“This doesn’t sound good,” Trey said. Hunter frowned and nodded.
Why couldn’t they have some peace? He thought. Did the universe have it out for them?
“Can we trust his assessment? If they’re enemies, maybe we should get in contact with these Peacekeepers. What if whatever actions put them at odds with Sabletown were justified?”
“June has been a straight shooter so far. I’ve no reason to doubt his words outright, but I agree with you. We need to know more, and I don’t think we should trust Sabeltown’s story outright.” Trey said, collecting his thoughts. “If there’s one thing Skyhold has taught us, it’s that we should assume the need to protect ourselves.”
Hunter felt conflicted. Concern for the strangers appearing beyond the sky and excitement for whatever contents the ring might hold. He suspected he knew what those contents were.
“Is that what I think it is?” Area asked him as Trey and his subordinates left the meeting room, ascending the stairs to the command centre’s core of operations.
“Only one way to find out,” Hunter said. “Have you got a knife or some scissors?”
“Give me your hand,” she sighed. Hunter held out his hand. She turned it palm up and ran the edge of one of her nails across the skin of his index finger.
He jerked his arm back with a curse.
“Could have warned me,” he said, grimacing. Using her nail was pretty unhygenic. Not that he was too worried. His improved physique came with a boosted immune system.
Still, he thought, it was still pretty gross.
He watched as a small bead of blood appeared. He hoped it would be enough to activate the ring.
The whole ritual felt strange. Like actual magic. This was something straight from a fantasy novel.
He really wanted to get his hands on Sabletown’s knowledge base. What other strange objects did they have stashed away? Maybe they had wizard staffs, wands, and flying carpets.
He rubbed his index finger along the ring, and he felt a connection with it. As if it were a definable presence in the room. It was the same feeling he got when he knew someone was standing behind him, or to his side, just beyond the periphery of his vision.
He brought his attention to the feeling. Suddenly, he knew what was inside the ring. Not like an itemized list, but more like basic impressions. Images, textures, smells, and overall size relative to the total space of the ring.
With a thought, a small manual appeared in his hands. It took a second for the font on the cover to resolve itself, twisting into something legible.
Tara Sovereign Sect
Outer Disciple Library
Foundation Establishment Manual
“Foundation Establishment,” Hunter whispered, excitement overcoming worry. He looked at Aera. “This is it. I need to look through this. But—”
“—Don’t worry about it. Keep your radio on. I’ll update you when we have more news about the Peacekeepers.”
Hunter nodded.
He shouldn’t be spending much time with the manual right now. He had a lot of work to do, part of his punishment for agreeing to take part in Captain Gregor’s plan. But this could provide the answers to one of the most important obstacles that was challenging the Oberon Researchers who were studying Gideon Koar’s notes in their spare time.
How could they allow someone to manipulate their etheric channels without having a general sensitivity to etherium?
After hearing what June said about the deceased mayor, he felt even more pressure to find a solution. There were more cultivators out there beyond Skyhold, and some of them would be much more powerful than June. What would their reaction be to discover two settlements on such a resource-rich world?
If Skyhold wanted independence, they needed power. With the help of this manual, they would finally have a way to give everyone a way to empower themselves against the threats that this new world might present them.
----------------------------------------
Admiral Jeffrey Bellinger and General Simran Marko stood on the bridge of the O.S.S. Relentless, one of three Carrier-Class inter-realm ships in the Oberon fleet.
“What are the odds that they saw us?” Simran asked.
“High enough to take proactive measures,” Jeffrey said. “Comms, general broadcast.”
“Sir,” Comms said. “You’re live.”
“This is Admiral Bellinger. Admiral Bellinger here. You’ve likely heard that we’ve spotted a potential threat in our space. We are going to assume that there is a hostile fleet inbound until we can prove otherwise. All ships are to be battle ready as soon as possible. We are recalling all essential personnel.”
He waved his hands so that the comms officer knew to cut the feed. His tablet screen showed a list of ship names turning green as each captain confirmed their receipt of his orders.
Few ships had essential personnel on the ground, just enough to help kick-start their efforts to set a new foundation for the colony.
He sneered.
His briefing led him to believe that their leader had moved them from an unpleasant situation to a dangerous one. They’d faced nothing but hostility from this world from the moment the Merciful Cloud had landed, and even before then.
The whole situation comprised one fuck up after another. They should have had more intel before they came here. Dozens had died because of the parasite — because of one Vice-Captain Clarke’s incompetence. But, the responsibility lay on his boss. Trey Oberon had many deaths to answer for.
If Trey had been a lesser man, Jeffrey might have made a play for his position already. Not that he hadn’t made discreet efforts in that direction in the past, but the Oberon monarch kept a very solid grasp on his power. He’d underestimated Trey’s information network. The man had eyes and ears everywhere. Instead of frustration, Jeffrey felt respect and admiration.
Trey Oberon wasn’t a Council Seat for nothing. His gentle exterior masked a cruel and calculating heart. Jeffrey supposed that some might admire the genuine care Trey seemed to show his subordinates, and Jeffrey had followed Trey’s example throughout his career.
But their response to the threats that Skyhold had displayed had been far too passive for the Admiral’s liking. He would need to convince Trey to take a more active approach in securing their future in this world. The Sabletown aliens came to mind. They would need to be shown, beyond any doubt, that Oberon Enterprise was the top dog out here.
It might take some doing to convince the man, but Jeffrey was always up for a challenge. Besides, they weren’t on Sanctuary anymore. He doubted he was the only person who might have taken issue with Trey’s decisions out here, beyond the world he’d inherited his power base from.
The rules would be different out here. The game had changed. Maybe Jeffrey was the man to lead the Colony’s future, if Trey’s vision and leadership proved inadequate.
That was a thought to indulge at a later date. For now, his plate was full.
“Sir,” said his operations officer, “We have detected significant etheric activity nearby—”
“—Admiral, multiple reports of etheric disturbances throughout the fleet—”
“Contact! Shit, there’s so many of them! Dozens of ships spotted at the centre of our formation — they’re opening fire!”
He huffed away his frustration from the sudden onslaught of voices and escalating nerves.
“Comms, tell Bravo fleet to hold the line. The colony’s safety is our top priority. Weapons, tell me you have targets!” the Admiral yelled. General Marko was speaking to his Guards throughout the fleet, ordering them to prepare to repel boarders and to be ready to engage in boarding actions of their own.
“We’re tracking targets, sir, but their movement is far too erratic. I’m enabling machine assistance.”
Jeffrey frowned but nodded his assent.
Tracking software was too mature to be considered a prototype, but it was far from being considered battle-tested. Jeffrey made his way to the Ops station to see if he could understand what his weapons officer was telling him.
Then the ship shook, and he lost his footing, but he could break his fall against the railing set up throughout the bridge.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Shields are holding, 70 percent!”
That was a sharp decline in shield integrity.
“After one hit?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Their weaponry is etherium based, and much more effective than our own.”
Jeffrey observed the scanner. As his officer had said, the way they moved defied Oberon’s most agile ships.
“Fighters deployed,” General Marko said.
The admiral shook his head. He didn’t like the odds of their fighters facing off against the Peacekeeper crafts.
How had they gotten so close without being spotted?
They must have cloaked themselves and drifted into the fleet’s formation. Their tech would need to be pretty advanced, if that was the case. One ship stood out. It was the biggest out of all of them — more long than it was wide. Longer than any of the Oberon vessels, even the Relentless itself. It reminded him of a needle, with a section of its hull tapering off and then rejoining like a needle’s eye.
It was distancing itself from the battle. Was it their command vessel?
“That’s a primary target,” he muttered. Then he asked louder, “what’s our status?”
“Sir, we’ve lost a dozen ships. Our weapons are proving to be effective at close range.”
The ship rocked again, worse than before.
“Shield integrity at 40 percent, sir!”
Jeffrey couldn’t help the curse that parted his lips. General Marko stood still, as stoic as ever. His hands behind his back.
“Message from Skyhold! Sabletown is sending reinforcements.”
He felt a headache coming on. He needed to get ahead of this situation.
“What are they sending? Will they be here in time?” he asked.
“Apparently, it’s just the mayor,” Jeffrey said. The alien’s psychology must differ drastically from their own. Although they appear human, this situation made him question how Sanctuary humans differed from the apparent inter-realm standard.
“One man?” General Simran scoffed, which must have been the most extreme reaction Jeffrey had ever seen from the man.
He didn’t disagree. Since the mayor’s presence wouldn’t affect the battle’s outcome, Jeffrey decided to dismiss the Sabletown alien from his mind and focus his attention on where it was needed.
“How many ships remain?” he asked, dreading the answer.
“Just under half, sir.”
Clenching his jaw, he considered the scanner one more time, a plan rapidly forming.
“Nav, maximum acceleration towards the transition envelope. Full burn for 20 seconds. Comms, Inform all remaining vessels to retreat towards us, Formation Echo-2. The Relentless will take the tail. As soon as navigation cuts our acceleration, tell engineering to divert all power to all remaining power to shields!”
Jeffrey reached for his personal radio, patching it into the inter-fleet communication network.
“Captain Roth, do you read?” he asked.
“Loud and clear. What’s the situation?”
“Tactical retreat, Echo-2. I trust you know your role?”
“Aye, sir. We’ll be the fishing net.”
“Good, over and out.”
The ship shook, and the ceiling showered him with sparks.
“Shield’s critical, admiral!”
“5 seconds!” his navigations officer called.
“Hold!” he ordered.
Every passing second was an opportunity for the enemy to end them. It made him wondered why they haven’t yet.
“Engineering is boosting shields! Shield integrity is rising. We’re adrift, sir!” Ops said.
He let out a small exhale and watched as the rest of the ships in his fleet gathered. Over the last minute, another half dozen names disappeared from his list. Hundreds were dead. He watched as the Peackeepers responded to the change in the Oberon formation.
“Explosions reported near the transition envelope. Bravo fleet is holding the line,” Ops reported.
“Captain Roth is impressive,” Simran said.
“All my captains are elite. Oberon has always had the advantage in space,” the Admiral muttered. The line was reflexive by now. Every corporation wanted to claim the title of supremacy for themselves, but Oberon had invested more into their navy than half of the other Council Seats combined.
Trey’s father had known which way the wind was blowing before the space race had begun. Trey himself was quick to take his father’s advice, too. Securing outworld assets had been the emergent path to dominance, and so they’d bet everything on being able to secure their advantage as fast as possible.
It had paid off, but then the Council had punished them for it.
Being out here, having his fleet decimated and his own ship hammered by alien weaponry, it all started because they’d done their job too well. Trey had grown too fat on the wealth of the worlds that his fleet had discovered. Had he played ball with the other corporations, they wouldn’t have needed to run and hide.
Not that Jeffrey objected too much to leading the largest navy in existence. But in hindsight, if he’d known where this was all leading, he’d have begged Trey to reconsider.
A racket of raised voices brought his attention back to the bridge, and then it was as if the space in which they occupied was shaking. The whole felt like it was being torn apart, ground between god’s teeth.
“Forward weapons offline, radar sensors offline!”
“Shield emitters failing!”
“Contact front! What is that?!”
“It’s like they’re all shooting at us at once!”
“Engineering’s been hit! Reactor’s only at half power!”
In but a moment, he’d arrived at death’s door. He cursed their new allies. Where were the reinforcements? The least they could do was provide a distraction so that the ones who were risking their lives protecting this heaven’s forsaken world might actually do some damage!
From the front view-port, he spied one of the Peacekeeper’s biggest ships speeding toward them. Despite his own ship’s acceleration, it was eating up the distance between them at a rate which caused him to despair.
The enemy ship maneuvered, presenting a wall of broadside cannons.
“Massive etheric spike! They’re charging something nasty!”
This was the end, and he was staring it in the face. It wasn’t the first time he’d brushed against death, but it was the first time he’d felt so utterly powerless to do anything but die with his head held high.
Their executioner was close enough that he could see their bridge. He could barely make out a few silhouettes …
Suddenly, a pressure emerged that forced him to kneel. Everyone on the bridge felt the same thing. Some couldn’t stand it, and curled up on the ground.
Outside the ship, there stood a man, floating on nothing but the emptiness of space. His back was turned to them. He was bald and wore a beige robe. In his right hand he held up a sword towards the enemy ship.
His robe fluttered in non-existent winds.
The sword descended.
A rift tore the ship in half, manifesting straight down the centre of its hull. Both sides of the ship drifted, angling to face each other. Their charged attack released a second later. Each side detonated in a flare of destruction.
The swordsman then pointed his sword again, towards some distant, unseen target. The feeling the man gave off shifted, where before it had been domineering, now it was pure glory.
Reverence.
He was in the presence of something sacred, something most holy. It felt as if reality itself were a blade pressed against every cell of his being, and it was his distinct honour to be put in such a position.
He could help but weep. The man before him was like a god in flesh, the pinnacle of existence.
Wherever he pointed, there came distant pinpricks of light, like new stars born in the void.
Then the man disappeared, as did the pressure he exuded — gone just as suddenly as it has arrived.
The Admiral woke up from whatever trance gripped him. He’d experienced nothing like that before.
General Marko gaped like a fish out of water. He had seen everything that Jeffrey had seen.
“What did we just witness?”
Jefrey stood, his knees wobbling, his legs shaking.
“If I had to guess, I’d wager that was our reinforcements.”
More flowers of light blossomed in the distance, heralding their enemies death.
“How is he getting through their shields?” General Marko asked.
Silence across the bridge. The Admiral was the first to gather his wits.
“Status!”
The bridge crew brought their focus back to their tasks.
“Sir, we have a comms link up with a nearby ship. They’re feeding their data to us. Half of the enemy fleet is gone. I’m tracking a new etheric signature. Its trajectory matches that of the enemy ships being destroyed. It’s coming our way.”
Jeffrey hadn’t given the order to patch into another ship’s network. The officer had set it all up himself. He made a mental note to be monitor that one, he would be worth grooming for a higher role.
“Sir, requesting permission to open fire. We don’t know what it might be—”
“We know what it is,” the Admiral snapped. “He’s our ally.”
The confusion playing across the faces of his bridge crew would have been amusing in any other circumstance. None of them had been watching out the view-port when the swordsman had appeared.
Then there was another presence on the bridge. General Marko pulled his sidearm and aimed at the intruder. Admiral Bellinger recognized him immediately. Their focus on their station tasks had prevented the other bridge officers from noticing him.
Sweat covered the man. He heaved deep breaths as if he’d just run a marathon. He glanced at General Marko in amusement and then regarded Admiral Bellinger. Pointing his thumb towards his own chest, he spoke.
“June,” he said. This got the attention of the bridge crew, who all gaped or stared in shock at the stranger amongst them.
Admiral Bellinger was no fool. He gathered his nerves into a ball, pushed it out of sight, and followed the man’s lead.
“Bellinger. Fleet Admiral Jeffrey Bellinger. Thank you for rendering aid. We could have handled the situation, but your presence has expedited our success. For that, you have my thanks.”
General Marko coughed. The lie was blatant, but he couldn’t project any weakness before what was the most powerful entity he’d ever encountered.
June tilted his head, appearing to consider the Admiral’s words. He closed his eyes, and the Admiral felt something in the air, a subtle shift that he almost dismissed as his imagination.
“That’s better. After advancing to the Adept stage, my sensitivity has improved. It is much easier to assist the translation matrix, now,” June spoke, “could you repeat what you just said?”
“The Admiral expressed his gratitude at your timely arrival.” General Marko said. Jeffrey wanted to yell at the man, strip him of his rank, and throw him out an airlock. But he wasn’t in Jeffrey’s chain of command.
Yet he couldn’t deny the General’s words in front of the Sabletown representative. They need to appear as a unified front.
June bowed after the General spoke, but he remained silent. He fixed his gaze on Jeffrey, making Jeffrey uncomfortable.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Translation matrix? Is that what I felt?”
“You can ask your leader about the matrix when you meet him next. I have finished my work; this concludes my part of our mutual demonstration of prowess. I look forward to seeing your own. The rest of the bandit fleet is yours to do with as you wish, but I would act fast before their jump ship can recharge. Good day, Mr. Admiral Jeffrey Bellinger,” June said, bowing to him and the General, the amused smirk having remained present the whole time.
He moved his hand through the air, like a slow karate chop, and then he disappeared once more.
“I need to hire that man,” General Marko muttered. “I’ll make a Guard out of him.”
“I recommend figuring out how to let our men do what he can do,” Jeffrey muttered.
The General frowned.
“Broadcast a new order. Maintain formation, but reverse course. Vanguard vessels are to advance at full speed, weapons active and shields at half power. Tell Captain Roth to close the net,” Jeffrey ordered.
“I’ve got men attempting to board and search for what’s left of the remaining ships,” the General said. “June’s attack didn’t destroy all of them. I have ordered that our shuttles' beacons remain active.”
“Risky move, General. I can’t guarantee they’ll be safe from crossfire.”
“We need to gather what intel we can, Admiral. It’s worth the risk. The men are all volunteers. They know what they’re getting into.”
“Sir, the enemy fleet is converging around a single ship. They’re sacrificing themselves in order to ensure that it doesn’t get hit.”
“That’s got to be the jump ship June mentioned,” the General said.
“I concur. Amend fire mission, disable the jump ship at all costs. Prioritize boarding actions when possible, but don’t take any unnecessary risks. I’m not too impressed with these Peacekeepers capabilities, but they’re still an unknown. They might have some surprises left in store for us.”
Bravo fleet expanded in front of the transition envelope, ready to close around the advancing Peacekeepers, surrounding the enemy and forcing them to hold from the centre. With much of the enemy forces now eliminated, cutting off the Peacekeepers’ retreat became imperative.
Of course, had he known that they had a Jump Ship, he might not have bothered. It implied the capacity to travel faster than light, if his guess was correct. But it was too late to do anything about that now.
“We’re detecting a strong etheric charge coming from the centre of the enemy formation, sir.”