Novek's claws snapped out and were pressing against Savron's throat before the man managed another word.

  “Kill how? Why the door? You have seconds to save your life; speak fast.”

  “What? Why would you—”

  Novek's paw curled, and tiny droplets of blood formed at the pinpoint interfaces between claws and skin.

  “—Helping you! I'm helping you!”

  Novek snarled, “The danger! What is the danger?”

  The doctor tried to reach up to grab hold of Novek's arm, “The agent is cut off, you're safe.”

  Novek slapped away the attempt, “Moira's not— the room! Is the room dangerous? Is someone in the room?”

  “The agent! It's a vacuum chamber!”

  “Explain.”

  “It's shielded! It will cut off the aetheric link between the agent and Nat. He can survive vacuum, like Lyn!”

  “Cut off the— Is the vacuum what makes the room dangerous?”

  “Not for Lyn, or Nat! It's required for maturation of some Ber!”

  “Siya! No—” Tanner cut off, as Novek snapped his head towards Tanner, silencing him with a look.

  “Siya can handle vacuum, Tanner, if that's all it is.” Returning his glare to the doctor, he enunciated his next words carefully, to make the point, “Is that the only thing?”

  “Well, I mean, longer term there's starvation—” The doctor cut off as Novek slammed him into the wall. “Yes! Yes! It's only a problem if left too long. The young won't be able to survive extended vacuum yet.”

  Novek considered a moment — adult Vodat could handle vacuum, but for how long could a kit manage? Okay, they were back on the clock, but he needed the doctor. He retracted his claws partially, so that a sudden motion didn't result in the man bleeding out. “Open the door.”

  “What? But that would re-establish the link. And besides, I can't.”

  “Listen to me. Moira — the agent — is a friend, not a threat. The door — why can't you open it?”

  “The moment the pumps started, the pressure differential locked that door more surely than if you'd welded it.”

  “So, turn them off.”

  “They're not controlled here. The observation room, above the chamber itself, has the controls. I was just sent to close the door once the agent was inside — I… I have to return.”

  “Sent? By whom?”

  “I… can't say. I was only sent out because of the… Moira.”

  Novek's claws resumed their pressure — Savron audibly squeaked, but said nothing.

  “Sent out? Who— no, wait, explain; Why do you think Moira is controlling Nat?”

  “You saw the soldiers upstairs — their behavior goes far beyond what I'd ever heard of.”

  “That's them — whoever they are; not Moira and Nat. She's no threat. So who sent you?”

  The doctor remained silent, which gave Novek time to consider a number of potential courses of action. He was trying his best to not put the ones involving immediate violence at the top of the list, but some days, his best just wasn't very good. After the cages, today was shaping up to be one of those days.

  A paw put gentle downward pressure on Novek's bicep, and Tanner gave Novek a meaningful glance. “Davon — if they're safe for the moment, I've got my own questions. I've known Savron for years. A moment, please.” Novek gave a short nod, then relaxed his paw and stepped back.

  “Tanner, I can't. They have my wife.”

  “And they've threatened to hurt her?”

  “Yes.”

  Tanner stepped forward, positioning himself directly between Novek and Savron, so that the Doctor was forced to look at him. He still cradled Khe, who despite the activity had remained observant. “My pups, Doctor. You said you'd help me find my pups. Were you lying?”

  “No — I'm not sure which are yours, but I know where the young are. But there's… a complication.”

  “Go on.”

  “They're being… held… protected from the agent's soldiers! By the people who sent me.”

  The wolfen took a step closer, “So, these people who are threatening your wife — they have my pups.”

  “Probably, yes. So you can see, my — our — hands are tied, we can't do anything.”

  “Because they'd possibly hurt your wife, and my children, unless we comply.”

  “Yes, I knew you'd see.”

  “No, Doctor, I do not. You came to find an agent, but you found us. You've known me for years, yet you didn't tell me any of this before you locked my friends in a room. And what's more, you locked children in a room that you're not even sure they can survive. To protect your wife.”

  “Yes — as a husband yourself, you have to understand.”

  “Wrong. Why are the kidnappers the only ones you're trusting? Now, you're going to tell us all about these people, where they are, how many — and how to open these doors.”

  “Why? What good will it do? They've got weapons, training — they're just holding out until tomorrow — there's a small army coming! We can't fight that!”

  Novek had heard enough. “If you only respond to threats of violence, and not reason, I am willing to accommodate you. But as to your point — if an army is coming, then we'd better act fast, and do our best to be long gone before they get here. But, just in case we aren't fast enough — we're going to go get my friends out of that room.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “What? You're insane. Lyn, Nat, and what, an agent with no support — assuming they're your friend as you say. What can they do?”

  Tanner scoffed, “Who do you think captured those soldiers, upstairs?”

  Savron inclined his chin, pointing at Novek, “I assumed… the pack did? I see the blood on his paws, and… well, you're no fighter, Tanner.”

  The set of the wolfen's jaw and pause before he spoke told Novek what Tanner thought of the doctor's estimation. That he was one of the ‘safe’ Brin. He watched Tanner quickly choke down his pride before he answered, “The pack's not here yet — it's just us.”

  The doctor squinted, his eyes moving back and forth as he tried to make sense of the state of things.

  Novek was almost sympathetic at the man's confusion — almost. He let out a breath in a huff, “Good eye, but I only put the first four down. That took a few seconds. They,” he indicated the chamber door, “…did the rest, in less than the blink of an eye.” Novek took hold of the man's shoulder, and gave him a push to get him moving down the hall. “Now, let's take a moment to get our story straight, go meet your friends, get Tanner's pups, and open the door.”

  “What are you saying? Wait — Nat — he has control of his Talent?”

  “The agent, as you call her, helped him with that. Yes.”

  The man, who had not visibly paled with claws like knives at his throat, now did so. “Oh, my.”

  Novek watched the realization spread across Savron's face. “Oh, so you do know what it is; I'll remember that. So, I think you understand that between them, that the better question is what they cannot do, if they deem it necessary. If they don't get themselves killed by giving the enemy a ‘fair’ chance.”

  Lyn's vision was blurry with whatever aetheric mucking about Nat was doing, but they focused on pulsing their call through the makeshift antenna that they'd made of the door.

  A few minutes and they were ready to tap out for a break to recharge — literally. This level of power output was draining, and it was a struggle to maintain it, given the demands on their body. With only normal activity, they'd have to eat constantly or drain an external source to sustain this amount of activity, but when trying to heal a major injury? They could feel the drain in the capacitive marrow of their bones.

  The light in Nat's hand suddenly changed, from a bright, but indistinct, winding glow to a humanoid form. Message received, apparently.

  Now, this is new.

  Before Lyn could tap to signal that it was time to exit, Nat ended the Talent, and sound and light returned to the world, cast by harsh overhead fixtures that… “What's — wait, are those people looking down at us from windows up above? They have to realize that the vacuum pumps are running… oh, of course — Moira, vanish. Nat, Slip fast — bring air, please.” Lyn held out their hand yet again.

  Nat reached out to grasp Lyn's hand, and the darkness returned — Moira's newer puppet no longer lit the area.

  Nat had started to cough before the slip, and finished it within the darkness. “Ah, what? Those pumps are fast — the air is already noticeably thin, I could probably bring the entire room in here at this point.”

  “Hmm. No, that would actually accelerate the lack of air for the fledges. Which brings me to what I wanted time to discuss. The observers up above are either Humans with no concept that a Silverpaw can tolerate vacuum indefinitely, and that Clackaw fledges cannot — or, they're trying to kill you.”

  “Oh. Because of Moira?”

  “Because of Moira.”

  Sigh. Odds are slim they saw me, at that height for such a short duration.

  Nat, always one to focus on the important things, noted, “Why do you say the word sigh, instead of just sighing?”

  Interestingly enough, I can't. So, they're trying to remove my link to the area, are they?

  “Seems so. What else could they think they're doing?”

  Easy enough to solve. Shall I burn through the door? Moira's puppet flashed back into existence, hanging in the air, ‘finger guns’ spurting tiny bursts of aetheric fire towards the door.

  “Cute, but no, I think we give them what they want — or at least what they're expecting.”

  “Help, Moira! Lyn's turned on me — this must be what it's like for Ber — being thought of as delicious, never knowing who they can trust.”

  Alas, it was only a matter of time before their sudden, yet inevitable betrayal.

  “Don't make me consider it — you wouldn't like the calculus at the moment. Also, I am in fact hungry — meat, please.” They held out their hand, then realized it wasn't visible and tapped Nat's palm, instead.

  A few seconds later and two bright green eyes were suddenly staring up at them from the darkness. “Fewmets! Siya!”

  “Wow, okay, that is an amazing display of patience — I honestly forgot he was in here.”

  “Same. But as for the patience — that is specifically why they were chosen to do what they do.”

  “Really? What is that?”

  “Surveillance, monitoring, observation. Since they can digest almost anything — and don't do anything resembling breathing — they're often put in inhospitable places and then retrieved years later. I've heard stories that some never moved — just dissolved the ground beneath them slowly over time.”

  “So what I'm getting here is that Siya's fine with us. That's lucky.”

  “Possibly lucky for Savron. Otherwise, I imagine he's already in very small pieces just on the other side of the door. Also, I cannot help but notice I do not yet have any meat in my hand, Nat.”

  The sound of scrabbling through the pack was accompanied by the tiny green eyes bouncing around. “Siya! No, this is for Lyn! Oh, fine — one for you too, then. But no more, or I'm telling Novek.”

  The glowing orbs stopped suddenly. “What? No. I didn't mean it.” A moment later and Nat's hand found Lyn's in the dark, and mystery meat was served. Lyn didn't even bother unwrapping it — Vodat weren't the only ones with aggressive digestive capabilities, after all.

  Hmm. Novek's walking down the hallway to the stairs with Tanner. Both still have the aetheric ear tags from you touching them earlier, but Savron I can't detect directly. With Nat in here, I can't hear anything in their vicinity, but I can talk to them, at least until their marks fade. If you want I could flash the hall with aether to see if he's standing, or kibble.

  “No, that would be detectable. Let's not alert anyone to your presence more than we have. We want them to think they're temporarily rid of you with Nat's ‘death’. Tell Novek we plan to stay here overnight — work on healing the broodmother, that he should do the same, and ask him to jump if he was forced to kill Savron. Oh, and let him know that Rezzan is still out there, but maybe avoid using her name.”

  Can do. It's going to be slightly audible — the aetheric tag is a single point. I'm not exactly sure where his ear canal is to whisper in, so I have to vibrate the whole area around it.

  “That's fine. If Savron's alive, nothing I said will be a concern. Nat, did you have anything else to add?”

  “Let him know that Siya will be fine.”

  Oh, right. Good point. I'll queue that up as soon as we're done here. What's the plan?

  “Well phase one is we set up a healing pattern in here. We can do that right now, I think. For phase two, I think we let Nat suffocate naturally as the air drains out. It's a shame that the acclimation doesn't kick in until you're almost in true vacuum — but unless your species gets a full re-engineering pass, be glad it even works. So, it's going to be a little uncomfortable.”

  “Twice in one day. Wonderful.”

  “Sorry, Nat. Then you fall over near the broodmother so she can touch you if we need to Slip with her again, and I weep your early passing for about a minute and a half before I cover you with your bedroll. If you or Siya need to stretch, just Slip — if they can detect that, this is for naught anyway.”

  “And how long do you think we're going to keep up the charade?”

  “What would you say if I said overnight? Or at least until Moira says we're clear of watchers, up above.”

  “I'd say that I was actually considering letting you kill and eat me, instead.”

  “I know it's suboptimal, but this is an information advantage that I am loath to concede. I'll try to find some way to give you more room to move, okay?”

  Nat, I know the sheet might be boring, but I have a few things I want to try with your door-braid. And I can read to you while you're under there, if it'd help.

  “Alright, fine — let's do it. Shall we move closer to Mother for the pattern? Oh, we should exit here, where we entered, or they're going to know something's up, and then Slip again for the pattern.”

  “Agreed. Okay, unless anyone has anything before we head back over, it's time to leave. Ready for the death scene?”

  All set. Moira's figure burst into tiny particles of aether, dimming as they spiraled in the air; Lyn was reminded of sparks from a campfire.

  “You both owe me for this. Moira, I think this deserves something out of the guilty pleasures pile for this evening's reading.”

  I've changed my mind, Lyn. I say we just let you eat him.