Slay the Hierarchy

The Worst Probability

Daisy would be damned if she knew the twiddling of thumbs and playing of hair weren't the last of her noble undoings. Because another wretched foe appeared. And it appeared in the form curiosity.

Not that anyone could blame the princess, really. For shortly behind the fear for her life was a great desire to learn more about where the strange man and his demonic adversaries came from. It all started more or less when they first met. But Princess Daisy would have been lying if she said she wasn't all the more intrigued by the bizarre and otherworldly weapons she saw a few nights ago in the backyard.

And her efforts were certainly rewarded, for when the noblemen entered what she could only imagine was the Blazkowicz young master's study, she found herself staring in awe at... well... precisely what he'd been studying for who-knows-how-long.

'The emperor's nightgown...,' she gasped, staring wide-eyed at the sleek steel tables and shelves in front of her.

They looked almost like his weapons, and that was barring the standalone devices she could scarcely make head or tail out of. The desks were clean, aglow with curious strips of light, and littered with propped, moving square images she couldn't even begin to distinguish.

'You built all of this...?'

'That is correct,' Vega answered without missing a beat. 'Simply put, this is the Slayer's central command station, used to develop various weapon technology.'

The princess ran a finger over the surface of the unusual table, staring at the shifting graphs and bars on the mounted picture frames. This must certainly have been part of that technology he mentioned, because Daisy had never seen anything like it before in her life, much like the firearms.

She picked up something thin, long, and gold in colour; the weight of it startling her despite its meagre appearance. She would have thought it was an odd piece of jewellery if not for Vega's insight.

'If I may, Your Highness, what you are holding is called a shell casing. When sealed with a combination of potassium nitrate, sulphur, and charcoal, it can be used as ammunition for the Heavy Assault Rifle and Chaingun.'

Unlike the past few times Vega explained anything, Daisy was surprised to find she actually understood him this time around.

'Oh!' she cried; a glint in her eye as she turned to look at him. 'What about the Ballista? Does it use a similar ammunition?'

'Negative. The Ballista uses Energy cells, and is a weapon used by...'

'Argentian marksmen,' she smiled, unexpectedly proud of herself. 'I know.'

'That is most impressive, Your Highness,' he said with genuine admiration. 'Are you also privy to Argent Energy?'

'Argent... I beg you?'

'It is the Praetor Suit's power source,' he explained, gesturing to where it was assembled at the centre of the table in a surprisingly sturdy sitting position. 'A resource we are unable to harvest in this world, but may not be necessary after all.'

Vega smiled at the suit, and Daisy wondered why for a brief moment until it moved, standing so abruptly that her heart almost shot out of her chest. She gasped, stumbling back against the table and expected to feel a sting, but the suit reached out to steady her by the shoulder. The reach of it was almost stupendous. Not to mention the size!

'It is 'good' to see you suited-up again, Slayer,' Vega said from beside her, and Daisy couldn't help but feel foolish for not realising it sooner. I mean, she could see his bare arms now that she took a good, proper look at it... wait. Bare arms? Had he taken off his shirt to...?