“The Queen is the only monarch left on ?ba. She made sure of that long ago. She leads The Kingdom, a nation that spans much of the southeastern hemisphere.” Ursun said to Prism, who sat in a mission prep room with Leanna, Jaik, Lorias, and Srell. "There are three nations that have allied themselves with the Queen; Sguvi, Vadam, and Rvljse." Ursun added.

  “They’re Monarchists. That’s the official term for anything or anyone that supports the Queen.” Jaik leaned over and whispered to Prism while the two of them sat in neighboring chair desks.

  It had been a few days since Prism’s live combat test, and he’d been eager to leave the Auxiliary again. When he’d been told that he was going on a mission with RED-1, Prism became ecstatic. As he listened to Ursun’s lesson, Prism absorbed every bit of information that was shared with him. Prism was still quite ignorant to the world and peoples of ?ba, and Ursun knew that ignorance could be a liability for him and his team.

  “The Queen keeps her “allies” at arms-length and rarely leaves the Kingdom to visit the leaders of those nations. They regularly send her tributes and have completely submitted to her out of a mixture of fear, faith, and respect. That is why she allows them to maintain some semblance of sovereignty.” Ursun said.

  Ursun stood in front of a large monitor that spanned the length of the wall at the front of the small classroom. The smart monitor displayed information as Ursun spoke about it. A 3D-model of the Queen was shown next to a 3D-model of ?ba that slowly zoomed in to the section of three continents that composed her Kingdom.

  The Queen was shown as a light-blonde, long-haired, pale-skinned woman with a youthful, unblemished face of distinguished beauty. She wore a sleek silver and gold bodysuit with various metallic filigree accents. The bodysuit had an ornate chestplate that featured a crystalline sculpture of her hawthorn insignia at its center. Small jets of plasma came from the back of her chestplate and from the back of the golden high heels that were attached to her bodysuit.

  “That model is a bit outdated.” Jaik whispered when he noticed Prism staring at the smart display. “She just wears a skintight suit now without a chestplate. She doesn’t even use those miniature plasma jets to fly anymore, either.”

  Prism nodded to Jaik before returning his attention to Ursun’s presentation. The introductory lecture was being held for Prism’s benefit and served to fill in some of the gaps in his understanding of ?ba’s current conflict.

  “From the few unedited records of the Old World that we have access to, the Red Wolves know quite a bit about the Queen’s origins. Before she took over the world, the Queen was a wealthy industrialist whose companies produced robots and early fusion energy technologies.” Ursun continued.

  “She used to be a guy back then, too!” Srell shouted from the row of desks at the back of the mostly-beige room.

  Leanna looked askance at him while Lorias smirked and shook his head.

  “Yes, our Old World records do indicate that the Queen was originally a man, but that is neither here nor there. She has been a woman for a thousand years, even before she started this war.” Ursun said after he shook his head at Srell’s comment.

  “Srell was born and raised in a backwards country that still views things like gender as objective and immutable. Most of our world disagrees with that assertion.” Leanna looked back and said to Prism from her seat in the row in front of his.

  Prism had been raised experiencing the mutability of gender firsthand. Elementeitans were all hermaphroditic, and chose to express their gender in whatever way that they felt like. Prism always found it refreshing when he saw other races display that same fluidity. Srell’s response showed Prism that not everyone on ?ba viewed such things positively.

  “Esdegon is the last bastion of good old-fashioned values. We aren’t out there changing our biology on a whim like you Etrysians do.” Srell said after scoffing at Leanna.

  During Prism’s first medical examination, Dr. Liam had promised to keep his discovery of Prism’s dual-sex a secret. Prism had thought the discretion to be unnecessary at the time, but he understood at that moment why it wasn’t in his best interest to speak openly about his hermaphroditism. Prism appeared outwardly male and identified as such to simplify his dealings with others.

  “How has the Queen managed to live for so long? From everything that I’d read and heard, she’s human like the rest of you.” Prism asked in an attempt to change the subject.

  “We believe that she’s discovered some sort of cellular immortality that she’s bioengineered into her own body. She’s been the only person to successfully do so, that we know of.” Jaik leaned over again and said from the seat beside Prism.

  Prism nodded thoughtfully to Jaik, not at all surprised by such a possibility. Prism had seen people live for thousands of years through both magical and scientific means. Most humans who’d unlocked such long-life had become cruel villains, at least in Prism’s experience.

  “That, combined with her cybernetic battle-suit has made her the most powerful person on ?ba. She has created a sprawling technological empire that supplies her with whatever she needs. She uses those resources to improve herself and keep the rest of us out of her Kingdom.” Ursun further explained to Prism.

  “Why hasn’t she just taken over your entire planet?” Prism asked with a scratch of his head.

  “Because every other nation banded against her, even after it seemed like she’d won.” Leanna said. “Some of those nations have fallen under her sway over the centuries, but half the world is still fighting her.”

  “No single person is powerful enough to suppress the unified might of half of the entire world.” Lorias added with an exaggerated flip of his hair with his right hand.

  Lorias sat a short distance from Srell, on the same back row.

  “That brings us to the stated mission of the Red Wolves; to fight against the Queen’s quest for absolute power.” Ursun said after he hunched forward and placed his massive hands on the cold beige surfaces of two desk chairs at the front of the room.

  “The Conjunction pays us to fight as smartly and as efficiently as we can against the Queen and the Monarchists that serve her.” Leanna said.

  Prism had learned earlier from Jaik that the Red Wolves were more of a nonprofit that ran on the donations of the nations allied against The Kingdom. Those nations were dubbed the Conjunction, after the wide-ranging trade and mutual defense agreement that they’d entered into over a century ago.

  “And how’s that been going? The fighting, I mean.” Prism asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, we’ve managed to piss off the Monarchists several times, especially the Vadamites. They’re the boldest of the bunch, though the Sguvans make up the bulk of the Monarchists’ fighting force.” Srell shouted from the back row.

  “We haven’t had a decisive victory over the Monarchists in over ten years.” Lorias said plainly.

  “We’re locked in a stalemate. Neither side has committed to a major offensive in a long time. The most we have to deal with is an isolated coastal raid here or there.” Leanna said just as plainly.

  “The Centuries-Long War continues.” Jaik said, causing the room to grow silent for several seconds.

  Jaik’s statement was one that many said to express the seeming-futility of the conflict. Decades of relative inactivity would be interrupted by continent-spanning battles that destroyed millions of lives. One could never get too comfortable because everything around them could suddenly be razed to the ground.

  “But you can end the stalemate. Your powers are probably the one thing that the Queen can’t handle.” Ursun said while staring into Prism’s eyes, repeating a line that Prism had heard too many times already.

  Prism shifted in his seat and stared at the smart display behind Ursun. Prism knew that the Red Wolves saw him as a decisive answer to their problems, but he was still unsure of how they wanted him to deal with their enemies. Prism was hesitant to simply kill wide swathes of people who’d been compelled to fight in such a prolonged, multigenerational conflict.

  He felt the weight of the golden Red Wolves medallion that was stitched into the shoulder of his uniform’s red jacket, the same medallion that he’d retrieved from an ice cave several days earlier. Ursun had returned it to him when they’d all met in the mission prep room that morning.

  “And you’re sure that she can’t use magic?” Prism asked with a voice oozing with skepticism.

  It was not uncommon for entire civilizations to turn their backs on magic and eventually forget how to use it completely. But there was usually some small sect that preserved the art; usually some group where the practice endured in spite of whatever calamities or social upheavals befell the world around them. At least, that was what Prism had observed in his many years of life across dozens of worlds.

  “Pretty sure. There are a lot of people who’d probably disagree, though” Lorias said.

  “There’s no record of anyone during the Centuries-Long War with powers like yours. Believe me, I’ve checked.” Leanna added with a tap of her glasses.

  “Queeny-weeny’s Absolute Control is the closest thing to magic she’s got, but that’s probably just her crazy advanced tech at work.” Srell said with a snap of his fingers.

  “Absolute Control?” Prism asked, intrigued.

  “The Queen is able to somehow bypass any digital encryption, allowing her to take control of any technology that she can interface with.” Leanna explained.

  Prism sensed the mood in the room quickly become somber.

  “The Conjunction had to take great strides to change the way it made and used technology because of the Queen’s ability. It put us technologically-behind the Monarchists for centuries. It is a miracle that we’ve held our own for so long.” Lorias said while he mindlessly ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Ah, so that’s why you guys developed your organic technology…” Prism mused aloud to himself.

  “In any case, Magic, as you call it, seems to only exist in our fiction.” Ursun said to Prism after the room fell into a reflective silence for a few moments.

  Prism nodded slowly and affirmatively to everyone in the room. A world with an abundance of untapped mana like ?ba wasn’t uncommon, but the fact that no one had access to it but him was strange. Prism’s experience with their world was still very limited, however. He figured that he would encounter other magic-users on ?ba eventually.

  “Is no one going to talk about the “new developments” concerning the Queen and what she can do?” Jaik suddenly asked the room with a raised voice.

  “We aren’t here to talk about unconfirmed rumors and superstition, Jaik. We’re here to fill Prism in on the facts of our situation before we take him on a mission.” Ursun said with a furrowed brow.

  Jaik shook his head, rolled his eyes and looked away from Ursun. Prism felt Jaik’s frustration, though it didn’t make a great deal of sense at the time.

  “Even if she has upgraded herself, it’s not like she gets involved in the fighting anymore. She only leaves her Kingdom these days to schmooze with those religious nuts in Sguvi, and she barely even does that.” Srell said as though the Queen’s absence from public view disappointed him.

  “Thank you for the primer. I think I understand the basics of our enemy and your world’s conflict now. So, what’s my first mission with you guys?” Prism said in a chipper, upbeat tone in an attempt to make the room livelier.

  Ursun tapped the screen behind him until a detailed mission report was displayed. Various data appeared on the smart monitor next to an image of a middle-aged, dark-haired man. The man depicted on the screen wore an ill-fitting black-and-white suit. Prism immediately noticed that the location of their mission was labeled as “Wolf City”.

  “This man is Goran Tinit. He’s an arms dealer with strong ties to the nation of Rvljse’s Dictor, or leader, Gryver.” Ursun said, wasting no time in beginning Prism’s mission prep.

  “Gryver is one of the few people on ?ba that has the Queen’s trust, supposedly. He meets with her in her closed-off Kingdom form time to time.” Jaik said quietly to Prism.

  “Goran is Gryver’s cousin, isn’t he?” Leanna asked.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “That’s what he tells people. The guy’s got a big mouth. What the heck is he doing in our neck of the woods?” Srell asked.

  “According to Security’s surveillance, Goran’s here to buy detailed schematics of laserliths from a Red Wolves engineer. That traitor is looking to strike it rich and defect to Rvljse.” Ursun said with a slam of his fist on the wall that he leaned against.

  “Why would anyone want to move to such a miserable place like Rvljse? It’s below freezing there 90% of the year! Not only that, but I read that its sadistic government is obsessed with torturing its own population.” Jaik said with a sickened look on his face.

  “Because it’s probably the only place that we wouldn’t pursue his traitorous ass.” Lorias replied, which got a laugh out of everyone.

  Lorias’ comment was extra poignant to everyone but Prism. The others knew that Lorias was born in Rvljse, and that he’d been brought to Etrysia by his parents while he was still a baby. His light-blue eyes, very-pale skin, and light-yellow blonde hair were traits that most native-born Rvljsans possessed. Those features had garnered Lorias a fair bit of hate and discrimination during his life within the Conjunction. It helped that he’d been adopted by a wealthy family not long after arriving on Etrysia’s shore.

  “Each engineer only has access to a specific portion of the laserliths’ design. Only Gnapp knows the complete schematic.” Leanna said with a tilt of her head.

  “Exactly, but Goran doesn’t know that.” Ursun said with a glint in his eye.

  “So this entire mission is a bait and switch?” Prism asked.

  Ursun gave Prism a point and a nod.

  “Goran might be a loudmouth, but he isn’t an idiot. He’ll need some sort of verification that the schematic is legit. Leanna will fill the role of our traitorous engineer. The real traitor has already been dealt with, so we have a wealth of intel that’ll help us fool Goran.” Ursun said with a rub of his red beard.

  "So the laserliths...they aren't just protective weapons, are they?" Prism asked.

  Leanna looked at Ursun for approval to share the sensitive information that Prism wanted to know about. The commander closed his eyes and nodded to her curtly.

  "The laserliths are multi-purpose technology platforms that give us near-perfect information about our Peninsula, in addition to being very effective weapons systems. They can use non-visible light to scan and monitor all-manner of things, and they provide a completely-secure light-based communication network. Laserliths can even use light to modify atmospheric conditions throughout the Peninsula in order to change the weather." Leanna said almost without taking a single breath.

  "I see. So if something can be done with light, then the laserliths can probably do it. Does anyone else on your world have this technology?" Prism asked the room.

  "Not that we know of. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Kingdom had something similar.” Ursun said.

  “Commander Gnapp sees the laserlith tech as his magnum opus. He’s been downright pathological in protecting it.” Srell laughed and then said.

  “The laserliths have saved us from many attacks over the decades. Everyone within our borders rests easier because of them." Leanna said to Prism.

  "Heck, I’m just happy that it’s given us our own stable, secure lasernet. Most countries don’t have reliable digital networks since the boneheaded Etrysians set up their anti-satellite system." Srell spoke about the event as if it had caused him a great deal of personal irritation when it happened.

  “Those anti-sat weapons were set up centuries ago. You’re talking about it like you were alive to see them deployed or something.” Jaik twisted around in his seat and said to Srell.

  Prism had read about the weaponization of space that had occurred over two hundred years ago amongst the warring nations of ?ba. It had resulted in the planet's orbit becoming a no-man's-zone, where no technology could exist without being destroyed by a sophisticated worldwide network of land-based anti-satellite weapons.

  “It‘s sad that such a technologically-advanced world has turned its back on the stars.” Prism said so quietly that only Jaik could hear him.

  "Alright, back to the mission, everyone."

  Ursun clapped loudly to get the room's attention back solely on him.

  "Leanna will perform the exchange of the schematics after showing that she has some measure of control over the laserliths. She will then leave with Goran aboard his personal aircraft to what he claims is a new life in Rvljse for her." Ursun said

  "But Goran isn't actually going to take her to Rvljse, is he?" Jaik asked.

  "Correct. Our intel suggests that he is planning on taking our "defector" to a small island on the outskirts of Vadam territory. We just aren't sure which island, exactly." Ursun explained.

  "Oh great; our nearest enemy and their farthest friend." Lorias said with a smirk.

  Lorias was referring to the nation of Vadam, whose capital city was about 3000 kilometers away from the Red Wolves' HQ. However, that same city was over 10,000 kilometers away from the Rvljse mainland.

  "We believe that Goran has been given a mission by Dictor Gryver to capture the defector and forcefully extract whatever useful information Goran and his thugs can from them. The offer of relocation is just a ruse to get the defector off our Peninsula." Ursun said.

  "So where do the rest of us come in, boss?" Srell said while scratching his mangy-looking head.

  "We will covertly follow Goran's aircraft to the Vadamite island using the Titian and perform a "rescue operation" of our defector to avoid too much political blowback. We can’t risk them detecting one of our tracking devices on Leanna or their ship. The last thing we need is the Vadamite Air Fleet showing up on our doorstep while we're in the process of upgrading the laserliths." Ursun explained.

  "The Titian isn't exactly a stealth aircraft, sir." Leanna stated.

  “That’s what Prism is probably for…” Lorias said after pointing slyly to their resident alien.

  Everyone suddenly turned to look at Prism. Prism looked down at the ground as he felt his cheeks grow warm.

  The day after he’d been made a Red Wolves contractor, Prism had been asked by Pack Command for an extensive list of what he could realistically accomplish with his magic during a mission. Prism worried that he’d been too thorough and too honest about his capabilities.

  “Prism will cloak our ship during the mission, allowing us to avoid detection to and from the island." Ursun stated, eliciting a loud whistle from Srell.

  "The whole ship, during the entire flight there? And how's he going to do that, sir? We've all seen how tired out he gets from using his powers too much." Srell said as apprehensively as he could.

  “Yeah, I’d hate for us to wear him out on his first mission. We shouldn’t be setting him up for failure…” Jaik said to his commander while looking at Prism.

  Jaik placed his hand atop Prism’s sleek head and gave it a few squeezes. Prism laughed at the sudden contact and pushed Jaik’s arm away. Ursun then looked at Prism and opened his large palm in the alien's direction, giving Prism the go-ahead to explain himself. Prism cleared his throat and pursed his lips together as strongly as he could. The silly expression on Prism’s face made Leanna and Jaik giggle.

  "I can use my magic to put myself and other things just a bit out of sync with the rest of reality. When things are unsynced, they are invisible and intangible to almost everything else." Prism began to explain to Srell.

  "How interesting. Are you able to..." Leanna started to interrupt before a loud cough from Ursun signaled for her to be quiet while Prism spoke.

  "Unsynced things float slightly in the air, so no need to worry about falling endlessly through the ground or anything scary like that. It's like being a ghost that can pass through walls. That is, if you guys even have ghosts on your world…" Prism said while turning to look at Leanna.

  She nodded as if he answered one of the many questions she was going to ask.

  "Fortunately, this sort of magic is very easy to use and maintain, so I shouldn't have any problems with sustaining enough mana to either unsync or resync things on the fly." Prism said, finishing his prepared explanation.

  "So you're going to turn us all into ghosts..." Lorias said while placing his forefinger on his chin and looking at the floor near Prism.

  "Errr...it'll only be temporary! I can easily put anything back in sync with the rest of reality!" Prism replied frantically when he saw the worried looks on most of his teammates' faces.

  "Give us a demonstration, contractor. ”Unsync" and "resync" that empty desk." Ursun said while pointing to a desk near the door of the room.

  Prism nodded at Ursun before standing up from his own desk chair and opening up his right palm before him. His eyes flashed with blue light as he coalesced the required magics into his hand, forming a spell circle to contain the syncing magics he'd be using. The circle hovered above the fingers of his right hand like a shining blue disc of energy, giving off blue sparks as it spun. Prism then tossed the spell circle at the desk with a deft flick of his wrist. The spell circle became attached to the desk's table section, and continued to emit a bluish glow.

  "Now watch as I make it disappear..." Prism said animatedly.

  With a snap of his fingers, Prism's spell circle released a blue flash of light before it and the desk chair it was attached to quickly became more and more transparent until the desk was completely gone. Prism leapt from his row of desks and ran to the exact spot where the desk he'd made disappear had been. He walked back and forth around the area, showing that there seemed to be nothing impeding his movement. He then walked over to an open area in front of the room's door.

  "...and make it reappear." Prism said with a smile.

  With a second snap of his fingers, the chair began to quickly fade back into view, revealing that it had been levitating a few centimeters off the ground. As it became more and more opaque, the chair lowered to the ground until it was back at its original location. Prism then walked over to the desk and sat down within its chair portion. He placed his arm on the desk’s table-section and tapped his finger on its hard surface, showing the others that the desk was completely back to normal. Leanna noticed that Prism's blue spell circle was no longer visible on the desk.

  "Hmph, got it. Seems...doable." Srell said with a shrug.

  Prism smiled again and bowed his head to Srell and at Ursun like a magician done with a show. Prism then made his way back to his seat beside Jaik, but was interrupted before he could sit back down.

  "That glowing circle you used...what is it, exactly?" Leanna asked.

  "It's a spell circle. It's...basically a way for me to maintain and store complex magics that I weave. If you were to zoom in on them, you'd see that they were made of hundreds of lines of complicated runes, or magical text." Prism explained to Leanna again, trying not to divulge too much extraneous information since he knew that it would lead to more of her questions.

  "He'll use his spell circles to imbue the Titian and its contents with the same magic that he just used on that desk." Ursun said to his team. "He'll also use it on himself, since he'll be the one keeping watch over Leanna during her dealings with Goran while he's in Wolf City." Ursun said quickly before Leanna could form the words on her open lips.

  "Gnapp's been trying to make lightweight active camo for years. Now we're friends with someone who can do something even better than just render us invisible. Very cool." Jaik said with a pat on Prism's shoulder.

  Prism beamed at Jaik with a toothy smile that made Srell cringe in his seat.

  “The “runes” you mentioned…” Leanna said slowly as she rubbed her chin. “Can we inscribe them on objects to use the same sort of powers you do?”

  “Uhh…it’s not that simple. My runes are…how to put this…they’re transcendent.” Prism said as slowly as Leanna had spoken to him.

  “Transcendent?” Jaik tilted his head and said.

  “Currently, my magic is of a higher-order than anything in this universe. My runes and my spell circles are in a language that no one can draw power from except me. That’s what makes them “transcendent”.” Prism explained further.

  “You make it sound like you’re a god or something.” Lorias said before Srell experienced a sudden fit of loud, painful coughing.

  “I’m not a god. It’s just that…Elementeitans can use magic regardless of limitations placed on it by the world we draw mana from. At least, until we become incorporated into that world through a successful communion with it. Then we’re subject to all sorts of natural laws and restrictions. We could choose to use our higher-order magic again, but that would force otherworldly mana to clash with natural, raw mana. The result of that is…very bad.”

  Prism’s explanation only confused everyone else, as it usually did. There was a moment of silence in the room while the mercenaries tried to make sense of his words. When no one said anything, Prism placed his hand on his head and laughed.

  “If I ever get the chance to absorb and digest a great deal of your world’s mana again, then I will have successfully “communed” with ?ba. I’ll then slowly learn ?ba’s magical language, which will let me imbue items with runes that you all might be able to make use of. Honestly, I’m not sure if humans on this world can even use magic at all…” Prism said softly with a shake of his head.

  “Let’s not get bogged down by this.” Ursun said loudly after Prism stopped talking. “Do any of you have any questions about the unsyncing?”

  "Shouldn't Prism unsync Srell and me in addition to himself? Leanna would be safer with the three of us keeping watch." Lorias asked Ursun.

  "Prism is still regaining his strength after being locked up for a century without access to his "mana". The rest of Command isn't comfortable with immediately putting that much strain on his abilities.” Ursun said.

  “Then why the rush!? Shouldn’t our priority be to get Prism back to 100%, so that he can be a greater asset to us?” Jaik said with so much exuberance that Ursun furrowed his brow at the young man.

  “Goran is only in Wolf City for one more day, so we have to take the risk of using Prism, even in his weakened state. We aren't going full-in on Prism until he's at least shown that he can carry his own weight during the first part of this simple mission." Ursun said gruffly to Jaik, who nodded in agreement with his commander's clear reasoning.

  "And if Prism fails to stay hidden from Goran and his goons...?" Srell asked.

  "Then we'll have no choice but to arrest Goran with the evidence we have, and risk Rvljse moving against the Peninsula. We'll also have to re-assess Prism's utility to the Red Wolves." Ursun said before locking eyes with Prism.

  Prism felt everyone's expectations fall onto him once again. He was the crucial piece to their first mission together, and he didn't want to let any of them down. He felt Jaik's hand on his clothed shoulder. The heat from the young man's hand comforted Prism more than he thought possible. Prism looked at Jaik and gave his hand a grateful pat.

  "I've got this. The Red Wolves can rely on me." Prism said assuredly.

  "We'll see." Ursun said after crossing his arms. "You'll be departing for Wolf City this afternoon with Jaik and Leanna. Srell, Lorias and I will get into town later tonight after we make some final arrangements here at Command HQ." Ursun informed Prism.

  After discussing the largely uncertain second half of their mission to the island in Vadam, Ursun dismissed his team from the mission prep room. Prism kept close to Jaik and Leanna when they all left the room. He had many questions about the new city he would be traveling to in only a few hours.

  "So...what can you two tell me about Wolf City?" Prism asked while the three of them walked down the well-lit circular hallway.

  "It's one of the few free trade cities left on ?ba, as crazy as that sounds." Jaik said with a shrug.

  "It's located on the outskirts of Red Wolves territory, around 200 kilometers west of us nearer to the other end of the Peninsula. It's a seaside city that's separated by a river that cuts through the entire region." Leanna explained in greater detail.

  Prism had learned through books that the Peninsula, as the Red Wolves called it, was a peninsular landmass that was directly under their control. It had been bought by the creators of the Red Wolves over fifty years ago from the nation that the peninsula was attached to, Ruskeda.

  "It's called Wolf City...does that mean that the Red Wolves control it?" Prism asked.

  "We protect it, but we don't actually run the city. We use it as a source of trade and information, so we have to maintain a pretty hands-off approach to it." Leanna said with a few hand gestures to help describe what she meant.

  "But everyone knows that it’s our town. Most of us either live there or are from there." Jaik said with a flex of his meaty arm.

  "Yes, but we let Monarchists come and go from the city as well. It really is a careful balance that we have to maintain." Leanna said, rebutting Jaik. “You’re na?ve when it comes to politics.”

  “You’re right. Politics just annoy me. It’s mostly just people yelling at each other.” Jaik said with a mock punch in the empty air in front of him.

  “Don’t be silly. Politics is simply group decision-making. It doesn’t need to involve yelling or fighting. It just requires compromise.” Leanna said as she held her head up high.

  "Are we taking one of those off-road cars there?" Prism said, his mind thinking of the near future. “I don’t want to be in one of those things for hours. They’re really uncomfortable.”

  "Actually, we're taking a train." Leanna said with a smile before she picked up her pace down the hallway towards the elevators at the end of it.

  Prism breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news, but he then began wondering where the train could be. He hadn't seen any sign of railroad tracks during his forays outside of Kyero Mountain. Jaik saw the pensive look on Prism's face and chuckled.

  "The train's below us. You're going to love it. It's another one of Gnapp's creations." Jaik's words only served to excite Prism, just like Jaik had hoped.

  The two of them walked a bit faster to keep up with Leanna until the three of them made it to a large elevator. They took it down to the lowest level Prism had been on within the base. When the elevator doors opened, Prism was amazed by the sleek silver-colored train that he saw peeking out of a large sectioned-off tube dozens of meters in front of him.

  There were over a hundred people busying about throughout the large station area. Many were transporting assorted supplies from crates that had been taken off of the train using a large crane-like mechanism that looked as though it automated the loading and unloading from the train itself. Simple seating was scattered throughout the area, though few were using them. Most people seemed to be getting onto the train, which Prism could see was scheduled to leave in only ten minutes. Prism could also see that there was a second tube that ran parallel to the one he saw, but its train wasn’t at the underground station.

  Jaik ran up onto the loading platform before Prism and Leanna and stretched his arms wide above him.

  “Welcome to the TubeTrain! Getting us to Wolf City in 30 minutes or less!” Jaik shouted loudly.

  Several of the station workers and passersby looked at him with mocking irritation, but all Prism and Leanna could do was laugh.

  “He wouldn’t act like this if you weren’t here.” Leanna said to Prism with a dismissive wave of her hand.

  “I guess he sees us as being around the same age or something.” Prism said while he smiled and rubbed his bald head.

  “That explains it.” Leanna said before walking forward to meet Jaik on the platform.

  “Hey, don’t the two of you need to pack or something? We’ve got several hours before we’re supposed to leave.” Prism said after running up to meet Leanna and Jaik atop the train platform.

  “Oh, we’re already prepped to leave, basically. The only thing we need to do is get our disguises put on.” Jaik said with a vacant expression.

  “We got our orders last night. The mission prep was more to explain things in greater detail to you, and to hear any questions or input we might have for the commander.” Leanna said.

  “But I…didn’t know about the mission until this morning…” Prism complained.

  “That’s weird. But then again, having a “contractor” on our team is also something new for all of us.” Leanna said.

  She looked curiously at the medallion on Prism’s shoulder for a moment and then shrugged as if she was shaking off an intrusive thought. Jaik’s eyes quickly darted from Leanna and Prism several times before he decided to get their minds on something else.

  “We’ve got some time to kill. Let’s get Prism trained on the use of our weapons.” Jaik said.

  Jaik suddenly grabbed the back of Prism’s neck with the crook of his right arm and pulled the much-smaller alien close to him.

  “Hmmm, I guess that is on the list of things to do, isn’t it…” Leanna said before biting the nail of her thumb.

  “I uhh think I’ll pass on that…” Prism said quietly. “I need to keep my hands free so that I can use my magic effectively.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Dr. Liam thought. But Ursun argued that you could probably use your magic without your hands.” Jaik said loudly and directly into Prism’s ear, which tickled Prism.

  Jaik had taken to all manner of horseplay with Prism since the two reunited after Prism’s live combat test. Prism couldn’t help but wonder if his magic had linked the two in some deep way that hadn’t been intended. Leanna’s earlier comment made Prism worry that he could’ve possibly even have altered Jaik’s personality.

  The magics that Prism had used to heal Jaik contained the raw mana that Prism had just absorbed from the planet itself. Prism couldn’t be sure what lasting effects that could have on his new friend.

  “Ursun was right, but it’s harder for me to do anything sophisticated without my hands.” Prism explained to Jaik.

  “That’s fine, little buddy. You should still know how to fire a weapon, in case you aren’t able to use your magic or something.” Jaik said with a pat of his free hand on Prism’s chest.

  For the next two hours, Leanna and Jaik taught Prism the basics of using PAWs, pistols, and rifles. Neither of the mercenaries were surprised by how quickly he learned, or how accurate his shooting became after the first hour of their instruction. Prism, on the other hand, loathed using the weapons; he only saw them as instruments of death. But he cheerily went along with the lessons, hoping that it would at least bring the three of them closer.

  Prism would need all the trust he could get for the mission that soon awaited him.