Kuta was not at all surprised when, the moment they reappeared back in their apartment after a nice evening with their poten-partner and their friends, that they got a phone call. They had planned to take off their armour, have a quick shower and go to bed, but no, work was calling. Kuta knew who it was as well, since they had set up ever so slightly different ring tones for different people – unnoticeable to most Rethans, only to Kuta.
With a sigh, Kuta picked up the call. They had no choice but to answer. “Yes, High General?”
“Hello, Kuta. Is Retvik safe at home?”
“Yes, Kyr Rethais. He seems happier now, his friends were waiting for him. Do you need me for something?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Can you come to the Kentron? Lysar’s office?”
“Right now?”
“As soon as possible. Please.”
Kuta sighed some more. They hadn’t even put their bag down yet, it was still slung across Kuta’s shoulder.
“Very well. One moment.”
Kuta stepped back into the shadow and reappeared in Lysar’s office, as demanded. Lysar and Rethais were both there, to be expected. Hasvik, the General of External Affairs, and Jeliira, the leader of the 115th Legion of Investigations, was present too. However, there was a final Rethan who Kuta really, really did not want to see.
General Livtar Kalderys was a freak of nature, the same way Kuta was. In fact, after Kuta had rediscovered their past as a time-broken Decayling who had essentially lived two lives, Kuta thought that Livtar was in fact an alternate version of Kuta’s own Decay Lord sibling who lived outside the universe. But Livtar looked nothing like Kuta. They looked like a rather normal Rethan at first glance. Grey skin, black plating, silver higher-caste strips, red eyes.
However, Livtar had shadow powers too. Actual Phantasma powers. Kuta had shadow powers because that was how Kuta had been rewritten into this universe, how their semi-divine Decayling abilities had been altered because of the Panelix’s universal rules. Livtar was a hybrid, the child of a Rethan mother and a Skyavok father, one that somehow wasn’t brain dead or hideously malformed, like 99.9% of all other hybrids were. They were also younger than Kuta, and Kuta had taught them how to use those powers, back when Kuta was a captain in the 606th Legion. And when Kuta left the 606th Legion, they had recommended that Livtar take their place. Livtar had climbed the ranks over the years and they now ran then Legion of Hidden Blades.
“Hello, Kyr Kuta. It has been a while.”
Livtar’s voice was much smoother and less gruff than normal Rethan voices. They held out their hand, which Kuta quickly shook.
“Hello, Livtar. You look well.”
“Thank you!” Livtar smiled. “I would say you look well, but you look tired. I heard you have been working harder than ever.”
Kuta nodded, then turned their attention to the High General. “Kyr Rethais, why have you demanded my presence?”
Rethais sighed. “Unfortunately, we require you for 606th Legion business. Whatever is said in this room remains within this room. Understand?”
Everyone nodded. Rethais sighed, then continued.
“We are certain some part of the Torr corporate by-government is involved in the attacks against, well, many of our leaders, ourselves included. Unfortunately, the Torr are not cooperating in the slightest. Not with us, not with the Lanex, not with the Temthans, Spasts or Vrekans either. While Hasvik and Lysar will continue to try and do things diplomatically, we have a major problem here, where weird, cloned telepathic Rethan children are being sent out to kill powerful figures across the universe…”
“Wait, children?” Kuta interrupted. “The one that attacked you was small but they were not a child.”
Rethais frowned. “The two suspects that attacked the All-Ksa and the Imperator of the Vast Sands, both of whom were killed, were both below the age of 20. Either way, there are Rethan children out there being made to kill others, and I cannot really afford this to continue. So, with the information the D-Class and K-Class of the Skyavok have provided us, we HAVE to go para-governmental with this.”
Livtar took over the conversation. “This means involving the 606th Legion.”
“So why am I here?” Kuta was confused. “I am not part of the 606th Legion.”
“I know. But out of all 606th nominees, you are the only person who has a chance..” Livtar explained further. “We are talking about Rethans with telepaths. We have no other loyal Rethans who have telepathy, who have a chance of not being instantly paralysed or controlled by the telepathy these enslaved clones have. Trust me, we have gone through every non-standard Rethan we are aware of, you are the only option we have.”
“And you are going to send me into unknown Torr territories, alone, to fight and kill these enslaved, telepathic Rethans, one of whom caught me off guard and escaped my former assassin clutches in the past?”
Litvtar crossed their arms and tutted. “Come on, Kuta, you were a 606th soldier, you KNOW we never send anyone in on their own and without information!
“A Torr whistleblower gave us the location of this facility. Unfortunately, said whistleblower was swiftly killed because the Torr have no protections for whistleblowers…” Hasvik sighed. “We also have assistance from the Lanex and the Skyavok. The Lanex have secured a way to get you in and out and the Skyavok are offering an, uh, assistant. Well, actually, you will mostly be assisting them.”
“All-Ksa Elkay is very, VERY upset about what is going on!” Lysar butted in. “In fact, they are the ones who want to go outside of normal governmental standards, and they have requested that we send someone to go alongside and assist the Phantasma K-Class agent they are sending into this mission.
Kuta took a deep breath. “I take it I yet again have very little choice in any of this?”
“You are literally our best and only option, Kuta!” Rethais was doing their best to reassure everyone, not just Kuta. “If we had a better option, we would be using it. But at the end of the day, the Rethavok are supposed to be the guardians and soldiers of this universe, and we are being blatantly undermined. We have a chance to end this now and sort out the diplomacy later, we need to take it.”
“Is there an exit strategy for me at least? Do we have a concrete plan?”
Livtar nodded. “Everything has been arranged. We just need you to agree so we can put everything together and make contact with the Frozen Scythes Secret Service and the Phantasma operative.”
Kuta took more deep breaths. They had not done proper 606th Legion work in a long time. But Kuta knew they had to do this.
“Fine, fine. I will do it. But I… I want to make arrangements of my own. In case I do not come back.”
“You will come back!” Livtar smiled weakly.
“You do not know for certain.”
“Neither do you. May I leave now?” Kuta almost growled.
Rethais patted Kuta on the shoulder. “Yes, you may. Please, try and rest as best you can. Livtar will meet up with you again shortly.”
Kuta frowned, then backed off and bowed, before dragging themselves through a nearby shadow, back to their own apartment.
Once Kuta was sure the coast was clear and everything was quiet, they threw off all their clothes and armour, then immediately decided to run themselves a long, warm bath. They had a lot they needed to think about. And potentially not very long to do so.