John’s ship eventually arrived at Tanis. The patrols had been informed to let him pass earlier and he was directed to a secret military base on the other side of the planet, far away from the capital.

“Can I keep the ship?” John asked the Spymaster using his chip as soon as he landed. It was a really cool ship, with all sorts of features. It even had laser weapons. The stealth was the main draw. It was nice being invisible.

“No,” said the Spymaster. “Do you have any idea how much it costs? The technology is still a state secret.”

“Fine then,” John got out and finished his debriefing. He was then sent back to the capital city, which was a journey of a few days by speeder. He meditated during the journey, and could feel his aura reserves break through some sort of limit.

When he arrived at he city he met Sor Al first to find how everything was.

“How was your mission?” she asked.

“It was tough,” John said. “If we want to talk more about it we’re going to need to step into that black light.” He didn’t want the Empress to catch wind of anything that would give her an excuse to harm him. He knew that he was being spied on. Even in the embassy there were probably eyes on him.

“There’s no need. I’ve guessed what it was about. Duke Atarex has suddenly switched sides, it seems.” The Elven spy network must have been vast indeed.

John nodded. “I’ll be going to visit my barony of Fi. Do you want to come?” It would be nice to have some company.

Sor Al shook her head, “I wish I could, but there’s just too much work here. Besides, I don’t think you’ll encounter any trouble. It is a world of monsters and primitive hunter gatherers. The climate is probably the most deadly thing there. It can get very cold for a few years at a stretch. You had best do your research on it.”

“I know about the planet,” said John. “The team the Empress put in my charge has already worked out where to establish my city and the structures to raise for optimal usage of resources. We’ve sent mining probes out and found a few precious metals. I even found a man who can translate the indigenous language for us. He knows about their culture and habits. His decades of study will finally have some use.” He had organized all of this using his chip. “The colony ship is ready. It only needs my approval set up on Fi.”

“It seems you are all ready,” Sor Al laughed. “It doesn’t sound like you need me at all. The Empress is taking great pains to nurture you for some reason. As I’ve warned you many times before, beware her plots.”

“She’s been forthright with me so far,” said John. “I don’t think there’s any need to worry.” The Empress knew that he wouldn’t take kindly to being manipulated. He liked straight talkers and she’d picked up on that immediately.

John left the embassy and went to the kennels. Sher Khan was returned to him. The little tiger came running towards his master and pounced on his leg, not letting go. It felt good to be missed so much by someone, even if that someone was an animal.

“All right boy,” John gently pried Sher Khan off his leg, “enough of that. Let’s go.” Sher Khan’s coat looked much brighter than before, and Sher Khan himself was very lively. The kennel master had done a good job. He had his thanks conveyed to the master and left.

He rested for a few days, and then organized the details of his new city on Fi. He called up Spiz the Clown of Chaos, whom he had fought in the Arena. Spiz had pledged undying loyalty to him. He needed someone to manage security on his planet.

“Hello?” said Spiz’s avatar.

“Spiz, it’s me Wild Child.”

“Oh, the info said that it was someone called John.”

“That’s my real name. I need you to come to my planet Fi. I’m building a city there and could use an extra pair of hands.”

“No problem. When do you want me there?”

“Will a month be okay?”

“That’s more than enough time for me.”

“Thanks.”

John then called up the second person he’d made pledge loyalty to him, Tusa the Mountain of Despair.

“Who is this?” asked Tusa as soon as a connection was established.

“Wild Child. You pledged loyalty to me in the Arena. Remember?”

“That was under duress.” Oh? Was this going to be a betrayal?

“Are you going back on your word?”

“Of course I am. It was a verbal agreement made under pressure of death. It holds no meaning. Don’t bother me again. Goodbye.”

The link ended. John angrily clenched his fists, looking at where Tusa’s avatar had been standing. If Tusa was in front of him right now, he’d have half his face smashed in. No! John forced himself to give up thinking about revenge. He wasn’t a thug. He was a civilized person from Earth. In fact, he should have expected Tusa’s betrayal. Most people in the galaxy had no honor. John knew that he was being unfair to Tusa. After all, even John was ready to break his oaths with the Empress at a moment’s notice. This made John appreciate Spiz all the more. Spiz was a clown of honor. It would do him well to bind Spiz even closer to him.

John informed his team of experts to board the colony ship within the next week. The Empress had also given him two corvettes and a frigate to guard his planet. He didn’t know what he’d do with these three small ships. They would be able to scare away pirates at least. The frigate came with space to planet weapons. John was given the escort of two battleships as well. They would safeguard the colony ship through hyperspace. Big ships were more likely to attract demons than smaller ones.

John was busy, contacting various groups and finalizing the time of departure. Being a baron was hard work. A week later he said his goodbyes to Sor Al and boarded a shuttle to his colony ship. He gawked at it from space. A colony ship was about three times the size of a capital ship. It was as big as a small city. He had seen the plans of the ship, but nothing prepared him for the sheer size of it. Luten was with him. She’d been given to him as his personal assistant. She was quite adept at organizing things.

“All right,” John said to the pilot. “Enough of the sightseeing. Board the ship.” He was eager to explore the gigantic space ship.

They landed on the ship and he was escorted by the captain to his room. The room was cramped and very utilitarian in its design. Almost everything was modular. It reminded John of his apartment back on Earth. Everything was reminding John of Earth these days. His luggage was delivered half an hour later and he arranged all his things carefully. It would take two weeks to reach Fi.

He then went to explore the ship. The captain had arranged a guide for him, and God knows he needed one. The signs on the walls were cryptic, with symbols that John could not understand. He didn’t need to understand them. He was the boss, and had underlings to do these jobs for him.

“This is the agricultural unit, baron,” the guide said.

“Not bad. Not bad.” John could see a series of interconnecting domes filled with soil, sacks of chemicals, and lights. There were compartments in the wall, each containing certain kinds of seeds that had been genetically modified to grow in Fi’s conditions. The domes could open and close. The fields within would have to be well insulated when the cold season hit.

“This is the garage,” said the guide.

Within were an assortment of vehicles, SUVs, hovercraft, air speeders, land diggers and massive droplines to name a few. They were all dismantled and kept within compartments.

“Good good good,” John was pleased.

“This is the structural development unit.”

Within were dismantled buildings packed tight into metal boxes. They’d expand into tall houses and buildings with the press of a button. These structures were only temporary. They’d be good for three years at most. John would have to build more on the ground. There were warehouses, granaries, residential complexes, factories, specialized mining structures, power stations, among other things.

“Awesome.”

“This is the terraforming unit.”

Within were soil composer units, air transformers, weather modifiers, water condensers, and such.

“Excellent.”

“This is the communications center.”

There were thousands of satellites in this unit that would be launched when the colony ship reached Fi’s orbit. A few of them would give Fi access to the root way. Apart from those there were ground sensors, unmanned explorers, mining probes, communications towers, energy transmitters, etc.

“Why are there energy transmitters here? Shouldn’t they be with the power stations?”

“There was no place for them there.”

Ah, that made sense. “What else is out of place?”

“The recreational units are kept with the command center unit, and the carbon condensers are kept with the botanical gardens.”

“That’s okay. When they’re deployed see that the recreational units are close to the command center.” The commanders and officers needed a little recreation, especially a certain baron.

The botanical gardens unit was brought specially for Sher Khan. It was a huge swathe of greenery, filled with orchards and groves, small artificial hills and woodland, greenhouses and artificial lakes. It would be a nice place for Sher Khan. They’d capture some small animals and he could teach Sher Khan to hunt.

Two weeks passed quickly. The colony ship launched satellites and the system gained access to the root way. It then launched ground levelers that turned the hills and gorges of the selected territory into flatland. The levelers took several days to finish their work. The various units were then launched from orbit, one after another. The process took several days. There were people on the ground to mark the landing zones, and to supervise the accurate placement and assembly of the different units. One week later, John took his first steps on his very own planet.