Out of Space

Chapter 179: Welcome To The (Concrete) Jungle

UNS Singapore, Captain's Quarters

"Here are the full detailed reports of the interrogation of the two prisoners," Lieutenant Tavor handed over two files onto Blake's desk after he finished summarizing the details with the Captain in his office, with the XO in attendance.

"Sir, the effects of the interrogation might cause some side efforts to the prisoners, while I personally think that the Mage will be more useful in boosting our magical sector, the Archer could also help with other fields like hunting, tracking, forestry, and woodcraft," Tavor said. "The chances of recruiting either one of them frankly aren't very high. In fact, I think there might even be some negative backlash."

"It is also not advisable to release them should they reject our offers of recruitment," Tavor continued, "While we have to take note that, we did kill the Hero after all, and they might have emotional attachments to the Hero."

"Meaning?" Blake raised an inquisitive eyebrow up.

"Revenge, or hatred to our cause," Tavor replied simply. "They might take things to another level, which will implicate our operations and survival."

"Your suggestions?" Blake leaned back on his chair as he waited for Tavor to reply.

"Execute them," Tavor said coldly, "Saves us the trouble in the future."

"Cold-blooded murder?" Commander Ford snorted, "Where are our morals if we take that path? Are we degrading ourselves to murderers and cutthroats?"

Tavor gave a shrug, "It's the best case scenario for us, with the after efforts of the interrogation, we do not even know how their mental states will be like."

"Even if we do not execute them," Tavor continued, "Are we just going to release them back to the nearest town? If yes, what if they leaked out information on us?"

"Did you not ensure there was no information leaked to them and they were totally isolated in the cells?" Ford narrowed his eyes as he refuted Tavor's points.

"Yes, but they have battled with the Hundred and First ATI, and Eagle Company," Tavor replied, "They have some inkling of our combat capabilities, which if they were to be taken by any Imperial agent, they can disclose quite a bit of information regarding our weapons."

"But our weapons have already been exposed to hundreds and thousands of Imperial soldiers already!" Ford argued. "What difference does it makes?"

"A lot, Sir!" Tavor turned looked at Ford. "For one, the girl Mage is well versed in magic, almost at the level of Magister Thorn or even stronger in terms of combat magic. She fundamentally understands that our weapons are either a magic artifact or of a non-magical construct."

"Next, should they reappear back at any town or city, they can incite negative feelings towards us, which will be bad in the long run, should we attempt to form any contacts with anyone," Tavor said. "They can also be used as a propaganda tool against us by the Empire for killing the Hero, this will, of course, be a demerit to us, should we want to cause internal strife within the Empire."

"Lastly, I refer to the main reason of executing them again," Tavor added, "Should they decided to take revenge on us, it will only add more to our plate, which frankly is quite full."

"I understand, Lieutenant," Blake gave out a long sigh, "Killing them gives us bad karma, not killing them might lead to having troubles in the future while recruiting them, we might be rearing a poisonous viper in our house."

"Ford, thoughts?" Blake asked the XO.

"Sir, Lieutenant Tavor gave us good points regarding them, but to convene an execution of prisoners goes against our code of law," Ford frowned. "There is no concrete justification to kill them."

"As Tavor has interrogated them, both of them only joined the Hero's party for a year or so, and neither of them believes they are on the side of evil. There is a high chance they were duped by the Adventurer's Guild if the Guild is actually secretly controlled or is working with the Empire!"

Tavor had also reported his suspicions on the origins of the Adventurer's Guild, stating that they might be part of the Empire or has sided with the Empire.

"If that is the case, thousands of Adventurers were unknowingly working for the Empire's agendas, which makes them all victims of fraud!" Ford said. "How can we just execute two girls duped into working with the Empire unknowingly on the charges of becoming future problems which might not even happen!"

"I see..." Blake rubbed his glabella as he thought how troublesome this issue turned out to be. "We hold them for a period first. Let's give them the carrot first and see how it goes from there onwards."

"Tavor, put your best men over watching the two of them," Blake ordered, "Well, Commander Ford has his points, you have yours too and I believe its better to be safe than sorry. Watch them carefully, any signs of aggressive, you are authorized to use deadly force, but I do not want to see you taunting and forcing their hand. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" Tavor nodded.

"Dismissed!" Blake said, satisfied with Tavor's work. "Good job by the way."

After Tavor left the office, Ford frowned and said, "Sir, isn't that a bit too heavy-handed?"

Blake raised his hand, stopping Ford from continuing, "If we can reduce the number of deaths in the future by cutting off the root now, why not?"

"But sir!" Ford argued, "Have we fallen so low?"

"It's not a matter of falling so low or about laws and codes of conduct," Blake replied as he stared at Ford with steel in his eyes, "We got pushed around too much and it's about time to do something about it!"

"I understand Sir," Ford gave in, "But we still need to hold on to our morals, or we become like them, cold-blooded barbarians and killers."

"Welcome to the Navy, XO..."

-----

The Colony

Kage Whitetail glued her face against the super clear glass windows, sans the oily prints of her palms and face. She stared wide-eyed at the massive walls, which seemed to be made out of a single piece of stone, like a mountain.

The bus she was in carried a batch of the freed slaves as they are transported to the city after their quarantine period was over and for the first time, Kaga saw the Capital of the so-called rebels and demon worshippers.

The mountain-like walls spread as far as the eye could see, while the height was so great that she had to crane her neck all the way up to see the tops as the bus entered a tunnel-like entrance. The strange and magical white lights lit up the interior of the tunnel entrance, where what appeared to be a simple red and white striped barrier blocked the way into the city.

She stared curiously outside the bus intently, seeing strange stripes of black and yellow colored bands lining the floors while guards in the smart-looking black uniforms entered the bus and did a quick check before he disembarked. The red and white striped barrier was then raised and the bus was waved through.

The driver drove the bus forward, heading towards the bright light at the end of the tunnel and Kaga looked shocked as they came out of the walls and saw a sprawling city with structures that boggled her mind.

In the beast city, she lived in, the buildings cannot be taller than the Priestess's Tower which was already an impressive five stories tall. The buildings and stone towers she saw here, were shaped in rectangular blocks with boxy shapes jutting out at intervals, while some the walls were made out of glass totally!

She knew that building a tower more than three story high takes a lot of work and craftsmanship, not to mention the cost, as stronger and better material is required for the foundations and sometimes, magic is used to strengthen the whole building. What she saw here, were like dozens and dozens of buildings over five or even ten stories tall! How did they do it?

The exit of the tunnel was on the top of the slope, allowing Kaga and the people in the bus to ogle at the city as the area around the walls were large fields growing a variety of crops. There were even herds of Muffalos and giant Pico-pico birds mingling around the grassland. As they travel towards the city, there was another curtain wall, but smaller and shorter, likely only three-story tall surrounding the area providing an internal line of defense should the main walls be breached, which Kaga highly doubt it was possible to do so.

In the far distance, Kaga noticed a massive strange looking grey white structure glittering in the sun that appeared to be built into the sides of a mountain range.

"Welcome to the Colony, or as the locals called it the City!" A voice suddenly was heard coming from somewhere on the bus. The people, including Kaga, were not as frightened as the first time they heard a voice coming out from a black box in the camp.

"You have just passed by the Main Walls of the city and are now within the Agricultural District. This is just a small part of the City's farms, the others are all spread out over the North Eastern Sector."

"Next, we are coming up to the Inner Defensive Walls. This walls provide an internal line of defense and also includes bomb raid shelters for citizens to take shelter should there be an attack on the City. There are also bomb shelters located within the City for everyone to take shelter." The strange female voice cheerfully said. "Your personnel orientation officer will guide you along with more information should you wish to enquire."

"The City is divided into 6 Main Districts which are further divided into sub-districts. You have just seen the Agricultural District, which has 4 sub-districts, namely, North, South, East, and West. We have a Commercial District which is divided into North and South, the Industrial District where all our factories and workshops are located.

"You are now entering the Residential District 2. There are three Residential Districts from 1 to 3, each capable of housing up to six thousand people. We are now heading towards the Central Business District located at the very center of the City to do the in processing of the start of your new life here with us!"

The people in the bus stared at the neat and tidy streets, where magic wagons like the 'bus' they were on zipped passed them, and other magic wagon carried huge loads of goods on their backs drove along the streets.

The bus stopped at a road, before a strange red rune hanging from a pole. Kage realized that the red runes must be meaning stop, as she saw other wagons speeding off across them and similar runes hung over a bent pole were showing a green glow.

How amazing! Thought Kaga, as she looked at the orderly way the wagons moved and the people on the streets that crossed the road. The roadside stalls and buildings looked vibrant and colorful. There was no rubbish on the streets nor beggars sitting around. Everyone was dressed in colorful clothing and they looked fat and happy.

"To your right, you will be able to see the Castle of Iron, that is where Captain Blake, Lord Governor-General to the City lives. We are now entering the Central Business District. Up ahead you will see the City Hall, where your identity card, work, and living permits will be issued to you."

A grand looking stone grey building sat at the center of a massive square that has a beautiful water fountain in the middle where several people sat on the benches relaxing or having lunch. The bus followed the roundabout and stopped before the steps of City Hall and the doors slid open with a loud hissing sound.

"Thank you, hope you enjoy your new life here! Have a nice day!"