Prism and The Red Wolves

After sleeping for a few hours, Prism awoke aboard the Titian as the ship continued to fly over the vast ocean. The ship was only three kilometers above the water’s surface, making for a smooth ride. Prism had beautiful view out of the window that was beside the makeshift gurney that he laid on. But it didn’t take Prism long before he realized that his wrists and ankles were cuffed to the bunk. He let out an irritated sigh at his predicament.

“The humans of this world are always so quick to lock me up…” Prism thought silently to himself. “At least they put some clothing on me…” He thought while he looked down at the grey briefs that he was wearing.

He lifted his head as discreetly as he could and began to scope out the open-floor transport bay. It's metallic, industrial interior reminded Prism of the lab that he'd been tortured within for so long. His body shivered at the traumatic remembrance, but he was able to quickly let the feeling go.

Looking straight between his feet, Prism saw Ursun a couple of meters away. RED-1’s leader was sitting in a black leather chair in front of a rather complicated-looking computer. It had numerous buttons and other strange controls that Prism didn't recognize. Ursun was staring up at numerous large screens. The intimidating hulk of a man appeared strangely alert.

Prism then saw Leanna sitting in one of the transport seats alongside the opposite wall to his left. She was very intently reading something on a tan-colored, book-sized computer tablet. Prism thought that she was quite pretty, with her graceful facial features. She’d let down her long, voluminous green hair while Prism was asleep.

Srell and Lorias were standing around a table with a glowing surface at the center of the room, arguing about something while they played some sort of card game. Prism didn't think much of Srell, seeing him as a loud-mouthed jerk with a weaselly-appearance. Lorias, on the other hand, interested Prism mainly because of how refined the blonde man appeared and oftentimes acted.

When Prism looked directly to his left, he saw Jaik lying on a bunk like his. Jaik was fast asleep with his right leg being held up within a black medical sling that was attached to the ceiling above. Unlike the other mercenaries, Jaik was no longer wearing his armor, and had instead been stripped down to his black tank-top and grey briefs. Jaik's black hair was tousled and obscured his attractive face. His body was lean but incredibly toned, with his intricately-defined muscles on full display. There didn't seem to be a part of his body that wasn't well-muscled, from what Prism could see.

As Prism’s eyes scanned over Jaik’s unconscious body, guilt washed over him like a flash flood. Prism had felt the kindness and genuine desire to help that Jaik possessed when he took Prism out of the Queen’s facility. Prism knew that Jaik had seen him not just as a simple mission objective, but as a person in need of rescue. But after he’d covertly scanned the minds of the other Red Wolves shortly after he’d been taken from the modified rejuv-pod, Prism knew that not all of them cared about his wellbeing.

Prism only had deceived the mercenaries with his sleeping act to protect himself. But after Jaik was shot, Prism couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been able to prevent the young man’s injury if he’d simply explained himself to RED-1 back in A-Lab.

“Look who’s awake, and not even hiding it.” Leanna said playfully.

Prism’s whole body jerked uncontrollably, alarmed by her sudden appearance at the foot of his bunk. He was especially surprised that he hadn’t sensed her presence. He was far more debilitated than he had realized, which made him begin to worry for his safety.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you. I know that you’ve been through a lot, so I’m also sorry that we’ve restrained you.” Leanna said softly while pointing to the cuffs that held him down.

Prism knew that Leanna, like Jaik, meant him well. But he also knew that she was beholden to a man who saw him as a threat to his team.

“Come on, Data Girl! He can probably break free and kill all of us right now.” Srell yelled while he and Lorias approached Prism’s cot as well.

“I think he’s some sort of bio-engineered soldier that was too much for the Queen to handle.” Lorias said with his usual air of confidence.

He and Srell stood at opposite sides of Leanna, with the three of them looking down at their sad-faced captive.

“All of you need to shut your mouths. I ordered you kids not to talk to the target.” Ursun yelled from his seat at the weapons console.

Srell threw up his arms and groaned angrily as he turned around and walked back to the planning table. Lorias smirked at Leanna before following behind Srell. Leanna, however, didn’t budge. She simply looked down at Prism, staring compassionately into his brown eyes.

“You aren’t going to hurt us, are you?” Leanna leaned down and whispered to Prism.

“No, I won’t.” Prism said with a gleam in his eyes.

His spirits quickly began to lift. It didn’t take much to make him happy, or to give him hope. Leanna made a few taps and swipes at the foot of the bunk, which released the cuffs that had bridled him. When Prism raised his torso from the cot and sat upright, he heard a terrifying bang come from the weapons console.

“LEANNA!” Ursun’s deep voice thundered across the bay after he’d slammed his fist on the controls in front of him.

“If he’d wanted to do us harm, then we’d all be dead, SIR! You saw what he can do, SIR! Continuing to insist on treating him so harshly will do us more harm than good, SIR!” Leanna turned about face, stood at attention, and explained herself to her commanding officer in a tone of voice that was both angry and staccato.

Srell looked over at Leanna with a completely stunned expression. Lorias, on the other hand, looked amused by her outburst. Though their mercenary company was not as strict as actual militaries were known to be, the Red Wolves were still taught to respect their chain of command. Ursun, though tough and demanding, had always been fair and reasonable with all of them. Though Leanna had only been a member of RED-1 for a year, she hadn’t had any major disagreements with Ursun. But she couldn’t stomach the mistreatment of a potential ally, even if it put her own position and freedom at risk.

“You don’t know ANYTHING about him. We don’t even know what he truly is. You are putting us all at risk. The only reason that the target is conscious right now is because Jaik isn’t. Jaik would’ve administered an advanced sedative to prevent this EXACT situation from happening.” Ursun said.

It was clear that he was still angry, but he’d managed to rein it in to make his case. He didn’t want to relieve Leanna of duty and have her kicked out of the Red Wolves, but he couldn’t let her endanger the rest of their team.

“I know just as much about him as you do, sir. I was given all of the advanced intel by the rest of Pack Command, and I am telling you that we are creating an even more dangerous situation for ourselves by continuing to treat Prism, our target, as a threat to us.” Leanna retorted.

“It’s my decision to make! I am the one in charge of this mission, and I am the one in charge of making sure that we all get home safely! You are a top-notch analyst, but that doesn’t entitle you to take a unilateral action without consulting me first!” Ursun yelled while he gripped the edge of the weapon’s console until veins began to bulge on his forehead. He was infuriated by Leanna’s continued brazenness.

“Please! I’m not a threat to you or your people. I’m here to help! Your enemy is my enemy!” Prism yelled and gestured desperately as he stood beside Leanna.

He’d gotten out of the bunk without Leanna or Ursun noticing, though he’d noticed Lorias and Srell’s panicked faces when he began walking around the bunk. Leanna turned to look at Prism, and Ursun did the same. Ursun shook his head in frustration, and once again slammed his fist on the console in front of him.

“We are ten minutes out from Pack HQ. Should we hold our position, or proceed onwards?” The co-pilot’s voice crackled over the intercom.

The cockpit could always hear what was going on within the ship’s bay, due to the microphones installed within the bay as a security feature. The pilots knew what was going on, and erred on the side of caution. Ursun glanced over at Lorias and Srell, then at Leanna, and then at Prism. Ursun rubbed his sweaty bald head and then ran his hand through his red beard. After a moment of thought, he nodded to himself and sat at attention.

“Proceed,” was all that Ursun said.