Planet Skyfire, Skyfire City, Skyfire Avenue, Zeus’ Jewelry Store
Lan Jue sat upon the sofa, quietly looking at the black metal box in front of him. Beside it sat the slip of paper containing the passwords Chu Cheng had given him.
Three years ago Lan Jue, in his arrogance, would never have thought to open the box. He’d have presented it to his employer without question.
Then again if this were three years ago, he also would have absolutely refused the assignment, since the owner and his brother had a relationship.
Now he had to see what the box contained. He had to know what he owed his brother for.
Placing a hand atop the box a beam of light emerged, it’s rays creating the image of a keyboard hanging in the air. In the same instant, a sixty-second countdown began.
Lan Jue did not input the password during his first attempt. It was as though he was unaware the three-line code was needed within that minute.
Watching the red holographic keyboard, his eyes betrayed deep consideration.
A minute passed quickly, and it seemed almost immediately the final ten seconds were ticking down.
Ten…
Lan Jue stirred, his fingers stretching forth. They weren’t thick, and his hands were smooth and fairer than most women, but also somewhat larger.
Ten fingers began to flutter, as though they were caressing the skin of a lover. The naked eye was incapable of discerning where his fingertips pressed. The three-line code, completed in a single action, appeared upon the Cipher Box’s small screen.
Beep!
An electronic ringing arose, the holographic keyboard dispersed, and two sides of the metal box drew out. They opened quickly, retreating layer by layer as the interior rose to reveal the goods within.
On Skyfire Avenue, Lan Jue was known as the Jewel Master – he was no stranger to the exquisite and masterful. But when he spied the contents of the box, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch ever so slightly. Muttering aloud, he said “A-Cheng, how will I ever be able to repay this favor?”
Within the box a pale gold piece of metal rested. It was twenty centimeters long, fifteen centimeters wide, and ten centimeters thick. Though the object was made of gold, it emitted a pale blue halo.
The average onlooker might think it pretty, but Lan Jue knew precisely what it was. No wonder it was protected by password and convoy. No wonder they hired a Chief-Ranked Mecha-Pilot and Sixth Level Adept. What they carried…
Refined Technetium!
Technetium is the byproduct of uranium fission from nuclear reactors. It is a metal that does not exist in nature, and can also be created by heating ammonium pertechnetate (Tc2S7) and ammonium sulfate in hydrogen gas at 500 to 600 degrees Celsius, then using electrolysis in a sulfuric acid solution to extract the metal. It melts at 2170℃, boils at 4877℃, and has a density of 11.5 g/cm3. It’s characteristics are similar to ruthenium, found in the same chemical family. At high temperatures technetium oxidizes to form Technetium Heptoxide (Tc2O7). It has a half-life of 2.13 X 10 years. It can be used a standard beta-emitter. A small amount (around 5 X 10 mol) of technetium ammonium sulfate used in steel plating can greatly reduce corrosion. Technetium, along with the molybdenum alloys, are also superconductive materials. It can only be produced in small quantities, with prices exceeding 2,800 New Era Dollars per gram.
In addition, refined Technetium is created when the metal undergoes intergalactic compression. One kilo of crude Technetium can produce between ten to twenty grams of it’s refined state.
Refined Technetium can be integrated into any alloy, infusing it with two unique characteristics; self-repair, and energy amplification.
Through the special properties emitted by Technetium, or perhaps some capacity of it’s morphology, it is capable of producing and amplifying a superconductive state, increasing available energies by a factor of three to five. The purer the refined Technetium, the more excessive it’s compression process, the greater it’s resulting power and amplification. In addition, a single gram of refined Technetium can endow ten kilos of metal with the capability of self-repair. Once melted and cast, only very specific types of destructive force could render it powerless – but it would never lose it’s shape. The lump of refined Technetium certainly didn’t look heavy, but in reality weighed more than twenty kilos.
In short, applying this element to the body of a Mech, would render it capable of repairing itself while simultaneously increasing it’s survivability and power exponentially.
Lan Jue couldn’t guess at the worth of the refined element. On the black market, one gram would fetch ten thousand New Era Dollars. But there was no market for it. The Three Alliances of the New Era together only produced less than a hundred kilos a year. And so, that piece of metal before him was the equivalent of two fifth’s a year’s output.
In general, refined Technetium was rarely used on Mechs. Due to their massive bulk there wasn’t ever sufficient quantities of refined Technetium to produce the desired effects. As a result it saw most of it’s use in personal combat weaponry and equipment.
It was no surprise they wanted to sell it, a piece this large was asking for trouble.
This piece of refined Technetium should certainly be given to A-Cheng. On all of Planet Luo, he’s the only one qualified to use it.
He closed the box, and the precious metal once more disappeared into it’s interior. Lan Jue’s eyes were awash in emotion, but his features quickly returned to a flat stoicism.
Lang Jue motioned with his left hand, and a screen lit up adjacent to the sofa revealing a four dimensional menu. Thin and agile fingers moved with deft speed to enter a string of numbers. The image on the screen began to shift.
Pearl appeared upon the screen, smiling as she looked at Lan Jue.
“If Zeus does it, it will be extraordinarily done.” Pearl’s tone was pleasant, but looking at her through the screen Lan Jue saw only her frigid expression.
“Tell me where Hera is.”
“The item?” Pearl’s eyes fell upon the box placed before Lan Jue.
Lan Jue responded. “Tell me a place, and I’ll have it sent by Interstellar Courier. Once I’ve confirmed your information on Hera I’ll give you the password.”
“Fine,” she responded without hesitation.
“Where is Hera?” Lan Jue’s eyes shone, arcs of blue lightning coiling in their depths. His impatience was clear today, a state he hadn’t experienced for a long while. A state he couldn’t control.
Skyfire Avenue was rich in shops, but even at the height of it’s nightlife there wouldn’t be many people. Occasionally a patron would saunter by, clad in finery, but none would break the relative peace of the street much less quarrel or do something uncouth. If they did, they could lose their Skyfire Emblem at any moment.
Thrummm came the dull sound of thunder, and the avenue was suddenly illuminated by lightning. Not a cloud hung in the sky, yet lightning fell freely. The tumultuous roar of thunder filled the heavens.
It began with a single thunderbolt, but before long countless threads of lightning criss-crossed the sky, thunder surging. The sky was an undulating sea of electric blue, melting into a forest of lightning which grew until the entirety of Skyfire City grew stark in the shadows of lightning.
A cloudless thunderstorm. Lightning from an undarkened sky!
It was a building of the late baroque period, it’s exterior displaying an array of elegant and distinctive arches, each one unique. The entire structure resembled a giant, open conch shell.
Following the line of the building’s crest, a sign hung. A sun, with the words COFFEE scrawled beside it.
The sun represents the day, so it was only natural that this very special structure full with the scent of eighteenth century French art, was called… Daybucks Coffee.
The interior was furnished with delicate-looking and attractive furniture which employed a curious asymmetrical technique. The theme was one which involved conch shells, hillstones, whirlpools and S-shaped arches. Rolling grass and unfurling flowers, lingering and intersecting, creating an organic whole. The ceiling and cambered walls join seamlessly, the rounded edges bearing a mural.
In order to imitate a natural style, the building was also constructed using mismatching materials which resulted in a multitude of inconsistencies. The walls were painted in vivid shades of lime green, pink and rose red. The architraves are mostly painted gold. The interior paneling was made up of delicate wooden lattice, surrounded by lace with a light colored Oriental brocade at it’s heart.
There sat the Coffee Master, clad in a white shirt and brown overalls with a cup clutched in his hand. Tenderly he took a sip.
Thrummm!
The sound of thunder rang out, and the coffee in the Master’s cup trembled, nearly spilling free. A shocked expression on his face, he hurried to the window and looked towards the skies.
“A cloudless thunderstorm, with lightning from an undarkened sky. What overwhelming ability! Is this his power? I had no idea he commanded a force such as this. I fear to know what he encountered to make him lose control in such a fashion.”
ζ
This was a room without any unnecessary furnishings, of a size perhaps half that of what could be found in Zeus’ Jewelry Store. If it weren’t for the wooden door facing Skyfire Avenue, it was unlikely people would believe it was of a caliber to match the other shops along the street.
The shop wasn’t available for public use, instead intended for guests only. Within the room was a single long table of simple construction, square with four straight legs and a disconnected surface, and around it ten seats made of tree stumps.
Whether table or chairs, all shared the same texture, each carved out of a thousand year old preserved wood. If one were to look carefully at the grain, they would see either a multitude of strange faces, or a dense collection of spots akin to leopard skin. Thick, thin, ordered, messy, straight or crooked, all were present. Black lines were in the majority, but chocolate brown and red stripes were also visible. Scented Rosewood, from Previous Era Hai’nan.
The table top, however, was over five thousand years old. The Wine Master once said he would be willing to trade everything he owned – with the exception of what was in his Wine Vault – for that table, but the offer was refused.
Beside the table, by the window, the Gourmet stood looking up at the sky. The incessant bolts of light played across his craggy features. He chewed absently on a soda cracker, his eyes narrowing during a lull in the blasts.
ζ
The Old Gothic Winery.
The Wine Master also stood by the window, Eva dutifully standing at his side. He looked out over the sky, then looked across Skyfire Avenue towards the shop marked with a lightning bolt. He gently shook his head.
“Master, i-is that…” Eva asked in a timid voice.
He lifted his hand, cutting her off. A dull silver light shone, and all sense of foreboding melted away. Eva, too, no longer felt anything strange, walking towards the window and thoughtfully looking towards Zeus’ Jewelry Shop.
A streak of lightning raced across the sky over Skyfire Avenue, and the skyscrapers around Skyfire Avenue reflected a dull golden light.
ζ
A palatial building in the baroque style loomed, it’s exterior bathed in gold leaf. Schematically it was shaped like an olive, with an emphasis on it’s decorative domed ceiling. It’s façade exhibited a separated pediment, the entablature curved, and the walls alternatively concave and convex. It’s adornments were ample, lending to an intense shadowy effect. It was the largest building on Skyfire Avenue.
The building bore no sign, but anyone with a Skyfire Emblem knew it to be Skyfire Museum. Inside was housed many treasures, available to view for a fee to anyone with an Emblem. However, it was only open to visitors from sunrise to sunset.
Within, an old man quietly stood. He was tall with rugged features, his true age difficult to discern. His eyes were blue, deep, and clear as though capable of reflecting the universe itself.
He was clad in a magnificent robe of white silk. It was covered in silver embroidery, threaded with precious gems. On his head was worn a peaked cap, and his right hand bore a large ruby ring.
A silvery light crept over him, and suddenly another stood beside the old man; the Wine Master in noble regalia.
“You’re nervous,” the old man said with a smile, his eyes never straying from the window.
The Wine Master nodded his head slightly. “I’m afraid he’ll change everything. Three years ago when he arrived, he almost immediately became one of us. He certainly displayed enough taste and ability. In these three years he’s blended well, but his power… it’s… “
Calmly the old man interceded. “Too strong, yes?”
The Wine Master silently nodded.
The old man turned to face the Wine Master, his sky blue eyes bright and sagely. “He is one of us. When we sanctioned his appointment to the Skyfire Council, he became an inseparable part of us. Regardless of what hardships he faces, we are his family.”
“Can you see his future,” the Wine Master asked.
The old man shook his head. “No. But I can sense the Thunderbolt’s integrity.”
The Wine Master continued, “With his disposition, so clearly infuriated, I’m afraid we might encounter some problems. Should we help him?”
The old man chuckled. “There’s no need. If he were originally someone who habitually brought trouble upon others, we would not have taken him in. Let nature take it’s course.”
Finally, a smile crept upon the Wine Master’s face. “Being a little bit of a troublemaker isn’t such a bad thing, I suppose. At least now he won’t come and drink all of my cherished possessions.”
The old man laughed. “Next time call on me. Although I can’t drink much, the taste reminds me of those olden days. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to help you find where another bottle is kept.”
A light shone in the Wine Master’s eyes, but soon he asked with helpless tones, “Is it truly alright to use divination to find wine, Master Clairvoyant?”
With a small smile, the Clairvoyant looked at him. “How could it not?”
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