Chapter Thirty-Five

When I returned to the surface, it was raining heavily. I hurried indoors and stepped into the elevator that would take me to my team’s common area. The area was empty, leaving me to wander around for a few minutes in search of my ‘boss’—who I found in his office, along with Rel. Both looked rather grumpy, though they perked up when I poked my head in.

Rel was the first to his feet, quickly striding over to me with concern in his eyes. “Elara, are you alright? You were gone longer than anticipated.”

“I’m fine, we can talk about it shortly.” I nudged gently past him and placed my boxed present on Zafir’s desk. “I assume we don’t wish to outright trust a gift to me from Citomy?”

“A gift from…?” Rel joined me at the desk and reached past me, opening the lid. There was a brief flicker of emotion I didn’t recognize before he too looked to Zafir. “Well?”

“One moment.” Zafir reached into a drawer under his desk and pulled out a weird glove-thing that had pinpricks of light all over its surface. He ran his hand over the outside of the box, the inside, then gently handled the object inside. “We appear to be clear. I suppose she didn’t anticipate that there may already be animosity brewing.”

“A ‘gift’… A shame she chose one that is an insult.” Rel’s murmured comment got him a questioning glance from both me and Zafir. “Ah… This is one of the pieces I carved when I was much younger and had yet to leave Syldra. As such, Citomy is aware that it has no real ‘value’ as it isn’t created by a skilled artisan. Then of course there’s the clear indication that she doesn’t value any of my work enough to keep it for the sentimental reasons a mother normally would.“

“Oh…is it…okay for me to keep it, then?” I asked, a tad concerned. I nibbled on one of my knuckles as I studied the intricate piece. Maybe he was being humble, or maybe he was being honest—I couldn’t tell. All I knew is that I found it beautiful, and I was going to be disappointed if he said no—or worse, suggested we destroy it.

“Keep it?” Rel turned to face me fully, his eyes slightly widened. “I…certainly won’t complain if you wish to keep one of my pieces, but are you certain you wouldn’t prefer a more professional one?”

“But I like this one.” I pointed at the lantern with one hand as I stared back at him. “It’s beautiful and you clearly spent an immense amount of time on it. Why wouldn’t I want to keep it?”

“That’s…” Rel floundered.

“He must have spent months on this piece,” Zafir murmured, giving the lantern a thorough examination. “Ah—and this gash here on the underside—caused by a close call with your prey, I take it?”

“Yes…like the other R’selkti Lun’iri my age, I whittled and carved away at it when I was off duty,” Rel answered, looking surprisingly embarrassed. “It served me well. When I was pulled from my duties permanently, I gave it to my mother like the naive boy I still was at the time.”

“About your mother…” I crossed my arms and sighed. “Let’s sit down. There a cup around here for me somewhere? I’d like some of that tea too.”

“Certainly,” Zafir answered, carefully placing the lantern back in its box and closing the lid. Once he’d poured me a cup of tea, he sat back down. “What do you have to report?”

“Citomy tried to sell Rel to me, and insinuated she wanted me to take Jysel off her hands too,” I stated bluntly.

“What… Why didn’t you? You should have accepted. You, at least, are—” Rel fell silent when I reached over and put a finger to his lips to hush him.

“I didn’t get a chance to answer her either way. She called Imperator Julien to try and get him to pay for you. She seems to think ‘gifts’ must still be bought. She was quickly informed the empire doesn’t have that kind of money.

“As for if I should have accepted… Wouldn’t that be breaking your trust? I’ll admit I considered saying ‘yes’ to avoid her trying to sell you to some awful queen, but I’m not sure my intentions matter in such a situation.”

“I would have forgiven you. It might take a few years of course, but…” Rel fell silent for a moment at the look I gave him. “What?”

“I could be dead by the time you forgave me, at the rate things are going,” I stated flatly, causing him to narrow his eyes at me. “We shouldn’t forget the situation I’m in. Since I’m incompatible with the military’s usual methods of prolonging a soldier’s life, I’ll be retired in the next year or two at maximum. My retirement will either consist of training the teams here, or a complete mind wipe and reprogramming so they can sell me to the highest bidder—individual, or brothel. Then there’s the possibility I die in combat.”

“She may lack a certain amount of tact when discussing the varied forms of death, but unfortunately she’s quite correct,” Zafir stated with a heavy sigh. “This will only become a bigger issue if the war council votes to order me to research a method of delaying her progressing cellular dissonance. There are some among the brass who want her to remain completely human.”

“Purists,” Rel muttered irritably. “We should be hastening her return to Syldrari form, not delaying it. The longer she remains mixed with human genetics, the more likely one of those weaknesses is exploited.”

“To be quite blunt, I’m more concerned about why Citomy tried to sell you and Jysel to Elara.” Zafir frowned, resting his forearms on the desk, his hands clasped together. “I’ve never heard of a queen trying to sell to someone she believes to be human.”

“About that…” I hesitated, glancing around the room and then back to Zafir. “Is it safe to talk in here?”

“It is as of a few hours ago,” Rel remarked amusedly, shooting Zafir a smug look. “Because one of us, at least, is more than happy to knock all offending devices offline.”

“Okay, then I should report about the entire ‘experience’ on Xilen’s ship.” I nodded and proceeded to explain everything that had been discussed with Citomy or with Xilen, including the strong indicators that Zafir wasn’t the only mole in the Resonance Project.

“Such a strange conclusion…their rank must not be very high…” Zafir murmured. “It’s quite clear that you were not ‘spliced’ with foreign material to make you as you are now.”

“Unless she was spliced before the Resonance Incident. Even so, I think it’s quite clear the human material is the intruder.” Rel shook his head. “We can’t rule out the possibility that what Citomy said is the truth but flipped. Her and her advisors often hide the truth in plain sight by simply switching, for example, cause and effect, in their reports.

“As for the mole, it would have to be someone lower or higher ranking than you—someone you won’t come into contact with. Otherwise you would have discovered them already.”

“Unless the R’selkti have new stealth technology, yes,” Zafir grumbled irritably. “Alas, we don’t have any contacts who can find out. At best, I could have more departments rotate through different parts of HQ, or spend some of my time personally overseeing tasks.”

“Then you yourself would be discovered. No,” I stated flatly. “We’d all be better off if you just told me what to look for.”

“She’s right. You shouldn’t risk yourself.” Rel shook his head faintly. “I will remain alert for suspicious individuals when here. However, I do not think Elara should go looking for them either. Considering she is one of the few things keeping a modicum of peace between the humans and Syldrari…it would be best if nothing bad happens to her.”

“Hmm? Me?” I gave him an odd look. “I don’t really do enough to be classified as the ‘glue’ holding peace together at the moment.”

“You do more than you know—simply by being you. Try not to think on it too much.” Rel gave me a half smile before turning his attention to Zafir. “You’ve gone quiet.”

“A report came in…” Zafir murmured as he read his data pad, a frown forming on his face. “I need to study this, if you will excuse—”

Both men paused, with Rel’s head turning to listen in the direction of the door.

“What are they watching…” Rel muttered, rising to his feet. Zafir was right behind him, leaving me to hurry after the pair of concerned-looking males.

When we got to the lounge, I spotted my female teammates sitting on couches, their knees pulled up to their chests as they watched TV. They looked utterly entranced by whatever it was. I followed their gaze, finding a glitching, obscured image of a cloaked figure on the screen. The image appeared to be in greyscale, making it impossible to determine the individual’s skin color. By the texture, I had a sinking feeling they were Syldrari.

“…you can make the R’selkti chase their tails in circles, but those blessed by the Abyss Father will not be fooled. You will pay for what you have done to our people. For the twisted experiments you’ve performed and the devastating weapons you’ve stolen. Humans are overgrown children, and you will be shown your place.”

The image glitched out again, then the screen went dark. Aisu smashed the buttons on the remote, but there was no change. Sarah and Diana both brought up data pads, trying to pull up any feed they could find. I peeked over their shoulders, but no video came up. Not even static or noise. After a moment, Diana glanced back at me and shook her head.

“Nothin’.” Aisu muttered irritably. “Cut their feed, and looks like all systems are down.”

“Go see if Amara can work her magic,” I ordered, watching the three women rise to their feet. “We need to figure out who that was and, if possible, where they were broadcasting from.”

“‘Those blessed by the Abyss Father?’” Rel repeated quietly. “When did they get to this planet? The last I heard; they were dozens of systems away from Syldra—in the opposite direction of this one, at that.”

I glanced over my shoulder, sensing movement, to find an agitated General Crowe walking toward us. He promptly caught Rel’s attention and asked, “Who are ‘they?’”

“You could call them a religious cult for simplicity.” Rel shook his head faintly. “If I may go into slightly more detail…”

“Please. All our reports claim Syldrari aren’t religious.” Crowe nodded for him to continue.

Rel sighed and loosely crossed his arms. “Syldrari do not worship deities. We venerate historical figures—our collective ancestors—who made great discoveries or advancements in their time.

“‘The Abyss Father’ is a more controversial figure, as he is one of the few venerated Lun’iri—men. It was thanks to his discoveries and developments that early Syldrari were able to master the depths of our home world. However, the many legends surrounding his person make most hesitant to acknowledge he ever lived.

“The deeper he fades into obscurity, the more fanatical groups rise. Most of the groups are harmless, as they simply wish to preserve history. However, there are groups who now consider him to be a deity…and they are dangerous in their devotion.”

“Do you have any idea what they’re accusing us of?” Crowe frowned, glancing toward the blank screen. “It sounded personal.”

“It could be as petty as someone mocking Syldrari culture, or as serious as believing that your government tortured and killed someone important to their cause. They’re unstable and unpredictable.” Rel shook his head, then glanced in my direction. “Of course, if the rumors Citomy told Elara are circulating through more circles…”

“Rumors?” Crowe turned to me fully. “You and Zafir are coming to my office. I require a full report. You may rest after.

“Rel, I am having Erik drive you back to the Syldrari District for now. Zafir will notify you of any potential changes to Elara’s schedule.”

“…very well.” Rel glanced at me briefly, hesitating before making his way to the elevator and taking his leave.

And, with that, I joined Crowe and Zafir so I could give a report. Again.

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