“Traveller,  can I ask a favour?” War was pacing up and down as John walked into a briefing room in the upper floors of the Bunker.  He knew Bob was antsy whenever one of the Monarchs entered his lair.  John was convinced they were aware of it as well.  War and Life were their local representatives of that team and both seemed much better adjusted than the others.


    “What is it?” John asked as he took a seat and leant back in the luxurious chair.  He made a mental note to get Bob to take a bunch of his best furniture with them.  No need to rough it if they didn’t need to.


    “We want to expand the portal network.  You’ve been relying on temporary portals and they may fail while you’re off-world,” War replied, continuing to pace back and forth.  He spun, moving so fast his gut wobbled.  “I need to be able to move back and forth freely.  I’m fast on the cloud but not cross-the-world-in-seconds fast.  I can run faster but I can’t run across oceans.”


    “It would have to be routed through Blue Street.  Or a special area underground, maybe.  It’s also more portals to guard, more places for bad actors to infiltrate.  It’s a Wayfaire issue, I can’t just say yes.” John shrugged.  “Have you spoken to Greg?”


    “Not yet.  Death wants to talk to your friend as well.  There is an interesting synergy there that he wants to exploit for the invasion.  He’s thinking about a stronghold in a place with plenty of ghosts.  Zombie hordes plus shrieking spirits could be very effective against the more intelligent Void beasts.  They aren’t all dumb beasts and some of them can be made to feel fear.”  He stopped pacing and crossed his arms over his stomach.  “If your friend agrees, are you happy to lay down a grid?  Fifty portals spread across the surface, all connected to a central nexus would make things a lot easier.”


    “That’s a lot of portals in the middle of nowhere.” John rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  “Be a bitch to defend.  Why do you want them spread out like that?  Most population centres are already linked via Blue Street.”


    “In case you aren’t back before the Void arrives.  We won’t be able to expand the network while you’re away and there’s going to be a lot of construction work being done while you’re away.”  War sat down and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and meeting John’s eyes.  The force of personality behind War’s gaze hit John like a sledgehammer.


    “We won’t be away that long!”  John laughed uncomfortably.  “Will we?”


    “Who knows?  Maybe fifteen years on Earth is the standard deployment.  We don’t know.  I can tell you it wasn’t fifteen years for us.  Some kind of time fuckery was in play.  For us it was only a couple of years on the ship, including time fighting on the ground.  No one said the timer on the invasion was accurate either.  With these egg things already being here I think it might have been a bit generous.”


    John thought for a moment.  Maybe the fat man had a point?  If he was still away when the Void arrived… He sent a burst of questions and instructions to Bob through his implant.  They’d need to adjust their own setup for the portals as well before he left.  Unity, the bases on mars and the Moon… they needed to centralise the hub for those networks.  As well as bury it as deep as possible in the most heavily fortified section of the Bunker.


    “If Greg agrees I’ll do it.”  John had his own reservations about the idea.  The Monarchs weren’t all friendly, or mentally stable and he still hadn’t met two of them.  “Greg isn’t even level twenty, if I remember right.  I’m not sure how much use he’d be to Death’s plan.”


    War rose to his feet and smiled.  “We have plenty of spare Essence if he is happy to be boosted up.  Thank you, that’s all I would ask of you.  I’ll see if I can crash that meeting Death has planned with the Headmaster for this evening.  Thanks John.  If you want to pick my brain before you go, feel free to reach out to me.” War pulled a Bphone from his pocket and waggled it at John.  A not so subtle reminder that the Monarchs weren’t trusted for implants perhaps?  They didn’t need enhancements, Life was light years ahead of Pete in that area, but they had no tech of their own.


    “Sure.  Thanks.  Let a Bob know where you want the portals if Greg is cool with it and I’ll set them up.”  John stood and shook War''s hand, painfully conscious that the big man could still crush his hand without any effort, despite the latest enhancements they’d received.  The grip was firm and if John had to guess; carefully controlled.  War nodded and strode out into the corridor, the door swishing shut behind him.


    “So.  Time for the twins?” he asked in the empty room.


    “Yep.  They’ve gone back to Ascension since the end of the Accords.  Turns out they had hundreds of Orion''s with massive Essence reserves.  The tithing of Essence the followers of their church give had been carefully hoarded,” said Bob from all around him.  Was he hiding the speakers now?  Weird.


    “I’ll drop them a message and ask for an urgent meeting then,” said john, pulling up his contacts and firing off a quick note requesting to see them as soon as they had a moment.


    “What do you think about this new portal grid?” asked John to kill time while he waited for the twins to get back to him.


    “It’s a good idea.  I’m not sure how to handle the Wayfaire element.  I’m not sure I want it in the Bunker if it’s primarily for the Monarchs.  Maybe we should build a massive platform and do it up high, keep it out in the sun so there’s no shenanigans.”


    “I like that idea.  We need to move the interplanetary portals as well before we go,” John muttered thoughtfully.  “Down by the server farm?” he asked.


    “Most of the server farm is being dispersed as we speak.  We’ve got too many eggs in Wayfaire.  The next year for me is going to involve setting up multiple manufactorums, all across the globe.”


    “It’s going to be weird having you with us and still being here at the same time.  Will you be able to communicate with yourself?”  John mentally crossed his fingers, the option to have video calls or even just send text messages back home while they were away would lift a weight from his shoulders.


    “No idea.  I’ve been working on a few things that might allow some basic communication, entangled fundamental elements.  It won’t be able to do much more than morse code though.  I’m not sure it’s a good idea anyway.  Think about it: we’re stuck off-world for an unknown period and something awful happens.  Like the Void gets here early or something.  How would it feel to know and be helpless to get here in time to help?”


    John paused and concluded it would suck.  He nodded and was about to reply when the Twins replied to him that they were available and he could come directly to the Canticle.


    “I’m off to see the Twins mate.” he said instead.  “I’ll let you know what they say.”


    “Have fun.  I already know what they’ll say.  It’s no secret; what we’re planning I mean.  Or that they’ll do pretty much anything you ask as long as it isn’t against their crazy religion.”  John shook his head ruefully and vanished.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ascension had changed dramatically over the last fifteen years.  John had rarely visited.  People followed him about and made weird gestures in his direction.  He was fairly sure the gestures were devotional rather than rude but he had never wanted to ask.  He appeared on the balcony outside the Canticle, right as the top.  The whole city was laid out below him like a map.


    What had once been a large gothic cathedral surrounded by mismatched buildings thrown together by earth movers in a hurry, surrounded by dank and misty marshes was now completely transformed.


    Shining spires and flying buttresses dominated the view.  Each building was massive and baroque, probably housing a village in each of them.  They were largely self-sufficient in terms of amenities and facilities.  Each one was dominated by the church that occupied the upper floors.


    All of them were dwarfed by the Cathedral of Light, upon whose highest tower he had appeared.  The height would have given the old John conniptions fits, if not an outright panic attack, but he was immune to vertigo now.  He turned to look at the arching doors behind him, heavy carved marble, that swung open as he did so.


    “Saint Traveller.”  The cleric bowed deeply.  John had never bothered to learn what the intricacies of their priestly costumes meant but he knew they were significant to the Churches followers.  Due to the elaborate black and gold thread work John assumed this gentleman was a big deal.


    A beaming face greeted him as the man straightened and reached forward to shake his hand.  John reciprocated, the other man’s grip was clammy and sweaty.  He discreetly wiped his palm on his trousers as the man closed his eyes and made that bloody weird gesture at him.  Thumbs and forefingers touching on both hands, interlinked to form a horizontal figure 8.


    “Saint.  The prophets will see you in their private chambers.  Please follow me.”  He turned gracefully and John followed him deeper in the glories of the Church.  No expense had been spared on this vast room that floated on delicate struts of alien metal purchased from BME, clad in marble and gold.  The floor was largely clear, focussed on a dais with an ornate gold and black podium sat centre stage.  The balcony he’d arrived on was opposite the dais and as he entered he looked to either side to see the wide spiral staircases that gave access to this amazing space for the congregations that worshipped here daily.


    Along the walls were beautiful artworks and sculptures, articles of faith and devotion provided by the Faithful.  Black and gold were a heavy theme throughout the space, mirroring the colours of the twins'' strange powers.  He carefully avoided looking at the artworks that featured heavily idealised images of himself looking heroic or wise.  He wasn’t that heroic, nor wise and he had definitely ever looked that good.  His scruffy beard and scarred face were all imagined far better than they’d ever actually looked.  They’ll have to buy up a load of rubies to redo my eyes, he chuckled to himself uncomfortably.


    John decided to just assume the chap playing servant to deliver him to the twins was a bishop of some sort and opted not to push for conversation as they walked across the church.  He followed the man to the right side of the dais and paused as the bishop knocked gently on a simple wooden door three times.


    “Come in!” called back twice, once in a male voice and once in a feminine voice although it was hard to be sure.  Both the twins sounded fairly androgynous.  This was definitely the right place at least.


    The prelate pushed the door open gently and stepped in, John following behind.


    “Prophets.  The Saint is here to see you.”  His voice was full of fervour, a zealous tone that demonstrated beyond doubt that this man was a true believer in the strange cult the twins had built around themselves.  He stepped to the side and bowed deeply towards the space between John and the twins.  The pair was reclining on a simple wooden bench with ratty old fashioned cushions scattered across the seat.


    John took in the rest of the room and was surprised at the simplicity of it, especially in comparison to the overly decorated space next door.  Simple white walls, two basic wooden desks facing each other in the centre of the room and equal unadorned benches lined the walls.  At the far end was a pair of plain doors, presumably for the twins'' sleeping quarters.


    “Thank you Arch Bishop.  We will join you for evensong in four hours.  Please let us have peace in the meantime?” said Felix.


    “Meantime,” echoed Felicity.  Years of putting up with this mirror speak… am I sure this a good idea? John wondered.  And that bloke was the Arch Bishop?  He’s almost as important as the twins and he played usher for me!


    “What can we do for you John?” asked Felicity rising from her seat gracefully to give him a warm hug before pulling one of the seats from behind the desk and sliding it over for him to sit on opposite them.  As she sat back down she smoothed her skirts before assuming a perfect copy of the inquisitive pose her brother had struck.  Both heads slightly cocked to one side, polite, bright eyes looking at him.


    “Thanks for seeing me.  How’s life now you can be back as part of the faction?”


    “It is good.” said Felix.


    “Good.  Being back in the Church so much is a wonderful feeling,” Felicity added.


    “Ah,” John muttered and rubbed a hand back over his bald head.  He’d flatly refused to let Pete tinker with him to get his hair back.


    “How is it for you to be back with Wayfaire?” asked Felix.


    “I’m not really back with Wayfaire to be honest.”  John leant back in the surprisingly comfortable chair.  Looking simple didn’t mean good ergonomics couldn’t be included it seemed.  “They fully adapted to being without us as far as planning and organising is concerned.  Not that we were particularly involved in that kind of thing before the Accords,” he shrugged.  “I’m not convinced they’re happy about the situation.  Greg is, of course, but the management of much of Wayfaire''s affairs is handled by the Department now and I never have learned to get along with them.”


    “Managers and bureaucrats are needed as well as holy warriors.  The Ecclesiarchy handles most of that side of things for Ascension.” said Felicity.


    “Ascension.” Felix’s voice practically glowed with pride when he said the word.  “We are more figureheads than anything these days.”


    “I guess it’s similar for us.  If Wayfaire gets in a bind they can call on the Carnival and know that we’ll show up,” John said with a faint smile as he remembered the simpler times before the Accords.  “Not that it matters much with the Monarchs back on Earth.  That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, kind of.”


    “You are troubled to have more powerful people?  With the Darkness coming we will need all the strength the species can muster.” Felicity said with a warm smile.


    “Muster.  They are humans and will fight for our world,” Felix added.


    “But they can’t be the only ones who get that strong before the Void- uh the Darkness arrives.  Are you aware of the Carnival''s plans?”


    “To visit the cosmos? Of course,” Felicity replied.


    “Of course.  We’re also aware of your need,” Felix finished for his sister.


    “Well what do you think?” John muttered, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.


    “It is a good plan. But we question your motivation.” Felix answered, fixing John with a firm look.


    “Motivation.  Are you so used to being the strongest, bar ourselves, that this change in circumstance troubles you?” Felicity also turned a raptor like gaze on him.  John blinked and swallowed.  Was that part of his motivation?  Maybe, if he was being honest with himself.  But it wasn’t all of it.  Evie had been very loud about how it was the only way to level and if they had to become as strong as possible to face the invasion and live.


    His eldest daughter had been eleven during the advent.  She had always been a little strange, likely due to him never speaking to her like a child.  Being a single dad wasn’t easy and John had wanted to give her the best chance in life, despite the shaky start she had suffered, so sugar-coating and keeping things from her had never been his priority.


    As a result of that and the Advent she was battle mad and obsessed with levelling up.  Now they were as high as they’d likely get if they stayed on Earth.  If they slaughtered the highest level monsters they could find for decades they might gain another level or two.  They needed hundreds of millions of Essence per level now and soon it would be billions.  The only other option, slaughtering humans, was not on the table.


    “I think that’s part of it, if I’m honest.  I don’t like not being the counter that keeps everyone mostly in line.”  The twins nodded so he continued.  “The rest of it is we won’t be able to get more powerful on Earth.  Not in a meaningful timeframe, anyway.  We need to be strong before the Void arrives, as strong or stronger than the Monarchs.  Hell, as strong as possible.  Level one hundred gives you five class enhancements and they’re force multipliers.  We’ll need people that strong to stand a chance.”


    The twins leant back and steepled their fingers under their chins.  They shared a quick look and nodded.


    “Thank you for your honesty,” said Felicity as their hands dropped to their laps simultaneously.  “Our Church has long been without us and will cope well enough in our absence.”


    “Absence,” Felix picked up the thread.  “We’d be honoured to join you as we walk among the stars.”