Oath of the Survivor

With scant few hours between now and his departure, Kyle made a beeline directly toward the Courier’s Guild to meet with the Guild Provisioner.  Despite his confidence that he had everything he’d need, Kyle still wanted to do his part to keep up appearances.  Other than Jarberry, nobody had a particularly strong grasp of Kyle’s abilities.  At this point it was well-known that he was resilient, had adequate combat prowess, and had strong recovery skills.  A much smaller slice of the population was aware of C.H.A.D.D., at least to an extent, as well as a big picture understanding of Parasitic Resonance.

The last thing Kyle needed was for rumors to spread about plant manipulation abilities.  While he’d never told the imp about them specifically, he had a sense that Jarberry knew a lot more than he let on.  In the same vein, Kyle couldn’t do much to stop him, with Jarberry being one of, if not the best infiltrators the Courier’s Guild had at its disposal. 

However, he didn’t want others knowing about C.H.A.D.D.’s abilities.  The storm around them had settled, and it would be stirred up anew if people began to speculate about the drone’s potential.  No, it was better that the world thought they had Kyle figured out.  At least until he was powerful enough to where their thoughts didn’t matter. 

Walking up to the Provisioner’s counter, Kyle waved at the orc standing inside.  “Tam, how are you today?”   

The orc squealed in greeting, long snout lifting to reveal a toothy grin.  “Mr. Mayhew!  Wonderful to see you today.  I’m doing well, business is booming!  Now, how can I be of service to you?”

Kyle smiled at the orc, who seemed to be in a good mood every time Kyle came across him.  Tam was much smaller than Duroc, a head shorter and less than half as wide.  A sharp uniform covered his lanky frame, the Courier’s Guild sigil proudly displayed on his breast pocket.  Though in early E Grade, Tam had a knack for business, and was snatched up by the guild’s support group to assist with establishing contracts with local suppliers on the Hub. 

“I’m about to take off on a long-term contract, and I’m not entirely sure what the environment will be like.  What would you recommend?”

Tam pulled up a screen from his nav bracelet, scrolling through some different options.  “You said you aren’t sure about environment, I assume that means accommodations are also unknown?”

Kyle nodded.  “Unfortunately.”

“Sounds like quite a job,” Tam said with a snort.  “Who are you contracting through?  I may be able to get a better sense from them.”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Kyle responded.  “And I’m hoping to take off after our business is done, so there’s not a lot of time.”

Tam shrugged.  “What can you do?  In that case, I’d recommend a set of ration cubes.  Taste awful, but they won’t spoil for a very, very long time.  Eat 1 per day and you’ll have all the nutrients you should need to keep moving.”

Kyle had tried the ration cubes before, and he could attest to both the terrible flavor and nutritional quality.  He didn’t relish the thought, but knew that it was wise advice.  “I’ll take enough for 2 cycles.  Do you have any mobile shelter options?  I’m thinking something all-purpose.”

This was something Kyle had been interested in purchasing for quite some time.  Unfortunately, good options got snapped up pretty quickly when they came up on the market.  Everybody from Guild members to recreational campers could benefit from a quality shelter, and with the wide array of different environments in the universe, “all-purpose” was a qualifier that was highly sought after.

Tam shook his head.  “Nothing all-purpose.  I do have some fairly durable tents that will stand up to most heat and cold, but they can’t handle the real extremes.”

“That’s a shame,” Kyle replied.  “Keep me updated if something comes across your desk, I’d be interested in picking something up if it was the right price.”

“You and everybody else!” Tam said, snorting again.  “Say, how are you doing on field repair kits?  If your drone gets damaged, it might not be a bad idea to have some supplies ready.”

Kyle just smiled in response.  Tam had been angling to find out what types of supplies C.H.A.D.D. needed for repairs since shortly after they’d met, and he honestly admired the orc’s persistence.  “I think I’m still all set on that front.  Just the rations, then.”

Tam handed Kyle 2 purple tubes each a meter long, which Kyle broke in half before tucking into his pack.  Each tube was supposed to be enough to last a full cycle, with individually packaged rations in each.  He didn’t see a set of circumstances where he’d be gone that long – at least not where he’d have to eat the rations each day. 

With his trusty canteen and other basic survival equipment he’d acquired, Kyle only had 1 stop remaining before he headed back to the Verdant Republic Bureau of Interplanetary Affairs.  As always, the goblin woman ignored Kyle as he approached her desk. 

“Hello, Ell’Hallra.  Is Suierrillax available?”  Kyle asked, putting on his winningest grin. 

“No.” She replied without as much as looking up from her screen.

“Would you mind checking her availability?  I’d like to get a meeting scheduled before I go out on my next job.”  Kyle said, attempting to redouble his charm.

“I would mind.  Ask her yourself.” 

No luck, Kyle thought.  Ell’Hallra was one of the few people he’d met in the Courier’s Guild who seemed to have genuinely no interest in the Couriers themselves.  She helped filter the daily traffic for all the handlers, like Suierrillax, a task at which she was incredibly effective.  Kyle fully expected an A Grade Dragon could stroll in, and be told to take a seat and take a number.

“Then I will.  Thank you for your help.”  Kyle tried to keep the cheer in his voice, even though he knew his attempts at getting into her good graces were once again thwarted.  One lesson Kyle remembered well from his time on Earth was the value of being on the administrative staff’s good side.  Even with all the micromanagement of the Central Authority, quality administrators still had the ability to determine if one had a good or bad day.

Kyle went to settle into a chair on the far side of the room, then pulled up his nav bracelet.  Just as he was about to send a message to Suierrillax, one came through from her.  Kyle could practically hear the annoyance in her voice as he read the message.

Mayhew,

Stop antagonizing Ell’Hallra.  She’s not going to be your friend.  And by the stars, just send me a message to schedule a meeting.  You know I’ll make the time if you need it.  I’ll be there in a minute.

-Suierrillax

True to her words, the diminutive skrell woman appeared at the teleporter a moment later, gesturing for Kyle to follow her.  Before long he was sitting across from Suierrillax in her office.

“Thank you for handling all the details,” Kyle said.  “I’m sure the logistics are a nightmare.”

Suierrillax waved a dismissive hand.  “That’s what I get paid to do.  I want to talk about the realities once you arrive on Er’Mithren.  There’s not a lot of precedent for jobs like these, but the cases I was able to find universally had things go sideways.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow.  “How so?  This one feels pretty cut and dry.”

Suierrillax sighed and crossed her arms.  “Kyle, you’ve gotten comfortable over the last few cycles.  Think, for a minute.  You’ll be on a strange planet, unprotected by Collective rules and regulations, with limited options for teleportation back to Collective space.  If you screw up, you’ll have a diplomatic incident on your hands.  Even if you don’t, there’s no guarantees that you’ll have an easy time getting home.”

She leaned in, steepling her hands on the desk.  “Regardless, I still think this will be a great opportunity for you.  You’ll get to show your reliability to the Verdant Republic, and every other faction who’s worth a damn.  But you can’t afford to be carefree.”

Kyle felt his smile fading as she spoke, and he finally nodded as she finished.  “Thank you for the warning.  I’ll take it seriously.”

  “Good,” Suierrillax said, seeming satisfied with his response.  “All communication going back and forth will be through Verdant Republic channels, though in case of an emergency you should still be able to reach me and the Guild.  If, for whatever reason, you end up requiring an extraction, we’ll have to get creative.  My understanding is that there’s only a single teleporter set up to cross into the Collective, which is in the capitol.”

 “That’s good to know.  Hopefully it won’t be an issue.”

“I’ll be coordinating everything I can on this side, I have several contacts at the Bureau of Interplanetary Affairs that will be keeping me updated as things progress.” 

Suierrillax seemed about to let him go, before taking a breath and meeting his eyes again.  “And Kyle?  Please don’t do anything stupid.  C.H.A.D.D., keep him out of trouble.”

[AS A POINT OF FACT, IT IS TYPICALLY DR. MAYHEW THAT BRINGS ME INTO TROUBLE.]

Kyle’s grin came back with full force.  “I’ll do my best.  It’s nice to know you care.”

“I care about my paycheck, which is distinctly different,” she scoffed.

Kyle knew she cared more than she let on, and let the remark pass.  “Then I’ll do my best to keep the pay coming.  Thank you for the warnings.”

“See that you do.  Good luck, Kyle.”

Their business concluded; Kyle returned home.  He still had just under 10 hours before he had to leave, and had one important item left on his agenda: a good nap.  After all, who knew how long it would be until he saw his bed again? 

C.H.A.D.D. woke him with 4 hours to spare, and Kyle found himself at the Bureau’s teleporter shortly afterward.  He recognized Fernie among those who were waiting in the chamber, and offered a wave.  “Good to see you again,” Kyle said.  “They changed your post?”

Fernie nodded.  “Once the teleporter is reconnected, we’re going to leave it open.  I’ll be helping keep an eye on things inside the chamber here.”

Kyle refrained from commenting on how boring he expected the post to be, while also giving a silent thanks that he hadn’t joined a faction as security.  “Then I’ll see you when I return.”

“Good fortune, Courier Mayhew.”

With that, Kyle stepped on the raised platform, and the world around him blurred as he was taken to Er’Mithren.