(This post is part of The Zodiac's Living Story. To follow the story from the beginning, click here: http://www.ecocitycraft.com/forum/threads/the-zodiac-living-story.79704/)​

In my dazed state, I slowly awoke. Though I had no idea of where I was, or what exactly had happened, I quickly realised that I was trapped. My hands and legs had been bound, and though I struggled tirelessly, I could not get free. In the distance I could hear footsteps. They were coming closer. “Who was it?” I thought to myself. “Had Cyrus found me?” No… these footsteps were a woman’s…

“Quite the troublemaker, aren’t you Miss Blake…”

The voice was familiar to me. I had heard it before.

“…But I knew you couldn’t resist a story.”

As the figure stepped into view, her platinum blonde hair was unmistakable. Grace Dominic; the very woman who had lured me here. She lingered in front of me, her glaring cold blue eyes passing over my body.

“You’re a very inquisitive young woman, aren’t you Miss Blake. You seem to have a habit of getting involved in stuff you don’t understand.”

Though my throat was dry, I weakly replied.

“So Cyrus gets you to do his dirty-work does he?”

“Cyrus? Oh… no. Cyrus is a good little puppet - so easy to manipulate - but I assure you, he has no idea what he’s doing. All you have to do is whisper in his ear and he’ll jump. No my dear, Cyrus isn’t the big bad wolf you think he is… that would be me.”

I was stunned. How had she escaped my gaze? I had been so fixated on Cyrus, so sure of his guilt, that I had missed the devil in high heels standing next to him.

“So… it was you… this was all you?”

“Bet you didn’t see that one coming…?”

She let out a little giggle. I had heard people laugh like that only during school, when the popular girl knew she was in control. She was certainly in control now.

“…Especially when you look at the other suspects on your little board… It helps when you’re up against so many unlikeable people.”

“But, why? What could you possibly have to gain from any of this?”

“This is not about me, my dear. This is about something much larger.”

Her body turned, and she began pacing back and forth; the step of high heels on the concrete echoing around the room.

“You see Miss Blake, I promised you a story. I’m a fair person. You’ll get your answers… and your story.”

Though I was confused, I remained quiet. I let her carry out her speech.

“My people, the people of Canceron… We’ve been very patient. We’ve waited whilst the other colonies have their moment. The pendulum of power may swing between them - Caprica, Virgon, Tauron - but each time the ending is the same. You’ve all had your chance to prove yourself, and you have all failed miserably. Now it is our turn.”

“Your time to what?”

“To reach our potential, my dear. Unfortunately, if Canceron is to achieve it’s potential, somebody must remove any obstacles in our way.”

“And that’s where you come in…?”

“Cyrus Industries has been the second most powerful corporation in the twelve colonies for years, yet nobody would even look in our direction. All they wanted was ‘Caprican this’, and ‘Caprican that’. Despite our best efforts, our growth has been blocked. Blocked by Caprica. As long as Caprica existed we could not thrive. That is why your colony had to be removed from the equation, for the greater good.”

Her words sickened me.

“So you killed Outer? You removed him from the equation?”

“If it was as simple as killing a single man I could have done that in back in Picon. No, you can’t just kill a man. You have to kill the idea.”

“Picon… you were responsible for the bombing?”

“You catch on fast, but Picon was just the beginning. The bombing caused enough unrest in the alliance that all I had to do was sit back and watch the colonies accuse each other, and it was easy really. Canceron had shipments passing through that port every day with the construction of Aerilion. It was simple to smuggle a little extra onboard… Unfortunately Picon did not quite point the accusations in the direction I had hoped for, despite the breadcrumbs I left them. That’s when I stepped in to give them a nudge in the right direction.”

“How did you manage to manipulate an entire nation?”

“Blackmail, and a few forged documents to back up claims here and there. You’d be surprised how easy it is to pit them off against each other. You can make an alliance and pretend all the ancient rivalries and hard feelings are gone, but they always remain. You just have to poke them.”

“With Tauron under my finger, and Picon looking in the right direction, all I needed was Leonis to fall in line. If Picon’s move didn’t persuade them, then their already existing hatred of Caprica after their defeat in the Leonid war certainly did it. With the three of them declaring undeniable evidence of Caprica’s guilt, all I had to do was sit back and watch as your colony fell.”

“But it didn’t quite go to plan did it? Outer was found innocent. Your plan failed.”

“Not entirely. Your colony was still broken… but I couldn’t risk leaving him unchecked. If the Quorum wasn’t going to get rid of him for me, I would have to take things into my own hands.”

“So you killed him?”

“So easily. The storm was the perfect cover, and there were so many people who wanted him gone that nobody even looked in my direction. I smiled as I saw his body fall from that tower.”

“And the virus? You’ve destroyed Caprica. Why hurt Leonis?”

“General Sanne was useful. He practically commanded the entire Zodiac army… but he was becoming problematic, and with Caprica out of the way, his usefulness was reduced.”

“You used him, and then you killed him too…”

“People are only worth keeping as long as they are useful. I have many puppets who do my bidding, but they all have a shelf life. Eventually they all lose their usefulness, and then they must be disposed of.”

“So you murdered them? You would kill a whole colony just to achieve your goal?”

“It’s not murder. It’s cleansing. The Leonid population were contaminated. Not just physically - I mean who knows what all those years of radiation exposure did to their bodies - but also mentally. They were unclean. They had no place in my new world.”

“So it’s over?.. You’ve won”

“Oh, no my dear. It’s only just begun.”

It was then that the sirens came to my attention once more.

“What is that alarm? What are you planning?”

“Just like people, evidence has to be destroyed too…”

She put her finger to her ear.

“That, my dear, would be the alarms; activated in the case of a reactor meltdown.”

“But… the reactor isn’t even active anymore. I already know that Cyrus Industries supplies all of Caprica’s power.”

“I know you do, but nobody else knows that… I believe they call this ‘killing two birds with one stone’.”

As she moved towards the door, everything became clear. She turned her head to look back at me, and spoke the last words I would ever hear.

“I promised you a story of a lifetime Miss Blake. I’d say it’s front page material. Sadly, your death will likely only make page 4.”

“Goodbye, Miss Blake…”

“…When they write the histories of Canceron’s rise, I’ll make sure they mention you.”


And with that, the door slammed shut.
Though I knew that this was the end, something within me felt content. Finally, I had my story.

…Unfortunately, nobody would ever hear it but me.

 

Thank you :)
Whilst I had originally intended to take the story further, I have instead decided that Chapter 3 will be the final chapter of the story, and so I won't be continuing it. As the story was written with the intention to continue it, there is obviously a lot still to tell, and so I intend to release an epilogue, which will give an idea as to where the story would have eventually gone and attempt to conclude things as best as possible.