User blog:Lazarus Grimm/Elder Effect: The Assassin

ELDER EFFECT The Assassin

Labyrynthian Station was a remote facility orbiting Skyrim. Some of the most deviant criminals in Empire space were incarcerated here. Warden-Commander Tova Ironfist had to put up with looking at their faces each and every day on her walk between the various offices. They sneered at her from behind their confinements. They made rude remarks and gestures, and came up with ludicrous offers in return for their freedom.

Tova wasn’t going to let anyone escape. Again that was. There had already been enough of that. Three times in a row in fact, and all carried out by the same damned prisoner before his death sentence had even been carried out.

She returned to her quarters, saluted by two stocky Nord guards on either side of the entrance. Her office had a comfy look to it. A fluffy mammoth carpet, an aquarium with exotic fishes from Summerset, some paintings she had collected of galaxy-renowned Dunmer artist Rythe Lathandas. After a day of hard supervising, all she wanted was to lean back into her chair and sip at some Firebrand Wine. She didn’t get to enjoy it as much as she would have liked to however as there was an incoming message on her CHIM-device.

She sighed and opened up the application for transmissions. “What?” she groaned.

“Pardon me, commander”, Captain Alfdan said. “But an envoy from the White-Gold Tower Station has arrived. He says that he brings a request from the Elder Council.”

Tova furrowed her brow. “The Elder Council? Why the hell was I not informed earlier?”

“He says that there was no time, and that this conversation and any conversation between you and him from this point onward has never officially happened.”

Tova growled lowly. “Inform the guards to let him in. This better be important though.”

“Understood, commander. Over and out.”

The transmission ended and Tova rubbed her forehead. She just wanted to rest and relax. There was only so much bullshit she could take from the prisoners, she didn’t need none of the Council’s.

Eventually the door to her office opened and a lean, sharply-dressed Imperial entered. He had cool brown eyes and well-combed dark brown hair to complement them.

He extended his hand for her to take. “Warden-Commander Tova Ironfist, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Tova didn’t look the least happy, but she didn’t want to be considered rude, so she took the man’s hand with a sigh. “Likewise”, she said. “Now what brings you here, mister …?”

“Milerius”, he said. “I am an agent of the Elder Council. I trust that your captain told you that this conversation remains off the papers. In fact, I was never here.”

Tova just nodded with a slight smirk. That damn Council…

“Why all the secrecy?” she asked. “The Council wouldn’t go to lengths like these unless a situation was dire.”

“Precisely”, the agent said, confirming her suspicions.

“Huh”, the Warden-Commander leaned forward over her desk. “What’s going on?”

“I am not at liberty to discuss that with you, commander. I am sorry about that. But I don’t want there to be any mistrust between us, so let’s just say that there has been a certain … incident. It happened right under the Council’s supervision, and considering the context of the incident, it could benefit some of the more lucrative powers in the galaxy.”

“And the civilians are not going to be the wiser”, she sighed with an understanding nod. “The media would tear your higher-ups a new one if this slipped out, I take it?”

Milerius nodded softly. “We would have a mass panic on our hand. Not to mention what the end result of this incident would be, should the responsible culprits get away with it.”

“Alright, I understand the picture”, she said. “I will be silent, but I still don’t understand why you are bringing this to me? I am a glorified jailor, not some information broker.”

“Because you have someone in your … custody. The Elder Council would very much like to see him released and put under their service.”

Tova scoffed. “I mean, it’s not as if I can refuse the Council exactly. My job is to keep people here until the law deem that they have served their time, not to make sure that they do not fall back into a life of crime. Who did you have in mind?”

Agent Milerius brought out a couple of documents from a suitcase she hadn’t noticed until now.

Where the hell did he keep that?

“We understand that you are in the possession of an inmate labeled 05592?” he asked. “He is currently scheduled for death by injection in three months?”

Tova’s face turned into stone. “Not that one.”

“You are under orders, commander.”

“I know damn well that I am under orders, and I still say ‘not that one’. He will not be released. I won’t give him that satisfaction. The only thing he will receive from me is a punctual death sentence, and that’s final.”

Milerius curiously glanced at her. “Is there some … personal issues there? That’s unbecoming of someone of your position, commander.”

Tova growled. “I am telling you this that Shades-in-the-Sun can sit behind those bars and rot until we are rid of him for good. Whatever the Council sees of use in that villain, I will reject their request.”

“You are not in any position to deny the Elder Council, commander.”

“I can”, she objected. “I was named Warden-Commander of Labyrynthian Station by none other than the High King of Skyrim himself, and not the damned Council. Only he could persuade me to let that murderer loose.”

Milerius raised his brows and brought forth another document from his suitcase. “The High King of Skyrim”, he said. “Your Majesty has already given his approval.”

The Warden-Commander watched the paper bearing the seal of the High King. It was not a forgery, she could tell. If the Elder Council had managed to convince such a great man as the High King to allow this transgression to occur, the situation had to be dire indeed.

“Fine”, she snapped. “And let the next person that monster kills be on the hands of the Council. I will have no part of it.”

Milerius just nodded as a sign of appreciation as he closed his suitcase.

Tova sighed and contacted Captain Alfdan on her CHIM. “Captain, are you there?”

“I hear you, commander. What’s the word?”

“I want you to prepare the release protocol for prisoner 05592.”

“That one?” Alfdan said askingly, but did not question it. “Alright, I will make preparations. Over and out.”

Tova glared at Milerius. “Happy?”

“Not particularly. I can tell you are in a difficult position, commander. And I am not here to question your judgement of the man’s character. I am just following orders.”

“Yeah, yeah”, she groaned. “I get it.” She begrudgingly got up from her seat and motioned for the agent to follow. “Come with me. Let’s have a look at your package.”

They walked down long white-alloyed corridors, with windows facing the cold never-ending space outside, and a gorgeous overlook of the frozen planet of Skyrim below. They entered elevators that took them down to the various cell blocks of the station, all the way down to the very bottom where they were faced with almost complete darkness, save for some red lights. Sentry guns were positioned in the ceiling and suspiciously traced their every movement. It was very isolated. Not even a single window could be seen.

“This here is the confinement block, as we call it”, she explained. “Some of our most dangerous prisoners dwell down here. I sure hope by the Divines that your damned Council knows what they are doing.”

She escorted the agent to a heavily fortified cell door made by Skyforge Steel. She brought up her CHIM and contacted Alfdan again. “Captain, we are here. Open the door.”

“Roger that.”

There was a loud whirring sound as heavy locks and bolts were disengaged. The door swung slowly open and lights flickered as they powered up. From the walls and floors inside the cell, several more sentry guns were deployed, all focusing on the man by the end of the cell.

Milerius gazed upon the prisoner curiously. The man in the cell was a tall Argonian of muscular build. He was restrained by remote-controlled shackles against the wall. He was missing several limbs, but judging from the metallic parts on his stumps, he could tell that he most likely had cybernetic prosthetics that had been removed by the station’s personnel for security reasons and precautions. The agent had only briefly read the prisoner’s file, and understood the reasoning well enough. The man held the galactic record of most successfully performed jailbreaks in history, however such a thing was even possible.

“Execution time again?” Shades chuckled as he observed the Warden-Commander with a gleeful smile. “Sorry, doll. I am not in the mood. Let me have my nap first. Not that there’s much else to do down here.”

“Rightfully so”, Tova said dryly.

“Still pissed about that time?”

Tova turned stiff. Milerius was right there. He didn’t need to hear this.

“So what will it be?” Shades smirked. “Are you going to execute me, or are you here for another round in the sack? I am up for both really. You look great in armor.”

Milerius furrowed his brows and subtly looked at the Warden-Commander. He could tell, even with the vague lighting that she was flustered and red-faced. There was clearly some sort of history here that he really didn’t need to know, one that he didn’t care to know.

“I am agent Milerius”, he said as he slowly approached the Argonian by the wall.

“Charmed, I am sure.”

“You are Shades-in-the-Shadows, I take it? Assassin? Former Listener of the Dark Brotherhood?”

“Still am”, he growled. “That title rightfully belongs to me. I was usurped.”

“What a shocker”, Tova murmured.

“I represent the Elder Council”, Milerius continued. “And it has come to their attention that you could prove yourself useful in a secret assignment of theirs.”

“I am sure I would, but I am little caught between a rock and a hard place, agent man.”

“They have of course already agreed to set you free, in return for your loyalty and service.”

Shades sneered. “Loyalty doesn’t come for free.”

“In return for your silence and your obedience to them, they are willing to reward you handsomely.”

Shades rolled with his eyes. “That’s good and all, but I am still a dead man, come the end of the day. Cough up a better offer, agent man, or beat it. I have three more months to plan my escape from this place before they cut me short.”

“Not going to happen”, Tova responded and gave the Argonian a surly stare.

Shades just gave her a sultry smile and blew her a kiss.

“As of now, the Council, has only agreed to nullify your death sentence, changing it to life time imprisonment. However, should you perform well under this assignment, and remain steadfast, loyal, obedient, they have not ruled out the possibility of clearing you of all charges.”

Tova felt as if she was going to throw up. The Council were just going to set him loose? Like that? And watch him kill again?

“Think about it”, Milerius continued. “It would be a clean slate. A chance for you to start over and live honestly. No more law enforcements to chase you down, and the rewards would be great.”

Shades looked as if he didn’t believe a word of what he was hearing. His suspicious glare indicated that he was expecting Milerius to tell him any moment now that this was all just an epic prank, but the longer he stared at the agent the more he realized that he meant business.

“So what do you say, Shades?” Milerius inquired. “Work for us, service us well, and you will walk away a free man.”

“There has to be a catch”, Shades said.

“No catch other than that you are to follow under direct orders. Understand? You are not allowed to leave this assignment under any circumstances, and you will be put under surveillance to ensure your loyalty to our cause. Consider it your parole. If you break any of these conditions, consider all promises and rewards mute and expect to be escorted straight back here for your scheduled execution.”

The Argonian’s eyes shifted suspiciously, still awaiting that reaction he was expecting, but then he just cracked a smile. “Sure. Count me in. When are we leaving?”

“That’s up to your superior here”, Milerius explained. “I expect that you will be delivered to White-Gold Tower Station within the week.”

“A week?!” Tova exclaimed.

“Sweet”, Shades grinned, apparently taking pleasure in how distraught his jailor was. “Until then, agent man.”

Milerius just nodded in return and exited the cell together with Warden-Commander Tova, watching how the sentry guns folded neatly and went back into their holdings in the floor and the walls. The lamps turned off and the massive cell door locked behind them.

“What the hell was that?!” Tova growled. “A week?! That’s too soon! I would need to prepare a high-security ship from the homeworld to get here in time and then escort him from here and to the White-Gold Tower Station.”

“But that’s your job, commander, is it not?”

“That’s not the point! It’s too short amount of time to prepare all the precautions necessary to have this villain locked up and tight! Do you have any idea who you are dealing with? Shades-in-the-Shadows has probably killed more people than the days counted since you were born. And those he hasn’t killed personally, he has ordered the death of as the Listener for the Dark Brotherhood. He has an entire war worth of casualties on his conscience!”

“That’s not the sole reason why you despise him though, is it, commander?” the agent inquired.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Has there been any personal relationship between you and the prisoner at one point and time?”

“How dare you?”

“Has there?”

Tova’s face was twisted into a grimace of anger, but reluctantly softened. “We … he and I … We spent a night together. A couple of nights actually. It was ten years ago. I was eighteen and still studied at law school, and he was … well … I didn’t know at the time that he was an assassin.”

“I see”, Milerius said. “I am sorry. It was inappropriate of me to ask. I just wanted to make sure that your feelings towards him doesn’t cloud your judgement.”

“Judgement?” she scoffed. “The man is a mass murderer. There is no way to sugarcoat it. I can’t see how I could be any worse for wanting to keep him locked up not only because of that, but because he personally hurt me.”

“You are right”, the agent said. “I thank you for your time, Warden-Commander. And I expect that he will be delivered within a week.”

“Oh, you will have him, alright”, Tova scoffed. “Because I will deliver him there myself.”