{"id":42,"date":"2013-10-11T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/?p=42"},"modified":"2022-11-03T11:01:41","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T11:01:41","slug":"the-mercenaries-tale-1-02-dogs-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/the-mercenaries-tale-1-02-dogs-of-war","title":{"rendered":"The Mercenaries\u2019 Tale \u2013 1.02 Dogs of War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Makou Reactor\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/7Ki1xbmH5SgLhcsiTDWihC?si=42a850dd9c88484e&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>This page&#8217;s musical accompaniment: &#8220;Mako Reactor&#8221; from the <em>Final Fantasy VII<\/em> soundtrack composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Silverton, his company Salmanic Inc. and the City of Light were inspired by Final Fantasy VII&#8217;s Shinra Corporation and their dominance over the city of Midgar, so it was always a toss up between this theme or &#8220;Shinra Company&#8221; as the theme motif for Silverton.<br><strong>-Sean.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2026Purposeless destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The man held a casual air of quiet displeasure, because he was far too well-bred to be annoyed. Rarely reaching an emotion level beyond mild irritation was a perk of being the wealthiest man on Lusinia. He sat back in his stuffed leather armchair and sipped from the brandy glass cupped between his delicate fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was Silverton Salmanic, the slick self-assured charismatic chairman of Salmanic Incorporated, and when he wasn\u2019t busy running the power monopoly on Lusinia from his penthouse office at the highest point of the tallest and oldest city on the planet, he dabbled in corrupting and controlling governments like mere playthings. From his office chair he could see the entirety of the city below him, and out across the horizon towards the desert city of Galmanoc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best suits are known as \u2018tailored\u2019, in reference to how they have been purpose-fit to fit the wearer by an expert, often in a variety of tastefully expensive materials. Calling Silverton\u2019s suit \u2018tailored\u2019 would be an insult to fashion, as it was practically a second skin braced against his trim body. It was black, the same refined black as his tie and slicked-back hair, a delightful contrast against his crisp white shirt. His face had a pronounced jawline and all the telltale signs of genetic sculpting via generations of very rich people procreating with each other. He represented the epitome of bourgeoisie, his body an exemplar of refined dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This unfortunately made the fact that he had no left eye quite a glaring physical paradox; instead, he had a bionic plate. A silver-rimmed disc embedded into his skull, with a glowing blue display that illuminated his face from within the shadows of his chair. It revealed a possible quirk in the man\u2019s fa\u00e7ade of mundane nobility via the pupil display: rather than have a conventional dot to represent his iris, it was instead a concave curve of black, like that of a cat\u2019s eye. Concentrating on the eye itself was disheartening, as its pupil had a habit of clicking around and looking at things seemingly of its own accord.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"430\" src=\"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silverton.png\" alt=\"Silverton Salmanic\" class=\"wp-image-44\" title=\"Silverton Salmanic\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silverton.png 600w, https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silverton-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2026What is the extent of the damage this time?\u201d Silverton asked aloud, his voice a purr of warm silk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBlackouts towards the East, mostly small towns and farmland,\u201d replied his confidante. She was his secretary, dressed in opulent office attire that wouldn\u2019t have looked out of place in the 1950s. She brandished her electronic clipboard with intent, adjusting her half-rim glasses to look at the back of Silverton\u2019s chair. She was used to talking to the back of his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s disturbing. That implies that they are getting closer to the central hub. I don\u2019t need to remind you what the magnitude of disaster would be if the plant was put out of operation,\u201d said Silverton, swirling his brandy glass in contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The secretary looked down at her clipboard. He didn\u2019t need to remind her, but implying that he did was how he expressed his disappointment, and it was purposely to make her feel stupid. She was the most informed employee at Salmanic Inc, all of the breaking news that needed to go before Silverton went through her, and anything that didn\u2019t matter she kept back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The clipboard currently displayed the damage costs of the destroyed section of pipeline. Over the last two months saboteurs had been systematically taking out entire segments of the huge and vital pipes that carried power all over Lusinia. The first incidents had been parts of the pipe that didn\u2019t matter, the lines that carried power out to the smallest of villages on the fringe of the central continent. Over the months the attacks had increasingly taken place towards the direction of the central power plant, Salmanic Incorporated\u2019s greatest secret asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have said in the past that, despite the abundance of security employees armed with the latest in deterrence and supplemented with the quickest response vehicles on the market, we have no idea who is perpetrating these attacks. I take it this is still the case?\u201d ventured Silverton. The secretary checked her clipboard but already knew the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2026Still no visual ID of the culprits, sir. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t apologise, Lucretia. Somehow I think this matter is a bit beyond your responsibility, despite your impeccable employee record and company loyalty.\u201d Lucretia blushed slightly, as that was the closest thing to a compliment that Silverton could give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMight I suggest contacting help from outside?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou mean bring in the assistance of people trained in these matters, rather than hoping that my extensive army of generously paid security suddenly gain the competence and skills necessary to prevent covertly planned strikes on my property? \u2026Do go on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lucretia tapped the electronic pen in her hand against her lower lip while she paused for thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI take it you would be resistant to informing the PSF on this matter, sir? They would surely be more than willing to help if they were made aware of the threat to the planet\u2019s only source of power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would rather not, Lucretia. There are too many variables of risk in that option. Although\u2026soldiers of another sort, perhaps?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSir?\u201d prompted Lucretia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSoldiers for contract\u2026\u2018Dogs of War\u2019, I believe the vernacular is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMercenaries? Inspired, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYes. Discreet. Relatively cheap. <i>Expendable<\/i>,\u201d said Silverton, licking his tongue around the last word. \u201cI assume you can take care of this decided course of action?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlready working on it sir,\u201d replied Lucretia, tapping away at her clipboard. \u201cWhat price should I be offering?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMoney is no object.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026generous, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou need honey to attract flies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVery humorous, sir. If you will excuse me, I shall get straight on to this task.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVery good Lucretia. I am sure you will do this with the usual aplomb you bring to your work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Lucretia closed the heavy office doors behind her, Silverton massaged his brow with his free hand and allowed a smile to spread across his lips. He was like a cat who had just found an injured rodent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Silverton realised that he was bored of the view from his window. This was not much of a problem; he was rich enough to afford a new one. Pressing a button on the control panel embedded into the arm of his chair, there was a faint hum as the entire penthouse began to rotate around to face a different part of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"245\" src=\"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silvertons_Office.png\" alt=\"Silverton's Penthouse Office\" class=\"wp-image-46\" title=\"Silverton's Penthouse Office\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silvertons_Office.png 600w, https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Silvertons_Office-300x123.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201c\u2026Purposeless destruction.\u201d The man held a casual air of quiet displeasure, because he was far too well-bred to be annoyed. Rarely reaching an emotion level beyond mild irritation was a perk of being the wealthiest man on Lusinia. He sat back in his stuffed leather armchair and sipped from the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21,22,20],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mercenaries-tale","tag-lucretia-velarina","tag-salmanic-incorporated","tag-silverton-salmanic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}