Suierrillax sighed, reading over yet another report.  Her new Courier, a goblin with a standard Ranger class named Thibault, had completed another exciting job.  He successfully managed to navigate the teleportation systems at the Hub to drop off some documents, and got paid nearly a thousand credits for his hard work.  So, as had become his habit, Thibault decided to take the rest of the week off until he burned those credits and had to come back for more.

For many Couriers, this was standard life.  They fought to earn an opportunity for a somewhat relaxed living, only signing up for complex or dangerous jobs once in a blue moon.  She thought back to Kyle, a pang of sadness in her chest.  She’d always known that death was a real possibility, and her little Courier threw himself right into the heart of danger with little regard for his own well-being.  He was foolhardy; reckless bordering on irresponsible.  He’d been in the eye of the storm more than a few times, and created mountains of administrative work for her.  Oh, how she missed him.

A message pinged on her nav bracelet, from Thibault.

Hey Suierry,

Got a few extra credits, want to go grab a drink?  We could come back to my place after…

-T.

Suierrillax rolled her eyes, dismissing the message.  Yet another thing that Kyle did better than the obnoxious goblin she was working with now.  After thinking about Kyle again, she definitely needed a drink, though she wanted better company.  She sent a message to D’Oillelat, the goblin queen she’d come to know after Kyle’s work on Er’Mithren.  They’d grown close after Kyle’s death, with her helping the queen navigate Collective politics, while the goblin shared stories of the alien world she came from.  From the sound of things, she’d be heading back to Er’Mithren soon, and Suierrillax would genuinely miss her.

Another message came through her nav bracelet, and she was about to tell Thibault exactly where he could go get his drink, when she froze.

Suierrillax,

Your role as Thibault’s Guild Liason has been terminated, effective immediately.  On behalf of the Courier’s Guild, we thank you for your work.  Please stand by for reassignment.

Sincerely,

Courier’s Guild Headquarters

She looked at the message, dumbstruck.  What did I do wrong?  Suierrillax thought to herself, poring over their interactions in her mind.  She’d been brusque in her rejections of Thibault’s advances, but he was the one being unprofessional, not her.  Suierrillax swore, pounding her fist on the desk ineffectually.  As she wracked her brain over her next steps, a voice piped up behind her, causing her to jump.

“I didn’t think you’d get so worked up about losing an assignment.  Thibault’s career isn’t going anywhere.”

She whipped around to see a diminutive form floating behind her.  Jarberry was well-dressed as always, his dark suit complementing his purple skin, and small horns practically shining in the office’s light.  Of course, the ensemble wasn’t complete without the broad smile covering his face.

“And how am I supposed to react to finding out I’ve been fired?”  Suierrillax shot back.  “Also, I haven’t seen you in nearly two years, and now you come back just to mock me?  This better be coming with a job offer, or so help me-“

“Kyle is alive,” Jarberry interrupted, stopping her tirade before it could get started.

“What?” she managed, feeling as though she’d been struck a physical blow.

“Mayhew is alive, Suierrillax.  And, unless I miss my guess, he’s going to be in the middle of a mess here soon.”

“How did you…” she trailed off, working through the complex knot of emotions.  She was simultaneously relieved, annoyed, and angry.  Angry that Kyle hadn’t contacted her, angry that Corthian Mining just left him to die, and angry at herself for not trusting that he could pull through.

Jarberry waved a dismissive hand.  “I put out alerts for any messages sent regarding Kyle or C.H.A.D.D.  One of them flagged on its way to the Guild, and I intercepted it, got you fired, and then came straight here.”

That, for some reason, snapped Suierrillax out of her disbelief for a moment.  “Wait, you got me fired?”

“Thibault is the worst!” Jarberry exclaimed.  “He doesn’t even need a Guild Liaison if he keeps doing what he’s doing now.  Besides, I just showed up with a better job offer.”

That was a sentiment Suierrillax could agree with.  So, she turned her mind to business.  “Where is he?  Can we go see him?”

“That’s the complicated part,” Jarberry said.  “It’ll be a while until he gets back, and if we don’t handle it right, he’ll be in trouble when he does.  Say, do you still keep in touch with that goblin queen?”

“I do,” Suierrillax confirmed.  “Why?”

“Because things are going to get messy pretty quickly, and I think we’re going to need her help.”

~~~

Marcus Kulhavey was entirely focused on his tablet, guiding the fabrication process of his new mass-produced drone defense systems.  One unfortunate bug that had gotten through their programming was that they’d entirely stopped trying to break through any defensive skills with smaller attacks, the AI’s logic simply assuming that nothing would get through.  Serves me right for training it against a damned cockroach.

The thought of Kyle brought him a pang of sadness, which he tried to push down.  Tried, and failed.  Distracted from his work, he paused the fabrication and made his way to the saloon, where a glass of whiskey was already waiting for him.  He downed it in a single gulp, relishing the burn on the way down.  Even though he couldn’t get drunk from normal means anymore, some of the implants he’d given himself could help replicate the effect.  And he needed it.

Should’ve been firmer with the damn kid.  Told him not to be so foolhardy; not to rush to his death.  Now he’s gone, just like the rest.

Marcus was snapped from his distraction by a message popping up on both his nav bracelet and tablet.  He dismissed them, and frowned as he doubled checked that his settings were on “do not disturb.”  Turning back to his drink, he hadn’t even had the opportunity to pick it up before another message came through.  He froze, then, turning off the intoxication modulator.  As clarity returned to his mind, he saw the messages, filtered through by an old rule he set up a lifetime ago.

A member of the Courier’s Guild thought dead in the disaster of Kertan Six has been found alive but grievously injured.  Records show this is the second time this unfortunate soul managed to survive an event like this, with their home planet Earth, a non-Collective world, having been destroyed in a riftwyrm attack.  More developments will be shared as they come available, but one question remains: did Corthian Mining know they had surviving contractors when the ordered the purification?  And what will this mean for the other refugees of Earth?

The rest of the news alert was speculation from various legal analysts, and Marcus ignored it, focusing on the headline.  Kyle was alive.  Alive!  He really is a cockroach, Marcus thought with a smile.  His elation at the news was dampened somewhat by the other piece of the headline.  He had a rule set up to notify him if Kyle Mayhew was mentioned in any articles, bypassing his “do not disturb,” but the Courier wasn’t mentioned by name at all.

No, the rule that triggered was one set up when he’d first settled into the Collective nearly two centuries ago.  A rule to notify him if Earth was specifically mentioned.  A rule that he set up for all of the other Originators before they went their separate ways.  Surely they have other things to keep their attention, Marcus thought, looking at his scarred hands.  The last thing he or anybody else wanted would be for those bastards to come back.

With a grunt, he stood up, opening up dozens of floating screens from his tablet.  Somebody needed to get the kid off that rock, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to count on the Gray Conglomerate to figure it out.  You owe me for this, he thought to himself, the corners of his mouth lifting at the lie.  He was going to bring Kyle home.

~~~

Kyle activated Repel, pushing his focus to the extreme.  The blast of force ripped out from his right hand… and entirely missed the pogrit he was aiming at.

[I DO NOT MEAN TO QUESTION YOUR METHODS, DR. MAYHEW, BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE A SOMEWHAT FOOLISH USE OF YOUR MANA.]

Kyle felt a grumbling agreement from Phaegos in his center, and admonished both of them.  “We don’t have much longer until we get picked up, and who knows how long it’ll be until I actually get a chance to practice this again.”

[YOU HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED A PROOF OF CONCEPT,] C.H.A.D.D. argued.

“And now I’m refining it,” Kyle countered, leaving no room for argument.  He’d theorized all the way back in D Grade that he might be able to curve the trajectory of his Repel skill, but at the time lacked the control to make much progress.  His focus had been controlling the points of origin and the overall mana output instead.  Now, thanks to his newly-minted C Grade status, he wanted to keep developing the skill further.  After all, it was the candidate for his next upgrade at Level 25.

His response seemed to mollify C.H.A.D.D. somewhat, though Phaegos was still grumbling.  “Look, when things settle a bit, we’ll go collect some new seeds, and find some interesting prey to hunt.”

[AND WHEN EXACTLY WILL WE HAVE TIME FOR THAT, DR. MAYHEW?  IF YOUR OTHER PLANS COME TOGETHER, WE WILL BE BUSY FOR QUITE A LONG TIME.]

Kyle sighed, running his hand through his hair.  “You both know this planet is offering an opportunity.  We’d be foolish not to at least try to take advantage of it.  And either way, don’t think that I’ve lost sight of our progress.”

One lesson Kyle had learned back on Earth and in the Collective was that there was no substitute for power.  And he’d need it in spades.

~~~

“And you’re certain you can handle this, Ger’Sinh?”

The voice rumbled through the darkness of the cave, but Ger’Sinh wasn’t bothered.  He’d only had limited interactions with his patron of late; his assignments having been largely relegated to low-tier assassinations and raids.  That didn’t mean he’d been idle, however.  Since his defeat at the hands of the brat, he’d also been hunting.  He now stood at the peak of D Grade, and was ready for a little payback.

“I am certain, my lord.  The rumor is that he’s acquired a World Tree Seed, and our source indicated that his second class in C Grade is related to nature magic; hardly a boost to his combat power.  I’ve hunted plenty of early C Grades, and if you can get me to him, he will be the prey that brings me to C Grade myself.”

There was a long pause before the voice resounded in the cavern once more.  “Very well.  This is a risk we are willing to take.  Secure his body, and return.  And if you fail, I expect you to die.  You know too much to risk capture.”

Ger’Sinh felt a shiver run down his spine, but he nodded his understanding to the empty cavern.  Ever since his failure to secure a simple egg years ago, he’d been left out in the cold.  His crusade against the corrupt dragons had been halted, his usefulness dwindling by the day.  From one of his patron’s most powerful D Grade tools to a thought left behind.  Even as he began to hunt C Grades to prove his worth, he was treated only a little better.

No, for Ger’Sinh, this would be the most important juncture of his life.  He would kill the fool who had caused his fall from grace, or his path would end here.  Looking at the equipment he’d been slowly refining, he couldn’t help but smile.  Even if the boy was in C Grade, Ger’Sinh had no intentions of dying to a crippled Kyle Mayhew.