I had been in Boutelerien for less than 48 hours now. Once Matthias learned I was connected with Koametes, he bent backward to ensure I was comfortable. I was moved to new quarters, given clothes, and fed. Surprisingly, there was no issue getting food compatible with human physiology. Matthias informed me that their nutritional requirements were uploaded to the Council database as new species were discovered. Many humans were now enslaved, and the nutritional requirements were needed if the masters were expected to see a return on their investment. It made me sick to think about humans being seen as nothing more than cheap labor or entertainment. I would not rest until I made it right. Right now, though, I had to focus on my current predicament.
Matthias entered my quarters, dressed to the nines as usual. “Mr Dawes, I trust your needs are being seen to?”
I stepped away from the balcony overlooking the city. “Yes. I am comfortable. That is the problem, though, Matthias.”
“I’m sure I don’t get your meaning, Mr. Dawes,” Matthias responded nervously.
I walked over and sat in one of the large armchairs near an ornate coffee table. “My planet has been ravaged. My people have been enslaved. My ship and crew’s whereabouts are currently unknown, and here I sit in a plush penthouse, dressed in new clothes, eating good food. Do you not see my issue?”
Matthias sat in the chair opposite my own. “Mr. Dawes, I understand your concerns, bu,”
“NO! You don’t understand my concerns, Matthias. How could you? You are not part of the solution. You and your people are part of the problem,” I said, cutting him off and standing abruptly.
“Please…sit down Mr. Dawes. It’s time I explain a bit of my past. Hopefully you will see things differently afterward,” Matthias motioned toward my empty chair. “I fear that you misunderstand me, Mr. Dawes. I come from nothing. I know, seeing me now you might assume that I come from wealth. I assure you, I do not. Do you think that your planet was the first to be reaped, Mr Dawes? No, I will give you more credit than that. Countless planets have been reaped before your own. I myself come from one of those planets. Much like you, I managed to find a way to avoid being enslaved, though it was not easy,” Matthias reached into the pocket inside his tailored jacket and pulled the ornate stinger case out, opening it and taking a stinger and offering it to me. I grabbed the stinger as he took one out for himself. After lighting the stingers, he continued. “Andrew Dawes, The Havok Bringer himself, in my complex of all places.”
I froze at the realization that he knew more about me than he initially led on. “You…you know who I am?”
“Ha!” Matthias laughed and slapped the arm of his chair before taking a long drag from his stinger. “Mr. Dawes, the entire galaxy knows who you are. I admit I had my doubts when you first came to us. I wasn’t sure it was you until I saw your arms. There are, you realize, comprehensive descriptions of you on the net. You are at the top of the Council’s most-wanted list. You are worth quite a lot of credits, Mr. Dawes. If I needed the money, I could have turned you in and retired to a nice resort planet for the rest of my days,” Matthias turned his head to look at me, “Lucky for you, I don’t need the money. No, Mr. Dawes, I happen to agree with your earlier sentiment… Fuck the Council. You were able to strike a blow to the Council the likes of which haven’t been seen in centuries. You are alive because our views align, at least in regards to the Council. I do wonder if I could see it, though, this armor of yours.”
“I took a drag of my own stinger, letting the smoke linger in my mouth before exhaling. “I’m afraid that is why I am here, Matthias. I am unable to use my armor for now. I have a mission to complete, and the prize is somewhere in this city. I am not sure where to start, though. My crew are also in this city, but as of now, I am unsure of their whereabouts. I have an idea where one is and that is only because of a bond we share. I don’t know the exact location; I can sense that he isn’t far, though, and he is to the east of where we currently are.”
Matthias grinned, “You refer to the seed of power?”
“You know about the seed of power? How?” I asked, confused but excitedly.
“Mr. Dawes, you will come to find that I am quite the resource. I trade in many things: illegal, illicit substances, weapons, and flesh. I am no saint, I fear. I have done the things one must do to pull themselves from the brink of irrelevance to the precipice of absolute power. Of all the items I peddle, though, information is the most valuable by far. If it is located in this city, I am aware and can find it. I am afraid that I am no friend to the Council, much the opposite in fact, but they cannot move to eliminate me because of the information that I have compiled over time. Because of this information, I am quite untouchable. Over the years, we have struck a tenuous bargain: I will be allowed to run my various businesses as I see fit, and in return, I will not act on the information I have received.”
I took another drag of the stinger and exhaled, shaking my head judgementally. “So you are complacent, then. Just another blind eye turned to the machinations of the Council. I am grateful for your help, Matthias, let me say that first. I cannot take the same stance you have taken, though. I fully intend to dismantle the Council. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I won’t let what happened to my planet stand. I was given a weapon, a chance to be the instrument of change. I intend to be that instrument.”
Matthias leaned back in his chair, took a drag of his own stinger, and blew out a smoke ring. “What good is a knife with no edge Mr. Dawes? You are in a strange city. You have no armor; you have no resources. In summary, you have no edge.”
I shrugged in response, “I guess blunt force trauma it is. I have made it this far. Against all odds, an unremarkable human was able to cripple the Council. I will find a way. Once I locate my crew and gain my armor back, I will make them pay, you can doubt me; you can even work against me if it is in your best interest, but I will see the Council repaid for their crimes.”
Matthias raised his hands and slowly clapped in response. “Bravo, Mr. Dawes. I fear that you have set yourself on a path that leads to utter destruction. The only remaining question is, who’s destruction, your own or the Council’s?” Matthias leaned forward and put out his stinger in an ornate ashtray on the coffee table in front of us. “I have decided to put my money on you, Mr. Dawes. With that being said, I am afraid that you are woefully ignorant of exactly what part you have been playing in this cosmic game. Are you aware that there is a Havokium Facilitator in this city as we speak?”
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I finished my own stinger and put it out in the ashtray as well. I sat with my elbows on my knees, pondering the question. “I am familiar with the Havokium people, and have contacts within the rebellion. I would assume that they would have a presence within the capital city, it only makes sense.”
Matthias smirked in response, “It is time that I took the blinders off, for lack of a better term, Mr. Dawes. Your allies, to this point, haven’t been particularly transparent with you. In fact, they have been using you as a means to an end. I do not refer to Princess Danae and her startup rebellion. While she has done a fine job of sewing chaos and hindered the recovery efforts of the Council after the… event at the Red Moon of Alcara. She and her people are not who I am referring to. The true Havokium people haven’t been seen in this system in thousands of years. No, they have been living in banishment since their own rebellion. Are you aware of the origins of the Havokium people and how it is connected to your armor and ship?”
“Yeah, I mean, Tiff gave me the information she had. My armor was created as a weapon that would be able to strike a major blow against the Council. It was too late, though, and they were defeated before it could be deployed. After the rebellion, the Havokium people were mostly banished. A few hundred thousand escaped and took refuge in the Sapere home system. Are you saying that one of the banished Havokium is in this city? That happened thousands of years ago, how would they still be alive? You can’t expect me to believe they just hung out for thousands of years, right?” I asked.
“Yes, in fact, I can, Mr. Dawes. I understand that you are new to the higher forms of technology the galaxy has to offer, so I will give you a brief description. The Havokium were banished to an alternate dimension, a dimension they themselves created. Time moved at a reduced speed within that dimension. For all intents and purposes, the banished Havokium have not aged a day since their banishment. They have had thousands of years to plan their re-emergence. Their machinations have only recently come to light, I’m afraid.” Matthias explained.
“Good! Let them return. I can use all the help I can get. They almost kicked the Council’s ass the first time, so with that much time to plan, they should be ready to dismantle the Council this time. The way I see it, this is all coming together at the right time,” I said.
Matthias steepled his hands and hung his head, “Mr. Dawes, I am afraid you may have already been in contact with the Havokium. Have you spoken with a representative from the Coeus collective by chance?”
My eyes went wide. Matthias said that he dealt in the currency of information, but this? How could he have known about my interactions with Coeus? “I don’t know how you got that information, but I am getting less and less comfortable with this conversation, Matthias.”
“Calm yourself, Mr. Dawes. I am merely being transparent. I understand it may be hard to trust me right now, but I hope to gain that trust over time. We are entering into a mutually beneficial arrangement here. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to put all my cards on the table. I have contacts everywhere, even within Princess Danae’s rebellion. I have paid a lot of money to stay abreast of your little crew’s exploits. More to the point, though, is that the Coeus collective is a front. You have in fact been communicating with a representative from the banished Havokium. Your armor, your ship, and even your guardian were provided as a means to an end. The Havokium have begun their re-emergence, and you have, unfortunately, been an unwilling participant.” Matthias explained.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Tiff? Tiff has been helping them? I can’t…I don’t believe that,” I scoffed.
“She was not aware of the part she played, Mr. Dawes. She has been honest with you. Her part was orchestrated without her knowledge. She can still be trusted. I cannot say that for your entire crew, I am afraid,” Matthias stood and began pacing, putting his left hand into his pocket. He was smooth, I frustratedly thought to myself. “You were meant to be a means to an end. You would unwittingly disable the various locks that had been put in place to ensure the banished Havokum could not return to this dimension to exact their revenge. To this point, you have done exactly that. The dungeon tower was a complex series of security features built and put in place to ensure the Havokium couldn’t return. Each floor defeated would alleviate certain levels of that security. You completed two floors before coming to Boutelerien, and I assume that is why we now have a banished Havokium residing in our city,” Matthias turned to face me, “While they have been able to place one agent within this dimension, they cannot return in force until the seed of power has been activated. That seed is located here in this city. This city was meant to be the last stage of the tower, five floors in total, each floor allowing more and more of the banished to return. That plan, for unknown reasons, has been changed. They will still need the seed to be activated, and I assume they still want you to do it, correct?”
This was all too much. Too much information, too many revelations. I was getting overwhelmed. I looked down at my arms. They were vibrating, power beginning to build within them. The gift, the entity I had faced within the white space, I could feel it within me. I could feel the emotions, the anger, the power. It wanted out; it wanted to fight. I closed my eyes and focused; sensing the entity, I took a deep breath. Calm, center yourself. We are in this together. I thought to myself.
I opened my eyes to see Matthias watching me, smiling. “You are…unique, Mr. Dawes,” he said, eyeing my arms as he spoke. Your abilities have been partially suppressed, but I believe you still have the power needed to accomplish our shared goals. This Facilitator is currently working to stop you. I am unsure what changed, but he is no longer your ally. You gave me a name two days ago…Koametes. I have had no contact with this person, but I am sure they are currently at odds with the Facilitator in our city. There is turmoil within the ranks of the banished. We will use this to our benefit. I will need you to tell me of your interactions with the Coeus and banished in detail. I, in return, will tell you where your crew is, at least the ones I am aware of. I will provide you with the assistance needed to liberate them from their captors. I will help you dismantle the Council and more. I am your ally here, Mr. Dawes.”
I raised an eyebrow in response, “Just another person wanting to use me. So you are just gonna go all in on this rebellion. What exactly is in it for you, Matthias?”
Matthias smiled wryly, “Oh, many things, Mr. Dawes. I get to look down on the ruins of this infernal Council while they burn. I get revenge, I get absolution. These things alone are enough, I must admit, but there is one other thing I must ask if I am to aid you,”
I leaned forward in my seat and glared at him, “What is that, Matthias?”
“When you are done, when you have dismantled the Council and left it smoldering and burning… I want this city. Is that amenable to you?” Matthias said, clasping his hands behind his back.
“You come through with your promises; do everything you say you will do….yeah, you can have this city,” I stood up and walked toward him, my arms beginning to warp and vibrate with power once again. “You betray me, though, and I will hang your dead corpse from the walls of the Council Halls with the rest of them. Is that…amenable to you, Matthias?”
Matthias reached a hand toward me, “Shall we shake on it then?”