The Fractured Empire: A Tale of Downfall

Chapter 6

(One hour later...)

"Are we there yet?"

"No," I answered for the seventh time in the past minute, "Alexander Haze, I will duct tape your mouth shut and throw you out the back hatch if you don't shut your trap!"

"Please, you wouldn't do that."

"No, no I wouldn't," I began, an evil smirk spreading on my face, "Ali, get the duct tape. Tell Boreas our son is just dying to hear about the latest updates our old friend has made on our armor."

We had taken our helmets off, so my wife flashed me a devious grin before kissing me on the cheek. "With pleasure, my love. Alright junior, come here. Don't make this difficult."

A brief commotion could be heard before muffled yelling ensued. General silence followed after that before a loud gasp could be heard.

"I'd love to tell him about all about it!" Boreas exclaimed, "Thank you for bringing me a crowd!"

Several moments later, Alannah returned and kissed me on the lips.

"I duct taped him to the chair–he's not getting free."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, mijn sintel."

"Why, of course!"

Before this rather comical situation transpired, my team had piled into the Ravager after our talk with Nathaniel Morrison had ended. True to his word, Jackson stayed behind and assured me he'd gather up a modest group of people and get them whipped into shape. Judging by the mildly sadistic light that danced in his eyes when he told me this, part of me really hoped he wasn't going to actually use a whip. Then again, we are talking about Jackson Delacroix. The guy isn't exactly the shining example of a sane human being.

That aside, Morrison gave me the coordinates to Ryderos before my crew and I left. Even though he said this settlement is a close neighbor of Bauvarak, it took me some time to find it. Damn mountains...

Thankfully, I spotted the colony soon after my son was forced to listen to Boreas' musings: the first thing that caught my attention was the smoke that drifted up from between two smaller mountains. Upon closer investigation, I was able to see Ryderos was located in a decently-sized valley. If half of it wasn't on fire, I could easily believe the settlement was prosperous.

"Well, here we are," was all I said, "How do you think we should go about this, Ali?"

"Eh, stealth is kinda pointless. Try to be inconspicuous, but don't sweat it if we're spotted. If there are any hostiles in Ryderos, we'll gun them down."

I nodded in response and frowned in thought. "What if I land by the administrative building? There's a chance Ms. Flynn is still there. If not, useful information could be found within the building."

"Why would Flynn be in the Admin building?" Alannah inquired, "Last we checked, she came to Ryderos to get medical equipment."

"True, but keep in mind she too is an administrator. I'm sure she would be allowed to stay in the Admin building rather than sleeping in some dingy hotel. This system may be fairly quiet, but it is more advanced than I was expecting."

"Eh...Fair enough. Alright, fuck it: land on the building that looks like it was carpet-bombed."

Unfortunately, Alannah was spot-on: much like Bauvarak, Ryderos was surrounded by a round wall of dark gray steel. It had buildings of various sizes arranged in a grid pattern while a spaceport seemed to make up the lower eastern part of the colony. Ahead of us slightly to the west was the largest structure in Ryderos–the Administrative building. Its once-spotless steel exterior was marred with scorch marks and dents. As far as I could tell, part of the building was caved in.