Chapter 76

Alade
Earuu Resort, Earuu Mountains
15:55 Local Time
September 14, 2019

[They made good timing, ] I sent as I removed the rest of my winter clothing and deposited it within the Beacon’s dimensional storage.

[They weren’t very far away, and they headed back as soon as they handed over control to the proper authorities. Not before helping themselves to some of the spoils, of course.]

[Spoils? What do you mean?]

[There’s a relatively new Pygmaean law that essentially gives the first person, people or organization that uncovers an ongoing crime the right to claim the spoils. That’s assuming they aren’t wanted for any crimes, themselves. Obviously there are rules on what can be claimed and what cannot, but things like credits, skill gems and equipment from dungeons are fair game and all one needs to do is list exactly what they claimed. Even ships and unrestricted weapons can be claimed, but that requires paperwork and not an insignificant amount of time.]

[Everything else you can probably think of is off limits, including exotic animals which this group was involved in. They had a breeding pair of mostzals you know. The Pygmaean people are not going to be happy about that.]

[How’d they get them? I thought they were a protected species.]

[They are, but that doesn’t make it impossible for someone to capture one or two of them if they’re determined. Mostzals are able to roam a vast wilderness, so vast that it can’t easily be patrolled day in, day out. Changing the subject, do you want to keep the reservations for dinner or will you be eating in one of the private rooms tonight?]

Abi had long ago included private meeting rooms that also doubled as dining rooms in her design, but they had seen very little, if any use so far. There was a smaller galley attached to the half dozen rooms, allowing food and drink to be delivered without being exposed to the rest of the people aboard the ship.

[I don’t know ... what do the Fa’iir even eat?]

[You can cancel the reservations then, I think we’ll host them instead. Can you make sure that the cooks know that we’ll be having some important guests so they can put a meal together? It doesn’t need to be anything special. Maybe include some quillbeast as part of it? We still have some, right? The dragons haven’t eaten it all?]

She laughed softly. [They eat a lot, but not that much. Aside from the ones that our draconic friends brought for themselves, there are still two quillbeasts that have yet to be butchered.]

[Okay, cool. Quillbeast it is. Can you pass that along?]

[Already done, ] she replied as the Grasshopper flew into and touched down in the landing bay. [You’ve got enough time to shower and change before they reach our berth. Oya is escorting them, and they should be there in ten minutes or so.]

[Uh, yeah ... I definitely don’t want to meet anyone smelling the way I probably do right now.]

Nedovis
Imperial Palace
14:02 SET

“And you’re certain?”

“Yes, sir,” the man in black military fatigues answered. “We knew that someone important had arrived on Veria, but we couldn’t confirm who it was until now. We now suspect he was at Ercan Warvyn’s home the night it was attacked. It makes all the more sense why our assets went dark and the attack utterly failed.”

“Idiots!” Kaldrus Dhir snarled.

The man nodded. “They were the only team we had in Pygmaean space since that Vilos bitch recalled the rest of them. I’ve got two of my own teams prepping now, but that isn’t the biggest issue. Except for the past two days, we’ve only received intermittent mana signature pings. He’ll appear somewhere and we’ll get a ping, but then he’ll disappear just as quickly. We know that he has spent a few days inside of dungeons, but aside from that and this little adventure on Alade, we haven’t been able to find out where he has been staying.”

Kaldrus waved over a serving girl who had been waiting patiently while the two men talked. The only clothing she wore was a collar and a dress that left little to the imagination. Not just because it formed perfectly to all her curves, but because it was made out of a diaphanous material that did very little to hide what was beneath.

“Drink?” he asked the man as he held his cup out so the woman could fill it.

“No, sir,” the man replied, causing Kaldrus to shrug.

After filling his cup, the woman retreated back to where she had been standing, and the room was left in silence. It was clear that Kaldrus was thinking, but it didn’t take all that long before he had an idea of where Jonuth Kidravia was.

“The ship.”

“Sir?”

“The crystalline ship ... Abi, I believe her name was. What do you know about her, and those like her?”

“Just what’s in the intelligence files, sir.”

“Yes, well ... suffice to say, those files barely scratch the surface. I imagine that there are very few people out there who truly know what her kind is capable of. In any case, she is what is defeating our mana signature scanners. Has there been any mention of an advanced ship arriving in Veria’s system?”

“Not to my knowledge, no, sir. I can double check if...”

“Don’t bother. If it’s not all over the news, then she is probably remaining shrouded, or she is remaining hidden. Do we have any assets on Menseio Station?”

“No, sir. The Warvyn family is notorious when it comes to security, particularly because of how much research and development they do. It would take decades to get someone into position to help us. Even then, the moment they helped us their cover would be blown and that time would likely have been wasted.

Kaldrus nodded. “It was just a thought. If I had to guess, that’s where she is. Probably in one of the more central and protected berths. That they arrived so quickly on Veria after being discovered on Earth suggests that they arrived on Abi herself, but anything less than a strike group would be suicide up against her.”

The man chuckled. “Surely she is no match for more than one hundred ships?”

“You would be surprised. With a full crew supplying her with mana, it would probably take that many ships firing at the same time to drop her shields. Even then, her crystalline armor would be nigh impenetrable by anything other than round from a mass driver, and she can regenerate any damage taken over time. Add onto that her unmatched sublight speed, and she could flee just as easily as she could fight back. There was a reason that we went after Derech while leaving her well enough alone. Her and the ships loyal to the crown? Impossible with the numbers we had.”

Kaldrus shook his head. “While he is on that ship, he is quite literally untouchable. You can bet that she is going to be watching over him like a bitch watches over her pups, and that’s just her. No doubt he is going to be blanketed with security wherever he goes. You said that he was on Alade for the past two days. Were there any signs of a detail following him around?”

“Aside from the two people who were shadowing him? No, but the man responsible for getting us this information isn’t trained to look for that sort of thing. Spending so many hours out in the open like that, he had to have been covered from every angle. These are Spectres we’re talking about. They are ... or were, the best. They probably still are the best, at least in planning and execution, if not levels.”

“You’re right about that. Over a thousand years on some backward planet? I would be surprised if any of the dungeons topped rank 50. In any case, all of the Spectres that fled with them are likely no stronger now than they were back then. Oh, they might have some new forms that might catch our people by surprise, but they won’t be able to go toe to toe. The disparity in levels is too great.”

“I’m not sure I agree, sir. If you’re right about this Abi watching him whenever he is on Veria or Alade, then there are only three options. One, we set up snipers a fair distance away and hope he gives us a shot. Even then, we need to hope that he doesn’t have some piece of equipment to protect him, or hope that one of his bodyguards doesn’t have Precognition. If they see us coming, then he’s gone and we won’t get another shot anytime soon.”

“Option two is we activate an inhibitor field generator to prevent escape, but then both sides would be on even footing. In that situation, I can’t guarantee that my men could win, nor that they would have a numerical advantage. Option two is moot anyways if Abi has some way of getting him out of there, even through the effects of an inhibitor.”

“And option three?” Kaldrus asked before taking another sip of his drink.

“Well, sir ... I think I’ll take that drink now.”

Menseio Station, orbiting Veria
Jonuth Kidravia’s Ship - Abi
16:12 Ship Time
September 14, 2019

If there was one piece of technology that had become indispensable over the last month or so, it was undoubtedly the teleporter. They come in different forms, from the waygates within dungeons to the portals that take one from a hidden base on Earth up to one on the Moon. Having been around for as long as dungeons have existed, the former wasn’t anything special. Nor was the latter, they were simply rarer.

I’m not talking about either of those, however.

It was the hundreds of teleporters spaced all throughout Abi’s halls that would have made life much harder, had they not existed at all. They were similar to an elevator; you step into a small room, press a button and then arrive at a different location a short time later. The difference was that the ‘short time’ was nearly instantaneous, and a teleporter could take you from the aft of the ship, forward and then back again in mere seconds. Or anywhere in between, assuming you had clearance to get there.

As large as she now was, teleporters were practically essential. Oh, the hallways could be widened to fit vehicles like trams, but those would only help so much. You would still need stairs or elevators to traverse between floors, and it would still take a decent bit of time to get anywhere. Instead, all it took was walking to the closest teleporter, pressing a button, and then walking a little bit more.

While mastery of teleportation was restricted to Abi for the time being, every species had their own ways of getting around quickly. Most had portals that would take one to a predetermined location and weren’t nearly as flexible, but they still got the job done. Running on ambient mana instead of electricity also meant that they worked whether the ship had power or not, which was always a plus.

Thanks to the teleporters, I was able to make it to my room, shower, and then arrive at the base of the ramp just as Oya arrived with our guests floating behind her. I recognized three of the seven Fa’iir, with one of them clearly being Mizu Tuvanto and the other two being aides or bodyguards.

There were two female Fa’iir present, though it was obvious which of the two was Kaera Tuvanto. She was the one in awe as they approached the massive ship that is Abi, while the other was dressed in military garb and scanned the room looking for threats. The latter of the two also had a nice shiner, which was a good indicator that she was a bodyguard as well.

“Jonathan! How was Alade?” Oya asked.

“A lot of fun, though I’m glad we left when we did, the resort has already seen a lot of snowfall.”

“Oh? I thought you’d be used to that by now,” she replied with a laugh.

“We get snow, but conditions like that? In the city I live in, you would probably see storms like that once every five decades, if that.”

She nodded and then turned, waving her hand towards where the Fa’iir were patiently waiting. “Jonathan, I would like to introduce you to Mizu Tuvanto and his sister, Kaera Tuvanto.”

“A pleasure,” I recited in the Fa’iir language while simultaneously saluting my guests.

The Fa’iir party was momentarily surprised, but soon all seven of them reciprocated the salute.

“You know our language?” Mizu asked.

“And our customs, it seems,” his sister added.

“Sadly not,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I picked up a few things as I made my way down here, but my knowledge is severely limited. Thankfully we have a way around that.”

Oya translated as I spoke, but Zogyr stepped forward holding a tray the moment I finished. On that tray were a number of earpieces matching the total number of Fa’iir present.

“These devices are capable of translating speech almost instantaneously. It’s not real-time, but it’s a lot better than having to wait for an interpreter,” I said, turning my head to point at the one that was already in my ear. “Perhaps I’ll learn some new languages soon, but for now I’m stuck with one as well.”

There was some hesitation in using the small earpieces, especially by the security personnel, but Oya was quick to put any fears to rest. It only took a brief word from Mizu Tuvanto that my earpiece couldn’t translate, and soon the earpieces were passed around. I waited until everyone had put theirs on, and then I tested them.

“Can you all understand me?”

There were some momentary technical difficulties, but it only took a minute to figure out and then I was escorting them around the ship. Oya had to go back to work, but neither of them were shy about asking questions.

“This is one of the biggest ships I’ve ever seen ... is it true that she grows as time goes on?” Kaera asked.

“Yes,” I replied as I looked over to her and held out my hand as she floated next to me. “When I met her, she was just a small crystal that could easily fit in my hand. She only remained like that until we bonded, and then she began to grow quickly. She grew again this morning, actually. While we were on Alade.”

“Really?! What’s it like?”

“I didn’t see it this time, but it’s been the same every time I have. It’s probably less spectacular than you’re imagining, to be quite honest. Oh, she gives off a very soft glow, but that’s about it.

“She still grows! That’s amazing!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at how excited she was.

It would have taken much too long to show them around the entirety of the ship--at least as much as those without the proper clearance to access--but we hit the highlights. Though nothing more than the inside of the berth could be seen, they all liked the observatory, but not nearly as much as the pool deck.

The ‘lid’ was already off when we arrived, and a few kids were frolicking in the pool that was now much bigger than the olympic-size it had been previously. There were a few parents around as well to make sure that the kids were safe, but they elected to use one of the many hot tubs instead.

“You really have a swimming pool on a warship?” a female voice asked. It definitely wasn’t Kaera, which meant that it had to have been her bodyguard.

“Ahle!”

“No, it’s alright, Kaera,” I said as I turned to face the woman with a black eye. “Ahle, is it?”

“Ahle Vir.”

“Okay, Ahle Vir. What makes you think that this is a warship?”

“It is one, isn’t it? I’ve heard stories ... even read some of your peoples’ history from before you ever arrived in this galaxy. A small group of ships just like this one bought your people time to save as many as possible. It is said that they went up against thousands of ships and received not so much as a scratch in return.”

“If only that were true,” I replied with a slight shake of my head. “You’re right that Abi could be considered a warship. And why not have a swimming pool? You’ve seen how big this ship is and how much space there is, space that is getting ever bigger. Besides, everything you see is temporary. If we needed to turn this space into something else, then that could easily be done and might take Abi only a few hours to do so. Do you not like to swim?”

“On the contrary,” Mizu replied for Ahle. “For our people, swimming is one of the best ways to relax, especially after a hard day of work. Hot springs are even better, but both take the stress off of our bones and joints, if only temporarily.”

“I...”

“Khidir!”

The room went silent as everyone looked towards the children playing in the pool. One of them, a young Scyftan boy named Khidir Mych, looked up and replied hesitantly.

“What have I told you about urinating in the pool, young man?” Abi asked, sending the little girls in the pool squealing as they rushed to get away.

“I couldn’t help it!” the young boy whined.

“That’s what you said the first time I caught you doing it. Do you remember my warning?”

“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

“See that you don’t. In the meantime, I think that is enough swimming for you today. You can come back tomorrow, but remember what I said.”

“I will. Sorry, Miss Abi,” the boy replied as he climbed out of the pool and started running over to the showers.

“And no running!”

“I see things here are no different than they are back home,” Mizu said with a laugh.

“I hope you don’t mind if a few of my friends join us for dinner,” I said as we exited the teleporter and turned to head towards the private rooms. Abi had let me know that dinner was being prepared, so rather than continue the tour, we made our way to the closest teleporter.

“Not at all. Am I right in assuming you are referring to the rest of your team?” Mizu asked.

“As well as someone you should know,” I replied with a nod. “And here we are.”

I held out my hand and pulsed a small amount of mana at the sensor, causing the door to begin sliding into the wall. I hadn’t seen any of the meeting rooms before, but even I was momentarily stunned upon seeing what was beyond the door.

In the middle of the room was a gorgeous round wooden table, made out of a single piece of wood. In this case, it was a slice of a log that looked to be somewhere between 10 and 12 centimeters thick and at least 4 meters in diameter. Aside from being stained and protected, nothing else had been done to the slice of wood. It even still had the layer of bark that once protected it from the elements.

That wasn’t even the most interesting part about it, however. Mason and Ben were leaning on the table, seemingly examining it as we arrived, but it didn’t move so much as a smidge when they stood up. That was surprising, because the table had no legs, nor was it hanging from the ceiling. It simply floated in the middle of the room.

Like the table, the chairs were also made out of slices of wood, albeit smaller ones, but they actually had legs and it was clear that a lot more work had gone into them. No two were the same, either, as each slice that made up the seat was just a little bit different, both in shape and pattern. All in all, it was a rather impressive set of furniture.