READ NOVEL FREE Chapter 8: Off...
~ Omniscient Pov ~
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Blake sat on the edge of a reinforced cot, his arms crossed as he surveyed his new surroundings. The room was sterile—clean, white walls with a faint metallic sheen, a single overhead light casting an artificial glow. There were no windows, only a reinforced door with a sleek panel embedded beside it. Cameras—at least five—were positioned in the corners of the ceiling, tracking his every movement...
A holding cell. Not that he expected anything different. He had literally crashed into their home unannounced.
[Host, they have scanned your body multiple times. I assume they are attempting to categorize your physiology.] Prophet's voice echoed in his mind.
'No kidding...' Blake thought, tapping his fingers against his arm, 'They probably think I'm some kind of freak.'
[Given that your biological composition likely does does not match any known species within their database, that assumption is likely correct.]
He scoffed a little, 'At least they didn't shoot at me again.'
After his dramatic entrance, things had gotten... tense. The moment he stopped resisting, a heavily armed squad surrounded him, weapons trained on his every move. He didn't bother fighting back. If they had wanted to kill him, they would have tried harder. Instead, they took him into custody—escorting him deep within the fortress, running scans, checking his vitals, and questioning him along the way.
His answers? Simple.
"I'm alone."
"I was stranded on this planet."
"I've been fighting those damn reapers for days."
They didn't say much in response, but he could feel their unease... If this was an actual civilization, they had to know about those creatures. So why the hell weren't they talking?
A soft chime interrupted his thoughts. The reinforced door slid open with a smooth hiss. Blake's head tilted slightly as two figures entered—one he recognized, and one he didn't...
The first was the woman from before, the one who had spotted him approaching. Her dark, high-tech uniform bore a sleek insignia he couldn't quite place. Her auburn hair was tied back in a sharp ponytail, her ice-blue eyes analyzing him like he was a puzzle she wasn't sure she wanted to solve...
However, he did have to admit one thing, 'She's absolutely breath-taking...'
The second figure was a man—taller, broader, and clearly someone used to authority. His uniform was similar but more decorated, a long dark coat draped over his shoulders. His expression was practically emotionless, but his presence carried weight.
Blake met their stares with a bored look, leaning back against the cot.
"Finally," he drawled. "Was starting to think you guys forgot about me."
The man stepped forward, arms clasped behind his back. "You'll forgive us if we needed time to process your arrival."
Blake decided to use a more welcoming tone, "Yeah, my bad. Didn't exactly have time to call ahead."
The woman sighed, shaking her head, "You're aware of how much of a security risk you are, aren't you?"
Blake shrugged. "To be fair, I could've just kept running around out there instead of showing up. Thought you'd appreciate a friendly face for once."
The man's expression remained stoic, "We'll determine just how friendly you are soon enough."
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Really rolling out the welcome mat, huh?" He wanted to meet some level of civilization, but he was reminded of how cold humans can be. To them, he was an unknown in a suit that can talk...
The woman however ignored the sarcasm, "Tell us everything you know about the reapers."
Now that caught his attention.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So you do know about them."
Neither of them answered.
He exhaled through his mask... "Alright. But if I do, you're gonna tell me what the hell this place is, deal?"
The man and the woman exchanged a glance before the man finally nodded.
"Start talking."
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Blake took a measured breath before speaking, making sure his tone even. "Over the past three weeks on this planet, I've encountered and eliminated hundreds reapers," he said quietly, his gaze steady on the interrogators. He made no mention of any extraordinary advantages his nano-suit might have provided.
Instead, he spoke only of the numbers and the necessary actions that he took to survive, albeit with care...
The woman's eyes flickered with a mix of curiosity and caution as she recorded his words. "Hundreds?" she echoed. "That's… remarkable. And you managed to do this alone?"
Blake nodded slowly, choosing his words with care. "I've relied strategy and persistence. The reapers are relentless, but so is the will to survive." His voice was neutral, the underlying intelligence in his measured cadence apparent without any overt display of arrogance.
The taller man leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "We've been tracking the disturbances caused by these reapers for some time. They've decimated local settlements and disrupted our operations." His tone was formal, investigative. "Yet, your method of engagement—this systematic elimination—suggests you're not an ordinary wanderer. How exactly did you manage such feats?"
Blake met the man's gaze steadily, "I... I just adapted to my environment. I tracked their patterns and exploited their predictability." He paused, considering how much to reveal. "There's little more to say that would be of value, and I'm not in a position to divulge further details about how I accomplished these tasks."
A brief silence settled between them, punctuated only by the soft hum of the room's environmental systems... The woman exchanged a glance with her superior before speaking once more. "Our records indicate that the reapers have been causing issues, but not all disturbances can be attributed to them. There is... another factor at play." She hesitated momentarily, ensuring that her next words were chosen with precision, "Recent scans suggest that south of Helios, there is a species that poses a far greater threat to our operations—and likely to the local balance."
'That's, interesting... That means that there's likely a stronger species on the planet, species I could get my hands on.' Blake kept that at the back of his mind for now.
His expression remained composed as he processed the new information... "So you're saying that while the reapers have been a nuisance to you, they aren't the principal concern?" He wanted to make sure he was understanding this all correctly.
"Yes... Precisely." she replied. "The disturbances from the reapers are significant, but this other species appears to be more aggressive in its territorial expansion... Our assessments are ongoing, but their impact is already evident."
"Also..." She took out a device from her top pocket, after clicking the button in the middle, a hologram revealed the structure of a creature, "By reaper... I'm assuming you meant this?"
Blake's 'eyes' widened, nodding at what he saw, "Yeah, that's the exact one..."
[Their holographic technology is quite impressive host... See to it that you get one so that I can utilize it. It would greatly enhance my mapping capabilities.]
'Sure... Though, you sounded a little excited about it, no?' Blake was sure he heard a just a bit of excitement in Prophet's tone.
[That is, unlikely host...]
Blake shrugged internally, not bothering to pursue the topic.
"Good, I'm glad we are on the same page... For now, we'll place you somewhere suitable for the time being, is that alright with you?" She added.
He nodded, although he didn't like how they were treating him too much, he couldn't inherently blame them... "Yeah, It's fine with me." For now, he knew this was the price of seeing civilization. He could learn about the city another time.
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END