10 The End of the Beginning

Cynthia couldn't help but let her mouth twist upwards into a broad grin the moment she saw one of D.R.E.A.D.'s famed 'Dreadnoughts' that 'floated' in the empty space outside the window.

From the looks of things, the elite military black ops organisation of D.R.E.A.D. was the first to respond to the Eden's distress signal.

While that was assuming that Mary or one of numerous droids within the Eden sent a distress signal, Cynthia had no doubt that Mary had made it her utmost priority to secure help and reinforcements as soon as possible.

Nevertheless, the method used to inform and call the forces of D.R.E.A.D. was unimportant.

What mattered was the fact that an entire Dreadnought manned with a full crew and strike force was here.

Because that meant that despite an 'accidentally' self-imposed setback, Cynthia's original plan worked out in the end.

At this thought, Cynthia allowed herself to relax as she spoke to herself, that broad grin on her face remaining everpresent.

"Excellent... Even though I let my own thirst for vengeance sabotage my own plans, it would seem that everything has gone just as I had hoped. Actually... This may be the best case scenario..."

Cynthia almost completely forgot that the person responsible for leaking information which depicted her as a psionic prodigy was none other than herself.

In other words, she was the reason why she became a valuable target that was coveted by both governmental and illegitimate organisations.

The original plan was for whichever organisation, whether it be a legitimate one or not, to be 'allowed' to take her, whichever method they used, Cynthia didn't really care.

All she cared about was the 'free training' she would receive after she was taken. After all, it was very unlikely for the organisation to not attempt to cultivate and brainwash her into becoming one of their loyal operatives should they succeed in taking a hold of her.

Cynthia simply planned to exploit that fact.

However, when she came face to face with Oskar and his crew, she realised that another kind of opportunity had presented itself to her.

An opportunity for vengeance.

Although there were many traitors in Cynthia's past life that never got their just desserts, she simply could not pass up the opportunity to give these people exactly what they deserved now that she was given the chance.

In retrospect, perhaps Cynthia should have killed them later once their use ran out, by then there was even a good chance that she would even be in the heart of the Velsulis Family's home-base where she could slaughter them all instead of just the Chromata crew's strike teams.

But that would mean tolerating their existence for years if not decades.

And Cynthia knew that there was also the possibility of her failing to hold up the act.

Especially since the homebase of the Velsulis Family was sure to be heavily defended.

Even if she were in the peak of her past life, Cynthia still wouldn't be able to guarantee a victory against the main forces of the Family. After all, all it would take was a single well placed bullet and Cynthia would take a second trip to that empty void of the 'afterlife'.

Although there was also the possibility of catching them off-guard, Cynthia weighed the risks to not be worth the rewards.

However, there was no longer any point in dwelling on these thoughts.

For another solution literally warped into existence in front of her.

Like the Family, D.R.E.A.D.'s primary objective was very likely to be Cynthia.

As the sister organisation to P.A.I.N., D.R.E.A.D. was very likely to leave her in the former's custody once the latter got a hold of her.

Whether Cynthia's 'family' resisted or not, she really couldn't care less.

After all, how could they ever stand up to the Confederation which consisted of literally every single human nation in existence?

Realistically speaking, the only thing they could really do was stand by and let the Confederation take their daughter away from them.

As such, Cynthia didn't really need to concern herself with her family's reaction when she gets taken away.

As long as they don't ruin her chances of joining P.A.I.N. then she was content with leaving things as they are.

Even though P.A.I.N. and by extension, D.R.E.A.D. and the rest of the entire Intergalactic Terran Confederation have also like the Family turned against Cynthia in her past life, for what it was worth, this was a risk she was definitely willing to take.

After all, P.A.I.N. had access to both resources and training that the Family could not even hope to compare to.

Not only that but as a military organisation under the I.T.C., P.A.I.N. would naturally have access to the most advanced and experimental weapons and equipment.

It was also a public secret that their weapons research development divisions are no stranger to working above the law on illegal and possibly inhumane projects.

Without even knowing it, Cynthia broke out into a light chuckle as she continued to gaze at the drop-ships and pods being launched from the Dreadnought and were quickly approaching the Eden.

On the other hand, the Chromata ship slowly but surely transformed into a glowing blue light which still kept the ship's silhouette before disappearing entirely.

It warped away, leaving behind the surviving strike teams that were still on the Eden to their deaths.

With nowhere to escape and faced against insurmountable odds, Cynthia surprisingly found solace in the fact that the deaths of the rest of these bastards were fast approaching, even if she herself wasn't the one to deal the killing blow.

But more importantly, she was also relieved to know that perhaps her true goal and only dream of totally abandoning her weak body of flesh and replacing it with a superior body of steel was closer than she originally thought.

Soon, Cynthia's laughter died out and instead, she only smiled as her destiny approached.

...

To Mary's relief, it didn't take long for the Crimson Marines of D.R.E.A.D. to eliminate the problem the moment they boarded the Eden. In less than half an hour they retook control of the ship, eliminated most of the hostile forces, and re-established the surveillance and security systems.

The crimson marines were simply too much for the attackers to handle.

Not only were they hopelessly outmatched by the marines but they were outnumbered as well.

From what Mary was told, the hostiles on the Eden suffered an 100% casualty rate with all of their operatives either being captured or killed in action by the crimson marines who donned 'full exo-suits.'

Unlike the enemies who wore light or extra light exosuits, the exo-suits worn by crimson marines covered their entire body from head to toe in thick defensive armour, without exposing the defensive skin tight suit under it like the lighter variants.

On top of providing exponentially more defense to its wearer than the lighter exo-suit variants, it also artificially increased the user's strength more as well.

In particular, the exo-suit worn by the Crimson Marines was the 'NM-3360 Combat Suit' but it was more commonly referred to with it's colloquial name, the 'Blood Suit' in reference to the 'blood-red' lines of light that ran across their primarily pitch-black exo-suit while the suit itself was produced by D.R.E.A.D.'s personal weapons development divisions.

Like the helmets of different other exo-suit models, the helmet of the blood suit provided its wearer with a HUD for assistance and support, albeit it was probably a lot more advanced than its contemporaries.

To what extent it is advanced however, not even Mary a retired member of P.A.I.N. knew. Such things were a closely guarded secret known only by a select few.

On the other hand, the weapons the marines wielded were the NM-170 Gauss Rifle and the NM-38 Gauss Pistol, both of which were top of the line weapons produced by the United Planets of America rather than being produced by D.R.E.A.D. themselves.

Despite that, their weapons were still extremely potent in firepower with the NM-170 being able to sustain a fire rate of 1600 rounds per minute without losing too much of its accuracy as long as the user was wearing at least a light exo-suit to handle and reduce the recoil.

However, the marines themselves were just as, if not even more outstanding than their weapons and equipment.

The 'Crimson Marines' was actually a very prestigious and venerated position which derives its members from the most athletic, intelligent and talented military graduates across all of human space.

It was a common saying that a single fully armed and well rested crimson marine would be enough to handle an upwards to ten contemporary infantrymen simultaneously and could take on dozens, if not hundreds for an extended period of time.

With all of that in mind, Mary knew that her worries and concerns were unnecessary.

She knew that as long as none of the escape pods were fired from the ship, then Cynthia should be safe regardless of if she was taken hostage or not.

However, to Mary's dismay, she also discovered that there was a different problem altogether that she didn't even conceive as a possibility.

And that was how-

"What?! Cynthia is a psionic?!"

Mary utterly and completely failed to stop herself from shouting in disbelief when she heard what the crimson marine had to say.

Although his crimson cape that flowed down to his knees, the decal on his left shoulder and the fact that he had two subordinate marines guarding him told Mary of his supreme authority, she still struggled to believe him.

Part of her wanted to believe that there was a misunderstanding, that she just misheard what the marine said. But his answer only confirmed her fears.

"Yes ma'am, the subject known as 'Cynthia Starr' was confirmed to be a psionic by our specialist and is theorized to be the reason why she was targeted by the Velsulis Family. All other information is classified."

The voice that came through the crimson marine's helmet was serious yet cold. As he spoke, he kept a professional composure with his back straight and both hands holding his Gauss rifle.

"Mr and Mrs Starr has already been informed of the situation and have agreed to our terms. From this point forward, Cynthia will be placed in the I.T.C.'s custody until further notice. Failure to comply will result in your immediate termination."

Mary's jaw dropped the second she heard what the marine had to say. Multiple thoughts ran through her head as she tried to rationalise what he just said. [Immediate termination? Is Cynthia just that valuable to them?]

Of course, the marine either didn't sense Mary's inner turmoil or just didn't care as he said his final words to her.

"Chief Maid. By edict of Terran High Command, all matters regarding Cynthia's psionic capabilities are under the highest seal of secrecy. You will not speak of her psionic capabilities or in any way relay anything surrounding the recent events on Eden. Failure to comply with these orders will result in immediate termination. This conversation never took place. We were never here."

Before he turned around and along with his two guards left without even giving Mary the chance to respond.