Sometime during Year 4 after the spires appeared.
Detective Ordonez led Cal into the bowels of the county coroner’s office. Down where they kept the bodies and did autopsies. The detective held up a small kerosene lantern to light their way through the darkness. At junctions where the corridors turned there were emergency lights that did their best to push back the shadows. It wasn’t nearly enough to keep the foreboding sense of danger that seemed to lurk in every corner.
It was just a feeling that signified nothing. The supernatural darkness over the first months of the spires’ apocalypse that brought tiny, hidden terrors were long gone. This was ordinary, everyday shadows. The only monsters that might’ve been hidden inside them would’ve had to sneak in from elsewhere.
The acting state government took security seriously. There were constant patrols and people standing on guard. There were no monsters inside with them. Cal knew that for a fact, since he used his telepathy to search for the typical malice and hunger that accompanied them and found nothing.
“You guys considered hanging up some lanterns in these hallways?”
“Waste of supplies and man-hours to keep them maintained.” Detective Ordonez’s voice somehow conveyed the glower on her face that was obscured by the shadows that danced across it. “People move through them quicker this way. No wasting time.”
Cal amended his assessment. He picked up a feeling of barely repressed anger that was bordering on rage. The source was walking right next to him. He decided that the silence wasn’t so oppressive after all.
Thankfully it didn’t take long for them to reach their destination.
The double doors swung open as Detective Ordonez barged through. A blast of cold air hit Cal as he followed after her. He had to brace the door with one arm as the detective didn’t bother holding it open for him.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were going to the morgue?”
The detective’s thick parka made sense now. Cal was wondering why she was wearing something fit for mountain top snow storms when it was roughly the middle of October. Sure, it was cold and raining outside, but a parka was overdoing it. And here he was in his usual kevlar motorcycle jacket with custom steel plates sewn in vital areas.
“You cold?” Detective Ordonez raised a brow.
Cal faked a shiver. “Freezing,” he said flatly. The temperature ranges he could handle had been dramatically widened by the changes his body had undergone since the spires showed up. It didn’t make much sense from a real science point of view, but since real science had been upended he wasn’t going to let it bother him.
There were three people waiting for them inside the examination room. An older woman in scrubs, a grinning young man in police tac gear and a thick coat and a slight, teenage girl in loose jeans and a thin rain jacket.
Cal suddenly felt a sudden and overwhelming feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It was like he wanted to gag and vomit. It was strange. The thought of possibly seeing an autopsy shouldn’t have hit him that hard. Four years of consistent combat with monsters and the occasional evil human had done much to harden his stomach.
“Huh? You’re looking a little green,” Detective Ordonez said. “I heard you’ve handled all sorts of monsters and people. The thought of seeing a dead body bothering you?”
It took a moment for Cal to get himself under control. He pushed the dread down. Buried it deep somewhere in his mind. “Ever since I agreed to help you out with this case I’ve seen more dead bodies than I’ve ever wanted too. And that’s the post-apocalypse me talking,” he frowned. “You were there with me at each scene. So, try not to enjoy my discomfort too much. It’s churlish and unbecoming of your station.” He practically harrumphed.
Detective Ordonez stared flatly at him. “Fucking drama queen.” She led him over to the examination table, which was covered with a sterile sheet. “This is Doctor Bai Jensen. She’s the only medical personnel left from the coroner’s original staff.”
Cal exchanged a wave with the doctor, who was already wearing gloves.
“The grinning giant doofus is Jacob Gates. He’s SacPd, trainee officer.”
The young man stuck out a catcher’s mitt-sized hand that engulfed Cal’s. He had about a foot in height over Cal and probably seventy to a hundred pounds in weight. He grinned and squeezed hard.
“Seriously?” Cal stared flatly. He squeezed back, fast and hard, until the young man grimaced.
“Oww, okay… sorry. I heard a lot about you. Guess the stuff they were saying was true. Call me Jake. Sorry about that again, I had to find out. No hard feelings?” The young man grinned sheepishly.
“Sure, why not,” Cal sighed. He looked over to the teen girl, who was looking up at him with a sullen gaze from behind the long blond hair that partially hid her face like a curtain. Something about the look sent a shiver up his spine.
“That is Florence, she’s… a special operative. Answers directly to the acting governor’s office,” Detective Ordonez said. “Now if you guys are done comparing dick sizes, Doctor Bai is a busy woman and I’d like to get out of her hair as quickly as possible.”
“You might want to avoid getting too close if you don’t want to get anything on your clothes. I’d offer you some scrubs, but something got into our supplies when this whole thing started and we’re rationing what we’ve been able to scrounge to essential personnel,” Doctor Bai said briskly as she pulled the sheet of the corpse on the table.
Cal forced himself to look and listen closely to everything the doctor pointed out. He didn’t know the jargon, but he was smart enough to pick it up through context. Bite radius was something that stood out. Very disturbing.
Mercifully the doctor was quick as she pointed out all the claw and teeth marks, the bites on the mangled corpse. It took less than five minutes before they were ushered out of the frigid examination room.
“So, Flo here has enhanced strength, speed and durability. I’m pretty strong myself,” Jake jabbed a thumb to his chest, “benching three-fifteen by fives now. But Flo curls that like nothing! With one arm! How strong are you? You’ve got a pretty strong grip, but, no offense, I’d put my money on her over you.”
“Shut up,” Florence snapped and pulled the hood of her light rain jacket over her head. She marched off down the darkened hallway a dozen feet before leaning back against the wall.
“Yikes,” Jake raised his brows, “I’m trying to break through her shell. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” he whispered.
Cal knew, but he kept quiet. Not his responsibility.
“So, you vs Flo. Who wins?”
“Jesus Christ man. Do you ever stop? Real life isn’t a versus death battle,” Cal sighed. “We’re actual people, not fictional beings.”
“Meh. It’s like boxing and MMA. You cheer for fighters, don’t you? What if Ali fought Tyson? Pacquiao versus Sugar Ray?”
“Robinson or Leonard?”
“Both,” Jake shrugged.
“I’m required to say Pacquiao, but realistically either Sugar Ray would take it. Leonard’s got size and reach. Robinson’s got all the physical advantages, taller, faster, stronger, more skilled, probably the best pound for pound in history,” Cal said.
“Boys,” Detective Ordonez growled. “You need to focus. The Mauler is officially branching out of Midtown. He or she or, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, it has killed two people near the Capitol this past week. That in there,” she jammed a thumb back toward the examination room, “was the latest vic. She is, was, part of the acting governor’s security detail. When she didn’t show up for her shift this morning they went to her place. Found that waiting.”
“So, now that it’s getting closer to your bosses, they’re starting to sweat, hence the girl,” Cal tilted his head at Flo. For her part the teenager stared at him with what he figured was either insolence or annoyance. He kept his telepathy to himself. He didn’t want to accidentally reveal too much of what he was capable of in case the detective or the teen had ways of detecting a telepathic probe. Since Ordonez’s class was actually Detective, he wasn’t going to risk it. “I get why they’re putting her on this, but why him?” He looked at Jake. “No offense, but you’re a trainee officer.”
“None taken,” Jake smiled. “I was just a college freshmen studying IT. stuff doing part time work as tech support for the SacPD when those spires popped up.”
Detective Ordonez narrowed her eyes at Jake, who still had that same shit-eating grin on his round face. “Brass thinks Jake’s got a class that might prove useful to my investigation.”
“Oh yeah, what’s your class?”
“I’m a Tec—”
“Shut it!” Detective Ordonez punched Jake on the arm. “What part of OPSEC do you not understand?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is why I hate babysitting.”
Jake looked at Cal apologetically. “Sorry.”
Cal waved it away. “It’s fine.” He was tempted to probe with his telepathy, but he resisted the urge. “Right, so the person on the table. She was?”
“A Warrior,” Jake said.
“The previous vic was some kind of magic user,” Detective Ordonez said.
“Well, that confirms a pattern then? Right?” Cal said.
The other victims of the gruesome serial killer that people had dubbed The Midtown Mauler, at least the ones that they had been able to identify, all had one thing in common.
Detective Ordonez nodded. “It’s hard to say since it’s so hard to get positive ID’s on the vics… but yeah. I think we can move forward under the theory that the mauler is targeting people with classes.”
“I don’t get it,” Jake said. “Isn’t that like everyone?”
“Classes, as in Warrior or Mage,” Cal said. “Not classes that are just the professions people had before the apocalypse. Like Doctor or Detective.” He turned to Detective Ordonez. “Why aren’t you people going all in on this? Why just us four?”
“The brass is worried that sending a lot of weaker people after the mauler will end up lead to a pile of dead bodies. They’re banking on you and Flo to handle the heavy lifting. My job is to lead the two of you right to it,” Detective Ordonez said.
“I suppose that’s a reasonable plan, if a little cowardly,” Cal said. He glanced over at Flo. He couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was scratching around at the edges of his perceptions.
----------------------------------------
Sometime during Year 3 after the spires appeared.
“I need you to verify someone’s class,” Demi said.
“Two things,” Cal said. “This is what you called me in for? And what made you think that I can actually do something like that?”
“I know you’ve got some ability you aren’t sharing that lets you tell if people are lying.”
Cal narrowed his eyes. “Right, of course. You’ve figured me out,” he said flatly. A quick and light telepathic probe that just barely touched the outermost layer of Demi’s thoughts revealed that she was making a guess. A very educated and on the right track kind of guess, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.
“Look, I don’t really care. As long as I can put it to use for the community,” Demi said.
A truthful sentiment as far as Cal picked up.
“Fine. I can possibly do this, except it’s not a hundred percent guarantee that I’ll be spot on.” Cal didn’t elaborate further. He was afraid that saying more might reveal too much.
“Okay. So, I’ve got a woman that wants to join our community.”
“What’s the problem? We’ve got plenty of free housing and I thought we had an open policy in regards to people moving here.”
“She’s welcome to stay regardless. This is about the job she wants,” Demi said.
“And?”
“She wants to teach.”
“You’re losing me. Again, why do I need to be involved?”
“Sword fighting. She wants to teach sword fighting.”
“Well that’s… new.”
Demi sighed. “She claims to be a Swordswoman. That’s right, not a Warrior or a Fighter like our people.”
“Okay, I’m interested now. What else did she say?”
“According to her she is capable of performing fighter skills without using said skills. She described it as just using proper form and technique.”
“This is a huge development on several levels.” Cal was excited. “From a tactical perspective, she doesn’t telegraph her movements by calling out the skill word. If she is able to teach this to our people… and her class. If true she might be able to give us the information we need to unlock the secret behind how to upgrade classes for greater specialization and power. God knows that the spires’ tutorials have been maddeningly vague on that point.”
“That’s what I figured. It’ll be good for us if she’s on the level. Even if she doesn’t want to join the Watch and be an active combatant. Her teaching us proper sword fighting techniques can only be useful,” Demi drummed her fingers on her desk, “she claims that she lived in Reno when the world went to shit. From the sounds of it she spent time in the Tahoe area for a while. When Sac got control of the region between the two places she decided to make her way down.”
“Alright, I’m sold. I’m guessing you’ve got her at the intake center. I’ll head over right away.”
Demi nodded. “Great, so after you’re done vetting her there’s this other guy I need you to check out.”
Cal repressed the urge to roll his eyes. That would’ve been very immature and unhelpful. “Sure. Just give me the quick details.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Well…” Demi took a deep breath, “A bat flew through that very window and dropped a letter on this desk before flying right out,” she raised her hands, “I swear I’m not making this up. I wouldn’t believe me either, but with the spires…”
“… bullshit all over the place.” Cal nodded sympathetically. “I’m going to take you at your word on this.”
“The letter was from a guy. Didn’t give a name. Just an address. The gist of it was that he wants to be a part of our community. Willing to help, preferably with our research department on the spires. Said that he’s been in town this whole time, living in hiding. I’ve got the place under surveillance right now, from a distance. It’s a shopping center on the edge of town.”
“Why not just check it out yourselves?”
“I can’t risk my people in case this guy isn’t on the level. You can survive a lot more than any of my guys.”
“True,” Cal conceded. “Please continue.”
“The guy claims that he was a grad student at the university, anthropology.”
“And?”
“Well… the letter said that he wants to meet with someone from the community. Get guarantees for his safety. Swears he won’t hurt anyone,” Demi paused, “said that he can only meet at night.”
“…”
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Roughly two and a half years after the spires appeared.
Cal stood silently next to the truck about fifty yards back from where Demi and Jen were speaking with the man purporting to be a representative from the government. He divided his focus in two. He was keeping an ear on the talk, while scanning the area with his telepathy for any signs of duplicity and danger.
He wasn’t only concerned about the group of hard-eyed men and women in combat gear gathered around their Humvees about a hundred yards away from his position. He was also concerned about the river below them.
There had been several days of heavy rain over the past week, which meant that the water level was much higher than usual. Who knew what sort of mutated fish, reptiles and amphibians lurked in the river’s murky depths? Cal didn’t and so he kept a close eye with his telepathy for any signs of imminent attack.
He did the same with the people claiming to be with the government. Without a closer look into their thoughts he wasn’t able to figure out if they were genuine. At this range and since he was taking more of a top down view the most that he was able to glean was general emotions. What he found was encouraging. There wasn’t any sort of malice in their collective thoughts. They were wary and suspicious.
Cal stretched out with his telepathy as far as he could to the opposite side of the bridge. He was looking for any potential snipers. He found nothing. He left it to Remy’s magnetic fields to catch any potential bullets, as per the plan.
He left his telepathy active, while he switched his focus to the talk. The distance wasn’t an impediment to his ability to listen in thanks to his enhanced senses.
“We’re with the government. The California State Government under Acting Governor Alejandro Richards.”
Cal had missed when the suited man introduced himself.
“You understand why we can’t simply take you at your word,” Demi said.
“Of course. This is just preliminary. My purpose is to set up a meeting with your community’s representatives. Our goal is to bring our people together. In order to face the extraordinary challenges that the past couple of years have brought us all.”
“… well he’s not lying,” Cal said. “Even though that’s total political speak.”
“Huh?” Remy frowned.
“The dude in the suit. I’m pretty sure that what he’s saying is true. At least he believes it’s true.”
“Trying to concentrate here.” The strain was evident from the bulging veins in Remy’s face. “Two separate fields strong enough to stop a .50 cal… one fifty yards away isn’t something I do everyday.”
“Well, now you know what to work on,” Cal shrugged. “I don’t think we’re in danger here. At least not right now.”
Cal only half-listened as Jen read from the script Scott had given her and proceeded to ask the questions. For being in a such a pressure-packed situation, she did a decent job at sticking to her instructions.
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Roughly two years after Cal arrived on the Threnosh world.
Cal looked at his calendar. Its accuracy was debatable. The Threnosh didn’t track days, months and years in the same way that Earth did. If he was correct then it had been roughly two years since he had arrived on the Threnosh world. About a year and a quarter since he had started the project with the Defectives.
The word made him laugh. His guys were now equivalent to, if not better than the normal Threnosh elites. So much growth in such a short amount of time. Constant conflict and challenges against monsters made for quick improvements to their abilities. Whether it be through upgrades to their power armors or their personal capabilities.
Now that the project was up and running, maybe it was time for him to pursue selfish goals. Cal needed more Universal Points. He needed to challenge himself more than he had been. Sure the flying kaiju was a legitimate challenge, but that was a one time thing. Not that he wanted to repeat it, but rather he realized that it was necessary for him to continuously improve for the time when he would finally be able to go home.
He figured he had somewhere in the neighborhood of three years until the way back home was open. He needed to be as strong as possible for when the ten-year tutorial period was over for Earth. What was happening to the Threnosh world now that the Dominion of Immortal Light and Joy was actively invading was worrisome. They took and held territory with relative ease. The Threnosh’s advanced technology wasn’t holding up. That didn’t bode well for his home.
What he needed to do was get some Quests from the spires. Those provided significantly more Universal Points than simply going around killing every monster in sight. The boss monsters and secret bosses from the areas that he had been granted access to by the Collective weren’t enough. It’d take something like the flying kaiju to make the time and effort worth it.
Cal swiped and scrolled through the holographic projection hovering over his desk. It was a list of the spawn points that the Threnosh had completely sealed off and banned any access. These places had years for the monsters within to grow strong, which meant they were likely worth a lot of points. And perhaps he’d gain some diplomatic points by clearing long-lost cities and settlements for the Threnosh.
“There’s no way they’d keep me from trying these places out if I tell them I’m planning to clear and return them to normal. PC3 would definitely agree.” Cal zeroed in on one city that looked promising. It was located within Prime Custodian 3’s jurisdiction, which was a plus toward getting the authorization to hit it. The city was old. One of the oldest on the continent. It was only about fifteen hundred miles away from his base, so that meant reinforcement and resupply would be easier. “Hmm, Orchestral Meridian…” he scratched at his growing beard, “this autotranslation system comes up with the weirdest names.”
Cal saved the location and started on a list of things he needed to do before undertaking this new project. He fired off a message to Tides and Loaming. They’d tap the researchers to get him everything about Orchestral Meridian that was in the general database. He sent another one to Prime Custodian 3 outlining the general shape of his plan. The last one he sent to Caretaker. They’d need to talk about logistics and the Threnosh was a lot better than him at it. Plus, he was going to leave them in charge of the teams, while he was off on his adventure.
Cal stopped in the middle of dictating the message. His head shot up and he looked around wildly for a moment. There was something… a sound? Almost like chimes, no? Instruments, music, singing? There wasn’t any floating text in his vision accompanied by the spires’ system voice. He reached out with his telepathy. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
Whatever that was, it had jarred him, which was concerning.
His hand shook as he tapped his PID to contact the base’s scanner operators.
“This is Honor. Were there any unusual readings from the spires in our immediate surroundings? Say, ten-fifteen seconds ago?”
The voice came back after a few seconds. “All scans are negative.”
Cal recognized Communicator Blackswamp 649’s voice. He had made them the subleader of the scanner operator unit.
“Thanks, Blackswamp,” Cal said. He took several deep breaths to settle himself. “Could Zalthyss have found a way to slip past the sensors?” Was he just being paranoid? “Damn it. I’m going to have to check this out myself, in person.” There went the easy day of research and relaxation. “Might as well bring the new guys along. Turn it into a training thing.”
Cal stood up when his PID beeped. “Yes?”
“Designation: Honor, this is Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337.”
“What is it Tides?”
“Research Leader Dim Redgrass 8729 urgently requests your presence in the kaiju core lab.”
The administrative manager of his research division was unfortunately named. Though Cal chalked it up once again to the deficiencies of the autotranslation system.
“What’s going on?”
“I do not know. Though they were insistent that you come immediately.” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 paused. “I concur with their assessment and advise you to comply.”
Cal pulled up the live video feed from the lab in question. “Shit!” He could barely make anything out through the bright light that appeared to be emanating from the kaiju core. “Tides! Activate containment protocols!”
“Yes… it appears that the subleader on duty has already done so.”
“Good. Tell them I’m on my way.” Cal hurried out of his office. He prayed that he wasn’t going to have to test his telekinetic shield.
----------------------------------------
Roughly one and a half years after Cal arrived on the Threnosh world.
What came out of the spire was like nothing the Threnosh had ever seen before. The large humanoids were monstrous in appearance, yet were clad in armor and bearing weapons. They moved in precise formations. Something that invasive organisms had never done before.
Sadly, the lower ranks among the soldiery had not been made privy to the information that their commanders had from the Collective. If they had, then they would’ve known that these gigantic things were their opposite numbers from the Dominion of Immortal Light and Joy. The polity that had claimed ownership of the world above the Threnosh’s.
Soldiers from two different worlds faced off over the empty remains of a vital city. One that had been cleared of nearly every single inhabitant several months ago in several days of blood by the outworld invader that had claimed to be the one called Zalthyss.
It had left the city after completing its heinous rampage and the Threnosh were determined to retake what was theirs and bring it back to life. They had repaired and bolstered its defenses. Brought greater numbers of soldiers and even several elites. They brought thousands of noncombatant Threnosh to return the city to its proper operations. This was their world and they would do as they had always done.
The Threnosh were unsurprised that the spire just a few kilometers outside of the city walls spewed forth invaders. It was the nature of these invaders that caught them off guard.
Their armaments appeared well made, but primitive. Metal armor made by hand. The same with their melee weapons of wood, bone and metal. Bows and crossbows. Ballistae and catapults pulled by the humanoids themselves.
Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 was a student of ancient Threnosh history and what they saw across the wide-open plain reminded them of the Threnosh’s barbaric, ancient past.
“Enemy force appears to be complete. There has been no activity from the god hair for the past three minutes and twenty-seven seconds.”
“Preliminary count?” Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 didn’t take his eye from the bank of live images projected into their face-plate.
“Total forces number twenty thousand and thirty four. There appears to be several slight variations among the invaders. We currently do not have enough data to assess the significance.”
Nearly a hundred drones flew high above the gathering enemy army. They were untouched. Either the enemy was unable to destroy them or they weren’t aware of the drones’ presence. The Threnosh were easily winning the battle for information.
Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 waved away their adjutant. They sent an order through their commander-type power armor’s specialized command and control software and hardware module. The cybernetic link meant that all it took was a single, focused thought, to send their interceptor squadron streaking into the dark night sky.
They weren’t going to wait for the enemy to form up and march on the city. They were going to hit while the enemy was still kilometers away.
The interceptors were like silent raptors about to descend on their prey. Instead of talons, they struck with fragmentation bombs that sent shrapnel raining down on the enemy.
The humanoids blindly loosed eight-foot long arrows and bolts up into the darkness in response. It was in vain. The interceptors were already winging their way back to the city to reload.
Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 studied the images being broadcast back by the drones. It quickly became apparent that the damage their interceptors had done was minimal.
The giant humanoids were thickly built. Their fair skin was thick and leathery. The biological scans indicated dense muscle tissue and a robust bone structure. Their metal armor, steel according to the scans, was thick enough to prevent the shrapnel from penetrating.
The senior commander focused in on one of the humanoids as it removed its steel helmet to pry a particularly large piece of shrapnel from its surface.
Its face was square, with a jutting lower jaw. Over-sized canine teeth protruded from a closed mouth. Its long hair was a pale yellow. It had intelligent eyes, deeply set underneath a prominent brow.
The look in its eyes was worrisome. It was the last bit of information that the senior commander needed to put any doubts to rest. These humanoids were definitely unlike the standard invasive organism. They were strong and durable, organized, intelligent. And they outnumbered the senior commander’s forces twenty to one.
In that instant they knew that this was no longer a battle that could be won. Now all they could do was provide enough time for the city to be evacuated. Failure meant that another city’s worth of Threnosh would be lost to the Dominion of Immortal Light and Joy.
The bombing run triggered the enemy forces into immediate action. They formed up and began marching on the city. Neat, orderly blocks strode across the plains with lengthy strides that ate up the distance with surprising speed. Teams of the large humanoids pulled and pushed siege engines into range with sheer muscle power.
A second interceptor bombing run rained down fire and metal on the enemy. The bright orange of the explosions was dwarfed by the immense size of the army. It had the same effect as the first run, which to say was minimal.
The enemy crossed into range.
Projectile fire from the automated turrets on the wall raked the front ranks of the enemy. Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 was unsurprised when the enemy was merely slowed rather than stopped. Their thick armor and dense bodies did a great job of blocking or absorbing the projectiles.
The enemy responded in kind. Tree-sized arrows struck and broke against the Threnosh’s thirty-foot high wall. Enormous boulders gathered during the buildup fell past the walls and into the city. They broke against buildings. It would take more than falling rocks to do more than dent Threnosh metallic building construction.
The senior commander sent an order to a portion of their soldiers. They needed to take to the wall and add to the projectile fire. Recoilless rifles and miniguns increased the volume. It paid dividends as a few of the large humanoids in the front lines began to drop.
The senior commander already had the calculations. Even if every soldier was up on the walls. The enemy forces were still going to cross the distance intact. Once at the wall they would be able to simply climb over with the large ladders they were carrying.
A spark of reddish light to the rear of the enemy caught the senior commander’s attention. They directed a drone to zoom in on the area. What they saw baffled them.
A large humanoid with a thinner build and clad in robes instead of thick plates of armor was standing over a large basin-like object that had horrifying scenes of violence carved into its outer surface.
There was a cage next to it. What it contained had the senior commander in disbelief.
Smaller humanoids clad in rags, huddled in a corner of the cage as far away from the large humanoid as possible. The Threnosh recognized them. They ran a probability scan to compare the captives’ physical appearance to the only outworld invader that was allowed to exist relatively freely on the Threnosh world.
The scan spat out the answer almost immediately. The humanoids in the cage belonged to the same species as the one with the designation, Honor.”
The large humanoid chanted something indecipherable. A long string of words in a singsong fashion. That the automatic translation system didn’t render the words into the Threnosh language indicated that there wasn’t anything remotely similar.
The chanting continued even while the large humanoid opened the cage and reached in to pull out a struggling captive. The large humanoid moved briskly as it butchered the unfortunate captive on a crude wooden table next to the basin. As it placed the pieces into the basin its chanting grew more powerful. It rose to a frenzy in an instant.
The senior commander could only watch in a complete and utter sense of shock that briefly overwhelmed their stoic nature as was standard for a proper Threnosh.
A red glow surrounded the basin, which was now filled with the blood and body parts of the captive. A sensor scan confirmed that there was some sort of energy building within the basin.
Without warning a curtain of fire appeared out of nowhere to blanket a large section of the wall. It engulfed the soldiers, but the senior commander wasn’t concerned. Their power armor would provide enough protection for the automatic fire suppressors to pop up.
As expected the units emerged and sprayed foam all across the burning section of the wall. Unexpectedly the fire wasn’t stopped or even slowed. It raged as if nothing had been done.
“All units off the wall.” Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 acted decisively.
The chanting continued and the senior commander had the sense that even if they weren’t listening through the drones the large humanoid’s voice would have reached them anyways.
As soldiers burned and jumped from the top of the wall the large humanoid grabbed another poor captive.
In that instant Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 knew that this was no longer a winnable battle. Now all they could do was provide enough time for the city to be evacuated. Failure of this task meant that another city’s worth of Threnosh would be lost to the Dominion of Immortal Light and Joy.
A sudden chime sounded in the senior commanders ears. The text that floated in their vision and the voice in their ear were things that they had only experienced once before.
Task Received.
Evacuate Cold Plains City.
Success Parameters: Evacuate population. Escape.
Failure Parameter: Death.
Reward: 50000 Universal Points.
Evacuated Noncombatants.
0 / 10000
Evacuated Combatants.
0 / 1030
Will you accept?