Chapter 26: Strange behaviour
The doors of the training facility's hanger slowly slid open once again as Kate walked out into the relentless harsh winds of Tomber.
The snow reaching up to her ankles made her feel like she was stepping into an ice cold lake.
Her vision was completely obstructed by the frozen stormy landscape in front of her.
"I really hate this planet." Kate grumbled under her breath.
About twenty minutes had already passed since she'd activated the lockdown protocols of the base.
She would be lying if she said she didn't still feel a hint of embarrassment for not confirming who the trainees were first.
In truth, she'd done it in annoyance after getting stuck with the task of showing around the trainees around and explaining everything to them for the third time in a row.
She didn't know what consequences she would be facing for it soon.
She however, did not regret activating the newly installed security measures.
Based on the information she had at the time, she felt like it was the right thing to do.
She let out a visible breath as she glanced about a bit.
She was wondering if she'd spot any puppies beyond their facility's perimeter from her position.
It had been awhile since the extermination team had visited the planet, despite her constant requests.
Their population seemed to be increasing at a terrifying rate.
Kate desperately hoped this wouldn't still be a problem in a few months time when the final exams began.
Eventually, she turned her gaze upward, wondering how long it would be before she saw a ship appear from the clouds.
'well, we'd definitely be dead by now if it had been a real situation' She mused inwardly.
BOOOM!!!
Kate's eyes widened in the next moment as a bright, luminescent explosion suddenly appeared deep in the cloud-covered atmosphere of the planet.
The entire sky turned red.
She could hear a series of explosions erupting in quick succession, each blast sounding closer than the last.
Cold sweat began to form on her back as she noticed the silhouette causing the explosions seemed to be heading directly towards the facility.
"What in the world!?"
BOOM!!
BOOM!
BO–
Then, the loud and terrifying explosions ceased almost as abruptly as they had appeared.
WHOOSH!!!
A moment later, a figure slammed into the ground before her, creating a shockwave that sent snow and ice cascading in all directions.
Kate shielded her face with a hand as the mere impact of the landing forced her back several steps.
When the shockwave quelled, she turned toward the figure that had descended from the sky like a bolt of thunder.
In front of her was a stern looking Male Ramarta with glistening blue skin that reflected the dim light coming from the facility, and long dark hair.
She found herself having to look up at him, despite her own towering stature.
His sharp yellow eyes studied her coldly while his long spade tipped tail swayed gently behind him.
A grey Renegade coat with a circle emblem was draped across his shoulders like a cape, while the arms blew calmly in the now slightly warmer air.
Kate finally recovered from the shock of what she'd just witnessed and bowed deeply to the Ramarta.
"I greet the commander!"
It wasn't hard for her to figure out that this person was the Commander that had been dispatched to this planet.
Even if she'd encountered him randomly, the sheer power he radiated was more than enough for her to come to that conclusion.
She didn't expect something as shocking as the commander simply travelling across the star system with his ability, forgoing the need for a ship entirely.
The Ramarta remained silent for several moments as he simply observed her, as if checking for something.
"...Head Instructor Kate, I presume." he said finally, his voice clear enough to cut through the the howling winds, despite how monotone it had been.
"Yes commander, that's me." Kate answered curtly as she straightened.
Kate guessed he'd gotten her information from the emergency signal, since it had been sent from her communicator.
"Hmm, how strange. You sent in the distress signal for a Reincarnator threat quite a while ago. But from the look of things, you don't seem to be hurt at all."
"So what's the current situation?" The Ramarta questioned with a neutral tone.
Kate gulped ever so slightly as she berated herself inwardly.
She was stumped on how to narrate the take of her misunderstanding to such an important figure.
"Commander, I..." She said hesitantly.
Then she steeled herself as her expression grew serious.
"We'd just received the new batch of knight trainees for our facility earlier today."
"Among them, was an individual I had identified to be a Reincarnator, due to my own carelessness."
"Immediately I laid eyes on him, I hurriedly activated the lockdown protocol without an ounce of hesitation, sir."
Her brows squeezed together.
"But, like I said before, I'd been careless."
"I had neglected to check the files on the new batch of trainees arriving."
"Which was why I had misidentified a trainee, who was only half-human."
The commander said nothing for several moments as he stared at Kate intently.
"So, you're saying this was a false alarm." He asked finally, his voice carrying a noticeably sharp edge.
Kate stopped herself from trembling as she maintained eye contact with him.
"Yes sir, it was."
"..."
"Hmm, I see." The Ramarta muttered as he turned his sharp yellow eyes to the doors of the hanger.
Suddenly, the commander's body began emitting a bright orange light capable of drowning out the darkness brought on by the storm.
Kate immediately recognised it as the telltale sign of a Heart shard ability being activated.
'wha- what is he doing!? Don't tell me he's going to kill me as punishment.' Kate thought, her teeth clenching slightly.
Then, an invisible pulse erupted from the commander's orange aura, expanding far in every direction.
The invisible pulse swept through the entire base and beyond, allowing him to sense everything within its range with almost perfect clarity.
Deep inside the facility, he could sense the life force he'd been searching for, the half-human, Arbus.
After that, he searched the entire base thoroughly, making sure there was nothing, or more precisely, no one trying to hide from his senses.
Thankfully, he'd found nothing else out of the ordinary.
"Hmm?" A low hum escaped the commander's lips as he suddenly sensed Arbus looking around himself strangely.
It seemed he could feel the vibrations in the air that his abilities caused.
'He can tell when he's being scanned. How curious.'
Then, the commander blinked in slight surprise as he noticed someone else he wasn't expecting turn toward his direction with a frown.
The trainee, Kaeru.
It was as if the blue Mornan could somehow sense that someone was watching him – and from what direction he was watching him from – even if he couldn't see he.
The commander hadn't expected anyone besides the ex-captain stationed here to be capable of noticing him, but it seemed this planet was full of surprises.
'Is it a coincidence?' he mused inwardly.
He made sure to scan the blue Mornan, confirming there was nothing human-like about him.
After all, humans disguising themselves like Mornans wasn't an uncommon scenario.
Kate's tense expression eased slightly as she noticed the commander wasn't attacking.
Instead he seemed to be scanning the base with interest as his tail swayed rhythmically.
Eventually he turned back to Kate.
"I've confirmed your words. It indeed seems you've simply made a mistake."
A small frown appeared on his striking features.
"That was extremely careless of you, head instructor Kate."
Kate's gaze fell as she prepared for her verdict.
"..."
"But it was also the correct decision."
She looked up at him in surprise.
"What?"
He continued.
"Based on the information you had, it was indeed the correct course of action."
"We cannot afford to have a repeat of Terytl-B. I'm happy you did it."
But. I sincerely hope a mistake like this doesn't repeat itself."
Kate nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you, commander."
The commander's gaze turned back to the facility.
"Arbus Kaelen... It seems the Sentinel has finally made that half human a full-fledged Renegade."
"Well, it's not unexpected for him."
Kate quickly realised that the commander probably knew more about Arbus's situation. But, she thought better of asking him right now, despite how much she wanted to.
" I shall be taking my leave now. Be well, instructor Kate."
The commander said finally as he turned away from her.
"Yes, goodbye sir." Kate said bowing deeply again as she watched him walk away.
He took several large strides forward, then halted.
Suddenly, his gaze shot downward as a worried expression slowly spread across his handsome features.
Kate's brows furrowed.
"Is something wrong, commander?"
The Ramarta said nothing for several moments as his bright yellow eyes remained fixed to the ground.
But then, he shook his head as he turned back to Kate.
"No, it's nothing. I've heard this planet is known for disrupting heart-shard senses. I just didn't think I'd experience something like that myself. How peculiar."
The commander continued forward, heading deeper into the snowstorm.
When he felt like he was far enough away from the base, he reactivated his abilities.
The raging winds all around him suddenly began to surge toward him at an alarming rate.
He crouched down, his coat swaying in the violent breeze.
Then, a second later, the air around him ignited all at once as he shot skyward at terrifying speeds, bursting through the clouds once more.
Kate watched in awe for a few moments before she let out a deep relieved sigh.
Her gaze turned back to the facility as she headed into the hanger.
On a snow-covered mountain peak not far from the base, a small ball-sized creature watched the commander depart with keen interest.
It was a hybrid monstrosity with fish-like scales hugging Its grotesque body, and wolf-like features like its sharp teeth, pointy ears and short tail.
After he was gone, It's single eye turned towards Kate's retreating form.
After the hanger doors closed, its eerie gaze took in the entire training facility for several moments.
A low growl escaped its Jaws.
Eventually, it's small form borrowed deeply into the snow, travelling down the mountain.