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Chapter 5[]
Dead Man's Hand: Family Values[]
New Saigon, Kowloon
Bucklands Province
Lyran Commonwealth
October 7th, 3057
"Do you do this sort of thing often?" Nathan Roshak asked.
"Well, our usual jobs involve slipping behind Clan lines and pulling down the pants of unsuspecting Star Colonels." Scilicorn grinned as he checked his gear, "But yeah: we've been known to carry out the odd Morality Inspection. Kind of surprised that you've never heard of one."
"Clan warriors are held to a higher standard." the former Jade Falcon proclaimed.
"That's where I call bullshit." Kelso shock her head, "I don't care how much they've tweaked your DNA, you're still as human as the rest of us shaved apes at the end of the day."
There was a low chuckle from the Coast Guard squad at the back of the van, and Nathan Roshak fumed.
"Warriors of the Clans are taught to find more... acceptable outlets." he insisted, "We have evolved beyond such petty vices."
"Then I feel sorry for the Duchess." Scilicorn winked, "She looks the same as all those other Prim and Proper Nobles: all stuffed shirts, until you get the shirt off of them, and then the fireworks really start!"
"And how would you know what a Noble Lady is like in the sack?" Aung asked.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?" his friend pointed out, "I scrub up okay when needed. Certainly enough to catch the eye of a young 'Lady' looking for a bit of rough before she marries the human equivalent of a sleeping pill."
"Ah, the inevitable part of the mission where we're subjected to the depravities of Emilio's dark and twisted imagination." Kelso rolled her eyes, "Almost makes you look forward to getting shot at."
Nathan Roshak looked ready to burst a blood vessel, before Aung, relatively gently, slapped him on the back.
"Relax, we don't mean anything by it." he rumbled, "It's just that, well, the last time we took part in one of the these was on Tamar..."
"Something we agreed never to discuss with outsiders." Scilicorn snapped, his previously playful tone noticeably absent.
"The last time we took part in a Morality Inspection was the night we all met, Joker included." Kelso took up the explication, "What we thought as just an illegal brothel turned out to be a cover for, well, something else."
"Yes, Elizabeth showed me the report." Nathan Roshak nodded, "It is truly sickening, how far some people can fall..."
"Would that be the report that talks about them burning incense with an hallucinatory effect?" Scilicorn asked, "Or the one that states what really happened?"
Nathan Roshak looked confused, but even he noticed that a couple of the Coast Guards looked...uncomfortable.
"The official report states what the Brass wants to say happened." Kelso lent back against the side of the van and closed her eyes, "But, well, their conclusions didn't match up with the physical evidence. And, before you go asking us what we saw, don't."
"Some things are best left in the past." Aung rumbled, earning a nod of agreement from his two companions.
"Well, that killed the mood pretty damn quickly." Scilicorn looked round, "We going or what?"
"Yeah." Kelso looked at her watch, then banged her fist against the side of the van, "Let's get this show on the road!"
The driver started the van, and it rumbled down the road, the team in the back giving their weapons and equipment one last check.
"So, what are the rules of engagement?" Kelso asked.
"The Duchess wants the place shut down, but she also wants names, so we need to leave someone alive." Scilicorn shrugged, "Of course, there's an awful lot of wiggle room between 'alive' and 'in one piece'."
"My kind of mission." Aung domed his helmet as the van started to accelerate, "Game Time."
There was a muffled shout of surprise, and a bullet bounced off of the vehicles hidden armor, before it burst through a wooden door and into the warehouse beyond. It continued on for several meters, no king over several packing crates and a table, before skidding to a halt. Aung kicked open the back door, a massive combat shotgun with an extended drum-magazine in his hands. The weapon barked twice, beanbag rounds knocking the wind out of the two guards who had followed them into the building.
"MORALITY INSPECTION!" Kelso yelled, gleefully, "REACH FOR THE SKY!"
Their suddenness and ferocity of their entrance stunned the assembled gang members, giving them the time needed to exit the van and get their weapons at the ready. But soon there was a scream of outrage, and all hell broke loose.