Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 27 - Deception (Patreon)

Power without intention is the worst sort of sin.

Alistaris Kargat

Templars had a reputation.

Even on Earth, which was as isolated of a backwater as existed within the universe, everyone knew about them. Stories as to who they were and what they represented differed, though. To some people, they were looked up on as religious leaders – even when the Templars themselves eschewed such labels. To others, they were mystical warriors who followed strict codes and saved the helpless.

There were hundreds of other stories about them, most of which I knew to be blatantly untrue. The Templars weren’t villains, but they weren’t saviors, either. Not on the scale that people liked to attribute to them, at least. Certainly, individual Templars had saved people. That was indisputable. I’d experienced that myself. Yet, as a group, they were almost pacifistic, and they refused to commit themselves to a path that would set them against anyone that mattered.

From Alistaris and the other aliens with whom I was on speaking terms, I knew that was because they had a different mission, which was to combat mystics who would use their powers to oppress and dominate those around them. The Templars were a neutral peacekeeping force, and anything outside that purview was immaterial to their mandate.

Which was both frustrating and respectable, as far as I was concerned.

Commitment to a mission and a refusal to waver from that purpose was laudable. However, when that meant you and your organization ignored the plight of people you could have otherwise helped, it passed into the realm of frustration. It was even more upsetting because I knew precisely what kind of difference they could have made. My own recent efforts were an example of the sorts of things they could have accomplished.

All that and more swirled in my mind as Patrick settled the Leviathan into place. The landing zone he’d chosen was just a wide clearing about half a mile from the Templar settlement, but it served our purposes well enough. After he set it down, he went through his post-flight checklist before turning to me and asking, “You ready for this?”

“I don’t know. If they’re hostile…”

“We’ll deal with it,” he said.

I nodded, though with what I’d seen from the Templars in my previous encounters, I didn’t think I had much of a chance if it came down to a fight. Perhaps I could take out one or two of them, but a battle against an entire village of Templars was a mountain I felt certain I couldn’t climb.

But I couldn’t shirk the responsibilities I’d taken as my own. According to Alistaris, we needed the Templars’ help, and if we didn’t get it, things were going to get very bad, very quickly. So, I didn’t have a choice. Not if I wanted Earth to survive.

So, I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and said, “You’re right. If they’re a bunch of assholes, we’ll just deal with it.”

He gave me a crooked grin. “So, normal day?”

“I guess so,” I agreed.

After that, we readied ourselves for a potential battle. For me, that meant ensuring that all my weapons were loaded, and I had plenty of ammunition in my arsenal implant. Meanwhile, Patrick spent a few minutes checking that his armor was in peak condition before we both donned our respective combat attire. Over my infiltration suit, I wore black fatigues, while Patrick wore a long coat that reminded me of a certain demolitions expert.

“You get that coat from Rex?” I asked, looking him up and down. “Tell me you don’t have a hat, too.”

“I don’t have a hat.”

“What are you holding behind your back?”

I sensed a surge of Mist, then he spread his hands wide, saying, “Nothing. Seriously, Mira, you need to start trusting me more.”

I just shook my head as a slight smile spread across my face. Soon enough, though, I had to put my game face on, because we were both ready. So, we headed toward the exit hatch. Upon leaving the ship, I used Bastion while Patrick engaged the Leviathan’s native defenses. Once that was done, we headed toward the settlement.

It was only a few hundred yards away, so I didn’t bother summoning the Cutter.

“It’s beautiful here,” Patrick said as he gazed out across the landscape. The Templar village was located in the middle of nowhere, so forested wilderness stretched all the way to the horizon. Meanwhile, the settlement itself was situated on the side of a terraced hill where each step played host to a serene garden.

Even from a distance, it was magnificent.

“Sure,” I said. “But it’s all a lie.”

It was a façade meant to hide the Templars’ apathetic existence. They held themselves apart from the rest of the world as they tried to pretend its fate had nothing to do with them. So, I wasn’t fooled by the beauty on display.

“You don’t know that. Wait until you hear what they have to say for themselves before you judge them.”

“What they say doesn’t matter nearly as much as their actions, Pick,” I said. “They’ve had a century to prove they care about Earth. But they’re right here, living in their little paradise while everyone else scrambles for whatever freedom they manage to scrounge up. You’ve seen some of the things I have, Patrick. The Templars are well-connected and informed. They have power. They could have done more.”

“So could we.”

“At least I’ve tried. They haven’t lifted a finger to help the people of Earth.”

“They helped you,” he reminded me.

I took a deep breath. “They did,” I admitted. “And I’m grateful for that. But saving one person because it doesn’t really make you go out of your way isn’t what I’m talking about. You know that.”

“I do. I just think you need to take a deep breath and look at it from their perspective,” Patrick stated. “You heard Alistaris. The Templars are there to fight against rogue mystics. If they commit to a war like this without that to spur them on, it’ll throw everything into turmoil. There will be wars. Whole planets will be destroyed. And all these other factions will set themselves against the Templars, which will make their mission impossible. The bad mystics will rise up, and there will be no one to stop them from doing whatever they want.”

“So, they’re choosing the lesser of two evils? Is that it?”

“I think they’re doing what they can without setting the universe on a collision course with a war that kills everyone.”

“Maybe,” I acknowledged. I wasn’t stupid. I could connect the dots as well as Patrick could. However, like Alistaris, I still couldn’t help but resent the Templars for fighting within the rules they had set for themselves.

In any case, we had a job to do, and I wasn’t going to let my personal reservations stop me from at least trying to make things work. For all I knew, the Templars would be a lot more amenable to our shared circumstances than I anticipated. Especially given the arrival of the Infinite Conquest and its cadre of affiliated mystics.

So, without further discussion, Patrick and I set off across the landscape, passing through what felt like a curated forest until we reached our destination only a little while later. To my surprise, we weren’t greeted by a contingent of powerful warriors. Instead, a single man stood in our path, barring our way into the village proper. Beyond, the other white-robed Templars continued on with their days as if we weren’t even there.

Or that was what they wanted us to think.

With Observation, I could see every furtive glance cast in our direction. Most of those originated with younger Templars that I assumed were trainees or apprentices, but a couple of older men and women let their facades slip as well. More importantly, this close to the village, I could finally sense the Templars’ auras. They were tightly controlled, and as such, they were only barely noticeable, but I’d spent the past few months constantly exercising my senses. So, even if I couldn’t see the men and women tasked with the village’s defense, I still knew they were there, just out of sight. But not out outside the range of my {Mist Warden} senses.

“Greetings, Mirabelle,” said Freddy, the Templar I’d met on two other occasions. The fact that he was in Japan, so far away from where I’d last seen him, was definitely a source of alarm. However, he looked much the same as both the other times I’d seen him, which was to say that he was an average-sized man with wild hair and a great, bushy beard. “You’ve grown.”

“And you’re a long way from home. How’s Brad?” I asked.

“On the contrary,” Freddy said. “This is my home. And my apprentice is engaged in his pilgrimage. He will not be joining us.”

“So you were just slumming it halfway across he world?”

“Something like that,” Freddy answered. “Do you mean us harm?”

I shrugged. “Not really,” was my reply. “I didn’t come here to fight. My mission is diplomatic in nature.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Forgive me. That does not seem like your forte,” he said.

I shook my head, saying, “Can’t really argue with that, Freddy. I’m more of a blow-everything-up kind of gal, but I suppose you can say I’m trying to branch out. Learn new skills, so to speak.”

“Oh, you have certainly learned some new skills. Gained some levels as well. Your aura is interesting. Well-controlled, but still very powerful,” he said. “I suspect that you are on the edge of the Threshold.”

I cocked my head to the side. “The Threshold? What’s that?”

“A matter best discussed over tea,” he answered. “I will ask you again – do you or your partner intend to inflict harm upon the people of this village?”

“No.”

I saw the Mist of his aura swirl, though it wasn’t what I normally saw when someone activated a skill. Instead, it was both more controlled and wilder – a contrast that, on the surface, didn’t make much sense. But it was the only way I could make sense of it.

“Very well,” he said. “Come. We will discuss this inside.”

Without another word, he turned around and started strolling through the village. Patrick and I exchanged a quick glance before hurrying to catch up. As we followed Freddy through the settlement, I was once again taken in by the peaceful ambiance of the stepped gardens and simple, yet distinctive architecture.

“What’s the name of this place?”

“Serenity,” Freddy answered.

“Fitting,” I acknowledged.

“Most of the time, yes, it is,” he said without turning to face me.

We climbed a few sets of wide, worn stairs before we finally reached the step that was our destination. Freddy took a left turn, leading us further into the village. As we progressed, I couldn’t help but notice that the fearful glances I received from the Templars a bit unnerving. As before, they tried to hide their expressions, but by virtue of [Multi-Mind] as well as Observation, I saw them all clearly.

They weren’t just wary. They were terrified. And that put me on edge as well.

Finally, Freddy led us to a tall, three-story building with a sweeping roof. It had been constructed mostly of wood, though with a stone foundation that raised it a foot or so from the ground. In addition, it had been painted a subdued red.

Inside, the décor was much as I’d come to expect from that style of architecture, which meant that it mostly eschewed walls in favor of paper or cloth partitions. Patrick and I followed the Templar into a room with a low table that was surrounded by cushions.

He knelt on one side, then gestured to the other. Patrick and I sat on the cushions, and a moment later, a white-robed young man entered with a steaming kettle. Another young woman placed a pair of cups in front of Patrick and me, while setting another in front of Freddy. After that, they proceeded to make tea in what looked like an elaborate ceremony. I paid attention with one strain of thought, but despite the obvious importance of the act, it didn’t hold my attention. Instead, I focused on the auras of the two servers.

Both were subdued and almost entirely contained, with only a hint of the power I would have expected from a pair of Templars.

“They are not even apprentices, yet,” Freddy said, almost as if he could read my mind. Before I’d developed my aura senses, I might have suspected that he used the Templar equivalent of a skill. But the tightly controlled aura hadn’t even quivered. “In all likelihood, they will become Wildlings soon enough.”

“Is it rare for someone to survive the…inoculation period?” asked Patrick.

Freddy answered, “Very. One in a hundred, if we’re lucky. Less, usually.”

“Then why do it? Why not take Nexus Implants like everyone else?”

“Those Nexus Implants are shackles,” the Templar stated, taking a sip of his tea. He let out a sigh of appreciation. “They hinder the natural order. What do you think happens to worlds that experience the onset of Mist, but never feel the touch of the system?”

“Do those exist?” Patrick asked.

“Of course. Thousands of inhabited worlds are enveloped by the Mist each week,” he answered. “Only the most promising are granted the system’s dubious protection.”

“Without the system, billions of people would die.”

“As is the point,” Freddy stated. “Evolution is not a painless process, but without that struggle, none of us can reach our full potential. The Nexus Implants are a crutch. A stop-gap that, admittedly, saves lives, but also sentences each of its victims to abject mediocrity.” He sighed. “But you are not here to talk philosophy. You came for a different purpose.”

“We did,” I said.

“Care to share it?”

“First, I have a question,” I ventured. “You once told me that I would eventually close the gap with people like you.”

“I did, and it seems that you have made good on that prediction.”

“So, I’m like a Templar, now?”

“Yes, and no,” he answered. “The paths we travel matter. How you experience the Mist is fundamentally different from the way we do. However, there are enough commonalities that, to many, the differences become less apparent. I sense that you are…capable of terrible things, Mirabelle. You have power unlike anyone else on Earth.”

“I’m stronger?”

“Than all but a few? Yes. Including Templars. But your power is also different,” he stated. “That makes you even more dangerous.”

“So, I’m unique?”

He laughed mirthlessly. “Nothing in this universe is truly unique. But you are rare. Exceedingly so. There is a name for people like you, though. A dubious label given to those rare individuals whose power exceeds easy categorization.”

“Yeah? What is it?” I asked.

“World-killer.”

I burst out laughing. “Really? Isn’t that a bit…dramatic?”

“No.”

His sober answer drew me up short. “Wait, really? You think I can just snap my fingers and kill a whole world?”

“I believe you have that potential, yes. And I think that’s the fate some people have been pushing you towards,” Freddy said. “This world, it has garnered a lot of undue interest. Factions that should not care about such an inconsequential place are here, influencing and guiding events. Your friend –”

“Alistaris is here to pick up –”

“Gala. Do you know who she really is? What about Anaseteramanimix? Both should be in the core worlds, living lives of luxury. And yet, they are both here, living in relative poverty on a frontier world of almost no consequence. Tell me – do you truly know where that Nexus Implant inside of you came from? What of the skills you take for granted? You have been manipulated since the very beginning. Guided to become a weapon. Your uncle was a powerful man, but that implant was not something he ever should have had access to. No one should. It was an experiment. The result of centuries of research and development.”

“What are you saying?”

“That you were never meant for mediocrity, Mirabelle. Whatever Jeremiah told you, it was a lie. His acquisition of that implant was a calculated attempt to create a superweapon. And you have exceeded even those expectations,” Freddy stated. “By quite some degree. I sense that one of your abilities is in flux, as if it is only half developed.”

I already knew that Gala had a past and that she was far stronger than she appeared. However, I’d never considered the possibility that Ana was more than she seemed to be. However, in retrospect, the fact that she always seemed to have the perfect skill should have been a clue.

“Is Alistaris part of it?”

“I don’t know,” Freddy admitted.

“Are you?”

“I am not, though our first meeting was not a coincidence.”

“I thought you were there for your apprentice.”

“I can do two things at once,” he stated. “But you didn’t come here for conspiracies and plots, did you? You came for something else.”

“I’m not done talking about that first part.”

“I am.”

The teacup I’d been holding – without drinking from it – shattered in my grip. Patrick flinched, but Freddy didn’t even blink. His aura remained just as tightly controlled as ever. If he was frightened of my reaction, he was very good at masking it.

Moreover, that brief moment gave me the opportunity to rethink my own anger. Freddy wasn’t my enemy. Nor was his explanation necessary. Now that he’d opened my mind to the possibility that I’d been manipulated into becoming a weapon, I was more than capable of investigating the matter by other means. If worse came to worst, I could head up to the Bazaar and demand answers in person.

So, with that in mind, I said, “Fine. The reason I came here is because there’s a huge ship that just showed up. Called the Infinite Conquest. According to Alistaris Kargat – he represents the Ark Alliance, by the way – they have enough firepower to subdue the entire planet. More relevantly to you, they also have a contingent of mystics onboard. So, given your order’s stated purpose, he thought you might want to rally the troops to do your fucking job.”

“Interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Indeed.”

“In what world is that an appropriate response?” I demanded.

“Oh, no – I wasn’t talking about your outburst,” he said.

“Then what were you talking about?”

Just then, the sound of an explosion echoed in my ears. An instant later, the building shook from a shockwave.

“That,” he said. “Come. We must defend Serenity.”

With that, Freddy pushed himself to his feet. Suddenly, a long-bladed spear appeared in his hands.