The Severed Lands, Sector 13
3025 A.E., March 4th, 0:56 a.m.
There was the audible sound of a gun loading.
Riad looked at Elliot as she crawled to her feet. “Played? What do you mean?”
Elliot had her gun cocked at the unconscious figure on the ground. “I mean, the rebels set this trap up for us.” She glanced at the other cloaked figure. “I’m guessing they weren’t expecting a full squad to come since they only sent two.”
“Do you reckon the council knew about this?” Riad spoke, unsheathing her own dagger, the metal glinting in the moonlight. There was the sound of someone running through the undergrowth, and they both tensed on instinct, Elliot redirecting her gun as Riad tightened her grip on her dagger.
Adell exploded into the clearing, gun loaded.
“Adell!” Riad’s grip loosened.
“Oh, thank goodness, Riad. I heard you scream and I thought…” Adell was too out of breath to finish her sentence. Elliot relaxed ever so slightly, but she was still holding her gun rather tight.
“Elliot, Riad, Adell, are you guys okay?” Mia didn’t sound panicked, but Elliot knew she was probably beside herself with worry.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Keep an eye out for masked figures—two of them just attacked Riad,” Elliot reported. Her heart was still beating rapidly, but she forced her voice to calm down as she added, “but she’s fine.”
“Are the three of you all together?” Andana demanded. “Any injuries?”
“Yes, and we’re fine,” Riad insisted, speaking into her own earpiece. She was crouched down, her gun pointed at the injured figure’s head, while Adell had her own aimed at the other figure.
“What’s the plan here, Captain?”
“Stay where you are.” The command came quickly. “Andana and I will meet you there.”
Soon enough, Andana and Mia made it into the clearing.
“Oh, thank the gods you guys are okay!” Andana let out a sigh of relief, but her eyebrows scrunched together again as soon as she spotted the scratch on Elliot’s arm. “Elliot, you’re bleeding!”
“Huh?” She glanced down. “Oh, it’s fine. Just a scratch.” But her scratch was starting to burn as the adrenaline slowly stopped pumping through her veins. Whatever. At least it was starting to clot.
While Andana went over to fuss over Riad and Adell, Mia gave Elliot a quick glance. Elliot nodded back. A quick reassurance of her earlier statement.
“Goody, now that everyone’s okay.” Mia stalked over to the injured figure, crouching down to see eye-with-eye with them. Her tail lashed, and in less than a second, the sharp titanium edge was right underneath the figure’s chin. A perfect position to slit a neck. “You have five seconds to convince me you’re useful enough for me to not to kill you.”
Riad still had her gun aimed at their head, and when they made no move to say anything, she scowled. “Talk, idiot.”
“Don’t be so rough on them,” Andana scolded, her arms crossed over her chest. “You have a blade underneath their throat and a gun at their head—not to mention that they just got shot. They’re probably scared out of their minds.”
“Andana, please, they just tried to kill me! And plus, the bullet barely grazed them!”
Not wanting a fight to start between the squad healer and the hotheaded powerhouse, Elliot stepped in, placing a gentle hand on Riad’s shoulder. “Riad. Maybe it would be a good idea to drop the gun. After all, I’m sure Mia has it covered.” She gestured to the cyborg, who was currently glaring into the inky depths of the figure’s hood, as if she could see into their mind.
“I—” Riad began to protest, but Elliot raised an eyebrow. With a sigh and a grumble, Riad stopped aiming the gun, stalking back to Adell’s spot.
Elliot glanced at Mia. “A non-talker?”
“Yep.” Mia leaned back, but her tail was still tense. “Either extremely loyal to the rebels, or just know anything.”
With a heavy sigh, Elliot pulled back the figure’s hood. She was surprised by how young he looked—maybe just a year or two older than herself. Blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a red teardrop right beside his right one… Elliot’s eyes widened, but it was Adell who gasped and exclaimed, “You’re part of I.M.P.!”
Over the years, rebels had developed a second branch that had thwarted squad missions and dispatch scouts. The council referred to them as the Insurrection Management Program, or I.M.P., for short. I.M.P. were the ones who kept messing with squads when they dispatched rebels and were marked with a red teardrop tattoo on their faces. They were a separate branch from the actual rebels, but they were still just as dangerous.
The figure scowled. “You dare call us I.M.P., while going along with the council’s plans like obedient dogs?” he gritted out, despite being in obvious pain.
Mia pressed her tail deeper into his neck, leaving a thin trail of red. “I wouldn’t be so quick to insult when your life is in our hands.”
“What, you don’t have to report back to the council, half-human?” Mia’s orange eyes, another side effect on being an experiment, narrowed.
Andana sighed, as if preparing herself.
“Oooh, he messed up.” Riad’s tone was teasing, and Adell gently scolded her for it. But she was right. Mia didn’t take insults very easily.
Elliot took a step back, wary of the situation. It was advancing quite quickly—the member was bold for insulting the council, but then he had to go ahead and make it worse. She glanced at the moon. It was almost two, and they were expected back soon. They really didn’t have time for this. Before the tensions in the air could snap, Elliot lunged forward and slammed the handle of her gun into the side of the member’s head. He slouched, unconscious.
Mia glanced up at Elliot. “Well, what was that for?” Riad, in the back, groaned. As if being denied a witness to torture was something bad.
Elliot tapped her wrist. “Sorry, Captain, but time’s running out.” She bent down to grab the member’s arms, then hoisted him on her back. “We’ll get them back to headquarters and then let someone properly interrogate him, yeah?”
