After the meteor shower, Ronin fell back into familiar routines. He had once again picked up speed with the Kalvrakian Embrace and after about two weeks of hard work, he was almost done with the ninth stance.
Could my rate of progress depend on the types of experiences I go through? When I arrived here, in under two weeks, I reached the 8th stance, but my progress slowed down so much after reaching that stance, it would have taken me 50 days, just to reach the 9th. Now, however, after opening another gate and achieving the Battle Soul, my progress has once again picked up speed...
It might be that the technique required him to break down both his body and mind in order for it to then rebuild him back up again. He shuddered at the thought. If his body and mind had to be broken down, tempered, then rebuilt, again and again... How much would he have to go through in order to complete the 108th stance! These last few weeks had already been more than enough "experience" for his taste. He wasn't some kind of masochist!
He'd also focused a lot on healing his mindscape and through a lot of tedious work, he not only fixed his sight, but he also got rid of the annoying headache. He'd learned from the last screw-up though. He didn't stop, working relentlessly on making his mind perfect. This time, he wouldn't even allow for the slightest crack to remain, his mind should be an immovable object, crystal clear, immutable, unalterable by anyone but himself. He still had a long way to go, but he was making steady progress. Compared to before, his mindscape now, gave off a reassuring feeling of stability.
But more important than anything else, after obtaining the Battle Soul technique, he now felt the subconscious influence of the Potentia Panorama. When he focused in closely, analyzing his thoughts to an almost obsessive degree, it had materialized. A sort of inconsistency, shaped in the form of a golden energy, draping his mind. Through the vague shapes representing his new technique, he could see it, in all its glory, slightly mutating each and every thought he had as they emerged.
What the Battle Soul did, beyond allowing him to see the mutation, was let him resist this insidious influence. Since the arena battle, he hadn’t fought once. Two weeks, not a single fight.
“...”
Having just put his cuffs back on from another round of stance exercises, he spotted a couple of guards walking up to his cell.
“Inmate 5348! Come out!”
What's going on? They usually never come down here like this.
Walking out, he was escorted along the gangway and out of the common hall. Now, out of the central part of the complex, they walked along a number of passageways, the dull metallic gray walls seemingly growing upwards from the floor, matching the identically colored ceiling. As their hollow footsteps echoed out across the eerily empty construction, they eventually came to a stop.
Standing in front of a door, Ronin looked up, above it hung a sign. Visitation? Who would travel to a different planet to visit ME? Who could?
As the guards opened the door, then pushed him inside, he was struck dumb on the spot. Not moving, he only stood there, mouth agape, his brain short-circuited from the shock of what he was seeing.
Professor Roneus Ravent!?
“…”
“Well don’t just stand there, come here, sit down, sit down.” The professional voice of his practical teacher rang out.
Employing his newly gained battle soul technique, Ronin reigned himself in.
“Teacher? What are you doing here?
“Seeing as I'm the one primarily responsible for overall update and maintenance of Exodons prison transport ships, it's only natural I would be the one to make the journey.”
"That's not what I mean, WHY are you HERE?”
“Before any of that, there is something we’ll have to clarify.” The professor leisurely took out an air brush and began grooming himself. He cleared his throat.
“Describe the features of the academy suit.”
Taken aback, Ronin walked up, then took a seat. "Well… It's an expensive suit equipped with radiation detection technology, temperature control, a shield generator, a jet pack and-”
"It's a lab suit, why does it have these functions?”
“Professor, I really don-”
“Just answer the question,” His lecturer interrupted, neither his voice, nor his expression giving anything away.
“Ehm, alright.” He replied, not expecting a lesson here of all places.
“The temperature control is installed for times our lab work requires us to work on spaceship components, only stable under specific temperatures, temperatures which are not very pleasant for humans to work in.”
The professor gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.
“Let’s see, the radiation detection addons are obvious seeing as a radiation leak in the lab could be fatal. The shield generator stores up all the energy supplied into a one-time energy shield which I presume would be to protect against a potential lab explosion? That leaves the jetpack…which is there to assist landings?”
“Assist landings?” A slight smile emerged on the normally cool and unresponsive face.
“Let me clue you in as to why a lab suit, from out of all the possible useful and relevant options out there, would be equipped with something as ridiculous as a jetpack.”
Roneus Ravent raised a finger, emphasizing the point.
“Envy! like a little brother, trying to copy the older, the reason jetpacks are popular in Tar, is solely due to our powerful neighbors. While it’s fashionable and affordable for them to fly around with anti-gravity-based clothing, we here install unwieldy, heavy jetpacks. The academy suit weighs 16kg and 10 of those are because of the jetpack. A jetpack nobody uses.”
“I do.” Ronin cut in. Is it really that simple?
“You’re the exception. There’s been studies on this. Listen, I asked that question because it shows just how small and insignificant this kingdom really is. If The Sichuan Empire says jump, Tar’s only question is: how high? If the Protus coalition comes up with a new trend, you’ll see Tar bending over backwards trying to imitate them.”
“You ask me why I am here? To get you out of course! Did you think the academy would abandon a promising student like you just like that? I told you about the jetpack because of what it signifies. It only takes a single person from a higher system to turn our entire kingdom around! A powerful person from Sichuan could just say the word and that empire would change their policy towards us. Tar would completely change as a result! A single person, if they reach high enough, have more power than billions in this galaxy! That means, every single member of the kingdom smart enough, and with enough potential, is a national asset of such enormous importance, our entire states fate, hinges on their will alone! I’ve called the prison warden himself down here to answer for what they’ve done. They never should have locked you up.”
Ronin mulled over the lecture. A single powerful man from a higher system turning around an entire state. That meant there was an enormous gap in power between systems and if he sought that power, if he wanted to be the master of his own destiny, he should seek higher systems first.
After a slight pause, he asked the professor, “I might blackmail the warden a bit, you ok with that?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“…”
“I’m, I’m sorry, I just can’t.” The warden said, bowing his head in apology.
“Do you know just how much of a national strategic asset a genius is? You not only forced this genius through hell, you made me, alone, fight against 50 people in a life and death battle, you might as well have pulled the trigger yourself, that's a death sentence. As I rise in rank and gain more influence, a mere word from me could cost you a lot more than just your career... You understand that right?” Ronin pressed.
“Just please listen to me! You can have a war suit as well as the real name of inmate 1437, but releasing your cellmates would mean my death! I can’t do it!”
Ronin had to hold himself back from smiling. A war suit! He could only imagine what he’d do when he got his hands on that thing. It might be illegal for a civilian to walk around in that death machine, but what if he retrofitted it? What if he made it look like a civilian suit? He'd just look like a really, really big person. Yeah, he could definitely make this work.
With regards to the warden, there was no grudge to begin with. Whatever happened to that guy, Ronin didn’t care either way. No. His grudge was with the prisoners who cat-called him, with the people who, while knowing of his innocence, put him here, in this hellscape. His grudge was with Specter, the man called the "Ghost Butcher"…
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The healing nanobots being maybe, likely, probably very possibly, owned and tracked by the Sichuan Empire, were out of the question. Roneus Ravent had been very clear on Ronin getting rid of those as fast as possible.
To think I’ll be leaving this place just like that.
“Any chance I’ll get to see my cellmates again before I leave?” He asked, just to make sure.
The professor gave him a look, his eyes telling him all he needed to know. “The warden would allow it, but I won’t. You’ve already been here long enough, and I’m on a schedule.”
“…”
They walked out the door and back among the dull passageways, making their way towards the hangar. After what must have been over half an hour, they reached the hall he'd come in from when he'd first arrived. The place they'd taken his clothes and disabled his implant. Ronin inwardly shivered, having to force himself step by step towards the wall. He knew what would happen next. It was one of the worst experiences he'd had since coming here and now, it was happening all over again.
Once he was in position, the creepy lifelike metallic tentacles erupted from the walls surface, locking his limbs fast in a tight embrace.
As a bot floated up beside his neck, extracting the nanites, Professor Ravent took out a strange looking device. Being about the size of a human arm, and colored by an intermix of gray and black, it had an eye shaped cup on top. What truly put Ronin off though, was the blue liquid circulating throughout this bizarre contraption, trapped in transparent tubes.
“You might want to brace yourself for this.” The professor said, then placed the eye shaped cup onto his right eye.
“Hang on professor, what exa- Argh!”
Still locked in place by the tentacles, Ronin felt an intense itch began clawing its way into his eye. He tried closing the eye, but it didn’t help.
“What actually cut your connection to your optical implant was damage to your optic nerve. Severed correctly, it lets you retain vision while taking away any and all access to the implant.”
Ronin needed to scratch the itch, he HAD to!
Professor Ravent continued: “This type of operation is remarkably effective, the right types of implants continue to receive and transmit, but only the prison guards can see what. This lets them know everything the inmate does, all the while, the inmates being none the wiser. Well, your implant can't be listened in on of course, smart choice getting the Uninet-2000.”
Ronin’s arms kept twitching against his will, trying to reach his eye. The itch had become a grand encompassing object of singular focus.
“The itch! This is horrible!”
His practical lecturer didn’t seem to register his turmoil at all! The blue liquid in the device continued evaporating, before being released in gas form into his eye.
“The way they damage the optic nerve, however, makes it almost impossible to heal. It why I had to use a device like this. It's a 5th rate knockoff of a knockoff of the real thing, but to someone like us, it's a heavenly elixir. Based on ancient artificial stem cell technology, it's said that the real thing can grant a person immortal life, but it's only a rumor out here on the fringes of mankind's domain. Regardless, we are at least left with this blue variant, and it will heal your optic nerve, but it does itch. Alot.”
As Roneus removed the device, the itch subsided a little.
“You could have warned me about this!” Ronin managed to get out between sharp breaths.
“I did”
“You didn’t mention how bad it would be!”
“Telling you before you were restrained would have been suboptimal.”
He gave up. Talking to this guy was like talking to a brick wall.
As the itching finally became somewhat manageable, the tentacles released their hold on him and they began walking towards a spaceship.
The ship, elegantly shaped, colored black with sharp intermixing lines of silver and gold, had two huge circular thrusters, promising great speed. Spanning over 60 meters in length, it had a crew of technical officers circling it, plugging in, and pulling out a series of cables, all the while tapping their fingers in the air.
“Pre-flight analyses.” The professor commented, noticing Ronin's interest.
“What are they measuring?”
“Specifically? Well… anything to do with the outer hull I’d say. You know… microfractures, bends, electrical damage, material deformation, that sort of stuff.”
“But the ship looks perfect. How could there be anything wrong?”
Roneus Ravent frowned, he actually frowned! This was the most emotional Ronin had ever seen the guy.
“Please don’t use that word in front of me. And no, it’s not true that just because something looks fine, that it is. I’d expect you to know better after the fusion engine repair exercise.” The professor began to walk off, clearly not wanting to talk anymore.
Did that word really tick him off that much?
“Hey! Wait for me, how long will the itch last before its gone?”
The man picked up speed, but at least Ronin got an answer:
“3-5 hours and you’ll be fine. That's also about the time it’ll take for your optical implant to properly connect. You’ll be able to browse the net to your heart's content before we reach Ironglades” His progressively fainter voice rang across the hangar.
“…”
They reached the gangway leading up and into the ship, the professor way ahead of Ronin of course. As he walked up the temporary path, he was greeted by a well-dressed, uniformed man. Standing at the entrance of the ship along with two others, likely his assistants, he erupted into a bright smile.
“Good! Right on time student, we should make the journey back in a jiffy! Welcome to Goldwing. I’ll be your captain today and if you experience any turbulence during travel today, blame the planet not the captain, hahaha!” He laughed.
“Thank you! Name’s Ronin!” He stretched out a hand and got an enthusiastic handshake in return.
“Names Jarski. This here is Pablo, and this is Erina.” The captain happily greeted back, pointing at his two assistants.
Ronin walked into the ship, eyes wide in amazement. This ship was on a whole other level! He’d been in jet-buses and plenty of shuttles, but never something like this. This was a corvette. The real deal. The elegant corridors were painted, likely by hand, depicting star systems, ships and humans locked in grand battles against aliens. The specifics of the battles were difficult to make out, owing to the impressionist style they were painted in, but the overall theme was clear.
Vastness and struggle, Ronin's mind resonated as he walked into the luxurious ship.
“Pablo, why don’t you show our new guest around.” The captain spoke in an upbeat manner.
“Very well sir! How about it kid, wanna see the engine room?”
Ronin, having momentarily forgotten about the itching eye the moment he entered the spaceship, immediately lit up upon hearing the question.
“E-engine room?! Are you serious?! Are you sure that's ok?”
“Mr. Ravent made himself clear.” Pablo laughed, then began speaking in a fake monotonous tone, attempting to mimic the professor: "Mr. Maximus is to have free reign on my ship. But don’t, eeeh, under any circumstances let him move stuff around. Ahem, also make sure he washes his hands first. I don’t want my ship dirty.”
I think I'm beginning to understand now… He’s a perfectionist… why else would he walk off the moment I said the word perfect?
They didn’t have to walk long before they were in the engine room. Two large fusion reactors stood in the middle of the room, sleekly integrated into the floor as cables ran out from the engines, then in and under the metal plated floor, each plate a panel which could be removed at demand to do repairs. As a couple of lab-coat clad technicians walked around the two massive machines, continually running diagnostics, Pablo and Ronin walked closer.
“Over there, you can see the name and edition of the engine,” the assistant said, pointing towards a corner of one of the machines.
In small letters, engraved into the metal it read:
“Westein-3416C-RR”
“A Westein? Aren’t those the old engines used by transport ships?”
Pablo nodded. “True, but these two have been modified by Mr. Ravent. By applying new design solutions, updated software and better materials, these two bad boys have been upgraded from something installed on a rock hauler, into something more commonly seen in a racing ship. You’ll see once we start moving”
As Ronin and Pablo, with the help of one of the technicians, discussed the various engine components, the light in the room turned red as the voice of the captain sounded over the speakers.
[Prepare for engine activation in T minus 60 seconds.]
The technician hurried off to help his friend as more and more parts on the engines began turning on and ramping up.
With a soft HUM, the two machines fully activated and the red light in the room turned orange.
[Running pre-launch diagnostics. Stand by… Power supply nominal.]
It was barely noticeable, but Ronin felt a slight shift in movement.
What kind of internal dampeners have they installed here?! This is crazy! I barely feel the ship moving.
“Alright kid, where do you wanna go now? The bridge?” Pablo asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“...”
Ronin sat in his cabin, he’d gotten the full tour, from the luxurious bridge, adorned by what must have been hundreds of buttons and levers, to a mess hall filled with sweet tasting nutrient packs, much better than that prison crap he’d been eating for weeks upon weeks now. If prison planet Exodon had taught him one thing, it was the glorious delights of the flavored nutrient pack. Any taste, at this point, was better than the stuff he’d worked his ass off for, as a miner, every day.
He was currently working on the touch wall of his cabin. It was supposed to turn transparent, letting him view the space outside if he could just get it to work. With no working optical implant however, it turned out to be quite tricky.
“Come on you!” He grumbled, clicking and swiping the lit-up representations of buttons and screens on the wall.
“Ahh, FINALLY!”
Text appeared on the wall: “Transparent mode activated,” and the outside became visible. The Lobar Sector, being located on the very edge of the Centaurus Arm, gave him a clear view of the sea of stars representing the Sagittarius Arm. Beyond it, further out and away from the galactic center, between the Cygnus-, and Orion spur, was the heartland of humanity, Sol.
The majestic view of the galactic plane got him thinking:
I wonder what they are doing over there... What do they think about? How’s their lives? Do they look into the skies and wonder… like me?
He imagined being a designer on a grand ship, traveling into strange nebula, finding new forms of life and technology. He imagined teleporting between planets with but a thought, then visiting galactic megastructures so large he’d have to leave the star system, just to be able to fully see them.
I’d like to go there once… To see for myself.