I left the room and found that the outside was dry, and I am sure that if I had been walking here a few weeks ago, I would have been complaining about the heat. I also noted that the flies outback Queensland was famous for were not coming near me. I could track them individually with my perception and saw that they would divert around me in a near-perfect 2-meter radius. That was pretty cool.

Solace: That is an effect of your Aura. Your Race Tier is now Epic, and your class is also Epic, so you have a presence. Your stats also improve this; your Spirit establishes you as a being of note to anything less than you. You may need to practice dampening it. I am also learning as we go, Sarah, but we will work on this.

I found the reception hall behind the Gateway building. I entered the hall through a large glass push door. I was almost crash-taped with a flying hug: "Oh my god, you are alive. We didn't believe it." It was Julie, with happy tears. There must have been a lot of dust in the air, as my eyes were watering, too. I returned the hug. It was nice.

"I couldn't wait. WOW, you look fantastic. Go through there and act surprised." Julie smiled at me, pointing at a door on the other side of the foyer. "I'll follow in shortly. Pretend I didn't see you." She was wiping her eyes.

I wiped my eyes and entered. They tried to surprise me but failed miserably, but it was so sweet. About eighty people in a room that would have fit ten times that many crowded around the door I entered. I only knew a few. I saw Jean, Dallas, Phillip and Rahsaan standing around with some apparent soldiers, the First Cohort. I waved and smiled at them. Thanks to my Identification skills, I could see their names: Xarius, Eolus, Calliope, Bachauss and Seraphina. They stood silent, smiling at me, apart from the crowd, yet almost at home.

Then Mike, running towards me with a huge smile, wrapped me up in a hug that felt just right. Julie came back in and gave me a small wave and smile.

Then I felt my stomach flip as I saw Luke.

He walked towards me with an uncertain look, a smile and worry. He hesitated and then hugged me. I melted into his arms.

"Welcome back", was all he said.

I was finally home.

Julie came in a few moments later, hugged us both and coughed, "Surprise, welcome to Min Min."

Surprisingly, Mike stepped away from the crowd and cleared his throat, "OK, everyone, Sarah is back from the dead, and who knows where else."

He waited for the cheers and whistles to die. I felt really embarrassed.

Mike went on. He was much more confident than I ever remembered, "Most of you have heard part of the story. You may have to wait until we find out the rest. I am sure it will be epic, and we will let people know, but we are here to celebrate her return and your hard work. Earth has had a pretty crap few weeks, so kick back, relax and enjoy yourselves."

There was another cheer from the crowd, especially as I saw some coolers with beer, wine and other drinks in them. There were some tables packed with food. Once the cheering died down, some music started, the people got back to mingling, and the soft hum of conversations filled the room. I was not letting go of Luke's hand just yet. I didn't really know anyone that well here, and it was terrific. I saw Amy, Luke's sister, drinking and talking to Jean and Dallas. I had thought she was in Brisbane. So much to find out.

Shit. I just realised I had missed Integration or Invasion or whatever.

Someone was bringing drinks around, so I grabbed a glass of champagne and shook my head, "What the fuck, is that an Orc?" I asked.

Mike looked at me, shocked. " That's so unfair. How do you swear? Your name is on the frog-oven skill. People hate me, and they can hate you, too, now that you are not dead. Or they will when I tell them you can swear, even though you are responsible for the skill."

He was being mostly serious. I just laughed at him, "Fuck off."

"So not fair. You still have the record for the most swear words! It was worse when you were dead. At least now we can share the blame, but still so not concussion fair!"

I laughed, "Well fuck you very much. We can talk about swearing later. There is so much to catch up on. Looks like a lot to catch up on here as well. This place looks amazing!"

Luke spoke softly. "Yes, that is an Orc. Mike thought employing an orcish ex-smuggler for our military liaison would be a good idea. The only reason we don't hang crap on Mike is that it is working out well, better than expected. He goes by the name Hawk. You might also see a greenish lady, Danae, a Dryad, a Treekin. The other odd one is Forvitni. You probably won't see him as he is a researcher and nocturnal. He is a Ravenkin, and he looks quite spectacular. Smarter than most of us put together. Not real social, though."

I pulled Luke closer, shoulder to shoulder. "I have some bloody great news, some sad shit too" I smirked at him, dropping those just for him, "Some earth-shattering, or Empire-shattering as well. Fuck me. There is some shit that I have to tell you all. I don't know what is happening, or how to handle it!", I finished another drink.

I smiled and squeezed his hand, "We will work it out." was just what I needed to hear.

I finished the champagne and grabbed another. We went around and caught up with Xarius. "We need to talk, " was how I started.

He nodded, "Debrief tomorrow morning. I'll have the conference room booked. After that, we need to get out and close an incursion." He smiled at me, looked me up and down, and said, "Looks like you grew up mighty fast."

I smiled sadly, "You have no idea, too fast."

He nodded, "Tomorrow, enjoy today and tonight, " and returned to his beer.

I was glad. I don't think I was ready yet to dump this on them.

I needed to relax and was hoping that the champagne would help. As much as I wanted it to, it just tasted OK; it was not doing its job. The music, however, seemed to call to me, and if I closed my eyes, I could see and feel how you could grab the thread of … I snapped out of it. It was too close to how I had blown everything up; I could see the connections, power links, sound, and music. I felt the movement around me, and as much as it called to me, I was scared.

Another drink didn't really help. Somehow, Brick and I convinced those remaining, including Mike, Luke and surprisingly Hawk, to join him in doing shots. At first, I was hoping to relax and unwind, but as the night progressed, I became determined to have a few too many. I really needed to unwind.

Solace: Um, Sarah, honey – remember Body Transfiguration (Nalios). Alcohol is a poison. You may no longer be poisoned. We could have fun with this later, win some drinking competitions if you want but let the others have a rest. No one can keep up with you. Well, maybe Hawk could.

"Guys, I have some awful news" I was annoyed.

Everyone looked at me.

"The shots are poison, but I am immune to poison", I explained.

Everyone spat their drinks out, staring at me in horror.

"What. Shit, no, not like that, alcohol is a poison, and I am immune to poison, not as in I poisoned you. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just go home. You're all drunk, and I can't get drunk!"

There were a few confused drunks, and some laughed as everyone worked it out.

Hawk surprised me, "Check the shop. They have plenty of beverages that do the same without being poisonous, they just cost more, and loads of peeps have a high tolerance to toxins and poisons. Try Tier 4 and higher. It is not too disagreeable. I'd have to save quite some time for that. Tier 5 is mighty rare and expensive, but it is worth it if you like to cut loose and have high Endurance. Tiers 4 and 5 would nearly kill me, but I'd be in for a taste. Let me know. I should be able to keep up with you for a bit."

Did he say, peeps?

Solace: Yes. I am not sure if that is usual for an orc.

"Yeah, Dance told me about the Tier 5 stuff."

"You met Dance?" Luke looked at me. Well, I guess you must have. We have the party thing to organise together. Well, it is mostly organised. Dance just dumped it on me, and we are not supposed to mention that it is a, you know what, event, just a gala or something. We have just over 350 coming, 354 including maybes."

He was such an idiot sometimes, so I told him as much. "You are such an idiot sometimes, you know what?" I tapped my nose with a smile. Way to draw attention to it."

Mike snorted, "It is being held out at the resort. Only a few of us know what it is for. The idiot here told Julie and me, and we are trying to keep a lid on it. We are running a party here as a cover for it."

Hawk was watching us, looking interested. I didn't care too much right now. If people wanted to keep secrets, they shouldn't tell me. I already had too many other ones.

Luke looked sheepish. " I'm sorry. I was just excited to see you. There is so much to catch up on."

"I can't believe you missed my birthday…." Mike said.

I hugged him, "Happy late birthday, I got you this," I quickly mentally rummaged through my inventory and gave him the Tickets to Blinded by Flame Music Festival, "Ticket for 2, Backstage VIP access, best concert ever."

"You are full of it. I bet you had nothing but a bunch of clothes in your inventory, plus this, but thanks. I'll have to ask Alakaʻi, but we will enjoy it. Hopefully, she can make it."

"I'll have you know I have more than just clothes in my inventory. And who or what is Alakaʻi?" I asked him, "Have you got a girlfriend?" I was grinning.

"I guess, but it's complicated. You can meet Alakaʻi tomorrow, maybe. Remember, I'm not judging you. I didn't complain when you and Luke … well, it's no weirder than you two being an item," he said with a smile.

"All females are complicated; if they are not, it is not worth it!" Hawk said in his rather progressive voice, "The quiet, simple life is not one for me", as he finished another shot.

Seraph grinned at him, "I thought all Orc women were simple, one-track minds. Find a rich, powerful male, claim him, mate with him, and have powerful offspring."

"Ahh yes, simple but complex, you see in the tribe… "he began but was cut off by Brick with a loud, good-natured chuckle. Now you have started him, let's all go get some sleep; he'll still be going in the morning."

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"You wound me, Sir. I was but trying to enlighten you in the ways of Orc culture. We cannot all remain ignorant of other mighty warrior cultures. Take your Legion, for example…."

Brick clapped him on the shoulder, "Enough, Hawk, let's get another drink." And they headed over to one of the eskys still full of beer.

We all laughed at that. Just like that, everything was going to be alright.

The evening was just what I needed, even if I didn't get the low-key alcohol buzz I was after. The food was simple but plentiful, the music was old style with a spattering of modern, so there was dancing, and from what I could see, there were a lot of couples. Luke and I shared a few dances, and I wanted to dance to the more energetic dances. Still, we also had a couple of slow ones and a few quite intense but quick kisses, which left me, well, not breathless since I didn't really need to breathe much anymore, but feeling light-headed in a good way. Eventually, as the evening was winding down, Luke and I headed back to the apartment block. Our block was called "Founders" and had the top floor of luxury apartments for friends of Luke, Mike, and Julie. Mike had ensured that I had a room despite the evidence I was dead, which made me feel even more at home here.

Home. Fuck, mum.

I need to make sure my mother is OK.

Solace: We will make sure she is. I believe she has been located and lives in the Township of Cairns. She is on the list to get enhanced.

I missed it so much.

Luke was leading me back towards the foyer I had left earlier. We were going to the top floor again. It's not that the other apartments were terrible; they were just smaller rooms for singles, couples, and families. The elevator ride was ruined by Julie joining us; it was not that I had anything against her; I just had other things on my mind, or rather, other people. We all got out on the top floor. She gave us a quick hug and then left for her room, giving us some privacy in the hall. We made out for a few minutes outside my room.

I knew Luke was a chicken when it came to this, so I asked, "Did you want to go in? To be clear, nothing is happening yet. You might even stay over, but I am not ready for more. "

Luke looked at me, kissed me, and pulled back to look at me, "Nice and slow. I was worried you might have changed, moved on, or forgotten me."

Solace, open the door and privacy, please.

Solace: That is a guarantee. I don't understand what you organics see in close physical contact.

The highlight of the evening was when we talked through some of our experiences and shared titles.

Luke was proud of his Powerhouse (Top 5) and wondered who the other one beating us was. I shared Powerhouse (First).

I was floored by the sheer number of Titles he had and how he had played his luck repeatedly, and it paid off. Even though he had a lucky bastard title, I told him he wouldn't get lucky tonight. He did stay over, so he was almost lucky.

The following day, I cleaned myself up. Today, I needed to appear professional and competent. A far cry from how I was feeling. I swapped into my battle robes, the casual ones, which were more in line with how I wanted to be seen and taken as a person today. I thought it was time to start cultivating who I would become. Despite being in love with my class, which I didn’t know much about, I was not ready to put that persona forward; I wanted some Spelldancer outfits and skills first. Today, unfortunately, I couldn't run around in my sporty outfit all day despite how comfortable it was. I'd keep that for back in private and maybe training in. Today, I had to be taken seriously.

The day's briefing was just after breakfast, and there was a cafeteria for food on the way. The setup around here sounded more and more like a bit of a university campus than a township. There were some learning halls, a crafting area and a large outdoor training arena. This new reality was strange. Where I would expect technology and automation, it seemed effort and skill were prized more. The central hub was around the shop hub and the Gateway. The shop hub gave everyone access to the Karmahouse Emporium, which most frequented. Luke told me that the registered population was one hundred and fifty-four people, four more than needed for an outpost, but we were a Regional Center due to Mike's skills and the levels of some of our residents.

A dozen other hamlets, settlements, and towns were nearby, most aligned with us, with some remaining independent. Our total controlled population was over 13000 people scattered around North Queensland. Once Cairns came on board, we would be boosted to over 40000 people, maybe more depending on the number of people who gained control of their nanites and survived. Managing that many people would be challenging, but it was something that the System was designed to facilitate, and Mike and Julie were doing quite well.

So much had changed in the few weeks I had been gone. The overall plan was still to upgrade as quickly as possible to become the Regional Capital. This would give us standing and rights at a planetary level. It was beyond me, but it sounded like Mike and Julie were all over it, and quite frankly, it was something that, while it sounded cool, I was not that interested in sitting around talking and making deals to get it to happen. Min Min’s infrastructure was mid-town and city level, but we needed another three hundred people to get a settlement level, then one thousand for a town, then ten thousand for a city. Population was the most prominent issue in the near future. Min Min had the space. It just needed the people, resources and time to build everything.

Passing the shopping hub, I realised I also needed to go shopping. I had no idea what a Spelldancer wore or where to learn skills. How did I get to a trainer? I was going to find something that was a cross between my sexy biker outfit and my sporty outfit; it seemed a close fit to what I felt I needed. It couldn't be all leather, something that allowed movement. I guess I also needed to find the Mage's Guild. They would have a trainer. You would think if I could get to the nearest branch! I needed to get my training sorted.

I grabbed a coffee at the cafeteria.

Is coffee on my list of things to get?

Solace: Yes. Your interface has a TODO list, you know. The apartment had a coffee machine, you know.

It does? If I had used the TODO list, you would have missed me talking to you.

Solace: OK. I can be your to-do list. ADD Buy Coffee to Sarah Owens's TODO list.

Buy coffee Added to TODO list.

I sighed

OK, I'll manage.

I was so glad that coffee still gave me a slight pick-me-up. It may have been psychosomatic or placebo or something, but I didn't care. The coffee here was liquid black gold, I had not had one in quite some time, so I savored it. I needed to get my coffee sorted for my inventory, and I didn't care if it didn't have a physical effect. I needed a morning coffee. Today I didn't eat breakfast, well, I picked some exciting pieces of fruit and a coffee, and I made my way to the debriefing.

Xar ran the meeting well, but it was boring as hell. It was interesting at times, but it took twice as long as needed as they repeatedly went over the same things. Boring. It reinforced my commitment to avoid politics and bureaucracy in future.

I was not the only one being debriefed. Luke was reporting on his scouting mission, and Mike gave an update on the settlement plans regarding the military interactions. Hawk would be taking that role soon, and he was here learning the ropes.

I got the impression that although everyone was friendly, there were a couple of distinct factions. Mike and Julie seemed to run and organise Min Min, Xar, and the legionnaires handled the military but were not entirely accountable to the settlement. Luke did whatever he wanted, and everyone seemed to defer to him. He listened to people, asked decent questions, and let experts do their job. I am not sure if it was good leadership or laziness.

I was unsure where I fit in, but Xar seemed to think I was important enough to be here. The fact was that apart from Luke, maybe I was the most powerful person here, and he knew it. Thinking about it, I could take Xar without batting an eyelid if it came down to it. It sobered me a little and reminded me of Dance's don't care attitude. The only difference was that I cared and wanted to help, but first, I needed to sort myself out. After all, I was barely an adult and not adulting well so far. I’d never even had a full-time job!

Mike had levelled up using his skills and gained experience doing administrative things, like waving his hands around and bossing people around, spending other people’s money, and generally having a ball organising everyone and everything. He was being bossy without being bossy. He truly seemed to have a handle on his class and skills, which, from my talks with Luke, neither of us had yet.

All the planning so far has been outstanding. As he gave his reports, I was astounded by the detail he gave. I began to understand the Empire's power using classes and levels in this manner. He had built the hamlet up and not just looked at the next stage but based it around the future dream of a city of over ten million people. It was ridiculous.

There was enough land and space for three or four times that, but his planning already had roots stretching out for dozens of kilometres. He was investing heavily while he got the bonuses to build at reduced rates, and he was careful to ensure that those who arrived were treated well, got the training they needed and knew what was expected. He already had a small team of ambassadors who went from town to town with hamlet stones to assist pockets of humanity so that more could survive. Already, small numbers of refugees were starting to arrive in the area.

The next project for him and Xar was the Legion training centre, which was just over ten kilometres away with lake access and enough space to house over one thousand legionnaires and two hundred recruits at any time. Luke had promised Xar something like this and was now paying up. The buildings were system-designed standard legion training grounds and would be system built, meaning energy was converted to matter. It was an inefficient but quick way to build. The more people in an area, the more energy could be altered, and the faster things happened. The more resources, in terms of raw materials, you feed into the system, enabling you to speed up building and reduce energy costs. For this, it was just going to be a straight energy build.

Mike's building bonuses also made things happen faster, almost four times regular from what I understood when he gamed all the perks together. The other major construction was around the resort. This was on the opposite side of the lake from the Legion Fort and would be an uber-luxury resort. The resort was similar to the tutorials. It was run off a system core, which Mike had configured into a resort based on a blueprint from the store. Instead of a random AI, he somehow got his tutorial AI assigned as the resort manager. While within the space, she could manifest and be a person. This was Mike's complicated girlfriend.

He seemed embarrassed to tell me, but I was down with it, and all the best to them. It was not even one of the top 10 weird things that happened to me in the last month. It was not even in the top 10 most bizarre relationships I had heard of pre-integration. There was that guy who married a silicone sex doll. They got married, and then he cheated on her with an ashtray! Poor Margo, the sex doll. That one was weird. The documentary was just sad. It was unfortunate that I watched it; it was a time I would never reclaim.

The resort was where the Drakes would crash after the party. There was a rush mainly for Luke's and my benefit, for our party, and it would be completed within the week, but everyone knew it would be a draw card in the future. The resort had five-star plus accommodation for over four hundred guests, with full restaurant and resort facilities. The other big draw that would be opened after our party was the epic-level underground cantina that was being finished in the next couple of days. It would not be the first bar here, but it would be the most extensive and exclusive. Mike was on top of the staff and stock for that. Luke was on the hook for catering, so I sent him some cash. Well, Solace sent it via the bank, or however that worked.

When I sent it to him, I winked and told him to "Get some good stuff".

I was unsure if I wanted to know how all the cash stuff worked or if I would leave it to Solace. She seemed happy either way, yet it was a bit nebulous having digital currency and just beaming it all around. It was easier to spend, and pre-integration, I had not really thought about hard currency, but now that it was gone, I missed it.

The meeting continued to be boring, but I did pay attention when Luke delivered his report. He spoke confidently and seemed at ease talking to his peers.

Luke's report was a bit more concerning; he had seen two significant incursions on his tour of the property. He closed one but decided to call in the Legion for the other one. I thought he was a bit of a pussy, but better safe than sorry, I guess. He did close that one all by himself in the tutorial and another since then, so if he thought he needed help, who was I to judge? All I had done so far was smash a bloody octopus thing.

I wanted to test out some more spells. I could go out and help them, or I could put a party together and go looking for incursions. I could become an Adventurer for hire. Was that even a thing?

Eventually, just before lunch, it was my turn.

I was dreading this and looking forward to getting it out so others could deal with it. I had been sitting on this all last night. I felt sick in the stomach at the thought of telling Xar. How did you break this news? I would get roasted for not forcing it as the first item. It was going to rock people's world. I needed time to sort my feelings out and determine how to play this.

I started. "Mike, we need a Tier 5 unconfigured core. Set up at the legion training camp. Please don't ask until it is done."

I guess I was a coward, after all.

"Do you know how rare and expensive they are?"

"Kind of, but get one. I have credits if you need some. This is important."

"We can't afford one, and …."

I looked at Luke, "I know you pay a lot, but we need this. Can you, I don't know, help out? How expensive are they?"

Luke looked at me.

He knew I never asked him to pay for big shit unless necessary. Little stuff like dresses was one thing, big stuff, never. He smiled, "Sure."

I smiled. Bless him. He didn't ask questions; he was just helping me out. He had my back, and I knew I would do anything to help him in the future.

Mike still looked a bit pissed, "They are super expensive, Sarah, and the resources would …."

"I said I'd help." I flared out a bit of my mystic Aura as my temper rose. Well, that is what I was calling it. I was a coward - I could not yet tell them why. I was not ready.

"If we had not just spent..." he began.

Everyone except Luke flinched a little. I retracted my Aura, "Please, this is possibly the most important thing you could do right now. After it is sorted, I will give the rest of my debrief, which we needed yesterday!" I was not handing over the Princess until I knew her father's state. She deserved that, at least. In a sense, I had killed him.

I teleported back to my room.