Chapter 19: Veraslag
“Something bothering you Gavin?” Jaden asked as she turned to Gavin, who halted and stared at the sky with an unnerving expression on his face. Reed shrugged and told her, “Forget about him. He’s just getting used to walking in a dark planet.”
“Reed, come on. He looks disturbed.”
“Actually, he’s right.” Gavin turned his attention to Jaden and said, “I live my whole live within the tropical side of Mannihilate. I am very used to the brightness around the planet and the only time I ever embraced darkness is when I am sleeping within my tent. But this…”
“I thought you would be used to the darkness within the Crimson Spinner.”
“Even then, your ship is well lit, even amongst the darkness of space. It’s just that…I’ve never been in an entire planet which is completely dark. The red skies, the black clouds, the decaying surroundings, the dark alleys. It feels like I am in a different world. I admit, I was hoping that I end up in the ship party. I was already nervous looking at the planet as we descend in. I tried to ignore it all but…I couldn’t.”
“Geez. And here I thought the big, scary Mannihilator has nothing he fears.”
“Everyone has a fear Reed, no matter how big or small, old or young, brave or cowardly you are. I know it well enough. It is not fair to assume that someone is supposed to fear nothing.”
“Jaden, are you even serious? He’s a goddamn Mannihilator. They are known for their unshakeable bravery and fierce determination and their former Lord is afraid of the dark? Not to mention the fact that he’s a male human. Males are supposed to be brave.”
“So, what are you trying to say? Women are supposed to be cowards? I’m supposed to be a coward?”
“I didn’t say…”
“Just because he’s a man, he needs to be fearless? Just because I am a woman, I need to be a bloody coward? Is that what you’re telling me? Do you always generalize and stereotype? Everyone is different and using our gender to differentiate and judge our capabilities is sexism Reed. I can bet that you have something you fear which I do not.”
Reed remained silent, his usual childish smile gone and his happiness gone, replaced with both guilt and regret. He nodded and replied, “Alright…I get it. I’m sorry Gavin.”
Jaden then direct her attention to Gavin and moved to him. She placed an ungloved palm on his stiff shoulder and look at him with a reassuring smile. He simply stared at her, fear still in his face. “Hey, don’t worry alright. You got us. You’ve nothing to fear.”
Gavin nodded and almost smiled, the soft touch of Jaden’s palm made him feel warm and calm, eliminating the cold fear from his body. “Thanks Jaden. I won’t let fear compromise our mission.”
Jaden revealed a gleeful smile and told him, “We have our fears. We just need to overcome them.” She pulled back her hand and told the duo, “Let’s move on.”
The party moved on south towards the Fat Man’s Factory, walking past disgruntled civilians, unwary cultists and tough thugs. The darkness that overwhelms the planet was such a common sight that overtime, Gavin began to get used to it, though his hands still shivers slightly. Reed, still feeling guilty about before, asked Jaden, “Um, Jaden. Actually, I think I am afraid of something which I believed you aren’t.”
“What is it? You want to talk about it?”
“Um…I am afraid of…swords.”
“What? Swords?”
“That’s why I always use a gun.”
“Why are you afraid of swords? I mean, I’ve been using one and you don’t seem to react.”
“I am not afraid of looking at them. It’s holding one that can rile me up.”
“Why are you afraid of them?”
“I guess you can say that I’m traumatized by them. Every time I hold one, I remember something which can really mess with my mind.”
“Is it because of your murderous past?” Jaden said in her thoughts. What came out of her mouth was, “Is it because of something that happened before?”
“Yeah. I don’t really want to talk about it. Just know that I don’t like swords.”
Jaden shrugged and replied, “Alright. I guess I have no problems keeping my katana close to you without worrying about you stealing it.”
“I’m not a thief!”
“Just kidding.”
Reed smiled and nudged her. He then told her, “Heh. Seems like I’m not the only one with a sense of humor in this crew.”
* * *
After several minutes of walking, Jaden’s party caught sight of the Fat Man’s Factory in the distance behind several buildings. Though not clear due to a slight mist, the Fat Man’s Factory sign can be seen. Thus far, their march has been safe and without hostile contact and she was anxious to see the Salvager remnants; people associated with her deceased family. Hence, she began to pick up on her walking speed, which Reed and Gavin noticed but they caught up nonetheless.
Once they are within proximity of the factory’s gates, they spotted a pair of guards, dressed in leather vests and dark blue jeans. Both were armed with assault rifles and stood in their posts, unflinching. Jaden approached the duo while Reed and Gavin simply followed suit.
“Hold it right there gal. You approach the territory of Veraslag. State your business.” One of the guards demanded while gesturing to Jaden to stop.
“My name’s Jaden Highland. I wish to speak with your leader.”
Upon hearing her name, the two guards reacted with a mild shock and turned to each other. They stared at each other for a while before nodding.
“Alright. We’ll let you and your entourage in. Tareshah is in the office on the second of the factory. You are only permitted to go there, nowhere else.” The guard said while his partner helped opened the gates. “Thank you.” Jaden said with a slight bow before she went inside with her party in tow. Once inside, the guards closed the gate behind her, prompting Jaden to think that they prioritize security above all else.
As they walked towards the factory’s entrance, they observed their surroundings. The Fat Man’s Factory looked like an abandoned factory as majority of its lightings were turned off and much of the factory’s fortification appeared old, rusted or simply fragile. Stashes of weapons and explosives are scattered around the area, implying that the factory was once a weapons factory or the Veraslags kept their weapons around. Several other Veraslag gangsters, or Salvager remnants, wander the area and though some gave hostile glares at Jaden, others were giving more confounded stares.
Once the party entered the factory, they found that the dimly lit interior was littered with massive crates and navigating the area may potentially be similar to a maze. Fortunately, a staircase leading to the second floor was right next to the entrance and the office was the only visible room on the second floor. As they made their way to the office, Jaden looked down onto the first floor and see that right in the middle of the large crates were several tables with what seemed to be maps and sextants. A few guns and swords were also on those tables, along with ammunition and clothes. When she turned to the crates, she read, “Warning: High explosives. To be used with caution.”
“Wow Jaden. These Veraslags really pack a punch do they? Nice find girl.”
“I’ll say. Not even us Mannihilators have this much explosives.”
“Let us find this Tareshah and find out if she and her men are willing to assist us.”
Jaden opened the door to the office and see a desk on the other side of the room. The rest of the room were filled with drawers and closets and like the building itself, the walls were old. On the other side of the desk was a chair facing away from her and whoever that was sitting on it, according to the sound, seemed to be loading a gun with ammunition. Jaden walked towards the desk and asked, “Are you Tareshah?”
“And you must be Jaden Highland.” said what appeared to be a little girl’s voice.
The chair turned around and revealed Tareshah’s appearance. Instead of the noble, ragged Salvager that the party expected, Tareshah happened to be a female human child. From her appearance, Jaden assumed that she around nine years old. She had long brunette long hair which stretched down to her chest and fare, slightly tanned skin. She had a pair of large silver eyes and small, sharp nose. Held in her hands was a revolver pistol, fully loaded. On her face was a smirk and despite her youthful appearance, Jaden could not help but feel that she may not actually be a child.
Reed laughed instantly and said, “Ohohoho! What’s this? A joke? All this time, the almighty kingpin of Veraslag has been a little girl?” Suddenly, a bullet round hit the wall close to Reed, causing him to jump with shock. He turned to the gunshot and realizes that Tareshah nearly shot him.
“Make fun of me as you wish but don’t ever call me a little girl.”
“Pardon my friend’s manners but he did bring out a point. Are you sure you’re the leader of Veraslag?”
“I’ve never been more sure lass. And please, don’t judge me by how I look. I am far more mature than my appearance may let on.”
Jaden could almost believe her, considering how she spoke like an actual adult rather than a child.
“Jaden, seriously, how could this kid be a gang leader? Heck, how could she be the leader of Salvager remnants?”
“Reed, what did I say about stereotyping?”
“This isn’t stereotyping. This is logic. How could a person as young as that lead a group like this?”
“So I see you three are aware that we Veraslag are not truly gangsters.”
“Yes. We were informed by a squatter named Fabian.” Gavin said.
“Ah Fabian. That old bloke has been a friend of us Veraslag for a time now. And you, you’re neither Salvager nor Qurrentine aren’t you?”
“I am neither. I am a Mannihilator.”
“I knew it. You have that look about you.”
“You know Gavin’s a Mannihilator by…looking at him?”
“I’ve fought my share and I seen enough of them to be able to tell them apart from us. I have no love for the Mannihilators but considering these dark times, I’m willing to overlook your friend.”
“You’ve fought some of my people? Jaden, maybe you should go through her memory, see if she’s telling the truth.”
“Go ahead Jaden. Do it. I don’t mind.” Tareshah insisted.
“Well, alright.” Jaden agreed with a bit of reluctance. She closed her eyes and calmed her mind, bringing a sense of serenity around her body. She reached out her mind for Tareshah’s and begin scanning through her memory bank.
Jaden began to see a young woman, dressed in the traditional royal purple uniform of Salvager militants, fighting several other humans at once, possibly Mannihilators as their uniforms vaguely resembled Gavin’s. She then see other flashes of memories, including an instance where the same young woman was helping Salvager refugees escape from Dark Viper, who was assaulting a village. Then, after a while of looking through those memories, Jaden realize something.
That woman was Tareshah herself.
Once Jaden ceased her memory reading, she opened her eyes said with awe, “You were a woman once?”
Reed and Gavin’s brow rose with surprise as they listened to Jaden.
“Yes…I was an adult before this. A fateful encounter with one of Iblisan’s lackey turned me to this.”
“I’m sorry.” Jaden said with sorrow, sad to see the fate that has befallen the Salvager remnant.
“So…now do you believe me?”
“I do.”
“Well, if Jaden believe you, then I should.” Reed said with Gavin nodding after him.
“One of Iblisan’s men did this to you?”
“Yes but we can speak of it on another time. Right now, I want to talk about the bounty on your head. What have you been doing that pissed Iblisan off lass?”
“Reed and I slaughtered a large battalion of his cultists in the docks in an attempt to escape this planet. I then went to Mannihilate and formed a rebellion group with them, called Liberator Alliance…though I doubt Iblisan knew of that.”
“Yes, I have heard of a huge fight taking place in the docks weeks ago. And, you allied yourself with the Mannihilators?”
“Now, I know that you don’t like the Mannihilator but, we can’t defeat Iblisan’s army alone. Besides, why would it matter if they’re Mannihilators and you’re a Salvager? We’re all still humans and we humans have a common enemy, the Fallen Angel of Temptations, Iblisan Alkaidus. We should be fighting him, not each other.”
“Well, I guess I should overlook our former enemies for the future of our people. After all, those anti-Magic freaks could help deal with cultists who are Magic users. So, what do you Liberator Alliance want with us?”
“We were hoping that Veraslag are all willing to fight with us, to restore the Salvagers back to its former glory.”
“I see. Well, we are willing, trust me. But, we can’t do much with our current situation.”
“Great. A potential ally can’t help us because they have their own problems. Have we heard that before?” Reed retorted.
“In times like this, you can’t seriously expect everyone to be problem free do you?” Gavin asked.
“I know that everyone has their own problems. What I want to know is why we are their problem solvers?”
“Your friend here talks a lot.”
“I get that a lot. Last person to say that was a shifter demon.”
“I see. Seems like the entire universe agree that you talk a lot.”
“And that’s Reed Robinson for you kid…uh…my lady.”
Tareshah rubbed her face with a sigh, apparently annoyed by Reed’s attitude. Regardless, she turned her attention back to Jaden and told her, “You see Jaden, the number of Salvager remnants you see here pales in comparison to the number of remnants hiding within the populace of Qurrentine. Many of those who are hiding were once members of Veraslag but broke away from us in fear of getting killed or captured by the Cult of Iblisan. To make matters worse, all of the bounty hunter gangs within Qurrentine are allied with Iblisan, unwilling to suffer the Fallen Angel’s wrath. They happily carry out any bounties set for them, including the one placed on your head.”
“Really? I never heard of such bounty hunting gangs.”
“They are nearly as discreet as us. We only learned of their existence when they managed to kill a few of our members. Don’t ask me why. A bounty is placed for each Salvager remnant captured or killed. Compared with those inefficient cultists, these bounty hunters are trained killers and while the cultists seek out the bounties by order of Iblisan, the bounty hunters seek out the bounties because they love it. They will do anything to get their hands on their target bounties, even if it takes years.”
“Heh, I wonder if there are any bounty hunters seeking me out.”
“There probably are, just that you don’t know. Now, here’s the problem. Ever since the bounty hunters began to assault some of our men, many of the Salvager remnants were fearful that they may be next. Considering how all Salvager remnants are targets for the bounty hunters, some of us believe that hiding amongst the populace is better than forming a group which may be discovered eventually.”
“Those Salvagers have a point. Better to hide than draw attention.” Gavin said.
“Yes, their intentions are good. But, since they are all scattered all over Qurrentine, it would be hard for me to organize them or for us to look out for one another. We Salvagers should stick with each other. Anyway, Jaden, there are a lot of us hiding right now and I am not talking about just a handful or a dozen. I’m talking about battalions or crowds. Many of us escaped Dissidia during the Grand Betrayal, many more than Iblisan may believe.”
“So, why not just come together and attack Dissidia if you have such a large group here?” Reed asked.
“Because it is not enough. The cultists and the bounty hunters still outnumbered us. Not to mention the fact that Iblisan is a very dangerous foe. He has been known to decimate entire armies. But, with the Mannihilator’s support, we may have a chance.”
“So, what do you need us to do?” Jaden asked.
“That’s what we need to discuss about. Go to the meeting space within the crates. You can see it from outside my office. I’ll call for my lieutenants and we’ll hold a meeting there.”
“Well, alright. It’s been a pleasure speaking to a Salvager veteran.”
“That it has been young Highland. Now go. I will be joining you soon.”
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