Waterstrider

Second District, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS

“Are you all ready?” asked Jihan, glancing at his subordinates.

There were 5 of them that remained, those who had survived for those months in that dark facility beneath the station. He knew them all quite well, as they had spent those years of interstellar travel interacting with one another. There had been little to do except for interacting with one another.

The Sect Leader had yet to communicate with them after sending them off, something that would normally be a sign of trust. However, this was clearly a test, and Jihan knew that Rachel was undoubtedly watching at this very moment through means he had yet to fully comprehend. He knew even less about the capabilities of a Shade than he did about extant practitioners. He could be told that she was capable of almost anything, and there would be little he could do to doubt it.

He heard several calls of yes, and turned back to focus on his squad members. Garsa Lee was the only other bloodline clan member in the group, a cousin of his. She was untalented in martial arts, and so even with the assistance and training due to a bloodline member, even from a branch family, core formation seemed to be her limit.

Her husband was a different matter, and the only other core formation practitioner in the squad. Hedouin Lee was quite talented, so much so that he was granted the right to marry into the family. In Jihan’s estimation it was only a matter of time until he reached the bottleneck at the pinnacle of core formation. Acquiring sanguine treasures was next to impossible in a place like Tseludia, so he would likely have to wait until they returned to the clan to advance.

The final two members of the squad were from the clan’s vassals, talented enough in martial arts to receive gifts, but not enough to be worthy of joining the family itself. Still, Eden Wuyuan and Taiel Halao were extremely loyal, and could be considered elites within the meridian refinement realm.

“Good,” said Jihan, nodding. “For the next fifteen years, we are bound by honor to serve the Redwater Sect. I trust we will all act according to this force’s best interest- but we must never forget our true loyalties. We are a limb of the Lee Clan, and are merely on loan to the Riverfiend. I trust you understand the meaning of my words.”

Hedouin chuckled.

“You’ve explained this several times already, Jihan. Are you nervous?”

“Of course I am!” Jihan snapped, feeling his miasma lash out within him. “This is our chance to acquire what we need to keep the Reth safe. Make absolutely sure not to destroy any machines unless Rachel tells you to.”

Hedouin looked as if he was about to reply with a snarky comment, but Garsa forcefully pushed her arrogant husband’s head downwards with a scowl.

“Shut up, dear,” she said.

He scowled back, but wisely decided to listen to his spouse. Everyone else ignored the soap opera that was rather common for the pair. Personally, Jihan found the two of them to be a good match. Hedouin would inevitably get himself into a lot of trouble if there was no one to keep him in line.

“If there are no more irrelevant questions, let us depart.”

“Yes, sir!”

The words were once again spoken in unison. Despite it all, each and every member of the squad was extremely disciplined. It was part of how they had fully recovered from their confinement so quickly. Jihan knew that many of the other rescued martial artists had yet to readjust to free living.

Each of the martial artists raised their hoods, keeping their faces covered. They would leave no traces to provide evidence of their involvement in the matter. Jihan himself was the first to leave, rapidly making his way down the staircases to where Idrico Health Solutions’ manufacturing plant was located.

It was unobtrusive, located on the second layer of the stack where the real estate was much cheaper. Like most buildings in the area, its facade was merely a large hatch right beside the street. In moments, the group stood before it. Jihan tapped a button on a device that had been strapped to his wrist, which he had been told functioned as a phone. Though he had not learned how to precisely operate it, apparently it had been configured so that just activating it he could get into contact with the Vice-Sect Leader.

“This is the correct one?” He asked, waiting for a response before he took further action.

“Yes. You may commence the mission at your own discretion.”

“We shall do so.”

Sanguine miasma flared within Jihan’s meridians, circling from his cores like blood from his heart. He activated the technique within his lower core, and blood vessels popped as sanguine energy surged, and with a swing from his sword, Jihan tore through the heavy metal hatch in one blow. He smiled, relishing the pain and the feedback from his brutal strike.

“Let’s burn it down,” he said, tearing his way through the opening he had created, his squad members following immediately behind.

The interior of the manufacturing facility was some sort of mix between a chemistry lab and a factory, with large vats and precise equipment sharing space next to computer terminals and other technological accouterments Jihan couldn’t hope to identify, nor did he need to. A keening alarm sounded, and Jihan knew they needed to be gone as soon as possible. He heard a noise as a turret located in the wall began to make a keening start up noise, but it was immediately silenced with a leap and a series of slashes. Another door slammed shut ahead of him, but another series of quick slashes broke it down.

“Eden, start planting the bombs next to these tanks. We can pretend they exploded due to some sort of accidental leak.”

Most of the soldiers of the Lee Clan had been trained to be specialists in one or more disciplines, and conveniently for this task, Eden’s was demolition. After a quick discussion with Rachel about yield, he had told Jihan that he would easily be able to place the bombs properly.

“Rachel, what do we need to take?”

“Move around, and display the screen of your watch so I can see what it all is.”

Jihan did as ordered, very quickly moving around the room as he knew Rachel would not be hindered by his speed.

He glanced back, hearing Rachel’s voice from distant wrist communicators from each of his squad mates. Taiel and Garsa each had been pulling sledges that Ran had apparently acquired for them, capable of reducing the effective weight of whatever was placed upon them. Under Rachel’s instructions they quickly identified several valuable or useful machines and carefully disconnected them, setting them on the sledges. Meanwhile, Eden continued to place explosives, as Hedouin watched the doors and exits in case there was some problem that they had failed to account for.

Given how quickly they had entered into the facility without being hindered, it was very clear to Jihan that this company’s owner had skimped on security. Perhaps they had failed to realize the connection the Venin Group had formed with the Redwater Sect. This would have been a more difficult job had Jihan not been a spirit refiner, and as far as he was aware, there were no martial artists of his level who served as mercenaries on the station.

It only took a few minutes for the machines to be loaded, and Jihan took another glance at Eden, to see that he was finalizing the bomb placement.

“I believe this should destroy everything and eliminate any evidence, while being explainable by an accident,” he said. Jihan gave him a nod, before asking Rachel a question.

“There’s no chance they did not hire some sort of defenders,” he said.

“I was about to warn you. A nearby mercenary group is currently en route to your location. They’ll probably meet you on the way out.”

Jihan frowned. They had accomplished their task just slightly too slowly.

“Alright,” he called out, his words gathering the attention of the squad. “Everyone hide in here. We’ll ambush them after they enter.”

Everyone put the finishing touches on their work, and Hedouin smiled as he hid with the rest. He had missed the opportunity to fight during their escape from the facility, and his blood was boiling in his veins. Garsa put her hand on his arm to help calm his bloodthirst so he could silence his breathing and eliminate his presence.

The second district, as the district housing many of the station’s corporate headquarters, had long been resistant to the intrusion of underworld forces. However, the underworld was as active here as anywhere else, just that almost all of the forces located here were under direct corporate control- private militaries and mercenaries who were hired by one corporation or another. The force in charge of Idrico Health Solutions’ defense was no exception to this. Black Bullet PMC was a mercenary company that contracted with a number of corporations in the area, promising swift action to protect any of their contracted locations that were threatened. As expected by their reputation, they had arrived in mere minutes after the door had been broken down. Not finding any traces outside, they had no choice but to enter themselves.

Idrico Health Solutions' Ownership: [Owned as part of a network of shell companies, Idrico Health Solutions was founded to compete with the Venin Group without causing any hostility between the group and the company's actual owner/s. This is a common tactic among Staiven corporations, and one considered 'sporting.' Of course, if one is able to navigate the complex web of holdings and find out the true owner, it is also fair game to express one's resentment again the true competitor, who in this case is actually the Tseludian branch of the Margrave Corporation. Notably, the Margrave Corporation has 'purchased' several businesses in the past who formed as if from nowhere, bankrupted their competitors with cheaper and more effective products, and then significantly increased the product's price after being 'purchased' by Margrave, and when they have a near or total monopoly of the market.]