Chapter 300
After arriving at the Corthian Mining headquarters, Kyle was ushered into a large conference room, which was already half-full of D Grade mercenaries. Tillienne was already there, and waved him over, gesturing to an empty chair beside her.
“Thanks for saving me a seat,” Kyle said as he settled in.
“What can I say?” she replied, eyes sparking. “You and C.H.A.D.D. make for better company than most here, and to sit next to C.H.A.D.D. you’re part of the deal.”
[I VERY MUCH ENJOY YOUR COMPANY AS WELL, MS. TILLIENNE,] C.H.A.D.D. replied quietly, as Kyle sent a note of admonishment through Pack Leader’s Instinct. Even though the drone’s language patterns on their own could be explained away, there was no reason to draw too much attention. The last thing Kyle needed was a mercenary deciding that attempting to steal C.H.A.D.D. for a few credits was a safer bet than the trip to Kertan Six.
Not that anybody in the room other than Tillienne seemed powerful enough to make that a legitimate threat, that is. Even as more mercenaries filed in, only a handful appeared to be as powerful as the fae woman. What’s more, each of them clearly commanded a great deal of respect among the others, with groups forming around each.
“Those are a few of the elites joining the expedition on the ground,” she explained. “They hired the guild in a few different tranches, and this is probably about it for what we’ll have on the ground. Some of the others I’ve worked with before are on strike teams being briefed elsewhere. My guess is that they’ll end up in reserve as part of the perimeter.”
“Seems like kind of a waste, if you ask me,” Kyle said. “Sitting around until the operation is done doesn’t sound like a great use of time.”
“Hey, the pay is good. And unlike some of us, most people aren’t just taking jobs in a sprint to C Grade. Some have just found that this is the best way for them to stay flush with credits.” She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. Kyle did his best not to be distracted by her proximity as she continued. “I bet that some of the mercenaries in this room are actually hoping that there won’t be any fighting. If you ask me, that would be disappointing.”
“What are you saying?” Kyle asked back, meeting her eyes.
“I’m saying that if I don’t get some good practice in, I’m going to count on you for a sparring session after.” Her dark eyes lingered on his for a moment longer than was necessary, before she looked back toward the front of the room, where an unfamiliar and exhausted-looking woman in a Corthian Mining uniform stepped up to a podium.
“If I can get everybody’s attention, please, we’re going to go over the briefing. My name is Darla, one of Angela Corthus’ aides. First things first, thank you all for your punctuality. Everybody on the ground team has been accounted for, and we still have over sixty hours until the clock ran out. That means we’ll be able to move forward with deployment once we’re done here.”
Darla opened a screen on her nav bracelet, which was then projected across the room while also being streamed to each person’s individual nav. An image of the lush planet opened up, the perspective quickly zooming in on the surface.
“As many of you already know, this is Kertan Six. During a related expedition, Corthian Mining has been made aware of an awakened fungal colony in the system. In dealing with it, we have strong reason to believe that the colony has spread to Kertan Six.”
Darla paused there, allowing the impact of her words to sink in. Awakened fungal colonies were no joke, and the Collective had clear instructions to wipe them out when possible. It also gave Kyle a chill down his spine. This expedition was supposed to be looking for the missing survivors and shuttle from Earth.
“Our initial contact with the fungus revealed some troubling data. First, it has the ability to make E Grade drones. These are made entirely of the fungal body, and though they are weak individually, their numbers were impressive. Furthermore, from what we understand about this fungus, we have reason to believe that it is infectious toward humanoids. A documented unawakened who had been fully infected was observed exhibiting lower D Grade levels of power.”
A murmur of concern washed across the room, before Darla silenced them all with a raised hand.
“Now, before you get too concerned, understand that we don’t believe the fungus itself to be particularly dangerous to you. From initial testing, it doesn’t appear that it infects through skin contact, but rather through ingestion. Inhalation is also a potential risk, and we will be providing respirators to each of you in order to mitigate it. Furthermore, you will each be subject to a medical screening daily to check for infection, and we’ll be providing antifungal potions to take each day as we progress. So long as you aren’t choosing to eat any fungal buds, you’ll be fine.”
“That’s some nasty stuff,” Tillienne whispered, all hints of playfulness gone from her expression.
“You can say that again,” Kyle agreed. He was happy to hear that Corthian Mining had taken such thorough precautions, though at the same time his worry for Garth and the others spiked. Was it one of the unawakened on their expedition that got infected?
Darla looked around the room, which had calmed considerably. “Now, on to the weaknesses. Like most awakened fungi, these have a notable weakness to heat and cold based techniques. From what has been observed thus far, we have not identified any notable resistances, though if you’ve recently unlocked a skill geared toward consumption, we recommend against using it.”
That earned a nervous chuckle from a handful of the observers, reducing the tension in the room slightly. That even brought a small smile to Darla’s face, who let the moment of levity sit before continuing.
“Now, the relative level of power we’ve seen demonstrated by the colony is low. I mentioned their D Grades were on the weaker end, even for newly evolved creatures, and the E Grade fungi were similarly weak, despite their numbers. However, I also think that it is important to note that we did detect C Grade energies from the initial colony, if only for a scant few moments.”
That brought the energy right back down, as gazes sharpened. Darla seemed to expect this, and the projection changed to a handsome man with strong, masculine features wearing a Corthian Mining uniform.
“Not to worry, you will not be asked to face the C Grade presence, should it be there. You will be accompanied by Malcolm Corthus, one of our premier C Grades, and somebody who is more than capable of handling anything that appears from the fungal colony. In many ways, your participation in this mission is in order to ensure that Malcolm is not worn down by enemy opposition on his way. Depending on the enemy’s numbers, we want to ensure he is able to preserve his strength to deal with any C Grade threats that emerge, and to destroy the colony to its roots.”
Tillienne was listening with interest, and leaned over to Kyle as Darla talked about Malcolm. “Have you met him before?”
Kyle shook his head slightly. “Malcolm? No, this is only the second time I’ve heard his name. Third, technically.”
“It sounds like we’re in for quite a bit of fighting if they want to keep him in reserve,” she muttered.
Kyle didn’t disagree. That was one of the most concerning pieces, in his view. Either Corthian Mining was being tremendously cautious, or they had good reason to believe that the enemy’s numbers truly warranted such caution.
Darla was just wrapping up an overview of Malcolm’s myriad achievements, and she shifted the projection to show different group names and titles.
“All that said, we have several stages to the operation that you will be involved with. We have some of our own field commanders with boots on the ground on Kertan Six. Even if you are individually more powerful, make no mistake; you report to them. Our first phase is establishing a perimeter around the area, your group will be assisting with that endeavor.
“You will be tasked with a systematic push, during which any opponents are to be summarily dealt with. Once the perimeter is secure, Malcolm will begin his work, and you will shift to a more supportive role. You will be given more specific guidance once we know how things develop.”
The instructions were simple, and Kyle glanced over the list of names until he found his own. He smiled when he found it, showing him reporting directly to Garth Boltsbury. Along the way, he noticed Skippy was acting as a field commander as well, and couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for anybody who was under the skrell’s supervision.
“In addition, we will have a group of reservists, mostly Rangers, who are being tasked with catching and dealing with anything that tries to break through the perimeter. There is also a group of field medics that will be following the main force as needed.”
The projection shifted to the map of Kertan Six again, and a couple of positions on the sky bridge were highlighted.
“Lastly, and hopefully entirely unnecessary, if we deem an evacuation to be required, we will fall back to these points. Civilians will begin the evacuation first, and our job will be to hold the line for them. Every person will need to undergo a brief scan before they will be allowed to be teleported to our relief station for further vetting. Anybody who is infected will need to be quarantined, and we will have specific accommodations set up for that as well.”
Darla looked across the room, expression serious.
“This assignment is currently full of unknowns. The land on Kertan Six can be difficult, and establishing a fortification will be a challenge. It could be that this runs smoothly, it is equally possible we run into complications. That is why Corthian Mining is relying on your training and expertise to ensure our success, and the future prosperity and safety of the colonists who call Kertan Six their home. On behalf of the company, and the people who will be resting easier when this is done, we thank you.”
With that, instructions lit up on everybody’s nav bracelet, guiding them outside and toward a fleet of waiting ships. Tillienne and Kyle were each guided toward a different one, and she stopped before they parted ways.
“You know, I’d hoped we would have a chance to work together a little more closely this time around,” she said after a moment.
“Likewise. When it’s all said and done, let’s see if we can grab Jax and catch up. It’s been too long,” Kyle replied.
“It really has,” Tillienne agreed. “Stay safe out there, Kyle. C.H.A.D.D., keep him safe, will you?”
[I WILL DO MY BEST, MS. TILLIENNE.]
“You take care as well,” Kyle interjected. “Don’t take any crazy risks.”
“Coming from the guy who went out to fight C Grades on purpose,” she shot back with a smile. “But don’t worry, I won’t. I’ve got too much to do when I get back.” She winked at him, then turned to leave.
Kyle felt himself beginning to blush, and forced himself to stop watching after her as he turned toward his assigned ship. Tillienne was always a bit of a flirt, but this time had caught him off guard.
Settling into his seat, Kyle allowed his mind to drift as he thought about what came after. Once this mission was done, he and C.H.A.D.D. would have the final push toward C Grade, make decisions about his career path, and enjoy a meal with a beautiful fae woman. And all that stood in his way was an army of fungal soldiers.