Chapter 1055: Equipped For Brunch (Patreon)

Even the fastest gold-ranker could only compete with normal diamonds for so long, although the silver-haired woman did qualify as that fastest gold-ranker. Claude and his team had been chasing her for far longer than should have been necessary, never quite pinning her down. Moving beyond the speed of sound, the way they interacted with the laws of physics were different. They could run on water like it was solid ground. Glass shattered and vehicles were overturned as they blitzed through cities. Dust clouds that rose to the sky were left behind as they blazed across the plains. The air itself was a wall they had to constantly break through, at least for Claude and his team. Their quarry’s wind essence made the air an asset rather an obstacle, pushing her forward as it held them back.

Open spaces were the most dangerous for her. Claude and his team had the numbers and could manoeuvre to box her in, pelting her with powers from afar. The essence abilities of diamond-rankers were profoundly dangerous, making every moment a threat of debilitation and capture. She accordingly sought cover at every change, from canyons networks to mountain ranges to rainforests. Anything with a lot of living auras made her harder to track, offering brief respite before diamond-rank senses filtered her presence from the noise and the chase resumed.

Claude was forced to acknowledge the woman’s immense ability. Hounded by eight diamond-rankers, she led them on a merry chase, but for all her skill and all her tricks, the tyranny of rank was inescapable. Their use of speed might have lacked her grace, but they had the numbers and the endurance to never give up, and the sharp senses to never lose track. So long as she was gold-rank and they were diamond, there would be no escape. Sooner or later, they would run her down.

It was in a forest that things came to a head. It was a vast stretch of woodland, spanning almost the entire continent, large enough that even at diamond-rank speed they wouldn’t just blaze past. She moved like a ghost not slowing at all as she wove through the forest, barely stirring the leaves with her passage. If she thought they would need to go slower, she was sorely mistaken. Half their number flew right over the top, waiting for her to burst out. It was harder to track her aura, as she did a remarkable job of hiding it amongst the trees and the beasts, but the rest of the team handled that. They did stay in the forest, not slowing down to navigate but ploughing through like wrecking balls. Trees detonated as diamond-rankers passed through them, faster than the speed of sound. The sound of their passage, neither stopping nor slowing, was like a sequence of bombs going off.

Their quarries problems didn’t stop at her failure to slow them down. One of Claude’s hunters had the power to control trees and plants, and he almost pinned her down before she launched herself through the canopy and into the sky. Claude’s people were waiting, driving forward in renewed pursuit.

In flight, she was at her fastest, but it wasn’t enough. For all her speed, the sky was nothing but open territory and her pursuers swept out to box her in. Claude grinned as the chase finally neared its end, anticipating an outlet for the frustration of having to chase her for this long. Even once they had her, the fact that it took so much effort would make him a laughingstock amongst the other pirates. His grin turned savage thinking about the ways he would make her pay for the humiliation.

***

Frustration burned through Sophie like a poison. She’d never truly expected to escape the pack of diamond-rankers, and was even surprised she’d managed to evade them for this long. Compared to the elites of the Imperial training program, the pirate army was the bottom of the cosmic barrel, but diamond-rank was diamond-rank. Their power was undeniable, although she had to wonder how they’d gotten there. What manner of pathetic self-revelation had allowed them to cross the threshold into the highest rank of mortal ability?

Once they had caught her, there would be no point putting up a fight. Running from them was one thing, but combat would be short and brutal, even if they lacked true skill. It would be better to save herself the injuries and avoid giving them a chance to ‘accidentally’ kill her. At this point the job of leading them away from the rest of the team was done. They would want to question her on the location of her friends, so they would take her alive if she didn’t provoke them too badly. From there it would be a question of how hard those questions would be asked.

The thought of it brought up old fears that she’d thought were long behind her. The days in Greenstone, her and Belinda desperately trying to avoid the people hunting them. Looking for a way out that seemed impossible to find as powerful forces tried to exploit them or worse. Even her salvation had been in the form of a slave contract, even if Asano had never treated it as such. The day she stopped being an indenture and became a free adventurer had been a rebirth, and now that life was under threat. The idea of being caught, being stopped, being anything other than free, was something she could not, would not endure.

She continued to pile on speed, but she knew it wasn’t enough. They were close enough to fling an onslaught of powers her way, explosions and bolts of lightning and fire slowing her down as she was forced to evade. Her mind rebelled against the inevitable, even as her power fell short. She wasn’t nimble enough, fast enough, powerful enough. For all the distance she had come, everything she had accomplished, these people would take it from her. If they caught her, pinned her down like a butterfly on a display board, it would destroy something inside her that would never be made whole.

When she screamed her rage she didn’t hear it, her breakneck speed leaving noise behind. Her pursuers inched closer with every passing moment, the powers launched at her becoming more dangerous. Everything inside, everything she was, said that she would never be caught, even as she knew her capture was inevitable. Escape was impossible, yet her soul shrieked fury and defiance. Something inside her broke open, like a divine bird emerging from an eggshell, as diamond light erupted from her body.

***

Claude’s face was a snarl as he closed in on his prey. There was nowhere to hide in the open sky, and his team’s powers were slowing her down as she was forced to bob and weave. He would make her tell him where they others were, and he would take great satisfaction in the questioning. He could almost feel that silver hair, gripped in his fist, when he was stirred from the thought by a blaze of light. He shrieked fury as triumph was snatched from his hands, knowing exactly what the light coming from her meant. He screamed at his people to chase harder, as if that were possible, but there was no interfering with rank ascension. They flung powers all the harder, only for them to deflect off the diamond light. When it finally faded, they only caught a glimpse of her diamond-rank form as she shot away, making a mockery of her previous speed. Still moving at diamond-rank speed, her pursuers felt as if they were left standing still.

***

“Eight diamond-rankers,” Jakaar said through gritted teeth. “Eight diamond-rankers for one gold, and not only did you let her lead you away from the others but you failed to catch even her.”

Claude had gotten unlucky with his timing. Admiral Jakaar’s stronghold was a palace built for the largest mercenary group on the planet, displaced by the fleet’s arrival. The self-styled mercenary king who had ruled it was dead, but the admiral still made use of his ostentatious throne room. Seated on the throne, the admiral had been holding court with his top captains when Claude arrived to give his report. This left Claude detailing his failure to an audience of the fleet’s most powerful and important members, along with the up-and-comers he would no longer be counted amongst.

“She has a speed-oriented power set, Admiral. Once she hit diamond, I don’t think there’s a person in this fleet who could catch her.”

“Your excuse is that one of our enemies is now powerful enough to be a threat? We are here to find and eliminate them, not be a crucible for their ascension!”

Claude was unhappy, but not fearful. Jakaar wasn’t the type to kill over failure, but neither did he forget. By dressing Claude down in front of everyone, Jakaar made it clear that any captains whose support Claude had cultivated would stay quiet, at least for a while. Just as Claude was wishing for a distraction from being the centre of attention, the door to the throne room slammed open to let in one of Jakaar’s personal staff. The man didn’t bother waiting until he’d crossed the long room to report.

“Admiral, a dimension ship just arrived in orbit.”

Jakaar raised an eyebrow.

“I assume that either ship or its passengers are sufficiently notable to warrant your dramatic entrance, Biggs?”

“Both, Admiral. Jota is back, along with the ship he stole from you.”

***

Jakaar was in the office where he did his actual work. The throne room was good for theatrics, which Jakaar respected. It was a useful place for reminding the captains who the admiral was, but it wasn’t a practical space for the actual running of a planetary occupation. Sitting at his comms terminal, he tapped the touch screen to accept the call and Jota’s face appeared.

“If it isn’t the little mutineer.”

“The captain can’t mutiny his own ship, Admiral.”

“It’s my fleet, Traitor. My ship.”

“That must have come as a blow to all your captains who believe themselves to be captain-owners. Or did you not tell them your views on that?”

“You’re bold coming here, Jota. How certain are you that you can get away before the fleet locks you down?”

“I know I can’t intimidate you, Admiral. I’ll simply say that if you come for us, you’ll discover the source of my confidence.”

“Why would you risk returning to the fleet?”

“The connected worlds, Earth and Pallimustus. You sent me to one and took a job from the other. I don’t know what the goddess promised you, but it isn’t enough.”

“Is that so?”

“You have no idea of the dragon whose slumber we disturbed when you sent me to Earth. And now you’re hunting the dragon’s friends.”

“And who is this dragon of yours?”

“I’m going to send his representative down to the planet where you can talk to her in person. She’s a friend of Hierophant Dawn’s so I recommend you treat her with respect.”

“She’s willing to walk into the beast’s den alone?”

“She is.”

“That’s quite the confidence, to assume she can fight her way clear of all my diamond-rankers.”

“She doesn’t think that. She’s only gold-rank.”

“Your sleeping dragon’s representative is only gold-rank? He’s starting to sound more like a worm.”

“Well, he does spend a lot of time in the dark.”

***

Jakaar watched on the security monitors as two of his people escorted the woman through the corridors of the palace. She was human, pretty in the way almost every gold-ranker was. She wore a simple slate grey blouse and off-white slacks with practical shoes. Her strawberry blonde hair was loose, reaching down to her shoulders. She was equipped for brunch, not for battle. When she arrived in his office, she looked around and gave an approving nod before walking over to his desk. He stood, waving her to a chair before sitting back down.

“After hearing about your throne room situation, I was worried that you would be a man too taken with pomposity to have a sensible discussion with,” she said without introduction. “I’m glad to see a recognition that, while drama has its place, simple practicality is the more valuable trait. I’m hoping that means I have at least a chance to convince you.”

“Of what?”

“To pack up and go home.”

“If the intervention of Hierophant Dawn is all you have to threaten me with, you’re going to be disappointed. Although she may not be the first daughter anymore, she still represents the Cult of the World-Phoenix. When she makes an overt move, the cosmos will be watching.”

“It’s not Dawn you have to worry about.”

“Interesting. I am Arcturus Jakaar, may I have your name?”

“Farrah Hurin.”

“And who is it that I have to worry about, Farrah Hurin? I can see that you are on the cusp of diamond-rank, but you could rank up in this office and it wouldn’t be you.”

“Quite true. To be honest, I’ve been having some trouble crossing into diamond. It requires answering a core question of identity that I find myself struggling with. For my entire career, I’ve known people who were born for greatness. Raised to be heroes, or thrust into the stormy waves of destiny. I’ve had my moments, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I feel that who I am is just a reaction to the people around me. Take this situation, for example. I’m here representing someone who is very important to me, but would I walk into a pirate fortress of my own volition? Certainly not.”

“You’re worried that you won’t come back out.”

“Not at all. He’ll portal me out if he needs to.”

“There are blocks against dimensional travel here.”

“I don’t think he cares. Do you know what an astral gate is?”

“Some kind of messenger tool, if I recall. You’re here representing a messenger?”

She let out a chuckle.

“Far from it. It’s more complicated than warrants explanation, but suffice to say that he can be a bit extreme. Which is the problem I face, really. Extreme behaviour, in my experience, is habitual in people inclined to greatness. They can accomplish wonders, but there’s always a price, always consequences. Sometimes it feels that my place in the cosmos is to be the adult in the room while great men play with their toys.”

“I’m sorry, but you seem to have me confused with your therapist. Why are you here?”

“To ask you to end your deal with the Pallimustan goddess.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because nothing she can give you is worth the price of doing what she wants. You don’t know the name of the man I represent. You will, but it would mean nothing to you now. You would know at least one of his titles, but I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. And he’s not here in that capacity; this is personal. He’s here as one diamond-ranker, very unhappy to find you hunting his friends.”

“I have to say, Ms Hurin, you’re not being very convincing.”

“I never expected to be. But he doesn’t like killing that many people without giving them a chance.”

“He’s going to kill us all, is he? One diamond ranker?”

“He does have some help. A good boy who has been locked away with nothing to eat, and he’s ravenous at the best of times. He has his own purpose, something he was born to do. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want him doing it here.”

“But I don’t trust you. I don’t know you, you don’t impress me, and I don’t care about your mysterious master.”

“Oh, he’s not my master. I won’t tell you the revelation that brought him to diamond rank, but I’m not sure it’s even possible to be more arrogant. But, at the end of the day, he answers to me. You see, we don’t always get to be the people we want. Sometimes, our responsibilities to others define us because they are who and what we choose, over what we might want for ourselves.”

She frowned, surprise and bemusement on her face.

“Huh,” she said. “That’s what did it?”

“Did what?” Jakaar asked, then sensed the power surging within her. Light filled the room, and when it was done, a diamond-rank woman stood in front of him, over the remains of her broken chair.

“That was gentler than I expected,” she said, turning her hands over in front of her as she inspected them.

“I’ve seen several people reach diamond-rank, Ms Hurin, but I’ve never seen anyone quite so casual about it.”

“Yes, well, we can’t all be dramatic about it. I apologise for your furniture.”

“You’ll find more in your accommodations here.”

“I won’t be staying.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. While we’ve been talking, my people have been moving to reclaim my ship and its traitorous captain who brought you here.”

“I’m aware. You see, the man who I represent has power, some of which I can tap into. That only holds true within his domain, but he does have means to represent that domain in the wider cosmos. You might want to check in with your fleet.”

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