Jeremy felt like a piece of Tallis may have died with Cameron that night, and he wasn’t sure if she would ever be the same. One thing he felt he could never be judge of is how someone changes after they kill a man. God knows Jeremy wasn’t exactly the same after he first experienced taking someone’s life, and he didn’t expect Tallis to bounce back from this unscathed. The changes he saw in her did worry him, though. Exaggerated drug use, depression, or coldness - all things that Jeremy could deal with easily. But, Tallis seemed as though she lost the sparkle in her eyes that Jeremy had taken for granted. Her laugh didn’t seem the same, sounding almost as if there was always a certain sadness in her voice. He wasn’t one to dig into the feelings of others, so he tried his best to comfort her without really talking about it, but he could tell that it wasn’t working.
Should he have taken on the responsibility of killing Cameron himself? Should he be carrying this burden and not Tallis? Questions like this kept him up late at night and filled him with a cocktail of rage and guilt. Logically, he knew that Tallis would have never let him do her work for her, and if anyone deserved to finish the job, it was her. But dread sat at the back of Jeremy’s mind almost constantly now, causing an obvious disturbance in his usual care-free attitude.
After the club’s weekly meeting to discuss activities and finances, Jeremy and Tallis drove home and had been silently sitting on the couch watching TV. She was curled up in his lap, and they had been passing a joint back and forth while his fingers ran through her hair. As he took the last hit of the joint, he moved her off of him and stood up, then kneeled down in front of her as he exhaled the thick white smoke. “Tallis,” he sighed, putting his hands on her knees while maintaining eye contact. “I can’t fuckin’ do this anymore. You’ve gotta talk to me, babe.” He put his thumb and pointer finger on her chin and pulled her towards him to kiss her. He lingered for a moment before backing up and resuming their eye contact. “Tell me what's going on."
Solomon had another long day at the shop. It seemed like no matter what he fixed, two more things broke right after, and the only thing he wanted to do now was to go home and see Kaci. He had been invited out by some members and other staff from the shop to go out to Lipstick’s, but he declined, which caused an array of jokes to be slewed at him, like “Wow, the pussy wants to go home. What’s new?” and “Did you get knocked up too, or just your old lady?” He jokingly told them all to shut the fuck up as he cleaned his hands off and got ready to close up the shop.
Things had been so good between him and Kaci, almost too good to be true. They were saving up for when the baby came, preparing the nursery, and spending as much time as they could together between work and club duties. Kaci had been so understanding with all the things he had to do and how tired he was when he came home, and he wanted to do everything in his power to repay her for all of it. He never did anything romantic, not that she didn’t deserve it, but he wasn’t exactly privy to all the things a boyfriend was supposed to do for his girlfriend.
As he got on his bike, he decided to pick up a bouquet of roses for her and a box of chocolate at the local store. He was so excited to get home and give them to her that he almost left them sitting on the counter after he paid for them. "Idiot," he whispered to himself as he grabbed the items he purchased and got back on his bike. He was thinking about maybe getting a car, or at least something more family-oriented, but he had to discuss it with Kaci first.
He entered the apartment with a goofy grin on his face, holding the bouquet and the chocolate behind his back as he tried to quietly close the door. As he turned back around to enter into the living room, his eyes met Kaci’s. She had been sitting on the couch waiting for him. “Hey, K,” he grinned as he leaned down to kiss her on the top of the head. “Well, these were gonna be a surprise, but,” he paused as he handed her the roses and chocolate. “Hope you like ‘em.” He plopped down next to her and put a hand on her thigh. "How was your day, K? You feelin' alright?"
He is a burly man: tall, heavy, and strong. He has long dreadlocks, a tattooed face, and other tattoos and scars all over his body. The tattoos symbolize that he is from Faction 1, for recognition purposes but also because he is prideful of where he's from.
Personality: Stone lives up to his name; he is said to be completely devoid of emotion. This is a common character trait of higher level officers of Faction 1, which helps their reputation of being heartless savages that should be feared by all. He doesn't say much, usually nodding or shaking his head in disagreement, and he is very hard to read - something he almost likes about himself.
Jeremy remained silent long after they arrived at the clubhouse. He didn’t see the need to call a vote on how to handle Cameron; all of the members seemed more than on board based on the condition he was already in. When they entered the garage, the familiar rage began to boil up in Jeremy again, but he lit a cigarette instead of acting on it, taking a large puff of the smoke and pacing along the back wall of the garage. He was fully committed to letting Tallis take the reins, and it was almost relieving not being the one to have to handle this himself.
He tried his best to block out the conversation happening between the two of them, knowing that whatever Cameron would say to her would surely piss Jeremy off. The moment that he saw Tallis swinging the bat around, he began to feel instant relief. ”It’s finally over,” he thought to himself as he lit another cigarette. Something was undoubtedly sexy about Tallis taking charge of this situation, but as soon as the thoughts came to him, he shook his head. ”I’m obviously fucked in the head if watching my girl beat someone to death is a turn on.” He nearly laughed out loud at his thoughts, when a ”crack” filled the room. Jeremy winced at the thought of how painful that must have been, but he had no mercy for Cameron. He deserved every bit of the agony he was feeling.
He watched as Tallis finished what she had started, nearly seeing Cameron’s soul leaving his body. Jeremy observed her as she continued at his skull with the bat, and he jumped into action when she showed no signs of stopping. Reaching around from behind her, he placed one hand around her wrist and the other on the bat to keep her from relentlessly striking him. “Tallis, Tallis, Tallis.” He kept repeating her name until he felt her stop struggling. “It’s done.” Cameron laid lifelessly on the floor in front of them, and a red pool was forming around his head.
Solomon closed his eyes as he listened to Kaci’s voice. “I know what you mean, K. I think Tillman and I will be fine after we talk.” He kissed her forehead and brushed her hair away from her face, enjoying her warmth on top of him. Moments like this made him wish he could walk away from the club; It had a tight grip over him, swaying and influencing him in nearly every decision he made. Part of him dreamed of being just a mechanic, a lover, and a father, which the thought of this three years ago would have made him want to kill himself. But, he was in love.
Solomon had went on a run with the club last week to their chapter in Reno. It was supposed to be a simple visit, providing some extra hardware to Reno while they were dealing with a rival, but the President decided to treat the boys to a little hospitality. There was free flowing liquor, drugs, and women at the clubhouse, and Solomon had partaken in all three. He and the other three members that accompanied him woke up so hungover that they barely made the ride home in one piece.
Now, he was dealing with an internal battle as to whether feel guilty or not. On one hand, this is what the club does. All old ladies knew the protocol for club runs; ”What happens on a run, stays on a run.” But on the other hand, Kaci wasn’t like the other old ladies in the club. She wasn’t privy to all the normalcies that the members and their woman had grown accustomed to, and Solomon didn’t really want her becoming like them either. She was sweet, and kind, and innocent in a way that made his heart melt, and the thought of her becoming anything different than that put him in a dismal mood. She deserved to know the truth, but it wasn’t his place to talk about what happened that night. He made a promise to himself to not sleep with women other than Kaci anymore, no matter what the occasion, because she deserved better. She deserved better than a piece-of-shit, outlaw biker who loved drugs and women too much. She deserved better than to deal with the bullshit obstacles that the club had caused for them.
All these thoughts ran through his head while she was laying on top of him, and they were enough to nearly make him vomit. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down and not cause any commotion. He wanted to lay like this for the rest of the night, and he assumed that getting worked up would ruin the mood. His eyes locked with Kaci's, and he smiled faintly. “It’s late, K. You should get some sleep.”
Jeremy heard Tallis on the phone but couldn’t really focus on what she was saying, probably a mix of the narcotics in his system and all of the sensations she was making him feel. If any woman knew how to please a man, it was Tallis Black, and they had been going at it for what felt like hours. And then, words pierced through the air and and slapped him in face. ” "They have Cameron, you have three minutes to finish."
A wave of sobriety washed over Jeremy, and he immediately began to feel anger rise up into his chest. ”It’s not my kill, it’s not my kill,” he repeated to himself internally as his mind slowly began to shift gears back to Tallis. She had remained on top of him despite receiving news that she had been waiting on for months. Everything in Jeremy wanted to get up and rush to the clubhouse to take care of the asshole who had made their lives hell, but he was completely paralyzed in pleasure with Tallis astride him.
Jeremy was breathing heavily as Tallis got off the bed, and his hand rubbed his face as he got control back of his body and thoughts. His eyes snapped over to the alarm clock on his end table. 4:07AM. “Shit,” he muttered to himself as he slowly stood up and stretched, his eyes scanning the room for a shirt and his jeans.
Once he was dressed, he walked in the bathroom to see Tallis standing in front of the mirror. He crept up behind her slowly, sliding his hands around her waist and his face into the crook of her neck. He inhaled slowly, savoring her scent, before beginning to speak with a sleepy voice. “You ready for this, Tallis?” He removed his face from her neck and caught her gaze in the bathroom mirror. He wanted to make sure she was ready not only to finally kill the motherfucker, but for all the feelings that come with it. “The person you kill never truly leaves you. The last expression you see on their face will haunt you,” he mumbled quietly close to her ear. He wanted her to kill him. He didn't want to deal with Cameron anymore. But he wanted to make sure that she would truly be okay with it. His mind flashed back to his own faces that haunted him, and it sent chills down his spine. He pressed a kiss into her neck before releasing her waist. "You got this, babe."
Taleon - Government & Public Administration, Health Science, Finances Sora - Science, Engineering, Mathematics & Technology Alminia - Food & Agriculture Suncan - Law Enforcement & Security, Military Kragtige - Business & Administration, Architecture & Construction Dangaus - Sanitation & Maintenance, Manufacturing Other - Old biodomes that have been deemed as uninhabitable litter the outskirts of the above Provinces. These have become homes to those who do not fit in any of the factions. Law enforcement used to prohibit people making them places of residence, but criminal activity in the Provinces plummeted after citizens began voluntarily leaving, so they decided to lift the ban.
Civilian: Railway Law enforcement: Railway as often as possible. Small, one-man vehicle if necessary.
2,000 soldiers are trained and on reserve, but usually they work side by side with law enforcement. An old political leader had suggested the creation of a militia after scientists unscrambled a strange transmission that sounded like an alien language. Mars' military has never seen battle.
There are 5,000 trained law enforcement officers and first responders. Criminal activity is usually low on Mars, and Provinces who show higher rates receive an intervention from Taleon and Suncan, commonly in the form of heightened police activity and political leaders addressing the public. Those who do not fit the mold often get banished to a different Province, but frequently end up in the abandoned biodomes.
Execution has, in recent years, has become an ordinary response to serious crimes. The first generation leaders of Mars were completely against it, pushing the idea that killing off the population would not help humanity survive. But, as time went on, new leaders fought for new laws, stating that people who repeatedly commit crimes against fellow citizens and authority were only going to pass on such awful behavior through their kin, and that it was best to end there lives than to run the risk of creating more criminals.
Advances in technology for pure entertainment or luxury is not a top priority to the scientists, engineers, and inventors. Although simple things like holographic watches and cellular devices were made available to the public, most efforts are put in to health, agriculture, and terraforming Mars.
In Alminia, a large portion of the gigantic biodome is dedicated to growing crops, altering seeds, and other experimentation. Alminia and Sora often work together to develop rapid ways to provide food and also invent nutrient-based treatments to prevent and cure diseases.
Sora also works with Suncan to develop faster means of travel between planets, which has not been announced to the public. The governing parties of each Province work hard to convince citizens that Mars would always be able to provide for them, and they worry that broadcasting this type of technology would cause panic.
Terraforming did not go as smoothly as scientists had anticipated. First attempts at warming the planet through greenhouse gases did not make enough of a difference to support life outside of the biodomes, and newer projections predicted that it would take nearly another one hundred years before humans had a chance of living without being confined to the chambers. The gases did, however, cause slightly melting in the icecaps on which increased atmospheric pressure. Although they could still not breathe, they now do not need to wear pressure suits out of the biodome.
Education is extremely important to the Federation, so much so that children begin career planning at age 8. After they finish secondary school at the age of 14, they continue schooling at a university specifically catered to the field that has been chosen for them based on test scores. Once they are placed, they spend the next four years in a classroom type setting before joining the workforce or continuing their education.
A type of credit system is used instead of physical currency, and everything is paid for electronically via facial and iris recognition. Accounts are loaded directly from the banking system located in Taleon once employers report their payroll information.
Besides the wealthy and powerful, mostly all citizens of Mars have adopted a minimalist in all aspects of their lifestyle. Clothing and other possessions are never gaudy and are made strong enough to be passed down from generation to generation. Most women do not wear make up, dye their hair, or alter their natural appearance in any manor except for hair removal. Men are expected to keep a clean appearance, with facial hair usually banned at each work facility and hair cut long before it could be deemed unkempt.
Music, dancing, and warm or lively celebrations are not a thing on Mars. Some songs sang by ancestors have been passed down, but artistic ability is discouraged. Mars instills early on in youth that the most important thing they could do with their free time is learn and study to be someone helpful. On the outskirts, however, many people have made makeshift instruments, and they often sing and dance into the next morning.
History: It has been 200 years since Mars has been colonized. 30,000 people were selected to leave Earth due to extreme climate change and the projected death of the planet with the purpose of continuing the human race on Mars. Massive biodomes were constructed to support life on the planet, and more are constantly built to house the growing population. Most races have been mixed together over the years, and it is very rare for someone to be of "pure blood." English is the only language spoken; the government made it illegal to speak or teach your children any other language, and those who knew others have long since died out.
Children are taught that scientists inhabited Mars purely out of exploration and that everyone who moved was a volunteer, but the real history of Mars is much more tainted. No one speaks about "The Selections," and any media revolving the historical even has been censored from the public. It's taught that peace and community are the two most important things that a human can strive for, and that every person matter to help build Mars into the ultimate habitat. But, of course, human nature takes it's course, and there are the "bad seeds" in the group. Extremists, criminals, and other non-conforming citizens are dealt with using very little mercy. The death penalty is quite common for crimes ranging from grand theft and possession of contraband to treason and homicide.
The Selections began in the year 2020. Scientists had projected, by the year 2075, that Earth would no longer be inhabitable due to extreme climate changes: heat, air purity, melting ice caps, etc. Multiple categories were used to select who was eligible to come to Mars to continue the human race. They were as follows:
Political Power Celebrity Status Wealth (Old or New Money) Physical features (height, strength, agility, endurance, health) Mental abilities (IQ scores, ambition, comprehension) Records (no criminal activity) Skill/Career (doctors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians)
If an individual passed the requirements in at least 3 of these fields, they were considered to be apart of the move to Mars, with the exception of political leaders, who were all accepted to join the mission. If you took part in the tests, you were not allowed to share what was happening, not even with family, until the official announcement was made. Testing was a grueling and extensive.
On January 5th, 2022, all TVs, radios, phones and other communication devices were interrupted to announce the move to Mars. The same message was delivered by each leader to their countries.
"Inhabitants of planet Earth, we are here to deliver some groundbreaking news. Over the past two decades, we have been working on building a life-sustaining habitat on Mars, and we have been given confirmation that we are now able to successfully occupy what had been created. We would love to take all who are willing to make this trek to another planet, but there is not enough resources for a sizable amount of the gloves population to migrate. After calculating the numbers, we are able to take with us 30,000 people to continue the human race. We have selected 25,000 through rigorous testing, and this leaves room for 5,000 more. We have created a sort of lottery to fill the remaining positions, and applications can be found at any DMV. You have two months to enter the lottery, and those who will join us on this historic venture will be announced on the 4th of April. We wish you the best of luck in this exciting time in the history of mankind."
There was a mix of feelings at the time, but humanity's outlook was predominantly positive. Many were enthused at the chance to relocate to another planet and start a new life that generations passed have only dreamed of. That was until information was leaked by an online activist, and after great effort of trying to, the real reason of the colonization of Mars could no longer be hidden.
On March 22, 2022, another broadcast took over the airwaves to announce what had billions had been fearing. The Truth.
"Unfortunately, I am here today confirm the accusations made about the migration to Mars. Scientists across the globe have confirmed that by the year 2075, life on Earth will no longer be sustainable. The efforts to keep the effects of pollution at bay have not produced what we had hoped, and with this information, we've decided to no longer waste time, effort, and money towards trying to prevent it. Instead, we are making the move to Mars to continue the human race and leave behind the mistakes made by our fathers and their's. The lottery is still in effect, and all entries before today are still valid. Please remain calm during this trying time, and go about your lives as you normally would. I know this is easier said than done, but we cannot function without maintaining peace. Without us trying to make the best of our beautiful Earth, we will never make it to 2075."
This day became infamous, often referred to as "22/22." The consequences of the truth being revealed were catastrophic.
As Migration Day approached, protests, looting, and riots were present in every major city. Many abandoned the workforce and took to the streets, demanding passage for everyone to the habitat on Mars. Murder rates spiked, whether it was successful assassinations of those who were selected to leave, the result of a heated argument between protesters, or or the beating of rioters and looters from law enforcement. Disease spread quickly throughout these highly populated cities, and with most of the doctors and specialists leaving for space, this left little to no treatment available to dying Earthlings.
A strange energy consumed the Earth as the day that they announced the lottery winners had arrived. 5,000 full names and date of births were read and displayed on each local news station as people scrambled to see if they would be so lucky to have been chosen. After the long list had come to an end, more chaos broke out on the streets than previously. Politicians and law enforcement took to the news outlets to beg for peace, but it seemed as though any time a plead was made, more anarchy sprouted.
Those who won the lottery were offered protective custody to avoid the envy-inspired rage that might have turned to violence towards them. Some took it, others did not. But, sadly, those who did not heed the warning given became sitting ducks to the masses of angry civilians. Whether they were murdered in cold blood on the streets, or waking up to their house ablaze, lottery winners had an unspoken kill order out for them. An estimated 170 out of the 500 were deceased before Migration Day, and as to not encourage the behavior, no new winners were announced to fill the spots. Instead, more runner ups from the testing were chosen to come along.
Migration Day was on June 26th, 2022. The location was announced to those boarding the spacecrafts two days before launching to avoid a large crowd coming to spectate, possibly with malicious intent. Snipers sat atop rooftops scattering the facility to protect crew members and the soon-to-be citizens of Mars as they arrived. A barbed wire fence surrounded the seemingly endless compound with a string of people encompassing it, some who were angry holding signs, and others who were silent, watching their last chance at life disappear into the clouds above them. Row after row, thousands of people filed into the large crafts, not looking over to those who would kill them any chance they could. Each ship took it's turn taking off, and by the end of the day, all 40 spaceships took off carrying 20,000 civilians. 10,000 had been to Mars a month prior to begin operations.
Now, those lucky enough to be selected to begin life on Mars have long since passed away, and the work they have does has been continued by the generations that followed. For most natives, keeping harmony and following orders was something they happily oblige, making the banishment of those who do not follow the rules an easy task.