Conquest: A New Home

"Die you fanatics! Only the company will prevail!" Eliza's hysterical laughter blended together with the roar of the cannon that sounded akin to a roaring jet engine flying at MACH 2.

Several minutes later, only 8 people were left alive inside the complex as blood pooled up to Eliza's ankles, butchered remains and lumps of flesh and metal caked the pool of blood that was once a solid concrete floor.

Eliza threw the gun to the side as she opened her helmet and smell the scent of smoke and burnt flesh, reveling in the sadistic drive for murder of the useless parts of society.

'Imbeciles who think they were born to live happy lives should all die.' Eliza sneered.

'You have to work for every second you breathe, because that very breath you took I something another person would have died to have.'

'With the safe zones of the planet being this f.u.c.k.i.n.g overpopulated. Useless trash like you need to be disposed of. Not only do you rot, you consume valuable resources other people work hard for.'

'Your only value is the work you do.'

'Those that enjoy life should all die. We weren't born to be happy. We were born to work.'

Such was the lesson Eliza learned from the backstreet slums.

"If you don't contribute to society then die, you useless leeches." Eliza laughed manically.

'With this, I have completed my final contract in my compulsory militia service to the company.' Eliza smiled in delight. 'My position in the psychiatric control research department is in reach. I can finally use what I worked so hard for in college.'

Just as she was about to leave, an IRIS prompt popped in her holographic interface.

[Ms. Stuart. You have an incoming call.]

[Accept or Decline]

"Accept."

It took a few seconds before IRIS displayed a screen with a scrambled image.

'There must be a radiation storm outside.' Eliza sighed and waited for the signal to stabilize.

"M- St-ar- -o y— opy-"

"Negative, sir."

A few tweaks later, the video feed finally stabilized and the audio was fine tuned.

"Ms. Stuart. I assume you have taken care of the system rogues?" A chubby old man asked her.

"Yes, sir." Eliza spoke. "We just need to have the area bombed to make sure the place never gets used again."

"Don't worry about that, I have already taken care of it."

"As expected of you, sir." Eliza coughed. "If I may be so rude, can we discuss the details of my promotion?"

"Oh yes. I nearly forgot." The man scratched his head and picked up a remote and pressed it. "As thanks for your hard work and contributions to Geocorp, you will be promoted to the research division. Please enjoy your new comfortable life that you worked hard for."

"Thank you, sir." Eliza tried to raise her hand and light another cigarette when her helmet and visor suddenly closed. "Wait wha-"

Eliza suddenly felt a terrible heat in the joints of her Warsuit as she smelt the tinge of burnt rubber and metal waft inside of her armor.

It did not take long for Eliza to realize she couldn't move her Warsuit nor control it in any way shape or form. Eliza could not move.

"Wait, SIR! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Eliza bellowed as her subordinates slowly backed away and planted explosive charges on the pillars and on Eliza herself.

"Blue! Green! Stop this! What are you doing?!" Eliza screamed at her subordinates as they primed an antimatter charge right beneath Eliza's feet. "Red! Violet! Orange! What is the meaning of this! Cyan! Yellow! Answer me!"

Eliza could not believe her subordinates and the company she worked for 2 years would betray her.

"NO! Please! I beg you!" Tears rolled down Eliza's eyes. "I did nothing wrong to the company! Please! I've been a good girl!"

Eliza bawled her eyes out within her suit as she could only cry when her subordinates left her alone in the chamber with more than 10 antimatter charges surrounding her.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Stuart." The old man crossed his legs and feigned regret. "You were such a valuable asset. However, you did two things that is absolutely unforgivable for the company."

"W-What…?" Eliza sobbed. "B-But Eliza was a good girl!"

"I'm sorry, deary." The man shook hiss head. "No matter how many masterals you have on your name at the age of 16… the company does not believe in such lies."

"Wh-What?" Eliza whimpered. "Wh-Why?! I worked so hard in college!"

"No, no, Ms. Stuart." The old man shook his head again. "Though there have been many cases of people accomplishing such a feat, there is one detail that proves otherwise."

"You are a girl." The man snorted. "You should just stay home and work by spreading you legs and making sandwiches."

"Women belong to brothels and kitchens." He continued. "There is no way that I would believe that a girl even finished college. We just gave you the chance to through our mandatory militia service to give you some work. Now that you have finished it, goodbye, Ms. Stuart."

"Please! No!" Eliza pleaded. "Eliza will be a good girl! Eliza will work hard! Please forgive Eliza! Eliza is a good girl!"

The man snorted.

"I'm sorry. Did I just hear that you want to be forgiven?" The man chuckled. "Tsk, Tsk. That's too bad."

"Only the corporation gets what it wants."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Eliza rubbed her face as she grit her teeth in the realization that it had been 12 years and she still was gullible enough to getting herself trapped.

'If green did not have mercy on me and really primed that antimatter charge at my feet…' Eliza regretted.

No matter what she did or how she did it, she always ended up getting saved like a damsel in distress.

It didn't take long for tears to well on her eyes as she sobbed at how pathetic she was. No matter what she did was pointless. She was weak and fragile, no matter how tough she wanted to look like.

Sniffling alone in the corner of the connector joint, Eliza could only blame herself for the situation she was in.

"If I were only stronger…" Eliza rubbed her nose. "If I were a man… would it have been different?"

"Would I have lived happily?"

"Could I have done better?"

Only the endless silence answered to Eliza with the soft hum of the starship.

"If only sugarplums was here, she'd know the answer…" Eliza mulled over.

"If it were Ethan. He'd hug me till tomorrow and sing me to sleep while brushing my hair…"

"If it were Jumar… No, he'd never be in a situation like this."

Eliza gnashed her teeth at the thought.

'F.U.C.K!' She cried out. 'I'm so f.u.c.k.i.n.g weak!'

Eliza punched the aluminum panel near her, watching as it crumpled up into a deformed sheet of metal and break off from the hinges, drifting into the zero gravity of the chamber.

[Eliza, mind if I have some of your time later?]

[Huh? With you, Johan, of all people? No thanks.]

[I'm serious. I want to tell you something.]

[Sure, sure. As if you would come back.]

[It's my duty to. Please wait for me.]

[Don't take too long Johan. I don't like waiting.]

Eliza grit her teeth.

'I'm so sorry.' Eliza sobbed as memories started to haunt her in the silence.

[Eliza… uh. About Johan…]

[Why so gloomy, Ordis? Where's Johan.]

[I'm so sorry. I-I tried to but he…]

[Jumar, you're scaring me. Where is Johan?]

[He… failed his duty… to return.]

[No. No! Haha, oh you and your silly jokes. Where's Johan?]

[…]

[Jumar?]

[I'm sorry Eliza.]

[N-No… No! NO! That's… That's impossible!]

[He told me to tell you something.]

[No, no, no.]

[Eliza, he-]

[This is all a prank, please tell me it is! Please! JUMAR!]

[I'm so sorry Eliza.]

[N-No… No…..]

[He said he loved you.]

[…]

[I… I'll go tell the others… Will you come with me?]

[…]

[Eliza?]

[Huh? Oh, yeah… y-you go ahead…]

[Alright.]

[…]

[I though that I shouldn't say something as cliché as this but… uh. He was a good person.]

[Don't act as if you're consoling me. He's your friend too.]

[…]

[Just go, Ordis.]

[I'm sorry. I'll be going now.]

'I was being such a bitch…' Eliza hated herself. 'Jumar was devastated but I was being whiny about it…'

"I was such a bitch to everyone…"

"No shit you are." Someone replied.

Eliza whipped her head to the side to see Casserine Stadtford leaning against a panel with a smug face.

"Casserine?"

"No shit bitch. You look like a f.u.c.k.i.n.g mess." Casserine sneered. "Look at you surrounded by all those floating eye sweat in zero grav. You just got trapped for 10 minutes and you are already whining like a f.u.c.k.i.n.g p.u.s.s.y."

"I…" Eliza wiped her tears away as she steeled her face and mask her emotions. "Not a word to anyone about this. Alright, Ms. Stadtford?"

Casserine rolled her eyes.

"Looke here, bitch." Casserine closed in on Eliza. "One, do you think I have the f.u.c.k.i.n.g time to care about that, when my entire division is so busy that I have to personally help a bitch like you? Don't overestimate yourself, bitch."

"Casser-"

"No, No! I'm not done Stuart." Casserine continued. "Who the f.u.c.k would believe it anyway? The legendary Dr. Stuart cried because she got locked up alone? The Dr. Stuart who is said to be manlier than most of the men on this ship? Tch, you f.u.c.k.i.n.g bitch."

Eliza sighed.

"Thank you for coming to save me." Eliza gestured to the broken pipe. "I did some rudimentary repairs but if that doesn't get fixed soon this place will blow up."

"How professional." Stadford rolled her eyes. "You better f.u.c.k.i.n.g do your job, bitch. Everyone on this ship is on overtime this week. No one wants to see you lounging about."

"Of course, I'm off to kill someone." Eliza passed by Casserine as she made her way to C3's DSS armory.

"As if you can kill." Casserine rolled her eyes. "Can you even hold a gun? Nerds should just stay in their labs you know."

Eliza grabbed a railing and stopped to smirk at Casserine.

"You have no idea."