Chapter 5: Cult

Chapter 5: The Cult of the Void

As the days in Steelroot settled into a routine, Azrael continued to immerse himself in the daily life of the colony. He helped with construction, assisted Zara with resource management, and even trained a few settlers in basic combat techniques alongside Darius. The colony was starting to feel like a real community for him, and Azrael found himself growing attached to the people. The topic of the massacre was brought up by Zara and the others on the meeting, but there was no big development from them.

He assumed that they were already set on thinking that Stellaxis was the one who attacked the camp, and was safe from being found out for the time being.

One morning, as Azrael was finishing his patrol around the perimeter, he noticed an unusual commotion near the medical building. Colonists were gathered, their faces with concern. Zara was among them, her expression tense as she spoke to Dr. Lian, the colony's physician.

Curious, Azrael approached. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern.

Zara turned to him, the worry on her face was evident. "Hi Azrael. Several colonists have fallen ill suddenly. Dr. Lian is trying to figure out what's causing it."

Azrael's mind raced. An illness spreading through the colony could be disastrous. "How many are affected?"

"Five so far," Dr. Lian replied, looking up from her notes. "But the symptoms are severe. High fever, weakness, and in some cases, hallucinations. We need to identify the source before it spreads further."

Azrael nodded. "Let me know how I can help."

Dr. Lian looked up and handed him a few test tubes and some syringes. We need you to gather samples from the affected people."

He nodded and began to work immediately. Azrael took the tubes and syringes and moved from bed to bed, collecting blood samples and speaking with the sick colonists. Their conditions varied, but the symptoms were consistent. High fever, sweating, and a delirious state that left many of them unable to communicate. He also took some sample for his system to analyze.

He took a drop of blood from the syringe and placed it carefully on the tip of his finger. He then proceeded to use his tongue to test the sample.

[Analyzing Blood Sample]

[Test complete]

[Blood Type: O]

[Foreign harmful substance detected. Consumption of substance may lead to sickness. A number of different materials are mixed into one substance. 80% possibility of the substance being manmade]

[Odds of surviving: 45%]

[Possible Biochemical Warfare. Advisable to investigate nearby water sources]

His hunch was correct. It was possible that the colonists consumed contaminated water and are now suffering because of sabotage. With such a low rate of surviving, he needed to do something to help the colonists.

[Relations with Steelroot: 25]

His actions at the camp had brought the relations with the settlement up. For the time being, he won't do anything reckless like that again.

By the time he returned to the medical building, Dr. Lian had already begun her analysis. She was frowning at the data on her screen when Azrael entered.

"Any luck?" he asked, placing the samples on her desk.

Dr. Lian shook her head. "Not yet. There's no sign of any known pathogens. It's almost as if this illness is completely new. I don't know if it's even a virus."

Zara, who had been overseeing the quarantine area, joined them. "Could it be something environmental? A toxin or a chemical we've come into contact with?

"Oh how absolutely right you are, Zara." He thought.

Dr. Lian considered this. "It's possible. But we'd need to conduct a thorough check of the colony's source of water. Our water reserve comes from a nearby river, and is pumped using pipes and then stored in the water tank."

"I'll do it." Azrael voiced.

"Thank you Azrael." Zara said, with smile on her face. "I'm glad to have you here with us."

He nodded and grabbed a few more test tubes to bring with him and stored it in his small bag. "In the meantime, we should isolate the sick and monitor anyone who shows symptoms." He suggested

As the day wore on, Azrael and Zara worked tirelessly to contain the spread of the illness. They set up a quarantine area in one of the storage buildings, moving the affected colonists there to prevent further infection. Azrael took on the task of patrolling the perimeter and ensuring that no one entered or left the quarantine zone without proper precautions.

By evening, the situation seemed to be under control, but the atmosphere in the colony was tense.

That night, in the darkness, Azrael set out to investigate. He moved silently through the colony. He collected water samples from the river and the wells, and even took soil samples from around the colony. He navigated further up the river, and to his surprise, he found tracks. Not animal tracks but human. A person was here.

"Clearly did not do a good job of covering your tracks." Azrael voiced silently. He dipped his fingers in the water and tasted it. Thanks to his droid body, he was immune to sickness and toxin.

[Source of water contaminated.]

[Similarity of substance between samples: 100%]

He wasn't sure of it then, but he was sure of it now. They are being sabotaged by an outsider.

"Could it be the other natives, taking revenge?" He thought. It was a possibility that the natives' other camp found out about the massacre and assumed the colony was behind it, so they did this to take revenge for the camp. The tracks themselves were caused by someone who was barefooted.

He followed the tracks further, and came upon an area that was already disturbed. The area was concealed, and this was the best hiding spot if anyone were to come and hide themselves from the colony. Azrael activated his infrared and sonar to detect.

"There you are…"

His infrared detected someone hiding in a foxhole. It was only one person. He silently made his way towards the foxhole without alerting the person inside.

Then, when he got close, he quickly used his hand to pull the person inside and yank him.

The figure stumbled, caught off guard by Azrael's sudden violent appearance. It was a man, unkempt and desperate-looking, with wild eyes that darted around nervously. Azrael's grip tightened on the man's arm, his strength ensuring he couldn't escape.

"There you are you fucking coward! Why did you poison us?!" He grabbed the man by the neck and started shaking him violently. His voice authoritative and demanding.

The man's gaze flickered with fear and defiance. "I... I didn't mean to hurt anyone," he stammered, his voice hoarse. "I was desperate. They promised me..."

"Who promised you?" Azrael pressed.

The man hesitated, then muttered, "The Voice. They said it was for the greater good."

Azrael's sensors detected a spike in the man's pulse, a sign of deceit or distress. "The Voice? What do you mean?"

The man's eyes widened with realization, as if he had said too much. "I... I can't say more," he choked out, struggling against Azrael's hold.

Azrael's processors analyzed the situation. The man's erratic behavior and cryptic words pointed to something deeper. "You're not acting alone," he stated, more as an observation than a question. He tightened his grip on the man's neck. "Who's behind all this?!"

The man's resolve crumbled further. "I'm just a messenger," he blurted out. "They said the colony was a threat, that it needed to be taught a lesson."

"Who are they? Where can I find them?"

The man shook his head frantically. "I... I can't..." His voice trailed off, fear gripping him.

[Advisable Action: Use the Information Extractor to gain information from the individual's brain.]

[Note that this action may cause the individual being interrogated to die as the process is lethal]

Seeing this, he is more surprised by the system suggesting him new features from his body to help him. He wonders what else he can do that the system hasn't told him.

"Alright, if you won't tell me, I'll find out about it myself!" He shouted at the man.

He raised his palms towards the man, and from the middle of his palm, a tiny needle was protruding.

"Wait- what are you doi-"

Without waiting for the man to finish, Azrael then stabbed the man's eyes and the needle expanded towards his brain, gathering all the information it could find. The information then was transferred into Azrael's processors and he could see it in his eyes through the system.

The cultist, who was being extracted of information, was shaking violently as if he was having a seizure

"Ghurrh," the cultist's constantly made noises that was incoherent, but it was apparent that he was suffering and in pain.

Upon getting the information he needed, Azrael extracted the needle from the cultist's head, and he seized a little more before falling sideways onto the ground. He was dead.

Azrael took his body and used the already dug foxhole to bury the cultist's body. With this, no one would find this place soon.

"I still need to bring this sample to Dr. Lian…" He whispered.

He ran back to the settlement. With his running speed, it didn't take long for him to reach the colony.

He immediately went to Dr. Lian and gave all the samples to her. She ran tests and cross referenced the composition of the water and the blood of colonists.

"They match. It is a toxin. I can use the samples and create a cure for the toxins in a few days. With this, we wouldn't need to worry. Thank you Azrael. You were a great help." Dr. Lian said with a smile on her face.

"No worries Doc. Just doing my job." He replied to Dr. Lian.

"No one should know what happened. I'm going to deal with the cult myself."

He went out from the medical building and went back to the barracks. A new enemy has shown up, and he has to formulate a plan to destroy this new enemy. With the new information he gathered from the cultist's brain, it would give him a better understanding of the cult.