Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  The Geckho’s cry was cut short when my beautiful translator raised her bloodied paw in the air to show off the giant’s still-beating heart, spurting out blood in big glugs. I saw several of the Geckho in the restaurant faint. Yes, it was a shocking sight to behold.

  The two last pirates froze uneasily, absolutely unable to comprehend what was going on around them. They were both disoriented with all their sense organs blocked and afflicted by mental paralysis in all its ghastly glory. I was planning to take them alive so there would be someone to hand over to law enforcement for interrogation. But I didn’t manage — both of the tailed pirates fell, honeycombed by a huge burst of laser pulses coming from several different guns. I immediately turned, ready to act at once. But I paused in indecision. As it turned out, the people in the orange jumpsuits had joined the fight — the four human spacemen were standing with laser pistols in their hands.

  Despite the fact that I was alone and also unarmed, and they were four and armed with pistols, I could sense that they were very afraid of me. By all appearances, Free Captain Gnat didn’t have the most peace-loving reputation.

  “Leng Gnat, we are not enemies!” one of the spacemen assured me, lowering his arm and holstering his pistol. I saw a Free Captain patch sewn onto his sleeve.

  His subordinates followed their captain’s lead and slowly stashed their weapons. The bloodied body of the leader of the eight pirates plopped down from the ceiling behind me. I meanwhile didn’t even turn, looking over the strangers who had come to my aid. Or had they just prudently murdered the two last witnesses to keep their mouths shut? For the time being, I hadn’t decided how to perceive their intervention. Who were they? Obviously not Tailaxians — they all had eyes of normal human size. And they didn’t feel guilty. In fact, they sincerely believed I should have been grateful to them.

  “Not Leng, I’m a Kung now,” I corrected the man and made an inquiry with no more guardedness or hostility in my voice. “Who are you?”

  “I am Sewell Teero, captain of the ore carrier the Avaricious Miner. And this is my crew,” the middle-aged but sturdy man pointed to his three companions. “We’ve been making regular trips from Gilvar Syndicate enrichment plants here to Kasti-Utsh III for two tongs now.”

  I winced despite myself. The Gilvar Syndicate was a long-time human vassal of the Meleyephatian Horde, meaning they were enemies of the Geckho. Nevertheless, these people had helped me. Obviously, this Free Captain wasn’t accounting for politics when he decided to help, and the members of his crew felt the same.

  “Thank you, Sewell,” I gave a barely noticeable bow.

  “You shouldn’t have killed those Miyelonians,” Ayni walked up to the corpses, turning them all over and examining them matter-of-factly. “All eight of the attackers were wearing bandannas reading ‘Avast ye scurvy dogs!’ as is proscribed for situations such as these. It means outsiders should stay out if they don’t want to be harmed. It’s a traditional space pirate warning cry written in ancient glyphs that are no longer in common use. These killers had quarrel only with my captain and were not planning to harm anyone else, including Valeri or me. But we are friends of Gnat and of course came to his aid. But you could have stayed out. Instead you intentionally killed two Miyelonians, and on a Miyelonian station at that... Now you’ll have your starship confiscated and be imprisoned at the very least.”

  All four of the people from the Avaricious Miner turned sad in an instant, their heads hanging. And it was made all the worse when a group of warriors in white armor ran into the restaurant panting. The First Pride guards the Great Kung Keetsie-Myau had assigned to me had slept through the whole confrontation.

  “Ayni, I mentally asked these people to help!” I rushed to assure my personal assistant, meanwhile also telling my version of events to the nearby Miyelonians, because the situation was starting to look very grim for the spacemen. “I think I even splashed some magic into my request so they definitely wouldn’t refuse.”

  “Yes, I also heard Gnat’s appeal to these people,” the Tailaxian added her support, although I hadn’t asked Valeri to do so.

  Law enforcement also finally arrived and, while they and the First Pride troopers examined the scene of the bloody struggle, a reporter dashed over as well. The huge portly tomcat with the emblem of the local news channel on his cape and a camera and microphone on his helmet, clicked his tongue in satisfaction, gleefully telling his viewers about the intriguing events that had just taken place on the space station. I beckoned the reporter with a hand, and he ran over eagerly. Looking straight into the camera, I tried to look convincing and menacing and said:

  “Gerd Abi Pan-Miay, you’re as good as dead! The incarnation of the Great First Female of the Miyelonians, Priestess Leng Amiru U-Mayaoo gave you a clear order to stay away from me! And you just spat in her face and ordered your pirates to attack me anyway! The commander of the Fourth Fleet of the Union of Miyelonian Prides, the Great Kung Keetsie-Myau ordered you to settle all our conflicts in a one-on-one duel, and you lost fair and square. But you spat in the face of the Great One as well, continuing your attempts to murder me even after the duel. And know this — all the emissaries you send after me can expect just such an inglorious end,” I took a step to the side, allowing the reporter to get another wide shot of the bloodied corpses on the floor. “You are now a pariah. From this day forth, you will be considered an enemy of the Great Leng Amiru and the Great Kung Keetsie. Isn’t that right, Gerd Lekku?”

  The reporter turned the camera to Kung Keetsie’s severe and fearsome fiancé as he stepped over the corpses. The Brawler was eager to confirm:

  “The rogue pirate by the alias Big Abi has mortally offended my bride Kung Keetsie, and thus has become a personal enemy of myself and the Miyelonian race as a whole. From now on, Big Abi and his pride shall be prohibited from accessing any Miyelonian station. And I don’t even have to put a price on your head, because every Miyelonian will now consider it their sacred duty to kill you, you degenerate!”

  YES, I HAD KILLED THREE Miyelonians. And really six, because the other three were completely immobilized by me and had no way of resisting. And I had killed them not in the virtual game where they could respawn but in the real world where there was no such thing. Their deaths would be final and permanent. And although I had condemned people to death with actions and words before — the psionic mage that entered my world or my wife’s devious grandfather Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez — you must agree, killing an intelligent being yourself and seeing their blood, convulsions and dying pain is something totally different.

  Was I at all bothered by that? A difficult question, and I couldn’t give an unambiguous answer. I definitely was not experiencing the kind of unbearable moral torment described by Dostoevsky with life forever divided into “before” and “after.” I was still the same person and was confident I’d done the right thing. Those were notorious villains, pirates and murderers. The issue was very straightforward — either me or them. But nevertheless, my hands were shaking and the deaths of those Miyelonians just kept replaying in my head again and again. I really wanted not to think about anything and just get drunk. Go over to the bar and order the highest proof nuclear swill on offer, then pour it down my throat until I forgot everything and just let go. But I held back and tried to stay confident and dignified as I answered the Miyelonian investigators’ many questions.

  Yes, of course no one was going to just allow us to just up and leave after the brutal murder of seven Miyelonians and one Geckho. And although there were no specific charges brought against me or my companions — the hundreds of visitors in the restaurant all confirmed that we were acting in self-defense, nevertheless I had to talk with law enforcement and the First Pride for a long time. And time and again they made me answer the same questions formulated in slightly different ways...

  No, the murder was in no way connected with racial animus. I hold no intolerance or racial prejudices against Miyelonians or Geckho. Furthermore, my crew is full of both
kinds. My business partner is a Geckho, and my personal assistant a Miyelonian. Is that enough to prove my beliefs? No, it wasn’t connected to the great war either — I am a Free Captain and do everything I can to stay out of politics. Yes, I agree, I don’t always succeed. Although, if you put it that way, the Geckho are allies and the suzerains of my planet, while the Miyelonians are neutral to my race. Convinced yet? Yes, I do possess psionic abilities. Want a demonstration? Are you CERTAIN you want me to read your mind? No, no second thoughts? Yes, I can converse mentally. How else could I have summoned that group of people to help me without saying anything out loud?

  And so on and so forth, just like that...

  My tongue was just itching to tell the law enforcement officers, given we had a chance to talk, that my companion Valeri was being stalked and had received threats from the Prelates of Tailax. But after some contemplation, I decided against it. The Miyelonians were now neutral toward the Meleyephatian Horde and their vassals, and so the disturbing story could in fact end in the arrest and extradition of the escaped criminal back to Tailax. Valeri didn’t tell the Miyelonians about it either, clearly for the same reason.

  Finally, my companions and I were released. Full vindication for our brutal but necessary self-defense. We were given no restrictions or limitations. We didn’t even get a little fine. The crew of the Avaricious Miner had been let go before that. They did have worse luck though — the Miyelonian company they worked for had reneged on their years-old contract to ship lanthanoid concentrate due to the big scandal and potential risk to their business reputation, which left the men jobless. Still I tried to reassure Captain Sewell Teero and promised to think up a way to compensate them.

  Unfortunately, none of the four spacemen were in the game that bends reality, so a simple player-to-player money transfer through the in-game payment system would not be possible. Furthermore, in the current interstellar conflict, our homeworlds were technically on opposite sides of the barricade, which also needed to be taken into account. In fact, it was easily possible that a little bit of financial support from us could land these guys in big trouble for accepting money from the “enemy.”

  “Am I right in understanding you probably won’t be going to training?” Ayni clarified, because Valeri and I were obviously in no rush to go to our virt pods.

  To be frank, after the surge of emotions and adrenaline during the fast-paced fight with the pirates, I was now overtaken by a feeling of complete physical and emotional emptiness. I simply would not be able to push my abilities for all they were worth a second time today, which I told the Miyelonian honestly. Valeri said approximately the same. Furthermore, the Tailaxian girl had bruised her arm and scraped both her knees during the fight with the shock-baton-armed pirate lady, which didn’t exactly make her eager to go train.

  “You know best. As for me, I’ll be going. And I’ll tell Fox the valid reason for your absence. See you later!”

  The orange Miyelonian left us and hurried over to the elevators. As soon as the doors closed behind her, my Tailaxian companion inquired:

  “Gnat, what do you think, could that have been Fox disguised as Ayni? No, I understand it makes no sense, and there are no Morphians in the real world. But still... She’s so tiny, but she had such an easy time dispatching that Geckho. It was like she was up against a training dummy rather than some ten-foot-tall goon.”

  Yes, I had considered that myself. And so I had read Ayni’s thoughts several times after the impressive display of speed and killing prowess. Either Fox had learned to flawlessly imitate not only Ayni’s appearance, but also her thoughts, or that brutal vivisection of a giant Geckho had in fact been performed by the real Miyelonian. That was exactly what I said to my slightly limping companion as she leaned on my shoulder.

  The walk back to my apartment brought us past an automatic grocery kiosk. I walked over and familiarized myself with what was on offer. No gourmet treats. It was only selling protein bars, unleavened flatbread, a few different kinds of dried fruits, and cans of alcoholic and refreshing beverages. I made a few purchases.

  “Ooh, are we going to have a romantic dinner?” my companion chuckled, referring to the alcohol and fruit I’d bought, then pointed at the vending machine next to this one. “Then you’d better go get some of that too.”

  I looked where Valeri-Urla was pointing, and my jaw dropped in surprise. The next vending machine over was selling “contraceptives for a wide array of protein-based lifeforms.” Was that a joke? I fully expected such mockery out of Valeri.

  “No joke, Gnat. I’m completely serious,” the huge-eyed girl once again demonstrated just how easily she could read my thoughts. “Today when fighting the space pirates, you finally did what I’d been waiting for — you demonstrated your true strength. That was simply unbelievable! The crushing might wafting off you was so powerful that I wanted to fall to my knees and howl in delight. For the first time in my life, I saw a man worthy of being at my side. Worthy of possessing me. For the whole night, I am yours. And tomorrow... we’ll see.”

  Chapter Thirty-One. Uline’s Wedding

  WHEN I WOKE UP, Valeri was no longer next to me on the bed. Only the wrinkled bedsheets, pink bra hanging from the chandelier and lingering musty smell of the “contraception for any protein-based lifeform” served to remind me of last night’s rampage. I gave an involuntary chuckle when I remembered how Valeri and I staggered back after breaking the seal on the can of contraceptive and stuck it right back in the bag. The smell of the substance was... how to put it lightly... very particular. Somewhere between an overripe durian, ammonia and rotten fish. I can’t comment on its pharmacological properties, we didn’t check. But the smell of the medicine alone was enough to scare off any possible sexual partner and thus serve as a foolproof guarantee against pregnancy.

  Other than that, it all went amazingly. The somewhat abbreviated start (I was impatient and abrupt, while Valeri had in fact never been with a man before) did nothing to spoil our night of love. Valeri quickly got the taste for it and became an unbridled savage, predator of the night, passionate and insatiable. She had been awaiting this night for many long years, dreaming of it and now, like a river bursting through a dam, her feelings gushed forth. Multiply that passion by the complete mental convergence of two psionics, both knowing exactly what the other wanted and sharing all their intimate fantasies and desires. We tried everything, ourselves not even always certain who came up with what. It was fantastic. Honestly, we were somewhat stymied by the curious Little Sister, locked in a different room but impudently scratching at the door and raining down mental questions and messages on her master: “Why did you lock the door? What are you doing in there? Why are you moaning, are you alright? I made number two in my box; I need it cleaned.” But that came with the Tailaxian’s rare profession. And as I came together with the Beast Master (in all senses) I also started hearing her pet and found myself getting distracted.

  Yes, it was an awesome night. I wiped the stupid smile off my face, stood up and walked around the apartment. Valeri and her pet Little Sister were not in the other rooms either. The suitcase and her things were gone, and even the panther’s bowls and litter box had disappeared. However, on the table in the entryway I did find a carefully severed long maiden’s braid. And next to it, a message in Miyelonian next to the one written by the Great Kung Keetsie on the tabletop in the very same marker:

  “Gnat, that was amazing! But I don’t want my sister and my problems to get in the way of your mission to save your home planet. I went off to find Dinka. I have an approximate idea of where my sister might be. Don’t come looking for me, it’s too dangerous.

  Gratefully yours for the night of love, Valeri.

  P.S. I’m not cut out to be your wayedda.”

  THE FIRST PRIDE TROOPS told me she had left my room around a quarter ummi ago. They offered to patch me into the video surveillance system to track her path through the station, but I refused because I had already guessed where she went. Val
eri-Urla probably went straight for her virt pod, entered the game and bought a ticket on a starship heading away from Earth. And given the Beast Master had left me a note, she must have been completely certain that I would not be able to catch up to her in the spaceport.

  After that, when the Beast Master reached her destination, she would go straight to a virt pod rental firm, and there change her exit point into the real world. But for a player that was in a faction/pride/clan, that service was impossible to use without the permission of their faction head. And that meant Valeri-Urla would have requested to leave the Relict Faction in the game menu. And if my guesses were right, I would already be too late to intercept her and convince the Tailaxian girl I had grown so attached to, to stay.

  Nevertheless, I rushed to enter the game and five minutes later was in my game box. Loading up. The game greeted me with a message I was not expecting to see so soon:

  ATTENTION!!! The leader of the Human-3 Faction, Leng Igor Tarasov has accepted your offer to conclude a military and political alliance. The leader of the alliance shall be Kung Gnat as the player with the highest Fame and Authority figures. Alliance members: 3 of a possible 8.

  That meant the leader of the H3 Faction had already gotten permission from the curators and the Russian faction had reneged on all its already inked understandings with the Terrestrial Coalition. I suspected the H23 would have done the same in accordance with the new policies of its parent faction.

  There were another couple predictable messages after the recent news of the bloodbath in the restaurant on Kasti-Utsh III:

  Fame increased to 107.

  Authority increased to 108!

  I figured the unexpected outcome of the attack had come as a surprise to many — an unarmed man and his two pretty companions had slain eight armed cutthroats from a renowned pirate pride in three seconds flat. My message to Big Abi on camera had also probably elicited interest and discussion in Miyelonian society.