by J. A. James
"And then?" Griesen asked quietly.
Ithes switched to telepathy, opening it up to the three of them in the room. Suddenly, Griesen saw Anastasia in front of him as Ithes continued speaking. She appeared as vividly as she would have in person. Griesen recognized the tunic she wore. It was of a slightly darker shade than his own. And older design. She pulled out a thread from her pocket – her orb came into view as she grasped it.
“She settled back into her life as a councillor on Earth. She was sending back her report, and we received her last report just a day before she -" Ithes struggled with the words. "Passed."
"Don't spare me the details, Ithes," Griesen said to him after a moment of silence. "Tell me."
He felt anger inside of him build, and a coldness towards them that he had never felt before. Sabotage. He felt somewhat vindicated for the feelings he had brushed aside previously. I knew something was wrong.
"She had a number of patients that she was looking after with regular appointments. One was a man by the name of Thomas Eldridge. He was in his late forties. He had intense anger management issues. He drove himself to alcoholism over a decade ago and experienced numerous blackouts on a weekly basis. He was trying to learn new ways of handling his anger."
“Attempting,” Ana said, with a cold strangeness in her voice.
"He was the last patient she saw, before she was Extinguished."
"You mean, before she died... as a human." Griesen corrected him. To be Extinguished was to be formally executed by the Institute.
Ithes shook his head. "No, Griesen. When her blue energy was extinguished, we detected it right away. We thought in fact it was a blip in the system - that it could not be that fate for Anastasia. I did not believe it could happen... so I went down to Gaia myself."
"I found her in her studio, with an iota of blue light left in her. She was on the floor, bleeding to death. I was beside myself... I ran to her and tried to connect with her telepathically. She had a breath left in her and she passed it onto me - her last telepathic memory to me was of that man. Thomas Eldridge. He had come into her studio, broken in, and had killed her with a dagger. That was when I realized that this was not the work of a common deranged man - he had a scepter that he had plunged, not into her heart, but into the middle of her clavicles."
Griesen felt himself go numb at his last words. In the Acruvae body, the epicenter of their energy was contained between their clavicles and could only be stopped with one element. The element was locked up within the Institute’s Enclave 002, buried deep within Ocylides. It was the most dangerous threat to their existence.
"So how did Thomas... a human gain access to the enclave?” As soon as he’d said it, he refuted the idea. A human entering the enclave? Biologically, their bodies wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“No. He was not human. We had a mole,” Ithes hissed. “After Anastasia's death, I spent the next friel on a manhunt. I needed to find out who this could be. I found out he was in fact a man who had very little history - he was, much like our Anastasia, a mole who had a fabricated history for the past five years, but nothing before that. Digging deeper, I discovered he had no history beyond a very superficial front. No family, no siblings, no work history. Just that he had worked at a local clothing factory as a lower-level manager.
The realization hit Griesen. "He was created with the intent to kill her."
"Yes. Anastasia's mission with her Human case had already been eight years in length. I went on to discover Mr. Eldridge had falsified his files and his personal challenges to come under her guidance. I went through all of Anastasia’s records to realize this. It was a remarkably terrible feat, I must say – as horrible it was to discover the truth, somebody had orchestrated this entire setup. Anastasia had no idea.”
A sickening feeling filled Griesen. Their work was being sabotaged…but why?
“So it seems we are not the only ones intent on accomplishing a mission,” Griesen said slowly. “You always taught us that we were the architects of human coincidence. But now - it seems as if the tables have turned.”
"We have much more at stake now than just saving the Human cases,” Ithes responded. “Our very own kind are being put in serious danger. But our mandate is to continue on," Ithes said, looking at Griesen. His grey eyes turned nearly onyx in his expression.
"We must continue with Soul Expansion on Earth. Ascension. Now here is the question - who is here to stop us?"
Griesen blinked at Ithes' question, drawing himself out of a brewing reverie of questions. Questions he had no answers to.
The soul expansion and successive energy capture was necessary to their survival. The Institute had developed a way of successfully converting the energy that was captured from them. The odds of each Seeker’s success had originally been low. And now the chances seemed ever bleaker.
"I was lucky to survive," he said softly.
"Yes," Ana said softly. "We haven't experienced an Acruvae student being sabotaged so close to leaving on a mission. Up here, they’re playing dangerous games.
"And you - it means that you are in grave danger,” Ithes blithely added. "Your work in monitoring her has been exemplary - flawless. We continue to have high hopes for you down on Earth, but this turn in the road has made me realize the desperation of the First Guard. To attempt to sabotage your mission now, on Acruvae grounds, means they are putting a lot at stake. This is our territory," he hissed. "They are making a terrible mistake."
Griesen listened to his last statement with bated breath. The anger palpitating from Ithes was so thick he could slice it into cubes.
"Anastasia, then," Griesen said. "What happened with her?"
Ithes looked at him. "She could not be saved. But I made it my personal mission to protect those under our charge. We created a new team under my jurisdiction. You will keep this in the strictest confidence."
Griesen said nothing as Ithes continued.
"The black ops team. They clean up the messes created by the First Guard. The collateral damage that our students have become…"
"Ithes!" Ana interjected, her voice a contained, icy rage. "Don't you dare call our students your collateral damage." she spat out the last words at him, a warning shot across the bow.
Ithes jolted from the harshness of her words. "I'm sorry," he responded. He turned to look at Griesen. “I've had to detach myself from all the subjects that have been Extinguished over the years. There have been many... too many," he said hoarsely. "It hardly seems fair. I came to care about them all a great deal. I still do."
He then smiled pensively at Griesen. "Have you ever wondered...why a certain number of your colleagues have disappeared? Not all of them went this way, but certainly... a number of them did."
Griesen felt cold at his words. "How many Acruvae... how many of us have been Extinguished in this way?" he asked.
Ithes' eyes went cold at the question. A moment of silence. "Too many," he said, and abruptly stood up. His long golden tunic shimmered slightly as he glided towards the door. The conversation was over.
Ithes turned to Ana. "We need to discuss his mission.” His eyes narrowed. "In private."
“No,” Griesen interjected. “I need to be involved. This is my mission!"
Ana turned to him, bending over and gently patted the side of his face. "There are other things beyond your circumstances we need to discuss. Rest assured... we are looking out for your best interests."
Best interests. His stomach slightly churned at those words, infantilized by her statement. Those words seemed ironic, given the brevity of everything he didn't know. He had almost died, and the enemy was still out there. Best interests… to whom? He tensed his jaw, but before he could respond, they strode out of the room, and the door shut behind them before he could say another word.
Griesen stared at the door, his confoundedness turning into frustration in a matter of moments. I can’t just sit here.
He thought back to his classes and his teacher Dierne. Did she
know about the black ops program? Who knew that students just like him were dying on Gaia? They were all walking into a trap. For how long had this been happening? None of them had any idea what they were getting themselves into.
It infuriated him; not knowing the answers. And above all – the fact he was being hunted, like an animal. The thought scraped at him; a needle against his skin.
What have they done to protect us? Nothing.
A slow-burning rage began to radiate through his body. No. I won’t be kept here.
Was his parents’ disappearance related to this? Suddenly, he was sure of it.
He had to find the answers, no matter how deep they were buried… someone hadn’t wanted him to find any answers. Yet, here he was, still alive. He was tired of taking orders; of doing the right things and nearly getting killed in the process. He wasn’t about to leave his life in the hands of people who had witnessed countless others like him die.
He swung his legs over the bed, spotting the lone tunic that hung on the emptied racks. Reaching his hand out, he transmuted it onto his body. As it materialized on him, he realized he was still three shades paler than his typical healthy shade of blue. But he was getting stronger. He walked to the door, his legs and body feeling creaky; his legs shaky from underuse.
The door opened, and he looked both ways into a darkened hallway filled with rows of flickering candlelight stationed in the buttressed walls. It was in stark contrast to the blindingly white room he was escaping. Which way could they have gone? Griesen frowned. And then a flicker of something caught his eye - gold dust. A speck of it seemed to just be settling down on the ground. It must have been from Ithes’ jacket.
He turned right, feeling the plush carpet underneath his feet. The Acruvae feet felt and absorbed everything - including minute energy signatures left behind from others. There was little need for footwear as it hampered their ability to detect the trace signatures of others. The corridor reminded him of the earthly medieval times. It was interesting choice given Ithes had so many other options.
He walked quickly, breaking into a jog past rows upon rows of doors. They were all decorated differently - some more ornate than others. Some had gold awnings; others had carved wood. It all felt… strange. He felt smothered here – it must have something to do with how this place conserved its energy.
All the doors had heavy cast-iron steel handlebars, while some were round and large, and others were straight steel. He spotted another gold speck - it was floating down from another adjoining corridor. Quickly, he ran after it, turning another corner.
Alas… he heard voices through a door that was slightly ajar. He slowed down, huddling just behind the door, placing his ear against the slight opening. They were arguing.
"We should send one at the very least," he heard Ana say.
“No!” It was Ithes. "We're at risk of tipping off the First Guard if we send one…they’re probably twitchy since they failed again in their mission. I will catch them if they attempt again on the boy…”
"Do you want him to die down there?” Ana almost snarled at him. "I am tired of waiting for your army. You haven’t succeeded in catching any of them – not after Jampur. Not another! These are my children as much as they are yours… or have you forgotten already?"
Griesen strained forwards, trying to hear more of their conversation.
"Enough! We can make them believe...that he is no longer with us," he heard Ithes say. “I can make it look like something happened to him.”
Griesen's mouth went dry.
There was a murmur that came from Ana.
"No. We cannot do this any longer, Ithes," she said. Her volume suddenly raised a number of decibels. “I’m tired of this. Stop this grandstanding and hiding from the truth!”
“Damn it!” A hard slap hit the table, and Griesen nearly jumped out of his skin. “Another lost cause will be had – I am so close to capturing one of them and you still –“
"I will take this to our counsel,” Ana said bitingly, drawing out each word. Griesen felt the heat seeping from her mercurial snarl. “Your soldiers are not doing enough to keep our students alive! How long do I have to keep hiding this from them?"
"No - don't you realize? Your counsel cannot be trusted!" he shouted back at her. "Look at just how the lack of trust is demoralizing the very foundations of our institute!"
“You think trust is our issue? Try the students you have lost… every single one of them could have ameliorated the situation we currently are in, but instead the opposite has happened. Look at where we are right now.” His skin went cold at her words.
The Council…Ana…they’d always seemed to be on the same page, with a united front. Griesen thought frantically. How much of it was all a show?
Griesen stumbled backwards. In doing so, he bumped up against the back wall, making a slight thump.
They stopped talking at the sound of the noise. Run. Griesen's hairs raised at the back of his neck as he ran into the other direction, back towards his room.
“Who’s there?” Ithes shouted. The sound of a chair scraped the floor.
Run. Get out. Those were the only words that ran through his head. His orb. Where was it? He had no idea, but it was the only thing he really wanted.
The long, dark corridor was dimly lit with the faint glows of lights lining the hallway.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He took the first corner he saw.
He had to escape. His mind repeated the angry conversation he had just heard. He didn't know who to trust anymore, particularly Ithes who had mentioned the possibility of Exterminating him. Or even Ana. Somehow she was also involved in this entirely wretched mess. The only place where he could possibly find some answers was on Gaia. It was the only way he would find out for himself what was really happening. Why Halva seemed important enough to sabotage.
He just needed to get there in one piece.
He raced back in a beeline towards his room, and then a door caught his eye. An outline of a sword was centered on the door, sheathed. Another Gaia artifact, he thought. But was it what he was hoping for - a weapons room?
He pushed it open, hoping it would lead to what he was looking for. He couldn’t very well escape with just the clothes on his back. He quickly shoved the door closed behind him. The row of overhead lights above the door flickered on, blinding him momentarily. He’d guessed right - defense weaponry.
He shielded his eyes, as the growing brightness from rows of lights began switching on, illuminating from twenty feet above. The cavernous room finally withdrew from the shadows as he stared, stunned at what was before him.
Ithes had amassed everything one could need for an armed battalion. It was eye-opening. How was it that the Institute, claiming to be as peaceful as it was, held so much weaponry in one location?
He shuddered, thinking about all the times he had been told that the Acruvae were Peacekeepers. That they used peaceful methods to find solutions to their problems. That force was a last resort. If it was true… what could explain the sheer amount of everything in this room the size of a football field?
He walked slowly through one of the centre aisles. He recognized many of the human weapons stored on the left, with glass cases full of modern-day assault rifles, submachine guns and hand grenades.
Then the rows of jackets caught his eye. Armored suits, he realized. Many of them looked too clunky for a stealth escape.
He looked towards the right, where the weaponry was slightly more familiar to him, if only by textbook. He frowned. Everything here looked new. Whereas his studies detailing weaponry had consistently referred to weapons in purely historic terms. And here they were, situated in the very place that was the epicenter of the Acruvaic heartbeat ... everything in pristine condition.
These weren’t just historic collectibles… He had been taught the Acruvae had never been a violent species. They were peace keepers. And yet - everything here was telling him otherwise.
He spotted a small gold
pin that lay on the left shoulder of a dark grey suit, hanging on a metal hanger. It was distinctly separated from the other suits he had seen. The pin was a few millimetres thick, the shape of two crescent moons opposing each other, and a horizontal line running connecting the two shapes.
He picked up the suit. He liked it - it was cool to the touch and thinner than even the tunics that he was accustomed to wearing. Acruvae body temperatures were highly sensitive and absorbent to the environments around them.
He slipped the jacket on, and as it began molding onto his body, he felt a momentary subtle press of heat. Before he could react, the heat quickly dissipated, and a thin blue V-shaped beam began emanating from his left wrist.
DEFENSE MODE – ENTER SELECTION flashed in faint red lettering against beams.
The options were from 1 - 5.
Here goes, he thought. He pressed 3.
ARMOR - ON, the red letters flashed.
So it was an armored suit - just like the others. Yet it was definitely a more high-tech version. Good. He was getting somewhere.
He glanced at a long case beside where he had picked up the suit which housed a row of helmets of various sizes. Instinctively, he reached for one. I’m going to need this, he thought, placing it on.
Night vision - on.
Self-defense - on.
Enter request - waiting.
The information materialized within the helmet immediately. There was a small beep, and the blue beam from his suit flashed twice.
Enter request. The suit was user responsive and had paired with the helmet.
Let’s see what this thing can do.
Get me to the closest operating shuttle, he telepathed.
He heard one chime, and then a light switch on in the helmet at the corner of his right iris – recreating a map of the room. It scanned the room as he looked in different directions and began walking towards the pinpointed location.