Part 1 ”Ya wanna know wha’?” Desri’s jaw hung in disbelief upon the question he had just heard. ”The Irisonians. You told me you’ve been to all kinds of places and seen all kinds of cultures and civilizations and stuff. So I was just wondering if you knew anything of them specifically.” Repeated Cole after…

Part 1 ”….. Are you two really going to keep on with that?” Following a sigh of pure and undiluted exasperation, Haudrica narrowed her eyes at both Cole and Mizelle. ”It’s alright; we fiddled with this machine before and nothing happened.” Replied Mizelle as Cole removed the tiny box of glass and metal from the…

Part 1 A palpable sense of tension. Like positive and negative wires, every time Cole got within five steps of Haudrica, she would hasten her pace and put some distance between them again. And if he tried to get even closer, she would lash out, like a spark in a short-circuit. However, with every step…

Peacefully uneventful days.

With no major incident or similar event to disturb his peace, Cole’s second week on the Phylactery had been mostly marked by his own advances on the understanding of his Unit… and the worrying fact that his growing beard was starting to make him look like someone out of a Mad Max movie.

Muffled steps and hushed breaths.

With their eyes forward and their packs on their backs, Cole and Zalura moved from tower to tower, always making sure of staying unseen.

Many a brave explorer will say that curiosity is the force that leads to new discoveries, but what they often fail to say is how addictive such force can become. And dangerous if accompanied by recklessness.

“Would you please give me a hand with this?´´ – Tetlekar was trying to pry open the panels in his leg and failing.

Whatever alloy Tetlekar was made of, it seemed to become completely featherlight whenever it received electrical charges. When it didn’t however, it was heavier than basalt. He was having a very hard time moving his malfunctioning leg, but when Cole tried to help him push it, he couldn’t even budge it an inch.

Dangerous situations bring out the hidden depths of a person. However, said hidden depths aren’t always pleasant.

“WHAT D’YA JUST SAID, BITCH!?´´ – Desri’s roar was so loud it felt as if the whole Phylactery shook with it.

Buddhist Monks claim that, with enough concentration and meditation, one can abandon the boundaries of the flesh and ascend to a state where the mind and the world are one… or something like that.

The way Cole was focusing on his notebook was akin to that of a monk trying to achieve a state of Zen.

“Whew, this will be enough.´´ – Setting down a small crate full of recovered screws, Cole looked upon the task he had set upon himself, and all he had gathered to fulfill it.

Neatly arranged upon a makeshift table made of some crates and a large sheet of metal, laid a wide selection of wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, drill bits, hacksaws, bolt cutters and a couple of soldering irons. There was also an old drill and a rather rusty crowbar, along with a battered but still functional multimeter by the floor.