Cosmosis

Interlude-Prowlers

Director Hom-Heg must have some very strong and very quiet ties to some political or governmental figures.

Vather could think of no other reason why a criminal like this was working for the Green Complex.

And the Farnata was criminal.

It fought like one: without mercy or restraint.

In Vather’s experience, soldiers could actually be quite charitable fighters. They honored surrenders, killed their enemies quickly and efficiently, and a great deal of the Adepts would look for non-lethal solutions before spilling an excess of blood. Soldiers were trained to know the value of a prisoner. Information was the greatest weapon, and soldiers knew better than to execute every potential source of information.

They still killed threats, but it was rarely personal.

This Farnata fought like it was personal. There was no sense of professionalism about the Adept.

Vather ducked his head down just in time for a short spear to impale itself in the wall an inch above his head. This Farnata had been aiming to kill from the beginning.

Four more spears materialized midair, falling toward him.

Vather could have easily dodged them, but he didn’t like how the Farnata was trying to herd him. So his claw snatched out at a tray for medical supplies, swinging it to deflect the spears instead.

The Farnata threw another pair of spears by hand, but Vather jumped behind the heavy supply cart he’d taken the tray from.

He wanted to take this back to the atrium, open spaces would favor him—fewer surfaces for the criminal to turn reflective.

“You’re out of your depth, criminal,” Vather called from cover. “I’m not even winded.”

“My name is Esk!” the Farnata roared, and his ability surged forth again.

It was only specks at first, but in a heartbeat they grew, joining together and covering surfaces in a broken and spotty hexagonal patchwork. Some of the wafer-thin patches even floated lazily on the air.

The glittering lights filled the space a moment after.

A shower of luminescent glowing gold particles sprang to life with a smattering of blue ones scattered throughout. They clung to surfaces and hung in midair just like the patchwork, every countless particle pouring out light in irregular intervals and directions.

Taunting him might have been a small mistake, Vather decided.

The gold and blue light bounced off the hexagonal patchwork on the surfaces, scattering and flashing the light in every direction.

It was blinding. But not overwhelmingly so. Vather could shield his eyes from the worst of it with one arm, even take aim at the—

A flash of gold swept across his eyes from an unexpected angle, only for another glint to catch him the moment after he blinked.

Esk was still fighting to kill him too.

The Farnata didn’t even hesitate a moment to walk into his own glittering light show.

Special goggles, undoubtedly of his own design, hung on Esk’s face. A special patina looked to be laid into the lenses.

When Vather tried to create his own shaded lenses, he found himself impressed with the Farnata’s industriousness.

Something dark enough to protect his eyes left him blind between the moments the glitter-chaff didn’t deflect some of the light into his face. Leaving his eyes uncovered left him blind in the opposite moments.

The Farnata’s custom goggles apparently compensated for this, and it wasn’t something Vather felt like he could crack spur of the moment.

Vather found himself admiring the Adept’s creativity, even as Esk tried to shove more of those inane short spears through his skull. It was all the Rak could do to deflect the stabs with his bracers.

His good mood wore down quickly though, because, unusually for a Vorak, Vather didn’t usually take to close combat as much as most Vorak. He could manage, but his preferred engagement was decidedly mid-range.

Trouble was Esk, unusually for a Farnata, was very comfortable in a fight up close.

Vather had tried to retreat to better ground twice now, but every time he managed to disengage the criminal, Esk pursued aggressively and deployed the same blinding field again.

At a glance, a light-producing ability, affecting this wide an area, should have been taxing. But the more Vather fought, the more he grasped that this wasn’t the case. The reflective chaff wasn’t very heavy, and the light sources didn’t need to have an immense amount of energy in them.

The light they needed to put out wasn’t that intense.

Esk wasn’t blinding by raw output. The light wasn’t so bright that it would blind someone even through closed eyelids, but in a way, that made it even worse. Vather kept having to fight the temptation to open his eyes to steal a peek, because it felt like he could.

It was an incredible tool for controlling space, but it didn’t have any offensive bite.

Esk wouldn’t be able to kill Vather like this.

Trouble was, the Farnata didn’t have to. He just had to fight long enough for the Warlock to finish saving the hostages.

But that worked to Vather’s favor too.

Because Nai Cal-Yan-Ti was in for a surprise when she fought him…

Still, best not to let this drag out. Vather gritted his teeth and made a wild swing, knowing it wouldn’t connect.

Esk backed off for a heartbeat, letting him swing at air. But the moment was all the opportunity Vather needed.

He let out an excited yowl and summoned up ten glowing green orbs.

Each orb of plasma hung in the air before Vather decomposed a point on the surface’s membrane. Each orb spilled out through the gap in the membrane, firing their contents in vibrant green beams.

Esk’s trick was neat, but close quarters cut both ways. The Farnata wasn’t the only one with an energy efficient trick. Flashy offensive powers tended to eat up energy quickly, but Vather considered himself something of an exception.

Even as Esk desperately threw himself clear of the beams trajectories, Vather materialized four more pairs of orbs and aimed them.

“Out of your depth!” Vather shouted as eight more green beams surged forward.

·····

Itun’s chest was heaving. He couldn’t believe how hard the fight had been.

His alien opponent struggled against the spikes bent around its arms and legs. Itun scanned the lab they’d just fought in. He counted eight different spikes he’d attacked with. Every one of them clean, even the ones he’d actually caught the creature in.

This alien was ludicrous.

There wasn’t a drop of blood on any of them. And the alien had dodged most of them with the smoke up! Even commander Vather couldn’t move that well.

Even more, the creature had somehow clung to the ceiling, catching him completely off guard. If it had attacked with a knife instead of its fist…

The alien’s agility had extended to close quarters. Itun hadn’t been able to make up the difference in reach, though he was sure the alien hadn’t totally grasped that.

On the defensive, it was an incredible opponent. It had an uncanny sense of distance and space, perfectly avoiding Itun’s attacks by small margins.

On the attack, it left much to be desired though.

Still, it had fared better than Tashi Umtane.

Or…maybe not.

Itun looked over at the other Rak, shoved into a floor-level cabinet and pinned against the wall by Itun’s spikes.

The Rak had been caught in the first attack, but he had the wherewithal to materialize a sheet of metal on his torso. It had stopped the spikes from puncturing him, but nothing more.

“You’re a sorry excuse for a Rak,” Itun said. “Even that thing put up more fight than you.”

“Caleb,” the alien corrected, even while it struggled against the spikes it was tangled in.

“I’m gifted in other ways,” Umtane said lamely.

“Pretty poor last words,” Itun remarked.

“Better than yours will be,” he replied coldly.

“It’s nothing personal,” Itun shrugged. “We’ve got orders and there’s a bioweapon in play here. We’re not taking any chances.”

“Kill him, and you’re doing the culprit a favor!” Caleb warned, as Itun reached for the gun. It was a Casti weapon, too big for him to comfortably hold. He would have shot the two of them on the move if not for that fact.

“The culprit is smuggling the bioweapon out right now, and they can get past your siege,” Caleb said.

Itun chambered a round, nearly dropping the gun clumsily.

“And only Umtane and I know how!” he shouted.

That made Itun stop, but only for a moment. “I kill him, and you can still tell me,” the Vorak said easily.

“Not if I blow my head off,” Caleb said, pointing its own fingers at its head. A glowing mote materialized on the tip of his finger, shimmering like it had one foot out of reality.

The alien hadn’t fully materialized the blast, but it could finish with a thought.

“You’re holding yourself hostage?” Itun asked, bewildered just a little bit more. “You ready to die, alien?”

“Don’t kill Umtane, and you don’t have to find out,” Caleb shot back.

“Wow, that’s about the coldest thing I’ve ever heard from someone furless.”

“It’s a pretty tired line back on my planet,” Caleb admitted. “But I’m serious, you and Vather are playing into this terrorist’s hands.”

Itun strolled over to Caleb calmly, wary of the glowing flash bomb, not yet fully existing.

“See…” he drawled slowly. “We know that.”

His hand darted forward, wrenching Caleb’s hand away from his head, dissipating the flash bomb. Even if this wasn’t a bluff, which it probably was, it would be bad to let the alien kill itself.

Although, if it was that determined, better it die by its own hand than by theirs.

If it had been up to Itun, he would just as soon lock it in a box and leave it here. But commander Vather had been clear.

The ‘Human’ went to the Red Sails.

“Our culprit…” Itun said, “reached out to us directly. They even identified themselves with a section Chief’s security code to get us in the door.”

“They gave you a challenge to stop them,” Caleb realized. “And you just took the bait, because you’re too proud. We were getting close, that’s why they panicked! They reached out to you and the Prowlers are the only ones giving a mass murderer a chance to get away with it.”

“Bait…” Itun said slowly, tasting the word in his mouth. It was…not an inaccurate way to describe the note they’d received.

“Be that as it might,” Itun said. “I’m not about to derail my team’s proverbial gameplan. I’ll bite though. You two can come with me to Vather.”

The alien’s eyes widened a smidge in surprise. It would be surprised at that. Hearing that was almost good news. Closer to Vather meant closer to the Warlock too.

“Commander,” Itun said, thumbing a button hidden beneath the fur on his neck. “You got a free ear?”

“Not so much,” Vather’s voice came back. “Need a moment!"

Itun sat idly, meeting Caleb’s glare.

“You killed Letrin,” the Human said.

“Technically it was Sanzin who did that,” Itun said. “But that’s hardly the point, is it?”

“Just trying to figure you Vorak out,” he said.

“Well I wouldn’t recommend holding a grudge,” Itun said dismissively. “There’s a war on. Soldiers are going to die.”

“A war is happening,” Caleb agreed. “But you were the ones to bring it in here. There was a peaceful solution to this, but you decided to start killing people because it’s convenient.”

“You must be a child,” Itun said. “Or at least, you’re not truly mature, but then that’s a lot of people…War doesn’t just take a holiday. The Coalition are our enemies, and war is waged in the hearts of its soldiers. Just because the Organic Authority said ‘no fighting’ doesn’t mean the war is suddenly gone. It just means there are new consequences to avoid...or control.”

“You’re a [monster,]” Caleb said. “Where I grew up…there are a lot of tempers about war, and everyone has a different opinion on who the [villains] are. That means you wind up hearing a lot of noise that makes it seem like no one is the villain, not really…but you?”

“We’re the villains?” Itun asked, amused.

“No, you are,” Caleb said. “Specifically you. Itun. The single person to make the decision. Vather too, probably.”

“This is a fascinating glimpse into your species’ psychology,” Itun said, “but I need—”

“Itun, I have a moment. Go,” the radio in Itun’s ear voiced.

“Commander,” Itun said, abandoning his conversation with Caleb. “I’ve got the Deep Coil Adept and the alien. They’re saying they know how our bioterrorist is getting out of the facility and that only they know how to stop them.”

“They’re bluffing,” Vather panted.

“Probably,” Itun agreed. “But as long as the bioweapon is still up in the air, do we want to risk it?”

“I wasn’t speculating,” Vather said. “The Coalition is detaining all the suspects in the gymnasium on the upper level. And the Warlock is guarding them. Our bioterrorist isn’t going anywhere.”

“You fight her, commander?”

“Not yet,” Vather said, “but I did get my shard on her hip yesterday. She’s going to be in for a shock when she tries to burn me.”

“If you could get something on her person, why not just make a bomb?” Itun asked.

“Because we’re playing this carefully,” the commander chastised. “We have too many objectives to be firing loose here. If we miss even one of our goals, we make problems for the whole fleet.”

“Seems like you could just beam her and finish this,” his protege said.

“See, hoss,” Vather replied, “this is why I’m the one fighting her and not you. You’d make one wrong move and she’d spill your belly for it. Didn’t you learn anything fighting your Adept there?”

“Not so much,” Itun said.

“Well then if you’re that committed to rushing, hurry back here. I’d prefer backup when I take our shot at the Warlock.”

“Acknowledged,” Itun said. “Sorry Tashi, looks like you’re expendable after all.”

“Kill me…and dump Caleb outside to be collected by your allies?” Umtane guessed.

“Vather doesn’t want to die alone,” Caleb mocked. “Nai is going to paint the walls with both of you.”

“Bold statement, coming from someone at my mercy,” Itun said. The human’s attitude was irritating him. He wasn’t acting like a bound captive. “All it took to fool you was slapping my hands on the ground.”

“That was a [cute] bluff,” the Caleb said. “I can’t believe it caught me.”

“Even if you can dodge forever, that won’t defeat your enemy. You’re too new to fight so reactively,” Itun said. “You have to learn how to win before trying to make sure you don’t lose.”

“Funny part is, Nai warned me about false tells like that,” Caleb said. “Which is why I can’t believe I fell for it.”

“Forgot about her warning?”

“Not so much that…” he replied, oddly calm for such a vulnerable position.

The Human winked and suddenly the room exploded.

Itun felt his body crash into the ceiling, and he blacked out for a second. He wasn’t conscious for the fall, but gravity pulling him into the floor again was enough to jar him awake.

There was a dissonance between where his senses told him he was, and where he felt like he should have been. Where he was.

How had he been thrown to the floor? When had he been hit?

Dizziness struck him when he tried to lift himself. Had his brain been rattled? It was his instinct he would remember taking an impact significant enough to overcome his cushioning augmentations.

A shape limped into view above him, and he felt a weight come down on him. Ah yes. Caleb the Human.

“It’s just…I didn’t expect you to be doing the same thing as me,” Caleb said, pressing a foot on Itun’s throat.

The irony crashed down on Itun like a tidal wave.

Vather was right. He’d been making the same mistake Caleb had, but his had been more grievous. Itun knew, with Caleb’s agility, he’d only be able to trick him with motionless spikes once.

Caleb employed stunning flash bombs to disrupt opponents, but the alien had pointed a hand at every target.

But just like Itun, he didn’t need to.

Worse still, he was capable of a much more destructive bomb—one that had blown Itun into the ceiling with enough force to crack his ribs.

The tell had been the only warning they were coming, and he had a knack for positioning them dangerously close to his target’s head. Even if the target managed to shield their eyes, there was no protecting their ears at that distance.

But the impact bomb had been unexpected. Looking back, the way the Human fought so reactively, it made sense it was holding back a weapon. The blast had rattled him. The spikes he’d used to detain Umtane and the Human had dissolved from his consciousness being interrupted.

Itun would have been angrier about being beaten, except his injuries made it too painful to focus on anything else.

Cascading your own body was hard enough in optimal condition. Injured as he was, every twitch he made him twinge in agony. Even before cascading, he knew he’d broken multiple bones. Two cracked ribs, a bad fracture in his skull, and internal bleeding around his heart.

He’d been doing so well, but he’d dropped his guard once he’d beaten his opponents. Victory had defeated him.

The Human was keeping his weight on Itun’s throat, but it was unnecessary. He could barely move.

“Thanks,” Umtane said. “You saved my life.”

“It wasn’t a favor Umtane,” he replied. “You’re going to pay me back some day.”

The Vorak nodded. “You don’t have the luxury of charity?”

“Not towards you, no.”

“You should have opened with that bomb,” Umtane complained.

“You should have pulled your weight,” the Human countered.

“Maybe I would have if you’d opened with a bomb like that!”

The weight on Itun’s throat faltered when Caleb gave a small stumble. “I don’t know if you noticed, but it takes a lot out of me. I need a moment.”

“No worries I can cover him now,” Umtane remarked, pointing the pistol at Itun. “You might be tempted to try something—”

Umtane squeezed the trigger on the pistol and Itun felt a hot burn on the side of his neck.

“—let that be a warning.”

Itun clutched the wound, finding a piece of wire and plastic near it. The Rak had shot the radio unit wrapped around his collar. He’d been able to see it?

“You have good aim,” Itun said. “Message received.”

“Walk,” Caleb said, hauling Itun to his feet. It was painful to walk, but Itun put up a brave face. It was bad form to look weak in front of the opponents who beat you.

Itun walked at gunpoint out of the trashed lab and back into the maze of hallways.

He was unsure what would happen now. With his radio gone, there was no way to talk with commander Vather. So did he have help coming?

Itun supposed it depended on how much Vather wanted his help attacking the Warlock.

It didn’t seem like they were going to kill him either. Then he had nothing to do but talk.

“You’re quick,” Itun said. “You avoided my spikes before they even appeared.”

“You’re not the first Vorak to try and skewer me,” Caleb said coldly. “Sendin Marfek’s spikes were larger and faster.”

“…You fought Sendin Marfek?” he asked.

“He killed Sendin Marfek,” Umtane crowed.

“No I didn’t,” Caleb corrected, shooting Umtane a look.

“Sure, sure…” the Tashi said.

Itun suddenly didn’t feel so bad about losing.

·····

Vather was feeling the pressure.

Itun wasn’t responding and Esk was on the retreat now.

The critical targets were the Human and the culprit, plus the Adepts capable of protecting them.

Funnily enough, the Warlock was undoubtedly protecting the culprit. Not by design, Vather was sure, but she was staying in the physical medicine department with the suspects that Chief Niza’s men rounded up.

The longer this dragged on, the more complicated it got.

His initial plan had been to strike hard and fast, before the Green Complex’s security personnel could properly mobilize. The fact that Chief Niza was on the suspect list had made him a critical target. Him slipping out of their claws upon entering had been a huge blow.

With the Chief still present to organize the troops, the security response was faster than Vather’s limited numbers could account for.

If that was the case…then Esk retreating down toward the lower levels was odd. Was he moving support away from the Warlock? Making her a more enticing target?

Or was he moving to protect the Human, who’d escaped not only Chief Maburic, but Itun as well?

Losing contact with Itun was a serious problem, but not a fatal one. As long as the Prowlers had the last Adept standing, then they could control all three security rooms sooner or later. And once they controlled the facility like that, they could reduce the Organic Authority’s ability to document the situation.

The Prowlers would be the only ones with any evidence of the events that wasn’t hearsay.

At a glance, it was tempting to attack the Warlock now. She was cut off from meaningful support, and Vather knew he could steal the momentum in the first few moments of their fight. Whether he could hold onto it if she survived his initial onslaught?

No…taking the Warlock’s head would have to be the last step for victory, after he’d marshalled his other forces for a more coordinated assault.

Haste drowned fools.

Better to build more advantage for now.

Vather took the nearest staircase and delved down. Esk couldn’t beat him one on one, but if Itun had bit his own tail, then Esk might regroup with the Human and the Deep Coil Adept.

Umtane didn’t strike Vather as a fighter, but Adepts were Adepts.

He talked into his collar, issuing orders to abandon searches. The Adepts weren’t the only relevant forces in play, and he needed his soldiers to control access points in the Complex.

They had tried to get too tricky with moving the elevators after the Human escaped. Better to shut them down entirely. Past that, he would have to trust his field operatives to oversee the rest.

He had to go see if Itun needed bailing out.

·····

Itun needed bailing out.

He wasn’t about to admit it out loud, but the more he thought about his fight, the more he realized he had no one to blame but himself.

Some Rak would have scoffed at him hearing out the Human’s bluff, but that would have been a superficial thing to focus on.

It wouldn’t really have mattered.

He’d lost because Caleb had been capable of a nigh-instantaneous kinetic bomb that he’d kept in reserve. If Itun hadn’t listened to anything they’d said, the Human would have just blasted him across the room sooner.

It hadn’t been some cheap shot that he could reassure himself couldn’t happen again.

Umtane had Itun go first, climbing a tucked away ladder up to a maintenance hatch, finally emerging in one of the lab facilities near the bottom of the atrium.

“Ecology and Biospheres,” Caleb said, recognizing the department.

“We might have to risk the stairs,” Umtane said. “You said you memorized the floorplans, what’s our best bet?”

“Probably this guy,” Caleb said, pointing toward a door.

A moment later, a Farnata burst in, breathing hard.

“Friendly!” Caleb called out, raising his hands. The Farnata, Itun decided it must have been the one Vather had clashed with, gave the three of them a glance.

“Shoot him,” Esk said, pointing at Itun. “I’ve got Vather right behind me.”

“We’ve got a minute,” Caleb said. “He’s going quickly, but he’s still being careful. I think he’s checking corners.”

“I had the Warlock and Chief Niza on radio,” Esk said. “But I lost it fighting.”

“You too?” Caleb said.

“Are you really dragging him with you?” Esk asked. “We might be cut off from communicating, but there is a plan for us to—”

“Maybe don’t talk strategy in front of the hostage?” Umtane said.

“Is he?” Esk asked. “A hostage, I mean. Do you have any value as a hostage, Rak?”

“I hope so,” Itun lied.

Vather valued his life, but only so far as Itun could help achieve objectives. It was one of the things that made Vather an effective commander in Itun’s mind.

“Alright, gag him and throw him right in the middle of the foyer there,” Esk suggested, materializing two extra pairs of goggles. “Put these on and listen up. I’ve got details on the opponent’s abilities…”

·····

When Vather’s attack came, there were no words.

Green orbs flickered into existence inside the walls near the entrance and fired beams of plasma a heartbeat later.

Glass shattered in several terrariums, papers and soft chunks of the walls flew everywhere. Vather’s beams swept in wide arcs covering the Rak as he dove into the Ecology department.

Itun knew that his commander could cascade far enough to scout, but it wasn’t how he preferred to use his attention in a fight.

From his very exposed position in the middle of the floor, Itun had a fine view of Vather in action.

The Adept made his green orbs again, and used them as fire support. Beams blasted forth, blindly firing into the foyer’s narrow points, keeping anyone from leaping out to attack Vather’s back while he leapt around, searching for his foes.

It was far too painful for Itun to physically fight…but if he was willing to endure the feedback of stressing his powers in his current condition…

He could manage a ground spike. Maybe two? No, probably just one if he wanted to make it a good shot.

He could bide his time though and wait.

The Adepts showed themselves when Vather finished clearing the first floor of the foyer without having encountered them.

Caleb dropped down from the ceiling, materializing a staff to attack with. He landed close enough to strike, but Vather was ready to go on the offensive too.

But before his commander could clash with the Human, a gold and blue glare blazed to life on every surface around them. Before the glare blinded him, Itun saw Esk melt into existence out of a wall and throw a chair at Vather.

He heard two gunshots, each one patient and carefully placed. They had to be from Umtane. He contributed the least in a brawl, but his aim was good enough to be a threat from afar. But the sounds of fighting continued beyond them.

Every surge of Vather’s beams was music to Itun’s ears. His commander had been handpicked to be the one to take the Warlock’s head. He was another class of Adept.

The three of them wouldn’t be enough to beat him, and Itun smiled, struggling to inch his way across the ground to better cover.

A huge battery of lasers shot out in every direction, scraping their way across the entire foyer. Esk and Caleb both dove behind the terrarium for cover, ignoring Itun still tied up on the ground nearby.

He was surprised to observe both had seen fraught combat before, even Caleb. The way the Human fought led Itun to believe he was inexperienced. But apparently not as much as he’d first believed. Even rattled as he was, Caleb’s movements were too methodical to be only from practice.

He tucked every last piece of himself behind cover but his body language mirrored the Farnata’s: ready to move again the moment a lull in Vather’s fire opened.

“I’m Esk, by the way,” the Farnata panted.

“Caleb,” the Human introduced.

“Interesting meeting you,” Esk replied.

“You too. Ready to kick his [ass]?”