The Terra Episode
(a theoretical prequel by magicite54)

Chapter One
The Intruder

       Almost everything was made of steel—the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the levels above and below her. The doors were made of so much more. To the uninvited presence, the doors were walls themselves—impenetrable and indestructible. They’ve kept intruders away very effectively since the day they were made. It has kept the secret of extreme power locked up within—the secret of the highly technologically advanced Empire on the face of the planet.

       And yet, on that fateful night, the door opened to the uninvited with but a mention of its name.

       "Sub-seven D," whispered the female intruder. The door in front of her opened almost instantly with a unified hiss of the hydraulics. The locking mechanism behind the door clapped so loud that it startled her. The sound echoed back through the dark and empty corridor. Her heart raced.

       "Don’t worry. Nobody heard it," assured an unseen presence with an odd-sounding female voice that only the intruder could hear.

       The young woman took a deep breath of relief. Whoever the presence was, she trusted the voice fully. The girl walked into the darkened facility that the door hid from prying eyes so carefully for many unbroken years. Her green eyes would soon be witnesses to the wonders that the "Devil’s Laboratory" held.

       She wore black coveralls for stealth. A black mask covered her face, save her eyes and mouth. Strapped to her back and shoulders was a small black bag, the contents of which were a mystery.

       The room was huge but very dim. The intruder looked around her, marveling at the huge machinations at work. At the very center of the lab was a tall column covered with tiny red lights that blinked incessantly. The column hummed with strong electrical current as it slowly rotated. Along the walls were huge cylindrical glass drums like vats for large amounts of chemicals. Most of them were empty as she noticed but some of them contained clear, bubbling liquid and shadowy specimens within. The tops of the drums were sealed.

       Thick cables of different colors ran carelessly across the floor in different directions. Some of them clearly linked the rotating column and the vats together. Littered all around were workstations. Most of them were powered down at this time of night but some seemed to have been left active. Faint static noises came from different directions. To her relief, there were no signs of trouble.

       The metal door closed behind her with a familiar hiss and a loud clap of the locking mechanism. This startled her again but unlike the first time it didn’t worry her as much.

       "Proceed to the western exit at once. Long exposure to the radiation level of the room could be fatal to anybody who is not wearing a type four bio-radiation suit," instructed the unseen accomplice.

       The girl hurried as directed, carefully stepping over the cables. She passed several of the glass vats that contained various specimens. She noticed that they were different kinds of animals in some kind of a stasis. Some of them were impossible to identify with a quick glance. She didn’t take any chances to stop and try.

       She reached the locked door of the western side of the facility. It was as big as the previous one. The girl looked above the door and read a stenciled sign.

       "Sub-seven D-west," she read aloud.

       The door opened again emitting the same hissing sounds and claps of the locking mechanism. This time she was fully prepared. The door slid open revealing a brightly illuminated room. She quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The floor was different. It was tiled white like the walls and ceiling. Against the southern wall were tall gray featureless boxes. Opposite them were lockers and various kinds of protective gears from boots, to gloves, to helmets. She assumed that they were for the people who worked in the other room with the high radiation level.

       "I’m in," the girl reported.

       "Good. But remember what I told you. From now on I have no complete control over the security measures of the area," said the accomplice through an earpiece.

       "I remember. Just tell me where to go."

       "Take the other exit."

       The girl quickly saw the door opposite of where she came from. It was a normal looking door made of strong wood with a thick glass window that allowed her to see what was behind it. She strode over to it and peered through the window. Behind the door was another steel-clad corridor. She looked at the knob that opened the door. A keypad was installed beside it. Apparently, an access code was needed.

       "Access code," she said simply.

       "Searching…" said the voice. After a moment the voice recited the code. "5-4-2-3-1-0"

       The girl punched in the access code. A confirming beep was heard and the lock clicked open. She turned the knob and the door swung open allowing her to leave the locker room. She felt like she was back where she came from because of the metal surroundings.

       "Go south. Enter third door on the right."

       The girl moved more quietly than before because she wasn’t sure whether anybody else was in the area. Before, her accomplice could tell her with accuracy about the position of the guards in patrol but now her partner in crime couldn’t determine that. Not while she was in the highly restricted area.

       She reached the door that was like the one before except this time it didn’t have a keypad for access code. She turned the knob and just entered without a whit of trouble. The room was utterly dark but was drowned by the humming of various machinations that were oddly distorted. The sounds echoed horribly and reverberated all together into a unified droning note. Above that was a distinct rhythmic sound. One would have to shout above the sound to be heard by another human being within ten feet. Despite this fact, the girl was able to hear her guide quite clearly.

       "You are on a plank. Don’t wander off without switching the lights on," the voice said.

       The girl felt the wall for a switch of some sort. She found a cold metal box with a lever that was pointing down. Taking the risk after a deep breath, she pushed it up. A chain of hanging light bulbs illuminated the catwalk as well as her immediate surroundings. The catwalk hung from the ceiling with strong metal chains that looked treacherous. She clutched at the handle bars tightly when she realized that something was still missing even after the lights were turned on—the bottom. She noticed that the catwalk ran across a manmade chasm that stretched down only as far as the illumination could reach. The droning noises seemed to be coming from below. A strange and faint green glow could sometimes be seen from below also. Above her was a gigantic propeller that seemed to be the source of the rhythmic sound. Warm air came from below.

       "Cross the plank to exit."

       The girl summoned up her courage to take the first step. The catwalk slightly swung sideways. The girl continued carefully until she reached a similar door. The door opened at a turn of the knob. She went through it and found herself in another darkened facility but it was much quieter this time.

       "I’m in another dark room. What do I do?" she asked her partner.

       "This is it. Turn on the lights and plant the devices then get out of there the same way you got in. Make haste. You cannot stay here very long."

       The girl unmasked herself. Her blond hair fell on her shoulders, framing her delicate face. From her looks alone one would place her in between the age of seventeen to twenty. Her green eyes revealed an inherent gentleness and intelligence. It also reflected fear and tension at the moment. She was wearing a small earpiece on her right ear and a tiny microphone around her neck, worn like a necklace. With them she was able to communicate with her unseen helper.

        She removed her backpack and opened it, drawing a black cylindrical object from it. She twisted the top of the object and the object glowed like a lamp. She held it up before her to navigate her way around. She was in a room that was as big as the one with the rotating column and the vats but this time she was surrounded by seemingly inactive computer consoles situated against the walls. Cables still run across the floor from the inactive consoles to odd-looking glass pods hanging from a support beam at the ceiling in rows, barely touching the metal floor. She regarded the pods with curiosity. Just like the vats of liquid and animal specimens in the previous room, the pods were also filled with clear bubbling liquid. And just like the vats the pods contained odd-shaped figures. The pods were bigger than the vats and the creatures inside were obviously larger also.

       The girl held the lamp in front of one of the pods but the thick rounded glass only reflected the glare back making it even more difficult to make out the contents of the pods.

       "Have you found the panel?" the voice asked.

       "N-not yet," she answered, turning away from the pods and walking to the nearest corner of the room.

       The corner was empty except for a metal plating covering something in the wall. The girl opened the plating that turned out to be an accessible panel. It revealed a very intricate web of wires and cables connected to even more mind-boggling devices.

       "I found it," the girl said in a whisper.

       "You know what to do," the voice said.

       The girl, drew a couple of devices from her backpack. They were rectangular in shape. Her hands went through the web of wires and reached for two similarly shaped devices. She held one tight and disconnected all the wires that were linked to it. She replaced the device with her own, reconnecting the wires back in the same order. She did the same for the second device. When the switch was done, she placed the stolen devices in her backpack and closed the panel again.

       "It’s done!" the girl reported gladly.

       "Good. It’ll take me approximately three minutes to integrate myself into that facility’s system. Get out of there now, Branford" the voice urged her.

       The girl immediately went on her way. She was halfway into the rows of pods when—

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Chapter Two
The Encounter

       "Terra…" a voice said in a whisper. She was sure it didn’t come from the earpiece that she was wearing.

       The girl stopped dead in her tracks and spun around suddenly, startled. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Besides the shadows, she only saw the reflected glare of her lamp from the glass pods.

       "Guardian? Did you just say something?" the girl asked in a soft, nervous whisper.

       "Negative," her partner answered.

       The girl was about to turn to leave the room when she heard the voice again.

       Terra…

       The girl gasped. Her eyes widened and were both alert for a sign of movement. There was no mistaking it. She did hear something.

       "Guardian, I think somebody’s here," she whispered to her partner through the microphone in a nervous voice.

       "Then I suggest that you leave now."

       Help me, Terra. The mysterious whispering voice said again.

       "Who-who are y-you?" the girl asked the unseen presence in a trembling voice.

       "Branford? Whom are you talking to?" the girl’s partner asked through her earpiece but the girl ignored the question.

       Terra. I… need… your help. Whispered the male voice again. The whisper sounded so clear that it could not have been said several feet from her. Whoever was saying it was very close and yet the girl could not see anything. Free me.

       "Who are you? Where are you?" asked Tina, not afraid about being heard by the soldiers she had so carefully avoided in coming here.

       "Branford, get out of there now!" the girl’s partner urgently said through her earpiece.

       You must help me escape. You must help us escape. The mystery voice said with urgency. Oddly, the girl had a feeling that she was hearing the voice from inside her head.

       "You mistake me for somebody else. I’m not Terra," the girl answered back.

       "Branford! Don’t listen to whatever you’re hearing! Get out of the room now. You’re in danger!" the accomplice said.

       Have you forgotten, Terra? Have you forgotten who you are?

       The girl was now intrigued. The girl raised her head and stared into one of the pods. She still couldn’t make out what was inside but for some strange reason, she felt that the voice was coming from the inside.

       "Why do you ask that?" she asked softly. "Why? Who am I exactly?"

       "I will tell you who you are, Tina Branford but you must get out of the room. Something in there is confusing you!" yelled the accomplice.

       Tina removed the earpiece and held it tight in her gloved hand.

       You are Terra. You are the Gate Sentry. The voice answered enigmatically.

       Tina shook her head. "My name is Tina Branford. Rank: Second Class of the Third Infantry. I am no protector. And you… whoever you are… you are just confusing me."

       You are confused, yes. You have forgotten. Your human upbringing has made you weak. It’s not your fault. The voice said in gentle tones.

       "My human upbringing? What are you talking about?"

       But you’ve come back. You’ve come back to save us.

       "What are you? What am I?"

       "Branford! The soldiers are coming!" said the accomplice through the unworn earpiece, her voice sounding teeny.

       "Hold them back, Guardian. I know you can," the girl told her accomplice.

       "Unacceptable! You are jeopardizing your mission. Remember our deal! I keep you safe for as long as you keep to the end of your bargain! I will abandon you if you do not exit the room this instant!" threatened the accomplice.

       Tina ignored the threat.

       "I don’t have much time. Tell me who or what I am!"

       In response, a dim light illuminated the inside of the pod she was staring into. It revealed a humanoid creature but it was far from being human. The creature was larger than the average human with black and brown fur covering its entire body. The creature was very muscular and had clawed hands. The head was a fearsome sight. Its face was covered with short fur making the creature look feral in nature and it had long black hair and huge, thick horns that curved back. A mask covered the mouth and nose to help the creature breathe. The eyes were closed as the creature just floated inside in a relaxed state.

       A computer console behind her activated itself and began beeping and flashing various cryptic images on its display. The console, she noticed, was the computer that the cable from the pod the creature was in was attached to.

       "Please tell me! Who am I? What am I?!" Tina shouted, not caring whether somebody would hear it.

       The lights in the other pods turned themselves on as well as the computer consoles they were attached to. The creatures inside the other pods were shaped differently. Some were humanoid and yet some were shaped like crossbred animals. Others still, didn’t look like they had physical forms at all. And yet, for some strange reason, she knew that they were all alike.

       Then the lights of the entire facility turn on. No shadow was left for her to hide in. It was time for her to leave for the soldiers were coming.

       Tina wore the earpiece again and her mask. She ran back to the catwalk and crossed it quickly.

       "Stop!" her accomplice said. She did so in the middle of the catwalk. "Drop the backpack. Get rid of the evidence now!"

       Without giving it a thought Tina threw her backpack containing the stolen devices into the chasm and then she herself continued on through the exit.

       She was back in the metal corridor. She turned right and ran as fast as she could to return to the locker room where she had gone through before. From almost every direction, she could hear the Imperial soldiers running to find the intruder. She reached the door to the locker room and gave the knob a twist.

       To her surprise, the alarm suddenly sounded and a red light right above her flashed wildly. She had forgotten to enter the access code.

       "Guardian!" she called to her accomplice. "Open the door!"

       "I can’t. I don’t have control over the sector yet," replied the accomplice.

       Tina heard the Imperial troops closing in from behind her, following the sound of the alarm and the sight of the red flashes. She couldn’t stay there any longer. She started to run into the opposite direction. The Imperial guards saw her in her black coverall.

       "There’s the intruder! After him!"

       "Guardian, I’m heading east. Show me another exit!" Tina shouted.

       "T-intersection. Turn right!"" instructed Guardian.

       Tina saw the T-intersection ahead. She ran around the corner to the right as Guardian told her to do but she stopped when she saw a small roaming automaton blocking the way. It was a robot programmed to do patrols in the area. It was obviously a formidable obstacle.

       "There’s a Magitek drone blocking the way!" she said to Guardian.

       "Give me the model!" instructed Guardian.

       "Halt! Identify yourself!" the robot said as it pointed a nasty looking blaster at her. She could hear the soldiers who were after her getting closer.

       "Uh… Silver Drone… model GT-590," she told Guardian.

       "Invalid identification," answered the drone menacingly. "This is a restricted area. Please step away."

       "Alpha-seven-seven-niner," said Guardian.

       "Alpha-seven-seven-niner!" echoed Tina.

       "Identification verified. Awaiting orders," replied the drone as it stepped aside.

       Tina walked behind the robot and gave it a new order. "Don’t let anybody else get past you," she commanded the robot.

       "Understood," the robot replied as it assumed its position.

       Tina continued to run through the corridor. Shortly, there were shouts behind her and short bursts of explosions as the drone fought off the Imperial soldiers. Her command worked and it should slow the soldiers down.

       Tina reached a door at the very end with a keypad situated near the knob.

       "Access code."

       "5-4-2-3-1-0" replied Guardian.

       The door opened leading Tina into a clean room full of shelves that held thousands of records. The room was clear so she simply looked around for another exit. A louder explosion meant that the sentry robot had been subdued. It didn’t buy her enough time as she expected. She reached for the other exit and kicked it open when she saw that it required another access code. The door was weak so it flew open but another alarm blared betraying her position. She was in another branching corridor of the metal labyrinth. Being clueless to where she was in the secret facility she ran aimlessly, taking random turns around corners to lose her pursuers.

       "Guardian, I’m lost! Can you see me yet?" Tina asked, clutching the listening device with her hand.

       "In a moment. Just lose them for a few more seconds," instructed Guardian.

       Tina ran around another corner and she bumped into two Imperial soldiers who were going the other direction. The three of them were sent sprawling onto the ground. Tina scrambled up her feet and started to run back to the opposite direction but she stopped when she saw her pursuers closing in. She decided to just get past the two Imperial soldiers whom she bumped into. Fortunately for her they were still on the ground, dazed. She slid past them quickly and hurried away.

       The two soldiers picked themselves up and joined pursuit. They were the closest to her. Tina made another turn at a corner, which turned out to be a big mistake. She was trapped. In front of her was a big metal door that can only be opened manually. A wheel was in the middle of the door and this needed to be turned to open it. She didn’t think she had enough time but she tried it anyway.

       Tina tugged at the wheel counterclockwise but it didn’t budge. She put her weight into it and the wheel started rotating but very slowly. Alas, the two Imperial soldiers caught up with her. They drew closer, more slowly now, holding their swords up to apprehend the masked intruder.

       She leaned against the big door like a cornered animal. She held her right hand in front of her bidding the soldier to stop.

       "I’m warning you. Don’t come any closer!" she warned revealing to them her feminine voice.

       "Don’t make this hard on yourself. You are trapped and weaponless!" the lead soldier said as he approached her carefully, holding his sword up menacingly.

       The man was right. Tina was weaponless. However, she was not completely defenseless.

       "Fire!" she shouted.

       A blast of angry flame burst toward the lead soldier, knocking him off his feet and back towards the other soldier who stood utterly bewildered. The soldier moaned in pain but he was alive. The fire scorched his uniform and nothing more. Tina took advantage of this moment of surprise by running past them again but the second soldier reacted quickly this time. She tackled Tina to the floor wrestled with her, hoping to pin her long enough for the other soldiers to come to his aid.

       Tina kicked the soldier in the groin and the soldier released her. She jumped up on her feet again and made a dash for it. The soldier sprang forward in another attempt to tackle her but fell short, toppling over his singed companion.

       She ran around another corner. The soldiers were so much closer now as she could hear them shout.

       "Guardian! Help me!" she gasped. She was out of breath.

       She stopped once more as she saw another soldier ahead, blocking the corridor. She turned around to find another way but she saw the Imperial soldiers who have been pursuing her from the start running towards her. She faced the lone soldier again. She’d stand a greater chance of getting past him than the others. She charged forward. The lone soldier drew his sword and braced himself.

       "Fire!" she cried. A ball of fire flew towards the frightened soldier. The soldier ducked to the ground. The fireball flew past over his head, hitting a wall instead. When she was close to the soldier she kicked him hard in the chest. The man dropped his sword but he retorted with a strong shove as he stood up. Tina was thrown back for she was no match to the soldier in terms of strength.

       "Guardian!" she cried for help.

       The soldier went for her throat. He was trying to strangle her. Tina fought hard to loosen the soldier’s grip.

       "Kill him!" Guardian shouted through her earpiece.

       Tina’s magic was indeed powerful enough to kill with but a word but she was hesitant to do so.

       "Guardian!" she screamed, hoping that her accomplice could find a better way to save her.

       "Use your magic, Branford!" Guardian barked.

       Tina started to see stars. The man’s hands around her throat were already doing its damage. She would pass out real soon unless something was done. Finally, she hesitated no longer for it was now a matter of survival.

       "Fire," she breathed almost inaudibly.

       The soldiers’ hands and arms began to burn. Tina was able to breathe again as the soldier released her, screaming in panic. Tina gasped for air and coughed several times. She felt dizzy and the world around her slowly came back to focus. She felt strong hands seize her by the arms. The Imperial soldiers have finally caught up with her.

       The burning soldier still screamed on the floor fighting off the flames that magically appeared on his arms. The other soldiers helped put it out.

       Tina was forced against the wall while her hands were being cuffed.

       "Guardian, help me!" she said aloud. She knew that the soldiers heard her but they had no clue as to whom she was talking to.

       "I can see you now, Branford. I’m sending help," Guardian promised.

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Chapter Three
Follow That Drone!

       "Alright, trespasser. Let’s see what you look like!" the soldier that held her said as he pulled the mask off her head.

       Tina’s hair fell on her shoulders again but it was a different color than before. Her light golden hair developed a greenish hue. The soldiers were a bit puzzled at this but they wouldn’t let something like that catch them off guard.

       "Another word from you and you die. Do you understand?" threatened another soldier.

       "Search for another trespasser. She was calling out to somebody else. I don’t think she’s alone," instructed another soldier who appeared to be of higher rank than the others.

       "Please let me go. I didn’t steal anything," Tina pleaded.

       The soldier who cuffed her pulled her hair back. Tina cried in pain. "I said for you to shut your trap! What part of that don’t you understand?" He then pushed Tina roughly along with them. "Move along and don’t you try anything funny, magic-user"

       Tina walked quietly with them though deep inside she had never felt this frightened in her life before. She wanted so much to ask Guardian for help again but the soldiers might find out that she was wearing a tracking device and a microphone. That would only complicate things because Guardian could only help her if they were in contact. All she could do was wait. She did remember Guardian mentioning a backup.

       So she followed the two soldiers leading the way through the corridors. Another two trailed closely behind her to prevent escape. Her hands were cuffed behind her severely limiting her movement should she try to make a run for it again.

       Suddenly, another Magitek drone appeared from around the corner ahead of them. It was bigger than the first one. It was semi-humanoid in shape. It had an upper body proportionality comparable to humans but it walked on six mechanical legs like an insect. Its arms were its weapons. They can shoot energy beams of differing intensity that can either stun or kill. The weapons were aimed at them right now.

       The two soldiers stopped at the sight of this, glancing at each other nervously. "It’s okay. It’s just here to back us up," said the higher-ranking soldier behind Tina.

       The Magitek drone spoke in its dead synthesized voice.

       "Release the prisoner."

       "What the…?"

       Without warning the drone fired four calculated shots that killed the two in front of Tina and the other two behind her. Tina was startled at this but soon felt relieved. She knew that this must be the backup Guardian promised. The shots were loud and Tina was sure that the other soldiers who were looking for her accomplice have heard it.

       "Turn around, Branford," Guardian said through her earpiece, "and don’t move."

       She did so without question. The Magitek drone fired a smaller and weaker beam that struck her handcuffs. It was so carefully calculated that the cuffs fell apart without harming Tina’s hands. Tina quickly picked up a soldier’s sword trying hard not to stare into their lifeless eyes.

       "Follow the drone!" Guardian instructed.

       The drone turned around quickly and ran through the corridors. For something purely mechanical, Tina was impressed at how agile it moved.

       "The prisoner is getting away again!" said the soldiers who were looking for her accomplice. Once again she was pursued.

       The drone led her around several turns. They came to a narrow catwalk running across another large facility where Magitek Armors were being assembled or powered. A few people working below raised their heads up to see what was going on. Tina ignored them all. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already unmasked and could easily be identified. Her main thoughts at the moment were to escape the facility and escape Vector.

       Escape Vector! She thought with dread. She never thought it was even possible to get into this kind of situation. I’m through! I’m now a traitor. Vector would never tolerate this. Where would I go? How will I get there?

       "Guardian, where are you taking me?" she asked as she ran.

       "Outside," Guardian replied coolly.

       The drone started pelting a weak wall of thin metal plating. It crashed through it making a big enough hole for Tina to go through. They reached the outside in a shadowy part of the Magitek Facility grounds. A tall tower stood in the middle of the grounds that flashed bright red light at the peak. Sirens blared as well alerting the soldiers on the outside.

       The drone suddenly deactivated itself. Then Guardian spoke in her ears.

       "This is as far as I can control the drone. You’re on your own again. Head for your barracks quietly and let nobody see you."

       "Barracks? Why? They know who I am already. I’ll be caught," she said sounding worried.

       "Only six people saw your face. Four of them are dead. Leave the last two to me," Guardian answered. Guardian always sounded like she had answers to everything.

       Tina continued her escape, ducking under the cover of the shadows with a weapon in hand. She was somewhat relieved to know that there still might be a chance for her to stay in Vector without being identified as a traitor and ultimately being executed. She knew somehow that Guardian would keep her end of the bargain—that Guardian would keep her safe.

       From inside the facility that she just escaped from an explosion was heard. It was louder than the ones she heard so far. She had time to catch a glimpse of it going up in flames before she rounded a street corner, out of sight.

       "Your two remaining witnesses are dead," reported Guardian.

       Tina didn’t feel comfortable at all. "Was that really necessary?" she asked as she walked the darkened streets away from the disorder.

       "It was the most efficient way of dealing with the situation at the time. I waited for them to get close to a Magitek Weapon primary reactor. An overload of the reactor will not link you to any of the events that transpired," explained Guardian.

       "Was that what the explosion was for? You blew up a reactor?! But… what about the other people? The workers at the Magitek Facility?"

       "I cannot control the explosion. They’ve expired."

       Tina felt dizzy all of a sudden. She stopped walking and then leaned against the wall of a building. Everything was quiet in the area so she wasn’t worried about being discovered.

       "They’re… dead?" she asked in a weakened voice. "They’re… they…. had nothing to do with… they were innocent!"

       Guardian didn’t answer. Only silence followed.

       "How many died?" she asked, dreading to hear the answer but she had to know.

       "There were sixteen people in the facility at the time. None survived," Guardian answered without a hint of emotion.

       "What have I done?" she said guiltily, closing her eyes tight.

       "Branford, my concern at that moment was to keep you safe. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?"

       "But I didn’t want this to happen," she said defensively.

       "Neither did I. This was not meant to happen. The mission was perfectly planned out for you to infiltrate and leave without notice. You know I do not operate like this."

       Tina buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "What have I turned into?"

       "Compose yourself, Branford. You will feel better in the morning. You are not to blame for what happened. It was I that killed them, not you. Now stay focused. You are almost there. Then… I will give you the information that you wanted in return for your service. You will not be disappointed."

       Tina wiped the tears off her face. She had forgotten all about that. She agreed to take on the mission for Guardian in return for the information that she claimed would be of utmost value to her. Though she had her doubts, she hoped that the information would be worth the trouble.

        Tina stood up again and started walking with the soldier’s sword in her hand. She looked very suspicious with it especially when she was wearing a black coverall. She made a mental note to dispose of the sword later because they might trace it back to the soldier in the Devil’s Lab.

       As sudden as the explosion that took the Magitek Facility, a question entered her mind.

       Tina asked, "Guardian… what were those creatures in the Devil’s Lab?"

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Chapter Four
The Devil in the Lab

       Kefka was an odd figure in Vector. He wore the strangest of clothing everyday, looking like a court jester or a clown. That night he was wearing a red and black garment that was puffy on the shoulders. The garment covered his lower body like a heavy robe, revealing only his black pointed moccasin-like shoes. A purple sash was tied around his waist and brightly colored scarf was wrapped around his neck.

       Every inch of his skin that was exposed was painted white by some kind of a make up cream. He had red markings on his face, particularly around his eyes, looking like bloodstains and scars. The markings were too deliberate, though, to be real scars. He had no eyebrows. Instead, two thin red markings of the same shade as the others were drawn above his blue eyes where the eyebrows ought to be. His lips were very thin and seemed to be colored with the same shade as the markings on his face. Without effort, his lips revealed a slight twisted smile. He had strong bony facial features revealed only when positioned at an angle to a light source. His light blue eyes were penetrating. One would think that the marks on his face were to draw the looker to his eyes and entrap them with his scrutinizing stare. His golden hair was kept back and held into a style with a feathered hair ornament only supposed to be worn by women. A long bright and colorful feather and blue and red beads were the main décor of the hair ornament. He wore earrings on both his ears. They were capsule-shaped crystal earrings that hung horizontally in a short chain. His nose was pointed like a parrot’s beak but it wasn’t long.

       Despite of how he looked and dressed like, he was a highly respected figure in Vector. Perhaps the word feared would be more accurate. None would dare make fun of how he looked. None would even ask why. He was the Emperor’s advisor to almost all of the Capital’s affairs. That alone explained his authority and power. He was a calculating tactician and a merciless foe. Even the Empire soldiers feared him. He was hated as well by many for he usually operated like a loose cannon.

       It was assumed, however, that he dressed eccentrically because he was a leader of a cult. Even little was known of the cult. It seemed to be very secretive that even the members were all of unknown origin. The members all wore hooded cloaks of different colors. Their faces were also covered with the same white makeup that Kefka used and painted with their own markings on their faces. The purpose of the cult was a secret as well. It seemed to be very exclusive. Citizens of Vector recalled no memories of the cult being officially or publicly established. They’ve seen nobody recruiting for members or anybody joining. The members just grew in numbers.

       There were guesses as to what the purpose of the cult was. Some thought that they worshipped the gods of the undead. Other’s claimed that they sacrificed humans at their altar. Of course, they were just rumors. Nobody even knew where the cult members met or gathered. Devouts never interacted with outsiders.

       Vector civilians called the members Fanatics. The cult members called themselves the Devouts and their center of authority seemed to be focused on Kefka. People wondered whether Emperor Gestahl was a member of the cult but evidences seemed to disprove that. The Emperor, however, was tolerant of the cult and remained neutral in that matter. What was formally declared between the Emperor and Kefka was the simple fact that Kefka was an advisor of Emperor Gestahl. Kefka had no inherent official military authority for being an advisor but he was so influential that it didn’t matter. If he could convince the Emperor of something then the power would be directly granted to Kefka temporarily that could easily overrule other authorities.

       This has caused great friction between military officials operating under the rule of the emperor such as General Leo and General Fencross. Most of the time that Kefka was given special authority, even the generals were subject to him and never was Kefka a subject to the generals because the Emperor favored him most of the time over others.

       Kefka was not at all pleased to hear the alarming news about the attack in the Devil’s Lab. It was one of his most frequented places and a keeper of the greatest Vector secret. He walked through the bustling corridors ignoring the soldiers running about in chaos. The alarm still sounded throughout the facility. He was headed for the heart of the complex in the most restricted of places. He knew that he would have no problem getting through security for his presence alone was enough authorization.

       A soldier running around the corner bumped into him all of a sudden. Annoyed, Kefka grabbed the soldier by the shoulders and shoved him to the side and continued to walk. The soldier said nothing for he was afraid. The other soldiers who saw this made sure that they didn’t make the same mistake.

       After what seemed like forever, Kefka reached a huge double door that was locked with various security mechanisms that required multiple security checks.

       "Kefka!" he shouted his name at the door. The door made noises as the different locking mechanisms unlocked themselves after his voice was recognized and his presence was verified by different scanners nearby.

       He went through the door and immediately the lights in the big room turned themselves on. He was in the same room that Tina was in just minutes ago. The capsules and the pods were there, though the lights inside them were turned off. Kefka, inspected the room with his scrutinizing eyes. Nothing seemed to have changed or damaged. The only things that were different were the computers along the west wall. He was sure that they were supposed to be inactive and yet about a dozen of them were active.

       He walked closer to one of them and inspected the data that was being processed on their displays. He frowned at this for he found something that only he and a chosen few could understand. He stared at the pods again and into the creatures within in the most suspicious manner.

       "Tayan!" he shouted. His voice echoed within the room.

       A Devout suddenly materialized out of nowhere right next to him. It was a man wearing a gray hooded cloak. His face was hidden in the shadow of his cloak.

       "I am here, master," the Devout replied coolly.

       Kefka still stared at the creatures within their stasis cells. The creatures weren’t moving and showed absolutely no sign of activity.

       "I want a verification of all the data from each of these computers. I want to know if the explosion has damaged any of the systems!"

       "At once, Master!" replied the Devout.

       "And then I want to know who did this!" Kefka hissed.

       The Devout bowed down from his waist and then left the room to fulfill his tasks. It seemed a lot for one person to do but Kefka had complete trust in his second man.

       Kefka still stared at the creatures with hatred. They didn’t seem to be showing any sign of activity but he was almost sure that they were watching him.

       "What are you up to?" he thought out loud. There was no response from any of the capsules and yet Kefka stood there looking at them from one stasis cell to the next.

       Then his ugly frown turned into a twisted smile of triumph. He started to laugh, throaty and softly at first, then it gradually erupted into a maniacal, high-pitched cackle that echoed in the room and out through the corridors beyond the room’s exit. It was the laugh of a madman. A belly laugh originating from some sick and nefarious private joke.

       He was teary-eyed and was still clutching at his belly, sniggering still at the unshared joke when he said something that was barely intelligible.

       "You… you are not… leaving this place! You are here… to serve me! Whether… or not… you are willing! All of you… will… be… sucked… dry!"

       With that Kefka laughed even louder than before. He even staggered back and had to lean on something to keep himself from hitting the floor. The laugh was cruel and sadistic. Nobody in Vector, not even the emperor or his own Devouts, could’ve listened to the laugh and not flinch. It was the kind that brought chills up everybody’s spine. And at that moment, even the seemingly inanimate creatures inside the stasis cells were sure to have been affected by it—that maybe it struck fear or the feeling of hopelessness.

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Chapter Five
First Contact

       "But why can’t you tell me?" Tina asked her unseen friend. She was getting close to her quarters.

       "It’s not important," Guardian simply answered through her earpiece.

       Tina frowned. She felt that Guardian was hiding something from her. "That… creature… whatever it was. It talked to me," Tina started to say. She paused for a moment to wait for Guardian to say something but she didn’t. "Did you hear it, too?"

       "No, I did not."

       Tina believed her. "It spoke to me in my head. I heard the creature’s voice in my head."

       "You were probably imagining it," Guardian said as an excuse.

       "Then how come you were telling me not to listen to it? You knew that it was trying to communicate with me, didn’t you?"

       Guardian fell silent again as though thinking of a good excuse. She was held speechless, though.

       "You know what it is, don’t you? Somehow, you predicted that this might happen. Tell me, Guardian. What were those creatures?"

       "As you wish, Branford," Guardian submitted. "I will include that information to the exchange once we arrive in your quarters. I do not want you to be distracted again."

       Tina satisfied herself with that response. Guardian had never once broken a promise to her. The relationship between them, however, was an odd one. Never have they met face to face. Guardian made contact with her through means of high technological media. The first contact was made through Tina’s own computer in her quarters that was primarily used as her means of communicating mission orders from her commander. Only soldiers belonging in the Third Class ranks and above have these computers in their own quarters. They can be used for other tasks as well like electronically filing for requests such as leave of absence, permissions, queries and reports. And since the computers were all linked to a central computing core they could also be used to send messages to other people with the same access privileges.

**********

       Guardian contacted her for the first time by sending her a cryptic message that Tina first thought was a joke. It was, after all, a common prank between soldiers. The message was direct to the point. Guardian wanted her to go to Vector’s main computer library where they could "talk" to each other. Tina ignored the message the first time thinking that maybe it was just from an admirer. Being a serious soldier, she had no intention of wasting her time with conceited men who had nothing to do but flirt around her. Unlike another female friend who was in the military also, she did not delight in their catcalls. In fact, she hated it. She thought of them as being immature and rude.

       Being one of the very few female soldiers in the military, and being an attractive young woman as well, it was no surprise at all that men from her company and from others would send her messages. Almost all of them have attempted to ask her out. Some were very straightforward and yet some were subtle. Tina saw through all of them. Eventually, she ended up blocking messages coming from about twenty different men. The list continued to grow more slowly. She smiled at this thinking that they were finally getting the idea.

       But then there was somebody who called himself Guardian. After the first message from Guardian, she immediately dumped the source to her blocking list. To her surprise, Guardian got around the blocking program and was able to send her another message the very next day. Both messages were the same: Vector Library of History. Computer Section. Timestrike Ten. Come alone.

       Obviously, this was not enough to get her attention. She blocked the source again and yet on the very next day a third message from the mysterious entity said: You are in danger. A plot is set against you and the time is drawing near.

       Tina was furious at this. She finally decided to go to the designated meeting place but only to make the person sorry for the sick joke. She was very confident that she would be safe. And indeed, she was. Her magical ability alone was unsurpassed. The magic infusion experiment seemed to do extraordinarily well on her. With but a word, a raging fire could be called to be used as her weapon of defense… or destruction. Even without the help of her magical abilities, however, she was still a formidable enemy, skilled in the use of the sword. Nobody expected less from a Third Class Imperial Soldier.

       So she went to the Vector’s Library of History. It was a building outside the Bronze Fortress Compound, the central and collective superstructures that consisted of a giant steel-clad, highly-technological fortress where the Emperor resided, the Magitek warehouses, the Devil’s Lab, various high security facilities and the military quarters where she was currently assigned. In fact, the Vector Library of History was a public place; it was open to Vectorian citizens and was without security access restrictions. It was the only building outside of the Bronze Fortress Compound that was still directly linked to the databases of the central computer in the Bronze Fortress itself.

       Tina entered the building late that night, fully prepared as if expecting a fight. She was surprised that even at that time of day people were still in the library. She easily recognized a few scholars busily translating old Vectorian parchments. Younger looking people were on another corner, gathered around a study table and seemingly being reprimanded by a librarian for the distractions that they were causing. Tina looked around her. Shelf after shelf of books lined themselves parallel to each other just beyond the row of study tables. The inside was very well lit. Vector civilians walked from one shelf to the next in constant search of answers to their immediate educational or researching needs.

       Her eyes watched the people inside intently, looking for somebody that might be a soldier in civilian clothing. Failing to recognize any of them, she made an assumption that whoever Guardian was, he was not from her company. She approached a circular desk at the center of the section she was currently in safely concluding that it was the information desk. An elderly man with thick spectacles smiled at her and pointed the way to the computer section as an answer to her question.

       Tina followed the directions. She went past two rows of bookshelves and followed a very short corridor that led directly to the computer section. It was a big room with about a hundred networked computers on their own desk as workspace. Only a few people were using the computers at the time and they were all scattered. A few more study tables were lined in the same room along the walls. Tina immediately noticed a man who seemed out of place. The man sat on a chair in a slouching position with his hands across his chest and his head bowed slightly down as though in boredom. He had long sliver hair and a strangely pale skin. The man wore a black coat that could only have been made in the Far North. The coat had a high and stiff collar that almost covered the man’s mouth. He wore black leather boots that were metal-soled.

       The man seemed like he was asleep for he did not move. He just sat there as though waiting for someone. Tina wondered if he was Guardian but she immediately threw away that assumption. Many foreigners, after all, visited the library for its wondrous tomes of knowledge presented in the most luxurious way. So it was not uncommon for an outlander, most especially a Jidooran, to be found in Vector.

       Another librarian approached Tina from behind. It was a woman this time. Tina told the librarian her name and asked if somebody was waiting for her in particular. The librarian simply shook her head and went back to her desk. Tina turned towards the study tables again to look at the other people when she noticed that the man from Jidoor was looking at her intently. For the first time she saw his face. The man had multiple scars that must’ve been made by a blade. The scars were deep and all of them were made in different angles. Her guess was that the man must’ve been in some kind of a bar fight. The man sat up straight from his slouching position before he stood up. He was a very tall man and well built. His long silver hair dropped to his shoulders. His long black coat, decorated sparingly with silver and gold weaving patterns on edges, straightened as he stood up without so much as a sign of crease or fold.

       The tall man walked towards her unthreateningly. Tina thought that she had found Guardian. The man stood in front of her. Tina was forced to raise her head to look him in the eyes for he was a very tall man.

       "Tina Branford?" the man asked in a Jidooran accent that sounded snobbish.

       "Who wants to know?" Tina asked in a suspicious tone.

       "Just a messenger who’s been waiting for three days now," the man answered. He neither smiled nor made any attempt to hide his impatience. The man reached for something from inside his coat pocket. Alarmed at the movement, Tina pulled her sword from its sheath halfway. The blade scraped against the interior lining of the sheath and made a sound that echoed in the large room. The people who heard it looked their way. The librarian raised her brows and watched them intently and nervously. It was fortunate that Tina was wearing her military uniform at the time or else the librarian would’ve rushed for a local peacekeeper and have them arrested. The man froze and did not dare move.

       "I should warn you. A sudden move is a threatening move and will be dealt accordingly," Tina warned with a voice of authority.

       "I am reaching for the message. Nothing more," he assured.

       Tina nodded but kept her sword hand around the hilt of her weapon and her eyes on the man’s hands. When the man pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, Tina relaxed her guard. She snatched it from the hand of the Jidooran and started to read it. Tina gasped and then looked at the stranger.

       "Who wrote this?" Tina demanded the stranger for an answer but in a soft voice so she wouldn’t draw anymore attention to herself.

       The Jidooran man smiled weakly before answering. "Should you discover who did, then I will be grateful if you let me know as well. Farewell, Miss Branford. I have no answers. I just follow instructions."

       "From who?"

       "Why don’t you ask him yourself? Or her," the man answered impatiently. He turned away then started to leave. His metal-soled boots made a distinctive sound of footsteps.

       "Wait!" she called out. But the man just continued to walk away. She knew that she should’ve followed the man and demanded more answers but the words on the piece of paper just struck her as puzzled.

       The librarian walked up to her in concern.

       "Should I call the authorities?" the librarian asked her trying to be helpful.

       Tina handed her the note and asked her in an urgent tone, "What does this say?"

       "Pardon me?"

       "What does it say?" she repeated the question.

       The librarian blinked at her in confusion before finally taking the small piece of paper from Tina’s hand. She looked at the message and furrowed her brows. Then she rotated the paper many times as thought trying to figure out which side should be up. Finally giving up, she handed Tina the paper, shaking her head.

       "I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t understand what’s written on the paper, although, there are scholars in the study rooms who might be able to translate the language for you. I’m sure they’d be happy to oblige an Imperial Soldier of your status," the librarian said helpfully after seeing a small, embroidered badge on Tina’s left sleeve betraying her rank.

       "That wouldn’t be necessary. Thank you," Tina answered quickly. The librarian nodded and went back behind the desk to continue her work. Tina turned back towards the computers. The desks were number from 1 to 100 and arranged in a neat row-column layout in the room. Convenient spaces between desks were left so people could walk around computers easily.

       She looked at the message again and shuddered once more. She understood what was on the note: Computer 54. But it wasn’t the words that struck her with surprise but that she was the only who was supposed to understand the words. The characters on the message were something she made up for herself. Only she knew about her secret alphabet. She used it for her logs and diaries. Seeing that somebody else knew about the message has also struck her with fear.

       She arrived at the designated computer desk. It was at the very middle of the desk arrangement of the room. The adjacent desks around her were empty except for the one to her left. A man was there with his eyes fixated onto the information being flashed before him on the monitor. Tina sat down quietly only realizing then that she did not know what to do next. The note had not provided her with the next step.

       So she waited, looking around nervously until the man to her left noticed her.

       "Do you need any help?"

       "No, thank you," she answered quickly, smiling weakly as well trying not to look suspicious.

       The man nodded and went back to his reading.

       Tina decided to, at least, pretend to be doing something as she waited. She stared at her computer screen and saw menus and commands to begin a query. Nothing of interest came to mind. Finally, she typed in Guardian. She was expecting an error message for it was not a known command but to her surprise the computer responded with a different screen.

       The screen went black as all the menus and command lists were removed. Instead, a single lined question flashed at the bottom of the screen.

What is your name?

       Tina hesitated before typing her full name on the screen. Then another question flashed replacing the previous one.

Are you alone?

       It was obvious that somebody was communicating with her again but only this time it was more interactive.

       She typed yes.

I am detecting activity from the computer next to you. Is that terminal occupied?

       Yes, she typed.

       Then her screen went back to the normal menus and commands. Seconds later the man to her left started to complain.

"I can’t believe this! What a piece of junk!"

       Tina looked at the man. He seemed upset. He was gathering his belongings on the desk and putting them back on the briefcase. The man looked at her and forced a smile.

       "Well, miss. I hope you have a better luck with these computers. This one just went dead without a warning. It’s blessing in disguise, I guess."

       The man stood up and walked away from his computer desk that showed no sign of activity. As soon as the man walked out of the big room, the computer he was using came back to life again. At the same time, Tina’s screen went all black with a new question at the bottom.

Is the occupant gone?

       She answered yes. Then she followed up her response with her own question. Is the occupant gone?

Open your desk drawer and wear the headset.

       Tina did. She found a gray and light headset inside. It had a pair of earpiece and a microphone. She wore it at once, guessing that the person would want to communicate with her verbally. As soon as she adjusted everything to fit just right a computer-simulated voice of a woman spoke in her ears.

       A computer-simulated voice of a woman said, "Greetings, Tina Branford. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

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Chapter Six
The Guardian

       Guardian never revealed his or her true self. No matter how many times Tina asked for them to meet in person. But Tina’s attitude towards Guardian has changed since that time. Even during that first day that they communicated, Guardian has shown her astounding things about the Empire and clues about conspiracy against her.

       Tina was an orphan. She was raised in a special orphanage. She was told that her parents have been killed in a war. Her father was said to be an Imperial soldier and her mother was an Imperial spy. She had no immediate relatives when they both died for their country. She grew up practically alone. Not once was she given special attention like parents would to their child. The matrons at the orphanage could not offer her this for there were too many children to be cared of.

       Living in the orphanage was not exactly a poor standard of living. They had good clothes and food and were even given free education, all thanks to the generous offerings of the emperor, Gestahl. But a life without parents was a harsh life, emotionally speaking. Even the other children didn’t seem to like her for some unknown reason. There was just something about her, an aura, that makes other children afraid of her. But despite all these Tina didn’t grow up to be a bitter person.

       She has learned tolerance, patience and perseverance. The memories of her dead parents were all she had to live by. So when she had finished her education, she enlisted to be a soldier immediately. It was her driving force to become a hero just like her parents who have died for her and Vector so many years ago. It took a lot of work but she has climbed and conquered many mountains of trials and training.

       She has achieved what many could not in a mere three years—earn the Third Class Ranking. At the rate she was getting promoted, people predicted that she would reach First Class Rank in just three more years.

       Then Guardian came along and revealed to her the lies about her past. The Guardian told her and even showed her some documents about her deceased parents. They were all fakes according to Guardian. She never had a father who was an Imperial soldier and she never had a mother who was an Imperial spy. Tina even embarked on her own research to track down her roots according to the documents that were given to her. She was successful in finding the historical background of her supposed father. The man was recorded to have been born about one hundred years ago and was in the mercantile business. Her supposed mother, Tina found out, was not even originally from Vector. She was a teacher from Maranda that immigrated to Vector. This woman never married and never had a child. It was a shocking discovery. All that she knew about her past was a sham. It made her feel insignificant. It was hard enough for her to not get to know her parents when she was just a child but to actually learn that her parents and their stories about their patriotic deaths being an illusion was just too much for her.

       But Guardian provided her with hope. Guardian claimed to know her real origins and that Guardian would give all the information Tina wanted if she would accept to do the tasks in return. Tina forgot all about the emotionally traumatic discovery and looked towards the new hope instead. Finally knowing the whole truth was much better than the blissful ignorance she has lived in.

       This was the main reason Tina was now determined to learn the whole truth about her past and her present. But most of all, she wanted to find out who lied to her about this. She went back to the old orphanage to talk to the matrons but oddly they were all gone. They were either dead or have left Vector permanently. Guardian continued talking to her about a conspiracy about Tina but refused further to tell the whole truth for the reason of their bargain.

       The Guardian only revealed to her pieces of the truth to her. Undoubtedly, Tina was getting answers, only slowly because Guardian would only show her answers after each mission the Guardian asked her to do. The tasks were treasonous. Tina was hesitant to do them at first but she soon realized the present and unknown danger to her life about the conspiracy. The tasks ranged from delivering messages to unknown destinations, to sabotage and demolition. Each time Tina went on these missions she was not alone. Using a nearly invisible device she wears in her ears and a microphone around her neck, she was in complete communication with Guardian all the time.

       Guardian, Tina discovered, had direct access to almost all of the computers that are linked to the main central core. Guardian was essentially everywhere at once. The Guardian could watch a corridor for her through the security cameras installed all over the Bronze Fortress. The Guardian could disable security measures, take control over most of the programmed drones patrolling the inside of the warehouses, and unlock high security doors. She could induce overloads in most reactors as distraction and should Tina get caught. She could prevent Tina’s presence from the internal sensors and could give her falsified documents to give Tina access to restricted areas without question. Almost anything that was connected to the central computer core, the Guardian had almost complete control over. The advanced technological mechanisms inside the Bronze Compound were Guardian’s eyes, ears and hands.

       But even the most accomplished surgeon could not work miracles without a scalpel. Guardian needed Tina to help her have full access to everything that the Bronze Fortress have. There were still certain areas where Guardian could not access. One of them was the interior of the Devil’s Lab. She needed Tina to plant devices in a certain room so Guardian could gain access to all of the systems. This was Guardian’s second to the last request from Tina. And they have successfully done it, although, it didn’t go as smoothly as Guardian had predicted. Still, Guardian managed to clear things up for herself and Tina. Guardian created an overload in one of the Magitek reactors to eliminate the soldiers who saw and identified Tina as the infiltrator.

       The reward for the task was something Tina was looking forward to. Guardian had promised her that everything would be revealed to her. Everything about her past would be hers as well as the names of the conspirators against her and their purpose. Tina kept the end of her bargain and, so far, Guardian had not failed her once, either. Although, there was something inside Tina that kept telling her that maybe knowing the whole truth was not such a great idea. In fact, there were times when she wished she hadn’t gone to the library. There were times when Tina wished she never got involved. She was happy before everything else. Before Guardian revealed to her the truth about her fake parents, Tina had parents, and they were heroes. But the quest for the truth was such a powerful, enigmatic force. The truth meant not merely to quench her thirst for it but it meant her survival. Tina Branford simply had no choice.

**********

       Tina reached her private quarters. To other soldiers, their private quarters meant nothing more than a temporary lodging. But to Tina Branford, it was her home. She had no house of her own outside the military compound and though she had enough to buy one, she had no intention of doing so because there was nothing of special interest out there for her. The room was small. It was probably the same size as the room she grew up in back in her orphanage. The difference was, she didn’t have to share it with other people. So though it was modest in size, it was certainly something she valued greatly. Only soldiers who have reached the Third Class Rank were given these privileges. And the further she gets up the ladder the better the private quarters become.

       The walls were made of bricks and were painted with a dark green interior. It had a small closet and a small shower room. A barred window gave her a spacious view of the training grounds. She had a bunker situated away from the window and against the wall. The bunker was more comfortable than the previous once she had during her training before she was promoted. Next to it was a small unadorned drawer cabinet with a lamp on top of it. An immovable computer was installed to the wall closest to the door. This was what she used to get her messages and file her reports. She didn’t have anything hanging on walls except for a mirror. She had books on top of a table next to the computer. They were books she recently borrowed from the library that the Guardian had told her to check out. They contained basic plans for constructing electronic devices such as the devices that the Guardian had asked her to plant in the Devil’s Lab.

       Two large chests were kept under her bunker where she kept the rest of her private belongings. Soldiers in these quarters still had to go to their designated company mess halls for their meals. There weren’t many in her room that would serve as a distraction for her military educational training. At least, not until she met Guardian.

       "I’m home," she said. She always did everyday as a ritual. But this time she said it as a signal to Guardian.

       "I will start uploading all the information that you wanted into your terminal. You will have access to them any time starting tomorrow if all goes well. Soon, I will arrange for the final task that I will ask of you. It might take time because it is essential that we wait for this incident to settle down. What you do next after that will be up to you," Guardian said.

       Tina looked at her computer screen. There was a progress indicator of the download. It was going slowly. Tina felt excited and nervous at the same.

       "The soldiers are starting an investigation. They are not wasting any time. I will hinder their progress to the point where they will give up. It is not that difficult to do," Guardian said in her usual computer-simulated voice. To Tina it was starting to sound human-like.

       Tina took off her stealth coveralls and dressed into something more comfortable. Then she folded the black suit and tucked it under her bunker. She would need it again for the last task that Guardian had in stored for her. She retired to her bed without removing her earpiece and microphone. It was something Guardian asked her to do in case there was an emergency. She lay on her bed pulling the sheets to up to her neck and then stared at the ceiling with her green eyes. It was a habit of hers since she was still at the orphanage. Back then she would remain perfectly still and blocked the laments of the other children who refused to go to sleep out until she could only hear her beating heart and nothing else. She would then pretend that her parents were there to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. She would only close her eyes when the matron of the orphanage would turn off the lights.

       She didn't do this every night, only when she was feeling lonely, depressed, or nervous. In her room that night she was alone so there was no need to make the effort of blocking away the noise. But she couldn't picture her faceless parents anymore. They were no longer phantoms but mere illusions, which were, to her, worse.

       The lights in her room were still on. She had forgotten to turn them off before she settled down.

       "Guardian?" she called in a whisper.

       "Yes?" Guardian answered.

       Tina hesitated for a couple of seconds. "Could you please turn off the lights for me?" she asked… sadly.

       The lights went out the very next second. Tina felt a sudden surge of sadness fill her entire body. Tears ran down her cheeks. She felt like she was back at the orphanage when the lights went out but only this time no illusions, no phantoms nor imaginary images kissed her goodnight.

       "Thank you, Guardian," she said through her silent sobs. It was the first time she had thanked her mysterious partner.

       Oddly, Guardian didn't reply.

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Chapter Seven
Sole Survivor

       Tina was first in her company to arrive at the emergency assembly in her brown soldier uniform. A siren had blared signaling an assembly in the training grounds of the Bronze Fortress Compound. She was first in line because Guardian had woken her up before exactly ten minutes before the automatic siren started. She stood smartly and perfectly still, facing her commanding officer, waiting for the rest of her comrades to arrive and join them in the formation.

       "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Her commanding officer looked at his watch and with a frown on his face. He was very disappointed with the reaction time that the others in his company were taking. Then he realized that it had only taken Tina thirty seconds to get to the assembly ground. "Do you wear your uniform in bed?" he asked Tina jokingly.

       "Sir! No, sir!" she replied in a shout.

       Her officer smiled weakly. "At ease, Branford, and fall out."

       Tina relaxed her stance stood behind her commanding officer. The rest of her company arrived almost at the same time in their uniforms as well. They formed a single line all facing the east. There was a gap in the line where Tina was supposed to be.

       The commander counted them. They were all present. The other soldiers from other companies also assembled outside. It was a typical morning except that the siren had blared thirty minutes early.

       "Alright, you sorry excuses for a soldier! Give me twenty! Now!" the commander barked. All the soldiers in her company, save Tina herself, started doing pushups. Their commander turned to Tina and said, "Join the ranks when they're done, Branford."

       Tina saluted and replied smartly, "Yes, sir!"

       Then the commanding officer walked away to congregate with the rest of the commanding officers from the other companies at the very front of the entire formation. Minutes later, General Fencross of the Imperial Army arrived to address the assembled soldiers. He started with a salute.

       "Devenias Gastra!" Fencross shouted.

       "For the Empire!" the troops shouted back in thundering unison.

       Another soldier then rushed to the general's side carrying a heavy rectangular device. The general pulled a mouthpiece up from the device and then turn it on. He held it inches from his mouth and started the address. It was magnified with loud speakers all over the training grounds.

       "As you may already know, at precisely timestrike three and forty-seven counts this morning there was an explosion in the main Magitek Warehouse. Possible cause: Primary reactor overload. The explosion killed fifteen people and destroyed a considerable amount of property. A worker survived…"

       Tina's heart skipped a beat. Guardian had reported that all sixteen people who were in the warehouse at the time all perished from the explosion.

       "…and is recovering with magical aid as we speak. At timestrike six and ten counts, an investigation was launched. The team has not yet found any evidence of sabotage but as of this instant the entire area is in yellow alert. Review your manuals on how to handle an internal yellow alert condition. But let me highlight a couple of particular rules from the book that I want everybody to understand perfectly well. Section 7-1.24-B, ‘Under no circumstances, except by permission from the highest of authority present in the sphere of investigation, should an individual, civilian or not, be allowed to enter or leave the Bronze Fortress Compound until the restriction has been lifted by two other external high ranking authorities’. Section 7-2.3-B, ‘All personnel are expected to file reports and logs of unusual observations of events, individuals, or groups of individuals, etc, etc, etc, until the internal yellow alert has been officially lifted from the area.’ Definition of the word ‘unusual’ can be found on your manual as well on page three hundred and sixty-eight.

       "It is too early to jump to conclusions as to whether the incident was purely accidental or not. Still, his lordship, Emperor Gestahl, does not want to take any chance. Neither does General Leo.

       "I will be handing additional procedures and orders to your commanding officers and they will review them to all of you. If you have any questions, address them to you commanding officers.

       "For the Empire!" general Fencross shouted the salute, marking the end of the very short assembly.

       "Devenias Gastra!" returned the assembled people.

**********

       "Guardian, the Compound is in yellow alert," Tina said. She was back in her quarters with her earpiece on.

       "As is normal," Guardian calmly answered.

       "A worker survived, Guardian. How is this possible? You said they all perished," Tina said worriedly.

       "There have been attempts to revive the people with magic. They were only successful in reviving one. He is a second-class Magitek technician. I doubt that he saw your face during the escape. But should he prove to know too much I shall eliminate him to protect you. It is, after all, part of our deal."

       "Do everything in your power to protect me but please do not kill him! I don’t want to be part of any of that anymore. I didn’t want to be part of anything to begin with!"

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Chapter Eight
Foul Play

       General Fencross was the second general of the Imperial Army of three. He had a long record of battle experience and had earned the respect of many soldiers. In terms of patriotism and bravery he stood second only to General Leo. His merited rank, however, was not to be taken lightly. He was a fierce fighter and a shrewd tactician. His real battle strength lies in stealthy counterstrikes and one to one combats. At least, it was before he was promoted to a general.

       General Fencross entered the lab deep inside the main science complex. Walking about inside the huge room were scientists in white suits. Some wore protective goggles and were operating odd-looking contraptions. Others were simply pushing carts, transporting different equipment from one work site to the next. Others, still, were on desks, logging their findings from a certain experiment to their computers. The scientists didn’t salute to the general because they were just civilians.

       He was in the lab for a reason. He was to meet a team of scientists who were part of the investigation of the reactor explosion. A man in a white suit unlike the others approached him and greeted him politely.

       "Good afternoon, general."

       General Fencross nodded simply. "You found something?"

       "Indeed," Dr. Brown, the scientist leading the science investigation team said as he led the general to another room. "We found a Magitek Drone," Brown said, motioning to a half-disassembled sentry drone. "It’s a Silver Drone GT-590. This specific drone was programmed to patrol the corridors of the yellow section of the Devil’s Lab." Brown pointed his finger to a big colored floor plan of the Devil’s Lab. An alarming discovery came with it. The walls of the corridor where we found it had blast marks that match the drone’s weapon intensity. There were other sets of blast marks found as well and they matched the intensity of a standard issue Bolt Rifle that the guards in the area used. The odd thing is, it was the guards that destroyed this drone."

       Fencross had a puzzled look on his face.

       "Where are these guards now?"

       "They were the same guards that perished in the reactor explosion," Brown answered.

       "Why would the guards destroy a Drone?" Fencross asked shaking his head.

       "Well, we asked the same question and the Drone gave us a bit of an answer," Brown replied as he walked closer to a half-incinerated Magitek Drone. General Fencross followed. "We extracted its memory modules and accessed its most recent command logs. These logs are kept in two different places. The first one is within the Drone itself and the second is in our Central Computer Core. All the Drones within the Bronze Fortress are in constant communication between them and the central computer. This way their actions could be monitored and controlled in the most efficient way, as you may already know. First, we checked the most recent command given to the Drone by the central computer. Everything checked out according to specified parameters—"

       "Meaning?" Fencross asked.

       "It means that the central core gave it a series of commands that it was supposed to. Mainly, to patrol a designated area and to identify intruders, if present, and stop them. We found this very suspicious because it held no records, whatsoever, about the Drone’s encounter with the soldiers. If the soldiers, indeed, opened fire upon the Drone, then it would have registered them as a hostile group. The log mentioned nothing about it at all."

       "What about the other log?"

       "Exactly! Though there are two different locations that the logs are kept, both should ultimately be the same. We extracted the records from the Drone and found them to be physically undamaged. The logs revealed a totally different thing." Brown turned to a subordinate scientist and ordered, "Show the general what we found."

       The scientist nodded quickly and went to the closest computer terminal. He punched in a series of commands and the screen flashed cryptic codes in two parallel columns.

       "Explain," Fencross said.

       "Yes. A line of code represents a specific command at a given time. The codes on the left column are the ones from the central computer. The ones on the right are the commands from the Drone’s memory module. As you can see they are different. We looked up the meaning of the codes and they translated to the following in order. ‘Detection of unauthorized presence’, ‘Identification failure’, ‘Echo warning’, ‘Authorization input failed’, ‘Echo warning’, ‘Authorization input accepted’, ‘High-level security bypass’, ‘Query new command’, ‘New command accepted’, ‘Detection of unauthorized presence’, ‘Switching to attack mode’, and ‘Open fire.’ After that the Drone was terminated by the soldiers," the subordinate scientist explained.

       "Explain, professor," Fencross asked again in a more irritated tone.

       "Er, yes. What my colleague meant was that somebody approached the Drone, gave it a high-level command that overrode all security and gave it a new command to attack the soldiers. This is our best guess, of course, as we have no visual evidence of the particular events but this is the only way we can interpret it. But judging from the blast marks in the area, I am convinced that the series of commands really took place," Brown explained more clearly.

       Fencross’ face grew more solemn. "So we did have an intruder?"

       "It would seem so."

       "We have security cameras on those corridors. Do we have a footage?" Fencross asked.

       Brown and his colleague looked at each other. It seemed like it was a hesitation to answer the question.

       "We have cameras everywhere and they are always online. The Devil's Laboratory Compound has the best security system in the entire city. The security we have there is even more sophisticated than the one we have in the Bronze Fortress. We have a crew that keeps in check this particular security system everyday. We--"

       "What is your point, professor?" interrupted General Fencross all of a sudden as a sign of impatience. "Do we or do we not have the footage?"

       "No, sir. We do not," Brown finally said.

       General Fencross raised a brow.

       "Why not?" he said as calmly as he could. He didn't want to attract attention. Unfortunately, he was also known to have a very short temper.

       "We've checked all the security cameras in the immediate area and they seemed to have inexplicably shut down, just minutes before the Drone was destroyed."

       "Shut down? How is that possible?" Fencross asked, losing his tone of impatience. It was replaced with a tone of puzzlement, much to the scientists' relief.

       "We checked the security system for answers as well as the central computer. Both reported a malfunction," Brown answered. "It's a mystery to us as well, general, I assure you. Our men are accomplished technicians. They could not have made a mistake that caused the malfunction. I stake my career on it," Brown said boldly.

       "What are you saying, professor?"

       "I… well, I know that it's not for me to say this but I think…" Brown paused for a second before continuing. "I think we have a spy inside Vector that has access to the central computer and has found a way around our security system."

       Fencross’ expression changed. It grew very serious, losing any sign of impatience. "Can you prove this?"

       "No, sir, I cannot. But I just think that the crewmembers that maintain the security system could not have made a mistake that would’ve caused the malfunction. They are professionals. And we have a special method of action. They watch each other. Should one make a mistake, the other one would point it out and another would confirm it. This alone makes an effective error prevention method."

       General Fencross moved away from the computer screen that flashed the Drone’s logs and moved closer instead to the big screen that displayed the Devil’s Laboratory floor plan. He stared at it, deep in thought.

       "You said you checked the immediate cameras. What about the others? I only see so many direct paths to where the Drone was found. Surely, other cameras might have recorded something prior to the destruction of the Drone."

       "We thought that also, general. We did check the rest of the cameras and found more puzzling malfunctions."

       Fencross turned to Brown in alarm.

       "Same malfunctions?"

       "We would not have been too surprised if they were the same malfunctions but, instead, they were different. The cameras outside the range of the Drone’s untimely disassembly all seemed to have stopped functioning normally. But they didn’t shut down, exactly. They stopped monitoring and froze to a single frame. The odd thing about it is that the clock continued ticking. It’s almost like it was done deliberately to make us think that—"

       "Nothing strange happened," Fencross concluded, nodding to himself. "This is certainly all too convenient, isn’t it? Signs of infiltration, a fight and a violent destruction of a sentry drone… perhaps pursuit of an intruder and yet no visual evidences whatsoever before and after all these things might have happened. These findings are inconclusive… and yet very disturbing."

       "There is more, general," Brown added. He started walking to another section where another group of scientists was working on another type of Magitek Drone. It had an upper body similar to a humanoid creature and the legs of an insect. The drone was larger than the previous one and it seemed to be completely intact. "We found this outside of the warehouse that blew up. It was about fifty meters away from the warehouse, a long way from its designated patrol sector, and outside the limit of the central computer’s area of control. We found it deactivated, on the south side of the warehouse facing south.

       "No drone is programmed to leave their designated areas let alone leave the Devil’s Lab Compound. This particular drone left its post, crossed two distinct restricted areas, left the Devil’s Lab, entered the annexed Magitek warehouse that blew up and exited that warehouse also. The exact path it took was unknown since the cameras were down but judging from where it was supposed to be to where it was last found, it could’ve taken one of three possible ways."

       Brown turned to another scientist and asked him to show the general a printed floor plan of both the Magitek Laboratory and the annexed Magitek Warehouse on a wide rectangular table. Fencross quickly identified the areas immediately saw three different colored arrows each spanning different paths from a common starting point to a common end point.

       "The exact path it took before it arrived to the end point is not important. But do you notice anything about the three possible paths?" Brown asked.

       General Fencross nodded. "Each goes through the same area in the Magitek Warehouse before exiting the building," the general answered.

       "Correct. In plain sight of the workers in the Magitek Warehouse assigned that night."

       "Six soldiers and nine workers, dead. One survivor, still recovering in the hospital. He’s our key."

**********

       Kefka frowned at the news brought to him by Tayan, his most trusted servant. It was about General Fencross’ findings in the preliminary investigation. Both stood in a round room with a high ceiling inside the Bronze Fortress. Around them were dimly lit glass cases containing very old books, scrolls and parchments. One would first guess that it was a museum. At the very center of the room was a round table. No chairs surrounded it.

       Kefka stood on one side of the table while Tayan waited on his master from the opposite side.

       "An intruder…" Kefka repeated aloud.

       "They said that they have no proof of that and their findings are inconclusive," Tayan reported.

       "Of course, they would think that. The evidence stands in front of them and what do they do with it? Ask it for an identification!" Kefka said with a sinister chuckle. "But who could it have been? No one person could accomplish such a thing. There must be more than one. At least, two. But not too many. Whoever they are they risked everything just to get into extraction room. But for what?" Kefka thought aloud.

       "General Fencross thinks that the surviving worker is the key. They will have guards to protect that man."

       "Fools. I doubt that they know what the man needs protection from. But the general is right. He is the key. How is the man faring?"

       "He is slowly recovering, master. They do not want to risk feeding him with magical aid too much," Tayan replied, always to the point.

       "Another foolish move. Do they not realize that the longer that man stays unconscious and helpless the greater the risk of losing him? The people who did this are after something very specific and we must find out what it is as quickly as we can. They will not allow us to discover what it is. They will try to eliminate that surviving worker."

       "Should I put additional guards of our own, master?" Tayan asked.

       "Oh, stop thinking like them!" Kefka said scornfully. "You don’t need the chest if you have the treasure."

       A twisted smile appeared on Tayan’s face. He bowed in understanding and left the room. Kefka stood alone in the room once again staring at the mysterious pages of the ancient books behind the protective glass casings.

       "The time is close. But emperor moves so slowly," Kefka whispered to himself. "All that is about to change."

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Chapter Nine
The Terrestre Esperizium

       "I do not see how else I can protect you without eliminating the survivor," reasoned Guardian.

       "I said no!" said Tina strongly. She paced back and forth in her private quarters nervously speaking to Guardian. "There has to be a way. I do not want him killed. I may be a traitor but I’m not a murderer!"

       "Then I suggest that you leave the place if you still value your life."

       "Leave? How? The place is locked down. Nobody can enter or leave the area until yellow alert has been lifted."

       "You forget, Branford. I can permit you to leave," Guardian reminded.

       Tina shook her head as though Guardian could see her. "I’m not leaving until I have all the information you promised. What is taking so long, Guardian?"

       "I had to stop the upload while they were doing the investigation. Or else they would’ve traced the transfer to your quarters," Guardian answered.

       "Investigation? How close are they?" Tina asked in utmost concern. She was more afraid now than ever.

       "Whatever they find in the ruined warehouse is not important. They will not get very far with it. But the surviving witness is the threat. He is recovering slowly without magical aid but recovering nonetheless."

       "Please leave him alone! It is not an option. I will not kill him! Do you understand, Guardian? I’d rather turn mys—" Tina faltered at her last sentence. She doubted her resolve. "I’d rather turn myself in," she repeated.

       "That is not an option, either. But ready yourself, Branford. A messenger is coming with a delivery," Guardian said. Tina did not exactly understand this but she wiped her tears and tried to regain her composure as best as she could.

       Minutes later there was a knock on her door. She opened the door and saw a delivery person walking away, scribbling something on his clipboard. The man didn’t even wait for Tina.

       "Pick up the parcel, Branford," Guardian instructed.

       Tina looked down and saw a small rectangular box on the floor, wrapped in brown paper with her name on it. She picked it up and closed the door before anybody else could see her.

       "What is it?" Tina asked.

       "A gift," Guardian said simply. "Open it and keep it safe always."

       Tina tore open the small package with curiosity. She felt strange while she did it. She has never received a gift wrapped inside a box before. She tore off the last piece of the brown paper revealing a light metallic box painted black. She lifted the lid open revealing a beautiful bead and jewel necklace. Tina gasped at the sight of a circular ruby-colored stone about an inch in diameter. It was framed in a small gold circlet connected to a gold chain laced with tiny red globes of beads.

       The beautiful melted away the worries that were with her minutes ago. Try as she might she could not avert her eyes from the brilliantly cut red stone that sparkled in the sunshine that entered her barred window. There was something about the stone that made her feel strange and yet familiar with it. It was as though she had just found a long lost treasure and now she was made whole with it again. She wasn’t even sure whether the stone really was a ruby. She just didn’t care. She found herself wondering why she felt like this. Often, when she was out of the Bronze Fortress Compound she would walk in the streets of the city of Vector passing by shops that sold jewelry and other trinkets and treasures. Never did she pay attention to the brilliantly sparkling diamonds and emeralds screaming at customers from window shops. She has never been interested at them. Their beauty had always failed to capture her eyes. But there she was, fixated on the dazzling red beams that danced within the stone as she shifted the stone in the sunlight slowly.

       "Oh, thank you, Guardian!" she exclaimed. "It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I… how can I…? But why?"

       Guardian’s answer was plain but without explanation. "It is necessary."

       Tina smiled and thought that Guardian would never learn to say thank you. She was very grateful, nonetheless.

       "It is not a mere trinket, Branford. Take my word very seriously. Keep it safe with your life. Never part with it. Should you die then you die with it," Guardian said with a sense of urgency.

       Tina thought of it as an odd way to value an inanimate object. She knew without a doubt that it must’ve cost a fortune but to be overly protective of it was a strange request. And yet deep inside she knew that it would be easy to follow the request.

       She wore the necklace around her neck, removing the other necklace that Guardian gave her that had the microphone. She placed the old necklace on the table. She wondered whether she should wear both of them so that she could still speak to Guardian but Guardian answered her question before she could ask it.

       "Don’t throw away the old necklace. Just keep it somewhere safe. The red beads all have tinier listening devices that work better than the old one. But do get rid of the earpiece and replace them with the earrings," Guardian instructed.

       "Earrings?" Tina asked her eyes going back to the black box. There they were, still inside the box, ignored due to the powerful attraction of the red jewel. They were a pair of red colored beads as well and about the same size as the red jewel. Tina’s jaw dropped as she blinked at the earrings. "I am not wearing these," she said resolutely.

       "They match the necklace," Guardian said trying to convince her to wear it.

       Tina shook her head stubbornly. "No! Have you actually seen them? They’re huge! It’s oversized and… no! Besides, I’ve never worn any kind of jewelry all my life. This necklace alone is suspicious. I am not about to give the men wrong signals about the flirtatious earrings."

       "As you wish. But keep them for emergencies."

       Tina left the earrings in the box. She replaced the lid and kept the box in one of her drawers. "Is it a ruby?" Tina asked Guardian.

       "No. It’s a stone a hundred times more valuable than rubies," Guardian answered.

       "But what do you call it?"

  &nb