Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  I set my tablet aside and looked at the Miyelonian shifting timidly from one foot to the next.

  “I suppose some of what I said in the heat of the moment was harsher than you deserved. When I said I’d make a bedside rug out of your hide, for example. But I want you to grasp my intent — you are no longer some nobody Engineer stranded on a pirate station because your previous captain lost his starship in a casino. You are now Captain Gnat’s main Engineer. And my crew only takes the best of the best regardless of race. We’re a true professional elite! We are one of the most famous and successful crews in the galaxy. I could be speaking with political and military leaders at any time. If I went and hired everyone who wanted to join, I could crew a whole flotilla of starships. And that is why this emblem,” I poked the sew-on patch shaped like a flying gnat on the Miyelonian’s jumpsuit, “must be earned rightfully by your abilities. I expect the utmost professionalism out of my head Engineer. And so, the fact that I was blind for the most important conversation of my life, unable to see the Krong’s reactions to my words, is absolutely unacceptable! That is all, moving on. What about the Composite interceptor?”

  Orun Va-Mart straightened out his pressed-down ears, stood up straight and gave an exacting report:

  “Captain, we have carefully dismantled the small Dero interceptor to its most basic components. We will now need time to dig around in the alien hardware and figure out how some of the systems work. But I can already say we got our paws on at least one highly valuable trophy: a fundamentally new type of hyperjump drive, much more intricate and sophisticated than the kind we’re used to. I have spoken with our Navigator, and Ayukh has confirmed that theory — enemy ships were arriving to the star system three times faster than even the speediest interceptors of the Miyelonians or Geckho could.”

  “Not bad, not bad. Can we install the alien hyperdrive in our frigate?” I asked, given the lack of hyperdrive was our most pressing issue. But after some contemplation, the Engineer gave an unfavorable response — synchronization would be too difficult, it worked by completely different principles, the hardware was incompatible. There was a high probability our ship would simply be wrecked if we attempted to use it to enter hyperspace.

  A pity. But the idea was sound. Although, for the most part, with the ancient laboratory and its ability to take us with it on instantaneous null transports, why did my frigate even need this sweet hyperdrive?

  “We could try to install the cannons though!” Orun Va-Mart unceremoniously yanked the tablet from my hands and, changing the image, pointed at some diagram of mind-bending complexity. “Look, captain! The Dero was fitted with just one cannon, and it is not a laser or graviton cannon either. I spent half an ummi trying to study it, trying to find the point of installing such an elaborate system of mutually inhibiting solenoids. And I can say with one-hundred-percent confidence that this is a quadrupolar desynchronizer! The Composite weapon causes a material destruction reaction at the point where it is aimed. Not powerful enough to annihilate the molecules, but enough to have them decay into separate atoms and streams of elementary particles.”

  Astrolinguistics skill increased to level one hundred two!

  Electronics skill increased to level ninety-seven!

  The sheer amount of new terminology in that! Furthermore, Orun Va-Mart’s anxiety made him throw a couple terms from his native Miyelonian into his Geckho, the common language on my ship. But still I understood. Then I pulled rank and copied all the diagrams from the Engineer’s computer onto my captain’s tablet. There was not only a diagram of the small interceptor’s cannon, but all the other devices on the alien ship too, and a lot of other systems from the Relict station. Did that mean, as my main Engineer said, we could use the alien weapon?

  “Range? Rate of fire? Destruction radius?” I asked, but my subordinate just gave an indistinct grumble and answered that, without field testing, there was no way to know the alien weapon’s characteristics. And he also did not yet know how to aim it — no focus or target acquisition settings had been found on the interceptor. Perhaps these systems were implanted in the pilot’s body, but it was too early to make any claims about that. But shooting it only required power supply for the cables leading to the cannon, which the Engineer was fully capable of providing.

  And when I asked about the rest of the hardware taken off the Dero and the diagrams the Engineer had composed, he answered that he hadn’t yet had enough time to study them. But he would be sure to figure it out and tell me his most interesting findings and conclusions.

  “Okay, Orun Va-Mart. I’ll be awaiting your reports. But now I order the alien cannon installed on Tamara the Paladin to replace our broken laser cannon. And in one quarter ummi you should be ready to set up a long-distance call with the Geckho spaceport on Earth. Do you know the settings?”

  The Miyelonian nodded shortly and assured me that this time he would do it all in fine fashion.

  I REALLY JUST WANTED to have a talk with my assistant Uline Tar. I even sent the Supercargo into the real world to relay a message to the Trader saying I expected her in the long-distance comms cabin. But as soon as the walls of the Pyramid Contact Hall snapped on, I discovered a whole group of players thirsting for a talk: not just my business partner Gerd Uline Tar, but also Chief Advisor of the Relict Faction Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi the Mage Diviner, Igor Tarasov the leader of the Human-3 Faction, and General Leng Ui-Taka, ruler of the Second Directory.

  “Quite the unbelievable concentration of high-profile players,” I chuckled wryly, hiding my surprise and even slight bafflement. “Two Lengs and two Gerds stuffed into one tiny comms booth!”

  “More like three Lengs counting you, Gnat!” the furry Geckho woman rumbled contentedly and bared her teeth. “I’m glad to see you in good health, captain! And apparently you have a new trophy as well. I actually came alone, but these people burst into the cabin saying they have been needing to talk with you for a long while. Shall I have them escorted out?”

  “Just try it! I do not see that you be woman and Geckho of race,” the muscular Ui-Taka grinned, demonstrating his decent progress studying the language of our suzerains. “I have critically important information for Coruler Gnat La-Fin!”

  Before the four of them started squabbling over the right to speak first, I tried to pick up the thread of the conversation myself:

  “I am willing to hear out each of you but, for starters, I would like to speak with Gerd Uline Tar — she is not only the sole woman among you, she is also my business partner and someone I particularly trust. No, the others don’t need to leave. You wouldn’t be able to anyhow — the booth is isolated during long-distance calls. I just ask you to stand in silence for a few minutes.”

  After that, I asked the Trader to get out her tablet and be ready to take notes. Naturally, I didn’t tell her the whole list of one hundred seventeen parts out loud, limiting myself to just the most critically important ones. Then I asked to have them bought and delivered... here I considered it and decided the safest bet would be not to say where my frigate would be returning with these other people listening in. Instead of naming a specific star system, I gave Uline Tar a veiled instruction that I would be coming to “the system where we were planning to drop off the Meleyephatian spies.” The Geckho woman froze up for a few seconds, but then clearly remembered the Trillian system Taikhirhh-o-Tsykh and nodded.

  “All crewmembers of Tamara the Paladin are to go there as well. I also need gold bars delivered to the spaceport — no less than eighty-two and a half pounds in total. I promised that to the Dryad Jeweler Nefertiti. And I always keep my promises.”

  “Noted, captain. Anything else?” the Trader asked.

  “Yes. First, ask your fiancé Kosta Dykhsh to figure out who should have greater say in the formation of the army of Earth — am I above him or below? I have to admit, I couldn’t tell that from what Krong Daveyesh-Pir told me and wasn’t confident enough to clear that up with the great leader of your race.”

  A
uthority increased to 93!

  Uline’s face didn’t change, so I couldn’t tell whether my business partner already knew I had spoken with the Geckho ruler or not. But based on how everyone else’s brows shot up, it was clear that they had not yet heard the news of the military draft or my being put in charge of recruitment. Oh well, I had to surprise them. And not only with that.

  “Second, Uline, find a buyer for blueprints of a fundamentally new kind of hyperspace drive for starships. It can provide jump speeds at least three times faster than the best Miyelonian models at present. The buyer will receive not only all blueprints but also a functioning example with the aforementioned characteristics, so it’s all on the up-and-up. My asking price: one hundred fifty million crystals. If you can get more — half of whatever you can negotiate over one hundred fifty is yours!”

  Authority increased to 94!

  This time all four of them looked at me in astonishment. I saw even Igor Tarasov’s mouth crack open in surprise — the Human-3 Faction couldn’t even dream of such massive heaps of money! Uline Tar was first to come back around and give a satisfied rumble — the experienced Trader had no doubt she could find a buyer for such a promising technology, or that she could bring up the price drastically.

  Then to myself I breathed a sad sigh. One hundred fifty million monetary crystals only sounded like an incredibly huge amount of money. In fact, it was only enough for two planetary shield generators for Earth. And I would need to find the funds somewhere to buy another nine such generators...

  “Thank you, Uline! Now I have some important information for the humans...”

  I told them about our suzerain Krong’s wish for the humans of Earth to be more involved in Geckho military operations and the fact I’d been tasked with assembling an army of fifty thousand fully equipped and battle ready troops in twenty days’ time. I didn’t hide the second recruitment wave of two hundred thousand either. I told them about the Geckho ruler’s order to bring prices on Earth into an acceptable range and do away with all the price gouging. I told them I had been given the right to speak in the name of Krong Daveyesh-Pir and bestowed with the authority to use any means necessary to complete my mission.

  Authority increased to 95!

  Authority increased to 96!

  Authority increased to 97!

  I felt surprise and even a bit of alarm when I saw how rapidly my Authority figure shot up. I was starting to get the impression that the leaders of the terrestrial factions, if they were even aware of my successes in interstellar politics and close acquaintance with influential players of other races, had been severely underestimating the extent of these relationships. And now they were merely reinterpreting that correctly, so the game system was adjusting my Authority to match.

  “That is quite strange,” my furry friend Uline couldn’t resist a surprised comment. “Usually, new players in the game that bends reality are not allowed to be actively engaged by their suzerains before the end of the tong of safety. Yet here comes a demand for you to muster a whole army!”

  “There really are good reasons though,” I confirmed. “The Miyelonians have exited the war with the Meleyephatian Horde and, furthermore, are already smacking their lips and looking at Geckho systems. And so Krong Daveyesh-Pir has announced a great mustering of vassal armies.”

  Just after I finished saying that the Mage Diviner got down on one knee and bowed his head deeply:

  “Coruler Gnat La-Fin, I humbly request that you hear me out! There is one thread of the possible future I have long been foreseeing. Since before we even were personally acquainted. The key moment, the divergence of probabilities which will define the future of Earth! If the Miyelonians join the war on the side of the Meleyephatian Horde, planet Earth will stand no chance! I cannot see anyone other than my Leng who could possibly have any impact on that. Coruler, at any cost — whether bribery, intrigue, promises or blackmail, you must make certain the Miyelonians do not attack the Geckho!”

  There it is... I considered it. Based on what the seasoned Mage Diviner said, war between the Miyelonians and Geckho was far from assured, and whether this extremely negative scenario would come to pass hinged entirely on my diplomatic abilities.

  And meanwhile, Mac-Peu responded, although I was still only getting ready to ask my Chief Advisor a question. Did he read it in my thoughts? Did he know this question would be coming? Or was he simply reporting on the state of affairs?

  “The Relict Faction at present contains twenty-four thousand players with a maximum possible player count of thirty-one thousand. We are actively recruiting new players from both worlds of various specializations although, in light of what you’ve just said, we will now be emphasizing combat professions. For the first recruitment wave, our faction could easily prepare and equip fifteen hundred troops at level 80+ or six thousand troops at level 60+. And all the weaponry and equipment for them could be produced inside the Relict Faction, even rocket and grenade launchers and exoskeleton spacesuits. And by the second draft, we will also have production up and running for terrestrial analogues of Immolator combat robots and space fighter-interceptors. Thanks to Uline tar for the Immolator blueprints, by the way. We have also already recruited crews for the starships that already arrived, and they are in active training.”

  Great! Even better than I hoped. I thanked my Chief Advisor for the information and getting the production of that complicated tech up and running. I inquired about other difficulties our faction’s manufacturers faced — did they maybe need us to buy up rare components of some kind in space? But in response, I was told there was nothing insurmountable, the faction could easily solve all present difficulties on its own. But meanwhile, the long silent General Ui-Taka had something to say about the military draft. The huge muscular Strategist, whose skin was a somewhat darker shade than the other natives of the magocratic world I’d come into contact with, cautiously inquired in his native language:

  “Am I understanding correctly that the Leng of the Relict Faction will decide how many soldiers each terrestrial faction should provide for our suzerains’ war? And that there’s no way to dispute his decision, while noncompliance by any faction will be seen as violating a direct order of the great potentate Krong Daveyesh-Pir with all accompanying negative consequences? That...” the ruler of the Second Directory gave a nervous gulp, “is a weapon more powerful than the old story of the Graveyard hexagon or the three invulnerable hexagons which, if attacked, would have fatal consequences for the attacker!”

  I understood the general’s doubts and worries — all I’d have to do is set an unachievable draft plan for a faction, and the fury of the suzerains would come raining down on them!

  “That is so, but I do not intend to deplete any one faction, especially a strong one. I merely plan to carry out our suzerains’ demand. Furthermore, for Earth’s troops, the upcoming combat operation will be invaluable experience for the struggle against the Meleyephatian Horde — an extremely strong enemy and the most probable aggressor our worlds will face after the tong of safety is up. And for that reason, we need to figure out how to stand up against the Meleyephatians now, learn their strong and weak points. Fighting in the Geckho Third Strike Fleet will allow humanity to gain invaluable experience, learn new tactics and, I suspect, obtain new technologies.”

  The huge Strategist took another few seconds to think and... to everyone’s surprise, got down on one knee and bowed his head respectfully:

  “Three players here are technically the same status, but how plain it is to see that one is superior! I recognize your leadership, Leng Gnat! Our overall objective is the same — to defend our home planet from space invasion and I am prepared to aid you both in the game and the real world. My La-Taka faction is capable of sending up to fifteen hundred fully equipped high-level soldiers to join Leng Gnat’s army. Yes, spacesuits will have to be bought in space or from your faction, but considering what you said about new prices, I’m certain my faction will be able to find the resources. I
swear it!”

  “Something important has happened, but I was not able to fully understand what the Dark Faction Strategist just said.” Leng Tarasov grumbled. By all appearances, the language of the magocratic world was still a challenge to him.

  My Chief Advisor explained in clean Russian that the Strategist had just sworn loyalty to Leng Gnat and told me that his faction would provide fifteen hundred troops for the army of Earth. The leader of the H3 Faction looked down and answered somewhat sheepishly that he himself was not prepared to make such important decisions without consulting the curators of the Dome project.

  “I gave long-distance communication technology to the Human-3 Faction,” I reminded Tarasov. “In that kit is a basic device for determining the roots of the immateriality equation for any point in space. Assemble a device in the real world and bring it into the meeting room at Onega-3. Seven integers will come up on the device’s screen. Tell me that information and I will be able to communicate directly with the curators from the wall screen!”

  Leng Tarasov’s brows shot upward in surprise. The level-111 Sniper wanted to reply or ask a question. He even opened his mouth to do so but, in the end, he just nodded in agreement. And meanwhile, Leng Ui-Taka drew my attention again and said:

  “As far as I understand, Leng Gnat is planning to meet the leaders of the factions of the virtual planet soon to gather recruits. And that will include pressuring the rulers of the magocratic world who are not so fond of him to obey and share their troops for a joint operation. However, I see one obstacle that threatens to upend all these plans — the antimage rebellion instigated by Gerd Tamara! The rulers of my world need their armies to defend themselves!”