Jupiter Ascending Page #3

Space cops. Sure.

Stinger.

Back from the goddamn dead.

It's kind of funny, both of us

ending up on this planet.

Funny ain't the word I'd use.

- How'd you get out?

- Titus Abrasax. He hired me to lift her.

Since Deadland ain't taught you

a damn thing...

Just as I was getting used to this life,

you come back reminding me

what I flushed down the shitter for you.

Where's Kiza? She used to at least listen

to my side of the story.

You stay the hell away from my daughter.

Don't drag me

into your male mating rituals.

- Hi. I'm Kiza.

- Hi.

Jupiter. Nice to meet you.

You used to have a little mettle

in you, kid.

- I guess I'm getting a little old.

- Old? Look at me.

Not a recode

or a drop of juice in years.

You are a lot uglier than I remember.

Hey! Hey!

What is going on here?

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Thank you.

I'll go to town to pick up

some groceries for dinner.

- I'll go.

- I'm fine, Dad.

Okay. All right.

Let's have a look at you.

It's not pretty, is it?

Clipped and stripped. The mark

of a court martialed skyjacker.

You still haven't answered my question.

Do you want your wings back or not?

Wait, you had wings?

The best bio-neural-synaptic prosthetic

the military could buy.

Oh, my God. That's amazing.

Your Majesty has no idea of the scientific

miracles that human beings are capable of.

Why won't those human beings

share things like this?

Sharing has never been the strong suit

of your species, Your Majesty.

Okay, what is with this

"Your Majesty" thing?

You've never been stung

by a bee, have you?

No.

You know, bees are genetically

designed to recognize royalty.

Royalty?

Well... You are in for a surprise

when you find out what I do for a living.

Oh, it's not what you do.

It's what you are. They sense it.

Bees aren't like humans.

They don't question or doubt.

Bees don't lie.

Oh, I... Sorry, I gotta take this.

I'm guessing Titus

didn't say anything about it.

No. Must have slipped his mind.

Not easy to picture you

making a deal with a royal.

Titus told me you were posted

to this planet

and said if I helped him, he'd get you

your wings back, full reinstatement.

- I figured I owed you.

- Yeah, you do.

But if she is a recurrence...

then this is a hell of a lot more

important than wings.

It's life changing, Jupiter!

Wait till you see this thing.

Two million pixels of resolution.

Everything I ever wanted.

Yeah, no. That's great. Is mom there?

No. She went out with Nino. Listen,

they were a little freaked out last night

when you didn't come home,

but I covered. I think it's fine.

How 'bout a little gratitude

for your cousin Vladie?

I mean, this thing was a cakewalk,

right? Just like I said.

- Easiest money we ever made. Cha-ching!

- It didn't happen.

Didn't happen.

- What?

- No, I know. I'm so sorry.

- Oh, no.

- I'm really, really sorry.

- Why?

- There was an accident at the clinic.

Someone got hurt.

Sh*t! I knew it!

Oh, my God, I knew it.

I can't catch a break.

- I cannot catch a single break!

- Look, Vladie, I'm with some people.

- I don't wanna be rude.

- Wait, Jupiter, we have to reschedule.

Totally. So, just tell mom I'm okay

and I will call her when I can.

Wait, wait, wait! Jupe, Jupe...

I already spent the money.

You're in trouble.

You're in trouble.

Don't touch my stuff!

Balem ordered a blockade.

Nothing is getting on or off this planet.

But Aegis command said

once her geneprint is verified,

they'll get an injunction

to take us to Orous.

- So we wait.

- They're sending a cruiser.

- When?

- Should be here tomorrow.

- We won't last the night.

- We need a plan.

We need firepower.

If she's what you say she is,

we're not getting off this planet

without a fight.

Stash is in the back.

- Is he mad at me?

- When he's mad, you'll know it.

He just...

seems different since we got here.

Caine is... complicated.

He's a Lycantant without a pack.

Had the bad luck to be born

half-albino. Runt of the litter.

The splicer that bred him had to sell him

to the legion for a loss.

But a Lycantant needs a pack.

It's their center of gravity.

Alone, usually they waste away and die,

unless they become like him.

Fearless. Relentless.

Perfect hunting machines.

Caine was the best soldier

I ever went into battle with.

Why did he get court martialed?

I'm sorry. If it's none of my business.

You don't have to tell me.

Oh, he attacked someone.

He attacked an entitled.

- He bit him.

- He bit him?

Tore his throat out.

There's something about the royals

for Caine. It's instinctual.

They tried to put him down, but he was

under my command so I took the blame.

Two scars across my back as a reward.

You know, you both have marks on your neck,

but they're slightly different.

The brand of the splicer.

Marcellian Cahun was her name.

She loved bees.

Wow.

My father would be freaking out

right now.

Do you know what this will do to people

when they find out the truth?

I don't think that most people

would want to know the truth.

I do.

Okay.

So, you've been taught that the birthplace

of the human race is earth, but it's not.

It's actually a planet in the Cunabulum

system called Orous,

a little over

a billion of your years ago.

Your planet was discovered during what is

commonly called the great expansion.

At the time, earth was inhabited

by a branch-species of Saurisapian,

a dangerous human predator

called the Sargorn.

Obviously before any colonization

or resource development

could be done safely to your planet,

a large-scale extinction event

was manufactured...

Damn budget cuts.

Are you talking about dinosaurs?

Wait, are you saying your people

killed the dinosaurs?

Technically,

they're your people, Majesty.

Come on.

According to commonwealth records,

this planet was seeded by Abrasax industries

roughly one hundred thousand years ago.

Human DNA spliced with indigenous

species to evolve a fertile population.

And that's where the "why"

gets ugly. Basically,

the goal is to grow a population

as large as possible.

Once the population exceeds

the planet's ability to sustain it,

it's considered ripe for harvest.

Harvest?

What's going on? What's wrong with them?

They're here.

- Go.

- Come on.

What? Caine? Wait, Caine!

Caine!

Beeswax.

Gotcha.

Mr. Night,

I want this facility

running at capacity.

I want full diagnostics and cost

projections for an early harvest.

Of course, My Lord.

What kind of grade

are we getting from the skim?

Excellent product, sire.

Premium grade.

It's a... particularly robust stock.

Assuming market stability,

if we harvest later this century,

profit margins should eclipse

your nearest competitor.

Understand this, Mr. Night.

I will harvest that planet tomorrow

before I let her take it from me.

- Here we go.

- I trust you.

Premium Abrasax, as requested.

Now...

Where is Her Majesty?

Good evening, Your Majesty.

Allow me to assist.

I am Sendi, your chamber presence.

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