Raven Knight

Chapter 35 - Fury of a Raven

24th September 2311 16:35 EST - The brig of the USM Athena, with its pristine curved white walls and humming, almost therapeutic, sounds, contrasted greatly from its representation.

Most of the cells, all closely compacted together, remained empty, and as Jason walked past them, he looked inside intently, examining its confined space, its single bed and its covered toilet carefully considering what it meant to be within one of them.

Staring at two occupied cells, its red transparent energy door hummed calmly as its occupants paced restlessly inside. Jason examined their exasperated moods before eyeing their bruised and cut faces. As he glanced down at their cracked bloody hands and intoxicated demeanour, he could easily guess the various faze they endured during their overzealous celebrations.

Continuing down the scores of cells, he felt self-conscious knowing that his every move was being scrutinised by the invisible cameras and drones that were littered around the room and as he stepped up to a red humming wall, he knew that he needed to keep a level head when speaking to the man on the opposite side of it. Captain Kagasawa.

What Jason had expected to see was not what appeared behind the wall. The normally astute, confident special forces operative, sat dejected and alone on the floor of his cell, not even noticing that Jason had appeared as he was saturated in his thoughts. He looked pitiful, yet despite this, Jason could not bring it in himself to feel any sort of remorse for him.

Jason watched as Kagasawa looked up, expecting to see arrogance and depravity written all over his face, yet even when looking at his eyes, he saw someone that was a shell of himself, someone who appeared to look bleak and lost.

'Perhaps it's the cell door that's causing it?' Jason thought to himself.

"Scharn?" Kagasawa commented, refusing to stand as his guest stood, watching his movements. "I had not expected for you to come here."

Jason could feel a rage building up inside of him, as a red mist descended upon him. He imagined himself tearing into the cell door before entering and causing a level of pain to his former comrade that would make what he did to Donnelly feel like mercy, yet this was not the reason why he was here. He needed to remain calm for what was to come.

"So why did you do it?" Jason asked, his voice far more course than what he was used to.

Kagasawa sighed before looking to the floor once more, as the silence became more frustrating and tiresome, Jason could feel his anger building up once more.

"For years you had not just been comrades, but brother and sister in arms. There is an unwritten code between all of us, a sacred pact that we watch each other's backs, that we live for each other, we die for each other. What made you turn your back on all of that." Jason asked.

Kagasawa, once again, remained silent. Turning his head away, and mumbling to himself, he refused to acknowledge the question that was being proposed to him.

Jason wanted to; no, needed to understand why a member of his unit would kill a team member so callously. He needed to know why Kagasawa would forsake all that mattered to them within the unit to sacrifice Donnelly so easily.

"Jacqueline Siobhan Donnelly O'Hara," Jason commented, his voice rising with each name, "twenty-eight years old, taken well before her time, did she mean nothing to you?"

"Of cause she did!" Kagasawa reacted angrily, his darkened eyes focusing on Jason.

For the first time, Jason could see what Kagasawa's actions meant to him. He had known his Captain for a couple of years now. They had eaten, drank, laughed, bled and cried together. He had seen every emotion Kagasawa had within his focused and energetic repertoire, except the one that painted itself wildly on his face right now. Hopelessness.