2022-09-30: Golden Slaughterer

• Log: 2022-09-30: Golden Slaughterer
• Cast: Ouka Nagisa
• Where: Military Transport 083-SCH
• Date: U.C. 0096 09 30
• Summary: Awakening from her slumber, but still enraptured by her dream, Aurum-1 decides it is time to leave The School behind. The School isn't willing to simply let their prize doll go free, however. A well armed, professional squad - a choke point - and a time limit: Would these be enough to subdue an Aurum unshackled?

---

0300 Localized Time

=

A squad of soldiers, kitted out in tactical EVA gear, stand amid a well-lit corridor. The low oxygen and gravity hazard lights blink occasionally - and for good reason. Dr. Setme called in to the bridge of the vessel after Aurum-1 went dark. Apparently, they keep close tabs on their prize Boosted Child, and an abrupt disconnect of her tracker while housed within the vessel led them to conclude it was an intentional act on her part.

One would assume twenty or so soldiers would be enough to take down one High School girl, but the protocols for containment are clear: Any and all measures to subdue and retrieve an Aurum are approved. As such they disabled the ship's artificial gravity and pumped the oxygen out of the aft section.

"Shouldn't she be out by now?" One of the soldiers grumbles over comms, "She's just a brat. How long can she hold her breath?"

"Upwards of fifteen minutes." Comes the squad leader's response, her voice tense. "The motion trackers in the aft compartments make it clear: She's on the move. Our job is just to keep her trapped until she gives up or passes out, whichever comes first..."

A few tense seconds later, and suddenly the lights within the corridor flash before blinking out. All that is left is the occasional flash of the gravity and oxygen lights, and the dim track lighting leading up and down the corridor. The squad leader curses under her breath, "Bridge, she can see better in the dark than we can. We need you to turn the lights back on."

"That wasn't us..." the captain's voice, thin with nerves, comes through: "Primary and auxiliary power is out. We're on emergency battery backup only. Every time we try to turn it back on, the emergency failsafes kick in and take us offline. Bitch must have found a way to engineer a short between the primary and secondary power loops."

Just then, the squad could feel a dull rumble through the soles of their magnetized boots. Numerous barrel-attached flashlights rise at once towards the sealed door to the aft section at the end of the corridor. A pair of hands, attired as they are in pale blue gloves, can be seen pulling the now unpowered door open.

"Is there a way we can get power back on?" The squad leader's voice, tense but still calm, asks, "A bypass, reroute, something? We need power back to the interior doors." The captain’s voice comes back tinged with frustration, "No, not unless someone can get back there and fix the short. These old rust buckets aren't built with that many redundancies!"

The door is pulled fully open. One by one the flashlights center on the figure of a young girl in her School battle dress uniform. Her eyes flash pale gold in the light, and her dark green hair, freed as they are from the bonds of gravity, form a spidery, coiling cloud around her head. She stares at the soldiers on the other end of the corridor. Her head tilted, as if in curiosity.

"Steady." The squad leader's voice can be heard over comms, "If she's thinking clearly enough to run sabotage, she's thinking clearly enough to see we've got her outnumbered. She's not stupid, we've just got to wa--"

There is a blur of motion from the other end of the corridor, and suddenly the squad leader's voice cuts out. Several squad members immediately know why: A wall panel, originally designed to hide the primary power conduits, is now bisecting the squad leader's suit at the neck. "Fuck!!" One squad member's voice can be heard, high with panic, before a second voice is heard, "She fragged the commander! Ice that bitch!!"

The corridor becomes a chaotic frenzy of flashing lights, diffuse smoke, blood particles, and bodies. While removing the gravity was intended to slow the Boosted Child down, it seems that she has managed to adapt to her new circumstances - bounding from wall, to floor, to ceiling as she travels down the corridor with her arms raised to protect her face and neck.

Once she reaches the end of the corridor... lives end. The soldiers struggle to protect themselves, but their pain filled, terrified screams ring out over the sound of heavy impacts and bones breaking. When one individual attempts to put the gun barrel under her chin, he shortly after sees his own arm flopping obscenely against the wall of the corridor - ripped free at the shoulder!! A hand then grips his throat as his body is used as a shield against several fired rounds before being utilized as a makeshift projectile to be flung against the survivors.

There is a loud hiss, a blast of air runs through the corridor as a door's emergency release is pulled. Moving into the fore section airlock, the remaining squad member's voice is thin and panicked over the comms, "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!! She's killing them all. We need bombs, grenades, to space her, whatever! We..."

As he struggles with the outer airlock door, the blood splattered figure of Aurum-1 alights before him. Once again, her head is tilted - as if she is curious what he is trying to do. She has several bullet wounds, mostly on the arms and legs, though none of them appear to be particularly deep. Or causing her much trouble. When the soldier wheels around to try and shove his rifle into her face, she responds by whipping the rifle out of his hand and smashing it against the wall. He tries to smash his empty palm into her sternum, hoping to drive her back even if just a few seconds.

It hurts. His hand that is. He should have known. Sure, she looks like a girl, but after everything The School did to her, she's just a monster wearing a human's skin. Her bones, her muscles, her joints - all of it is so heavily augmented and reinforced that she can face combat cyborgs on nearly equal footing. Even her eyes ain't human anymore. The way they flash, the way they lack even a trace of remorse after ripping his friends apart. The way she is just /staring/ at him while her fingers close around his throat like a vice.

"Come again? What's going on down there? Shit, we're in the dark up here, someone tell us something!"

"K...bitch...*CRACK*” The sound of vertebrae and cartilage cracking are the last transmission heard from the squad.

=

0800 Localized Time

=

The bridge crew sit, bound to their chairs, their faces a grisly portrait of the tortures inflicted upon them. They were, perhaps, relieved by the time they felt the barrel of a gun press against their temples. Unfortunately, the information they had to share was not all that useful. While the transport's transponder was still active, Aurum-1 managed to escape without any indication of where she was heading to. The soldiers were not looking forward to returning empty handed. They have the other kids in lock down, certain that Aurum-1 would attempt to free them as her next step... but they'd rather know what she's planning than just assume.

... fortunately for them they would not have to. The team searching the aft bays turned up something useful - a golden circlet, Aurum-1's encoder. That might be enough to satisfy the doctors. After receiving verification from HQ, the soldiers make their way to their boarding craft and leave the stranded shuttle behind. Silent, save for the echoes of the violence that took place there.