The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Finding That Which was Hidden

Looking over her head at Kassidy, who was examining the scanner, he cleared his throat. The Silver Legion officer immediately looked up, a questioning expression on her face.

"Looks like we'll need to use those scanners to clear the rest of the liliths that were held captive at the Salt Palace, Colonel," he indicated. Kassidy nodded in agreement.

"I'll requisition additional scanners from Hunter's inventory and begin immediately, my lord," she quickly indicated. "We should have a report for you within the hour!"

"I'm looking forward to it." He then looked at Gabriela's apartment where the drones were still working to clean things up before returning his gaze to the bluff-faced Kassidy.

"And I would start with Mistress Isabella, if I were you."

Fiadh was flipping through a ready report from Lord Darktower from where she stood at the back of the bullpen when the door to the command center opened behind them. Meredith, who was standing beside her, arms folded, as she watched the activity on the screens in front of them, turned to see who it was when the Irish lilith didn't stir. And hissed at who she saw stepping in.

That was enough to catch Fiadh's attention. After looking with a quick frown and a brow lifted in question at her blonde friend, the Irish lilith followed Meredith's pointing chin back to the entrance. And felt her frown grow when she found Dru standing there.

She could feel Meredith building towards one of her bitter rants about the Nosferatu lilith beside her. Only to also feel that acerbity abruptly fade with something the English lilith was seeing in her resented lilith sister. Peering closer herself, Fiadh became aware of something different in Dru as well, the observation eliciting another frown, this one puzzled instead of questioning.

What was different about her, Fiadh couldn't immediately tell as the dark haired vampiress carefully and slowly stepped into the command center, a place she hadn't visited since their initial arrival at Hunters' Fjord. Like them, she was dressed in Qos Viran fatigues, instead of the usual Silver Legion fatigues she normally favored. Was it how she held herself? Or moved? She still had all the grace and effortless, gliding movement of a senior lilith. But ... it somehow lacked the haughtiness it normally carried, the aura of somehow being better than every other lilith in the room.

"What in the name of the Dark Father happened to her?" Meredith breathed, uncertain and confused by what she was seeing.

Before Fiadh could answer, Dru happened to spot them and a bright smile appeared on her beautiful face. Then she was quickly walking towards them.

"My sisters," she said warmly, her smile wide as she first embraced a surprised Fiadh, then a stunned Meredith. She then stepped back to look over the command center even as the two other liliths stared in wonder at her.

"So this is where our Lash has been hiding from the liliths all this time!" she exclaimed as she watched the data rush across the bullpen screens for a moment before turning to take a look at the glass-walled war room in the back corner, where Naryan was working through parts of Darktower's assault plan that would use her Force Recon troops. In front of the breveted Qos Viran officer was a holographic representation of Varos Ejzhaka, the underground City of the Night the physical location of the Nocturnum, the Council's seat of power.

"It certainly wasn't so alive when we first arrived. What a marvelous place it has become!"

It was then that it hit Fiadh. The realization of what had happened to the once proud and haughty Nosferatu lilith.

Dru had been locked down by Lash as a possible Nosferatu sleeper agent poised to attack them from within when they were vulnerable. Naryan had then said, after a terse conversation with Lash, the big vampire had gone to the lilith apartments to confront the liliths he had locked down in an attempt to trigger their sleeper programming prematurely and eliminate them as a threat. Starting with Dru.