Waterstrider

Little Celah, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS

“Shit! Shit, shit shit!” said Rachel, her sudden curses surprising me as they rang into my ears.

We were making our way up the second set of stairs, moving closer towards the location she claimed held Vice-Leader Deuvar’s office.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

She sighed in response.

“It’s not necessarily a large issue, per se, but a situation has developed far faster than we anticipated.”

I paused mid-step, taken aback by her dour mood. Around me, the other martial artists froze in their tracks as well. They knew not to leave their sect leader behind.

“What happened?”

“The Hadal Clan attacked our headquarters. It seems they intend to slaughter the disciples and support staff.”

Hearing this, my own mood took an immediate downturn, the present circumstances having totally faded from my mind.

“How many of them are there?” I asked, my voice strained with concern. If my disciples were killed, I knew that I would try and tear the culprit’s throat out with my bare hands. Without skipping a beat, Rachel provided more information.

“Twelve core formation practitioners, one spirit refiner. About thirty meridian establishment practitioners. They blasted the walls with explosives, and have been killing the disciples.”

Hearing her, I frowned, most of the tension leaving my body.

“I'm not sure I see the problem,” I said.

There was a pause, and from her silence I got the sense that Rachel was frowning back at me. It was hard to tell whether I was just blindly attributing emotions to her action, or whether she actually felt that way. I sort of wished she would manifest her apparition so I could see.

“I wouldn't call that part a problem, or at least not one worth dealing with yourself. I could take you back to assist, but obviously that would be a waste of time. It’s already being dealt with, after all.”

"As expected," I said, nodding at her words. While I certainly wasn’t happy about the matter, I knew it would be resolved quickly enough. We had not, and would not have left our headquarters undefended, after all. The most dangerous aspect of this event was the exposure of one of our secrets. With so few Hadal clan members involved, I trusted that they would be stopped before too many of the sect’s disciples were killed or wounded.

“The problem,” she continued, “is that Juen Hadal is the one leading them.”

Hearing this, I finally understood the issue. I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose as I further considered the matter.

It would normally be possible for us to make reparations with the clan, after killing the members of a force sent to attack us. In fact, given the clan’s current situation, if the attack failed, they would likely just pretend they were sent from another force and merely masquerading as the clan’s practitioners in an attempt to frame them. While this would be an obvious falsehood, it would allow us to preserve our image by killing all attackers, and the both of us to avoid exacerbating the conflict. This was the case if we were to kill almost any specific clan member.

But Juen Hadal was different.

Not only was he a main family member, he was also one of the most popular candidates for the heir selection. If he were to be killed, the clan would have no choice but to annihilate us. With his inclusion, the situation became far more complicated.

“He should still be injured, right?” I asked.

“I’m watching the feed and that seems to be the case. He’s not moving as quickly as he’s been shown to, and his attacks are sixteen percent weaker than normal.”

“Good,” I said. “See if they can capture him alive. No permanent injury or crippling.”

“I’ll tell them they can cripple him if absolutely necessary. I imagine it should be fine.”

“That will work. We do have a few more questions, though. Why didn’t we know about this? Is this the matriarch’s intention, or has one of the factions made a move behind her back?” I asked.

“I’m honestly not sure,” she replied. “I don’t believe Wei was aware of it, at the very least. Neither Eli nor I heard anything about it, so clearly they kept a tight lid on the plan. I noticed they were moving forces in from out of district, but I had thought that was to better defend from the Celans.”

I nodded in agreement. Based on my understanding of the man, Wei Hadal was many things, but that sort of schemer was not one of them.

“I think we should act as if it’s just one of the factions acting out of line.”

“The Ceirrans, probably,” mused Rachel.

I nodded, finding her words likely. Only one of the clan’s more powerful factions could have convinced a man like Juen to do their dirty work, and the merchants were enemies with the man. In addition, the Ceirrans also had a clear motive.

After they learned what we were hiding, I mused, they would probably become even more intent on our destruction.

“Let’s continue with the mission for now,” I said. “I expect we can trust the Matriarch to uphold her end of the deal, provided we return Juen to them. If need be we can still back out. But inform Jihan of the matter. It would be better if he was aware.”

“I’ll do so. The office is right ahead, so you should probably continue anyway.”

I nodded in agreement, and continued to walk up the stairwell’s wide steps. The rest of the practitioners surrounding me had heard all of my words, but not even Orion bothered to ask for their context. I didn’t mind if they knew, but there was also no reason to tell them, so I didn’t bother. They would find out later, upon our return. Those who remained uninjured by the time we got back might even be roped into the casualty reports and reconstruction.

Finally reaching the top of the stairwell, I found myself in another lengthy hallway. It extended outwards for quite a ways, and I could see an exit down its length. According to Rachel, Deuvar had chosen his office solely based upon the convenience of its location. It was located just far enough away from the entrance to avoid the bustle, but close enough that it was within visual range. I could hear heavy gunfire in the distance, muffled by the hatch sealing the entrance off from the battle raging outside. It seemed that some of the mercenary force was fighting right outside of this area.

With Rachel’s assistance, the hatch silently slid into the ceiling upon my cautious approach, revealing a small, spartan room that felt more like a closet than the office of one of the most notorious and powerful gangsters on the station.

“Is this really…” I asked.

“It is. There were many comments about it in the emails I read through. That was how I was able to find it so easily.”

“I see.”

The room had nothing but a pair of chairs and an old, metal desk with a worn ceramic surface. It was cluttered with glyph slates, more than five of the things, strewn around on the surface as if they had been discarded there.

I had barely stepped into the room when one of the slates flickered, and a holographic figure appeared, an insectoid face appearing above its surface. The figure was clearly that of a Korlove, but small gaps in its chitinous plates let out tufts of odd, hairlike gray strands. It was the oldest member of the race that I had ever seen, but there was a definite spark in his eyes that told me his mental faculties remained fully intact.

“So you were the one to arrive, Riverfiend,” said the figure. "This is good. I have a matter I wish the two of us to discuss."

I took another cautious step forward, not sure what to make of this situation. Who was this strange Korlove? A ranking member of the Heirs? If so, why had I not seen him in any of the information I knew of? Or was this a ploy by some other faction?

“I’m afraid you have me at a loss,” I replied.

The Korlove chuckled, his throat emanating a high-pitched chuffing wheeze that sounded painful to me.

“They call me the Leader,” he said. “I felt it might be best if we found a time to speak. Would you mind letting your men out so we can talk in private?”

My eyes narrowed as I heard his words. The Leader of the Heirs of Ottrien- that mysterious figure whose identity was said to be one of the best kept secrets the organization even had, was showing his face to me. I couldn’t help but feel that even if this was the Leader I was speaking with, he must still be using some sort of disguise, or had some other ploy. Nothing was ever simple with Celans. I considered his request.

“They have internal sensors in their vents,” said Rachel suddenly. “I’m not detecting much radiation, nor traces of explosive powder. I don’t believe there are explosives inside.”

Hearing this, I felt I could spare the time to speak with one of my greatest rivals. I waved Orion back, and despite a wary look, he backed out of the room with the others.

“Search the area, but don’t move too far away,” I told him. "Make sure not to fight with the mercenaries, if they break in."

Orion nodded, and began issuing orders. Not long after he left, the hatch slowly slid closed as I sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk.

“Assuming you are who you claim to be, I’ve heard quite a bit about you,” I said.

The Leader shifted his mouthparts in what I felt must be the Korlove approximation of a smile. Once again I couldn’t help but question their designation as a humanoid species.

“I’ve heard plenty myself. Your actions today say much about your character.”

I raised an eyebrow, and he explained. I sensed his sneer more by his general attitude than by the specific expression.

“You continued your mission, despite the fact that your allies have betrayed you. How commendable of you.”

I smiled at this.

“I consider myself a man of honor.”

In my ears, I heard Rachel snort quietly, as if I had made a jest. I supposed I couldn’t blame her, given that it was an outright lie.

“I’m sure you do,” said the Leader. “Let’s say that’s why I wish to come to an accord with you. The two of you, that is.”

“Oh?” I asked. His assumption of Rachel's presence did not surprise me, though it did strengthen my belief that he was telling the truth about his identity.

He shrugged, a motion that was somewhat disturbing to watch when that many shoulders performed it at once.

“Don’t you feel that the Ceirrans have gone too far?” he said.

“You’re claiming it was them?”

He chuckled at me.

“You would be deluded to believe otherwise. But what if I told you I knew the location of their grand temple?”

“You wish for me to ruin the relations between myself and the Hadal Clan,” I said.

The Leader smiled again, a dark look in his eyes.

“I’m just giving you an opportunity,” he said.

This time I was the one who smiled.

“I would be interested in hearing more.”

His mandibles spread apart, revealing what seemed like a disturbingly humanoid-looking set of teeth as he gave me quite a broad grin. Somehow, for just a moment, the expression reminded me of Rachel.

Ceirran Worship: [Among Ceirrans, worship is a simple matter. Followers are encouraged to pray at the altar, and it is said that working on one’s martial progression within the temple will improve one’s talent and increase the odds of success through the goddess’s divine favor. For this reason, there are few organized services, merely a few priests who answer questions from the followers and teach them the principles of the Ceirran faith. Devotees are merely expected to live out the precepts of the religion in their daily lives. With the exception of Tovus, aliens are forbidden from entrance into Ceirran temples, and both worshippers of other gods and practitioners of the unorthodox path are similarly banned from the premises. In the Pantheonic Territory, as the Ceirran faith is limited in how it can publicly advertise itself, many temples can be relatively hidden, their locations known only to a select few, and some worshippers are forced to make do with personal shrines placed inside of their houses. Despite this, certain symbols, such as the white sun, indicate their locations to those who are in the know, a beacon for far-travelling Ceirrans.]