Prism and The Red Wolves

“You seem to be wondering what I do for the Red Wolves, and why I’m down here in the depths of the Undercity. Allow me to answer these questions for you.”

Bighead walked over to one of the free-standing display screens in the shaded outer area of the artificially-sunlit inner chamber. The being’s white robes made them seem like they were gliding across the white marble floor. Prism noticed two small, silvery metallic ports on the back of Bighead’s neck. Prism knew that some of his teammates had similar access ports at the base of their spine, and had even learned that Leanna’s dronepack plugged into her spinal port through an adapter within her armor. The ports were used to directly interface with a variety of biotechnology.

After a few taps with their slender tan fingers, Bighead brought up a screen that showed an image of them alongside several textual details about themself. Prism looked up at Ursun with confusion, unsure of how to proceed. Ursun looked down at his nearby teammate, and closed his eyes before giving him a smug smirk.

“Go on ahead. Bighead won’t hurt you.” Ursun said with a shooing motion of his hand toward the display that Bighead stood at.

“Yes…sir…” Prism said nervously.

When Prism began to walk over to where Bighead stood, and he could hear the rest of his team snickering at him. It then occurred to Prism that their previous quietness and bowed heads may have been some sort of inside joke. Prism shot them a not-so-pleased look before stopping in front of Bighead’s display.

Prism looked over the screen for a second or two, and was surprised by how much information was shown about the person that had brought it up. Prism looked curiously at Bighead, who simply smiled politely at him with closed eyes.

“I hope you don’t mind. This is just a more efficient way of answering your questions.” Bighead said brightly.

“Fair enough.” Prism said with a whimsical bob of his head. Bighead’s kind demeanor had begun to put him at ease. “So, you’re a bioengineered life-form created by the Queen herself?” Prism asked brightly, communicating how impressed he was with Bighead’s origin.

“That is correct. She wanted a being with an intellect close to her own that would also be subservient to her. She was successful in the first regard.” Bighead said with their eyes still closed.

Prism looked over the displayed details about Bighead a second time, noting the being’s pronounced age of 200 and their lack of sex or gender. Prism then examined Bighead’s sprightly face for a moment, especially the smooth and unblemished areas around their eyes and mouth. Prism couldn’t see any obvious signs of advanced aging. Bighead soon opened their eyes and tilted their head when they saw what Prism was doing.

“My assumption is that you are intrigued by my age, especially since I appear no older than someone in their late twenties. Ironic, since I am certain that you too are far older than you appear to be.” Bighead correctly intuited. “And before you ask, yes, I am neither a male nor a female. My kind was not given such attributes.”

“When we touched over there, I saw some fragments of your memories. Are you telepathic?” Prism asked a bit rudely while crossing his arms defensively, in an attempt to deter Bighead from stating any further assertions about him.

“If only. Even the Queen has not yet figured out how to grant telepathy to purely biological beings. I simply have very sophisticated nerves that allow me to exchange information through touch with other beings like myself.” Bighead said while holding up their right hand and slowly running the long fingers of their left hand over their right palm. “And it has been a long time since I have touched another like me.” Bighead said with downward-looking eyes that hinted of sadness.

“My nerves are also capable of that, though my own biology is probably very different from yours or anyone else’s on this world.” Prism said, matching Bighead’s tone of voice.

“And that is exactly why you have been brought down to meet me! The Red Wolves have always excelled because they incorporate uniqueness and eccentricity into its wonderfully adaptive organization.” Bighead clapped their large hands joyfully. “And now an extraterrestrial life-form graces our ranks. It is truly marvelous!”

“I…I’m grateful to be working with all of you.” Prism said bashfully.

Bighead’s elevated mood caused them to jovially turn to the display beside themself and pull up a screen showing a largely-redacted document about the A-Lab that had once kept Prism prisoner. Prism’s eyes grew wide when he saw the lab’s familiar logo on the image of the document. He put his face up close to the screen and examined the few words that were still visible between the myriad of black lines that seemed to dominate the document. He could only see the words “sedated humanoid” used to describe him and what was contained within the secret lab.

“This is what made our meeting possible.” Bighead said after making a satisfied sigh.

“This is all it really took for you guys to venture to that dangerous island and retrieve me?” Prism said doubtfully.

“Oh, please. The Red Wolves have gone on far more dangerous missions with far less intel.” Bighead said with another closed-eye smile.

“How did you even get this document?” Prism said while still eyeing the screen.

“With my help, Gnapp was able to reactivate and then hack into a long-defunct Kingdom datastore that RED-2 had retrieved a few months ago. This document was contained within it, along with the location of A-Lab.” Bighead said matter-of-factly.

“That makes sense. But I’ve still got to ask; did you know about me back then, while I was still being experimented on?” Prism looked away from the screen and stared intensely at Bighead’s big purple eyes.

“I’d been privy to a few of the Queen’s sensitive projects during my time working with her; that is true. However, she kept plenty of her projects a secret even from her Scriveners, which was what she called my kind.” Bighead explained soberly.

“Was what she called your kind?” Prism leaned forward and seized upon a hidden meaning behind Bighead’s words.

“Unfortunately, the Queen disposed of all of my kind shortly after I snuck out of her Kingdom and defected to the Red Wolves. She now makes a point not to create or employ any super-intelligent life-forms.”

Though Bighead spoke in a calm and sing-song way, Prism could see guilt and pain subtly appear on the being’s face. Prism didn’t need to imagine the burden that Bighead carried, because Prism’s past decisions had also cost the lives of his own friends and family.

Prism reached out and suddenly pulled Bighead into a gentle hug while avoiding any skin-to-skin contact. Prism simply rested his chin on Bighead’s clothed shoulder. Bighead smiled warmly as they raised their arms and wrapped them around Prism’s armored back, reciprocating Prism’s act of compassion. It had been far too long since Bighead had been physically embraced by another.

“Are you two okay over there?” Prism heard Ursun shout from across the chamber.

“We are quite fine!” Bighead shouted happily, not wanting the serendipitous moment to end too quickly.

When Prism stopped hugging Bighead a minute later, he turned around to quickly glance at what his teammates were doing. Most of RED-1 was on the opposite side of the room sitting on two couches that were in a shaded living area of Bighead’s chamber. Ursun, however, was standing up just outside of the living area, eyeing Bighead and Prism impatiently.

“Thank you for your kindness, Prism. It all happened long ago, and the pain is but a dull ache in my heart now.” Bighead reassured Prism with a pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure that you and your team are all tired after your day in the Undercity. I just wanted to meet with you before you leave on your next mission, since you were “in the neighborhood,” so to speak.”

“I’m assuming that our next mission has something to do with the Vadamites again?” Prism asked.

“Yes, they are peripherally involved in the coming conflict. But I will let Command brief you on those details. I simply analyze intel and create stratagems. It is up to them to implement those stratagems or not.” Bighead spoke humbly.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Bighead.” Prism said awkwardly, not fully sure if using the name was polite or cruel.

“Same to you, Prism. We will meet again.” Bighead smiled and nodded. “And don’t hesitate to use my name. It is a name that I have grown to be quite fond of.” Bighead said with a knowing glint in their eye.

“Alright, Bighead.” Prism smirked. “You have an uncanny ability to guess what I’m thinking.”

“Even without my super-intelligence, I doubt that reading you would be difficult. You do very little to conceal your heart and mind to me.” Bighead said with a smirk of their own.

The two shared a light chuckle between them before Prism turned away and started walking back over to his team.

“By the way, to answer your second question, I am living beneath the Undercity because it is perhaps the only place on the Peninsula where the Queen or her allies couldn’t get to me. Well, not easily, in any case.” Bighead said to Prism before he could get too far away.

Prism turned around and looked worriedly at Bighead. He couldn’t understand why Bighead’s sudden explanation jolted him so viscerally, but Prism knew then that he had yet another reason to aid the Red Wolves in their fight. Prism had only just met Bighead, but he already felt a kindred connection to the fellow non-human. Prism nodded his acknowledgement to Bighead before continuing over to the rest of RED-1.

Ursun sat on the back of a couch, watching Prism as he approached him. Prism shook his head when he noticed that Srell, Jaik, and Leanna were all sleeping on the couches. Lorias sat quietly reading a book as Srell’s slumbering head rested in his lap. Leanna lay peacefully across the couch that she shared with Jaik, who’d managed to fall asleep sitting upright.

“That was a kind thing you did over there, comforting Bighead like that.” Ursun said quietly once Prism stopped in front of him.

“Oh, err, I didn’t think you could hear us, since you yelled when you saw me hug them…” Prism said.

“I could. I just wasn’t sure of what you were doing to Bighead at the time.” Ursun said.

“You’re so protective of us, sir. Thank you.” Prism said with a wry smile.

Ursun’s eyes grew wide for a moment before curtly looking away from Prism. He began to stroke his beard with his right hand as he rested his left hand on the back of the couch that he leaned against. Prism saw apprehension dance across Ursun’s pensive face, which soon shifted into a look of resolve. He began to speak to Prism, though his eyes stayed fixated on a table to his side.

“Bighead was my childhood teacher, at my mother’s insistence. They taught me a lot about the Queen and her Kingdom, and all sorts of things that came to be useful to me. And when my parents died, Bighead helped raise me, alongside Gnapp.” Ursun’s words surprised Prism, whose own eyes grew wide at the personal details that Ursun shared. “It’s because of Bighead that I ultimately decided to help you, with a little convincing from Leanna. Through Bighead, I learned that “humanity” isn’t exclusive to the human race, if that makes sense.”

“I have a lot to thank Bighead for, it turns out. Thank you for allowing us to meet each other.” Prism said with a slight bow.

“We have a lot riding on you. That’s why we all went through all of this madness the past few weeks. Don’t make us regret saving you.” Ursun said quite directly, which broke the tender mood that Prism had been experiencing since speaking with Bighead.

“I won’t.” Prism said simply. He felt the heavy weights of responsibility and expectation return to his shoulders.

Ursun walked away to exchange a few private words with Bighead in a separate room connected to the chamber. Prism then took a seat in a comfortable red chair near the couch that Jaik and Leanna slept upon. He quickly felt the day’s tiredness overwhelm him, though he fought to keep himself awake long enough to see Ursun walk back over.

Prism smiled sleepily over at him when Ursun placed his hands on the back of the couch that the commander had been leaning against earlier. He clapped his powerful hands together several times, creating a thunderous echoing noise that jolted Srell, Jaik, and Leanna awake. It was certainly enough to make Prism lean forward in his seat.

“We’re finally headed back to HQ. You kids can sleep on the transport.” Ursun said sternly.

“Please tell me that they’re sending a copter.” Leanna said while she stretched after a long silent yawn.

“They are sending a copter. They need us back ASAP.” Ursun replied.

“Sounds like we won’t be getting that day of rest that they promised.” Lorias said before closing the book that he’d been reading.

After a lengthy trip on the elevator, RED-1 was let out within the lobby of the Center. Prism was impressed that the Red Wolves’ elevators could move both horizontally and vertically, allowing them to only need to ride Bighead’s elevator back to the surface. Once they exited the lobby, a large black quadcopter vehicle was waiting for them where their military transport had been a week earlier. The copter’s cabin was only slightly bigger than the entire truck-sized transport had been, and its four black rotors sat angled above it like the wings of a butterfly.

Prism took in the cold night air, glad to be outside once again. He marveled at the sight of Æba’s two full moons amidst a backdrop of stars. Despite spending two weeks outdoors in the wilderness of The Peninsula, he hadn't taken the time to view the night sky previously. One of the luminous moons had a blue tint to it, while the other had a red tint. They reminded Prism of the moons of a world he hadn’t been to in ages, a world that had also been the scene of a lengthy and devastating war. Despite their difference in color, the moons somehow seemed to be the same size.

“The Twins.” Jaik, who was walking behind Prism, leaned down and said into his ear. “Eiza,” Jaik said after pointing to the red moon, “and Voba,” he then said while pointing to the blue moon.

“That's right, I've read about them in a book about old-world Æban faiths." Prism quickly recalled an ancient yet recurring tale of The Twins merging into one being known as Eizavoba and then descending to Æba. "How are the moons the same size? Surely they’re in different orbits?” Prism looked back and asked.

“They do, in fact, share the same orbit despite both moons having roughly the same mass and size. And even with our sophisticated astrophysics, our science still has issues explaining it.” Jaik stood up tall and said while looking dreamily up at Eiza and Voba.

“Quit stargazing. It’s time to go.” Ursun barked once he and the others passed Prism and Jaik and started boarding the black quadcopter.

"I'll have to go over our constellations with you sometime." Jaik said with a squeeze of Prism's shoulders before jogging around Prism to join Ursun in the copter.

Prism glanced up at the twin moons once again before he heard the sound of the copter's four rotors begin to spin. Prism couldn't help but think that the mystery of Æba's non-magical humans was tied to those moons, as well as the eons-old religion that had been formed around them. His musings would have to wait, as he did not want to hold up his allies any longer.

He ran the short distance to the copter and sat in the rear of the cabin beside Leanna, who'd already fallen back asleep. The copter began to rise soon after, and smoothly made its way over Battle City and back over the route that Prism had taken during his 4-week bootcamp to get there from Mt. Kyero.

As Prism stared down at the darkened landscape, he finally felt as though the Peninsula could become a home for him within the greater vastness of the cosmos that he ordinarily ventured across. He smiled to himself when the feeling came to him, yet again amazed at how effective shared suffering could be in strengthening bonds with people and places. He should know better than to fall for such things, he thought to himself. But just like his appearance, he was all too human in the way that his mind worked. He wasn't immune to psychological manipulations and the effects of suffering. Sometimes he even wondered how his mind still functioned at all after enduring centuries-worth of trauma.

"Look alive. We're landing. Once we do, we're headed straight to a briefing on what's going on in Athea." Ursun looked back and said from his seat in the cockpit, disrupting Prism's introspective thoughts.

Leanna flinched when she heard the last of Ursun's words. She quickly pulled herself up and leaned over the middle row that Lorias and Srell occupied.

"Where in Athea?" She asked loudly with much concern.

"The eastern coast. Surmil, or nearabouts. We'll learn more at the briefing." Ursun said calmly.

His answer seemed to satisfy Leanna, who sat back down in her seat beside Prism. She began to bite the nail of her right thumb, which put Prism a bit on edge.

"Do you think we're headed there tonight?" Lorias asked.

"Doubtful, but be prepared to leave in the morning." Ursun replied. "Get him up." Ursun said to Lorias and pointed to Srell, who was still asleep on Lorias shoulder.

Lorias slapped Srell on the cheek, making the wiry-haired man jerk violently awake. Jaik laughed at the sight, which got him a nasty look from Srell.

After the copter flew into Mt. Kyero and landed within the Auxiliary, RED-1 quickly made their way to a mission room in a hallway near the hangar. They were greeted by Finisome and a slender thirty-something man that Prism hadn't seen before. The man stood alertly near the smartboard at the front of the room beside Finisome, who looked rather tired.

The tall man had very short green hair and a large scar across his otherwise unblemished face. The scar went from his forehead down to his jaw, and the iris of the eye that it ran through was red despite his other eye being brown in color. He had a handsome and intelligent countenance that made him seem both nerdy and debonair. He wore a uniform similar to that of a commander, though without the fancy trim and line down his black pants. Prism noted that the man's uniform coat was scarlet red, meaning that he was a part of the Mercenary Division.

"Please, have a seat. We don't want to take too much of your time. I know that you are all quite tired after finishing Prism's training." The green-haired man said placidly with a hand outstretched at the chairs in front of him.

Ursun and his team took seats at the front row. Srell did his best to sit at attention, so that he could more easily stay awake. Ursun crossed his arms and looked worriedly at his brother, who he knew had been working especially hard during his absence. Finisome didn't look at Ursun, but instead focused his eyes on the man standing beside him. Prism could sense the strange familial tension that hung in the air. Prism couldn't help but wonder what the cause of it was.

"Two nights ago, a Destructor speedsub was detected by Etrysia entering the Athean Sea. The speedsub evaded Etrysia's jellymine grid and proceeded toward the eastern Athean coast. A supercavitating torpedo was launched by one of Etrysia's subs to intercept the speedsub, but it failed to make contact with the vessel. Several more attempts were made to destroy the speedsub, but it continued to evade Etrysia's forces. After several hours of traveling around a large area of the Athean Sea, the speedsub left the area and returned to Vadam's territorial waters." The man began to explain using graphics and pictures shown on the smartboard near to him.

"Ridiculous...Destructor vessels shouldn't be able to do that." Leanna shook her head angrily.

"The Destructors are the largest private military company on Æba. They're pretty much evil sea pirates being backed by the Queen. They usually taunt ships before robbing them and enslaving their occupants. They’re professional terrorists." Jaik leaned over and told Prism quietly, who thanked him for the grim explanation.

"After the Destructors’ taunting behavior, Etrysian forces were put on high alert. It was clear to them that the Destructors had received a technological upgrade from either the Vadamites or the Kingdom. Because of how strained the Destructors’ relationship is with the Vadamites, we believe that the upgrades are most likely from the Kingdom." The man continued.

"Who is he?" Prism asked Jaik while nodding his head towards the man briefing them.

"Lieutenant Commander Zel Libo. He's Ursun's right-hand man." Jaik said quietly to Prism to avoid getting Zel's attention.

"I see. I guess there's still a lot of people within the Red Wolves that I don't know about." Prism said with a bobbing nod to himself.

"This is a big organization. A lot of us are scattered across Æba at any given time." Jaik whispered to Prism.

"Last night, the Etrysian military detected an amassing fleet of Destructor vessels on a small Vadamite island near the edge of the Athean Sea. It remains unclear who the Destructors are preparing to attack, or if they will be attacking at all. What has the Etrysians and the rest of the Conjunction worried is that our intel suggests that the Vadamites are using this crisis as a smokescreen to hide their own plans to invade Athea or the southeastern coast of Ruskeda."

Zel's words were full of anxiety, though he did his best to physically hide his concern. Ursun grunted before leaning back in his seat and stomping his heavy right boot on the epoxy-coated stone floor. Zel furrowed his brow but for a second before looking over at Finisome. Finisome closed his eyes and shook his head in irritation before tapping on the smartboard and bringing up a map of the region surrounding the Athean Sea, including the Peninsula and the main islands of Vadam.

"I'm here because we can't be entirely sure that Vadam doesn't plan on attacking our Peninsula as a means of diverting attention away from Athea. My security forces are shoring up our defenses, and Gnapp has assured me that the laserliths are prepared to shoot down any Vadamite airships or vessels that approach us." Finisome said unconvincingly.

"The Etrysians want us in Athea, to help protect the most likely invasion target." Ursun said matter-of-factly to his brother.

"I'd rather have you all here, especially with Prism's improved capabilities. But security is my job, and mercenary work is yours." Finisome said almost spitefully.

"Sir, the Etrysians requested you and RED-1 by name. I rushed back to convey their desires directly to you." Zel said tensely.

"I'm sure it won't be just us." Ursun said expectantly to Zel, who nervously gulped before breaking eye contact with Ursun.

"The Roses will be joining you there, in Surmil." Zel said after a fearful silence.

"Of course they will." Lorias said with a roll of his eyes.

"Who are the Roses?" Prism, captivated by the developments around him, asked Jaik.

"A private military company that is inferior to us in every way; though those sanctimonious prigs would tell you the complete opposite." Lorias said snidely before Jaik could utter a word.

Prism's eyes grew wide at Lorias' sudden outburst. Prism hadn't seen the cool-headed man become so spirited before, and he found it intriguing. Prism glanced over at Ursun, who seemed to be deep in thought. Finisome and Zel simply stood before them impatiently, yet they didn't look like they knew how to proceed either.

"Please, continue with the details of our mission, sirs. The longer this takes, the less sleep we'll be getting tonight. I'm sure that we all want RED-1 to be at peak operating efficiency to meet the crisis that is quickly unfolding." Leanna said assertively and respectfully to Zel and Finisome.

"Yes, well said." Zel nodded gratefully to Leanna before swiping an arch across the map displayed on the screen. "You all will be taking this route to Surmil, to prevent Vadam from more easily intercepting your ship." He said while pointing out the route that would take them over a large portion of eastern Ruskeda instead of the more direct route over the sea to the south of the Peninsula.

"Whoa, we'll have plenty of time to sleep on the Titian with a route that long." Srell said with a sleepy smirk.

"Yeah, looks like a seven hour flight." Jaik said tiredly.

"The rest of you go and get some sleep. They've prepared some rooms for you here in the Auxiliary, just down the hall. I'll stay and get the rest of our mission details from these two. I'll brief each of you on the Titian tomorrow. We'll meet in the hangar at 0600 hours." Ursun said to his surrounding teammates, most of whom looked at him a bit dumbfounded. "Go on, get out of here!" He said loudly, reassuring them that he meant what he'd said.

As Lorias, Srell, Leanna, and Jaik got up and left the room, Prism stood at the front of the room and stayed behind despite Ursun's protestations. Finisome smirked when he saw the Elementeitan stand his ground, remembering that Prism had just beat the gauntlet that Command had thrown at him without any fanfare at all.

"On behalf of the Red Wolves, I'd like to formally congratulate you on completing your RED-1 bootcamp. You've reassured all of us within Pack Command that you truly have what it takes to be on our premier team." Finisome said sincerely before offering his hand to Prism.

Prism's eyes began to water as he grabbed Finisome's much larger hand and gripped it strongly while they gave each other a short shake. Ursun stood up from his seat and placed his hand on Prism's small shoulder. He hadn't wanted to focus on Prism's success in light of the brewing conflict, but Ursun began to realize that his alien ally didn't need much to feel celebrated. Ursun offered his hand to Prism after his brother was done, and Prism gladly shook it.

"I heard Jaik tell you who he is, but you two should be properly introduced." Ursun said before grabbing Zel's shoulder and pulling him over to stand in front of Prism. "This is Zel Libo, my Lieutenant Commander. He does most of my administrative work since I'm away so often these days." Ursun said earnestly.

"Very nice to meet you. I could barely believe the reports I read about you when I got in a week ago from my time in Etrysia." Zel said while shaking Prism's hand.

"I can barely believe it all myself sometimes." Prism said with a chuckle. "I won't take anymore of your time. Thank you, and good night." Prism said with a quick bow as he began to back away from the three men towards the door behind him.

Each of the commanders told Prism goodnight before he left the room and made his way down the hallway to a private room that had been setup for him. He drifted into memory while he walked down the familiar hall, remembering when he'd been brought into the Auxiliary for the first time to be poked and prodded by Dr. Liam.

It had only been two months since he'd been awoken by the Red Wolves, but Prism already felt nostalgic about his early days among them. And despite the atmosphere of dread that he'd sensed in the mission room during their briefing, Prism felt excited and hopeful about the days to come. He was somehow certain that he'd keep his team safe, and that he'd do his best to bring Æba's Centuries-Long War to an end.