"Welcome everyone! Please gather here, yes right here at this painted yellow dot! We will assign todays tasks as follows…" A woman in uniform from the investigation bureau waved her hand, directing the crowd of people before her to a place where she could speak with them all. Her long blonde hair reached her waist, where it was tied up to her belt. Unlike Angoro, who was always dressed strictly according to protocol, this agent had her collar and the upper half of her coat unzipped, showing a white t-shirt. In one hand, the woman held a small and thin terminal, as she began her briefing, she looked at the terminal from time to time. No weapon was on her belt. Most guards inside the refugee center did not carry any weapons either.
A crowd of volunteers, almost seven hundred people from all kinds of places, even two dozen people from Iterna, were here. The refugee center itself was a massive place, built at the edge of the border between the lands of Oathtakers, Ravaged Lands, and Wastes.
Annie was not keeping up with the latest news, but from what she could gather, a man known as the Chosen Prince invaded the lands of the Oathtakers in force, wiping out several border cities and currently closing in on the city of Stonehelm, one of the biggest cities at the edge of the rival state. Some, actually quite a lot, of the citizens ended up being cut off from the road to the mainland and were forced to flee toward the Ravaged Lands. Compared to the lands of Oathtakers, the climate of Ravaged Lands was a hellscape for refugees, and Lord Steward, ruler of Oathtakers, himself, contacted Dynast, asking for help for stranded people.
From available information, Chosen Prince used weapons of biological warfare, one of the banned types of weapons. There were also rumors about a massive moving steel keep and hordes of savages who followed Chosen Prince, but these were just rumors. Iterna and Reclaimers joined in condemnation of the usage of forbidden weapons after their own agents confirmed that the Chosen Prince indeed used biological warfare indiscriminately, not caring whom he was going to kill with it. Thousands of civilians are already dead because of this invasion. And yet Lord Steward refused to allow a relief force from the Reclaimers into the lands of the Oathtakers. Instead, Hive and Lord Steward are currently leading a massive army against invading forces, while Dominator and his forces fortified Oathtakers' borders against Reclaimers.
This refugee center was always here, originally it was a small place to process people who were willing to leave one of the tribes and nations in the Ravaged Lands for the more amiable climate of the Wastes. But now tens of thousands of people, some of them sick, many of them with massive sunburns, have arrived at a place, like a stream of water. Thanks to the joint efforts of captains Scorpio and Ivar, new facilities were built almost overnight. Supplies started pouring in, including aid from Iterna itself.
And not just it. Annie briefly looked behind her shoulder, still hardly believing her eyes. There, in the distance from the refugee center, they stood. The Trio of the Reclaimers. One, shrouded in darkness, floating in the air on a glowing disk. Outsider, commander of the First Army and the one who cast down Lightbringer, the champion of the Oathtakers and the original bearer of the name Lightbringer. Whenever Annie looked at Outsider, she always felt a strange tingle of fear on her back, as if Outsider was looking back at her, staring directly into her eyes. One of golden color, looking like an angelic being that descended from heaven itself, Wyrm Lord, commander of the Third Army, his mere presence was causing a wave of calmness around him, golden glow from him was covering the lands around him in soothing illumination. Wyrm Lord was standing on two legs, head proudly lifted up and wings unmoving. The body of Wyrm Lord was so big, that if he fell on the Refugee Center, he would surely level most of the facility. And finally, there was another giant being in the desert, a massive serpentine body of pale color, a body so big that it dwarfed even the size of Wyrm Lord. Coiled around itself, raising his serpentine head to the heavens, Devourer was looking in the direction of the border with the Oathtakers. Annie was unsure of what great snake she could possibly see there, for the border was so impossibly far away, yet according to rumors, the vision of Devourer, commander of the Second Army, was second to none. Some claim he can even pinpoint satellites in space with 100 percent accuracy. It was difficult to accept, but these beings were also people, just changed to become different because of the glow.
Of the Trio of most legendary beings of Reclaimers, only Ravager, one of the original Trio, was missing. Trio of beings who could level entire countries by themselves. Now they stood guard over the refugee center, while far away, war was raging. Their presence here will not last. Each has their own duty in their own region. Yet for some time, they were here, no longer rulers and warlords, but rather as protectors and custodians. If Chosen Prince even dares to show his face here... he will understand why the age of warlords came to an end a long time ago. In Annie’s view, the Oathtakers were fools for not allowing Trio to cross the border and help. What’s the worst that could have happened anyway? If Trio marched over, they would have ended the war in less than a week, saving countless lives.
Annie was initially concerned that because of the nearby country's war, all military would be placed on high alert, forcing her to spend her entire time on a military base. However, the Dynast apparently refused the idea of a big mobilization. Border fortresses were on high alert, but aside from that, no massive mobilization was on the way, save for a few elite units of Devourer and Outsider that were closing in on the border to ensure security.
Annie was staying at the refugee center Gamma, which is located on the outskirts of the Ravaged Lands, in the middle of a single road leading across the massive canyon that marked the border. Ahead of the refugee center, some ten kilometers deep into the Ravaged Lands territory, was put one of the bases of border patrol, but with fort Uglo being nearby, border patrols had little to do here, aside from helping refugees with food and water so they could reach a safe place. Two crawlers stood near the sprawling facility, engineers were hastily creating barracks to house the incoming stream of people. There was a lot of work to do, places to store food and supplies were horribly too small for such huge numbers of people, the medical center had a shortage of personnel and space, agents of the investigation bureau worked overnight, separating cubs with no parents from the people who escorted them here. Once alone, the cubs were questioned and the search for their parents slowly began. Massive floating transport was visible in the skies above the location, and Iterna sent their own relief to Reclaimers on a regular basis. Meanwhile, new medical centers were being built, advanced medical instruments and machines were being delivered on a daily basis, and thousands of workers and engineers were hard at work expanding refugee center Gamma, not stopping their work even during the night.
Seeing how everyone worked together was very inspiring in Annie’s eyes. Not all the refugees of the Oathtakers were wounded, and several trolls and members of the Insect Commune worked side by side with former rivals, helping build up the place.
"…As I was saying, do not take any oaths. If you even suspect that any member of our guests offers you to take an oath, please immediately report to the closest agent," The woman smiled cheerfully, showing her white teeth. Her behavior was a stunning contrast to the agents that Annie knew, woman held herself casual and open, "Now, all of this is naturally a load of shit, I am sure you understand. We have cameras all around the base, and people come here because their lives are in danger. Don't worry, they will not try and drag you into this weird sect of theirs... Don’t tell anyone that I told you that," One of the volunteers laughed at this remark, and the woman frowned in a fake sign of indignation, "Anyway, please allow me to thank you all deeply for coming all the way here and now, without further ado, let us proceed to work. We have tons of things to do, and the clock is ticking, people. Group A! You will help with unloading crates with supplies from trucks! Keep your grubby hands away from the drinks, there's mostly no alcohol there," A few people laughed again as one of the helpers led a dozen people away, "Group B! You have basic medical training, so you should be able to carry shit from hospitals, clean floors, and if some nurse asks you to bandage someone, please admit if you are not up to the task for the love of the Planet. Medic personnel are overworked as it is, they don’t need to treat your hides as well if you faint from a sign of blood…"
****
"Anyone here?" Annie asked, as she opened the door to the hangar with her leg, holding three steel crates, each filled with at least fifty kilos full of energy cells, in her paws. The hangar itself was small, barely three stories tall, several people were seen on the second floor, busy repairing one of the transports that was hanged in the air with steel cables. A pair of mechanical arms, sturdy looking devices meant to be used when something heavy needs to be lifted, were suspended from the ceiling. On a floor stood several trucks, several medical capsules of emergency care, currently broken and covered in blood. Two of the medical capsules, however, had tags "Fixed" placed on them. A man, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, was busy cleaning one more capsule from traces of blood. A black protective cap, made of hardened materials, was on the top of the man’s head. The capsule itself was half round, half square, with the round part made of reinforced glass and the metal part containing various medical devices meant to help the injured and serving as a foundation for the bed installed on top.
"Finally! What took you so long, we can’t ship these beauties back to the hospital unless they are charged!" The worker complained, with his back still to the Annie. He scraped off the last little piece of feces from the place where the glass that covered the capsule connected to the steel foundation of the medical bed.
With all due respect, sir, I completed the mission on time. Sorry, but I was given ten minutes for this task. I am here in five."
"Excuses. With an attitude like this, we can safely send you after our own deaths. This way, we will all get to live forever." Still grumbling, the worker opened something in the side of all three capsules, small chambers shaped exactly to fit energy cells into them. The man started turning around, "Well, at least now we can ship off three, instead of… You!"
The man almost jumped in one place as he tried to back away from Annie. She saw familiar bone features of the man, his clawed hands and long teeth. It was the caravan hand from the night of the attack.
"How in the name of Abyss are you here, and why?" He asked, trying to calm himself. The whites of his eyes were red, several veins in his eyes popped up from sleep deprivation.
"Um… Sorry for frightening you, sir. I am here as part of a group of volunteers. To be honest, I had no idea that you will be here." Annie tried to explain her situation, looking at the man from the left side of the crates.
"Well, after the trading hub went the way of the old world, I needed a new job. People here were hiring, and I live nearby, and I know how to fix stuff. So I am here now, working on an official job for the first time in my life." The man quickly took several breaths, calming himself.
"Sorry again for raising my weapon at you during that…" Annie stuttered, unsure how to properly make excuses for her behavior.
"Will you just let me forget it?" The worker forced himself to come closer, taking one crate from Annie's arms, "Put the rest at the wall, these are just spare parts," The worker crashed the crate near medical capsules, his clawed hands slipping under belts wrapped around the crate and slicing them off with ease.He took out one power cell and slowly start inserting it inside the capsule, "Name’s Hans Goldrish, by the way. Despite how our encounter went last time, let me thank you for saving me and other fellows from being butchered."
"My name is Annie, mister Goldrish. Please, no need to thank you; I am still deeply ashamed of..."
"Call me Hans," Something sparkled inside the capsules as several devices turned on and lights slowly began to shine inside, "What, you think you're the first one who wanted to kick my ass for how I look? I get shit for how I look almost every day. Abyss, the brigadier here almost screamed as she saw me. My looks are partly why I was asked to stay away from the hospital, but you're looking uglier than me!"
"My village was attacked by people who looked similar to you and… Well, it was stupid of me to hate others for it." Annie felt how her skin was becoming crimson underneath her fur.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Ah, those fucks," Hans finished preparing medical capsules and stepped away, visually checking if chambers were properly sealed and everything was fine. He put the tag "Fixed" on the third medical capsule, "My condolences to whoever you lost. How about we start over and forget about the whole "planning to shoot me" incident? I kinda need someone’s help right now."
"Sure, sir!" Eagerly nodded Annie, not believing her luck, "What do you need me to do?"
"Drop the "sir" stuff, just call me Hans. We will drive these beauties," he nodded at the capsules and shouted to the men working above. One of them, a brigadier in a green jumpsuit, looked down. She nodded as Hans pointed at capsules, and the pair of mechanical arms moved from the ceiling, lifting capsules in the air and placing them in the back of a nearby truck. Hans walked toward the truck and climbed into the driver's seat, "Hop in, I need someone to help unload capsules when we arrive, otherwise those idiots will break them again. Also, I also need someone to go into the hospital and report to Ieshua that we delivered the stuff. As I said, they kind of don’t want to see me there. I am scaring patients or some shit like this."
"Sorry about your treatment, sir." Annie said, climbing into the truck and closing the door.
"You kidding? It’s the best job I've ever had in years! I am officially employed, have insurance, and the bank finally approved a loan for better housing for my beautiful baby, and I even have breaks here!" The man started the car, as capsules were in the back of the truck, while massive steel doors of the hangar were opening.
"And your problem, with you know… drugs?" Annie quietly asked, as the truck's doors were closing.
"Ain’t got no time for this stuff here," Hans casually responded, looking only on the road, "Too much to do, too much stuff broken, not enough time. If not for that blasted brigadier and her "Oh, you need to take a nap, Hans, it is forbidden by rules to work without breaks" constant pestering, I would have fixed so much more. Abyss take it, I once hadn’t had an ounce of sleep in two weeks and was just fine, I can go a few days without sleeping!"
The vehicle moved from the hangar, slowly moving toward the hospital in the distance. This one was the largest hospital in the refugee center Gamma, standing five stories tall, shaped from the same material as the bunkers that surround the center. Of course, there were smaller medical facilities in the area, but this one was the main place where injured people were treated. Currently, wounded people were allowed to move in from three entrances, soldiers were working overtime to ensure that lines of people did not mix up. Those with light wounds, were allowed through entrance A. People in need of emergency care were moved through entrance B. And finally, patients with symptoms of sickness of any kind, were only allowed through entrance C.
Hans drove the truck toward the entrance on the west side of the building, near entrance C. Annie jumped from the track, feeling the hot cement beneath her feet. It was a nice feeling, the closer the Ravaged Lands were, the hotter the climate was. Thankfully for refugees, the climate here was not hot enough to make normies suffer, like poor souls in the trading hub had suffered.
"Late. I sent notification ahead of time and they. Are. Still. Late!" Hans almost jumped from indignation in his driver's seat, "I understand that everyone is overworked here, but can’t we have some semblance of order here? Who is going to carry the capsules inside now?"
"I will do it! Just tell me where to put them." Annie eagerly said, taking off one medical capsule from the back of the truck. She felt a tiny strain in her muscles as she fully took the large device into her paws. Not the hardest thing she's ever lifted, not the easiest either. But Annie decided that she could manage.
"Through the large doors before us. Press two-five-three to enter and then go straight across the corridor, the first door on the right. Then across the new corridor, the last door on the left. But if I were you, I would have waited here, after all, you only have one spine," Hans said as he sat back in the driver's seat and turned on the music.
"It will be fine!" Annie smiled, putting the large capsule over her shoulder. She began to walk toward the large metal doors leading inside. After entering the code, the doors slid away and she was met with two soldiers.
They were surprised to see a wolfkin here, among all places, but after she passed identification, they let her go, after making sure that she put on protective glasses and then a respirator. The respirator was made for normies, but for large snouts like that of wolfkin, it felt more like a noose, as it pushed the nose and even lips backward too much.
Their den, their rules. Annie decided while walking further. She knew that the situation was bad, but she never expected it to be this bad. Coughing people were left lying on stretchers in the corridor. Only a few nurses were visible, turning patients from side to side or bandaging wounds. Stench of decay, mixed smells of pus and blood were in the air, barely held at bay by the respirator. Some patients bore signs of necrosis. It was a horrible sight, a still-alive human being, half of her side blackened. Skin cracked in several places on blackened skin, revealing ugly pus within, mixed with blood. One eye was milky white, while the other rapidly moved in its socket from pain and horror. Sweat made pillows on a stretcher underneath her wet. A thin stream of some green substance was coming from her ear.
Feeling yourself slowly rot away, organs failing one after the other... Annie shuddered and hurried forward, stepping across patients. She wasn’t afraid of getting sick, most new breeds have far sturdier immune systems. But seeing horror around her, hearing the moaning and wailing of dying people, whipped her forward, like no whip could ever hope to do.
She entered the final corridor and came face-to-face with an unusual new breed. The body of the person was tall, his head almost scratching the ceiling. The skin was grey, and the arms of the new breed reached all the way to his ankles. He was dressed in the white coat of a doctor, with a sweater underneath it. There were no ears on the man’s head, just two round holes. Pale looking eyes looked at Annie with a question in them.
"I assume you're a volunteer, right?" Asked the troll, one of three common types of people in the lands of Oathtakers. There was no mask or respirator on his face, but trolls had no need for such things. Their bodies possessed unnatural healing abilities and immunity far above those of others. Annie felt tingle of envy at this, wolfkins were also able to endure most illnesses, but it appears that people here had more faith in a troll's ability to endure sickness than in a wolfkin's ability.
Oh well, who cares?
"Yes, sir, I volunteered to deliver medical capsule, to the facility, sir!" With surprise, Annie noticed that the badge on the right shoulder of the man indicated that he was in charge of this hospital. This was highly unusual, trolls were citizens of the Oathtakers, rarely leaving their lands.
"They put me in charge, because the reclaimers wanted to show a sign of solidarity. It is but a honorable role to play for a show of unity, there are also other people in charge here," The troll calmly said, noticing the surprised look of Annie. He gestured for her to follow him, "My name is Ieshua. Follow me, I will show you where to place this capsule."
"Yes, sir! Mind if I ask, how is the situation here?" Annie hurried after the man, trying not to look at the patients.
"We had to start using triage practice a few days ago, due to the lack of hands. The rest you can easily guess by looking around." With the same deadly calm in his voice, the troll responded, leading the wolfkin to the large room.
Several medical personnel helped Annie to place the medical capsule in the wide room. Several similar capsules were here, inside were people, covered with horrible burns and blackened skin. Systems of capsules were pumping them up with strange looking fluids, tiny metal arms were slicing away pieces of the most corrupted skin. Several such patients already lacked an arm or a leg.
"Please, just kill me…" A man on a stretcher gasped, as two male nurses were placing him into the capsule that Annie had brought. The entire left side of his body was a color of utter void, pus was seeping from pores and cracks on his body, the right side of his body swelled and looked purple. Each breath was a struggle for him, and his wheezing words could barely be understood.
"Please, calm yourself, sir. We already deduced how to treat an ailment that is the result of the power of Chosen Prince. You will survive, some of your organs and limbs will be lost, of course, but it is nothing that augmentation can’t replace nowadays," Ieshua calmly typed something on the tablet terminal in his hands, not raising his voice or showing emotions even once, "Your pain will recede soon, the painkillers in MC are far superior to the ones that have been given to you before."
"I can hear his voice…" The man fell silent as the breathing tube rose on its own from below the bed in the medical capsule, forcing itself into his mouth. Rows of syringes rise in the air on mechanical arms, while the capsule with the patient inside closes.
"Now he will spend the next thirty days looking at a glass ceiling."
"But he will survive?" Annie asked.
"Of course, we have several patients in the augmentation wing already, they are busy testing out their new limbs. After adjustment, they will be undergoing rehabilitation procedures, to bring their remaining muscles up to level. Mental scars will remain, but there is no longer any danger to the life of this person at this moment. Now, I thank you for your help and let us all be on our way." The doctor made a quick bow, before leaving with most of the nurses.
Annie did not need any other invitation. Like a rocket, she ran from this place, carefully evading patients. Instead of allowing her to exit normally, soldiers led her to a separate room, where all possible traces of infection were removed from her body, clothes, and fur, before allowing Annie to finally exit.
The first thing Annie noticed as she exited the hospital was a swarm of workers removing the remaining capsules from the truck. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Annie walked toward the truck and climbed inside.
"You look as if you met a ghost." Hans noted, turning off music and starting engine.
"Something far worse, actually." Annie replied honestly, as the truck began to move backwards, preparing for a turn, "Should I return with you or…"
"We start it together, we go back together. There is still something you can… Eh, what hell!"
Hans stopped his truck as a small figure charged behind the back of truck, trying to reach the other side. Hans and Annie jumped out of the vehicle, out-speeding their partner. Annie leaped behind the vehicle and blinked in surprise.
A cub was sitting behind the truck, sitting on the ground from fear of the wheel. But this was not just any cub. This person had legs, resembling those of a normal human, only covered with hardened chitin of a brown color and with a small hair covering. The six arms protruded from the torso, the massive and sturdy torso gave the person an overweight impression. Five of them resembled fly limbs, while the last limb was cracked at the end, with brown chitin shredding from the limb, revealing an all-too-human fist covered by blue chitin underneath. Compound eyes looked with guilt at Annie and Hans.
"Sorry for getting in your way." An all-too human-sounding voice came from a pair of mandibles at the lower head of a person. The voice was undeniably female-sounding.
"Beat it, kiddo, what in Planet's name are you doing here all alone?" Hans asked, coming to cub and lowering himself on one knee.
"I wanted to get to the kitchen." The girl looked at him.
"What, they don’t feed you? I have some bars of choco…" Hans quickly looked in the pocket of his suit and the girl raised all her limbs.
"No, no! People here are really nice. They give us plenty of food. I just wanted to get some apples. The boy who saved me during the attack likes them." Cub desperately waved her limbs, trying to clear confusion.
"Where is your family? Let’s get you to them." Annie offered, coming to the cub and sitting on the ground nearby. After the initial shock had passed, she understood the situation better. The cubs of the Insect Commune were born in their protective larval forms. As time goes on, they shed their scary looks for a more normal appearance.
"You can’t, lady. My mom is far away and dad… Dad is no more …" The cub went quiet.
"Well, let’s get you your apples then, to cheer up your friend." Annie picked up the cub, placing her behind her own back. The chitin plates of the girl felt strange to the skin, and Annie was all too used to fighting against mindless insectoids, not carrying a person who looked like one.
"N… no, I would not dare to bother you so much! Please, I am fully capable to…" The cub tried to argue in a shy voice.
"Either I bring you safely back to the ward or you will end up under someone’s wheels,"Annie smirked, ensuring that she held the cub properly, "And I can’t allow such an important mission as yours to go to waste."
"It won’t go to waste, scout Annie," A cheerful voice said, and the agent, who gave the briefing to volunteers, came toward the group, wiping sweat from her brow with a mocking gesture, "Young miss Lia here can fall under the tank’s tracks now and still be fine. Very few things can stand in her way now. May I ask what seems to be the problem?"
"Annie is about to take the kid to the kitchen, so the kid could get some apples for her friend in the kid’s ward. Any problems with it?" Hans asked.
"No, not at all!" The agent flashed a smile to the Hans and then looked at the insectoid cub, "Lia. If you want to, we can give you a proper room, one that befits your stat…"
"Don’t wanna," Annie felt how cub pushed her face into the back of the scout, trying to hide from the agent, limbs of cub tightly grabbed the back of the wolfkin, "I am good as I am, thank you."
"Oh well, had to try at least," The agent shrugged and patted Annie's shoulder. "My name is Kassandra Trugh. Kids are not allowed to walk freely here, but just this once, I will overlook this fact. Take good care of our dearest guest. Scout Annie, you have fifteen minutes to get what our guest wanted and return her to the safety of a kid's ward! If you need anything else for her, just find me. I will sort out everything."
"Well, that was weird," Hans noted as the agent walked away, "What does she want with you, kiddo?"
"It is because of a person whom I might become. Instead of going back to mom and grandpa, miss Kassandra and others want me to go and live in the Core Lands, promising me all the toys I could ever ask for," The cub said shyly, releasing his grip on Annie's back.
"Well, then they are fools, cause this is not even a choice worth to consider! You always gotta stick with your family, Lia!" Annie exclaimed, leaping from the place and sprinting toward the kitchen, carrying the cub on her back, "I know that I would’ve always stuck with mine, if this was still possible."