Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. said their farewells to the rest of the crew as they boarded the shuttle back to the flagship. Other than themselves and the pilot, there were only three others aboard. They were responsible for delivering the most valuable natural resources to the Corthian Mining scientists, and didn’t seem particularly chatty. Kyle stole a quick glance at the dozen seeds before settling in. They were each the size of a volleyball, with a gentle golden glow. He could feel the mana pouring off of them, and there was no doubt at all that they were inferior to the seed that he and C.H.A.D.D. had acquired.
A glare from the people responsible for the treasures turned Kyle’s attention to the window, and with nothing better to do he decided to enter meditation. He knew that he had levels from defeating the Eye, and wanted to see what change spurred the lingering headache. With a slow exhale, Kyle focused on his center.
KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 28 (D)
ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 5/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE, AURIC PERCEPTION, EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY, INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE
VITALITY: 525
ENDURANCE: 609
STRENGTH: 187
DEXTERITY: 380
WILLPOWER: 779
INTELLIGENCE: 779
PERCEPTION: 662
FREE ATTRIBUTES: 144
Eight levels… The progression was incredible. His encounters with the powerful creatures had certainly pushed him. More than that, however, was the affirmation of his path. It had really started to crystallize for him during the struggle against the Eye’s last empowered attack. He was a survivor. The Kyle who was a victim to his circumstances was well and truly gone at this point, which served as a point of pride, along with a tinge of sorrow. What’s more, he was quickly approaching Level 35, where he’d unlock his second D Grade skill.
The next thing he focused on was the fifth change to his Adaptive Anatomy. At this point, he was growing eager to see what would happen if he was able to unlock all of his attributes. It would make sense for there to be one upgrade for each, but what if there were more? Either way, Kyle felt confident that this was the cause of his headache. If it was anything like the Auric Perception change, it would persist for a little while as he got acclimated to it.
Finally, Kyle turned his attention to the free points he’d accumulated. The investment in Willpower and Intelligence had been instrumental in his ability to continue refining the use of his skills, however he was beginning to grow concerned that his Strength and Dexterity were falling too far behind. Specialization was good, but at this point he felt that shoring up the weaknesses would offer a benefit. Ending his deliberations, he invested 22 points into both Intelligence and Perception, put 65 points into Dexterity, and the remaining 35 into Strength.
Exiting meditation, Kyle looked out the thick window to see the flagship growing ever-closer. He hefted the C.H.A.D.D.pack as he departed, waving a greeting at the trio waiting for him in the hangar bay.
“I heard you beat a pretty strong creature. Do you want to spar?”
Skippy was doing his best to keep the excitement out of his expression, though the quick tapping of his foot gave him away.
“I’ve got a meeting with Chester, otherwise I would.”
“I’ll see if I can cancel the meeting.”
“I don’t think he’ll let that slide, Skippy. Besides, I have business with Chester, too.”
Benjamin’s voice was calm and reasonable, which seemed to annoy the Skrell more than anything else. Duroc, for his part, just seemed happy to be involved.
The three of them walked and talked, making good time through the ship. C.H.A.D.D. was regaling them with stories of the ‘Onyx Warrior,’ much to Kyle’s chagrin and Benjamin’s laughter. As they turned the final corner to approach Chester’s office, Kyle stopped and looked at the trio with a serious expression.
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“You didn’t run into me by accident, and you’re tagging along for a reason. I’m not going to ask you to change your plans, but can you at least give me a quick heads up on what you’re planning?”
Benjamin smiled broadly, his impossibly white teeth nearly blinding.
“I’m going back down there! You’ve proven you can handle the creatures on your planet. No offense; Skippy and Duroc can both handle you. So it only makes sense that I’d get an opportunity to see more of what your planet has to offer.”
“There’s no way he’s going to go for it. Neither is your great-grandmother.”
The smile turned wicked, Benjamin’s eyes almost sharpening in the light.
“Neither of them have to, Kyle. If the reports of the riches from your last destination are even halfway accurate, there’s no way they’re going to leave the system until it’s mined clean. Which means they can’t threaten to turn around and drop me off.”
“Skippy and Duroc could still put you on house arrest though, couldn’t they? You’re right they can handle me, which means they can handle you pretty easily too.”
“We could, but we won’t.”
Skippy was the one smiling now, sharp teeth forming a crescent moon in his face.
“Our contracts have some flexibility in their language, and she won’t be able to fix it until we get back into Collective Space. As long as we’re around to protect him, we should be in the clear.”
Duroc nodded in agreement.
“It also gets kinda boring up here. It’d be nice to walk around a bit planetside.”
“If the four of you are quite finished, I’ve been waiting in my office for the past half hour.”
Chester’s voice was sharp as a whip, cracking the air and grabbing their attention.
“And before any of you try to make up a story, I’ve heard pretty much everything. Mr. Corthus, if you insist on this course of action I’ll have you sign an indemnification. It won’t mean much to your great-grandmother, but it will at least keep my record intact.”
The smile was gone, and calculating eyes surveyed Chester.
“I’ll sign one, on the condition that you keep Kyle here assigned as additional protection. With appropriate compensation, of course.”
“Done. Now, may we proceed? My calendar is too busy to go back and forth with you on this.”
Benjamin nodded, and they all made their way into Chester’s office. Sitting around the table, Chester brought up a projection, the familiar map of Earth.
“Mr. Mayhew, you and your drone have proved to be uniquely talented at locating natural treasures, as well as neutralizing the threats that surround them.”
He zoomed in on an area in Japan, where the readings indicated a high concentration of ambient mana.
“This will be our next target. Scouting teams have already been through, and haven’t encountered particularly powerful resistance. The ambient mana in the area has proven to be much more dangerous, however, due to its proximity to the epicenter.”
He tossed a pointed look towards Benjamin before continuing.
“While it’s quite possible that the D Grade creature still inhabits the area, it hasn’t made any moves at this point. There’s a chance it’s a more passive type. Your role will be to scout the area, use your drone to flag notable resources, and then leave.”
Kyle thought about the two remaining creatures. The man-sized crustacean was near a rocky beach, which left the spider wreathed in shadow.
“If my hunch is right, the D Grade near this area is definitely a predator.”
“Then hopefully it tries to hunt you and meets the same fate as the others.”
Kyle turned to Benjamin.
“How do you feel about this? You’re going to be in danger if you insist on coming along.”
He expected Benjamin to have an easygoing smile, surprised instead to see an expression of serious contemplation.
“I appreciate the risks, Kyle. I still want to go. Sitting on the ship for months while everybody else gets a chance to see a new world hasn’t sat well with me. There’s no point in getting away from safe Collective space if that’s all I’m going to do.”
“We’ve asked you to sit on the ship because work isn’t glamorous, Mr. Corthus. Survey work in particular.”
“Either way, I’m going.”
Chester gave a curt nod.
“Then there’s no point in continuing the discussion. You have the afternoon; the shuttle will leave first thing in the morning. We have several camps set up around the perimeter of the area.”
His attention focused intently on Kyle.
“You’ll get a full briefing, but do know that we have a particular interest in agricultural treasures and resources. While you won’t find anything like the pseudo-world tree, anything else would be of great interest.”
Leaving the room, Skippy was practically bouncing off the walls. He doesn’t do well sitting down, Kyle mused. As if reading his mind, he turned to Kyle just after exiting the hallway leading to the office.
“So there’s time for us to spar. I’ll get it set up.”
Kyle was about to protest, before Duroc spoke.
“I think it’s a great idea,” the orc squealed. “I’ll join too. It’s a good way for us to practice working together.”
“I was actually going to –“
It was too late. Skippy had already turned the corner towards the training area, and Benjamin let out a deep belly laugh.
“He’s been looking forward to this for a while, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, I actually have an idea to keep the sparring fresh.”
The three of them followed Skippy to the sparring arena, finally catching up to see the skrell arguing with a very frazzled employee.
“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s a schedule. I can’t get you in until tomorrow morning.”
Benjamin strode up, brimming with confidence to join the discussion. Duroc followed, leaving Kyle to admire the training facility. It really was unique, and Kyle spent some time examining different equipment until the trio returned. Benjamin seemed the happiest, while Skippy had a scowl on his face.
“You’ll start in an hour while they get things ready, this session will be a little different than last time.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
“How so?”
“Because you’re not just sparring. You’ll also be protecting me.”