Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 468: Meaning Behind the Name

Jace stood up and watched as a look of horror grew on Mountain Man’s face. Jace looked down at the hole in his suit. "Man... this was my only suit." He then looked at Mountain Man. "Now why would you do something rude like that? You even went against the rules of the game. It was supposed to be my turn."

"You... you were dead. I killed you!" He looked down at his revolver and back at Jace "How?"

Jace then held up his hand and made a fist. "Kill the rest. We just need him." Gunfire and screams filled the room as Ulin and the rest opened fire. Mountain Man jumped in his seat as all his people and guests were killed. Jace sighed as he pulled the chair back up and sat down. The momentary pain from being shot through the heart was disappearing. "I did warn you. But you just had to go and play games. Now I have to make an example out of you. Just to send a message. You understand don’t you?"

"I...I shot you." Mountain Man mumbled in horror as some people fell from the second floor.

"You did. It hurt for a moment. So did dying. But it was not my first time doing either." Jace told him with a chuckle as he looked at his black tie that had a hole in it as well. "I am going to have to trash this suit."

"But... people... humans can’t do that!" Mountain Man screamed and then jumped as a body fell near them with a sickening crack and thud. Blood was pooling out of the woman’s head. It looked like she was barely clothed, possibly a prostitute that worked for the tavern.

"Of course humans can’t do that." Jace chuckled as he ignored the body that Mountain Man was staring at in horror. He then seemed to think of something. "Let a few escape. No point in making an example if there is no one to tell the story!" Jace called out.

"Nanohumans?" Mountain Man’s head snapped to Jace. "You are a nanohuman."

Jace shook his head and then pointed at his slightly pointed ear. "Guess again. I was once a nanohuman. But my race’s name is very literal. Because we can literally come back from death. Although, how long it takes depends on a few other things. But as you just saw." Jace shrugged almost like saying, ’what are you going to do?’ "I can come back almost instantly."

Mountain Man was like a fish with how he was opening and closing his mouth. "A Spectre. You are one of those Spectres. They made such a big deal about your combat prowess, no one thought about the meaning behind your name."

Jace nodded. "That was the plan. A little bit of mental sleight of hand."

Mountain Man looked around as the room grew quiet. Only a monetary burst of bullets broke the silence as someone finished off a person. Putting them out of their misery or finishing them off. "You... I won’t tell you."

Jace raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "What made you think you had a choice?" Jace nodded behind Mountain Man at Ulin who was waiting. She stepped forward and pulled the revolver out of his hand and threw it across the room before pulling him out of the chair and pining him to the table. Making sure to separate a hand and pinning it palm down to the table.

"You will never get it!" Mountain Man tried to resist but Ulin was barely bothered by his resistance.

Jace shrugged. "Might as well try." He then looked to the side. "Nulltone. Once you are done here. Go down with K to the secure area and get as much information that might be useful. Any files or data that might give us even more of an advantage. Tell me once you have it." Jace ordered.

Nulltone gave a thumbs up as his metal foot crushed a crying man’s head. He then looked over at K and waved her over before moving over to a hidden door.

"How?" Mountain Man looked at Jace in horror.

"Oh... you know... spies." Jace shrugged with the same expression on his face. "Now then. How should we start this off?"

"I say we start at splitting the skin open or pulling his nails out." Ulin suggested.

"Now Ulin... that sounds like a fantastic idea." Jace agreed. But then sighed as he stood up and pulled out his Magnus revolver. Kicking back the chair he was sitting in before. "Unfortuantly, I only have this big ass revolver." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Then blow off pieces of his hand bit by bit. I am sure that will hurt." Ulin told him with a shrug.

Jace raised an eyebrow and thought about it for a moment before nodding with a hum and putting the barrel of the Magnus right against his pinky and pulling the trigger.

BANG!

There was an explosion of blood and cracking as the bullet slammed down into the wood floor boards underneath the table.

"Aaarghhh!" Mountain Man screamed in pain.

Jace chuckled, "holy shit! Ulin, look at this! His pinky just straight up disintegrated! There is not even any bone!"

He could feel Ulin roll her eyes at him. "Indeed. But the pinky is the smallest finger. But you should shoot at the joints. You will lose too much hand if you just aim to shoot off his fingers."

Jace nodded, "I agree completely-"

"Wait! You need to ask questions!" Mountain Man screamed out.

Jace blinked and looked at Ulin before looking back at Mountain Man. "Oh... eh... I will do it later."

BANG!

"Aaargghhh!" Mountain Man screamed again as Jace fired again and the ring finger on his right hand completely disappeared. All that was left was a small piece of bone that was visible just after his knuckle.

"Woah..." Jace whistled. "Look at that, part of his bone is visible."

"Yeah it is." Ulin nodded and then tilted her head. "Dont’ you have a knife?" She asked him.

Jace froze and suddenly grinned widely. "I do! I completely forgot!" With the Magnus still in his right hand. A knife appeared in his left hand. "But which do you think I should do first?"

Ulin looked between the two weapons. Before nodding her head. "Let’s finish using the revolver on this hand. Then you can use the knife on his other hand." Ulin decided.

"I agree." Jace nodded and slammed the knife into the table and then pointed the barrel of the gun at the middle finger but then stopped himself and ginned before moving to the next finger, his index finger. "This little piggy went-"

BANG!

"Aaarghhh! Stop! I will tell you what you want to know! Just ask me questions! Please!" Mountain Man screamed out between sobs of pain.

Jace smirked and just pointed the barrel of the Magnus at Mountain Man’s thumb. "Then this fat little piggy went-"

BANG!

"AAAHAHAHSHSHKODNLAIELS!" Mountain Man started screaming nonsensical words as his hand bled.

"Hey! Look at that Ulin! He is flipping you off!" Jace joked with a burst of laughter.

Ulin shook her head, "how rude."

"Ah, let me fix that." Jace pointed the gun at Mountain Man’s middle finger and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

"AH! Please! The royal records are being held on a ship we stole from the Vexical Empire! I do not know the exact location! It is constantly on the move! I just have a frequency to contact them when I want to find them! The auction is the best chance! It is in three days!" Mountain Man screamed out in pain and desperation. "Please just let me-"

BANG!

Jace fired at the center of his hand this time. Although the entire hand did not completely disappear, there was a chunk of his hand that was missing now. "Ah man..."

"AAHHAHHHH! PLEASE!" Mountain Man screamed.

Jace sighed and holstered his Magnus revolver and then looked at Ulin and nodded. She nodded as well. Then Ulin yanked Mountain Man’s other hand onto the table and laid it out flat against his wishes because he was screaming and babbling in desperation.

"Now then..." Jace took a deep breath as he pulled his Spectre knife out of the table. "How do you think I can skin a human hand?" Jace asked.

"Umm..." Ulin mumbled as she looked over at Mountain Man’s hand. "I would suggest starting at the tips of his fingers and working from there." She suggested.

"Please..." Mountain Man desperately cried.

Jace continued to ignore him as he brought the knife to his pinky and tried to slice the skin open. But instead he just sliced the pinky in two. "Shit! My knife is too sharp. I cut right through his hand."

"Just kill me!" Mountain Man begged.

"Now why would we do that? You could be a spring of information." Jace reminded him as he looked at the hand. "How about we start with the thumb first." Jace suggested to himself. But as he brought the tip of the knife forward he heard static in his ear.

"Colonel Jace, I have gained access to all of Mountain Man’s information. He kept it all in physical files but I have scanned all of them. I have found out that the royal records are onboard a stolen Vexical Empire ship, one of those new models. I also found a way to track them via the unique radioactive signature of the reactor." Nulltone informed him.

"Really? Do you have a backup idea if that does not work?" Jace asked in return. Ignoring the quiet sobbing of Mountain Man.

"Yes, there is a frequency we can use to signal a pickup or meeting point." Nulltone informed him. "I have also scanned the remainder of his files. I am ready to destroy them."

Jace nodded his head. "Do it." He then backed up as Ulin let go of Mountain Man. "Well it looks like our time together is over." Jace sighed. "I really wanted to see if I could skin a human. But I guess it is difficult." He then looked over where Asher and Rook were holding down three survivors of the massacre. "Three should do it. Nulltone and K, get back to the ship. We will meet you there."

Ulin walked next to Jace and glanced back at Mountain Man. "What should we do with him? He could be useful."

Jace thought about it for a moment. His knife is still in hand. "I suppose I should leave him alive... At least mostly alive." Jace answered before he turned around and walked over to Mountain Man who flinched away from Jace.

Jace yanked him up by the front of his shirt and slammed him down on the table. He then sliced off his remaining hand at a jagged angle so he would have to get an amputation if he wanted cybernetics. Then he brought up the knife to his head and sliced through his eyes. Then as he began screaming, Jace sliced through his mouth and rolled him off the table just so his tongue would fall out of his mouth. "That should do. Let’s go!"

"Are you not going to check on him?" Ulin asked as they walked out the exit. Asher and Rook were the last two out as they moved.

"Nah... I do not really care." Jace shrugged. "It is more to send a message."

"What message does a slaughter send?" Bella asked with a scoff as she cleared the area.

"That the Victorium can be both a carrot and a stick." Jace answered.