Before I do anything, even respond to B’esloor, I trigger Omnipresent and use it to find The Taskmaster and Goltarr, if I can. I want to see if I can discover the level of hostility they have toward me and toward humanity. I push my will and Affinity hard with the Skill and am finally rewarded by finding Goltarr. He’s far off across the Universe and by using my filters I can see that, according to my Skill, he’s neutral toward me. It’s not the kind of reassurance I’m looking for since it’s not The Taskmaster, but it gives me hope that I can remain just one curiosity in a Universe full of curiosities, as far as the Taskmaster is concerned.

  “The famous… or is it infamous… Bronwic Cadimus. To what do we owe this… unexpected visit?” asks B’esloor’s boss. It breaks me out of my train of thought and since I don’t seem to be in immediate danger I focus on the situation.

  Druvalna Surakhan, Architect of Unity, Sovereign Mediator, Keeper of the Accords, Pactwright, more… (Level 11 Accord Broker) (Legendary)

  [Asurith] [SSA Vayrak Council] [Laniakea/Shapley Superclusters]

  She’s tall, over three meters, with a striking presence even aside from her Charisma and obsidian-like skin that shimmers faintly as if it’s packed with latent energy. Her four muscular arms are bare and she has several intricate horn-like protrusions that crown her head. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her luminous eyes shift in color as she watches me with what I interpret is a mix between interest and disdain, though it’s always hard to know with Galactics.

  “I got into a slightly sticky situation and needed somewhere to go that was likely to be safe. My first thought was B’esloor since I’ve already seen the kind of security that he operates within.”

  B’esloor looks uncomfortably between me and Druvalna. The difference in size between them doesn’t really mean anything, but it is remarkable.

  “And… will you be staying long?” asks Druvalna. Her eyes shift to a violet hue and through to green in a fascinating way. “This is not a particularly accepted use of your relationship with the SSA.”

  “I don’t really know much about any of that, but I can imagine that’s true. I apologise. I’ll leave now.”

  “Before you go,” starts Druvalna. She raises two hands that makes it look to me like she’s surrendering, but I’m sure that’s the wrong interpretation and she has four arms so the range of gestures is no doubt a lot wider. “B’esloor and I were just discussing how much of an impact he may have had on your success in the KCT. Congratulations, by the way. Most impressive records.”

  I can see B’esloor tense up at this question even though he’s trying to remain cool as a cucumber. I rack my brains quickly trying to figure out if B’esloor was even supposed to give me any assistance in what I’ve been doing. We’re not exactly best friends, but he has done some solid things for me and is indisputably in my corner.

  “I can assure you B’esloor gave me ideal and appropriate assistance every step of the way,” I assert with confidence.

  “Can you give me some examples?” she asks in a way that makes the request totally reasonable.

  “I wouldn’t want my influence as a KCT winner to unduly affect B’esloor’s review, and I feel he wouldn’t want that either. I’ve found him to always act only with the highest level of integrity,” I counter.

  She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds while B’esloor sweats it out and then gives me a simple reply with one of those words that reminds me specifically how much work our Mana Interfaces do to ensure we can all communicate.

  “Touche, Bronwic.”

  “Is there anything else?” I ask.

  B’esloor shifts, obviously hoping that was the end of it.

  Druvalna makes a complicated gesture with her arms that draws B’esloor’s interest and he looks at me, presumably to gauge my reaction as Druvalna speaks.

  “You’re already here, and as much as it’s getting in the way of my schedule today it’s also a chance for me to congratulate you. So.. congratulations High Enforcer Cadimus. Is there anything we can do for you?”

  This shift in posture takes me by surprise but I know immediately what to ask.

  “Actually, there are two things.”

  Both B’esloor and Druvalna hone in on my answer closely and wait to see what I’ll say next. I have no idea why this is so interesting to them and wish I did have someone to guide me through all this, but not Lirathel. Fuck her.

  “Earth itself is still dangerous, but mostly stable. What I think we need to ensure the survival of humanity is a diaspora. Small and focused at first, so we stay connected. Maybe later if we can gain some strength, we could go wider. I need to find a suitable planet for tens of millions of us to travel to and establish a new place to live and I wonder if you could help me figure out how to do that?”

  I pause for a second so they can take it in and I can see B’esloor at least thinking. Druvalna’s eyes continue to shift color and the shimmering in her skin pulses a bit, but I have no idea how normal that is or what it might mean. It’s clear they’re waiting for my second question before they answer.

  “The other thing is related to my Title, High Enforcer. I’ve spent the vast majority of my time on Earth and B’esloor is familiar with some, but not all, of the reasons I have the Title and the level of clearance I do. I’d like to find out more about what it means to be a High Enforcer. I think I need someone to show me the ropes, so to speak.”

  My request meets silence for quite a long time while B’esloor and Druvalna exchange looks. It extends for long enough that I wonder if they’re speaking back and forth in some way that’s silent to me, and I start to feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome, especially since I’m still standing in the middle of the room and the two of them are sitting. It’s Druvalna that breaks the silence, eventually.

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  “As a High Enforcer with your Clearance, which I was not aware of until just now, you are more than within your rights to officially request assistance to carry out your duties and have wide-ranging powers to compel that assistance from anyone in the SSA. Can we clarify if you are currently exercising those powers?” she asks. It’s clear she is choosing her words carefully.

  I consider for a second, but not too hard since I have no real idea of what kinds of obligations or implications come from ‘compelling someone with my powers’.

  “No. I’m just asking for some help, if you’re inclined to give it.”

  “We are,” Druvalna replies with what I suspect is a sense of relief, but perhaps I’m just projecting my assumptions onto her. “And it’s likely you will be able to achieve both of these things by combining them. But I will leave it to B’esloor to sort out the details with you.”

  “Can you give us two or three hundred thousand UTUs Bronwic to sort something out? Can you meet someone on the space station where you brought those people so they could be under our protection?”

  “That would be perfect, thank you,” I reply, thinking that I still need to clear my Inventory and scratch the itch of making sure everyone is set up the way they should be.

  “Make it three hundred thousand UTUs, in the same black and dark blue room where you returned after your last Trial. I’ll commit to having an option there for you. If you’re unhappy Portal to me and I’ll make it right.”

  I nod and thank them again then open a Portal to the MIS Hub near Carter’s house. It feels like I got their help too easily, but at the same time they seemed relieved I didn’t ask for more or compel them to help me. I’ve got a lot to figure out.

  The MIS Hub is busy even though it’s the middle of the night. There’s a buzz of excitement all around the building and the smell of Adventurers just returned from combat. All the Merchant stalls are open, and there’s a long line of people to get to the Shop orb that moves much slower than normal. The people in line laugh and chat animatedly amongst themselves like they just got out of a mind-blowing concert. I open up my Perception to listen to some of the conversations and hear Logan’s name quite a few times. It seems like a few hundred people swarmed Fish Creek Park today and took out all the Dungeons and the Monsters with basically no casualties. A massive win that makes me feel proud of the city and my nephew.

  I make sure to keep my Charisma under wraps and swap into an old light armored jumpsuit I’ve got kicking around in my Inventory then wander over to the Master Meat storefront. I don’t want to disrupt the party. The guy in the storefront is stocky and in his mid 40s or early 50s, with broad shoulders and a strong build that indicates either a long life of physical labour before the Influx or a big dose of Attributes diverted to Strength. His striped apron is slightly blood-stained, but he’s clean enough to suggest he has pride in his appearance and his work.

  “By the Gods, Bronwic Cadimus!” he exclaims in a warm and hearty voice as I enter the door and come up to the counter. “Now here’s a guy that knows all about the best cuts!”

  I can tell he’s really pleased that he’s come up with that one on the spot so I fight the eye roll that threatens to break out and I give him a grin. He’s just about at his Mythic Class which is no small feat for someone with a profession like this, and I wonder if handling what I’ve got in my Inventory might take him through his next Evolution.

  Grigor ‘Griz’ Steele (Level 29 Specialist Butcher) (Advanced)

  [Human] [Calgary MIS Hub Guild]

  Health: 1100/1100

  Mana: 840/880

  Conditions: Sanguine Blade, Butcher’s Precision

  “Griz, can we keep it down a bit? Don’t want to disrupt the buzz that’s going on out there,” I say and gesture behind me. It’s good natured and he gets it immediately.

  “Of course!” he exclaims and the door shuts behind me, blocking out the sound. The windows also frost over, which is more than I expected and a bit surprising. “How can I help?”

  “I’ve got a few things for you to carve up. They might be a bit tough to work with and also a bit expensive, so I’m wondering if you want to take a look?” I ask. It wouldn’t be the first time I try to sell a Monster body to a butcher only to find out the Monster was too high Level and their tools and Skills are insufficient for the job.

  “Dead keen,” he says. “Never seen anything as high Level as the stuff I saw you kill in that Koldaavi Trials thing.”

  I pull a couple Monster carcasses out of my Inventory, not the highest Level stuff or the biggest ones, but decent, and then hand them over onto a platform that looks a bit like an airport baggage belt. Griz gestures to me as he opens a door to a back room and I follow him. Behind the facade out in a large cement room is a comprehensive setup of tools and machinery for doing the job. He’s also got a wide selection of knives and more manual cutting equipment lined up near the door on the wall in racks. The stuff I took out of my Inventory is already coming through out to the back and up on a large notification screen I can see a schematic of the carcasses. It shows a lot of attributes about them, from amount of meat and parts that are in demand from alchemists or other Craftspeople, to some kind of a scale reflecting the amount of Mana embedded in them and therefore how hard they’re going to be to cut or work with.

  “These are just about at my limit,” says Griz while he squints at the screen and glances back and forth between it and the real ones that have made their way down the belt and are being strung up by robotic arms. “You got more?”

  I nod and Griz opens the door back up to the front so I can deposit all the ones that are similar or lower Level onto the platform and they can be scanned like the others. Out the back there is now a gang of meatworkers surrounding what I’ve brought in and I feel a sharp stab in my chest that’s purely emotional as it makes me think of Kyle. Still miss him.

  “How much you want for all these?” asks Griz. He seems a bit nervous about asking, maybe because it’s me or maybe he’s thinking about how many Credits he might have available to buy these off me, or both. Or something else.

  “Just come out and say it,” I recommend to Griz, and he grimaces then seems to slink around a bit as he talks, seemingly deflated.

  “I ain’t going to cheat you Bronwic. That’s just stupid on so many levels. I gotta be honest with you - I don’t have the kind of Credits here to pay you what they’re worth. Once we carve ‘em up and sell everything of course we’d have the money. If you’re worried we won’t pay or get the best deal for your parts, I could maybe take 40% of them now and the rest later after I’ve sold everything from the first lot?”

  “Might be a little bit before I’m back, not sure,” I say. Griz is a pretty likeable character and he pushes his disappointment down to nod and then make eye contact with me again.

  “No trouble at all, Bronwic. Just what we can pay for is probably enough for me to get to Mythic and I’m grateful you came here instead of the Shop or somewhere else.”

  “All I was going to suggest is that you can give the Credits to Carter or Dana once you’ve got them,” I say, sure Griz will come through. “I’d say Logan too, but it seems from what I’ve heard like he’s making his own Credits.”

  Griz’s face lights up at the prospect of getting all the carcasses I’ve got and also at the mention of Logan.

  “For sure! Did you hear he’s just gotten a bunch of new Skills? He’s doing a great job of leading hunting parties. Just a youngster, but he’s got his head screwed on straight and Tatiana’s always there to back him up with some of the older guys in particular. None of them want to mess with her.”

  I’m going to have to stop by to see how they’re doing. There’s a part of me that feels bad that I asked Alana to come with me when Tatiana and I have had a good connection, but it’s the Apocalypse and I haven’t exactly been kicking goals in that area. I’m glad to have cleared out this part of my Inventory, but I still have all the really high Level stuff and Griz isn’t an option, so I finish the deal with him and wander out to wait in line for the Shop.