They spent the next week in intense study, reviewing the notes tied to the abominations while establishing a more secure base camp. Kyle finally had a use for some of the spare pogrit seeds that he purchased during his early days at the Hub, and with C.H.A.D.D.’s help they’d cultivated a handful of stalks.

  The bean-wrapped leaves weren’t delicious by any means, though he was thankful to have an easily replenished source of food. Kyle remembered the rancid taste of beetle meet back on Earth, and this was a significant improvement. He popped one of the pogrit beans into his mouth, chewing absent-mindedly while he reviewed the diagrams C.H.A.D.D. projected in front of him.

  From what they were able to discern from the notes left behind, the monsters created by the former king were held together with the help of complex magical formulae inscribed inside the bodies of the creatures. While they couldn’t be completely certain, some aspects of the inscriptions should still be active, working inside the monstrosities to keep them moving.

  Kle and C.H.A.D.D. theorized that it might be possible to destroy the creatures by disrupting these inscriptions, rather than trying to cause sufficient damage to the incredibly resilient beasts. Of course, that would be easier said than done. C.H.A.D.D. was showing different variations of the inscriptions in the notes, and piecing together theories of where they might be located inside the creatures.

  “I’m telling you, they aren’t connected to the mana network,” Kyle argued. “If they were, I would have disrupted them when I used Parasitic Resonance on the one we fought.”

  [AND I AM TELLING YOU, DR. MAYHEW, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO FUEL THE INSCRIPTIONS WITHOUT THEM TIED TO THE MANA NETWORK.]

  “What if the inscriptions were just placed on the individuals, and then disappeared when they were fused into these… things?” Kyle offered.

  [THE NOTES INDICATE THAT THESE CIRCLES ALSO INCLUDE PROVISIONS TO AMPLIFY VITAL ENERGY AND CONVERT AMBIENT MANA INTO MUSCULAR GROWTH. THOSE PROVISIONS WOULD NOT BE NECESSARY IF THE INSCRIPTIONS WERE LOST AFTER FUSION.]

  Kyle shook his head, walking around the static projection. “I just have a hard time believing that I didn’t interact with it at all during my attacks. Something this complex can’t be small, not to produce the kind of power that these things have.”

  [AS A COUNTER POINT, DR. MAYHEW, WE HAVE SEEN GREATER DEGREES OF MANA CONCENTRATION CONDENSED INTO SMALLER PACKAGES.]

  Kyle snorted. “You mean the Pyrocore Sphere? You’re talking about a natural treasure that was nurtured and refined by scientists, that even a C Grade wanted to stay around.”

  [I WAS REFERRING TO THE WORLD TREE SEED, ALTHOUGH THE PYROCORE SPHERE IS ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE.]

  “The notes don’t reference the use of any type of natural treasure that matches either of those in quality. Besides, from what we know about the king, he wouldn’t have wasted resources that valuable in experiments. He cared way too much about power to risk resources like those.”

  [I AM NOT SAYING THAT A NATURAL TREASURE WAS USED, DR. MAYHEW. I AM SIMPLY SUGGESTING THAT WE HAVE SEEN ITEMS OF GREATER COMPLEXITY IN SMALLER SIZES.]

  “I still don’t buy it,” Kyle said. “If he had the power to do work at that level, he shouldn’t have been worried about losing the throne. Still, we can keep an eye out for smaller circles as well.”

  [I BELIEVE THAT IS WISE, DR. MAYHEW. I WILL DO MY BEST TO ASSIST. OF COURSE, AFTER WE LOCATE THE CIRCLES, WE NEED TO ENSURE YOU ARE ABLE TO DISRUPT THEM.]

  “That’s true. Unfortunately, I think we’ve learned about as much as we can without some live observation. I also wouldn’t mind stretching my legs a bit, if I’m being honest.”

  [WHY WOULD YOU BE DISHONEST, DR. MAYHEW?]

  Ignoring the drone’s dry quip, Kyle checked the time. There were still over six hours of daylight left, and with C.H.A.D.D.’s help, he wasn’t particularly concerned about getting back in the dark. “We’re going hunting, C.H.A.D.D.”

  ~~~

  Suierrillax rubbed her forehead, then reread the message from the Verdant Republic about Kyle. As usual, he really managed to step in it. Well, in this case, it was more like he was thrown into it. Fortunately, the liaison to the Republic was more apologetic than anything else. With Kyle having been both a resident in Verdant Republic territory and hired on in his capacity as a Courier, they felt doubly responsible for having him deliver a damn bomb to the political rivals of the Er’Mithren leadership.

  To make matters worse, he didn’t make it home. If things had gone according to Kyle’s “plan,” and she used the term loosely, he should have been back at the Hub over a week ago. Instead, The Verdant Republic received word from Er’Mithren that Kyle launched a terroristic attack against their capital, destroying the teleportation platform and killing multiple members of their leadership.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Nobody in charge believed the accusations, of course, although it created an administrative nightmare for the process-focused goblins. Claims like this were taken seriously, no matter how ill-founded. They’d reached out to the Courier’s Guild with no fewer than a dozen inquiries and information requests to find out whether or not the rumors could be substantiated. For her part, she’d handled what she could, though the rest would require Kyle to come back to recount the details on his end.

  That was where the process was currently jammed up. From what she could piece together, they were currently working on 3 fronts. The first was a diplomatic delegation to try and mend relations with the Er’Mithren government, the second was a new outreach team to connect with the Resistance leader mentioned in Kyle’s report, and the third was organizing his extraction. That one appeared to be the lowest priority, and Suierrillax would be necessary to coordinate the details with Kyle. He’d already be off-planet if these bureaucraphiles would stop having meetings about meetings, she grumbled.

  The cultural difference between the highly practical Grey Conglomerate and the procedurally precise Verdant Republic was night and day. Suierrillax strongly preferred the order provided by the goblins, but times like these made her miss her home. At least Kyle was still fine. After watching his Practicum, she wasn’t confident that there was an environment out there too harsh for him to make it through. At least, so long as he didn’t do anything stupid.

  Putting her mind back to work on the challenge at hand, she considered the options available to them. The pencil pushers that she’d been dealing with were easily the most intrigued about the Kyle’s mention of a variant goblin species, and that gave her some leverage to work with. Coupling that with the possibility of bringing back some of the historical records, and she felt pretty sure that at least a few of the leaders would be interested in bringing Kyle back sooner than later.

  The real trick there would be trying to get Collective resources close enough to pick up on Kyle’s location more specifically. Once they did that, it would be a fairly simple matter to send a shuttle down for an extraction. The Courier’s Guild had resources they could deploy, of course, but with the strong probability that the Verdant Republic’s client was at fault, the Guild naturally wanted them to cover any expenditures.

  If that was the only complexity she had to navigate on Kyle’s behalf, she wouldn’t complain nearly as much. Suierrillax shifted her screen to show the other 2 messages that came in today, both from C Grade factions. And both that you should have been here to deal with, she thought. Suppressing her groan of annoyance, she looked at the first.

  Attn: Courier’s Guild, Kyle Mayhew

  Mayhew, that’s not a name I’ve heard for quite a while. I understand that you’re out on a job, just wrapped up a large build out in Pillar space myself. I’ll be back at my home shop for the foreseeable future. Not sure what the hell happened back on Earth, but we can discuss it over a drink.

  By the way, got some communication that there are other Earthlings that made it to the Collective. In case my note wasn’t clear, this is an invitation for you, and only you. I’m not about to open up a charity for any tagalongs, so don’t even think to ask. And if you make time to meet with them to hear their case before visiting, you may as well not come at all. Not looking to talk with an ambassador.

  -Marcus Kulhavey.

  While he was certainly smaller than the other group reaching out to Kyle, Marcus Kulhavey added a layer of complexity due to his ties to the Courier’s Guild. From what Suierrillax could piece together, the man was a bit of a hermit, and relied heavily on the Guild to deliver most of his custom components. Generally, if it could get built on the small red moon he called home, he didn’t handle the deliveries himself.

  While there was nothing overtly threatening in his message, Suierrillax was savvy enough to know how bent out of shape C Grades could get when they didn’t get their way. Kyle was already in for a mountain of paperwork when he got back, and it was her job to ensure that nobody got offended when he didn’t follow-up right away. Given the nature of the second message, that would be difficult.

  Mr. Mayhew,

  It has been some time, I hope you are well. My offices have been attempting to reach you about a matter of significant importance, the details of which are best discussed securely. Upon your return, I must insist that we schedule a meeting, preferably at a Corthian Mining office.

  I trust that your support staff will coordinate the details in your absence. Do not keep us waiting overlong.

  Best wishes,

  Angela Corthus

  Corthian Mining – Senior Director

  First of all, Suierrillax bristled at being called “support staff.” Was it accurate? Sure. But it was also rude to be addressed as such in a message that this Angela Corthus knew she, or someone like her, would have to review.

  While Corthian Mining didn’t do much business with the Courier’s Guild, the issue here was that they were responsible for Kyle’s backing. The details of their connection were still a little fuzzy to Suierrillax, and the last thing she wanted to do was stir up trouble. At least, trouble that would fall back on her plate. The worst-case scenario here would be Corthian Mining trying to get involved in the extraction themselves, and causing an incident. Grey Conglomerate businesses like them were known to occasionally operate outside the regulations when it came to important matters, after all.

  In both cases, she needed to offer a response. Without a clear means to communicate with Kyle, however, she had to be particularly careful. It was a difficult balance to ensure she was placating, while also remaining vague enough to avoid being pinned down with specifics. With Corthian Mining being involved with the others from Earth, an expedited meeting with them could possibly offend Kulhavey. Meeting with him first would certainly frustrate Corthian Mining. And that’s assuming that Kyle was able to unbury himself from the mountain of Verdant Republic paperwork before he died of old age.

  With a sigh, she began drafting her responses. You owe me for this, Kyle.