After traveling through its tunnel entrance for several minutes, RED-1 and their guerilla allies entered a large cavern filled with lighting equipment, makeshift workspaces, and True Twins personnel. The facility was within a naturally formed cave, with stalactites hanging from the higher portions of the oblong room's ceilings. Smooth black flooring had been installed within, which made the ground level and a bit rubbery in texture. The space, abuzz with activity, was slightly smaller than the central hangar portion of the Auxiliary.

  “Reminds me of home.” Ursun smirked as he surveyed the base from the raised platform they all stood on near the exit of the tunnel.

  Lorias closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A pleasured expression came upon his face as he exhaled. “The air in here is quite nice.” He said with contentment.

  “It’s known to have healing properties, if you could believe it.” Wadaw ran a finger down the tapered edge of his mask as he spoke.

  "Looks like this has all been here for a while." Srell said, stepping closer to the stairs that led down to the open complex. He could see sizeable openings to what he assumed were other caves carved into some of the opposite walls.

  "Excellent observation." Wadaw quipped as the other True Twins walked past them and down into the cave complex. Srell was unsure if Wadaw was being sarcastic or not. "Come, let me show you all around."

  Wadaw led the five members of RED-1 around to the different sections of the cave, separated by crates and free-standing wall partitions. Some sections served as staging areas full of combat equipment while others were filled with rows of bunk beds. There was also a small medical section where a few men continued to sleep soundly despite the noise reverberating throughout the cave.

  "How long have you guys been using this place?" Leanna asked Wadaw as he showed them where the bathrooms were.

  "You know, I'm not exactly sure. It's been a few decades, at least." He gave Leanna an easy-going shrug before walking off to show them another area. “I just know that it took a long time for us to learn about these caves, then even longer for us to secure permission to use them. They’re considered sacred grounds by some of our oldest faiths; faiths that some True Twins still follow.”

  "And how many people can this place house?" She asked, doing her best to keep up with him while they passed a group of True Twins that were carrying a long crate. The rest of her team walked leisurely behind Wadaw, all the while taking in their hectic surroundings. "And how have you all avoided detection for so long?"

  "A few hundred people, if need be. This specific base serves as more of a travel stop than a settlement, though." Wadaw pointed over at the largest tunnel entrance in the back of the cave. "These tunnels are for transporting goods and equipment throughout our network of caves."

  "Network?" Srell's ears pricked up. "How many caves are there down here?"

  "My other question first, please." Leanna pushed Srell aside. "Why haven't these caves been discovered by Gusa's forces?" She asked Wadaw with more bass in her voice.

  "This place is ancient, older than the singulars or the Queen. They were a well-guarded secret among the Viga rangers and other faithful, as I mentioned." Wadaw stopped and waved his hand up at the partially illuminated cave ceiling. "The highly conductive clay of the Viga rainforest combined with the unique properties of the cave walls' mineral structure make it invisible to even the most powerful ground-piercing radar. The few people that know of these caves would rather die than give up their existence to our enemies."

  “It sounds like you guys have been very lucky for a very long time.” Lorias raised his chin up at Wadaw.

  “Probably.” Wadaw nodded and gave a half-smile to Lorias, disarming him.

  “The caves? How many?” Srell had grown impatient.

  “A dozen, or some such number.” Wadaw waved his hand dismissively behind him without even turning to look at Srell.

  “A dozen!?” Srell shouted so loudly that several True Twins they were walking by stopped what they were doing.

  “Or some such number.” Wadaw echoed with enough sarcasm to make Lorias smirk. “This is our mess hall. Let’s all sit down and have a proper conversation over a proper meal.”

  Wadaw led the mercenaries into a dining area filled with round tables. A few scattered True Twins were eating meals quietly while a small group worked in the kitchen behind the serving counter. The smell of cooked grains and exotic spices wafted through the air.

  RED-1 was brought to a table near the opposite edge of the room's entrance where plates of Sguvan breakfast food were arranged for them. A dark-skinned woman with shoulder-length microbraids leaned against the wall partition beside the table, louring at the approaching group as if they'd arrived late.

  "How the hell did you all get here so fast?" The woman stepped forward and placed her palms on the table. She had only the faint trace of a Sguvan accent, sounding more like a Conjunction citizen than anything. Her slanted brown eyes looked over each member of RED-1 with a vivacious intensity. Prism thought that she looked quite remarkable with her high, prominent cheekbones. "We've just got reports of a strange explosion that destroyed an entire air platoon not far from your Peninsula. Was that your doing as well?" She said in a controlled, feminine voice.

  "My goodness Kitra, let our guests eat before you start interrogating them." Wadaw shook his head at her before walking around the table and taking a seat beside the chair she stood over. "Pardon her manners. This is my dear friend Kitra Motugur Lova Wakat Balakano. Amongst her many roles, she helps handle the operations of this base."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Did you really have to tell them my whole Sguvan name..." Kitra looked down at Wadaw sternly.

  Wadaw shrugged before patting the seat of the chair in front of her. She sighed and sat down within it. She then leaned back and crossed her arms over the tight black shirt she wore.

  Wadaw politely motioned for the others to sit down. The mercenaries shared a few glances between one another before taking off their helmets and sitting down at the table. Srell, quite fond of his Sguvan ex-girlfriend’s cooking, was the first to start eating.

  "The answer to both of your questions is the man sitting beside me." Ursun said with a nudge of his head in Prism's direction. "Calling him a "man" isn't quite correct, even though he looks like one." Ursun smirked before beginning to eat the pungent food on the wooden plate in front of him.

  "You're the alien, the one that Gusa's calling the Fairy Prince?" Kitra leaned forward in her seat and pointed at Prism. "You don't look like a child at all."

  Kitra turned to look at Wadaw when she heard him chuckling at her observation. She frowned, realizing that he'd probably said the same thing when he'd met Prism.

  "I recently transformed myself to look older. I didn't want people to think that the Red Wolves were employing child soldiers." Prism's eyes looked down at his plate. The change in topic made him lose his appetite. He watched the steam rising from the still-hot dish as regret similarly rose up within him. "I should've done it sooner. I wasn't really...being mindful of the ramifications of my actions."

  "By "transforming" yourself, you've only played into Gusa's propaganda!" Kitra slammed her hands onto the table and rose in her seat. Her almond-shaped eyes grew wide and impassioned with the heat of her sudden anger. Prism leaned back in his own seat, his eyes meeting her own. "Only fairies can change their form so easily; that is what many people in this country believe." Kitra slowly sat back down as her calm demeanor returned to her.

  The mood at the table soured after Kitra spoke a fact that some of them had been worried about. Leanna stirred the food on her plate around with a small wooden spoon while she considered Kitra's concern. Lorias and Srell carried on eating as if nothing had happened.

  "Your fourth name..." Prism spoke quietly, not wanting to be culturally insensitive. "From what I know about Sguvan society, a person’s fourth name is the place they were born."

  "That's right." Wadaw nodded his head and smiled at Prism. Kitra did not look amused, even in the slightest. She glared at Prism before pointing her chin at him, urging him to get to the point.

  "The Wakat I know is the capital city of Disdüt. Is there another Wakat here in Sguvi?" Prism saw Ursun leering at him from the corner of the alien's eye.

  “Nope, you figured it out. Yes, I was born and raised in Disdüt.” Kitra rolled her eyes before she began to eat. “If it wasn’t already obvious from looking at me.”

  Prism looked at Leanna, who shrugged and gave him a reassuring half-smile. She didn’t touch the food that everyone else was eating. "You've come a long way to fight in this war." Leanna said, suspecting that the woman was a part of DIS, the Disdüti Intelligence Service.

  "I've been living in Sguvi since I was five years old. This is my home." Kitra spoke defiantly. She pointed her finger straight down at the dark ground beside her to emphasize her words.

  "A story for another day!" Wadaw beamed at everyone at the table. "So, my capable confederates," He stretched his arms out at the members of RED-1 seated around him before saying, "shall we discuss our plans for the coming days?"

  "And how you plan on getting your other teams here to aid in our operations, like you promised." Kitra was quick to remind Ursun.

  Ursun brought his hand up and pointed it at Prism. "He'll create a large circle about 50 meters in diameter in a suitable area of these caves. That circle will allow our people and ample supplies to be teleported to and from your base."

  "Remarkable..." Wadaw stroked his hairless chin while watching Prism.

  "I'll believe it when I see it." Kitra sneered as she fought back a chortle. "We'll need to move some things out of the way, but we should have a "suitable area" for your circle."

  "It'll take me a few days to create the tele-circle, as we call it. It'll be a complex pattern carved into the ground itself. The engravings will be about 300 millimeters deep and fortified against damage or tampering." Prism further explained to a very curious Wadaw. “I’ll also fortify your base alongside our engineering team, once they arrive through the tele-circle.”

  “Fortify it how?” Wadaw inquired.

  Prism pointed to the uneven ceiling above their heads. “I can use my abilities to make this place even harder to find by your enemies. I can also speed up the structural improvements that the engineers will be making.” Prism was vague enough to leave some leeway for any expectations Wadaw and Kitra might be forming, a skill Prism learned after overpromising the Red Wolves things enough times for them to overestimate his abilities.

  "That sounds absolutely fabulous. I wish that I could witness your miraculous gifts in action, but alas, I am better suited outside of these caves.” Wadaw pretended to wipe away a tear from his masked eye. “We'll keep you here in the care of Kitra while I take the rest of your team out to get a feel for the local community, and for the road ahead." Wadaw said after taking a few bites of his meal.

  Prism heard Kitra groan before leaning back in her chair. He didn't know what to make of the woman. He wasn't sure if she thought he was an evil fairy, an annoying pest, or both.

  Ordinarily, he'd do his best to interact with her as little as possible. But in this case, Prism needed to work with her closely. Even worse, he thought; he needed to trust her with his safety while his team was away.

  "I'll be counting on you." Prism said cordially to the woman. She nodded slowly as she ate, not even bothering to look at him.

  Wadaw watched everyone except for Leanna finish their breakfast. "I'm sorry that the food wasn't to your liking, young lady."

  "One of the downsides of being a Xypno is that my digestive system needs quite some time to adjust to new diets. It looks like these boys loved it, though." Leanna nodded at Srell in particular, who was contently rubbing his belly through his combat armor.

  “Ah yes, how inconsiderate of me. It’s been so long since I’ve hosted an Etrysian, let alone a Xypno.” Wadaw scratched the white curls at the back of his head and bowed his head at Leanna.

  “Cut the silliness, Wadaw. We have work to do.” Kitra closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Her voice merely hinted at anger. To Prism, she looked like she might snap at any moment.

  "Yes, yes. Thank you for keeping us on topic." Wadaw nodded to Kitra, who nodded back. "Kitra and I keep each other sharp, if you haven’t noticed. There’s still plenty of time in the day, so I'd like for us to jump right into things. Kitra can get the space freed up for Prism's tele-circle, and the rest of us can join one of our patrols above-ground."

  Breakfast was concluded and the two groups prepared to go their separate ways. Prism shared some well wishes to his teammates, and they did the same. A greater element of risk was entering their mission, and they’d need to contend with far more unknowns than they were used to.

  The intense focus Prism exercised to create tele-circles would make him vulnerable within the caves and for a while afterwards. He'd need to rely on the protection of the True Twins; he'd be at their mercy. And to further complicate matters, the intensive process would disable the telepathic link that Prism maintained among RED-1.

  Prism and the rest of RED-1 would be truly cut off from each other for the next few days, deep within a foreign jungle.