PoA The Concept of Death Chapter 3

PoA The Concept of Death 3

Melinda looked at Tara in disbelief.

She had to be joking.

“You must be joking. Right? She’s like a million years old.” Melinda thought over what she said and corrected herself. “She’s multiple millions of years old. She’s probably had naps that lasted longer than we’ve been alive.”

Tara stood there with a look on her face that Melinda knew all too well. It screamed that Tara had the proverbial bit in her mouth, and was going to charge ahead no matter what anyone said.

Wanting to head off an explosion or rant, Melinda threw an arm over her friend’s shoulders and squeezed. She knew Tara would have gone off with a million and one reasons why it was a good idea.

“If that’s what you want to do, fine. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“You think I have a chance?”

Melinda sighed and debated lying, but threw the idea out after a slight hesitation.

“Probably not a snowball’s chance in a forge.”

“What? Why not? I’m pretty. I’m smart. I’m a good fighter. I’m…”

Melinda interjected, “Young. Tara, you are a fraction of a blink for her. Your life experiences are nothing compared to hers. I think that will be a hard gap to bridge.”

Tara didn’t seem as put down by that, and had a thoughtful look on her face, instead of the dejected one that Melinda expected.

“So I just need to get stronger and live forever. That’s easy enough. Life experience is more a percentage than a flat number, so I just need to get some under my belt to lessen the relative gap. After a few thousand years, I assume you’d have seen it all and done it all, so I would have caught up by then. Thanks, Melinda! Good talk.”

Melinda shoved her archer away, and focused on the meeting point they were at. She had been more focused on saying goodbye to Aunt Helen than looking around. Now, she saw that there were hundreds of people milling about in little groups. She expected that they were other teams, and that the larger ones were multiple teams engaged in casual chatting. She didn’t miss the few lone people that appeared to be solo delvers either.

Her Concept showed her that everyone was healthy and in fine shape, so she meandered around and checked people that she had previously missed because of the crowd.

As she reached the other side of the mass of bodies, she noticed a massive cordoned-off area. She peered around, searching for some official to ask about it, but a wave passed through the crowd, and everyone got quiet. Following the gaze of the people around her, she looked to the sky and saw a flying vehicle descending. The thing was silent, which felt wrong for its bulk, but fit its sleek and aerodynamic design. The thing looked more like an armored transport vehicle from the movies than anything else.

A quick search showed her that was exactly what it was. It was a few millennia-old model that had been out of commission for four thousand years, according to her AI. She also found the warship that the vehicle was traditionally paired with. It was a massive cruiser-type ship that was used to transfer million-strong armies through the void of chaotic space in a single trip.

Mathew encircled her from behind and kissed the top of her head, saying, “Now that’s a ship.”

“Did you see what it’s attached to? It’s even more impressive.”

“Of course. Do you think they still have the cannons installed?”

Melinda bumped him with her butt and scoffed. “The transport has its weapons stripped, and I’d bet the cruiser does as well. There is no way they would bring us onto a ship with combat stuff on it.”

“But it would be so cool. I guess being on the ship will have to suffice. I wonder if we’ll get to sleep in the old barracks. Oh, that could be fun.”

Melinda listened to her husband ramble on, and smiled as she watched the ship land. It had been strange to spend three days without him. They hadn’t spent that much time apart since before the rift break, so it was nice to have him back.

The shuttle’s rear opened up, and she could see a space that was at least a dozen times larger than the apparent outerhold of the ship. Instead of the rows of hard seating she expected, there looked to be an upscale lounge. There was a crewman in an immaculate suit, but she saw what was hidden to everyone else.

The man, while he exuded only a Tier 4 aura, was at least Tier 15 or more. Their body not aging or having any blackness was the peek behind the curtain, and she assumed he was a hidden bodyguard. It made sense. Why would the Empire gather its young and talented youth, but not have hidden guards to prevent sabotage from the other great powers?

It reassured her that they would be in no danger during this excursion.

Soaking up Mathew’s excitement, she followed him around as he poked and prodded at the hull of the ship. He completely ignored the splendor while trying to find an unupholstered portion of the hull.

She did pick up a flute of champagne from another hidden immortal that was pretending to be Tier 5. As people filtered in, Mathew led her to a portion of the ship that had a window. They watched as the city grew smaller and smaller, until it was just a dot on the ground, and covered by a passing cloud.

With a twisting of reality that she felt in her bones, they were suddenly amidst a soupy void of blacks, purples, and tinges of red. As the ship rotated, they got a view of the world sitting in the chaotic space.

It was like a shining firefly with four strings of light reaching off into the darkness. Mathew had his face pressed against the window and gasped out a quiet, “It’s so pretty. And look, that’s what we teleport on. Wow. I can’t tell if it’s super small, or huge.”

Melinda rubbed his back and murmured an agreement. There was something mesmerizing about the shifting colors that called out to her, soothing and lulling her into feeling sleepy.

Mathew started peering around as they turned and started moving and said, “I can’t see the ship.”

A passing crew member stopped after hearing that and lightly laughed, saying, “Yeah, without a Concept and with lower cultivation, our vision is limited in chaotic space. I believe we’ll be passing the ship with a good view if you go to the port side window.”

“Thanks!” Mathew nodded to the liar and pulled her along. Melinda felt a petty desire to call the Tier 15 out for him pretending that he couldn’t see from here. The man could probably feel the cruiser in chaotic space from where they were.

Debating on whether or not to let it go, she chose not to. But she decided to do it in private.

“Matt go ahead. I’ll catch up in a moment.”

Her husband was so preoccupied, he just hurried along as she turned to the waiter.

“You’re giving yourself away. Even if I couldn’t see that you’re Tier 15 or higher with my Concept, I could have guessed it with you spilling something most people under Tier 15 wouldn’t know. Sloppy really.”

The man stumbled and she internally danced to see him so shaken.

The server turned to her and inspected her head to toe. If she didn’t see the serious look on his face, she would have interpreted it as him checking her out. “I don’t know what Concept you have that allows that, but I’d ask you to keep it to yourself. We’re here for your protection. But I can’t stop you.” He paused then nodded to her. “Thank you for the warning. I didn’t even register it.”

She walked through the halls with a smile on her face and caught up to Mathew, who was busy snatching snacks off of the passing waiters’ platters.

Melinda had to stifle a laugh at a Tier 6 berating a waiter who was only Tier 4 for not having a better selection of finger food. If he knew the waiter was at least Tier 15, she was sure his tune would turn around completely.

It also caused her to pause. Was her team like that?

She thought about it long and hard, but didn’t think they were, and decided against telling her team that the people serving them were all powerhouses. It would allow her to observe her team, and correct any behavior that was like that man’s. She also tagged him with her AI, so they could avoid him in the future.

After watching the Tier 6 man go on and on for a while, she decided to intervene. Being berated like that was wrong, no matter your Tier.

“Excuse me.”

The berater paused and looked startled.

Seeing that she had his attention, she pulled out what her team called her ‘mother hen’ tone and expression.

“Listen here. You are being incredibly rude. Would you talk to someone like this if he was a Tier 15?” She internally grinned at the squirming hidden immortal, but forged on.

“No. And you shouldn’t do it if they’re Tier 4 either. It’s rude and sets a horrible example for everyone else. Also, you make yourself look like an ass.”

“But he nearly spilled his tray on me. And he had bad food.”

Melinda looked at him as if he were stupid and waited for the man to squirm.

“So, that gives you the right to call him out publicly and loudly? Shame on you. I was raised in an orphanage and have better manners than that.”

Normally she hated using the orphan card, but seeing the embarrassment that crept onto the man’s face made it worth it.

Turning to the waiter, she smiled and let it morph into a knowing grin. “It’s alright, sir. Maybe when you hit Tier 15 you won’t be as clumsy?”

She took a moment to savor the immortal’s awkwardness for a short moment before leaving.

After she rejoined Mathew and after a short wait at the window, they saw the cruiser appear like a ship parting the mist on a foggy lake. It was massive. With over a mile and a half of exterior surface area, and over fifteen on the expanded inside, it was a monster of warfare travel. Unlike the shuttle that was transporting them, this cruiser was a boxy thing with hard angles. It had no regard for travel in atmosphere, and maximized available space as opposed to its aerodynamics.

Apparently, the battleships’ direct use fell off in the last few thousand years, but it was once a titan of a warship that still commanded the space around it with a threat of imminent violence. She felt that there was some poetry in the fact that it was still being used, but now for civilian activities. It somehow felt like a fitting retirement for a ship that had survived and served well during the wars.

She wondered what the new ships looked like, but wasn’t at all surprised to find nothing of use on her downloaded snapshot of the EmpireNet. There was no way that the Empire would let current military technology out on the open Nets.

They entered the warship through a simmering silver barrier, and the view of chaotic space outside was replaced with a hanger that had a multitude of banners and other decorations. Once they exited the transport vehicle, everyone was corralled to a podium, where a woman in a civilian navy suit called out to them in a resonating voice.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You are on the HMS Deceiver. She’s a good girl who served her time in the wars, and has since been refitted to a more mundane purpose.”

Melinda wanted to roll her eyes. An old warship filled with hidden Tier 15’s masquerading as lower Tier servants on a ship called HMS Deceiver. She wasn’t sure if that was fitting, or if someone had a sense of humor when they assigned the ship for this mission.

The woman who could only be the Captain looked wistful as she looked at the exposed metal, but continued after a deep breath. “I am Captain Kelsie, Tier 16.”

Melinda didn’t believe any of that. The woman felt more like Baxter did. Their cultivation could be hidden, but there was a depth to it that Melinda had learned to pick up on after enough time around the higher Tiers.

Glancing around to check everyone’s reactions, she saw that their ship was only one from half a dozen, with each having released a few hundred people onto the hangar floor. A quick guesstimation gave her around a thousand people picked up from the planet. She was surprised there were that many Pathers on a single out-of-the-way planet.

She knew it wasn’t that hard to remain on The Path at Tier 6, but the numbers implied were startling. You only had to reach Tier 6 by twenty-four years old, which really wasn’t that difficult. Her team had done it by late nineteen.

She was pulled out of her musing by the Captain’s next words. “As you are all on The Path, and time is of the essence, you will each be given essence stones of your Tier. One every other day while we are underway.”

There was a slight cheer and some whooping from some in the crowd that caused the Captain to smile. The smirk allowed Melinda to notice the thin scar on the captain’s face, as it made her smile slightly crooked. If she believed the Captain was actually Tier 16, she would have offered to remove the scar. It could be hard for the newly immortal to exert enough control over their bodies to remove things like scars. But she knew the woman was much stronger, and would have the body control necessary, which meant keeping it was intentional.

“Yes-” Captain Kelsie continued, “A wonderful and useful resource. If you want the advice of an old lady, absorb them slower than the five hours it usually takes. They’re as compacted as essence from rift monsters, so no need to fiddle around as if it were ambient essence, but essence stones can teach you something if you look deep enough.”

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There was a murmuring that reflected Melinda’s own thoughts. She tapped into the ship’s LocalNet and did a search for essence stones, but found nothing. She doubted that the Captain would mess with a bunch of kids, and decided to take the hint as it was intended. She would see if she could discover anything.

“We will be traveling for another two weeks, and making more stops to pick up others on our journey to the vassal kingdoms. Our ship’s AI has already allocated rooms for each team. But on to the important things. Food! Chow will be available at all times in the form of sandwiches, and there will be hot meals every six hours, every day. If you have any problems, please just ask one of my staff, they will be more than willing and able to help.”

Someone from the crowd called out, “What if we want to fight?”

The Captain smirked at that and grinned into the crowd. “ Ah, yes… Fighting. You’re all going to a little war and don’t want to show your asses to the locals. Yes, we have training rooms and arenas in the port aft of the ship. If you want some more advice on your little war, wait to choose a side. Show off some skill when you arrive at the neutral city, and get them into a bidding war for you.”

Melinda was miffed they hadn’t thought of that and already locked in their chosen side. None of them had even considered not clicking on the box to choose when they were given the option. She had thought it was a requirement, but it clearly wasn’t.

The Captain half turned before she spun back and winked, “Feel free to explore the ship while you’re on board. There are a few areas not marked that I’m sure some of you would enjoy finding. I’ll see you all at our destination. Please enjoy your time on my vessel.”

Melinda wanted to sigh. She didn’t need to turn to feel her husband vibrating in anticipation at the offer of free rein to explore the ship. She knew he would have done it either way, but at least she’d have seen him if he had to be circumspect. Now, she doubted she would see him until they left the ship.

Ignoring the ping to her AI with their team’s assigned room, she latched a hand on Mathew’s arm and pulled it in. “We’re all visiting our rooms and settling in, then having at least one meal together before you’re allowed to explore. I also want to do some training while we’re here. A few spars could be a good way to test out our combat experience.”

There was a slight groan from her team, and she squashed it with, “Three hours a day. I don’t care; we’re doing it.”

There was a chorus of sarcastic “yes, mom”s that she took as agreement.

They, along with most everyone else, filtered into the ship and followed their AIs to their assigned rooms.