Well, that's it then. The worst form of torture the imperium has devised, and I’ll be in it for 100 years. I don't think there's any way I can get out of this.’ He kept thinking, worrying what would happen to the men who had risen up in his name, how they would find their way. Being brought onto the train, the Valkyrie 2, Asger was brought to a holding cell in the back of the train, but not before meeting the Inquisitors that were in charge of him.
Maatsen looked him up and down, smirking to himself, and commented, “Didn't expect stasis, huh?'' shocking Asger out of his thoughts. This only made Maatsen’s smirk grow wider as he realized he finally got a reaction from the otherwise stoic Asger. Pressing this, he began boasting about the ‘great new direction’ for solarrian society. He spoke of slowly exterminating them, and to force their children into lives of complete slavery. Asger kept his cool though, not wanting to show any emotion to the people who were boasting that they would destroy what his homeland represented. Seeing Asger unaffected, Maatsen ordered him to get into the holding cell, accompanied by the two soldiers who drove him to the courthouse.
As they reached it, one of the soldiers leaned down and whispered to him, “The Lieutenant knows. Standby.” before locking him into the holding cell.
As the two left, Asgers shoulders began shaking, and barely audible laughter escaped his lips. With only one thought going through his mind. ‘The Grex doesn't even know that their enemy isn't done yet.’
* * * *
Sarah was excited. She enjoyed two things in life the most, computers, and following celebrity heroes. Now that the hero captain was going to be sent here, she was practically bouncing off the walls.
“I wonder what the captain is like? Hey, Daniel, you think he’s like that interview he did on the New Dawn TV show? I wonder if he likes computers, maybe he --”
“Sarah, shut up! I don’t want to hear about your celebrity heroes, plus, your hero captain was convicted of treason, it's entirely possible that you won't even get to meet him anyways, so why are you trying so hard?”, Daniel interjects, looking at her with eyes filled to the brim with jealousy.
Sarah looked at him, a face seething in anger, and retorted, “The captain is most definitely not a criminal! You know what's been happening, those heroes have all been arrested under false pretenses!”
Daniel’s face drops, and he turns back to his work. The atmosphere quickly becomes oppressive, with neither of the two willing to back down. Sarah began to absentmindedly fiddle with the code on her computer screen, all while waiting for the announcement of the train entering the station. That was when she got a text from an unknown number, the ringtone of the nation’s anthem shattering the oppressive silence. Looking at it, Sarah felt an excitement grow in her heart. On the message were the words,
“Help me.”
Feeling concerned, Sarah cautiously looked over at Daniel to make sure he wasn’t looking at what she was doing, then surreptitiously wrote out,
“Who are you and why do you need my help?”
“Can’t say, Captain’s orders.”
A look of bewilderment coupled with excitement flashed across her face but was kept under control after a moment. Again, she looked at Daniel to make sure he wasn’t looking at her. Before responding, thoughts began stewing in her head about just who contacted her, and most of all, why? Was it actually a subordinate of the celebrity who she talked about for hours on end, irritating her coworkers to the point that there was only one person willing to share the same lab room with? Most importantly, why were they contacting her of all people?
Before she could finish her thoughts, another message popped up, startling both her and Daniel. Looking at her with eyes of annoyance, he spat out the words, “Keep your celebrity gossip to yourself. I don't want to hear notifications going off when we are supposed to be working.”
Feverishly nodding her head, she turned to the miniature screen to read the message from her unknown number.
“Station 3, Valkyrie 2, As soon as possible.”
Her eyes widened in excitement when she read the name Valkyrie 2. That was the designation of the train that left the military courthouse that convicted Captain Dorn of treason!
This person definitely knew the captain! Then why do they want my help? I don't specialize in cryogenics, so I can’t thaw him out of his prison. Maybe they want me to do something to his neural uplink for monitoring his mental status or…
Her eyes began to gleam with an idea, as she began to furiously edit code on her computer. Daniel, however, noticed her increased fervor, and asked, “Figured something out about the new neural link with the cognitive processor we got, I take it?”
“Yeah, “ Sarah replied, smiling absentmindedly; “ something like that.” As she continued work on linking the bases’s archives to the prototype artificial intelligence she had on hand. Daniel, on the other hand, attempted to strike up a conversation with her every second he could. This went on for close to twelve hours, before an announcement blared on the PA system.
“The internment train has arrived, scientists, please pickup your assigned test subjects.”
These words practically brought Sarah out of her obsessive trance she was in. Rising swiftly, she rushed out the door and began sprinting through the halls, ignoring the gazes of the other researchers as they looked at her like she was a lunatic. Daniel, in his concern, swiftly attempted to follow her. Through the twists and turns of the halls, however, Sarah managed to lose his tracks completely, sporting a look of exhaustion on her face. She needed to lose the trail of Daniel, he might force her back into work. As far as he was concerned, she probably wanted to rush out to look for some collectable toy or something. As she ran further and further away from Daniel, Sarah was periodically checking behind her to make sure that he did not follow. She knew that his political leanings were with the new, occupied government, and if he spotted her attempting to modify the cryogenic prison cell, he would without a doubt attempt to report her to the authorities. When she saw that he was no longer there, she heaved a sigh of relief. Even though the previous government gave everyone military training, including women, she was never the most athletic of people. Smiling to herself, she thought,
'I must make sure that the government officials believe me, and the best way to do that is with the access card that I managed to swipe from the administrator during the last drinking party when the old bastard tried to feel me up.'
Feeling as though she had everything under control, she confidently walked towards the train station for the base. Close to 15 minutes passed before she got another text. The excitement on her face rose before dropping into annoyance as she read the messenger's ID.
“Daniel. Ugh, why is he always so close to me? He's not my parents, and I know what I'm doing anyways!” She muttered to herself, not slowing her pace in the slightest. Hints of disgust could be seen in her eyes as she made her way to the train station.
‘Why did he even choose to stay with me? And he always looks at me weird and I don’t like it, it makes me feel like I'm some kind of prey just waiting to be ambushed.’ She shivered a little when she thought about this.
After close to an hour running through the labyrinthian halls of the base, she finally arrived at the station. The station itself was a series of platforms stacked on top of each other, with the trains magnetically levitating to reach the platform's height.
Station 3, that's where I need to go. Sarah thought to herself as she maneuvered her way up the stairs. Given her current confident demeanor, the military police didn’t think anything of her after taking a look at her badge. As she ascended the stairwell to the third platform, her face changed into one of anticipation. There weren’t too many people ascending the stairwells, as the scientists most likely grabbed their test subjects from the first two floors. Due to this, she relaxed the moment she stepped up to the third floor, and gazed onto the train.
That was when her gaze stopped. The train looked almost like a celestial bullet, wrapped in glittering finery and shaped in such a way that even an artist would exclaim in admiration. As the magnetic locks latched itself onto the dock, and the bridge extended to meet the door seamlessly inlaid into the sleek vehicle. The door then shimmered, and faded away to reveal the interior of the train. Three men were waiting when the door disappeared. Two of them looked pristine in smart military uniforms, covered in medals and lacking a single speck of dust or a crease to be found. Despite the patriotic look of their clothing, when one looked at these two, you could not find a single ounce of pride or patriotism for the country they supposedly served. The third man, however, could only be described as haggard. Dirty unkempt hair was coupled with bloodied and bruised hands, despite the robust build of the man. A light beard was growing on his pale face and he seemed to almost collapse any moment. Despite his look, he raised his head ever so slightly, just enough for Sarah to see his eyes. When she saw his eyes, what shocked her most was that he didn’t seem as though he had lost all hope! Normally someone who would be considered evil by the majority of a government and was currently in custody would begin to feel hopeless, at least, that's what she believed. At that point, she firmly believed that the person who sent her a message was attempting to get the captain out of here! As the two men walked to the deck, Sarah approached them. Initially, they were confused as to why a researcher would be initiating contact with them, but when she flashed an administrator's badge, they felt more at ease.
“I came so I could assist in modifying the cell for your prisoner.”
Upon hearing these words, the two men brightened immediately. Lightly saluting, they responded,
“It's so good to see the intelligence of women these days, they even know how to help! Allow me to introduce myself.” Inquisitor Valor gave a smile that he thought was charming. “My name is Inquisitor Valor, and this is my associate, Princep Goade. I hope we can make proper acquaintances in the future.”
Attempting to swallow the disgust she felt when looking at the smile of Inquisitor Valor, she merely smiled back, and inquired, “I hope you can understand, but we will need to do a series of physical tests to make sure that the subject can handle being in stasis for an extended period of time.” Stressing the word ‘extended’, she looked at the two men, attempting to discern their thought process. Originally, as she began, they frowned, but when she got to the end, they were all smiles and simply gestured for her to take a small box.
“What’s this?”
“It's an interrupter pulsar, it is linked to the manacles on his hands, triggering his pain receptors and really giving him a shock! I hope you will have to use it often for him, I think you will enjoy his moans of pain.” Princep Goade replied, his smile growing more and more grotesque as he continued to describe the features of the device.
After giving her thanks, she then approached the haggard man, face frigid and stiff. However, when their eyes met for the second time, a tacit understanding between the two was formed. When Captain Dorn saw her eyes, he saw someone with such an intense level of admiration that even he felt slightly embarrassed. When he looked away, the two men discerned it as a look of shame, and smiled at the misfortune of a man who refused to yield in a changing era.
“Shall we proceed to the examination room?” Sarah announced, smiling insincerely at the two men.
The two men nodded in agreement, and the group of four proceeded to a doorway leading to the cryogenics wing. Sarah, with her access card, was able to bypass the security checks and directly enter the testing area with the captain and his jailors. One the way though, many eyes were caught staring with looks of sorrow and pity, still others with joy and gloating,when every time a look of gloating passed by, the inquisitor and the princep stood a little straighter, as though they had done a great magnanimous deed. Captain Dorn, however, was unaffected by these stares, as though they simply passed through him and he could not sense them whatsoever. Sarah, on the other hand, had to repeatedly remind herself that this was not a funeral procession, all while keeping a stoic face.
As they reached the examination room, she motioned for the inquisitor and the princep to stop.
“You needed something?” Inquisitor Valor asked, with a slight smile.
“I need to examine the subject privately, you two can be outside the door, however.”
The two men's facial expressions changed drastically upon hearing this. Beginning to scowl, Inquisitor Valor did not hold back.
“This is preposterous! We are the Inquisition! We have every right to know what is going on with a criminal, especially someone as high profile as this one!” Throwing an accusatory look at Sarah, he continued, “You likely are just attempting to show good doctorly ethics, but this man is currently Inquisition property, and we cannot allow such property to have any form of resistance to its masters.”
That was when the Captain spoke out in a gravelly voice, for the first time since he was imprisoned.
“I am more afraid of her than I am of you two.”
This caught the attention of the Inquisitor. Since day one of being imprisoned, the inquisition had attempted to extract any knowledge they could from him through torture, however, not only did he not speak a single word to them, but he barely even changed his expression. Compared to now, they could both see horror glinting from the surface of his eyes when he looked at the young woman in their presence. Noticing this, the two men looked at each other, and seemed to come to an agreement.
“We will stay right outside the door, at regular intervals, you must use the pulsar to inflict pain upon him before and after the examination.you must cloud his mind with pain so that he cannot think of disobeying, is this understood?”
“Yes Inquisitor, I understand.”
“I hope for your sake that you do.” Came the response from Princep Goade, along with a stare that felt like it could sentence one to their own death. Sarah felt herself shiver at the princeps words.
Following which, she led the captain inside. The moment she closed the door, and the soundproofing insulation became flush with itself once again, blocking out any conversation whatsoever from escaping, her facial expressions melted into one of an excited fan, finally being able to meet her idol.
“I am so glad you're not too badly injured! Here, there are some medical supplies that I can take and help with the swelling-- “
“Wait.”
Captain Asger studied her face, trying to find out if it was familiar, when he finally asked,
“Who are you?”
This caught Sarah off guard, wasn’t he the one who ordered his subordinates to ask her for help? Shouldn't he know that she is his contact here? If not, then who was the person who contacted her and why did they know why the captain was on the Valkyrie 2 train?
Snap!
The snapping of captain Dorn’s fingers brought the real world back into focus for Sarah. Realizing that she has just spaced out in front of her idol, she almost turned as red as a tomato.
“Sorry! Sorry! My name is Sarah Herrmann. I'm one of the researchers in the Artificial Intelligence division. I've come at the request of someone to modify your cryogenic prison! “ She gushed, attempting to fill the silence with words. The moment Asger heard the name Sarah Herrmann, his eyes brightened.
“Sarah Herrmann, you said? Sarah Herrmann who developed the prototype for the perceptual time altering neural network? The device that can slow down or speed up someone's concept of time? The youngest genius in 100 years, Sarah Herrmann?” Asger said, in rapid succession.
“Weren't you working for a university? How did you get here?”
Sarah, however, was dumbstruck. In her eyes, Captain Dorn was the one she looked up to, he was a hero, the pride of the nation.
Stuttering, she asked “You know me? H - how do you know me?”
Chuckling lightly, he smiled.
“I’m a big fan of your work, Doctor Herrmann, when your thesis came out on perceptual time, I had even purchased the scientific journal it was published in so I could read it. If it could be applied properly, it can be used in nearly every field of study!” The admiration in his voice could be easily heard, causing Sarah to blush slightly.
“However, we definitely aren’t here to talk about computers, even though it is my favorite subject. Why have you faked being a cryogenics doctor?”
Confusion could be seen in her eyes as she attempted to voice her previous thoughts.
“Well, didn’t you have someone send me a message about helping you?”
“I have been isolated from even a lawyer to defend myself, how could I have gotten access to a protected phone line? It's likely someone from my former legion who was at the courthouse when I was transferred here.”
Nodding understandingly, Sarah replied, “I see! Seems like your men are quite loyal, captain -”
“Please, just call me Asger, only military personnel refer to me by my rank. You’re just a civilian.” Asger added.
“Right, Asger, I have a plan to link up your cryostasis cell to the base's military and technology archives, and modify the neural link so your brain will still be functional when you're under. We don’t have too much time left, so, I'm sorry about this.” Sarah finished, pressing the button down on the device given to her by the inquisitor. Waves of pain wracked Asgers body as he screamed, just loud enough for those outside to hear. Collapsing in his agony, he spasmed on the floor for close to a full 30 seconds before the pain subsided to a tolerable level. Sarah’s original face full of reluctance was now morphed into one of horror and concern for Asger’s well being. Rushing to him, she attempted to support him as he clambered back up to his feet.
“Next time you torture me, can you tell me beforehand? It hurts twice as much when you don’t expect it.”
“Sorry! I only just remembered that I needed to do that.” Sarah apologized.
After saying so, she then injected a neural control chip into Asgers right arm. Normally, these chips couldnt be injected into muscle tissue, but Asger’s right arm was replaced close to a year ago with a cybernetic version, as part of a volunteer program to enhance soldiers with better reaction speeds, increased strength, and far better durability than normal human bones.
“Alright Sarah, thank you for helping me. I can only hope that I can repay you somehow, eventually.” Asger sighed, returning to a facial expression of fear and hopelessness.
“Let’s go then, it’s time for your unearned penance”
Chuckling slightly, he followed behind her as they left the examination room.
When the two of them rejoined the company of the inquisitors and princep, Sarah and Asger could almost see the looks of joy on their faces.
“We should be heading to the cryostasis cell then, we are all ready.” Announced Goade, Looking smugly at Asgers face, which was a mask of terror and pain.
“We should really give you a better job, doctor--?”
“Sarah, Sarah Herrmann.”
“Right, Sarah, how about coming to work for the inquisition? It appears as though you have other talents besides working with those silly little computers.” Valor said, as they walked towards the cryostasis prisons. Shaking her head in disagreement, Sarah glanced behind her.
“I prefer computers, Inquisitors, people aren’t my strong suit, the only thing that helped me was the control device you so generously gave to me. I hope you can understand why I would decline.”
Before she could continue, she spotted someone familiar in the window that was placed at eye height on the door that led back to the train station. It was Daniel! He had followed her trail! Turning back to face forward, Sarah’s face gradually began to grow pale. Attempting to keep herself calm, they walked through another set of doors into the place where Asger would be frozen.
“Alright, looks like you can finally have a nice rest, would you agree, captain?” Goade laughed, looking at Asger with soulless eyes. Asger, however, didn’t even flinch and simply made his way toward the pod in the center of the room.
The room itself was filled with canisters of chemicals, all hooked up to a transfusion system situated on the ceiling of the room. The metal of the room was pristine, as though it had just been cleaned, and the pod itself was attached to a set of rails, so it could be stored after use. The room itself was separated into two sections, one for the subject and scientist, and another that was a viewing room.
“Let’s get started.”
Sarah nodded in agreement at Inquisitor Valor’s words. Moving to the command terminal next to the pod, she motioned for Asger to enter the pod. Feigning a grimace, he complied, stepping into the pod, and attempting to get comfortable. Seeing this, both Valor and Goade turned and looked at each other with expressions of delight. Taking advantage of the situation, Sarah linked the pod to the set of code she had built earlier. It gave the pod access to the bases archives, and used the prototype artificial intelligence that they were given last year for development as the interface, so that even though everything but his brain is asleep, he will still be able to see and experience things as though he were just trapped in a place that he couldn't escape from. As the program linked the pod with the rest of the base, she began prepping the series of transfusion tubes and medium to keep his body in proper homeostasis. The process took a little over an hour to complete, and since Sarah was not a well practiced technician in this field, she took a little longer than normal.
“Okay, everything should be ready, we can begin the freezing process now.” Sarah announced. Moving herself over to the terminal beside the pod, and typing in a few commands. Thus, she began the freezing sequence. Needle-like syringe tips emerged from the back end of the pod and pierced Asger’s back. Groaning in pain, Asger kept himself still as cold liquid began pouring in from the needle tips. The fluid, almost like liquid nitrogen, began flowing through his body, freezing everything as it went. The pod's front hatch then closed, and the small porthole that showed the face appeared, with Sarah looking at him, face cold, yet eyes bright and warm, like the nostalgic view of seeing an old friend.
“Any final words there, O’ heroic one?”
Princep Goade’s words rang out, dripping with sarcasm and wreathed in mockery, “Perhaps some words of vengeance will leave us quaking in fear, even though your name will be long maligned and covered in the worst atrocities known to your people before you even get the chance to reawaken, and then? You will find yourself, a man out of time, trapped in a society that we built. I just wish that I could still be alive when you exit your sleep and see how well we can turn your ‘people’ into little more than wretched masses yearning for pleasure.”
His laughter from the PA was grating, as though his vocal chords were wraught from stone. Asger paid him no mind, and slowly began to drift, feeling the ice cold liquid seep into every nook and cranny of his body, slowing his reactions to a crawl. However, just before he drifted off, he heard the sound of the doors to the pod bay crashing open and Sarah screaming.
