The situation made for an interesting tableaux. First, and most obvious, there was Noir, the notorious “Ancient Fate” of Soldats; all three members of the most recently activated variation were standing in the center of the small room, forming what appeared to be a perfect equilateral triangle (and in fact, if one could have measured the distance between each Noir, one would have realized that they really were standing at equidistant points from each other). This triad was, at the moment, preparing to decide the fate of the woman standing between them and a great lava-filled chasm — Althena, whom, according to the Hand of Noir, had committed multiple crimes against humanity in her efforts to successfully restore Noir to its former place as humanity’s protector (ironic, really, but then, most crimes against humanity are). In one corner of the room, near the door leading to the stairway and the rest of the Manor, two of Althena’s associates stood; one of whom, Jeanette, had a gun pressed against the skull of the other, Marennes, so that latter would not interfere. And finally, there was one more woman, currently passed out on the marble floor.
Ugh… that girl’s more talented than she looks. Borne was still a little groggy as she came to, so it took her a while to get a reasonably firm grasp on what was going on around her. I really shouldn’t underestimate someone like her. Jeanette was Althena’s personal assistant, after all, and in that capacity, she served several roles, which must have included acting as a bodyguard at times, which explained how she would know how to knock someone out so quickly and efficiently. She started to stir from her place on the floor, but not too much — she wouldn’t want to attract attention if someone hostile to her was still in the room. She glanced over to her side and saw her friend standing stock still as Jeanette kept her gun near her head. Well, it looks like Marennes is still on my side, anyway. She then turned her attention towards the three candidates, noting their trancelike state — What the hell? Althena was standing right behind them, with the Stoic expression that she always wore when something unpleasant was happening that she had nevertheless anticipated and prepared for on her face.
But why… Oh, right, Borne thought to herself as she remembered what had prompted her incapacitation in the first place, she was going to hand Noir over to the Corsican bitch for some reason. She still thought this was a really stupid idea, but it was at least comforting to know that Althena hadn’t done so because she had lost her mind: there was probably some outside force that was compelling her to do so. Probably something to with Breffort’s gang of idiots. I bet they have the Corsican in their corner. She wasn’t really angry at Rene Breffort per se — the internal politics in Soldats were positively ruthless, and it wasn’t as though he could be faulted for trying to gain every advantage they could. That didn’t mean she had to take it lying down, however — Okay, bad choice of words.
There wasn’t much time for such speculation, however, as the nun’s attention turned back to the decidedly… unusual conversation that occurring amongst Noir. Borne knew that it was the three candidates who were speaking, though she had a difficult time believing it. Not because of the content of their conversation, but because of the delivery: while all three of Noir were clearly talking in their own voices, their speech patterns were… well, they were just wrong, somehow. For example, while the content of their conversation marked it as being unpremeditated, the vocabulary used managed to sound ritualistic, a feeling that was enhanced by the even tones of the candidates’ voices, and the orderly way in which they proceeded through their deliberations.
“We shall decide the fate of Althena, who has been accused of committing acts of Darkness in her efforts to restore Us to Our position… you have already my reasoning behind this decision, so there is no need to repeat it.”
“In the days after my return to the Manor, I learned many things, and remembered a great deal more. However, there was one comment that Althena made to me that has bearing on this deliberation. She told me that I had to be willing to kill anyone, including herself, if necessary.”
“But is it truly necessary? She has done humanity a great service by restoring Us; surely that justifies her actions. Besides, were it not for those actions, We would not be here to judge her.”
“The ends do not justify the means, Chloe. Had Althena failed in her mission, then not only would her crimes not have had any conceivable justification, but they likely would have gone unpunished as well. Kirika, do you have any further comments?”
“None that will likely have bearing on the decision at hand. What say you, Chloe?”
“I am somewhat apprehensive, for several reasons. I fear that my past associations with Althena may be clouding my judgment. I am also fearful due to this apparent trance We seem to be in, as I would have been unlikely to admit that previous statement to myself, let alone to you, Mireille, for whom I still harbor a great deal of distrust. But the similarity of Our current mental state to that which exists between Kirika and I when we are acting as one compels me to assume that We have indeed formed the True Noir, though I wish it were not so.”
“I understand, Chloe. I, too, am troubled by this strange mental state the three of Us seem to be in at the moment, and unlike you, I have never had any experiences with similar states of consciousness with which to compare it to. However, at the moment, we do not have the time necessary to discuss this, for it appears that one of our potential enemies is, at the moment, rousing herself from the slumber she was placed in earlier,” Mireille said with a glance in Borne’s direction. “When we are in a place of safety, we shall discuss this further. Agreed?”
“Yes,” chorused the two Maidens, who, like the Hand, had not shown any visible emotion during the entire ordeal, though from the content of her later statements, it had been obvious that Chloe was going through some sort of emotional turmoil at the time.
“Then we shall judge Althena. None of us will deny the sins she has committed. The question before us is whether she must pay for them with her life. What are your judgments?”
“Though we doubtless owe her a debt of. Aye.”
“I can not, in good conscience, decide against the woman who raised me. Nay.”
“Your judgments are made, but you are still in conflict; therefore, I shall break this tie. I not only believe that Althena deserves this fate, but I am also quite certain that she wants it for herself. Aye.”
Nothing happened for a few seconds, though it seemed to Borne that each Noir’s eyes got wider, and acquired an even more glazed look (if that were even possible). Then, Jeanette suddenly rushed towards the small cell at the side of the chamber and closed the heavy marble door behind her, leaving Marennes free to act — but the nun was still so stunned that she didn’t make any moves until after the silence was broken by Chloe: “It is decided, then. Althena shall die.”
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(Posted Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:10)
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