Conversation · Kortenaer

To your left you hear the lieutenant cock his gun.

"We're gonna tear right through you, I don't give a shit if you're cops."

Say nothing, cross your arms.

"You..." Kortenaer turns his bloodshot eyes to you.

"You're probably gonna get killed too... I think I'm gonna kill you. I didn't think I had it in me to kill a cop..."

To your left, you hear the lieutenant cock his gun.

No, he's calming down. I can talk to him.

You can't think that way now, this is serious.

He is, he's about to snap!

Oh yes he is, he's about to snap and shoot someone right now.

"...PIGFUCK!" is the only word you can make out. It doesn't sound calm.

"...PIGFUCK!" is the only word you can make out.

(Whisper.) "The big one is the damn scab leader."

"If this turns into a firefight, we should take him out first." He nods.

A sound strategy. He's the leader.

"We're out of time. This is..."

"... the mercenary tribunal." The lieutenant nods.

"What do we do?"

"My plan is not to get killed." He puts his hand on his holster. "But we have to intervene."

He doesn't want to. But he must.

(Whisper.) "The big one is the mercenary at the gates! The scab leader."

(Whisper.) "Let's walk away for now."

"No," the lieutenant says firmly. "We have to step in. This is not going to end well if we don't..."

"I'm all out of shits to give, loincloth." There's a feverish gleam in his eyes. "Welcome to the fucking reckoning."

"Put your damn gun down." Titus remains calm. "People are gonna get hurt. We need to talk this through, alright?"

"SHUT UP!!! You're not gonna talk yourself out of this, loincloth-shit fuck!"

This is the mercenary at the gates! His chest rises and falls under the ceramic breastplate. His fingers reach for the butt of his sidearm.

There's something very wrong with him.

Say nothing.

"This is a misunderstanding. Nothing irreversible has happened yet. You can just return to your unit and forget all about this."

"The kipt is merciful. Willing to spare us if we just forget about our murdered and humiliated commander." Her tone is frighteningly emotionless. "I think we should just kill everyone, Korty."

"You're all drunk, come to your senses!" She sounds very sure of herself. "You won't gun down seven people in the middle of the street. This isn't a frontier town or a jungle outpost."

"Easy, Lizzie..." His voice is almost gentle. "Let me handle it. I know guys like this. I'm sure we can come to a peaceful agreement. Ain't that right, fellas?"

He is facing overwhelmingly superior firepower -- and he knows it.

"Peaceful..." It sounds like the armoured figure is weeping.

"... nest in your abdominal cavity, like a little wild mouse..." The masked man's words are barely intelligible, but you can hear them.

"Fuck, she was right... That must be the third mercenary..."

This third one -- he is the most dangerous of them all. Heavily armed.

The lieutenant is genuinely worried for his life. You should consult him before getting in there.

"Fuck, there's a third one... How did we miss something like this?" The lieutenant points to the helmeted figure.

"Fuck, there are three of them... I was hoping there would be... less." The lieutenant points to the helmeted figure.

This third one -- he is the most dangerous of them all. Heavily armed.

"He's dangerous..."

"Ssshhhhh...." The lieutenant raises his left hand.

"Kim, what's going on here?"

This is the scab leader. His chest rises and falls under the ceramic breastplate. His fingers reach for the butt of his sidearm.

It's STILL not over, he's hurting now. Deep inside, the minuscule matter which you are composed of persists. The ride never ends. It just gets harder.

Kipt is a pejorative term used to describe people of Semenese descent.