Hearts of Delmar (Book 1 of 2)

Chapter 26: Who are you, Jack?

The group sat around in a circle: Vinn, knee in a brace, Nicole on the other knee. Silverback and Dee, and Vicki sitting alone as Jack remained the only one standing up.

"So...what the hell are you, Jack? WHO are you?" Dee asked.

"It's complicated but explainable. Short answer, Human. Long answer will take some time. As far as you know this habitat is one of the first 3 selected for population relocation both in case of the inevitable destruction of Earth, and the integration of humans to the rest of the universe.

This isn't the first wave of human habitats. The first ones were mostly trial runs to see what worked, and for ethical reasons they used prisoners for the experimental habitats. One in particular was self governed, Amenthis, they just let the prisoners build their own society of crime to see wherever it went, and you can imagine it went to hell.

My father was one of the prisoners, selected as a guard to keep things under control from the inside. They called them Surgeons: Killers running the government by a code. The guards got privileges if they played by the rules and the rules bred some rather efficient killing machines. My father was the best, they say. Roman Blue, AKA the Roman, AKA Caesar himself." He said holding up the bloody coin. "If you got one of these, you were about to meet your hero or your maker. They say you never actually retire from this business, it either pulls you back in or hunts you down, so one way or another it kills you some day...you either die operating or you die unexpectedly from a bullet to the head from a thousand yards."

"So you're still... 'Operational' then" Dee asked.

"Semi-retired, more of a special occasion player. When you have a boss like Gizzy, you can't really get away from it. She knows how to draw you back in. Not even with threats, just facts, reminders, hints that you still owe a debt. The prisoners were supposed to be sterilized on entry but on a rare occasion it didn't work, so a few system bastards like me, got born into hell and raised there. She got me out of that prison when I was little, gave me a chance at a better life than constantly being hunted and facing the worst monsters ever to be called human. She gave me a home, a job, some surrogate parents, adequate but hardly genuine, but something in me just wasn't happy whittling wood and making furniture. I joined the military at 16, and when she saw my scores she knew I may have been raised a civilian, but I had the Roman blood in there still working its magic. I wasn't happy unless I was defending something worth fighting for. She called it the red knight syndrome. A white night who craved being the hero and fighting for the good guys, but soaked red with the blood of his enemies with a lust to kill. Before long you don't even need to know why you're doing it, or who the target is. You just learn to trust the orders. Gizzy always had a plan and a reason and I don't think I've ever known her to be wrong about a target. Some ultimate good always comes from it. So I just...stopped questioning it."

"You really trust her entirely." Vicki confirmed.

"I have to. She gave me a life. She healed my medical defects and made sure I was the peak of human perfection, top doctors, immaculate nutrition, constant training, fitness, latest in health technology. Every opportunity to be what I wanted and I chose this, one way or another. She pulled my ass out of countless situations, some my fault and some 'shit-happens' ones. She's the closest I have to a real parent and we're not even the same species. I got tired of it, retired from it, decided to travel and took a job as security and surveillance, 2 boring years back and forth, shore leave on Earth fronting as an HVAC repairman and that's when I met Vicki... desperate girl with a broken AC. Knew she was different, fell for her immediately and when I realized she had cancer and the only treatments available were offworld, well...I just had to call 'mother' and beg for a favor. You know how curious and uh, good Dee is at keeping secrets. The secret got out, and needed to be contained, so the deal was simple, move the whole business, the 12 people running it, the whole house, just move it here where Gizzy could filter and control communications, ensure no leaks compromised the security. The occasional favor, in exchange for packing up your life and business, she gave you all everything you asked for, money, healthcare, protection, special privileges, occasional trips to Earth with restrictions, and basically the promise of a better and longer life than you could have back on Earth."