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Taggar Darnel stood tall in the foyer of the Luen military's Central Command office. It was a magnificent structure at over two hundred feet in diameter with marble columns rising to the sky and capped with a domed stained glass ceiling. The sunlight that filtered in cast angular shapes of Vius'Karr warriors fighting amid a bloody battlefield. The structure had stood for over two hundred and fifty years, commissioned by the late King Narrh to stand as a monument to the Vius'Karr's pride, honor, and their warrior spirit following the last Great War. Pride, however, was a shameful thing.

He adjusted his tie and gazed down at his reflection in the polished marble. Cadets spent hours in this room alone making sure every square inch was spotless. Such dedication. With his assistant away and taking care of ironing out some of the finer details of a future contract, he found himself alone and anxious to get his own meeting underway. He extracted a golden pocket watch and glanced at the time. Nearly noon. No sooner had he slipped it away that a familiar voice reached his canine ears.

"Mr. Darnel," a harsh voice called out. A Vius'Karr in a dark blue military uniform approached, a colorful assortment of ribbons adorning his left breast along with a crimson aiguillette. "Thank you for coming. I wish our meeting was under better circumstances."

"General Ingoh," Taggar replied, offering his paw in greeting. "A pleasure as always, despite the circumstances, I might add."

The general towered over the business man, his height extreme even by Vius'Karr standards. Age had weathered his fur into a patchwork of dull copper and elder gray, but when the light hit it just right, the once vibrant auburn color shone brilliantly. He gazed down at Taggar with a yellow eye, his left hidden behind a finely crafted black leather eyepatch. He shook the offered paw. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course. Darnel Industries has had a long and successful business relationship with Luen and her military so-"

The general threw up his paw, interrupting Taggar. "Please, you don't need to sell me on your company's contributions or merits."

Taggar paused and let out a soft chuckle. "My apologies, general. Old habits."

General Ingoh allowed himself to smile, if only slightly. "I understand."

"Regardless, I thought it had been too long since I made a personal appearance."

"Reasonable enough."

"It's also been a long time since I've seen my homeland."

"When was the last time you were in the capital, Mr. Darnel?"

"Several months, I'm afraid."

"Have you missed it?" The general inquired.

"I have. I used to own a house on Huerrellian Bay about fifteen years ago; it was my favorite place to be in the summer. I could could stand on the back porch and watch the sunset - it was beautiful."

"I own a small house on the southern shore and I have to agree with you - the sunsets are stunning. Why did you move away? Surely you could have run your company from Luen."

Taggar frowned slightly. "I couldn't stand to be there after my wife passed away. My son and I moved away shortly after her passing."

General Ingoh dipped his head forward in respect. "I am sorry for your loss."

"I appreciate your condolences," the black-furred Vius'Karr replied. "It was many years ago though and I've done my mourning. Right now there are more pressing matters to be concerned with, are there not?"

"Yes, there are," the general said, picking up on the not-so-subtle hint to shift the conversation. "We would appreciate any insight you may provide on our situation. Have you been briefed?"

"Not yet, no. I found the call from military office to be quite intriguing though. Technology of unknown origin; an alchemist?" Taggar smiled a bit and his ears perked up at the mere thought of two mysteries coinciding with one event. "Tell me, general, what can you tell me about the alchemist?"

General Ingoh motioned down the hallway from which he had entered the foyer. "Come. What we need to discuss is best not said in public. Besides, it would be best to show you and have our scientists explain their findings to you."

Taggar bowed his head. "Very well. After you, general."

The two walked for several seconds in silence, the only sound between them coming from their soft footfalls as they padded quietly over the polished floor. Taggar couldn't help but feel dwarfed by the man to his right, the top of his head barely surpassing the square shoulders of the general. The man was a legend; he had more combat experience than anyone else in the military, including other generals, and had the rows of silver hoops that adorned his ears to prove it. He had earned his rank and the respect of those under his command through years of experience in both combat and tactics and no one doubted his commitment to king and country. If retirement had even been on the general's mind, it had been since washed away with the latest political developments.

Taggar felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him from nose to tail. The country was gearing up for an undoubtedly long and bloody war and he felt all eyes on him as one of the only civilians in the entire building. The more he looked, the more he took notice of the guards posted along the length of the corridor. Each stood at parade rest, heads aligned straight ahead with a pistol holstered on their right hip, a curved blade hanging from their left. They almost looked like statues. Almost, if he hadn't caught their eyes tracking him.

The security checkpoint reaffirmed his notion that he was out of place; assumed to be a potential foe than friend. The MPs had recognized the general and waved him through after a cursory glance at his security badge, but as an outsider, Taggar was not treated with the same level of aloofness. He was instructed to walk through a metal detector, twice, was given a thorough pat-down, and even subjugated to having a wand waved over his body. He recognized the tool: it was one that his company manufactured, used for the detection of transmitting devices. If the situation hadn't felt so ominous, he would have smiled. Luckily, the MP waved him through shortly after.

Taggar smoothed out his suit jacket with practiced strokes as he walked away from the the checkpoint. "I don't remember security being this tight the last time I was in the capital."

"It wasn't. New procedures were put in place last week as a result of Varennia's posturing. When news of the alchemist spread, it put a lot of people on edge. Especially the younger enlisted soldiers and officers.

"Surely she isn't a threat anymore."

"She isn't," General Ingoh confirmed. "We've kept the alchemist sedated since she was rescued. Given the nature of her ... emancipation, however, we suspect that someone may attempt to make contact with her or even attempt to kill her. We can't have that."

"I see."

The general steered their path down an adjacent hallway that came to an abrupt end a dozen yards ahead. A soldier standing guard next to a large mahogany door saluted as they approached.

General Ingoh saluted in return. "Private."

The private turned and swiped his security card through the reader concealed behind him. The locking mechanism released immediately and the soldier opened the door for his superior officer.

General Ingoh gestured to Taggar. "After you, Mr. Darnel."

Taggar stepped across the threshold and found himself in a small room, two generic-looking landscape paintings occupying the wallspace where windows might have been to either side. He took notice of the cameras installed in each corner of the room where the walls met the ceiling; every angle of this room was redundantly covered. An elevator occupied the wallspace directly ahead, the numbers zero and one painted in large white letters to indicate which floor awaiting passengers were on. The door shut behind him. "We're going underground?"

"Yes." The general strode past and swiped his keycard through another scanner, calling the elevator. "I hope that isn't a problem?"

"Not at all, I just don't believe I've been to this part of the installation before."

"It's a fairly recent addition. Our corp of engineers have been working around the clock for the last six months constructing an expansive underground facility."

"Impressive. It seems a lot of changes have been taking place around here."

"Necessary changes."

The doors in front of the two Vius'Karr opened and they stepped inside. "All that construction must have been quite an undertaking."

"Our engineers discovered a series of caves about one-hundred-and-fifty feet below ground level," the general replied as the doors closed and they began their descent. "They did a fine job in surveying the network of tunnels and constructing a usable compound out of them."

"These wouldn't happen to be the legendary caves where the Entation Armor is rumored to be buried, is it?" Taggar said with a playful smirk.

The general chuckled. "As far as I know, we haven't uncovered any Armor, I'm afraid. If Luen possessed such power, Varennia would not pose much of a threat to us."

"Too bad, I would have loved to see it."

It was the general's turn to smile. "So would I."

Taggar rubbed his muzzle for a moment. "So tell me more about this alchemist, general."

"Her name is Dawn Ivari. Fenilee. Age thirty eight. She's been a member of the Alchemist Guild since she was twelve."

"Is she an agent of the Empire?" Taggar inquired.

General Ingoh looked at Taggar for a moment before facing forward again. "No. She is one of ours."

"One of Luen's, then? I'm sorry general, I'm not sure I follow."

"She was sent behind enemy lines to gather intelligence on one of Varennia's R&D programs that focused on advanced weaponry. She made regular contact with another one of our operatives for several months, someone who could easily get the information back to us, but she went dark over a month ago. We had written her off as MIA."

Taggar remained silent, his eyes fixated on the general. This could be worse than I had anticipated, he thought. The Lenarro prototype would fall squarely under the purview of Varennia's advanced weapons division. He had to get more information to determine if she'd be a liability. "I see. And then she resurfaced again?"

"In a manner of speaking," General Ingoh stated.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors parted to reveal a concrete corridor, fluorescent lights illuminating the tunnel. Taggar stepped out and took in what he saw. The passageway with its gently bowed walls continued for a few hundred feet with several other tunnels intersecting along its length. He spotted several military police and dozens of Vius'Karr scientists and military personnel going about their business. "It's like a small city down here."

"It essentially is. The entire compound can remain self-sufficient for up to six months should the need arise and can house up to three thousand people."

"Incredible."

"Mr. Darnel, if you'd follow me, I can take you to the observation room where Ms. Ivari is being held."

"Of course."

General Ingoh strode forward and took the first right to head down another corridor. He continued his story. "We got word that the Varrenian's were transporting a Fenilee prisoner that matched her description. We had very little time to act on the information so we sent in an small 4-man extraction team to intercept the convoy and extract the prisoner. Things didn't quite go to plan."

Taggar hummed in response. "My experience has taught me that things rarely do. Hopefully your extraction team was able to return safely though? I assume that the prisoner turned out to be Ms. Ivari?"

"The extraction team made it back and, yes, and you are correct - the Fenilee prisoner did turn out to be Ms. Ivari. That wasn't the issue."

"What was the problem, then?"

"The problem was that she wasn't as appreciative of her rescue as we expected."

"Are you saying that she defected to Varennia?"

"We don't know. She attacked the extraction team - nearly killed the unit commander before she was subdued with tranquilizers."

"That is quite the surprise."

"An understatement, Mr. Darnel. The mission report made for a rather interesting read though."

"I'd love to read it."

"I'll see that you get a copy - it might come in handy."

"So what happened next? Has she recovered?"

"Unfortunately, no. When she came to, she was ... belligerent. We have her sedated in one of the observation rooms."

"I see."

Taggar followed the general around another corner and up a short flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, he peered through a large window to his left that looked into a darkened observation room. He could see the female Fenilee lying in a bed, restraints around her wrists and ankles ensuring that if she were to wake, she wouldn't go anywhere. That must be her.

"She looks peaceful, doesn't she?"

Tagger turned around to see another military officer standing behind him. The newcomer smiled softly and saluted. Taggar caught a glimpse of a faded scar running across the gray and white muzzle.

"Mr. Darnel, this is Colonel Traegen Var'enn. He was the commander of the extraction team that brought in Ms. Ivari," General Ingoh stated.

"Ah! Good afternoon, colonel," Taggar said, offering his paw in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Darnel." The colonel shook Taggar's paw politely yet firmly. "Hopefully you had a pleasant flight in this morning."

"I did, thank you."

"I'm eager to know if you have a better idea as to why Ms. Ivari acted the way she did," Colonel Var'enn stated.

"I do hope that I can help in some small way." Taggar looked back at the sedated Fenilee. "Hard to think she gave your team so much trouble."

"Trust me, we were as surprised as you are."

"I asked the colonel to be here in case you had any questions regarding the extraction," General Ingoh interjected.

Taggar swiveled around to face the general. "I appreciate that." He turned to the other officer. "Colonel, can you describe how she was acting for me?"

Colonel Var'enn thought a moment. "In a word: psychopathic."

"Really."

"Yes. When someone comes at you like that, you can see it in their eyes. I've seen it a few times in the past."

"Could you elaborate?"

"She looked excited, elated even, at trying to kill me and my men, sir. The way she smiled, the way she attacked - it was all very indicative of an unstable individual."

"Hmm," Taggar pondered on this for a moment. "Did she ever express this kind of behavior before, general?"

"No, absolutely not. She was given a clean psych evaluation before she went under cover. We've never had a problem with her."

"I see." Taggar rubbed his muzzle silently while his tail swished back and forth. "And what of the device you found attached to her Realm Implant? What have you found out about the device?"

"Our scientists have only had less than forty-eight hours to study the device; they're compiling their findings as we speak. Perhaps it would be best if you inspected it yourself?" General Ingoh said and motioned to a private standing across the room. The young man retrieved a plastic crate from a nearby table and brought it forward.

Taggar looked at the small device that rested at the bottom of the bin. It was gray, metallic, and looked to be about five inches long, half as wide, and just over an inch thick. It had a gentle curve to it and clearly looked to be designed to sit flush against the back of the wearer's neck. He gestured to it. "May I?"

"Please do," General Ingoh permitted.

He picked it up and held it in his paws. The first thing he noticed was how light it was. He rubbed a thumb over its outward-facing surface. It looked familiar and felt like he had held it before, but it was different somehow, almost as if the balance was off. He turned it over and froze. He recognized it now. This is ours. How the hell did this end up in Varennia's hands? That son-of-a-

"Mr. Darnel?" The general asked.

Taggar snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at the towering figure. "Yes?"

"So what do you think?"