Vitriol

<snip>
Cass was left alone on top of the small hill, her hands wrapped around Plisken's pistol and the rain soaking her hair.
</snip>
For a moment she stood there, stock still, in stunned silence.
Five hundred more mouths to feed!?
Five hundred?
There was barely enough food for all the Huzards and Vermin as it was, to say nothing of their own needs. How the hell were they going to accommodate another five hundred?
It didn't even take an intellect of Cassandra's calibre to realise exactly what was going to happen: Supplies would start running low in a week or so, which would inevitably result in starvation, escalating tensions and ultimately conflict.
In all likelihood, genocide was coming; and that cretinous, self-righteous, sanctimonious old prick was entirely responsible.
How the fuck had he even got all those fucking cyborgs up here anyway?
And since when did the Huzards start playing nice?
The downpour slowly increased in its intensity, but Cass made no move for cover; the little black dress she was wearing was already soaked through to her skin and the hair she had spent so long in styling was plastered limply to her scalp.
"Bastard" she snarled down at Pliskens rapidly dissolving 'corpse' "You sanctimonious fucking wanker"
Without warning, she swung a foot back and hammered a brutally hard kick into the side of what was left of the old man's head. The impact of her boot making a sound like a ripe melon hitting concrete and smashing his plastic skull open to splash bubbling, white gore across the ground at her feet "Absolutely fuck you!" she yelled "How fucking dare you judge me, you motherfucking piece of shit!?"
"Holly!?" she snapped, turning sharply away from the ruined body "Stop this fucking rain, this fucking instant!"
"I'm sorry dude," Holly swam into view on her wristwatch "We haven't re-established environmental control down there yet"
"Fuck!"
"If it's any help, the storm's scheduled to finish in about ten minutes"
"Fucking piece of shit" Cass growled as she stalked wetly down the hill and away through the undergrowth towards the express elevator back up to the Promenade.


She was still angry when she emerged from the lift some five minutes later.
Plisken hadn't been tortured by those fucking animals the way she had, and neither had he had his genetic material stolen to make children.
Children for fuck's sake! – Her children!
She didn't even know where to begin to explore how that idea made her feel.
Sub sentient, imbecilic piece of shit.
And on top of it all, Phi was dead!
Those fucking soldiers all knew exactly what they were doing and they knew the fucking risks – It was their fucking job to die!
Fuck them and their fucking families!
Self-righteous, condescending prick.
What about Phi's friends and her fucking family!?
Didn't they all get a say in whether those animals carved her up or not!?
Maybe next time those Monee Frogks, or whatever the fuck they were called, would think twice about messing with the fucking Ancients!
The decrepit old bastard could take his fucking forgiveness and ram it up his sanctimonious fucking arse – As far as Cass was concerned, she neither wanted, nor needed it.
Abruptly stopping at the first waste recycling point that she came across, she bad temperedly rammed Plisken's pistol down the chute and slammed the hatch closed; the crunching whir emanating from deep within the machine, mollifying her slightly with the thought that his precious fucking antique would soon be recycled into something more useful, like deck plating or beer cans.
"Holly?" Cass snapped as she tapped her wristwatch – It was annoying not having her terminal with her
"Orrite?"
She took a deep breath "Seal the Arboretum as best as you're able. There are still ways up here from there, but I want those closed down over the next few days. Ramp up production of MED's and Class I, III and VII drones as well; if the shit hits the fan like I think it's going to, I intend us to survive"
Running a hand back through her still-wet hair, she caught sight of the dishevelled reflection of herself in an ancient and cracked shop window.
"Bollocks" she sighed; she'd spent ages getting ready for the night out as well – the dress, her hair and makeup all looked terrible now. Not that Jay had... Well, maybe he had noticed
"What was that?" Holly asked innocently
"Nothing Hol" Cass turned dejectedly to make a detour back via her quarters for a change of clothes "I'm going to get violently drunk tonight and worry about everything else, like what to do about Jaxx and Plisken tomorrow. Seal the Arboretum and keep an eye on us all – Lethal force if necessary; you know what to do"
"What about the new guy?"
"What new guy?"
"Jox Scarwing – He just emerged from stasis"
"Who the fuck is he?" Cass was mystified "I don't remember the name"
"You know the one – He used to be an entertainer at Parrotts; did a good line in monkey impressions?"
"What!? Monkey boy!?"
"Yeah, that's the fella" Holly nodded
"Fantastic" Cass shook her head and sighed "I'm sure he'll fit in perfectly. Listen, make sure he gets up to Parrotts, will you? I'm going to get changed"