Chapter 30: The Governor's Gambit
The Grand Hall was a cathedral of excess. The walls were lined with the preserved heads of "Void-Beasts," and the ceiling was a holographic projection of the Solaris Capital. At the far end of the hall, sitting behind a desk made of solid white jade, was Sector-Governor Valerius.
Valerius was not a warrior. He was a man of the "High-Key" bureaucracy—elegant, perfumed, and utterly ruthless. Beside him stood his personal bodyguard, a woman in silver-plated armor known as The Silent Saint, a Level 14 Intermediate cultivator.
"Carson McCain," Valerius said, casually tapping a holographic button on his desk. "You've made quite a mess of my lobby. I hope you have the units to pay for the repairs."
Carson stood up, the embers of his coat falling away to reveal the Star-Shedder strapped to his back. His eyes were cold, glowing with the primordial white of the First Blade. "I'm not here to talk about money, Valerius. Shut down the Solar-Lance."
Valerius chuckled, a dry, papery sound. "The Solar-Lance is already locked on. In six minutes, the Lower Sector—your precious 'Broken Gears'—will be reduced to a pool of molten slag. It's a necessary pruning, Carson. To grow a garden, one must pull the weeds."
"The people in the Lower Sector aren't weeds," Carson said, his hand moving toward his saber. "They're the roots. And you're about to find out what happens when the tree falls on you."
The Silent Saint stepped forward. She didn't draw a weapon; she raised her hands, and the light in the room began to bend toward her. She was a master of "Photon-Qi," able to turn sunlight into solid blades.
"You are a Level 14, just like me," the Saint spoke, her voice a calm, melodic chime. "But you are exhausted from your climb. Your Qi is erratic. You cannot win this."
"I don't need to win," Carson said. "I just need to finish this before the clock hits zero."
The Saint moved. She became a beam of light, crossing the hall in a microsecond. Her photon-blade aimed for Carson's heart, moving with a frequency that could penetrate any standard Qi-shield.
Carson didn't move his feet. He drew the Star-Shedder in a single, fluid motion. But he didn't strike at the Saint. He struck at the light itself.
Using a technique from the Library called "The Prism-Break," Carson's 31st strand resonated with the photon-energy. The Saint's blade didn't hit him; it shattered into a million harmless sparkles. She gasped, her momentum carrying her past him.
"Valerius!" she shouted, trying to reform her energy.
"Too late," Carson said.
He was already at the desk. He didn't kill the Governor. He grabbed Valerius by the collar and slammed him against the jade table.
"The override code," Carson demanded. "Give it to me, or I'll throw you off this balcony. Let's see if your 'High-Key' status gives you wings."
"You... you can't!" Valerius stammered, his face turning purple. "The Solar-Lance is controlled by the Emperor's personal satellite! Even I can't stop it once the countdown hits the final minute!"
Carson looked at the countdown timer on the wall. 00:59.
"Then I'll have to do it the hard way," Carson said.
He didn't drop Valerius. He threw him toward the Saint, who caught her master in a blur of silver. Carson turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. High above, in the blackness of the upper atmosphere, a pinpoint of golden light was beginning to glow. The Solar-Lance.