The crossing proved easier than expected.
Viladia guided Strike One to a portion of the trenches devoid of Stellar Republic soldiers, indicating for the team to gather close to the trench's edge without tumbling in. She then vaulted over it herself.
With the trench being less than two metres wide, the team had just enough room within Viladia's four-metre bubble of influence. One by one, they leapt across, leaving Morin to carefully deposit the two slain soldiers into the trench as he followed.
Once they'd crossed, the trench's orientation gave Thea her first inkling in what felt like an eternity of where they might be headed. Viladia was steering them toward the northeastern sector of the Stellar Republic's fortifications, further into the Azure Forest.
‘We're moving deeper into the forest, farther from the primary battlefield,’ Thea thought to herself.
As they continued their relatively swift trek beyond the second line of trenches, she began to feel a faint tingling sensation throughout her body, akin to a muted ache.
‘Huh…? Is this the effect of the drugs finally wearing off?’ she wondered. ‘It's about damn time. I can't operate like a high moron for the whole mission. I’ve made enough of a fool of myself for a lifetime or two.’
As they pressed on, navigating the enemy territory behind the Stellar Republic's lines, Thea kept her mind focused by continually fine-tuning her use of [Agile Stealth].
Moving at such a brisk pace made it challenging to employ her stealth tactics seamlessly, but as the minutes ticked by, she found herself growing more adept at leaving little to no trace of her passage. Finally, her hard work paid off, as she heard the familiar System chime ring in her head.
[System]: "Agile Stealth has reached Level 2."
Every now and then, Viladia would signal the team with essential information, like advising them to slow down in areas where stealth was paramount or indicating zones where they could move more freely without risking detection.
However, as they advanced, Thea couldn't shake off her concern for Viladia.
The Stealth Expert's movements were becoming noticeably slower, almost as if each step had started to weigh her down. It was clear that she was running low on both Focus and Stamina. Thea could hear her increasingly heavy, almost laboured breathing, filling the otherwise silent bubble of space encapsulated by Viladia's Ability.
Whenever Viladia turned to relay information or check on the team, Thea glimpsed the sweat that had accumulated on the inner surface of her visor—a shimmering proof to her physical strain.
‘We can't afford to have her break down now,’ Thea thought anxiously. ‘Her ability to keep us hidden is the lynchpin of this mission.’ Self-reproach simmered within her as she revisited her earlier actions. ‘If only I hadn't been such a high moron, needlessly draining her Focus.’
The tension within the squad was almost tangible, a silent acknowledgment that their survival hinged on Viladia's dwindling reserves of energy.
Yet, no one broached the subject; they all recognized the futility of doing so.
While Einor had the ability to replenish her Focus through his [Focus Link], it would necessitate halting their advance, and it wouldn't address her critical lack of Stamina. Thea figured that there probably was a [Stamina Link] Ability as well, but wasn’t sure if all Medics automatically obtained it through their Class; Einor would have likely offered by now, if he owned it or thought it possible to help with the current situation.
So, they pressed on, harbouring a collective hope that Viladia could maintain her camouflage long enough to get them to a safer location, where they could finally dispense with the bubble altogether.
Compounding Thea's anxiety was the unnerving reality that only Viladia herself had visibility beyond their veiled environment. This rendered Thea completely in the dark, and what irked her even more was her sense of powerlessness—unsure of the distance they had covered, how much further they needed to go, or where they were ultimately headed.
The dull ache that was starting to spread throughout her body furthered this anxiety even more; the feeling unnatural and strange, as if a million bugs were crawling across her skin in an intangible ritual dance.
All she could do to keep herself from wildly flailing about or simply running out of the bubble was her sheer force of will; the knowledge that this situation would not last forever and they had nearly reached their destination—one way or another, the bubble was going to disappear soon.
----------------------------------------
After what felt like an endless trek within their private and severely limited four-metre universe, Viladia signalled that they had arrived at their destination. She approached a tree, its shimmering bark suddenly becoming visible as it touched the boundary of the bubble, and leaned against it, her breathing laboured.
The entire squad tensed, weapons at the ready, prepared for the possibility of immediate detection once the bubble vanished. Thea felt a rush of excitement at the thought of soon regaining her full senses—sight, sound, smell. She had to stifle a giddy giggle that threatened to burst forth from her lips.
Then, without any further preamble, the sensory veil lifted as the bubble simply popped.
The moment the bubble disappeared, Thea felt as if she'd been dunked into an ocean of sensation.
Her senses, starved for what felt like an eternity, were suddenly overwhelmed with an explosion of stimuli.
Her ears perked up, instantly flooded with the complex soundscape of the forest— the rustle of leaves in a soft breeze, distant birds chirping in alarm, likely disturbed by the harsh echoes of war. Interspersed were the commanding shouts of officers and the jarring rhythm of distant high-calibre gunfire, each serving as a disquieting reminder that they were but a stone's throw away from the front lines of battle.
Visually, her eyes were met with a tapestry of colours and patterns that was almost disorienting in its richness.
The tree they hid behind had bark of a surreal azure hue, a colour seemingly too vibrant to exist naturally, yet it did. Its massive trunk stood as a sanctuary, shielding them from any prying eyes towards the west.
Gazing towards the east, she saw a labyrinth of shrubs and undergrowth, a tangled web of life in every shade of green imaginable, with splotches of radiant flowers that seemed to faintly glow in the deeper shadows cast by the thick crowns of the azure trees above.
In stark contrast, the western view, past the massive trunk of the tree, presented a grim panorama—flattened earth and scarred land leading back towards the Stellar Republic's trench lines. It was as if she could see the forest wincing away from the horrors of war, retreating into itself.
The smell was perhaps the most striking of all—fresh, damp earth tinged with the musk of decaying leaves, the sweet aroma of blossoming florals, all married to a faint but ever-present undernote of gunpowder and metallic tang. It was a tapestry as complex and conflicting as the situation they found themselves in, a mix of life and death, nature and destruction.
For a moment, despite the impending dangers and the dire situation, Thea felt profoundly alive, anchored in a reality far richer and more complex than the muted existence within the bubble. It was a fleeting moment of clarity and awareness, a sensory overload that she drank in like a parched wanderer stumbling upon an oasis.
As swiftly as the moment arrived, it vanished, supplanted by a renewed urgency and the looming responsibilities ahead. Morin broke the silence, his voice hushed but assertive, "Good job, Viladia. Rest up for now; we'll handle the rest."
He then turned to Einor. "Top up some of her Focus. We might need an emergency bubble for extraction, or another one of her abilities. We can't solely rely on her, but it's better to have a contingency."
Finally, his eyes met Thea's. Gesturing towards the Stellar Republic’s lines, he said, "Patchwork, find us our target. It should be roughly a click to a click and a half from here, towards their rear."
Nodding a brief acknowledgement before setting off, Thea slowly edged her way around the massive trunk of the azure tree, settling into a partial crouch as she steadied her Gram's barrel against the rough bark.
Peering through the scope, her vision tunnelled, focusing on the distant Stellar Republic's lines. The forest landscape transitioned into a fortified warzone, its organic contours violated by the cold geometry of trenches, bunkers, and barricades. Soldiers, barely more than specks at this distance, moved in coordinated patterns like a colony of ants, each carrying out his task with automated precision.
She shifted her focus across sandbag walls and trenches, taking in the details: infantry in battle gear, hunkered down or darting between cover, and heavy machine gun emplacements with gunners swivelling their weapons in anticipation.
Just beyond the final tier of fortified trenches, Thea's scope picked up a series of armoured transport and utility vehicles. They looked like colossal, iron beetles, their numerous legs firmly anchored into the soil for stability.
‘What the fuck are those?!’ Thea thought, taken aback by the sight.
Their design was completely alien to anything she'd encountered in her Warfare 101 classes at the UHF AD hangars. 'Are these vehicles specific to the Stellar Republic, or are they unique to this planet in particular…?'
As she panned her scope even further back, her eyes were drawn to a massive, still-smoking crater. The scorched earth around it seemed to have been violently displaced. An instant, vivid flashback flickered in her mind: The moment she had activated her [Penetrative Shot] and used her Caliburn to neutralise the enemy's stealth/illusion generator.
That had been their opening move, and here lay its aftermath—a monumental, scorched chasm at the rear of the Stellar Republic's lines. She observed dozens upon dozens of soldiers scrambling around the site, taming the last remnants of smouldering fires and attempting to mitigate the crater's impact as best they could.
Thea continued to scan the landscape through her Gram's scope, seeking the artillery installations that were their primary targets. But as she attempted to peer further into the distance, her line of sight was increasingly obstructed by the dense canopy of azure trees that dominated the landscape. Their thick trunks and flourishing branches created a natural maze, complicating her efforts.
Frustrated, she adjusted her position, taking cautious steps around the massive trunk of the azure tree they were using for cover. She repositioned herself multiple times, aiming her Gram through different gaps in the foliage, attempting to catch sight of anything that resembled artillery emplacements.
During one such adjustment, her eyes were momentarily captivated by the mesmerising shimmer of the azure tree's bark. It looked almost ethereal, like stardust captured in wood. For a brief second, she lost herself in its beauty, her mind drifting away from the urgency of the mission.
'Snap out of it, Thea,' she scolded herself, mentally shaking off the distraction and refocusing on her task. While she still felt her hazy mind unfocus from time to time, the intervals had become longer between each and she caught herself a lot quicker now. It was apparent that the drugs that had clouded her mind were slowly but surely wearing off.
Finally, about 1.5 km away from their current position and nestled between clusters of towering trees, her scope picked up something—a rudimentary construct of sorts. It was difficult to discern its precise nature at this distance and with the intervening foliage, but of all the things she'd observed, this seemed the closest to what could be their target.
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"I think I found something," she reported as she rounded back around the tree towards the rest of the squad, just loud enough for Strike One to hear, her voice tinged with a mix of relief and caution.
"It's not clear, but it's the best lead we've got. About 1.5km out, there’s some kind of… construct. It almost looks like potential perimeter walls, made of rock-crete, but it’s hard to tell with all the trees in the way."
Morin acknowledged her with a brief nod before shifting his focus back to Viladia and Einor. The latter was currently using his [Focus Link] to help Viladia regain her strength.
It was Thea's first experience observing somebody else benefit from the Medic Class's unique ability, and to her slight disappointment, the process appeared rather unremarkable. Einor simply placed his hands on Viladia's shoulders and closed his eyes; no visible signs of energy transfer or other phenomena manifested.
'Not sure why I expected some kind of spectacle, but I can't help feeling a little let down regardless,' she thought, sighing quietly as she observed her squad mates.
Just moments later, the whole ordeal was already over. Einor removed his hands from Viladia’s shoulders, shuddering slightly as he did.
“Ahhh, thanks Medic. That really hit the spot. Not 100% yet, but that should keep me going for a while,” the stealth expert happily offered while rolling her shoulders with renewed vigour.
“Let’s get this show on the road then, shall we?” she added, looking towards Morin and Thea, who both gave an affirmative nod.
Morin, seeing that his entire squad was mostly up and running again, gave the orders, “Alright, Patchwork, you’re up front. Get us close to that wall or whatever it is that you saw. Viladia, you’re right behind her. Make sure we don’t get spotted. Einor you’re with her and I’ll bring up the rear.”
‘Alright, Thea. Time to bring your A-game,’ Thea internally hyped herself up for the coming task, as she stepped closer towards the giant tree’s trunk again.
Stepping forward, Thea took the lead with her Gram at the ready. She led the team close to, and sometimes through, the labyrinthine maze of undergrowth and azure trees, mindful of the Stellar Republic's lines to the west.
Her eyes darted back and forth as she assessed each piece of potential cover—a cluster of shrubs here, an oddly-shaped boulder or root there. She timed their crossings with precision, using her scope to check that no enemy eyes were turned in their direction.
Viladia, just behind her, often provided subtle but invaluable advice.
A gentle point of her finger might indicate a patch of dense foliage that Thea had overlooked, or a shake of her head might warn against a seemingly safe spot that was, in reality, too exposed for her liking. While Thea couldn’t always follow the stealth expert’s line of thinking immediately, she would always find her to be right in hindsight.
Grateful for these corrections, Thea filed them away in her mental toolkit. 'These are skills I'll have to master myself, sooner or later. I’m very happy she’s willing to share so much! This is an invaluable opportunity to learn,' she mused with renewed determination to improve herself as much as possible during this mission.
The ground beneath them seemed to pass in a surreal blur as they made their way toward the obscure structure. Before they knew it, they had covered almost 800 metres; the perimeter wall was now fully visible whenever Thea looked towards their objective.
But just when Thea prepared to lead the squad across another gap in the cover towards the installation, a sudden, jarring sensation hit her—a warning pang in her chest that seemed to freeze her in her tracks.
It was a feeling she couldn't shake, no matter which direction she considered crossing to or what pattern of movement she contemplated. Every time she thought about leaving the tree she was using as cover, the warning sense intensified, almost as if her instincts were screaming at her to stay put.
Puzzled but knowing better than to question, much less ignore, her instincts by now, Thea signalled for the team to halt.
She met eyes with Viladia, who seemed to sense that something was amiss. A quick look shared between them was enough to put the entire squad on high alert.
"What's the matter, Patchwork?" Viladia whispered, drawing closer to Thea to keep their conversation as quiet as possible.
"We can't cross here. I can't explain why, but I know if we leave this cover, we won't survive," Thea replied, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Viladia's eyebrows arched in surprise at the firm declaration. She cautiously peered around the tree they were using as a shield, attempting to discern the potential threat. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Thea. "I don't see anything. I can tell you're convinced, but what's making you feel this way? Did you spot something?"
Thea had always known the day would come when she'd have to explain her peculiar instincts, but she still felt unprepared to do so convincingly.
Determined to make an attempt, understanding that their survival and the mission were at stake, she responded hesitantly, "I have this...odd instinct. It's like a twinge in my chest, alerting me to danger just before it happens. Remember the laser I evaded on my way to the trenches, the first time we met? That was the same thing. I don't understand what triggers it, only that it exists… I hope that makes some sense?"
Viladia shook her head, a bemused expression crossing her face. "It absolutely doesn't make any sense," she admitted, before a thoughtful pause filled the space between them. "But then again… It wouldn't, would it? Not if the origin of this instinct is some sort of Psychic Ability."
Her gaze turned inward, a sign she was deep in thought.
Surprised at the response, Thea’s thoughts swirled, ‘There she goes again with the Psychic stuff… I don’t have the Psychic Attribute unlocked yet and the UHF wants me to become a Psyker when I reach Tier 1. Why would it be Psychic related when I’m only Level 4…?’
"Danger sense… Danger sense…?" she murmured to herself, her eyes returning to meet Thea's with a sudden, growing understanding. "Precognition! That's what it must be! Precognition would allow you to sense incoming threats before they happen. It explains how you dodged that laser without seeing it being fired and why you're so certain about the danger here!"
Caught off guard by the fervour in Viladia's response, Thea struggled to form a reply—she wasn't fond of dampening others' enthusiasm, after all. "I hate to disappoint, but I haven't unlocked the Psychic Attribute yet. I doubt my instincts are Psychic related as a result, Viladia."
"No, no, Patchwork! You're missing the point! I've read extensively on this subject, and it's quite clear to me now. You're a fucking Wielder—a natural Psyker! This means you gain your Innate Psychic Powers even before you unlock the Attribute. Perhaps even before integration!"
Her words tumbled out in a rush as her excitement escalated, "Even without having the Attribute unlocked, you possess a small, unseen reserve of Psychic Resource. That's probably what's powering your intuitive sense for danger! It's all falling into place, Patchwork! This is incredible!"
At this juncture, Morin stepped forward, his resonant voice quelling Viladia's enthusiasm like a sudden downpour, "Vi, quiet the fuck down! You're supposed to be our stealth expert; start acting like it, for fucks’ sake."
Shifting his focus to Thea, he inquired, "What's the delay? We facing trouble?"
Before Thea could respond, Viladia regained her composure, "Relax, big guy. Let me handle this. Keep your eyes peeled for threats while I work with Patches over here, okay?"
As she turned to Thea, there was a gleam in her eyes that Thea found slightly unsettling. "Now, let's delve into what's triggering your instincts here, Patches, shall we?"
Morin seemed to have resigned himself to Viladia's boundless enthusiasm, stepping back and allowing his vigilant gaze to sweep over the Stellar Republic's formation.
"Now, pay close attention, Patches: As a natural Psyker, you should be able to harness your Innate Abilities, in one way or another. I suspect your Psychic Resource pool isn't substantial enough to sustain them, but your Focus should be able to compensate for the additional drain, at least temporarily. If my assumption is correct, then we should be able to guide you into channelling your danger sense to project a visual 'replay' of what's triggering it. Are you following?"
As if a floodgate had been opened in Thea's mind, a surge of vivid memories poured in. Instances echoing exactly what Viladia was proposing.
The time she had successfully penetrated the stealth/illusion technology during the Cube Trial. The instance she had done the same for the SADD during Warfare 101. This current mission alone had two such scenarios, first with the generator, then with the sniper. Each situation had demanded her concerted effort to peel back the layers—almost as if she was channelling some bizarre, invisible power.
'So... I'm a Wielder then? Viladia seems to have hit the nail on the head with this... It would also explain why I keep unintentionally overdrawing my Focus. All of the incidents where I suddenly had no Focus left over were right after this strange type of channelling,' Thea pondered, before nodding in agreement to Viladia’s question.
Sporting a wildly enthusiastic grin, Viladia proceeded, "Great! Here's our plan: First, assess your Focus. We need to know its limits. We can't afford a Focus Overdraw in this situation. Wielders often end up dead because they don't realise they're using their Focus to channel their Innate Abilities, leading to excessive Overdraws. We definitely want to prevent that as much as possible."
Resolving to follow the stealth expert's lead, Thea pulled up her Status.
[Status]
Thea McKay - Level 4.26 - Contribution Points: 117.55 / 440 - Unspent Attribute Points: 0
HP: 116 / 121 - Stamina: 108 / 155 - Focus: 204 / 215 - TBD - TBD
Class: None - Specialization: None - Title: None - TBD - TBD
"I'm at 204 out of 215. I'll probably need some for the actual objective, so we should bear that in mind," Thea advised.
"That should be plenty!" Viladia replied, grinning broadly before adding in a much softer tone, "...I think."
"Now, close your eyes, Patches. I want you to concentrate fully on that sensation of danger, as if you're extracting it from your chest and transferring it to your mind to visualise the feelings within you. Don't push too hard, as we only need a brief glimpse, and we don't want to waste too much Focus."
Thea obeyed, closing her eyes as Viladia's hushed voice continued, "Breathe naturally—if you're calm, inhale slowly. If you feel panicked, hyperventilate if that's what your body urges you to do. It may seem counterintuitive, but it's essential to be in tune with your emotions while attempting to decode them. Go ahead."
Thea heeded Viladia's advice and honed in on her sense of impending danger.
It was trickier than it sounded, as she needed to mentally commit to stepping out from their protective cover—a move that her instincts screamed would be lethal—just to anchor that feeling in her consciousness. After a few attempts, she succeeded in fixing her intent just enough to hold that sensation in place.
Next, Thea concentrated, using the same focus she employed to penetrate stealth or illusion technology with her eyes. This time, however, she aimed her attention at the elusive, visceral sensation in her chest.
Initially, nothing changed.
Then, as though she had passed some invisible threshold, the blackness behind her closed eyes lifted, giving way to a vision seen from her own point of view. A wave of deja vu washed over her; the experience felt eerily familiar, as if she had traversed this mental landscape before.
Her vision presented her with the exact scene she would witness upon opening her eyes, albeit cast in muted tones as if a slight grey filter had been overlaid. The centre of her vision remained sharp, while the periphery blurred into a kaleidoscope of fuzzy, muted colours and shapes.
Suddenly, she watched herself take a step forward.
The sensation was deeply unsettling. Although she remained stationary, the Thea in her vision moved, creating a disorienting paradox of perspective. She had tried virtual reality games before, but none felt as viscerally authentic as this vision.
Thrown off balance, Thea began to fall forward, her body reacting to what her mind believed was happening. She felt hands catch and steady her, although she couldn't see them—likely Viladia's quick reflexes at work.
Grateful for Viladia's timely intervention yet wary of breaking her concentration with even a whispered word of thanks, Thea kept her focus squarely on the unfolding vision.
The faux Thea rushed forward, just as she had intended to do to cross the momentary area of missing cover.
Paying close attention to anything she could make out in the vision, Thea felt pressured; she needed to make this vision count. She was unlikely to get a second shot at this, as the Focus costs were undoubtedly exorbitant, if her veil-piercing eye channel was anything to go by.
Just as the faux Thea took her third step into the exposed area, chaos erupted within the vision—the ground in front of her burst open, launching a swarm of head-sized mines into the air.
These weren't ordinary mines; each was equipped with a small propulsion system at its rear, enabling it to navigate with eerie precision toward its target.
Suddenly, faux Morin's voice cut through the scene with heart-stopping urgency. "Fuck! Seekers! RUN!" he bellowed, levelling his massive gun towards the airborne swarm.
The weapon was a Shard-Array gun, a fearsome weapon designed to unleash utter destruction. Each shot from the gun released an array of incredibly thin, razor-sharp projectiles, arranged in a 6x6 grid. When fired, it didn't just hit a target—it shredded an entire area, creating a net of annihilation wherever it was aimed.
Morin squeezed the trigger, activating the weapon's frightening payload.
With each cyclical surge of internal energy, the gun unleashed a single devastating grid of shards, propelling them at a fearsome speed. As long as the trigger remained depressed, the energy continued to cycle, rapidly firing off one lethal grid after another. The projectiles tore into the approaching mines, ripping some apart and causing others to detonate prematurely in a chain of fiery explosions.
Realising the mortal danger, faux Thea pivoted on her heels and bolted, her heart pounding as she sprinted back towards the safety of the Azure Tree's cover. In the vision, she saw the likenesses of Viladia and Eiron also making a break for it, fleeing from the Seeker Mines with equal urgency.
In the blink of an eye, the vision showed the Seeker Mines overwhelming Morin. Despite his armour and weaponry, the violent explosions tore through him as if he were made of tissue paper, disintegrating both armour and flesh in a cataclysmic instant.
The remaining Seeker Mines refocused their trajectories, hurtling toward the next closest targets: Eiron and Thea.
Trusting her uncanny instincts, faux Thea dodged an incoming Seeker without even turning to identify the threat.
She slid across the ground, finding refuge behind the Azure Tree just in time.
Eiron wasn't as fortunate; three Seekers collided with him, igniting a fireball that reduced him to vapour in an instantaneous, searing blast.
As for the Seeker Mines that failed to make tight turns around the tree's corners—thanks to their single main thrusters—they simply fell apart a hundred metres behind the fleeing duo. Shockingly, each head-sized mine that fell apart in such a way unleashed a dozen mini-sized Seeker Mines, smaller but no less capable of tracking their targets.
Viladia uttered a resigned "Fuck me," just before the swarm of hundreds of mini-Seekers descended upon the vision versions of Thea and Viladia. The view abruptly cut off, annihilated in a cacophony of explosions, leaving nothing but a haunting darkness behind Thea’s closed eyes. Thea dropped to one knee, reeling from the visceral impact of witnessing her own death in the vision, the support from Viladia's steadying hands insufficient to keep her upright.
Viladia extended her hand toward Thea, her voice heavy with acute concern. "Patches, are you—"
Interrupting her, Thea spoke in a voice fraught with harrowing urgency.
"It's Seeker mines. We're on the edge of a Seeker minefield..."