Sarah entered the Medical Center and stepped briskly up to the receptionist's desk. The blonde woman manning the desk glanced up sharply and gasped,
"Governor St. Kerrigan! Um, how may I help you?"
"I'd like to visit Dr. Haylen York's quarters," Sarah replied.
"Uh, let me get Dr. Krogansteen." The receptionist turned in her chair and punched some numbers on the intercom keypad and pressed her free hand against her earpiece. "Dr. Krogansteen? Governor St. Kerrigan wants to see you regarding Dr. York."
"But I don't want to--"
"All right, sir, I'll tell her." The lady turned back to face Sarah. "He'll be out to see you shortly."
"That's not what I wanted!" Sara snapped. "I want to see Haylen!"
"Well, um...I think I should let him explain that."
What does that mean?
Before Sarah could press further, the door to her left opened, and a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a white hospital coat strode in.
"Hello, Governor," he said. "I'm Dr. Krogansteen. I was the one in charge of Dr. York's care--"
"I remember. I want to see my friend." She paused. "Wait. What do you mean
was
?"
Dr. Krogansteen sighed. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to say this, but Dr. Haylen York died at 1555 hours."
Haylen,
Lead Scientist
,
Backup Mod
, died Night 4.
The shock impacted Sarah like a cannon shot.
Haylen's dead? Oh god, no! Please, god, no!
Tears welled up in her eyes. More and more good people were dying, and she was supposed to protect Liten, and she was failing her duty, dammit--
Suddenly, her wristcom beeped. Reluctantly, she held her wrist under her mouth. "W-what?"
"Governor, ma'am, it's X. Reck!" In the background, she could hear bloodcurdling screams, laser blasts, and primal growling. "We're under attack! It's the damn Arkon- oh, crap!" A loud
thud
. "Aaaauuuugh!"
Silence.
xRECKONERx,
Citizen
,
Vanilla Townie
, was killed Night 4.
Immediately Sarah dropped her arm, drew her laser pistol, and bolted out of the Medical Center.
I'm going to find that Arkon and fry his alien brains into a crisp, even if it's the last thing I do!
She had barely gone down a few corridors, however, when she took a turn and saw Al Duskkel standing in the middle of the hall. She skidded to a halt. Suddenly Al slumped ignobly to the plastiphane floor to reveal Furry, a laser pistol in her hand.
Alduskkel,
Citizen
,
Vanilla Townie
, was killed Night 4.
Sarah stared in shock as Furry glanced down at Al's dead corpse, and then at her. "Hi, honey," she said sweetly as she took aim and shot Sarah's right hand. Skin seared and sizzled as the intense energy liquefied and charred it, causing Sarah to drop her weapon and clutch her wrist in agony.
"You..." Sarah gasped. "It...it was you..."
"Uh-huh." Furry then shot Sarah in the left leg, dropping the Governor to the floor. "You know, it didn't have to turn out like this. Nik Anor hated what the mistake you were making, but he didn't want to kill you." Then Furry frowned. "But then you had to force him to kill himself. I loved Nik, you know. He was the love of my life. Now my soul feels empty, purposeless. So it seems only fitting that I be the one to end your life..."
Casually she lifted her pistol and took aim at Sarah's head. Sarah closed her eyes and smiled. After all the death, pain, and treachery she had witnessed, she was glad that should wouldn't have to bear that agony any longer.
Furry pulled the trigger.
Sarah St. Kerrigan,
Governor of Liten
,
Moderator
, was killed in the endgame.
A moment later, Furry entered the security wing. She needed to get her feed scrambler out of the surveillance room before someone happened to discover it. To her surprise, she found dead bodies lying all over the place, drenching the floor with blood.
Was the Arkon here?
Cautiously she stepped around the cadavers and entered the surveillance room.
The room was filled with static screens and a few more dead bodies. Carefully Furry located the place in the circuit-board where she had hidden the scrambler and disengaged it. All the screens became clear again, and a particular feed caught her eye.
It was the Arkon, dressed in the clothes of Steam Powered Shovel, using the Government Center's communications array. He was speaking to another Arkon in a language she couldn't understand. Then suddenly, the Arkon cut the signal and speedily vanished from the camera's sight.
Furry frowned. That hadn't looked good. Hopefully this wasn't a precursor for worse things to come...
The
Rebels
(
Furry, Nikanor
) and
Arkons
(
Steam-Powered Shovel, Pulindar
) have reached a draw!
