Chapter 110: The Sprout (Patreon)

I watched the Dagger Captain through the small tablet in my hand. I regretted not getting a drone capable of recording sounds, but I considered it mostly unnecessary. Now, though, that was shoved in my face—it was very important, as it turned out. No matter. What’s done is done. 

The drone wasn’t controlled through a joystick. It wasn’t a remote helicopter or even a drone from Earth. Instead, I felt a distinct connection between it, the tablet, and me. It moved exactly as I wanted it to. It was very draining to maintain it at a far distance for a long period of time, but I could move it with great precision, and see exactly what I wanted to. 

It hadn’t been difficult to find the Richt Empire’s presence on the planet. They had some small garrisons of Pikes present on the planet—the lucky ones, I presumed, spared from the wrath of war—and their people were very easy to find. White glossy suits stick out just about anywhere, especially amidst such muck. 

And Day was the one that heard tell of Daggers present on the planet. Maybe it would be best to leave him alone for a long period of time. Whenever I did so, it always seemed as though he came back with some useful information. 

What I was doing could technically already be considered treason. But then, I was already a deserter from the Richt Empire, so what more could betraying yet another galaxy-wide superpower do to me? There were a lot of thoughts in my head, but most of all, I needed a way to get out of this sinking pit that I found myself in.

I didn’t dare meet with the Daggers in person. I had limited interaction with them, and if they were at all equivalent to the Daggers in the Archduchy, they were something to be feared. As such, I wasn’t leading them towards an area near us. It was all reliant on Day. I was leading them towards an area with great echo. 

“You, uhh… really think this will work?”

Day and I both sat alongside each other atop a pipe. It was well-hidden, concealed by oily, hot tubes and vents letting out smoke silently. Zinuetet was notably, and for good reason, absent. 

“Well, it can’t really go wrong, can it?” I rebutted, continuing to lead the Dagger Captain and her squad of rag-tag men. They were all very cautious, as though there was going to be a squad set to ambush them at any point. 

“It can go very wrong,” he said loudly. “Really, very quite wrong.”

“How wrong?” I asked, more speaking to fill up the air than to genuinely convey thought. 

“What if the Archduchy finds out about this? I like my fur attached to my skin.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Duke Jewls after this.” I smiled and scratched my chin. “Besides, it’s just me doing it. You’re not involved.”

“How am I not involved? I’m sitting right next to you!” Day pointed his hands towards me. “You want me to be buried next to you?”

“Listen, Day. Who’s the smart one here? Who’s the one with the good ideas? I can’t hear so well. I’ve got a lot of room for brains.” I held my finger up, and the tablet nearly slipped off my lap and fell into the pathway below. I caught it in panic. 

“Besides,” I continued, acting as though nothing had happened. “Do you really want to leave the kid in the commercial district? Living life as a male prostitute can’t be fun. Imagine the bathroom situation,” I shuddered. 

“I…” he sighed. “You’re right. It’s the best shot we have.” Then, he perked his head up. “Footsteps. Shh.”

I stayed silent, keeping watch on the Dagger Captain. She walked forward cautiously, scrambling over pipes, the Primordial Energy swirling around her, ready to be put into action at any moment. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I can hear them. Hear them real good,” Day said, nodding frantically. “Tell them to stop.”

“Alright. Talk only when I look at you. Remember, relay what they say perfectly,” I told Day, then picked up the tablet and brought it close to my mouth.

“Alright, that’s far enough,” I said, putting on a fake deep voice. They stopped at once, all eyes pulled to the drone. They didn’t drop their guards, staying in a fairly orderly position that allowed them to watch most areas at once. “Now then, could you introduce yourself?” I saw her lips move, and only when they stopped did I turn to Day.  

His ears twitched as he repeated, “’My name is Azara, Dagger Captain of the 12th squad in the 18th division.’”

“Alright. We have a lot to discuss, then. I have a lot to offer you, but first, there’s something you have to do for me. Prove your goodwill.” 

“’Why should we do anything before we know you’re worth our time? We don’t have much use for a soldier without much information,’” Day repeated flawlessly. Maybe this wasn’t his first time doing something like this. 

“You probably have quite a few informants,” I agreed. “But I can’t imagine that you have many that live on Planet Doliny, and you probably have none that have spoken to the Archduke himself,” I said, deliberately bolstering my value in their eyes with half-truths. 

That very clearly brought her attention. She raised an eyebrow, and had a brief discussion with someone. I looked to Day for him to repeat it, but he only said something about it being too quiet. 

Then his ears perked up again. “’How can you prove that you live on Doliny, and more importantly, spoken to the Archduke?”’

I paused for a moment, thinking back to the conversation that I had with the Archduke. “Well, I know the planet Richter used to be called Greenjewel. I know that Richt is well over 117,000 years old, and that the Archduke used to know him personally. I know the reasoning behind the friction between the Archduchy and the Empire. And above all, I know the reasoning of why Richt doesn’t allow any races other than bipedal ones to live—it’s because they’re his descendants. All this, I heard from the Archduke.”

Some of the people stirred uncomfortably on their feet. Perhaps the information was news even to them. The Dagger Captain deliberated on her words for a long time, and when I saw her lips stop moving, I turned to Day. 

“’I’ll have to report what you’ve said to my superior; we Dagger Captains are not in the know about those details. In the meantime, we’d like to give you a means of contacting us other than the drone.”

“That’s fine.” I paused, my paranoia flaring. “Keep in mind, though, I’m going to have it examined by someone that’s in the know about these sorts of thing so that you can’t track me. I see any sort of tracing, we never speak again. I assure you, I have valuable information that you will dearly miss.”

“’The device doesn’t have any tracking, I assure you.’”

“Just leave it on that red pipe there, then,” I said, pointing with my thumb even though they very clearly couldn’t see it. “Now then, as for what you need to do… If you go into the building beside you, you’ll find a child. He’s of the race local to this place. I want you to take him with you when you leave. I want you to ensure that he lives a good life. Make him a Dagger. Make him hate the Archduchy with a passion. I don’t care. Just make sure he lives a good life.”

Day turned to me with a doggy grin on his face. “She said that’s something she can easily do,” he said frantically. 

“Then I look forward to working with you,” I answered back.