Chapter 264
As the Verdant Republic ship descended onto its designated landing platform, a message pinged on both Kyle’s and D’Oillelat’s nav bracelets.
Guests,
Please prepare for departure. The Courier will disembark first, where a representative from the Courier’s Guild will be waiting for processing. Her Majesty will disembark afterward, alongside a Verdant Republic guard, where she will meet representatives from the Council and be taken to her lodgings.
Captain Rotun
Kyle gave D’Oillelat a smile as they finished reading the message. “Good luck down there. The Hub can be a lot to take in, so don’t be shy about asking for help if something comes up. There’s a lot of people who would be happy to help the Queen, after all.”
She returned his smile, though a quiver at the corner of her lips belied some of her anxiety. “I will do my duty. And Kyle, will I be able to contact you, should the need arise?”
Kyle considered for a moment. “It shouldn’t be an issue,” he finally said. “When they get you a permanent nav bracelet, ask if you can get connected with the Courier’s Guild. They’ll pass my information along, and you can reach me through them.”
“Good,” she said. “You mentioned a lot of people happy to help me, and I hope to count you among their number.”
“I’ll do my best,” Kyle said. “I have other responsibilities I need to see to, but as things come up just let me know.”
“I will,” D’Oillelat confirmed. “Thank you, Kyle. I have some preparations to make before we land, but I look forward to meeting again.”
Her confident expression was back, and Kyle watched her go. He felt a blooming pride, and was startled when he felt the same coming through Pack Leader’s Instinct.
[I THINK SHE WILL DO QUITE WELL IN THE VERDANT REPUBLIC,] C.H.A.D.D. said. [I AM PROUD OF HER.]
“That makes two of us, buddy. She’s on a mission,” Kyle replied. “Of course, we should probably make sure we survive the paperwork avalanche waiting for us.”
[I WILL LEAVE THAT TASK TO YOU, DR. MAYHEW. IN THE MEANTIME, I WILL KEEP WORKING ON MY PROJECTS.]
“Thanks, C.H.A.D.D.,” Kyle said, following the nav bracelet instructions toward the ship’s hangar. Kyle traveled light, and the Verdant Republic hadn’t brought anything for Kyle that he needed to gather from his quarters. Fernie and the large ogre were waiting at the entrance, each giving a curt nod as he walked past them. Synaptic Barbs alerted Kyle to the ogre’s uncomfortable shifting, which he chose to ignore. It’s a good thing I’m getting off this ship when I am, Kyle mused. I don’t know how much more frayed his nerves can get.
A broad smile spread over Kyle’s face as he looked outside the ship at the diminutive gray figure waiting for him outside. Suierrillax was standing with her arms crossed, a couple of other humans in Courier’s Guild uniforms shuffling awkwardly behind her. As soon as Kyle walked past the barrier, she called out to him.
“About time you got back, Mayhew. I was beginning to think that we’d have to send a second rescue party at the rate you were going.”
“What can I say, we had some sightseeing to do,” Kyle joked, activating Identify as he focused on the two unfamiliar humans. Neither were in D Grade, and Kyle he raised an eyebrow at them. “Also, I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Kyle-“ he began, before he was cut off.
“Oh, they know who you are, Mayhew,” Suierrillax interrupted. “Jeremy is a recent graduate from the Collective Institute of Extra-Collective Planetary Affairs, and Savannah is a newly-hired accountant who specializes in executive personnel valuations. They are here because there is so little protocol for the mess you’ve made, we had to bring in specialists.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to put a credit valuation on the safe return of a deposed sovereign of a non-affiliate planet with millennia of cultural significance? How to bill your interactions with the Queen, which are currently being considered an extended security detail? The price of the intellectual salvage that you retained rights to, but sent via communications? Because they do.”
The simultaneous glowers he received from them spoke to countless hours of detail-oriented work, and Kyle’s smile turned sheepish.
“Well, thank you both for your help,” he finally said, rubbing the back of his head. “Is there anything you need from me?”
Savannah seemed about ready to respond, when Suierrillax jumped in again. “Absolutely not. We can’t have you further complicating their work. They’ll wait here to connect with the Verdant Republic teams and finalize the details. You’ll be coming with me to your next meeting, and be prepared. It’s going to be a rough one.”
Kyle nodded, accepting the admonishment. Even though many of the problems that arose weren’t directly his fault, he could appreciate that he indirectly created a lot of headaches for the Guild. He waved his goodbyes to Jeremy and Savannah, then followed Suierrillax to the nearest teleportation platform, where they were whisked away to the Courier’s Guild main hall.
They walked in tense silence until they made it to Suierrillax’s office, where she finally let out a loud sigh before slumping into her chair. “Wow, thank goodness that’s wrapped up,” she said.
Kyle blinked. “Wait, what?” he asked. “I thought we were about to head into an important meeting.”
“We are,” Suierrillax replied, grinning slyly. “Your welcome home celebration isn’t something to just be ignored, Kyle.”
“But Jeremy and Savannah, what were they doing?” Kyle was lost at this point, and Suierrillax laughed at his confused expression.
“I wasn’t joking about their part in all this; they have a lot of work to finalize. But it’s good, profitable work for us. We won’t know how all the credits will fall, but if their models are correct the Courier’s Guild, and by extension you, stand to make a lot of money.”
Kyle frowned, only now starting to catch on. “How much are you talking about?”
“Enough for the Guild to pay you a three million credit advance, before your per diem,” Suierrillax replied casually. “I’d personally be shocked if your take was less than fifteen million when it’s all said and done.”
Kyle let out a low whistle at the figure. Even though a lot of that pay would be put toward solving his gear problem, there would still be plenty left over to keep him comfortable. “That’s incredible,” he finally said. “If that’s the case, why the big act about how tough this was going to be?”
“Because I need them feeling like there’s some justice in the universe, rather than you stepping off of a luxury ship to collect an eight-figure completion check while they worked out all the details of the contract. Much better for morale and all that.”
A more serious expression crossed Suierrillax’s face, and she leaned forward. “Plus, I wasn’t entirely lying. You do have some big meetings coming up, and I couldn’t delay them too long. Angela Corthus was insistent on meeting with you shortly after you returned, and Marcus Kulhavey is hoping to do the same.
“Once we knew your estimated arrival, I took the liberty of getting those meetings booked. You meet with Corthian Mining the day after tomorrow, with a three-day break before you head to Kulhavey’s workshop. And that’s all outside the scope of your normal job. No more special requests have come in for you, but the job board is getting pretty full. We’ll be all hands on deck for a while getting it caught back up.”
Kyle nodded, taking in all the information that Suierrillax shared. “Any idea what the meeting with Corthian Mining would entail?” He finally asked. “I haven’t had any dealings with them in quite a while.”
“I’m not sure,” Suierrillax replied. “I only know that it’s important enough that they kept some windows open on the chairwoman’s calendar to meet during any window you could have returned. It’s honestly pretty interesting. Keep me updated, and don’t agree to anything too stupid.”
“I’ll keep you in the loop,” Kyle assured her.
They sat for the next few hours as Suierrillax debriefed him about some of the recent trends around the job board, while Kyle shared stories of his time on Er’Mithren. Finally, after checking his nav bracelet, he stood. “It’s getting late, and you need to get out of here. Thank you for everything, Suierrillax. I don’t know where I’d be without your help.”
“Stranded on an alien planet, or dead, I expect,” she replied with a smile. “I’m glad you’re back safe and sound, Kyle. Get some rest.”
Soon, Kyle walked through the door to his apartment, pleasantly surprised to see that his dishes were clean and refrigerator was fully stocked.
[YOU ARE SMILING AT THE REFRIGERATOR, DR. MAYHEW. IS EVERYTHING OKAY?] C.H.A.D.D. asked.
“Everything is fine, C.H.A.D.D. I just half-expected Jarberry to have stopped by from time to time for a quick snack, leaving us with some cleanup to do,” Kyle said.
“Now that’s just rude,” a third voice said, a plump, purple imp appearing in Kyle’s chair. “Of course I’d do my own dishes if you weren’t around to wash them.”
Kyle smiled, having expected the imp to be around. “It’s good to see you, Jarberry.”
“Of course it is,” Jarberry scoffed. “When you can see me, you know where I am. But, enough of the niceties. From the aura you’re giving off, you’ve had quite the adventure. Gotta learn to control that, by the way.”
“I’ll work on it,” Kyle said. “And it’s definitely good to be home.”
“Work on it when you have the time. The only C Grades who view it as a threat are the ones who are too weak to handle themselves, after all. Now, I don’t want to keep you from your rest for too long, but something happened in that neck of the woods that has me very curious. I don’t know if you picked up any juicy gossip while you were on the Verdant Republic Cruiser, but if you did, I’m all ears.”
Jarberry was being unusually earnest, at least as far as Kyle could tell. Part of him wanted to duck the topic, to avoid reliving the experience with Zierlan. Part of him just wanted to curl up, safe in his bed, and try to move on from it. But Kyle owed Jarberry. The imp had invested in him back when no other Guild would touch him. Even after getting his start, Jarberry continued to support his growth and development.
While Kyle was certain his benefactor didn’t act out of pure altruism, he was still somebody that Kyle could trust. Jarberry’s expression grew more concerned during the moment of silence, and Kyle drew another deep breath. He could feel reassurance coming through his bond with C.H.A.D.D., and met the imp’s eyes. “I didn’t just have an encounter with C Grades. I uncovered experiments designed by an A Grade, and it decided to come investigate.”
Before Kyle could say another word, he felt a massive surge of mana come from Jarberry. It was the first time he detected anything from the imp, and the shock nearly made him lose sight of the fact that Jarberry was activating layers upon layers of skills, his full power on display.
The light in the apartment dimmed to the point of near-darkness, as shadowed sigils and magic circles superimposed on one another, completely surrounding Kyle, C.H.A.D.D., and Jarberry.
“Don’t say another word, kid,” Jarberry growled, flying closer to Kyle and examining him closely. “If an A Grade was involved, you can be damn certain that they put methods in place to track you and any conversations you’d have. My wards here, on top of the natural protections of the Hub should help for now, but once I’ve figured out what they did, we’ll need to consult with somebody higher up the food chain, perhaps the Guildmaster himself.”
“You’re right, they did put a brand on me,” Kyle said, reaching down to lift his shirt. “This is all that’s left of it.”
Jarberry’s eyes widened as he looked at the warped scars covering Kyle’s stomach, examining them one after another.
“How did...” Jarberry trailed off. “Kid, removing those had to be excruciating,” he finally whispered.
“It was,” Kyle confirmed, feeling a phantom ache across his torso.
“Do you know who it was that did this? Any hints at all?” Jarberry asked.
“A monster named Zierlan,” Kyle replied.