Aadvik Patel, Junius 15th, 2104.

The half-centaur moved through the fens and marshes somewhat hesitantly. Five of his mods marched at his back, clothed in dark robes and darker hoods. To be seen would be trouble.

Well… sort of.

Twenty thousand watched Aadvik’s stream. Not a record, but it was decent.

The comments whispered of failure, raged against his monstrous character and screamed for violence.

Aadvik remained serene. He was the Lord of (e)Cycles. Sometimes the crowd hated you. Sometimes you wanted that. Sometimes you just had to change the paradigm.

They followed the culmination of over one hundred hours of study and painful research by the whole team, to find an abandoned temple. The altar, undefiled, undamaged and unmarred by time stood defiant against all, including the temple itself.

Up the stairs his horse hooves clopped and Aadvik’s smile became fake. He had never liked that sound. He was pleased that once they had passed the stone they came to softer ground. Then up to the altar he walked and stretched out a hand.

A new patron greeted him in the mists. At first glance an old kind man, then a young man full of power, then a lion stalking through the mists, then a lordly dragon, then a shimmering serpent.

“A visitor. How rare.”

“I am the Lord of Cycles, a seeker of knowledge and a righteous warrior. The kings of these lands have ignored my skills in the face of overwhelming disaster. I seek to save the land I now hold. To become king and protect my rightful subjects.”

“Most interesting. You ask for a kingdom. Do you know my price?”

“The scrolls I have read, do not say,” Aadvik said hesitantly.

This was the make or break moment of his plan. If this entity asked him to sacrifice innocents or really anything too weird, everything was going to fall apart.

“The self-repressed fear knowledge. Why do you think I am here? That I am some mere lackey of Chaos? No. The patrons fear me. They know my power. Was it not I that stood ****” the entity kept speaking, but thunder covered its origins.

“I did not come to you to become a pawn of Chaos. As I have said before, I wish to save the kingdom from Chaos and the bad management of the current kings.”

The entity, a kind old man, nodded and said, “It is within my power to give kingdoms. Bow and worship me and then I will make you my champion. Your followers too. Come.”

The half-centaur eagerly bowed and muttered the required words.

“Rise [Aspirant of Light and Goodness.] I sense your full ascension is incomplete. You require the blessing of your primary and a Ancestral Expression do you not?”

This was outside of the script, but Aadvik had his character agree.

“I name your followers, [Priests of Lights and Goodness.]. Should you require blessings or healing, they will be capable of it. For skill blessings, they will be able to raise a [Steel] skill to the peak. As you are a new race, I trust you do not have desirable ancestors to inherit from. There are alternatives.”

Aadvik felt his heart rate increase. This was much better than what he was expecting. His viewer count had already risen by 5 000 and more were flowing in.

“This world labors under the delusion that the older something is the more superior it is. What folly. History is nothing more than a list of incalculable slaughters, unimaginable stupidities and the suppression of knowledge. There is nothing in the past. There is only the future. You will found a royal line, enlightened and powerful. What reason do you have to remember a lower past? Become first in a new age!”

“How do I do this?”

“The ritual requires power and the jealousy of the different patrons is too much for them to allow me to do this without counter attack. So I will need to ask you bring some of the power for it.”

“What is required?”

“Fuel. My power is derived from the belief of like-minded people. Simply have hundred persons come and worship at my altar and this can be granted.”

The figure could not see Aadvik’s smirk or the laughter throughout his office. The streamer than spoke to his audience and said, “Should I see what terms he is offering?”

“What can I offer to make it more enticing for people to come into your worship?”

“Freedom from the constraints of Law without falling into the power of Chaos and the madness of the dark gods. But if you mean material things… hmmm… yes, I will offer them a +1 damage to their attacks against any foe, for the next hour after their act of worship. More effects for greater actions done in my name and in my sign, but that will be more personal. Let those with an open mind come to me.”

Aadvik smiled and then spoke to his camera, “Who wants to join my cult!”

Jake, Junius, 16th 2104.

Jake had not played that much in the last week, but he had been having lots of fun when he had. Michael and John had joined him and they had gone on patrols, cutting up dozens upon dozens of goblins, shrew-men, kobolds, chaotic crabs and the occasional undead. They had not had it all their way. Occasionally, one of the two spaceships would pass overhead and they had to hide or else risk getting hit by lasers or kinetic weapons. They also had walked into an elf ambush. Had there been more than one, all ten of them would have been killed and as it was they had all been wounded. It had been scary and fun.

Now the three of them had just signed on and waited in a bright green, yellow and white striped pavilion. The Royal Army of Wisteria awaited the Ducal Army of the East and posted quests to the ‘gentlemen of good standing who visit us.’ While it was quite possible to register as a soldier in the army, missing a battle would result in heavy punishments and a fact of war was not knowing when most battles would take place. It was much easier to attend as a gentleman of good standing.

A figure in a red coat, chest covered with three bandoliers and generally looking distressed suddenly burst into the tent, “My guild just got ambushed! They are all dead! I am the only survivor! I need help.”

Jake and John moved over immediately, while Michael asked if they should really be going for this, but he followed along. With some guidance from other players, the distraught looking musketeer explained by issuing a quest.

HELP my guild! (RedCoats-R-US.)

We went out to clear a forest. We were warned that there were elves. But they distracted us with a spider wave. We killed a bunch of them, but then when we ran out of bullets, they started shooting us and the spiders overwhelmed us. The entire guild was there! Please help my forty three friends!

“Kind of weird to see an entire group with guns. Aren’t guns really heavily weakened in this game?” Michael asked.

“No, they are really good for damage, decently accurate, but they take a long time to reload. So people either carry a whole bunch of them, or use consumables to push their Speed up to 19 before they bother with it. But if you have the Speed for it, it isn’t a horrible build.”

“Well, the other issue is that the ammunition is expensive,” Jake noted before adding, “And if you aren’t careful, you can end up fighting with just a bayoneted musket, which is not as good as a pike or dedicated spear.”

While they had been speaking they joined the raid party. Then the joined that chat level. While they were higher than average in level, none of them really wanted to be responsible for leading an attack into the forest, so they did not try to argue with the [Paladin of Love] who took over. Also, a simple use of [Inspect] showed that he had above 16 in three stats and the personal favor of the King of Wisteria. A plan was made to counter the elves, iron daggers were given out and the reduced wave of spiders was to be simply defeated. Also an [Elf Chronicler] joined to deal specific damage, once he could confirm the exact force they were fighting against. He wore a heavy cloak to keep from being recognized, and two shield bearers were instructed to guard him.

The party prepared and then they rushed out into the woods. Fifty non-player character [pikemen] went with the party and they advanced in a quick and loose column. The player characters followed as support and skirmishers. No on rode into battle. Woods and horses were not a great combination and being mounted at slow speed was no help against elves.

“Hold!” The [Paladin of Love] called out.

Jake couldn’t see for a moment, but he came to a stop just in front of a low river. On the hill above them, a horde of spiders waited, frozen. The figure, their former guide, in the redcoat suddenly let out a long and inhumanly high call, before tearing out of its suit and racing into the underbrush. The spiders then came down at the run, surging over each other and chittering horribly. From behind them rose a screaming horde of goblins.

Jake drew his sword and strode into a clear space in the stream. It was not good for dealing with elves, but something seemed off to him. So out came his sword and he waited. The Singers tried to find a song for dealing with an undiminished horde of spiders and the [Pikemen] held the bank of the river. The spiders surged towards them and then among them, biting and scurrying. The line shook as spiders disrupted them, while the goblins came and tried to destroy them all.

The [Paladin of Love] raised a hand to heaven and spoke a phrase that Jake could not distinguish, but fire fell. It struck the third rank of the goblins and consumed them, just as they entered the stream. It burned in the stream and flash boiled the water nearest, roasting the crabs in the mud and even giving Jake a few points of heat damage where he stood down river. Then the [Paladin] variant came forward. His sword work lacked the actual knowledge of the sword that Jake enjoyed, but it did not lack for strength. Goblins and spiders alike fell, severed with a single cut. Jake realized he had an opportunity and he strode upstream on the attack. Goblins sensed the he danger gave off, but the use of the judgement ability, to bind their feet with river reeds or pull them under the water entirely simplified the process and he could feel that he was single-handedly turning the flank.

The goblins turned and fled.

Jake crushed spiders with every step and led a number of other players to the crest of the hill. At the top he saw a group of laughing creatures. He lacked the mythological background to recognize them as anything other than enemies. They laughed, they howled, their sharp canines flashing, fine threads of spittle splitting between their extended jaws. The brands, when translated into text revealed them to be slaves of the elves, but they did not appear to be eager to continue battle. With more howls of laughter the collared creatures fled into the woods. Behind them, fires abruptly rose and the forest was quickly ablaze.

“We have made an excellent slaughter, but now lads, to me!” The [Paladin of Love] called out as he wheeled and quickly retreated. The loose formation filed away rapidly. There was a stream between them and the fire, but no one especially wanted to trust it, as the fire was in the trees branches. It had become to hot to remain.

Aadvik Patel, Junius 17th, 2104.

Three thousand marched to war. The stream’s chat called for blood and the half-centaur would lead them to victory.

“For ten… what are those? Roberto, what currency is that?” Aadvik asked.

Roberto looked up from his phone and squinted at the stream screen and silently sounded it out and said, “I really don’t know. Maybe south of… no, I don’t know.”

“Well, somebody with an unknown currency, says ‘How did you get around the Ancestral Expression for your second class.’ Well you could watch that on the clip channel, but the short version is that I had to empower my patron for him to do the effect. He then spoke about me loosing connections to the past to gain the future. Then I gained an effective +10 in each stat.”

Another message with money attached came in and the streamer read it over before answering, “34ut803454tu, great name by the way, really runs off the tongue, yes, this is really strong.”

He ignored the chat for a while as he looked over the battlefield. An unnumbered mass of orcs, covered by flights of half-owl, half-monkeys, a greater space ship hovering high above the field. It had been there for hours, but now the triangular ship was hovering into range. Its laser batteries were charged with the screams and laments of slaves from a hundred worlds and the gray extra-planetary forces were all armed with energy pistols of the same make.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Bob2090, thank you for the 13 gulden,” he read out as he looked over the screen and then read the message, “No, I did not have to sacrifice any innocents to gain this power. Just spread the faith. Now we just have to lay a claim to this land and I get the bonus title [Free Lord of Wisteria]. I will be able to grant the title [Loyal Citizen of Enlightened Wisteria] to those who come over to my army.”

He looked back of the battlefield. Behind him rode a dozen fighters and ran nearly 60 centaurs. No [Flesh Singer] in his force was of high enough rank to do a double race change of that rank, but the fresh centaurs that followed him at a canter finally seemed to be a shift for the better. He was a god of war and he would carve his own slice into this history.

With a crash of drums, the mixed cavalry became a loosely spread line, as his followers brought out their bows. None of them were very good archers, but right now they were fishing for propoganda shots. He and a few of his followers took screenshots as volleys of arrows were loosed into the horde. Most fell short, but the armies were still not properly within range.

The hooting and jeering of the orcs continued to grow as the centaurs advanced at a slow walk, a horse trainer’s skill having been used to make their steps look as they strode through air, while the arrows snapped in time with the drum.

The lasers came down, but Aadvik’s chat could only cheer, as from the newly converted [Singing Priests] cast forth a shadow. It ate the light from the laser and then an attack rebounded, cracking the spaceship and sending it a burning wreck into the rear lines of the orcs. From records he knew that the burning heart of the spaceship would not be put out before the server ended.

“NOW!” He called and then said in a more apologetic voice, “Maybe turn me down, I am going to ***** ****** some orcs. Ride with me and earn a title!”

Jake, Junius, 23rd 2104.

“So we are really doing this?” Jake asked.

“Lighten up. These are our backup characters! Besides, what do we have to worry about. The plan is simple.”

Had their audio been on, they would have heard a full orchestra and choir, as an extremely complex song was being brought into effect. With a final motion from the [Exalted Conductor] the song finished and the stress level of close to three hundred players went down to a more medically acceptable heart rate. But the tension was only ratcheting up for the 150 standing aboard ‘Forlorn Hope.’

The ship was an old prison hulk. It had been sold by the kingdom to a group of Campers who had cleared the Zombie Prisoners and Corrupter Wardenettes. Their leader had recommended this harebrained scheme on a forum and it had been upvoted to the top of the website. Now, the 150 volunteers, all secondary characters, waited as the ship lifted into the air. A globe of obscuring energy made them invisible to the rest of the world and a dozen other globes of similar energies guarded them from more esoteric modes of detection.

The boarding party waited on the decks as quietly as possible. Every sound had a percentile chance, be it ever so small of damaging one of the numerous workings brought out by song and that was of course unacceptable. The risks were mitigated by the fact that in game discussion was unnecessary and the ‘Forlorn Hope’ was rendered a ghost ship.

“The target is spotted,” came a clipped command from the Camper guild leader, “Gunnery Crew 1, Prepare airburst shells for the accompanying flyers. Do not engage. I repeat do not engage.”

“I heard he was a submarine captain before retiring,” Michael said in overawed tone.

“If he was a submarine captain, he would never tell anyone. They are like, the most silent former service guys around,” John replied shortly over their private group chat.

“Michael, what even is your character trying to be?” Jake asked as he snorted at Michael’s fresh secondary character.

“He… he is like 18 for Speed, so I thought I would just try to max out speed as much as possible. So, nothing to slow me down.”

Jake shook his head as he looked over his younger friend’s secondary. He had no armor and no shirt or shoes and was covered with jewelry obviously intended to increase his speed.

“What if you get hit?”

“That’s the trick, I just don’t get hit.”

“Have you ever tried this against ranged opponents before?”

“No,” Michael said before the realization hit him, “They don’t have melee fighters on the space ship do they?”

“A few, but most of them are armed with the burning lasers, which are optimized against bare skin.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, this is why we read the instructions.”

John ended the reproof by asking, “Is that why you only have one piece of armor? To chance at blocking. Aren’t you just playing a ‘don’t get hit’ build too?”

Jake frowned, but had to admit that this is what his duelist character was for.

Further discussion was cut off by the captain announcing, “Prepare boarders!”

They each stepped up to the edge of the boat and waited as they passed over the spaceship.

“GO! GO! GO!”

With more than one hundred allies Jake and his friends flung themselves onto the ship and began tearing into it. The drop did only one or two points of fall damage and following the designated breaching teams, they flooded into the ship.

Jake and his friends formed the team going for the engine room. Once they were in, the breaching team killed the startled grey extra-planetary’s and then a heavily armored [Knight of Flowers] took point. He parried a dozen shots on his shield and took twice as many more while they pushed through, before a massive figure in void capable armor stepped into the corridor. The player using the [Knight of Flowers] showed that this was his secondary by trying to block instead of attacking and within seconds they heavily spiked figure had killed the knight.

Michael managed to slip behind it and rushed into the door, before it could close, but Jake and John were blocked by the figure. The breaching team were not set up to fight something this heavy and Jake stepped forward. His [Duelist]’s rapier was technically a counter to a target in armor, but the obviously monstrous stats and vibrating sword were somewhat concerning. John’s secondary character was focused on purification more than outright damage, and the target did not look obviously corrupted.

They crossed blades once and Jake looked on in concern as he saw most of his blade eaten through by the rapidly vibrating weapon, before he could disengage. The monster then stepped forward, into his point, but it only snapped off as the monster drove his shifting blade at John’s character.

John successfully moved the blade out of alignment to stab him, but lost most of a hand in the exchange. Jake stepped forward to grab the hand, but he was kicked out of the way. John drove a spike of purification into the blade with his good hand and the vibrating sword stilled. With another strike, he drove a plate of armor missing spikes out of the way creating an opening. A [Combat Engineer] stepped up into the breach and drove his crowbar into the hole.

Jake was glad for his sound effects being off, as the wounded monster howled. The half human, half donkey call that appeared to be happening looked unpleasant. The noise drowned out certain song protections on the ship and lights flashed or stopped working. The crowbar dug back and forth and John completed a full step to break the monster’s neck. It dropped suddenly and they received experience.

“Tough guy.”

“Yep. Good thing he didn’t have any of the little ones with him. They could have shot us all, full holes, before you could say lick…”

“Get down!” John called out, as dozens of yellowish lasers burned across the room. Through the chemical haze, short, gray extra-planetaries came into line, laser pistols glowing in their hands, while short vibrating knives waited in their off hands.

“I am beginning to feel like I should have specialized differently,” Jake said conversationally as they remained crouched under the cover of some computer station as the laser melted through it.

John had his character jump just after the volley, run across the room and land a palm strike on one of the new attacker cakes’s chests. It flew across the hallway, landing with a hard crash and it did not get up. John’s character took two shots to the body, while he disarmed another of the targets. One of the breaching team threw a hammer, which broke a weapon and then Jake managed to bring his duelist in.

Louis de Sigmund, descendant of a fallen lordship, had never really drawn Jake in. He had enjoyed the dueling circuit, but other than learning to fence and hunt with the character, he had not done much. There were no grappling tricks to come into help this character when unarmed. But Louis de Sigmund did have one title that could help.

Direct Challenge. (Iron)

Strike an opponent in the face. All potential damage will be turned into a loss of social standing in the group, unless responded to in kind or with an equal social skill. If used in battle functions as a Taunt type ability.

So, while John’s character was literally set on fire and burned down by laser fire, Jake distracted the remaining grey aliens, until the breaching team could up in support. Then with wrenches, entrenching tools and boarding pikes they cut them down.

When the fight was over, John and all but one of the breaching team were down. Campers and Patters were just not great at direct combat. Jake’s character had a dozen burn marks across his melted and deformed breastplate, and his health sat at less than 10%. It had been close.

“Common, push!” John said over their party’s general chat.

The Camper, his heavy parka still smoking and wounds still bleeding from vibrating knives, came forward and worked the hammer against the door. It resisted, for a time, and Jake nervously held two vibrating knives he had liberated. He had no idea if his character could use them well, but he was not fond of the bare-handed fighting style.

“Why didn’t you use their pistols?”

“I think they are locked to their owners, like genetically.”

The Camper from the breacher squad nodded and then made a blow that tore a hole straight into the metal door. He leaned his face into the room and shouted, “Here’s Johnny!”

“No, I was shot! Quit wasting time and get in!” John urged.

Michael, sounding somewhat strained said. “They are trying to blow the engines up and I’m almost out of stamina.”

The Camper seemed sheepish after the reprove and muttered, “Nobody gets references anymore,” as he pushed the ruined door inward. Jake surged past him and took in the room. There were three engineers still on their feet and each had a hand on their heads as they threw things telekinetically along with their minds and low humming. His character cut a chair out of the air as he rushed the group and then used his own humming blades to destroy the first one. The second tried to hum-push a pencil into a self destruct button, but Michael was able to step in front of it and block the pencil from stabbing him with a random training manual he had grabbed off one of the desks.

The Camper was crushed beneath a a section of panelling torn out of a wall, but the extra-planetary engineer had mentally overtaxed himself in the attack and fell, the damage made obvious by the smoke coming away from his temples. The last remaining engineer opened a whole drawer of pencils and threw them, before pushing them forward with every bit of power he could use without dying. Steam rose around the desperate engineer, but the majority of the pencils broke against Jake’s breastplate, while the rest caused him 8% of his hit points. With a barely living character, Jake stabbed the extra-planetary and let the vibrating knife finish him off.

Allied Ace! (Copper)

You have defeated five enemies above five thousand feet! While fighting at this height and not on a mountain, this character enjoys a +10% movement bonus when attacking forward and 5% attack bonus when attacking with your back to the sun.

Michael snorted and asked, “Did you get the ace title too?”

“Yeah, we need to call in to high command though.”

They both shifted over to the command network and sounded off their capture and the state of their health. Others reiterated that the bridge, armory, and munitions bays had been captured. Patrols left the reserve points and announced they were cleaning the rest of the ship.

“Seriously, I can’t believe you survived on less than 1%. That is just weird. Like I am surprised that is not a title.”

Jake frowned and said, “Probably doesn’t matter, but I am surprised too. Should we try to find medical supplies or do we assume that the aliens from another world don’t have similar enough biologies to use their medical equipment.”

Michael frowned and said, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“You want to use your 0.56% for good?” John quipped from their private chat, now that they had migrated there. The breaching team’s players had signed out as there was very little interesting to be seen on the inside of the space ship.

Jake was about to answer when the lights cut out.

“All boarders be advised, the lights have been turned off by enemy forces. We will try to correct this sabotage, but hold your positions.”

“You have any torches?” Jake asked as he looked despairingly over his character sheet.

“No. We can make a camp fire though. There are plenty of small sticks, useless manuals and batteries we can use to start it.”

“Let’s not use the batteries. Also, what if we make the fire alarms go off?”

“That would be funny.”

Jake nodded before saying, “We do need the light.”

They both had flint and steel and moving around by the sparks they had created, gathered enough fuel together to make a fire. Once they had started it they nervously looked around for possible attackers.

“So did they not change the batteries on their smoke detectors?” Micheal asked as he nervously looked up at the ceiling.

“They might have had crew operated fire suppression systems? Though that would be inefficient on a space ship, especially if they were meant for fighting and reacting to things in a light-speed battle.”

Michael was silent for a while before saying, “Or maybe they just didn’t expect anyone to survive a hit, so it didn’t matter?”

As that dark thought settled, the lights flickered back on and the sprinklers flicked on and their fire was doused. Then the lights went back off and the sprinklers stopped.

“Well, I guess they forgot the batteries.”

The lights turned on and off twice more with intermittent flickers before stayed on.The hunting patrols announced they had dealt with the remaining original crew. The new gunners took control of the laser batteries and the commander of the original ship was signaled. With a sudden burst of song, the invisibility aspect was broken and the three wyverns behind the captured space ship were hit with barrels of gun powder. They and the two bone constructs previously in front of the space ship turned to attack the flying ship. The remaining defenders fired off their attacks, but were resigned to their losses. The original crew had not signaled anyone else as to their problems and no one paid any attention to the space ship moving over the camp.

“Firing data has been prepared and is sent over, it has been an honor serving with you,” the captain of the flying ship announced and then cut the connection. A moment later those who could see commented on their previous ride’s destruction.

“All crew, be advised, we are alone in the air. The stored blasting powder was enough to destroy the flock! We will be moving into position above the main chaotic camp in two minutes. DO NOT ATTACK until the order is given!”

The comms were quiet as time seemed to crawl. The engine room was basically ruined, the Keyboard Kings keyboards buzzed and crackled with errant energy and the tables were marked with burned and soggy paper, while the walls were scarred with telekinetically flung pencils.

“Preparing to engage. All hands guard your posts! Wisteria and Law!” Came over the connection and then the ship shook.

“Do lasers have recoil?” Michael asked.

“Maybe here they do?” Jake answered uncertainly. He was not looking forward to fighting off the counter-attack, if it came. Planners on the forum had expected that they would just be shot down.

The ship was silent and still after that and no-one spoke on the command channels. Was the bridge gone? Jake silenced that thought with a smirk. If the bridge was gone, the bridge team would definitely vent about getting sniped.

“We have scored hits on three large pavilions. Laser Batteries are cycling and when ready we will be targeting the known supply locations. Ship shaking is due to Navigation running over a squad of Corrupted Flying Whales.”

They remained silent and wished there was an observation option, but other than the main reactor-engine thing, every piece of tech in the room was ruined.

“We have destroyed all known supply locations and are now targeting teleportation stones that have revealed themselves due to our actions. Be ready for evasive action…”

They were suddenly distracted by a group of extra-planetaries rushing into the room, brandishing vibrating knives and wrenches. Jake turned his own weapons on and parried the first before cutting one down with his second action. His knife broke somewhere in there and became ordinary, unshaken metal, but that was enough to attack with. Michael raced forward and relied on his Speed stat to dodge through attacks before stabbing through half of the team. He made one mistake and his character was stunned. Just before the stun timer ended he was stunned again.

Jake saw his choice clearly. He could take out the last two if he angled to attack from behind, but it would cost Michael his character or he could try and rescue him and risk his last few hit points for his friend.

Help.

He raced forward and tackled the nearer, just before it could renew the stun and then he spiked it enough times to make sure it was done. He took a glancing hit and it was enough to end his character. Michael took out the other and then reported in.

A few minutes later the announcement came, “We declare this raid a success. As agreed upon before hand, we are not going to fight to the end here, we are retreating to the Castle of Flowers.”

Once the command channel was silent Jake asked, “Get anything from that fight?”

“Yeah. Let me show you.”

Michael snapped a screenshot and sent it a few minutes later, and Jake could only snort at it.

Protector of Realm (Wisteria). (Copper)

You are among the last survivors of a strike force that destroyed an extra-planetary threat to a Realm of Law. +1 true damage to all extra-planetary enemies.

“This might not be my secondary character anymore.”

“Yeah, if we can keep him.”

Michael agreed and then they waited for the ship to get blasted out of the sky by something or other. It did not. To their surprise, they were able to successfully land the ship in the Castle of Flowers and turn it over to the repair crew.