The X Pathogen

Chapter Twenty

    Ash looked around the armory. They'd been in one before, but it had only contained harmless training weapons. Everything in the room they now stood in could do some serious damage.
    Nadil had immediately made his way to the pistols and handguns. He carefully tested the feel of each one before settling on a lightweight pistol that packed a lot more of a punch than one would expect for a firearm of its size.
    Saji looked around in awe. "I don't even know where to start," she murmured.
    Ash looked surprised, "I figured you would use a staff like you did in the exam."
    "I don't really know how to use one, to be honest. I was just trying not to fail."
    "Wait, what?!" Nadil shouted from across the room, "are you kidding me," he muttered.
    Ash laughed, "okay but seriously, you'd never used one before that?"
    "No."
    "Woah," Ash breathed, "well you have a gift, my friend."
    Saji smiled and turned to study the staffs the armory had to offer. She carefully lifted one with two metal prongs at the end off the rack.
    Ash grinned, "oh yeah! That one is actually kinda cool, it sends an electric current through those two metal thingies on the end if you turn it on, and it can electrocute people without hurting you."
    "Woah," Saji breathed, "that is terrifying, but also..."
    "Awesome?" Ash offered.
    "Yes!" Saji gripped the staff tightly, "so what are you going with?"
    Ash scanned the room then their eyes landed on the daggers. They picked up two double edged blades and flipped them around in their hands. "These," Ash said confidently.
    They all dug up holsters and sheaths as needed and strapped on their weapons.
    "That thing's safety is on, right?" Ash asked, pointing to Nadil's holstered pistol.
    "Of course! Geez how stupid do you think I am?"
    "Pretty stupid."
    "Friendly reminder, I saved your life."
    "Still stupid."
    "I can't believe I stuck my neck out for you."
    "Give it a rest you two," Saji reprimanded them.
    The three of them finally left the armory and headed to the hangar. Halfway there, Kyo met up with them. He nodded approvingly at their selections, much to the cadets' relief.
    Their ship this time around was a faster, lightweight vessel designed to get them in and out as quickly as possible, and hopefully avoid detection.
    Kyo climbed into the pilot's seat. Nadil started to climb into the co-pilot's seat then hesitated.
    "Hey, uh, Saji, you wanna take co-pilot on this one?" he offered awkwardly.
    Kyo looked surprised but didn't say anything as Saji sat down next to him. Her hands hovered over the panel before she started preflight checks. The whole time, her fingers shook and her eyes kept darting over to Kyo for confirmation she was doing everything correctly. Kyo just shrugged it off and let Saji do her job. Apparently he decided she was competent enough to get by on her own.
    Once they'd left the atmosphere, Kyo guided the ship to an empty area of space and opened a transport tunnel. The ship slowly drifted through the blur of colors. Ash let their eyes blur a little as they went, enjoying the kaleidoscope effect it created. Before long, they exited the tunnel only a few minutes away from the jungle planet.
    Kyo gripped the controls, "Everyone get ready. There's no telling what we're about to get ourselves into.
    The ship slowly descended towards the planet's surface. Kyo's eyes scanned the land below searching for a place to land. After several moments of flying over impenetrable jungle, they managed to find a clearing large enough for the ship.
    As they got closer to the ground, Ash noticed lights and refueling stations had been set up around the clearing. "I think we found whoever we're looking for," they said.
    "So much for stealth," Kyo grit his teeth, "I'm guessing it won't take long for them to figure out we're here."
    The ship's hatch opened and the squad slowly descended the ramp. A single human stood before them, his gun aimed directly at the doorway. Kyo slowly drew his gun and gestured for the others to get a hand on their weapons.
    "Who are you?" the man demanded.
    "We're with the GSA," Kyo pulled out his ID card with his free hand, "someone is gonna need to tell us exactly what is going on here and what it has to do with a certain lab."
The man squinted skeptically, "How much do you know?"
"We know what they're making there and we are hoping to put a stop to it," Kyo said calmly.
The man finally holstered his gun, "come with me."
Ash looked warily to Kyo, who shrugged and put his gun away. Ash slid their daggers back in their sheaths and followed the man.
A narrow path had been cut through the jungle. Branches jutted out into the trail, scraping against Ash's arms and legs. Nadil's wing pushed a branch aside and it flew back and smacked them in the face.
"Dude!" Ash hissed.
Nadil winced, "my bad."
Ash sighed, "it's fine."
Several minutes of shoving through the shrubbery later, the path opened to reveal a clearing of sorts. The trees bent together to form a natural dome that kept the area hidden from anyone flying above. A large concrete structure had been constructed in the center with small wooden huts scattered among gardens and plots of farmland. Children ran around, laughing and chasing small animals. Adults could be seen working in the fields, watching the younger children, and a few came in and out of the concrete building.
Ash stared in wonder. At first glance the village seemed like any other, except for the fact that every single being in the village was a human.
The man gestured for them to follow him into the large concrete building. Inside, the flickering of old light bulbs and the lack of windows gave the place a dismal atmosphere. After winding through the cinderblock halls, the man opened a door and peeked inside.
Another human man was standing in front of a display talking to someone on the other end of a line. "Jay we need you here, I know your... side mission is important to you but-"
The other person, Jay, interrupted, "Adar, this freighter could be the connection I've been looking for! This is my only chance to intercept them and-"
Adar sighed, "You built this place, people are counting on you to be a leader, you can't just disappear for weeks!"
Jay's eyes darted to something off screen, "look, I have to go. I'll be back soon," he said, then he hung up.
Adar rubbed his eyes, looking exhausted.
"Sorry to bother you, sir, but... we have a situation," the man guiding them said quietly.
Adar looked up, then his eyes widened, "another one?"
The man shook his head, "they said they're with the GSA. And they want to help."
"Another what?" Ash peeked around the man.
"Sorry, I thought you were another refugee. We don't see many other humans outside of here," Adar explained.
"Refugee?" Kyo walked into the room, "from what exactly?"
Adar gestured for the man to leave, then he sat down with a tired sigh, "How much do you already know about all of this?"
Kyo sat down across from Adar, "Not much. We know about the lab developing the X-pathogen, and we found a cure-"
"A cure?!" Adar's eyes widened in awe, "you're kidding?"
"Nope," Ash smiled, "I got exposed four weeks ago, and as you can see, I am still alive."
Adar leaned back in his chair, his eyes welled up with tears, "holy kerk there's a cure."
Kyo rested his elbows on the table, "back to you, what exactly is this place?"
"Right," Adar took a breath, "the Black Rygnars used humans to test their bio weapons, including the X-pathogen. A guy named Jay broke me out two years ago, we've been working together to get as many people out as we can. Most people don't have anywhere else to go after we get them out, so we created Verdome village as a safe haven."
"This is unbelievable," Ash murmured, "I had no idea there were this many humans left."
"Unfortunately most of us are kept in labs or as pets. The exception being everyone here, the Daneers, and you apparently."
Ash fidgeted uncomfortably, "heh, yeah."
"Speaking of which, where are you from?"
"Oh. Uh that's a long story," Ash said, praying Adar would just let it go.
He eyed them skeptically but seemed willing to let the matter drop for the time being. "Alright, so you want to help," Adar said, "what are you prepared to do?"
Kyo grinned, "Whatever we can. I'm guessing you know where their bases of operation are, which means we can bust in and shut this down. For good."
Adar nodded approvingly, "I like the way you think, agent..."
"Kyo."
"Agent Kyo. Extend my thanks to the GSA for their assistance."
"With pleasure. I'll need to contact the chairman and update her on the current situation and then we can start organizing a take down of the Black Rygnars."
"Looking forward to it. I need to let Jay know what is going on too. I can have someone show the kids around while we take care of business."
Kyo nodded, "sounds good."
Adar pressed a button, "hey Gemma, can you come to my office real quick?"
A few minutes later a human teenage girl appeared in the doorway, "what's up Adar?"
"Do me a favor and show our guests from the GSA around the village, okay?"
Gemma's eyes darted over to the group. She blinked back a surprised look then smiled, "of course! Follow me, guys."