Part 1 - Star Orion, The Mercenary
Since the Third World War ended, and cities had been nuked to unrecognisable states, survivors lived in a ruthless, self-governing slum-world, and they had to defend themselves from any threats they came across, by any means necessary. And if that meant murder, it meant murder. It was kill or be killed.
A few large corporations survived the war, but as a result of the changing landscape and vehemently renegade society that now surrounded them, they became more corrupt, and yet more powerful, opting for more sinister and underground means of keeping themselves in such power. Because they were under attack also. Sometimes from solitary mercenaries, whom often woke up dead once they were discovered by these corporations; and sometimes from other corporations, trying to osmose and become more powerful themselves by absorbing their chosen target into themselves, creating larger super-corporations. However, one such corporation, the Liberty Code Corporation, to be precise, hadn't banked on a particular mercenary. One named Star Orion. This wasn't his real name of course, but he had long since forgotten it, and so his current moniker stuck.
Star Orion was charged with the task of bringing the Liberty Code Corporation to it's knees, however he was unknowing of the petitioner for this task. He agreed to do it because they'd paid him a hefty wedge of cash up-front to show that they were serious. Orion was highly adept at many types of infiltration, subterfuge and assassination tactics, and he showed them off spectacularly, successfully infiltrating a Liberty board meeting and killing all but the receptionist outside, telling her to issue a statement that informed the world that Liberty had fallen. The Liberty Code Corporation building now stands derelict. Orion reported to an anonymous figure in an alleyway nearby, and received the rest of his contracted pay. Being a mercenary pays, if you know how to do it.
Orion's comms unit was flashing with an incoming call. Star Orion would never usually ignore calls, as they usually amounted to a new job, or an alert of a new bounty, but he had other things on his mind. Another person, to be more specific. His beloved Cassie. Short for Cassiopeia, she was the love of Orion's life, and he couldn't get her off his mind at this moment. She was short in stature, but had fiery red hair, and the personality to match. This constant thinking of her wasn't a good thing, as he had bills to pay, specifically to some overly and underground characters known only to people as 'The Collectors'. Citizens lived in fear of a knock on their door from these dangerous individuals. If they weren't to receive payment on time, then they would take payment in the form of the debtors life. These were lawless times on Earth in this day and age. As they lay in bed, a knock sounded at the door. Orion knew exactly who this was. Luckily, his previous job had paid handsomely, so he had enough to sate the Collector standing there silently. As the eerie figure turned away, Orion closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
Returning to the bed, Cassie had woken up. She smiled at him, and got up out of bed.
"Who was that, Star?"
"Collectors, honey. They've gone now."
"Those guys give me the creeps!"
"I know, me too. Get some rest sweet, we've got a transporter to catch in the morning"
Orion was referring to the transport ship 'Volans' which was due to leave Earth for a newly built colony on the moon. They'd earned passage on this exclusive vessel by a lottery, where only a few hundred people on the earth had been selected. Because Orion and Cassie lived together, they were both on the same ticket.
A few large corporations survived the war, but as a result of the changing landscape and vehemently renegade society that now surrounded them, they became more corrupt, and yet more powerful, opting for more sinister and underground means of keeping themselves in such power. Because they were under attack also. Sometimes from solitary mercenaries, whom often woke up dead once they were discovered by these corporations; and sometimes from other corporations, trying to osmose and become more powerful themselves by absorbing their chosen target into themselves, creating larger super-corporations. However, one such corporation, the Liberty Code Corporation, to be precise, hadn't banked on a particular mercenary. One named Star Orion. This wasn't his real name of course, but he had long since forgotten it, and so his current moniker stuck.
Star Orion was charged with the task of bringing the Liberty Code Corporation to it's knees, however he was unknowing of the petitioner for this task. He agreed to do it because they'd paid him a hefty wedge of cash up-front to show that they were serious. Orion was highly adept at many types of infiltration, subterfuge and assassination tactics, and he showed them off spectacularly, successfully infiltrating a Liberty board meeting and killing all but the receptionist outside, telling her to issue a statement that informed the world that Liberty had fallen. The Liberty Code Corporation building now stands derelict. Orion reported to an anonymous figure in an alleyway nearby, and received the rest of his contracted pay. Being a mercenary pays, if you know how to do it.
Orion's comms unit was flashing with an incoming call. Star Orion would never usually ignore calls, as they usually amounted to a new job, or an alert of a new bounty, but he had other things on his mind. Another person, to be more specific. His beloved Cassie. Short for Cassiopeia, she was the love of Orion's life, and he couldn't get her off his mind at this moment. She was short in stature, but had fiery red hair, and the personality to match. This constant thinking of her wasn't a good thing, as he had bills to pay, specifically to some overly and underground characters known only to people as 'The Collectors'. Citizens lived in fear of a knock on their door from these dangerous individuals. If they weren't to receive payment on time, then they would take payment in the form of the debtors life. These were lawless times on Earth in this day and age. As they lay in bed, a knock sounded at the door. Orion knew exactly who this was. Luckily, his previous job had paid handsomely, so he had enough to sate the Collector standing there silently. As the eerie figure turned away, Orion closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
Returning to the bed, Cassie had woken up. She smiled at him, and got up out of bed.
"Who was that, Star?"
"Collectors, honey. They've gone now."
"Those guys give me the creeps!"
"I know, me too. Get some rest sweet, we've got a transporter to catch in the morning"
Orion was referring to the transport ship 'Volans' which was due to leave Earth for a newly built colony on the moon. They'd earned passage on this exclusive vessel by a lottery, where only a few hundred people on the earth had been selected. Because Orion and Cassie lived together, they were both on the same ticket.