by Alex Knight
It slammed into him, leading with its foremost horns. The captain was flung backwards to slam into a wall. He grunted as he hit it, then slid to the floor.
“Suppose I deserved that,” he mumbled. “Oh, well. It was worth a shot.”
He raised all of his guns and fired a flurry of rounds into the Ceraphalodon. The creature’s already low health drained. It roared and charged again. Argos kept shooting, and all at once the Ceraphalodon collapsed to the floor, the momentum of its charge causing it to slide several extra feet.
Argos pulled himself to his feet and dismissed the beast with a curse.
“Wasn’t being paid enough for you anyway.”
“Can we get back to our fight now?” Titus asked. He stepped out from behind his shield and the captain opened fire. Several shots hit Titus in the chest and shoulders. His health bar flashed and dropped to forty-five percent. The big man seemed unconcerned.
Ability: Energy Grip
The warden can unleash an energy coil to lasso targets and pull them closer.
Maximum range: 50 feet
Cost: 10 charge
Cooldown: 20 seconds
A coil of energy whipped out and wrapped around one of the captain’s arms. Titus pulled hard and the pirate was dragged forward, flying through the air to land at Titus’ feet. He tried to pull himself up, but Titus had another ability at the ready.
Ability: Shield Slam (Replaces Shield Bash)
The warden slams their shield into the ground, stunning enemies in a 5ft radius.
Cost: 15 charge
Cooldown: 2 minutes
A small shockwave rushed outward as Titus brought his shield down and the captain stumbled a half-step back, then teetered in place, seeming on the verge of collapse.
“There’s your window!” Titus said, then started in with a barrage of hammer strikes.
Zelda focused all her fire on the captain and Kaiden darted forward as well, making the most of their precious seconds against a stunned enemy. The assault sent the captain’s health plummeting into the yellow.
“I like to call that little combo the grab and smash,” Titus said, still admiring the one-two punch he’d thrown to stun the captain a moment ago.
“Ha! Have a taste of this!” the captain shouted, then spun down in a circle, arms windmilling around as his blasters shifted into full auto. The attack poured out a stream of damage, but rather than blocking it, Kaiden continued his attack.
Sixty-five percent health. I can take it, he thought, then lashed out with a hammer strike at the captain’s head.
Critical hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
He swung again and landed another critical hit, then took careful aim and scored another.
Two more to activate Onslaught. That’ll finish this guy off nicely.
“Let’s finish this up. Still more quests to get to,” he shouted, then took aim for the last two criticals he needed. The captain lunged forward and Kaiden swung for another headshot – but it was a feint. The captain backpedaled instead and Kaiden’s attack missed the head and glanced off the shoulder instead, breaking the chain of criticals.
No! Darn it.
It was more annoying than anything, but a setback nonetheless.
“Ooh, almost had Onslaught there,” Titus said, wincing. “That would have been cool.”
Kaiden grumbled in response and pursued the captain, who was yelling again.
“You’ll regret this day! No one crosses—”
Something huge and molten roared over Kaiden’s shoulder and slammed into the captain, cutting him off. He didn’t explode so much as disappear entirely as the attack caught him full in the chest and kept on going. What was left of the captain and the attack blasted through the far wall and punctured the hull of the ship.
Pirate Captain assisted kill - 3,400 EXP gained!
“Ha. I love Inferno Shot,” Zelda said, admiring her handiwork.
“A bit of overkill, don’t you think?” Kaiden asked, surveying the remains of the battlefield. All the enemies were dead and now the cargo bay was rapidly depressurizing as the air escaped out of the newly created hole in one side. Debris and corpses were being sucked toward it in a swirling vortex.
“Overkill, maybe.” Titus was grinning. “But that was awesome. Is that what it looked like when you killed the Voidlord and me with it?”
“Kinda, except with a bit more screaming and a lot more sizzling ooze.”
Quest Complete: Capture or kill the pirate crew of the SS Walrus
Reward: 5,000 EXP, +2 faction prestige, 1,000 credits
“All right,” Titus said, clapping his hands together. “That’s another quest down. What’s next?”
“Hold up a sec.” Kaiden had noticed something. A notification he’d missed during the fighting.
Friend request from:
Thorne
Free Warden
Class: Power Warden
Faction: Unaffiliated
Level: 34
Accept?
“Guys!” He waved them over. “I got a friend request from Thorne. Check your social window, see if you did too?”
This is good news, right? Means she must have made it out.
Kaiden accepted the request and a direct message immediately followed it. He read it aloud.
DM from: Thorne
“There was a greeting party. Made it out, though, with help from unexpected friends. Headed your way now in the Borrelly. Will explain once there.”
“The Borrelly?” Zelda asked. “Where did she get that?”
“I mean, it’s stationed out of the Anakoni, so maybe she took it?” Kaiden said, still processing everything.
“Ooh boy. Ellenton’s gonna pissed when she finds out,” Titus said with a laugh.
“But she made it out!” Kaiden said. “And she’s headed here. That’s better than we expected.”
Zelda nodded.
“Means we don’t have to give her a week-long migraine by forcefully disconnecting her headset from the game.” She paused. “How close is she? How long will it take her to get here?”
Kaiden hovered over her name on his social window and additional details appeared.
“She’s two systems over. Covering that kind of distance in a shuttle is gonna take forever. Better part of a day, at least.”
“That’s fine,” Zelda said, turning to leave the cargo bay. “We have more quests to complete. Come on. These levels aren’t gonna grind themselves.”
Kaiden composed a response to Thorne as he jogged after Zelda. How had she made it out? He wanted an explanation. Something to convince him the Party hadn’t just let her escape so she could act as a double agent.
DM to: Thorne
“Understood. Interested to hear that explanation.”
Titus brought up the rear, and as they worked their way out of the pirate ship, Kaiden found Thorne’s escape just sounded a little too good to be true.
Chapter Eleven
The Borrelly was docked inside the Veritas II. From where they were standing – in the hallway of the light cruiser – they could see out of a large window that looked into the cargo bay. It gave an unrivaled view of the sleek shuttle, tucked snugly into the docking station. Kaiden still couldn’t believe it was here.
Logistically, it made sense. The Veritas II was a light cruiser and as such had a docking bay for a shuttle. They’d talked before about acquiring one to keep in there. But having a shuttle docked with them wasn’t what was so strange. It was which shuttle was docked with them.
The Borrelly, he thought. The shuttle we started this whole crazy adventure on. Just having it so close was making him nostalgic. For simpler times, maybe. But also for a time when it hadn’t felt like him, Titus, and Zelda against the whole of the world. Though they had Thorne now, right? And from what she was saying, Dawson and Ellenton were also on their side. That sounded good enough that, for a moment, Kaiden started to believe they could actually pull off this whole mad endeavor, desp
ite his ongoing reservations about Thorne.
“Ellenton and Dawson?” Titus asked, smiling wide. “That’s awesome!” He swung his arm as if practicing with an imaginary hammer. “Man, can you imagine having Dawson on our side to help bash some Party goons? That’s going to be sick!”
Admittedly, it was a pretty awesome thought. Harsh as the man had been, Kaiden had always had something of a soft spot for the scream-happy drill sergeant. Having him on their side was an unexpected comfort. Assuming it was true. And then there was Ellenton. Kaiden hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her until now.
“I want to give Dawson an offline copy of the database,” Thorne said, shattering the good mood.
Titus’ smile faded and Kaiden felt his own hopes falter at the words. He couldn’t help his suspicion. Thorne continued speaking, clearly aware of the direction of their thoughts.
“Dawson is going to try to sway as many free wardens as he can to our side. Having the evidence from the database would help him immensely.” She held up a hand to stop any incoming protests. “In the real world, we’re not restricted by Nova’s limitations. We can make as many copies of the database as needed, so we’re not losing anything. I’ll make a copy and leave it in a hidden location somewhere in the city. Then I’ll contact him and let him know where it is. This way, there’s no chance he leads me into a trap – which I am completely confident he would never do. If anyone can be taken at their word, it's him.”
“And what about you? We’re supposed to take you at your word? What if you’re smuggling a copy of the database to the Party instead?” Titus asked, arms crossed. “How can we trust you?”
“He’s got a point there. Not that it would be much use to them beyond preparing some kind of propaganda to counter the accusations,” Kaiden said, then shrugged. “Look, if Dawson’s helping, I’m ecstatic to hear it. But at the same time, it feels bad to just hand out copies of the database. Even if you’re not betraying us in some convoluted manner, taking a hard copy of the database into the city risks it falling into the Party’s hands.”
“But what difference does that make?” Thorne asked, looking earnest. “If they get a copy of it, is it really that bad? It doesn’t affect us at all. They capture one hard copy, so what? We can make more. The end game here is sending it out to every player in Nova. That’s going to be a lot easier if Dawson can bring powerful free wardens to our side.”
God, but Kaiden was tired of this situation. Wanting to trust Thorne but not feeling able to. It was like being stuck in a permanent limbo. A purgatory of suspicion.
“Thorne’s right,” Zelda said, finally joining the conversation after having sat in a thoughtful silence thus far. “It feels strange to say it, but she’s right. Dawson turned on the Party, so I think we can assume he’s being truthful. Unless this is all some ruse they’re putting on to make us trust him. Either way, it doesn’t matter. We don’t need to trust him. We don’t need to give him anything more than one hard copy of the database. If he is being truthful and can use it to recruit wardens to our cause, that’s excellent. We need the allies. If he’s being deceitful and working with the Party, then they get a copy of the database. They can read through it and then – what? Tremble at the thought of what would happen once the information in it gets out?”
Zelda shook her head. “If we suspect there’s the slightest chance Dawson is working with the Party then the solution is we don’t give him any leverage over us. Giving him a hard copy of the database is low risk with the potential for high reward. Even if he betrays us, as long as he doesn’t know our endgame of taking the AFBS, how much damage can he really do? We’ll keep him at arm’s length and only trust him as much as we need to.”
“That’s a cold way to think about a man who just gave up his livelihood and put his life on the line to help us,” Thorne said. She sighed. “But if that’s what it takes to make this happen, so be it.”
“So that’s what we’ll do, then?” Kaiden asked, looking at them all.
Zelda and Thorne nodded. Titus hesitated a moment, then relented with a shrug.
“I want to believe he’s with us,” the big man said. “I just hope he really is.”
“Well, we’re giving him the chance to prove it,” Kaiden said.
“When we log out next, Zelda will make a copy of the database and I’ll fly it to the outskirts of town,” Thorne said. “I’ll keep away from the population centers, leave the copy somewhere hidden, then hightail it back. Won’t take more than half a day.”
“All right, that’s settled then,” Zelda said. She lead them back toward the main quarters of the ship. “Now we need to talk about what comes next. What are we doing to keep this plan rolling? To gain more allies, and level ourselves?”
“Well, we kicked the crap out of those pirates,” Titus said, walking in step beside Zelda. “And saved that crippled exploration vessel, and delivered those medical supplies, and…” He paused. “Maybe it’d be easier to say we raked in some serious mission EXP.”
“I can see that,” Thorne said as Zelda led them through the halls of the Veritas II. “You’ve leveled, I notice.”
Kaiden nodded at that. As a result of the rush of missions they’d done while waiting for her to arrive, they’d each gained two levels, putting them all at thirty-three – just one level below Thorne.
“Picked up a new ability each, too.” Kaiden pulled up his character sheet.
Character
Name:
Kaiden
Race:
Human
Level:
33
Class:
Enhanced Warden
Attributes
Strength:
48 (+2)
Intelligence:
42
Endurance:
47
Perception:
42
Dexterity:
116 (+2)
Unassigned:
0
Abilities
Kickback
Shield Bash
Hammer Toss
Lightspeed
Improved Enhanced Senses
Riposte
Flash Bang
Improved Blur
Onslaught
Enfeebling Strike
Slayer (passive)
Hamstring
Perks
Turen Tinkering
He dug through his messages to get the screenshots they always sent to one another. “Hold on. It’s probably best I forward these to you.” Now that she was on his friends list he could send her images, which is exactly what he did. First, the one he’d taken:
Ability Unlocked!
Hamstring: Charge is redirected into your hammer. On your next successful critical attack this charge cripples your opponent. Their movement speed is reduced by 50% for 10 seconds.
Cost: 60 charge.
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Then, the screenshots Titus and Zelda had taken:
Ability Unlocked!
Shield Link: Your charge is redirected to flow into a nearby ally. For a duration of 15 seconds, all charge you absorb is sent to a warden ally within 50 feet.
Cost: 30 charge.
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Ability Unlocked!
Lock On: You direct charge into your hammer-gun. For 5 seconds, as long as the last target you damaged is within your line of sight, your attacks will not miss. You cannot attack any other target. If you take damage this effect deactivates.
Cost: 30 charge.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Thorne eyes were distant, no doubt reading the abilities he’d sent her. “Yeah, I’m familiar with these. Shield Linking with a blast warden is a classic strategy,” she said, speaking to Titus and Zelda at the front of the group. “The shielder absorbs the damage and the blaster spews it right back out at the attacker.”
“Pretty much what we were thinking,” Zelda agreed.
“Just need a target to practice it on.” Titus crack
ed his knuckles. “Can’t wait.”
“Hamstring is also essential,” Thorne continued. “Allows an enhanced warden to operate a bit more in a rogue-like capacity. Get in behind the enemy, then hamstring their important players. Makes it far easier to take them out of the fight.”
“I haven’t tried it yet, but the potential is definitely there,” Kaiden said as he imagined using the ability in combat.
He was dragged back to the present as they arrived in the main section of the ship. Acton stood there, waiting for them.
“Acton,” Kaiden said, nodding to him. “This is Thorne. She’s a guest of ours. Going to be helping us.”
The first office gave a half bow, then extended a hand.
“Caesarius Acton, ma’am. It is a distinct pleasure to meet you. If there’s any way I can be of service, please don’t hesitate to call on me.”
Thorne hesitated a moment, seemingly taken aback by his overly formal manner.
Kaiden leaned over with a whisper. “He’s always like that. You’ll get used to it.”
“Huh.” Thorne clasped Acton’s hand and gave it a shake. When that was done, Acton straightened back into his usually rigid posture.
“The repairs to the ship are complete, Captains. We’re back in perfect working order and the crew stands ready. Additionally, we’ve replenished the numbers of our boarding crew, as requested. Seeing as this is a turen station and not exactly at a prominent crossroads, the only option available was turen marksmen. You’ll find our barracks now occupied by them and the survivors from our last… adventure, who have tiered up thanks to the hell you put them through. After these expenditures, our credit balance is at 20,230.”
