Star Conqueror: Recompense: An Epic Space Harem Adventure

by J. A. Cipriano

  “So, Xara’s doing anything she can to throw us off, but that broad approach makes me think she still doesn’t know our exact plan or location,” I thought aloud. “She knew we’d have to land, obviously, so disrupting the entire planetary weather system was a safe bet and a logical defense with her fleet out of position.”

  Tulip nodded. “Those are the smartest tactics when fighting a small but smart insurgency. She has overwhelming force on her side, so broad approaches are her best way to win.” She frowned a bit, scratching her ear. “Which means time is no longer on our side. The next step for her, if she’s as smart as I’m guessing she is considering her position, is to start sweeping searches through the slave population. Sequester them into chunks and comb through them, threatening each group on pain of death to give up information on the other Resistance leaders or us.”

  I nodded grimly, jaw set. “That’s how tyrants and dictators work.” I cracked my neck. “Fine, we’ve worked under pressure before.” Glancing up at Quar, I saw he was already looking at me with that strange fervor I had seen in Tulip’s eyes plenty of times. “Let’s go put this revolution on a fast track.”

  16

  As we picked up the pace, through tunnels that had a layer of grey, powdery dust over the floors as the air grew a bit stale, I tried to put together all the limited information we knew on Leonis IV, from the mysterious Matriarch to the known Resistance cells, and filter it through these latest developments. My biggest worry was the innocent lives at stake here, the miners who would be caught in the crossfire. Even if Xara flooded these tunnels, my squad could hide for years, evading troops and picking them off little by little, but these former slaves, no matter how much they wanted to do their part in the fight for freedom, didn’t have the training or resources we did.

  On top of that, I worried about Turner and Clara. Trying to contact them directly would either reveal our position or force them to break cloak to respond. Either was a recipe for disaster, but at the same time, who knew if they would fly into a similar disaster as we did? I simply had to have faith in their abilities, just as I trusted in Tulip’s, Alyra’s, and mine on this end. Anything else would simply keep me from focusing on the task at hand, saving the people of this planet from slavery and freeing Xara from the Mother of Chains.

  Once I had come to the conclusion that I simply didn’t have enough information to add much to our plan other than we needed to speed up the schedule, I decided to make our time walking at least a little productive, starting by taking a quick look over the weapons we had wrested from Kritik and his former friends, as well as assessing the damage to my rifle.

  I started with the familiar, slinging my abused weapon around to let my suit get a good scan of it. As it analyzed the situation, I gave it a real, up-close inspection. Tulip and Alyra both noticed what I was doing, and they each acted as guides while I was focused on work, the catwoman with a hand at the small of my back and the ex-Matriarch with the occasional brush of a wing.

  Where the metal whip had wrapped around the main assembly of the Arclight, its cutting edges had sawed deep, cutting through both the outer shell and some of the internal electronics. While the damage hadn’t breached the particle charging chamber, the thing would have exploded if it had, I couldn’t tell if the chamber had been damaged. Charging a shot could cause a breach if it had, and I didn’t want a high-energy blaster exploding next to my face while I was aiming a shot, no sir. My caution was confirmed by the HUD as the weapon’s information popped up in my vision.

  Arclight Double Rifle

  Type: Blast Rifle

  Item Level: 19

  Durability: 6,873/74,000

  Damage: 120

  Accuracy: 35

  Enchantments: none

  Ability: Over-under. A second larger barrel for a single shot with 3X damage multiplier. This will expend all the energy in the gun and it cannot be fired again for three seconds after.

  WARNING: Weapon has suffered critical damage! Discharge may lead to misfires or catastrophic weapon malfunction.

  * * *

  I sighed faintly, sad to see my reliable rifle in such a state. Still, for now, firing it would have been a crapshoot anyway, as one wrong blast, especially with the big barrel, could cause a chain reaction if it struck phasic crystal. While we were travelling through areas with far small veins, I had yet to see a location with none at all. Holstering the Arclight, I pulled out the Thorax, the blades springing back into place with a simple twist of the grip. Up close, I could appreciate the dull sheen of the superalloy blade and the shining mono-molecular edge, with a thin, red line demarking the area of the bits too dangerous to even touch from the side.

  * * *

  Thorax-R Combat Ax

  Type: Assault Melee (Battleax)

  Item Level: 32

  Durability: 85,000/85,000

  Damage: 180 (based on user’s physical strength)

  Enchantments: none

  Ability: Mono-molecular Edge. All strikes with the two cutting edges benefit from 300% increased physical armor penetration and 50% increased shield penetration.

  * * *

  It didn’t get much more straight forward than that. While my Cestari could do more raw damage, the Thorax had superior reach, and the super sharp edge could make all the difference against heavy armor. For the close quarters combat of the mines, it’d do the job perfectly.

  “Well, my rifle is shot for now, but I have to say, this ax is pretty sweet,” I noted, twisting the grip to retract the blades. “Mind if I give that whip a once-over, Tulip? It’s not my style, but I want to know what all resources we have to work with.”

  Tulip glanced over at me, her cautious agent look melting into her mischievous grin as she slid the coil of steel off of her shoulder. “Oh, of course, David. I’m actually quite proficient with a whip myself, though I can’t say I’ve had the chance to use one in the field. Usually, it’s in a more … intimate setting.”

  She winked at me as she handed me the whip, her tail lightly smacking me in the ass. While I didn’t really feel it through my armor, it made me shiver in anticipation all the same. Alyra, well, she’d figured out the innuendo as well and was unable to hide the blush in her polished marble skin.

  “You’ll have to show me,” I responded, managing to control an urge to do something about it despite the inappropriate setting. Tulip’s grin just got broader as I manage to tear my eyes away from her gorgeous face and back to the task at hand. It took longer to do that than for my suit to analyze the new weapon, my HUD popping up the new information.

  * * *

  Scourge-Q Electrolash

  Type: Specialist Melee (Whip)

  Item Level: 34

  Durability: 72,000/72,000

  Damage: 100

  Enchantments: none

  Ability: Electrical Discharge. When activated, the whip is charged with electrical energy. Targets struck take an additional Damage 75 electrical hit, and grappled targets take a constant Damage 50 electrical effect every second of contact. Requires connection to a power suit or other source of energy, drains 1% suit power or 1 charge from a power cell per 10 seconds of charge.

  * * *

  Specialist-type weapons were just that, weapons best wielded by individuals highly trained in using them. In Star Conqueror, that was usually done by purchasing the required special Proficiency upgrade. Here in the real world, well, practice would likely make the difference, though that made me wonder if there were upgrades like that, things that would basically directly imprint knowledge and motor skills into my brain. Still, the one thing examining the whip made me realize is that electrical weapons and attacks might be safe to use down here. I’d have to confirm that later with the miners, nodding to Tulip with thanks as I handed back the Scourge.

  Speaking of upgrades, I glanced at the two ladies by my side. “I don’t know how you two are doing on credits precisely, but considering things are likely to get hot and heavy,” – Tulip flashed me a smirk and Alyr
a a blush at the unintentional meaning to my words – “might want to check your upgrades. Just give me a moment, I know exactly what I want to nab, and I know I have the credits for it.”

  “Very well, my dragon,” Alyra said, her feathers ruffling as she tried to regain her usual stoic composure. “You may look at your options as well, Tulip, as I know I have too little for any appreciable purchases.” She puffed up her chest, even though the motion made her wince slightly as she shifted her shoulder. “Leave it to me to watch your way.”

  Tulip favored her with a soft smile. “Thanks, Alyra. In fact, I think I know just what to check on.”

  “My pleasure,” the ex-Matriarch said with a small, honest smile, spreading her wings around both of our backs.

  A small voice in the back of my mind, one that my dragon wholeheartedly agreed with, reminded me what Clara had been able to do with her wings, that I should definitely share that knowledge with Alyra later. Keeping my libido and my dragon wrangled for the moment, I forced myself to give Alyra a normal, pleasant smile before pulling up my wrist screen and cycling to the upgrade menus.

  Between the taking of Exo and the fight with Kritik and his ex-squadmates, I had just managed to rack up a total of eighty-two power credits, counting what I had before. With everything starting to accelerate in terms of our mission here on Leonis IV, I realized that we might wind up confronting Xara far sooner than I originally thought. While I was still a bit worried about the implications of it, I would kick myself if I didn’t have Soul Burn ready in case we needed it.

  I mentally clicked on Upgrades, then the Dragonfire tree. Finding myself letting out a low sigh, I re-read the Soul Burn description, hoping that maybe some new insight would pop out at me.

  * * *

  Soul Burn

  Cost: 80 power credits

  Requires equipped Focus

  Conjure spiritual flames from within an opponent’s soul. If unresisted, the flames inflict psychic damage over time equal to 50% of normal dragonfire damage and weaken the opponent’s will and resistance to mental magic.

  WARNING: May cause spiritual backlash, may not effective against more powerful beings.

  Power Cost: 10% of maximum

  Cooldown: 10 seconds

  * * *

  Unfortunately, my suit’s computer didn’t flash me any new information, and I was left once more to ponder the difference between mental and spiritual backlash. Still, I told myself, I would be a fool if I didn’t consider every option. Freeing Alyra had been difficult, and the Mother of Chains had even gone so far as to plant traps in her mind specifically to try to kill me. Now, with an extra month of preparation, who knows what the High Priestess and the Mother had concocted in Xara’s mindscape?

  No, I’d have to be ready. Freeing the Matriarchs and keeping my new family safe trumped all other concerns. If there was indeed backlash or consequences, I’d deal with them when I had to. With a mental nudge, I clicked on Soul Burn, the ability lighting up in green as my power credits dwindled to a mere two, then hit Accept.

  There was the near-electric rush of the upgrade taking hold, the tingle of new power in my spine, as the crystals set in the knuckles of my Cestari let out a puff of green-gold fire, a distinctly different shade than the usual red and orange of my dragonfire. The puff was gone in a moment, and I half-wondered if it was just a trick of the light.

  I was about to ask if Alyra or Tulip had seen it, Tulip’s spending being as swift as mine, when Quar raised a fist again as we neared a bend in the tunnel. My question on the backburner for now, I glanced at my HUD’s map. This particular shaft was widening out, set to dead end into a small chamber. Straining my eyes and ears, I could just make out muffled sounds and a few shafts of light cutting through the dust and gloom ahead.

  “My master’s camp is just ahead,” he whispered. “Still, be on your guard.”

  I got what he meant immediately, as Alyra arched an eyebrow, matching the miner’s low tones. “But why? Is this not safe?”

  “No,” I answered as I drew my Swarmer. Though the shot-pistol could chew something to pieces at close range, the individual pellets lacked the kinetic power to set off a crystal … probably. “With Xara on the move, we can’t assume anything is safe, no matter what.”

  Tulip nodded, the Scourge tight in her grip. “One of the dangers of being on this side of a guerilla war, Alyra. While it sounds pretty normal ahead, we can’t trust it, not until we see.” Her ears twitched as she voiced something that had been nagging me as well, “Though to be fair, I can barely hear anything, which is pretty abnormal.”

  “One of the master’s cell members managed to cobble together a sound damper from salvaged parts, which is both a great boon, but in this case, a point of possible suspicion. Step careful now.” Quar turned, drawing the knife that had drawn his own blood less than an hour before, and led the way around the turn.

  Normally, I’d have pushed to the front. I mean, first in, last out was sort of my deal, but in this case, if the camp wasn’t compromised, it would be best for them to see a familiar face first. They’d be less likely to want to bash it in.

  17

  What was around the bend was certainly not a small, dead-end chamber as our maps showed. The shimmering, opaque barrier, what had to be the sound damper’s limit, explained why the light too had been shut down, and it also acted like one of those cheap, plastic shower curtains. Everything beyond was distorted, so all we could do was press on. There was a faint vibration that shuddered through my armor and body as we passed through. The moment I was on the other side, a rush of light and sound fell in on me, enough to make me stop for a moment to try and process it all.

  The first thing that caught my eye about the massive cave was that the walls here were featureless grey stone like the canyon we had landed in, without the smallest hint of phasic crystal deposits. No crystals meant no need to mine which meant a dead end … for the Matriarchy at least. The perfect place for rebellious miners to dig a hidey-hole out of.

  If you could call the immense cave a hole, that is. The term didn’t do it justice. Over who knows how many years, rebellious workers must have snuck here, chipping and digging at this inert chunk of stone, turning the end of the line into a vast hollow. It was at least a hundred meters on all sides. The tunnel we stepped out of stood in the center of the wall, a good fifty meters up, though there was a strangely melted ramp of stone that was cut off a few feet ahead of is.

  Still, all in all, it was a testament to the desire for all sentients to be free that this place even existed.

  It was also a testament to that desire that the miners here were desperately trying to both defend themselves and gather up scattered packs and supplies from the Quibs charging through a perfectly circular hole in the far wall. It didn’t take a genius to see that their chances of either escaping or winning the fight were somewhere between shit and none. The split ramp made a lot of sense at that moment because it was the only way out that wasn’t filled with jack-booted Matriarchy thugs.

  Trying to rally the Resistance fighters at the tip of the ruined escape route was a Synatan woman. I would have guessed at first glance that this was the sister of Essia Krane from the amethyst crystal skin, though this woman’s wire hair was extremely short, the same as all the miners who, you know, had something hair-like. She was dressed in the same ragged jumpsuits as the other former slaves, but she had a good half of a Quib’s armor strapped over her frame, which was good because she was attracting a lot of attention from more than just her followers. She was ducking and dodging from lasers and bullets while firing wildly with a battered Fang auto-pistol.

  After all, this may have been one of the only places under the surface of Leonis IV where the Quibs could fire freely.

  As for the dozen attackers, they had a leader of their own, or more properly a pair of leaders. I first thought that the guy was just a weird ogre of a Quib, stooped over like a gorilla, with a strange armored hump on his back. Maybe ten feet tall, the
brute’s armor was a muddy brown with gold trim instead of the standard black and red, with a heavy headed, crystal studded scepter that reminded me of a crude Wander clutched in his mitts. And then the hump moved, and I could tell that it wasn’t a hump, but a cockpit of sorts. There was a shape moving behind the tinted windows, and I could only guess our giant Quib had gone full Master Blaster, with a little Quib on his back.

  Our sudden appearance through the damping field brought the briefest of silences across the battlefield, the Resistance miners expecting more enemies and the Quibs assessing the new threat. With all eyes on us for that moment, I did what I thought would be the smartest thing to save the most lives.

  I took a step forward, holding my left Cestari up, normal red-gold dragonfire writhing around it. Raising my voice to the loudest drill-sergeant tone I could manage, I shouted, a hint of the dragon spirit rumbling in the back of my throat. “My name is David Briggs, the dragon of legend, and I’m giving you assholes one chance to lay down your weapons, put your manipulating digits on the back of whatever you have that passes for a head, and surrender.”

  No, I didn’t expect them to surrender. That wasn’t the point at all. The point was to keep all the Matriarchy goons staring at me, to direct their fire at the heavily armored guy with the Ascension build and a Dragon Form that wasn’t on cooldown. Otherwise, more of these people were going to die, and I didn’t need to count the bodies to know that the miners had already been hit hard.

  The miners and the Synatan, Ferria Dain almost certainly, suddenly let out a triumphant cheer, moving with renewed vigor, while ten Mandibles, Stingers, and Scarabs were pointed in my general direction. Oddly, though, two of the Quibs straight up threw down their rifles and hit the deck, covering their heads with their hands. Guess Kritik might get some new friends.