Chapter 29: Misunderstanding
A pitch-black dome made of thick aTer steel surrounded the Arctic training facility in a flash as the lockdown protocols went into effect.
At the same time, an emergency message was being transmitted to the closest Commander station to Tomber through a newly developed security system.
Any message sent through this method was marked with a newly assigned level 5 importance, which basically meant whichever Commander it reached first moved out the moment they received it.
Alarms blared through the building in tandem with the flashing crimson lights that illuminated the entire facility.
Instructor Solis's hand rested firmly against her weapon as she stared at the Human in front of her with a terrified expression.
She already understood that her gun would be practically useless against a Human who already knew the attack was coming. And yet, she couldn't seem to pull her fingers away from her side. Her body no doubt refused to listen to her because it wanted some sort of insurance, despite how hollow it actually was.
Arbus and the trainees glanced between Solis and the dark dome visible through the translucent ceiling with shocked expressions.
None of them understood what was going on right now, including Arbus himself.
"Everyone! Stay calm and listen to me," Solis yelled, not taking her eyes off Arbus for a moment. "I want all of you to slowly back away from the Human and run deeper into the base through the doors behind me!"
"Just stay quiet and do as I say, all right!? Trust me! Everything will be fine!"
Solis did not, in fact, believe anything would be fine. She was the least experienced instructor in the base, but that didn't mean she couldn't understand a hopeless situation when she saw one.
Everyone in the facility had been doomed the moment she had trapped them inside with the Human. That was just usually how these things went.
The dome was more of a precaution to protect those beyond it, until the Invader eventually broke free.
After all, there was a very slim chance of her and her colleagues holding off a Human until a Commander arrived to back them up.
Everything she was doing right now was simply a Hail Mary she was using to buy time, just in case the Human was the type to play with their victims before attacking.
"Instructor, what's happening right now?" one of the Mornans in the group asked nervously as he looked between Solis and Arbus. "Is the half-human actually really just a Human!?" he stammered.
'Idiot!' Solis grumbled inwardly. 'I told them to stay quiet, didn't I? What's with the lack of survival instincts on this fool! How did he get picked to be a knight!?'
A few moments later, her eyes furrowed slightly as she processed his words. 'Wait, half-human? What is he talking about?'
"What are you talking about?" Solis asked with furrowed brows. "What do you mean by half-human?"
***
Arbus's eyes widened slightly as he realized the cause of the current situation. His mind had shot through various scenarios when he saw the terrified and furious look in the instructor's eyes before she locked the entire facility down.
He'd assumed the Council had somehow gotten their way and that he'd been framed for something he didn't do, but it turned out the instructor simply had no knowledge that he would be arriving at the base.
Never attribute to malice what can simply be explained by ignorance. A saying his father always said that seemed to fit the situation perfectly.
Arbus realized that he had to correct her before things escalated any further.
"Instructor, I'm not—"
Bang!
Arbus's eyes widened in shock for a moment. He slowly glanced behind him, noticing the smoking dent blasted into the giant door behind him.
"That was a warning shot!" Solis growled, her weapon in hand. "Stay where you are!"
She'd fired her gun the moment Arbus took a step towards her. He could see that she was chiding herself for it inwardly, which most likely meant she'd done it on instinct in a panic.
He gritted his teeth as he wondered if he should keep trying to explain himself before things got out of hand. There was a possibility she would shoot him straight on next time if he did.
Arbus couldn't allow that to happen, no matter what. Because if she did, then his wound would immediately stitch itself back together, right in front of everyone present. Which would mean the situation would reach a new fever pitch.
It was one thing to simply look like a Human. It was another thing entirely to also have their powers.
The Council had made him keep his abilities a secret unless necessary for a good reason. It would not end well if the general populace learned that the children of Humans were capable of inheriting their abilities. It wouldn't end well at all.
"Instructor, I think there's been a misunderstanding."
Arbus turned to the side as he noticed Alexander step forward with a calm expression.
The instructor turned towards him with a glare. Clearly, she didn't think he was that smart.
"Arbus isn't a Human," Alexander continued, gesturing towards Arbus. "He's a half-human, and a half-Tarokian."
Solis's eyes widened slightly as she glanced at Arbus. Her eyes scanned his features as she noticed the thin red lines running from below his ears and down his chin for the first time.
A look of confusion crossed her face for several moments as she kept her weapon trained on Arbus.
She turned back to Alexander with a frown. "That can simply be a disguise!" she shouted, unconvinced.
Then, Solis blinked rapidly as if suddenly realizing something. "Wait, how did he get on the same train as all of you in the first place?" she muttered. "And why did the train let him?"
Arbus took her words to mean that the train most likely had a preventive measure against unregistered guests who boarded it. That didn't surprise him much.
Nota, the blue Mornan girl from before, suddenly raised her hand as she explained. "We got on the train with him at the station we arrived at. The Renegade officer there told us he was a fellow Renegade training with us." She hesitated for a moment as she glanced at Arbus. "Is that... not true?"
Solis's expression contorted in a frown as her confusion only grew by the moment.
She eventually began to wonder if this was all a trick and a mind game the Human was playing on everyone.
"Solis, stop!"
Solis's eyes widened as she glanced back just as Kate and Dutch stepped through the doors leading deeper into the facility.
"Boss!" she shouted in relief upon seeing Kate. The tension she felt ease slightly upon seeing that she didn't have to be in control of the situation anymore. "Boss, there's a Human here!" she yelled, gesturing at Arbus.
Kate glanced at him with an unreadable expression for a moment before turning back to Solis. "Yeah, I know," she said as she suddenly activated her badge.
Solis's brow raised slightly at how casual her Boss and Dutch were being, despite standing a few feet away from a member of the most terrifying species in the universe.
Her surprise doubled a moment later when she glanced up, noticing the dome around the base suddenly beginning to lower. The relentless alarms ceased, and the bright lighting of the base returned as the red one faded. Solis knew this could only mean the head of the facility had overridden her emergency lockdown.
"Boss, what are you doing! We're in an emergency situatio—"
"No, we aren't," Kate said with a long sigh. "The trainee isn't just Human. He's also a half-Tarokian, who has been sent here to train under us. On the orders of the Council."
Solis stared at Kate silently for several long moments. Then, her eyes narrowed in rage. "What?"