[Mars, 148 years after first contact]

  A cacophony of oozing liquid echoed across the silent chamber, breaking the perfect stillness with each repetitious drop. It was a cold, damp room, built beneath the surface of Mars when humanity first began to claim the planet. Since then, it was a perfect location for smuggling goods and people, so long as the authorities had forgotten its existence.

  If there were, of course, any authorities to speak of.

  High above the wet drainage sat a skinny human, her body lying perfectly still on top of a broken fan blade.

  She was Sonera.

  A splatter of blood was stuck to her pale cheek, still moist from its previous owner. There was, of course, no life remaining in the body it originated from. Sonera saw to that. Beneath the calm assassin rested the body of her victim, whose corpse still contained a shard of rusted metal.

  "Her dress," Sonera spoke with an emotionless tone. "Do I need it?"

  A voice replied from a small chip deep inside her ear. Its masculine tone was almost jovial, perfectly collected amidst Sonera's preformance. He had confidence in her.

  "They're only expecting one girl. Just don't go showing your face to the wrong people; they might catch on."

  "She wore white," Sonera replied, her eyes shifting downwards towards the dead girl, whose blonde hair shimmered in the light coming from above. "They might expect that."

  The man she spoke to released a deep sigh. "Just...try to smile and they'll overlook it."

  "No."

  "It was a comfort girl, right?"

  "Who?"

  Another sigh came from the man. "The one you just killed, Sonera. Eyes up."

  Sonera shrugged. Her mind was elsewhere.

  "I believe so."

  "Alright then, it's looking good. Try to stay focused, I know you're not the sloppy kind, but you're getting lost in your own head."

  "I'll be fine, Three." Sonera smiled, her expression briefly changing before returning to its previous state.

  Sonera balanced her way across the rusted ceiling with ease before leaping down onto the floor of the chamber, her bare feet scraping against the floor.

  "Oh, and clean the blood off you." Three's fingers could be heard tapping against his ear-chip. "Not really ladylike to have that splattered all over you."

  "Yes." Sonera nodded, wiping her cheek with a nakpin she had stolen before tossing it aside. "Good luck on your end, Three."

  "Hah," the man chuckled on the other side of the intercom, his voice garbled by static. "Listen, Four will be taking the comms if you have anything else, I've got to get to work."

  Sonera wasn't happy to hear that. But she pressed on.

  Sloshing her way through the wet drainage, the frail girl stared down at her feet, tilting her head with an animistic curiosity before moving on. Sonera had always been observant, even when she was merely a child. Since then, she hadn't grown a whole lot, making her perfectly unassuming. What she had gained in that time was a sense of cunning, allowing her to identify the nature of the tunnel she had begun to traverse.

  The old ruins of Mars were used quite often, as seen by the sticky particulate of its trailing water being unable to settle properly. But more importantly, Sonera could effectively discern that no form of heavy equipment had been brought in for ages, meaning her prey was under-equipped. At most, a few combat frames had been dragged through, and she was more than confident handling those.

  Mars wasn't always known for its illegal activities. It was once recognized as the beacon of humanity's colonial expeditions. But after the dominance of Tesselation, weapons-smuggling became one of many commonplaces on the Martian market. The true measure of fame, for the longest time, had actually been the formation of the family. It was they who waged war beneath and above ground, tossing aside the corporations and governments of old in exchange for a more feudal way of living.

  Sonera and her team belonged to Russia's newly ascendant Bravta. And Three was the only part she liked about it. If it wasn't for him, she would still be just another pricey comfort girl who could dance.

  "State your business," a rough voice came booming through the other side of the tunnel.

  Sonera knew the guards of the Al Zein were rather fidgety, due to their recent history of brazen warfare. But as long as she remained calm and unassuming, her ruse would work. It helped being the silent type.

  A light flashed onto her body, causing her left finger to twitch for a brief second. In response to the inspection, Sonera raised a small jeweled necklace, a token stolen from her previous victim. Having finally recognized the girl as an invited guest, the man lowered his rifle, gesturing for Sonera to hurry along.

  "They sent you alone?" The man scoffed, checking that his service rifle was still loaded. "Wearing that?"

  Sonera didn't respond, as if waiting for her cue. She stepped closer to the man, looking up at him with her cold gaze. In her experience, it was smarter to let others speak first, a minimum of two times.

  "Orange eyes, huh, like Mars. Never mind, I get why they wanted you." The man nodded, waiting for a response from Sonera. "You can talk, you know. God, these girls keep getting younger and younger."

  "That rifle isn't getting any younger," Sonera quipped, changing her tone in an instant. "You get that from Earth?"

  "Hah! You're funny," the man laughed. "But I wouldn't do that around the buyer, he's got an ego."

  Sonera never cared for social life, but she did know the basics by heart. If a man were confined to wearing concealing helmet gear, like the one she just insulted, then his personal pride was bound to be flexible. She would even go as far as to think they were amenable.

  Sonera gave a thumbs up before wiping the smirk off her face. "I understand."

  For the briefest of moments, Sonera felt pity for the tunnel worker. He was clearly a pawn in the operation. And his chances of surviving the rest of her family were approximately zero. Or at the very least, the young girl had grown a habit of sympathizing with the more gentle of soldiers. Killing them was no fun.

  "Come along now," the man opened a rusty door as he spoke, leading Sonera out of the tunnels and into a dusty basement. "There's a lift past a few more of the boys. They won't check you."

  Sonera stepped forward, calmly, allowing each armed guard to glance at her with a curious gaze. They all seemed like fine gentlemen for what it was worth. Gullible and most certainly in love with her appearance, yes, but still reasonable. One of them even bothered to point Sonera in the right direction with a nod, their face completely obscured by black goggles and a mask.

  "Mind the bump on the start-up, damn thing's getting old."

  Another guard spoke from within the lift, offering Sonera a hand so that her heels wouldn't trip on the incline. "Don't tell the boss that."

  "The boss?" Sonera pretended to be clueless, her eyes widening with childlike curiosity.

  "They don't even tell you these things? Man. Being a comfort girl must suck. Well, he's pretty gentle, I wouldn't worry about it."

  "Who said it'd be the boss taking her?" the first guard chuckled, tilting his rifle as he spoke. "I hear his new girlfriend has a thing for uh...her type."

  "Nice save, idiot."

  "I wasn't gonna say young ones. That just sounds weird."

  Sonera wanted to chuckle. She grew up alongside child soldiers with a sense of humor. In her experience, they were ironically the most humane when it came to dealing with girls. It was the fellow woman she had to watch out for.

  Not that Sonera ever allowed anyone to swing first.

  It wasn't a long wait inside the rusty tube. After a minute or so of random shuddering, the sliding door opened to reveal a well-groomed lawn glimmering in the starry night. She was officially within the belly of the beast.

  "Alright, Sonera, it's me." Four whispered over the intercomm, her feminine voice indicating she was the only other girl on the team. "We're in position."

  "Is she here?" Sonera tried to hide her growl.

  Four's hand could be heard slapping against her faceplate. "Don't worry about that, focus on the index."

  "She stole it from us."

  "We don't know that yet. They could have caught her; she was family."

  Sonera clenched her fist as she strolled across the lawn, ignoring the guard who tried to give her a hand. "Venra is a traitor."

  "Just shut up and listen. Worry about your ex later."

  "She's not my ex."

  Sonera's brief solo stint came to an end when a pair of black-suited butlers approached her. Their faces weren't all that remarkable, and their voices even less so as they directed the assassin with a gloved hand.

  "This way, please. He's expecting you."

  Sonera had no response, not even with her face. She was simmering with rage. The operation in its entirety was a last-minute fluke, an emergency response to a mission gone wrong. Originally, her team had stolen an index containing sensitive information on Tesselation from their martian facility, but after a sudden communication outage, the asset was gone. Due to such unexpected failure, Sonera was forced to enter the Al-Zein's family manor to retrieve the artifact, and with the help of her backup, kill the head of the family.

  But Sonera didn't care about warlords and Algernon's business. She felt betrayed. She wanted blood.

  The location was a full-court house decorated with a homely cobblestone, nestled gently on a terraformed hilltop with green palm trees and calm skies far away from the orange martian wastes. It was the perfect avenue for Sonera's disguise, due to its frequent trafficking. And whether the denizens of the manor liked it or not, Sonera was deemed by many to be worth her price.

  "Mm," Sonera muttered as she became increasingly impatient.

  It wasn't getting any easier for the assassin to contain her rage, not after she was approached by a petite maid on her way towards the family's head. The young girl matched Sonera perfectly in stature, and due to her elegant features, her attitude was easily discerned. She wore a tight black skirt with a short-sleeved apron, alongside a golden necklace that shone almost as brightly as Sonera's.

  She was probably another comfort girl, only trained in service rather than dance.

  "Allow me to show you the way." The maid held a platter in one hand, while grabbing Sonera's arm with the other.

  The tight grasp told Sonera all she needed to know. Her kind wasn't welcome there. If the servants of the manor were free to speak, they likely would have called Sonera something crude, particularly in reference to her looks.

  "We'll have to get you a change of clothes." The young maid continued, brushing aside her black hair. "What you have is...expected."

  On a better day, Sonera would have wanted nothing more than to split the girl's pretty skull open with the heel of her shoe. But she was still utterly distracted. All Sonera could do was stare down at the maid's tight white stockings and think to herself how easily they would fit on her.

  "That bitch is jealous." Four laughed. "Who wants to bet she tries to spice Sonera's drink?"

  "Ooh, four quid she does." Two chimed in, his younger voice causing Sonera to smile, if only briefly.

  She always liked her brothers.

  "I'll match that," Four retorted with a snort. "But if she tries to assault Sonera first, I get five."

  Two replied with an agitated tone. "Well, hold on now, that's vague."

  "You'll see what I mean. Sonera has a certain way of...spreading her crazy around."

  Ignoring the chatter, Sonera followed the maid closely up a set of carpeted velvet stairs, her skin almost bleeding against her captor's nails.

  "Here." The maid sneered, flicking Sonera's nape. "Don't get any funny ideas."

  Sonera turned to give the girl a malicious glare, only to have a door slammed in her face. She had reached the second floor, a parlor of sorts decorated with old Earthling relics. Inside were only two gaurds and one command table, where the head of the family sat patiently.

  "Five will like this." Sonera thought to herself, glancing over at what she beleived to be a pool table. "I'll show him."

  The family head stood up from his wooden chair, plucking a cigar out of his mouth before speaking. "A ballerina. I thought they lied about that part."

  Sonera looked down at her heels, still bruised from her earlier practice. She feigned a warm smile, appearing nervous. The man fell for the bait, smiling at her like she were a child.

  He was a fat creature, wearing a tacky purple suit and adorning several golden teeth alongside his yellow beard. But of course, Sonera didn't care. All she needed was for the man to drop his guard around her. She had hoped the silver nightgown she wore would sell the look, its transparent fabric allowing for her to easily display her petite figure.

  "A quiet one." The large man nodded in approval. "Good."

  The large man then grabbed Sonera by her skinny waist, pulling her up onto his wooden seat. He began to inspect the Sonera, causing her left hand to twitch once again. She had to feign the rest of her embarrassment in hopes that the man would continue to lower his guard. But the truth was rather apparent. Sonera had no reaction to her role in the mission. Her mind was elsewhere.

  "Is it natural?" The man asked with a squint as he ran his fingers through Sonera's silver hair, inspecting the orange hues that could be seen glistening along its surface.

  "Yes." Sonera nodded, reaching for her nightgown.

  The man stopped her halfway, insisting on removing the left strap of Sonera's bra himself. Throughout the entire process, she remained unfazed, allowing the act to continue as if waiting eagerly for her cue. That moment finally came in the form of two silent whistles, followed by a splotch of blood on the floor. Both guards in the room had been silently shot by her team, leaving Sonera alone with her prey.

  "Who the hell-." The large man complained, unaware that Sonera's eyes had been lit up with fervent energy.

  Without mercy or hesitation, Sonera shattered a nearby picture frame with her bare hand, grasping at a broken shard of glass before assaulting the man with all her feral might. It didn't really matter how badly the improvised weapon cut into her own palm; she had become entirely focused on her prey. As if judging herself for every moment she left the target alive, Sonera increased the ferocity of her attack, grunting like a wild animal as she slammed the shard deeper and deeper into the man's neck.

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  "Sloppy." Sonera cursed at herself. "The jugular is so easy, yet he's so fat."

  Ultimately, the victim hadn't even gained the chance to scream, his blood drowning out his own voice as he slumped onto the ground. Sonera was known for many things at that stage of her life. Clean kills were evidently not one of them. Covered in blood, she climbed over the corpse before rushing to the dead man's desk terminal.

  "Tesselation." She muttered to herself, inputting the code Three had given her for the terminal a few hours ago. "Index."

  Sonera was focused on her task. And all seemed well until she made the mistake of looking at the security feed. Beneath the manor, in a room not unlike the one she had entered from, stood a familiar girl.

  It was Venra. Her long, dark brown hair was just as she remembered it, reflecting the light around it with its silky polish. Her yellow eyes stared at the camera, as if forcing Sonera to recall their time togethor. It made the assassin furious.

  "You," Sonera growled. "You."

  Sonera wanted to look away. But she couldn't, her eyes drawn to Venra's large hooped earrings, the same ones she wore a day ago. The same accessories she would play with when smiling at Sonera. Such cruel remembrance distracted the assassin, blinding her to the doorway in front of her.

  It was already open.

  "You!" The maid from before stared Sonera down, her hands preoccupied with two mugs of steaming coffee. "You slut."

  Sonera pulled a handgun from her prey's corpse, pointing it directly at the maid's head. "Takes one to know one."

  The maid surveyed her surroundings, locking her gaze on a red alarm positioned just to her right next to the window. All she had to do was tap on the glowing switch, dead or alive, and the manor would be on full alert. Sonera honestly didn't care. A fight would bring her to Venra. A mission complete would take her away.

  "Hold on, we're lining up a shot, Sonera." Two whispered calmly. "One's with me. Just keep that girl distracted, and we'll double tap her before she can call you that again."

  Sonera glowered. She wouldn't pull the trigger unless she had to. But part of her needed to antagonize the maid, lest she actually get away cleanly. It was an irrational and horrible thought. But it was what she needed.

  "You loved him?" Sonera taunted.

  The young maid tightened her grip around the coffee, fantasizing her next move against Sonera. "Not all of us are cold monsters."

  Sonera smiled, drawing upon her worst instincts. "And yet, for just that second, he was warmer with me than he ever was with you."

  The maid lunged at the alarm, her coffee spilling onto the ground with a steamy splash. Sonera and her team weren't far behind, turning the enemy into a red mist. But her body was still moving, drawing ever closer to the alarm. It was too late.

  Sonera spoke with shame in her voice. "I apologize."

  "What? You kiss the wrong girl?" Four chuckled, positioning herself atop the manor's rooftop, oblivious to the situation. "How sad."

  A blaring alarm sounded around the manor, causing Four to nearly slip. Her entire team became lit up by the several spotlights of the manor's defense system, revealing their position. Unlike Sonera, they were not specialized in deceiving appearances, wearing black drop-trooper gear from head to toe. And despite the unfortunate turn of events, they were ready to fight.

  "Oh shit!" Four yelped.

  Three's voice chimed in, directing the team with confidence. "We're moving people, code green. Get Sonera out of there."

  Sonera shook her head in frustration, grabbing the chip from the terminal before bolting out of the room. The moment she cleared the dead man's desk, she was greeted by the two butlers from before, wielding two black machine guns as they aimed at Sonera. She was faster.

  Sonera could hardly hear her own handgun over the deafening alarm, its fiery trails eliminating one target with ease. She would have found it to be a fine model, if not for her tendency to use it as a bludgeoning weapon. Such destructive habits were precisely why her own team preferred not to share.

  "Is Sonera alive?" Three asked over the intercomm, a tinge of desperation infecting his tone.

  "Yeah, she's fine. Ruining a vintage Desert Eagle, but fine." Two chuckled, watching from a distance as Sonera clubbed the second butler to death with the butt of her sidearm. "Just get your ass into position."

  A hail of gunfire erupted from within the manor, as four of Sonera's squad, save three, all began to engage their targets. Such a firefight would have been suicide if not for their experience and extremely expensive armor. In fact, the only member in grave danger was Sonera, who came face to face with two more of the manor's staff.

  That didn't make her any less eager to fight.

  Sonera fired off the last of her magazine, but was suprised to find that her opponents were just as agile, ducking under cover as they unfolded two knives from beneath their skirts.

  "Maids." Sonera rolled her eyes, pulling out a thin knife from deep within her own leggings.

  The three combatants closed the distance between themselves remarkably past, proving just how illegitimate they all were when it came to their supposed profession. But Sonera had faced other assassins before, and even as she suffered a wound to her shoulder, she was completely unfazed.

  One of the taller maids screamed, her black mascara practically dripping off her face from all the sweat. "Die, you stupid bitch!"

  Sonera responded by biting the girl in the neck, and after pulling the knife out from her shoulder, she rammed it into her enemy's eye. The second maid was shocked, hurling her knife at Sonera in a desperate attempt to end the fight.

  Sonera caught that knife.

  Back on the first floor, Two and Four worked in tandem to gun down half a dozen gaurds, swapping cover positions to overwhelm and confuse their enemy. Such was their skill that they continued to banter, tossing each other's scavenged munitions like toys. Any glancing shots their opponents did manage to land merely bounced off their armor, its costly design having been intended for earthling trench warfare.

  "Hey, about that joke earlier," Two gestured nervously, using his free arm to crush a man's skull against a wall. "I think Sonera might have used to-."

  Four sneered loudly. "Sonera's a dyke?! Oh really? Thank you for informing me, Two. I never would have known."

  Two shrugged. "No reason to be mean about it."

  The jovial soldier barely finished his expression before a bloodied body came crashing down next to him.

  "The hell?"

  Such carnage didn't really surprise the Two, who looked up to see Sonera standing next to a shattered banister. She had half-hazardly thrown her prey over the railing and could only offer a brief shrug as an apology.

  "Damn you, crazy." Two whispered as he offered Sonera a thumbs-up.

  Sonera spoke desperately as she ran down the stairs, seemingly unconcerned with the bullets that whizzed past her head. She had none of the cover nor the protective gear of her team, and yet, she remained determined to push on.

  "The basement, how do I get to it?"

  Four pointed with an accusing finger. "Listen, Sonera, Three said to pull you out. We'll clean this lot up, and then you're coming with us."

  "So you can handle it yourself." Sonera nodded. "Thank you."

  "Wait no-. That's not what I meant!"

  Sonera took her chances, sliding across the messy floor as she sprinted her way out towards the grassy quad. Even without useful intel, she had a good intuition about where she could find a basement hatch. More importantly, she had a good feeling about who would already be there.

  She made it a fair distance before a stray bullet struck her in the knee, causing her to slide onto the ground in a heap. Sonera didn't stay down for long, resisting the pain and picking herself off the ground. She was confident in her team.

  "Jesus Sonera, be careful!" Five called out to her from the distance, focusing their efforts on buying her time. "Three will kill us if you die."

  Three hadn't shown themselves. And he was easily the most cunning and talented on the team. Something was wrong.

  "Not this time," Sonera muttered to herself, kicking a guard in the face as she made a mad dash for an open shutter-door at the far side of the quad. "Three."

  Diving into the concrete opening, Sonera found herself surrounded by bodies. Sadly, none of them belonged to Venra. Sonera figured Three was in hot pursuit, but had still not located his prey.

  Sure enough, upon rounding the corner, she found Three standing in front of two figures, with his sidearm unholstered yet strangely relaxed. More importantly, Sonera could make out the figure of Venra, who stood pensively next to another man clad in drop-trooper armor.

  "You!" Sonera cried out, her anger more palpable than ever. "Traitor!"

  Venra sighed, placing her hand onto the muscular arm of her partner, his frame dwarfing her the same way Three towered over Sonera. "I'm sorry, Sonera. I should have told you before."

  Sonera snatched a second sidearm from Three's holster, knowing exactly where he liked to keep his spares. "Told me what? That you were going to leave us!"

  "Whoa there, partner, slow down." The man next to Venra spoke calmly, gesturing towards a large machete on his forearm. "We can talk through this."

  Three nodded in approval. "I'm up for it if the ladies are."

  "Up for what! Let me kill her!" Sonera pleaded.

  "Listen!" Venra cried, tears welling up in her eyes as she tugged at her own nightgown. "I didn't want to do this, but...it's the only choice we had! Our family lied to us, Sonera. We didn't steal that index to fight Tesselation, nor aid any of their victims. We were going to blackmail them for...for money! To prove ourselves useful so we could keep earning and earning!"

  "It doesn't matter." Sonera hissed. "We mattered. Our family."

  "A family that is willing to further the goals of the entity that orphaned us all to begin with...the same company that made Mars what it is today...is no family of mine. Please, you can join us. Algernon doesn't have to rule half the Sol System. We can fight him. Togethor."

  "I can kill you."

  "You can try, give it a chance. Give hope a chance."

  Sonera smiled. "I WILL enjoy it."

  Venra lowered her gaze in shame. "And to think I loved you."

  Sonera squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet flying through Venra's head. But much to her amazement, the only thing that fell was the illusion of her, as the real Venra grabbed onto her from behind, jamming a knife into her back. Rage kept Sonera going, as she swept Venra's legs with her heels before pulling the knife out of her back.

  "Welp." Three shrugged. "Guess we're fighting now."

  The other drop-trooper responded with a chuckle, throwing his machete with blinding speed. "Ladies."

  Three deflected the attack with their bare hands, firing his weapon at his opponent while frantically trying to close the distance. Both men then entered a lethal dance of strength and steel, their armored fists slamming into each other's armor as they attempted to exploit what little weaknesses could be found. The girls, on the other hand, were engaged in barbaric carnage, kicking and clawing at each other with whatever they could find.

  Venra was frankly a better fighter, evading Sonera's wild kicks before twisting her opponent's exposed arm with a swift and elegant hold. The pain didn't seem to matter. Losing didn't seem to matter. Sonera was a relentless beast, and Venra was getting tired. What little damage she had taken was adding up, as she nearly stumbled backwards upon receiving Sonera's elbow to her face.

  Venra attempted to confuse Sonera on the fly, using another holographic disguise in tandem with a flying kick. Not even attempting to decipher the true attacker, Sonera ducked out of the way, grabbing a fistful of dirt before throwing it at Venra. The moment her true form became evident, Sonera tackled her, beating her senseless with a string of brutal attacks.

  By the time she finally came to her senses, Sonera's fists were covered in blood. She hesitated, and Venra slashed at her with a scavanged shard of glass, cutting deep into her chest. Finally reaching her limit, Sonera pinned the girl to the ground with her legs before wrapping her fingers around her throat.

  "Die," Sonera whispered, not realizing her words had slipped into Venra's mind.

  It wouldn't take much longer after that.

  Three was much more efficient in his battle, allowing his opponent to make the first move at every opportunity before using his sidearm like a sword, firing into the gaps of the trooper's armor only when greeted with a point-blank opening. Feigning a rather bullheaded punch, Three stepped back before kicking at the enemy's exposed knee, bringing them down just long enough to sneak his sidearm into the armor's neckpiece.

  One gush of blood later, and Three was done. The only thing that could then affect his calm demeanor was Sonera, who could be seen quivering in a pool of blood next to Venra's corpse. Three rushed over to her side, cradling her in their arms as she stumbled backwards.

  "Hey, hey," Three spoke to Sonera in a tender voice. "Hang in there. I'm right here, Sonera."

  The girl twitched violently, gasping for breath as she clawed at Three's visor. He held her steady. Finally, after a few minutes had passed, Sonera came to her senses, her rage having turned to sorrow. She looked up at Three with shame and regret on her face. She wanted to cry.

  "It's okay. It's over now, Sonera."

  The rest of the team appeared behind Three, checking their weapons while observing the dramatic scene in front of them. Sonera was badly in need of medical attention, with a total of three major wounds located on her knee and shoulder blades. Three had, of course, considered such a possibility and were quick to apply a spray-gel he kept in his rear pouch. He was well aware of Sonera's impulses, which so frequently compelled her to push herself into danger without proper protection. She was a bit like him in that way.

  "All clear?" Five signaled with his right hand, his black visor covered in blood.

  "Yeah." Three replied solemnly.

  "Is the target done for good?" Two inquired playfully.

  "My guy. It's Sonera." Five laughed. "The guy's dead."

  The team leader then helped Sonera to her feet carefully, stepping over the pool of blood with his heavy boots. He knew it wasn't wise to set the girl off, given her unstable nature. But when he finally pressed a finger against Sonera's face, she looked up and gave a tender smile.

  "You good, Sonera?" Three asked as he tried to pull his hand away. "I think your dress is uhh..."

  Sonera responded by clinging to the trooper's glove. She was unwilling to let go. Not after what she had lost.

  Three then carefully placed Sonera's bra strap back onto her shoulder, knowing full well she didn't care one way or the other. All she could do at that time was stare, deeper and deeper into his tinted visor. Sonera thought it was the most handsome look in the world.

  "Did...I do well?" Sonera tilted her head with wide eyes.

  Three spoke more softly than ever. "Well? Girl, you're the best. Your sisters would be proud."

  "No, they wouldn't. They're busy with dance routine. Sucking up to Grandmamma." Sonera frowned.

  "Oh, now she gets talkative." Four scoffed. "Here we go."

  Two whispered as a retort, trying not to ruin the moment. "And here you thought she'd be a...what did you call it?"

  "Carpet muncher."

  Three ignored his team's banter. "Listen, Sonera...she let you on the team, Grandmother is proud of you."

  Sonera held back her tears. "They hate me. Venra was all I had."

  Three sighed, trying his best to avoid that topic. "Well...have you ever considered why those other girls don't like you? Cause you're better than them."

  "True enough," Four agreed loudly, supporting Sonera despite her feelings. "We saw you a while back. Made those other ballerinas look like novices."

  "Things are stricter for the girl's Sonera. Not all of them can do what you do, and then go do what we do." Three explained calmly. "That's the truth."

  Sonera opened her arms for a hug before stopping herself. Years of conditioning had taught her not to show warmth. Ironically, when it came to the Bratva on Mars, they had a tradition of letting the men roam free with their emotions, whereas the girls were caged dolls. Sonera could practically still feel her daily routine, always being watched by her mother as the prized jewel of the family, always receiving the same answer when she asked to change positions. She didn't hate the pain in her heels or the way she would be treated by men. In fact, Sonera was rather content being a tool, as long as she could be with Three. But in the end, she always struggled to become the honed edge that Three had embodied. She was weaker. She was fragile. And she wanted to go home.

  "Three." Sonera looked up at the operative longingly. "Thank you."

  Three knew how ironic it was for the men of the Bravta to be given new names and tinted helmets to hide their humanity, all the while receiving more freedom and opportunity than their sisters. And if he were still a young boy, he likely would have found Sonera to be the girl of his dreams. He remembered their most dramatic encounter like it had happened just the other night, when he had been called in to protect the Bratva's church from a supposed assault. But in that brief moment of panic, all he found was a false alarm and a changing room full of blood. Sonera was there, beating her sisters to a pulp after one of them tried to cut her hair.

  As always, the young girl only ever grew frustrated after she emerged victorious. Her silent tirades were bloody and excessive, even back then. But the one thing that could calm her, ever since they first met, was Three.

  "Remember what you used?" Three laughed.

  "A comb." Sonera blushed.

  "A fukin comb."

  "I shouldn't have killed her. I wanted her to feel that pain forever."

  "I still can't beleive that was over hair."

  "It wasn't. I just...needed to do that."

  "You would have made one hell of an operative, do you know that, Sonera?"

  "I'd rather be."

  A call began to buzz in Sonera's ear, causing her to flinch and shudder. Three got the same message as he turned to his team. They all suddenly began to ready their weapons, ignoring Sonera as if she had just left the room.

  "It's the church." Sonera frowned.

  "Stay here." Three ordered, moving away from her. "You know the drill, pretend you're some lost comfort girl who survived our attack, they'll be looking for drop-troopers, not you."

  "You know I won't. I can protect myself."

  "Everyone knows you can fight Sonera, but you weren't trained for everything."

  "I won't stay!" Sonera cried out, showing an unusual amount of emotion.

  Five replied by pulling out his sidearm, switching its munitions to stun before firing it into Sonera's chest. Realizing that wouldn't stop her, he fired two more, silently looking down at the girl as she slumped to the ground. The fireteam then departed with great haste, leaving Sonera behind.

  "Three.." Sonera whimpered as she crawled across broken glass. "I won't...leave you."

  Driven by her love and rage, the young girl managed to rouse herself by clutching the sharp glass on the floor, forcing adrenaline into her system through both pain and loss of blood. Under no circumstances would she let her family fight alone. It was no longer about her pride or her sense of duty. She just wanted to be with him.

  The church was merely three clicks away, nestled deep in the slums of old Mars. From what she had heard from the communications device, her home was under attack, the intensity of which had already silenced the report mere moments after it came through. The perpetrator could be another crime family, or the authorities; the possibilities were frankly endless. But Sonera didn't care; all she wanted was to find her family.

  "Three," Sonera mumbled desperately.

  When she finally hobbled her way across the slums, what she found was worse than she could have possibly imagined. Every glass pane on the Russian church had been shattered, as the staircase leading towards the main chapel was seen littered with the dead. Some unknowable force had plowed through the crime family, slaughtering both men and women without remorse. Sonera knew there couldn't have been an army, nor could she prescribe such brutal efficiency to another assassin. There were no bullet holes to be seen on the walls, no stab wounds on the bodies of the fallen, only broken bones and disfigured faces.

  A monster had found her home.

  Stumbling inside, Sonera came face to face with a looming figure, its singular eye staring at her with anticipation.

  "Sonera," the tall alien whispered into the girl's mind, its sleek orange armor scraping against the wooden pews as it strode towards her. "Isn't that your name?"

  The alien was feminine in nature, wearing heels and a two-pronged helmet atop its head. Slung across its waist was a sidearm nearly the size of Sonera's body, its barrel suspiciously cold and unused. The hands of the creature were thin and spindly, with only three fingers pointed at the girl as it raised its arm. But most noticeable of all was the alien's face, blank and immutable, with only one gleaming eye in its center.

  "I am Yrix. A Psion of the Consortium. I have come to-."

  Just then, a hail of bullets erupted from behind the alien, stopping dead in their tracks as an invisible barrier smashed them into pieces.

  "Three!" Sonera screamed, realizing her family was the one to emerge from the ruins. "Run!"

  "How curious," Yrix scoffed, her voice still booming in Sonera's head, causing the girl to fall to her knees. "Humans are braver than I thought."

  "I didn't hear a bell," Three coughed, his voice barely escaping through the gash in his visor.

  The operative then retrieved a grenade from his front pouch before pulling its pin with his thumb, hurling it at the alien with a surprising amount of force. Predicting its countermeasures, he managed to shoot the explosive midair, changing its payload into a cloud of black dust that disguised his movement. Yrix seemed visibly amused, relaxing her posture as she watched for the human's next move. A steel beam then levitated beside her, its sharpest edge pointed at Three as he emerged from the shadows.

  "The Consortium rewards bravery. I'll make this painless."

  But to Yrix's surprise, Three had managed to duck under the metal beam just as it passed over his head. Unholstering his sidearm, he pivoted away from a second barrage, this time coming from under the pews. Such a display of skill had genuinely impressed Yrix, convincing her she had come to the right place.

  "That's quite enough." Yrix waved her hand, pulling Three towards her with a visible aura of Psionic energy surrounding him. "Die honorably."

  Before Sonera could scream, Yyrix squeezed her hand, turning her beloved into a red mist in an instant. It was indeed a painless death, just as she promised. Enraged, Sonera pulled a knife from a nearby corpse, hurling it at Yrix.

  "Such wrath. I know you'll make a good student." Yrix boasted, plucking the knife out of the air before bringing it up close for inspection.

  Posing her fingers, Yrix flicked her wrist, sending an entire pew barreling towards Sonera. It crashed into the girl, knocking her down completely. To ensure the job was done, Yrix lifted another pew, casually letting it fall onto Sonera as she stared intently at the knife.

  "Sleep now, child," the alien whispered to Sonera, the girl's eyes closing shut as she spoke. "You'll have plenty of chances to prove yourself."