Chapter 34

　　"Jack." The brown-haired, green-eyed woman stated, moving into the office while flanked by her guards.

　　She ignored his invitation for a hug, moving to one of the chairs positioned in the sitting area of Lying Jack`s office. She primly adjusted her short, business suit skirt as she sat, waiting impatiently for the pirate leader to join her.

　　If Jack was annoyed at the lacking greeting, he didn`t show it. The smile never left his face as he sat across from her, flicking his golden cape out of the way dramatically before sitting in the chair. With a snap of his fingers, an assistant came out of a side door carrying drinks on a tray.

　　Bottles of alcohol, a pitcher of juice from Terran Oranges transported from their ancestral homeland, and a pot of tea were all neatly arranged on the coffee table in front of them. Ignoring everything else, Erika poured herself some of the steaming tea, adding cream and sugar before taking a small sip.

　　Lying Jack watched in amusement as he held his hand out for his assistant to place a glass of liquor in it.

　　"What brings you to my humble abode, Erika?" Jack asked, taking a long sip from the glass in his hand.

　　"Business. I need you to make trouble with the planets surrounding Caledon. I`ll provide you with a list, but there are over a hundred inhabited worlds that I want you to focus on. This assignment takes priority over everything else, and I will require all your available workforce." Erika explained.

　　Jack winced dramatically at the command, shaking his head slowly from side to side and letting out a huff of air.

　　"That sector is rather poor. I am not in the business of charity, my darling. I have many mouths to feed, and that particular field will be a very poor harvest." Jack replied.

　　Erika was prepared for this response. Lying Jack was as shrewd a businessman as anyone in Aesir Corporation. Their interactions usually devolved into the same back and forth, with him constantly pushing for more payment.

　　"I will ensure that several Aesir transport ships are repositioned to some of the more populated worlds. That should offset some of the costs. This endeavour will be profitable, Jack. For both of us." Erika promised.

　　Lying Jack was silent momentarily, tapping a perfectly manicured fingernail against the side of his glass while he considered the proposition. He looked at it from every angle, doing the math, and it simply didn`t add up. There was nothing for Aesir Corporation to gain from his actions against the Caledonians.

　　"This is rather unorthodox, even for you, love. What does Aesir stand to benefit from riling up those planets? I`ve heard the news on the Net. They are clamouring for the young Baron`s protection. Your work, I assume?" Lying Jack replied. He was incredibly observant. You had to be when you were in his line of work.

　　"Are you trying to pit the Earl of Praxis against the Caledonians?" Jack surmised. That region of space was technically under Praxis` control, although they largely ignored it aside from collecting the Tithe.

　　"The Earl of Praxis has withdrawn his protection of that area. You can pillage with impunity if you do so without drawing the Emperor`s ire. Even Aesir cannot shield you from his wrath." Erika replied.

　　"I suspect that Kalen Caledon is in possession of an item of great importance to us. Something that he won`t use unless forced into a corner. Your job is to push him there." Erika answered, frowning at the man.

　　She hated how he seemed to always be in the lead of their negotiations. She would have preferred to keep that particular tidbit of information quiet.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　"Why not simply have us invade Caledon and take it?" Jack asked. The Baron had made significant progress in stabilizing that planet, but against his Corsairs, they would be as wheat before the scythe.

　　"That will only be used as a last resort. Invading an Imperial Baron`s home planet will inevitably lead to the Emperor`s intervention, denying Aesir our goal. We need confirmation he has it before we do anything rash. I want Kalen Caledon desperate enough to use what we seek but sufficiently vulnerable that we can take it for ourselves." Erika said.

　　"Your plan is flawed, my dear. Better to just go to Caledon, kill the Baron and take everything we want." Jack said, shaking his head at the complicated maneuverings of the woman before him.

　　It came from never seeing actual combat,` He mused. Otherwise, Erika would know that the best plans were the simplest ones.

　　"Not without my express orders." Erika replied.

　　Lying Jack gave a small, seated bow, his face splitting into a smile. He could sense the opportunity in the air. If Aesir was so interested in this item` it would be much better in his own hands. He would go along with her plan until the time to strike presented itself.

　　Laughing internally at the coming coup, he patiently waited while the businesswoman explained the specifics of his mission.

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　　Kal ran down the street of virtual Atland at breakneck speeds, the Exosuit making a whirling noise as it enhanced his agility. Around him, explosions sent gouts of fire skyward and shattered concrete flew in all directions.

　　Aimless, it was a blind barrage of missiles and mortars striking the roads and buildings surrounding his target.

　　With a final burst of speed, Kal leapt toward a ten-story structure on the road`s end. His velocity carried him nearly five stories before he began to slow.

　　Slamming into the wall, he shoved his gauntleted hand into the concrete, digging gouges into the building as he shot upwards, maintaining his momentum at the cost of defacing the building`s fa鏰de.

　　Reaching the roof, Kal rolled to bleed off his excess momentum, coming to his feet with his Lasrifle already charged and looking for threats. On his suit`s HUD, a holographic crosshair was visible above the metallic exterior of the weapon, hovering a bright red to his eyes.

　　"Anything?" A voice spoke out through his helmet`s communicator, connecting him to his squad mates.

　　"Clear. Bring it up." Kal responded, swiftly moving to the roof`s edge and looking down. Below, three other players in Exosuits were replicating Kal`s feat of agility while also carrying duffle bags and a large crate between them.

　　Walking back to make room, he checked the different sides, ensuring no hidden surprises.

　　In short order, the four teammates were riffling through the bags and crate, pulling out items and setting them up in the center of the roof. Their actions were repeated by three other teams doing the same thing, their locations making up four corners of a perfectly measured square.

　　It had taken Kal nearly two weeks to become comfortable with the Exosuit. The pressure the Link caused had faded to a dull ache, and he was still a bit off balance from the lag. But Tamara assured him that the more he fought in the suit, the quicker he would adapt.

　　Their mission today was a world event. Unlike the previous one Kal had participated in, this placed him on a team opposite Raven`s Riders. Their goal was to set up four shield-jamming devices in locations surrounding one of the clan`s bases for a group of Mechs to assault it.

　　"Done." A woman spoke, her face obscured by her helmet. She punctuated her statement with a press of the device`s activation key. It looked like a tuning fork attached to a cylinder. On activation, the machine began to pulse, sending out a ray of light skyward.

　　In the distance, Kal could see three other beacons reaching the sky.

　　The device would generate a field after a short period, weakening the base`s shield enough for a Mech to pierce it.

　　"Barriers in place." A man said from beside them, his amour pure white with a streak of red down the center. He was setting up a small, portable shield generator. It would buy them some time during the counter-assault and hopefully protect the device from any stray weapon`s fire.

　　"Good. Get ready." Another woman said, lifting a large autocannon that her bulky, strength-enhancing Exosuit could barely heft. Kal had seen it fire in the past. It had pierced a hole clean through a concrete apartment building, collapsing the entire structure.

　　They each took one of the corners of the roof, waiting for their opponents to attempt to destroy their devices. Kal knelt on one knee, balancing his Lasrifle on the lip of the roof as he waited. It wasn`t long before the air was filled with the crack of laser fire and the explosions of missiles.

　　Kal watched as one of the beacon lights wavered momentarily as the building it was set up on rocked under a barrage of missiles slamming into it. Just when he thought it would be lost, it stabilized, the structure still standing as the team returned fire.

　　"Contact!" A teammate shouted from Kal`s right. Seeing that his direction was clear, he ran to the east side of the building just in time to see a salvo of missiles streak over the city`s skyline, aiming directly for them.