The goblins posed no real danger to the Syndicate crew. They were regularly tasked with subduing dungeons and taking their cores. A tribe of goblins, no matter how large, was an inconsequential threat. Wave after wave of the creatures swarmed out of their warrens and tried to overrun the Syndicate camp only to be met with mass area of effect weapons that killed the goblins before they could even get close.

  Hapthor, for his part, ignored the goings-on around him. He was more fascinated with the prize he had acquired for the new sector head. Fulfilling his first commissioned mission would look good for his future. He smiled as he looked at the disembodied head that floated in the stasis field before him.

  “A real shame we had to cross paths like this. You were building up something of a reputation amongst everyone. I actually had to consider if this commission was worth the risk. Glad to see that it was. Doubly glad that they really only want your head. I’m sure your body contains secrets for me to wrest. Like how did you shrug off all that weapon fire. I saw nothing resembling a personal force field. Yes indeed, many a mystery to explore.”

  For now, Hapthor was content to stare into the lifeless eyes of his latest victim. The more he stared, the more they creeped him out, as if they were still alive and staring back. He shook off the feeling and put the head back in its bag. As the bag closed there was an almost imperceptible electronic chirp before the bag’s magical stasis layered over the technological stasis field. Before he could really take notice, one of the comms-watchers came up to him excitedly.

  “Sir, we have comms. Ships have entered the system and will be ready for pickup in three hours.”

  “Excellent. Let’s kill off the rest of the goblins, take the core and get out of here!”

  A cheer rose up from the Syndicate troops as they surged out of their positions. They had been suffering through the grind of fending off wave after ineffectual wave of goblins. The go-ahead to strike back set them alight with energy, cutting goblins down with ease and charging past the corpses. As the elite troops entered the caves, they were met with a dozen boss monster goblin shamans.

  The shamans opened up with Spells of many different sorts. Curses to weaken the body, blood poisons to cause internal organs to hemorrhage, flames as hot as lava, cloying acid to burn through skin and bone alike. None of the spells hit their targets. Personal shields deflected the spells away and the elites tore into the goblin bosses. It was over in less than a minute. There was just nothing this newly Tier Two dungeon could throw at the mostly Tier Three and Four elites. The leader of the squad was a Tier Five and he blazed through the goblin bosses with an ease that set the others to wonder. They had seen her at work before, but never with the enthusiasm she brought with her now. The first shaman she encountered was cut down in two swift slices of the blade. The next only took a single cut. The third staggered into her path from another’s attack. This one, she planted a foot on its chest and rode the thing to the ground where her blade pierced its skull, finishing it.

  When the last goblin shaman fell, a brief glance showed that the squad was still intact and not particularly injured. The squad leader pressed on, confident that her charges would follow. Not necessarily blindly, but they would follow her wherever she went. There was no room for insubordination or second-guessing among the elite ranks of the Syndicate. They followed their leaders, or they weren’t among the elite for long. Those that fell out of the elite ranks were not seen again and were not talked about, but the implication was clear – follow along or you were dead.

  Finally, they fought the last-ditch efforts of the dungeon’s core at protection and made it to the core itself. Without hesitation, the leader plucked the core up and tossed it from hand to hand. It was warm to the touch as they always were, but she didn’t remark upon it. Instead, she simply tossed it into her carrying pouch and turned on her heel to exit the soon-to-collapse dungeon. This time, there was not even the briefest hint of hesitation as her squad followed her out of the dungeon to meet up with the rest of the Syndicate forces.

  There was a heavy-lift shuttle already waiting for them all and she followed Hapthor right up the ramp. Rank had its privileges. The rest of the elite squad followed and then the support troops. Settling down in their seats, Hapthor nodded to the squad leader, and she weighed her options. Finally, she spoke.

  “You are taking one of my best squad members.”

  “And?”

  “And it will take me some time to replace him, leaving me shorthanded.”

  “That sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

  She knew when to cut her losses. “Yes, I suppose it does. Do you have anyone you could recommend I pursue?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He laughed. “If there was anyone of quality, I would have taken them for myself. This mission was unusual enough with my team staying behind. Normally, I only work with the hyper-competent. The rabble you run with doesn’t qualify for consideration with, apparently, one single exception.”

  She knew better than to push her position against him but resolved to pursue it with her superiors. Everybody answered to someone. This assassin was no different in that regard. But she knew she would have to make sure it never came back to her. She was important, but not so critical an asset that she would be shielded should he find out. She could, of course, just let it go, but that is not how she had risen to Tier Five and gained her own elite harvesting squad.

  She settled back in her chair, plotting as the shuttle burned for orbit and the waiting ship. She hoped it would be one that she could take to continue her harvesting activities. The commissions on harvested cores was tremendous and it paid for all her special training and extra “needs.” Her hand involuntarily caressed the core in her pouch as a slight smile traced her lips.

  Alpho Nonetes waited impatiently as the long-awaited ship docked at his station. Taking over the sector leadership had been a whirlwind of meetings and learning so many things about how the sector actually ran. Without Edgemont to assist him, there was no way he could have survived his first month, let alone gotten to this point. That man was a godsend who seemed to know everyone and all the underlying rules that nobody ever talked about. Edgemont had even connected him with the leader of the prime sector. That was an invaluable connection that could only drive his career further.

  Now, he sat waiting for his prize to arrive. It had been exorbitantly expensive to hire the immortal assassin but seeing as the monster had collected the prize in short order, he deemed it worth it. Replacing the harvesting ships would take his shapers a few months but he still had fourteen harvesting fleets in action. The core business was well in hand and with this interloper taken care of, he was ready to increase output significantly.

  The shipyards were demanding more cores and creating them from the rare monster core was impracticably inefficient and expensive. Making them from the captured dungeon cores was far cheaper now that they had perfected the process. Even accounting for the maintenance and operational costs of the harvesting fleets, it was a fraction of the cost of using monster cores. He took great satisfaction at being the one who was going to bring it all back up to speed. And so quickly. Maybe another promotion was coming his way. The smile was stamped on his face, refusing to depart.

  He watched the ship dock and shifted his view to the crew departing. There was one figure he was more interested in than any other and that was Hapthor. The assassin was bringing him his prize and the anticipation was brimming over. Where others had failed, he had brought the criminal to heel. Sure, he had to hire an immortal assassin to get it done but no one else had even thought that far ahead. This was his victory, and he was savoring every moment of it. He watched as Hapthor made his way to his office.

  Finally, the assassin arrived. Edgemont informed him through a subtle signal that flashed on his desk. He responded with a “make him wait” signal while he spent the next thirty seconds calming himself down and adjusting his appearance. It would not do to look to eager, after all. When the door opened and Hapthor entered, Alpho had to use every bit of his discipline to not leap out of his chair – for two reasons. One, the assassin was even more intimidating in person than over video link; he just exuded danger. The second was pure excitement and eagerness to get his hands on the prize.

  With a focus of will, he invited the assassin in, “Come in, come in. Please have a seat and tell me of your mission. I understand it was successful?”

  Hapthor sat in the offered chair, taking his time to get comfortable, reading the sector commander’s nervousness despite his attempts to hide it. He had to admit that the guy was doing far better at masking it than most – perhaps he had a future beyond this office. With that assessment, he decided that having such a man in his debt would be in his long-term interest. He reined in his immortal aura and smiled at the man.

  “Why yes, sector commander, my mission was a success. I have retrieved the target’s head and have it in this wonderful stasis box for you.”

  Hapthor brought the softly glowing box out of his own bag and placed it upon the desk. The box itself, resembled a glass case with a thick golden base. The “glass” was actually the stasis field projected by the equipment encased in the gold below. He smiled as the sector commander’s emotions fluctuated from wonder to disgust and back again.

  “As you can see, I captured him at the moment of death. That look of shock should serve you well sitting on your shelf as a reminder for those who would consider getting in your way. Wouldn’t you say?”

  “Indeed, I would. You have done an exceptional job in bringing this trophy to me. I have already released the bonus payment in your contract. Thank you for this. Is there anything I should know about this ornament?”

  “Nothing in particular. It’s powered by a Tier Two core and has a minimal power drain. You will need to change core in about a decade, but until then, you are good to go. Enjoy your prize.”

  As Hapthor left the office, Alpho cleared a spot on the shelves behind his desk to display his grisly trophy. He realized that the assassin was right, this was just the thing to keep everyone in line. “Maybe I will make a collection of those who displease me. That will provide everyone else with sufficient motivation to do their best for me.” Satisfied, he sat behind his desk and began to run through the sector’s efficiency reports. They took up the rest of his day and he left with a great sense of satisfaction.

  “Edgemont, would you care to join me for a celebratory drink and meal? You have been such a great support for me so far. You should be celebrated too.”

  Edgemont smiled, “Yes, that is a great idea. We have a reservation at the Rhyneline.”

  “Always thinking ahead. You are invaluable, Edgemont.”

  He did not hear the subvocalized response, “You have no idea.”