Well, Artiorius was right about one thing, I was not disappointed at the cultivation resources available on the ship. It had many cultivation rooms and formations set up for each of the elements to be cultivated individually, though none of them matched up to Elder Hazeon's formation back at the sect.

It was good that we could cultivate as we traveled and the rooms even had an option to redirect other elements to one cultivation room which I made great use of to cultivate as effectively as possible during the trip.

The qi storage formations recharged when planet-side so they had ample reserves that only dwindled down to a quarter remaining by the time we arrived at Crucible. From Zachariah's surprise at this fact, it was clear he had expected it to last us both on the way there and back, but they clearly didn't take into account how much qi I could absorb.

Thanks to the near constant cultivation, I was approaching the high stage of the Core Formation realm and anticipated a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul realm wouldn't be much farther off if I spent some months in secluded cultivation.

I almost wished I could just spend more time in seclusion, or sparring with Wei Lin and Alice. The feeling of getting stronger was intoxicating and I needed to be stronger if I was going to protect everyone, but we had a mission to complete and the captain's announcement of our imminent docking on Crucible drew me to find the nearest window and watch as our ship approached the gas giant and the station orbiting it.

The planet itself was massive—easily double the size of Dou Can—and I watched as its surface whorled and swirled, the gas giant's viscous atmosphere flowing every which way. I thought I could make out structures within the atmosphere disrupting its flow, but they were indistinct and I couldn't tell for sure, even when I channeled my body cultivation through to my eyes. What I had no issue seeing was the large station currently orbiting the gas giant.

Considering the size of our ship, the station felt like it was as large as the whole of Wongye city and then some. Whereas Setria 9 had been boxier and shaped somewhat like a large ship, Crucible was separated into multiple distinct parts, one in the center and four smaller ones connected to the center and each other with large, curved, cylindrical connections.

The central section, what must have been where all of the inhabitants of the station lived, had myriad tiers and sections of its own, though those sections were all connected and close enough that it didn't make them seem like distinct parts of the station.

I couldn't tell from our approach what each of the other sections of the stations were for, but I did take note that the station always kept the same one of its satellite sections pointed toward the planet as it orbited the gas giant.

As we approached, I felt anticipation and trepidation fill me. Those feelings of doubt and inadequacy I had kept at bay by focusing on cultivation and training rearing their ugly heads, but I let them wash over and off of me. If I was going to save Jia and do what I must in the fight against the demons as the inheritor of the Divine Flame, I couldn't continue letting myself be held back by those feelings of inadequacy. Even if I felt they might be true, I couldn't let them control me. I owed it to Jia to help fix her, and I owed it to everyone I had indirectly hurt or killed with my foolish actions to step up and do something about it.

As the ship finished its docking procedure and had finally locked into place in the landing bay of Crucible, my resolve solidified and I moved to the connection area, ready to meet up with everyone and start our mission.

***

"Lady Astra, are you prepared to begin the mission?" Zachariah asked, to which I nodded.

The man was soft spoken and polite, almost to a fault. During the months long travel we had interacted only a handful of times, but each time we did he treated me like I myself were the head of Beltigo, which unsettled me a little, though I could tell it came from a good place. I couldn't feel any cultivation from the man, but something about the way he carried himself gave me the impression that he was more powerful than he appeared. Despite my suspicions, he was the picture of butler-y perfection and assisted all three members of our group as needed during our trip.

"Yes, Mr. Zachariah. We're acting as your guards while you act as a mediator, correct?"

He nodded.

"Indeed. Please focus on pretending to be guards. It will be more difficult to investigate if you catch the interest of those on Crucible."

We all nodded, this not being the first conversation about how we should act while on Crucible, at least until we got our bearings. In order to make sure we have time to investigate, the plan was to pretend to be normal guards protecting the envoy from Beltigo who came to resolve the feud once and for all. Our relative age and lower strength would keep us away from scrutiny while on Crucible and should allow us to investigate everything more fully.

The pressurization chamber hissed in anger at our arrival, as if telling us we weren't welcome on the station, but despite its protests the door connecting our ship to Crucible slid open without a sound. We walked through the door, the scuffed metal of the connection chamber shifting to grated floor as we stepped through, a short set of stairs leading down and onto the solid metal ground of the station proper. Standing near the bottom, a bespectacled man with a hand held pad waited for our group. He had deep black hair, which annoyed me because of how close it was to Jia's normal hair color.

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As we descended, he pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled wide, though I noted it didn't reach his ears. He bowed deeply, much more than I had seen even on Dou Can and in the sects.

"Welcome to Crucible, Mr. Zachariah. My name is Clisto, and sir Discen Kael has granted me the honor of giving you a tour of our facilities here, and as always, we of Logistics appreciate the care and attention the Beltigo Corporation gives to Crucible."

"Yes, thank you for receiving us, Clisto. Please begin the tour immediately. Despite its amenities, months long travel on the ship has worn weary on me and I would prefer to get to somewhere to rest before long, should circumstances allow."

Our tour guide, taking Zachariah's sudden brevity in stride, turned on his heel in a perfect movement and began walking toward a hallway to our left.

"Of course, sir. Please follow me. Our first stop is, of course, the pride and joy of Crucible, Logistics headquarters!"

He led our group through the various hallways branching out from the docking station. As we moved, the composition and atmosphere of the areas we passed through slowly morphed. The grates and slate gray metals I was familiar with transitioned to solid white, not unlike that of the research ship's interior. Even the types of people we encountered changed from those wearing porter and laborer uniforms into those wearing leisure clothes matching those of our guide, Clisto.

The clothes themselves were reminiscent of those I wore on Setria 9. In lieu of the commonplace robes from Dou Can, dress pants, shirts, and other more modern clothing made of thinner fabrics were aplenty. It made me feel somewhat at home seeing such familiar clothes, and it made me somewhat excited at the prospect of getting some of better leisure clothes I wore in the past to bring back with me to the sect.

I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, but he had spent the entire trip waxing poetic about how great Logistics was for Crucible. I didn't understand how Zachariah managed to keep a straight face and make it seem like he was interested in what the man was saying, but it grated on my nerves hearing the man drone on and on. I wasn't sure why the man's enthusiasm towards his faction annoyed me so much, but I had been learning to trust my instincts more so I decided to keep my guard up around the man.

He led us to a large open area with a main square populated with a small park and myriad walkways surrounding it. In the middle of the park there was a small artificial pond teeming with life with various families and children running around it and playing in the lush greenery.

Radiating outward from the central park, eight streets stretched outward and toward nearby buildings on one side of the park. The lanes on the right side moved toward additional hallways that led to the other parts of the station, presumably the habitat zones. The smaller number of smaller hallways across from us must have led down another of the cylindrical connectors between the larger satellites of the station.

Clisto led us to the largest building in this zone, the one positioned to the left from the entrance to the area we used, and beckoned us inside. The sliding doors opened silently and let our group into a foyer not unlike that of Beltigo HQ back in Wongye city.

"Sir Clisto! Sir Kael is awaiting you in his office."

Clisto nodded to the receptionist and led us to a nearby inconspicuous wall. He took out a rectangular piece of metal and tapped it against the wall. A long vertical slit opened in the wall and a hidden door recessed in the wall slid open, Clisto not hesitating to step inside immediately. Zachariah followed suit, as did Alice. Only Wei Lin and I seemed to be surprised at the hidden entrance, but remembering our role on this mission we stepped inside as well. Once we were both inside, the door slid shut again, the bright light from the foyer closing off and leaving us inside the sleek white elevator which began moving upward immediately.

A short half minute ascent later the door opened once again to a barren hallway. The hallway was perfectly straight with neatly perpendicular corners. The gray-ish white of the walls were polished enough that a reflection was clear in them, though despite the straightness of the walls, the image I saw in the wall wasn't me. It looked a lot like me, but it was ever so subtly off. Looking at it triggered something in my brain telling me it was wrong.

I instinctively flexed my body cultivation to try and fix what I felt was wrong, but when nothing happened I realized the reflection was wrong. My eyes weren't slightly farther apart than I remembered, and my nose wasn't that small. It was like the reflection was intentionally changing what it showed me, which was weird.

The door at the end of the hallway slid open as we approached and our group walked into a pristinely clean office. A simple bookshelf on one wall paired with a modest couch and pair of chairs in the center of this room to form the only pieces of furniture in the office save for the comparatively opulent desk. I spotted a handful of plants in each corner of the room as I scanned the office, faking a sweep for threats to my supposed employer.

When my eyes passed over the man siting behind the desk, he wasn't looking back, seemingly paying no mind to Alice, Wei Lin, or I. He was focused on Zachariah who didn't miss a beat and took a seat on the large couch.

None of Alice, Wei Lin, and I sat down. Instead, we took up position behind the couch, and just did our jobs as guards.

"Mr. Zachariah, we're always glad to have representatives from Beltigo here on Crucible, but I believed the last mediators returned with news that the feud is already well being handled," the well dressed man in silver and blue said.

He walked around the desk, clasping his hands together as he did. He was tall and broad shouldered, but he leaned more on the toned side than overly muscular. His salt and pepper colored hair revealed his age, though his face looked younger than I expected. I could tell he was a body cultivator and that must have contributed to his relatively youthful appearance.

Zachariah nodded.

"Indeed. The last mediators we sent were unsuccessful during their trip to Crucible, but Sir Artorius is concerned about the stymied supply of qi enriched Vitalite. The reduction in shipments is reaching unacceptable levels and he sent me to ensure those levels return to more…reasonable numbers."

The man, Discen, paused for a moment as he sat down before letting out a long sigh.

"I'm afraid that is true, but there is a good explanation for the recent decrease in shipments. Lately Crucible has been the victim of a not insignificant number of attacks from a terrorist organization hiding within our midst."

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