[Quest Gained!

Taking A Stand

Become the latest Squadron Leader of the Guard, accepting Guard Leader Adonis' request. 

Rewards: 100XP, 'Squadron Leader' Title. 

Failure: - Reputation with The Guard, - Reputation with all in the room]

This moment, as unexpected as it was, was so important to the future going forward that my mysterious secondary system was going as far as to get involved with the proceedings, and it clearly wanted me to take Adonis' offer seriously, lest I end up offending literally everyone in attendance as well as the Guard. 

Thinking about it, there was very little reason for me to refuse the offer. The whole reason I had been considering leaving the Guard in the first place was due to the incompetence that Belana had displayed. Under him, I wouldn't have been able to get anything done. I would have been held back. Running my own Squadron? Things could be different there. Things could be done my way. 

<This is a big decision, are you sure?> BB asked, warily. <It's going to change everything, and Rin will probably be disappointed.>

Rin. I'd promised the Lyrin that we'd leave the Guard together, go to her homeworld and pick up a ship to sail across the Galaxy in. I let my eyesight drift over to her, where she was watching me eagerly. Our eyes connected across the table, she gave me a small smile and a nod. 

That was all the encouragement I needed. 

I took a deep breath and said, "I accept, Leader Adonis, I will become a Squadron Leader." 

[Quest Success!

Taking A Stand

Rewards: 100XP, 'Squadron Leader' Title.]

['Squadron Leader Title effects: With the Squadron Leader title equipped you will have instant recognition and respect throughout the worlds of the Guard, despite your disadvantage as a Human. This title also permits you access to a Guard ship of your own, a group of engineers and ship hands to run the said ship, a group of core Squadron Units, as well as a larger platoon of Squadron Hands to do your bidding.]

I blinked away the explanation of the title as its effects settled into me. Everyone in the room seemed to straighten up slightly, regarding me with a little more respect. I even seemed to feel a little less ambivalence from the floating cloud from the Chasm, the Urstnir of Napdid. Maybe now I'd be able to get some useful information from him. Not that it would be a priority at the moment, I didn't need to complicate my new Squadron Leader position by antagonising what was probably going to be one of my most powerful Squadron members. 

"Excellent," Guard Leader Adonis said. "Those in this room, cherry-picked from the tournament, will be your core Squadron Units. Get to know them well, a leader is only as good as those that he leads." 

That statement seemed to make him sad for a moment, I could only imagine that he was thinking about his daughter raging on the planet below. 

"A drone will show you to your ship. I must go now. The death and destruction below have gone on long enough. I will meet my daughter in combat."

In the typical flash of white light that denoted teleportation, the Leader of the Guard was gone. I wasn't sure I would ever get to see him again. 

From where he stood a flickering ball of energy came into being and shot toward me, wrapping itself around my arm. As the light dimmed I saw that I was now equipped with one of the holographic smartwatches that Yr'Arl had used to show me the viral video of my reaction to his food. 

Though my watch was somewhat different to his. It displayed my name and rank, my title as a Squadron Leader, and a small blinking notification image that demanded my attention. 

With a flick of my finger, the notification expanded into a message, an order notice. 

"Okay Squadron, bit weird calling you lot that but here we are, we've got our first orders," I said. "The Matrix tells me our ship is being prepared and loaded with civilian refugees, we are to take them to a planet known as Actaeon where they will be given safe harbour, a chance to rebuild their lives. Understood?" 

I got a series of nods, and a movement from the Urstnir that I could only assume was a positive gesture. 

"In that case, Yr'Arl, if I give you the coordinates of our ship, will you be able to teleport all of us there?" I asked my first friend. 

"Yes, Squadron Leader Lyre, I believe I can," My friend replied, his formal address making me cringe slightly. I definitely wasn't ready for something like that, but now wasn't the time to go bringing it up. There was work that needed to be done. 

"Right then, everyone gather around Yr'Arl, let's go and see what our ship looks like," I commanded, getting up from my chair and bringing the coordinates of the vessel up on my screen. 

I showed Yr'Arl, and the white glow started up almost instantly. We were warped away in that familiar white light, on towards new adventures and new horizons, and who knew what else. 

Despite all of the horrors that we had seen and all the terrible things that we had just gone through, I couldn't help but be just a little bit excited. 

I now had an entire squadron at my back, ready to help me out in cleaning up the galaxy. I had my very own spaceship, which we were going to use to ferry a group of people who had no hope to somewhere new, to give them hope again. 

It was an incredible feeling, to finally be doing something to help the people of the galaxy. Up until this point, I felt like I'd been stumbling along, barely understanding anything about the world around me and lashing out whenever I got the chance. This was it. This was that chance. 

And I was going to make the most out of it.