by Harper North
“That sounds nice,” Atlas says.
“Says you,” I say. At least steering the ship is as easy as turning the wheel. It’s very intuitive. There’s even a button for the Blasters and Rockets.
“By the way, I just passed the first Worm,” Panda says. “Get ready.”
Ahead, Coco_Dream fires at something. Powerful Blasters illuminate a massive, writhing thing sticking out of an asteroid.
“It’s like a worm coming out of an apple!” Atlas shouts.
The Worm is a pale white with brown mottled spots, segmented by rings, and rivals the Tenticlas’ disgust factor. The creature whips toward Coco_Dream’s ship, extending. It’ll hit her. As if sensing what I want to do, a red target appears on the glass of my bubble and locks onto the monster. A red button on the wheel glows and I press, firing a rocket that zips across space and striking the Worm. The monster’s Health Bar drops to nothing and then the creature explodes.
“Good shot!” Coco says.
My XP climbs by 50 points. The familiar chime calms my nerves.
The computer voice returns. “To further enhance your accuracy, you can insert a Sniper Scope into the Mod Bay.” A panel opens to the left of the wheel. “You will get your Scope back when you land, but be warned: if your ship is destroyed, you will lose your Scope.”
I debate on it. Worst case scenario, I’ll have the 5th Tier Scope for when I level up again. I put the 4th Tier Scope into the Bay and it closes. Almost instantly, my red target jumps to somewhere ahead of Coco_Dream.
“Everyone, dodge to the left,” Panda shouts. “Just passed a huge asteroid with a whole family of Worms sticking out. You don’t want to see that.”
“Thanks!” Atlas says.
Coco dodges. The two of us do the same. My target shifts to the left, locking onto the asteroid Panda must have passed. I glimpse six or seven Worms extending out of holes, reaching out toward us—a scene of nightmares and I grimace at the writhing, slimy sight while my heart thuds against my ribs. Had Panda not gone ahead, we would have died.
I fire a rocket at one, watching as it explodes. Probably a waste but satisfying and another 50 XP.
“Now dodge to the right! Multiple small asteroids that could damage the hull.”
Coco fires on a few rocks, but one strikes her small ship and takes its health bar down by a quarter. Atlas also strikes a rock, but it only takes his bar down by a sliver. Our ships are staying true to our characters.
Panda orders us to dodge when the time is right, to fire when needed, and even to pilot ourselves under another large asteroid. Each time, he makes the right call. Without Panda, we wouldn’t have made it this far. It hurts to admit that to myself. He’s been excellent so far. I squint out my window as I search for him. He’s so far ahead that I can no longer see his yellow ship, even though my target locks on distant Worms.
“We’re almost there,” Panda says. “Dwarf planet dead ahead. Fly into the opening and you’ll avoid all the Worms. Place is infested.”
He’s right. A gray, smooth ball of rock and ice appears. It’s so big that it turns into a wall as we near, and hundreds of Worms stick out from holes dotting the entire surface. My skin crawls, but then I spot the opening that Panda meant. If I hadn’t been looking for it, I might have missed it.
One by one, we fly our ships into the round hole, avoiding the metal-loving Worm’s grasp. My ship’s headlamp turns on as the environment darkens. The tunnel is free of enemies. At last, we enter a large chamber and my ship settles down on a metal platform, surrounded by crates. My bubble window rises, and I take my Scope out of the Mod Bay before exiting.
Atlas, Coco, and Panda are already out, waiting for me. The lights brighten inside the bay as we stare at each other. I get the sense that Atlas and Coco are waiting for me to admit that I was wrong about letting in Panda. Atlas turns his mouth up into a grin. I still don’t trust the new guy.
“So,” I ask, trying to change the subject. “This is the start of the map.”
“The name of this dwarf planet is Poxy,” Coco_Dream says. “It’s the largest one in this belt. The Worms all stick to the surface, but it looks like we have another problem. This won’t be an easy map.”
She turns to face a holographic screen displaying the surrounding asteroid belt and neighboring stars. Worms retract inside their holes and my attention shifts to the enfolding darkness.
Ships approach. Large ships that look like insects with metal appendages and green lights. I count seven of them. It’s as if they’re watching this small world.
“What did we get into?” Atlas asks.
“From what I’ve heard,” Coco says, “There’s an important resource in this world’s core that an alien race desires. They constantly bombard this place and took over this station’s Operations Base. We need to defeat the aliens who have taken the base.” She pauses a beat and I hold my breath. I know what she’s going to say. “And the base is up on the surface.”
CHAPTER 16
AFTER WE ALL save in the landing bay, we head into an attached cave system to make our way to the surface.
Coco is right about this not being a fun map. From the landing bay, we must first find a way to the Operations Base on the surface. Cave systems wind through this dwarf planet. At least the AI knows that players will need a way to resurface. The caves twist on themselves, turning us around, with not as many crates to loot as one would expect. But Atlas does find a new Electric Glove and Laser Blade in one.
“Great,” he says. “I lost all my weapons after Sector 14.”
Panda finds Atlas a few Ground Bombs as well. His mood rises even as we go deeper into the dwarf planet.
Panda also notices sealed areas where the stone is a different color than the surrounding rock.
“Odd,” he says, pointing to a smooth rock wall that is slightly darker than the rest of the cave. “It looks as if someone’s sealed the way out a long time ago.”
Atlas touches the rock. “Maybe they didn’t want the mysterious alien race taking whatever resource is at the core of this planet.”
The Hermit doesn’t give me any input. It’s going to take him a while to gather information, after all.
“This could be for world building,” I say, “or there could be something good in there that we can’t access yet.”
“I don’t know entirely how this AI has programmed this world,” Panda says. “We’ve been beta testing 2.0 for a while and the game world is always evolving. There could be something good in there, or there could be nothing. My map won’t reveal what’s behind this wall.”
“But your Awareness is maxed,” I said.
“It is,” Panda says. If he realizes I’m suspicious, he’s not showing it. “Or maybe what’s behind there is so dangerous that the AI wants us to stay out. It could be highly radioactive.”
We walk away from the blocked tunnel and take another that seems to lead upward. My map is a twisting network of caverns, some of which look like they’ve been carved by those rock worms. I shudder.
“Coco,” I ask. “Do you know much about this AI?”
Coco appears to think. In this world, the AI has managed to give even an Android more soul in her eyes. I feel as if I’m talking to a real being.
“Renton paid a lot of money for the source code,” she says. “I don’t know everything, but he thinks 2.0 was never meant for gaming. Marcus mentioned it was thrown out of the military. His programmers recoded the AI’s strategy ability to build a game world instead, allowing the AI to analyze the original Binding and build off of it. They let it go from there.”
“At least it wasn’t used for war,” I say. “Now, we need to get up to that Operations area. That’s where all the XP is going to be for this map.”
“That’s what I want to do,” Atlas says.
I look at his level. Having been captured by Sector 14, his level is still only 19. We need to get him leveled up and fast, or we’ll never find that exclusive planet in time. The Hermit continues to
remain silent.
A distant explosion sounds from above. Bits of rock rain from a tunnel that slants upward. The gravity inside this dwarf planet is almost nothing, so it’s easy for me to wave the others up into the tunnel. No one speaks much after the explosion sounds. I imagine those ships are bombarding the Operations Base with weapons we’ve never seen in the original Binding. In the first version, we had small craft. Jump Pods. This version has full warships.
“Panda, what do you see?” I ask.
Panda waves his hands, obviously messing with his map. “I think I can see the edge of the Operations Base,” he says. “We’re close to the surface.”
“I’m not sure how good Close Range Combat is going to be in this situation,” Atlas says.
“There might be a mission for us,” I say. “We’ll see once we’re up there. This new AI won’t leave the Base empty.”
The tunnel widens as we climb. I feel as if I’m walking almost straight up the wall, though it’s hard to tell with the strange gravity. Arming my 4th Tier Sniper Scope, I go around a curve in the tunnel and come to a set of metal sliding doors. They remind me of the large, otherworldly doors in the underground lab, but without the extinct alien race’s green diamond decor.
Surprisingly, the doors open for us.
And Blaster fire follows.
I duck to the side and peer through my 4th Tier Sniper Scope, but there’s no need. We peer into a small control room, maybe the size of the docking bay. My Scope locks onto a blue-skinned male with dark hair and a shiny brown uniform. He’s alone, shaking, and pointing a Blaster at us.
“Oh,” he says. “I thought you were Golgans!”
“Huh?” I ask, lowering my Rifle.
“Is this one of those extinct aliens?” Coco asks, stepping in front of me.
“Extinct aliens? In this new game version, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Panda says.
“Hey. Calm down,” I say to the alien, though I still remain tense. The blue-skinned male is still pointing a Blaster at us. “We’re not Golgans, whatever they are. I don’t know what they look like, but we know they’re evil. They tried to rip apart the universe to satisfy their death cult a long time ago.” I speak for Atlas and Panda’s benefits since they haven’t caught up with the lore Coco and I uncovered in the old game. But this game is supposed to be a continuation of the first, set in the same universe. The lore should still hold.
“You’ve got that right,” the blue-skinned male says. The Maxa. That’s their name. “The Golgans still want to rip apart the universe.” Still trembling, he looks out the window behind him. A few Worms poke out of rocks, searching for metal. Behind them, seven insect-like ships hover in the distance, green and black and menacing.
“You mean, those are the Golgans?” I ask. “But I thought they went extinct, too. What happened?” I sense the beginning of a mission.
“What’s—” Atlas starts.
“I’m Kmarg,” the Maxan says. “It’s true that most of us died thousands of years ago. But a sampling of Maxans entered cryogenic hibernation in case the Golgans’ disappearance wasn’t permanent. To keep our location safe, we hid ourselves from the rest of the Maxa and everyone else, and while in cryosleep, we appeared dead to the Golgans’ scanners, so they never exterminated us. A few hundred of us now remain.”
“The Golgans didn’t all kill themselves,” I say. My gaze shifts to the very nasty-looking ships outside.
“Our Drones have detected their return and woke us,” Kmarg says. He grips the leather seat. This might be an NPC, but it’s clear that his terror is real. He’s paid the price for choosing to live. Now he must stand between the Golgans and the rest of the universe. “The remaining Maxa have scattered, protecting anything the Golgans could use to rebuild their universe-ripping weapon. If they manage to do that, then The Binding will shred apart for good, and they will finally have pleased their death gods.”
“That’s messed up,” Panda says.
“You need our help,” I say. “They left you at this outpost by yourself. Why haven’t the Golgans landed yet?”
“The Worms,” Kmarg says. “They only eat metal. When they detect it, they’re hard to avoid. They’re pesky, but they’re tough and even the Golgans can’t find a way to destroy all of them on Poxy. If they land, the Worms go to town on their ships and reproduce. Leaving even one Rock Worm alive will guarantee that will they take over and dismantle the Golgans’ ships.
“I’m an engineer and busied myself with monitoring the Golgans’ activities. They’ve deposited Contagion Bombs all over this dwarf planet to infect and destroy all the Worm. And, if they succeed, then They will be free to land. Once they harvest the radioactive elements inside this ball of rock, They will be closer to rebuilding their mystery weapon. The one that will destroy The Binding.”
“So, the Golgans have reappeared and no one knows how,” I say, “and now we need to destroy these Contagion Bombs before they kill all the Worms.”
“If you succeed, I will reward you with a pool of the Maxa wealth my race left behind,” Kmarg says. “I believe you call it XP. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Out a port window, green light flashes across the sky, shot from a Golgan ship in our direction—probably a Contagion Bomb.
“Wear one of our metal-free suits outside and the Worms won’t attack you. Go out there with your metal armor and you’re done. Keep your metal weapons hidden or they’ll be all over you. The Worms don’t understand that we need each other. Now, I saw five Contagion Bombs dropped on this side of Poxy that you’ll need to deactivate before time is up.” Kmarg finishes by ducking behind his chair.
“What kind of attacks can we use if the Worms eat everything metal?” Atlas asks once we step outside of the airlock.
We’re all wearing ugly pressurized suits that are the color of dirt, but made from the same shiny material that the Maxa favor. I hold up a brown glove and flex my fingers. Even Coco_Dream has had to wear one despite not needing air. Being all metal, the Worms would eat her first.
“Hermit?” I ask once I step away from Panda. “Some help here?” I put him on private comm speak with me and Atlas. The gray expanse of the dwarf planet is confusing. It’s pockmarked with Worm burrows. As I study the surface, a worm shoots out and snatches a floating rock. Up close, the slimy boss is even more disgusting. But they’re the only things protecting Poxy’s interior from the Golgans.
“I am having trouble meditating,” The Hermit says in a private comm with me and Atlas. “It is taking me longer than usual.”
“Trouble meditating?” Atlas asks. “Since when is that an issue?”
I tell him.
“Well, this is a new version of the game. That’s expected,” Atlas says. “Let’s get some XP and then get out of here. Those Worms give me the creeps.”
“They’re not attacking us now,” Panda says. “We need to find these contagion things. My map has a green square about half a kilometer from here.” He swears. “Timer!”
Then I see it: the twenty-minute timer at the top of my display.
“Run,” I shout.
Panda had guided us through the asteroids. We need him now. I don’t dare equip my Sniper Rifle. Atlas doesn’t don his new Electric Glove or his Laser Blade either. We have almost nothing that’s metal-free. I jump over a Worm burrow and glimpse the creature ducking inside, but it doesn’t emerge. I’m not interesting. These Maxa suits are a lifesaver.
Then I notice the green square on my map. It’s blinking as if urging us to hurry. The four of us run over a hill and find a crate near a very Worm-infested area. One of the Worms is out of its burrow, picking at the green crate with alien symbols all over it. I imagine they’re Golgan characters. Their language looks like a series of cruel scratches.
“How do we disable this thing?” Atlas shouts. “Puzzles are not my strong suit.”
“We can’t explode it,” Coco_Dream says.
“Panda,” I say. “Disabling it is your job.”
I watch Panda kneel next to the Worm, which ignores him as it continues to munch on the crate. He turns a dial on the crate until it clicks. Before I look away, I see that dial contains a series of Golgan symbols matching the others on the crate’s exterior. I’m glad he’s taking care of unlocking the metal box. Puzzles make me snap with anger.
A green spotlight falls on us and I throw my hands up to cover my eyes.
“We have a problem!” Atlas shouts.
Hovering a few hundred meters above us is a Drone, and it’s obviously from a Golgan ship that waits several kilometers beyond. With four helicopter blades, it makes no sound in the airless environment. Behind me, ForagingPanda3000 turns the lock again and again, trying to figure out a pattern while this vehicle-sized Drone breathes down our necks.
The enemy’s health bar expands across the screen. Golgan Drone, Level 20. It’s a mini-boss.
“Get away from the Worm burrows!” I shout. “As far as you can. We need to fight.” I nod to Atlas and say, “Direct the Drone’s attention away from Panda.” To Coco: “We will open fire.”
Now I know why this map won’t be fun. Atlas sticks one finger up at the Golgan Drone in some kind of rude Earth gesture and runs toward a rock outcrop. He ducks behind the rocks as the Drone fires green lasers at him, taking his health bar down by a quarter. Even though he’s wearing his Plasteel Armor under the brown suit, he’s still taking decent damage. Atlas ducks behind the rock, sheltering himself as Coco and I bolt away from the Worm burrows. But they’re everywhere.
“Coco, do some crowd control. Cover me,” I say, equipping my 4th Tier Sniper Scope.
Three Worms rise from surrounding burrows as I finish my command. Coco_Dream equips her Blaster and fires her triple beams, dropping the Worms’ health bars. We’re taking a risk. Thanks to the five added Sniper Dead Eye points when I use my Scope, my red target locks onto a green light located on the Golgan Drone’s underbelly. It’s still trying to fire on Atlas, who can do nothing but hide or attempt distraction. I hope he’s still alive.
