“So what is your decision?” I asked Jennifer. I released her to investigate my movements two hours ago.
“I…,” she said hesitantly, “I’ll cooperate.”
“Good,” I said flatly, “I’ll soon be returning to Dragon’s Nest HQ to eliminate some unruly elements… Can I trust you to manage things around here?”
She raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re surprisingly quick to trust people.”
“Trust is a rather speculative concept,” I said with a shrug, “It’s an odd mix of hope, expectations, respect, and knowledge. In this case, I know you will try your best to improve the lives of the residents, something in line with what I want you to achieve. I also hope that you will prove to be a capable leader when the time comes. That said, I have no expectations of you, nor do I have much respect for you at the moment.”
She laughed lightly at my words and said, “There’s probably a better way to put it, but I suppose you’re right. Trust is not necessary when delegating tasks, knowing it will be done is far more important… That’s why people buy from big brands: history has proven their ability to deliver. It’s more about knowing what you’re getting than hoping it’s decent.”
I smiled and said, “That said, knowledge and expectations are quite similar concepts… Or rather, expectations are the combination of hope and knowledge.”
She whistled and said, “Psychology sure is confusing… or is it philosophy?”
“Anyway, do you understand what you have to do?” I asked while casually dismissing her musings.
“Yea, just make what you said happen, right?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” I said with a shrug, taking a moment to understand her wording.
“One more thing,” she said inquisitively, “Surely there were others you could put in charge… So why me?”
I smiled and said, “My more elite members are in severely limited supply, I have to make do with what I can find. Just about the only ‘others’ that I could choose would be the three guys who planned a rebellion.”
She grimaced and said, “Ok, yeah, I was definitely the best choice then… The only one in that bunch that truly cares about the people around him is a gullible fool.”
“Oh, you know them personally?” I asked curiously, “That’s probably a good thing; they will be your direct subordinates for the time being. Though you’re free to recruit and dismiss people as you see fit.”
She laughed and said, “My brother isn’t gonna be happy with this, how fun!”
I chuckled a little at her childish energy and waved her off. She left skipping like a happy kid while chanting, “I’m in charge~ I’m in charge~”.
Suddenly, something rather important occurred to me.
<< Why am I sending her away? Isn’t this her chair now? >>
<( Why indeed… )>
<[ Are neither of you concerned about her acting like a child?! ]>
<< And we have the right to comment on age versus action?... How old are we anyway? >>
<[ Touché, our age is rather inconsistent; we’ve been sentient for less than six months but our body would pass for a seventeen-year-old human girl… and we act like a hardened mercenary with decades of experience. To comment on a mismatched age and attitude would be highly hypocritical. ]>
I sighed in resignation and began preparing to head back to Dragon’s Nest territory. In retrospect, it’s actually Wolf Pack’s territory. It’s just that Wolf Pack, Viper, and Skull all fall under Dragon’s Nest’s authority. When Dragon’s Nest grows more I’ll have to consider building a dedicated HQ for Dragon’s Nest.
I’ll also need to worry about schooling in the near future. Spreading the knowledge is good and all, but a certain degree of it will be lost with each successive generation without a proper system. In fact, Nordon has even admitted that the Stryfun have lost several of their ancient techniques; they may be far more technologically advanced but they can’t explain how their ancestors did certain things. Such phenomena can actually be seen in most civilisations, the human pyramids are another example of this; they can explain how it could have been possible with such primitive technologies, but the feasibility of doing it in such a manner is beyond questionable when you consider what sort of population they would have had at the time.
The Kirea are a different story altogether, nobody can track them down but it is the general consensus that they are still around. The most popular theory is that they are hidden away in “Shadow Arm”. It does seem likely, any ships and probes that enter the outer half of the spiral arm simply vanish. Add to that the Olgym home world is located mysteriously close to the border of “Shadow Space”, that most Kirean artefacts are found on the fringes of said “Shadow Space”, and that the borders of the “Shadow Space” are too well-defined for any sort of phenomena. It’s a convincing theory, most things that prove their continued existence are also closely tied to the unmapped part of the galaxy.
<( Tiama-chan, you’re getting off-track again~ )>
Dismissing Dawn’s eccentricities I continued considering the issue of schooling.
Do I bring teachers in, or send students out? Each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages; bringing teachers in will raise the overall standards of education among my people, but getting specialised teachers would be near impossible. Conversely, sending students out would allow for a much better education but I wouldn’t be able to send out all that many of them.
<[ Why not a bit of both? Bring slightly fewer teachers in to bring the overall level of education up, and then send out a select few students with high academic potential. ]>
<< Good suggestion, that way we can compromise on quantity versus quality. Additionally, that would help prevent wasting resources on children with poor potential. >>
<[ Reading and writing can be passed down without an issue… even basic maths. ]>
<< Most schools are quite age-orientated, we would have quite a large disparity if we tried to work from the existing schooling model. >>
<[ Let me finish before you say anything. Most schools also require you to pass some sort of test or examination at the end of the year in order for you not to be held back, I suggest reversing this system. ]>
<< So allow them to take the test at any time, allowing them to join the next level of classes if they pass adequately? >>
<[ Pretty much. The tests would need to be thorough though, and changed every so often. ]>
<< So students could take said tests whenever they felt like it? >>
<[ That would be way too much of a mess. I’m thinking of holding supervised testing every month. Also, they shouldn’t be required to pass all the classes of a certain level before being allowed to move on. I reckon that if we broke everything down into modules and each module was a qualification of its own… Just make entering any particular module require certain qualifications and let everyone sort themselves out. Young children may need adult guidance but that should sort itself out. ]>
<< Rather than guidance, programming something to lay out exactly what they would need to qualify for a certain course should be easy enough. If everyone has a login it would be able to compare which qualifications they have earned with which qualifications they need to get into any particular course. Even formatting it into a tree would be easy, someone would select “Basic Engineering” and the system would say “You need to finish the following to qualify.” >>
<[ What about the lesson schedules? Wouldn’t this make that hellishly difficult to organise? ]>
<< Just provide recordings of the lessons. They can view those at any time. >>
<[ Then we would have no need of teachers. ]>
<< Teachers would then have the role of mentors for those who prefer a personal touch. They would also have the job of answering questions from students. >>
<[ This system would make it possible to teach a lot of students with very few teachers. The issue would lie in developing the system rather than finding the resources. Also, this means we would need to get developers and teachers to co-operate with each other to ensure the system is built properly. ]>
<< That means we’re going to have to bring in even more people. How will we attract people? >>
<[ Call it an initiative of some sort and advertise for positions outside of the district, that will attract empathetic people without fail. We’ll also want a few particularly highly-skilled individuals leading the project, we can get referrals and hire them directly. ]>
<< That will work. >>
<[ That pretty much covers it. The team we put together can figure out the specifics. ]>
<< Hey, this is really odd… Why has Dawn been so quiet? ]>
<( It sounded like a serious talk… I don’t like serious talks… So I just stayed out of it… )>
<[ We were discussing schooling… Should I comment on the fact that “the mind” avoided the topic of schooling? ]>
<<( Probably not. )>>
<( JINX!!! )>
<< … >>
<[ Tiama, Tiama, Tiama! ]>
<< You really didn’t need to play along… >>
<[ You were playing along too though. ]>
<( Objective achieved! )>
<<[ What objective?! ]>>
<< JINX! >>
<[ … ]>
<< I couldn’t resist, sorry. >>
<[ Don’t do it again, Tiama… Anyway, what ‘objective’ are you rambling about, Dawn? ]>
<( The objective to ruin the atmosphere! )>
<< Why is this part of your skillset? >>
<( Because the author decided it! )>
<[ Please be a little more serious, we aren’t characters in a story, we are real people… Or rather, parts of a real person. ]>
<( Tch, you guys are no fun. I even broke the fourth wall! How can you dismiss that so easily!? )>
<[ Because the fourth wall only exists as a comedy device in stories? ]>
<( This won’t be the last time, I swear! *Stomp, stomp, stomp, SLAM!* )>
<< Those sound effects never fail to amuse me. >>
<[ Tiama! Back to the topic! Stop letting Dawn devolve the discussion into pointless rabble! ]>
<< The discussion was just about finished, wasn’t it? >>
<[ That’s beside the point! You have things to do, so get to it. ]>
I sighed and looked over the documents one more time before piling them into one stack of paper on the side of the desk. There wasn’t much else to do so I decided to find Captain Lorrig and fill him in on the new schooling plans.
I walked out to the courtyard and found lines of people with collars. The disarming process was still far from completion, seems there were a lot more people with collars than anticipated. I only looked over the hostages for a moment before spotting Captain Lorrig and making my way over.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Captain,” I said to catch his attention.
He perked up and turned around to face me, “Ah, Tiama. We’re you looking for me?”
“Not for very long,” I said with a smug grin, “You were quite easy to find.”
He chuckled and said, “Alright, what do you need me for?”
“Two things;” I said unceremoniously, “First, I’ve thought up a more detailed approach to educating the general populace of the slums and figured you would want to know. Second, I should be heading back to Wolf Pack HQ soon.”
“Wolf Pack?” he asked with furled eyebrows.
“Yes, each territory will be divided as they are and managed by the respective groups. From now on each territory will retain its original name but all the groups I control will collectively be called Dragon’s Nest. I’ll consider building a separate headquarters for Dragon’s Nest HQ itself when we’ve grown a little more.”
“Understandable, I suppose,” muttered Captain Lorrig with a dismissive shrug.
“Anyway, about the new schooling plans…” I said.
“Please, do tell,” he said with a serious tone.
I proceeded to outline the new schooling setup I planned to implement, Captain Lorrig stayed quiet and occasionally nodded as I explained everything I had thought up. When I finished outlining the end goal he closed his eyes and contemplated my suggestion.
After a few seconds, he looked up and said, “And where would everyone go to access all that material? Electronics aren’t exactly common around here… only the gangs controlling the areas have any sort of access to electronics, expecting the residents to learn through electronic media will be rather limiting.”
“True…” I cursed under my breath. I took a moment to think and came upon a solution. “How about mimicking a school environment with learning stations?” I asked.
“That could work,” admitted Captain Lorrig thoughtfully, “Setting up several interactive stations would both provide access to the media, and would centralise everyone who is trying to learn. Teachers would be nearby to help struggling students as well… Actually, even the classroom structure could be incorporated; dedicate a certain room to what the teacher is experienced in to prevent inefficiencies.”
I nodded and said, “In that case, we would also want an administrative room which would help people figure out where the need to go and what they need to do.”
“I’ll have some of my men scout out potential locations in each area,” volunteered Captain Lorrig.
“Much appreciated,” I said shortly, “Can I borrow a ride?”
“I’ve already called for a smaller vehicle,” he said, “If you don’t mind waiting for a couple of minutes then you can- there it is.” A vehicle rolled in as the Captain was speaking. It was small in comparison to the bulky troop transports, but also much sleeker.
The vehicle came to a stop two meters away and the passenger door swung open. The driver on the other side called out, “Jeff’s taxi, at your service!”
“Jeff! Show some etiquette!” growled Captain Lorrig angrily.
The driver sighed and said, “Hop in. I’ll take you home… sweet stuff.” He finished with a wink.
“JEFF!!!” roared Captain Lorrig. Jeff just laughed in response and made an inviting hand gesture.
I chuckled and stepped into the vehicle. The door closed after me and Jeff offhandedly said, “Don’t forget your seatbelt.”
“Da, seatbelts are important,” said Chesnokov from the back seat, making both me and Jeff flail in surprise.
“Dammit Chesnokov! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I spluttered as I tried to calm my racing heart.
“Get used to it,” said Chesnokov flatly, “Part of training.”
“Sure,” I growled, “Whatever you say.”
“Speaking of training, your new equipment is ready, we should pick it up from Omega on the way,” he said plainly.
“Omega isn’t really ‘on the way’ at all,” I muttered. After a moment I sighed and told Jeff, “Take a detour to Omega.”
“Understood,” replied the driver affirmatively as he adjusted his course.
“What exactly is this new equipment that we’re picking up?” I asked Chesnokov.
He grinned and asked, “Ever heard of Exoskeletons?”
“The things that most insects have?” I said while tilting my head, “Yes, I’ve heard of them.”
Chesnokov face palmed and muttered, “I should have expected that response…” He sighed and said, “Insects do have exoskeletons, but I’m talking about a different type of exoskeleton altogether.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked back at him silently, waiting for further explanation.
Chesnokov sighed again and said, “This exoskeleton is a type of powered armour. Exoskeletons boost practical strength mechanically and are the generally accepted alternative to cybernetic augmentations. Your personal exoskeleton is a bit unique though, it won’t act the way a normal exoskeleton will.”
“Unique in what way?” I asked without trying to conceal my scepticism.
“You’ll see,” he said with a mischievous grin, “You’ll have to give me a few hours to reprogram it though, I had to order an outdated model since none of the newer ones… met my requirements.”
“Why would you need to reprogram it?” I asked inquisitively, “Is the standard programming not good enough for you?”
“No, the base programming contains some of the most beautiful and efficient code I’ve ever seen,” he said wryly, “The problem is that I need to completely repurpose it.”
“And so you need to hack the suit to make it work the way you want?” I ask in amusement.
“It’s nothing illegal, I assure you,” said Chesnokov with sarcasm so thick I could practically see it dripping out his mouth.
I tried to keep a neutral face to the irony of mentioning legality in this environment but my façade quickly broke and I laughed heartily.
Chesnokov gave me a cheeky smirk and said, “The funniest part is that what I said was true; the system is open source, so there really is no legal problem with changing the code of my own volition.”
Despite the additional information, my laughter was short-lived and quickly faded. Once my breathing had stabilised I asked, “Why would they need to make the system so flexible?”
“The idea was to emphasise customisability,” he said dismissively, “The base was pretty simple, nothing more than an adjustable support structure with numerous attachment points. The optional parts were what you really spend money on… that, unfortunately, led to a failed business venture. Too many poorly informed people rushed out to buy the suit with whatever attachments seemed cool and then claimed legal lawsuits against the company when things didn’t end the way they expected them to.”
I shook my head and muttered, “Some of you humans are idiots…”
He raised an eyebrow at my use of ‘you’ but ignored it and said, “Don’t judge too badly, the people who knew their shit were more than happy with it. In fact, some of the more upright ones actually complained that the price was too low for what they got. This pretty much created a media war between the two sides.”
“Who won in the end?” I asked curiously.
“The ignorant masses of course,” he huffed like an upset child, “The only people that ever win the fights are the masses… or the politicians – who happen to specialise in inciting the masses. Nobody else ever has any say, no matter how stupid the argument is.”
I closed my eyes and said, “I see… as the quote goes, ‘Don’t argue with idiots, they will drag you down to their level and fight you there’, huh…”
“Where’d you hear that from?” asked Chesnokov, slightly impressed.
“No clue,” I said with a shrug.
<[ Part of what you plundered from somebody perhaps? ]>
<< Perhaps, but is this really something that needs our attention right now? >>
<[ No, I suppose it’s not. ]>
“Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter,” said Chesnokov dismissively.
“When did you order the stuff anyway?” I asked curiously, “Surely it would take a while to ship it across… unless it was locally manufactured.”
“I ordered it while you were still unconscious,” he said plainly.
I raised an eyebrow and said, “That means within the last two days, so it was manufactured locally.”
He laughed and said, “That’s not the only time you’ve been unconscious, remember? I ordered it directly from Jack the day we met. It has taken several weeks for him to procure all the parts I asked for.”
“I see…” I muttered dumbly. In retrospect, he should be sharp enough to understand that I’m not exactly ‘human’, but he has yet to voice such thoughts. He hasn’t referred to me as a ‘human’ either so I doubt he hasn’t noticed. Oh well, I suppose keeping quiet about it is good enough for now.
The conversation died down like that and we sat in silence for a few minutes while the car finished its trip to Omega.
“Thanks for the lift,” I said as I climbed out of the car with Chesnokov in-tow.
“Wait for us here,” said Chesnokov, “We won’t be long.”
The driver nodded and waved us off.
I entered Omega and found it to be strangely empty. It wasn’t completely devoid of people, but there were very few in comparison to when I previously visited. Rather than keep quiet and risk walking into something unprepared, I decided to ask Chesnokov.
“Hey Chesnokov, doesn’t the place feel strangely empty?” I asked worriedly.
“It isn’t strangely empty,” he said smugly, “This is about normal. Last time I came here it was strangely full, so the comparison might have thrown you off a little.”
I stared at him silently for a moment, dismissing the matter as we broke eye contact.
“Lead the way,” I said to him while gesturing forwards.
He nodded and took the lead. We continued in silence since we didn’t have anything to discuss. We quickly arrived in front of Jack’s shop and entered without hesitation.
“Ah, Chesnokov,” said the clerk eagerly as he noticed Chesnokov, “Your order has arrived. I took the liberty to package everything in one box for ease of transportation. Please wait a moment while I fetch it.” The clerk bowed politely and rushed into a back room.
<< Wait a second, wasn’t I supposed to be paying for this equipment? That was part of the contract, wasn’t it? Shit, I don’t have a way to pay right now. >> I thought in a panic.
Chesnokov looked back at me calmly and said, “You don’t need to worry about payment, I already sorted it out.”
<( Is this guy a mind reader?! )>
<[ No, I think it was just a coincidence, if he did read our mind you would have noticed the intrusion… or at least should have… ]>
“Thanks,” I said with a weak smile.
“You’re welcome,” he said gruffly.
Curious about the arrangements concerning payment, I inquisitively asked, “So, it came out of my acc-”
Suddenly I sensed something behind me and desperately leapt to the side, twisting my body and bringing my hands up defensively as I tried to figure out who was behind me.
“Well I’ll be damned,” said Jack with a childish grin, “I hadn’t even managed to get into position yet. You’ve come a long way.”
I sighed and dropped my defences. I looked up at Jack and said, “Why hello, Jack. It’s been a while.”
“Indeed,” said Jack with a nod, “I was actually gonna give you a call pretty soon. Figured it was almost time to move on to the next step… Based on your reaction I can tell that your training hasn’t gone according to plan.”
“Stuff happened,” I said with a shrug.
“Evidently,” said Jack unhappily, “Your instincts have definitely sharpened, but your technique and physical abilities are falling behind. Am I right in guessing that you’ve experienced real fighting rather than mock battles or spars?”
He said it like a question but his tone told me it wasn’t, he was sure of his deduction. With that in mind I decided to answer plainly and said, “Pretty much, shit happened when Grace arrived. She helped me unlock my Psionic powers but I haven’t had a chance to train since then.”
Jack nodded and said, “Understandable. It’s not optimal, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
I nodded in agreement and said, “Yes. Fortunately, it seems I have new training equipment to accompany the time I now have.”
As if on cue, the clerk entered the room with a sizeable box. Jack glanced sideways at it and said, “Ah yes, that… A little bit abstract of a training method but perfect for you, Chesnokov surprised me with his request.”
I smiled wryly and said, “He has yet to divulge the specifics to me, all I know is that it’s an exoskeleton with some very specific alterations.”
Jack smiled and said, “Surprises are always nice.”
“Not when that surprise is an assassin in your room,” I snorted coldly.
“Fair enough,” admitted Jack, “Surprises are usually nice… I guarantee this one will be, so don’t give me that look.”
I sighed and said, “Fine.”
“Good,” said Jack cheerfully. A moment later he assumed a neutral face and said, “Since you’re here anyway, I have something to discuss with you. It’s not particularly urgent but it would be convenient to get it out of the way now.”
“Oh?” I muttered, “What is it?”
“First things first, I have some advice for you,” he said calmly, “Do not leave your territory for a while, big things are happening outside the slums and you don’t want to get caught up in that corporate intrigue.”
“Noted,” I said acceptingly, “Was there something else you needed?”
“There is,” he said solemnly, “Follow me.”
He gestured for me to follow as he began walking towards the stairs at the back wall. I glanced at Chesnokov, he signalled me to follow Jack. Still wary of what was happening, I followed Jack in silence and kept myself alert.
Unexpectedly, Jack did not walk down the stairs; he stopped in front of the wall before them. He reached up to one of the decorative protrusions on the wooden panelling and twisted it 90° before pulling it downwards. He took a step back as the wall folded away to reveal a secret room. As the wall was folding away I noticed that the entirety of the room was a cargo lift.
I squinted at the feeling of wrongness I instinctively felt while looking at the lift but could figure out what was causing it until Dawn voiced her own concerns.
<( Hey, Guys… That place doesn’t appear in our psionic senses… )>
<[ You’re saying you sense a blank spot instead of whatever we are seeing? ]>
<( A cupboard, actually… )>
<[ Hah? ]>
<< Seriously? A cupboard? >>
<( Yes, seriously. I’m sensing it as part of the next room… And we’ve been in there before, the measurements taken by eye definitely match up with what I’m sensing, which only makes this even more confusing. )>
<[ This hidden room is hidden damn well. ]>
<( Can we get one? )>
<< I dunno, maybe? >>
<( Yay! )>
And with that, the tension dissipated. That might actually be a good thing since I’m now far less hesitant to follow.
As I stepped into the lift whatever was messing with my senses stopped doing so and I got a proper grasp of the floor layout. They used an interesting mix of an intentionally overcomplicated floor layout and misleading dimensions to effectively hide the elevator shaft. The room bordering the back wall of the lift was some kind of workshop; it could only be reached via a very windy hallway that started about twenty meters away. By the time you’ve passed all the twists and turns it would be practically impossible to notice the anomaly with your spacial sense alone. Even if you did feel something off about it, the entire back wall is nothing but shelving which forces you to doubt the exact depth of the room. If my memory is correct, the firing range which borders the rear diagonal wall of the lift is coloured black and poorly lit, making it just as hard to judge the depth of the room –Jack could easily claim the choice of colour to be stylistic as it gives the targets the image of drifting in and out of the darkness. The scariest part of this hidden room, however, is definitely the way it doesn’t seem at all out of place to my psionic senses.
The lift dropped down quickly but gently and a few seconds later we were far below the store. In front of me lay a massive hangar littered with vehicles of various sizes and purposes; they ranged from sleek carrier-class ships to historic motorbikes with oversized engines and rubber tyres. I glanced at Jack but he remained silent as the lift came to a stop.
Simply accepting his silence, I followed him off the lift and through the hangar. I looked around in amazement at the huge variety of vehicles as we walked and before I knew it Jack had stopped in front of an empty space. The bay was fully equipped to build or repair any vehicles that might be parked within it, but no actual vehicles were present. I glanced at Jack again and noticed him grinning like a madman.
“What’s the creepy smile for?” I asked dubiously.
“Look around and figure it out,” he said without dropping his smile.
I raised an eyebrow but figured it would probably be faster to do as he says and complied. I glanced around but found nothing noteworthy. A few seconds later I noticed the designation plate in front of the space, it read “Bay DF-9: Tiama Cusith”.
I looked at Jack dubiously. He noticed my look and asked, “So, like it?”
“Exactly what is ‘it’ supposed to be?” I asked him with confusion.
“Your very own construction bay!” he exclaimed joyfully.
“… and what exactly can I do with it?” I asked dubiously.
“Whatever you like,” he said with a smug smile, “Build a personal transport, rebuild the classics, modify your vehicles, or even build your own mecha!”
“Sounds useful,” I said absentmindedly.
“It should, you don’t even have to pay for it so there are no drawbacks,” he said in a monotone – one that was very forced.
I smiled lightly and said, "Thanks, I'll use it if I have spare time."
"You're welcome," said Jack pleasantly, "Now, how about we get you home? I'll give you a lift."
"A lift from you personally? I feel honoured," said Chesnokov from behind. I didn't realise he followed us down here.
Jack smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, don't worry about the guy who brought us here; he's already been informed."
As Jack guided us to one of the other vehicles in the hangar I thought back on just how eccentric Jack really was. The only thing even mildly consistent about him is his playfulness, even when he releases bloodlust he has a hidden playfulness behind his actions. I sighed and gave up on figuring Jack out and climbed into the passenger seat of the car we had stopped in front of.