A breeze kicks up as I contemplate her question and the last two hours. I draw a deep breath, smelling the salt in the breeze. I note the barest tinge of sulphur and rotten meat in it and wrinkle my nose at the smells, even as I answer my friend. “I doubt anything I said was going to change what they did.”
“Probably not.” Mikito shakes her head. “You do seem to attract hyper-focused individuals.”
“You know, I wonder if the fact that we have actual Levels and Skills kind of removes the need to posture as much. At least, when you hit the Levels those guys have,” I muse. “It’s not as if they don’t have a very clear understanding of how powerful they are.”
“You mean planet-swallowing levels of strength?” Ali says. “And instead of giving him a planet to eat, you offered him chocolate?”
“Hey, he liked it. And I only gave him the name of the chocolatier.”
“Which he’s now bought.”
“What!?!”
Ali gestures and a notification flashes up in front of me.
News Alert—Savoy & Sons, Her Majesty’s Chocolatiers, have now been purchased and renamed Savoy & Sons, His Dragon’s Chocolatiers.
“Thousand hells. He works fast.”
“Best remember that.” Ali taps his wrist. “And you should get moving too. That cloak she put on you won’t last forever.”
I nod, turning inland and beginning the hike. We head as fast as we can for the peak of the small mountain range ahead of us. Knowing where we’re headed, Mikito takes point, safeguarding me while I consider our most recent encounter.
For all my glib conversation with the Legendarys, in the last two fights I was involved in, I had my ass handed to me. The very last fight, I was as good as dead if not for the Dragon’s intervention. Sadly, while he had intervened, he’d left Kasva alive, citing security concerns with killing him.
Personally, I think he just likes to see me squirm.
While I might have help in beating the Administrators, if I meet them again, I do need to work out how to deal with Kasva. That Affinity of his was nasty, and figuring out what it was and how to beat it will top my list of things to do.
Fortunately, I’ll have more than sufficient time to work that out. Katherine and Rob have, from what the Lady tells me, taken my suggestion and run with it. There’s quite a bit of a ruckus growing right now, but even so, there’s no guarantee anything we do will be enough for the vote. Estimates—and these are the Lady’s estimates—put us too close to call. There are too many variables since a particularly annoyed planet could throw all of its backing into making the vote work.
But the advantage of the chaos we’ve caused is that many are now hesitant, concerned about being backstabbed. Or using their resources to lash out. It’s delayed the vote again, giving us time.
For now, me staying hidden is for the best. The idea of a Galactic Bounty Hunter—Silver Class running around and lashing out against our enemies is useful. So long as I’m alive, I can spawn my doppelgangers to kill and wreak havoc.
With the Lady’s help, I expect my doppelgangers will do even more damage than normal, potentially tipping the scales. And though Harry has been captured, imprisoned under the orders of the Council, his interrogation is currently on hold. A power play going on between the Administrators who wish to learn how much I’ve told him and the Lady, who insists on being in the questioning, as is her right as the Secret Keeper of the Council.
That her insistence on regulations is but a threadbare fig for her naked curiosity, it is a curiosity and interest that is well-known. And as such, unremarkable. In this way, my friend is safe.
For now.
In the meantime, while my doppelgangers are busy playing hardball and Katherine and Rob are trying to convince everyone else to keep to their promises, we’re here. Holding up our end of the deal with the Legendarys.
Doing the one thing they cannot.
We’ve traded knowledge, information on the Administrators that we’ve met for information too. The Dragon was more than happy to gain confirmation of members of the shadow council. Together, the Lady and Weaver will use that information to track down more of the Administrators, figure out who is and isn’t part of the shadow council. Confirm—or not—their pawns on the Inner Council. It’s a good trade.
All things they can do that I can’t. But out here, this place, this exploration of information, this is ours to do.
Our feet grind into the ground as we turn around the switchback, pushing past the hanging foliage on the deer—har, probably something a lot less innocuous than a deer—trail we follow and find ourselves before our goal. Amusingly enough, for all the alien architecture I’ve seen, for all the soaring skyscrapers, living trees, crystalline temples, this structure is all too familiar. A dome with a single, deep slit sits upon a cylindrical base. An observatory, meant for viewing the stars.
An innocuous-looking structure.
Which hides the Administrative Center we’re about to break into.
Chapter 19
We stand on the small, flat outcropping, shattered granite sand beneath our feet as we stare at the observatory. To all external senses, it’s abandoned, empty of sapient personnel. A light wind blows, catching at our clothing, bringing with it the taste of the sea.
We stare at our objective until Mikito shrugs and walks forward. She does so hesitantly, back tense, bracing for an attack that never comes. A few more steps and she turns around, frowning at me.
“What?” I say.
“No attack. None of…” She waves as if trying to explain the mental, emotional pressure the last Administrative Center had forced upon us.
I stride over, head cocked as if I’m listening for the attack. As she said, nothing. I turn around, sensing something unusual. Over my right shoulder, where I’m used to a floating presence, I find nothing.
“I’ll just be back here, if you don’t mind. Getting banished sucked,” Ali is quick to say when I spot him, still a distance back and floating farther away with each passing second.
“Traitor!” I shake my hand at him before turning back to the looming observatory. Mikito has not waited for me, continuing to close on the silent structure. I hurry to catch up with her and turn my head as I pass her. “You know, I’m the Administrator here.”
“Junior.” Mikito speeds up, pushing ahead of me. “Also, bodyguard.”
“Better resistances.” I speed up again.
“Faster.” She overtakes me once more.
“Soul Shield.”
“Ghost armor.”
In this manner, we race toward the observatory. We’re sprinting in a silly attempt to outpace one another. But for all our joking, neither of us is really going all out, and we’re keeping an eye out for problems.
Of which there are exactly none.
Standing before the closed door, a hand on the entrance plate, I glance at Mikito one last time. Upon her nod, I send the surge of Mana it waits for, opening the damn thing.
To find the inside empty too.
“Well, that’s a little disappointing,” Ali says, making the pair of us jump as he appears behind us.
***
We walk the empty halls, chatting quietly, heads turning from side to side as we manually search for problems. There are no sapients within, though there are numerous dumb machines and semi-sentient droids taking care of the place, jotting down notes, cleaning the mirrors, and repairing issues. There’s even a single security droid that attempts to chase us out. The insides are busy, if empty of living creatures.
“Makes sense with their tech to automate everything,” I say. “No point in being here when you can just get the readings sent over.”
“And the overall Level is low enough that the security droid and the exterior walls keep things secure,” Mikito says.
“Needing space and clear skies to run the observatory makes sense,” Ali adds. “Along with the Mana-sensing equipment.”