Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Sixthmonth, 1634 PTS
It was unfortunate how life so rarely slowed down to let one rest. Instead, it was far too often that large events happened successively. Before I could sleep, it was best that we decided our next moves. After the events of the day before, the city would fall into an uproar. We could not be caught off guard if we wished to ride the calamity’s waves.
I was still exhausted when I finally arrived at the conference room, but I could not allow the sect’s policy to be shaped without my presence. The hatch slid upon before me, revealing a long, expertly crafted table which gleamed in the low light, shining in all the colors of miasma. My subordinates had stood upon my entrance, rising from their respective seats. According to Rachel, they had arrived several minutes ago, as I had been longer than anticipated receiving treatment in our Linen Palace.
“It seems everyone is here,” I observed. I heard a few mutters of assent as I sat down at the head of the table, as if I were a king presiding over his court. In essence the truth was similar, I thought.
The sect had truly grown a lot in so little time. At first there had been only six of us, but now the room’s occupants numbered eight. In fact, if I were to count those who were invited but not present, we would number ten. The sect had never before hosted such a well-attended meeting in this conference room, but if there were ever a time to do so, it would be now.
Irid remained in the Linen Palace, in a drug-induced slumber while they repaired the severe damage to her organs from both the bullet wounds and the side-effects of exposure to such intense miasma. I myself had yet to recover from my own wounds. I would need at least a week of recovery before I could continue my practice, the doctors had said.
Of the founding members of the sect, only five of us remained after Cinto’s death just weeks before. Ran and Eli were as healthy as ever, while Kein remained a cripple who had lost his realm.
Of the later additions to the group, Jihan sat quietly at my left hand side, while Orion sat one seat further down the row. He had apparently been speaking quietly with Heutel, but the two ceased their conversation as I entered. Heutel, the newest member of the group, had a quiet, peaceful air to her, and unlike the others, the blind woman did not turn to look my way, merely granting me a silent, respectful nod. She knew my people’s body language well, it seemed, and what the movement signified to us. Aside from Irid, the Staiven businesswoman was the sole non-Seiyal member of the group, at least in appearance. Rachel still took on a form that mimicked my own race. She sat on my right, her projection having presumably waited in the room with the others despite speaking with me in the halls as I approached.
The final remaining member of the group would in theory be Karie Hadal, our newest Elder. However, she had yet to return to the sect, and in fact her allegiance was in doubt. In fact, I thought, I still had a meeting as to that regard right after this.
Moments after I sat down, the rest followed, and Rachel started the meeting with a dramatic announcement.
“The events of yesterday evening herald a momentous shift in the underworld. We are here to decide on our next moves.” Rachel received several odd looks as she spoke, likely due to the oddness of the way she had phrased the pronouncement. It did not help that she had clenched her fist before us as if she were grasping at air.
“We’re lucky that none of the stacks fell,” grumbled Kein, breaking the momentary silence. Rachel laughed.
“We have Du Qin Hadal to thank for that,” she explained. “It seems he girded some of the fractures with his steel to keep it standing.”
“Forgive me if I don’t thank our enemy,” snarked Orion. “The man wishes to kill us all.”
‘Undoubtedly,” Rachel admitted. “Still, he will probably be able to leverage that and his destruction of the titan to push most of the pressure off of the clan. The remnants of the Heirs will be the ones to handle the brunt of their attention, but it is possible they will try to loop us into the mess if they can find proof of our presence.”
“The… remnants?” asked Ran, confused by her choice of words.
“Ah, I had thought I would be the one to announce it, but it seems the Vice-Sect Leader has already heard,” said interrupted Eli with a chuckle, drawing the attention of the rest of the table. “I only just found out myself a few minutes ago.”
“Did something happen that we don't know about?” Ran asked.
“I’ll let our Silken Palace Leader explain,” replied Rachel.
Eli spread his arms as if to express his acquiescence.
“In that case, I’ll do so. Vice-Leader Deuvar of the Heirs was found dead in an alley last night. The Justice Office attempted to restrict the knowledge, but the information was leaked this morning. What most people don’t know, but we do, is that their leader is also dead. Even if their remaining executives can keep their house in order, the turmoil could not be coming at a worse time.”
I frowned. This was news to me, and I agreed with his conclusion. It was one thing if their in-name leader was gone, but it was quite another that the man who actually ran the organization was gone.
“He was assassinated?” asked Orion, clearly very interested in the matter.
The Silken Palace Leader nodded.
“Poisoned to death in an alleyway. It’s unclear what he was even doing there. Heading towards a safe house, I suppose.”
“What are the odds that we’re dragged into the hearings?” asked Ran. “I can promise you that we won’t be able to afford another bribe. We’re still massively in debt.”
“This seems like a perfect opportunity to make money,” suggested Orion. “What did the Vice-Sect Leader call it before, fishing in murky waters?”
I felt oddly calm as I listened to my subordinates talk, quietly analyzing the implications and the possibilities they gave us. I promised myself to be more cautious in the future, I thought. I had decided that just yesterday. The titan, Du Qin, Janottka… All three had nearly taken my life. But on the other hand, our debt was a mounting spectre that loomed over us, the single greatest threat to the sect’s goals. We continued to approach its due date, and did not yet have the funds to pay it off. Perhaps we really would need to assassinate Queen Heissix if we wished to survive in the long term.
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“You’re correct that there are opportunities. If anyone can acquire the Celan’s blueprints and scientific documents…” Rachel shook her head. “It was one thing when two forces were squabbling over their borders and destroying one another’s factories. This isn’t a mere racial conflict, it’s one that has the potential to get the corporations involved.”
As if in unison, everyone at the table glanced at Heutel, who gave a soft smile. Though she bore a motherly appearance, there had always been something about the Staiven woman that made me slightly uncomfortable.
“As a representative of the Venin Group,” she announced, “I would be remiss if I did not express our stance on the matter. We feel that it would greatly benefit the joint force of the corporation and the sect if we were able to get our hands on some of the proprietary technology controlled by the faction.”
She had not yet pressured us to do so, but the company certainly had the capability to do so if they wished. Would they choose to strain our relationship so quickly after cementing it, should we choose to not act in their best interest, I wondered? It was hard to say. Though I knew Nahalken would prioritize his profits over anything else, one could never be sure whether a corporation would prioritize immediate gain or future profits at any given time.
The opportunity to acquire and reverse engineer advanced alien technology was equivalent to a gold mine for the corporation who could grasp it first. The Church of Teiklan would surely offer massive grants to them, not to mention the potential military contracts. Doubtless, if we were to give such a chance to the Venin Group, they would give us whatever we wanted in return. Just like that, our debts could vanish. The problem was that the Venin Group would not be the only ones so inclined. The other corporations, some with even deeper pockets than them, would be soon dealing with other martial factions.
The Heirs of Ottrien would need allies if they wished to survive. Alone, no one could handle the pressure they would soon need to weather.
“Is needlessly involving ourselves wise when the majority of our strongest combatants are injured?” asked Jihan. “Currently, only myself and the Vice-Sect Leader remain in proper condition.” He glanced at me, as if concerned I might take offense, but I waved him off. I was not so prideful that I could not handle the truth.
Kein, ever the conservative, voiced his agreement.
“We’re still heavily in debt,” interjected Ran. “Acquiring more funds should be our top priority.”
“Unless we spot an opportunity, I say we act as mercenaries,” suggested Orion. “I’m sure one of the factions could use our strength.”
Rachel shook her head.
“The ratio of risk to reward is poor. A mercenary’s rates are far too low to involve ourselves in the matter. Besides, I doubt anyone would trust us not to steal anything we find for ourselves.”
It was a strong point, and Orion quickly dropped the idea. In his eyes, however, I could still see the drive to take action. As the time in which I had known him grew, I had been coming to a better understanding of the man. It had swiftly become clear that Orion was someone who insisted on always doing something, always developing and moving forward. In some ways, I supposed, we were rather alike.
“If you find yourselves unwilling to take that risk, I have an alternative possibility you might consider,” said Heutel. We turned to look at her, and I noticed her use of a deliberately lengthy pause for effect. “The Celan’s technologies are quite valuable, but we need to understand our own limitations. Our sect has a great deal of high-level power, but we are lacking in numbers. Rather than jump into the arena and decimate our already-small forces, we can take another tactic. I have heard that the sect has developed some relations with the forces of the Heirs located in Otan. Perhaps we might be able to leverage our participation in that district to claim the Sikreis Queendom for ourselves.”
Her words fell on the conference room as if they were a bomb, stifling all side conversation. It was certainly a bold proposition, but… the idea certainly had merit. If we could control a portion of the industrial district, that would certainly be enough to leverage for a repayment of our debts.
“How bold,” smirked Rachel. Orion also seemed to like the idea, but Kein shook his head.
“It is best not to be too greedy,” he insisted. “I am sure that the other Queendoms will also be trying to take advantage of this chance. While the Sect Leader heals, it is best to be conservative with our actions. We are still an extremely young faction. Every foundation refiner must make sure they have achieved perfect stability before they can move onward. If they do not, their future development will be permanently compromised.”
“There’s no need to be overcautious,” disagreed Orion. “If our gambit fails we can always pull back.”
“It would be good if it worked out, however I’m not sure how feasible that would be to accomplish. The Justice Office has been paying close attention to the district. Blindly meddling might bring their eyes toward us.”
I frowned. Kein had brought up a good point. Was it better not to do anything? The rewards were plentiful, but so was the risk. I remembered again the promises I had made to myself. I had sworn to be more cautious about my activities.
I finally spoke, my voice silencing the discussion.
“I have recently promised myself that I would endeavor to be less rash in the future,” I said. “However… I also feel that we would be remiss to ignore this opportunity altogether. We should not be overzealous, but instead bide our time and seek opportunities.”
Orion sighed as he heard my response, but made no further comments. Instead, he glanced towards Rachel, as if looking for confirmation. It was as if he believed her to have the final say over the matter.
“If the Sect Leader so wishes, that will be what we do,” said Rachel, her voice oddly upbeat. “Eli, find us our in. This is the role of the Silken Palace, after all.”
The well-groomed sei gave a trained half-bow, somehow making the motion seem natural despite the fact that he remained seated.
“I shall endeavor to bring good news,” he said. I was aware of the man’s repeated attempts to grow the internal influence of his palace among the sect members, as well as his attempts to grab onto the legs of both myself and Rachel. I had ignored all attempts, but despite his shameless nature, the man had not yet failed us, as far as I was aware. There was no current need to replace him.
After the general direction of our policy had been decided, I announced the closure of the meeting, and the others quietly filtered out of the room. While they did so, I remained in my seat, pondering the plan that I had endorsed. Was I being rash, by planning to take action, I wondered? Or was I being overly cautious by not taking such action immediately. Perhaps the very idea of ‘rashness’ only held meaning in retrospect. Gambling was never an issue so long as it paid off, after all. I supposed that such questions did not matter much, however. I had already made the decision, and a martial artist had to be decisive. If not, they would die quickly in battle.
As I sat silently, alone in the room save for the projected image of Rachel, I found myself wondering whether this was what the Downpour Sect’s executive meetings had been like. I supposed I would never know for sure.
The Tseludian Sunset: [Heralded by the bright orange glow that covered half of the dome, the events that the social networks have been calling ‘The Tseludian Sunset’ have been revealed to be caused by the malfunctioning of an illegal Celan ‘titan’, technology under the control of an unnamed force. Labeled as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ by the Pantheonic Government, the Justice Office claimed to have destroyed all titans present on the station following the events of 1623 PST. The Justice Office is inspecting the cause of the incident, as well as the identities of the perpetrators, and promises to detain all parties connected to the machine’s construction. “This is believed to have been an isolated incident,” claimed the Office in their press release. Rumors of the involvement of martial artists in battle with the machine have prompted the question of whether the incident might relate to the recent gang conflicts in the third and sixth districts.]