It’s a bit weird being back in the same space station room where I left everyone to choose my Ascended Class. I’m in such a different mindset and headspace now. Definitely less desperate and more hopeful. I’m curious about where being part of the SSA and trying to find another homeworld for humans might take me. It seems like there’s less of a direct path to wherever I’m going to go next and more options are available… less things that are urgent and leaving me no choice but to act immediately. There’s no guarantee those feelings will last though, and I know that. Life has a momentum all its own and that’s been doubly true since we got hit with the Mana Influx.

  The view from the space station down onto this SSA homeworld, Driivekthar, is still something I’m drinking in through the transparent force shield or window; I still haven’t figured that out. It’s amazing and so far from anything on Earth with the structures that stretch kilometers high and towers that rise up almost to our height in orbit. Massively advanced technology is everywhere and the sheer scale of everything is far beyond what I’m used to. Taiwo and Aelara don’t seem nearly as interested as I do. No doubt this is all stuff that’s part of their world and they’re used to.

  “Make yourself at home, please. The High Enforcer will be with you shortly.”

  High Enforcer? I hold back an instinctive urge to tell the small, orange bear-like creature with too many arms that I’m the High Enforcer and I’m already here. It looks like B’esloor came up big and got us a High Enforcer to show me the ropes. I call up my notifications about Lirathel just in case and find I’m relieved she definitely was not a High Enforcer. I don’t want to deal with that again.

  We spend a while eating and waiting for our last Party member. Aelara doesn’t really eat like we do so I take the opportunity to find out a few things about her. She doesn’t go into her past too much, but I can tell she feels like an outsider amongst her people because of the strength of her Affinity and her Class. A lot of her skills revolve around technology which is awesome because it’s a significant weakness of mine and Taiwo really only seems to use technology when it comes to combat. Aelara has a selection of Skills and spells to help us in many situations from being protected against attack or surveillance to breaking codes, deep analysis, cyber warfare, and even combining magic with technology.

  Eventually our guide arrives, and it’s worth the wait. As soon as he walks in I pull his Status. He’s a towering, roughly humanoid skeletal figure that looks like he’s made of bone, or is wearing thick bone armor covered in glyphs and runes. He has jagged spines and bony protrusions everywhere, including nasty looking blades and claws on his arms and hands. Deep-set eye sockets with smoldering ethereal light that simmers in the background rather than eyeballs adds to his intense, threatening demeanor. A wicked, segmented tail-like appendage sprouts from his lower spine in addition to smaller appendages that remind me of powerful spider legs made of bone that emerge from his back. All up, he’s exuding danger and predatory energy.

  Kael Vrynn, Apex Hunter, SSA High Enforcer, Adjudicator, Warden of the Fractured Path, Spear of Resolution, Poov’yilli Spur, Dubnium Class Bounty Hunter, more…

  (Level 3 Boneweaver Predator) (Enhanced Ascended)

  [High Osseon] [SSA Special Forces] [Ossuary Vanguard] [Apex Hunter’s Conclave]

  Health: 10750/10750

  Mana: 8490/8490

  Conditions: Chimeric Evolution, Living Arsenal, Predatory Reflexes, Predator’s Instinct, Serrated Precision, Adaptive Defenses, Harden, Bone Deep, On The Hunt, Razor Sharp, more…

  “Greetings High Enforcer Bronwic,” he says in a respectful tone as soon as he enters the room, acknowledging me directly first of all. It’s refreshing to be greeted that way by someone who is powerful in their own right; most often in my experience that isn’t the case. Of course, there are plenty of times I’ve come in hot with guns blazing too when I felt it was justified. Kael’s voice has a certain gravity to it despite the tone and what he’s saying which makes me wonder if maybe his Charisma has the same general effect on people as mine does. Good for threats and intimidation, less good for devotion and making friends.

  “Greetings, High Enforcer Kael,” I reply back with a polite smile. We’re off to a good start.

  “Welcome to Driivekthar, or at least one of its space stations. And greetings to you Taiwo and Aelara. We will descend to the planet if you are ready to leave?”

  “We are,” I reply, and Kael turns while he indicates we should join him with one of his powerful, bone plated arms. I fall in beside him with Taiwo and Aelara trailing and we walk through dark coloured halls illuminated by glowing green trim. After a short time, Kael addresses me again. He towers over me by about a meter and his bulk must be twice mine, but his movements are in no way ponderous. His joints look to be at inventive angles that allow him to maneuver with more grace than you’d expect. No doubt he’s dropped more than a few Attribute points in Agility. After all the fighting I’ve done, I can’t help but wonder what tricks he has up his sleeve or if he’s a straight up melee fighter.

  “Representative B’esloor briefed me that you need someone to join your Party, to help you on your mission to save your species and assist the SSA at the same time. From your perspective is that the help you need?”

  Aelara moves in a way that makes me feel like maybe she’s paying close attention to this conversation, but I might just be making that up since her form flows a little bit with every movement.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “It is,” I agree, then pause. Maybe it’s just that it’s dangerous to be around me and B’esloor didn’t want to get someone killed, but I’m guessing it doesn’t take an Ascended Class to show us the ropes. “If you don’t mind me saying so Kael, you seem a bit… experienced to be the one to help us out?”

  “Actually, the opposite is true,” grates Kael in his rough voice. I didn’t expect this answer. “Unless, of course, all you want is for someone to show you to the door of a SSA Enforcer Enclave and leave you there. B’esloor told me you have the 9th Tier of Clearance in the SSA Enforcer network. That’s so high that you’re going to need some specialist guidance, and I am the only other High Enforcer in this whole Galaxy. Maybe in the surrounding Galaxies as well.”

  We stop at a large set of double doors on our right that opens automatically when we’ve been there for a second in a way that reminds me a lot of the doors in Star Trek, with a similar swishing sound. Through the door is an orderly but busy scene that I can only describe as a huge Star Trek teleportation pad, complete with control banks and people stepping up onto the transport pad to be beamed somewhere.

  Two guards in black armored jumpsuits including full helmets carrying what looks like tasers the size of baseball bats step forward as Kael’s massive form enters the room with us trailing him. My Danger Sense doesn’t even flicker and so I wait to see what’s going to happen. The guards call more guards over quickly as we move forward at a relaxed pace and they clear us a path up to the teleportation pad, moving everyone else out of the way. It disrupts the steady flow and I can see some Galactics get agitated.

  Kael ignores it all.

  “In fact, I only have Clearance to Tier 6 after working in SSA Enforcement for over 200 years. That’s the first High Enforcer Tier,” he says while he glances at Taiwo and Aelara. Maybe Kael thinks I know things like that, but I’m going to have to start at ground zero for learning. He returns his gaze to me and gestures with a clawed hand outward at the Universe.

  “There are some things you’ll need to find out on your own or from others,” he comments, and I wonder how he feels about the fact that I’ve got a higher Tier Clearance than him even though he’s been working at it for a hundred times longer than I’ve even had a Class. Nothing in his expression or demeanor gives anything away in that respect.

  Kael’s long strides lead us up onto the platform which we have to ourselves despite there being maybe a hundred pads for use.

  “We will be emerging at a public Portal facility on the planet's surface. The guards may be alarmed when you arrive. You can leave it to me,” he says calmly and then motions to a male elf-like creature with six arms who stands at the control station. He does something with the controls and I reach out with my Affinity to feel what happens and try to learn from it as we twist through a short distance of space down to the Driivekthar.

  “Smoother than your Portals,” observes Taiwo as we complete the beaming down process. I glance over at him ready to rise to the bait, but he’s so pleased with himself that I decide it’s something he’s been hoping to say for a while. You can always count on your mates to keep you grounded.

  Our appearance causes a lot of noise and weapons are pointed instantly and with some hostility at Taiwo, Aelara, and I. Galactics dive out of the way and rush out of the room, though nobody screams or makes a big deal out of it. They just rush to get the hell out of there. I spot lithe insectoid people with long limbs and reflective carapaces, crystalline and rock beings that crunch as they move with surprising speed, muscular quadrupeds with leathery hides covered in spines with bear-like heads, and more. It’s a truly diverse group of people.

  Taiwo has taken a defensive posture and I note Aelara has moved behind me to reduce the number of weapons trained directly on her. My Danger Sense flickers like a dying candle as Kael steps forward and spreads his arms, his massive wingspan covering all of us. I see him flick some notifications to the guards and there’s a couple second pause before they back off and stand down, then divert their attention to giving us a clear run out of the building. Kael picks up our conversation like nothing’s happened as we walk down the middle of a path that’s been cleared by the guards like we’re royalty or celebrities. It throws me just a bit.

  “If you’re interested, I’d like to join your Party,” says Kael.

  “What?” I ask, surprised. “Why? Don’t you have a problem with the fact I have a higher Clearance Tier than you even though my planet was only just introduced to the SSA through an Influx?”

  No point beating around the bush. I look over at Taiwo to try to read his expression and how he might feel about it, since he’s definitely within earshot. He looks interested but noncommittal. I think.

  “We have plenty of time to discuss it, but I wanted to be upfront. I heard from B’esloor you prefer directness in communications.”

  I’m about to object when I realize that’s actually probably right.

  “I do,” I reply instead.

  Kael leads us to the exit of the teleportation hub. As we leave, we’re greeted by the vast expanse and towering height of a pulsating, alien city. It was one thing to see it from the space station, but it’s an entirely different thing to step into it and experience it directly. Taiwo doesn’t seem affected and who knows about Aelara, but I dial down my Perception. The towering spires of the city seem impossibly tall as I stop and gaze up. All around us, sound hits me in an alien way; everything from harmonic chimes to a low thrum of energy and machinery. Galactics criss cross in all directions in front of us and drones zip through the air guiding people or delivering small packages. From this vantage point it looks like the streets radiate from the teleportation hub like the spokes of a wheel.

  “B’esloor said there is something special about you. I want to see it in action and learn how to progress faster. My combat ability and Skills have taken a significant leap now that I’m Ascended. I feel I’m ready to take on more,” says Kael as we navigate through the crowd. He seems oblivious to the impact it’s having on me. Rather than let myself get overwhelmed, I push all the sensory input aside and try to focus on what he’s saying.

  “Let’s have this conversation when we get to the SSA Enforcer Enclave, ok?” I ask him.

  “We’re already here, of course. SSA Enforcer Enclaves are always located near transportation hubs for a quick option in case of emergency,” Kael says, and points at one of the nearby buildings. When I turn my attention to it, I immediately feel that it’s more substantial than the others. It seems… somehow invulnerable to attack or being influenced in any way. I check my notifications to see if something is messing with my mind, but it’s just the impression that the architecture gives.

  One large gate and door is the only opening visible in the building. It looks like it’s made from a single, colossal piece of unidentifiable, solid and strong material. Its surface is matte black and as I turn my Perception back up I realize it is absorbing not just light but also sound. My senses tell me this building probably extends far underground, concealing its true dimensions. The simplicity of it somehow radiates power and authority. Certainly there is nobody walking in and out of it, and people give it a wide berth.

  Unperturbed, Kael leads us right up to the building, through the front door which easily accommodates his massive frame, and into what I hope is a next step in helping humanity to thrive.