Chapter 132 - EVO

Chapter 132 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Magnus***

Holy Moly, I exclaimed when Gunnar showed me the row of corpses in the morgue. I thought we were searching for a traitor and not some kind of monster. Seriously, what's up with the popped eyeballs?

I approached one of the bodies and inspected the empty eye socket. No matter whether we were hunting a human or some kind of creature, it was a sick motherfucker with a pension for eyeballs.

Gunnar harrumphed. More like their brains.

Brains? I repeated, baffled.

Whatever killed them went in through the eye and slurped out the brain. He mimicked using a drinking straw, slurping audibly while doing so. At least that's what the doctors said.

What the fuck? I shook my head and gestured down the line of corpses. I am not going to play bait for whoever or whatever did this without my full armour. Why are you even still saying it was a spy when it looks more like some horror-flick monster did this?

I and my uncle hadnt gotten a proper opportunity to talk yet. But since this was an important matter I agreed to set aside my misgivings for the moment and treat him no differently than I had while we were still working for the organisation. I could do as much, though I had a few stern words for him as soon as this was over.

Gunnar sighed. I would have said the same, but after extensive interviews with doctors and elders alike, I was assured that there are even more grotesque mutations out there. And during my time back at Earth I had to learn often enough that humans are capable of horrible things. So far, I havent seen much on Tirnanog which could compare to what the worst of our kind are capable of.

He shrugged. According to the elders something like this, He gestured at the bodies, isn't beyond an enemy infiltrator who desires to sow fear and chaos. And I must admit, the victims' methodical selection so far speaks against a mindless beast. This isnt some monster picking targets of opportunity when it gets hungry. Every victim was carefully selected to get the saboteur one step closer to the imprisoned Thich.

There was certainly a lot to learn when it came to the sequence of deaths, but I didnt have time to listen to hours of research. But Gunnar was experienced with such affairs, so I trusted him to get the basics right. Nonetheless, there were a few things I wanted to make sure to be considered. When it came to Tirnanog, I had a few months of experience on him.

I hummed and scratched at the stubbles on my chin. The last time I had gotten the chance to shave was a few days ago. You are aware that some monsters out there are frighteningly intelligent. Ive met ones which could talk, though Astra assured me it was no more than a parrot could do. It still freaked me out.

He nodded. I was told as much, but everyone I asked also pointed out that such things are rare. It is much more likely that our enemy is human and possesses some form of shape-shifting to blend in. In any case, what I am on board with is that to hide this well they must possess human-level intelligence. As of yet, a creature possessing all these characteristics without human origin is unknown. It could be a deviant a former human whose mutations got the better of them. Such things supposedly exist. The question remains why they would go out of their way to eradicate possible intelligence we could gather from our prisoners.

How do you explain that all of them were killed in the same manner? I asked and gestured at the bodies. I see no other signs of fighting than the single wound in the eyes. Shouldnt at least one of all the victims have fought back?

Gunnar looked down the row of bodies. Vanya assumes it must be an extremely strong psychic. Which was indirectly confirmed by Chitters. According to him, all the bodies smell excessively of fear. The current assumption is that there is some sort of mental paralysation involved.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Okay. Lets just make sure we arent overlooking anything. Can we go over the sequence of events once more in detail? I want all the details if I do something as stupid as playing bait for this thing.

Sure. As I see it, the first victims were two groups of hunters who helped Jeng harvesters in tracking down dead iobeetles. One of the two groups, one was wiped out completely. From the other, only two hunters survived and returned to base. From what I could track, thats when the killings started. In a way, the trail of bodies was very similar to what I would do when infiltrating a government organisation. Pick someone as low and unimportant as possible in the chain of command who still gets access to where you want to go and impersonate them. Switch identities as often as necessary but avoid killing if possible.

Avoid killing? I asked.

Most of the bodies are from the prison massacre, Gunnar explained. From what I can tell our saboteur only switched identities three or four times outside of that. It gets a bit iffy because I also have a few disappearances to take into account. No bodies, so not certain whether they are connected to this case.

I nodded along. And what makes you think we have only one infiltrator and not two? Would suck to suddenly face two saboteurs when we expect only one. If the going assumption is that our enemy is of human origin, then two partnered opponents would be likely.VIsit n0(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

The guards all shook their heads.

So! I clapped my hands together. Then I will take the lead. Room 3-20 right?

Gunnar nodded and I strolled down the corridor, switching between Second Sight to observe the energy signatures beyond the walls and normal sight to read the room labels.

Second Sight wasnt anything like x-ray vision since it only provided a blurred outline of most things, but if the obstacle between a living creature and myself wasnt electromagnetically conductive it provided me with more than enough information even if there was a wall in the way.

If there was time and opportunity, I would have to check where exactly on the microwave or radio wavelengths Second Sight was settled.

Since the Old Camp, I had concluded that Second Sight was similar to an ultra-sensitive radar array, allowing me to see far into the spectrum of electromagnetic energies. In other words, since most living creatures possessed a nervous system relying on electric signals, I could see their bioelectric energy output. It also explained why most electric devices shone like lightbulbs in Second Sight.

I stopped my idle thoughts when I reached Brooks room and found the energy signature of what looked like a grown man inside it. Since he was currently lying in his bed and not doing anything particular, I took the time to scan everything in his room and commit it to memory.

Only once I was sure I wouldnt commit a political faux pas with my next actions, did I knock on his door.

Brook stirred and rolled out of his bed. He stood there, apparently not decided on what to do next, so I knocked again, more urgently this time.

He finally decided to answer the door, instead of going for his equipment. It saved me from taking some more drastic actions which had the potential of killing him. After seeing what he hid under his bed, I wasnt willing to let him get anywhere near it.

Seriously, who hid incriminating equipment under his bed?

While Brook approached, I placed my hand on the metal door handle and waited. And as soon as he touched the handle on his side, I tazed him.

Brook stiffened on the other side, his muscles locked into place, giving me all the time in the world to apply a hammer fist to the door. Everything built on Tirnanog was meant for mutated humans. Which implied heavy duty in most cases. On the other hand, there was a line to walk between used materials, functionality, and sturdiness.

Aeries airships had a lot more carrying capability than anything comparable I had seen before. But they nonetheless had a limit, and so the regular doors werent up to snuff when someone with strength enhancements decided he wanted to get to the other side.

The door itself withstood my fist, but the hinges gave way and the entire door disconnected from the door frame, hitting Brook right in the face. He went down with the door on top of him.

I stepped on the door and walked over Brook into the room, looking around.

Now, was that really necessary? Gunnar followed me. We dont even have proof of him doing anything bad. Not yet at least.

Oh, we have, I replied coolly and touched the tip of my boot to Brooks shoulder when I saw him stir.

Another taze and he twitched, he shook, and he spit out a few loose teeth, probably from when I had applied the door to his face.

I stopped and watched him to make sure he was out for good before I turned to his bed and flipped it over. Beneath it under a loose floor tile, I found the thing I was looking for.

A cobbled-together, alien-looking device which had an eerie similarity to the communicator we took from the Thich delegation. If that isnt incriminating enough, then I dont know.