by Alex Knight
Odditor perked up at that.
“The party, right, yes.” He nodded. “For whom?”
“What? Who... no.” Zelda shook her head. “Not a party. The Party.”
“Oh, right. That Party. The one with, with all the tyrannizing and the arresting and…” He flicked his hand as if tossing away the thought. “And all that.” He turned toward Whenstone and lowered his voice. “Not a fun bunch, this Party.”
“I am aware, sir.”
“Clearly you know what they’ve done,” Zelda said. “Outside of this, outside of Nova. When your stream is over, when the menagerie is all fed and you log off and go back to the real world, you go back to them.” She was gaining momentum as she spoke. “Back to the world they’ve created. Or destroyed, more like. That’s why we’ve come here. To fix what they’ve broken.”
“Fixing, fixing, always fixing.” Odditor tossed his head from one side to the other each time he said the word. “Bernstein was also set on, on fixing things. That’s why he came to me.”
“So you know, then? You know about...” Zelda paused, seeming uncertain for a moment, then pushed ahead. “About the database? About all the evidence Bernstein gathered? Enough to bring down the Party?”
“Know about it? Know about it?” Odditor turned to Whenstone, chuckling as he gestured at Zelda. “She thinks I don’t know about the database.” He produced an item from his inventory. “This Bernstein fella loaned me a piece of it.”
Excuse me, what?
Kaiden had to stop himself from lurching forward and taking the item as soon as he saw it. It was a little padlock, just like the one they’d had when solving the cipher to open Bernstein’s database.
“It’s locked, of course. Tricky little thing.” He pulled at it with his fingers as if that would magically make it open. “So, it’s useless. A clever, a clever move on his part. But still, it’s one of a kind, so, you know… that gives it value.”
“He gave that to you?” Zelda asked, and Kaiden could hear the anger in her voice.
“Gave, loaned,” Odditor said, shrugging. “Used as his collateral in order to run the labyrinth. The specifics aren’t, aren’t important.”
“Bernstein risked part of his database to run the labyrinth?” Kaiden asked through comms. “Why? And how? Don’t we have all of the database?”
“It could be a copy, couldn’t it?” Titus asked. “I know it’d take forever to upload a full copy into Nova, but Bernstein could have just uploaded a bit of it.”
“No,” Zelda said. “Remember all those blank folders we keep finding in the database? All those broken links?” She frowned. “This is why they exist. Bernstein used a part of the database as his ante. But he encrypted it, too. So even though he lost it, Odditor hasn’t been able to open it.”
“We have to get it,” Kaiden said.
“Yup, yup, you see? You see? There they go again,” Odditor said, pulling Kaiden’s attention back. “No manners, no manners at all.”
“Sorry,” Kaiden said, switching back to proximity chat.
Gotta stop doing that.
“Why did Bernstein want to finish your labyrinth so badly?” Zelda asked. “First he risked his dreadnought to do it, then part of his database. Why?”
“Fixing, fixing, fixing,” Odditor said, head moving side to side again. “Bernstein wanted to talk about fixing things, about ruining the Party. For some reason he thought... I could help.”
“Can you?” Zelda asked.
Odditor smiled. A sly smile that built slowly across his features.
“Bernstein seemed to think so, wouldn’t you, wouldn’t you agree? He was convinced, he was. Enough to stake his Very... very whatever on it. And then a piece of his database after he failed the first time.”
“You can help us,” Zelda said. “You can do the right thing and fix the real world.”
“Can. Can?” Odditor seemed to ponder the word. His eyes focused on a space in the air in front of him as if the manifestation of the word was there. He swatted it away with an errant hand. “Tons of people can do things. That’s not in doubt. Heh.” He chuckled as if that were a funny thought. “No, no. The real question you should ask is ‘Will they?’” The smile fell away from his features. “And, particularly, will I?”
He wants something from us.
“What do you want?” Kaiden asked. “What will it take for you to help us?”
Odditor smiled again and his eyes flicked to the side.
Kaiden felt his brow scrunch.
“Huh?”
Odditor flicked his eyes to the side again.
“The... window?” Kaiden turned toward it.
“No, not the window!” Odditor exclaimed. “The labyrinth, of course. The labyrinth. I was, was being dramatic.” He shook his head. “Don’t you... don’t you…” He sighed. “If you want my help, want me to risk everything I’ve built with my own two… er, digital... hands in order to fix what’s broken, then what you have to do is simple. Complete my labyrinth.”
The labyrinth we’ve seen everyone fail? The player-made labyrinth you built that responds to your every command? That kills players so consistently you stream it on a weekly basis? Sure, bud. Like we’ll rise to that bait.
“I’ll do it.”
What?
Kaiden looked over to see Zelda staring down Odditor.
“I’ll do it,” she said again. “Release your menagerie, or prepare the maze – whatever you have to do – then let me in there so I can win and we can stop wasting time on whatever game this is you’re playing.”
Odditor smiled.
“Brave, brave.” He nodded, then looked to Whenstone. “She’s a brave one, isn’t, isn’t she?”
“Very brave, sir.”
“What are you doing?” Kaiden hissed, turning to Zelda and using group comms. Rude or not, it didn’t matter. She was about to get herself killed. “No one survives the labyrinth. Even Bernstein failed it – twice!”
“He makes a darn good point,” Titus said, nodding in agreement. “This is pretty much suicide.”
“I know,” Zelda said, and there was no fear in her eyes. “But Bernstein thought Odditor was a powerful enough potential ally that he had to try. And we’ve seen the trophies. There’s no doubt how rich this guy is. We still don’t know how many factions he runs, but you don’t accrue the kind of money he has from just grinding missions and running a popular stream.” She shook her head, as if she’d momentarily doubted her decision but pushed the thought away. “If we want to win him as an ally, we have to play by his rules. If this is what he wants, then so be it.”
Kaiden wanted to argue more – losing Zelda would be a major blow. Could they afford having her on a seven-day respawn timer? – but Odditor cut into the conversation.
“Kids these days, just so horribly… rude,” Odditor was saying to Whenstone. “Really, I should feed them all to the menagerie. Do you think, do you think they’d like that? The menagerie, I mean. They can be picky eaters on occasion.”
Zelda cleared her throat and Odditor and Whenstone turned to look at her.
“Oh, oh, so you’re done conspiring now? Ready... uh, to talk to me?” He waved his hand. “It’s okay if you need more time. You all just continue your little pow-wow. I’m fine. I’ll find my own entertainment.” The tone of his voice said the exact opposite was true. “Be real entertaining just to feed you lot to the menagerie,” he grumbled, then looked shocked. “Oh, oops. Sorry. That just slipped right out.”
“If I complete your labyrinth, you’ll talk with us about what Bernstein wanted? About fixing what’s wrong with the world?” Zelda asked.
“Well, I don’t, I don’t know about all that.” He chuckled toward Whenstone and lowered his voice a bit. “There’s far too much wrong with the world for me to fix. Rude children among it.”
“Of course, sir.”
Odditor turned back to Zelda.
“But... I might be convinced to help you bring down the Party. If, uh, if you
have a viable way of doing it, that is. I don’t throw my support behind just anyone, you know.”
And there it is, Kaiden thought, feeling his breath catch in his throat at the words. Bring down the Party. Was there really a chance they could convince Odditor to help them do it? If not, why else had they come here?
“We want you as an ally,” Zelda said.
“I think you mean you need me as an ally,” Odditor corrected.
Zelda hesitated, then relented with a nod.
“Yes.”
“Well, all right then!” Odditor near shouted, clapping his hands together and smiling wide. “Let’s ante up! Tell you what,” he said, leaning in close and whispering. “I’m feeling particularly generous today. Maybe I like you, kid. So in addition to my potential support of your... ambitions, I’ll offer up this fragment of the database Bernstein loaned me. Now that, that’s a good deal.” He smiled. “And what will be your ante?”
Zelda frowned at that.
“Bernstein put up his dreadnought,” Odditor continued, “then, when he wanted another crack at it, part of his... special... little... database.” He emphasized the last three words. “So, then. What can you offer as ante?”
Zelda hesitated and Kaiden didn’t blame her.
What do we have as ante? Some credits? But that won’t work. The dude’s filthy rich. Our ship? I guess he could complete his Veritas collection, but what’s a light cruiser to someone who already has a dreadnought? So... what, then?
Kaiden was at a complete loss, and judging by everyone’s expressions as he looked around, they were too.
“The best ante I have is—”
“No, that will never do,” Odditor said, cutting Zelda off. “I’ll accept one thing and one, uh, thing only,” he said, sounding as casual as could be. “The rest of the database. And not encrypted this time.”
Zelda hesitated a long moment. Long enough that Kaiden almost thought she was crazy enough to accept. He was just opening his mouth to protest when she finally responded.
Her shoulders slumped. She sighed.
“I can’t make that deal.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We’ll find another way,” Thorne said. “You did the right thing.”
She reached out for Zelda’s shoulder but was brushed off as the blast warden hurried up the ramp into the Veritas II.
She doesn’t want consolation. She wants progress, Kaiden knew.
She hadn’t accepted Odditor’s demands, because of course she hadn’t. How could she? How could any of them? The database was their only leverage. Without it they had nothing, or would have to waste a year trying to upload an offline copy in whatever clever, careful way Bernstein had. Like that was actually an option. There was one copy of the database in Nova and they were going to use it in the All-Frequencies Broadcast. That was the plan, and if Odditor wasn’t willing to help, then screw him.
We’ll find another way.
Zelda wasn’t speaking to anyone, but Kaiden knew how she felt. Could imagine the weight bearing down on her, because he was feeling the same himself. But she wasn’t one to mope.
She gets angry and then she channels that into a redoubled effort to make the plan work. It was the right attitude to have. That driven, unbeatable spirit that viewed setbacks only as reasons to work even harder. Which is exactly what I’m going to do.
He hurried past the others and into the Veritas II, then pulled a hard turn toward the cockpit. The weight of their failure, and, more specifically, his, drove him forward. His boots thunked against the bulkhead harder than they normally would and the sound echoed out around him.
We’ve come up short at everything we’ve tried so far, but I’m not accepting that. That’s not good enough.
“Captain,” Acton said with a small nod, then grimaced. “It would appear things went less than satisfactorily.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Kaiden said. “Set a course for Boyd City.”
“Sir?”
“We’re going to pay a visit to an old friend.”
“Very good, sir.” Acton turned to speak with the pilot, then strapped himself into his seat. Moments later, the Veritas II’s engines fired up.
“Care to tell the rest of us where we’re going?” Thorne asked, waiting for Kaiden in the main compartment with hands on her hips. Titus was beside her and Zelda as well, though she was staring out the nearest window, still fuming.
“Maximus got us nowhere,” he said. “They won’t do anything but laugh at us.”
“Yeah, I recall,” Titus growled.
“And Odditor is being unreasonable.”
Thorne crossed her arms.
“So what are you thinking to do about it?”
“Bernstein gave us leads for potential allies. Two of those are dead ends right now, so I’m exploring a different option.”
From her seat by the window Zelda looked over at him, frowning. Then her brow relaxed as she seemed to figure out what he was thinking. Kaiden saw this, gave her a nod.
It’s our next best chance.
“Thorne’s not going to like it,” Zelda said.
“I’m not going to like what?” She looked between them, waiting for an answer, then stopped abruptly. Realization dawned on her face and she laughed in disbelief.
“Really, Kaiden? Really? I already told you—”
“The Syndicate doesn’t exist. Yeah, I remember.”
“So why do you want to waste our time on this? Chasing rumors instead of coming up with something real?”
“Because Maximus was a dead end. Because Odditor’s crazy. Because I have a feeling about this one, and because we’ve tried everything else.” His voice was coming out angrier than he would have preferred, but damn it, he was fed up with dead ends. They needed to make real progress.
He forced the anger from his words as he continued.
“It’s time we thought for ourselves instead of blindly following what we’ve been told to do. Bernstein suggested potential allies but they haven’t worked out. Maybe that’s on him, maybe that’s on us, but it doesn’t matter. The end result has been the same. So, I say it’s time we make our own way.”
“Hell yes!” Titus said, striding forward and loading up for a big high five. “That’s what I’m talking about, man!”
Thorne frowned all the more, shaking her head slightly.
“I guess there’re some mistakes you have to make on your own. But fine, whatever. You want to waste time chasing rumors, then go for it. In the meantime, I’ll be working on an actual, actionable plan. A concrete way forward.”
“Why Boyd City, though?” Titus asked. “Why do you think The Syndicate’s there?”
“Aside from it being a hub of piracy and criminal activity? Because we have an old friend there,” Kaiden said, calling the NPC to mind.
“Marty,” Zelda said, rising from her seat, excitement in her eyes now. Not the excitement that said she thought his plan might work, but just enough that maybe, maybe she was entertaining the idea. Saw some value in it.
“At this point, he owes me,” Kaiden said. “I fought in his arena and sold him our loot from the freighter raid at a disgustingly discounted rate.”
“Excuse me?” Thorne asked. “You did what for this man? Who even is he?”
“Uh, yeah…” Forgot she didn’t know about all that.
“It’s a long story,” Kaiden said. “We’ll catch you up on the way there, but Marty’s almost a friend at this point, I guess. At the very least, he’s been reliable.”
“And you think he has information on some supposedly extremely secretive criminal organization that pulls the strings behind the scenes all across the universe? This Marty must be a pretty notable criminal.”
Titus gave an enthusiastic nod.
“He runs a theatre.”
Thorne cocked an eyebrow at that, seeming to have no idea what to make of it.
“Marty’s a good thought,” Zelda said, the excitement in her eyes changed now. It’d gone
from raw potential to focused energy. She was driven now, deep in thought and speaking as ideas occurred to her. “There’s a chance he’ll know something about The Syndicate. At the very least, he might be able to tell us it’s all fake.”
“There’s also a chance it’s real and I can convince him to tell me about it.” Kaiden pulled up his character sheet for a moment. “After all, my status with Nassau’s criminal underground is ‘favored.’ Combine that with a negative one hundred and eighty points of prestige with the Warden Corps and I bet I’ve a fair bit of influence in the back alleys of Boyd City.”
“It’s a start,” Zelda said with a nod. “But I don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket. Even if The Syndicate does exist, I’m worried Marty’s not enough of a big shot to know much about them.”
Kaiden frowned at that.
“You and Titus should go to Boyd City. Take the Borrelly. Even with our fake transponder the Veritas II will likely draw too much attention. There’s no reason to risk getting ID’d and having everyone know we’re flying as the Andronicus now.” Zelda spoke faster as she gained confidence. “Thorne and I will take the Veritas II and head to a less populated spot. To Jonduu, the ice planet with the turen archival facility on it.”
“Right!” Kaiden said, a smile building as the memories came back to him. They’d gone there looking for information on Jax’s guild. Wow. It felt so long ago now. That’d been, what? Their first week in-game? So much had changed since then.
Kaiden let the smile spill across his features.
So much had changed, and if they had any say in it, so much more was still going to change.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Marty Macmara!” Kaiden said, smirking and stretching his arms wide as he led Titus into Nassau’s ‘finest theatre.’ “I see the old place is looking dreadful as ever.”
“Excuse me, sirs,” the lean-framed and sharp-featured Marty retorted, offense plastered across his face. “How dare you visit my respected establishment unannounced and spewing insults! There’s no finer theatre on this planet.”
