Prism and The Red Wolves

With his eyes closed, Prism firmly squeezed the nerve-cable that sat within the wall panel of the bio-generator room with both of his hands. He’d connected his nervous system to its own through touch, a trait that he used to intimately communicate with his own kind. Prism kept coming up against a feeling of hard resistance as he tried to share his mind with the military bio-system. He tried and tried to convey his good intentions with the hardened and secure bio-system, but it rejected all of his attempts to connect his consciousness with it. It had even begun to send increasingly powerful jolts through its nerve-cable to Prism’s hands in an attempt to get him to leave, though Prism didn’t budge.

Prism figured that he could use magic to forcefully enter the “mind” of the bio-system. But at that point, he knew that he’d be diving into a hostile entity whose immune system would treat him as a foreign invader. He knew too little about the military bio-system to risk it destroying his own mind through some sort of neuro-feedback attack while his own defenses were down.

“Still no luck?” Jaik asked.

Jaik stood beside Prism on the metal grating platform that wrapped around the wall of the womb-like room. He watched Prism wince from the pain of the nerve-cable’s defensive jolts. Jaik wondered why Prism couldn’t absorb the jolts when he’d been able to absorb the bio-electricity of Surmil’s nerve grid earlier. Jaik and Srell had been standing by Prism for nearly ten minutes, and nothing of note had seemed to take place during that time.

Deriges’ son Kurillios, who’d they’d learned was a test pilot, had left shortly after they’d killed the three infiltrators attempting to break into the bio-generator room. Kurillios had told them that he needed to get to his own team before the “true invasion” began. Prism had seemed so confident at that time that he could quickly dive into the base’s bio-system and find any other infiltrators. But as the minutes dragged on with no results, Srell had gotten so angry that Jaik had needed to escort the thick-haired Esdegonian out into the hallway outside of the bio-generator room.

“Prism!” Jaik yelled to his friend a few minutes after not receiving any sign that he’d heard him the first time.

“I can’t get through!” Prism turned around and yelled, taking his hands off of the nerve cable. “It just won’t let me in. It’s too…paranoid. And the virus is making it even more unwilling to listen to me.”

“It’s a military bio-system, Prism. Of course it’s been secured against unauthorized access. And Deriges already told you that he can’t grant you clearance because of the viral damage to its subsystems.” Jaik reminded Prism with a soft tone.

“I know, I know…” Prism sighed before bringing his fingers up to his face and using them to cover his tired, watery eyes.

“Your hands…” Jaik said worriedly when he saw the red welts that covered the brown skin of Prism’s small hands.

Jaik reached out and grabbed Prism’s wrists, being careful not to touch any of the red electrical burns on his hands. He looked closely at the sores, which looked incredibly painful.

“Why aren’t you healing these? And how were you burned like this in the first place? I thought that you could absorb the electricity from nerve-cables.” Jaik asked. His voice was full of concern and confusion.

“I…I’m not…feeling very…well…”

Prism began to sway back and forth where he stood, like a palm tree in the wind. Jaik was quick to grab his waist and hold him steady. Jaik placed the back of his own hand on Prism’s sweat-slick forehead, and found it to be incredibly warm. Jaik laid Prism down on the grated floor and withdrew his medscanner from its pouch on his gear belt. Jaik then got on his knees and bent forward over Prism. After waving the medscanner over Prism’s head and body, Jaik furrowed his brow and frowned.

“You’re infected with the same supervirus that’s wreaking havoc on the bio-system.” Jaik said solemnly to Prism, who looked weakly up at him.

“What’s my…prognosis…doc?” Prism said with a weak grin. His face was covered in sweat.

“I’m going to give you a strong dose of the generalized antiviral meds that I have on me. That should help slow the proliferation of the supervirus in your body.” Jaik said before loading a small vial into a grey cylindrical device that was the size of a toothbrush. “This is a transdermer. I’m going to give you the medicine using this. It won’t hurt a bit.” Jaik told Prism while holding up the device so it could be seen clearly.

He placed the angled tip of the transdermer on the side of Prism’s neck, and then squeezed the grip of it until it made faint whirring sound. The washer-like mechanism on the angled tip pushed down on Prism’s skin and delivered the antiviral through his skin to his bloodstream. After putting the transdermer back into a pouch on his gear belt, Jaik once again withdrew his medscanner. From its readings, Jaik saw that the antiviral was only slightly effective against the supervirus, which he’d guessed would be the case.

“Rest here for a moment. I need to speak with Srell. We’ll be just outside, okay?” Jaik leaned over and spoke kindly to Prism.

“O…kay.” Prism said meekly, his eyes half-closed. “I’ll…do my best to…keep…the link open…”

“If it helps your body fight the virus, then close the link.” Jaik said sternly.

“Nuh…uh…” Prism said childishly. “I…am still…of use…”

Jaik shook his head at Prism’s stubbornness before standing up and walking out into the brown-walled hallway. There were a few Etrysian soldiers standing guard further down the hall, and several who were slightly-injured from the previous attack on the bio-generator room were resting in rooms that were connected to the hall. Jaik saw Srell look over at him hopefully, but that happy look in Srell’s eyes quickly turned to one of frustration when he saw how dour Jaik looked.

“Magical Boy still spinning his wheels in there?” Srell said with a groan.

Once he was sure that he was out of Prism’s eyesight, Jaik withdrew his medscanner and ran it over himself. He quietly sighed in relief when he saw that his own body was free of the supervirus. Srell looked over at Jaik with a tilted head, followed by widened eyes when Jaik began to close the distance between the two of them.

“Hey man! Keep your distance!” Srell shouted and gripped his PAW when Jaik was two meters away from him.

A few soldiers heard Srell’s shouts and began to approach him and Jaik, but Srell wordlessly motioned for them to stay at their positions.

“Keep your voice down. I’m fine.” Jaik said while holding up his medscanner’s screen to show Srell the virus-free result. “It looks like the Monarchists are still obeying the Weaponized-Human-Pathogen Ban.”

“Fuck, that’s right, Prism technically isn’t human. But still, how has he been infected?” Srell asked the medical doctor before him.

“We don’t know enough about his biology to answer that question. We’re just fortunate that the supervirus hasn’t mutated to infect humans…yet.” Jaik said.

“Can you use that vial of supervirus that the boss picked up?” Srell asked intelligently. After nearly a minute of waiting for Jaik to respond, Srell then said, “Y’know, to create a cure for Prism,” to clarify his question.

“I know what you meant, I’m just thinking.” Jaik said quietly with a furrowed brow. “I’ll need to use a powerful bio-computer, but it should be possible to synthesize an effective antiviral with that source-sample.” Jaik answered.

“Good, we’ll contact the boss and let him know that you need that vial.” Srell nodded.

“Wait, don’t use the telepathic link. I don’t want to alarm Prism or put anymore strain on him. I think that the only thing keeping him alive is what little magic he has left right now.” Jaik was quick to say. Jaik’s own comm-clasp had been nicked by a bullet during their last firefight, rendering it inoperable.

With a nod, Srell clicked his ear clasp and activated its terp-comms. He then spent the next minute updating Ursun as to Prism’s condition, and on what he’d spoken about with Jaik.

“I’ll send Risa to bring the vial to you guys. She’s faster than me and Theda. Expect her within the next ten minutes.” Ursun said after a minute-long delay.

After acknowledging Ursun’s message, Srell told Jaik about Risa’s imminent delivery of the supervirus vial, which pleased Jaik.

“Now to find an uninfected bio-computer that we can actually use.” Jaik said while rubbing the side of his face with his palm, something he only did when he was overly stressed.

“The base’s CCC should have one that’s separate from all other systems. I’ll ask Deriges.” Srell said while squeezing his comm-clasp again.

The CCC, or the Command and Control Center, was the nerve center of most military bases and large-scale ships on Æba. Such rooms were usually at the center of bases, being the most secure location within their respective facilities. They were also called “Command and Control” rooms.

“I’m going to go check on my patient.” Jaik said before Srell began speaking to Base Commander Deriges over terp-comms. Srell nodded at him before Jaik returned to the bio-generator room.

Jaik was relieved to see that Prism was still breathing, but also terrified by how ill he looked. Prism’s face was drenched in sweat as his body temperature only continued to rise. Sweat dripped down the back of Prism’s neck and fell through the holes in the metal-grated floor of the walking platform that they stood on. The room was already hot from the bio-generator and its membrane, but the area around Prism was even warmer. His eyes were closed and he was unconscious, though his chestplate rose up and down rapidly from his quickened breathing.

As Jaik began to walk over to Prism to take new readings on his medscanner, the floor began to shake beneath his feet. Jaik moved quickly over to Prism’s still-prone body, using the platform’s railing to keep himself steady. The reverberations of several explosions caused the platform to rattle for several minutes before it soon became still again.

Jaik knelt down at Prism’s side and held him to make sure that his sick teammate didn’t slide off the platform and into the recesses of the bio-generator’s exhaust area. And when three soldiers ran into the bio-generator room to make sure that the two of them were safe, Jaik nodded to the men and told them that he didn’t need their help. The soldiers simply nodded in turn before running back down the shaking hallway.

When he felt that things had sufficiently calmed down, Jaik lifted Prism up and carried the small Elementeitan to the cooler and safer hallway. Jaik then placed Prism on the cool, white flooring, which soon became slick with Prism’s sweat.

“Do you know what that was?” Jaik yelled to Srell, who’d begun to walk over to him and Prism. “Was there another attack on a bio-generator?”

“The base’s main docks have been destroyed. We think it was done by the last three infiltrators that we all lost track of.” Srell said in an odd, distant tone, as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Most of the soldiers have gone to protect the CCC. Deriges’ orders.”

“The docks? Surely you mean a boat or two?” Jaik said as he knelt beside Prism and began to wave his medscanner over Prism’s body.

“Whatever bombs they used leveled that entire cliff-side section of the base. If it hadn’t been separate from this underground section, then we’d all be rubble in the sea right now.” Srell said quietly.

“So the base is almost defenseless against a sea attack now…no ships and no wall of cliff-cannons…” Jaik said as he briefly held his medscanner still above Jaik’s head. “How could three people have done that much damage?”

“There are still plenty of cliff-cannons left. They wrap around kilometers of cliffs, and have a lot of control redundancies. There are other docks too, but there’s no telling when they might be destroyed as well.” Srell said while tapping nervously on the butt of his PAW. However, a smile soon returned to his face as he started to speak again. “And hey, the border guns that line the walls of the surface base can destroy pretty much anything in the air or the sea. They’ve got an effective range of about a hundred kilometers. It’s crazy how I almost forgot about them.”

Srell remembered visiting Surmil many years prior while he was briefly a Rose, and being given a tour of Getla Base’s defenses. He remembered how grand it had all seemed, and how the Etrysians had bragged about the base being impregnable.

“I hope Risa’s okay. Prism needs her to be okay. I don’t think his body can hold out for much longer…”

Jaik’s hand shook as he read the results of his medscanner. He lowered his head and grimaced, unsure of how anything would work in their favor. He felt a foot lightly kick his lower back, and looked up to find Srell smirking down at him.

“Calm down, young man. How many times have we seen this guy almost die? He’ll be fine.” Srell said rather flippantly.

“I’m a doctor! I can’t think like that!” Jaik quickly rose to his feet and yelled at the shorter Srell.

Jaik's body tensed up while he stared angrily down into Srell's thin brown eyes. Jaik looked as if he might hit him. Srell, who was undaunted, maintained eye contact with Jaik.

“I told you to calm down!” Srell shouted back after grabbing Jaik and pulling him close by the sides of his chestplate.

Jaik looked away from Srell as his body went limp in Srell's grip. Srell pushed Jaik away, irritated by how quickly he seemed to give up. The two of them didn't have much respect for each other, which became especially clear to them both in that moment.

"He's glowing..." Srell said after pointing at the unconscious Prism lying behind Jaik.

Jaik quickly turned around and noticed a shimmering white field enwreathing Prism's body. What was previously a body wracked in pain and sweat soon became a cleanly body that appeared to be resting comfortably. As Jaik moved closer to Prism, he saw a look of relief on his face.

“Told you.” Srell said as Jaik began to take new readings with his medscanner.

“The spread of the supervirus has stopped…but it isn’t being reduced in any way.” Jaik said as he interpreted the readings he’d taken. “It looks like his body has entered some sort of magical stasis. I can’t really be sure of that, though.”

“I guess this means that you’ve got more time to make that cure.” Srell said with a chuckle.

“We have no idea how long he can keep this up. I think we should still act with some urgency.” Jaik said with some irritation.

“Prism? You there?” Srell asked through their telepathic link, which was still active despite Prism’s state.

“Barely…” Prism’s disembodied voice was faint in Srell and Jaik’s minds.

“I asked you not to use telepathy while he’s sick like this!” Jaik yelled at Srell, who shook his head at him dismissively.

“It’s okay. I’m still able…to do this much…” Prism psychically said to Jaik, whose rampant emotions had roused him.

“How long can you keep yourself alive like this?” Jaik hesitantly asked through their link.

“Four…maybe five hours.” Prism replied telepathically.

Srell glanced over at Jaik with a self-satisfied expression, which only made Jaik roll his eyes at him.

“I’ll have an effective treatment ready for you well before then. Just rest now.” Jaik made his telepathic voice as kindly as he could to Prism.

“Okay. Good…night…” Prism’s voice echoed sleepily through the minds of RED-1.

With his last message, Prism also sent his team a simple understanding of his condition, and of his inability to respond for the next several hours. The feeling of being made aware of knowledge without the exchange of words was familiar to each of the mercenaries. When they’d placed the nerve-cables of simpler living vehicles into their spinal ports, they almost instantly learned how to control them.

The knowledge that Prism had shared of his infirmity was free of his own emotions, a skill that he’d learnt earlier from Surmil’s bio-system. Prism had learned that the ease by which his teammates used telepathy had come from their experiences with connecting to living vehicles and other biotechnology in their pasts. What made telepathy a bit of a challenge to them was the fact that emotions were shared as well, a trait absent in spinal port communications.

“His mystical body is significantly slowing the metabolic functions of his physical body, which means…” Jaik’s voice echoed in the mind of Ursun and Srell.

Leanna and Lorias were still busy with the fruitless torture of the Sguvan woman at that time, and had closed their minds to further telepathy after receiving Prism’s last message.

“He’s exhausting the very essence of his magic to keep himself alive. He’s slowly losing all that power that he gained from absorbing that mana convergence back in Battle City.” Srell psychically reasoned, surprised that he finally understood something significant about Prism.

“Jaik, get Prism taken care of. Risa should be there any moment. She’ll escort you and Prism to the CCC.” Without Prism’s moderation, Ursun’s authority rang strongly through the telepathic link alongside his voice. “Srell, we need you down here ASAP. The last three infiltrators are headed back to the central base. We have to stop them before they do more damage.”

Jaik and Srell telepathically communicated their acknowledgement to their commander before reducing the link to a dull prickle in their subconscious minds. The two men then looked at each other with an odd sense of expectation.

“I’m sorry.” Jaik said softly to Srell. “I overreacted. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m not the easiest guy to get along with.” Srell said with a smirk.

Jaik nodded to himself and then sighed before saying, “You’re a better man than people give you credit for, myself included,” which made Srell look away from Jaik as the light-brown skin on Srell’s patchy cheeks reddened.

“I’m gonna go now. You two be safe. There’s no telling what you might run into out there.” Srell said as he turned to leave.

“Ditto.” Jaik said before Srell took off running down the hallway until he disappeared behind a door.

Jaik looked down at Prism, whose skin glimmered in the light of the hallway. Jaik rubbed his eyes as he began to feel how tired he truly was. It would be a sleepless night for him, and he knew it. He felt the urge to take a stimulant, but told himself that it hadn’t gotten that bad yet.

Just when he was about to do a quick check of his PAW, Jaik saw Risa arrive from around the corner of an adjoining hallway. She was holding the large syringe that contained the vial of supervirus in her left hand, which Jaik thought was incredibly dangerous.

“Give that to me!” He shouted to her, which made her look hesitantly at him. “It’s dangerous to simply hold it in your hand like that. Its contents might be temperature-sensitive.” Jaik explained more calmly.

Risa’s light-brown eyes grew wide as she glanced down at the vial that she still held. She wordlessly nodded to Jaik before handing him the golden-needled syringe. He carefully took it from her, and then used his medscanner to collect data on it and its contents with his other hand. He was relieved to see that its viral contents appeared to be unharmed and inactive.

Jaik remembered the design of the syringe, having studied such Kingdom medical technology while he was in the Red Wolves medical school. After confirming that it was safe to do so with his medscanner, Jaik unscrewed the long golden needle from the vial. As the needle hadn’t been used yet, the vial was still safely sealed. Jaik put a rubber stopper on the tip of the needle, and then placed the needle in a large medical pouch on his gear belt. He then placed the vial of supervirus within a separate pouch on the other side of his belt.

“I’m escorting you and your ally to the CCC. You’ll need to carry him.” Risa said. Her voice was so faint and raspy that Jaik had to lean in closer to understand her.

Jaik picked up Prism and wrapped Prism’s small, lean body over his shoulders so that Prism could safely breathe while being carried. After standing up straight and checking if he’d balanced Prism’s weight well enough, Jaik nodded over to Risa.

“We’re good to go.” Jaik said to the quiet, stoic woman.

He could tell that her buzzed black hair was dyed, something that he hadn’t seen before on a member of the Roses. Her demeanor had an eerie aura about it, which gave Jaik the creeps.

“Stay close, and stay quiet.” She said reservedly before leading Jaik down the hallway that she’d appeared from.