Page 34 of Alien Hunter's Prize

I tilted my head, concentrating, mapping the edges of the field. "There's a narrow gap along the right wall... barely wide enough for one person at a time. The field fluctuates, pulsing, but the intensity seems lower right against the stone."

"Pravoka, watch our rear," Iros instructed, his voice calm and authoritative. "Nirako, follow Jen's guidance precisely. Stay tight to the wall."

I inhaled slowly, drawing on Mateha's technique—three short inhales, one long exhale—centering myself, focusing my intent. Then, I took the lead, pressing myself against the cold, vibrating stone of the right-hand wall. I moved slowly, cautiously, my hand outstretched, feeling for the invisible edge of the energy field, guiding my steps based on the visualization in my mind. The air here felt thick, crackling, raising the hairs on my arms.

We shuffled sideways, one by one, through a gap barely wide enough for Iros's broad shoulders. As I passed the focal point of the distortion, I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me, accompanied by a brief, unpleasant tingling sensation across my skin, like microscopic needles pricking me. My markings flared again, fighting against the invasive energy. Then we were through, the sensation fading as we moved past the energy pocket into a slightly clearer section of the corridor.

"Well done," Iros murmured as he came up behind me, his hand resting briefly on my shoulder, a gesture of reassurance and approval that sent a warm pulse through my core.

Nirako shot me a look of grudging respect, the first sign that his deep-seated Aerie suspicion might be wavering in the face of my demonstrable abilities. Pravoka remained impassive, her focus entirely on guarding our backs, though I sensed a flicker of curiosity from her—a temporary link forged by shared purpose and proximity, weaker than between Iros and me, but present nonetheless.

We continued our descent, encountering more signs of decay and malfunction. A massive blast door, designed surely to contain catastrophic failures, lay buckled and torn from its reinforced hinges, testament to the immense forces that had been unleashed here in the past. Strange crystalline fungi grew in patches where energy leaked from damaged conduits, pulsing with faint, unhealthy light that cast grotesque shadows. The very architecture felt oppressive, built on a scale that dwarfed us, hinting at the power this facility once wielded and the hubris of its creators.

My thoughts kept returning to the night before, to the feeling of Iros's arms around me, the heat of his skin, the overwhelming connection. The memory was a stark contrast to the cold, dangerous reality of these ruins, yet it served as an anchor, a reminder of what we were fighting for—not just survival, butconnection, harmony, life. Knowing that warmth, that intimacy, awaited our return gave me strength I wouldn't have possessed alone.

We reached a junction where three corridors converged. The central passage pulsed with a faint, ominous reddish light from deeper within, and the discordant hum that vibrated through the facility was strongest in that direction.

"The core lies that way," I confirmed, the energy signature unmistakable, pulling at my markings like a malevolent magnet. "The dissonance is... significantly stronger."

"Wait," came Pravoka's sharp hiss from behind us. "Movement. Behind us. Closing fast. Silent."

Before Iros could react, something metallic and spherical zipped past us from the corridor we had just exited, faster than seemed possible. It stopped abruptly, hovering silently in the center of the junction ahead, rotating slowly. It was identical to the Guardian drone Iros had described from Rivera's reports—dull grey metal, studded with sensor arrays, a single multifaceted lens swiveling to assess us with cold, mechanical indifference.

"Guardian drone," I breathed, recognizing it instantly from Rivera's descriptions and the data I'd glimpsed on the terminal. "Automated defense. Still active after all this time."

"Ancestors preserve us," Nirako muttered, raising his spear, the obsidian tip shattered from the earlier encounter replaced with a sharpened bone point.

The drone emitted a low hum, its central lens focusing directly on us. A thin red targeting beam lanced out, sweeping across our group, pausing fractionally on each of us.

"Don't move," Iros ordered, his voice level, projecting calm despite the sudden threat. "It responds to movement and energy signatures. Stay calm. Let it scan."

I sensed Iros's protective instincts surge, his focus entirely on the drone, assessing its capabilities, calculating threat vectors. Nirako and Pravoka tensed, falling into defensive postures. My own heart hammered against my ribs, but my mind raced, analyzing the drone's energy signature, searching for the patterns Rivera had described.

The drone hovered, processing its scan. Its low hum deepened ominously. Weapon ports, previously flush with the spherical surface, slid open along its equator, revealing the menacing emitters within. It had identified us as unauthorized intruders. Its programming, ancient but implacable, dictated elimination.

"Scatter!" Iros yelled, shoving me hard towards the relative cover of a fallen wall panel just as the drone unleashed a wave of shimmering energy.

The energy field washed over the junction like an invisible tide. It hit me with less force than it seemed to hit the Nyxari—perhaps my markings offered some resistance, or perhaps my human physiology reacted differently—but the effect was still profoundly disorienting. A wave of vertigo swept over me, my muscles locking momentarily, my vision blurring at the edges. I stumbled behind the panel, fighting for equilibrium.

Looking out, I saw Iros, Nirako, and Pravoka staggering, momentarily incapacitated by the field's neurological effect. The drone ignored them, its multifaceted lens locking onto me, recognizing me perhaps as the primary anomaly due to my markings' energy signature. Its weapon ports glowed brighter, charging for a more focused, lethal attack.

"Jen, move!" Iros shouted, already pushing himself upright, shaking off the field's effects with sheer willpower, moving to intercept.

I didn't need telling. I scrambled sideways along the wall, seeking better cover just as the drone fired a concentrated beamof pure energy. The beam struck the panel where I had been moments before with a deafening crackle, vaporizing a section of the ancient metal, showering the area with molten sparks. The smell of burnt ozone filled the air. That would have killed me instantly.

Nirako, recovering quickly, let out a Nyxari warrior's roar and charged, thrusting his spear towards the drone's central lens. The drone pivoted with impossible smoothness, easily dodging the clumsy thrust, and fired another beam that struck Nirako's spear shaft, blasting it from his grip and sending him staggering back, his arm smoking where the energy had grazed him.

Pravoka fired her projectile weapon, the small device barking sharply in the confined space. But the drone deployed a shimmering, translucent energy shield that absorbed the impact with barely a ripple.

This was bad. Very bad. It was fast, shielded, heavily armed, and clearly prioritized me as the primary target. Our weapons were pitiful against it.

"Jen! Its energy signature!" Iros called out, engaging the drone directly now, dodging its beams with incredible speed and agility, trying to draw its fire away from me. "The shield! Can you find a weakness? A frequency? Anything!"

I pressed myself against the wall, forcing down panic, focusing my senses entirely on the drone, on the energy patterns swirling around it. Mateha's breathing technique.Three short inhales, one long exhale.Center. Filter. Analyze.

The drone's shield hummed with power, a complex weave of energy frequencies. But beneath the primary shield harmonics, there was... something else. A resonance. A specific frequency pattern that seemed to regulate the shield's integrity. It pulsed rhythmically. High frequency... structured... almost familiar...

"Got it!" I yelled, the insight hitting me like a physical blow. "The shield resonates! High frequency, specific pattern! Like the Lurker sonar, but technological! We need to match it, overload its regulators!"

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