The Man Who Has It All

[Alric Kuhn]

"My wife...god, I don't even know."​

​

Alric continued his tale, this time with a smile on her face.​

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"I was young. I was blind, and she was everything that I was hoping for. All of my life, at every single turn, I did the chasing. It was always that way, and I didn't really mind it. It made me feel powerful, in control. It let me know that I was doing the thing that was best for me, that I was getting what I wanted. Chasing is a young mans game, it's what we all do when we know we want something. She..."​

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He chuckled again.​

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"She didn't let me chase."​

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"She was about as subtle as a brick to the face. Almost immediately, seconds after, she knew that she wanted me, and she took me. It wasn't something that I expected, and truth me told my instinct was to run. I almost did, I was so close to doing so. It took another woman, a woman that loved me even then to wake me up."​

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"Funny how that worked out."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"Twenty years. That's how long we were together. Twenty years of happiness, twenty years of joy."​

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"I made mistakes at first, mistakes that cost me my best friend. I told my wife everything. All my experiences, what I had done, what had happened between me and the girl from Tatooine. It shattered a bond that had been forged through pain and horror, and I was the one that broke it. It was no ones fault but mine, no one else was to blame. Was it worth it?"​

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"It brought me so much. It brought me age. It brought me wisdom, it brought me the knowledge of what family was supposed to be, it brought me my two daughters."​

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Alric was smiling now, a wide smile.​

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"I can't describe them and do it justice. They are, without a doubt, the most beautiful things to ever exist."​

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There was true pride in his voice.​

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"If I got nothing else out of my marriage but still got them...I would call it a success."​

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"They're smarter than me, stronger than me, everything that I wish I could be. They're not even fully grown yet, but I can already see it in them, the path to greatness that they will take. I suppose that's what every parent says about their child, I suppose its a bit conceded to say, but I'll say it anyway."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"I paid a heavy price, a price that was only paid because I was a fool, but...a price that was eventually returned."​

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He looked somber for a moment, though there was no true despair within his tone.​

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"Twenty years passed by in a blink."​

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"My daughters grew, my wife and I got older, and the past seemed to get farther and farther away. Titan grew, expanded, eventually moved away from me. Another price was then paid, one of hubris. We were threatened, attacked, and so I did the next foolish thing. I ran. I ran with my wife thinking that my children would be safe. It was foolish, but we survived, we all lived. My daughters were left alone and for nearly a year My Wife and I stayed in hiding."​

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"Then she left."​

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The scratching of chains could be heard, the soft sniffle of a man in the distance, the echoing of a boot print hitting a wall in anger.​

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"I don't know why. I don't know if she was unhappy, if she left for someone else, or if it was just me. In the end she left for her own reasons, and before I could find her, before I could do anything to get her back. She was dead."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"It was an old friend that told me."​

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"One of the only friends that knew I was alive."​

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Kiran had always been good to him, had always been loyal.​

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"I tried to reason with it. I tried to tell myself it wasn't her, that it was the force or something like that. I was wrong, of course. It was her, it was my wife. I didn't know what to do at first, I didn't know if I should go back or stay, I didn't know if it had been my fault or if it had been hers. I blamed myself, I blamed her, I blamed everyone and everything around me. I couldn't help it. I couldn't see what to do. For weeks I wallowed in my own pity, I hid and cried, I began to waste away."​

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It hurt to admit that, that he had been so broken after Silara's death.​

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But it was true.​

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"It was them that woke me up. The memory of my Daughters, the thought of the lights in my world."​

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"Eventually I realized that they needed me, that I was wrong, that I had made so many mistakes in my life and that I couldn't let them suffer because of that. My daughters...my daughters were the only thing that mattered. They had to know that I was alive. That I loved them, and that I would help them."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"It wasn't easy coming back."​

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He admitted again.​

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"I carried so much shame."​

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"I had so much to apologize for. So much to fix. So much to make right."​

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Alric shook his head, scratching the chains against the wall.​

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"I didn't know how to do it. I didn't know how to go on. It was so hard, and I was so weak. Still am. Above everything else, I am a weak man. I need others to keep me going, I need others to push me forward. Without them I'm useless, without them I'm nothing."​

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"So like the weak man that I was, that I am, I turned to the only friend I'd ever had."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"It should have been her from the start. I hurt her, betrayed her."​

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"I don't think I'll ever make up for that. I don't think I can ever show her just how much she means to me, just how much I love her, just how much she's done for me."​

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He looked at his hands.​

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"I try now."​

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"I try every day."​

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A chuckle came from him just as the boots began to draw closer.​

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"I guess thats why I ended up here. I guess thats why I'm in this cell, talking to all of you. I love her. I do. I always have. I wanted to show her that, I wanted her to acknowledge it. I wanted her to be fully aware of just how much she means to me. Maybe I went too far this time, maybe I shouldn't have gone so far off the beaten path, but she had to know, has to know just how much I love her."​

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"I needed them for that. To show her."​

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He shook his head, scratching the chain against the wall again.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"Finding them was hard, getting them was harder, having them set was nearly impossible, getting back with them? That should have been easy. That should have been the simplest part, actually, but in the end my hubris made me pay. I thought everything was okay. I thought everything was set, but as always things weren't as they seemed."​

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The boots suddenly stopped, a loud clang as steel met steel. Alric shivered slightly as the scratching echoed out in the darkness.​

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"No. They weren't, were they?"​

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The voice wasn't Alric's. It was gruff, hard on the ears and broken slightly as though Basic were not it's first language. The figure was hidden in the darkness, though Alric could guess what the voice was, who it belonged to. His lips slowly turned into a frown, his shoulders slumped, and he tried to shift back towards the wall. A spike of pain ran through him, though he managed to hide the sudden jerk that rushed through his side. The cell door opened, and the figure stepped into the light.​

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He was a man, human, though his skin was pale with massive red and purple diseased patches reaching over his flesh. Pustules lined his neck, and his eyes appeared to have lost their light.​

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Alric looked up at the figure, his lips thin.​

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"No."​

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It was the only answer that he gave before the man stepped forward and grasped Alric's neck. He was surprisingly strong for his size, wrenching the former Titan up from his sitting position and pulling him to his feet.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"It's never what it seems for scum like you."​

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The man's voice was guttural, broken, like speaking ripped his own vocal cords. It hurt Alric to listen to him, made him wince, and at the distance that the man stood from him the former Titan couldn't help but flinch away from the figure. That only seemed to make him angrier, pulling Alric closer and tightening his fingers around his throat.​

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"You think you know it all. You think because you have money, because you have riches that you can solve every problem. You think you can see it all coming and fix everything. Well you didn't see this coming did you, you piece of garbage."​

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The man spat in Alrics face.​

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"No."​

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It was the only answer he gave, the only one he could give.​

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He had tried reasoning, he had tried talking, and it had failed. They had captured him and beaten him, broken his body and tried to make him speak. Every word that had come out of his mouth, everything he had said had been ignored. They weren't interested in platitudes, promises, or assurances, all they wanted was what they asked.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The man looked disgusted, his lips pulling down to reveal rotted teeth and bleeding gums. His tongue was black and he seemed to simply me...falling apart.​

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It would have been an unpleasant sight from twenty meters, being right in his face made Alric's stomach turn. His face kept straight however, his eyes settling on the whited out orbs of the other man. The former Titan stared, keeping his expression calm and his face even as a marble statue. There was nothing for him to say, nothing for him to do, nothing that could appease the man or his anger. The business man knew that, knew that he couldn't do anything about this.​

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Not yet.​

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"You disgust me."​

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The man turned and threw Alric into the hallway, wrenching him through the doors and tossing him onto the floor. The Tetan struck the ground with a loud thud, letting out a groan of pain as he slid across the floor and came to a slow stop.​

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"Come on you wretch. They want to see you again."​

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A solid kick to his ribs, and then Alric was pulled up from the floor again.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

There was a few whispers of support, a few silent cries, some echoing rattling against bars of steal. Most of them were ignored by the monstrous man, though some earned a kick or a smack with a metal bar that he carried. Alric tried not to pay attention. He tried not to see them or even hear them. he had to focus, focus on what was to come, focus on what lay ahead. He knew that whatever it was, whatever they wanted now would only bring him more pain.​

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His eyes closed, and slowly he wandered forward.​

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"They'll kill you this time."​

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The man spoke, his guttural tone dripping into Alric's ear like sludge falling from a wall. A shiver rolled down the Tetan's spine, an involuntary burst of unpleasantness that was elicited from the man coming so close to him.​

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Alric had no idea what had made this monster, he had no idea how he had come about or why it hated him so, but Alric knew that whatever it was he would end up paying for it. It was the way of things, the moral of his story. Yet the Tetan did not despair. He did not curse the heavens or greet his end. He had business to attend to in this world. He had two daughters to raise and a woman to prove wrong. That was what kept him going, that was what allowed him to set another foot forward.​

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The idea of his girls.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

It wasn't too long before he stood before them again.​

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Two men, one woman, all of them appeared as the guard did. Their skin was patchy, their teeth rotten, their eyes sunk into their skulls. Strangely their hair remained, though it too was colored a dark brackish black. Alric didn't say anything to them this time, he knew better. Silence was their only answer as they peered down at him, their broken eyes searching for some sort of weakness, some sort of tell. The Guard stood at his back, a stun baton gently cradled within his palm.​

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A table sat in the corner of the room, upon it half a dozen items. A datapad, a small box, what appeared to be a small remote, a leather wallet, a crinkled coat, and last a small, now crumpled up picture. Alric instinctively peered towards the items, though his attention was quickly caught by a smack across his face.​

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"You can have it back when you tell us the codes."​

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Alric spit blood on the floor, the girl was stronger then she appeared.​

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"Why?" ​

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Another strike across the face, this time nails scratching along his face again.​

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"We thought you'd stop resisting by now, that some time waiting, thinking would convince you, but apparently thats not the case, apparently you insist on being stubborn."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"All we want are the codes. All we want is access to the Dark-Net terminals."​

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Alric eyed the source of the voice, one of the men this time. He received a glare from the woman, though before she could speak Alric opened his mouth.​

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"Why? They won't do you any good. All the information is encrypted anyway, you can't crack the code even if you had access."​

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It was true.​

The Dark-Net was now used by all of Vanir and in many parts of the galaxy. Because of that the system held the highest level of encryption even on the more useless databases. It was a way to keep up security, and the only way that most worlds would utilize the system.​

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"The codes won't do you any good."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"Then why not tell us?"​

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The woman spoke again, her voice shrill as though her vocal cords had been scratched while speaking. Alric tried to observer them for a moment, tried to understand them. The codes would really do nothing for them. it would allow them access to the Dark-Net Relay, would allow them to use the system to send messages...but even then it was a closed system, and that system really only related to Vanir and several smaller outer rim worlds as well as Techno union Facilities.​

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It made no sense.​

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Why ask for something they couldn't use? Sabotage? No. They didn't need the codes to sabotage the Dark-Net, at least not with the resources they had already shown they had. Whatever group this was they had the funding and manpower to stage an attack on more then a few of the Buoy's and get away before Vanir could respond. They didn't need the codes for that.​

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"It's bad business."​

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Alric suddenly felt a jab in his side, a spiking pain as the prod was stabbed into his ribs. Electricity began to course through his body, his muscles seizing and his entire form crumpling onto the ground as he let out a harsh scream of pain. Smoke rose from his body as the electro-prod was slowly retracted. Heavy breaths passed from his lips, and slowly Alric began to rock back and forth on the floor. He tried to dispell the pain, throw it away and cast it aside.​

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Another jab of the prod prevented that.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

His teeth clamped shut, his eyes burst open.​

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Electricity seemed to pour throughout his entire being, his very thoughts invaded by bright sparks of energy.​

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"KARK!"​

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Alric managed to bite the word, the small release of energy helping him as once again the prod was pulled away from his already bloody body. The old man crumpled slightly, more then well aware of the fact that he would not last much longer, that he could not handle the pain. He wasn't a young man, he wasn't built for this. Tears welled in his eyes, pain throbbing along his body. He heard a sneer above him, a scoff that cut down into his ears.​

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"Mr. Kuhn."​

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He felt spit land on his face.​

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"Mr. Kuhn, It's simple. If you don't give us the codes, we'll look for those who will."​

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His eyes flared up towards the woman that spoke.​

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The Tetan was smart enough to know what she meant, but she continued anyway.​

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"We already have you. I'm sure your two lovely daughters will be even easier to capture."​

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That sentence hung in the air, seemed to stick to the womans tongue. An overarching urge to strangle her came to Alric, though with his hands bound and his legs chained it was an impossibility. So instead he simply lay there, heavy breaths parting his lips. The woman slowly leaned down, her eyes broken and cracked as they were meeting Alric's.​

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"I want you to think about that. You have five minutes."​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The two men and the woman left, their footsteps echoing in the empty duracrete room. The guard remained, his stun baton gripped tightly in his hand and his shoulders hunched. There was a look of disdain on his face, and Alric could see spittle dripping down his face. The Tetan frowned slightly, his eyes wandering around the room.​

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It was empty save for the table.​

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Heavy breaths passed through Alric, his mind slowly beginning to work as his eyes folded closed. He tried to think, tried to think of a way out, tried to think of how to fix this, how to make it all work. Only one thing came to him, only one solution seemed to creep to the forefront of his mind. He frowned for a moment, his eyes opening as he looked up at the massive guard, then towards the table in the corner of the room. Bright blue focused on the metal edge, then back towards the man.​

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"I'mgoingtokillyou"​

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It was barely above a whisper.​

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"What?"​

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The man leaned down, moving closer to Alric, and in that moment the Tetan struck.​

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It happened with speed, with ferocity befitting that of a younger man. Alric used what strength he had left, snapping his hands around the mans head and kicked out his feet. He struck the mans legs and at the same time threw his head. The great lumbering monsters fell, and with the added momentum of Alrics push was thrown against the edge of the desk. Blood spurted out as the man's skull crumbled, a loud groan escaping him as he fell dead..​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

It was a scramble after that.​

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Alric rushed towards the body, scooting himself forward and clawing at his belt. He pulled free the knife tucked within leather, slicing through rope and grasping at keys hidden in pockets. The Chains clanked free and within moments Alric was standing. His body was ragged, his breaths were heavy, blood dripped from his face and his eyes looked as though they were beaten and bruised. A sigh escaped his lips, though whether of relief or coming fear was hard to tell.​

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His hands dug into the pile.​

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The Datapad was snapped in half, the coat was thrown aside, the wallet was carefully tucked into torn pants, the picture was reverently scooped up, folded open to reveal a photo of his two daughters. He smiled for a moment, as if the sight gave him strength. The remote was next, though as he picked it up he realized the crack running along it and the sparks it emitted meant the device was broken. A soft curse escaped his lips, but he moved on quickly as he scooped up the small box.​

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Alric closed his eyes for half a moment, a small prayer uttered beneath his breath.​

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The box flipped open, and within was revealed a ring.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He smiled as he looked at the ring.​

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It appeared that they had left it largely untouched. The gems still gave off their feint glow and the etched metals still looked perfectly vibrant and bright. For a moment Alric simply inspected the gems, ensuring that they were set perfectly and that nothing had come to harm within the time of him being parted from them. It was important that the ring was okay, if it wasn't...well the former Titan wasn't entirely sure that he would be capable of replicating it.​

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The ring was truly one of a kind.​

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"Alright."​

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He said to himself as the ring box snapped closed.​

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"Lets get out of here."​

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The ring was tucked into his pants, hidden away quickly in the pocket that would keep it the most safe. Then he quickly began to search the guard, grasping a keyring upon his waist and pulling it free before finding nothing else of note. He frowned slightly, shifting and stepping to the side of the room as he heard footsteps beginning to wander by the door.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"When he gives us the codes we'll be able to knock out the system. Once that happens the facilities won't be able to talk to one another, and then it will all go-"​

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The voice faded away, and Alric raised his eyebrows.​

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They wanted to knock out the Dark-Net? Why? That was hardly conducive to any sort of profitable plan. The Dark-Net was used on many worlds of course, but it was always in tandem with the Holo-net. No world that utilized the Dark-Net utilized just the Dark-Net, in fact the only organization that did that...​

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The thought suddenly struck him like a brick.​

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In hindsight it had been obvious from the start, in fact it had been staring him in the face this entire time. The old Tetan felt like a fool, the greatest fool in the room. His lips thinned, his hand wrapped tightly around the keys in his hand. His eyes closed or half a moment as he began to think about all of the implications of what he had just learned.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

For whatever reason, this group planned to go after Vanir Technologies itself.​

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As far as Alric knew his company was the only organization in the galaxy that exclusively made use of the Dark-Net. His facilities were the only ones that only had Dark-Net receivers. Originally this had been designed as a security measure, allowing secret information to easily be passed around without a single worry about a breach. Of course, he had never thought that anyone would gain the access codes to that system. If someone were to get those codes...they could take out the entire network with the push of a button.​

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It was really the only way to compromise the Dark-Net.​

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Physically the buoy's were too well defended and it was impossible to hit multiples at once, if one could even find them.​

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The question though was simple, why? Why bother taking out the Dark-Net? Clearly this group had done their homework, clearly they knew what they were doing and why they were doing it, but why? If they wanted to cause harm to Vanir Technologies there were easier ways then taking out the Dark-Net, easier ways then kidnapping Alric and torturing him.​

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It didn't make any sense.​

 

[Alric Kuhn]

"There has to be something more to this."​

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Alric said the words in a whisper as he pressed the door open.​

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His head was aching, his fingers hurt, and his ribs flared with an agony that he couldn't quite describe. He knew that he had to get out of there, knew that whatever these people intended it would likely end with a lot of his employees getting hurt.​

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He couldn't have that.​

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As silently as he could Alric began to creep forward. The cavern around him was massive. Dotted with steel catwalks and broken walkways carved into rock there seemed to be a maze of paths throughout the place. Alric tried to follow them as best as he could, heading towards the echo of voices and away from the direction that he had come from earlier. He moved slowly, remembering what Kiran had taught him so long ago.​