Unity

by Carl Stubblefield

  “So this is the honor of the Aslan clan? If your word is so cheap, I don’t know how you hope the other clans will respect you. Once honor is lost, it is not easy to regain. If you are not worthy—”

  “We will honor the agreement, child,” her mother interrupted, the last word spat in distaste. Her leonine mate threw her a scathing look at being overruled.

  A little hedgehog man approached, and took a small box from another small servant that resembled a meerkat. Gus slid Dr. Flak’s file over toward the box. To his surprise, the entire file was transferred, not merely a copy.

  “You didn’t think we would let you keep the information, did you, pet?” the queen asked, noticing Gus’ shock. “This information’s value lies mostly in its exclusivity. And that is well within our rights. Do you have a problem with this, daughter?” The cheetah sneered at Prime who petulantly agreed. “I’m sooo glad you approve,” her voice purred, dripping with sarcasm. “I assume you will want to be leaving with them?”

  “As soon as possible.”

  Her mother waved her away, as if she was something offensive and smelly. The gesture was the epitome of ‘take it away, it displeases me.’

  Prime stormed down the steps, pointing at the meerkat steward. “You. My gear. Now.”

  He scrambled off on all fours as Prime came and rejoined her group.

  Aurora looked her up and down, nodding in appreciation. “Why were you keeping this all wrapped up?”

  Gus tried to keep his eyes from roving. Prime was much more attractive than he would have ever given her credit for when she was all done up, and she had relaxed any pretenses of hiding her gender. She now strutted like she was a model as she stopped to answer Aurora.

  “I don’t plan to anymore.” Prime reached her hand out as the steward came scuttling out with her duffel. The shape of her helmet visibly bulging in the canvas bag

  “We’re leaving,” Prime announced in an imperious tone.

  “Do you want to change before we go?” Tempest asked.

  “No, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

  “But the others—” Aurora gasped.

  “It’s about time they knew. I’m tired of hiding. I’ll be okay with whatever happens here on out, I have almost nothing left to lose.”

  “Just know that if you leave again, you will be renouncing your claim to the throne,” Prime’s father bellowed across the throne room.

  “I never wanted it in the first place,” Prime said over her shoulder.

  The medallion she had used to get them in the door was clutched in his hand and crumpled as he clenched his paw into a fist.

  “I never wanted any of it.” Her tail flicked in agitation.

  “So be it,” he growled. The queen patted his arm placatingly as she looked at the contents of the drive the steward had delivered to her.

  “We have gained so much more. With this, the Aslan clan will be the undisputed ruler of the hybrids, with or without her,” the cheetah soothed. She slid a file over to him and his face went slack as he saw the contents. The pair both began to laugh with glee.

  “What have I done?” Gus wondered as he turned to follow Prime and the others out of the headquarters.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Hot on the Trail

  “Aw, hell no!” Harmony yelled as Prime came into the common room. Hints of a Texas drawl apparent from her usually squeaky, bubbly, Betty Boop voice. She kept looking at the trio as they boarded, sputtering.

  “Are you all okay with this? Bringing a mutant on board?” She looked at the star-struck Crew.

  “I am Prime.” She dropped the canvas bag and knelt, unzipping it to reveal the characteristic helmet inside. “Or Sanura, if you prefer.”

  “You… you lied to us! And your helmet, that’s why I couldn’t read you,” Harmony said to herself in realization. “Who in the Faction knows about this? We have to report her. There could be others. I knew things seemed off, but this explains so much. We’ve been infiltrated by mutants!” Her voice became more shrill as she jumped from conclusion to conclusion.

  “Calm down and shut the hell up!” Tempest roared.

  Harmony abruptly stopped her tirade, but she quickly regained her composure, eyes pinching ferociously at the rebuke.

  “You should know what it’s like, Rockland—” she said defiantly, although her tone was more restrained as she saw how livid Tempest was.

  “And Gwen was there to pick up the pieces, remember? That’s who we’re going to get right now. Pull yourself together. She’s the reason you volunteered to come in the first place, was she not? You volunteered. I didn’t force anyone to come, but while you’re here, you damn well better listen and follow the chain of command. I’m not asking you to come along or even work with Prime, but I need her on this last part of the mission. If you refuse to help, then stay the hell out of the damn way. Do whatever you want when you get home, if it makes you feel better.” Tempest hid none of his anger as he let loose.

  “My father lost his powers at Rockland! The Faction threw him away, and they’ve been harboring her? She’s one of them! Did you know about it? Someone had to know.”

  “As a matter of fact, I didn’t. And I don’t care. Prime has a spotless record and has never betrayed any super on a team of hers or the Faction in all her years of service. Rockland happened decades ago, and I’d like to think that we’ve all matured somewhat in the intervening years. No one here was a part of it.” Tempest waved at the entire Crew. “Hell, even I wasn’t a part of it. So don’t be offended if no one rushes to embrace your prejudices. I put a lot more faith in actions than words, and Prime has earned respect in my book.”

  He cleared his throat and continued. “I’m sorry about your father,” he said in a calmer voice, edge not totally gone. “I didn’t know him, but I’ve heard stories. You should know from what happened to me that I am all too familiar with being ‘discarded’ by the Faction, despite years of service. So don’t preach to me about what’s fair.”

  Harmony glared at the rest of the Crew, still in disbelief that none of them had backed her up.

  “No one? Some team!” she whined and shook her head. “I… I can’t deal with this right now.” She stormed off, her heels popping on the floor as she left the common room.

  Members of the Crew blinked and the hum of the ship was pronounced in the resounding silence that followed.

  Gus watched as the Crew alternated either staring at Prime, the empty doorway where Harmony had left, or conspicuously ignoring both.

  Tempest keyed his comms. “Seneschal, you know where we’re headed, let us know when we get close. Aurora, Yuki, you’ll be with me as we try to gain access to the facility. Yuki, I want you to get us access and find out what his schedule is like. I need to know when he leaves.”

  “On it,” Yuki said, flipping open her laptop.

  “Gus, you’ll be with Prime as a lookout and communicating with us when we’re clear to breach. We’ll need to stake this place out for a bit to determine the best time to grab Gwen. First, we need to confirm she’s still inside, then come up with a plan to retrieve her. I want to know exactly where she is, so we can be in and out quickly.”

  Tempest looked up and saw the rest of the Crew staring at them as they planned. “I’m sure you guys can find something to keep yourselves busy. Trust me, you don’t want me to assign you something right now…”

  With those words, everyone sprang into action, suddenly remembering something vital that they needed to take care of at that very moment.

  They finalized their plans, a large portion of which would be a waiting game and then settled in as the transport passed fewer and fewer buildings as they traveled to the outskirts. The outside faded to obscurity as holograms and lights ceased to illuminate the gloom, and only an occasional lightning crash would highlight the rain-spattered windows.

  “This place is in the middle of nowhere. Is it even part of Hinansho? I’m surprised we’re still even in the sto
rm radius,” Gus said as he looked out the window for some hint they were approaching their destination.

  “I’ll bet he has to keep it separated so no one knows the crap he’s doing there,” Yuki replied, shuddering a bit and pulling her sweater tighter around her. “Normally a hospital is in a central location.”

  “Or it keeps the riff-raff away by being where only the elite can access it.” Darik poked his head out and growled before disappearing back into the guts of the ship.

  “You would be surprised how casually many of those in Hinansho view human life. It’s partially why I had to get out of here. Even though I was higher up in the caste system, it always bothered me how little value and effort was dedicated to maintaining basic rights. Everyone thought I was odd for not just enjoying my station. I knew Hinansho would always be part of my ruin, someday. I just didn’t know it would happen so soon,” Prime whispered. The melancholy was so thick in her voice that it made Gus’ heart hurt. Knowing more about Prime’s past than he should have made it that much more difficult.

  The image of Prime’s daughter popped into his mind, and he knew that this was part of the despair she was feeling. He focused on her in his mind’s eye, looking at the girl and noticing that the edge to his headache started to recede. Encouraged, he chased after the memory as he stood next to Prime in silence.

  What was her name again? Madge? Madeline? Maddy? Something like that. He longed to help her somehow, but he was no expert at family relations. Plus, bringing it up unbidden would tip her off that he knew things she would most likely want to keep personal and secret. Even if he had the communication skills, his hands were tied. Par for the course. Yet again, Gus was no good to anyone but himself.

  Despite all her struggles though, Prime looked… strong, somehow. Like those lighthouses on small rocks in the ocean that are beat upon mercilessly by the waves, yet still resist the tide, day after day. Gus had thought he had felt alone at times, but his own struggles seemed to pale in comparison. It made him feel even more immature and weak that he couldn’t manage his own feelings and that he was so prone to magnifying how difficult his own situation was when there were people going through so much more. And they bore it with grace and determination.

  Gus would never have guessed at the things that haunted both BoJack and Prime from looking at them, whether it was Prime’s stoic calm or BoJack’s easy smile and the good-natured camaraderie he showed everyone in the Crew. He hoped that he could wrestle with his own demons and keep them in line so he could do what he must. If they could, he should at least try.

  “We’re here,” Seneschal’s voice crackled over the comm.

  Gus pressed his face to the window and saw a large building, alone in the mists. High intensity lights burned back the darkness and illuminated every section of the large cross-shaped building. The central tower stood three floors higher than the rest of the wings. In each quadrant surrounding the building, there were areas to park.

  One quadrant held all types of ambulances and other medical transports, another appeared to be for employees. Built up along one side of the property was a large hill festooned with all types of plants and a path that one could take to walk around outside while convalescing.

  Had Gus seen the facility without any other info, it looked like a clean, well-kept hospital that took care of its patients. And perhaps it did for the most part, with the shady underbelly only applying to some of those within. There was enough traffic in and out of the parking area that they didn’t need to approach surreptitiously at all. Seneschal dropped them off and the two teams separated.

  Tempest, Yuki, and Aurora circled towards the loading bays, and Gus and Prime headed up to get a better overwatch in the garden area above. There were cubbies near the path entry with umbrellas and Gus got one for himself and Prime and they began walking up the path. He was surprised to see others walking in the rain. The path they were on was lit up by numerous ornate lamps. The drizzle of rain highlighted as it passed into and out of the cone of illumination.

  They continued walking in silence, the only noise the crunch of their steps on the gravel path amid the rain spatter. Along the path, there were covered benches that faced the hospital down below, while others were situated facing inwards, at the main fountain and carefully cultivated arrangements of flowers and trees. They sat and stared at the hospital down below.

  “Gus, I have something to ask you…” Prime began, her voice hesitant.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Demon Kitty Rag

  “Do you have any reservations being stuck on a mission with me?” Prime asked while looking at the facility below through some binoculars.

  “Not really, no. I’m a little curious because I’ve never met any hybrids until recently. I’ve always lived in one of the capital cities for Purple Faction, so my life has been pretty sheltered. I did wonder how you fit in with the Faction, being different and all. Was that hard? I still feel like a fifth wheel among everyone else.”

  “Really? You honestly have no opinion?” She lowered the binoculars and looked at Gus, her cat-slit pupils widening as she assessed him.

  “No, what’s the big deal? Everyone’s been walking on eggshells, but we’re probably more alike than different.”

  “Oh? And how are we similar?” she asked, propping her chin up with the back of her hand, a wry smile on her face.

  “We both have family issues, obviously.” Gus waved towards the hospital. “Apparently, my dad is a lot different when at Purple Faction, so you all probably saw a different side of him. Things seem to be changing, but that’s only since I got powers.”

  “It could be that he realized some hard truths after his demotion too. Have you considered that?”

  “I’ve been rethinking a lot of things lately. Things that I’d always assumed were true and how recently I’m seeing how limited my world-view was.”

  “You’re right about one thing, Gus. Family is tough. They can hurt you more than anyone else without even trying, it seems.” She broke eye contact and looked down at the hospital. “Sometimes I wonder if some people are destined to be alone. I thought I had escaped all the drama surrounding my parents when I left Hinansho. Only to have my personal life spiral out of control as well.” She pulled her knees up to the bench and hugged them tightly.

  “I have felt alone in a crowd more times than I can count. I never got the suspicion that you had anything going on. Hell, all of the Crew seem to have it so together, it makes me self-conscious. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing half the time, just flying by the seat of my pants.”

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret. We all do that more than we’d like to admit. We hide it well, but a large portion of Academy training is on controlling your physical reactions.” She relaxed her legs and extended them in front of her, letting the rain patter on her feet. “Can’t have the regs losing faith in us, that could result in chaos!” Prime said in a deep drill-sergeant voice, curling her arms like a bulldog and puffing her chest out.

  “Whatever the reason, you guys have learned it well. I never sense that any of you are out of control or worried. Someday I’ll get there, right?”

  “You’re funny, Gus.”

  “Yeah, but looks aren’t everything,” Gus said, picking at some grass at his feet. “What do you think you’re going to do when you head back?” Gus dared asking, surprising even himself as the words spilled out.

  “I don’t think I am going back. The cat’s literally out of the bag. You saw how Harmony reacted, and she wasn’t even directly affected by the whole Rockland mess. I guess that’s not totally fair. She probably got an earful from her father as she grew up, so that’s understandable. I don’t begrudge her of her opinion. I resent my own parents for their part in that fiasco and dragging me into it. I’m going to be dealing with the fallout the rest of my life. She comes from a certain point of view, and that’s how she’s seen the world for her whole life. I was much the same at one point.”

  �
��Wow, I wouldn’t be making excuses for her if I were in your position,” Gus replied.

  “It reminds me of the time I was blinded during a mission. I was too near a massive photon flare from some supers from Green Faction that we were battling. They were to my right and my right eye bore the brunt of the damage. With healing, it took me three weeks before they even dared attempt a surgery. And that was only for the less-affected left eye. Once it was done, I had to wait to see if the right eye would improve enough to be restored, or if it would be permanently altered. Plus we had to do it on the sly, so no one would know I was a hybrid.”

  Gus turned and peered closer at Prime’s jade colored eyes. “So are they…?”

  She just laughed and shook her head. “There are many things in my life that I’ve taken for granted. I didn’t realize how much losing one eye would change everything I do. It made me realize how much a tiny shift in perspective, a mere inch or two, could provide enough information to provide the depth and distance. It forced me to be aware of what I was missing without this different perspective. While I could see with only one eye, I was incomplete. I knew that there was something missing.”

  “Like what?” Gus asked, extending his own feet and watching the rain drip on his boots.

  “It made me contemplate what else I was missing by staying in one fixed perspective. To confront the things I was ignoring by refusing to consider another point of view. I can tell you’re trying to work out what to do and seeking out advice, but I’m afraid that I can’t really help you.

  “My advice is based on my experiences and what works for me may not work for you. Trust me, don’t put too much faith in the answers other supers give you. They’re just as human as you. Full of faults, biases, and weaknesses. Don’t accept anything someone else tells you just because you think they have it all figured out. Do your due diligence, and realize what got them there most likely won’t get you where you want to go.”