Prism and The Red Wolves

After hearing a knock on the door of the briefing room, the members of RED-1 braced themselves for betrayal. To their surprise, a friendly soldier entered and told them that they could return to the CCC. Their surprise did not last, however, when the five of them were escorted by six of the base’s toughest-looking soldiers.

The Red Wolves gave each other knowing looks as they walked. They were certain that their freedom to walk the base unescorted had ended.

When they reentered the CCC, they noticed that Deriges was not speaking to Hypergeneral Aksos, whose heroic visage was still being shown on the room’s displays. The hypergeneral was standing within a stately office, no doubt inside the flagship of his air fleet, Ursun surmised.

Ursun sensed the anxiety fulminating from the officers, a sign that they were unhappy with what had been discussed in RED-1’s absence. Theda and Remades were not in the room, which put Ursun further on edge.

“Our valiant mercenaries. I’d like to thank you for all the work your team did last night in keeping Getla Base secure. Deriges filled me in on all of the details.” Hypergeneral Aksos said after RED-1 was directed to stand in view of one of the larger screens above the CCC’s central console table.

“If you’re so grateful, then why the sudden increased security?” Ursun asked calmly.

“The invasion forces will be within our borders in less than an hour. We have to secure our base as much as possible, especially in light of last night’s infiltrations. That’s reasonable, isn’t it?” Aksos said imploringly.

“It is. It’s also reasonable to wake up Prism and allow him to help fortify the base’s defenses. I’m sure you’ve been told about his special capabilities.” Ursun said.

“I have, and it’s for that reason that I’ve decided that it will be best to let him sleep through all of this. We wouldn’t want him to complicate matters on an already-uncertain battlefield.”

Ursun crossed his arms and raised his chin high at the image of the hypergeneral above him. The situation was as Ursun thought, and he’d need to navigate it carefully if he was to make it out of there with his entire team.

“Are we not guests here?” Ursun said almost mockingly.

“You were until it became clear that you were harboring an alien of unknown origin with you. Now you are all a huge security risk. I don’t know how he tricked our DNA scans, but Prism is obviously not human nor some sort of new genemod. We will deal with him and the rest of your team after we’ve stopped the invasion.”

The hypergeneral dropped all pretenses and spoke plainly to Ursun and his team. There was a cold calculus to Aksos’ words that Ursun hadn’t heard before. Ursun looked over at Deriges, who was still standing at the central console beside his second-in-command. Deriges looked back at Ursun with uncaring eyes.

“So we’re your prisoners, then?” Ursun said with his hands close to gripping his PAW.

“In a matter of speaking. I will not deprive any of you of your weapons, and you will be able to return to your ship if you so choose. We have no intention of souring our relationship with the Red Wolves over this single impropriety. I am simply revoking your access to the alien known as Prism.” Aksos explained rather diplomatically.

“Alien or not, Prism is a member of my team. Holding him here is an affront to me and the Red Wolves.” Ursun was quick to retort.

“Your company hid the existence of an alien, AN ALIEN, from the rest of the Conjunction. That is the biggest affront here. The matter is closed for now. The Conjunction Joint Forces will be here shortly to aid in the battle. Take it up with them like you should’ve done in the first place.” The hypergeneral said angrily before turning his attention back to the base commander. “Deriges, you have your orders.”

Deriges loudly said “yes, sir,” gave a simple salute, and then ended his visual feed with his superior. He then glanced back over at RED-1, who were still gathered not too far from him. The base commander remained stoic even when he saw their looks of sheer exasperation.

“We’ll be going to our ship, then.” Ursun said solemnly to Deriges, who nodded in understanding.

“My men will escort you. A pity that you couldn’t stay and help out here in the CCC. I value your team’s insight.” Deriges said with a wave of his hand toward the strong-looking security attachment that brought RED-1 to the CCC.

The muscular men had been standing by the main sliding doors, no doubt in case Aksos’ orders had been received violently. Srell scoffed at them while Lorias flipped his hair defiantly. Jaik and Leanna looked at each other with an increased alertness, ready for anything that might go wrong.

Ursun nodded respectfully to Deriges before he led his team out of the room with their military escort. He didn’t blame the base commander, and knew that there was something grander going on than Deriges could control. The two of them had already caught glimpses of it the previous night.

Unlike within the Red Wolves, the Etrysian military had religious remnants within its ranks that took the ancient faith of Eizavoba quite seriously. Ursun believed that such remnants may have forced the hypergeneral’s hand, as it would be disastrous for such fervent belief to lead to insubordination in an active war zone.

Ursun shared his theories with his team once they were in the privacy of their ship, which was shielded from eavesdropping. The Titian’s pilots were already aboard, having been ready to join the impending aerial battle on a moment’s notice.

“Prism as Eizavoba…strange that I didn’t seriously consider that until now.” Leanna mused after she took off her red helmet and let her green locks fall once she freed them from the bun atop her head.

“None of us are the religious sort. It’s a blind spot for us.” Jaik said with his palm rubbing the side of his face.

“We at Pack Command briefly discussed the possibility, but dismissed it after we gave Prism a thorough interview.” Ursun stated while putting his PAW down loudly on the tactics table within the bay.

“And why exactly did Pack Command dismiss it?” Lorias asked with a smidge of accusation in his tone.

“Yeah, seems like something that’s hard to just write off. Wasn’t Eizavoba technically an alien that appeared out of thin air during both of their “incarnations” too? Seems pretty similar.” Srell said with a scratch of his bushy hair.

“And during both of those incarnations, Eizavoba was an amnesiac who slowly regained their memories of being born of the Twin Moons. Religious scholarship in the Old World basically proved that to be the case. You all may not have noticed, but Prism is anything but an amnesiac. He seems to have lived a very long and varied life before he even got to our world.” Ursun explained rather unconvincingly to his team.

He sounded uncharacteristically-hostile, which only made his team become more defensive. When Lorias, Jaik, and Srell began to bombard Ursun with questions, Leanna saw that her commander was about to explode.

“We could argue about this ad nauseum. Whether or not he’s the Third Coming is something we’ll have to sort out later. How are we getting our Magical Boy out of this base?” Leanna said before giving her team a determined smile.

Everyone stood around for a few moments while they wracked their brains around a solution. The base was on lockdown, and their movements were being closely monitored. It seemed impossible to sneak anywhere, let alone get into the base commander’s quarters from the underground hangar they were in.

But as though hit by lightning, Jaik slammed his fist on the metal wall that he was leaning against.

“My magicked mind! I can probably reach him with my magicked mind!” Jaik exclaimed giddily.

“Our telepathic link is dead, buddy. We’ve all tried that.” Srell said with a shake of his head.

“No, he means the magical state that Prism left him in when he restored his leg.” Leanna was the first to understand Jaik’s meaning.

“Can you really communicate with him that way? I thought you said that he can only sense your strong thoughts and emotions when you’re nearby?” Ursun asked with a measure of skepticism.

“I’ve been toying around with it for a while. I think that I can get to him even from here, and maybe even tell him what’s going on.” Jaik said calmly, knowing that Ursun was more receptive that way.

“Prism could easily get back here if he wanted to. He’s just fast asleep in there.” Srell said while raising his fist in a fighting gesture.

“And we all know how hard it is to wake him up. The guy is the heaviest of sleepers.” Lorias said smirkingly.

The five of them laughed for a few seconds, reminded of their fondness for and familiarity with their team’s newest member. They’d all bonded with him in their own special way, and they wanted him back.

“Do what you need to do. Tell me the moment that you’ve made contact.”

With no other options, Ursun ordered Jaik to make his attempt. Jaik nodded respectfully to his commander before awkwardly finding a quiet corner at the back of the transport bar. He sat down cross-legged and attempted to meditate like he’d seen Sguvan mystics do. It felt strange to him, but he soon cleared his mind of distractions and focused on where he knew Prism to be.

Their connection had seemed one-sided, but Jaik had glimpsed upon Prism’s memories in his dreams. Jaik had heard small whispers of Prism’s mind during Jaik’s waking hours, though he’d strained to make sense of any of it. But what Jaik could be sure of was that Prism could hear his mind as clear as a bell when his emotions ran hot. And as Jaik directed that mind at Prism with great intention, Jaik became aware of just how powerful their bond truly was.

“Prism! Prism, wake up! You’re in danger!”

Somehow, through the dozens of meters of stone and steel, Jaik became able to see the room where Prism slept in. Jaik felt as though he was floating above Prism’s bed, formless yet seeing. There was light within the room, and it became clear to Jaik that there were people within. A woman held a transdermer in her hand that contained a vial or glowing pink liquid. She was carefully moving her hand towards Prism’s neck, not wanting to rouse him before she administered the sedative.

“Prism! Please wake up! I don’t want them to take you away!”

A tear fell from Jaik’s closed left eye as he began to strain against the strange phenomenon he was experiencing. His mind felt the burden of the magic that he somehow borrowed from Prism, and he was reminded of Prism’s words back in Battle City. His body was not built for the use of magic, and it could very well kill him if he kept trying to wield it. A stabbing pain began to strike his head, and he knew that his time was running out.

“Don’t let the people of this world cage you again!”

Prism’s eyes shot open when he finally perceived Jaik’s disembodied words. Adrenaline took over as Prism grabbed the woman’s arm and tossed the transdermer away. Two armored soldiers who were at both sides of his bed raised their machine pistols at Prism, but he sent them both flying at the walls with a sudden blast of wind that knocked nearly everything off of the shelves and tables. The woman, who was a medical nurse, screamed before Prism let her go.

He leapt up off of the bed and ran out of the room before the soldiers could stand back up. He knew that he had seconds before the guards he sensed nearby alerted others, so he removed the panel from the wall that covered the nerve-cable he’d already used twice that night. Healthy and free from pus, the cable provided ample power for Prism to absorb as quickly as he could.

Once he’d grabbed hold of it, Prism did his best to siphon its energy without damaging the wider bio-system. He then sent himself through the bio-system as pure bio-electricity, seeking out the hangar where he knew his team was located.

“I…got…him…”

Jaik called out weakly before he fell over onto his side. Leanna, Lorias, Srell, Jaik, and Ursun ran over to him without a hint of hesitation. Lorias was the first to check his condition as his ranger training kicked in. He’d been versed in extensive first aid skills, making him the team’s backup medic. He lacked the wide chemical, technological, and surgical acumen that Jaik possessed, however.

They all saw how pale Jaik looked once Lorias tilted his head to get a better look. Despite trying to rouse him, Jaik remained unconscious.

Lorias knelt down in front of Jaik and got to work. Lorias checked his pupils and his pulse with his bare hands, as he’d been trained to do. Leanna grew impatient with Lorias’ basic methods and quickly grabbed Jaik’s medscanner from his gear belt.

“He’s unresponsive. Pupils are dilated and pulse is weak. What do your scans show?” Lorias was deathly serious, and was glad for Leanna’s help.

“His brain…there’s a small amount of bleeding there. It looks like he’s had a stroke…”

Leanna nearly dropped the medscanner out of her hands as she read its findings aloud. She didn’t understand what had happened, and the seriousness of Jaik’s condition truly rattled her. Lorias quietly grabbed the medscanner from her shaky hands and read what medication it recommended administering to Jaik.

Lorias calmly but quickly walked over to Jaik’s medical supply cabinet near his equipment locker and grabbed a transdermer along with a vial of the necessary medication. With a press of the transdermer against Jaik’s neck, Lorias did all they could do for the young doctor. They didn’t have the means or know-how to stop the bleeding surgically.

“It’s best not to move him. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on his condition.” Lorias said while holding the medscanner.

“I’m sorry…” Leanna said quietly while she looked away ashamedly, still kneeling beside Jaik.

“Pull yourself together. What did he say to us before this happened?” Ursun said softly.

“I got him.” Srell said with a confused shrug.

“Do you think he made contact with Prism?” Leanna stood up and said to Ursun, regaining her composure in the process.

“I don’t think he’d end up like this if he hadn’t.”

Ursun was matter-of-fact when he spoke, doing his best to keep his team calm and focused. His team agreed with his assertion and held onto hope. They could do little more than wait on word from their alien ally.

“Prism’ll be able to heal Jaik, just like he did before.” Srell said with a cheery nod, half-believing his own words.

“Jaik will need to survive until then. I’m not sure that our magical friend can bring back the dead.”

Lorias’ words were brutal, but he didn’t hear any complaints from the others. Leanna grimaced, but she fought back the urge to harangue Lorias again.

She could make out the readings on the medscanner in his hands, and saw how bleak Jaik’s condition was becoming. She swallowed hard and watched Ursun and Srell as they walked over to the tactics table to plan out their next moves.

“We need to get him into surgery! This base has the medical facilities to save him!” Leanna yelled at the men around her.

Ursun turned around and looked tiredly at her. He knew his next words would only anger her further.

“If Prism escaped, then they’ll be looking for him. They may not sound an alarm, but Deriges will have his best men scouring the base for any trace of him. If we put Jaik into their care, then they’ll use him as bait to get Prism back.” Ursun explained rationally.

“Let them try to recapture Prism, then! Jaik’s life can be saved! Prism will be able to easily deal with Etrysia’s soldiers.” Leanna rebutted loudly, throwing her arms about as she spoke.

“Will he?” Lorias looked up and asked her. “Prism has been captured before. And if Jaik’s life is in their hands, then Prism will capitulate to them without a fight.”

“We can’t hand them a hostage.” Srell stated plainly so there’d be no misunderstanding.

“Have things really broken down that much between us and Deriges? Do you really think the man we’ve fought alongside all night would resort to such tactics?” Leanna asked.

“We aren’t dealing with Deriges anymore; we’re dealing with Hypergeneral Aksos.” Ursun said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“A man that allowed 100 Ruskedan fisherman to be captured and tortured by the Destructors to give an Etrysian merchant ship time to escape their raid.” Srell added.

Leanna scoffed, but offered no further argument. She looked sorrowfully down at Jaik’s body before Lorias’ knees, watching it grow paler by the minute.