He's in his apartment. At first he's not sure what he's doing there, but then it all comes back to him. Blood is smeared on the walls, and soaked into the floor. It's everywhere... he's never seen so much of it before. Seems amazing that a body could hold that much blood. He looks down at the floor in front of him. A little boy is lying there, in a pool of crimson, a bullet hole in his head. Rejkavik knows that the boy is his son, and he knows that if he looks at the couch he'll see his wife laying on it; equally dead. He thinks for a moment that this should bother him, knowing what he's done. But it's actually had an effect quite the opposite... Rej is ecstatic. He feels... liberated, somehow. He should have listened to the voice in the first place. The voice had always seemed reasonable enough. It was odd though, the language it spoke. Rejkavik wasn't sure how he could understand it, but he could. It told him to do things. At first those things seemed horrible, but now... Rejkavik looks down, sees the thing in his hand. A pistol... the smell of burnt gunpowder still lingers in the air. Suddenly the soldier cocks his head to one side, as though listening to somebody. The voice is speaking again... he nods. The voice has one final request it seems, one final task that Rejkavik must perform. The man stands in his apartment, dead family laying before him; pistol in hand. He slowly raises his arm, until the barrel of the gun presses agaist his temple. The steel is cool, he thinks. He just shot two people with it, surely it should at least be warm. Abruptly Rejkavik pulls the trigger. There's a flash of light in the dim apartment, and the sharp crack of a gunshot. Rejkavik's body hits the floor with a dull thud. Even in death, a hellish grin is plastered across his face.
* * *
Rejkavik woke up in a cold sweat. He was staring at the ceiling of his quarters. His heart was beating far too fast, but he could still hear the voice. It mumbled inside his mind... Rejkavik kicked away the sheets with disgust. He rose to his feet and began to make his way to the door, but abruptly sat down on the floor and pressed his palms into his eyes. His body is racked with uncontrollable shivers, and he begins to sob. No matter how many times he was subjected to the horrors that the voice instilled in his mind, he would never get used to them. He rises again after a few moments, and opens the door. Having just woke up, he feels the common urge to relieve his bladder. At the forked hallway leading to the bathroom, however, he continues going straight. He is befuddled a moment, and tries to turn his head, only to discover he can't. An icy fear grips him then, and his slowing hearbeat begins to triphammer once again. He knows where he's walking, he loathes the thought of it. But he knows that if the voice desires him to go, then he will go.
Soon Rejkavik finds himself in front of a heavy steel door. 'CONTROL ROOM' is etched into the metal in capital letters, and a small electrical panel with various buttons is embedded into the wall. The soldier stands still a moment, then hears an electrical whirring sound. The door slides open with a hiss, and Rejkavik's legs that are no longer really his carry him into the blackness beyond. The door hisses shut behind him, and then the force controlling his body lets go. Rejkavik tumbles to the floor in a heap. He's totally submerged in darkness.
The flourescant lights overhead switch on suddenly, and Rejkavik is left blinded for a moment. When he opens his eyes again, he sees that the room is filled with a vast amount of complex looking computers and survelliance equipment. There's a chair located near one of the larger terminals, and on it sits a burly looking Atrox with a white beard. Rejkavik knows this man to be his commanding officer and respected friend, Marlamin Thayvian. But something is different about him now.
"Rejkavik." Marlamin says. The voice is dry, and raspy. The sound makes Rej's skin crawl.
"Y-yes, Commander?"
The atrox does not reply for a moment... his eyes are glazed over and totally devoid of emotion.
"Did I succeed in waking you?"
Rejkavik trembles for a moment, then speaks.
"Why... why do you torture me?" He asks.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"You know damn well what I mean!" Rejkavik spits. He tries to control his anger, but is failing. He knows raising his voice to Marlamin is a bad idea, but he can't stop.
"I've served you faithfully! I've done everything you've asked... EVERYTHING! Not once have I failed in performing the duties asked of me, why do you fill my head with lies?!"
The atrox issue a series of dry gasps, and Rejkavik realizes with
horror that he's chuckling to itself.
"Lies? I fill your head with nothing, Warrior. Perhaps what you see is a result of guilt."
"LIES!" Rejkavik screams. "I'D NEVER DO ANYTHING TO THEM, NEVER, I LOVED THEM MORE THEN LI-"
Rejkavik stops as a flare of excruciating pain flares through his head. He falls to the ground, and clutches at his face. Another flare of pain jolts through his mind, causing the man to issue a scream of pain. He's wracked with a fit of coughing, and after a few seconds he can taste blood. When he opens his eyes, he discovers that blood is gushing from his nose onto the floor; he can feel it flowing out of his ears as well.
"Please!" He gags, and blood begins to issue from his mouth as well.
"STOP!" Abruptly, the bleeding and the excruciating head pain both end. Rejkavik raises his face like a drunkard, and looks at Marlamin. The atrox is staring off into space. Slowly, his eyes begin to roll down towards Rejkavik lying on the floor. There's life in them once again.
"What the hell are you doing in here this late?" Marlamin asks coldly. "And where did all that blood come from?"
* * *
(5 weeks before)
Marlamin stood outside the door to Rompas. He'd popped in to have a look at what was going on, but there was nothing of interest. Lately he'd been finding himself more and more disgusted with the Corporation... it's repeated failures against the Clan forces and the constant in-fighting was wearing his patience thin. He was musing about all of this, when a voice spoke out.
"Excuse me?"
The atrox turned, and was faced with a tall man. Very tall. The figure was clad in a black robe, and his face was concealed in the shadows.
"..yes?" Marlamin asks. The figure gives a brief chuckle, then speaks once more.
"You are a legendary leader, my friend. You lead your forces with
prowess unknown to even the greatest CEO of Omni-Tek's history. And yet, the Corporation is failing in it's war with the Clans. -You- are failing, Commander."
Normally, the atrox would be outraged at somebody pointing out any of his failures, whether or not he had actually failed the task in question. But this man's voice was soothing... almost hypnotic.
Marlamin felt inclined to listen to everything this man had to say, and give his words serious thought.
"But, there is a way to save the Corporation from the destruction it's headed for." the figure continued.
"A way?" Marlamin asked dreamily.
"Yes, my friend. There is a way to restore Omni-Tek Rubi-Ka to the glorious bastion of power and wealth it once was. And there are ways to ensure that you and your organization are at the head of this reform, Marlamin."
"How... do you know my name..?"
"You wish to return the Corporation to power, do you not?"
"..yes, I do.."
"Very well." The figure said, and Marlamin knew the man was smiling even though he could not see his face. "I will leave you to think on this, 'Commander'. Until we meet again."
The figure began to turn to leave, but Marlamin spoke up.
"Wait.. what's.. what's your name?" He asked.
"My name?"
Marlamin nodded, and the figure chuckled once again.
"Shigeo, my friend. My name is Shigeo."
With that the stranger turned and began to walk away. If Marlamin's senses had been clear, he'd have noticed that the robe-clad man seemed to dissipate into the thin air as he moved away; but the atrox seemed preoccupied. His eyes looked glazed and distant, and when he spoke again it was barely more then a whisper.
"Shigeo..."
