“I almost forgot! Buy a bucket of white paint and a paint sprayer for Kirsan. I promised him. The specific items are in our purchase list, look there.”
“You promised something to a metal repair bot? You didn’t make any promises to the vacuum or fridge, did you? Sometimes, Gerd Gnat, you scare me with your extravagance.” The Geckho lady shook her furry head in reproach, but still said she’d buy the items.
I remembered the second promise I’d made to the metal millipede as well: to drink myself silly at the nearest space station. And I wasn’t going to break it. I was not in the habit of idly throwing my words around. But I decided to do that after robbing the pirate pride’s vault, ideally doing a bit of laundering at the same time.
Chapter Twenty-Nine. Pirate Vault
THE RASPY VOICE of the aged Miyelonian orchestrating the operation rang out in my earphones:
“There, in that corridor with the warning symbol to the right. They have cameras watching everything, and it’s full of security systems. Turn down it and walk slowly. Don’t make any sudden movements. Have your companions stay a bit behind, so the big group doesn’t tip them off. We need you in front so the guards recognize you.”
I didn’t know the name of the man, where he was or how he was tracking me but, so far, all his instructions were correct. I stopped and pointed out a sign to Eduard, Vasha and Basha: “Private property. No entry.” Then I asked my companions to let me go ahead and stay five steps behind.
“Alright. Now go in. Walk slowly and tell me about any cameras or data readers you detect.”
So, I guess I’d need Perception. I stopped and changed my Intelligence rings for two +1 Perception ones. The dark long corridor became a bit more contrasting, and I could see a chain of blinking dark-red lights in the distance. They seemed to be data readers or infrared detectors. I ran a scan to make sure.
Scanning skill increased to level thirty-three!
Cartography skill increased to level fifty-seven!
I saw new markers on the mini-map, and reported back in Miyelonian:
“Two cameras. The first is next to the warning sign, the second is ten steps from the entrance. There are motion detectors at floor level in the walls, approximately one every five to seven steps. There is a web of lasers that are invisible to the naked eye. Two actually. The first is twenty steps from the corridor entrance, and the second is fifty. The beams can be seen with Perception level thirty. There are two high-speed turrets in ceiling niches right next to the door. And... I don’t quite understand... Ah! A few tiles in the floor can detect when they’re stepped on.”
“Tiles? What kind exactly?” the director immediately asked. “Gerd Gnat, I’m gonna put you into a group quick. Mark all the traps so everyone can see.”
A second later, I got a group request and immediately accepted. That gave me bonuses to hitpoints, stealth and reaction speed. Nice, of course, but I that wasn’t what I did it for. Woah-oh! The group had more than one hundred sixty members. I wasn’t even close to appreciating the scale of this operation. And I could see all their names and levels. Among them was the leader of the Pride of the Agile Paw, keeping watch over the operation. There were high-level mercenaries from the Prides of the Star Strangler and Hidden Killer in the combat group as well. And there was the leader of the operation:
Leng Mai-Ti Ur-Miiyaoo. Miyelonian. Pride of the Hidden Killer. Level-188 Strategist.
Quite the hardcore tomcat! I didn’t know how much the leader of the Pride of the Agile Paw had paid for such high-level mercenaries, but it was probably at least seven figures in crypto. I marked all the objects I had detected, shared it with the whole group and my Targeting skill leveled twice:
Targeting skill increased to level twenty-one!
Targeting skill increased to level twenty-two!
“Great!” the Leng praised me for the information. “What do you say, Big-Belly?”
“What is there to say, Grumpy...?” came the head of the Pride of the Agile Paw. “Let’s block the cameras and motion detectors. Then just stand on the tiles.”
Big-Belly? That was an awfully familiar way to call the head of the pride, who hid her identity and even her pregnancy. And she called him Grumpy back? Clearly these two knew each other well, and it looked very much like their relationship was not limited to business. I concluded that this severe Leng was most likely the father of her future kittens! Meanwhile, a new order came in from Leng Mai-Ti:
“Gerd Gnat, you go first and have your bodyguards pretend to accidentally step on the pressure plates nearest the closed doors. First group keep going on the ceiling tiles until you reach the first set of lasers. Second group take the video cameras! Myaur-Za, have your spies walk into the hal...”
Then I was simply thrown out of the group and their channel, so I didn’t hear any more details. But I was already deeply impressed. Most likely these were not simple hired mercenaries as I thought, and this was a joint operation of related prides.
I slowly walked forward, demonstrating a lack of confidence to the vault guards who were probably watching me. I ordered my companions to stop and marked where they should stand. Then I stood right under the two dangerous turrets and tried to draw the pirates’ attention by loudly asking:
“Is this the Pride of the Bushy Shadow’s place? Am I in the right hallway?”
“What do you want, Gerd Gnat?” a voice answered practically instantly from a loudspeaker over the armored door, confirming my guess that they were watching.
“I’m looking for somebody from your pride who’s worth my time, preferably the leader. I want to discuss how much needs to be paid to get rid of the bounty on my ship.”
The response was a long silence, then another voice said:
“Gerd Abi stays out of little things like that, so you’re not gonna get him. You could pay a fine right here and now, though. Two hundred thousand crypto and you’re clean.”
“Uhh... That seems a bit steep...” I pretended to be unsure and thinking. “The bounty is just three thousand. Where’d this two hundred thousand come from all of a sudden???”
“It’s supposed to be a hundred times higher than the bounty. We’re already doing you a big favor,” the now insolent Miyelonian flagrantly lied, and then...
Listener, a data packet has been compiled for transmission to the Pyramid. Send data? (Yes/No)
I shuddered in surprise when I suddenly saw the two bright red columns of Relict logograms. An intriguing and very rare occurrence, but this was the worst possible time! I needed to think this over well, know what I was doing and first just see what kind of “data packet” it was. But the circumstances, to put it lightly, were not right for detailed consideration. I couldn’t just tell the pirates and one hundred sixty attackers to wait an hour or two while I dug around in the settings and read the potentially huge files.
But it also seemed wrong to say no. What if I was missing a unique chance, and bungling something that would never happen again? I could be missing out on a whole chain of new discoveries! What if this was a highly important step into studying the ancient Relict race? With those thoughts in mind, I chose to send. And I got another portion of messages:
Listener, critical error: no response from the Pyramid.
Attempting to use backup channel.
Listener, critical error: no response from the Pyramid on backup channel.
Further course of action undefined. The Pyramid is unavailable!
Transmission cancelled.
Oh well, I guess I’d set my sights too high, hoping for an interesting event connected with the ancient race. This was seemingly just my electronic-packed armored suit waking up after a thousand years of inaction to discover there were no more Listeners or other members of the Relict race to exchange data with.
“Gnat, what’s with the silence? Are you gonna pay or not?” the pirate’s voice became more annoyed. I answered that I was thinking of how to get out of the situation, because I simply didn’t have the money.
<
br /> “I thought it would be three thousand crypto. That’s how much I have left. I exchanged all the rest of my money for Geckho crystals, because I’m about to fly into their space.”
Psionic skill increased to level seventy-two!
Yes, a bit of mental suggestion to settle their doubts. I could sense clearly that it would work and my words were finding a lively response in the minds of the pirates on the other side of the locked door. Greed had overtaken caution.
Listener, in case of military action, all public communication channels would be blocked. Thus the algorithms have determined that the most probable reason the Pyramid cannot be reached is WAR! Given the extraordinary situation, we suggest using an emergency channel to contact the Pyramid. (Yes/No)
What was this?! Did I really have to make such important choices, which probably had long-running consequences on the fly? I had no idea what the emergency communication system was or what it might entail, nevertheless I chose “Yes.”
And I nearly fell to my knees, because my Listener suit’s atomic batteries instantly dropped to zero. I had a hard time keeping my balance when the weight of the armor suddenly fell on my shoulders, pushing me backwards and making me careen. The screen went dark. I had to remove my helmet to see anything. Was there a spare atomic battery? Ah, right. I bought an extra for my armor suit and Annihilator. There it was! I opened my equipment window and urgently put the new battery in place, replacing the spent one.
Electronics skill increased to level fifty-eight!
Medium Armor skill increased to level fifty-four!
“Apologies, my spacesuit is on the fritz,” I honestly told the observers and immediately returned to the negotiations. “I have the money, but it’s all in crystals. One million four hundred thousand Geckho crystals. Does that work for you?”
“Perfect! Get out the money!” the first pirate’s voice rang out, not even trying to hide his impatience. “Order your bodyguards to go ten steps back and put away their weapons! After that, we’ll open the door and you can come in. And you’ll come in alone, without your soldiers.”
I ordered my companions to take seven steps back, then put on my helmet because my armor suit had turned back on. In my earphones, Leng Mai-Ti Ur-Miiyaoo’s voice rang out at once:
“Gerd Gnat, everything is going well so far! But there’s one bit of bad news. We’ve discovered an emergency communications system from inside the vault that we can’t deactivate. The door into the vault cannot remain open for long, otherwise a signal will be sent to the Pride of the Bushy Shadow guard post, and from there it will be sent on to allied prides.”
“I see. The door will close behind me. And how long do I have to stay inside?” I asked, to which the operation leader answered that I didn’t need to go in at all.
“We cannot allow the armored door to close. Otherwise the pirates will just kill or rob you in there, and all our preparations will have been in vain. Our soldiers are already in position, and the attack will come as soon as the door opens. I’m afraid we will not be able to avoid an alarm, and the area will soon be flooded with enemies. So we’re gonna run in, snatch everything of value from the vault and run right out. And it would be better to load up to the max, kill ourselves and respawn somewhere safe with the loot.”
* * *
THREE MIYELONIANS from the Pride of the Bushy Shadow were standing before me baring their teeth and playing with glimmering deadly blades, not hiding their aggressive intentions:
“Well, where’s the cash, Gerd Gnat? Hand it over!”
There were seven other pirates a bit farther away in the depths of the great gloomy hangar, and three of them had their laser rifles trained at my head. And, based on the mini-map, somewhere further in the darkness, there were another six enemies hidden behind container stacks. Miyelonians weren’t bothered one bit by darkness. I’d figured that out before, when capturing the pirate interceptor in space. But I couldn’t see a thing, because there was a spotlight shining right in my face.
Pretending I was digging in my inventory, I drew out time as long as I could. I demanded proof of receipt, asked how long it would take them to get rid of my bounty, and told them to hurry up because I had to leave soon. At the same time, I did not understand what was taking the attackers so long! And even stranger I was standing right in the wide-open vault doors, but for some reason the pirates were in no rush to close them, as if they weren’t afraid to trip the alarm.
And then I realized... Why would the Pride of the Agile Paw want to share trophies with my soldiers? The firefight would begin soon and “accidentally” my guards would get shot in the back, if of course the pirates didn’t kill them first. Then after respawn there would be no reason to come back. In any case, the vault would already be empty. Maybe there was an alarm system that couldn’t be turned off as they said and maybe not, but I had already been given an explanation that assumed no one in my group would survive.
Danger Sense skill increased to level forty-eight!
The pirates were getting angrier and angrier and they were less and less keen to answer my stupid questions. There was no way to draw out time any further. So I turned my radio to my team’s channel, and said what the operation leader hadn’t deigned to tell us:
“Guys, the mayhem starts now. Try to survive! It won’t be easy, because neither the attackers or defenders want us alive. Accept my invitation to a group and prepare for battle!”
What to do first? Shoot the Annihilator and kill the nearest pirate? Knowing how fast Miyelonians could be, it might not work. Pit some enemies against each other? Yes, it was a good idea to attack the pirates mentally, but there were plenty more who could kill me very quickly. Also, after dying, the mind control would pass and the scuffling pirates would come to. I didn’t want my life to come so cheaply... I looked at the mini-map and bared my teeth in satisfaction. The turrets, how could I forget?!
Automatic laser turret. Interface chance: 24%. Total control chance: 3%.
For some reason, my chances were a bit low... Ah, what a jackass I was! I was still wearing the +1 Perception rings! I quickly changed them back, raising my Intelligence by 5 whole points. Now that was better. And it would get even better if I threw all my skill points into Machine Control, raising it to 66. So I did.
Automatic laser turret. Interface chance: 57%. Total control chance: 38%.
I figured I could get lucky with at least one of them! Otherwise, what was the use of having maximum possible Luck? Got it! The right turret was subordinated to my mental command. So, here’s for my enemies. I placed markers on all the nearest pirates. Meanwhile, I ordered a disheveled pirate shifting from foot to foot to make a quick jump and attack his comrade from behind with both blades. Then I reached for my Annihilator and, sharply moving from place, shot my fearsome weapon, but not at one of the scattering pirates, at the locking mechanism for the massive doors. Let the fun begin!
Rifles skill increased to level fifty-one!
Sharpshooter skill increased to level thirty-four!
Targeting skill increased to level twenty-three!
You have reached level seventy-four!
You have received three skill points!
I saw the door start to lean. One of the hinges was torn out at the root together with the locking motor. Then I was knocked off my feet by a fierce blow to the left shoulder. One of the pirates took down my energy shield with his blade, and a second got through my armor and stuck his scimitar to the hilt in my chest. Ouch! My life bar fell by a third, and the game warned me I was bleeding critically and had shell shock. I couldn’t see anything through a reddish pall. Another blow. How unbearably painful! My life fell even further.
This was seemingly death... And it all came together so badly: I leveled up at such a risky time! My progress bar was empty now, much to my dismay. And that was very, very bad!
I was hit with another stab, or more likely a shot. Mere crumbs were left in my life bar... I needed to do something quick so I wouldn’t lose a
level or skills with my now inevitable death! And that thought gave me strength. I couldn’t see anything, but I could open my inventory. I quickly threw my Annihilator in there so I wouldn’t somehow lose the invaluable weapon in case of a bad drop. Then I took out a Geological Analyzer and, losing consciousness, unfolded the metal tripod.
The last thing I heard before dying was a sharp metallic clink through the explosions and gunfire. After that, I saw two system messages on the quickly darkening screen:
Scanning skill increased to level thirty-four!
Your character has died. Respawn will be possible in fifteen minutes.
Would you like to review your statistics for this game session?
Chapter Thirty. After the Assault
MY SCANNING SKILL grew? Surprising. I was actually using the Geological Analyzer to disable both laser turrets, which should have counted as activity and thus have filled my progress bar a hair. Yes, it wasn’t how I wanted things to go but after my death the turret I was controlling would open fire on my comrades, so I had to turn it off somehow.
But clearly the Prospector Scanner had detected something, I just didn’t see it due to the pall clouding my vision. Maybe the mini-map had shown something I hadn’t seen before, and maybe the strong EMP had revealed the attacking invisible soldiers by turning off their advanced light-splitting suits. In one way or another though, I had achieved my goal and now, despite my death, I wasn’t feeling the least bit upset. In fact, I was serene and content.
After the statistics question timed out, the virt-pod opened. I had no desire to get up from the soft springy bed, because I was planning to go right back into the game in fifteen minutes. But I was not allowed to simply relax. A few minutes later, I heard rapid footsteps from the spiral staircase and an unfamiliar woman’s voice called out to me:
Game Changer (Reality Benders Book #3) LitRPG Series Page 29
