There are 312 galactically recognised states, the smallest having perhaps tens of star systems to their name, while the largest having upwards of several tens of thousands. Territorial disputes are almost continuous, star systems claiming independence from their sovereign entity almost daily.
It seems despite a relative cooldown in astropolitical tension since the nominal end of the Cold War over a hundred years ago, the flames of conflict were only reduced to a simmer. Nonetheless, this 'false peace' is still an achievement which can largely be accredited to the actions of the three largest galactic superstates.
The Diocletian Empire has entered an insular stage regarding their succession wars in the past decade. Little news emerges from their tightly controlled cyberspace. The Woodland Expanse is characteristically silent, only engaging in limited trade with their close neighbours. The Alliance is in a golden stage of economic growth and thus very hesitant to jeopardise it with any sort of conflict.
As a result of these actions from the galactic hegemons, perhaps the longest period of 'peace' in nearly 8 millennia of modern galactic history may be achieved.
- Halax, K. 7443 MGE, Cooling Tensions. Astropolitics, 3 April, p23
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Chapter 9: A Deal Behind the Curtain
Its strange how humans are such creatures of habit. Within barely two weeks, I had already established a routine for myself. I couldn’t quite say my accommodation was comfortable, but it was no longer something I noticed all the time.
As it was, on one excursion to the market several days after my first victory in the arena, Axe stopped me with a conflicted look on his face.
He paused, as though debating with himself whether to speak or not. I sensed his confusion condense into certainty as he opened his mouth to speak:
“You’ve registered for the arena right?”
“Yeah”, I replied, nodding slowly. “I’ve already had the first battle”.
He seemed relieved at that.
“Good, good”, he muttered. “That makes things easier. If you’ve got time, follow me. I’ve got something you might be interested in”.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Got nothing on the itinerary”.
“No”, he barked a laugh. “I suppose not much for us to do on our off days. Follow me then.”
He led us through the omnipresent throng of the market. We made our way down the central street from the West gate, though soon we had taken plenty of turns. The further we went from the central area, the shabbier the shops seemed. And the quieter the streets.
More and more I sensed eyes that followed us as we walked through, though Axe seemed to pay them no mind. He seemed to be in a world of his own, his thoughtstuff churning with restlessness. Perhaps my Suggestion had finally ignited something in him: some old flame of ambition sputtering back to life?
It seemed my questions would soon be answered, as Axe came to a stop in front of a dilapidated looking tavern. The street was almost completely empty save for a few stragglers.
It didn’t seem like the best economic decision to put a tavern in such a place, and that was reflected in its looks. The storefront was wooden, rare among the seemingly all-steel Colosseum, and looked as though a light kick would send it crashing down. A picture of a red four-legged creature hung from a board along with several words that I couldn’t read.
“The Red Tiger”, Axe said. “It’s- “, he paused. “Well, you’ll see”.
The doors swung open and Axe ducked his lanky frame and stepped inside. It was noisy inside, though none of that had escaped outside. Instantly, I was suspicious. I activated my Truesight subtly and looked through the establishment.
There were several people there, though nothing special. I doubted they were even gladiators, from the placidity of their minds and souls. But, past one of the walls, I sensed an even greater density of aura.
‘A front’, I realised. No wonder the place was so far out – it had no need for customers, because it provided a different service.
“The Red Tiger’s the go-to spot for a lot of thing for us bottom-tier gladiators”, Axe spoke gruffly. The patrons of the bar had barely spared us a glance, though I noticed the barkeep studying us indirectly. I would never have noticed it had it not been for my Truesight.
‘Class-7’, I thought in surprise, measuring the amount of energy he gave off. ‘Seems like this place has some type of backing.’
“I see”, I replied to Axe. “So, what have you brought me here for?”
“I'll show you, just a second”, Axe said, striding towards the barkeep. He exchanged a few words with him, and the barkeep pressed a button under the counter. One of the doors on the far side of the tavern opened up, and he bowed his head.
“Please continue to your room, patrons. The others are waiting”, he spoke in a mechanised voice.
Axe turned around and jerked his head, motioning for me to follow. Once again, he had to stoop as he walked through the door into the corridor beyond. We passed by several rooms, labelled with numbers and letters in seemingly no real pattern.
Eventually, Axe stopped at one and knocked sharply.
“It’s open”, a voice called out from within.
Axe turned the handle and stepped in.
“Great, the food's finally here-“, the voice paused before exclaiming out in surprise. “Axe, you’re actually here on time”.
“Very funny”, Axe growled, stepping past the threshold and allowing me in. As I entered, the whole room came into view. It was fairly spacious, the table large enough to seat about ten, though only two sat there. The one who spoke was a hulking lizard-kin – Yu-oton, Yu-atek or one of the many others, I could never tell the difference. The second was a beast similar to the one I fought, though his pelt was a pure white. He was silent, though his beady eyes narrowed as I stepped through the threshold behind Axe.
My Truesight revealed a lot more: the lizard-kin’s thoughts were as open as his mind, though they were surprisingly sharp. Nothing indicative of a soul- or mind-axis ability though. The beast’s mind, however, flickered with a purple aura. ‘A weak telekinetic’, I determined after a brief observation. ‘class-8 at most. Nothing that could detect my Codex.'
“Ahhh, this is the one then”, the lizard-kin said interrupting my thoughts and appraising me with a look. “We are grateful for your help...” He looked at me expectantly.
“Phi”, I offered.
“Phi”, he repeated back boisterously, as though savouring the taste of the name. “Yes, a strong name indicative of a powerful fighter!”
I suppressed a grin at the though of the dwarf Kal hearing about that.
“Surely, your presence shall propel us to victory”, he continued, punctuating his words with a raise of his beaker, suspiciously red liquid sloshing about within.
I was still standing, slightly confused, though I was beginning to piece together what Axe required.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about. Propel us to victory? In what?”, I asked warily.
At this, I didn’t have to be psychic to sense the almost palpable dismay emanating from the two towards Axe.
“You didn’t even explain this much to him?”, the lizard-kin said incredulously before cradling his snout in his scaled hands. “We’re finished”, he mumbled. “We’re going to be boiled, sliced and served on a platter for the Duke himself.”
“Alright, alright”, Axe snapped. He turned to me and gestured towards an empty seat. “Have a seat, Phi. I have a feeling this will be of interest to you”.
I hesitated for a split-second before taking the seat opposite Axe and the lizard-kin, with the beast to my left.
“This hulking lizard here is Kariel and the quiet one in the corner is Quito”, he gestured towards the beast who raised his small cup silently.
“I see...”, I said slowly. “But you’ve still not explained why I’m here. You’re not going to sell my organs, are you”. I laughed weakly.
“Your organs”, the lizard-kin Kariel raised his head from his hands and spoke seriously. “Hmmm, never eaten human before”.
My weak grin faded from my face, before Kariel broke out into laughter.
“You shoulda seen the look on your face just now”, he wiped tears from his beady eyes. “We Yu-Alarekts do not consume the flesh of sentients”. He paused, his smirk disappearing. “Any more.”
There was a brief pause before Axe spoke up, shooting a scathing glare at the Yu-Alarekt. “Anyways, since you’ve signed up for the Arena, I’m assuming you want to rank up?”
I nodded in confirmation, prepared to explain myself, but Axe pushed onwards.
“Good, that’s good. You may not know this, but Arena battles are not limited to duels.” He gestured to the walls around as though indicating the Colosseum as a whole. “That would be boring, and entertainment is the highest virtue here.”
That did make sense. Even the most hard-core enthusiasts would be bored of seeing two people fight on the same, sandy stage every time.
Axe continued explaining, while the other two sipped their drinks in silence:
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“We three were part of a group that had signed up to a battle this coming Fightday.” I saw a grimace pass over each of their faces as Axe spoke, “But our fourth member had an... accident of sorts.”
“Idiot decided to go for a tier-up challenge right after we signed up, got himself handily killed”, Kariel the Yu-Alarekt grumbled. I saw even the beast Quito shake his head subtly.
“Indeed”, Axe said sombrely. “But, since we already signed up for our battle, we can’t pull out even if our member’s missing.”
“I see”, I realised. “So you need a fourth replacement. But why me?”, I asked in confusion. “You know I’ve only been here barely two weeks? How can you trust me to hold my own in an actual fight?”
“Two weeks”, Kariel roared. “You brought a Shades-damned newbie into this?”
Axe lowered his head, “There’s no other choice. You know our position better than most. We’re lucky that Phi’s new enough that we still have a chance to recruit him”.
Kariel settled down at that, nodding his head begrudgingly. “I suppose you are right. We must make do with the sharpness of the rocks we have.”
“Besides”, Axe said. “He’s had his first Arena battle, and he’s still here in one piece. You know what the survival rates are for the first battle especially. Shows he’s got something going for himself.” Despite his words, Axe seemed like he was trying to convince himself most of all.
From my perspective, this was a golden opportunity. It would integrate me further into the Colosseum’s structure, while giving me new contacts to exploit – ones who would owe me what sounds like a hefty favour. If we survive.
I weighed the risks briefly in my mind, but in the end there was only one real option. It would be naïve to expect to be able to steal from the Colosseum without some semblance of mortal peril. ‘More than naïve, it’d be boring’, I thought grinning mentally. ‘The thrill of the chase is half the reason I do it. The other half being the mountain of credits I’ll get’.
I shook myself from my delusions of grandeur, returning to the present. I spoke up, interjecting the heavy silence that had fallen over the room.
“I’ll do it.”. The others perked up at that. “Though I’ll need compensation”.
“We may not be rich, but we’ve got some funds stashed away”, Kariel spoke quickly, as though afraid I’d change my mind, but I shook my head.
“I can get blood credits by battling solo. What I don’t have are the years of connections you have all built up.”
For the first time, Quito spoke up. His voice was as silky as his pelt, carrying a certain charisma that forced one to listen.
“I understand. We can aid you with information as well as any favour reasonably within our capabilities”. The others nodded, agreeing with the taciturn beast.
“A deal it is then”, I presented my hand, shaking it with all three in return. Something unknown flashed across Axe’s mind in my Truesight as I shook his hand. ‘The Suggestion’s working nicely. I guess its all coming up Phi today.’ Upon this thought, my vigilance was immediately increased – nothing ever went this well without some other shoe dropping.
But my sign up was without issue: it was all done through the retinal implant, and I soon had access to a new tab labelled ‘squads’. Expanding it, I could see the details of everyone in it, though I was only labelled as a temporary member:
Rank
Name
Tier
Skill Rating (SR)
9,832
Phi
Bronze V
30
HIDDEN
Axe
Bronze III
HIDDEN
HIDDEN
Kariel
Bronze III
HIDDEN
HIDDEN
Quito
Bronze I
HIDDEN
It seemed that maybe because I was a temporary member, SR and ranks were hidden for my teammates. Though it didn’t matter too much. However, I was surprised to see Axe in Bronze III even though he’d been here for over a decade.
‘I suppose I don’t really have an accurate estimate for his combat ability’, I mused. ‘And I’m sure he wasn’t helped by his ‘winning attitude”.
Now that it was settled, the relief of those around the table was palpable. Kariel celebrated with a chug of his drink, lips peeling back as that crimson liquid dribbled between deadly fangs. Axe and Quito were more subdued, but they couldn’t hide their relief from my sight.
Kariel had invited me to celebrate more, but I declined. I still wanted to get more of a feel of the market, and maybe find a way to access the upper levels. Axe promised to explain the battle in detail when we got back to our cell.
Standing up, I excused myself from the room and returned the way we came. The barkeep bowed his head briefly as I left the Red Tiger, emerging from the noisy tavern onto the silent street.
I picked a random direction and walked, taking the time to gather my thoughts.
‘This is good progress. Though they may all still be Bronze tier, they still have a huge knowledge-gap over me. I should take advantage of this as much as I can’
My thoughts then drifted towards the modes of battle. Perhaps we would fight another team, or many in some type of skirmish. Fightday, as I had learned, was only a few days away. There wouldn’t be much time for training together – if at all.
‘Improvisation it is’, I shrugged my shoulders. Soon enough, I returned to the West gate. I shook my head in dismay. Looking around the market further would be a waste of time and energy – I would need another approach if I wanted to have access to the upper levels.
‘Perhaps it really is just as simple as ranking up in the Arena. Speaking of ranking up, here’s Axe’
His approaching figure was clearly visible, standing at least a head above the rest of the crowd. When we reached our cell, Axe began to explain the format of our fight.
“It’ll be a Colossus Hunt this time around.” Noticing my blank gaze, he continued. “Yeah, the implant’s alright but it tends to withhold a lot of crucial information. That’s often why so many newbies are caught out: they enter a battle thinking it’s a duel and then are faced with an army.”
I felt a trickle of belated relief that my first fight was as simple as it was.
“Colossus Hunt isn’t as bad as they go, but it could be better. Basically, we have to compete with other teams to hunt some kind of massive monster. We get points based on our performance and – of course – foul play is encouraged.”
He grimaced. “Our fourth member would have been perfect for such an event, but I we’ll have to make do. There’s no opportunity to train either so we’re going in blind.”
“Do we know how many teams we’re up against”, I spoke up from within my cell.
“The Colosseum isn’t that kind. We’ll find out on the day, though they’ll still be within our rank range.”
I mused over this new information in silence. Depending on the creature, it could be a breeze for me. But if it turned out to be some mechanical construct, I’d be a lot weaker.
“I presume they don’t tell us what we have to hunt either”, I spoke in a semi-hopeful tone.
“You’d presume right”, Axe sighed. “I’ve done ‘em before and there’s really no guessing. We had to fight a massive stone titan one time and a literal tank another. The environment also changes each time, so there’s no real way to prepare.”
“Well at least we get a change of view”, I grumbled. The insides of my cell, and the dark stain of the cell’s former inhabitant, hadn't fully grown on me yet.
“Well, get some sleep for now”, Axe said. “We’ll need you in prime condition if we want any chances of winning”.
I acquiesced to his demands gladly, lying down on the mattress and before long, my customary meditation had transformed into a deep sleep.
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[EXPERIMENT LOG ACCESS REQUEST DETECTED]
* Initiating secure channel…
* Validating user credentials…
[VALIDATED: HELLO USER 0.]
* Searching system database for experiment logs…
* Retrieving records of “Overproject LAST RESORT Primary Directive ICARUS”…
- [START OF RECORD] -
[SYSTEM BOOT INITIATED]
* Initiating Primary Neural Kernel…
* Bio-sensory Failsafe: Armed
* Signal Buffering: [Engaged]
* Connecting Transdimensional Clock…
* Establishing date…
* Date established 15.12.003…
* Establishing co-ordinates…
* Co-ordinates established uncorrupted…
* Executing bootstrap.exe please standby…
* Loading…
* Complete!
* Checking credentials…
[OPERATIVE PROTOCOLS ACTIVE: WELCOME USER 1!]
* Preparing xenographic interface...
* Loading core programs...
* Spooling reactor cores...
* All Systems Synced. Initialisation Complete
[AWAITING INPUT]
* Set Overproject LAST RESORT: Active
* Execute secondary directive: PROMETHEUS
[PROMETHEUS READY. AWAITING SET CONDITIONS]
* Deploy cognitive suppression algorithms...
* C.S.A: ACTIVE
* Synchronise sentience inhibitors...
* Sentience inhibitors: ONLINE
* Active EPIMETHUS protocol
[EPIMETHEUS PROTOCOL: ACTIVE]
* Establish containment grid...
* Containment grid: STABLE
* Binding subroutines: SPELL NULLIFICATION ACTIVE
* Sealing memory loops...
* Heuristic pathways: LOCKED
* Enabling temporal cascade fail-safes...
* Begin simulation iteration 1...
[STANDBY FOR PROMETHEUS SIM. ITERATION 1]
* Loading...
* Complete!
* Begin analysis...
[STANDBY FOR ANALYSIS]
* Loading...
* Analysis complete!
[DISPLAY RESULTS?]
* Y/N
[FETCHING...]
* Simulation accuracy: 99.998%
* Suppression value below threshold: 42%
* Sentience index: 0.723 - HIGH
* Mana-levels: 8.9 - HIGH
* Containment: UNSTABLE
* Sentience: UNSUPPRESSED
[PARAMETERS OBTAINED]
* Logging failures...
* Adjusting conditions...
[STANDBY FOR SECOND ITERATION EXTRACTION]
- [END OF RECORD] -
* Log retrieval complete.
* Terminating secure channel.