Page 31 of Destinies of Diamond
I hoped there hadn’t been any deaths, but feared the worst.
With a frustrated sigh, I rushed toward the area I knew would have taken the worst blow. Fortunately, the men in Tartarus City had prioritized their safety over their fucks, so no one had attempted to abuse the already hurt sex workers. Persephone’s Plaza was next to abandoned. In the process, though, the women had been left there, tied to the mechanism that kept them captive holes to fuck. Worse, the machines that made sure they didn’t need to eat had short-circuited, and a small fire had already started.
I put it out as quickly as possible, but several women had already suffered burns. Worse still, a few devices had exploded, and the shrapnel had hit two of the nearby sex workers. And yet, no one made a single sound as I let them out of their shackles.
This was part of the reason why it was so important to topple the current system. These poor women represented everything that was wrong with The Grand Judiciary. But I had to wonder if I’d have to sacrifice yet another innocent for the sake of the greater good.
Memories of Selene didn’t help me right now. With a thought, I contacted the main base personnel and summoned aid.“Commander Trevor, we don’t have enough people,”the man I spoke with protested.
“I know that. Send as many as you can spare. I’ll have His Highness supplement the staff with students from the academy if we absolutely have to. But there are wounded here, and I can’t carry them all.”
I doubted he cared about the injured women, but Grand Judiciary laws did ensure the safety of the sex workers and that, at least, he could respect. He promised to send a small unit to the Titans’ Pit. As I waited, I did my best to provide first aid. My expertise lay with machines, but I wouldn’t have been able to pilot a chimera without understanding the workings of the human body. My implants helped.
Never had I been more grateful for having the embedded scanners than the moment I found myself forced to extract shards of metal out of a young woman’s stomach.
When my assistants arrived, I found in surprise that half of them were women. Most of them were employees from Aphrodite’s Boudoir. They must have decided to join the rescue efforts, even if they didn’t technically have the authority.
“We’re Unblessed,” one of the women said with a sheepish smile, “but we can lend a hand anyway, if you’ll have us.”
“Of course,” I replied. “All aid is welcome.”
Between them, the two drones that popped up out of the wreckage and the backup staff of Tartarus men, we managed to carry the women to the nearest health center. Unfortunately, the place was filled to capacity. Aphrodite’s Boudoir didn’t have the facilities necessary to treat the women, so I was left with no choice but to bring two dozen prostitutes to Chimera Academy.
This sort of thing just wasn’t done. We had strict rules at the academy. We allowed fraternization among the students and staff precisely because we didn’t want any outsiders brought here. But what else could we do? We couldn’t just abandon the Terran women of Tartarus City to die.
“Thank you,” one of the prostitutes from Persephone’s Plaza mumbled, tears in her eyes. “Thank you for this. You have to tell us… You have to tell us what you want.”
“We can pay you back,” another added, encouraged by her friend’s words.
I felt horrible, knowing full well that I might have fucked these women in the past, but unable to remember despite my enhanced cyborg memory. “You don’t need to pay me back. I’m only doing my duty.”
Dr. Bell curled his lower lip, looking like he wanted to say something. I glowered at him, and fortunately, that was enough to make him hold his tongue. Maybe he realized that I wasn’t in the mood to argue with him and if he pushed me, we might end up without a doctor too. Or maybe it wasn’t me that he feared at all.
As I accommodated the Terran sex workers into our med bay, I received another summons from Prince Archibald. It was brief and it echoed in my head like a death knell.“Come see me in my office. Tell no one.”
He hadn’t bothered to contact me directly, which was not good news. Doing my best to not tense up, I pulled away from the woman I’d been caring for and turned toward Dr. Bell. “I have to report in with His Highness. Make sure you give these women the best of care. I’ll return to check up on them later.”
“Of course, Commander Trevor,” he replied. I didn’t believe him for a second, and neither did the women.
I was very tempted to leave my phaser with one of them, but they were more likely to blow themselves up with my weapon than use it properly. Still, I hoped Bell had some decency left and wouldn’t abuse an already injured woman, even if she was Terran.
Feeling wretched, I left the med bay. I could feel the women’s gazes on me as I departed, but I didn’t allow that to deter me. Tartarus willing, I’d be able to get the conversation with Archibald out of the way and return to more practical matters within the hour.
Tartarus was no longer on my side today. The moment I stepped into the room, I knew something was very wrong.
As a rule, Prince Archibald liked to keep his quarters well-lit. Whereas most soldiers at Chimera Academy—myself included—kept Spartan offices, he had a lot of trinkets and luxury items thrown around, some of which had no real purpose or value.
Today, the office was dark. The floor was littered with shards of glass and pieces of stone and metal. The decorative mirror on the wall was shattered, and the couch was torn in two.
Prince Archibald stood on the miraculously untouched chair, facing away from me. “Close the door, don’t turn on the light and shut down your biological eyes.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. It was very uncomfortable to have to resort solely on my eye implants, since it meant suppressing my ocular nerves. I had a lot of practice, so it didn’t cause me excruciating pain like it had in the past, but it could be dangerous if I used the technique for too long.
Sometimes, though, it was necessary, as biological eyes were vulnerable whereas implants were not. When the analysis engine took over, my retinas and brain were immune to a lot of damage human eyes were vulnerable to. It didn’t take a genius to realize that was exactly what Archibald needed right now.
“Is there a problem, Your Highness?” I asked as I obeyed. “Are you injured?”
“You could say that.” The voice came out sibilant, the tone completely unfamiliar to me. “Although incapacitated might be a better way to describe it.”
