The message did not arrive via routes but as a psychic SOS—a piercing wordless signal that evaded devices and struck straight at the empathic centers of all the advanced E.L.F. Subjects, at Warwick. It was a tone of raw terror.
Felicya Aurora while examining the structure for the Aethelred Conservancy endowment sensed a chilling sensation, in her chest an unexplainable fear. Moments after her chief of security burst into her study his expression pale.
Subject Bryn-4. The distant tree-covered observatory in the Highlands. A breach, in containment. He has taken refuge in the Cairngorms.
Bryn-4 belonged to the generation of subjects, designed for improved environmental symbiosis. His adaptations enabled him to decode signals of plant distress detect mineral resources and traverse forests with uncanny quietness. He was not a warrior. He was an empath.. Now he was frightened roaming freely in one of the biggest most untamed national parks, in the UK.
"Start the recovery " Felicya instructed, her tone calm even though her stomach churned with nerves. Routine recovery used E.L.F.s silent-tracker squads employing -lethal bio-suppression technology. It was exact, stealthy and contained.
"The alarm was… loud Director," the head of security remarked, his eyes lowering. "Our psychic scramblers at the observatory were down, for upkeep. The distress signal was transmitted on a primal frequency. It's likely… it's likely other sensitive devices might have picked up the irregularity."
Additional delicate devices. The silent phrases lingered above. Windsors demonkin, in sync with dread. Dovers emerging angels alert to discord. Edinburghs monitoring grid vigilant, for interruptions.
Felicya shut her eyes. A runaway subject constituted a security failure. A runaway subject whose fear had been transmitted like a signal was a recipe, for chaos. The other chairs would become aware. They needed to be notified or else they might find out on their own and see it as an act—a biological weapon unleashed.
Her intellect, honed for precision determined the harmful route. "Reach out to Edinburgh. Alexa Solara alone. Employ the Wraithwatch frequency Magnus gave us. Inform her we need her… terrain experts, for an ecological recovery. Confidential. No formal Quadrumvirate warning."
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While in Edinburgh Alexa got the notification right as she was going over the Wraithwatch findings—inconsistent energy surges detected in Windsor's lower vaults. Felicyas appeal was an interruption. An 'ecological recovery' operation, in the Highlands calling for O.R.C.'s 'land experts.' A coded message indicating an E.L.F. Target at demanding pursuit by orcs.
A risk. But also an unprecedented opportunity.
"Shes revealing a weakness " Magnus growled, positioned next, to her. "Requesting our assistance. It's a display of frailty."
"It's a mark of practicality " Alexa amended, her gaze moving over a chart of the Cairngorms. "She understands the psychic surge was noticeable. Shes opting to manage the story by involving us instead of letting us uncover it on our own. It's a albeit modest tactic." A chilling smile appeared on her face. ". It provides us with an opportunity to evaluate Orsus-12s tracking and containment systems in a real-world unpredictable scenario. Against an E.L.F. Subject. The data would be invaluable."
In than sixty minutes, an unpainted tilt-rotor plane its engines hushed to a near silence landed in a marked clearing far, inside the Cairngorms. The atmosphere was crisp and thin filled with the aroma of pine and peat. From the craft emerged Alexa Solara draped in a matte-black weather cloak worn over her distinctive coat accompanied by Orsus-12.
The orc individual remained quiet his body covered in a chameleon-like ghillie mesh that disrupted his outline. His amber eyes swept over the edge of the forest not angrily. With deep thoughtful concentration. He took a breath deciphering the multitude of aromas carried by the breeze.
Felicya stepped out from the shade of the Scots pines flanked by a pair of her trackers—lean forms clad in grey-green outfits that blended seamlessly with the woodland. The unease between the two women was almost palpable with the pink, on Alexas lapels clashing against the earthy greens and browns.
"No drones " Felicya declared bluntly her tone tense. "Bryn-4 detects their EM signals. He's overwhelmed by a -sympathetic anxiety. He experiences the suffering of all living beings, within miles as if it were his own. Your subject needs to locate him without worsening that anxiety."
Alexa acknowledged Orsus-12, with a nod. "He pursues using markers—adrenaline breakdown products, stress-related pheromones. He can identify the target's biological signature amid the ambient chorus of animal distress.. He can restrain without causing lasting damage." She passed Felicya a data-pad. "Here's a live biometric stream. You can keep track of the target's stats continuously. Evidence of control."
It was an act of openness also of control. We possess the means to locate what you misplaced. We'll allow you to observe.
The chase commenced. Orsus-12 advanced with a quiet elegance, for his bulk a shadow gliding across the rough landscape. He would halt, tilt his head flare his nostrils then shift course with intent. He wasn't tracking footprints; he was tracing a chemical scent of fear carried by the breeze.
They followed for miles entering a walled ravine where a stream tumbled over dark stones. The light was fading, the sky darkening to purple.
"There " Orsus-12 growled, speaking for the time. His voice emitted a throbbing hum. He indicated a cluster of juniper and heather growing on a rocky cliff. "Concealed. Heartbeat is irregular. He is… attuned, to the stones lament."
Felicyas expression showed compassion. She moved closer lifting a hand in a motion she often employed in the Grand Willow. "Bryn-4. This is Felicya. The tempest has passed. We're here to guide you back, to the grove."
A cry resembling that of a beast resonated from the brush.
Then an error. One of Felicyas trackers shifting his position broke a twig.
The psychic recoil occurred immediately and powerfully. An overwhelming surge of confusing grief and dizziness engulfed them—the magnified, fear of Bryn-4. The E.L.F. Trackers stumbled, clutching their heads. Felicya inhaled sharply her calm broken by the intense collective dread.
Orsus-12 bellowed. Not, from agony. As a challenge. He jerked his head as though dislodging water from his ears the fury feedback loop surging then settling restrained. The mental onslaught was another kind of environmental strain. He plunged into the brush.
What ensued was a one-minute display of precision. Bryn-4 sprang out from concealment a slender form darting with urgent swiftness. Orsus-12 reduced the gap not by lunging. By steering him leveraging his mass to block all exits against the rock wall. As Bryn-4 attempted to climb a wall Orsus-12 appeared, a huge hand not grasping the individual directly but securing the rear of his tunic tugging him into a firm bear-hold that restrained his arms. Bryn-4 struggled, releasing psychic cries yet Orsus-12 calmly shifted his hold murmuring a soft steady chant—a restraining mantra deeply ingrained in him.
"It's complete " Alexa announced, observing the data-pad. "Target captured. Little physical damage. Adrenaline levels are decreasing already."
Felicya looking pale and distressed moved forward while Orsus-12 gently yet firmly restrained the sobbing Bryn-4. She positioned a disc-shaped gadget, on the subjects temple. His eyelids drifted shut as the bio-dampener activated calming the upheaval.
For a moment the two chairwomen gazed at each other above the muted figure of the fugitive. The fog swirled around them in the deepening twilight.
"Your techniques are… efficient " Felicya admitted, the phrase leaving an aftertaste.
"Your subject is secure " Alexa responded. "The situation is under control. My advice: examine your site fail-safes. The wild outdoors presents a testing environment, than a holographic forest."
The silent words weighed more, than the fog:. You relied on me to fix your chaos.
While the E.L.F. Squad secured the subdued Bryn-4 and lifted him onto the tilt-rotor Alexa rested a hand on Orsus-12s shoulder. The field trial had been successful. They demonstrated resistance to assault, advanced tracking capabilities and accurate containment. Additionally they had uncovered a vulnerability within E.L.F.s structure.
Back in the aircraft, lifting into the twilight, Alexa looked down at the darkening glen. The Highlands incident was more than a retrieval. It was a revelation. Felicya's perfect world had cracks. And where there were cracks, roots—and claws—could find purchase. The alliance, born of necessity, had just revealed a fundamental power dynamic. And Alexa Solara now knew exactly how much pressure it would take to make the whole elegant, porcelain structure shatter.