“Interspatial translocation will place your tetrastrike at 50 kilometers west of River Town, Striker Cechon.”

“Understood, commander.”

“You will proceed and investigate why Farsight detected a precipitous drop in life signatures. While it belongs to the Kinarians, we cannot leave a potential threat near our border.”

“Contact with the Kinarians will be unavoidable.”

“Maintain standard interaction protocols. Uphold the treaties. Do not give the Kinar Nation reason to believe we had anything to do with what transpired in their settlement.”

“Tetrastrike 115 will depart immediately. We will not fail in our duty.”

“We are Sentinels. There is no failure.”

Cechon saluted and spun smartly on his heel.

He had to gather his team and brief them quickly.

They had a mission.

Out on the vast plains to the west of River Town a tear slowly opened in midair, several meters off the ground.

Four people fell through and landed on the grass-covered ground.

“That was an unpleasant surprise,” Kala said.

“It’s not like the sender to be off by that much,” Luun grumbled as she felt at her ankle before standing and rotating her large foot in alternating circles, “could’ve sprained something.”

“Would’ve made you more useless than usual,” Braal said. Her thick lips split into a smile.

Luun threw a clump of grass at Braal’s face.

“Enough of that,” Cechon said. “We need to get moving.”

“Why didn’t we take a transport?” Kala sighed.

“Because our technology stays within our borders unless the situation is dire. By the Great Intellect, how do you not know that?” Braal looked at Kala like he was a strange creature.

“I knew,” Kala mumbled.

Cechon ignored them. “Luun, I want you scouting ahead.”

“Understood, Kala, give me speed,” Luun laid long, delicate fingers on the young man’s smooth head.

Kala took a deep breath. “I hope I can do this.”

“You hope? Outside our borders we’ve got nothing except our gear. If our synergist can’t uplink to the Armory…” Braal threw up her brawny arms.

Kala closed his eyes, smooth brow and forehead creased. His pale skin sparkled in the sunlight.

Seconds passed.

A wide smile appeared on Luun’s face.

Kala opened his eyes and huffed. “Done… that was a lot harder than I expected.”

“Scout Luun—” Cechon began.

“Gotitstrikeleadermovingout—”

The rest of what Luun said was swallowed up by the gust of wind that she left behind as her long legs blurred. Dirt and grass showered the rest of the team in her wake.

“Should’ve told her to get a few hundred meters away before opening up,” Braal spat out a clod.

“Kala, I need you to link Braal and myself to the Armory. If you had such difficulty then it’d be best if we take a power now,” Cechon said.

“Understood,” Kala said with a lump in his throat.

“We’re exposed out here, so I’ll take forcefield,” Braal said.

Cechon nodded. “Give me laser beam.”

Kala took two deep breaths before he complied with the orders.

Once the young man was done the three of them took off at a jog.

They followed the large plume that Luun left behind.

They were the first Sentinels to travel outside the borders of their nation in close to a decade.

Cechon knew that meant the mission was of grave importance.

The Great Intellect didn’t make mistakes.

Whatever had happened to River Town was a threat.

It didn’t take long for them to cover the distance to the town. The changes wrought in each Sentinel in order to access the Armory enhanced their biology in multiple ways. They were tireless at a quick march. They could’ve gone all day before needing to rest.

Cechon halted them with a gesture at a rise in the flat, featureless plain overlooking the walled town.

Luun was seated on the ground, waiting.

“Scout, report.”

Luun seemed to vibrate in place. Her head blurred as she pointedly turned to Kala.

“Removing speed,” Kala said.

After a few moments, Luun slowly stood and went into a series of leg stretches. “I detected no signs of life in the town. Granted I only circled the wall on the western side of the river. My scanner was garbled. The nature of the interference suggest magic is involved. Also, I didn’t hear any of the sounds that one would expect from a town this size.”

“Your assessment?”

“There was no damage to the walls. Reason suggests that whatever happened started from within or above,” Luun said.

“The fires?” Cechon stared across the distance at the numerous faint plumes of smoke drifting out of the town.

“Yes,” Luun shrugged.

“Ingress locations?”

Another shrug. “They’ve got a wooden wall. It’s thick and tall, but easy for us to bypass. We can pick our spot.”

Cechon led the team forward without a word.

The wind shifted as they neared.

The stench hit them a split-second after.

“You didn’t mention this,” Cechon said.

“I thought this was how these primitive settlements always smelled,” Luun said.

Cechon stifled a curse. Inexperience with the outside world was the difficulty with the younger generation of Sentinels.

“This is the smell of death. Decaying biological matter. Bodies. Many Kinarians died here,” Cechon said.

“Really?” Kala said. “It’s bad, but I’ve been close to monster corpses that makes this downright pleasant.”

“Monsters aren’t people.” Braal’s thick brow furrowed like a network of trenches. “Switch me to density control.”

Kala grimaced, but complied.

“This is a combat mission now. We investigate and eliminate the threat. Scanners are useless,” Cechon glanced at the device mounted on his gauntlet. “Kinar settlements build up as much as out. There will be ladders, stairs and bridges connecting all of the structures. There is a spire in the center. Probability dictates that whatever caused this calamity originated from there. We will investigate that location first. Luun, scout our path,” Cechon tapped at the underside of his wrist. “Short-range communication appears functional. Alert us to any threats.”

“Understood,” Luun looked at a panting Kala. “Give me invisibility.” She took a set of bulky goggles from her pack and donned them.

Kala took a deep breath. “Strike Leader, this isn’t a complaint, but I believe it is my duty to inform you that it is taking more effort and time to connect to the Armory and then to connect each of you to your desired power.”

“Switching quickly will not be possible?” Cechon frowned.

Kala shook his head.

“Very well. Sentinels make do with the tools at our disposal. The mission doesn’t change. Give Luun invisibility. I’ll open the way.”

While Kala did as ordered, Cechon stared at the wooden wall a few meters away. A thin beam of bright red light lanced out of his eye. He slowly carved a door.

The smell of smoke and burnt wood couldn’t quite mask the stench of death that had invaded their nasal passages.

By the time Cechon had finished, Luun was ready.

She promptly vanished from sight. “Hey, Braal, why don’t you be useful and get that block of wood out of the way so I can get inside. I’d ask for a switch to intangibility, but poor Kala looks like he’s about to cry.”

Braal’s face was an expressionless mask, which they all knew was a sign that she was in combat mode. She ignored the gibe and stepped forward.

Each step toward the wall sank deeper into the ground. By the time she reached the wall the others could feel her steps where they stood.

Braal placed both hands on the wood where Cechon had cut a roughly door-shaped section. The muscles in her arms bulged as she pushed.

The wood creaked and groaned in protest, but the increase to her body’s density had granted her enormous physical strength. Several tons of thick wood was nothing to her now.

The rest followed on Braal’s heels as they entered the dark, makeshift tunnel.

They were the first Sentinels to set foot in a Kinar settlement in over a century.

Invisible Luun went ahead.

They stuck to ground level, relying on the platforms ten to twenty feet above for concealment. When they had to cross exposed areas they waited for Luun to signal to them that they were clear.

Caution had made them slow.

Thus, several hours had passed before they finally neared the spire in the clearing.

They posted at the base of a large structure, made to resemble a natural tree.

Odd that.

Why not just use an actual tree?

Although, being on a tree-less plain might’ve had something to do with the architectural choices the town’s founders had made.

The Sentinels thought it strange in any case.

Why go through all the effort to change an environment to suit your kind? When the rational choice was to stick to those environments.

“The interference is stronger here,” Cechon whispered as studied his scanner, “though that doesn’t mean much. Spires always play havoc with our instruments.”

“Claw marks and blood on this structure’s surface… lots of them,” Kala said. “The Kinar have avian traits.”

Luun suddenly dropped her invisibility, making Kala flinch. “Blood and signs of battle near the spire. I also climbed up to one of the lowest level platforms and found the same. Lots of blood, discarded weapons, primitive chemical-propelled ballistic-type… but no bodies.”

“We follow the trail,” Cechon said.

Kala looked up. “At least they have lots of ladders.”

They found more signs of death the higher they went.

The evidence was mounting.

The Kinarians had turned on each other.

Homes built into the sides of the tree-like structures were bloody abattoirs.

Places that appeared to be shops were the same.

Guard stations and guard posts, the same.

Discarded and broken weapons littered the places where it looked like the Kinarians had tried to make a stand against their own.

Where were the bodies?

None of it made sense.

Even monsters left traces of their victims.

They had climbed and explored for hours and had found the same scenes repeating.

Cechon had pulled Luun back into the group as he had grown increasingly concerned that they were moving into a trap. Instincts from over two centuries experience were screaming in the back of his thoughts. He was on the verge of ordering a retreat when a rumbling sound emanated from the interior of the artfully carved tree-like structure they were currently climbing.

“Scanner’s not working, can’t get a read on movement,” Kala said with one hand pressing the scanner to the wooden wall and the other drawing his PDW from his thigh holster.

“Weapons on lethal setting.” Cechon drew his own.

“The closest entrance to the interior is up there,” Luun pointed to the top of the spiraling stairs.

“Braal, take point,” Cechon said.

The short, but brawny Sentinel lumbered up. Each step shook the staircase as her body grew denser. She pulled a small round buckler from the side of her belt. The shiny metal expanded into a large shield almost her height. She drew her own PDW with her other hand. This one was much larger than the others’.

They moved behind Braal.

Cechon next, followed by Kala, then Luun, who kept looking back down the way they had come.

The thick doors into the structure were sealed shut. Bloody claw marks marred the surface.

“Strike Leader?” Braal’s face was like stone.

“Breach.”

“Understood.” Braal slammed her shield into the door, blowing it off its hinges like it was made out of thin paper.

The interior opened up into a wide concourse that further opened up into an open air cylinder in the center of the cavernous space. Light from the moons and the stars added to the illumination from the glowing orbs liberally hanging from the underside of the above platform and set into the walls.

Blood was everywhere, but again, no bodies.

“What is this place?” Kala whispered.

“Lots of small stalls… suggests food dispensing stations,” Luun said.

“Silence,” Cechon said.

They listened for a few seconds.

“The rumbling is coming from below and moving up rapidly. Footsteps?” Cechon’s smooth brow furrowed.

“I’d ask for enhanced hearing, but…” Luun stared at Kala.

“No, we can’t risk you getting caught in a switch. Search this level. Find the stairs down. If the Great Intellect favors us then there’ll only be one set,” Cechon said.

They hurried since the sounds from below were getting closer.

It didn’t take long until Luun located the stairs to the lower level.

Fortune was with them, for there was indeed only one set.

“Braal, descend halfway down. You’re a stronghold. We will fire at the enemy from above,” Cechon said.

“What if they aren’t hostile?” Kala said.

“Probability of that is next to zero,” Braal said flatly. “And I don’t need to run it through the intellect to know that.”

“Look around you, neophyte,” Luun sighed. “We’ve found no evidence that any non-hostile Kinarians are still alive.”

Kala frowned, but remained silent.

The rumbling drew closer.

They didn’t need scanners to know that when their ears were sensitive enough.

The floor they stood on vibrated subtly from the movement down below.

Seconds turned into a minute, into more.

Hands steadied on shield and weapons.

Their bodies were automatically flooded with combat chemicals. To enhance and to steady.

Even Kala, this being his first true battle, found himself breathing calmly while he aimed his PDW just over Braal’s broad shoulders to the level below.

Braal suddenly laughed. “Strike Leader. I was wrong. I see a single Kinarian running in our direction.”

“That doesn’t make sense… one being can’t possible be responsible for this noise,” Kala whispered.

The rest saw the female Kinarian running frantically. Her crown of sun-colored feathers stood out from her head like a halo. The same color feathers on her arms were torn and bloody. Her armor was in the same condition.

“Halt!”

The Kinarian didn’t listen to Braal’s command until she had reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Immortals!” the Kinarian’s large, round eyes were wide as she stared up at the Sentinels. Her head snapped to the way she had come from. “They’re coming! You can stop them! You have to! You’re Immortals? Aren’t you?”

“Strike Leader,” Braal’s face slowly split into a grin, “we have hostiles incoming.”

“Kinarian, quickly, up the stairs, now!” Cechon barked.

Braal made to move her wide frame to give the Kinarian room to pass, but the feathered woman was already leaping over the Sentinel.

She cleared Braal easily even with the stuffed pack on her back and an armful of what appeared to be foodstuffs.

The Kinarian skidded to a stop, panting wildly, next to Kala.

“Stay there,” Cechon said, “I have questions for you. After we deal with these hostiles.”

“You have to destroy their heads! It’s the only way!” the Kinarian was frantic. She appeared to be torn between hope and terror. Her body torn between staying and running away.

“Kala, you are the Kinarian’s minder. Keep her safe.” Cechon’s look conveyed the unspoken part of the order. Don’t let her run away.

“Understood,” Kala said.