Repel Boarders

by Dean Henegar

  Lab, Level 3: The level 3 lab allows for the upgrading of existing biologically based technologies. With its enhanced efficiencies, the lab can now be powered by the existing ambient energy within the derelict and will continuously upgrade when the derelict itself upgrades.

  As he suspected, the lab upgrade was very similar to the one his engineering station had gone through. The major benefit seemed to be in it upgrading alongside his core as well as no longer requiring any of his core power to operate. He hadn’t unlocked any new schematics yet, but there was still hope that, after leveling, he would find something new, including the pattern for elves.

  “Captain Slater, can I get your assistance here, please?” Doctor Cheng asked in an annoyed voice.

  Looking in on his core room, he saw her at the engineering table, where she was trying to examine the bladed staff Illissa had wielded and the crystalline sword that had killed Sergeant Gonzales. A pair of drones were trying to push past the doctor and get to the items she was examining, following their programming to recycle them for salvage. Slater called them off and pegged the items as off-limits for now.

  “Thank you. I had just found some disturbing information on the sword right when these mechanical monsters decided they were hungry. Zoom in on the sword and look at the blade’s structure,” the doctor advised.

  The sword blade was comprised of crystal but embedded within the blade was electronic circuitry and other components he couldn’t identify. One thing was certain: the weapon was decaying rapidly. Crystals were darkening and flaking off while the electronic components lost power and corroded.

  “I estimate that the weapon will completely disintegrate in the next hour,” Doctor Cheng added. “The other disturbing detail was its ability to repel blood. Initially, I postulated that the effect was one of vanity, given how the elves had conducted themselves so far. The blood-repellent ability of the weapon is perhaps not only a nod to their vanity but also a deadly addition to its function. When the sword was thrust into the sergeant, it impaled his shoulder. That type of wound isn’t typically a fatal one, given its location and the treatments we have available to us. What killed Sergeant Gonzales was the blade repelling the fluids in his body away from it. The effect functioned up to a distance of six inches from the blade and would have interrupted blood flow to and from the heart. Any impaling blow from this weapon to anywhere in the torso of a human would be a deadly strike.”

  She looked down sadly. “Private Harris and I failed. You normally never want to just rip something out of a body. The potential to do more damage or have the patient bleed out is too great. Usually, whatever is impaling the patient is held in place until it can be removed in a surgical environment. We kept the sword in, thinking we were doing the right thing, never realizing that doing so was the reason the sergeant died.”

  “There was no way you could have known, Doctor. May my drones have the blade now? I hate to ask, but any bit of salvage is precious, and there is always a chance for me to learn a new schematic from a weapon such as this.”

  With a nod, the doctor tossed the sword to the floor, wanting to be rid of it. “This is a bit more complicated,” she said, holding up the staff for Slater to examine.

  The weapon wasn’t experiencing the same decay process as the sword. The blade on the staff was of the same impossibly sharp crystalline structure and included the same tech components. Where it differed was in the arrangement and type of components found throughout the blade. Slater couldn’t identify them, but they continued from the blade and into the staff portion itself. An energy flowed throughout the weapon, its purpose unknown. Zooming in further, Slater saw a thin thread of energy connecting the blade to Illissa off in the distance.

  “I have no idea what this weapon is or what it can do, but I can tell it’s connected to the elf we’ve captured,” Slater said. “I’m going to have my drones take this to the empty compartment next door and lock it down. I should just destroy it, but there may be something important we can learn from it. Somehow, the connection to the elf is keeping it functioning. The connection to its wielder may be the reason the sword is decaying. Its owner is dead.”

  “Very good, Captain, but I would like to examine it further in the future. If you are able, can you set up some exterior views of the ship for me? I want to try and get a fix on our position,” the doctor asked.

  Slater set the links for her and connected them to her devices. For the time being, he gave her permission to request any video link she needed from his nanobot-infused hull.

  Taking no chances, Slater had a drone bring the bladed staff into the empty chamber just off his core room. He created a footlocker, like the ones in the kobold barracks, to store the weapon in. For extra insurance, the box was reinforced to a thickness of six inches. He placed this box into a second larger one and welded the whole thing to the floor. Neither the footlockers nor the walls of his derelict seemed to interfere with the energy link between the weapon and the elf.

  Slater could feel the pressure of the pending upgrade build. He would need to sleep soon. As he took another look around the Franklin, the drones were finishing up the reset, and the humans were all busy with their tasks. His drones had to print up all the MOBS that were part of the doomed boarding team. Slater had lost a good chunk of biomass and salvage when his boarding party was destroyed on the other ship. The bodies of the three elves helped a bit, but he would need to be more careful in the future. If his biomass supply was low, he couldn’t risk boarding another vessel.

  Slater could tell that Lieutenant Camden wasn’t mentally all there yet, but the familiar maintenance duties needed after a battle were keeping him distracted for now.

  “Lieutenant Camden, I need to go offline to sleep soon. Is there anything you need before I proceed?” Slater asked.

  “No, sir, we are about finished up here and we’re going to have a small ceremony for the sergeant. Will you say a few words?” Camden asked.

  “I’d be honored, Lieutenant Camden. Have the sergeant taken to the boarding hatch. We can hold the ceremony there, and then I can open the hatch to commit his body to space,” Slater ordered.

  The humans carried their deceased comrade to the entry hatch. The sergeant had been placed in a body bag, a supply of which was sadly included in the supplies brought over with them from the Havock.

  As the procession passed through the various compartments, Slater had any MOBS present stand at attention and salute as they passed. It was a bit strange to watch, but he hoped the humans realized it was done as a measure of respect to the fallen. Once the sergeant was placed on the deck directly beneath the boarding hatch, the humans gathered around. Slater kept any of his MOBS out of the entry compartment, save for Mr. Bitey, who followed Private Long everywhere he went.

  “Sergeant Gonzales was a true soldier,” Slater began. “I am honored to have served with such a man, even if for so brief a time. Since the first Minutemen took up arms to fight for our nation’s freedom, men like the sergeant have responded to the call. He left family, friends, and the comforts of home to defend all that he held dear. When alien races from myth and legend arrived to destroy humanity, he and others like him took up the call to arms and fought to prevent our destruction.

  “There is an old quote from Earth that says, ‘The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him.’ I believe that sums up how the sergeant and most soldiers feel about their duty. That being said, I do have a promise for you all today. I will get you home. We will tell Earth about the bravery of Sergeant Gonzales, and those he fought to protect at home will know of the sacrifice he made.

  “The council can send all they want against us. The ships and crews of a thousand races and all the horrors that they can conjure from the void of space will not stop us from returning home. Send them all, council. Send them all and we will kill them all. We will not be stopped. This is my promise to you.”

  The group returned to the human
quarters. Slater sent out the video link showing the entry compartment and the exterior of the hull. The hatch opened, and with a hiss, the air inside the entry compartment vented, carrying along the sergeant. Burial at sea had been a tradition since man first sailed the waves. It seemed fitting that space would now serve man in the same capacity.

  — AFTERWORD —

  Thank you all for joining Captain Slater and the crew of the Franklin on the start of their journey. I’ve wanted to write a dungeon core novel for some time and was intrigued by setting it somewhere other than in a fantasy world. While I didn’t want the traditional setting, I did want to explore a universe where the races and creatures (as we will see in later novels) of our fantasy mythos meet with modern humanity. What better place for all of this than a starship?

  Just as it takes many hands to crew a vessel, it takes many people to bring a book from a concept to reality. I would like to thank my editor, Bodie Dykstra, for his efforts in both editing and formatting the manuscript so that it looks great on any device. My artist, Piero Mng (Gianpiero Mangialardi), continues to impress me with the work he does. I hope you are enjoying the covers he creates as much as I am. A special shout out to the readers on Royal Road, where this work first saw the light of day as a serial. The comments, suggestions, and support from many of the readers there helped encourage me to transform the serial into an actual book. As always, I want to thank my family for supporting my decision to pursue a full-time career as an author.

  As many of you know, I’m a veteran and a military history buff. All the names for the various human vessels (except for one) in this series are based on real warships. Here is a rundown on the ships mentioned in the book and a bit of their history.

  USS Franklin. A total of five ships in the United States Navy have held this name over the years (more if you count the ships named Benjamin Franklin).

  1. USS Franklin (1775). A six-gun schooner that started life as a fishing vessel before being armed and pressed into service with the Continental Army, the ship infamously took several illegal prizes from the British and raided a settlement. When General Washington found out what had happened, he dismissed the ship’s commander and gave the prizes—and a few apologies—back to the British. The Franklin itself was decommissioned in 1776 and returned to its owner, where it presumably continued its life as a fishing vessel.

  2. USS Franklin (1795). This eight-gun brig served until she was sold off in 1807. There are no records of the ship after that date. The small ship had an interesting history that includes it being captured by pirates—Tripolitan corsairs, to be exact. Purchased from the pirates by the Bey of Tunis, the ship was eventually sold back to the United States, where it rejoined the navy and performed duties as a supply vessel and occasional troop transport.

  3. USS Franklin (1815). A ninety-gun ship of the line, the Franklin served the United States as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron and then eventually the Pacific Squadron. She went into retirement as a receiving ship in 1838. The ship was broken up for salvage and parts of her were used to build the next ship to bear the name Franklin in 1864.

  4. USS Franklin (1864). This early steam-powered frigate served from 1864–1915. The ship was the flagship for many squadrons around the world during her time in service.

  5. USS Franklin CV-13 (1944). An Essex-class aircraft carrier, the Franklin started her service during the Second World War. In the thick of the action, the Franklin was the most heavily damaged aircraft carrier to survive the conflict. She was decommissioned and subsequently sold for scrap in 1966.

  USS Hope for the Future. An imaginary vessel I came up with. The name sounded appropriate for a multinational space exploration vessel.

  HMCS Regina. The Regina was the second escort vessel to serve alongside the Franklin at the beginning of the book. In real life, two vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy bore this name.

  1. HMCS Regina (1942). A Flower-class corvette, the Regina served as an escort vessel before participating in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa during the Second World War. While on escort duty in 1943, she was credited with the sinking of the Italian submarine Avorio in the Mediterranean. On August 8, 1944, she was on coastal escort duty off Cornwall when she was hit by a torpedo fired from U-667 and sank. Over thirty of her ship’s company were lost in the attack.

  2. HMCS Regina 334 (1994). A Halifax-class frigate, the Regina served around the globe in support of operations with various Canadian and multinational fleets, including supporting the coalition during military operations in Afghanistan. As of the date of publication, the Regina is still proudly serving in the Royal Canadian Navy.

  USS Burke DE-215 (1943). The Burke was a Buckley-class destroyer escort that served in the Second World War. The ship began its life escorting convoys from the United States to Europe. In January of 1945, the Burke was converted into a Charles Lawrence–class high-speed transport vessel (now designated APD-65) that would carry underwater demolition teams (UDTs) to help clear beaches for invasion. She was training up for the eventual invasion of Japan when the war ended. The ship participated in transporting veterans home before continuing in its duty as a training vessel. The Burke was deactivated in 1949 and sold to the Colombian navy in 1967. The Burke was renamed the ARC Almirante Brion DT-07 and served until 1974, when she was disposed of.

  HMS Havock (1936). An H-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, the Havock started the Second World War searching for German convoys in the Atlantic and participated in the First Battle of Narvik during the Norwegian campaign of 1940. After being transferred to the Mediterranean, she began convoy escort duties and quickly found herself in the thick of combat. She participated in the Battle of Spada in July 1940 and the Battle of Matapan in March 1941 and later helped with the evacuation of allied forces in Greece. She was damaged during escort duty in 1941 but was repaired in time to participate in the Battle of Sirte in 1942, where a near miss by the fifteen-inch guns of the Italian battleship Littorio perforated one of her boilers. Repairs were attempted in Malta, where she was further damaged by air raids. Ordered to report to Gibraltar for more extensive repairs, she ran aground in Tunisia. The ship and her crew were captured and interred by the Vichy French government. Her crew was released following Operation Torch, and her wreck was later torpedoed by the Italian submarine Aradam.

  USS San Francisco CA-38 (1934). The cruiser saw almost nonstop action in the Pacific during the Second World War. With seventeen battle stars on her record, the San Francisco was one of the most decorated ships in the United States Navy. During a repair at Mare Island in 1942, the ship’s bridge wings were removed and are now part of a memorial to the ship at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The ship’s bell can be found in the Marines Memorial Club in San Francisco. The ship herself was placed in the reserve fleet after the war and eventually scrapped in the early 1960s.

  USS Sampson DDG-102 (2007). The Sampson is an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer that is currently serving in the United States Navy. The ship has participated in various duties, including humanitarian missions and assisting in the search for the missing Indonesian Air Flight 8501.

  USS Slater (DE-766). Yes, the main character was named after a warship . . . that was named after a sailor. The USS Slater is a Cannon-class destroyer escort that was launched in 1944 and named after Frank O. Slater. Frank O. Slater was a sailor on the USS San Francisco and was killed in action during a battle off Savo Island in 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry in action. The ship will be the focus of a military science fiction series I have planned for next year. You can visit the real USS Slater in Albany, New York, where it has been restored to its original glory. The ship even made a cameo appearance in the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone.

  Book 2 in the Derelict series should be out in the fall of 2020. I’ve included a sneak peek of the first couple of chapters for you to check out. If you’ve enjoyed this book, you may also be interested in my Lit
RPG series, Limitless Lands. You can find it here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G7GWFFL/

  If you want to connect with other readers and authors in both the LitRPG and Dungeon Core community, check out the following Facebook groups.

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/litrpgforum/

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books/

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Dungeonstories/

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGReleases/

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/

  Derelict

  Book 2: Counterattack

  A LitRPG, Dungeon Core Adventure

  By

  Dean Henegar

  — 1 —

  Slater awoke from his upgrade and frantically scanned the derelict to see if there were any emergencies awaiting him. All looked to be in order. The drones had finished printing up replacement MOBS and were now standing by for anything that might be needed. The prisoner was still unconscious in her cell—or at least pretending to be. Slater would have to try and wake her once he finished with everything he had planned. His human crew were mostly sleeping, save for Doctor Cheng, who was looking at her various scanners. She had taken over some of the space near his engineering station, using it to house her equipment. Slater didn’t mind; his experimentation was now done almost exclusively inside the Slaterdome, and he found he liked human company.

  “Doctor, don’t you ever sleep?” Slater asked.

  “Oh, you’re awake. I had my monitors hooked up to your data port while you were out. I’ll take a deeper dive into the data later. We can hopefully gain greater insight into what is actually happening when your core upgrades. I’m just about finished with trying to plot our location, and the information isn’t good. How far had humans explored when your . . . transformation occurred?” the doctor asked.