The Path Not Taken

There was a boy on Omega, who led a very peculiar life. His existence consisted of two states. When he was not used, and when he was.

When he was in the former state, he was allowed to lead his live as he could within the confines of the rules his masters placed. Eat, sleep, occupy himself with trivial things to stave off boredom. Sometimes training. And then there was the latter state, for which he had been training for many, many years of his existence.

He was given a name. Sometimes a picture too, and details on the person in question. Their schedules and goings. The boy would take his rifle then, and go to a spot the others had told him, and wait. He'd look down the scope of his gun until the person whose name was spoken or picture shown made appearance. Then he would shoot them. For this, he was given food and shelter.

He didn't know his name. He faintly remembered having one, but it had been taken away from him. Now people called him just 'valikr', a boy in a tongue he did not understand much. As for the people who looked after him didn't speak much of his language either, there was little discussion, and little growth in terms of mind. The boy knew very little.

However, there was a woman in the house where he lived, that he called Mother. He knew she wasn't the real one, for she didn't have hair or soft skin like him, but plates and claws. She had rescued him from evil people, given him food and shelter. But she had asked the boy one thing in return. Be her rifle. Carry out justice to evil people whose names were brought to her, and the boy would be given all the food he'd want. It was not a hard decision, as Omega was merciless on the weak.

So his days were spent. Idling, training and then carrying out his Mother's will with the rifle. Sometimes he'd draw in his spare time, draw things that haunted him in his dreams. They were not scenes of his work though, but of things long gone. When the boy had known a Father and Mother that looked like him, had soft skin and hair, before he was taken away from them. But his present Mother would always take the drawings away if she saw them, so the boy hid them where ever he could.

Quatra Quatri was a very keen businesswoman, and she wanted to guard her assets. The human rifle was one of them, and less he knew of his past, the better it was. A rifle should only concern themselves with their targets, and not their family that was long gone. She was worried though, for this asset was broken already when bought. She'd need someone new who spoke the same language as she did, and not a halfwit that Juhani Alavirta was. He had been just few years old when he was taken as slave during a raid on the colonies, and then bought on the slave market on Omega.

WANTED

for the murders of 71 individuals on Terra Nova

LYRA PALMER

DEAD OR ALIVE

10,000,000 CREDIT REWARD

Sarah Thompson didn't have human eyes- At least, not anymore. Rather- blue, technohorrific orbs replaced them, with hard wiring going into her skull and other various receptors that had been implanted. Her helmet's faceplate lowered and sealed with a hiss, and she drew her monomolecular blade, jumping into the fray against C-SEC operators on the Citadel.