Leganza Tech Enterprises. Such was the name of the four-story facility that stood before Roas Lacetti, according to the polished metal sign on the property lawn. It was the most advanced-looking structure this side of Ailotana’s river, and undoubtedly the grandest of the buildings in the entire settlement—it looked distinctly out of place, like something belonging on Mid-Childa, rather than Exavil. Still, it’s not like that should concern him too much, especially with Mesia suggesting he find a job there to kill the time. Sighing, he moved past the sign and down the path to the main entryway.
The receptionists at the front desk all looked surprised to see him there. He wasn’t too surprised at that; most people in Ailotana tended to give him such looks when he showed up. Roas paid it little mind as he approached them, lifting a hand in greeting. “Mesia said that Valare wanted to see me,” he said, hoping they knew about it. After the surprise wore off, one of the receptionists nodded rapidly.
“Yes, he informed us of a possible meeting, Mr. Lacetti,” the woman told him. “We’ll notify him right away.”
Roas nodded once, and waited off to the side as the woman quickly phoned for Emil Valare—she wasn’t a mage, it seemed, so she couldn’t just summon up a view screen like he and Valare could. He was somewhat tempted to call the man up himself, but he knew that it’d be far more polite to the people who were graciously allowing him to stay in their town. The mercenary knew it wouldn’t take much to make them change their minds, and he’d rather not find out just how much it’d take. It was hard enough finding a place to stay on Exavil as of late.
He was broken out of his reverie by the receptionist as she hung up the phone. “Mr. Lacetti? Mr. Valare will see you now. Please proceed through those doors and follow the lighted path to his workstation.”
The mercenary nodded his thanks and turned towards the referenced doors—two guards, each with pistols strapped to their hips, were standing on either side of it. He paid them no mind as he approached, and one of them unlocked the double doors for him so he could step through. As it closed behind him, he looked about in the hall, finding the path he was supposed to take. Sure enough, the tiled floor beneath his feet had a blue stripe running down the center of it, forking off towards each split and doorway. When he stepped into the hallway, that stripe started lighting up, heading down to the right towards an elevator.
That elevator automatically took Roas up to the third floor of the facility, and he continued the path, past mildly-surprised technicians and scientists to one particular door on the floor. There were no security guards here, so he had to let himself in with the keypad next to the door.
He immediately found Valare inside, alone with the room. He was wearing a technician uniform and a lab coat now, sitting at a chair while looking over a vast wealth of information displayed on a computer screen. Parts were strewn about over a work bench, each one having a separate scanning spell delve through it. Valare quickly noticed Roas’ presence, and brightened considerably at seeing him. “Ah, there you are!” he greeted, standing up. “Come in, I was hoping I’d see you soon.”
“You wanted to talk to me about something?” asked the mercenary as he walked in, letting the door shut behind him. He shook the hand that Valare offered him out of courtesy. Valare got a good look of him as he did so—like many soldiers, Roas had a hard look about him, which contrasted a bit to the decidedly bland uniform he’d been loaned. The brownish-blond hair and dark blue eyes also marked him as a foreigner; few native people on Exavil had such traits. It was little wonder the man tend to stand out in Ailotana.
“Straight to the point, I see. Yes, it’s come to my attention that the people around here think you could use something to do,” he said with a nod. “Now there’s nothing wrong with that, but even as nice as Ailotana is, I imagine it must get boring for you.”
Roas shrugged in response. It wasn’t that bad, but he was simply used to fighting. It’d be a long while since he’d gone so long without being assigned a mission by one of the companies residing on the planet. “It hasn’t been that bad,” he told Valare. “They’re just paranoid that I’m going to do something stupid.”
“Yes, I can see why you’d think that. Still, there’s nothing wrong with having something to do. After all, if you do plan on staying, you’ll need to find a job anyway.”
“So what’ve you got in mind?”
“Before we get into that, I wanted you to see something,” Valare said, motioning him over as he took his seat once more. He waved at the screen, causing the data to clear and an image for a device in its standby mode to appear in its place. “Tell me, do you know what this Device is?”
Roas joined the man and looked on as snippets of data scrolled across the screen, likely pertaining to the device. The view window displayed the device opening up into its default form, a long staff similar to a battleaxe or pole arm plated in black. He recognized it easily enough.
“It’s an Intelligent Device,” he said, getting a nod from Valare. “Bardiche, I think it’s called. One of the Bureau’s top officers wields it.”
“Quite right. Bardiche here is the Device used by Captain Fate T. Harlaown of Lost Property Riot Force Six,” Valare explained as Roas nodded. “The new force being implemented by the Bureau when it comes to Lost Logia.” He spared the mercenary a look. “I take it you’ve met her before? On the battlefield, perhaps?”
Roas snorted, surprising the man. “Not at all. I may be good, but I don’t think I’ve reached her level yet. No, that woman’s an Enforcer, and a damn good one from what I can tell. Any mercenary who wants to have a lasting career knows to keep track of the Enforcers, her in particular. We’re not exactly legal, after all, and she’s probably the last person we’d want to run afoul of.”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right, that would be a good policy to keep,” Valare commented. It was good to know that the man before him wasn’t overconfident in his skills.
“Why are you showing me this, anyway?” Roas asked.
“Well, Captain Harlaown’s Device is a bit unique as far as Intelligent Devices go. As you know, most of them are primarily used for advanced spellcasting. Bardiche, however, has been designed with melee combat in mind. In fact, it’s said that it’s on par with most Armed Devices in use these days, possibly even superior to them.”
Slowly, the mercenary nodded, agreeing with the assessment. Intelligent Devices never were ideal for close-in combat, especially with their advanced A.I. installed. Never mind the usual stigmas on them, such Devices were simply better suited for long-range bombardment magic or combat support roles on the battlefield.
“This one, from what I’ve learned, has been like this even before it was used as a prototype for the Bureau’s cartridge systems.”
“What?” Roas asked. He hadn’t heard that particular tidbit before.
“Oh yes,” Valare said, nodding, bringing up a control panel. A few commands were entered, and the main screen displayed a close-up of the installed CVK-792 Cartridge System in action. “While it’s well known that it is one of a number of Intelligent Devices equipped with the system, not many people know that Bardiche and another well-known Device, Raising Heart, served as prototypes for adjusting the system for safer use. Still, Bardiche was notable for its melee combat capabilities even before it had the system installed. Nothing spectacular compared to your average Armed Device, mind you, but…”
“… still an accomplishment as far as Device making goes,” Roas finished for him. He stepped closer to the screen to get a better look at the parts load-out of the Device. “Huh… that’s a lot of non-standard equipment. This was custom-built?”
Valare nodded. “From the looks of it, yes. It’s not one of the standard models produced by any of the corporations in the Device-making market,” he said. “Avon always hoped that he could one day meet the person who constructed Bardiche, but I fear he never got the chance before he passed away.”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Roas said, turning back to the man. He folded his arms, waiting for an answer.
“Yes, I suppose I haven’t. Well, one of the things me and Avon were working on before his untimely death was an Intelligent Device based loosely on Bardiche. It too is nothing standard… you won’t find anything like it on Leganza Tech’s production lines. And thankfully, those blasted contracts that he made before we met didn’t include this, so it’s one of the few things we still have under our control.”
Once more, Valare cleared the screen and brought up a different Device. Somewhat similar to Bardiche’s standby form, this one looked arrow-shaped in appearance, though Roas noted that the assigned dimensions made it narrower and somewhat smaller in appearance; likely convenient for use as a pendant when not in use. A green lens in the shape of a sharp V slashed down the middle of the silver plating, likely as a communication interface for the Device. Beneath the image was an informational bank and parts load-out, as well as the Device’s designated name in flowery Mid-Childan script: LANCEL.
“Unfortunately, our current low funds means we can’t outfit it with your standard Belkan Cartridge System,” Valare said, noting the mercenary’s examination. “Have you had any experience using that part?”
“Not really,” came the reply. “I was taught using the Mid-Childa style of magic, and the CVK-792 part requires an A.I. specialization far more advanced than what the average Storage Device uses.”
Roas realized belatedly how stupid he must’ve sounded; telling a Device technician the requirements needed for different parts on the different types of Devices available.
Valare, however, only looked appreciative of Roas’ wisdom. Now here was a man who took his job, however legally questionable it may be, quite seriously. He had familiarized himself with the intricate workings of different Devices, which means the man paid careful attention to detail—likely needed the know-how when identifying his opponents’ capabilities. Surely anyone who lasted this long in Exavil’s civil conflict would’ve faced other skilled mercenaries in combat. It’d make selling this idea to him easier… or possibly harder, if Roas was shrewder than he let on.
“So, what?” asked the man in question. “You want me to test it out or something? I’m sure you have people here who are more qualified in that manner. People who have actual qualifications, in fact.”
“Oh, you’re right about that,” Valare replied. “But I didn’t invite you here to invite you as a Device tester, whatever Mesia may have said to you.”
One more command locked down the room and shut off the security cameras for the chamber, causing Roas to still and arch an eyebrow at the man.
“I’ll be frank with you, Mr. Lacetti. Right now, Ailotana is in a bad place. Avon was our only true source of innovation, and when he died the corporations he had agreements with stripped us of anything we could’ve used to keep ourselves afloat. If things don’t change, Ailotana will lose all of its value and it’ll only be a matter of time before the fighting happens here, or one of the corporations decides our land is prime real estate and makes sure we empty out of it.”
Roas frowned, and Valare could tell the man could see where this was going. Yes, this man was a smart one, that much was certain. He pressed on, hoping that this offer would be worth it. “It was a stroke of luck that Mesia found you and offered you a place among the settlement. Even more so that you no longer have a Device to continue your missions with,” he continued. “With a mercenary, we could offer services to people who need them in exchange for a fee. We start bringing income back into the settlement and keep ourselves useful in the eyes of everyone else. In exchange, you have a role to fulfill, and you aren’t forced to adapt to a new line of work. And, as I’ve just shown, I can provide you with access to a Device that I can assure you is far more advanced than the old Storage Device you were using before it was destroyed.”
Okay, this wasn’t what he was expecting when he came here. “You can’t be serious,” Roas said, standing up straighter. “You really think my help alone would be enough to keep this place out of trouble?”
“With the proper choices made, yes. It is risky, I know, but at this point, I honestly don’t see what other choice we have,” Valare, said, leaning back in his seat and with his hands steepled together. “The people here have nowhere else to go while the fighting is still going on. They have homes here, built their lives here. And I’ll be damned if I let those blasted companies take that away from them!”
“And what about the Administration Bureau?” Roas countered, looking even more serious than before. “The only reason they haven’t fully come down on the corporations is because they’ve yet to trace us mercenaries back to them, but you—this place—it won’t be so lucky. If the Bureau finds out about you hiring me on for this, you’ll have Enforcers crawling down your throat before you can destroy the evidence.”
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Valare said immediately. “And not something you have to worry about—you leave dealing with the Bureau to me, Mr. Lacetti, and I promise you it’ll all work out. And even if it doesn’t… well, I doubt anyone here has the capability to stop you from escaping, with or without a Device at your command. Really, my boy, you have nothing to lose from such an arrangement, and everything to gain.”
Roas broke his gaze from the scheming technician, weighing the options in his head. He did somewhat believe that the man could pull off keeping such an operation a secret from the Administration Bureau; Emil Valare was well-known for being a shrewd negotiator in business politics. Still, that wouldn’t be enough to completely remove all the risk of such a deal.
Still… this kind of thing was really the only thing he’d ever been good at, and the Bureau was never something he was too keen on working for. Not as one of their soldiers. His defeat still stung, and this man was now offering him a chance at returning to his old life, with even more power than before. It’d help him return the kindness Mesia and many in Ailotana had shown him already. It would do little his reputation in the long run, as well… Roas seriously doubted he was in the TSAB’s good graces at the moment, and even if he was an unknown to them currently, if they found out he’d be in a remarkably unfavorable position anyway.
He spared a glance at the screen, examining the Intelligent Device displayed on it one more time.
Let’s hope I don’t regret this, he thought, making his decision.