Chapter 41. A deal
Koametes was a large woman. She stood nearly a head taller than me, and her body was lithe and muscular under her thermal body armor. She wore a cloak of grey and white that fluttered as the cold wind blew around her. She had an air of nobility about her, standing tall and straight-backed against the wind. Her right hand rested on the ornate hilt of a sheathed sword while a dagger rested in its own sheath on her left side. She pulled back the hood of her cloak, and her visor disappeared into her helmet, revealing long white hair that had fallen into the locks. She stared into me with burning violet, almond-shaped eyes.
“I am here to assess the state of this…dungeon,” she said, raising her hands for emphasis.
“It’s big and cold, and I am just about ready to go home. Does that help any?” I asked with a shrug.
Koametes’ lips curled back in disgust, “Impudent beast, you stand in the presence of one superior to you. Respect is due.”
“Listen bitch, respect is earned. I didn’t ask to be here. I don’t know who you are, and to be honest, I don’t much care. If you are here to kill me, then let’s just cut to the part where we start cutting parts. Sound good?” I said as I parted my arms and summoned my daggers.
Koametes smiled, “I see why you have managed to make it this far, little human. I will forgive your lack of decorum this time. I have come to offer you a choice. I believe it will benefit you to align yourself with me, but I fear that the decision is yours to make.”
I glanced at Kaj’s projection. Something in his eyes told me this woman was not to be trusted, but I could sense her power. She was a fighter; my sense of danger was practically screaming as I stood in her presence. I was sure she would beat me if we fought here.
“I will hear your proposal, Administrator,” I said plainly.
“Good, good. We are making progress, and here I thought humans were a species devoid of intellect. It was a pleasant surprise indeed. I will make this simple, human,” she started to say.
“Stop,” I said, holding my hand up, “If we are to negotiate in good faith, then I will not be talked down to. My name is Andrew Dawes; you can refer to me as Andrew, Mr. Dawes or Captain Dawes. I will not be demeaned or disrespected. My species have been the playthings of bullies for several years, and I refuse to take lip from some purple-eyed bitch that I have never met. Now, I can continue with what you referred to as impudence, or I can hear you out respectfully…Administrator. Respect is reciprocal, and I expect you to put a little on my name the next time you speak. Now, please continue.”
The Administrator’s jaw muscles flexed in anger as her fingers gripped the hilt of her sword, but she gathered herself and nodded before continuing.
“Captain Dawes, it seems that it may take you several more months to reach the tenth floor of this tower. Your progress is slow, and honestly, your skills are not yet up to the task. One of my colleagues, a man known as the Facilitator, designed this tower as a challenge for anyone who might try to take its prize. You have proven yourself to be a dependable ally to this point, so I decided to step in and offer you a choice to expedite your progress. You must choose this willingly, though, as I cannot force you to accept the assistance,” She turned her head to the side and made a clicking noise with her tongue.
Obviously, this is not the way she wanted this to go. There are rules keeping her in check, something the creator of this dungeon put in place to limit outside interference. The Administrator wants something, I am not sure what it is but I get the sense that I am just a small piece of a larger plan.
“Why would you do this? I assume you are part of the Coeus collective or some sort of ally to them. Other than providing my armor and ship, the Coeus have given me nothing but headaches. Why help now? I agreed to find this Seed of Power already; if you could just give me a cheat code to get it, wouldn’t you have done it already?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, the plans and machinations of the Facilitator fall outside my purview. I am tasked with more tangible issues for my people. I cannot share the reasons behind my intent to help you, but I assure you that I am here to do just that. I intend to help you expedite your mission and get to the tenth floor of this dungeon as quickly as possible,” she said.
“So, you can just jump me straight to the last level, huh? Isn’t the point of this whole tower to help me get stronger and master my abilities? If I skip all the floor, I skip all the gains, it doesn’t seem like something that will help me in the long run. And to be honest…you seem shady as hell, not exactly giving me girl-next-door vibes,” I said with a shrug.
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The Administrator narrowed her eyes at me, “Captain Dawes, you are already ahead of schedule and leveling at an extraordinary pace, all things considered. You have started to unlock some of the advanced features of your battle armor. You have allies assisting you and training you on advanced combat tactics. Several more months in this tower will do little to help you advance further. On the next floor, the time dilation will end, and your time will sync with that of Earth. As of now, you have lost weeks with your crew, and tensions between the Lacertines and humans are starting to escalate. You do not have the luxury of time, do you understand?” she asked.
I looked back at Kaj again. I had put little thought into what was going on back on Earth until now, “My crew is capable, my ship and allies are capable, and they will defend Earth in my absence,” I said.
“They will try, Captain Dawes. Recently, Tiffantrimore Clarivox led an assault on a Lacertine serum production facility to great success. She and the rest of your crew are proving themselves to be capable warriors. Unfortunately, the Bloodhound and a contingent of rebel ships destroyed a squad of Rerek vessels that were in low orbit on an extended patrol and observation mission after the Lacertine blockade was destroyed. Your allies were victorious; congratulations,” she said with a mocking, slow clap of her gloved hands.
“How is this bad news?” I asked.
“Because before the Rerek destroyer was sent into the heart of your solar systems star, it sent a distress signal. As we speak, the Rerek empire sends an entire fleet of ships to stamp out the rebel threat. They are aware that the Bloodhound is not destroyed and they know the Flaming Retribution was spotted in the area. They have a chance to cut the head off the rebellion and claim the biggest trophy in the universe… Your ship. A small group of humans and their allies can do nothing to stop them. Time, Captain Dawes is not your ally,” The facilitator clasped her hands and smiled, “You need me, Andrew.”
“What will it cost me? Your kind doesn’t give anything for free,” I said through clenched teeth.
“It will mean the tenth floor will be more difficult. It will endanger the lives of your crew, and it will mean that you begin the floor absent allies…or armor. I am afraid that you don’t have much of a choice in the matter. Accept my help, or know that your world will burn. You will be stronger, yes. You will no doubt find and take the seed of power but return to a planet of ash and cinder. Corpses will populate your once-thriving planet. Your ship will be destroyed, and your allies will be murdered from orbit. I fear the choice is simple.” She said with those cold violet eyes.
I slumped to my knees as the realization of everything she said hit me. I know this is a trap, I know that this is not how this was supposed to go. I am being used again. I am nothing more than a tool the Coeus have been using since I received this damned armor. All of these truths hammer into me as the wind cuts at my face, but the cold of the wind is nothing compared to the bitter cold of possibility. The possibility that my friends could all be in jeopardy, my world could again be in jeopardy.
“Fine,” I said without looking up.
“I’m sorry? The wind is quite loud; could you repeat that for me…Captain Dawes,” She said mockingly.
“I said, fine! I will do it. I need any details you can give me. I need to know what I am walking into. I can’t go in blind. Can you give me anything?” I asked.
“The floor will be large. You will start with no armor and no abilities. Your friends will all be phased to the floor but segregated. You cannot complete the floor and take the seed until you have freed your entire crew. There will be a boss, it will be powerful, and it will take all of you working together to beat it. It can be done, Andrew, but it will be difficult. You will regain abilities as you free your crew. By freeing them, you will regain weapons, abilities, and finally, your armor, but you will start with nothing more than you had before the drop. Your body, your brain, and your ability to survive.” She said.
“What about Sherlock and Kaj?” I asked.
“The Sherlock AI is part of your armor and will remain in stasis until you have regained the armor. Your friend Kaj will be detained just as the rest of your crew is. They will be separated; they will be guarded. It will not be easy, Andrew. It will be possible, though.”
“What about the boss on this floor? I haven’t even completed this level.” I said.
The Facilitator smiled as she turned from me. An enormous Mammoth charged into the valley we occupied. The ancient beast had brown fur that was tipped with ice and snow as it dragged the ground. Its tusks curled from its mouth, at least 10 feet long each. Red eyes burned under shaggy fur. It raised up on its back legs as it got within 100 yards. It slammed down and shattered the earth beneath it. I jumped to my feet, daggers in hand, ready to fight.
The facilitator turned and looked at me over he shoulder, smiling, “My gift to repay your trust in me, Captain Dawes.”
She raised her hood as her helmet slithered back over her head. She slowly walked toward the Mammoth as it bellowed from its trunk and pawed at the ground. When she was no more than 20 yards away, she stopped and raised her right hand into the air. Purple light gathered on her palm as it morphed into a solid shaft of purple light, with a sharp point on one end. The facilitator hurled the purple spear at the mammoth, and it sunk into the beast's body right behind its front shoulder. The facilitator turned to walk back toward me. There was no fear, no panic in her pace. Just calm. The mammoth rushed her; she didn’t even turn. She simply raised her right hand again and clenched her fist. The Mammoth exploded in a shower of purple fragments, blood, and meat.
I stood, mouth agape. I couldn’t believe what I just witnessed. The power, the power, was monstrous. I couldn’t fight this woman; I wouldn’t scratch her, much less kill her. For the first time in a long time, a feeling erupted in me: powerlessness. It was familiar, but more than that, it angered me. I would never be powerless again, and I would never be used again. I would play her game and let her think I was dancing to her tune, but I would find a way to make the Coeus understand that humans are not their playthings.
I stood, chin high, and addressed the Administrator, “I agree to your request. Now, let's get on with it.”