When Sylvester had said he was taking Cassian back inside, she had to admit she wasn’t quite expecting what happened next. How she’d gone from running in agony through the streets of Novus to laying back, relaxing on a cushy blue sofa she had no idea. But there she was in the middle of a newly decorated underground apartment with a MediBeam at her knee. It almost felt as though she was being rewarded for her actions, and that she loved.
Ali crouched on the floor next to her, eyeing up the static that glittered around her knee in complete bamboozlement, “Cass… should I even ask how this happened?”
“Probably not, it’s pretty embarrassing,” she began. She couldn’t use her red light district lie for this one, Ali had noticed the static, “Truth is… I got shot.”
“Shot? Who by?” Ali squinted at the static again, “Looks like Technika…”
It was an astute observation of his, likely assumed by the radiation the modern magic of Technika gave off; Cassian wasn’t surprised, Ali was a seasoned Technikan. Every weapon he’d been commissioned was crafted using it, including Cassian’s own handgun.
Technika was most simply described as a magical art that combined code with the manipulation of atoms. As opposed to casting spells, Technika had to be programmed, but once that hurdle was leapt over, you could create almost anything with it.
Novus was abundant in it, VisoComs, MediBeams and practically every holographic screen or interface within the city was a product made with Technika in conjunction with a variety of hardware.
And so were the Doloriak’s weapons.
Cassian took a deep breath and repeated her next sentence in her head. She decided to commit to telling it, despite how ridiculous it was. It couldn't hurt right?
“See, the thing is… I was shot by a Purple with a gun…”
Ali’s face soured, “They have guns now?”
“You better fuckin’ believe it buddy-boy,” she crossed her arms frustratedly, “Terrifyin’, you should’ve seen the look in his eyes…”
Ali pulled the contemplative face he usually did when he tried not to outwardly show his panic and briskly walked into his office. Cassian supposed that was enough to convince him for now.
She heard a quiet “achem” to her right and turned to see that Sylvester was extending a cup of tea to her.
Her eyes pinned it like a hawk and her arms leapt for it enthusiastically.
“That’s the stuff!” She exclaimed and began glugging it down. It was just right, not scalding, a unique floral flavour with a hint of milk: a perfect post-trauma brew.
“My, you must be rather parched,” Sylvester chuckled, noticing she only had half a mug left already, “I can’t say I'm surprised after all that running you did.”
“Is this Siyseurlian tea? It’s flippin’ amazing,” she gawked, taking another sip. “Does it go well with biscuits?”
“Usually, yes, but according to the papers you laid off the tuck shop man,” Sylvester smirked as he sat in the armchair opposite; she knew full-well what he was about to say, “So you very much brought that disappointment upon yourself.”
“Ah well,” she took another, slightly less thrilled sip, “Guess it’s bikkies or money these days…”
A set of footsteps danced up the corridor towards the living room. Karalee poked her head around the corner, ears twitching curiously.
“Somebody’s been takin’ a real beatin’ huh?” She pouted, sauntering past Sylvester’s chair first and dropping a blanket on his lap.
The eldrin threw it over his shoulders, “Lee, you are an angel.”
“It’s no problem, sugar. I have, like, a million more!” She giggled, holding the other blanket—this one pink with stars all over it— out to Cassian.
Cassian stared at the blanket in disbelief, “Sorry, I’m allowed this?”
Karalee waved her hand care-freely, “Of course! Girl, you need it more than me.”
“But what if I get tea on it?” Cassian could feel herself regressing further and further into her teenage years with every word the pop idol spoke.
“Ever heard of a washing machine, hun?” She giggled, practically throwing the blanket over her and squeezing her shoulders, “Gods, you fangirls are so cute.”
“Cute…” Cassian’s face turned pink and she buried her head in the blanket, waiting until Karalee had taken a seat. It didn’t help that she decided to take that seat at the other end of the couch, by Cassian’s feet.
The fangirl slowly raised her head out of the blanket. She swore right then as Karalee sat beaming at her she could see sparks flying around the room.
The pop idol raised a brow, “How old are you, hun?”
“Um…” Cassian almost forgot for a moment, “Twenty-five.”
“Oh!” Karalee seemed surprised once again, “That’s-”
“I know you’re about to say old for a Sweet Tooth fan,” Cassian sighed, “I know.”
“Actually I was gonna say that’s young for someone so successful,” Karalee smiled, Cassian fell apart again and cuddled herself inside the blanket shyly.
“Nice save,” Sylvester whispered.
Right as Karalee was about to whisper back “Thanks”, Ali stormed back into the room, waving about one of his prototype guns wildly.
“Okay so hear me out,” he shot a round across the room into a wall, causing Karalee and Sylvester to jump and squeal simultaneously, he clapped his hands together pointedly, “Purples. With. Guns.”
"I thought I was the trigger-happy one," Cassian uttered, eyes wide.
Ali ignored her, continuing to wave the gun about, “If Purples have been coded to use guns, and they seem to discharge Technika the same as our own…” he spun on his feet and faced the three of them, “then who’s supplying the guns?”
“I don’t suppose it was one of yours Cassian was shot with?” Sylvester inquired.
“Nah, I don’t offer purple as a custom colour, we're all sick of seeing it,” he rubbed his chin in thought, “Although…”
He raised his watch and swiped over it, pulling up a holographic interface and running some searches through a database.
Cassian watched nervously, “Why are you so worried anyway? Just make stronger guns?”
“We don’t know that whoever is supplying the Purples these guns will stop at that,” he swiped around the hologram for a little longer, gun loosely held in the other hand. It was unnerving the markswoman.
"Ali, for fucks sake, put the gun down, you're pointin’ it right at me," she urged.
"Oh, sorry," he placed it gently on the coffee table, still swiping at his watch. His eyes brightened, “Aha! Dolori Technologies Limited… That’s the supplier.”
Cassian froze. How ironic it was that by telling a lie she’d unwittingly created a lead for him to go off of.
“Bit of a leap, ain’t it? It was just one guy after all.”
“Yeah, but that was one guy on one specific block. What if there’s a guy like that on every couple of streets? Then we’ve got ourselves a problem,” He picked the gun back up and resumed twirling it around.
Cassian rolled her eyes, “Here we go again.”
Ali was pacing in circles now, “If whoever’s at the top of the Xytonetwork is going to such lengths to turn us all into Purples there must be some sort of motive for them… A motive that requires total population control to work successfully. Total compliance.”
Her father had been right, one wrong word in front of Ali and it was all over. She attempted to rein the conspiracies in.
“Okay… now we’re pluckin’ at straws,” she removed the blanket from her back and got up off the sofa.
“Wait, Cass! What about your leg?” He started towards her.
“It’ll be fine,” she shook her head, “What I’m more concerned about right now is whatever the fuck it is you think you’re playin’ at.”
“Wha-? I’m not playing at anything.”
“Oh really? Then what’s all this then, eh?” She gestured to the apartment they were all situated within. “I’ve been here for almost half an hour and not a single one of you has explained!”
“It’s our living quarters,” Sylvester chimed in, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Yes, smartass, that's the only bit that makes sense!" Cassian crossed her arms sternly, ignoring the pout on Sylvester’s face, “Why do you lot get to live all nicely in a converted bunker like this when people like Zhu—people who work their asses off—are stuck in the filthy shitholes down the road?”
Ali approached, hands out as though he were attempting to tame a lion, “President Zhu has one too. After his shift today I took him to his new place. He shed tears, Cass.”
Cassian stood there, momentarily corrected, “Wow… I actually wish I could’ve seen that…”
“The other bunkers are due for renovation soon. I’ve got volunteers ready, but until now it’s just been my friends Baron and Franko and myself workin’ on these prototype spaces,” he dared to take a step closer, squeezing his hands together nervously. “I have worked my ass off, Cassian,” he gestured back at the other two, “We’re all gonna work our asses off.”
“So, you brought these guys here to build shelters, then?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “As if! Don’t pretend these guys didn’t completely outperform me against the Purples last night. You’ve brought ‘em here as a line of defence, haven’t you?”
Suddenly there was a loud click and a buzz. The main door into the apartment slid open.
Felix stood in the doorway, his reptilian eyes wide with surprise, "Am I..?"
Cassian spun round, "Interrupting something? Yep!" She walked towards the door, patting him on the shoulder as she passed him, "Immaculate timing, Captain."
"Please, it's just Felix."
Cassian spun around, hands pressed together accusingly, "Anyways, if the lot of you are okay with reaping the last benefits of this crumbling hellscape, I implore you to keep up the good work!"
"It's only been a day, dear," Sylvester muttered, there was a sudden, unfamiliar bitterness in his tone.
"Less than a day," Karalee added with the same tone of disappointment.
"Ah," Felix raised an eyebrow, a smug grin crept across his face, "We're talking about the plan, huh?"
"Oh fucking hell Felix," Ali clasped at his hood frustratedly. Sylvester and Karalee exchanged a long, irritated sigh. It was evident he'd said something he shouldn't have.
The Dragorian slumped, his self-impressed look melting away. He uttered something aggressively beneath his breath in Urthian.
"There we go, the plaaan," Cassian droned, "So I've been in the dark for a while then, hm?"
Ali was quiet for a moment, he looked back to Sylvester and Karalee for reassurance, “I-I guess, yeah… but I can’t tell you-”
“Why?” Cassian scowled, “Why can’t you tell me? Even Zhu said you were playing silly games, keeping information from people so you could enact some sort of ‘grand plan’ at the perfect time. When’s that gonna be, Ali? A week? A month? Or maybe when there’s nobody left in this damned place to tell!”
She stood for a moment, on the verge of fury. Ali hugged himself, clearly slighted by her words. Of course it was unfair to spring such criticisms upon a kid who had clearly achieved so much, but Cassian wasn’t there to shower her peers in praise.
Silence took over the room, Sylvester and Karalee had grown somewhat standoffish, standing behind a scolded Ali. Felix stepped awkwardly past Cassian and headed to the kitchenette. The deputy sighed.
"You know what, whatever," she turned and stepped out of the apartment door, "Guess I should just wait for the grand reveal, if that's what's so important to you."
She walked away. Ali exhaled through his nose, frustrated and slumped into the couch, head in hands.
"Feeelix," he groaned accusatively.
The Dragorian poked his head round the kitchenette door and waved a frying pan about aggressively, "Ohh no don't you dare act like this is anyone's fault but hers."
"But it's not," Ali sat up, "She's right to be frustrated. Nobody likes it when secrets are kept from them."
"Yes. But regardless, she could've handled her feelings better," Sylvester reassured him. He moved and sat next to Ali, "Why is it so paramount we keep her in the dark about all this?"
Ali ran a shaky hand through his locs, "Because I don't know if we can trust her yet…"
The other three collectively groaned, Felix stormed towards the boy, urgency in his eyes.
"Bloody hell, Ali, it's a bit late to decide now," Felix crossed his arms, "I thought you said you had it all confirmed?"
"I did… but you guys have seen the way she's been acting lately," Ali shrugged, "She's a loose cannon—Zhu's words, not mine—She always goes crazy over little things like this!"
"I get you n' all hun, but…" Karalee glanced over at Felix, "If we can handle that guy, we can handle Cass."
"Hey!" Felix growled, the hybrid woman giggled cheekily.
"You didn't bring us here to have us all sit around waiting," Sylvester urged gently, "We have to act soon."
"We do…" Ali thought for a moment, raising his wristwatch and bringing up some video footage which glowed holographically in the air, "And, I guess her skills don't lie…"
The others leaned over him curiously and watched the footage. In the video Cassian can be seen at a distance running and leaping across rooftops, doing flips, twirls and wall climbs. She manoeuvred her way down several buildings with ease before reaching street level, kicking off of a fire exit staircase with a flip and shooting a triad of Purples to the ground mid-air.
Felix whistled, "Where was that when we needed it last night?"
"Guess everyone has bad days," Karalee said. She paused for a moment as if she'd realised something, "Hold up, Ali, did you like… stalk her for this footage?"
The others chuckled knowingly.
Ali froze, gasping deeply, "OH NAH! Nah it was a complete coincidence," he laughed nervously, "I swear I was flyin' my drone around and there she was, like woa-"
"I think you've already made up your mind," Sylvester leaned in teasingly.
"Huh?"
"We should tell her, Ali," Sylvester continued, "About all of it. Even if we need to rethink strategy, she ought to know."
Ali sighed, calm again, "Alright… Maybe she's right too."
He stood up and walked over to a pinboard of leads and information the group had gathered, he grabbed a post-it and scribbled down Dolori Technologies Ltd.
"We gotta pick up the pace."
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