Waterstrider

Little Celah, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS

“How do you not know?” bellowed Deuvar, his attitude a large step away from his usual demeanor with her, and more like how he treated an incompetent subordinate. His sister glared at him in return. He had not treated her like this in over a decade. Nobody had, and lived long afterwards.

But of course, she couldn’t have her brother killed, and she wouldn’t truly wish for such a thing to happen, anyway.

“Do I look like I know how alien machines work?” asked Astna. “For all I know, he activated it incorrectly and was cast out into the Brink. You know all I do, which is that the light went off, and he didn’t appear here or with the Drelistai. All I can think is that either the government took him, or he’s dead.”

Deuvar slightly slumped, the energy fading from his body.

“Damn it all.”

“Are you going to tell the Leader?” she asked, a hint of concern displaying at the corners of her eyes.

Both of them knew how much stock the old Korlove had placed on Triezal even before he had betrayed the Epon with them. Now, he was ranked of just as much importance as the two of them in the Leader’s eyes. And he was one of only five individuals in the organization who knew the true status of their future. It wasn’t just the Leader who placed great importance on the man. Deuvar and Astna couldn’t help but do the same.

Deuvar sighed.

“I wish to know just what happened before I disturb him. They didn’t find any signs of the sending stone in the wreckage?”

Astna shook her head.

“They found Merris DNA on-site, but little enough of it that it's possible he escaped.”

“If that’s the case,” Deuvar muttered, “then where is he?”

Astna spread her arms to shrug.

“I’m certain I can soon find out, so long as someone’s holding him. But if he’s choosing to lay low on his own, or if he’s dead, it’s out of my control.”

Deuvar felt that the evidence must be out there, somewhere. Perhaps an alien organization had recently bought some Celan foodstuffs, or traces of extant miasma had been recorded somewhere it should not be. They were simply not putting the pieces of evidence that Astna had brought him together. Suddenly, he had a wild idea.

What if, he thought, he asked a Shade for assistance?

The idea seemed insane, but Deuvar mulled it over. It was possible that no force in the universe could compile and analyze data better than a Shade, except perhaps the Calculation Engines of Staive themselves. Moreover, such a collaboration could deepen the relationship between the two forces. Unlike Lao Feng and his Feng Gang, Deuvar would never be able to completely trust the Redwater Sect and its two leaders, as they were simply aliens. One could never truly trust an alien.

Still, collaboration for mutual benefit would always be a possibility, so long as both sides were capable of logic.

Rachel already knew of their situation and what it meant for the organization’s future, but if someone were to torture Triezal and find out about their severed ties with the Epon… Deuvar dared not think what might happen. In that case, the Hadal Clan would become the least of their worries.

The core difference, he thought, between how they and the Hadal Clan were treating the Redwater Sect, was that the Hadal Clan seemed focused on short term cooperation, while Deuvar couldn’t help but focus on the long term. The Hadal Clan did not need the force’s assistance, but as time passed, Deuvar was more and more certain of the fact that only with Rachel’s help would the Heirs have the opportunity to exist in the long term.

Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS

I peered over at Wei Hadal above the rim of my cup as I took a relaxed sip of tea.

“So what brings you here, Mister Wei?”

I relaxed in my seat as I purposefully expressed a more casual stance towards the man than I had before. The clan had their hands full at the moment, and would not, I expected, bother to deal with any perceived minor disrespect from me. After being informed of his visit, Rachel and I had discussed what position to hold in advance, and as a result here the two of us sat, treating the vastly more powerful force as if we were their equal.

He met my gaze evenly.

“Your force has been rather busy these past days, Sect Leader Yu.”

I smiled at this.

“What sort of Sect Leader would I be if I did not take advantage of the opportunities which rested before me?”

“Truly a shame your ambitions were interrupted by Lao Feng,” he said.

I remained unphased, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether the Hadal Clan knew of the man’s true nature or not. I shrugged.

“We came to an agreement, so I feel that it was a blessing in disguise.”

“The two of you never did reveal the true outcome of the battle. Who really won, if you don’t mind my asking?”

The same relaxed smile remained on my face.

“It was hard fought,” I told him, and then took another sip of tea, not saying another word.

“I see,” said the old spirit refiner.

There was a moment of silence where we both drank our tea, and I couldn’t help but wonder just what the Matriarch wanted from me, this time, that it was worth sending her aide to personally speak with me about the matter. The old man quietly smiled as he carefully placed the cup back on the table, lifting the pot to refill it.

“Say, what would you think about making a raid on the Celan headquarters?” he asked.

Surprised by his words, I checked his expression, but Wei had taken the time to drink some more tea, avoiding the chance to accidentally leak some of his attitude.

“You want the two of us personally to attack them?” I asked.

The aged martial artist shrugged.

“To take part in it. Not just yourself, though. We wish for the Redwater Sect to participate. We would be putting in our own effort as well, of course.”

“Isn’t this a rather bold interpretation of what our previous agreement discussed?” asked Rachel.

Wei chuckled in response.

“All informal agreements are up for dispute.”

I couldn’t disagree with him, but I frowned anyway. The clan was pressuring me more rapidly than I had anticipated.

“Bold indeed,” I said. “One would think this would mean you wish to make an enemy of my sect.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll be able to make it up to you,” he replied. “I’m sure you’re aware that what you need most is time to stabilize your foundation. Both for yourself, and for your sect.”

I silently continued to listen to his words, knowing that he had hit spot on for my motivations. Even with my efforts blocked by Lao Feng, Orion had been successful enough that we almost had more territory than we could manage. Ran and Kein were having to work overtime to keep up with it, and Kein’s mortal body was having difficulty handling the strain. We needed to develop not only our management capabilities, but also to train our new disciples sufficiently that we could use them as guards and enforcers for the sect.

“And you believe expending more of our forces for a suicide mission is just what we need?” asked Rachel.

Wei shrugged.

“As I said, I’m sure we have the capacity to make it up to you. What are you wanting? Accountants, technique manuals, miasmic treasures? Whatever it may be, we have plenty.”

“Tell me more about this attack,” I said.

While it still sounded like a suicide mission, regardless I needed to give the clan at least a certain amount of face. Perhaps I could send a token force, or even take action myself, as they seemed to wish. Even facing enforcers, by this point I was extremely confident in my survivability.

However, Wei shook his head.

“I'm afraid you’ll have to agree to join us before I can share more information. I apologize, but there’s only so much trust we can offer to someone… uninvested.”

It was hard to say how much he knew of my dealings with the Celans, but it was certain that he was aware of my maneuverings. It would have been difficult not to be, for one such as him.

“Might we at least ask why you’ve chosen such a forthright tactic?” Rachel asked.

This time Wei felt willing to respond.

“I’m sure you have a rough understanding of the situation. The faster the war ends, the better the outcome for us. Wouldn’t it be best for you as well, if your gains could become cemented in place?”

Personally, I wished the war to last for at least a couple of months, and weaken both forces further, but he was, of course, also aware of this.

“Do you mind if we speak bluntly?” I asked.

Wei smiled, having waited for this.

“Not a problem. To be clear, we’ll need you to help with this. Consider it a duty as martial artists, to handle the aliens working against our species’ interests.”

I gritted my teeth, but nodded.

“But you’re willing to make up for the losses we’ll receive, yes?”

“Of course,” he said with a nod, and a smile. “Now, do you wish to continue digressing, or shall we begin to negotiate terms?”

Rachel smiled, and I noticed something odd about it, but I simply accepted the result.

“I’ll call in our advisors,” she said.

Wei nodded as if he had expected this development, and took a sip of tea with the corners of his lips still slightly upturned.

“I would expect no less.”

Trade in the Pantheonic Territory: [Trade, the lifeblood of all great civilizations, is a core element of life within the Pantheonic Territory, spearheaded by the influence of the Church of Fulstovis. Despite the vast distances between stars, technology, unique resources and products, and even entire populations are constantly moving between star systems. The use of long term stasis technology by most of the territory’s races has allowed this industry to thrive despite the long voyages. A single trade deal between two systems might take over two decades in subjective time to complete, potentially even arriving an entire decade late if delays occur during transit. Still, the revenues generated through such trade are immense. Due to the unique advantages provided by the voidgates, Staive has managed to become one of the richest trading hubs in the inhabited galaxy, second only to those within the Osine nations.]