A loud thudding noise reached Francis' ears and awakened him from his slumber. A sharp headache welcomed him and made the white artificial illumination hurt his sleepy eyes. He caught a glimpse of a dark figure standing before him, but his stomach soon opposed that effort.
The urge to puke invaded Francis, and he succumbed to it. He opened his mouth only to notice that rocks were standing under it. He instinctively put strength into his arms to push himself away. Still, the struggle intensified the retches, turning his stomach upside down by the time he separated himself from the ground.
Francis puked, but only saliva and gastric fluids escaped his mouth, forming a yellowish puddle on the ground. The uneven rocks tried to push that liquid toward his chest, making him turn to his right to dodge it. Still, the sudden gesture slammed him into a wall, hurting his head in the process.
A painful cry escaped Francis' mouth, but a hand promptly sealed it. The event initially scared him, but calm arrived as his teary vision grew clearer. His breath also stabilized when he recognized Andrew, and memories returned during that break.
Francis recalled everything. The underground hall, the bomb, and the teleport filled his thoughts, bringing awareness about his current situation. A quick inspection of the area also added clues, and noticing the body behind Andrew confirmed most of them.
Andrew and Francis were in a relatively spacious tunnel. The rocks on the ground were quite smooth, and a few metal pillars also stood near the walls to improve the area's stability.
Those details told Francis that the tunnel had seen a lot of action, but the body behind Andrew remained the main attraction. A middle-aged woman lay on the ground a few meters from them, and the blood flowing out of her open mouth hinted at the worst.
"We are in an underground hideout of some sort, sir," Andrew whispered, slowly retracting his hand when he saw that Francis had calmed down. "I took out a criminal who spotted us, but we should remain quiet."
Francis' eyes darted between Andrew and the woman. The latter's weak breathing confirmed that she was still alive, allowing Francis to focus only on his companion. The side effects of the scuffed teleport also waned, dispersing what remained of his anxiety and forcing him to review the situation.
Andrew's explanation had been superfluous. Even while heavily lacking in experience, Francis was a descendant who had received a thorough education in all kinds of fields. He could easily understand the danger and think about appropriate responses. Accepting and employing them was the only problem.
"W-where are we?" Francis stammered before steading his voice. "Where did we get teleported?"
"I'm not sure, sir," Andrew shook his head, straightening his position and showing wariness. "It's hard to say from here."
Francis wiped his mouth with his sleeve while using his other arm to support himself on the rocky wall. He stood up and inspected his surroundings, but nothing revealed his location. He only knew that the place was dangerous, and the presence of a bomb cleared the rest of his doubts.
"We must leave," Francis declared. "This planet isn't safe."
"Sir, I must prioritize reuniting with Captain Khan," Andrew responded. "His life might be at risk."
"Captain Khan is probably on his way to orbit already!" Francis pointed out.
"Sir, I must remind you to lower your voice," Andrew scolded, placing a finger on his mouth.
"Andrew," Francis called, keeping his voice down, "Captain Khan assigned you to me for this mission."
"Captain Khan ordered me to protect you, sir," Andrew reminded. "I must preserve your life, but accepting your orders isn't part of my duties."
Francis wanted to complain, but looking at Andrew's serious face reminded him of everything that had happened. He could barely call himself a descendant right now. He was at Khan's mercy, with no authority or influence. His very family had agreed to that outcome.
Nevertheless, Francis knew that he was right. Khan was amazing, but a bomb wasn't something people could defeat. Only a specialist could deal with it, and Francis was certain no one in his team belonged to that category.
Running away and warning the superiors was the only reasonable approach. The situation was too big for simple descendants and students. Convincing Andrew was the only issue.
"Andrew," Francis whispered. "Something malfunctioned, or we would still be with the others. You also saw how the bomb reacted to the teleport. That thing might go out of control, so we must leave."
"Sir, leave to where?" Andrew questioned. "Even if we escaped these caves, neither one of us knows how to pilot ships. We must reunite with Captain Khan to get off the planet."
Andrew had raised a reasonable point that Francis didn't consider, but there were other options. The fainted woman near them embodied one of them. The two could simply kidnap a pilot to leave the planet.
Nevertheless, Francis quickly realized that he was being naïve. He didn't know where to look for ships. He wasn't even sure the hideout had any. The bomb was the only certainty.
Francis instinctively went for his pockets and heaved a sigh of relief when he found his phone. A smile even appeared on his face when he saw that the scuffed teleport didn't break the device. Yet, noticing the absence of connection to the network destroyed that temporary hope.
The education received when Francis was still young kicked in. As a descendant, his Masters had taught him how to deal with crises, and his lack of options made developing a plan even easier.
"We risk getting lost if we dive any deeper," Francis warned, recalling to keep his voice down. "Let's try to resurface first. It will be easier to decide what to do there."
"There might be an enemy base on the surface, sir," Andrew commented.
"That's unlikely," Francis shook his head. "The Harbor's system has never been so full of soldiers. Hiding a base on the surface is impossible with all the attention these criminals have attracted."
"Sir, we might not be in the Harbor's system," Andrew voiced.
"We didn't land in any specific platform," Francis pointed out. "The teleports don't have much range without a connection on the other side. I'm confident we didn't leave the system."
Andrew excelled on the battlefield, but his education was lackluster. He had specialized in a few fields after the Alstair family hired him, but nothing involving teleports. That information was for people with a higher status and the means to purchase it.
After reviewing the suggestion for a bit, Andrew nodded in approval. Francis' idea made enough sense to be worthy of a few attempts. Andrew obviously didn't abandon his priorities but accepted that making a point of the situation would improve his chances of survival and finding Khan.
"Where to, sir?" Andrew eventually stated.
Francis checked both directions, even trying to rely on his nose to find any trace of clear air. Yet, the tunnel didn't carry any enlightening detail. Only one hint existed but was so faint that Francis almost held back from mentioning it.
"The path on the left is slightly elevated," Francis exclaimed. "It's worth checking it out."
Both Andrew and Francis knew that a difference in elevation didn't mean much when technology made artificial gravity possible. However, the absence of clues forced the two men to stick to that option for now.
Francis and Andrew didn't waste time exchanging pointless words. Silence reigned while they made their way through the tunnel, and the arrival of branches made them follow their initial approach. The area didn't have striking clues, so they entered any path that seemed to go upward.
Different thoughts ran through the men's minds during the slow advance. Francis simply wanted to get out of there while Andrew thought about other issues, and his battle experience came in handy.
Andrew had taken out a criminal, so there was a high chance that the previous area had been within the hideout's domain. The lack of similar encounters during the advance seemed to confirm that. Secret organizations usually had patrols and tight security, so their absence meant that he was leaving their influence.
The continuous presence of artificial illumination worked against Andrew's hypothesis, but a change in the environment eventually brought hope. When Andrew peeked past the seventh corner, he noticed an unusual blue color in the distance, something that even the white light couldn't cover.
Clear air also reached the turn, convincing Andrew they had found their destination. He turned to perform a meaningful nod at Francis before crossing the corner and advancing toward the blue light. Francis remained a few meters behind him, but that unusual sight quickly filled him with hope too.
Francis accelerated, closing the distance with Andrew to hurry outside. Yet, Andrew abruptly stopped when he was about to cross the tunnel's edge, and Francis slammed on his back.
"What did you do that for?" Francis complained, but the lack of answers from Andrew told him that something was off. The guard also gulped, highlighting how serious the situation was.
Curiosity overtook Francis, who walked past Andrew to peek at the surface. The tunnel performed a sharp rise in that spot, but Francis was tall enough to look past the opening, and the environment that unfolded in his eyes made him freeze.
Francis saw what could best be described as a chunk of rocks surrounded by waves. The place was too small to be considered an island, and the tunnel led at its very center.
Nevertheless, the item stuck on the shores made that patch of land extremely relevant. Francis almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the tall bomb standing mere meters from him.
That wasn't even the end of it. The bomb wasn't simply standing on the shores. Sparks still ran over its surfaces, and the many symbols on its various faces had also started to glow with a red light. Francis wasn't an expert in Thilku technology, but that sight would make anyone think that the weapon was about to explode.
"We are dead," Francis gasped. "We are dead. We are dead!"
A heavy slap reached Francis' right cheek as soon as his loud statement ended. Andrew couldn't react in time due to how stunned he was, and his attack barely had any effect.
"We are fucking dead," Francis continued, turning and leaning on the elevated part of the tunnel to stop looking at the bomb. "Dead, dead, dead!"
Andrew was ready to deliver another slap, but glancing at the bomb told him how pointless that would be. He didn't want to spend his last moments scolding a descendant.
"Why did it have to be Thilku technology?" Francis cursed. "What is Thilku technology even doing here?"
Andrew initially ignored those words, but his eyes lit up when he realized something, and his hands promptly reached for Francis' collar to pull him up.
"What did you mean by that?!" Andrew questioned before adding a polite "sir".
"What?" Francis gasped, his expression lost in helplessness.
"What did you mean by Thilku technology?" Andrew asked. "Would human technology make any difference?"
"I-," Francis gulped. "My element allows me to deal with some weapons. My family developed special techniques for that specific purpose."
"Sir, can you apply them to this bomb?" Andrew questioned.
"How should I know?!" Francis shouted. "It's Thilku technology! I never tested any of them on something like this."
"Try anyway, sir," Andrew ordered.
"It doesn't work like that!" Francis complained. "I might very well cause the opposite reaction and kill all of us. As far as we know, this is just a safe side effect of the teleport!"
Andrew and Francs stared at each other for a few seconds before turning toward the bomb. The crackling of its sparks and its bright red symbols told a very different story. Even a child would think that the weapon was about to explode.
"Alright," Francis gulped. "I'll try."
"I'll guard this entrance, sir," Andrew declared.
Francis didn't have the strength to reply. He took a deep breath and climbed over the exit to reach the surface. His legs felt weak, but he still stood up and carefully approached the bomb.
The shore was close enough to make Francis reach his target quickly. Sparks filled his vision at that point, and his ears rang as the crackling noises invaded them. The alien symbols' brightness also made it hard for him to look at the bomb, but he didn't need his eyes to complete his task.
Francis took another deep breath, and sparks accumulated in his hands before flying toward the ground. The rocks broke while absorbing those attacks, and Francis kept going until he dispersed enough of his mana.
Then, Francis closed his eyes and forced the remaining mana inside him to move in a specific pattern. His energy generated a suction force that targeted the power running over the bomb, and the sparks on its surface soon fell prey to it.
The sparks left the bomb to fly toward Francis' waist, which absorbed them without suffering any damage. His tracksuit burned and broke, but his flesh ate that electricity and slowly drained the weapon of its dangerous energy.
The process didn't end at the bomb's surface. The energy inside the weapon took the form of sparks that leaked through the red symbols and flew toward Francis' waist. The amount of mana absorbed during the technique was immense, but Francis endured everything easily, dispersing what he couldn't handle on the ground.
