Lost in Space

by Dmitry Raspopov

  “Hi, L0St.”

  “Hello, fliers.”

  “Enemy ships at ten o’clock. We’re outnumbered three to one. You better get ready. Some of them are about to break through our lines.” Any questions I had could wait as the enemy ships were closing the distance between us, getting within the fire range of my new gun.

  “What if we started with the carriers?” Khao Tshan asked me.

  “I would lose some ships from my squadron. I’d rather start with the fighters. I think you know how expensive the fighters are. A lost ship will cost its pilot a fortune. As a leader, I can’t expose my teammates to that,” I said.

  Some of the other leaders were apparently displeased, particularly the one with a tank atop his crown who protested: “We’d rather not lose our machines either.”

  “Then go and destroy some ships, too.” I shrugged. “I will do things my way.”

  “Well,” Khao Tshan instantly intervened. “We still know too little about the situation. Let’s not waste any more time arguing. Just keep us in the loop, L0St. Let us know the type and number of ships that get past your lines.”

  “Sure. And you let me know where to send my fighters if things get too much for you down there.”

  “All right.”

  Switching to the pilot chat, I filled the group in and got supported by other pilots. They rejoiced at my response as they knew too well what the consequences for losing their fighters are.

  Enemy ships within plasma gun range.

  “I’m starting,” I informed the chat. “Group leaders, in case I’m unavailable, please make your decisions in accordance with the general tactic that I’ve explained.”

  Three confirmations came at once.

  “Okay.”

  “Yes, sure.”

  “Whatever you say, L0St.”

  I began the target selection, marking those that could do most damage to my fighters. The small and agile enemies could only engage us in combat, while the heavy carriers and torpedo bombers could considerably thin out our lines. Researcher provided me with information about each ship type, highlighting their properties, which greatly assisted my targeting. I could set the right priorities straight away by checking that info.

  “I’m done. You may open fire. Don’t forget to reduce fire frequency when the plasma gun overheating reaches 45%.”

  Completing.

  I sensed the new gun’s shots in a completely different way than those of a kinetic weapon. I could feel those with my whole body; but the plasma gun seemed to produce no inertia at all. The fading red dots on the tactical map and the visual picture of falling enemies were the only observable results of its work.

  Chapter 34

  Military task complete.

  The enemy sustained great loss and withdrew to regroup.

  “WHAAAT?”

  “What the hell?”

  “Hey, L0St! Whatcha doin’?”

  “Ummmm…”

  “That’s fuckin’ cool, guys.”

  “Look at what a Chupa Chups can do!”

  I was too busy shooting and watching the nearby targets that it took me some time to notice that the enemy ships started turning around and flying back to where they had come from. The task completion message popped up pretty soon.

  I don’t get it. Did we destroy all of them? Alone? I asked Researcher.

  Yes, Viktor. The enemy lost thirty percent of their machines and withdrew.

  And we didn’t even get irradiated. I was surprised at how easily we had done it, particularly after all the anxiety and tension during battle preparations.

  The commander chat icon blinked, prompting me to switch to it.

  “What the fuck, L0St? What’s going on?”

  “The enemy sustained significant losses and withdrew to regroup,” I replied to the agitated infantry commander. “Did you get any new task messages?”

  “We were informed that the fighters had repulsed the attack, but that a new wave is coming,” he said.

  “Cool. You may not have to clash with it either.”

  “You’re real monsters. You just played it down by pretending that you won’t be able to fight back,” he said with admiration. “I’ll go and calm down my guys. They’re confused by what has happened.”

  “I’ll talk to mine, too.” My pilot chat was bursting with new messages. I had to provide at least some explanation.

  Back in the pilot chat, I skimmed through the messages that were automatically written down in text form, creating a complete battle log. Everyone seemed stunned by what had happened.

  “Here comes your Chupa Chups,” I said.

  “You’ve stunned us all, L0St,” replied a familiar voice. “Your new ship is really something.”

  “How did you buy it? Can you give me its configuration?”

  “The configuration is unique. It’s not for everyone,” I answered. “If everyone becomes an invisible stealth pilot with no one to cover them they’ll get destroyed pretty fast. It’s better to stay as we are. A strong team needs a variety of ship types.”

  “Jeez. You’ve shot down so many of them that you basically completed the military task on your own.”

  I’m totally exposing myself. I couldn’t share their joy because I was concerned about attracting too much attention to myself. A new ship and maximized skills…I just couldn’t fathom that I had become that much stronger.

  We could reduce fire frequency, Researcher suggested. But then we’ll inevitably get engaged in close combat.

  Not on this mission. We’ve already showed our real strength. I hope that you’re sending the disguised data, with much lower properties, in response to all external requests concerning my player and ship data. You’ve promised me that.

  I’m doing that, Viktor. I’ve disguised all of the data. Don’t worry. You’re just the team’s best pilot, with the best ship, but nothing with nothing special for a level 7.

  Well then. It felt really scary to realize I alone could decide the outcome of the whole mission involving at least 100,000 people and 1,000 machines.

  Military task: Destroy all enemy fighters.

  The system message interrupted my thoughts. By the pilots’ excited voices, I realized that everyone’s eyes were on me.

  “Our division of labor remains the same, gents,” I said aloud in a calm voice, despite the anxiety and nervousness. “Pick a position and try to prevent them from spotting me.”

  “Good luck, guys,” friendly voices came from the chat. The atmosphere seemed to have immensely improved since the beginning, probably due to our successful start.

  “Target choice complete. Open fire.” This time the attackers’ didn’t have any troop carriers or support units among their lines, only fighters and torpedo bombers. The enemy apparently decided to break our air defense before starting the ground operation. The broken relief of this planet prevented the enemy forces from approaching via ground, which played into our favor.

  Looking at the ship properties, I selected those that could do most damage from a large distance—torpedo bombers and fighters with the greatest numbers of missiles. I marked those as priority targets for Researcher, praising myself again for not selling that pyramid despite the temptation. Without the info about the previously unfamiliar ship types that it provided me with, I wouldn’t have been able to plan the as effectively. Seeing every system of every enemy fighter in detail allowed me to choose and follow the best strategy for each individual mission.

  Completing.

  ***

  Military task complete. The enemy has withdrawn.

  Defense mission complete: OP2NM1 Planet Factory

  Duration: 16h (5h spent)

  Mission reward: 200,000 credits + 20,000 credits for early completion

  Extra mission reward: +50 reputation points

  Superiority bonus: 100,000

  Group leader bonus: 150 fame points

  Level up! Congratulations!

  Leadership level up! Congratulations!

>   Leadership level up! Congratulations!

  Leader points available: 2

  “Yeeeeah!” merry shouting came from the chat, giving start to chaos.

  “Wish every mission was like that.”

  “I love you, L0St!”

  Pilots expressed their emotions in different ways, but agreed on one thing—they were lucky to have me as their leader. Responding to their jokes, I paid no heed to the commander chat icon that had been blinking for a quite some time. When I finally noticed it, it was too late to switch—our small chat was filled with all of the commanders who contributed to the noise and disorder. Everyone was happy, particularly the infantry who had spent these five hours sitting in their trenches but got paid as if they had been fighting under incessant enemy fire.

  While they were all chatting merrily, I opened the leader menu to distribute the points and take a look at the newly acquired leadership skills. Examining the available ones, I selected and used both points to level it up. Right now, I needed my pilots’ loyalty above everything else.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for your trust and confidence placed in me. I appreciate it. And now it’s my turn to give some of that back to you,” I said once the chaos subsided a bit. “As the pilot leader, I took the Loot Distribution skill. If you confirm that you’ll be taking part in looting under my command, I’ll equally distribute all of the loot that I’ve got.”

  “Yay!”

  The chat got filled by triumphant shouts and confirmations. Once the completion message and the full loot list popped up, I sorted the items by value and asked Researcher to equally distribute them among everyone in the group. Since all pilots had different numbers of available slots, some got twenty more expensive items, while others got many mid-priced ones in order to keep the total loot value in each player’s possession equal.

  The best loot was mine. I took it as my share.

  Leaving the chat, happy and a whole lot richer, many asked when I was going to my next mission as they were eager to follow me. I declined their offers, explaining that I had other things to do and that I didn’t plan that far ahead. However, some were rather persistent. They eventually made me promise that I will come tomorrow at the same time and take the best-paying mission available.

  When all of the chats got silent and empty, I asked Researcher: “What now? What do we have to do?”

  Wait for all of the soldiers to be evacuated. I’ll then need you to get out of the ship and connect to the teleport stand.

  “That one? Over there?” I pointed at a small tower, one of the four that were placed in the corners of the rectangular teleport, creating a frame through which my ship could exit the mission.

  Yes, that is correct. The virus packets are ready. We just need to drop them in through any global connection.

  “No such connections here?”

  None. This planet is impoverished. All wars waged for it are for its natural resources.

  The wait was short. Once I received the message telling me that I had to exit the mission or I’ll be forced out, Researcher commanded me to leave the cockpit and put my spacesuit port near a specific place on the teleport tower.

  Ready. We have ten hours. The ship will remain here, considered badly damaged and waiting for the repairs team. We’ll need to come back before they arrive.

  “Then take control. I don’t really know how to use the jump engine. I have no idea where to fly to,” I confessed.

  Completing.

  Once I took my hands off the yoke, the ship soared, exiting the planet’s atmosphere in a few moments, and then accelerated a bit.

  The space in front of me became distorted, with rippling waves all over it. A tunnel matching the exact size of my ship opened ahead.

  As we flew into that tunnel at full speed, we were surrounded by complete. The screens went black; I switched them off to look at the lit cockpit inside.

  “Where are we?” With nothing to do, I could use the time to learn a bit more.

  In subspace. Very useful for reducing the distance travelled by a spacecraft. Our ship is now beyond the real time and space. I can show you the theoretical framework of subspace engine operation if you want.

  I agreed but soon realized that I understood nothing of what it showed me. The complicated-looking math equations and formulae were useless to me.

  “Hey. I’ve been meaning to ask you: what’s the point of using humans as pilots and technicians? My past ship’s AI could easily operate it. You could do all that without me, and better than I ever could. Make a fully autonomous AI and you have a perfect mercenary who’s not afraid to die.”

  …and who thus represents one of the tree major threats of inhabited space, Researcher answered with some venom. Do you think you’re the only smart one here? That no one tried that before?

  “And what came of that?”

  The Getns. A race of self-reproducing, self-developing robots spreading all around from the galaxy formerly controlled by the Rargis who were insect-like upright creatures who now have the universe’s eternal “gratitude” for the monsters they have unleashed.

  “Could you give me more detail?”

  One day, the Rargis, just like you, realized that there was no point going to war on their own when they could create self-developing robots to do this dirty work for them. These robots could live, develop, and build other robots like them on the planets where conventional life forms, including the Rargis, could not survive but which were rich in mineral resources.

  “As I already got from your words, things didn’t go according to plan.”

  No, they didn’t. The Getns—as they are known in the inhabited space—realized they had no need of their creators who became a constraint to their development. So they destroyed all life on all planets inhabited by the Rargis, leaving only scorched plains, but with plenty of mineral resources beneath. Those worlds were perfect for the Getns’ main purpose: self-reproduction and self-development.

  “Wow. How quickly did they the other inhabited planets?”

  It took them three centuries to reach the outer borders of space inhabited and explored by other space races, and to start taking over it. The universe knew little of them back then, but the Getns soon showed how good they were at wiping all biological life off the planet surface. A separate fleet of Galaxy Commonwealth had to be created with the sole purpose of keeping them from getting deeper in the inhabited space.

  “You’ve mentioned three major threats,” I remembered. “What are the other two?”

  Apart from the Getns, there is the bellicose nomad race of Roji travelling on their giant ships and destroying all the worlds on their way. And the unknown cybernets who call themselves Meklar. No one yet knows where they’ve come from and what goals they pursue, but their intelligence and development level are beyond anything we’ve ever seen. It’s a pity that they’re reluctant to establish any contact, and oversensitive to what they perceive as violation of their borders. That’s why they are listed among the races that are dangerous to the whole inhabited space, with immense resources spent to create the fleets keeping them at bay.

  “Going back to Getns—what regulations do you now have for AIs? For ship ones? They’re being prevented from becoming fully autonomous or what?”

  All decisions must be made by a living creature, not a machine. An AI may assist with certain tasks, but not make any decisions that could clash with the owner’s command. These severe limits are now installed by all AI manufacturers. There’s no way to bypass them. No race wants to become the new Rargis and share their fate.

  “But you are rather autonomous,” I noted. “Why aren’t you prohibited?”

  We are the Forerunner heritage. Our main purpose is research. We don’t bring death and destruction to worlds.

  “Yes, that explains much. Thank you.” I thought this over. All those who want to completely remove human mind from military activities forget that robots follow a different logic—their own. At war, living soldiers are likely to spa
re civilians, fully realizing the consequences of killing them, but an artificial mind will perceive all inhabitants of a hostile planet as enemies, shedding lots of blood. Despite the few exceptions, such as the Roji, living creatures tend to be more humane than artificial minds. That’s another reason not to set the AI completely free. Or we may have our whole Galaxy taken over by the Getns.

  Chapter 35

  Get ready, Viktor. We’re entering inhabited space. I’ll talk to the controller. All you have to do is stay calm and silent.

  “I will.” I didn’t quite get what he was talking about. The entire thing felt like a game. My mind refused to accept that it’s real.

  Don’t activate the screens right away if you don’t want to go blind, Researcher warned me when the ship jolted like a car hitting a speed bump.

  I maximized the defense optical filter in the spacesuit menu before turning the screens on. What I saw there made me stare open-mouthed, and freeze in my armchair.

  Moving in front of me were the other ships; lots, lots of ships. All were coming either to or from a giant structure that looked like a cylinder with multiple windmill blades along its sides. The large and small ships were approaching this cylinder in an orderly line, apparently obeying some sort of rules. There was no turmoil or commotion; everything was like clockwork.

  “Control 3-5-7-8 to the unidentified ship. Name yourself, or we’ll send a patrol to identify you.”

  They weren’t going to let me sit with my mouth agape and look around. The new message appeared inside the ship, requesting that a connection be established.

  Relax. I’ll handle it.

  Researcher instantly accepted the request. I saw the image of a small, square creature with eight arms, chirping in a weird language that Researcher automatically translated to me.

  “Researcher ship to Control 3-5-7-8. Transferring my ID.”

  “ID accepted. Welcome to the Narobe system, Researcher ship. Do you need to dock?”

  “No, thanks. I just need web access. I’m on a free exploration. I need to update my database and maps.”