Sunset Precedes The Dark

The Goliath-class Solar battlesuit could do nearly anything with ease. It could take enormous amounts of punishment and bring to bear some of the most powerful weapons that the Celestial Armies have to offer. A single Rook well-trained in the use of such battlesuits can easily make the difference between a glorious victory and a devastating loss. There were few things that Rhys feared while he was situated in the adamantine casket of his mighty war machine, and there was little he could not accomplish with the brawn and firepower it provided. Climbing a sheer cliff was unfortunately one such exception.

He looked up at the pair of Lunars above him as they looked down, everyone present trying to decide the best course of action moving forward. They had found a path that seemed to cut straight through the forest to the township ahead, but in order to take that path, Rhys would need to scale the side of the cliff he currently found himself facing. High above their heads, he spotted a pair of large birds flying gracefully north across the ravine, and for the first time in years, he wished that he had wings instead of his suit... Or at least a way for his suit to fly. Pushing the wistful thoughts aside, he returned to the current problem.

“Call it intuition, my friends,” he said through his helmet’s radio, “But something tells me that I am not going to be able to climb this. I will have to find another way up in order to join you.”

He looked down at Colette, who was standing beside him and thinking hard, a gauntleted hand stroking the chin of her helmeted muzzle. After everyone had some time enjoying the fresh air, Rhys suggested it would be best to wear their helmets going forward. He had assured them it was to prevent any unfortunate head injuries that may come with exploring unknown territory, but more than that he was worried for the canid’s eyesight. He also didn’t want her feeling left out, but thankfully the whole team quickly agreed.

Suddenly Colette spoke into the radio channel, breaking Rhys’ train of thought. “I’ve got an idea. A bit stupid, a bit crazy, but if it works out then I guess it’s not really either.” She looked up at him, sizing him up a bit before walking towards the cliff and putting a hand to the rocky wall, studying it carefully. “I think I can use my sword to carve out some handholds for you, Rhys. Think your suit can carry its own weight?”

He raised an eyebrow, not that she could see it. “Of course it can. My concern is whether or not this stone can carry my weight. This suit is nearly ten tonnes, Colette.”

She crossed her arms indignantly as she nodded her head at the rockface. “This looks like limestone. You’d have to be at least twice as heavy to have any chance of crushing this stuff as long as you move slowly and keep in three handholds at a time.”

Rhys wasn’t quite convinced yet, and didn’t like the idea of falling from such a height again. Still, knowing that she was a canid Rhys had to admit to himself that she likely knew more about stone and mining than most people he would ever meet. After another few seconds of internal deliberation, he finally caved.

“Very well, Colette. Let’s try this plan of yours. Although… Surely you cannot climb and cut at the same time. Perhaps you should ride on my shoulders and make the handholds as I go up?”

“I was just about to suggest the same thing, actually. Glad that we’re on the same page here.”

Rhys knelt down and outstretched his arm to let Colette scramble up atop him, with her being careful not to kick the fabricator that was once again securely attached to his back. Turning his head upwards to look at her as she stood over him, he watched as she drew her weapon from her hip. Materializing from the digital holster on her belt, Rhys observed in silent awe as the canid unsheathed an utterly enormous blade that would look more at home in the hands of a demon than a woman of her size.

Massive, thick, and obviously far too heavy for a mere human to wield, her sword was as long as she was tall, and he could feel her adjusting her footing slightly as she brought it to bear. He could tell from a glance that it required all of the strength from her own muscles as well as the servos of her suit to wield it the way she did, and he couldn’t help but feel a small bit of pride for his former pupil. She had truly become a fearsome warrior since he had last seen her.

Colette readied her sword to strike the stone, and as she did, it began to glow and crackle with electric blue energy, the signature mark of a Solar power sword. Thrusting forward, she stabbed into the limestone and cut through it as easily as she would flesh and bone, her blade effortlessly carving out a hole large enough for the battlesuit’s huge hands and feet to reach into. Molten slag oozed from the new steaming wound in the stone, rapidly cooling and hardening into a usable slot for Rhys' huge hands and feet.

Rhys felt Colette tap the top of his helmet, and took that as a signal to stand up slowly, with her tapping again to signal his stop. She then began working away again, gouging out more of the cliff for the next handhold. Slowly and steadily, the pair repeated the process as they made their way up the cliff, with Rhys only taking the next step when signalled to. It felt slightly strange to take orders from his junior, but he dismissed the notion as nothing more than a team building exercise, with her in the lead as the expert in the task at hand.

The two Lunars watched from above as their Solar comrades crawled their way up the side of the cliff, working together as a well-oiled machine. While Ignatius was more concerned with watching the surrounding area for possible threats, Claire couldn’t help but watch the struggle of the pair as they made their ascent. Although she felt it was a rudimentary and brutish solution to the dilemma, she couldn’t help but admire their tenacity.

Eventually, Rhys’ metallic hand found some purchase on the edge of the cliff. Colette leapt from his shoulders and landed with a dull thud back on solid ground. She took a moment to sheath her sword back into the small box on her hip before taking several extra steps away from the ledge, making sure that Rhys had plenty of room to climb up.

The servos and metallic muscle fibers of his armour whirred and whined as he slowly pulled himself up and over the edge, careful not to slip and fall back down. The two Lunars watched quietly as the mountain of metal dragged itself along the ground on all fours until the Rook felt confident that he wasn’t about to slip off and plummet twenty meters to a very painful landing.

“I have never been more acutely aware of this suit’s shortcomings than I am right now,” sighed Rhys, thankful to be back on solid ground once again.

Colette nodded as she responded, her own voice carrying obvious relief, “I didn’t want to say it while we were coming up, but there were a couple of moments there where I was kinda worried you were gonna fall. Glad that your Goliath held up though.”

Taking a knee before rising to his full height once again, Rhys crossed his arms proudly, puffing out the metallic chest of the battlesuit he rode in. “Ha! Only natural that it was able to scale the cliff, ye of little faith! This is some of the finest in Solar engineering! As if a mere steep incline would be able to stop it!”

Claire sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly. “That being said, let’s avoid climbing for the foreseeable future, shall we? That was time-consuming and left us very vulnerable.”

“Now that we’re all here, we should begin moving immediately,” said Ignatius. Pointing a finger, he drew the team’s attention to the nearby bridge and the connected dirt trail that led into the forest. “We should be able to make it to the town to the north-west within an hour if the path is clear and we move quickly.”

As Ignatius turned towards the path, Colette turned to follow him, speaking to Rhys and Claire over her shoulder. “I’m going to take point with Ignatius, if you two don’t mind. I want to be the first to meet a local, in case we meet any on the trail. Plus, I want to make sure Ignatius doesn’t burn down the forest if any angry wildlife crosses his path.”

“I resent that statement,” responded the synth, with the faintest hint of displeasure.

“Besides,” continued Colette, “Rhys is way too loud to be up front. Keep back about a hundred meters, and we’ll holler for you two on the radio if we need any help.”

Claire sighed loudly in displeasure, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned towards Rhys, opening a private channel with him. “Let me up, I’m not going to walk if you’re not going to.” Rhys frowned but complied, knowing that she was technically right. The Goliath’s legs were not his own, and strictly speaking, he had been sitting inside the suit this whole time. He begrudgingly leaned over to allow the Lunar to leap up atop his shoulders, where she sat comfortably on his left pauldron.

As he stood back up, Rhys realized that now would be a good time to ask Claire about her behavior during the mission. Without Colette around to listen in, his sister might be more open to discussing the situation. Though he still needed to approach the topic delicately, lest he anger her.

“You know, Claire, this is the first time I’ve seen you in nearly a decade. You never write to me, no matter how often I send you letters. They were always digital, so I knew you at least received them. I’ve wondered how you’ve been.”

She cocked her head slightly before stating plainly, “I’ve been in the Lunar Guard. Fighting. Little else.”

“Ah, but surely there’s more to it than that. I refuse to believe that Lunars only war without rest, no mortal can do that. There must be something to fill the time between battles.” Rhys was always cautious of the Lunar Guard, and still is, but knowing that his last remaining family is among their ranks helps to humanize them, if only slightly.

“You’re not going to stop asking until I give you a real answer, are you Rhys?”

“I shall continue to pester you until my curiosity is stated… Nor shall I move. You will either have to walk on your own, or indulge me.”

She sighed again, but without any edge to it. She gave a small chuckle, playfully rapping his helmet with a fist. “You’re as incorrigible as ever, little brother. I suppose I’ve missed that from you.”

Rhys smiled under his helmet, surprised and glad to see some semblance of the Claire he remembered under the tough exterior. “I’ve been told that my stubbornness is a valuable trait in the Solar Guard. But please, do not leave me waiting with bated breath. Tell me of your time in the Lunar Guard. Is it as bad as the rumors say?”

Claire shook her head as she looked skyward, seemingly reminiscing. “It is… peaceful, yet somber in the halls of the Lunar Guard barracks. Never quiet, of course. There is always the sound of either sparring or music… We are expected to practice a form of art alongside physical training in equal measure.”

“Art? Music? Surely you jest,” interrupted Rhys, the disbelief clear in his voice, “What purpose is there to that? How does playing an instrument make you a better soldier? There must be something more to it than that.”

“I am no liar, Rhys, and do not ever accuse me of being one again,” responded Claire with venom dripping from her words. The Solar recoiled slightly, and decided to allow her to speak. “That aside, even the Lunar Guard finds value in creative outlets. To make our pain palpable through compositions or paintings is a way of making those immaterial scars real. To hear or see something tangible allows one to better reflect on those emotions and regrets, and find meaning or purpose in them.”

Rhys’ brow furrowed in thought as he attempted to understand her words. “So you use the arts as a means to meditate… Like a form of prayer? At the temple, they play songs about the gods, and we take guidance from the sermons. Something like that?”

Claire shook her head slowly. “Not exactly. To pray is to seek wisdom, strength, or conviction in a greater power. We Lunars find those things in our own mortality. We bind ourselves to those feelings of guilt so that we may have the focus and power to prevent the failures that we weigh on ourselves. To pray, one must have faith that something is watching over you. I have long abandoned the notion, as have many others.”

Rhys was walking now, thinking that he had given Ignatius and Colette enough time to get their lead. As he moved slowly into the dark forest ahead, the steady thumping of his battlesuit’s colossal soles gave rhythm to his thoughts. “So the secret to the prowess of Lunars is… self-condemnation? I still do not understand.”

Claire couldn’t help but laugh aloud at that, which made Rhys smile. “I do not expect you to understand, little brother. There is no 'secret' to the efficacy of the Lunar Guard. We simply train harder and are better equipped.” Her sudden outburst of mirth disappeared just as quickly as it came, with her voice suddenly becoming somber once again, “What truly separates the two halves of the Celestial Armies is a difference in ideology. When I was a Solar, I believed in hope for the future. One without strife or needless death. Now, as a Lunar, I understand that the path unto tomorrow must always be paved in blood and bones. Who better to die for the future, than those who have none of their own?”

Rhys took a moment to digest the words. He still didn’t understand what drove Lunars to such an extreme, but he at least now understood their values in some capacity. Ever since he was a child, he had believed that Lunars were some sort of boogeyman of the UDE, a force to be feared and awed. Now knowing that they were in such a sad state left a terrible taste in his mouth. He regretted saying the things he did before, and almost wanted to apologize to his teammates, despite never having directly offended them. Still, this revelation did not make any more clear a question that had been in the back of his mind for hours now.

“I think I understand now. At least as much as I can, without knowing that pain you speak of. That being said, Claire, I must ask… Why do you act so cold now? Just a moment ago, you laughed and called me ‘brother’ like you did when we served together. You have not changed so much that you have forgotten yourself, yet you hide that side. Why?”

Claire’s gaze seemed to be glued to a distant place as Rhys patiently awaited her response. When she finally did speak, her voice was low and calm. “It is easier to march to your death when there is no one left to grieve for you. If you push everyone away, there will be none to miss you when you’re gone.”

Hearing her say those words, Rhys bit the inside of his cheek. He thought of his parents, of his brother, and of every other dead Solar he had ever served with. He thought of every joking jab from friends, asking when he would find a wife and settle down with a family. He thought of every time he jokingly responded that ‘he hadn’t found the right one yet,’ knowing full well that it was a lie.

Finally, he spoke. “I understand what you mean, Claire. If I am to not understand any of your other Lunar philosophies, I understand that one in particular.”

She looked at him, and he knew what she was going to ask before she opened her mouth. “Is that why you never married?”

He nodded slowly. “I cannot bear the thought of leaving behind a widow, like my brother did. I saw what it did to you, and I promised to never let that come to pass, even if that meant being alone.”

“Then perhaps you understand us Lunars better than you think you do.” She paused for a moment, plucking a flower from a low-hanging branch as it passed. Rolling its stem in her clawed, metal fingertips, she murmured just barely loud enough to hear, “We’re not so different, you and I.”

Something about the way she said that piqued his interest, drawing his gaze back to her. He watched quietly for a moment, still stomping along the path at a steady pace, but keeping his eyes on her as she continued to fidget with the flower, her mind clearly somewhere else now. Rhys carefully considered his next question, and after another minute of walking, decided that there was no easy way to ask it.

The mech lurched to a halt, accidentally tossing Claire off of Rhys’ shoulder and down to the dirt path below. Ever graceful, the Lunar easily was able to roll off the ground and into a standing position, glaring up at the huge figure of the looming Solar in front of her. The dim light that managed to creep through the trees above him silhouetted his form, giving his normally noble armour an almost menacing appearance. They stared at each other for a moment, before Rhys finally asked her outright.

“Claire. You said you do not lie, so I must ask that you answer me with utmost transparency, because I must know as both your brother and for the sake of this mission.” He paused, taking a deep breath to ready himself for whatever came next. “What happened between you and Colette? Why do you hate her so? I know that isn’t like you.”

Claire visibly recoiled from the question, as though Rhys had just struck her with anything more than mere words. Still, she quickly recovered, and straightened her back to look up at him with indignation so fierce that even her opaque, violet visor could not hide it.

“You forget yourself, Rhys. You have no right to ask me such a thing. My business with the canid is mine alone.”

He sighed, taking a deep breath to steady himself once again. With a chuckle, he said, “You know, Colette said almost the exact same thing when I asked her earlier.”

“Then she has some semblance of wisdom tucked away in that thick skull of hers,” the Lunar spat in response, “You should not meddle in other people’s lives, Rhys. I am perfectly justified in my contempt for that hound.”

His eyes narrowed in his helmet, closely watching her as he spoke. “You say that as if she had wronged you, Claire. I know you are prone to grudges, but your behavior as of late is extreme, even for you. I never knew you to openly strike another out of mere spite.”

“Clearly you do not know me as well as you think you do, Rhys. I was clearly wrong about your understanding.” With that, she turned away from him and began making her way along the trail, closing their channel to make it clear that she was through discussing this. Still, he was unconvinced of her convictions.

“To the contrary, Claire,” he mused to himself, his voice being only audible in his own helmet, “I reckon you were quite spot on before. Like it or not, we truly are more similar than you believe.” With one last hearty chuckle, he began stomping along after her, intending to keep a close eye on her from now on.

Colette and Ignatius walked side-by-side, closely observing their surroundings as they treaded up the winding path to the north. Colette had disabled her suit’s closed-respiratory systems and was enjoying the various scents of the forest, many of which she had never experienced before on Terra. She had justified her constant sniffing to the synth as a means of tracking potential threats on the wind, but in reality, she was just having fun.

Ignatius on the other hand, was taking his role as vanguard more seriously. His mechanical eyes scanned the trees for movement, and he made careful note of each unique species of flora or fauna that they encountered. While the vast majority of plants and animals that they encountered were completely foreign and alien, he found a curious trend amongst his observations.

Approximately thirty percent of all species he surveyed were identical to some Terran variety, at least in appearance. Squirrels, daisies, bees, oaks, and numerous other examples which had been extinct on Terra for generations appeared to be alive and well on this planet, which when considered alongside the portal that they had come through, brought to mind several equally maddening possibilities.

“Hey, Ignatius.” The voice of his teammate snapped him out of his contemplative haze as he turned toward her, alert.

“Is something wrong, Colette? I haven’t seen anything unusual yet, but do you smell something?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No, it’s not the forest. I haven’t seen anything more than random critters while we’ve been walking. Nothing dangerous so far. No, I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

“My opinion? In regards to what specifically?” Why she ever asked for his opinion was beyond him, because he wasn’t the type to have strong feelings on most matters. Still, he couldn’t help but feel grateful that he had a friend who bothered to ask at all, even if he seldom had any opinions to actually offer.

“About the mission, actually. Do you really think there’s anything in this world that can really help us save ours?” Oh good, a topic he did actually have an opinion on.

“I would think that the Royals wouldn’t waste the time, effort, and resources on this operation if they didn’t believe there was merit in it. Do keep in mind that as we speak, our brothers and sisters are fighting and dying at City Seven.” Ignatius silently hoped that the battle fared well back on Terra, but he couldn’t help but feel pessimistic.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten that. Hell, if I wasn’t here, I’d be there fighting.” She paused, taking a few more sniffs through her helmet, before sighing. “Still, I can’t deny that this place is worth missing out on the biggest scrap in history. To think that a place like this really exists is surreal… I mean, we’re literally walking through an enchanted forest, Ignatius. It’s like the old fairy tales that my mother told me as a pup.”

Ignatius couldn’t help but give a single chuckle at that. “I’m glad that at the very least, you’re enjoying yourself, Colette. I for one have no attachment to the notions of enchanted forests, but I will admit that this whole experience so far has been quite interesting, if nothing else. Even if it turns out that our mission here was for naught, there is still much to be learned from this place, and that is something I can be excited for.”

Colette playfully punched Ignatius in the shoulder with a laugh, staggering him slightly. “You always were a total nerd, you know that? Maybe if you put down your data tablets for a while, you could make more friends than just me.”

Straightening back up again, the synth shook his head in amusement. “I don’t recall ever intending on making friends to begin with, Colette. If my memory still serves me, you intruded upon my personal space one evening and refused to leave until I added you to my contact whitelist. Then you proceeded to message me incessantly until I agreed to join you on some of your outings.”

“C’mon, don’t act like you didn’t have fun, Ignatius. You were all too happy to have someone to talk to about hippos and eggplants and crap like that. I mean, who else but you would bother memorizing extinct animals and dead languages that no one speaks anymore?”

Ignatius felt a twinge of embarrassment at that. “You know, Colette, there is value in learning about our past. Just because they are from a bygone age, doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. After all, if I hadn’t learned what a venus flytrap was, I wouldn’t have been able to identify it here.” Emphasizing his point, he stopped to point a finger at an example of the plant growing just beyond the path among some bushes.

Colette stopped and stared for a moment, before the realization hit her. “Wait, are you saying that thing is a Terran species? What the hell is it doing here?”

Ignatius shrugged, before stroking the chin of his helmet with a hand. “That’s what I’d like to know. I’d ask you to take a sample of it and check its DNA to determine whether or not it's truly Terran, but that would require a sample from our own world to compare to… Which is impossible, on account of that particular flora being extinct for over a thousand years.”

“Is it possible that the portal was used before? Do you think some ancient civilization made contact with this world before us, maybe traded seeds or something?”

“That is one possibility. Another is that by some extraordinary coincidence, this world is parallel to our own, developing in similar but distinct ways. It’s possible these plants are completely native, and this is some sort of mirror to our own Terra.”

Colette crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side thoughtfully as she spoke, “Do you really think that’s possible? A world developing completely separate from ours, with species nearly identical to our own evolving by mere chance? That seems way too unlikely to be just a coincidence.”

“That may be, but I still like to think about how these plants evolved, especially with magic so prevalent in the environment. Just look at these flowers here, for instance,” he said, crouching down beside a patch of bright blue blooms growing just beyond the path. “I wonder what sort of properties they may hold within. They seem to practically glow with energy… Do you suppose they could be potent alchemical ingredients? Perhaps we should harvest samples and bring them home with us.”

Colette grabbed Ignatius by the collar and hoisted him back up to his feet and away from the patch of flowers, clicking her teeth disapprovingly. “Tsk-tsk-tsk. Hold it there, don’t touch the weird magical alien flowers without knowing what they do. As far as we know, those things could peel our skin off or turn us into trees or something. You’re a mage, you should know better than that.”

Ignatius opened his mouth to retort, but realized that she was completely right. He had let his curiosity get the better of him, and had nearly put himself at risk. He reminded himself that this was a hostile environment, and refocused himself. He took a moment to scan their surroundings, listening and watching carefully for anything that was comparatively unusual with their walk up to this point. It was only at that moment that he noticed something was wrong.

“Wait, Colette… Do you hear anything?” His voice was low and even, and carried an edge of concern that the canid immediately picked up on.

She slowly turned her head, the metal ears on her helmet flicking back and forth with her own as she listened in on their surroundings. “No, I don’t… Which is weird, considering we’re in the middle of a forest.” Wordlessly, the two began to take a defensive stance, slowly reaching for their belts.

Before either of them could even draw a weapon, however, Ignatius was rammed from behind, sending him sprawling into the flowers, crushing them under his weighty frame. Quickly rolling onto his back, he managed to just see Colette barely bring up her arms in time to block a blow from an enormous beast, which sent her hurdling several meters backwards into a tree on the other side of the path.

The Solar’s heavily armoured body crashed into the huge tree with enough force to splinter and fracture the trunk, and as Colette lay at its foot, moaning in pain, the tree began to groan and fold in on itself. She noticed it too, and tried to crawl out from underneath it, but she only barely rose to her feet before it fell down atop her with a resounding crunch, reverberating with enough force that Ignatius could feel it in his metal skeleton. A flash of rage and frustration shot through him, but just as quickly as it came, he suppressed the feeling. He wasn’t sure if she was yet dead, and didn’t allow himself to be distracted by the possibility. Leaping to his feet, Ignatius attempted to put some distance between himself and his assailant by backpedalling, while simultaneously working to identify the monstrous creature in front of him now.

It was unlike any sort of Terran animal he had ever studied, but seemed to have distinct qualities of multiple at once, as those it were born from a horrific experiment joining the face of a man, the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. It was huge, taller than him and could probably stand as tall as Rhys on its hind legs, all complete with equally oversized teeth and claws that he had no doubt could tear him apart despite his armoured body. Ignatius had vague recollections of reading about monsters like this in ancient human history, but he couldn’t focus enough to remember exactly what it was right now. All he could think about now was fighting to survive.

In the few seconds it took for him to discern what he was up against, the creature had already recovered from its initial pounce and lunged forward again at Ignatius, massive claw-tipped paws outstretched to rend him to pieces. This time however, he saw it coming and managed to swiftly dodge to the side, watching as the creature overshot and slammed into a tree behind where he was standing just an instant ago. It spun around to face him again and roared with mindless fury, gnashing its jaws and sending spittle flying in his direction. Ignatius was faced with a difficult situation that he wasn’t entirely prepared for.

His pistol would be a sure and easy kill, but the noise might alert other creatures of his position, and he had limited ammunition that he needed to be sparing with. The fabricator could make more, but if Colette was in fact dead, then that was out of the question. He couldn’t use his pyromancy either, as he was currently surrounded by flammable material, and it would be all but impossible to prevent a forest fire with so many trees so close to one another. It was vital that their first encounter with the locals went well, and torching what could very well be holy land was inexcusably negligent.

While he continued to think, the beast dove at him once more, and this time it managed to slice through the sleeve of his coat with a razor-sharp claw as he attempted to side-step it again. Another flash of frustration at the damage to his favourite coat, but like the first he pushed it down and refocused. He considered using his sword, but dismissed the notion of slaying the creature altogether with a second thought. Much like the importance of maintaining the forest itself, he had no idea if his attacker was just another animal, or an important figure. He cursed the lack of practical information that his team had at the moment, because it meant that during situations like this, he had to take the most difficult route to ensure the safest outcomes.

As he decided on his next move, Ignatius suddenly remembered that the monstrosity in front of him was called a ‘manticore,’ just in time for it to barrel at him on all fours, clearly intending to tackle him with a charge. Thankfully, this was exactly what he was waiting for. Bracing himself with a defensive stance, Ignatius put out his fists in front of him and widened his feet, fully focused on the task at hand.

With all of his brain’s processing power focused on his next few moves, time slowed to a crawl so that he could wait until just before the manticore’s massive paws hit him, before he ducked down underneath the beast, allowing its own momentum to carry it over his head. He waited a fraction of a second, until the manticore’s soft underbelly was just passing overhead, before he let loose a powerful blow into its stomach.

He was not as strong as Rhys’ battlesuit, nor even Colette in her powered armour, as he wasn’t built for raw physical strength. Even still, his fists were made of the same metal that comprised their armour, and his synthetic muscles were still stronger than any human. This was thankfully enough, as by the time the manticore landed behind him, it had tumbled onto its back, whimpering in pain from its bruised guts. Slowly, it tried to rise to its feet, weakly growling at Ignatius, and it was only now that his temper began to boil to the surface.

The manticore tried to crawl away and retreat as he approached, recognizing him as a superior predator, but he wasn’t satisfied with that. It had attacked him and Colette, injuring or killing his best friend. It had torn his favourite coat. And if it was intelligent enough to know fear, he intended to capitalize on that to ensure it never makes that mistake again. He grabbed it by the scruff of its mane, pulling it back to face him again, and in the same movement he struck it across the face again. And then again. And again.

It was as he was raising his fist to hit it again that a hand stopped him, grabbing him by the wrist. Twisting around to see who would dare to get in the way of his vengeance, he came face-to-face with Colette who was standing behind him. He saw that her right arm was hanging lamely at her side, and scarlet was staining her bright blue surcoat. He realized that like her arm, his gloved fist was also stained red, but he knew it was not his own. Looking down at the manticore, he saw that its face was bloody and misshapen, with rapid, ragged breaths escaping from between its broken teeth.

“It’s alright, Ignatius,” said Colette calmly, a slight tremble in her voice betraying the pain she was hiding, “I’m alright. Let the poor thing go. You’ve done enough.”

He hesitated, but complied, letting go of its mane and stepping backwards as the manticore slumped limply back to the ground. Its breath began to slow as it lay unmoving, but it did not stop. It continued to breathe slowly as he watched silently. For a moment, he considered if it was better to have just killed it than do this. Interrupting the thought, Colette let go of his wrist, and put her good arm around his shoulder, turning him away from the sight of his own viscous handiwork.

“C’mon, let’s get back to the path. We’ll wait up for Rhys and Claire while I catch my breath. Auto-repair is already working its magic.”

Shifting his attention away from the manticore and to his friend, Ignatius nodded slowly. He considered calling for them over the radio, but discarded the idea, considering the situation was now well under control. Instead, he focused on the pressing matter of the canid’s injuries.

“You also need medical attention. Do you have any medigel?”

She gave a pained chortle as he sat her down on the fallen tree, cradling her broken arm. “Yeah, I’m fine. The medigel is patching me up now, and I lucked out with the tree. I managed to roll out from under it before it crushed me, but my arm got caught underneath. Good thing it was my metal arm, and not my meat arm, huh? Definitely would have sucked if I had to get this one replaced too.” She topped off the statement by wiggling the fingers of her left hand at him, proving that it was completely unharmed.

He might have offered a pity-laugh if her joke wasn’t immediately followed by another pained gasp. With growing concern, he shook his head slowly as he realized that his friend badly needed painkillers and proper care. Her ribs were probably broken, and her suit didn’t have the specialized life support systems that Rhys’ battlesuit did. After a few seconds of deliberation, he finally spoke.

“Colette, you should use your injector. You’re obviously in pain, so there’s no point in abstaining if you’re truly in need of it.”

Even through her helmet, he could feel her eyeing him carefully. Slowly, she reached across her body with her good arm, and pressed the switch on her hip. He felt a measure of relief as her shoulders relaxed from the soothing drugs, but at the same time, he mentally admonished her then himself. Even though the situation called for it, he was enabling her, and although now wasn’t the time for it, he fully intended to discuss the matter with her later. As her friend, he felt obligated to confront her about what he saw.

Interrupting his thoughts was a minute rumbling in the ground that only took him a few seconds to recognize as the distant footsteps of Rhys, with each quake growing slightly stronger as he approached. Still, knowing that his other two teammates were close did not help to calm his nerves, as Ignatius continued to scan the surrounding area for any signs of additional attackers. He hadn’t seen any other animals since the manticore attacked, but he wasn’t about to forgive himself for letting his guard down like he did. The knowledge that Colette was injured for his negligence would stay firmly cemented in his memory indefinitely, even long after the wounds were mended.

It didn’t take long for Rhys and Claire to come around the bend and see the mess on the road. A fallen tree, an injured Solar, and a blood-spattered Lunar standing over her did not look good. As soon as they realized what they were looking at, Rhys and Claire stopped in their tracks.

“Lieutenant…” began Rhys, apprehension in his voice, “What happened here? Is everything all right?”

Ignatius nodded slowly before responding. “To an extent. We were attacked by a manticore, or at least what I believe was a manticore. Colette was injured and I… I managed to disable the beast without killing it. It’s unconscious in the brush beside the road over there.” He finished his explanation by pointing to where the downed manticore was, just visible behind some trees.

Upon hearing this, Claire immediately moved closer to examine her teammates’ condition. “You said Colette is injured. Are you? I know that blood isn’t yours, but-”

“I am fine,” interrupted the synth, “But I believe Colette has broken ribs. The manticore threw her into this tree, which is what felled it.”

“I told you, I’m fine, I just need to catch my breath,” responded Colette, who was audibly wheezing under her helmet. Claire shook her head disapprovingly at the sound of it.

“You’re useless to us if you can’t stand on your own two feet, and medigel won’t set your bones properly either. Just tell me what’s broken, and I’ll fix it for you.”

Rhys finally stepped closer, casting the trio in his shadow as he looked over them. “That’s right, you know contramancy, don’t you Claire? You were our squad medic, back when you were a Solar. Are you still capable of healing magic after all this time?”

She nodded, impatiently crossing her arms at Collette. “Contrary to popular belief, Lunar Guard do have medics among their ranks. I am still practiced enough to mend your bones, and unless you want to re-break them later to set them properly, you’ll want me to fix them now, you stubborn mutt.”

Colette tried to snarl at the Lunar, but wound up having a coughing fit instead, with her teammates patiently waiting for her cooperation in silence. Realizing none of them were going to let her avoid treatment, she finally nodded in defeat.

“Alright, fine. Fix me up, doc. I’m already doped up on painkillers, so have at it. I don’t need to get naked, do I? My armor already fixed itself.”

Claire shook her head again before kneeling down and placing a hand on the canid’s chest. “No, you do not need to take off your armor. If it were irreparably broken, that would be a different matter, but I can just fix your ribs like this. Be warned, even with painkillers, this will be uncomfortable.”

“Fixing them can’t be worse than breaking them.” Without responding, Claire began to work her magic on Colette's broken body, with a lavender glow emanating from her arm into the Solar’s body. Colette grunted in discomfort, but said nothing else as she worked.

“Ignatius, are you sure you’re alright? I see your coat is torn. You took on that beasty all by yourself, eh?” Ignatius looked up from the two women to see Rhys looking down at him, the mountain of metal still managing to seem friendly despite the otherwise imposing size difference between them.

“I appreciate your concern, but I am perfectly fine. As for the manticore… It was strong and swift, but ultimately just an animal. I let my guard down, which is why Colette was injured. It will not happen again.”

Rhys nodded before standing up to his full height again. “That’s good to hear. I don’t blame you, of course. We have no idea what we’re dealing with on this planet. I’m just glad neither of you were killed. Let’s wait until Colette is fixed up, then we can continue to the town together, alright?” He gave Ignatius a huge thumbs-up before turning to watch the other direction.

Deciding not to argue with the Rook, Ignatius chose to instead focus back on watching the road to the north, scanning the surrounding area for any other possible threats. Thankfully, it seemed that with the incapacitation of the manticore, no other predators were on the approach, or at least nearby. Small critters such as squirrels and birds were returning to their places in the tree branches, watching with curiosity at the strange newcomers in their forest. Ignatius mused that they probably found him just as fascinating as he found them to be.

It was while watching the woodland fauna scamper about that he noticed a small notification in the corner of his HUD, blinking urgently. He wasn’t sure how long it was there, but he opened up the notification now, curious what it could be. He was stricken with confusion upon seeing that his medical diagnostic system was reporting a malicious spell affecting his body. It couldn't, however, determine what that effect was.

At first, he assumed that the system was damaged in the attack, but when he ran a check to determine any errors, it came back negative. Something was almost definitely affecting him at the moment, but neither he nor his medical systems could determine what. Finally, he decided that it was likely a mere glitch in the system due to the exorbitant amount of magic permeating the environment, and he dismissed the alert, more worried about actual, physical threats to the lives of himself and his comrades.

“Alright, that should do. How do you feel, Colette?” Claire had finished her procedure and stood back up, stepping back from the canid. “I obviously can’t fix your arm, but you’re a technician. That should be well within your own capabilities.”

Colette rose to her own feet, rolling her shoulders and doing some light stretching before nodding with satisfaction. “Looks like all the lights are green. I feel as good as new, besides my busted arm.” She paused, before adding, “Thanks though, really. You didn’t have to do that for me, Claire.”

The Lunar turned away, walking over to Ignatius as she spoke, “Don’t thank me, I did what needed to be done. Now fix your damn arm so we can get moving again. I don’t want to be stuck in this forsaken place past nightfall, because if that thing attacked you two in broad daylight, who knows what nocturnal predators stalk this forest in the dark?”

“I agree with Claire,” said Rhys affirmatively, “Just because we together are a formidable force, does not mean we should invite trouble. Let us move swiftly to avoid it if we can.”

“Alright, alright. Give me ten minutes to fix my arm, then we leave. While I do that, you should probably move this tree, Rhys. Don’t want the path blocked for other travellers.”

Rhys gave another thumbs-up before grabbing the tree in his giant hands and pulling it up and over his head with the ease of a child hoisting a toy aloft. Even though it was over twice his height, the tree’s weight meant little to the mechanized muscle that drove the Rook’s battlesuit. Then, without any visible effort, he bent and snapped the trunk of the tree in half, leaving the top where it was, and dropping the lower half on the side of the road.

“Easier to break it into smaller pieces, than to try and move the whole thing,” he explained to his teammates with a glance, “That way nothing else gets crushed by accident.”

Colette shrugged, and turned her attention to the matter of her broken arm. The right sleeve of her power armor split into innumerable tiny plates before sliding up her arm and into the cuirass, revealing the smashed mess of her prosthetic limb underneath. Sighing, she disconnected it at the bicep with a twist, and laid it on the ground to begin her repairs using a multitool procured from her digital holster. Ignatius knew from experience that although repair nanites could fix the damage done to the individual parts, it took a practiced hand to reassemble them into working order.

Ignatius glanced at Claire, who seemed entirely focused on watching the trees around them. Content to wait, and not interested in further conversation with his team, Ignatius took a moment to examine the tear in his coat’s sleeve to determine how to later mend it. As he stared at it, another small flash of anger washed over him, but it went as fast as it came, bottled and shelved in the back of his mind like a vengeful vintage to be aged for another time.