Phthalo Blues: Fragments

by Will Wallner

  Sector X, Capitol City

  Day 12 Month 4 Year 2037

  The MAW stealth vehicle glided through the sandy Tiberian desert at great speed. The vehicle operated with hover technology, which meant it could drive over any surface, even water, at speeds much faster than a normal land vehicle. It also had the advantage of not needing to stick to roads. It could travel in a straight line over any terrain, without obstruction. Of course, this method of transportation was only available to the military. Civilians wouldn't be able to enjoy this high-speed technology for many years, if ever. Viper was granted the use of this stealth vehicle for his assignment in Middle Continent. It was necessary to be able to cover large distances in a short amount of time. Due to the cargo ship emergency, he needed to get to Grunewald, from Tiberia, as quickly as possible. Now he had a different use for the stealth vehicle. In addition to its great speed, it also had an advanced radar system. Viper scanned the area around the destroyed MAW vehicle, where he had investigated the night before. He used the navigation system to divide the large desert plains into quadrants and searched them one by one. Even with this advanced technology, it was a tedious task, with no guarantee of success. Viper's job was made even harder by his passengers.

  "Why does she get to sit in the front?" Clyde crossed his arms and pouted his lips, looking out of the rear passenger window, as he voiced his complaints to the back of Viper's seat, who didn’t even bother to respond. "I thought we were partners?!?" Clyde still waited for a response, but there was nothing except the soft hum of the stealth vehicle, gliding through the air. "Nakita, enjoy it while it lasts! When Mr. Viper's superiors find out how you betrayed Mickey, your head will be on the chopping block!" Nakita rolled her eyes. "It doesn’t matter who sits in the front seat, you and Taz are still our prisoners!" Clyde let out a sigh of frustration, while Nakita tried to focus on assisting Viper with the search. After being rejected by the two adults in the vehicle, Clyde shifted his focus to Taz. "What are you reading?"

  "It's a comic book." Taz replied, while staring at the colorful pages.

  "Yeah, I can see that, but what’s it about?" Clyde finally found something to distract him from his troubles.

  "It's a detective story, set in Capitol City." Taz continued to focus on the panels of the comic book.

  "Can I see?" Clyde motioned with his fat hands for Taz to let him take a look inside the pages. Taz took a second to consider his request, then turned the book towards Clyde. "Oh, that looks cool!"

  In front of the cabin, Nakita discretely started a conversation with Viper, trying her best not to disturb Clyde, who had finally found something to occupy his boredom, and more importantly, shut him up.

  "Are we really your prisoners?" She asked softly. There was ambiguity about the nature of their relationship. Nakita and Taz had agreed to go with Viper in search of Hunter, but it wasn't clear whether they actually had a choice. Viper looked at her but didn’t answer her question. Perhaps he was still trying to decide, for himself, just exactly what his plans for them were. His silence was confirmation for Nakita, that while they may not be prisoners, they weren't free either. "What happens when you find Hunter?" Something clicked in her mind. "That's it, isn’t it. You're going to use us as leverage. Just so you know, Mickey tried the same thing, and you saw what happened to him." Viper had indeed been thinking of this exact scenario.

  "In spite of what you might think about me and who I represent, I'm not going to," before he could finish his thought, Viper felt a vibration in his pocket. This wasn't a vibration from his radiation sensor, it was something far more important. "Shit."

  "What's up?" Nakita could tell something was disturbing him.

  "I need to pull over for a moment" Viper disengaged the stealth vehicle and allowed it to gently come to a standstill. "I'll be back soon." Viper looked directly at Clyde. "Do not leave this vehicle and don't touch anything!"

  Viper stepped out onto the harsh desert surface. It was now late in the afternoon, and even though the sun was beginning to set, it still burned strongly in the horizon. A dusty wind blew clouds of sand and other small debris, striking Viper as he tried to shield himself with his long black jacket. He struggled to place his phone against his ear.

  "General Ryuu, I'm here!" The desert wind and flying dust made it hard to communicate clearly, so to compensate, Viper yelled loudly into the phone. He accidentally looked towards the sun for a split second, and his well-worn face flinched at the blinding light.

  "Give me your report on the situation in Tech City." Ryuu ordered, coldly.

  "I'm still investigating, but Mickey and most of his gang have been killed, it appears to be the work of a rival gang." Viper knew, sooner or later, Ryuu would want an explanation for what happened to Mickey and the Overlords.

  "That's the price we pay for hiring low lives to carry out our work. I assume you've already begun the cleanup?" Ryuu expected the most from his men, meaning Viper should know what needed to be done next.

  "That's right, I'm still taking care of a few loose ends, but you can rest assured the project and any connection to Nexus have all been destroyed." Viper was trying to buy more time.

  "Make sure anything that could lead back to us to is disposed of. Kill any remaining members of Mickey's gang if you have to. When you're finished, report back to the base in Tiberia and await your next assignment." Ryuu was already planning what their next move would be. Only those that could be trusted and relied on, were tasked to carry out their most sensitive, top-secret missions. Viper was one of the few who Ryuu trusted with these vitally important tasks. That meant he was in constant demand.

  "Yes, sir." Viper hesitated but desperately wanted to ask about another matter. "General, may I ask that after the completion of this assignment, to be considered for transfer to the central headquarters in Sector X? There's something about the desert landscape in Tiberia which doesn't sit well with me. I prefer the cityscape from Capitol City."

  "You must perform your duty as ordered." Ryuu allowed a hint of human emotion to influence his words. "But I know what you mean about the desert, I don't like it there either. I'll consider your request." Ryuu ended the call, leaving Viper to figure out what to do next, but why didn’t he tell Ryuu about Hunter?

  As Ryuu hung up the phone, he looked out of the floor to ceiling window in his skyscraper office of luxury. The view of Capitol City extended far beyond the boundary of his vision. The same sun, which scorched the desert in Tiberia, only offered a faint illumination of the city scape. Ryuu didn’t have time to waste staring out at the city beneath him, he had an important meeting upstairs in the board room.

  Ryuu rode the elevator to the top floor of the massive skyscraper, located in the heart of Sector X. This sector was dedicated to research and development, primarily for military use. Every corporation, remotely related to the military, had their headquarters in Sector X. The lucrative government contracts given to these military corporations were larger than all of the other contracts combined. Residential development, commercial development, even drug pharmaceuticals, none of them compared to the value Capitol City placed in its military. These corporations, tasked with developing the most lethal weapons imaginable, held a higher power within the political structure of Capitol City. That was how Capitol City maintained its dominance on Eros, by embracing its military superiority. When Tiberia was attacked by Crimson Blade, they had no choice but to call on Capitol City for assistance. At that time, it was Iron Corp who was in charge of the Capitol City military forces. Iron Corp had maintained this most sought-after government contract for decades and grew into a juggernaut financial empire. But it was during the War of Tiberia, that Iron Corp crumbled into financial ruin. That was when it fell prey to a hostile takeover by a stealth corporation known as MAW Corp. Now MAW held the position of power, but Iron Corp's long reign of dominance still echoed loudly in the corporate board rooms of Sector X. The remnants of the old order were about to get a rude awakening.

  On the top
floor of the MAW corporate headquarters, the same building which used to belong to Iron Corp, a large board room was setup for a meeting. Several leaders of the most powerful corporations in Capitol City had gathered in Sector X. They waited in silence for the final guest to arrive. The meeting couldn’t begin until everyone was present, and this missing guest was the most important. Finally, a soft bell sound announced the arrival of the elevator, but the person who stepped into the board room wasn’t who they expected.

  "Where’s Max?" An elderly gentleman demanded to know. The mere act of delaying the meeting was considered extremely disrespectful. These were people used to being in control. They wielded immense power and influence within their own respective industries, and had unlimited money and wealth.

  "Max isn’t coming, I'll act in his place." Ryuu spoke to the collection of expensive suits with disdain. It was just a few years ago that he was trapped outside the city borders. Living as a man, but not a citizen. An outcast from society, kept out by the very people sitting in this board room. He was looked down on his entire life, and that chip on his shoulder, was more like stake through his heart. He could never forgive the unjust treatment of his fellow people in Sector 13. Even in his own warped mind, he could justify what he did to them, following the War of Tiberia. It was only because he had been forced to live in hell, that he became a demon. Now it was time to make them pay. Revenge would be sweet.

  "That’s not how we do things!" One of the old grey men slammed his withered fists onto the board room table. "This is outrageous!"

  "My honorable friend is right, Max should be here, as the head of our group. Where is he?" Another suit tried to calm his colleague. In total, there were around a dozen old men sitting at the table, waiting for an explanation from Ryuu.

  "I already told you, Max will no longer be attending these meetings. I will act as his representative." Ryuu arrogantly strolled through the board room, looking each of the angry men in the eye, as he took his place at the head of the table. He wore a custom-made military uniform, fit for a general or emperor. Gold piping adorned every seam and countless self-awarded medals hung from every available space. Ryuu sat in the leather, executives chair, and placed his boots up on the wildly expensive, hand crafted, board room table. "You'll speak with me and I'll pass on any important information to Max. Now, how do we start these meetings? Does someone have something they wanna say?" Ryuu taunted the room with his devilish grin. "How's business? Is everyone still making shit loads of money?" He laughed as a demon would, while the rest of the board remained speechless.

  "Ge…General," one of the old men mustered up the courage to speak.

  "Please, call me Ryuu." He looked the old man right in the eyes with an evil smile.

  "We've heard reports of certain actions being taken in our name." The old man's words were met with a chorus of grumbles from the other member of the board. "Ryuu, that's not how we operate."

  "And tell me, Lloyd Rothson, chair of the financial district, where did you hear these reports from?" Ryuu knew everyone in the room and their positions of power within Capitol City. Some of these men were twice his age, and now they had to answer to him. He loved it.

  "It's not important where we heard it!" Lloyd slammed his fists on the table. "You don't have the right to act in our name!"

  "Oh, but Mr. Rothson, it is so very important." Ryuu removed his boots from the table, and assumed a more dominating position, leaning his body forward over the head of the table, ready to strike at any moment. "Don't forget, everyone has a price, even your most loyal servants. Isn't that right, Benedict?" He turned away from Lloyd to address another member of the board.

  "General Ryuu, what are you implying?" Benedict Kemsly, the chair of the justice district, who also acted as head of the board for the Capitol City Police Department, sat upright in his chair, and held his head up high, as if to tell Ryuu he was above these sorts of accusations.

  "Did you think we wouldn’t notice your surveillance?" Benedict's face drooped in sorrow. "Your lackys in the CCPD weren't worth the money you paid them." Ryuu spoke with stern disgust.

  "None of that is important." Lloyd reasserted himself. "We can't allow you to jeopardize the very fabric of our society. This is the way Nexus has always existed. We've maintained centuries of growth and prosperity by concealing our existence. "

  "You've enjoyed the power you all inherited from your ancestors. Power which you didn’t earn. You continue to hide in the shadows, while you do nothing but enrich yourselves, and maintain control over the peasants." There was bitterness and anger in Ryuu's words.

  "Now you listen to me, boy!" Benedict could no longer tolerate being spoken too in such a manner but going up against Ryuu was a foolish mistake.

  "Don't you dare call me 'boy', the next time you do, you'll end up like your beloved Ernst." The entire board room gasped. Benedict had no retort; he understood the threat perfectly. "I'll give you a pass this time, but never again." Ryuu straightened his jacket. "Max is in control now. The mere fact that we allow these meetings to continue is a show of our good faith, but make no mistake, things have changed. You will either fall in line, or be annihilated, the choice is yours. This meeting is over." With those final words, Ryuu stood up from the board room table and arrogantly walked away, just as he had entered, looking each of the men in the eye. Ryuu couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the most powerful men in Capitol City, cowering in fear, as the elevator doors closed behind him. Now the men were left alone to contemplate what had just transpired.

  "Ernst would never have allowed this circus act to take place in our hallowed presence." Benedict blurted out.

  "It's a travesty" Lloyd replied. "Something must be done." The dozen or so old men all looked at each other in silence, acknowledging the pressing need to take action.

  ~

  At an undisclosed location, within Sector X, Ryuu entered a dark room. These were chambers built deep underground. Their existence was known only to a select few. A place where no one could find you if you wanted to hide. Not even an atomic bomb could reach this place. These were Max Wolfheart's private chambers, where he isolated himself from the outside world. No one could disturb or distract him from his thoughts. This solitude was of his own making. These were boundaries he erected so he could explore his obsession uninterrupted. Every time Ryuu entered this room, he was greeted in the same manner. Max sat with his back to Ryuu, and spoke without emotion.

  "Welcome back, Ryuu. How was the meeting?" Max's voice was soft and yet somehow unnatural. His voice echoed through his chambers, showcasing just how cut off this place was from the outside world. There was complete silence, allowing for any minute noise to be heard clearly.

  "The old fools are stubborn, but I have no doubt they'll fall in line." Ryuu couldn’t help but look at Max's surroundings. The floor was black polished marble and the tall walls were supported by grand sculptured columns. Even though the chambers were in the heart of Sector X, underneath a gigantic skyscraper, this room felt as if it could have been carved out of stone. Warm light dimly emanated from florescent floor fixtures, which projected shadows high up onto the ceiling. Intricate and ornate sculptured artwork adorned the walls, which looked futuristic and not of this world. A metallic sheen glistened on the surface of the walls with a deep red hue. Of all the strange elements to this room, perhaps Max was the strangest of all.

  "My father used to speak highly of some of those men, but they all sat and watched, idly by, without lifting a finger. They'll pay for their sins." Max swiveled his chair so he could face Ryuu. It had been roughly three months since Ryuu had last seen Max and his appearance was shockingly different. Ryuu knew to hide any expression from his face, but Max's transformation was so disturbing, it was difficult to conceal. Lit dimly in the shadows, the contours of Max's face were noticeably different, somehow, he looked inhuman. It wasn't just his appearance that had changed, Ryuu now realized, Max's voice was also different. "Ryuu, I don't care about Nexus. We'll us
e whatever resources they can offer to further our plans, but they're all disposable, they can all die. The antiquated inner workings of Capitol City do not interest me. Our focus should be Tiberia. Professor Arturo tells me he's making great progress. He has requested more samples. You'll need to arrange more shipments."

  "It was a lot easier when the laboratory was in Sector 13. It will take a couple of days to transport the samples to Tiberia, but I'll see to it immediately." Ryuu bowed his head respectfully.

  "Good, I'm relying on you, Ryuu, to fulfil my wishes. You will act as my intermediary. I can’t be seen in public, not in this state." Max could easily tell Ryuu was trying to avoid eye contact.