System Change

Chapter 400: Tick Tock

Kelvin sighed as he looked across the room at the returning teama team led by Jace, a human who showed him absolutely no respect. Once the rest of the team was through the teleporter, the leader came through. Jace stood with an indifferent, almost bored, look on his face. The man kept his head shaved for some reason, and wore nothing but a mid-tier set of leather armorit was almost like he enjoyed being injured.

The armor had deep cuts that went all the way through in it. There was no way that whatever had caused the damage didnt also cut deep into the man. And the mans weapons of choice completely baffled Kelvin. He wielded two short, slightly curved blades that were actually wider on the end than the base. Not only was the fact that he used the weird weaponswhen a pair of nice swords or even sabers would be more efficientodd, but the fact that he kept them on his back at all times instead of in his storage bracelet was confusing. It was faster, after all, to draw a weapon from a storage device than to reach for it with it strapped to ones back.

Kelvin shook his head at the weapon and continued examining the man. The tan that the young man had previously had already disappearedwhether that was because he hadnt spent enough time in the sun, or his stats had grown enough for the sun to no longer affect his skin, Kelvin couldnt say. He almost hoped that the young man hadnt grown that fast, but by the looks of him and his team, he doubted that was the case. Kelvin couldnt help but grumble at the thought of the man being one of his lieutenants.

Lieutenant Jace, Kelvin spoke between clenched teeth. Report.

Jace yawned and his eyes flickered over to one of his team membersa large human wearing a thick set of steel armor. He was the blacksmith that Jace had chosen first out of his team members. Getting Jaces nod, the man stepped forward.

Sir! The smith saluted. I am pleased to report that the mission was successful.

You are? Kelvin asked.

Rodrick, sir, the smith answered.

Fine. Kelvins eyes went from Jace, then back to the smith, and he sighed. Give me your report.

Yes, sir! The man saluted again. The King Beasts of planet A-92 have all been slain, and the remaining beasts currently pose no threat to soldiers who are stationed there. Operations have resumed, and the planet is ready for further development.

Kelvin nodded slowly. Even with his dislike of the man, he had to give Jace credit. The elite team that he formed worked extremely quickly. His unit had become somewhat of a strike team that would go in and clear out any high-level beasts that were hindering planetary development. This was the third mission that theyd completed in the short time since hed formed the team.

Kelvin couldnt figure out how or why, but all of Jaces team members seemed to have the utmost respect for their commander. Still, Jace seemed to have quite the problem with authority, and Kelvin needed to work that out of the man. He thought that the missions hed been sending him and his team on would be enough to humble the man, but he just came back even fiercer and stronger each time. In fact, Kelvin would say that it actually had the opposite effect on the bald man.

Very good, Kelvin replied to the smith. In that case, you are all dismissed for the time being. Rest well and prepare. You will be receiving another mission soon.

With the dismissal, all the members of Jaces team turned to look at him instead of Kelvin, which struck a nerve. Jace gave them a nod of approval, then his team left. As Jace took a step forward to follow, Kelvin held out his hand to stop the man.

Jaces team continued on, and when they were out of the room, Kelvin said, I still need a word with you, Jace.

Jace looked down at Kelvins hand, then back up into his eyes. What?

You need to fix your attitude. It seems that its rubbing off on your team members, and the last thing we need is a team full of you. Fix it, or Ill fix it for you. Your accomplishments from the tutorial wont protect you forever. Kelvin couldnt help himself, and finally told the man what was what.

For a moment, Jaces eyes flashed red, and an unrestrained aura of battle-lust leaked out and almost caused Kelvin to take a step backwards. Instead, he clenched his fists and stared the young man downneither flinching. The aura disappeared almost as soon as it appeared and Jace snorted.

The young man stepped forward, beside Kelvin. Then, he placed his hand on Kelvins shoulder and in a whisper said, Dont take too long, Kelvin. Im not a patient man. Jace licked his lips and smiled, then removed his hand and took another step forward. As he left the room, Kelvin heard him speak again just before he disappeared. Tick Tock.

Kelvin was left standing in the teleporter room alone and so angry that he was shaking. At least that was what he told himself. Surely, he wasnt scared of the new recruit that was rapidly increasing his strength. What kind of commander would he be if that were the case?

Stolen story; please report.

With a sigh, Kelvin released his anger and unclenched his fists. It wasnt the time to waste his efforts on the young, unruly man. Jace would learn his lesson soon enough. He and the others on the council had a meeting with Darvin soon, and it seemed that it was importantof course it was important. That man almost never called for a full council meeting. Perhaps hed found out what was going on with the system.

In any case, Kelvin turned around and left the room. It was almost time for the meeting and he didnt want to be late.

***

Darvin was floating back and forthimpatiently waiting for everyone to arrive so he could share what he had learned over the last year. At first, he couldnt find anything to explain why the system was acting so weird, but as his search continued, he began to piece some things together.

However, there still werent any records matching what the system was currently doingat least none that hed gone over, and hed gone over countless ones. But, he realized that just because the system had never acted this exact way, didnt mean that it wouldnt have if certain conditions were met. Now, he was anxious to let the council know his theory and get their opinions on the matter, because, if his theory was correct, they would need to do some preparing, and fast.

Soon enough, everyone that hed called in for the meeting had arrived and were in their seats. It was only the second time in his long stay as the System Watcher that hed called a mandatory meeting for all council members to attendand it was over the same topic. This time, even Jakis, the six armed humanoid council member representing the Danari species, and Cuthos, a shark-like being representing the Zaahzu species, showed up. It would have been odd if they hadnt, considering the punishments they received after missing the last mandatory meeting.

With everyone in their rightful seat, Darvin pulled up the hologram and expanded it for all to see. As you saw before, and as you see now, the system has continued to expand rapidly in a singular direction ever since the one known as Derek Hunt disappeared into the void. However, if you look here, the Malaxi zoomed in closer to the outermost limits of the system and pointed. You will see that the system expansion moved in a strange manner before expanding its area, and has even somewhat slowed recently.

What do you believe this to mean? Amelia, the nine feet tall, crimson-skinned Ascari, leaned forward to get a better look at the hologram and asked.

Thats the thing, Darvin said. Ive gone through records left by hundreds of my predecessors over the years, yet I cannot find mention of this anomaly anywhere.

So you dont know any more today than you knew at our last meeting? Kelvin asked. Why are we even here? I have a pain in my ass that Im trying to figure out how to deal withone that you wont lift a finger to help me with, by the wayand you summon us to waste our time?

Silence! Darvin half shouted at Kelvin. The human leader had gotten on his last nerve because of the young man from Earth. I said I didnt find mention of this specific anomaly. I did not say that I didnt find other things.

So, what else did you find? Holcom, the other Malaxi, and the one representing their species, asked.

Before, Amelia had said that it seemed that the system was hunting, yes? Darvin asked, and they all nodded. I have found records of similar situations, but none where the system grew only in one direction. However, I found two reports where the system found Darvin paused for dramatic effect. Another system.

What? Almost everyone asked all at once. Some even jumped to their feet.

Thats right, Darvin said, his hands shaking. From what Ive gathered, there are other systems out there in the universe. I dont know how they are connected, or if they are connected at all, but they are out there. The last mention of it was from a record kept by a System Watcher over 35,000 years ago.

What did it say? Holcom asked with bright, glowing eyes.

Nothing much, Darvin sighed. It said that our system bumped into another while expanding and issued emergency orders to attack the other system.

So they werent friendly? the insectoid Xephos asked.

No, it seems like they werent, Darvin answered.

What happen after the attack?

Thats just it, Darvin said. Thats where the record ends. There is nothing about winning or losingin fact, after that, it seems like a new System Watcher was chosen.

So, youre saying Kelvin asked. The human leader had regained his interest in the topic and didnt seem to be worrying about that young Earthling anymore.

Something happened to him, Darvin replied. He could have died, been stripped of his class, or a dozen other things. It happened so long ago, and no other records mentioned him. Either the next System Watcher in line wasnt able to record it, or they didnt even know about it. Our records go back millions of years, so, without a goal in mind, its not easy to find occurrences like this.

But you said that you found multiple records, Amelia pointed out.

And that is true, Darvin answered. Yet, each record of another system ends suddenly with no other records about it. Its truly strange.

It truly is, Holcom echoed. So, you believe that we have another system in our midst?

I do, Darvin replied. Its the only explanation I have been able to find.

And what is your reasoning for the even more erratic behavior displayed by the system recently? Amelia asked.

I think it has something to do with Derek Hunt. I believe he somehow ended up in proximity to another system, and our system was able to sense it and chase after it. The erratic behavior were seeing, I believe, has something to do with Mr. Hunt disappearing from our systems detection for a time.

So you think that our system was moving toward him instead of the other systemthat he is like a beacon to the other system, and that when he disappeared, the system had to correct itself? Holcom asked. Do you believe our system is still using him, or has it changed?

I think that the reason it has slowed is that its no longer locked onto Derek Hunt, and that it is instead carefully moving forward now that there is no beacon. Perhaps he died, I do not know. It could also be that our system is drawing close to the other. Both reasons would explain the movementespecially the expansion of the search area.

So, Kelvin leaned forward and licked his lips in an odd mannerDarvin had never seen him do that before. What youre saying is

I think we should prepare our best for battle.