Test of Faith - Chapter Eight
Fortress Thunder Rock
Pleione
Word of Blake Protectorate
22 June, 3075
"Stay tight or they will cut us to pieces.....get me target info!!.....too much ECM they must be mounting Angels, my C3i is just static.....just focus on the Grasshopper, Blake's Blood it's fighting like it's possessed, damned Liaos..."
For a few minutes, Faith was aware of hearing the comm chatter, but it was almost surreal. Finally, she opened her eyes, and she could see she was in the cockpit of a mech. No, not in a cockpit, something was off. The image pixelated for a moment, then resumed, but it was enough for her to get her bearings. She was in her cell, but an image was being projected on the walls all around her. From the look of it, it was battleROM footage.
"I've got it. You're mine now, heretic!"
The mech she was spectating moved around a rock, and a Grasshopper, painted in bronze and gold, came into view. Faith recognized it immediate, it was hers. The pilot lined up a shot, but a Mongoose darted into the line of fire and got off a quick shot at the Grasshopper first. With almost superhuman ease, the Grasshopper pivoted and savaged the Mongoose with a flurry of pulse laser fire, and the smaller machine seemed to almost wither away under the barage.
"Enough of this, heretic, you are mine! This ends here!" the voice faith heard was female, but she didn't recognize it. The mech fired two PPC blasts, one missing, the other hitting her Grasshopper as the Blakist mech charged in, trying to close the distance. It was a foolish mistake, for the closer it got, the more effective Faith's pulse lasers were going to be. Indeed, she watched as her Grasshopper twisted to spread the fire from the charging Blakist machine, then returned fire, once, twice, then as the Word machine got even closer, a third time, this time tearing a leg from the mech whose gun camera footage she was watching.
"Off our soil, heretic!!!! Ugh....Blake's Will......AHHHHHHHH" The enemy mech had raised it's arm, about to get a shot off from it's knees, but before it could, the pilot's screams were cut off as the fist of Faith's Grasshopper smashed into the cockpit. The image died in a wave of static, along with the female mechwarrior's scream.
Then the loop began again. "No, stop, I don't need to see it again" Faith said. But there was nobody in the room with her, just the footage playing out over her cell wall. Over and over again, she watched the short battle unfold. Over and over, she watched her mech's fist crush the Blakist into scrap. Over and over again, she heard the enemy pilot's death scream.
She had no idea how many times she watched the loop play. After a while, one viewing simply blended into the next. It seemed like hours passed, and she could do nothing, arms suspended over her head, but watch the battle over and over again.
Then, almost mercifully, it stopped, the image frozen in place viewing the metal fist of her Grasshopper. She heard the door open behind her, and footfalls approach.
"You are quite the skilled pilot, Faith," Eisheth said softly into her right ear as she stood behind Faith. "Interesting to see your work from the other point of view, isn't it?" The Blakist precentor walked around to stand in front of her, her eyes glowing a soft green. "I noticed something about you. You seem to take great comfort in the righteousness of your cause, don't you? You are the hero, we are the monsters, it makes it all so neat, doesn't it?"
"You are the monsters," Faith replied. "You are the ones who started this. You are the ones killing millions on a blind prayer, not us. Not me."
"I wonder...." Eisheth took a few steps back. She reached out her left arm, as if welcoming someone, and the door opened behind Faith again. Someone walked past her and over to where the Manei Domini stood. It was a young boy, only a young teenager from the look of it.
"Let me introduce you to someone. This is Charles Flannery. He is 13 years old. The gun camera footage you just saw was from the cockpit of the late Adept Elaine Flannery, Charles' mother."
Faith hesitantly looked at the boy, who was looking her up and down, trying to take it all in. Eisheth continued. "Allow me to share a little of Charles' story. He moved here 4 years ago when his mother was stationed here to protect the planet from further attacks such as those it suffered when it was part of the Chaos March. His father died in an accident when he was only three. His mother served our order faithfully for most of her life. That is, until she was killed in battle." She turned to the boy. "Charles, allow me to introduce you. This is Faith McCarron, the Capellan mechwarrior who killed your mother."
Faith could now see the anger and hate in the boy's eyes. And could she really blame him?
"So tell me, who is the monster now, Faith? Who is the one who came to this peaceful planet, that was no threat to the Confederation or your beloved Chancellor, and stole this child's mother from him? Tell me, how would you feel if this were you? Or if it were you're sweet, beloved daughter?"
Faith said nothing, her eyes shifting back and forth between the boy, who's eyes were filled with pain and anger, and Eisheth, who's eyes were seemingly devoid of any emotion at all, cold, mechanical.
"Nothing to say? Well, one of the pillars of Blake's wisdom is justice, so today, we shall attempt to ease this poor boy's pain." She pulled something from inside her robe. It's handle was perhaps a foot long, and several cords of approximately equal length hung from the top of it. At the end of each cord was a small silver ball, perhaps half an inch in diameter. "This is a variation on the neural whip." She handed it to the boy. "When the bulbs touch human flesh, they deliver varying amounts of pain. The harder the force you apply, the greater the pain. There is your mother's killer, Charles, bound and helpless. You can apply as much pain anywhere you wish. I give her to you to release your pain and anger upon."
Faith looked at the boy, and all she could see was anger. He stood there for a moment, before Eisheth patted him on the back. "It's ok, she cannot hurt you. This is your time for justice."
The boy walked closer, looking Faith in the eyes. Then he swung. The whip struck her in the abdomen, and pain rocked through her body. Her brain told her body to writhe in pain, but her muscles by now barely had the strength to move. He struck her several more times, each time the severity increasing. He walked around behind and and began hitting her with even greater force. As he did, the battleROM image began playing again, looping over and over as the young boy vented his pain and anger upon his mother's killer.
He returned to stand in front of her, staring into her eyes, striking her in the chest repeatedly, from the left, then the right, over and over. As the video playing in the background reached the point of his mother's final death screams, he pulled back with all his might and smashed the whip across Faith's face, rocking her head to the side. Her entire face felt like it was going to explode in pain and agony. She tasted blood. The video had reset again but she still heard the woman's screams in her mind.
"Stop!!!! Stop!!!! I'm sorry!!!! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" She half screamed, half sobbed the words. She couldn't take any more of it.
Eisheth reached out and stayed the boy's hand. "There, that is enough. She has repented, child." She took the whip from the boy, and walked him to the door, before returning to Faith. She reached up and released Faith's bonds, letting her down, and Faith collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor. The Blakist sat down on the floor and cradled Faith's head in her lap, gently stroking her cheek.
"You are close now, so very close. Enlightenment is on the horizon for you now."
For a few minutes, Faith was aware of hearing the comm chatter, but it was almost surreal. Finally, she opened her eyes, and she could see she was in the cockpit of a mech. No, not in a cockpit, something was off. The image pixelated for a moment, then resumed, but it was enough for her to get her bearings. She was in her cell, but an image was being projected on the walls all around her. From the look of it, it was battleROM footage.
"I've got it. You're mine now, heretic!"
The mech she was spectating moved around a rock, and a Grasshopper, painted in bronze and gold, came into view. Faith recognized it immediate, it was hers. The pilot lined up a shot, but a Mongoose darted into the line of fire and got off a quick shot at the Grasshopper first. With almost superhuman ease, the Grasshopper pivoted and savaged the Mongoose with a flurry of pulse laser fire, and the smaller machine seemed to almost wither away under the barage.
"Enough of this, heretic, you are mine! This ends here!" the voice faith heard was female, but she didn't recognize it. The mech fired two PPC blasts, one missing, the other hitting her Grasshopper as the Blakist mech charged in, trying to close the distance. It was a foolish mistake, for the closer it got, the more effective Faith's pulse lasers were going to be. Indeed, she watched as her Grasshopper twisted to spread the fire from the charging Blakist machine, then returned fire, once, twice, then as the Word machine got even closer, a third time, this time tearing a leg from the mech whose gun camera footage she was watching.
"Off our soil, heretic!!!! Ugh....Blake's Will......AHHHHHHHH" The enemy mech had raised it's arm, about to get a shot off from it's knees, but before it could, the pilot's screams were cut off as the fist of Faith's Grasshopper smashed into the cockpit. The image died in a wave of static, along with the female mechwarrior's scream.
Then the loop began again. "No, stop, I don't need to see it again" Faith said. But there was nobody in the room with her, just the footage playing out over her cell wall. Over and over again, she watched the short battle unfold. Over and over, she watched her mech's fist crush the Blakist into scrap. Over and over again, she heard the enemy pilot's death scream.
She had no idea how many times she watched the loop play. After a while, one viewing simply blended into the next. It seemed like hours passed, and she could do nothing, arms suspended over her head, but watch the battle over and over again.
Then, almost mercifully, it stopped, the image frozen in place viewing the metal fist of her Grasshopper. She heard the door open behind her, and footfalls approach.
"You are quite the skilled pilot, Faith," Eisheth said softly into her right ear as she stood behind Faith. "Interesting to see your work from the other point of view, isn't it?" The Blakist precentor walked around to stand in front of her, her eyes glowing a soft green. "I noticed something about you. You seem to take great comfort in the righteousness of your cause, don't you? You are the hero, we are the monsters, it makes it all so neat, doesn't it?"
"You are the monsters," Faith replied. "You are the ones who started this. You are the ones killing millions on a blind prayer, not us. Not me."
"I wonder...." Eisheth took a few steps back. She reached out her left arm, as if welcoming someone, and the door opened behind Faith again. Someone walked past her and over to where the Manei Domini stood. It was a young boy, only a young teenager from the look of it.
"Let me introduce you to someone. This is Charles Flannery. He is 13 years old. The gun camera footage you just saw was from the cockpit of the late Adept Elaine Flannery, Charles' mother."
Faith hesitantly looked at the boy, who was looking her up and down, trying to take it all in. Eisheth continued. "Allow me to share a little of Charles' story. He moved here 4 years ago when his mother was stationed here to protect the planet from further attacks such as those it suffered when it was part of the Chaos March. His father died in an accident when he was only three. His mother served our order faithfully for most of her life. That is, until she was killed in battle." She turned to the boy. "Charles, allow me to introduce you. This is Faith McCarron, the Capellan mechwarrior who killed your mother."
Faith could now see the anger and hate in the boy's eyes. And could she really blame him?
"So tell me, who is the monster now, Faith? Who is the one who came to this peaceful planet, that was no threat to the Confederation or your beloved Chancellor, and stole this child's mother from him? Tell me, how would you feel if this were you? Or if it were you're sweet, beloved daughter?"
Faith said nothing, her eyes shifting back and forth between the boy, who's eyes were filled with pain and anger, and Eisheth, who's eyes were seemingly devoid of any emotion at all, cold, mechanical.
"Nothing to say? Well, one of the pillars of Blake's wisdom is justice, so today, we shall attempt to ease this poor boy's pain." She pulled something from inside her robe. It's handle was perhaps a foot long, and several cords of approximately equal length hung from the top of it. At the end of each cord was a small silver ball, perhaps half an inch in diameter. "This is a variation on the neural whip." She handed it to the boy. "When the bulbs touch human flesh, they deliver varying amounts of pain. The harder the force you apply, the greater the pain. There is your mother's killer, Charles, bound and helpless. You can apply as much pain anywhere you wish. I give her to you to release your pain and anger upon."
Faith looked at the boy, and all she could see was anger. He stood there for a moment, before Eisheth patted him on the back. "It's ok, she cannot hurt you. This is your time for justice."
The boy walked closer, looking Faith in the eyes. Then he swung. The whip struck her in the abdomen, and pain rocked through her body. Her brain told her body to writhe in pain, but her muscles by now barely had the strength to move. He struck her several more times, each time the severity increasing. He walked around behind and and began hitting her with even greater force. As he did, the battleROM image began playing again, looping over and over as the young boy vented his pain and anger upon his mother's killer.
He returned to stand in front of her, staring into her eyes, striking her in the chest repeatedly, from the left, then the right, over and over. As the video playing in the background reached the point of his mother's final death screams, he pulled back with all his might and smashed the whip across Faith's face, rocking her head to the side. Her entire face felt like it was going to explode in pain and agony. She tasted blood. The video had reset again but she still heard the woman's screams in her mind.
"Stop!!!! Stop!!!! I'm sorry!!!! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" She half screamed, half sobbed the words. She couldn't take any more of it.
Eisheth reached out and stayed the boy's hand. "There, that is enough. She has repented, child." She took the whip from the boy, and walked him to the door, before returning to Faith. She reached up and released Faith's bonds, letting her down, and Faith collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor. The Blakist sat down on the floor and cradled Faith's head in her lap, gently stroking her cheek.
"You are close now, so very close. Enlightenment is on the horizon for you now."
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