Saving Hibreon

This is Chapter 9 in this story, and it'll make more sense if you've read the previous chapters. I'm sorry this part is so short. The day job is overwhelming this time of year, and I didn't want to hold off submitting this any longer than I have. I hope to get Chapter 10 in by end of this month or beginning of next.

As always, I thank you for reading, and I appreciate your comments and feedback.

-Guinevere A. Hart

***

The building they needed to get into was on fire and surrounded by Ay'niki crews trying to put it out. Wyfrost decided it was as good a distraction as any to cover their landing. Their Eloua suits would protect them from the conflagration, though he was concerned the data they wanted might be ruined.

Kytia said, "I've been inside the auction house once. Above ground is the sales floor, display pens, prep rooms, and demonstration stages. It's all show up top. The offices are underneath, and there's a tunnel leading towards the cages and the arena."

"So, there's a basement entrance?" Wy asked. "Do you know where it is?"

"Not sure. I came in from the arena side, but there's got to be a door for the employees to come and go." To Ilyana, she suggested, "Can you get the drone to go any closer? Check the alley."

"Got it," Ilyana announced. She had found a potential entrance.

There weren't as many people in the alley as in the front of the building. Wyfrost nodded, saying, "Yeah, I think that'll work. If we put the ship in the lake, do you think you could teleport us into the alley from there?"

"Pfft," Ilyana blew off the question. "Yeah, yeah. Easy."

"Okay," Wy said. "It's a place to start."

Ilyana took them to a spot right in front of the basement entrance. Ay'niki fire crews were working on the worst of the blaze. Though the three of them stood out in their alien armor, no one was looking in their direction. Wyfrost was not surprised to find the door locked. He lifted one servo assisted boot and slammed it through the mechanism.

A cloud of smoke billowed out, and they moved cautiously down the stairs. The entryway at the bottom was small, but clear of debris. Emergency lights were still working, lending an eerie glare here and there amidst swirling shadows. They could hear the muffled sound of fire above. So far, Wy thought progress was good. However, the popping, grating sound of weakening supports was not comforting.

"Stay close," he told them over the comm. "Ceiling's still in one piece, but I don't know for how long. Getting buried down here is not part of the plan."

He gave Kytia a minute to orient herself in the gloom, then he asked, "Which way?"

Wy and Ilyana followed close behind Kytia as she moved toward a promising hallway. She stepped around an unconscious Ay'niki laying face down on the floor and kept going. Wy was right behind her, but they'd lost Ilyana. "Hold on, Kytia."

They turned back to find their witch tending to the fallen Ay'niki. "Leave him," Kytia barked. "He's the fucking enemy."

Wy couldn't see Ilyana's eyes through her helmet, but he didn't need to. Neither did Kytia, and she seemed to shrink under a look that she could feel. Ilyana's broken Barter came over the comm. "He not hurt you. This guy," she nudged him and concluded, "Just bad place, bad time." Ilyana gestured at the air above the smoke victim and sent him through a portal.

"Where'd he go?" Wy asked Ilyana as she stood up and brushed off her hands.

"I fix lung, then I put him outside. His people can get him."

"Waste of fuckin' time." Kytia grumbled, but she wouldn't look directly at Ilyana.

"Nai."

It was a simple argument, but it was all that was necessary. With Ilyana as a mate, Kytia was going to learn some mercy, or she was going to live with disappointment. Wy hoped the former would be the case.

They followed Kytia until she stopped at a marked door. Kytia pointed at an affixed placard. "This says 'Archives Office'. I think this is what we're after."

The emergency lighting didn't extend into the small office, so they turned up the lights on their helmets. A large console clearly served as someone's desk. It was stained with a myriad of cup rings. Bits of stale food and wrappers mixed in with disheveled stacks of paper full of Ay'niki scribbling. "Fuck!" Kytia swore as she kicked a rickety swivel chair. "There's no power to the console because of the gods damned fire."

Wy shook his head and mumbled, "So little faith. Just go watch the door, Kytia." To Ilyana, he said, "Can you give me some more light, sweetie?"

Ilyana's marks lit up like daylight. Wy noticed that her aura seemed to push the smoke away as an added benefit. He retrieved a few tools from a compartment in his armor and went to work. When the console was half taken apart, and the data storage drive was nearly free, he was interrupted by a loud crash and another cuss from Kytia.

Then Kytia stated, "I don't think we're the only ones down here, guys. Hurry it up, Wy."

Wy glanced over his shoulder to see Kytia power up her weapon. He said, "Take care of it, love. Not quite done here, and we're not leaving without this data."

"Kytia?" Ilyana called.

"I'm good, Ilyana. I'm just going to have a look."

Even if Wy wanted to be worried about Kytia, the fear dampening Eloua medication kept him from anything but the basic knowledge that he

should

be concerned. He knew better than anyone she could handle herself. He went back to work, and after a minute, he had the drive in hand.

He asked over their link, "What do you have, Kytia?"

Quietly, almost a whisper, she replied, "There's three of them, too short to be Ay'niki. Part of the ceiling fell. Right now, the mess is between me and them, but their coming through this way."

"They armed?"

"Not weapons in hand, but I think one's got an Ay'niki hand-cannon strapped to his shoulder. Hard to see."

Wy said, "If they're not Ay'niki, then they're probably not supposed to be here anymore than we are."

"Yeah, you're right, Wy. They're in the middle of the way out, so I'm going to talk to them."

Ilyana doused her light and replied, "We got you back, Kytia."

Kytia kept her weapon, but she raised her hands to show what she had. She stepped out into the open and called out. "Who are you? What are you doing down here?"

She continued to move closer until hand-cannon guy pointed the barrel of the weapon at her. They wore masks to protect themselves from the smoke, and she couldn't see their faces. Their group had makeshift armor, crafted from whatever they could salvage. To them, Kytia's fine suit of custom armor made her look like the enemy. Realizing this, Kytia added, "I'm not Ay'niki, and neither are you. Maybe we're on the same side here?"

Cannon guy replied, "Never seen a get-up like that. If you're not one of them, you've got to be working for them. So, who the hell are you, and where'd you get that suit?"

Kytia's "diplomacy" was at end, and her attitude took over. "I asked you first, asshole."

At that point, Wy and Ilyana stepped out of the room and joined Kytia. Wy had to step in, or it was going to get ugly. Despite the smoke, he took off his helmet and nodded toward the other group. "Look, we came here to save a couple of people who're being held captive by the Ay'niki." He proceeded to make introductions, and the cannon guy finally lowered his gun.

"I'm Bomber. That's Index and Slick. Look, maybe you came here to save a few, but we're with The Revenant, and we're saving hundreds. We need that data you just jacked."

Before the negotiations could continue, more of the ceiling came down, just barely missing one of their people. "Like I said," Kytia interjected, "We're all on the same side. And nobody's getting rescued if we're buried under this shit. So, can we get the fuck out of here?"

"Follow us. We'll take the tunnel toward the arena."

Just outside the door into the arena complex, a round corridor lead to the infirmary on one side and the gladiator housing on the other. Wy thought he would never see the inside of another arena, and he wasn't keen to revisit the place. He could tell by the exasperated sigh from Kytia's open comm that she felt the same.

They didn't have to be concerned about going too far inside. The group they were following stopped just within the corridor. They gathered around a solid meal plate that was sunk into the ground. Index and Slick each retrieved a tool from inside their coats, and they pried the plate up. Underneath was a hole with a ladder leading down into darkness.

In his suit, Wy could barely fit inside the descending access tube. Mentally, it registered with him that he should panic about the possibility of getting stuck. The thought passed as quickly as it came up. Wy idly wondered if he could train his mind to behave this way without the use of alien pharmaceuticals.

At the bottom, the lights from their helmets revealed a massive underground structure. Their footfalls echoed as they headed for a lighted area up ahead. The vaulted corridor was littered with ancient vehicles and construction equipment, long abandoned, and gathering dust.

Kytia commented, "I never knew this was under the arena. What was this place used for?"

Bomber answered, "Old terraforming facility. They used it to turn a floating rock into the lovely paradise we have on the surface."

As they entered the lighted area, several human and elven guards with ragtag armor and weapons stood up from their positions atop the rusted-out machines. Bomber waved them down. "They're with us," he said. Then he asked one of them, "Is she in?"

"Not yet. She's with Wings, checking out the damage from on high. You get the data?"

"Our new friends got it for us."

The guard sneered and spat. "Look too rich to be any friends of mine."

Ilyana took off her helmet and looked up at the guard. With a bright smile, she tapped her chest and gave him her name. Then she told him, "I not rich. I witch."

The guard clearly wanted to remain suspicious and rude. But Ilyana held her disarming smile, captivating him with her large and persistent eyes. In a second, his sneer became a smirk. He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. Finally, he said, "Yeah, we get a lot of that here. Welcome to the Infernal Tempest, I guess."

Always helpful, Ilyana corrected,

"Nai

Infernal Tempest. This place called Xian. Infernal Tempest

es

very far."

His face quirked up and he asked his friend, "Is she some kind of weirdo or something?"

Kytia took off her own helmet answered the question with, "We're all weirdos in one way or another."

Bomber was already headed for what looked like an underground encampment. Kytia took Ilyana's hand and drew her along behind him. When they were already several paces away, the guard slapped his leg and called out to her. "Hey, I know you! You're the Coiled Dragon! You're supposed to be dead."

Wy revealed his own face and responded. "There's a lot of Ay'niki who'd like that to be true."

The guard recognized him as well. "Gods damn," the guard muttered. In a more serious tone, he asked, "You bringing war with you?"

Wy shrugged. "If that's what it'll take."

The rebel's setup was better than Wy could've imagined. They had water and food stolen from up top. The old forgotten machinery gave them both shelter and power. The place was bustling with activity, everyone having a job to do.

He was led to a console that had most likely been hauled from the dump. It had been refurbished and was just waiting for the drive he'd taken. Wy squashed his doubts that they could make the thing work, and he plugged in the device.

Index took the chair and quickly called up the display. "Who are you guys looking for?" he asked.

"Raerik. He's Norrhim from Hibreon. Gladiator, would be my guess." After a few seconds, Index's search displayed a bio on Wyfrost's older brother.

Index said, "Still alive and kicking. He started out in the arena, but he was considered difficult. Refused to put on a grand show for the blue-devils. They bumped him to the quarry."

"Quarry? Where's that?"

"Other side of the lake. Maybe we can spare somebody to take you out there if you want."

Wyfrost shook his head. "No. We're not putting anybody else at risk."

"Suit yourself. Who else are you looking for?"

"Mila. Elf from Hibreon. Last I knew, she was placed with Huda's harem. She might not be there now, though."

Index didn't tap anything out on the console at all. Instead, he slowly turned and looked up at Wy. "No," he began. "She's not there anymore." Wy noticed then that Index was looking passed him at something else.

He turned just as Mila's shrill voice rang out. "Wyfrost? They said you were dead. What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I came to rescue you." The words came out stupid, but he couldn't stop them. She'd cut her long brown hair short, and she was wearing the same rough armor as everyone else. But the doe eyes were distinctly Mila.

Index offered a brief explanation by way of introduction. "Wyfrost, meet The Revenant."

All Wy could manage was a short, "Huh." Meanwhile, Kytia and Ilyana started laughing.

When they all had a moment to collect themselves, Mila went straight to business. "Where'd you get armor like that? And if you're here to rescue me, please tell me you've got a way off this gods-forsaken rock."

Before he could answer, a being he'd never seen before entered behind Mila. He was about the same size as Wyfrost, and just as well muscled. A pair of leathery wings folded neatly at his back, and his head was encircled by a lacy network of fine bone that grew from his temples. Dark hair was tied in a knot at the nape of his neck. Wide set eyes narrowed in suspicion. The being placed a large but gentle hand on the small of Mila's back and answered her question. "It's an amalgam of Sil and Eloua biotech." He then pointed at Ilyana, "And that's one of their oracles."

Ilyana pointed right back at him, and she simply stated, "Tenkaru." For further explanation she provided, "They don't like Eloua. Eloua don't like Tenkaru." Then she shrugged as if none of it made any difference to her.

Mila smiled saying, "You've made interesting friends, Wy."

"You, too. So, you want to go home, or what?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing, giving their full attention to the conversation. Mila said, "We all want to leave this place, Wy. I hope you've got a big ship."

He knew Kytia wouldn't like his response, but Wy addressed the entire assembly. "The ship's not that big, but we'll make more than one trip. There's a station just outside of blue-skin territory where you'll be safe until we can get you all back to Hibreon. We've got an army of allies just waiting for us to get you clear of the danger before they come here and enlighten the Ay'niki to the error of their ways."

Mila slowly nodded, then she said, "Let's talk about how this is going to work."