Broken Wolf
The Felician Chronicles - Book 2
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By Eastern Wind Wolf
**Thank you to Man in a Trenchcoat for the incredible music!**
Chapter I
"...progress..."
I sat up in the small bed, gasping for air and frantically scanning the room as cold beads of sweat rolled down my bare chest. My heart was pounding, and every few seconds, an uncontrollable shiver wracked my body, forcing my muscles to tense up and driving another shaky breath from my lungs. Swiveling my head sharply to the left, I desperately tried to bring the rest of the room into my broken view.
They were always the same, the nightmares. I'm running away from someone, or something, but I can't see them; I can't see anything. My vision is cloudy, tinged a deep red, and it continues to darken by the second as a constantly thickening veil of blood streams down my face. I try to wipe it from my eyes, but it just keeps flowing, and despite every instinct screaming at me to escape, to find a way out, I can't; I'm blind. Then, as I stumble through the darkness, I'm suddenly met with what feels like a wall, and everything goes silent. I try to listen; I hear footsteps, but they sound like they're coming from all around me. A second later, a sharp, burning sensation pulls the breath from my lungs as a blade is thrust through ribs, and then I wake up.
My panicked heart pounded in my chest as my gaze settled on Kira's empty bed. She was usually there when the nightmares struck to help me through the uncontrollable terror that inevitably followed, but for the past two weeks, she had been gone on a mission to scout further North into the Elari's territory, and her absence was clearly taking its toll.
My instincts were still screaming for me to run, to escape from whatever unseen horror was in the room trying to kill me, but I fought against them. Summoning every ounce of willpower I had, I closed my eyes and tried to picture her face, her amber eyes, and her calm voice.
'deep breaths, Ryder. In, hold, and out. I'm here; you're not alone'
I took a deep, shaky breath in and held it as my body continued to relentlessly quiver. After a few seconds, I released it before repeating the process. My hands were still trembling, but each subsequent repetition slowly worked to calm my pounding heart, and after nearly a dozen breaths, I felt my nerves begin to settle. Slowly, I opened my eyes again; the room was silent.
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"Dark," I replied as I sat on the operating table in front of Tria. It had been a little over two months since my fight with the warlord, and she had taken it upon herself to personally monitor my recovery.
"Now?" she asked.
"Dark."
I heard her make some adjustments to the device that she was using as I continued to sit silently on the table, waiting for her next prompt.
Progress over the past couple of months had been steady but slow. Each week, it felt like there was some new hindrance or obstacle; a tower was destroyed during a storm at one of the new outposts, cutting them off from our communications network, or a purifier unit failed, leaving a community with no way of obtaining clean water. This wasn't to mention the time it took to administer the various vaccines and treatments that allowed humans and Felici to coexist.
There were fights too, and they were only growing more frequent as human and Felician populations continued to combine and comingle. Illiena had said that disputes were to be expected, and that it would get better with time, but I couldn't help but feel like we were seeing the exact opposite.
Despite that, we were making a difference, and in my role at the forefront of human and Felici relations, I had gotten to play an important part in that. I finally had the sense of purpose and accomplishment that I had been longing for, and while some of the communities that we had made contact with were understandably skeptical about forging an alliance with the Felici, others had almost seemed to be waiting for us. Every time we reached out to a new community, it only felt easier as word of our mutual cooperation spread.
"How about now?"
I hesitated for a few seconds, pulled from my thoughts by Tria's question.
"Still dark."
Tria fell silent for a long moment, nearly prompting me to remove the patch that I had been using to cover my good eye and make sure everything was alright.
"And now?" she eventually asked.
"Light," I replied rather triumphantly as a dull glow appeared in the corner of my darkened vision. There was an audible 'click,' and Tria let out a tired-sounding sigh before speaking again.
"Alright, you can remove the patch."
I reached up and did as I was instructed, removing the small piece of black material. In front of me, Tria silently flipped through various screens on her tablet as I waited for her to speak.
"Well?" I finally asked, eager to hear her prognosis as I straightened my posture in hopeful anticipation.
"It's better than last week."
"That's good," I continued, feeling increasingly hopeful, "that's really good, right?"
Tria let out another sigh as she looked up from her device and met my gaze.
"Your eye is detecting some light, Ryder, which means your nerve has not died. As for the recovery of your vision," she glanced to the side, clearly trying to pick the right words, "we will take what we can get. From some angles, you did not perceive anything; this could improve with time, but this may also be the best it gets."
"But, last month, I couldn't see anything at all," I argued, "that means it's healing. I mean, for all we know, in a month it could be..."
"One step at a time, Ryder," she cut in, abruptly ending my optimistic stream of consciousness, "we will reevaluate next week. Lift your arm for me."
I did as she instructed, extending my left arm out to the side and lifting it as high as I could. After a few moments of working through her rather monotonous flexibility tests, my mind began to revert back to its wandering.
It had become apparent that what remained of humanity had fared slightly better than we had previously thought. Several groups and settlements had managed to develop, and in many cases, even fight back against the Elari. They were scattered, though, and most lacked any substantial equipment, which significantly reduced their overall impact in the ongoing war. That was where Kira and I came in.
In only a couple of months, we had been able to contact dozens of groups in an attempt to forge alliances and develop trade and supply networks. The Felici still tended to avoid larger communities, unless they appeared to be in dire need of aid, but I understood why. Tensions were still high between the two species; there was a lack of trust on both sides that was apparent in even the most welcoming of groups, and a few unfortunate incidents had nearly led to violence.
Regardless, our numbers continued to steadily grow with each passing week. Those who were healthy enough, and willing, were stationed at various camps and bases throughout America and Southern Canada, forming a network of well-defended territories that were protected by humans and Felici alike.
"Rotate."
I glanced back up at Tria as she spoke, trying to make sense of the request.
"Your shoulder," she clarified.
I nodded and proceeded to rotate my shoulder in both directions. As I did, Tria placed her hands on both sides of my collarbone, feeling the movements of the joints and tendons between her fingers. From there, her hands worked their way down my arm as she meticulously examined the bones that had been fractured during the fight with the warlord. Reaching my wrist, she finally released her grasp before retrieving her tablet again to take notes.
"Is this as high as you can lift it?" she asked, glancing at my raised arm.
"Yeah," I replied, feeling a tinge of embarrassment at the clear lack of mobility.
"Are you following the exercises I gave you?"
Tria had given me a series of routines to complete on a daily basis throughout my ongoing recovery. They ranged from simple core exercises to far more difficult, and often somewhat painful, drills that targeted the most heavily damaged parts of my body. Over time, some of them had become far less challenging as my strength had begun to gradually return, but others still felt nearly impossible, and each time I failed to successfully complete one, my spirits dipped further as any hope of regaining my former strength seemed to diminish with each passing day.
"I am," I replied as I let my arm fall back down to my side. Tria's eyes locked with my own as she shot me an overly suspicious glance.
"Yeah," I replied far less confidently than I had intended. Her unwavering gaze didn't break, and after a moment, I gave in, looking away as my shoulders slumped slightly.
"I'm not always able to get through all of them," I finally admitted. Tria remained still for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh as her expression suddenly softened.
"Your injuries will take time to heal, Ryder, but that time is dependent on you. I know that these exercises are not easy; I understand that they may cause you pain, but that pain will only make you stronger."
My gaze dropped down to the floor as I nodded in response. I knew that she was right, but it didn't change how it made me feel. Every time my strength failed during one of the intense workouts, sending me to the floor, I was reminded of my injuries and the permanent damage that they'd wrought on my body. I was reminded of my weakness.
"The process is slow, but you will begin to see improvement; give it time."
I looked back up at her and feigned a smile, garnering a nod and a blink as she motioned to my torso.
"Lift your shirt."
I once again followed her instructions as she proceeded with the examination. A dull pain throbbed through my chest as she began to press her fingers into my ribs, and vivid memories of the fight with the Sincari warlord began to resurface. I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts aside, trying to focus my mind on the present.
In the weeks following the evacuation of Michelle's people, and the unfortunate loss of the tritium, Illiena had coordinated dozens of infiltration missions into the Northern Regions of Canada in an attempt to gain a foothold closer to where the Elari's ship had crash-landed. Though most of the operations had proven unsuccessful, a few units had managed to return with some critical insights, and the information that they brought with them had sparked a new sense of hope in everyone.
From what we could see, the Elari's development had been far slower than our previous estimates. Not only had it become evident that the various rumors of large-scale desertion were true, but their lack of transport vehicles had forced them to carry out their operations mostly on foot, allowing us to proceed with our unification efforts nearly unhindered.
"Breath in," Tria instructed, drawing from my thoughts once again. I complied, and after a few seconds, she backed up a few steps, clearly finished with the examination.
"How's the pain?" she asked as I lowered my shirt.
"It's there, but it's manageable."
"Well, I think you're healthy enough to begin training again. Tell Kira that she can resume with your usual activities."
"I'll let her know when she gets back," I said, feeling my mood begin to dip slightly as I was reminded of her absence.
"She's already back," Tria replied casually without looking up.
"She's not getting back for another week," I contradicted, "she's still up in Canada."
"The mission concluded early," Tria continued as she glanced up at me before returning her attention back to her notes, "her transport arrived nearly an hour ago."
The heavy fog of loneliness that had been weighing down on me for nearly two weeks vanished in an instant and was instantly replaced by an overwhelming urge to be finished with the examination.
"Overall, I'm happy with your condition. I'd like to see you back in a few days; if your eye is..."
"A few days. Yeah, sure," I cut in far too enthusiastically, unintentionally cutting her off and drawing her gaze.
"Something on your mind?" she asked, clearly picking up on my change in demeanor. I tried to sound as convincing as possible as I worked to think up an excuse.
"I actually have to go," I said as confidently as possible, "I have a meeting with Ferrin, about an upcoming mission."
Tria stared back at me for a few more seconds before giving a curt nod, releasing me. I didn't hesitate for a moment as I slid off of the table and made for the door. Tria's voice echoed behind me as I rounded the corner into the long corridor.
"If you don't complete your exercises, Ryder, I'll have Kira make you complete them."
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I tried to keep my excitement under control as I navigated the wide halls of the station, heading in the direction of our quarters. Regardless of my efforts, I couldn't help but fall into a brisk jog, garnering the occasional gaze from the passing Felici.
Since our night in the medical wing, Kira and I had only grown closer, and the subsequent missions that we had been on together had further strengthened our growing bond. In light of our unique circumstances, though, as well as the obvious tension between humans and Felici, she had decided that we should approach what we had with caution, keeping it quiet given its rather unprecedented development. It wasn't easy, but I couldn't help but agree with her logic, and while that decision, along with Kira's frequent missions to the surface, had made it somewhat difficult to find the time to discuss what exactly we even were, it didn't really bother me. We were close; that was all that mattered.
I passed through the large door separating the medical wing from the rest of the station as my pace continued to steadily increase. While Kira had been on the ground attempting to gather useful insights on the Elari's developments, I had been spending my time coordinating missions in our own territory, focusing on the singular goal of finding and unifying the dispersed remnants of humanity.
Chicago had been chosen as a suitable hub for both Felici and humans to congregate, given its centralized location within our territory, and in the past two months, hundreds of units had been stationed there with the responsibility of repairing its heavily damaged infrastructure. The effort was monumental, to say the least, but it very quickly became a symbol of the cooperation between the two species. In the past few weeks alone, we had managed to increase the number of humans in our ranks by the thousands, and I was eager to share the news with Kira.
Now running in a full-on sprint, I rounded the final corner into the corridor that led to our quarters, sliding for a few inches across the smooth floors of the station. I nearly knocked Ant off of her feet as I collided with her headlong, and while she managed to retain her footing, I wasn't so lucky.
"Ryder," she practically shouted in a surprised but cheerful tone as she ran over to where I had just ungracefully landed on the floor. Recovering my wits, I reached up and grabbed her outstretched hand as she hoisted me back up to my feet.
"Where is the fire?" she asked, flashing her usual, toothy grin. Ant had put a substantial effort into learning various English phrases in an attempt to match Kira's fluency in the months following our mission to Yakutsk, and hearing the overly familiar expression brought a smile to my face.
"Sorry, Ant," I replied, flashing her an apologetic grin.
"How was your visit with Tria?" she continued, eloquently phrasing the question in Felician to test my increasing proficiency in their complex language. I was fairly fluent by now, at least when it came to vocabulary, but Ant and the others still generally stuck to English given their stronger understanding of the nuances of my language, and it took me a moment to work through her words and come up with a coherent response.
"It was very good, Ant," I replied slowly, trying my hardest to mimic her pronunciations, "she claims that I am the best patient she has ever had."
Ant's grin widened as I finished the phrase.
"Somehow, I doubt that," she replied, returning to English, "and your eye?"
I shrugged.
"It's getting there. I could see a bit more light, so that's something, and she says you won't even be able to see that scar in a week or two."
Ant chuckled again, clearly picking up on the sarcasm in the latter of my statement. The injury to my face had left a long, jagged scar that ran from the middle of my forehead, across my eye, and down to the corner of my mouth, where it just barely clipped my lip. It wasn't one of those 'cool' scars, either. The damage to my eyelid left me in a perpetual state of squinting on one side, and I could feel the deep groove in my face each time I smiled. Calling it 'noticeable' would've been the understatement of the century.
"I hope that is not the case. You wouldn't look nearly as badass without it."
I laughed and patted her shoulder before continuing past as I resumed my steady jog.
"Don't ever change, Ant," I yelled over my shoulder.
"Why would I?" she shouted back before disappearing around the corner that I had come sliding around moments before.
After a few dozen more paces, I arrived at the door to Kira's and my shared quarters, and I eagerly pressed my thumb onto the pad beside it.
The room was empty, and I quickly made my way to the washroom at the back, leaving the front door open. My smile vanished as I found that it too was empty, and letting out a long, disappointed sigh, I turned back to the living space. As the room came back into view, though, I froze. The door was sliding closed, and standing just inside, was Kira. For a long moment, neither of us moved as we stared silently back at one another.
On the jog back to the room, I had worked through everything that I wanted to tell her about what she had missed while away on her mission, but now, faced with my opportunity, I couldn't seem to think of a single word to say. The corners of my mouth began to turn up into a wide grin, and Kira returned the expression, baring her sharp teeth.
"Hey," she finally said in a soft tone as she took a few steps towards me. I matched her movements, meeting her in the center of the room that I had called my home for nearly half of a year.
"Hey," I quietly replied, internally kicking myself for my lack of creativity. Her grin only widened as she stared me directly in the eyes, and after a few seconds, I snapped out of my stupor and broke away, hastily making my way over to my desk as I tried to mentally organize everything that I had to say.
"We made a lot of headway in Chicago," I finally started as I began to sift through the various documents and maps, "almost all of the West side has access to water now, and we set up a few more medical stations down in the Southern District."
"Ryder..."
I moved a district map to the top of the pile, trying to arrange the countless documents in a way that would help her understand the full scale of our impacts.
"I mean, it'll take some time, but we moved over a thousand people last week alone," I continued, too excited to process the fact that she had just spoken, "if we keep it up, we could have the entire South side up and running in just a few months."
"Ryder," she said again, though this time drawing my name out slightly.
"And that's just the start," I went on, unable to hold in my excitement at the prospect of rebuilding some semblance of society, "with more people, we'll be able to..."
I felt Kira's hand land on my shoulder, and she pulled hard, spinning me around to face her. Before I had a chance to respond, she leaned in and pressed her forehead against my own, ending my chaotic stream of consciousness.
Her amber eyes were just inches away from my own, and I stared into them as immense comfort began to flow through my body, calming my racing thoughts. After a long few seconds, she released me, and I silently met her gaze. While sudden outbursts of affection weren't exactly unusual for Kira, they still always managed to catch me off guard.
"I missed you," she said quietly, still staring into my eyes. I grinned and pulled her into a hug, finding further relief as she returned the tight embrace.
"I missed you too."
For a long moment, we silently held each other, and I found myself synchronizing each of my breaths with her own. After another few seconds, she pulled away and met my gaze again.
"Alright," she said, her wide grin returning as she motioned to the pages on the desk behind me, "keep going."
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"And how was your sleep?" she asked as she settled onto the couch beside me.
"It was good."
My answer came a bit too quickly, and her amber eyes stared back at me for a long moment. I knew exactly what they were saying.
In the aftermath of our shared near-death experience on Earth, Kira had taken it upon herself to help me cope with the lingering effects. One request that she had made, though, was that I always be entirely honest with her, even if it meant talking about certain topics that made me less than comfortable. It was an effort, at first, but I eventually came to appreciate it. Whether it had been in an attempt to shelter the ones I cared about from my own problems, or simply an excuse to hide from them myself, my inclination to tell those around me that I was fine, even when I wasn't, was a problem that had needed to be addressed.
Keeping to my word, I now put a significant effort into opening up and trying to work through my emotions instead of burying them, and while it wasn't easy, it meant a lot to Kira, so it meant a lot to me. I also couldn't deny the fact that it was nice to have someone to talk to.
"I had another nightmare," I corrected. She nodded slowly, clearly deep in thought.
"The same one?"
"Yeah," I replied, "I'm trapped, and I'm blind, and when I wake up..." My voice drifted off as I looked down at my hands.
"Did you use my breathing technique?"
"I did."
"And it helped?"
I glanced up at her and nodded, trying to feign a smile. It clearly did little to convince her, and after a long pause, she spoke.
"It's understandable, Ryder, how you feel. You nearly died down there; there's no shame in admitting that it left its mark on you. It left one on me."
"I know, it just..." I paused again as I tried to work through the emotions.
"Just what?"
"It feels like more than just a dream, more than just the fear of dying. It's like I'm looking for something in the darkness, something that's just out of reach, but I don't know what it is. And when I wake up, I..." my voice drifted off again.
"Do you want to talk to Tria about it? She might be able to help you."
"No," I quickly said, dismissing the idea as I looked back up to her, "I'll be alright; it'll pass. That's what I've got you for."
Her lingering gaze gave away her worry, and I attempted another smile, though this time I put in more effort as I tried to quell her concern.
"So, how was your mission?" I continued, attempting to move the subject away from myself.
"Long," Kira replied as she leaned back on the couch and let out a long, frustrated sigh, "the station hadn't been touched in months. They're keeping to their territory, and they're very good at not leaving anything useful behind."
"I mean, that's a good thing, though, right?"
"It is, but I wish we could've confirmed it without the need for me to walk a hundred kilometers... twice..."
I was about to reply when the blue light on the wall beside the door lit up, drawing both of our gazes.
"I've got it," I said as I stood up and made my way across the room. Opening the door, I was met with the sharp features of a young, male Felici. He didn't look to be too much older than Ferrin, but he still stood nearly a foot taller than me.
"Ryder," he said in a polite tone before glancing past me to Kira and adjusting his stance to a more formal posture, "Akira."
Kira responded with a casual nod as she stood before motioning with her head for him to enter the room. I stepped aside to allow him in before returning to stand by the couch beside her.
"What can we do for you?" Kira asked. Though she kept her tone professional, I could still hear the exhaustion in her voice. She was obviously trying to hide the fact that she wasn't extraordinarily pleased about being bothered so soon after returning to the station.
"Your unit is being requested for a transit operation," he said sternly before handing her a tablet. She immediately began to read through the lines of Felician text.
"The inhabitants of Echo are being transferred to Chicago," he continued as Kira proceeded to flip through various images and maps of the surrounding region, "your scheduled departure is in four hours, we will have..."
"That has to be a mistake," I quickly cut in, "I talked to one of the units stationed at Echo last month. They won't be ready to move for at least a few more weeks; we don't have anywhere to put them."
Our efforts in establishing a safe zone in Chicago, while successful thus far, had only just begun, and the units that had been tasked with the responsibility of creating a sufficient infrastructure were already inundated with far more than they could handle. Sending hundreds of unscheduled arrivals at once would undoubtedly overwhelm the delicate system that was only just beginning to develop.
"Elari have been spotted moving towards the territory's borders," he said, turning to address me, "Echo is the only substantial facility in the area; we have reason to believe that they intend an attack within the week."
While Elari attacks had significantly slowed since the establishment of our borders, they hadn't vanished altogether, and if he was right, there wouldn't be enough time to bolster the outpost's defenses before the attack. Transporting them away from the threat would undoubtedly be the safest option.
"How close?" Kira asked.
"We're not sure," he replied, "we lost sight of them in the surrounding forest nearly an hour ago."
I looked over at Kira, and as she met my gaze, I could see that any indications of her previous exhaustion had vanished altogether, now replaced with unwavering determination. She gave a quick nod before turning back to address the Felici.
"I'll gather my unit."
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"Close to two hundred and fifty," I replied, answering Ferrin's questions regarding the population of the base as the two of us walked up the loading ramp into the cabin of The Eastern Wind, "they're armed, but we've confirmed close to a hundred Elari."
"Landing zone?"
I pulled out my tablet and navigated to a map of the area before handing the device over to him. As he continued on into the narrow hall that led to the cockpit, I turned my attention to the small medical bay. Tria was inside, organizing her various tools and supplies, and I placed the small container that she had requested on the operating table beside her. As she noticed my presence, she gave a short but appreciative nod.
Before I had a chance to speak, though, footsteps behind me drew my attention, and I quickly turned to greet Ant as she stepped into the narrow cabin with four rifles in her arms.
"How many?" I asked, referring to the number of transports that had been cleared for the mission.
"Twelve," she replied in a disappointed tone as she began placing the weapons into their designated slots on the wall. Her answer was only a little over half of what we had initially requested.
"That's it?"
"They say it is all that we can spare."
I glanced around the tight space while running through some simple calculations in my head.
"We can fit fifteen, maybe eighteen at the most. There's no way we're doing this in one trip."
Ant met my gaze, and I could see from her expression that she held similar concerns. Without the ability to move all of the inhabitants at once, we would be forced to leave a group behind until the transports could return to retrieve the rest. Chicago was a two-hour flight away, meaning we'd be left vulnerable for more than four.
"We're cleared," Kira said, drawing my attention as she entered the transport, "seats."
The cargo door began to slowly lift back up into place, and I hastily sat down across from Ant, feeling my suit secure me as I leaned back. Kira sat beside me, and a few seconds after Tria took her seat, a less than gentle shudder informed me that The Eastern Wind was being lowered into a launch chamber. A moment later, the ship came to a sudden halt, and Ferrin's voice shouted out from the Cockpit.
"Ten!"
I tensed the muscles in my stomach and planted my feet firmly on the ground, counting down in my head. When I reached two, I took a deep breath, and a second later, the ship launched forward.
The cabin walls and floor rattled and shook with powerful vibrations, and my chest tightened as an invisible force fought to push every last bit of air from my lungs. Following the routine that Kira had taught me, I repeatedly squeezed the muscles in my legs while releasing and inhaling short breaths every few seconds. The process worked, and after what always seemed like an eternity, the nauseating experience abruptly ended.
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"I don't know, Ryder!" Kira said sharply as she stared back at me.
"That's not good enough, Kira!" I replied in a similarly heated manner. I could see the frustration building in her expression, but I wasn't going to let her off on this one. Not this time.
"Give me something," I pressed, "I need an answer!"
Her jaw twitched for a moment, and I was about to push further when her eyes suddenly widened in apparent realization.
"AC/DC!" she shouted, clearly confident that she had landed on the answer that I had been looking for.
I let out a long sigh and lowered the small headphone that I had been holding up to one of her ears.
"Guns and Roses," I replied quietly in a disappointed tone.
"Damnit!" she yelled as she leaned forward, propping her elbows against her knees.
"That's a point for me," I continued.
Kira, Ant, and I had taken it upon ourselves to fill our free time by helping each other learn more about the other's culture. We tried to keep the game interesting by rotating between language, music, and other various topics, testing each other's memories, and competing to outdo one another.
"Alright," she said, lifting herself back up and facing me with an overly accentuated air of confidence, "if that's how we're playing, then."
Admittedly, we were all a bit guilty of being slightly too competitive at times.
"Alla ansth, sha eir sthen eihla tri vohnahli. Tohseltheir kahn sohnevah ahthal," she quickly shot back, "what does it mean?"
I leaned back against my seat, silently trying to work through the various Felician words. I recognized some, but others were entirely foreign, and I struggled to piece together any meaning from the seemingly indecipherable phrase.
"Kira, that is not fair," Ant said from her seat across from us as her face turned up in an amused grin. I could see that Tria was finding some entertainment in my obvious struggle as well.
"I find my... your... I have found your..." I stopped, unable to decipher any more.
"Looks like that is a point for me," Kira said, overly enunciating each word in her thick Felician accent as she grinned from ear to ear.
"What did you say?" I asked, frustrated by how utterly lost I was in the translation.
"I said that, while your taste in music is poor, your taste in food is far worse."
I ran through the sentence again in my head while trying to ignore Ant and Kira's laughter. After a long moment, I spoke up again, finding myself confused and somewhat irritated by her answer.
"Music is avoneh, not voh- whatever you said, and I didn't hear you say 'food' at all, Kira."
"It is a dialect that we do not use," Ant replied, pulling my attention back to her as she struggled to hold in a laugh, "from a coastal region of our planet."
She turned to Kira and continued.
"I am surprised that you still remember."
"How could I not," Kira replied, "We were-"
"Wait, hold on, Kira. Ant's right, that's not fair; I couldn't have known that. I call foul; no point."
Kira glanced over to Tria questioningly, though her grin never faded.
"I say it's fair," Tria said dryly, drawing another sharp laugh from Ant.
"Oh, come on. There's no way I could have-"
"Approaching the landing site," Ferrin's voice called out from the cockpit, cutting me off.
In unison, the four of us stood from our seats, immediately forgetting our game as we collected our equipment before lining up at the rear of the cabin. We each took hold of one of the various supports on the ceiling in preparation for the landing.
"There should already be a strong perimeter," Kira said as she walked through our operation one last time, "Ant, find whoever is in charge of defenses, and have them walk you through their layout. Make any adjustments that you find necessary." All of the playfulness in her voice had vanished as she settled back into her usual, stoic demeanor. Ant gave a quick nod, and I spoke up.
"Who's our contact?" I asked. While I had overseen the coordination of the camp's development, I had never actually visited it in person.
"Dennis Williams. He was placed in charge of Echo last month; he'll be there to coordinate our arrival."
"I want to meet with him first and see what our time frame is."
"Good. If he doesn't already have the twelve groups prepared, get him there. We need the first convoy to leave as quickly as possible. Ferrin," she shouted back towards the cockpit behind her, "stay with the ship; the moment the last transport is at capacity, depart for Chicago."
"Understood," he replied. A moment later, I felt a soft impact as the transport touched down, followed by the mechanical sound of the loading ramp as it began to slowly open.
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"I'll have Ant station a unit there," I replied as Dennis and I walked through the halls of what had at one point been a high school, "she's already working with your defense coordinator. We'll have eyes at every angle."
Whenever I found myself walking with someone, I always made sure to position them on my right side, as I had with Dennis. It wasn't that I didn't trust him; it was just easier to talk to someone who I could actually see without the need to turn my head.
"And weapons?" he asked.
"They're coming soon."
"We needed them two weeks ago, Ryder."
Dennis was about an inch shorter than me, but a few tattoos on his muscular arms gave away his previous service to the country, and while his demeanor was calm, I could hear a sense of frustration in his voice as well.
"Once everyone's been transported, we'll have another shipment made," I replied, pulling out my tablet as I navigated to one of its various pages for reference, "fourteen pistols, six Felician side arms, eleven assault rifles, and four Felician rifles."
I finished reading off the list just as Dennis reached a set of double doors and came to a halt. The clamor of voices could be heard coming from the other side, but instead of walking through, he instead turned and stared directly at me.
"Four?" he asked, "they're giving us four?" His expression was somewhere between frustration, disbelief, and utter disappointment.
"It's the best we can do," I replied calmly, "we're spread thin. Everyone wants weapons; everyone wants transports. We're doing what we can with what we have, Dennis."
"It's nothing, Ryder. I can't defend two hundred and fifty people with four rifles. You know ours don't do a thing to them."
He was making a fair point. While high caliber rifles did have a slight chance of piercing the Elari's armor, especially at close range, most pistols were almost entirely useless, and neither weapon could compare to the penetrating power of Felician arms. I couldn't think of an immediate response, and I silently wished that Kira was there to back me up.
"Once you're in Chicago," I continued after a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, "you won't have to worry about that. You and your people will be safe."
He scoffed and stared down at the floor for a long moment before looking back up and responding in a quiet voice.
"Do you really believe that, Ryder?"
Before I could respond, a voice called out from behind the closed doors.
"Eleven and twelve ready!"
Dennis's attention was pulled from me, and as if a switch had been flicked, his expression softened once more as he shook his head slowly and turned to walk through the doors into the crowded gymnasium. For a moment, I stood in place before quickly following in his footsteps.
"Alright, keep with your groups, let's move!" he shouted, somehow managing not to be drowned out by the hundreds of voices, "if you're in evacuation group A, head to your designated transport outside; we lift off in ten!"
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