"What did you do?"

"What I had to."

The words had a finality to them as Red turned back to the window, his brow furrowed as Karnak Space Station turned to dying embers against an eternal night.

Sabotage, Jack had said. This would hurt Neo-Tokyo, he promised.

"That," Red pointed to the station he'd just barely managed to escape from. "...was not part of the plan."

Asher turned away from the screen he was monitoring. He was taller of the three men in the room. "Sacrifices must be made."

"Sacrifices?" Red snapped. "Those were innocent men, women, and children."

"Innocent?" Asher pinned Red where he was with an icy blue glare. "No one who helps Neo-Tokyo is innocent."

"We were just supposed to sabotage the separate Neo-Tokyan markets," Red said.

"I don't give a fuck what we were supposed to do." Asher crossed his arms. "Mission is accomplished. The markets... gone. Anyone who was going to use them. Fuck, they're gone too. Didn't you say the only good Neo-Tokyan was a dead one?"

"Those were not Neo-Tokyans."

"No, just their little bitches." 

Red began to see why Jack had wanted to use Asher in the first place. Hell, Red had no problem killing a man, although he preferred it face to face or at least in a fight.

"Let's get back to Jack and figure this out,' Dag's voice cut in. Unlike Red and Asher, Dagony Doran had only a silver titanium arm that fit seamlessly into his body, not the military-grade augments that made the other two men war machines wrapped in human skin.

Even now Red could feel Asher poking around at his cybernetic safeguards, attempting to find a way to break into his mindscape. He was an augur, built to communicate across vast distances, space, other augurs, augments, anyone. Red's own defenses flared in response as warnings of the impending threat crossed his heads up display.

"Jack said I had to bring Dag back alive," Asher sneered. "Not you."

There was no stopping the fight. Red began to count.

One for the money. Asher lashed out, his arm a blur. Time slowed. Red's hand shot forward grabbing the proffered wrist shoving it to the side.

Two for the show. Red stepped forward, inside of Asher's reach, one hand locked onto Asher's extended wrist, his other driving an elbow forward into Asher's windpipe. Asher jerked to the side, Red's elbow only catching the side of Asher's throat.

Three to get ready. Red felt pain explode behind his eyes as Asher's cybernetics went to work, trying to take control of Red. Red, his hand still gripping Asher's wrist, yanked him forward, ignoring the pain.

Four to go. Red launched an uppercut so fast that Asher never saw it coming, his fist connected with Asher's jaw. Asher dropped like a stone at his feet.  

Red looked at the dead station again.

"Put him in the escape pod. He can take his chances out there."