Rylan jogged along the gentle rightward curve of the corridor. Ovals dominated the architecture of the Conduit Plants, even the walls of the corridors had a bow to them. This place always made him feel like he was running inside a coiled rope. The Conduit Plant consisted of three hollow concentric circles. The smallest central circle ringed the Conduit itself, a cylindrical pit at the bottom of which a spike of pure tralaticon pierced the bedrock. Or so he thought, all he knew was that power came flowing out from there in incredible quantities. The large outer ring consisted of turbines and power generation equipment, a loud place devoted to transporting usable energy to the city. He had sent Pali to gather the team in the middle ring outside the sealed containment door. The work in this area ensured the flow of raw elements from the planes was modulated and consistent, providing uninterrupted fuel to the turbines. There were usually people in the halls- technicians, administrators, inspectors, but with the Incursion Protocol in place, all Rylan heard was the low hum of idling machinery. Painted symbols on the bulkhead told him his destination was near.
Coming around the last curve, he surveyed his team. Seris had the wall panel next to the containment door open, checking for potential malfunctions. Rylan could see the consternation on her face, knowing she would not be joining the assault with the rest of the group. Someone had to close the door behind them and open it again. He hoped it opened for their team and not a rescue element. Josen, the top recruit from the recent Trials, peered over her shoulder, listening to her instructions. Everyone on the team backfilled another role in case of casualties.
Nalas, Khaled, and Jerich had their heads together, speaking softly with jerking hand motions. Khaled wore the same mottled brown cloak as the Sergeant. Tall and wiry, they were more at home in the mountains and forests surrounding the city. Even so, Rylan welcomed their presence on the team. Days and weeks spent alone outside the walls with only animals and Outsiders for company bred hard men and women. He had done only a few short stints with the Stalkers, but the three spears he collected showed it was time well spent. Nalas, their point man, wore the same smoke grey as Rylan. He was short and broad. In his own words, he was a good wall: short enough to see over, but thick enough to stop spears. They were no doubt discussing the team’s entrance onto the plant floor; they would be the first three through the door.
Pali and Lana had moved away from the others, each to be alone. Pali stood staring at the door, idly twisting the haft of one of her steel tipped javelins in her hands. The slender, curved tip was a nasty affair, with one edge serrated with back facing barbs and the other smooth. She forged the tips herself and looked the part. She was the same height and almost and broad as Nalas. Lana sat with her legs crossed and back against the wall. Small and slight, she could be mistaken for an adolescent. More than one Outsider had paid for that error. Despite her eyes being closed, she noticed Rylan first, making a hsst sound to alert the others that it was time.
Conversation stopped as Rylan halted and all eyes turned to him. He motioned for them to gather round and looked at Jerich.
“Telam?”
“Tucked in.”
“Good. Seris, the door?”
“Ready, sir.” Rylan took a deep breath and made sure to meet all eyes as he spoke.
“As you no doubt guessed, there's an entity in there. Air.” They had all read the reports. In the month since the Trials, there had been three such encounters with violent elements, two with water and one with earth. All three Sweep Teams that engaged them took casualties. Raw elements could be dangerous when mishandled, but all scienseers agreed that they were inert substances. He watched as myriad emotions looped across each face.
“We need to learn what it can do, so others can be put down swiftly.” He tried to be circumspect, but Nalas flinched. He was recently returned from two weeks leave. His wife had been killed in the first encounter with a water anomaly. Scouting ahead of her team as they responded to the incident, which took place high up on a train platform and killed 32 citizens, she stepped in a puddle that lingered despite the hot sun. The anomaly erupted, throwing her off the 50 meter high platform into the rocks below. Rylan nodded to Nalas, as did a few others. His jaw was set hard, but Rylan saw his hands were loose. He would be fine. Josen spoke.
“We goin in with no backup?”
Khaled answered. “Too risky. Or you want the City Watch guarding your back?”
Josen raised both his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m just asking.”
Rylan cut in, “Jerich told the driver. Backup'll be here eventually, but Khaled is right. With a new anomaly, throwing more bodies at it would be foolish.” He would talk to Josen later. Rylan valued team input, but they were planning a fight, not a retreat.
“Capabilities of this thing? Thoughts?” He looked to Seris again. She had served an apprenticeship with the Census Office scienseers, the Purple Cloaks, before joining the team, and she had the purple stitching running through her cloak to prove it. The scienseers did not teach “the rank and file,” as they called the members of the other Orders, all of their secrets, but Rylan hoped they had taught enough.
She looked down and bit her lower lip before speaking. “Fast, protean. Could be hiding in anything porous or hollow.”
“We’ve all seen Outsiders on an air elixir,” said Jerich. Khaled nodded. The Stalkers dealt with this all time, chasing the scouts of the Outsiders. Such profane potions were used inside the city as well, giving their enemies incredible speed and a strange lightness that allowed them to jump higher and even drop safely from otherwise lethal heights.
“It will be invisible.” That whisper from Pali sliced through everything else. This time Seris was the one to agree.
“Definitely. Pure Air is always invisible. We have to assume that.”
There was fidgeting and muttered curses all around. Rylan’s eyes narrowed. How do you fight something you cannot see?
“The hose.” That was Lana. Everyone stopped and thought it through. All of them knew the inside of this facility as well as their own homes. Blueprints were memorized and walkthroughs done as part of training. Each member except Josen had also fought at least once through these halls during an Incursion. A few had been here many times.
“And smoke,” said Josen, holding up a sheaf of flares each of them carried. These were standard issue both in and outside the city for communication. There were different colors depending on the situation.
“Excellent suggestions,” said Rylan. “Here is the plan then: standard entry and make for the hose. Wait for my orders to drop smoke on a perimeter. Remember: simple attacks, just a touch and the anomaly will burn.”
“Sweep Team Three,” Rylan said, straightening up and stepping back, “stack all normal steel against the back wall. It’ll only slow us down in there.”
The team complied and within moments there were enough weapons on the ground to outfit a City Watch patrol three times their size. Rylan ordered their small shields left as well. Air would flow around them as surely as water, knowledge paid for in blood earlier that month. When they were finished, they turned back to Rylan, armed only with the weapons that made them the Order of Fire; the only known weapons so far that could harm the anomalies. They lined up on the left corner of the door, ready to flow into the room and a fight none of them had imagined was possible a few short weeks ago.
Rylan's orders were terse.
“Prepare to draw charged weapons." A brief pause. "Draw charged weapons.”
Everyone but Seris drew the blades. Circuit-straight lines of fire glowed orange across the blackened steel-tralaticon alloy. The temperature in the corridor went up, while steam, ash, or heat shimmer created an aura around each blade, depending on the element imbued within it. Drawing a charged weapon without orders brought demotion and removal from the Order of Fire. Using it after that brought the penalty of exile. Perpetrators were released by Stalkers into the wilderness, given six hours head start, then shot on sight. A simple death sentence was thought too lenient and torture was not officially sanctioned by the City Council. According to those who lived in the three Conduit Cites, the Outsiders were addicted to the elements and used them wantonly. Sending someone who could not handle the responsibility of a charged weapon out into wilderness controlled by Outsiders seemed a fitting punishment.
“Prepare to breach,” Rylan said. Nalas perched with his shoulder tight on the corner, ready to swing in and lead with his ash-shedding short sword. Rylan himself took the rear position to direct his team once they were inside. He hated being last, but such were the requirements of command. He reached out and grasped Lana's shoulder with his left hand. Everyone would do the same in order. Once Nalas felt Khaled's hand, he would know they were ready to go.
Rylan took a breath and said, “Security.” His team responded with the second half of their mantra, “Through Vigilance.” Nalas nodded to Seris.
She threw the lever and the door began to unlock, seals and piping on the portal disappearing into the floor and ceiling. It took less than five seconds, but by the way Nalas’ fingers tapped the frame, it felt like an eternity. Rylan's hand tightened and then released Lana’s shoulder as they moved into the room. Seris must have immediately dropped the lever back down to re-seal the door; metal rising back out of the floor clipped the Commander's boot heel as he entered the plant.