Chapter 24: Entering Siberia

After following the Showdown through four different countries, Rick thought that he knew how everything went. For all the differences in culture and climate, the modern world had flattened the process of traveling. They always flew into a major city, their Showdown cards allowing them to skip customs, and went straight to a training facility.

Not so in Siberia.

Rick had ignored their flight path to focus on training the Triune Golden Spheres when warnings suddenly blared from the cockpit. He leapt to his feet automatically, but saw H shake his head. A voice announced some sort of warning in what Rick assumed was Russian, then their helicopter changed direction and began heading down.

"The Greater Siberian Domain has excellent border security," H explained. "It's just a bit blunt about everything. They need to approve our entry and give us government-issued identification. Just cooperate and it will all be over quickly."

Imagining cavity searches, Rick did his best not to get too concerned as they landed. When they stepped out of the helicopter, it appeared to be in a desolate snowfield with nothing but a small airport nearby. Several soldiers awaited them, wearing military uniforms with white camouflage and more fur than normal. The leader stepped forward and examined them skeptically.

"Showdown, yes? That way." His accent was thick, but the finger stabbing toward one of the buildings was clear enough. As they walked, surrounded by a military escort, Rick shifted closer to H.

"Surely they can't do this for everyone."

"Obviously not, though the normal borders are tight as well." One of the soldiers glowered at them, but talking must be allowed, because H glared right back at her, then continued. "But anyone who is rated as over a certain threat level is treated differently. As Showdown participants, we're automatically on that list. I took this route to get us through faster."

As they walked the biting cold began to get through even Rick's defensive cores, but fortunately they were escorted directly into the building. He hadn't realized how loud the wind had been until it was suddenly gone, the silence within the building surreal.

Within, he saw a gate that reminded him of an airport terminal with a severe-looking man awaiting them on the other side of ether-reinforced glass. Or maybe that was a friendly expression for Siberia. H led them forward and nudged Rick to get out his card. After examining their identification, however, the man only grunted and held out a hand.

"Lucrim portfolios?"

Rick started to get out his phone, only to have the man shake his head severely. Meanwhile, H had revealed a circular metal plate that was accepted by a scanner. When Rick looked toward H for explanation, he just nodded back to the official.

"Siberia does not acknowledge the measurements or rankings of outside nations," the official said flatly. He regarded Rick with pale eyes, then pointed toward a different line. "You must be evaluated and granted an official measurement."

That seemed harmless enough to cooperate with, so Rick nodded and followed his instructions. Another soldier standing on guard opened a gate for him, allowing him to step into another room. There was a large metal panel on the floor with several metal arms arcing around it, reminding him of some sort of standing dental chair.

A technician spoke to him in Russian, but the gesture was clear enough. Rick went to stand in the center where he saw two symbols for feet. Immediately the mechanical arms began to move around him, some revealing ends that looked uncomfortably stabby, but none got close to him. He could feel some technique poking at his lucrima soul, based on aura but not quite an attack. His instinct was still to try to absorb it, but he doubted that would be well-received.

"Good. Now brace self. Defensive cores." The instructions came a moment before a tall metal bar began emitting blinding red light. Rick instinctively raised both his defenses as he felt the light burn into him. This one could well have been an attack for most, though it wasn't enough to scathe him. He could only hope they had modulated its strength based on their first measurements.

Then it seemed he was done. Rick was ushered through a different door back into the main line, where he was glad to see H for once. There he filled out a bit of paperwork, thankfully in English, and was then handed a metal circle similar to the one he had seen before. It had his name and an ID number printed directly into the metal, but he was more interested in the symbols at the center.

It was clearly the Siberian equivalent of the American ether tier system. Rick had vaguely known that the same ratings agencies didn't operate for the whole world, but it hadn't been relevant until that point. This system was rather blunt:

[Strength: 79,000

Rank: Junior Fighter

Affiliation: Showdown Guest - Third Class]

Though the new system immediately interested him, Rick decided that it would just be a distraction. It didn't matter how they measured his strength, only what he could do. The "Third Class" designation made him wonder about the others, but it was all useless without anything to compare.

Fortunately, the whole process wasn't drawn out and they were soon escorted out of the other side of the building, then back to their helicopter. H was already finished and waiting, saying a few words to the soldiers before gesturing for him to follow. No one came after them as they walked the final distance to the helicopter, though Rick couldn't stop himself from looking back.

"They'll just let us go now?"

"They don't like to waste time in Siberia." H made a gesture to lower the ramp, then glanced down at him while they waited. "And they don't need to. Not having your identification badge is a major crime here, even for visitors. The badge itself has a unique ether signature built into it connected to your profile. So everyone will know who you are. And obviously the government can track you."

Rick frowned. "No privacy?"

"They don't really consider that a major value here."

"In that case... I want to see your ID."

"Why should I let you?" H turned away from him and walked up the ramp, which instantly began to retract, forcing Rick to scramble to enter.

Once he was inside, however, he decided that he wouldn't be put off so easily. If the badges allowed anyone to access information, then H's badge wouldn't be private either. Rick tried to extend both his normal senses and his enhanced ones out toward the older man, but got nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet with his new observation Lucore, he sensed a faint thread tying him to his own badge. There must be another one connecting H... yes, there it was. They appeared artificial, an element of technology as opposed to anything more spiritual. If that was the case, perhaps he needed to use his own badge...

Getting it back out of his pocket, Rick pursued the connection, then focused toward H. It worked surprisingly quickly and letters of aura appeared on the back side of his badge:

[Strength: 127,000

Rank: Foreign Trainer

Affiliation: Showdown Guest - Second Class]

No name, though he assumed the government could get that information. Perhaps that was considered less important than a person's strength out here. Though Rick was intrigued by the difference in their rated strength, which wasn't as high as he expected, he reminded himself that it didn't really matter.

"You figured it out?" H glanced over at him and then shook his head. "You've gained basic competence. That's obnoxious."

"I expected the difference to be bigger," Rick said. "I've kind of been assuming you were an immortal too, or at least close to one."

"None of that is any of your business." H sat down and folded his arms, glaring him into a seat across from him. "Now, 79,000 is not a terrible score, but it needs to be higher. This is where a demonic bond would have been extremely useful."

"They count that as part of the number?"

"Everything is part of the number, even equipment. What matters here is efficacy."

Rick nodded acceptance, but H clearly wasn't done.

"As I said, I'm not going to force a bond on you. And I've been patient because you've avoided embarrassing yourself too badly. But here, a few tricks won't cut it. You'd better not have been lying about having some plan to get a better bond, or you're not getting entered into any events."

"I'll do what I can." Rick had been avoiding thinking about the subject, or focusing solely on Bftgage and Ythsil. But though he trusted the two demons, he didn't expect them to ever present him with some amazing combat bond. Hopefully they could at least lead him to something that would appease H.

"Entry into the demon realm isn't too difficult here, due to the number of fusions, but it's highly restricted. I'll set something up for you as soon as possible."

"Thanks." Trying to distract himself from all the other thoughts, Rick tried to refocus. "I assume we'll be in a training center as always, but we'll still see Siberian culture. Anything I need to know?"

"Don't start any fights. If you think the limits on killing are lax in the US, you haven't seen anything." H jabbed a finger at the badge still held in his hands. "Some would argue there's no rule of law here, just rule of affiliations. Fortunately, the Showdown is internationally respected. It won't earn you respect, but it will earn you a bit of protection."

"That's... better than it could be. It seems like this would be a terrible place to start a Showdown career."

"Only idiots send their trainees here first. Some don't let them come to Siberia until a full year of events, but your first few months have been adequate. You shouldn't die, anyway."

Rick took a deep breath, his attempt at a distraction having utterly failed. "Is getting a demonic bond here a mistake, then? Are they going to just take my soul by force?"

"No, the Siberian demon corps are international agencies. Cutthroat, but that's par for the course. Read the fine print and you'll live." H regarded him sternly. "Does that mean you're going to actually go through with this, instead of being a racist coward again?"

The only response Rick had was to shake his head. It seemed like he didn't have a choice, yet he was banking heavily on Bftgage and Ythsil finding a good path for him. Without any contact with them, he was actually nervous. Could they survive in an environment like this one? If he had sent them to their deaths...

As Rick stewed in his thoughts, the helicopter took them deep into Siberia.