Killer AI mechanicals sent from murderous Kaizuko admirals aside, there was a lot to do. But first things first. They needed to get to the armory and rearm themselves. At least before the next plot to end them all in a fiery apocalypse was unleashed.

Jishin had told them that the main armory of the Brigantine, "Be Midship in the body of our central platform. But... I can have some weapons brought to you for your selection, m'lord?"

Josh shook his head. "No thanks, Jishin. We need to get comfortable with the layout of this ship and start learning our way around." Which was true. Though they had run through a portion of the Brigantine to get to the bridge during Kyon Shi’s zombie apocalypse, they hadn’t had a lot of time then to learn the lay of the land... or even where to pick up some lunch.

"Then I'll send a runner with you to lead the way." Jishin waved his hand, and a toe-haired girl sprinted up to him on the bridge as fast as any ball kid at Wimbledon could.

"Aye, Sir!" She snapped to attention at his side.

"Junior Attendant Staska..." Jishin eyed her as if looking over a piece of fruit for any blemishes that may require him to choose another. "Do you think you can lead our two Lords here to the main armory and defend them from all attackers along the way?" Jishin said in a deadly serious tone that was believed in its entirety if the intense expression on the eight-year-old girl's face was any indication.

Staska slammed her fist to her chest and spun precisely to face Josh and Sen. Right hand on the knife's pommel at her side, Josh could see she was already cycling the small amount of Essence in her Core as if a threat would jump out at them at any second. "Sir, yes, sir! No harm will come to them as long as I draw breath!"

Jishin towered behind the four-foot girl and rolled his eyes, but his smile showed his pride in her.

"Very well. See to it. Await his Eminence's orders upon arrival." Jishin turned away with his hands behind his back.

* * * * *

Staska proved a brilliant guide as she pushed her way to the front of the lift lines and auto-promenades they traversed. She prevented others from joining or even standing within striking distance of them with her Essence-enhanced arms blocking all who tried. She also actively cleared all the passageways they used by systematically looking in every corner and identifying all sentries they passed by name. After three minutes, there was no question concerning her diligence.

Staska's vigor was a good thing. Josh couldn't help but be spun around, taking in the internal sights of the normally functioning Brigantine for the first time. The bridge tower's lift tubes were made from a transparent material. Josh had no idea if it was transparent titan-steel, like the Man of War's dome, or some form of synthetic polymer. It likely served some strategic function, allowing visualization of attackers and hostile elements both from within and without. Or... just maybe the designers thought it was a cool thing to be able to see outside in a 360-degree view. For whatever reason, Josh was astounded as he looked at the scores of other towers rising from the central platform. What functions they served were still beyond Josh. He'd have to ask Sen, or maybe Staska, about them later. For now, it was just nice to take them in.

Their guide shepherded them to a gated area and climbed into a transport vessel with rounded sides about the size of the large mountain gondolas that Josh had seen in movies about the Alps. Straps hung from the ceiling, and large windows lined its walls. The carriage was mounted on an underlying electromag suspension field and began moving as soon as they had grabbed hold of their straps.

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Josh's eyes popped out of his head as the gondola exited its cradle and entered a vast open space Staska identified as “The Gap.” Wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon, The Gap was wrapped with dozens of broad rings around its circumference. The binding rings created the Brigantine's functional, operational, and housing levels. With his enhanced vision, Josh could barely see the other side of the ship as they entered. He estimated it was the complete width of the central platform—a dozen miles across, at least.

Walkways lined the edges of the levels, and he watched as if seeing the ground from a plane at cruising altitude. His first impression was that it was... beautiful. There were observably different levels for working, living, business, and from its large selection of pink neon lights, Josh guessed pleasure. Crew members and support staff took care of the Brigantine's needs by walking, flying wing frames between levels, and driving single-wheeled vehicles to pull goods and move equipment.

The sight of the living, beating heart of a thriving city drove home to Josh that this was not just a tool the Clone had put at their disposal. The Brigantine was a home for thousands of souls. Their lives and their hopes were here. He and Sen were responsible for them. And they were going to honor that commitment. Josh would also personally ensure that his ignorance didn't screw up his people’s lives. No two ways about that.

Sen nodded, clearly picking up on his thoughts.. ~Agreed, brother! We are responsible and will do our utmost to lead them as they deserve. Which reminds me…You, and through your promises, I, have made some very, as you say... 'high and mighty promises' to our troops. How will we activate the Cultivation on thousands of Hegemon-4 space marines... and then max out the Core capacity for them and thousands more elite Brigantine forces?~

Josh sighed with a mental groan. ~Damned if I know, Sen! I'm making this up as I go along.~

Josh knew that Sen could tell through their Bond that his brother’s calloused comment was less than half true. Josh did have... if not a plan, at least the better part of a theory about how it would be possible.

Josh then continued as if Sen had asked him to elaborate.

Sen offered an ambiguous hand gesture. ~... Well… There are a couple of reasons why I think that it is possible to activate their Cultivations.~

Eyes widened. ~Really?~

Sen’s expression was sincere. ~First off, I have already done it with Alysa. True, it almost killed me... Or turned me into a spiritually risen undead... But it didn't... This leads me to my second point. I did that when I had less than three thousand free Essence in my Meridians—I know that I had to break down a bunch of dedicated Essence—~

Josh waved his hand to forestall the objection he saw forming in Sen's mind. ~But it couldn't have been more than twice that. Between five and six thousand Essence to activate someone's Core and set them on the Path of One... and we've each got over forty thousand free Essence from our Cultivation increases. This is something that will increase by a factor of five to ten if the growth from our Space Attunement matches our previous Attunements.~

Josh snorted, giving a slightly mollified smirk. ~Go on...~

~ I'm really hanging my hat on what Gusti said, ‘all spirit beings can walk the Path of One with exposure to enough Essence.’ Sen took a determined breath. We can definitely expose our troops to enough Essence to wake them up. In fact, I believe it is our duty to use what Karma has given us to increase our strength and jump-start the Hegemon troops.~

Josh finished with raised eyebrows and a wolf's smile that would have made Lobo proud. He knew he was selling this harder than a screenwriter pitching MGM, but he needed Sen to buy it.

~Seems reasonable. It might even work...~

Sen’s exuberant slap on the back didn’t hurt exactly—okay yeah, it hurt. ~Great! It's good you are on board! If we are going to get any meaningful numbers of space marines on the Path, I'm going to need you doing your half of them!~

Josh rolled his eyes. ~...I did that to myself, didn't I?~

~You know I can't lie to you, brother...~ Sen’s crooked grin disappeared around the corner of the next bulkhead.

* * * * *