The Martial Unity

The overwhelming feeling of safety and security was a pleasure for all five of them, even Siliscia, who didn’t otherwise like the barren environment of Planet Sarantel, devoid of much nature.

Ten meters away from them was a fence bordering a familiar city that stretched as far as the eye could see, along with a gate that led to it. Above the gate was a board sign that had a hologram spelling out the name of the city loudly and boldly in neon colors.

[City Stormfront]

THUD

Runark fell to his knees. ”Ahhhh! The sweet smell of civilization!”

”Technically, Amadeus III had civilization,” Misha nonchalantly remarked as she strode forward, brushing her curly afro off the iron-ore dust that blew across the surface of the planet. ”Let’s go. I’m dying to get a proper deep-cleansing exfoliating bath.”

”ID,” the Martial Master bodyguards standing at the forefront of the city gates with standard-issue exo-Martial suits demanded.

It wasn’t long before they got through and into comfortable and familiar human civilization. The outskirts of City Stormfront were filled with welcoming establishments for newcomers to the city. The population density was substantial, comprised mostly of travelers leaving or entering the city, making their way across its lively streets.

The air was filled with the noise of energetic chatter, footsteps, and the hum of floating automobiles above a smooth magnetic tar. A very human scent of perfume and sweat, along with the smell of metal and iron, native to Planet Sarantel, hung in the air while a cool breeze swept past despite the massive skyscraper establishments. The sky was an intense red with the two red dwarf stars of the binary star system lighting the sky up.

Large city blocks were taken up by prestigious hotels that elevated hundreds of meters into the air with the best luxury and hospitality that a hotel in the frontier could hope to provide. The establishments had posh exteriors and cutting-edge infrastructural technology that made them more attractive to wealthier customers.

These establishments had intelligent modular architecture, allowing them to restructure their suites and other facilities and amenities to suit the needs of their clientele, as well as their own logistical needs, adaptively evolving to them. The guests who passed through and about them were Martial Sages and equivalently ranking pathwalkers. There were numerous wealthy clientele, important foreign officials, and VIP guests of the Jarkarthar Federation who occupied such establishments.

The five young pathwalkers simply kept walking, not even throwing a glance at the high-end establishments. They didn’t stand a chance, even considering the hefty payments that the commission from the Blood Humanist Society would offer them.

”I don’t need a room; I’ll be heading back to the Blood Humanist Society,” Misha reminded them as they arrived at a crossroads. ”Before we split up…”

She directed a sweeping gaze across them. ”We should have a brief chat.”

Siliscia tilted her head. ”About what?”

”About this party,” Misha replied nonchalantly. ”It was temporary, but it was effective enough. I am open to the possibility of keeping this party intact for future commissions and operations.”

Runark frowned at those words. He didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t want anybody coming between Ria and him. He would have pushed back at her words, but then he was reminded of what had happened on Planet Amadeus III when they had been separated from Ria by the two powerful homoarachnoids.

The party had come together to try to rescue Ria, even though they were strangers. They didn’t abandon Runark when he took on that scarily powerful, if injured, male homoarachnoid.

They stuck through even though their lives were very much at risk fighting that monster.

That was commitment and loyalty that was extremely difficult to come about.

And he had to admit that if not for them, he would have died trying to fight that monster by himself. His father would not have made it in time.

All because Runark was too weak.

He clenched his fist as his expression tightened.

”Runark?”

Ria’s voice broke him out of his engrossed thoughts as she gazed at him with clear eyes.

”Do you disagree?”

”Uh… no… no, I’m good with that.” He nodded a little stiffly. ”This party proved it was worth preserving. I don’t know if I’ll run into people that I can trust my back to the way I did with you against that monster.”

It was an unusual mix of characters, after all. Sternon and Siliscia had nowhere else to go because of their races. Sternon was an outcast simply because of the general prejudice that people had against the evosapiens, because of the surrounding circumstances. Elves like Siliscia were perfectly well-regarded, but elves generally tended to get along with their kin extremely well for sociogenetic reasons. They were extremely social and cohesive, something that made them incompatible with the more individualistic races of human civilization.

This made them more committed to the one team that they had found a place in. Misha wasn’t without options, but she clearly valued the team she had found because the proven commitment they had shown to each other had accelerated the trust-building phase, which otherwise would require a lot of time and commitment, not to mention experience in the field.

The extremely dangerous events of the operation on Planet Amadeus III had allowed them to get past that phase very quickly.

Siliscia’s smile grew a little bittersweet. Her sapphire eyes glinted with a hint of regret. ”I would love nothing more, but…”

She heaved a deep breath. ”I have a mission. I can only undertake missions to infected worlds.”

Her eyes sharpened with an unusual amount of determination.

”I must find a manifold tree.”

The words that came out of Ria’s mouth next were almost reflexive.

Instinctual.

”I plan to undertake more infected world missions from here on out.”

She blurted out before she even realized it.

The other four raised their eyes at her.

”That’s an interesting specialization as an adventurer,” Sternon murmured with a hint of interest in his translucent eyes. ”I respect it. It’s risky, but it brings big bucks. I don’t mind specializing in infected worlds. Don’t have experience with it beyond this mission, though.”

”Neither do I,” Misha added ambivalently, turning towards Ria with a pointed expression. ”Is there a particular reason you want to specialize in infected worlds, Ria?”

The other four directed their attention towards her, putting her on the spot.