Sunset Precedes The Dark

Claire was the first to arrive at the rendezvous, a staging facility at the foot of the City Barrier. It was one of the many motor pools in the wall, with a wide variety of both ground and air vehicles ready and waiting for a team to take them on an excursion beyond the comfort of the city, and into the wastes beyond.

She was currently the only person in the whole bay, the only other sounds besides her echoing footsteps being the hum of the lights above, and the distant reverberations of activity elsewhere in the Barrier. It was strange to her that there was absolutely no one else present, not even guards or a maintenance crew of any kind. Then again, if this were intended to be a mission of utmost secrecy, it only made sense for their deployment zone to be free of prying eyes.

Realizing that she was early, Claire chose to sit down on a chair left beside one of the armoured troop transport trucks, going over the details of the mission over and over on her helmet’s HUD. Each time she reached the bottom of the document, she would immediately scroll the back to the top and begin reading it over again. Every time she did, she was careful to skip over her teammates entirely, not wanting to see the disconcertingly cheery face of Colette Longfang staring back at her again.

After waiting approximately twenty minutes, the next to arrive was Solar Rook Captain Rhys, and she could have heard his approach from a hundred meters away. The heavy scraping of metal on concrete clearly announced his arrival, and as his massive form lumbered toward her, she gave a silent prayer to the Gods that he wouldn't attempt awkward conversation.

As the stomping stopped behind her, she sighed, knowing what to expect. She stood up from the chair, turning on her heel to face him, and saw his bearded face peeking out from atop the four-meter-tall mechanized frame of his Solar Rook battlesuit. Showing what civility she could muster, she retracted her helmet in kind.

"It's… nice to see you, Claire. Been a good long while, hasn’t it?" He gave her a somewhat forced smile, trying to maintain an air of approachability.

She looked up at him, her contempt clearly visible scrawled across her face. “Rhys. It’s not been long enough. It seems fate has brought us together again, for yet another mission.”

“So it would seem. And I can see that the years have not weathered that cold exterior of yours.” He chuckled half-heartedly before realizing that she was not amused by his joke.

Unable to bear the intensity of her glare anymore, he turned away, looking around the large chamber that they were waiting in. Choosing a Solar dropship at random, he pretended to be carefully examining the hull, looking it up and down and running his suit’s hands along its polished surface. Although he couldn’t feel it through the metal fingers, he liked to pretend that he could.

“You know, seeing these shuttles up close reminds me of how I once longed to be a pilot, soaring above the battlefield high in the sky.” His expression grew dour at the distant memory of his youth. “That was until of course, I saw the wastes firsthand. I don’t believe I could stomach such a sight from above.”

Sensing his poorly disguised discomfort, Claire decided to take some pity on him and change the subject. “So Rhys, have you actually read the entirety of the briefing?” He turned back to her, expecting to see that scowl again. Surprisingly, she seemed to look concerned instead. “This plan sounds absolutely mad.”

The Solar nodded, his brow furrowed with shared worry. “Indeed. I see plainly now why they needed volunteers. Not only is it a suicide mission, but the intel we have on the destination sounds like something out of a children’s storybook. If there was any kind of public announcement, the people would think that the Royals have lost their mind.”

"While it is hard to question their judgment, it is obvious that this is a desperate play." She paused for several seconds, considering her next words before continuing, "Not that I blame them, of course. The UDE has been on the losing end of this war since it began. I suppose this mission just feels… surreal."

Rhys gave a solemn nod as he spoke, "I suppose the idea is to save what is left. Though I can't help but wonder where this intel even came from. A world of magical horses, free of conflict or ruin. It sounds impossible."

"The intel was provided by a reliable source, I assure you." The pair turned to the owner of the voice, who was none other than the Black Hound. He came through the same door that Claire did, with the sealed pneumatic door muffling his approach until he opened it. "Also, they're ponies. Not horses. An important distinction."

It was at that moment that he had happened to arrive with Colette and Ignatius in tow, both of whom had abandoned their civilian clothing for their more appropriate combat uniforms. Colette wore her plated Solar power armor of white and gold, with a blue surcoat on top of that. Ignatius on the other hand, wore no armor at all, instead dressed in simple but practical black and violet clothing complete with a matching long coat.

The three of them walked toward the waiting pair as the deep, rumbling voice of the Black Hound continued to fill the room. "I hope you two were not waiting long. Captain Longfang and Lieutenant Ford needed to properly equip themselves for this mission."

Claire stood and gave her salute as she greeted her king, "No, not at all, sir. It's a pleasure to see you." Her eyes flicked to Colette for a split second before returning to focus on the Black Hound.

He put up a hand, shaking his head in disapproval. "Please, there is no need for that, Captain. Be at ease." He turned to face Rhys, who was frozen in fear. He raised a hand, pointing a finger at the Solar who flinched in response. "And you, please calm yourself. I do not bite."

Rhys briefly considered fleeing for his life, but decided that for the moment, he would put aside his preconceived fear and try to remain calm in the presence of the man who he knew as a walking holocaust. Considering that the other three members of his team were maintaining their composure, he would do his best to follow their lead. Taking a deep breath, Rhys allowed himself to relax and nod his head slowly. He refused to come across as cowardly, especially now.

Colette wasn't paying attention to that, however. She was staring straight ahead at Claire, who was trying very hard not to make eye contact. Colette's mind was awash with numerous emotions at the sight of the demonkin before her. One part wanted to hug Claire, and another wanted to punch her. Another still wanted to scream out in frustration, but in the end Colette could only continue to stare as a choking numbness took hold of her.

As the weight began to settle in her heart, she discreetly thumbed a button on her belt, commanding her armor to administer a dose of nerve-soothing chemicals into her bloodstream. She sighed as the tightness in her chest unwound, and she refocused back on the present moment. She tuned back into the discussion just as the Black Hound addressed the team.

“Now that you are all here, we can begin the operation. You have all read your orders in full?" Everyone quietly nodded in agreement. Colette was the only one who hadn't actually read the full documentation, but she decided she could figure it out as they went.

With that affirmation, the Black Hound spun on his heel and headed for the door again. "Good. I wish you all luck. I must depart and join my colleagues. We will be retaking City Seven tonight." All eyes snapped to the Lunar King as he walked away, unable to believe what he had just said. Ignatius reached out with his jaw hanging open in shock, but before he said anything he pulled back his hand, clenching it into a fist. Turning away, he didn’t watch as the Black Hound left. Instead, he looked back at his teammates, his resolve redoubled.

“You heard the King. Let us do our part. The dossier mentioned that there would be a large-scale operation to draw attention away from the site. This must be it.” He paused for a few seconds, considering everything that entailed before continuing, “Every moment we waste, will be wasted blood of our comrades. I shall pilot the transport. Claire, come help me prepare that Lunar carrier. It is smaller and faster. Colette, please help Rhys get seated.” The two Lunars started towards the jet-black transport craft as Colette made her way to Rhys.

She glanced sideways up at the sullen-looking Solar, and decided to try and snap him out of his stupor. “Hey, Captain Rhys. We’ve met before, haven’t we? Didn’t we meet when I first came to City Five?”

Rhys studied her face for a moment before his eyes lit up with recognition, his smile quickly returning. “You’re right! I do remember you now. You were the canid recruit that was pulled in during a patrol through the Longfang territory back in 1126, weren’t you? I thought your name was familiar.”

She nodded, allowing herself to share the smile. "Yeah, I thought so too. You were my instructor back when I first joined the guard. I heard you got shipped off to City Seven for that battle, and when I never saw you again, I thought you'd gone and gotten yourself killed. Glad to see you're still kicking."

He started lumbering towards the dropship, intending to get situated before one of the Lunars became impatient. “Thankfully not dead yet. It was pure luck that I survived when so many did not…” The somber expression returned for just a second, only to be replaced with another smile immediately after. “Still, I am happy to see you again, Colette. It’ll be nice to have an old friend on this journey.”

“Especially if you’re still as fun as you were back then. Don’t get me wrong, I love Igantius to death, but he’s totally a stick in the mud. Can’t even go drinking with him… He doesn’t have a digestive system to soak alcohol.” She paused mid-step, a sudden realization striking her. “Wait, what are we going to do about food and drink? I only have a few days worth.”

Rhys looked down at her, giving a small wink as he pointed a mechanical thumb at a large, blocky device mounted on the back of his suit. “Don’t worry about field supplies. I requisitioned a fabricator for us to use.”

Colette’s eyes lit up with awe and excitement, like a child receiving a new toy on their birthday. “Really? A genuine fabricator! I’ve never gotten the chance to use one before. Aren’t there only a few hundred in existence or something? How did you get one?”

Rhys waved a hand dismissively, smiling with pride. “When you get an assignment like this, it’s pretty easy to waive some red tape in the name of the Solar King. Let’s just make sure that we don’t break or lose it. They can’t exactly make these anymore.”

“Would the two of you hurry the hell up?” Claire shouted at her two teammates from the front of the dropship, her words dripping with disdain. “Ignatius and I have prepared for takeoff, we’re just waiting for you. You can banter like children when you’re strapped in.”

As the two Solars scrambled to get situated, the Lunar returned to her seat beside Ignatius in the cockpit. Securing herself with the seatbelts, she looked over at her co-pilot and saw his emotionless yet somehow still distinctly disapproving stare.

“No need to be hostile, Captain Moreno. We are a team now. Your past with those two does not matter now.” Claire recoiled slightly, unconsciously grimacing.

“Do not speak about things you know nothing about, Lieutenant. You may be a bishop, but do not think that means you can speak down to me. I am still your senior in years.” Ignoring her venomous tone, Ignatius simply turned his eyes to the console in front of him, doing one last system check as he spoke.

“I mean no offense Claire, nor do I intend to lecture you, but you should know better than to let your emotions get the better of you. I suggest that you put your feelings for them aside, at least until this mission is over.”

She knew he was right, but she couldn't help but suck her teeth at him in frustration. Instead of wasting further breath, Claire closed her helmet, the interlocking plates sliding out from her collar to cover her head.

Ignatius took this as a not-so-subtle sign that he wasn’t going to get any more conversation out of her. Instead, he closed his own helmet and opened the channel to the other two in the hold. The lining of his helmet ensured that the rumbling of the transport became a faint hum as he spoke through the helmet's radio.

"Testing. This is Ignatius. Can you three hear me? We're about to take off."

The familiar bark of Colette came through, as clear as though she were right beside him despite the thick metal that separated them. "I'm reading you loud and clear, Ignatius. We're strapped in and secure back here."

The second voice to respond was that of Rhys, as bassy as ever. "I would not call this 'secure,' but these Lunar transports were hardly made to accommodate Goliath-class battlesuits. I'm holding onto the seats here, but it'll have to do. Just try not to make any hard turns, lest I roll over and crush the captain."

Claire did not speak, but Ignatius did not expect her to. Satisfied with their responses, Ignatius switched on the thrusters of the dropship as Claire pressed a button to open the massive gates outside. Gripping the handles of the yolk tightly, he began carefully steering the transport out of the hangar and beyond the city limits and into the wastes of Earth's scorched surface.

Back in the hold, Colette was taking their travel time to carefully look over the mission information on her helmet's HUD. It was only now that she managed to scroll past the team roster and read just exactly what they were supposed to do.

"Wait, hold on for a moment. Am I reading this right, or are we seriously going to another planet?" Colette tried and failed to contain her surprise, which her teammates heard.

Rhys' voice once again came through her radio as his battlesuit's head turned to look at her. "Indeed. Did you not read the documentation yet? I thought you were chosen first for the mission. Haven't you had hours to prepare?"

"Knowing her, she was likely stuffing her muzzle with liquor or women. Perhaps both. I don't think she had time to read." Claire's sharp tongue sliced through the channel, cutting deep with venomous words. The canid was quick to defend herself, however.

"Actually, no. I spent most of today getting my gear together for this trip. I only had a drink with Ignatius an hour ago." She paused for a few seconds before finally adding, "And I’m celibate. Have been for years."

Both Rhys and Ignatius could sense the tension between the two women, and although the latter of them chose to keep quiet for now, Rhys couldn't help but try and change the subject.

"Is anyone else excited to see this exotic new environment? I for one am hoping that the air there doesn’t burn my skin off, but that may be wishful thinking. The reports say it is breathable… But according to the timestamps, these reports are over four hundred years old.”

Colette, happy for the new line of conversation, quickly joined in. “As much fun as fresh air sounds, a lot can happen in four hundred years. How do we know any of this intel is accurate anymore? For all we know, this world could be in ruins.”

“We don’t know,” interjected Ignatius. “That’s why we’re the reconnaissance team. I suggest you look over our mission objectives before asking any more questions, Colette.”

She opened her muzzle for a second, before deciding to take his advice. Scrolling more, she found that their mission was indeed mostly observation and study. Checking for life, testing the atmosphere, and making first contact with any civilized life were all mission objectives that Colette could have assumed by default. What she found strange was the final bullet point on the list.

“Anyone know what ‘locate and secure notable strategic assets’ means?” It was odd because although the other points on the list had linked information on file, the last one did not.

Claire growled in Colette’s ear through the transceiver. “It means we need to be on the lookout for anything valuable to steal for the war effort. This is not a vacation, it’s a mission to save our planet. Don’t forget that.” Colette frowned under her helmet, but said nothing else as she continued to study the documentation.

A few minutes of silence later, a private channel was opened with her from Rhys. Without moving to look at her, he whispered in her ear. “Colette. Don’t you think something feels off about this operation? Something isn’t right.”

She checked that she was muted in the group channel before responding, “What makes you say that? And you don’t have to be so quiet, they can’t hear us if we’re just muted.”

Clearing his throat, he raised his voice a notch as he spoke, “I think this whole operation feels strange. I’ve been serving in the Guard since you were a pup, and I’ve gotten good at sniffing out rot. A gut feeling is a soldier’s best friend, and if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.”

She turned her head to him, looking at the glowing blue eyes of his helmet. “I know what you mean about gut feelings. I just don’t know what you mean in this context. This whole operation is completely insane. What about it feels ‘rotten’ to you?”

“First of all, don’t you find it strange how we all were previously acquainted with each other despite being supposedly hand-picked by the Royals on an individual basis? I can tell that you know Ignatius and my sister, and-”

“Wait hold on,” interrupted Colette, “Claire is your sister? The demonkin?” She couldn’t help but sit up in her seat, a mix of curiosity and shock stiffening her spine.

“Oh, well I mean, she’s my sister in law. We’re not actually related by blood. She is- was my brother’s wife.” Rhys couldn’t help but hitch when thinking about the past, but Colette mercifully noticed and decided to steer clear of that subject for the moment.

“Ok, that makes sense. And I didn’t think about it until now, but you’re right. Even we know each other from when I first joined the guard. Out of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that could have been chosen, the odds of us all knowing each other is pretty slim.” She paused, thinking back to her morning. “The Queen did say I was special. She said it was because I was friends with a Lunar… Do you think Ignatius was picked because I was?”

Finally, Rhys turned his head to face her. “I think we were lied to, Colette. I think the Royals all chose us as a group specifically due to our shared history. Claire and I were both at City Seven. I trained you, and you’re friends with Ignatius. Clearly there is something more between you and my sister as well.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at the canid from beneath his helmet. “To what end, I am unsure. I’d like to believe that their intentions were benign, but I’ll be frank with you. I don’t trust anything that Lunars have their hands in.”

Colette skeptically cocked her head to the side, folding her arms across her chest. “Wind it back for a second there Rhys, I’m not sure I like what you’re implying. My business with Claire is my own. And I trust Ignatius. If you’re trying to convince me of some sort of Lunar conspiracy, you can stuff it.”

After a few seconds, Rhys shook his head, chuckling. “No, no. I’m not telling you to believe in anything, I’m just speaking my mind. Whether or not you agree is your decision… But I’m quite certain that this mission smells rotten. They’re not telling us something important.” Rhys sighed, and lowered his head, finally going quiet.

Once again, Colette was left alone in silence. While she didn’t believe that there was something wrong with the mission, she did agree that there was something odd about it. That suspicion quickly grew into malcontent as she realized that if they really were chosen based on their prior relationships, then the Royals really did set her up with Claire on purpose.

Soon, feelings of anger and confusion began to well up again, and before they could overwhelm her, Colette once again thumbed the button on her belt. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she felt the cool wave of relaxation wash over her, and she felt so relaxed that she couldn’t help but slip into slumber.

“Wake up you two, we’re here!” Rhys was jolted awake by the voice of Claire barking at him through his helmet's comms. This surprised him, because he didn't remember falling asleep, but he decided it was for the best. He hadn't been sleeping well as of late, and any extra shut-eye was welcome.

Blinking away his drowsiness, he looked up at Colette, who was sitting slumped over, apparently unfazed by the demonkin’s shouting over the comms. Lifting one of his massive hands, he gently prodded the canid’s head, trying to wake her up. Unfortunately, before he could nudge Colette awake, the bay door opened up with a loud, metallic groan. A gust of hot, arid wind blew into through the opening, scattering sand and dust throughout the cabin.

Claire stepped forward through the haze up the ramp, stopping in front of the Solars. Rhys bit his cheek as she looked over the two of them, the faceless, glowing violet visor of her helmet illuminating them through the swirling cloud of dirt. Without warning, she punched Colette in the head with a clang, her metallic hand ringing off of the canid’s helmet.

Colette bolted up, shouting in surprise as she took a wild reactionary swing at the Lunar. With finesse that was expected of her position, Claire expertly batted the punch aside with her hand before grabbing Colette’s wrist, twisting her body, and flinging the Solar Knight over her shoulder and out onto the ground at the bottom of the ramp. From the dirt, Colette groaned in pain as Claire turned her gaze back to Rhys.

“Don’t make me throw you out too. Get moving.” Even knowing that there was no way she could physically do such a thing to him, he had known his sister-in-law for long enough to know that her threats were not to be taken lightly. Using the benches for leverage, Rhys began the task of pulling his mechanized battlesuit out of the dropship that was far too small to properly accommodate his size. It was harder getting out of the ship than getting on, especially without help, but he managed to worm his way out in no time at all. By the time he had slipped down the ramp, Claire had already left to scout ahead and Ignatius was helping Colette to her feet.

As she brushed some of the rusty red dirt from her armor and surcoat, Colette spoke to her two teammates. “What the hell has gotten into her? I don’t remember her being so damn surly.”

Ignatius shook his head as he brushed some of the dust off her back with a hand. “I couldn’t tell you. I’ve only worked with her a few times before, but she is typically more even tempered than… this. I will not pretend to know what sort of dynamic you three share, but it certainly seems to be irritating her.”

Rhys frowned under his helmet, knowing that Ignatius was right. He didn’t see her too often anymore, but when he did, Claire was never this vitriolic. The fact that it was directed at his former pupil also left a sour taste in his mouth. It was something he’d have to discuss with her later, if she’d even talk about it.

“I’m sorry that my sister is giving you a hard time, Colette. Hopefully she’ll warm up to you as the mission progresses.”

With an annoyed huff, Colette gave up on dusting her armor. With the wind constantly coating her in more dirt and grime, it was a losing battle that she didn’t care to continue. Looking around to try and figure out where they were, she could only see the looming shadows of monolithic skyscrapers through the thick dust clouds. She suddenly realized that they stood in the middle of an ancient city street, the skeletal remains of civilization reaching up to the sky like grasping hands rising from a shallow grave.

“Wait, where are we right now? How long were we in the air?” Before either of the men could answer her, Claire’s voice came through the team comms channel again.

“We’re in Sector Four, right in the middle of Asia. It was an eight hour trip, and hostiles definitely saw our descent, so hurry up. We're going to scuttle the dropship, leave them a little present. Sync up and meet me at the waypoint."

Without further prompting, the rest of the team switched on their helmet HUDs and began to make their way to the marked location, hurrying away from the Lunar dropship that was due to explode any moment.

Rhys saw several shapes highlighted by his targeting systems in the dust clouds around him, but thankfully his heavy footfalls were muted by the sand and dust that was piled high on the street. The creatures were clearly more interested in the much louder engines of the transport, and while he always enjoyed a good fight, he was wise enough to know better than take this one. They were deep in enemy territory, and couldn’t risk more attention than they already have.

Colette’s hushed voice came through the team comms again as they made their way between the ruined remains of the buildings. “These things really aren’t that smart when they don’t have a leader around to order them, are they? First time I’ve seen them just wandering aimlessly like this.”

“Without a leader, they are little more than violent automatons,” answered Ignatius, “I doubt they can even see us. They’re probably following vibrations like worms in the dirt.”

Seconds later, there was a massive explosion from where the three of them had come from, the light of the detonation momentarily cutting through the din and haze of the sandstorm.

Rhys, ever-excited to see explosions couldn’t help but laugh aloud as he looked over his shoulder. “Ha! That will certainly give them a vibration to follow! I would have loved to witness their bits fly with that one!”

His celebratory guffaw was cut short by the voice of Claire in his ear. “Stay focused and keep moving. If anything with half a brain heard that, we’ll be up to our necks in mannequins in no time. I can’t have you all dying yet.”

Taking her word, the three picked up their pace. Navigating the narrow alleys and collapsed husks of old-world society was tense and tedious, being careful not to disrupt the mountains of debris or run into any stray monstrosities. Ignatius had taken the lead, scouting a dozen or so meters ahead while Colette and Rhys carefully followed him. Only a few minutes later, they managed to reach their destination without detection or attack thanks to the dense cover of swirling dust.

While it was impossible to tell what exactly the building used to look like, the three of them could at least see its massive silhouette with the light of the rising morning sun hanging overhead. Although only a few stories tall, its length seemed to stretch on as far as they could see down either direction. Nearing the entrance, the building seemed almost untouched by the centuries since its abandonment, save for the shattered windows that left gaping holes along the face of the megastructure.

“Finally, you’re all here. Let’s get inside, our contact is probably waiting.” Claire jumped down from the second story window, landing in front of the trio. Rhys and Ignatius both merely nodded in agreement, but Colette spoke out in shock.

“Wait, we’re meeting someone here? Someone’s been out here this whole time alone?” Claire pressed two fingers to her forehead, sighing in exasperation.

“Yes, Colette. We’re to meet an Artificer here. If you read the briefing, you’d know that. Who else could get a Golden Age transuniversal teleporter working?”

The canid put up a finger to argue, but stopped herself. She had plenty of time to read the documents during the flight, but fell asleep instead. The Lunar may have been unjustly hostile so far, but Colette had to agree with her teammate here. Her ignorance was her fault alone.

“Come then, let us not leave this Artificer waiting.” Ignatius stood at the threshold of the entrance, the doors having long since gone missing. “I’ve only met one before, but if they’re all like they were, then making them wait is a… bad idea.”

Before any of them could be discovered, they made their way into the marbled halls of the ruined old world facility. The once pristine walls had been thoroughly begrimed with dirt and dust over the centuries, completely obscuring their original colours. However, the deeper the team delved, the cleaner the interior became. Eventually, the dust became thin enough that they could even tell that the walls were once white, but by then all natural light eluded them and they had to rely on their helmet lights to see.

The team, including Colette after a brief explanation, knew that they needed to reach the sub-level of the facility. Ancient signs that once hung from the ceilings and walls to direct visitors and workers alike had long ago been scarred and faded to complete illegibility, making finding their next destination more difficult, but not impossible.

No soldier strayed too far from the others, each being careful of any possible threats lurking in the shadowy hallways and connected rooms. Each chamber they passed was filled with rotten and ruined furniture and technology, long forgotten and rendered unsalvageable by time.

Rhys broke the silence that had hung over the team for the past half hour of searching. “It does make me wonder what life was like, back then... places like this. So familiar and yet so alien.”

Colette waved a hand dismissively at him as she peeked down a broken elevator shaft. “They don’t think about me, so I don’t think about them. If you find some working tech, let me know. Otherwise, leave the past in the past.” She paused as she picked up a piece of rubble and tossed it down the chute. A few seconds later, there was an audible clang as it struck the bottom. Nodding in approval, she spoke back into the team’s comms. “Found an old elevator shaft that looks to go all the way down. No cables or ladders… gonna have to take gravity.”

Rhys reached out to stop her, but because his suit was so cramped in the tight hallways of the ancient structure, he was too slow. He watched as Colette stepped off the edge and plunged into darkness, leaving the rook alone. Over the next several seconds, he could hear several loud clangs reverberate along the walls of the shaft before a single, much louder clamour rang out from the bottom.

“Did she just seriously jump down there?” Claire and Ignatius emerged together from the shadows nearby, their violet and orange helmet visors being their only markers in the darkness. Rhys couldn’t tell if Claire was worried or annoyed with the canid’s actions.

“That sounds like her,” commented Ignatius. “You would think her recklessness would have gotten her killed by now. But I suppose canids were built to be sturdy if nothing else.”

To Rhys’ relief, Colette’s voice once again came through his radio. “Hey, I’m fine down here, thanks for asking! Also, this is definitely the place. Come on down.”

“Are you certain?” Ignatius peered down the shaft as he spoke, looking at the small dot of light from the bottom of the shaft. “What is down there that makes you think that?”

“Maybe you should just come down here and check it out for yourself. Call it a hunch, but I think we have a winner.”

Claire stepped up beside Ignatius, and with a shared nod, they both silently stepped off the edge of the platform into the darkness below. When Rhys didn’t hear them land, he shuffled forward to look down the elevator shaft, but thankfully spotted two more light sources at the bottom with Colette.

Claire’s voice next rang through his helmet, addressing him. “Looks like this is the place. We’ll make you some room, Rhys. Jump down.”

Using the girders along the sides of the shaft as handholds, he carefully pulled himself inside and readied to drop. Without a ceiling over his head, he finally had enough room to stretch out his limbs for the first time since entering the building, and felt some relief from the mild claustrophobia that his massive mechanized suit had been plaguing him with. Taking a small breath, Rhys let go of the girders and let gravity take him.

He felt his blood rush to his head as he flew down several dozen floors before crash-landing at the bottom, the inertia of his battlesuit pulling him down into the ground with a deafening slam, sending dust and debris up in the air as he destroyed what remained of the elevator at the bottom. The sound of his impact echoed throughout the large stone chamber he now found himself in, causing a muffled ringing even through his helmet.

“Holy shit, that was awesome!” Once again, Colette’s voice greeted him through his comms while he tried to get his bearings. “Are you ok? That looked pretty damn rough.”

Rhys sucked in a breath through his teeth as his HUD lit up red with warnings. He received several injuries in the fall, even with his suit’s compensation systems. Both of the suit’s legs also received damage, not being meant to fall so far. Luckily, neither issue was beyond the on board auto-repair or life support systems which had already activated. Although his breathing was strained, he was thankfully unable to feel any pain that would come from a broken bone or ruptured organ. He actually couldn’t feel anything below his neck, but that was perfectly normal for him.

“I’ll be fine. Nothing a little medigel can’t fix, though I’ll need a moment to catch my breath.” The servos in his suit’s legs whined in defiance as he stood up, looking around the nearly pitch-black room. At the moment, he couldn’t see much due to his helmet’s light reflecting off of the falling dust, obscuring his vision.

Tasting blood in his mouth, he looked around until he found his Solar comrade, her armor’s blue marker lights and headlamp allowing him to identify her in the thinning haze. “I have to ask, Colette, how on Earth did you not kill yourself in the fall?”

She put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side playfully. He could somehow sense that she was sticking out her tongue underneath her helmet at him. “Obviously I slowed my fall with the walls and rolled when I hit the ground. Did you seriously think I just fell straight down?”

Rhys opened his mouth, and closed it again. Of course she wasn’t so stupid as to do what he just did. In hindsight, it seemed so obvious to slow his descent that he mentally kicked himself for his foolish injuries. Turning his gaze to the pair of approaching Lunars, he was about to ask how they landed so silently, when Ignatius answered preemptively.

“Lunar training.” Rhys assumed that was shorthand for: “Advanced technologies and/or magic that I’m not allowed to disclose to you.”

As soon as the dust cleared enough to see properly, Rhys noticed two things. The first was that the chamber they all stood in was enormous, nearly ten meters tall and just as wide. The black stone of the cavern was cut with impressive precision, being a perfect cube. The elevator shaft that they had all dropped down was dead-center in the ceiling, creating an appropriately square hole in the stone.

The second thing he noticed was that on one side, the chamber seemed to have another hole in the wall, leading deeper into the darkness. Much like the one on the ceiling, it was perfectly square and cut into the stone, except this one appeared to be a hallway to another chamber. At about five meters in height and diameter, even Rhys could easily walk though.

“Spooky, ain’t it?” Rhys looked down at Colette who was also staring at the opening in the wall as she spoke. “Though to be honest, this reminds me of my birthplace. The tunnels back there weren’t this nice, but this definitely has a similar feeling to it.”

Claire roughly shouldered past the canid, receiving an annoyed growl as she walked toward the passage. “We should keep moving. The Artificer should be just ahead. Do not dawdle, you two.”

Colette looked to be reaching for her pistol when Ignatius put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head slowly. Colette sighed, and simply walked with him in silence, leaving Rhys to follow behind.

The four of them moved quickly, the sound of their footfalls echoing rhythmically along the surrounding black stone. The click-clack of the Lunar boots contrasted the harsher scraping sound of metal-on-stone from the Solar armor. Each member of the team scanned the interior of the tunnel with their headlamps, looking for anything noteworthy. Finally, it was Colette who broke the silence.

“Anyone noticed that the stone is engraved? It looks like runes.” Sure enough, when Rhys looked at the wall to his right, he noticed that the imperfections along the cut stone were in fact not random, but a series of small symbols and patterns.

He ran a large, metal hand along the surface, tracing his fingers along the etchings in a futile attempt to discern any meaning to them. He knew perfectly well that whoever made the runes were long dead and gone, and only they could possibly know what they were there for. If it weren’t for the precision of the construction of the subterranean structure, he would even be tempted to merely write them off as nonsense, but surely no one would spend such time and effort on something so fruitless.

“I did notice, actually,” responded Ignatius, “I was wondering myself what they could be here for. It almost looks like a magical ward of some sort. Ancient and powerful. Perhaps this structure was some sort of prison?”

“I suppose it must have been a rather poor prison if it’s empty now, eh?” Rhys chuckled at his own joke, with Colette offering a small laugh as well.

“Well, there was a gaping hole in the ceiling, last I checked.” Claire’s cold voice silenced the pair quickly with the implication that came with it. Rhys did not want to think about what might have escaped through the elevator shaft that they entered through.

It was not long after that they stumbled on a truly bizarre sight; A massive mirror that stretched from wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. Surrounding the mirror was a complex series of wires and machinery that hummed faintly, all of which was connected to a large set of computers along the right wall, small lights and nodes flickering in the dark.

“LATE.”

Rhys nearly jumped out his skin when he heard a voice speak from above him, and he was further shocked when he was blinded by a dozen lights switching on all at once. At the same time, he heard Colette yelp out in surprise, but when his eyes adjusted, he was somewhat impressed to see that the sudden flash had garnered no response from the Lunars, who were staring at the source of the voice.

Looking up, he was once again shocked to see what appeared to be a mechanical spider looking down at him. Six of its legs ended in a three-fingered claw, with the two in front being tipped with bizarre-looking multitools of indiscernible function. The dozen eyes on the head flicked independently between the four soldiers, the red lenses refocusing with each movement. It hung upside-down from the ceiling on a crossbeam that had been used to hang the lights that had blinded Rhys just seconds ago.

The surprise turned to disgust when he realized that the “spider” was in fact a person who had been modified beyond recognition with cybernetics. The only indication that they were once flesh and blood was that Rhys’ HUD identified the thing as “Artificer Jordan,” with “Human” underneath that. While he knew that the information was accurate, there was no way he could possibly refer to the technological abomination before him as “human.”

“GATEWAY READY. INJECT SOLUTION. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.” Beside Colette, a sealed metal container opened up to reveal four ampoules, each glittering with the silvery fluid that they contained. She was too busy gagging in horror to notice.

“Artificer Jordan,” spoke Ignatius, “Firstoff, I apologize for our tardiness. Secondly, this is in fact the teleporter we came here for, correct?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.” The Artificer’s voice was even more jarringly robotic and metallic than Ignatius’, which only further deepened Rhys’ loathing of the thing in front of him.

“What is the solution for?” As the Lunar spoke, Colette finally had managed to tear herself away from the Artificer and swallow her nausea to look at the small, glass vials beside her, picking one up and eyeing it cautiously.

“SOLUTION IS STABILIZER. TRANSUNIVERSAL TRAVEL KNOWN TO CAUSE ADVERSE EFFECTS IN SENTIENT LIFEFORMS.”

“Including inorganic life forms such as myself?” Ignatius put a hand to his chin, genuinely curious now.

“INSUFFICIENT DATA. OUTCOME: UNCERTAIN. CONCLUSION: BETTER. SAFE. THAN. SORRY.”

Satisfied, Ignatius nodded, walking over to the vials to collect one. Colette stopped him, putting an arm across his chest.

“Hold on. We have no idea what this stuff is. I’m not about to inject something that looks suspiciously like quicksilver into my veins without knowing exactly what it is.”

Once again, the Artificer responded in the least comforting way possible. “SOLUTION IS A SPECIALLY DESIGNED MIXTURE DEVISED BY LUNAR QUEEN ACRIMONY TO NEGATE NEGATIVE EFFECTS. INJECT NOW. THEN ENTER GATEWAY.”

“Wow. Now I definitely don’t want to take it.” Colette held the vial with her fingertips at the end of an outstretched arm, her revulsion apparent. Rhys could empathize, considering the Lunar Queen’s reputation for creating less than pleasant concoctions.

Without warning, Claire snatched the vial out of the canid’s hand, pressing it to an injection port on her hip without hesitation. The Solars gawked at the demonkin as she shuddered for a moment, the solution rapidly making its way through her body. After a moment more, she took a deep breath, and tossed the ampoule aside.

“That settles that. It’s safe to use… Now take your damn medicine so we can leave.” While convinced, Rhys couldn’t help but feel like for just a single instance, Claire’s voice lost its harshness, but he discarded the thought as soon as it came.

Nodding slowly, Colette injected her dose, before turning to help Rhys with his, as his hands were too large to handle the fragile glass. Ignatius silently injected the fluid into his wrist, letting it mingle with the artificial fluids that served as his own blood.

“SOLUTION INJECTED.” With that, the hum of the machines began to build until they were all resonating together at a high-pitched wail. The glass of the mirror began to glow faintly as a combination of magical and electrical energy forcefully activated its ancient enchantment. “GATEWAY READY. LEAVE NOW.”

Rhys chuckled as he watched the portal come alive. “Well, I guess this is it, isn’t it? Everyone made peace with their respective gods? There’s always the chance we get atomized.”

Claire snorted aloud. “I don’t pray anymore.” Those were her last words before she stepped through the portal, disappearing through the shimmering glass.

“Colette and I are both atheists, Captain Steele. I will see you both on the other side.” Following his fellow Lunar, Ignatius stepped into the rippling glass and was consumed.

Rhys just shrugged as he moved toward the portal, stopping beside Colette. He gave her a sideways glance, before speaking to her. “Scared, Captain?”

“Is it that obvious?” She stood rigid, staring into her own reflection as it distorted from the waves left by Ignatius.

“Fear not, my friend. We carry the light of hope with us. We shall not fail.” She shook her head, before looking up at him, her forced smile hidden under her helmet’s steely visage.

“Right… Of course. After you, then. Let’s light the path to a better tomorrow, and all that.”

Rhys nodded one last time before stepping through, leaving Colette alone. She stood motionless for several more seconds, her mind buzzing with second thoughts and concerns. Her sulking was interrupted, however, by the Artificer screeching again.

“GO. NOW. POWER FAILING.”

She yelled back over her shoulder, “Alright, fine! I’m going! Damn it all!” And so she plunged into the portal, leaving everything she had ever known behind.