Guardian of Peace. That was the Class Marcus chose. Not really what he saw himself as, but it was the Class that made it the easiest to achieve what he wanted. To keep the people under his protection safe.

  Marcus has always been someone who put his duty and responsibility above all else. Once they found themselves here, he knew that his job was never as important as it was at that moment. There were dangers everywhere; pirates, gigantic monsters out of a blockbuster movie and possibly the navy of a super Empire.

  It was the monster, the Behemoth as Dan had called it, that made him take his Class. Seeing that monster put into perspective just how dangerous this new world was. It made him realise that they needed more than good luck to survive.

  Unlike what the name might seem to entail, Guardian of Peace wasn't a defensive Class. It put the safety of the people and the place he guarded first and foremost, but that didn't mean that he could only defend. After selecting it, he had to choose the place and people he had to be a guardian of. Obviously, the cruise ship and the people on it were his choice.

  The first skill he chose was a skill called Sanctuary. It worked by making the place he guarded less noticeable and less likely to be infiltrated. He could still remember his confusion at how the skill seemed kinda weak for its name, but after finding out about skill growth and all that, he understood. A part of him looked forward to what the skill was going to become once he raised its tiers.

  His second-level skill was called Protector, which strengthened any attack he made, unarmed or armed, while he was protecting his guarded ground and the people he guarded.

  The third skill was called Altruism. It was quite the useful skill, it was so useful that he didn't regret taking it even after finding about the limit of 10 skills. Actually, his appreciation for it only grew after knowing that it would become even better. The skill itself was quite simple in its effect. In a 5 second window, he would get the choice to transfer the lethal damage any of the people under his protection took, to himself at 75% the lethality.

  He would be lying if he said that he didn't hesitate once he saw it, but he pushed that aside and chose it eventually. Plus, they had Fleta and her healing skills, he was sure that taking lethal damage that wouldn't be treated no matter what and turning it to damage that could be healed was an acceptable exchange.

  On his 4th level, he didn't get any skill that caught his attention. And with 3 of his 10 skills already accounted for, he started being more mindful of his choices.

  Standing in front of a cabin, he dragged himself from his thoughts as he prepared for the coming confrontation. He was in full gear, not leaving anything to chance. They were facing this as prepared as they could be, and they wouldn't underestimate anyone.

  "Get ready," he said to the guard with him, George. The others were getting everyone else ready under the lead of Old Raily. Prepared as they could be, he took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

  The old islander, Corgan turned his head at the sound of the door opening. Marcus saw him become even more vigilant, nothing obvious, but the way he shifted his weight and how his eyes scanned them told him all he needed to know about what might be going through the old man's mind.

  "I hope everything is alright," he said as he stood up and regarded them with a smile.

  "We will be dropping you inland soon," Marcus said without any waste of time, time was of essence and he wouldn't give people who were more than able to harm, the chance to operate on their ability. "Please follow me without any trouble."

  Corgan just stood there in silence as he regarded them without leaving the cabin. Finally, he sighed,

  "I felt that things would turn to this after what had happened," he said as he shook his head, "I would have loved for us to separate on a more positive note."

  Marcus didn't say anything in reply. He honestly saw the islanders as a risk ever since it was decided that they would remain while the Empire's natives were dropped. For him, the longer such people remained on the Voyager, the bigger the chance of things turning messy got.

  Fortunately, they realised what they were dealing with fast and before anything bad could happen. Dropping them off now was the next best thing.

  Seeing no comment, Corgan just shook his head and left the cabin without saying anything else. Once he was outside, he noticed how the other guards and Old Raily were already waking up the other islanders and preparing them to land.

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  There was some confusion here and there from the islanders, especially from those Marcus guessed were just normal villagers. Once Corgan saw that, he said in a loud voice,

  "Don't worry everyone, we are just getting sent to land. Don't be rash and just follow the good men."

  Corgan's words helped with the operation. It seemed that even those who weren't part of his crew or knew about his real identity, held him in high regard. Marcus nodded at the man when he glanced back at him, lowering his rifle down a bit. If the old man's words were even just a tiny bit hostile, he would have got an answer for one of his questions: would a world class spy be able to survive a shower of rifle bullets?

  "I hope that we can go our separate ways on the best of terms," Corgan said, "I wouldn't want to be the one who put a strain on the possibility of a good relationship between you and our Dynasty."

  He seemed sincere enough to Marcus, but judging whether he was telling the truth or not wasn't on him, he had to drop him off at the shore and bring back his people safely to the Voyager.

  With the cooperation of Corgan and his people, the loading went smoother than Marcus would have thought. It didn't take them long to lead all of them to the disembarkation point. Marcus noticed Captain Dan and Robert waiting there.

  "Can I go talk to your captain?" Corgan asked, seeming to have noticed Dan too.

  "Okay, but keep your distance," Marcus answered after a second of thought.

  He knew that Dan felt a bit betrayed by the old man, but he also thought that it was good that he went through this now and with minor losses. Captain Dan was a good guy and an even better captain, he was just too soft-hearted, and in this new world they found themselves in, being that wasn't exactly a good thing.

  Marcus led the old islander towards the pair. It was Robert who noticed them first, nudging Dan next to him. Dan looked towards them just for his expression to shift slightly.

  "Captain Dan," Corgan started as he lowered his head, "I'm sorry for keeping the fact about who I really was and my mission a secret. I wouldn't want to be the reason the relationship turns sour between you and the Dynasty. I hope you can understand my actions."

  "I understand," Dan finally brought himself to say as he sighed, "I wish you and your people the best out there. I guess you have a plan already? You're not as hopeless as you made yourself to be, right?"

  "Thank you," Corgan nodded, "And yes, I think I'll manage to lead them to safety. We have some bases in the Eastern continent and the Empire. In fact..."

  Corgan stopped there as he seemed to fall into deep thought. Finally, his gaze focused on Dan again as he said,

  "If you need anything that you feel you wouldn't be able to secure through the networks of the Empire, you can hit the port of Rosereef. Go to the Farland Inn and tell the inn master, Jared, that old Corgan sent you. He wil lead you to one of the biggest black markets in this part of the coast. Consider this my way of apologising."

  "I will keep that in mind," Dan said slowly. Marcus couldn't really see what his true thoughts were about what the old man had told him.

  "That's it then," Corgan said when he saw that most of his people were already on the tender, "I hope we meet under much better circumstances next time."

  Dan and Robert both said farewell to him as he turned and left. Marcus didn't follow after him, he just watched as he got into the tender. Once everything was ready and all the people were accounted for, he turned to Dan and the others and reminded them,

  "The three-hour period starts as soon as we leave, keep that in mind."

  "Understood," Robert nodded seriously.

  "Be safe out there," Dan added, "And remember, always put your safety first."

  "Got it." With that, he nodded to the two men before moving to the tender.

  Just as he stepped into the boat, he looked back on the Voyager and the people watching them leave as he willed Sanctuary to activate. The skill settled silently on the ship, as if a huge bubble enveloping it.

  Marcus's eyebrow lifted a bit as he felt something interact with his skill. He kinda felt that same way when he went with Dan and the others to the shore, but this time it was even clearer. It was as if a curious child was poking at the bubble surrounding them.

  He could guess what that was, it most likely was the Voyager sensing the protective bubble around her. He almost let the corners of his lips lift into a smile as he imagined that.

  "Everyone," He brought himself to the present as he called to the people in the tender, "The trip will be short, stay on your seats and never leave them. Any unprovoked action will be met with a similar, more violent reaction. Please don't let it get to that "

  Seeing everyone nod in understanding, he nodded as he ordered,

  "Good, let's move out.”