Rethais had initially believed that the Rethan homeworld was somewhat safe, and far enough away from the northern edge of the universe to not be affected, but that belief had been instantly destroyed by a single black droplet that had landed outside the Kentron, the central governmental hub of the Rethavok. The drop had initially only been about a centimetre across, but now it was 20m tall and scaling the side of the building. It had also smashed into the Grand Hall and was clearly trying to kill and consume everyone present.
Really, it was nothing more than awful luck. Most of the rogue drops of Corruption had been caught in advance, or were drifting somewhat harmlessly through space. But, yet again, the Rethavok had been unlucky, and now they were in danger because they’d been distracted trying to protect everyone else.
Thankfully, everyone had remained calm. Mostly. Rethais wondered what Vaksavar, the Master of Generals and the third most powerful Rethan alive after Rethais and the Vice general, was thinking right now. They had been standing by the window when the Darkness had broken in, and they had only just been saved by a very fast-footed Kuta, who had pulled them into a shadow to safety. In fact, Kuta had somewhat taken complete control of the situation, and was somehow multi-tasking, switching between ordering troops around and shadowjumping important targets to safety. The fanged General had offered to evacuate Rethais as well, but Rethais had insisted on staying put and fighting back.
And that was what Rethais had done at first. They didn’t really keep any flamethrowers at the Kentron, but Rethais had improvised by using some expensive alcoholic gifts and turning them into fire bombs, and they had ordered the 47th Legion to evacuate non-combatants. However, right now, Rethais was struggling. A globule of the black stuff had landed on Rethais’s arm plating and instantly started eating away at Rethais’s body. Sure, Kaldoran had swiftly cut off the infected area, but they had done so without anaesthetic, and Rethais was somewhat in shock currently. What bothered Rethais more than the fact that they had literally just finished regrowing that plating was the fact that they had briefly heard… chanting. An otherworldly voice, beckoning Rethais. They didn’t know what the chants were saying, it was in a language Rethais didn’t recognise, but they were certain the Corruption was asking Rethais to give in and join it. Cutting off the infected plating had silenced the voices, but it was still unnerving.
Really, that had terrified Rethais. To the point that they were struggling to keep up. Rethais had never felt genuine fear like that before, and it had somewhat floored them. That was why they were fine with Kuta leading the way. They had always thought the shadowy Rethan was slightly cowardly, but no, Kuta was proving their strength and loyalty. Rethais was glad that they had kept Kuta around, even when they swapped out most other Below Twenty Generals.
A sudden cry snapped Rethais back to their senses. Everyone was clearing out, Kuta was forcing everyone out of the building and things were either being eaten by Corruption or seriously on fire, but the cry had come from Ritlir, the youngest General present, who had just had part of their tail cut off. Rethan tails could grow back, but they did so slowly, and now Ritlir was struggling to keep their balance as 47th Legion troops pushed them out of the room. What worried Rethais more though was that they hadn’t seen where Lysar went. Had Kuta shadowjumped them to safety? Rethais didn’t know. That also scared Rethais.
Someone pulled Rethais to their feet, then dragged Rethais out of the Grand Hall, down an emergency staircase. There were a lot of other Rethans ahead of them. It took too long for Rethais to realize that Prostar, one of their captains, was shouting at Rethais, trying to get them to focus.
“Kyr Rethais, we need to evacuate the area! Maybe the whole city! Maybe even the planet!”
Rethais shook their head. “The… whole planet… we do not have the ships for that… There are half a million vok in Phos alone…”
“We have to act, Kyr! The corrupted mass is expanding and the Kentron is on fire!”
Something behind Rethais exploded, causing part of the stairwell to collapse somewhat. Weirdly though, the rubble seemed to move on its own, and a strange, cold aura was preventing further damage.
“You… can move things with your mind, General Kuta?” Prostar stuttered.
“Ugh… yes… please move… I need to hold this up so everyone else can escape!” Kuta hissed, clearly struggling somewhat. “I cannot shadowjump others and use my telekinesis at the same time! Move!”
Rethais and Prostar did as they were told, but the Rethans below them weren’t going anywhere. Kuta’s telepathy quickly told them why, a collapse and a fire further down had blocked the path. However, Kuta’s strength was quickly failing, and they didn’t have the energy to telepathically tell everyone to try and move into other floors and take other stairwells.
Just as Kuta was starting to worry, something flickered then pulled itself out of a nearby shadow.
“Hello, Little Bitey! Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here!” A black Skyavok with softly glowing red eyes straightened themselves out. “Good day, High General! I am here to evacuate important folks like you!”
Rethais stared at the Skyavok. “Hello, All-Ksa Elkay. I did not know you could shadowjump.”
Elkay stared back. “How the fuck did you work out who I am? Whatever. Don’t have time right now, deary…” Elkay somehow managed to move a nearby door and use it to prop up some collapsing rubble, which allowed Kuta to relax a bit.
“Thank you, Kyr Elkay…” Kuta muttered. “Why are you here?”
“Arkay sent me to grab every single important governmental figure and take them to territories closer to the centre of the universe, where things are safer. I’ve already moved the Thrakian leaders, half the Imperators, the Great Listener, some of the Temthan government and that bastard Prime Minister of the Torr, it’s now Rethais’s turn!”
“I need to-”
“Shut it!” Elkay smiled. “Let me help. It’ll be quick. I’ll get you and your remaining important staff out of here. Little Bitey, can you suggest to your friends to congregate somewhere dark?”
Kuta nodded, then closed their eyes. After a few seconds, Kuta opened their eyes again. “Those you wish to shadowjump are heading down to the 10th Legion offices on the negative first floor.”
“Thank you, darling!” Elkay stepped forward and took Rethais’s hand, noticing the big gash on their arm where their plating had been cut off, before taking Prostar’s hand as well. “Come along now, Rethais. And you, little captain, you can come along too.”
“Are… are you sure?” Prostar stuttered. “I… I have not… this is.. dark magic…”
“No, no, it is just standard Skyavok powers, amplified by the Silent Blade, your nice little Oath Keeper. But we do need to get moving. I have a lot of people who need to be jumped.”
Prostar glanced at Rethais, who absent-mindedly nodded.
“It is perfectly safe, captain!” Kuta tried to be reassuring. “Elkay here is the second best shadowjumper in the universe, after the Oath Keeper himself.”
Rethais patted Prostar on the shoulder. “Kuta is right. And so is All-Ksa Elkay. Please, take us away. I am in too much shock to be able to do anything else, and I cannot do anything if I am, well, dead.”
“Good, good!” Elkay turned to Kuta. “Little Bitey, can you get anyone else who’s left down to the basement? I’ll start jumping those who are already there.”
“Yes, Kyr Elkay.”
With another smile, Elkay tugged at both Rethais and Prostar, then pulled them both through the shadows.
Once the coast was clear, Kuta glanced around, then headed back up the stairs. Most of the path behind them had been cleared already, the 47th Legion had done a good job of getting everyone moving. But Kuta could spot small droplets of darkness, sneaking their way down the stairs.
Kuta snarled, then stepped into the nearest shadow. They briefly shadowjumped back to their apartment, grabbed a specific narrow dagger from their Oath Keeper-dating days, then returned to the Kentron. Armed with the anti-Corruption blade, Kuta set to work, stabbing at anything that looked toxic and corrosive.
“I hope Arkay makes you suffer!” Kuta hissed as they started driving the way the Corruption, summoning psionic blades to assist them. “If not, I will make you suffer!”