Galactic High

“So, why do you believe yourself a worthy candidate for House Mal’Kar?” Svaartal asked, very unamusedly, as he stared at the unusual applicant sitting on the opposite end of the table from him. Since no suitable members of the Mal’Kar family wanted to interview whatever new recruits the ranks thought distinguished themselves, it had fallen to him.

“Broooooooo….” the Dresqox began, adjusting his poorly attached fake grey beard. “I think…like…I’d be a good candidate for getting ‘mailed a car’ to my house because I fought Klowns and stuff, and I know where all the really lit parties are….” The green-skinned being looked very proud of himself as he stared ahead at Svaartal with bloodshot eyes.

“Right…” Svaartal sighed, deciding to pretend that the answer made sense and looked to the next question on the list he was given. “So now, I want you to give me an example of a time where you displayed your superiority above others.”

“Uh….sure bro!” the small being answered as he awkwardly adjusted himself on his oversized chair. Both the two drow guards assigned to Svaartal twitched nervously at the movement, but the Dresqox didn’t reach for either of the two katanas strapped to his back. “Once I smoked this really fat blunt, but it was like a cross-shaped one that had two more kinda poked in the middle, and nobody else in the club had the balls to try it. I did, and it was good shit bro!”

“Killer Kush, I know it’s you. That fake beard is ridiculous.” Svaartal sighed again, though carefully and stealthily pointed his wand under the table. “Coming after my bounty was foolish of you.”

“Huh…bro? You have a bounty on you? Awesome!”

The door to the interview room opened and Kravel stuck his head through. “Izadora demands your presence in the conference room immediately.”

“Woah! Congrats, bro!” Killer Kush grinned, as Svaartal stood up.

“Thank you for your application Mr Kush.” The Nirah tried to reply as professionally as he could, though not really understanding himself why he even bothered. “However, I do not think you are the right fit for us. I wish you luck in your future endeavours. Escort him out,” he told the guards as he followed after Kravel.

Walking in, Svaartal noted that Izadora was not there and assumed that she was just being fashionably late.

However, somebody else was very openly sat in her seat.

He had met Vaetrix, the eldest sister of the ruling line of the local branch of House Mal’Kar, only once before when he was given a tour of the facility, and from what he understood she came and went as she pleased, often leaving for weeks or months at a time on unknown business. Despite this, Izadora was officially the one placed in charge of House Mal’Kar on the Ring by the ruling High Matrons despite being a younger sister.

Svaartal knew there was a story there, but there was no way in hell he was going to open those festering wounds any time soon…

Other members of the Mal’Kar family who were not normally present had made an appearance as well. Rizzir was younger than his cousins Soren and Kravel, and he served as the Keeper of the Geneforges, where new Drow were cloned and implanted with memories to ensure their compliance. It had not been unheard of for disobedient slaves to be swiftly processed into pure biomass to facilitate their growth under his observation. His sister Haldra was a stern priestess of Kyotl, the Drow Goddess of Obedience, who oversaw the organisation of slaves and other chattels as the Mistress of Bondage, while another Mal’Kar, Istrovir, served as the Aurator - what seemed to Svaartal was little more than a propaganda or press secretary. Others were present as well, mostly more Drow, though there were those of other species, either already members of the Council recruited before he was or one or two new faces that the leading Mal’Kars had recruited directly.

Izadora entered the chamber without fanfare, but when she saw the smug-looking Vaetrix sitting in her seat she snarled in rage as she marched to the far end of the table.

‘This won’t end well.’ Svaartal thought to himself with a barely perceptible sigh.

‘Shall I teleport to your side, master?’

He had forgotten for a moment that Carrow could hear his thoughts.

‘No, I wish for you to remain with my sister for now,’ Svaartal silently communicated back. ‘I can defend myself and escape if need be, she cannot.’

‘By your command, master.’

‘....How is she?’

‘Her physical condition improves rapidly, however, the manascarring on her spirit remains. I could not tell you when she may recover…’

“Now this should be entertaining…” Soren purred from next to Svaartal, interrupting the Nirah’s thoughts.

“You sit in my seat, sister,” Izadora snarled.

Vaetrix showed no sign of being scared by her younger sister in the slightest, looking to Izadora with a mocking smile, gazing upon the Drow Matriarch with piercing red eyes. Though Svaartal knew Izadora was in command, Vaetrix looked every part the superior of the two, garbed in a set of intricately woven spiked obsidian plate armour that clung to her body like a second skin.

“Am I?” Vaetrix exclaimed in mock shock. “Oh, my apologies, Iza, it has been such a while since I was last here. I can be quite forgetful at times.”

As Vaetrix got up from her seat to immediately take the one right next to it directly opposite Ull, Svaartal saw Izadora’s teeth grind as she took her place at the head of the table.

“I hope you’ve picked your side well,” Soren casually whispered to Svaartal, as Izadora began laying out some papers.

“I pledged my loyalty to House Mal’Kar, and I intend to keep my oath,” Svaartal replied diplomatically after carefully thinking of a good answer. “Inter-family disputes are not within my purview, though I shall always be grateful to Izadora for recruiting me.”

“A wise answer,” Soren chuckled, before Izadora called for quiet and the meeting began.

*****

“I really hope this guy can pay us.” Nika sighed as the large group of students made their way past yet another militia checkpoint to get to the outskirts of the city.

I feel it is our best and most reliable option for now until we are able to secure better work. Chiyo argued. Though I am loathe to the idea of working with animals, I cannot argue with Sephy’s point that we may be able to accept animal products as pay. Dairy products especially, since the price of food has shot through the roof.

“At least we were able to smuggle some food back from the cafeteria.” Jack added. “But I can only imagine how much worse it is for other people who don’t have access to that.”

“We’re in a better spot than most,” Sephy agreed. “But things are only gonna get worse before they get better now that the MegaCorps and powers are making plays.”

Since the various skirmishes had begun, they had picked up 17 more students who accepted Alora’s offer of sanctuary until they could get back on their feet. Though the house was big, they were almost out of rooms, and that was even with several of the students sharing chambers due to being in various kinds of relationships.

Alora had ordered a few tents just in case they needed to accommodate more in a hurry….

“This was a good idea, Rayle,” Alora told the Squa’Kaar. “Hopefully your rancher friend has some jobs suitable for everybody. Many of our new housemates aren’t combat capable but still want to do what they can!”

“He usually does!” Rayle pointed out. “Bhenn is always saying how he needs the help, and though the Greenwardens support his efforts, they can’t always spare the resources!”

“Speaking of the guy, where the hell is he?” Nika asked.

“I’ve already told him we’re on the way,” Rayle told her nervously. “He just sent a text back telling us to head over to the main house where some of the Greenwardens are, then to help ourselves to some beer from the outside fridge and just wait for him. He’s apparently collecting a few eggs from some of the Spikebeaks.”

Well, that’s a dairy product we can barter for, at least, Chiyo reasoned.

“Gonna stink up the house though!” Sephy pointed out.

“If they’re anything like the eggs where I’m from, it’s good protein!” Jack grinned. “I could always do with more of that!”

“Perhaps you push yourself too hard, Jack,” Alora pointed out. “Are you getting enough sleep? I swear you’re one of the last to go to bed and one of the first to get up!”

“You should have seen what I was like on Earth!” Jack shrugged. “Teenagers like me had to be practically kicked out of bed to go to school!”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that!” Sephy grinned, as they made their way to the cluster of houses with their new housemates following close behind, talking amongst themselves.

“You the group offering to help?” a nearby Greenwarden asked, walking up to intercept them as they strode up to the largest building. “Good, we’ve got some new rescues that need to be integrated and we’ve barely got any wardens to spare…”

“Greetings! Yes, we are!” Alora smiled as she walked ahead of the others to make introductions and do the necessary talking.

“Maybe this will be worth it after all…” Nika turned to the others with a sigh. “I still think going after a bounty is our best bet. Any hits on your job board, Sephy?”

“Nah, haven’t had any DMs yet.” Sephy shrugged. “Maybe I can try and put a few feelers out with some of the people we know?”

It can’t hurt. Chiyo nodded. Though I doubt there is much appetite for jobs right now when people just want to ensure their survival.

“At least here everybody can contribute, rather than just us,” Jack pointed out. “If it’s safe work everyone in the house can do, that will hopefully keep us afloat through whatever the hell is going on right now.”

“Won’t last forever, but I never said I wouldn’t take it!” Nika smiled, as whatever conversation Alora had with the Greenwarden ended and they were led to a garage which had several sofas and fridges, where they were invited to help themselves to a cold beer each while they waited for the head rancher, observing a small pack of large ant-like beings burrow and surface inside a penned-in blanket of straw.

Eventually, the rancher they had been told about came to greet them. By then the little creatures in the pen had been thoroughly tired out by greeting the curious visitors, though Rayle, being the resident animal and nature expert, had said it was okay.

“Good evening everybawdie!” the cheerful rancher greeted the group. They were an insectoid being with a wide grin and four bright eyes, four stout legs with a large abdomen in the middle just a few inches off the ground and two arms, one of which was being chewed on by a large bird that aggressively bit and chewed on the chitin, though whether or not they had natural armour that resisted the aggression or the rancher just tolerated the pain was unknown to Jack. “Pleased to meet y’all, I’m Uncle Bhenn, and I appreciate you helping us tonight!”

“Please to meet you too, Bhenn!” Alora smiled as she spoke up, though her expression hardened slightly on seeing the attack-bird. “Are you hurt? I can heal you if you want?”

“Ohhh, this spicy fella is just wanting to hug me!” The rancher grinned, pulling his arm away and taking a look. “Oooh, that’s gonna be a bleeder!”

“So, we’re all willing and able to help you out…” Alora began, giving a very serious look to the rest of the group. “I believe Rayle sent you a message earlier…”

“Yeah, we’ve got a ton of eggs and stuff for you!” Bhenn grinned. “There’s a bunch of stuff you can help with! Let’s see…”

The Greenwardens had been quick to remind Bhenn of the various tasks that needed to be done, and they had quickly been paired off. Sephy had been recruited to audit their cybersecurity and make improvements to the webpage to try and make it easier for followers to make donations and purchase some t-shirts, being assisted by one or two of their new housemates who had some experience with technology.

Chiyo had been relieved when she was asked to help out with the ranch accounts and inventory, a task which she took to with gusto, while the rest had been separated into several groups to go to different parts of the ranch to distribute animal feed, perform maintenance for the various pens and otherwise assist the Greenwardens on duty.

“So what exactly is an ‘Akashta’?” Jack asked nobody in particular, as he, Nika, Alora and a few others rode in the back of a rickety trailer attached to a rugged-looking ATV, passing through a narrow gate between the districts they were travelling through.

“Have a look up front and you’ll see them!” the Greenwarden driving them called back, and Jack did as directed, seeing a herd of hairless blue quadrupedal creatures the size of tigers, with several tentacles protruding from behind their heads. As several turned around to follow the noise that was approaching them, Jack could see several pairs of yellow glowing eyes, and powerful maws snapping in the air.

“I’m guessing they’re hungry…” Jack gulped.

“Yup, got a few feeding troughs along the fences, but I’d keep my distance if I were you until they move,” the Greenwarden told them. “They tend to eat tough bark and vegetation, but they’ll defend their territory if they think you’re a threat! We’re waiting on good confirmation for a suitable place in the wild to transport them to, so in the meantime you can throw a few logs over the fence for them, I heard you’re pretty good for that!”

“Yeah I can yeet them over, no problem.” Jack nodded.

“Maybe while you do that, we can fill up the troughs with the mix we brought?” Alora asked, and the Greenwarden nodded in agreement.

“Alright.” Jack nodded as the trailer stopped about a hundred metres before the gate. “I guess I’ll get off here and try to keep them distracted with the logs.”

As he disembarked, he pulled a pallet of logs behind him with a grunt, assisted by another greenwarden, while several of the curious herd of Akashta stepped forward. Despite knowing the danger, Jack still cautiously stuck his hand through the fence, ready to pull it back at a moment’s notice, to allow the animals to have a sniff and get used to him. As a single, brave member of the herd approached, he was able to gently stroke the soft, warm flesh of the creature’s muzzle, who after some hesitation, leaned into it, accepting the contact.

“Woah!” the Greenwarden exclaimed as Jack gently stoked one of the tentacles of the creature’s head. “I’ve never seen anyone be able to do that!”

“Yeah, I’m being careful!” Jack grinned. “But these guys aren’t aggressive, and I’m not gonna give them a reason to get pissed off with me. Who’s a good boy?”

The creature gave a low growl of contentment, as the Greenwarden slowly handed Jack a log, with the rest of the pack cautiously approaching the human. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see the others quickly filling the troughs with Dante standing guard, though none of the Akashtas seemed interested in going there.

“There you go!” Jack gently told the first creature as he took the log and placed it at the beast’s feet, trying his best not to do a double-take as a blue maw effortlessly took a chunk out of the hard, thick wood.

“Don’t worry, there’s more for the rest of you!” Jack soothed to the rest of them as he stroked the chins of two more that were poking him with their noses, quickly placing some more logs at their feet. He kept this up as he gave others in the herd some fuss before giving them their own logs to chew on, not even noticing that the others had already finished filling up the troughs and had come back to see what he was doing.

“Last one!” Jack smiled as he laid another log in the middle of the others that had come back for more. “Eat up and enjoy!”

He slowly backed away from the fence and turned around to see his friends staring at him in shocked amazement.

“What?” he asked curiously,

“I’ve never seen Akashtas get that close and familiar without attacking before!” the Greenwarden driver announced as she disembarked and gave a knowing look to her colleague who had stayed with Jack. “How did you manage that?”

“Um…” Jack began. “I just copied what I’ve seen people from my world do when getting close to dangerous animals for documentaries and stuff. Just being respectful of the animal at all times and trying to see things from their perspective.”

“A simplistic explanation.” The Greenwarden that had accompanied him shrugged. “But it’s essentially what he did. Did it without any Druidic powers either, too!”

“Yeah, I’m not a druid or whatever.” Jack shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that kind of stuff…”

“Well regardless, it was very impressive! You’re good with animals!” the Greenwarden complimented him. “We’ve got some other tasks to do, so let’s see how well you do with the other animals!”

************

“Woah! You guys are back early!” Bhenn the rancher greeted them as he was busy wrangling a furry muscular creature with tusks that was floating in the air trying to kick him.

“All done Bhenn!” one of the greenwardens told him as they pointed to Jack. “This guy’s a hell of a prodigy, he pretty much handled the Akashtas on his own while we sorted their feed for the next week!”

“For real?” the rancher asked, and the Greenwardens nodded. “Well hey! That’s awesome! If you ever feel like taking on something more dangerous, there’s more eggs in it for you!”

“I think we’ll take you up on that!” Jack grinned as he saw the cartons of eggs, crates of milk bottles and bundles of wool that had been set aside for them.

“Awesome! I’ve got some guys having a look at where the critters might be, but we’re gonna need someone to go in there and rescue them animals on short notice when the time comes.”

“We do have to go to school…” Alora began. “But apart from that, we would be happy to help out on a rescue!”

“Good! I’ll let you know a few hours in advance when it happens, I can’t tell you all about it right now though.” Bhenn grinned as he chucked some cans of beer over to them. “Well, in that case maybe y’all can help me out with a few of the smaller critters here while we wait for the other groups to get back? I’ve actually got a few little ones that could do with a good home…”

“We’ll consider it.” Alora smiled politely. “How would you like us to help?”

*****

“I am afraid that I have not yet found a candidate worthy of bringing to your attention.” Svaartal addressed the high council. “Those I interviewed on this council’s behalf were unworthy in some way that I noted in my reports, which are all available for your perusal.”

“Very well.” Izadora nodded as Svaartal took his seat again. “Istrovir?”

“Yes.” The smart-casually dressed Aurator stood up with a smile. “I have ensured that all across the city, House Mal’Kar is seen as a stabilising force amidst the current chaos in chat rooms and public message boards. Capitalising on the fall of the Pallid Pit and the defeat of Devil’s Daughter by our Sigilus has paid dividends to that end, and I can only imagine that recruitment is through the roof.”

“I can confirm.” The stern-faced Haldra nodded. “We have purchased the contracts of many indentured servants and slaves to facilitate the influx of recruited staff and auxiliaries.”

“That grants us a position of strength over other factions within the city.” Izadora nodded. “Then we must seize this opportunity and attack from a position of strength.”

“If I may…” Kravel interrupted as he stood up with a sadistic smile. “I have a perfect target in mind.”

“Very well, brother.” Izadora gestured with a hand to Kravel, in a way that had obviously been rehearsed in advance.

“I have made contact with a former acquaintance of mine who used to attend school with us.” The House Wizard grinned wickedly. “She was considered too wild for the school, but since being expelled has distinguished herself within several bandit gangs. However, she is currently unsatisfied with her lot in life, particularly with a leader who refuses to acknowledge her talents, and seeks a powerful master who will.”

“Then she will likely be a good fit with us.” Izadora slyly smiled. “Though I sense you have more to share with us, brother.”

“Indeed I do.” Kravel cackled. “She has informed us that many gangs and militia groups plan to meet at a secret location outside of the city this weekend, with the plan to combine forces and take over a weakened portion of the city by force. There will be many there. Tensions will be high, and mistrust is guaranteed. It shall be a perfect target for an attack by House Mal’Kar forces.”

“And I take it this acquaintance is willing to provide the information in exchange for patronage?” Soren asked with a bored tone, clearly sick of the theatrics. So was Svaartal and most of the room, clearly shown from the awkwardly shifting bodies in seats.

“I think it more fitting to have her explain herself!” Kravel smirked, clapping his hands together to signal the guards to open the door and allow for a newcomer to enter the room.

Svaartal’s blood ran cold on seeing who it was.

Confidently striding in, wearing thick, heavy combat armour walked a hulking reptilian being, a head taller than Svaartal, with bone spikes that had been sharpened to wicked points. Her scales were covered with an assortment of scars, burns and tattoos of questionable quality. A large and powerful plasma rifle was slung on her shoulders, but Svaartal knew that it could be brought to bear at a moment's notice.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” she snarled as she roughly grabbed a chair, loudly dragging it behind her, and sat at the table at the closest available space. “And I’ll serve you well. I know how strong you are. But when you attack the fuckers that think they’re better than me, I’m coming with you to make them pay in blood. I have a score to settle, and I’ll work with you, as long as you stay the fuck out of my way.”

“Can you obey orders and work in conjunction with House Mal’Kar forces?” Vaetrix asked, with a look of bemused interest at the Balnath.

“Depends who’s giving them,” the newcomer snarled, causing several at the table to bristle at the insubordination. “I refuse to work with idiots.”

“Soren will have operational command,” Izadora answered instantly, causing Ull to snap his head around and stare at the Matriarch with an expression that demanded an explanation, though none was given.

“Who comes with me?” Soren lazily asked as he brought out his device to type on.

“Kravel goes with you,” Izadora noted instantly. “Since he is so intimately familiar with our new acquaintance. Aside from that, choose as you like and clear it with me.

“Dextra dear, perhaps your contraptions could be of use.” Soren smiled. “And I feel that our resident Devilbreaker would be an excellent accompaniment.”

“As you wish,” Svaartal acknowledged.

Almost immediately on hearing his voice, the newcomer snapped her head to the Nirah, and her eyes met his before they narrowed. “You…” the newcomer hissed.

“Greetings, Braska,” Svaartal sneered. “I would have thought that you’d have gotten yourself killed by this point. A pity for everybody that you haven’t had the basic courtesy to expire.”

“Serpent!” Braska growled. “I have a score to settle with you and your sister as well…”

“Try it.” Svaartal snapped. “And I’ll demonstrate what I did to Devil’s Daughter…”

“As much as I do love rivalry in the ranks.” Soren sighed as he rolled his eyes. “I think we’d better talk strategy, don’t you?”