“Humans?” Sebbit said. “For the most part human society has been untouched, I wouldn’t worry.”

I stood in Sebbit’s office, a small room with a metal desk and backless chair. He sat facing me, occasionally looking down at a tablet-like device, or getting the far-away look I had learned meant he was reading something on an invisible display, probably similar to my own status screen.

Despite these distractions the Captain never had a lull in conversation. He had displayed an extraordinary ability to multitask. I briefly reflected on the fact that I could never know if such a talent was innate, or the result of a skill. Was there even a distinction anymore?

“Untouched?” I said, raising my eyebrow. I wasn’t sure if he could interpret my body language, but whatever hi-tech gadgets he had translating for him would probably convey my message.

“Well, relatively. Any transmission capable of leaving the planet has been jammed, how do you think you were discovered to begin with? Your species might as well have been broadcasting your location for every merc, pirate and eldritch abomination in the galaxy.”

“So, what…,” I said. “No radio, no Wi-Fi?” I thought our species might be doomed.

“It won’t be that bad, many frequencies can’t penetrate the ionosphere and with some adjustments you’ll barely notice the difference. Your satellite communication system will have to be scraped, I’m afraid.

“There is also the mater of the quarantine zones, like this one for instance.” He spread his arms out, the black nails on the end of his crimson fingers almost brushing against the white tile walls.

“Including this one, there are fifty-seven quarantine zones spread throughout the globe. Each one contains an unusually high level of eldritch energy. That energy is then contained and harvested to strengthen the system.

“Everything within fifty kilometers of a containment zone will have to be quarantined until we can stop leaks of eldritch energy and creatures, as well as ascertain the effects of the exposure on the locals.”

He hesitated for a moment, taking a moment to make eye contact. It was a thing I noticed his species rarely did, and yet he was making a point to communicate in a way he believed would be more comfortable to me.

“There may be.. mutations. Evolutions, degradation in some cases. These will be rare, however. In this case it is the mental and long term effects that we are concerned with. The very things that are hardest for us to identify, often until it is too late.”

“And outside these containment zones, everything is what?” I asked. “All hunky-dory? No monsters, or planet eating abominations?”

“Well, no. The energy is too widespread to be completely contained. There will be mutations of local flora and fauna, as well as dimensional... breaches. These are harder to contain, and quite frankly it is a challenge best left to the natives

“It will help them, you, to grow. It is best if Earth can defend itself. The Peacekeepers will not be here permanently, Mr. Finn.’

“How many are dead?” I asked.

“Worldwide? I’m not sure,” he said. “Roughly ten percent of the population is likely to be deceased within forty-eight hours of the initial event. These numbers are likely greater near the quarantine zones. In some cases, the entire population of said zones could be wiped out in a manner of days.

“The numbers will stabilize in the coming weeks, we could possible see worldwide numbers rise as high as fifteen percent. Unfortunate, but that is the reality. Famine could claim even more. I hope you can change your mind about leaving.”

“You’re talking about the lives of a billion people, billions maybe” I screamed. “Dead. And you call that ‘untouched.’

“Relatively, yes.”

He sat there, staring at me. I wanted to hit him, throw things. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of death. Death that Sebbit, or at least the Hegemony, could have prevented.

I gritted my teeth and didn’t allow my emotions to control me. I would grieve later, once I had found those I cared about. Once we were all safe. Once I knew the true destruction.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I still want to go,” I said. “I have friends out there, family. This might be a quarantine zone to you, it might just be a casualty report for you to send up the chain – but to me it’s my home.”

“Understood,” he said. “You will be granted a standard load-out and provisions for three days. I’ll have a scout escort you outside our perimeter, but that is all I can do.”

“It’s enough,” I said. “Thank you.” I hated saying it, but I knew this was the best deal I was likely to get. For the first time really, I realized I was looking at an alien.

Sebbit stood and reached out a hand the size of an oven-mitt.

“Good luck, Mr. Finn. Augustus,” he said as we shook hands.

***

“You’re my escort?” I asked.

The Kree’mark shook her head in the affirmative and turned away. She appeared to be scanning the horizon, but she may have just been ignoring me.

She was sapphire colored, much like Talith, but a darker hue and quite a bit shorter. She barely stood a head taller than me. She was also scaled, in stark contrast to every other member of her species I had interacted with since being rescued.

She was beautiful, but in an abstract way that completely failed to inspire any physical attraction from me. She wore the same armor-plated jumpsuit as the rest of the peacekeepers, but both the suit and plates were solid black. Her armor was also much more minimalist and lightweight than that worn by Sebbit or Talith. On her back the scout had slung a foldable rifle, and she carried a collapsible baton on her belt.

I was dressed similarly but my suit was grey, and I had opted to keep my leather jacket on over my jumpsuit. Mostly for practical reasons, it was easier to wear than to carry. On my hip was sheathed a short-sword, and on my back, I was carrying a bag with provisions and camping supplies. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to resort to uncooked lizards anytime soon.

I had asked for a rifle but was denied point blank. ‘Natives are prohibited from possessing Hegemony technology of the third tier or above with… blah, blah.’ No gun for me.

“I’m Finn,” I said. I extended my hand, but she ignored it.

“We’ll move fast,” the scout said. “We can reach the exit to the cave in less than… about forty-three minutes in your time.” She spoke in perfect English, slightly stilted but the pauses between words were nearly imperceptible. She was the first of her species I’d heard speak without the translator.

Her voice was not what I expected. Less human, though why I expected different I’ll never know. Too much science fiction growing up. Her words were deep and husky, each word with a slight echo that created a buzzing harmony. I suspected that her species have more than one set of vocal cords.

“After that I’ll take you as far as the river, a bridge there can take you into the city. You won’t like what you find.”

“Why, what will I find?” I asked.

“Disappointment, beyond that I do not care.”

Ignoring her apathy, I asked, “How far to the river?”

“After we have exited the cave we will proceed west for approximately two hours and thirteen minutes, at my pace.”

“Approximately?” I asked.

“Yes.”

And she was moving. Fast. I wouldn’t have been able to keep up without my recent, across the board, increase to physical stats.

Technically we were still in the dungeon, or at least an outer vestibule of it. Sebbit and his group had been assigned to guard a large cave that led to a chasm that led into the dungeon proper. That chasm was the same hole I had climbed out of half dead and with a serious bug problem.

Sebbit had set up his base of operations in the cavern overlooking the chasm, and while the base was much less gloomy than the other parts of the dungeon I had seen, it was still dark and lacked sunlight.

This would be the first time in nearly two weeks I had seen the sun, and I was looking forward to it.

I struggled to keep up with the scout at first, but once I got into the rhythm it wasn’t too bad. Her speed was too fast to be called a jog, but it wasn’t a full out sprint either. I suspected she could have gone faster, but she was constantly stopping to scan the surroundings. Occasionally she would slow down as we approached a turn or obstruction. She spent almost a full minute watching a pile of boulders before we continued.

I knew there was a method behind her actions, but they seemed random to me. Sometimes we would stop to stare at a pile of rocks, and another time we would run right past a similar formation.

I had no accurate way of keeping time, but her prediction of forty-three minutes seemed roughly accurate. As we approached the exit to the cavern I could see golden rays of light drilling into the darkness leaving behind waves of geometric shapes of interwoven shadow and light.

In my excitement I began to run. For the first time I pulled ahead of the scout, but she threw out her arm blocking my path.

“Quiet,” she said. She crouched down and waved with her hand to motion me to do the same. With the other hand she covered her lips with a single finger. It seemed a very human gesture. Perhaps the need to tell someone else to shut up was a universal constant.

I crouched down beside her and watched the cave entrance. I couldn’t see anything, but after a few moments I began to hear a rhythmic thumping sound. It was low but getting louder.

I could feel my heart racing and my hands began to shake from the adrenaline. When I was captured by the BMS I was fighting for my life at every moment, the fact that I didn’t panic was a miracle. Waiting for the unknown, however, was somehow much more terrifying.

I froze up and my hands became sweaty. All I could feel or hear was my heart pumping, its rhythmic staccato drowning out my hearing.

When a cloud of mastiff sized bats came rushing into the cave I froze. I might have been carried away had the scout not pushed me out of the way. She sent me tumbling headfirst into the cave wall, but other than my pride I was unharmed.

“Thank you,” I said between gasps.

She just stood and continued running.