Chapter 266
The following day was spent catching up on grocery orders, administrative items, and the endless string of messages on his nav bracelet. Many of the messages were sent in the group chat he shared with Jax and Tillienne, each sharing tale of their latest jobs and adventures. From the sound of things, both had been steadily accepting jobs from their respective guilds; each of them progressing steadily.
Tillienne had tried to organize a group dinner a few times, even though she knew that Kyle was out of the nav bracelet’s normal service range. Unfortunately, between her and Jax being busy, and Kyle’s job taking longer than expected, nothing materialized. Maybe if I take a break for a while we can make that happen, Kyle mused.
It would be good to see them again. He enjoyed their company, and if he was honest, he also wanted to get a sense for how quickly they were progressing. The competitive part of him didn’t believe for a moment that he was falling behind, and he wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.
Of course, they weren’t the only people making progress down their paths. Garth had sent him a quick note, confirming that he made it to D Grade, dated only a couple of weeks back. The tone of the letter made the gruff solider sound almost as surprised as Kyle had been to receive the news.
The note that surprised him the most; however, was from Fell’Zore at the Emerald Armory.
Mr. Mayhew,
I hope you have been well. It has been brought to my attention that you have returned from a difficult assignment, and without much of the gear you purchased and brought with you.
Regrettably, I must inform you that the Emerald Armory will be unable to facilitate any further custom replacements. As a policy, we refuse service to anybody in D Grade who has been documented as having slain a C Grade, and formally condemn the behavior. While there may be extenuating circumstance, until such an appeal is filed and formally accepted by the Verdant Republic Office of Personnel Management, we will abide by our policy.
That said, do know that we bear no ill-will, and wish you success in your future endeavors. When this is cleared up, our paths may cross again.
Best wishes,
Fell’Zore
Executive Armorer, Emerald Armory
Kyle read the message over a couple of times, then sighed.
[WHAT IS IT, DR. MAYHEW?] C.H.A.D.D. asked.
“Fell’Zore sent a note informing us that we’re no longer welcome at the Emerald Armory.”
[WAS I SPECIFICALLY NAMED?]
“No, C.H.A.D.D., you were not.”
[THEN I MAY BE ABLE TO GO AND SHOP ON YOUR BEHALF.] Kyle felt little vines extend from the pack through Synaptic Barbs, and they began to wiggle. [I CAN WALK THERE MYSELF, IF NEEDED.]
Kyle chuckled, feeling the attempt to comfort him through Pack Leader’s Instinct. “I don’t think so, buddy. That’s okay, we’ll need to be thoughtful about what type of gear we want next in any event. Neither of us predicted we would be facing the sorts of threats we have.”
While this was an unfortunate development, Kyle found he wasn’t overly concerned. At this point, the type of equipment he was looking for would be custom work, and highly specialized. The Emerald Armory would have such items, but there were many other places he could look.
The Gray Conglomerate was known to have many talented craftsmen, like Marcus Kulhavey, and there were large scale auctions at the Hub regularly enough that he was confident he could attend. The extra effort and expense required was just part of the price he would have to pay to find the right types of equipment moving forward.
Hefting the C.H.A.D.D. pack, Kyle got to work. Grocery orders were updated, leases renewed, and credentials updated at the various other procurement offices Kyle frequented. At C.H.A.D.D.’s behest, they also squeezed in a few hours at the botanical gardens, where the drone excitedly scanned new plants and added them to its wish list.
[IF YOU DO DECIDE TO TAKE A VACATION, I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO VISIT SOME OF THE PLANETS WHERE THESE ARE NATIVE, DR. MAYHEW.]
Through their bond, Kyle felt a child-like excitement from C.H.A.D.D.; a genuine desire to add these samples to its collection. Out of reflex, he almost responded that they would go when they had time, and then stopped himself. Why can’t we go? Kyle thought. He’d have the credits, and the idea of a vacation away was growing more tempting by the day.
“After we meet with Kulhavey, we’ll take a look,” he said, noting the planet locations on the information plaques. An unnecessary exercise, as C.H.A.D.D. had a list ready to go, but a show of good faith nevertheless.
The rest of the day flew by in a blur, and the next morning Kyle found himself outside of the Corthian Mining office. He’d taken several different teleporters to arrive, and he now stood on a small planet that housed the Corthian Mining headquarters, and Angela Corthus’ private residence.
Kyle looked up at the imposing building as he approached from the business teleporter. The office was all hard edges and straight lines, slate gray stone and thick glass standing out against the flat horizon. A massive spaceport extended behind the offices, bustling with activity as two massive flagships were loaded with gear and shuttles.
[I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU WANT TO RISK BEING LATE, DR. MAYHEW.]
“Sorry, got a little distracted,” Kyle replied, walking in the front doors. Other than the C.H.A.D.D. pack, Kyle elected to bring no other equipment to meet with Angela Corthus. Instead, he wore a simple dress uniform, common among the Gray Conglomerate. Dark trousers matched a jacket, buttoned over the right side of his body. It looked a little odd with the pack slung over his shoulders, but Kyle wanted to make it clear that he arrived to discuss business, not to go on an adventure.
A well-dressed older man waited for him in the lobby, and Kyle smiled as he recognized the familiar face. “It’s been a while, Leonard. It’s good to see you.”
Leonard smiled as he gave a shallow bow. “Likewise, Mr. Mayhew. Please, come this way and I’ll show you to Ms. Corthus’ office. Incidentally, do you need any refreshments?”
“No, thank you,” Kyle replied, following the older gentleman. Despite his age, Leonard moved with practiced grace, swiftly navigating the halls as he led Kyle to another central teleporter. They activated it, and appeared outside a security checkpoint manned by two mid-tier D Grades.
“This is as far as I’m coming, Mr. Mayhew, but it was a pleasure to see you,” Leonard offered. “I hope your meeting is a fruitful one.” With that, the man turned on his heel, stepping back into the teleporter before being whisked away.
That left Kyle with two very uncomfortable security guards. Kyle wasn’t actively trying to suppress his natural aura, and if either of the men had an identification skill, it would be clear how badly Kyle outstripped them. Each was a little weaker than Drokh, and from what Kyle could tell, only one of them was truly combat-oriented.
“Is there anything you need from me?” Kyle asked them, meeting each man’s eyes.
They exchanged a look, then shook their heads. “You are expected, go on through.”
He gave each of them a curt nod, then moved through the checkpoint on his way to see Angela. Kyle did find it more than a little amusing that a security team was out here, when the presence of Angela Corthus could be clearly felt even from this side of the security checkpoint. What greater security could somebody ask for than the C Grade herself?
The door opened as Kyle approached, revealing a large office. Natural treasures of all types were sealed away behind locked cases, and the back of the office had a thick window peering out into the spaceport beyond. A massive dark wooden desk dominated the middle of the room, behind which sat Angela Corthus.
“You made it, and were even five minutes early,” she said, not looking up from a stack of papers. “Good.”
She looked to be in her mid-fifties, though as a C Grade he knew those looks would be deceiving. Her silver hair was pulled back in rows, tied into a neat tail. She shared Benjamin’s dark skin, though her eyes were a shade of slate gray compared to his rich brown. Her uniform was immaculate, and without using Identify Kyle could feel powerful mana emitting from it, mixing with Angela’s.
Finally, she put down her papers and stared directly at Kyle. “We will have some other guests arriving shortly, but first let me offer my congratulations on your progress. When I heard there was a fresh D Grade on your planet, I never would have expected to see him in my office with an aura like yours in so short a time. You’ve done well, Kyle.”
“Thank you, Ms. Corthus,” Kyle replied, inclining his head.
She folded her hands, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “I suspected you would progress, and that our paths would cross again. I certainly hope that our parting left a favorable impression.”
“You treated me well when I arrived,” Kyle said in acknowledgement. “I appreciate your sponsorship and helping me get my bearings.”
“I am glad,” she replied. “From what I’ve seen, sowing bad karma with somebody like you never seems to end well. Regardless of the outcome of today’s meeting, I hope we stay on friendly terms, Mr. Mayhew.”
At that moment, the door behind Kyle opened once again, and he felt three more individuals approaching. He smiled as he turned to see Garth, Chester Drake, and Skippy.
“It’s been a while,” Kyle said, taking in their wildly different expressions. Garth seemed to relax a bit, while Chester tensed up, with Skippy just grinning broadly.
The skrell was the first to speak, his aura flaring. “Wow, Kyle, you’ve gotten stronger! But so have I. Care to spar after this? It would be a lot of fun.”
“This is hardly the time, or the place,” Chester admonished, then looked at Angela as his posture straightened. “Greetings, Ms. Corthus.”
For his part, Garth just looked at Kyle for a moment, a weary expression on his face. “It’s good to see you, Kyle,” he finally said, before stepping to stand alongside him.
“I believe that makes everybody,” Angela said, a wave of her hand causing the door behind them to close. He felt a wave of mana wash over the room, and felt a barrier spring into existence.
“Mr. Drake and Mr. Boltsbury are aware of the purpose of our meeting, but I want to ensure that Mr. Mayhew and Skierepallix are up to date as well. Whatever decisions you make, it is my belief that this information is relevant to you.” She said the last part with her eyes focused on Kyle, and realization washed over him. She doesn’t expect me to agree to go.
“As you are all aware,” she continued, “Corthian Mining had one of our evacuation transports go missing during the evacuation from Earth. While events like this happen from time to time, it still represents a large capital loss for the company.
“Typically, there is some wreckage left behind. At minimum, navigation data to indicate where the ship was destroyed. Our investigation revealed, however, that these functionalities were disabled prior to the ship going missing.”
Kyle’s breath caught as he processed the implications. Somebody had to have actively sabotaged the evacuation. He thought about Thomas and Amir, his friends from Duilleag. They could still be out there.
Angela let that rest with each of them, meeting their eyes individually as she spoke again. “Several months ago, an out-of-commission mining probe sent us a signal, having passed near another probe of its type. A probe that was on the evacuation ship. It appears as though whoever disabled the ship’s tracking features hadn’t considered this as a possibility.
“Of course, Corthian Mining has no intention of allowing such brazen disrespect for us and for the lives of the refugees to stand. We are preparing for an expedition to the system where the readings were detected, led by my nephew, Malcolm. We would like all of you to join him, deal with the traitors, and bring your people home.”