“I totally promise that. And thank you for your faith in us.”
“I hope so,” they said, thoughtful.
I felt an increase of pressure on my shoulders at our exchange of words. With that agreed, I wandered over to the corner where Elyek was conducting the interviews. I sat in a chair listening to them speak, but staying out of it as much as I could. I didn't want to seem overbearing.
To their credit, Elyek didn’t mess about either; they made it through the interviews in 20 minutes. After the last person, they turned to me. “Excuse me, Captain. I have gone through all of the candidates, and it is a strong group. I have written down some of the basic strengths and weaknesses of each individual. From this, I will help you select the most suitable from the list.”
“Could you not pick six from this group?” I asked.
“No. It is going to be a tough process to whittle it down, I’m afraid.”
“No need then,” I smiled, and spoke to the remaining group. “The good councilors here, have just given me permission to offer you all a place on board the Uprising. Welcome to the gang!” I said, happily.
“Glad to have you all with us,” Ember shouted joyously.
Calparr just nodded stoic acceptance, which was cool, as well.
Looking at the group of Veiletians, their expressions ranged from pleased and excited to sudden nervousness. And they should be nervous, I thought, we definitely weren't a pleasure cruise ship. “So, all that’s left for you to do is make ready to leave. We won't hurry you all on this. We understand you’ll have loved ones that you wish to say goodbye to and personal affairs to take care of. Still, if you could give us a rough idea on how long you think you’ll all need before you leave?”
No one spoke for a moment. They all looked almost afraid of me. Finally, one of them plucked up the courage: a small Veiletian with vibrant red hair said, “I can go today if you wish. I keep a few possessions that I can grab quickly.”
This started a cascade of replies. Many said today. A few said tomorrow. No one said longer, from what I could hear.
“We can wait until tomorrow, then. If that’s what suits?”
“That may be unwise,” Kalika said. “When we originally agreed on ten recruits, it was actually for a good reason. So many cannot traverse Arus together: that would make a huge space filled with invisible Veiletians. Accidents would occur. The most we normally take out at one time is ten citizens. We can increase that number a little, but 22 people, invisible or not, would prove impossible to hide.”
“Gotcha. That's a very good point, elder. Well, how about we take 11 back with us to the ship today and collect the other 11 tomorrow?”
“I could stay behind and take the others tomorrow,” Elyek interjected. “It will be nice to spend another night here. I never thought I'd see this place again.”
“Sure. Of course,” I said. “That sounds like the perfect compromise.”
“Yes. We would be satisfied with that division and plan,” Elder Kalika said, then added: “Sort out among you the 11 who will go today.”
Ember and I spent the following hours in our room. I wanted to be out of the way while those coming with us got themselves prepared. The following days would be spent trying to remember everyone's names, so as not to be a dick. Luckily, the Veiletians had quite a bit of diversity among them in appearance. Their looks ranged from masculine to feminine, while some, like Elyek, were completely in between and you really couldn’t guess. Unless of course your guess was androgynous, when you’d be bang on the money.
I was overjoyed when someone came to get us. Apparently, everyone was ready to leave. Back in the hall there were 11 excited Veiletians, six grumpy councilors and a worried Elyek. “Are you going to be okay getting back? I hadn’t thought about how you would navigate back to the ship when I suggested you leave without me,” they said with noticeable concern.
“We will be fine, Elyek,” Ember said soothingly. “Shaun and I have near perfect recall now, anyway. So, don’t worry about it.”
“Yeah. We know everything,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“No, you damn buffoon,” Ember interrupted. “We can remember anything we see, providing we store it correctly. Remember?” she explained, removing any levity.
“Yeah, Ember. I know.”
She shook her head, “It's going to be fine, Elyek. Our new crew members will be able to guide us if we get lost.”
“Yes. You are right of course. I was just suddenly concerned. I know you will be fine.”
“We’ll see you tomorrow, Elyek. Don't sweat it,” I said, clapping them on the shoulder. They seemed to relax a little before returning the goodbye.
After that we all set off out of the compound. To my surprise, all of our new members turned invisible when we reached the compound gates. Even though we had already been told that would happen, it still set my nerves a little on edge. Off we went for the transport tubes.
C11
Pain in the Arus
Traveling across the Arus habitation domes with 11 invisible strangers was a totally weird experience. I kept worrying that I would bump into one of them, which was a ridiculous concern because they were able to see fine. Not only that, but they could also somehow see each other. That bit didn't make any sense to me though. What good would invisibility be if everyone could still see you? If they were Veiletian anyway. I would have to ask Elyek next time I saw them. Although to be fair, I had just gained a load more Veiletians who were going to be part of our new family, so I could probably just ask one of them.
I snapped out of my daydreaming, ruing the fact that all this evolving hadn’t stopped my mind from occasionally going to the far end of a fart and back again. Looking around as we walked, I noticed that I did in fact recognize where we had passed through. I hadn’t felt like I’d taken in any more detail than I normally would have on the way here; and in general I would often get from one place to the next without noticing or remembering a damn thing about the journey. But this time it appeared that the information had been stored by my subconscious. “I can clearly recall these places we’ve passed. This is awesome, Ember. It’s going to make life a lot easier.”
“Yeah, it’s cool. The idea that I’ll never forget another thing fills me with a confidence I’ve not felt before, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I do know. It’s like finally feeling in control a little, not just blindly staggering through life, following impulses.”
“Wow, Shaun. You’ve pretty much nailed it. Finally, your intelligence is able to stretch its legs, huh?”
“No matter how much you’ve improved, you still love sticking the knife in,” I said back to her.
I noticed Calparr trying to ignore our exchange but failing. His facial expression indicated he must have thought we were both bonkers.
When we came up to the first commercial moon tube, I felt a pang of nerves. I didn’t know how this was going to work with our convoy. I mean, how was I even supposed to know if they were all aboard? Thankfully, the carriage we entered was pretty empty, so I dared a careful whisper, “Is everyone on board?”
A series of invisible hands touched my arm. I was freaked the fuck out by it, but also more than a little amazed that my now-more-mature subconscious was able to count those touches, and confirm everyone was present. I felt like I was about three different people some days. Stupid Shaun, evolved-alien Shaun and, when Havok was in my hand, gods-be-damned-berserker Shaun.
Ember was looking at me questioningly.
“Yeah. They’re all here, Ember,” I said, answering her unasked question.
“Good. This is really fucking odd.”
I nodded and smiled in answer.
Calparr remained stoic.
We got off the tube at the next stop and headed over to the next platform. A tube arrived within seconds. I continued to chat amiably to Ember, while trying to also engage Calparr, when a small whisper sounded in my ear, “We're being followed, Captain.”
/> I obviously didn’t know who said it, but replied with a quick, “Thanks.”
“You get that?” I asked my two visible companions.
Calparr gave a nod.
Ember shrugged and said, “Yup. Let’s just keep moving. There was always a chance someone would spot us and have a problem.”
Our conversation dropped off a little bit, but still no one confronted us as we swapped tubes yet again. It wasn’t until we reached the central hub, located where we were docked, that I really even became aware of our pursuers. We had a long-ish walk to the ship, and I saw the occasional person watching us suspiciously. It was not long before it came to a head. The next street corner we turned was quite empty, apart from a group of eight aliens in front of us. They wore moon base security uniforms. They were clearly hired for their thuggish demeanor. “Stop there,” snorted the leader. He reminded me strangely of Bebop, with small horns at the side of his mouth and a wide ungainly nose, or rather snout. The overall result when coupled with his size was that of a mutant warthog. His pals were no smaller.
“Why?” I asked, slowing but not stopping.
“Because you're under arrest,” he said, hefting his plasma rifle into a more threatening position, and I had to admit that it was an impressive looking bit of hardware.
“Hey, you fat fucker! We’ve got places to be and this whole moon is a criminal’s wet dream. So, how about you do us a favor and fuck off?” Ember gently suggested from my side.
“We’re going for diplomacy, then?” I asked her.
“Shaun, like you told me so long ago, in a fantasy world far away, these arseholes aren’t here for friendly chit-chat. Capiche?”
“Yeah. I know that,” I huffed. “But let’s at least find out what they want first.”
“Meh! You might have a point,” she smiled, which I loved. Under attack on an alien pirate moon, and Ember was still giving everyone shit with a smile on her face.
“The three of you need to stop moving forwards, now! Stop or we will shoot your legs out from under you.” He must have been under orders not to hurt us if he could because he looked like he really, really wanted to. I was impressed with his restraint; I knew how annoying we could be.
“What do you want?” I sighed. “We haven’t got all day.”
“Oh, but you have. At least until you’re executed for attacking galactic spaceships and taking Torax from their planet.”
“That wasn’t us, dude! Honestly, we wouldn’t do anything like that. Now, come on. Out of the way.” I made a shooting gesture, while at the same time asked Havok to come around in front of me. He happily obliged with a maniacal laugh as his cover fell away from him.
“Oh, baby! It’s my favorite time of the, EVER! Let’s chop some shitheads up, Shaun!”
“We will, Havok. Don’t you worry about it.”
Bebopaloobop raised his gun to shoot, as Havok slapped into my palm. “Put it down now, or I’ll put you down!” he snarled.
Everyone else was a second later to the party, but now this whole section of Arus was bristling with death-dealing devices. Remembering we were being followed, I took a quick look over my shoulder to see who was there. Four more armed aliens had their guns trained on us. Feeling concern for the Veiletians, I spoke in a hushed tone. “Hey, guys. I want you to clear the area. I don’t want you to get hurt, and it’s going to be messy.”
“Damn right, it's getting messy,” Havok announced to me.
There was no answer from the Veiletians.
“Guys?”
“Looks like they’ve already made that decision, Shaun. Now, fucking focus will you,” Ember snapped at me.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got this. Stay behind me and defend yourselves against those guys. I’ll cover you as best I can. If you can get somewhere safe, do it.”
“Their weapons are plasma; they will only tickle,” Calparr smiled. “Ember should take cover between us.”
“Sounds good to me. These open pitched battles aren’t really my thing. You know, not being bulletproof.”
“Are you three stupid? You won’t make it out of here alive. Now, drop the weapons.”
I didn’t answer. I just started walking towards him again, Ember behind me, Calparr behind her, weapons raised facing the enemy at our rear.
“Last chance!” the guard shouted.
Havok actually giggled in my head as he charged himself up. Blue plasma flaring to life over his crescent moon blades. Then all hell broke loose… just not the kind I expected.
“Noooooooo!” Havok screamed after deflecting the first shot.
Gushing torrents of blood began pumping out of the severed neck arteries of all of the guards in front of us, almost as one. It was like some kind of sick art display as it sprayed all over the street in the panicked death throes of our attackers. I turned to see the four behind us in a similar disposition. “Fuck me! Was that the Veiletians?” I said to Ember.
“My kills. They took my kills!” Havok cried in my head.
She looked at me wryly. “Of course it was the Veiletians, dumbass. Now, let’s get moving. This is not going to go unanswered.”
“You’re right. We need to get to the ship, fast.'' Running now was probably our best option. So, off we went. I just had to assume that the Veiletians were with us.
I brought Calegg up on my comm. “Hello, Captain,” Calegg said, respectfully.
“Hey, Calegg. We're comin’ in hot, as usual. We were attacked on our way back; Arus guards, apparently.”
“Oh, shit. Are you all okay? Do you need us to come out and help?”
“No. I think a bunch of Torax kicking ass would turn this little scuffle into an intergalactic incident. Just fire up the engines. Get ready to fly as soon as we're aboard. Shit, are the repairs even complete?”
“Yes. Luckily, they were complete around two hours ago. I’ll have everyone ready in case we’ve no choice but to come down and help out… oh, Captain. A group of guards have just appeared on the gantry to the ship. Shall we deal with those, at least?”
“No, Calegg. Thanks for the heads up but we can sort that out. See you soon, and be ready to get the fuck out of here. As soon as that door goes up, I want to be like a well-baked shit, shooting out of Arus.”
“No problem, Captain. Piece of cake, yeah?”
“Yeah, Calegg,” I said as a shot fired by my head. I ended the communication just as we entered the final street leading to the docks. Plasma fire crackled through the air. I had to deflect the occasional shot from hitting me, and Ember seemed to be developing a knack for deflecting plasma fire herself.
Calparr, however, couldn’t give a fuck. He had a thin veneer of fire over his skin and just fired back merrily as plasma shots fizzled out on him. Looking round, I saw more uniformed guards appearing from adjoining streets. We were doing okay, but it was turning into an absolute shit-storm. “Not far. Come on!” I shouted. I fell back to make sure Calparr and Ember were in front of me and I could deflect incoming fire. As for the Veiletians, I could offer no help. I just hoped they were looking after themselves.
Arriving at the docks, the gantry to our ship was blocked by enemies, just as Calegg had said. Our recent Veiletian recruits had already hit them hard and were making promising headway, as bodies slumped in rapid succession as a result of deadly surgical incisions. Havok and I couldn’t join them in their fight, or we’d probably end up killing them as well, which was to be avoided.
Those approaching from the street were only shooting selectively now, in fear of shooting their own men. When the occasional shot did come in, it was ineffective. Havok was up to the task of covering us all. Not that Calparr needed it. We put ourselves behind a wall of various boxes and crates on the dock: siege tactics. And then the real fun started.
Calparr was standing up, shooting carelessly into the increasing stream of bodies coming to apprehend us. Ember was demonstrating some sick telekinesis skills. Within a few seconds, cargo boxes were whizzing around the dock at a terrifying
speed. I did some good work throwing the odd box about, hitting a few people here and there, but Ember was working with style. I chuckled as I saw one guy running away from a floating box. He tripped over, rolled a few times and just as he was getting back to his feet, Ember dropped a heavy crate on him. He was squished like a pancake, and blood exploded from under the box. That last bit wasn’t so funny, nonetheless it was effective.
The numbers were starting to drop, yet more still came. After about five minutes of carnage, I was relieved to hear the voice of a Veiletian next to me: “The way is clear to the ship, Captain.”
“Thanks,” I said to thin air, noticing the pile of corpses. These Veiletians were hot shit. I gave the call, “Come on, guys. Time to bounce.”
Ember hurled her two remaining crates at two different groups. Calparr started moving backwards, firing unrepentantly. Once we were all ready, we ran as one to the ship, the door dropping to give us all access.
As soon as it closed behind us, there were a few mild tremors, indicating the ship had started to move. I leaned against the door, grinning my ass off, glad to be back on the Uprising.
“Well, that was fun,” Ember said, smiling as well. “You guys are insane!”
“I second that,” I added, as the Veiletians began to materialize in the loading bay.
“Oh, shit. Some of you are injured,” I cried. Three were bleeding. On the plus side, I was glad to see all 11 recruits were here.
“It was in service. We are happy to have been of use to you, Captain.” The voice was that of the one who had spoken throughout our journey and fight; the same bright-red-haired Veiletian who had been ready to go immediately from the Veiletian enclave.
“Thank you for all of your help,” I replied, genuinely impressed with what they had achieved, and the dedication shown on the way.
Ember spoke before I could say anything more. “We’ll have time to talk later. For now, I'll take them all to the Medical Room. Shaun, you go and see Calegg. He could probably do with some moral support.”
Condition Evolution 3: A LitRPG / Gamelit Adventure Page 11
