Agnostophobia

Cain admired himself in his bathroom mirror. It had been quite some time since he’d thought to look at himself in a mirror. Probably not since his first week with Last Bastion. Since then, he’d undergone nearly a month’s worth of extremely rigorous training and even more grueling trials by fire. His physique had gone from the thin, wiry frame of a martial artist to a body structure that maintained his agile stature, but with much more defined musculature. He couldn’t help but admire how much he had changed in the short amount of time he’d been here.

His new armor from Gunnar had arrived the night before. It was a set of black and brown leather armor with pale blue accents, stylized to suit fashion preferences Cain didn’t even realize he had until now. The armor consisted of three separate pieces: a dark cuirass that fit comfortably over Cain’s t-shirt, with a pastel blue cloth armband with Last Bastion’s emblem emblazoned on, a thick pair of pants padded with leather, with a metal shinguard on each leg for kicking attacks, and Cain’s personal favorite piece, the a very utilitarian belt to serve as the centerpiece for the armor. The belt had several pouches for Cain to store things like extra runeslates and other tools, as well as a small box that contained a piece of each color of chalk he would need to make more runes on the go. Overall, the armor was very thoughtfully made and it fit him perfectly. He had to make sure to thank Gunnar when he got the chance.

When Cain finally finished admiring himself in the mirror, he slid on his gauntlets and left his room. Today was finally the day of the meeting for the supposed ‘Really Important Recon Mission’. Valerie had made the announcement the night before, shortly after Gunnar brought Cain his armor. Everyone was to meet in operations this morning for mission planning.

It was strange walking through the MOLE by himself. Up until now, the only time Cain had gone anywhere in the MOLE besides the living quarters was with someone else, so he wasn’t quite used to the strange sense of loneliness he felt when moving through the mostly empty hallways. The only real foot traffic he saw for much of the short journey to operations were the automatons going about their business.

As Cain entered the hallway to operations, he saw Rina up ahead and jogged to catch up with her.

“Hey, Rina!” he called after her. “How have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.”

She turned, giving Cain an unusually small smile. “Hey, Cain. It’s good to see you. I’m doing good. Sorry we haven’t spoken much lately, I’ve been…busy.”

Before Cain had a chance to respond, she turned back and kept walking into operations. It was strange. Cain had never seen her like that before. She seemed distant somehow, and her responses felt almost rehearsed. He wanted to catch up and ask her what was wrong, but he wasn’t able to do so, as upon entering operations it became clear that he was the last person remaining before the meeting could begin.

“Good, you’re here.” Valerie stated as he walked in, “We can begin.”

She turned as glyph-screens updated and changed across the room, each displaying complicated data that Cain couldn’t understand. The map on the console in the center of the room shifted, zooming in on an area labelled ‘Elapp’ that was outlined in the same sickly green of the Bottomless. Based on what he’d seen, Cain came to the conclusion that places on the map covered in green were Bottomless controlled territories. Though, if he used that conclusion and looked at how much of the map was covered in that same green, it painted a grim picture of how well Last Bastion’s resistance was faring in the grand scheme of things.

“So Val, you gonna finally clue us in on what you’ve been planning?” Finn spoke up, wearing his typical sly smile.

Valerie looked up at the map and then back across the faces of everyone in the room before she finally said something.

“I believe that we have spent far too long in the dark about the Bottomless.” she began, “Despite fighting them and driving them back time after time, we know almost nothing about them, and I’m sick of it.”

“So what are you suggestin’ we do?” asked Gunnar with a rumble, arms crossed.

Valerie answered Gunnar’s question with the smug confidence of an unbeaten strategist. “I’m glad you asked, Gunnar. Remember the refugee caravan from Avcad that was headed towards Grant-Pomé? We received word from them a few days ago that they finally made it.”

A few claps and cheers rang throughout the room. Cain didn’t know what this Grant-Pomé place was, but it sounded like it was probably one of Ranael’s last remaining sanctuaries. Presumably something like Paradox. Either way, he was happy that it seemed like those refugees made it to relative safety.

“In addition,” Valerie continued, “they gave us some incredibly crucial intel in their report. On their way to Grant-Pomé, they passed near the ruins of Elapp. They had originally planned to make camp in the ruins, but heard sounds of Bottomless coming from within the city’s walls. They sent a few scouts to do a bit of recon, but only one returned, terrified and covered in wounds. That scout spoke of a hideous beast that had taken up residence in the ruins that moved like something out of a nightmare and cut down the other scouts in an instant. The caravan quickly moved on after hearing that, but their report made me curious, so I went digging through a few records of some of Last Bastion’s previous battles. Based on what I found, I believe we could be dealing with a Starved.”

The cheerful, hopeful atmosphere that stemmed from learning of the caravan’s safety that had pervaded the room only moments before vanished like a switch being flipped. A heavy, dreadful silence now hung in the air, only broken by the hum of machinery in the walls and the occasional glyph-screen static.

Cain tentatively raised a hand after a few moments, trying to break the silence. “Uh, can I ask what a Starved is?”

A few more seconds passed before Finn finally spoke up. “Most of us only know the stories that either previous members or the people who have been here the longest have told us, but-”

“They’re ghastly, abnormal creatures similar to the Bottomless that invaded alongside them from Epoleme, the mass of corruption that haunts our sky.” Eagrin, of all people, interjected with a chirp, “They’re enigmatic at best and mythical at worst, but either way they are an enemy that should not and cannot be taken lightly. A single one could easily do the work of a hundred Bottomless. Last Bastion has only ever fought about half a dozen of them, but we haven’t come out unscathed a single time.”

Even Cain, who hadn’t quite learned how to read Eagrin or his sister’s facial expressions yet, could tell by the fear in this seasoned warrior’s voice that Starved were not to be trifled with.

“Which brings me to my next point.” Valerie announced, trying to get the meeting back on track, “Based on our observations of the Bottomless, such as their movements and strategies, we’ve believed for a while now that they are some sort of hive-mind, with their cores serving as something like a brain that links back to a main body on Epoleme. Unfortunately, the cores of the Bottomless break down and disintegrate upon their death, so we haven’t been able to do any testing to confirm that hypothesis. Based on what I read in our records however, the Starved are a different story.”

Rina’s eyes widened. “You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you?”

Valerie simply smiled, her sky blue eyes shining with something between confidence and insanity. “The MOLE is currently on route to surface just outside Elapp tomorrow morning. The objective of this mission will be to seek out the Starved that has taken up residence in the city, eliminate it, and capture its core. We will then bring the core back to the MOLE, where Rina and Gideon will analyze it, hopefully allowing us to gain an insight into the nature of our invaders that will allow us to finally gain a foothold against them. Three people should be enough to serve as the away team for this mission: myself, Gunnar, and Cain. Everyone else will stay here and remain on guard as backup.”

“You…want me to go with you on a mission this important?” Cain asked, pointing at himself.

“If something isn’t working, make decisions to fix it, right?” Valerie said back, the suggestion of a smile on her lips, “I’ve been hearing good things from Gunnar. It’s time you show me you’re more than just talk.”

“Will do.” Cain said with a nod, somewhat excited he was finally being considered a part of the team. Strange, when did he start liking this place?

“Personally, I’m against it.” Finn spoke up, his usual sly grin absent. “It just sounds too risky to me. We’re vulnerable right now, and if something goes wrong, it could be the final nail in the coffin for our little resistance.”

Shadra opened her mouth to speak for the first time the whole meeting. “It is risky, yes, but if we succeed we could gain critical intelligence. Imagine the benefits of finally knowing how our enemies think.”

After much discussion with no one seeming to compromise, the mission was called to a vote. Rina, Eagrin, and Finn each voted No, while Valerie, Gunnar, and Shadra all voted Yes. It came down to a tie, and everyone looked at Cain to cast the deciding vote. He weighed the options in his head, taking time to consider each argument, and made his decision.

“I think it’s worth the risk.” he said.

Valerie smiled. “Then with that, it’s decided. We will meet back here tomorrow morning at the same time to do our final preparations. For now, everyone go get some rest so you’ll be ready. Dismissed!”