We were not ready.
Things were going OK until they weren't, and now it was like everything was heating up. It looked like we were going on our shake-down earlier, although I was conflicted about leaving Selwin at the mercy of the Blight. I felt stretched; too much was happening, and I was needed in multiple places.
I was still trying to accept the entire Tribulation 1: Seeds of the Void thing. That promised to suck big time. I had not told anyone about that yet, as I was terrified about it, and I was leaving it for Future Luke's list of issues to deal with. Sprite was not much help, and I was not game to tell Rach. She would go ballistic, and then I'd have to plan and deal with it.
The only problem would be when Future Luke started cursing Past Luke for not dealing with it. I had no idea who to turn to or what I could do.
Rach was the one option I kept coming back to, but at the moment, I didn't want to bug her too much. I was not being a total coward. There was so much going on in her life now, more than mine. I could not imagine waking up after 5000 years and finding out your Dad was dead and possibly insane. Then, he had put his insane personality into high-tier engrams.
Not to mention, her home city was trashed, and everyone she knew was dead, except possibly Tasar, which was not a bonus in my eyes. To top it off, her Empire was in decline. There were traitors in her immediate leadership, and the Legion, the supposed defenders of the Empire, were corrupt, possibly suspect, and torn apart by internal bickering. She did not need a Tribulation added in, whatever the fuck one was.
Dance or The Hooda may have been helpful, but I got the impression that they would only help if it were totally necessary. I could not face Dance's pretend Crap about back in the day; we did Tribulations for breakfast hung over, oh, I have no idea what one is, but it sounds fun. Hooda would just smile, be motherly, and look at me. If she were in a good mood, she would tell me I needed to grow up and learn to cope without leaning on them. Besides, Dance was a borderline bat-shit crazy bastard, and The Hooda, well, the less I had to do with her, the better I slept. Not that I sleep much anymore. All I needed was some time and some clear direction. I'd been happy for a bit. Sara had come back; Rach had been; no, she was fun and still drove me mad.
Damn, Sarah had run off to magic school or something, so despite her not having any idea, she would have been the first person I talked to. I was coming to grips with my entire being friend-zoned. I was OK with that, but it still hurt how she had just run.
That left Mike, but Mike was out. He was on my shit list for advice for a bit. Apart from being a dick about my relationship woes, as a good friend should, he worked his ass off to make Min Min as good as possible. He was doing so much and was doing all the stuff I couldn't do or, rather, didn't want to do. He seemed to enjoy it, so I was happy to go punch things so he could click menus and make the place safer. If I asked him for help, others would miss out on the Crap he made happen. Crap that saved lives and was necessary.
I had close to six months to work it out. I was worried we might have to travel to the Imperial Archives to find anything out, but that was a last resort. Sprite had mentioned them before. I might ask Mike to set his Raven dude to find information for me.
I was deep in thought as Dallas flew the Viper back to Min Min. Was I confident that we could leave Xar in charge of dealing with Selwin while our company, which everyone wanted a name for but could not decide on, went off to Theshan OZL?
He would have to be. It was kind of his job.
Our return to Min Min was as quick as we could make it, trying not to add to the panic. As we landed on the relatively new air pad, the ground crew ran out and took over the duties on the dropship. After depositing the two sedated passengers at the medical centre, Dallas waved us in and told me he would meet us in the meeting room.
We ran to the meeting room, which was found just near Founders Hall, our residence block. Everyone who needed to be there was waiting for us. They looked panicky.
I nodded to Mike and gave Xar a sloppy salute, partly to annoy him and let him know there was stuff to discuss afterwards. I smiled at Rach and pulled a chair up beside her. She smiled and gave my hand a quick squeeze, which was enough to short-circuit my brain for a moment.
The rest of the team followed me in. Jean and Corey sat while Ryan, Jerrod, Phil and Jamie stood behind us.
"OK, what do you know, and what do we need to do?" I asked Mike.
"We have been in daily communication regarding your upcoming visit. Yesterday, everything was normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Today, when we raised the Holdings on our comms, we only got the standard Empire distress codes, and invasion and assistance were required. It was on an infinite loop. Nothing else. We have not contacted anyone else to ask, although Xarius has recalled the First Cohort. Raechina, sorry, The Empress won't commit them yet."
"The Empire is doing nothing?"
I looked at her, and she gave me a shake of her head. We'll talk later.
She said, "For obvious reasons, I cannot make direct inquiries. However, I did reach out. It is strange. No one reported anything out of the ordinary, and we even tried to see if there were information brokers who had anything—nothing that we could get at a reasonable cost."
"OK. What can we do?" I looked at Xar.
"If I were leading this operation, we would portal there in full battle prep and assess the situation. Establish a beachhead and comms as a priority, then reassess."
"Is the First Cohort enough?"
"Not even close if it is a full invasion. We could fight a protracted guerilla war, but that is not something I would advise. Remember, the Cohort here is a tenth of what we are recalling, and that will take time. We would scout, then, if needed, call a full Legion in."
He sighed, "We don't even have a full infiltration squad. We could hire some, but a small irregular group might do it just as well."
"Do we know who it is?" I asked, looking at Mike and Julie.
Dallas and Rahsaan walked in quietly. I was happy they made it because Rahsaan would be key here soon.
"Nothing yet. We didn't want to engage until we got your OK, and The Empress was reluctant to send off the First Cohort while you and your rapid response team were out in the field. If it goes south, then we need to be doing it right rather than half-assed, and frankly, having you there is a big plus. If the Empress," and he nodded at Rach, "were not the Empress, she would be included. Tiers and Levels. If they are not prepared for them, I'd bet a Tier 5 against any Tier 4 army. It's a pity that Sarah has gone to magic school or whatever."
I smiled at that thought. I'd hate to be going back to school. "OK. Just to throw a spanner into your beautiful plans, we have a crisis here, too. Rahsaan, can you explain?"
He looked a bit startled but stepped up. "We ran across a settlement that has an infestation of Aetheric Blight. What that is, I don't know. All I know is that it rips into your energy and mana channels while permanently draining your stats, Endurance, Wisdom and Karma. It has a manifestation here but is from somewhere else. At the same time, it pumps your body full of a cocktail that, as far as I can tell, is as close to serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin. It doesn't OD you; it just dulls your thinking and makes you super happy and helpful. You don't notice the drops. Nasty. The worst thing is that the drains become permanent when it, um, I guess you would call it levels up. It is identifiable but unknown."
Mike looked worried, and Julie looked shocked as she did a search, "Crap, you are right. It comes up as unknown in the Empire System Database, which is impossible since you can Identify it. If you can identify it, someone somewhere has seen it."
"It is an
Xar was troubled and looked at Rahsaan, "How do you know this about Blight?"
"I have a skill. If I choose to be infected and can cure it, I gain partial immunity and can cure it in others. It was rough and touch and go, but I beat it. I can cure it. We got the settlement owner and one other in the medbay."
Everyone was quiet for a second. "That skill sounds useful, but Russian roulette. What happens if you don't beat it?" Mike asked.
"I hope I don't find out. As I level, the potency of my self-cures gets better, so I hope it becomes more powerful and that I don't have to go through the full effects. Somehow, it sandboxes me and runs the effects of the disease, poison or parasite at a faster rate. No idea how it works. I just have to dump mana and energy, and it damn well hurts." He winced at the thought.
"OK. So you are needed here. We will go around the table now and speak up. We are planning, no ranks. We need ideas, and we need them fast. Be polite; if we shoot an idea down, don't take it personally. We need to sort both problems." Xar took command. This was what he got paid the big bucks for.
"First, we need to respond to Luke's off-world territory. Based on our current intelligence, it has been invaded by an unknown number of forces from an unknown faction. Secondly, we have a potential planet-wiping epidemic in a mine at Selwin. That is what System Maintenance requests are reserved for. It is highly contagious, and there is only one source of a cure at the moment. Let's start with Luke's holdings, then Selwin."
Jamie said, "No offence, Luke, but what is the potential blowback if you ignore your holdings? So far, we have had minimal contact, a little exchange of token trade and …."
The Champion of the Empire spoke for me, "Ignoring it is not an option. An attack on an Empire Settlement cannot go unchallenged."
Raechina smiled at me, "Thank you, my Champion. I will pull rank if I have to, but the Champion has spoken. An effort must be made to ensure the safety of my, no, our people."
It was good to have that backing, but everyone looked slightly uncomfortable, there was the elephant in the room, and Rach had just shat all over it by pulling rank. While we were joined to the Empire through the System, not everyone was sworn to her or the Empire. Most here were oath-bound to Earth Inc. If it came down to it, we probably would swear to the Empire, but it just grated. We were Earth Humans and valued our independence and freedom.
I smiled. Rach would make a great Queen of the World, though.
I coughed, "I have to go. My System Title Champion mandates this. It would diminish my standings and have negative karmic consequences. Regardless of our allegiance, I would be inclined to go anyway, as they are my people. Would you like me to forsake you just because it was challenging?"
Jamie looked a bit ashamed, "Sorry, boss."
Xar patted him on the back, "Don't be. I said all ideas and would have floated the concept of doing nothing eventually. We at least have to consider it."
The conversations went back and forth for close to an hour, and just as people were getting a bit over it all, we came up with something that, while not ideal, would let us move forward safely.
More annoying for me, we spent about 10 minutes coming up with a name for the Earth Inc. military forces that we were putting together. We finally came up with Sol Guardians as the overarching structure. My team was given the unoriginal Alpha Team, and I hated it. We were the first officially recognised team, and I was in it, so it felt appropriate to everyone but me. We could be corny. Even though I was vocal in my hatred for it, I was voted down.
Julie registered us as an independent mercenary company, and we would join the Mercenary Guild as a small skirmish and reconnaissance force. Then, she quickly hired us to work for Earth Inc.
Alpha Team, minus Rahsaan, would port to Theshan OZL, gather intelligence and work out a plan from there.
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Xarius would approach Drakes for assistance and move the First Cohort to Selwin to monitor the situation. Hopefully, one of the Drakes could be convinced to assist. I'd pay good money for Xar to put up with The Hooda and Dance for more than an hour, and I'd love to see it. A few other Drakes were floating around doing their thing here, so it was possible, although unlikely, that they would help. Maybe if the Blight were a bad enough threat. I didn't like the concept of a threat that we could not cope with and required Drake's assistance, but what was the point of a powerful organisation if they didn't do anything?
Some of our other newly trained military members would be sworn in as the new Sol Guardians and take on the First Cohort's duties in training and closing Tier 1 and Tier 2 Incursions, hoping to level up soon to be able to close Tier 3 ones.
With that sorted, we had a couple of hours to get things sorted before we were sent on our way.
Rachana asked to speak to me quietly after the meeting, some personal time, so while the rest of the team was raiding the Legion Stores, I met up with her for a walk along the beach near the resort.
I can't say I was looking forward to this, as I suspected I would be sent to the friend zone again here as well. Shit, what was going on with me?
The sandy beach with gentle freshwater waves lapping quietly was quiet and peaceful here. We were alone along a nearly four-kilometre beach as we walked away from the resort.
Sprite: She has cleared the beach for this walk. A drone is following us at a very high altitude.
Thanks for spoiling the mood a bit, Sprite.
She held my hand. It was a simple and easy thing.
She stopped and looked at me, "Luke, bad things are coming. I can feel it. All these little things add to something bigger. We are not prepared."
"Maybe, or it could just be a coincidence." I knew what she was talking about. I had not stopped worrying about something big since that fateful day Amy sent me the video, and I had the feeling that there was something we were missing. Something that would blindside us. Things were going too well at the moment, busy and confusing, but things were starting to come good for the people here.
"No. The unrest of," she paused thinking, "you know what I protect and what protects us, it is disturbed. Not just because of your rejection, but it is scared."
I told her about The Tribulation of the Void.
She surprised me with a hug. "I knew something was up, and I think that it is not that. That is yours. It is personal. I am talking about something big—bigger than you. Bigger than me."
"Rach, no Empress. I have to keep this professional. The Tribulation of the Void is beginning in 6 months. I have no idea what that means. I can't chase unknowns, but you know I have your back with everything."
She shuddered. "Ancient things are returning. Every day, things are breaking. Whispers from outside our realms. You, Sarah, Me. Ensnared by things not meant for mere mortals."
I stared at her. "The Writ? It really has you worried. After all the time with Rax?"
She nodded. "It was scared. Frightened, had been alone. When I accepted the mantle of Empress, it reached out."
I shuddered. Even the idea was a part abomination and part saint. The concept was oil on water. She would need all her strength to keep it contained and satisfied. I am unsure how Rax managed, but I am sure Rach would cope. She needed to.
"I am your Champion, so I am with you in anything you need." Even saying that I knew that one day I would not regret saying those words, but I would face the consequences of saying them and the choices I would make. I would have to help her face her demons at the expense of … well, I would pay the price.
"Thank you, Champion. Thank you, Luke."
"I agree that we must get to the Imperial Archives to see if there is more information about this Tribulation. At the moment, I fear the Tribulation is not what worries me. I fear something closer, something more sinister." I spoke and stopped her.
"Go now. I need to think. Be careful, and know that the Empress wishes you well."
She looked at me with a sad smile. I bowed low as she turned away and strolled down the beach.
I watched as she found a large rock near the water and sat on it. Then, turning back to the resort, I left her alone with her thoughts.
Once I was away from her, I hustled back. I had a few things to organise, one of which was a trip to the shop.
Sprite, ensure things are ready and give me a timer for the transfer to Theshan OZL. I'm going to the shop. There are a few items and skills, and we need to get some information.
I got to the settlement shopping centre, which now included some people-run establishments. The store was still the go-to place, but crafting, artistic, and food services were available. Nothing special, but I felt a bit of pride at how people were starting to cope. I guess Mike and Julie were pushing forward.
Despite feeling bad about ignoring the responsibility of running the settlement, I was still happy with the progress. I had lucked into some good people to run things.
I entered the Karmahouse Emporium expecting the same shop I had always seen. However, I was surprised when Hydrox, looking more significant and more defined, greeted me in a more opulent setting.
"Champion, welcome to the VIP section. Despite my inferior abilities, I have been tasked with assisting you today. Master Merchant Azuris is on standby if I am insufficient for your needs."
"Sure, but I am happy with you here, Hydrox. You have been good to me. Thank Master Merchant Azuris for me."
I paused damn formalities. It was something I would need to get used to. "Any issues I have with you will not be reflected on the Emporium." I was unsure why, but formality seemed necessary.
"We have noted that some Earth Humans value loyalty and friendship over the best deal. While that sits well with our species philosophy, it seems illogical from our mercantile perspective."
"Well, you have done the right thing for me by being friendly, helping me out, and giving me a good deal, so I'm more than happy to keep that. Besides, we are getting to know each other, which counts for something, too." I was slightly unsure what her point was. They were a strange species. Or maybe I was a peculiar species.
She said, "Thank you for that."
I followed her as she led me over to a comfortable-looking couch with a low-set coffee table sitting on it. There was not a lot of other furniture. A display filled one wall, and everything was lit with subtle light. It was quiet and friendly, not quite the shopping experience from before.
As I sat, Hydrox asked, "What can I do for you during this visit? I will take the liberty of ordering some food and beverages for you. I understand you may not need them to fulfil your biological needs, but you get comfort from their consumption."
"Thanks for that. I did like the burgers last time. If this takes too long, I'll have a cold beer and maybe a coffee. Today, I need a few items and some information. The items first."
I listed some of the gear I had been responsible for sourcing, including the long-range comms and a portable medibot as a poor substitute for Rahsaan.
I got an upgraded auto-injector kit for the healing syringes, and with a bit of a shudder. I needed the higher-tiered ones; the low-tier ones would not break my skin. I was replacing some of the potions. Sprite assured me she could use them with my other healing skills, and they were suitable for when I was incapacitated or my skills no longer functioned, something that I would hopefully never see. I got another couple of slabs of mixed flavours. I was not entirely convinced that they were all the same. I still hated liquorice but had seen it heal some awful conditions that others didn't. I got some disease-curing remedies as well as some anti-toxins. I didn't want to rely totally on skills when others depended on me, just in case. Luckily, everything could be sourced quickly. I added some smart rope, auto-tying, a mono-filament combat knife and a protective cloak that offered concealment and sound dampening.
"What information do you need? May I suggest that you speak to Milke, as he has engaged the services of an information broker? You may gain access to his services as part of your contract. I was not privy to the final contract, but you should be able to use the services. Sarah brokered the deal."
I sighed, Sarah, I missed her. "She is off training. I hope it will be OK to be in contact with her soon. Can you pass a message if I leave on here?"
Hydrox paused for a moment. "We are not allowed to be used as a messaging service as that is outside our mercantile charter. However, I can provide a physical message board that others can check if they visit."
"OK. How secure?"
"Here in the VIP room, it is reserved for the Imperial family, Mike, yourself, Sarah and other board members. Other members of Earth Inc. may become eligible once they reach a certain level of power, fame or notoriety."
I'd have to think about leaving a message.
"That's Good to know. I need some information on the following topics: Aetheric Blights, The Writ of Justice, Kallax, Tribulations, and ?? Space."
As I spoke the words, I could feel their weight and significance; there was a definite dip in ambient mana, and I felt the attention of the System and something else. Maybe more than one. Who had told me that some words and intent had power and consequence? Words that I would have struggled to say had I been weaker. Hydrox recoiled as she heard them and was silent for some time. "Some I could not hear. The translator did not work. That has never happened before. I would ask you to bear with me."
Her demeanour changed as the water became darker and slightly less opaque. She bowed low before me.
"Greetings, Champion Luke. I am Lultif." The voice was gruff, sounding like a distant waterfall raging into a deep ravine. "Hydrox has summoned me as I may have the power to hear you speak some words with significance. I would ask your AI to give us privacy for some time. I am able to deal with Tier 5 and above issues. Young Hydrox is currently unable to sustain the energy for some discussions."
Sprite, can you not listen in for a bit? I'll flag you when it's OK for you to pay attention again."
Sprite: OK. I will be curious, so make sure you know what you can and cannot share.
Sure.
"OK. AI is not monitoring. Hello, Lultif. Thank you for, er, coming here. I seek knowledge of Aetheric Blights, The Writ of Justice, Kallax, Tribulations, and ?? Space." I felt pressure behind my eyes and down my brainstem. I even had to wipe a spot of blood from below my nose.
Lultif, as Hydrox, did not flinch or change much, and I noticed that there seemed to be a deep flickering as if some bioluminescence deep within an ocean.
The voice was less gruff, but still not Hydrox, "Interesting. Some words resonate deeply. There is significance and mystery around them that a young species should not be encountering. As a species, we are not aware of the Aetheric Blights, but we will ask further. ?? Space is a concept you will need to master before you know the how, what, and why of being able to negotiate its realms. Be wary, young master."
It or he paused in contemplation. "I will not offer assistance with a Tribulation. That must be faced and endured without too much assistance. It is a fine line, and I will offer to walk with you for this short time with knowledge. These are dangerous matters, young master. Empires have disappeared for less. I urge caution, and you may need to seek the remotest edges of knowledge, some forbidden by the Systems. "
He told me nothing but some hints and more mystery.
"Can you point me to someone, something or somewhere I can learn about the concepts?"
"Soon. For we must talk about Kallax and, as much as I detest it, Tribulations, but to do that, you will need to trust beyond what I would normally ask."
"Trust you to do what?" I asked, feeling a little creeped out.
"I can provide information, yet I cannot tell you what I have told you until you need to know it.
Well, that was easy.
"Sure."
"You do not understand. It will mark you, change you, and put you on a path that few survive, yet without it, you will not even have a chance."
"Sounds like I do not have a choice. I trust you. Hydrox has been nothing but above board, and if she trusts you, I'll extend the favour."
I got a chuckle, "You trust too easily. Your species is impulsive and burns brightly. Perhaps it is fitting that I pass this to you. Hold still. This may hurt."
Sprite: Luke, we need to go.
There was a gap, time missing, and I felt like I had a weight in my head, something sitting there waiting, watching. Hydrox was in front of me and seemed to be nervous.
Things were a bit fuzzy, and I felt slightly out of sorts.
"Did I get everything?"
There was a pallet of gear in boxes and bags ready for me.
Sprite: Yes. Some items are timecoded locked to you. Hydrox is scared.
I said a strange goodbye to Hydrox as I put the pallet into my Inventory and moved back to Min Min.
The mission was in full prep mode.
The mission to my holdings would be done in two parts, the first being a reconnaissance and the second based on the intelligence gathered. If we needed to retreat, we would form a beachhead and set up a forward base. I had zero experience leading this, so I set Jean on making it happen. She had access to a bunch of skills and data that I could not see. My HUD was still glitching, and I was still unsure if I was the best one to lead this, but I had more Legion Training and was more powerful.
Sprite: You will likely not be in direct danger. The rest of your team is set to take more risks. Your combat powers, while limited by your skill usage, are still considerable, given your Tier and passive abilities.
To be honest, I am more concerned about what they will find in the mine here than what is happening in my holdings.
Sprite: There are some very concerning implications to what is happening.
It didn't take long before we were all ready.
Everyone assembled for the better part of the morning in the portal room. We purchased some information from the System about suitable places to teleport on the planet. We had selected one that was remote enough from the nearest settlement for us to be able to create a forward base.
I had been given a Military Core, which could be used to create a semi-permanent Forward Operating Base. Before we set out for reconnaissance, we would use it to set up a temporary portal anchor and a communication centre.
We checked in and got ready for the portal to open. This was a big deal for Min Min, our first off-world excursion.
Stealth portalling was not as easy as a normal portal. Still, Mike had purchased enough information to make it possible, and we spent the extra energy to keep its energy profile lower and obfuscate the point of origin.
I gave the signal, and the portal opened for us to enter.
Dallas went through with Jean close on his heels. I waited and then went through seconds before the portal snapped shut behind us.
SYSTEM: Bio-Signal Nanite Disrupter.
WARNING: Portal Destabilised
Safety Override: Quantum Tunnel Ejection.
Sprite: It's a trap.