Chapter 138: Praetoriani Siderum
The deep hum of the CRVT - Richie’s engines resonated through the cargo bay, a powerful, rhythmic pulse that belied the stillness of the air within. Here, amidst the neatly stowed modules for the soon-to-be-built Amazon base, Richard and Lina stood, their attention solely on Ciano. The atmosphere was serious, weighty with the gravity of what was to come.
"Ciano," Richard began, his voice clear in the vast space, "you will undergo a genetic enhancement. This procedure is designed to provide you with the necessary physiological and cognitive capabilities for the monumental task ahead in Brazil." Richard paused, letting the words sink in.
"You will be my first soldier in a specialized operations force. Sooner, I will employ many more like you, and you will be their leader. You will lead them, and for that, you are burdened with this task to prove yourself. This specific force will be instrumental in the mission I am about to explain."
Ciano straightened, a flicker of nervous anticipation in his eyes. Soldier. The word resonated with the yearning for purpose he’d felt.
Richard then stepped closer, his gaze intense, his voice dropping to a low, grave tone. "What I am about to show you, Ciano, will change everything you know about humanity, about the world. It is the true reason for all the advanced technology you have seen here, and for why you are about to undergo this process."
Lina activated a holographic display. The serene beauty of the ship’s interior vanished, replaced by a torrent of horrifying images and videos. Ciano watched, his breath catching in his throat, as the true face of their enemy unfolded before him. He saw stark, clinical labs where humans, their eyes wide with terror or vacant with mind-numbing drugs, were subjected to unspeakable experimentation.
Videos showed Krill operatives, masked and cloaked, systematically harvesting human blood, filling massive vats with the very essence of life. He witnessed the grotesque results of "puppet soldier" programs—mutilated, dehumanized figures, driven by alien neural implants, sent into suicidal conflicts to be disposed of without a second thought. The sheer brutality of it was sickening; mutilation, torture, the methodical breaking of spirits.
No one was spared—children, young adults, the elderly—all treated as mere resources, raw materials for a monstrous, alien agenda. Finally, the display culminated with the captured video footage of Subject Alpha-0, the very alien creature he had seen in stasis, engaged in its barbaric slaughter, followed by Lina’s prior analysis of the implant. The irrefutable evidence that all of it, the horrifying truth, was real.
Ciano staggered back, a choked gasp escaping his lips. His face drained of color, his mind reeling. He felt a profound, physical sickness twist in his gut, a cold dread that went deeper than anything he had ever known. The images flashed behind his eyes: the faces, the silent screams, the casual cruelty. This wasn’t some distant threat; this was an enemy that had been living among them, feeding on them, playing with them like dolls.