by Ella Young
"It's not going to be pretty, Ji," Knight warned. Ji set her jaw.
"I know. Open it."
Knight obliged. The door slid open. The space was the same sterile white as before, but the immune lamps were brighter, almost blinding. It smelled medicinal, sharp and harsh, covering up the subtle smell of decay. Here were many more people, some wearing regular scrubs, most in full hazmat gear. They all turned to look at the girls who had entered their space. Ji could read it on their faces: something is wrong.
"Who are you?" a priest, an equina, asked. Xe wore no gear. Xe must be Luminant.
Ji raised her gun. "The ones who are going to kill you if you don’t tell us where the aquarin prisoner is."
One of the levians in a hazmat suit, standing in the shadow of an avian priest, raised a gun that had previously hung, hidden, by his side. He flicked the safety off. "I think not."
Ji squeezed the trigger of her own weapon, but Knight reacted faster. She was suddenly moving, hugging the wall. The levian swung around to aim his weapon at her, but she was already on top of him. She slashed downward with one of her photoshivs. His suit tore open at the same time Ji's bolt hit him in the arm.
There was a horrified pause as the levian realized just what had been done to him. Starless sickness was here. The light from the immune lamps was blocked by the imposing form of the avian behind him. He was likely already infected. He knew what was in store for him. Angrily, he squeezed off a shot that caught Knight in the abdomen. She gasped, doubling over, but continued moving. Her photoshivs buried themselves in his sides, piercing his hearts. The guard toppled over, dead. Knight stumbled sideways, raising shaking hands to the gunshot wound.
There were three other guards in the ward, but they hesitated. While Knight healed herself, Ji aimed her weapon at the closest of the three, narrowing her eyes. "You have five seconds to get out of here or we kill all three of you. Or, we just might let starless sickness take you instead. Your choice."
The guards seemed to realize that even if they killed the intruders, the odds of getting out of the situation uninfected were next to none. Slowly, deliberately, they raised their hands and moved towards the exit. Knight stepped aside to let them pass. Ji's gun never strayed from the first guard's side. When the door slid shut behind them, Ji swung the weapon around to focus on the nearest priest, also in a hazmat suit. The priest froze.
"Arryna has fallen. Your jobs here are done. Tell us where the aquarin is and then get out," she commanded. Ji felt so out of her element, ordering priests around while carrying a gun. Nothing on the Fangzhou had prepared her for this. She hoped her voice carried enough strength. Truthfully, she was terrified—terrified of what they were going to find.
"She's in the last room on the left," the first priest, an equina, said, already moving towards the exit.
"Now move," Knight growled. As one, the remaining priests and ward personnel scurried past and out into the Rock proper. With the starless sickness ward now empty of staff, the duo rushed to the last room on the left. They passed dozens of other rooms, but only a few were occupied. The faint sound of coughing reached their ears. Beings lay in hospital beds, hooked up to all manner of monitors. They looked half dead. Ji swallowed the bile in her throat. This is what they'd done to Toshi, she knew. Anger boiled inside her. She understood, then, why Knight did what she did. She had never felt such a visceral rage. Ji wanted to turn around and rip everyone who had done this to her friend limb from limb. She wanted to make them suffer as they'd made Toshi suffer. Nearly all misgivings Ji had had about the avian beside her vanished in that one moment. She still wasn't sure how she felt about Knight's profession, but right then it didn't matter.
At last they reached the room they were looking for. Ji thought she was prepared for what she would see. She thought she'd steeled her nerves. She was wrong.
It was Toshi, but just barely. The girl was a shadow of her former self, her skin a lackluster gray. Her fins were limp and her face was hollow. If it wasn't for the rapid rise and fall of her chest, she might have been dead. Knight was by the girl's side in seconds, taking her hand. She looked horrified.
Ji approached slower, unable to reconcile the being lying before her with the vibrant image she had of Toshi in her mind.
"Oh, Toshi," she moaned. The girl stirred. One of her three pairs of eyes blinked open and she let out a startled gasp that ended in a hacking cough. She looked from Ji to Knight and back again. Slowly, a smile spread across her drawn face.
"You came for me," she rasped, voice barely above a whisper.
Knight knelt on the floor. "Of course we did," she said, trying to match Toshi's smile. Ji edged closer. She couldn't stand to see her friend in this state.
"What did they do to you?" Ji asked. Toshi's smile faded.
"I don't know. No one talked to me. No one told me anything. They took blood and injected me with things. I don't know."
Knight's hand flexed in anger and a dark shadow fell over her face. "They won't live to see another day, I promise you," she snarled. Ji couldn't find it in her to object.
Something wasn't adding up…starless sickness was a fast killer. It had been at least two tendays since they'd taken Toshi. If this was starless sickness, shouldn't she be dead by now? "Toshi, how long have you been like this?"
Knight followed Ji's line of reasoning. "It might be a different strain of the virus. If the rumors are true, the Rock is a research facility."
"That's what they said," Toshi agreed. "They changed the virus. I think they were trying to make it less deadly. I guess it worked." She laughed, but stopped when another cough wracked her small body.
"That's good news, at least," Knight said. She stood and dropped Toshi's hand. "We need to talk to Nero, let him know what’s going on. We'll be right back."
"No!" Toshi, with surprising speed, reached out and latched onto the girl nearest to her—Ji. "Please don't leave me."
Knight and Ji exchanged a glance. "I'll go meet the rest up front, then. Are you okay here with her?" Knight asked.
Ji looked down at Toshi and nodded. She was not going to leave the aquarin’s side. "Yeah. I'll stay here with her."
-~-~-~-
The battle was bloody. Both sides, the guards and the prisoners, had already suffered heavy casualties. Bodies littered the path to the processing center, and blood turned the dirt ground to mud. Ralot crouched behind the corner of a building, firing off shot after shot at the advancing guards. There were so many of them, he hadn't had a chance to work on getting the energy field down. All his time was spent keeping himself and his people alive.
A guard spotted Ralot and turned his own weapon on the Remnant soldier. Ralot ducked behind the building, breathing hard. They were losing, he knew. As much as they were able to accomplish, there were just too many guards and not enough prisoners.
As the guard continued to fire, a human slid around the corner and took cover beside Ralot. Ralot stared at the human, momentarily disgusted. He had been raised by Hegemonist parents, parents who believed wholly in what Lhiyrra had to say. And Ralot believed it too, spouting Lhiyrra's rhetoric like a good follower. Until the coup. Ralot didn't believe in Ivet's policies on humans, but xe had made the Cradle livable again with xer immune lamp initiative. Ultimately, xe had been good for the Cradle. Lhiyrra lost Ralot's support the moment he had xer executed. As for the stub Heir, Ralot did not see her as an omen anymore. He saw her as an unfortunate girl in unfortunate circumstances. There was no doubt in his mind that she belonged on the throne.
Joining the Remnant had been a no-brainer, of course. He had packed his bags in the tumultuous early days of the Hegemony and never looked back. The Remnant was neutral on humans, for the most part. Ralot would have liked a staunch stance opposing them, but he digressed. No movement was perfect. When it came to choosing whether or not to help Caesyn, Ralot had been put in charge of estimating how much aid was needed. The rebel factions on the forest world, largest among them being the Tribe, were hold
ing their own despite rallying against the much more advanced Hegemonist technology. They were mostly farmers, though, with no experience fighting. They needed as much help as they could get.
But they were also mostly human. And the Remnant didn't fight for humans. Ralot had been sure of his decision to leave the humans to their own devices…until Ji.
Ji had changed something in him. At first, she'd been a slap in the face of the religion he held so dear. A human with the gift could only have stolen it, somehow. She was a heretic, something to be scorned. Possibly killed for her impiety, her irreverence. Something was wrong with her. But the fact remained that she'd revealed herself, at great risk, to save him. And he couldn't get around that. There was the question of why running circles in his head. Why would she risk her own life to save his? It kept him up at night. And, slowly, he'd come to a conclusion that shocked him.
The Divari had blessed her. Knowingly, fully, blessed her. Could it be that he was wrong? That the humans did belong here? He couldn't shake it. Couldn't hide from it. It followed him, haunted him, forced him to dig deep and ask himself: why did he despise the humans? Was it because that was how he was raised, or was it because he truly believed they didn't belong? While he grappled with these questions, he found himself looking out for Ji. Many others shared his original sentiment of a Luminant human as something to be destroyed. And he wouldn't have it. There were plots to kill her that he stopped with a look, and when the need arose, he intervened.
The change had happened so fast Ralot nearly got whiplash. But there was something deep inside that told him: Ji was proof the humans belonged. And so he would help them belong, spurred on by this alien feeling that spat in the face of years of anti-human propaganda.
The human next to him pressed his back against the wall of the building they hunkered behind, breathing hard. Ralot's initial feeling of disgust passed.
"We're getting hammered out there," the human panted, clutching his gun close to his chest. His hands were rough, calloused. Farmer's hands. There was blood smeared across his face. Ralot exhaled. He'd had a choice to fight, to take up arms against the Hegemony. The humans had been forced into it. They were unprepared, unwilling.
"Their forces are weakening as well. It is anybody's battle," Ralot answered. "We must keep going."
The human shook his head. "I don’t…I don't know how much more I've got in me. My brother was shot down beside me. We're as good as dead."
Ralot was unsure what to say. He had no words of comfort. Truthfully, he could already see the prisoners beginning to fold. Unless a miracle happened, they had as good as failed.
And then, out of nowhere, the whining keen of an engine reached their ears. Ralot glanced up to see the landing lights of a starcraft descending from the sky. He held his breath. If these were Hegemonist troops, the battle was over. Had Kanu not managed to knock out communications fully?
But then the side of the ship came into view, and Ralot whooped. The familiar bipyramid crest of the Remnant glittered under the light of the immune lamps. Ferrao had come for them after all. A cheer rose from the prisoners and the guards looked suddenly helpless. Beside him, he heard the human add his voice to the din. The ship landed on the landing pad and Remnant troops, dozens of them, disembarked and raced through the processing center to the battleground on the other side of the fence.
The guards realized they were as good as dead if they continued to fight. So, as the Remnant soldiers streamed into the battlefield, they one by one laid down their weapons and raised their arms over their heads. Ralot lowered his weapon and stood from his crouch, turning back to the human.
"Come," he said, holding out a hand to help the human up. "The Divari smiled on us this day."
The human had on odd expression on his face. "Yeah," he said. "I guess they did."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When Nero, Keith, Eli, Ayla and Kanu returned to the courtyard, the scene that greeted them was a shocking one. Arryna guards crouched on their knees, hands above their heads, held at gunpoint by soldiers in Remnant fatigues. Hovering above the immune lamps was a massive Remnant battleship, and settled on the landing pad was a troop transport. Already it was filling up with newly freed prisoners.
One of the Remnant troops caught sight of Kanu and aimed his gun squarely at the levian's chest.
"Drop your weapon!"
Kanu immediately did as he was told, raising his arms. "It's okay! I'm with you. Ask Ferrao."
The Remnant soldier squinted at Kanu, then looked to Nero for confirmation. It was odd, Nero thought, an avian seeking validation from a human. Maybe the Remnant really had changed. Nero nodded and the soldier lowered his weapon.
"I thought Ferrao didn't have a ship to spare?" Nero asked as they approached.
The soldier shrugged. "I guess he found one."
"Nero!" a voice called.
The human turned to see Knight running from the direction of the barracks towards him. Toshi and Ji were notably absent.
"What happened? Where's Ji?" Ayla asked, looking over the avian's shoulder. Knight frowned.
"She's with Toshi. Toshi is sick. We need—" It was then the avian fully took stock in the scene around her. Her jaw fell open when she saw the Remnant troops. Immediately, she switched gears. "I need to contact the ship. Toshi needs a medical evac immediately."
The Remnant soldier standing before them looked at her. "You Knight?"
Knight nodded.
The soldier motioned her over with his gun. "Ferrao wants to talk to you."
"Can you get me that medical evac? I'm not leaving until I know Toshi is safe."
The soldier looked unhappy. "The admiral doesn't like to wait."
"He's going to have to."
The soldier looked up and sighed. Then he touched a hand to the comm in his ear. "I need one medical shuttle to the surface." He listened, then glanced up at Knight. "They don't have a medical shuttle. It was destroyed at Levala. What's this for?"
"A starless sickness patient. One of ours."
The soldier's eyes widened and he relayed the information. He dropped his hand. "They're going to send a regular shuttle. Ulahim, the priest in charge, will be accompanying the crew."
Knight almost smiled. Any priest would have done, but she was glad it was her mentor. "Tell them to meet us at the barracks, to the east of the prison. We'll be waiting."
Knight turned to jog back the way she'd come. Ayla was suddenly at her side, running with her.
"How bad is it?" she asked.
Knight's mouth thinned. "Not good," she replied grimly. Ayla's hands formed into fists at her sides. As they approached the unveiled entrance to the Rock, she caught sight of a number of bodies in white scrubs, stained red with blood, scattered about the courtyard. She put two and two together.
"They did this to Toshi."
Knight scowled. "And they'll never do it to anyone else."
The shuttle met them there not an hour later, slowly descending on its thrusters. Dirt whipped around Knight and Ayla as it set down meters from the entrance. A group of four descended the gangplank, all decked out in hazmat gear. Knight recognized the copper scales of her mentor's mask flashing through his helmet.
"Ulahim!" she called. He turned.
"Knight," he nodded by way of greeting. "Where is Toshi?"
"In there," Knight pointed to the door, and beckoned him along. "This way."
Ayla wisely stopped a few meters from the doorway, opting not to enter the facility. The medical team, led by Knight, entered the Rock.
"Where is the Rock staff?" Ulahim asked as they walked through the compound.
"Dead," Knight said bluntly. She would not apologize for killing every last one of them. They deserved their punishment.
"It would have helped us to know what exactly they were doing in here," Ulahim hedged. Knight turned.
"That's what computers are for."
Ulahim smiled a wry smile. Before long they reached the sealed portion of the Rock. Kn
ight waved the door open and made a beeline for the room where Toshi was. As she passed the other rooms, she saw at least two more patients lying still in their beds. Her blood boiled.
Ji still crouched beside Toshi, still holding the girl's hand. Toshi looked to have fallen back asleep; she didn't move as the team came in.
Ji looked up and relief flooded her face. "Thank the stars you’re back. I can't wake her up."
Ulahim looked alarmed. "What are you doing in here out of a suit?" he asked, worry in his tone.
“She’s Luminant,” Knight interjected. On cue, Ji formed a glowing blue ball in her hands. The orb hung between them, casting a blue hue on the surrounding area. Ulahim’s lips parted ever so slightly. He looked taken aback. Ji vanished the ball.
"I'm staying with her," she said matter-of-factly. The avian priest could only nod and accept what he'd seen. Choosing not to dwell on the impossible, he set about looking at all the monitors to which Toshi was hooked up, taking in their readings.
"She's deteriorating. We need to get her up to the ship." Ulahim made it sound like there was something they could do for her. But, Knight knew, in the advanced stages of the virus, there was no hope. They could only make the ill comfortable.
