A Check for a Billion

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Show me this ‘KRIEG’ of yours and I will give you the answer to the last riddle of Belmarad. Now get out! If you leave the shuttle dock again, you shall be destroyed,” barked the Uldan and spreading his wings, flew away.

  New mission available: One Last Shot. Description: Get the KRIEG and show it to the Uldan on planet Zubrail. Reward: The answer to the fourth riddle of Belmarad’s cylinder.

  “My ship and crew need a binding to Zubrail!” I yelled in his wake. “Give us a chance to stay!”

  “You dare ask me for favors after you captured my ship?!” The Uldan did an about-face in midflight and swooped down on me. His rainbow wings grew dark and he began to resemble Belmarad.

  “Twenty million per person,” I refused to be cowed. “Ten for the ship. You do business with other empires, which means you need cash. I’m ready to pay it.”

  “Twenty and ten?!” The Uldan darkened even more. Thin sparks of electricity began to discharge between his wings. My armor suit’s sensors began to warn me of a hazardous EM field in the area. “You dare offer me pennies?”

  “Fine. Two hundred and one hundred!” I raised my bid.

  “Four hundred per person, six hundred per ship! Right this instant!” the Uldan announced.

  I cringed but didn’t dare argue. The planet was protected by Uldan orbital stations and so was perfect for a lone player. Especially considering that the number two guild in the game was after me.

  “We accept your price!” Eunice understood the gravity of the situation and beat me to the punch. I suppose she was worried that I might get too greedy and refuse. The sum was immense of course, but we would lose even more without the binding.

  Your current binding has been updated to Planet Zubrail.

  Your vessels will bind automatically upon repair.

  “You don’t even realize what a fool you are! Instead of ramming other people’s ships…” the Uldan turned on me but then cut himself short. It was unseemly of this ancient creature to indulge his anger. Having measured us with an unhappy look, he again made to leave, but this time Eine stopped him, rudely shoving his tablet under the Uldan’s nose:

  “I vould like to make an Offer to his vinged Excellency. I believe zat zis Object vill interest you.”

  “Where did you get that?” the Uldan asked with open alarm, almost snatching the tablet from the German’s hands.

  “I vould prefer to discuss zis in private.” Eine cast us a sidelong glance. “I am but a Guest on ze Orbship Varlock. I am not a Crew Member of Herr Surgeon.”

  “Please follow me. Welcome to Zubrail, Human Eine.” The Uldan amiably pointed the German towards a path that appeared at his command.

  “Herr Alexis, I consider our Terms fully discharged and our Obligations to each other fully satisfied. It vas a Pleasure to spend Time vit you in Galactogon.”

  Eine followed the butterfly, while Eunice and I turned back to the shuttle dock. The marines and the gunners didn’t back off, scrupulously making sure that we did not wander off our path back.

  “At least we have a binding again,” Eunice said by way of encouragement, pretending that she didn’t care about Eine’s business with the butterfly. This only deepened my disappointment with our bargaining failure.

  “And two ships,” I agreed, and then switched to the subject I’d been avoiding. “Here’s what I think…There’ll be an ambush waiting for us on Blood Island.”

  “Do you have a plan of attack?”

  “I wouldn’t quite call it attack,” I sighed, “so much as an elaborate suicide.”

  “I don’t know what you mean, but I have your back.” Eunice called the shuttle and turned to me. “We didn’t start this war! It is time to show that those who turn up their noses, first and foremost, show everyone around them just how full of snot they are.”

  We returned to the orbital station, finally finding ourselves alone. No matter how raw our feelings were, everything dissolved as soon as we were in each other’s arms again. We did not waste the next 24 hours idly. And we weren’t the only ones who were busy either…

  “Herr Alexis, I vould like to ask for your Help. You vill do me a small Favor, no?” As soon as our ships appeared outside the orbital station, Eine was ready to go. When I realized what had happened, my eyebrows shot up to my hairline and stayed there for some time. The cunning German, having managed to encounter a real living Uldan, had somehow gotten an orbship from him. A sparkling orb hung some distance from mine, waiting for its map updates. Eine’s ship had the same problem as Eunice’s battlesphere.

  Still, my surprise didn’t prevent me from bargaining:

  “I don’t mind helping, but I’d like a favor in exchange. Where should I look for the KRIEG?”

  The German fell silent for a moment.

  “Herr Alexis, you must understand zat zis is not my Secret to reveal.”

  “Herr Eine, you know perfectly well why I need the KRIEG. Can you guarantee that the Zatrathi Queen will never set her sights on your own planet? Everything that you have accumulated during your time in Galactogon will disappear. The Delvians thought their capital was safe. Where are the Delvians now?”

  A displeased wheezing in the microphone indicated to me that I had found a sore spot in the collector’s heart and was even now rubbing salt into it. The German had already considered this possibility. Eine replied slowly, as if weighing every word:

  “It is true zat under critical Circumstances I may reveal certain Secrets concerning others. The Qualians are not in favor in Galactogon. I vill give you ze coordinates and vit zem ze Opportunity to find ze Answers. Get ready to vrite zem down.”

  How the collector had obtained top secret Qualian information was yet another mystery about this odd character. Everyone chooses his own way of playing the game. If Eine is a fan of rare items and information, then who can blame him? The important thing is that he is prepared to pay for what he wants.

  Eunice busied herself with studying her new ship and agreed to help the German as a way to work on her own skills. Meanwhile, I hurried to my favorite captain’s chair.

  “Brainiac, give me a systems report.”

  Unfortunately, the Uldan repair base hadn’t added anything in the course of repairs. Pedantic, like any other computer program, it restored the orbship exactly as it had been. The only bonus was access to the station’s parts store. Which we’d have to pay for, of course. Brainiac had already analyzed the available upgrades and made a list of about 150 items marked ‘required yesterday.’ The cost of several hundred billion did not bother him at all. According to the computer, if I gave him what he asked for, our ship’s class equivalent would grow from the current destroyer to a cruiser. We could then become Galactogon’s assassins — capable of killing any single target, aside from the Queen, on our own. The Queen had truly scared Brainiac straight.

  “Lex, I’m ready!” It took Eunice five hours to get used to her battlesphere. We tore around the system, practicing offensive and defensive maneuvers. Her ship did not have reflectors, but this was more than compensated by its other capabilities.

  “Set course for Blood Island.”

  I had no doubt that several cruisers were waiting for me there. Two, maybe three. I was counting on the fact that more than a day had passed since I’d lost the planet and the players guarding it were losing focus. Aalor wouldn’t risk signing out to reality to take a break. He would be there, personally leading the cruisers if only to prove his right to the title of leader and top player.

  His only problem was that he was up against more than one little orbship.

  “Emerging from hyperspace in three…Two…One. Two large targets identified. Multiple EM cannons tracking us. Our hyperdrive is being disrupted. Two hundred torpedoes detected. Their speed is 70% of ours. These are ordinary torpedoes.”

  If the Liberium players were taken aback when they saw two ships instead of one, they didn’t let on. They attacked as soon as we appeared. They had been waiting. Getting ready. Making plans.
>
  Well, it was time to strike back!

  “I’m going in!” yelled Eunice and disappeared from my screen — only to reappear on the flank of one of the cruisers. A broadside of thirty torpedoes, and the battlesphere vanished again and reappeared next to another ship. Lexus repeated the maneuver while her gunner opened up against the incoming fighters.

  It was my turn to make a move. Encountering the torpedoes was not in my plans for this evening. Shooting at the quickest fighters, I rushed away from the system, leaving Eunice alone with the cruisers.

  “What the hell is this?! You goddamn hacker!” Some player’s indignant voice came on the public comms as soon as the battlesphere jumped back to the first cruiser, only on its other side. Another broadside of thirty torpedoes followed by a jump back to the second cruiser. Lexus only had about three hundred torpedoes onboard, yet its torpedo manufacturing system could pop a new one out once every minute. Eunice only had to make sure to feed in the raq — and she had plenty of that in her holds.

  I put enough distance between me and the torpedoes to be safe, while my gunner kept the enemy fighters at bay with single dragadiddles. Having finished with the cruisers, Eunice returned to me. Sixty torpedoes weren’t enough to destroy the giant vessels, but they did suffice to wreck the ships’ engines.

  “This is Pirate Surgeon speaking,” I said over the public channel. “You have invaded my system. You can now pay me an inconvenience fee and be on your way. In exchange, you’ll be able to keep your cruisers at their current level. Otherwise, I will be happy to continue my attack and send your tubs to the nearest graveyard, where they belong. I will give you a minute to make your decision!”

  Instead of answering, the cruiser Render began to drift forward. She was using only two of her four engines, but she moved ahead confidently and with the clear intention of punishing us. I had no doubt whatsoever who her captain was. What’s going on in Aalor’s head anyway? None of this has anything to do with logic and common sense. He was clearly in the thrall of his emotions…

  Suddenly, another interesting idea occurred to me. I realized that Blood Island was lost to me forever. A planet whose coordinates have been made public can never serve as a reliable base. And that meant that I could take a risk. It was a childish idea and Eunice was unlikely to approve of it, but heck, he started it first!

  “All you know is how to hide behind your crew, Captain Aalor. Let’s see how you fight without their help! I — Major Surgeon of Jolly Roger 2.0 — challenge you to a duel. One on one! A fight until our deaths. There was a fighter on Blood Island. If you don’t mind I’ll use it for myself. You can take one of your own. Everyone else can wait and watch. If I win, you go on your way and return to me everything you took from me. If you win — I’ll let you have Blood Island once and for all and we forget all about this.”

  How I love nobility! It was a pretty speech uttered in a solemn voice and even with a hint of anguish, as if I could barely restrain myself from the turmoil inside of me…But basically, unlike Aalor, I wasn’t risking a thing. He could not refuse. Because the price of refusing — above all else — was a loss of reputation. A loss to his very name. Now, if I were in his place, I’d let myself get killed just so I could start preparing for the next battle. But Aalor won’t do that. I’d be willing to wager my orbship on that.

  “Clear the system,” came the reply. “Go ahead and pick up that fighter. No one will stop you.”

  If words could burn, my ears would already be charred. Aalor’s voice was quiet, but full of cold determination. Were there any daisies growing within hearing distance of it, I bet they’d wilt in a second.

  No one interfered with my landing. An entire defensive line had been set up on the planet’s surface, and now these players — some scornfully, some with curiosity — watched me pass among them. Once I was in my fighter, I set up a connection with Brainiac.

  “If I die, head for Zubrail. We’ll meet there. Do you understand?”

  “Captain, maybe we can take this guy together?”

  “This is my fight. Do not interfere. Eunice, that goes for you too.”

  “I haven’t even said anything,” my wife objected. “Everyone gets to go crazy in his own way. I don’t need to involve myself in how you want to do it. I will make sure everything is fair. Hope you fry him, hun!”

  Eunice’s faith in my abilities was inspiring, but only to a point. I hadn’t had much of a chance to fly a fighter in my gaming career, so I was basically betting that Aalor was a mediocre pilot — more so than me. ‘Cause if he really knew how to handle his little interceptor, I’d be toast.

  Two small ships stopped opposite each other. We could have started at any moment, yet we waited. The one who blinked first now would lose — even if he won the dogfight later.

  “Captaaaain!” droned Brainiac, tearing me away from my staredown.

  Eunice was a bit more informative:

  “Lex, run! As quickly as you can! The Queen is here!”

  I slowly turned my head to the right, where, a black shape was slowly but surely eclipsing the countless stars.

  “Attention everyone — that’s the Zatrathi Queen! Get out of here!” I screamed into the common channel, already turning my ship and opening the throttle all the way. The duel can wait. “Brainiac, jump to Zubrail! That’s an order!”

  “You’re not going anywhere!” came Aalor’s cry. His fighter was already on my tail, firing from all its cannons. The Blood Island system began to unravel — the Queen had already devoured the outermost planet and as a result, even the blasters’ fire was now being pulled along unexpected trajectories. Instead of flying in a straight line, the plasma skewed in the direction of the Queen’s bottomless maw.

  “Cut it out, Aalor! We’ll deal with it later!” I dodged the shots reflexively and my fighter did as ordered, banking sloppily. Like molasses! Yeah — Brainiac wasn’t around to correct my mistakes.

  “No — we’ll deal with it now!” Liberium’s officer didn’t have anything to lose. Even though both cruisers had already turned tail and were steaming away as fast as they could, it was clear that they were doomed. If they didn’t jump to hyperspace now, they would be lost.

  Meanwhile, my right engine flared up — Aalor had adjusted his aim to account for the gravitational deflection. It was beginning to dawn on me that not only was my opponent one of the best cruiser captains around, but he was also a pretty competent fighter pilot. My attempts to juke him off my tail did no good — Aalor remained on my heels like a shadow.

  “Eunice, get him off me!”

  “Nah, hubby! You got yourself into this mess. You can get yourself out of it. I’m just the referee. Your ship is safe.”

  Well at least that’s something. The Queen reached the second planet and the sun began to warp, dousing Blood Island with its flames. A rather unpleasant rebirth for the ground troops down there. Aalor hit my reactor and my speed dropped by half. I slammed the throttle to zero, braking and forcing Aalor to overshoot. This maneuver cost me the other engine and ten holes in the left wing. In fact, I couldn’t fly anywhere anymore — all I could do was rotate in place. But hey, at least I could still pew pew to my heart’s content!

  “You missed, you oaf!” Aalor snapped when my two bursts of plasma flew so far from his ship that even I was taken aback. I can’t say I’ve ever seen plasma behave so unpredictably before. “What, is this game too hard when you have to deal with an actual player instead of some NPC? I’ll take you for everything you got! Your planet, your ship, your name! You’ll end up the butt of a joke and the whole galaxy will be doing the laughing!”

  Aalor’s fighter turned and came to a stop in front of me. My nemesis had understood that I was helpless and decided to revel in his victory. Instead of immediately sending me to respawn, he decided to work on his own self-esteem a little. First he shot off my right wing. Then the left. Then the rear stabilizers. I took advantage of the oxygen in my fighter to quickly swap my armor suit for a cheap spare. I wasn
’t about to make Aalor a present of my nice one.

  Meanwhile, the Queen had reached the cruisers. They never did get a chance to enter hyperspace. One of the tentacles grabbed both vessels and dragged them to its maw, which was large enough to fit several planets, let alone a couple of ships. Having changed my suit, I realized that a myriad eyes were suddenly looking at me and felt goose bumps run down my back. The ravenous space leviathan had noticed us — the two metal fleas — and grown inquisitive. Something told me that the Queen had decided that even two dust motes like us might be tastier than an empty planet.

  Aalor stopped shooting and burst into another tirade against me. I wasn’t sure who this speech was for, since all the players had already either escaped or died. Even Eunice had retreated, leaving the two of us alone with the Queen. A tentacle shot out in our direction and I fired my reverse thrusters, pulling back. It didn’t go so well. Aalor even began to laugh at my floundering as if the Queen’s sudden interference in our duel did not concern him.