Oath of the Survivor

Mornings like this made Kyle glad that, as an upper-tier D Grade, he didn’t need much sleep. His mind had been running through possible treatments for the awakened fungi, running into issue after issue. He’d forced himself to get at least a couple hours, before the loud announcement woke him from his rest.

Attention Corthian Mining crew and contractors. This ship is about to enter the atmosphere of Kertan Six. Unless you are designated crew remaining on the ship, please make your way to the hangar for disembarkation. You will each receive instructions on your nav bracelets directing you toward your shuttle, which will take you to the forward camp. On behalf of Corthian Mining, we thank you for your time and support.

The moment the announcement was complete, Kyle’s nav bracelet lit up, full of instructions to reach the shuttle he’d be taking toward the surface.

“Are you ready, C.H.A.D.D.?”

[I AM AS READY AS CAN BE EXPECTED. AT THE LEAST, IT WILL BE NICE TO SEE MR. BOLTSBURY AND ARIANNA AGAIN.]

Kyle cleaned up, and the duo made their way through the bustling ship to find their shuttle. Unlike some of the others he’d ridden on, this model was reinforced with thick armor, and peering inside, Kyle saw that there were no projections to see outside of it. However, much to Kyle’s surprise, there was a familiar face already waiting on it.

“Creston, I’m surprised to see you here,” Kyle called to the man, who was already digging into the parcel of rations that Corthian provided everybody as they entered the hangar bay. Dıscover more novels at novel-fire.ɴet

“Holy crap,” Creston exclaimed through a mouthful of granola. “I didn’t think you and I were assigned to the same group.”

“That’s because we’re not,” Kyle replied, hoisting himself into the shuttle and grabbing a seat on the far end. He pulled up his nav bracelet and projected the list of assignments. “It looks like we’re each joining some pre-established teams in a similar geographic area. Lucky you, you’ll be working alongside an old friend of mine.”

“Oh?” Creston asked, squinting as he stared at the list. “Is Skierrepallix strong?”

Kyle grinned. “Very. Just be careful if he wants to spar. Skippy is a lot rougher than I am in the sparring ring.”

Creston paled a bit as he swallowed the mouthful of granola. “Really?”

“It’ll be fine,” Kyle assured the man, as a few more mercenaries piled into the shuttle. One of the others was going to join Creston on Skippy’s team, while the others were being spread across a few other primarily Corthian groups.

Reviewing the assignments more closely, it looked as though the company was trying to ensure that each team had at least 2 D Grades, at least one of whom could serve in a front-line capacity. The notable exception was Malcom’s group, which had been staffed with almost exclusively D Grade mercenaries, including most of the elites.

It made sense, the more Kyle thought about it. The perimeter teams were there to limit options and contain the problem, while Malcolm’s group would be diving into the heart of the colony to destroy it from the root. The more powerful his team, the more likely he would be able to kill the C Grade at the heart and put the colony down.

For all its logic, he found himself feeling a little disappointed. If things truly worked out, there wouldn’t be much in the way of closure, other than to say that the refugees on the missing shuttle had passed away. That’s how I should be thinking about it now, Kyle admonished himself, thinking about what C.H.A.D.D. described of a fungal infestation. If they had truly been taken over, there wouldn’t be much Kyle could do.

“You doing ok?” Creston asked, snapping Kyle from his reflections.

“Sorry, a little lost in thought,” he replied.

They chatted a bit more about the job, with Kyle focusing most of his questions to learn about the Mercenary’s Guild. Creston and the others were happy to share some of their favorite assignments so far, most of which involved dealing with awakened beasts threatening the various settlements on the outskirts of Collective space.

Soon, the shuttle made it to its first destination, dropping off a couple of the mercenaries, then to its second, and so on, until only Kyle and Creston remained. Creston was the next to disembark, and he gave Kyle a nervous smile. “Well, I guess this is it. Thanks again for going easy on me in the spar. Once we’re done and back on the Hub, let me know. We can get a group together to grab a drink and celebrate our success.”

“Sounds like a plan, Creston. Good luck to you out there, and give Skippy my best.”

Creston offered a wave as he stepped off the shuttle, and then they were off again. Finally, it was Kyle’s turn. The shuttle landed, and as he stepped off, he got his first good look at Kertan Six. The air was warm, tropical, and comfortable. Compared to his time in the deep jungles of Earth, Kertan Six felt much less wild, the vegetation not quite as dense or large. The trees were willowy, their trunks made up of cords of woven vines which wobbled as the shuttle took off, heading back toward the larger ship in the upper atmosphere.

The small clearing where he’d been deposited was home to a series of floating habitations, small formations on the bottoms of each keeping them just off the ground. I guess they’re taking the sinkhole risk seriously, Kyle thought.

“About time you showed up,” a familiar, gruff voice called out from one of the structures behind him. Auric Perception and Synaptic Barbs had already alerted Kyle to his approach, but Kyle turned and smiled, holding out his hand toward his old friend.

“It’s good to see you, Garth. Sounds like this expedition has turned into quite a mess.”

Garth scoffed, grabbing Kyle’s hand with his own vice-like grip. “An unmitigated disaster is what it’s been. Follow me. We’ve got some things to catch you up on before we begin our advance.”

Kyle nodded, allowing Garth to lead him into the nearest of the floating buildings. Kyle was impressed by the quality of the presences inside, with even the weakest among the group well into upper E Grade. Joseph and Arianna had seen the greatest improvement, though the dour atmosphere inside the room made Kyle decide not to comment on it.

“It’s good to see you, Uncle Kyle,” Arianna said with a tired smile. Joseph greeted him next, followed by the rest of Garth’s team.

“That’s enough of that,” the grizzled veteran growled, looking at Kyle. “Sit down, kid. We’ve got bad news, and worse news. You need to get brought up to speed on both.”

Garth started by sharing about their disastrous attempt to destroy the fungal colony back on the moon, culminating in the appearance of the D Grade fungus. Kyle’s nails dug into his palms as Garth described the fight, and the revelation that he was dueling their old friend, Amir. He’d feared that something like this could have happened, but to have it confirmed, with Amir, no less, hit him like a sledgehammer.

Garth’s descriptions were exact; sterile and precise, without any hint of emotion. Kyle could understand why. Describing the events that way took some of the emotion out, removed some of the personal investment. The weight of what they’d done, and what they still had to do, clung to the team. Anybody and everybody they’d known on that shuttle could potentially be turned to a D Grade monster.

When Garth finished, Kyle took a deep breath, then met the older man’s eyes. “I had no idea it was this bad. I’m sorry, Garth.”’

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Kyle. There’s nothing you could have done. It was just important that you know what happened,” Garth replied.

Kyle knew better than to argue with the older man, particularly when he was right. Kyle had done the best he could; given the refugees from Earth the best opportunity he could. Nobody had foreseen an outcome like this. Nobody had even fathomed that it was within the realm of possibility during an otherwise routine evacuation.

“You said there was worse news,” Kyle offered, looking around the room. “What’s going on?”

“The damn mushrooms are looking to wage an all-out war, and we’re understaffed,” Garth said simply. “You’ll see when we start advancing, but there are tens of thousands of the E Grade creatures, and far more D Grades than Corthian planned for. Even if they’re individually pretty weak, they’re still plenty dangerous to teams like ours. And they’re damn hard to put down.”

“We could really have used a lot more Fire Mages,” Joseph said, looking down at his hands. “No offense, but if we had a bunch more, I bet we would have been a lot better off. Instead of having a prolonged fight, we could just burn everything in the way until Malcolm could get into the center.”

“No offense taken, it’s a valid point,” Kyle replied. Enough Fire Mages would make clearing the area much easier, but Kyle understood why the Mercenary’s Guild opted for the position they did.

Before he could respond, Arianna spoke up. “It’s not that simple, Joseph. What if there was something that was fire resistant? Or if the fungus had something designed to handle Mage types? Not to mention the fact that most Fire Mages aren’t like you. Most of the time, they’re too busy throwing around major attacks with a wide range, and I sure as heck don’t want to be standing in the front line with people like that behind me.”

She’s as sharp as ever, Kyle thought, keeping a fond smile from his face. He remembered her harsh criticisms when he’d first been learning the stick fighting drills from Frank. He’d been an almost complete novice back then, and the young teenager had been tougher on him than anybody else. Frank must be so proud to see how much she’s come into her own.

By now, Mary Ellen had jumped in to defend Joseph’s idea of more Fire Mages, and the entire group was on the cusp of some lighthearted bickering before Garth raised a hand.

“That’s enough. Corthian Mining made the decisions to hire how they did, and that’s that. Our job doesn’t change. In thirty minutes, we’re moving out and beginning our advance. The buildings have been set up with mobility, and are going to follow us at a safe distance.”

Garth’s team was quiet now, and he turned to them one by one with their assignments, starting with the Healer.

“Johannes, your job is to set up a triage station inside. We also have a few hundred doses of the antifungal potion inside, you’re responsible for ensuring that everybody takes it at the prescribed times. I’m also making you the acting quartermaster. If anything is missing, or we start running low on supplies, you’ll be responsible for elevating to the supply teams to get us restocked.”

The young Healer straightened his back, a serious expression on his face. “Yes, sir!”

“Mary Ellen, I want you on long-range support from the top of the habitation. You’ll be acting as a lookout, and an extra line of defense for Johannes. If we need to retreat to the buildings, I’ll need you to cover us.”

“But what about my boosting skill?” Mary Ellen asked, before looking at Arianna. “Won’t you need it?”

Arianna shook her head, looking first to Mary Ellen, and then to Johannes who had been about to speak. “You both have great skills, and I really appreciate your support over these last couple of years. I just unlocked one of my own, and I don’t think stacking more on top of it is wise. Besides, that means you don’t need to waste as much mana on me.”

Kyle felt a surge of pride at the news, and saw a shadow of a smile playing across Garth’s face, too. From what he could tell through Auric Perception, Arianna was likely at or beyond Level 60, meaning that this was her capstone skill. Way to go, kid.

“That’s as good a time as any to say that Arianna, you will be joining me in the front lines. Remember, this is a fight of endurance. Kyle and I can handle any D Grades that show up, but I’m going to leave most of the E Grades that get into range to you.”

He then turned to look at Joseph. “You’re our back line. As you can, keep a steady bombardment on the enemies ahead. I know you’ll need breaks for your mana to recharge, but the more you can thin them out, the better.”

In hearing the words, an idea began to form in Kyle’s mind as Garth turned to him. “I’d tell you where I want you, but frankly, you’re a hell of a lot stronger than I am anymore. Go where you’re needed, and do what you can. I trust your judgment.”

Kyle nodded. “Will do. C.H.A.D.D. and I will support however we can, and we’ll also help ensure that nothing manages to sneak up on us.”

“Very good,” Garth said. “Now, get your things together. We’re moving out shortly.”