Thunder in Darkness

Blue thunderbolts rocked the subterranean battleground with sharp cracks and piercing light. Seth’s gauntleted fist arced through the darkness sheathed by a pulsing strobe and electric buzz, his strikes shaking his enemies to their bones. The technologist was a fearsome storm front in the night, pushing his enemies further back with each jarring blow.

One of the cats attempted to tackle him by the knees, but a shocking jab to the shoulder knocked him to the side. Another took the opportunity to charge in for a body blow. Seth took a turning half step to the left, knocked the Kait past him with his left elbow, and caught his assailant’s face in his gauntleted right hand. Bolts of electricity rattled down the length of the cat’s body and raked across Seth’s legs. Standing in the ankle-deep water, Seth was feeling a portion of every shock that struck his enemies. Even with his intense training, he could not keep this up for long.

Seth lifted his stricken opponent by the chin, spun underneath him, and heaved the shaking Kait over his back. Arcs of electricity cascaded down around him. A primordial roar left his lips as he flung the Kait back into the wide tunnel with a splash. He turned back to the other two as they regrouped. Seth’s gauntlet sputtered as drops of water sizzled in the arcing bolts of energy. The water rose up into the terrible flickering light as ghostly vapors.

“Stop!” A light alto voice echoed off the walls with unwavering authority.

The three combatants stopped and turned to face the voice. The avian girl from the train stood near a large outlet pipe on the far side of the chamber. She held a large yellow phosphor lamp on a staff that cast gold watery reflections on the walls, filling the room with warm light. With her face uncloaked, Seth could see the tiny lines of feathers along her temples that were characteristic of her race. They were linked by a simple brass band across her forehead. She had replaced her earlier cloak with a linen robe that looked far too fine to be dragging about the sewers.

Seth noticed an odd reptilian creature the size of a large cat slink about near her feet. Its scales reflected odd patterns out of sync with the pulsing glow of the lamp.

Suddenly, out of the darkness to the avian’s left stepped a massive form, fully eight feet tall and as wide as a horse. This reptile Seth easily identified as one of the warlike tsaaur. Its rough, mottled green skin gave it a natural stealth advantage in the sewers. Thickly muscled arms held the unconscious Roland over its shoulder. Seth dropped into a low crouch, his gauntlet continuing to burn with etheric lightning.

“Don’t worry, he’s not badly injured,” said the girl, gesturing to Roland’s limp form. “This one is known to us. He has contributed to the deaths of many of our kind.”

“He is an honorable servant of the Empire and my friend. You will not hurt him!” blurted Seth.

The avian regarded him oddly. “You could have killed me on the train, machinist. I know what your weapons can do. But you didn’t. Since I have no desire to make an enemy of you, we will return your friend unharmed, and go our separate ways, I think.”

The salt and pepper colored Kait began to protest.

“Enough, Tikva,” she said to him. “I didn’t come here to contribute to a war.”

“Why did you come, then?” said Seth. If he was going to get anything productive out of this encounter he had better take command of the situation. “You violate our laws by being here. If you are not at war, why assist those who attack our citizens and their livelihoods?”

The avian fixed him with a cold stare. The plumes of feathers on her temples stiffened slightly. “I haven’t attacked anyone. And neither have my friends here. But your empire has harmed a great many. Emperor Ludovic may want a war with us but none of us are inclined to give him one in his own city.”

“So you deny bombing the steel mill in sector 6? The South Field rail station?”

“I don’t know anything about those places. I’m here to assist the kait, avians, and yes, even tsaaur who live under the constant threat of your Purge.” She spat the last word. “That doesn’t include getting people killed by sparking more battles. I suggest you look elsewhere for enemies to fight.”

“If you have nothing to hide, then why did you attack us?”

The tsaaur responded in a gravelly, guttural accent, but his enunciation was clear. “We have learned that soldiers and machinists are likely to attack any of our kind. We did not wish to give you the opportunity.”

“Regardless,” said the avian, “this fight is over now.”

“By order of the Emperor, I’m still bound to arrest you,” said Seth.

“How disappointing for you.” The avian signaled to her compatriots. “Get going, Tikva.”

Tikva and the other kait helped their fallen ally to his feet and exited the chamber. The tsaaur gently set Roland down on a dry stone slab and followed after the others. He snarled slightly at Seth as he left, his upturned reptilian lip showing a wide array of yellowed teeth. With the others gone, the avian took a few steps closer to Seth and spoke in softer tones. Her reptilian pet scurried silently about her feet.

“Unwelcome or not,” she said, “there are people in this city who need my help, and they’re not going anywhere. And I doubt you can kill or arrest all of them. Your empire is just going to have to get used to that.”

Seth straightened to his full height. “I serve the Emperor because I believe the cause of humanity is just. We make unfortunate sacrifices to seek that cause, but we do not have to like them. You may not believe it, but there are many in the Empire who opposed the Purge.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to justify himself to this avian, but the heartfelt words came nonetheless.

She looked at him with that same odd expression from earlier. “You are different from the other Exemplar. I am Kachina. If you’re truly interested in preventing more violence, seek the Whistler. We can speak more then, Mr. Delocke.”

Kachina turned and left quickly, leaving Seth alone with Roland’s unconscious form. Her small companion followed closely after. It would not occur to Seth until much later that the reptile did not disturb the surface of the shallow water as it moved.