#did all that running on nothing but anger and hatred almost killed Cal he was so enraged | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rhouston72 · 6 years

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Redemption - Part 10

Crack. He stopped as his subconscious heard a noise. A noise he had become very familiar with over the course of his training with the Marines onboard the Orion. Crack-Crack-Zing. That was the point where people started screaming. He grabbed Serena and Anabell, and got them both behind some solid cover. “What’s going on?” The fear was evident in her voice as she clutched Anabell to her chest. Matthias stuck his head just above and out of cover, and he could see bodies on the ground in the distance - and at least four men with automatic weapons mowing the crowd down as they fled. Matthias ducked back down and turned to look at Serena and Ana. “You two stay here and stay out of sight. I’ll be back.” He went to turn away when Serena grabbed his arm. “Please don’t go. I can’t go through that again, please.” He stopped and looked at her, finally realizing what she was talking about. “I can’t let those animals get away with this, not when I can stop them.” He grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her in for a kiss, catching her off guard. He broke the kiss, and gave her a smile. “I’ll be right back.” What she said next came so naturally she didn’t even know she was saying it. “I love you.” He just smiled again, “I know.” He ducked out of cover then, moving towards the sound of gunfire. Moving from cover to cover, he kept low and moved as quietly as he could. He came across a dozen or so bodies - Men, Women, and Children all laying in pools of their own blood. He felt his anger rising. It had to be that Albion Liberation Front that was doing this. It was the only terrorist group he knew of that was currently active on Albion Prime. He was taking shelter behind a large concrete planter when he heard what sounded like a shotgun blast nearby. Peeking around the corner of the planter, he saw one of the terrorists standing over a wounded young man, who was currently pleading for his life. Matthias couldn’t make out what the young man was saying, but he could make out the terrorist’s response. “The weak must be culled, for only a strong Albion will do for our true Masters.” The terrorist racked a new shell into the chamber and was in the process of aiming the shotgun at his next victim when Matt made his move. Coming out from behind the planter, he came in low behind the asshole with the shotgun. Coming up behind him, he kicked the man in the back of the left knee, forcing him down to the ground. Not expecting any resistance from the civilians they were targeting, he turned to face Matthias with a look of shock on his face - especially since the shotgun was now in Matt’s hands. “Fuck your Masters.” The blast took the terrorist in the chest, sending him sprawling on the ground. Matt chambered another shell and fired again - this time disintegrating the man’s face. Searching the terrorist, he found a semi-automatic pistol and several spare magazines. He took those and the few shotgun shells he could also find. It appeared that the man had already shot off most of his shotgun ammo and Matt could see the bastard’s bloody handiwork. Leaving the wounded civilian where he was, Matt moved off towards the sound of gunfire and screams. He moved tactically from cover to cover, keeping his head on a swivel as he came across more scenes of carnage. In what appeared to be an eating area, families were sprawled out, loved ones clutching one another in their final embraces. Matthias just gripped his purloined shotgun tighter, as he swore he’d make those that did this pay. Moving through the smoke and dust, he came across two more terrorists working their way through the fleeing civilians. Just as Matt got there, a Justicar attempted to engage the two. The brave woman went down in a hail of automated weapons fire. One of the terrorists stopped to reload as the second one moved forward. Matthias chose this time to strike. Sitting the shotgun down on the ground as he was just a bit too far away to use it, he took out the pistol and braced himself as he knelt. Taking aim at the back of the terrorist’s head, Matthias moved his sights down to center mass and squeezed off a shot. He then squeezed off another. The first round struck the terrorist in the middle of his back, just to the right of center, ripping a hole through the man’s lung. The man started to go down to one knee in response to the pain from being shot, and as he went down, Matt’s second shot voided the contents of his brainpan. Two down. Shifting his sights to the third terrorist, he centered his sights on the man’s chest. He had turned and was in the process of bringing his assault rifle up towards Matt when the former trooper squeezed off rounds three and four. The round took the terrorist through the heart and the second one was just above the first. Three down, one to go. Hearing gunfire back the way he came, Matthias cursed as he darted back, forgetting the shotgun on the ground. He made his way back to the area he had left Serena and Anabell in to find the fourth terrorist on his way back to whatever vehicle they took to get there. He saw Matthias coming towards him and smiled. “I shall kill one of the Heroes of the Arena! I shall make an even bigger blow to the morale of these…” He was cut off by Matt firing three rounds at the man, hitting him square in the chest and puncturing both his lungs. The man went down, the pain almost too much to bear. Matthias moved up, kicking the weapon from his grasp. Pulling the man up off his back by the scruff of his collar, he tried interrogating him. “Where’s the rest of you? How many of you are there? Where’s your base.” The terrorist just smiled, bloody foam gathering at the corners of his lips. “We are….legion. And we....are everywhere.” With one final gasp, the man died. Letting go of the man’s collar, Matthias turned back towards where Serena and Anabell were at - and he froze. Through the smoke and haze, he saw two bodies prone on the ground. One a female adult, the other a female child. Running to them, he picked up both their heads, cradling them on his lap. They both had a single bullet hole in their sternums, and it looked as if Serena had been trying to protect Anabell. She told him before he had left to be a hero, that she didn’t want to lose him. Instead, he lost both of them. He felt grief, sorrow, anguish flood into him as fate, or the universe, or the Force, or whoever decided on how things went had once again decided that Matthias Jayne didn’t deserve happiness. With tears flowing from his eyes, he held the two women close to him, rocking back and forth on his knees. He let out a howl of anguish then, giving voice to not just his grief at losing Serena and Anabell, but at his entire life. Leaving his family, losing the Jedi and the Republic, losing the first woman he ever loved, and now the second. He howled, letting decades of grief flow through him and resulting in a long howl that anyone who heard it, would feel it in their soul. The sound of a soul wounded beyond the point of no return. Then, he went quiet as he dipped his head. He gently kissed first Serena then Anabell on the top of their heads, before looking up at the horizon. Gone was the look of pain and suffering, and in its place was something far different. On his face, was hatred and anger. He let his rage build before something went click in his mind. His features then softened, and the face of a cold, calculating killer found its way to the fore. Matthias made a decision at that point. He was going to go to war, and the streets will run red with the blood of the Albion Liberation Front. Unbeknownst to Matthias, the entire scene - his killing of the final terrorist and his soul wrenching scream - was all caught on camera by a news crew that was there to cover the yearly farmer’s market. And they were broadcasting live to the entire planet, and to ships in orbit. Up on board the Orion, his friends were watching the news report when they saw Matthias take down the last terrorist, and several of the Marines in Jilly’s cheered as they saw their Captain take him down. But then came the sight of Matthias finding the bodies of Serena and Anabell, and their cheers died. Not all who were there, were cheering though. Cal watched his Commander closely. He felt the same jubilation that the Marines felt at seeing the terrorist gunned down by Matthias. Anyone who preys upon the weak in such a fashion deserved a speedy death, at least according to the Arkanian. It was the look on Matthias’ face though, that made Cal pause. The pain was clearly evident, but the look that came over the man’s face is what worried Cal the most. It was the look of a man that intended evil things. Raine had also seen the carnage unfold, the bodies fall and the terrorists be judicially dismissed by Matthias. It was what came after that worried her. She had suspected for a while now, that he had been harboring some inner pain, and she worried that this might be what pushed him past the breaking point. Seeing his face change from sorrow to something else, something...darker, then back again only confirmed her fears. Something had just happened inside the mind of her friend Matthias Jayne, and she prayed that he survived whatever it was he just decided upon. Jedi Master Davin Kabak saw the same look that Raine had seen, and knew it meant nothing good. He was on the verge of deploying the Marines on board the Orion when he saw the attack stopped by the former trooper. He then saw Matthias experience a sorrow that no person should ever experience - it was as if the man had lost a wife and child. Perhaps they had meant something to him? That much was obvious. And now it was obvious from the look on the Corellian’s face. More bad things were going to happen.

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