A few minutes of fidgeting between Eltessa and Arson helped killed the time as the Doasian squad leader returned. He scooped up Eltessa like a rag, tugging her cruelly then escorted the largest tent, the very one I used to spy on the Doasians before making my way to Sceleratus.

As I pushed the tent flaps open, making my way in. Light exploded around me. Three men sat on the left, whilst two women and one man sat on the right in a chair, council-like.

Eltessa walked up and stood to my right whilst Arson dragged his feet along to stand to my left. As I stood there, I looked at each Doasian pensively, seeing their famed elongated faces and stump-like ears, a deformity of some sort, something the Federation could never understand.

The two women on the right weren’t beautiful which I found weird. Their faces were sleek and their features handsome which were emphasized by their lips which were drawn to a line. “Telia,” A voice said from behind me, drawing my attention.

I turned around, and before I could lay eyes on who spoke a shadowy-figure blurred past my left. I stopped and brought my eyes back to where they were and a man wearing a black cloak stood in front of me.

“I have something you want,” Eltessa said firmly.

“Something? I want?” He asked confused.

“Yes,” Eltessa said.

“What is that?”

“The bastard that took your children.”

The man’s eyes widened as if he’d just heard a close relative died. The other Doasians within the camp stared at each other, confused as well. Murmuring to each other as if a big secret had been released to the world.

“How do you know about the children?” He growled in annoyance. Eltessa looked at me, then back to the man who was chairing this meeting. “One of my people found the culprit responsible.”

“Culprit? You said…” He said softly, turning to Eltessa with a face that has seen death. “No one was able to get inside this bunker Were you lying to me?”

“War—“

A blade appeared around Eltessa’s neck from a man wearing a similar black cloak to the Doasian Warchief’s own. The Warchief walked towards Eltessa, pulling a knife from his waist. He twirled it in his hand and then cupped Eltessa’s face. “Answer carefully, before Keshil here cuts your throat open.”

“I didn’t lie to you,” Eltessa said firmly. “One of my people found a way into the bunker. Then, he found out about the children by chance whilst trying to find information regarding the leak. Luckily he caught the man responsible for the kidnappings and brought him here, without Gean’s knowledge.”

“Hooo, is he the one that found out about my children?” The Warchief asked, turning to me.

“Yes.”

Calian pushed Eltessa off that walked towards me. He sized me up and circled me as if he were some drill instructor. “A warrior, but a broken one. Machine hand and face. Are you sure he’s any good?”

“He doesn’t have to be good. He just needs to follow orders.”

“Does he?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t like this Calian.” A woman said behind him. “We-

Calian raised his right hand and the woman stopped mid-sentence. Then walked over to me, standing one foot taller than me. He looked me dead in the eye, showing me indifference, but mostly pain. This man wants these kids back, and he’ll do anything to get them, I thought.

“Where are my kids?” He asked softly, showing his anger.

“Arson, Where are the kids?” I said, turning to him.

“I thothingiun,” The geneticist grunted.

The Warchief pointed at Arson with his nose and another man draped in black appeared from out of nowhere. He grabbed Arson by the shoulder and cut the rag free from his mouth in one smooth motion, showing his proficiency with the blade.

“Ah…the better.” Arson said with a smile, rolling his neck. The man with the knife flashed the blade across Arson’s face, then brought it down across his neck. Blood trickled down his neck and pain flashed across his face.

“Luta’s hands get shakey at times. So be careful with your words.” Calian said firmly.

“Well…it’s either Luta back off. Or you’ll never find your kids. Even with the map, the Assassin has.”

“Assassin?” A man to my left said.

Blades appeared in all the Doasians hands, beaming and reflecting what little light flowed within the tent. My lips drew to a line and scanned the tent, watching for Doasian’s next move.

As intense as the pressure within the tent was before, it downright smothering and I would surely drown from the melancholic aura that made my skin sizzle with goosebumps. “I won’t deny what I’m capable of. But I don’t think it matters. Didn’t you come here for your children? Don’t let the man that orchestrated their kidnapping sway you.”

“Sway?” Arson laughed, “Assassin, unlike you, I save people don’t kill them…especially children. Your kids are fine. I’ve even repaired the cellular degradation they’ve felt at such a young age.”

Cellular degradation, what is he talking about? I asked myself, turning to him. “Lies!” I growled, not wanting to give him a chance.

“Is this some type of joke woman?” The Warchief asked.

“You bring some half cock scientist here mumbling about ‘fixing’ cellular degradation.”

“I’m not some half cock scientist!” Arson hissed. “I’m Garnikon Zelkah’s protege. I know everything about Doasian DNA and how it has changed since the Imbibe brought us to our KNEES!”

“You’re a fucking charlatan and liar. Garnikon had no protege!” A man snapped on the left. “Oh really, if he had no protege, then how come I synthesized an upgraded version of Compound C90 that’s stabilised your degraded DNA in half the time, Hmm?”

What the fuck is going Garnikon? Compound C90? What the fuck is going on!

As I eyed Arson in disbelief, the bastard’s lips drew into a wry smile. Shit, I said to myself, he planned this. He has some leverage over the Doasians. That’s why he was willing to come with us. He can buy his way out and leave us to rot. FUCK!

My hands balled into a fist, and Calian appeared in front of me, knife blade pointing directly at my neck. “Release those fists. I don’t know what your metal men are capable of. I won’t have you doing as you please in my presence!”

I did as requested, and turned to Eltessa who stared at me like a wolf ready to bite out my throat. “You fucked us Cypher.” She told me her. She’s right, I mused.

“Seleth, is he telling the truth? Can C90 be stabilised enough that we won’t need to repair our cells as much?” The Warchief asked.

“Yes, Dr Zelkah hypothesized that C90 could be improved upon, but the technology to make the improvements weren’t available in Doasa at the time.”

“…and now?”

“We’re still behind The Antillean Federation in terms of engineering, but they lack the ingenuity when it comes to technology.”

“I see…”

The Warchief re-sheathed his knife and walked up to Arson. He looked at the man from head to toe for three seconds, then turned around to back him. He began tapping his chest with his right hand and closed his eyes. He began to mutter something under his breath that seemed like a prayer, then spun around hitting Arson in the chest.

The scientist dropped to the ground instantly and began heaving as he clawed the ground trying to catch his breath. I flicked to X-Ray Vision. Arson’s Skeletal frame showed me his rib cage was fine, which meant he was just as dramatic as I’d suspected.

“That’s for experimenting on my children. The next one, I won’t be leaving you alive.”

“D…o th…at a…g…ain and I destroy my research!” Arson croaked. “That way you won’t be able to save your little munchkins when I’m dead!”

The Warchief giggle a menacing laugh that reverberated within the tent. He snapped his head towards Arson and twinkled his blade in his palm. “What was that?” He said calmly.

“Touch me again and destroy the means to fix your corroding DNA, Warchief.” Arson said firmly as I looked at the Warchief, defiantly lips drawn to a line. Interesting, I mused, is this the same man’s nose I broke twice in the past two hours? The Warchief knelt and brought his face inches from Arson’s own. The geneticist didn’t flinch but kept the scowl he held. The Warchief brought the knife to Arson’s neck and pressed it against his jugular. “Go ahead, kill me and your people. Warchief.”

As I watched the egos flare out, the gears in my mind turned and churned. Trying to understand what the hell was going on. What was Arson talking about corroded DNA? Are the Doasians Sick? Why would they be sick? Weren’t there the paramount standard when it came to nano-technology? Or did the overuse of nanites corrode their DNA?

These questions battered me, making my SMB clutch my brain like a vice grip, a feeling I hadn’t felt in hours ever since Nova returned. Nova must know something, I thought, but I can’t talk to her now. I need to get out of this shit and verify things. Or maybe she doesn’t know?… No, she has to. She knows who Mr Black works for…she has to know what’s going on here too.

“Chief.” A doasian said to my left.

“Don’t get on weak on me now Seleth”

“I’m not getting weak Chief, but if we have a chance to save Sarika and strengthen the Tribe then I think it’s worth it.”

“The Antilleans are liars!” He growled. “They promised us they could help over fifty years ago! Now look at us…degrading by the SECOND” He howled.

“If the Antilleans were horrible Chief, Dr Zelkah would’ve never sought us out.”

“Zelkah only cared for his hubris, nothing to do with us.”

“Yet, we’ve been granted an additional thirty years because of Compound C90. If this man is not lying, we might be able to fix what was broken for so long.”