Jason's little sister, Kelly, was petite next to her big brother. She was four years younger, with blue/green eyes (depending how the light took them) and auburn hair. She had a look of open defiance on her face, and she held her body in with a tense poise, suggesting she was ready to fight, and would be fighting, if not for the gun to her head. Jason hadn't seen her for years, since mom and dad's funeral almost. He had no idea what she did, where she lived, or how these monsters had gotten a hold of her. All he knew was that during their childhood, they were atypical siblings, almost inseparable. She would follow Jason around, and... no time for nostalgia.
The bastards had made two fatal mistakes. First, they took Jason's sister hostage. Second, they made it so that the guy with the gun was literally inches from Jason. So, without much thought, Jason enveloped the man's wrist with his hand and twisted backwards. The movement put pressure on the trigger, and ships squeezed into the ceiling as the gun swung that way. Jason twisted the gun on the man and jammed his index finger into the trigger guard, forcing the man's gun to fire on himself. He took 3 shots to the head before all that was left was a red pulp and a stain on the door that had closed behind him.
Wrenching the gun from the now-dead man's hand, Jason swung and emptied the clip into Robert Foster. Unfortunately, only one shot was left in the clip, making for a less flashy display, but fortunately it was all that was needed. He hit the floor, eyes glazed over in the unmistakable look of the dead. Jason dropped the gun, and gently grabbed a trembling Kelly by the wrist, leading her towards the door and into the hallway.
"C'mon sis, we gotta get outta here." She needed no more prompting.
Echoing footfalls reverberated down the empty corridors, setting two steady and quick beats. They were quiet for a bit, but Kelly’s curiosity as to where they were and what was going on got the best of her.
“Jason, where the hell are we?” she asked, not breaking stride.
“Omicron Minor, on a Nomad-infected Osiris.”
“I see,” she said, mostly unfazed. She was a Moore, and it ran in the blood. “OK, here’s another question… why?”
“Long story, I’ll tell you when we’re not being chased to hell and back.” He paused for a few moments, and then said, “That b****** back there framed me so I got kicked out of the LPI.”
Kelly whistled under her breath, despite running. She knew the Moore retribution, as she remembered her first boyfriend that cheated on her. They came upon the docking bay Jason had left his Sabre on, and cursed profusely. It wasn’t there.
Jason stood there, thinking, before a huge smile split his face. Back in the corridor, he searched for the weapons locker that was always near docking bays (used for repelling boarders). Finding it, Jason grabbed quite a few guns, and was amused to see Kelly pick out some herself. At that moment he was the proudest brother in Sirius.
Plan? she asked, nonchalantly.
Bridge, he replied, and it was her turn to smile.
Thinking big, Jason?
Always.
The barricades that blocked entire corridors were immovable without heavy equipment, but it was easy to pick a locked door and hope that it wasnt the only door in the room. Tenth door was a room with two doors, and it looked like it might lead to the other side of one of the barricades. It did, but that was the last thing Jason noticed.
Blue. Glowing blue sludge. It covered the floor, walls and ceiling like some sort of algae. Almost as if the Nomads had infected the ship itself.
Kelly he was about to tell her to find someplace safe to hide, but then thought: was anyplace safer (yet more dangerous?) than here with him? He held his silence, and trudged on determinedly. Though the substance looked like it should suck his shoes in, it held like a normal floor. Kelly looked disquieted, but she wouldnt panic until he did.
They came to an elevator, and took it to the bridge. It was a tense elevator ride that took about a minute. The doors slid out to show the bridge. There was only one man, standing in the exact center facing away from them. He spoke in a Bretonian accent:
Jason couldnt say he was surprised to find another all-knowing super-villain, but he had been kind of hoping for the regular brand of bad guys to blow away. This entire ordeal had been one head honcho after another in a never-ending roller coaster of pain (said pain mostly inflicted on the bad guys).
And who would you be? Jason asked, hefting the automatic rifle he had picked up in the weapons locker.
That is quite useless; there is a weapons-safety field on in the bridge, much like what they used to have in New York. I am Robert Foster, he said, turning around. He was a completely different man than the one Jason had killed, and no gunshot wound was evident besides.
Youre joking. I just killed him!
That was a decoy. I assure you, I am the real Robert Foster. But he spoke truth in why you must die. Suddenly, a sword was in his hand the only thing that could work with the safety off. Or so he thought.
Oh, you have got to be kidding me Robert charged, sword poised to strike like a viper. Jason dropped the big gun and pulled out Ol Reliable the old-fashioned kind of gun.
Safety this, he snarled, squeezing the trigger. A crack resounded through the space. Jason gasped, falling to his knees. Robert had thrown the sword as Jason pulled the trigger, and it had gone straight through his gut. The MOX-tipped bullet left a hole in Roberts chest. He croaked, and with the last of his strength said: There will always be another Robert Foster he is an ideal. not a man.
And he died, while Jason lay on the ground, bleeding to death. Kelly was leaning over him, be he managed to communicate to her that she should set a course for Toledo.
The Order sent a rescue team to get Jason and Kelly off the Osiris, and then torched the ship. He spent a week recovering in the hospital on Toledo, and during that time he told them of his story, and they confirmed what the joint LSF/Order project had done, though all files had mysteriously vanished. Relearning the process, they modified a special squad of elite soldiers to carry the same enhancements, thus aiming to prevent this Second Nomad War the first Robert Foster had spoken of. Jason was now one of many, and any future attacks by Robert Foster would likely be against these new super soldiers.
Jason settled back into the Hellfire Legion, now with his sister. Turns out she had been an adviser on a Kusari Destroyer, one of the few gaijin allowed to do so. As such, she had the security codes and offered them to the Legion, but that is a different story
The End
Thank you, all my faithful readers. It is with great sadness that I end what has been hailed as perhaps the best action story these forums have ever known.