I watch B’esloor’s boss through a Portal with Jeff and Logan. Syvox wanted to come along to wherever we were going next, but I refused even when pressed. He could see I wasn’t going to bend and decided not to push it, instead teleporting back to his ship in orbit over the planet. What we’re about to do is for Earth and I have no idea what other baggage Syvox brings along with him. I’m guessing it’s a whole boatload of grudges and politics, and we don’t need it complicating things even further.
Since the last time I saw her with B’esloor, she’s gained a Level. Still imposing at over 3 meters with obsidian-like skin that shimmers faintly as if it’s packed with latent energy and four muscular bare arms. At the moment the intricate horn-like protrusions that crown her head are glowing a bright orange as she gives some kind of functionary an aggressive talking to. They’re in a futuristic version of a library with crystalline lattices slotted into thousands of places… or maybe it’s more like a futuristic server room with the computing power of a thousand Earths inside. I’m still not really across even a fraction of the tech that exists in the Universe.
Druvalna Surakhan, Architect of Unity, Sovereign Mediator, Keeper of the Accords, Pactwright, more… (Level 12 Accord Broker) (Legendary)
[Asurith] [SSA Vayrak Council] [Laniakea/Shapley Superclusters]
Nothing here makes me think we need to wait so I motion to Logan and Jeff then manifest the Portal. Defenses on the other side push back, trying to prevent my Portal from forming, but I shove with a small effort and spear right through it. We step through only to see Druvalna slingshot away instantly, teleported somewhere. I blink, not having expected something like that from her, and kick myself for not being prepared to lock it all down. I close the portal behind me as defensive measures in the room flood it with foam that hardens almost immediately into a suffocating prison.
I reach out and connect with Jeff and Logan, who’s vibrating so quickly the foam can’t harden around him, and Step to follow Druvalna. More defensive measures trying to prevent my intrusion, and these ones a lot stronger, so I give my Skill a boost with another push of will and we surge through to appear in some kind of a safe room with Druvalna, who’s encased in threatening power armor. It’s a small room considering her size, maybe ten meters to a side and five meters high, and full of weapons, supplies, and communications equipment. I can tell immediately that the walls are very thick and reinforced, with a single circular door in one wall that makes it look like a bank vault.
This time I’m prepared to lock everything down, but there’s no escape attempt. My Danger Sense pushes on me lightly from my left and flares from the direction of Druvalna. Logan and Jeff scatter, Skills flaring as two small, pixie-like glowing beings begin triggering powerful Legendary Skills and spells that I unravel as quickly as they form. I trigger Psychic Eruption with a good push of Dark Mana behind it to stun both of them and Druvalna. All three collapse to the ground and then there’s silence, including from my Danger Sense for now.
Jeff looks around and whistles at the collection of weapons on racks and the wealth on display around the room.
“Are you always doing stuff like this, Uncle Bronwic? This shit’s pretty crazy,” says Logan, looking over at me while I bend down and try to take Druvalna’s armor into my Inventory. There’s strong resistance but it can’t cope with the power behind my Dimensional Affinity and my Skills combined; with a jerk, it disappears from her body.
“Always,” agrees Jeff. “You can’t get used to it. If you did, your days would be numbered. Make sure you keep your head in the game,”
“Oh God, Unc - there’s two of you!” exclaims Logan with his eyebrows raised.
“Respect your elders, Logan,” I remind him with a huff. In this case I think both of them are right.
“Think anyone will be coming for this one?” Jeff asks while pointing at Druvalna. We all stare at her unconscious form for a few seconds.
“Yeah, I do,” I conclude. No doubt plenty of signals and warnings have already been sent out.
“What do you want to do?” Jeff asks. “Wait here for the cavalry to arrive? Take her somewhere and ask some questions?”
“Let’s get her up,” I decide. Reaching out with my Skill, I release its hold on Druvalna. Her eyes fly open and she springs up, ready for combat even without her armor. I remove it from my Inventory and hold it out to her. For someone who doesn’t have a combat Class, she’s got guts.
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“Here,” I say, and gesture toward her as she watches us warily. Logan and Jeff are both on high alert, but don’t make any aggressive or quick moves. By now she’s no doubt realized the situation she’s in and takes the armor, then stows it in her Inventory.
“I just wanted to chat, Druvalna,” I tell her with a tilt to my head and a little shrug that’s meant to disarm her. Not for the first time, I wish my high Charisma was effective in making people like me instead of being intimidated.
“You don’t want to get on the Vayrak Council’s radar like this, High Enforcer” she replies, cautious and firm. “There are channels to go through to talk to me. Ways to petition me for resources or assistance. Not like this. Not unless you’ve come to make some accusations in your role.”
This time I give a full shrug and hope she interprets it correctly.
“I guess maybe I do have some accusations, Druvalna. You may have noticed last time we met that I don’t like going through channels… I’m more of a get it done kind of guy. And I think you’ve got some explaining to do about Earth and the SSA, and certain experimental facilities that are there which have threatened our whole planet, twice.”
Druvalna looks at each of us in turn. She hasn’t gotten to where she is by accident and with Titles like Architect of Unity, Pactwright, and Sovereign Mediator I’m betting she’s going to want to broker a deal or negotiate a peace between me and the SSA. I’m betting it’s in her nature to do it.
“I don’t know the specifics of what went on in your world after the Influx, High Enforcer. I do know the SSA follows specific Protocols when it comes to new Influx worlds and we expect them to be followed.”
“Bet your mate Syvox would love to be here for this,” Jeff says to me, loud enough for Druvalna to easily hear.
I don’t know how much of what she’s saying is self preservation and how much is what she actually believes, but I don’t want to escalate this more that I already have if I can help it. One thing she’s right about is that I’m not keen to take on the whole SSA. That’s not going to be a good outcome for Earth even if I can take whatever they throw at me.
“We’re here now. What do you want?” she asks me, clearly wanting to get to the heart of the matter rather than wonder if we’re about to take her out. She stands as still as a statue, surrounded by predators that could take her down in combat at any time. Yet she knows she represents something bigger than herself and she has her own forms of leverage.
“Our planet has been put in danger by Mana experiments under the knowing eyes of the SSA, in direct violation of the Protocols,” I declare firmly to her. This seems like the one time where knowing the Protocols and declaring them is actually going to help me out.
“What are you saying?” she asks, ready to spring away or defend herself if needed. She’s so tight it’s like a fully drawn elastic band that’s about to snap.
“I’m saying I can’t rest until we have an alternative. I’m saying humanity needs to start a diaspora to survive. We need to settle a planet beyond Earth.”
“That’s not a new ambition, Bronwic. Almost all species strive for and achieve this, along some kind of timeline.”
“I want your help, Druvalna. I want everything to be squared away between us and between me and the SSA. I want this one, and I want it signed over to an entity I nominate. I’ll even pay the discovered planet transfer fee; I want it to be official,” I tell her, and I wave a notification over to her, calling up one of the planets that was estimated as most suitable for humanity to settle. After clearing out our solar system I took time to visit each of them in turn to assess them for settlement. For this one, I even pulled more assessments from the system.
Zeroth-9
A lush, recent Mana Influx world with dense, towering forests
No existing MIS Settlements are present on this world
Estimated planetary wealth: moderate
Settlement chance: 1% per average Level of Settlers based on a 10,000 minimum
Note: powerful chameleon-like creatures may prove challenging to claimants
Druvalna scoffs, then sees I’m dead serious and turns thoughtful, then starts pulling up notification screens of her own. We wait patiently for a couple of minutes and Logan starts to get a bit antsy, but he’s smart enough and in control of himself enough that he stays silent and waits. Eventually she speaks.
“It could be done…” she says thoughtfully as she continues to go through notifications. “It could be done, yes.”
“Anyone else we need here to make this call and wrap this up right now?” I ask. “I don’t want to have to come back, and I don’t think you want that either.
“Give me a moment to work through a channel and get authorization. It’s helpful that you are a High Enforcer and I’ve found an infrequently used clause.”
“Let’s get it all signed up then. Make sure everything is in order, Druvalna.” I encourage her, with a hint underneath that I’m not going to tolerate any fuckery on this.
Twenty minutes later, I’m the new owner of Zeroth-9.
