by Tao Wong
The Stars Awoken
Book 7 of the System Apocalypse
By
Tao Wong
License Notes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The Stars Awoken
Copyright © 2019 Tao Wong. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2019 Sarah Anderson Cover Designer
ISBN: 9781989458068
Contents
What Has Gone Before
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Author’s Note
About the Author
Glossary
Erethran Honor Guard Skill Tree
John’s Erethran Honor Guard Skills
Paladin of Erethra Skill Tree
John’s Paladin of Erethra Skills
Other Class Skills
Spells
Equipment
What Has Gone Before
When the System arrived on Earth, it brought monsters, aliens, and glowing blue boxes that altered the reality of humanity. Gifted with Classes that must be Leveled and Skills that provide reality-altering powers, humanity struggled to survive when modern electronics failed under the flood of Mana. In a year, over ninety percent of humanity fell, leaving the remnants to pick up their lives.
John Lee is one such survivor, starting from the depths of the Yukon and traveling south to aid humanity in its struggle to stay free of their Galactic overlords. As a settlement owner in British Columbia, he joined forces with the remnant military forces of the United States on the West Coast and proceeded to wage a war to free the Canadian prairies and the US West Coast. Forced to take his Master Class Quest by the Erethran Honor Guard and the Erethran Champion, John returned from the Forbidden Zone planet he was portaled to with new powers and to a changed Earth.
Working together with his friends, many whom had changed and gotten on with their lives in the four years he had been exiled, John aided Earth in establishing a planetary government. Forced to fight both the Movanna and the Fist, John and his friends are betrayed by other humans at the very end. Even betrayed, Earth has managed to form the very first planetary government based on a Dungeon World. Now, John travels to Irvina with the Earth ambassador, in search of answers of what the System really is. And what, if any, place an ex-computer programmer turned warrior has in it.
Chapter 1
Watching the stars flash by on the observation deck is a strange experience. In hyperspace, they stop being a single point of light but instead become streaks that appear and disappear as we cross unimaginable distances in the blink of an eye. The journey to Praxis is about a week in, but I still haven’t gotten enough of the sight. It reminds me, again and again, how small I am and how unimaginably vast the universe is.
Not that it’s my first time out of Earth’s solar system, but being Portaled directly across thousands of light years isn’t the same thing at all. There’s no sense of journey that way, no sense of growing wonder. This trip feels more real. More… momentous.
“John?”
Mikito’s voice brings my head up to stare at the little Japanese woman. She has cut her hair again, turning it into a short bob. She’s dressed in what I call adventurer chic—dark, armored jumpsuit with holstered beam pistol and knife on her hips made from monster parts and nano-modified thread. Her usual weapon, the naginata Hitoshi, is stored away at the request of the captain. Something about too-sharp weapons in his fragile ship.
“You’re back. You win?” I say, raising an eyebrow as I lean up against the standing table.
Ever since Mikito found out that there’s a virtual, holographic projector of the fighting arenas onboard, she’s spent a good portion of the trip there. I tried it once, but the disparity of having your virtual life points deducted for blows you never felt was too much for me. Even if my life is like a game in some ways, playing a game in the game of my life is a little too meta for me.
“I did.”
“Great.” I acknowledge the notification that arrives a moment later that informs me my hundred-Credit bet on Mikito has paid out. A sizeable betting pool revolves around the virtual games. And a good bet is a good bet.
“John Lee and Mikito Sato.” The cultured voice cuts off any further conversation as both of us turn. In front of us is a grizzled older man, curly hair speckled with grey and shorn tight against his scalp, highlighting his dark umber black-brown skin. The man wears a multi-pocketed vest and cargo pants while offering us a friendly smile. The British accent is familiar, though I struggle to place it. “And of course, the Spirit Ali.”
Purely by instinct, I eye the rest of the viewing room. Set against an outer hull, the glass—or whatever clear material they use to create the viewing walls—provides an amazing view. A part of me wonders if it’s even clear. They might just be very good screens reflecting what is outside. If so, it’s an amazing illusion.
The illusion is so good that this and the other three viewing rooms on the observation deck are filled with the various Galactic guests of the merchant cruiser we are shipping with. Even if the merchant ship is mostly meant for cargo, it’s large enough to carry slightly over two hundred passengers in its various cabins without impacting its main task. Though, I’m led to understand, some of the less-expensive cabins are no better than jail cells. Around us, the Galactics are a mixture of the exotic, the bizarre, and the familiar. Truinnar mix with Yerrick, Dwarves stand elbow to elbow with Akkorokamui squid humanoids in full-body water suits while Lilitu—avian-humanoids with bird legs—talk to Pooskeens. Galactic civilization at its finest.
Ali looks up from where he floats in his pint-size form at my shoulder and does a double-take. He flicks his hand slightly, dismissing System screens that no one else can see, as he stares at our new guest. “Oh wow. It’s you! I mean, I knew you were onboard. But whoa!”
“You know him?” I say with a frown, tilting my head toward the starstruck Spirit.
“You don’t?” Mikito says, shaking her head. She puts her hand out to shake the stranger’s. “Good to see you, Harry.”
Well, I got that part. I stare at the notification information above Harry then watch as Ali updates it further for my use. Oh. Oh…
Harry Prince, the Unfiltered Eye (War Correspondent Level 39)
HP: 520/520
MP: 1780/1780
Conditions: Reporter’s Luck, Nose for Trouble, Just a Bystander
“Oh! You,” I say, realizing who he is when I see the full details of his Status. I might be somewhat ignorant about those who made a na
me for themselves during my absence, but Harry is a special case. For one thing, I recall seeing him at various battle sites in the last year. Curious that I didn’t remember him being at those sites till now.
“That’d be his Skill, boy-o.” Ali sends to me telepathically, reading the slight changes in my facial expression with the ease of a long-time companion.
I swear, we’re like an old couple sometimes, picking up on the unsaid. Except, you know, without the sex. Wait. Old people have sex, right? Actually, never mind. I’m glad for the distraction as Ali populates Harry’s Skill information for me.
Skill: Just a Bystander
A rare non-Combat Skill that will allow non-combat personnel and observers to traverse through battlefields and other combat regions with greater safety. This Skill hides the User from casual observation as well as reduces the effect of indiscriminate attacks.
Effect: User sees a +500% increase in Stealth, Disguise, and Camouflage skill levels while this Skill is active. Untargeted attacks and spells have a 50% reduction in effect on User. Additionally, memory and area-of-effect mental manipulation Skills and spells must be specifically targeted at User. Lastly, memories of User will be obscured until active recollection or trigger event occurs.
“Yes, me,” Harry says with a smile. “I was hoping to speak with you both.”
“Why?” I ask suspiciously. If he had a tape recorder, I’d be giving it the stink-eye, but I’m willing to bet Harry’s got an equivalent Skill for that. Who needs physical toys when the System works just as well? If not better.
“It seems like the rumors are true,” Harry says, keeping that reassuring smile on his face. “But you need not worry. I’m not looking to make you the target of my reports. At least, not directly.”
“Then what do you want?” I ask while Mikito stays silent, sipping on her newly delivered orange slushy cocktail, and watches the interplay.
“You know I’m part of the diplomatic press corp, right? Well, technically. But the fact is, there’re a half-dozen reporters setting up to follow the ambassador around, covering all the politics,” Harry said. “But the minutiae of politics, that’s never been my thing.”
“Blood and guts is yours. And you figure following Mikito and me will get you that,” I say, my lips tightening.
“Some respect there, John! Harry Prince is more than a blood-and-guts reporter! He’s an award-winning reporter who did amazing exposés about your pre-System world. The Unfiltered Eye has shot some of the best works for Earth since the System arrived. He’s even been considered for an Ummi,” Ali interrupts, waving. “An Ummi!”
“What exactly is an Ummi?” I say.
“Just a Galactic award,” Harry says, waving to dismiss the topic. “I won’t say the fact that you and Ms. Sato are known loci of violence is a detraction from your attractiveness, but I’m looking more to report on areas outside of the diplomatic scene. As your stated intentions are to break from the team immediately upon arrival…”
“You figure you’ll shelter under our kind arms.” I shake my head. “No thanks.”
“Now, there’s no need to be hasty. While I’m not a Combat Classer, I do have a number of—”
“No, thank you. We’re not a tour group. In fact, you can—”
The remainder of my sentence gets interrupted by the ship’s klaxon. Everything flashes purple while the discordant whine interrupts conversations everywhere. A moment later, we get a System notification from the ship’s captain.
Ship-wide Alert!
We have encountered a pirate fleet. As per Galactic conventions, we are matching speeds with said pirates. All non-insured passengers, this is your prescribed warning.
“What? They’re matching speeds with the pirates?” I frown in confusion. Still, it doesn’t stop me from standing and dressing myself for trouble. Armored jumpsuit, protective vest, weapons belt, it all goes on, drawn from the System inventory.
“Galactic convention. Since pirates can buy ship routes from the System, it’s hard to avoid them. Rather than actually fight the pirates, merchant ships take out insurance for such incidents. When the pirates dock, the System registers the fact that they’ve ‘pirated’ the ship and said insurance companies pay out the Credits. Makes it nice and easy for everyone,” Ali says.
“Honto baka dane!” Mikito swears, and I can’t help but agree. It really is idiotic.
“What about this part about uninsured passengers?” Katherine, my ex-secretary and now the designated representative for Earth, speaks up the moment she nears our table.
Trailing behind her is Peter Steele, the Planetary Diplomat, who is busy muttering over his commlink. At a guess, he’s herding everyone together. The man is still a full tie and suit ensemble in space while waving his hands around as he harangues whoever is on the line.
“Well, that’s the problem,” Harry says, his eyes unfocused. “From what I can see, uninsured passengers include all of us from Earth.”
“Why didn’t we get insurance?” Mikito says with a frown.
Katherine glares at the little Japanese lady before she admits through gritted teeth, “I didn’t realize it was needed.”
“Wouldn’t matter much anyway. Some of our members have quite a high bounty on them,” Harry adds, looking at me before switching his gaze to Mikito.
“Damn.”
That, sadly, is not news. Ali informed us of that unfortunate fact a while ago. In truth, all of us carry bounties—Katherine and Peter for their positions, and Mikito and myself for the trouble we caused on Earth. Of course, Katherine’s and Peter’s aren’t high enough to send anyone with sense after them, especially considering Peter has his cheat Skill, Diplomatic Immunity. On the other hand, Mikito and I have done enough damage to enough people that our bounties are significant enough that Ali felt the need to warn us of potential problems.
Katherine frowns. “What should we do? Will they take us as hostages?”
“Well, normally they’d either do that or just have you transfer all your belongings and Credits to them,” Ali says. “Or, you know, take you guys as slaves. But boy-o and Mikito make things a little more complicated.”
“Because of our bounty sizes?” I say.
“That too. But mostly because I don’t think you’re going to pay them off,” Ali says.
I chuckle ruefully as I finish buckling my belt. The damn Spirit knows me too well. Still leaves the question of what we should be doing. “We allowed to fight in the ship?”
“Allowed?” Katherine’s jaw drops. “When do you ever ask?”
“We’re not barbarians,” I say with a sniff.
“Boy-o’s worried he’s going to have to pay for damages. And while the captain and pilot would prefer you didn’t, they are covered under insurance,” Ali says.
“Great.” I grin, cracking my neck. “I’ve been missing a workout.”
“Yeah, about that…” Harry says, his eyes refocusing on me for a time. “Understand that if I add anything more, my Shop Skill will stop working.”
“You want protection.”
“Yes.”
“Done.”
Harry nods. “There are three Master and twenty-one Advanced Classes in the pirate ship. They’re armed and ready to deal with significant resistance on boarding.”
“Three Master Classes! Thousand hells,” I curse. “What are they doing out here?”
“Making money cheaply,” Ali says. “Payouts from the System and insurance companies are based off an intricate calculation of force, Pilot Skills, and ship firepower. The higher the weight on the pirates’ side, the higher the payout percentage. In this case, they’re shooting for a full payout.”
One of the strange aspects of interstellar travel that I’d learned was the way Skills made a difference. While the spaceships themselves could fly through space, hyperspace travel was a creation of the System—at least the way we did it. As such, the Skills of a Pilot made a huge difference, as did the captain’s secondary support Skills. I’d even
heard of one Legendary Pilot who disdained the concept of normal spaceships and flew around a fully habitable planet.
“Levels?” I finally say. If they’re Level 1s or close to it…
“Eight, fourteen, and twenty-three.”
“Damn. And how do you know all this?” I look at Ali. “And how is it you don’t?”
“I’m buying the information from the Shop at a discounted rate,” Harry says, smiling thinly. “One of my Skills—Background Research—gives me access to information for stories I might write. Another, War Correspondence, allows me to access certain aspects of the Shop anywhere. It lets me file my reports and buy information as needed.”
“Nice,” I say.
Ali sniffs at me, indicating he’s affronted by my questioning of his ability. But I don’t have time to deal with the Spirit, as the others are looking to me for a plan. Which, frankly, is worrying in many ways but something I’ve gotten used to. That hesitant web developer is gone, burned away in the fires of the apocalypse.
“All right. I’m assuming we don’t have to worry about them destroying the ship?”
When Harry and Ali nod, I rub my chin. That’s good. Still, my brain keeps stalling on the fact that three Masters are involved. There’s really no way for me to win a fight against three Masters. Then again, I cast my memory back to the science fiction books and movies I’ve seen, and my eyes open wide.
“You thought of something, John?” Mikito says, perking up.
“I have. Maybe. Depends on a few things, but we’re going to need help. Katherine, Peter, can you find out how many of the other passengers are uninsured and willing to fight?”
Katherine steps back as her eyes glaze over, her mouth moving as she silently contacts the passengers she’s spoken to. Peter deals with the passengers on the observation deck, moving from group to group. His bodyguard trails after him.
