Chapter Four

I stared down at the dark, neon-lit city below, feeling strangely detached from it. The sights, the sounds, the smells…it wasn’t right. Sighing, I crossed my arms over my stomach and tracked the coming and going ships. I hadn’t felt so disjointed and separated from the world since I’d lived in my isolation cell.

Something had ‘clicked’ when I left the Syldrari Sector several hours prior. It wasn’t just their damned teasing that had made me reluctant to leave the sector. It was the fact I felt more like myself there. I didn’t have to keep up the false human identity that was slowly fading away.

I fidgeted, rubbing the back of my neck, before turning and heading back inside. My suit materialized as I walked, and Zafir spared me a concerned glance before looking to the rest of the team.

“You will be working from different parts of the area, making sure exits are covered—that kind of thing. Lethe and Acheron will be heading inside,” Zafir informed everyone firmly. Then, he turned to me. “You’re to arrest or kill Consul Gallus. Imperator Julien won’t suffer his interference with Syldrari relations anymore…or the manner of business he is running. You have your breathing filters?”

“Yeah. Not a fan of modding my mask, but I get the idea. Wouldn’t be good for us to get drugged or gassed.” I nodded to him, and he frowned slightly. “What about the people working there?”

“They’ll be taken care of appropriately.” Zafir nodded faintly. “We have already made arrangements with their embassies, and several of our allies have offered to assist with any humans who may work there.”

“Hmm. Alright.” I nodded.

Zafir hesitated, before steeling himself and giving everyone else orders to move out. He placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me, and murmured, “Are you alright?”

“What is the mental equivalent of cellular dissonance?” I countered just as quietly, giving him a brief smile. “Instead of feeling like I’m in the wrong skin…I feel like I’m looking at an illusion placed over what I’m supposed to be seeing.”

“…will it effect the mission?”

“No.”

“Then we will discuss it when you return. I will require more detail before I can say anything,” Zafir answered softly, a hint of pain in his voice. “Be careful. Withdraw if you must. These people are loyal to Consul Gallus and not the Imperator.”

“We’ll be fine. I’ll try to leave some pieces of them left.” I stalked off toward my skybike, mentally shoving back against the growing desire to eviscerate the humans. Oh come on. I’m not even there yet. Save the judgment until you’ve seen them being horrible. It’s what you do for the Syldrari.

That was it. The tickle in the back of my mind that I’d been trying to ignore since waking up. I paused and called out to Zafir, “Hey! What if Syldrari criminals show up?”

Zafir bristled and shook his head sharply. “You will retreat and lure them out for capture. Citomy will have ships stealthed nearby with men to arrest them. We’re to treat them as though they’re her jurisdiction.”

“…right. Okay.” I grimaced, before summoning my modified visor. It now had a form-fitting mask covering the lower half of my face, with various filtration devices to keep out any drugs, gas, or other toxic substances that might be floating around where we were going.

We loaded our skybikes onto the waiting transport vehicle, and a fidgety Erik in full combat gear walked over to me, keeping his voice low. “Hey, it’s good to see you up and around again, but isn’t this a little too soon for you to be going on a mission?”

“Something like that,” I mused. “Orders are orders, right?”

“Right…” Erik sighed, slumping a little. “You need help, you call. I know a lot of the Syldrari in there. They’ll help me get you out.”

“…are you telling me that your ‘stomping grounds’ is the red-light district?” I asked suddenly, it made sense why I always heard dance music and other people in the background whenever I called him to pick me up.

“Someone had to get information, and they’re very…appreciative to allies.”

Erik shot me a confident grin before retreating into the main cabin. I let out a sigh of disbelief. No wonder he was so tolerable. He was a xenophile. Better a xenophile than a xenophobe, right?

I shook my head and looked over at Aisu, or rather, Acheron. She seemed nervous about something and kept fidgeting with her gloves and picking at the piping along her suit. Finally, I asked, “What is it, Acheron?”

“What’s with the government and sending us in the front door?” She muttered, shaking her head. “I don’t like this. It doesn’t feel right. Not when you’ve been awake less than a day.”

“It’s almost like someone’s wanted us dead for months,” I answered sarcastically, getting a brief snort of laughter out of her. “We’ll watch each other’s backs and take no chances. Our primary mission is still survival.”

“Yeah. Gotta live long enough to kick that bitch Sydney’s ass!” Acheron snorted irritably.

I cocked my head. “You don’t like her either, huh?”

“Fuck no. She smells like you but rotten. Something just ain’t right with that one.” Acheron shook her head hard. “Uh… Not that I go ‘round sniffin’ you or anything. My sense of smell’s been gettin’ real strong real fast.”

“Right. Mines stayed mostly the same, but my vision…” I paused, not quite sure how to explain it. “Everything seems…clearer and more vibrant. Now and then, I think I catch glimpses of things beyond the human spectrum.”

“Good to know it ain’t just me,” Acheron remarked with a laugh. “You get scared about changin’, sometimes?”

“No… Kind of.” I frowned, mulling it over. “I’m more scared of not changing. Beyond that, though, I’m more worried about maintaining our arrangement with the government. I’d like a better sense of security in my…retirement options.”

“Point taken,” Acheron muttered, her voice giving me the impression that she was grimacing.

When the ship set down, we zipped off in our skybikes to position around a tall, asymmetrical building in the ‘entertainment district.’ I lost track of the number of drug dealers, gangers, gamblers, brawlers, and prostitutes—human or alien—that I saw. Within just a few yards I spotted at least eight people that I’d need to arrest under any other circumstances.

Our orders were to ignore the district’s denizens aside from our target, so that’s what I did. Acheron and I walked right up to the front door and exchanged a look—where were the bouncers?

Without prompting, she and I moved to opposite sides and pushed the doors in, expecting to be shot at. Again, nothing. I went silent and listened for a moment, then stepped into the building and grimaced at the sight on the floor. “Found the bouncers. Proceed assuming there are other hostiles in the—”

“Hey there, ih’kaeya,” a familiar voice interjected hurriedly, and Aldiner of all people barred my way. He was wearing…something, at least? Barely?

“What are you doing here?” I decided not to comment on the tiny, shiny… What do I even call those? Is that a thong? Shorts? Can shorts be see-through? Is that supposed to be sexy? Because it isn’t.

“Hey. Back off.” Acheron took a step forward, but Aldiner raised his hands placatingly.

“I’m just trying to make sure Elara here gets the right kind of hospitality here, and none of what’s going on downstairs." Aldiner gave us a smile, then pitched his voice to a sultrier tone and looked at me again, “Whatever you want. Maybe a dance? I’ve got some fun new routines I could show you. I don’t usually…” he paused momentarily, “I don’t usually mate with customers, but for you I’ll make an exception if that’s what you want, and what will keep you out of trouble.”

“Is this bastard—” Acheron started to snarl, but I raised a hand. Aldiner had pitched his voice quite low for that last bit, and his demeanor had briefly shifted.

“Maybe a dance,” I answered slowly, studying Aldiner and his ravelight glow. His colors kept flashing all over the place, but his eyes held a brief glimpse of immense relief.

Aldiner promptly came up alongside me and took my arm, guiding me over the dead humans and then away from them. “Aw, just a dance? I’d be more than happy to show you my full hospitality.”

“We’re on a job,” I pointed out dryly, following him into a small private room with a stage, a sofa, and some display cases of questionable paraphernalia. A tickle of energy crackled across the room, making my skin prickle, and Aldiner mostly dropped the act. Some form of ‘security,’ I figured.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“For fuck’s sake, of all the times for the government to send you here…” Aldiner sighed heavily and rubbed his temples, then glanced at me around his hand. “What would you like me to wear?”

“Yes, well, we have a job to do and— Huh? Wear?” I stopped, aghast. “How about, instead, you tell us where the bastard who runs this place is. Then—”

“Oh no. Absolutely not. He is already getting what he deserves, and I am not letting you get in the way,” Aldiner stated flatly. He closed the distance between us and motioned at his bare chest, leaning down a little. “Dress me or…tch, what was the human word again?”

“If you’re gonna fuck each other, I’m out,” Acheron stated flatly.

“That’s the one. Thanks. Knew mate didn’t sound right.” Aldiner shot her a cheerful grin.

“…what are your clothing options?” I sighed heavily.

“How about this?” He took several steps away and summoned some sort of one-piece body suit thing that barely covered his crotch. If Syldrari had shared human anatomy, his everything would have been exposed. Instead, the strip of cloth just barely covered the slit that hid Syldrari genitalia. Before I could say anything, he switched to a pair of low leather pants. “Maybe this? I’ve seen how you look at Rel when he’s rocking leather.”

“What are you comfortable in?” I asked irritably.

“Skin.”

“As in…nude?”

“Yes.”

“…aside from that?”

Aldiner mock-pouted at me. “Aww, but I could help you learn so much. Ah! Or maybe you want to watch me strip it off?”

“No.”

Next, he switched over to an outfit of some style I didn’t recognize. The sheer material didn’t leave much of anything to the imagination, anywhere.

“Wait. I thought he was male?” Acheron asked.

“I am!” Aldiner answered brightly. Then, he reached down and spread two of his fingers like a V above his slit. Before either of us could question what he was doing, a pale blue-grey appendage that looked nothing like a human penis slid out of the slit. Much like his tongue, it had glowing ‘beads’ running down its length.

I pulled my gaze away before I could get too curious about how…strange it was. “Can you not? This isn’t the time for an anatomy lesson. We need to complete our mission. If you won’t tell us—”

“Oh, fine. Three different factions of Syldrari are fighting to the bastard right now.” Aldiner put away his penis and perched on a nearby chair, looking bored. “Two of which you should stay away from, the third will probably take you off somewhere and never let you go—in the nice way, mind you.”

“Uh…” I stared at him for a moment as he sauntered over to the pole and hopped onto it. “And you…work here?”

“As a dancer,” Aldiner answered pointedly, swiftly climbing the pole and hanging himself upside down from it. “Multiple clans have been watching this place, and this is the first time in months the head bastard himself had a scheduled visit. Everyone is racing to put him down…including you, I suppose.”

Aldiner tilted his head, then sped from the pole and over to me in a motion quicker than I could follow, his fingers coming up to gently tug at the mask on my face, frowning. “Including the human government? Hmmm…”

“Oi, hands off the boss lady,” Acheron growled, stepping toward Aldiner. She conjured a wicked sword a little longer than she was tall and held it in one hand.

“Hmm? Oooh, I see. You’re one of her royal guards.” Aldiner shot Acheron a blank look, his head tilting as he reexamined her, his pupils consecutively shrinking and expanding a few times. “Where are the rest of them?”

“Royal…guard? Nnngggh!” Acheron doubled over and grasped her head with one hand, muffled sounds of pain coming from her.

“What the…” I looked at Aldiner and pointed to the couch. “Sit.”

I hurried over to Acheron and put a hand on her back, and tried to guide her over to a seat, pull her upright, anything. She dropped to one knee, gasping, and her suit vanished to reveal half her neck—most of her torso, and one leg had completely turned from her ‘norma’ skin color to that of ocean hues.

“Shit. Can you stand up?” I gripped her human arm carefully, not wanting to overload her senses by grabbing the one that had turned. “Deep breaths. Try to calm down. We’re still in enemy territory. You—”

“My… I’m a Syldrari?” Aisu stared at her other arm like it was a foreign object. Then, a horrified expression spread across her face. “The way I…I treated Rel and some others… By the ancestors, I—”

“Aisu? Fuck!” I hissed as she collapsed in place. I looked over to Aldiner. “Got a robe or something she can put on?”

“Mmm…” Aldiner frowned at me. Then, he conjured one and tossed it to me. “Here. Not going to blame me?”

“There’s no telling what will cause someone’s cellular dissonance to accelerate, right?” I muttered, struggling to get Aisu into the robe. I reached up to my visor to call for an extraction, but the sound just crackled briefly before dropping into silence. “Aldiner—”

“That one’s not on me,” he replied, stretching back in his seat. “The clans knocked all comms out. Best I can do is try to keep you from running into them.”

“By keeping her stationary in one place? Please.” A familiar voice reverberated from all around us. Then, a shadowy hole appeared in the floor and a cloaked cultist rose out of it. The writhing sludge set him gently on the floor. Aldiner froze, his light grey skin draining of any remaining color.

You shouldn’t be here. What I had originally believed to be my instincts sounded…different. I heard it when the Syldrari turned to me, and his lips pulled into a small smile. “Your change is progressing too, isn’t it? You’re less obedient.”

The cultist took a few steps in my direction, his footfalls echoing unnaturally. He stopped and lowered his hood, revealing the deep brown skin and piercing green eyes I’d figured were under the hood. Then, he crouched down and looked at Aisu.

Aldiner, meanwhile, had let out a sound that I assumed was fear or submission, because he had taken to cowering in a corner and his glow was simply…off.

“It’s been a long time since I saw an iri royal guard…” The cultist reached past me, his arm brushing against mine as he carefully placed a hand on Aisu’s head.

…he didn’t ‘glitch.’ Oh shit—he’s the real—

“Don’t get any cute ideas.” The cultist raised a finger to his lips and winked at me, before turning his attention to Aisu. “Aldiner. Report.”

“I-I hadn’t gotten to asking them why they’re here yet…” Aldiner answered quietly. “This is the first time I’ve seen Elara since—”

“Calm down. You’ve done well. Clearly you healed her thoroughly if the humans have her on missions already,” the cultist spoke in soothing tones, and Aldiner seemed to relax a little.

“Do I want to know?” I sighed heavily.

“I’m sure you do, but we can’t be divulging all our secrets,” the cultist mused, a smile spreading across his lips. “Aldiner infiltrated Resonance Project HQ to heal you, under my orders. Being the naughty child he is, he was planning to do so anyway, but…I have resources.”

“Child?” I asked skeptically.

“Ah—a poor choice of words given the situation. My apologies, to you both.” The cultist considered something for a moment. “When you’re as old as I am, it’s difficult not to see everyone else as young and immature. The human languages don’t have quite the word I was searching for.”

“And what are you doing to Aisu?” I asked, deciding not to drop the harsh edge from my tone. While I didn’t sense any malice from him, I was prepared to take his head if he tried anything harmful.

He chuckled and turned to study me—or rather, the visor and mask I wore. “I’ve been wanting to see just how the memories belonging to you and yours were tampered with. Her rather violent reaction to Aldiner’s observation made me more curious.” He paused to reveal small devices stuck to his fingertips. “I will give you the simplified version: I am mapping the corridors of her mind so I can determine when, how, and why her memories were altered. If it was done well, she shouldn’t have had such an extreme reaction. In fact… Ah. There it is.”

Any amusement dropped from the cultist’s face. A cloud of hatred, malice, and fury exploded around him without aim, his expression turning fierce and fiery. Aldiner whimpered and shrank back in his seat further, but I didn’t find the reaction so terrible or frightening.

Instead, I asked, “Well? What is it?“

The cultist paused, his fiery gaze flicking to me, revealing a modicum of surprise, before returning to the unconscious Aisu. “…this tampering was done…poorly. Her mind will need to be restructured and reorganized if she’s to continue functioning. It is likely the rest of your team—your guards—will need the same treatment. I will do this for her, but the rest of your team isn’t so easy for me to access. Aldiner, fetch me my things. I will record what I’ve found, and how I fix it, as a show of good faith for the R’selkti twins’ agent. What was his name again… Zafir, wasn’t it?”

Aldiner disappeared without a word, and I eyed the cultist warily. He picked up Aisu and set her carefully on the sofa, so I rose to my feet and crossed my arms over my chest. Instead of seeing to Aisu, the cultist turned to me and studied my suit with a small frown. Then, faster than I could follow, I felt my visor and mask lift from my face. In the next moment, he was standing a few feet away with one in each hand, examining them thoroughly.

“Such a dated design… It’s no wonder her under armor disappeared when she lost consciousness,” the cultist remarked, tossing the human-made mask back to me so he could continue going over the visor. He then motioned loosely toward Aisu’s arms and what I assumed her wardrobe module was. “There is no full armor in her integrated armory, either. It is likely the same for the rest of you. An…odd choice, to put it mildly. Hmmm…”

He turned to study my face, his head tilting to the side, his eyes flicking to and fro at such speed I had to wonder how he didn’t make himself dizzy.

“Care to share your thoughts?” I asked irritably.

“Ah. Apologies,” he murmured, returning his attention to my visor in his hands. “I wouldn’t quite be able to date this design as it’s been modified heavily both by Syldrari and human hands. It could be a century old, or it could be several thousand. However, it appears that it was never tied to a full suit of armor. Meaning, you and your guards never had proper protection. This planet may not be hostile in comparison to most, but…if your clan was traveling throughout the surrounding systems, you would have needed better protection. It’s an oddity, and it is lacking any artistic nuance that would help identify a clan.

“I also find it strange that you don’t find my presence unsettling or frightening.”

“I’m more scared of the humans than I am of you,” I answered flatly, giving him an unamused look. “From what I can tell so far, most of the Syldrari clans would try to ‘rescue’ me or would kill me outright.”

He cocked his head faintly. “Mmm. Understandable. I’m glad your eyes are open enough to understand who the monsters are on this planet. Even so, this model of suit won’t last you long—your fight with that Jysel boy should have proved that. Since the humans didn’t attempt to armor you further… Ah. I see, there are still some who want you dead, yes?”

“Of course there are. You have met humans, right?” I rolled my eyes as the cultist turned to study me, an odd look on his face. “What?”

“You keep tapping your forearms and flinching.” He furrowed his brow, and I just stared at him blankly.

“I’m what?”

“Show me.” He took a step forward but made no other movement aside from that.

“Uh…” Something told me that ‘disobedience’ wasn’t the route to take. I hesitated, then let my suit melt away to a tank top and pants, revealing my blue arms and the patterned glow that reached almost to my elbows.

“I have your— Whoa!” Aldiner exclaimed upon reappearing in the room beside us. “E-Elara, what?”

The cultist frowned and looked at Aldiner. “She wasn’t like this when you healed her?”

“It happened sometime after. I don’t know the full details.” I shook my head at the two of them, then resummoned my suit abruptly. “There’s a bit of…sensory overload with my Syldrari skin. My human skin doesn’t feel anywhere near as much sensation or…minutia?”

“Then I was right, you were all tampered with more than merely forcing you to remain shifted,” the cultist muttered bitterly, before turning his attention to Aldiner. “Keep Elara entertained while I see to her guard—and hide the door to this room, while you’re at it. It wouldn’t do for the other clans, or mine, to stumble across us while I work.”