Oath of the Survivor

Kyle sat for a moment, taking in Garth’s words.  He understood there were always risks, but from everything he’d come to expect, space travel was generally quite safe.  Ultimately, Kyle understood that in this case, “missing” was the same as dead.  The number of habitable planets was low, and if the ship lost communication and tracking, it simply wasn’t likely that they managed to crash land somewhere with options available. 

“Garth, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, kid.  I just wanted you to hear it from me, first.”  Garth paused then, seeming to take in Kyle’s appearance for the first time.  “You never struck me as the tattoo type.”

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.” Kyle said dryly.  “How have you all been settling in?”

“Better than I’d feared, worse than I’d hoped.”  Garth said, seeming to deflate a bit.  “We made a deal with Corthian Mining, and most of the awakened that came are going through various orientations now.  We’ll be assisting mostly with security and suppression work on Corthian mining sites, which will be a quick way for us to earn some credits.

“The real challenge is the number of unawakened that came along.  Without a background understanding of the Collective, they don’t have as many opportunities.  Our near-term goal is to scrape together enough credits to get them an accelerated education.”

Kyle nodded, the issues with the unawakened having been top of mind for him.  “How many credits do you need?  I might be able to help.”

Garth raised a hand.  “I appreciate the offer, Kyle.  We’re not going to take your charity; not any more than we have.  You’ve done a lot for my people, it’s time for us to learn to stand on our own.”

Kyle didn’t miss that he wasn’t included in “Garth’s people” anymore, though he let it go.  There was a pang of hurt, sure, but Kyle had wrestled with that issue long ago.  Even if he looked forward to visiting when he could, he never seriously considered trying to settle back with them.

“Well just know if there’s things I can help with, I’m always happy to lend an ear.”

“From what I understand, you’ve got more than enough on your plate, Kyle.  I’m serious, we’ll be alright.  Like I said before, I just wanted to make sure you heard the news from me.”

“I appreciate it, Garth.  I also have to ask, what’s next for you?  From what I can see, you’re pushing D Grade.  Knowing Angela, I doubt she’s planning to let you collect dust in some backwater.”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.  For now, there’s some extermination work she’ll be sending my team on once things have settled a bit.  I’m hopeful the experience will be enough to get me over the edge.  And don’t think I’m the only one.  The struggles we’ve been through have been instrumental in forging my team.  If you’re not careful, you’ll get left in the dust.”

“Then I won’t rest on my laurels just yet.  By the way, I’m working on getting a meeting with Marcus Kulhavey.  So far, I haven’t heard anything about the other Originators.  Do you want me to see if you can come?”

Garth shook his head.  “Corthian Mining already reached out to him on behalf of Earth, and from what I understand he’s planning on meeting with Angela and a couple of the other executives to get brought up to speed.  Sounds like it might be a little after your meeting, though.”

“What do you think happened to the other 6?”  Kyle asked.

Garth snorted.  “Who knows?  It’s a big universe, Kyle.  Bigger than I think any of us realized.  Shoot, they could all be dead, and we wouldn’t have any idea.”  Garth took a moment to take in the sight as warm plates of food were delivered to their table, and Kyle could see the ravenous look in his eyes. 

“Let’s eat,” Kyle said.  “And while we do, I’ll have C.H.A.D.D. bring you up to speed on what’s taken place on our end since we left.”  With that, the drone enthusiastically stepped up, projecting a highlight reel of their adventures while Kyle and Garth ate and watched.

All told, they spent nearly 3 hours at the restaurant.  Kyle felt a weight lifting from his shoulders that he hadn’t even realized was there; satisfied that the refugees from Earth were going to be alright.  Even though he felt the loss of the missing shuttle, he also felt absolved of the pressure to try to do something about it.  Part of him expected to be thrust back into the middle of things with Earth, and it felt good that they no longer needed him, at least in that capacity.

After saying his goodbyes to Garth, Kyle returned home without incident.  Checking the time, it was too late in the day to hold another meeting, though he had plenty of time to coordinate logistics.  Fell’Zorre was his first priority, as he knew how long custom work could take.  Fortunately, the Emerald Armory was able to coordinate appointment the following afternoon.

After trading some messages with Tillienne and Jax, they were able to settle on a dinner 4 days out.  With that work done, Kyle pulled up the details of tomorrow’s first job.

Client – Verdant Republic Department of Public Works

Affiliation – Verdant Republic

Details – A restructuring was recently approved by senior management, resulting in the elimination of several positions within the Public Works Department.  3 of these individuals currently have access to privileged information, and we are requesting a Courier to be present at their termination. 

We are requesting the Courier take personal effects and bring them to the nearest Department of Internal Affairs for analysis, processing, and ultimate return to ensure no privileged files or documents are left behind.  The Courier will be compensated 5000 credits upon completion.

As jobs went, this was pretty cut and dry.  The terminations were in fairly quick succession in the morning, leaving the afternoon free for his meeting.  Of course, there’s no way it’ll be that easy, Kyle thought.  If there was one thing his experience taught him, his work was never simple.

It turned out, some things were just that easy.  Kyle arrived at the first building, prepared for trouble.  He was greeted by security personnel, introduced to the executive in question, and watched as the goblin man stoically packed his things and handed them to Kyle.  He then left without incident, leaving the Courier to make a quick delivery to Internal Affairs.

The next 2 were handled with similar speed, though the last was much more vocal about his displeasure.  All it took was a quick look at Kyle’s stormy expression, however, and he finished packing without another word.  Kyle reported his success back to the Courier’s Guild, and received his 5000 credits. 

[JUST THINK, THAT PAID YOU HALF AS MUCH AS DEFEATING A STYXLION.  I’M BEGINNING TO THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE NEGOTIATED BETTER PAY WITH MA’SAI.]

“Can’t argue with you there,” Kyle said.  “At least we had quantity on our side.”

With time before his appointment, Kyle headed to the Verdant Republic Nursery and Botanical Garden.  He didn’t have anything in particular he was looking for, rather opting to walk through several of the sections he hadn’t visited before.  As diverse as the population of the Verdant Republic was, it didn’t hold a candle to the sheer diversity of plant life Kyle saw.  Everything from creeping vines to fields of resplendent flowers were on display.

Kyle was walking past one such field when he spotted an elderly goblin man inside the enclosure, tending to the flowers.  I guess it makes sense that people would need to be inside to do some of the work.  The man spotted Kyle staring, and offered a warm smile and a wave.  Kyle returned it and moved on, leaving him to his work. 

[ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I’M THINKING, DR. MAYHEW?] C.H.A.D.D. asked once they were out of earshot of the nearby patrons.

“That we should look into getting a part-time job?”

[I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT WE SHOULD SEE IF WE CAN TAKE SOME MANA FROM THE PLANTS WITHOUT BEING NOTICED, BUT I LIKE YOUR IDEA BETTER.]

“Good, because we aren’t doing that in public.”

[CORRECT, WE WOULD NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THERE IS NOBODY NEARBY.  IF ONLY YOU STILL HAD THE STINK GRENADES, WE COULD DO IT SUBTLY.]

“C.H.A.D.D., there was nothing subtle about the stink grenades.”

A ping on his nav bracelet warned Kyle that it was time to head back toward the Emerald Armory, and he left the Botanical Garden.  A thought struck him as he walked out, and he filed it away for his next visit.  Is there a similar garden for awakened plants? 

“A pleasure to see you, Mr. Mayhew.”  Fell’Zorre’s voice was raspy as he inclined his head to Kyle, who returned the gesture.

“Likewise.  I appreciate you making time on short notice.”

“Now then, your message mentioned several items that you’re looking to shop for.  How committed are you in your thought process?”

Kyle frowned.  “Fairly, though if you have something in mind, I’d be happy to discuss it.”

The goblin gave Kyle a toothy grin.  “Excellent.  When your acquaintance cancelled our last meeting, he also had several ideas he felt worth exploring, and I find that I agree.”

With that, Fell’Zorre snapped, and the whole room around them shifted, descending on one of the endless elevators inside the armory.  Modular interior structure, Kyle realized.  It wasn’t just elevators along the exterior, the whole building could move and shuffle.

They came to a stop, and the door behind Fell’Zorre opened.  Kyle stepped out at the goblin’s gesture, and found himself in a small coliseum.  There were a variety of training dummies, as well as an assortment of weapons laid out in a reinforced weapons case.  Kyle saw spears, quarterstaffs, short swords, and 2 small batons.

“Your benefactor paid for use of this facility for your visit, so don’t be shy.  I recognize your current expertise is in the batons, so understand they will feel more natural to your hand.  I would like to see you demonstrate your skills, and I may have some other suggestions to supplement your repertoire.”

Kyle nodded as he walked over, feeling the weight of the batons in his hands.  “How long do you have for me to test things out?”

“I am free for the rest of the day.”  Fell’Zorre replied.

“Then I suppose we should get started.”