The Mayor’s breakthrough only took a few seconds, which happened as he flew at the behemoth fist first, a vortex following him as the breakthrough completed. He used the sudden influx of Vita to charge his attack. The beast wasn’t content to let the Mayor come to him unchallenged, and it shot forward with a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for such a creature. It seemed to have put everything into this attack in order to squat the offending fly, which had suddenly become a mortal threat.
Mayor Greaves met the attack head on, and June groaned as the two monstrous auras pressured him.
He heard a strangled cry from the mayor; it echoed throughout their surroundings. His fist met the creature’s own, and a great flash of light, thunder, and fury bellowed out. It carried June away for a second before he could cut through the storm caused by the titanic clash.
The creature’s arm had disappeared, a stub of mangled flesh dripping with blood was all that remained after the creature’s elbow. Not only that, but it appeared to have lost the use of the arm, as it hung limp off of its shoulder.
It screamed to the sky, a sound unlike anything June heard before. He winced and was about to capitalize on the creature’s lack of attention when a power equally intense as the guardians blossomed in the distance.
The creature’s antithesis was answering its challenge. June could only assume that the beast which Oberon Enterprises had dubbed the Jellyfish was now going to enter the fight for its own territory.
Sabletown, June, and the Mayor were no longer relevant to the guardian avatar’s interest. It shot away from where it once stood, towards the source of the new vital pulse.
Sabletown would survive for now, it seemed. With the type of wounds it had sustained, he hoped the jellyfish could finish the fight. Otherwise, it would be up to Oberon Enterprises to do the job.
He was now more exhausted than he had been in decades. He’d used up almost all of his defensive treasures in order to survive this encounter. The energy from the pill had already left him.
Thinking of the mayor, June searched the sky and the ground for any sign of him. His heart skipped a beat when he found him in a crater, struggling to breathe. He descended with the flying treasure, his legs dangling uselessly off either side.
“I was too ambitious,” the mayor whispered as June approached. June understood. He’d used the breakthrough to pull in more energy than his body could support. It must have rampaged throughout his system, breaking through the bones, muscle, and skin.
The mayor couldn’t even move of his own accord.
June placed a hand on the man’s chest, releasing the most gentle pulse of Vita that he could manage. Scanning the mayor’s body, he resisted the urge to grimace.
“I know you, kid. I know my body. You can’t hide my condition from me,” Mayor Greave said, coughing up blood, “Damnit, I finally hit Unbound. I was looking forward to teaching you a lesson.”
His eyes met June’s. Most of the ferocity in them had bled away. All that June could see was the barest hint of regret, but he could also see a fondness in them.
“It’s up to you, now. Try not to burn the place down,” the mayor said, letting loose a chuckle that caused the man to cough up more blood.
Before June could respond, life left the Mayor’s eyes. His breathing ceased.
It was not the first death June had witnessed. But it was the first one he’d grieved in a long time. Despite their differences, they had a deep mutual respect for each other. They were something like brothers, only without the familial love to bind them.
“It was a good death,” June whispered.
The last remnants of excitement from having an insight into the power of an Elemental Adept had been enough to keep him awake. As the excitement had faded, he was could only hold on to consciousness by a fading force of will.
He carried the Mayor’s body to the town and dropped it at the feet of shocked onlookers. They’d know what to do with the corpse. He found his disciples and requested that they find him a skilled alchemist to help him recover. He then walked into his home. When he laid himself onto his bed, he finally let the exhaustion claim him.
Something told him he and the mayor had done enough to assist their allies against the guardian avatar. Oberon Enterprises undoubtedly held undisclosed surprises. He wished he could see them, especially since they never had the opportunity to demonstrate their martial prowess to one another. What strange methods had the technics devised to deliver devastation to their foes?
It would be a while before he awoke, but when he did, he would inherit the Mayor’s responsibilities for the town. The lives and future of the thousands of souls within the town’s borders were now his to shepherd, and he would not let them down.
----------------------------------------
“Thank you, Aruon,” Trey said into the smooth communication stone that Aruon had granted them. “Give your master our best wishes.”
“Of course,” Aruon said, and the stone, which had been emitting a soft yellow glow, finally went dull. The connection had been severed.
Only one other person occupied the command centre with him. He was silent for a moment as he considered Aruon’s words.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“So, Sabletown’s forces have wounded the creature. They’re saying it wasn’t an Unbound like they thought it was, but its power was nearly equal to one.”
“What’s the difference?” Aera asked.
Trey shrugged.
“Maybe there isn’t one, I don’t know. We’re out of our depth here,” he said.
He and his daughter were alone in the control room. They’d already moved half of the people from outpost up the mountain the outpost was situated against. They had temporarily evacuated another third to the Ambition, which would watch the situation from high above after their first and only strike against the guardian concluded.
They didn’t want to evacuate the world entirely — not when it seemed like a victory might actually be within their grasp.
“They say that the jellyfish pulled all of its attention in the end. Sabletown still stands, but they weren’t clear about what the toll was,” he said.
“The A-Class?” Aera asked.
Trey nodded.
“Then, if it’s already wounded, maybe there’s a good chance the jellyfish will kill it.”
“Let’s hope,” Trey said.
They stood in silence for a while. The final few scout ships and transport shuttles were lifting off. A few dozen people remained, awaiting their chance to reach the safety of the Ambition.
“I understand why they didn’t tell us what their small victory cost them,” Aera said.
“I agree,” Trey said. “It’s still early days.”
“And, I mean, what are the odds that we’ll stay on Skyhold after this?” Aera asked.
He raised an eyebrow at her. An unasked question.
“I know you’ve been thinking the same thing I have. Skyhold was a mistake,” she said. Something in his expression must have concerned her.
“I’m not blaming you,” she said. “On paper, this was the best potential spot. The resources, the potential for scientific advancement, the sheer distance from the council. It was perfect. But if we knew then what we know now?”
Trey nodded.
“There were other candidates. None of them were as remote, and they had nowhere near as many resources.”
“Which would have been fine, given our capacity for inter-realm travel.”
“You’re right,” he said. Despite himself, his voice shook. He’d been fighting back his emotion for days. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, and held it.
“Oh, dad,” Aera said. He felt her arms around him. He exhaled and returned the gesture.
She let go of the hug and stepped back, concern written on her features.
“Of course, you’ve already considered this,” she said.
“I have,” he said, “and despite everything that’s happened, with all the potential alternatives, Skyhold is the best choice.”
She shook her head.
“I’m not saying I disagree, but others might.”
Despite the grief he hadn’t been dealing with healthily, which simmered always in the background, he barked out a short, humourless laugh.
“They might. Let them. I’m used to making unpopular decisions. Without Clark’s warning and a solution to the world’s hostility, I would have ordered a complete evacuation. It’s not guaranteed to even reach us. And if it does, we’ll shove all of our explosive ordinance down its throat. If that’s not enough, then we’ll wait out its aggression and when it forgets about us, we’ll leave. We’re expecting the first real wave of colonists to arrive in the next 24 hours. There will be enough space on their ships to accommodate us while we search for a new home.”
“But if we win—”
“—Then we’ll have cleared the way for our expansion and safe habitation. The main challenge will be dealing with Class-1’s and building relationships with our new alien friends. Haven’t you considered their potential?”
“I have considered it, they could have new technologies—”
“—no.” Trey interrupted, “think bigger.”
She squinted at him. He raised his eyebrows, eager for her to catch on.
“They’re not from here,” she said, her eyes slowly widening, “they have intelligence about the wider universe. Like markets. Oh, you want to expand.”
He smiled as the idea started to take root within her.
“Eventually, dear. Once we’re self-sufficient, and barring any significant hiccups with our new neighbours, we will explore a vast universe of markets that the Council might never have access to.”
Aera ran a hand through her hair. Trey stared out the window, out past the ruined walls of the outpost, out towards the unknown.
A great flash of light, a familiar wave of purple and blue energy expanded and suffused the air. He might have imagined it, but it seemed easier to breathe.
“It’s begun,” he said.
There was a knock at the door and Guard Captain Niklaus walked in along with a small team.
“Everyone’s evacuated, sir. It’s time to go.”
Trey nodded and considered the command centre once more time before leaving. It might be the last time he ever saw it.
Part of him bid good riddance.
A thought occurred to him.
“Hey, Nik. Have you spoken to Abraham lately?”
The Guard Captain frowned.
“No, I haven’t, sir,” he said. “Last I heard, he was going to board the Ambition to give his thanks to Mr. Koar.”
Trey narrowed his eyes. It wouldn’t take half a day for the Captain share his gratitude with Hunter.
As they approached the shuttle, which would take them to the Ambition, Trey radioed for the ship’s bridge.
“This is Trey Oberon to the bridge of the Ambition. Do you copy?”
“Read you loud and clear, sir,” came the voice from. He assumed it was the comms officer on duty. “Should I patch you in to Captain Smith?”
“There’s no need to bother him with this. Can you check to see if Captain Gregor is still aboard your ship?”
“One moment, sir.”
Another bright flash of light in the distance. It expanded over the horizon, like a rising sun. A thin blue beam traced through the sky. It parted the clouds, which evaporating for hundreds of meters around the beam.
Trey and there rest of the outpost’s temporary inhabitants boarded their shuttles. As the minutes wore on without hearing from the ship, a frustration and anxiety grew more apparent in his gut.
“Sir, I apologize for the delay. Captain Gregor was here a few hours ago, but he disembarked with Mr. Koar shortly after he boarded. Is there anything else I can help you with today, sir?”
The frustration was blossoming into something a bit more reflexive and vibrant, so he took a deep breath. The comms officer didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his inability to handle himself.
“Nothing more. Keep up the good work,” he said, resisting the urge to throw his radio at the shuttle’s doors.
“Sir?” Guard Captain Niklaus said. Trey ignored him and called Captain Gregor directly.
There was no answer.
He stifled a curse.
“See if you can get a line to Captain Gregor,” he said. Captain Niklaus nodded and sent a message to his own subordinates.
After a few minutes with no news, Trey could only tilt his head back and stare at the ceiling.
The Ambition was gaining altitude by the time the shuttles docked with it, unloading their passengers and shutting down after a full day of use. Exhausted pilots engaged shutdown sequences and did their best to feign a sense of energy and readiness around the big boss.
He gave them a forced smile and a nod. It was the best he could do right now.
His adopted son was missing, as was the captain of his flagship.
Considering the Cloud, he wondered why he hadn’t called the ship directly. If they weren’t at the outpost, and they weren’t aboard the Ambition, the flagship was the last reasonable place he could imagine they’d be.
But he’d not approved for Hunter to board the flagship — not that the boy’s word didn’t carry any weight these days. He could go where he wanted. But that privilege was contingent upon him having the good sense to use it wisely.
What the hell were they thinking?