“You’ve got ten minutes to convince me that you aren’t a lying queenie science experiment that’s trying to sneak its way into our HQ.” Ursun said to Prism while the Titian began its final approach to the Red Wolves’ base.
Prism looked a bit relieved at Ursun’s words, realizing that the gruff man had decided to open his mind a bit to Leanna’s point of view. Prism glanced over at her, and saw that she was leaning expectantly towards him, hoping that he could plead his case. Prism looked down at the floor for a moment, thought about what he was going to say, and then nervously cleared his throat.
“I am an Elementeitan, and I come from another world. My people are able to manipulate various forms of magical energy by slightly changing our bodies to suit the energy that we are channeling. I ended up on this world by accident. I was in a battle with a powerful adversary, and he struck me quite badly while he was in his death throes. At that moment, I tried to teleport to my homeworld so that I could recuperate, but I was too weak. I ended up here, confused and almost dead. That’s when the Queen’s forces found me.” Prism explained as speedily and as earnestly as he could.
“Wait, you’re an alien!?” Srell yelled in astonishment.
Lorias simply shook his head and let out a chuckle. Leanna’s eyes grew wide before she almost fell forward while listening intently to Prism’s story.
“It would be easier to believe that you were created by the Queen’s scientists.” Ursun said. His voice was hesitant and uncertain.
“But if the Queen had been able to make something like Prism a hundred years ago, then she surely would’ve made more like him by now.” Leanna intuited aloud.
“Yes, that is my thinking as well. Bio-engineering has only created smarter and physically-stronger humans. It hasn’t made people that can harness pure energy, or even change their physical appearance at will.” Ursun stated. He rubbed his beard pensively as he sat back in his chair.
“So where’s your spaceship? Did it malfunction or something when you got teleported here?” Srell asked.
The other mercenaries’ eyes lit up at the question. A spacecraft would definitely prove Prism’s claims.
“I don’t have a spacecraft. I teleport to other worlds with my own powers.” Prism said.
He looked around at the looks of confusion and disappointment on the faces of the mercenaries. He immediately knew that he’d said something wrong to them.
“How is that even remotely possible? It takes absurd amounts of energy to travel across the expanse of space to a whole different star system. Not even the Queen and her Kingdom have been able to achieve that.” Lorias rebuffed with a loud guffaw. It was as if he’d had enough of the entire conversation.
“I’m special, in that way. I mean, traveling to different worlds isn’t something that many people in all of existence can do. But, it isn’t exactly space travel. It’s interdimensional travel, which doesn’t need to obey such energy requirements…” Prism explained, surprising Leanna with his grasp of such things.
“We’re getting bogged down by details. Tell me, Elementeitan, how did the Queen capture you and keep you for so long?” Ursun asked calmly.
“Well, after teleporting to this world accidentally, I was completely exhausted. I
pretty much collapsed on the beach of that island only a few seconds after I’d appeared on it. I definitely didn’t think I’d wake up in a laboratory being poked and prodded for hours each day.” Prism paused, crossed his arms, and looked uncomfortably at the metal grating on the floor of the bay. After taking a moment to calm himself down and refocus his thoughts, he continued. “And because I never got the chance to commune with this world, I didn’t have access to its magical energies, or mana, as we call it back home. So all I could do was bide my time, and slowly wait for my own body’s mana to replenish enough for me to escape.” Prism explained as quickly as he could.
“Mana? Sounds like something from a virtual game.” Srell said with a snigger.
“Why were you in that rejuv-pod?” Leanna asked.
“The scientists got angrier and angrier when they realized that they couldn’t understand my body and how it works. You see, Elementeitans are very unique. We have both a physical body and a mana body that isn’t perceivable by most others. And that mana body can protect, change, and even obscure our physical body.” Prism started to explain to Leanna.
“Intriguing.” Leanna said with a curious tilt of her head.
“I used what little mana I was generating each day to mess with my body so that the samples they took were “blank.” After a year, I think, they decided to store me away until their science could better understand me. So after running a lot of experiments on ways to keep me sedated, they made that “rejuv-pod” you keep referring to, and locked me away inside…” Prism finished retelling the events of his capture. His face was sullen and tired after he recalled what were perhaps some of the most difficult days of his life.
Ursun sat quietly in his seat and rested his chin on his clasped hands. He thought over everything that Prism had told him and his team. It was a lot to take in, and even more to believe. But Ursun didn’t feel like Prism was being dishonest. In fact, Ursun could feel how open and forthcoming the seemingly-young alien was being. Over his many years of combat, Ursun had learned to trust his gut. And his gut was telling him to trust Prism.
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“Alright. That’s enough. You’ll need to tell Pack Command everything that you’ve told us, but I’ll make sure that they don’t lock you up and treat you like a potential hostile.” Ursun said with a tinge of regret. He could barely believe his own words.
“Ah! Thank you so much! I…I didn’t think…wow, thanks!” Prism was ecstatic, and began to bow repeatedly to Ursun, who waved off Prism’s silly display of gratitude.
“You risked your butt for us, kid. Don’t think that I don’t appreciate that. I just have to be pragmatic.” Ursun told Prism in no uncertain terms.
Prism nodded in understanding, and then looked over at Leanna. She gave him a friendly wink.
“You aren’t off the hook, Leanna.” Ursun turned around in his seat and said sternly to her. She stood at attention for a moment, until he turned back around.
“Entering Pack HQ’s Mountain Hangar #4.” The pilot’s voice blared over the intercom system within the transport bay. The sudden spike in the intercom’s volume caused everyone to wince, and a few of them to cover their ears.
“We really need to get that dang thing fixed!” Ursun yelled.
Prism walked over to the nearest window and watched the Titian approach the white rocky face of an especially dramatic mountain that sat on the coast. Its snowy surface contrasted with the green wooded landscape that surrounded it and the other mountains nearby. Prism could just make out the small, sheltered opening in the side of the mountain as they flew towards it.
In only a few seconds, the tiltjet had flown into the hangar’s entrance and down its expansive, well-lit corridor. The Titian’s jets rotated quite quickly to bring them to a slow hover as they exited the corridor, entered the large open hangar room, and flew over one of the hangar’s landing pads. The aircraft then descended until it rested smoothly on its three landing wheels.
While still looking out of the window, Prism could make out the presence of nearly a dozen people around the landing pad. Most of them wore armor similar to Ursun’s team, except it was a darker shade of red, being nearly black. They also wore black berets that had a droopy fold to the left, and a modified Red Wolves insignia design on a patch that sat prominently on the band at the front of the hat. Three of the people at the middle of that group wore white lab coats, and appeared to be scientists of some kind. The scene reminded Prism of his previous imprisonment, and he became worried once again.
“Ah look, Security is here to welcome us home.” Srell said snidely while the rear hatch of the Titian slowly rotated open, becoming a ramp at the end of the cargo bay that led down to the landing pad.
The officers from the Red Wolves’ Security Division quickly ran in pairs of two up the ramp and into the transport bay. They encircled Prism with their PAWs drawn. Prism reflexively raised his hands and assumed a fighting pose. He was still pretty weak, but he believed that he could muster enough magic to knock them all back and make his escape.
“Easy, wolves. He saved our lives; no need to point your guns at him.” Ursun finally got up from the weapons console and pushed two of the security personnel out of the way so that he could address all of them.
Some of the security officers began to relax their firearms, but most of them kept them raised and pointed at Prism. Ursun sighed and began to order them to desist until he saw the white-coated scientists walk up the ramp.
“My, my. So the target really is completely conscious and unrestrained,” said the tallest of the three scientists. He was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with swept-back light brown hair and frameless, silver-armed glasses. “And look at poor Dr. Jaik, my former protégé. Take him to Treatment Room 1 immediately.” The tall scientist said to the other two.
The two smaller scientists had two of the security personnel carry the makeshift gurney that the still unconscious Jaik laid on off of the ship. The two security officers and the two scientists rushed through the large empty hangar room to a nearby hallway until they’d taken Jaik out of sight. Ursun and his team breathed a collective sigh of relief that their youngest member was being taken care of. Prism looked on worriedly as he watched Jaik disappear into the base’s interior.
“He isn’t a threat to us.” Ursun spoke loudly to the scientist. Prism was learning that Ursun was a man of his word, and that Ursun would be Prism’s advocate like Leanna had been.
“Is that your expert opinion or just your “gut” feeling?” The scientist asked with as much condescension as he could muster.
Ursun groaned.
“Cut the crap, Liam.” Leanna shouted from across the room.
Liam’s conceited expression quickly turned to one of excitement when he looked over at Leanna.
“Imagine my surprise when I read that you’d been insubordinate, and that Ursun actually came around to your point of view afterwards. Today is full of firsts.” Liam smiled and shook his head playfully at Leanna.
Liam motioned to some of the security personnel to arrest Leanna, and then motioned to the others to lower the weapons they'd drawn on Prism. Leanna shook her head as well and then shrugged as Security cuffed her hands behind her back. She was content that they were no longer pointing guns at what was potentially the first form of alien life they'd ever seen.
“A few nights in the brig should suffice, according to Pack Command.” Liam said with a facetious bow.
“So you’ve already read over the transcript of our mission?” Ursun asked while still standing between Prism and the armed security personnel.
“Oh, I read it as soon as it was sent to the base by laser the moment your ship came within a kilometer of the mountain. Kudos to Titian’s bio-computer for that.” Liam said with a fancy wave of his hand towards the cockpit.
Titian’s bio-computer was the literal brain of RED-1’s personal tiltjet. It was constantly compiling information that it gathered from its various sensory organs and other devices, such as the Titian’s microphones and internal/external cameras. It then used that information to create a variety of observations and suggestions to the pilots of the ship. It even created a final report at the end of its missions using its sensory data and input from the pilots. The bio-computer then automatically sent its report to Pack Command upon coming in range of Pack HQ’s secure laser transceivers.
“So can we go, or what?” Lorias asked angrily.
He hated the way that Liam tended to drag things out due to a twisted sense of humor. The doctor was well known for being a pain in the ass.
“Sure, sure.” Liam said with a quick nod. “Escort him to Exam Room 6. I’ll be there shortly.” Liam then nearly whispered to the security officer closest to him.
“Yes, doctor.” The officer said.
Prism looked worriedly at Ursun and Leanna when the security force that surrounded him began to move him off the ship. But before Ursun could say anything, Liam raised his right index finger and spoke first.
“Don’t worry; he’ll be treated like a very important person. He’s treated us with respect, so we will treat him with respect. That’s the Red Wolf Way.” Liam sounded a bit sarcastic, but he tended to sound that way even when he was speaking from the heart.
Ursun rubbed his bald head and nodded silently to Liam, while Leanna sighed and gave a weak smile to Prism. Neither of them had expected Liam to apply their company’s creed to Prism, but they could both rest easy knowing that he’d been given a privileged status. At least, they would if they believed Liam.
“I’ll accompany you, either way.” Ursun said to the security officer leading the force escorting Prism.
“You need to go get debriefed by your fellow higher-ups. You know, explain the ins-and-outs of your very special mission to them?” Liam said sassily to Ursun, eliciting another groan from the commander.
“That can wait.” Ursun said simply to Liam while walking by him to join the security force.
Liam simply rolled his eyes and said “Suit yourself,” knowing that Ursun’s rank gave him the freedom to mostly do what he wanted. Ursun was, after all, not just the commander of RED-1 but of a quarter of all mercenaries within the Red Wolves Company.
“And I’ll accompany you to the brig. I want to ask you a few questions before our guest’s examination.” Liam said to Leanna while she was still handcuffed between two security personnel.
“His name is Prism.” Leanna said.
The irritation in her voice was clear to everyone still within the ship’s transport bay.
“Yes, of course, Prism. Let’s go.” Liam said dismissively before he and the security personnel took Leanna off the ship and through the cavernous hangar towards a series of hallways that led to the mountain base’s assorted facilities.
“Keep your chin up.” Lorias said to Leanna while she was walked down the ship’s ramp.
“You’ll be free in no time!” Srell yelled with a smile.
Leanna shook her head, but didn’t turn around to look at the two of them. She simply smirked to herself, undaunted by the events that unfolded around her.