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Bloodied Soil

Mealtime came and went, as did lights-out, and the next day started quietly. Amanda slept on when Cibbie and Fortune, donned in their recruit training uniforms, headed down to the ship's firing range, one deck below the room they had been training in the day before.

From the mutters and whispered words the personnel down here, they had heard the fight in the training room the day before, and they were impressed with the brutality that had been dished out.

Audra was absent, also; Sharp mentioned that she had been admitted to the maintenance deck to have her fractured chassis and charred skin repaired, and that she had been carried there by Sharp herself due to her being unable to walk from pain.

Fortune mentioned that damaging any solid part of an android took very impressive amounts of strength.

The class mingled around for a short while, all chatting idly to one another until Commander Jay and a weapon trainer entered and ordered attention.

"This is Captain Alfredson, he is one of our most accomplished marksmen on board, and he will be instructing you all today in the use of short and mid-range firearms." Jay informed, before nodding to Sharp who held up a hand. "Speak, pr-"

"Corporal, sir," she said quickly, "I was wondering if any long-range support would be given us on the front lines, or if we would be trained in it eventually?" She emphasised her question by jostling the large rifle slung over her back.

"What's your name, Corporal?" Alfredson asked her, looking down at a clipboard in his hands and moving sheets.

"Sharp, sir, Sharp Hellborn."

"Ah, yes, here you are, Special Unit Sharp Hellborn; it says here you have prior long-range experience?"

Sharp nodded. "Yes sir."

"Look a little deeper into the file, Captain." Jay said, pointing farther down the page. "She has extreme-range experience as well."

The captain's eyes bulged as he eyed the file. "Wh-what? She managed to disable an orbiting ship with one shot? How the hell did she do that?!"

"My rifle is special, sir." She informed. "And I have special rounds that it can fire, such as the depleted Phazon slug that was used to disable the Highborn battleship."

The captain looked sidelong to Jay. "C-commander is that even possible..?"

Jay shrugged. "An expert sniper can strike a pin in a bullseye from almost three kilometres away." He said. "You, of all people, should know that."

The captain seemed thoughtful before he put the clipboard down and grabbed a heavy and long rifle from the cabinets. He moved to a booth, rested on the ground and set his target at almost the back of the range. It took him a moment or two before he fired, and an overhead screen showed a bullseye.

With a grin he stood back up.

"Top that."

Sharp looked to Jay, who nodded to her calmly, and she pulled her own rifle from her back, walking to the same booth, and setting the target at the very back of the room, not even bothering to lie down or look down the scope as she lined up her shot. She fired from the hip.

Bullseye.

Idly she slung her rifle over her back again before returning to her place in line.

"Topped, sir."

The captain stared flabbergasted at the screen for a moment or two before chuckling lightly and taking a deep breath to collect his composure.

"Yes... well;" he began, "anyway, today I am here to teach you the skills required for using short and mid-range firearms. While you all have excellent hand to hand combat skills, not to mention strength far surpassing that of Polaris, that will not be enough.

"Polarii have integrated plasma weaponry which can deal fatal damage to living targets and excessive damage to artificial. You are going to need to be able to counter this power with your own ranged weapons. We will start small, with sidearm which all personnel will be issued, and work our way up to KL-40-S Dragonflies which a handful of you will be issued for use, as recommended by Commander Jay." He moved to a cabinet and unlocked it with his master key, retrieving an average sized pistol from within and showing it to the class. "This is a Guild HCARL-237 Huntsman; it is light with a decent firing rate but mid-low accuracy. General Starfury himself carries one of these, though his has been highly modified for better accuracy and potential damage.

"All recruits will be issued with one of these; you will find it on your bunk when you return to your quarters within its case with four clips and a side-holster. These clips will be full, however you will be required to refill them yourselves, and to ensure proper care of the weapon at all times." He tilted the pistol in his hand slightly to show off a switch on the side. "This is the safety switch; at all times outside use, including when holstered on the field, the switch should be on, ensuring that the pistol does not accidentally fire. All weapons issued by the Guild have a safety switch or catch, and you are to acquaint yourself with them all. Clips are fed into the firearm by the butt like so-" he demonstrated by loading a clip into his pistol, then pressed a button on the side of the gun, "and released with the catch on the side. Pistols are to be unloaded before being brought on-board, and should a round be within the chamber, pulling the slide back will release it. If there is not a round in the chamber, and you have loaded the pistol-" once again he loaded the gun, "pull back on the slide until it clicks and release; this will feed a round into the chamber."

At this point, he put the gun down, safety still on, and pulled a pair of earmuffs and eye-protection goggles on.

"Most normal recruits are required to wear protective eyewear and earmuffs during range practice, however this class does not require them due to..."

"Due to the fact that you're all mechanical units, with the exception of Flare and Sybil, who are required to wear them, and if I catch you not wearing them, you will be on report." Jay snapped, pointing to the goggles and earmuffs on the counter behind the class.

The captain chuckled nervously before returning to teaching the class about proper use of their pistol, cleaning it afterward, and proper storage procedures and practices. He then let them use the practice pistols on the range before having them all return the pistols to a separate counter for the range personnel to clean. He then went on to use a monitor to show several other pistols which could be requisitioned for use, but were unavailable to the class as recruits. He then lined them up again, and unlocked a larger gun safe, pulling a medium sized rifle from within and tucking a clip for it into a pouch on his hip.

"This, recruits, is a Guild Assault Rifle RJ-22K, nicknamed the Hawk. It is a well weighted, high speed rifle with low recoil and decent potential damage due to the small rounds it fires, but good accuracy. All recruits not issued a more advanced weapon will be given one of these..."

He continued to list features of the rifle, where they were and how it was used to its fullest potential, eventually allowing them to use practice rifles on the range and going back to the slideshow of other weapons that could be requisitioned by personnel but were unavailable to the recruits until later in their serving careers, and showing them an RJ-989 which were used by backup personnel such as medics.

A third weapon locker was unlocked and he pulled out a bulky rifle which he seemed to have slight difficulty with.

"This, class, is a Guild Juggernaut KL-40-S. This weapon is a very powerful-"

Cibbie tuned out, starting to go into a daydreaming daze as the captain droned on and on. She was wondering what Amanda was up to, alone in her quarters with only Terry to keep her company.

She stayed in this daze until the captain yelled directly into her ear.

"Corporal Sybil, are you paying attention?!"

She jolted in fright, getting a light chuckle from the class, before shaking her head no.

"Oh, you think you're better than the rest of us, do you? Think you have the skills to use this weapon because you've used the others?"

Cibbie blinked at him, and Jay cut his arm between the pair.

"Captain, if I may;" he began, taking the rifle and handing it to Cibbie, "young lady, I have set up a target in the range. Shoot it."

She looked at him sideways, and he only offered a cheeky wink in return. She took the rifle and stood in the range booth, staring down at the target that had been set up.

She set the gun down.

In an instant her arm shifted, plates moving and clicking into place until she had not a hand but a gun, and she threw her arm out and shot, her projectile obliterating the target in the range. She gave a satisfied smile and turned to.

Her class, except for Jay, Flare and Fortune, were gobsmacked.

"Captain Alfredson, you did not read the files." Jay snapped. "Let me introduce her, Corporal Sybil, 'Cibbie', Heritance, Queen of the Archethal throne and one of our pair of Polaris-augmented personnel. The only weapons she will be assigned are her sidearm, already within her quarters, and her own weapon, a Polaris type Seven Plasma cannon."

The captain nodded faintly, still stunned at the power of Cibbie's weapon.

For the next few hours, the class practiced use of different weapons, being shown how to clean them and safely store them before they returned to their quarters to find their own pistols and store it. By now it was time for Amanda's walk again, and Cibbie dutifully put the excited young drake into her harness before taking her into the corridor, running into yet another drake tamer in the area just beyond her door.

The blue female drake, considerably larger than Amanda, curiously sniffed at the younger dragon.

"Another drake trainer on this deck at this time of day..?" The human asked rhetorically in a mumble. "Oh, and your drake is still but a whelp, how cute! You must be a new addition to our flight; I didn't hear anything about a new recruit..."

Cibbie gave a nervous laugh. "Amanda's not a Guild drake, she's mine."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed..." the tamer apologised, "it's just that most drakes aboard are Guild drakes."

Cibbie nodded faintly. "Speaking of, you wouldn't happen to know the name of the trainer I encountered last night, would you? Male drake, red, horns like this..?" She gestured with her hands over her head.

"Sounds like Ricky and Kooper, why?"

"His drake was rather... vocal."

"Yeah, Koops doesn't like unfamiliar drakes, never been sure why. I'll have a word with Ricky when I see him next; maybe he should take Koops back to the Broodmistress to have him checked."

"I'm only taking Amanda for her walk, though you're welcome to join me?"

The trainer shook her head. "No, no; with a drake as young as yours, you should be spending what little time you have alone together, have a good afternoon."

Cibbie nodded. "You too, ma'am."

Cibbie waved at the tamer as she walked away and rounded a corner. Once out of eyesight, Cibbie knelt down and gave Amanda a gentle stroke.

"You hear that? I'm going to spend every second I can with you."

Amanda happily hopped partially into Cibbie's lap and licked her cheek, stimulus to which Cibbie giggled and stroked her slightly more vigorously. "C'mon," she began, standing upright again, "let's go for our walk."

A little over ten minutes later and the pair arrived back at their quarters, Amanda tugging at the lead with less enthusiasm now that she'd worn herself out. She hurried into the room, going right for her water bowl, and Cibbie took a moment to remove her harness before Fortune tapped her shoulder.

"Hmm, what is it?"

Fortune looked worried. "The captain wants to see you in the command centre." She replied nervously.

"Do you know what for?"

Fortune shook her head.

"The captain is not known for allowing anyone bar officers into the command centre; this is both a privilege and foreboding." Fortune mumbled. "I'd advise taking Terry along to record what transpires; the captain is liable to do something he shouldn't."

Cibbie nodded faintly, looking over at Terry who only looked back at her expectantly. She shrugged and stepped over, plucking him from the top of the chest of drawers and placing him upon her shoulder before she left the room and headed for the command centre.

She stepped off of the elevator and into the command centre proper, where she found herself flanked by two soldiers. They walked her, rather unceremoniously, to where the Captain stood looming over a console. He looked up at her from the screen.

"Ah, Corporal, about time you showed up." He grumbled. "You know, soldiers are supposed to obey orders the moment they receive them, not whenever they feel like it."

"Apologies, sir;" she replied, standing to attention as Brenton had taught her to, "I had been walking my drake when the order arrived at my quarters, I have only recently-"

"They also do not talk back to their superiors." The captain snapped.

He was a well-built human, looking to be in his mid-thirties, his brown hair in a crew-cut and his uniform tidy. At six foot three, he did look down on Cibbie faintly, though he seemed to be looking down his nose at her on purpose, his green-blue eyes boring holes through her with what looked like utter contempt.

Cibbie grumbled under her breath. "Yes sir."

The captain smiled in a way that Cibbie labelled as 'greasy', "Good. Now that the... formalities are over, there is the matter at hand." He stepped over and in front of her, glaring daggers at her. "You are to be confined to quarters except for training sessions, meals, and when you are to be sent planet-side."

"What?!"

"Your... appearance makes the crew uneasy, and frankly I share their distaste. Polaris, free or not, shall not walk the corridors of my ship unless accompanied by heavy guard or within body bags. Enough harm has befallen my people from your race-" he practically spat the word, "and you shall be no exception." He leaned down to her face. "You disgust me, and every second you spend aboard my ship is another second you don't spend dead. Be thankful I'm only confining you to quarters."

"But sir, how will I walk my drake?"

The captain glared at her furiously. "What did I say about talking back?!" He almost shouted at her. "Your drake can stay within the confines of your quarters, as can her 'master', until a Guild trainer arrives to relieve her from your less than capable care."

"But..."

"This is not open for debate, corporal, this is an order; you will not leave your quarters except for the previously mentioned criteria or you will find yourself within the brig for the rest of our mission! Do I make myself clear?!"

Cibbie growled angrily. "Crystal, Sir." She snapped. "Your now captive Royal will not disobey."

The captain smiled again in his greasy manner. "Good." He snapped, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If not for your royal origin, you wouldn't-"

Cibbie slapped his hand from her shoulder harshly.

"Superior officer or not, if you touch me again you will lose the offending appendage." She snarled. "That is not from a Corporal, but a Queen and I don't care what you would do to me after!"

She spun on her heel angrily and strode out, followed closely by the two security officers.

She arrived back at her quarters in a furious huff, the two guards taking up place outside her door. Before she entered, she noticed another pair outsider Flare and her brother's room. Angrily she strode in, waiting for the door to close before she beckoned Fortune over.

"He's confined me to quarters." She mumbled to the worried lamb. "And he appears to have done the same to my brother." She tugged Terry from his hiding place within her jacket pocket and handed him over. "Take Terry to Commander Jay, he'll know what to do."

Fortune nodded and moved to the door, stepping out and into the corridor unhindered. Cibbie stepped to the open door, glaring daggers at the guards who stepped in her way before shutting the door in their faces.

The captain sat in his office, writing out an official punishment for Cibbie. He was using her threat against her, and the fact that she had slapped his hand away was being filed as assaulting a superior officer.

A hand grabbed the paper and wrenched it from under his pen, leaving a streak down the page.

Jay scrutinised the report before folding it neatly and pocketing it.

"Ah, Commander." The captain said coolly. "I did not hear you enter, nor do I expect you to stay."

"You expect wrong." Jay replied. "I have been informed that you have confined one of my students and her brother to their quarters."

"You have been informed correctly."

"I am also under the impression that you touched royalty without permission from the royal in question."

"That is a debateable impression, Commander." The captain snapped. "I touched a Corporal on the shoulder."

Jay put his palms against the desk and leaned down to the Captain's face.

"Whether or not she is a corporal within the Guild is not a factor." He snapped back. "When it comes to touch, she is, first and foremost, Her Majesty."

"And yet you have laid hands on her without asking permission numerous times-"

"Highness Heritance knows and trusts me." Jay interrupted in a hiss. "I am, to her, a confidante."

"Miss Heritance is of the enemy, her entire being is compromised, she should not, and will not, walk the halls of my ship, and neither will her brother!"

"You have no legitimate grounds on which to confine them Captain." Jay snapped. "Rescind the orders."

"Oh, are you trying to argue regulations with me now? You really want to go there?"

"You would not win, Captain." Jay growled before tapping his head. "Computer, remember?"

"How about regulation four three two-"

"Orders by a superior officer are final unless base for their legitimacy is sound." Jay finished for him. "Don't try and quote regulations to me Captain, I wrote most of them."

The Captain grumbled. "My order is final." He snarled.

"Then allow me to show you the ground on which I stand." Jay snapped, slipping a card from his pocket and slapping it onto the desk.

The captain looked down at it as if it were but worthless card.

"You will release Twelve and her brother." Jay growled.

"Or?"

"Or you will find out what happens when you anger Ace."

The captain sneered. "Please, don't try that with me, I get handfuls of supposed Dozen every week trying to weedle out of one punishment or another."

In a flash, Jay had his personal sidearm to the captain's head.

"Test me." He snarled. "Eleven told you that she was not going to be alone on this mission, I know, I was there. I am Ace, and I report to only two people in this entire galaxy. One of them is Eleven, General Starfury, because he is my superior officer."

"And the other?"

Jay grinned, "The other is none of your concern. Just know that, right now, I am live to the General."

The captain blinked. "You're bluffing."

Jay grinned.

"He's not bluffing, Captain." Michael's voice called over the intercom.

"What-"

"I just put him onto the speakers." Jay snapped, pulling his gun from the captain's head.

"And he's also correct," Michael's voice said, "You have no grounds to hold the royals within their quarters, and I'm offended to think that you would try."

"S-sir..!"

"That you also touched royalty without her permission adds insult to injury; Jay sent me the recording of the events that transpired when Cibbie was being ordered to her quarters." "R-recording?!"

"Personal assistant, Captain;" Michael's voice snapped, "There's a reason I ensure every recruit has one. They make appeals against orders so much easier to untangle. You will release them from their incarceration, or I'll have you bumped down ranks so hard you'll be scrubbing toilets with your face!"

The captain chuckled. "It's a nice trick you have, Jay, but I know when I'm being had."

"Operation code Alpha two Zeta nine!" Michael's voice snapped. The lights dimmed, the doors locked, and the captain's screen flashed the words 'lockdown'. A second voice, the computer's, came over the intercom.

"Room under lockdown, authority of General Starfury; access to systems denied, doors have been sealed."

"Believe me now, Captain?" Michael snapped angrily. "Or do I have to make it Private?"

The captain nodded. "S-sir!"

"Your order to hold Sybil and Brenton Heritance to their quarters is, as of now, officially rescinded, and you are being written up for punishment once you return home. Do not try my patience again, Captain; Commander Jay has been given authority to take command from you should it be necessary. Remember, commander is above captain. Release lockdown, authority Alpha zero Alpha zero." The lights came up, and there was a click as Michael hung up.

Jay huffed as he turned to leave.

"Don't make me do that again, Captain." He snapped, before walking out into the corridor beyond.

Cibbie smiled and gave Jay a slight hug as the guards surrounding her door left, those by her brother's door following.

"Thank you sir!"

"Of course Sybil."

The next day, Cibbie was woken bright and early by Fortune, being shaken awake by the lamb who wore a worried face.

"Ngh... hmm? What time is it?"

"Six twenty three." Fortune replied.

"What're you waking me for? We don't leave until twelve..."

"There's an emergency down at the research outpost, we're being hastened to leave ASAP."

Cibbie groaned and sat up before sliding out of bed. "Good thing I showered before bed, huh?" She asked rhetorically.

She quickly slipped on her gear and moved to leave, but was stopped when Fortune grabbed her hand.

"Bring Terry."

"Then who'll look after Amanda?"

"One of the Guild Drake Tamers is waiting out in the hall, we'll be handing Amanda to her for the duration of our deployment, and she'll look after her."

Cibbie nodded faintly before fetching Terry from his seat on the chest of drawers, and handling Amanda into her harness. They moved out into the corridor, where the female tamer from the previous afternoon was waiting.

"Hello, I'm being ordered to look after your drake until you return from planet-side."

Cibbie nodded and handed her Amanda's lead.

"I... I assume you know how to handle young drakes..? She needs to be given these in her food..." She handed over the small bottle of pills.

"Of course, corporal; I'll look after her, don't worry."

Cibbie nodded and knelt down to Amanda, who turned and soaked in the attention.

"You be a good girl, okay? She's going to be looking after you while I'm gone."

Amanda nodded and licked Cibbie's face, before stepping over and sniffing the tamer's leg curiously.

"Thank you Miss..."

"Wells." The tamer said. "Terri Wells."

"Thank you Miss Wells."

She nodded and nudged Amanda with her foot. "C'mon, sweetie, let's go."

Begrudgingly, Amanda obeyed. Cibbie waited until they were out of sight before sighing sadly and turning to the elevator.

When she and Fortune entered the teleporter room, they found only Commander Jay, Sharp and Brenton waiting for them.

"The rest are planet-side already." Jay informed, handing Cibbie a facemask. "Put this on, the outpost reports that there's an airborne virus in the atmosphere which is rather potent. C'mon, let's move."

They all stood on the teleporter; Brenton taking up place next to Cibbie, and Jay nodded to the operator.

After a bright flash of light, the teleporter was empty.

They appeared in the middle of the outpost, and one of the archaeologists hurried over to them.

"What's the situation?" Jay demanded.

"Some huge beast has been haranguing the outpost for the last half hour; it savaged several of our soldier guards before we could ward it away, but it keeps threatening to attack."

"Describe it." Brenton snapped.

"The beast is about six foot three, with silver-grey fur and a long tail with a barb. It has a crest atop its head that looks not unlike a feather, and it has rather large claws on its paws."

"Sounds like a Grauthak, they're savage predators." Brenton informed. "Very strong, not to mention smart, it'll take more than just cunning to take it down."

A roar to their right grabbed their attention, and they turned to see the beast in question charging at them.

Sharp moved to intercept.

"Sharp!" Brenton shouted, moving to pull her from harms' way but was stopped by Jay.

"Let's see what she can do."

The beast moved its head to bite down on Sharp's leg, but she shifted slightly and somersaulted over it, pushing her hands onto its head to flip right over its back. Maintaining her grip, she used her, and its, momentum to swing it over her head and bring it crashing to the ground on its side. It gave a furious grunt and tried to stand, but again was grasped in her potent grip and swung, this time in a circle, and hurled powerfully through a nearby concrete wall. It didn't return.

"It shouldn't be bothering us any longer." Sharp said.

Jay hummed to himself thoughtfully as he eyed her critically. "Not bad; you're aiming for non-lethal I take it?"

She shrugged.

A sound akin to pots dropping came from one corner of the encampment, and one of the researchers came out of a tent holding aloft a small furry bundle which shook in fear. Its bright green eyes looked around frantically, and its orange fur kept changing colours as if it were trying to camouflage, and would occasionally shine brightly. A bundle of little horns on its forehead would flash occasionally too, becoming blindingly bright for split moments before fading back to their usual purple. Two growths on its back moved as if to try and swat the researcher's hands from around its middle, and it held its tail beneath itself protectively.

"Caught you, you little thief!"

Jay looked over disinterestedly. "Oh? What have you snagged?"

"This little bastard has been stealing our equipment, mainly the smaller stuff that it can manage to carry."

One of the female researchers hurried over and tried to wrestle it from his grip.

"Colin, you're hurting it, give it here!"

"Hey, hey, don't crowd her!" Brenton snapped, splitting the two humans up. "You've caught a Chie'Chief, they used to be popular pets. She doesn't look that old, maybe a year or so. She must have a nest rather close by for her to have been stealing your equipment. Try looking amongst rocks or even just around the camp, it's liable to be in an alley; you'll find it to be a veritable treasure trove of shiny items. We used to train them to go through mining rubble to find any ore or gemstones that might have been missed by the miners. I had a crystal about the size of a large coin that my Chie'Chief found on holiday once."

"How do we get rid of it?" The male human asked irritably.

"Well, killing her is one method, but that'd be cruel." Brenton hissed. "If you let her go and give her an angry shout she might stay away, but that's not guaranteed if she sees something shiny, but... You could always tame her."

"I'd be willing to give it a go?" The female proposed. "How do we manage it?"

"That's easy." Brenton said with a smile, gently taking the female critter from the human and handing her to the woman. "Feed her a little and keep her in a tent or something she can't escape from, she'll stay with you if she comes to like you. They can be rather loyal once tamed, so it's unlikely that she'd run away."

"Really? So simple?"

Brenton nodded. "Yeah; if she decides to stay with you, she'll move all of her 'treasures' to a new nest with you, most likely under your cot. She won't mind if you look through it either; just as long as she knows you're the one looking."

The human considered this before giving the female animal a careful stroke down her back.

"Well then, let's go find you something to eat, Valencia." She said down to the still shivering female cutely.

After a couple of hours of getting acquainted with the atmosphere of the planet, Jay pulled the small platoon of students together and instructed them on their respective assignments. Several were to remain behind and keep watch on the encampment, whilst the others were to accompany himself, Cibbie, Brenton and Flare in a march unto the royal citadel.

Sharp and one of the other students were directed to a rooftop to snipe, and Sharp carried a heavy looking bag with her which gently clinked as she walked.

Soon enough, the party of about seven, including Jay, stepped into the destroyed entrance hall of the Royal Citadel.

It was a massive building, spanning almost a dozen floors and several hundred rooms, all of which were in varying grades of demolition, and the whole building was host to an infestation of wild animals. Brenton nudged away a curious Chie'Chief with a foot, and they moved deeper into the empty halls.

"We need the room next to the throne room." Brenton pointed out. "That is at the end of the Great Hall on our left."

"Which hall is the Great Hall again?" Flare asked irritably. "This is a castle; there could be any number of 'great halls'."

"We're in it." Brenton growled. "And try to show at least a little respect, please; this may be ruins now, but this was once my home."

"Sorry." Flare mumbled.

They moved through the dilapidated building to a room through a damaged wooden door. On the far side of the room a bookshelf was bolted to the wall, and a few damaged reading desks rested around the room. Brenton moved to the far wall and knocked on the back of the bookshelf experimentally before turning to the group.

"I lack the strength." He said.

Jay sighed and moved to the bookshelf, brushing Brenton aside and grabbing the wood. In one swift move he wrenched the bookshelf from the wall and tossed it aside, revealing a hidden passageway.

"It's unlikely we'll find any hiding survivors down there." Brenton mumbled. "It may be a hidden part of the castle, but... no-one would go there. It wasn't like it was forbidden..."

"Hmm?"

"F... father used to call it the 'Rurushan ha len Burukahahn'." Brenton mumbled.

Jay blinked a little and hummed to himself again. "'Crucible of the Forsaken', roughly translated." He said. "From what I recall, your father built it to house traitors of the kingdom. It's a gaol of considerable fortitude."

"Wh-why are we going down there, Brenton..?" Cibbie asked worriedly.

Her brother shifted uncomfortably. "The Crucible has only ever housed one Archethal. He... is not much older than us, maybe two or three years. The fact that this bookshelf, the only way in or out, was undisturbed tells us that neither he managed to leave, or that the Polaris managed to get in."

"I don't expect him to put up much of a fight." Jay mumbled to the party. "He's likely to have been all alone for the last few weeks, he'll be dying of dehydration, and his mind will have all but left him. Nevertheless, we are to be extremely careful."

The group chimed their affirmatives and followed him into the dark hall.

They didn't walk for long, the staircase behind the bookshelf led to a heavily fortified corridor deep below the castle, and only one door within that hallway looked in any way used. No sounds could be heard from within the room except for the sound of pages turning. They moved over to the door and inspected the lock.

"Though I am certain your father put in place some sort of lock to restrict access to all but himself and the guards, time is likely of the essence for this man." Jay hissed, gripping the door's handle. "On three; one, two, three!"

He heaved, and the door, though sturdy enough to withstand anything that a hardy and veteran prisoner could dish out, was torn from its hinges and flung across the hall where it landed with a heavy thud. Worriedly the group looked in.

The male occupant, sitting on his bunk and with a history book in hand and a single bare bulb overhead, only stared back.

He lowered his book and blinked, mouth opening to form words before he coughed and lightly smacked his lips.

"Ch... charanu? Rahuli ahni hankni iisu?"

The group blinked at him and his words.

"He's speaking... two dialects..?" Brenton mumbled curiously. "He's asking if we're here to execute him."

"If you would, corporal." Jay insisted.

Brenton nodded. "Uhila... Rahuli uushu polanik tarani. Ranha... ethin niishan epshinik."

"What-"

"I just told him we're not here to execute him." Brenton snapped. "And that we're here to get him to safety."

"Epshinik..? Ruuhini ishana huepshinik?"

"He's asking why he's unsafe here." Brenton said. "Uilo, daisihin; Archethal... pwertishu. Unishana er tel inkta. Inkta el... Archethal.

"The Archethal are extinct. We're the last of our kind." Cibbie mumbled sadly. "You don't need to know the language to have understood those words."

"Do you not understand what this man is saying?" Jay asked.

She shook her head. "It is an old dialect he is mixing his words with, I do not understand it; I do understand what my brother is saying. If he can stop mixing his languages, I might be able to understand."

"H... how about speak Earth?" He asked his voice gravelly and weak. "I learned with books."

"That would be a step in the right direction." Jay growled. "We're here to take you back to basecamp."

He shook his head. "I... I'm to be imprisoned here for the rest of my years."

"Consider that rescinded." Brenton said. "Father was unsure it was a fair trial in the first place."

"'father..?'" The male parroted, "Y... your father..?"

"King Heritance."

"Y-you're?!"

"Brenton Heritance."

The male seemed rather stunned at this.

"I'm sure you know of my sister, Sybil?" Brenton continued, moving her forward a little.

The male appeared to swallow his tongue.

"We're here to get you somewhere safe. Come along, we're unsure how long this place will remain undetected."

Weakly he stood, and he was caught before hitting the ground by one of their classmates.

"Tony, carry him." Jay instructed. "We're leaving. Now."

It was a good ten minutes before they arrived back at base camp, and the male, who informed he was called Katharn, was quickly taken to a nearby portable shower and cleaned thoroughly before being redressed. He sat on a chair outside the plastic facility drinking a rehydration cocktail through a straw.

"The tattoo on his side is an old symbol from back before our grandfathers." Brenton informed the small group of himself, Jay, his sister and Flare. "It means 'Blood Traitor'. To see it on a living Archethal..."

"I was locked away for the murder of my father." Katharn said aloud. "He... he was a terrible man. I was the son he never wanted."

"The Archethal prize females as children, though I don't quite know why." Brenton informed. "Possibly owing to the Blood Wars millennia ago nearly killing our entire species out, it could simply be an old fortune of being lucky enough to have your own bloodline guaranteed."

"He would beat me on a regular occasion." Katharn mumbled. "One night he was hitting me harder than usual and I... fought back. I didn't hurt him, I just... pushed him. That was all. He fell back onto a table and cracked his head open..." He sighed and looked down at the ground beneath his feet sadly. "I... I didn't mean to. He was a monster, but he was still my father..! I..!"

They just stood about in silent understanding as he attempted to sort his emotions and mind.

"He was a dignitary, some 'high profile' aristocrat, and his friends rigged the trial, throwing huge waves of fabricated evidence at me until it was impossible to not find me guilty. They planned everything, even where I would be kept forevermore."

"What I find impressive is that he does not wear a facemask." Flare pointed out. "Surely the airborne virus would..?"

"Archethal have a pair of glands just above our lungs which filter additional toxins and bacteria from the air we breathe. From there the captured hazards are broken down into their key enzymes and filtered through the liver via a special- what?" Katharn became aware he was being stared at.

"How the hell do you..?"

"I had a particularly good education." He grumbled. "With nothing else to do during my years, I threw myself into my study. There's a reason I had so many books. I would count myself amongst the best minds on our culture and history, if I were able to compare myself to anyone of any competition."

"You might want to hang around with the expedition then." Jay said. "They could use a historian who is versed in Archethalian."

"How many dialects do you know..?" Cibbie asked curiously.

He seemed to cringe from her voice slightly before responding, "twenty-four, including three dead dialects; I- who is that over there, by that building?"

They turned to see a female Archethal with bright red hair that hung from her head and disguised her features staring at them.

Brenton choked and snarled. "What!?"

"It can't be!" Jay snapped.

The figure turned and moved down a street, out of sight.

"Brenton, was that--"

"Mother!"

They hurried after the swift moving figure, stopping when they found themselves within a city square. There were dozens of Polaris about, all standing and watching.

"It was a trap..!" Brenton growled.

The figure of their mother turned, her body covered in heavy armour and an almost black green crystal in her chest. Another woman stepped out of the crowd.

She didn't appear to have any heavy Polaris augmentation, besides the crystal in her chest, her medium length blonde hair blowing gently in the wind.

She appeared human, about six foot tall, and of pale skin. Her eyes, silver, reflected the light and projected her unfriendly nature.

"How astute of you, boy." She snapped. "Most curious that you have our tech and yet are not bound to His will; ah well, that will be soon remedied."

"Who the hell-"

"Ava Serpent;" Jay snapped, "my first student."

"Your best student;" She hissed. "All these others, what frauds; they could never hope to hold their own against you."

"I teach them not to war, but to protect." Jay shouted. "You, my first student, are my biggest mistake! You throw your lot in with the Polaris?!"

"Yes, Ace." She snapped, which made Jay grimace. "Jack has offered me much in return for servitude. A chance to kill the greatest assassin that has ever existed is hardly one I would pass up."

Jay growled irritably. "Three and my class, you are to handle the Polaris." He said.

"But what about-"

"This one is mine."

He tugged a square object from his thigh and it clicked, shifting into a large shield as he pulled the first of his three blades from its scabbard.

Cibbie's mother was upon them in nearly an instant, and Flare threw himself between her and Cibbie.

The sound of a plasma weapon discharging filled the air, and Flare hit the ground. Cibbie reacted in an instant, her leg coming up and kicking her mother away before kneeling down to assess Flare's injury. Audra knelt down hurriedly and brushed her off.

"Terry and I will handle his injuries!" She snapped, giving Cibbie an angry grin. "That monster, however, is your battle."

Cibbie nodded and stood, clicking her neck as her arm changed into her weapon.

"Sybil."

"What, Commander?"

"She is your mother, you cannot-"

Cibbie snarled angrily, baring her teeth. "My mother would not have done that." She snarled with all the fury flowing through her blood. "That monster is mine! If you want to stop me, Ace, go ahead and try!"

Jay looked over at her, noticing that she was steaming gently and her body pulsed with furious strength. He sighed.

"Very well, Twelve." He said solemnly. "We shall handle things afterwards."

Cibbie grinned and stepped forward, pacing towards the shell of her mother angrily before her legs kicked the ground and she rocketed towards her.

Bullets flew overhead, bouncing off of Cibbie's now more resilient body as she slammed her weapon into her mother's gut, managing to knock her off of her feet and into the surrounding crowd of Polaris. Jay dashed to one side and used his shield to attempt to block the first of Ava's swings with her own energy blade, and promptly lost his arm as it carved through the shield like butter. A Polaris who attempted to leap upon him exploded, and the ground beneath him burst into dust and shrapnel. High on a rooftop, Sharp emptied the chamber of her rifle and took aim at another Polaris.

Jay parried Ava's sword with his own before kicking her away and looking down at his now missing limb.

"The first of many, old man!" She snapped. "You didn't think I'd go easy, did you?!"

He huffed and placed his blade back within its scabbard, tossing it to Brenton and drew his next blade, the Breaker. His armour changed, like scales changing on a chameleon, across his body into heavier and more resilient looking plate. This blade was larger, and the handle longer, with the energy blade forming a triangular shape.

"A new sword will not help you, Ace! And a two handed sword will only slow you down!"

She dashed forth and swung, his body contorting at a nearly impossible angle to dodge the blade.

"What?!"

He swung his sword with ease, and she managed to parry just in time to avoid getting struck, but the sheer force pushed her across the square.

"Never look at a weapon as anything less than an extension of the being." Jay snapped. "Have you forgotten everything I have taught you!?"

Cibbie struggled against the brute strength of her mother, the elder female having Polaris augmentations to bolster her strength in impressive ways. Tears streaked from Cibbie's face as she glared into the face of her mother.

"Fight it mother! Fight Jack's control, please! Don't make me do this--!"

The elder female only struggled back, and Cibbie brought a knee up into her gut before slamming her fist across her face.

"Please mother!"

The elder female rose back up with a fist and punched Cibbie across the square and back where the rest of her classmates were holding their ground.

"She won't listen..." She mumbled sadly as she stood.

"Cibbie, listen;" one of her classmates, a male, started, "I'm sorry that she's your mother, but you have to remember that there is nothing left of her within that body. There's nothing we can do."

Cibbie sighed and nodded.

"Jack took my people, my family..." she mumbled sadly, "and now he's using my mother to try and kill my friends." Her eyes shone and her body pulsed faintly as she looked back up. "No more..!"

Her Trump fully unlocked, and her higher reasoning left her as she leapt towards her mother.

"NO MORE!"

The blades in her gun extended, and she slammed it into her mother's gut before pulling the gun back and slicing across her shoulder, rending her gun arm useless. Cibbie head-butted her mother to the ground and leapt upon her, ramming her gun into the crystal, both blades extended. The crystal gave way and her blades buried themselves into her mother's flesh and the machinery within her chest respectively.

Her mother jolted and stared up at her, her eyes fading to black before gently returning to their usual orange colour.

"S... Sybil..?"

Cibbie huffed and the tears in her eyes fell as she retracted her arm, letting it change into a proper arm and pull her mother into a hug.

"M... mum..!"

"You... you r-released me..." She breathed before groaning. "I... I'm bleeding."

"I stabbed you, I'm so sorry! Please, hold on..!" Cibbie mumbled worriedly before raising her voice. "Medic!"

"Sybil... thank you..." She coughed, leaning up and kissing her cheek. "I'm sorry for attacking you. Please... I want you to... be happy." She smiled up at her daughter weakly as her tears tapped onto her face.

"Mother..!"

"Sybil... I have always... loved you." She coughed. "You and your brother."

"Please, mother! Don't..!"

She leaned up and kissed her daughter one more time. "I love you, Sybil, no matter what you do..."

With that last word, her eyes closed and she limply slid to the ground.

Seeing his sister's position, Brenton hurried over between gunshots and knelt down next to his sister, who gave him a momentary glance of her face before throwing herself onto his shoulder and breaking down. Realizing what had happened he gritted his teeth and held out a hand.

The army around them froze, several shattering from still-flying bullets.

Jay stopped his barely held attack when he noticed the Polaris had stopped, and he looked over at the family on the ground. A lump caught in his chest, and he heard a silken sound.

Turning, he found his long green hair to be sliding to the ground.

"Never take your eyes off of your enemy!" Ava snapped triumphantly. "Hers is the fate of all who oppose Jack!"

Brenton, having heard this, rose from his spot beside his sister and started to pace towards Ava, but was grabbed by one of his sister's classmates.

"You'd better not let go." Brenton snapped. "If you do..!"

Jay's voice, which had barely been heard during the entire duel, growled menacingly, and he slammed his second blade into the earth, tossing its scabbard aside and pulling his third weapon. His armour changed, shifting to look medieval and heavy as the energy blade on his third sword burst to life far beyond the end of his dagger-sized sword.

His voice growled with a menace unheard by his class.

"Missy, I don't think you know who you're messing with." He spat. "Let me give you a lesson."

He started to step forward, and a card appeared on his chest, pulsing into life.

The Ace of Diamonds.

"Roy 'Zero' Jay, Colonel of the Guild assuming Commander Rank, nailhead of the Mechanical Division; Trashman of the Dozen,"

He shot forth with blinding speed, and an arm comprised entirely of energy formed from his missing limb, large crystal-like growths growing around the damage and his shoulder.

"Here I come."

The ground around her cracked and smashed when she parried his swing, only for her to be kicked across the square. She barely had time to get up before he was upon her, his blade cutting through her own and causing the sword to short out and die. She was grabbed by her face and slammed to the ground, and his sword was rammed through her shoulder, removing her left arm from her body completely.

"How does it feel?!" He shouted, pulling her up and punching her across the square. "To be hunted?! Outmatched!?" He swung his sword through one of her knees, making her fall to the ground and attempt to crawl away from her. "To be the victim?! How does it feel to be used and abused, like a piece of meat?!" He slammed his blade into the earth and grabbed her collar, lifting her to his face. "She lost her mother! To her own hands! Do you have any idea what that is like?! DO YOU?!"

She broke into terrified tears, unable to respond to his vicious verbal assault. He dropped her to the ground.

"That is why I no longer train warriors." He growled. "You forgot what it is to feel, the importance of understanding the extent of your actions. That woman had a family, a husband and children who loved her, who must now mourn her. Would you wish that upon your mother and father?"

She shook her head pitifully, cringing from his harsh tone and powerful position over her.

"That is why you were a failure." He said. "The hunter must feel for their hunt, must know what it is like for the victims. You ignored that lesson, you became a weapon; granted you became the best weapon I have ever taught, but a weapon is nothing but a tool. Jack used you. He doesn't care that you're here damaged, he doesn't care that you lost. He wanted results, and you failed to gain them. To him, you're useless now."

"You couldn't-"

"I know Jack." Jay spat. "He was one of my best friends until he succumbed to the madness which has overtaken his mind. All that matters is the result, and this result is unfavourable. He sent you to kill my recruits, and you failed."

Jay pulled his blade from the ground and returned it to its scabbard, the energy blade fading as it slid in.

"Pick this worthless hunk of junk up and have her taken to the brig!" he shouted. "She will be most useful."

He stepped over to where Cibbie was still kneeling over her mother crying heavily, and he knelt down to put a hand on the still woman's head gently.

"Lulubelle, I'm so sorry." He mumbled.

He signalled for one of his students to come and lift her, Brenton taking the grim task upon himself to gently lift his mother's body from the ground and carry her to the teleportation rally point. Jay was handed his missing arm, which he kept tight to his body with the strap on his scabbard, and he gently helped Cibbie stand.

"Sybil, your training is over." He said to her as he helped her walk back to camp.

"S... sir?"

"When one of my students makes a kill like that... Nothing I can teach will help you. You are more than ready to become General Starfury's bodyguard, and you will need to be around those who can care for you more than me. I understand what you're going through, and that is why I am telling you, you are to be relieved of all duties for a short while until Flare is well, and then you will be put back into service as Michael's bodyguard."

"S... sir..."

"Sybil, please." Jay hushed, sitting her down next to her brother. "You have enough to worry about without lessons. Please; do this for your mother."

She only stared back up at him, tears streaming from her face as he looked down at her worriedly. Slowly she nodded.

"Yes sir."