Waterstrider

5th District, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Thirdmonth, 1634 PTS

The man who had referred to himself as Nahalken smiled as I sat across from him. I had considered running, but the firearms held by what seemed to be his guards convinced me otherwise. When I was at my best, I was able to sometimes dodge bullets, but at the moment I was far from my best.

I sighed, leaning back onto my seat in what I hoped would come across as a confident and relaxed motion. My head still blared with pain while my body was burning with exhaustion. More than anything else I simply wished to sleep.

“What is it that you’re wanting from me? Also, how did you find this place?” I asked. I assumed that he knew who I was, so similarly. I didn’t bother asking who he was. That would make it far too clear that he had far more information than I did. Ideally, I did not want him to control the flow of conversation.

Nahalken smirked at me, choosing to answer. His body language implied total comfort and relaxation, his guard down completely. He seemed to be wholly confident in his own safety. Did he know about my current condition, or was he simply confident that his guards would protect him if I decided to attack? I could not tell.

“Your… should I call him your housemate?”

Nahalken snickered as he said the word. He was speaking in fluent seiyin, though he had a thick Staiven accent.

“That man seems to really hate you. He decided to tell us about your presence here using a secret message and sneak off, though that hasn’t turned out well for him. When I found out where you lived I decided to pay a small house visit.”

If he had been a Seiyal, I imagined that Nahalken would have been punctuating his words with sips of tea.

“What do you mean ‘had not turned out well for him,” I asked, curious about Hestky’s fate.

If what Nahalken said was true then he had betrayed me and Rachel. Had he been a compatriot of ours I would have been angry at him for it, but I did have to admit that our treatment of the man had certainly been an abuse of hospitality.

Nahalken shrugged.

“He’s been detained. His fate will depend on the will of the Pantheon and the outcome of our conversation here.”

I noted the way that he mentioned the Pantheon. He said the word in a slightly reverent manner. Was he religious?

“I see,” I replied.

His words made it clear that he really did want to come to some sort of agreement with me, rather than kill me. This was good, it gave me the way out I had been hoping for.

In addition, I found the fact that he had yet to mention Rachel surprising. She still hadn’t spoken, presumably wary of being noticed by the profound senses of the Staiven in the room.

“That said, I imagine you wish me to get to the point. From what I’ve heard, contrary to the nature of your abilities you tend to be a rather direct man.”

I sat still as I listened to him speak, waiting to understand what he was wanting from me.

“I am the head of the Venin group, the one who, had you forgotten, you robbed the other day.”

I had expected as much. There wasn’t really any other powerful group of Staiven who would be particularly interested in me, unless the Drelistai had wanted to contract my help for some reason.

“I see. Are you looking for an apology?” I asked.

Nahalken waved the idea away.

“No need. I was quite angry about it, but it’s in the past. Knowing the Seiyal, you would have given it to a poisoner already. Our operations have already been leaked, so my focus is more on hiding the fact that it was us doing the research than in reclaiming it. I have something else to discuss with you.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

If it wasn’t about the poison, then what could it possibly… My mind flashed back to the image of the guard bleeding from his skin and eyes while rapturous with awe and wonder. Could it be that-

Nahalken smiled, a cruel expression that stopped my train of thought. His eyes looked to the side of me, though I wasn’t sure what he was quite looking at. His next words hammered into me, nearly causing me to make a mistake in my cycling. I managed to correct the error before it messed up the tight balance in my meridians.

“I’d like to speak to you as well. Rachel, was it? An odd name. Fitting for a Shade.”

With a hiss, Rachel’s projection appeared beside me. I looked over to her in surprise. Had she really admitted her own existence so easily? As I did, I realized that she was even using her normal appearance, the one she called ‘human’. She caught my gaze and shrugged, a resigned expression on her face.

“I just looked through Hestky’s outgoing messages, and I can tell you that Nahalken already knows everything that he did.”

I caught her insinuation. She would be willing to reveal only things that Nahalken already knew, in order to better hide the secrets that we had kept from Hestky. I could work with that.

Nahalken looked amazed by Rachel’s sudden appearance.

“Incredible. I can barely even sense you. This is a control of extant miasma that far eclipses that of our own people. Would you be willing to sell some of this technology to us?”

His greed had suddenly become palpable. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him.

“Willing to deal with a Shade, are you? I had been under the impression from reports that you were very religious, Nahalken.”

The Staiven smiled at her, still clearly excited by the potential for earning wealth. He shook his head.

“Oh, I’m quite religious. My faith and loyalty for Lady Fulstovis are immutable. However, I know that her wishes and those of the government aren’t always aligned you see.”

He leaned forward, clasping his palms together.

“You see,” he continued, “the only reason that Shades are to be slain is because of the government’s deal with the Sheneth-Ari. The Pantheon does not feel near as threatened by you as the Osine do. In secret, we can be quite amenable to deals, such as the one we have with Anteky, for example.”

Rachel nodded thoughtfully at that, though I did not recognize the name. I knew little of the relations between the Pantheonic Government and the other galactic powers. The Seiyal were simply too young as a race, not advanced enough to be privy to galactic politics beyond our small region.

“So,” she asked, “did you merely wish to purchase my hologram technology, or was there something else?”

Nahalken’s smile froze for a moment before returning. He sighed and laughed a little.

“It seems I can’t hide it. Fine, then. Yes, there was something I found quite interesting. When raiding our facility, either you or Mister Yu caused one of our guards to… let’s say… collapse. I expect you know the cause of this.”

I had expected this. Rachel had refused to tell me exactly what had happened to the man, pushing it off for later. She went silent after hearing Nahalken, and I could tell she was doing a lot of thinking. Every time she thought intensely, her image froze in place for a few moments.

“You want to know the uniqueness of red-eye Staiven?” she asked, finally.

“I know a bit more than that,” said Nahalken. “The uniqueness is not of Staiven, it is of Sanguine miasma itself. Certain humanoids such as the Seiyal have their own unique relations to it as well, I understand.” he took a glance at my forehead as he spoke.

Ah, I thought. So he was aware. It was always hard for me to understand just what it was that the unique senses of the Staiven could and could not detect. It was some sort of ethereal attribute of miasma or reality itself that their senses picked up on. They generally refused to explain the details to outsiders.

“We have been trying to understand it for generations,” he continued. “I and my faction could certainly make it worth your while, were you to assist us. We have a…nother facility in this region, one which explores this topic.”

“...it is not my place to tell,” replied Rachel, firmly.

Nahalken pursed his lips.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She frowned, freezing again as she considered something again.

“There is something I can tell you. The Pantheon is aware of this, and they have chosen not to inform your people. There is a reason for that. The information can be dangerous for those of a certain stage of existence.”

Nahalken pursed his lips again. I could see his fists clench slightly.

“So you’re saying we don’t qualify to know because we’re mortals?” he asked.

Rachel nodded.

“The politics of gods and spirits are not a world I recommend involving yourself in if you wish to live a long life.”

“Fine, then,” he said, clearly still annoyed by her dismissal, but still choosing to maintain civility. I could tell it was hard for him. His skin was bulging from the pressure his hydraulic paths were placing on it as he squeezed his fists.

“Let us put aside for now the discussion of sanguine miasma, he continued, “but you’ll have to give me something. You have stolen from me, and my religion does not allow me to take losses if I can avoid them. I require something of equal or higher value. While you can escape,” he said, motioning to Rachel, “our recovering martial artist might not be so capable. Not in his current state, at least. I can pay you for it, but we will be making a deal, I think.”

He raised a hand and all of the guards shifted their grip on their rifles, causing an intimidating metallic click to resound through the room. It was clearly a trained maneuver.

He wasn’t wrong, though. My headache had only continued to grow in intensity during the conversation, and there was no chance that I could fight my way out. As I considered my all-too-small list of possibilities, something came to mind. I spoke up to the two of them.

“I have a suggestion. What interest does the Venin Group have in expanding their business model?”

Verain: [The Pantheonic Goddess of War, Verain has always held a status that shifts in importance according to the needs of Staiven culture at the time. While the Staiven aren't any more warlike than the average race, they have had plenty of very impactful wars. Verain is also often depicted as the goddess of conflict and competition in general, so she does have followers outside of military and mercenary groups, though in the corporate world her worship tends to be less popular than that of Fulstovis and Estrivai. Her church essentially controls the entirety of the Pantheonic Government's military, so she has a large influence on Staiven politics, more so than many of her fellow members of the Pantheon. She is often associated with the sanguine miasma, and it is said the reason that red-eyed staiven die young is because in war, everyone dies young. Despite this being a saying, there are very few who actually believe it in the modern era, and her adherents tend to separate her from the health difficulties of red-eyed Staiven as much as possible, to protect her image.]