Entry 016: Sage Advice
Day 72
I was getting ansty as I emerged from hyperspace with a booming flash of light. Fortunately there was no distress call, no cry for help from anyone, which was quite a relief. I decided to go to the Orgiye-Pek station in orbit around a nearby world, the name of which I ignored. I wanted to check on the status of the items there, and while none of the upgrades interested me, I topped off my supplies of uranium, plutonium, chromatic metal, di-hydrogen and the rest in case I needed them. The dry, mundane technocratic atmosphere was in stark contrast to the Path of Destiny set before me, as if to distract me from its mysterious destination. I eavesdropped a bit on the station-goers’ conversations, but their talks seemed to have nothing to do with a strange mystic declaring fate-altering prophecies.
I flew out among the ships waiting to do business and scanned the planets as a formality. The outer two were iceballs, the inner one superhot and barren. The third was a garden world with stormy weather, and the second was my target. I hoped Wers XIII was a harbinger of changing luck. It wasn’t to start with, as it was just peeking around the binary stars opposite the station. To avoid flying close to the stars, I aimed out into space away from them and pulsed towards nothing. When I saw that I was about halfway there I broke pulse to orient towards Wers XIII, and immediately picked up a distress signal. Now? Just my typical luck, but I couldn’t help but play roadside assistant to everyone in need, and responded. It was a Gek, and quite distressed.
“Please, please! Fuel, some fuel! Stranded, depleted, damaged! Will you help?”
I wanted to give him a lecture. What idiot goes spacing without enough resources? Was he some porwigle? But he mentioned damage, so there might be extenuating circumstances. “Yes, yes, I will be right there. Hold tight.”
“Gratitude! Much gratitude!” he garbled out before I cut the signal. I wish a titanic benefactor would come my way with a handy dandy Save The Universe kit, complete with stylish cape.
I aimed the ship at the indicated marker and pulsed towards it instead. Spooky lady would have to wait. Just to make sure it hadn’t changed post-Reset to something weird on me, I checked my pulse engine and saw that it replenished with either tritium or pyrite which I had in abundance.
Star Sword broke pulse on its own as it came within range of the crippled vessel, a little Fighter. It didn’t look damaged, but that wasn’t always apparent at first glance. I reopened a signal to him, asking, “Greetings. So, you need fuel. Anything else?”
Sensors indicated I was being scanned, which… oh, whatever, it didn’t matter to me if he saw anything - though come to think of it, maybe I didn’t want him to see everything. He tittered, saying, “Yes… much goods, very much goods. I will have all of it!” Just then, there were several rings of rippling jump effects visible around us, and I grit my teeth in anger. Taking advantage of a helpful soul like that? I felt like a real sucker.
As his fellow Pirates popped into normal space, he wasted no time firing on me. As always, they had countermeasures that blocked my pulse engines from igniting, but I wasn’t of a mind to run away and gunned my engines to fighting speed. Sweeping the nose across a pair of the miscreants shooting at me, I unloaded a stream of Photon Cannon on them which disabled one and ended the other in a fiery blast. The first suffered the same fate just after. In the background I heard their angry chatter at losing two ships almost immediately. While I was normally a benevolent soul, I was going to make damned sure they lost more than that. I wanted a lesson that would sting in the minds of the survivors to make them consider a safer and more honest career.
Nosing around, the ship took fire, and one of them was from a Phase Beam which began to burn off shielding rapidly. I wasn’t sure how well armed they were, but this one had to go next. Training my nose on the source of those deadly rays, I returned fire with like fire, and he didn’t make out as well, immediately exploding. Three down, how many more?
As I quickly replenished my shields in a brief respite, I could hear the leader chittering furiously, “Gah! Puddlings! Grabarah! He is only one! End him!” A more savvy Pirate might consider that, having not made a distress call, I was no pushover.
Seeing that the ship closest to my nose was the bait, and most likely the ringleader or his second, I decided to finish him off. I launched a pair of missiles to give him some trouble, and then tried to bring the Photon Cannon to bear on him, but he was jinking desperately as he sought to shake the missiles and I barely landed much on him. But while one missile exploded harmlessly, the other gave him some real damage and his maneuverability was hampered. He had the nerve to open a channel directly to me, crying, “Please! Stay your fire! Mercy!”
I wasn’t feeling very merciful right then, what with his comrades still shooting on me, but I thought I’d toss him a tiny bone. “How much mercy did you show me?”
He glared at me, squealing, “Nasty stink! Fakr!”
“Thanks for the reply,” I muttered, and gave him Photon fire till his ship blew up.
One of them grumbled worriedly, “Our head… we lost our head! So few now!”
I had indeed nearly cut their number in half, and decided to try something which might possibly save their rotten lives. I opened a broadband transmission, yelling, “I am Traveler Fox! I am your death! Unless you stop piracy right now and walk a different Path! I will slay you all!”
That sparked a frantic exchange among them as they chittered so fast I could barely make out a word, but the gist of it was making the best of a smelly situation. One of them practically shrieked, “Good offer! Fair offer! Deal! We leave!” Even Pirate Gek spoke in the language of commerce. A couple of them began to protest, but the first one snapped, “Then stay! Spend your own blood!” Three of them peeled off and formed up, their trails streaking out to deep space. Amidst some brief grumbling, the remaining pair hightailed it out after them. I didn’t know if letting them go that was the wisest choice, but I had enough sense to know that I lacked the wisdom and authority to decide all fates. And in spite of my many flaws, I wasn’t cruel. If I ever saw them again, though…
A short time after my little diversion, I arrived over Wers XIII and gave the dusty rock a cursory scan. Quite a number of icons came up in the display for such a rough world, but even planets with truly hazardous environments had their tenacious denizens. Of course there was no mark for Seer’s Tent, so on that point I had to do some visual scanning. I fed the mapping system with the data Romat shared with me, though it took quite a bit of searching thanks to a distinct lack of ocean-facing coastline. But finally I was sure I’d found what I was looking for; a characteristic range of mountains, and nestled in a small hollow was a body of water with the right shape. I had no idea how visible Baba’s Hut would be so I came in low and slow for a look. But as I drifted in close to a flat ridge… was that a ship? Yes, and another was close by. Was this “unknown” sage so popular that she had regular visits? I hoped I wouldn’t have to wait in line.
I landed Star Sword near a Fighter and Explorer on the flat area which served as a parking lot, and marched for the site of habitation a short walk off. And as expected, sitting beside a rough fence on the edge of a dirt path was a Vy’keen, most likely the pilot of the Fighter. At least it was a very short line. He watched me approach as I looked the place over, or what passed for a place. A rough knotty fence served to mark off the bounds of the property. A weathered sign afixed to the right gate post read in Lingo, Wait your turn here. Within the fence was a food garden taking up almost half the yard, a small coop with a few clucking ground fowl opposite, and in the center was a makeshift tent of leathery beast hide which was rather big. Did she have a family, or maybe a side office of sorts where she conducted her mystic business?
The Vy’keen rose and made a fist of greeting which I returned with a grunt. “Why are you here?” I asked. “Come here often?”
“No,” he replied flatly to humor he likely didn’t catch, adding, “I need guidance.”
“Don’t we all,” I remarked. “What about?”
“Private business,” he said and looked aside, so that discussion was over and I didn’t pry. After all, Vy’keen business was serious business.
He sat again, seeming to imply that this could take a while. I wasn’t quite ready to squat with him, listening a bit to what I could glean from the session inside. I was amazed to hear the buzzing garble of a Korvax. What the heck drove a Korvax to consult with a mystic! I was bewildered, especially over the fact that they knew of Isvelda’s existence at all. Whatever the situation was, this had to be a desperation move for them. The atmosphere of the place felt ever more ominous… she must be the real deal. As it was hard to make out anything distinct, I sat down at the edge of the path opposite my fellow seeker and asked, “How long have you waited?”
“Ohh…” he mused, looking at the daystars which were creeping towards the horizon, and made a small arc at them with his finger. Maybe an hour, but an hour long session with a Korvax? I guess they wanted detailed guidance. I hoped my comrade’s answers were brief and satisfactory.
It took a while longer, and it was hot with no shade, so I had to quench my thirst. I only drank once, as my stoic companion was content to endue it, and I didn’t want to appear weak. As the suns crept onward, it sounded like things were wrapping up inside, and I just managed to catch, “This method only?” There was a bit more, and then, “This, only, in compensation? …My gratitude.” Presently, a door flap opened and the Korvax ducked out of it. I was concerned as he looked unsteady for a moment, and I jumped up to help if he needed it, but he saw me and waved me off. “I am… optimal,” he told me, which I wasn’t too sure about but I let him pass. I was beyond curious of what this consultation was about. Maybe he needed some unique repairs.
The Vy’keen was less concerned about the Korvax than me, rising to stand in front of me as if I might try to cut ahead of him. As he entered the yard, he gave me a stern look and a warning. “Do. Not. Listen.”
“Right, right,” I murmured and resumed my seat in the scruffy grass as he lifted the flap and disappeared into the murk within. I jumped as I heard a loud snap off in a stand of trees, the sound of a broken branch. I might have seen some movement but if I did, it was likely just a critter. As on Irfeld, the plants must enjoy tapping into the nearby water source and flourished just a bit more. Water sounded good right then, and I took a long, deep, thirsty drink. I should probably don my helmet and enjoy the suit’s much cooler air, but I didn’t want to pass up a chance to overhear something, if it should happen. And it did.
As the Korvax Explorer lifted off, the noise quickly subsided and I heard some faint small talk. But a few moments later there was a shocking wild outcry of, “Heed my words, warrior!” The air around the place became thick with an ominous spirit of foreboding, made worse as I heard the Vy’keen cry out in some sort of fright. I was startled myself. I began to wonder if I wanted to go through this ordeal after all. “You are mistaken,” I caught, as she evidently corrected him on something. “Old grudges may be false… views, tainted with hate… all are not enemies…”
“But… what they did—” he began weakly.
“They are all dead… would you refight the dead… or the innocent with the guilty!” There was a tone of supreme authority in her voice that even cowed me. “Now listen! Or there will be a curse on you and all who transgress… you wish to oppose… then you must do it justly… there… and there… and there… more, and you are spread too thin… too weak… and failure will come of it… death, all death…”
“But… we are strong—!”
“Do you seek wisdom? Or your own decisions!” Her voice was angry, accusing.
“No! No!” he wailed. “I mean… the first!”
I was amazed how much of this was so easily heard after straining to hear any of the session with the Korvax, but then I saw that I had crept into the yard, close to the tent, and tiptoed back outside the fence. I feared that she could sense my trespass. But even there, at my spot by the gate, I could hear some of it though I learned very little else. A battle that should be carefully planned, and limited, and expectations tempered… what kind of battle? Consideration for… people? Help? Then it quieted down to barely heard discussion, much like before, maybe question and answer. I was perspiring, though as much from tension as the heat, and I drained my water bottle. I had gone through a number of hot worlds, and would have to replenish my tank.
“That is all?” The Vy’keen sounded surprised, and I hoped that things had wound down to the payment portion of the show. Though, did I really want it to end so soon? Enter that numinous arena now? I got my answer as the flap opened and the Vy’keen stumbled out, looking dazed and confused, much as the Korvax before him. What on Earth had he endured in there? I jumped up and he saw me but waved dismissively as he left, no doubt having a lot to ponder.
“Enter,” came a terse command from inside the tent, and I realized I was stuck in place. Obediently, if meekly, I approached and drew the leathery flap aside. What sanity testing ordeal would I have to face?