* * *
I WAS HOPING to resolve matters peacefully. And sure, it may not have turned out that way, but it really wasn’t my fault…
Just after our starship left dock, the pirates crowded up suspiciously next to Captain Rikki in the pilot’s seat and… wait, yes, they were looking at me and my companions. That was the problem with small ships. All crew members were constantly in view of one another, and hiding conversations or plans was simply impossible. In fact, even the cramped Shiamiru cargo shuttle seemed like a luxury liner in comparison with the tiny Tiopeo-Myhh II. It didn’t even have a captain’s bridge, just three chairs in the front, one for the captain (who was also the Pilot and Navigator) and two for the Gunners (who were also in charge of Communications, Electronics, Mechanics and a whole bunch of other stuff). The three crew members not involved in steering the starship were supposed to squeeze into a tiny closet, which was boldly identified as a bunk. For me and my companions, they simply unfolded some stools on the metal floor in the tail next to the sealed door to the cargo hold.
The small distance and my high Perception allowed me to hear the crew’s conversations fairly well:
“Let’s not show our weapons yet, just act cool... (incomprehensible) ... now, let’s go away from the station, speed up and pretend we’re preparing for a long hyperjump... Gnat’s companions we take out right away, but we need him alive. And tie him up... No, you cannot kill him! ... (incomprehensible) ... we are very interested in some ancient items in his inventory... Yeah, and what about... (incomprehensible) ... wants to know where he got such nice Relict stuff... Yes, we’ll hand him over to the boss... all the cargo is ours, we can sell it to the Meleyephatians... enough to repair our ship!”
Astrolinguistics skill increased to level sixty-six!
Danger Sense skill increased to level twenty-seven!
You have reached level fifty-five!
You have received three skill points! (total points accumulated: six)
I took my leveling up as a good sign. It was a tense moment, but was I afraid? This may come as a surprise, but no. Not one bit. What was there to fear or worry about here? After all, I knew what I was getting into when I got on the ship. All that remained was to warn my companions. I poked the snoozing kitten and quietly enquired:
“Tini, when I searched you after you robbed me, you had long straps of strong leather in your inventory. You still got ‘em?”
“Yes, Master Gnat. And I have steel wire as well. What do we need to tie up?”
With a slight nod, I pointed at the pirates huddled up around their captain:
“They’re going to attack us any time now. They plan to kill you and Ayni right away, then rob me. Naive... I can stun them all, but what will we do after that? Tini, do you know how to tie up prisoners?”
The kitten froze with his mouth agape, but Ayni answered for him, her voice lowered to a whisper:
“I do! But I’m not sure about the Geckho. I haven’t had many encounters with that race, and that Shocktroop is especially big, and probably very strong.”
I didn’t think it was the right time to ask where or when the inoffensive-looking minute Translator had learned to tie up prisoners. Instead, I put forth a radical suggestion:
“Then we won’t tie up the Geckho, we’ll just stick a knife to his throat and send him to respawn! That’ll bring the ship to a better weight, too. Look at that big old brute. I haven’t heard of Clan Veesh Ameesh before, so it shouldn’t stir the pot too much... Alright, everyone turn around quickly and don’t look at him!”
The Shocktroop clearly sensed something was amiss because he stopped talking with his comrades and turned toward us in surprise. But all three of us pretended to be busy conversing and totally uninterested in the pirates. Finally, the alarmed giant calmed down and turned back around.
“Tini, I’d like it to be you who does it. You could really use the experience, and this will get you a couple levels. Ayni, you get ready too. You need to tie down the stunned prisoners. As soon as the lights go out, we begin! Ah crap, I didn’t think to get infrared lenses from the cargo boxes. They’d come in very handy...”
Ayni asked barely audibly what made me so sure the light would be going out. I didn’t answer, because I needed to get ready. After making sure the ammo I bought was the right size, I loaded the Paralyzer and moved it into my main weapons slot. I used my alternative slot for the charged-up Annihilator. Overall, I was hoping to get by without it but, “just to be on the safe side,” I was keeping it at hand.
Now the time had come to spend my skill points. I had six saved up... Where could I put them to get the most benefit in the upcoming scuffle? The obvious options were Rifles and Sharpshooter, so I would hit the six enemies as quickly and accurately as possible. On the one hand, it seemed fine, but how would my helpers be able to distinguish the row of bodies in the dark and tie them up, given it all had to be done surgically, before any of them came back to their senses? Maybe Targeting was best then, to place clearly visible markers on all the enemies? After all, after the fight, we would need to interrogate the captain, and it would be nice to level up Psionic and Mental Fortitude before that... Basically, I needed to level everything!
Not having determined a clear priority, I placed two points each in Rifles, Targeting and Psionic. Almost ready. After making sure Tini had handed the wire and leather straps to the courageous Translator, I took out my Scanner and a metal tripod. Begin!
The light went out as predicted. At the same time, the interceptor gave a sharp jostle and, seemingly, started spinning on its lengthwise axis. At that second, I clapped the Scanner closed, immersing the ship in darkness and put on my Relict armor.
Scanning skill increased to level forty-six!
Electronics skill increased to level thirty-eight!
Break-in skill increased to level twenty-two!
Break-in skill increased to level twenty-three!
Not busting my brains over what I had just broken into, I lowered my IR lens and grabbed my Paralyzer.
There they were, the bastards! My screen showed a single bright spot. My enemies had clustered together, forming a single tangled mass. Blam! Blam! Blam... Over a couple seconds, I emptied a whole clip of stun balls, but they were still moving! What was more, a nimble bright-red silhouette labeled “level-48 Prostitute” was dashing in my direction with two curved blades!
What happened next felt condensed into a single prolonged action and I would have a very hard time separating the individual parts. Something flickered, someone shouted in pain, then I was hit with a blinding purple flash and saw a message:
1280 damage absorbed by armor suit forcefield
Then I saw the Prostitute’s cloven body, her razor-sharp blade a mere sixteen inches from my throat. At that moment, my back poked the heavy door to the cargo hold. So, I opened it with a powerful EMP. The wounded Tini howled. Ayni had locked blades with the Engineer. And then... with a rumble, the divider between the pilot area and the rest of the ship slammed down, and silence took hold.
“Gnat, what are you doing?!” the captain’s voice rang out, dampened by the armored barrier.
“What am I doing?! Rikki, you should have discussed your attack plans a bit quieter!”
“Is that right...? So, you overheard...”
A long silence descended. Eventually, the captain shouted that I must have had great armor if I could survive two shots from a heavy blaster. I didn’t answer, not wanting to reveal any of the Relict suit’s secrets, or that he had missed the second time. Actually, had he? Maybe he hit Tini. After all, something had caused my kitten to shout in pain! But then, I saw Tini turn on a flashlight and go help Ayni tie up the prisoners. His health bar was almost full. Clearly, the shot had missed the Miyelonian teen as well.
Meanwhile, Rikki asked who of his crew was left alive. Before answering, I looked around and glanced at the mini-map:
“Your girlfriend and the Engineer are dead. The Supercargo and Geckho Shocktroop are
stunned and tied up. I cannot see your ward Avi Wi-Rikki. I suspect he is with you in the front part of the ship. And let me warn you, Rikki: I will not allow you to activate your electronics or communications. I can easily short them out many times. I will not allow myself to be brought to your boss, and I certainly will not allow you to call for reinforcements or take any of my property. So, I suggest that we cool our heads and calmly discuss what happens next. To my eye, it would be most proper to return to our initial understanding and fly off for the platinum. That way, you can make a profit, and I can finally go home!”
“It’ll be hard for me to go anywhere without an Engineer. And it’ll be even harder to land on a large planet with all this extra weight...”
“We can get the weight down no problem...” I said, commanding Tini to end the Geckho’s life.
But for some reason, the little thief lost his nerve and, holding the blade in his shaking hand at the helpless Shocktroop’s throat, could not bring himself to commit murder in cold blood. He removed the weapon. He didn’t have the grit. But Ayni did what was necessary. One sharp slash and the furball’s fanged head was separated from his body.
“Alright, the weight problem has been solved. There’s nothing to stop us from landing on the planet now,” I shouted to the pirate captain. “Make your choice, Rikki. Will you fly off for the platinum, or should I blow a hole in the barricade with my Annihilator, capture your starship and, as its captain, find myself a more agreeable pilot?”
I had to wait a decent amount of time for an answer, but then the captain relented:
“Alright, Gnat. I’ll take you up! Let’s return to our initial understanding! I promise that I will not do anything stupid again. We’ll go and land where we initially agreed. But I’ll need the Supercargo in the copilot’s seat and, for that, I will need to briefly raise the metal divider. However, I would prefer to spend the next five ummi separated from you. I don’t want any more surprises.”
ATTENTION!!! Captain Rikki Pan-Miis’s danger rating has fallen to one.
Fame increased to 47.
Authority increased to 12!
Authority increased to 13!
Authority increased to 14!
You have reached level fifty-six!
You have received three skill points!
It worked! Victory! I was almost home free! I could bare the thirty hours in transit, especially given that the hold was open, giving me access to the endurance-restoring potions. All that remained was to check whether I managed to complete my official mission. As long as I had a diagram of this ship, I could simply rest and enjoy the trip.
I turned on my computer and looked at the screen. Yes, there it was, a highly-detailed diagram of a Tiopeo-Myhh II Miyelonian long-distance interceptor with all the bolts and rivets. But my attention was drawn by a different aspect. Among all the partitions, thrusters and power sources, there were markers for living creatures, including one that caught my eye:
Morphian. Level 279.
Chapter Twenty-Four. Free Time
I WAS IN NO HURRY and didn’t want to do anything rash. The last thing I needed was to piss off the Morphian and instantly respawn back on Medu-Ro IV. Instead, unhurriedly and with a calm look, I changed into my more comfortable jacket with kevlar inserts and fell back on the only bed in the bunk, placing my hands behind my head and trying to get some shut-eye.
Tini came up quickly and said that the enemies had practically dropped no trophies, just an unremarkable utility belt from the Engineer, with all the pouches empty. I waved it off and told my foundling to keep the belt. But the kitten wouldn’t leave and stood there, his tail twitching nervously:
“Sorry, Master Gnat, I goofed up. I’ve never had to kill anybody before, and I... couldn’t carry out the order.”
“Don’t worry, Ayni took care of it.” I got up on the bed, extended a hand and turned the furry Miyelonian’s left cheek toward me. There was blood flowing down it, and the teenager’s ear was split in two lengthwise. “When did you get that?”
“I don’t even know,” Tini said, now more disheartened. “I was confused and didn’t notice anyone. I just felt a sharp pain and saw Ayni pulling a blade away from my head at the very last second.”
“It was Avi Wi-Rikki, the Gunner,” the Translator threw out, walking up and sitting right on my knee. “Unfortunately, he got away and hid behind the barrier, because I was distracted with the Prostitute...”
I remembered the Miyelonian lady being split in half seconds before her blade reached my throat and nodded in silence. Ayni had come just in time... Also, apparently Miyelonians weren’t deterred by darkness. They could see and fight in it just fine. A bit later, I asked my companions about that. Tini looked surprised:
“I’ve heard that some races have problems in the dark. The Geckho, and I think... is it the Trillians? I don’t remember. Do people have that too? Miyelonians have no trouble seeing in almost pitch blackness. Did you really not know that, Gerd Gnat?”
Well, crap... I really did not know that, so my idea to turn off the lights and take advantage of the ensuing chaos was obviously misguided. That’s what gummed up my plans. And that error could have been fatal, if not for the phenomenal speed of the deadly Ayni... By the way, now I knew Morphians could also see just fine in the dark.
And another thing... I turned and looked for a trace of the second blaster shot but couldn’t find it. Had the Morphian taken it for me?! Ayni’s life bar was almost totally full, ninety-five percent, if not more. Considering that my armor blocked one thousand two hundred hitpoints of damage from an identical round, I quickly estimated that the Morphian must have had around twenty-five or thirty thousand Health Points. That was practically twenty times more than Gnat!
“Something wrong?” the Translator asked in Geckho, looking at me closely. “Gnat, your face looks different. You just don’t look like yourself after that scuffle.”
I took a bit to answer, but then I decided not to hide anything, and say it directly:
“Lots of things are wrong. I don’t even know where to start... First, Fox, I’d like to know where the real Ayni is.”
I was very worried when asking that question, and was paying close attention to my feelings, but Danger Sense never piped up. Either the Morphian didn’t have bad intentions, or it was hiding them carefully. And meanwhile, the orange cat narrowed her eyes and started grinning predatorily, demonstrating her sharp teeth:
“You really are smart and observant, Gerd Gnat. I see why Leng Amiru U-Mayaoo praised you so highly.”
“What?! Were you there for that?!” I shouted, unable to restrain my emotions. And Tini, not understanding a word of our conversation, but fully sensing the intonations and mood, perked up his ears and put his hand on the hilt of his blade.
Ayni chuckled happily and, placing her hand on the kitten’s forehead, told him to go take a rest. Tini nodded in silence, shuffled off to the nearest chair submissively and, just a few seconds later, had drifted off without a care, having forgotten all his fears and troubles. After that, Ayni removed the rings from her fingers and set them on the pull-out table next to her two sharp blades, then quickly changed into a busty anthropomorphic fox:
“I am reminded, Gerd Gnat, that you found this form more agreeable, so take note: I’m doing my best for you. Now, I’ll try to answer your questions. Yes, I was present for your conversation with the Miyelonian Priestess. At that time, I was in the form of a First Pride soldier. I was also one of the guards that arrested you in the hotel, and I took you to the interrogation as well. Maybe you’d like to know that, if you had tried to run right away, I would have helped you. As for Ayni, the last time I saw her, she was wandering toward the residential area of the space station. She was in a very dejected state after the Truth Seeker interrogation, and I attempted to convey that when we met. But it has been almost two ummi since then, so Ayni has probably gotten some rest and recovered. She is most likely just fine.”
I couldn’t check the Morphian�
�s words, but I didn’t see a particular reason for Fox to lie. Most likely, that was true, and the Morphian had not killed her. Well, at least that was a bright side...
“And what next?” I asked a somewhat vague question. But the Morphian understood just fine:
“Next? We fly to your home world. That’s what I want, and that’s what you want. The pirates are very scared. I can feel it clearly, so they will not try to open the armored barrier until the very moment we land. So get some rest. You can even sleep. But I don’t recommend that you leave the game until the flight is over. Sorry, Gnat, but then I might be forced to kill you for my own safety, which I would very much prefer not to do. Then, as far as I understand, we’ll land on your planet. If you like, I’ll leave the ship with you and spend some time with your faction. If not, I’ll fly back with the pirates. I’m not going to impose on you with my company, but I wouldn’t say no to sitting around for a dozen or so on the edge of the galaxy, either.”
Well, Fox was speaking very candidly about what might come next. That is, if I could trust the Morphian at all. But I still decided to clarify a couple of strange aspects:
“You said you wanted to spend some time with my faction. What would that entail? Would you take human form? Are you going to eat one of my allies and take their place?”
The creature sat back and laughed just like a person:
“I’ll be as honest as I can. If there were more Humans out there, that’s exactly what I would do: get lost in the crowd. But you just started the game that bends reality, and your faction has a few thousand players at most, if not just a couple hundred. You know each other well, and your virt pods are probably concentrated in one place in the real world, so a death would be impossible to cover up. Given that, you have to agree that it would be stupid for me to hunt people or take their form. What’s more, you know that I cannot imitate people very well. You could tell I was fake from one touch. So, if you aren’t opposed, I’ll be the Miyelonian Ayni Uri-Miayuu, a modest quiet Translator. Don’t worry, I won’t harm your faction, but I could be a great help!”
External Threat (Reality Benders Book #2) LitRPG Series Page 25