by Alex Knight
Not much variety in this theater. But then again, Kaiden hadn’t come here to appreciate the fine arts. The warden archives said this was home to the upper crust of Boyd City’s criminals, the preferred playground of the best of the worst.
“I think you’ll find we’re all paid up this month, boss,” Marty said with a gracious smile.
“I’m sure you are,” Kaiden said, pretending like he knew what that meant. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
“Oh?” Marty leaned across the counter and somehow managed to smile even wider. “Marty Macmara,” he said and extended a hand. “At your service, then. How can I help?”
“I’d like to place a hit on someone.”
The shorter man next to Marty – Lou, the game said his name was – burst out laughing.
“‘Place a hit,’ he says?”
Marty patted him on the shoulder and his laugh dried up to a slight chuckle.
“My sincerest apologies, officer, but I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You’re still working for the corps by the looks of your collar, and that’s definitely not something they’d approve of.”
Marty’s eyes lingered on Kaiden’s collar a little longer.
“The only ‘hits’ we deal in here are of the theatrical variety.” He gestured to the posters advertising the venue’s whopping two plays.
“The warden archives say otherwise.” Kaiden had to look authoritative. Like he had done this before.
Marty frowned at that.
“The archives must be wrong.”
“They’re not.” Kaiden leaned on the counter and smiled at Marty, big and wide like the man had done before. “Now, who should I speak to about having a warden killed? A shield warden, specifically, by the name of Titus.”
The suited man leaned away, frowning deeper, and crossed his arms.
“Assuming I had any idea what you’re talking about – which I don’t – and knew someone who could help – which I decidedly do not – why would I even consider something like that? You’re a warden. In uniform. If this were some sort of undercover sting on my perfectly legal establishment, it’s the worst I’ve seen. Not that I’ve ever seen any, mind you.”
“Besides, no one would take that job–” Lou said, before stopping himself.
Kaiden looked down at the shorter man and gave him his best intense gaze.
“I thought this was Nassau’s finest theatre? Surely you know someone...talented enough? I've heard Jax is a particularly good ‘actor’ who frequents your establishment.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Lou’s brow furrowed, then he turned to Marty. “I think he’s actually serious.”
“Maybe he is…” Marty was stroking his chin. “And Jax has so much heat on him already, a warden target wouldn’t make a difference.”
Kaiden wasn’t sure what Marty was thinking, but he seemed to be considering the offer. From a criminal’s perspective, having a dirty warden on your side could be a huge advantage, he didn’t doubt. Hopefully Marty was thinking the same thing.
“Alright, kid. Let’s talk business.”
“About time.”
“I’d like to offer you a role in one of our little productions. A starring role, as it happens. One night only.”
Kaiden balked at that.
“I didn’t come here to be an actor.”
“No, you came here to place a hit on another warden. Which, frankly speaking, is incredibly illegal. If you and I are to talk business – not related to hiring an assassin, of course – you need to prove to me that you’re...into the same hobbies as us. A fan of the theatrical arts, you could say.”
“You want me to act in one of your plays?”
“Well, not a play, exactly. More of a spectacle. And you won’t be acting. You’ll be fighting to the death.”
Well, that escalated quickly. Though I am literally trying to send an assassin after a fellow warden…
“You want me to fight for you?”
“For me? No, no. Of course not. You’ll be fighting for the fans. In my arena. Tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“You say you want to kill another warden? Then prove to me this isn’t some ruse. Prove you’re actually here to talk business. My arena’s never hosted a warden before. You’ll draw massive crowds. And I’ll even sweeten the deal. Survive a few rounds – say, three? –give the crowd a good show, and I’ll pay for the hit myself.” Marty extended a hand. “How’s that sound?”
Well, what other choice do I have? Kaiden wanted to hesitate, wanted to buy time to think things through. But a dirty warden wouldn’t balk at this, he didn’t think.
I have to play my role, he thought, already tiring of theatre puns.
He grabbed Marty’s hand and gave it a firm shake.
Quest: Survive 3 rounds in Marty’s arena
Expected difficulty: Veteran
Rewards: +3,000 EXP, +5 faction prestige with Nassau’s criminal underground, -15 faction prestige with the Warden Corps (if they find out, that is).
Bonus reward: Access to the services of Nassau’s finest ‘theatre’.
Marty smiled.
“The performance starts at sundown. Don’t be late.”
“Fair enough.” Kaiden nodded, then turned to leave.
How am I going to explain this to the others? How am I going to tell them–
“Oh, and officer?”
Kaiden turned.
“Make sure you’ve memorized your lines. This is an audition you don’t want to screw up.”
“Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for.” Marty’s voice boomed out across his ‘theatre.’ It was of minimalist design, which is to say it was a dirt-floored ring surrounded by electrified metal walls and rows and rows of cheering fans.
Kaiden had hoped news of his ‘role’ in the performance tonight wouldn’t spread too far. The completely packed house around him proved his hopes had been for naught. At least they were NPCs by the looks of it.
“We’ve a very special performance for you tonight, headlined by a very special actor. But I’m sure you’re all already aware. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce your star for the evening!”
The spotlights on the ceiling illuminated Kaiden, bathing him in blinding light, and a hand pushed him from behind. He stumbled forward and into the arena.
This was a terrible idea, he thought as the crowd erupted into a renewed round of roaring. He almost wished he’d let Zelda talk him out of it. Almost. They needed to catch Jax, and if this was what he had to do, then so be it.
Just three rounds. I just have to survive three rounds, then I can place the hit and meet back up with the others on the Borrelly.
The others. The thought hit him like a punch and he swallowed hard. This would be his first fight without them. Here, he was truly alone.
Maybe enhanced warden wasn’t the greatest specialization to pick? It’s a great support class, but maybe not so good for solo combat.
“As usual, folks, I’m not going to draw things out. Let’s get right to it, shall we?” From his booth in the stands, Marty twirled his hand in a flourish. “Let the show begin.” He pulled hard on a lever. “Release the gobbers!”
At the far side of the arena, a door in the wall slid open. And about a dozen...somethings poured out.
They spilled into the arena like angry bees – if bees were bipedal, stout, and ugly as sin. Their skin was an orange-brown reminiscent of rusted metal, their faces were smashed and flat like they’d all been dropped face down at birth, and their short arms ended in grasping, clawed hands.
Kaiden gripped his hammer tighter and activated his shield. As it flicked on, the crowd went wild again. Ignoring the noise, he analyzed the closest of the creatures.
Gobber
Level: 3
Quick facts: Gobbers are a simplistic race of beings found on most low-level planets, usually in their primitive, underground warrens. These scavengers breed prolifically, though their low intell
ect means they have no classes or abilities of their own.
Okay, so they’re low-level mobs. There’s just a lot of them. I can handle this, Kaiden told himself.
The first of the creatures rushed him, snarling as it did so. Kaiden stepped up to it and swung his hammer. The blow caught the creature square in its smashed-up face, knocking it down and leaving its face considerably more smashed. Its health bar flashed from green to yellow to red, then to an empty black.
Critical Hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
Gobber killed - 50 EXP gained!
One down. That wasn’t so bad.
Seeing their downed companion, the remaining eleven gobbers rushed him. The first of them launched into a leap, one arm reared back with a knife in hand. Kaiden leaned forward with his shield and the creature jabbed its knife into it, then bounced off to one side.
Kaiden’s charge bar filled by two percent.
If they don’t hit any harder than that it’ll take forever to build any charge.
As it happened, they didn’t hit harder than that.
Without activating his abilities, Kaiden swung three times and crushed three more gobbers with headshots.
Eight left. And to think level one voidspawn used to terrify me, he thought, obliterating the smashed-faced creatures around him with impunity.
A gobber rushed him on the right, and Kaiden swung at it. He only hit its stomach this time, and far from killed it. It took at least three more regular attacks to achieve what one headshot crit could.
Gobber killed - 50 EXP gained!
Seven left.
A bolder specimen lunged at him with a taser-tipped spear, the sizzling point coming within an inch of Kaiden's visor as he ducked. As ineffectual as the gobbers appeared, the taser-spear looked deadly. He raised his shield, then dove aside as a laser blast from another gobber nearly took him in the chest. So, Marty had thrown a few ranged weapons into the mix.
The taser-tipped spear jabbed at him again, and Kaiden bent like a bow to avoid it. As his assailant’s momentum sent it stumbling past, Kaiden brought his hammer down, bowling the creature backward in a tumble of limbs. Its health dropped substantially more than before. Kaiden wasn’t sure why; he hadn’t used any special ability. He glanced down to the combat text at the corner of his screen.
+25% damage (Riposte x 1)
Riposte? What’s that about? Kaiden thought to himself, ducking behind his shield as the rifle-wielding gobber took aim again. Its weak attacks hit him for a few seconds as he investigated a new notification.
Natural Ability Unlocked!
As a level 8 enhanced warden, your instincts are honing.
Riposte: After successfully dodging a melee attack, your next attack deals +25% damage. Dodging 2 attacks in a row stacks to +50% increased damage. Can only stack twice. Taking damage will remove Riposte. This ability is passive.
Natural ability? That’s new.
The gobber with the rifle stopped firing, its weapon smoking from overheating. Yet another mob came at Kaiden, a small hammer in hand – an actual hammer, not even a futuristic version of one – and swung it two-handed at him. Kaiden ducked the attack, dodging it.
Riposte x 1 gained
The gobber raised its weapon for another attack. Kaiden risked evading it again to try stacking Riposte, but his gamble didn’t pay off. The gobber caught him on the arm, knocking a few percent off his health.
Riposte lost
So, I can try stacking it twice for more damage, but I risk losing the first stack altogether if I take a hit or block with my shield rather than dodging.
It left the decision up to the player, and meant those more skilled could pull off better damage more regularly. An outrageous dodge chance would help too, of course, but that just played right into the design of the enhanced class. Kaiden was beginning to see the extra depth to his spec emerging now.
With fresh focus, Kaiden returned to the fight. With easier opponents before him, he could take a few extra risks and learn a little.
Both the spear-wielding and hammer-wielding gobber were close to him, one on either side. The spear struck out and Kaiden swerved – gaining one stack of Riposte – and then spun as the hammer came for his hip, gaining him a second stack. He finished turning from his spin to find the spear-carrying gobber’s back to him. Kaiden struck it on the shoulder.
+50% damage (Riposte x 2)
Gobber killed - 50 EXP gained!
I like this ability, Kaiden thought, then turned to the remaining gobbers. He took the chance to practice building Riposte stacks, though he lost the double stack quite often. He supposed it wasn’t meant to be easy.
When the last gobber fell dead, Marty’s voice rang across the arena.
“We have a victor!”
It was only then that Kaiden noticed everyone cheering for him.
Have they been doing that the whole time? He’d been so focused on the fight, easy as it was, that he’d forgotten the noise.
“What do you think of our new lead performer?” Marty asked the audience. They responded with more riotous cheering. “Well, don’t get too attached. He still has to survive act two!” He pulled another lever and a second door opened in the wall.
Kaiden set his feet in a fighting stance and raised his shield to the ready position.
This time, a human walked out of the door. Then another, and a third.
Kaiden focused on each of them in turn.
Human mercenary (NPC), level five. Human mercenary (NPC), level five. And...human mercenary (NPC), level six. This could actually be a challenge, he thought, then glanced down to his charge bar. It was still too low to do anything.
The mercenaries fanned out and fired a volley of laser blasts.
Kaiden ducked behind his shield, catching two of the blasts, but a third slammed into his leg and near knocked him off his feet.
His health flickered and fell to eighty-five percent. These guys had some serious firepower. Luckily for Kaiden, his charge bar had surged to thirty percent.
Now we’re talking!
“Keep hitting him, before his shield charges!” one of the mercenaries shouted. “He can’t block them all.”
Too late, my man.
Kaiden activated Burst of Speed and surged forward. A timer began counting down in the corner of his screen.
08...
The mercenary who'd called out just had time to blink before Kaiden was on him. The first hammer strike caught him in the chin and sent his health into the yellow.
Critical Hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
Kaiden pivoted, rounding on the merc and sending a flurry of quick attacks while in Burst of Speed. A last hit on the NPC’s forehead finished him off.
Human mercenary killed - 200 EXP gained!
05…
“Stay close!” the level six mercenary yelled, stepping next to her last remaining teammate, then taking aim with her blaster.
It would’ve taken Kaiden two steps to dodge to one side and avoid the oncoming shots, but he chose to stay in place and catch them on his shield. Except the mercenary never fired. Instead, she simply kept the laser pointed at him.
04…
She’s killing time, he realized. Waiting for Burst of Speed to run out.
He charged, and she unleashed hell from her blaster. Kaiden skirted to the right, the volley hissing past him in a scattergun of blue flares. She kept her finger on the trigger and swung the barrel around, following his trajectory.
02…
Kaiden leaned into his shield as the laser-fire converged on him. The energy field shook and glowed as the barrage hit it square, then he was within striking distance. She lunged forward with the stock of her blaster, using it like a club. Milking the final second of Burst of Speed, Kaiden dodged the attack —
Riposte x 1 gained
And swung over her rifle, bringing his hammer down onto her elbow.
Critical Hit!
+25% damage (Shattered Elbow)
+25% damage (Riposte x 1)
The blow sent her spinning aside, until she collapsed in a heap.
Human mercenary killed - 200 EXP gained!
00…
Burst of Speed ran out. Kaiden spun to face the third opponent, who wasn’t wasting any time.
The merc charged, slicing a glowing energy blade at Kaiden’s chest. It passed straight through his shield before cutting deep into Kaiden’s chest armor, dropping his health to fifty-six percent. Stumbling backward, Kaiden focused his reticle onto his opponent’s weapon.
Electro-blade
Ultrasonic attachments create pulsing vibrations along the metal help bypass fluctuating shield frequencies. Requires expensive micro-fuel cells to power.
Alright, I better finish this quick.
His shield couldn’t help him, so Kaiden couldn’t afford to make mistakes.
The merc was on him again, thrusting forward. Kaiden twisted as the first stab cut past his stomach, then bent backward to avoid the next, grateful for dumping so many points into his dexterity. He saw a stack of Riposte tick once, twice. He spun, aiming a blow to the man’s torso.
But it seemed his foe had a decent dexterity score as well.
The merc danced to the side, Kaiden missed his swing and saw the stacks of Riposte fade away. He received a slash across his shoulder for his trouble and his health dropped alarmingly to forty-one percent.
Damn it.
He backpedaled, putting distance between himself and that deadly sword.
The mercenary smiled. “That’s a nice shield you got there. Too bad my sword isn’t affected by it.”