June contemplated the thousands of people below him as he stood still in the air, high above Sabletown. He pondered them like a parent might ponder their child. June had watched many of the men and women down there grow from infants into maturity. He’d taught some of them how to wield their first weapons.
He felt a presence appear beside him. The aura was unrestrained, and it promised to consume the sky if it could. It spoke of furious ambition, an unquenchable passion.
It was a familiar presence, and it belonged to the only other man in Sabletown who could rival his power.
“Are we prepared?” Mayor Greave asked, his eyes glazed as his mind explored the town. June could feel the Vital fluctuations left in the wake of the man’s shifting attention. June felt the Mayor inspect the various nodes in the large formation being built to defend them should the worst come to pass.
Even at the peak of the Elemental Initiate stage, to detach one’s attention from their body like the Mayor was doing was no easy feat. Although there was a pragmatic reason for it, June recognized when the man was putting on a show.
Their rivalry would never end. Not that June was above the posturing. He stood upon his sword aura, which would reduce lesser men to shreds by just being near it.
His aura remained unbound by any base element. He possessed the necessary comprehension to wield a more abstract force. The Stellar Sword Celestial, the great Celestial Patriarch, passed down this force; he established the Stellar Sword Element and its emergence as a law of nature.
The power was beyond his current understanding. However, he would gladly accept the fruits of his ancient patriarch’s accomplishments. Celestials were immortal, but the Stellar Sword Celestial hadn’t appeared in thousands of years.
When he’d left, uprooting his sect’s foundation from their ancient home, he and his disciple had been the object of ridicule. He’d inherited a thousand ancient enemies when he’d ascended to his position. Some were great, some not so great. Some strong, some weak. But the Stellar Sword Sect had grown weak, too. Instead of a great Celestial, a mere Elemental Initiate now carried their karma.
It was not a situation that any fool could shoulder on their own. But he was no fool. Some would call him a coward for relocating so far from any known civilization. But to him, the choice made sense. It was a time of tribulation for everyone. It was only a matter of when — not if — someone would come to collect ancient dues in the form of blood, pain, and obliteration.
In contrast, who knows what was in store for him and these people, so far beyond the fringe? This land had the potential to be shaped quite like their ancient homeworlds, given that they had enough time.
If they could survive the coming tribulation, he had full confidence that the Stellar Sword Sect would rise again.
In his mind, the profit belonged exclusively to him. He’d disbanded the old sect, the one disciple who had remained had followed him here. Aruon had been a teenager back then. Galan was of the newest generation of Sabletown, and she had a potential within her that astounded him. Aruon had the mind for cultivation, Galan had the fury. He hoped that one day, they would shore up each other’s weaknesses. If he were to perish, he would need them to work together to uncover and display the great potential of the Stellar Sword.
Way out here, his budding sect would have no competition with ancient empires and ambitious upstarts. At least, they weren’t supposed to. But life was always so full of surprises. Even his old master had found some joy in life’s chaotic nature. So unpredictable, yet always shaped by a greater force. Greater even than Celestials, his master would say. But then Jude would think, what force could be greater than a Celestial’s, who could shape the very laws of the universe?
“We’re almost ready,” June said to his comrade and rival, “though I fear the guardian may appear before we complete our defenses.”
“Damned technics,” the Mayor growled, “how certain are we that we can trust their innocence? As far as I know, they woke it earlier for the sake of wiping us out. The timing is too coincidental, no matter what they claim.”
“The timing is hardly their fault,” June chuckled, “they did what they ought to do; find opportunity in catastrophe. Not only have they discovered the true nature of the enemy we have faced these past decades, they’ve discovered a weakness.”
“A parasite,” Greaves spit, “How did we not see it for ourselves? We’ve had decades to study these creatures.”
“I’ve never heard of the like,” June said. “Perhaps our experience has blinded us. Perhaps we’ve lived sheltered lives despite the turbulence of the old lands. We were looking for a solution which would fall within our expectations. An intelligent fungal parasite? My training never prepared me for such a situation. But our allies come from a very different world, apparently. They are open to solutions to problems we’ve ever had to face.”
“Allies,” the Mayor snorted, “we’ll see about that.”
June sighed. He understood the Mayor’s reluctance to embrace their new technic neighbours like June had. Maybe June would respect him less if the Mayor had been any less stubborn about the issue.
Beyond the fringe, you couldn’t trust anyone you didn’t know. However, he believed Oberon Enterprises’ staff was unlike the usual people found out here. They were refugees, if his guess was correct, but very civilized and highly organized. They had not suffered the centuries of scarcity and desperation that plague so many who attempt to survive beyond the fringe of the known worlds.
Experts cultivated the lands of the core worlds for untold eras. Such lands were suited for a society such as theirs. But beyond the fringe, expansive worlds of such abundant resources like this one were rare. They’d been lucky to find it.
Having to share such a treasure trove with others was not ideal. Especially when most in this area of space would sell you out for nothing more than spite. The Mayor had no reason to believe that their neighbours were anything less than what they expected from others that they’d encountered.
“You’ll come around,” June said.
“I won’t have to,” the Mayor said. “I’ll break through soon. Once I do, I’ll be unmatched in this world. No matter our neighbours’ capabilities, this is our home. We’ve fought too long and too hard to split it down the middle.”
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June kept his thoughts to himself. He’d prefer a peaceful coexistence with Oberon Enterprises. They could prove a valuable resource in the coming centuries. What could they learn from each other? How could they develop with each other’s knowledge?
He envisioned a future where he would fulfil his promise to his deceased master.
His great sect would thrive again, far beyond their ancient heights. They would have space and time to develop, away from the prying eyes and ambitions of the turbulent lands they were born from.
If Mayor Greave thought to dominate Oberon Enterprises, then June would ensure it was done with the lightest possible touch. If the Mayor could use the pressure of this fight to breakthrough, then it was his responsibility to match the man’s passion.
He didn’t mind getting the Mayor’s way. June had earned his own authority, and the Mayor couldn’t do anything about it. They both understood that they would act for the best of the settlement and their people. But sometimes their visions didn’t quite align.
It wouldn’t be the first time they’d come to blows over creative differences.
But the knowledge that they were acting in the best interest of the settlement always underscored any tensions. They would not risk the death of over 40 per cent of their combined strength over a disagreement. They may be selfish and ambitious, but short-sighted fools taking such an attitude to the extreme was why they’d left their homes. Infighting, constant warfare, families cut apart for the ambition of a powerhouse a dozen worlds away. No matter who you were, you were guaranteed to be born in some blood feud between people you’ve never met, nor cared to meet.
They would not allow themselves to descend to such a state.
Hopefully, they’d both be able to breakthrough their bottlenecks in this coming challenge.
Although, with great power, came a greater risk of attracting the gaze of those who would challenge that power. They should be safe out here, and they had no reason to believe that the Peacekeepers could ever track them this far. But the ambition of those people knew no bounds. They’d swallow the entire universe if they had the means.
The Mayor might have the slightest edge in strength compared to June, but it wasn’t enough to create much of a gap in their respective status. They both respected each other and June had no interest in leading the day-to-day affairs of Sabletown.
A potent auric wave pulsed past them, interrupting his thoughts. The wave made him feel as if putrid ichor covered him. He could feel nothing but malice and base animalistic rage contained within it. It was a type of fury which could only be born of nothing but endless pain and fear. He’d feel pity for the creature if it didn’t threaten their existence.
“It comes,” June said. He unsheathed his sword and cut through the air in front if him. He appeared a few miles away from Sabletown, in the direction the creature would approach them from.
The Mayor caught up within seconds. He’d yet to find a movement technique as fast as June’s. None at June’s level could meet his speed, save for those who had a strong mastery of air, or even those few geniuses who had an early comprehension of space. But the Path of the Stellar Sword incorporated both elements, although expressed in a unique way. It was a convenient shortcut offered by his path, a fusion of elements that only a genius like the founder of his lineage could create. Soon, he would step even deeper into the path, becoming a living expression of the Stellar Sword, instead of a mere conduit for its might.
He was a very competent man, and his comprehension was prodigious relative to those he grew up around. Not like those legendary geniuses who were bred in the heartlands. If he was like them, he would focus on space from the very beginning. Alas, he would need to be patient.
Fate willing, they would survive this challenge and come out stronger than ever. Patient devotion to his future power would be a blessed reward. He’d prefer that over an abrupt end to his life and everything he cared for, caused by a senseless beast.
He sent a message to Aruon, who would inform their new delegate from Oberon Enterprises that they would soon engage the guardian. He wondered how they’d fared against the enhanced beastwave. The lack of Elemental Initiates would make it difficult for them to fight the Illuminant creatures within the beastwave, but he was sure the technics had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Depending on how things went with the guardian, perhaps he’d be able to spare some of his time to help them clean up.
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Aera had awoken with gasping breaths. She’d panicked at first, struggling to get away from the great Class-1 which had been marching towards her the last time she’d closed her eyes.
It had taken her a few seconds to recognize where that she’d awoken in a med-bay. It had taken her another few seconds to recognize Hunter beside her. She didn’t recognize him at first because his entire body was covered in casts. His laboured breathing had panicked her for a moment when she realized who she was looking at.
But he was alive. That fact alone had calmed her down enough for rationality to reassert itself.
She needed to know the status of the outpost and find her father. If they were all still alive, she would need to find her way back to help defend against the beastwave.
A quick assessment of her condition revealed a few bruises and sprains. Nothing to worry about.
“You’re awake, ma’am,” one of the medical staff said. He was a senior crewman, given the pips on his collar.
“Where am I?” she asked. Since it was a medical bay, not a tent, she couldn’t ignore the possibility that the outpost had fallen, forcing the survivors to evacuate.
“You’re aboard the Ambition, ma’am. If you don’t mind, I’d like to perform a few tests—”
“—What’s the status of the outpost?” Aera said. The crewman only seemed surprised by her interruption for a split second. He smiled at her.
“The outpost still stands. The defence was successful, but from my understanding it was a brutal last stand. Mr. Oberon survived and last I heard, he was still down there, directing the clean-up efforts. Your brother somehow played a pivotal role in turning the tide. I can only imagine what he had to do in order to receive so much physical punishment. I’ve never seen injuries like this before,” the man said, staring at Hunter as if he were a puzzle which he’d been having trouble solving.
“What injuries?” Aera asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answers, “will he recover?”
He chuckled.
“He’s recovering faster than he ought to. There appears to be some etheric effect at play that neither I, nor my colleagues, can identify. You wouldn’t be able to shed some light on that, would you?”
Aera shook her head.
“The injuries, crewman,” she said.
“Right, sorry, ma’am. Every bone in his body had been fractured and broken; in some areas, the bones were completely dissolved. It looked like intense heat and dehydration had ravaged his skin. Talking about it, it doesn’t sound half as bad as it was. All we could do was lessen his suffering before he passed. But fate had other plans for Mr. Koar.”
If she hadn’t heard that he was recovering, the crewman’s words would have been like a blade to her guts.
“But he’s a trooper, you know,” the crewman said. It was Aera’s turn to chuckle.
“Yeah, I know. He has a way of defying the odds.”
“Let us know if you ever figure out how he heals from impossible injuries.”
She nodded.
“Now, about those tests?” he said.
Having confirmed the absence of undiscovered injuries and that known injuries were not more serious than initially assessed, they permitted her to leave the med-bay.
Not that she’d needed the permission. It would reassure them. Knowing the outpost was safe, she felt justified in helping them, even if it meant delaying her search for something to take responsibility for.
After she received a clean set of clothes and a personal radio, she sent a call to the bridge. The response was immediate.
“Ms. Oberon, this is Captain Smith. Please come to the bridge as soon as you can.”
Aera had never met Captain Smith before. After making her way to the bridge, she could finally put a face to his name. The Captain was a short man of a thin build. But what he lacked in physical stature, he made up for with his presence. At first glance, she saw that the man possessed a sharp wit and the confident air that most command officers cultivate.
Overall, her first impressions of the man was that he passed muster. His crew appeared competent and, at the very least, didn’t seem to resent being a part of the man’s crew.
She gave him a mental stamp of approval.