Chapter 130: Balor's Guided Tour (Patreon)

Balor’s guided tour was briefly derailed as Jones and Marcus, both consummate professionals in their respective fields, found themselves organizing plans for the immediate future. It was impossible for the pair to avoid, drawn as they were to keeping things orderly. The distraction began as the topic of Marcus and Kayla’s shard-side meeting was brought up for Coop’s final decision.

“Kayla and I both agree that adjusting our plans to spend mana as it becomes available would be the wisest choice.” Marcus concluded, letting Coop be the one to give permission after fully explaining the issue to Jones.

With the additional boat slips contributed by the newly constructed Basic Port, the rest of the missing corvettes from the Tempest Fleet were available for recruitment, but the advisors had been holding off, worried about consuming the settlement’s limited mana supply and delaying other urgent purchases. The priority had been given to the army of phantoms that had been lost during the siege, so the navy was concentrating on new construction with the Shipwright instead. Unfortunately, there came a stage in the construction of new boats that would require a significant injection of spectral mana in order to ensure the freshly built ships inherited the ghostly properties unique to Ghost Reef, so that too would have to be put on hold if they were avoiding the consumption of settlement mana.

When the so-called Avatar of the System arrived for her brief visit in the medical center’s ritual chamber, she had drained the resources of the settlement once again, and given that the same could potentially happen in the future, the two advisors of Ghost Reef were promoting a shift in their priorities in order to recruit the Tempest Fleet first, piece by piece, as soon as the mana was available, to prevent it from being wasted. The navy was, afterall, their primary force of security until the army was made whole.

In this case, Coop was happy to be the bearer of good news, sharing with his advisors the easy dismissal Lyriel had given when he complained that she kept draining their mana reserves. “The Avatar said that the settlement’s resources will be refreshed when the upgrade goes through, so recruit the fleet, and continue with the ship building. We’ll bring the phantoms back right after we upgrade when we receive the influx of resources.”

Kayla beamed at the idea of completely returning the Tempest Fleet. She had been patient while the settlement grew, but to her, the pirates were family and they were on the verge of finally reuniting. She couldn’t wait to have them all back under her command.

Marcus pinched his chin as he considered the Avatar’s apparent cavalier attitude toward consumption of settlement mana, a resource that, to them, seemed critical for their development. “If we’re to assume that she isn’t actively trying to sabotage us, I would venture a guess that the settlement will become more efficient in its mana accumulation as the assimilation continues. She didn’t expect to arrive so early after all; maybe it’s normally not an issue if the timeline isn’t pushed forward by whatever Earth has going on.”

Coop couldn’t find any reason to disagree with his assessment. “It seems like she has her own clear motivation to oppose mana. I think that as long as her interests happen to align with ours, we can trust that she actually means to help.”

Jones interjected, before they could move on to other topics. “If it’s alright, could I be brought up to speed with regard to this Avatar? It seemed like you were being roped into something quite grand at the end of her visit.”

Coop nodded in the affirmative, not worried about letting all of his companions in on the details, and agreeing that her final message was leading, to say the least. Most of the details would impact them all equally.

Marcus glanced at Coop, always eager for more information. “What else did she say?”

Coop took his time and shared every detail that he could remember from his conversation with Lyriel. Jones helpfully inserted some particulars as he saw them. It worked out nicely as the senior caretaker was more unbiased than any of the residents of Ghost Reef when it came to the alien visitor. He hadn’t experienced her haughty attitude directly, and only observed when she finally revealed some of her true colors.

“She admitted to being an exile of the galactic community. As one of the few survivors of a previous Eradication Protocol and failed assimilation, she said they are branded by the judgment of mana and seek out potential allies that will also be marked, like us, in order to bolster themselves and find a way to better balance the control mana has with the system.” Coop summarized after going through the specifics with Jones’s help. “Then, she offered to provide a key the next time we meet, that would, and I quote, ‘unshackle us all.’”

“Well, that’s progress, I guess.” Camila commented after the group silently took in Coop’s explanation. “At least, you have something to look forward to.” She gauged the confidence of Coop and Jones. Coop shrugged.

“Does that mean there were other planets with civilizations? Entire societies, maybe even more advanced than ours, that were wiped out completely?” Charlie worried. “These exiles are just the ones that survived?”

“Seems that way.” Coop conceded. “Sounds like there’s quite the filter to enter the galactic community, and they aren’t even aware of it.” He tilted his head toward their alien companion.

Balor seemed completely lost, having the tables turned with regard to system knowledge as he listened into the conversation. The aliens rarely bothered discussing the details of the system, just accepting its presence the same way Coop accepted the sun rising. Coop suspected that humans would be looked at as blasphemers by many factions just for their curiosity.

The rest of the group readily believed the fact that Lyriel had exaggerated her level of influence and was really a survivor on the edge of the galactic community. There was an obvious disparity between creating the system itself, and slumming it on Earth with warnings and proposals. From their perspective, the system actually still appeared to be the authority between the two vague, uncontrolled entities, but everything was still on the rails. If the system’s restrictions started breaking down, all bets were off.

Coop had an unasked question that he knew no one would be able to answer. If mana’s singular purpose was to eliminate potential threats from popping up in the infinite cosmos, what was the system’s purpose? Lyriel believed it had been built as a counter to mana’s oppression, but her group still seemed to be guessing, albeit with slightly more information than anyone else.

From Coop’s perspective, in the beginnings of an assimilation, the whole process seemed more like an indoctrination into the galactic community that the system had established using mana as its framework. The factions jockeyed for position within the community, subjugating the new arrivals, using the mechanisms that the system provided after being uplifted to their positions from nothing. Was it a genuine attempt to escape mana’s limitations? It could just as easily be something like controlled opposition, or even a long term farming plan that would never be redeemed with the original creators absent. Coop frowned at himself, wondering if the suspicions he had for the Avatar had simply shifted to the system. There wasn’t anything he could do about any of that, so he wouldn’t worry about it.

After most of them were on the same page, they brought Jones further up to speed, describing the Avatar’s first visit and explaining the judgment of mana, their failing assimilation, the Eradication Protocol, and the circumstances that led to the encounter at the end of the siege, including the first Icon of Mana and how it appeared.

“And that’s when Coop tried to punch her lights out.” Camila helpfully added, punctuating the objective descriptions as they were presented with a highlight when they ultimately reached the point of the Avatar’s arrival.

Jones frowned at Coop, like he had been raised better than to try sucker punching a guest to his island. Coop raised his hands. “It was just a lot of fighting up to that point. I didn’t want anyone poking more holes into the fort” He tried to appeal to Jones’s particular sensibilities.

Instead of admonishing him verbally, Jones gave his early assessment. “It sounds like you should go ahead and establish this pseudo faction. The portions of her story that remained consistent seem to indicate that it isn’t meant as a trap, but actually something borne out of desperation. Waiting years would only do more harm than good.”

“Actually, that’s where it gets even more interesting.” Coop revealed, excited to add to the twists. He pulled out the Purification Chip and the red disc glittered in the light of the atrium. No one reacted with much surprise. Balor squinted at it with no particular recognition in his eyes, but doing his best to understand what simple buff chip had deserved such a theatrical reveal. At most it was a bit early for them to have one in their possession, but it wasn’t completely outside the realm of possibilities. With Coop’s other hand, like he was completing a magic trick, he displayed the Faction Founding Chip with a flourish and the blue disc similarly caught the light that streamed into the citadel.

Before he could say, “Ta-da!” a loud thump interrupted his grand presentation. Balor dropped to the floor, landing straight on his butt with enough force to shake the solid stones of the citadel. The sight of the Faction Founding Chip was as unexpected as Coop thought. The aliens really admired the structural existence of factions; they were like the physical embodiment of the gods they worshiped for providing them the mana and the system, creating a way to directly interact with the entities as they imagined them. Even the factionless recognized and respected what factions meant to the galactic community even if they wanted to escape the bindings of their leadership.

Everyone’s attention was torn away from Coop as they checked on Balor, who remained seated while he struggled to come to terms with the baby planet he was on already on the verge of establishing a faction. The process was mythologized such that they never expected to be able to witness it themselves and the implications were vast, in a galactic sense.

Coop cleared his throat, presenting the red disc first. “So, anyway, this is the Purification Chip she was talking about using to alter the mana within our claimed territory,” he lifted the blue disc. “And this is the Faction Founding Chip that she obviously didn’t think we had any chance of getting, not in a hundred years, and not in a thousand.” He gestured toward Balor’s reaction as proof that it wasn’t a farfetched assessment from the powers that be. Balor watched with his eyes wide, clearly contemplating his place in the universe as Coop put the discs away.

Jones was quick on the uptake. “I see,” he muttered before summarizing what he understood. “So you didn’t fully trust the Avatar at the start, and somehow received a potential ace that you kept up your sleeve.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You thought you might need to make a choice, but now that you’ve received more information from her, you have a better idea of what you want to do?”

“I think your original thought was right. Waiting to use the Purification Chip is too much of a gamble. We can’t risk walking into a real Eradication Protocol and being wiped out while we had a potential defense stashed away in my pocket.” Coop explained his reasoning, not that it had changed much from the beginning. He felt like it was less likely to be some kind of trick after his last more sincere conversation with the Avatar, so his risk assessment leaned even further toward applying the chip. The fact that Jones, of all people, agreed, was even better.

“As for the Faction Founding Chip, I expect it will have its own complications, while the benefits might be a bit too hard for us to make proper use of in the short term. From what I understand, we would have access to more system sponsored events, without the threat of annihilation, while also being exposed to the rest of the factions, whatever that would entail. We’ve got events and opportunities right here at home, so I don’t see the benefits of giving up our focus on survival.” Coop was prepared to stash the Faction Chip in his back pocket. He was pretty confident that the only reason they had it was because the rewards of the siege event bugged out and defaulted to giving them the maximum possible reward, meant for the end of the assimilation if it would be given at all.

Marcus raised a hand for an opportunity to give his input. “We don’t need to overcomplicate things any further than they already are: you don’t need to wait with the Purification Chip. I’ve collected votes from the residents, and heeding the Avatar’s warning and establishing a faction had the overwhelming majority. Over 90% of residents were in support, even before these revelations. If you’re in favor of using it, just do it. With the actual faction stuff, I say we ignore it until our survival is secured.”

Coop nodded, glad to know that most people were on board without him needing to do anything special. It made him more confident in his own decision knowing he wasn’t alone, especially when they would all be impacted by the choice.

“The only counter points came from those worried about a shift in our priorities if we had control of our own faction, as if we would target world domination like so many of the others.” Marcus elaborated. “Most of those would be satisfied as long as Coop became whatever the equivalent of Champion would be, since they trust your demeanor enough to not be concerned about an over ambitious warlord taking over.”

“My demeanor?” Coop mouthed before he shrugged, not sure how he should take the evaluation, but choosing to be fine with it. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he became what they feared anyway. He wasn’t interested in conquest or politics, just relaxing on the beach and grinding to make the vacations possible.

Balor had been watching the exchange from the floor, still a bit wild in the eyes, but he had something to add, clearing his throat and grumbling as he claimed his turn. “Listen here, you lot. I don’t really know what you all are talking about exactly, and I may be a simple elemental at the end of the day, but I got the gist; you have it on good authority that you’re facing some big challenges in the future, bigger than the planetary sponsor.”

He grunted as he stood up and planted his feet while he set his shoulders back, reminding them all that he was a formidable warrior with thousands of levels of experience and not just the stonemason they had come to know. “If your assimilation is doomed to fail, establish your faction before the system makes it official.” He stated decisively. “I’ll need some time to prepare things.”

Coop frowned as he parsed the stonemason’s declaration. Balor was already walking through the huddle to leave the citadel in the direction of his workshop. “Hey, wait a sec Balor! What do you mean ‘prepare’?”

The stonemason stopped to elaborate for Coop. “We may all be factionless. Well, most of us that you’ve recruited, but we aren’t all independent due to the same circumstances. Almost universally, escaping a faction is an incredible challenge that requires decades of dedicated planning and preparation, then even more time properly escaping, with many battles in between. My situation was basically the opposite. I was chased out of my faction, forced into retirement because of choices I made to ensure I could work with my hands for a long time that went against my faction’s worn path.” He looked at the palm of his stone hand and slowly formed a rock fist. “I am going to discuss the idea of our little haven becoming a faction capital with the other factionless, because I expect that not all of them will be satisfied with the developments that drove you to this point. They will all have difficult choices to make as well.”

“It’s not like we’d change any of our policies.” Coop pointed out. “I’m not interested in changing our priorities.” He hadn’t considered that factionless contracted residents might be so opposed to factions that they would refuse to continue operating within Ghost Reef, but was that really the issue?

“Yes, you’ve already proven to be a suitable Champion. That’s not the problem, though.” Balor looked around at the settlement behind them. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that working an assimilation is typically considered an undesirable contract. Sure, there is opportunity to level professions, but many of the other benefits will never be realized, and even those limited bonuses are conditional on luck. Luck of being contracted to a settlement that will survive at all, luck that the settlement will be prosperous, and of course luck that the assimilation succeeds in joining the community. Any contracted resident has already accepted their prospects. In that sense, this Ghost Reef has already been a resounding success.”

Balor paused and asked Coop a pointed question, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that the Champion didn’t know something so basic within the galactic community. “What do you think happens to us contractors when an assimilation fails?”

“Uh, you get sent back?” Coop answered, unsure even though he thought it was obvious.

“That’s right.” Balor confirmed, glad that at least that much was understood. “But we are not bouncing down the side of a mountain, we can make our own arrangements if we know ahead of time. It’s not just about a new faction being formed, which you are not ready for, it’s that the assimilation will fail.” Balor proclaimed. “I’ll be talking to the others first.” He nodded firmly and continued out of the citadel.

“Huh.” Coop grunted as they watched the stonemason leave.

It didn’t seem like anything with the faction was actually that urgent, but it seemed like Balor wanted to get his own plans in motion before the humans did anything. Whatever it was, he deemed it important enough for him to abandon his guided tour. Coop was sure he would get the details from him another time, when the stonemason wasn’t all worked up after seeing the Faction Founding Chip. As far as he was concerned, it seemed like Balor wanted to ease the other contracted residents into the situation. He hadn’t really considered that as he worked to turn the settlement into a sanctuary for Earth, the contracted residents were growing equally attached.

“Well, I guess we’ll establish the faction before the assimilation officially fails.” Coop didn’t mind deferring to Balor on that particular decision. “I was thinking we could even do it afterwards, since it isn’t tied to an assimilation, only our survival, but let’s just put it to the back of the queue for now. If he says we’re not ready, we’re not ready.”

“Let’s wait until Ghost Reef is properly repaired and we’ve had a chance to upgrade, at least.” Marcus helpfully suggested. “I’ll be sure to keep on top of whatever our stonemason is cooking up.”