“So, how did you know we needed you?” Martin asked.
“We saw the Warped charging the two shelters,” Nori said. “We figured you guys stood a better chance with the zappers, so we went to help the Grand Mall first. Once the fight was over, Diamond and his guards came aboard to help you guys out.”
Dug, one of Martin’s guards shook his head. “The monsters just suddenly appeared. We were lucky our sentries spotted them from afar. We figured the only chance for the shelter to survive was to draw them away. We holed up on the Ferris wheel, thinking they’d never reach us and we could take our time taking them out. We didn’t expect them to be this strong.”
Martin nodded. “Yeah. We took out all the level twos and threes pretty easily, but it took almost all of the Zappers’ ammo to bring down just one level six. The Disruptor saved our asses a few times. In the end, we just conserved our shots and fired on those that tried to climb to reach us. We were running low, and that level nine behemoth nearly took down the Ferris wheel. If you guys had come five minutes later …” He shook his head.
Diamond finished seeing to his wounded guards and approached the other shelter leader, offering his hand. “I’m Diamond. Heard some good things about you from Cattie. That woman is a natural Warped killer.”
“Thanks.” Martin shook the offered hand and looked at the Sharpshooter. “I was starting to regret sending you away; we could have used your help against that horde.”
The woman shrugged. “What can I say, boss. I go where I’m told.”
The Justicar looked at the other shelter leader. “I’m glad we’ve got a chance to finally meet in person. Now that we fought off the monsters, we should discuss cooperation.”
Diamond shook his head. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Tell him, Nori.”
“Those attacks were just a prelude,” the Navigator said. “There’s a ton more at Lou’s Yard. Looks like they turned the place into a nest of some kind. They have a gigantic Warped there that controls the others—it’s referred to as a Broodmother.”
She was not trying to keep her voice down. Several of the fighters heard her and started muttering amongst themselves.
Bulco stepped forward. “We survived the first attack, but if we don’t take care of the problem at the source, we might not make it through the next one. We’re going to gather everyone who can hold a gun, from both shelters, and grind that place into the ground.
The Justicar shook his head. “We have barely ten Zappers among us and no more power cells.”
Nori’s corner mouth twisted. “You have normal guns, though, right?”
“Yeah, but we might as well be throwing confetti at those mutants.” He looked down at the few scattered empty ammo boxes. “I saw your guns did some damage, but it looks like you’re all out of ammo. So where does that leave us?”
Bulco grinned wildly. “Oh, I wouldn’t say we’re all out of ammo just yet.”
Martin raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? How much more can you possibly have left?”
The Engineer stepped to one of the large shipping containers and patted it affectionately. “About a million. Give or take.”
The Justicar’s eyes opened wide.
“And the best part,” Nori said, “Is that everyone can use them, even at level zero.”
“And that means,” Lana stepped forward. “That we can bring as many people as we have guns against the Warped. And also, take this.” She handed him a thin strip of metal.
Martin stood, dumbstruck, staring at the item she gave him. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he nodded and held it to his temple. The implant liquefied and seeped into his skin, finally settling as a thin strip behind his right ear.
“You guys are something else,” he said. “I have no idea how you managed to do everything you did, but you’ve given us hope.” He studied the corpse-strewn ground. “So how do you suggest we divvy up the bounty?”
“We’ve already figured that out,” Lana said. “You join our faction, then we all share the extracted Tec together.”
Martin frowned. “Hardly seems fair. You guys took down the majority of those monsters. The big ones must be worth five levels on their own.”
Nori shook her head. “Now’s not the time to get greedy. We need as many people as possible at level four to be able to use the Warped Busters, and so far, other than us four, we only have five such people. So come on, I’m officially inviting you to join the Earth Force.”
Martin chuckled. “I like the sound of that. I never imagined I’d be a part of a planetary-wide military organization. I accept.”
Martin has joined your faction
Dug has joined your faction
Juarez has joined your faction
…
…
“Alright, spread out and get to work,” Nori said.
Everyone except the wounded left the freighter and started tapping the slain Warped. Wave after wave of light flowed across the ground, splitting into smaller ribbons that Infused the members of the Earth Force.
“Damn, putting down Warped hordes is profitable,” Bulco noted, watching enviously as almost all the lower level fighters gained a level or two at once. “I’m almost sorry to be level five, the extra six Tec I got wasn’t enough to level me up.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Nori said.
Lana coughed embarrassedly. “Nathan and I made it to level six.”
“What?” the Engineer looked at them outrageously.
“Yeah, they chose the Tec Infusion Boost trait,” Nori sighed. “So they’ll level up faster than the two of us.”
Lana’s eyes glazed as she accessed her interface. “Nothing major about this level …. Oooo, I got two attribute points to allocate instead of one, awesome! I wonder why, though.”
“Maybe you get a bonus point every six levels?” Nori guessed.
“Maybe. Hmm ... now where do I put my shining new points ... I feel like my Intelligence is high enough for now … Awareness is the second primary attribute for an Expert, but I have four points there. I think I’ll increase my Control. It’s a secondary attribute, but it’s only at two now and I got a feeling it’s something I shouldn’t neglect. Gimme a sec … and … done. Yay, I’m officially level six.”
Nathan smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm and turned his attention to his own level up options. Like Lana, level six had no special benefits, so he only needed to decide the attribute points allocation. As a Technomancer his primary ones were: Agility, Intelligence, Control, and Awareness. Agility was his lowest, with only two points in it. He wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about increasing his physical stats, he was no front liner, but the encounter with the hostile excavator had taught him a hard lesson. The world is a dangerous place and hiding isn’t always possible. He should at least be able to dodge whatever was thrown at him.
He dumped both points into Agility, wincing as his muscles shifted and stretched in response. It was an unpleasant sensation but the process was over in an instant. Nathan flexed his fingers and bent his legs, marveling at the sense of control and freedom. With an excited grin, he accessed his Status.
Nathan, Human-scion, level 6 (35 Tec)
Skill: Technomancer→Bonded (score 20)
Attributes:
● Strength 1 Ⓢ
● Agility 4 Ⓟ
● Intelligence 5 Ⓟ
● Control 5 Ⓟ
● Awareness 4 Ⓟ
● Appeal 2 Ⓢ
Conditions:
● Tec Infusion Boost +5%
● Score boost +10%
● Bond
“Ain’t he just looking like the proverbial cat who got the cream.” Bulco chuckled as he caught the young man’s smug smile.
“He earned it,” Nori said. “Without his abilities and that cannon, we wouldn’t be standing here.” She looked at Martin and Diamond who were talking quietly among themselves. “I think we’re done here. Are you guys on board for the rest of it?”
The two shelter leaders lo
oked at each other and something passed between them.
“Here.” Martin handed Nori a crystallized tear. “That’s half the piTec we’ve gathered.”
Nori stared at the item in her hand. “Twenty-five thousand? But your people--”
“Would be dead without you,” he cut her off. “You’ve more than earned your share.”
“But--”
“Take it,” Diamond said in a commanding tone and Nori’s finger instantly closed around the item. “And as soon as I get back to my shelter, I’ll get you our half of what my people collected as well.”
Nori started to protest again but Lana, of all people, cut her off. “Just take it, Nori. We have a loan to repay and Unity needs repairs.”
“She’s right,” Bulco said. “We’ve helped everyone out with limited resources. Think of what more we can do with extra funding.”
“Just think of it as an investment in the future of mankind.” Martin smiled at them. “We can use every piece of alien tech you can get us. And not just weapons. Anything that would help improve the lives of those who have survived. I trust your judgment, so just accept the money already.”
Nori’s fist closed around the valuable gem, silently accepting the offer. “What about the attack plan?”
“We’ll get our people ready,” Diamond said. “Everyone who can shoot a gun. I just hope to god your plan works. There’s no one else to protect the survivors if we die.”
“It will work,” Nori said. “It has to.”
Martin's eyes hardened. “We will make it work. It’s time this place becomes Warped-free.”
Cattie lifted her shotgun in a salute. “Here, here, boss.”
Diamond nodded slowly. “I hope you’re right. For all of our sakes.”
***
They parted company with Martin and his people, leaving them with a sizeable part of the ammo, and they were soon flying back to the Grand Mall, ferrying Diamond and his people home.
As they landed at the mall’s parking lot, a small, level two Warped appeared on top of a sedan and hissed at them. The disembarking guards barely slowed as they casually shot and killed it.
Diamond shook his head as he walked down the platform. “To think that only hours ago, that chump would have sent most of those guys running … it’ll make convincing the rest of the civilians to join the fight much easier.”
“How many people do you think you can rally?” Nori asked.
He glanced at the sky. “It’s almost evening. I’ll pitch the idea to everyone at dinner. Don’t worry, I think I have an idea how to get everyone’s cooperation.” He held up a piTec drop and winked at the woman. “We have enough weapons to arm about six hundred and we’re going to need a bunch more to run logistics. We’ll head out at first light. We should be at Lou’s Yard by noon.”
“Same here,” Martin’s voice came over the comms. “I’ve got everyone already excited about finally being able to hurt the Warped. Looks like almost everyone wants in, but we only have enough weapons for about eight hundred.”
“We’ll scout ahead and find a safe location for everyone to gather,” Nori said.
“Shouldn’t we discuss strategy first?” Lana said.
Bulco shook his head. “There’s no need. It’s a simple ‘carpet bombing’ routine. We’ll fly over the target and bombard them from a safe distance, while the people on the ground surround the place and make sure to finish off any Warped that tries to get away.”
Nori frowned. “Aren’t you worried about the Broodmother?”
“Not really. You saw what our cannon can do. It can turn a modern tank into a smoldering heap with a single shot. The brood-bitch won’t fare any better.”
“I agree,” Diamond said. “You kids just fly up and bomb the sons of bitches, we’ll take care of cleaning up the leftovers.”
“Sounds good to me,” Martin said.
Noah was the last to disembark, walking reluctantly down the ramp.
Bulco blocked his way. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I thought …” he coughed. “I didn’t want to get in the way.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” the large Engineer said. “You’re the only Gunner we’ve got, so you’ll be staying right here with us, at least until after the attack tomorrow.”
Noah’s surprised look turned into a grin. “I’d like that. It felt great doing something I was meant to. It’s hard to explain, but as soon as I took the controls, I suddenly knew what to do and how to make it work. Like I was born for the job.”
“We know.” Lana smiled at him. “It’s the Tec. Each of us is wired differently, but we’ve all experienced it firsthand.”
“So I won’t be in the way?”
“Nah, we got two spare beds. You’re welcome to one.”
“Just make sure to change your shirt ASAP,” Bulco grumbled. “That flashy red makes you look like a target.”
The Gunner chuckled. “Will do. In that case, I’ll drop by to collect a few items from my shed. Especially if we’re going to do a sleepover party - I’ll need some cereal for the morning.”
Lana’s eyes lit up.
Bulco chuckled and patted the man’s shoulder. “I think you two will hit it off nicely.”
They waited for Diamond’s people to unload some more ammo crates and for Noah to return. Nori entered the bridge, and they were soon flying toward the enemy stronghold.
Today, they would watch.
Tomorrow, there would be war.
20 - Warped War
“Oh, shoot,” Lana said as they were flying above the damaged streets.
“What’s wrong?” Nori asked.
“We were so focused on fighting we forgot about upgrading the ship. The cannon upgrade finished like two hours ago.”
Bulco winced. “Damn, she’s right.”
“No sense in crying over spilt milk,” Nori said. “We’ve already discussed it. The next upgrade should be the basic plating, right?”
The others nodded. Noah remained silent, not sure what was being discussed.
Nori pressed a few keys on her light console and text flashed across the main monitors.
Basic plating upgrade: 0%
They waited in silence for a few moments, their eyes glued to the screen, but the number didn’t increase.
“Looks like that one’s gonna take some time,” Bulco said.
Nori nodded. “We’ve got eighteen hours until the attack. Let’s hope it’ll be over by then.”
“I’m not so sure, guys,” Lana said from her seat. “Check this out.”
She punched a few keys and the viewscreen changed to show the outside of the ship, where a small section of the hull was rippling. The picture zoomed in and they could see small pieces of black metal growing out from the hull, piling up on each other and fitting together like some sort of three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.
Nori frowned as she realized the part they were looking at was only a few centimeters wide. “This might take longer than we thought.”
Bulco grunted. “That figures. The upgrade called for eighteen tons of Balatium. Lana was right; it would take a lot longer than the cannon.”
“We’ve reached Lou’s Yard,” the Navigator said, working on her console. “I’m putting us half a kilometer above it. Lana, you’re up.”
The young Expert nodded and accessed her controls. The three-parts viewscreen flickered and changed, each part showing a different picture of the Warped fort below them. The middle showed a normal aerial view, which made it hard to pick out details due to the increasing darkness. The left one showed a sensor scan view, painting the fort’s interior in bright yellow with several large red spots. The right one showed a topographic map of the area, the fort being the darkest as it was situated at the top of a hill.
“Nice surveillance system, girl,” Bulco complimented her.
“Thanks. I only figured out how to do that after my Path evolved and the extra points in Control help a lot. As a matter of fact,” she scrun
ched her face and entered a few commands to her light console.
The main view screen zeroed in on a single dark spot in the middle of the fort. A single line appeared hovering over a shapeless mound.
Warped, Broodmother, level 12
“Now that’s one fat-ass monster,” Bulco said in contempt, though his voice betrayed his nervousness.
“You know,” Noah lifted his arms and the holographic cannon controls instantly covered them. “We don’t have to wait till tomorrow. I can get the fuckers from up here. It will be like shooting ugly-mutated-fish in a barrel.”
Nori shook her head. “No. You’ll never kill them all, they’ll just scatter. And it might just provoke them to launch another attack on the settlement. Even with the new bullets, the shelters can’t repel another large attack, not without suffering more casualties. Let’s not kick that anthill just yet. Staying here and keeping an eye on them is the best thing for now.”
Noah frowned. “You sure about that?”
“You heard the captain,” Lana said merrily
The Gunner looked at her in surprise. “She’s the ship’s captain?”
“Voted by the vast majority of two against one,” Bulco grunted. “But yes.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Noah said with a faint smile.
“We’ll take turns keeping watch,” Nori said. “I’ll take the first shift.” She stretched in her seat and her chair reshaped itself, leaning backward and lifting her legs up.
“Don’t fall asleep,” the Engineer cautioned before following the other three to the quarters.
***
Lana entered the bridge several hours later, carrying a steaming cup. “Hey, Nori, I came to replace you.”
The tall woman stretched and yawned. “Good timing, I was starting to get drowsy, it’s almost midnight.”
“How’s the plating upgrade doing?”
Nori punched a key and a line flashed across the monitors.
Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1) Page 30
