Chapter 23: Misunderstanding
A pitch-black reinforced dome harder than aTer steel surrounded the Arctic training facility as the lockdown protocols went into effect.
At the same time, an emergency message was being sent to the hold through a newly developed security system.
Any message sent through this method was marked with a level 5 importance, meaning a Commander at the very least would be dispatched to the planet shortly.
Sounds of alarms blared across the building in tandem with the flashing crimson lights.
Kate studied the human staring at her with a frown plastered across her face.
She quelled her emotions and did her best to stop herself from immediately pulling out her weapon.
She knew there would be no point in that.
She had no delusions about killing a Reincarnator.
'These bastards, haven't they done enough to be satisfied!?' she cursed inwardly as she gritted her teeth.
The broken and heartbreaking expressions of her colleagues when they'd found out the fates of their civilian families on Terytl-B flashed through her mind.
She hated humans so much.
She turned to the other trainees.
"It's going to be okay everyone, please don't panic." She said, trying to calm the unfortunate trainees.
She was lying.
There was a very slim chance of those inside this facility surviving if the Reincarnator attacked.
She had activated the security protocols for the protection of those outside the building that inhabited the planet.
There was no hope of the commander getting here in time to save them.
She just hoped the dome would keep him in here long enough to save everyone else.
Kate was a seasoned Renegade, so it was only natural that she would make the choice that would save the most people, despite the fear she'd buried deep in her heart.
The most shocking part of this incident for her, was that the Reincarnator had followed the trainees all the way here without attacking and alerting the Pod.
She couldn't imagine how terrifying that was for them.
"Wait, what?"
"Instructor, I think there's been a misunderstanding!" Arbus shouted as he finally recovered from the shock of the instructor's sudden actions.
"I'm not a Reincarnator, I'm a half-human!" He added.
Given the fact that everyone working at the station they came from already knew who he was, he had simply expected the same thing to happen here.
The rage filled gaze she was watching him with didn't ease even slightly.
'she doesn't believe me!'
Arbus's jaw clenched as he turned to the other trainees.
"You can ask them! They were already informed about my situation earlier!"
Kate's brows furrowed slightly.
'What's wrong with him. Why is he acting like that.'
'don't tell me... Is he one of those crazy ones that likes to play with his victims first?'
'Is he trying to roleplay being a Renegade?'
She felt a feeling of disgust rise up in her chest at the thought.
"..."
'should I just humour him to buy time?'
Eventually, she glanced at the other trainees like he asked her to.
But, none of them seemed that keen on speaking up.
Arbus's eyes widened when he realised they weren't going to say anything.
That was because some of them were secretly hoping this situation kept escalating.
Their thoughts were basically along the lines of:
(wait, can't we just get rid of him like this? If we don't say anything or back him up, the instructor might simply attack him, or wait for a commander to arrive and take care of him.)
(Yes! that would be for the best. It's his own fault for trying to be a Renegade as a half-human, instead of living in silence and hating his existence!)
Just when Kate was about to glance back at Arbus, one of the blue Mornans stepped up.
The one with a long Naggita strapped to his back.
"It's true, instructor. He's only half-human. You can tell by how weak he feels." The blue Mornan said bluntly.
Kate's brows rose in alarm.
'How weak he feels!?'
'What is this idiot talking about! Is he trying to humour him too? He's going about it all wrong!"
Kate was worried that his comment had agitated the human.
They were an extremely proud species after all.
The second white Mornan stepped up as well, despite the look the prince was given him seconds ago when he made his intention of speaking clear.
"What I'm sure he's trying to say, is that we were already told that he wasn't a Reincarnator at the station we arrived at."
Kate's gaze darkened.
She began wondering if she had misunderstood the situation.
'Is this... a mind control ability of some kind!? Is that why they all seem so calm, despite the situation!?'
'If that's the case, then should I attack before my mind falls victim to his insidious ability, as well?' Kate thought, her hand finally landing on the high tech gun strapped to her waist.
"Kate, stop!!!"
Instructor Dutch shouted at the top of his lungs as he burst through the door leading to the hanger.
'shit, that idiot!'' Kate cursed inwardly in annoyance as she glanced up.
"Dutch what are you doing!"
"You should know this emergency alarm means a Reincarnator threat! Why did you come here without Ty and the security team!"
She was worried that his sudden entrance would break the tense standoff.
Dutch shook his head frantically.
"Don't attack!."
"He's not a Reincarnator, he's a half-human trainee that was assigned here!"
He held up the stack of files Harves had given to him.
"It's in the documents that were sent over to us this morning by Elkton."
Dutch jumped over the railings and ran over to Kate, quickly handing them to her.
Kate warily took her eyes off Arbus as she scanned through the documents and saw the files about him.
A new type of rage filled her Heart.
"The council... They... they allowed another half-human to become a Renegade!"
She found it incredibly hard to believe what she was seeing .
She couldn't believe that the council would allow something like this after what just happened.
To her, it felt like a betrayal to every Renegade life lost on Terytl-B.
She glanced at Arbus with a look of contempt.
After a while, she let out an angry breath, as she began going through various security protocols on her device to disable the lockdown procedure.
The dimmed rays of the twin suns seeped through the facilities windows again as the dome slowly descended back into the ground.
Naturally, the dispatched commander was still on their way here.
She knew she would have to explain the misunderstanding when they arrived.
Finally, she turned her gaze to the knights beside the two that stepped up to clear up the misunderstanding.
"I see."
"You had all been informed of this situation before you bordered the transport pod, and yet you said nothing. Why is that?" She asked with barely contained rage.
Most of the trainees seemed terrified by her unreadable gaze.
They realised there was a real chance of them failing before they even had a chance to start.
The trainees who simply didn't step up due to uncertainty were especially scared.
Before they could bombard Kate with explanations, the prince, Jet, stepped out of the row and bowed slightly to Kate.
"Forgive us instructors. We made a mistake."
Kate was surprised to see a Mornan royalty showing respect. They were usually almost as proud as humans themselves.
Jet straightened as he looked over at Arbus.
"In truth, we simply hesitated out of fear."
"After all, we weren't sure if your actions were right or not"
Kate's eyes narrowed.
"Explain." She commanded simply.
Jet nodded.
"We were informed about his true identity, yes – but how could we be sure that was the truth?"
"It could have just as easily been a lie."
"After all, we've been taught that Reincarnators have extremely diverse and terrifying powers."
"I could tell that you were wondering if we've been mind controlled at one point."
"The same went for us. We had no way of knowing if the station we came from was compromised and secretly under his control or not," he added, his expression masterfully crafted to convey worry.
"Throughout our journey here, most of us were terrified of that possibility.
"And then we arrived here, at the training facility that should have knowledge of each trainee."
"Yet, you immediately placed the facility in lock down the moment you set eyes on him."
"Some of us simply thought waiting for your decision on the matter would be the best choice." Jet concluded with a resigned sigh.
"After the Terytl-b tragedy, it's understandable that we would be on edge. isn't it, Instructor?"
Kate remained silent for several moments as she studied him.
'tsk. I really hate dealing with royalty.' she thought inwardly.
Eventually, she sighed.
This was really her fault in the first place.
If she'd checked the information about the trainees, she wouldn't have found herself in this predicament.
"You're right. I'm sorry for almost shifting the blame to all of you."
Kate turned to Dutch.
"Please, take care of things here. I need to make a call," she said with a dark expression as she stormed out of the hanger.
Jet returned to his calm expression as he rejoined the group, casting another glance at Arbus.
Arbus sighed inwardly.
"I suppose it can get worse."