[centre][b]Lucius Fairfax – SZ Theta[/centre][/b]

Civilians milled around the streets, most in a hurry to finish up what they had to do in time for ration distribution. It was the same most days; people got up, did their jobs, got their food, and then retreated into their homes. Of course there were many outliers to this scheme, including merchants and nomads, but they didn’t benefit from the security that this society provided… that DERB provided. Lucius was leant against a doorframe enjoying the last few puffs of his cigarette while he watched all the familiar faces do the same old stuff. He found it relaxing, like it was some sort of meditation. “I’ve got the bluebacks Lucius. We can trust you right?” came the voice of a young boy from inside the house. 

Lucius took the remnants of the cigeratte from his mouth and flicked it into the road. It was last one but it didn’t really bother him; he had gotten used to living without the small things. “Of course you Ben. I’ll be back straight away, you just make sure you look after your mother ok? You’re the man of the house after all!” Lucius rubbed the boy’s hair and received a bashful smile in return. Taking the two ration tickets, Lucius begun walking towards the ration distribution point. Ben’s mother was ill and bedridden, and it wasn’t safe for Ben to go out alone; it wasn’t so much the risk of being robbed as much as the risk of soldiers coming to the conclusion that the young boy must have stolen the bluebacks. 

Lucius didn’t get very far in his journey when begun to hear gunshots. Immediately he found himself on point, ready to fight. His first thought was that the SZ was under attack and he quickly begun to order nearby people to hide within their homes. He sprinted towards the direction of the commotion and eventually found himself turning a corner to witness the military gunning down civilians. It only took a second or two to register what had happened, he had seen it before; the evidence was in the various makeshift weapons that littered the small area. “That’s enough!” he barked, running to the truck as the soldiers continued to fire. The attackers had already lost and now the soldiers were simply gunning down those who tried to run. One of the soldiers was obviously surprised by the shout and quickly whipped his gun round. It wasn’t clear whether or not the solider was going to fire, but it didn’t matter; Lucius instinctively knocked the gun from the soldiers hand with his lummid riot shield before planting a decent headbutt. It attracted the attention of the other soldiers but upon seeing the shield they realised he was one of theirs and stood down. 

“You’ve won this little skirmish, there’s no more need for bloodshed.” Lucius’ expression was solemn and he looked into the eyes of each soldier in turn. He was going to add [i]“They won’t be doing that again”[/i] but he knew better than to make such claims; in times of desperation people go to extreme measures and adopt a completely different rationale. He looked up at the building beside them and could see a trail of smoke still lingering around the General’s window.