Tempest

14 - Grudges

URGENT TRANSMISSION

SRC: LT. FOUR

RCPT: CPT. GATES

MSG: Gates, everything's gone to hell. We've encountered a hostile alien species, it's intelligent and dangerous. Warn every planet you can, IMC or Militia, I don't care; humanity is at stake here, not just us. Everything.

KT and I are following a plan set in place to destroy it. Get everyone clear of this sector of the frontier, it spreads far and fast. Once we're done, I'll rendezvous with you at Harmony.

I don't have time for anything else right now, we need to go. Just be aware, and stay safe.

...

He finished the message, and leaned back in the chair with a nervous sigh. He felt twitching, and looked down to see that his hands were shaking involuntarily. Taking in a deep breath to hopefully steady himself, he lifted himself out of is seat and made his way toward the hangar.

In the hangar, KT stood around different monitoring systems as Al'cor stirred feebly on a nearby gurney. There wasn't any real infirmary on the ship, just some medical supplies and the transport gurney they were situated on now. Without knowing more about their anatomy, he couldn't do much for the Architect; that said, he had managed to bandage up the chest area with some work, and at least they weren't heavily bleeding anymore.

Having gotten a closer examination of the 'skin', he was sure that the white of their body was definitely organic and a part of them; but it wasn't truly flesh or muscle like a human's. Instead, it felt more like a mixture of plastic and rubber. If it was true, then that meant that they were 'naked', but he couldn't see any signs of reproductive organs, or sensory organs like eyes and ears. It made him believe that perhaps the Architects were far more advanced not just technologically, but evolutionarily as well. The telepathy Al'cor used was a good indicator that they'd transcended physical limitations when it came to voice; maybe that had been true for other aspects as well.

In any matter, they were alive. Against all odds, he'd managed to pull it off. It made him feel slightly less awful about the situation, knowing that he'd at least managed to save one person from death.

KT looked over at him. "The monitors show that the planet has now surrounded itself with several large objects that weren't there before we left."

"What kind of objects?" he asked.

She blinked. "They're of varying sizes, but they're massive. All are bigger than a standard moon, and moving independently. Scans are uncertain, but they appear to be liquid based with an outer shell of some kind."

He sighed. "We'll ask Al'cor about that when they wake up."

KT moved away from the monitors and stood next to him, now also staring at the white being. "So, this was the Inferno before you? The one who made you become it?"

"Yeah."

KT's voice became a little colder. "So, I have them to thank for you being tortured for two years."

His eyes flashed warningly. "KT, that was my choice. I'm sorry for how it turned out, but I don't regret it. If I hadn't been there and allowed you all to find the location of Typhon, Harmony would be chunks of rock in space."

The Vanguard huffed. "That doesn't excuse them from their actions. They gave you a burden that should have never been yours to bear."

He had no response to that. Had it never been his to bear? The way they phrased it, it almost seemed as though Al'cor had specifically chosen him for this.