Ensuring the Future of Skymarket

It’s been months. No new movement. Perhaps the Empty One had been honest. The man whom Tomas had directed her towards never returned. The driver claimed Goar attack, but telling the difference between a Goar commando and any given masked individual would be the job of an overwatch or a guide, not a driver. It’s more likely the Empty One, in her mask, spooked the kid. Sky had been concerned about that report, at first. Then their dear neighbor had come to them, to explain the situation, as he knew it.

“In an effort to avoid problems, I may have just gotten one of our newest residents killed,” Tomas told sky after walking into his neighbor’s apartment a few months ago.

Sky had brushed him off. “If this isn’t to do with the Goar incursion, it can wait,” they told him.

“It is,” he had answered, looking more nervous than he should, “But it isn’t a Goar attack.”

This caused the floating city’s leader to turn and face their neighbor. “A driver just returned early from a salvage job. Claims a Goar commando snuck up on them and told them to leave. Means we jumped a Goar claim, so they’ll need some kind of appeasement.” They, in that moment, also realized what Tomas technically did in his retirement to Skymarket. “Which actually means you’ve got a job to do. I don’t think our humble town can afford the appeasement, but you’ve got a knack for finding value where others don’t see. Find enough to get them off our backs when they come.”

Tomas shook his head. “I told you, they won’t be coming. This isn’t them. The driver that returned was Phil, from that turn of the century shipwreck up north east, right?”

Sky nodded in reply. Tomas continued. “A masked woman came to the bar, seeking the person diving that job, Luis. I recognized them, knew confrontation was imminent. Rather than have that confrontation happen on the city, I directed her towards the dive.”

Sky furrowed a brow. “A driver would assume a creepy masked woman was a Goar commando. Who is she?”

“Called herself Wendy at the docks and bar, but I doubt that’s her name. When I knew her seven years ago, she went by the name Nobody. Most of the people in my former line of work called her either that or the Empty One. Because she didn’t really exist. Doesn’t really exist, I guess. Seeing as she’s not actually dead,” Tomas explained.

Sky had shaken their head. Not out of confusion, per se. Just from information overload. “That was the conversation you held in the bar. I really need to get Meg to agree to audio. How dangerous is she? I wouldn’t ask, except she never removes her mask on camera, save briefly at the docks to pass the checkpoint. A featureless mask makes reading people a bit harder.”

Tomas shakes his head. “Very.”

“I’m going to need more,” Sky pressed. They stared at their neighbor harshly, concerned that Tomas had just admitted to sending a crazy woman to kill someone who was bringing some much needed new money into the community.

Tomas, seeing the look, understood. “She was never one of us, but all of us were terrified of her and her teacher. Then, one week, they both disappeared. We assumed they’d killed each other, and many of us relaxed. Because the likelihood of any or all of us dying on a job dropped precipitously in that single week.”

“And she was going to kill this Luis, no matter what?” Sky added. Tomas had merely nodded. Sky pressed further. “So you directed her off the market. Where he was on a job.” Then, they realized something. “Wait, he was on a job. Did he have one of our watchfolk with him?”

Tomas could see where she was going with the line of questioning. “He did not. Which does mean any of his property on the island transfers to the island itself.”

“Not quite where I was going with it, but that’s another benefit. We can probably use this to pass a law forcing any scav teams to hire one of our watchpeople whenever they head out of jobs. Because while this particular instance isn’t a part of it, there have been some recent instances of encroachment, according to Weatherpoint. So keeping our shipments and dives safe will be important in the coming year.” Then, Sky took a deep breath. “Do you think this Empty One is going to return?”

“Depends on how honest she was being about her intentions.” Tomas had replied. He hadn’t elaborated, and Sky hadn’t cared to press. If being friends with Meg had taught Sky anything, it taught them that sometimes it was better not to know the details. Assuming the person giving you the detail-less summary was trustworthy. And Meg still insisted Tomas’s trustworthiness. Besides, there had been no other indication of him sliding back into his old habits. Sky had been keeping an eye on the retired assassin, and nothing.

In the months that followed, Sky had waited for the rumor of the attack to spread from the driver throughout the market. Then, when everyone was primed, they offered a solution. Lowering the percentages taken by Skymarket sponsored protection on scav and convoy jobs, alongside a citizen referendum requiring every job to hire on at least one of said sponsored protection, for safety’s sake. The law passed with an overwhelming mandate. With Tomas’s help, Sky trained up enough additional guards and overwatchs to provide for the new legal needs of the city.

Since then, Weatherpoint and Outer Savannah have both reported an increase in raids and claim snaking by Goar forces. One of the factions within the Goar is up to something. Sky can feel it. But their own guards are enough to keep the commandos and crews at bay. A couple of attempts on our caravans, both fought off. One lost some of their cargo in the process, but not enough to be of note. And no new movement. Not by the Goar force at large, nor by the strange woman who attacked the market all those months ago.

Sky has to admit, things seem largely peaceful at the moment. It doesn’t make them feel any better, not really. They take this place and its future seriously, and know better than to let a few months without danger cause any complacency. They looked down from their favorite balcony, down at the people hurrying around Skymarket. With a sigh, they turn around and head back into their apartment. The day has begun in earnest and they really should check if they’ve got anything on their agenda.

They do. A meeting with the new mayor. Everyone on Skymarket knew that mayor was mostly a nominal position, without any real power. After all, Sky had ensured most of the market’s laws were passed by citizen referendum, and therefore could only be reversed by the whole of the populace overturning it. Especially the laws they actually cared about. But still, it helps to meet and figure out each new mayor’s rough agenda. In case they have to redirect the flow any. This newly elected fellow is Evelyn Martin. A former scout. Sky hopes that means they’re serious about the market’s security, but don’t hold enough of a grudge (or do have enough of an understanding of the dangers involved) to keep them from straight up antagonizing any of the Goar factions. Heading out of their Penthouse and down the old, rickety elevator, they make it to the ground. Or, the artificial ground, in any case.

City Hall is not one of the more impressive buildings on Skymarket. It isn’t supposed to be. It is supposed to feel almost homey. Entering, they make their way through halls to the mayor’s office. The mayor’s receptionist holds up a hand to stop them. “Sorry, the mayor is in a meeting right now.”

Sky checks the time on their tablet. Two minutes early. “Cutting it close, don’t you think?” they muse to the receptionist.

He smiles, looks up from his computer, and suddenly understands. “Right,” he says with a chuckle, “Sorry Sky, but don’t blame Miss Martin. This is Julian’s fault, his meeting was supposed to end six minutes ago, but he still hasn’t left. You know how he can be.”

Sky smiles. “I do,” they say, then raising an inquisitive eyebrow, add, “So, you think they’re fucking in there, or he’s just trying to get in her pants?”

Will laughs at that one. After a moment, he finally composes himself enough to answer, “Just trying. Between you and me, he’s not really her type.”

Sky leans on Will’s little receptionist’s desk. “Really? You don’t say?” they muse aloud. Leaning in closer to the man so their face is mere inches from his, they add, “Do you happen to know what her type is?”

Will calls their bluff, leaning forwards as well. “I might. Why would you want to know, though? You’re not planning on sleeping with another one of my bosses are you?”

Feigning offense without leaning away, Sky replies, “Are you implying something untoward about my intentions, dear Will?”

Will, also without leaning back, replies with a smirk. “I would never. A lesser guy just might start getting ideas, that’s all.”

Leaning past his face so their mouth is right next to his ear, Sky pauses a moment, then whispers, “There are lesser guys than you?”

“A few,” Will insists. Then he tacks on, “You should know, most end up in your bed.”

With this Sky pulls back, once more mocking offense. “I would never,” they respond. Then, after an appropriately long pause, they finish the statement. “My apartment’s far too nice for me to bring a one-nighter up to it.”

Will chuckles. Checking the time, he sighs and gestures towards the door. “Your meeting time. I’m not dumb enough to think I can try and stop you. Even with my brilliant banter.”

“Brilliant is a bit of an exaggeration. And I still have seven seconds,” Sky replies.

Will does a celebratory fist pump. “Yeah, got it down to a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Don’t make me regret that,” Sky shoots at him as she passes the desk and opens the door to the mayor’s office.

Sitting at her desk, Evelyn Martin is clearly frustrated at whatever Julian is doing right now. A view Sky can certainly understand. Skymarket’s top brewmaster is really fun to have around, at the right time and in moderation. Too much of him or at the wrong time, he just becomes one of the more irritating features of the city. “Out,” Sky informs Julian as he’s in the middle of some innuendo filled statement while undoubtedly asking for financial assistance for his brewery’s expansion.

“Hey,” Julian starts to object, until he sees that the interrupting person is Sky. “Right, I’m gone.” And he gets out of the office far faster than either Sky or Evelyn thought possible.

“Thank you,” Evelyn says to Sky with a fake smile plastered on her face. “I thought he would never leave.”

Sky smiles, genuinely. “That’s because you have standards. Besides fear, the fastest way to get Julian to leave a place is to sleep with him.”

Evelyn ignores that. Interesting, Sky muses, so she doesn’t want to talk about her lack of interest in Julian. Instead, Evelyn simply asks, “Why are you here. I know it isn’t some kind of social call.”

“But it is just a social call,” Sky insists.

Evelyn shakes her head. “No, if it were that you’d have done it before getting that guard law passed. So why are you here?”

“Straight to business. I like that,” Sky replies, their mouth forming into a wry smirk, “And you liked that law. It ensures our little town’s safety.” They walk over to one of the chairs across the desk from Evelyn and sit down. “See, I like to think about the future, plan for it, work towards it. And you seem like a smart, capable sort. I just want to make sure you and I have a similar view on the future of our lovely market town.”

Evelyn just stares at them. She doesn’t let any emotion slip onto her face. She can’t afford to, not where Sky is concerned. Even when they are trying to piss her off. Especially then. She knows why they keep emphasizing ‘our’ city. There’s a reason the place is called Skymarket, after all. They’re trying to make her feel small and powerless. They’re trying to get her off her game. She knows it. And she won’t let that happen.