Test of Faith - Chapter Nine

Test of Faith - Chapter Nine

Jezrael City

Pleione

Word of Blake Protectorate

23 June, 3075

     Acadia burst through the door of the rather ramshackle apartment that she and Cat had been operating out of. She smacked the light switch and ran into the room.

     "Cat, she's alive! They've got her at Thunder Rock!"

     The response was a throw pillow flying in her general direction from the other side of the room. "Stravag! You better have brought me some coffee, girl." Cat poked her head out from under a blanket and stared annoyingly at Acadia.

     "Sorry, no coffee. I didn't have time. I came straight here as soon as I woke up. Cat, She's alive! We can get her out now."

     The older woman slowly climbed out from under the blanket and stood up. "Calm down. You need to tell me details. We can start planning now, we cannot rush into things. Now, how did you find out?"

     Acadia went over to the coffee maker and started to get it ready to brew a pot. "Ok, so this girl burst into Paxton's place last night all pissed off that I was there. Turns out she's a member of the resistance cell he runs, and she was worried I would find out about them. Well anyway, they argued, and he got all cute and apologized to me, and then he started to tell me all about how he's trying to do his part about the Word of Blake and all. Well, in the conversation, it came up that the Blakists have been a little more relaxed lately because they're kinda pleased with themselves. Why, you might ask? Because they captured a CapCon officer in the last raid. It's her, it has to be, the description fits her and all. They pulled her out of her mech and took her to the fortress. I knew she was alive!"

     Cat walked up beside her and put a hand on her back. "Alright. But calm down. That was the easy part. Now we have to focus on getting her out. That is the nearly impossible part."

     Acadia turned to face Cat. "I know you too well Cat, don't you have a plan?"

     Cat sighed. "Yes, I have a plan. I have been thinking about this the whole time. I can only think of one way to get her out, and I am loathe to do it."

     Picking up a dish towel, Acadia wiped out two mugs and set them on the counter beside the coffee maker. "Why?"

     Cat collected her thoughts for a moment. "We know she is in the Thunder Rock facility. Now, I can most likely infiltrate the place given proper planning. But I will not be able to remain undetected for long. We have no idea where she is in the fortress, and I cannot very well just go around opening up doors looking for her, it would take forever. The only way I know to find out precisely where in the facility she is, is to let the Blakists show us."

     Acadia listened eagerly. "Ok, great, and how do we get them to do that?"

     The older woman frowned. "We let them capture you. If we get a tracker on you somehow, and let them capture you, it is too good of an opportunity, they would have to bring you two together. Then, I spring the two of you free. It is the only way I can come up with of locating her. And it is too risky for you."

     "Bull! I'll do it. When do we start?"

     Cat reached out and put her arm on Acadia's shoulder. "It is not that simple. This is a one time shot. No rehearsal, no margin for error. If you go in and I fail in the rescue attempt, you are in their clutches forever."

     "It's my mom, Cat. I'd risk my life for her in an instant."

     Cat turned and leaned back against the counter. "I know you would. And so would I. But would she want it? And do not be so quick to accept risks you do not understand. They will not simply kill you, they will do to you what they are doing to her. They will try to break you completely. If I fail and end up simply turning you over to them, what will she think then?"

     Acadia walked over and wrapped her arms around Cat. "Cat, we are here. They're destroying her. We can save her. This is what we came for, we have to. I can take a chance and risk living with the consequences. I can't live with giving up."

     She felt Cat pat her on the head. "Alright. I promise I will do everything in my power to validate your trust. Now, we will have to get some equipment, and we will have to train you. You cannot simply walk up to an HPG station and turn yourself in. This must be believable. They must catch you in a rescue attempt. We have very little time, and you have much to learn. If you thought I was a harsh instructor when I taught you to pilot a mech, that will pale in comparison to this."

Test of Faith - Chapter Eight

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."

Test of Faith - Chapter Seven

Test of Faith - Chapter Seven

Cargo DropShip Big Sally

Pleione System

Word of Blake Protectorate

20 May, 3075

     "Feels like they just flipped for final descent." Acadia McCarron laid back on the rickety cot that had served as her bed for the last few weeks of the trip to Pleione. After much wrangling, she and Cat had managed to surreptitiously book passage on a cargo hauler bringing supplies into the system. From the feel of the ride, the spheroid dropship had just flipped it's orientation to begin the final descent to the planet. "I feel naked going in there without a mech."

     She glanced over at Cat, who was using one of the pipes that ran through their makeshift quarters to do pull ups. The older woman continued with her set to completion, before dropping down and grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from her face. "Why do you think I have been working so hard?"

     Acadia twirled a lock of her black and sapphire hair through her fingers. "You always work that hard, Aunt Cat."

     "Yeah, well I am not as young as some people." While not technically related at all, Acadia had know Cat as Aunt Cat for all of her life. She had befriended her mother way back around the time of the Clan invasion, and while she remained an independent mechwarrior and never part of the unit, she had spent more time around the unit and Acadia's family than away from it in the 25 years since. She had been born a Trueborn Clan warrior, and had somehow ended up in the Inner Sphere since even before the Clan invasion, but Acadia never really found out the whole story of how that came about. She wasn't even sure if her mother knew the whole story. But Cat had been as loyal as anyone to their family, regardless.

     "As if. You're in like insane shape, you're what, 50 years old, and you've got a body most girls my age would kill for. I don't think you have to worry about old age any time soon. Being cooked up in a vat did you some good." She laughed playfully.

     Cat shot her a wry smile. "We use the term 'decanted' thank you very much. And good genes are only good if you make use of them." Cat walked over and sat down on the edge of the cot beside Acadia. "And you should feel naked without your mech. You have never killed anyone before, have you?"

     Acadia frowned. "I've been a mechwarrior since I was 16. I've killed plenty of people," she said it almost defensively.

     Cat tilted her head to look at her. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, I might tell you. But that is different. Putting a PPC bolt into someone's cockpit or turning your machine guns on infantry is one thing, but it is another thing entirely to look someone in the eyes and pull the trigger, or plunge a knife into their chest. This is not going to be like any fight you have had before."

     Acadia sat up. "I'll do whatever I have to do to save my mom. Whatever I have to."

     Cat patted her gently on the thigh. "I know you will. Remember who taught you how to pilot a mech. I have seen you grow up from birth, and I can tell you this will be the greatest challenge of your life. You will need everything life has given you. Your mother's fire, your father's patience, and your own love for your mother."

     Nestling herself up close next to Cat, Acadia laid her head on the older woman's shoulder as she sat beside her. "Sounds kind of weird to hear you talk like that."

     "I have been in the Inner Sphere for 30 years, Acadia, longer than you have been alive. Times change a person. I am hardly at all like the person I was when I won my trial to become a warrior. I like to think I am a better person for it. Things like friendship and love mean a great deal more to me than they once did. That is why I am here now."

     "So....how are we going to get my mom back?" That was the big question. She was fine in the determination department, but less so in the planning department. Something like this was out of her league, and she knew it.

     "First, we have to figure out if she is even still alive, and if so, where they are holding her. The best way to figure that out is to try to tap the local resistance cells. If anyone knows if she is alive, they will. But finding them will not be easy. Getting them to tell us will be even harder."

*****

Jezrael City

Pleione

Word of Blake Protectorate

22 June, 3075

     If the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, then the way to his secrets was through his bed. Or at least that's what Acadia was telling herself. She and Cat had split up in the capital city to try to increase their odds of making contact with some form of pro-Capellan faction that might have some information on her mother.

     It had been harder than she had anticipated. With the planet changing hands from Capellan, to Federated Commonwealth, to Chaos March, to Capellan, and then finally to Word of Blake, all within the last 50 years, there was little loyalty to House Liao left to be found. A sizeable portion of the population it seemed were quite pleased with their new Blakist overlords. The bloody hand of the Word of Blake on their world had meant that most citizens of the planet had thus far been spared the turmoil of the Jihad. And naturally, they wanted to keep it that way.

     She had been as discreet as possible in her inquiries, given the time frame they had to work with. She was posing as a University student, which allowed her a great deal of freedom to move across class and geographical boundaries in her search. She had finally gotten some hints about a group of young agitators that was unhappy with Blakist rule, but were remaining out of sight.

     And that, in turn, had led her to Paxton Davis. By day, he ran a small shop that distributed textbook files, readers, and other assorted necessities for students of the capital city's main university. By night, there were rumors that he was part of a group that had been collecting surveillance on Blakist facilities, sabotaged Blakist equipment, and otherwise made a nuissance of themselves. Cat had insisted that they not reveal themselves for who they really were, and so Acadia had to use subterfuge to get close to Davis.

     It had helped that he was young and deliciously attractive, in the roguish sort of way that tickled her fancy. And that was how she found herself that night, in his apartment, in his bed. 

     "What is that noise?" There was a soft hum in the background that she had heard before in his apartment, but it never seemed to be coming from anywhere in particular.

     "You get that on the higher floors here when the winds are high. Something about the sand of the big desert that gives that resonance. I forgot you're not from around here. When you grow up on Pleione, you learn to kind of tune it out."

      She moved slightly to get more comfortable, laying against his chest. "Ugh, I wish I could tune out the hangover that I'm probably going to have in the morning."

     He started to move, "I've got some oxy-pills around somewhere if you want to pop a few to try to ward it off.

     She pushed him back down onto the bed. "Oh no, mister, you're not going anywhere. I'll risk the hangover."

     Suddenly, the door opened and someone hit the light switch. "Hey Pax, sorry if I woke you, there's a storm outside and I figured I'd crash for....." the woman's voice trailed off as she took in the surroundings. Acadia instinctively grabbed a handful of the bedsheets to cover herself as she tried to adjust to the sudden bright light. The woman started again, "Paxton, what is SHE doing in here?"

     Paxton jumped out of bed and fumbled quickly to put on a pair of shorts. "Look, this is not what it seems. I mean....it is what it seems, but it's not a big deal...no Rachel don't give me that look." He ran his hands through his hair furiously in frustration, then turned to Acadia. "Just...just give me 2 minutes, I promise." He turned to the other woman, a brunette who looked as if she were about to spit venom at him. "You, out in the kitchen, now." He closed the door behind him, leaving Acadia sitting there quizzically.

     She could hear shouting outside the bedroom, but couldn't make out the words. She had no idea what to make of the situation. Had she just been discovered by a wife or girlfriend? If so, that would probably blow any chance of getting any information out of Paxton. She punched the mattress. After a few minutes of listening to the muffled arguing, she rolled out of the bed and slipped her underwear back on, and started pacing.

     A few minutes later, the door opened, and Paxton reappeared. "Look, I'm sorry. I...I don't think there could be a worse case of timing, I'm sorry for that. Gimme a chance to explain?"

      "Look, if I'm causing a problem, I can just go, it's ok."

     "No. Please stay. And it's not what you think. Rachel is just a friend."

     Acadia threw him a skeptical glance. "Just friends don't get that mad when they find you in bed with a girl. They laugh it off. Or join in. But they don't get that mad."

     Paxton rubbed his hands over his face. "Uh.....I don't know where to start...." He walked over to a large plush chair that stood in the corner of the room and sat down. "Come over here and sit with me?"

     She hesitated for a moment, then relented, making her way over to him and sitting beside him. He gently pulled her closer. "What do you think of Word of Blake?" Her heart began to race. This was it, he might be opening up. This was her chance, and she didn't want to blow it. She had never remotely trained for anything like this.

     "I think ComStar was a bit crazy. And all the crazies in ComStar left and joined the Word of Blake, and doubled down on the crazy. But they're just the government. Why?"

     He paused before answering her. He was clearly nervous, maybe even more nervous than she was. "Not everyone on this planet just blindly accepts the Blakists as our masters. I know it seems like everything is fine and all, but there's a whole huge war going on there. And the Blakists......I just don't think the Inner Sphere would be a very good place if they win."

     That was possibly the understatement of the century. The Jihad had already killed billions, and turned the clock back on the Inner Sphere for untold decades. "That's true. But what can anybody do about it?"

     "We can stand up to them. I mean, it may not seem like much, but if everyone stood up to them...maybe the Inner Sphere would have a chance. You know? I mean, I'm not saying that life under the Confederation was perfect or anything. But these guys are crazy."

     She nodded. "I still don't get what that has to do with that girl going crazy though."

     He took a deep breath, "Some of us are standing up to them. It's not much, but we do what we can. We try to do our part. Of course if the robes find out you're working against them, well, it tends not to end well. Rachel just....isn't very trusting. She's worried about the operation being exposed, the more people we have hanging around, the riskier it gets, you know, that kind of thing. She just kind of freaked, that's all."

     Acadia did her best to feign ignorance, in spite of the fact that she already knew most of what he was telling her. "Wow. I mean, that's a huge risk, and I can see why anyone would be jumpy."

     He nodded and stood up, walking over to the window and peering out for a moment. "We've had setbecks. The Wobbies are good at turning anyone they capture. Sometimes a whole cell disappears in one night. Hell, we even had one case where they captured someone and brainwashed him into becoming a suicide bomber, took out most of his group at the next meeting when he blew himself up. It's nuts. But it's relaxed a little bit lately, the robes are pretty pleased with themselves at the moment."

     "Why's that? Things going well for them on the outside?"

     He shrugged. "No idea about that, news from the outside is sketchy. All the media channels are carefully watched, so you only get what they want you to hear. But no, there was a CapCon raid a little while back, and the Blakists turned it back pretty hard. We tried to get in touch with the raiding party, but they weren't on planet long enough. Toasters pushed them back quick, even sent in some of their cyborg crazy warriors. Cappies never got close to their objectives. The toasters would have wiped them all out, but one of the Cappie officers made a suicide stand to hold them off while the rest got away"

     Acadia's heart was in her throat. She certainly didn't like the sound of "suicide stand." There was no way that after all their efforts, that it was possible that her mother had never even survived the fight. She collected her thoughts quickly. "Wow. He must have been a pretty brave warrior to die for his friends like that."

     "She, it was a woman. Cute little blonde. And she survived, they pried her out of her mech. We were watching from a couple of klicks away trying to make contact at the time. Probably wishes she had died though, God only knows what they're doing to her up in the Fortress."

     Acadia felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Part of her wanted to jump for joy knowing that indeed, her mom had survived. But the realistic part of her thought about Pax's words. What, indeed, were they doing to her right now, only kilometers away?

     "Hey, you ok? You look like you're about to pass out." He was looking intently at her. She scrambled to regain her composure.

     "What? Oh, um..yeah. Fine. It's just a shame to think about. I mean, I hope she's ok and all."

     Paxton sighed. "Nobody that falls into their hands is ok. Nobody"

Test of Faith - Chapter Six

Test of Faith - Chapter Six


Fortress Castle Rock
Pleione
Word of Blake Protectorate
24 March, 3075


     Time was meaningless under the blazing lights of her cell. She could barely differentiate consciousness from unconsciousness, real from unreal. It took Faith a moment to register that she was being manhandled by the two guards. She tried to blink herself to reality, suddenly aware that the lights had dimmed to normal levels. Her eyes darted around the room. Her Manei Domini tormentor was there, looking on dispassionately with coldly mechanical eyes. There was also a female Blakist technician holding some kind of pad.

     They had pulled her down and released her hands, and pushed her roughly down on an inclined table. The Precentor walked closer as the guards secured her wrists and ankles to the table, and the technician began attaching a series of electrodes to various points all over Faith's body. The Precentor smiled gently.

     "Welcome back, Faith. I trust your time of contemplation was productive. We learn much about ourselves when we are alone with only our thoughts, wouldn't you agree?" As she spoke, the tech inserted two IVs into her arm. "You should begin to feel better shortly. We want you in good condition for the next phase of your reclamation. We will build your fluids back up. The other needle is delivering a drug into your bloodstream to heighten your senses." She ran the tips of her fingers over Faith's bare flesh for effect, and Faith nearly gasped at the effects of the heightened sensations.

     "Pain is like a fire that purifies us, burning away the unneeded components until we are left with only our core, our soul. Let it wash over you." As the Precentor spoke, a wave of pain unlike she had ever felt washed over Faith, and she writhed against her bonds. Eisheth manipulated the delivery of pain like an expert, at times plucking the nerves all over Faith's body at once, and at other times focusing it like a surgeon.

     She had no idea how long it went on for. At times she screamed. At times she fought at her most resolute to remain silent. Suddenly there was a pause. Faith looked into Eisheth's eyes, and for the first time, she didn't project defiance, but instead virtually begged her to stop. The room was cold and she almost shivered as the air passed over the droplets of sweat beaded all over her body.

     Eisheth caressed Faith cheek. "Let go. Let it claim you." As she with drew her hand, the pain returned, more intense than ever, burning all over her body. It felt as though every nerve in her body was going to explode in a fiery conflagration. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and as she did so, her vision began to fade into darkness. She felt as though she was falling, before she passed out and everything was consumed with darkness.

     She rocked against her bonds, arching her back as much as her restraints allowed, and gasped cold air into her lungs. Her eyes flashed to Eisheth, who held a syringe with the needle pressed into Faith's arm. "Take it in, more. Let the pain consume you until there is nothing left but your core".

     The pain hit again, even more intense. She screamed as if somehow her cries could release some of the pain that was soaking to the core of her body. She clenched her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms. She strained as if the pain could give her superhuman strength and tear free of her bonds, but they did not give way.

     It felt as if her heart exploded. The breath was torn from her lungs, and she tried to gasp it back in, but nothing came. She blinked quizzically, and darkness crept into the outside of her vision. The tunnel vision centered itself on the dispassionate face of the woman in control of all this pain, and it felt as if she was falling, the darkness consuming her.

*****

     Faith found herself standing in a dim corridor. She was dressed in a flowing white dress, and her bare feet felt the cold of the stone beneath her feet. It felt good, it felt as if she were home. She looked around, examining the ornate stonework of the walls around her. She looked her her hands, and noticed a soft, almost warm glow to her skin.

      She heard a voice from behind her, and turned to see a woman approaching her. The woman was dressed casually, as if heading out for a quick drink at the corner bar. Her features were strong, framed by her golden blonde locks.

     "Hey, sorry I'm underdressed. Didn't get a lot of warning on this one, had to throw on any old thing. But I'm here now."

     Faith furrowed her brow. "Who....who are you and what is going on?"

     "Yeah....this whole thing..." she gestured around "not my idea. It's just a job, I do what I'm told. But hey, a girl needs a paycheck. Anyway, can't do the specific 'who what when' thing for you, not that easy. Don't blame me, I don't make the rules. But I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

     Faith was confused. She had no idea where she was, and who this rather snarky woman was. "I'm confused."

     The woman bit her lip for a second, before going on. "Ok, well I'm in a good news kind of mood, so I'll hit you with that first. The good news, that dress you're wearing, my outfit, the walls, you're not going to find a broadsword anywhere around. The toasters aren't big around here, they kinda do their own thing, and that's cool with me, they seem like a bore."

     Faith rubbed her eyes, trying to wrap her head around what was going on. "And the bad news?"

     The woman gave an almost exaggerated frown. "The bad news is....you're dead, sister."

     Faith laughed out loud. "What? I must have passed out or something. This is a hallucination."

     "Sorry, but this is the real deal, girl. You checked out. Look, I'm as surprised as you are, I wasn't planning on having to deal with you right now, figured I'd get a pedi or something today. Hence the not-so-together outfit. But I got the call."

     Part of her wanted to try to smack some answers out of this woman. Nothing was making sense, and all she had to go on was this woman who was acting like a spoiled college student. The woman walked over and took Faith by the hand and gestured with her head. "Come on, take a look."

     She led her through an archway that Faith hadn't noticed before. As they passed through, she found herself standing in the cell back on Pleione, but it was as if time was frozen. The Manei Domini Precentor stood motionless, as did the female Blakist technician. Faith's breath caught in her chest for a moment as she saw her body, strapped to a table with wires and needles attached to her. The blonde woman walked over to the table. "There you go. The girl on the table, that's you, girlfriend. By the way, for being 48, popping a kid out, and kicking ass in a mech for 30 years, you are still rockin' that body. The shaved head thing though, not working for you, stick with the blonde, trust me."

     Faith stared down at....herself? It was her, but there was no reasonable explanation for this. She was drawn to the eyes, staring straight ahead, empty, lifeless. "I...I don't understand. I mean, I remember this, the torture, the pain, but....."

     The woman stood beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Ok, let me fill you in. You got yourself caught by the bad toaster people. Rather than just kill you or throw you into a prison, since you're so badass, they decided they were going to make you a 'reclamation'. Big fancy word, but the short of it is that they break you down, body, mind, and soul, till they're left with one Faith-shaped empty shell. Then they show you some home movies, fill you up with all that 'Third transfer of power' stuff, and voila. They now have one pre-made badass mechwarrior, same as before, only now, you do what they want, go around killing people and speaking in Latin, and you get a little tingly feeling in your girly bits anytime anyone mentions the names Jerome Blake or Conrad Toyama."

     It was terrifying, the idea of being turned into one of them. "I won't let them."

     The blonde patted her on the back. "Yeah....most people aren't big on that. That's why they made you puke, got you all naked, and tied you to a table and went all Fifty Shades of Blake on you. The idea is to break you so they can fix you up right"

     "But wait, if I believe you, and I'm dead, that makes no sense. I can't be a Blake zombie if I'm dead."

     "Good....you're starting to catch on. Now see, while these creeps like to think they're perfect, and have clairvoyance from the 'Divine Blake' and all that, they're still just human, and personally, I think the visions just come from passing around the Peace of Blake pipe a little too much, if you catch my drift. Anyhow, they were hitting you with pain, they even injected you with something to increase your body's ability to sense and process sensations. I really don't think that cyber-bitch has ever heard of a magic wand, lot of pent up frustration there if you ask me."

     Faith glanced over at the frozen, motionless Blakist Precentor. There was a look of almost excitement or glee in her eyes.

     "So, at some point along the way, you passed out. The body is smart like that, it figures 'hey, this sucks, Ima go sleep for a bit'. But they wanted to keep going, so they juiced you up with some kind of super-adrenaline kinda stuff. The idea was to push you further than you should go. Only problem with that, is  that after a little more, your heart decided to clock out. And so you're here, with me, dead."

     "Here? Where is here? Who are you? Am I supposed to believe this is heaven or something? I don't get it."

     The woman took her hand once more and led her back into the hallway where they had been before. "Ok, enough of that. The mood in there was a bit of a downer. So, heaven? That's what you come up with? You're not even religious. And besides, do I look like a baby with wings? Ok, so I'm under-dressed, I told you, it was short notice. But just because I don't have armor on, come on, I still look totally badass, don't I?"

     Faith shook her head. "So what, you're some kind of Valkyrie or something? Am I supposed to go drink mead in Valhalla? This is rediculous"

     The blonde smirked. "Maybe I'm a Valkyrie, maybe I'm just the result of a lack of oxygen to your brain. Doesn't matter. Point is, this is very real. As for Valhalla...the gates are open. Say the word and I can walk you in. I know, technically you didn't fall in battle, hence  me being surprised to get the call to come get you, but apparently you're just awesome enough and dying in a Word of Blake torture chamber counts. Don't ask me, I don't make the rules."

     Faith glanced down to the end of the hallway, where a set of iron gates loomed. "So that's it? This is what death is like?"

     The other woman put her finger on her chin. "Yeah....about that....see, normally this is all cut and dry. Somebody puts a PPC through your cockpit, you're dead, there's no going back, I walk you in there and we get a drink. This....this is a little different. This time you're the one who clocked out. Your ticker is fine, it just decided to stop working. So, you have to choose. We can go get drunk in Space-Rasalhague, or you can get back into the fight. I have to warn you though, you'd be the first person you know in Valhalla, so we'd have to sit at the new kids lunch table."

     "This is insane. You're saying I can go back? Just keep on living? But wait, if this is all the way you say it is....why should I go back? They'll just turn me into one of their zombie warriors."

     The woman led her over to the wall, and for the first time, Faith noticed that this was not just a hallway, but some kind of crypt. "Maybe, maybe not. You're a badass, girlfriend. I'd fight alongside you. And you only have to keep saying 'no I won't' longer than they can tell you 'yes you will'. And hey, you're here for a reason."

     She began looking at the individual tombs set into the wall, and looked at the name. The first marker read "Freyja McCarron 3130-". She moved further down to the next grave. "Temperance McCarron 3109-3158", followed by "Serenity McCarron 3087-3111" She continued on, and froze at the next one. It read "Acadia McCarron 3050-3110"

     "What the hell is this?"

     The woman shrugged in response. "The future is always a blur. You get the choice" She pointed to the next stone. It read "Faith McCarron 3027-"

     "Check out, or stay and fight. You get to pick what date gets carved on that one, sister"

     It wasn't her time. She couldn't leave everyone behind. She had to keep fighting, had to keep saying no.

     "I want to go back."

     The woman put her hands on her hips, and smiled. "Ok. I think that's a good call. Just remember, when you need me for real....I'll be here."

*****

     Faith sprang back to consciousness with a jolt. The pain had stopped, and she could feel only the residual burning sensation in what felt like every part of her body. Her eyes shot around the room until she spotted Eisheth, with a surprised look on her face. And then at that moment, Faith could not help but laugh, out loud, and uncontrollably. 

Test of Faith - Chapter Five

(ooc: Special thanks here to Ace Kaller for participating and for supporting my crazy ideas when I pitched the current Faith plotline to him, and for agreeing to let me weave one of his characters into the Faithscape. Also note that I treat time VERY roughly in my writing, it's not meant to be precise or exact. Things move at the speed of "plot". And thanks for continuing to read. )

Test of Faith - Chapter Five

4TCR Barracks Complex
Outskirts of the Forbidden City
Sian
Capellan Confederation
24 March, 3075


     The 4th Tau Ceti Rangers had taken to having a kind of impromptu parlor and lounge immediately inside the entrance to what was supposed to have been their temporary barracks on Sian. That had been five years ago. The temporary barracks had become their home for the last trying years of the Jihad, as they came and went in the struggle to survive the conflagration sweeping the entire Inner Sphere.

     Having passed inspection at the outer checkpoint, Acadia McCarron pushed through the swinging doors into the lounge with a burst. She spun around in an energetic and almost flamboyant way, letting her hair swirl around her with it's alternating streaks of her natural raven-black color and the brilliant sapphire blue that she had taken to dying her hair in. "BAM! Count 'em people, FIVE toasters burned on that last raid. In a Phoenix Hawk!"

     She hadn't expected a chorus of applause, but usually people at least played along somewhat with her particular style of braggadocio. This time it seemed to fall as flat as a bad joke told to a room full of DCMS warlords. Her eyes darted around the room. Some people forced a smile, others deliberately avoided her gaze. Something was wrong. "Tough crowd," she muttered under her breath as she passed through the room and took the corridor towards the command center.

     She didn't bother showing her ID badge to the desk officer, and for the first time she could remember since this particular man had been assigned to the post, he didn't seem particularly flustered by her ignoring of protocol. She passed a bend in the corridor and the entrance to the command center came into view. In addition to the regular guard posted at the door, who she recognized, there was also a Death Commado standing watch, meaning one or more of the Strategios were inside.

     She reached the door and moved to enter, but the Death Commando barred her way with his arm. She gave the man an exaggerated eye-roll, and produced her ID badge from her shirt pocket. As he examined it, she turned to the other guard. "What's going on, Pete? Something is off around here."

     The sergeant's eyes looked away for a second, and his facial expression did not bode well. "You're gonna have to talk to Ork or your dad about that one. Sorry, little lady." She frowned. The Death Commando handed her badge back to her, and the 4TCR sergeant opened the door for her.

     The command area was fully staffed, and most of the senior officers were standing around the center table holomap with one of the Strategios. The map was focused, as it seemingly always was, on the Confederation border with the Word of Blake Protectorate. She approached the small crowd of people and waited for a pause in the speaking.

     "So, anyone want to tell me what's going on around here? You all look like a Tetatae ate your cat." At her words, all the eyes in the room darted back and forth between her and Ace. Well, all except for the Strategio Jiang-jun, who gave her a foul look of displeasure, and Ace, who gestured for her to join him in his office. She followed him in and closed the door behind her. She wasted no time getting to the point.

     "So.....what the hell is going on?" She could tell from his hesitation that something was seriously wrong now. She waited impatiently with her arms crossed across her chest.

     Ace let out a deep breath, then started to speak. "Acadia, your mom didn't make it back from the raid on Pleione."

     She cocked her head to the side and blinked, as if confused. "What do you mean she 'didn't make it back'? She's.....she's dead? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" Her mind raced uncontrollably. It couldn't be true.

     "We don't know." He was purposely making his statements short, and it was annoying her.

     She furrowed her brow, and raised her voice slightly, "What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know? I know the force made it back, I saw the Yong Huo parked on the tarmac as I came in. So how can you not know?" She gestured in the direction of the spaceport as she spoke to emphasize her point.

     Ace ran his hand through his hair. "The raid went bad. At least part of a Shadow Division was also on the planet, and they had to break off the attack early. Your mom's company nearly got cut off heading back to the exfil point. They were taking heavy losses and weren't going to make it to the LZ, so she made a choice. She turned and delayed the pursuers, and the rest of the guys made it to the dropship. Last readings were her mech shut down and then went off the grid just as they lifted off."

     Acadia took a second to soak it all in. "So then, she's probably still alive. I mean, they would have taken her prisoner, right?"

     "With the Blakists......we just don't know. We know they took a few of our people prisoner earlier in the fight, but who the hell can figure these robes out."

     "So when are we leaving to go get her back?" Acadia's mech hadn't taken too severe damage in her last fight, they could have it ready in time for her to join the rescue effort. That must be what they were planning outside with the Strategios.

     Ace looked down and to the side, and closed his eyes. "We're not."

     The two words hit her like the fist of an Atlas. "What?!" She shouted, her composure shattered and anger spewing out. "What the hell do you mean we're not going to get her? We can't just leave her there. This is crazy!"

     He held up his hand to stop her tirade, and the angst weighed on his face. "We can't mount a rescue mission. Not for one person."

     She stormed closer to him, pointing angrily at him as she continued to yell, heedless of what anyone outside in the command center might hear. "What is wrong with you? We have to. She would go back for you."

     "No, she wouldn't. Not in this situation."

     She was up in his face now, and she hit him in the chest with her open palm. "That's crap! You know she would. Look, this isn't like she got captured by the DavRats and they're going to ransom her back or something. Do you have any idea what those freaks are probably doing to her right now while you're doing nothing? They're probably frakking torturing her right now and you're going to write her off? Like hell!"

     Having faced considerable of her fury, Ace raised his voice in response. "You think I want to? You think I have any choice? Even if right now we break every rule and go back for one person, I can scrape together maybe a battalion worth of mechs and support. They've got three whole damn militia divisions on planet, plus however many of their cyber-freaks they decided to bring. How am I supposed to crack a malfing Star League fortress with those odds? I can't."

     "You can't just leave her there, we're talking about my mom!"

     "I have no choice!"

     She smacked him in the chest one last time, "Stroke off!" and with that she stormed out the door slamming it behind her and running out of the command center.

*****

     As Acadia left, Cat entered the command center, just in time to witness the tumultuous sendoff. The officers gathered outside were silent, not knowing what to do or say. And who could blame them. Cat made her way over to the XO's office and knocked on the door gently before entering and quickly closing the door behind her.

     "I take it delivering the news did not go well?"

     Ace laughed in frustration. "Yeah, you could say that. But," he paused for a moment, "I can't blame her. Hell, I'm angry at myself, how can I blame her for the same."

     Cat took off her coat and hung in on the back of the door before taking the seat opposite the XO's desk. "If it is any consolation, you are making the right choice. That is the simple truth."

     Ace walked over to the storage cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Scotch. He poured two glasses,  handing one to Cat before taking a swig himself. "No, it's the wrong choice, but it's the only one I have."

     "She will come around to understand it in time."

     Ace scoffed, "I'm not sure I understand it. But I understand that she sure as hell won't"

     Cat leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs before taking a long, slow drink of the Scotch, giving it ample time to slightly burn in her mouth. "Look, I know that I am the last person in all of the universe to comment on parental/child relationships. But I do know that girl well, and she will adapt."

     Ace took another drink from his glass. "She had a good teacher."

     Cat smirked slightly. "I taught her to pilot a mech. You two taught her how to be a good person. There is one hell of a difference."

     He appeared to think long and hard on his next words, and Cat was not inclined to rush him. "We both know that she is very much her mother's daughter. And so I've been asking myself, what would Faith have done if she were in this position 25 years ago. And the answer I'm left with, is that she would have gone after her mother."

     Cat looked him in the eye. "And so you are convinced that Acadia will also?"

     He met her gaze and she could see the resolution in his eyes. "Yes. I'd stake my life on it. And so I'm going to ask something of you, Cat. Probably the hardest thing I've ever asked."

     Cat preempted what she assumed he was going to say next. "Ace I can try to talk her out of it, but if she is determined, I am not sure what I can do to stop her that you cannot."

     He held up his hand to cut her off. "I'm not going to ask you to stop her. I'm going to ask you to go with her. Hear me out. She's young, she's brash, and she's bold. But she's also smart. She knows that she doesn't have the contacts or the skill set to pull off any kind of rescue mission on her own. But she knows someone who does. You."

     Cat was thrown for a loop with the direction the conversation had gone. She had never in a million years imagined that Ace would want her to go along with such a long shot of a plan. She took a moment to think and recover her wits. "I think you overestimate my abilities."

     He smiled. "No I don't. Look, I'm not saying it's easy. That's why I said it's the hardest thing I've ever asked of you. Odds are this is a one-way trip. And you should also know, there's a deadline. That planning session out there is a briefing on a new campaign set for July. One of the worlds being hit is Pleione. But it's not an invasion or a raid. It's a strike mission. They're going to go in, hit the Blakists on the ground and in space with everything they have, and jump out. We're talking WMD deployments here. If they've got Faith, they've got her in Thunder Rock. And that fortress is coming down. So.....you in?"

Test of Faith - Chapter Four

Test of Faith - Chapter Four

Fortress Thunder Rock
Pleione
Word of Blake Protectorate 
23 March, 3075


     Faith moved her arms and legs, more just because she could than anything else. After the deranged Word of Blake fanatic had left, the locks on the restraints binding her wrists and ankles to the chair had released. She was confused, frightened, and angry. She had assumed that the fanatical Blakists would interrogate, and probably torture her for information about the unit, Capellan force dispositions and the like, but this was far, far worse.

     Ever since the dawn of the Blakist Jihad, there had been rumors of prisoners being brainwashed and sent to fight for the Word. In the most famous incident, Colonel Fritz Donner had nearly wiped out a gathering of anti-Blakist leaders on Arc-Royal, and the rumors were that the Word had programmed him into doing so. But that's all they had been, rumors. Now she found herself here, face to face with a woman who was doubtless insane, who was intent on making her 'reclamation' very much a real thing.

     Pull it together, Faith. You just have to outlast them. Keep saying 'no' until it kills you, or you get rescued. After a few moments, she stood up and began walking around the room. There was no way out, of course, but just to explore the surroundings felt good. At least she was doing something. She rubbed her arm absentmindedly. The witch had injected her with something. There was nothing she could do about it except try to battle through whatever it was they had injected her with.

     After a few minutes, she started to notice a slight ringing in her ears, a mild sense of disorientation. She made her way to the chair and sat down, closed her eyes, and tried to focus on her breathing. Something was wrong. Her entire sense of equilibrium was wrong. She found herself gripping the arm rests of the chair trying to steady herself, even though she was seated. A moment later, she was so disoriented that she somehow fell out of the chair and onto the cold ferrocrete floor.

     A moment later, she felt a painful, wrenching spasm rip through her abdomen. Before long, her stomach and diaphragm were rocked by painful spasms and she vomited uncontrollably. Just as she would begin to relax and orient herself relative to the overhead light, she would be rocked by more spasms and vomiting. In the end, the disorientation overcame her, and she drifted into unconsciousness.

     She awoke curled in the fetal position on the floor. She had no idea how much time had passed. The cell had obviously been cleaned while she was unconscious, as the floor was free of any sign of her induced vomiting. She sat up on the floor and tried to get her bearings. She felt as if she had just awakened from a fever, with a kind of hangover effect. Her mouth was terribly dry.

     Then suddenly, the door opened and two guards entered, followed by the woman she had seen before. The second guard wheeled some sort of small cart in with him, but before Faith could examine it in any detail, the two guards picked her up off the floor and forced her into a kneeling position. The Blakist walked over to her. Rather than the seemingly formal robes she had worn yesterday, today she wore a rather simple white jumpsuit, adorned only with the downward facing broadsword insignia of the Word of Blake. "Symbolism surrounds us. We cannot escape it. No doubt you are feeling weak from all the purging last night. We purge ourselves to rid ourselves of excesses, and are left with that which is the strongest. Our time together today is short, Faith. But we embark on the first step of your journey of reclamation."

     One of the guards had wheeled the cart closer to where they had her kneeling. The Manei Domini looked deep into Faith's eyes, hers burning an artificial bright blue in contrast to the natural blue of Faith's eyes. "Let go of pride, vanity, pretentiousness. Let them fall away and realize your true potential as an instrument of the Word of Blake." The woman picked up an object from the cart. Faith kept her eyes locked on the Blakist's gaze. She heard a soft hum, and felt cold metal against her skin as the Precentor ran some kind of trimmer over her scalp. Her blonde locks fell to the floor, and after several more passes, her head had been shaven clean.

     She fought hard to control her breathing and her heart rate, not wanting to give the fanatic any satisfaction. The guards pulled her to her feet, and manacled her hands in front of her with a pair of relatively loose fitting cuffs connected by a solid bar of metal with a hole through the center. They forced her arms above her head and slipped the manacles over a rod protruding from the ceiling that she had not noticed before. A ring locked into place, securing the cuffs to the pole, ensuring that her arms remained over her head, locked at such a height that the soles of her feet still touched the floor.

     The Precentor gestured to the guards, and they both left the cell, the door sealing shut behind them. "We must cut away the false trappings that you have been bound by." As she spoke, she produced a rather ceremonial looking knife from her belt. Delicately, she took Faith's 4TCR tank top in one hand and slipped the knife between the fabric and Faith's skin with the blade facing outward and slit it open down the front. A few more quick slices to both straps and it came loose entirely, the Manei  Domini casting it to the floor. Using a similar, blade-outward motion, she slid the blade directly down the center of Faith's chest, the razor sharp blade cutting through the moisture-wicking fabric of her sports bra with ease. Two more cuts and it went the way of her tank top. Having stripped Faith to the waist, Eisheth walked around to stand directly behind her. She felt the cold steel of the blade against her skin again, and with a few slices, her captor was soon able to peel away her leggings, leaving her now totally naked and exposed.

     "Just as we cut away garments to lay bare the flesh, we will soon slice away the old notions that bind you to an outdated way of thinking and seeing. I will leave you for a time to ponder on that." As she left, the Precentor issued a series of commands with her thoughts.

     First, the lighting in the room increased to an almost blinding intensity, as if shining on Faith from every angle. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open against the intense flood of light.

      Secondly, the bar to which her manacles were attached retracted slightly, leaving her in somewhat of an awkward position. If she stood on her tip-toes, she could loosen the tension on her arms, chest, and back. If not, she hung suspended with incredible stress on her upper body. At first, she tried to alternate between the two positions, switching when one became too painful or taxing. But after a time, she could not sustain it any further. The temperature in the cell had dropped, tightening her muscles, and when she tried to stand on her toes, her calves burned with an excruciating pain.

     After a while, she began losing track of time. She knew she was sleepy, and her upper body was in pain, but she could not sleep. In the intense light, she began to see things, as if someone was appearing and disappearing suddenly as soon as they attracted her gaze. She felt as if hands were softly touching her at various times, and as she would try to wrest herself from the touch, the change in position would send more arcs of pain through her already screaming muscles.

     She was left to hang there in a terror world, neither sleep nor waking, tormented by slight figments of her imagination, and completely at the whims of her captors.

Test of Faith - Chapter Three

Test of Faith - Chapter Three

Fortress Thunder Rock
Pleione
Word of Blake Protectorate
22 March, 3075


     Manei Domini Poltergeist Demi-Precentor-Delta Eisheth stood on the command deck above the primary control center of the Thunder Rock facility. Her eyes were closed, but she was listening. She was monitoring all the pertinent situations unfolding, but keeping them in the background. The Capellan raiders were fleeing. The heretics had expected far less resistance than they met, and would be returning with their tails between their legs. All business with the planetary puppet government were running smoothly, which she took note of, as she left the daily interactions with the government and population to the Protectorate Militia Precentor in charge.

     A pre-set alert notified her that a file of particular interest had been accessed. She called the file up in her mind, barely even taxing her implanted Triple Core Processor. MCCARRON, FAITH ALEXANDRA had just been registered into the detention wing of the facility. She glanced over the file to refresh her memory. Subject female, 48 years of age, hair color blonde, eye color blue, height 1.67 meters. She had been something of an athlete in her youth before injuries forced her from competition. She had trained as a mechwarrior and risen quickly to prominence, both for her career in the field and her exploits on Solaris VII. Exceptional mechwarrior skills, but a quick temper. Never married. One child, daughter, Acadia, born 3050, also a mechwarrior.

     "Precentor Eisheth, you asked to be notified when your reclamation was ready. She is being taken to a cell now" The voice, though inaudible to all the world, nevertheless she heard. Linked directly to the fortress computer network, with her mind she reached out and found the cell number where the guards were taking her newest project. She was certain that this was one of which Apollyon and even The Master himself would be proud when she was done.

     Walking silently, passing through the hallways and corridors as if she were a ghost, virtually unnoticed by the dedicated personnel around her, she made her way quickly, but not hurriedly, to the detention wing. While security in the facility was heavy, she was beyond the need to show identification or credentials. Those were inconveniences of the world of the frails. The ascended had no use for such mundane obstacles. They were, just as the Master's vision had sought, virtually one with the technology around them. At times, she felt almost like a god, existing on a plane above all those frail humans around her. No, not a god, she reminded herself, simply a servant. A servant to destiny and the will of the Master.

     As she entered the cell, she continued to use unaugmented vision. She listened carefully, and could make out the rapid beat of the woman's heart. She could smell, almost taste the adrenaline and fear of a trapped creature, though as she came to stand in front of the woman and regarded her with normal vision, she could see that Faith was doing all she could to hide and control those things that Eisheth's Manei Domini senses had allowed her to pick up on. To her credit, Faith did not struggle in any futile attempt at a show of strength. Still, Eisheth could see the anger in the woman's eyes, as if she wanted to wrest herself free of the restraints and attack Eisheth on the spot. Good, your spirit is as strong as I imagined it would be. It shall be all the more rewarding to shatter it, tear it down, and refocus it in service to the divine will of Blake and the Master.

     She drew back the hood of her robe to afford her subject a look at her. She blinked her vision over to thermal to take in the heat of the anger and fear radiating off of the restrained mechwarrior. "Faith McCarron" She paused between each word, as if sizing up the woman before her. "Tell me, Faith, do you believe in coincidence? Are events guided by the blind hand of chance, or the steady hand of fate?"

     Faith kept her gaze locked on Eisheth. "What I know is that if by chance, you released me from this chair, I would kick your little cyborg ass."

     Eisheth smiled genuinely, and began to pace out a slow circle around her prisoner. "Your vitriol is unnecessary. I am not your enemy.

     Faith scoffed in response. "Am I supposed to sing Kumbaya before you start torturing me or something?"

     Eisheth continued her walk. Faith's heart rate remained high, in spite of her bravado. "I am not your jailer, your interrogator, or your torturer. I am here as your guide."

     "Well I hope you brought your 'A' game, because you're going to need it if you want anything out of me."

     Eisheth stopped her pacing, stepped towards Faith, and put her hand gently on the woman's shoulder. "I'm not asking anything of you. I'm not going to try to pry any precious secrets from you. I am not here for your interrogation, I am here for your reclamation."

     Faith looked away for a moment. "Is that some kind of code word for turning me into one of your zombies?"

     "Faith....it is a lovely name. And so fitting for our work here. Deep down, you and I want the same thing. We want humanity united in peace across the stars. That is the true vision of Blake's words. What I have is faith in those words, and in the Master's vision for bringing them about." She paused for a moment. "We all come to our faith in different ways. I grew up in what you callously would call the Chaos March. Governments abandoned me, nobles abandoned me, all the false institutions that heretics rely on abandoned me. But when my mother gave me over to the order as a child, she gave me the greatest gift she possibly could have. For when I joined the order, my eyes were opened to the uselessness of all of those things on the outside, the Marches and Commonalities and nobles and House Lords. We can only be lifted up by vision, true vision, and it has been there for us all along, since the sainted Blake laid it out in his Word."

     Faith struggled for the first time against her bonds. "Yeah well you have a funny way of showing it, sister. I fight for the Confederation, for my home. I've got nothing in common with you and your band of crazies.

     Eisheth continued to smile, "I asked earlier if you believe in chance or in fate. The reason I asked, is that because when your band of raiders touched down, we quickly identified your unit, and from the mechs, the likely roster. I looked it over, and none of the people stood out, none but you. You were the one that struck me as worthy of reclamation, and now, here you sit. I do not believe in coincidence."

     Faith shook her head. "You keep using that word, 'reclamation', you're not going to brainwash me."

     Eisheth took a deep breath. She still does not understand. "As I said before, we all come to our faith in different ways. I discovered mine of my own volition, through years of study. Yours is buried deep inside you. You know the wisdom of Blake's words, and that they are humanity's greatest hope. But all your life you have been trained to ignore it. You have been coerced by corrupt, impure systems and monarchs. You have built up walls and defenses to keep the truth locked away, so that you can go on pretending and living the farce that petty house lords would have you live. But now you are here, and guided by the wisdom of the Master and the blessed Apollyon, I will be your guide as we tear down those walls, shatter the false belief systems you have been shackled to, and open your eyes. You have many skills and talents, and when we have revealed your inner truth, they will be put to glorious use in serving the will of the Master."

     Faith started to laugh. "You are off your rocker, sister. If you expect me to believe any of that garbage, you have another thing coming. I'm not going to serve you or your crackpot master, and I'm not going to break, so you might as well kill me now."

     Eisheth caressed Faith's cheek softly. "I have no desire to kill you. And you will only be broken so far as it is necessary for you to be rebuilt and reborn."

     Faith pulled her head away at Eisheth's touch. "So I should just sit back, relax, and it's all going to be fine, right?"

     In her mind, Eisheth called up a file image of Faith's daughter. "You are going to be reborn, Faith. You are a mother, you know that with any birth there is pain. The same must be true here. But I can promise you that the reward will be far in excess of the burden."

     Eisheth reached into her robes and removed a syringe from an inner pocket. She removed the seal cap and gently pushed the needle into Faith's arm. "I must go, for a time. When I return, we shall begin the process of peeling back the barriers to your enlightenment."

     With that, she walked away and left the cell. As the door slid shut behind her, she activated the release for the restraints binding Faith to the chair. The drug she had just administered would take 12 hours to run it's full course. In the meantime, she would meditate on the great task of reclamation set before her.