"I just wish you'd spoken to me about this before you agreed to accompany this..."
"Escort?" Cameron said, finishing his former servant's statement.
Marcus cleared his throat, "I was going to say young woman of prospective lascivious character, but that is also a word that could suffice, given the information you provided me."
"Always the wordsmith," Cameron said, adjusting his bowtie, before taking a step back to gaze at himself in the mirror. His attire was similar to what he'd worn at Miranda's ascension ball, the only difference being that his vest and slacks were a more muted gray than the sapphire blue from last time.
"Can you please be serious, Cameron?" Marcus asked, sighing with more exasperation than anger, "You'd figure that, as a former noble, it would be easier for you to tell when someone was trying to take you for a ride."
"That's kinda what I'm hoping for," Cameron said, turning and throwing Marcus a smirk.
"I..." Marcus began, opening his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut, eying Cameron with a twitching glare that made his frustration clear.
"You know that isn't what I mean," Marcus growled, crossing his arms, "Please be serious with me."
"Can I not for five minutes?" Cameron asked, his smile dropping slightly as he looked at Marcus. A slight look of shock took over the old man's face, followed by one of curiosity.
Cameron let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against a wall, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Just this past year, I've been exiled from home, survived a horrific surgery, started a career as a mercenary, got stabbed in the stomach, then shot with an EMP, and wound up with an A.I. inside my head. Now, because of said A.I. and my own incompetence, I've been kicked off my team, losing nearly everyone I care about that I can still see."
Cameron shook his head, laughing derisively as he sat at the edge of the bed in his and Marcus' shared suite, "It feels like my life's something out of a bad drama novel, and honestly... I'm just fucking tired. Am I aware the circumstances surrounding whatever the hell this chick is playing at is fishy as hell? Yes, but right now, it's just something to do for me. Something to take my mind off the fact that I have a Prince who wants me dead, a former mentor and friend who hates my guts, and a crippling mental deficiency that makes me as useful as a rowboat in a tidal wave. I'm not an idiot Marcus. I just don't care."
Marcus didn't respond immediately. He just looked at Cameron, a look of understanding and pity slowly forming on his face. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, he nodded, slowly approaching Cameron and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I... Understand," He said, his tone warm and lacking scorn. Cameron felt a series of emotions starting to work their way to the surface, but he forced it down. He didn't feel like opening that can of worms right now, no matter how badly he wanted to hug the man that had been his father figure for most of his life, and ask him to tell him that everything was going to be okay. Instead he settled for a soft genuine smile as Marcus continued.
"I can't say that I necessarily like it... But I can understand," He said, sighing as he took a seat next to Cameron, "I think that... maybe I've forgotten just how much you've come into your own since leaving Ketris."
Cameron chuckled, "I'm not that much different Marcus. I'm still that same whiney little asshole, just with some new hardware," He said, pointing to an uplink thread the peaked out from under the rolled sleeve of his white button down.
Marcus shook his head, "What I mean is... Through everything... you seem to have found your calling in life. As violent or chaotic as that might be, it suits you and to a greater extent, you suit it. Sure, you've been a follower in the grand scheme of everything. But better to be a follower than a bystander. I'll take the man you are now, over the man you were back home. I won't try to stop or sway you from going tonight. I just ask you to be careful is all. I know I'm not a pretty face, but I still care for you, like I've always done."
Cameron couldn't help himself. He wrapped an arm around his old servant and pulled him into a hug, "Ah c'mere you old softy!"
Marcus smiled and hugged him back. A warm embrace that took Cameron back to the days of his childhood, when he'd hurt himself and run to the one person other than his mother that he knew would always make it okay. Marcus.
"Be safe boy," Marcus said in his ear, pulling away.
"I will," Cameron said, sniffling slightly as he stood up, clearing his throat before doing a turn, "How do I look?"
"Like someone who's going to a ball simply to take up space," Marcus said, offering a smile.
"Perfect," Cameron said, smiling back, as a knock came to their door. He jogged over to open it, and found a bellhop standing there, young and bleary eyed, with a few dark wisps of hair poking out over his lip, the evidence of an attempt at growing a patch of facial hair.
"You have a visitor, Sir," The bellhop said, his voice cracking as he reported in. Cameron hid a look of amusement as the boy cleared his throat, speaking in a deeper tone that was clearly forced, "Down in the lobby."
"Was it a woman?" Cameron asked.
"Yes, Sir," The bellhop said, "She's..."
"Hot?" Cameron said, cutting the boy off, "Dark skinned, covered in jewelry, probably wearing something too tight and revealing to take home and meet the folks?"
"Y-Yes, exactly," The boy said, blushing as he made his confirmation.
Cameron grinned, turning back to Marcus, "Don't wait up."
***
Upon entering the lobby and setting his sights on Priya, Cameron was thankful he'd gotten a good look back at the nightclub. Otherwise his jaw would have gone through the floor.
She stood in the center of the lobby, dressed in a tight white satin dress that clung to her body like a second skin, highlighting every curve and valley, cut just below the knee. A slit was cut into the side the seemed to go on forever, stopping just below her waistline, giving an ample peek at her toned thighs. Her puffer jacket was replaced by a mink fur, still cut off at the midriff reinforcing the idea this was all about aesthetics over function for her. The pearl chain that once hung from her ear to her nose had been replaced by a simple gold stud on the right nostril, and when she saw him and started to make her way to him, she did so on a pair of three inch black stiletto heels, their clacking echoing through the room as she emphasized swaying her hips with every step.
Cameron felt breathless as he watched her, that same confident smirk on her face that had been there when they'd first met, her cinnamon colored eyes gazing into his own as she batter long lashes, seeming to know exactly what was on his mind; She was hot and everyone knew it, including her.
"Nice of you to clean up," She cooed, flashing a grin of bright white teeth as she came closer.
Cameron swallowed, shaking his head to clear it as he tried to think of something witty to say, and failing to come up with anything, settled for simple flattery, "Holy shit, you're gorgeous."
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"I know," She said with a wink, "You're not looking so bad yourself. I dig the 'off-duty' servant look you got going on right now. Does that constitute 'Noble' attire where you come from?"
Cameron looked down at his attire, then back at her and shrugged, "Nicest things I had on hand at such short notice. If I'd known just how swanky this thing was, I'd have sprang for something a bit more posh."
She laughed, the sound of tinkling bells pleasant to Cameron's ears, "I'm just teasing you Cam, you look great. I'll take this over a suit and tie any day. You ready to go?"
Cameron nodded, taking a step towards her, and motioning for her to lead the way. She nodded and obliged, as he spoke up, "Just how far away is this thing?"
"A ways..." She said, "But I'm not really a fan of walking... so I figured we'd take this..."
She opened the door leading from the hotel, and parked on the corner of the slow moving sidewalks that constituted the streets that made up Arsius Station, a glossy black carriage sat, angular and sleek in design, while long enough it could probably seat ten in the back comfortably. hovering over the open air, over the middle of the road. A man dressed as a driver stood at the rear door, smiling and opening it as they approached.
"A hover-carriage?" Cameron asked, sounding impressed.
She giggled in response, "It's just simply called a Hovercab here, you bumpkin."
She climbed into the rear seat, motioning for Cameron to follow. As he did, he realized his early assessment was correct. The back of the cab was huge. Two plush couches were built into either side, with a third situated at the far back wall. Priya chose the latter as a suitable place to plant herself, and patted the empty space next to her, inclining Cameron to sit down.
"I didn't think they had these things here," He said, looking around the spacious interior as the door was closed behind him, "I mean, I didn't think Arsius was big enough for this kind of thing."
She smiled at him, amusement evident on her face, "Arsius is bigger than you think, sweetie," she said, reaching underneath the seat and pressing a button. After a moment, a platform started to rise from the floor, and open from the top, revealing a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She poured the alcohol, handing Cameron a glass as she continued.
"There's more to this place than just the massive mall of shops, restaurants, and hotels you'll find in the main section. They've built into both the upper and lower spires of the asteroid itself. It goes on for miles."
"Really?" Cameron asked, taking a sip of champagne, "What's in those places?"
"Mostly residential areas," She said with a shrug, sipping from her own glass, "Anything from GAC owners, embassy officials from both sides, high tier pilots, you name it. Rule of thumb is, the lower or higher you go, the more important the person who lives there."
"I see," Cameron said with a nod, "And just... how far are we going for Fletcher Kahl?"
She smirked, then turned, speaking loudly so the driver could hear her through the privacy screen.
"Lukas, take us to the Styx,"
"Right away ma'am," The driver called back over the intercom as Priya turned to Cameron, "That's the third lowest level in the station. There's only five buildings on it and only one of them is residential, being Fletcher's if that gives you any insight."
Cameron whistled, impressed, "What did you say he does again?"
"He's an... organizer of sorts." She said, taking a moment to choose her words, "Used to be a pilot like you back in the day before getting wrapped up in local politics. Now, he's more interested in everything that has to do with piloting, than being an actual pilot."
"Okay..." Cameron said, nodding along, "But what exactly does that entail?"
She shrugged, reaching down with her fingers to trace circles along his thigh absentmindedly as she spoke, "Parties mostly. Like this one. People come from systems away to schmooze, mingle, take and place bets. He also organizes events for said bets and arbitrates for them. His way of still staying in the life I suppose."
"Events like what?" He asked.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "By the stars Cam are you serious right now? You're in a blacked out hovercab soaring through the Station, sipping on high dollar champagne, with a beautiful woman whose clothes are practically painted on, and the only way you can think of to pass the time is to ask questions about some guy?"
Cameron blushed sheepishly, offering a smile, "What can I say? Pretty girls make me nervous. When I'm nervous I guess I like to talk."
She smirked, leaning in close to him as she whispered, "I think you talk too much. So I'm going to help you fix that."
***
A half an hour later, the hovercab reached its destination, descending onto a manicured lawn of artificial grass, before slowly guiding itself under the pillared awning of an impressive estate. High quality marbled walls, buffed to a glossy sheen glinted in the illumination of a series of exterior lighting that ran the length of the expansive front yard. A gate and fence of wrought iron surrounded the perimeter, disappearing out into the inky blackness that permeated the surrounding environment. Lights glowed warmly through the many windows of all three floors of the mansion, as the sounds of muffled celebration could be heard even through the massive oaken slabs that function as it's entrance.
Lukas, the driver quickly exited, from his seat, running over to the passenger door and opening it as Cameron stumbled out, nearly falling to the ground before he could catch his bearings. The time spent with Priya 'helping' him get over his anxiety, left his face red and hot, his ears ringing, and his brain so fogged he couldn't rightly recall his own name, but even still, with all his faculties seemingly in a daze, he was still left in awe of the sheer opulence of Fletcher Kahl's place.
"Woah..." he said, taking it all in, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that something like this existed inside a place like Arsius Station.
"It's nice isn't it?" Priya called, stepping out of the hovercab with the grace of a dancer. She pulled at the hem of her dress, getting it back into its original position, before pulling a makeup compact out from a handbag to check her lipstick.
"I'll say..." He said, "Reminds me of back home in a way. Hell, it looks like one of my cousins' places."
"Your cousin must have quite a bit of money," She said, walking up to him from behind and looping an arm into the crook of his elbow.
Cameron looked at her, smiling like an idiot as he shrugged, "Something like that yeah."
She smirked, and studied his face for a minute, before licking her thumb and rubbing a smudge of lipstick off of his neck, "I'm starting to think you're more trouble than you're worth."
He laughed, shaking his head, "You picked me, remember?"
She nodded, "I did indeed, and now I get to live with the consequences of my actions. I trust I don't need to go over etiquette or anything with you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
When he shook his head, she nodded, taking a step forward, pulling him with her, "Good, cause there are a couple of other rules I feel like I need to mention before we go in."
"You're only mentioning this now?!" He asked incredulously.
She smirked, winking as she responded in a sing-song voice, "We were a little busy, remember?"
When Cameron blushed and didn't say anything, she laughed, "Okay, so," she began.
"Rule number one, if anyone asks, and they will... You're a Gamma Class."
"But I'm an Alpha,"
"Not here," She said, shaking her head. "Alpha's and Beta's don't even know this place exists. The people in charge like it that way. If a bunch of Alpha's and Beta's found out about the spires, there'd be a brothel and bar on every corner. They like pilots here, just not new pilots."
"Won't they be able to tell?"
Again she shook her head, "It's not like they have a registry on hand to confirm what your saying. Besides, Sigma classes do the same thing here. No one likes to outright admit what they're working with or just how much weight they can throw around, so they settle for the lowest rank and call it that."
"I take it Omega's do the same thing?"
She sucked her teeth, groaning slightly, "Omega's don't get that luxury. Trust me."
"Okay..." Cameron said, "Any other rules?"
"Rule two," She said, "Unless you're explicitly here to do business, which you aren't, don't ask what anyone's positions are or what they do. Same reason as number one, but now it's for the nonpilot people."
"For privacy," Cameron said.
Priya nodded, "Exactly. You hang around long enough, you know who you're here to see and who you're not here to see. Everyone knows everybody, so the quickest way to let people know you don't belong is to start asking questions."
"Is there a rule three?" He asked, looking over at her as she reached out for an ornate golden knob.
"Of course," She said, looking back at him with a small smirk, "When in doubt, just stand there and look pretty. You're good at it."
Without another word, she threw the doors open, blinding Cameron with the bright lights of the interior gateway. Still, even with his vision distorted, and brain still trying to process everything she was telling him, he trusted his other senses enough to pick out some standout noises that rose above the din of clinking glasses and bullshit diplomacy. Primarily, the high pitched whir of boost jets firing, and the clanging of clashing steel.
A new isekai progression fantasy with compelling characters, magical beasts, dungeons, politics and fighting. Lots of fighting.
"Racing to save Alina from forces that wanted her dead and him just as much, and armed with an artifact that would as likely kill him as his enemies, Tyler needs to become the hero he never could be on Earth."
- A high level of polish to the writing (I hope!)
- A thinking MC with character progression (the psychological kind as well as in numbers)
- A large supporting cast, some more important than others but none more important than the MC
- Slower character moments and world-building
- Political Intrigue and Empire Wars
- Demons, Dragons and everything Fantasy
- There are numbers, stats and a system design (lots of inspiration from WoW) but they won't be the primary focus. They'll be there but it's more about the characters and the world and the evolution within.
- Graphic violence, the odd expletive and tactful nudity (both male and female) but I don't plan on writing that graphically, so there will be minimal description, if even that (I'd much rather leave it implied).
- Harem.
- Side characters and women only there to worship the MC.
- It won't all just be "numbers go up, let's kill things, MC is the best'