Despatche #006

Day 4,331, 12:41 • Published in Switzerland Ireland • by Kaitlinn

2.2 Head of Intelligence, Nastya "Raven" Mikhailovna, Blind Unit, Rasa Blank

After a brief exchange with the Captain of a fishing boat, a stocky, swarthy man with a thick Welsh accent, who I could barely understand we docked at St. John on the Isle of Jersey. He seemed pleased with the payment and agreed to wait for me for the trip back, or at least I thought he did, he was very hard to understand. I was supposed to find my contact in the Lighthouse Bar in Saint Helier. I needed backup to pull this off. Tideman, repulsive as he was, had came through for me. Still I’d a hefty payment of 10,000cc to pay. He warned me that his mercenaries were a bit odd but I shouldn’t fear them. I had a feeling he’d sent me those awful Zilch Unit zombies I’d heard about. The Type 5 prototypes. Living puppets. I took the scenic route aller à pied to St Helier.The sky was burya, hot and angry. The barren rocky coastal path was lonely with some distant houses and sun scorched vegetation clinging to the shallow soil. I met my contact Lisandra Klum, a tall emaciated woman with cropped rusty blonde hair standing by the sea wall outside the Lighthouse Bar. She’d the black lips of a severe Type 4 addict. Recognising each other we made our way in without a word..

The interior was dark but comfortable. The tables were set into booths for privacy. The barman, a fat old dead eyed islander grumbled something like a greeting as we took seats at the bar. He looked at us questioningly. “Oh what drink? I’ll have a water.” Kalm snorted and ordered us a bottle of Vodka, laying 100cc on the table. The barman shuffled over to the top shelve and brought back some expensive looking Vodka and two tall glasses.. “So, where are they? Don’t tell me it’s only you.” I said as she poured herself a huge measure. “They’re in the alley, don’t worry. Drink up, it’s impolite to refuse a drink Nastya.” She knew my name. This mission was getting more and more dangerous.

I poured a drink, swallowed it in one and nodded. “Come, I’ll show you them.” I almost didn’t want to see them. Of course she had two Zilch Unit Prototypes with her. “This one is number 114 or Walt.” She slapped him viciously. He didn’t respond. He was a big brawny fellow, with graying blond hair and vacant eyes. “This one is number 151 or Mumblés.” She punched him so hard he should have dropped but he just stood there, like a mannequin. He was a short skinny guy with greasy limp brown hair, who continuously mumbled under his breath. “So we go back to the bar? Make a deal?” I nodded. I looked behind my shoulder before turning out of the alley. They were still just standing there.

Kalm had nearly finished the bottle and was chewing Type 4’s. Black droll was running down her cheek. Junkies take what they can get so I tried bartering the price down.“Your price is too high for what you’re giving me Lisandra , 5,500cc and 1,000cc for you should be sufficient.” I stated. She looked back at me. “10,000cc is the price. Be glad it’s so low. It’s the Academy's price, not mine” she said, draining the rest of the bottle. This wasn’t going as planned. “The Academy’s price? Have you been promoted? I’ll tell you the price. 5,000cc and nothing for you. They look like they’re dead..” She smiled. “Okay, no need to get angry. Come with me. Let me show you what they can do” she said “Then we discuss price, yes?” We moved back into an alley behind the pub. She simply clicked her fingers and shouted “Come!” like they were dogs. We brought them to the promenade by the sea where some drunks were sleeping off their excesses on the benches. She pointed at them and ordered Walt and Mumblés to kill them. The pair of them drew knives and went into a slashing frenzy. Shortly there was nothing but pieces of bodies and blood flowing towards me. She laughed with her black teeth showing. “Heel!” They stopped their onslaught and stood to attention. “This is acceptable yes?” I handed over the 10,000cc without a word and she ordered them to do as I said, handing me a small device. “Click to shock. But don’t shock too long or they’ll… Just be careful, don’t do it close to them.” Kalm muttered. “Good luck comrade, send my regards to Tideman when you see him.” before strolling back to the bar. Such a filthy person.. I was left standing with these two drooling monsters and the keys to a Jeep, parked just up the road, past the remains of two recently butchered fellow human beings.

We left for the Goshawk base soon after. I told them to get in and they complied. I must admit I was curious as to what I could get them to do. I told them to make funny faces, to cheer me up, but it looked so grotesque, I told them to stop immediately. We past farms guarded by thorny hedgerows. Soon we were there. I drove straight up to the gates, I demanded an audience with the Commander, one Sergeant Ivan Jurišić. I gave my credentials to the Provost, a green looking young woman who took one look at my companions and obeyed, opening the gates. The Commander agreed to see me and after waiting in their drab, depressing atrium, flanked by my two rented mutants I was finally in his office. “What can I do for you Raven?” he asked. “I believe you have the body of an enemy Commander here. I have orders to take it to the Goshawk HQ in Be'er Sheva.” He stood up from his desk. He was a handsome man, with black, slicked back hair and a neat, simple uniform.“I’m sorry Raven but I haven’t received a word about this.” he muttered eyeing my companions. “They’re directly from Commander Petrov’s superiores, do you mean to disobey them?” His eyes widened as he sat right back down again. I made it look as though I was reaching for my Comm-link. “Lets talk with Petrov directly and clear up this matter.” He hastily stopped me. “No need. Pardon my discretion.We have him on display not far from here. Please, If you will follow me.” I motioned to #114 and #151 and we followed him outside.

We entered a small building not far from the main center and I saw a refrigerated box with a body in it. I moved closer and saw it was who I had come for, looking peaceful in death, his eyes closed, and still in his military fatigues. I motioned for the Commander to open the box as we laid the body bag down. “You sure he said to take him? He was adamant in him staying here.” Ivan began. I looked at him “Do I need to use my companions to make you obey Petrov’s orders?” I queried. I saw a flash of suspicion in his eyes before he entered the code to open the box. I motioned for my companions to place the body in the body bag. We left quickly before the Commander got it in his head to check on the orders. He’d be at it a while though, I’d placed a Comm Disruptor down as I was waiting for him.

After meeting again with Lisandra at the bar to get rid of these Zilch monstrosities I headed back to the fishing boat I had arrived in. The Welsh Captain seemed to be in a panic. I couldn’t understand what he was saying but it seemed like he was looking to embark urgently. As we left I could see frantic activity on the island. The Captain helped me with taking Liam O’Malleys remains below deck. I had what I had come for, with only a small portion of my funds depleted. Another bridge burned.


2.6 Commander Claire Holly “White Fox” O’Malley, White Stag Unit, Rasa Blank

“Everything okay Claire?” Ratel’s voice startled me out of thought. What did Raven want so urgently? “Yeah I need to go out for a bit.” I smiled at his worried expression, as he sat at his desk going over some maps, charting routes for supply. I walked over to him and gave him a hug, he was looking better the past few days, not so broken as he was directly after JP’s death. “Take care hey. Daai bliksemse Goshawk are still around.” he growled. “I always do.” I smiled and kissed him softly on the forehead before walking out to my meeting with Raven..

It was another blazing hot day as I walked to my destination, the late Father de Quane’s old ruined Cathedral. Why did Raven want me to meet her there? I was so deep in thought I almost walked right past it. “Over here Claire.” Ravens voice broke through my thoughts. She was standing outside the ruins, waiting for me. “What’s so urgent Raven? I don’t have time for any nonsense right now.” I snapped. “Just follow me Commander, I have something to show you.” she said. I followed her. It was dark and cool inside. Bombing had taken out the roof above the altar. The sun poured through the damaged roof in a beautiful silvery beam of light. Raven stopped and stood over the tomb of the legendary knight, Richard de Clare, named Strongbow back in his day. There was a long box next to it. “What is this Raven, why have you brought me here.” I asked. “I found him.” she said quietly. “Found who?” I snapped at her. “Liam, I found his remains.” she said. I stared at her in shock, and then at the box on the floor, it was about the length of him. She silently handed me an ID on a chain. I turned it over and his dear face looked back at me, from his old Rasa Blank ID he’d had since Muldonaich.

I felt Raven grip me as my knees collapsed and I sat down hard on the floor. A flood of tears came from me as I sobbed. She held me tight. “I know you’ve been really upset about having no remains, so I used my contacts to find him.” she said softly. I gave myself a shake and stood up and walked over to the box to lift the lid to look at him. I felt her grab me. “Don’t! Better to remember him as he was.” she said sharply. I just had to see. I pulled the top off the box, using my knife as a lever. There he was. It looked like he was sleeping. Raven placed an arm around me and I looked at her, tears rolling down my cheeks. I kissed his forehead before we both closed his coffin. Raven walked over to where two crowbars leant against the wall, and inclined her head at the tomb. “A good site for his final resting place no?” she said. With some effort we lifted the slabs, dug a few feet down with a spade then lowered Liam’s remains next to or nearabouts Strongbow. “He was a good man.” she said quietly, once we’d recapped the heavy slab stones. I didn’t want to be the only one to know who lay here so we carved “Blind Fox, Rasa Blank” into the wall above Strongbow’s fading plack.

She left me alone as I sat down by the tomb, and let all the memories I had been suppressing for so long flood back. All his jokes and antics trying to make me smile when he thought I was being too serious. The seriousness in him when on a mission, which he would break with some antic if he thought he could get away with it. His pure free spiritedness even in the hardest times. Our childhood when he was the one always finding something interesting to do, and finding mischief to get up to. All these memories washed over me. I felt a knot that was in me loosen. So much lost to a war we didn’t ask for. And finally a vision of the last time I had seen him, lying in the street clutching his bleeding stomach, his head turned to look at me, eyes full of pain, his hoarse voice shouting "Run Claire, it's not safe! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" as I fought Ratel who was pulling me away from him.

I was startled out of my revelry by a cold wet nose on my hand. I looked down, the small silver fox kit looked back up at me. There was a collar around its neck with a disc. I gently picked it up and looked at the disc. On one side was a name Sheeny, on the other a sigil of a blind fox. I cuddled it close and looked up to see Raven looking down at me. “A tame Russian fox.. A small gift I thought might help with the…” she said quietly. I could barely get out the thank you, as I cuddled the fox kit close and leaned back against the wall. I heard her talk on Comms to let them know I’d be gone a while, before she quietly slipped away. I looked down at his stony gravesite with the wee kit Sheeny playing around me and biting at my uniform. “Your final peace came too soon Liam, my sweet brave brother. I promise I’ll live my life to the fullest as you always did and wanted me to.” I prayed. I stared into the distance, the pain would always be there, but as Liam would often say oh so flippantly, “Pain is just confirmation you’re alive.”
Thank you for reading! This is the last season,
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The Whole Series: Seasons 1 - 4