“You’re… immortal?” I ask, confused. There’s a special category reserved for the very few humans who have a longer lifespan; it’s broadly the one thing that hasn’t been touched by Powers. “Why haven’t I heard of you? I thought all the Immortals were famous Superheroes or Supervillains.”
Kaltor barks a laugh, then slaps his knees and stands.
“Come on.”
I stand and follow him through a few twists and turns back toward the area we entered the Horizon. As we walk the halls there’s only one open doorway, and I peer through it into the bridge which has a few people spread around in about half the seats. They all seem focused on what they’re doing and calm. After we pass by the doorway I regret not having pulled anyone’s Status. I haven’t seen any crew members walking the halls and I wonder if that’s on purpose or if maybe the ship is in between missions, or what’s going on
The way Kaltor moves and his absolute confidence makes me see him in a new light now that I know more about him. The look on his face makes me think he’s lost in thought, and he pauses in front of a hatch, which opens for him. Hot wind hits us from the outside, much different than the temperatures around Saint Marianne’s.
“Once upon a time, I was known as Axiom. Since I left that behind, let’s just say I’ve… encouraged people who know I’m still around not to raise my profile. I prefer to stick with the ESF and do my thing without being in the spotlight and everything that comes with it.”
“Seriously?” I ask him as we near the entrance. “Axiom? You really are one of the originals!”
“Cheeky kid,” he comments wryly and gives me a casual backhanded smack on the chest. I flex my newly enhanced Strength to its maximum potential expecting his blow to bounce off, but the casual slap rocks me back a step and thumps through my chest.
Once I’ve stepped back beside him and it’s clear there’s no further comment coming, I turn my attention to where we are. The ship is positioned in a very large, busy courtyard. If I had to guess based on the architecture and weather right now, I’d probably pick Greece. Or maybe Arizona. What am I going to do with myself if we’re in Greece?
“What now, Kaltor?” I ask him as he steps down onto the ramp and looks around more fully. We’re in a place that reminds me of a gladiator arena, with high concrete walls around the outside and a number of buildings on the far side that look like they’re the entrance to some kind of fortified city. Unusually, I can see both an EDF and an ESF building sitting almost beside each other near the center of the group of structures. There is quite a lot of activity there, and both EDF and ESF troopers are training hard not far from us and all across the open space.
“My debt to Vitalis is almost paid,” he says. “And I pay my debts.”
“Almost paid?” I ask, completely zeroed in on whatever he’s about to say.
“Two more things she asked me to sort out for you,” he replies and resumes his thumping down the ramp to the packed dirt. “Come on.”
By the time we’re at the bottom of the ramp, several ESF troops have rushed at superhuman speed from all directions to station themselves in an organized line. They all salute sharply as Kaltor steps off the ramp and his feet hit the dirt. He gives them a casual acknowledgement rather than a return salute which doesn’t phase them in the least. I catch a glance of Kaltor’s rugged face from the side past his long hair and see something’s got his attention ahead of us to our left. If I had to guess his expression, it would be a combination of curious and grumpy making its way to annoyed rage.
His powerful strides eat up the ground as he moves past the assembled troopers so I follow alongside him across the hard ground. As I do, being outside and surrounded by powerful people, for some reason I take particular notice of the effect of my massively increased Stamina and Regeneration - I’m not even fatigued in any way and feel at peak physical condition beyond human norms in every way. I look around and feel for the first time like maybe I could hold my own in a place like this and I try to judge where I might sit compared to everyone around me.
It’s apparent very soon that we’re headed straight for a group of ESF troops who are sparring, mostly in pairs. Each pair is within a domed force field which keeps their Powers and combat from spilling over to affect anyone else. I’ve seen plenty of these in my life, especially when Mom and Dad were around, and know that the color of them roughly corresponds to the area the combatants’ Powers can affect. In this case, the ESF troops sparring are much more powerful than the average human, probably with mid range Levels and Major Powers.
Without any warning other than a flick of Kaltor’s hand, two of the combatants inside their dome freeze, one of them hanging in mid air in the middle of a flying, spinning sword attack. The other one is wearing an exoskeleton with a strange green glow I assume comes from his Power. I know from experience the domes are also meant to keep people out of the sparring circle so I expect us to stop and assess the situation, but Kaltor ignores all of that and walks through the plane of the dome like it’s not there. I decide to stop since this seems more like a side mission than whatever we’re here for.
Ripples surge across the dome as it tries to maintain its integrity now that Kaltor has breezed through it and I reach out with my newly boosted Mana pool and senses. Straight away I can feel my Mana pool of a couple thousand is only a drop in the bucket compared to what’s flowing through the shield. Still, I dial up my Perception to try to catch everything in more detail and shape my Mana to try to reinforce the dome where it’s wavering the most and fill in the areas that are unravelling to see if I can reverse the disruption. My Mana pool drains almost instantly as the task rapidly overwhelms me as the Mana holding the dome together evaporates outward and dissipates. I release my attempt to manipulate my Mana and release my hold on Perception, allowing the world to speed up again. Unsure of what to do, I stay outside the sparring circle.
“Dalib!” Kaltor sounds annoyed, not angry. “What is this sloppy rubbish? Cycle every attack!”
The man with short dark hair and nondescript face hanging in the air doesn’t seem worried, it’s the other one who, although also frozen, has a worried look in his eyes. So I’m surprised it’s the one in the air who answers.
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“Haven’t been able to find anyone I can try my new stuff on, Captain. I’ve only been practicing in the combat room. Halsey can’t handle it, so I backed off.”
“Regrettably, sir, I agree,” the one standing on the ground in combat pose says.
Kaltor grunts at both of them and gives them both an assessing glance that clearly communicates his displeasure. I notice that some of the sparring around us has stopped or reduced to halfhearted intensity as they watch the proceedings.
“Maybe you can have a go at Calrik here after we enroll,” Kaltor says to my surprise, and gestures at me. Wait - enroll?
“Excellent, Captain!” Dalib sounds enthusiastic so it seems wise for me to pull his Status. Even if I got my ass handed to me, the chance to spar with someone like this is something I’d never turn down - after I find out what Kaltor’s talking about.
Dalib Picard (Blademaster)
Level: 131
Power: Cellular Manipulation (Tier 1 Epic), Dimensional Rift (Tier 3 Minor)
Conditions: None
Kaltor waves a hand and Halsey is released, then Dalib drops to the ground and contorts to land ready for anything, a sword appearing in one hand and a dagger in the other.
“Come on,” says Kaltor to me again, putting the whole situation aside. I rejoin him and follow as we carve a path through the other sparring partners, combat exercises, and drills toward a black building that looks more like a bunker. I want to ask Kaltor what we’re doing, but he seems to be on a mission and focused. Then he surprises me by stopping and turning to look at what’s going on across the whole training field, surveying it like a drill instructor. Maybe he is one.
“Dalib’s got superhuman physical Attributes. Also, superhuman cockiness. But the way he’s approached his combat style and physical build is probably something you can learn from. He also has a Power that, amongst other things, allows him to manifest and dismiss weapons from an interdimensional space. He’s one of the best fighters in my crew and I’m going to give him up to accompany you, so I’ll introduce you properly later,” he says to me, all the while keeping an eye on the various contests that are taking place.
“Is this part of your debt payment? What’s happening now?” I ask finally, after discarding half a dozen other questions.
“Yeah. I promised Vitalis I’d find a way to get you a shot to be free and clear of what she involved you in, if it was needed.” He glances at me and I know what’s not spoken; if it had gone pear shaped he probably would have been the one to try to kill me and whatever remained of that creature. I don’t hold any bad feelings about it - that’s what I would have done.
After another look around he turns to me and gives me his full attention. Some others who are passing by us to go into the nearby buildings give us a wide berth.
“Calrik, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that you’re potentially too dangerous for the EDF and the really powerful Superheroes to just let you go about your business.”
I’m about to object that I’m not that dangerous and even though my Power might be Mythic, I am still far, far, far, from being a threat to anyone powerful. Before I can say anything Kaltor holds up his hand and based on his calm, steady expression I don’t blurt out anything.
“It’s not about your Power,” he states. “And… as far as I know nobody knows about that. This is about the creature Vitalis was harboring and whether it’s really, truly dead. The tests are one thing and that’s a powerful piece of evidence; even so, some people in the EDF want you dead because it’s not worth the risk.”
I pause, not sure what to say. If he wanted to, I’m sure Kaltor and millions of other people could kill me without breaking a sweat, even with all the abilities my Power has given me so far. I’m interested that he’s brought this up here, in a public space, rather than telling me all of it in private. Are we on the record? Is someone observing us? Observing me?
“I’ve proposed something and everyone’s agreed to it. You’ll join an ESF mission and be monitored. It will be far from Earth, and it will take a while. Everyone on that mission will be instructed to kill you if you show clear signs of possession or they have evidence that thing is still alive inside you. If you contribute in a range of situations that put you under duress and there are no signs you’re harboring the alien, then combined with the test results, it’s been agreed you’ll be free to go. They’ll bring you back to Earth and you can resume your life here, with thanks.”
It’s clear to me Kaltor has pulled a lot of strings to get this done by the way he says it, and also that he believes a hundred percent this deal will be honored and it’s the best solution for me, and to keep everyone else safe - just in case. Even so, there’s only one thing I can think of to say.
“No.”
“No?” Kaltor asks, a genuine look of surprise on his face. I think it’s the last word in the world he expected to come out of my mouth. I pause a couple of seconds to get the right words sorted in my head.
“That’s not what I want. I want to join the ESF properly. It’s what I’ve wanted my whole life, it’s what I’ve trained for even though it seemed futile with no Power. So, no. Other than coming back to take down Eddie and whoever he’s involved with, I want to do what Mom and Dad did. Join the ESF, and the EDF if called upon. I’ll take any role on any team that I can get and if the first role I have to play is hostage on a mission, I’m fine with that.”
Kaltor crosses his arms and then strokes his streaked beard a couple times in thought.
“That Corvin estate thing you’re trying to fix,” he says slowly. “That’s the other part of my debt that’s still outstanding. Your Aunt made me promise to sort it out, so while you were on your ESF mission I was going to go see The Barrister and whoever else needs their head knocked around to get it done.”
“No to that also,” I say, my eyes locked on his so he knows I really mean it. “I appreciate you wanting to fix it, and Auntie V caring enough to ask you. But now I have the means to do it myself and I’m not sure how long it will take, but I’m going to make those fuckers regret it.”
Kaltor laughs to himself and smirks at me. “Kid, I know I said it before, but you really are a Corvin. You know you could just hang outside a hospital or a place like Saint Marianne’s and just get stronger without having to do anything?”
I nod with an expression on my face that I hope he will interpret as agreement.
“Yeah Kaltor, I know. And once I get the estate back, assuming there’s a chunk of it left, I’ve been thinking about buying one of the high security facilities and running it in my downtime between missions.”
This time it’s a full laugh from him. “I should have known.” He falls silent for a while, thinking, just standing there. I look around at all the troopers sparring and know in my heart and soul with total certainty it’s what I want. I want to be one of them, and in between missions I want to shove a contract down Eddie’s throat and make him sign it in blood.
“Ok, kid,” he says finally, and I turn back to look at him. “I think I can swing that. You sure are full of interesting surprises. Might be one of the more unusual ESF inductions in history but hey - you’re a Corvin, what’s usual about you?”
He tilts his head toward the nearest building and turns on his heel, so I step up beside him and we walk through the doors to the ESF together.
“This is really going to be something,” he says with a smile.
