by Alex Knight
“That does sound like the lieutenant,” Zelda said.
“I don’t know about you, but I for sure don’t know how to fly that thing,” Titus said, frowning at the shuttle.
“Not much to know.” Sergeant Dawson shrugged. “Use the autopilot function. It’ll get you where you need to go. If you get into a firefight it even knows some basic maneuvers. Should be enough to outrun your average pilot. If you get into a firefight with a talented pilot, however...” He trailed off, then nodded. “Yeah, don’t do that.”
“So that’s it?” Zelda asked, disbelief still evident in her eyes. “We’re being given the freedom to find this assassin on our own, in our own shuttle?”
Captain Thorne nodded.
“Yes you are, Zelda. Think of it as your big chance. Another trial. Pass this and I foresee promotions for all three of you. Not to mention I’m sure I can get a word in with the governor of your facility – Verloren, is it? – and arrange some significant reductions on your sentences.” She patted the side of the Borrelly. “So how about it? Sound good?”
“Sounds real good,” Titus said, nodding. Zelda joined him.
“Uh, yeah. I guess it does, ma’am.”
Kaiden thought for a moment, but couldn’t come to any other conclusion. This didn’t just sound good. It sounded perfect. This was their second chance to capture the assassin and learn the truth about Bernstein’s murderer. And if they did that, they could find out what he’d stolen. Somehow, they’d been handed defeat, but it’d grown overnight into victory. It was a miracle.
“Mission accepted,” Kaiden said.
Quest: Capture the assassin Jax
Part 1: Investigate the symbol on Jax’s gun
Expected difficulty: Veteran
Reward: 2,000 EXP, +3 faction prestige
“Well alright, then.” Sergeant Dawson hiked a thumb at the Borrelly. "Best be about it. We’ll handle the war back here.”
“Best of luck, ensigns. I have absolute faith in you. I’m sure you’ll be back with that assassin in no time at all. Dismissed.”
The two officers turned to leave.
“You’re doing that thing with their egos again,” Sergeant Dawson grunted.
Thorne laughed in reply as the two of them left the hangar.
When they were gone, Kaiden turned to the others.
“That actually just happened, didn’t it?” He was still dumbstruck.
“Yes, it did,” Zelda said, smiling. “Yes, it did.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I’m still in shock,” Zelda said, looking every bit the part as the ramp of the Borrelly closed behind them. “We failed to stop a war, and we got...rewarded for it?”
“When fortune falls in your favor, it’s best to say ‘thanks’ and move on, rather than wait for things to go bad again,” Titus said. He nodded to the all-too-noticeably vacant pilot seat. “Now, where do we fly this thing? The mission just said ‘learn more about the assassin.’”
“First things first, how do we fly this thing?” Zelda frowned at the various controls and blank screens at the front of the shuttle. “Finding out where Jax is won’t be much use if we can’t get to him.”
“Sergeant Dawson mentioned the autopilot,” Kaiden said, easing himself into the seat. “I bet we can let that do most of the work.”
Start shuttle?
Kaiden selected the 'yes' option and the Borrelly came to life. All around the cockpit computers booted up, screens blinking on, while outside the engines spun up with a whirring hum.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Kaiden said, trying to bolster his confidence in the face of the half-dozen screens now waiting for his command.
“Ah, so you think you’re going to take my baby out for a joyride, huh?” Lieutenant Ellenton’s voice filled the shuttle.
Kaiden spun around, expecting to see her walking up the rear loading ramp – except the ramp was closed. No one was there.
“Which one of you took the pilot’s seat, I wonder? My bet’s on Zelda.”
“Lieutenant?” Zelda said, walking a few steps forward to look at a control console. The screen, normally a status overview of the shuttle, now showed the lieutenant. Or rather, a video of her, Kaiden realized.
“Anyway.” The recording of the lieutenant waved her hand. “I’m sure Dawson and Thorne briefed you on the situation, and I don’t have long anyway – gotta go bust some mercenary heads – so I’m just going to give you the quick and dirty. The autopilot on the Borrelly is as simple as they come. Basically, you type in the destination you want and it’ll plot a couple routes. Pick one, and off you go. Simple enough, yeah?”
“You mean she could have been flying with autopilot the entire time?” Zelda looked aghast.
“Where to go, though, that’s the question, isn’t it?” The recorded Lieutenant Ellenton seemed to ponder a moment. “I did some digging in the warden archives, but we don’t have anything on that symbol you saw on the assassin’s gun, Kaiden. But the Turen Geniocracy might. Their archives are much more complete than ours.”
“The Turen Geniocracy?” Titus’ brow furrowed. “Is that another guild?”
“I’ve already plotted you a course for Jonduu, the nearest turen planet. Luckily, the planet is still in the Greater Spiral Arm, so it’s within the shuttle’s range. Any further out and you’d need something bigger to get there. But for now, all you have to do is tell the Borrelly to follow the course, and off you go.”
“Ellenton! Orders just came in. We have to move out.” Someone else’s voice shouted in the message and the lieutenant turned toward it.
“Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.”
“We don’t have a minute.”
She frowned, looking annoyed.
“Everything’s always life or death with these people.” She shook her head. “Anyway, good luck, you three. And please don’t wreck my shuttle.”
She tapped a button on her armor and the video cut to black.
“So, I guess we’re headed to Jonduu?” Zelda made her way to the cockpit, but Kaiden was already interfacing with the controls. Sure enough, just as the lieutenant had said, the main control console was showing some sort of star map and a dotted line weaving through it.
Course plotted to Jonduu. Begin?
“The course is already set. Should I tell the shuttle to begin?”
Zelda strapped into a seat just behind the cockpit.
“Absolutely.”
Titus jumped up to the co-pilot’s seat.
“Always wanted to sit here.” He smirked. “Punch it.”
Kaiden did.
The Borrelly lifted into the air and eased itself out of the hangar. As soon as they were in space, the thrusters turned, angling themselves away from the Anakoni, then launched them forward in a burst of light.
Fifteen minutes later, the autopilot system wound down the faster than light drive and brought them into the orbit of a small blue planet. The shuttle spun around, facing the engines toward their destination, then thrusted hard, slowing them down in a decelerating burn.
The flight to Jonduu had been thoroughly unexciting. Considering the repeated near-death experiences of flying with the lieutenant, however, unexciting was just fine by Kaiden.
“The Turen Geniocracy,” Zelda said, reading from an in-game menu as Kaiden and Titus pressed up against the glass, watching their approach to Jonduu, “are an alien species that have been exploring the stars long before humanity. How long exactly is unknown.”
“Aliens, huh? Like the voidspawn?” Titus reached absently for his hammer.
“Not like the voidspawn.” Zelda continued reading, eyes distant. “Their physical attributes are listed as ‘humanoid, bipedal, and tall, with bluish skin and four eyes.’ Their nature is listed as ‘serene, calm to a fault, strictly religious, and highly intelligent.’”
“Hopefully that means they’ll give us a better greeting than the voidspawn,” Kaiden said.
Or the raged, for that matter. Come to think of
it, we haven’t been given many warm greetings in Nova so far. Seems pretty much everything just wants to kill us. Or eat us. Or both.
“I don’t know if ‘warm greeting’ would be the right term for it.” Zelda said. “It says their current political relationship with mankind is ‘guarded neutral.’ What does that even mean?”
An alarm rang from the control panel and a warning flashed across the screen.
Foreign ships approaching. Scans show weapons armed to fire. Engage evasive maneuvers?
Kaiden was ready to select 'yes' when a voice crackled through their comms. It spoke slow and calm, and soft. Comforting, almost. Or it would have been, were it not threatening to blow them out of the sky.
“Unannounced shuttle WCSS Borrelly, you are entering Turen Geniocracy space on an approach course to Jonduu. Turn over your shuttle controls, then state your business, or you will be fired upon.”
“How’s that for a greeting?” Titus said, frowning down at the console showing three turen craft surrounding them.
Remote command request from unknown turen craft. Accepting will allow remote control of the shuttle. Accept?
“If we want to use their archives, it’ll help to be on their good side,” Zelda suggested.
“Agreed. Let’s not make these guys angry.” Kaiden accepted the request. The consoles in the cockpit switched off and the cabin lighting faded to a low red.
Remote access granted.
“Now state your business,” the turen voice spoke again.
“Warden Ensigns Kaiden, Zelda, and Titus requesting, uh, use of your archives? We’ve been sent to…” He paused. Was there any harm in revealing their mission?
I already gave them control of the shuttle. Might as well be as transparent as possible.
“We’ve been sent to locate the assassin that started the Vega-Hyperion trade war.”
“There are no assassins on Jonduu. The Turen Geniocracy does not abide assassination as morally acceptable. Furthermore, the Geniocracy would not interfere in human affairs to cause such an unacceptable outcome as a war.”
“No, no.” Kaiden cursed himself for not being clear. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply the assassin was a turen. He wasn’t. He was human. I saw him. He was definitely human. I didn’t mean to cause offense. I, uh–”
“We’ve been sent to formally request to use your archives,” Zelda said, cutting off Kaiden’s stumbling explanation. “To learn the identity of the assassin.”
For several seconds there was no reply.
“That doesn’t seem good,” Titus said. “Can we take back control if we need to?”
Still no reply over the comms.
“I don’t know how all this works,” Kaiden said, tapping one of the blank consoles. No response. A moment later, however, the comms crackled back to life.
“Though it is highly irregular for humans to visit turen space, the council of Jonduu wishes to state our archives are open to all who seek to better themselves through knowledge. When you catch this assassin, you will attempt to reform him, yes?”
“Yes…?” Kaiden shrugged. Punishment was a type of reform, right?
“Your request is acceptable. We will guide you to a landing platform near the archives. Welcome to Jonduu, Kaiden, Zelda, and Titus.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jonduu, as it happened, was blue for good reason. Ice covered its surface from pole to pole. The turen escort didn’t fly them to the surface, however, but below it.
At first it looked like they were going to slam head-on into the ice coating the planet, but their escorts expertly guided them into a large tunnel that had been near invisible from above. They followed the winding, smooth-walled ice tunnel down for a good minute or so before the landing pads appeared, along with the rest of a settlement.
“Good thing this is just a game. Otherwise I’m pretty sure we’d just freeze to death out here,” Zelda said as they stepped off the loading ramp and onto the icy metal of the landing pad.
Location discovered: Archival Facility, Planet of Jonduu
Faction Alignment: Turen Geniocracy
Achievement Unlocked!
Tourin’ the Turen - 50 EXP!
You’ve expanded your horizons and journeyed to a planet controlled by the Turen Geniocracy. Well done! Whatever you do, while you’re here, don’t eat the flabberwock soup.
One of the turen ships landed next to them. It was a sleek, silver-bodied craft that bore a striking resemblance to a flying submarine with its long body and lack of any apparent windows or openings.
A beam of light descended in front of the ship, and as Kaiden watched, a figure materialized inside it, appearing no more than a few feet away from them. A turen.
Orias (NPC)
Turen Pilot
Faction: Turen Geniocracy
Level: 14
Quick facts: Turen are exceptionally high in intelligence and below average in all other stats. They are very strategic in combat, excelling in ranged combat, but are exceptionally weak to direct physical attacks.
Well, ‘humanoid, bipedal and tall, with bluish skin and four eyes’ pretty much sums it up.
Clothed in a flowing, long-sleeved shirt and what looked like the futuristic version of sweat pants, it was a lanky creature. To Kaiden, the figure looked to be mostly arms and legs, topped by a narrow head and scrunched-up face. Two sets of eerily human eyes rose above the thin vertical slits of what he presumed was the nose, and a horizontal slit that must have been the mouth.
“Welcome to the Jonduu Archival Facility, Kaiden, Zelda, and Titus.”
Yup, definitely the mouth.
“Thank you for having us,” Zelda said, then after a moment, bowed awkwardly.
Titus frowned, then did the same.
“While your display of respect is noted, it is not necessary.” Orias, who Kaiden assumed to be male, gestured for them to follow.
He led them off the platform toward a cluster of buildings.
As they walked, Kaiden took in his surroundings. The ice cave they’d followed on the way in had expanded into a vast dome now. At its height it must have been several hundred feet high, and all around the walls arched down, stretching further and further away as they drew closer to the ground. Where they touched exactly, Kaiden couldn’t tell. Far away, apparently.
Other turen were moving about between the buildings, reading from handheld consoles as they walked, or discussing with one another in hushed tones. None stopped to look at the humans, or even spare a glance. Titus, on the other hand, couldn’t stop staring.
Zelda elbowed him in the ribs.
“I know, I know,” he said. “It’s just a game. But this...this is incredible.”
“Aliens are a lot more interesting when they’re not voidspawn and trying to eat us, huh?” Kaiden said, whispering so he wasn’t overheard.
“To us, you are the aliens,” Orias said, his words slow and soft.
Zelda elbowed Kaiden in the ribs this time.
“But do not worry. We will not eat you. Our mouths are far too small.”
Wait, was that a joke?
They worked their way into the cluster of buildings. Each was a slightly different variation on a domed circle, with smooth surfaces that reflected the brilliant white of the ice surrounding them. They almost looked like giant igloos. Giant, incredibly advanced igloos.
Orias stopped before the biggest of the buildings.
“I have brought three human visitors eager to better themselves through knowledge.”
Uh, yeah. Something like that.
A light just like the one that had projected from the front of Orias’ ship flashed on, blindingly bright. A moment later, it switched off and they were inside the building.
Bookshelves with dots of glowing lights in place of books stretched into infinity in front of them. The rows and rows of bright dots lit the room with a faint blue glow. If there was a roof overhead, it was lost in darkness.
“Hold up, what?” Titus spun around
but found only a wall behind him. “That’s crazy!”
“Of all the technology to improve on in the future, doors would not have been my first guess,” Kaiden said, also staring at the blank wall. “Or my second or third, for that matter.”
“When such great knowledge is laid before you, as it has been for us, your perspective is likely to change, young ensign.” A voice spoke from behind, soft and slow in what was clearly the turen fashion.
Kaiden turned back around to find a second turen before them now. He, or she – or it? – looked similar to Orias, but for a few differences in their features. Slightly larger nose slits, a wisp of hair curled at the crown of the head, and a set of glasses with four lenses, one for each eye.
“Thank you for bringing them, Orias,” the new turen said to their guard. “They are your burden no longer.”
Orias waved one hand in a half-circle by way of farewell, then disappeared in the beam of light once more.
In his absence, the other turen turned to look at them. Lifting one blue hand slowly, he reached to his glasses and adjusted them.
“Given you are still collared, I can assume this is official warden business?”
“That’s right,” Kaiden said. “Captain Thorne send us herself.”
The turen bowed his head.
“Welcome to the main archives. I am Elistar, an archive secretary.” Every so often, one of his eyes would blink, followed shortly after by another, then another, then another until all four had blinked, one by one.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elistar. I am Warden Ensign Zelda.”
Elistar blinked slowly, then his nose slits opened wide as he inhaled deep.
“Rank supposes an alleged categorical hierarchy based on merit, yet our research has found it to be largely corrupted by wealth, societal status, and nepotism. As such, we have deemed it superficial and do not recognize it as an effective system for titles.” Elistar delivered the statement as if it were a long, slow, and gentle soliloquy.