Unchosen Champion

Shane transformed into his battle commander mode while Coop’s small group had gone to Empress City on the mainland. The Endless Empire had done well to identify Shane as a candidate for leadership as proven by the way he had already stepped up for Ghost Reef multiple times. Coop was glad that they hadn’t flagged Shane for Champion of their first settlement, though he wouldn’t be surprised if the faction intended to hand the reins of their future claims to him and others who had been considered elites. Their loss was Ghost Reef’s gain.

The unassuming plumber who begrudgingly took the lead of his five man party was gone. He had been replaced by the confident tactical commander that marshaled the 15,000 person fighting force that rose up to defend the fort, forged by the siege event into determined and unyielding defenders. He joined Coop and Marcus, ready to explain the lay of the land, eyes clear and alert despite what had inescapably been multiple days of sustained combat. There were few that could match Shane’s endurance, even among those who had experienced Ghost Reef’s siege. Coop might be the only one, really.

Coop frowned, disappointed that he hadn’t been there when the settlement might have needed him. Seeing the earliest recruits of the settlement working hard made him self-conscious of his lack of contribution. He had carefully delegated most of his responsibilities to his advisors and residents, but the few obligations he felt he couldn’t give away remained foremost in his mind. Physically defending their territory, and the residents themselves, was firmly at the top of his list. Even if the current circumstances seemed handled, the fact that he was absent stuck in his craw, like he was a deadbeat Champion.

“I should have been here.” Coop decided, imagining himself becoming a spoiled prince who reaped all of the benefits of a successful kingdom without doing any of the work when it came down to it.

“No.” Shane firmly denied Coop’s conclusion. “If we needed you, we would have used one of the new features in the civilization shard to alert you.”

“You can do that?” Coop wondered. He hadn’t had a chance to explore the civilization shard after the recent upgrade beyond a brief visit ensuring that his advisors were official before they left.

Shane nodded as he continued with his evaluation. “What we actually need is to make sure you are empowered to continue pursuing opportunities. For our sake and for your own. You should take this situation as proof that you are free to seek out advantages wherever you can find them. That way, when we really do need you, you are fully prepared. We might be ahead of the curve, generally, but as long as you’re the frontrunner we have a significant edge over any threats.”

“Well, we’re here now.” Marcus pointed out, shaking his head at Coop’s weird sense of responsibility that obviously contradicted but overruled his general reluctance to fight. “How long have they been sieging the fort?”

“They arrived only a few hours after you left. It was good you got out before then.” Shane began. “The pirates spotted them way out at sea, easily more than 3,000 ships in total, including the capital ship and 200 battleships. They came straight for us, clearly intent on attacking from the start. The troop tubs tried to form an initial perimeter that the navy spent a full day and night engaging with outside of the settlement’s territory. Sharkbait pulled back once the battleships slipped in behind them and started attacking the fort directly.”

Marcus nodded, putting the pieces together. “It seems the Endless Empire made a deal to try and save themselves, offering us up to the Sapphire Armada in exchange for some cooperation. Without needing to worry about their flank, they were able to press the rebels with their full force, but that shift is what got us involved at all.”

“We all received the notification that you were successful in claiming Empress City for The Lighthouse. Are we ready for another settlement upgrade already?” Shane wondered a bit optimistically, apparently looking for more tactical advantages wherever he could find them.

“Not quite.” Marcus answered, breaking the bad news somberly. “Their population is below 100,000.”