Chapter 28 - The Final Meeting.
I'd guess it was around one in the morning when Phoebus found me. "Do you ever sleep?" He asked amusedly. "Not when I know I need to get stronger. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I shot back at him. "I was told to check in on you. Kara's asleep, and Hazel told me it might be best you don't talk to herself or Mana currently, so some secret doesn't get out, so I was told. Azalea's fast asleep, too, so that left me." He admitted openly.
I sigh. "Mana knows something that I supposedly can't know, Hazel figured it out, and it's bugging me. I have a thirst for knowledge, and the fact that I don't know irritated me, especially knowing Hazel deduced what it was in seconds." I told him. "There. Satisfied with that?" I asked irritably.
He laughed. "When am I ever satisfied?" He asked. I snorted. "You have a point." We sat there for a few minutes, and I activated Force Sight so I could see a little better. "You really should try to sleep, though. They're going to want to get you on your missions soon, maybe even starting tomorrow. You need your rest." He told me, standing back up.
"I have nightmares. Very bad, very vivid ones." I admitted. "I usually try to avoid them, but even then, I still sleep every so often. But I've recently learned a friend of mine can see my dreams while they sleep. I've been... dissuaded, you could say, from sleeping when they're sleeping, though I'm sure there'll be future instances where I will." I finished. He frowned at my statement, but started walking towards the door back in.
Before he went back in, he turned to me to tell me one thing. "Have it your way. But you need rest eventually, Cyrus." He told me, sliding the door shut behind him.
I sigh, and I spend another hour before slipping back inside to find Azalea sleeping on the couch, Phoebus on the recliner, both fast asleep. I found Hazel and Mana sitting in the kitchen, talking quietly, not even noticing I came in, thankfully. I'll admit, I was a little bitter that they were keeping an important secret from me, but if they think it's safer to not share it, then so be it.
I quickly slid into my room, and into my bed, fading into a restless slumber, proving my hope that I'd have a good night's sleep for once was misplaced.
I woke up the following morning, equipping my armor, and silently stalking into the kitchen, before I felt a hand grip my wrist. "I told you before, you're not burning food if I can help it." I heard Hazel say. "I could always learn." I offered, still not quite looking her in the eye.
"You and I both know that would end in a fire." She laughed softly. "Right. I was only gonna have a granola bar anyways." I told her, slipping one out of the box, nibbling on it. "If you say so." She said, moving past me, and into the kitchen. I moved back into the dining room, where Phoebus was stretching as he lowered himself into a chair.
"Sleep well?" I asked him. "Hardly. That chair isn't meant to be slept in." He replied. I was about to shoot a response back at him, but I spotted Kara coming from the direction of her and Hazel's room. "I'm sorry." I thought to her. Her eyes flickered to me, but looked away without responding. Phoebus seemed to notice this, but ignored it, wisely changing the topic.
"Alec told me that you should only bring one of your allies to the meeting with you today. They'll be returning here, and you won't, for a while. They'll be attending meetings in your place as help for strategizing. You've got a lot of work to do. I've also got some bad news, but that can wait for when we get to the meeting." He told me. I frowned.
I looked between my two real options. As much as I hate to say it, Hazel wasn't wrong in that she couldn't contribute much to those meetings, and even then, she had much more training to do. I couldn't take up her time with meetings and strategizing. Kara's been with me the longest, understands me the most, and would be a good representative.
Mana, however, is more experienced, and understands more about the inner workings of things like this, having grown up with it. I decided to compare their stats before I decided anything. My jaw dropped slightly at their stats.
For Kara's stats, she had:
Health: 380/380
FP: 340/340
Level: 24
Str: 30
Con: 38
Dex: 32
Int: 48
Wis: 45
Cha: 29
I was impressed. She wasn't even wearing her gear. I quickly wrote down a list in my mind of what she needed to buy from the Shop if she were to take up these meetings. I glanced at Mana's stats, and saw something I very much expected, although I was still impressed.
Health: 500/500
FP: 0/0
Level: 30
Str: 48
Con: 50
Dex: 42
Int: 40
Wis: 39
Cha: 36
I was damn impressed with their growth, and their stats in general. However, as the respective person has to go in to strategize, I think the answer was obvious. Despite her experience, Mana's stats don't quite pile up in the way Kara's do. Kara has stats leaning more towards the mental aspect of things, despite her role of Guardian.
"Kara." She perked up. "I think you'd be a good fit to come with to strategize. Azalea, can you grab me a pen and paper from the other room?" I asked. Azalea dashed to the other room, and came bounding back with the pen and paper. I started compiling a list, and handed it to Kara. "On the trip there, I need you to get these things from the Shop, and I need you to equip them when we get there. Understood?" I asked her.
She nodded, examining the list before putting it in her inventory. "Crystal clear, Cy." She said absentmindedly. That's when Hazel came in with food for everyone who'd eat. I smiled, but declined anything. "Just the granola bar is fine with me, thank you." I told her, standing to go and pack for an extended trip, upon hearing Phoebus' words earlier.
I emerged from my room when I heard the clanking of dishes from the kitchen as they got washed. "Are you ready to go?" I asked the trio. Kara was already wearing what I had suggested to her, I noticed, as everyone nodded. "Did you even end up eating, K?" I asked. She nodded. "She'd been picking at her food while reviewing the list, buying everything off your list." Azalea informed me. I nodded.
"Let's go, then." I said, making my way outside, and to Phoebus' car.
The drive there was fine. It mostly consisted of me talking with Kara about what they might expect her to do, what she should expect to put some thought into, so she has some time to think ahead, Phoebus chipping in every now and again to give more examples.
When we arrived, we quickly made our way to the elevators, allowing little time for a crowd to form around us. We arrived at the meeting room, and we piled in earlier than everyone else, again. It didn't take long for the other three to show up, though.
Revan was the first to swoop in. A shocked expression flitted across his face for a moment when he saw something, but quickly settled into his chair. Alec and Phoebe arrived together, and a serious look on both of their faces. On Phoebe, that'd be pretty normal, but Alec? He always seemed to be smiling at something, so this was a surprise.
"Cyrus, I hope Phoebus informed you to pack for an extended trip. After your mission with Mana yesterday, more public attention got thrown at you, as someone saw you at the train station. Not only that, but with Phoebus. Dots started to get connected. We cannot aid you much on this trip, but we can do a few things." Alec said, passing me a list, and a new wallet, filled with cash, by the looks of things.
"That list is the locations, names, and faces of the political figures in this country that we need to get rid of, so we can stand a better chance in our little rebellion. Now, the President will have to wait, as it stands. We need to wait before the bigger figures can be wiped out, so we need you to start small, and work your way up." He continues, a cold look in his eyes.
"You know, if you take that attitude, add some paranoia to it, I might just see Revan's point in calling you Admiral Onasi." I smirked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Revan smiled, but sighed as it melted quickly. "As much as I appreciate you trying to lighten it up, Cyrus, this is serious." He said.
"Now, as for your selection to be your strategist... I partly expected Mana to be here, but I did not expect her to be here. Are you sure about your choice?" He asked me. Kara seemed offended, but I held my ground.
"She may not be the first thought people have when people look at my group and say 'strategist,' but that does not speak for her competence in this area, and I personally vouch that she will perform well. Questioning her worth is questioning my judgement, and might I remind you who managed to not only get information about, but also get rid of, any physical copies of Aztecoro's Empowered tech, while not leaving any substantial evidence that I did it?" I reminded them. "Ding!"
"You were still sighted coming from DC." He argued. "And what? I was never actually seen in DC, nor was I ever seen on the train itself. I was unstealthed by the car, nowhere else. Any evidence they have is simply based on a fear that I might harm their government, which they have no proof of in the first place, either." I told him.
He frowned, but relented. "If that's all I'm required for, I can walk to the airport. I have my gear prepared, and I'll work my way to DC from there." I told them, standing up. "Good luck, Cyrus. You'll need it. Myself and Phoebe will check in with your team daily, after every meeting, and if anything happens, we'll find a way to let you know." Phoebus told me.
"Thank you." I took a glance at Kara, and she gave me a sad look. "I'll see you soon, Kara. I'll be sure to bring back souvenirs from all the states I can." I assured her. She broke a small smile at that, but looked back to the group. ::Be safe, or I'll tear them down myself.:: She told me. "Ding!"
On the elevator ride to the first floor on the surface, I checked the notifications.
Influence Gained: Kara! 230/300
Journal Entry Added!
Journal Entry: The Path of the Assassin!
Despite selecting the class of Sith Lord, you have been provided the task of assassinating 8 important figures across the nation, so, the ever-merciful System has elected to provide a chance to gain the perks of a Sith Assassin as a reward for eliminating all of them within 7 days. Good luck doing all the hard work while everyone sits back and relaxes or strategizes!
Piece of shit. I could almost swear I heard the System laughing at me. At least I had a week, but that'd leave us with twelve days left before we had to launch an attack, at the latest.
The walk to the airport wasn't terrible, but I think I did get spotted on my way, as there was loads of security here, more than at the last few airports I was at. I enabled my stealth generator, and turned on Force Sight in hopes of not being taken by surprise. I glanced at the list. The first one was in southern California, so I found a flight to LA, and snuck on.
I was in luck, because nobody seemed to notice the seat taken by nobody. Well, this trip seemed to be looking good for now. I have the better part of six days to handle this, since a lot of today is going to be flying. With luck, I could catch an overnight flight to the next location, being in Nevada.
That seemed easy enough, didn't it?
