Leora led the others through the massive shelves of food.
"All the food you could ever eat," Bjorn muttered in awe.
"Yeah, just stay away from anything labeled 'beef' or 'pork'," Felix warned. "Veal, venison, and mutton, too."
"Why's that?"
"They're just names for cow, pig, calf, deer, and sheep."
"He eats mammal?!" Rufus shouted.
"It's a long story," Leora explained.
"I'd better hear it."
"Maybe later. I wanna eat, first."
"Fine. What's safe to eat, then?"
"Oh, it's all safe. Whether it's ethical is the real problem."
"You know what I mean."
They fished for several more minutes, before she instructed them on preparing the food. Shortly after, they sat to eat.
They started eating silently, but before long, the silence was broken.
"Alright," Rufus spoke.
"Alright what?" Felix replied.
"I think I speak for the three of us, when I say we want an explanation."
"Explanation for what?"
"You know what. Who he is, what this place is—the works."
"I… I'm not sure I can answer that."
"Can you?" Rufus asked of Leora.
She gave a deep sigh, and picked at her food.
"Well… where do I start?"
"Where did you go? Why were you gone for so long? Why was my car so bloody?"
"I wouldn't push that," Felix warned.
"It's… I owe them an explanation, Felix," Leora spoke quietly, turning back to Rufus. "Nothing will make any sense unless I go back quite a while."
"Back, how long?" Rufus inquired.
"Before we met. A little before I started working for the ZPD."
"You were still in the army then, right? Why'd you switch jobs?"
"Dishonorable discharge."
"And Chief Bogo hired you?"
"I… didn't tell him until much later."
"Why not?"
"Shame. That, and 'assaulting a superior officer' doesn't go so well on a track record."
"Why would you assault a superior officer?"
"He assaulted me, not the other way around." She waited for a reply, but found that Rufus had only raised his brow. "Being the only female, I had separate bunking from everyone else. Now, for a long time, he was a good CO. Always seemed like he cared, frequently inconvenienced himself to spare others from extra paperwork. Then, one night, he showed up drunk at my quarters."
She paused for several moments to try to figure out her wording, but gave up.
"He... assaulted me. Eventually," she continued, "I managed to claw out his eye and run for help. Naturally, he had friends in high places, and I got discharged."
"What happened to him?"
"He got promoted, of course."
Rufus narrowed his gaze, but remained silent.
"So, it took me a while, but I eventually found work at the ZPD. Then, you all know what came on our doorstep."
"The 'ambassador'," Prance supplemented.
"Correct. After that fell through, most of us made Downtown SWAT. That was fine for a while, and then we got our first big bust."
"Flaunder's Farm, if I'm not mistaken," Felix stated.
"Yeah, and who do you think I'd find cowering beneath the desk?"
"So that's why you maced him!" Bjorn spoke, in sudden revelation.
"We booked him, but of course, he gets bailed out again. I was beyond mad, but I had to let it go. Then, over the weekend, I get a call from Bogo in the ungodly hours of the morning: he wanted me to come in, since he was understaffed. I agree, tell him I'd be there, and start getting ready. I almost made it out the door when I hear the floor creak behind me. I turned just in time to get hit in the face by a ball bat." Prance covered his mouth in shock, while the others simply leaned in. "After I was on the floor, and my gun was gone, he brought in two of his buddies."
"The soldiers we took with us," Rufus figured.
"Precisely. He had them restrain me while he beat me. He broke my legs, cracked my ribs, broke my eye socket and nearly blinded me, but I didn't give him the satisfaction he wanted. He decided that he would have that satisfaction. So, he had them hold me down… while…" She slowly shook her head and stared into the distance for a while. "Every five minutes, right when I thought I would pass out, he would cut me, or kick me in the ribs, or hit me with the bat; he would force me awake. Every five minutes for three fucking hours. When he was done, he bound my wrists and my ankles, made a noose, and hung me from my ceiling fan. The next thing I know, I'm lying on the floor, with a very familiar ambassador holding me."
Their slightly unnerved expressions belied their true feelings of disgust and shock.
"He cleaned me up, bound my wounds, and wanted to take me to the hospital, but we hit a snag."
"That snag being?"
"First, that lion fucked with my medical history. Second, we didn't have a car."
"So that blood—"
"Was mine, but the ambassador had nothing to do with it. He drove to some building out of the way. From there, he fixed my records, and napped the lion. Took us way out, to the scenic middle of nowhere, on a hill some forty miles from the city. Let's say we… returned the favor."
"What did you do?"
"I gutted him, tied his innards to a tree, made him walk until he ran out of intestines, beat him, carved out and ate his liver, and left him for the birds. He was awake the whole time, I assure you," they heard from the doorway; Kai had wandered in, in casual attire, holding several neatly folded uniforms.
"You ate his liver?!" Rufus shouted, angry.
"It was disgusting, I assure you. However, even knowing the truth, you still show shock?"
"You're a cannibal!"
"Cannibalism is when you eat your own species. In any case, it's a bad habit of mine."
Rufus glared.
"Oh, don't act so shocked, especially when you're eating cojones."
"I just picked something that sounded decent that also wasn't mammal."
Kai walked up and whispered rather loudly in his ear, with a large smile growing on his face.
"Cojones are bull testicles." Immediately, Rufus began to retch, amidst the laughter of his companions. Kai shrugged. "You didn't have a problem until I told you. Anyways, as much as I hate to interrupt your catching up, I have uniforms. Get these on sometime before we leave." He set the clothes on the table, and turned to leave.
"Wait," Prance spoke.
"Yes?"
"Who are you, really?"
Kai closed his eyes in thought.
"Give me a minute." He left, and fairly shortly after, returned with a rather thick book. "Knock yourselves out."
"What's this? The Compendium of the World's Most Influential Men, vol. 3?"
"Normally they cram five or six people into one book. They felt I was so great that they dedicated a whole book to me."
"So what is this, your biography or something?"
"Something like that."
Prance opened the book, and everyone crowded around him.
"Wait, this starts at age 15, what kind of biography is this?"
"Certain things are kept under tight wraps."
Prance shrugged, and began to scan the page methodically. Soon, he paused and pointed at something on the page. Immediately, everyone began to giggle.
"Your name is Garrett Sinclair?" Felix muttered, amused.
"Why do you find that funny?"
"No, no, it's nothing."
"Suit yourselves. I have a few things to finish, so I'll take my leave."
"Wait, you can't leave!"
"Why not?"
"What if we have questions?"
Kai checked the clock on the wall, before sitting down at the table.
"Fine, fine. I have time for a few."
Prance read aloud for several lines before pausing.
"'At age seventeen, Garrett was the second youngest to undertake, and the youngest to survive the Winter Travail'," he repeated. "Winter Travail?"
"Not something I enjoy talking about."
"Come on, throw us a bone," Rufus pleaded.
"The Winter Travail was a three-month long trial, comprised of three components: the test of strength, the test of will, and the test of necessity."
"Sounds like something out of a bad adventure novel."
Kai smiled.
"That's what I thought, too. If I was the one to name it, I would have gone with numbers instead of silly names."
"Alright, what are these tests?"
"The test of strength involved being dropped into a fir forest in the arctic circle for a month, with nothing but a knife and light clothing."
"Knowing how bald you are, that doesn't sound survivable."
"Around half of all candidates didn't make it. Some died, most were crippled. Killing wasn't required, but many resorted to it for food or supplies."
"What did you do?"
"I killed a grizzly, used his pelt as a coat, and rationed the meat—"
"You killed a bear?" Bjorn interrupted shyly.
"There's something I need to clarify. In my youth, mammals to me were like fish are to you: good as pets, good to eat, and they don't interrupt you when you try to tell a story."
"Sorry."
"Right. The test of will was the hardest without a doubt, however. They gave you a code, a six digit number. You were required to remember it until the end of the second month."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"You spend the next month getting tortured; you were not to reveal it, or you failed. You would be allowed to retake the exam at a later date, but most that gave in, didn't. The rest that gave in were crippled permanently from the beatings."
"What's this exam supposed to test for?!" Felix spoke, surprised.
"Whether one would make a good assassin."
"And the last test?" Rufus asked.
"The test of necessity: the survivors were split off into pairs, teams of exactly two—"
"If there weren't an even number, what would happen?"
"The leftover would fail."
"That's completely unfair!"
"Being an assassin required a certain amount of luck. If you're unlucky, you don't pass."
They shook their heads.
"The third test," Kai continued, "Would entail being locked in a cage, two to a cage. Rather spacious, but it was placed in the cold outdoors, such that you always shivered. Not freezing, but very uncomfortable."
"Why that? If you made it through the arctic woods, you'd certainly make it through a cold room."
"That's the thing: they provided two barrels of water, a knife, and a pound of grain. The instructions were to make it through the month; you could catch any animals that came by your cage, but you could not leave. Naturally, there were no animals in that neck of the woods."
"How much is a pound of grain?"
"Ordinarily, it's just under a day's rations."
"How much can you stretch it?"
"Again, ordinarily a month. However, two months of starvation up to that point would make it very difficult. Anyone who tried to ration it among the two of them would starve."
"How are you here, then?"
"I quickly realized that it wasn't food for two. It was barely food for one, since you would waste most of it in shivering. It was a stretch for one, but what was the alternative? I told my partner that we could take a small handful each, twice a week. He took his first handful and I took mine. As soon as he fell asleep, I broke his neck."
"So you just killed him!"
Kai sighed.
"I wouldn't leave my life in his hands. At any rate, on the eight day, they let me go. I had passed."
"Why? I thought they meant for you to last a month," Leora inquired.
"The real purpose was to test whether or not you would survive at any cost. Hence, the test of 'necessity'. Once they saw how I was rationing, they decided that I wouldn't die."
They all looked away.
"Believe me, I'm as disgusted as you are."
"… If you don't mind me asking," Rufus began. "You always talk about what mammals taste like, but what does your kind taste like?"
"I've heard from other examinees that resorted to... other, more taboo methods, that it tastes like pig, but much too lean."
"And what does pig taste like?"
"Similar to beef, but more fatty, and with a slightly duller taste."
"Can you give us a reference we can understand, or are you just gonna keep comparing it to other mammals?"
"If you're so curious, there are several thousand packages of pork in the back."
"I'll pass," Rufus muttered, laying his head on the table in disappointment.
"You know what…" Leora began, standing. "I'll bite."
"You can't be serious?!"
"It's a once in a life-time opportunity, and Garrett assures me that they aren't intelligent mammals."
"You believe him?"
"He saved my life more than once, why would I distrust him?"
"It's not for the faint of heart," Kai warned.
"I know what I'm doing."
Kai shrugged, and went to the food stores, returning shortly with a tray.
"Here you are," he offered, setting it down in front of Leora. "Barbecue pulled pork."
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Leora, before the smell hit them; instantly, everyone's mouth, save for Prance's, began watering. Leora prodded the mass of shredded meat with her fork, before eventually picking up a small amount.
"Are you sure you wanna cross this line?" Rufus asked.
"There's no line. I'm eating two thousand year old meat, which was bred for the sole purpose of being eaten."
"Then why are you hesitating?"
"I want to enjoy this," she hastily defended.
"If you insist."
She brought the fork close and nibbled very cautiously. Not long after, she ate everything on the fork, before eventually methodically shoveling the contents of the tray into her mouth.
"I take it you enjoyed the experience?" Kai asked.
"It's so good," she answered, voice muffled from speaking with her mouth full. After swallowing, she continued. "I was born two thousand years too late. You have any more?"
"I'm glad that you like it, but…" He glanced at the clock once more. "You need to get ready. We can resume our little history lesson when we get back."
They nodded, each taking an appropriately sized uniform and walking out.
3 PM
They were waiting on the surface while Kai made a phone call; he shortly returned, signaling for them to enter the vehicle.
"What's the news?" Felix inquired.
"You'll drive us out," Kai responded. "I'll hop out a few miles from the destination, and you'll go to the main gate. The general already cleared your—"
"Miles out?"
"Is that a problem?"
"If you're sniping, how will you hit anything?"
"I'll do a quick walk around and scope out the entire perimeter before getting closer, but in case you run into premature troubles, I'm packing heavy artillery." He patted several weapons strapped to his back.
"I'm still bummed that you get the good guns."
"Maybe when you get back, I'll tell you the story of how I was dropped into Paris with no equipment, but I digress. Your goal, when you arrive, is to find the bomb. Do not try anything once you do; notify me on your radio."
"So… why can't you come with us? It seems like a waste of time."
Kai pointed to the snow, and stepped in it; he left a very conspicuous footprint.
"Oh."
"Any more questions?" Kai asked.
"What does this bomb look like?"
"Very large. Either a large sphere, or a large cylindrical shell, perhaps two meters in length. My money's on a sphere."
"Why a sphere?"
"Plutonium is only practical in implosion assemblies."
"I don't know what that means, but I'll take your word for it," Rufus commented.
"Let's head out. It'll be a two hour drive, and we need to arrive at dusk."
They nodded, and piled into the truck; Leora initially expressed concern about driving the stolen vehicle, but Kai swapped out the license plate for a new one.
As they drove through the countryside, the winter sun cast increasingly longer shadows until it was swallowed by the horizon; the glow of the afternoon was replaced by the near pitch-black of night. Once the lights of the base were in sight, Kai jumped from the truck. He quickly found a small encampment off the road, whereupon he took his binoculars and scanned the horizon. The base appeared to have pretty relaxed security; several guard posts, primarily at the entrance, and an apparent lack of any guards patrolling the perimeter.
"Radio when you get past the gate," he ordered.
"Copy," Rufus answered.
He waited for ten agonizing minutes before he got his reply.
"We're in."
Kai began to circle the base, looking for an entrance point. Several minutes later, he found a portion of the fence that was left unguarded; maintaining his distance, he rotated around to be closer to his point of entrance. He watched as his team parked the truck, exited, and walked out of his line of sight.
"Report," Kai spoke.
"Lax security. Almost as if… wait, that might be it."
"That was fast," he responded, surprised.
"Something isn't right."
"Perhaps. Where are you?"
"Hangar one."
Kai approached the fence at the same time that two guards happened by; before they noticed him, he pulled out his tranquilizer gun and darted the pair. When he reached the chain metal, he cut the links apart and entered. Watching for patrols, he skulked from cover to cover. Before long, he reached the side entrance of the primary hangar. He climbed a rather large stair along the side of the hangar before reaching the door.
He tried the handle and found that it was mechanically locked; he quickly picked the lock and jimmied the door open. Inside, he found a rather spacious interior. Aircraft were nowhere to be found; instead, hundreds of wires and pipes led from various sources into a large, spherical shell.
"Bingo," he radioed. "Where are you?"
No response. He moved to high ground to have a better look; near the other entrance of the hangar, he found his team held up by a large number of guards.
"Do you need help?" he inquired, taking his rifle and aiming down the sights.
"Mhm," he heard, nearly inaudibly.
"When I count three, hit the ground. One." He chambered the rifle. "Two."
Before he spoke three, his party dropped to the floor. Kai cursed their early action, and quickly shot off eight rounds. Seven of the eight guards collapsed immediately, while the last merely staggered. Kai chambered another round, and fired again. The final foe fell over, but not before pulling out his radio and hitting the call button.
"You fell too early. Run to the bomb," Kai demanded.
They all stood and sprinted; he jumped the railing and met them at the bottom.
"Alright, how do we destroy this?" Leora asked, gently pulling at a wire.
"Don't touch it," Kai barked. She immediately pulled away.
Kai reached into the heart of the bomb and cut several wires; when he retracted his hand, he pulled around and cut another wire on top, before pulling something out from his vest and splicing it in.
"That should be it."
"It won't fire now, right?" Prance asked, with a concerned look on his face.
"It won't properly detonate."
"Meaning?"
"It will fizzle."
"So… it'll fail?"
"It won't meet critical mass. I disconnected the timing mechanism, so when it fires, it will initiate fission before blowing itself apart."
"So… how big a blast?"
"Easily enough to level the hangar."
"And we're still here?"
"Let's—" Kai was interrupted by a very loud siren. "Fuck. Fall back, rear entrance."
They made it to the door, before a pair of soldiers rushed in; Kai kicked them back out, such that they flew over the railing and onto the snow below. Two gunshots quickly removed them from the picture.
The six of them made it halfway down the stairs, before two vehicles drove up; they barely had any time to react before mounted guns started firing at them. Kai fired back and barked for his team to jump the railing and take cover wherever they could. Once they were safe, Kai took a knee and sniped the gunners from the turrets. Satisfied, he too leaped the railing and took cover with his team behind several large shipping containers.
"What now?!" Felix shouted.
"Run for the fence," Kai responded, pointing to his entry point. "I'll…"
"What's wrong?!"
"I know that noise." He turned his head up, and rotated to locate the source.
"What is it?!"
He peeked the corner; when he did, his eyes went wide.
"Shit! DUCK!"
Everyone, save for Leora, responded instantly; he quickly pushed her over, just in time for a loud bang to blast a large hole in the shipping container, hitting him in her stead. He was launched head-over-heels several meters back, whereupon he came to a stop lying on his back.
"NO!" she shouted, attempting to run to his side, before being restrained by Bjorn.
"We can't help him now!" he responded.
Rufus looked through the hole in the wall and found the main gun of a tank facing them.
"Gah!" he yelled, quickly scrambling to the side. "Why is there a fucking tank after us?!"
"We don't have time to argue," Felix stated, rather calmly. "We have to make a run for better cover."
"A tank gun can shoot through twenty-eight inches of steel at this range!" Leora roared. "What cover?!"
The tank fired a second time, piercing a hole in the container, dead between her head and Prance's head; a few inches in either direction would have turned them into paste. They quickly cowered for several seconds, before Leora sprinted around the container.
"Where are you going?!" Bjorn shouted, attempting to chase after her, before being stopped by gunfire. "Don't be a hero!"
Avoiding the incoming barrage, Leora quickly scrambled up the side of the tank, attempting to pry open the hatch. Her efforts were in vain, as it was sealed from the inside. She withdrew her sidearm, which Kai promised to be armor-piercing, and pointed it down into the weak spot of the cover. However, before she managed to accomplish anything, a stray bullet struck her in the shoulder and knocked her to the ground.
Amidst the chaos, Kai lay dazed in the snow. The condition he was in could hardly be described as 'seeing stars'; rather, his mind exploded into a chorus of voices. The cacophony and din was overpowering; he couldn't gather his thoughts. He turned his head and spat blood into the snow, before assessing his situation; nothing was broken, but the armor-piercing tank shell shattered his heavy plate.
He tried to stand, but found that the immense pain in his chest stopped him. As fast as he could, he unbuckled his vest and threw it off, before trying again. Finding only marginally more success, he took a quick look around; several feet behind him, he found his railgun. He crawled to reach it, eventually taking it in hand and reorienting himself to face in the direction of the tank. He aimed down the sights, but found it difficult to focus with the distractions ringing in his ears. A third tank shot rang out, landing several feet from him. Using the trajectory of the tank shot, he traced the location of the tank, and fired.
The telltale mechanical whine of the railgun signaled that the projectile fired successfully. As the projectile traced a straight line from the barrel, it left a small hole through the first side of the container, a large hole through the second side, and blasted the cockpit of the tank apart, ultimately going all the way through and flying off into the dark beyond. The horrendously loud clang and screams that followed put a momentary pause in the enemy gunfire. The ceasefire was short-lived, however, as not ten seconds later, they were under fire again.
During the pause, Rufus, Prance, Felix and Bjorn glanced over to him.
"Help me up," Kai choked out, spitting more blood onto the snow. Bjorn and Felix sprinted over and picked him back on his feet. They carried him back, before leaning him against the shipping container. "Where's Leora?"
"She ran out."
"Idiot!" he shouted, shambling to the edge and looking around the corner. Leora was in front of the remnants of the tank, breathing heavily, seemingly unconscious. "Alright—who wants to be a hero?"
No one volunteered.
"So be it. Felix, I need you to fetch her."
"How am I supposed to reach her? They have the container flanked; I'll never make it around without getting shot!"
Kai thrust his hand into the hole in the container, dragged his gauntlet down the side, and pried open an entrance.
"Get her back here."
Felix slowly nodded, and pounced through the hole; several seconds later, he returned, Leora over his shoulders.
"Make a run for the fence," Kai ordered. "Get as far as you can, and hit the ground."
"What are you planning?"
Kai removed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and lobbed it over the container; a second grenade was tossed in the path between them and the fence.
"Run!"
They broke into a sprint; the first grenade exploded in a massive blast, and the second burst into smoke that obscured the trail. The party weaved through the blind gunfire, ultimately coming to the fence; Kai pulled it open, and ushered the rest through, before ultimately following them out.
They made it several hundred meters, before Kai withdrew a small device and pressed the button on the top. Half a second later, a large blast sent fragments of the hangar flying. The six of them hit the ground until the light from the blast died. Everything fell quiet.
"What was that?" Prance asked, after several moments of lying still.
"I attached a trigger… when I desynchronized the timing mechanism…" Kai panted.
"How are you alive, if you don't mind me asking?" Rufus inquired.
"Heavy plates. How's Leora?"
Felix checked on her condition.
"She's alive. She took a bullet to her shoulder, but her vest stopped it."
"Stupid. Stupid, stupid cat. She's lucky to be alive." They lay silently for a little while longer, before Kai slowly stood. "We need to get back."
"How?"
Kai withdrew a syringe from his belt and jabbed himself with it, uttering a pained grunt.
"I'll get a truck."
He stood, and shambled back to the base, slowly picking up pace. The rest of his party, save for Leora, sat upright and watched from a distance. Half an hour later, he returned in a small humvee, soaked in blood.
"That's not… your blood, is it?" Rufus asked. He responded by exiting and cracking his neck.
"Get in. Felix, can you drive?"
"What did you do in there?!"
"I killed everyone in my way. Can you drive?"
"Yeah, I think I can," the snow leopard responded.
"Good. Let's go."
The six entered the vehicle, and set off.
The entire drive back, Kai sat as quiet as he could, eyes closed; he could hardly differentiate their discussion from the idle noise in his head, and could hardly focus on any one topic. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to find Felix gently grabbing his attention.
"Sir!"
"What is it?"
"We've arrived. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. No one else is hurt?"
"Leora's bruised, but she should be fine. Other than her, no."
"Drop her off at the medical quarters." Kai took a deep breath. "The biggest threat is out of the way. Eat up. Relax. You deserve it."
Felix nodded; they shambled up the mountain path, slower than ever before. The five mammals took the elevator, while Kai took his traditional route, delaying his jump for several minutes as he attempted in vain to collect his thoughts. At the bottom, he found Sirius waiting for him.
"You look like hell, what happened?" he inquired. Kai ignored him, and shambled past. "What's wrong?!"
Kai entered the medical quarters, ignoring everyone who attempted to get his attention, and fished out several shots, administering them to himself.
Sirius shook him, calling his name.
"What is it, Sirius?"
"Why haven't you answered me?! What's wrong with you?"
"I took a hit."
"Wha—where? How serious?"
"Not too bad, but I must have hit my head when I landed."
"Landed?"
"He was hit by a tank shell," Bjorn supplemented, carrying Leora into the room.
"Set her down on the bed," Kai commanded. "And get her out of that vest."
"Don't just ignore me!" Sirius shouted. Kai continued to leave him in the dark while he tended to Leora. As he began unbuttoning her bulletproof jacket, she grabbed his wrist in a vice grip.
"No one undresses me, but me," she hissed, before opening her eyes and seeing who it was. "You're alive!"
"And you are a fool. Running into the fray like that is, perhaps, the dumbest thing you've ever done."
"Hey, I'm still alive."
"You have Felix to thank for that. He ran in after you."
Leora looked over to Felix; he nodded.
"PROCYON!" Sirius roared.
Kai scratched him at the neck until he collapsed.
"I want everyone who isn't injured out of this room," Kai ordered. "And take the senator with you."
Bjorn took Sirius in his arms, and walked out with the rest of his party.
He continued to ignore all attempts to hail his attention, until Leora waved her paw in front of his eyes.
"Why are you ignoring everyone?" she questioned. "What's wrong?"
"I can't tell if someone's trying to get my attention, or if I'm imagining it."
She sat up.
"Meaning?"
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, dodging her question.
"I mean… I'll be sore tomorrow, but what did you mean by that last statement?"
He sighed.
"It's not too important. Lie down, rest for a while."
He walked down the length of the room to a small shelf of medical texts, pulled one seemingly at random, and began flipping the pages while quickly pacing back and forth.
"What's he doing?" Nick asked, having just walked into the room.
"I'm not sure," Leora replied. "He's been acting strange lately."
"He's always acting strange."
"Yeah, but he never straight up ignored us before."
"You have any idea why?"
"Well, he got hit by a tank shell, but—"
"A tank shell? And he's not dead?"
"Well…" She looked down to see that his pacing had sped up. "I'll be right back."
She got up from the bed and walked down to join him. Again, he ignored her calls to him, until she stood in the way of his pacing.
"I'm very busy, so unless this is urgent, please give me some time," he spoke.
"I'm worried about you."
"That's a waste. I'll live."
She looked at the book he was reading, before craning her neck and lifting one end to read the cover.
"Advanced Cybernetics and Bionics?" she enunciated. "Why?"
"I have a suspicion." He flipped several more pages, before stopping and pointing on the page. "Right there."
"'Logic Control Unit'?" she read. "What's that?"
"Beneath it, under warnings and side effects. It's exactly what I was looking for."
"I'm not following."
He looked at her, then to the page, and back at her again.
"Show me your paws."
"Why?" She held them out as he inspected them.
"Steady?"
"Well, yeah."
"Good. Follow me."
He led her into one of several side rooms. As soon as she saw the interior, she instantly began to panic.
"Why did you take me into an operating room?"
"Wash your paws," he ordered, pointing to the sink. She complied, but continued to express her concerns.
"What are you planning?" By the time she dried her paws, she turned around to see that Kai had already set up surgical implements, and was in the process of shaving the back of his head. "Oh fuck, not brain surgery."
"Relax. It's easy, I'll—"
"You know, in the world of complexity, brain surgery is right around rocket science."
"Rocket science is fairly easy in all honesty, but this is one of the easier things you'll ever do. If you can cut in a straight line, you'll do fine." He took a marker and drew several lines at the base of his neck, before pulling down a large camera from the ceiling over the surgical table. He flipped a few switches, and the video feed projected down on the wall in front of the bed. Satisfied with the setup, he handed her a scalpel and assumed a prone position on the steel bed.
"Oh God. What am I doing?" she questioned, standing idly.
"Cut along the lines I drew."
"What if I cut too deep?"
"I set that self-limiting scalpel that I set myself, it's practically impossible to cut too deep. If anything, you should worry about cutting too shallow."
"Why's that?"
"It's extremely painful."
"Wait, wait, wait—you didn't take painkillers?!"
"They don't work anyways. You have two cuts to make, base of the skull. Don't worry about anything else."
She brought the knife close, and hesitated.
"Today, please."
She pressed the scalpel and dragged along the black marker; she felt him tense up, but he remained otherwise silent.
"Shouldn't I be wearing gloves?" she questioned.
"I don't have any that would fit, and sterility isn't a problem."
"Yeah, but…" She trailed off, before shaking her head.
"Fold the cut back."
She began to reach in.
"Forceps, please."
"Right." She took the tweezers from the set of implements, and opened the cuts up. "What the…"
"Don't get distracted. Take the cutters. Do you see the small chip?"
She pointed to something with the implement.
"Lower," Kai instructed. She pointed to a second component. "That one."
"What's wrong with the wires?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you have video? Can't you see it?" She looked up. "Oh, low resolution. Of course."
"What's wrong with them?" he asked again, more urgently.
"They're corroded to hell, one of them is broken along the middle."
"Lovely; they're supposed to be made of gold, how did they corrode?" he muttered.
"I mean, they've been in there for what, two and a half thousand years? Why are you asking me?"
"The rest of them are almost certainly gold, and they're holding up just fine; it's clearly not the length of time."
"Well then, if I had to wager a guess, I'd say cheap manufacturing."
"Evidently. At least we can be certain that we've found the problem. I want you to cut the wires, starting at the bottom right, to the top right."
She snipped the thin wires up the length of the chip; with every cut, he uttered a very quiet 'ow'.
"What next?"
"Now the wires on the left side, but skip the sixth from the bottom."
"Why?"
"It'll kill me."
She carefully snipped the wires, skipping the sixth one.
"Now?" she asked again.
"Cut the last one," he instructed. After she made the snip, she looked expectantly towards him. "Take the forceps, and slowly remove the wires. Take care not to break them or leave anything behind."
As she removed them one by one, he clenched his fist and hissed in pain.
"Now," he continued, "Take the chip with the forceps, and pull straight away with constant force. Give me a countdown."
Leora carefully slid the forceps under the chip, and grabbed it.
"I'm gonna pull on the count of three. One. Two. Three!" She began pulling, and he yelled, struggling to hold still. With one last tug, she wrested it free; he died down, now only breathing heavily. "You alright?"
"Been better. Close it back up."
She folded the skin back over, and held it tight while searching among the implements.
"Where are the sutures?" she asked.
"Use the medical glue."
"How?"
"Generous dab under the skin, and a seam along the cuts."
She fixed the wound and took a seat in the corner chair.
"So, what the hell did I just do?"
He sat up and gingerly massaged the back of his neck. Soon, he chuckled, before quickly bursting into a hearty laugh.
"Sir?"
Kai stood, quickly throwing a few punches and kicks to the air, followed by several jumping jacks.
"You're okay, right?" she inquired.
He shambled over and pulled her into a tight embrace, spinning around.
"Oh shit, I knocked a screw loose, didn't I?" she muttered, upset.
"No, I'm good." He held her up at arms length; she was less than pleased, limbs dangling limply.
"You can put me down now. I have some questions that I want answered."
He set her back down.
"How good it feels to have a conscience again!" he stated.
"Meaning?"
"Previously, it was silent. Now, I finally have that little voice working right from wrong again." He took a deep breath. "No matter. You had questions?"
"First, why was the procedure so easy? What did you just make me do?"
"It was designed for field medics."
"Field medicine takes an enormous amount of training and effort."
"Yes, but our field medicine stopped progressing at the end of the twenty-first century. Field medics were nowhere near the level of actual hospitals. It was like the dark ages in a medic's tent."
"So brain surgery is a field procedure now?"
"That chip has to be replaceable. Normally, I was supposed to be knocked out, but it's kind of hard to do with me."
"What qualifies as regular medicine, then?"
"Well, there's almost nothing we couldn't cure. Cancer was easily fixed, heart disease as well."
"What about dementia?" she inquired, eyes twinkling with hope.
Kai sighed.
"I know they mean a lot to you, but I don't know. You'll hate hearing this almost as much as I hate saying it, but I think they're beyond even my medicine."
She looked down.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. So, that was the why. Tell me the what. What did I just do?"
"Long story short: I've been feeling crazy. You just fixed that."
"Crazy how?"
"I've been tormented by everything, hearing voices… The funny thing is, I had no clue why until I got hit by the tank shell."
"Why?"
"It took me a bit, but I recalled the warnings for the LCU: 'Head trauma can damage unit', 'Blood loss can cause undefined behavior', and 'Shock can cause malfunctions' were the biggest three."
"And your six mile dives didn't set it off?"
"I wasn't landing on my head, but I suspect it might have something to do with it."
"Fair enough. Who's it made for?"
"Soldiers, mostly."
"I can't imagine head trauma or blood loss being rare in that profession."
"It was a chance in a million, but seeing how long-lived I am, and how corroded it was, it was almost a certainty."
"What does it do?"
"Several things. It was designed to cut out conscious thought. It makes killing easier, but the side effect of no conscience is no emotions."
"You showed a wide variety of emotions, though. Namely anger, but there was a softer side."
"That must have been the chip malfunctioning."
"So… the only reason you could kill so ruthlessly was because of this?" She held the chip up to the light. "And the reason you prioritized your mission over us?"
"Well, the second part, yes, but as for killing, I could manage before."
"Then why would they even bother putting that in you?"
"It's a long story."
"I'm sure we have time."
"Where to start…"
He started putting away the medical instruments.
"A long time ago, when the world was much greener, I ruled over the largest free army in the world. Four wars in which I had fought and won. By the end of the third, I had owned nearly a third of the world as well. I possessed endless legions under my command. Also under my command were my most trusted lieutenants: among them, Vitya and Ana."
"Vitya, as in Vitya the Wise?"
"One and the same."
"And this Ana?"
"At first, she was nothing more than a loyal officer. But, as time went on, we grew closer. She insisted on being on the war front with me. In the end, the final siege of the war was devastating. We lost millions, but led our troops to the victory. By the time I had returned, I was summoned to the medical tent. Inside, Vitya and Ana were wounded; struck by a cobalt mortar. He had tackled her to avoid the bulk of the blast, but it was still grievous. Naturally, there was only one surgical kit."
"Why didn't they share the kit? Field surgeons often have to share tools."
"Vitya was like me; Ana was not."
"Meaning?"
"A monster in every sense of the word, save for his kindness. Our blood is toxic to anyone else; our wounds heal almost too fast to operate. Even now, the incisions you made have healed." He turned around to showcase the surgical cuts; they had nearly sealed. "Long story short, they couldn't do it."
"What happened?"
"Vitya advised me to choose her. So, I did. The war ended, and Vitya perished. His ashes were scattered over the Azure Sea."
"I'm sorry."
"Let the past stay in the past. Ana and I traveled the world during the peace. The vineyards of France, the Alaskan wilds… those were the good days."
"Then?"
"No good thing lasts forever. She invited me to her hometown in Northern Russia. I was finishing up business in the West, and was supposed to land two days after she did." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I arrived to find that she was struck and killed by a drunk."
Leora gasped, covering her mouth.
"They never found who, but I have my suspicions that the Master didn't see us in his plan. Naturally, I grieved. For a long time, I isolated myself. He decided that three month was long enough, and that he wanted another war; he couldn't do it without his best general. He chose to have that implanted." Kai pointed to the device in Leora's paw. "The grieving stopped, along with most other things. I commanded the next war with ruthless efficiency. We won in less than two months."
"Then what?"
"The Master realized that things were quickly going downhill. He pulled me from active duty to be his personal bodyguard. We absconded here, just the two of us in a bunker designed for at least ten thousand. Sure enough, his prediction was right. The bombs started flying, and the last war ended in under an hour."
"I…"
"Don't bother feeling sorry for me. It's all my fault, anyways." He pulled off a feeble grin. "Next question?"
"It's a lot to take in… Alright, what were the rest of those chips and circuitry?"
"Processors, recall modules, the works. Pretty standard for a commander."
"So… you've got a computer in there, then?"
"Yes."
"How many gigahertz?"
"It's not accurate to measure in that regard. Your computers rely on a few instructions per cycle, but run a billion cycles per second to make up for it. Organic computing relies on thousands of simultaneous calculations; each 'processor', so to speak, can only pull off a few cycles per second, but can get a lot done in each one. Quantum computing relies on prediction, so when you mix the two…"
"So you're a supercomputer?"
"I'd reckon more powerful than your best computers."
"Would that make you the best computer?"
"Not by a long shot.
"Then what were your best computers like?"
"They took extremely intelligent people, bred specifically for this one purpose, and outfitted them with prime components. Not an inch of their body was bare; it was actually sightly disconcerting to watch them walk around, their skin glowing a dull blue; I digress. They connected five such people to a central processor—"
"So they were used just for processing?"
"Yep. When they weren't contributing to the war effort, they were extremely boring. Difficult to hold a conversation with."
"You met them?"
Kai scoffed.
"I was one of the most important people to have ever existed. Of course I met them. All five, in fact."
"There were only five? Why not more?"
"The thing is… it was relatively new technology: it only came out around ten years before the end of the world. There wasn't any real purpose for more than five, and they were ridiculously expensive to create."
"What could they do?"
"They could very quickly figure out the position and general direction of every particle in a system; using that, they could have a rough prediction hammered out for what would happen."
"Meaning?"
"Assuming a sealed room, they could predict the future several years in advance."
"How could you ever lose a war with them in charge? How did the world end?"
"For starters, they weren't in charge. More importantly, the world is a chaotic place. No amount of simulation can ever perfectly predict more than a day ahead. Unfortunately, by the time they saw what would happen for sure, there was nothing anyone could do."
"If this 'Master' saw it coming from miles away, why couldn't they?"
"They lost all abstraction of thought; they could only see the exact truth in things. Uncertainties didn't compute for them. Pure mathematical machines is all that they were."
"If I may, one more question?"
"Go right ahead."
"What was that dull gray metal in your neck?"
"You mean my spine?"
"That was your spine?"
"All of my bones look like that. How else do you think I can jump six miles?"
"Or tear Felix a new one. How did they get those into you?"
"They grafted alloy onto our bones as a nucleation point, and then gave an IV drip of all sorts of ions and solutions to build on top of that."
"I'm guessing that's what makes you heavy."
"You'd be mostly correct. The artificial muscles tag on another hundred pounds."
"Is there anything in you that's still real? Stock, I mean."
He stroked his chin in thought.
"Good question. I don't really know."
"If you don't know, then who does?"
"It's lost to the ages now, I suppose."
Leora's stomach rumbled audibly.
"Hungry?" Kai asked.
"How'd you guess?" she retorted sarcastically.
"I could see it in your eyes. Come, let's go."
They returned to the medical quarters, and had nearly made it out into the hall, before Nick stopped them.
"How much longer does Carrots need to be on life support?" he asked.
"Well, that depends," Kai responded, walking over and hitting several buttons on the machine. "It looks like the viral and bacterial load of her blood is nearly zero, and it's clotting nicely. I suppose I can unhook her."
"Could you?"
Kai nodded, and began disconnecting the machine from her.
"You're fairly quiet, madam," he observed. "Something wrong?"
"Well, it's just… what do we do, now?" she asked.
"If you want, I can return you to the city."
"And if we want to stay?"
"Carrots, are you crazy?" Nick hissed. "Why would we want to stay?"
"Look at this place, it's wonderful!"
"Bleak and depressing, more like."
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Kai assured, smiling. "Now, I imagine you're hungry. Care to join us?"
"Love to!" Judy cheerfully remarked, slowly getting up with Nick's assistance.
"What about me?" Grace shouted from further down the room.
"I can get you a wheelchair, if you would like. You still need that IV."
"Can I walk?"
"I would rather you didn't."
"Well, if it gets me out of this godforsaken bed, I'll take the wheelchair."
Kai dragged the wheelchair over, sat Grace in it, and hung her IV on the attached rack. Together, the five of them traveled to the dining hall, where Sirius was frantically pacing.
"You!" he shouted, as soon as he noticed Kai enter. "You have a lot of explaining to do!"
Kai walked up and gingerly scratched him on the neck; Sirius attempted to shy away, but proved no match for the man's prowess. He fell on the floor once again.
"What is that you keep doing to him?" Felix asked.
"Canines tend to respond well to this," Kai stated, showing Sirius no mercy.
"Really?" Rufus inquired, showing interest.
"What about felines?" Felix asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. In my past experience, petting a cat tends to get me clawed up."
"I promise I won't claw you up," Leora volunteered, stepping forward.
"You totally clawed his face back in—" Rufus began.
"And I'm about to claw a lot more than just your face if you don't zip it."
He fell silent; Kai reached around and scratched the back of Leora's neck, and she slumped over onto him.
"Hey, my turn," Rufus stated, lifting her off and setting her gingerly on the floor. Kai shrugged and, too, floored Rufus with his gentle scratching.
"You know, this is funny. I don't remember ever accruing this much positive attention since… ever, I think. It's great," Kai stated, sitting down and alternating between Sirius, Rufus, and Leora.
"I'd hate to ruin the fun," Grace piped up, "But all of the important work is done, right?"
"Well, the bomb is no more, but you do bring up a good point." He stood and helped the others up. "Remember when I joked about you busting out Bellwether from prison as your first assignment?"
"Yeah, why?" Prance inquired.
"Well, it looks like you'll end up doing it after all."
"Bellwether, are you serious?" Felix protested.
"Well, not her, but you get to pull off a prison heist nonetheless."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with half the Court being locked up, would it?" Sirius inquired.
"Exactly. I'll leave you all to share a meal. I need to write out a plan."
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have a lot of shit still left to finish up, so I'm afraid I'll go without posting for a while. Another big thanks to Jackofallfables for giving this chapter a read.
While writing this, I had the hardest time; I figure this is either the chapter that makes it or breaks it, and I really hope it doesn't break it. If it broke the story, let me know why. Speaking of this chapter, the title was just something I made up; no special significance.
All of the reviews are heartwarming, and I got a really silly one, to boot:
leora chapter 46 . Nov 13
are you ever gonna put garret/kai together?
The answer is yes, since they're already the same person. Damn, I'm fast to problem solve!
Finally, I'm eternally grateful for xPrimalHunterx for shipping in loads of fun facts. He's a bona fide hero.
Fun Fact #45: Shakespeare just made up the name "Jessica" for his play Merchant of Venice.
Fun Fact #46: It rains diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn.
