Domitoris Awakening chapter 1# A New Assignment After the events that unfolded at the underground rave, my keeper Benjamin Simmons went on quite the spending frenzy after he turned in Terell for the reward money that was offered for his capture. A former Charlemagne Enforcer Officer and investigator, Sergeant Benjamin Simmons became a “bounty hunter” of sorts after being put in charge of me; his “charge” as it were, was to oversee my progress as I learned the ins and outs of the city of Charlemagne’s law enforcement system and make sure I adapted appropriately to my surroundings. Of course, he took to using me for his own personal gain any chance he could; collecting “debts,” scaring his enemies, hunting bounties, and protecting his sorry excuse of existence. He was a light skinned man who looked to be in his mid-forties, about five foot eight, 230 pounds, and wore a white suit. His accent was European-Earth, perhaps he was of Swedish decent; also bald, had a large hairy mole on his face, and in need of a visit to the dentist, Benjamin was more worried of the pleasures of life rather than taking care of himself the right way. When I wasn’t doing his dirty work, I was at his side escorting him around like some kind of watchdog, scaring the people who owed him money or just beating anyone up who got in his way. We were currently at his apartment in the city of Charlemagne; a rather expensive suite for even him to afford, sitting out on the balcony overlooking the city, he was indulging himself on shrimp imported from Earth, with me at his side. “You know what we need around here?” Benjamin began. “Women, that’s what we-err, I need.” My time with Benjamin taught me many things, some practical some not. His idea of work was just taking money from other people; otherwise he’d have me assault them. “Doesn’t matter what they tell you my friend,” Benjamin bellowed. “Life is-” Suddenly, the door to his suite was knocked open, and footsteps were heard approaching. There was three Enforcer Exos, Beta Class, approached the balcony with a man and woman close behind them. Benjamin got up with a start, trying to hide the remote he used to manipulate me around. Oh, forgot to mention that; the remote of which I refer to was an illegal device created by the Shoo-Lawn Corporation for the use in “controlling or manipulating” Exos. Needless to say, it worked for the most part, but perhaps it was only a game I played with him, letting Benjamin think he was in charge. “What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Benjamin demanded. A man wearing a white tunic was followed by a woman in a formal blue dress. The man looked young, but was no doubt older than he looked, it was hard to say because of the effects of the Travelers energies on his body; he had black hair, brown eyes, olive skin, and wore velvet gloves. The woman looked to be quite younger though, maybe in her early twenties; she had yellow hair and bright blue eyes, and was carrying a holo-tablet. Since the arrival of the Traveler, to be honest, the lifespan of mankind had been somewhat prolonged and could be hard to tell the age of someone in a quick glance, was rather annoying. “Exo 0300-” Benjamin began, but was cut off. “Benjamin,” the man began. “I’m Senator Davis of the City of Charlemagne and Ambassador of the Colonies; this is Lexi Ester my assistant, and the three Exos Enforcers you see around you are my body guards. Now that introductions have been made (looks at me without a word), give us what we came for.” “I don’t have anything for you,” Benjamin said, standing next to me. “Come, come now,” Davis said. “This Exo has been under your command for three months and you seem to have been using it for personal matters…” “I have not,” Benjamin exclaimed. “I’ve just…been doing what I was told to do: Clean up the streets.” “Right,” Lexi said sarcastically, ticking away on her tablet. “Hey,” Benjamin said. “Mind your own business toots, what are you doing working for this politician anyway? Someone of your beauty should be flaunting what you got. *Lexi rolled her eyes in disgust* As for you Davis, you can kiss-” One of the Exos stepped forward and grabbed him; turning him around, he found the controller stuffed into his left jacket pocket. The Exo in turn handed the small silver device to Davis, who had a dark expression cross his face. “This is contraband,” Davis said. “A device used to manipulate Exos like this is illegal. Must have cost you a fortune to have it made...” “I found it,” Benjamin responded in his defense. “Besides, when I first put in charge of this thing, he wouldn’t obey me, kept going on and on about protocol and regulations….” “So you bribed an engineer to make you a custom service bot remote,” Davis said, turning to one of the Exos. “Exo 413, destroy this. *hands Exo the remote*” The Exo took the small device in its left hand and crushed it at once. “Don’t!” Benjamin exclaimed. “Exo-0300,” Davis began, standing in front of me. “How many people have you killed in the last three months?” “Don’t answer that,” Benjamin said, looking rather nervous. “Thirty-two,” I responded. “Thirty-two?” Davis asked. “How many of them were considered civilian casualties?” “Nineteen.” I responded. “Hmm,” Davis thought to himself. “Murder, you aren’t supposed to do that?” “No, sir,” I responded, unmoved as the faces of the civilians I had slayed passed through my mind. “What is the penalty for these crimes were you human?” Davis inquired. “Death or imprisonment,” I responded. “Depending on what the accused is guilty of.” “How very right you are,” Davis responded. “Now, were you human we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but considering you were under orders of another (turns and looks at Benjamin); I’d say another will be stuck with the bill…” “What do you mean?” Benjamin asked, curious as to what Davis was getting at. “Exo-0300,” Davis began. “You are no longer needed in the service of the ‘law enforcement’ here, for we have an assignment for you else ware. Exo-0300, terminate Benjamin Simmons.” “What?” Benjamin exclaimed. “You can’t, Exo-0300 is under my jurisdiction.” “Not anymore.” Lexi said, taping on her tablet. “I'll just override your authority with Davis’ permission. Exo-0300, confirm command.” Slowly, my head turned and faced Benjamin, whose face had gone pale. “Command confirmed,” I said, slowly approaching Benjamin. He stumbled backward, knocking over his chair and table with the shrimp on it. “You can’t do this to me!” Benjamin pleaded. “Show mercy!” “Mercy?” Davis scoffed with a smile. “Exo-0300, confirm mercy, or rather show mercy.” My mind knew the definition of mercy, but I didn’t make sense to me, I couldn’t confirm the command to show mercy. “Command not recognized,” I said coldly. “There’s your answer,” Davis said. Lexis turned away, she didn’t want to watch what was about to happen. I grabbed Benjamin by the collar and at his belt, dragging him to rail of the balcony. “Wait!” Benjamin exclaimed. “I’ll give you something you may be able to use…” “Halt Exo-0300,” Davis sighed, figuring Benjamin would make some kind of plead for his life. “What?” “I’ll tell you everything I know about Mr. Dudly!” Benjamin shouted to save his life as I began to push over the railing. “Interesting,” Davis said. “Very well, put Mr. Simmons down.” I set Benjamin down and looked at him as he dusted himself off. “Good for nothing dog, after all I’ve done for you!” Benjamin grumbled at me. “Mr. Simmons,” Davis began. “If you’d please follow my assistant and my Exo escorts, I need to speak to Exo-0300…alone.” Benjamin looked at me without saying a word before scowling at Davis and walking away, the Exo escorts right behind him. Mr. Dudly, a crime lord in the city; a lot of rumors floated around about him, such as he was getting support from some of the companies illegally and was responsible for a grand many number of murders, Black Market deals, contraband, slave trade, etc. from Venus to Saturn. Its highly speculated that “Mr. Dudly” is only an alias and not his real name… “Now that Benjamin is out of the way,” Davis began, turning to me again. “I have a very important job for you…” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Vanguard council of Charlemagne; made up of nine high ranking human military officials, scientist, and leaders who commanded the elite Exo units of the Golden Age that were selected for special purposes or just for organizing the Exos numbers and keeping track of them. They typically assigned Exos to security positions throughout the colonies and used them for law enforcement; however, Exos development purposes from the Traveler were still a mystery to most. I have to admit, for such an advanced machine, what could it possibly have to fear? Anyway, the Vanguard Council was founded sometime shortly after Exos were first being produced. Captain Michael Dawns of the Enforcer Authority, Scientist Angela Ericson of the Venusian Science Academy, Brigadier General Makalith Folks of the Colonial Regiments, Admiral Toby Neggoti of the Celestial Navy, Senator Galic Malen representing the Commerce and Economy organization(s), Praetorian Warrant officer (Lieutenant General) Jacob Blackwater, Isaac Florinza Ambassador of Earth, Senator Zepth Davis who’s served as an Ambassador to the Colonies and Commander General Samantha Frost; were the names of the nine members of the Vanguard Council. All were answerable to the respected and praised Traveler, never understood why… [b]Continued below...[/b]