The Church of Ill Repute
Everyone fights for a reason, but not all reasons are as noble as others.
The world of Corus in the Fitch system is one of the few worlds settled by Terrans that never unified. Chelice stands as an independent city that only wants to be left alone, but their militia isn’t up to the task of keeping it that way. To remedy this, the city’s militia reaches out to whomever will agree to help. One of those who answered is an alien mercenary named who calls himself Vox. Four of the militia - Axel, Ntxhi, Rob, and Trace - agree to train under Vox.
Not everyone who follows Vox has admirable reasons. Some follow for revenge. Some for the money and excitement. Some have nowhere else to go. Church of Ill Repute is the story of those who agreed follow Vox as they unpack the actions of the Enoire and its increasing focus on Chelice.
Arcady
Only the First Chelice Militia stands in defense of their home. That’s the risk of being an independent city. Six months ago they learned the hard way that they weren’t up to the task. Rebuilding wasn’t enough, they needed to improve and adapt. Their finest squads were sent to nearby nations to train and bring back the critical skills to do just that.
Four of the militia accepted a different option. Axel, Ntxhi, Trace, and Rob, against the better judgment of their captain, sign on with a local mercenary. Vox - alien, bounty hunter, and owner of the freighter Ill Repute - agreed to train them, but only as long as he could use them for his own work. Their first test of Vox’s training arrives when their new mentor takes them to retrieve a bounty in Arcady. Time for them to pack their formal wear, they’re crashing a wedding.
“Are they worth my time, Casey? Can they carry their own weight? Some skinny kids with no experience?”
New Vancouver
Releasing February 15
The First Chelice Militia’s ‘finest’ recover from their mission to Arcady. Lessons and mistakes are turned into training. One thing above all is they continue their mission: learn, adapt, and improve. Become the veterans needed to help their militia. Vox, on the other hand, has a different mission, He’s giddy with the release of the Confederate Papers - a hacked list of war criminals in hiding. Mercenaries are flush with bounties and Vox wants in on it. Their next mission will take them to Corus’ sister planet Nyx. Just one problem, they don’t know who their bounty is. So it’s off to New Vancouver to find one person hiding in a city of millions.
Ntxhi has her own problem. Vox has another mission that he’s taking her on and refuses to elaborate. She’s off to the Fitch system’s center of cybernetics, Topsia Ward.
“It’s one thing to expect the Union or Republic to come eventually, but we were going to be on our own at first. I hated it. I hated that we had to hope someone else would save us from problems they caused.”
Bona Dea
After New Vancouver, Trace must come to terms with Bragg’s power armor. Axel and Ntxhi take time to build Ntxhi back up. Vox’s trainees are recovering from the last mission, mentally and physically, and adapting so they can get back to their real mission: developing the skills to help their militia. Meanwhile, Vox has an investment pay off with a new recruit. There’s just one catch. This new recruit wants help finishing their own mission before they’ll join.
Vox is suspiciously quiet about the strange request and won’t say why it leads them to a club in Bona Dea. Trace has more pressing concerns than that. Vox put her in command of Axel and Rob. Her first mission is simple: blend in and wait. All she has to do is keep them in line and bring everyone home. At least this time they don’t have to tip the stripper.
“Is this really how they work? Just a thin layer of lies for the world and trust in each other?”
Trempealeau
After Bona Dea, Vox and Bugs are missing and Pip is in charge. To the recruits’ surprise, Pip orders them on a relief mission. Ill Repute will travel to Trempealeau to deliver supplies to Notosian refugees. Forced out of the ship and left to their own devices, the militia recruits explore Trempealeau. All they have to do is not discover any plots to harm refugees, not get involved, and not make waves. Now, it’s up to Axel to convince Trace to help and Jinco to listen, and he has to do it without Ntxhi there to back him up.
Well, at least Pip got them out of the base for a night.
“Is this really how they work? Just a thin layer of lies for the world and trust in each other?”
Trempealeau
After Trempealeau, the militia recruits must come to terms with their actions. No longer can they pretend there would be no fallout after their encounters with the Enoire. Now they must prepare for the repercussions. What they didn’t expect was for Vox’s return to herald a first for them since they signed on. It’s a night off for them all to go out and relax.
They have a night on the town with friends, loved ones, and an Enoire attack force just looking for a good time. First to the front lines, Trace, Axel, and Ntxhi must improvise the defense of Chelice until reinforcements arrive. This is it: the mission they trained for. It’s time they put the last three months to the test.
“Is this really how they work? Just a thin layer of lies for the world and trust in each other?”
Iron Diamond
Coming soon
“Is this really how they work? Just a thin layer of lies for the world and trust in each other?”
About the author
Justin Hare lives in Madison, WI with a small horde of cats and has published science fiction stories since February 2024.
Contact the author.
Justin Hare
jshare@churchofillrepute.net
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