Chapter Thirteen

“Okay, Nikolai, how does the Syldrari Sector seem to you?” I asked, watching the feed from his visor on the screen before me. He whipped his head around a little much for my taste, but at least he was trying to be alert. “The area you’re above now is where they’ve been having issues with other aliens coming into their territory.”

“It seems kinda…dead? Shouldn’t a visiting queen make it livelier?” Nikolai peered over the edge of the building he’d perched on. Sure enough, no one was in the street below him. “Orders?”

I glanced back at Zafir, who just smiled and made a flourishing motion with one hand. Great. He’d meant it when he said I’d be in charge of this one.

“Keep patrolling. Just because nothing has gone wrong yet doesn’t mean it won’t.” I tapped a button on the console to remove my image from the inside of his visor, then crossed my arms. “If you notice any of your suit’s functionality malfunctioning or glitching, come back to HQ. We think some of the Syldrari have the ability to disable the suits—or at least some of their functions.”

“Right. Which is why I need to find non-Syldrari troublemakers, give them a reason to like me…” Nikolai sighed, then nodded. “Understood. Continuing to patrol.”

I muted my mic before glancing at Zafir again. “Is this really necessary? I have studying to do.”

Zafir adjusted his glasses before walking over to join me at the monitors. “Absolutely. You should be prepared to oversee your teammates or other teams. I can’t direct them all at once.”

“Right.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets. “Nikolai is right though. The sector should be livelier. It was buzzing with activity before the queen even showed up at Rel’s joint.”

“It does seem a bit too—” Zafir’s phone rang and he promptly turned away, lifting it to his ear. “Sir? Yes. Mhm. But she’s oversee— …I understand.”

“You backed down quick.” I observed, stepping around the disgruntled man to peer at his face. The expression I saw there was…in a word, dangerous. “Work for me?”

Zafir took a steadying breath before turning to look at me. “…you are to break into an underground fighting ring near the slums and free the alien slaves there. A politician who is…no longer needed runs the ring. Our superiors intend to use you busting the ring as a way to remove him from his position.”

“Making themselves look better at the same time.” I made a sour face as Zafir nodded. “When?”

“Now.”

“Seriously? Now? Without preparation or any intelligence to—”

“I will send the maps to your suit. Contact me if you need me—I’ll be remaining voice-only this time.” Zafir shooed me toward the door.

“Good, it’s a little hard to focus with holo-you waving your hands around in my retinas,” I scoffed, gesturing at my eyes briefly before sticking my tongue out at him. “Make sure Nikolai doesn’t get into too much trouble~”

“Elara, you’re dealing with— Zafir began in exasperation.

Slaves. I get it. I clenched one hand in a fist, feeling my blood boiling. Sometimes joking around is the best way to cope with a dark situation, you know? There’s no telling what kind of slaves they have there. I doubt it’s just fighters.

Once I was suited up, on my bike, and headed for the slum border, I connected to Zafir’s communication line. “What species are being held captive, and how am I meant to subdue them all on my own?”

“Let’s see…” Zafir paused, tapping away, “…primarily Syldrari and humans. There are a few others as well, but the Syldrari would be the most dangerous. Ah…unless the humans are drugged, perhaps. They could be unpredictable.

“As for keeping them in line, it says here that an informant has been leaking tales of ‘Lethe’s justice endeavors’ to the slaves, along with pictures from the media. Your identity will hopefully make them less…agitated.”

“And I’m escorting them to where?”

More tapping, then an answer: “The Syldra Embassy. I’ll send you the coordinates now in case Nikolai’s little problem isn’t over with by then…if you’ll excuse me…”

I grimaced. Nowhere near as much information I wanted, though it sounded like he was in the same predicament.

Shortly thereafter, I parked my bike on a rooftop and eyed the streets below. The slums in the distance had buildings, at least, but it looked like they hadn’t received maintenance in decades or longer. It was more like ruins of an old city center, by the look of it.

A few buildings over, according to the overlay in my visor, was the main entrance to the fighting ring. No other entrances were marked. I rubbed my temples and sighed, debating possible other entrances, or if I should just barge in through the front door.

…or, can I bluff? I scanned the entrance again, and the two human bouncers standing at it. They were average in size, not the sort of bulk I expected from bouncers usually. They did, however, have various cybernetic implants according to my visor. One had a mechanical arm, and the other had his legs both replaced from the hips down.

“Uh…” One of the men hesitated as I strolled casually toward them. “You got an invitation… Lethe, was it?”

“That vigilante? Great…” the other one groaned. “Look, if you’re going to beat us up, at least leave me fun bits alone, alright? The missus—”

“Maybe I just want to see if I can find myself an interesting opponent?” I suggested with the sweetest smile I could muster.

“You’re…not gonna hurt us?” They exchanged glances.

“You’re military, aren’t you? Working an extra job to pay the bills, I understand. Perhaps even being coerced by a corrupt politician…” I let my words hang in the air, then took another step forward. “You can let me in and go home, or you can test the lightning resistance of your cybernetics. Which will it be?”

The one with replaced legs slumped. “If we just let you go…”

“A light singeing it is, then.” I snapped my fingers, sending electricity arcing over their skin—and only their skin—until their clothes had a few tears and scorches, and they had a few minor burns.

They, understandably, freaked out and flailed back, making it more dramatic than it needed to be. I was already in the building before they seemed to realize I wasn’t going to kill them.

Any guards inside though… I sighed. This is going to be a mess.

Loud music and the voice of an announcer competed with each other in the dim establishment, while neon lights and the like strobed everywhere. A large variety of species surrounded a massive arena set into the floor and sealed off by a thick, clear substance.

Hanging from the ceiling were females of various species in little-to-no clothing, whose job was apparently to dance. Most numerous among them were Syldrari with a vacant expression in their eyes, the glowing parts of their bodies strobing more drastically than any of the lights in the room.

Of the Syldrari…women? I noticed no small number of them had a penis, and some had both male and female genitalia. Only three appeared to be women as I understood women to be. Upon even further inspection, I realized some of the caged Syldrari were entirely masculine except for…those bits.

…I think I’m starting to grasp why they listed so many sexes… I shoved my confusion and curiosity from my mind and refocused my attention on the scene closer at ground level. No one had noticed me yet. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. If I’m supposed to rescue the slaves…do I just…kill everyone else?

I slipped closer and peered into the arena, eyeing the fight below. Utter brutality. The human fighting some red-skinned, four-armed giant of a man was about to be quartered—and the audience was screaming for it to happen. A flicker of regret, then acceptance, crossed the giant’s face, and he started to pull.

No. Stop them. Something not wholly unlike the feral burst forth from within me. Lightning and whips of shadow tore through the perverted crowd around me, lancing through the skulls and hearts of every non-slave in the room. Blood pooled around my feet, my pulse racing, as I heard platters drop and glasses break.

Feet splashed through blood, and then the music stopped. I sensed someone carefully inching toward me from my left and turned to spot a Syldrari girl glowing grey.

“U-um…” she stuttered.

“Can they hear us?” I pointed at the clear barrier below.

“Y-yes, but, don’t break it. The security…” she gulped. “Y-you’re… That vigilante ‘human’ right? Are you… You’re here to…”

I took a deep breath and reabsorbed the energy I had sent lancing out. Someone had to be calm for these people. My frustrations could be vented later. “I’m here to take you all to the Syldra Embassy. Finding where you all belong is a touch beyond my expertise, so they will be taking care of you all once I’ve freed you all.”

The girl said nothing and just started shaking, so I turned back to the barrier and gave it a few good knocks before yelling down at the hesitating giant. “I’m here to get you all out of here, so don’t kill the poor bastard yet! I have questions for him!”

With that, I turned and went to frisk all the guards in the room, collecting devices off them that I figured I might need to bypass security measures. One of the guys had been on the phone at the time and had dropped it, so I gave it a quick search for any functionality that might let me disable the security systems within the building.

“They…um…” the girl pointed up at the cages.

“They will need medical assistance and detox, I assume?” I pressed a button at my wrist briefly to make certain that line made it to Zafir, then released it to send. This job was way, way beyond my capabilities. Fuck. “Is anyone else drugged that you know of?”

“Humans.” She nodded. “But, sedatives until made to fight. They try to hurt themselves otherwise. Rest of us knew it’s a waiting game.”

“Waiting and humans doesn’t mix. They don’t live as long naturally.” I shook my head faintly and made my way toward a locked door. “What other security—”

“Here,” the girl offered me a red keycard, her eyes shining with determination, “I stole it from one of the guards when…um. Red cards can go anywhere! The security room is downstairs near all the cells.”

Do I trust her? I studied the girl for a moment, then nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Qiis! Call me Qiis!” She perked up a little. “The fighting slaves are scary. Can I…can I wait until you help the…not fighters? Sorry, human sex-gender concepts confuse me… Um…”

I glanced up at the caged people, then at her. “I think it’s safe to say Syldrari sexes confuse me just as much as the human concepts confuse you, if not more. I’m…just going to guess that all the fighters have neither breasts or uh…”

Not sure of a polite way to say it, I motioned up at one of the people above us who had a vagina and no other equipment. Qiis’ cheeks turned blue and her glow changed to a deep yellow.

“Yes… uh…customers don’t like to play with…” she pointed down at the fighters. “Woman?”

“Man,” I corrected, shaking my head slightly. “Are you sure they can wait?”

Qiis nodded. “Yes, keep fighters from fighting, please. Guards below, too…”

The more stressed she became, the more her grasp of the human language seemed to slip. I nodded to her and set off down to the prison below. Considering I had quite a bit of blood on me by this point, it saved me some time determining who was a guard to take care of.

Why are they all so…easy? I smashed a man’s head against a wall sharply, then let him drop to the ground. Despite the commotion, most of the men were still sitting in their cells, doing nothing but stare at the ground.

I decided to go to the arena first. The red giant dude was still holding the human at arms length, but given the man’s crazed face…I could see why.

“I’m Lethe. I’ll be taking everyone here to the Syldra Embassy once I’ve got those restraints off you all.” I adopted a matter of fact tone as I approached the giant and the human.

“Lethe…?” The giant asked suspiciously, slowly examining me. Finally, his eyes went wide. “You’re here to free us? Truly? Marvelous!”

“I’m going to need help, though. I need to know everything you can tell me about your restraints and how I might get them off you without causing damage.” I nodded to the oddly dapper-sounding giant. “And…I suppose I’ll have to knock out the drugged captives.”

“Certainly! I will tell you all that you wish to know!” The giant promptly came over and kneeled so he was closer to my level, though it didn’t help much. “Please, permit me to show you to the security room. I believe there is where their equipment is stored—or the access to it.”

Without any further prompting, the giant told me everything he knew about the devices—their deadly shock, their ability to inject drugs of various kinds, and the difficult-to-damage metal alloy. The adjustable shock was on such a large range that it posed a threat to even the Syldrari—though I wanted to know how they were captured in the first place if they were so ‘superior’ to humans.

“Not this, not this…” I muttered to myself while sifting through the contents of the security room. It took me a good half an hour to find the tools used for placing and removing the restraints. By then, Zafir had sent a brief message to my visor to let me know he’d returned to observing my work—but he was remaining silent due to the captives’ hearing abilities.

“Where to start…” I sighed, looking at the intersection of hallways. The bastards had sorted the areas by species.

“Syldrari would be my suggestion, Lady Lethe,” the giant bowed, flourishing two of his hands. “They will be able to assist in freeing more of the captives, and their harmonic abilities will allow them to soothe those who might otherwise lash out.”

“Good point.” I nodded, before looking up at the giant with a smile. “Your name…?”

“Ah! Forgive my poor manners, Lady Lethe!” He bowed again. “I am Gixorbilav.”

“Nice to meet you. Could I bother you to guard the stairs for me, Gixorbilav?” I gave him a polite smile, seeing as the giant seemed overly polite thus far.

“It would be my honor, but will you be alright alone…ah.” Gixorbilav looked at the hallways and nodded his understanding. “Of course—I will not fit in most. Should you need my assistance with the others of my kind, you know where to find me.”

We parted ways, and I steeled myself as best I could before going into the Syldrari cellblock. Most of them stirred at my presence, a few even coming closer to the bars. Bars I knew damn well they could break through if they wanted.

“My name is Lethe and I’m here to return you to the Syldra Embassy,” I announced in my best commanding tone—it seemed to have some effect, at least, since many of them straightened and became more alert. “The device I’m holding allows me to remove your restraints. If any of you are willing, I’d be grateful for assistance in freeing the other captives.”

“Huh…cute.” A Syldrari with pale purple skin murmured as he examined me. His tail swayed back and forth, his glow shifting between varying shades of purple. “A debt should be repaid and all that. I’ll help. Whatever powers you have, there’s some people down here they just won’t work on.”

A few other men voiced their agreement, so I got all of them out of their cells first and set to work removing their restraints. They all seemed more…relaxed, or perhaps acclimated, then the other captives did.

“So, have you been down here too long, or are you new?” I inquired, not quite sure what to think of their demeanor.

“Long enough to know how to avoid problems,” the purple one answered with a sly grin, revealing shark-like teeth—very different from any Syldrari I’d met. “You’re ‘human’ huh? I’m not buying that. Humans don’t smell or look like snacks.”

“…you sure you’re not just hungry, Yeriphe?” A Syldrari the color of slate asked sarcastically.

“There you go. All done.” I removed the last set of restraints from my volunteers. “Are there any less adjusted Syldrari I should be careful with?”

“There’s a new Anad’iri in the back,” one of them offered, glancing down the hall. “They’ve been trying to break him in, and he’s done a few fights. Got upset and went feral—they’ve been keeping him locked up between fights since they can’t deal with him but want to keep him. If they don’t get him fighting soon…they’re probably going to make him one of the dancers upstairs.”

…feral? I wondered uneasily. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do and will call for help if I need it. Now, here’s how these devices work…”

An hour, maybe more, passed before I was at the final door in the Syldrari cellblock. Constant vibrations rattled the door, a melodic humming coming from inside the room itself. I opened my mouth to call out, then paused. Perhaps speaking in my own language first would make things worse.

“Vilam n~t bukairda?” I did my best to hum the appropriate syllables, then listened for any response from inside or any change. “I’m here to free you, and I’m opening the door.”

I sensed the presence of the Syldrari in the room shift, darting somewhere above the door as the sound and vibrations abruptly stopped. However, his presence became murderous. It most definitely reminded me of the so-called ‘feral phenomenon.’

When I opened the door, I was prepared for the Syldrari to mindlessly rush me, which he did—but much faster than anticipated. He collided with me and I felt teeth sink into my shoulder—something my feral didn’t appreciate at all.

I connected my foot with his gut, forcing him to continue over until he was on his back. My shoulder, unfortunately, was still in his mouth. I placed a hand on his chest and let electricity tingle beneath my hand. “Let go.”

His bite tensed, and I felt blood trickle down my skin…then suddenly, he froze. The glowing of his skin abruptly changed from deep red to white, then suddenly to a very light blue-grey. He stuttered something in his own language after daintily releasing my shoulder. He looked up at me with wide eyes, all his pupils dilating further than normal.

He stuttered something, then seemed to realize I didn’t understand him. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t in—”

“Are you confident I can let you up?” I asked, less bothered by his attack and more bothered by the fact I could feel my shoulder and suit repairing themselves. He nodded meekly. “Like I said, I’m here to free you. Stay still so I can take your restraints off.”

“Um…” he seemed to struggle to find words, his white skin turning progressively bluer, all over. He seemed to be embarrassed, much like the girl upstairs had been, but instead of glowing yellow, he went a sort of pinky-purple color. “I didn’t think anyone…was really going to come for us. That guy that was always talking about ‘Lethe’ I thought he was just spreading false hope. But you’re…you’re really…”

He turned a darker blue, any of him that had been white before now definitely was not. Poor thing seemed obvious to the fact that my bicolored blood was still on his mouth, too. Or that the underside of his bright white had started strobing.

“Hmmm, you should probably wash the blood off so the others don’t get angry,” I suggested, though it was more a foolish hope that Zafir hadn’t noticed what was going on.

The foolishness was almost instantly confirmed by the brief text of, “Another ‘our little secret’” scrolling across the corner of my visor. Cheeky bastard. He was lucky he was smart enough and good looking enough for me to let him get away with it. For the moment.

The Syldrari promptly flicked his long, bright blue-to-black tongue out and licked the blood off his mouth and chin, leaving a faintly glowing fuchsia layer of saliva in its place. He seemed to catch my incredulous stare, and promptly wiped his mouth on his sleeve before giving me a sheepish grin.

“That…works. Let’s join the others, then.” I stood up, and he followed. Despite being taller than me, he trotted after me like a loyal, happy puppy the whole way.

After meeting up with the other Syldrari, we freed the remaining few fighters and made our way upstairs. There, the Syldrari assisted with the more…damaged captives. Their harmonic abilities allowed them to quell the fear, anxiety, and hatred whirling around in their minds. An aural tranquilizer, in a way.

Another message from Zafir pointed us to a ship waiting on the roof. A ship piloted by someone I was, apparently, meant to threaten.

“Take us to the Syldra Embassy, or I’ll kill you.” I glanced to the side at the pilot briefly as I passed him. Even though, supposedly, Zafir had told him I must threaten him to be convincing…he still turned pale.

I leaned back in a corner near the Syldrari…but it wasn’t peaceful for long. A pair of hands gripped my thighs and I felt a long tongue slide up my inner thigh, bringing my attention immediately downward. The white Syldrari was there on his knees, looking fully prepared to put his long nubbed tongue to use.

Startled and with no idea what to do in such a situation, I promptly grabbed him by the hair on top of his head and pulled him further away from my groin before hissing, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Isn’t…this how we’re supposed to thank a queen?” He blinked at me, his expression oddly innocent.

He seriously believes what he’s saying? I stared at him, flabbergasted. “I’m not a queen. I’m human. You don’t do these things to a human unless you’re asked and you both want to “

“Am I not satisfactory?” He murmured, confused, his expression falling. “Human? You’re… Humans can have queens?”

“Uh…you’re very handsome, but in my culture you don’t just…” I struggled to find the words to explain just how inappropriate his attempt was.

“Ahem,” Yeriphe, the purple Syldrari from before, carefully pulled the white one away and said something to him in their native tongue. Whatever it was seemed to get the point across, so Yeriphe addressed me next, “I think we’d all appreciate it if you could forget what he said about repaying queens…”

“I can overlook it…” I shot the disappointed white Syldrari a concerned look. He was clearly sulking, as he’d taken to drawing patterns on the floor with one finger. “Foreign cultures are difficult to understand, and I can tell he meant no harm.”

“He apologizes for startling you,” Yeriphe offered, then tilted his head. “You didn’t say ‘alien culture.’”

“Eh, people are people.” I shrugged, relaxing back against the wall again. “Humans would be the aliens on your planet, right? And I can’t imagine they would like being referred to as such all the time. You have an identity, and that is Syldrari. Not ‘alien.’”

“M-Miss Lethe, we’ll be arriving at the Syldrari Embassy in five minutes,” the pilot stuttered over the intercom.

“Lethe.” Yeriphe took on a serious, hushed tone and moved closer. “There’s another prison you need to know about.”

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