Chapter 229

Four figures stood at the edge of the landing pad, framed against a Martian sky that still looked wrong no matter how many times Alexander saw it.

The pad itself was a flat expanse of reinforced concrete which had never seen as much use as it had in the past twenty-four hours.

Which was exactly when the United Earth Space Force had found Dubai. On Mars. Stolen by a bunch of supervillains. By accident.

Explaining that must have been fun. Thankfully, that was Khalida’s problem, not his.

Sindre stood to Alexander’s left, the Northern Shield’s face carrying a patient stillness that looked genuine rather than forced. Maximilian stood to his right, arms folded, gold-trimmed uniform pristine despite the faint red dust that settled on everything. Khalida stood to his right, composed as always, hands clasped behind her back.

Between Alexander’s Hyperawareness and powered senses, he was tracking the entire crowd behind where the four of them stood. They formed a loose semicircle of attendants and guild representatives, waiting at a respectful distance.

Khalida’s aide was busy on her tablet. He hadn’t yet seen the woman doing anything that wasn’t working. Talia stood a half-step behind Alexander’s position, Julia and Raelene flanked Maximilian, and Hjordis waited near her brother.

Security dotted the surrounding area in small clusters. A mixture of palace guards and superhumans in Emirates Superhuman Authority uniforms were positioned to cover the approach from every direction.

Their attention was directed outward and upward. At the slowly descending shuttle.

Alexander yawned. Loudly. “Do I really have to be here for this?”

Khalida turned an annoyed look on him. “Yes, Alexander. You do. As one of the primary instigators behind the theft of an entire city.”

He sighed.

Sindre leaned forward to look at the Sheikha. “Why must I be here then? I did nothing wrong.”

Hjordis snickered.

“The three of you represent the Compact,” Khalida said. “You need to speak for yourselves and explain what happened, preferably without dragging me into an even bigger mess.”

“Shouldn’t King be here then?” Alexander asked.

“Ideally.” Khalida sighed. “Except he needs to rest. Besides, Queen, or Valerie, I guess, is the Royals’ representative, is she not?”

“She is,” Maximilian said. “But her presence here would create more friction. The military does not like psychics, regardless of whether her powers are more empathic than telepathic.” He glanced at Khalida. “I’m surprised you were included.”

She straightened, returning her attention to the shuttle as it drew closer. “I am the absolute monarch of Dubai. I’m also a designated representative of the Galactic Council Arbitration Authority. They cannot afford to refuse my presence.”

“Do we have any idea what they want besides answers?” Alexander asked. “Answers you’ve already given them, I assume, seeing as they’ve been helping to evacuate people.”

Khalida shook her head. “I don’t know. I suspect Councilor Thorne is involved, though.”

Two powerful Wills pressed down on them.

Alexander turned to look up at the shuttle. His own Will surged in response, his powered senses sweeping upward.

Both Will and senses crashed against an invisible wall.

He raised an eyebrow. That was new.

Maximilian shifted beside him. “Tier 3s. We’re within range of their domains.”

Alexander glanced at him. “That’s what the wall is?”

“Yes.” Maximilian tensed, a brief grin flashing across his face. “You should challenge it. It’s a priceless opportunity for us right now.”

Alexander frowned. But he could sense Maximilian’s own Will, and some other pressure coming off the man, fighting to climb upward.

Sindre was doing the same.

As was Khalida.

He shrugged and pushed with everything he had, splitting the effort among both mental threads. The first clashed directly, Will against Will, seeking not just to overcome it with raw power, but also trying to identify any cracks or edges to leverage.

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The second part of his mind used no such finesse. His powers swept out, each capable of returning unique insights based on what it found. And found nothing. Each attempt to feel what lay beyond bounced back effortlessly.

What bothered him was that they were not the same thing. Willpower and superpowers represented vastly different abilities, though he was only beginning to understand the former. And yet, both met the same rejection.

Not a wall, as he’d first thought. It was more of an indomitable pressure. And it was growing closer as the shuttle dropped. Pressing down on their collective Wills without faltering.

A few beads of sweat broke out above his brow. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to fight with his own powers crushed under such an oppressive presence. Their range so limited.

He sensed Julia and Hjordis joining the strange battle. Strange, because other than looking a little constipated, none of the others showed any sign of what was going on.

The shuttle touched down, and the pressure vanished, though the Wills remained.

Maximilian grunted. “Still too weak.”

Alexander said nothing, but he agreed. He’d met several Tier 3s already, but none of them had felt like these two.

But he had learned something just now.

Willpower felt like… a wave. Fluid, pushing and pulling, with the pressure forming peaks and lows as they clashed. Even now, his own Will withstood theirs. It was weaker than either of them individually. There was no doubt about that, but the distance wasn’t insurmountable.

Ambition told him that.

But the Domains had felt like a boundary. Absolute and unyielding. And they weren’t just Will.

A Domain required both Willpower and Superpower.

Alexander grinned. “Think they were told to greet us like that?”

Everyone nodded.

The shuttle door depressurized with a hiss, then swung down, forming a ramp. Silhouetted in the doorway was a tall, muscular man, easily older than Augustus. He wore the stark black and blue of the Space Force.

And he was smiling at them behind a thick, scruffy white beard.

The man made his way down the ramp, each step exaggerated, thumping loudly under his weight. “It’s good to see that the upcoming generation of Tier 3s aren’t a bunch of cowards.”

Behind him, a woman slipped through the doorway.

Alexander blinked. He’d almost missed her somehow. Like his eyes wanted to look away.

The man stopped a few meters from them. “Even better, considering your role in the future of our beloved planet Earth! Ain’t that right, Kitty?”

Kitty stepped up beside him. She looked rather plain, though Alexander suspected the impression was artificial. His eyes continued trying to slide past her. She wore the same uniform, although some details were different.

Probably rank insignia.

She swept her gaze across Alexander and the others. “You are, as always, correct, Commander Bardot. They are promising.”

Alexander’s eye twitched. He hadn’t known what to expect when Khalida ‘summoned’ him an hour ago, but it certainly wasn’t a comedy routine.

Bardot leaned in suddenly. “Aha! See that? This one finds us annoying.”

Kitty’s attention locked onto Alexander. “Is that true? Do we annoy you?”

Alexander shrugged. “Yeah, a little.”

Bardot threw back his head and laughed. Kitty smirked.

Alexander glanced at the others. “I feel like I’m missing something. Any help here?”

Khalida stepped forward, extending a hand. “Commander Bardot Luka. Lieutenant Kathleen Var. Welcome to…” She hesitated. “Dubai. It is a pleasure to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bardot’s hand engulfed hers, and he shook it with an energetic pump before releasing his grip. “Only the good things, I hope.”

Khalida continued. “I don’t mean to be rude, but our time is valuable.” She smiled. “Please stop wasting it.”

Bardot scratched the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed.

“We apologize,” Kitty said. “It has been a couple of years since either of us was permitted planet-side.” She glanced around. “And we rarely interact with others.”

“Why’s that?” Hjordis asked, stepping closer to her brother. “You two contagious or something?”

Bardot guffawed. “That’s a good one. Maybe sometimes.”

Kitty shook her head. “No. It’s because our powers are far too valuable to the fleet.” She turned back to Alexander. “Mr. Machine God, you are the reason we were attached to this mission, and we thank you for that. We will be your escorts.”

Alexander blinked. “Huh?”

Bardot leaned forward, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, toward the sky. “Up to the fleet.”

He sounded as if he believed he was doing Alexander a favor by explaining. Except he’d explained nothing.

Kitty nodded. “Councilor Marcus Thorne and Admiral of the Fleet Jody Porter require your presence, along with Maximilian de Castillo, Sindre Skjold, and Sheikha Khalida Al-Hashara.” She looked around again. “We have also been tasked with bringing King, but I do not see him anywhere. Where is he?”

Alexander frowned. “Not here. But none of that answers my poorly worded question.”

Kitty looked at Bardot, who shrugged. “I see. That’s unfortunate.” She turned back to Alexander. “The Councilor and the Admiral are two of the highest-ranking members of the United Earth Government. Their protection is paramount now that over ninety percent of the Assembly members are dead.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow. That was the first he’d heard of it, though the likely cause was obviously the Lost Prophet’s attack.

She studied him in silence for a moment. “The problem is that you are too dangerous to be allowed among the fleet. Especially aboard the flagship of the First Fleet. Unfortunately, the councilor insisted. And he outranks the admiral.”

Bardot chuckled. “That’s why you get us.”

Alexander sighed. “You somehow managed to explain everything except what I wanted to know.”

“Oh, that’s because it’s a bit awkward,” Bardot said. “I’ll be making sure you don’t do anything to our ships. And Kitty? Well…” He shrugged.

“I will kill you if you do actually try,” Kitty added, her expression not changing in the slightest.

The landing area went silent. Around him, Alexander sensed the others tensing. Stances shifted. Khalida glanced between him and the two Space Force superhumans, lines creasing her forehead.

Alexander grinned. He enjoyed a little irony, even when he was the victim. “Oh, that makes sense. I wouldn’t want me up there either if I wasn’t me.”

Kitty smirked. Glanced up at Bardot. “Told you he’d understand. The strong ones are always more like us than not. You owe me a hundred credits.”

Bardot groaned.