“Oh, the irony.” Gin snickered. He leaned back and tilted his head to look at Vinci with a broad smile. “You can go ahead and tell them if you want. See if it makes any difference. If not, I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”
The guards look at Vinci, who returned their suspicion with an expression of supreme indifference on his face. “I hope the next batch they send me aren’t so stubborn.”
“What are you—herk!” He grunted as Gin’s hand lashed out, grabbed his throat, and crushed it with inhuman strength. The man took Macha back as he pulled the guard to him and whispered, “You really should have taken my arms.”
“S-s-shoot him!” the guard croaked in a strangled, rasping tone. His colleagues drew their pistols and aimed at the man whose gleeful smile turned into a wicked grin.
Gun and laser fire erupted in the hacking shop down the narrow lane. A few other merchants and buyers glanced that way, but most decided to leave well enough alone or were too jaded to respond. They expected to hear the thump of a body as it was thrown from the shop but instead, they heard several guttural screams and shocked yelps followed by a sudden silence. A little startled, a few more people looked towards the storefront as the door opened and a tall man dressed in a smart white suit sauntered through.
He smiled and donned a pair of hard-core shades as he stepped out. The stranger was covered in blood but didn’t seem to care—or maybe even enjoyed it if the expression on his face was any indication.
Calm and unruffled, he held the door open and looked back inside “I must get going now, Vinci. Sorry about the mess.”
“If you don’t mind, could you send a bag-man this way on your way out? Tell them I’ll need a disposal and clean-up. I’ll be sure tip them well. I have the creds for it now.”
“Certainly. You always want to keep a clean shop,” Gin stated cavalierly as he released the door and made his way out of the bazaar. The people in his way gave him a wide berth as he strolled along.
The door to Vinci’s shop swung closed and only a couple of spectators managed to peek in, although they couldn’t see much in that quick glimpse. Vinci returned to his private quarters and ignored the four bodies that lay on the ground. Two were missing heads, while another was covered in at least a dozen large stab wounds and blood still trickled from each like a macabre fountain that had lost impetus. The last body was the leader’s. His throat had been torn out and his chest and arms sliced through with massive incisions that gaped horribly and, in some places, revealed the organs within. His eyes remained fixed on the retreating figure of his employer as the shock and fear and faint vestige of life in them faded before the office door finally shut.
Chapter Two
The first thing that annoyed Kaiden when he opened his eyes was that he seemed to be stuck under something. The second was the fire that burned around him.
“Can somebody get that?” he demanded irritably and used his free hand to shove at the piece of roofing that had pinned him down. “I’m a little preoccupied here.”
“Certainly, friend Kaiden,” Genos responded cheerfully and foam fizzed as the Tsuna used an extinguisher close by. Kaiden was finally able to inch himself out from under the metal and exhaled a relieved sigh as he dropped the roofing sheet back to the ground. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and attempted to focus his concentration on their original objectives.
He, Chiyo, and Genos were on their first long mission in the Animus, a single mission they had to complete within a week. It was too vast and complicated for them to manage in one sitting, so they had to save and load at different points. Their objective was to head to a pirate station and annihilate it. He made a more detailed examination of their surroundings and realized that what he had thought was a piece of roofing was in fact a section of metal ceiling. His gaze slid past Genos and to a cockpit and he frowned. It would seem that they had spawned inside a crashed ship for this mission leg.
That would make things slightly difficult.
Kaiden pushed to his feet as Genos extinguished the last of the flames. “Nice job, Genos, although the Animus seems to believe you’re not as good a pilot as you say you are.”
“I believe this is a premade scenario, Kaiden,” his friend stated as he brandished the extinguisher and searched for more potential fires. “Between my natural skill in piloting traveler and dropships and the three synapse points I have put into the skill, I do not believe the system based this outcome on my chances.” An explosion of sparks erupted a few feet from the Tsuna’s shoulder. “If it has, I will have words with the technicians to the effect that the system’s readings for odds of success should be readjusted—or that the system appears to be mocking me.”
“Don’t sweat it. I know what you’re capable of,” Kaiden reassured him. He searched the small craft quickly, looking for their third teammate. “Chiyo! Where you at?”
“About one hundred yards to the west of you,” she responded, her voice low and hazy over the comms. He tapped his helmet in a futile effort to stabilize the feed. “Opening network connection.” A small map appeared on his HUD and displayed a blinking white dot to the east.
Kaiden pressed a switch to open the side door of the ship, which broke from the wall and instead of unfolding, simply crashed onto the ground. He peered out cautiously. They were in a jungle of some sort, but it didn’t seem to be a jungle on Earth. The vegetation was definitely what he would call alien—tall trees with blue and purple leaves and thin vines that crept along the ground with some sort of dark, bulbous seeds or flowers growing on them. Kaiden rapped his fingers on the hull of the ship and turned to the Tsuna. “How hosed do you think this thing is, Genos?”
“If you’re asking if it is repairable or not…” Genos looked around as another sizzle of sparks erupted behind him and some bounced off his armor. “I would say that given a few hours, I might be able to get it airborne, but without significant repairs, it certainly wouldn’t be able to break the atmosphere. I would say there is a good chance that it would split apart in the air even if I could get it off the ground.”
“Not the greatest sit-rep but we’ll make do,” Kaiden said and jumped from the ship to the jungle floor. He looked up as Chiyo emerged from behind a line of trees and waved her over. “I guess they thought you would bail out. Do you like to roll those dice from time to time?”
She pushed past a large branch. “I believe the system simply has a number of predetermined spawn points—”
“Yeah, yeah. I had the same response from Genos,” he interrupted and folded his arms in a show of mock annoyance. “I’m only trying to add a little character.”
“So you think I’m the kind of person to abandon my team, then?” she asked casually as she walked past him to the ship.
Kaiden thought about it for a moment. “The system probably has random spawn points and stuff.”
“I’m glad you agree.” She jumped onto the ship and approached Genos who studied some of the exposed wiring in the ceiling. “How does it look?”
“Hmm…it’s more or less what I thought.” he admitted and tapped his webbed fingers on his neck where his infuser would be. The visor of his helmet shimmered with the light of a scanner. “It appears that the scenario for the beginning of this mission was that we had to make an emergency landing. Most of the damage on the ship appears to be from the impact rather than from weaponry assault. Although there were some fires,” he added thoughtfully.
“Is it a lost cause?” she asked. Kaiden clambered back on board and leaned against a wall as the two more technology-inclined members discussed their situation.
“I told Kaiden that I could probably get it in the air.” The Tsuna walked to the cockpit and Chiyo followed. He used the claw of his gauntlet to open a panel beneath the pilot’s console and fiddled around until power was restored—at least partly. Most of the devices still seemed to be inactive. “Viola, please check what systems you can and give me a status report.”
The jellyfish avatar appear
ed on one of the working screens “Understood, Genos,” she acknowledged. Genos turned and leaned against the console. “There are a few containers of parts in the back of the ship so I still believe that I can get it running, but for how long is, as the metaphor goes, up in the air.”
They turned to Kaiden to see if he’d noticed the pun, but he seemed too preoccupied with something on his HUD.
“So we’ll have to find another option,” Chiyo stated. “My guess is that there is an emergency signal we can send out or perhaps a derelict vessel we can salvage from deeper in the jungle.” She looked out the cockpit window to the world outside. “I don’t think this is a place where we’ll find much intelligent contact.”
“You would be wrong, Ms. Kana,” Kaiden chided. The two turned to see him stroll over to join them. “I had Chief take a look at the local fauna. It turns out we’re on a colonized world called Ascension.”
“Ascension?” she asked.
“A Human and Tsuna colonized planet—the first one developed as a joint venture between the two races,” Genos elaborated. “I’m not that familiar with it, though. The only planet I had seen outside of Abisalo before coming to Earth was our sister planet Bura.”
“It’s the reason for the campy name—to show it as an ‘ascension’ of Human and Tsuna relations.” Kaiden folded his arms. “Never mind that its name is an English word.”
“It was actually chosen because of that,” Genos explained. “It’s similar to a Tsuna translated word, ‘Azenton,’ meaning ‘a bond of relations.’”
“Huh, neat. I’ll have to remember it for trivia.” Kaiden looked out the window. “Anyway, there are several colonies on the planet. My suggestion is that we could scout and see if we can find the parts we need or a new ship.”
Chiyo looked at the Tsuna, who shrugged and nodded. “It’s a place to start, but we don’t have any credits or much to barter.”
“I can barter—in a way,” Kaiden hinted and gestured to Debonair.
She sighed. “I know this is a simulation, Kaiden, but you shouldn’t always immediately resort to forceful means.”
“In the real world, I would have credits,” he countered. “But I thought was that a colony would have a bounty board or gigs we could do in trade for what we need.”
“Oh… That is possible,” she conceded. “Where would we start, though? I didn’t see any signs. Maybe I could have Kaitō see if he can trace any nearby signals—” Chiyo was cut off by the loud roar of ship engines overhead. The three ran to the open doorway as the ship soared over them toward the north. They expected it to disappear into the far horizon, but it began to descend and hover in place as if to land.
“What about over there?” Kaiden asked and pointed in the direction of the craft. “I’d bet good credits that is at least a good place to start.”
Chiyo was silent for a moment before she nodded. “I agree.” She stood. “Should we all head out?”
Kaiden looked at Genos. “Not to leave you high and dry, but maybe you should hang back and work on the ship. If we can’t find what we need, we will probably need the ship to fly to the next available port or colony.”
“A wise deduction,” Genos agreed and peered at the panel. “Viola has finished about seventy percent of her check and I should be able to do what I need to in a few hours with her help. But we’ll only be able to keep the ship together for about two hours and fly at a low speed and altitude. If you can find at least a small number of basic parts, it would be most helpful.”
“Send us a list and we’ll poke around.” Kaiden turned toward the door of the ship. “Are you coming, Chiyo?”
She looked at the Tsuna. “Will you be all right alone?”
“From my understanding, this planet doesn’t have many animals and the ones it does have are herbivores, for the most part.” He walked past her and to the back of the ship. “I should be fine, but I’ll contact you if not. But do be careful. I’ve heard stories that it is home to some rather bothersome vegetation.”
“Bothersome in what way?” Kaiden asked.
“The kind that devours you alive and digests you slowly,” Genos stated cheerfully as he opened a container and rummaged through it.
Kaiden drew his rifle and primed it. “Good to know. Are you coming, Chiyo?”
Kaiden and Chiyo stepped out of the jungle and into a clearing that held a small town that bustled with activity. Scientists—both Tsuna and Human—talked as they walked while others ran from one building to another. Several floating carts stacked with boxes or large cylinders headed down what might be defined as the main street. Kaiden looked around for any sort of marketplace or trace center, but it seemed to be an entirely science-focused outpost.
“I wonder how helpful this will be,” he muttered. “If nothing else, maybe we can find a ride to another town.” Chiyo was silent as she observed the activity around them. Kaiden nudged her with his elbow. “Are you there, Chi?”
She shook her head as if she tried to dislodge her stupor before she nodded. “Yes, sorry. I was simply admiring the realism of the map. It’s nice to see that the Animus can realistically create spaces where we aren’t immediately being shot at.”
“It’s a nice change of pace,” he admitted as he holstered his rifle. “But it kinda makes me more anxious, really. Recently, it seems that anytime I go further than Seattle, it’s to shoot something or get shot at. And that’s saying nothing about the dozens of times I’ve hopped into the Animus.”
“Let’s hope that we can have at least a couple hours of peace before we have to set off for our actual destination,” she responded and finally wandered toward the outpost. He moved to follow and noticed a scientist in a mask stare questioningly at them. The man scurried quickly away once he realized Kaiden was looking at him.
“Yeah… Hopefully.”
The walked into the outpost. Chiyo—definitely the more amicable of the two—asked some of the denizens if they knew of a place where they could find parts or a ship. Kaiden only paid half-attention and instead, constantly watched the populace who seemed to be skittish about their presence.
“No luck so far.” She sighed and walked back up to him. When she noticed that he was looking away, she tapped him on the shoulder. “Is something wrong?”
“Is it only me, or do these guys not seem thrilled to see us?” he inquired and gestured at two technicians who hurried away from his gaze.
“I doubt they are used to travelers in a place like this—or at least ones who aren’t on their schedule,” she reasoned. “Plus a tall man in battle armor with a large energy rifle staring at them would make most people skittish.”
“I suppose…” he mumbled and tapped on the Nexus symbol engraved into his armor. “But even in a simulation, you would think that we are tagged as an ark academy or potentially world council member. I ain’t asking them to hold a feast in our honor or nothing, but you would think there would be a little enthusiasm—or at least curiosity.” He turned to her. “Did you run into any trouble?”
“They haven’t been very forthcoming,” she admitted, “but they appear to be working on secret projects here, so I can understand them being stand-offish. Again, they probably aren’t used to two heavily armed individuals appearing out of the jungle unannounced.”
“You have a pistol and a submachine gun. It’s adorable that you think that’s heavily armed.”
Kaiden couldn’t see her eyes under her visor, but he could imagine her face scrunching up in annoyance. “Either way, I don’t think that we’ll find any parts here. At least none that we could buy or trade for.”
Kaiden shrugged. “Well if plan A is out of the question, let’s go with plan B. If we can’t get a ride out of here, we could at least try to see if they have a world map so we can find the quickest path to the next port.” He waited for her opinion, but she paid him no attention at all. “Chiyo? What’s—” He looked behind him, “Oh.”
A group of four guards, all dressed in white medium armor and car
rying machine guns, marched up to them, “I want to preemptively say that I didn’t do a damn thing,” he stated and reached for his rifle.
Chiyo held out a hand to stop him. “Wait, we should see what they want. They could simply want to identify us and know why we’re here.”
“To be fair, we don’t exactly know ourselves.” He did, however, lower his hands reluctantly. “But maybe this could pan out. At worst, my guess is we’ll be kicked out.”
Three guards halted a few feet away, raised their weapons quickly, and aimed them at the duo. The fourth stood to the side, his hand on his pistol, “You have come onto this outpost unannounced and with no proper identification,” he declared. “This is a world council outpost. You will come with us peacefully or be eliminated where you stand.”
Kaiden saw lights down the barrels of the guards’ guns. He looked at Chiyo. “If it helps, between waking up and walking here, that was about an hour of peace.”
Chapter Three
The outpost guards continued to aim their guns with real intent and Kaiden noticed that a couple of them tapped their fingers on their triggers. They seemed rather eager to fire in a place full of scientists and pedestrians. He looked to the side for a moment and confirmed that the locals left hastily or took refuge in one of the nearby buildings.
A quick glance at Chiyo reassured him that she didn’t seem anxious or worried—more contemplative than anything else—but she hadn’t moved her hands closer to her guns. “Are you gonna try to talk this out?” he asked in a disbelieving tone.
“We need to approach this as we would a real-world mission,” she responded and remained motionless. “Our days of merely shooting our way out of things will be at a minimum from now on.” She gave a quick, small laugh as she turned to grin at him. “I would imagine that will be a harder issue for you than for most of us.”
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