Rewrite of chapters after 500 coming in 2024. Book will continue.
Benny was worried. Despite the spread and the all-you-can-eat barbecue in front of him, Sam wouldn’t cheer up. He had a dark look on his face and ate very little, very slowly. Meanwhile, Foxy wolfed down lunch in a matter of ten minutes, putting away four plates of meat without taking a break, and then scurried off to the Warrens to play with her friends. Benny was left awkwardly trying in vain to start a conversation, any conversation with a moping Sam for an hour before they finally parted ways. Pensively wandering the streets of Craggy Falls in his Combat Frame, Benny looked around with a sense of melancholy as he realized it might very well be the last day he spent here. Years ago, he had arrived as a refugee with his family from Northsands, a bauxite mining town by the shore of the Black River, fleeing to Craggy Falls for safety as the Undead Risings began. Benny had been eight at the time. That was when he first met Amber and Sam, in a trailer park where refugees from various
When Benny first entered his new home, he suddenly felt quite lost. Right at the front door, inside a comfortably carpeted living room. Inside was a full-wall high resolution display showing the most popular view of Craggy Falls, with the water constantly flowing down, making it feel like the entire living room was just a balcony facing the waterfall. Cool air blew in from what appeared to be the main viewscreen and it even had a slightly moist feel. There was a moving machine vacuuming the carpet, disc-shaped and roughly a foot in diameter. But Benny didn’t hear the sound of vacuuming. What he heard was the distant sound of falling water. There were large leather sofas, deep brown and slightly wrinkly, as if they were well-worn, but they had that new-leather smell to them. They were arranged in a semi-circle, with a smooth oval table in between them. The table had strange metal fixations beneath it; Benny had a strong suspicion that it was more than just a table, or at least, would b
During one breezy morning as Remian was planning some happy times with Phoebe, a shocking announcement arrived across interstellar net. “Attention, all star nations of the Indigo Star Cluster. Due to the Mitigok advance, Gate Warp functions in the following territories will be discontinued; Quarin Coalition Southernmost Territories, Draconian Dominion Tail Tip Region, Woofer Packs United, Meorin Ascendency, Tau Confederacy Eastern Stars, the Uber States, Kanonasia, and all surrounding star systems. “As per security policy, all Gates in these territories will self-destruct to prevent Mitigok Infestation and Gate Network Infiltration. The Gate Supervisory Committee will not accept enquiries, complaints or interviews at this time. “To all those in the affected regions, you have two weeks to exit before the Gates close for good. “Good luck.” Then there was silence. It was like someone hit the mute button on the entire elven world. For a minute, maybe two, it seemed not even the birds
Seven Years after he left for Elenath Edhellen, Remian returned to Sorrel II. The first thing he noticed was the blooming infrastructure in space. “We have a space station!” Remian gaped. “There’s an Orbital Shipyard right next to it, and they seem to be building a Class 4 Turtle!” Seven years! Ermine had taken huge steps forward in those seven years. Remian saw satellites, drones and shuttles flying about between the moon and the space station and couldn’t help feeling excitement. They were doing it! They were really colonizing local space and becoming a Class 4 civilization! “What’s the power source of that space station?” Remian asked. Phoebe checked the sensor readings and answered. “They’re using fusion power. Triflux.” “Seriously?!” “There’s no question. It’s not basic nuclear fusion or even plasma fusion. It’s genuine Triflux.” “Awesome!” There were a few soft beeps. “Incoming comms. It’s the space station.” “Let’s have it.” Ermine came on the viewscreen. “Well, hello
When Xiao Yan appeared on screen, that scrawny girl who followed him around was gone. In her place stood a nineteen year-old supervisor with a datapad in one arm, a purple-framed visor over her eyes, wearing a stunningly well-filled white blouse and a formal dark blue skirt both threaded with silvery veins. Next to her stood Tim. He’d grown tall, and had filled out with muscles, though not as heavily as George. Also, the background looked like a comfortable living room, not an office. There was a comfortable couch, and framed pictures of both Tim and Xiao Yan… “So I hear congratulations are in order.” Remian smiled. “Well done.” “Thank you, thank you.” Xiao Yan bobbed her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Xiao Yan always did have a thing for freeing slaves, and when it comes to that, there’s nobody in this world who can compare with you.” Remian reflected. “Maybe, but even without that, we get along very well.” Tim mused. “Half the time it’s like she can read my mind, and t
Predictably, the chat was followed by calls to George, Alani, Sabrina, and Darian. George had the defense well in hand. The Undead were stronger than they’d ever been, and even Tier 7’s were Rising these days, but their forces managed to keep pace until now, especially with air support. Raven actually had several fleets occupying the skies between Kara-Goth and Nightshade City to provide bombardment or sniper fire as necessary. George had a weird look on his face when he talked about Raven, but he didn’t mention anything personal in his report to Remian and Remian didn’t bring it up either. Also, the New Dragon Empire was technically an ally, but they didn’t actually offer much help. If anything, they seemed to treat the Draconian Quarter at Craggy Falls as a holiday retreat. Regardless, George didn’t really mind. Trade was booming and relations were amicable. What more could he ask for? Remian didn’t ask for more either. Eventually, George passed the call to Alani, who was excited
Talking to Ermine about it was the first thing he did upon arriving at Sky Haven. Remian brought it up before they even left the docking bay. “It wasn’t me.” Ermine said half-defensively. “It was those scholarship students of yours.” “Scholarship students?” “Why, yes, these are the children who studied starship engineering through your scholarship. While it doesn’t actually make any difference, technically they’re now working for you, not me. I set them up with their own shipyard, gave them a whole lot of space and some funding, and let them run their own shipbuilding company. They called it Starbright Shipyards.” “Their own company?” Remian eyed her sideways. “I was trying to raise them the way you would. That’s your style, isn’t it? Let them start their own gig and then support them from behind?” Remian thought about it for a moment. “Okay. But we can’t just leave them to their own devices completely. We need to provide oversight.” “Oh, I do keep an eye on them. I also offer t
“Staff meeting at 1900 hours. Top Priority. Everyone needs to be there.” Benny was pondering over the power connections for the Long Haul Transport when Ermine called. He glanced at the clock; it was almost time. Whatever was so urgent and important? He found out soon enough. At 1900 hours, Benny, Amber, and the rest of the Eight arrived at Ermine’s place only to find her seated across from the biggest Lynxmice she had ever seen. This one was easily twice the size of a normal lynxmouse, head-sized rather than hand-sized. Also, this one had white fur, wore a white blouse and even a red skirt. Ermine didn’t waste any time. “Amber, meet Miko. Miko is the representative of the Lunar Lynxmice here on Sky Haven.” “Lunar Lynxmice?” Amber blinked. “Yes, after a few generations on the moon, the Lynxmice there have developed quite differently from the planetside Lynxmice. As you can see, they’re bigger. What you can’t see is that they’re also smarter. A lot smarter.” At the same time, it