Galactic High

They had fed the ‘dog’ some of Nika’s jerky as they started to set off, and Alora had conjured some water for it to drink using one of the MRE dishes Nika had with her. It fed and drank quickly before curling up quietly on one of the first-class chairs to go to sleep. Clearly it was smart enough to know that Alora needed to sleep as well, and that they needed to stay quiet as they ventured into the unknown.

Jack climbed up on top of the roof of the train on overwatch after Nika had quickly managed to patch his plasma rifle up. According to her there wasn’t much damage and it just needed a quick check over, but Nika suggested running a full diagnostic when they went back and to favour his Dominator for now if he had the choice. The top of the train provided minimal cover, but it was the best place to look ahead and gave him a greater field of fire if need be.

He was happy to be alone with his thoughts as he kept an eye on everything ahead. Even though Sephy was travelling at a cautious pace, it was still brisk enough that the breeze cooled his face. It had been a hell of a day. Hell, he’d only been with the group for about 3 days and it had constantly been a wild ride. Was this his life now?

“Mind if I join you? I need to talk.” He heard Nika shuffle up beside him, handing him another hot drink that Chiyo had made for them with yet more of the many drink powders they had taken with them. This syrupy substance tasted like it was full of different spices that reminded Jack of Indian cuisine. It wasn’t bad though, and Jack was surprised it didn’t contain as much of the sweetness he’d come to expect from Chiyo’s tastes.

“Sure, and thanks!” Jack replied idly. “Thanks, Chiyo!” Jack added with a whisper just loud enough for her to hear downstairs, with a thumbs-up floating briefly up the hatch in response.

“Shouldn’t you be watching our rear?” Jack asked her, but Nika shrugged her shoulders.

“Chiyo’s keeping an eye on it, and we’re not hitting the next station for a while - we’ll be fine.” The Kizun sighed.

“What did you want to talk about?” Jack continued, a little confused as he saw Nika looking at him intently and shaking slightly, before she quickly rummaged into a pocket and took a pill of some kind.

“Had the shakes, sorry,” Nika lied, not wanting to tell Jack about her heat cycle. Why did it have to keep flaring up, especially now of all times? She shook it out of her mind and tried to focus on what she wanted to say. “That was a hell of a fight back there.”

“It was,” Jack replied. He didn’t have much else to say, having already spoken to a few of the others. Right now, he just wanted to put it behind him, but if Nika needed to talk, he would be there for her. “Glad we made it out.”

“Me too,” Nika replied nervously, and Jack noticed she was still acting a little weird.

“What’s wrong?” He finally asked.

Nika took a deep breath. “It's… I’m usually the one that keeps their shit together in rough situations. We usually make decisions as a group, and while we don't have an official leader, Alora is without a doubt the best at leading us on runs. But if we get into a scrap I can usually keep my head on straight to make tactical decisions for the group, but…."

"But?” Jack prompted.

"But I fucked up back there," Nika admitted, hanging her head in shame. "We've never faced anything that strong before and I couldn't think of anything to do but run. The only reason we not only survived but beat that thing was because of you. Not only did you take charge but you knew exactly what to do. I tried to do what I could but I was straight up terrified. When I got injured I thought that was it."

Jack slowly nodded, not really knowing what to say to that. Both Nika and Alora were good leaders and clearly knew their stuff, but it was true that he'd been the one to assert leadership that one time.

"How did you do it?" she asked with wide, pleading eyes. "Take charge and lead us to victory without being terrified?"

"I was terrified the whole time," Jack admitted. "And I've been terrified the entire time I've been here. We don't have monsters, anarchy and madness like this where I'm from, and all of this is a living nightmare for me. Every time I go to sleep, I hope I wake back home on Earth. But within this nightmare there's moments where I feel good. That's you, and the others. And I will die before I let anything happen to any of you."

Jack sighed for a moment, steadying himself before continuing.

"For the record, you've led us well and did nothing wrong, but I knew that the only way we'd survive is with hope, and that insane idea I had was the only sliver I could think of. Anything could have gone wrong and we could have been trapped ten times over, but I was never going to give in, no matter what. I was terrified of dying and getting killed by that thing, but I was even more terrified of losing you guys. That was the only reason I kept it together for as long as I did "

Nika nodded in understanding. "So it was the hope of an insane plan that kept you going better than I did." Nika sighed.

Jack nudged her playfully. "You're way too competitive, you know that, right?"

She snorted. "So people keep telling me. I just feel like I've let all of you down, and now I'm terrified I won't be able to pull myself back together."

Jack placed a hand on the Kizun's shoulder. "We all take losses sometimes. It's how you learn and move on from them that separates a champion from everyone else."

Nika smiled as she nodded. "You're right. You'd give Alora a run for her money on wise advice."

She stopped and fell silent for a few moments, looking…nervous?

"Can I ask you a favour?" She asked Jack, steeling herself and looking right into his dark brown eyes.

"Of course you can," Jack replied, a little nervous himself.

"Can we just….hold each other for a little while? Make each other feel safe just a little more?" she asked, bracing herself for rejection.

Instead, Jack said nothing, wrapping both of his arms around Nika as she did the same to him. It felt good, and the kiss that followed felt all too natural.

*****

"Alright everyone, last stretch!" Sephy called out after sipping on yet another energy drink. Though she had swapped out to take an occasional power nap with Chiyo temporarily taking over, she had driven for most of the trip, and so the others had mostly been ok with her drinking an excessive amount of the sugary goodness, despite her less-than-stellar record with sugar. Sephy had given Jack a knowing wink when he came down for a break, though didn’t say anything as he grabbed a drink. She had said before that she was cool with Jack getting more intimately involved with the others, and even encouraged him. But even still, he would have to talk to her about it.

The rest of the ride had mostly been uneventful, though those on guard duty had to be on alert every time they went through a station, just in case there were hostiles. There weren't any, thankfully, with Chiyo suspecting that few creatures would even be able to get in, though she also speculated that their enemies ahead could also have cleared the way and added to the ranks of risen that were likely in play. He hadn’t faced them yet, but the others had informed him well of the likely kind they’d be encountering, and he was feeling confident.

“Excellent.” Alora yawned, having been woken up by the announcement. “Are we all prepared?” Alora looked to the rest of the group. Jack nodded with conviction, and curiously, to everyone’s amusement, so did the ‘dog’, clearly keen to be a part of whatever was going on.

“Would be nice to have another of those MREs before we have to walk again,” Sephy joked. “You got the pizza ones, Nika? Those are the best!”

“We had a pizza party only a few days ago!” scolded Nika. “And no!”

Perhaps we should go over our planned route and discuss any last things? Chiyo pointed out, wanting to get them on track.

“If we’re coming back this way, we could stash most of the heavy stuff we don’t need on the train or nearby,” Jack reasoned. “Means we can be quicker without tiring.”

“We’ll need to see the other side, but if the station’s sealed it shouldn’t be a problem,” Nika agreed.

“We can just leave it here on the train, I can lock it to only respond to us,” Sephy added. “Though we don’t know how long our trip will even be. I really hope it isn’t going to be a waste of time.”

Jack thought about that for a moment with worry. They were here because of a tip from Mr Sparrel, but they knew next to nothing about the oracle, save for their existence. He quickly put his fears and concerns out of mind for now. They'd know when they got there, no need to speculate.

"Are we taking our passenger with us?" Sephy asked, nodding to the ‘dog’.

"If it wishes to come." Alora shrugged. "Nika, do you have any spare shield emitters we could put on it?"

"If we're facing possible basic Risen, then the emitters won't matter if they get close," the Kizun warned. "Unless we have advanced ones in the mix, which is likely considering the Nightwhisper yellow zone shits them out about 10% of the time compared to the normal ones. Enough cognitive ability to operate and use guns, but would the guys ahead even have them to distribute?"

"Let's not take the risk," Alora argued. "Can you fashion one into a collar?"

"Can do." She sighed as the 'dog' gave a quiet bark of approval.

*****

"So, did you and Nika have fun?" Sephy grinned. She and Jack were alone in the driver’s compartment with the 'dog' as they were about ten minutes away from their stop, all geared up with the bare minimum. Sephy was still in the driver’s seat, happy to keep going while Jack stood guard, ready to exit and engage if they had to. The others were all standing guard with Nika taking a sniping position on the roof and the spellcasters at the back. The 'dog' was preparing by nonchalantly licking its own crotch in the corner, no longer messing with its new collar at least.

"Look, Sephy, I…." Jack started, only to be cut off.

"Hey, I said it was cool." Sephy grinned. "About time she loosened up, just make sure we get our time together and I won't get jealous."

She paused a little for dramatic effect.

"It's Chiyo I'd be more worried about, she'll want in on the action too!"

Jack coughed a little on his water.

"Yup!” Sephy continued, not letting up. "Though maybe you already have in a way, she seemed super happy after you merged but won't tell me why."

"You shouldn't have told me that." Jack grinned. "Now I won't tell you either!"

She rolled her eyes in amusement. "Well I'm glad in a way, she's been a little stormy since she can't talk to you properly yet. I can't tell with Alora though, she's so good at hiding her thoughts and feelings that even Chiyo claims she doesn't know at times."

Jack just nodded along, taking a few sips before deciding to change the subject. "So what's the story with that Nightwhisper place?"

"Oooh! It's spooky! At least you didn't bring it up before we rested!" Sephy's grin turned just a little more serious as she began.

"It's a bad place, evil and corrupted. Not much is known for sure except that it spawns undead, either converting dead bodies within its reach or creating brand new ones somehow. And that's just the yellow zone, the surrounding districts closer to the perimeter. Further in it gets much worse, so much that nobody goes there."

She took a sip of her energy drink before she continued.

"Right in the middle you get Nightwhisper Manor itself, a vast noble estate covering several districts. Nobody really knows what happened, but there was some kind of cataclysmic event originating from the manor. Some say the patriarch was a powerful lich or demon, some say that a cult infiltrated the family, nobody knows for sure.”

"You all stressed not to mess with the place," Jack said. "But I've got to ask-"

"What happens to those that do fuck with Nightwhisper?" Sephy nodded. "Some insane groups can get deep into the yellow zone and come back with riches somehow barely alive but always with casualties. Some accounts mention intelligent undead within, nothing like the ones that walk and talk amongst us like normal. These are smart, powerful, and utterly hateful."

Jack nodded. He had been curious, but this didn't sound good. "Is carpet bombing an option?"

Sephy laughed. "Tried and failed. Big magic over there protecting the place. Though several parties that instigated attacks like these have afterwards suffered from…things that seem like accidents but are probably not, y'know?"

"So an evil power operating right on the city's doorstep," Jack concluded, to which Sephy nodded in agreement.

"Probably, but the common line is that it's just an abnormal zone and there's no agenda of any kind. If there is a driving force we don't have any kind of name or identifier, and if there was it'd be Top 10 for sure, but even Heroes don't come back from trying to find out."

"Damn," Jack simply replied. It didn't sit easy with him that there was a threat like that they knew next to nothing about.

"And with that." Sephy raised her voice just loud enough for the others to hear, seeing markings ahead of them in the tunnel. "We have arrived."

The station they had arrived at was a small one, with just the two platforms either side for opposing directions with stairs heading up, and the tunnel that kept going. On seeing that there were no hostiles waiting for them, and Chiyo confirming that there were no auras, they stopped and disembarked, listening for anything and finding nothing. Emerging up the stairs they found a shut entrance door similar to the one that entered. Though Sephy could tell that the maglocks had been initiated from the other side, the power surge they had triggered apparently reached this point and rendered them useless. Jack and Nika quickly unblocked and opened the door as everyone else prepared to engage…

But again, no ambush was waiting.

Instead they emerged into what remained of a small outpost, a concrete palisade of sorts with a few abandoned buildings and surrounded by vast overgrown trees bigger than anything Jack had ever seen on Earth.

“Guys, I see something,” Sephy called out, bringing their attention to the central courtyard. There were the remains of an old flag pole, and a few signs of campfires long past, but the dark, wet splotches of blood were unmistakable.

“It’s recent,” Nika added as she dipped her fingers in. “Probably a Zorn patrol, though I can imagine this spot’s an obvious rest stop for travellers that come this far out.”

“How long?” Alora asked.

“No more than an hour, we must have caught up to them,“ Nika replied.

“So where are they?”

“Tracks lead this way.” Jack pointed at the signs of fresh footsteps and shifted foliage. “Dare I ask which way it is to the Oracle?”

Same way. Chiyo confirmed, looking at the map. Either they’re going for them or setting up an ambush.

“I don’t think it’ll be an ambush,” Nika replied thoughtfully. “In fact, I don’t think they know we’re coming.”

“How so?” Alora asked.

“If it was an ambush they’d have done it in close quarters here or in the tunnels, but they haven’t,” Nika reasoned. “And they also tried engaging the maglocks not knowing it wouldn’t work. Chiyo, would they be able to feel if the Spawn is defeated or not?”

Depends how far away they are. The Ilithii reasoned. We made good time using the train but they would have been far and ahead by many hours when we defeated it. It’s possible they don’t know.

“Then we can sneak up on them,” Jack added. “And decide if we engage or not depending on the numbers.”

“Agreed.” Alora nodded. “It’s about an hour and a half to the Oracle from here, but we can probably catch up. If they attack the oracle we can engage from their rear before they know we’re around. They have the numbers, but many Risen can’t use guns. If we keep quiet and prioritise neutralising the advanced ones we should be able to take out the rest as long as we have an escape route.”

“Risen are pretty slow, but what about the assholes leading them?” Sephy asked, worried. “A powerful code slicer and someone able to control the Risen at least? It’s not going to be that easy.”

While it is true they are mostly unknown factors, it is better to face your enemy on your terms instead of theirs. Chiyo argued. They tried to kill us, and we shouldn’t give them the chance to try again. We need to take them down now.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed after Alora translated for him. “And we can get some answers too.”

They proceeded slowly throughout the forest as silently and as cautiously as they could, making good time and not encountering any malevolent forces. There were, however, many signs that Risen had travelled the same route, and that they were gaining on them. Sure enough, they were heading straight to the coordinates of the Oracle.

And as they drew near, they heard the sounds of battle ahead.

“I’ll cast my blessings now,” Alora cautioned as she began her spells. “Chiyo, you do your thing too.”

“Subvocal comms only, don’t talk out loud unless you have to.” Sephy added, as Jack and Nika switched to their channel. The ‘dog’ just cocked its head and looked at them with a low, determined growl.

“Jack and I will take point,” Nika added. “Stick together, don’t fall behind and cover each other’s backs.”

“And help whoever needs helping,” Jack added. Clearly someone was putting up a fight.

“We’re ready,” Alora growled in anticipation, nodding to Jack. Staying in front with Nika just a step behind him, he led the charge.

Getting closer to the edge of the wooded district they were in they saw the breach. The remains of a gate, flanked by what looked like tiki torches, had been smashed open by a small explosion, with several bodies behind it, with some that were starting to stir.

"Finish them off quickly and quietly," Alora ordered, with Jack chopping the unfortunate Risen down with his axe. He had to admit that they were not what he expected - chops to the head didn't work, so he focused on the limbs instead, preventing the things from being able to move.

"Some of these people must have been defending this place," Nika noted, pointing out the similar uniforms.

"No guns though," Sephy cautioned. "Either they never had them to begin with or they were taken by the enemy."

"Assume the latter," Alora advised.

We have a live one ahead! Chiyo alerted, floating over to another, smaller door that looked like it had been forced open by hand.

"Let's go!" Nika replied, cocking her shotgun. "They'll need help!"

They progressed down a long corridor, with several bodies, too late to save. Luckily they hadn't risen yet, so Alora quickly went to each one and cast a quick blessing to prevent it.

"Jack, get on the other side of the door," Nika instructed, moving towards the closed, lone door right at the end. "Rest of you stack up and prepare to breach and engage."

They all did so, Jack sticking with his Dominator pistol and keeping his axe in quick reach, and waiting for Nika's countdown.

“3……2…….1……Go!”

They barged through the door, coming out into a wide garden area, the group not hesitating to go loud as several shambling figures reacted to their presence. Jack fired at the closest one, aiming centre of mass this time as it collapsed in a pile of twitching limbs. Sephy was less effective, as she peppered two more with rapid fire, only for them to shrug it off, until the ‘dog’ dashed forward and tripped them up, with the following sustained fire eventually bringing them down. Nika with her shotgun mowed through another cluster, assisted by Chiyo who had bunched them up together.

But they just kept coming. The lifeless bodies of alien beings Jack had never seen before paid no heed to the devastating wounds inflicted upon them…

Alora bellowed a word of power as the Risen in front of them just burst apart in puffs of light as the spell shot off, while others further away suffered some clear physical damage to their bodies that slowed them down significantly as they shambled towards the newcomers before being cut down by Sephy's gunfire, which looked much more potent than her first volley, with the Skritta mentioning something about 'overclocking' under her breath.

They heard a quiet “woof" from the 'dog' in the distance to attract their attention, having barely noticed that it had gone off on its own from the group. Jack quickly got to it before the others did and saw what was going on.

"Live one here!" Jack called out over comms as he quickly got out his bandages and started tightly wrapping them around several of the noticeable wounds of the moth-like alien until Alora caught up and took over.

Just enough to keep her alive, Alora. Chiyo cautioned. We have no idea how bad today is going to go.

"I know that!" Alora snapped, annoyed. "Don't blame me for being a healer and wanting to do my job!"

Sorry. Chiyo apologised, abashed.

"Don't be," Alora sighed. "I’m sorry. We're all on edge and we're not done yet.”

"Can you talk?" Jack gently asked the moth woman.

"Uh…you probably shouldn't get her to talk while she's badly injured" Sephy cautioned.

"I know." Jack nodded. "But we need to know what's up ahead and how to get there. There's still gunfire so maybe they don't know we're here yet, and if we can surround them then our odds go way up."

The moth woman stirred and tried to say something, to which Nika gave her some water and put her ear close.

"At least….40 left…. controller….. trying to access the Oracle chamber…..we cannot beat…."

"It's ok," Sephy interrupted, seeing the woman start to fade into unconsciousness "Which way?" But no answer came.

She's unconscious, but I was able to grab the thought from her mind before she drifted. Chiyo interrupted. This way!

They left the still-living moth woman in a janitor closet to recover as they followed Chiyo down one of the paths. While there were sounds of combat from other places in the complex as well, Alora was adamant that they defeat the controller to weaken the swarm.

Should be down here. Chiyo warned, as they progressed deeper, picking off any wandering risen as quickly and as quietly as they could. I detect many auras ahead!

"And I hear little fighting," Nika warned. "Be on your guard, and stack up!"

They did so, sneaking over to a still-smoking metal door that had been blasted in by some kind of explosion. They could hear voices inside, but few sounds of fighting.

"We don't have time to waste, they need us!" Alora warned. "Take out the controller as soon as you see them!"

"Alright," Nika replied as everyone got ready, Jack gripping his Dominator tight. "On my signal. 3…..2…..1….NOW!"