After a rather extreme test flight of the Omni-Bolt, Haraken left in good spirits. He did tell them about a couple of problems before he left though. One of them was the inertial dampeners. They were too weak, and the g-forces could get brutal when fully accelerating. There was also the noise the ship made. It was loud to begin with, but with the sonic boom it made as it broke the sound barrier... Well, let's just say you wouldn't want it passing by at a funeral.

Haraken didn't seem to care that much though, seeing as he'd brought the ship with him when he left. Besides, the two issues with the ship could be fixed later. This day, they'd done enough. Both Ronin and Simons were tired, and the moment Haraken left, Simons headed home. Ronin, on the other hand, hit the bed, opting for a good night's sleep. Void knows he sure needed it.

As he woke up the next day however, Ronin still felt as if his arms were burning. Apparently, meridians didn't heal that quick. His arms were better than yesterday but... he wouldn't mind speeding the healing process up a little. Luckily, he had just the right thing for this sort of problem.

“Guess it can't be helped,” he said as he rose up. “It's about time I got in a good session anyways.”

It was time for the tried and trusted Kalvrakian Embrace. If there was one thing that could heal him quick, it was this. Every time he broke through, he healed. So, why should meridians be any different?

After a couple of stretches, Ronin felt ready, and got to it, quickly progressing through the stances.

“…”

“Huuuuh...” Letting out a deep breath, Ronin moved his legs, then spread out his arms.

The 10th stance was where the struggle began. He held the position, letting the artifact energy settle into his body. With his eyes closed, he attuned more deeply with the technique, feeling out the minute changes happening to him.

Gathering himself, he then switched positions, locking in the 11th stance. The energy was more potent now, heavier, and he felt a tingling sensation as it moved. Flowing deeper into his organs, the energy entered anything from bone marrow to blood vessels.

At least that’s how he envisioned it. The meditative mindset that followed the technique, required a form of inner visualization, and these images was what Ronin felt helped best.

What he did not visualize, however, was the illusory plant life rising up around him. That came from someplace else. Probably, it was an aspect of the technique itself. Afterall, most of the flora surrounding him consisted of plants he’d never seen before, be it online or in real life. He saw anything from thick thorny stems, cupped by massive flowers, to green glowing moss. With every new stance he made, he was met by something different.

He moved on to the 12th stance and the older flora around him, turned more real. With eyes still closed, he saw a tree grow before him. It grew fast, reaching adulthood in mere seconds, and long vines began descending from its canopy.

After some thought, Ronin had come to the conclusion that this technique, in a sense, was about life. The name: Kalvrakian embrace, meant something, and though he did not know what the term Kalvrakian was about, the other half of the name was clear.

He was embracing life itself.

His spread arms, the positions of his legs, the angle at which his head was tilted... it was an open welcome to all aspects of life, and as he embraced it, it in turn, changed him.

He transitioned into the 13th stance, feeling himself begin shaking. The energy was becoming increasingly more violent now.

His insights into the workings of life, were probably very important in the long run. But now, they only played a minor role. The most important thing was still his own body’s compatibility. Thats what made the real change. The more his body broke down, then rebuilt itself, the more compatible with the artifact energy it became. And after his fight with Specter? He was ready for more. All he needed now; was just a tiny push and he'd reach it — the 14th stance.

That's were his insights into life came into play. Ronin drew upon memories, using anything from the battles he'd fought, to how it had felt healing from damage. He felt the strain on his body lessen a little... But a little, was all he needed. He moved.

With agonizingly slow progress, he switched positions. He had pushed himself like this before; he knew he could do this. With a deep breath, Ronin squeezed out the last centimeter as he locked the stance in.

Good, he thought, satisfied. He was already beginning to feel better... though maybe that was just the placebo effect kicking in.

Either way, this technique was incredible, and on that note, there was a little something he had to check out.

Ending his practice for now, Ronin headed for the VR-chamber.

“…”

Reaching the small basin, he undressed, then jumped in. And as the familiar nanite rich fluid submerged him, he entered the transhumanist lobby.

[Current balance: 2842 star coins]

Almost 3 thousand coins? He thought. Are my articles that popular?

Surprised, Ronin looked down below at his reviews and what he saw, shocked him.

Half the reviews now, were just a random mishmash of letters, not making any sense whatsoever. The other half, the coherent half, had turned even more unhinged, consisting only of words such as slaughter, death and kill. Last time he’d checked them, although unnerving, at least the reviews had made sense. Now though?

I really can’t drag this out any longer, he thought. He swiftly cancelled the articles, removing them from the site. He had no clue what had happened, but something seemed to have gone seriously wrong with the people buying his techniques.

Could it be due to them lacking an artifact? If anything, that should just make it impossible to practice the techniques, not change the people practicing them. He shook his head, shelving the question for later. Right now, he had a huge sum of star coins to spend.

Browsing the site, he found articles on all sorts of things but found little relating to his own condition. After about an hour of looking around, all he'd found was an article speculating on the power of dreams. Considering his recent, rather horrifying experience in that area, he swiftly bought the article. Before leaving the site, he also purchased a couple texts on the basics of willpower and retrocognition. It wouldn't hurt to know what was out there.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“…”

As he exited the VR-chamber, Ronin pinged his implant, calling Nagata.

His company had just made its first commercial ship after all. If he was going to sell the Omni-Bolt, he first needed to make sure the company website was up and running.

[Ronin? Ah, it’s good that you’ve called, I'm just about to finish up,] his uncle began. The older man was dressed in nothing but a long bohemian robe and some underwear. Seemed he’d been in the middle of something.

Ronin raised an eyebrow in amusement. [I’m not interrupting, am I?]

[I should be the one asking you that! What are you doing? You’re literally stark naked!] Nagata replied.

Ronin, having just exited the VR-chamber, was currently drying himself off above the grates. Naturally, he still hadn’t put anything on.

[Touché, so how’s the company website?] He quickly asked, changing the subject.

[It’s up and running, but there’s still a lot of work to do if you want it looking properly. You really should hire some people. I’m an old man and you’re working me to the bone here. Worst of all, I’m not even getting paid for this!]

Having only begun setting up a website halfway into the design of the Omni-Bolt, Ronin had been a little late. Any respectable company would've already had a site ready for customers to order from, but Ronin wasn’t exactly experienced when it came to things like this. Fortunately, he just happened to have an uncle who was an expert in anything relating to the online world.

[Yeah, sorry about that. I will hire some people later,] Ronin said.

Nagata nodded but kept quiet, the silence stretching as the older man became more serious.

[To think it’s finally over,] Nagata eventually said.

[You mean the conflict with Specter?] It was not the first time his uncle had brought this up.

[Yeah… I really thought… Well, never mind. It’s over now.]

[I almost died,] Ronin said after a slight pause. [To think that one man, or rather alien, would be more dangerous than the entire organization backing him.] Shaking his head, Ronin continued. [Many things have happened since my contact with that artifact, but if there’s one thing I regret, it's taking that breathing mask from Klepp Tulsi. To think one of the people I decided to protect to make up for that, is now dead... and it's because of me…]

Nagata’s expression became conflicted. [Remember to hold onto that feeling,] he said. [Never forget it. It’s what makes us who we are. Use what you’re feeling right now to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.]

Although Nagata was acting a little strange, Ronin gave a nod in agreement. What he’d said made sense.

[—And put on some clothes next time you call! People will think you’re some sort of pervert if you call people looking like that! You—] Ronin ended the call before Nagata could finish. Some things were better left unsaid, or in this case, unheard.

“...”

Putting on some clothes, Ronin noticed he had some unread messages from Haraken. Opening them up, he immediately bolted up as he began reading.

“What!?”

Haraken had not only taken the liberty to sign up for a race with the Omni-Bolt today, but he'd also told the organizers of that race, that Maximus Solutions would begin selling this ship after this race was over.

Ronin went into panic mode. This was too soon. They needed a promotional video. Heck, their ship wasn't even ready yet.

“Damn you Haraken,” he grumbled through gritted teeth.

He immediately called Simons. There were only a few hours left before the race was set to start, meaning, there was no time to cancel. They had to work fast. Haraken would showcase the Omni-Bolt regardless of what they did, so they sort of had to show up. At least the daredevil had convinced the organizers to give his company some time to speak after the race, but things were not looking good...

“...”

A few hours later, and the two designers arrived at the venue. Hastily exiting the shuttle that brought them here, the two regarded the area. The race was located along a dark street far down in district 87 and there were thousands of people packing the street.

Nimitri, one of the factory’s security guards, had followed along as well. And as Simons quickly snuck off to one of the stalls selling kiboris, Nimitri disappeared into the crowd of people to socialize.

Spotting Haraken, Ronin immediately headed in that direction. He had a few words to say.

“Speed Demon!” he shouted over the music.

“Mr. Maximus! Took you long enough! Get over here!” Haraken laughed back, seemingly having no idea of what he'd just done.

As the crowd surrounding Haraken parted, the two clasped hands.

“You bastard, why did you sign up like that without telling us?” Ronin asked angrily as he drew in close.

“Whoa, hold on here! Isn't this a good thing? I was helping you guys,” Haraken replied, backing away.

Ronin shook his head. “Well, it's already done anyways. Just don't do anything like this again in the future, okay?” Not that he was planning to give Haraken the chance to, to begin with. From now on, every unfinished ship would have to stay at the factory. “By the way, —” Ronin began. “How's the Omni-Bolt been treating you?”

“It’s quite the beast you’ve made and, not that I mind but, what was going on in your head when you made this thing? I nearly passed out yesterday.”

“That’s why we need a test pilot,” Ronin said, then gave the red-haired pilot a knowing look. “Let me guess… you pressed the accelerator too hard? But you did know that there was a problem with the inertial dampeners... So, you know, that's kind of on you.”

Haraken made a weak shrug. “Yeah…I know.”

Ronin wasn't finished though: “—Also, that's why we were supposed to wait with the product launch! Don't willy nilly just sign up to things!”

Before they had the chance to talk more, large holoscreens began descending along the skyscrapers. Next, the announcer for the race began talking, and Ronin noticed Haraken becoming antsy. The red-head kept glancing over at the Omni-Bolt, so, Ronin figured that was his cue to leave.

“I guess our time’s up, good luck out there! I will be watching from the sidelines,” Ronin finished, then made for one of the stalls selling kiboris.

Meeting up with Simons, the bulging man tried hiding the insect-covered stick he'd been eating… He failed. In fact, he was so bad at hiding the stick, and his act was so obvious, anyone bothering to look would've noticed.

“Shut it,” Simons said, noticing Ronin's gaze.

Ronin held up his hands defensively. “Wasn’t going to say anything. It's good food.”

As the two designers talked, the announcer started hyping up the crowd, building more excitement with each new contestant he called. The rising anticipation turned the atmosphere electric, and by the time the last contestant was called out, people had begun shouting.

It was time.

[Are you ready!?] The announcer shouted over the speakers. Several hands went up in the air and the crowd roared back.

[3. 2. 1. Go!]

“...”

Drive plumes scorched the street as ships took off. One ship, however, was not quite like the others.

BOOM!

A loud sonic boom sounded out as the ship broke the sound barrier. Several people amongst the crowd ducked down, fearing they were under attack.

Ronin facepalmed. “Seems we’ve frightened them,” he said.

Simons simply continued to eat his stick of kibori, his face now grim as he looked upon the holoscreens.

As the ships sped through the track, the Omni-Bolt quickly took the lead, only pulling further and further ahead the more time passed. What however made this race different, and not in a good way at that, was the oncoming traffic. At this speed, the noise the ship made, and the wind pressure it generated, caused windows to break, and shuttles to swerve and crash.

Whilst the earlier races had been somewhat dangerous, for the most part, few civilians got hurt. That was not the case with the Omni-Bolt. The obnoxiously loud sound that now followed Haraken's ship, had people fleeing and screaming in terror as more and more accidents kept piling up in its wake.

Ronin, who'd previously only been embarrassed, began turning pale. He looked over at his hairless colleague, his voice now shaky:

“Simons… we might need to modify our sales pitch a little.”