Daniel’s ribs crackled as the kicked collided, his perspective blurring as he crashed into the wall and fell to the ground. He dropped his blade in the process, but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. As he lay there, Daniel thought back to an earlier time on the jungle planet. The time when Gulliman kicked him in the back, sending him tumbling through the mud. He’d been totally at the mercy of his tyrannical commander. The memory of that helplessness ignited a white-hot rage that raced throughout his system. Pain took a backseat as his fist rolled up into a ball, vision narrowing to a single, livid point. All his past humiliations suddenly came into stark relief. Even the rational side of him, the side that allowed him to control his temper, agreed with this newfound fury. If Daniel didn’t do something, he’d die. Emily would die.
He couldn’t afford to hold back.
“Engaging Makiel Protocol, [Standard] Power”
System Power: 2.9%
Status
Strength: 220 (+650)
Dexterity: 236 (+650)
Constitution: 190 (+330)
Adaptability: 198 (+220)
Psyche: 230 (+350)
Korta didn’t have time to react as Daniel crashed into him with a shoulder check, crushing his body and sending him shooting like a bullet to the other side of the room. Daniel didn’t kill him with the opening blow only because his mind was clouded by the pain of his injuries. He hadn’t thought to pick up his fiery blade before attacking. Now, as the armor’s healing subfunctions began restoring his internal organs and setting his ribs back into place, he simply reached out with his right hand. With the protocol active, the blade flew obediently into his open palm in the blink of an eye. Coldly, Daniel turned his attention to the bloody smear that only vaguely resembled Marko Korta. The Lieutenant let out a cry of fear and anger despite his injuries as he met Daniel’s gaze. Codex glowing, the man manifested a total of eight clones, all of which raised their blades to shoot at Daniel as the real Lieutenant fumbled with a stim. It didn’t matter.
Daniel was on them in a flash, sword flaming yellow as he dispatched three clones in a single breath. His Domain expanded, informing him of several incoming Psionic bolts, but they were of little object. He leapt into the air, allowing the bolts to pass under him and changing his sword to a spear in the same maneuver. As Daniel passed over the clones below, he shifted positions so that he was looking down on the enemy. Five stabs flicked outward with no visible pause in between them, but Daniel was vexed to see that two of the clones survived the barrage. He was still getting used to the armor’s boosts.
Nevertheless, he completed his flip and landed behind the clones, with nothing left between him and Korta. The man’s face had turned white as a sheet, and even as his wounds knit back together from the stim’s medicines, his panic only grew. Korta’s whole body began to glow yellow, and he called out: “STOP!”
A wave of invisible power crashed over Daniel, but all that happened was another notification from Nuntius echoing through his mind:
“Foreign Influence Resisted”
Korta’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as Daniel didn’t even break his stride. His sword was knocked away with the quick flick of Daniel’s spear, and he was immediately pinned against the wall by the Heavenly Armament afterward. The weapon took him in the chest, just above the sternum, and Korta barely had the time to look down in shock before the blade’s white fire spread through his body. Mercifully, it vaporized him in a flash, leaving behind a triangle of sapphire metal and a sphere of bright yellow light. Daniel raised an eyebrow at the second item. He’d known that humans had a chance to drop Morphic Stones just like Xenos did, but there was a part of him that was mildly disturbed to see it happen with a human. Like the man he’d just snuffed out was no different from the beasts he’d killed so often. As they had so often before, his grandfather’s words came back to him from beyond the grave: “Killing is ugly, Danny. Even killing animals isn’t to be done wastefully. Even when you’re in the right, it’s not something you should grow numb to, or, God forbid, enjoy. Every time you take a life; you destroy something valuable. Never forget that.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
These were the words his grandfather had given him on their first hunting trip. A part of his message had been about using every part of the animal to benefit himself and the community, honoring the life that had been taken. But there was something underlying his words that nagged at Daniel today. A part of him had enjoyed killing Korta. That slime had earned it. Even now, as he dismissed the Protocol, Daniel felt the adrenaline of a successful hunt pumping through his veins. Why shouldn’t he be happy? He’d won! He was alive!
The thrill of victory now tinged with a slight bitterness, Daniel stooped down and scooped up the stone and the Codex, banishing the former to storage while tucking the latter into the coat he’d thrown over his wetsuit. Grandpa Roger wouldn’t approve of wasting those resources, at least. Then, a new realization hit him. Turning, Daniel saw the rest of his comrades staring at him.
Their reactions varied substantially. Emily looked grateful and happy, the notion ‘good riddance’ painted clear as day across her face. The people who’d escaped here with him also looked generally supportive. Robert Forsythe, a lanky, bearded man with a shiny bald head looked on contemplatively, while Geno Allbright’s swarthy faced beamed satisfaction, in agreement with Emily. Allen Praxis appeared nervous, yet cautiously accepting, while Arnold and most of the non-humans were impassive and hard to read. Leka was the only alien expressing anything openly, holding onto a stoic expression even as she nodded firmly and folded her arms.
In the meantime, the six who’d swum in with Korta looked more disturbed. One of those men, by the name of Harold Goldstein, stepped forward with a frown: “What have you done? You’ve killed our strongest fighter!”
“Looked ta’ me like Danny’s our strongest fighter, ye slaggart.” Reggie was the first to speak in Daniel’s defense, surprisingly. His three black eyes glinted seriously as he floated over to stare at Goldstein directly. The human flinched, but didn’t back down. Looking around the Colare, he kept his gaze on Daniel: “Maybe, but that doesn’t make it right. Sergeant Hardgrave got in the way of the Lieutenant as he discharged his duty in a lawful manner. What even is that tech anyway-“
“Enough!”, Arnold’s voice boomed out, powerful and permitting no debate, “I am now the highest-ranking member of this mission. Here is my judgement. Lieutenant Korta’s decision to attack the Republican were contrary to the ceasefire we’d established with her. Therefore, they were unlawful, in addition to being unprovoked and unwise. For now, we shall proceed under that assumption and attempt to escape this place. Any further deliberation can be made by the higher authorities at a later date. Is that clear?”
Some still seemed a bit unsure, but most indicated their agreement. No one openly dissented at least. As Daniel watched this entire conversation unfold, he got another notification:
“Warning: Defenses Activated”
Nuntius then pulled up video feed on his HUD of what was happening in the caves outside the facility. As he watched, Daniel stepped forward and got everyone’s attention: “Thank you, Master Sergeant Martel. Now that that’s settled, it’s time to leave.”
That last sentence was punctuated by an explosion in the distance.
…
With the remnants of the ship now in Its possession, Hars floated steadily down one of the nearby tunnels, Thralls in tow. It came across a forest of some of those strange sea plants, which it brushed aside easily with some telekinesis. The true obstacle came as It went further into the tunnel. Two turrets sprang out of the wall, obtaining a lock on Its position and spitting out two rivers of white-fire projectiles. They crashed into its shield, cracking it heavily before Hars Overclocked Its defenses. The empowered barrier proved impervious to the barrage, allowing the Kharnidd to stretch out Its hands. The turret’s guns glowed green before twisting inward, blocking the passage of the energy bolts. The devices quickly overheated, exploding with a single, harmonized BOOM.
Unruffled, Hars’Nocrot and Its minions continued onward.
…
The Pioneers didn’t need much more than that noise to convince them to start running. Daniel had Nuntius slam the moonpool door shut behind them, activating all the defenses behind their group as they ran down the facility’s corridors. That probably wouldn’t kill the Gamma Class, but it should slow it down. In the meantime, he navigated everyone to the other moonpool room. Hopefully, the Kharnidd would be too distracted by the facility’s defenses to successfully track them once they’d left.
After a decent sprint, they reached the second moonpool. As a group, the Pioneers re-equipped their swimming gear and jumped into the water. Swimming out and into the cave beyond, everyone suddenly felt their hearts drop. The moonpool opened into another underwater cavern, just like the other one had, with one major caveat. Looking around the Pioneers saw nothing but craggy rock. No caves and no exits perforated this underwater chamber. If there ever were any, it had been some time since they’d caved in.
It was a dead end.
