Chapter 110: "Dream Team"
His brain was slowly booting up when he heard what she had just said.
Because, for some time, was really thinking that he had something wrong. Among all of the missions that were available within the database of the Mission Administration Office, not even he would be crazy enough to choose anything related to the Arachinds.
His sense of self-preservation was something that was too great for him to enter the area that was swarming with Arachnids. While he was obviously planning to choose a Mission that had very high rewards because he wanted to make a lot of points from it, he would never really choose anything related to the Arachnids out of his free will.
He was just a Delta-Grade Psyker, and even though his combat prowess was far above any other Delta-Grade Psyker, that didn't change anything about the fact that he never wanted to go near the Arachnids until he was at least Beta-Grade Warrior and Psyker.
Arachnids were very dangerous from the regards of quaintly and quantity both. Many of the Arachnids were very powerful, and there were countless sub-species that could be extremely dangerous on the battlefield.
And that was all without the fact, that even the most powerful of the Arachnid species would be supported by countless of the weaker ones. Even though Arcturus had a tremendous advantage when it came to the entire army fight due to the Dimension Empyrean, which showcased most of its power in these kinds of situations.
But still, he was heavily against going to the place with the Arachnids because it was very dangerous, and the chance of perishing in there was pretty high, so he would prefer to go somewhere else where it wouldn't be full of the giant bugs that were bred to kill anything that moved.
Not really the ideal situation.
"Are you crazy? Going to the Arachnid Nest with just two of us? I admit that we are fairly powerful, but going to the Arachnid Nest with the two of us is a suicide, even if we are talking about the lowest of the lowest Ararchnid Nests."
Arcturus was strongly against her decision because it was something that he considered reckless and dangerous. He understood the reality that both of them were very powerful and also the fact that the Arachnid Nest within the Ziras IV was one that was barely created.
So, technically speaking, it was most probably the Arachnid Nest within the Ziras IV. won't have that many bugs, and they won't be particularly powerful, which was obviously a very good thing.
At the same time, even Arcturus was being tempted by the rewards from the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy because the overall reward was 100,000 Academy Points, which was a staggering amount.
Even as a student of the Special Course Class, he got only around 10,000 Academy Points when he was admitted into the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, and he got a monthly stipend of 1,000 Academy Points like any other members of the Special Course Class.
Obviously, there was also another form of reward from the Office of the Ziras Star System Governor-General, who was in charge of the Ziras Star System. Not only that, but also even the Domain Lord of the Solitas Star Domain was issuing a reward on the Arachnid Nest that was on the Ziras IV., so there were a lot of things to cash in.
Ceritenly, Arcutrus was pretty tempted by far. The rewards were indeed very enticing, and they had a lot to gain if they indeed managed to take out the Arachnid Nest on the Ziras IV., and the Academy Points obtained from the mission would last him for a long time.
At least for a few months at that, because he still didn't even touch the ones that he obtained at the start of his study here when he got admitted into the Academy.
"Don't try to play with me the rational card; I can already see that you are pretty tempted by the offer. The amount of resources that we could get by completing this mission would be tremendous, and if something goes wrong, we can always use your starship to blast the place into the smitterness and escape."
Because they were spending a lot of time together, Jeniael had already learned a bit about how to read him because, in fact, she was very good at reading people. When she saw Arcturus's expression, she knew that he was being tempted by the offer and was seriously considering going with her crazy suggestion.
That was already a pretty good sign because if he was already considering accepting the mission, there was already a solid chance that he would relent to her suggestion in the end and they would be going to clean out the Arachnid Nest, no matter how outlandish it may or may not sound.
So, that was a good start already.
And meanwhile, Jeniael was grinning inside; Arcrurus came to a decision, one at that, which he knew that Jeniael wouldn't like for sure.
Yet, at the same time, it was a little payback for suggesting something this crazy, like going fighting the bugs, no matter the quality and quantity of the rewards that were being provided by the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy and other governing bodies.
"I agree to go on this suicide mission..."
Immediately as he started since, he was interrupted by Jeniael, who was celebrating that she managed to convince him to say yes, still unaware of the surprise that he had prepared for her because she had stopped him before he finished the entire sentence.
"Don't celebrate too early... I would be going only if we take Zehal with us."
He finished what he wanted to say with a grin on his face, as Jeniael remained frozen in one spot before she quickly recovered and immediately started frowning and protesting like a little child.
"No, absolutely not! Never, never, never, ever not!"
Arcturus even found it cute because she was wrinkled like a baby, and she was stomping her feet on the ground to show her anger over his incredulous suggestion, which was indeed outlandish too much.
This continued for several minutes straight until she had finally calmed down and sat down with a strong scowl on her face as she looked at Arcturus seriously. Saying that she was displeased by his condition would be the underestimation of the century, yet at the same time, she was also aware of the fact that he wouldn't say something like this out of nowhere.
Jeniael knew that Arcturus must have some reason for that.
"Now that you have finished throwing your temper tantrum, I can explain to you the logic behind my condition if you will allow it... and stop scowling; you will have wrinkles all over your face if you scowl too much."
Arcturus looked at Jeniael, who instantly stopped scowling; even though she was rather "tomboy", she was still very concerned about her appearance. However, that was the last thing that he would be praising about her, because she would just get even more haughty than she was right now.
Even now, it was already more than enough.
"Now, Zehal's Super-High Risk Psyker Ability, Deus Technicus, is something that could be best utilized against a great number of enemies. She is essentially a one-man army on her own, coupled with the orbital support from the Obscurus and my own battle droid army, we would have guaranteed success almost fully, and if not, then we would at least for sure survive and leave the place without maiming injuries."
No matter how Jeniael wanted to retort his statement, she had to admit that his reasoning and logic were bulletproof... no matter how much she despised it.
She knew better than anyone else that Zehal's Super-High Risk Psyker Ability, Deus Technicus, was ridiculously powerful, and Zehal herself was keeping an army of nanomachines on her person.
Not only that, but the Heiress Apparent of the House Alvix was also someone who was unusually well educated in the aspect of technology, and she was a very good strategist; aside from all of that, she also mastered many Psionic SKills that were used to enhance the Deus Technicus or the machinery in general.
So, in a situation like the one where they would be going, someone like Zehal would be invaluable due to the advantage that she could provide them. They needed another AOE, the Area of Effect combatant aminds their ranks, beucasse Jeniael wasn't one for sure.
She was best effective in one-on-one combat situations, but when it came to fighting entire hordes of enemies, she was virtually useless. That was why Arcturus was so set on taking Zehal with them on the mission to the Zaris IV.; that way, they would have heightened chances for survival.
"Ts... you won on this one."
Hearing that, Arcturus nodded that, as they would now need to go and ask Zehal for their assistance. Even though it was clear that this way, the reward would be divided into three, and every one of them would get something 33,000 Academy Points as it would be divided into the three.
But that was something that he could live with, because at least they would have very good chances of getting from the planet and the mission alive and in a good condition with no missing body parts.
If it were to him, when it came to the Arachnids, he would take more people with him, despite the fact that he really hated sharing the spoils of war with someone else.
"Come on, we need to ask Zehal for her assistance."
Contrary to Jeniael, he wasn't that well acquainted with Zehal because the Heiress Apparent of the House, Alvix, was spending most of her time doing her research.
Due to her Super-High Risk Psyker Ability Deus Technicus, she was a naturally born engineer and scientist.
Hearing Arcturus, Jeniael scowled once more because just the thought of dealing with Zehal was something that was filling her with repulsion, but at the same time, she just took one step back; there was nothing that she could do about it.
Obviously, she wasn't going to ask for Zehal's help personally, as she would leave the talking to Arcturus. She was sure that if it was her who was asking her for help or anything, Zehal would refuse outright, no matter the reasoning that she could come up with.
So, if it was left to Arcturus, then there was a solid chance that she would agree outright or that Arcturus would be able to convince her to join them.
***
The duo of Arcturus Crawford and Jeniael Luxford arrived at the dormitories of the Special Course Class not long after they exited at the Administration Office of the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy.
When they finished their talk, Arcturus already sent a message to Zehal that he wanted to talk with her as he exchanged contact information with her some time ago, not that long after they have met for the first time.
When they arrived back at the dormitory, Zehal was already there waiting for him, though when she saw Jeniael coming back with Arcturus, she frowned heavily but didn't really say anything.
Which was the most surprising thing because he would have already anticipated that the two of them would start arguing at the very first chance. But this time, something wondrous and unbelievable happened as neither of them said anything, and they just ignored each other.
However, the atmosphere was rather weird because the tension was so dense in the air that it was almost visible.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Zehal started first as he looked at Arcturus, not giving Jeniael even a second look, which obviously wasn't really that well appreciated by Jeniael because she knew that Zehal was trying to rile her up in some way.
"We are going on a mission at the Ziras IV. it's related to the extermination of the Arachnid Nest that was created on the planet, and I would like to invite you to the mission. The rewards are 100,000 Academy Points for the completion from the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy and apparently a lot of other rewards from the Office of the System Governor-General and even the Domain Lord of the Solitas Star Domain."
Arcturus explained the situation to Zehal, while the young engineer/scientist from the House Alvix listened carefully. Even though she wasn't really thrilled at going somewhere with Jeniael, in this regard she was more rational and logical than Jeniael, so she saw the positives of going together.
Even though they were enemies or, rather, as Arcturus entertainingly called them, "frenemies", Zehal easily admitted that Jeniael was very powerful for someone of her age and she was a very talented fighter.
The mission's rewards were indeed very good, even though they were related to the Arachnids, and like Arcturus, she had her doubts about that.
At the same time, it was a Mission sanctioned by the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy that was shown to them, so obviously, it wouldn't be something that was impossible to complete for them.
"Hmm... okey, I agree... but I want my own room within your spaceship. I won't be sharing the room with her for sure. Also, can I take a look at your spaceship?"
Zehal put forward her own conditions, something that Arcturus didn't really have a problem with because the Obscurus was large enough, and he would have another spare room prepared for her within two or three days.
"As you wish... I have no problems with that. Also, your quarters within the Obscurus would be prepared within a few days."
Arcturus knew that preparing separate quarters for her wouldn't be that much of a problem, as Red Queen would handle that rather easily given some time, and he could take her on the tour through the Obscurus.
In fact, he hadn't really visited his starship for the past weeks since he had arrived at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy dorms. Red Queen was working hard on the upgrades to the Obscurus, and there were many things done to elevate the spaceship on the higher level.
As the A.I. had access to his Vaultbank Account and many construction droids, she could autonomously work on the starships while he was training at the Academy.