Planatae

Negotiations

"My name is Tiber," the lead Purist said, the group now gathered in an expansive entrance hall. Much like the exterior, the space was spartan - there was little in the way of decor. The massive walls and high arches were imposing enough on their own, however. High above them, suspended, was a huge, iron ring, the same dark color as the rest of the space. It was the Purists' infamous symbol - a black, hollowed-out circle.

"The soldiers will stay here with my comrades," they said, tone only slightly more amicable now that they were all presumably Factor-free. "The scientists will follow me to discuss proceedings. There will be no weapons permitted beyond this point."

"Only the soldiers carry guns," Erin said. "We're ready to go."

"You will be searched first," Tiber said, and Lukas couldn't help but glance at Mila to gauge her reaction. But instead of the exasperation he was expecting, she met his gaze with a diminished, almost fearful look. The only person, in fact, who seemed at ease to any degree was his mother.

"Fine," Erin said. "But make this quick."

...

A few minutes later, Erin, Viktor, Lukas, and the lab assistants were following Tiber and two of the other Purists down a connecting hallway. The other cultists had stayed back, presumably to keep an eye on the soldiers. Now that they were gone, Lukas felt their absence more strongly than he was expecting. Very quickly he found himself strongly disliking the embassy, with all of its darkness, and long hallways, and endless doors.

Although the spaces they passed weren't completely empty, they came across less people than Lukas was expecting for such a large building. The Purists, when they did appear, were all dressed the same. They treated the group as though they were invisible, hurrying past without so much as a glance.

Finally, after a series of stairs and enough hallways to qualify the place as a maze, Tiber came to a halt in front of one of a nondescript door. He knocked, waiting. After a moment, the door beeped its assent, and slid open silently on hidden tracks. Without a backwards glance he stepped on through, leaving the rest of them to follow.

...

They'd entered some kind of office - complete with a desk, monitor, and supplies. Unsurprisingly, the walls were bare of photos or trinkets, and the overhead light did a poor job battling against the room's dark colors.

The man sitting behind the desk looked up. Lukas could tell that he was male because unlike the other Purists, his face was clear of the huge, tinted lenses. His head was still shaved clean, however, and it gleamed in the light. With large, pudgy jowls and a high forehead, he looked a little bit like a hard-boiled egg.

"Hello," he said. "I'm so glad you could make it." He gestured to the two stiff-looking chairs positioned across from him. Viktor dropped into one, but Erin offered the other chair to Mila, who was pleasantly surprised. Viktor glanced over at her but she shrugged. "I prefer to stand," she said, moving next to Lukas. On the other side of him, Aleksan and Anya shifted, clearly ill at ease. Anya in particular seemed unhappy ever since they'd stepped foot in the embassy. She's spoken very little since they'd left the ship, and now her body language suggested a strange defensiveness.

Lukas thoughts were interrupted by the man's booming voice, a stark contrast to the Tiber's low intensity.

"I must apologize for any discomfort you may have experienced upon your arrival." He gave them all a thin smile, his cheeks wobbling. "But you must understand - keeping our sanctum pure is of the highest importance."

Viktor, always the diplomat, waved away the words like a bad smell. "We understand and respect your views, of course, Professor Maddox."

The name elicited a reaction from the assistants. Deadly curious, but knowing better than to ask aloud, he pulled up his feed and sent Aleksan a quick message.