Phthalo Blues: The Viper

by Will Wallner

  "Trust me, you wouldn’t like that, and your parents would have a major problem on their hands."

  "My parents are dead. No one cares about me."

  After hearing this the man paused for a moment.

  "I'm guessing you're Tiberian. Are you an orphan?" Tiberian citizens are known for having slightly paler skin than the rest of Middle Continent. They usually have lighter hair color and very little pigment in their skin.

  "I was an orphan, I mean, I'm still am. I'm all alone"

  "I'm sorry kid. Is there no one here who looks after you? Maybe a foster home or something?"

  "The people I came here with abandoned me. They left me alone with Moja and now she's run off too." Taz started to cry. This was more than the man was expecting to deal with. He didn’t want to get into a situation where he was responsible for an orphaned child.

  "Well, unfortunately if there's no one who can take responsibility for you, I'll have to leave you with local law enforcement, and they'll deal with you." The man thought back to how they had first encountered each other. "Moja, you're talking about that dog, right? The one that ran off. You two will be reunited in no time. Luckily for you we have guards on all of the town entrances. Even dogs aren’t allowed to leave." The man genuinely felt sympathy for Taz.

  "Really?" There was a glimpse of hope in Taz's eyes.

  "Yeah, I mean, I can't promise anything, but if she ran towards the edge of town, one of our soldiers will have picked her up." The man tried to console Taz but secretly had a very dark thought.

  "I hope they don’t shoot her."

  "My name is Viper, what's yours?" Viper held out his hand towards Taz, hoping to build trust between the two.

  "It's Taz, nice to meet ya." Taz accepted the man's hand shake.

  "Cool, well now that we're friends, I guess I can trust you to stay by my side as we walk to the port?"

  "Sure thing Viper, you can trust me." A slight grin came over Taz's face. It turns out that owners really are a lot like their dogs. As soon as Viper released his grip, Taz tried to run as fast as he could to get away. Unfortunately for Taz, Viper saw this coming and had already prepared his other arm to prevent Taz from escaping.

  "Taz, I wanted to trust you, but I could see it in your eyes that you were going to betray me. What a shame."

  Viper approached the docks, dragging Taz by his collar. He first wanted to speak to the Middle Alliance enforcement officers and then to investigate the ship. Before he could do either, a woman in the crowd cried out and charged towards him.

  "Taz!" Nakita pushed her way through the crowd to confront the man who was holding Taz. "Hey! Let him go!" Nakita rushed forward and stood face to face with Viper. He was handsome, in his 30's, with well-trimmed facial hair. His dark hair showed hints of greyness and his well-worn face read like a road map through a history of hardship. Unlike the military soldiers he travelled with, he wore clothes which would made him look like a government secret agent. That’s basically what he was. He was high up in the Capitol City military, but his real loyalty lied only with MAW Corp. He reported directly to General Ryuu, the commander of the MAW Corp army and therefore the man in charge of Capitol City's military force. Viper was one of General Ryuu's most loyal servants and someone who Ryuu entrusted with only the most delicate of matters.

  The crashed ship in Berlin was something that only a few people within MAW Corp could be considered reliable and trustworthy enough to handle. Even with MAW Corp's immense financial backing, they still didn’t have a large number of people within the organization at the upper level. General Ryuu was extremely protective of MAW Corp's classified operations and was very selective about who he let into his inner circle of comrades. Even Viper didn’t have permission to access MAW Corps most classified information. He was told only as much as he needed to know. At the time when the ship crashed into Berlin, there were other sensitive matters MAW Corp was dealing with in other parts of Eros. They were stretched thin and this new incident was highly troubling for Ryuu. Viper was the only person available who could handle this delicate situation and was dispatched immediately. By coincidence, he was already in Middle Continent on a different assignment.

  "Who are you? Do you know this kid?" Viper spoke to Nakita with a calm disciplined voice.

  "Yes, he's with me, I'm looking after him." Nakita was relieved to see Taz.

  "I caught him on the outskirts of the town trying to run away. You should keep a better watch over him. Taz said he had been abandoned by the people he was with. Was he referring to you?"

  "Abandoned? No, he ran away. I've been looking for him all day." She turned her attention to Taz. "I've been so worried. You shouldn't have run off after Hunter." Taz didn't respond, he was too ashamed to admit he had let Moja get away. He knew that if he had stayed with Nakita and hadn’t run off, Moja would still be with him. Nakita looked at Viper. "Can you release him now? I'll look after him and won’t let him out of my sight, I promise."

  "Alright, but seriously, this could have ended very badly if he had tried to get passed the barricade and escape the town. I'll leave him with you. He's your responsibility now. I have more important things to worry about." Viper was very happy he could leave Taz with someone other than local law enforcement. He tried to look as cool as possible as he gazed up at the crashed ship. "Until this is over, we can’t allow anyone to leave this town. Please just stay here and hopefully I can take care of this mess." Viper couldn’t help but notice how attractive Nakita was and couldn’t help trying to impress her. "I'm the only one authorized to go on board. Just hang tight."

  Nakita just wanted for her and Taz to get out of Berlin as quickly as possible, but she understood that for now, she would have to respect Viper's authority. This wasn't some local law enforcement like Oswald. Messing with MAW Corp was extremely dangerous. She smiled politely and thanked him. Taz took a single, slow, step forward towards Nakita, then buried his face in her arms and started to cry.

  "Taz, I was so worried about you. Are you alright? What's wrong?" She hadn’t even noticed Moja was missing.

  "She got away. I couldn't catch her. She's gone, just like Hunter."

  2. STEEL TOMB

  Berlin, Middle Continent

  Day 11 Month 4 Year 2037

  Viper approached Oswald and his younger partner. both were standing in front of the ship. Oswald tried to look as unimpressed as he possibly could. He'd spent his whole career in low level security positions and grown to despise anyone in upper ranks. Oswald hated anyone who had authority over him. Viper wasn't the least bit interested in Oswald or any of the Middle Alliance enforcement officers. He was there for just one purpose; the steel tomb.

  "Alright, I'm going on board. No matter how long it takes, make sure no one else steps foot on this vessel." Viper spoke to the two officers while looking up at the vessel. Oswald didn’t like receiving orders from someone who wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

  "Aren't you gonna say please?" Oswald couldn’t help but try to aggravate Viper with his sarcastic remark. Viper ignored this verbal jousting and approached a ladder made out of individual metal rungs, welded to the side of the ship. As he put his foot on the first rung, Oswald had a serious question. "What if something happens to you and you never comeback? Are we just supposed to enforce this lockdown indefinitely?"

  "That's right, keep the town under lockdown no matter how long it takes for MAW to send my replacement." He grinned and looked back at Oswald. "What's your name?" Viper asked.

  "Oswald." He said begrudgingly.

  "Oswald, I'm counting on you." Viper wasn't above a little sarcastic verbal sparring.

  Before climbing up to the deck of the ship, he checked his weapon concealed under his coat. It was loaded and the safety was 'off'. This was a very delicate situation for MAW Corp in terms of keeping secret what was on board of this vessel, but it was also a very dangerous situation for Viper. Viper knew what was being transported. He legitimately feared for the safety of the citizens who
had crowded around the ship at the docks of Berlin. Viper climbed the steel ladder, as the crowd, along with Nakita and Taz, watched from beneath. As he ascended towards the top railing, he noticed the cries of the seagulls as they swept through the sky above him.

  Viper cautiously climbed over the side of the ship and landed firmly on the deck. He landed in a crouched position and drew his gun at the same time. Viper froze still and scoped from left to right looking for anything suspicious. There was nothing. It was completely deserted. All he could hear was the cry of the seagulls. He transfixed on this sound. He couldn’t justify why he was so distracted by the noise. It was as if it reminded him of something important which he had long forgotten. It wasn't appropriate for him to explore those feelings at this moment. He buried them deep inside and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

  Viper held his gun in one hand and removed a small electronic device from the inside pocket of his trench coat with the other. His eyes were locked on the deck of the ship. Without looking, he activated the electronic device. It was a small, hand-held scanner, used to identify a special type of radiation. It vibrated, as it registered a small reading. This was no surprise to Viper. He knew there was a source of this specific type of radiation on board. His fear was that he would get a reading so large, that it could only mean the cargo of the ship had escaped containment. That would be what MAW Corp would describe as the worst-case scenario. Viper hoped he'd never have to face this threat in real life. Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. The source of this radiation was MAW Corp's dirtiest secret.

  Viper walked slowly across the ship's deck towards a steel hatch, which led to the interior and lower levels of the vessel. He placed his hand on the circular valve and firmly turned the handle to release the locking mechanism. As the thick, heavy, steel door swung open, he poised himself for what he might find on the other side. An empty hallway, dully illuminated, with an industrial lamp. It was like a ghost ship, there was nobody. There should be a crew of at least a dozen MAW workers. Where were they? As Viper stepped through the doorway and proceeded along the narrow path, he saw the first sign of trouble.

  Blood. A thick red splatter on the floor and a dripping trail of crimson which led down the corridor, deep into the darkness. He gripped his gun tightly and scanned the area. Still just a slight vibration, indicating a small amount of radiation. According to his briefing, if the weapon had escaped, there would be radiation levels ten times higher than what he was reading. There could only be two possibilities. Either the weapon hadn’t been released, or the information he received during the briefing was inaccurate. Furthermore, if the weapon was still contained, then what happened to crew? Where did this blood come from?

  Viper followed the trail of blood, walking slowly and meticulously towards a door at the end of the corridor. He was well trained to cope with stress and anxiety. Now he was inside, away from the cries of the seagulls, there was no doubt he would conduct himself exactly as the leader of MAW Corp, General Ryuu, would expect. When the situation called for it, Viper was a stone-cold killer, ruthless and unforgiving. The doorway at the end of the corridor led to the ships control room and was left slightly open. The trail of blood ended here.

  Viper peered through the narrow gap of the door. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a few small patches of blood. Whoever this blood belonged too had been dragged down this corridor and then suddenly disappeared. It was highly unusual. There were no signs of a struggle or any other clues about what had happened here. The only noise to be heard was the occasional 'beep' from the ship's navigation computer and the low 'drone like' hum from deep within the ship's engines. The cold air was stale and musty, which mixed with the sweet scent of blood. Viper pushed the metal door slightly to widen the gap. There was still no one in sight. As he scoped the room, he slipped in silently.

  The control room served two purposes. The first was the ships navigation. Radar screens and instrument clusters filled one half of the room. The other purpose of the control room was to monitor the cargo being transported inside the hull of the ship. That cargo was a new weapon being developed by MAW Corp. Due to a recent incident, they had to move all evidence, equipment, and anything else related to the weapons development to a new facility. The original research lab where the weapon was being developed had recently run into major problems. It had been destroyed. General Ryuu had to hastily setup a brand-new facility to continue MAW Corps research and development. This was highly classified and so the entire operation to relocate their research laboratories had to be done in secret.

  If anyone from the Capitol City Government, or even worse, a rival corporation, discovered what MAW Corp had been developing, then it would be the end for MAW Corp and anyone else involved in the weapon's project. It was a high-risk gamble being played by General Ryuu and MAW Corp. If they were successful, then they would reign supreme on Eros as an unstoppable military power. No government or rival corporation could challenge their superiority, but they needed time to compete their research. The weapon wasn't quite ready, and they needed a safe place where they could continue their research without the risk of being discovered.

  General Ryuu decided the best place to establish the new research facility would be far away from their previous location in Capitol City. An isolated part of Eros where no government could interfere with their plans was chosen. The recent destruction of their previous laboratories in Capitol City, led to a very dangerous situation where MAW Corp was exposed, and their dirty secret was laid bare, waiting to be discovered. General Ryuu had to act quickly to remove all the evidence of their research. In this vulnerable situation, perhaps not all of the necessary safety precautions were properly planned. The cargo ships were hastily setup and retrofitted to transport the dangerous and delicate research materials. Four days ago, seven ships set sail from Sector 13, on the outskirts of Capitol City, and one of the ships, Vessel D, didn’t arrive at its intended destination.

  A wall of security monitors inside the control room showed nothing but static. The ships navigation controls displayed a malfunction message. The computer used to control and navigate the vessel had given numerous warning messages that the ship had drifted off course and needed to be manually corrected. The auto pilot had been deactivated and the ship was left to drift at sea. The crash could have easily been avoided if one of the ship's crew had taken control. The warning messages had begun two days prior, at the same time the auto pilot had been switched off. None of this made any sense. Viper asked himself where were the crew? How did they let this happen? On a desk inside the control room was a log book which belonged to Captain Rudolf, who was the ship's captain. Viper flicked through the blank pages until he came to the most recent entry.

  09.04.37 (Two Days Ago)

  There's just a few of them left. I've taken care of most of the crew and I won't let any of those traitor's escape. I almost killed them all without any of them realizing I was the culprit. If it hadn't been for Stevens noticing the sleeping pills, I snuck into the dinner dish, it would have been game over. Luckily, they still didn't fully suspect me. All the paranoia on the ship allowed me to escape detection. They wasted so many days accusing each other, while I finished them off, one by one. As instructed, I've left the bodies in the cargo room next to the shipment. Stevens gave me a bit of trouble, he locked himself in a storage room, but unlucky for him, there's an air tight seal on the hatch. I clamped the door shut from the other side using a wrench, he should run out of air soon, then I'll put him with the others. All this work is making me so tired. I was worried about running out of time, so I deactivated the auto pilot to let us drift at sea until my mission is complete. None will be left alive. They'll never take control of ship. I'll always be captain…

  When this is all over, I wonder what life will be like at the new facility. I'm a bit nervous about being stationed so far out in the desert. I hope I won’t feel too lonely and isolated. Arturo assures me that it will be a much better working environment.
I'm thinking about making a request to the upper officials at MAW Corp to allow Rosa to live with me onsite at the new base. She's so lovely, I'm going to ask her to marry me.

  Viper realized immediately something was very wrong with the captain of the ship. It was exactly what he feared the most. Was he infected? Had the weapon escaped? At least now, he knew who was responsible for deactivating the auto pilot, which explains how the ship managed to drift so far off course, but could the captain really have killed the rest of the crew? As much as Viper wanted to read the whole log book, he knew Captain Rudolf could still be somewhere onboard. The next the step would be to investigate the cargo room and make sure the weapon was still secure. There was no mention of the weapon escaping, but Viper knew it was highly likely the captain had been exposed. Viper knew that somehow the weapon could have influenced the actions of the captain. It was actually a side effect from the radiation, and wasn't the weapon's main purpose, but it wielded a power over humans which deeply troubled everyone who knew about the project. As far as Viper was concerned, there was nothing else left to do in the control room. The next place to investigate would be the cargo area, deep inside the ship. He put the captain's log book in his pocket and left the room.