Metallic taps echoed down the hall as Unranked Officer Benjamin Hargrave walked the familiar pathways through their core research center. Of all the things his position afforded him, the private planet was the only one he truly enjoyed. When they found this nearly uninhabitable rock near the center of their home galaxy, it was quickly determined that the seven would claim it as their own.

It was home, even more so now that they could no longer return to their place of birth.

He’d always hated politics. No matter where the conversation went, the simple act of observing both sides subtly vying for power left a sour taste in his mouth. When he had ruled the Human Empire, he hadn’t allowed for such foolishness. Unfortunately, when they gave up their positions as absolute rulers in order to revive democracy, they’d also revived the schemes.

Ahead, the hallway ended in a vault that he believed was more secure than any other in the UHR. Frankly, if it wasn’t, then he and the others had spent an incredible amount of time on what was basically a closet. But, seeing as no sensor on the complex had been tripped, it was safe to say that it remained intact.

“Ben Hargrave.” He said as he approached, unlocking the first seal, and allowing him to pass. Once inside, the door closed, locking him inside the mantrap.

In the center of the room, a pedestal with various scanners rose from the ground. The first was a handprint, basic security and frankly more of a distraction than any other. Second, it required him to present his eyes for a full scan. Seeing as he was more machine than man, it would be easy for an intruder to replicate his mechanical eyes and use those. Probably in the same manner that they acquired the hand if he was being honest with himself.

The last authentication was the only one that couldn’t be replicated easily. At the top of the pedestal, a small glass version of a Light battery waited patiently to be filled. Grasping the vial, he poured a constant stream of his pure crimson Light into the container. If anyone, human or otherwise, were to try this, they would be killed.

Not only was it required that the proper color of light be used in this situation, but the frequency and purity of that light was tested as well. Since the founders were the only humans to ever be changed with an undiluted version of the serum, it meant that they were the only ones capable of wielding such a wide range of frequencies.

The sounds of heavy locks being disengaged could be heard as the second door opened slowly. Inside the observation room Frederick Barca stood watch over their prisoner. “How is it?” Benjamin asked, coming to a stop at his friend’s side. The sounds of locks re-engaging the only thing breaking the utter stillness of the cell.

“Depends.”

“On?”

“On what you want to hear. Is the creature in pain from being bathed in Light constantly for the past six months? Yes. Has it proclaimed my death several hundred times since being locked in here? No doubt. But if you asking if it finally cracked, no. Not at all.”

After the mission that successfully captured what they believed to be an enemy officer, the seven of them had placed the creature inside a cell that would be constant torture for a creature born of darkness.

The Light Cage was devised specifically to hold one of these creatures indefinitely. They didn’t know that the presence of so much Light would actually burn the creature, that was just a happy bonus.

Beyond the composite glass of the observation chamber, every inch of the room beyond emitted Light in some way. The walls were made of layers and layers of Fredericks own barriers, engineered and powered by equipment only he understood. The bed, chair, and small table were made of Benjamin’s own Light and powered in a similar manner.

Almost as great as the research station above, this chamber was a representation of what each of them could accomplish when they worked as a unit. But then again, the serum was enough proof of that, wasn’t it?

“Restrain it.” Benjamin said coldly, allowing just a touch of Hargrave to enter his mind.

“Going to give it another go?”

“Yes, but this time, I will break it.”

Frederick tapped a series of buttons that were visible only through his HUD.

Inside the cell, lines of yellow light shot out from various locations and bound the creature. Even as it tried to split into the writhing mass that was its true body, more strands of Light whipped out and latched onto the appendages.

With a nod, Benjamin walked to another mantrap that led into the chamber and began the process of entering. The security required all of the same steps as the one above with one added protection.

“Fred. My side is complete.”

Above, Frederick tapped yet another series of commands that completed the two-factor authentication needed for entry to the cell. Below, he watched as his friend walked in. Part of him worried that Ben would go too far, the rest of him simply didn’t care so long as the proper information was gathered.

“Creature, let’s start with something easy today.” Benjamin said, approaching the black mass of murderous limbs. “Can you understand me? A simple nod would suffice, although I would prefer if you would actually respond in kind.”

The mass that most often represented the creatures head shifted slightly before shaping itself into a mockery of Benjamin’s own face. It had done this almost every time they tried to communicate with it, but without fail, the interrogation would end after a few short sentences spoken only by the Officer in the room.

A too-wide grin spread across the night black skin, giving Benjamin’s face features that were simply not possible for a human – or steel cast – to make. “F-f-f-oooooood.” The creature said slowly, the words not quite forming properly in its mouth.

The real Benjamin smiled. It seemed that the creature did remember him. Afterall, it was hard to forget someone that had slowly removed over three dozen appendages with no regard to the pain it caused.

“No, dear friend, I do not bring food today. But if you play your cards right, I may be able to find something for you that is not slop.”

The creature let loose a low rumbling growl. It had given away a secret: it had shown that it could understand.

“I want you to understand something. I’m sure its very hard for you to track the passage of time with nothing significant to mark its passing, but you’ve been down here about six months or so.” He leaned in close and allowed the creature to see a hint of the madness that was just a mere flip of a switch away, “In that time, I’ve hurt you, I’ve starved you, I’ve taken away every possible thing that would allow you to retain sanity. In return, you’ve pretended not to understand me. But today, you made a mistake. Today, you showed that you understand me. Don’t you see how this is progress in our relationship?”

It was impossible to tell the emotions on the face of this creature, but is Fredrick had to guess, it was fear.

“Good boy.” Benjamin’s voice echoed through the observation room, “Now that I know you understand my words: What is your name?”

The creature sat in silence for several moments, probably trying to decide just how much to give away, unwilling to give its captors anything. That is, until the terrifying crimson energy began to coalesce in Hargrave’s hand. It knew that light, it knew that was a sign of pain to come.

“Sacrament.” It spoke. Again, the words not quite forming completely in its mouth. The voice, if it could even be called that, had a distinct dryness to it. Further proof of the torture it had been put through over the past half year.

“Sacrament? Sounds… religious? Right then, now that I have your name, care to tell me what you are?”

“We are the cleansing horde. We are the force sent to wipe away the stain of Light on the cosmos. We fight only to serve Perpetual Night!” With effort that Benjamin was surprised to see, Sacrament tore at his bindings in a poor attempt to free himself from the bonds holding him. “Beings that are not of The People only have one use: to serve as sustenance. But you, metallic abomination, cannot serve The People. Your kind are a scourge, a curse across all the known universe.”

Outwardly, the man smiled in an attempt to show just how much his prisoner had screwed up by giving away that information. But inside, he was compiling the data as quickly as he could. Recording every second, every twitch and inflection that might give away something that was not being told.

“A scourge you say? For the unforgivable crime of surviving to fight another day?”

“You did not survive the transformation, Beast, you are simply not wise enough to understand that fact. Any who join the ranks of machines are damned… even more than those who would worship the cursed light.”

“Let me get this straight. You and yours search the universe for intelligent life, preferably the kind living on a planet orbiting a star. Then, you attack that planet and steal a chunk of the populace to become ‘food.’ What next? You destroy the star in some blaze of glory that somehow cleanses the area and makes it pure?”

Sacrament fell silent again, refusing to add more to Benjamin’s understanding of it or it’s race. This time, it didn’t flinch in the slightest when the blade was formed. It didn’t scream when yet another appendage was severed from its body and tossed aside with careless ease.

“Frederick.” Hargrave called after ten more minutes of mutilation, “I don’t think our friend here is hungry after all. Cancel the meal, it appears this species can go longer than a month without food.”

Dismissing his blade, the Unranked Officer strode through the door and went through the lengthy process of exiting the man trap. Part of him – an incredibly bloodthirsty part – wanted to walk right back into that room and execute the creature. Thankfully, the more logical side was in control at the moment. If he did kill Sacrament, then all potential knowledge would be lost. Keeping him alive was much more useful in the long term.

“So, this entire thing has been religious in nature?” Frederick asked once Benjamin was inside and the prisoner released from his restraints.

“It appears so. Fred, I’m afraid that we’ve stepped into a war that is far older than even us. For all we know, this grudge match between his people and the “cursed Light” may be older than our species.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“No, but we do know that we are seen as unclean and can only be used as food for these people.”

Frederick turned back to the creature inside, “His story reminds me of mythology… though I can’t put my finger on which.”

“You need to track that down. Meanwhile, I will be working on something to fight back against these things. It seems a group of soldiers fought one of these things recently and was unable to even scratch it until their Optic forced a connection.”

“So why do our abilities work?”

“I’m not sure,” Benjamin replied, face screwed up in thought, “I do know that it is something we need to figure out, and fast. Otherwise, our people may not live through what is coming.”

“And what is coming?”

“If I’m wrong, nothing. If I’m right, death.”