Winter Harvest

by Dawn Chapman

  Name - Kyle Ranz

  Species- Human/Denti

  Year of Death - 2629

  Class = Fighter/Sorcerer

  Age ??

  Level = 25

  Respawns = 2

  Health = 35%

  Memories = 94%

  Mana = 30

  Kenosi Activated

  Nanites x 58,191

  Body Type = Unknown

  Structural Integrity = Tungsten and Alumi

  Internal AI Chip = X Class

  Skin Strength = 28

  Blood Capacity = 24

  Healing Speed = 29

  Strength = 23

  Dexterity = 18

  Constitution = 61

  Intelligence = 34

  Wisdom = 21

  Charisma = 9

  Luck = 8

  Quick Points = 0

  Skills =

  Foot Soldier - Rank 19

  Battle Mage - Rank 17

  Merc - Rank 12

  Sniper - Rank 17

  Gun Smith - Rank 13

  Nanite Engineer - Rank 19

  Mech Pilot - Rank 15

  Human/Machine Interface - Rank 21

  Shadow Awareness - Rank 12

  Shuttle Operator - Rank 12

  Deception - Rank 12

  Sword Play - Rank 14

  Vrolsh Coding Learned

  Mech Merge - Rank 10

  Animal Handling - Rank 2

  Night Sight - Rank 1

  Special Traits Awarded x 4 – Any extras here do not show on your Stat Sheet Totals.

  Healer = Internal AI Chip X Class – Crystalline and Silver metal chip with integrated healer nanites led by Xe Aria.

  Intelligence = Internal prototype AI Chip, inserted on 17th birthday, with consciousness of Hiroto.

  Knowledge = direct from Xirob if he freely gives it. Extra skills and training available.

  Shade Brain – One in a million, you managed to not only keep your memories, but you can also hide them. Your character sheet is elusive to even the strongest of will. UPGRADED - No one can penetrate your Shade now!

  Space Sickness - Unknown effects

  Spell - Active - Minor Healing = Requires BATTLE MAGE RANK of 2 and x 1 Mana per second.

  Spell - Active - Medium Healing = Requires BATTLE MAGE RANK of 7 and x 10 Mana per second.

  Spell - Active - Intensive Healing = Requires BATTLE MAGE RANK of 14 and x 100 Mana per second.

  Spell - Active - Lightning Fury – Cost: 10 mana per second – Damage increased by 30%

  I wasn’t going to let her know it, but I liked the idea that I wasn’t something they wanted to lose.

  She held out a hand for me, and I went to her. “Help me back to the lift. By the time we’ve gotten out of here, I should be okay.”

  “I think I can help more now,” I said. “Though I’ve only cast this on myself up to now.”

  I placed my hand to her side and cast Medium Healing. I didn’t have the mana to use the best spell. But this was enough. Just three seconds was enough.

  She looked at me, and her eyes flickered. “I really didn’t expect that. Thank you.”

  Moving in closer to Naylar, I could smell her. Not dirty or horrid, but she had something in her smell that seemed to just make me feel better.

  “What is that smell?” I asked in the end.

  She laughed. “Denn makes us all use it in the nites, makes the living cells reproduce and get rid of toxins and odours.”

  “We don’t sweat like humans do?”

  “No, not at all.” As we walked, she asked me outright. “Do you know who the enemy is?”

  “The enemy they tell me is the enemy? Or?” I shook my head. “Because I don’t think I was at that class presentation.”

  “You don’t know or remember because they never tell you. Our enemy is always kept a secret.”

  “Do you know?”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen them.”

  “Not like those things that are outside?”

  “No, they’re not. They’re a hell of a lot scarier than those things.”

  I tried not to worry about it all; those things out there were a huge ton of scary. I wasn’t strong enough to deal with them or to even contemplate us dealing with them.

  “What will Jai think about doing now?”

  “He’ll have a plan set out by the time we return. Denn will hopefully be out of the pod, and we can sort out what and where our next move is.”

  If he didn’t have a plan, I would. I’d get Hiroto and Xirob online once more, and I’d get Tyto down here.

  “I will get stronger, you know,” I said, more for my own benefit than hers.

  She smiled at me. “We know that, but we also have to be realistic. We can’t carry you, and we need someone who can do things. If that means we have to start to train you around the clock, then it will be something we will do.”

  I didn’t really like the idea of that. Some of the best games on the market you really had to grind before you could do anything. That meant so much time actually in the Arndale centre; it was difficult to get the time to sit and plan for the bigger stuff. You were always having to mine or find fuel or something or other.

  “Do you usually have to get in a lot of materials for gear and equipment?”

  “The only way you’re going to get stronger is to build yourself up. Only way to do that is with materials. Sure, we could lend you a ton of stuff once we’re back in space and at a station. But out here, the only way we’re going to get you a few more levels is to help you with the grind.”

  I felt the corners of my mouth tug. Yeah, they were sure gonna love me.

  “Kyle,” she said. “Stop worrying.”

  I looked into her eyes and then tried to look away. “I can’t.”

  “Do you know how long it’s been since we did anything like grinding?”

  “No.” The lift stopped, and we were back out a few minutes later. “Then you have nothing to worry about, okay? This is all just going to be part of us getting to know you. Do the job, get out, and get paid. Right?”

  I could only hope that she was going to be right and that talking through some of this stuff would really help. I had to get used to making decisions. Those that would affect me and my new team.

  “We’re almost there,” I said.

  I could hear talking, then Rei came rushing out, seeing that I was helping Naylar. “Damn it. What happened?”

  “There’s some high-level creatures down there,” I said. “They moved in or they were left?”

  I let Rei take hold of her, and I stepped back a bit just so they could talk some more. I think they needed it as well. They were mentioning names of things and creatures that I didn’t recognise.

  “Do you have a list of the creatures on this planet?” I asked.

  Rei looked at me. “You should be able to pull up a list from your internal. They’re pretty great at getting updates on each planet you step foot on.”

  “That’s a pretty neat function.”

  “Jai,” he called out.

  A moment later and Jai was also helping Naylar across to Denn and then pulling up a few chairs. Denn looked much better, but she still wasn’t conscious.

  “Why isn’t she waking up?” I asked.

  “There’s been some other damage, the pod missed it at first,” Rei answered for me.

  I watched as Naylar’s face fell, and Rei placed a hand on hers.

  Rei then looked at me. “We’ve some decisions to make, and we need you, Kyle. If you’ll help us.”

  I didn’t understand what he really meant. “Of course I will.”

  “No, we need a contract, to bind you so that you’re not ever going to cross us.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We have to get you levelled right. You understand that.”

  I nodded. We’d just spent an age talking about what I’d have to actually get done. From mining my first materials to learning their compositions.

  “Well, we can by
pass it, but it comes at a price,” Jai added moving in closer.

  “You can bypass my learning?”

  “Yes,” Jai said.

  “You shouldn’t be telling him any of this,” Rei said.

  “If I don’t make this decision—” Jai was annoyed; that much was clear, “—and we can’t get his ass higher than a twenty-five before we’re to blow the hive, then we’re never getting off this planet, and Denn will die down here, respawning god-knows-where because we failed our third mission.”

  How the hell did he know I’d levelled to a twenty-five already?

  Could he see through my Shade? Wait, what? They’d failed two missions already?

  Naylar looked at me. “Jai, he didn’t know that. He doesn’t understand what this failure means to us.”

  I stared at Jai, waiting for him to say something else, to speak the truth. He’d lost my trust in those spite-fuelled words.

  “Fuck,” he said.

  I moved to sit down next to Naylar. I could see that they were nervous now. It showed on all their faces. “You just told me a few truths. Tell me the rest.”

  He still hesitated and I had to rescue this, us.

  “Don’t think I’m going to just get up and run away.” I said “You’ve already saved my life and been as honest with me as you thought was necessary. I want you to tell me all of it. Don’t hold back. I need to know the full stakes if I want to do my utmost to help us get out of here.”

  “We’re not that great on the scale of things.” Jai admitted. “We’ve had a few failed missions lately.”

  “Two,” I said.

  “Yes, two. And they cost us a lot.”

  I watched as Naylar reached for Denn’s hand.

  “This is punishment, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “I hope not,” Jai said. “But I wouldn’t put it past them. They’re already betting all against us, so why wouldn’t they want to put the worst things in our way? And that means to take one of our best defences.”

  “What happens if you fail this mission?” I pushed.

  “We’re all sent back to Sakron and reprogrammed.”

  I swallowed. “They can’t do that, can they?”

  Jai’s frown deepened. “They can, and they will. I was split from my original team sixteen years ago. We’d been together for a long time, but when we ran into a load of bad luck and started to fail, they told us one more and they’d knock us back to the training planet and reprogram us.”

  I let it sink in for a bit. “So you lost your whole team?”

  “Not just his team,” Naylar said for him as he turned away.

  “I’m sorry.” I understood then. He didn’t need to add anything else. “How do you remember that?”

  “There’s a few of us—very few—who can fight their reprogramming.” Jai looked back to me and to Naylar and Denn. “I promised it would never happen again.”

  “I’ll take whatever contract you need from me.”

  Rei was the one who spoke then. “You don’t even know the terms or length of it. What it might mean for you or where you go.”

  “I don’t care. I see you, and I see the need you have. I see how much you mean to each other, and if I could ever mean that to someone out here, then I would be one happy kid. You’ve got each other’s backs, and you are friends. You should see how amazing that is, right?” I glanced to Denn.

  Her pale face and body looked so fragile, but as I met the eyes of the others, I saw something else. Determination.

  “Naylar, do you think you can alter the contract you have from Denn to work for Kyle?” Jai asked.

  “I think so, if you give me a few.”

  I think waiting for her to work through her filing system and then alter the contract were the longest minutes in my life. She could have been adding in anything. All the clauses and small print that I’d never see. I had basically said I’d sign anything. What if I was going to be in servitude to them as a slave? Or worse, maybe they could sell me on. I had skills that were worth it, that some would want for something, right?

  “Just make sure there’s one thing on it for me,” I said. “It will be my only clause.”

  “Oh, what’s that?” she asked.

  “That if I need help with my friends, you will at least consider my request.”

  “Of course,” Jai replied. “If they mean something to you here, they’re good people. I can see that already—you don’t friend idiots.”

  I laughed, and a few agonising moments later, a file was pushed at me with the words “sign it,” from Naylar.

  I opened it up made sure my name was at least right and then signed it with my imaginary pen.

  That was it. Whatever I had done just opened up a whole new world as my internal started to go crazy.

  “What the hell?”

  Jai stepped towards me. “Welcome to the real Team Trix, Kyle.” I smiled at him as I noticed his character sheet. It didn’t tell me everything, but it told me a lot more than I’d already seen and what he had.

  Jai Trix

  Species - Human/Denti

  Year of Death - 2560

  Class - Paladin

  Age = 42 + 43

  Level - 87 Expert

  Respawns = 8

  Merc Commander

  Memories = ???

  Health = 79%

  Mana = 379

  Body Type Model 41 Alpha

  Structural Integrity = Iron and Silver Mix

  Internal AI Chip = Alpha 1

  Skin Strength = 42

  Blood Capacity = Not Relevant

  Healing Speed = 31

  Strength = 113

  Dexterity = 64

  Constitution = 93

  Intelligence = 51

  Wisdom = 61

  Charisma = 54

  Luck = 37

  Skills = Special Forces

  Merc Commander = Rank 102

  Nanite Engineer = Rank 78

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  I wasn’t sure I could take in all the new information, but they let me sit back, and I looked over some of the more prominent pieces of their lives. It was much more than interesting.

  I was shocked to see I had access to the whole team’s stats, at least the basics of them. I did hear Naylar ask, “Can you see anything else from him, though?”

  “No, nothing. His Shade is really strong. Seems I’d have to ask permission, then maybe.”

  “Will you?” Rei’s voice said as I carried on reading.

  I mostly zoned out to their conversation, so I could see how high a level they all really were.

  They were a good team to join. Actually, the more I read, the more I understood they were beyond good.

  The differences between them all were quite a lot, but what shocked me the most was their time as denti.

  The highest being Jai, which really stunned me.

  I looked at him and said, “You’ve all been here the longest, that’s for sure.”

  “Yes, and for all it’s worth, this is an original model but with some very heavy upgrades.”

  “I can see that. I’m shocked, though. I mean, I didn’t think there was anyone out here that early.”

  “Who do you think made the first steps?” Jai asked. “There were the ships that came out originally with the first techs and builders, but they needed test subjects. I have witnessed it all.”

  I didn’t know what I could say that might make him feel better. The truth was he’d seen some of the worst atrocities that had been reported through to us. But I thought about what I was discovering. Then I asked, “Was any of it actually real?”

  Jai said the words we all knew from the slogan they called back in the day. Words I’d had circulating in my mind a few times, protect those you love, join the fight.

  Name - Denn (Momma Bear)

  Species - Human/Denti

  Year of Death - 2598

  Class - Cleric

  Age = 23 + 31

  Level = 62 Journeyman

  Respawns
= 38

  Memories = 58% Sold 4%

  Health = 81%

  Mana = 543

  Nanites x 37,278

  Body Type = Model 212 A Class

  Structural Integrity = Tong and Silver

  Internal AI Chip = D47 B Class

  Skin Strength = 62

  Blood Capacity = 76

  Healing Speed = 83

  Strength = 50

  Dexterity = 63

  Constitution = 64

  Intelligence = 36

  Wisdom = 77

  Charisma = 23

  Luck = 32

  Sadly, I even remembered the style of the uniform they’d had, green text on a black background:

  Unleash the power. Become a denti. To win it all.

  I watched as his face changed and he moved to take Denn’s other hand. “I never saw any of it, but I know that Denn did,” Jai said. “She might have arrived later than me, but she was on Gridon when it happened. The first time they struck was the worst. We’d only been set up a few months, and they hit hard taking out some of the new trainees without us standing a chance.”

  Naylar looked up at me. “I heard her talk about some of the weeks after, but she never liked to talk for too long. It took some of her closest friends.”

  “That’s rough. Does she know where they are now?”

  “No, they didn’t survive at all. When the Vrolsh first found us, we were still all so new. Not fighters, not much of anything. We’d been promised other things, riches for our families, to be able to get home,” Naylar said.

  “They said you would be able to go home?”

  “Yes. They really did, and their arguments were good. We believed them. I think that’s some of the worst side of the betrayal,” Jai said.

  “I’m sorry.” It was about all I could muster. There were no other real words to try and convey the things I wanted to. I thought it would have been the worst, because there was a lot of chaos.