With a sigh of relief she decided not to respond, and walked into the already open Commander Warner's office and stood just past the doorway, waiting for Warner to begin.
Ben continues to read the file, very mildly amused judging by his expression, a very faint smirk on his face.
"Alexial Vargas, formerly interviewed by Coalition, rejected due to Cardamine abuse..." he mutters to himself, sparing a look at her before scoffing, sliding aside the folder and keeping one hand on his pistol which lay upon his desk.
"So, you'v come back...I see your wounds from my predecessor has healed...But i wonder...Have you kicked that...Nasty little habit?" he asks, although judging by the tone he was more along the line of asking himself than her.
Turning his full attention upon her, his cold unfeeling eyes seemingly piercing her soul, brown hair kept under his cap as he stared at her.
"So...Why have you returned...Miss Vargas?" he asked, his tone even and firm, it would remind most of a California Minor snowstorm due to the cold tone used....Yet he just sat there...Waiting for her answer...
"I suppose I'll start with your last question. I have returned for the same reason I came before. That is to join those who wish to rid Sirius of it's government's evils. They are no better than those whom I once called my brethren, the Outcasts. They prey upon the weak and feed upon their very lives with their capitalist greed. Those who are not strong enough to fight back, die. And the Coalition is the true voice of the people, you wish to put and end to the evil that has enveloped most of Sirius due to the greed of those in power. I wish to help, I am tired. Tired of sitting here, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. That is why I have come, to help strengthen the revolution, and bring an end to the suffering."
"As for the Cardamine habit. That was a curse of birth I suppose, and it left me crippled for some time without it, but despite the odds. It has been broken. I have broken free from the shackles of birth that constrained me from aiding the Revolution. It was however, not the most pleasant of experiences. I hope that answers your questions sir."
Staring at her for a few minutes he shook his head, rolling his eyes slightly up in annoyance.
"How unoriginal...You have no idea how many fools have come through my door, claiming that 'they want to put an end to capitalist greed' or 'fight for the revolution'...What i want is your personal reasoning for it, don't quote me slogans or signs!" he shouted, slamming his fist onto the desk harshly, letting her know he was not joking.
"And Cardamine is a very hard habit to break, i used to make a living destroying shipments of Cardamine to Liberty during my days in the Liberty Revolutionary Front, i have seen firsthand how it affects the people and what happened to many who tried to quit." he stated in a cold manner. "Infact...I bet your either packing right now...If not on your person but your ship perhaps?" He speaks, a hand drifting to the intercom. "Hypothetically, were i to order your...ship to be taken apart and a strip-search ordered of your person, what would i find...If your still packing...I recommend telling me immediately..." he warned, leaning slightly across his desk menacingly, his glasses reflecting the lights of the room off them as he did so.
"Because I...Detest liars and they tend to die by this." He said while holding up his TT-33..."e So...Tell...me...Truthfully...have...You...Abandoned...Cardamine...Completely?" he said, emphasizing each word as he spoke, each word bringing the gun an inch closer to being aimed at her...
"Un-Original, guess you caught me there. My personal reasonings, alright, here goes. I will tell you my honest reason then. My life, is empty. I use to make a living preying upon the weak. And I never grew used to it. Every day, it destroyed me as a person and eventually, I had enough. I refused to do as my family, my friends, and everyone around me did, as they took joy in doing so." She stopped for a moment and began thinking.
"I left them, I took what was mine, and left that which I had stolen. I needed to redeem myself, my conscious will never forgive me, it will never forget what I have done to others. I thought about turning myself in to one of the various house governments. But I had witnessed their corruption first hand, and they are no better than those I used to live with. And thus I took the only remaining option, I turned to those who are actually helping end the corruption, saving the already corroded Sirius. I suppose my answer is to right my wrongs, however, I can't just right my wrongs by apologizing to the families of those I've killed, I can't give people whom I've stolen from their belongings back. I need, need, to make sure that which I have done is not done by others, and the only way that will ever happen, is if the reign of the Coalition brings and end to it. I can never, forget, all I can do is try to fix it. Fix all of it. And it will never be fixed."
She began sweating, she once again thought she was going to die, the fear that those of the Coalition inflict in the minds of others was indeed formidable.
"Cardamine. A curse in it's own right, I didn't rightfully choose to be stricken with it. It was by the choice of fate that I be born with the addiction. I am not 'packing' as you said. I have left that behind me. The last bit of Cardamine in my possession I left in a safe in my personal quarters of Ronneberg Base, or at-least, I think that's how you pronounce it. I'm not to good on the local tongues. And I have relinquished possession of my personal quarters, so I do not have any Cardamine, nor do I plan on having any. I don't yet know if I've kicked my addiction however, it's been a mere 4 days since I've last used, and no harm has come to me yet. If I haven't kicked my addiction yet, it will be gone. And when it is gone, I will have survived. So the answer is a yes, I have abandoned Cardamine completely."
He fixed the officer's cap on his head, his boots hitting the same deck they had only days before. But now it was different; a Sub-Lieutenant. He'd taken this walk and lived.
Others might not be so lucky.
Konstantin was packing a marine's automatic assault rifle, standard issue. It was in fact massive by his standards, but he'd been trained on it all the same. The magazine was loaded, the first round chambered. It felt heavy and powerful in his hands.
Grinning slightly to himself, he took a position outside Commander Warner's office and put his back to the wall. He leaned over enough to poke his head through the opening to give his Comrade Commander a quick nod of acknowledgment before swinging back, the applicant none the wiser to his presence.
Sporting his new uniform, Ethan returned to the recruitment centre after being summoned by Commander Warner. In his left hand was a black bag, made of a particularly coarse fabric. His other hand held a stunstick. It was one of his favourite weapons. Silent enough not to get noticed, yet potent enough to incapacitate even the largest of men.
He approached the office, and nodded at Konstantin standing ready at the door. He calmly opened the door, seeing the recruit keep her focus on the commander. For a moment he felt a sliver of pity, but that soon faded. He made it through the recruitment, and clearly, this one wasn't. It wasn't up to him to decide, it was up to him to follow orders.
Commander Warner nodded at him, and in a swift motion, he stuck the bag on the woman's head, and prodded her with the stunstick into her kidney. The body convulsed and dropped to the ground. She was still conscious, but the pain was paralyzing. The stunstick sizzled for a bit, and cut out. Calmly, he walked over to the door and left it open, waiting for Konstantin to enter.
Tisking he shakes his head, his free hand creeping unnoticed under the desk and pressing a silent alarm that would signal his two Comrades outside to do their job. A cold smile blossomed on his face as he shook his head.
"Fool...You think you can just shrug off Cardamine Addiction in Four days? You'd be either dead...Or insane..." he whispered...
The two Coalition officers picked up the woman by her arms, letting her legs drag across the floor. Every once in a while she'd attempt to stand, but her legs would give out. The squeaking of her boots on the floor the only sound heard as she was being taken down a corridor. Several bystanders saw the scene, some were quick to look away, others had a look of pity, while a few grinned, knowing what was about to happen.
The two men entered a large room, what should logically be a cargo bay. However, this was no ordinary cargo bay. Blood was caked on to the floor. Torn pieces of clothing littered the room, and it was quiet. Quiet to the point where it seemed like the vaccuum of space was inside.
The recruit was unceremoniously dropped to the floor, and Ethan removed the bag from her head. He leaned over her, and began to speak.
"You know, all you had to do was be honest. Four days without cardamine, and you'd be retching on the floor, losing your mind as your body was being denied what it needs to survive. Quite frankly if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a pair for coming with that story. I was nothing better, a common gun runner. But you know the difference? I didn't lie."
He straightened himself out, readjusted his uniform and looked at his comrade with the gun.
She understood the risks, she wasn't afraid of death, at-least, not anymore she didn't try to resist, all strength had left her body, she tried to speak, but all she did was mouth a few words.
For The Revolution. I accept judgement.
She didn't think it would work, but it was her last option.
