Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  I appeared on my frigate, which was stationed at the spaceport right where I’d been when I exited into the real world. And right after greeting my guards Eduard Boyko and Grim Reaper as I ran past, I hurried to the captain’s bridge to get in touch with the spaceport dispatchers and ask whether any starships had taken off from the planet in the last hour. As it turned out, yes. A landing module had just taken off from Earth carrying a few departing passengers up to a space liner, which had brought another group of guests here for the upcoming wedding. And among them was the high-profile human lady Gerd Valeri-Urla. The dispatchers confirmed that the module had successfully docked on the starship and the liner had already departed the Solar System with all passengers on board.

  What a pity. I didn’t make it. And by the way, my friend the Beast Master had been promoted to Gerd. Well, that was easy to predict. After Valeri-Urla had served as a conduit for messages from the Prelates of Tailax, then become the first person to ever be rid of Tailaxian surveillance implants and they started hunting her, her Fame figure had probably gone up quite a bit. And now Valeri-Urla had also been the subject of two galactic news stories in the last few days, which probably brought her Fame up even higher.

  A sealed envelope was lying on the console reading “To Coruler Gnat La-Fin” in the language of the magocratic world. A stamp on the paper in the shape of two fighting jaguars corresponded to the coat of arms of the La-Varrez dynasty of mage rulers. I ran a scan and it revealed a data crystal inside.

  “This was brought by courier from the space port,” Eduard Boyko explained. “They didn’t say what was inside. And another thing... Gerd T’yu-Pan asked me to tell you,” the trooper extended me a double-folded sheet of paper. “He said this all needs to be bought to strengthen our frigate’s boarding team. And ideally, the army of the Relict Faction also needs some additional equipment, even though it will ‘cost a huge amount.’”

  I unfolded the paper and skimmed the contents. Targeting systems. Lenses to attach to soldiers’ helmets for various light spectrums and video cameras. Screens for the commanders to monitor the battle. Reconnaissance drones. Fire support drones. Bomb-defusing robots. An “anti-sniper” system (for some reason with a note written in different hand that we specifically needed the HH-510, a Trillian product, and with it an additional radar and three assault drones). At least six boxes of guided munitions and Geckho Avashi Shock plasma grenade-launching systems. Chameleon cloaks (another note that those produced by the Relict Faction were not good enough, and it would be best to buy the kind made for Miyelonian special services). A Swarm system and at least three hundred microdrones...

  Seemingly Fox’s training had paid off, the leader of my boarding team had learned some new tactics and saw a few ways of improving his team. Okay then, a beneficial undertaking even if it required expenditures.

  Here my attention was drawn by a strange hum I could hear even through the space station’s many layers of sound-absorbing hull. I activated the instrument panel and turned on the external cameras. Woah! Right before my eyes, a huge silver Kituvaru trade ship came in for a landing — something of a bulbous flying saucer over two hundred thirty feet in diameter. The freight ship’s high-powered thrusters allowed it to take off even from planets with increased gravitation and transport tens of thousands of tons of cargo at a time. One such ship could replace three hundred Shiamiru cargo shuttles on a trade route. I knew all that because my friend Uline had told me about the Kituvaru on several occasions in hushed tones — that ship was the dream of her entire life, a symbol of affluence and a successful career as an interstellar trader. I wondered what cargo the giant was hauling for Earth factions. Or was it maybe bringing gifts for the newlyweds?

  I also noticed that the relatively small spaceport was now totally mobbed with ships. Other than the huge Kituvaru that already landed, there were another dozen or so starships that were here before. Elite high-speed space yachts. Landing modules from liners. Courier shuttles. Small passenger starships. An Elimaro fire-support frigate — a fairly new design from Geckho military inventors, something of a “pocket battleship” with fearsome cannons and high maneuverability. Such frigates, made to provide supporting fire to larger-class ships, as far as I knew, had only been produced at Geckho docks in small numbers, less than fifty so far. And so it came as a surprise to find such a striking ship stationed at Earth’s spaceport.

  The communication system switched on. The spaceport sent a message saying the Viceroy of Earth knew Kung Gnat had entered the game and an antigrav had taken off to come whisk me away to the festivities. I was also asked to hurry because the wedding ceremony was supposed to start any minute.

  Five minutes later, I hopped out of the antigrav and, trying not to show my surprise, shook the hand of a Human-3 Faction Diplomat I knew well. Gerd Ivan Lozovsky was looking as impeccable as ever. Wearing a suit that was perfect for the occasion and fit his lanky frame just right, his hair was done up neatly. He also was wearing a satin yellow sash over his shoulder, which also looked fitting and probably had some meaning.

  “This means ‘guest on the groom’s side,’“ Ivan Lozovsky explained when he saw my interest in the sash. “By the way, you’ll get two sashes: a yellow and a red because you were also invited by the bride. But to my eye, they should just give you an orange one rather than draping you in garlands like a Christmas tree.”

  Ivan Lozovsky was smiling and joking around, but still I could sense a timidity he wasn’t normally prone to. I also saw shades of uncertainty and embarrassment slip through on the Diplomat’s face. In the end, Ivan himself decided to fill me in:

  “Well, well, a Kung already... I admit, I wasn’t expecting you to take off to such heights. Congratulations! And I was also made aware that you were the one who pleaded with the curators to secure my freedom.”

  “Yes, that is true,” I confirmed to the amnestied player. “But it’s really the Viceroy you should be thanking. Kosta Dykhsh was constantly bringing it up and advocating for you.”

  We had to temporarily stop talking because a Geckho lady walked up to us looking fussy and twitchy in a color-changing suit and wearing a broad red satin sash across her whole chest. For some reason, she didn’t have a name, class or level over her head. With no warning and without saying a thing, she grabbed me with her big huge paws and squeezed me with such fearsome might that I actually had to activate my Listener suit’s forcefield to save my ribs and stop my Hitpoints from constantly crawling down.

  “What an amazing gift! Uline couldn’t be happier!” the stranger finally broke the silence, rumbling happily, then put me back on the ground and ran back over to the other guests.

  Authority increased to 109!

  What the heck was that?! My Gnat just lost twenty percent of his hitpoints out of nowhere! I ran a perplexed gaze over the crazy and unbelievably strong Geckho woman.

  “Your friend Uline Tar’s great aunt,” Ivan Lozovsky explained when he saw my bafflement. “Hides her game figures, but I suspect they’re sky high. She’s the head of the Tar-Layneh clan of star traders, a very influential and rich woman. She caught me today in the hallway of the Viceroy’s palace and tortured me with a long interrogation, asking all about Dagestan and how to send the hairstylist there. Boy he really was getting on everyone’s nerves with his crazy whims.”

  I laughed despite the pain I could still feel in my right side. It probably wasn’t a fracture, but something was definitely sprained. And it was scary to think that it was just my first interaction with one of the eight hundred guests who had come to this wedding. I was just left to hope that Uline Tar and Kosta Dykhsh’s other relatives wouldn’t strangle me in their outpourings of emotion...

  THE BRIDE WAS VIRTUALLY unreachable. Gerd Uline Tar was decked out with a curly hairdo and glimmering silvery fur that had fanciful emerald patterns winding through it. And she was stuffed into a complicated airy construction made of ribbons, imperceptible wires, and variously colored little bulbs. Despite all the capital-ci
ty stylist’s quirks, he knew what he was doing, and the bride’s beauty was both striking and marvelous. Uline’s short height (for a Geckho, of course) and lemon-yellow eyes were expertly emphasized and displayed with obvious dignity. There was a dense crowd of relations constantly circling around the newlywed and I didn’t risk sticking my nose in, just waved a hand at Uline from afar.

  There were three more Tamara the Paladin crewmembers among the invited guests: the twin brothers Vasha and Basha, as well as the corpulent Supercargo Avan Toi. I didn’t quite know why Uline didn’t invite the other two Geckho from our crew: Ayukh the Navigator and Taik Rekh the Gunner. She must not have felt quite so close to them. I did see one other possible explanation though — tensions or maybe even open conflict between clan Tar-Layneh or Waideh-Dykhsh and the clans those two Geckho hailed from.

  Overall, there were lots of possible complications with the guest list, which was meticulously checked over by Geckho on both sides and trimmed significantly. Of the over seven thousand potential guests, just eight hundred had been approved. And one of Uline’s relatives clued me in as to why Uline’s close friend and roommate Ayni didn’t get an invite (though I must admit, his confusing explanation left me in the dark as to his relation to my furry friend). The Geckho man really opened up to me and, slurring, admitted that Gerd Uline Tar was planning to invite Gerd Ayni Uri-Miayuu the Miyelonian to her wedding up until the very last moment. Her relatives tried to talk her out of it, saying a member of a different race coming to such a family gathering could create unexpected problems. Nevertheless, the bride was insistent. However, the shocking surveillance footage from the Kasti-Utsh III restaurant where Ayni disemboweled a Geckho was finally a good enough reason to get Ayni crossed off the guest list.

  That made it all the more surprising that a place was found at the party for Ivan Lozovsky and me, despite them being so finicky with the guest list. And that made me think a bit harder about the Earth faction Diplomat — after all, something had made the Viceroy insist this man be invited to his wedding even though other races, as I’d just heard, were not especially welcome at “Geckho only” events. I was somewhat easier to explain — in one way or another, I was Kung of Earth and a close friend and business partner of the bride. As a matter of fact, I was the only guest to get an invitation from both sides and, to signify that, I was wearing both a yellow and a red sash crisscrossed over my dark armor.

  What did Ivan Lozovsky and I do during Uline’s wedding? Party of course, for one. We hollered congratulations and drank with the other guests. For another, we talked informally with glasses of wine about the relationship between our factions. But above all else, we were both working. There were influential players all around us who owned a collective trade fleet numbering in the thousands of starships and, taken together, they possessed truly limitless capital. We had to take advantage of the rare opportunity and make some useful acquaintances. Furthermore, I was keeping in mind the instructions of the Miyelonian ruler Kung Keetsie-Myau, in particular when she said I should be looking out for a good opportunity to speak privately with Viceroy Kosta Dykhsh about the future of planet Earth.

  And I managed to complete both of those tasks. A few of the guests were Tar-Layneh weapons traders, so I was able to sign a purchase contract for everything T’yu-Pan needed right at the party table. Total price: two and a half million crystals, delivery to Earth’s spaceport within four days. I also worked out the broad strokes of a key contract to reequip the entire Relict Faction army with the very best in space weaponry. But its price stung badly, so I decided I would mull it over before I signed.

  Beyond that, I acquainted myself with the owner of twenty passenger liners that traveled this sector of the galaxy. And that included the one Valeri-Urla had flown off on. The final destination of the Tailaxian’s ticket was the Shiharsa system. That I had learned from the spaceport dispatchers. But there were six midway stops and I had serious suspicions she might get out early to make herself harder to track. It wasn’t normally done but, as a gesture of friendship, they promised to look into it and tell me which space station she got out at.

  And finally, I found the perfect opportunity for a private conversation with the Viceroy of Earth. I spotted him all alone with no wedding guests circling and went over.

  “Gerd Kosta Dykhsh... Look at you! Viceroy, shall I congratulate you on the promotion? Or for your clan is it the opposite, and fame is not welcomed?”

  Gerd Kosta Dykhsh immediately tensed up and gave a dismayed rumble, then looked around and made sure there were no other guests nearby. After that, he quietly asked:

  “How do you know about clan Waideh-Dykhsh? As far as I know, our background is not to be found in a single search engine in the galaxy. And my relatives won’t have said anything.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and said as if self-evident:

  “Well, the thing is, I recently had a talk with Krong Daveyesh-Pir. And the great ruler of a spacefaring race told me about clan Waideh-Dykhsh’s complicated and not always thankful mission and explained what made your ancient clan have to periodically change name. I was also informed that you could tell me the asking price for an asset, which has fallen significantly in value since the Miyelonians exited the war. An asset which risks losing all value if the Union of Miyelonian Prides joins the war on the side of the Horde. And the probability of that happening is actually very high.”

  As you see, I didn’t let slip a single false word. Outright lying in conversation with Diplomats is generally fraught with severe consequences — many of them, like Truth Seekers, have abilities and skills not only to hide their own thoughts, but also to expose blatant untruths. Yes, I had in fact recently had a talk with the ruler of the Geckho race. And a Great ruler had told me about clan Waideh-Dykhsh, though they were of a different spacefaring race. And in the end, putting those two true facts together made for a plausible tale, which the Viceroy didn’t doubt in the least.

  The Geckho’s shoulders sagged wearily, immediately making it clear that this was a very difficult topic for him, a painful one even. With a sad glance at the raucous wedding party and guests making toasts to his health, Kosta Dykhsh suggested we take a stroll down the paths of the park surrounding his palace for a private conversation. Once we were a bit farther from the hustle and bustle, the Viceroy started his tale:

  “Kung Gnat, given you already know everything, let’s be frank. Yes, ever since your planet was discovered by long-distance Geckho scout ships it was clear it made an interesting asset, but one we would have a very hard time holding onto after the game and real world synchronized. Its distance from Geckho core territories and military bases, coupled with its proximity to the holdings of the Miyelonians and Meleyephatians all made your homeworld like a heavy suitcase with no handles[2], as your people like to say. It would be a shame to just leave it, but it’s also hard to carry. And that was the reason Krong Daveyesh-Pir sent a member of clan Waideh-Dykhsh to Earth. I was tasked with determining whether it would be at all possible for the Geckho race to hold your planet. Many of my relatives are here now. In fact, my entire clan is working on Earth. And your satellite the Moon as well.”

  I tensed up internally and nevertheless asked the question that made the Viceroy so nervous the last time: what exactly were the Geckho doing on my home planet? Why such guarded secrecy that even humans were not made aware of the many large construction projects being undertaken on our home planet? Why were some parts of the real world now off limits to humans?

  This time the Viceroy reacted calmly, and told me the answer:

  “There are several reasons. First of all, the unstable bifurcation of two worlds is a rare spatial anomaly. And it isn’t certain what will happen when they come crashing back together. That brought the price up a lot. Judge for yourself, Gnat my friend: even one planet suitable for settlement or resource extraction is of interest, especially one already populated by an intelligent vassal race. And when there are potentially two such planets, and it is within
the suzerains’ power to guarantee the right outcome and have both worlds emerge with no grand cataclysm, the price does not merely double as you might think. It goes up five to seven times. But that will also increase its attractiveness to possible aggressors by an order of magnitude...”

  Although I was somewhat surprised by the Viceroy’s calculations, I still didn’t ask any questions. Obviously the value of a planet (or two neighboring planets) depended on population, and that relationship was nowhere near linear. Furthermore, having twice as many ground troops or starships would make it easier to defend both worlds and the star system overall. And any trading or industrial enterprise would have twice as many potential buyers, which was also a plus.

  I probably could have thought up more explanations for the elevated price, but what Kosta Dykhsh said next made me forget not only those calculations, but everything else in existence:

  “Furthermore, you now have the right to know that my compatriots are installing transport portals all over your virtual planet — they will come in handy no matter how this shakes out. If we can keep Earth within the Geckho sphere of influence, then we can instantly transport resources gathered here to Geckho industrial centers. But if we do decide to get rid of you, your new masters can come to Earth through these same portals. Yes, Kung Gnat. This is grand space politics, and the great spacefaring races will horse trade for a valuable asset without considering its native inhabitants or their opinions. And so there will be an invasion even if your grand plan to construct a planetary shield is completed before the end of the half tong of safety you have left.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two. The Price of Freedom

  THE SHOCKING NEWS made my jaw drop. Even if we could build all twelve of the expensive and extremely hard to assemble planetary shield generators in time, they would not save Earth from an onslaught of space invaders! So all my efforts were in vain? My arms just sagged... And then Gerd Kosta Dykhsh decided to finish me off with one final admission: