Watchers

by WillDreamer

Summary:

I Watch a distant world, where the laws of time and space are twisted and warped, along with human society. I Watch, detached, aloof, safe... until I am not.

Chapter 1: Prologue

A man watches his child, and I Watch them all.

The child can be seen in every corner of the room.

The room is not lined with photographs, mirrors, video monitors, or holograms. Rather, the boy himself… is everywhere.

In the northwest corner, the boy is an infant, sleeping soundly in a small crib adorned with a mobile.

Halfway along the north wall, the man pauses to watch his son at three, playing with blocks. One block tumbles from the top of a small stack. The man kneels down, picks it up, and places it back on the stack. The little boy looks up briefly, but he's deeply confused, and doesn't try to speak. The man moves on.

At age five, in the northeast corner, the boy is busily writing the alphabet over and over, down the length of a printed worksheet. He's too focused to notice his father, who sighs and moves on.

A short distance down the east wall, the boy is eight. He intently plays a VR game, and the father doesn't even bother to slow.

In the southeast corner, the man observes his eleven-year old son reading a novel. The boy is quick, turning a page every minute or so, and the father watches longingly, but he doesn't work up the courage to speak to his son.

Midway along the south wall, the boy is fourteen. He has obviously always been home-schooled, as the Elpis colony closed all of their public schools years ago. Nevertheless, he wears a gym uniform. He performs a full handstand, and isn't satisfied. With his feet straight up in the air, the boy repeatedly lowers himself to the floor, gently touching the crown of his head to the carpet, then raises himself back to his full height. I'm genuinely impressed. Even after a year of hitting the gym with Anya-28, I know I could never manage something like that. And I'm not the only one. The father is so impressed that he forgets himself and mutters something about being too old to attempt such a thing. The boy immediately flips to his feet as if startled. He squints up at his father, confused. Embarrassed, the man apologizes and hurries on.

In the southwest corner, the father stops again. His son, now seventeen, has paused in the middle of a meal. The young man stares out across the room, lost in deep thoughts, seemingly unaware of the younger versions of himself.

The father draws nearer to his son, his tension obvious. He's clearly working himself up for something. I zoom in, bringing my perspective close to them. The son seems to notice his father for the first time, and is confused. When the father starts speaking, the son makes a concerted effort to listen. But it must be very hard. The father speaks loudly, slowly, and clearly, but the young man squints, and several times shakes his head to clear it. After several minutes of strenuous effort, it's clear that the boy can't really understand his father. The man chokes up. He acknowledges how much all of this hurts. It's so hard for his boy to try to integrate new data. A simple conversation is essentially impossible. Though still not understanding the words, the boy knows pain when he sees it, and empathy softens his features. The man is now so emotional that he has to step away. It's tragic to see the relief that comes unbidden to the son's face. Trying to understand his father's words was tremendously taxing.

Unable to bear it, the father rushes from the room. My perspective smoothly shifts to track him. Passing through a doorway, the man stops at a curtain at the end of a hall. I zoom in to better hear as he speaks with his wife on the other side.

"It's so hard to see them—him—and not being able to really be a part of their—his—life."

"You're a fool to put yourself through this," the woman snaps, with the harshness of an argument repeatedly made but never won. "No one ever keeps the younger versions this long. The smartest dispose of them the moment a replacement appears. They're called 'Unwanted' for a reason! Supporting them all is costly. It can't possibly end well if you refuse to... tidy up."

Anguish so deep as to defy description tears at the man's features. "I just can't! I won't! They're all my boy! Our boy!"

Mercilessly, the wife digs at his emotional wounds. "Only the oldest version at any given moment is legally alive! You're clinging to obsolete editions that can't grow or advance! Stop being so selfish! Think of your current son! Think of me!"

"Our current son? His time is close! He'll become Unwanted in less than a month! Will you still love him after that, or will you only care about his replacement?"

Disturbed and disgusted, I'm done Watching this family for now. If I can't directly address and smooth over conflict, observing it hurts too much.

I rapidly shift my perspective away, up through the ceiling and then westward beyond the neighborhood. The technology level of this distant world feels archaic, trailing about a century behind what we have on Earth. Seventy lightyears of distance, coupled with strong incentive to avoid growth and learning, has exacted a heavy toll on this society.

My gaze glides smoothly above a forest road, where I soon zoom in on a car. The vehicle has its headlights off, so it's difficult to see in the predawn twilight. It accelerates to reckless speeds, closing rapidly on the minivan ahead of it, which in turn is following a flatbed truck transporting cut trees. At the last moment, the car in the rear turns on its headlights, and the minivan driver in front panics. Hitting the gas by mistake, he rear-ends the flatbed, which swerves wildly left and right. An oncoming pickup grinds to a halt, narrowly avoiding collision. The angry driver jumps out… just in time for the bands holding the logs to snap. The trees roll from the flatbed and bury the woman.

The driver of the minivan jumps out, wailing in dismay and shock, standing at the center of a disaster. But I've already zoomed in on the faces of the others, and I see that this is all a sick prank. The drivers of the flatbed and the car that caused the panic are both laughing. The woman that had been "crushed" crawls out from under the wood pile, laughing even harder. Zooming in, I see that the "logs" are in fact just empty bark, cleverly shaped. The victim of the prank drops to his knees, reduced to a gibbering wreck, and the others laugh in pure hysteria.

Though such rotten tricks seem common on Elpis, I'm still disgusted, though not so much as before. I elevate my perspective to escape the scene.

The orange sun is rising, and I soon notice movement off in the forest. I zoom in, tracking until I get a clear view.

A girl, perhaps ten years old, sits all alone in a tiny boat out in a slow-moving stream. I lower my perspective to water level, irrationally cautious despite the total impossibility of being detected. After all, my body is seventy lightyears from here. Only another Watcher could sense my presence, and even then they'd have no notion of my mind's exact location.

My vision follows her downstream. I'm surprised when a little boy sits up inside the boat. He must have been lying down under a blanket. I zoom in further, and confusion sets in when I recognize him. He is the five-year-old version of that man's son. Why would that boy be here? Shouldn't he still be with his father, and with all the other versions of himself? And in any case, how could he have gotten so far from home in such a short time? It's been mere minutes since I last saw him.

Doubting my first assumption, I zoom in so close that my perspective reaches the rear of the small, inflatable boat.

I feel the rubber surface of the craft, as if my own hands have reached out.

This sensation makes no sense. Sight and sound are all Watchers experience when our minds reach beyond our bodies. But when I angle my perspective downwards, I see small indentations, as if from the pressure of two hands. Startled, my perspective becomes stationary, and the boat floats away from me. The indentations disappear, along with my sensation of contact.

After a moment of stunned disbelief, I decide that I must have imagined this. A Watcher cannot interact with the world being Watched. Not even Charlotte-17 has ever managed it, and she's the strongest Watcher in the history of the Organization.

I resume my study, moving my perspective forward to overtake the boat, which is rounding a bend up ahead. Reeds and lilies line the edges of the slow-moving stream, pristine forests stretch out in all directions, and the sunrise gradually spreads light across the sky.

When my view rounds the bend after the boat, the beautiful, peaceful scene is marred. Ugly stained concrete lines the shore, the stream widens and slows, and drainage pipes spoil the water farther downstream. Curiously, I see no signs of animals or even alien insects. The entire area seems dead. The boat has pulled over next to a grungy, scuffed, inflatable structure. From close to water level, I zoom in on the bouncy house, wondering why it's out here.

It occurs to me that the girl in the boat doesn't look at all related to that boy, and I recall the disturbing conversation between his parents. Nothing about this adds up.

The girl steps ashore, barefoot, skin pale in a flowing white sleeveless nightgown. She stoops to pick up a red-stained wooden pencil lying on the concrete.

A strong gust of wind blows bits of trash into the water. I turn my gaze back to the silly, ugly inflatable house, expecting it to be pushed into the stream by the breeze. But the wind doesn't even budge it.

I hear the boy nervously asking the girl a question, but my attention remains on the house. It must be weighed down with something. Before I can elevate my perspective, the boy's question cuts off abruptly. Startled, it takes me a moment to reorient my view toward the boat, during which time I hear a splash. The boy's nowhere to be seen, and the girl smiles with fiendish satisfaction.

Dread builds within me, and I begin to elevate my perspective. The girl's smile darkens into something... wrong. Something that disturbs me deeply. She flicks her red-soaked pencil toward the mud-spattered bouncy house. It somehow feels like a familiar ritual for her, and a single crimson drop flies inside.

I hear the sound of a drop falling into liquid.

Rotating my perspective, I've risen high enough to see into the ugly inflatable structure.

Red liquid sloshes inside… too deep to see the bottom.

Revulsion seizes me, as leaps of intuition reveal dark truths of this world. The younger, Unwanted versions of children are typically disposed of. This... girl... happily plays a role.

Loathing and a burning hatred grow in me, and when the girl casually tosses her dripping pencil onto the concrete and gets back in her boat, I forget that I am only a Watcher. I cannot be satisfied with passive observation, and proximity to this evil childlike being seems to have altered the rules.

With an enormous exertion of will, I imagine my hand reaching down and grabbing the pencil. Filled as I am with pain and loss, imagining the millions of drops it would have taken to form such a deep pool, I don't experience the bewilderment that should come from my sudden success. Straining, I feel the pencil as if my physical hand holds it. The small, simple murder weapon rises into the air. I turn my gaze back on that vile house and surge with disgust. For just a moment, I feel the pencil in its entirety, far more than my physical body could have sensed. The smooth yellow paint, the rougher exposed wood, and damp graphite… I feel it all. It's almost a part of me, an extension of my will. And that will… is unbreakable.

The pencil launches forward with power my real body never could have mustered. It effortlessly punctures all the way through the structure near its base. The house begins to deflate and spill the amassed liquid trophies into the filthy stream.

The girl stops. She is simply standing in her little boat… but it no longer floats downstream. It hangs there, suspended against the current, as if tied to the shore by an invisible rope. The girl begins to turn toward her ruined treasure trove.

All at once, the gravity of the situation hits me. For the first time, I do not feel detached and immune. I whirl my perspective around, elevating higher. Driven by panic, I race my vision upstream. It occurs to me that it would be far smarter to simply end my Trance and return to my body…

…but I'm too late.

A chill washes over me... A sensation only a Watcher can ever feel…

I am being Watched.

My mind is grasped by a monstrous force, and my perspective stops moving. I feel a sensation similar to returning to my body… but in reverse…

I fall.

I have only half a heartbeat to wonder why I've lost control of my Watch.

Then I hit the water.

The sound of the splash, the impact on the surface, the chill of the stream. These sensations shatter my understanding of what it means to be a Watcher. I thrash back to the surface, overwhelmed at the sight of my hands and arms, my wet hair partly obscuring my vision.

I am here.

This cannot be possible. And yet I can't deny the effort it takes to tread water. My struggles intensify as I fight against the current, trying to swim upstream.

Somehow, horribly, I am personally, physically, at this terrible location. I am alone in the wilderness of Elpis, a world where unexplained temporal anomalies leave Unwanted copies of children behind as they grow up. A world where society approves of handing these children over to the being behind me.

As I swim with desperate strength, the little inflatable boat gradually overtakes me. The girl stands upright, not paddling, but her boat still makes headway against the current. Soon, it takes position directly in my path. I feel dread sinking deep into my bones and chilling me to the core.

She speaks. "Who are you?"

The girl hasn't yet turned toward me, and initially I don't answer. Terror wars with the grief that fills me with my new understanding of this world. But then she turns, looks right at me, and asks, "How can you see me? You aren't one of the Unwanted."

The implications of this question, deepening my conviction that this girl cannot be what she seems, freeze me in place. I stop treading water, but strangely I don't sink. I don't even float back downstream. The girl's boat has stopped resisting the flow of the current, and as she drifts toward me, I realize she's holding me in place.

"Who are you?" the girl snaps, the sweetness and innocence in her voice long gone.

I know, deep down, that I will not survive this encounter. This entity before me, typically unseen by all but her victims, that pulled me into this world and holds me at her mercy… I am powerless against her.

Yet this awareness brings a wild sense of freedom. An urge to make some grand gesture, some bold bluff, takes over.

Seventy lightyears from home, unarmed, and in the grip of a higher being, I have nothing to lose.

"I am Klaus-21, the Heart of the Watchers." My voice builds in strength as I utter what will certainly be my last words. "I am the Light that pierces the Darkness. I am the Hope that banishes Despair. I am he who inspires all Watchers to ever greater–"

The girl has drifted within reach of me. She changes.

What I behold cannot be described, for I cannot even understand it. My mind rejects the evidence of my eyes.

But I will not die passively. Niko-29 taught me that.

The thing lunges down at me, and I make one desperate attempt to punch my fists into it with all my strength. But it reacts faster than sight. It splits open, and my hands enter a hideous maw.

Nightmarish jaws close on my arms. The briar patch of wild, chaotic teeth cannot be numbered.

It wrenches me from the water and into the air, as ever more mouths burst open all over its undulating surface. The countless teeth begin to churn.

At least this should be quick…

---

Author's note:

The events of this Prologue weren't actually a product of my conscious imagination. It was the single most unsettling, bizarre, and terrifying dream I've ever had. Normally, dreams in which I suffer, or even die, don't really count as nightmares. I'm rarely all that afraid, instead focusing on the task at hand. This was even true with the dream I entitled "Nightmare." In that one, I was getting massacred by a xenomorph, but all that mattered was killing it.

But this dream… yeah, it was the real deal. I woke up shivering, horrified, but also fascinated by the bizarre premise. After years of pondering and planning, I have finally expanded this dream into a full novel-length story. I added a few names and minor details to this prologue in preparation for the bigger events to follow. I hope you enjoy it.

Reviews throughout are welcome and appreciated, so long as you avoid major spoilers for other readers.

Chapter 2: Seeking

"Klaus? Can I enter? Klaus-21? Snap out of it!" Charlotte-17 tapped her foot impatiently. Sure, Klaus could get oblivious to his surroundings while Watching, but usually the sound of her voice would get his attention. Maybe he was Watching something important enough that he couldn't cut away. If he's so intent on Elpis that he's ignoring me, then my entry shouldn't break his Trance… Keying the override code he'd confided in her years before, Charlotte entered the Chamber.

Huh... that's weird…

Klaus wasn't there after all. But if so… why was all of the equipment still up and running?

She took a quick look around the small space. The cushioned neural interface chair was still a tad warm, and the sensory deprivation helmet hadn't been sanitized. Odd. Klaus was usually really good about following procedure after a session of Watching. Almost as conscientious as his best friend, Duri. She poked around at the master terminal, and frowned. He hadn't even officially signed out. It's like he just stopped Watching and left… She'd seen that plenty of times from poor little Niko. Though the kid could handle his own pain like a champ, seeing any sort of confrontation or suffering in others would send him into a panic attack. She'd lost count of how many times the youngest Watcher had fled his Chamber without closing down his session. But Klaus?

Maybe… maybe something similar happened here. We still don't really know what the deal is with Elpis. No other world has ever experienced anything remotely like the temporal anomaly that afflicts our most distant colony. Perhaps Klaus saw something so awful he just had to cut and run? It's starting to look more and more likely that they kill off the Unwanted, so such a scenario is plausible…

But deep down, she doubted it. Klaus-21 was never one to shy away from the darker elements of humanity. His example, his passion for everything the Watchers stood for, and everything they might one day become… It had inspired her for sixteen years, ever since his Induction as the Twenty-first Watcher. Charlotte's drive, dedication, and ability to push the envelope of what the human mind could achieve… she owed it all to him.

But for the moment, she had no other theory. Where would he have gone if he saw something so grim he couldn't handle it? She realized her mistake immediately. It wasn't about where he'd go. It was about who he'd talk to.

---

Duri-22 elevated his perspective by another ten meters. It looked like the rioters were finally breaking. He sure hoped so. If it stopped at this, maybe there'd be no deaths. Three of the peacekeepers lay still in the debris-littered streets, but Duri zoomed in close, confirming they still breathed. They'd simply succumbed to the tranquilizer gas grenades that had flown both ways at the height of the chaos. The people of Kordon still remembered the violence that had plagued their homeland generations prior, and even rioters seemed to hate the thought of actual killing. Duri spun his perspective around and followed the idiot who had started this mess. Duri might not have Charlotte's trained power, or Niko's talent, but he had been a published scientist before being Inducted into the Watchers. He knew how to make his observations count, and what details would matter most to the scientists and archivists who reviewed this footage.

He zoomed in, getting a better look at the rebel leader's back. As he suspected, a tiny device clung to the man's jacket. A signal beacon. So that's what that sniper was doing, and why his shot didn't seem to hit anyone. It was a nonlethal, for tracking this troublemaker.

In no time, the authorities arrived in multiple helicopters, and their target surrendered without a fight.

That's a relief. Everyone will be thrilled to know this whole mess wrapped up so quickly. Hopefully, Kordon can go back to being the second most peaceful colony after–

"Duri! Do you have a minute?"

If this interruption had come much sooner, Duri would have resented it. But with what he'd just Watched, he was probably entitled to call it a day. He withdrew his perceptions fully into his own body, and disconnected from his rig. With a quick command, he opened the Chamber door to let in the petite brunette. He powered off his equipment and grabbed the sanitizer to spritz down his helmet. "Good news, Charlotte. The rabble rouser on Kordon got tagged and bagged. I'm reasonably sure the whole mess is over, and likely with zero body count."

"Really?" Charlotte said, disbelieving. "I thought that maniac was going to make an absolute mess of things. Didn't he seize several first gen gauss pistols for his best recruits?"

"And a couple merculite charges. Thankfully, his followers weren't anywhere near as unhinged as him. None of them actually used those weapons once things got messy. I think they hoped the threat of such firepower would be enough to get the authorities to back down. But the peacekeepers called their bluff, and no one was willing to kill."

News this good was a blessing for Watchers. Despite all the efforts of the Science Division and their colleagues around the world, no one had any working theories on how a Watcher might send a message to the worlds being Watched. For all of their history thus far, any Watcher observing a distant colony was powerless to help in any way.

That was why eleven of the current eighteen Watchers were out of play, traveling at relativistic speeds toward the most populous extrasolar colonies. That had been 21's idea, and Duri fully supported it.

"I'm definitely in the mood to celebrate," Duri said, kicking back. "And tonight's RPG session should be pretty wild. It sounds like all the players will be available, which is a good thing."

Still flush with the positive news about Kordon, Charlotte took the bait. Those brilliant green eyes seemed to sparkle, and she smirked. "So what's the latest craziness in that homebrewed campaign you're always raving about?"

Duri smiled hugely. Usually, Charlotte was all business, so he jumped on this chance to gush. "In our last session, we discovered that Princess Leia is a Sliver of Infinity. I think the Party's gotta distract Smaug the Dragon while Khriss and Shad give Leia a crash course in Compounding. Niko's terrified for the Party, of course, and the girls from the Archive Division aren't sure we can do it, but I'm seriously stoked. This is gonna be fully epic. I'm pretty sure the elf Radiant with us is ready to swear the Final Ideal."

"Hold on a sec," Charlotte said, letting herself get pulled in, to Duri's immense satisfaction. "I know your Party's super strong on that planet, with Investiture and all the bonuses to Force powers… but don't Smaug's champions include two Voidbinders and two Thunderclasts?"

"And a Mistborn, an Aes Seddai Black Amyrlin, a Twinborn Olog-hai, an S-rank Shinobi with a kekei genkai, and a freak'n Worldbringer!" Spelling it out like that got Duri's anxiety up, but he pulled himself together. "Once that guy taps all his metals, it'll get ugly. Back when we hired a Worldbringer of our own, it took Ba'alzamon to bring him down. But I'm not actually scared, well not too much, when I force myself to remember who our GM is. Klaus is way too good at balancing things to accidentally T.P.K. us. Plus, I kinda cheated and glanced at his notes when he left his files open. He has years worth of adventures planned for this Party, and he really doesn't want us to die."

"Speaking of Klaus," Charlotte said, smile fading, "do you know where he is? He left his Chamber without signing out or cleaning up. I kinda hoped he'd be here."

"Naw, the session isn't scheduled to start for another three hours. He never lets anything get in the way of Watching while the Aurora Australis is active."

Charlotte's obvious worry deepened, and that got Duri worried too. The Southern Lights were active right now. It didn't matter to her. As the most powerful Watcher, Charlotte could see as far as Elpis without the range boost the Lights imparted. But Klaus and Niko needed that advantage to study the most distant colonies. With only three Watchers able to see Elpis at all, and the bizarre anomalies plaguing that world, those two always made use of the Aurora.

"GLaDOS," Charlotte said, "has Klaus-21 left this level?"

"Negative," the emotionless voice of the HQ computer answered. "Klaus-21 has not passed any checkpoints or boarded any elevator."

"That's a relief," Charlotte said, though her voice didn't really show it. "I guess I'll go check with Niko. If Klaus saw something so disturbing that he cut his session short, maybe he's checking in with the only other Watcher who may have seen something similar…" She whirled, her waist-length ponytail bapping Duri as she hurried out the door.

Growing more afraid for his closest friend, Duri jumped to his feet. "I'm coming too."

---

Niko-29 tried to keep himself calm as he Watched the tragic scene unfold. On distant Elpis, a girl Niko's age pleaded with her father. She reiterated how much time and effort she'd put into learning the family trade. Even at twelve years old, she could rebuild an engine on her own. She swore to her father that she'd still be useful, even as an Unwanted. Then, the girl stood straight, quivering, and she looked sick.

Fighting to control his breathing, Niko forced himself to Watch. He desperately wanted to disconnect and hide from what was probably about to happen, but he had a duty. Klaus had taught him, again and again, that Watchers must be able to face the most painful events humanity experienced. And everyone insisted that they needed footage of what happened when an Unwanted was created.

The father stepped back, ignoring his daughter, sweeping his eyes from side to side, looking for something.

With a sudden convulsion, the daughter lost balance and fell.

In that instant, another figure manifested off to her left.

It was an identical copy of the girl.

"Ah! Good to see you!" the father said. "I hope you'll be easier to work with than your obsolete version. As you're of course aware, she's been moping and complaining and begging ever since she felt her time drawing close. So tedious, and annoying."

The girl on the floor rose to her knees, clearly terrified. She locked eyes with her father, and the desperate pleading on her face caused Niko to hyperventilate. No matter how much this data mattered, he didn't know how long he'd last at this rate.

"Father, please… she's me," the new girl said. "I… she… we… worked so hard to learn what I… she… would need to be useful to you. Sure, she can't learn anymore, or grow. But she knows everything I do! Please–"

"We'll have no more of that," the father said, cutting her off. "We just don't have enough customers to need two of you, and you're the version that can keep learning. Still, I guess I should thank her. All of her hard work has made you a capable little employee."

"No.. please, Daddy don't do it! I'll take care of her! I'll do extra jobs on the side to pay for–"

"Lamia, Lamia!" the man shouted, cutting his daughter off. "I call to you! Take this Unwanted thing away! It is for you to do with as you please! Lamia, Lamia! Claim what is yours!"

The new girl screamed in frustration and rage, while the Unwanted girl spun about, confused. Niko desperately wanted to look away, but what came next would surely be vital.

A shimmer disturbed the nearest wall, and for a moment the surface distorted.

Then a child stepped through.

The girl was younger than Niko, slim, pale, with unkempt blonde hair, and wearing a sleeveless white nightgown. Her bare feet made no sound as she crossed the room. She looked very tired, and her garment was speckled with blood. The Unwanted daughter stared at her in horror. But neither the father nor the replacement daughter acknowledged her in any way. Niko had the odd sense that they couldn't see the newcomer. He didn't dare to look directly at the pale girl, instead keeping her in his peripheral vision. It would still be a clear image for the archivists when they studied this footage.

The strange little girl reached out a hand toward the Unwanted daughter, who turned in a panic and tried to run. But after a single step, she abruptly stopped, as if grabbed.

The new daughter wept, while the father laughed. Niko kept his mind on the girl who'd stepped out of the wall. She now walked backward, passing through the distorted surface. In a rush, the Unwanted daughter flew through the air, vanishing through the wall too.

The rippling disturbance ended.

The daughter collapsed to her knees. "In a few years… you'll do the same thing to me… won't you?"

The father loomed over her. "I suggest you make the most of the time you have. Maybe, if you work hard enough, your newest version will impress me so much… I'll let her keep you as a pet."

That was finally more than Niko could endure. A full blown panic attack gripped him, and his Watch abruptly ended.

Hyperventilating, fighting back nausea, he yanked his head from the SenDep helmet and curled up in his seat. In the fetal position, hugging his legs, he quivered and shook, and let the tears flow. Never did Niko cry on his own behalf, not even when his nerve disorder flared up. But what he'd just seen…

A ping indicated that someone wanted entry. With Niko's propensity for panic attacks, he alone of all Watchers didn't have real privacy. After just ten seconds of silence, the door opened without his permission.

"Hey kid, have you seen or heard from… Oh no, poor Niko…"

That was Charlotte, but she wasn't alone. Without a word, Duri rushed forward. He put one hand on Niko's shoulder, and with his other he gently forced Niko to look at him. "It's going to be ok, Niko. You're strong. Whatever you saw… this doesn't make you weak. It's because you care. You care so much it hurts you. And right now… we're worried about Klaus. Please, for him… fight this."

Klaus. Dear, supportive, comforting Klaus. When Niko had been Inducted into the Watchers two years before, he'd felt so lost and alone. Families weren't allowed to visit Headquarters more than once a year, and Watchers were far too rare and dangerous to be allowed to refuse Induction. Klaus had stepped in without hesitation, filling the role of the father who would no longer be a major part of Niko's life.

Father… a father… That girl's father didn't want her…

Niko screamed.

"Take care of him," Charlotte said. "I need to focus on Klaus. I'm really starting to get worried. He's not the sort to hide from anything."

Duri again locked eyes with Niko, and the boy forced himself not to look away. He focused on Duri's face, trying to fight through his panic attack by taking in every detail. The olive skin, the rich brown eyes, the pockmarks from a childhood illness, and the clear concern for Niko and Klaus. "Please, Niko. Please. We're worried. Klaus might be even more scared than you. Get it together... For him. You know how. You've faced this a thousand times. Breathe. Focus. Force your body back to normal. Get your rhythm."

Though his heart pounded so hard it hurt, though the nausea threatened to overwhelm him, Niko tried to pull it together. He really did. He turned toward Charlotte, and saw that she had closed her eyes, standing completely still. She's… she's Watching… outside of her Chamber… Even Charlotte can't see past HQ's faraday shielding without her equipment…

All at once, the depth of their worry sank in. Charlotte must be going against protocol, and the Watcher rules of etiquette, to Watch Headquarters itself. She was so worried about Klaus, she was projecting her awareness throughout the facility, trying to find him. All of the archivists, scientists, security personnel, and support staff would rightfully view this as a serious breach of privacy.

Slowly, Niko's breathing and heart rate slowed. Though still shaking and sick, he rose from his chair. He nodded to Duri in thanks, then he took Charlotte's hand, stroking it to get her attention. "If it's that important… don't waste time. Just call Hasina."

Charlotte's eyes opened, and for a moment she looked confused and disoriented. Though her raw talent for Watching couldn't match Niko's, she had twelve times his experience, and a hundred times his drive. She always poured herself into the mental focus required for Watching, and she could see farther than anyone else. But this also made it rougher for her when she returned to her own body. After a moment, she looked down to meet Niko's eyes. "Huh… good point… I should have tried that first." She fully collected herself, and the disorientation of her Watching passed. She was again the calm, disciplined, fearless woman Niko so admired. She tapped the implant in her right ear. "Security Chief Rakoto, could you ping Klaus-21's implants for me? I've been looking for him, and I'm getting worried."

"Rakoto here. You know the rights of Watchers exceed that of any other citizens. His privacy–"

"He left his pod without signing out, and he didn't go to Duri or Niko. The Aurora Australis is currently active. Have you ever known him to wimp out and let the Southern Lights pass without Watching for the full duration?"

For several seconds, Hasina stayed silent. Niko felt his heart speeding up again, but now it was on behalf of Klaus.

"Understood," Hasina finally said. "Pinging now."

"Thank you, Chief Rakoto," Charlotte said, breathing a sigh of relief. She took Niko's hand, and nodded to Duri. "If he saw something… bad… the three of us will need to help him get over it."

An uncomfortable silence passed, stretching out far longer than made sense. It should take under a second for the Computer to ping Klaus-21's implants…

Finally, Hasina spoke. "Charlotte-17… I don't know how to say this… All of our pings… have gone unanswered."

Chapter 3: Searching

Fawzia-11 fought back her building headache. At seventy years old, Watching had grown into a considerable strain. She wished she could see as far as Elpis, and be part of the investigation of the greatest mystery on any inhabited world. But at least she could still help with things that mattered.

She zoomed in, bringing her perspective close to the hideous man with the gun to the child's head. As Fawzia did so, she kept a tiny corner of her mind detached, focusing on the finger she held on the com button. With fifty-one years of experience Watching, she was the best by far at keeping track of her body while her mind was elsewhere. She could even speak while Watching when she needed to. It helped that the scene she Watched was on Earth, rather than lightyears away.

The horrible man, who'd already killed the child's parents and older siblings, dragged his hostage through the house. Furniture had been upended during the brief struggle, as the parents and three teenagers had tried desperately to fight off the attacker. The man staggered as he stepped over a heap of books. His gun barrel wavered, and Fawzia almost sent the signal, but she managed to stop herself. It would still have been a terrible risk…

Then it happened. The child tripped on the dead mother. For just a moment, the gun barrel wasn't pointed at the child's head.

Fawzia hit the button.

The murderer fell, a small red circle suddenly appearing in the left side of his head. His reflexive shot went wild, and as he hit the floor, Fawzia saw an identical hole on the right side of his head too.

The Norwegian sniper had good aim, and excellent reaction time. Not even a half second had passed between Fawzia giving the signal and the hypersonic gauss round terminating the threat.

Sighing with immeasurable relief, and finally letting herself grieve for the murdered family, Fawzia ended her Watch and closed down her equipment. She leaned back in her chair, popping more pain pills to help with her headache. She couldn't see as far as the other Watchers, but there were always opportunities for doing something vital right here on Earth.

Her comm buzzed. A thank you from the Norwegian authorities, and a report that the hostage was uninjured. They'd already secured promises from relatives that the child would have a home to go to that night.

In that moment, the loss of her dear husband rose up to torment her. Ralph-7 had perfectly complimented her, helping Fawzia cope with her slowly waning power, even as he encouraged her to pass on her wisdom to Klaus-21. He would have comforted her, helping her to come to terms with having to see that murdered family, and the stress of the entire brutal affair.

If not for Ralph's death six years before, the two of them likely would even now be passengers with a Colony Fleet. All of the married Watchers had been sent with their families to distant star systems, so that a form of instant communication would finally link those worlds. Fawzia would have been thrilled to spend her final days on an alien planet... if she'd still had Ralph. As it was though, she'd taken his place as the de facto leader of the Watchers still on Earth. And the seven of them had an oppressive workload. At relativistic speeds, the eleven interstellar Watchers wouldn't be able to enter a Trance, or even be Watched, until their ships decelerated below 80% of lightspeed.

At least Ymir-25's ship was already slowing down, so she might be able to Watch in just a month or two. It would be nearly a year before she reached the Yorkshire colony, but when she did, Earth and Yorkshire would finally circumvent the time lag. In the Proxima Centauri system, it took roughly 4 years for Yorkshire to get answers to any questions they had for Earth. If no Watchers existed, the delay would be eight years. Like most colonies, they had a Watcher Board where they posted questions for the Solar System, effectively halving the time required to receive an answer. But once Ymir arrived, and both planets had someone who could observe the other in real-time…

Fawzia's comm buzzed again. Her head pounded so hard, she wanted to ignore it. But she was the senior Watcher, and the uncontested leader of the team. She would not let herself shirk duty. With a voice command, she had her implant read the text aloud.

Five seconds later, she powered her equipment back up, sending signals for all Watchers to report in.

---

Cursing the interruption, Peng-24 pushed back from his meal and signaled readiness. He'd already logged seven hours of Watching today, but now he'd probably be forced to head right back to his Chamber. These people already owned his life, keeping him prisoner in Antarctica and denying ready access to his former friends and family. Of Chinese descent, he especially missed his grandparents, who couldn't afford the space flight to visit even annually. Did the Organization have to invade his free time too?

It looked like five of the other Watchers at HQ had checked in. That only left Klaus-21.

Peng hesitated. Klaus is never the last to check in. What's his hang-up?

Then, Fawzia-11 opened an audio channel with all of them. "We have an emergency, Watchers. The base just pinged Klaus-21's implants. They all came up negative. Renya and Supriya believe the only reasonable explanation is mechanical failure."

"Hold up," Peng said, talking over Duri and Anya. "Mechanical failure? Really? Watchers have, what, eleven implants?"

"Twelve," Duri corrected.

"And you think they all failed at once?"

"It couldn't happen by coincidence," Fawzia admitted. "But think it through. What could cause them all to fail at once?"

The call went quiet. Peng's heart began to speed up. Klaus was the only person Peng could confide in. Possibly the only person he trusted at all, at least on Earth. Klaus had such an approachable way about him, and always put Peng's needs—anyone's needs—above his own.

And for all of his implants to fail simultaneously…

"Extreme electrical shock," Duri whispered.

"Or radiation exposure," Charlotte added. "It would have to be very bad though."

"You see the urgency," Fawzia said. "Right now, Hasina's gathering all off duty security personnel, and hundreds from other departments are prepping too. They're going to comb the entire facility, starting on this level. Finding Klaus quickly could make all the difference in whether Supriya's team can save him from whatever disaster knocked out his implants."

"Makes me wish we didn't have such major privacy rights," Duri observed. "If this facility was allowed more internal cameras…"

"At least we have seven hundred soldiers," Charlotte said.

"So what do we do?" Anya asked. As always, the nineteen-year-old former gymnast sounded lost. If anything, it was worse than usual.

Peng pulled himself together. "Our job is obvious: We Watch. Specifically, we scour every nook and cranny of the facility that'd be difficult or dangerous to search in person." As he spoke, Peng jogged the short distance to his Chamber. Over the comm, he could hear the others doing the same. Though a tad overweight, he was naturally strong, and made good time. "I'll Watch the primary fusion core and the maintenance crawlspaces around it."

"I'll Watch the life support equipment & geothermal backup facility," Charlotte said.

"I've got the fabricators and chemical processors," Niko added, sounding scared.

Despite his deep worry for Klaus, Peng managed to smile. He might not be able to fully trust these people, but at least they all valued Klaus. The thirty-one-year-old German was the heart of their little team, despite Charlotte being the most powerful and Fawzia being their obvious leader. With Klaus in trouble, everyone was rising to the challenge.

He just hoped it would be enough.

---

Captain Benicio Martins moved through the facility with speed, grace, precision, and cold efficiency. He'd only been assigned to Watcher HQ a year before, direct from Brazil's Special Operations Command. Their motto: "Any mission, in any place, at any time, by every way," and he was the best in their two centuries of service. On seven occasions, his squad had lured large terrorist groups within range of Brazil's main battlefield units. On twenty occasions, Benicio's unit hadn't even needed such tricks: they'd annihilated the enemy on their own. Even among the elites assigned to the Watchers, Benicio stood out for exceptional professionalism and ability. He'd fully memorized the layout of this facility in the first six months, including maintenance crawlspaces and the smallest storage closets. Not one of his fellow security personnel had genuinely done so, not with a hundred twenty levels and such a vast footprint. This facility was easily the most important stronghold in all of human civilization, with Watchers being roughly one in a billion.

While Security Chief Rakoto coordinated the search parties from her fortified Command Center, Benicio served as her single most capable searcher. Well, other than the Watchers, of course. While those unique individuals projected their awareness through the more hazardous parts of the facility, Benicio relied on his natural senses and instincts. He covered as much ground alone as any full search party could manage, and with every passing minute he grew more worried. Klaus-21 was the man who held the Watchers together, who helped them all deal with their differences and personal hangups, and focus on the role that no other humans could fill. If they lost him, Benicio didn't know how the other six would handle it, let alone the eleven Watchers who had set out toward different worlds without the rest of their team. For them to finally arrive at their destinations, only to learn that Klaus…

Stop! Focus. Worries are useless. Think, plan, act.

He felt the reassuring weight of his state-of-the-art gauss pistol at his belt. If this weren't a search and rescue mission, but something with a risk of combat, he'd be packing far more than a pistol. But for this, he depended on very different equipment. The light in his left hand would scatter against organic tissue, meaning blood or other potential clues would appear to shimmer and glow, even at a great distance. Benicio's other hand held a thermal scanner. Unless his objective had already gone completely cold, he should detect signs of his presence from up to twenty meters away.

He kept getting false hits. Despite all the efforts of the engineers and support staff, despite the inhospitable Antarctic environment surrounding the facility, they still had mice. His thermal scanner revealed the presence of the pests, and his light caused them to shimmer. But their tiny size prevented him from getting his hopes up.

Not so with a lot of the non-combat searchers. Multiple false alarms got everyone's hopes up, only for the chagrined employee to admit to seeing a mouse.

As time wore on, Benicio felt his worries deepen. Accepting this post had been the hardest decision of his life. With the facility so isolated and secure, and with such advanced external defenses, he'd feared his talents and training might be wasted here. He may well be the single most capable soldier in the Solar System, but his current post might never require him to fire a weapon. And yet, as the minutes dragged on, as the chances of finding Klaus-21 alive plummeted, he realized he'd chosen well. Perhaps his skills and experience might never be challenged here, but deep in his bones he knew how important this was. Every Watcher was a vital resource, an irreplaceable boon for humanity. There could be no more important role than protecting them.

But as minutes dragged into hours, and the search parties cleared more and more levels, Benicio's worry deepened into dread. Even if Klaus had been outright killed in an accident, his body should have been found by now. None of this made sense. The walls and floors of the corridors and public rooms were mostly white, but dappled with light grays. Intended to allow the dappled arctic camo of HQ security to function indoors, the surfaces were also specially armored. Ultra-dense inner layers made the floors and walls highly resistant to blast forces, while softer outer layers reduced the risk of ricocheting gauss rounds. If soldiers had to fire shots inside the facility, the slugs should dig into surfaces rather than deflect. Far more relevant during this search, the dull background colors should make Klaus easy to see, with his preference for brightly-colored T-shirts with nerdy retro designs.

Shift changes came and went, and ever more non-security personnel joined the search. More and more projects and tasks were put on hold to free up even more people to help.

And the whole time, the Watchers projected their minds throughout the facility. More than once, Benicio was directed to double check a shadowy corner of a room that one of the Watchers hoped might hide a clue. But so far, not a single hint presented itself. A team of scientists and doctors continued to go through Klaus-21's Chamber and sprawling apartment. Other than his uncharacteristic failure to follow sign-out procedure, they had no clues. At least the brain scan data from his last Watching session was mostly rendered into footage anyone could view. Perhaps that would shed some light on this unprecedented situation. Just about everyone not directly involved in the search was pouring over that recording.

Benicio entered a supply closet, and in an instant his adrenaline spiked. His light cast shadows in the dark room, and it scattered off a slumped figure in the back corner. But his thermal scanner didn't show anywhere near enough heat, not based on the timestamp for when Klaus-21's Watch ended.

The lights came on as he crossed the room in a burst of speed none of his coworkers could have matched. He dropped down at the figure's side, signaling to all searchers that he had found someone. Rolling them over, his heart sank when he saw residual signs of a grayish froth covering the… woman's face?

"All searchers, maintain your current patterns. Subject is not Klaus-21." He finished taking the dead woman's pulse, even as he checked her badge. "I've found the body of Samantha Gross, from the Support Division."

---

From her Command Center at the heart of Watcher HQ, Security Chief Hasina Rakoto coordinated eighteen hundred twenty-three personnel as they combed the vast facility. During any crisis, she exercised full Command of the entire Watcher facility, subject to the oversight of the Ministry of Colonization and the Interstellar Fleet Admiralty. Twice during her thirty years with the Watchers, she'd seen non-security personnel mobilized to search. Back when she was only twenty, an archivist tried to smuggle eight hundred yottabytes of Watcher footage from the facility. And twelve years ago, the newly-Inducted Peng-24 had attempted to escape the facility. In both cases, the search had lasted less than twenty minutes before the fugitive had been apprehended.

This though… this could easily be the worst day of Hasina's career. After nine tense hours, the search teams were nearly finished, and they'd all suffered a morale blow partway through. The initial examination of Samantha Gross suggested a catastrophic drug overdose. With such tight controls on everything coming into the facility, the full story would likely turn into quite a scandal. And it still would mean little compared to the likely outcome of this search.

For Hasina now had two reports pulled up, side by side, and together they painted a very worrying picture.

First, the brain scans from Klaus-21's Watch had been analyzed in depth, despite not being fully rendered into audio and video. Certain details were conclusive: Klaus had been moving his perspective and actively observing right up until the instant his Watch abruptly ceased. There was no sign of him withdrawing his consciousness in the final moments, backing out to return to his own body. Even when panic attacks or flares of full-body nerve pain overcame Niko-29, there was always still the briefest moment of the Watch "fading." The image would lose clarity, the sound would distort, and multiple regions of the Watcher's brain would shift back toward the typical human norm. But nothing like that happened here. The Watch remained fully detailed right up until the instant the data stream ended.

Far more pedestrian, but equally worrying, was the door log. The door to Klaus-21's Chamber had opened 82 seconds before his final Watch had begun. The door had not opened again until Charlotte-17 had entered with an override code and found the Chamber empty.

Hasina was a master tactician and strategist, whose expertise at war games and simulations had earned her the position of Security Chief while still in her twenties. She'd grown into the role over the following twenty-six years, and had come to accept that she was the best choice for this job. But right now… she felt utterly lost. One of the most important humans in existence had simply vanished on her watch.

The reports started coming in, and her heart sank further and further. At last, Captain Martins summed it up. "All search parties have completed their sweeps. We've found no sign of the target."

Fawzia-11's voice sounded far worse than merely exhausted. The physical pain of excessive Watching competed with loss and confusion. "My Watchers… also report failure. Klaus-21… is not in this facility."

Hasina keyed the intercom for all of Headquarters. "Thank you all for your efforts. I am sorry to report… that all searches have come up empty. Non-security personnel, I'm recommending that your department heads cancel standard duties for tomorrow. Many of you may be needed for special projects and investigations related to this disappearance. Hopefully the rest of you will be allowed some time off. Chief Rakoto out."

With that, Hasina quickly chugged a barely legal concoction of caffeine and performance enhancing meds, issued to HQ security personnel for the greatest emergencies. Next, she issued several quick recommendations to various departments, and more detailed orders to her troops.

Finally, she opened a comm channel to the Solar Security Council. Within minutes, the conference came to include the Ministry of Colonization, the Global Scientific Collaboration Foundation, and the Chancellery of the German Union.

Chapter 4: Analyzing

Anya-28 felt more useless than at any other time in the past three years. And that was saying something. Her whole life basically had to restart from scratch on her Induction three years before. Overnight, she'd gone from one of the most gifted and celebrated gymnasts in the Solar System to a bottom-tier novice Watcher. The tremendous skills and talents that had filled her life with excitement and glamor suddenly meant nothing. She wasn't even allowed to maintain extreme physical training on her own time, since it was deemed too risky to let a Watcher perform such "stunts."

And what had her former life been replaced with? Confusing, tedious, esoteric training at a purely cerebral ability for which she had very little talent. All of the other Watchers showed far greater promise than she, and it had only gotten worse the following year. Suddenly, a puny sickly child genius had shown up, and he instantly displayed greater raw talent than any other Watcher in history. Worse, she couldn't even hate him. Niko was so mild, so friendly, and his condition regularly put him through more pain in a single day than most people had to deal with in a lifetime.

Only Klaus made her feel at all confident in her new life. He encouraged her to keep up physical training on the side, so far as was deemed "safe." He even tried, hilariously, to join in. That man didn't have an acrobatic bone in his body, and he spent most of their exercise sessions wiping out. But she leaned on his advice every day. On how to cultivate her newfound powers. How to keep her morale up. How to celebrate her former career, instead of just mourning it. Although Klaus had ultimately taken on Niko as his protégé, he'd never stopped giving Anya as much time as she needed.

And now… he might be gone. For good. And Anya had been utterly useless. It didn't matter that everyone else had been useless too. Hundreds of people had searched in person, and all the other Watchers had been doing the same as she. But somehow, Anya felt the weight of their shared failure as a very personal thing. If Fawzia weren't seventy, Anya would be the weakest of the eighteen Watchers, and Fawzia had seventeen times her experience with the Organization. As the weakest link among the Watchers, Anya had a nagging dread that, somehow, she was responsible for this. As if she might have found Klaus, and not doing so would lay his death squarely on her shoulders.

All of her best talents meant nothing now. Physically, she was by far the strongest of the Watchers, despite half of them being men. And in terms of athletic skill… forget about it. Pit her against all of them in any sport, and she likely would've won alone and with little effort. And her confidence in front of crowds, her ability to win over a room?

None of it mattered. In this new life, in a role that all of humanity lauded her for… she was weak, clumsy, dumb, and–

"Anya, I think you'll be the best at this."

She blinked, confused. That was Duri-22 on the line, and she had no clue what he was getting at. "Sorry, Duri, could you repeat that last? I just withdrew from my rig a moment ago, and I missed whatever led up to that."

"Fawzia's down, with a migraine so bad Watching will likely be impossible till tomorrow. Peng already Watched for seven hours prior to the search, and he's basically ready to black out. I'm not doing much better. And Niko? He's had two panic attacks in the last ten hours, and his biometrics warn that he might be due for a nerve flare at any time. He's psyching himself up to endure hours of torture, and he'll probably still be wrecked this time tomorrow. Even Charlotte's wearing out. She's the strongest of us, but that's partly due to how totally she can throw herself into Watching."

"So when you say I'm 'the best at this,' you simply mean I'm the only option left for whatever you have in mind."

"Well, that's one way to look at it," Duri said, sounding a bit exasperated. "But think of why. You're by far the most physically fit Watcher, to a degree that's actually kinda crazy, and that has direct bearing on overall stamina. Further, all your prior training gives you pain tolerance second only to Niko. Both of those factors mean you have the potential to Watch way longer than most."

Anya thought back. She vaguely remembered Klaus mentioning she might have such potential. But that was three years ago, and her training since then had always focused on increasing her clarity and range.

"You may not have power yet, but who cares?" Duri made her deepest insecurities seem minor. "We only need someone Watching the surrounding ice sheet. It finished snowing shortly before Klaus went missing. The rest of us are either exhausted, or about to be. But you can still look for footprints or other tracks."

For someone who was once the best in the room at everything she did, being valued only for her stamina sure wasn't much…

But it was way better than nothing.

"Plugging back into my chamber," she said. "Let the others rest. I can do this all night."

---

A coworker lies dead in the morgue, and I can't afford to give it any attention. What rotten timing. Doctor Supriya Sharma, Chief Medical Officer, would have felt far more comfortable in the Infirmary, examining the body of Samantha Gross. But with a Watcher missing, even the slight chance of Supriya having useful insights mattered more than the autopsy, which had been passed off to an underling. Instead, she was stuck in an archival study room with two department heads that had far more relevant skills than her own.

Tácito Nelson, Head Archivist, and Renya Baldwin, Head Scientist, each had far more to add to this discussion.

They also happened to be three times her size.

From the poorest Province of India, Supriya hadn't received the childhood hormone therapies that would have cured her rare form of dwarfism. Though proportioned like an ordinary adult woman, she was barely a meter tall. The matronly Renya and the extraordinarily tall Tácito each made Supriya look like a child… but that was true with nearly all of her colleagues.

"Here we go," Tácito said. "Another section has been fully rendered. Projecting now." A high-resolution hologram filled the center of the room, and Tácito immediately began rotating it and adjusted the zoom. Although Watchers perceived their visions as if they were physically present, their subconscious mind actually observed in every direction. Thus, archivists frequently learned far more after the fact. In this case, Supriya noted two children in a little boat on a stream, and it was clear Klaus hadn't noticed them yet. One was laying down under a blanket, while the other sat straight, unnaturally still. Tácito advanced the recording ten seconds, by which time Klaus had begun drawing his perspective toward the boat.

"Hold on," Renya said. "Rotate one hundred eighty degrees." The hologram rotated, and Sypriya understood Renya's interest. Blindspots in the recorded perspective prevented a clear view, but they saw enough. "That child is an Unwanted. And not just any Unwanted. Klaus saw that boy mere minutes earlier, many kilometers away. How did he end up out here?"

"Wait a moment." Tácito brought up an alert off to the side. "The girl matches the description of a Person of Interest Niko-29 flagged shortly after the search ended. Apparently, he saw a girl just like her earlier today, and she may be the single most important discovery related to the Elpis Anomaly."

Niko's audio note played, describing the disturbing, reality-defying arrival of a girl referred to as "Lamia," the inability of normal people to see her, and her total power over an Unwanted girl.

"We're finally on to something." Renya leaned in eagerly. "I don't know if this will in any way help us find Klaus-21, but at least we may be nearing a breakthrough regarding the Unwanted."

"There's barely three minutes of unrendered data left." Tácito sounded worried. "What are the odds that Klaus just happened to find this 'Lamia' girl mere minutes before vanishing if there's no connection?"

"That's both good news and bad, then," Supriya observed. "Since coincidence feels improbable, we likely will learn something relevant to the Klaus-21 situation. But do not expect the news to be good. If this Lamia girl is invisible to normal humans and can pass through walls and can move Unwanted with her mind…" she trailed off. That was a very troubling combination of impossible traits.

Tácito continued to manipulate the hologram, advancing at half the speed Klaus would have experienced. He and Renya clearly had their attention on the Unwanted boy and the mysterious Lamia. But Supriya noticed something that didn't make sense. "Is that a visual artifact or a rendering error?"

"Which part?" Tácito paused the playback.

"The dimples on the side of the boat. There's nothing to explain those indentations."

"What…" Renya was rarely at a loss for words, but she was right now.

"I… I don't know," Tácito admitted. "But it certainly could be an error. Look at the miscellaneous data folder." With a keystroke, he brought it up. "There's a spike of junk data at this moment. It could be data corruption or minor fluctuations in Klaus-21's brain function…"

But he trailed off. Those indentations certainly didn't look like a random error. They looked like the surface of the rubber raft was being pressed against by two invisible objects.

Supriya knew far less about Watcher footage than her two colleagues. But perhaps that was a good thing. Without decades of patterns and expectations getting in the way, she could more freely ask "stupid" questions. "If a Watcher ever experienced sensory input other than sight or sound… what would our equipment do with such brain data?"

A moment of silence passed, during which the eyes of both Renya and Tácito slowly widened as new concepts dawned on them. Tácito recovered first. "We don't have any systems in place for categorizing such data, since it's never been needed. So it would end up in the miscellaneous folder…"

Renya jumped to her feet. "Do we have any full immersion VR rigs?"

"Of course," Supriya answered. "In the training sector of security. All of our soldiers regularly train by experiencing simulated injury or even death. I hate what they have to go through, but it works wonders for their courage and pain tolerance. Those rigs are top tier."

Tácito commed the Security Chief. "Hasina, we need to commandeer one of your VR Training rigs. Ideally one in a larger chamber with full holo capacity."

"Understood," Hasina answered. "I'll grant you access to our very best, the one the boys call the 'Holodeck.' You're going to be displacing Captain Martins though. Even after a full day of searching, he can't sleep. I think he's simulating our nastiest training program, pitting him against an entire Division. It's how he unwinds at the end of a stressful day."

"Tell him to pop some sleeping meds and turn in for the night," Supriya said. "Doctor's orders. Our best combat asset—by far—needs to take better care of his health."

With that, Tácito finished routing their data to the training room in question, and the three department heads jogged toward the nearest elevator. Skinny Tácito's crazy-long legs let him instantly shoot ahead, and the two women groaned as they fought to keep up.

---

This is it… The flare's starting… and it's gonna be a bad one…

Niko-29 lay in the Infirmary, hooked up to scanners and diagnostics gear, and he tried to keep his breathing steady. He'd gotten pretty good at noticing the early warning signs of his condition, and he'd made it to the Infirmary with time to spare. Charlotte and Duri had offered to stay with him, but he'd refused. They needed their rest, especially Charlotte. Niko wouldn't be in any condition to Watch tomorrow, so only Charlotte would be able to study Elpis.

And with Doctor Supriya busy helping with the analysis of Klaus-21's last Watch, he wouldn't even have her to keep him company. That's ok. I need to get to where I can handle this alone.

The pain started in his fingers and toes. For a moment, it was manageable. A sharp tingling sensation.

Then, it started to burn.

It'll be ok… It's only pain… The fire isn't real.

The sensation spread. His hands and feet tingled. His fingers and toes now felt like they'd been dipped in boiling water.

It's just a lie. It's not real.

The tingling spread up his legs and arms. His hands and feet now boiled.

Bring. It. On.

The burning intensified. For it to get so bad so fast… it was gonna be as vicious as it ever got.

If Klaus is right, this pain might be part of why I have so much talent for Watching. My nervous system has been trained and toughened by a thousand hours of torture.

It trained his body too. Little Supriya often said that Niko had no need for exercise. Whenever his CPN-Ω flared up, it counted as an extreme total body workout. The pain hadn't even maxed out yet, and he already felt his body going taut. He doubted there were many sedentary preteens as hardened as him, to say nothing of his ability to endure pain. If he ever decided to join Anya in her private gymnasium, he might just surprise them both. But man, this was not a fun way to train…

He focused on his breathing, noting his heart speeding up, and decided it was finally time to try something. Klaus once suggested there was a chance these flares might one day work with his Watching, instead of against it. If so…

"Hey there, tough guy." The voice was gentle, but with a core of respect. Niko opened his eyes, and was surprised to see Captain Benicio Martins. The man's face showed signs of recent agony.

"Hi there, Benny." As far as Niko knew, he was the only person outside of Brazil to have been given direct permission to use the nickname. "You look like you had a rough day." The tingling now affected his entire body, and the burning was spreading into his core.

"Yeah, my training simulation got kinda dark," the elite soldier said. "They took me alive. A rare event triggered, and they started torturing me for intel. I could've just terminated the session… but then I thought of you."

The tingling sensation reached Niko's head. The rest of his body now felt like it was boiling. "I'm… glad… that I can inspire someone as strong as you to push even harder."

Benicio smiled, and put a hand on Niko's shoulder. The point of contact was torturous, but Niko chose not to mention it. "Kid, I've taken some nasty hits in my time, and the Simulator can get rough. But I've never known anyone who's endured what you do."

"I've met twenty-two." His voice was strained, and quivering, now that the flare had fully engulfed him. The boiling heat shifted to something more like fire, then a burn more like acid, then back to boiling. "Last year, on Visitation Day, Hasina arranged for more than just my family to visit. Every other person in the Solar System with CPN-Ω was brought in too. One came from as far as Europa."

"Like Charlotte?" Benny asked.

"Yeah, but of Chilean descent instead of Canadian. And she'd never visited Earth before." Niko had to pause briefly, as the pain surged, overwhelming his ability to speak.

Benicio filled the silence. "I wish I'd already worked here. Seeing twenty-three of the toughest humans alive all in one room would've been an honor."

The surge subsided, leaving Niko's body merely on fire. "None of 'em were older than twenty. This condition has a prognosis that was, until recently, 100% accurate: Suicide within eight years of first onset of symptoms. Two of the people I met were right at that limit. And I could see it in their eyes. They were… done. They viewed that visit as their last experience. At least at the start… before I gave'em a reason to hope."

The Captain's expression darkened. He gave Niko's shoulder a squeeze. It hurt more than could be described, but the boy chose to view it as comforting. Welcome. He didn't want Benny to stop. Because what it meant mattered far more than how it felt.

"You won't do that," Benicio said. "You're the only person I know who's stronger than me. And it's by a lot, kid. No matter how hard it gets, you'll never give up. In my book, you've been a man since you were nine."

"Oh, I probably would've given up, eventually." His heart pounded now, and sweat soaked his body. At the thought of choosing death, he nearly shed a tear. But it would have been for himself, and that path led to a bottomless pit. "Hasina saved my life by bringing the others to visit. And she saved their lives too." Now he could safely let the tears flow, for them, and it was a beautiful release.

Silence fell. The elite guard wasn't actually much of a talker, and he trusted Niko to open up at his own pace. Once he'd composed himself, Niko did so. "Not one of those twenty-two has taken their life since that visit. And it's because of me. I'm a Watcher. We're given higher priority than anyone. Not even a Head of State or the Minister of Colonization is given V.I.P. status on par with ours. And because of that, this condition isn't hopeless anymore. Before meeting me, those twenty-two people had nothing to look forward to except years of torture, wondering how long they'd last before finally ending it. The only official act regarding this condition was to legally allow such a decision if the patient was deemed to be in sound mind."

The next surge of increased agony was possibly the worst Niko had ever felt. Every atom of his existence was pure fire. But right now, Benny was with him, honoring him, and he was speaking of the single most important truth in his life.

The pain could not stop him. "Chronic Promethean Neuropathy: Omega Variant. A condition so rare, with so few victims, and so little relevant data… there was simply no hope of a cure ever being found… until I was Inducted." The latest surge sent his body so taut he almost blacked out. His back arched, every tendon and tiny muscle standing out brutally, adding still further to the overall pain. Benicio stayed silent, patient, his presence more comforting than he likely knew. For him, Niko could continue. "With a Watcher suffering from it… everything changes." Tears again flowed, when he thought of just how much this meant to the others who shared his pain. "Lots of medical institutions and drug companies have fully shifted their R&D. There's so many doctors and scientists working on CPN-Ω, it's only a matter of time before they find a cure."

The hope on Benny's face nearly brought on more tears. The man gave his shoulder another agonizing squeeze. "You're worth it, kid. Humanity will do whatever it takes to help you, so that you can help us in ways we never could."

Niko managed to smile. The pain surged, but he forced words out anyway. "After that visit, I'm so glad I'm going through this. If I were healthy, the others would have no hope. But they're hanging on, they're enduring, and they expect a cure, because of me. My pain means theirs won't last forever."

"Kid, I've got nothin' on you," the Captain said quietly. "Every soldier needs to accept that they might suffer or die in the line of duty, hopefully to save lives. But you? A twelve-year-old kid, who goes through thirty to fifty hours of torment every month… and you're glad, since it means others will finally be cured?"

"I'm not as special as you think. I'm pretty sure most people would feel the same after meeting the others." A wave of agony reached a level where he started to shake uncontrollably. Two nurses came over, but they were familiar with his flares. They couldn't meaningfully affect his pain. They'd only intervene if it looked like his heart might take damage from the strain.

The older nurse gave Captain Martins a disapproving look. "You're supposed to be sleeping right now."

Completely ignoring her, Benny shook his head in wonder. "Niko… you're one of a kind."

Though the fire in his flesh would likely last for hours, the most recent surge subsided. "Benny, I'm gonna try something. Something Klaus thought I might be able to do someday. I'm gonna try Watching… right now."

The guard tilted his head slightly. He didn't know enough to really understand how crazy that sounded. Niko's panic attacks, which were way less harsh than his current suffering, were always enough to break his Trance and end his Watch. But right now, Klaus was in trouble. Maybe… maybe that would be enough.

Niko closed his eyes, and focused. This was very hard. Every cell in his body screamed at him, shrieked at him, for his attention. His entire nervous system erroneously believed that he was boiling alive. But if he could force his mind out of his body… maybe all that pain could alter the rules in some way. Perhaps, his Watch could be more useful…

Without the equipment in his Chamber, Niko wouldn't be able to reach out far, even if he succeeded. Headquarters was encased in a unique form of faraday cage specifically designed to block unenhanced Watching. That had been vital to finally sway public opinion mostly in favor of the Watchers. The threat to personal privacy Watchers represented had caused serious problems in the early days of the organization. HQ had such powerful defensive systems due to the legitimate threat of terrorist attacks, or even military strikes. Many societies, cultures, and organizations had not accepted the fact that a small number of government employees could see anyone, anywhere, at any time, with no checks or balances.

The solution had been to shield HQ. Now, a Watcher could only extend their awareness outside of their Antarctic base when plugged into their Chamber. And since their Chambers recorded all of their Watches in extreme detail, unauthorized invasion of privacy could never be covered up. Only twice since the addition of the faraday cage had a Watcher gone off the rails and Watched citizens without permission. In both cases, the Watcher had stood trial for the crime, although there were hard limits set on how stiff their punishments could be. The unauthorized footage had been destroyed after the trial, and the guilty Watchers had learned their lesson. They hadn't had an incident in thirty years.

Still, if Niko managed to Watch at all during his flare, it would be a major breakthrough. Fawzia had gotten pretty good at Watching despite migraines, and Anya's pain tolerance allowed her to Watch even when her whole body ached from prolonged strength training. If they could do it, maybe Niko could too.

He strained, and strove, trying to bring his full awareness into his mind alone. His body called out to him in agony, begging him to intervene, despite there being nothing he could do. The doctors and scientists agreed that any pain meds capable of reducing this agony would risk serious damage to his brain or nervous system. That might even, perversely, lead to future flares being even worse. All past attempts to put him under with general anesthetic had backfired. His overcharged nervous system fought the anesthesia to the point that it would require a lethal dose to have any effect.

Again and again, Niko tried to push away all awareness of his body. He needed his full focus only on his inner world. And that inner world was agony too. His brain suffered the greatest pain of all, as it had by far the greatest nerve activity.

That's it… Niko realized. My whole body hurts, but my brain actually hurts more… Normally, during these flares, he'd try to focus on the pain throughout his body, to distract himself from the agony in his head. That way, he could at least try to think, to converse, to take more cerebral measures to cope with the pain. But if I instead focus only on the pain in my head…

This was easier than expected. The agony behind his eyes was so terrible, turning his full attention to it blocked out all other pain. Even Benny's latest shoulder squeeze barely mattered. With his mind fully focused on its own torment, all other sensation faded.

With a burst of brutal power, Niko's awareness blasted through the base's faraday cage, across seventy lightyears of empty space, and he found himself Watching the colony of Elpis.

Chapter 5: Scouring

Tácito Nelson, Head of the Archive Division, squeezed himself into HQ's most advanced full immersion VR rig. At an extreme two hundred eleven centimeters tall, he would not find this rig comfortable, but he was still the best choice. The majority of archivists only had implants to assist with Auditory and Visual integration, but Tácito had requested the full suite. He never expected to need them all, but he viewed it as a form of solidarity with the Watchers, who had more implants than anyone. "I'm ready," he said. "Run simulation."

Instantly, his body lost all external sensation. With no outside distractions, he more keenly felt the sting of a recent paper cut and the ache of a childhood injury. He respected the security personnel even more. They always had aches and minor injuries from training and sparring, which would be felt more intensely during full VR training. When he focused, he realized that his senses of smell and taste were gone too. All he had was sight and sound, which showed the footage of Klaus-21's last Watch. Ahead, Tácito saw the little rubber raft with the two children aboard. He unpaused the recording, with no controls active, so he could passively experience exactly what Klaus had seen and heard.

His view drew closer to the boat, lowering down toward the water…

And he felt the rubber surface of the boat.

Even half-expecting this, Tácito would have jumped out of his skin had he any direct control over his own body. The view angled downward, looking at the side of the boat. There were the two indentations, just what he would expect were he pressing against it with his hands. And his hands absolutely felt the contact with the cold, damp surface. We were right… For the first time ever, a Watcher experienced tactile sensation… But that was a very small discovery compared to what it implied. The indentations on the boat… that is not data corruption. Even as he felt contact with the boat, the rubber surface deformed. Klaus didn't just feel something… he physically interacted with an object being Watched! As the footage progressed, the boat moved away. The indentations vanished, and the sensation of contact disappeared. That settled it. Though Tácito had no theories as to how, it was essentially certain: Klaus-21 had touched an object from seventy lightyears away.

Text appeared in his field of vision. With total immersion active, his body couldn't perceive anything in the real world except its own aches and pains. The messages were from Supriya and Renya, who had signed in to the observation consoles near his rig. Supriya confirmed the data in question was tactile in nature, while Renya confirmed that the deformation to the boat was consistent with physical pressure from adult human hands. Tácito knew the room would also be projecting a huge, detailed hologram based on the same footage.

As the recording advanced, he finally passed the last of the imagery that had been fully rendered previously. Only in the last few minutes had the full recording been completed, so he would get to experience the end of this Watch for the first time.

The disgusting, polluted area the boat now reached stood in sharp contrast to the pristine forest from mere moments before. Calculations from the computers rendering the data provided the locational coordinates, so Tácito would be sure to have Charlotte-17 observe this place soon.

The recording moved toward a scuffed, dirty inflatable structure, which irritated Tácito somewhat. He would have preferred Klaus focus on the two children in the boat. A brief look in that direction showed the Lamia girl stepping ashore and picking up a stubby red-stained pencil, but then Klaus looked away again. Tácito considered taking control of the perspective to stay focused on the boat, confused about the Watcher's fascination with the ugly little house. But sticking to the Watcher's perspective at least once always had some merit.

The Unwanted boy spoke. "Are you gonna let me live? I promise I'll be good and–"

The words cut short, and Klaus rapidly turned toward the boat. There was a splash, and the Unwanted five-year-old was gone. Pause, Tácito thought. He took direct control of the simulation, rewinding two seconds and focusing on the boat. As usual, this resulted in small blind spots and unrendered areas. Watcher footage included a three hundred sixty degree field of view, centered on the point from which the Watcher observed. Thus, by moving his own perspective around, Tácito gained line of sight to areas Klaus could not have seen. Though the rendering software was the best mankind could produce, and it managed to fill in quite a lot, actual data didn't exist. These areas were often blurry, or even empty. The opposite side of irregular objects also faded into static. The projected awareness of a Watcher didn't actually require light to see, but their vision could still be blocked by opaque obstructions.

The little girl moved too fast to clearly see, a burst of red appeared on the side of the boy's head, and he tumbled into the water.

Despite the horror of that moment, Tácito forced himself to play the footage again, at five percent speed. With power totally at odds with her frail build, the little girl spun her whole body, driving the stubby pencil into the boy's temple. Somehow, the pencil survived the impact, punching through bone without taking any damage. The boy weighed more than half as much as the slender girl, but the force of the blow still flipped him over the side of the boat with ease. His small body fell out of Klaus-21's line of sight, which was currently low to the ground, thus he appeared to blur and then vanish before hitting the water.

Text appeared. Supriya reported that a hit of such power likely would have knocked the boy unconscious, while the puncture wound from the pencil would have guaranteed death in under a minute. Renya observed that a girl that size absolutely should not be able to generate that kind of force, and even then the pencil should have shattered.

But when the boy tumbled out of the boat, the little pencil was completely unharmed. It was soaked with the child's blood, and after a moment, the girl turned to flick one red drop toward the disgusting bouncy house.

Tácito rotated his vision in that direction, and apparently Klaus had been moving toward it, since Tácito could easily see inside. The disgusting bouncy house was positively filled with blood.

Horrified Tácito paused. Renya sent him additional text, estimating that the amount of fluid filling the inflatable structure would have required at least ten million drops of blood. A number that extreme failed to sink in. A catastrophe of such a scale simply couldn't register in the gentle librarian's mind.

Doctor Sharma drew attention to something else: The blood looked fresh. It had not coagulated or even lost its bright red color. Somehow, blood that must have been amassed over considerable time remained unchanged.

Unwilling to dwell on these details, Tácito resumed the recording, though at one third speed. Soon, text from Renya reported unusual brain activity in Klaus. Some of it was consistent with extreme stress, which Tácito figured was a perfectly reasonable response to the whole mess. But there were also spikes of brain activity that she'd never seen before. Supriya added that in some ways it resembled what happened when poor Niko experienced nerve flares, but it didn't seem to be pain…

And then another impossibility presented itself.

Allowing the recording to play as Klaus had experienced it, but still at slow speed, Tácito felt something in his hand again. And then, the bloody pencil rose into the air… He expected a storm of text from his fellow department heads, but none appeared. Perhaps they were as shocked as him. The pencil hovered, though Tácito clearly felt it as if he held it. And then, with a sensation similar to exertion, but mental rather than physical, the bloody little murder weapon shot through the air like a dart. It pierced all the way through the hideous bouncy house, not slowing from either the four layers of rubber or from passing through so much fluid. But when the pencil finally hit a tree in the distance, it burst into splinters, yellow flakes, and powdered graphite.

Blood flowed across the concrete and into the stream as the structure slowly deflated.

Still, no text from his colleagues. Like him, they had witnessed too many impossibilities in too short a time.

Klaus turned toward the terrifying, mysterious little girl, and froze. Tácito felt the same way. Had he been in control of his own body, he too would've been unable to move.

The little boat no longer drifted with the current of the stream. With no rope or any other obvious explanation, it remained exactly where it was, as the water flowed beneath it. And then Lamia started to turn.

In a rush, the perspective raced away at high speed. Tácito approved. Though this was only audio and video, it was clear Klaus had been "running" in abject terror. Even with the playback at one third speed, it still felt like a very rapid flight upstream.

And then Tácito felt something strange. A sensation he'd never experienced before. In some ways, it was a little like the tingling of goosebumps, from fear rather than from cold. But that wasn't quite it. Perhaps this is what someone would call a sixth sense.

The recording abruptly ended.

Deeply disturbed, confused beyond description, and overwhelmed at what he'd witnessed, Tácito extracted himself from the total immersion VR rig. His own sensations returned, and it was an immense relief to be aware of his surroundings, and safely in HQ. He stretched, groaning. Then he turned to Supriya and Renya.

The women looked utterly haunted.

"You too, huh?" Tácito forced a weak laugh. "Pretty messed up, right?"

Silence.

Tácito had a deep sense of foreboding, and he didn't even try to speak. He'd wait for them to work up the courage first.

Finally, little Supriya asked, "Did you feel something… odd at the very end? A sensation unlike anything else in your experience?"

"Yes… yes I did…"

"Because… the data from the end of the Watch…" she turned to the Head of the Science Division.

Renya shivered. "I've seen that sort of data before. Many times. It's something we specifically look for… when searching for new Watchers."

The Head Archivist raised an eyebrow. "How does that…" but he trailed off. The haunted expressions of the two women had not abated in the slightest.

Taking a deep breath, Renya continued. "When a doctor or school suspects that someone may have the potential to be a Watcher, they have them submit to brain scans, and then they call us. While examining the data from a little used area of the brain, they request that one of our Watchers observe the subject from afar. And if the subject experiences an indescribable sensation… and the brain data matches the end of 21's final recording…"

Supriya finished. "Then we know we've found a new Watcher."

Still badly shaken from his experience in the VR rig, Tácito nervously asked, "Are you saying… at the very end of the recording…"

"Yes," Renya said. "Immediately before his Watch ended with unnatural abruptness, Klaus-21's projected mind… was being Watched."

---

Niko-29's mind reeled with surprise bordering on disbelief. He hadn't really expected to be able to Watch at all. But to find his awareness on Elpis, without the benefit of his rig or the Southern Lights…

He rotated his perspective. He hadn't chosen any particular location, and he wondered what had landed his mind here. This wasn't even the last place on Elpis he Watched. He hung a fair distance above a polluted stream, and when he looked about, he saw it was lined by crumbling, filthy concrete. A deflated rubber structure was nearby…

And there was so… much… blood…

His heart rate began to speed up. His disturbing surroundings prevented him from even realizing that his pain had faded. The agony of his screaming nervous system was now seventy lightyears away, and the discomfort was relatively easy to ignore. But he could not ignore what he saw.

The concrete surrounding the deflated structure was covered in a wide pool of bright red blood. It looked like much had flowed into the stream, but the sheer quantity that had spread across the ground…

But that sight was a fair distance downstream from where he Watched. Much closer, there was a lesser horror… but one that perhaps had more personal implications.

On either shore, nearest the spot from which Niko observed, there were wild, random sprays of blood, and bits of what looked like torn flesh and splintered bone. Niko desperately wanted to return to his own body, despite the agony that awaited him there. But Klaus would've wanted him to be brave.

One shore had more blood and remains than the other, and Niko forced himself to zoom in. The closer he got, the more hideous it all was. One large strip of skin, hanging off a bit of trash, had a bruise. A bit of white nearby may have been a tooth. There were strange, fanglike barbed objects scattered about, broken and bloody…

Then Niko saw a hand.

For a moment, he stopped completely. He deeply, deeply… wanted to hide from this.

But he could not. A Watcher must be strong.

He zoomed in.

The severed hand was stained by blood, and two of the strange barbed needle things protruded from it.

But none of this mattered.

A ring adorned one of the fingers. A simple gold band, with no gem, but etched with fine flowing writing of a fictional language. A high-dollar replica based on Klaus-21's favorite old films and books.

This… this was Klaus-21's hand…

Niko's teacher. Almost a father. Almost a big brother. The thoughtful, wise, encouraging peacemaker who guided Niko through every day, and bound all the Watchers together like a single, quirky family.

Surprisingly, Niko's heart rate slowed. No panic attack threatened to grip him.

Rather, he remained there, his perspective fixed, unmoving.

Grieving.

---

Heart pounding, Renya Baldwin finally reached the Infirmary, with Supriya close behind. The spacious area was crowded, with nearly half the Medical team and dozens of Renya's scientists already there. The panting Tácito had arrived well ahead of her. Benicio Martins stood in one corner, mostly out of the way but with line of sight to Niko's hospital bed.

The boy lay still, his body relaxed, despite the equipment showing that his CPN-Ω was still flaring. Additional brain-scanning equipment had been brought over, and a wealth of data flowed across the screen.

"So it's true," Tácito said, examining the screens. "He's Watching. And from these scans… I think he's Watching somewhere far away… He's pierced HQ's shielding…"

"Who saw it when this started?" Supriya asked. Two of the nurses at Niko's side raised their hands, as did Captain Martins. "What led up to it?"

The older nurse said, "Klaus-21 apparently told Niko that his nerve condition might be harnessed to enhance his Watching. With Klaus unaccounted for, Niko had the motivation to finally try."

The younger nurse added, "I rushed the brain scanning equipment over, just in case, and I had it up and running shortly after he entered his Trance."

"He's one incredible kid," Captain Martins said quietly, though few seemed to notice.

"So," Renya said, "Niko has made a breakthrough. Without the equipment in his Chamber, he penetrated our faraday barriers, and he's Watching farther than anyone should be able to do unaided. Tácito, can you tell from these scans where he's Watching?"

But the Head Archivist didn't immediately answer. He had his eyes on Niko.

Tears ran down the boy's cheeks.

---

Klaus… dear, precious Klaus… How? How did you get all the way out here? And what could have done this to you?

Niko lost track of how long he remained there, numb to everything but loss and sadness, while the filthy stream slowly flowed. But he knew, deep down, that he had a duty. It was not a Watcher's job to understand, make connections, or figure things out. They only needed to gather data. The vast teams of scientists and archivists would do the rest.

Finally turning away from the sight of Klaus-21's hand, Niko examined the surroundings. Blood and barbed spines littered the area, along with bits of flesh and bone. The killing had been extreme, violent in a way Niko refused to contemplate. Perhaps it had also been quick. A strip of bloody denim and a length of shoelace lay nearby. After further searching, he found a mangled but recognizable strip of Klaus-21's favorite shirt. A custom print showcasing many of his favorite fictional settings. Klaus always wore it on days when he'd scheduled an RPG session…

Another pang of loss tore at Niko at that little reminder of the person Klaus had been. He forced himself to instead focus on… forensic evidence.

Some of the horrid barbed needle teeth were smooth at one end, as if they'd cleanly detached from whatever they'd been part of. But a few were bloody at both ends. Perhaps… perhaps some of these things had been torn out from the force of… whatever had been done to… the victim? It didn't really make sense that these things could cause serious injury. They were thin, and porous. One shifted slightly from a mild gust of wind. It must weigh far less than you'd expect from its size.

Rotating his perspective to the far bank, Niko hesitated. So much pain, so much sadness. But he still had his duty. He sent his mind to the far bank. There was less blood on this shore, though he did see a bit of broken electronics. Drawing close, Niko thought it might be one of the many implants all Watchers carried. He didn't recognize it though, meaning it must be one that had been completely internal.

Then, the concrete several meters to his left began to shimmer.

Niko turned toward it, and froze.

She rose up out of the concrete. And she had an old man with her.

"Please…" the man said. "Don't punish me for trying. Most adults on Elpis avoid learning, or training. They're too scared that they might change enough to create a duplicate and become Unwanted." His words felt a bit stiff, as if rehearsed many times. This Unwanted man had known he might one day be taken by this monster. "But I didn't let fear stop me. I'm trying to advance our technology and understanding, in ways that may help you quite frankly. My latest research on Exovasilio and the Lamia incursion–"

His voice cut off. Faster than Niko's eyes could track, the girl reached up and drove something into the base of the old man's skull. Instantly limp, he tumbled into the stream.

Lamia held a long green wooden pencil. It looked new, with a sharpened tip that showed no damage from being used to kill.

She cocked her head.

Then she turned toward Niko.

The boy felt the cold, tingling sensation that he had only experienced a few times before, back when he was first being tested. It wasn't something he could ever forget. It was an awareness of a like mind. One unfettered by the physical brain…

She was Watching him.

A spike of terror gripped Niko.

The girl's eyes widened in recognition, and she hissed, "Another one?" She raised a hand toward him, reaching...

For just an instant, Niko felt a strange tugging sensation... as if his mind was being pulled…

But in a burst of panic and rejection… Niko found himself back in his own agonized body in HQ.

---

Nurse Wilma Taibei took one final sample, and fed it into the diagnostics equipment. The morgue was deserted of all but her. The crisis of the missing Watcher had trumped all other priorities, and there was even some sort of commotion in the Infirmary. But Wilma was nothing if not devoted to her duties. Everyone else might view the death of Samantha Gross as secondary, but it would not be ignored.

Bringing up multiple holos, Wilma poured over the results of the tests and scans. The cause of death was clearly chemical in nature, but the drug in question was not in any database. If Samantha Gross had been trying to whip up something like heroin, lunafreude, or Martian cocaine, she'd gotten the mixture way off. Head Doctor Supriya Sharma had proposed that very thing: perhaps Miss Gross had botched her work so badly the resulting drug had been exceptionally toxic. But Wilma doubted it. Miss Gross had worked with HQ's Chemical Processing division for nearly a decade, and she had more than a decade of relevant job experience prior to that. It didn't feel likely that she'd make such a major and lethal mistake.

So… What else could it be?

Well… if the unidentified chemical didn't resemble any known illegal drug… What had she been trying to make? And if it was something legal… or completely new… why would she have done all her work in secret?

This task would have been beyond the knowledge and training of an unsupervised nurse anywhere else, but Wilma Taibei was ludicrously overqualified for her role. Watcher HQ drew the best of every field, and the majority of their nurses received intensive supplemental training that would qualify them as doctors at most hospitals. It was the same with most departments. The lowliest Private in the Security Forces could easily qualify as officers elsewhere, and most of the archivists had administered entire library systems before joining the Watchers. Wilma's time with the Organization doubled as residency experience, and it was only her intense focus on her duties that prevented her from starting on her thesis.

Though this autopsy was a very distant second in priority to the Klaus situation, Security Chief Rokoto finally granted Wilma the authorization she'd requested hours earlier. Samantha's private files had been decrypted, and the full data was now available on Nurse Taibei's screen.

As expected, quick initial searches didn't reveal anything interesting. Samantha had been careful, hiding anything incriminating from casual inspection. All employees at Watcher HQ had to agree to periodic, random searches of their possessions and files, accepting that the security of the Watchers mattered more than any of their privacy.

But Nurse Taibei could get a bit obsessive…

Soon, she found it. Carefully hidden amidst mind-numbingly tedious journal entries, she found files related to her "Pet Project." Chemical formulas and drug simulations were cross-referenced with data related to Watcher Brain function, and how this differed from the human norm during an active Watch. Curious. Samantha didn't even have the clearance to possess such data.

The more she dug, the more Wilma's excitement grew. Nothing about this suggested a motive so low and mundane as recreational drug dependence. This was something bigger. With her access to the advanced medical simulators Samantha never could have touched, Wilma began running tests on the final version of whatever the dead woman had been inventing.

---

Hasina Rakoto entered the crowded Infirmary. Doctors and scientists pressed to either side, making way for the Security Chief. Heart heavy, burdened by a mix of guilt, disbelief, and failure, she reached the side of Niko-29's bed. The boy had elevated the head of the bed, so he now sat mostly upright. Sweat saturated his clothes, and brutal tension of his nerve flare had every tendon standing out. But he seemed to be giving little attention to his own pain.

Tears flowed freely down the boy's face. He met Hasina's eyes with something like dread. He'd likely already been forced to answer many painful questions, and he didn't look forward to more.

She'd keep it brief. "Are you absolutely certain?"

Niko nodded. "It was him."

"On Elpis? He was physically on Elpis? Seventy lightyears from here?"

Niko nodded again.

Hasina's head spun. How could such a thing be possible? Klaus needed the enhancement of the Aurora Australis just to see Elpis. And never had there been any realistic theory of how physical projection might be possible. But right now, the full processing power of the HQ mainframe was working double time to render the footage of Niko's unprecedented Watch.

One more question. "Is there… even the slightest chance that Klaus-21 could have survived whatever happened to him? Could he have been wounded and then taken elsewhere?"

The boy clamped his eyes shut, causing more tears to overflow. His small body quivered, likely from another surge of nerve pain. So young, so frail, but in that moment he was hard as rock, as his body tried to tear itself apart from the severity of his suffering. Eventually, this latest torment lessened, and Niko was able to answer through gritted teeth. "Too much blood. Both sides of the stream."

"Meaning there was far more that ended up in the water," Doctor Sharma said quietly.

Niko managed to relax, as much as was possible during a flare at least. "And they've shown me examples of all our internal implants. The one that I saw broken on the shore… It's the one that integrates with a Watcher's heart, to make sure we never experience cardiac arrest or arrhythmia…" Niko's sadness finally gave way to the panic attack they'd all known was coming. Captain Martins shouldered his way through the crowd to take the boy's hand, while Supriya moved in to help with his anxiety.

Chief Rakoto's mind raced. So… the impossible has occurred. Something we always hoped might be possible, which could revolutionize so many aspects of human society… but it led to a horrific tragedy. For the first time, a Watcher did more than observe. Somehow, Klaus traveled to Elpis physically. But… either the strain blew him apart… or something beyond our understanding terminated him with needless brutality.

Tall and slim, Hasina had little difficulty squeezing through the crowd, heading toward her Command Center. She'd trust others to learn the details. For now, she had two urgent issues to address. If it was possible for a Watcher to project their body across the stars, could this occur by accident? And was such a feat within the power of whatever had slaughtered Klaus?

How was she to protect the Watchers, when the impossible was becoming reality?

---

A chime woke Duri-22 from a deep, dreamless sleep. The previous day had been exhausting in so many ways, part of him had hoped to sleep for at least ten hours. But with his best friend missing, he doubted he'd forgive himself for checking out that long. Even so, noting the time, he was surprised how quickly he'd been woken up. That sure explains why I'm still so tired…

He signaled an acknowledgement, dragged himself out of bed, and swiftly composed himself. Of North Korean descent, but raised on Mars, he'd never given much attention to appearances. As long as his pants were zipped and his hair wasn't sticking out in too many directions, he didn't much care whether people thought he looked "together." But Watchers were an odd sort of celebrity, so he'd gradually accepted Klaus-21's advice to at least pretend to care. A few quick swipes of a damp comb worked wonders, he slipped into slightly more dignified shoes than his "flat cat" slippers, and finally made his way to his foyer. With a subvocalized command, he opened the door to his suite.

Worry quickly built into dread.

Four of the other Watchers filed in, slow, reluctant, silent. None of them seemed to want to speak first.

Charlotte looked utterly defeated. Peng looked bitter, even angry. Anya looked lost. And Fawzia had never looked so old.

This could only mean one thing. Duri took a moment to compose himself, erecting a temporary mental wall against grief. He needed some details first, to satisfy his curious mind. Then he'd let himself fall apart. "How did it happen?"

"We aren't quite sure." Fawzia's voice quivered from exhaustion and loss. "He was murdered. By means we can't even guess. It may have been fairly quick… but it was extreme."

Duri blinked. He honestly didn't know what he'd expected. But certainly not murder. Watcher HQ was the single most secure and well-defended facility in all of human civilization. No Watcher had ever even been injured deliberately. "How? How could something like this have happened? Where was the body found?"

"That's something… none of us were ready for," Charlotte said. She had a vacant look about her. She'd always viewed Klaus as her icon. The paragon of her worldview… and possibly something more. His pure, certain outlook of a better future had motivated her to train longer and harder than any of them. Duri wasn't surprised when she couldn't continue.

It was Anya of all people who finally explained. "Klaus… he died… on Elpis."

For a moment, Duri didn't react. Surely he misheard. But no one spoke up to correct her.

"Niko found his remains," Peng said through gritted teeth. "We didn't find Klaus in our searches because he was seventy lightyears away."

Taking a step back, Duri began to feel dizzy. "How? How could he…?"

But he doubted there was any point in asking this soon. The impossible wouldn't be explained quickly. He gestured for everyone to follow, and he shambled to his meeting room in a daze. He sank into a chair and waited for the others. Anya remained standing.

"Are we… absolutely certain?" Duri asked carefully.

Fawzia slowly nodded. "I'm so sorry, Duri. We all know you were his closest friend, almost from the day of your Induction. But it has been confirmed. Niko's latest Watch, which is an unprecedented story all on its own, was given maximum priority. The GLaDOS mainframe is being serviced right now, due to the issues created by overclocking the whole system. Multiple archivists and scientists have viewed the footage and confirmed its legitimacy. Niko wasn't hallucinating or imagining it. And the medical team agrees with Niko's assessment. Based on the… forensic evidence… there's no way Klaus could have survived whatever happened. The blood loss alone would have far exceeded lethal levels."

"Is it possible… that he was killed by the physical transit?" Duri asked. No one had any working theories on how a Watcher might project their physical bodies, though it had been a distant goal since the early days. "If Klaus was the first of us to achieve something so incredible…" But he trailed off. The others now looked a bit scared, not merely sad or angry.

"We think it's something worse," Charlotte said, finally pulling herself together. "We don't believe Klaus was responsible for getting himself to Elpis. We think it was done to him… by a previously unknown Watcher… on Elpis. He didn't project himself there. He was pulled there against his will. And the same thing nearly happened… to Niko."

Chapter 6: Mourning

Captain Martins had never felt a failure so absolute. He always imagined that true failure would only find him if he was on site, in a position to achieve victory… and yet did not. But apparently, it could hurt every bit as much to have been ignorant and helpless from the start. By means he couldn't comprehend, a Watcher had been taken to the edge of human civilization and slaughtered without mercy. Benicio couldn't possibly have intervened in any way.

And he still felt the failure so deeply his bones ached.

He sat in the main training hall used by the security teams for joint planning and organization. Chief Rakoto looked every bit as dejected as Benicio felt. Every member of security not on active duty had gathered here at Hasina's request. The majority looked miserable. Their role was the most coveted military position in the Solar System, protecting the rarest and most unique people alive. Eleven of their charges were beyond their reach, traveling to distant colonies at relativistic speeds accompanied by small armies. But of the seven that remained on Earth, one was now dead. Despite all their efforts, training, expertise, and dedication, they'd been powerless and unaware when Klaus needed them.

At last, Hasina broke the silence. "We know… that it's illogical… and unfair… to blame ourselves." She didn't sound like she believed her own words. "For decades, we and our predecessors have performed admirably. We've maintained external defense systems that have shot down hostile aircraft and even an ICBM. We detected and intercepted a strike force attempting to reach us during a blizzard, and we neutralized the threat with no losses. We maintain an environment utterly free of violent crime, and none of our Watchers has ever been deliberately harmed… until now."

She rose, and holos displayed the final moments of 21's last Watch. "We face a threat beyond anything we've trained for. An enemy has displayed the ability to strike us in a way never before imagined. A top level VIP was snatched from the heart of our facility, and it took us the better part of a day to even realize it. Were we to fire a weapon in the direction of the threat, the shot would arrive a century too late." With a keystroke, she brought up the horrible imagery of Klaus-21's mutilated remains, littering the wilderness of a world far beyond their reach. "But we are still the best in the world at what we do. We will continue to do all in our power to achieve our primary objective. So far, we have very little data. Our only theory is that the enemy needs to Watch someone to abduct them, and they can even detect the projected minds of our Watchers. Some military and political leaders suggest that the best answer is to cease all Watching entirely. To avoid the risk of letting our Watchers send their mind to Lamia's world. We may well be forced to take such measures. But I'm not ready to abandon the Unwanted investigation just yet. Klaus would never have wanted his death to mean ignoring the plight of an entire afflicted world. So I've put together a schedule of a new role for our security forces."

The hologram now displayed their massive facility. "Typically, we have protected our Watchers from afar, by denying any possibility of hostile access to them. Now though, their privacy cannot be so sacrosanct… at least not while they're Watching. Until we learn more about the enemy's powers, there's no telling whether this will work, but I have a measure that's at least worth trying. Whenever Charlotte-17 or Niko-29 Watch Elpis, they'll be armed, and we'll always have two soldiers with them in their Chamber. They'll remain in physical contact with the Watcher for the duration, handcuffed to them, and with their implants in sync with one another. The bodyguards will be connected to the same neural interface the Watchers use, and if I get permission, they'll even maintain blood to blood contact through small open wounds. If there's any chance that an abducted Watcher might bring their guards with them, then it's worth every effort."

The soldiers nodded. They'd of course try anything, and everything, in an effort to protect the surviving Watchers. But Benicio understood the lack of enthusiasm. Whatever happened to Klaus, however exactly he'd been killed… the results were unreal. The severed hand used to identify the corpse had been by far the single largest part they'd found intact. Based on the blood sprays, and the scattered shreds of flesh and clothing… What could two guards do against that? Not to mention all of the scattered barbed fangs that covered the area. Clearly, that creepy little girl wasn't alone when she did her worst killing. There was something far deadlier at play, possibly an unknown apex predator doing her bidding. Even if Benicio himself had been at 21's side, could he realistically have fought off something with such murderous power?

But then the Captain felt his resolve surge back to the fore. Anyone assigned to guard duty during an active Watch would carry the most powerful compact weapon available, and would be ready to deploy maximum force at a moment's notice. And if all their efforts couldn't bring down the enemy… then at least the next Watcher wouldn't die alone.

---

The Watchers talked long into the night. Despite their weariness, and the weight that hung over them, they needed each other's company. When Niko's nerve flare finally ended, he joined them. Accepting Duri's most comfortable recliner without objection, the boy lay back, too weary to speak, but unwilling to leave.

In the past, informal gatherings of the Watchers had been tense affairs, with Klaus having to smooth over their differences and help them get past their quirks and insecurities. Right now though, they managed well enough. In a way, it was almost like they still had him with them, since he was all they could talk about.

"What was your first impression of Klaus?" Fawzia asked them. "For me, I instantly saw his desire to be the best Watcher possible. Taking him on as my protégé felt natural, almost automatic."

Charlotte smiled. "During the very first meeting… I didn't know what to think. This out of shape Aryan kid with his fluffy blonde hair and wide blue eyes, I couldn't see how much use he'd ever be. And by the end of the conversation… well, I felt a little intimidated. I'd always just viewed this as a job, one I wasn't allowed to turn down. But Klaus, he clearly viewed it as a higher calling. He'd already let go of his previous goals and dreams. Nothing mattered more to him than this."

"He seriously creeped me out," Peng said, earning him surprised glares. "What? He was just so… invasive. He seemed way too interested in my feelings and what made me tick. I grew up on the freak'n moon. People there don't have much room, so privacy is a purely social concept. There may be people all around you, and your living space may barely fit you, but people have serious social boundaries to make up for it. Klaus was totally different. It wasn't till after my escape attempt that I accepted he was the real deal. His interest wasn't dangerous or manipulative. He just wanted me to be happier in my new role."

"I was Inducted less than a year after Klaus," Duri said, pouring everyone more drinks. "Despite our different backgrounds, we clicked immediately. Our nerdy interests lined up so well, we were practically best friends by the end of our first meeting." He sipped his tea, then added, "I'm eleven years his senior. I figured I'd never have to lose him…"

"At first glance, I thought I was looking at a total wimp," Anya said. "Physically soft, and way too mellow and passive in conversation. He seemed to care more about everyone else in the room than himself, and I thought that made him somehow… less. It didn't take long to figure out how wrong I was."

Everyone turned to Niko. The boy had absolutely been through the ringer that day, experiencing vastly worse than all the rest of them put together. Even so, he noticed their attention. "When I first met Klaus… I wanted to be him."

All fell silent. Duri had kept the lights low for Niko's sake, and they all pondered and reflected for a time.

"What was the silliest thing you remember about him?" Duri finally asked, managing to smile again. "For me, it was when he added Fraggles to the RPG campaign. Sure, he called them Biochromatic Entities, and had loads of explanations for why their presence made sense… But I could tell he just really wanted an excuse for the occasional musical number. At least his singing voice was pretty ok."

"This is an easy one," Peng said. "He clearly hated puns, and you could see a little of his soul die whenever somebody cracked a dad joke. But then, out of nowhere, when he was using a stepladder, he said, 'I never knew my real ladder.' And man he practically threw up laughing."

"You made that up," Charlotte insisted. "There's no way he actually said that."

"Not true," Duri said. "He once rattled on for ten minutes about what makes most puns so terrible, and then he described the parameters for the rarest of animals: 'The Tolerable Pun.' Based on that little lecture of his, I can see him cranking that one out in front of a very small audience. I assume his delivery was spot-on?"

Peng shrugged.

"Oh come on," Duri prodded. "He's a great GM, so he's got loads of practice. I can imagine exactly how he said it, and it was gold."

Peng almost smiled. "I guess."

"His laugh," Niko said, and it took the others a moment to realize he was answering the original question. "If something really cracked him up, his laugh went from explosive, to hacking, to squeaky." He sighed. "I loved when it got squeaky."

"Every single time he joined me in my gym," Anya said. "Sure, he managed to get a lot stronger after pushing so hard for a year, but he couldn't do a cartwheel to save his life. I lost count of how many times the medical staff ordered the mats replaced by thicker, softer ones to make sure he'd never injure himself."

Everyone looked to Fawzia, the only one who hadn't volunteered an answer. Sighing, she set her drink aside. "The silliest thing… was how he never stopped looking up to me. I finished teaching him everything I know years ago, and by then he'd grown into a more powerful Watcher than I ever was. But he still came to me for advice, and approval. I'm not sure he realized just how special he really was."

Peng raised his drink. "Even I can fully agree with you on that."

"It's really late," Charlotte said, "and we all need to crash, but how about one more?"

The others nodded, though Peng hesitated at first.

"Ok… How many of you believed him, the way I did? I mean really believed him. His vision of the future. That one day, Watchers would connect all of the colonies. That all the lightyears between us would no longer matter, because Watchers on every world would be able to see and hear messages from every other? After all, it's because of him that the others are heading toward distant colonies right now."

"I absolutely believed him," Fawzia said without hesitation. "I would have retired the day I lost my dear Ralph if not for Klaus. Migraines are the worst, and I've grown weak enough they'd allow it."

"His optimism was way too contagious," Duri said. "There wasn't a chance I could have resisted joining his cause."

"I think I believed in it," Anya said, "I just doubted my ability to be a meaningful part of it."

"I never stopped hoping Klaus would find a way to send data, rather than just observe," Niko said. "He was trying to get me to work on that recently."

"I'm obviously not much of an optimist," Peng admitted. "Or an altruist. I didn't really care whether or not we could make something like that happen. But I did care… that he cared."

Charlotte nodded. They again fell silent, introspective. The dearest person in all of their lives was gone, but they were still a team. United in having known him.

At last, Anya asked, "So… what do we do now?"

"Tonight," Fawzia said, "we sleep. All of us. For as long as we're allowed. We need to be in far better condition for what comes next."

"And that would be?" Peng asked, unable to hide his mild impatience.

Charlotte rose. "We find a way to fight back."

---

The vast majority of HQ personnel had gathered in the grand auditorium. Scientists, archivists, doctors, and support staff filled the seats, while Benicio's fellow security officers lined the edges of the room.

The proceedings were only being broadcast to a handful of governments and global agencies. The general public would not be informed of this loss until far more was understood.

On the stage, Chief Rakoto, Archivist Nelson, Scientist Baldwin, and Doctor Sharma lined up to the left of the main holo, while the six Watchers stood on the right. For the moment, none spoke. The holo showed a series of images and vids from Klaus-21's life. Relatively little attention was given to the first fifteen years, though it had been clear from an early age that he had a way of bringing people together. Rival cliques in his middle school made peace within a week of Klaus setting his mind to it. He started multiple clubs, as varied as chess, hiking, writing, and film studies. Without ever really being the center of attention, he had nevertheless shaped and altered any group he joined, and always for the better.

The presentation focused much more heavily on his time as a Watcher. Each of the other Watchers were then invited to speak, adding commentary and experiences to highlight the images.

Taken in immediately by Fawzia-11, Klaus advanced rapidly under her tutelage. While he was far from genius level intellect, and of only moderate talent as a Watcher, he'd followed her advice to the letter, and with total dedication.

He'd befriended Duri-22 within days of the scientist's Induction, and they'd soon been as close as brothers despite their eleven year difference in age.

Charlotte-17 had been so inspired by his hopeful outlook and belief in the cause that she'd driven herself to surpass any Watcher before her.

Peng-24 related how Klaus had been the first Watcher to come to him after his failed attempt to escape the facility, convincing him to accept his new life, rather than run from it.

Anya-28 admitted that Klaus alone had been able to give her real hope of eventually becoming a useful part of the team.

When it was Niko-29's turn to speak, he briefly froze up. He'd been through so much in the last forty-eight hours, and most of HQ knew it. The room remained patiently silent, letting the boy pull it together. A hologram of his face now hovered alongside the images of Klaus-21's life. Niko looked sad, of course, and somewhat lost. But that wasn't what really stood out.

The boy looked angry.

He clearly had a lot he wanted to say, but looking out over such a large crowd, he hesitated. It could easily be stage fright, for one so young to address so many.

Covering for him, Charlotte stepped forward for a second time.

"Even before Klaus joined the Organization, this team was unique by design. I'm not talking about the Watchers. I mean you. The thousands who support and defend my kind. Any other Organization seeking to draw the best of the best would be very different. It would appeal to ego, stoke personal ambition, and offer extreme payment and benefits. Soon, many in such an organization would be the narcissists of global society. Those who seek their own advancement, and want to prove their superiority over their colleagues. Competition, conflict, and clashing personalities would weaken such an organization, projects would be sabotaged, and careers might be undermined and sullied by betrayal and backbiting."

Niko's hologram hadn't been brought down, but Charlotte's now projected alongside him. She smiled warmly, and gave the crowd a small bow. "But you are quite different. Yes, you excel. You're at the top of your fields, and you all needed drive, commitment, and very hard work. But you aren't in competition. You don't undermine each other. Because you didn't come here for your own enrichment or glory. Rather, you were chosen because the Interstellar Fleet saw that you wanted to serve. You serve and support the Watchers, so we can serve all of civilization. And the member nations would never allow anything less than total reliability and unquestionable integrity. Those who have access to Watchers, and our powers, must be trustworthy in the eyes of all."

Niko had mostly collected himself, and he looked almost ready to speak. Charlotte nodded, and concluded her remarks. "Everyone here wants to serve, and your loyalty is beyond question. You push, and learn, and improve, not for your own selves, but for the entire team, and for what we stand for. Our creed demands loyalty to humanity, and commitment to a goal greater than ourselves. That was what drove you all, and when Klaus came to us, he inspired us to go even further. He will… be missed."

She stepped back, and gestured Niko forward. Emboldened by her words, he spoke. "Klaus was my teacher. And almost a second father. But more importantly, he was our heart. He was the man that turned our team into a family. And now he's gone."

The sadness and doubt faded, and Niko looked every bit as determined as Charlotte or even Captain Martins. "Something on Elpis took Klaus. It stole him from us. And it murdered him. Someone precious to the world, and precious to everyone here, is gone. We've been attacked by a Watcher unlike any we've ever known. And this enemy is killing people on Elpis every single day. Most of the Unwanted are children. And they're being slaughtered." Niko strode forward, to the edge of the stage, and he stood as tall as his young frame allowed. "A mass-murderer has taken one of our own. The best of us. Anyone here would have died for Klaus, but we never had a chance. Right now, we're mostly in the dark. There are powers and abilities at play we don't understand. We don't know much… yet. But we will learn. We'll Watch, and study, and grow. And we will stop the killings. If the enemy Watcher can drag someone across space in an instant, then we can learn to do the same. With all of your help, we Watchers will find a way to end the threat."

The room remained silent, in a mixture of respect and surprise. Niko was so mild, so gentle, so meek. But right now, he felt like a General rallying his troops for war.

And Captain Martins clearly approved. He clapped with power and strength few could manage, the sound echoing through the room, and the crowd swiftly joined him. In mere moments, the confusion, dread, and tragedy of a situation beyond their understanding had changed. In this room, two thousand of the greatest minds, and the most capable soldiers, in all of human civilization were gathered. They dealt with the impossible every day, examining the memories of individuals who could cast their minds across space, observing events with no regard to distance or the speed of light. An enemy had proven that more was possible. One way or another, the Watchers would be helped to match that power.

Chapter 7: Brainstorming

Peng-24 strained his senses, pushing out against his own mental limits until it hurt. So far, he'd never been able to Watch anything further than Veratsnund, about sixty lightyears from Earth. And that was with the benefit of the Southern Lights active. Even when the Aurora was invisible to the human eye, the Alfvén waves had the effect of enhancing the awareness of any Watcher projecting their mind through them. Without that, Peng could barely Watch as far as Keç, which was thirty-eight lightyears out.

But there was vengeance to be had.

Peng didn't really believe in higher causes. Bettering humanity meant little to him, as he'd never felt humanity deserved his help. But Klaus had been murdered, and the killer was out there. Beyond his current reach. A freakish little girl, able to walk through walls, pull people through the air, deliver killing blows with a mere pencil, and abduct Watchers… She needed to die. Peng didn't flatter himself. When the time for vengeance came, he probably wouldn't be the one holding the gun, no matter how much he wanted to be. But he was one of only six people on Earth whose awareness could ignore the lightspeed barrier. If he could double his natural range, or even just increase his aurora-enhanced range by a fifth, he'd be able to help Charlotte and Niko. They needed data. They needed to observe that monster, no matter how dangerous the prospect of doing so. They needed the scientists pouring over a mountain of footage, and collaborating with the brightest minds all over the Solar System.

If they could find a way to send Watchers physically to Elpis, then maybe Peng would get to fire a gun. He couldn't imagine that frail little thing surviving a gauss round to the back of the head. But he doubted he'd be allowed to take such a risk.

Or… what if they could bring that little monster here? It wasn't so farfetched. If she'd dragged 21 across space in the blink of an eye, maybe they could do the same to her.

An image of Klaus drifted to the forefront of Peng's mind. The only man Peng could trust without reservation. The only person who fully accepted him, that made him want to share his deepest thoughts and needs. And he was gone.

Peng gritted his teeth, even as he drove his mind ever harder, pushing out into the depths of space. Right now, he would love to see that evil little Lamia girl locked in a cage match with a fully-armed and armored Captain Martins…

---

Renya Baldwin, Head of the Science Division, poured over all available astronomical data regarding the space surrounding Elpis. When the colony fleet had been dispatched to that distant world, it was believed that safe proximity to a very small black hole might one day allow incredibly high-yield energy generation. Even fusion couldn't match such potential. True, the technology to utilize it didn't exist yet, but it paid to plan ahead.

However, by the time the colonists arrived, decades of observation had resulted in a highly unexpected discovery: the small celestial body in question was not a black hole… but a white hole. It periodically emitted bursts of light or even matter, proving that it could not be what they had originally thought. So small, even its relatively close proximity to earth hadn't been enough for such events to be noticed. At least, not until a colony fleet was in transit, and the astronomical interest in that area of space increased a thousandfold.

Despite two hundred forty years of theorizing, science still hadn't reached many definitive conclusions about such mysterious objects. Mathematically, they were in some ways the opposite of black holes, in that light, matter and energy can exit them, but nothing can enter them. It would be another twenty years before the news of this discovery could reach Elpis, and it was unlikely the Colony had made the discovery on their own.

Despite being so much closer, Elpis lacked the technology, or the societal drive for progress, needed to easily identify their mysterious neighbor. All of the Watcher footage suggested that the tech level on Elpis was no more advanced than when the colony fleet first launched. If anything, their technological infrastructure was regressing. The prevailing theory was societal decay and stagnation resulting from the unprecedented pressure of the Unwanted phenomenon. Adults on Elpis would have seen six or more "outdated" versions of themselves being left behind as they grew up. All of these Unwanted would, at best, be severely limited in their ability to interact with others, and would thus be largely unproductive. Far more likely though, these would have been disposed of. Seeing multiple copies of yourself abandoned or murdered would have to leave serious psychological scars. Anyone who then proceeded to dispose of their own Unwanted children would have their humanity corroded even further.

This theory was further supported by the catastrophically low birthrate on Elpis. Despite a population in the tens of millions, it appeared that children made up less than one percent of that total. Renya could easily imagine why. A society with such a high rate of short-sighted, narcissistic behavior would put little if any emphasis on the next generation. And if one hoped to get useful work out of a child, good luck securing their cooperation. By its nature, the Unwanted phenomenon couldn't be hidden from children. And if a preteen knew their parent would throw them away, or worse, after two or three years, that child would be highly unlikely to be hardworking and helpful. It might have taken a decade or two for this trend to become so pervasive, but if nothing changed, their society would eventually die out. If it doesn't destroy itself outright from a collapse of public order…

Perhaps more important from the perspective of technological development, it appeared that the vast majority of the adult population took great pains to avoid growth, learning, or improvement. Greatly increasing a skill, learning a new language, or progressing athletically could all risk the creation of a duplicate… and leaving the original as an Unwanted.

These people are, astronomically speaking, next door to a celestial body long believed to be merely theoretical. But they're in no position to study it, or perhaps even identify it.

Though no direct evidence yet existed, many assumed that the anomaly responsible for Unwanted creation must relate in some way to that white hole. Renya tried very hard to resist the temptation to be influenced by this assumption. The hypothesis depended entirely on the seeming unlikelihood of such a coincidence: only one colony experienced such disruptive temporal anomalies, and it also happened to be the only one anywhere near a white hole. Personally, Renya did feel that a connection seemed likely, but this was an emotional reaction that must not be considered conclusive. Association doesn't prove connection. More importantly, to blindly accept that coincidence must also imply causality… it disincentivises stringent observation and dutiful application of the scientific method. Even if there is a connection, we must establish it rigorously through observable fact.

The white hole, identified as NEA-α, may well be related to the Unwanted anomalies. But until they knew more, such associations would lead to superstitious thinking, unsubstantiated leaps in logic, and just generally bad science. If there was a connection, they needed to understand it before they could take meaningful action. Anything else might be no more than useless flailing.

Thus far, the Organization had accepted the need to Classify all information regarding the Unwanted phenomenon. The archivists and doctors agreed: The general public would not take well to such knowledge. Psychologically, the existential implications and uncertainties raised by the issue could cause widespread disruption. Especially without any understanding of the cause of this anomaly, identical copies of people simply manifesting, and leaving the original trapped in a stagnant state where they cannot learn or grow… Many would find the very notion horrifying, and the issue could easily grow to the point of panic.

Two days before Klaus-21's disappearance, the Organization had experienced something of a scare in this regard. A Head of State had failed to properly secure a memo, and some tabloids had rushed out articles raving about the "Doppelgangers of Elpis." Fortunately, it was seen as so outlandish and impossible that only the most deranged conspiracy theorists were taking it seriously. According to the analysis of Tácito's archivists, the ideas presented in those articles had even fewer proponents than the Flat Galaxy Theory.

A message marked as urgent appeared in the corner of her holofield. It wasn't related to the Elpis situation, or the death of Klaus, so she initially ignored it. But when a reminder notification popped up five minutes later, she noticed it had also been sent to Head Doctor Sharma.

I'm beating my head against a wall anyway. A brief break from the temporal anomalies might actually help.

She opened the message. It was from Nurse Wilma Taibei, who'd been put in charge of the autopsy of Samantha Gross. Renya felt a stab of guilt. With everything related to the deaths on Elpis, she'd completely forgotten the other death HQ had suffered recently. She vaguely remembered that the initial analysis suggested a drug overdose. This isn't going to be a fun read…

Before she even opened the first of the attached files, she and Wilma both received a reply from Doctor Sharma. They were to meet in ten minutes, and she was requesting that Duri-22 join them.

---

Heart racing, Charlotte-17 prepared to take a very stupid risk. Though she wasn't aware of her physical body, she knew that two devoted soldiers were handcuffed to her back at HQ. Shallow gashes on her forearms allowed blood to blood contact with wounds of their own, and they had plugged into her neural interface chair. She was vaguely aware of some instability in her thought processes, but not enough to disrupt her Trance. Of course, those soldiers were not aware of what she was actually observing. Their nervous systems might be loosely tied to hers, but their minds could not join hers at the far end of human civilization. If something physically transported her to Elpis, everyone hoped those soldiers would go with her. But for now, as usual, she was effectively alone.

She hovered over the disgusting stream, the site of Klaus-21's violent death. It had rained, and a large part of the blood had washed away. But the concrete was still stained in many places, and most of his shredded remains still littered the area. For whatever reason, the Lamia girl preferred this place when she executed the Unwanted. The Elpis population was numbered in the millions, and it seemed that most children produced a duplicate every two or three years. Charlotte might need to wait hours, but probably not days. She feared what this might do to her, intending to observe Lamia's murders with no way to intervene. It was far too soon for them to even consider how they might help the Unwanted. For now, nothing could be done for them except to Watch their demise and learn all they could.

But what would she do if Lamia brought an infant here?

Refusing to let herself dwell on that, she focused on her goal. As the most powerful of the Watchers, she had, on several occasions, managed to detect the faintest hints of sensation other than sight or sound. The scientists and archivists insisted she must be imagining it, since nothing in her brain scans had ever shown hints of smell, taste, or touch. But she knew. When she projected her mind through a person, specifically through their brain, it affected her thoughts. The scientists couldn't confirm this, since it didn't really stand out. But she'd sometimes get distracted, her thoughts wandering. And on the one occasion that she'd gone a little wild and projected her mind through Duri's brain, she could have sworn he twitched.

If she was wrong, then the only danger would be Lamia seeing her. She already intended to end her Watch immediately after performing this little test. But if she was right…

The concrete near the deflated bouncy house began to shimmer and distort. Charlotte moved her perspective near it, her anticipation rapidly building.

Lamia rose out of the ground, and a moment later, a young woman shot out of the ground as well. Perhaps twenty years old, she hit the concrete in a controlled roll, rising back to her feet in a single fluid motion. Anya would have approved. Without hesitation, she launched herself at Lamia, pulling back one fist in preparation for a punch.

The little girl didn't move, but the Unwanted woman came to an abrupt stop in midair. Her fist especially seemed locked in place, for the rest of her body shook and thrashed, but her hand didn't budge. Shrieking, she spit into Lamia's face.

And scored a direct hit.

Charlotte's jaw would have dropped had she been there in person. So whatever this Lamia girl was, her unnatural abilities weren't infallible.

Emboldened, the Unwanted girl tried spitting again. This time though, it was as if an invisible wall hung in the air between the two figures.

Finally, the young woman's face showed fear.

Angered to see someone so brave turned so helpless, Charlotte made her move. Her perspective had been off to the side, and now she shot right through Lamia's head.

The results were not what she expected.

At most, she hoped to get a vague impression. A sense that her mind had changed subjects without her choosing to. And maybe the evil little Watcher might be briefly distracted from her prey.

Instead, Charlotte felt a spike of terror, misery, hatred…

…and a timeless, eternal, hunger.

Against her better judgment, Charlotte did not cancel her Watch. She stopped, spun her perspective around…

And froze.

Lamia had dropped to her knees. With her frail arms wrapped around herself, she shivered, crying.

And the invisible grip on the Unwanted girl slipped.

For a moment, Charlotte feared the young woman would waste this chance, moving to attack Lamia again. Despite this strange shift in the little girl's attitude, Charlotte had no doubt how such a fight would go.

Mercifully, the young woman's broken confidence led to a much more reasonable choice.

She ran.

Blitzing away with the speed of a trained athlete, the Unwanted woman dashed toward the alien forests.

Lamia let her go.

Confusion and triumph rose up within Charlotte, and she contemplated taking another pass, but then…

The girl started to change.

Lamia's pale skin rippled, shifting, and it took on a slick sheen. Revulsion soon gave way to horror in Charlotte's heart when barbed, fanglike protrusions started to emerge all over the girl's body. Lamia rose to her feet, and her limbs began to thicken and expand…

Then she turned toward Charlotte.

Those brilliant blue eyes had now shifted to a sickly pale yellow, and when they locked onto Charlotte, the Watcher felt something dreadful grasping for her.

Charlotte's first attempt to end her Watch failed. Something tugged at her mind, and for a moment, she felt her own body, as if huge hands were wrapping around her.

With the absolute focus that had made her the strongest Watcher in history, Charlotte poured her thoughts back into her own body. The foreign force snatching at her slipped away… and her Watch ended.

Charlotte pulled off her SenDep helmet, and pushed away from her console. Her heart pounded, and she was drenched with sweat. She curled up in her chair and let the fear pass through her.

The two soldiers had drawn their sidearms, and they looked ready for a fight.

"Stand down," Charlotte whispered. "Crisis averted. You won't be required to fight a monster on another planet… At least not today."

Still on high alert, they didn't holster their weapons just yet.

"Thanks for your willingness though," Charlotte said, still collecting herself. "Oh… by any chance: Did you feel anything strange just before I ended my Watch?"

"No ma'am," Second Lieutenant Blanchet answered. "Other than your whole body starting to quiver." Grudgingly, she holstered her sidearm, though she was clearly still on edge.

"No tugging sensation?" Charlotte pressed. "No sense of being held, or even watched?"

Young Private Anderson shook his head. "Nothing."

Good, Charlotte thought. She had a plan for gathering more intel and taking greater action than any of the others could likely manage. It would represent great personal risk. If she succeeded in putting this plan in action, she'd rather not involve two brave soldiers. Her mission could very easily turn into a one-way trip. If so, she'd prefer to spend one life than three.

---

Doctor Sharma paused as she passed by the Infirmary. No fewer than twenty security personnel were receiving treatment. Ever since Niko-29's call to arms, all of their soldiers had stepped up their training to levels that bordered on fanaticism. Overexertion, training injuries, even two minor accidents at the shooting range all showed how dedicated Rakoto's troops were to facing the new threat. Hasina had earned her position for more than just strategic insight and tactical brilliance. She could inspire soldiers to the same degree that Klaus-21 had been able to inspire Watchers. And when Captain Martins joined the team, he'd inspired the men still further.

But for the moment, Supriya's doctors could handle it. She had a different priority.

She entered the small meeting room, to find Nurse Taibei and Renya Baldwin already present. The nurse looked eager, proud, and even a little smug. Supriya chose to be encouraged by this. If the autopsy of Samantha Gross had merely proven the woman had been cooking up her own drugs and accidentally killed herself, Wilma Taibei surely wouldn't look so happy. "You have my attention, Nurse Taibei. What do you have for me?"

"I feel it would be best to include a Watcher in this conversation. Duri-22 is on his way."

Supriya frowned. She wasn't any kind of tyrant in how she led her medical personnel, but she still rarely received anything other than prompt compliance. You didn't get to be Chief Medical Officer of Watcher HQ without first earning the respect of the global medical community, especially when you were only a meter tall. But she pondered before responding. Nurse Taibei had handled an autopsy alone while the rest of HQ focused on the more urgent issue, and clearly she'd learned something important. Supriya wouldn't rain on her parade over an issue that would, essentially, be quite petty. Instead, she nodded, and took a seat, which automatically rose thirty centimeters for her benefit. If a subordinate had performed a solo task admirably, some active constructive responding was in order. "Was your task a hardship, with no doctors available to assist?"

"I work quite well alone," Wilma answered. She couldn't hide her anticipation for what would come soon.

It's as hard for her to wait as it is for me. Smiling, Supriya said, "I'll admit I'd budgeted at least one more day for you. It's impressive to have you ready for a full report so soon.

The younger woman's smile easily matched Supriya's own. "I take my duties seriously. Being assigned to this facility was a dream come true."

The door opened. "Thank you for your patience," Duri-22 said, quickly taking a seat. "It's been a while since I've been consulted on an issue not directly related to Watching."

Renya Baldwin gestured to Wilma. "Nurse Taibei is eager to share her findings, and she was insistent that your presence would be valued."

"You may proceed," Supriya said.

Wilma stood and activated a holo. "Samantha Gross was mixing up a drug off the books, and she took considerable effort to keep her work hidden… but not because anything about her work was illegal…"

She expanded the holo field. Charts of data, including complex chemical equations and Watcher brain scans, spread across the space between them. "Rather, she was only secretive… because she wanted to be the first to try the compound out."

"Are you saying the drug's legal, because it's a new creation, and thus new laws would need to be drafted to make it illegal?" Supriya didn't actually think this was the case. She just wanted her subordinate to have a chance to savor this moment.

"Oh… I doubt this drug will be made illegal at all." Wilma subvocalized several commands, and new data appeared. "This medication, if deemed safe, will surely be declared one of the greatest inventions in human history… though I fear it won't do exactly what Miss Gross hoped."

"It's clearly related to Watchers," Duri said, making Supriya wince. She wished he hadn't taken some of the wind from Wilma's sails.

Thankfully, Miss Taibei was capable of keeping the drama intact. "It is. Though it's original purpose was particularly audacious…"

A new set of data appeared, which Duri probably couldn't follow, and which even Supriya struggled to interpret. But Renya Baldwin gasped. "Is this… was she…?"

Wilma positively beamed. "Yes. She called this drug 'myalogenesis.' Though she didn't achieve what she wished for…she intended… to create Watchers."

Supriya's jaw dropped. Glancing at Duri, she saw he'd reacted the same way.

After taking a moment to allow the lofty ambition of that goal to sink in, Wilma continued. "Sadly, not just for the world, but also for Miss Gross herself, the medication proved to be lethal. Her research on Watcher brain function was remarkably advanced for someone in Chemical Processing, and I still don't know how she accessed so much classified data… but she missed some vital details. While this drug is meant to stimulate all the right areas of the brain and nervous system, the changes are deadly during normal brain function. Samantha Gross believed she'd succeeded, but when she tested her new drug on herself… well…"

For a moment, Wilma's elation and pride wavered. Clearly, the weight of this small-scale tragedy had just sunk in. A woman had poured herself into an endeavor that, if successful, could have done more for humanity than any other single breakthrough. Instead, she had paid with her life. But then Nurse Taibei collected herself. "Miss Gross may have failed in her ultimate goal, but her efforts will still be of great use."

The holo projection shifted to the most complex data so far. "When a Watcher enters their Trance, multiple regions of their brain experience dramatic changes in their electrochemical activity. I think that Samantha Gross designed her drug with this in mind… but didn't consider what it would mean to a brain during normal activity."

"So…" Supriya said, trying to wrap her brain around all the data and equations, "you think she died because this drug is toxic to any brain experiencing typical function… but it would not be toxic to a Watcher's brain during their Trance?"

Wilma smiled eagerly. "I've run multiple simulations. During active Watching, this drug doesn't impair brain function… it enhances it."

Renya jumped to her feet. "That's what this final column means?" She took control of the hologram, zooming in on key equations. "So… while trying to become a Watcher, she created a medication for strengthening Watchers…"

Wilma nodded. "As this was her fourth major iteration of the drug, I've been calling it 'Myalodynami Delta, or MD-Δ for short.'"

"This makes her death an even greater tragedy," Supriya said. "Though her motives were partially self-centered, she's nevertheless gifted humanity with an incredibly valuable tool. How soon will it be ready for live testing?"

Duri cut in. "I assume it's ready now. That's part of why I was invited to this little meeting, right? You wanted a Watcher with a background in science."

"Correct," Wilma said, positively beaming. "All a Watcher needs in order to be safe is to maintain their Watch until the dose wears off. And even if the drug is still in your system when your Watch ends, perhaps prematurely–"

"Like if Lamia's trying to abduct a Watcher and they have to end their Watch just to survive?" Duri interrupted.

Wilma paused. "Wait, what? Who's Lamia?"

"We'll get you up to speed later," Supriya said. "Suffice it to say that Watchers won't always be able to safely maintain their Watch for a planned period of time. So what happens then?"

"Ah, in my simulations, as a Watcher Trance ends, the chemical is rapidly metabolized as the brain's function returns to normal. Ending a Watch early should merely produce some unpleasant minor side effects, such as nausea or dizziness. It shouldn't be dangerous unless a Watcher takes a very high dose and then immediately exits their Trance."

"That shouldn't ever be an issue," Supriya said. "If this medication proves to be everything you hope, we'll develop implants to maintain a stable level in the Watcher's system, so they never risk a high dose."

Renya spoke up. "I hate to dampen everyone's enthusiasm, but we can't risk human testing quite yet. Especially with the first test subject dead, we'll need approval of Chief Rakoto, Fawzia-11, and multiple international agencies."

"We need to expedite this," Duri insisted. "Push for such approval, and fast. Every day, lives are being lost on Elpis. If this drug can let more Watchers gather data directly, we need that advantage soon."

"Understood," Supriya said. "I'll contact Hasina."

Renya strode toward the door. "I'll inform the Global Scientific Collaboration Foundation."

Duri rose. "I'll assemble the other Watchers."

Before leaving, Supriya turned to address her subordinate. "Thank you, Nurse Taibei. For your diligence and work ethic. Right now, time's of the essence, and the amount you were able to discover so quickly… it's nothing short of brilliant. Expect a promotion, a raise, and a very impressive bonus in the near future. But I suspect that you'll be even more eager to know that you'll henceforth have full involvement in the current crisis. I will brief you soon."

Chapter 8: Testing

Anya-28 resented her lack of talent more and more every day. She wanted so much to be directly useful in the Elpis investigations, but she wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to see that far. All she could do was take on a greater share of the standard Watcher requests that came in every day, freeing up Charlotte and Niko to focus exclusively on what mattered most.

Right now, she basically functioned as a space probe. A vast mining fleet was making ready to head out to what remained of the Kuiper Belt. The mission planners wanted a few more close images of the biggest rocks.

Admittedly, zipping her mind through space and buzzing tiny asteroids did have a certain thrill. How many kids over the last few centuries had wanted to be astronauts when they grew up, but couldn't realistically achieve the high levels of physical, mental, and technical expertise the job required? Anya needed none of that training. Without a ship, space suit, or months of transit time, she could visit other celestial bodies with zero risk. Well, zero risk of harm. If she brought her perspective too close to a star, it got so bright that sensory overload grew too painful to maintain her Trance. But that didn't actually expose her to any heat or radiation.

The three most important asteroids deserved special attention. She shot her perspective right through each of these, as if rapidly tunneling in one side and out the other. Her conscious mind interpreted this as moments of total darkness, because a Watcher couldn't see through opaque objects. But the footage would be able to get around this in a specific, useful way. The exact center point of her perspective would show the tiniest area of perceived matter. The scientists looking over the footage would be able to tell whether it was ice, rock, or useful metals. In a way, Anya's mind could be viewed as taking a tiny core sample through each asteroid, helping the mining fleet set better priorities.

She finished her scouting with a little time to spare, so she now sent her mind to Venus. She'd once listened in as Klaus and Duri rambled on about how Venus was the second deadliest place in the Solar System, with only the Sun being more capable of instantly wrecking a visitor's day. Duri enjoyed using the term "perpetual global hurricane of boiling acid," which admittedly sounded pretty sick. And yet Anya could set her mind high in the atmosphere, watching the hellish nightmare unfold around her with no danger to herself. The roaring winds, the churning storm, the sense that the planet hated you, wanted to kill you… but couldn't. Anya was immune. She thought back to that ancient Ray Bradbury story she'd read in seventh grade. It might have been more interesting if Venus were indeed a vast, hyper-verdant jungle with murderous lightning storms that seemed almost alive… but there was still a raw, primal grandeur to this place.

She deeply missed her gymnastics career, and she hated being the least talented member of the team. But every so often, it was nice to revel in the awe and wonder of what nobody but Watchers could experience.

---

Duri-22 did his rounds. It should have been Klaus-21's turn, but Duri had volunteered to check the Watcher Boards for the second day in a row. Every day, Earth's extrasolar colonies posted questions and supply requests for earth. With the closest colonized star system four lightyears away, halving the total time to receive answers or request special equipment was no minor accomplishment.

Most of the others found this job a bit tedious. It wasn't even necessary to read the requests. A split second in the presence of a Board was plenty: the archivists would examine the footage later and start forwarding it to the proper departments or agencies. This vital task could easily devolve into a dull checklist, moving from one set of coordinates to the next, with no need for personal curiosity or investigation.

But Duri's curiosity never switched off.

He always took longer than anyone else when doing his rounds, as it fascinated him to see what mattered most to each colony. A gifted speed reader, Duri could get the gist of things with only a few moments at each board. Right now, with the urgency of events on Elpis, Duri couldn't afford to waste time, but his mind still pondered what he saw at each destination. Only Elpis was too far from Earth to know about Watchers, so the total number of boards to check was quite high. But Duri's mind buzzed happily with the wealth of rich cultural, scientific, and economic implications of what he read.

For a little while, Duri was distracted from the deep pain of losing his closest friend.

Then he found something new. The Watcher Board at Jazhiit had a teenage boy seated in front of it. The kid managed to look both anxious and bored. He held a sign that read, "I might be a Watcher."

Duri had just enough time to experience a spike of excitement… before knowing it was a false hope. The boy didn't react to his presence in any way. He'd surely been posted here in hopes of him sensing someone Watching, but there was zero sign of it.

Poor kid. Such high hopes of being the most useful person on an entire planet, unlocking instant communication for the first time… but he won't even get a definitive answer. He'll have to sit here all day, hoping to sense something unusual. It'll be hours before he accepts that it's never happening.

Moving on to the remaining colonies, Duri forced the disappointment from his mind by thinking about the task at hand. Yorkshire's request for five more modern fabricators suggested an upcoming boom in infrastructure expansion. Keç posted a vast and complex series of chemical equations, so they probably hoped to get design specifications to solve a local biological or agricultural conundrum. Dylon happily reported the arrival of the equipment and experts they had requested eleven years earlier.

After checking the last world on the list. Duri hesitated. He considered going back to double-check Jazhiit, just in case that boy hadn't been paying attention. Deep down though, he knew there was no point. The sensation of being Watched was unmistakable and couldn't be ignored.

He felt the buzz of a comm request, and he reluctantly ended his Trance and withdrew from his Rig. "22 here."

"This is 11. Meet me in conference room 70. We have a decision to make."

---

"It should be me," Charlotte said, with no hint of doubt. "I'm the strongest Watcher, so I'll get the greatest results. As soon as the last of the red tape gets cut away, I'll test Miss Gross' medication."

"Not a chance," Duri said flatly. "You're too valuable. Only you can Watch Elpis any time you want. We will not risk losing you."

"I'm the best choice," Anya insisted. "By far. I'm the most likely to survive if the drug's toxic, and I'm the closest thing to expendable any Watcher can be."

"I will not accept that!" Fawzia snapped. "You're young. You have decades of Watching ahead of you. But my power is diminishing every day. If anyone here is expendable, it's me."

"Your knowledge is unmatched," Anya countered. "And there's still the first half of my argument. You're seventy. You're the least likely to survive if MD-Δ turns out to be dangerous. I however, am in my prime, and a far healthier specimen than any of you quite frankly. I'm far more likely to survive."

"What about me?" Niko said, though the argument had him visibly stressed out. "My nervous system's tougher than–"

"You're the least expendable Watcher of all!" Charlotte said, cutting him off. "It's only a matter of time before you surpass me! It's possible you already have, with that stunt where you pierced the faraday shielding with nothing but pain and grit. And anyway, there's not a chance we're testing this on a child. Sorry, little man. We all respect you, but this is one of those times when we won't ignore your age."

"Ugh!" Peng groaned. "This is getting tedious. Fawzia, Anya, and Charlotte all have a decent case for being chosen, so let's just vote! We're in a hurry, remember?" Anya and Duri nodded eagerly, while Charlotte grumbled, Fawzia scowled, and Niko looked sad. But they soon agreed.

Each of the candidates voted for themselves. Peng voted for Fawzia. But both Niko and Duri voted for Anya.

"Good," she said. "I'm the only one that makes sense."

"Duri and I will be on hand when the test is performed," Fawzia said, failing to hide her distress at the second youngest of them being chosen. "Charlotte and Niko, keep cautiously Watching Elpis. The Aurora should be starting up very soon. Peng, I'm impressed at your recent results, adding a lightyear to your max range in such a short time. See what you can accomplish during the Southern Lights. Watchers: Dismissed."

---

Security Chief Hasina Rakoto stretched, popped her knuckles, and powered up her equipment. While most of HQ focused on supporting the Watchers in their investigations, and in exploring ways they could improve, Hasina still needed to stay at the top of her game. With Klaus dead, and his mysterious killer at large, there was no knowing when or in what capacity Hasina might be called on to act in their defense. Every single day since receiving the most important military post in human civilization, she tested her limits in at least one military simulation. Most of these involved defending Watcher HQ from various threats, typically with far more powerful attacking forces than could ever realistically assemble. Occasionally, she even simulated battles where insurgents managed to get infantry inside the facility, despite such a scenario being all but impossible.

Today though, she'd stretch her mind and test her expertise in an area that would never apply to her position. Admiral Horacio Tapadia of the Interstellar Fleet had challenged her to a battle in space.

"Rakoto here. Ready to begin."

"Good morning, Hasina. I've prepared something you'll approve of…"

The numerous screens and holos of Hasina's Command Center ran the simulation. Earth featured prominently in the center of the virtual battlefield, with the vast array of orbital space stations forming a loose cloud around the planet. Admiral Tapadia's forces glowed red on her displays. Seventeen frigates, more than even existed, and swarms of drones and support craft. Hasina had just five frigates, though the ratio of smaller craft wasn't quite so one-sided.

"You know me well, Horacio," Hasina admitted. "In a real battle, I prefer to have every advantage possible. But in a simulation, there's no point unless I'm steeply outnumbered."

"This scenario will require the utmost care and precision," Tapadia warned. "Absolutely no collateral damage will be tolerated. If a single shot strikes an orbital station, civilian craft, or any part of Earth's surface other than Antarctica, random assets belonging to the offending player will immediately self-destruct. If you do enough damage to something big enough, you might even forfeit an entire frigate."

"Are any planetside assets available?"

"Hah! You mean, can you draw on the extreme firepower of the Watcher defense grid? Not this time."

"But that also means you can't launch attacks from the Moon or the I.F. stations in high orbit?"

There was a brief pause, then the Admiral spoke with far less excitement in his voice. "You take the fun out of everything. Alright fine. I was going to surprise you, but no point now. I'll only use the assets clearly defined on your screen."

"Do I need to eliminate all of your forces, or just the frigates?"

"You must neutralize anything that can hit ground targets. So fighter drones and most support craft can be ignored, but my missile boats and kinetic bombers must all be accounted for. My target is Watcher HQ, which is why my forces are deployed in high orbit above the North Pole. This scenario would be a bit pointless if I started out with line of sight."

A ten second countdown began, and Hasina's mind raced. So he's attacking HQ, but I'm not allowed to use any of our ground-based defenses? That was less of a handicap than it initially felt like. Only the Interstellar Fleet was allowed to have any weapons in space, so the Watchers had never before faced danger from anywhere but Earth. Twice, rogue forces had tried to put military craft in space, but the I.F. descended with overwhelming firepower within seconds of the hostiles leaving the atmosphere. Thus, HQ's tremendous firepower was geared toward destroying aircraft and ground vehicles, but was far less useful against spacecraft. Still, it would have been nice to surprise the Admiral with a few hundred missiles from below…

The countdown reached zero, and Hasina's initial orders were obeyed. Her frigates immediately spread out, beginning to circle the planet. She simply couldn't afford to delay. Even with collateral damage to Earth disallowed, the planet would only provide protection at the beginning. Hasina might be able to shoot down missiles and fighters, but if even one of the Admiral's frigates got as far as the equator, she'd have no meaningful counters. Their massive orbital bombardment cannons were the largest gauss weapons ever made. They fired projectiles large enough to pass through the atmosphere with decent accuracy, and Hasina would have no options once those guns started firing.

As she feared, the Admiral also spread out his own frigates, circling the earth on seventeen different trajectories, forcing Hasina to split her attention. Typically, Hasina always strove to win with zero losses, despite how frequently such an outcome was clearly impossible. In this scenario, simply winning might be impossible. Under the most extreme circumstances, she knew her goals might need to shift. And this scenario certainly counted. With even one enemy frigate possessing the power to annihilate Watcher HQ, it would take everything Hasina had to prevent that.

Her SDL drones swarmed out ahead of her frigates, their laser domes ready to shoot down incoming missiles, while her fighter drones hung back, waiting for Tapadia's drones to come in range. This scenario had started with all vessels stationary relative to earth, so both sides' frigates would be far slower than in a real battle. Unmanned drones could safely accelerate many times faster than manned craft, and Hasina had no choice but to push them forward. With her drones so badly outnumbered, she'd have preferred to keep her forces together, so the fast-tracking chainguns of her frigates could support the fighters. But delaying would guarantee defeat.

Only once in human history had an I.F. frigate fired on a real target in space, when a mutiny threatened to seize control of a warship near Mars. And they'd only needed one gun. A single direct hit from the massive, hypervelocity round had been enough to rip the target in half. Thus, frigates carried few projectiles per gun. Nevertheless, Hasina expended some of these precious shots early. Each of her warships fired several of their heaviest weapons, with angles and muzzle velocities calculated to utilize earth's gravity. The Admiral's frigates had to deviate course to avoid the shots, buying Hasina precious time. The instant they settled into their new courses, Hasina fired another volley, and then another when they changed course yet again. She knew these shots couldn't actually hit, but so many course corrections would delay the time till Tapadia's frigates reached firing range.

Horatio's warships returned fire, employing a similar pattern of staggered shots intending to force evasive maneuvers. Hasina played along with this dance until her frigates' main guns each had only two shots left. Then all of her smaller craft altered course. They aimed to converge on three points along the Admiral's formation, which had passed the arctic circle under constant acceleration. Having settled into the game of firing and evading long-range cannon shots, Tapadia was a bit slow to react to the sudden change. His fighter drones began moving to intercept piecemeal. Despite their greater total numbers, it looked like Hasina's drones would briefly have the advantage in two of the projected battle zones. The Admiral started launching missiles en masse, and Hasina did the same, though prioritizing different targets.

With far less experience in space combat than her opponent, and a much smaller fleet, she accepted that victory would cost her entire force, if it was possible at all. She would always view such an approach as a last resort, but in the most lopsided simulations, she'd been forced to take such measures many times before.

Gambling on a specific outcome, without which nothing else would matter anyway, she ran calculations and had her frigates fire most of their remaining ammo. Each ship now had only four shots left.

Fighter drones began firing, spraying hypervelocity chaingun rounds that would experience no drag and considerably less bullet drop than shots fired at ground level. Missiles detonated, drones tore apart, and massive projectiles shot through space, silent. In the midst of the chaos, Hasina's kinetic bombers broke away, spreading out to move on all of the Admiral's frigates. Hasina's fighters prioritized Horatio's SDL drones. This guaranteed she'd lose the dogfight, but it allowed more of her missiles to slip through the heaviest engagement zones. Like her bombers, those missiles were on course for Horatio's frigates. Her fighters began to fall as more and more of the Admiral's drones arrived, but they'd served their purpose. Her missile boats fired off the rest of their ordnance as rapidly as possible, while her SDL drones broke with convention and zipped through the dogfights, leaving their allies behind. Were this a real battle, it would take months for cleanup crews to remove all the debris and shrapnel from orbit, and the real destruction hadn't even started yet.

Firing their point defense lasers to disrupt enemy sensors, Hasina's SDL drones began ramming the Admiral's kinetic bombers. Long range missiles from both sides cleared the dogfighting and continued on course for frigates. Hasina made her final calculations, and her frigates fired the last of their ammo to add to the chaos. Seconds later, swarms of enemy missiles overwhelmed the point defense chainguns of her frigates, and one ship after another broke apart. She couldn't stop herself from feeling regret over that. In a real battle, every frigate would represent four hundred lives.

With her capital ships lost, and her support drones getting picked off by the Admiral's fighter drones, Hasina was losing her ability to track the battle in detail or issue swift orders. But at this point, she didn't need to. Either her plans and previously issued orders would be enough, or they wouldn't. She'd done all she could.

Missiles began reaching Tapadia's frigates, which faced fewer warheads per ship than Hasina's fleet had. Chainguns opened fire, chewing through Hasina's missiles, but she hadn't really expected many to get through. Two of the Admiral's ships blew apart, but what really mattered was her bombers. While the frigates focused on shooting down missiles, Hasina's bombers lined up their shots and released their ultradense payloads. Primarily intended for striking planetside targets, the Admiral had dismissed the value of Hasina's bombers in this scenario. Used against targets in space, the kinetic projectiles would pack far less punch than missiles.

Hasina counted on that.

Multi-ton projectiles struck the frigates even as the huge ships dived to avoid the last of the shots fired from Hasina's warships. Rather than blast huge chunks from their targets, they smashed deep into the frigates, aimed for their primary fusion reactors. Eight of these struck home. Missiles might have triggered catastrophic failure and destroyed the warships entirely, but Hasina didn't actually want that. The damaged frigates had time to shut down their reactors, saving the ships from outright destruction, but the heavy impacts and venting atmosphere caused them to lose altitude. Without power, those frigates could no longer fire their gauss chainguns, allowing Hasina's bombers to maneuver close, match the velocity of the powerless frigates, and make contact. The bombers then fired their engines at full power, acting as thrusters to shift the trajectory of the frigates even more. Realizing the danger, the Admiral recalled his fighter drones, which had already destroyed Hasina's other assets. Despite taking careful aim, destroying Hasina's bombers still worsened the damage to the unpowered frigates and caused atmosphere to vent more rapidly.

That's that. The last of my forces are destroyed, and all I can do is watch. Everything depends on how exactly this scenario's special condition is enforced…

The Admiral's seven surviving frigates passed the Tropic of Cancer, still accelerating, with nothing to challenge them. Hasina's unconventional tactics had taken out his bombers and missile boats, but his largest ships could easily score him a victory once they reached the Equator. Tense minutes dragged on, with Hasina's simulator showing only low-res imagery now that her forces had been eradicated. But she knew the Admiral wouldn't feel any tension at all. As far as he was concerned, he couldn't lose…

Reaching the equator, Horatio's frigates began firing their massive guns…

Then the first powerless frigate crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

Instantly, one of Tapadia's orbiting warships self-destructed before it could fire a second shot.

"YES!" Hasina roared, surging with hope. She could imagine Horatio's confusion turning to chagrin as he realized what was happening.

Two more burning frigates crashed into the planet, one in the Indian Ocean and one off the coast of Taiwan. As they did so, fully functional frigates in orbit blew apart.

As I hoped, the scenario's rule against collateral damage includes crashing into the planet. Such massive hits to Earth are enough to trigger the self-destruct of ships of equivalent value. The simulator is punishing the Admiral as if he deliberately rammed the planet. If we ever do this again, I'm certain he'll tweak the parameters of the scenario to prevent this from working, but that's irrelevant. He'd never have let it happen again anyway.

The remaining unpowered frigates crashed to earth, triggering the self-destruct of Horatio's remaining warships. The last impact was perilously close to Hasina's birthplace of Madagascar, which would have felt particularly ironic.

Now, it was all up to chance. Sixteen massive projectiles had been fired before the exploit eliminated the remaining frigates, and they all streamed toward the South Pole. They were moving far more slowly than they could have, to allow gravity to curve their trajectory enough to reach their targets. Even so, just one direct hit had the potential to be game over.

Unlike before, as the minutes dragged on Hasina knew Horatio would feel the tension as well. With direct line of sight, his ships couldn't have missed such a large stationary target, but these shots had been fired from the equator, and even the best calculations couldn't guarantee their accuracy when cutting through the atmosphere. Hasina's heart pounded as the icons converged on her home.

Her boards lit up as projectiles smashed into Antarctica, blasting vast craters into the ice. Coming at a shallow angle, one shot clipped the roof of HQ, and the simulator displayed the top ten levels shattering. One shot struck the ground just a few hundred meters from the facility, triggering a corner of the massive building to collapse and tear away from the structure.

But the rest of the building stood.

Horatio's voice came over the comm. "I do believe this counts as a draw."

"What do you mean?" Hasina double-checked the conditions of the scenario. "HQ wasn't destroyed."

"No… but check the casualty report."

Hasina's heart sank when she did so. The simulator estimated that five hundred personnel would have died from the damage inflicted on the base… including Duri-22 and Niko-29.

"I failed to destroy your base completely, but I did kill two Watchers. I'd call that a draw."

Adrenalin fading, Hasina ended the simulation. "It was fun, Horatio. Let's do it again sometime."

"You don't sound happy."

"I really did lose a Watcher recently. Losing two more, even in simulation, hurts worse than expected."

"Sorry, Hasina. I didn't mean to be insensitive."

She chuckled. "I'll get over it. I might immerse myself in these simulations, but I don't lose touch with reality. Now excuse me, but this little exercise took far too long, and I need to get back to work. My team is about to make history, and I'd like to be tied in."

---

Straining past the point of pain, Peng-24 drove his mind through the Aurora Australis and surpassed his previous limit. No surprise there. If his standard range had increased, this new record was effectively guaranteed. But the improvement wasn't nearly as much as he'd hoped for. His interface informed him that his perspective was centered just over sixty-four lightyears from earth. Still not enough… But once they confirm the new drug's safe, who knows what I'll be able to do? Even if he wasn't directly involved when the time came to put Lamia down, he swore to himself that he'd at least Watch it happen.

This training was both painful and boring. Instead of Watching a planet or space station, to push his limits meant seeing only empty space. Sure, the constellations looked different from out here, but he'd never been into astronomy. Before his Induction, he'd frequently been assigned to maintenance on the exterior of the Lunar domes. Staring at the stars had gotten old fast. He sorta missed them now… occasionally, if only due to his exclusively indoor lifestyle, but–

He felt the touch of another mind. He was being Watched.

For a moment, a spike of terror threatened to knock him out of his Trance. He was not ready for this yet! If that horrible Lamia girl had found him…

But no. He recognized the sensation. It was Anya Watching him. More specifically, she was Watching his physical body. Most Watchers had a hard time distinguishing such things, particularly since most were never Watched after their initial Induction. But Peng had a knack for it. Anya had been especially inept during her first year at HQ, and more than half the time, she'd had no control over where she projected her mind. They'd been forced to alert the whole base ten minutes in advance of her sessions, so everyone would have a chance to get out of the shower or ensure they didn't have confidential information visible anywhere. Peng was the only Watcher who hadn't stayed within his shielded apartment on those occasions, and he'd felt her accidental attention more than once. He might not trust her, but she was certainly the best looking of the Watchers, in every category. He quite admired it when a woman cultivated the physical strength to break someone like him into little bits… so long as she didn't actually do it. Sure, he was quite a bit older than her, but not enough for it to still be creepy in, say… ten years. He could be patient. So he always avoided antagonizing her, and he tried to feign nonchalance in her presence… most of the time. Perhaps she'd warm to him someday. And even if not, it paid to be on the good side of someone with the aforementioned ability to splat him if angered.

This sensation of her Watching him though… it didn't feel exactly the same as the last time. He knew the mind observing him was Anya's, but she felt… powerful. Impressively so. I knew it! The drug works. While Watching the interior of HQ, she's not getting enhanced by the Aurora. This power can only come from this "Myalodynami Delta." I just hope using the drug isn't uncomfortable. If it works well enough, they'll probably expect me to use it all the time, even if it's an awful experience. Sure, I'd be willing to suffer through quite a lot in the name of avenging Klaus, but once that's over, I hope they let me take it easy…

---

Surging with energy and excitement, Anya-28 redirected her focus. A brief exploration of HQ had helped her get her bearings, as this new level of power was disorienting. Now, she launched her mind toward the stars. This first test was mostly about safety, and to gauge the severity of any side effects. It thus wasn't particularly important that the results would be complicated by the Aurora. Duri-22 and Head Scientist Renya would have preferred a baseline be established without that additional enhancement, but Head Doctor Supriya, Head Archivist Tácito, and Anya won out. The need was too great, and too urgent, to delay.

Projecting her mind through the Alfvén waves was a rush as it never had been before. She briefly felt lost, with her awareness centered on a random patch of empty space, but then her interface informed her that she was Watching… over one hundred lightyears from earth?

In that moment, Anya knew this was a game changer. She, the least talented Watcher in history, had just edged out Charlotte's personal record. And her mind thrummed with power.

This was totally unlike any other time she'd spent in the rig. Typically, she couldn't Watch without the unsatisfying sensation that she'd always be the weakest link. Always an afterthought. Last pick.

But right now…

This felt like her time before Induction. When she had competed in front of the world, her brilliance, strength, and skill broadcast to every colony and station in the Solar System. She no longer felt weak…

And she no longer felt scared.

With a thought, she got the necessary coordinates from her neural interface. Hasina wouldn't approve. Right now, her Chamber was crammed with scientists and doctors, not security personnel. But she couldn't make herself wait. Not while Niko and Charlotte were taking risks of their own…

Her perspective leapt to the coordinates. She was now Watching the same place as Charlotte. Anya recognized the polluted, blood-stained site of Klaus-21's murder. Lamia always took her victims here, so this was the most useful–and dangerous–place to observe. Anya zoomed out slightly to get a wider angle…

What… what is that?

There was… something… right where she'd been. A faint, hazy blur. Anya moved her perspective to one side, confirming the phenomenon was localized on where the coordinates had initially directed her.

The location from which Charlotte was actively Watching…

The strange shimmer relocated rapidly, moving to the far side of the stream, then it elevated high into the air, then moved again. There was a fearful quality to the movements, like a hunted animal. This must be Charlotte's mind… I can see the spot where she's projecting her awareness… And since she can feel she's being Watched, she's afraid it must be Lamia… I'm the first Watcher ever to–

She caught herself. She might be the first trained, official Watcher to successfully "see" the projected mind of another, but they already knew this was possible. Lamia could see Watchers easily enough, and without even appearing to enter a Trance. Did Lamia only see a faint haze like this? Maybe not. Anya was naturally weak when Watching. When Niko or Charlotte got to try out this drug, perhaps they'd see more clearly than–

"Two of you?"

That shriek, in the voice of an outraged little girl, came with the sudden sensation of being Watched. With her newfound confidence and sense of power, Anya failed to do what she absolutely should have done. Instead of canceling her Watch, she spun her perspective toward the voice.

Lamia looked back and forth between Anya and the hazy distortion that represented Charlotte's awareness. A little boy was running for his life, temporarily ignored. Lamia settled on Anya, and reached out a hand toward her…

Charlotte's perspective darted forward, passing through Lamia like an ethereal projectile. The girl flinched, and screamed in anger, turning toward Charlotte. But then 17's mind vanished from Anya's sight.

Anya almost left too.

But she didn't. Not yet.

The little boy was slow. He needed more time.

As Lamia began to turn toward Anya, the little girl's body started to bloat and stretch. The sight almost broke Anya's resolve. But she still made her move.

Imitating Charlotte, she shot her perspective directly through Lamia's head, earning a shriek of frustration and irritation from the little monster.

Then Anya canceled her Watch.

Chapter 9: Theorizing

"What was that? Anya? Anya-28? Where did you go? What did you see?"

Watcher Chambers were not designed to accommodate a large number of observers. Fawzia's mild claustrophobia was being tested, crammed in here with Duri, four doctors, two scientists, and of course Anya herself. The powerfully-built young woman had tensed up near the end of her Watch, and she'd started sweating profusely. Now, Anya extracted herself from her rig and signed out. She looked shell-shocked, her movements automatic, her eyes unfocused. Then she rose to her feet, body tense, hands in fists.

Only then did she notice the cramped room.

"Oh… sorry everyone. I forgot you were here."

"What happened?" Fawzia asked again, more gently now that she accepted Anya was safe. "Do you think this is a negative reaction to the drug?"

Anya visibly calmed herself, then she sat back in her chair. "No… any reaction you saw wasn't a side effect of the medication." She closed her eyes, breathing slowly, while Supriya's team intensified their examination of the patient. Finally, Anya said, "I do feel a little queasy in a way that could be related to the drug. And I have a mild headache. But nothing major."

"So…?" Fawzia tried not to push too hard. Anya had shown tremendous courage being the first Watcher to test a medication that had killed its creator. She deserved some patience.

"So…" Anya echoed. "The good news: I Watched way further than ever before. Specifically… I watched Elpis."

"What?" Fawzia snapped. "Why? You know the danger! Charlotte and Niko are at least armed and have guards with–"

"As for Charlotte," Anya interrupted, making Fawzia grind her teeth in irritation, "I Watched her too."

Fawzia didn't immediately understand. "What does that matter? Your initial test Watching the interior of HQ is irrelevant compared to–"

"Not in HQ."

Fawzia clamped her mouth and eyes shut at this second interruption. Stay calm. She's done something she never thought possible. Give. Her. Some. Slack.

Then the meaning of Anya's words hit home. "Wait… do you mean…?"

"Yep," Anya said, managing a teeny tiny smirk. "I wasn't Watching Charlotte's body. I Watched her mind. On Elpis."

The room fell silent. This was certainly a major step forward. Fawzia thought back fifty-one years to her Induction. The organization had only existed for fourteen years, and the ten Watchers discovered before her had still been full of hope for possible leaps forward. They'd expected to gain the ability to Watch projected minds, and they'd hoped it might be possible to plant messages in a distant person's thoughts. Over the decades, such hopes had faded. Even Charlotte's unprecedented strength hadn't really resurrected those old goals.

But if Anya, whose talent barely merited mentioning, could do this… Even if Samantha Gross just wanted the personal fame and glory of becoming a Watcher, I won't begrudge it. She's given mankind a gift on par with Prometheus. It's a tragedy that she similarly paid a heavy price.

"So," Fawzia finally said. "Were you so shaken by this discovery? Is seeing the projected mind of a Watcher somehow unsettling?"

"It wasn't that. You see, Charlotte's as willing to take risks as I am. She's focusing her Watches on the place where Lamia murdered Klaus. And since I was Watching Charlotte…"

Fawzia again fought to stay calm. So Anya's recklessness could have gotten her abducted… "I take it Lamia arrived?"

"Yes. And I'm proud that I was there with Charlotte. Between the two of us, we might just have saved a little Unwanted boy."

"What? How?"

"I Watched as Charlotte's perspective shot through Lamia's head. The girl reacted, screaming and raging. When Charlotte disappeared, the boy was still dangerously close… so I did the same thing."

Renya cut in. "You're saying that Lamia reacts when a Watcher's perspective passes through her? Why? Even if she can see you–"

"I felt something when I did it," Anya interrupted. She'd loosened up, but now she curled up again, hugging her legs. "When I passed through Lamia's head, I felt extreme rage… and pain… and hunger… Those emotions were not mine."

Fawzia hit her left ear implant. "Charlotte-17, report to Anya-28's Chamber immediately." This room will be worse than a clown car, but we need to compare stories…

---

Gritting his teeth, Peng-24 Watched a collapsed mineshaft in Somalia, not too far from Fawzia-11's hometown. He wanted to focus on his training, but sometimes a Watcher's ordinary duties took precedence. An explosion had trapped more than a hundred miners underground, and the rescue teams needed to know where to focus their efforts. To Peng, a hundred random people couldn't compete with the hunt for Klaus-21's murderer, but for all his supposed value to humanity, he was not his own master. When a government demanded the assistance of a Watcher, Peng's supposed importance went out the window. He'd either obey, or do without many of his favorite luxuries for a while. With Charlotte and Niko Watching Elpis, and the other three involved in testing MD-Δ, the current duty fell upon Peng.

Watching somewhere on the same planet hardly pushed Peng's abilities. This was a waste of his time. He found a few dozen miners trapped in a blocked tunnel, and he briefly returned to his real body to transmit the coordinates to the rescuers. Then he projected his mind to a different area of the mine. Nothing… nothing… nothing… ah, there we go. Four more. One was injured, but he was also speaking. A few words in English, repeated over and over like a mantra: "I'm ok. Find the others." This was far from the first time Peng had encountered this. People in a desperate situation that hoped against hope that a Watcher might find them, repeating a simple message for that Watcher to hear. It always made Peng uneasy, as if these people were praying to him.

Peng canceled his Watch, sent the coordinates, and went back in.

He was resenting this more by the minute. He needed to train. To push himself. But this was too easy…

The next tunnel brought his thoughts crashing to a halt.

Though Somalia had seen dramatic improvement over the last century, they were still a relatively poor nation. Some of these miners were very young…

And one was clearly dead.

Peng paused, his perspective frozen.

The boy couldn't be older than fourteen… and rubble had crushed everything below his rib cage. The dried blood covering the boy's chin and neck… the agony etched into his face… This death had not been quick.

Peng couldn't keep resenting this as a waste of time. Not anymore.

Shame and anger surged, and he started darting his perspective about far more rapidly. This soon grew difficult, and in a rush, Peng's attitude totally changed. Range was just one element of Watching that could be trained. After all, his ability to recognize the touch of a Watcher's mind far exceeded that of the others. As Anya had once explained, running might be the most obvious way for an athlete to get faster, but it was hardly the only way. Strength training the legs, refining your technique, shedding excess weight, improving sleep and diet, measured hydration, mental visualization, and building one's pain tolerance. All of these combined could greatly improve one's speed, above and beyond what running could manage alone.

He could develop his skills in new ways…

Pushing hard, not for range but for speed, he flitted his perspective about, faster and faster. Whenever he found a survivor, he tried to react more quickly than the previous time, ending his Watch, sending the signal, and entering the Trance to continue the search. He started getting a headache, but he pushed through. Niko could use pain to enhance his powers. So Peng would try it.

Maybe anger could help too…

He briefly returned his mind to the sight of the dead boy, focusing on the shame and anger he'd felt, and deliberately stoking those emotions. Then, moving ever faster, deliberately intensifying his headache, he continued his search.

After thirty-four grueling minutes, the rescue teams reported that all miners were accounted for, and the driller drones were closing in.

Rather than cancel his Watch, Peng immediately did a little test.

Before his anger could be fully washed away by his success, he focused on the agony in his head and drove his mind out into deep space, as far as possible.

His maximum range had increased by three lightyears.

---

Security Chief Hasina Rakoto shrugged. "With this 'MD-Δ' in production, there's little point continuing to suppress the technology you propose. Until our faraday shielding can be redesigned, our Watchers can see the rest of humanity at any time, even without technological enhancement. We might as well make them more effective and versatile. You're hereby given the green light. Progress as swiftly as is safe."

"Thank you, Hasina," Renya Baldwin said. The holofield went dark. She smiled with vindication. If Hasina only knew…

She sent a priority message to her entire team. Hundreds of scientists and technicians, selected from the top agencies and institutions in the Solar System. She needed one hundred volunteers to expedite this project, and they would have a considerable head start.

For more than twenty years, one of her secret projects had been this very goal. She already had preliminary designs for the miniaturization of the sensory deprivation tech in Watcher Chambers. Those Chambers, though frequently updated in minor ways, could be viewed as somewhat antiquated. They allowed a Watcher to achieve a far deeper Trance than normal, empowering them to see distant star systems, rather than just Earth and the moon. But Renya had long felt that such effects shouldn't require a full body rig, at least not indefinitely. Full brain-scanning technology wasn't quite ready for such miniaturization, but there would be times when that wouldn't matter. With the potential for new breakthroughs in what a Watcher might be capable of, allowing them to enhance their powers at any time might save lives. Recording footage for others to study was no longer the only role they could play. Empowering a Watcher to help distract Lamia without first running to their Chamber would justify this endeavor all on its own.

Privately, and without any official backing, Renya hadn't designed a working prototype, but her notes and sketches were a labor of love. She shared these with her team, and in mere minutes she had more than enough volunteers. She passed over some who'd be more useful sticking with the more vital research related to Elpis, and soon she'd selected her hundred. She authorized them to appropriate any equipment and funding not already dedicated to studying Elpis. Doublechecking her department's budget, she threw in the promise of substantial bonuses based on how quickly the implants could start production.

---

Duri-22 loved the rush brought on by MD-Δ. Not all of the others experienced the same sensation. Fawzia instantly felt an uncomfortable pressure in her head. Niko barely felt different at all while using it. But for Duri, the drug developed by the late Samantha Gross was a very good feeling. Vaguely like a caffeine high without any jitters, it filled him with excitement, anticipation, and optimism.

Too bad the last part vanished the instant his awareness reached his destination. No optimism could survive Watching this place.

Of only moderate power, Duri had never before been able to Watch Elpis. There was so much for him to study on this world, but he'd needed to go here first. The disgusting stream, the crumbling concrete, the bits of flesh and bone, he'd seen the recordings many times. But this was the first time he could Watch personally, with full control of his perspective and the freedom to examine specific details. It had rained a second time since Klaus had been murdered, but not heavily enough to wash away everything. Duri marveled that the small alien animals of this world had never fed on these remains. Thinking back, none of the Watcher footage of this area ever showed animals, or even the local varieties of insect analogues. Perhaps, whatever made this place special to Lamia also kept wildlife away. Alternatively, it was possible she preferred this place because something else kept animals and insects away.

Or maybe… local wildlife could sense Lamia's presence, and stayed away. That would be especially useful to know. While Watchers and the Unwanted could see the murderous little girl, normal humans couldn't. But this idea felt unlikely, as it would require that every non-human species could see her. Duri needed to learn more.

Doing his painful duty, Duri sought out better imagery of specific details that held his attention in earlier vids. This especially included the severed hand. Viewing it up close stabbed him to the heart, further dampening the excitement and wellbeing produced by MD-Δ. Of all the Watchers, Duri's background in science gave him the best instincts for what data and imagery could help the brilliant minds studying such footage. He zoomed in very close to the point where the hand had been severed.

It's a cleaner cut than I realized. Most of the medical team figured a closer look would reveal the wound to be jagged. Most of the other remains are badly shredded, even mangled. The prevalence of those thorn-like fangs littering the area, even piercing many of the scattered body parts, had suggested the method of Klaus-21's murder had been chaotic. Being torn apart by numerous thin stabbing instruments would have involved ripping and shredding, with very few clean cuts…

Duri suspected that bile rose up in his real body at this thought, but he forced himself to be professional and detached. Yes, his dearest friend had been killed. Yes, his death had clearly been horrific. But if Duri hoped for justice, and for others to avoid a similar fate, he needed to do his part as a logical and impartial observer. He wasn't the person to make major breakthroughs in Watching, and he certainly wouldn't be the one to kill Lamia. But he could be their best field researcher.

After shifting his perspective several times and even flipping his view upside down to record the wound from every angle, he moved on to other items of interest. He wasn't specifically a forensics expert, and thus was unlikely to draw meaningful conclusions of his own. But he nevertheless was quick and efficient at getting better footage of key elements of the surroundings and remains.

Duri was so focused on a cluster of barbed fangs that he almost didn't notice the small boat approaching from upstream. It took a muffled cough to catch his attention, and he looked up with a start. He recognized the boat from the footage of 21's final Watch, the first object a Watcher had ever successfully interacted with. As expected, Lamia was in the boat, along with a boy of perhaps thirteen. Duri had seen her for less than a second before her eyes widened and he felt the sensation of being Watched.

His mental discipline and cultivated emotional detachment saved him. He'd gone into this Watch with a very clear plan of what he would do if Lamia arrived, and he took action immediately. Rather than cancel his Watch, he took a risk for the sake of learning something about their enemy.

His perspective shot deep underground, then raced away at high speed. Watchers almost never did this, as it left them blind when their entire purpose was to observe. But this also meant that Lamia would have a difficult time Watching him in return. Unless her unique powers could pierce twenty meters of dirt and rock…

As Duri had hoped, the sensation of being Watched vanished. For all her power, this girl couldn't see through opaque obstructions.

The Watchers had unanimously agreed with Charlotte's suggestion that special protocols be instituted to improve their chances of intervening on behalf of the Unwanted. The moment any Watcher's brain showed signs of being Watched, an alert would signal Charlotte, Anya, and Peng, sending them the coordinates. These three were under strict orders to prioritize their own safety, but whenever possible, they would try to interfere with Lamia's murders. Charlotte was the sort of true idealist who wouldn't think twice before risking her life for a stranger, even knowing her own value to humanity. Anya hated the thought of people being treated as disposable, and was thrilled to finally feel useful. And Peng? He probably just wanted to inconvenience Klaus-21's killer. For him, snatching away one of Lamia's victims was more to spite her than for the sake of an Unwanted.

Ideally, the three of them together could keep Lamia scattered and off balance, without enough time and attention to attempt an abduction. But since they didn't really understand how she'd physically transported Klaus seventy lightyears, Duri couldn't stop himself from worrying.

But Duri lacked Charlotte's power, Anya's competitive instincts, or Peng's vengeful rage. More importantly, his observational skills made him too valuable at gathering data to spend time in a risky dance with the enemy. As for Niko, no one would allow the kid to endanger himself, not now that three more Watchers had gained the ability to see this far. No matter how much Niko wanted to face the same dangers as the others, he was forbidden to project his mind anywhere near the site of 21's death.

Elevating his perspective above ground, Duri corrected his course, heading toward the last town Klaus had Watched before his death. Niko was likely already there.

Poor old Fawzia would be single-handedly answering any emergency Watch requests from the Solar System, since she still couldn't Watch Elpis, at least not yet. Even with MD-Δ in her system, trying to project her mind this far consistently made her black out from the pain. So far, only Niko had learned to use that level of pain to enhance a Watch, though Peng was getting some value out of much lower levels of discomfort. Especially when he blends it with anger. Curious that anger doesn't enhance Niko…

Duri never would have expected Peng to make a major breakthrough in Watching, but he had. The earliest Watchers and the scientists and doctors supporting them had quickly determined that a serene calm strengthened the Trance. Most of the research in the sixty-five years since had focused on improving that mental state and aiding it technologically. Charlotte and Klaus had broken new ground, but only to a point. They'd developed mental techniques for pushing themselves hard without breaking their serenity. But the murder of dear Klaus had changed so much. Everyone was now so driven, and they were trying things that had never worked before. Niko's ability to power his Watching with agony, and Peng's ability to draw on anger, flew in the face of all that had come before.

Perhaps, while conventional techniques can work for all Watchers, each individual may also have their own alternatives? If that was the case, might there be some method for Duri to improve?

For now, such musings would have to wait. Duri reached the town he sought, and with a quick check of his coordinates, he found the right house. He lowered his awareness through the roof, and looked down upon the largest room.

Much was the same as when Klaus had Watched this household. Six versions of the same boy, all of different ages, went about their routines. Without the ability to properly learn or integrate new data, they tended to repeat activities they had once loved. Several read books they'd enjoyed prior to becoming Unwanted, or they worked on school assignments they'd completed many times before. The most glaring and tragic difference was in the northeast corner of the room. That area was quiet and empty. Stacks of papers were arrayed on a desk in a way that almost resembled a shrine. The walls of that corner were now decorated with many photographs of the five-year-old version of this boy.

Duri noted a small, hazy orb moving about the room. That would be Niko's perspective. To Niko, who possessed far greater power, Duri would appear more distinct. It was comforting to know that another Watcher was here. The brief sensation of being Watched confirmed that Niko had "looked" his way. As this meeting was planned, it shouldn't trigger an alert to the other Watchers.

The man of the house entered the room. He paused briefly to look upon the pictures of his missing son, then he went about checking on those who remained. The infant version needed a new diaper, and looked like he might have a cold, so the father got to work. "Maximus!" he called out. "The First will take a bit of my time! Could you check on the others?"

An athletic young man, perhaps nineteen or twenty, jogged into the room. It was clear that this was the current version of the boy, as he had no difficulty navigating the room and checking on his younger selves. "I'll lead the Fifth to the bathroom. The others are alright for now." The young man was solid, strong, and confident, which was no surprise considering the athletic drive shown by the two versions that came prior to him. But he was also gentle and very patient. I'd guess the current Maximus at any given time helps care for the younger versions, especially with his mother uninterested in doing so.

Maximus slowly led his eleven-year-old self out of the room. The boy occasionally looked bewildered, particularly when he glimpsed older versions of himself. But he smiled with recognition as he passed his younger versions. Niko's perspective remained with the greater number, so Duri followed the current Maximus and his Fifth Unwanted.

When they reached the bathroom, which was virtually unfurnished and spotlessly clean, Maximus waited outside. So, Duri thought, with a very simple environment that hasn't changed, the Unwanted can function reasonably well. It's the new, the complex, or the unfamiliar that eludes them. Conversation is "new" almost by definition, which explains why Unwanted so rarely speak. Now that I think of it… the only footage of Unwanted talking is from the disgusting place where Klaus was killed…

Moving his perspective farther down the hallway, Duri passed through a curtain and reached the master bedroom. Half of the room was barren. One of the two closets was empty, and the large bed had only seen recent use on one side. So, the wife no longer lives here. Based on the footage in Klaus-21's last Watch, it's likely that she was the one who handed over the five-year-old Maximus to Lamia. So, she did that against the father's will, and he threw her out. With so many children to look after, it's a very good thing the current Maximus is so willing to care for his younger selves.

Examining the room in detail, Duri began to get a complete picture of this family. He was especially skilled at placing his perspective so precisely that he could even read loosely stacked papers. A firmly closed book left no room for observation, but old family documents were often a different story. And a Watcher's projected awareness didn't actually depend on light to "see." With exceptionally high reading speed, Duri was able to take the time to peruse what he found, rather than just skimming it to get footage.

Leonidus Angelos had been twelve when the colony fleet arrived at Elpis. Zelia, the girl who would one day become his wife, had been among the very first children born after landing. Does this mean she was one of the first colonists to become Unwanted? Continuing to search, Duri found references to only two Unwanted versions of Leo, though surely there had been more over the course of thirty-four years. Duri couldn't find anything conclusive regarding what had happened to them. Leo had followed in the footsteps of his parents, and grew wealthy as one of the best doctors in the colony. This had made caring for his growing number of Unwanted children financially manageable, but his wife had never approved. Her experiences as one of the first children to grow up in that world might explain her bitter, selfish outlook. From the footage Klaus recorded of that woman, she makes Peng seem cuddly and selfless.

The bathroom door opened, and Maximus called out, "I'm going to take the Fifth for a short walk!"

"Don't go far," Leo replied. "Some of the neighbors are still bitter about Zelia's eviction."

Duri shifted his perspective to the front yard in time to see Maximus lead his younger self outside. The eleven-year-old blinked in the bright sun, but he also smiled. Hand in hand with his current self, he made his way slowly down the street. Duri stayed ahead of him, and observed his reactions. He did seem a bit overwhelmed and confused, but he also showed clear wonder at the beautiful day.

"Oh that's pathetic!"

Maximus spun, though his younger self didn't seem to notice the scornful words. Duri focused on the speaker. A tall man walking a large dog, he was accompanied by a man and woman who each carried baseball bats. They held them at the ready, clearly as defensive weapons. Considering the unstable, narcissistic society of this world, Duri wasn't surprised to see people ready for trouble.

The tall man spoke again. "You're walking your trash? You and your weak father still refuse to clean up after yourselves?"

Maximus stepped between his younger self and his three threatening neighbors. "He's like my little brother. And this isn't your business."

"Really?" That was the woman. "Zelia told me a thing or two about your rotten father, who threw her out on the street when her only crime was to clean up one of your worthless castoffs."

Eyes darting from his home to the three threats, Maximus clearly concluded that he couldn't get his Fifth version home fast enough. Staying between his younger "brother" and the neighbors, he rose to his full impressive height and stood strong. "I don't want trouble. Get lost."

The man who hadn't spoken yet laughed. "If you're dirtying up our neighborhood, it absolutely is our business! I think I'll do you a favor…"

Maximus took a step forward. "Don't! Please don't!"

"Lamia! Lamia! I call to you!"

---

Niko-29 marveled at the strength of the fourteen-year-old version of Maximus. Just two years older than Niko, he could do handstand pushups with perfect form. Niko might be very tough for his age, but he certainly couldn't duplicate something like–

A roar of rage bordering on hatred brought Niko's perspective whirling around. It came from outside, and it sounded like Maximus. Projecting his awareness through the walls until he could see the street out front, he beheld a sight that surely had his heart pounding back on earth.

Maximus charged toward three people. A man and a woman each held baseball bats, and a taller man had a large dog on a leash. Unarmed, Max showed no hint of doubt or fear. His face showed only rage.

The taller man let go of his leash, and the dog rushed forward, snarling. Without breaking stride, Maximus dealt the animal a kick so fierce it sent the dog sprawling. The sight brought shock and alarm to all three of his opponents, and Max used that fleeting delay to the full. He caught the man's bat while he was still drawing it back, and with his free hand, Max dealt such a powerful punch Niko heard bones crack. The man went down, dropping his bat.

The woman swung. Maximus brought up his right arm, blocking the strike with a wince. He then grabbed the bat with his left hand and spun away, wrenching it free. The tall man struck, thudding one punch uselessly into Max's stomach, proving he knew very little about his opponent. But his next strike connected with Max's chin. Still off-balance from his spin, Maximus went down, his stolen bat flying from his grip, just as the dog rushed in, snarling.

The crack of a rifle tore through the air, and the dog howled, thrashing on the ground with bloody holes on either side of its body. Niko spun his perspective yet again.

Max's father stood at his doorway, rifle raised, ready to fire. It wasn't a gauss weapon, as fusion technology hadn't been sufficiently miniaturized when the Elpis colony fleet had left earth. But it was still an advanced and deadly weapon, likely the pinnacle of what old-style chemically-propelled firearms could manage. "My son hates violence. For him to attack the three of you, there can be only one reason: You tried to summon Lamia, and he had to interrupt you."

The dog's thrashing fell still, while the man Max had punched finally got to his feet. None dared speak.

"I thought so. You three tried to murder my Fifth son, handing him over to the invisible monster that plagues our world. If my boy had been any slower to react, his Fifth might even now be facing death, alone in the wilderness." He took several steps closer. "Tell me… Why shouldn't I gun you all down right here and now?"

Max rose to his feet, bringing his left hand to his bruised jaw, and looking at his right arm. The limb was badly bruised from stopping the bat, and at least one of the fingers of his right hand was broken.

The woman finally answered. "Because it's not murder!" She pointed at the Fifth version of Max, who stood completely still, dumbfounded and overwhelmed. "That useless thing is not legally alive. At best you could argue that we attempted vandalism, not–"

The rifle cracked again, and the woman screamed as a bit of her left ear vanished.

"Try again," Leo ordered, voice frightfully calm, rifle barrel steady. "You intended to summon a monster to kill my boy. Why should I let you live?"

The woman held a hand to her ear, while the tall man stared at his dead dog. The other man finally spoke through gritted teeth, as his jaw was broken. "You should let us live… because we won't try this again."

The father shouldered his rifle. "Good answer. Remember, Atlas, I saved your life years ago. Without that surgery–"

"That wasn't me," the man insisted. "You saved someone who later became Unwanted."

"An idiot's argument," Leo spat, his calm giving way to open disgust. "Empty rhetoric from loathsome, mindless propaganda. If he had died, you never would have existed."

Maximus whispered a threat that Niko couldn't quite hear, and Atlas took a step back.

Leo shouted, "Go home!"

Leaving their baseball bats and the carcass of the attack dog, the three turned and scattered. Niko saw Duri's projected mind follow them. Most of the others could only see a hazy blur when they saw another Watcher's mind. For Charlotte and Niko though, it was much more distinct. What he saw resembled Duri, but it wasn't exact. Niko guessed this was how Duri imagined himself. A little taller, somewhat more slim, face free of the pockmarks from the childhood disease that had nearly killed him and his siblings. His olive skin was slightly darker too, to more closely resemble the majority population of his hometown on Mars.

While Duri pursued the would-be murderers, Niko remained with Maximus. The confrontation surely had Niko's real heart pounding, and he expected a full-blown panic attack to end his Watch soon. Maximus ran toward his Fifth version, lifting the boy in a full embrace despite how much his broken finger must hurt. Then, carrying him, Maximus ran back indoors.

So… those people wanted Lamia to take away this boy… What a disgusting world…

Then Niko's Trance broke, his Watch ended, and he found himself in his Chamber, shaking and hyperventilating.

Chapter 10: Visualizing

Charlotte-17 focused, relishing the sense of unstoppable strength brought on by the MD-Δ flowing through her. Her awareness projected a very short distance, just outside of HQ's main gate. She Watched the sign ordering all vehicles to halt and await inspection. It was dusted with snow.

Zooming in, Charlotte could almost make out individual snowflakes. A patch of bare metal shone in the bright lights illuminating the area.

Focus… focus… Klaus may only have been capable of this due to proximity to Lamia… but right now I'm stronger than he ever was… I need to be able to do this on my own. Her secret plan could not rely on being near Lamia. That would turn a very dangerous mission into a suicide mission.

She intensified her state of controlled tranquility, the somewhat contradictory combination of calm acceptance and burning drive.

You can do it… You must do it…

Imagining herself reaching out a hand, Charlotte poured everything she had into deepening her Trance.

And she felt cold metal.

A handprint appeared in the dusting of snow.

With a surge of elation, Charlotte returned to her body and tagged the footage as low-priority. Ideally, it wouldn't be rendered until after she put her plan into effect.

---

Tácito Nelson, Head Archivist, poured over old data. Duri's proposal had genuine merit, and Tácito had set a hundred thirty of his subordinates to this task. For more than half a century, all Watchers had been trained in the same way, doing their best to maximize their Trance through calm, nearly emotionless acceptance. This had worked well, well enough that little serious thought was put into alternatives. They had so many examples of a Watch collapsing when the Watcher grew too afraid, confused, or even just tired.

But with this new line of inquiry, and the clear results they were seeing from Peng and Niko, additional options were coming to light. Joaquim-4 had initially been able to Watch reasonably well despite the anxiety disorder that had made him reluctant to go public. When superior medication had effectively cured his condition, he'd initially displayed somewhat reduced max range. This had been dismissed as a side effect of the meds, and the anomaly had been all but forgotten when Joaquim eventually improved beyond his previous limits. But Joaquim had died four years ago, cutting off any serious chance of learning more on that front.

Abdul-9 though… he might be worth seeking out. More than once, he'd apparently joked that his Watching became more clear when he had a hangover. This too had been dismissed, despite some indications that it just might have had merit.

And Abdul is still alive… The ninth Watcher had suffered a stroke thirteen years ago, damaging a region of his brain that was vital for Watching. Curious, Tácito ran a quick search and determined that particular part of the brain was involved in preventing the new MD-Δ from being deadly to Watchers. Too bad. The drug likely wouldn't be able to restore Abdul's powers safely. But the ninth Watcher could still be of great use. He'd retired with a massive pension after the stroke, but remained in contact with the Organization. While retaining his citizenship with most nations, he'd been allowed to reclaim his old surname of Rafiq.

Bringing up Abdul's current holo address, Tácito opened a channel.

---

Hasina Rakoto stood at the observation deck above the facility's largest training area. Below, four hundred of her security personnel–more than half her total force–fought a mock battle. Before the disappearance of Klaus-21, such battles rarely ever reached such a scale. But all of her soldiers were now utterly driven to excel, to improve, all in hopes of avenging Klaus and ending the mysterious Lamia threat. It was a faint hope. Unless a Watcher was abducted and brought their guards with them, these elites might never be in a position to threaten the girl directly.

It was entirely possible that the only way anyone would ever be able to resist that girl was already being employed. Whenever possible, Charlotte, Anya, and Peng attempted to distract Lamia from the Unwanted she intended to kill. But this was quickly becoming less effective…

Below, Captain Martins dived from cover, firing off two shots before landing behind a low wall. Incredibly, both shots hit home. His targets lost motor function and fell, their implants and light armor temporarily disabling all voluntary muscle control. They were thus out of the fight, but still alert and capable of learning from the rest of the battle. As this training session was intended to test awareness and reaction time, the soldiers didn't fight in their top-tier battlefield armor, with its advanced HUD, internal medical systems, and ability to deflect indirect gauss hits. Instead, they wore lighter suits that mostly functioned to simulate injury and disability.

A well-aimed grenade dropped to the ground right next to Benicio. While the placement was superb, the timing wasn't. In barely half a second, Martins had already tossed the grenade back. It detonated in the air, sending out a signal that would stun any soldier within seven meters. No one was caught within that radius, but the lightning-fast response still impacted the morale of every soldier who saw it.

Today's battle wasn't actually about pitting two teams of soldiers against each other. It was really about pitting Benicio vs Hasina. She commanded the opposing team from where she stood, rapidly issuing orders through a combination of basic mental commands through her implants and more complex orders on her holographic map. Benicio was a decent strategist, but personal combat had always been his area of genius expertise. While he commanded his troops well, and certainly inspired them to push their limits, Hasina's army still moved with far greater precision. She sought ever to exploit blind spots in Benicio's battlefield awareness, ganging up on small squads while avoiding direct combat with the Captain himself. She had her snipers positioned to pin him down, but this was only to give her assault squads a better chance of avoiding him. Fighting against the Captain demanded an entire strategy focused on limiting his personal options.

With a double leap that took Hasina's breath away, Benicio sprang onto a low wall and instantly dived for a nearby window. That move might have surprised even Anya, as it was performed so swiftly and flawlessly it almost looked like the Captain had ricocheted off the wall. Both of Hasina's snipers fired, but he'd changed direction so quickly, one shot missed and the other only caught his left hand. Hasina winced at the sight. Her soldiers' implants could simulate pain for training purposes. In the past, this had generally been used at a somewhat low power setting, but ever since Captain Martins had joined HQ a year before, it had become more common for the soldiers to fight in "hardcore mode." Their pain settings were at one hundred percent, or sometimes even higher. Her troops routinely experienced the full agony of stabs, broken bones, or direct hits from gauss rounds.

And Benicio himself always took this to a vicious extreme.

Quickly checking his biometrics, she confirmed that he'd set his implants to double the simulated pain levels. That fake shot to the hand would thus hurt twice as much as a real hit, while his suit deadened his ability to use that hand.

Landing in a controlled roll, Benicio tossed aside the rifle he could no longer reload and drew a pistol. Other than a clenched jaw and a sheen of sweat on his forehead, he showed no signs of the agony he must be experiencing. Popping up at a window for barely a quarter second, he fired a shot that brought down one of the snipers.

Madness, Hasina thought, reeling with a mix of disbelief, awe at the skill of humanity's best soldier, and chagrin at the likely outcome of this training exercise. True, gauss tech has grown far more accurate than old chemically-propelled firearms, and these training weapons reflect that… but such precision, at such range, from a pistol? While he's suffering from double the agony someone should feel from getting a hand blown off?

While Hasina's flanking squads had the advantage against Benicio's troops, this one champion continued to derail her plans. She repositioned her forces continuously, giving Benicio fewer opportunities to fight directly, but he responded by giving more attention to the orders he issued. His soldiers grew more effective with his direction, and both forces maneuvered continuously.

Eventually, Hasina's strategic brilliance brought down the last of Benicio's men, but only five of Hasina's troops could still move. She tried to surround Captain Martins, but he dashed from cover to cover continuously. He moved with the speed of a sprinter and the skill of a parkour grandmaster, all the while remaining hyper alert to his surroundings. It soon became impossible to predict him, and she realized he was choosing destinations at random. Very few people could be genuinely random, but clearly he could, as Hasina saw nothing even resembling a pattern.

Two of her remaining troops fell, but at last Benicio's pistol shut down, citing ammo depletion. Reacting instantly, Hasina had her soldiers sprint toward each other so they could fight as a tight unit.

Despite all her efforts, the Captain couldn't be brought down by just three men, no matter how well Hasina coordinated them. Lunging and diving with mobility not even Anya could have matched, he soon forced the soldiers into close combat.

It was over in two seconds. Benicio's thrown pistol disrupted the aim of the first soldier that saw him, and his lunging tackle threw another soldier to the ground. Before he even landed, Benicio used his grip on that man to pivot, sweeping the legs from the third soldier. He rebounded upward from the force of his human anchor hitting the ground, and he already held a fresh pistol, snatched from the other man's belt. Making it look like child's play, he pressed the barrel to the final soldier's head, and playfully said, "Bang."

Hasina hit the command, and everyone's implants released them. Many exhaled in relief. In the past, most soldiers set their implants to stop simulating pain the moment they were declared "dead," but Benicio had inspired most to push harder than ever before. Private Anderson, the first soldier to have fallen during the mock battle, had thus experienced the pain of a torso shot for twenty-three minutes. Hasina noted that Benicio immediately sought out the young man to shake his hand. Anderson, who was the youngest soldier currently assigned to HQ, grinned proudly. It was very hard not to be pleased when Captain Martins acknowledged you, especially for something so quintessentially masculine.

"Congratulations, Team Martins," Hasina said, her voice broadcast through the vast room. "It seems I still can't win with our champion fighting against me."

The young Private who'd endured twenty-three minutes of mortal agony actually laughed. "I just wanna see what happens when you command the Captain in a real battle!"

"Perhaps we'll get that chance," Hasina said. "If we develop a way to take the fight to the enemy, you can be sure Captain Martins will lead the assault."

Syncing his implant with the overhead speakers, Benicio said, "With your leadership, I look forward to seeing what this team can do when we're all on the same side."

---

Wilma Taibei leaned back in her chair while her computer crunched the numbers. This task wasn't anywhere near as complex as what the SenDep Implant Team was working on, but it was still work to be proud of. When ready, these pumps would allow a Watcher to carry enough MD-Δ for seventy-two continuous hours of enhanced Watching. More importantly, they'd automatically administer a steady dose any time the Watcher entered their Trance, and would stop the moment the Trance ended. Mostly internal, they'd only have a tiny port exposed to allow the pump to be refilled with ease.

Being put in charge of such an important project, even if it was hardly challenging, was quite a step up for the nurse. Her promotion and pay increase were nice, but her true joy was being closer to the action. Once these implants were ready, she'd likely be assigned work even more directly pertinent to the Elpis crisis.

While her latest inputs were being integrated to the design, she absent-mindedly scanned through her earlier investigation. Samantha Gross had done a fairly good job of keeping her work on this drug secret. The moment Wilma had found her files on the research and experiments that went into MD-Δ, she'd focused exclusively on understanding and manufacturing the medication. Now, she looked through Miss Gross' other files. It felt like there must still be a little more to the puzzle, as she didn't know how Samantha had obtained classified data. Though unlikely to be anywhere near as important as the drug itself, such info might still reveal a little more on how it had been developed. Wilma suspected that there might have been a source of outside help, or at least inspiration. If so, there could be someone else out there worth interviewing. The story of MD-Δ would surely make headlines all over the Solar System once it was released to the public. It'd be nice to have a little more information to share…

The computer reported that the update to the design was complete. Wilma brought it up, and frowned. Sure, this design would work, but it was a tad larger than she'd prefer. Little Niko, and even skinny old Fawzia, would likely find the pump uncomfortable. True, they were both accustomed to pain, especially the boy, but Wilma would prefer not to make things even worse for them. Bringing up more research on similar pumps, she got to work streamlining the design.

---

Fawzia-11 had never felt more useless… or more needed. With all the other Watchers actively attacking the Elpis issue, she was the odd man out. The only Watcher excluded from the most important task the Organization had ever tackled. But at the same time, she was perhaps more busy than any of the others. Every single government request for a Watcher's assistance came to her first, and others were contacted only when she was already on a mission, and the request was deemed sufficiently vital.

This latest mission felt odd. She hadn't even known New Zealand had a counter-terrorism task force, but they insisted they needed her help. They'd been trying with limited success to track the movements of equipment from multiple military surplus suppliers and black markets all over the globe. They'd shared their findings with Chief Rakoto, who'd initially felt the data far from conclusive. But the Colonel on the other line had a good point: New Zealand was one of the closest countries to Antarctica, and yet still generally overlooked when considering possible hot zones. If another attack on Watcher HQ was being planned, those responsible would be taking every possible precaution. They'd likely draw on multiple far-flung suppliers to reduce the chances of anyone making the connection. And preparing their forces in such a peaceful country would further reduce the risk of discovery.

Fawzia currently projected her mind high above the southern tip of New Zealand. She saw Niko's hometown of Rowallan to the east, but her attention would be needed elsewhere.

She moved her awareness to the west, over Lake Poteriteri and then the smaller Lake Hakapoua. Most of the towns she saw were very small, and small towns always noticed strangers, even if these were received kindly. If a nefarious organization was planning something stupid, they'd either be hiding in a far larger city, or in an area genuinely devoid of human habitation.

Continuing her westward "flight," she reflected on just how lucky she really was to be able to experience this. Only twenty-nine humans had ever possessed this ability. Well, thirty, counting Lamia, though they had yet to catch the murderous little Watcher actually projecting her mind. She consistently "saw" Watchers without needing to enter a Trance. As Fawzia searched the countryside, she might not feel the thrill of wind blowing through her hair, but it still looked and sounded like she was flying. Soaring over the lush wilderness, with no fears or constraints. This was far better than any video or even the best three-dimensional holo. This felt real. She passed over little Lake Kiwi, dropping her altitude until she was low to the ground. If tire tracks or other signs were visible from the air, these would have been noticed already through conventional searches. But the New Zealand government hesitated to put boots on the ground in the area where they suspected the enemy might be hiding. There'd be too much risk of being spotted well in advance, giving any conspirators time for a quiet evacuation. But if a Watcher found any clues, these could be pursued without giving anything away.

Personally, Fawzia doubted anything would come of this. It had been so long since HQ had been threatened, and the public didn't know that Watchers could now penetrate the faraday shielding. This would likely just eat up a ton of her time.

But she really had no choice in the matter. Even a faint chance of a threat to the Organization had to be taken seriously. At least MD-Δ makes close-range Watching far easier. The mental pressure from the drug is uncomfortable, but irrelevant when compared to what Watching felt like before. Watching events on earth hadn't triggered a migraine since the drug had been made available to her. It would get even better once Nurse Taibei perfected the implants that would administer measured doses automatically.

Fawzia's perspective stopped near the uninhabited Coal island, stricken by the natural beauty. This will all eventually be dismissed as a false alarm, but at least I can pretend I'm on vacation.

Unlike the others, she remembered the early days of the Organization. Some of the younger Watchers regretted their lack of freedom, but that was due to simple ignorance. Anya missed her gymnastics career, Niko wished he could see his family and friends more often, and Peng still insisted that they were all effectively slaves. But far more than Charlotte or even Klaus, Fawzia had always accepted the hard truth: Any other alternative would be a disaster. Without the protection and public image of the Organization, a Watcher would be the single greatest target in the world. Any criminal organization would move heaven and earth to kidnap a Watcher and force them to do their bidding. Even most governments would eagerly do so if they believed it could be kept a secret. And of course… it could. A Watcher could be held captive deep underground, and the odds of anyone ever knowing about it would be near zero.

And then there were the millions of people who'd gleefully murder any Watcher if they had a chance. The top tier defenses of Watcher HQ, and the ultra-elite soldiers that protected it, were needed. Sixty-five years before, when the first four Watchers had revealed themselves to the world, they'd all but begged the Interstellar Fleet for protection. The Organization was the result.

Peng might think we're all prisoners, and some of the others miss their former lives. But we're exactly where we need to be. Her projected vision lingered on a particularly pristine stretch of forest, with an idyllic little waterfall cascading into a pool surrounded by flowers. And how could anyone feel genuinely trapped, when they can simply choose to see places like this any time they wish?

---

With a growing sense of pride, Peng-24 came to a stop at the entrance to the cave. He'd found them. The Unwanted they'd helped to escape Lamia were not helpless and lost.

His investigations had been haphazard, due to the frequency with which he received signals to harass the sick little murderer. And that interference had started to grow… disappointing. Even with three Watchers responding at once, their ability to actually rescue the Unwanted was dropping off fast. Lamia was starting to ignore them. Perhaps she realized that actually abducting one of them would be difficult or even impossible with two others disrupting her concentration. But clearly, she needed far less focus to murder someone who was physically present on Elpis.

Their first failure had been a shock. A teenage girl had tried to run, but Lamia had reached out mentally, pulling her back from a considerable distance. First Peng, then Anya, and finally Charlotte had all projected their minds through Lamia's head, but it hadn't been enough. She had jerked, and twitched, and shouted in anger, but she'd stayed focused on her prey. With all three of them Watching, the teenager had died with a pencil through the eye.

Since then, their interventions had been hit and miss. When an Unwanted was especially fast and began to flee immediately, the Watchers had a decent chance of inconveniencing Lamia long enough for the target to escape. But far too often, the evil little girl kept it together long enough to make the kill. The worst such failure by far, the death that left Charlotte weeping in her Chamber and sent Anya into a wild rage, had been the infant. Lamia had brought a baby through, barely old enough to crawl, and they'd all immediately known there was no hope of saving him. Nothing they did, no level of distraction, could be enough. Even if Lamia had completely ignored the boy, one so young never could have survived in the wilderness. Peng had simply refused to stick around. The moment he saw the target was a baby, he'd zipped his perspective off into the woods, refusing to get involved.

Whenever Peng wasn't dancing with death to interfere with Lamia's murders, he explored the surrounding forests. They still didn't have an answer for why animals and insects universally avoided the killing grounds, and Peng had hoped to find some clue. But instead, he'd picked up a trail. Footprints left behind after the last rainfall led deeper into the forest. The tracks were too small for an adult, and Peng had continued in a straight line after the trail ended. He'd come upon recent tire tracks, and diverted to follow those. An all-terrain vehicle, traveling through a forest that seemed otherwise devoid of human activity.

By following those tracks, Peng had found this cave. The small hillside entrance was well-hidden by alien ferns, and on close inspection some had been transplanted recently. After a short descent, it opened onto a surprisingly large, branching network. The first chamber had a low ceiling, but was easily twenty meters to a side. Lights were powered by a small generator. Not fusion of course, this was Elpis. But the air looked clear.

Eleven people sheltered in the large chamber. Peng recognized nine of them as Unwanted that had escaped death due to Watcher intervention. Two, though, couldn't be Unwanted. A young woman and a middle-aged man that looked related, they moved from cot to cot, checking on the others, bringing them water or rice.

Normally, Peng didn't put much stock in humanity. He'd seen too much ugliness, and too many old acquaintances had been barely tolerable. Even the Watcher Organization, which cared for all of his material needs, nevertheless held him prisoner. But despite all of that, the sight of this little refugee camp for the people his team rescued… it warmed his heart.

It made him think of Klaus, and how much he'd believed in a brighter future.

But it also made Peng think of the body he found out in the woods, prior to discovering the trail. An Unwanted teenage boy had barely escaped Lamia with the help of Charlotte, Anya, and Peng. The kid had gotten kilometers away from the killing ground, despite how overwhelming and daunting the unfamiliar woodlands would have been for him.

Only to be killed like an animal.

Peng had brought Duri to the spot, and the former scientist agreed: a hunter must have seen the boy, recognized his nature, and gunned him down for sport.

Charlotte hopes to fix this world. If we can first kill Lamia, she's welcome to try. I'll settle for a bit of vengeance. If Peng could ever figure out which scumbag had negated their success in rescuing that boy, he'd follow them home. And then, if he ever gained the ability to reach this world physically, Peng would pay the hunter a little visit in the night. As a Watcher, he was too important to be seriously prosecuted for something that many would consider justified. What could they do to him? Lock him up in Antarctica? Force him to do a job he hated? Already done. He'd tolerate boring rations and limited holo access for quite a while if that was the price of payback. His life on the Moon had been decent training for such mild inconveniences.

Briefly canceling his Watch, Peng sent the coordinates to Tácito's archivists and the other Watchers. Then he went back in. Exploring the cave network, he quickly determined that at least thirty more people could potentially shelter here. If only the Watchers had a way to guide Unwanted to this place.

Returning to the main chamber, he saw the hazy distortions that represented two Watchers. After a moment, each noticed him, and he recognized the mental touches as belonging to Charlotte and Duri. Confident that anything they needed to know would soon be taken care of, Peng projected his mind back into the woods, hoping to find anything else of use to the investigation.

Chapter 11: Preparing

Tácito Nelson brought up the next holo image, while projecting a new data set onto each wall. Fawzia-11, all of the department heads, and Wilma Taibei attended in person, while hundreds of others tied in remotely. "From my interview with Abdul Rafiq, formerly known as Abdul-9, I gained enough insights to track down specific Watches from times when he had a hangover. With the aid of the Science Division, and the benefit of the last thirty years of technological advancement, I concluded that his joking observations were correct. Any other Watcher would lose power and clarity in that state, if they could enter their Trance at all. Abdul though, appears to have been slightly enhanced."

Several of the others clearly had questions, but Tácito had a well-earned reputation for concise and efficient presentations.

"I promptly reassigned as many of my archivists as was reasonable, considering the other vital demands on my department. They worked overtime, finding and analyzing Watcher footage from occasions in which the Watcher failed to achieve the ideal serenity that they all train for. Their discoveries were… enlightening."

New data covered the walls, while holo images of various Watchers appeared in the air above Tácito. "Since the early days of our Organization, it was known that Watchers can achieve greater range and power while calm, tranquil, even emotionless. For this reason, the bulk of our training and research went toward maximizing this state. But we've discovered there are alternatives, which can even achieve greater results. The key is understanding that these alternatives differ from one Watcher to another, which threw off our ability to recognize such patterns."

An older image of the ninth Watcher now displayed most prominently. "For Abdul, it appears to have been the dehydration associated with a hangover that enhanced his Watch." He moved on to a new hologram, which brought a pang of sadness to Fawzia's face. "For Ralph-7, his Watches were slightly clearer when a recent meal contained high levels of sugar." A new holo. "Nushi-14, currently on a ship to the Konoha colony along with her husband and daughters, should be encouraged to drink a specific amount prior to Watching. We suspect her power will increase greatly if she has a blood alcohol level between 0.09% and 0.1%. Of course, we won't be able to inform her of this for another seven years, when her ship will decelerate below 80% of lightspeed."

"It's a good thing alcohol and/or hangovers aren't my secret to greater power," Fawzia observed dryly. Tácito chuckled at that. While not exceptionally devout, everyone knew Fawzia had never so much as touched alcohol, and Ralph-7 had stopped drinking a month before he proposed to her. She'd made no secret of how much it bugged her that Abdul-9 had no compunctions at all in that area.

The next image displayed a Watcher who was the youngest Inductee in the organization's history when he was identified seven years before. "Willard-27, who's still only 13 years old due to time dilation, won't be reachable for decades, but his Watching may be significantly enhanced by a slightly elevated body temperature."

"That should be safe to arrange… eventually," Doctor Sharma said.

"We're less certain with Ymir-25, but we won't have to wait nearly as long before we can confirm our hypothesis. She might be enhanced when her body is low on oxygen, such as from holding her breath too long."

"I suppose we can make that work too," Doctor Sharma said, hesitantly, "but I wish they didn't need to push the limits of what's healthy…"

Moving on, Tácito brought up the next image. "Peng-24 has already discovered that his Watching can be stronger when he's angry, and especially when that anger is accompanied by moderate levels of pain. Too much pain though, still terminates his Watch." Another holo. "And now for the one who triggered this line of investigation in the first place. Niko-29 has learned to greatly enhance his Watch during periods of extreme pain. This clashes so completely with the standard Watcher Trance that he only recently even attempted this. And it should be noted, Niko only considered trying this method due to the encouragement of…"

A new face appeared, one that had been on everyone's mind ever since his disappearance. "Klaus-21 was known as the Heart of the Watchers. In different ways, he encouraged and supported the rest of his team, and even many of our colleagues in all departments. He advised his protégé, Niko, to try using his frequent nerve flares, rather than merely enduring them. From deep analysis, it seems that Klaus received an enhancement to his own powers whenever his thoughts and emotions focused fully on the suffering of others. The very thing that most consistently triggers Niko's panic attacks instead made Klaus more powerful."

The holo now displayed one of the most surprising elements of Klaus-21's final Watch. The moment when, from seventy lightyears away, Klaus had lifted a pencil and then launched it with extraordinary force. "We've come to strongly suspect that proximity to Lamia, or perhaps to the site of her murders, was a major factor in allowing Klaus to interact with objects while Watching. But there was more at play. Analysis of his brain state and emotions while he levitated the pencil reveal his motive. He'd just witnessed the murder of a child, and saw evidence that millions of others had been murdered previously. This was surely the most traumatic moment of his life. We all know how deeply Klaus could empathize, how fully he could understand and even feel the pain of others. In this moment, while he tried to grapple with suffering on such an extreme scale, his power briefly exceeded anything Charlotte-17 ever managed prior to MD-Δ."

Tácito paused, turning from the data to his audience. "Questions?"

Fawzia-11 spoke first. "Have you found paths for training with each of the Watchers on Earth?"

"Not quite yet. Charlotte-17 appears to be at her best when using the seemingly contradictory technique that only she and Klaus ever really mastered: striving and pushing themselves during the tranquil state they had been taught. I'd advise her to maximize her effort in this area, while remaining open to the possibility of an alternative. We don't have anything conclusive yet for Duri-22. Ironically, this is likely due to his professionalism and commitment, stemming from his background in the scientific community. He's always approached Watching by the book, so we don't have any useful data suggesting how he might improve. My only suggestion to 22 would be… experiment. Try adopting different mental states during a Watch, letting in various emotions, etc."

"He should be good at that," Renya Baldwin observed.

Nodding, Tácito continued. "Peng-24 and Niko-29 already know the areas in which they should train. For Anya, my team suspects that she might be stronger while her body is active. We might first try medications and equipment to raise her heart rate or induce muscle activation. If we see positive results, she might attempt Watching while marching in place or even using a treadmill."

"That could easily get dangerous, if it's possible at all," Doctor Sharma warned.

"We still need to consider it," Fawzia said. "All of us are invested in improving, now that we so thoroughly understand the number of lives at stake." She turned to Tácito. "What about me?"

"You'll probably be pleased with this discovery," the Head Archivist said with a smile. "Your Watches appear to improve when you're physically at your most comfortable. I advise you work with the Medical Division to experiment with local anesthetics of varying levels. You may be able to maximize the traditional Trance if some, or most, of your body is essentially numb. The sensory deprivation achieved through your chamber's rig is only a partial method. Loss of tactile sensation will likely help you more than others."

"Perhaps we should expand the definition of a Watcher's 'Trance,'" Renya Baldwin suggested. "Now that we're learning there are alternatives to serenity, the word might instead apply to whatever mental state a Watcher uses to access their powers."

The other department heads and Fawzia-11 nodded, then Chief Rakoto spoke. "Good work, Mr. Nelson. My thanks to all of your archivists. Our Watchers are pitted against a deadly foe with abilities they cannot match… yet. We all hope that your suggestions will allow our Watchers to grow and improve. Perhaps, together, we'll be in a position to overwhelm the monstrous Lamia when we're finally able to make our move."

---

No! This can't happen!

Anya-28 fought down the powerless panic that threatened to take hold. An armed mob had formed on Elpis, and they marched on the Angelos home. Zelia, the mother of Maximus and all of his Unwanted, led twenty of her neighbors down the street in the dead of night. From footage provided by Duri and Niko, Anya recognized three of them. They were the scumbags that had attempted to summon Lamia to take the Fifth version of Maximus. Six members of the mob had firearms, while all the rest carried sticks… or worse. One especially large man brandished an axe.

Fighting to stay in control, Anya projected her awareness ahead of the mob, entering the house that was their obvious target. She wasn't sure what she intended to do. So far, none of the Watchers had been able to get a reaction from any normal person when projecting through their—

Wait… Where is everyone…?

When she'd last Watched the Angelos home, there'd been eight people here, six of them Unwanted. But now, the home was empty, and she checked the garage to confirm the family van was missing. So… they all left. After their rotten neighbors attempted to summon Lamia, they must have guessed what would come next.

A voice from out front caught Anya's attention. "Don't wreck my house, and try not to hurt my son too badly. But I don't care what happens to the Unwanted or my pathetic husband."

The door swung open, and the mob swept into the house. In no time, they'd searched every room. Many looked dissatisfied, clearly having wanted an excuse for violence. But Zelia brushed it off. "Oh well. The house is mine again, and I won't have to deal with a mess. It's a shame about Max though. If he's totally thrown his lot in with Leo and the leftovers, maybe he's not worth my time. In any case, he's likely to become Unwanted soon. I can live without him."

Anya hated the thought of Leo and Maximus trying to care for six Unwanted on the road. She zipped her perspective through the house, looking for any clue as to where they all might have gone. But she quickly realized they'd have done everything possible to cover their tracks. If anyone was going to find clues to their destination, it wouldn't be her. Anya ended her Watch, brought up the coordinates of Duri's Watch, and went back in.

---

Simulation… Start!

Captain Martins found himself in a vibrant, colorful fictional world of Klaus-21's creation. Based on an ancient game from the early days of VR technology, the terrain was built out of cubic-meter blocks. Vast, pixelated mountain ranges and grand fortresses made for an impressive backdrop, while blocky islands floated in the sky. Simply moving about in this world would be challenging, as hillsides weren't actually sloped. At a full run, Benicio sprang from block to block, maintaining his momentum. This VR rig was sufficiently advanced to fully simulate imagined physical movements, exertions, and injuries. While his real body would remain still, the equipment took into account the elite capabilities of HQ security personnel, and applied them to his virtual avatar. He wouldn't be as strong or fast as he should be, but he'd consider that part of the challenge.

Based on the notes left behind by Klaus-21, the Captain had very little time to familiarize himself with his surroundings before everything would get deadly. And if he died too soon, he wouldn't be allowed to try again. This VR rig, "the holodeck," was the best in all of HQ, with only four others like it on Earth. The waiting list for its use was incredibly long now that the entire security force wanted to take their training to the next level. Despite Benicio's rank and reputation, the next soldier would demand their turn the moment his simulation ended.

On the horizon, a square sun dropped behind the mountains. Darkness rapidly fell.

And the monsters came out.

The default settings would have limited Benicio to medieval weapons, but 21 had included an alternate scenario for any security personnel who wanted more relevant training. With a thought, a gauss rifle appeared in his hands. This would tremendously increase his killing power, but in exchange he didn't have access to the magical armor or flying gear available with the default kit.

A bow twanged, and the Captain reacted instinctively, rolling to the side before he consciously registered the threat. The arrow narrowly missed him, and he fired a shot from where he lay. The walking skeleton collapsed with its skull scattered into cuboid pixels, but three more weren't too far behind it. Switching to burst fire, he sprayed three shots, dropping two of the targets. But the last fired.

The arrow burst into flames as it sped toward him.

The unnatural blocky terrain saved him. He rolled off the block, the top of which ignited an instant later. He popped up and fired, and the skeleton's head tumbled to the ground. Though dangerous, it was hard to take these things seriously with their ultra-low resolution. He activated the photorealistic video settings Klaus-21 had made available, and the horror factor instantly kicked in.

He'd already heard groans and footsteps approaching from behind, but when he turned he faced far more than expected. The improved visuals had not increased the details of the audio, so the number of footsteps had been deceiving.

A mob of at least forty rotting, shambling humanoids approached, and the closest was almost within reach.

Choosing to conserve ammo, the Captain sprinted away, easily outrunning most of them. Four of the zombies were far smaller though, and these could almost keep up. And unlike him, they'd never get tired. He felt his heartbeat speeding up, far sooner than his real body would have needed, but still on par with the high standards of his subordinates.

Slinging his rifle to make running easier, Benicio manifested his pistol. He fired one shot over his shoulder, blasting a hole in the chest of the closest little pursuer, but it wasn't enough to kill it. Two more shots to the center of mass finally dropped the thing.

And then a dozen giant spiders manifested up ahead. With a leg span of more than two meters, the things reminded him of Watcher footage from the frontier of Keç. But those were easily-domesticated insectivores. The things now rushing toward him had glowing red eyes and seemed distinctly hostile.

An abrupt turn to the right allowed him to sprint downhill. Leaping down a meter at a time was far easier than leaping up, and after a while he turned right, doubling back. The primitive A.I. always moved directly toward him, allowing him to manipulate their positions relative to each other. He waited until he reached a flat area near a body of water, then he spun, dropped to a knee, and switched his rifle to full auto.

As he'd hoped, the two groups of pursuers had started to clump up as they all switched courses to follow. None of his twenty shots missed, and the spiders died in sprays of greenish goo. The hypervelocity projectiles went on to damage additional targets behind the spiders, and he switched to burst fire, bringing down the zippy little zombies.

Then a brutal pain engulfed his lower back.

Frequent training with pain settings at maximum enabled him to quickly focus and sort through the agony. He'd been pierced in three places, all in a line, and the pressure suggested something heavy. He reached his left hand around and found the shaft of something like a spear. Knowing this would start the countdown to bleeding to death, but certain that he'd die sooner with this thing impeding him, he yanked the weapon free and gave it a look. The trident was soaked with his blood, which he felt pouring down his back. Were his avatar less powerfully built, the longest prong likely would have emerged from his stomach. His real body, trained to a brutal extreme, would have taken the hit better, but at least it hadn't damaged his spine…

Another bow twanged, and this time he moved a bit too slowly. He reacted as fast as before, but the simulation apparently decided that the damage to his core should rob his evasive spin of the speed he needed. The arrow punched deep into his left side, though low enough to miss his lung. Raising his rifle with one hand, he sprayed three shots toward the skeleton, managing to blow off one of its fragile arms. It wouldn't be able to draw its bow. Turning toward the water, he saw a slimy, shambling thing striding up onto the shore. It was likely what threw the trident. Briefly slinging his rifle, Benicio used the bloody trident for a bit of poetic payback.

Then he heard a strange, almost mechanical grunt. He turned.

What…?

Even Tácito Nelson would look like a runt next to this thing. The alien figure was three meters tall, jet black, and its eyes glowed an unnatural violet. As it moved, it left a spectral afterimage.

Then it turned toward Benicio… and shrieked.

Nope!

Shots spewed from the Captain's rifle at full auto, but the thing teleported away. It appeared right next to Benicio, and lashed out with its freakishly long arms. Despite blocking with his rifle, he found himself flying backward. The strength of the shrieking thing could barely be believed, and Benicio hit the water. At least the giant didn't follow him in.

A trident shot past, barely missing him, and likely only due to him not having come to a stop from that punch. Turning toward the newest threat, he put a shot through its head.

Then a strange fish thing with one giant eye approached from the gloom of deeper water. It focused on him, and the water began to ripple…

Seriously?

Benicio's first shot hit home, but the thing didn't die. His next shot finished the job, but not before it struck. A concussive energy blast hurled Benicio out of the water, and he landed hard on the blocky shore. The blast had broken multiple ribs. Along with that, the arrow in his side, and the three puncture wounds from the trident, things were look'n pretty rough. All of it together reinforced his respect for his colleagues, most of whom had physiques on par with this avatar. They trained and sparred and suffered, despite being far slower and more fragile than he was. Though only moderately above average in height and mass, doctors confirmed that his muscle density greatly surpassed what most athletes could ever achieve, and his bones responded exceptionally well to high-impact training. This simulation made it easier for him to imagine the courage needed to face combat without possessing his unusual advantages. In his eyes, the weakest soldier on a battlefield actually deserved the most respect, since they faced the greatest danger.

Despite all the damage his avatar had suffered, and refusing to acknowledge the pain in any meaningful way, he flipped to his feet. He heard his broken ribs splintering from the strain, but he spun away in time to evade the teleporting giant's kick. Another shot from his gauss rifle confirmed that the thing consistently teleported away from bullets. But this is based on an ancient video game. Odds are, this thing can be beaten… just not from a distance.

While blood spread across his soaked uniform from four deadly wounds, he dropped his rifle and snatched up the closest trident. He dived toward the monster, getting inside its guard, avoiding its powerful swings. He drove the trident into the thing with all his strength, noting how much more force his real body could have generated, and his target shrieked before teleporting away. Knowing it would be back, the Captain started a high-speed spin. It tried to appear behind him, but his spin allowed him to promptly stab it a second time, and it teleported away without attacking.

One more attempt, and it died screaming.

Then the sky filled with circling, diving, howling bat-like creatures.

Growing weary from blood loss, and in danger of going into shock, Benicio forced himself to stay calm and collected. He smoothly shot the things out of the sky, one after another, until the last two dived directly toward him. He sidestepped, lining them up, so a single round went through both. He then stepped forward and ducked, easily avoiding the plummeting corpses.

The mob of slow zombies were finally drawing close, and he knew he could no longer outrun them. He was growing lightheaded, and his traumatized core muscles were starting to twitch and cramp. Standing his ground, he patiently dropped one target after another.

A sharp hiss from directly behind him forebode disaster. He spun around as quickly as he could manage, but his dying body couldn't keep up with his instinctive reflexes.

He caught the briefest glimpse of a man-sized green armless entity, swelling grotesquely…

Then a point-blank detonation blew Benicio apart.

The pain and dizziness vanished, and he extracted himself from the VR rig. Cheers greeted him, which seemed odd. The holo in the center of the room showed chunky gore surrounding a crater. The program spared no expense with those visuals. It was so messy as to feel almost comical.

"Why do I deserve cheers?" he asked the gathered soldiers. "I let myself get stabbed in the back."

"That was an error in the simulator," a technician explained. "When Klaus-21 designed this scenario, he overlooked a few small audio files. That water zombie thing created no sound."

The youngest soldier, Private Anderson, slapped Benicio on the back. "And even after you got impaled by a trident, you kept wrecking the opposition. You killed an Enderman with a weapon you pulled out of your own body."

"Wait... you knew what that thing was called? This game is centuries old."

Anderson held up a datapad. "Klaus totally left notes. You didn't bother to read them?"

Ignoring that, Benicio turned to the rest of the gathered soldiers. "So... were you all so impressed you'll let me take another turn?"

"Not a chance," Lieutenant Blanchet said flatly. She boldly moved Benicio out of the way so she could slip into the rig herself. "I'm gonna try to beat your score."

---

Nurse Wilma Taibei could barely contain her excitement. Presenting her findings regarding MD-Δ had been quite a triumphant moment, but this managed to top it. All six Watchers lay face down on operating tables. Second only to Doctor Sharma, Wilma would oversee the implantation of the MD-Δ pumps that would automate and regulate all future dosages. Head Scientist Baldwin would supervise the teams implanting the new sensory deprivation and neural regulatory equipment that would enable enhanced Watching from any location. Since either surgery would require the Watchers to take a full day to recover, the decision was made to do these operations back to back.

With three dozen doctors, nurses, and scientists making ready, the infirmary would have already felt a bit crowded. But with eighteen other patients present, it was downright packed. HQ security forces continued to train with reckless intensity, and injury or overexertion was becoming common. Captain Martins was there, with symptoms of somewhat mild sleep deprivation, and Wilma suspected this was just an excuse for him to be present during the operations.

"All teams appear ready," Doctor Sharma said. "The MD-Δ pumps will require less time to implant, so they'll be first. Doctor Wilma Taibei, you are in charge for this stage."

Wilma's jaw nearly dropped, and she raised an eyebrow.

Supriya smiled. "Approval just came through today. Our medical board reviewed your supplemental studies and training since joining the Organization. Further, we concluded that your recent work on the MD-Δ project can double as your thesis. You are, officially, a Doctor."

What a dramatic way to inform me… Still, she knew deep down it was deserved. "Anesthesiologists, you may–"

"Not for me," Niko-29 said. His voice was somewhat muffled.

"Excuse me?" Doctor Taibei asked.

"I don't want anesthesia. Not even local."

"These implants will require multiple incisions and–"

"I know," Niko interrupted for the second time. With her brand new title, Wilma had not expected this level of backtalk… but Watchers kind of outranked everyone, at least socially. Even Heads of State were expected to take a Watcher's calls if they wanted to chat.

"Are you telling me you want pain?" Wilma asked.

"If you'll be cutting into me, yeah, I choose to feel it," Niko said. "We have loads of proof that my brain can use pain productively. I'm gonna try Watching during these procedures."

From his bed in the far corner, Captain Martins called, "Seriously people, the kid's hardcore."

"So am I," Anya-28 declared. "My Watching may not be enhanced by pain, but I want to see if I can Watch despite it. So no pain killers for me either, and I'm gonna try Watching too."

"Same here," Peng-24 said, though he didn't sound the least bit eager.

"Try'n to impress me?" Anya asked.

Peng huffed. "You're certainly worth it."

"I'll try this too, for solidarity," Fawzia-11 said. "Though I reserve the right to ask for anesthesia at any time, I'll at least start without it."

Disbelief and worry showed on many faces, including Doctor Sharma's, but Wilma just shrugged. "Very well. If any of you show dangerously high heart rates, your anesthesiologists can administer meds at their discretion, but I'll honor your wishes at first. Muscle paralytics only." She turned to the final two Watchers. "Duri-22, Charlotte-17?"

"Of course," Charlotte said. "After the others spoke up, I took it as a given that I'd feel the knife too."

"Knives," Wilma corrected. "There will be many."

"Oh, lovely," Duri said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It'd be hard for me to call this positive peer pressure… but whatever. I won't be the only one of us to wimp out. And since we haven't yet identified my alternative route to stronger Watching, maybe this will reveal something. But if anyone laughs when I scream, which is guaranteed to happen a lot, I warn you… Watchers have many options for making someone's life miserable."

"Without MD-Δ in our systems, few of us will be able to pierce the faraday shielding," Fawzia observed. "If we all try to Watch during the operations, please remember basic courtesy. Watch only public areas of the facility. If you really want to toughen up, you might even consider Watching your own surgery."

"That sounds… horrible…" Duri observed.

"Then that's just what I'll do," Anya insisted.

"It makes sense in terms of training," Niko added. "While Watching, it can be easy to forget about your body… but not if you can see the scalpels while–"

"Please don't make this harder than it already is," Charlotte interrupted. "Remember, manling, you can handle pain better than anyone. Have a little mercy on us mortals."

"So be it," Doctor Taibei said. "Anesthesiologists, stand by. Only use muscle-paralyzing agents to prevent the patients from moving the targeted body parts. You are to administer pain medication only if a patient requests it or their vitals show excessive strain."

Doctor Parks objected. "It's not just a matter of the patients suffering. This will be brutal for the surgeons. We never operate on patients who can feel the knife. We entered the medical field to reduce the pain in the world, not add to it." Many other doctors and nurses nodded in agreement.

Head Doctor Sharma spoke. "I certainly understand the sentiment. I wouldn't want to cause pain either. But our Watchers serve humanity, and they want to use this occasion to grow more capable. Further, we can't always operate with adequate anesthesia. In a crisis, we may need to cut into a patient who can feel it. Even as the Watchers train, you're training as well. I know this will be hard for you, but I thank you for your compliance. Honor the wishes of the Watchers."

The surgeons still looked uncomfortable, but no further objections were raised. Doctor Sharma turned to Wilma, and nodded.

"Surgeons, you may begin."

All six of the Watchers entered their Trances, and the surgeons started cutting.

For the first five minutes, even Niko kept getting knocked out of his Watch, as the pain was too different from the agony of his frequent nerve flares. He, Charlotte, and Fawzia managed to remain silent, but their discomfort was obvious. Every time Duri's Watch failed, he shamelessly wailed and shrieked. Anya kept trying to hide her pain with angry shouts, while Peng let out bursts of colorfully inventive curses, the best of which Wilma added to her "For Emergencies" folder.

Fawzia, Peng, and Duri lasted until the first implant was in place, but then they promptly accepted general anesthetic and slept through the remainder. Anya and Charlotte accepted low doses of local anesthetic halfway through the second operation, while only Niko got through the entire ordeal unaided. Frequent full-body torture has given him a bit of an advantage in terms of pain tolerance, but even so… If he weren't a Watcher, he might have been an excellent future candidate for Chief Rakoto's elites.

At last, the final team declared the operation successful. Advanced anti-inflammatories and the latest healing agents had been employed, and the patients would be free to go about their daily routines in twenty-four hours. Perhaps a bit sooner for Anya and Niko.

But then, an alert began to ping.

"Is that what I think it is?" Niko asked, his voice strained.

"I'm afraid so," Doctor Sharma said, her voice showing genuine regret. "Your CPN-Ω is about to flare…"

So, Wilma thought, two hours of invasive surgery apparently wasn't enough. Now his condition is going to torture him for at least as long.

But, despite everything, Niko surprised them all. "Might as well," he said. "I'm already gonna be down for a day. Let's get this over with."

Chapter 12: Transcending

Renya Baldwin could barely contain her excitement. Despite the Watchers being confined to quarters for recovery, they were all successfully Watching. In some cases, they were Watching farther than ever before. The three neural implants her team had perfected allowed the Watchers to enhance their power as if plugged into their full neural rig. And with the MD-Δ pumps, they didn't even need medical staff on hand to administer the drug. This is a major step forward. Although they'll still need their Chambers to record the footage from their Watch, the ability to enhance their powers anywhere, any time, will be vital moving forward.

Further, the crazy pain pact the Watchers had entered into during the surgeries had produced results of its own. Peng and Niko both now showed increased ability to strengthen their powers via pain. In Peng's case, he'd perfected a mental state where pain fed his anger, allowing him to push through–and benefit from–higher levels of discomfort than before. Although Anya, Fawzia, Charlotte, and Duri couldn't use pain to strengthen their Watch, they all now showed improved ability to Watch despite moderate pain. More importantly, Duri had made a personal breakthrough: he could intensify his Trance through fear. During the operations, he broke his personal record the moment Wilma said "begin."

Tácito's suggestion to Anya is working too. That was quite an impressive leap of intuition on his part, since Watchers almost never even try to move during their Trance. While in bed, recovering from the surgery, Anya was Watching herself, performing leg lifts without breaking her Trance. It would likely take a tricky bit of mental gymnastics, but once she grew accustomed to this new skill, she should actually grow more powerful while moving.

Our organization has advanced more in the past week than in any preceding decade. All it took was the murder of the most beloved member of our organization… and the pressure of millions of endangered lives…

A heavy weariness fell upon Renya, and she felt every day of her sixty years, and every extra kilo she carried. She resolved to follow 21's example from the past year. Like him, Renya would never be "athletic," but she'd benefit from mixing in at least some physical activity. She needed the energy boost. This week had been by far the most demanding of her career, and she envied her younger subordinates.

She thought back to her carefree childhood in the Philippines, before she'd decided she wanted to make an impact on the world. It had been fun, and easy, but nostalgia couldn't compete with the satisfaction of helping the Watchers grow and improve. As tired as she was, she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Tonight, I hope everyone gets plenty of rest. Tomorrow, we'll all plunge back into the fight.

---

Hasina Rakoto took careful note as Tácito Nelson brought up a list of names with accompanying profiles. Pointing, he said, "With most of our Watchers now aware of their individual options for future training, I'm going to reassign twenty of my archivists to assist you with the New Zealand investigation."

Hasina nodded. "Thank you. Fawzia-11 hasn't found anything to substantiate the fears of their counterterrorism task force, but we can't afford to ignore it. With your people scouring all of her past and future footage in the region, we can rest easier. I personally doubt anything will come of it, but I didn't get this position by being complacent. Fawzia's finally reached the point where she can Watch Elpis if the Aurora is active, but I've requested that the rest of the time she focus her efforts on New Zealand."

Tácito smiled. "You're seven years my junior, and much of the time even I still feel a bit young for this. What's it like to have total authority over the most important installation in history?"

That required a bit of reflection. Officially, the Security Chief always had nominal command of the entire facility. But that authority was rarely exercised over the other department heads except during times of a security crisis. So, despite technically being in charge for many years, Hasina had generally thought of herself as only commanding security. But the disappearance of Klaus-21, followed by the discovery of the terrifying Lamia, had made her on-paper authority very real, and it wasn't likely to resolve any time soon.

And that authority felt… natural. "A good Commander values the thoughts and suggestions of her soldiers. Not just the officers, any soldier with good insights should be heard out when there's time to do so. Commanding this entire facility doesn't feel overwhelming, because every department head can be trusted to manage their personnel responsibly. And all of those personnel can be trusted to do their jobs."

Tácito nodded. "My job's always felt simple enough. Archivists might occasionally end up lost in a rabbit hole of research that devours a lot of their time, but otherwise they're very easy to work with. I hardly ever encounter disciplinary issues, and they all know how to do the jobs with minimal input other than giving them a goal." He smirked. "I guess that's a downside of our Organization attracting the best of the best. Most of them don't need us looking over their shoulder, since they're gonna get the job done quickly and efficiently all on their own. Before this crisis, there were days when I almost could have slept through my shift."

"That's certainly not the case now," Hasina said. "In all my years with the Organization, I've never seen anything like the level of energy and drive shown by every single person on our payroll. Not even the failed raid on HQ came close to rallying all Departments like this. Though, to be honest, I always thought your job was harder than mine."

Tácito frowned. "You lead security. You have to step up when maniacs try to kill us all. I just make sure a bunch of librarians stay focused when going over mountains of footage."

"My forces very rarely see combat. Mostly, they train, run simulations, and stay at the top of their game… while waiting. My people could see actual combat, but they almost never do. Your people though… they see tragedy far too often."

Nodding slowly, Tácito didn't try to force a smile. "True. For every time a Watcher sees something tragic or brutal, many archivists have to observe the same footage in detail. Sometimes it feels like my real role is that of a therapist, helping my team recover from witnessing the worst mankind has to offer. Klaus-21 helped tremendously in that regard. I do my best, I really do. But his empathy, and his ability to get right to the heart of someone's pain and how they might address it… I miss that. The shooting at that hospital five years ago put an extreme psychological strain on my department. It'd been decades since anything like that had happened. It was so complex, and progressed so quickly… More than half of my people had to work that assignment for weeks. It was very hard for us to move past it, and three of my team actually quit the Organization because of it."

"Really?"

Hasina and Tácito both turned. This informal meeting wasn't being held in a private office, but neither of them had heard Charlotte-17 approach.

Tácito shrugged. "I never told anyone outside of my department. The three archivists that left after that shooting weren't actually reassigned to intelligence agencies. They retired early after seeing more than they could handle."

"I didn't know either," Hasina admitted. "I just accepted the explanation that circulated at the time."

"Sorry for the deception," Tácito said quietly. "But it could have been worse. My two senior archivists nearly quit as well. It took Klaus and me together to convince them to stay on, and only with promises that they'd be exempt from any violent footage. I can't blame them in the slightest."

Charlotte looked more somber than usual. "Thank you, both of you. We Watchers wouldn't be a tenth as useful to humanity without the support of your departments. Mr. Nelson, your archivists have to spend far more of their time observing traumatic events than we Watchers do. On that terrible day, I saw barely two minutes of those shootings, and forty-five minutes of the aftermath. But most of your people spent hundreds of hours pouring over that imagery, from many angles, and at much slower speed. I don't blame those three for retiring after that. And I respect Mr. Walsh and Mrs. Yusaragi more than ever."

Tácito couldn't hide his surprise that Charlotte knew the names of the oldest archivists. "I'll be sure to tell them you feel that way. They only stayed out of loyalty to your team."

Charlotte smiled. "And don't sell yourself short. You act like your job's easy, but I know that you spend as much time examining our recordings as your subordinates do."

Nodding in gracious acknowledgement, Tácito didn't see the need to say more.

"And as for you, Chief Rakoto, thank you for maintaining the most capable security force in human civilization. Part of why you don't see combat more than once a decade is because most of our detractors know they couldn't beat you. Even before Captain Martins joined us, your reputation as a strategist was legendary. The world knows that attacking the Watchers would mean getting destroyed."

"Any good Commander prefers to avoid bloodshed," Hasina acknowledged. "But that kind of intimidation is only possible when you're superlatively capable of bloodshed. I only wish my team had the means to directly engage the threat on Elpis."

"As do I." Charlotte grew more introspective. "Having even one person on site could make an enormous difference to the investigation…"

"Renya's scientists are still compiling theories and equations from universities and laboratories all over the world," Hasina said. "If they gain any insights into factors that might make physical projection possible, the Watchers will be informed immediately. Though safety will remain the paramount concern."

Charlotte nodded. "Of course."

---

"If projecting our perspective through that little monster's head pisses her off… I say we go further." Peng-24 brought up imagery from times when Lamiya looked like she might have experienced pain from Watcher interference. "What if we Watch the inside of that rotten little skull, and stay there? Could that mess her up worse than–"

Fawzia-11 had to cut him off. Partially because his suggestion was so tempting. "Be reasonable. Whenever Lamia's given more than a second to directly observe a Watcher, she attempts to abduct them. Leaving your point of view inside her brain is far too likely to end very poorly."

"Think though," Peng said, leaning in. "If she tries to drag us across space while we're Watching her brain, what happens if she succeeds? What if it causes us to physically appear exactly where we're Watching? If someone materializes occupying the exact same space as her, wouldn't that kill both people?"

Stunned to hear this coming from 24 of all people, Fawzia couldn't immediately respond.

Duri-22 spoke up instead. "Are you suggesting a suicide strike, sacrificing a Watcher to kill Lamia?"

"Klaus would've been willing," Peng said, the picture of absolute conviction. "If Klaus was still alive, and he saw a way to stop all these murders, he wouldn't think twice about dying to make it happen."

"Please don't share this theory with Charlotte," Fawzia insisted. "She might be just as willing as Klaus. Remember, she thought little of a Watcher's role before 21 entered her life. Now, she practically worships his memory. If you tell her of a way that Klaus might have given his life to stop Lamia, she's far too likely to try."

"And we really can't be sure such a thing would ever be possible," Duri added. "All we know is that Lamia tries to 'pull' on a Watcher's mind when she gets a chance, and that somehow Klaus ended up on Elpis. What if maintaining your perspective inside her head simply let her grab your mind, and then she teleported you wherever she wanted? That could easily be how it works."

"Then make sure that your real body's holding a gauss pistol, ready to fire."

"We've seen the power of her telekineses," Fawzia argued. "She could prevent you from firing long enough to murder you like any of her other victims."

"I'm not volunteering to try this," Peng clarified. "I haven't reversed my personality overnight. But if Charlotte was willing to try this, shouldn't we let her? Lamia's the worst threat our Organization's ever faced. Even if Charlotte died to bring her down, won't Niko surpass her someday?"

The room fell silent. Fawzia had never exactly liked Peng, but this felt unusually callous. Worse, Fawzia could easily see the logic of it. For all we know, Lamia might one day discover how to Watch Earth and abduct Watchers in their sleep. If that were possible, it could be the end of the Organization. Compared to that, even losing Charlotte could be considered a fair price to pay.

With eerie timing, Charlotte-17 entered the room. She noticed the intense expressions on all of their faces, and her eyes widened. She knew she'd walked in on a high-pressure situation, and she initially remained quiet.

Feeling the weight of her role as senior Watcher, Fawzia tried to reassure her. "Pay us no mind Charlotte. We had a bit of an argument, but no harm done. What did you wish to say?"

Though clearly not convinced, Charlotte didn't pry. "Lately, we've all made tremendous progress, and I just wanted to acknowledge it. We've worked together for years, but the past week has seen all of us achieve what we never would've thought possible."

"Ya' got that right," Peng said. "Though you're still OP compared to us."

Chuckling, Charlotte shook her head. "Peng, your drive has become commendable. Who woulda thought that you'd be willing to endure so much discomfort and even pain to become more useful to the Organization?"

"I just wanna see Klaus avenged," Peng said defensively.

"And after that happens, you'll still be a far better Watcher than before."

Peng shrugged. "An unfortunate and unavoidable side-effect."

Charlotte turned. "Duri, ever since you were informed that fear is your path to greater strength, you haven't once backed down from using it. You're determined to go through anything asked of you to build your ability. Thank you."

"If Peng, and especially Niko, are going through agony for this, I'd have to be pretty spineless to avoid fear."

Nodding, Charlotte faced Fawzia. "You were Klaus-21's mentor. You taught him everything you knew, and believed in him. Your respect for him led me to take him seriously too. And you continue to lead us well. Thank you."

Unaccustomed to such direct praise from a fellow Watcher, Fawzia felt a bit flustered. "What's motivating this outpouring of sentiment?"

Charlotte blushed. "It's been a very rough week. We all recently felt the knife. And our job's gotten far more dangerous than it once was. It's entirely possible that one of us might fall prey to Lamia's powers sooner or later. In some ways, it feels like a miracle that we've avoided that so far. I don't want these words left unsaid if… if I lose one of you."

Maybe it was weariness or residual discomfort from the surgeries, but Fawzia felt tears trying to flow. She forced that response down. "To you, Charlotte-17, I also say, 'Thank you.' It may have taken Klaus to show you the value of what we do, but you embraced it fully. You surpassed the very man who gave you such purpose." And I know how much he meant to you, above and beyond his inspiring ideals. Even if you don't know it yourself.

Duri raised a glass to that. "I've never been the envious sort. Your power's been awesome to see. And not just cuz it meant you often had more work to do than me."

Peng sighed, and Fawzia thought of how mere moments ago he was suggesting they sacrifice Charlotte on a suicide mission. Thankfully, Peng kept it friendly. "Now that I'm finally taking this seriously, I've started to see how much of a difference we can make. That might not be my core motivation, but it feels… good… to be strong enough to help."

Charlotte couldn't hide the emotion that rose up in her, and Fawzia felt her own tears again threaten to overflow. Bowing graciously, Charlotte quickly stepped out and closed the door behind her.

---

"Not bad, little guy," Anya laughed. "It took Klaus months of training before he could manage that. You remind me of an ant. Tiny, twiggy… but stronger than you look."

Niko dropped down from the rings onto the triple-padded floor of Anya's personal gym. He glared. "And you're not bad… for a girl."

Though Anya agreed that turnabout's fair play, and she laughed all the louder, she still couldn't resist putting one hand on his chest and giving him a shove. As expected, the shrimpy kid flew back and bounced across the mats.

"Hey now," Benicio Martins said, "you threw the first insult, even if you mixed it with praise."

"Shoving him was a compliment," Anya insisted. "It proves I know he's tough enough to take it."

Benicio raised an eyebrow. "Ah… so that's how it works?"

Anya hit the mat before she even realized Benicio moved. She skidded to a stop several meters from where he stood, and she lay there blinking.

"Whoa, Benny! Not bad!" Niko jogged over to where Anya lay and held out a hand. "Let me help you up… so he can do that again!"

Laughing harder than ever, Anya ignored the offered hand and effortlessly flipped to her feet. She wasn't surprised that nothing hurt. Captain Martins was far more than just strong. He had the skill to pull something like that without leaving so much as a bruise. "Kid, I'm sorry I called ya' twiggy, and I'm sorry I knocked ya' down."

Niko frowned in suspicion. "You want something from me… Oh! You wanna spar with Benny, but you know you'll get wrecked alone! Why do ya' think I'll make a difference?"

"You'll give me an unfair advantage, which I need. I'm built like a tank, but you're built like a bug, so he'll be way more careful about hurting you."

"Ya' know," Benicio mused, "dirty tricks are way less likely to work when you talk about them right in front of me."

"I kinda wanna do this though," Niko said, smiling. "So many people treat me like I'm made of glass. But my condition makes me tougher, not more fragile. Ready for a two-on-one spar, Benny?"

"I don't think you'll like it, either of you," Benicio warned. "If Anya thinks knocking you down was a sign of respect… just remember how much I respect both of you…"

The kid smirked. "Bring it."

But Anya didn't want to wait. "Back me up, 29!" She charged.

Years of frustration from being forced out of gymnastics and denied high intensity training all gave way to the joy of cutting loose. With Niko circling to come from behind, she hurled herself at Benicio, swinging away with everything she had. Her punches far exceeded the force of an average man, and she had the energy to keep it coming for a long time.

But wow it didn't go well…

Anya might be one of the twenty strongest women in the Solar System, but the Captain was the greatest soldier in living memory. He wasn't especially tall, and no one would call him massive, but it still felt like punching a brick wall. For several seconds, he just guarded his face and neck, laughingly ignoring every hit aimed anywhere else. Her hands ached from the very first punches, and she feared she might break her fingers at this rate. She wasn't vindictive enough—or stupid enough—to go for the groin, so she genuinely didn't know what to do.

Niko crashed into Benicio at full speed, bounced off with a comical grunt, and skidded away. The sight was so cartoonish Anya lost her focus laughing for a crucial moment. Striking back for the first time, Benny got a grip on her right shoulder and spun her halfway around. A gentle but firm shove sent her sprawling on Niko, who hadn't been quick enough to get back to his feet. Her knee caught the kid in the face, but no more than a soft hiss escaped his lips.

Afraid of a wrestling pin from behind, Anya rolled away and flipped upright, but Benicio hadn't bothered to move. He just stood there, smiling casually.

"He's not taking us seriously," Anya groaned, more than a little embarrassed.

"Why would he?" Niko asked. "We all know you rock, but it's Benny we're talking about."

"But he said he respects us! Why is he going so easy?"

"Because if he hits either of us for real, he'll get a reprimand at the very least! We're Watchers! He can't risk hurting us! And a kid my size might flat out die if someone like him threw a punch!"

"The teeny genius is right," Benicio said casually. "I respect you. I do. But I also respect what I'm capable of when I get serious. I'm willing to bruise you. Just look at Niko's eye where your knee hit. But I will not break either of you. I could burst Niko's ribs with one hit. You outweigh him three to one, but you'd still need weeks to recover."

Frustrated, Anya said, "Fine. How about a non-contact competition? A more formal–and demanding–version of what we were doing earlier?"

"You got it," Benicio said. "What do we try first?"

"Pullups!" Niko chirped.

"Of course you'd say that," Anya scoffed. "You weigh almost nothing… but that still won't be enough."

Two hundred eleven pullups later, Anya collapsed to the mat, dizzy and panting. The sedentary Niko had surprised her by managing twenty-two… but Benicio was still going. Not only was he carved from freak'n granite, the Captain seemed to eat pain. When he hit three hundred, she ordered him to stop showing off.

"No fair!" Niko objected. "You did ten times as many as me and I didn't order you to stop!"

But Benicio dropped down to the mat. "She's got a point. Why risk getting tired before the next test?"

"Backflips," Anya said confidently.

"Ah… clever," Niko said. "A backflip would almost always be stupid during combat. He probably doesn't try that too often. Oh wait… This is gonna suck for me…"

Anya shrugged. "Yeah sorry, lil' guy. Your torture sessions have left you tough as nails… but I doubt that'll be enough here."

Niko's very first attempt was a hilarious wipeout, and he refused to try again. Captain Martins managed well enough, compensating for inexperience with raw power. With a brief pause after each attempt, he managed ten easily enough. Then, with better technique, he managed ten in a row. But he didn't try to hide how out of the ordinary this was for him.

Anya proceeded to backflip continuously all around the edge of the room four times without pause. Benicio graciously declared her supreme.

"Benny's turn," Niko said. His black eye was ugly at this point, but he had yet to acknowledge it. "I'm already out of the running, but whichever of you wins this is the champion."

The Captain's expression turned serious. He looked back and forth between the two Watchers, and Anya felt both proud–and worried–at his intensity. "Let's try something you both got some experience with… two days ago." With a quick subvocalized command, he brought up a holo of a security training simulation. "Sync this with your implants. Our nervous systems will believe we're being mauled by bears. Last person to cancel their sim wins."

Anya was speechless. She knew the security forces had gotten brutal in their recent training programs, but she hadn't expected this variety of "respect" from the man who refused to throw a punch.

"Take it from me, Anya, this kind of pain won't leave any lasting harm," Niko said. "And it's not so bad when you know you're not actually injured."

"Easy for you to say!" She failed to hide her dismay. "You've got hundreds of hours of training in that sort of thing! And the Captain probably does too!"

"Do you forfeit?" Benny asked, sounding a bit mischievous.

"Crap, no!" Anya spat. "I just think you're a maniac! Of course I'll do it!" With a sweep of a hand, she loaded the simulation into her own implants. The other two did the same.

"Run programs," Benicio said calmly.

Anya hit the mat screaming. This felt way too real. The careful application of scalpels had nothing on this. Benicio was not kidding when he said "bears." This felt like at least five, all fighting over her at once.

In the midst of her thrashing, she noticed that the other two hadn't even fallen. Though quivering and twitching, the two men (one of whom happened to be twelve) stared at each other with rigid focus. Niko's silly T-shirt, decorated with cartoonish drawings of ancient video game characters, looked utterly at odds with his current iron-hard intensity. This had very quickly become a deeply personal competition between the guys, and Anya was nearly forgotten. I don't care! This isn't about competing anymore! I need to prove to myself that this kind of thing's in my power. She let herself keep screaming, and thrashing, though her squawks gradually managed to shift to defiant shouts and cries of "Is that all you got?"

With no one noticing her arrival, Charlotte's raised voice managed to be heard over the sound of Anya's. "What the… What's going on here?"

"Pause all programs," Benicio said, his voice strained but clear.

"No fair!" Niko shouted. "I was gonna win! He was almost ready to fall over!"

"That still wouldn't have ended the competition," Benicio countered.

"Thanks, Charlotte," Anya gasped. "I should have given up a while ago…"

"Seriously, what did I miss?" Charlotte's tone implied she didn't really want to know, but felt she needed to.

"Good old manly competition," Niko said, puffing out his narrow chest. "Anya's pretty epic too."

"Remember our crazy pain pact during the surgeries?" Anya asked, struggling to her feet.

"I could hardly forget," Charlotte said dryly.

"Apparently the Captain felt left out."

Charlotte sighed. "The things men–and kids–do in their free time…"

"What about me?" Anya demanded.

"You're half my age," Charlotte chuckled. "I'm allowed to call you a kid."

Anya looked over at the invincible Captain Martins, and the child who'd won his respect. I could do way worse than to be counted as one of them…

"What brought you here, 17?" the Captain asked. "Like Niko, are you finally interested in training more than your mind?"

A curious expression came over Charlotte, but it was quickly hidden. Maybe Klaus could have read its significance, but Anya didn't know what to make of it. At last, Charlotte answered, "We Watchers are facing real danger for the first time. Lamia wants us dead. If we're finding ways to get stronger, it's possible that she might also. There's a chance that she'll manage to take one of us like she did Klaus."

Those words brought a chill to Anya's spine, and her sweat-soaked training outfit suddenly felt very cold.

"We'll be careful," Niko said reassuringly.

"But it might not be enough," Charlotte countered. "Just in case… I wanted to commend all of you."

"You're kinda scaring me," Anya said, genuinely worried.

"Don't read too much into it," Benicio said. "Among soldiers, it's a good policy to get important things off your chest when you know a mission might get real. You all plan on getting home alive, but nothing's ever guaranteed."

Charlotte gave him an appreciative look. "Captain, thank you for inspiring all of the other soldiers to take this crisis so seriously. The men and women who look up to you are pushing harder than ever, and you make them proud of it. Other military units might threaten mutiny when training gets so harsh. But your comrades embrace it."

"It's hardly all me," Benicio said, "or even Chief Rakoto's leadership. These soldiers are the best in the solar system. They'd never be posted here otherwise."

"Nevertheless," Charlotte said, "you inspire the best of the best… to be even better."

Benicio gave the faintest nod.

Charlotte turned to Niko. "You better take care of yourself. With your talent and drive, you will surpass me, if you haven't already. And with Klaus gone, a lot of HQ is looking to you as the new symbol of the Watchers. You were his protégé, and your little speech at the funeral was the rallying cry that got everyone moving. It's ok to push yourself, hard. But stay safe."

The boy looked a bit overwhelmed, and his voice quivered slightly as he said, "You too."

Ignoring that, Charlotte turned to Anya. "28, I know that Klaus was a major influence in keeping your morale up. No matter how important you are as a Watcher, being forced to leave behind a career you loved, and at such a young age, must have felt crippling. But in the last few days, you've helped save lives from an enemy we barely understand. Your previous life was fulfilling, and glorious, and inspiring… but I hope you'll accept that the current you is even grander."

Anya was horrified to discover tears flowing. So quickly, and so succinctly, Charlotte had raised up Anya's pain, exposed it for all to see… and proven that Anya had conquered it without even realizing she had. This was the sort of thing she'd learned to expect from Klaus. Charlotte idolized him for years. It's clear she's striving to live up to his legacy… At last, she managed to say, "Thank you, 17. Right now, you're the best of us."

Shrugging, Charlotte turned to go. "You all can keep torturing yourselves if you want. I hope you don't mind if I refrain."

---

In her private suite, Charlotte-17 gazed longingly at an old-fashioned portrait of Klaus-21. Not a holo, or even a photo, but a hand-drawn likeness she'd commissioned on the day of his funeral. His soft features, fluffy hair, bright wide eyes, and gentle, caring smile. That man had never been anyone's enemy. He'd shown genuine compassion for every single person he met. He always put the needs of others first, and his hope of a bright future had been a beacon to them all.

Early that morning, Charlotte had finally accepted something about herself. Something that had always been near the surface of her subconscious, but never before acknowledged.

She had loved him.

Not just been inspired by him, not just striven to emulate him. Loved him. She would have spent her life with him with no regrets. Imagining Klaus raising her children, and instilling them with his empathy and selflessness… It stabbed her with renewed grief. A Watcher's life had been safe and protected. She'd felt no great urgency to acknowledge these feelings or give Klaus any real hint of their depth.

And now he was gone.

That grief, that loss, coupled with the love she still felt… it had empowered her Watching. While Niko gained power from physical pain, Charlotte's emotional anguish gave her strength. And with it, she'd performed a test that morning, something no one had ever managed.

Lying in bed, projecting her awareness just a meter above her physical location, looking down at her own face, she finally tried what she'd been working herself up for. Activating her neural implants, she'd forced a triple dose of MD-Δ, and fully embraced the pain of losing the man she loved.

She'd fallen facedown on her mattress from a meter up.

Her plan could go forward. Just in case, she'd spent most of the morning saying her subtle goodbyes. Now, it was time. She couldn't afford to wait. If her intentions were discovered, the others would try to stop her. And in any case, her grief over Klaus was fresh, and the pain so sharp, because she only today realized how much he'd meant to her. If she delayed, the intensity of this pain could fade, and she might not be strong enough for what she had to do.

Burning the portrait into her mind, Charlotte made ready.

She suited up in the durable utilitarian coveralls favored by HQ maintenance staff who occasionally worked outside. With internal heating and cooling, light armor weave, and the ability to link with her implants, it still didn't look too outlandish. She laced up her terrain-adaptive boots, and slipped into a lightly-armored jacket that could stop far more than the coveralls could. She holstered a gauss pistol, pulled out her well-stocked backpack, and shouldered a gauss rifle. Technically a misnomer, as the weapon's barrel required no rifling, it had the rangefinding and smart targeting needed for a novice to feel confident at half a kilometer. A multi-spectrum scanner/flashlight and two refills of MD-Δ completed her kit.

Here it goes. Time to give the Watchers a pair of boots on the ground…

Her SenDep implants activated, her MD-Δ pump flooded her system with the drug, and she entered her Trance. Her Watch began at the cave entrance of the Unwanted refugee camp. She thought of everything Klaus might have done in an effort to help these people, and she strained her powers to the max. She felt a brief pull, as if her body considered joining her mind at this distant location, but seventy lightyears was just too far.

So, as I feared, it all depends on whether Klaus was empowered by proximity to Lamia… or if the chosen site for her murders is the power source instead.

She moved her perspective south, halfway toward the spot where Klaus had died. She again strained her powers, but to no effect. She moved still closer, until she could have seen the place on the horizon if not for so many trees. This time, it felt like she almost made the transit. If that means Lamia is close…

But no. Projecting her mind to where she could see the crumbling concrete in the distance, there was no sign of the horrid little Watcher. Straining her senses, forcing her drug pump to triple her current dose, she could feel a difference. This place was at least part of what had strengthened Klaus enough for him to make physical contact. Hopefully the only part.

Lamia might appear at any moment, and Charlotte didn't dare make contact until she knew far more. She needed to hurry.

Focusing on the small, sunburned hand that lay near the polluted creek, Charlotte allowed the loss and grief to spike, and she felt something similar to when her mind returned to her body after a Watch… except in reverse.

Her boots hit dirt.

A sharp intake of breath. The touch of a cool morning breeze. The smell of alien trees.

I did it…

Not everything had made the trip. Her gauss rifle, and a water bottle slung on the outside of her backpack, must still be in her quarters seventy lightyears away. But her pistol and the rest of her gear had come with her.

This place felt… wrong. A vague sense of sickening dread put her on full alert. She expected Lamia to arrive any second, but thankfully the evil Watcher didn't make an appearance. Testing a theory, she took five steps in the direction of the fetid stream and blood-stained concrete. The sensation grew noticeably worse. This might explain why animals and even insects avoid this place, even when Lamia isn't present.

Knowing it was far too soon to risk confronting the mysterious foe, Charlotte pivoted and hurried northward toward the refugee camp.

With every step, the sensation of dread lessened.

Chapter 13: Encountering

Security Chief Rakoto flew into action the instant the base alarm sounded. The day Klaus-21 was declared dead, she'd petitioned to suspend all special privacy rights of the Watchers. Authorization had come quickly, and ever since then, the GLaDOS mainframe actively tracked all Watcher movements and biometrics. This alarm meant that one of them was no longer inside HQ.

She took in the security alert even as she broadcast her words to the entire facility. "Charlotte-17 is missing! All Watchers, immediately project your awareness to the site of Lamia's murders! Do everything in your power to interfere with the enemy! All personnel to full alert!"

Fawzia-11's voice came over the comm in reply. "The Aurora isn't active, so I can't Watch Elpis, but I'll Watch the surrounding ice sheets!"

"Understood," Hasina replied, switching back to the base-wide intercom. "Whichever security teams are closest, get to those Watchers and link with their implants! If Lamia abducts another of them, we can only hope some of our soldiers go too!"

"Baldwin here. My records show that Charlotte-17 was using her new neural implants at the time of her disappearance. The power level suggests that she wasn't just training with local Watching. She may have been Watching Elpis without first alerting us."

Doctor Wilma Taibei spoke next. "And her MD-Δ pump administered a very heavy dose at Charlotte's command."

Hasina smashed a fist down on her desk. If the Watchers were going to flout important security measures, how was she supposed to protect—

"Personnel of Watcher HQ, this is Charlotte-17."

Hasina's thoughts spun, and she double-checked her security data, confirming Charlotte still wasn't inside HQ.

"More specifically, this is a recording I put together shortly before trying something a bit… bold. If this message is being broadcast, it's because I'm no longer in my quarters. This is not due to enemy action. Rather, it means I've finally succeeded where generations of Watchers failed."

Hasina brought up footage from the secret cameras recently installed in Charlotte's suite. There the Watcher stood, dressed and kitted out like a soldier ready for a mission. At the timestamp matching the sounding of the alarm, Charlotte vanished.

One second, standing still, silent, but clearly Watching. The next, she was simply gone. The rifle slung over her shoulder and a water bottle lashed to her backpack both hit the floor.

Charlotte's voice continued to broadcast throughout the base. "Together, we've made the impossible a reality. New medication, improved technology, and an expanding comprehension of Watching has enabled me to project myself physically, crossing seventy lightyears in an instant. I intend to avoid the enemy, instead serving as an on-site investigator able to gather data more directly. I chose not to try bringing any soldiers with me, for there's no guarantee direct combat with Lamia would accomplish anything. With her invisibility and deadly powers, it's far too likely we'd all simply be murdered. At local sunrise, noon, and sunset, I'll Watch Conference Room 001. Present any information, reports, or suggestions you want me to know. I imagine that you'll always have at least one Watcher focusing on me at any given time from here on out, so I'll speak out loud regarding my observations or impressions. Do not view this as a disaster or a meaningless risk. With me physically on Elpis, our investigation and efforts can move forward far more quickly."

Thoughts and emotions swirled within Hasina. Having the most powerful Watcher in history on a distant planet, where none of them could protect her, was a Security Chief's worst nightmare. Lamia had already brutally killed Klaus-21, and they had an abundance of footage of the little monster employing telekinesis or beginning to morph her own body. But it was certain that ordering Charlotte to return home would accomplish nothing. Perhaps the best course of action would be to work with this new reality, advising Charlotte in staying safe and making the most of anything she learned.

Hasina hit the comm. "Captain Martins. Put together three full squads of our best soldiers to stay with Niko-29 in shifts. If any of the other Watchers have the power and drive to duplicate Charlotte's stunt, it'll be him. Do everything reasonably possible to ensure that he can't do so alone. Your teams will have override access so they can disable Niko's newest implants any time he isn't in contact with them."

She then keyed several commands, ensuring that the camera footage of Charlotte's disappearance could only be viewed with her permission. If Niko believed that following Charlotte might drag security personnel into danger, he likely wouldn't try. But if he saw how Charlotte's rifle hadn't made the trip, he'd realize that taking a person with him was very unlikely.

One Watcher in deadly danger was more than enough. She would not have a child taking the same risks.

---

Peng-24 Watched Charlotte enter the cave. She'd first paused half a kilometer away for a full ten minutes to catch her breath. Her jog to escape Lamia's killing grounds, followed by a brisk hike through the forest, had clearly been very demanding for the sedentary woman. Mostly composed now, Charlotte held her hands up, kept a smile on her face and called out, "I'm here to help."

Projecting his perspective ahead of her, Peng saw a middle-aged man and a young woman approaching. Both had firearms at the ready, though of an old design that predated fusion micro-reactors. They were the two caretakers that stayed in this cave full time, though three others had been seen coming and going. Based on their willingness to care for Unwanted strangers, Peng doubted they'd genuinely threaten Charlotte. Looking back, he saw the blur that represented Anya's projected mind. Duri's would be deeper in the cave network.

"Hi there," Charlotte said. "I've come a long way to help."

Though neither caretaker actually took aim, they kept their weapons in steady two-handed grips. The man spoke first. "How'd you find us?"

"My friends and I have been Watching you for several days, and we're impressed. We're also grateful. It was our intervention that allowed those Unwanted to survive Lamia's attempts to murder them."

"Bull," the young woman spat. "No one can do anything to stop her. Only the Unwanted can see her at all. And when my brother's Fifth managed to shoot her, his last words were that she was healing."

Charlotte's smile faded. "Then he was very brave. And exceptional. My colleagues and I have only seen two Unwanted who could speak."

"It's easier for them near the Dying Zone, but yes… they're very rare…" The man narrowed his eyes. "Describe them."

"A five-year-old boy whose father cares for all of his versions, and an old man… who somewhat resembled you, actually."

Peng didn't know what he expected, but it was not for both caretakers to aim directly at Charlotte's face.

"On the ground!" the man roared, triggering one of the youngest Unwanted to start crying back in the main chamber. "Face down, and keep your hands where I can see them!"

Though startled, Charlotte kept it cool. As she quickly dropped to her knees and then lay face down, she said, "We would've saved them too if we could have. But we hadn't developed a strategy yet."

While the young woman kept her weapon trained on Charlotte, the man carefully removed the gauss pistol from her holster. He looked at it in wonder, giving Charlotte a chance to get in one more sentence. "The first Unwanted we managed to save is the athletic young woman with red hair."

"You know about Karitas?" the girl asked.

"I'm the one who saved her," Charlotte answered, still keeping her face to the stone floor. "After I discovered a way to distract Lamia, my team did our best to save as many as possible. I'm sorry we were too late for the old man…"

The man didn't look away from Charlotte's gun. "What is this weapon?"

"Fourth generation gauss pistol. Fusion powered magnetic coils accelerate and spin the projectile."

"Fusion powered? You mean a battery charged via fusion?"

"No. It has an internal fusion reactor about the size of your thumb."

"You're insane," the girl scoffed. "The smallest fusion plant is six meters to a side." But the man stayed silent. He gave the pistol an even closer look.

Still not moving from the ordered position, Charlotte said, "I tried to bring a rifle too. It can achieve five times the muzzle velocity. But it got left behind."

The girl started to speak again, but the man cut her off. "My father has theorized that our fusion generators might be miniaturized, but it would take decades for us to get there… Where are you from?"

"I'm from Earth," Charlotte said.

A bark of laughter escaped from the girl, but then she fell quiet. The man still knelt there, silent, staring at the gun. Charlotte kept going. "After decades of effort, we finally found a way to send a person directly to Elpis, without regard to the speed of light. I'm the first to manage it. Well… in a sense. Lamia caused something similar not long ago, resulting in the death of a dear friend of mine."

Peng saw the blur of Duri's perspective drawing closer, while Anya's perspective moved down to the level of the floor to get closer to Charlotte's face. The three Watchers all focused their full attention on the encounter, and Peng cursed his inability to help.

But Anya found a way. Her perspective slowly passed through Charlotte's head, similar to how they all distracted Lamia. Charlotte visibly calmed, her body relaxing. Anya used emotional transference to share her confidence with Charlotte… clever.

"Let's say I believe you," the man said at last. "I'll admit, we have no real theory for why Lamia started letting some Unwanted leave the Dying Zone. If you're from Earth, and you came here directly, can you bring more scientists and better technology? Doctor Youssef has loads of theories regarding Exovasilio, but we could use help."

"Exo… wait I've heard that before…" Charlotte shifted uncomfortably. "Can I at least roll over? Please? The stone floor is not comfortable, I'm still tired from the hike, and I'm hardly the toughest woman you'll ever meet."

The man stood and stepped back. "You may sit up." Charlotte complied, then the man continued. "Exovasilio is Doctor Youssef's term for the… other side. The place beyond the white hole, where we think Lamia came from."

"Wait… Lamia's just a Watcher. That is, she's a human with rare gifts. One in a billion, like me."

"Dad, why are you taking this whacko seriously?" The girl still had her gun raised, but no longer pointed directly at Charlotte's head.

"We have a lot to discuss," the man said. "Lower your weapon, Isis. This woman is here to help."

Isis started to object, but Charlotte cut her off. "My name is Charlotte. I'm the seventeenth Watcher, and the first of my Organization to personally achieve physical projection."

"My name is Jabari Khalil. This is my daughter Isis. My father is Doctor Youssef Khalil, head researcher of Exovasilio, the Lamia incursion, and the Unwanted phenomenon."

"Nice to meet you both." Charlotte turned her smile to Isis and gave her a respectful nod. If Peng had been there in person, he would have laughed out loud at how awkward Isis looked as she gave a little wave. "It sounds like Youssef Khalil is exactly the person I need to meet."

Jabari holstered his weapon. "For days now, we've been rescuing the Unwanted wandering through these woods. We have cameras trained on the Dying Zone, and we didn't know why some of Lamia's victims were managing to get away. Trying to investigate would be suicide. We have no way of being sure when Lamia's there, and she can kill in an instant. We've never heard of her victims escaping before last week. My personal guess was that she's started toying with her prey. I've been terrified she might come to this cave and finish the job."

Charlotte smiled. "I'm happy to report that something far better is going on. We Watchers are capable of projecting our minds to observe distant places, and we can see Lamia. We've been Watching the 'Dying Zone' for about a week, ever since she murdered one of our own. Whenever Lamia brings a victim there, we try to distract her. It's been getting harder and more dangerous, but for a while, most of our efforts were successful. A colleague is watching the Dying Zone right now. If Lamia brings a victim there, others will help run interference."

Isis no longer seemed to even remember the pistol in her left hand. "So… you mean… the twelve Unwanted we're caring for… Lamia wanted to kill them, but your people stopped her? They didn't escape because she let them, but because you helped them?"

"Our options are limited. If we quickly pass our projected awareness through her brain, something like emotional transference occurs, and it can distract her from her victim. It's getting less effective though."

"This is obviously more than my daughter and I can take in all at once," Jabari said. "My apologies, but I'll need to hold on to this pistol for now. Isis, contact the others. Have them send two more caretakers to replace you, then drive Charlotte to Doctor Youssef's compound. This might, finally, mark a turning point for Elpis."

---

Fawzia-11 fretted helplessly as she passed her perspective blindly through dirt and rock. Without the aurora, she couldn't Watch Elpis, no matter how much she wanted to. Instead, she was busy with the most meaningless assignment of her career. The New Zealand counter-terrorism unit was insistent that the investigation be continued, despite Fawzia's three earlier searches turning up nothing suspicious. They claimed this only meant the threat was smarter and better equipped than initially imagined… then they'd asked her to search underground.

Her mind flitted through kilometers of total darkness, while her fears were focused seventy lightyears away. The strongest Watcher was alone on a distant world, conducting what might well be the most important investigation in history. Niko, Duri, Peng, and Anya were spending every waking moment supporting her, but Fawzia was stuck in the dark. Charlotte's first official check-in was scheduled to occur in under an hour, and there was no guarantee Fawzia would be allowed to–

Her awareness shot through a well-lit chamber and back into darkness. She brought her perspective to a stop, stunned. She double-checked her coordinates, confirming her depth. That can't be right… She backtracked, far slower this time…

And she found a command center.

With small fusion generators in each corner, the cave had clearly been carved out artificially. Twenty-eight people worked in the large room, most at computer terminals or holoprojectors, though three were holding a conversation in a soundproofed glass side room.

One of those three suddenly leapt to his feet, knocking over his chair. He looked this way and that, the picture of paranoid anxiety.

Then he threw open the glass door and shouted, "We're being Watched! They've pierced our faraday shielding!"

A woman in her sixties immediately triggered an alarm and shouted. "Contingency Beta! Move move move!"

Everyone flew into frantic motion, sending coded messages and then triggering data wipes on their computers. With her long experience keeping track of her own body during a Watch, Fawzia triggered a priority signal, sending both New Zealand and Watcher HQ the exact coordinates. With a little extra focus, she sent the emergency followup signal requesting an immediate missile strike.

The enemy who'd first shouted the warning injected himself with a gray fluid that looked far too familiar. Then he closed his eyes and stood absolutely still.

And Fawzia felt herself being Watched.

In that instant, Fawzia knew the New Zealand authorities had underestimated the threat. If the enemy had an undocumented Watcher with them, they could easily have far more Intel than any previous adversary. And that injection…

Realizing that this Watcher might well be acting as a distraction, Fawzia moved her perspective away from him and closer to the nearest computer screen. It already showed only static. Multiple EMP's were triggering, wiping all of the electronics and killing most of the lights. She could only hope that the archivists would still get useful intel from this footage.

Everyone scattered, sprinting down multiple narrow tunnels. With a shout from the woman who appeared to be in charge, the enemy Watcher ended his Trance and sprinted from the room.

Fawzia was briefly torn. Who should she follow? But then she realized, the leader of the operation still meant almost nothing compared to a Watcher. She raced her perspective after him…

Then the driller missile reached the room behind her, and its tactical neutron warhead detonated.

---

Renya Baldwin brought up the next chart, which compiled data from twenty-six reports from her best scientists. "As you can see, these new lines of investigation have already resulted in numerous small breakthroughs. Whenever possible, our Watchers should be encouraged to use their Chambers rather than relying on the new implants. Now would be a particularly bad time for a general reduction in brain scans and recorded footage, especially considering–"

"Rakoto to Baldwin, do you read?"

Renya activated her personal comm and answered, "Baldwin here."

"Is there any data on a Watch being forcibly terminated by events in the observed area? More importantly, does this pose a risk to the Watcher in question?"

She almost answered in the negative, but she fought down that instinct. She turned to the other scientists in the room. Most shook their heads, but two of the oldest looked thoughtful. "Everyone search it," Renya commanded, tying them fully into the channel with Hasina. "Double time."

To her surprise, three of her team got results in under a minute. On two occasions more than forty years earlier, Watchers had lost focus on their Trance while observing a battlefield. A little extra digging revealed that both involved high-energy warheads. It hadn't been especially noteworthy at the time, for the Watchers involved had assumed they lost focus due to the traumatic nature of battlefield imagery. Fortunately, neither Watcher suffered anything worse than their typical symptoms from excessive Watching. Renya summed it up. "It's most likely a form of sensory overload, rather than any actual exposure to the high-energy event. Similar to why Watchers can't project too close to a star."

"So Fawzia-11's migraine isn't a sign of something worse," Hasina said, audibly relieved. "Still, I've just been informed of a very dangerous reality that had been effectively hidden from the world until now. A highly suspicious and secretive organization appears to have an undocumented Watcher with them."

The gathered scientists couldn't hide their shock at this revelation. Someone like that could potentially eavesdrop on any conversation, observe anything on an open page or screen, and only be detected by other Watchers. For the last sixty-five years, the most vital and sensitive intel was DNA coded, and could only be made audible through skeletal vibration. Thus, no Watcher could eavesdrop on missile launch codes or similarly dangerous information. But what a Watcher could discover illegally might still put millions of lives at risk.

"The New Zealand military launched a strike within moments of discovering the enemy Watcher, but he appears to have survived and escaped. We've lost track of him, and his people sent multiple coded signals before their base was hit."

"The tech in Watcher Chambers is top secret, but it's still possible a rival organization could develop something similar," Renya said, deeply worried. "If so, that Watcher might even be able to penetrate our faraday shielding. Our own Watchers could potentially detect such an intrusion, but we wouldn't be able to stop it."

"It gets even worse," Hasina said. "Even if they can't mimic our Watcher Chambers, it's still likely the enemy can see into HQ. According to Fawzia-11, the enemy Watcher had access to what appeared to be MD-Δ."

Chapter 14: Marshalling

Captain Benicio Martins stood at Niko's side, two weapons at the ready. His left hand held a tranquilizer pistol packing such potent drugs the target would die in under a minute without the antidote. He had the necessary injector pen on his belt, so that dropping the target quickly wouldn't mean his death. In his right hand he hefted a taser baton packing enough juice to stop a human heart. A syringe of pure adrenaline should be enough to save the target's life, though at some risk of brain damage or other complications. Long ago, security forces had grown sick of non-lethal weaponry giving the enemy enough time to shoot back. The solution had been to use barely non-lethal options and stand ready with the necessary medication to keep the target alive. And in the case of the taser, there was the option to crank up the power setting to lethal levels.

Sixty-two pairs of security guards stood ready at strategic points throughout the facility, while a dozen officers rapidly cycled through thousands of cameras. With the very real threat of an upcoming attack on the Facility, standard privacy measures had been suspended, and all personnel were on full alert.

All remaining security personnel were gearing up for full-scale battle. Fawzia-11's discovery of a terrorist Watcher, and the coded signal sent before New Zealand's missile struck home, painted a threatening picture. It was entirely possible that Watcher HQ might come under attack. But until they knew more, Benicio would stay at Niko's side. If the kid's crazy plan worked, there was a faint chance that a dangerous enemy might suddenly be in a position to harm him.

"How sure are you that this is possible?" Benicio asked.

"It's worth a shot," Nico answered, slipping into his SenDep helmet and synching up his neural links. "I'm gonna use the maximum allowable dose of MD-Δ. If I catch a glimpse of the undocumented Watcher's mind, I'll instantly trigger my new simulation. It should feel exactly like a flare of my CPN-Ω, but double the intensity. If the agony doesn't knock me out of the Trance, I should achieve greater power than anything I've ever managed before."

"Seriously, kid: How do you keep getting even more hardcore?"

Nico blushed, but he also managed a shy little smile. "Based on Charlotte's success projecting herself seventy lightyears, I might just manage to imitate Lamia…"

---

Doctor Wilma Taibei knew she must present her findings swiftly and efficiently. All of HQ was on high alert. The New Zealand Navy had caught sonar imagery of multiple unknown submersibles speeding south faster than any known warship class. Fawzia's discovery of the enemy command center had forced their hand, and an attack on the Watchers might well be imminent. The only good news was the small size of those submersibles. Their great speed, easily escaping New Zealand pursuit, suggested they must be far too small to contain vehicles or heavy equipment.

While Watcher security forces made ready for battle, Wilma presented the data to Chief Rakoto, Head Doctor Sharma, and Head Scientist Baldwin.

"I finished delving the decoded records of Samantha Gross, and she was not acting alone. It appears that the concept for a drug that might create Watchers was originally suggested to her… by Klaus-21."

"Klaus?" Renya had a hard time believing that. "You're certain? Why would he keep this secret?"

"He didn't believe success was likely. He only wanted the possibility explored. Samantha Gross had a reputation for discretion. He trusted her to do initial research without getting anyone's hopes up." With a gesture, Wilma displayed the most relevant records and correspondence. "Had Miss Gross reported even marginally good news, I'm certain Klaus would have brought it to our attention promptly. But he was too trusting. She kept the truth of her progress from him, sending false reports of failures and dead ends. Even as Klaus used his VIP status to give her secret access to data and computing power, she forged ahead behind his back. She likely hoped to become a Watcher herself, and perhaps to receive a greater share of any fame that came from the project." With a wave, she brought up new images and data. "To progress more swiftly without tipping off Klaus, she started conferring with a small drug company in Argentina. That's likely how the security breach occurred. I don't believe Miss Gross had malicious intent, but sharing data secretly outside of our Organization likely allowed a third party to intercept the communications."

"So," Hasina said, "by keeping Klaus in the dark and working with outside agencies, she unintentionally led to a secret organization gaining access to MD-Δ. Based on the timeline of her research, how long might the undocumented Watcher have possessed this kind of power?"

"Unless the enemy took Samantha's earliest breakthroughs and made far faster progress, they likely only synthesized the drug recently."

"That's not enough to feel safe," Renya warned. "With adequate sensory deprivation tech, the enemy Watcher may have been piercing our faraday shielding long before they got MD-Δ."

"Wouldn't the Watchers have sensed such an intrusion?" Hasina asked hopefully.

"Only if he's careless," Doctor Sharma warned. "Our facility is vast. A Watcher must directly observe another in order to be detected. Specifically, their projected awareness must be consciously directed toward a Watcher. It's not enough for the Watcher to be within the three hundred sixty degree field of observation a Watcher's mind can detect. If the enemy only Watched the lower levels of the facility, he could have avoided detection easily enough. There's no guessing how much intel he might have acquired."

"So we must proceed with maximum caution," Hasina declared. "The enemy may have a detailed knowledge of our base, our troops, our external defenses, perhaps even our training methods. Worse, any orders I give will need to be via coded text and coordinates, because we can't know when and where the enemy is Watching."

"We could have one of our Watchers remain with you at all times," Renya Baldwin suggested. "They'd sense if the enemy Watched your Command Center."

"Hasina to 29. Head to my Command Center and resume your current task at my side. We don't need recordings of your Watch anyway. You'll be able to warn me immediately if the enemy Watcher tries to spy on my orders." She cut the channel and rose to leave. "I'll head to my Command Center too. Based on the intel provided by the New Zealand Navy, the leading elements of any impending attack may not be far off. Prepare your departments for the possibility of a direct assault on the facility. Dismissed."

Wilma rose as Hasina strode from the room. Niko's on the lookout for the enemy Watcher. Duri's keeping tabs on Charlotte's investigation on Elpis. Fawzia's Watching the Antarctic coastline for signs of submersibles. Anya's Watching the "Dying Zone" on Elpis, ready to signal Peng if Lamia attempts to make another kill. And in the meantime, Peng's supporting Fawzia. Our Watchers are spread thin, and they've all been getting less rest than they're accustomed to. Global requests for Watcher assistance are currently being denied, as we face what could become the greatest crisis in the history of the Organization…

Then she calmed her heart, and followed Doctor Sharma toward the Infirmary. Whatever happens, I'll put my duties first, as always.

---

Maximus Angelos swelled with renewed gratitude and relief as the Unwanted nurses and assistants cared for his younger selves. His father had heard of the Khalil Institute's research on the Unwanted anomaly, and there were rumors that the ever-expanding campus needed all that extra space for housing. Desperately hoping for asylum, the Angelos family had gone to Doctor Youssef… and found a haven beyond Max's most optimistic hopes.

All of the scientists, doctors, and nurses working at the Institute demonstrated rare courage. Their drive for knowledge and improvement ran the daily risk of becoming Unwanted. Max's own father, Leo, had managed to produce only two Unwanted over the decades despite working in the medical field, but only because he'd been such a quick study. When the Unwanted crisis began, Leo had already completed medical school and residency. Thus, by the time everyone learned what caused adults to produce Unwanted, Leo had enough knowledge and experience to perform his duties expertly. His career and his growing number of Unwanted sons had both been cared for with little need for additional learning. This was a mercy, since both of Leo's Unwanted had been generated during the first decade of the crisis, when Lamia roved the colony with aggressive savagery. No one had summoned her to take Leo's previous versions: Lamia had found them all on her own.

But the Khalil Institute took the opposite approach. They strove to expand their knowledge, to advance the planet's technology, and to understand the Lamia incursion. They knew they'd all become Unwanted, almost as frequently as children did. And rather than dread it, they prepared for it. All of these heroes put daily training into skills that would make them useful even after becoming Unwanted. They drilled in repetitive routines for providing basic care, slow and meticulous data entry, simple maintenance, and a host of other jobs. The Unwanted had extreme difficulty processing new information, but deeply-ingrained habits could still be useful. That was why Max's Fourth version was competent at his favorite VR game, the Fifth Max could swiftly read his favorite novel, and the Sixth put in hours of physical training every day. The Seventh even managed to help care for the others from time to time.

The very existence of this facility restored Max's faith in humanity. His colony might well include millions who'd been twisted into shallow, self-centered, empty shells, but others willingly sacrificed to put some good back into the world. Doctor Youssef's core team used every option at their disposal to research and study the unique trials Elpis faced, and all of them were prepared to repeatedly become Unwanted in the process. It was fascinating seeing a younger version of Youssef himself mopping a hallway. Not even the founder of this research team exempted himself from learning basic skills that would let his Unwanted contribute.

Maximus accepted another dose of pain meds and anti-inflammatories. Deep down, he was proud of his actions and his performance on the day those neighbors had tried to kill his Fifth self. Mere months before becoming Unwanted, that version had begun an intense physical training program that all future versions had maintained ever since. They all knew that the family might one day need protection, so the latest Maximus at any given time had to be ready. Most of Max's current strength was owed to his previous selves, though he continued to build on their legacy. While fighting those three rotten neighbors, Max had been gratified when the punch to his core had done nothing but hurt the attacker's hand. The rest of the fight, though, had hurt. A lot. Blocking a baseball bat with his right arm had left a hideous bruise that still ached, and his jaw had nearly fractured from that one serious hit.

His worst injury had been self-inflicted. When he had smashed his fist into the face of one attempted murderer, Max had broken two fingers.

Totally worth it.

Every version of himself from the Fifth onward had been determined to care for and defend their predecessors. When the need to fight had finally arisen, Maximus had given it all he had… and his Fifth was still safe. Along with the others, the Fifth contentedly occupied a large apartment specifically designed for handling an entire line of Unwanted. Max's heart ached when he thought of his Third, the one conspicuously absent from this group. That his own mother had summoned Lamia to take the five-year-old away… it still made him sick. She'd done so while alone with the boy in the backyard, but Max wasn't sure what he'd have done had he been present. Would he have even accepted reality quickly enough to take action? And could he really have attacked his own mother to stop her?

Soon, such things would be the responsibility of a different Max. He felt his time fast approaching. At some point in the next day or so, he'd become the Eighth Unwanted version of himself, and a new Maximus would take his place. The pain in his hand would thus last for the better part of a year, as Unwanted healed very slowly. His new version would become his caretaker and champion, wielding the strength, knowledge, and skills he'd inherited and built upon.

The Sixth Youssef Khalil opened the door after a polite knock. "The woman from earth has arrived." Most of his versions were unusually competent at conversing, having trained in psychological skills of deduction and prediction that made following a conversation easier. "You and your father are invited to meet her."

"Thank you," Max said. "I appreciate it."

After only a brief delay, during which the Unwanted showed deep and intense thought, he nodded. "Lecture Hall 2."

Leaving the Doctor to help look after the others, Maximus informed his father and then made his way through the complex. The majority of people he passed were Unwanted, but in many cases it was surprisingly hard to tell. Most Unwanted had a perpetual bewildered look while doing anything outside of their preferred routine. But so many here had purpose and an intense focus as they pushed the limits of what their temporal displacement allowed. Since Unwanted didn't age, the special training undertaken here could potentially let them remain productive and helpful indefinitely.

Reaching the Meeting Hall, Maximus found a dozen others gathered. Doctor Youssef and his most recent Unwanted sat nearest the woman who claimed to be from Earth, with two armed guards standing vigilant nearby. Not long ago, a raid by a nearby gang had left three Unwanted dead, and an earlier version of Youssef had been taken by Lamia in the chaos.

Saving a seat for his father, Maximus examined this woman. She was deeply pale and not at all athletic, suggesting an indoor lifestyle. Incongruously, her expression was hard, fixed with an invincible confidence and a deep determination that Max respected. She might not be physically capable of what he'd done when protecting his younger self, but he suspected that she would've tried anyway, without hesitation or regret.

"Give us your story, Charlotte-17," Doctor Youssef said with a polite nod.

Sweeping her eyes over the room, Charlotte briefly paused when she saw Max. He initially guessed that his bruised chin and injured fingers had caught her attention, but he was wrong.

"Maximus Angelos?" She turned toward the door when Max's father entered. "And Leonidus? My team'll be thrilled to learn that you made it to safety. Are all your Unwanted well?"

Taken aback, Max didn't immediately answer. His father spoke up instead. "Yes. We were all taken in by these fine people, and we're receiving care far exceeding what I hoped for. How do you know us?"

"A very dear friend was Watching your family shortly before Lamia killed him. We kept an eye on you since then. We saw when your neighbors tried to summon Lamia, so we know how your son got those injuries. It was heroic, and inspiring. Many of our soldiers have seen the footage, and they seemed impressed. But we lost track of you when you fled your home."

Max noted the subtle inflection and weight Charlotte put into the word 'Watching.' He suspected it meant something far more significant than what it sounded like.

"Perhaps begin with an explanation of your kind, and your Organization," Youssef prompted.

"Of course," Charlotte said. "Sixty-five years ago, four unique individuals came forward in an address to all human colonies. It'll be five years before the broadcast reaches Elpis." She turned, looking at empty air for a moment, then she nodded. "A Watcher is one in a billion, possessing the ability to project their awareness beyond their own body. The first four Watchers could observe anywhere on Earth with impunity, and they realized this power could easily get them into very serious trouble. They had kept their nature secret, terrified of what might happen to them if they fell into the hands of a government or criminal organization. But after finding each other, they decided to go public. The Interstellar Fleet intervened on their behalf, creating the Watcher Organization to prevent them from being misused… or abused."

"It sounds like all of humanity dodged a bullet," young Isis observed. "If Watchers had been secretly employed by rival nations…"

Charlotte nodded, her expression falling. "Watchers could have been the ultimate spies, destabilizing power dynamics, helping to overthrow governments, or in the hands of terrorists they might have enabled unspeakable atrocities."

Max shivered at the thought.

Charlotte visibly pushed those thoughts from her mind. "Instead, Watchers became public knowledge, and served international causes. Instead of ultimate weapons, they were the ultimate servants of civilization. In the decades since our Organization was founded, we've greatly increased the range of our Watching. Even now, one of my colleagues is observing our meeting." She gestured toward empty air. "Duri-22 has a background in physics and cosmology, so he'll likely get far more out of this meeting than I will. At least, once my part is done, and you present your findings, Doctor."

"Welcome, Duri-22," Doctor Youssef said.

Nodding again, Charlotte continued. "Over the last sixty-five years, our Organization has grown and strengthened. There have been twenty-nine Watchers over the decades, seventeen of which still live and retain their powers. Eleven of these are currently unable to Watch, as relativistic time dilation blocks our abilities. They're traveling to the most populous extrasolar colonies."

"Ah… brilliant," Youssef said, excited. "If your kind can observe distant worlds in real-time, then having a Watcher on two different planets would effectively allow instant communication."

Max leaned back in his chair, overwhelmed at that. With Earth seventy lightyears from Elpis, the colony had always felt essentially alone. If they sent a question to Earth, those who asked it would be long dead before an answer could arrive. But the implications opened up by rare individuals who can observe events so far away…

"Yes," Charlotte said. "And recent breakthroughs have unlocked new possibilities. Improved technology, medicine, and psychology has greatly increased the power of Watchers, and most of this has occurred very recently." She turned to Maximus. "On the day your Third version was taken by Lamia, my dear friend Klaus-21 was Watching Elpis. He observed an argument between your parents, and projected his awareness away. Not long after, he saw Lamia and your Third in a boat in the wilderness."

Tears threatened to show in Max's eyes. He'd overheard that argument. Immediately after, his mother had taken his Third out back… and summoned Lamia. That was the day he lost a little brother and a mother, for he could never love that woman again after such an act.

Unaware of his distress, Charlotte forged on. "Watchers can see Lamia, the same as the Unwanted can, though likely for very different reasons. Klaus followed them to the place you call the Dying Zone, though at the time he had no knowledge of its significance. He didn't even realize there was anything unusual about Lamia… at first."

"Do you know these things because there was an additional Watcher observing Klaus?" Doctor Youssef asked.

"No. The earliest focus in Watcher technology was to greatly improve active brain scan recording and the ability to render such data into audio and video. When a Watcher is plugged into their rig, everything they observe while Watching can later be studied by vast teams of archivists."

"Fascinating. We're decades away from such technology, but that makes sense. Our colony fleet left Earth over a century ago, and we've made little technological progress since then. New schematics and scientific breakthroughs from Earth are seventy years old by the time they arrive, and my Institute is the only dedicated scientific organization on the planet."

"It takes a rare and brave soul to pursue knowledge when the cost is to become Unwanted," Charlotte observed. "Klaus… would have been deeply moved… by all you are doing."

As a nineteen-year-old boy, Maximus had little difficulty detecting what Charlotte tried to hide. Her calling Klaus a "dear friend" fell short of the truth.

"Forgive me for my earlier interruption," Youssef said. "You were describing how Klaus-21 was Watching Lamia and the Third Maximus Angelos."

"Yes…" Charlotte said, suddenly hesitant. "He… he witnessed Lamia murder the boy. Then she became aware of Klaus. She did something we hadn't known was possible. Instead of his mind returning to his body on Earth, she caused his body to join his mind… on Elpis. She physically brought him to this planet… The recording of his Watch of course ended in that moment, but we know she killed him."

The room grew quiet, in respect for Charlotte, Leo, and Max. Though the fate of his Third self had been known all along, it was still painful to have it confirmed by someone who'd seen it. Youssef's people refused to answer Max's questions about their surveillance footage of the Dying Zone. Maybe they thought he couldn't handle the details of how his Third died.

Charlotte rallied. "But from this tragedy, my team learned much. We discovered that it's possible for a Watcher to interact with objects being observed, and we learned that physical projection is possible. We'd never managed either of these achievements, but when a large, well-funded scientific organization has definitive proof that something can be done, it's only a matter of time before they find a way. And we were very motivated. Every day, Lamia abducts Unwanted, intending to kill them. Watchers are able to interfere by distracting her, but it's a risk, and by no means guarantees success. The Unwanted in the refugee camp you're running near the Dying Zone were all saved by me and my colleagues."

"Thank you," Doctor Youssef said, his professional air giving way to reveal the deep emotion this elicited. "To the best of our knowledge, none of Lamia's victims have ever before escaped her. If you and your friends have been risking your lives to distract her… we are indebted to you."

"It's the only right thing," Charlotte said simply. "And now that I'm here, you're in a position to answer questions that we might have needed months or years to investigate on our own. Please, tell me everything you have learned of Lamia, the Unwanted, and what you call 'Exovasilio.'"

---

Oliver Nguyen felt himself dying. The neutron warhead had been small, but it had arrived too soon for him to reach a safe distance. Most, if not all, of his allies from the secret command center in New Zealand were likely dead or dying as well. But they'd sent the order first. Right now, all of their scattered forces would be moving. Today would mark humanity's best chance of destroying the most dangerous spies that ever existed.

He leaned against the wall of the small submersible, fighting not to vomit. His last fit had included a frightening amount of blood. He didn't have long. But perhaps it would be long enough. The Watcher Organization had been the ultimate weapon of the surveillance state for more than six decades. Today, perhaps, their reign would end. For Oliver possessed their powers, and he would turn these against them.

The latest meds finally brought him some relief, so perhaps he could finally enter his Trance. He injected himself with another dose of the drug he'd need to pierce the faraday shielding of Watcher HQ. If he could just keep it together for a few more hours, if he could survive long enough for his allies to drive the assault home, it would be enough. He could die satisfied. The six billion humans on earth, and the fourteen billion scattered among the colonies, would finally know peace, without the ever-present risk of the governments' phantoms watching their every move.

Entering his Trance, he sent his awareness to the South Pole. With the power of the drug they'd developed from intercepted communications, he forced his mind into the vast facility that must burn this day. With very low strength, he'd only been able to observe this facility twice before, and his stamina when Watching was low. His greatest value to the Milites Secretum had been as a symbol. Dozens of secret organizations and terrorist groups had been willing to unite under one banner because they had someone who could use the power of the enemy. More importantly, it had made it far easier to secure the secret funding and support of multiple nations that refused to aid the Watchers.

On the two previous occasions that Oliver had managed to pierce the faraday shielding, he'd been careful to avoid detection. He'd kept his espionage to the lower levels that Watchers rarely if ever visited. But stealth no longer mattered. The enemy already knew he existed, and the time to act was at hand.

He cast his sight swiftly through the vast base, taking special note of troop movements and states of readiness. The enemy clearly knew that a strike might be imminent, but they had no notion of just how much was being marshaled against them. Oliver found two Watchers plugged into advanced rigs, with soldiers guarding each. He zipped his perspective away, hoping they were too distracted to notice the brief moment they'd been Watched.

He saw numerous pairs of soldiers standing at the ready at major corridor intersections, all carrying non-lethal weaponry, and he wondered what they were waiting for. Shouldn't they be patrolling? But he couldn't waste time on any one place.

The enemy soldiers wore arctic camo uniforms, or battlefield armor of the same color scheme. The mottled white and light grays would grant considerable camouflage out in the Antarctic wastes, and their stronghold took this into account. While small, private rooms had their own color schemes, the public areas and endless corridors used the same mottled coloring as the soldiers. It might aid them when fighting within their own base, but Oliver would have found living in this place tedious.

He found a vehicle depot, and his heart skipped a beat. Even if this was the only hangar of this size, his allies would face a brutal struggle. Dozens of the most advanced armored vehicles and mobile artillery stood in orderly lines, with gunships and attack drones hanging from the high ceiling. All of the equipment was rigged to withstand Antarctic conditions, and hundreds of soldiers were making ready.

As Oliver projected his vision through a wall in search of more hangars, he felt an odd tingling sensation. Weary and ill, he was a little too slow to realize what it meant. He'd studied all he could about Watchers and their powers, but he'd never personally been Watched prior to today.

But as his mind passed through a large supply closet, that sensation spiked. He felt as if a huge hand had wrapped around him, pulling on him…

Then his boots hit metal floor.

Weariness, acute illness, and body-wide anguish from his lethal radiation exposure crashed back upon him. He smelled antiseptic chemicals, and the temperature was different from the small submersible where he knew his body sat. This can't be real. Am I starting to hallucinate during a Watch? This could be a symptom of the radiation poisoning…

A wave of exhaustion hit him, and he almost lost balance. He leaned against the nearest shelves, and the sensation of pressure against the metal was far too crisp and clear for a hallucination. No… this can't be happening…

He grabbed a can of glass cleaner, horrified at the sight of his hands and arms, which he never saw during a Watch. He removed the lid and sprayed the chemical onto his left hand.

This… this is real… I'm not Watching… I'm physically here… HOW?

An alarm sounded, and he heard boots rapidly approaching. Somehow, the hated Watchers, who represented the death of personal privacy, had brought his body into their lair. If they took him alive, who knows what they might be able to drag out of him? He knew far too much, and he was dying anyway…

He dropped the can of glass cleaner and drew his sidearm with a quivering hand. He considered trying to take a stand, but the enemy had very powerful non-lethal options. Every cell of his body hurt, his head pounded, and breathing was agony. This was the easiest way out, in more ways than one…

He raised his pistol and pressed it into the bottom of his chin. He hesitated, shaking. As a secret Watcher, he'd expected to live his life in safety, far from any danger, acting as the ultimate spy for the Milites Secretum.

But the enemy was strong, and he would now face the same end as many front line warriors this day…

The door burst open.

Oliver pulled the trigger.

Chapter 15: Suffering

Elsa Yarr wept. In the body of a ten-year-old, but born thirty-four years ago, she'd already suffered enough for a thousand lifetimes.

She knelt beside the dying little boy. He looked about her age, fragile, pale, and scared. Those meddling phantoms had tried to interfere. In a sense, they'd succeeded. Flitting through her, afflicting her with disjointed thoughts and emotions not her own, they'd thrown off Its focus with their empathy and desire to protect. These feelings, so alien to the Thing they called Lamia, had disrupted Elsa's aim at the moment she struck. Not enough for Lamia's prey to escape, but enough… to cause this…

The child didn't cry. With strength and speed multiplied by the Thing they called Lamia, Elsa had stabbed him in the neck, but missed his spine. Instead of dying instantly, he lay there, quivering, bleeding out. It must hurt. A lot. He was confused and lost and scared. But instead of crying, he looked up into her eyes with a mixture of fascination and pleading. Clearly, he didn't understand that she had been the one who hurt him. As usual, the Thing they called Lamia empowered her to move far too quickly for eyes to easily track, and the Unwanted had difficulty observing their environment. She had put the pencil through his neck, but he hadn't seen her do it. All that mattered was that he was hurting, and she was the only person who might be able to help…

Those wide, frightened eyes, begging her to do something. To make the pain go away.

The spectral "Watchers" kept plaguing Elsa, though it was far too late for them to save this child. She wished they'd give up, to conserve their strength for the next victim. Maybe they could stop her with the next child. What they were doing right now… there was no point. The boy would die even if she walked away and never touched him again. As they shot through Elsa's brain, both she and It could feel their emotions. To the monstrous Thing commanding her, their empathy, compasion, and drive to help others was so foreign as to be painful. It typically ignored Elsa's feelings, or even suppressed them. But when the Watchers harassed It, the emotions were too invasive.

The Thing they called Lamia descended upon Elsa's mind, stripping away what little control she had. This time, she didn't even try to fight her tormentor. For in this case… she agreed with It. They had the same goal. Lamia wanted the boy to die, and Elsa wanted his pain to end.

Ignoring the phantoms zipping through her head, Elsa did what had never before been needed: she attacked the same victim a second time. With It strengthening and hardening Elsa's left hand, she smashed her fist into the side of the boy's head.

His pain ended.

With tears still running down her cheeks, Elsa knelt by the corpse. She felt the tiny rift open in response to the child's death. This lasted only the briefest instant, as the temporal displacement enveloping the boy collapsed and ended. That fleeting moment, that ephemeral rip in spacetime, allowed her tormentor to briefly connect with Its home. The place some called Exovasilio, the realm beyond reality. The place Lamia left twenty-four years ago, drawn to… something… unusual about Elsa's mind, not realizing that returning would be impossible.

Even after so long linked with her tormentor, after being used to take millions of lives for It, she still didn't fully understand It. Despite thirty-four years of life, her brain was still that of a ten-year-old. And despite the many ways in which Lamia enhanced and empowered her, she was still Unwanted. Learning and comprehending new things was very hard.

So she wasn't sure exactly what Lamia drew from Its home during the moment of an Unwanted's death. Sustenance, perhaps, but not of any material variety. After a rift was formed, letting the Thing feel Its home, Lamia would grow stronger for a time. Less hungry, more forceful. Its ability to command and enhance Elsa would grow… but not for long.

There wasn't enough "food" left.

At the beginning, shortly after the Thing had found Elsa wandering alone at this very spot, It had been strong. Overwhelmingly so. It dominated her, binding itself to her mind, with no hope of Its victim resisting. That act had changed this place. Anchored it in a way she couldn't fully comprehend, but that in some ways felt like the Unwanted. They could think more clearly here, talk more easily… and their deaths could be harnessed. As long as Lamia maintained the change to this vile place, making it different… any growth or advancement became perilous to the humans of this world.

And she had been the first to experience it.

Within seconds of Lamia seizing Elsa and warping this vile place, a copy of Elsa had appeared…

And become her first victim.

With the little pencil she'd always carried, but which that strange "Klaus" had shattered, Elsa had killed her other self. She hadn't known why she'd done such a thing, not yet. Though Lamia's hand was heavy, her young mind had not immediately understood that It was... other. She had thought herself insane. Only later would she accept that Lamia was not some dark part of herself, but something far worse. It used her, leaving no power to meaningfully resist. The Thing even altered how her body functioned, so that she could be sustained by It, rarely requiring sleep, food, or even water.

At that moment though, Elsa only had herself to blame. A little girl exactly like her lay dead, and she couldn't understand.

The first generation of Unwanted had appeared swiftly, and in great numbers. In the span of barely a month, every youth on Elpis had been temporally displaced, and new versions appeared. Though it took two or three years for any subsequent versions to manifest, that first "crop" had been rich. Elsa's memory of the early days still tore at her. Endless, frantic motion. Entering one home after another, seeking those who had been displaced like her and dragging them to what the Doctor called the Dying Zone. She had killed three of him over the years, and each time, she tried to delay, at least a little. His work might one day end her suffering, and she wanted to hear him out. During those ruinous early days, It had even forced Elsa to hunt down her own family, and she'd never learned why. It gained no benefit from their deaths, not even bothering to first bring them to the Dying Zone.

She knew she could never remember every victim, and never once had she been able to stop a killing. The only thing she could do, to try to remember how many lives had been lost, was to take a memento. For twenty-four years, she'd saved one drop of blood from every victim. She might not know their names, she might not remember their faces, but as the pool of red deepened, as the magnitude of the tragedy had grown, so had her hatred. So many lives, most of them children. Millions upon millions, killed by her own hand. All to allow her tormentor to survive, despite the Thing knowing It could never return home. The displacement at the Dying Zone prevented the blood from rotting or even coagulating, and the pool had constantly reminded her of the depth of her crimes.

Over time, the wild bloodbath had gradually dwindled, as fewer and fewer children were born. Now, rather than prowling the world, seeking thousands of victims per day, the horror had at least… slowed. Less than twenty people became Unwanted on any given day, and searching for them personally would've required more energy than they were worth.

The Thing knew of the Doctor's compound, of course. He sheltered thousands of Unwanted there, and the majority of them were past versions of his employees and family. They were being held in reserve. In a rare moment of successful defiance, Elsa had convinced It to save them for later. Though It always hungered, the dozen or so Unwanted she killed each day were at least enough to sustain its life. Better to save a few thousand to draw on in the future, if the flow of summons dried up completely. Occasionally, despite all her efforts and pleading, Lamia demanded a specific Unwanted from the Doctor's compound. But by and large, they were left alone… for now.

More and more, Elsa longed for death. This hideous existence, the living murder weapon of an inhuman monstrosity, with the blood of millions on her hands… Perhaps, if there ever weren't enough Unwanted to kill… the soulless Thing would die with her. Often, Elsa felt desperately weak, stretched, and hollow, when it had been a little longer than usual since the last killing. Maybe, if they ever waited a little too long, if Lamia barely had the strength to bring a victim here, and then those phantoms helped the Unwanted to escape… maybe It wouldn't have the strength to find another. Maybe… maybe they'd starve together, and it would finally be over.

She could feel one of the phantoms watching her. The first time, she hadn't known what the sensation meant. Not until the one called Klaus had spilled her mementoes across the ground. Lamia had used her to manifest that phantom, to make it fully real, and it had turned out to be an ordinary man. Neither she nor Lamia understood how he could fly, or how he'd been immaterial until that moment. But something about him had enraged It. A hatred born of fear had taken over, and the Thing had exerted absolute dominance upon Elsa's very flesh.

Mercifully, she had very little memory of what had happened once her body had begun to stretch and warp. Just disjointed images and gruesome impressions. But she could still see the aftermath. Animals and even insects were repelled by the temporal displacement centered on the Dying Zone, so the mutilated remains of "The Heart of the Watchers" still lay strewn about. Unable to decay, the bits of flesh and bone were a constant reminder of the most unusual human she had ever met. His death had opened a stronger rift than could be managed with a mere Unwanted. It had felt more like her very first murder, when the newly formed duplicate of Elsa had lived for mere seconds before being killed.

Ever since, Lamia yearned to catch more of the phantoms, but now they were on guard. They fled from her too quickly to be trapped. But Elsa sensed Lamia planning, and scheming, and the hunger grew. Somehow, the phantoms were a threat to It, but they were also the most satisfying prey.

Elsa hoped they won in the end.

She felt a tug, a pull. Somewhere, someone was calling Its name. Already? Please… not another one…

Drawing forth a drop of the energy gained by killing the little boy, Lamia opened two shimmering gateways that ordinary humans couldn't see. One dropped the pitiful corpse through the ground to appear at the bottom of the nearby stream. In the eyes of the monster, he was now nothing but useless refuse.

The other gateway opened to the location of whoever had called to them.

As Elsa rose up from the floor, she flinched at the sound of a gunshot.

A man collapsed, screaming, with blood pouring from his neck. He had an empty holster at his belt, and a young woman held the smoking gun. "I warned you, 'Father,' but you wouldn't listen. That's the last time you hand one of me over to that monster. And as I decided yesterday, Lamia won't even have this one!"

The young woman turned to face her Unwanted copy, who nodded grimly and closed her eyes.

The next shot put a bullet through the Unwanted girl's forehead.

Lamia shrieked in Elsa's voice as Its prey hit the floor. They were too far from the Dying Zone for this death to open a rift.

And the young woman smiled at the sound. Lamia rendered Elsa invisible to ordinary human eyes, but her voice could still be heard. Ordinarily, she moved and struck in silence. But being robbed of a needed meal had made the Thing rash…

A storm of gunfire tore through the air. Though aimed blindly, the shots were guided by that one frustrated scream. A bullet tore off three of Elsa's fingers, and another ruptured a lung, before Lamia reacted. An invisible wall of force stopped the next four shots, then Elsa flitted around it faster than any normal human could have moved. She sensed that the Thing was unsteady, surprised and alarmed at the unexpected danger of this encounter, and Elsa took advantage of that. With a tremendous exertion of will, she managed to throw off Lamia's aim as they attacked from behind. The pencil, intended for the brain stem, missed by centimeters. It erupted from the girl's trachea, but it failed to kill instantly. Lamia reasserted total control, yanking the pencil free, but the mortally wounded girl had already aimed her pistol under her left arm, and now she blazed away.

A bullet went through Elsa's left eye.

Her world was replaced with darkness…

…and a rage not her own.

---

Niko-29 wept uncontrollably, even as the panic attack overwhelmed him. He had killed a man.

True, most would argue that he'd done no such thing. After all, the enemy Watcher had taken his own life.

But only in response to Niko's actions.

Without pondering the implications, without thinking ahead to the most likely outcome, Niko had done the same thing that Lamia had done to Klaus. He'd seized that Watcher's mind, and forced his body to snap to its location. He'd wanted to stop the enemy from spying on them, from sharing intel that might put everyone in danger. He'd even thought they might learn something from interrogating him.

Instead, the Watcher had put a gauss round through his own head… in plain sight of Niko's projected awareness.

The boy couldn't begin to cope. Just hurting someone's feelings was enough to send Niko into a panic attack. This… this simply couldn't be true. He couldn't face it. Not even the spike of superlative agony required to accomplish the abduction could compare to the guilt that tore at him.

"It's not your fault, Niko," Benny said, hugging him close. Despite the champion's steel-hard physique and unreal strength, he could hug like the gentlest grandpa ever. "He was hurt, sick from radiation poisoning. He could have asked us for help. Our best doctors could have saved him, whether or not he answered our questions. We're not monsters. He could've chosen to live. What happened… that's on him. All you did was protect us."

Hyperventilating, shaking, nearly convulsing, Niko didn't even try to respond.

"You did the right thing," Hasina said. "Right now, there could be terrorist forces converging on HQ. I was terrified that my orders might be intercepted. That the men and women under my command might die because the enemy would be ready to counter me. But because of you, because you did the impossible and surpassed even Charlotte, I can face this crisis with confidence. Our soldiers can follow my orders knowing that the enemy cannot listen in. If this comes to open military action, we'll never know how many lives you saved."

Coming from the side, Hasina joined Benny in holding Niko close. His shaking slowed, comforted by the warm embrace of two warriors who valued him. Who believed his actions were right. Who felt his contributions would save lives.

It couldn't erase the guilt, but it did soften it. Together, the two veterans took the edge off his pain.

The door to the Command Center slid open, and Niko turned to look. Duri approached, and Hasina returned to her post at the center of a dozen tactical displays. "Hey there, kid," Duri said, his voice low and comforting. "I heard you just pulled a stunt at least on par with Charlotte's. Right now, Anya's taken my place, Watching the meeting on Elpis. I'm here to help you shine."

Benny rose, releasing Niko, whose heart rate gradually normalized. He couldn't quite speak yet, but he managed to give 22 a quizzical look.

Duri gestured toward the exit. "We should give the Chief space to work her magic. But the Captain and I are gonna see if that brilliant little mind of yours can take things even farther."

Rising on shaky legs, Niko tried to follow. Without a word, Benny swept him up onto his shoulders. If the Captain were any taller, Niko might have hit his head as they passed through the reinforced blast door, which slid shut behind them.

Duri strode far more swiftly than he usually preferred. "If you can make another breakthrough quickly enough, we'll be able to share your discoveries with Charlotte. Her first scheduled check-in is coming up soon."

"So…" Niko managed to say, his voice weak and unsteady, "what… do you need… me to do?"

"Charlotte projected herself to Elpis. You just pulled an enemy Watcher to the location of his projected mind. The next step… is to see if it's possible to take someone with you."

---

Elsa awoke, weary and confused. Her body ached, in the same way that it had after the murder of Klaus-21. Lamia must have morphed Elsa's body again. Stretching her. Twisting her. Deconstructing her bones to create a hundred thousand ultra-light needle teeth. At least she seemed to have returned to normal.

She smelled smoke. She shifted, rolling over, and rose to her hands and knees. Growing more alert, Elsa discovered that her fingers had grown back, as had her left eye. Her memory felt hazy. She hoped that Lamia hadn't blundered with the details when healing her brain from the gunshot. Though, if she'd lost some memories, that was likely a blessing.

Then she saw the blood.

So… much…

This felt like what Lamia had done to Klaus… but contained within a single room.

Forcing herself to look up, Elsa saw absolute horror.

Flesh, blood, and splintered bone coated the floor, ceiling, and all four walls. The furniture had been smashed, and the windows were shattered. Needle spines were embedded in every surface, though this far from the Dying Zone, they were starting to break down due to their low density. She'd need to eat at some point in the next few days, with a focus on calcium…

The amount of human remains… this couldn't just be from the young woman, her father, and her Unwanted. Forcing herself to take in the details, Elsa saw skin of several different tones. And there were three handguns laying in the midst of the gore.

So… neighbors came in response to the gunfire… and Lamia killed them all in a rampage…

With the murder of Klaus, Elsa had only vague images and impressions, rather than clear memory. This time, the bullet to the brain meant she mercifully had no memory of the slaughter at all. Lamia had used her as a puppet, without her being aware in any capacity.

Fighting down nausea, Elsa noted the smell of smoke worsening. The house is burning… It's too bad I woke up in time to escape.

She found her little nightgown lying nearby. It was now hideously stained with far more blood than the flecks it had borne after the death of Klaus, but it was all she had… She slipped back into it, disgusted with both the garment and herself. It was now more ragged and tattered, but she couldn't make herself care.

Lamia felt tired, and hungry. But It was still strong enough to command her. Rising to her feet, she opened a shimmering gateway. Wishing the attempt on her life had been successful, Elsa stepped through to the Dying Zone, leaving the horrific scene behind her.

Compared to what she'd just left, the aftermath of Klaus-21's death looked almost tame.

Chapter 16: Planning

"In short, the temporal displacement is nothing like relativistic time dilation. Rather, it's more like the Unwanted and the Dying Zone are out of sync with specific aspects of statistical probability and the normal laws of cause and effect. It's a glimpse of another universe with many laws very unlike our own reality. Whatever exactly Exovasilio is, there's a good chance that aspects of it resemble the cognitive stagnation and anti-entropic anomalies afflicting our world."

Anya-28 felt almost dizzy. The data and theories presented by Doctor Youssef Khalil and his associates flew over her head without even one sentence in ten making sense. It didn't help that Anya's extreme athletic talent had led some of her teachers to quietly give her high marks rather than actually teach her anything. They all assumed that her guaranteed success in gymnastics would make most academic knowledge superfluous.

At least Charlotte looked baffled as well…

"And as for the duplicate created when someone becomes Unwanted, we theorize that it is a result of these altered laws of causality preserving two individuals when the ordinary flow of time would result in only one. At the instant of displacement, the individual enters a closed time-like curve, traveling a single unit of Planck time into the past. Combined with spatial displacement imposed by the theoretical constants described in table 647G, and with only the previously listed elements of causality preserved, you are left with two copies of the individual. The one that was spatially displaced is otherwise unaffected, but not so with the one that traveled 5.4x10-44 seconds into the past. That poor soul is thereafter subject to the anomalies described in charts 106S, 389N, 545F…"

Anya wondered if boredom could cause a stroke under the right conditions.

Right now, the Watchers were absolutely fitting the job description. Neither of them could follow this discussion, or understand any of the math or readings. All that mattered was that they observed. A large portion of HQ's GLaDOS mainframe was dedicated to processing and rendering the brain scans of Anya's current Watch, and hundreds of scientists stood ready to pour over every frame as it came available.

The first part of the presentation had been easy to understand… and she wished she hadn't. The Unwanted phenomenon represented one of the worst crises in human history. Millions of Unwanted taken, none ever seen again, had created an age of terror. And society had shifted and corrupted in response. The vast majority of children had turned toward delinquency, as they'd all known they had at most three years to live. It was impossible to hide this terrible reality from children, as they'd all seen their Unwanted copies vanish through walls or floors. Eventually, birth rates had plummeted to the lowest levels of any large population in recorded history. Further, the incentive to avoid growth or learning in adulthood had worsened matters, leading to one of the most stagnant and short-sighted societies on record.

The greatest hope lay in the fact that the Unwanted anomaly had not started the moment the colony fleet reached Elpis. After a decade with no incident, every youth on the planet had become Unwanted in the span of a month. And if something had started this long sad story, perhaps it could be stopped.

But soon, the discussion had moved on to scientific esoterica and mind-bending mathematics that left Anya utterly bamboozled. True, her current Watch held tremendous importance. The Watcher Organization was finally getting some hard scientific data about the Unwanted and well-supported theories about Lamia. Even so, Anya felt bored out of her mind.

They might as well be speaking another language. Backwards. Using Morse Code.

Right now, Peng maintained a vigil in the Dying Zone, Niko and Duri fast-tracked experimentation with physical projection, and Fawzia was Watching the Antarctic coastline for signs of enemy ships or vehicles. Anya would have gladly swapped places with any of them, but as the least useful Watcher, she was reduced to being a stationary camera during a science lecture.

At least she'd get some value out of this. As she Watched, Anya trained in her own unique path to greater power. Though she had to be plugged into her Chamber for this Watch to be recorded, she still tried to use her body as much as possible. She was vaguely aware of the tension in both of her arms, as she arm-wrestled two of the soldiers standing guard at her side. The exquisitely trained men were too much for her, especially in this mentally-divided state, but they weren't really trying to win. They matched her strength, forcing her to push the limits of her attention. And it helped. The harder she drove her body, the stronger her Watch became. More than any other Watcher, Anya hoped the Science Division would develop more portable brain scanning equipment. If she were able to move more freely while Watching, she could push her powers to the max without sacrificing the ability to record the footage.

The heaviest aspects of the presentation were finally winding down, and it sounded like Doctor Youssef was reaching the summary stage. Finally, Anya could start to follow the presentation again. Thus far, all she'd really understood out of the ocean of technical jargon was how quickly Youssef's people had identified the nearby white hole.

Charlotte spoke up. "We're nearing a new stage of this analysis, so I suggest we break for lunch. That will give Earth time to render more of this data, and it's almost time for me to check in. Any who wish to observe my Trance may do so, though I fear it won't be very exciting."

As most of those present hurried out, Doctor Youssef patiently observed as Charlotte closed her eyes, activated her new implants, and entered her Trance.

Flooded with MD-Δ, and with the further enhancement provided by pitting her physical strength against the two guards, Anya was actually able to sense the moment when Charlotte's mind left her body. It wasn't really sight, though her brain tried to interpret it that way. It was as if Charlotte turned slightly translucent, without Anya actually being able to see through her. A vague sense of distance, of incompleteness.

Then Anya felt the alert, signaling that Peng was trying to stop another murder.

---

Seriously? Two at once? Peng-24 sensed this had gotten very dangerous. Lamia looked weary, and in pain, in a way she hadn't any time before. Her sleeveless nightgown was damp. Perhaps from washing in the river, because it was now stained from so much blood that very little of it was still white. Peng was glad he hadn't seen whatever horrific event had caused that.

More immediately important, Lamia had brought two people through the shimmering distorted patch of concrete.

Perhaps she'd intended to bring only one. The teenage boy displayed the wide-eyed confusion common to most of the Unwanted Peng had seen, but the man, wearing a suit and tie, showed no such uncertainty. He held the boy close, his eyes burning with determination that bordered on rage. "Do not touch him!" he shouted, though he was facing away from her. "I did not summon you, demon! A political opponent wants me dead, so she can replace me as Governor! She knew I wouldn't let you take my boy! She summoned you, and she had no right!"

Peng felt the sensation of Anya Watching, and he shifted his perspective toward the blur that represented her point of awareness. Imagining the kind of scum who would summon Lamia to assassinate a loving father… It caused Peng's anger to spike, and he suddenly had a far clearer image of Anya. Instead of just a blur, he saw her as she imagined herself, a bit taller, dressed for the Olympics, with an even more heroic build… and every bit as angry as Peng.

Lamia… spoke.

"I am not in the mood for games." The man turned toward the sound, but of course he couldn't see her. "Release the boy, and only he need die. Your death will not help me." The young girl's tone bore no sign of compassion, or even humanity. It was as if a merciless machine spoke with a child's voice.

"My son and his Third were stabbed to death in an alley last year," the Governor said. "His last Unwanted is all I have left of him."

"If you stand between me and my prey, you will both die together. Unless you plan on siring more children, you have no value."

"I will not leave him."

Lamia growled, but then she hissed in frustration as Anya and then Peng flitted through her. "I've had enough of your meddling!" she shrieked, turning in an attempt to track their movements.

Both Watchers maneuvered their perspectives about as if they were in an aerial dogfight, preventing the enemy from getting a good look at them for long enough to attempt an abduction. Able to maneuver his perspective very quickly, he performed multiple attack runs in the time it took Anya to strike just once. But the emotional transference worried Peng deeply. Lamia was quickly displaying less anger, and more triumph. She laughed. "I may not be able to do to you what I did to Klaus, but I've also learned the limits of your powers. You can irritate me, you can unsettle me… but you cannot stop me. For your insolence… I shall reward you with proof of your helplessness."

Lamia closed her eyes, no longer attempting to track either Watcher. She held a hand out toward the Governor, who still clutched his son close, whispering words of empty comfort.

The boy lifted into the air, and his father didn't let go of him. Together, they floated out over the river… and plunged deep underwater.

Anya and Peng shot through Lamia's head, one after another, making pass after pass. The sensation of ancient evil, endless hunger, and cold dismissal of human life grew sharper and harsher with each attempt to break the girl's focus.

It wasn't enough. Gritting her teeth, laughing cruelly, the girl no longer even twitched when they passed through her.

Deep below the water, the man refused to let go of his son. The confused, terrified boy shook and struggled, but his father held him close. Every passing second, Peng felt more and more enraged…

But it was Anya who first risked a new tactic.

She shot her perspective into Lamia's head… and stayed there.

From Peng's perspective, Anya shrunk down to a small orb of burning light, making it look like Lamia's head glowed.

And with each passing second, Lamia's strain grew. Her teeth gritted to the point that Peng hoped they might crack, and she clenched her fists until blood ran from fingernails biting into her palms. She even started to look ill… but she refused to release the drowning boy, and his father still refused to leave him.

The light radiating from Anya began to fade, even as Lamia began to shake, but neither gave ground.

What should I do? What should I DO?

Then Anya vanished.

For just a moment, Peng nearly panicked, fearing that Lamia had done something dreadful to her. But the wave of relief that washed over the evil girl's face proved that wasn't the case. Anya's Trance had most likely broken from the strain…

With father and son still drowning.

Peng didn't understand what came over him in that moment. It might have simply been rage. Maybe he just needed to finish what Anya started.

Perhaps… he just wanted to help.

He projected his awareness into Lamia's brain… and held position.

Whenever he flitted through her, the emotional transference was unsettling and uncomfortable. But remaining there quickly became far, far worse.

His mind began to burn.

It started mildly enough, a tingling sensation much like being Watched, but sharper and invasive. It intensified rapidly. The hatred that beat upon him didn't feel human. The depth, the ancient malice, the all-consuming hunger, it crushed in on his every thought. The sensation of heat swiftly passed the pain threshold, but within limits, that would make him stronger. Reveling in his own rage, allowing his disgust for this vile girl consume him, and letting the burning pain feed into that negative emotional loop, he poured himself into the Watch…

And Lamia screamed.

It went on, and on, until all air had left her lungs.

Then the ground shimmered at her feet.

The girl fell through and disappeared.

The sensation of the monster's hunger and hatred vanished, but the burning pain faded very slowly. Peng's mind felt raw and wounded, and he was badly shaken. He couldn't blame Anya in the slightest for losing focus and breaking her Trance, not when pain and anger did nothing to enhance her.

The surface of the river broke, and the man swiftly swam to shore. He lay his son on the concrete and checked for his pulse.

The boy wasn't breathing.

Tearing open his son's shirt, the man swiftly and expertly performed CPR, despite still choking and gasping himself. In his pain and exhaustion, Peng desperately wanted to end his Watch and rest, but he couldn't bring himself to leave them.

At last, with a gush of water, the Unwanted boy began hacking and coughing. Taking off his suit jacket and wrapping it around his shivering son, the Governor hefted the willowy boy over one shoulder and staggered toward the woods.

Peng followed them closely, maintaining a vigil, until they were no longer in sight of the Dying Zone.

Only then did he end his Watch, withdraw from his rig, and sprint toward Anya's chamber.

---

Charlotte Watched an empty room. That surprised her. She was certain she'd included regular scheduled meeting times in the message she left for HQ. But the designated conference room was currently deserted…

And a string of yellow lights flashed above the small info board near the ceiling on every wall. The base is on alert… They aren't facing an immediate battle, but everyone's on standby… Has HQ been threatened?

She considered moving her perspective through the facility to get a fuller picture of the situation…

But then Niko and Duri appeared at the front of the room.

If she'd been present physically, Charlotte likely would have yelped in a profoundly undignified way.

One moment, an empty room. The next, two Watchers just manifested.

"Yes!" Duri shouted. "Niko, you rock!"

The boy slumped to the floor, soaked with sweat. "It is not fun though."

Duri stood briefly still, an idealized image of him appeared a meter to his left, and Charlotte felt herself being Watched. Then the image and sensation vanished, and Duri opened his eyes. "We made it in time, Niko! Charlotte hasn't left yet." He turned toward Charlotte and announced. "An undocumented Watcher was spying on HQ earlier, but Niko abducted him before he could report to his allies. And even that wasn't enough for the little wunderkind. At my suggestion, he tried projecting himself and someone else."

Captain Martins jogged into the room, and pumped his fist in delight when he saw the two Watchers. "I knew you could do it!"

Duri helped Niko to his feet. "The key is that it only works with other Watchers. At first, Niko was trying with Benicio while I observed. Nothing worked, until he started trying to bring me instead. Explain your process, crazy genius."

Niko had recovered enough to look excited and proud. "You need to be in physical contact with another Watcher when you first enter your Trance. Center your perspective inside their brain, feel their emotions, embrace those emotions, and your mind will anchor theirs. Then, fling your awareness to the destination."

Charlotte's head spun. She was far from certain she could manage that. This felt very different from the method she'd used to get to Elpis.

Fortunately, Niko anticipated her worries. "It's very tricky. Normally, projecting yourself somewhere involves sending your mind there first and focusing on the destination. But if you wanna take a Watcher with you, that process has to go really fast, so you stay anchored to the other person. It has to happen so quick, it's more like a single, brutal shove. It felt a bit like shooting my mind out of a cannon while wrapped around Duri's mind."

How… how did he manage? But then she thought of how he'd looked when he first came through. Exhausted, soaked with sweat, and his face twisted by agony. He ran a simulation on his implants, similar to when I walked in on him in Anya's gym. He's deliberately experiencing pain to enhance his power.

"Figure out all you can about Lamia," Duri said. "Physical contact with her would be insane, practically suicidal, but Doctor Khalil may have useful insights." He turned to Niko. "I know this process is brutal for you, and you've done more than enough for today. Tomorrow, if you can bear it, we can keep testing to see if there are other ways to—"

"I can keep going," Niko interrupted, his tone hard. "The base could come under attack at any time. There's no guarantee I'll still be alive tomorrow. We'll keep at this until—"

"Sorry, tiny hero, not happening." Captain Martins placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If there is a battle, I'll need you strong enough to Watch the enemy and give Hasina as much intel as possible. You can help keep my comrades alive, so they can stop the enemy from getting anywhere near you. Get to your Chamber, but don't plug in yet. Rest. Sleep if you can. If battle breaks out, I'll depend on you."

Duri turned back toward Charlotte, correctly assuming that she'd kept her perspective stationary after he'd confirmed her mind's location. "Fawzia stumbled upon a secret command center. Niko managed to abduct their Watcher, and a missile strike sterilized the area, but we have reason to suspect an attack is imminent. When you check in again, I hope we can report a clean victory."

Charlotte noticed that the Captain looked far from certain, and she understood why. In the past, attacks against the Organization had been very rare, and the aggressors had always been severely outclassed. Only once had security forces been required to engage hostiles directly, as the base's long range defenses were usually more than enough to handle any threat.

But if a hostile organization had a Watcher, we're dealing with a whole new caliber of enemy. They might even have the backing of one or more nations… Charlotte deeply hoped none of HQ's defenders fell repelling the assault, but she needed to focus on her own struggle. Niko's technique for projecting oneself and another Watcher might sound too difficult for her to replicate, but she had one advantage he didn't: the heightening of Watcher powers near the Dying Zone.

I may not be capable of personally achieving the power levels Niko can gain through extreme pain, but if I make my move in the center of the Dying Zone, it might be enough…

Duri had warned that using a technique requiring physical contact might be suicide when the target is Lamia. But he couldn't fully understand her strength or drive. Every day, Lamia claimed lives. Every day, Klaus-21's death went unavenged. If Doctor Youssef's theories give me enough to act on, I won't wait. If there's any chance of neutralizing Lamia before she claims another child, I will not let fear stop me.

---

With MD-Δ making Watching far easier, and benefitting from mild sedatives keeping her as comfortable as possible, Fawzia-11 continued to sweep the Antarctic coastline. Prior to the recent breakthroughs, she likely would have reached her limits by now. But so far, she didn't feel even the early warning signs of a migraine. Twenty meters below water level, her mind shot through the ocean, staying close to the ice sheet, alert for any approaching submersibles.

Antarctic ice covered a far greater area than a century and a half before. At the height of the climate crisis, so much of the ice had melted that the coastline had become unrecognizable. But fusion power had finally allowed a dramatic turn in humanity's ability to preserve their homeworld. In a single decade of explosive upgrades to the global power infrastructure, humanity's energy supply had multiplied a hundredfold while eliminating the worst sources of pollutants. All aspects of human technology were soon reworked to better utilize the effectively limitless clean energy, and mankind finally unlocked realistic access to the stars. By 2120, more than half of all humans lived offworld, and that trend had continued steadily.

Thus, Fawzia patrolled the coastline of a restored and vast Antarctica. The pristine oceans were empty of enemy submersibles, and she was starting to feel relieved. Perhaps the enemy's "Contingency Beta" had been no more than an evacuation.

Then her real body heard Tácito Nelson's voice over her internal comm. "Fawzia-11! We just saw something in your earlier footage! Ignore the ocean, examine the ice sheet itself!"

Alarmed, Fawzia spun her perspective around, feeling her relief evaporate. She backtracked, shooting along the icy wall, with her attention now to the south…

And there were tunnels burrowed into the ice.

As she continued her high-speed sweep, she found more and more.

She hadn't seen any enemy ships, because they'd already reached Antarctica. And satellite imagery didn't show vehicles crossing the frozen continent, because they were burrowing under the ice.

Each tunnel was more than ten meters across.

Chapter 17: Mobilizing

"All personnel to battle stations! Repeat: Battle stations! An assault on HQ is considered imminent!"

Only once in her nine years with the Watchers had Wilma Taibei heard the base-wide call to arms. The GLaDOS system's voice, usually an emotionless monotone, rang out with urgent intensity. Red emergency lights flashed, and throughout the facility, everyone's implants would be giving them visual overlays, guiding them to their posts. Wilma was one of the doctors assigned to the Infirmary, while others dispersed throughout the facility to more quickly respond to emergencies.

Security Chief Hasina Rakoto's voice came over the base-wide intercom. "The small submersibles fleeing New Zealand were just a fraction of the enemy offensive! All non-combat personnel: unless specifically ordered otherwise, avoid the outer layers of the facility. Stay away from the top ten floors, and go nowhere near the outer walls! There's a very real chance of attacks striking HQ, and there's no guarantee the armored exterior can withstand the heaviest weapons! All defensive systems to full power! In the event of internal security breach, I want all personnel armed!"

Reaching the Infirmary at a jog, Wilma quickly took in the controlled chaos. For speed and efficiency, the surgeons and anesthesiologists would prioritize filling the beds in the large main ward. The smaller, private patient rooms would be reserved for lower-priority cases who didn't need constant supervision. For now, those wards were closed.

As she washed up and prepared her equipment, Wilma realized she was by far the most junior doctor in the room. The least experienced of the others had been a full doctor for more than a decade. But that didn't matter. She hadn't lost her nerve under pressure since she was four. No matter what happened, she would do her duty.

---

Head Scientist Renya Baldwin jogged from her personal office to the central laboratory hub. A corner office granted a beautiful view of the stark Antarctic landscape, but even with the armored shutters falling into place it would be too dangerous during a battle. At age sixty and quite heavy, she was not pleased with the vast size of HQ in that moment: Getting to those labs in a hurry would be exhausting. Still, her people should be reasonably safe in the center of the massive facility. And if enemy soldiers managed to get that far, hundreds of armed scientists might be more than they could handle.

"Rakoto to Baldwin!"

Trying to keep her voice steady, Renya replied, "I read. En route to the central labs."

"I need your people analyzing every seismic sensor on the continent! Look for anything abnormal. Enemy vehicles are drilling through the ice, and I need projections of their locations and speed."

"I'll set them on it immediately. Baldwin out." Every step was getting painful. Her life had not featured strenuous physical activity lately, and this place was so big. Even so, she sent the necessary instructions to her people as she ran.

By the time she reached her destination, hundreds of scientists made ready. Renya staggered over to the room where a score of her people were analyzing the seismic data. Before she could catch her breath, a large holo filled the air above them. A 3D map of Antarctica…

…crisscrossed with hundreds of bright trails. Starting all along the Antarctic coast, the lines were converging on the South Pole.

They all neared extreme artillery range of the outermost perimeter defenses.

---

Maximus Angelos felt the pull growing stronger. His time wasn't far off. With the memories of his earlier versions, he easily recognized this sensation. For a very limited time, he could resist the change. But that would grow more difficult at an exponential rate, until resisting would no longer be possible. He'd become the Eighth Unwanted Max. His replacement, exactly like him in every way, would take up the mantle of protector and caretaker of his younger selves. The drive, determination, and strength he'd cultivated would be wielded by another. Max hoped he'd personally still find ways to be useful, despite the extreme limitations the Unwanted faced. And despite the months it'll take for my fingers to heal…

It was time for the meeting to resume. Charlotte had ended her Trance, and she displayed a mixture of fear and hope. Everyone who'd rushed out for a quick lunch had returned, along with eight others who hadn't been available earlier. Max's father, who saw how soon the change would come, gave his uninjured hand a little squeeze. Maximus managed to smile.

Doctor Youssef Khalil reactivated the screens and holos lining the room. "Did you learn anything of relevance, Charlotte-17?"

"Yes, actually. Far more than I expected. Watcher HQ may soon come under attack."

Max sat up straighter, as did many others. Youssef's granddaughter, Isis, spoke up first. "Is Earth currently at war? Why would anyone attack Watchers? You serve every country, right?"

"Nearly every country. But Watchers have the potential to spy on anyone, at any time, with virtually zero countermeasures. We've taken concrete steps to reassure the public, but there have always been those who aren't satisfied."

"How serious a threat do your people face?" the Doctor asked. "Should you try to assist them?"

"I doubt I'd make a tremendous difference," Charlotte admitted. "Watcher HQ is the best-defended facility in history. Situated at the South Pole, constantly updated with the most advanced tech, and guarded by the best soldiers of every member nation of the I.F. We've shot down ICBM's, repelled assaults, and intercepted waves of advanced aircraft, all without ever losing a single soldier. If I returned to Earth, I'd be just one more observer to a battle that'll likely be very one-sided in our favor. The enemy had one major advantage, an undocumented Watcher. But he's been neutralized." She took a moment to ponder, then she concluded, "I'd prefer to focus on the crisis here. If there's a chance we can come up with a plan to counter Lamia, I want to put it into action as soon as possible. Perhaps we can prevent her from claiming another victim."

"A noble goal indeed," Doctor Khalil said, "provided we don't move too soon… and squander this chance."

Charlotte nodded. "All of my colleagues are focusing their attention on Earth, so the remainder of these proceedings won't be observed by a Watcher. I propose both the recordings and transcripts of this discussion be displayed continuously after we finish, so Earth can learn of our conclusions as soon as possible."

"Of course," Youssef said. "So… we can address the key takeaways from our decades of study and research."

Max leaned forward. Most of the earlier discussion had been almost comically beyond his understanding. The math and sciences being discussed hilariously exceeded his homeschooled knowledge, and staying awake had been a challenge. Even Charlotte hadn't pretended to understand much of it. Now though, maybe they'd put in the effort to be comprehensible to laymen.

Youssef gestured toward the main holo. "Most of our theories kept running into conflicting evidence, until we effectively combined two hypotheses into one: The being we call Lamia was originally human, but has been altered dramatically by something from Exovasilo. Either an energy burst enhanced her, or an entity from Exovasilio has essentially taken over her body. Between the two, I personally find the second more likely. Lamia is so dangerous and her powers so unique, the odds of random mutation feel terribly remote."

With a subvocalized command, the Doctor started a holovid which slowly cycled through a series of young girls. "From the last words of some Unwanted, we know Lamia at least resembles a preteen human female. These eight all disappeared shortly before the Unwanted Crisis began. It may be that one of these was assaulted or enslaved by an entity from–"

"It's her!" Charlotte shouted, startling nearly everyone. The Doctor was quick enough to pause the vid. "That girl there! This 'Elsa Yarr.' She's the one, no doubt about it."

"And she hasn't aged?" Youssef asked. "She looks the same as in the last vid taken before her disappearance?"

"Correct. This is the girl who killed Klaus, who murdered eleven million people…and she hasn't aged a day. Does that mean she's Unwanted?"

"There's a good chance she was the first Unwanted," the Doctor clarified. "I've always viewed Miss Yarr as the prime suspect. Among the eight girls under consideration, she stood out. The few recordings of Lamia's voice are most similar to the footage of Elsa, and her entire extended family was murdered by Lamia in the early days of the Crisis."

"Why would she have done that?" Charlotte asked. Despite all the other crimes that could be laid at Lamia's feet, Max agreed this felt the most inexplicable. Lamia didn't bother to kill ordinary people unless they interfered with her efforts to take the Unwanted.

Max's father spoke up. "Maybe she was scared. Or rather, maybe the Lamia entity that controls her was scared. Your Watchers are the only people that can seriously inconvenience her. Maybe the thing controlling her feared Elsa's powers might run in the family."

"If so, that was a tragic misconception," Charlotte said. "Watcher powers are so rare, we've never found meaningful proof that they could be more common in a specific bloodline."

"In any case, this tells us something," the Doctor said. "Elsa's unique status as a Watcher was likely what drew the Exovasilio entity's attention, and it might fear others like her might pose a threat. I doubt it realized it would be unable to return home after coming through to our side, and it may have bound itself to young Elsa in order to survive. She became Unwanted, either as a result of being fused to an entity from another universe, or for the same reason as all the other victims of this malady. We suspect the anomalies present at he Dying Zone, rather than Lamia herself, are most directly responsible for the Unwanted phenomenon. If that twisted place resembles Exovasilio in some ways, it was likely created as a deliberate act by the entity, or as a byproduct of its fusion to a human host."

One of the oldest scientists, a woman with a bullet scar on her cheek, spoke up. "Youssef tries to avoid being dogmatic when there is so much uncertainty, but most of us believe the latter explanation is far more likely. If Lamia were capable of changing additional locations to be like the Dying Zone, she surely would have done so long ago. But even at the height of her power, Lamia took every victim to the same place. She never altered other areas to expand her options."

With a little grin, Youssef shrugged. "I suppose I'm a bit too cautious. The more conjecture we're forced to rely on, the more my anxiety builds." With a gesture, he brought up new tables and charts. "Either way, ever since the creation of the Dying Zone, any human on Elpis is subject to the same temporal displacement if they experience sufficient personal change. We've amassed enough data to determine that proximity to the Dying Zone may influence how quickly a person becomes Unwanted. The difference is minor on the scale of a continent, such that children in the closest cities experience the change only 2% sooner, on average, than those on the frontier. But it's enough for our purposes. The Unwanted affliction is triggered by proximity to the Dying Zone. Other star systems are too far away to experience the effect, but if anyone lived on the two moons of Elpis, they might still face the same danger, just far less frequently."

Max's father spoke. "If we now know the name of the child who has been possessed by an extradimensional entity, I propose we adjust our terminology. We should only speak of 'Lamia' when referring to the being from beyond the white hole, which is clearly an 'it.' If we speak of the Unwanted Watcher that's been enslaved, we should use her name. It's possible that Elsa is the single greatest victim of all."

The doctors and scientists in the room exchanged somber nods.

Doctor Khalil again took control of the presentation. The screens and holos displayed satellite images and high-res video from the Dying Zone. Some of it was very painful to see, as they had a mountain of footage of Unwanted dropping dead with bloody wounds from an unseen threat. In most cases, they were killed close enough to the stream for them to fall in and be washed away. But whenever an Unwanted fell to the dirty concrete, they'd rise into the air and float over to the water. Occasionally, they'd instead fall through the ground and appear at the bottom of the stream.

"We have footage of millions of victims, and in every case their bodies are disposed of in this manner. Never once has the invisible killer kept a corpse. They're not mutilated, fed on, or stored. A single drop of blood was taken from each victim, but we've concluded this was merely a form of trophy or souvenir. Nothing about the enemy's behavior has changed since the stockpiled blood was spilled out, other than Lamia no longer bothering to collect more."

Charlotte's voice quavered as she asked, "Do you have footage… of when… of when Klaus…"

"Not for your eyes," the Doctor said gently. "When we're finished here, and you've left the room, that footage will be played in a loop on a single screen. Please refrain from Watching this room at that point. Of all the Watchers that might see it… I suspect it would pain you the most."

An uncomfortable silence fell, and Charlotte's expression shifted from surprise, to embarrassment, to defiance, to a grudging acceptance.

Khalil kept his voice soft and mild. "I'll say only this: When Klaus appeared in the air and fell into the stream, we were all terrified that Lamia had developed a new power, able to manifest her gateways high in the air. What we learned from you has at least alleviated the worry that the enemy is suddenly growing stronger."

"She deserves one more detail," young Isis insisted, turning to Charlotte. "At the end, he was brave. But Grampa's right: you should not watch it. I'm sorry."

Wanting to help Charlotte move on from this quickly, Max asked, "If Lamia just throws every corpse into the river, why does it kill them in the first place?"

"Exactly the question we've poured the most time and thought into," Doctor Youssef said with a nod. "I regret that your change is so close, young Maximus. But at least your newest version will still be able to join us in our research. The fresh perspective of a young layman can occasionally lead to new and useful lines of inquiry."

New data appeared, most notably a comparison of disappearances to instances of unsolicited Lamia strikes. "For the first decade, Lamia appears to have roved our colony without rest, cutting a swath of slaughter across our world. There are periods with enough data where we could track her—its—movements as it systematically and swiftly hunted from house to house, town to town, taking every Unwanted it encountered. During those terrible years, its use of spatial displacement and telekinesis were frequent and flamboyant." Four videos began to play side by side. In each case, one or more people fired weapons blindly, trying to hit the invisible assailant that had come for their children or siblings. But overwhelming power blew the nearest buildings apart, and the individuals trying to fight back were crushed into the ground or hurled into trees or boulders. The telekinesis on display was terrifying to behold, in some cases getting so out of hand that Lamia's prey was accidentally caught up in the wreckage and killed. The worst image was of a mother hugging her Unwanted son close, until invisible forces tore her limb from limb, leaving the boy helpless.

"As time passed, and birthrates plummeted, the number of Unwanted created per day greatly diminished. Lamia's behavior gradually shifted from active hunting to patient waiting. More and more often, it would only respond to individuals who called to it. We suspect that it's in some subtle way connected to all Unwanted, so that those who call to Lamia in their presence draw its awareness to their location. Several profoundly brave members of our team have attempted to summon Lamia while alone in an open field, but they never experienced anything to indicate it arrived. Once, we even attempted such a summons with one of my Unwanted nearby in a vehicle. He fled the area immediately after we called Lamia, and it must have detected his departure. It didn't show any sign of arriving."

Another series of videos displayed the common modern trend of summoning Lamia to "take this Unwanted thing away." It made Max sick, thinking of how his own mother had done this with his Third, and would've done so to him soon, had she remained in his life instead of Leo.

"Though hard evidence would be extremely difficult to gather, our prevailing theory attempts to explain these behaviors: By unknown means, Lamia gains some form of sustenance or energy when an Unwanted is killed at the Dying Zone. It may be that their death results in a shift in the altered physics affecting their body. Unwanted that have died far from Lamia's killing grounds have decomposed at the normal rate, and there hasn't been any buildup of corpses where the stream empties into the ocean. Lamia kills Unwanted as a method of harnessing this shift in temporal and entropic physics as their bodies revert to the normal laws of our universe."

More charts. "The frequency of attacks suggests that Lamia never sleeps. It must have done something to Elsa to keep her from going insane. But it may still be true that Lamia can't recover its unique, Watcher-derived powers naturally. As you reported, adequate sleep is vital for a Watcher to restore their ability to Watch after a long day of mental exertion. Since Lamia can't sleep, it must kill the Unwanted to recover those powers."

"So," Charlotte said, "if Lamia were unable to kill any Unwanted… is it possible she—it—might lose its powers?"

"Yes, and we suspect it's even more vital than that. Lamia has been away from its home universe for decades, and it's attached to a human Watcher like a parasite. But its connection to Elsa probably isn't enough to fully sustain it. Whatever form of energy Lamia gains from these murders, it's likely required just to keep it alive. If we can stop Lamia from killing the Unwanted, the monster might simply starve."

Chapter 18: Intercepting

Private Mathias Anderson was surprised at how calm he felt. His APC raced toward a jagged ridge that would mark a reasonably defensible location, and it wouldn't be long before battle was joined. He double-checked his gauss rifle's ammunition. Most were solid slugs, but he also carried a variety of specialized shells that might make all the difference if the enemy troops were heavily mechanized.

He knew full well that his eighteen years of life might end in the next hour. Perhaps abruptly. Perhaps brutally. In countless simulations, he'd suffered painful deaths. As the youngest member of HQ security, he tended to die a lot during any competitive simulation. Exceptional talent couldn't fully compensate for his limited experience. Realistically, if the threat converging on the Watchers really was the most dangerous force they'd ever faced, Mathias would be the most likely defender to fall. His instincts, perceptions, and reflexes weren't as honed as the more experienced soldiers, and every second might be life and death once the first shots fired.

Even so, he wasn't actually afraid. The extreme training Captain Martins pioneered had done its job. Mathias thought back to the most vicious of the recent mock battles. He'd taken a sniper round to the heart in the opening moments. He'd stubbornly refused to disable the implants that simulated the pain, despite being declared "dead" not long after getting hit. For twenty-three minutes, he had endured, his nervous system believing that four ribs had shattered, and that bone fragments had damaged both of his lungs. And afterward, Captain Benicio Martins had sought him out to give direct commendation.

The most elite soldier in living memory had seen his grit and acknowledged him.

By accepting the assignment to Watcher HQ, Mathias had anticipated years of brutal training but no real action. He'd expected to gain experience and skill which he wouldn't actually need until reassigned. But it had been an unheard of honor. Very few soldiers younger than twenty were ever recommended for such an important role.

The coming battle was not something he'd ever expected to face. HQ was so well defended, and the reputations of Chief Rakoto and Captain Martins so intimidating… It should have been more than enough to prevent anyone from throwing their lives away by meeting them in battle.

At Chief Rakoto's order, the APC ground to a stop, and Private Anderson was the first out. The twelve infantry, led by Second Lieutenant Blanchet, swiftly took positions, spreading out along the ridge. Half of them, including Mathias and Eléa, carried multi-purpose rifles with variable ammo. Three others prepared cluster missile launchers with advanced miniaturized tracking and independent guidance. The three strongest soldiers carried defensive systems to maximize the squad's chance of getting through this alive. They'd all trained extensively in the use of such gear, and their ultra-dense dappled white armor provided camouflage and protection while beating back the Antarctic cold.

Captain Martins' personal transport currently held back, hovering over HQ, far too distant to be seen. Its experimental VTOL thrusters added little total weight, allowing the separate primary jets to prioritize speed. Initially, Benicio would supplement Chief Rakoto's orders, giving advice and clarifying details to specific squads. The incomparable champion would be deployed to the front only when it became clear where the enemy was strongest, and provided they had air superiority. The defenders were spread in a wide ring, the twenty-seven front line squads each holding separate positions to cover every avenue of approach. If any of these positions faced more than they could handle, the Captain would be dispatched at the earliest opportunity. And his prototype transport could move.

With so much at stake, none of us can put personal safety ahead of victory. It's Rakoto's job to keep us alive. With our technology, and training, and defensive advantages, we've never lost a single man in battle. But so much depends on how prepared and equipped these attackers are. No matter what happens, I'll follow every order, focus on every shot I fire, and try not to think too far ahead. If I'm still alive by nightfall… I'll simply be grateful.

---

Alone in her hardened Command Center at the heart of HQ, Security Chief Hasina Rakoto's eyes rove continuously across screens and holographic displays. Less than ten percent of her soldiers remained inside HQ, handling internal security and standing by to rush wounded to the Infirmary. The vast majority of Hasina's forces were split between twenty-seven defensible positions, forming a wide perimeter to defend from every direction. Squads six through twelve were currently experiencing blizzard conditions, which would reach HQ itself soon. The storm would actually favor the defenders, and she wished it covered even more of the sprawling battlefield. Her people had the very best imagery and sensors, and if for any reason that advantage was matched, she could have Watchers help pinpoint the coordinates of the enemy scanning gear.

With such powerful anti-missile systems, HQ itself could only realistically be attacked at relatively close ranges.

The perimeter was far enough out that most weapon systems would need to get past her forces to threaten HQ. Only the most powerful modern gauss artillery could hit the facility from further out than that farflung perimeter.

Hasina's strategic board lit up. Far, far beyond the anticipated range of impending battle, first dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of threats appeared. From the Antipodes Islands, Bounty Islands, Snares Islands, and so many others, unidentified radar contacts streamed toward the South Pole. Every island south of the Antarctic Circle that wasn't a part of the Watcher surveillance grid launched objects, and satellites swiftly went to work identifying the threats. A force so powerful, and so well-coordinated, must be funded and supported by multiple nations. So long as the Organization survived, an in-depth investigation of every non-member nation could be launched to discover the culprits.

But their survival would first require the full skill and brilliance of Hasina Rakoto.

She opened a channel to all of HQ, every frontline soldier, and the Commanders in Chief of every member nation in the Solar System. "This is Hasina Rakoto, Security Chief of Watcher HQ. Thousands of hostiles have launched toward Antarctica. As of this moment, I am acting Five-Star General and Supreme Commander of the Allied Earth militaries. I will deploy all assets at my disposal in defense of the Watchers. I require all possible assistance your nations can offer."

She cut the line, and returned her attention to the incoming threats. Missiles of a hundred varieties, old and new… combat drones of every terrestrial class used in the last century… and aircraft of at least forty classes… The enemy knows our defenses are the best in history, and they plan to overwhelm us with extreme numbers… How long have these people been preparing in secret?

Hasina ordered GLaDOS to compile all of their flight trajectories and speeds. Then, she imagined points at which most aircraft might launch their longest-range ordnance, and folded all of it into a single mental picture. It confirmed her worst suspicions. All of these threats are timed to reach HQ within thirty seconds of each other. They hope our defensive options won't be able to handle so much at once. They may be right about that… but they've also given me an enormously useful clue…

She overlaid the seismic data coming in from the Science Division. Hundreds of vehicles were drilling through the ice, converging on HQ. The readings suggested that they were very large, either combat vehicles of an unknown design, or possibly transports that carried troops and smaller vehicles. Likely, they couldn't mount any defensive equipment on the front of vehicles designed for such rapid tunneling, so they'd be extremely vulnerable whenever they initially broke the surface. If I were them… I'd plan to surface when HQ's defenses are taxed to the limit trying to shoot down all of the airborne threats… I should be able to predict and exploit that moment of vulnerability…

Her hands danced across holographic displays, even as her mental commands were relayed to her officers. Vehicles, gunships, drones, and infantry made ready, while all fixed defenses powered up. We've never faced a threat a tenth so numerous and powerful… but we are stronger than ever.

Hasina's mind processed all available information at top speed, feeling where enemy forces would temporarily overlap. Intuiting when and where the subterranean vehicles might breach the surface, she ran calculations and submitted targeting data to Admiral Tapadia's frigates now approaching low orbit.

---

"In the early days, the Lamia entity was too greedy and aggressive," Doctor Khalil explained. "Its gluttonous killing spree ruined our society, resulting in its 'food supply' nearly drying up. It has all but hunted its prey into extinction."

Leo, Max's father, spoke. "If the entire colony were evacuated, could that result in Lamia's death? Could simply running away solve the problem, allowing us to safely return?"

"Perhaps," Youssef allowed, "but Charlotte has proven that a Watcher can physically project themselves extreme distances. What's to stop Lamia from teleporting to pursue evacuees, and bringing them back to the Dying Zone to kill them?"

"I've been pondering what feels like blind spots in the skillset of this enemy Watcher," Charlotte mused. "She can see when Watchers project their minds near her, and she was the first to demonstrate the power to abduct a Watcher. But we've never actually seen her project her mind, the original and most basic Watcher skill. I'd begun to wonder if that's simply because we're dealing with an untrained little girl, who may have stumbled onto unique powers without ever mastering the traditional abilities. But now that I know the enemy isn't just a Watcher, but a hybrid entity, I begin to suspect that Elsa can't project her mind."

"Of course!" Youssef exclaimed, and several of the other scientists displayed similar excitement with this theory. "We suspected we were facing an extradimensional entity, and you knew you were facing a Watcher. Before you came to us, neither party had the full picture. If the Lamia entity is bound to Elsa for survival, perhaps it can't allow her to send her mind beyond her own body. It enhances and uses her unique perceptions. It can pull on the minds of other Watchers, create short range gateways, and employ telekinesis. But it prevents Elsa from actually sending her mind elsewhere."

Max leaned in. "And if Elsa can't project her mind away…"

"Then her body can't snap to it," Charlotte concluded, "making physical projection… impossible."

"Could that be why Lamia uses the weird gateways you described?" Max asked. "Is Lamia forced to use more advanced powers because it's handicapped some of what a normal Watcher can do?"

"We can certainly hope so," Charlotte said. "Now, back to the idea of evacuating Elpis. That sounds like an extreme undertaking, especially with a society that's lost so much respect for authority. Or, well, for everyone and everything."

"Sadly, I fear such a concept is totally impractical," Doctor Khalil said, deflated. "Although most of the colony fleet is still in orbit, they could no longer support millions of passengers per ship. Our largest fusion reactors were taken from those ships, to give the colony a tremendous head start in getting established. They can maintain orbit, but life support and internal utilities are at a minimum."

"And I can't imagine everyone accepting such a plan," Max said. "Far too many people don't care enough about strangers to accept such a huge inconvenience. They don't mind that the few remaining children have to deal with this nightmare."

"Sadly, I agree," Leo said. "It would almost be easier to get Lamia offworld than organize an evacuation."

Isis, the Doctor's granddaughter, added, "We think Lamia's powers diminish faster the farther it is from the Dying Zone. It probably spends most of its downtime between summons within a dozen or so kilometers of that place. The towns farthest out on the frontier haven't seen an unsolicited attack in years. But the towns closest to the Dying Zone occasionally have Unwanted stolen without anyone calling to it. If we could lure it onto a shuttle and shoot it into space, Lamia might lose its powers pretty quick, and hopefully starve. But good luck managing that with an invisible telekinetic."

Charlotte rose. "I may have the solution, and part of me wants to believe it's more than mere coincidence that my colleagues have so recently made a breakthrough."

Hope rose up in Max. This Watcher from Earth had such conviction, such easy confidence in her life course and willingness to help others. He wanted her to be right, for there to perhaps even be a higher purpose at work. "What do you hope to do?" he asked.

"Elsa's a Watcher. As such, she has strengths and advantages possessed by only one in a billion people. If your theory's correct, the entity from Exovasilio which has seized control of her might explain why her powers are so much greater than they should be. Without the aid of training, technology, or medication, she displays powers we hadn't known were possible. But she's also one of the very few people that can be projected, physically, even against their will."

"Explain," the Doctor commanded, his voice showing tension and excitement from finally having hope after decades of study and pondering.

"The recent surge of drive and innovation back on Earth has opened up new options. I projected myself to this world physically, but a more talented Watcher back on Earth just achieved something greater: he can take another Watcher with him when he physically projects."

The room fell silent. Any hope of getting rid of the mass-murdering monster was a beautiful thing, but if Charlotte meant she'd have to go with that monster…

"Is this something you could do safely, from afar?" Youssef asked carefully.

"Well… no," Charlotte admitted. "If I can do it at all, it'll require physical contact."

"Out of the question," Leo said flatly, surprising Max. "Making physical contact at all would be nearly impossible, and there's no way you'd survive."

"Not true," Charlotte insisted. "If Lamia were projected offworld against its will, it might be too surprised and disoriented to immediately attack me. I could then project myself, and only myself, to safety."

"We may not understand the details of how your powers work," Leo said, "but there's no way you can guarantee you'll survive such a stunt."

Maximus wholeheartedly agreed. Charlotte was very much like him in that respect. To protect multiple lives, she wouldn't put much thought into her own safety, and she might even deceive them all, understating the danger to herself.

"We must still consider all options," Youssef said. "If you were to whisk our adversary offworld, where would you take it?"

"I might just dump Lamia into empty space, lightyears away from any planet," Charlotte suggested. "That would surely confuse and distract it, buying time for me to get away. I could even drop it within the event horizon of a black hole… but that would be an even greater risk. Watchers that sent their minds too close to black holes in the past had to work very hard to return to their bodies."

"If you must make direct physical contact, you couldn't wear a fully sealed spacesuit. You'd need one exposed hand at the very least. Can you promise you'd be able to resume your Trance and escape while experiencing the harshness of interstellar vacuum?" Doctor Youssef didn't try to hide his suspicion. Like Max, the Doctor knew that Charlotte might well lie about the danger.

"With a maximum dose of MD-Δ, I should have more than enough power to compensate."

No one was buying it. Charlotte looked from one person to the next, and finally sighed. "You're all thinking about this the wrong way. Yes, I'm sitting here talking to you, but think bigger. I'm just one life. You're all willing to become Unwanted for this. Millions have died already, and terminating the Lamia threat must be given priority." Her eyes met Max's, and she paused. He made no attempt to hide his approval, his respect for what she was willing to risk. Nodding, she turned to Doctor Khalil. "If I allow fear for my own safety to matter more than so many lives, then I am unworthy of my status as a Watcher."

And unworthy of Klaus-21's legacy, Max thought. There's no doubt: she loved him. And all she wants now is to uphold what he would have done. Still, there was one other matter that must be considered. "You're willing to risk being stranded in deep space, but what about Elsa? What if it's possible for the Lamia entity to starve without Elsa dying too? If that little Unwanted Watcher is the greatest victim of all, should she be left to die in empty space?"

That got Charlotte's attention. She might refuse to prioritize her own safety, but a young girl who'd been at the mercy of a monster for decades?

"Let us then consider other possible destinations," Youssef proposed. "Is there a place where Lamia could be stranded that would lead to its death, but where Elsa could survive?"

"It would have to be an uninhabited world," Charlotte said. "Once Lamia realizes it's cut off from its only source of sustenance, with no way back to Elpis…"

"A vengeful rampage," Max said quietly, chilled at the thought. "Even if its powers start to weaken quickly, with how deadly this thing is…"

"An uninhabited planet is far better than empty space," Leo admitted. "But even then, after Lamia starves, Elsa would be alone with the only hope of rescue being the very strongest Watchers. But there's a danger that Charlotte may be badly injured or even killed during this operation… and Watcher HQ faces imminent attack. What if no Watchers survive who could rescue Elsa?"

With a gesture, Charlotte took control of the holoprojectors. That was a bit unsettling, as she didn't even bother to ask permission. Apparently, a century of technological advancement made it easy for Charlotte's implants to hack their system. At least she's on our side…

The air above them now filled with a vast and detailed holoprojection, showing dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. "These are all uninhabited worlds within my projection range capable of supporting human life," Charlotte said. "Together, let's settle on a choice as soon as possible. At this point, if even one more Unwanted victim is claimed, I'll blame us all for wasting time."

---

Duri-22 Watched the horizon. HQ was far behind him, out of sight, and the inbound hostiles were coming into view. Drones, aircraft, and so many missiles, all converging on his home. His colleagues.

His friends.

With Charlotte offworld, there were five Watchers available to observe the battle and share intel. With radar, satellites, sensor towers, and spy drones, Chief Rakoto would have an excellent view of the battlefield. What she needed from Watchers was what those assets couldn't see. Fawzia and Anya were currently Watching under the ice. Nico and Peng were checking the interiors of the largest approaching aircraft, trying to determine which planes contained enemy commanders.

Duri though, was a proud and studious nerd. True, a big chunk of his nerd brain might be devoted to old sci-fi and fantasy stories. After all, it was he who got everybody to call the HQ computer core "GLaDOS." But his nerd brain was very big. He had plenty of room to obsess over the history of military technology. The array of modern weapons and defense systems fascinated him, and he could recognize the most effective equipment in modern use. His perspective now zipped from one hostile to another, getting quick glimpses of their gear. Satellite imagery and automated sensor posts would inform Hasina of what kind of aircraft and long-range missiles were incoming. But she'd have far less intel on what weapons and equipment pods they carried.

That was Duri's job.

He wished he had Klaus to help with this, though Duri's knowledge in this particular area had always exceeded that of his younger friend. His mind moved from drone to jet to space-capable support craft, looking for anything on par with what the defenders could deploy. He saw a D-L59 mounting a large mid-range anti-missile laser dome that could protect its entire squadron, and Duri briefly ended his Watch to inform Hasina. A B-501 carried two profoundly illegal nuclear warheads that might be in the 2-4 megaton range, which absolutely had to be focused down early. A KT-99 mounted a top-tier EM emitter that could ruin the electronics of multiple targets at considerable range. And he discovered that several older bomber varieties had been repurposed to serve as drone control craft.

The more Hasina knew, the better her response would be, and with an enemy force so numerous, that could easily save lives. If hundreds of men and women stood ready to defend him, Duri would do everything he could to maximize their advantages.

Peng was faster at ending a Trance, sending a message, and going back in, while Fawzia could send basic messages without ending her Trance at all. But neither would've known what to look for. As it was, Duri had time to alert Hasina to seventeen especially advanced items in the enemy arsenal before the world went mad.

Hundreds of missiles from remote launch sites streamed toward the enemy aircraft. Chaff shells and flares launched in response, followed by a storm of spectrum-shifting laser fire from the D-L59. But Hasina hadn't ignored Duri's warnings. With the nearest aircraft focusing on the incoming missiles, they didn't react quickly enough to Hasina's counter. Unmanned anti-aircraft gauss cannons rose up from the ice and opened fire on the enemy from below, their heavy projectiles pushing Mach 8. The cannons survived mere seconds before falling to smart bombs and guided missiles, but Hasina had put them to excellent use. Four of the most problematic aircraft fell to concentrated fire from below, and Duri knew similar gambits would be playing out all along the outermost perimeter. With the D-L59's advanced anti-missile lasers no longer a factor, numerous other aircraft now fell to the next wave of Hasina's missiles.

Duri had to zoom out, moving his perspective away from the action, in order to see more than fire and flashes of light. The full might of the Watcher defense grid met the forces marshaled against them, and the firepower on display left Duri stunned. It reminded him of the horrifying footage of his homeland's four-hour revolution a century before.

That battle had killed seventy percent of North Korea's population. Duri could only hope that this battle wouldn't come close.

---

Jackpot. Peng-24 knew there was something suspicious about that plane. An unarmed refueling tanker, managing to keep pace with multiple drones and manned combat jets? Setting his perspective relative to the tanker, he Watched its vast interior, and saw it didn't carry fuel at all. It was a command center. Holofields, computer screens, comm equipment, and loads of very important-looking officers worked to coordinate the forces invading Antarctica.

Clever, Peng thought, as he ended his Trance. He sent Hasina the needed targeting info, and resumed his Watch to examine similar aircraft. Flying gas tanks would be the lowest priority targets during a battle of this scale, as they wouldn't be needed until after the attack had concluded. They were perfect for hiding your field commanders… unless a nosy Watcher succumbed to his natural suspicion and paranoia.

The sky filled with explosions, gushes of fire, streams of flares, bursts of chaff, and flashes of point defense lasers. The next two refueling planes Peng checked were empty decoys, but then he found another command craft.

Planes attempted evasive maneuvers, fired long range missiles, and fell out of the sky burning or broken. The enemy reached the second ring of automated camouflaged anti-air gauss cannons, and the mayhem intensified. The courage of the enemy pilots clearly bordered on fanaticism, as losses like this were essentially guaranteed when threatening the Watchers. Nowhere else in all of human civilization could one find even a tenth as much firepower as what now tore into the attackers. The scale of the destruction comforted Peng deeply. The enemy easily had a hundred times the firepower needed to level HQ, but they might not survive long enough to even try. Since Peng's body currently sheltered inside HQ, he had something of a vested interest in the outcome of this battle. Resentment at having been forced to live in a facility guaranteed to attract periodic attacks fed Peng's mental power. He started to wonder if he should try taking a more direct role in this fight…

Then, far below, the uniform surface of the ice shattered upward. It wasn't a crashing plane or drone, it was something huge emerging from underground. A giant cylindrical vehicle, with a monstrous drill covering its entire front, breached the surface, and Peng zoomed in. Side hatches flipped down all along its length, forming ramps, and combat vehicles swarmed out. Motorbikes, armored transports, mobile artillery, tanks, and multi-missile systems poured out onto the snow-covered ground…

And then vanished in an awe-inspiring eruption of splintering ice, tearing steel, and blasts of fire. Peng's heart raced at the sight of a modern battle tank flipping high into the air, its armored frame twisted and buckled from the force of the orbital kinetic bombardment.

Peng shot his perspective kilometers up to better see the big picture. Similar simultaneous blasts formed a vast ring well outside the defensive perimeter set up by Chief Rakoto's ground troops and gunships.

Hasina… you genius… You timed it flawlessly…

This many strikes must have required the entire ammo reserves of the six frigates in low orbit above Antarctica. Those ships had drawn much closer to Earth, performing a flyby maneuver in preparation for this attack, and their twenty-meter-long gauss cannons had extreme muzzle velocity. Even so, the level of foresight required…

Hasina had to predict the time and place those huge transports would reach the surface far in advance. It took minutes for those ultra-dense projectiles to reach their targets, and the frigates needed all of the shots to hit at roughly the same time. Each subsequent shot from a single bombardment cannon would have needed slightly greater velocity than the one before, precision only possible with magnetically-propelled rounds. The full destructive capacity of those frigates had been fully committed to an attack on hundreds of targets that wouldn't even be visible until long after the shots were fired. If Hasina had miscalculated, the Fleet's firepower would've been wasted… and thousands of ground combat vehicles would be joining the attack.

As it was, there were still hundreds incoming. Because, of course, not every kinetic strike had hit home.

---

Hudson Allard, Lieutenant Colonel of the Milites Secretum, reeled at the horrifying plight of his soldiers and pilots. General Maya Wu, leader of their forces, had died in the neutron strike on the New Zealand Command bunker. Then, all three Command planes had been shot down, despite outwardly appearing to be very low priority targets. Finally, the impossibly well-timed orbital bombardment had destroyed more than three quarters of their massive driller transports—including all three that carried Command vehicles. Despite being so far down the chain of command, Hudson had just inherited all of the surviving Milites forces.

Heart pounding, blood running cold, he sent the code indicating that he'd accepted command. A followup signal ordered all ground and air assets to stay the course.

How… How could Hasina Rokoto be even better than her lofty reputation suggested? Our air forces launched an all-in attack guaranteed to cost them dearly, all in hopes that the driller transports could launch our ground forces at the height of the chaos… Rakoto's still in her forties… how can she be this good?

Hudson looked out the narrow rear viewport of his armored transport as it shot across the ice at top speed. In the distance, he saw the half-buried wreck of the tremendous vehicle that had carried his battalion through hundreds of kilometers of ice. Had the orbital kinetic strike hit any closer, Hudson would be dead. As it was, half of the vehicles in the transport had been disabled or destroyed. Still, the other two driller transports in his sector of the battlefield had avoided damage. One had suffered minor mechanical issues that forced the driver to reduce their speed, and the other had simply hung back a bit, likely out of timidity. This allowed both massive vehicles to avoid the orbital strikes. They'd safely launched all of their tanks, artillery, APC's, assault bikes, and support vehicles. It looked like Hudson's sector had the largest concentration of Milites vehicles on the move. Rakoto's army was split between twenty-seven defensive positions, forming a vast, loose ring around Watcher HQ. Hudson's division would have the greatest chance of overrunning the soldiers standing in their way, but many other divisions were essentially doomed. In at least four places, so few Milites vehicles had survived the bombardment that the defenders were guaranteed to massacre them with ease. But Hudson couldn't afford to order them to retreat, and they were too far from other friendly units to realistically join them. The battlefield was just too vast, with Milites units converging on the South Pole from every direction.

Any other army that suffered losses on such a scale would certainly have broken in a rout, but Hudson had one advantage in this regard. To avoid detection during their many years of clandestine preparation, the Milites Secretum was compartmentalized into hundreds of small, isolated cells. And that compartmentalization carried over into this battle. Each battalion was isolated from the others, able to communicate only with those in their unit and with the operation's Commander. And they were supplied with battlefield imagery of only their own region. Command had known to expect catastrophic losses, and the ability to convincingly lie to their soldiers would be vital to maintaining order. Hudson stuck to that plan. He told the officers of each battalion that their unit had suffered the worst losses by far, and that all other units were pressing the assault home with far lighter casualties. If any of them knew the big picture, it would all fall apart. But the soldiers were willing to keep up the attack… for now… believing that the rest of their allies had the advantage.

A large missile from Watcher HQ activated high above Hudson's transport, catching a third of his battalion in a powerful EMP blast. But only two of the lightest assault bikes lost power. General Wu had insisted on quality EM shielding for their vehicles, and it paid off. Any vehicle that survived taking a hit to its armor might be left vulnerable to future EMP's, but for now his unit held together. The bulk of the enemy missile strikes still focused on shooting down aircraft, but he feared the rooftop artillery of Rakoto's stronghold. The largest land-based gauss cannons ever built, those monstrous guns would soon have Hudson's vehicles in their range. His own heaviest artillery had to be mobile, and they didn't have the elevation advantage offered by the towering enemy facility. His troops would have to endure punishing fire for a considerable time before his biggest guns would be able to hit HQ.

But in the meantime, his forces could try weakening the small knot of defenders between him and Hasina. The Watchers had the best technology in the world, but Hudson's formidable unit might still be too much for them. Most of his men knew their real job was to saturate the battlefield, draw fire, shoot down missiles, and keep the heavy artillery alive long enough for an extreme range salvo.

However, they did not know that escaping afterward would be genuinely impossible. Even if the Milites army successfully destroyed Watcher HQ and annihilated all of the defenders, actually getting away afterward could never happen. Even if the star frigates in orbit had already expended their full supply of massive kinetic rounds, Hudson's army would never reach the coast. By now, air forces from a hundred countries would be scrambling, and the entire world's eyes would be focused on Antarctica.

Whether or not they managed to kill the Watchers, their lackeys from across the globe would never let the Milites survivors escape. Hudson knew he couldn't save his army. It was his duty to ensure their sacrifice was worth it.

The hated Watchers had to die.

Chapter 19: Committing

"Very well," Doctor Khalil said. "We have our destination. Charlotte-17 will attempt to forcibly relocate the enemy to Eden. Seeded a century ago, the world has grown to be even more hospitable than Earth. If Elsa Yarr survives the starvation of the Lamia entity, she'll have no trouble living off the land. Even if no Watcher survives this day, the girl won't be alone for long. A colony fleet is only a month from Eden. It feels highly unlikely that the Lamia entity can survive that long so far from its home and without access to prey."

"And even if it can survive, it would likely be powerless," Leo said. "And the arriving colonists won't be of any use to it. Even if it doesn't die, but can enter a state similar to stasis, it should never again be a serious threat."

"I like it," Charlotte said. "I'll have the best chance of success at the Dying Zone, where Watcher powers are enhanced. I'll wait until I see a disturbance in the ground, indicating that Lamia is about to come through, and I'll hurry into position. If I make physical contact as she starts to emerge from her gateway, I'll have the best chance of surviving long enough to send us both to Eden. I'll then immediately project myself to Earth, which is far closer to Eden than Elpis is. That should be within my power, unless I'm totally exhausted. But I refuse to let a little risk stop me. If Lamia injures me before I escape, Earth is my best bet for survival. Watcher HQ has the most talented doctors in the Solar System."

She rose, stood still, and closed her eyes.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Max demanded, jumping up and grabbing her arm.

Startled, Charlotte opened her eyes. "There's no way of knowing how soon Lamia might claim another victim. I'm going to project myself to the Dying Zone to save time."

"Are you claiming that projecting yourself is easy?"

Confused, Charlotte tried to pull away from Max's grip, but she might as well have tried to bend an iron bar. Giving up, she said, "Well, no, of course it isn't easy, but–"

"You're planning to do something you've never even tried, projecting yourself and an insanely powerful Watcher and her extradimensional master fifty-two lightyears. And if you're going to have any hope of surviving, you'll then need to immediately transport yourself thirty lightyears to Earth, without the power boost of the Dying Zone. Do you really wanna go into this plan already tired from having projected yourself twice in a matter of hours?"

Charlotte blinked. "Good point… but I still need to hurry."

"You can use our fastest ATV," Youssef said. "We'll instruct it to take you to the Dying Zone at top speed."

"Good enough," Charlotte allowed. "Thank you, all of you, for the work you've put into this over the decades. It has cost you, repeatedly, but today it'll finally come to fruition. We'll rid your world of Lamia, and the Unwanted will no longer need to fear it."

With that, she jogged out the door, following a line of blinking lights to the main garage. Max watched her go. So much depended on that petite thirty-five-year-old woman. She was willing to make direct contact with a mass-murdering telekinetic, take action guaranteed to enrage it, and then hope she might escape. He pondered the courage required, the dedication to strangers, from a Watcher, whose life was supposed to be safe and protected.

Then he thought through the steps she proposed for making contact, and his worry deepened. If she plans to touch Lamia when it comes through a gateway with an Unwanted… that's a bigger gamble than she let on. She can't know where Lamia will appear. If the targeted Unwanted doesn't put up a fight, if Lamia can come through right after opening a gateway, Charlotte probably won't be fast enough to get there in time. And if Lamia has even a moment to get its bearings before Charlotte reaches it…

Max found himself running, out the door and down the hall after her, ignoring his father's shouts. He didn't really know this woman. His only interactions with her had been in that one room, while aggressively-incomprehensible science was discussed. But he felt he knew enough. She had come to this world against orders, risking her life so the Watchers could have an on-site investigator. And now, she was rushing toward a confrontation that would require physical contact with the deadliest person who ever lived. Unlike Max, Charlotte was short, and weak, and fragile, and totally untrained physically. More importantly, she was irreplaceable, a Watcher of exceptional power, with only one of her colleagues capable of surpassing her.

Her plan must succeed, and she must survive.

She needed him.

---

Anya-28 reeled as the next layer of anti-air defense triggered. The converging ring of enemy missiles, planes, and drones had reached a series of camouflaged HPM launchers, and the effects were dramatic. Hundreds of devices shot into the air, radiating extremely powerful bursts of microwave energy. The airborne threats nearest these devices fell out of the sky as major systems failed, while drones and missiles farther away suffered impaired performance and speed.

But this defensive measure also impaired most of the Watchers. Anya's implants informed her that the others had all been knocked out of their Trances when the HPM devices activated. It might be a struggle for some to quickly resume Watching. Anya felt the disorientation and sensory overload too, but in some ways she was even more resilient than Niko. Other high-energy detonations had knocked each of the other Watchers out of their Trances more than once so far, and only Anya had endured. It might also relate to her being the second weakest Watcher: Duri, Peng, and Niko were more sensitive to some of the weapons being deployed. Only Fawzia was weaker than Anya, but at her age, the sensory overload from this battle affected her the worst.

Enemy smart bombs and missiles were wasted destroying the launchers of the HPM devices, not knowing that each launcher had only one shot in the first place. Meanwhile, planes, missiles, and drones smashed into the ice far below.

Anya couldn't really wrap her mind around the scale of this battle, but her respect for Hasina's forces grew by the minute. Not a single defender had faced direct danger yet, and the attacking forces were getting torn apart. Maybe I was wrong to worry…

---

Pushing through the dizziness and confusion, Niko forced his mind back into the fight. So many of these advanced weapons had the power to overwhelm his projected awareness. The sensation was too different from physical pain for him to power through it. Duri was doing a decent job of predicting and avoiding such high-energy detonations, and Anya was toughing it out, but the others were struggling.

And for Niko, the sensory overload was nothing compared to the true struggle he faced.

People were dying. Thousands of them. Missiles, EMP's, and HPM's were knocking aircraft out of the sky, HQ's rooftop artillery was starting to smash ground vehicles, and the earlier orbital bombardment had exceeded Niko's wildest imaginings. Death on this scale, unfolding right in front of him, tore at his psyche. His breathing came quickly, his heart pounded, and he teetered on the brink of a panic attack.

The only thing stopping him from totally folding, from collapsing into a useless heap, was his periodic patrol of Hasina's perimeter forces. These brave men and women were far from safety, maintaining a defensive ring that would threaten the incoming forces. Right now, the people who were dying all belonged to the attackers. They wanted to kill Niko, his friends, and his coworkers. If they weren't stopped, Hasina's soldiers would soon come under fire. Watcher security forces had never lost a man in battle, but that could easily change today. A lot of these soldiers were fairly young. Four were still in their late teens. And the attackers wanted to kill them. No matter how much it hurt to see people die, Niko had to keep it together. For his friends, and for all of human civilization, these attackers had to be stopped. The Organization must survive. He must not give in, he must not let a panic attack take hold. Hasina's soldiers needed all the support he could give. He didn't have the luxury to crack under the pressure.

Niko knew that, as a Watcher, his life was considered top priority. In the eyes of the world, and of every soldier defending HQ, it would be worth sacrificing a thousand lives to keep Niko safe. But if even one person died to protect him, Niko would carry that weight forever. And all he could do to help was observe the interior of enemy vehicles and report his findings to Hasina, adding to the ocean of data she already had to process.

Then, he hesitated. That would have been true mere days ago, but was that really still the case?

Exiting his Trance, he opened a channel to the other Watchers.

---

Upping her dose of pain meds and targeted sedatives, Fawzia-11 entered her Trance for the fifth time since the battle started. She was particularly vulnerable to the sensory effects of so many high-tech weapons being deployed, but she refused to drag the team down. She would do her duty. She would Watch, and report, and–

"Niko to all Watchers! At this rate, soldiers are gonna die protecting us. None of us want that to happen. And for the first time, we can do more than Watch! Fawzia, please… we need to take more direct action!"

Fawzia hesitated, torn. Her initial instinct was to shoot down the suggestion. For fifty-one years, she'd had it drilled into her head that Watchers must never be risked in any way. They were the rarest and most important people in existence.

But then she directed her Watch back to the men and women who stood ready to protect her. Those soldiers, positioned far from safety, forming a fragile ring of defenders, prepared to draw fire and occupy enemy attention. They'd spent every day since 21's death pushing their minds and bodies to the limit, driven to excel, striving and suffering.

And it was all so they'd be ready to put their lives on the line if necessary.

Watchers… are only important… because we can serve humanity. We can do things no one else can. And some of us have recently gained the strength to do more than just observe…

"Watchers: this is 11. 17 proved that we can learn to use our powers for far more than observation. I'm certain each of you has at least imagined ways you might be able to take more direct action. Therefore… I authorize you to do so. Stay safe, don't get reckless, but if you see an opportunity to help our guardians with more than intel… you may."

Fawzia had deliberately not included Chief Rakoto in that conversation. Their commander wouldn't approve of Watchers taking even the slightest risk on behalf of the soldiers who defended them. But Klaus and Charlotte had planted a seed in all of their hearts. Even Peng of all people had recently shown signs of genuine altruism. On a day when their entire Organization was under threat, it felt right that the Watchers might step up and contribute in a more substantial way.

Sadly, Fawzia knew she couldn't do the same. Even with MD-Δ flowing through her, and with her body relaxed and sedated, she couldn't even match the power Charlotte had possessed before the drug's creation. For her to attempt physical projection or telekinesis would be a waste of time and energy. But the Aurora Australis had just started, meaning she could Watch Elpis. From the moment HQ had entered high alert, none of the Watchers had checked in on Charlotte-17, and the vital intel being discussed. Assuming the Organization survived the next hour, they'd return their attention to the Unwanted crisis.

And getting a little footage from that scientific lecture will give the archivists and scientists something to do other than sit and fret. Maintaining their morale had value, for it was possible they might see combat. If they did, it wouldn't do to have them already ragged from an hour of helpless cowering.

Projecting her mind through the Alfvén waves, she centered her awareness on the Lecture Hall in Doctor Khalil's compound.

And she saw Klaus die.

For a moment, Fawzia feared she was experiencing a waking nightmare, for what she beheld was horrific to the extreme. But then the holo reset, and she realized this was recorded footage of the Dying Zone.

As she Watched, a bloody pencil levitated, and then shot through the air, puncturing the blood-filled bouncy house that had once held Lamia's trophies.

This… this footage… Khalil's people recorded 21's final moments…

Most of the scientists from the earlier lecture remained in the room, and every screen was covered in data, likely reporting everything the Watchers missed after Anya had been forced to stop observing. Charlotte-17, as well as Maximus Angelos, were gone. A prominent screen read, "Charlotte has a plan to neutralize Lamia."

Fawzia's head spun at the audacity of that. The rest of the Organization had been force to turn their full attention to survival, but Charlotte had pressed forward with only her new allies on Elpis. Another screen showed a picture of a smiling Lamia, with the caption, "Elsa Yarr might be Lamia's unwilling slave." The implications worsened Fawzia's dizziness, but then her full attention was taken over by the holo footage of her protégé.

Klaus-21 appeared high in the air, and he fell into the polluted stream. He tried to fight the current, but the empty little boat floated past him.

Then, the disembodied voice of a little girl asked, "Who are you? How can you see me? You aren't one of the Unwanted."

Klaus stopped treading water, but he didn't sink or even float downstream. Lamia had him in her invisible grip.

"Who are you?" Lamia demanded, her voice harsh.

As 21's longtime instructor, Fawzia could detect the subtle signs that his following words were theatrical bravado, intended to hide his fear. "I am Klaus-21, the Heart of the Watchers. I am the Light that pierces the Darkness. I am the Hope that banishes Despair. I am he who inspires all Watchers to ever greater–"

His words cut off, and his face twisted in disbelief and horror. He punched upward at an unseen assailant… and the brutality began.

His arms were crushed and pierced in a hundred places, then Klaus was yanked out of the water by the invisible foe. Needle teeth shot through the air like darts, some piercing his body, and Fawzia's student made one final attempt to fight back. He kicked at whatever held him, but then his body twisted, broke… and tore apart. The savagery was too fast to clearly make out, and there hadn't even been time for him to scream. Shredded remains scattered in every direction, and blood fell in a heavy rain. It was as if he'd been pulled through an industrial scrap grinder, and the sight tore at the elderly woman. Much of the blood, flesh, and splintered bone vanished into the river, but the violence of the killing also showered the concrete on either bank.

Fawzia's heart ached, and her stomach churned. It had been very quick… but this brought no comfort.

A little white sleeveless nightgown, now speckled with blood, lay in the boat. It shifted, lifted into the air, and vanished from sight. Lamia must have returned to its original size.

The others don't need to see this, at least not yet. One second of footage showing all of the screens and displays will be enough for now…

Klaus had been her protégé, her beloved student, for sixteen years. For today, Fawzia would bear this agony alone.

---

Shivering from the bitter wind, Doctor Wilma Taibei took her position on the rooftop of HQ. She'd never before been granted access to this area, but during battle there was value in having a medical presence here. Along with eight other doctors and two dozen nurses, Wilma had been reassigned to assist any wounded that might be sent back from the front line. While the soldiers' battlefield armor fully insulated them from the brutal cold, everyone else wore arctic gear. Wilma's goggles and mask protected her from the worst of the elements, but with the need to see and provide basic medical care, she couldn't be bundled up enough to actually stay warm. She wished she'd thought to suit up in the heated coveralls some of the other departments had access to, but none of the other doctors had done so either.

Massive remote-operated gauss artillery periodically fired, sending their hypervelocity shells toward targets well over the horizon. Pre-gauss weapons of such power would have produced ear-splitting blasts of explosive sound, but magnetic acceleration produced far less noise. Just the hum of the tremendous electrical output and the crack of the projectile breaking the sound barrier. Far louder, long range anti-missile rockets and anti-aircraft missiles fired in volleys, though Wilma could see how few of these remained. HQ had never before been threatened with even a hundredth as many airborne attackers, and their guided munitions were running low. Thankfully, the enemy air forces had already suffered terrible losses, and what little ammo remained might just be enough.

"The first pod is incoming!" Doctor Parks shouted, struggling to be heard over the roar of rockets launching. "Private Yong's biometrics show his life isn't in danger, so only one nurse needs to accompany him to the Infirmary!"

A streak of exhaust approached, and Wilma might have feared a missile strike if not for Doctor Parks' headsup. Every vehicle and gunship in Hasina's arsenal came equipped with an HV6 emergency medical pod, with a price tag worthy of the Interstellar Fleet. Only two of HQ's security personnel had ever needed to use them, but today would likely be very different.

The pod rocketed in, having accelerated with more than enough g-force to render the occupant unconscious. If the patient had any spinal injuries or other ailments, the pod would have been forced to travel far more slowly. Flipping around in midair, the pod fired extremely powerful retros and deployed parachutes. If the soldier had remained conscious thus far, this punishing deceleration would have finally knocked him out.

Wilma's implants presented her with Private Yong's combat log and the context of his injury. An enemy bomber had seen an incoming missile and fired off a shot just before being destroyed. Without a hard lock, the smart bomb had targeted the artillery piece attached to Squad 15. Their APC's anti-missile laser dome had hit the incoming bomb, which detonated in response. It had gotten close enough for the blast force to throw three soldiers a considerable distance, and Yong's biometrics warned of significant internal bleeding.

The pod jettisoned its parachutes, and maneuvering thrusters righted its trajectory. The medical personnel and their security detail formed a ring around the nearest landing pad, and the pod touched down. It slid open, and two soldiers moved the patient onto a gurney. One of them quickly raced the soldier indoors, accompanied by the nurse who would verify his condition. Both would return to the rooftop as soon as the Infirmary took over Private Yong's care. The pod, having served its purpose, fired one last burst from its engines, launching off the roof to clear up the landing pad for new arrivals.

Another streak of exhaust approached, even faster than the first. Wilma double-checked the current battle report, and her heart sped up. This was not a medical pod…

A small, short range missile launched to intercept, speeding toward the incoming object. Two of the younger nurses looked scared, but Wilma refused to let her own worry show. Considering how many thousands of airborne hostiles had initially launched toward HQ, it was telling that this was the first threat to come within sight.

Just before the anti-missile rocket reached it, the enemy missile split into half a dozen smaller warheads.

Someone screamed, others dropped prone, and point defense gauss chainguns opened up. Three of the small missiles detonated, and soldiers were moving to shield doctors and nurses with their armored bodies. A laser dome blazed away, detonating two more missiles.

Without making a conscious decision or taking her eyes off the display of light and fire, Wilma took two steps to the side. She now stood between the danger and the only nurse who didn't have a soldier protecting him.

The final enemy missile fell to a gauss round. Pings of metal on metal warned of shrapnel bouncing off the roof or soldiers. A sharp sting caused Wilma to bring a hand to her left cheek, and it came away with a small smear of blood. Minor. No need to make a scene. The rip in her hood and mask were actually more troubling, letting in the bitter wind.

"Check in!" Sergeant Blont ordered. As everyone rose to their feet, it quickly became clear that no one had gotten worse than Wilma, and her cut required no more than a quick swipe of antiseptic.

"I thought our defenses were better than this!" Doctor Tessen hissed, unable to hide the quiver in her voice.

"That missile was of the very latest generation," Sergeant Blont said. "The sort we have. It's unlikely the attackers have many more like it. And anyway, our defenses have shot down thousands of missiles, drones, and aircraft already."

"And I'd seriously reconsider complaining," Wilma said, surprising herself at her willingness to chastise a far more senior doctor. "Our front line defenders are facing far worse."

---

No matter what happens, these scum will not reach the Watchers.

Second Lieutenant Eléa Blanchet took one more look to the left and right, noting the steady readiness of the men and women under her command. Lying prone at the icy ridge, they presented the smallest possible targets while taking aim. The incoming vehicles weren't visible yet, but it wouldn't be much longer.

The Sunflash-3 Battle tank on the slope behind them opened fire, its primary gauss cannon launching a hypersonic shell toward a target only visible to satellites and sensor drones. Eléa knew that shot would serve as a rangefinder of sorts, supplementing other sources of targeting data before the serious firepower was deployed.

Sure enough, the Lonna-9 mobile artillery piece half a kilometer behind the tank now fired its own monstrous cannon. Pre-gauss artillery would have produced extreme levels of recoil to hurl such a heavy shell so fast. But with magnetic acceleration and very complex design, the recoil forces could be spread out, diverted and redistributed. This allowed the automated reloading process to commence the instant the magnetic coils powered down, and another shell fired.

While both the tank and artillery cannon blazed away at the unseen foe, Eléa repeated a set of calming exercises. This will be the most important day of all our lives… and we're ready. Chief Rakoto has always inspired her troops to excel, and the Captain made us want to push through the pain. We weren't able to protect Klaus-21, but today we get to redeem ourselves. We'll defend the five Watchers in HQ, and all the non-combattants with them. We'll ensure that Charlotte-17 has a home to return to after she completes her mission on Elpis.

"Martins to Blanchet."

"I read."

"Your position will face the heaviest assault of all, and by a steep factor."

"We know."

"Until we finish clearing the skies, the Chief won't authorize me to reinforce you."

"Understood."

The line briefly went quiet. For all his personal courage and his brutal approach to training, the Captain couldn't hide how deeply he cared for his men. Blanchet loved him for it, but in a battle this important, he needed to focus on the big picture.

Finally, Benicio continued. "The kid's in your squad?"

"It would hurt him to know you called him that."

"Blanchet, he's not ready for the storm about to reach your position. He's got grit, but he doesn't have the experience to—"

"I will not order Anderson to fall back," she said, cutting off a superior Officer for the first time in her career. "Not unless the order comes directly from the Chief. More than anything, he wants to protect his squad. I will not order him to put his own safety first. Either he'd disobey me outright, or his spirit would be crushed."

"Lieutenant, he's only—"

"Would you obey such an order? Would you take cover while your squad faced greater danger?"

Silence.

"You're a good man, Sir, and the greatest soldier in a generation. Allow your inferiors to choose the same level of courage that defines you."

Rather than show the strain of emotion he certainly felt, the Captain spoke with cold, cool focus. "I'll head toward your position the moment I receive authorization. Hold the line."

An artillery shell came down a hundred meters short of her position. Sensor jamming and a focus on destroying support aircraft made enemy targeting systems less than dependable. That would gradually change as they drew nearer.

"Understood, Captain."

A volley of eleven missiles streamed toward her position. The Sunflash-3 launched a storm of rockets to intercept, eliminating seven. Gunnery Sergeant Sanders fired a cluster missile that destroyed three more. Blanchet and the five other riflemen blazed away, and a lucky shot from Anderson took out the last missile. A bit of shrapnel cracked Blanchet's faceplate, but not badly enough to disrupt her HUD.

No matter what it costs us, we will hold the line.

---

Duri Watched the final Wave of HQ's long-range missiles tear into the surviving enemy aircraft. Many got off shots before being destroyed, and a thin scattering of drones and missiles still moved toward HQ, but the battle in the skies was mostly over. Neither side still possessed many long-range air assets. The advanced gunships attached to the twenty-seven frontline squads would provide powerful fire support, but the rest of this battle would primarily be fought on the ground.

I've been authorized to take direct action, and I want to. Some of our defenders, especially Blanchet's Squad 4, are facing overwhelming numbers. Unless HQ's rooftop artillery can land a crazy number of hits at extreme range, those soldiers are in trouble. But what can I realistically do?

While helping Niko experiment with more advanced physical projection, Duri had tried it himself. Even over short distances, and while running simulations to trigger his fear response, Duri just couldn't muster the needed power. He hadn't even managed to "touch" an object from a distance.

But what if there's an ability that isn't so much about power, but about understanding?

His mind immediately jumped to something they'd seen Lamia do many times, but no one had discussed attempting. How does she form those short-range gateways? She always seems fully aware of her own surroundings, so gates don't require sending her mind to the destination. And if she isn't actually Watching the site of the more distant gateway, what exactly does it entail?

Even as he Watched massive artillery shells unleashing chaos on the enemy forces, he let his mind ponder just what Watching really meant. Our thoughts are generated by the electrochemical activities of our brains, and ordinary sight and sound are taken in by physical sensory organs. But when Watching, it feels like our minds, eyes, and ears are elsewhere. Scans prove our physical brains are still responsible for our perceptions during a Trance. So… while Watching, our minds are behaving as if there's no distance between the location of our brain and the place we're observing… Are Lamia's gateways an extension of this? Is her mind treating two locations as having no distance between them, but in regard to physical objects instead of mental processing?

Far below his point of view, an enemy artillery piece took a direct hit from a hypervelocity shell. The kinetic impact alone had likely cut the vehicle in half, but the followup merculite detonation made that irrelevant.

If I'm going to have a personal hand in the outcome of this battle, I'm gonna need to be very quick in trying this out…

Chapter 20: Rallying

Captain Benicio Martins fretted and fumed, unable to tear his eyes away from the tactical display. The twenty-four men and women of Squad 4 would soon face more than a hundred enemy vehicles. There was no way HQ's artillery could destroy them all before they reached Blanchet's troops. He sent Hasina another request for authorization to engage, and this time she didn't even reply.

Trying to keep calm, Benicio looked out the nearest window. Far below, the sprawling rooftop of HQ buzzed with activity. Like the uniforms and armor of HQ's soldiers, the exterior of the facility was painted in a dappled camo pattern that mixed light grays with a predominantly white background. The same pattern disguised the numerous weapon systems mounted on the roof. The massive guns continued to fire, medical pods periodically landed, and wounded were brought inside. A proximity alarm warned of another incoming projectile, but unlike the last to get so close, it wasn't a modern swarm rocket. HQ's point defense chainguns handled it easily enough.

With most of their air forces destroyed, the enemy doesn't have much with the potential to threaten HQ from a distance. Their heaviest artillery needs to be our next priority targets. He turned back to his tactical board. Zooming in, he confirmed that those vehicles in particular were starting to make frequent, random adjustments to their previously predictable courses. Despite the extreme muzzle velocity of HQ's rooftop cannons, which were second only to the main guns of I.F. Frigates, the vast size of the battlefield made evasive maneuvers effective.

He hit his direct comm to the Command Center. "Chief, I recommend switching our big guns to cluster ammo."

"Just did."

"Chief… please… Squad 4–"

"You can't help them if you're shot down en route."

"My transport can hit Mach 9! Avoiding enemy fire—"

"Will you sacrifice your pilot?" Hasina demanded. "Even if you lasted long enough to just bail out over the combat zone, the transport would first have to drop speed, and it would not survive."

Benicio stiffened, turning toward the pilot. Lieutenant Swartley couldn't hear Hasina's half of the conversation, and he just focused on maintaining position. The Captain kicked himself for not considering the danger Swartley would've faced had he dragged permission out of Hasina. "Thanks for snapping me out of it, Chief. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"From what I've seen, the only thing that can stop you from thinking clearly is being unable to help soldiers in need. But hang in there. Enemy air assets are nearly depleted, and my few remaining drones are focusing on them. Your chance to intervene will come soon."

---

"Nelson, this is Fawzia-11!"

Heart pounding, Tácito answered, "Here."

"I just submitted a very short segment of Watcher footage. I advise your team to prioritize it above all other imagery."

"Flagging it now." He gestured toward his team, hundreds of armed archivists fretting and milling about in the largest room in the department. "What should we be looking for?"

"Charlotte's already left the Doctor's compound, apparently with a plan to neutralize Lamia. The details, and the conclusions of Doctor Khalil's research, were displayed on dozens of screens and holos. Critically, it sounds like the girl we've been calling Lamia might in fact be the slave of something far worse. Rokoto, Martins, and my team need to know the details as soon as possible. Rendering the footage shouldn't take long, but the total data to read is considerable."

"Understood. I'll tie in some of Renya's scientists as the footage comes available." Tácito again looked across the room. Very few of his archivists had ever faced a serious crisis. With such a vast mechanized army determined to wipe them all out, it'd be good for everyone's mental health to have a distraction. He drew his gauss pistol with trepidation, examining the weapon. He'd never so much as touched one before today.

He hoped he wouldn't need to use it.

---

Cursing her small size for the first time in years, Head Doctor Supriya Sharma struggled to roll her patient onto his side without shifting his lower vertebrae. The enemy knew their remaining aircraft were unlikely to get close enough to strike directly, so more and more planes and drones were shifting their attention to the front-line defenders. The men and women assigned to the Watchers had the best infantry armor ever made, providing excellent protection from shrapnel, blast forces, and unconventional threats, like biological, radiological, or microwave weapons. Further, their gear could administer advanced first aid, stabilizing a patient during the time it took a medical pod to rocket them back to HQ. But no armor was perfect, and injuries were starting to multiply. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before her team lost a patient.

Running a quick scan, Supriya confirmed the location of the spinal fracture that threatened to paralyze Private Augustine. She carefully injected the area with painkillers, anti-inflammatories, wound healing agents, and a biomimetic foam that would reinforce the compromised vertebra. It should be enough to prevent the bone from shifting and damaging the spinal cord.

Normally, Supriya merely supervised operations, or at the very least had multiple stronger doctors and nurses on hand to assist. She no longer even owned the leg-mounted devices that elevated her height while on the clock. But the number of wounded already stretched her staff thin, and she was forced to assist a patient all on her own. Never before had the Organization needed all hands on deck, but this attack exceeded the worst fears of even the most paranoid defense planners. She could only hope that the forces trying to kill them represented the vast majority of the Watchers' detractors from all over the world. If so, then a victory today might at least prevent anyone else from trying such a thing in the future.

---

Lieutenant Colonel Hudson Allard fought down the impulse to give the order. The Milites forces had already suffered horrific losses, and their remaining heavy artillery fell at a steady rate. Hasina's biggest guns now fired the latest cluster munitions, making evasive maneuvers far less effective. The massive hypervelocity shells no longer tried to score direct hits. Rather, they aimed to pass over the intended targets. Shortly before reaching Hudson's forces, the shells would break open, showering smaller munitions across a wide area. Though individually far less destructive than the earlier shells, these smaller bombs still did enough damage for just one hit to potentially disable a vehicle.

Another EMP missile activated high above. Two of Hudson's tanks shut down, as minor damage to their external EM shielding had left them vulnerable, but the rest of his battalion plunged ahead. His own command transport didn't experience so much as a flicker of its internal systems, as its EM protection was especially robust.

Seeing that his remaining drones and aircraft would never reach the Watchers in sufficient numbers to overwhelm their point defenses, Hudson issued new targeting priorities. Everything but his heaviest artillery would now focus exclusively on pounding the twenty-seven defensive positions forming that wide perimeter. If they knocked out or at least occupied the tanks and field artillery shelling his forces, it'd take the pressure off the only weapons he had left that might actually win the day.

Killing the Watchers would require a one-two punch from his remaining heavy artillery. First, a volley of merculite shells would pierce the facility's armored exterior and create large internal breaches, blowing out floors and walls while exposing ventilation. Then, the second volley would flood the base with Theragen gas. An insidious compound of the latest design, it combined key traits of both chemical and biological weapons. Dispersing quickly through the human body, it recombined sugars, fluids, and key proteins to create more of itself, but far more swiftly than biological agents could reproduce. During the minutes it took for a victim to die, their every exhalation would spread more of the gas. If the injured were rescued and pulled to supposed safety, they'd spread the effect. Two days before, the secret Watcher Oliver Nguyen had reported that Hasina's facility had advanced gas containment systems. But if the opening salvo of merculite rounds did enough internal damage, such systems would fail. And only soldiers in full battlefield armor would be safe from the gas.

The agonizing choice Hudson faced was when to order the attack. His biggest artillery units had been stripped down to maximize the speed with which they closed the distance to their target, and each carried only one merculite shell and one Theragen shell. If they fired too soon, and too many shots missed, the base might be able to contain the spread of the gas. But every minute Hudson delayed giving the order, more of his big guns fell to counter battery fire. The accursed Hasina Rakoto had clearly ordered all of her longest range weaponry to prioritize Hudson's artillery. One by one his most vital assets vanished from his display or reported crippling damage.

What should I do? How long should I wait? Firing right now would surely result in an unacceptably high miss rate. Thousands had gambled their lives for this attack, and most had already paid the ultimate price. If Hudson made the wrong call, it would all be for nothing…

A sharp clink of metal on metal caught Hudson's attention, and he turned.

His jaw dropped, and he feared that the unexpected pressure of command might be causing a psychotic breakdown.

A young boy in a cartoony T-shirt stood there, grimacing in pain, and he closed his eyes. At most twelve years old, he somewhat resembled the kids Hudson grew up with in New Zealand. His skin had just a bit of color from a noticeable element of Maori in his ancestry, and he had a nasty black eye.

Then, in an instant, the boy was gone. Vanished into the ether. An obvious hallucination, throwing the Colonel into wild self-doubt.

I'm losing my mind… I'm unfit to command… But who else can–

Then he remembered the noise that had first caught his attention. He looked down, and saw a compact EMP grenade flashing.

"Fire!" he screamed, succumbing to panic as the reality of the situation sank in.

All the electronics in his transport failed, and everything went dark.

---

Straining his powers to the limit, pushing through the pain, and reveling in his rage against these people who wanted to kill him, Peng-24 imagined himself reaching out. This mobile artillery piece had a single soldier protecting the crew, and the man had a grenade at his belt. Increasing his MD-Δ dose, Peng felt the grenade as if he were physically present. And it was a very good thing he wasn't, because that would have made this plan very stupid.

With a sharp mental yank, Peng pulled the pin.

With the vehicle rumbling over uneven ice, and with the ground frequently shaking from detonating cluster munitions, the enemy soldier didn't even notice. A panicky voice on the comm shouted, "Fire!" and the gunner complied, not realizing there wouldn't be time for a second shot.

The explosive detonated, killing the soldier and the gunner, and badly injuring the driver with shrapnel.

Peng smiled in satisfaction.

He shot his perspective upward, taking in the sight of the largest surviving enemy battalion. He noticed that a particularly large armored transport had shut down despite showing no signs of external damage. He wondered if the crew wanted to play dead. He couldn't blame them, not after around ninety percent of the attacking army had already fallen to extreme firepower.

Who to target next?

A lot of tanks and missile systems were starting to fire, and they must be targeting Squad 4's position. At this range, hopefully they–

Every heavy artillery piece fired at once, their massive cannons at a steep elevation, aiming for a very distant target.

In a rush of cold terror, Peng knew they could only be aiming for HQ…

---

"Incoming! All personnel take cover! Artillery shells are incoming!"

In all his twenty-six years with the Organization, Tácito Nelson had never heard anything so scary as that. As he and his hundreds of subordinates scrambled under desks and tables, he heard the clatter of multiple dropped gauss pistols hitting the floor. He missed Klaus-21 more than ever, though admittedly, even were he here, he'd be busy Watching. Most of his archivists weren't the sort to handle mortal danger with cool confidence, and the tension in the room was palpable. The calm, encouraging, supportive Klaus would have known just what to say to rally everyone's courage, but in that moment, the head librarian couldn't think of anything.

It was seventy-two-year-old Toshiko Yasuragi who spoke up. With power and volume Tácito hadn't heard from her in over a decade, she called out, "Our brave soldiers have been facing far worse danger from the start! Be proud to share a small part of the risk!"

Logan Walsh, the only archivist older than Toshiko, added, "Keep it together! If the upper levels take damage, we may be needed to help move the wounded!"

Clever, Tácito thought. You subtly imply that any injuries will be elsewhere in the facility. And you might even be right about our ability to contribute. We may not be trained in search and rescue, but there are so many of us we might still–

A low rumble brought his thoughts to a standstill. Something big had struck the earth close enough to be felt sixty stories up. Another blast shook the earth, and someone screamed. Then so many shells crashed home nearby that Tácito couldn't even think straight.

The entire building shook from a direct hit, and the GLaDOS system sounded the damage report.

"Structural breach! Structural breach! Damage to Sectors 11-15 of levels 99-104!"

Another direct hit, and then another. Half of his people were wailing in panic.

"Damage to Sectors 13-19 of levels 100-105 and Sectors 2-9 of levels 81-86!"

Before today, no enemy ever got within six hundred kilometers of this facility. But now, three direct hits–

"Gas alert! Gas alert! Theragen gas has been released in Sector 2 of Level 47 and Sector 28 of Level 106!"

At least our automated gas containment measures should take care of that. Anyone near the exterior of the facility will be protected from—

"Gas containment failure! Theragen Gas has been released in Sector 19 of level 102! Local structural breaches preventing automated containment!"

With this much damage and danger to the facility, we can't all just hide… "People! We can assist in the rescue efforts!" He crawled out from under his desk, regretting his neglect of physical activity over the years. "We'll need to stay away from where the gas got into the facility, but we can still help at the other two breaches!"

He signaled Chief Rakoto, requesting that his department be given access to HQ's somewhat sparse interior security cameras. Then he turned his attention back to the other archivists. "I need able-bodied volunteers to help me go through the rubble and pull out any wounded! Everyone else, use the internal camera footage to plot routes that avoid the Theragen gas and any fires that couldn't be suppressed!" Some of his people were young and strong, and thankfully all of these were quick to volunteer, along with many others. He swiftly organized them into two teams to head toward the less dangerous breaches. It would be up to security personnel in their air-tight armor to help anyone trapped closer to the gas.

His heart pounded, and he battled serious self-doubt, but beneath it all… Tácito actually felt exhilaration. After decades of studying and cataloging footage, today would be his first opportunity to take direct action.

---

"Baldwin! I need that gas neutralized or expelled!"

"Understood, Chief!" Renya replied. "My team will need full access to blast doors and ventilation controls!"

"Granted!"

Returning to her station, Renya started issuing orders. A lot of her people were badly shaken, and a few simply refused to come out of cover, but most returned to their terminals. "The gas is slightly heavier than air, so any of it that we blow outside shouldn't risk our people on the roof! Expel as much of the gas as possible! As for any that's gotten deeper into the facility, try to redirect airflow into the hazardous materials sector of Chemical Processing!"

A message flashed on her screen, informing her that two teams of archivists were heading toward the breaches that weren't near the gas. "Heads up, people! We've got unarmored friendlies moving into the danger zone to extract the wounded! Be sure to take their positions into account when redirecting the gas!"

As her people split between the assigned tasks, she opened a channel to Julien Thompson, head of Chemical Processing.

"Thompson here."

"How much sulfuric acid do you have on hand?"

"Not much, but we could produce it in bulk very quickly if needed."

"Do so. I need hazmat teams ready to spray it in mist form! My people aren't likely to contain all of the Theragen gas, and directly neutralizing any that we miss will be up to your department."

"Understood. We're also preparing chambers to contain and neutralize any gas you redirect to us."

Never before had Renya been forced to work a problem this quickly, but a thrill of purpose buzzed through her. After decades of meticulous research, study, and engineering, it fell on her team to save the entire facility from this attack. She'd never thought of herself as good under pressure, but with so many lives at stake, she felt a steely focus taking over. With thousands throwing themselves into protecting the Watchers, this was her chance to stand as one of them.

---

"Sharma to Taibei!"

Wilma tore her eyes away from the black smoke billowing up from the gaping wounds in the side of HQ. "Taibei here." She was gratified that her voice stayed steady, despite the animal terror that had seethed within her when the shells rained down. The enemy must have fired too early, for the majority of their shots had missed. If that hadn't been the case, or if even one shell had landed directly on the roof…

"We have teams pulling wounded out of the rubble, and I need you in the Infirmary!" Doctor Sharma said. "Choose two other doctors and six nurses to come with you! With so many patients incoming, we can't afford to keep all of you on the roof!"

For the briefest moment, Wilma almost objected. With the danger of enemy attacks striking the roof, it felt cowardly to retreat deep into the facility. But she knew that someone needed to go, and there was no time to waste arguing. "Understood. En route."

Three more medical pods landed as Wilma rounded up the requested number of doctors and nurses. Ordering them to get to the Infirmary at the quickest pace they could manage, she shot ahead of the majority. Two nurses in their twenties overtook her, but she pushed to keep them within sight. Even with their advanced armor to stabilize their condition, any soldiers pulled from the rubble might need prompt treatment to survive. It had been a decade since she'd last been directly involved in a life-saving operation, but today that would change. This Organization is made up of the best and brightest mankind has to offer. It's an honor to be needed on our darkest day.

---

Gasping and sweaty, Charlotte climbed shakily into the ATV. Sheer willpower could only do so much to overcome poor physical stamina, and the run through Doctor Khalil's facility had been brutal. Now, though, she could rest. The ATV started up and moved through the garage, and the exit door began to rise.

Just before the vehicle shot outside, the passenger door opened, and Maximus jumped in. His door shut just as the ATV accelerated.

"What?" Charlotte demanded, still winded from her run. "Why…? How…?"

"You're not going alone," Maximus said, his voice steady despite running even faster than Charlotte to catch up.

Charlotte wanted to insist that she most certainly was going alone, but the ATV had already hit two hundred KPH and she'd never seen vehicle controls like this. In fairness, she'd never driven anything, having been Inducted at age 11. "Stop this thing…" she gasped, her side still aching, "or I'll hack the system."

"No you won't," Maximus said calmly. The infuriating young man wasn't even sweating. "If you did, you'd be risking the life of a random innocent Unwanted."

Confused, she didn't even try to respond, focusing instead on catching her breath.

The young man continued. "I'm sure your crazy futuristic implants could hack the car and stop us, but you cannot make me get out. I'm almost twice your size, I'm easily four times as strong, and I've thought this through. You can't talk me out of this. Stopping the car will just waste precious time. How would you feel if an Unwanted was murdered because of that?"

Charlotte looked into the boy's eyes. Calm, certain, determined. A bit like her.

A bit like Klaus.

She ordered her implants to prevent any remote changes to the ATV's autopilot. Dr. Khalil's people wouldn't be able to stop the car without Charlotte allowing it. She would hear Max out.

"What have you thought through?" By speaking softly, she managed to get the sentence out without taking a huge breath at the halfway point.

Max set his eyes forward, watching as the ATV zipped down the road, and then headed into the woods. "There's only one other Watcher as powerful as you, so if your mission fails, there'll be only one more chance to get it right."

"That Watcher… is a child."

Max nodded. "Ok then. This makes it even more important that you make this work. Innocent lives are at stake, and you'll have only one chance. You'll need to do something that's only ever been done once, by someone else, in much safer circumstances and over a much shorter distance."

Though her voice still quavered, Charlotte had at least recovered enough to speak clearly. "Are you trying to damage my confidence? It's not as if you can help me perform physical projection with an unwilling passenger."

"No," Max admitted. "Not directly. But I can remove a major obstacle for you, and at the same time prevent a random stranger from being used as bait."

That took Charlotte aback. Max had paid rapt attention during the final stages of planning, and no one had discussed using anyone as "bait." The ATV came upon another road, and the ride grew less bumpy. "Explain."

Still keeping his eyes forward Max said, "Your current plan for making physical contact with Lamia is way too much of a gamble. Without knowing where or even when Lamia will appear, you'll have to stay vigilant, perhaps for hours, constantly on the lookout for the shimmer of a gateway. Then, you'll have to get into position before Lamia comes through, or else you'll just get murdered for nothing. No offense, but based on how rough that little jog obviously was for you, there's no guarantee that you can get to the gate fast enough. If the Unwanted being kidnapped doesn't put up a fight, Lamia might be able to come through quick. And what if Lamia appears on the far side of the stream, or arrives by boat?"

"I could project myself to get into position faster," Charlotte said, though she couldn't hide her uncertainty. Max gave her an incredulous look, and she felt herself blushing. Tiring her mind before attempting something so difficult, and with such high stakes, would be downright irresponsible if there was any alternative. Cautiously, she asked, "What exactly can you do to help?"

"I'll remove the entire first step of the plan, while ensuring that we don't endanger a random kid who has no knowledge of what we're doing. You avoided mentioning it during the planning stage, but Lamia might only come to the Dying Zone if she intends to murder an Unwanted."

Baffled, Charlotte didn't even ask. Maximus said he'd thought this through. The onus was on him to explain his plan in a way that Charlotte would accept.

The ATV again left pavement, entering the forest that would take them to the Dying Zone. With a deep breath, Max finally laid it out. "My time is very close. I'd already be Unwanted if I weren't resisting. So… we use it. I'll be bait, and I'll ensure that Lamia appears very close to you."

"You… you can't mean…"

"Yeah. Once we reach the heart of the Dying Zone, I'll stop resisting the change. I'll become Unwanted, then my successor will summon Lamia and run for his life. She'll do one of her gateway things close to me. This will maximize your chance to make contact before she notices you, and the only Unwanted to face danger will be someone who chose to take that risk. Someone who can be proud, instead of scared."

Charlotte fell silent. Her instinct was to refuse. She was almost twice his age, and he had so many disabled younger "brothers" to care for. But she forced herself to think more fairly. Three of the security personnel back at HQ were Max's age, and Private Anderson was even younger. They might all be facing combat right now. And Lamia might come for Khalil's institute at any time, including all of Max's Unwanted. Could Charlotte deny him the right to take this risk for the sake of so many?

With a final, underhanded gambit, Maximus asked, "Isn't this what Klaus would have done, if he were in my position?"

The boy had guessed right. A stab of anguish hit Charlotte, the pang of loss so sharp and fresh that she had to fight back tears. "Very well, Eighth Maximus. We'll go with your plan. I'll allow you to face this danger… so that I can have the best chance of removing Lamia from your world."

"And so that you'll have the best chance of survival," Max insisted, turning to meet her gaze. His bruised jaw looked very painful. "You're irreplaceable, Charlotte. There's only one other Watcher as powerful as you, and your kind will be more important than ever going forward. By projecting yourself to other planets, you can connect all human colonies. You're precious."

Forcing herself to stay calm, Charlotte nodded. "And if this goes horribly wrong? If I fail to project Lamia offworld, or if she reacts too quickly?"

"Then I'll meet the same fate as you. Charlotte-17, the heroic Watcher who risked her life trying to save all Unwanted. There are way worse things to die for, and my replacement will take care of my younger selves."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Charlotte whispered, "Klaus would've loved you."

Briefly, Max's determined tone softened. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Anya too, I suspect."

"Cool…?"

"She's your age, and even stronger."

"Whoa. Very cool."

Charlotte then transmitted her implants' recordings of this conversation to Dr. Khalil, so everyone would know what Maximus had done, and why.

Just in case.

Chapter 21: Fighting

Heart aching from the footage of Klaus-21's death, struggling to keep her mind on the task at hand, Fawzia-11 Watched as her team made history. After sixty-five years of passively observing events from afar, this day the Watchers assisted their defenders in battle. Peng had already disabled six vehicles by triggering grenades or munitions, and he'd destroyed three drones and four missiles by ripping at internal circuitry. By focusing on his rage against the people trying to kill him, he could interact with physical objects more powerfully than his real body ever could have. Niko had disabled eight vehicles by projecting himself aboard while carrying EMP grenades, though his biometrics warned he was starting to show the strain of pushing his powers hard. Astoundingly, Duri reported that he'd just successfully created a short-range gateway between his chamber and his apartment, and he'd soon try something more aggressive. Even Anya had a plan for teaming up with Niko to try something more ambitious than all the rest put together. Most important of all, Charlotte would soon move against the horrifying Lamia seventy lightyears away.

And here I am… all but useless. For fifty-one years, she'd served humanity, suspecting that it might never be possible for a Watcher to do more than observe. And now, with new and wondrous powers finally being unlocked, she was too old to employ them. Stop that! she chided herself. You did all you could for half a century, and you deserve at least some of the credit for the skill and drive of your team. And while the others were using newer and flashier powers, she could still contribute the old-fashioned way.

Sending her awareness to the next vehicle matching Duri's description, she surged with elation. This'll do! Noting the support personnel and communication equipment within the unarmed transport, she sent the coordinates to Niko.

---

"Alright, 29… Let's do this!"

Anya-28 stretched, flexed, and readied her tasers. Niko reached up to place a hand on her shoulder, and she felt his mind project into her brain. She sensed just a fraction of his pain as he ran the torturous simulation that emulated his CPN-Ω, and the barely-controlled distress he felt over the deaths of so many hostiles. She knew he'd be sensing her emotions, and he'd have to revel in them, embrace them, if he were to make this work. So she tried to stoke emotions he could easily embrace. She reflected on her deep respect for the soldiers on the front line, her hope that this battle could be won without any of their protectors dying, and her eagerness to use her strength for something important.

Then, with a mental sensation much like rocketing through space… she stood within an enemy vehicle.

The tracked transport rumbled across the ice. Three communications officers struggled to coordinate and rally their leaderless forces, and two armed guards peered out narrow viewports.

Before any of them even noticed the arrival of a skinny preteen boy and a heavily-muscled young woman, Anya moved.

The closest guard and one of the comm officers went down, the brutal electrical jolts stopping their hearts. Niko dropped to his knees to inject them both with adrenaline to save their lives and muscle paralytics to prevent that mercy from getting anyone killed.

The other soldier turned, bewildered, then he reached for his pistol. He was on the far side of a comm station, so Anya threw both of her tasers. One struck him with the business end, and Niko scurried over to him with another pair of injector pens.

The remaining two comm officers jumped to their feet and attacked, but they were unarmed. Anya's brutal kick shattered the kneecap of the larger man, and she blocked a punch aimed at her face. A follow-up hit caught her in the side, but her solid frame endured it without any trouble. She smashed both fists into the man's face, and Niko stuck him with his last paralytic dose when he hit the floor. The man with the shattered knee got a grip on Anya's ankle and heaved, but she spun and kicked out as she fell. The man's jaw broke, and she sprang back to her feet when his grip slipped. She pivoted, dealt one final kick to the side of his head, and he fell still.

Footsteps pounded toward her. The vehicle must now be on autopilot, because the driver charged toward Anya brandishing a combat knife. 28 hesitated, having never actually faced a knife before. She'd gotten into some nasty fights as a child back in Vladivostok, but no one had ever been crazy enough to bring a weapon…

Niko lunged into the driver's path, dropping to his hands and knees and bracing for the hit. The woman struck his left side hard, knocking the boy sprawling, and she pitched forward, the knife flying from her hands. Anya's kick took the driver in the face as she fell.

Unable to spare the time to check on Niko, Anya sprinted to the driver's seat. Despite the somewhat baffling array of controls, she was able to pick out the emergency stop option. She managed to keep her balance through the violent deceleration, and she turned in time to stop Niko from sliding into her. "You alright, little man?"

He groaned. "Yup..."

"Thanks for the help back there."

He made no attempt to rise. "Yer welcome..."

The transport slowed to a stop, and Anya sprinted back to the communications console. Numerous requests for instructions had cued up on the screen, and desperate voices reported steady losses. Good. Hasina was still pounding these creeps. And if this plan worked, Anya might just turn the tide.

With her implants helping her to make sense of the complex mess of controls, Anya accessed a command channel that should reach all enemy forces. "Mission accomplished! Mission accomplished! Fall back! We've flooded the target with Theragen gas, and the Watchers are doomed! Return to the coast for extraction!"

Anya felt pretty good about her performance. Just the right level of elation, without compromising the overall tone of authority and command.

But only a few of the recipients signaled acknowledgement before an override code came from a transport on the far side of the battlefield.

Then that transport commed her. "Fall back? Under fire? Those massive guns will be able to keep hitting us as we retreat! And even if we reach the coast, what good'll that do? The driller transports had to jettison their aquatic propulsion systems when we reached the ice sheet! You should know this was a one-way trip!"

Anya's bravado deserted her as that objection came through. Her board suggested the speaker was a fairly high-ranking officer, and she addressed Anya alone. Apparently, the rank and file of this attack didn't realize they had no exit strategy, and Anya had no answer…

But Duri did. The metal floor shimmered, and 22 rose into view. He quickly moved Anya aside, hit a series of commands, and said, "All units! The retreat order stands! The enemy is out of long-range missiles, and our best commando teams are taking out their rooftop guns even now! We'll have to abandon our vehicles at the coast, but we have numerous small submersibles waiting to get everyone to safety! The Watchers are as good as dead! Let's go home!"

Duri cut the channel, hit two more keys, and turned to give Anya a cocky smile. "I've isolated and jammed the comm signal from the officer that tried to argue with you. With any luck, he'll be ignored."

"Dude…" Niko said. "That was one impressive Deception roll."

"Not to mention the Computers skill-check," Duri said. "I was Watching that screen prior to opening my gateway, but it was still some tricky business. All told, that encounter went perfectly, and I deserve a mountain of XP."

"What are you blathering about?" Anya demanded, a bit dizzy as the adrenaline from the fight wore off.

"Sorry," Duri said. "I just really miss 21's RPG. The next session was gonna be so good…"

"Oh." Anya tried to be polite. "Am I supposed to say something about a Nat 20 or rolling with advantage?"

Niko smiled. "Good guess, but Klaus used a different system."

"Nerds…" Anya sighed, giving up. "Still, I think we just saved the day. If your performance actually convinces–"

Her words cut off as a vicious kick threw her to the deck. The man whose knee she'd shattered earlier snatched up the driver's fallen knife and pulled Anya's head back to expose her throat. So certain that the danger had passed, her mind locked up at the sight of the blade…

Niko rushed the man, and his little fists pounded away, but he couldn't do more than serve as a distraction. The man released Anya, who turned just in time to see the knife slash across Niko's face. The boy stumbled back, blood running from his eyes, holding up his arms in an attempt to protect his head.

Before the man could finish 29 off, Duri's tranq dart found his neck.

It had all happened so fast, Anya couldn't quite believe it. "Niko! Niko I'm so sorry!" She tried to get a good look at his eyes, and she had to order him to let her. Stoically, he complied, forcing his eyelids open.

Anya's blood ran cold.

Duri knelt, injecting the unconscious man with the antidote that would stop the powerful tranquilizer from killing him.

"I wish you hadn't saved that man," Anya said bitterly.

Duri hurried over, and he saw what she saw. "Oh.. oh Niko…"

"It's alright," the boy said, though he couldn't completely stop his voice from quivering. "We're Watchers. We don't need eyes to see."

---

Wilma Taibei sighed with relief. Her patient had stabilized. His shock was under control, and he responded well to the medication. She turned from the table, taking in the frantic motion in the crowded Infirmary, trying to determine who needed her attention the most.

Then she froze, slack-jawed, as Anya-28 stepped out of the wall.

Wilma blinked, certain she must be wrong. But on closer inspection, there was no door there. It really was just a wall.

Reaching back through the solid metal, Anya led Niko-29 through by the hand. Blood ran from the boy's eyes.

Wilma rushed forward, checking the boy's vitals, as Duri-22 emerged from the wall as well.

"Don't," Niko insisted. "My life's not in danger. Only give me treatment if nobody's in worse condition."

"But your eyes!" Doctor Sharma said, rushing over and leading the boy to a bed. "How can I ignore this?"

"I can still see!" Niko said sternly. "I'm Watching this room right now, and a lot of people need your help." His voice softened, and just a bit of the child's fear and loss showed through. "Thanks for caring… but it's too late anyway. Help them."

Duri took the boy's hand, Anya squeezed his shoulder, and Supriya gave him a hug.

Then the little doctor returned to her earlier patient, and the other two Watchers stepped through a different wall and vanished.

Wilma spared just a moment to approach Niko. "I'm proud of you," she said simply. "I only wish I could be so brave."

The boy managed a weak smile, then he closed his mangled eyes. "Thanks. Now go help somebody who's got it worse. I'm gonna keep Watching."

---

Hope and dread warred within Security Chief Hasina Rakoto. Despite the unprecedented number of attackers, HQ's long range and remote defenses had finally brought down the last of the airborne threats. Further, Duri, Anya, and Niko's takeover of the enemy communication vehicle had triggered a general retreat among most hostile battalions. There was no need to attempt pursuit on those fronts: more than a hundred nations had air and naval forces en route, and they'd easily capture or destroy the scattering hostiles.

But more than a hundred hostile vehicles had refused to retreat. By far the largest concentration of enemy ground forces, it must have an officer of sufficient rank to overrule Duri's false orders. Tanks, light artillery, missile systems, troop carriers, assault bikes, and support vehicles continued to advance on Squad 4's position. Two of Blanchet's soldiers had already suffered injuries from long-range bombardment, and the multi-missile platform attached to the squad had already expended its full arsenal. The gunships from Squad's 3 and 5 were en route, but they'd arrive after the attacking battalion.

With the skies clear, Hasina gave the order.

Accelerating to Mach 9, Captain Martins' transport blasted toward the beleaguered squad.

---

Another shell smashed into the ice just short of Eléa Blanchet's position, and a section of the ridgetop broke away. Private Anderson managed to scramble back in time to avoid a long tumble down the slope. His armor would've protected him from the fall, but he'd have been horribly exposed while trying to climb back toward cover.

The enemy battalion finally came into view on the horizon, and they approached at a threatening rate. Now that their heaviest artillery had fired off what appeared to be their entire ammo supply, all of the incoming vehicles advanced at their individual top speeds. With the last of the hostile drones destroyed, and global satellite access temporarily restricted to the Watchers and their allies' militaries, enemy targeting remained poor. But more and more hostile weapon systems were coming within range.

A storm of missiles launched from a dozen hostile vehicles, and Blanchet gritted her teeth. With Squad 4's missile platform out of munitions, her remaining countermeasures might not be able to handle so much. "Staggered interception!" she ordered. "Gunship standby!"

The tank at the bottom of the hill behind her fired the last of its rocket pods, which split between the incoming missiles. Next, all three of her heavy weapons troops fired shoulder mounted swarm missiles, intercepting still more threats. Then, two of the squad's defense specialists went to work. Nelson fired streams of flares, while Aldave directed his HPM emitter toward the heaviest concentration of missiles that remained.

At Chief Rakoto's orders, Blanchet's one and only air asset rose up from behind the ridge.

The Kratos-4 heavy assault gunship opened up with its two secondary weapons. Light gauss chainguns with fast tracking and extreme rates of fire, they could annihilate infantry… or tear through incoming missiles. The gunship's striking design, a sharp narrow wedge of heavy armor, resembled an axe blade. It was optimized against head-on gauss fire, but could withstand small missiles as well. Blanchet's riflemen opened up with full auto, adding their own gauss rounds to the storm of metal stabbing out toward the deadly cloud of incoming ordnance. Dozens of missiles fell to the layered defense… but not all.

"Take cover!" Blanchet ordered, when the missiles were almost on top of them. Her troops scrambled back down the rear slope, and the gunship dropped altitude. Then the salvo hit home.

Ice smashed and shattered under the force of multiple hits, some of which packed incredible punch. The ridgeline splintered, triggering small-scale avalanches that sent two of her men tumbling backward all the way to the base of the slope. Their armor prevented serious injury, but it'd be a while before either could get back into firing positions. The crews of the missile platform and the APC had been climbing toward the ridge to join the firing line, but they'd now need far longer to get into position.

One missile struck the gunship, blowing off one of its chainguns, but its heavy armor endured, diverting the worst of the blast along the left plane of its forward wedge.

"Back to the ridge!" Blanchet commanded, struggling up the broken and uneven slope. "They'll be in range soon!"

Anderson reached the new ridgeline first, and he started firing. The sharp cracks of tiny sonic booms had grown commonplace during recent training sessions, and were easy to tune out. HQ's infantry rifles launched slugs at Mach 10, allowing the potential to hit targets at a tremendous distance if the marksman had a very steady hand. Heart pounding, legs screaming, Eléa crawled up beside him and took aim. Shells from the Sunflash-3 and Lonna-9 shattered one target after another. At this range, the targeting data supplied by the infantry's optics made the two vehicles' attacks murderously accurate. Eléa fired an armor-piercing round, and an assault bike crashed. The light, armed bikes in the enemy army had mechano-adaptive synthetic rubber tires with excellent traction, allowing them to reach tremendous speeds on the ice. But while moving nearly three hundred KPH, the wipeout from Eléa's shot was extreme. At Eléa's order, Anderson and three other soldiers joined her in peppering five incoming tanks with acid rounds. The Sunflash-3 then fired an EMP shell, which exploited the small gaps the acid had burned into those tanks' armor. Two of the machines completely shut down, while two others could no longer aim their main guns.

Most of her squad's infantry were now back in position, along with the crews of the APC and mobile missile system. Exhaling, blocking out everything except her target, Eléa put half a dozen acid rounds down the barrel of a light artillery cannon that was lining up a shot. When the massive gun fired, the projectile fell far short, as many of the magnetic coils had been ruined. The merculite shell detonated in a particularly satisfying friendly fire event. Two assault bikes wiped out, one completely vanished, and a tank lost propulsion. The artillery piece broke off, giving up on the attack.

Six cluster shells from HQ's heaviest guns rained devastation among the attackers, and the sixty or so remaining enemy vehicles began to spread out. Faster units moved to bypass the ridge and flank Blanchet's position, while APC's began coming to a stop and unloading troops.

"Expect sniper fire!" Blanchet warned. "Power up the DMS!"

Corporal Allistair, the largest soldier in the squad, activated his equipment. It was so bulky Eléa never could have so much as budged it, let alone haul it up an icy slope. It generated an extremely powerful magnetic field in a cone directed toward the enemy. By necessity, all gauss projectiles react very strongly to magnetic fields. As infantry started to open fire on Blanchet's squad, their gauss rounds were drawn in, veering toward Allistair. The front half of his huge device was an ultra dense armor plate consisting of crisscrossing layers of titanium alloys, synthetic nanotubes, and advanced ceramics. A storm of fire soon pinged and thudded into that shield, sparing the squad from hundreds of shots that might have been too much for their armor.

And better still, this defense didn't cause trouble for the return fire Squad 4 poured into the advancing enemy. Allistair's device communicated with all of their HUDs, allowing them to see a projection of the magnetic field and how it would bend the trajectory of their shots. Integrating that data into their targeting scopes, the squad maintained their accuracy.

Eléa put a shot through the forehead of an enemy sniper, while two soldiers taking aim with rocket launchers fell to Anderson and Prestes.

A shell from an enemy tank missed Allistair by less than a meter, its trajectory having been distorted by the magnetic field, but not enough to directly strike his position.

Damocles missiles shot out from her squad's heaviest infantry weapons, climbing into the air before descending on their targets from above. Each launched a flurry of small concussive rounds designed to trigger reactive armor systems, as well as reflective chaff to confuse anti-missile lasers. A tenth of a second later, the main warhead smashed home. Only the latest generation of tanks could shrug off such missiles, and soon numerous armored vehicles were burning.

An APC's chaingun unloaded on the ridge, and the impacts started to drive Allistair back. At Blanchet's order, Myers stopped firing and added his strength to keeping that vital equipment in position.

Blanchet might have panicked if not for the vicious training they'd all endured ever since Klaus-21's death. The weight of this enemy attack threatened to crush them, every shot they fired needed to inflict decisive damage, and one misstep could bring it all crashing down. But no one panicked. No one retreated, no one failed to remain cold and efficient in the face of all that deadly hate.

At Chief Rakoto's command, their Sunflash-3 tank abandoned its role providing heavy support against the main enemy column. It instead raced off to the right to intercept the flanking force coming around from that direction.

At the next signal, their gunship climbed rapidly, unloading with its primary weapon, an M990 Ancalagon rotary cannon. Unlike its far lighter chainguns for point defense or shredding infantry, this multi-barrel gauss autocannon fired hypersonic rounds heavy enough to buckle armor. Two seconds of concentrated fire from that monstrous gun chewed through a tank's forward glacis plate, then the ruinous stream of metal ripped three APC's apart. Heavy enemy guns rose to track it, but the gunship now pitched left, moving rapidly to the side while keeping its wedged front toward the enemy. Infantry-grade gauss rounds glanced uselessly off that armor, and a heavier chaingun did no more than dimple the angled surface. Even a direct hit from a tank deflected away, though it left a worrying gouge near the pilot's narrow view slit. One of the gunship's VTOL thrusters failed, but the other three kept it aloft. Five more enemy vehicles were disabled or destroyed by the gunship's murderous barrage before the aircraft again dropped below the ridgeline. It would now be responsible for fending off the vehicles trying to flank them from the opposite direction as their tank.

An artillery shell detonated close enough to throw three of her squad backwards, and as they tumbled down the hill their biometrics warned of broken bones. A sniper round from the extreme right of the main enemy column managed to bypass Allistair's magnetic cone. Gunter dropped his rifle and took cover, his right arm disabled. A second shot hit Anderson's shoulder at a shallow angle and glanced off, then Eléa silenced the sniper.

Chaff and smoke rounds blasted down toward the enemy, briefly giving the better-equipped defenders the advantage in visibility, but Blanchet doubted they could hold much longer…

An enemy light artillery piece aimed high, lobbing a large projectile into the air above Blanchet's position. Her instincts warned that this couldn't be bad aim, not at this range. "From above!" she shouted, curling into a ball to present a smaller target to the overhead threat. She hoped all the others would react as quickly.

The shell detonated, its shaped charge hurling heavy shrapnel rods down on the squad, completely bypassing the protection of Allistair's DMS.

Eléa flinched as a supersonic rod smashed her rifle's stock, and she saw that another had stabbed into the ice where her leg would have been if she hadn't curled up. Briefly transfixed by the sight, she saw that a small pool of greenish liquid seeped out of the rod, which had cracked open after impact. Is that… Varon-T neurotoxin?

Then her HUD warned of extreme fluctuations in Private Anderson's biometrics. She turned, seeing that he hadn't understood the significance of her last-second warning. He still lay stretched out, fully prone in a firing position. She noted the young man starting to quiver, even as he continued shooting down at the advancing enemy.

Two of the shrapnel rods had punched through his armor.

Chapter 22: Dying

For Private Matthias Anderson, the sharp pain of the two hits was only the beginning. Two metal rods had punched through his armor, one in his right leg and the other in his lower back. The sensation wasn't as bad as the simulated gauss hits he'd started to get used to during training…

But it very quickly got far, far worse. Toxin warnings flashed on his HUD, but this was totally unnecessary. The burning, twisting agony radiating from those two hits quickly told him all he needed to know.

Varon-T neurotoxin… intended to destroy an entire squad's morale by inflicting a slow, agonizing death your comrades can't prevent…

He'd experienced this toxin in two simulations. The first time, he'd been reduced to a shrieking helpless wreck after about a minute, and the agony just kept getting worse until his implants declared him dead at the eleven minute mark. The second time, he'd remained somewhat functional for roughly two minutes before collapsing, and he'd managed to keep from screaming until the four minute mark, but he'd still "died" after eleven minutes.

No antidote had yet been developed for the highly-illegal compound, which was able to reproduce itself inside the human body, similar to Theragen gas.

This is it. All my training, everything I suffered through… and all of my life prior to enlisting… I've got eleven minutes left… and they'll be absolute hell…

But for at least two of those minutes, he could still contribute.

Eléa ordered him to get to a medical pod, but from the strain in her voice it was clear: she knew there was no point. HQ couldn't help him. These were his final moments.

The tattered remnants of the main enemy column drew near. Allistair's defensive equipment couldn't endure many more hits, with two thirds of its heavy armor layers already blasted away. Anti-armor missiles and ammo were running low, their tank and gunship were off dealing with flanking forces, and the entire squad might be seconds away from disaster. Through it all, Matthias would grow more and more pained, becoming helpless, and then succumbing to minutes of mindless shrieking. He'd wreck everyone's morale just when they all needed to perform flawlessly.

But there was a simple solution to his piece of the puzzle. A way to spare his squad.

Without giving himself a chance to reconsider, Matthias snatched up Gunter's abandoned rifle, sprang to his feet, and charged down the hill at a full run.

Lieutenant Blanchet shouted for him to stop, but she hadn't thought it through yet. This was the best option for everyone, and he was not going to second guess himself. The agony of the neurotoxin flooded him with adrenaline, and at first he managed to keep his balance. He sprinted down the icy slope, spraying fire from both rifles in the general direction of the enemy. At this range, a number of his shots hit. Acid rounds from Gunter's rifle ate away at vehicle armor, and a lucky shot from his own rifle blew off an enemy soldier's leg. His reckless, headlong descent made him a difficult target, and Allistair lowered the magnetic cone of his device to better cover Anderson. Shots veered away from Matthias and smashed into the hillside.

Blanchet swiftly exploited the situation, as more and more enemies fixated on Matthias. Armor piercing rifle rounds punched through the weak spot in a tank's armor from Anderson's acid rounds, and a final salvo of Damocles missiles took out undamaged tanks. Two gauss rounds glanced off his armor at shallow angles, and Gunter's rifle ran out of ammo. Dropping it, Matthias reloaded his own rifle and continued to spray shots at the enemy to hold their attention.

A surge of intensifying pain caused him to finally lose his balance, and he tumbled the rest of the way down the icy slope. This probably made him an even trickier target, and his allies continued to exploit the enemy focus on him. He came to a jarring stop at the bottom of the slope, and he struggled to his feet, proud that he hadn't lost his rifle. He dropped an enemy soldier before a shot struck his left shoulder head-on, punching through his armor. It missed the joint, and his implants had simulated the brutal pain of gauss rounds dozens of times before, so he kept shooting as he ran. He maneuvered to limit the number of enemies with line of sight to him at any given moment. They should have responded by redirecting their aim at the defenders high on the ridge, but thankfully, they were succumbing to target fixation. Taking so many losses without killing any of the defenders must have badly damaged enemy morale, and they were focusing on the one person they knew they could kill.

A direct hit ripped through Anderson's right lung, splintering ribs in the process. Nothing he hadn't felt before, though he wouldn't be able to hold a weapon much longer. He reloaded his rifle for what would surely be the final time, unloading his full supply of explosive rounds. They couldn't breach vehicle armor on their own, but it sure made for a good show, holding everyone's attention while obscuring the enemy's vision.

Three more vehicles and a dozen enemy soldiers were neutralized by fire from his comrades up on the ridge, who could focus on aiming without the pressure of heavy return fire.

A high explosive round from the nearest tank detonated nearby, throwing Anderson through the air in a shower of shattered ice. Without his armor, the blast likely would have torn him limb from limb. Fighting through the growing agony, he managed to get to his feet one last time, but he could no longer lift a rifle. He sprinted perpendicular to the enemy line, throwing his supply of grenades one by one, more to feed the chaos and enemy frenzy than out of serious hope of doing damage.

It's working… it's really working… Instead of lying up there on the ridge, dying slowly where my friends can watch helplessly, I'm holding the attention of an entire enemy column… I'll never be promoted, or see another posting… but all the brutal training… mattered…

A vehicle mounted chaingun took off his right leg at the knee, and three shots punched through him as he fell. One hit dead center, and he lost the use of his remaining leg. But it also stopped the pain—and all other sensation—from his lower half. Precise fire from his allies took out the chaingun, but it was too late. Matthias had done all he could. His part was over.

He slid to a stop, sprawled out on the ice, his upper body quaking from the multiple hits and the spreading toxin. He managed to turn his head toward the enemy, and was gratified to see a tank with damaged armor fall to a well-placed EMP round.

A soldier put one more shot into his torso for good measure, and he barely felt it. A tank aimed its main cannon right at him…

A sonic boom beat upon the battlefield, and a shadow from high above passed over him. Every enemy tank redirected their cannons skyward, then a rocket from directly above blew one of their turrets clean off. Grenades rained down on the enemy, and despite the number of explosives, they were not tossed randomly. Each blast hurled enemy soldiers or wrecked the equipment of vehicles. Then a storm of rifle fire from above ate through the armor of four vehicles, and after a short pause, EMP rounds disabled them all.

Detaching his parachute while still ten meters up, Captain Benicio Martins tossed aside his rocket launcher as he fell. He landed on an enemy tank, planted an explosive, and sprang away, all in a single rolling lunge. He fired his rifle as he hit the ice, dropping two targets, and sprang up onto the next tank in a leap that could barely be believed. He placed another explosive, jumped onto the roof of an APC, and swung on its mounted chaingun to reverse directions in an instant. He shot away before enemy fire could converge on him, tossing yet another explosive as he did so. All three charges detonated, blasting holes in enemy vehicles, and the Captain never slowed.

Despite the agony, the exhaustion, and the inescapable knowledge that he had seconds left, Matthias managed to relish this moment, watching his greatest hero in action. The Captain Martins was a whirlwind of destruction, always moving at a full sprint, leaping from cover to cover, reversing directions, diving under vehicles, all while unleashing accurate fire.

Matthias had held the enemy's attention so his allies could exploit openings. The Captain made his own openings. Leaping into a tank with a breached hatch, Benicio briefly seized control of its main gun, destroyed two other tanks, and then leapt clear just before return fire blew the vehicle apart. His every movement was perfection, his awareness so unreal it felt like he could almost see the future. Countless shots glanced off Benicio's armor, as he knew exactly how much it could take. He twisted and turned as he ran, never presenting a head-on target for enemy fire, but every shot he sent back hit dead center. With genius-level understanding of personal-scale tactics, absolutely zero wasted motion, and athleticism that could have won him the gold in virtually any competition, humanity's mightiest champion unleashed chaos and ruin. Those who threatened the Watchers would be denied, and no more of the defenders would be harmed.

Then flanking fire began to tear into the remnants of the enemy column. The scored and dented Kratos gunship poured thirty rounds per second into the weaker side armor of enemy vehicles. The Sunflash tank had lost its coaxial chainguns, and its left side armor was compromised, but it presented its right side armor as it raced along the edge of the broken formation. It blasted away with its main cannon, effortlessly shattering vehicles at such close range.

As enemies frantically turned to face these new threats, Benicio grew even more aggressive, punishing the enemy for their split attention. And all the while, Anderson's squad continued to fire down from the ridge.

It was finally too much. The surviving enemy vehicles came about and fled in a disorderly rout. The few surviving infantry, seeing they'd been abandoned, threw down their weapons in surrender.

Bloodloss and trauma caught up with Matthias, and his vision darkened. The agony of his injuries and the torturous neurotoxin began to fade.

The Captain saw my final charge… and I got to see him in real combat… The Watchers… are safe…

His eyes slid closed, his last sight having been Captain Martins standing triumphant atop a burning tank.

---

Shouldering his rifle and pivoting away from the fleeing enemy, Captain Benicio Martins sprinted toward the blood-stained ice where Private Anderson lay. The kid's biometrics had already flatlined, but the Captain needed to be sure. Benicio had lost comrades before, during his years with Brazil's Special Operations Command. He hoped it never stopped hurting, just as he hoped he'd never stop caring about every life he took.

It certainly hadn't stopped hurting yet. As he reached Anderson's still form, the pang of loss stabbed deep. Multiple holes had blasted all the way through the young man, he'd been tortured by neurotoxin, he'd lost a leg…

…and he'd saved his squad. Blanchet's position had been seconds away from disaster when Matthias broke cover and charged, drawing attention away from the others. Benicio had known the kid had grit, and he'd proven it today.

Blanchet skidded to a stop just as Benicio pulled off Anderson's helmet and his own right gauntlet. Knowing what he'd find, he checked the kid's pulse.

Then he stood, stepped back, and made room for the rest of Squad 4 to crowd around their fallen hero.

---

Relief, triumph, and loss flooded through Chief Hasina Rakoto. For the first time in the history of the Organization, the most elite and best equipped military force in history had suffered a battlefield fatality. Their perfect record was broken. Their youngest soldier lay dead.

But then she swept her eyes across the glowing holofield of Antarctica. Thousands of enemy aircraft, drones, and vehicles lay burned and broken, littering the ice and snow with wreckage. Fragments of five thousand missiles lay scattered amongst the burning hulks. It had been decades since such a force had been assembled for any purpose, and today that tremendous concentration of power had been smashed. The attackers must have been drawn together from every secret faction and terrorist organization that wished the Watchers harm, likely with the secret support of multiple nations. But by uniting to launch this attack, they'd doomed themselves. The few surviving enemy vehicles sped toward the coast, unaware of the thirty-seven naval battle groups and sixty-eight airwings converging on them. The Watchers had shattered the attacking army, and their allies from all over the world would round up the few that tried to flee.

Thousands of enemies lay dead, and their weapons of war burned. HQ had suffered damage, but the last of the Theragen gas was being sealed off or vented from the facility.

The combined hate of every organization that opposed the Watchers had succeeded in killing only one defender.

And Hasina still felt the sting of that loss.

---

Standing in the heart of the Dying Zone, Maximus felt a sickening dread, unrelated to his natural fear of what he was about to do. Animals and even insects were consistently repelled by this sensation, and Max felt a primal urge to run.

He would not.

The ATV was parked nearby, so the new Maximus could escape, even if Charlotte failed to take Lamia offworld. That had him a bit worried. His replacement would have all of his memories, including the difficult decision to take this terrible risk. What if the new Max refused to leave? If he died, that was it. No new Max versions would appear.

I need to have two conflicting goals in my heart at the same time. For myself, I must be willing to be bait. But for my replacement, I must be determined to summon Lamia and then sprint to the ATV. It's still an easier task than Charlotte faces. She needs to grab Lamia and then immediately do something Watchers didn't even know was possible an hour ago…

"Thank you, Maximus Angelos, Eighth of your line," Charlotte said, giving his hand a little squeeze. "If this works, you'll deserve a huge share in the credit… but I know that's not why you're doing it."

"I'm ready," he said, hiding his growing anxiety. "Let's put a stop to twenty-four years of death and terror." And let's avenge my Third, he silently added, and your dear Klaus.

The change pressed at Max, trying to alter him, to displace him, to take away his power to learn and grow. But it would also connect him to Lamia. It would empower him to be the bait.

Letting go, Max stopped resisting. He briefly seized up, his whole body clenching in sudden pain… then a young man manifested in front of him.

His thoughts slowed, and he grew confused, but not so badly as what most Unwanted typically faced. At the heart of the Dying Zone, he experienced less disconnect with his surroundings. Concentrating, he understood that the newcomer was him, an identical duplicate. Max had just traveled into the past by the smallest possible unit of time. Both copies of him persisted, and his duplicate had been displaced spatially. But he had been left behind, altered in ways he couldn't really understand, despite spending so much time with his predecessors.

This was harsh, and difficult… and part of the plan.

One change, though, was positive. The ambient, oppressive dread of the Dying Zone felt far softer now. Before, standing here had felt horrible. Now, the sensation was mild.

The new Max looked deeply sad as he came to terms with this reality. "This will be the hardest thing I've ever done," he said. "I remember choosing to be the bait… but instead I'm supposed to be a coward…"

"No," Charlotte said, her voice intense. "You might remember that choice, but you didn't make it. Your predecessor did. You aren't breaking a promise by getting clear. You're upholding our plan. You must escape. If the worst happens… your family will need you."

Clenching his jaw in frustration, the new Max reached out his hand. It took a moment to understand, but eventually the Eighth accepted the handshake.

Not trying to hide his tension and reluctance, the new Max spoke the necessary, terrible words. "Lamia, Lamia! I call to you! Take this Unwanted… brother… away. He's for you to do with as you please. Lamia! Lamia! Claim what is yours… if you can."

Then, clearly hating himself, the new Max sprinted toward the ATV.

"This is it," Charlotte said, trying to look every direction at once. "I'm ready."

Thoughts flowing sluggishly, fighting to keep his mind on track, Maximus tried to keep watch as well. But, as expected, Charlotte saw it first. The Watcher pivoted and dashed away, and Max awkwardly turned to watch. A patch of dirty concrete nearby shimmered, and the crown of a head appeared. Small, blonde-haired, Elsa's pale blue eyes had barely become visible when Charlotte bent down and placed a hand on her head.

For just a moment, all went still. The girl's eyes widened in confusion and alarm, while Charlotte visibly strained with effort.

Then an inhuman, hateful shriek burst from the little girl, and Charlotte flew backwards and into the air.

For just a moment, while the enemy rose the rest of the way out of the ground, Max's muddled mind didn't understand.

Then he blitzed toward Lamia.

The girl didn't even bother turning toward him. Maximus slammed to a stop, as if gripped by an invisible giant.

Briefly, he felt only confusion. Nothing stood between him and Elsa. Then, his thoughts wavered still further, and he wondered how this fragile child could be anyone's enemy.

But his thoughts sharpened when Charlotte yelled, "Let him go! I'm far more dangerous! Compared to me, he doesn't matter! Forget about—"

"Silence, foolish phantom," the girl commanded, clenching a fist. Charlotte's voice choked off. "You may give me more nourishment than him, but his death still has value to me. I don't know how your kind can fly about in an immaterial state, but by fully manifesting, you have doomed yourself. You saved me the hassle of trying to catch you first, and you came alone. Where are the others, who make such nuisances of themselves, needling me with their soft hearts and weak emotions?" Lamia's fist opened, and Charlotte gasped as she filled her lungs, but the Watcher refused to answer. "No matter. I recognize you as the strongest of those who have tormented me. But what is the story of this Unwanted? Did you bring the ignorant thing with you? Is he a mere tool? Odd that you consider him expendable... Your kind have risked so much to help others of his sort, but now you callously bring him right to me?"

Though Maximus still had some difficulty thinking clearly, he would not let this monster dismiss him. "I… chose."

Lamia didn't turn Elsa's head, but it did shift her eyes in Max's direction.

"I.. am only expendable… because I chose to be."

For just a moment, Lamia's expression changed. A softened, almost empathetic look directed his way, tinged with hints of respect. But then the cold, cruel look replaced the fleeting compassion, and it turned back to Charlotte. "So, he chose to help you… but his trust was misplaced. Because whatever you hoped to do… you failed. Your last experience before I turn you into red rain… will be to watch his death…"

The girl kept her eyes on the airborn Charlotte, but sidestepped toward Maximus. Though his mind was still cloudy, he poured his iron will and fiercely trained strength into fighting the invisible force, pushing far past the point of pain.

It wasn't enough.

Lamia pulled out a red stained pencil and rested its tip against Max's chest. "He dies… because you chose to bring me to him."

A wooden pencil, especially in the hands of one so young and small, never should have been deadly to a nineteen-year-old man, especially one with such a powerful build.

But this was Lamia.

The spike of wood and graphite felt as hard as diamond, and the strength driving it vastly exceeded what any normal girl could have managed. Slowly, relentlessly, the pencil drove into the young man's chest, piercing muscle layers and even a rib with ease, and finally entering his heart. Now, every heartbeat was agony, and he still couldn't move.

I'm glad… this didn't happen… to a child…

Lamia dug the pencil about mercilessly, keeping her eyes fixed on the weeping Charlotte. Though held in place, Max was still capable of speech. But he wouldn't give this horrid thing the satisfaction of hearing him beg. He'd chosen to be bait. The enemy survived the trap, but at least he'd done all he could.

Eyes still locked on Charlotte, the little girl's face twisted in savage cruelty…

The pencil… burst. It shattered into splinters, shredding Max's heart and driving shrapnel through the surrounding flesh. Now breathing was agony, though he knew he wouldn't suffer for long.

Charlotte's cry of anguish was piteous to hear, but Max still made no sound. He wouldn't give Lamia the satisfaction of knowing just how much this hurt, and Charlotte didn't need to know either. Blood stopped flowing to his head, and he had mere seconds of consciousness left…

Then Lamia's invisible power released him, and he dropped to his knees. "You are nothing, Watcher," Lamia hissed. "After you die, the others of your kind will—"

Max's fist smashed into the side of Lamia's head, hurling Elsa's small body to the ground. He felt the rest of his fingers break, but he barely noticed compared to the agony in his chest.

Unwanted, mortally wounded, he had still dealt one final, defiant blow.

Max, Charlotte, and Lamia all hit the concrete. Landing hard, aggravating the pain of his many wounds, Max saw Charlotte scramble to her feet and race toward their fallen enemy.

He'd only wanted to knock the smirk off the little monster's face… but it looked like he'd given Charlotte a second chance to complete the plan…

As thoughts and sensation slipped away, the Eighth Maximus managed a satisfied smile.

---

A boy half my age died in agony because I failed… I will not waste the opportunity he bought me…

Max lay still.

Lamia sat up, dazed.

Charlotte lunged.

Getting a grip on Lamia's shoulder, Charlotte triggered a second heavy dose of MD-Δ and entered her Trance. Lamia screamed with rage, raising a hand…

…but then she turned away from the Watcher. The ATV, driven by the newest Maximus, shot in, aiming to pass dangerously close to Charlotte, guided toward the unseen foe by the woman's outstretched hand.

With a high-pitched shout of exertion, Lamia turned the vehicle aside, nearly flipping it, so that Max missed his invisible target by centimeters.

It had given Charlotte barely enough time.

She'd already projected her mind into Elsa's brain, and she immersed herself in the conflicting emotions, which Charlotte now had the context to understand. The hunger, the hatred, the ancient detachment from everything humans loved… those feelings belonged to the otherworldly Lamia. But the sadness, the suffering, the guilt, those deeper emotions, all but buried, belonged to Elsa. A tortured little girl, an untrained Watcher, taken by an alien intellect, overwhelmed, dominated, used.

Forced to kill her identical copy. Forced to kill her whole family.

To kill Max…

And Klaus.

Forced to slaughter millions.

Embracing Elsa's guilt, her loss, her decades of suffering, Charlotte felt this girl's pain. And as she did so, Charlotte also dwelt on her own loss. The death of the kind, selfless man she would have joyously shared her life with. And the loss of the brave boy who had just given everything trying to save his family, and free his world.

Charlotte's power spiked, transcendent, and she felt herself anchor to Elsa. Even as the girl turned back toward Charlotte, ready to blast her away… the Watcher launched her mind to distant Eden.

Her body, and her enemy, followed a millisecond later.

The stained concrete, the fetid stream, Max's crumpled form, and the oppressive sense of dread… all vanished. Charlotte stood on lush grass, surrounded by flowers, with the little girl sitting in front of her.

The telekinetic blast hurled Charlotte away, and she felt bones in her right leg snap as she tumbled and rolled. The pain tore at her serenity, and her first attempt to restore her Trance failed.

"What did you DO?" Lamia shrieked, scrambling to its feet. "Where are we?" The monster sounded scared, not just confused or angry.

Good. We're probably right about it needing to be near the Dying Zone. This many lightyears away, I can only hope Lamia's powers fade quickly…

"Send… me… BACK!"

This voice... was not that of a little girl. It was guttural, deep, monstrous.

Charlotte took one look, and terror clawed at her heart.

Lamia was changing.

Elsa's small body bloated, and warped, and elongated, her limbs swelled, and hundreds of needle spines extruded all over the undulating surface. As the hideous thing expanded, sliding out of the bloody nightgown, the flesh grew translucent, and…

Clamping her eyes shut, trying to block out the fear, Charlotte pulled an injector pen from her pack. She pumped pain killers into her broken leg, overrode her implants' attempts to sedate her, and tried to focus her thoughts on Earth. At the cost of Maximus, she'd accomplished her mission. Lamia was now stranded, far from Elpis, with no means of replenishing itself. Charlotte had been willing to die for this, and that selfless boy had, but what if this abomination tortured her? It needed to return to Elpis, and Charlotte was its only hope. But it didn't know that torture would render Charlotte incapable of using her powers. Her suffering might drag out for however long Lamia managed to keep her alive…

With a heavy rumble and the gut-churning sounds of tearing flesh, the horrific thing gathered itself to spring, but Charlotte didn't dare open her eyes. Duri could have used fear to power his Trance, while Niko and perhaps Peng could have used the pain of a broken leg. But Charlotte's only hope was to keep calm, put those factors out of her mind, and focus on her memories of the fallen. With Klaus dead, the Watchers had already lost too much. With the Eighth Maximus dead, Khalil's people and the Angelos family would be grieving too. The new Max had just seen an identical brother die, and losing Charlotte too would likely fill him with undeserved guilt.

If Charlotte died here, everyone's pain would deepen, and humanity would lose a vital resource.

She successfully entered her Trance, and saw the frantic bustle of doctors in the HQ Infirmary. Many wounded soldiers were being treated, some from serious injuries, and alarms sounded continuously. Charlotte's broken leg was minor compared to the condition of some of the patients, so she centered her perspective on a closed side room. Her arrival wouldn't cause a panic, but her implants would alert Hasina of her return.

Surviving would not be selfish. It would be a gift to everyone who knew her, and everyone she might be able to serve in the future.

The painkillers finally took full effect. Her Trance sharpened, and she poured her will into completing the projection.

Sudden sharp pains in her hand, likely from launched needle teeth, didn't quite break her Trance, and her power spiked for the second time in half a minute. She fell into the hospital bed, utterly exhausted, aching, her hand and leg throbbing, ill, with a raging migraine… and mourning for the Eighth Max.

But at least Lamia would starve, and all the surviving Unwanted would be safe from—

Clammy, pulsing flesh engulfed her arm, and dozens of needle spines drove into the trapped limb. A deep, animal growl and a vile stench all but stopped Charlotte's heart, and her eyes snapped open.

The nightmarish thing filled the small room.

Chapter 23: Recalling

"Hit him again!" Supriya ordered. Everyone stepped back from Private Zhao, and another electrical surge flowed through his heart. He took in a huge breath, and the monitor showed his heart now beating, though the young man didn't wake. "Doctor Mescal, continue to monitor him. Doctor Kumar, increase Sardoso's ketracelinate dosage–"

"Rakoto to Sharma!"

"–by 10 cc's. Sharma here!"

"Charlotte-17's implants have just been pinged in your Infirmary! She registers as present in room 13, and her biometrics show serious injury!"

Moving as fast as her short stride allowed, Supriya zipped to the closed door. It's circular window was too high for her to see through, so she was grateful for Hasina's head's up. It might have taken her far too long to notice Charlotte's arrival. She grabbed the handle…

Wilma Taibei's hand seized her wrist, stopping her from opening the door. "Wait! Something's very wrong."

"Charlotte's back and she's injured! Let go or–"

"You can't see what I see," Wilma hissed, her voice now much lower. "Charlotte looks... distorted. The mattress is punctured in a hundred places, and small wounds are actively appearing all over her body!"

To Supriya, that just made reaching the Watcher even more urgent.

And then Charlotte screamed.

Two male Doctors hurried over, clearly intending to force Wilma aside, but Niko shouted, "She's right!" When the Doctors stopped and turned, he whispered, "Keep the door shut…or it'll kill all of you..."

Then Charlotte's screams clarified into words.

"Run! Stay away! Lamia… is here!"

---

Charlotte felt sharp pains all over her body as needle teeth sunk in. Her light armor weave should have been able to stop them, but Lamia must be enhancing them as it had done with Elsa's pencil. The armor offered very little resistance, and soon she'd been pierced in at least a hundred places. Undulating, flowing flesh engulfed her, and a booming voice growled, "Take… me… BACK."

I didn't anchor myself to Lamia before projecting… but it anchored itself… to me… And without even being able to project its mind… how?

Though tremendously larger than young Elsa in this form, the hideous thing still weighed very little. It pinned Charlotte down, not with its mass, but by engulfing the hospital bed. Its strength defied description, and no amount of struggle budged it in the slightest. The sensation of being Watched beat upon Charlotte, as Lamia's awareness pressed in on her from every direction. But she also felt a separate, less invasive version of the sensation. One of her colleagues must be Watching as well. For their sake, Charlotte hoped they'd turn away…

The monster carefully avoided causing lethal injury, but hundreds of barbed needle fangs pierced Charlotte's body. She clamped her eyes shut, for she doubted she could hold on to sanity if she continued to observe the hellish thing that enveloped her. Its translucent form was positively filled with needle-thin teeth and bladed bones. The stench was horrific, the touch of the amorphous, flowing flesh was nauseating, and pain flooded her with adrenaline. But all of this paled compared to the greater implications of her blunder.

If I'd just let Lamia torture me to death on Eden, the crisis would be over… But by bringing it here…

Many of her coworkers would die. Possibly even some of the other Watchers. The weight of this disaster pressed far harder than the certainty of her own fate.

But blaming herself… wouldn't change anything. The enemy had thrown off their plans with an ability that shouldn't be possible, but Lamia was still cut off from its source of sustenance. Earth was even farther from Elpis than Eden was, so its powers might fade even more quickly. Only one other Watcher was strong enough to give Lamia what it wanted, and Niko would never break under torture. The enemy's as good as dead. Elpis is safe, and the Unwanted will never again be taken by this monster. The only question is… how many of my colleagues will die before Lamia starves?

Then, the horrid thing grew still. It paused its assault on Charlotte, as if pondering. Then, a low, ominous whisper. "What… what is this…?" Then, it laughed. "So… after taking me from my place of safety, you flee to yours. I sense… five others like you nearby…"

This revelation nearly stopped Charlotte's heart.

It continued. "I can't guess how Watchers become immaterial and fly… but it's clear you can't do so perpetually… or while I have you trapped. How about a little deal? Take me home, and I'll kill you swiftly. Your pain will end, and no one else from this place needs to die. But if you refuse… if I eventually give up on you, I'll hunt until I find one of the others. They will suffer just like you are suffering now."

A fang in Charlotte's shoulder stirred, tearing the wound wider. She screamed, but she refused to speak.

"Perhaps you think they can simply escape me… After all… by means that I find baffling… they can simply fly away… But I know they won't. Your weak, sentimental friends dare not retreat beyond my ability to sense them… Do you know why?"

A different tooth stirred. This time, by focusing on the examples of Niko and Maximus, Charlotte managed to stay silent.

"If I sense that the others like you have fled the area… if I sense they're retreating beyond my reach… then I will have nothing to lose… If I believe they aren't fighting fair, I'll accept my fate… and all I'll have left… is vengeance!"

Charlotte shrieked as her left foot was wrenched around a hundred eighty degrees, and she heard bones break and soft tissues snap.

"In that event… I'll employ all of my power to punish this world. I'll open random gateways until I find a population center. Then, for as long as my strength lasts, I will unleash slaughter. Do you have any notion what I'm capable of when killing is my only goal?"

The terrible thought plagued Charlotte only briefly. She knew this would not come to pass. Her allies would have heard this terrible ultimatum. She knew the Organization would do the right thing. Watchers might be considered the most important humans alive, but only because they could serve humanity. Niko would not project the other Watchers to safety if it would mean leaving Lamia with no purpose but assaulting a civilian population. No… their Organization was made up of the best humanity had to offer, and in more than just competence. They would face this crisis, and the risks. Charlotte's blunder, or more accurately Lamia's unpredictable power, might have brought deadly danger to HQ, but they would rally. They would face this, and they would win.

Losing patience with her silence, Lamia returned to the slow, brutal, non-lethal demolition of Charlotte's body. Even as the agony threatened to break her mind, as she felt her left foot tear away, Charlotte committed to the only remaining course that would let her contribute. The longer I last… the longer I trick this monster into thinking that I can return it to Elpis… the longer the others will have to prepare for the coming fight. Hasina will use every second I give her, and lives will be saved.

She heard rippling flesh tear open, as Lamia created yet another mouthlike orifice. It pulled in Charlotte's broken leg. "Take… me… HOME!"

"I… will… NOT!"

For every single second she suffered, others would be given time to prepare.

Fixing her mind on an image of Klaus, and strengthened by the heroism of the Eighth Maximus, Charlotte endured.

---

Peng said I'd be better at this than him… I'm Charlotte's best chance to escape!

Niko projected his mind into Infirmary room 13. Lamia's grotesque, oversized form was far worse than anything the boy had imagined. The recent report that this was an innocent little girl, enslaved by a monster, made this tragic nightmare even worse, but he needed to focus on Charlotte's situation first. He sent his mind into the beast, trying to find Elsa's brain so he could hold position there. In a battle of pain tolerance, with both of them enduring the mental burning Peng described, Niko was sure he'd win.

But he failed. He could barely even try.

The thing hadn't just expanded and altered Elsa's body, her brain was stretched and changed as well. Niko found what was once a human brain, deep within the horrible mass of unrecognizable flesh and weaponized bone. But it was spread out and reshaped. He could sense various, conflicting emotions, but the transference wasn't sufficiently concentrated to cause actual pain. It might allow someone to anchor to Elsa and project Lamia away, but he wouldn't even consider that while Charlotte was alive and trapped within this thing.

Niko's heart sank. The method they'd use to save multiple Unwanted, and which Anya and Peng had refined into a painful attack, couldn't work on this abomination. He had no way to help Charlotte...

Then his heart sank further, when 17 let out another piteous wail.

---

Peng-24 seethed as he Watched Squad 4 gather around the fallen soldier. Peng hadn't known him. He'd never put much thought into the hundreds of Security personnel who guarded HQ… at least not before today. But those soldiers had thrown themselves into defending Peng. The broken, lifeless figure, clad in white but staining the ice red… that was someone who'd died for him. Sure, they effectively kept Peng prisoner here. But they'd also risked their lives to keep him safe.

Niko's perspective had left the area, which was probably a blessing. This loss must hit him hard, and continuing to Watch the aftermath might have messed the kid up pretty bad. Niko couldn't stand even disappointing people. The knowledge that someone died for him would be crippling, probably even worse than losing his eyes.

But Peng wasn't sad.

He was furious.

Thousands of people had tried to kill him… and Anya.

And they had killed one of his guardians.

Rage spiking, power surging, Peng launched his mind after the retreating enemy vehicles, eager to choose his first target. Give me an excuse…

One of the tanks spun its turret around, aiming for the gathered soldiers kneeling by their fallen comrade.

Without hesitation, Peng shot his mind inside the tank, reached out mentally, and crushed the gunner's throat. Peng's physical body never could have mustered that level of strength, but with this power roaring within him, it felt easy.

A confused crewman shoved the dead gunner aside and took his place at the controls.

Peng executed her too.

Trachea, spine, and everything in between smashed in his invisible grip. The tank driver turned, horrified, and Peng pondered whether or not he deserved the same treatment…

"Priority alert! HQ is breached!"

That shout scattered Peng's thoughts. Never before had Chief Hasina Rakoto sounded scared… but she did now.

"The Lamia entity's invaded the facility! Repeat: Lamia is on Earth, in our Infirmary! It has Charlotte at its mercy!"

---

Second Lieutenant Eléa Blanchet jumped. The adrenaline from the battle still pulsed through her, and she had yet to accept Anderson's death. But now, the Watchers faced a greater threat than even the artillery strike on HQ, and Blanchet froze up. Lamia… an invisible mass-murderer with powers far greater than Charlotte's… How are we supposed to protect anyone from that, especially with most of our forces scattered along this perimeter, having just fought an entire–

"All frontline squads!" Chief Hasina all but shouted over the comms. "Return to HQ at maximum speed! But I need reinforcements faster than your vehicles can deliver them! I want the best soldiers of each squad to take all remaining emergency medical pods! Move move move!"

Captain Martins was already running toward the Kratos gunship, since Squad 4's other pods had already been used to launch wounded soldiers back to HQ. At his order, the gunship descended, preparing to land. After deploying him, his experimental transport had suffered moderate damage and fled the battlefield. But the gunship's medical pod was nearly as fast, just far less comfortable.

Snatching a rifle from a subordinate, Blanchet sprinted after him.

Of course the Captain should return to HQ, but he wouldn't be the only one.

The gunship touched down, Benicio jumped inside, and Blanchet climbed in behind him. He slid into the pod on his back, and before the hatch could close, Blanchet squeezed in beside him.

"What? Lieutenant! These pods aren't built for two!"

"Roll onto your side, Captain. We'll fit better back to back."

"I don't have time for–"

"The Watchers are in danger! Niko's in danger! From Lamia!"

Without another word, the Captain rolled onto his side and triggered the pod to launch.

---

Indecision tore at Hasina Rakoto's heart. Charlotte-17 faced deadly peril, and her implants warned she'd already suffered maiming injury. The invisible Lamia tortured her at that very moment. But should Hasina's forces try to engage? Though most of her soldiers had yet to return to base, she still had dozens who'd remained at HQ throughout the battle. With a word or the tap of a key, she could order all of them to converge on the Infirmary and attack. None of her men would even hesitate to face such a monstrous enemy, not with a Watcher in mortal peril. Despite the enemy's invisibility, telekinesis, hideous body-morphing, and who knows what else, her soldiers would stream in to face it, paying any price.

If Hasina believed such a bloody assault could kill Lamia and save Charlotte, she would give the order. Despite the pain she already felt from losing just one soldier, she would have thrown every man she had into such a nightmare, and none of them would question the decision.

But she doubted such an attack could succeed.

Actually rescuing Charlotte… was likely impossible. And not just because of how severe her injuries already were. Many of 17's implants, including her audio receiver, had already been destroyed, and her biometrics told a story of horrible suffering.

As the person ultimately responsible for the safety of every Watcher, this thought tore at Hasina. Losing Klaus-21 still felt like an intensely personal failure, despite knowing that such an event never could have been foreseen or prevented. The idea that Charlotte, a Watcher of such strength and drive, was in the Infirmary and still couldn't be saved… It was the closest to helpless Hasina had felt in decades.

But that horrible truth was difficult to deny… when it came from Charlotte herself.

A steady string of text appeared on one of Hasina's screens, and it was a constant source of pain. Between bouts of screaming and unintelligible babbling, Charlotte would occasionally rally, growing lucid enough to subvocalize short messages. Her surviving implants relayed those silent words to Hasina, who forced herself to process the data without dwelling on the agony of its source.

Lamia had fully transformed the body of its child host into a huge, amorphous, nightmarish mass of flesh and teeth and bladed bone, and it had fully drawn Charlotte within itself. If soldiers poured fire into it, they'd likely kill Charlotte. The fragile woman might secretly welcome that as a mercy, but she was determined to withstand the torture for as long as possible. Lamia incorrectly believed that Charlotte might be able to return it to Elpis, and for as long as it focused its merciless hate on her, no one else had to die.

But sooner or later, Charlotte's heart would give out, or the monster would lose patience and execute her, or it would simply go too far and kill her without intending to. Then Lamia would most likely rampage through the facility, seeking another Watcher to torment. Charlotte advised Hasina to use this time to get people away from the Infirmary and prepare her soldiers. Lamia was capable of rapid healing, and it could create gateways to escape if cornered by more than it could handle. Actually killing it through direct assault would likely require firepower that could level HQ.

However, time might be their ally. Charlotte offered Hasina one hope. Despite the extreme and mysterious power of the enemy, it was cut off from its home. It might weaken with time, and possibly even starve. Using its powers or healing its gruesome form might hasten this, but the most useful strategy might be to avoid it.

While the weight of failure hung over Chief Rakoto, she still poured her mind and energy into limiting the damage. With basic mental commands, a blur of physical inputs on multiple boards and screens, and a constant string of spoken orders, Hasina mobilized all of HQ. Personnel of every department split up, forming groups large enough to potentially drive away Lamia if attacked, but not so large that a mistake in maneuvering could get many killed at once. Everyone was expected to arm themselves, including the Watchers, though she desperately hoped that last inclusion would turn out to be unnecessary. Her soldiers especially would move in very small squads, intended to harass the enemy while trying to channel it away from the Watchers.

So much would depend on Fawzia-11. Though her powers had grown weak with age, she still was the only Watcher with sufficient experience to speak freely during her Trance. Once the invisible Lamia began searching for other Watchers, tracking its position would fall on 11, who'd be able to continuously report on the enemy's movements.

I'm sorry 17. I am so sorry. First, I failed to protect the man who meant everything to you, the one whose worldview shaped you into the greatest Watcher in history. And now… I can't save you either. But I'll use every second you give me. I'll respect and uphold your decision to endure, to suffer, to hold the enemy in place and waste its time. Forgive me for failing you. And thank you for your choice. I will do everything in my power to prevent a wholesale massacre.

---

Every scream tore at Doctor Sharma's heart, but she obeyed her orders. With an unfathomable monstrosity in the room with Charlotte, none of Supriya's team could possibly help her. Instead, she'd focus on those she could save.

Trying to keep the volume down to avoid drawing additional attention, Supriya's people moved as quickly as their patients could handle. Doctors and nurses finished prepping the wounded, and at her order they flooded from the Infirmary. Supriya herself led Niko by the hand. The battered boy couldn't Watch while walking, and he insisted that all the gurneys go to soldiers with more serious wounds than his. Blood and ointments soaked through the hastily-applied bandage covering his eyes, but he never complained. They both struggled to keep up with the others, while Wilma Taibei hung back to stay at their side.

Wilma pressed a gauss pistol into Niko's hand. "I know you've lost your eyes. And unlike Anya, you're very limited in your physical options while Watching. But Corporal Gordon won't be needing it, as his anesthesia won't wear off for at least an hour."

"Thank you," Niko whispered, clutching the weapon tightly, and squeezing Supriya's hand all the tighter.

"If you are threatened directly, you must project yourself away," Doctor Sharma insisted.

"Of course he should try," Doctor Taibei agreed. "But if for any reason he cannot, Hasina wants him armed."

"I'd rather fight than leave all of you," Niko whispered. He stumbled on a dropped jacket, but Wilma helped Supriya to stop him from falling.

Before Supriya could beg for the boy to put himself first, Wilma employed the perfect reasoning to get through to him. "We know, Niko. You'd rather stand with us than leave us behind. But every last one of us, including the badly injured, would rather you escape. What matters more: What you want, or what everyone else wants?"

The boy fell silent.

Supriya smiled. I've never thought of Wilma as a "people person," but she clearly understands how Niko thinks.

"Ok," Niko whispered. "If I can use my powers to help, I'm still gonna do it. But if Lamia catches up to us, I'll try to get away."

"Good man," Wilma said, her voice just the right mix of confident and respectful. "If the worst happens, the greatest gift you could give all of us is the knowledge that you escaped."

---

Tácito Nelson strained with everything he had, helping a far younger archivist to lift the slab of reinforced concrete that had Private Cunningham pinned. Though extraordinarily tall, Tácito's beanpole build and largely sedentary lifestyle meant he had to push well past the pain threshold to match the strength of young Mr. Baker. Even so, they managed to heave the rubble aside. Tácito's hands were already raw, but he'd experienced greater immediate fulfillment in the last twenty minutes than he had from all his years with the Watchers. He'd personally gotten three soldiers free of the damaged sectors of HQ, and the rest of his team had rescued a dozen more. The top quality infantry armor worn by their soldiers had prevented any fatalities from the artillery detonations, but many had still been trapped or disabled.

A bitter wind howled, and snow swirled in through the huge break in the side of the facility. The blizzard that had swept across Antarctica since the start of the battle had finally reached HQ. The gaping jagged holes in the exterior were letting in quite a draft.

"Mr. Nelson!" The voice on the comm was Toshiko Yasuragi, who he'd placed in charge of the archivists that hadn't joined either rescue party. "We've finished rendering the footage flagged by Fawzia-11. Much of it relates to Lamia's abilities and limitations. I'm forwarding it to the scientists, and we're compiling the most relevant data to share with Hasina and her forces. It can supplement the intel that… Charlotte… is sharing."

Tácito's heart ached at that, even as he helped Private Cunningham to his feet. The soldier had a badly broken arm, but he could walk.

"Thank you, Toshiko-san. The Chief can use every bit of intel we can give her."

As if on cue, Hasina's voice came over the comm. "Well done, archivists. That's the last of the soldiers trapped in the damaged areas. You'll be receiving specific orders soon. I know none of you signed up with the Organization expecting to take up arms, but the Watchers are in imminent danger. Our strategy will involve harrying the enemy without risking close proximity. If you receive movement orders, obey them immediately, as your survival may depend on it."

Heart pounding, Tácito signaled acknowledgement. He'd never so much as thrown a punch in all his fifty-five years, but now he drew the pistol he'd been issued at the start of this crisis. I may not be a good choice for fighting an invisible, extradimensional telekinetic, but that can be said about everyone but the Captain. If helping a few soldiers out from under some rubble felt like the greatest achievement of my life… I won't shy away from defending the Watchers.

---

The ancient one that humans called "Lamia" raged with frustration and growing fear. This miserable Watcher had stolen it away from the site of feeding, and there was no way to return without help. It detected not a hint of the distorted place where the Unwanted could be fed upon, and it felt its power gradually fading. It might have been helpless already if not for the surge of energy gained by killing that stoic Unwanted. The startlingly strong young man that had successfully landed a punch. It would not allow that fleeting rift to have been the last time it ever felt its true home.

Lamia needed this captured Watcher to return it to Elpis. It had drawn her fully within its amorphous, bloated form, inflicting agony without risking her life. Despite all the torment, all the maiming injury dealt to this fragile woman, it had made no progress. Though she screamed and wailed, the Watcher refused to take Lamia back to where it could survive, and no amount of pain would ever change her mind.

In a battle of wills, the ancient Lamia… had lost.

So be it. There were five other Watchers nearby. Lamia could sense them, though it couldn't determine their exact locations… yet. It knew they couldn't remain immaterial perpetually, and it was only a matter of time before it found one in the flesh. And it would torment that flesh.

The mutilated Watcher within Lamia's writhing form would never give in… but perhaps one of the others would.

With a vague sense of regret, a fleeting respect that could only have come from weak little Elsa, Lamia chose to end this Watcher's suffering... and the potential threat she still posed.

Deep within its undulating, shifting mass, thousands of needle teeth and hundreds of bladed bones squeezed… and stirred… and churned.

The unbreakable Watcher died.

Extruding serrated bony ridges all over its surface, Lamia smashed out of the small room and began to hunt.

---

Author's Note:

We have come to the finale. Before continuing, consider listening to the music track, "Desecrated," by Revolt Production Music. It captures the menace, horror, and deadliness of Lamia's transformed state when on the hunt.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=s3fY7zieqZM&si=90rlWNfQCZPuGA5F

Chapter 24: Reeling

Heart pounding, tears flowing, Leo Angelos reached the door to his apartment. Via Doctor Khalil's surveillance systems, he had watched as his son became Unwanted, willingly served as bait, and died to his invisible assailant. The young man who had fought to defend his Third, who had cared for all of his "brothers" with patience and compassion, was gone. The sight had been agony, tempered only by the knowledge that his son's sacrifice had worked. Seeing his dying boy strike out one final time, freeing Charlotte, had filled the grieving father with pride. Charlotte had then vanished, and she must have taken Lamia with her. Otherwise, the new Maximus surely would have been killed in seconds.

Vision clouded by tears, Leo rushed into the Seventh's room and hugged him close. The Unwanted boy had no hope of comprehending the cause of Leo's pain, but he still recognized it. The young man returned the hug, his eyes showing a mix of confusion and sympathy. The Ninth Max risked his life to distract Lamia, trying to run down the invisible enemy with an ATV. I hope he returns soon. My other sons are gentle, and kind, but I need a Max I can talk to… I need him to know how proud I am. Both of him… and his Eighth.

"Mr. Angelos, this is Doctor Youssef Khalil."

Forcing himself to pull away from his son's embrace, Leo hit the flashing button on the wall. "I'm here."

"I'm sorry to disturb you, and again, you have our deepest sympathy for your loss. But you might find at least some comfort in a positive development."

"Is my Ninth son safely en route?"

"Well, yes, and he's bringing the body of his brave predecessor with him. But, Mr. Angelos, there's something else, which we didn't expect."

Fighting down the anguish that made him want to hide in a corner, the bereaved father forced his voice to stay steady. "What is this new development?"

"For the first time in twenty-one years, ever since we set up our surveillance of the Dying Zone… there are animals moving through the area. And they don't even appear to be afraid. That site of such tragedy… It may be healing. It’s even possible… perhaps… that no one else will ever have to become Unwanted again."

---

The agony of failure flooded through Hasina, despite knowing this outcome to be certain. Over the course of 1.8 seconds, all of Charlotte-17's remaining implants had failed. Camera footage of Infirmary Room 13 showed a horrific spray of blood and remains striking every surface, and the small space was now a charnel house. As with Klaus-21, Lamia had killed swiftly and with extreme thoroughness. The strongest Watcher in history, with the possible exception of Niko-29… was gone. The fearless woman who had poured herself into her role, embracing 21's vision of the future. The one who had traveled to Elpis alone, and had risked her life to rip Lamia away from its world, dooming the monster to starvation.

Risked her life… and lost it.

Numb, Hasina hit the base-wide comm. "Charlotte-17 is dead. Lamia has executed its captive, and it has left the Infirmary. At any cost to ourselves, we must prevent Lamia from finding the other Watchers. From now on, Fawzia-11's comm has priority. She will report on enemy movements."

Duri-22 had found a small out of the way utility closet. Niko was with the Infirmary evacuees. Fawzia and Peng were currently being pushed around in gurneys, focusing on Watching and trusting Hasina to keep them out of harm's way.

Charlotte-17 endured minutes of torture to buy time… and I have used that time. Attempting to hide the Watchers outside in the blizzard would be a tremendous gamble: In the open, if Lamia found them, our options would be limited. But in the labyrinth of this facility, we can play a game of cat and mouse where the cat is steadily growing weaker.

Theories from the archivists and scientists were pouring in. Using telekinesis, gateways, or healing itself would likely drain the enemy more quickly. It was time for Hasina to set her past failures aside and rise to the most important mission of her career.

The deadliest being ever discovered was within her stronghold, hunting the most precious humans alive. If anyone could keep them safe, while spending as few other lives as possible, it would be her. Dozens of soldiers and hundreds of other personnel moved through the facility according to Hasina's detailed, complex, ever-shifting orders. Several attempts had been made to disrupt Lamia with high-energy discharges, but it showed minimal sensitivity to the sensory overload that could overwhelm Watchers. And even if this had inconvenienced the enemy, there were few options for using such tech inside HQ without tremendous collateral damage. Rather than depend on advanced and esoteric options, Hasina would focus on precise, flexible repositioning of her personnel. Informed by Fawzia's steady stream of data on Lamia's position, Hasina kept everyone moving. Her people maneuvered and repositioned, opening or closing blast doors, sealing or opening chambers, doing whatever they could to divert or misdirect the enemy. Most of them realized that a single misstep could mean a gruesome death, but they would all put the Watchers first, and they all trusted their Chief.

And any moment now, her greatest champion would arrive…

---

Buffeted by brutal winds, the HV6 emergency medical pod touched down on the roof of HQ. The instant the hatch slid open, Captain Benicio Martins shot out and pivoted, grabbing Lieutenant Blanchet's ankle and yanking her out onto the snow. The pod promptly launched itself off the roof to make way for others to land.

With his override access, Benicio triggered Eléa's helmet visor to raise. He then scooped up a double handful of snow, dumped it on her face, and then gave her a rough shake and a sharp slap. At any other time, Eléa would not have been pleased with such a wakeup call, but with Lamia inside HQ, she'd want him to do whatever it took to get her moving. Benicio had handled the extreme g-forces without blacking out, but very few others could.

Eléa awoke with a start, coughing, and the moment she looked up at him, Benicio nodded, turned, and sprinted for the nearest hatch. "Listen for Hasina's orders!" he shouted back. "See you on the other side!"

As the snow swirled about him, and more medical pods touched down all over the roof, he flung the hatch open and dived inside, ignoring the ladder. He hit the metal floor in a roll, and launched down the corridor. Hasina was already giving him specific orders. As expected, he would have the most complex and frequent role in distracting and weakening the enemy. He wouldn't have it any other way. He could survive dangers that would kill anyone else. Since his youth, he had always preferred to take on the hardest and most painful role. And since the day of his enlistment, that included taking the greatest risks. He'd seen comrades die back in Brazil, but as he'd come into his own, and advanced past the best of the best, such losses had grown very rare. To be on Benicio's team meant to face the deadliest missions… but you also had a devoted ally with unparalleled ability to get you home alive.

Benicio had never faced an enemy with genuine invisibility, nor telekinesis, but he had faced many threats that could obliterate the human body in an instant. If anyone could harass this monster repeatedly and live to see another day, it would be him.

And if this extradimensional horror turned out to be too much for the Captain…well, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Boots hit metal far behind him. Lieutenant Blanchet had arrived, and there'd be many more following soon. With Benicio taking point, he hoped most of them would survive this.

---

Peng's mind reeled. Charlotte had always rubbed him the wrong way, seeming a little too virtuous to be genuine, but he'd appreciated how she kept the spotlight away from him. With her shining as an example, and with Klaus and Niko striving to keep up, it had been easy for Peng to blend into the background. Combined with his deliberately abrasive personality, it was easy for the rest of HQ to expect little of him. Before Klaus-21's disappearance, Peng's workload had been manageable, because most of the others were either more powerful Watchers or had more experience in relevant areas of expertise.

He'd never believed Charlotte was actually as selfless and devoted as she appeared, because only Klaus had ever won Peng's total respect. But now… Charlotte had died a slow, brutal, horrific death, enduring literal torture to buy time for everyone else. And before that, she had walked into deadly danger, fully aware of how badly things might go for her. Freeing Elpis of the mass-murdering monster that had plagued it for decades meant more to her than anything. Charlotte had succeeded, the brave kid at her side had died, and she'd stayed loyal to the last.

Peng genuinely couldn't wrap his mind and heart around it. He'd been so sure Charlotte was insincere, at least to a degree. Peng had misjudged a legitimately good woman, one worthy of 21's legacy. He'd been proven wrong in the most decisive way possible.

That very morning, he'd proposed sacrificing Charlotte to kill Lamia, figuring that if the others shared his suggestion with Charlotte, she'd refuse, proving it was all an act. But, in the end, Charlotte had made that very trade, and the idea had been hers alone.

Fawzia-11's voice came over his comm. The old woman sounded all but broken, having lost the spiritual successor to her murdered protégé. "Watchers… you've heard the recording of Lamia's ultimatum. It can sense that we're in the area, it even knows how many of us there are, and if that changes…" She broke off, reporting on Lamia's latest course change.

"Is it possible… Lamia's bluffing?" Anya sounded deeply shaken. Mere weeks ago, the gorgeous amazon had made no secret of how useless she felt, believing herself to be the least capable Watcher. She'd grown so much since then… but now a woman with ten times her talent was dead, which had to be a blow to her confidence.

"We can't afford to dismiss the veracity of Lamia's threat," Duri warned, his voice emotionless and analytical. In Peng's experience, that could only mean he was having a very hard time keeping it together. "I've only just awoken the ability to open spatial gateways, but I already know enough to suspect Lamia can do what it says. I can feel when a gateway would open underwater, meaning Lamia could likely find another continent fairly quickly through trial and error. If we take away its hope, if we have Niko project us somewhere it can't follow, I believe it will find a city. And if it has nothing to lose, and pours its full strength into vengeance…"

Hasina joined the conversation, her voice hard and certain. "We will not let that happen. I value your lives above all others, and I would sacrifice everyone else in this building if I believed it would keep the five of you safe. But I will not expose a civilian population to the horrors Lamia can unleash."

"Couldn't some of us escape though?" Peng hated how pathetic that sounded, but he wasn't prepared to get tortured by a monster when Niko could instead whisk him to safety. "If 29 took a couple of us to Mars, Lamia would still sense there are some Watchers here…"

No one, including Niko, immediately responded. Glad none of them could see his blushing face, Peng felt genuine shame. Finally, Anya drove it home. "Would you really have Niko take you away… leaving the rest of us to be hunted?"

In a rush of pride, Peng knew that he wouldn't. "No. I'm staying. But the youngest of us could be kept safe. If just Niko and Anya–"

"I'm not leaving," Anya insisted. "And there's no way Niko will. That kid's more hardcore than anyone but the Captain. Even if Hasina ordered him to hide offworld, no one can force him. He's the only person who can physically project now that… now that Charlotte…"

"Very well," Fawzia said, covering for Anya. "I'm proud of you all. Hasina will do everything in her power to protect us, but we will not flee the facility." She paused to report on another change in the enemy's direction. "Charlotte has doomed Lamia to starvation. The rest of us will keep it here, in Antarctica, for however long it takes. If Lamia manages to capture you… consider following 17's example. The longer you keep silent, allowing the monster to believe you have the power to save it, the more of its time you'll waste."

"Niko probably does have that power," Duri warned.

"But there's not a chance he'll do it," Anya insisted. "If Lamia tries to force him, he'll take it to Eden instead, no matter what it does to him afterward." Her voice gave no sign that she viewed Niko as a child. The kid had fought at her side, losing his eyes to protect her, and it was clear that she now considered him a brother in arms, worthy of her highest respect.

Peng hoped that, someday, Anya might have similar faith… in him.

Voice grave, Fawzia concluded, "If we don't all get through this alive, know that I believe we made the right choice."

---

Lamia killed Charlotte… The best of us… is gone…

Still unable to speak, Niko felt tears flowing, and he didn't care that it messed up the bandage covering his ruined eyes.

Charlotte. The woman who'd respected Klaus so much she'd ultimately surpassed him. The Watcher who represented the level of power and drive Niko needed to achieve… she was dead. Nico hadn't been able to help her.

Even more importantly, her killer was now on the move. The short conference between the Watchers had concluded, with Niko unable to say a word. Fawzia alone spoke continuously, reporting on the invisible Lamia's movements. The enemy was so fast, tearing through the facility in a predatory rampage, looking for Watchers. Occasionally, it would switch levels by ripping through the ceiling or floor. The casual ease with which it did so, despite the hardened armor layer in every wall and floor… it was not encouraging. If Hasina's orders ever came too slow, or if anyone failed to obey quickly enough, then someone wouldn't get out of the way in time. They had to stay a step ahead, because the enemy moved faster than anyone could run. Lamia might be seeking Watchers, but it would surely murder anyone else who happened to be in its way.

The current plan… is all about time… How long will it take for Lamia to starve? How much can we speed that up by forcing it to heal or use its powers?

How many people will die before then?

The loss of Charlotte greatly added to the crushing weight on Niko's heart that had started with 21's death. Niko had wanted to be Klaus. Though no one would've allowed him to, Niko would have died for Klaus. And then, mere minutes ago, the youngest soldier in the Organization had died defending them. Niko had felt his heart trying to tear apart. He might've been left unresponsive, even catatonic, if not for this new crisis. Right now, Niko kept it together only by focusing on the many hundreds of lives that might be one misstep away from ending. His left side was very badly bruised from the collision with the driver of that comm vehicle, and his destroyed eyes were a constant source of agony. But he could use that to enhance his Watching whenever he got to resume his primary role. At the moment, he tried to keep up a brisk pace, hand in hand with Doctor Sharma, while Doctor Taibei kept encouraging them to go faster. Unlike Anya, Niko had never managed to enter his Trance while walking. But he was the only person that might be able to cut this nightmare short.

There is a way to stop Lamia from killing anyone else, and making the time required for it to starve totally irrelevant. And I'm the only one strong enough to make it happen…

He knew that no one would approve. No one would even give him grudging permission. But Lamia had the potential to slaughter thousands if Hasina's maneuvers weren't enough to keep people away from it.

Gotta try it right now… before anyone else gets hurt…

Niko pretended to stumble, and he fell to the floor. Supriya cried out in alarm as she lost her grip on his hand, while Wilma knelt to help him up. But neither reaction mattered to Niko. The second he started to fall, he entered his Trance, projecting his mind to the latest coordinates Fawzia had supplied.

There it was, in all its horrifying, monstrous glory. Lamia had stretched into an elongated shape, constantly shifting, bunching, and surging in a chaotic and nauseating way that was very difficult to follow. Bladed ridges of bone gave it traction, while needle teeth stabbed into the metal floor and helped to propel it forward. Blood ran off the nightmarish thing, and its transparent flesh made it easy to see the briar patch of bony spines filling the interior. The blood and bits of skin could only be from Charlotte. As it lunged and sprang down the corridor, it left gouges in the walls and floor, breaking handrails and occasionally shattering overhead lights.

For just a moment, the disgusting abomination filled Niko with animal fear. He was a child, alone in the presence of a monster, and his only hope was for it to pass him by without seeing him…

Then he shoved those feelings down and went through with his plan.

With a burst of power, Niko projected his body into position right next to Charlotte's killer. His right hand thrust out blindly, making contact as his enemy rushed by. A bony blade tore open his palm, and a needle tooth ripped a gash in his forearm, but he used this new pain to intensify his Trance. Finding the loose collection of cells that had once been Elsa's brain, he felt the girl's nebulous pain, and sadness, all but subsumed in the raging storm of Lamia's hatred, fear, and hunger. He seized on the little girl's altered mind, and then expelled a great burst of power to hurl his mind and body to Eden…

He failed.

The blast of mental power had no effect but to leave him dizzy. A dark force had surged up his arm and gripped his mind, holding him there.

The monster ground to a stop, and a deep, inhuman voice growled, "Foolish child. After the woman pulled me across space against my will, did you believe I'd allow such a thing to happen again?"

Despite all his efforts, Niko couldn't free his mind from that hold. A dozen needle teeth had already sunk into his hand and wrist, and without breaking physical contact, he couldn't escape the mental grip.

Niko felt grateful for his blindness, his inability to see the hideous thing that had caught him. He heard the disgusting sounds of ripping flesh, and he feared this was the creation of even more mouths.

"Right now, I can feel your intent. If you choose to send me home, then I will allow it. But if you intend me harm… I can stop you!"

A desperate, full-body tug failed to break the thing's grip, though it did worsen the damage from all those barbed teeth in his hand.

The guttural growl came with a wave of vile stench. "If you agree to take me to Elpis… this can all end… If you refuse… you will receive the same treatment as the woman. I'll deal agony such as no child could possibly bear, and you won't even look human by the time you yield and grant my request."

The barbed teeth began to pull, and Niko's arm slowly and inexorably began to enter the monster's body…

Niko drew his gauss pistol with his left hand, pressed the barrel against his forearm, near the wrist, and blazed away as fast as he could pull the trigger.

The monster shrieked as rounds punched into it at Mach 2, but that wasn't the purpose of these shots.

With the bones in his forearm blasted to bits, Niko tore free from Lamia's grip, leaving his right hand behind. The back of his head struck the wall hard, and for just a moment he was too disoriented to enter his Trance. He heard bone grinding on metal, and he knew the beast would simply seize him again, making the sacrifice of his hand meaningless…

Then a shocking impact of invisible force hurled Niko down the mangled corridor.

He crashed and tumbled along the hard metal floor, losing his pistol and ripping his right leg bloody on a broken railing. Even so, he wondered why Lamia would hurl him away from it. It wanted to seize and torture him, so why–

"Get out of there Niko!" That was Peng's voice, shouting over the comm. "It'll be a minute before I'm strong enough for another shove like that!"

Epic… Niko thought, even as he slid to a stop on a buckled plate of flooring. How angry must Peng be for a breakthrough like–

A different force gripped him, and he knew this time it was Lamia. Seizing the chance Peng had given him, Niko drew on the pain of his newest wounds, resumed his CPN-Ω simulation, and flung his mind to his quarters. With a blast of mental power that left him ill, he tore away from the telekinetic hold, and his body joined his mind.

He collapsed to the floor of his bedroom, breathless and shaking, and quickly resumed his Trance. He Watched himself from above, stricken by just how fragile he really looked. It didn't matter that he was hardened for his age, he was just so small. The stump where his right hand had been gushed bright red onto the carpet, more blood flowed from his badly lacerated leg, and the bandage over his eyes had ripped free. He was look'n pretty rough… but he was alive. "Thanks, 24," he whispered over Peng's channel. "If not for you, I'd be…"

"Forget about it," Peng interrupted. "Patch yourself up. If you bleed to death after what I did, I'll be seriously annoyed. Plus, that might leave me as the strongest of the Watchers, meaning a huge increase in my workload. Not cool."

Crawling very slowly so as not to break his Trance, Niko whispered, "How does it feel to be the first member of the Organization to crack telekinesis? Well… other than Klaus, right at the end…"

"It feels exhausting," Peng snapped. "And painful. And I just know Hasina and Fawzia are gonna expect me to use it all the time after this mess is over. That's exactly why I never wanted to be the best at anything. So you better live through this, so you can become a better telekinetic, and I can go back to being comfortably mediocre."

Shaking his head, Niko reached the emergency medical kit hanging on the nearest wall. It was so like Peng to complain about being tired and in pain even while talking to a blind kid who just lost a hand. But he did kinda save my life, so I guess I should let it slide. 

Niko pulled out a small sheet of synthflesh, wrapping it around his jagged stump. It constricted, bonding to the skin and administering antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain meds he'd have rather done without. It took three similar patches to stop the bleeding from the long gash down the length of his calf. That was deep enough to expose the quivering muscle layers, and he fought down nausea. Unlike Anya, he hadn't taken the time to change after their morning in her gym with Benny. Instead of durable pants, he still wore lightweight shorts. That might be a big part of why he got cut so bad, but at least it also made it easy to bandage the wounds. Too bad his favorite nerd shirt was ruined from all this blood…

More than a little dizzy, Niko downed some pills designed to stimulate his body to release all its reserves of blood cells, and he chugged a bottle of fluids that could be absorbed very quickly. His blood volume should be restored soon. His eyes were still seeping, but not enough to be dangerous. He wanted to keep helping, but it was clear he wouldn't be able to transport Lamia against its will.

His whole body shook from trauma and exhaustion, and one of his implants administered a powerful mix of meds to counter the risk of shock. He had to repeatedly override its attempts to administer strong anesthetics which would force him to sleep through the next few hours. The boy had yet to come to terms with the loss of his eyes and right hand, and he kept pushing those issues down the road by focusing on the immediate crisis.

Fearing that he might not be up for any further contributions beyond traditional Watching, Niko opened a channel to Hasina.

---

Fawzia's heart had nearly stopped when Niko manifested physically in front of her. She'd been focused on keeping pace with the enemy, evading its occasional attempts to abduct her, while whispering a steady string of coordinates to her allies. Niko's sudden appearance had initially felt unreal… until the first sight of blood. When Lamia began to pull him in, Fawzia had never felt so helpless. And any other child surely would have died. But the decisive 29 had no fear of pain, and he'd blown off his own hand to escape its grasp. And Peng used a telekinetic blast in his defense. Between this new breakthrough, and Duri's unique ability to create gateways, we might just be able to stop Lamia from taking any more lives. I wonder if invisibility is a power Watchers might be able to unlock… But that's a question for another day, since there'd be no point against Lamia.

Her continuous string of intel for her allies faltered briefly when Niko's quivering voice came over her comm. "I don't think we'll be able to get Lamia offworld. After what Charlotte did to it, it won't fall for that trick again. It'll only allow us to physically relocate it if Lamia senses our intent to take it back to Elpis."

Which is utterly out of the question, Fawzia thought, even as she relayed Lamia's latest coordinates. After Charlotte and that Unwanted boy both died to stop Lamia, I can't imagine anything more dreadful than giving in to its demands. Even if many more lives are lost, it would be better than undoing what's already been accomplished. We will not put the Unwanted at the mercy of this thing yet again. If Lamia's learned how to stop us from relocating it, we'd never get another chance to kill it.

"Inform Hasina and the other Watchers," she commanded, during a brief pause where Lamia stayed still, perhaps listening, or hopefully resting. "No one may attempt to relocate Lamia. You may try to distract Lamia, but only if you're confident that you can avoid abduction. With Lamia on Earth instead of seventy lightyears away, abduction may be far easier for it."

Peng joined the conversation. "But it might still be too difficult with us on guard. After all, if it isn't constantly trying to abduct you, maybe that means Lamia thinks it'll fail."

A dark suspicion grew in Fawzia's heart at that. If the enemy's starving, you'd expect desperation to have it pouring its efforts into abducting us. But instead, it's moving through the base at high speed… Despite her Trance, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Lamia must believe it's more likely to locate our physical bodies than it is to get a solid grip on our projected minds… But no, that can't be exactly right. If it doesn't understand what mental projection entails…

Lamia surged forward again, now in a new direction. It wasn't heading directly toward any of the Watchers, but this new course was far more threatening than where it was going before. When it paused, as if listening… there's no way it heard anything that would lead it closer to us. We know it's capable of detecting us without projecting its mind. It doesn't appear to know exactly where we are, but what if it grows more certain of our location the closer it gets? Or the longer it's here?

Briefly muting her comm, Fawzia issued new orders to the soldier pushing her gurney. The man immediately spun her around and reversed course. Reactivating her comm, Fawzia gave Lamia's latest coordinates, then warned the other Watchers to remain vigilant for their own safety.

---

Doctor Wilma Taibei's heart pounded as she jogged along, and she knew this was nothing compared to Doctor Sharma's struggle. Wilma found daily self-discipline to be easy, and she remained nearly as lean and swift as during her teens. But Supriya's short stride forced her into a full run. When Niko had disappeared, projecting himself away, the rest of the group had been unable to justify their slower pace. Now, for the sake of all the other patients, the group maintained a speed Supriya wouldn't be able to match much longer. They would all risk themselves for the sake of a Watcher, but no one, including Supriya, would have the others slow down just for her.

Hasina's voice came over her comm. "Infirmary evacuees! Lamia's latest course change has her moving down your corridor, coming up from behind! Move move move!"

A surge of primal terror flooded Wilma with adrenaline, but she would not leave her department head behind. Everyone sped up, heading toward a T-intersection.

"Left!" Supriya managed to shout. Wilma agreed. If they split in both directions, it would all but guarantee that half of them would die. Instead, Supriya wanted all of them in this together. It might get them all killed, but it might instead allow all of them to survive. Lamia didn't care about anyone but the Watchers. It would surely massacre anyone it encountered, but it might not specifically choose to follow them.

Then Doctor Sharma let out a cry of pain. She'd almost fallen, and despite recovering, it looked like she'd injured her ankle. Not only did the Head Doctor have the stride of a child, now she ran with an awkward limp. Though reasonably fit, Wilma knew she didn't have the strength to maintain a full run for very long if she tried to carry her. Though barely a meter tall, Supriya still had the full build of an adult woman. One of the soldiers might handle her moderate weight far more easily, but the rest of the party had pulled well ahead. Wilma didn't want one of them to backtrack when every second might mean life or death.

The soldiers at the front of the group turned left, and those pushing gurneys rounded the corner as fast as they could without spilling their patients onto the floor. They were flipping a coin, putting all of their survival up to the random outcome of which way Lamia would turn when reaching the intersection.

Either fifty-seven people would die in the next thirty seconds, or they'd all live.

The grinding of bone on metal reached Wilma's ears. She spared a quick look over her shoulder, past the struggling Supriya, toward the distant source of the rapidly-approaching sounds.

Though the enemy was invisible, Wilma's sharp eyes and basic ocular enhancement implants let her see small gouges scraping into the steel floor. A security door slammed down, but in a terrifying crash Lamia tore through. It was impossible to be sure whether this was accomplished by enhanced bone, telekinesis, or a mix of the two. Death approaches, unseen and unstoppable, and there's nothing we can do but hope it turns to the right… Unless…

Another gasp of pain escaped Doctor Sharma, and Wilma made a decision. There was a way to influence Lamia's course. True, if it knew where it was going, nothing would work. But if it wasn't certain where the Watchers were, but was employing elements of guesswork, perhaps it could be influenced to go right…

Dashing ahead of her superior, Wilma rounded the corner and pulled open a maintenance panel. No ordinary adult could have fit in the small space, but Supriya could. Wilma tore out a boxy piece of equipment to be sure. Supriya staggered around the corner, and Wilma didn't hesitate. She snatched the gauss pistol from Supriya's belt, grabbed her little superior, and shoved her into the small alcove. Supriya couldn't even catch her breath to protest as Wilma slid the panel back into place, hiding her from sight. There. Supriya couldn't have gotten far enough away to be safe for what comes next.

Wilma then tossed her lab coat into the intersection… and sprinted in the opposite direction of the main group.

Everyone else still headed off in the direction Supriya had ordered. If Lamia went left, they'd all be butchered.

She'd give it a reason to go right.

With both pistols in hand, Wilma came to a stop when the grinding sound grew close. Her heart pounded and her breath heaved, for she'd dashed a good fifty meters down the corridor. She now turned and took position close to the wall. She aimed toward the intersection, angled so that missed shots should dig into the distant wall rather than reach the retreating crowd. She kept her eyes on the fallen lab coat, tried to keep her hands steady, and did all she could to ignore the terror threatening to overwhelm her. If she froze up, if she allowed the cost of this plan to consciously sink in, it could mean the deaths of fifty-five colleagues.

Including two patients who were only alive because of her own intervention.

Shut down your emotions. Think only of your duty. Your responsibility to your patients and coworkers. Nothing matters… except sticking to this plan…

The lab coat shredded into tatters, and two great trenches tore into the metal floor, curving off in the direction of the fleeing soldiers, doctors, and patients.

Wilma opened fire.

Her pulse throbbing in her ears, her body quivering in terror, she nevertheless focused on firing as rapidly as the two pistols could manage. Magnetically-propelled rounds stabbed forth two at a time, accelerated to Mach 2 in an instant by the fusion-powered coils. A couple bullets tore into the wall far down the corridor, digging in by design rather than ricocheting. The rest gave no visible sign… as if they'd vanished.

Instead, those shots elicited blood-chilling shrieks from the invisible enemy.

And when Wilma didn't stop firing, those screams soon reversed direction and sped right toward her.

Mission accomplished.

But she could never outrun it… so Wilma kept shooting.

An invisible blast of force hurled her to the floor. She lost one pistol, but kept her grip on the other. Though winded, she forced herself into a sitting position and resumed firing.

Her shots started glancing off an invisible wall. A telekinetic shield that, hopefully, would accelerate the enemy's growing hunger. Determined to make it keep that shield in place for as long as possible, Wilma slid in a new magazine and blazed away. Her body nearly seized with barely-restrained panic, her heart pounded so hard she feared she might black out, but she did not falter.

She kept firing, even as the scrapes and gouges reached her.

The pain, though indescribable, lasted less than two seconds.

Chapter 25: Containing

Duri recoiled from the sight of Wilma's death, unable to cope with his failure. Niko's maiming had been bad enough. Duri had wanted to help the boy, but he'd known that opening a gateway wouldn't have saved him. With the kid's hand trapped by Lamia, there would've been no way to pull Niko through.

But with Wilma… that had been a straight up failure.

Although fear was Duri's path to greater power, it was a very mixed blessing when he wanted to open a gateway. Such physical portals were less about power and more about visualization and mindset, clearly imagining the two locations as adjacent. When Lamia had closed in on the heroic Wilma, Duri tried to open a gateway. But unlike his earlier successes, this gateway could have granted Lamia direct access to him, which was a terrifying prospect. He'd tried anyway, wanting to push through that fear… but he'd failed. Although his power had spiked at the thought of opening a door so close to the enemy, his visualization had faltered. The gateway never stabilized… and Wilma had died right in front of him.

A woman, a Doctor, was dead because Duri had failed to intervene. His cowardice had just cost a life. The determined, steady mind that had uncovered the truth of MD-Δ and enabled the drug's rapid approval and deployment… had just been erased. She'd drawn Lamia toward herself, certainly saving everyone else from the Infirmary… and Duri could have saved her.

But he'd been afraid.

And he couldn't even bring himself to Watch the gruesome aftermath.

Part of Duri wanted to fold up and stop trying. Earlier, the knowledge that an eighteen-year-old soldier had died defending HQ had weighed upon him. Not as badly as it did on poor Niko, but Duri still felt partly responsible. Young Matthias never would have died if the Watchers weren't so hated by a few extremist minorities.

But this…

Exiting his Trance, Duri sat in darkness, hidden in a small, out of the way utility closet near the building's exterior. He realized he was hyperventilating, and soaked in sweat. I'm having… a panic attack… The sensation was exactly as horrible as the descriptions he'd read while in college.

And he deserved to feel this terrible.

But he must not give up.

Yes, he'd failed, and a good woman was dead. But he was still the only person who might be capable of whisking ordinary people away from danger. Niko might still be in a condition to project another Watcher away from Lamia, but only Duri's gateways might save the life of someone without these ultra-rare powers.

He opened a channel to Niko.

Though unable to utter coherent words, Duri subvocalized, trusting their implants to translate. "I'm having a panic attack. I can't afford to. Please… help me get over this."

Though the boy was weary, battered, blind, and maimed, his reply came without the slightest pause. "No problem, portal master. We'll get you back in the fight."

---

Trusting the streams of data flowing across the top and bottom of his HUD, Captain Martins neared his first destination. Hasina continuously updated everyone's orders, shifting their goals and positioning to avoid engaging Lamia at close range. If she believed that keeping the Watchers safe was no longer possible, she'd issue an all-in assault by every department, and Benicio knew she'd personally join the final wave of such an attack. But for as long as possible, she'd try to keep everyone alive. Benicio knew she'd be punishing herself for the loss of Wilma Taibei, but that woman's choice had saved dozens of lives.

And now Hasina finally had the manpower to get more aggressive. One young woman from Squad 20 had yet to awaken from the extreme g-forces of her medical pod. But all of the other soldiers recalled by those means had now entered the facility. These were generally the best of their squads, with the sense and reactions to be used by their Chief like scalpels.

Lights on his HUD flashed, and the Captain moved.

He leaned around the corner, fired a burst of shots, and was back out of sight in barely a second. A distant, inhuman howl brought considerable satisfaction, and his HUD blinked with new orders. He heard shots from a different intersection, and more howls, and he pushed down concern for his fellow soldiers. For as long as Hasina prioritized every life, close adherence to her orders gave them all a solid chance. And if she ever decided it was time for them to die, that would only prove there was no other way to keep the Watchers safe. If a compassionate genius of Hasina's caliber ordered someone to their death, they could trust it was the right call.

As he sprinted through the empty corridors, heart steady, not yet sweating, he kept his mind focused. Niko was alive, and that would have to be enough for now. He would not let the boy's injuries distract him from the task at hand.

Reaching his new target coordinates two seconds ahead of schedule, Benicio prepared his last magazine of armor-piercing rounds. He'd gone through his entire supply of acid rounds and explosive shells, but he trusted these would still hurt. Lamia had ways of hardening its flesh and bone far beyond their normal durability, especially considering the ultra-low density of its current expanded form. And when it knew where shots would come from, it could generate telekinetic shields.

But the lethal monstrosity faced humanity's best…

He popped out, and in a tenth of a second he noted small holes punching into the metal floor and adjusted his aim. A storm of rounds struck a distant wall… and the monster shrieked in pain and rage. Excellent… my shots went all the way through…

For the briefest instant, Benicio felt something vaguely like g-forces trying to snatch at him, but it quickly faded as he sprinted off on his new course. So it tried to grab me with telekinesis… but didn't have time for a good grip at such a distance. Just as important, Lamia's telekinesis failed the second it lost sight of me. He quickly shared these findings with Hasina, even as he pounded toward his next destination at a speed that could have won him an Olympic gold. A soldier reported getting his rifle yanked away, but so far it seemed their quick harassment fire taxed Lamia's ability to react. Hopefully it's draining for it to heal from gauss rounds. We can't keep up such tactics forever.

His orders changed, requiring him to ascend two levels. Lamia must have torn through the ceiling, and Hasina predicted another such maneuver soon. Humanity's greatest Commander coordinated the best of the best, with Benicio as her ultimate weapon.

He wished Private Anderson could have seen this.

---

Renya Baldwin let out a sigh of relief when the report reached her screen. Julien Thompson's team had finished isolating and containing the last of the Theragen gas. None of the soldiers in the affected areas had breaches in their armor, and the rescue teams had been helped to avoid exposure. An attack with the potential to spread through the base and kill hundreds had been contained with no deaths. "Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Your people do good work."

"We have two sealed rooms and three containment chambers filled with the gas," Julien pointed out. "Do we neutralize it immediately… or do we try something more risky?"

On any other day, Renya would have shuddered at the thought of storing Theragen gas, and she'd have ordered its immediate destruction via sulfuric acid mist. But Lamia raged through the facility. Soldiers were starting to take potshots at great range, confusing and redirecting Lamia, but they'd been too late to save Doctor Taibei. Renya hadn't worked with her on any projects prior to 21's disappearance, but she'd already earned her respect. Wilma's loss would be deeply felt… provided they didn't lose hundreds more lives in the coming hour.

Against a threat so unique, trying to "play it safe" would surely fall short. As it stood, conventional tactics, even orchestrated by a genius of Hasina's renown, might not be enough to prevent great loss of life. And if even one more Watcher died because Renya wasn't willing to take some risks…

"You're right, Mr. Thompson. I'll start sending you plans and conditions as soon as my people have the details worked out. If this goes poorly, it'll be up to your mobile teams to prevent the gas from spreading to unprotected personnel."

If Lamia's altered biology is still able to reproduce and vent the gas everywhere it goes, such containment could be very difficult… But since that would also mean the gas might actually kill Lamia, it's a risk we need to take.

---

Peng-24's head pounded from a low-level migraine, and he feared what might happen if it got much worse. He felt like he'd already hit the limit of how much pain he could meaningfully use to empower his abilities, and much more might kick him out of his Trance. And this would be a particularly bad time for that. It looked like Anya might be the key to a very risky plan being cooked up by the eggheads in the Science Division and Chemical Processing. Peng did not want to be useless if they all went through with it.

His mind raced alongside Fawzia's, scouting ahead a bit, trying to get a better feel for which soldiers would strike next, from where, and with how much risk. He was not going to ruin his Trance–and his ability to protect Anya–just to help a soldier, but if a nudge here or there managed to save a life, that was one more fighter able to protect him.

At least, that's the motive he was willing to admit to himself…

It looked like the next intersection would be the site of a particularly bold ambush. Three soldiers, including the Captain, were set up to pour fire into Lamia. Peng wasn't sure how they all intended to avoid retaliation, for they weren't very close to cover. Hasina had thus far avoided having troops retreat into small side rooms with no other exit, as they'd have zero hope of survival if Lamia spared a couple seconds to go in after them.

Benicio struck first. At extreme range, he sent a spray of shots into Lamia. Growing more angry, the thing was getting quicker to react. Only a few shots hit home before the rest started glancing off an invisible wall. Most of the flowing thing's earlier wounds had already healed, and Peng could only hope this ate up a lot of whatever energy sustained it. Seeing gaping holes seal up so quickly was not encouraging, though it was slower to repair the mass of bony spines that filled its interior.

Unexpectedly, the Captain didn't retreat. He stood his ground, dropping to one knee, continuing to fire. At about forty meters, Lamia struck out telekinetically. Benicio managed to keep his grip on his rifle, and he must not have been close enough yet to be lifted fully into the air, but he fell forward and was dragged across the floor towards Lamia. Peng was on the verge of striking out with his own power, since losing his mightiest defender would not do good things for his odds of personal survival. But the spike of fear elicited by that train of thought briefly disrupted his focus, and his first attempt to push Benicio away from Lamia failed.

But then a hatch opened in the floor, and the Captain smirked before falling down to the level below. The hatch slammed back shut, and a moment later, the infuriated Lamia reached the intersection.

Soldiers far down the cross corridor opened fire from both directions.

Ooooh… good plan Hasina…

The soldiers fired at just enough of an angle for missed shots not to pose a friendly fire risk, and Lamia was large enough for many shots to hit. Lamia didn't erect invisible shields on both sides, hopefully implying that such defenses required more energy than it could spare. Instead, it picked a target and surged toward him.

A blast door fell into position, and Peng quickly checked the other side. Sure enough, Hasina didn't trust the door to actually stop Lamia. It simply blocked its sight and telekinesis. An overhead hatch opened, an emergency ladder dropped down, and the soldier ascended. Had Lamia kept up the pursuit, it wouldn't have breached the blast door until after the hatch had closed, making it as if the soldier had vanished.

But Lamia didn't bother pursuing him. The moment it lost line of sight to its first target, the hideous thing concentrated serrated bone to the front of its pulsing form and tore through the floor.

Again fearing for his most capable protector, Peng dropped his perspective through the floor to follow. He was relieved when Benicio was nowhere in sight: Hasina had known Lamia might descend to a lower level, and the Captain must have already had a new destination locked in.

But the sensation of being Watched crashed upon Peng like a tsunami. A hateful mind clutched at him, trying to drag his body to this place, and it took everything he had to break away and end his Trance.

He lay on the gurney, panting, sweating, with his head pounding, trying to piece together what had just happened. The soldier pushing him down the corridor changed course in response to some new order or other, but Peng barely noticed.

Lamia… it knew I'd follow, and it exploited my impatience. Rather than move my perspective to the hole in the floor, I moved straight down through the floor. Lamia saw me before I saw it, and it was ready and waiting to hit me with everything it had…

Fear began to set in, as he realized just how close he'd come to being abducted like Klaus. Clearly, it was easier to snap a Watcher's body to their mind's location when the distance was short. That had been far more dangerous than Lamia's attempts to drag him all the way to Elpis. Peng took a second to alert Hasina and the other Watchers to the danger, and for a moment he just lay there, stunned, letting the soldier push him along.

Then, in a rush, all that fear turned into rage. That thing, that disgusting freak, had already killed the only person Peng fully trusted, and now it'd come within a hair's breadth of abducting him. It would've tortured him like Charlotte, trying to make him return it to Elpis. And since he couldn't…

The shame from his earlier terror stoked the fires of his rage into an inferno, and he wanted nothing more than to hurt the abomination. Back when the enemy seemed to be just a little girl, Peng had wanted to see her dead for what she'd done to Klaus. Now, he knew she was bound to a horror from another reality, and it had the potential to kill everyone in HQ. They weren't all people he knew. On a bad day, he'd gleefully cuss them out for holding him prisoner. But today… they were risking themselves to defend him, and this added one more layer to his motives for hurting Lamia.

Then Hasina commed that Lamia had just shifted levels and directions multiple times, throwing her off with random maneuvers. Now, it was headed toward an open area with sixty archivists, and there weren't any soldiers in position to intervene in time.

Peng eagerly stepped in.

He entered his Trance with the certainty and power of cold fury. Lamia charged down the corridor, leaving holes and gouges in the steel floor, moving faster than any man could run.

But not faster than Peng's mind could move.

He shot his perspective through multiple rooms diagonal to Lamia's course, reached another hallway, and oriented toward the final intersection Lamia would cross before reaching the archivists.

Rage surging, Peng could barely contain himself, resenting even the slightest delay…

Then Lamia shot into view.

In the split second before it would have cleared the intersection, Peng struck. The telekinetic push smashed into his target, hurling it down the cross corridor. Needle teeth ripped free and were left in the floor, and the disgusting thing rebounded off opposite walls multiple times before grinding to a stop.

What… what just happened?

For a moment, Peng hoped that he might just have achieved unstoppable power… Then, depressing reality sank in. But it came with a useful realization. Duri and the Science Division had guessed correctly, and it upheld Charlotte's final testimony. Despite its tremendous size, Lamia retained the mass of little Elsa Yarr. It couldn't manifest matter from nothing. Rather, it had stretched her, twisted her, spread her thin. Since nothing about the hideous thing even vaguely resembled a human, it might have completely rearranged her tissues, retaining only the individual cells. With such low density, it must be holding itself together via whatever specialized telekinesis let Elsa's pencils pierce bone. So, despite its size, strength, extreme killing power, and unnatural durability, it still weighs very little. My new powers might not be genuinely epic… but against something so light, I can–

A wave of weariness struck him, the pounding of his head intensified, and he found himself back in the gurney, quivering from the strain.

---

"28 ready," Anya announced, heart rate elevated from excitement more than fear.

"22 and 29 signal readiness as well," Hasina said. "If Lamia nears the extreme limit of its earlier telekinesis, Duri will get you out, and Niko's on standby. I will not risk you."

"Understood." Anya wished Hasina would tolerate just a bit more risk. This was their best chance to inflict more harm than Lamia could heal.

Anya dropped, ready for a crouching start. Usually, she did this only to gain enough speed for a series of flips or to launch herself to a high bar. But today, it would be for a pure, dead sprint. The only reason she was being allowed to do this instead of a soldier was the backup plan: Niko didn't dare try projecting Lamia anywhere, but he could still relocate Anya if this went badly…

Hasina's order came firm and clear. "Execute!"

Launching herself from her starting position, Anya refused to look back. She heard distant scraping, and a shriek of recognition, but this was expected. After minutes of frantic searching, and suffering from multiple harrying attacks, Lamia saw another Watcher in the flesh. Anya pounded toward the distant chamber, and for the moment Lamia was five times farther away than any of its previous telekinetic pulls. Hasina had predicted the enemy could increase its speed considerably when it finally saw a Watcher, and had factored this into her calculations. Even so…

No! Don't think like that! Don't worry, or doubt, or second guess either yourself or the others! Today's the first time in years that your physical ability really matters. And if this works, we might end the threat with no one else having to die for you!

She shot toward her goal, her form perfect, bursting with physical power. As she ran, she nudged her mind gently into the early stages of the Watcher Trance, and she felt mental power waiting for her. She gave her body over to muscle memory, like a plane on autopilot. Then, with great care, she tapped into that surging mental strength… and now she saw herself as she ran. She Watched her own technique, the strength of her every movement, the explosive force that drove her toward her destination. It was reminiscent of all the times her coach had made her study holos of her previous performances, except this was happening now. She felt free to let her perspective fall further behind, taunting the enemy.

From footage of Lamia speaking to Charlotte on Elpis, it seemed Lamia genuinely didn't understand what a Watcher really was. The monster thought they somehow flew about, spectral and immaterial, unless they chose to physically manifest–or until Lamia forced this upon them. Therefore, this sight must badly confuse the enemy. Even as Lamia pursued, closing the gap to Anya's body, a "spectral copy" of Anya would have appeared far closer to it. The handle tore off a nearby door, suggesting that Lamia had attempted to employ telekinesis on Anya's projected mind. Oh yeah… it's rattled. It never wasted such efforts on us before, but instinctively tried to grip us mentally…

Distantly, she heard Hasina's voice from her comm implant. "It's working. Lamia hasn't gotten fully sidetracked, but it has slowed. You're on course for the plan… don't let up!"

The enemy closed the distance, but Anya still was well outside its range. She was nearly to the chamber. She shot her mind ahead, and looked to the right. Out of Lamia's line of sight, the floor now shimmered as Duri opened a gateway. Her disappearance only needed to confuse Lamia long enough for the gate to close…

A sudden, sharp pain in her thigh might have caused her to stumble, but with her mind elsewhere, her muscles continued on autopilot. She spun her perspective around… and saw a needle-thin length of bone protruding from the front of her leg. It had gone all the way through…

Her mind snapped back into her body, and she saw that three more needle teeth had embedded in the far wall of the chamber. But she'd once completed a very advanced routine despite breaking a rib in the opening aerial cartwheel. She wouldn't give up for a little stick like this…

Then the shock of the impact set in, and pain washed over her. Though very thin, and extremely light, the tooth had been launched with the speed and power of a gauss round. She saw with her own eyes that such a shot could pierce metal. Her form faltered, the muscles surrounding the puncture began to quiver, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

But I would have won every gold this year, had I been allowed to stay in my chosen career…

Setting her jaw, letting out a defiant shout, Anya thrust out her right hand as she shot through the doorway. Getting a grip on the frame, she pivoted around to noisily crash into the wall by Duri’s portal.

---

Lamia surged with elation at the sound. This Watcher was special, but she'd overreached. She was physically superior to any woman it had ever seen, and even the majority of men. More unsettling, she had used some sort of illusory power to fake the immaterial state that made Watchers so frustrating to catch. But she wasn't very bright. That little display had been confusing… but only briefly. Her real body was clearly visible, proving the phantom was a fake.

Launching those few teeth had been a risk. A hit to the spine or a vital organ could have been deadly, but she couldn't be allowed to escape. This Watcher's heavy musculature and physical resilience would allow her to survive far more invasive torture than had been safe with the earlier woman. Surely, it would be able to break this one…

Entering the small chamber, Lamia twisted and lunged… and struck solid wall. The Watcher was gone…

For just a moment, Lamia doubted itself. Had the "physical" body been the illusion? Had that spectral image of the young woman been real after all? Lamia had never succeeded in creating visible imagery, managing only the reverse, making itself undetectable. In addition to their strange, immaterial flight, did these Watchers have more powers Lamia had never managed to achieve? That little blind boy had vanished in an instant, suggesting his ability to create gateways was far superior to Lamia's own. Like Charlotte, he seemed to be able to create and pass through gateways of extreme range, and go through so quickly Lamia never even detected it. This difference in skill terrified Lamia. What if Klaus had been the weakest of the—

The door slammed shut as multiple overhead hatches dropped open. Orange gas dumped into the room, thick and heavy. At its touch, the ancient Lamia instantly knew this compound must be dealt with swiftly. It tore through the floor and crashed through a sidewall to escape, but then vents all along the ceiling expelled a different gas, almost invisible except for the faintest yellow tint. Despite the tremendously enhanced durability of its amorphous flesh, this latest gas burned… but it was still the lesser danger. The orange gas behind it quickly broke down when exposed to the acid mist. The enemy knew full well that the orange gas was more dangerous, and the yellow mist was meant to prevent its spread...

Rolling in place to coat itself in the acid, Lamia then crashed through three more walls and returned to top speed. The orange gas on its surface was neutralized… but it sensed that much had already been absorbed.

It had been more than a decade since the last attempt had been made to kill Elsa with a chemical agent. Back then, Lamia had responded by closing off the girl's lungs, gating away, and shedding all of Elsa's skin, earning agonized shrieks from its pathetic host. Replacing the lost tissue had required the girl to actually eat for the first time in two years, and to drink for the first time in months.

In its current huge, low-density form, this technique would need to be heavily modified. The altered cells of its restructured body were far apart, bound by thin strands of enhanced connective proteins. If not for the ability to toughen its host body far beyond natural durability, simply moving in this form would've torn it apart. Now, the gas moving through its body was difficult to contain. It flowed through it with ease, and Lamia sensed the gas was somehow increasing in mass. Even as Lamia surged through the facility, turning randomly to evade pursuit, it focused its perceptions inward. What a diabolical substance… Though not biological in nature, it can still reproduce itself by leaching resources from Elsa's cells…

Deciding on the most effective course of action, and noting that the gas was slightly heavier than air, the ancient entity acted decisively. It dumped thousands of needle teeth from the many mouths covering its surface, along with the majority of the larger bladed bony structures. It then tore a particularly wide hole in the floor and extruded its remaining bone blades to suspend itself directly above that gap. It compressed itself down into a painfully dense state, less than a third the volume of little Elsa, wringing itself out like a mop. The orange gas flowing between its cells spilled forth, drifting down to the level below. It then expanded again, forcing all of its infected cells to the surface. It disgorged a flowing stream of liquifying tissue down to the lower level, ridding itself of the last of the dangerous substance. It then flowed back toward the piled needle teeth and bone blades, drawing them all back into itself.

That was dangerous. Enough tissue had to be shed that Elsa would be weak and frail when it rebuilt her body. Its huge, bloated, shifting form was supremely deadly and mobile, but it didn't have the internal mechanisms to share nutrients between cells. Oxygen was absorbed directly from the air that filtered through it, but this form could not be maintained indefinitely. Eventually, it would need to reconstitute Elsa before cells started dying off by the billions.

It felt itself growing weary. Enhancing the durability of this form required relatively little energy, but healing wounds, creating shields, and attempting telekinetic pulls cost it dearly. It must capture a Watcher, soon, and it would savage them mercilessly until they returned it home. It didn't matter if some of them possessed skills Lamia did not. It must overcome.

It would then take vengeance on those the Watchers wanted so much to protect. The Doctor's compound sheltered thousands of Unwanted. It would select the hundred youngest, one at a time, and maim them in the presence of their families before hauling them to the place of feeding. It suspected the Doctor had ways of observing that sacred site, so it would take its time with the hundred specially chosen victims.

And if the Watchers ever tried to take it from Elpis again, and were foolish enough to make physical contact… it would strive to make their deaths take days.

Chapter 26: Maneuvering

Panting from sustaining such a rapid pace, Second Lieutenant Eléa Blanchet neared her next firing point. The Chief was trying to arrange for even greater engagement distances for all harrying attacks, now that it was clear Lamia could launch spines well beyond the reach of its telekinesis. This taxed Hasina, as the enemy was more frequently making random adjustments in course, often ripping through floors or ceilings. Twice, this had come so suddenly that Fawzia-11 temporarily lost track of the enemy, forcing all troops to briefly fall back as a precaution. Chief Rakoto's brilliance could be seen in the fact that only one life had been lost since Lamia began its hunt, but the slightest misstep could change that. Already, Duri-22 had saved the life of Nurse Tress, when Lamia had dropped five levels in a row and reversed directions. The Watcher reported a worsening headache, but for now, he could still intervene when needed, provided he rested after each gateway.

Whirling snow and buffeting winds reached Eléa from the gaping breach up ahead. A merculite artillery shell had blasted this hole in the facility's exterior, and it would set the stage for a coordinated ambush.

Eléa's HUD flickered, and the earlier damage to her faceplate worried her, but she'd just have to trust it to hold out. She reached her firing position, crouching down and sheltering behind a twisted steel plate that had once been part of a wall. She couldn't actually see the other six soldiers, but their transponders blinked as they confirmed they were in position. Now to wait. The Chief will do what she can to nudge Lamia this way, but the enemy is dangerously cunning, and we still don't have a solid grasp of its abilities and limits.

The grotesque method Lamia had used to recover from the Theragen gas trap had briefly knocked Peng-24 out of his fragile Trance. He'd only just managed to resume Watching, and the disgusting sight was more than he could handle. The poor soldier pushing his gurney had gotten sprayed with the Watcher's vomit, and it was a good thing for everyone that Fawzia-11 wasn't so squeamish. She kept right on reporting on Lamia's movements.

Considering the crazy degree of cellular control the thing just displayed, I suppose it could've been worse. If Lamia had been capable of safely containing the gas within its body and expelling it at will–

Her HUD flashed new alerts. Fawzia had briefly misjudged Lamia's maneuvers during a series of rapid course changes. Either it was heading right into this ambush, or it might appear behind–

A mix of surprise and relief made Eléa's head spin when a chunk of twisted debris shot out into the snow from a high-speed impact. But this was exactly where they'd all hoped the target would arrive. Sergeants Agrawal and Lee both fired streams of smoke rounds, then everyone else opened fire. Whatever exactly Lamia did to render itself invisible, infrared and other specialized scanning equipment couldn't detect it, but it consistently avoided corridors Hasina flooded with smoke or heavy vapor. Now, everyone fired into the large gap in the midst of the swirling smoke. The snow alone wouldn't have been enough to pinpoint the enemy's location, but now they were all rewarded with inhuman shrieks of rage. The blizzard kept scattering the smoke, but more rounds kept coming.

And the enemy struck back.

Despite the elite soldiers popping out of cover for less than a second to fire bursts of shots, Lamia was growing dangerously quick to react. Lee fell back, cursing, his biometrics showing trauma to his right elbow. A near-miss scored a trench in the side of Eléa's helmet, and her HUD's display issues worsened.

Then Lamia grew tired of taking potshots.

A telekinetic pull tore away multiple damaged support struts, and a cascade of structural collapses caught Agrawal in the equivalent of a metal avalanche. Without his armor, the Sergeant would surely have been torn apart. Even with it, his suit reported severe breaks to his left arm and both legs when he crashed to a stop multiple levels below. Several twisted beams had him pinned, and if he'd slid even a meter to the right he'd have tumbled all the way down to the icy ground.

Eléa kicked herself for getting distracted. The rest of the ambush squad had kept up the pressure on Lamia, trying to drive it back. But soon, more rubble and twisted metal was sliding or falling all along the edge of the breach. Whether Lamia employed telekinesis or was ripping at the structure physically, it quickly became impossible to follow its movements from the swirling smoke. A plummeting I-beam missed Agrawal's head by a handbreadth, and Blanchet wasn't the only soldier forced to give ground as the floor beneath her started to collapse. If Lamia chose this moment of chaos to spring down after Agrawal, she doubted the rest of the squad could do anything to stop it…

Forcing down her fear, and wishing the Captain had been close enough to aid with this ambush, Eléa dashed back to the edge of the breach. She aimed down toward the trapped Sergeant, ready to pour vengeful fire into Lamia if the horrid thing killed him.

But Agrawal was no longer there...

"You're welcome," Duri-22 panted over the comm, his voice strained. "Took some finesse to open a gate large enough for a man… but too small to let the rubble crash through into my little hidey-hole. Agrawal isn't in a condition to go anywhere… so I'll relocate to a less crowded closet while I rest my aching brain."

Smiling with relief, Eléa fired several smoke rounds of her own, hoping that Lamia had fled the area, but ready to punish it if–

A needle tooth punched into Eléa's stomach and shattered against the inside of her backplate.

---

Hands quivering, Tácito Nelson tried to keep a steady grip on his pistol. Along with most of the archivists who'd volunteered to dig soldiers out of collapsed sectors, he now served as just another newly-recruited militiaman. Lamia's movements were growing more random and aggressive, and not even Hasina could consistently predict its course. Hundreds of non-combat personnel were now positioned at numerous corridor intersections throughout the facility, ready to respond to Hasina's orders. Three of his archivists had already been used to briefly harass the enemy, though they couldn't be sure if any of their shots actually hit. Hasina never used them for more than a few seconds before signaling them to run for it, and Lamia didn't bother to hunt them down. He could only hope this meant it was growing desperate. It needed to find a Watcher, and so far, Hasina's ever-shifting strategy and constant maneuvering had frustrated its efforts.

As a department head, he had the option to access communications between squads. Anya-28 and four soldiers had taken hits from needle teeth, which Lamia could launch with speed rivaling a gauss round. Only the low density and narrow diameter of these projectiles prevented the hits from being devastating, and even then it was unlikely anyone could survive if hit in a vital organ. Supriya's team were rushing medications to the wounded, as the low-density needle teeth quickly dissolved inside the human body. Like the pencil Klaus-21 had telekinetically thrown shortly before his death, Lamia's teeth lost their enhanced durability very quickly. Large numbers of disintegrating bone cells floating through a person's bloodstream was hardly ideal.

New orders came in. Lamia had ascended eleven stories in fifteen seconds, making Tácito's current position irrelevant. He was to rendezvous with thirty other members of his team on Level 90 and await further orders.

Level 90? Seriously? No one could afford to be trapped in an elevator when the enemy could move so freely between levels. Legs already aching, he trudged to the nearest stairwell and began to climb. But the other archivist was significantly older than him, and few people besides Tácito had the height to comfortably take three steps at a time. He probably shouldn't complain.

Then he reflected on the hundreds of men and women under his care. He'd worked with the majority of them for many years, and most of the time his primary role was helping them all to cope with the traumatic footage they had to review. Nodding, he made a decision. He still had three more flights of stairs to climb, so he used the time to subvocalize a message to Duri-22.

"With your new ability to open gateways, you have the potential to save many lives. But if multiple people are endangered at once, you'll have to choose. I don't envy you that responsibility, so let me make it just a little bit easier: After Hasina, I'm responsible for every archivist in HQ. If my people are threatened, and you can't get everyone out… put my subordinates before me."

To think: Just that morning, he'd tried to convince Chief Rakoto he considered his job easy…

Surprisingly, despite the heavy nature of that message, Duri promptly responded with a line of text. "You're a good man, Master Librarian. Keep your head down."

Maybe I should've accepted 21's invitation to join his RPG last year. Based on his final moments, and the actions of Niko and Duri today, it seems to work wonders for one's ability to make tough choices. After this nightmare's over, I hope Duri takes over as GM. If I'm still breathing, I'll definitely join.

---

Captain Martins dived through a breach in the floor, landed with a roll, and emptied an entire magazine. Explosive rounds snatched from a tertiary ammo rack, these blasted fire and bits of shrapnel, accompanied by shrieks of rage. And he was still moving. He dived down yet another hole Lamia had earlier torn between levels, and he heard the hiss and crack of supersonic projectiles zipping past overhead. This time, he landed at a full run, turned left, sprang for a ladder that was dropping from above, and ascended. He heard the crash of Lamia hitting the level below, and he sighed with relief. No matter how quick and clever he was, there was always a chance Lamia would randomly guess his new course.

"Blanchet, do you read?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your armor isn't reporting your biometrics."

"Yeah, that tooth didn't hit anything vital, but it knocked out some of my suit's systems."

Changing course based on new data from Fawzia-11, Benicio made the line private. Hasina would need to specifically use her personal override to listen in, and she was a bit busy. "Level with me, Lieutenant. I need to know what you're actually up for."

The briefest silence confirmed his suspicions that her injury was worse than she let on. Thankfully, she chose not to keep hiding the truth. "My suit ordered me to disengage and seek treatment, so I disabled its ability to share my biometrics."

"And?"

"I... I think I should be ok. As long as this doesn't go on much longer. The tooth burst into fragments inside my armor, but each piece was very small. I'll absolutely need surgery soon, but my suit's doing a decent job of containing the internal bleeding."

"And the hypercalcemia Doctor Sharma warned everyone about?"

"That can wait till the surgery."

New orders came through, and Benicio obeyed without hesitation. He turned and ran straight into a wall, emerging into a corridor three stories down. Duri-22 saluted as he dashed by, but Benicio focused on Eléa. "You've suffered internal injuries from a supersonic impact, the shrapnel is functionally toxic, and yet–"

"Remember what this is for, Captain," she insisted, making him grit his teeth all the harder. Honestly, if she'd talked back a tenth as much prior to this crisis, he'd have had her running laps outside without arctic gear. But on a day like this, she had a point. "More specifically, Sir, remember who this is for. I can still fight, and there's a good chance I'll pull through if I get surgery within an hour."

Details flowed across his HUD, and the Captain filled his lungs. He leapt through empty space caused by an earlier collapse, enveloped in swirling snow, firing shots straight down as he did so. Two needle spines shot past an instant later, then he cleared the gap and turned left. On a hunch, he tossed a grenade with a delayed fuse, then took another turn. When the sound of the blast reached him, he smiled when he heard a scream.

"Soldier, if you're still alive when this is over, after you've fully recovered from the surgery, your insubordination–"

"Even if you get me dishonorably discharged, that's fine. This is already the most important day of my life. We're defending the Watchers from a mass-murdering alien. If we're all prepared to die for this, do you think I'm gonna put my career first?" His mind warred with this. Discipline mattered, and he hated risking his comrades… but she did have her priorities straight. He stayed quiet as she continued. "I'll obey your orders Sir… so long as it involves fighting for as long as I can hold a rifle. If you or Hasina tell me to stand down, you'll just be wasting time and breath."

"I will not have you letting your comrades down. Swear to me that you can function well enough for Hasina to depend on you."

"I can. I may suffer, but I will function on a level with the others. If my condition worsens, so that Hasina can't count on me, I promise to speak up."

Leaping down an empty elevator shaft, pivoting on a ladder rung, and soaring through an open door, Benicio reflected again on just how good Hasina was at her job. Sure, she was putting extra attention into clearing his path in particular, but he suspected she was pushing a few hundred orders per minute. Even with neural integration, holofield quick commands, and monosyllabic codes, he doubted anyone else could have kept so many people moving and firing without it deteriorating into a chaotic bloodbath. He tossed his last grenade to the left as he blitzed through an intersection, vaulted through a hole in the ceiling, and swung himself up with just his left arm. "Very well, Lieutenant Blanchet. Everything else can wait until Lamia's dead. For now, I'll let Hasina keep using you to the full."

---

Doctor Sharma staggered into Niko's quarters, cursing her limp. Wilma was dead, her medical teams were scattered, and the most powerful surviving Watcher was a physical wreck. She found the boy curled up in bed, shivering, the covers speckled red, but his bandages mostly doing the job. "Dear child," she whispered, dropping to her knees at his side and opening her case. "When will you accept that we should be defending you, and not the other way around?" Niko didn't answer. He was clearly Watching. He exited his Trance, but only long enough to comm a soldier, advising them to fall back. He didn't spare even a moment to respond to her question.

She injected the boy with a mix of drugs too specialized for his medical implants, then she shifted his position to make him more comfortable. "I know I can't stop you from helping. With that CPN-Ω sim running, your body would fight through any sedative lower than a lethal dose… and even if I tried to restrain you… you'd just teleport yourself beyond my reach." She took his left hand in her own. His fingers were longer than hers, and slicked with sweat from the pain of the simulation. The hand was also badly bruised from his tumble when escaping Lamia. On further inspection, most of him was badly bruised. "I ask only this… Survive. You've lost your eyes, and a hand, and half a liter of blood… but you're still determined to keep helping… And you can. Just get through this… alive. I beg you."

He exited his Trance to give a warning to another soldier. Though he didn't take the time to address Supriya, he did give her hand a squeeze.

---

Acting General Hasina Rakoto let the adrenaline flow through her. Her fingers danced across multiple holofields, she subvocalized an endless series of commands, and her neural interface allowed the rapid propagation of similar commands to soldiers in comparable positions. Fawzia's continuous reports on Lamia's movements were given priority by the GLaDOS mainframe, and the three dimensional map of the facility was Hasina's entire reality. She allowed no emotion that wouldn't add fuel to her mental processes, and her medical implants flooded her with a dangerous variety of performance-enhancing stimulants and neural accelerants. If she entered a coma shortly after this battle, so be it. For now, she had thousands of lives in her care, and five of them were Watchers. Her mind juggled countless shifting factors, she issued five hundred commands per minute, and a single dropped ball could mean blood on her hands.

The enemy had taken many gauss rounds and grenade detonations, and it had spilled a disgusting pool of flesh after being exposed to Theragen gas. Lamia was injured, and starving, and pushing with everything it had to survive. Hasina could drive herself every bit as hard, and she wouldn't be content with her own survival. She strove for everyone's survival.

In all her years as Security Chief, she'd never really worried that the Watchers might face genuine life-or-death danger. But that didn't mean she'd been complacent. Not at all. While the men and women under her command drove their bodies mercilessly to remain in peak fighting condition, Hasina never let a single day pass without participating in simulated war games. She'd gone up against the best Commanders from every Allied military, and she never felt fulfilled unless her opponent commanded at least twice as many virtual troops. She always strove for perfection, for victory with zero losses, even when such an outcome was clearly impossible from the start.

And it was all coming together today. She'd defeated a vast invading army while losing only one man, and now she warred with a being from another universe. Its intellect had clearly been shaped by decades of dominating young Elsa. Thus, although some of its actions felt utterly alien, Hasina's intuition still drew ever closer to a full understanding. Points of light shifted and flowed on the holofields, every one representing a unique, irreplaceable life, and Hasina drove her mind forward. Soldiers and armed civilians gave ground and scattered before the enemy, while those to the sides fired off quick shots before falling back. Every plan had to involve multiple contingencies, and needed to account for the frequency with which Lamia tore between levels. She played three dimensional chess spread across a hundred twenty vast boards, and every single piece mattered to her.

In real life, with real people under her command, no one was a pawn. There were no redshirts, no NPC's. To be "expendable" did not mean a person had no value. It only meant their mission mattered more than life itself. If there was no other way to protect the Watchers, she would order people to their deaths. But that would mean the end of long, unique stories. Decades of life, learning, growing. A first word, a first step, a first day of school. Friendship, family, and purpose. Effort, goals, advancement, and the pride of joining the most elite organization in all of civilization. When any person died, an entire universe of complexity and possibility ceased to be. The necessity of killing thousands during the earlier battle had pained her deeply. It had hurt far worse to lose Matthias, Wilma… and especially Charlotte. If she could defeat Lamia without even one more human story ending, she would accept nothing less from herself.

And for every life she did lose, for every person she failed, she would take that pain deep into her heart and use it to drive herself even harder.

---

Pushing through the sickening agony radiating from her core, Eléa Blanchet pounded toward her next position. Weariness, nausea, and quivering pain clouded her thoughts, but she trusted her Chief completely. Her orders changed three times in rapid succession, and each time she promptly shifted course without hesitation. If not for Chief Rakoto's exquisite strategic and tactical control, micromanaging hundreds of individuals with split second timing and the deepest care, this all would've come apart in mere minutes. Eléa knew that she never could have done more than land a lucky hit and then get slaughtered had she been left to her own devices. Even Captain Martins, for all his personal skill, depended on Hasina's intel and coordination to realize his true potential against such an adversary.

Eléa's latest orders remained fixed long enough for her to get into position. The echoes of gunfire, explosions, and buckling metal approached rapidly. She sighted down the scope of her rifle, noting Sergeant Wilhelm three hundred meters away, aiming for the same intersection. The last two such ambushes Blanchet had been part of never had a chance to trigger. In its relentless hunt for the elusive Watchers, Lamia altered course so often it avoided the majority of traps Hasina set.

But the Chief set many traps, and her troops had the discipline to maintain full mental readiness no matter how many times their orders changed.

Eléa's abdominal muscles spasmed, followed by an even worse cramp in her lower back. She feared she might have to withdraw from combat after this exchange. She dropped to a knee, putting all her effort into keeping her rifle steady, waiting for the signal…

Shots from off to the right triggered screeches off to the left, then Eléa heard a blast door slam down an instant before needle teeth shot toward the source of the gunfire. Then Sergeant Wilhelm fired a burst into the intersection, earning still more shrieks as a reward. A blast door crashed down right in front of him… but no needle teeth punched into it.

Lamia hadn't targeted Wilhelm.

Instead, a full salvo tore into Eléa just as her HUD flashed the order to fire.

She squeezed the trigger, spraying shots wildly, and a blast door closed in front of her.

The rifle fell from her hands.

It was still a good plan, Chief…

Her suit sounded multiple alarms, and dozens of small holes in her armor seeped blood.

Don't blame yourself for this… The enemy… is unlike any you've ever faced before…

She toppled backwards, and realized she couldn't breathe. Her HUD reported two puncture wounds through her throat, three to her heart, four to each lung, and many others. Half of those projectiles had shattered inside her armor rather than exiting through her back.

You're getting better at predicting Lamia… but it's also studying you, Chief.

She had to fight down convulsions as her body tried–and failed–to draw breath.

Captain Martins commed, saluting her choice to keep fighting, even after facing down an army and enduring serious injury. But he couldn't hide the pain in his voice. The softie…

A single line of text from Hasina flashed across her HUD. "You gave the Watchers everything. Thank you."

This must be very hard for you, Blanchet thought, as the convulsions finally took over. From numerous brutal training simulations, she knew this part wouldn't last long–not with the damage to her heart. You value every life under your care, and you never lost a man before today. Don't let this break you.

Though audible speech would have been impossible, and she was on the verge of blacking out, Eléa managed to subvocalize to her Chief. "Keep up… the pressure… The Watchers… must be…"

Her jaw clenched, her back arched violently… and all went dark and silent.

Chapter 27: Warring

Trying to find some small satisfaction in finally swatting one of the swarming pests, Lamia neared a critical breakthrough. These humans were far too well-coordinated, suggesting a single, brilliant mastermind. Whether computer or flesh, that would be a target worth briefly diverting from its primary objective.

While searching for any Watchers that were physically manifested, it built a mental map of this labyrinthine facility, which dwarfed anything it had seen on Elpis. Though it couldn't guess the cause of damage to the building's exterior, its brief moments in those areas had greatly aided its estimation of the total dimensions. The puppet master micromanaging these frustrating humans was both swift and subtle, but Lamia's knowledge neared a critical mass. There were three general areas along the building's central axis that Lamia had been steered away from more than once. The subtlety of these maneuvers, the depth of intuition thus displayed, suggested intellect nearly on par with Lamia's own. Perhaps one of these contained a Watcher that had grown too weary to remain ephemeral. Neither Charlotte nor that boy had been able to escape via immaterial flight, and Lamia wished it was more certain of their limits and abilities. In any case, anywhere these humans didn't want Lamia to go must have something of value…

---

Duri's head ached as his latest gateway closed. Private O'Neil had taken a supersonic hit to the knee while dashing toward cover, and he hadn't been able to jump for the ladder to the floor above. Duri gave him a quick salute and jogged away, his heart aching. I can't save everyone… no matter how much I wish I could…

Blanchet's death had been far too sudden. Lamia had broken its pattern, ignoring the soldier firing on it to target someone else. From his occasional efforts in old RTS games, Duri knew how hard it was to micromanage forces in an effort to keep every individual safe. Hasina's brilliance exceeded his expectations, but nothing could guarantee safety.

Telling himself that might satisfy his logical mind. It did little to soften the feeling of having failed another brave woman.

With the override access Hasina had granted, he ducked into a private room and rolled under the bed. The Chief required him to relocate every time he used a gateway, as the nature of the power was a near-total mystery. For all they knew, Lamia could detect hints of where Duri's gateways opened, and he shouldn't stick around after using them.

There must be a way to create gateways without seeing the location. Lamia did it every time it was summoned to take an Unwanted. Duri hadn't figured it out yet. He pushed through the growing pressure in his head, restoring his Trance. Based on Fawzia's continuous updates, he quickly located Lamia. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed to be moving more slowly. Duri needed that to be true. Over his fifteen years Watching, he'd seen many deaths, but he'd always forced himself to stay detached and analytical. He had to preserve his psyche for the long haul of a taxing but vital career. But seeing two women die, one in a horrific instant and another more slowly, tore at him. And with his heart raw from the brutality of Charlotte's end, and the void she left in his world…

Later! Face it later! Every second counts right now. Take as long as you need to face these losses on another day. Right now, I need to focus on guessing who might be in the most danger and–

Lamia sawed through the floor so suddenly Duri's perspective shot past it. By the time he returned and followed, the monster was out of sight. How? There's no other damage to the structure, and the hallways are clear in every direction?

Then Fawzia sent a priority alert to everyone in the facility: "Lamia just went through a gateway! I've completely lost track of it!"

---

Fighting down a surge of fear, Hacina's mind raced. Who's the new target?

She issued orders for Duri to relocate immediately using a gateway, and for the soldiers pushing Peng and Fawzia to reverse direction. Niko refused to leave Doctor Sharma, and Anya still–

A tearing crash of rending metal reached Hasina from outside of her Command Center. For a fleeting instant, her thoughts scattered, as she realized this change in enemy tactics was not targeting a Watcher…

Then the wall behind her tore open.

Hasina's left hand triggered her transfer of command contingency.

Her right hand blurred across the emergency panel, entering the destruct code for her bunker.

The rending whirling storm of invisible blades struck her… just as she hit the final key.

---

Lamia's elation lasted less than a second before its world filled with liquid fire. The flames poured into the room from small projectors in every corner, and for just a moment, Lamia's entire reality was pain.

It launched itself upward, tearing through the ceiling. It raced away from the inferno, rolling and flipping and rippling its vast body, but not all of the viscous fire could be shed without cost. Even as it hurled itself down the corridor, it ejected its outermost layer of flesh, starting toward the top and front of its shifting form and continuing down its body in a flowing cascade. The crisis was over, but it left a thick trail of burning meat in its wake.

Weariness beat upon it. It felt its power waning. A primal panic that should never be experienced by its kind seethed deep within it. It had cut off the head of the human resistance… but its remaining time had been halved by yet another violent restructuring of Elsa's tissues. It needed to find a vulnerable Watcher. Nothing else mattered.

---

Benicio Martins felt his heart tear and his world shift, even as his harder self came to the forefront. The most competent and confident human he'd ever known… was gone. The genius who'd won a sprawling battle with only one fatality, who'd manipulated and diverted Lamia with incomprehensible expertise, who valued every life, and had defended the Watchers for decades… She'd died in two seconds of dehumanizing gore and devouring flame.

And he was expected to fill her role?

He never could match her capacity for command on such a scale and with such meticulous care.

All he could do… was face this crisis his own way.

"Command authority accepted," he said coldly. "I am now acting Security Chief, Five-Star General, and Supreme Commander of the Allied Earth militaries." He could barely imagine himself filling the first role. As for the rest…?

"I've found Lamia," Fawzia-11 whispered, her voice desolate. She resumed her steady stream of coordinates, though now she couldn't hide the strain and loss that surely filled them all. Everyone's confidence and sense of purpose had been undermined and shaken by Charlotte's death, leaving them fragile in a way they'd tried to hide. And now, they had lost their best chance of getting through this without any more deaths.

With Hasina gone… anything could happen next.

The other Watchers checked in, acknowledging the change in authority. Anya sounded lost. Duri couldn't disguise his undeserved shame. Niko openly wept, and Doctor Sharma could be heard comforting him. And Peng… he sounded ready to kill.

Benicio closed off his heart, storing away the grief for another day. Instead, everyone's best hope would be his darker half. The peerless killer. The storm of adrenaline and movement and hypervelocity gauss rounds. "All personnel, stay away from the enemy if at all possible. Harassment and complex maneuvers are no longer realistic. Renya Baldwin will prioritize repositioning the Watchers and keeping everyone out of Lamia's path."

The monster's current location was very far from Benicio. He pounded toward it as fast as he could, which would bring him past an ammo storage rack.

He didn't have Hasina's ability to mastermind an entire web of defense in pristine detail.

He would lead from the front.

---

Peng-24 raged.

For years, he'd viewed Hasina as the warden of his prison, but that had started to change on the day Klaus-21 vanished. He wasn't sure exactly when he'd shifted from tolerating her to respecting her. Maybe when she'd first posted soldiers in his Chamber in the faint hope that they'd go with him were he abducted. Maybe when she'd sent the vast majority of her seven hundred troops far from safety, clearly putting the Watchers' welfare first. Maybe it was the sheer brilliance of her maneuvers ever since Charlotte's death.

Maybe… it had only clicked when she flooded her own Command Center with plasma.

The vile abomination that killed Peng's most important protector had suffered. In shedding its outer layer, it had even left behind a lot of bone. It still moved faster than anyone could run, but there was a desperation to it. Before, it felt like a predator. Now, though still deadly to the extreme, it seemed afraid. A cornered animal could be even more dangerous, but he'd relish this thing's fear.

And he'd do his best to stoke that fear.

Giving himself over to rage, he imagined his hand plunging into the writhing mass of shifting flesh and bone. He felt the vile thing, and with a mental wrench he tore a satisfying chunk out of his victim…

And Lamia came to a stop.

It didn't scream. It didn't turn toward him. It just stopped.

Blinded by his rage, he struck again, this time with both hands. Broken teeth and shredded flesh pulled away and dropped to the floor.

This time, a new sensation managed to penetrate the red fog in his mind. It wasn't the buzz of being Watched, not exactly. But he felt a disturbing sense of a changed awareness. That this horrific thing was putting two and two together…

Then it hurled itself forward, tore through a side wall, and smashed through the floor.

---

Leg throbbing, sweat flowing, Anya reached the large conference room Renya Baldwin had directed her toward. Doctors Tessen and Parks were expecting her, and they quickly finished with the archivists they were treating. Head Archivist Nelson and the two oldest members of his department were trying to calm the others, who all showed signs of exhaustion and severe stress. In that moment, Anya was grateful for her physical training in a way that had never really mattered before today. It wasn't about excelling, performing, or receiving praise. She was just far less vulnerable to the physiological aspects of a terrifying ordeal.

Doctor Tessen injected Anya with a followup dose of the med intended to counter hypercalcemia, while Doctor Parks turned his attention to her wounded leg. Though the needle tooth had left a very small hole in her shin, the spreading bruise across her calf proved how serious a supersonic impact could be. Even such a light projectile badly shocked the body at that speed.

"Without all this high-density muscle to absorb the kinetic energy, you'd likely be unable to walk," Tessen observed. "No one ever expected Watchers to take so much as a punch, but I'm glad you never stopped caring about your body."

"I can still run," Anya insisted. "I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary. Other than Duri with his gateways, I'm the Watcher most capable of avoiding Lamia without endangering other–"

"Anya!!" Fawzia's voice all but shrieked over the comm. "Lamia's heading directly toward you! Get out of there! Duri's still struggling after creating his last gateway!"

---

Tácito Nelson's mind locked up. Rumbling, tearing crashes could be heard, approaching fast, and there were a dozen people in the room. Niko might be able to get Anya to safety, but the others…

A command from Martins ordered everyone to scatter, and Tácito almost obeyed. But when Anya hesitated, he did too.

"Move, 28!" Doctor Parks roared. "You're worth more than all of us put together!"

But Anya was not the sort to give in to intimidation, and Tácito feared he was about to see a stubbornly brave Watcher die…

But the elderly Toshiko Yasuragi had just the right mix of grandmotherly authority to get through to the young woman. "Please, child… we all value Watchers above our own lives. Don't make us fail in our highest duty."

Anya's bravado faltered, and when the two doctors grabbed her arms, she didn't resist. Soon, the three were sprinting toward the far door. Most of the archivists scattered to either side, as everyone in the room received more specific movement orders from Baldwin's team.

But Toshiko, and the even older Logan Walsh, were clearly spent. In their seventies, they'd have retired years before if not for the encouragement and support of Klaus-21. On this day, they had pushed through stress and fear, coordinating the evac and rescue of soldiers near the sites of the merculite detonations… It had taken all they had. Even the far younger Tácito knew he wouldn't be able to run far, having pushed not just his mind, but his untrained body.

Toshiko-san drew her gauss pistol.

Tácito and Walsh did the same.

"Spread out," Tácito said, trying to keep his voice calm as the incoming sounds of tearing metal drew close. "With all these chairs and desks, it shouldn't be hard to track Lamia's movements…"

The main entrance tore apart, and the three archivists opened fire. An animal growl of annoyance was immediately drowned out by the crash of furniture being hurled into distant walls. Tácito fired two more shots, a shattered desk missed him by a meter…

And Lamia reached Toshiko.

In a horrific instant, a woman Tácito had worked with for twenty-six years vanished in a wild spray that his mind simply couldn't process.

And from the scattering of chairs, seventy-six-year-old Logan Walsh would be Lamia's next victim…

A chair fell through the solid floor, and with a gasp of surprise, Mr. Walsh dropped through as well.

The invisible killer halted, denied one victim, and the room fell quiet.

A surge of relief washed over Tácito. Duri had saved at least one of his oldest friends.

But then his terror returned. The enemy had stopped moving, not ten meters from him, and the nearest exit would take him far too long to reach. Pooling blood slowly became visible as it spread away from the unseen horror. More dripped from the ceiling, and ran down Tácito's face. What was Lamia doing? Why wasn't it going after Anya? This silence was somehow more chilling than the shocking violence of moments before…

Then, the invisible enemy crashed through the room on a new heading.

Almost as an afterthought, a hail of needle spines punched through Tácito's head at Mach 2.

---

Jabari Khalil knelt beside the crying Unwanted girl, doing his best to cheer her up. His daughter Isis still hadn't returned from the Institute, but at least she'd sent help. Old Susan Jax and the young nurse Quinn Fitzgerald shared the load of feeding the twelve Unwanted sheltering in the cave. Jabari still hated the fact that there were only twelve. The Watchers had helped fourteen to escape the Dying Zone, one of which had been carried to safety by the boy’s father, the Colonial Governor. But of the thirteen others, one hadn't lived long enough for Jabari's people to rescue him. Out in the woods, far enough from the nearest town for gunshots to be ignored by the authorities, the Unwanted boy had been killed by a hunter.

Susan led the crying girl down a side tunnel, while Nurse Fitzgerald coaxed an Unwanted child into taking another drink. The reports from the Institute seemed too good to be true, but if they got confirmation that Lamia was no longer a threat, they could move all of these Unwanted to–

"Well, well, well! Isn't this the most idiotic waste of time!"

Jabari froze. He didn't recognize the voice coming from the main entrance, and the tone conveyed threat.

"Very slowly, I'll need both of you to raise your hands and turn toward me. Stay cool. If you spook me… you die."

Obeying, Jabari found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. Wearing forest camo, the newcomer sneered as he took in the sight of the little refugee camp. He wore a rare and expensive multi-scanner over his left eye. "I thought there might be more out here. The two of you sure are putting a lot of effort into maintaining your collection of hoarded trash…"

The hunter gestured to the handgun at Jabari's hip. Slowly, carefully, Jabari removed his belt, dropping the holstered weapon to the floor.

"I've never seen a whole group taken by Lamia…" The man smiled, keeping his rifle at the ready. "This should be quite a show… Lamia! Lamia! I call to you! Take these Unwanted things away! They're for you to do with as you please! Lamia! Lamia! Claim what is yours!"

Heart speeding up, Jabari's mind raced. Even if the reports were true, and Lamia had been taken offworld, this hunter wouldn't just give up. He'd already murdered one Unwanted…

"There's no point," Nurse Fitzgerald said. "Because we have very good news. After years of study and preparation, our Institute has ended the Lamia threat. She's gone. There's no longer any danger in caring for the Unwanted, because she'll never–"

The rifle now pointed at Quinn's face, and she fell silent. "You can't seriously expect me to believe that. We're talking about an invisible, teleporting monster that can shatter buildings with a thought. There’s zero chance that your meek, gentle institute could get rid of her."

With the attention diverted from him, Jabari considered his options. Bending down to grab and unholster his own gun would take way too long with this invader on alert. But he still had Charlotte's advanced pistol in his pack…

Quinn stayed commendably calm and collected. "I assume that you've summoned Lamia before. Have you ever known her to delay? With so many Unwanted in this cave, shouldn't she have eagerly struck by now?"

The hunter seemed to ponder this, and he slowly looked about the room. Jabari subtly shifted his pack and tried to keep his breathing steady.

"She might be busy answering another summons… but let's assume you're somehow right," the hunter said. "If Lamia's gone, that just means we don't have a convenient method to dispose of the Unwanted without getting our hands dirty. Doesn't that make it our job to step up?" He turned his rifle toward the first Unwanted the Watchers had saved, the red-haired Karitas. Without missing a beat, the nurse sidestepped to stay between the hunter and his new target.

"Really?" The man shook his head. "You're not just sheltering and feeding the things, you'd actually die for them? You should know better than most just how useless they are."

"A person's value isn't determined solely by how much they can contribute."

"Person? Don't be stupid!" The exasperated hunter briefly let the barrel of his rifle drop toward the floor. "These things aren't legally alive, and–"

Jabari moved. He slid his pack off his shoulder even as his hand plunged in. The noise drew the hunter's attention, but Jabari was faster. Charlotte's futuristic gauss pistol was now trained on the hunter's face. "Drop the rifle!" Jabari shouted, his voice cracking from the strain.

The hunter didn't move. "What… is… that? You're threatening me with a toy?"

"This is a gauss pistol! It packs enough punch to take your head clean off," Jabari warned.

"This is a very weak bluff. I'm familiar with the only firearms manufactured on the planet, and that isn't one of 'em. I admire how smooth that move was… but I'm not falling for it." The rifle began to raise…

Jabari lowered his aim, targeted the hunter's left knee, and he pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"What was the point of that?" the hunter demanded. "I already knew you were bluffing."

Heart sinking, Jabari let his hands fall. Of course such an advanced weapon would have security measures. Maybe only someone with implants from the Watcher Organization could operate it…

The rifle again aimed at Quinn. "Now that we've gotten that little joke out of the way, let's wrap things up. Both of you: face down on the floor. If Lamia isn't interested in these Unwanted, I'll pick up the slack..."

The nurse growled. "We will not stand aside and let you murder them."

"It's not murder," the hunter said with a longsuffering sigh. "The one I dropped out in the forest a few days back didn't even count as vandalism, since it was clearly abandoned."

Rage welled up in Jabari, and he couldn't hide his disgust. "You're pointing a rifle at a nurse. We all know what kind of man you really are."

The rifle shifted from Quinn to Jabari. Gratified that this brought him relief instead of heightened fear, he stood a bit taller.

The hunter flashed Jabari a disturbing smile, and tapped the advanced device covering his left eye. "Scan complete. I have confirmation that all of your security cameras fell prey to the active jammer in my pack, which I switched on before I entered. So, if I clean out these caves completely… no one will ever know it was me…"

The gunshot made Jabari's heart skip a beat, but he was proud that he didn't visibly flinch.

The hunter hit the floor with a hole through his head.

Three of the Unwanted started wailing, and two others hid under their sheets. Jabari turned toward the side passage, and nodded to Susan Jax. The elderly woman held her smoking gun in grizzled hands, and her steely cold expression actually scared Jabari. He gulped. "That… was a very good shot."

"It had to be," she said, holstering her weapon. "I couldn't give him a chance to pull the trigger."

Jabari looked down at himself, thinking of how the rifle had been aimed low, for a slow and gruesome gut shot. "Thanks," he whispered, a bit dizzy.

Nurse Fitzgerald stepped over to perform a perfunctory check of the hunter's vitals.

Then the three crying Unwanted fell silent, all at once.

The abrupt change felt even more unsettling than the earlier screams. Jabari snatched up his handgun from his dropped belt and took aim at the entrance.

Quinn Fitzgerald pulled out a scalpel and a loaded syringe. "What has them spooked?"

Mrs. Jax swept the room with her revolver at the ready. "Are we certain Lamia's gone?"

Double-checking to ensure his own weapon was ready to fire, Jabari set his jaw. If anyone tries to hurt these Unwanted, they'll have to get through us first.

---

Duri-22's heart and head both throbbed as exertion and compounded grief continued to build. He had saved one archivist, only to fail two others. People he'd known since his Induction, who he'd worked with for countless hours when interviewed about his Watch footage… both dead in under ten seconds. One in a horrific burst of carnage, one in an act of needless, casual murder.

Why had Lamia stopped? Fawzia had feared Lamia might be growing more sensitive to the locations of the Watchers, but if that were true…

He shook his head, clenched his fists, and tried to clear his thoughts. He took a moment to center himself, looking around the quiet room where he currently hid. With small changing rooms and a sink, it served as backstage to the facility's largest auditorium, where all of HQ had gathered for Klaus-21's funeral. His heart ached for the thousandth time at the loss of his closest friend, and he forced his thoughts back to the task at hand. Projecting his mind to the most recent coordinates Fawzia-11 supplied, he looked upon the enemy.

Lamia was noticeably smaller than before, and he tried to stay analytical and emotionless. The enemy moved more slowly, and he hoped its powers might be diminishing too. Though Duri's head throbbed from overuse of his own abilities, he would not give up. If old Fawzia could keep going, sending continuous updates on Lamia's position, he would keep looking for people in danger.

The monster ripped through the floor and turned right. Duri sent his perspective on ahead of Lamia's new course, looking for anyone who might be in her path…

And he saw himself.

His perspective froze in place in the backstage room of the auditorium, looking down at his own body, and panic filled him. His Watch sharpened in response, but the fear disrupted his initial attempt to create a gateway. His projected awareness and his real body both heard the crashing and scattering of chairs as Lamia tore through the auditorium, heading straight for him. With a telekinetic pull, the monster tore out the entire wall, shrieking in triumph when it saw him.

Forcing his mind to visualize his quarters, Duri opened a gateway….

Then the gateway closed.

"Get out of there!" Martins roared over the comms.

With his mind in analytics mode, Duri managed not to panic. Clearing his thoughts, picturing his bedroom, a place of comfort and safety, he opened the gateway again.

And again, it closed.

The booming, guttural laugh told Duri all he needed to know. For the sake of his colleagues, he reported, "Lamia's closing my gateways. Keep up the fight."

Then the huge, amorphous thing engulfed Duri, held him close… and went to work.

---

Another Watcher… I've failed another Watcher…

Unless… unless Lamia's so weak I can kill it before Duri's wounds become lethal…

Heart pounding, acting Security Chief Benicio Martins--who still saw himself as a mere Captain--pounded toward the main auditorium. Niko's voice came over his comm, clearly on the verge of a panic attack, weeping over his failure, hating himself for not trying to project Duri to safety. Benicio knew that was unfair. Everyone had expected Duri to escape on his own.

But he'd never be able to convince Niko of that…

Reaching the auditorium, the Captain heard Duri's screams. The monster had already begun the torture, desperate to get back to Elpis. Crossing the room in a serpentine pattern, Benicio fixed his eyes on 22. The writhing, shrieking Watcher looked distorted, and wounds appeared all over his body with no visible source.

Taking aim half a meter to Duri's right, Benicio opened fire.

Grunts of bestial annoyance were followed by a volley of needle teeth, but Benicio was already in full evasion mode. Zigzagging, leaping off chairs, diving and rolling, he avoided the salvo. He sent another storm of shots at his invisible enemy, aimed to miss Duri by half a meter.

This time, the shots struck the wall with no sign of injuring Lamia.

"It's reshaped and compressed its form!" Fawzia warned. "It's far smaller, and it's keeping Duri directly between you and it!"

Fine. Let's try something with less penetration power…

Changing direction with a kick that nearly broke the chair that served as his anchor, Benicio dodged another volley of teeth and hurled three concussion grenades. Two of them smashed into a distant wall from a telekinetic push, but the third detonated two meters behind Duri. The monster roared in frustration, and an invisible force seized him, holding him in place.

That should have been the end of him, but another force came from the right. It tore Benicio from Lamia's grip just before a heavy volley of needle teeth would have ripped into him. Very good timing, Peng.

With a quick mental command, he triggered multiple hatches to open in the high ceiling, and ladders extended downward. He had no intention of retreating from this room, but they'd give him more options for redirecting his movements midair.

Then Duri's screams clenched off, and he managed to subvocalize words that Lamia couldn't hear, but that his implants shared with the Captain. "I can't hold out! The fear… it's stronger than the pain! No matter how much it hurts, I know how much worse it can get!" A grinding crack, a scream so horrible it barely sounded human, and Benicio's sense of failure intensified. Duri managed to resume his silent words. "I think… right now… I might be powerful enough to take Lamia back to Elpis… And I'm not brave like Charlotte… or Niko…"

"Project your mind to Niko!" Benicio commanded, seizing on the only remaining chance to save this Watcher. "He'll abduct you!"

After another series of agonized howls, Duri said, "I can't!! Lamia's anchored to me, and feels my intent!" Another hideous wail, accompanied by the sound of splitting bone. "It won't let me do anything except take it to Elpis!"

Benicio's heart rate slowed. The cold killing machine was about to take over. He knew where this was going.

He twisted, dived, and lunged, keeping chairs between him and Lamia, never giving it more than a quarter second to attempt a telekinetic hold. And while his body maintained this unpredictable evasive strategy, he psyched himself up for what he suspected he'd have to do.

Duri's latest burst of screaming sobs choked off, and the twenty-second Watcher confirmed the Captain's fears. "I'm going to break… I can't take it… Please… Chief… don't let me. We can't undo everything the others died for… Please… do what you have to do!"

The screams resumed.

All his life, Benicio had known that Watchers must be protected. And with the recent breakthroughs in physical projection, Watchers would soon be able to connect all human worlds.

They were precious…

But so were the people of Elpis.

Benicio would not let all their efforts and sacrifices be undone. Duri had made the hard choice… and the right call. The Captain had sworn to protect the Watchers…

But he would put the Watchers' ideals first.

Klaus-21 had given the Organization greater purpose, and Charlotte had unlocked a bright future. Ever since 21's abduction, the Watchers had risked themselves repeatedly to save lives on Elpis, and unless Lamia was sent back, the Unwanted need never fear it again.

That was even more precious than the life of one Watcher… especially one who approved of such a trade.

Reloading his rifle with his last magazine of armor-piercing rounds, Benicio sprang from cover, took aim at the forehead of Klaus-21's dearest friend… and hesitated.

Despite everything, he still hesitated.

He flung himself to the side, correctly anticipating a volley of supersonic teeth, and he made himself take aim yet again.

Aloud, Duri screamed, "Take the shot!"

Closing off his heart, Benicio pulled the trigger.

Chapter 28: Starving

Fawzia-11 pushed through the compounding grief. As she Watched, Lamia howled in frustration and loss, ejecting Duri's corpse, returning to full size, and lunging toward the man who had robbed it. The new Security Chief made no attempt to retreat, instead leaping away perpendicular to the shredding chairs while continuing to fire. Fawzia knew he was done running. Having just broken his highest oath to protect all Watchers, and with his Security Chief dead, he clearly intended to make a final stand.

Either the Chief would push this otherworldly nightmare past its limits… or he'd die trying.

As Martins repeated his earlier order for all personnel to move away from Lamia's current position, Fawzia opened a channel to the other Watchers. Just a week ago, there would have been six other Watchers on that list. Now, there were only Peng, Anya, and Niko. "We've lost another member of our team, and our champion has committed to a final attack. Let's end this. You are authorized to assist the Captain. Just don't let Lamia take you alive."

With that, Fawzia ended her Trance. She'd thought through the theories presented by Doctor Khalil's team, particularly the idea that Lamia's presence prevented Elsa Yarr from projecting her mind like other Watchers. With the Lamia entity growing weaker by the second, there might be a way for Fawzia to contribute directly.

"Soldier, I'm going to hide on my own." The young man stopped, confused, and Fawzia got off the gurney. "Take this to the doctors assembled on level 99. You can help them move wounded."

"I shouldn't leave you."

"I know what I'm doing."

She turned to leave, using the motion to hide the moment when she pulled out an injector pen. As expected, the soldier grabbed her shoulder. He was loyal, and brave, and unwilling to leave her side. But she needed the freedom to take a major personal risk, and equipment malfunction had forced him to remove his helmet early in the crisis. Whirling, she injected the Corporal's neck with a very heavy dose of the sedative she used to stay comfortable. His expression of confusion deepened into betrayal, which hurt to see, but at least he'd be safe. "Thank you for protecting me this whole time," Fawzia said as the soldier slumped to his knees. "Now sleep soundly, knowing you did all you could for me."

Hitting herself with a stimulant to counter her own sedatives, Fawzia pushed her aching body into a slow jog, heading toward the closest elevator.

---

Fighting to maintain his Trance despite a building migraine, Peng-24 hit Martins with another telekinetic push, breaking Lamia's weak hold. Anyone else would surely have gotten wrecked from being hurled across the room, but not him. Riding the hit flawlessly, Benicio spun, pushed off two chairs, and fired off shots with astounding accuracy. Even with Lamia's movements obvious from the scattering of chairs in the crowded auditorium, it was still awe-inspiring to see what the Captain could do while tumbling through the air. He might technically be a General and Security Chief now, but Peng didn't care about formalities. This front-line Captain was a sight to behold. Another spray of needle teeth sought Martins, and three made contact. Gashes appeared on the dappled white armor as two of the teeth glanced off, but one punched through his right arm.

The Captain showed zero sign of having taken a hit. His extreme mobility and vicious aggression didn't let up in the slightest.

Even while fighting to assist the Martins, Peng reeled from adrenaline, pain, rage… and disbelief at the loss of Duri. The steady, friendly scientist had been so easy to work with, and his gateways had saved many lives in the last hour. As long as Duri lived, Peng had figured he had two safety nets. If Peng faced direct danger, either Niko or Duri might be able to step in and save him. But now, Duri was gone. After sixty-five years without a single Watcher suffering violence, their team on Earth had been cut from seven to four in a single week. Those who had once been considered untouchable were in deadly peril. With the genius Hasina gone, and with Lamia clearly improving in its ability to locate Watchers, they were on the brink of total disaster. Their last best chance was the whirling storm of destruction, humanity's deadliest warrior.

Without the Captain, Peng's odds of survival would plummet… along with Anya's.

On a deeper level, that he didn't really acknowledge to himself, he also wanted "Benny" to survive… for Niko's sake.

Shots punched into Lamia, which pursued the Captain with desperate fury. But the beast had slowed and weakened since its arrival on earth, and Benicio was unlike anyone else it had faced. In constant motion, leaping, sprinting, diving, and rebounding off chairs, ladders, or walls, he stayed one step ahead.

Dozens of needle spines rose to the surface of Lamia's translucent flesh, slower than during any of its previous attacks, and Peng concentrated fiercely. When the teeth shot forth at mach 2, they shattered against an invisible wall of force. Peng's Trance nearly broke from the strain, but he surged with elation at this new breakthrough.

Lamia lurched to a stop, and for just a moment, Peng hoped it had given up, faced by humanity's deadliest soldier and a Watcher that could match its telekinetic power.

Then every ladder hanging from the ceiling bent, and twisted.

Dozens of wide rungs tore free, converging on the Captain from every direction faster than Peng could clearly see.

Diving and twisting, Benicio Martins avoided all but two.

Punching through armor with ease, one twisted length of metal tore off Benicio's left arm at the elbow.

The other ruptured his right lung.

Peng's thoughts froze. His elation and pride evaporated.

Silent, showing no sign of pain or even distress, the Captain adjusted his grip on his rifle as he ran and just kept shooting.

Then help arrived.

Two figures manifested at the far end of the room. Niko screamed for Benny to keep moving. The battered kid could barely stand, but he hugged Anya close. 28 opened fire with a pair of pistols, while Martins kept firing his rifle one-handed. Lamia broke off its pursuit of the Captain to charge toward the two Watchers. Mind throbbing from overexertion, Peng's attempt to hurl Lamia off course failed, but Niko was ready. As the hideous thing lunged, Niko and Anya projected to the opposite end of the room.

Shots from both Anya and the Captain tore into the weakening monstrosity, and chunks of flesh blasted free. However exactly Lamia enhanced its tissues' durability, that power must be nearing a breaking point. The beast lunged, and yet again Niko projected himself and Anya away. Now on the stage at the front of the vast room, Anya reloaded and resumed firing.

Then Niko collapsed.

The kid hit the stage, shaking, having pushed too hard for too long. Martins immediately changed course, charging directly toward Lamia, shouting a challenge and pouring fire into it.

It completely ignored him.

Anya stepped forward, standing her ground between the fallen boy and the oncoming horror. In that moment, Peng knew she would forever be out of his league. Knowing exactly what Lamia would do to any Watcher it captured, 28 still made herself the easier target. Needle teeth punched into Anya's shins, and she dropped to her knees, but she kept shooting. The enemy coiled, compressed, and hurled itself toward Anya.

It never reached her.

Shame, hatred, and vengeance erupted from Peng as a single, brutal mental scream. The shockwave visibly rippled the air as it blasted across the wide chamber in a tight cone of rending force. Chairs wrenched free, ladders bent, and Lamia smashed through the far wall. Captain Martins ground to a stop, clearly stunned, and Anya stared in disbelief.

That felt good…

A wave of dizziness washed over him, and his Trance began to falter. His vision of the room blurred, and his migraine sharpened. He vaguely sensed his real body starting to shake, and he feared his Watch might end…

Then a dark force seized his mind.

Dragging itself back into the room, Lamia poured its will into Peng, who no longer had any strength to resist. His worst fear ever since they'd learned how Klaus died… it crushed in on Peng in that moment. His mind was gripped in a mental vice, and Lamia pulled.

He fell.

---

No. No more Watchers will die today. Not with me here.

Even as his right lung filled with blood, Captain Martins maintained total self-control as he dashed forward. Having appeared high in the air, Peng landed hard, smashing his face into a chair and pitching to the side.

Benicio reached him. Dropping the rifle he could no longer reload, Benicio yanked Peng back to his feet and shoved him toward the nearest exit. His implants relayed his subvocalized order to the wounded Watcher, who mercifully obeyed. Peng ran for all he was worth, and the Captain turned…

And he saw Lamia.

Fully visible, covered in ragged wounds that weren't properly closing, the vile thing dragged itself toward Anya and Niko, slow enough that Anya could have outrun it if not for the trauma to her legs. The Captain hurled one of his two remaining grenades, and Lamia tore through the floor rather than attempting to knock it away with telekinesis. The grenade detonated, and Niko's head jerked toward the sound. Good… he's still awake.

"Get Anya to safety," Benicio subvocalized, knowing there was no other way to convince Niko to leave him. "She can't even stand. She needs you."

The boy hesitated, but then Lamia heaved itself back up through the hole in the floor. Anya fired three more shots, but that was the last of her ammo. Niko reached out with his left hand, getting a grip on Anya's ankle. Benicio knew the kid would return if he could… but he wouldn't allow it. Drawing his tranquilizer pistol, he waited for the moment when Niko's face grimaced with heightened pain, the sign that he'd upped the intensity of his CPN-Ω simulation.

The dart hit Niko's neck an instant before he and Anya vanished. Benicio remotely overrode and disabled the boy's torturous simulation.

A single, pained word came over the Captain's comm. "Benny…"

"Thanks for being such an inspiration, 29," Benicio said. "I'll take it from here."

Half a second later, his HUD reported that Niko had lost consciousness, and the boy's implants administered the antidote to prevent the tranquilizer from killing him.

Groaning in frustration and pain, Lamia turned yet again, moving to pursue Peng.

Benicio sprang into the monster's path, pulled out his taser baton, and upped it to the maximum setting.

The vile, rippling, flowing mass of flesh and gore and bladed bone paused, hesitating. Knowing that every second brought the extradimensional horror closer to starvation, the Captain stood his ground, patient, while his suit and implants frantically administered inadequate medical aid.

It spoke.

"Who… who are you?"

"I am the will of humanity. You won't kill anyone else."

A pause, as wounds laboriously closed all over the bloated, pulsing form. "Klaus… considered himself… a symbol of humanity… I killed him with ease."

"He was the Heart of the Watchers. His vision inspired us all. But I… I am their sword. You will not harm any more of my colleagues."

"I… am alone… I just want to go home…"

"Even if you could… you're unworthy. You've ended eleven million lives, and ruined the lives of millions more."

"Meaningless. Other than Watchers… humans are nothing."

"Wrong. Humans matter more than you could ever comprehend… and their avenger stands before you. I may fall here… but that will be your last kill. My Chief's maneuvers brought you to the brink… and I'm mankind's most capable destroyer. If you leave this room at all, you'll be too weak to kill anyone else."

It stirred. Needle teeth rose to the surface, but none yet pointed toward the Captain. His suit had stopped the external bleeding, and it flooded his system with medications, stimulants, and fluids to maintain blood circulation. He and his foe were both dying. But unlike Lamia, he had felt this anguish and weakness countless times before.

It slowly constricted, gathering itself for the fight of its life. "I need… only to finish you… then I'll overtake that fleeing Watcher."

"You can't catch him. I will not allow it."

It slid forward, slowly. At first, Benicio didn't respond. His damaged body prepared to spring, but he made no outward sign. His armor was covered in countless shallow gashes from glancing gauss rounds and needle teeth, the steel rung lodged in his right lung forced his suit to shut down that lung entirely, and his left arm ended at the elbow. Nevertheless, he knew Lamia wouldn't hurt any more of his colleagues. It was so damaged, and so hungry… and he was Benicio Martins.

Teeth swiveled forward and launched with terrible force, while Lamia heaved its mangled body forward. The Captain had already moved.

Two of the teeth pierced his left leg, but he flipped past the monster with a meter to spare. His right arm stabbed out, striking with the taser, which packed enough punch to fry a human heart.

That's for Klaus-21.

The vile thing thrashed and twisted, trying to turn and pursue, but with awkward uncertainty. Martins rebounded off a chair, hurling himself backward and over his foe, slashing out to land another hit.

And that's for the Eighth Maximus Angelos.

Eleven more teeth launched, most of them skimming past the leaping, diving Captain, but two burst inside his suit, tearing tiny shrapnel pathways through his liver. He planted his feet, performed a backflip Anya would have applauded, and landed another hit.

For Charlotte-17.

A wave of teeth dislodged and clattered to the floor as the writhing mass bucked and twisted, howling from the repeated shocks. Benicio managed to kick off the disgusting thing before it could react, and a jagged mouth snapped shut a centimeter from his foot. It coiled and launched itself after him, but he threw his taser with flawless accuracy, grabbed a bent ladder, and avoided the thrashing thing in midair.

For Wilma Taibei.

He wrenched the length of metal from his chest, landed in a controlled roll, reversed direction, and ran straight at Lamia. He hurled the steel bar, and his shaken, weakening enemy overreacted. Mistaking the rung for a taser, Lamia dashed aside, allowing the Captain to retrieve his real weapon. A salvo of needle teeth punched into his back, and his suit warned of numerous lethal hits, but he'd fought through worse in a hundred simulations. He jumped, hooking the stump of his left arm through a hanging ladder, shot past Lamia to the right, and dragged his taser down its full length, tearing a long shriek of pain from the beast.

For Eléa Blanchet.

An invisible grip seized the Captain, but with nothing like the strength this thing had earlier displayed. It slowed his movements enough for a launched fang to tear open his trachea, but not enough for the panicking thing to physically catch him. He held his taser baton under what remained of his left arm, pulled out his last magazine of incendiary gauss rounds, and linked them to his implants. Sprinting, flipping off a buckled plate of flooring, he flung the magazine at Lamia and remotely activated the ammunition. Liquid fire sprayed from the magazine in pressurized streams, coating the disgusting thing, which howled and shed a broad patch of blackened flesh.

For the Chief!

Stretching itself into a far longer and narrower shape, Lamia whipped and thrashed, its many mouths gaping, internal fangs churning. The dying Captain lost his right foot to an extending length of bladed bone, but he plunged his taser into a bloody mouth, wrenched it free, and sprang away.

For Toshiko Yasuragi.

A salvo of teeth gouged deep trenches in his helmet, tearing off an ear and causing his HUD to fail. Setting his taser's micro fusion reactor to overload, he hurled it toward the sound of his howling, wailing enemy and pulled off his helmet. With his own eyes, he saw the energy discharge as the weapon burned itself out, charring Lamia's flesh along multiple jagged lines.

For Tácito Nelson.

Body failing, suit starting to shut down, Benicio nevertheless caught sight of the fallen tranquilizer pistol he'd used to stop Niko from returning. He dived for it, taking six more needle teeth to the torso, but snatching up the weapon in a quivering hand. Setting the darts to burst on contact rather than inject the target, he turned, firing off shots as quickly as he could. Blue chemical sprayed across Lamia, absorbed into its low-density form, and its movements slowed still further.

For… Duri-22…

Blood loss brought darkness to the edges of his vision, organ trauma sickened him to his core, every muscle convulsed so badly they threatened to tear themselves apart… and still he wasn't done. With his override authority as acting Security Chief, he had his suit administer a lethal dose of stimulants to buy just a few more seconds.

Captain Benicio Martins, Sword of the Watchers, looked upon the mutilated, shrunken, starving thing, thinking of all the millions it had killed. He couldn't evade any longer, but that didn't matter. In all of HQ, only he was authorized to carry a single, merculite grenade, which could easily breach bulkheads within the facility. He turned slightly to the side, disguising his right hand as he armed the device.

And this… is for me.

Howling in triumph, disgorging blackened tissues, and tearing its largest mouth still wider, the shrieking thing engulfed the Captain in churning fangs and sawing bone.

The merculite charge detonated.

---

Julio Karlsson, Governor of the Elpis Colony, stared down his opponent with an expression of purest rage. Four police officers flanked him, and two more stood watch protectively near his exhausted son. Young Gabriel still shivered, despite having been helped into a dry change of clothes. For his part, Governor Karlsson hadn't bothered to change, and his suit dripped dirty water onto the floor of the Capitol building.

"Senator Fitzgerald: I formally accuse you of attempted assassination." Gasps of outrage and confusion rippled through the gathered members of parliament, but Mrs. Fitzgerald kept her expression schooled and unreadable. "Against my express wishes, you summoned Lamia to take away my son!" He gestured to Gabriel, who had retreated within himself. "You knew that I would defend him, despite the very high chance that Lamia would kill me too. By calling to Lamia, you intended–"

"Your 'son' isn't a real person," Fitzgerald interrupted, her tone condescending. "If a photograph were dumped into a trash compactor, would you risk your life to pull it out? I may have committed a social faux pas, but it was you who–"

"Silence!" Julio roared, causing several of the gathered observers to cry out in alarm. "You know full well that I've tried for years to repeal that law! Thousands have used it as an excuse to murder those with disabilities or mental illness, and it has eroded our society! Unlike you, I love my son, I would die for him… and you counted on it!"

Two of the police moved toward Senator Fitzgerald, but she shouted, "Parliament deserves to vote on this! I'm on the ballot for the next election, and early polls suggest I may win the Governorship! My constituents deserve to have Parliament vote on whether my actions are worthy of arrest!"

Fierce argument broke out among the forty Senators, filling the room with a chaotic clamor, and rage seethed within the Governor. He still had no theories as to why the invisible Lamia had abandoned her efforts to drown Gabriel, nor why she had allowed Julio to administer CPR and carry his son to safety. By rights, they should both be dead, and this loathsome woman would have been responsible. Thinking back, much of what Lamia had said didn't even seem meant for his ears. He wouldn't be surprised to learn Lamia was fully insane…

He forced his mind back to the situation at hand, trying to remember the details of all emergency provisions of the Colony Charter. Could he deny this request for a vote? Could he force the arrest despite–

"Dad?"

Governor Karlsson's thoughts stopped dead. That voice…

"Dad… what's going on? Why's everyone yelling?"

Julio turned, along with his security detail. Young Gabriel now stood, his eyes clear, taking in his surroundings. "Dad… I… I think I'm finally alright…"

Slowly, the shouting and accusations gave way to stunned silence. All eyes fixed on the Unwanted teenager… who suddenly seemed as alert and present as everyone else.

Julio raced toward his son, and he was surprised when Senator Fitzgerald did the same. He waved away the suspicious police, knowing the despicable woman didn't have it in her to try something directly. While the Governor hugged Gabriel with fierce protectiveness, and the boy laughed with the purest relief, Fitzgerald examined them both from just out of reach. "How… how is this possible?"

Gabriel ignored her. "Dad… did you save me? I think I was drowning… and you were with me…"

"I would never abandon you."

Senator Fitzgerald started to quiver, and she took a step back, growing pale. She activated her personal comm, and said, "Quinn? Do you read?"

Though his thoughts focused on the miracle of his restored son, Julio still recognized the name. That's the Senator's daughter… She works for the Khalil Institute. I thought Fitzgerald disowned her…

Though no one but Senator Fitzgerald could hear Quinn's response, the look of growing disbelief on the woman's face was plain to see. "How… you mean… all of them?"

An upsurge of hope made the Governor dizzy, and he hugged his son so tight it probably hurt, but Gabriel didn't complain. When Senator Fitzgerald ended the call, Julio made himself speak. "What did you learn? What happened at the Khalil Institute?"

Gabriel pulled away, and Julio allowed it. Father and son stood side-by-side, facing the Senator who had tried to get them both killed. The woman looked utterly crestfallen, almost ill. "The Unwanted… they… they're all behaving… normally… They can speak, and reason, and understand… Quinn has seen it with her own eyes at a small refugee camp… and the Institute has informed her that the same holds true with the thousands of Unwanted they shelter…"

The Governor took a step toward her. "Do you mean… the people for whose rights I have fought ever since my election… have been cured?"

The Senator completely broke down. Dropping to her knees, she wept uncontrollably. The room fell silent, watching her outpouring of unrestrained emotion. "My… my son… seven younger versions… and nine younger versions of my daughter… I… I handed them all over to Lamia… I thought… I knew it was a mercy…" Her grief intensified, and her sobs grew so harsh she was almost screaming.

Governor Karlsson didn't know how to feel. While indescribable elation flowed through him at the news of the Unwanted miracle, he couldn't decide what to make of this woman. Should he pity her? Hate her? Was she disgusting, pathetic, or tragic? Years of struggle, fighting for the Unwanted without success, culminating in the recent murder attempt, had him totally unable to settle on a single conclusion.

But there was one person who acted out of pure compassion.

Young Gabriel, whose mind had been out of sync for eighteen years, rushed toward the Senator and dropped to his knees at her side. While the woman wailed and screamed, torn by confusion, guilt, and terrible loss, the boy held her close, not uttering a word.

---

Agony, profound weariness, morbid hunger, and sickening dread beat upon the ancient one humans called Lamia. It slid down the flickering corridor, no faster than most humans could walk. With a terrible, wide gash that it couldn't spare the energy to heal, it had to carefully orient its body just to prevent a heap of broken teeth from spilling onto the floor. It barely had enough energy to keep its body from tearing apart as it moved. Soon, it would be forced to reconstitute Elsa Yarr, and it would need every bone cell it had left. 

Too late… I learned the truth too late…

To think… it had dominated Elsa for twenty-four years without ever really knowing what made her so special. It drew on her powers, enhanced them, exploited them, all while lacking the most basic grasp of their core function. Ever since being dragged to this terrible place, it had sensed Watchers, and gradually it grew more capable of detecting their approximate location. But if it had only known… if it had guessed sooner… The flying phantoms… that was only their minds… They can send their minds beyond their bodies. With that knowledge, it could have connected the dots far faster, and it would have gained the ability to calculate their exact locations long ago. Now… it might be too late.

It reached a barred door, and it heard many voices on the other side. It sensed the athletic female Watcher… and the blind boy Watcher… but in its current state…

No! I cannot hesitate! This might be my last chance…

The voices in the room fell silent, hopefully frozen in terror, and Lamia extruded its most intact serrated bones and tore the door open.

Hundreds of humans in lab coats poured fire into the breach.

Screaming, reeling, Lamia recoiled from the overwhelming firepower and took cover off to the left. It had caught a glimpse of the two Watchers lying prone at the far side of the sprawling lab. Earlier, it would have blocked every shot with a telekinetic shield, launched itself across the room, and massacred every human in a veritable tornado of blood and bone. But now… with its powers all but spent, with its shrunken form torn and oozing… it knew it wouldn't survive long enough to reach the Watchers.

Perhaps… I shouldn't try to escape… If there's no hope of survival, I should charge into that room, launch every bone I have left, and avenge myself upon as many humans as possible…

But no… it sensed one more chance. Inexplicably, another Watcher was drawing close. Moving to the left, Lamia sensed the change in position and calculated their course. The oldest Watcher… is heading straight toward me… Why?

It didn't matter. It had no choice but to take this chance. It began to drag itself toward the approaching Watcher… but then the flesh of its underside tore open. It no longer had the strength to enhance this entire body's durability. It had no choice but to rebuild Elsa…

At least, to the extent possible. It had lost so much flesh and bone, it would have to cut corners.

Many corners.

It had kept Elsa's brain cells clustered deep inside itself, so Elsa's mind would be mostly rebuilt, but a great deal of her body would have to be omitted. The body of a maimed and emaciated little girl would possess far less potential for torture and killing… but perhaps the oldest Watcher would be easy to break…

Taking its final gamble, Lamia began to compress and restructure its form for the last time.

---

"This is Fawzia-11. With both Rakoto and Martins dead, I'm assuming emergency authority over HQ. The enemy is all but powerless. I have a plan for putting an end to the threat." And possibly sparing the life of Lamia's greatest victim… "You are ordered not to intervene. If my plan fails, I will not let it take me alive. In that event, all soldiers are authorized to move in for the kill."

Security footage played on Fawzia's neural implants. Lamia was shrinking, compressing, and assuming a vaguely human form. This was the endgame. Peng appeared to be en route too, against her orders, but she'd arrive first.

If Lamia has grown so weak that it has difficulty controlling Elsa, I might just be able to finish this with a single trick. The simple technique used to train newly-inducted Watchers. If this ends as I hope, there might be some poetry in that…

---

Elsa Yarr stood shivering in an unfamiliar hallway. Elpis didn't have any facilities this advanced, though she had numerous impressions and disjointed images that suggested she'd been here for some time. Lamia's hunger was desperate and raw, but It also felt pitifully weak. Testing to see how much freedom she might have, Elsa took a step…

And everything hurt.

Blinking, she discovered she had only one eye, and no hair or even teeth. She looked down at her emaciated body, every rib standing out gruesomely, and there didn't seem to be enough of them. Her pale skin was thin to the point of translucence, and in some patches she had no skin at all. Her left arm simply didn't exist, her right hand had no pinky finger, and what fingers she did have lacked nails. Breathing with difficulty, she realized she had only one lung. Her stomach caved in hideously, and she guessed her organs were shrunken. She wouldn't be surprised if she had only one kidney.

Part of her wanted to weep. Her small body was barely functional, with so much missing.

But the greater part of her… rejoiced. The Watchers had been too much for Lamia. Perhaps It had killed some of them… but It was on the brink. Maybe they would starve to death soon, or perhaps the next time Elsa was shot, Lamia would be unable to heal her. Only by pouring Its entire will into Elsa could It force her to walk forward. She felt an unusual awareness that seemed quite new. Somehow, she was certain a Watcher approached from around the next corner. Every step hurt, and she noticed that her essentially skeletal feet were each missing two toes.

An old woman stepped into view. Her age-spotted brown skin and gray hair underscored the pain and weariness she couldn't hide. But when the woman looked upon Elsa, tears welled up.

"Poor child… we did what we had to do… but this has cost you so much."

Lamia seized control of Elsa's voice. "Send… me back… I swear to you, I will never again take more Unwanted than I need to survive."

"Foolish thing. No conscious Watcher has the strength to send you back. You've killed or exhausted the few that could have saved you."

While Elsa nearly wept with relief at this confirmation that the suffering would soon end, Lamia forced her voice to remain cold and hateful. "If… If I have no hope… all that's left… is vengeance."

But the old woman showed no fear. "You pathetic, disgusting murderer… After our champion's last stand, you don't have the strength for vengeance. Perhaps you could hurt me… but I doubt it."

It forced Elsa to advance menacingly. Her right hand clenched into a fist, and pulled back, but Elsa sensed just how little strength remained. Her arm, scrawny to a sickening extreme, was empowered barely more than the natural strength her body possessed back on Elpis. She felt her bony fist hardening, but not by much. She doubted a punch would do more than bruise this woman and knock her down.

"You've killed millions on Elpis," the Watcher said. "And you've killed eight members of our Organization, including two Watchers. You even forced our champion to kill a Watcher, breaking his highest oath for the sake of a cause even greater. But this… is your end. You unleashed merciless slaughter to prolong your life… and now it's over."

Lamia struck out with her fist, but Elsa resisted with all she had. Incredibly, it was enough to allow the old woman to catch her wrist in both hands and hold it fast. Lamia tried to strike out telekinetically, but it did no more than make Elsa's head throb.

The weary old woman released Elsa and stepped back. Lamia hesitated, not certain what, if anything, could be done.

"Welcome to Earth, Elsa Yarr," the Watcher said, stunning the girl speechless. She hadn't been called by her own name in twenty-four years.

"You… know me?" Elsa asked, before Lamia could half-heartedly clamp down on her voice.

The woman smiled. "Yes. And I know that you're not only Unwanted… you're a Watcher… like me."

In a rush, so much made sense. Despite the weariness and discomfort of her pitiful, incomplete body, she managed to smile.

Lamia tried to twist that smile into a sneer.

It failed.

"My name is Fawzia-11. If you join us, you'll be Elsa-30. Let's play a little game."

With a surge of rage, Lamia managed to make Elsa lunge forward, reaching toward Fawzia's throat… but Elsa stopped just short of making contact.

Taking a cautious step back, Fawzia nevertheless stayed calm. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Elsa blinked. True, she had only one eye, but she couldn't possibly get this wrong. "Four."

Fawzia nodded, then she held her hand behind her back. "How many am I holding up now?"

A surge of sudden fear pressed upon Elsa from her tormentor, but she beat It back. It was no longer her master. She squinted, wondering if she should guess…

Then, so suddenly it felt like an impossible trick… she saw Fawzia… from behind. Her mind looked upon Fawzia's back, and beyond, Elsa saw herself.

And in that instant, Lamia screamed.

The wail of anguish and abandonment filled Elsa's entire world, along with an agonizing sensation of being torn apart. She expected to see her ruined body rip to shreds, but no… this pain was Lamia's. Whatever Elsa had just done, however she was looking upon herself from a distance, it was the last blow to her ancient tormenter.

Ripped away from Elsa's body, the starved, beaten, hopeless murderer warped, and split… and faded away.

Elsa's mind snapped back into her body, and for the first time in decades… there was no one else there with her.

"It's… gone…"

Dropping painfully to her knees, exhausted in every sense of the word, Elsa felt the release of tears flowing down her cheek. She toppled over, but the old woman caught her before she hit the cold floor. "Lamia…" Elsa whispered, "Lamia… is dead…"

---

Weary, ill, head pounding, and with blood flowing from his broken nose, Peng-24 staggered round the corner. He could barely see, barely think… but this was his chance.

Fawzia knelt, eyes closed, clearly exhausted, clutching the emaciated girl close, not even aware of Peng.

Limping, but determined to finish this, Peng drew closer. His quivering hand held his gauss pistol, and his mind filled with images of Klaus. His killer was right there, helpless, pitiful, beaten. The ruined thing couldn't be more than fifteen kilos in her current condition.

Drawing close, Peng raised his pistol, stepping to the side so his shot wouldn't hit Fawzia. He'd pictured this so many times, and the moment had arrived. She tore Klaus apart. She tortured Charlotte, and Duri. She killed millions… He took aim at the little murderer's forehead…

Fawzia didn't open her eyes, but she whispered, "The monster is dead."

Peng hesitated. So Fawzia was Watching him.

But he also saw the girl was breathing, in a lopsided way that suggested only one lung.

"The girl lives, but Lamia is no more. Elsa passed the test, projecting her mind for the first time. Lamia wasn't strong enough to prevent it… and the projection killed it."

Peng's hand shook harder. His aim wavered.

"I know you wanted to avenge Klaus directly. You hoped to be the one to fire the shot. But you did enough. You helped save many Unwanted. You fought well in a great battle. And then… you pitted your strength against Lamia's many times. You were a vital part of the team that avenged Klaus."

For the first time since his childhood, Peng felt tears flowing.

He holstered his pistol, took off his jacket, and helped Fawzia wrap it around the tiny, shivering, sleeping little girl.

Activating his comm, Peng spoke to the entire facility. "All available doctors to my current location. Lamia… is dead… and… a Watcher… needs immediate medical attention."

Chapter 29: Connecting

Youssef Khalil XIII nodded to the other men seated around the table. They were his genetic duplicates, sharing even fingerprints and many memories. Together, they led the Institute that would support Governor Karlsson in the monumental effort to heal the Elpis Colony. "As of this morning, we are officially recognized as the Elpis Branch of the Watcher Organization, which will soon span every colony world. Whenever a Watcher is present on our planet, we will prioritize their safety and efforts above all else. In turn, they'll allow instant communication with all other colonies. Further, they'll support our efforts to reduce crime, aid the former Unwanted, and bring Elpis into the modern age."

Youssef VI loaded data to the main holo. With the fusion-powered quantum computers Peng-24 had delivered, the Institute and the Colonial Government were leaping forward in their capabilities. "The initial census is in, and they give me great hope for our colony's future. More than six hundred thousand Unwanted were preserved and protected by private citizens and small organizations."

The other Youssefs smiled in unrestrained delight. No one had expected even a tenth so many survivors among the former Unwanted. While the majority of Elpis citizens had been twisted by the decades of Lamia's reign, many others had retained their humanity.

"It appears that the majority who chose to protect their Unwanted were careful to keep them hidden. Further, there may be many who haven't accepted Lamia's death and are remaining secretive. The actual number of survivors may be much higher than this initial tally."

Youssef V added a new dataset to the holofield. "From interviews and police reports, it appears that every Unwanted on Elpis recovered from their cognitive, temporal, and entropic displacement shortly after the Dying Zone returned to normal. Analysis of camera footage suggests this restorative phenomenon started at the Dying Zone and propagated outward at a rate that accelerated exponentially. Elsa Yarr, the first to become Unwanted, was also the last to be restored, recovering only when the Lamia entity perished. The mission to remove Lamia from Elpis was only intended to stop the killings. We never theorized the altered state of the Dying Zone required its presence on our world, nor that the Unwanted could be restored. If Lamia and Elsa had successfully returned to the site where they were first bound together, these terrible phenomena likely would have resumed. But our allies on Earth denied Lamia the chance, without even realizing just how much was at stake."

Youssef I, youngest of them all at the physical equivalent of forty-three, sounded somber. "My deepest regret in all of this is that Charlotte and Maximus VIII didn't live long enough to learn the true scope of their triumph."

Youssef II brought up a holo of the two heroes, standing side by side just before they executed their plan. "They were both the sort to take such action regardless of whether they'd personally know the outcome. As an organization, let us all strive to uphold their example. Our colony faces a very long road to recovery. To redemption. Most of us are too old to see the end of that road. But we're still in a position to make a difference. With Watcher support, Elpis will heal."

---

Admiral Horacio Tapadia, Security Chief of Watcher HQ, addressed the Solar Security Council and the Admiralty of the I.F. "The public has, of course, reacted very strongly to the news of recent events. The greatest outcry was due to the deaths of three Watchers, proving that the general public deeply values and supports us. Further, our ability to send Watchers to other worlds is certain to solidify our reputation as a vital resource to humanity."

I.F. Grand Admiral Jackie Trent nodded. "Every aspect of human civilization will be revolutionized by what your Watchers have recently achieved. Any colony that experiences an emergency can receive advice and even small-scale material assistance on the same day. And vast quantities of data can now be conveyed in real time. You have inherited an organization that will henceforth be seen as even more vital than the Interstellar Fleet."

Horacio nodded, hiding the pain he felt at the use of the word "inherited." He doubted he could ever fill Hasina's shoes, and he wished he could've had access to Benicio Martins' expertise and reputation. But he'd strive to be the best possible steward of what he'd been given.

The Grand Admiral continued. "Your organization has become humanity's most valuable resource. Our highest priority is securing your safety. From here on out, every member nation with significant naval assets will maintain fleets off the coast of Antarctica. Further, numerous member nations will maintain airbases on the continent, despite the logistical challenges. What can you report regarding your investigation of the Miletes Secretum?"

"After months of intensive observation and study, our Watchers have much to report. We've amassed actionable evidence implicating seven non-member nations in supporting and supplying the forces that attacked Antarctica. Interrogations of enemy survivors further support their findings. Investigations will continue, but I have every expectation of uncovering the full truth. After all, no one can hide from our Watchers."

Trent raised an eyebrow. "There are those who would find that observation troubling. And not just the sort who supported the attack on your stronghold."

Horacio smiled grimly. "Oh, we don't intend to abuse this power… but those who wrong us have abundant reason to fear."

"Indeed." The Grand Admiral activated an array of holos. "Every nation found to have supported the Miletes Secretum will experience total sanctions, including military blockades. Further they will forfeit their special exemptions. Those who rejected your predecessors were always denied the services of Watchers, but they were also immune to Watcher observation. No longer. Those who conspired against your organization will henceforth be subject to the same level of scrutiny legalized in the Watcher Charter and the articles of the Solar Security Council. Do you have any further recommendations, Chief Tapadia?"

Horacio rose. "Though it cost us dearly, including the life of my genius predecessor, we have triumphed against the worst crisis in Watcher history. I propose we now lay the past behind us, and focus on the future. We have a lot of work to do."

---

Willard-27 looked out the viewport at the vast sea of stars. Even with the fleet traveling at ninety-nine percent the speed of light, and with time dilated so strongly, astronomical distances were vast. He couldn't perceive any change in the relative positions of all those beautiful stars.

It would take twenty-two more years for the fleet to reach their destination, though time dilation meant the passengers would experience only three years. Either way, that was a long time for a Watcher to be cut off from the rest of civilization. Most of the Watchers chosen to travel to other colonies were married, so they wouldn't be traveling alone. In young Willard's case, he'd been chosen because both of his parents were members of the Organization, and would accompany him.

In some ways, he enjoyed the time off. As a Watcher, he wasn't protected by the laws that prevented most kids from working full-time. The perks of the job were pretty epic, but it was nice to get a few years to kick back and enjoy his childhood. Even if it was easy to get stir crazy. He traveled on the largest ship in the colony fleet, so he could theoretically stretch his legs covering all that ground. But there were seven million other passengers, making the whole thing feel like an ultra-dense metropolis. And as a Watcher, he had to be accompanied by a full security detail any time he left his sprawling quarters.

He tried to look forward to planetfall. The fleet would instantly double the Weilei Colony's number of doctors, fusion experts, and chemical engineers, and would deliver technology they couldn't replicate on their own. Further, his presence would allow them to send and receive messages to Earth, and any other colony that had a Watcher. It would be a full-time job, and in some ways Willard would just be a living email service, but the difference it would make to civilization–

His thoughts fled him as he felt a sensation that shouldn't be possible. Despite traveling at relativistic speeds, he was being Watched.

Am I dreaming? Am I sick? This can't be real, so something's gotta be wrong…

Then a boy appeared right next to him.

"Hi, 27."

Willard shrieked, scrambling back and away from the newcomer. The kid was slightly shorter than Willard, but lean, hard, and a freak'n cyborg. His eyes and right hand were mechanical, of more advanced designs than Willard had ever seen. "Are you a hologram, a demon, or a hallucination?"

"None of the above." The impossible cyborg child smirked, and Willard realized his shriek had sounded way too much like a preschool girl. "I'm Niko-29. I'm here to expedite things."

"Whaaaaaa…?"

"The Organization's been busy since you left Earth. We've made loads of breakthroughs, and a couple of us are finally strong enough to overcome the challenges of time dilation. Oh, and physical projection. That's kinda big."

Willard's jaw dropped, and he realized he was crushing himself back into a corner to keep his distance from this "Niko."

The door to Willard's quarters burst open, and four soldiers with tasers rushed in, followed by an Officer.

Niko's forehead beaded with sweat, his face contorted with pain, and he held out a hand. The soldiers all slammed to a stop, as if they'd reached an invisible wall. The sight felt utterly incongruous with the cyborg's bright orange T-shirt. Squinting, Willard noted King Kong fighting a swarm of TIE Fighters on the roof of Orthanc. On further inspection, he saw that King Kong carried Princess Peach in his left hand and wore what might be ODM gear.

"Sorry guys, I didn't mean to scare anybody." The cyborg held up a data drive and a sheaf of papers. "I'm Niko-29, the second-newest Watcher. I'm here under the authority of the Minister of Colonization and the Watcher Security Chief."

"How did you get into 27's quarters?" the officer demanded, bashing a fist into the invisible barrier. "And what is this?"

Despite his pained expression, the strange child kept his voice calm and his tone polite. "A lot has happened on Earth in the last seven months. Headquarters was attacked and invaded. Counting a boy on Elpis who was posthumously declared a member of Security, the Organization lost twelve members. Including the Chief, and three Watchers..."

That got everyone's attention. The soldiers lowered their tasers, and Willard took a step forward. "Wait… Watchers were killed?"

Niko turned to face Willard. His expression softened. "Duri. Charlotte. Klaus."

Legs suddenly weak, Willard collapsed into the nearest chair. Our smartest, our strongest, and the visionary at the heart of our team…

The cyborg turned to the officer. "My implants report that your Captain has verified all the codes, passwords, and authorizations I transmitted."

The soldiers staggered forward, as whatever Niko had done to stop them ended.

For the better part of an hour, 27 sat, disbelieving, as Niko met with the Admiral of the Colony Fleet. Willard's parents came to him, offering comfort, though they were clearly as shaken as him. This news would hit the fleet like a shockwave. And Earth would've been dealing with this for months…

Niko returned, accompanied by Flag Captain Sanchez. The little cyborg politely waited for Willard to compose himself and rise. "I promise you can visit the fleet often. You aren't saying goodbye to your parents for twenty-two years."

"Wait… how…?"

"I'm under orders to physically project you to Earth. You'll get the whole story once you're there. There are new implants, medication, and training methods that you need."

"Hold on!" Willard held up his hands protectively, then he stuffed them in his pockets. "They're not gonna take my eyes and hand, are they?"

Niko chuckled. "Nope. The implants you need won't replace anything." He gestured toward a nasty scar that ran across his face. Willard hadn't even noticed, focusing instead on the robotic eyes. "I lost these during the attack on Antarctica. But I don't regret it. 28 might be dead if I hadn't."

Willard gestured toward Niko's right hand.

"Oh… Um, that story is a bit… weird. I'll let the archivists and scientists handle your briefing."

Captain Sanchez stepped forward. "The orders are official and verified. Niko-29 will take you to Watcher HQ. After you are briefed, trained, and have received the relevant implants, you'll travel directly to the Weilai Colony."

Willard's head spun, and he clutched his parents' hands.

"I know it feels kinda crazy," Niko said. "And since only Watchers can be projected, your parents can't accompany you to Weilei. They'll still need twenty-two years to get there. But the Organization promises you'll get to visit them often. The scientists and doctors think you'll end up the fourth strongest Watcher, so you'll be able to manage it on your own after a while."

"It's ok, little man," Willard's dad said, turning to face him. "By going to Weilei, you'll connect them to Earth decades earlier than anyone expected."

"Not just Earth," Niko said. "We're connecting all the colonies."

Willard's mom gave him a hug. "You'll be thirty-five by the time we get there, but it'll only have been three years for us. Promise to visit, so we can still see you grow up."

"It won't be nearly as bad as that," Niko said. "Watchers will usually sleep on ships experiencing time dilation, to extend their lifespans relative to the rest of humanity. That's been declared a higher priority than having as many Watchers available at any given time."

Willard's dad took a step forward. "Wait… do you mean…?"

"Yup. Willard will get to be here most nights, and he won't have aged nearly as much by the time you reach Weilei."

The good news triggered Willard's mom to hug him again. Secretly, he welcomed it, but he still felt self-conscious in front of the Captain, multiple soldiers, and this unreasonably epic teleporting kid.

At last, Willard turned to Niko, and everyone else saluted. "So… how does this work?"

Niko held out his left hand. "First, we need direct physical contact."

Willard took the offered hand, kinda wishing it could have been the awesome cyborg one instead.

"Now… just don't resist or panic…"

Instantly alarmed, Willard forced himself to remain still and outwardly calm. Niko closed his inhuman green eyes, and again his face twisted with agony. Willard did not look forward to any abilities that hurt as much as this seemed to. Then, he felt an intense sensation of being Watched. Echoes of distant agony, and an invincible determination, definitely weren't coming from Willard.

Then, with a mental sensation of sudden, dramatic movement, they stood in an open field.

Dizzy at the surreal nature of what just happened, Willard couldn't immediately speak. The cyborg dropped to the ground, lying down with a look of profound relief.

Willard became more aware of his surroundings, and his worry deepened. "Uhhhh… this isn't Antarctica."

"It's not even Earth." Niko opened his eyes, but he stayed where he was, sprawled in the wildflowers. "Nobody's strong enough to get you all the way to Earth in one go. The time dilation in your fleet is crazy hard to get through. So I took you to Eden, the closest habitable planet to where the fleet was at the time. After I catch my breath, I'll take you the rest of the way."

Looking around, Willard saw no sign of civilization on the horizon… but there was something out of place, and somewhat disturbing, nearby. Stepping over to the crumpled thing, he saw that it was a tattered and blood-stained garment that might have once been white. "Umm… is Eden inhabited yet?"

"This predates the brand-new Colony," Niko said, rising, stepping over, and grabbing the gross thing with his robotic hand. "Elsa-30 wanted me to retrieve it. Not sure whether she wants to keep it as the last memento of her childhood… or maybe burn it. Totally up to her."

"I have oh so many questions."

"Yeah, sorry. Again, your briefing will be in depth. Brace yourself. There's a lotta crazy stuff, and a lotta messed up stuff. And I won't be there with you, since a ton of it's still too painful for me to dwell on."

"What can you tell me?"

"You're gonna get to level up. Big time. The latest, Lambda variant of the Myalodynami drug gives Watchers a huge boost. You'll get a pump implanted."

"Ouch."

"Then there are some implants that serve the purpose of a Watcher's SenDep rig."

"Implants? Plural?" Willard was getting seriously worried. He hated needles, and scalpels were a hundred times worse.

"Three to be exact. Oh, and two more that allow active brain scanning wherever you go. The Watcher Chamber is totally obsolete now."

"Sounds like there'll be a lot of cutting…"

"Lastly, there's an implant designed especially for you."

"Oh goodie."

"Your P.P.P. is elevated body temperature, and this implant will allow you to safely raise your temperature a few degrees whenever you need a huge power boost."

"P.P.P?"

"Personal Path to Power."

"Seriously?"

"Ok, so nobody else calls'em that. Except Ymir-25, and she's just being polite. Anyway, the archivists figured out that the standard, emotionless Watcher Trance is the most common way for us to do our thing, but there are also better ways. They're different for each Watcher. Peng's gotta be mad, George needs to experience g-forces in a centrifuge, and you need an elevated body temperature."

"So… getting more powerful sounds great and all… but… how many total implants are they gonna fill me with? I've already got twelve, and I'm not very big..."

"Trust me, man, it could be worse." Niko rose. "Once you've got all those implants, they predict you'll be able to project your mind almost three hundred lightyears from…well, wherever you happen to be at the time."

Willard's jaw dropped, again. "My former range was fifty-five…"

"Man, that's nothing. You should be able to physically project about sixty lightyears at a time. They also guess you've got the potential for pretty epic telekinesis, which might make Peng jealous. But Ymir might not be impressed, since they doubt you'll be good with spatial gateways or invisibility. She's the only Watcher who's competent in every ability, even if she's only ranked third overall."

"Please… please stop breaking my brain so many times per minute."

"Hey, even I kinda suck at the fancier powers. They're for Watchers with better imaginations. You and me… we're strong. Peng and Renya suggest we could benefit from positive, healthy, painful competition, especially cuz we've got 'the resilience of youth.' We start arm-wrestling, racing, and exchanging punches tomorrow morning."

Willard's heart nearly imploded at this terrible news, but it just kept coming.

"We recently convinced the I.F. that protecting Watcher lives doesn't require that they coddle us. Pain and recoverable injury have been declared acceptable by both the scientists and doctors."

"Dude, I'm totally ok with being less manly than you, since you're a freaking robot. And I'm super duper content with not getting punched."

"Awwww… How will you ever learn how tough you are?"

"I don't care how tough I am. I don't wanna get punched by a cyborg."

"Oh, right. I promise to only use my left fist."

"Can I punch you twice for every time you punch me?"

"Dude, you don't know who you're dealing with. I can take ten hits to your one. Pain makes me better.”

"This is sounding worse all the time…"

"Come on, man. What's the point of even being a boy if you can't enjoy the occasional smackdown?"

"We are very different people."

"But it's not like we're different species."

"Can we just accept that I'm kind of a wimp, and I'm actually ok with that?"

"As long as you stay open to the possibility of being less of a wimp at some undisclosed future date."

Willard pondered that, decided it was sufficiently open-ended and noncommittal, and nodded. Worst case scenario, he could ask Security to protect him from the OP fearless cybernetic maniac.

After all, Watchers were supposed to be wimps. Right?

Right?

Smiling, Niko took his hand. Again, the cyborg tensed with obvious pain. Again, Willard felt some of that pain, which was more than enough, and in a rush, they were inside HQ.

"Whoa… when you said the facility got invaded…"

They stood in a corridor that had seen better days. Long gouges in the wall proved that HQ's measures against ricocheting gauss rounds were effective. But a few holes Willard saw seemed way too small to have come from conventional bullets. Looking down, he saw way more of the tiny holes covering the floor.

Willard felt himself being Watched, and the metal floor ahead of him started to shimmer.

"Good," Niko said. "You'll get to meet her before your briefing. Be nice though. She's tough, but she deserves gentler treatment than anyone. If you're rude, I'll seriously mess you up when we spar tomorrow morning. And if you manage to whoop me, Anya will take over."

“Wait… ANYA?? The beefy babe with biceps bigger than--” Before Willard could achieve maximum panic from the steady escalation of bad news, a young girl Willard had never seen before rose up from the freaking floor. He froze, utterly gobsmacked, and stared at the apparition.

"Welcome back, Willard-27. I'm Elsa-30. They think you'll end up way stronger than me, but I don't mind. Really. It's nice to meet you, and I'm proud we're on the same team."

"Uh… Nice to meet you too…"

Willard tried very hard to keep his expression calm and friendly… but he probably failed. Unlike Klaus or Duri, he wasn't great at pretending.

This girl was a mess. It was hard to believe she was even alive. Elsa was dangerously underweight, and he felt an instinctive need to protect her. The only thing about her that didn't look wrecked was her teeth, and he suspected they were fake. Only one of her eyes was cybernetic, but her entire left arm had been replaced. She reached out with it, taking the tattered and stained garment from Niko, and nodded.

The pale, bald, skeletal cyborg girl walked past them, and Niko gestured for Willard to head toward the door at the end of the hall. As they walked, Willard whispered, "Dude, she needs a sandwich..."

"Yup," Niko said, his voice soft. "She's actually got a lot of issues we're helping her with. Among… other things… she has no sense of hunger, thirst, or even wanting to sleep. She needs those things again, so we gotta keep her on a schedule and make sure she takes enough care of herself after she returns to Elpis."

"Oh, and along those lines," Willard whispered, even quieter than a moment before. "You and me, we're basically the same age, but we look nothing alike. I know ya talk tough and act like nothin' scares you, but seriously, man: How can I get that ripped?"

Explosive laughter startled Willard. He stepped back, and felt himself blushing. It took a moment for the little cyborg to pull himself together, but he seemed more relaxed afterward. "That is quite an exaggeration, though I guess this shirt doesn't really fit anymore… Bummer. Anyway, the soldiers around here would never call me that, let alone Anya-28. She's the real deal, even more than the last time you saw her." He paused at the door, growing more serious. "But the answer… is pain. For years, I dealt with a condition called CPN-Ω. Think of it as frequent, full-body torture, that nobody could do anything about. Turned out to be useful, since my P.P.P. is physical pain."

Overwhelmed, Willard couldn't think of anything to say.

"Hey, it's cool. I'm proud of how I handled it. Anyway, it basically forced me to do forty hours of brutal isometric exercise a month, and it sucked... Totally don't recommend it. If you wanna get in shape, Anya's method is waaaaaaaay more fun."

Feeling more inadequate by the second, Willard could only say, "Jeez, man… I'm sorry…"

"Well, three months ago, they finally found a cure. It used to basically be a death sentence… but after every other person with the condition got their treatments, I allowed them to cure me too."

"Whoa…"

"Yep. From now on, CPN-Ω will only exist as a simulation in my implants. I can choose to feel that pain whenever I want the power to push harder and farther. But I'm its master now, not the other way around."

I see what he meant when he said, "It could be worse." I am not gonna complain about a bunch of implants that can power me up. Not when this kid conquered torture…

Despite years of VIP treatment, and everyone insisting that Willard should prioritize his own safety and comfort… he kinda wanted to be brave and tough for once. Even though getting there was gonna be rough. Let's do this.

The door slid open, Niko gestured Willard inside, then he headed off.

Renya Baldwin had lost a good thirty kilos, and she looked energetic and eager. Old Logan Walsh motioned for Willard to sit. A table set with food and drinks stood within easy reach. This was gonna take a while… but he was ready.

Multiple holos came online, and Renya said, "Welcome back, 27. We apologize in advance. This briefing will be… unsettling."

---

Ymir-25 Watched the city of Chester. Local authorities, thrilled to have a Watcher on hand ahead of schedule, had begged for her to get to the bottom of a series of abductions. Fearing for the missing children, she'd wasted no time. Only Peng-24 could dart his perspective about more swiftly than Ymir, and she'd found the four children locked in a basement. All showed signs of beatings, though mercifully nothing worse… yet.

Then, Ymir felt her real body being Watched. She sent her awareness to her quarters in Yorkshire's capital city, where her husband, Ryoma, sat protectively at her side. More urgently, she saw Fawzia-11's projected mind next to him. Until Ymir learned sign language, she couldn't get basic messages simply by observing another Watcher's projected mind. Instead, 11 vanished, and Ymir obligingly sent her own mind to Fawzia's quarters on Keç.

Fawzia opened her eyes, turned toward Ymir's awareness, and shouted, "She's tailing a child right now! Head to these coordinates!" Numbers appeared on a screen, and Ymir shot her mind to that location, distantly aware of her heart racing.

Roughly half a kilometer from the basement where the other children were held captive, 25 found herself Watching a grungy alley. A young girl had her back to a chain link fence, cowering before a woman holding a taser… and a large bag.

I will not allow it.

Focusing, imagining the nearest wall was adjacent to the floor of her office, Ymir opened a gateway. Ending her Trance, she stepped through, raised her tranq pistol, and dropped the woman with a dart to the neck. The little girl stared in disbelief as Ymir knelt down and injected the kidnapper with the meds that would save her life, then she commed the local authorities. In addition to the teams already en route to the four other children, police would now be incoming.

Ymir felt two Watchers observing her, a sure sign that she'd missed something important. Ordering her MD-Λ pump to maximize the safe dose, she spun toward the direction of the sensation. Another woman was rushing toward her, raising a first-gen gauss pistol.

The shot crashed into Ymir's telekinetic wall, even as she opened another gateway to drop the little girl into the basement with the others. Ymir then rendered herself invisible and took cover behind a concrete pillar thick enough to stop additional shots. As the gunman cried out in confusion at her disappearance, Ymir entered her Trance yet again. She saw Fawzia looking down from above… and Anya Watching from directly behind the woman with the gun. 28 brought up both hands in an MMA stance, and Ymir smiled. Anya might be low-power as a Watcher, but she was top-tier when someone wanted to call in reinforcements.

Ymir emptied her lungs completely, and held it painfully. As her body and mind fought for oxygen, her Trance maximized. She reached out, seized Anya's mind, and pulled.

The athletic young woman snapped into being right behind the shooter. A quick flurry of devastating punches brought the kidnapper down. "That felt good," 28 said. "Too bad I can't stick around. Can you send me back to Earth? I have a commitment for this afternoon, and I need time to prepare." Anya then closed her eyes, and Ymir sensed the moment when she projected her mind away. Sending her own perspective to Watcher HQ, she found Anya's mind, seized it, and pulled. Anya physically manifested back on Earth. Satisfied, Ymir exited her Trance, deeply fulfilled with an important job done well.

Her heart and head pounded, but she was proud. Two spatial gateways, a telekinetic shield, twenty seconds of invisibility, and two abductions, all after hours of sustained Watching. Though Niko and Peng were still stronger, and Willard seemed driven to surpass her, Ymir was deeply pleased with her own progress.

Passing through the gateway that led to the basement, Ymir went about the work of calming and reassuring the girls that help was on the way.

I traveled with a colony ship for years, believing that at the end of my journey, my primary role would be to unlock communication between Yorkshire and Earth. I have done that, a little ahead of schedule. But now, Watchers are so much more. The losses suffered by the Organization on Earth were tragic… but we have come out of it stronger than ever.

---

Taking a deep, satisfying breath of the outside air, reveling in the mix of smells both ordinary and alien, Fawzia-11 felt the bittersweet sense of time sweeping by. So much was changing, and some of it had been agony. She deeply wished she still had her beloved Ralph, as he would have loved to be here with her. But at least mankind's future looked far happier than its past.

Watching herself from high above, Fawzia embraced the wonder of an alien planet. Now that Elpis was free of Lamia's influence, Keç was easily the most exotic of the colonized worlds. She marveled at the sight of herself, though so old, confidently riding upon her nine-legged mount as it scuttled across the purple grasslands and scaled glass cliffs. The locals loved these "Geppi," maintaining vast domesticated herds. Remarkably cuddly, excellent for travel, hauling loads, controlling pests, and keeping watch, and able to produce six different kinds of silky fabrics, there was talk of exporting them to other worlds. If the biologists and zoologists of distant colonies deemed such species transplantation safe, they'd get the green light. Watchers would be able to carry their unfertilized eggs from world to world, along with the genetic material to start new herds.

She saw a kid waving, and on a whim, Fawzia turned invisible. Though her projected awareness could still see herself, the child laughed with joy at the trick.

For more than half a century, I Watched, never able to do more than share information on what I saw. But now, Watchers can connect every world, and we've unlocked powers most of us never imagined would be possible.

Her heart still ached for the fallen. The Organization had lost twelve members, starting with Klaus-21 and Samantha Gross, and ending with the ten lives lost on that fateful day, when the might of both hateful humans and an extradimensional horror had descended on her old home.

But they had won a great victory. One of the worst humanitarian crises in history was over. And Watchers were becoming far more than they ever were before. There was already talk of renaming them. Many esoteric options were suggested, such as "Espers," "Psionics," or "Callidetics," but Fawzia hoped they'd settle on "Watchmen." Their greatest gift to humanity was still their ability to see events from afar, they'd just added the ability to intervene. If they saw someone in need, and others couldn't be dispatched in time, they could now help directly.

Her dear protégé, Klaus, had inspired the entire Organization, speaking of the day when they would unite many worlds. His dream was now fulfilled… and more. By projecting themselves from colony to colony, Watchers could connect every human world, and through more than just information. Small samples of technology, detailed blueprints, medicines, seeds for advanced crops, and more could now circumvent the lightspeed barrier. Though separated by many lightyears, humanity was again a single, vast civilization.

Thank you, Klaus, for setting us on this path. Thank you, Charlotte, for freeing Elpis. Thank you, Duri, for saving so many lives on our darkest day. The Organization has survived, victorious.

And the future is bright.

Chapter 30: Epilogue

A man watches his children, and I Watch them all.

Each child has their own room, all in a row, courtesy of the Khalil Institute.

The children are genetically identical, but none are the same age.

In the first room, Max is an infant, sleeping soundly in a small crib adorned with a mobile. The man, Leonidus Angelos, gives the little guy a gentle poke in the tummy, making him squirm and smile, but not wake. He's actually considered to be the oldest of the children, but for most of his life he was unable to learn or grow. Developmentally, he'll be two years old in another month.

In the next room, the man pauses to watch his son, who's the equivalent of four years old. The child is playing with blocks, stacking them impressively high. One block tumbles from the top of a stack. The man kneels down, picks it up, and places it back on the stack. The little boy looks up, smiling. "Thanks, daddy. I gonna get'em taller'n me."

My heart aches, for there should be a room with a six-year-old boy. I still remember Lamia forcing me to take that child's life, just before I encountered Klaus-21.

Instead, the next room houses a boy of nine. He laughs with delight as he plays a VR game, and Leo asks, "Did you beat your top score?"

Max IV pulls off his goggles. "Big time! Earth stopped playing this game sixty years ago, but before that, the top score ever was eight hundred million. I just got seven, and I know I can do better."

"Well, you've practiced for twelve years, and your brain's growing again. I bet you'll hit a billion at least."

In the next room, the man observes his twelve-year old son reading a novel. The final book in a series of fourteen, he read the first volume dozens of times as an Unwanted. I look forward to him finally reaching the conclusion of the story. I have a suggestion for his next series, taken from the reading lists left behind by Tácito Nelson.

In the next room, the boy is fifteen. He has always been home-schooled, though Elpis will soon resume public classes. Nevertheless, he wears a gym uniform. He performs a full handstand, laughing at the ease with which he lowers his head to the carpet, then raises himself back to his full height. I'm genuinely impressed. With my prosthetic left arm, frail build, porous bones, and missing ribs, I could never manage something like that. "Do your worst, Dad!" Max VI says. Leo circles the boy, giving occasional shoves, playfully trying to knock him over. When Max finally starts laughing too hard to catch his breath, a push topples him to the floor. Gasping, the kid says, "Tomorrow… I'll start trying one-handed!"

In the next room, eighteen-year-old Max VII has paused in the middle of a meal, lost in thought. But he turns when his father arrives. "I wish… I'd been able… to do more…"

"You did enough," Leo says gently. "You pushed, learning and training all you could during the time you had. You're a very big part of why the Eighth was strong enough–and brave enough–to help Charlotte free our world."

Max nods, and returns to his meal. I'll make it a point to visit him later. As the oldest–physically–of Max's Unwanted on that fateful day, he still feels irrational guilt over his inability to directly join the cause.

I wish there was a room for Maximus VIII. I again think back to when he lured me–and Lamia–within Charlotte's reach. I remember the sickening feeling of driving the pencil into the brave boy's heart… But I smile grimly as I recall how he managed to knock me to the ground, even after that terrible moment. If not for that feat of pure will… Lamia would still live, my existence would still be unbearable, and the Unwanted would never have been healed.

In the final room, Maximus IX is packing for his move. Nearly identical to the boy who died at my hand, the twenty-year-old hero isn't satisfied with his own role in stopping Lamia. His reckless stunt with the ATV was crucial to Charlotte's success, but in his eyes, his contribution could never compare… because he survived.

"You're sure about this?" Leo asks.

"Absolutely," the Ninth insists. "Elpis finally has hope, but it'll be a long road. We need more police who care, who believe our society can recover. And with Watcher support, I know it can."

"You're as good as he was," Leo whispers, and Maximus pauses his work. "And as brave. You both did all you could. And you succeeded."

"But he paid the price," Max whispers. I can tell he's fighting back tears, and I consider ending my Watch.

"He did. And you are the one who carries his memory. Literally. You remember running after Charlotte, convincing her to accept your help, and choosing to be bait. You'll live your life doing what he would have done… and I'll stay proud of both of you."

The young man breaks down, the father moves in to hug him, and I give them their privacy.

I end my Watch.

The aches and pains of my badly malformed body weigh heavily. My implants and prosthetics help, but discomfort will be a core tenant of my reality for as long as I breathe. Compared to my hellish existence as an enslaved Unwanted, I know I'll never complain about my new life. In a month, Niko, Peng, Ymir, or perhaps Willard, will bring me back to Earth. My ocular implant will be updated, and Doctor Sharma will oversee my next series of treatments.

Maximus IX wants to be a guardian. Several of his predecessors took that role for their "younger" selves. And the Eighth acted in defense of all Unwanted.

But I function as a guardian… of an entire universe.

Renya Baldwin's team have worked with me extensively, dredging my memories of the months leading up to the Lamia Incursion. I am posted at the Khalil Institute, which is now an official branch of the Watcher Organization, so that I can stand guard.

Lamia never returned home, so it's hoped that the other denizens of Exovasilio will never risk entering our universe as It did. But if any of them start to look outward upon our reality, if they even consider coming to Elpis… I'll feel it.

And I will stop them.

While the other Watchers train daily in skills such as physical projection, abduction, telekinesis, spatial gateways, and invisibility, I specialize in a role that I'll one day teach to the others.

The Watchers will learn to shield our reality from any future incursions.

My implants alert me to an upcoming event, and I smile. After months of turmoil, upheaval, and organizational restructuring, things have finally settled enough for a certain little game to resume. I've heard stories, off and on, during my time with Niko-29. I'm eager to see him in action.

I trigger my MD-Λ pump, and resume my Trance. I send my mind to Watcher HQ on Earth.

"Hey! 30 made it in time to observe." Peng-24 nods toward my perspective. He's getting particularly good at recognizing and even locating a Watcher's mind without needing to enter his Trance.

The others wave, including the two young women from the Archive division that I haven't met in person.

As the new GM, Niko-29 hosts the group. He always sleeps on relativistic starships, so his apartment has been remodeled into one giant gaming room in preparation for this day. The players are gathered around an impressively large table. Holos, built-in screens, and quaint physical miniatures cover the surface. "It's been a long hiatus," 29 says, "but I needed time to prepare. Klaus had petabytes of notes, plans, imagery, and audio, but I'm finally ready. For the sake of our new players, let's take a second to get everybody up to speed. Introduce your characters!"

One of the Archivists says, "I'm Helena Vask, the Mandalorian Mercenary. On this planet, I'm an Occulator and a Stoneward of the Third Ideal."

The red-haired Archivist is better prepared. With a wave of a hand, she projects a design of her character on the main Holo, and theme music with epic bass starts playing. "I'm Guulo the Savage, Hutt Crime Lord and Gladiator Supreme. On this planet, I'm a Coinshot and an Awakener of the Fourth Heightening."

Though I can't begin to guess what any of this means, I feel a warm contentment at how excited these players are.

Old Logan Walsh, Head Archivist, loads a new holo file. "I've inherited Duri-22's character: Gorignak the Trandoshan Padawan. I'm also a Genin-level Shinobi, an Elantrian Aeonist, and the Keeper of the Alvalaithan."

Anya-28 holds up a beautifully painted miniature with impressive detail. "I'm running Niko's old character, Trekk the Ewok Gadgeteer. On this planet, I'm a Steelrunner and an Aes Sedai Rithmatist of the Green Ajah." She blushes. "Oh… and there's something about having a 'Cytonic Hemalurgic spike,' but seriously guys, I don't have a clue how that works… Sorry everyone, I really tried to do my homework, but this is a lot."

"No worries," Niko says. "GLaDOS can answer basic questions, and the veteran players will help with the details."

Everyone turns to the final player.

Peng hesitates to speak.

"Don't be shy," Niko says encouragingly. "We're all happy you joined."

The holo displays a tall, magnificent soldier in silver armor, with a black-bladed sword and a tall black shield. "I'm a new character, a half-elven Mistborn who wants to explore the Galaxy with all of you."

"And your name?" Logan prompts.

Peng hesitates again, then he makes eye contact with Niko. "I'm… Benny Rakoto, Champion of Gondolin."

I can tell that Niko would be fighting back tears if his cybernetic eyes could produce them. I must again remind myself that I did not choose to take all those lives. Lamia did. But I can still remember so much…

Taking a second to compose himself, Niko manages to smile, then he addresses the room. "When the campaign left off, the Party and their local allies were under attack by Smaug the dragon and his Nine Champions. The Everstorm is on the horizon, approaching fast. You just learned that Princess Leia, Daughter of the Chosen One, is a Sliver of Infinity. Your goal: Defend her while locals in a Time Bubble teach her the basics of her powers." Niko's tone and expression grow dead serious, and I feel myself drawn in. "This will be the hardest fight any of your characters have ever faced… but the Force and the Valar are with you."

Everyone leans in, even Peng, as the holos display a selection of imagery Klaus-21 prepared for this moment. Niko reaches under the table, produces a splendid dragon miniature twice the size of his head, and places it on one edge of the map. I have a sudden urge to join in. Whenever I visit Earth, I hope they'll let me play as a guest. Though I won't really know what's going on… I'll enjoy every second of it.

Ambient music, environmental holos, and the sounds of lightning and roaring wind fill the room. Niko grins. "Everyone… roll for initiative!"

---

Author's Afterword:

Thank you for reading. Many years ago, after I had the nightmare that is the prologue to this story, I was fascinated and horrified in equal measure. When I wrote it out and shared it with friends and family, several said that it felt like "the opening scene of a movie." I agreed that it was a premise with great potential: People who can project their minds anywhere? Unwanted duplicates of children left behind as they grow? And a terrifying little girl that saw me, dragged me into the dream… and then turned into an Eldritch horror to kill me?

It took many years before I felt confident in my ability to finally write a novel-length story based on that dream. And I approached it as if the dream were someone else's work, and I was trying to faithfully adapt it into something bigger. I did my best to take every element of that dream and extrapolate an entire world and set of circumstances that might explain it all.

I also embraced the idea of the First-Person POV character dying in the prologue. I hope it was as surprising to you as it was to me during the dream. I chose to adopt the secret challenge of writing a whole story with a "dead protagonist." The ensemble cast of characters wasn't purely a result of needing multiple Watchers and a whole organization to support them. I also wanted to avoid having any one character steal the spotlight and become the obvious protagonist. Poor Klaus (not my name, and he's way cooler than me) got massacred in the prologue, but the story never forgot him.

I also set myself the challenge of writing a horror story that would still manage to feel uplifting, hopeful, and empowering. Real life includes some deeply disturbing, scary, and tragic things, but we don't have to give up or become someone we'd no longer respect. A person can choose to stay decent, brave, and caring, even if they face genuinely terrible circumstances. So, while keeping the promise of "brutal horror" set up by the end of my nightmare, I strove never to lose sight of the human element. The "best of the best" stayed true to themselves and each other no matter how grim things got.

I hope you enjoyed this exploration of that old nightmare of mine. Reviews are certainly welcome, so long as you avoid spoiling details for other readers. I'd be curious to know if you felt a specific character did steal the show and became the protagonist, despite my efforts to keep it focused on the team as a whole (and to leave room for Klaus to be the secret, dead protagonist).

If you want to give me specific feedback in a way that won't spoil things for others, you can post with answers to the following numbered questions, which shouldn't give anything away:

1: Who was your favorite character?

2: If anyone felt like the sole protagonist, who was it?

3: Whose death hit you the hardest?

4: Whose survival surprised you?

5: Did Lamia ever make you want to run screaming and/or throw up?

6: Which Watcher power would you want the most, and why? Mental Projection, Physical Projection, Abduction, Spatial Gateways, Telekinesis, or Invisibility?

7: Bonus: Did you put together the esoteric clues to figure out what year the main story is set in?

Also, I'm pondering writing a prequel to this story, set sixty-five years earlier. It would follow the first Watchers, their early efforts to stay hidden, the founding of the Organization, and the early attempts by various groups to enslave or murder them. I have many other projects that will come first though, including a prequel and a sequel to "The Children of Rohan," the story that healed my brain from trauma.

Again, thanks for reading. I know it often got complex and technical, but you made it to the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 26 of Collected Dreams