Sam could tell that they were all extremely confused, but they were professional enough not to let their emotions get to them in a high stakes situation. The brute was not planning to let go anytime soon however, and there was a tearing noise as it began to punch the glass with its fist. The metal partition closed, and chopped off the tip of its finger. There was a roar of pain, and the metal dented as the monster punched it again and again. There was only one thing for it.
“Open the bottom of the ship!” Sam screamed at the alien in the vat. Rather than argue, the glass bit slid open. Sam had been banking on the ship having this capacity, and he was relieved. Still, the outcome would have been the same if the monster had punched its way into the ship. The only difference would have been the damage dealt. As the glass opened fully, Sam waited until the brute realized what had happened. It looked up at him, and swung its fist into the ship.
“Close it, now!” Sam screamed again. The glass and metal came together and stopped, wedged open by the gargantuan hand. It was too large to be seriously harmed by the door, but that was not the point.
Sam raised Mjolnir, and pulsed his Dao into it. The weapon lit up, and he brought it down on the monster. Lightning and red energy flickered as it made contact, and the hand was blasted apart in a shower of gore. The appendage slipped back through the glass, and the window shut with a bang. The brute fell off the ship, and Sam watched as its body impacted the ground far below. The ship was off, leaving the Legion forces far behind them. Sam stumbled against the wall as his adrenaline ran off, and then made his way over to the seat. He had dealt with that entire situation basically on his own, and he had gotten them out safely from them.
“The hell happened out there?” Pyotr almost shouted as the man looked at the pieces of flesh scattered across the bottom of the ship.
“We were paid a visit by the Legion.”
“The Legion? Those Dao resonance people or whatever they were?” Addas asked.
“As far as I can tell, yes. They are not a force to be trifled with either. I was not able to defeat them head on, only weaken them enough to escape. However, there is a more pressing concern. How did they find us?” Sam said, after he had recovered a little bit.
“They found us? How do you know?” Lao asked. “If so, that is extremely worrying.”
“There was an entire platoon waiting outside there, and they had pumped some strange gas into here to incapacitate us. Luckily it didn't work on me, probably because of my recent rank up, but all of you were out.”
“Is there a traitor among us?” Eduardo asked, voicing the question that everyone was thinking, but nobody wanted to be true. A strange noise came from the direction of the ship controller, and everyone turned slowly. The creature was curled up in a ball a the bottom of the tank, and was sobbing into its hands.
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“What’s wrong? Did the attack damage you or something?” Jeffrey asked it.
“It… I might have been the reason why they were able to find us,” the creature said, exposing one of its eyes to them in a shame filled gesture. “You see, I am the property of the Zaldonian League, and I am bound to report the location of this ship if it is stolen. I was broadcasting our location the entire time, but the Legion must have caught up with it. I am sorry.”
“Son of a bit-” Jeffrey began. “You were the reason why all of us almost died?”
The creature looked as if it was going to start sobbing even harder, and Sam laid an arm on Jeffrey.
“We will deal with this when we get back to the headquarters. Like it or not, this creature is the only way that we can fly this thing.”
Jeffrey gritted his teeth, but nodded, glaring at the simian monster the entire time. It shrunk back and refused to make eye contact with them. Sam remained calm on the outside, but inside he was seething. No wonder they had gotten such a good deal with those ships. He had already known that they were contraband, but he had not known that the ship would actively broadcast their location. Would this Zaldonian League be coming for them sometime soon? Sam assumed not, as the universe was under the protection of Tantalos, and this League did not sound especially powerful. For now, Sam had some introspection to do. He wanted to explore his new leveling up mechanic some more.
As he entered his corespace, Sam saw that the amount of essence was the same as it had been when he had left. So much for passively cultivating them. It seemed as if his attention had to be on his nodes, or else they would not absorb any essence. Sam left his core, and rested for the remainder of the way. His body was battered and sore from the exertion that he had put it through, and he needed to recuperate. Before he even knew it, he was fast asleep. When he awakened, they were outside the faction headquarters, and the others were already getting off the ship.
“Wakey wakey, glorious leader. Your subjects are leaving without you,” Jeffrey said, grinning.
Sam grunted and indeed his seatbelt, getting up slowly. A few of his joints popped as he did so, and he sighed as he stretched. Jeffrey walked off, and Sam followed him. They were parked right outside the force field, and Sam was happy that it seemed to have worked. The entire field was a war zone however, with broken bodies and scorched earth. Almost all of the surrounding land had been razed and the walls above them bristled with weapons. It seemed as if his people were doing very well for themselves indeed.
Sam dismissed the ship, and made his way over to the gate. The guards instantly recognized him, and the gates swung open as they made their way through the forcefield. Sam and the others walked in, and were instantly mobbed by hundreds of people. It didn't seem like that was their intention, as the city was packed full. As soon as Sam entered, Claude jumped down from the walls and made his way through the crowd with an expression of profound suffering on his face.
“Thank God you're back! I’ve had to deal with a near constant influx of new citizens. Also, there’s this man that wants to meet you. He says that you will want to see him.”
Sam frowned.
"What? Where is this man?”
"At the city hall. Quite frankly, we have no idea what to do with him. He’s an abrasive lout, but so far nobody has found any grounds on which to force him out. Just come with me, please?” The look on Claude’s face was what convinced Sam of the man’s woes. He nodded, and cut a path through the crowd, using a tiny bit of aura to make it easier.