The Most Illegal Experiment Ever Conducted

          Less than a day after I’ve woken up from a 200-years slumber and I am being attacked by some bloody parasites.

          That was what Rosalinda thought when he saw them running towards the group. She noticed that both Let and Amhyr were ready for the worst. Both had pulled out their guns, shooting at the group of the black creatures. The scene made her wonder if she was trapped in a twisted science fiction survival horror scenario, especially if it’s being twisted further with magic. Amhyr was desperately trying to ward the horde off with his fire breath, while Let didn’t know what he was trying to do.

          Fortunately for them, Rose wasn’t entirely useless. She stepped in front of the two powerhouses, seemingly out of her mind. She then remembered what her colleagues told her back then, and she tried to believe what she could do was for the better.

          Belief became imagination, and she remembered.

          She remembered her abilities.

          Seemingly from nowhere, a pistol materialized on her hand. She was taken aback at this, but after a moment, less than a second, she resumed her focus and shot three of the creatures down. There wasn’t a moment to lose. She dematerialized the gun and ran on all four towards the group. She then jumped over them, and used her ability to make her claws deadlier, slicing through some of them with ease like a knife through butter.

          It all happened so fast that blood didn’t start splattering until a second later. She stood on her two legs, and made a howl of victory, which was cut short when she saw the two reptilians were awe-struck by what she had done.

          “Y-you…kill them? Really? You slice them into half?”

          “Where the hell did I ever found a fucking werewolf using a high-level conjuring magic?” said Amhyr. But then, he walked towards her and said, “Rosalinda Van Helsing, you are…one fucking badass scientist!”

          “Thank you. My father taught me how to use conjuration. He said it comes down in the family, since the time of my ancestor’s grandson where she devised a way to use holy objects while still being a wolf. Turns out the answer is magic.”

          “You earthlings can talk about the process of creating a gun from air all day or trying to find Dairyu and maybe some of the scientists,” said Let after composing himself. Both Rose and Amhyr nodded, and started running towards the door. In the way, Let said, “If you’re a Scylla, and you’re in my planet, I’ll be sure to make you a Qas’ra.”

          “Is that equivalent for being a bloody badass?”

          “You can say that in your Terran tongue, or sticking with the ‘Female Warrior’.”

          “That’s…kind of disappointing.”

          Meanwhile, inside the ship…

          “You’re quite composed when you kill them,” said Atho after throwing a creature out of the plane.

          “As much as I hate this gun, if it doesn’t give a bloody mess, it will be okay. C’mon, we must get to the rest of them and evacuate the scientists.”

          “Evacuate them? This ship barely fits five aliens on board.”

          “Then let’s just hope this ship’s distress signal can reach a nearby starship.”

          “One more question, Capisa. You didn’t get a substantial force when firing the gun. Did you tune the gun?”

          “No. Atlantis’s gravity adaptation plus high pressure. Works every time.”

          They both ran out of the Azure, locking the ship as they went. They managed to see the rest of the crew before a door closed behind them, in which both of them went in.

          The white hexagonal-looking corridor was, as both expected, had a very laboratory feel in it, with corridors branching off the main big one. This posed a problem to them, since they couldn’t determine where the group moved.

          It would be a problem, if not for Atho’s telepathy.

          “Second corridor on the right. Their brain wave are still there,” said Atho in Capisa’s mind. “And also, you should consider using a more armored suit.”

          “Then direct me to where those As’karans put their suits, Atho. Or maybe you can find any As’karans out here.”

          Capisa could see the insectoid was concentrating hard (or looked like he was concentrating with that ant-like face), before he made a gasp and said, “Follow me, Capisa. They are currently facing a bigger problem than us.”

          “Just what do you mean by that?”

          “After we pass the door at the end of the corridor, you will see it for yourself.”

          Atho was known to be a little cryptic in his speech, but nevertheless, it fueled Capisa’s curiosity. They reached the end of the corridor in no time. The door then slid open, revealing the scenery behind it, which was very surprising.

          It was a human, pointing his laser gun towards two of the As’karans, who were those escorting Dairyu inside.

          The human noticed Capisa and Atho, and exclaimed, “This is why I cannot trust walking fish!” and stormed off while shooting them. Before Capisa could react, he disappeared behind a door in front of them.

          “He’s gone,” said Capisa. He turned towards one of them. He wasn’t hurt by anything, but an unknown attack ruptured his suit, and it started leaking water out.

          “Hey, whatever you do, breathe calmly. The water inside your suit can sustain you for at least five minutes,” said Capisa while trying to hold the water out.

          “You’re quite calm. Are you an As’karan yourself?”

          “I’m a former cadet in the engineering division. Luckily for you, my suit is made of nanites. I know, it’s not practical in combat, but having a bulky suit is not really my style.”

          Capisa could control the nanites to harden around the leak, and he did that just fine. The As’karan regulated some of the life support system, checked of any problems, and said, “Thanks, young shark.”

          “What’s your problem with that human, anyway?”

          “Darkell? Oh, by Leviathan, he’s a racist son of a bitch! From day one he refused the employment of the Greyhounds and us before his commanding officer forced him. Yes, he really go into some length to sack some of us, leaving the security understaffed.”

          “Well, we can’t help it. He’s a human, after all. Anyway, young shark, if you need some armor, get it in the armory down the corridor to our right. Don’t worry, we are not from the Great White division, so this is our armor.”

          “It is also salinized to our planet’s environment, and it works better than your nano enviro-suit…which is very expensive. Where in the Abyss did you get that?”

          “In Pascoforta. I’ve some connections around to get this suit, but it’s civilian. Thank you for the tip, As’karans. May you swim true in Leviathan’s sea.”

          As both Capisa and Atho left, one of the As’karan said, “Never knew he could say that.”

          “What a life he had. Next time, when we have contact, we should recommend him as ‘that’.”

          “Isn’t that a little bit too harsh?”

          “Let’s just hope his journey with the Black Orient shapes him. Shame we didn’t get his name…”

          “His name is Capisa S’hor.”

          That voice rang inside their head, but they quickly said, “Thank you, Rendlok.”

          “A S’hor! No wonder he can get that technology!”

          “Damn…he doesn’t look like a pampered shark to me. Guess things change, huh?”

          Meanwhile, in Rose’s part…

          “You know, for a mammalian, you are a beast,” said Let while they were running. “I really want to make you an honorary Qas’ra right now.”

          “Is it for me or is it because I am running on four?”

          “All sentient creatures in my planets always walk in two. We shoot the four legs. They are either so poisonous or they want to kill us.”

          “Oh, so you kill one before?”

          “I am not some half-assed Kaf’lak,” said Let with a small laugh. “In fact, I’m not some half-assed Endragas either!”

          The three of them stopped before a group of black creatures attacked them. With the help of Let’s telekinetic attack, they were all thrown away like ragdolls, which surprised Let more than Rose.

          “Avrst, I thought they are latched to the ground!”

          “They have all the weakness we can thought of,” said Amhyr while shooting one of them directly with his gun. The resulting bang was loud enough to attract some other to them.

          “Right, and it is also our bloody weakness!” said Rose while sniffing the air. “Ryu’s at the other side of the corridor. Better clear the path, Renziletis, and we’ll meet with him. We really need a goddamn explanation to this.”

          They both managed to run towards where Rose could smell Dairyu’s scent, but then, when they went past a viewing glass, as Rose turned her head towards the glass, her eyes widened with a gasp, before she stopped, eyes fixated to the scenery beyond the glass.

          Both her scaly companions also saw the scenery, and had the same reaction as she was. The black creatures were their second concern when they saw the scenery.

          What the three of them saw was a gruesome laboratory where a lizardfolk and a catman were fighting ferociously, like animals did. Rose couldn’t believe what she saw. She knew lizardfolks were a peaceful tribal race, while the catman was, like the Lycans, had the same reputation of being dangerous beasts. But now, the lizardfolk somehow had gained considerable power to be able to throw the catman towards the glass and banging him towards the glass, strong enough to break the catman’s snout, which caused Rose to cringe. It killed the catman instantly, but the lizardfolk, like a feral wolf, tore through the catman and started eating what’s inside of him. The scenery caused both Let and Amhyr to stare blankly to the gory scenery while Rose turned away in disgust…while trying to hold her inner beast from going out, knowing that she was a Lycan.

          “W-what the fuck happened? I thought Lizardfolks are…”

          “We really need those answer now, and determine if they…”

          They were surprised by Rose’s growl before she dashed aimlessly towards where she got the scent. Let didn’t know what happened, but Amhyr, who realized what was wrong, pulled Let to run with him.

          “H-hey, what’s wrong?! Why did she storm off like that?!”

          “Shit, I also forgot that werewolves are also easily agitated! Right now, she might be so mad that she will actually disembowel some of the scientists doing that experiment!”

          “Just who have the heart to do such a thing?”

          “Let, scientists always have to go against the moral for scientific advancement.” He then paused. “Which…somehow Rose knew.”

          Dairyu, on the other hand, had also sensed the problem, and walked towards Wrigley and started pulling him up by the collar, while saying, “Look at what you have done. Is this what scientists are supposed to do?”

          “I…I didn’t know. The gas…impossible…”

          “Now tell me more about this before I rip your heart off, got it?”

          Just as Wrigley gulped, the door opened behind them with Rose ready to pounce one of them. She didn’t find her target since Dairyu held her mid-air. She was almost at the same size with Dairyu, and he couldn’t hold her that long.

          “Let go of me, Ryu! That bloody human is killing that cat!”

          “Calm down, Rose, I was going to that conclusion, too. Just…calm down, okay. You want to tell me something?”

          “Tsukasa! Thank the ancestors, I thought she lost control,” said Amhyr with a sigh.

          “Those black creatures are also in this planet. You have to get out of here before it’s too late.”

          “Hey, you know we can’t leave these scientists behind! My ship barely fit all the crew.”

          “We have our own ship, draconian,” said one of the scientists. “But we need to guarantee our safety.”

          “After making a lizard man lose control and eating up that cat? You think we will be convinced by you sakhards after what we saw, huh?”

          “Say what you want about us. That is not what we planned to happen,” said one of the scientists. “Aren’t these draconians are supposed to be helping us? Why do they bring a Scylla along?”

          “Alright, calm down! Stop being such a racist and get on with it!” said Amhyr to disperse the tensing situation. “You want our guarantee, well, then the Federation personally give you that, but you’re under arrest for experiment misconduct.”

          “What?! He can’t do that!”

          “Just for once, Peter, see the truth! We caused their state because of the experiment, and we are now the criminals. Do what you want, agent. I will take full responsibility as head scientist.”

          “Are you sure, David?” said the lizardfolk scientist beside him.

          “Astheel, I know…he’s your friend, and I am very sorry…”

          Oh, stop your dramatic chat! We are running on a tight schedule here! Get to your plane first, then we’ll do this officially!”

          As Amhyr opened the door, just as the slit opened, he was sprayed by some green blood, possibly from one of the parasite’s host. Not only that, he was also struck with some guts and other kind of things that caused him to feel disgusted.

          “What the hell?”

          “Hey, we really should get out of here before we’re overwhelmed. Where is that human?”

          “Darkell? But I thought….”

          Dairyu was quick enough to sense a change in air pressure to create a concentrated gust of wind towards a human. He was thrown towards a nearby glass panel, but wasn’t seriously injured. Upon closer inspection, though, he realized it was Darkell he threw away. At first, he wanted to say sorry, but then, when he realized the charged laser gun on his hand, the Orient said, “Well, now, it’s rude to shoot people when they are talking, right?”

          “Say that to yourself, draconian! That gas is supposed to be an adrenaline shot to our human soldiers so they can wish to best you bestial races! We are in the bottom line of the chain of respect when it comes to power, and it is all because of the aliens striking a fucking bargain to the humans to not develop any weapons!”

          “Hey, that feeling is mutual to all races,” said Amhyr. “The humans are not the one getting the backlash of sudden technological genocide.”

          “Yes, but without technology, you still have magic, right? Just look at that Lycan! Don’t say I can’t see it, because it’s apparent! You may have the body of a humanoid wolf, but you are not content with it and used conjuration! Humans can’t do that! Yes, you may say that some have magical affinity to be mages, but technology dominates human life now! Without this, we won’t survive, and we will be extinct when that werewolf virus claim all of us!”

          “Oi, that virus is not your concern, mate!”

          Dairyu stopped Rose from talking even more. He then turned toward the human and said, “I assume you know the outcome of the experiment, then? Good. Right now, though, you’re to go to a Federation outpost, and report yourself.”

          Darkell then laughed. “Hah! Never thought I see the day when you actually become a Federation dog! The burden of being a fugitive weigh down upon you, and you feel guilty for what you did to Terrans! Well, I won’t be so sure about that!”

          Dairyu could see that Darkell wanted to kill himself, possibly to make the draconian felt guilty, but he knew his own resolve. Before the human could even move his hand, Dairyu threw a knife with pinpoint accuracy towards the human. He made a scream that was also making the others feel what he was feeling.

          The Orient then calmly walked towards the human, crouched near him, and said, “You know what? I changed my mind. If you feel like making fun of my past and ranting about human’s weakness, you’re dead wrong. Oh, and for starters, I have a choice to execute you here, at the mercy of those black creatures, since I don’t give a shit about legitimacy.”

          When he could see that Darkell is not responding, Dairyu sighed and said, “Nah, I’m just joking, Kendarr Smith.”

          This caused Darkell, or ‘Smith’, surprised, and said, “H-how did you know my real name?”

          “Tell me, is it very hard for you to be a radical anti-Federation terrorist and to be a ‘chief of operations’ at the same time? I bet it’s hard. You blew yourself right after you say that I’m a criminal.”

          “Ryu, we gotta get the humans to the ship, or we won’t be able to get out of here,” said Capisa.

          “Do what you must do. Wrigley, tell the Federation the name of your company, and tell them that you’re a hostage forced to develop a biological weapon. Amhyr, help them with the paperwork.”

          “Okay, but you need to get to the ship,” said Amhyr. “I’ll take care of the official stuffs.”

          Amhyr and the rest of the scientists went off, leaving the rest of Azure’s crew to stand over Smith. After a silence, the human said, “But you’re a criminal.”

          “More like an ‘exile’ to me,” said Let with a low growl. “If the Federation is not branding this Aquros a wanted shark, then he’s with the best black ops agent they got.”

          “Well, you may be right, Let, but there’s another reason. While the humans in Terra may hate me for being the reason why Terra lost the war, they never refer to me as ‘criminal’, but instead, they call me the ‘Black Orient’, in the worst mocking tone they can give, but they never refer to me as a ‘criminal’, or they just call me by my name.”

          “But why? They have all the reason to hate you! Why don’t you get the wrath of the Terran people?!”

          That comment made Dairyu silent. Smith wasn’t noticing, as to everyone in front of him. But Let knew what his expressions were. The Orient then proceeded to make the talking finish quicker by punching Smith out cold. He then put the smaller human body to his shoulder and slowly said, “Let’s go. If we wait more than this we’ll not going to be able to get out.

          Capisa and Atho nodded and directed Rose to follow them. Let, on the other hand, ran slower than them to match Dairyu’s speed. The Orient saw this and said, “I can manage myself. Protect Capisa and Atho.”

          “They don’t need more than one capable protection, bas. You, on the other hand, need a better protection.”

          Dairyu made a scoff, then said, “Maybe Amhyr will found out when he’s here. I can’t help it, though. The three of us looked similar in face.”

          “Just what actually happened back in that war? You can talk to me, bas.”

          Dairyu was silent, but Let knew his expression turned into something that wasn’t very him at all. The Warrior was always so relaxed, yet so energetic when it comes to money. But now, the Scylla saw how Dairyu’s expression was of that of regret, sadness, and most of all, self-blame. While the Scylla wondered how did he got to know the expression, he realized that it was like seeing his own reflection on a mirror. As fellow reptilians, they knew each other better with only expressions.

          “It is time that I face the fact…and tell you all exactly what happened,” said Dairyu. “But I can tell you this. My past deed is not without a substantial sacrifice. In every war, there is no such thing as a peace without losing something. We both know this fact, and you should know if you want to be a better Chieftain.”