Sidekick

by Carl Stubblefield

“Aurora, are you okay?” He sat up in alarm when she didn’t respond. During the heat of battle, he had long since lost track of where she was and what she was doing. He checked his minimap and saw that she was moving in his direction, her green dot the only one left solid, so she was safe.

  He got to his feet and limped over to the closest super. Touching him, Gus found three abilities: Absorb, Transfer, and Intermediate Shielding. Gus found that Absorb took up seventy percent of the buffer. Clearing it, he selected Intermediate Shielding, which took roughly sixty percent. Trying to add Transfer pushed the bar far into the red, so he deselected it.

  You have chosen to leech Intermediate Shielding (Level 32).

  You have chosen to copy and erase skills, are you sure? (Y/N?)

  Gus chose yes and Ash spasmed a bit before settling again. Gus attempted Leech again, hoping that he hadn’t wasted two potential abilities. Yes! The other two were still there. Repeating the process, Gus was able to take the other abilities in their entirety, but saw that it also caused a fifty-percent reduction in HP. After taking the third ability, Ash was down to only twenty percent health. Gus made a mental note—if he overdid it, he could see the process being fatal. He made a stretcher underneath the super and pushed Ash towards the door while he moved to the next super.

  The two supers heavy with cybernetics were sprawled on the ground, Gus touched the first with the gun. He found Electronic Mind, Aim-Assist, and Coerce. Gus sapped them and while his hand was on the super, he saw his own hybrid-Nth travel down his arm onto the super. Compared to before, the cloud of hybrid-Nth was only a quarter of its former glory. They looked like an ant swarm as they moved down the super’s arm to his connected weapon, and seeped into the cracks of the machinery.

  As Gus watched in fascination, Nick explained, “There’s Kroutonium in that weapon; they’re scavenging it.” As the swarm coalesced again and moved back, he could not detect any change in its size. The weapon sputtered and its blue glow winked out, the Kroutonium having been an essential component for it to function. The dull hum disappeared as well.

  “I just realized, we’re going to have to strip all the extras off of these augments, aren’t we?”

  “It wouldn’t be good to leave them with anything that is not affected by the brig’s dampening field,” Nick confirmed.

  Gus turned his attention to the display again.

  You have chosen to leech Electronic Mind (Level 47).

  You have chosen to leech Aim-Assist (Level 33).

  You have chosen to leech Coerce.

  You have chosen to copy and erase skills, are you sure? (Y/N?)

  Moving to the other super, he found only two: Hyper and Krackle. Taking these and erasing them, he moved to the last super, the one who had fallen into the tree. His abilities were Warp and a strange one called Xyzzy. He also had Advanced Flight, but it was grayed out, perhaps because it was an ability Gus already possessed.

  He looked pretty scratched up and one arm was twisted at a sickening angle. His health hovered at 57% and was slowly dipping. Gus fished out a red gel and put it in the man’s mouth, closing it so he bit on the edge.

  With a nauseating crack, the bone reset and the super’s eyes sprang open. Gus triggered Leech and he shook a bit then his eyes fluttered closed. The gel did its work, and Gus waited to take an ability until he’d recovered into the eighty percent range. Gathering his abilities, he set to ferrying them to the brig.

  Aurora burst out the door just as he got there and held it open. “Did the EMP work?” she asked, then looked down at the collected supers. “Well, I guess that answers that.”

  Gus fashioned a train of floating stretchers and they slowly got them all to the brig, having to make multiple trips down the lift. The gurney from the infirmary was a big help, but the lift was small enough that only one would fit in the small space.

  The previous supers were awake, and boy were they pissed. They pounded soundlessly on the glass as Gus and Aurora spread the remaining supers out, keeping them all on one side of the alleyway and toggling on the soundproofing. Aurora hit another combo of keys and the transparent door frosted over. She kept playing with the settings and the opacity reduced.

  Meanwhile, Gus tried to strip off everything he could detach from the augments, throwing the guns and power-cells into an empty cell. Aurora was saying something but he registered none of it. After a couple minutes, she poked him on the shoulder. Aurora stood there with her arms folded, one eyebrow raised.

  “Sorry, just lost in my thoughts trying to figure out how to detach all this. What were you saying?”

  “I just changed the cells to basically function like a one-way mirror. We can see in but they can’t see out. That way we can see if they’re up to something without them knowing we’re watching. That should curtail any escape attempts, or make them wonder if we’re watching.”

  Gus gave her a thumbs up and turned back to the augment he was trying to de-mechanize. Everything else was placed internally and couldn’t be removed. Hopefully there were safeguards against this very thing, considering this was a brig to contain supers.

  “Here, follow me to the control center. Let me show you what upgrades I decided on for the manor.”

  Gus shrugged and closed the cell as Aurora turned to the elevator. Gus was ready to go, eager to get away from the power dampening effects of the room.

  In the control center, Gus relaxed in a chair, choosing one that sat in the warm sunlight. Aurora excitedly began showing him some of the new features of the manor. First was the EMP emitter, which had a limited range of two-hundred-feet around the central antenna of the manor, and that range could not be increased. There were at least six other mercs that relied on those types of augments, so if they could be lured to the manor, it was an easy knockout. The only problem was that it took forever to recharge, a whopping twenty-six hours.

  “This next one was expensive, but I think it will really come in handy.” The lift opened and twenty men and women spilled out of the crowded elevator. They all wore the characteristic manor jumpsuits.

  “Who are these guys?” Gus said, suddenly alert. The warm sun had been making him feel like a nap was in order until the intruders showed up.

  “They’re decoys! Watch.” She hit some settings and the familiar pillowbot skeleton became visible, with emitters embedded on its chest and back. She turned them back on and they filed back into the elevator. “We will be much less easy targets if the enemy is distracted and we can hide in plain sight. There are thousands of profiles we can attach to the decoys and we can give the illusion of a fully-functional manor. They are not sentient and cannot aid us in fighting or defending, but they can mimic the normal routines of manor staff. Because they carry their own emitters, they can even join us outside, but shadows might give them away, so we’ll have to decide when to use them. I’ve set them to roam the manor, then act surprised and flee if there are any intruders. We will get an alert remotely if that happens.”

  “I could see where that would be helpful. Would’ve been nice if they could help us fight, though.”

  “Then you’ll like what I have next… Weaponized drones.” She said the last two words with the verbal equivalent of a mic drop, as if that was all that needed to be said.

  “Yeah, and?” Gus asked, not impressed.

  “You don’t get it. I can do soooo many things with these bad boys. I’ve maxed them out so I can drop explosives, debuffs, heals if you’re out of reach. The possibilities are endless and I have so many devious little ideas that I want to try. I can link all controls to my display, so I’ll be much more helpful in battle and can attack from much greater distances, so we’ll both be safer.”

  “I guess I’ll take your word for it,” Gus said, still unconvinced drones would be that great, remembering how easily the mantids tore his own drones apart.

  She went on to defend her choice but Gus barely heard all her ideas for implementation. This spot was the perfect temperature and he closed his eyes, tryi
ng to nod when appropriate to show he was paying attention.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Comin’ Thru

  After the adrenaline from the battle had long burned away and sitting in the warm sun, Gus was deeply tired; he began to feel himself fading fast. “I gotta get to bed, I’m so tired all of a sudden.”

  “It was a busy day. I think I’m going to crash early too. I’m going to finish making some upgrades to the manor so we won’t get caught unprepared. Do you want to see what I’ve picked out?”

  Gus shook his head and waved for her to go on without him. “I trust you; you pulled that EMP out just in time. I’ll put you in charge of facilities. Do I have to give you some kind of authorization to make those decisions?”

  “You already did when you made me lieutenant.”

  “Good. Okay, knock yourself out. I’m going to bed.” He staggered to the elevator and fell into bed. Gus thought he heard a chime as he fell asleep, but he was too tired to even check as he fell into a familiar dream. He had it repeatedly, but it was one of those that was easy to forget the particulars.

  The young apprentice crept downstairs in the dark and silent manor. The boy made his way to the large door that led to the alchemist’s secret cache.

  The manor had been in his master’s family for many, many generations, and the lock, which was the best of its kind when it was made, was still functional, but less secure than what had been made for many years. On the floor below was a sturdier door. It was covered with powerful wards and complex locks. Large and vault-like, it would be a challenge to any master thief. But the boy knew this to be a decoy.

  One night, after a failed invasion of the manor and the thief was apprehended, the family had celebrated. The master alchemist had become quite drunk and bragged about how the family had a special protection for their legacy. A special enchantment hid the real location of their unique potions, and if one was not told of it, the mind would slide over this hiding place like oil on water.

  “The thief had no chance!” the master laughed. He gloated over the value and contents of the hidden trove.

  That was when the boy had begun to make his plan. The next day, the master remembered nothing of the exchange, and the boy did not say anything about the matter.

  Facing the nondescript door, he surveyed the challenge. The lock appeared to be fairly basic, after what the boy had learned. He got his tools out and deftly picked the lock; it was easier than he expected. The door swung silently outward. Grabbing a candlestick, the boy made his way down the stairs. The scant light refracted through multitudes of flasks and bottles filled with various colored liquids.

  This was what the boy sought. These potions were the rare, select ones that raised one’s stats. With what was in this chamber, he could become so much more. The potions were meticulously arranged. The boy, who had thought about this moment for as long as he could remember, opted to start with the strength potions. This would fortify him to tolerate all the other changes the potions would do.

  Wasting no time, he grabbed the first vial. He uncorked it and drank the contents. It was bitter, and he could feel some flaky sediments at the base of the vial.

  Ugh. Who knows how old these are? I’ll bet some have been here so long they have become inactive.

  Steeling himself, he grabbed the next vial. This one tasted like a decent herbal tea, albeit cold.

  Not too bad, I could tolerate them if they were all like that.

  Still the boy felt no stronger. This was more disappointing than expected. One more. Another.

  All of a sudden, he felt a cramp. Worry began to creep up the boy’s spine but then the discomfort passed. He watched as his weak frame seemed to stretch and fill out. At first, he could see thin bands of muscle become visible, which reminded him of the town messengers who ran to and fro delivering missives.

  The quaffing recommenced. His runner’s build soon gave way to the thicker builds of rangers and progressed to a full-fledged warrior’s build.

  He was worried that there would be some side effects, but he honestly felt better than he ever had in his life. And this was permanent! After finishing all the strength potions, he moved on to agility, and constitution.

  His skin tightened and he could tell something was happening to make it stronger than even plate steel. His increased agility made the consumption of the potions all the faster. Initially, he was worried he would become full or waterlogged from drinking so many potions, but this was not the case. The rapid growth must be utilizing all of that extra moisture.

  Now onto intelligence and wisdom potions. Awareness and ideas, plans and schemes flooded into his mind. Past conversations the master had with other specialists came rushing back, recalled in perfect clarity, and he began to understand the subjects they were discussing, then to see where they were occasionally incorrect in their suppositions and conclusions.

  His mind expanded and he began to understand both the inner workings of his own body and how mana flowed in and out of his system. Designs and structures behind the symbols and gestures of wizards, mages, and necromancers began to become clear. And then he was done. There was nothing left but piles and piles of bottles.

  Then the door above him opened, bright light spilling down upon him…

  Gus awoke to find the morning light shining in through the balcony window, a shaft of sunlight playing directly across his face. Blinking at the light, he sat up and eagerly clicked the button to check his logs, and the dream was soon forgotten.

  Looking at his display, he checked out his haul of new abilities:

  New abilities assimilated!

  Enhanced Strength (Level 36) [Passive]: At its current level, this ability gives a (1.7 x level) permanent increase to the Strength stat. Each stat point allocated into Strength yields 1.7 points in addition to skill boost (not retroactive).

  Bound (Level 5) [20 MP]: Jump with increased ability. Energy stored upon landing, aiding height and power of successive jumps.

  Resilience (Level 11) [Passive]: Grants extraordinary resistance to projectiles and explosive damage due to a passive ether shield that absorbs and deflects attacks above melee speeds.

  Intermediate Shielding (Level 16) [10MP/minute]: Form barriers around the host. Can be enlarged to encompass more people but will drain MP at an accelerated rate. Energy attacks will weaken shielding and destabilize it.

  Absorb (Level 26) [20 MP]: Extract energy and store for later use. Most effective when directly draining MP and HP from others.

  Transfer (Level 13) [15MP]: Distribute energy from Absorb. Cannot change its form or convert energy into another medium. If energy is absorbed, it will be transferred in the same form.

  Electronic Mind (Level 36): Facilitated communication with non-biologic entities, as well as intuition in construction and repair of all constructs meant to interface with biologic tissues.

  Aim-Assist (Level 8) [5 MP/minute]: Display augment to aid in targeting, allows the host to lock-on at higher levels. Once a lock is achieved, it can be maintained even after the target is out of the line of sight or uses stealth skills.

  Coerce (Level 11) [50MP]: Compels a target to agree with instruction. Success calculated based on the delta between the target’s base Intelligence stat compared to caster.

  Hyper (Level 17) [20MP]: Doubles a stat for 5 minutes per activation.

  Krackle (Level 6) [30 MP]: High energy burst attack of concentrated cascading spheres of energy.

  Warp (Level 12) [30 MP]: Distort reality in a localized area, either crushing or expanding items in a 1-meter diameter sphere.

  Xyzzy (Level 3) [75MP]: Bamf! Form wormholes to create portals and transport from one location to another. Base range is 5 feet. Each additional level extends this range another 5 feet.

  13 new abilities assimilated:

  13,000 XP awarded.

  6,500 FP awarded.

  8,200 XP to level 17.

  Current Nth ability capacity: 92%. You are nearing capacity and will not be able to
learn or absorb more powers when Nth reach maximum capacity.

  “Well, that sucks! Leech will become obsolete in just a little while. Can I erase a power and gain space? I could do without Bound.”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Sh—” Gus almost swore, then started spitting as he had the sudden taste of pencil shavings in his mouth.

  “That the hybrid-Nth?” Gus guessed when he had cleared the bitter taste.

  “Yes, the hybrid-Nth gathered some refined Kroutonium from that beam weapon, and are wondering why you don’t use it to make more hybrid-Nth.”

  “Will that even make any difference? Did they scavenge enough?”

  Gus heard the crunch of footsteps on newly-fallen snow and waited patiently for the reply. “There’s not enough from the gun, but they suggested getting their brothers from the other suit.”

  “What other suit? That augment?”

  “No, from the escape pod.”

  “Huh? But that’s on the bottom of the ocean! Plus who knows where it’s moved in the meantime, even if I could make it down there.”

  “It should be possible to go that deep, now that you have a shielding ability. The specs seem adequate for what we would need to do.”

  Gus hedged a little bit; he had always been a bit claustrophobic. “Do we have to?”

  “Only if you want more powers. The hybrid-Nth can store about ten-thousand times more skill data than Nth alone. If they weren’t tied up maintaining your systems, it would be a non-issue.”

  “Helping those damn pirates is going to keep coming back to bite me in the ass, isn’t it?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, I guess a chunk of my day is planned out for me. I don’t want to lose any powers because I don’t have the capacity. Where’s Aurora?”

  “She’s already eaten, trained, and is now down on the beach. She’s been up for hours, but I let Daphne know you were recovering from the battle, and probably sleeping longer to assimilate all the new powers.”