Private More Machine Now

[Makai Dashiell]

Despite the dead humanoid hanging from the tree as a warning, the large snakes and spiders, Makai realized he should have came to an island such as this on his return visit.Oppressive heat and humidity, caverns, no tourists? Then again, how was he supposed to know his once beloved fish village had turned into an opulent escape? It seemed little places such as these were paying the price now, it was clear to him a civil war had broken out and it was concentrated in the off beaten paths.

They walked single-file on an almost-path, it was clear something or someone had been making this trek between the end of the cavern and where they were headed. Water dripped down from the massive canopy as they walked, creating a bit of an odd echo among the sounds of the tropical rainforest. If one was to escape he knew for a fact several were far too soft to make it. Makai wasn't even sure he could navigate successfully without some type of equipment or sensor.

They were headed down now, careful not to slip in mud. A few more feet and they were thrust out into a burned out wasteland. Makai could tell there were trees and vegetation as thick as what they walked through at one point. Some frames of gutted village homes remained, as did some coral foundations but not much else. It had looked as if it has been firebombed from above.

Elpsis Kerrigan

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Makai Dashiell

The surviving inhabitants of Liberty had recovered the bodies of their fallen friends and loved ones. Those they had been able to recover, at any rate. If one looked carefully, one would still find remains. If one were to look closely, one would still find body parts crushed underfoot. Amidst the foliage lay the gutted, bombed-out remains of the town. Firemane could not govern, but it could create a wasteland. Shattered brick houses with smashed walls, and shattered windows or doors ripped off their hingers bore witness. Blood and shrapnel had splattered buildings and broken vehicles. Bombs had toppled trees, and uprooted streets that had once teemed with food vendours and small shops. The ground was caked in mud.

It was likely for the best that Makai could not feel the Force, elsewise he would be feel sensitive to the screams of terror that echoed through the Force. The screams of those whose last moments had been spent burning in hellfire. He would, however, come across the burnt-out husk of what had once been a school. The roof of the building had caved in. Amidst the rubble, he would find the scattered pages of a textbook. There was also a broken doll. The silence of the graveyard hung over the place.

"Firemane did this?" Emilia said in a low whisper, sounding incredulous. "Why? What did these people do?"
Rhea spun around, so fast and with such venom in her yellow eyes that the young woman flinched. "We wanted to be free," she said in a voice as cold as an icestorm on Hoth. "And we shall have revenge."

"This is...," Sailsa started, the gears in her mind moving, "appalling. I heard rumours, of course. But I had no idea Firemane would go this far. You hear so little about what's really happening on....well, the frontier. Tegs and I..." she winced when she heard Hunts-Silently chitter, and flinched in fear, "I never really liked her. She's a liar. I can help you bring her justice. Her and her friends on the board."
"Oh, shut up," it suddenly burst out of Emilia.
"You, young girl, have much to answer for. Your father was part of this," Sailsa snapped.
"I didn't know! I was in college, and I just came here as a present. Dad was supposed to come but he had to work. I...I had no idea." Emilia had tears in her eyes, and it was very clear she was both shocked and horrified.
"Stupid little rat. Your daddy helps build the missiles, what did you think, that he built rocket ships for holiday trips? He's pathetic, and so are you!"
It looked like she might slap the girl, but Rhea stepped forward and struck her hard across the face, knocking her to the ground. "And you are even worse."
"Oww!" Sailsa looked around, she only saw hostile looks of pure contempt written on the faces of the rebels. That, and a hungry looking Partuz.

"You want to assist?" Rhea asked ever so softly, but the menace was there.
Sailsa raised her hands placatingly. "With all my heart."
"You can start by clearing rubble."
"Well...that is not what I...the information I can offer is very valuable. I've mingled with the great and powerful of the Arx, I can..."
Rhea brushed her words aside as if they were buzzing insects. "And you will share all of it with us. Now get to work."

Mr Important, who had remained oddly quiet throughout the trek and was red-faced from the humid air, chuckled quietly. Not quietly enough though. "And you shall toil as well, Roland Ernst Gilgard, third of your lineage of vermin," Rhea spat the name with such contempt she made it sound like an insult. "Start by clearing that roof sheet," the Rattataki pointed at the ruins of what had once been a school. The roof sheet was made of metal, and looked like it had rusted.
"I need some gloves," he protested lamely. "Or I'll cut myself."
"I do not care. Or would you rather I cut off your whole hand...and feed it to Hunts-Silently, then make you clear the roof sheet with one hand?"

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Was Makai surprised Firemane had done such a thing? Actually, yes.

While he had been under no illusions the company was all for the welfare of the people, growing up in the corporate world one of his first and earliest lessons was learning not to bite the hand that feeds. Pushing the workers too far, demands, abuse could all work in the short term. Many would fear for their jobs, their livelihoods. However, beings could only take so much and the pendulum would swing back and hard. He had studied several worker uprisings and the foolish failings of the boardroom and how easily an empire could crumble.

Case in point.

Makai and his roommate, er...cellmate? Ewrin were assigned several heavy beams to move. At least he had help, Mr.Important was moving metal roofing by himself. At least Makai was used to the physical labor, working and setting up mining equipment on his own. He had lugged so much equipment up hills and rocky mountains and down into ravines the beams were just another day at this point.

He figured once he got back to the Tingel Arm he would send out a notice several relief organizations. Maybe some of the locals could be moved to better locations if they so wanted. It was a big galaxy to be stuck in the middle of skirmish after skirmish.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Makai Dashiell

As the saying went, power corrupted and absolute power corrupted absolutely. Or perhaps it was more apt to say that power revealed. Thus the prisoners were put to work. Some managed better than others. Roland Ernst Gilgard III - Mr Important - was soon red-faced and sweating profusely, for instance. His hands were also bleeding, but he dared not mouth off. Most of the prisoners, barring a few exceptions like Makai, were unused to physical hardship. Nonetheless, toil they would.

After some time had passed, Makai, Erwin and some others were assigned to clearing out rubble. Emilia and her new Cathar friend Adega were also among them. The building had been laid to waste by Firemane bombing. The walls had been smashed, and windows shattered. Two armed rebel soldiers watched them, both to ensure that they didn't use the chance to slack off...but also to scan for any ordnance that might still be buried beneath the ruins.

But it was not a bomb they found when they clawed through the rubble with shovels, iron bars and their bare hands. "Hey, I found something," Erwin declared after a long period of toil, his dark hair baked in sweat and his shirt and trousers both dirty.
"What is it?" Emilia came over, her clothes similarly marked by toil.
"Dunno. Got a bad feeling about this."

They pushed more earth, and rubble aside, and Erwin gasped. "Fuck."
Emilia took one good look at their findings, paled and felt her stomach content's lurch. Feeling sick, she quickly turned away from the ghastly sight and vomitted. Adega was quickly at her side, holding her. "There, it's okay, sit down..." Beneath the debris they had cleared away lay the remains of a Twi'lek boy, lying inside the wrecked remains of a crib. Erwin had a vacant, empty look written across his face, staring at the body.