[ The Siren was a force of nature, like the Order of the Impending Storm had preached for decades.
Twenty-seven years, she had been used as a threat. "Pay the tithe, or the Siren will kill you." "Stay in line, or you will face her wrath." "Obey our every word, or you will know pain unlike any other." Needless to say, the threats were terrifying enough to keep the people of Athenas in check. No one dared question Brother Sophis or the other monks. The Siren was an unknown quantity. There was no telling what powers she had, sequestered as she had been.
And finally the Siren was put to the test, faced with men and women who dared to defy the Order. Brother Sophis aimed her like a gun and pulled the trigger. When the room was in a shambles, coated in blood and viscera of the terrorists and criminals who sought to undermine or overthrow the Order, Brother Sophis praised the Siren, said to her, "You have done well, my child." The Siren turned to her mentor, said, "Don't call me 'child,'" and shot him.
At least, that's how the story goes.
Peter doesn't really care to know whether or not it's true. Sometimes that shit gets exaggerated, where three men over time became twenty men, or a head shot in cold blood had actually been a bloody fight of survival. But Peter gets the impression that this one is legit, at least from the way the monks gave the two of them a wide berth whenever they walked down the halls, or the way everyone seemed to be filled with hatred or fear whenever they set eyes on the Siren's back. And once or twice, Peter thinks he spots old, dried blood -- so old it was no longer red, but so new that it hadn't yet been chipped away -- forgotten in the cracks of the stone walls.
As for him, he doesn't have much of a horse in this race, except he's being paid for his loyalty. He's lucky to even be alive, actually, considering he had been on the wrong side of Maya's judgment once before. A mercenary come to Athenas -- a corrupting influence, most likely, or so the monks had explained to Maya. He had only been here to smuggle in some rare weapons, but his buyer sold him out. When Peter landed, he was immediately ambushed by whatever the fuck the police were called here. He hardly knew what was happening until he was suddenly in cuffs and frogmarched to what looked like an abbey. They shoved him roughly to his knees as some hot chick with killer tattoos stared down her nose at him.
And then suddenly she dismissed everyone in the room, despite the meek objection of a monk who stood beside her, and once they were cleared out, she asked Peter questions about what, exactly, his profession entailed. The outlaw wasn't in much of a position to refuse to answer -- that, and he was still reeling from the series of events that it didn't occur to him to lie -- and so he dutifully answered her every question. Then before he knew it, they were drafting up a contract, and she was calling in someone to remove the cuffs, and suddenly Peter Jason Quill was the personal guard of the most powerful woman on Athenas.
That had been several months ago, and Peter's surprised she hasn't seen fit to dismiss or fire or kill him, yet. He must be doing something right. It helps that she hasn't died, yet, too, so that's something. Maybe that's all she needs? Or maybe she's lonely, or at least that's the slightly misguided impression he gets; that she's sick of the kiss-asses and the sycophants, and that she just wants someone who doesn't give enough of a fuck about making a dry remark here and again in her presence.
Or, more likely, she just didn't trust any of the fuckers on this planet enough to have them watch her back. Familiarity breeds contempt, or whatever. And given what he's seen Maya do, the people of Athenas have more than enough reason to fear her and more than enough reason to desire her gone.
Currently they're in between judgments, and Peter almost feels sorry for the poor assholes getting plopped down in front of the Siren to face her wrath. They're preparing the next victim when Peter ducks down to speak with her in her -- throne? thing? -- under the guise of whispering to her privately. (He doesn't miss the disapproving glances one of the Brothers sends his way.) ]
How many more dudes are you gonna murder, do you think? I'm starving.
a darker timeline
Twenty-seven years, she had been used as a threat. "Pay the tithe, or the Siren will kill you." "Stay in line, or you will face her wrath." "Obey our every word, or you will know pain unlike any other." Needless to say, the threats were terrifying enough to keep the people of Athenas in check. No one dared question Brother Sophis or the other monks. The Siren was an unknown quantity. There was no telling what powers she had, sequestered as she had been.
And finally the Siren was put to the test, faced with men and women who dared to defy the Order. Brother Sophis aimed her like a gun and pulled the trigger. When the room was in a shambles, coated in blood and viscera of the terrorists and criminals who sought to undermine or overthrow the Order, Brother Sophis praised the Siren, said to her, "You have done well, my child." The Siren turned to her mentor, said, "Don't call me 'child,'" and shot him.
At least, that's how the story goes.
Peter doesn't really care to know whether or not it's true. Sometimes that shit gets exaggerated, where three men over time became twenty men, or a head shot in cold blood had actually been a bloody fight of survival. But Peter gets the impression that this one is legit, at least from the way the monks gave the two of them a wide berth whenever they walked down the halls, or the way everyone seemed to be filled with hatred or fear whenever they set eyes on the Siren's back. And once or twice, Peter thinks he spots old, dried blood -- so old it was no longer red, but so new that it hadn't yet been chipped away -- forgotten in the cracks of the stone walls.
As for him, he doesn't have much of a horse in this race, except he's being paid for his loyalty. He's lucky to even be alive, actually, considering he had been on the wrong side of Maya's judgment once before. A mercenary come to Athenas -- a corrupting influence, most likely, or so the monks had explained to Maya. He had only been here to smuggle in some rare weapons, but his buyer sold him out. When Peter landed, he was immediately ambushed by whatever the fuck the police were called here. He hardly knew what was happening until he was suddenly in cuffs and frogmarched to what looked like an abbey. They shoved him roughly to his knees as some hot chick with killer tattoos stared down her nose at him.
And then suddenly she dismissed everyone in the room, despite the meek objection of a monk who stood beside her, and once they were cleared out, she asked Peter questions about what, exactly, his profession entailed. The outlaw wasn't in much of a position to refuse to answer -- that, and he was still reeling from the series of events that it didn't occur to him to lie -- and so he dutifully answered her every question. Then before he knew it, they were drafting up a contract, and she was calling in someone to remove the cuffs, and suddenly Peter Jason Quill was the personal guard of the most powerful woman on Athenas.
That had been several months ago, and Peter's surprised she hasn't seen fit to dismiss or fire or kill him, yet. He must be doing something right. It helps that she hasn't died, yet, too, so that's something. Maybe that's all she needs? Or maybe she's lonely, or at least that's the slightly misguided impression he gets; that she's sick of the kiss-asses and the sycophants, and that she just wants someone who doesn't give enough of a fuck about making a dry remark here and again in her presence.
Or, more likely, she just didn't trust any of the fuckers on this planet enough to have them watch her back. Familiarity breeds contempt, or whatever. And given what he's seen Maya do, the people of Athenas have more than enough reason to fear her and more than enough reason to desire her gone.
Currently they're in between judgments, and Peter almost feels sorry for the poor assholes getting plopped down in front of the Siren to face her wrath. They're preparing the next victim when Peter ducks down to speak with her in her -- throne? thing? -- under the guise of whispering to her privately. (He doesn't miss the disapproving glances one of the Brothers sends his way.) ]
How many more dudes are you gonna murder, do you think? I'm starving.