A Haze of Grey

Posted on Mon Jul 10th, 2023 @ 2:07am by Caeda & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 5: Ex Post Facto
Location: Banea
Timeline: Date 2371-08-20 at 0200
3497 words - 7 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The sound of clanging wooden bowls and spoons met hearty laughter and the stomping of fur boots as the dim light of the fire danced about the lord’s pale face. Beneath his mane of black hair, the eyepatch served as a compliment to his unhappy expression, an ironic scowl decorated his handsome features, making him seem as if he was in a different room than the celebrating Viking clan.

His mind was somewhere else; where, none could know but him. No one took note, and though he sat in the largest chair in the center of the tallest table, he seemed to have no friend at all.

Absent from his side was his companion, his woman; she who had been a constant in this place full of joy. The men and women feasting and singing seemed to not notice her absence, in fact they hardly seemed to notice Andrei at all. Likely they had returned from a raid or hunt, spirits were high and there would be no dampening them. A figure moved at the sides of the room, first there and then there, flitting in and out of Andrei’s notice; there was a strange sense of familiarity that he would feel to the figure, but it was impossible to pinpoint.

Then the presence was by his side. A delicate bronze skinned hand came to rest on his forearm; the fingers were long and though the nails were kept short, they were pristinely manicured, smooth, and shining. He knew this hand and the comfort to him that came with it.

“Andrei…”

The voice and the touch came with a feeling of warmth and comfort deep in the psyche of the otherwise mysterious man. Though he gave no visible sign of pleasure, he found his head turning as if by nature or habit toward the place his mind told him he would find her. The bowl in front of him rattled slightly as he bumped it, and his exposed eye looked up to his side.

When he turned, the sight that met him was anything but the picture he knew. That beautiful sun kissed skin was pale, there was no pink in those lips he had kissed a thousand times. Her dark eyes were sunken in and devoid of spark. Blood painted the side of her face and head, her lip was split, her skin was bruised. She was wearing her uniform as she had been the day she was taken; the center was burned away and a very obvious hole was right in the center of her chest where he had seen her shot in the video he had been shown by the Baneans. It was bloody, the skin around it charred, and it was most definitely fatal.

“Andrei…” She repeated again, frowning as she looked into his eyes with her very vacant ones.

“Whhh..” he started. “No! They told us you were alive… they told me they were looking for you!”

“You left me.” Lyra stated, her voice holding a level of hurt that was unmistakable. “You left me alone with those animals. I tried to tell you it wasn’t a good idea. You didn’t listen. You left… now…” She didn’t finish the thought.

Her hand instead moved up to his cheek and she touched him there. “Why…?”

“You don’t understand..” he started, his head shaking side to side against his will, the signs of heightened emotion becoming apparent in his heaving chest. “Gods dammit, you don’t understand!” Now he was on his feet and the wooden chair he’d been lounging in clanged heavily to the floor.

“I tried to fight them; I tried to come back for you, but they would have destroyed me and ruined any chance we have of getting you back alive! It’s all the Baneans who did it…and I will pluck their feathers and peel their skin until they tell me where you are!”

Lyra’s dark eyes followed him, the frown still heavy on her beautiful, pallid face. “You told me you wanted to protect me, don’t you remember?”

“Of course I remember.” Andrei said, a look of incredulity spreading across his face. “I’ve tried. I’ve pushed the Baneans as hard as I can…I have made them bleed. I have pushed our people as much as my father will let me.” he said, and shook his head again. “I will find you.”

“But you left me… after the meeting you went your own way. It shouldn’t have been like that.” Lyra protested softly, sadly, her hand still on his cheek. “Yesli ty lyubish' menya, ne ostavlyay nikogo v zhivykh.”

He drew near here then, forsaking words and endeavoring to touch her skin. Though it was once supple and lively, it was now pale and slack, and the faint smell of decay wafted toward him, mixed with smoke and the scent of ale.

When he touched the skin of her cheek, it instantly began to turn grey and soft under his fingertips then began to fall away through his fingers. It seemed to start a chain reaction on her body as it began to break apart. Her fingers turned to dust while those dark eyes and lovely face simply continued to look at him, hurt.

“I love you, Andrei.”

Then she was gone, ashes falling through his fingers and disappearing altogether while the lively party continued around Andrei.

He stared in dumb surprise as his woman turned to dust in his embrace, his lips slightly agape and his long finger clenching slowly in the fists. As he screeched out a scream, all went dark and, soon, he was screeching out a scream in the dark of his room. Shadow fell on him, and only the artificial glow of his emerald eye could be clearly seen.

He breathed heavily, his ears ringing from the fading sound of his own voice. Was it a dream or was it real; damnably real? In a flash, he was out of his bed, all boxers, muscles, and matted black hair. The room he’d requisitioned in the government building was humble and watched by a Terran security guard on his father’s orders. As he stepped out into the hallway, he looked at the man, his large chest still heaving.

Before the guard could say anything, Andrei caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and knew it to be a Banean woman by her size and the plume of feathers on her head. His hands were on here before the blood-curdling scream left his lips and once, twice, and three times smashed her head against the nearby wall until her own yelps of shock and pain and stopped and all that was left of her face was a bloody mess of skull, and tooth, and bone.

As she sank to the floor, Andrei turned to the security guard, Banean blood dotting his powerful frame and his face.

The guard had been alarmed in the first place by the scream he had heard and had startled when the half naked, crazed Andrei had stumbled out of his room. He was about to ask what was wrong when Andrei had lashed out and brutally murdered a passing Banean woman. The guard could only stand there, his mouth agape and his eyes wide as he watched, unable to look away from the terrible thing he was witnessing. His eyes followed the woman’s body as it fell to the floor, and when Andrei turned toward him he pulled back on instinct, eyes still wide.

“S-sir.” He managed to stutter out.

“Stand tall, soldier, and call the main holding room. Bring me the Banean leader and the Targa. We’re going to have ourselves a little interview.”

“Intervi-” The man began to question and then thought better of it. “Ah, y-yes, sir. Right away.”

Andrei watched as the unsettled officer hurried to carry out his orders. Still, his fists were clenched in rage and fear, but he would not share the second one. He stepped over the body of the slain woman without a shred of hesitation or remorse and returned to his room.

The doors opened and two Baneans were pushed into Andrei’s room by two security guards followed by another two. Andrei could see a third pair had taken up position outside just before the door closed. Targa Syr was frowning slightly, standing with her arms around her but not appearing hostile, while Chief Minister Wenra was standing with his hands behind his back. Both of the avian aliens looked toward Andrei but said nothing, instead they waited.

“Wenra; Syr. So good of you to join me.” Andrei said, sitting down at a dinning room chair with a high back. He looked to the Baneans who stood uncomfortably.

“I just had the most striking dream; I’m it, Lieutenant Cassiel was quite dead and quite upset with the ones responsible for what has happened to her.” He said, and began to tap his hand steadily on his lap. “Tell me, what do you think will happen to Banea if she isn’t found alive?”

“You’ll destroy us.” Wenra supplied succinctly.

Syr shook her head just slightly as if disagreeing with Wenra. “You’ll make us suffer gravely, then destroy our population as you did with the Ocampa.”

“And, do you suppose this has all been worth it? Your little code of laws, or whatever you might call them, in the face of such potential destruction? Was carrying out your so-called Justice worth the extinction of your race?”

“Every Banean life is precious.” Wenra replied with conviction in his voice. “I stand by the decision made, but your officer having gone missing is of course quite unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?” Andrei asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “Unfortunate? It is a tragedy for you. I cannot believe how unimaginably stupid you and your people are, to risk total destruction over nothing at all. And the fact that you could defend such a move even now as everything is being taken from you…it gives me another reason to hate you. All of you.”

“Is there a reason you have summoned us?” Wenra asked, completely brushing off Andrei's statement. He didn’t exactly sound impatient, but obviously he wasn’t thrilled by the idea of standing here listening to a monologue surrounding the destruction of his people.

Syr shifted slightly, almost as if she were leaning away to try and distance herself from Wenra. She wasn’t nearly as foolish as the old man was.

“Am I boring you, Chief Minister? Do you have something better to do?” Andrei asked, his expression growing even more sour.

“Yes, I do as a matter of fact, so I was curious why we are here other than to give you an audience?” Wenra replied flatly, his feathered brows raising.

Andrei looked at Syr to see what her expression communicated. Was this degree of stupidity common in their species, he wondered?

The female Banean met Andrei’s gaze for just a passing second and she clearly communicated through that brief flash that she had no idea and wanted nothing to do with what Wenra was saying. She had proven herself to be much more open to working with the Terrans and hadn’t caused any fuss, she wasn’t about to start now.

He stood and approached the two of them, standing in front of both of them, a smile on his face.

“Well, how rude of me. I wouldn’t want to keep you from your important business, would I?”

With no explanation, Andrei’s hand was on the buckle of his belt. He quickly undid it and then unzipped his uniform pants. After a bit of fishing, he pulled out his appendage and began to urinate on Wenra’s shoes, making eye contact with the older man the entire time. With a face of stone, he slowly raised his member, directing the stream to the man’s pants as well.

Syr took a large step to the side just to be out of the way of the forming puddle and any errant splashes that might have occurred. The disgust was obvious on her face, but she smartly did nothing to interfere nor did she say anything. If Wenra wanted to suffer being a stubborn fool, that was his choice. She was going to try and protect their people.

Wenra however didn’t move, he simply stood there as Andrei urinated on him with his brows still lifted. His expression had shifted though, judgment in his eyes as if he were now regarding Andrei as a petulant child. Even when Andrei began to soak his pants, the old man remained.

“I don’t give a fuck what you think you need to be doing.” Andrei said, his manhood still in his hand as the liquid slowly stopped its flow. “You are my prisoner. Your entire society is my prisoner…and and nothing that you have ever been, or have ever been called matters anymore. Even your title, chief minister, is retained at my pleasure. you are nothing, and every one of your people who dies here die because of you.”

A glint in his eye flashed, one that signaled madness.

“Now get down on your knees…”

“No.” The Banean man replied, firm and succinct in his defiance.

A beat of still silence passed between them as Andrei, larger and younger than the Banean, stared directly into his eyes, challenging him for a dominance he’d already won. Then, swift as a flash, he drew a dagger and dipped down, burying it into the man’s knee. He used his hands to guide the Banean’s fall until he was in fact kneeling in front of Andrei’s exposed manhood. He chuckled like he’d just seen a child perform some pitiful act of defiance and looked at Syr.

“Pride is misplaced in this one, wouldn’t you agree, Syr?”

Syr’s strange eyes moved down to Wenra on the floor and she let out a sigh as she heard him trying his best to suppress the pained sounds from the dagger buried in his knee. What a fool. She then again glanced to Andrei and nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Smart girl.” Andrei said, turning his gaze down to the old man again. “I think she’ll make an excellent Chief Minister for your people, Wenra. And I won’t even make her suck my cock for the position. That’s your job.”

He pulled at his sword and sent it singing from the scabbard at his side. Then he rested it in his hand.

“Go ahead, Wenra. There’s nothing to be afraid of. According to a rather large number of women, it’s a great time.”

The absolute disgust was apparent on Wenra’s face as he looked up at Andrei. Even through the pain and humiliation, it was quite clear that the Banean would do no such thing and if Andrei tried to force it, he would likely regret it.

Andrei chuckled.

“I’m just fucking with you old man.” He said, reaching down with his free hand and drawing the imposing organ back into his pants. “You wanted to know the real reason I took you away from your very important schedule…it’s because I had a bad dream, and I wanted to tell you about it. Both of you.”

Wenra remained in his position, his face a shade or two paler than normal as he was losing his battle of being defiant despite everything that was going on. “Dreams are the reflection of the soul.”

Syr, smartly, continued to remain quiet but was looking at Andrei; paying attention.

“You’ll never guess who was there.” Andrei started, ignoring Wenra’s comment. “Lyra Cassiel. She was a bit worse for wear; some might say she was dead. And she wanted me to kill all of you. Isn’t that insane?”

Andrei stepped toward Syr now and, when he was close, took a position at her side, placing his strong arm over her shoulder and drawing her in for a tight side-hug.

“We haven’t made the progress I hoped for in finding her.” He said calmly. “So several Baneans must die in her place. Starting with your old friend here.”

Immediately, Syr tensed as Andrei approached and went practically rigid when the Terran put his arm around her and pulled her close. She was obviously quite afraid of Andrei and for good reason as he had proven multiple times since he had arrived.

“Guards…kick him. Kick him until he’s a smudge on my floor. Don’t stop until I command it.” Andrei said, his voice icy. He turned his gaze to Syr, still held close in the embrace. “Watch closely. Don’t you dare look away.”

Syr glanced at Andrei, frowning at his insistence but she also knew better than to disobey. So, she looked back toward the old man and watched as the Terran officers began to carry out their orders. The sounds were disturbing to say the least and Wenra’s eventual cries and protests only added to the sickening moment. She was watching, but she had willed her mind away from the moment. She could handle violence, but this was so senseless.

Andrei looked with eyes full of wonder, taking in the moment as if he were seeing a beautiful sunset. With every blow and whimper from the Banean leader, his smile grew brighter. Softly, he began to chuckle under his breath, hardly able to hold back his near giddy amusement. The man loved seeing Baneans die.

Eventually, Wenra’s protests died down into nothingness and the only sounds were now the rather wet kicks of the security officers and Andrei’s chuckle. Syr was silent, standing there and yet not there in her mind.

Absent still was the single person who would have shared and delighted with Andrei in the moment of this Banean’s death. No delicate laugh, no passionate kisses fueled from violence.

No matter how many he killed, it seemed it wouldn’t bring his woman home.

Andre felt that absence, and it caused his reverie to dim, almost as quickly as it had started. The guards kicked and kicked without him giving the sign, and moments after Wenra was unrecognizable, he put up his hand.

“Enough.” He said, and the exhausted security officers stopped. Andrei turned to Syr, his eyes kind. “Congratulations on your promotion, Chief Minister.”

Syr blinked a few times, back in her own mind on being directly addressed. She licked her lips and averted her gaze finally. Compliance was the only thing that might save her people at this point, but even then she was afraid that it wouldn’t be enough.

“Ah… yes… thank you.” She managed to get out.

“Good. Your first task is to go out there and find two other Baneans. Bring them here so we can do this all again. I think that should settle things for the day.”

“Any Baneans, sir?” Syr asked, her voice flat in its acceptance. Obviously she didn’t want to do what had been asked of her - who would want to ask their people to die - but she had accepted it as a necessity for the good of what remained of her people.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” He asked, the kindness leaving his tone, replaced with a hint of annoyance.

“I simply wanted to make sure I retrieved what you wanted.” Syr replied, not cowering from the shift in tone but not pressing back against it either. She waited for Andrei to release her, not daring to pull away from him even to do what had been asked.

Andrei looked at her for several more seconds before pulling back from her and sheathing his sword again. His silence told her it was time for her to go and do what she was told.

When he withdrew, Syr wasted no time in leaving the room. She wanted to get away from Andrei as quickly as possible should he decide to change his mind on letting her go free. She had been doing everything she could to find their officer, but these incidents did not help matters in the slightest. Their taste for violence was terrifying, and realistically she feared what might happen should they indeed find the Terran woman had been killed.

Once Syr was gone, Andrei turned back to gaze at the blasted body on his floor. The rush of excitement he’d felt when it was happening was now gone, replaced by a feeling of overwhelming emptiness. There was no joy; never any joy. But at least he was evening the score just a bit. At least the Baneans were paying for their arrogance.

END