Ironically, those last-generation weapons would actually be safer to use in the mines, their reduced power less likely to trigger a phasic crystal explosion. However, that particular danger was something I planned to turn into a major part of our battle plan moving ahead.
As far as the advanced weaponry the assault group with Plazzio were using, we were going to have to sort those on the next leg of our trip. The air in this chamber, even as vast as it was, had started to thin, and even for those miners in salvaged suits, none of those were entirely sealed through mismatched components. For now, the miners were armed with them, but considering I needed a new rifle until I could get Turner to repair the Arclight, I was going to give them a proper look.
Ferria herself had broken out the ATS-210 exoframe from its crate. “As I said, Captain, this is almost identical in core design to our mining exoframes, well, when we still had them.”
Unlike a full power suit, the assembled frame was an external, motorized skeleton, hard superalloy supports that strapped around the Synatan’s arms, legs, back, and neck. Heavy gauntlets, greaves, and a bubble helmet locked into the frame, while a bulky fusion generator mounted in a backpack provided power.
Ferria explained further as we gathered with Plazzio at the far end of the cave. “While it can’t compare in offensive or defensive capabilities to your modern power suits, the exoframes still provides enhanced strength, basic life support, and access to the same power credit upgrade system your suits use, though its onboard upgrades are much less impressive. But for unlocking natural abilities, it’s still a powerful tool.”
“And fortunately, Turner and Clara have two,” Tulip said cheerfully, but I could still sense the worry under her happy façade.
I put an arm on her shoulder and squeezed. “They’ll be fine. Once we get moving, I asked Ferria to send a coded transmission to the other cells. I’m sure they already made contact, so we’ll get word back on them soon.” I chuckled. “Hell, Turner might have already beat us to the punch, in the middle of blowing up half the Matriarchy installations on the planet as we speak.”
“You’re right, of course,” Tulip giggled, flashing a smile at me.
“Is he not always, zadavio?” Alyra added as she stepped up beside us. Ferria was consulting with Plazzio, a much-maligned, hand-written map of the mines spread out in her hands, figuring out a very specific route to go that matched my specifications. “Though, I feel as if I must pry into my dragon’s inner thoughts and find out what precisely our new plan of action is?”
“Well, my dears, the first step is simple enough.” I glanced back at our little army. “We’ve still been running like crazy since Exo. Even when we haven’t been fighting, we’ve been marching, planning, the like. Not only are we tired, but these people are too.” I gestured to Ferria and Plazzio up front. “They’re figuring a route that Plazzio can open up that won’t cross the preexisting mines, to wind up in another impromptu chamber, again shaped by Plazzio. With the help of all these trained miners, Ferria is pretty certain they can jury-rig a connection to the main life support.”
“A new safe spot, someplace we can collect ourselves without the entire security force blowing through the walls,” Tulip said with an understanding nod. She scratched thoughtfully on her ear. “So, we rest just long enough to get to one-hundred percent, but that’s not really a plan, David.”
“Oh, ye of little faith,” I replied with a grin. “I’ll admit, we do have some details to work out, but the plan of attack is actually pretty simple if you think about it.”
Alyra arched an eyebrow. “Plazzio, Ferria, and the miners use their expertise to collapse the entire tunnel structure atop Xara’s clever little head? Brutal, but efficient.”
“While that thought had crossed my mind,” I admitted as Plazzio raised his mace, the crystals glowing with that muted green light, “no, but you’re thinking in the right direction. We obviously can’t destroy the research lab unless it’s a last resort. The Resistance needs that information, I need to free Xara from the Mother of Chains, and plus Ferria told me that plan could blow up the entire planet.”
“Then we really need to find Turner soon,” Tulip gasped. “I know you left Clara with him to keep his more explosive tendencies in line but …”
Alyra nodded emphatically. “I do not wish to die at such a young age, David. You must do something about this.”
Flowing like water, the stone wall rippled and whirled, pulling away into a perfectly round tunnel, exactly like the one the Quibs had originally come through. As the whirlpool of water continued to swirl, the tunnel stretched outward, and Ferria called out to the assembled revolutionaries.
“We’re on our way, my friends.” She raised a gauntleted fist. “I know many of you have fought hard and seen little for your efforts, but with the prophecy of Draconis now walking among us, know that this is our first real step to freedom!”
The miners let out a slew of cheers, and I felt that bit of creeping discomfort again. Hell, even if you went beyond the fact that I thought the idea of prophecy itself was sketchy, wasn’t ‘fate’ just another form of slavery? A loss of freedom to choose your end fate, as you have to fulfill some old seer’s words written down centuries before you were born?
Sorry, that just wasn’t my cup of tea.
The little rally ended, and we got properly underway, Plazzio leading the way slowly onward. The air was still fairly stale, but fresher, making me wonder exactly where it was coming from. A byproduct of Plazzio’s magic maybe? It didn’t much matter, so long as it kept our band of revolutionaries alive. Light, at least, was easy to come by, a dozen set of suit lights cutting through the darkness.
Finally having a chance to answer Alyra and Tulip’s concerns, I shrugged. “Look, I know we love to joke about Turner’s love of the boom-boom, but we all know he’s an expert, right? And okay, I’ll admit that I wouldn’t put it past him to blow up a planet if he thought he could wipe out some major threat to the galaxy, even if he would die in the process, do you think he’d do that if we would be caught in the blast radius?”
Tulip and Alyra exchanged looks for a moment in the glow of their suit lights before relenting. Almost in unison, they said, “No, he wouldn’t.”
“He is too much of an honorable man,” Alyra added. “For he truly understands what zadavio means, I see it in his eyes.”
“Plus, his wife would murder his ghost,” Tulip purred, almost breaking down into giggles. “It would be truly epic if we were still alive ourselves to see it.”
“And we’ve gotten way off track,” I pointed out as the tunnel began to slope upward. “As I said, the plan is simple, and yes, it now evolved around Plazzio’s magic. I mean, we’d be idiots if we didn’t use this tremendous advantage now. Why do you think the High Priestess sent him to aid Xara in the first place?”
With the ladies’ full attention now, I continued, “There are some specifics to hash out, especially as some elements will change based on how many cells Ferria can actually contact, but in broad strokes, we’re going to cut the head off the hydra.”
Alyra’s baby blues went as wide as I’ve ever seen them. “Did the High Priestess send Xara her pet hydra? If so, we have far greater problems, and cutting one of its heads off won’t help, and—”
“No, no,” I cut her off, waving my hands. “But it’s good to know that hydras are a real thing out here in the greater galaxy. No, it’s a figure of speech back home. We’re going to go for a direct strike against Xara, through the fastest means possible. Plazzio will make that a lot easier.”
“Of course!” Tulip nodded enthusiastically. “With his ability to shape and control stone, we can avoid almost all of Xara’s forces, save for what she has in reserve at her laboratory. And once we’re there, well, it might be magic, but it’s also technology. Technology is one of my many specialties.”
“And if your skills are stymied, then I can apply brute force to the situation,” Alyra added with a nod, excitement building
in her voice. “Once we open the way, all David must do is break Xara’s chains, then we will have our victory!”
As the ladies voiced their enthusiasm and began to discuss fine points of my general plan, I kept my smile as I let my mind drift. No, this wouldn’t be easy at all, but as long as I put up a confident face, these people, all of them now looking toward me to win the day for them, would be confident too.
21
Our second march of the day was, fortunately, a short one, so short that what I had intended to do on the march, sorting weapons and checking on upgrades, had to wait. Though Plazzio’s ability to manipulate earth and stone were impressive, the giant Quib only had so much power he could bring to bear at one time. Still, he not only led us into unmined territory, safe from Matriarchy detection for the moment, but hollowed out a small but serviceable hideaway for our little rebel force.
From there, the miners got a chance to show their stuff. As the terrakinetic collapsed into a corner of our new home away from home, the other got to work, breaking out picks, chisels, shovels, and the supplies we had brought from the Orion. Under Ferria’s direction, they built on the work Plazzio had done, carefully cutting through to tap into the main mine’s power systems, leeching just enough juice to run Ferria’s encoded transmitter and, most importantly, the force tents.
Well, not the full domes. Again, the miners’ ingenuity impressed me. Cannibalizing the four tents we had brought for their atmosphere emitters and using the mine as a power source, they had the cavern filling with fresh, breathable air within ten minutes of our arrival. Cots were laid out, rations were split, and the entire camp was laid out with startling, almost military efficiency.
“I’ve sent messages to the other cells,” Ferria told us as we set up our own bit of camp. “We likely won’t receive a response for a few hours, as most of the work crews must still put up appearances for the Matriarchy. If we don’t receive word within six hours though, we must assume the worst.”
Alyra nodded, her eyes drooping as she shifted in her sleeping bag. “Then we must pray for the best.”
Her voice trailed off into a stiff yawn, highlighting the one problem with Quick-Juv. The nano-machines in the medicine used the body’s own energy to power to reconstruct the body. As Alyra had been the worst hurt of us, she was also the first to fall out, practically nodding off at that point.
I pulled the covers up around her, glancing sidelong at the crystal woman. “Whatever happens, we’re going on with the plan. It just changes the specifics, that’s all.”
“Okay,” Ferria said with a slow nod. “I’ll draw up the final plans for the dig in the morning.” Her eyes drifted to the ceiling of the cavern, a sigh slipping out of her lips. “You know, I haven’t seen a sunrise in ten years. I’m trusting that you’ll make it so that I can.” With that, she walked off towards the clump of miners, her exoframe whirring as she moved.
“I understand why she’s worried,” Tulip said as she drifted up next to me. “But then again, she doesn’t know you very well, does she?”
I laughed a little at that. “You know, at the rate you two are going,” – I nodded at the dozing Alyra – “I’m going to have a head the size of the galactic core.”
“Oh, well, depending on the head we’re talking about,” Tulip purred as she pressed herself against my side, hand tracing down my chest, “you’re already there.”
“Do not tempt me right now, because I would so do it,” I replied, voice going low and husky as I turned and pulled her tight against me. “And as much as I hate to say it—”
Tulip cut me off with a kiss, her lips as warm as the feel of her up close to me. “We both have work to do, and we should both actually sleep.” Reluctantly, she pulled back from me, her hands trailing for a moment before she turned towards her cot. “I’m going to sort upgrades first, Enzio actually gave us a pile of credits, then see if I can do some hacking into the mine’s systems.” She flashed a smile over her shoulder. “You know, what I do best.”
“I would argue that as incredible of an infiltration expert and master hacker you are, there’s at least one thing you do better than that,” I added with a grin.
“Oh, David, you have yet to see me at the height of my powers.” Tulip’s Cheshire cat smile was in full force as she slid the whip off her shoulder with seductive slowness. “But later. We should go to work.”
It took all of my considerable force of will to not throw responsibility to the wind and see what all Tulip meant. I simply promised myself that when we were done here, I’d take Tulip up on that the first chance I had. It would certainly make for a nice added reward after saving the planet. For now, though, she was right. It was time to go to take care of things before I could actually get a little shut-eye.
While Tulip settled down next to where Alyra slept, pulling her tablet off of her wrist, I walked over to where the stockpile of weapons and gear was stowed. Step one, the simple one, was to take a good look at the enchanted weapons from Xara’s strike team. As their loadouts looked standardized from a quick glance, I took one of each weapon type the Quibs had been packing and sat down next to the stores to give them a proper inspection.
* * *
Mandible Plus Rifle
Type: Slugthrower Rifle
Item Level: 32
Durability: 80,000/80,000
Damage: 170
Accuracy: 35
Magazine Size: 120
Enchantments: Ammo Restore IV (reloads 8 rounds per second), Biting Bullet III (+35% armor penetration)
Ability: Smart targeting link adds +10 Accuracy for 10 seconds, 2% suit power cost
* * *
Stinger Plus Rifle
Type: Pulse Laser Rifle
Item Level: 30
Durability: 73,000/73,000
Damage: 55 x 3 pulses
Accuracy: 50
Enchantments: Ability Multiplier IV (weapon abilities have 350% normal benefits), Mending Circuit III (repairs 1000 Durability per minute)
Ability: Overcharged pulse adds 10 (35 with enchantment) damage per shot, 1000 Durability lost per overcharge
* * *
Scarab Plus Rifle
Type: Blast Rifle
Item Level: 31
Durability: 74,000/74,000
Damage: 160
Accuracy: 38
Enchantments: Mana Gathering III (+15% power regeneration), Sparking Blast III (20 electrical damage added per blast)
Ability: Ionic discharge. Alternate firing mode can discharge raw charged particles like a shotgun, inflicting 240 blast damage in a 45-degree cone, 3% suit power cost.
* * *
Fang Plus Auto Pistol
Type: Slugthrower Pistol
Item Level: 27
Durability: 60,000/60,000
Damage: 90
Accuracy: 55
Enchantments: Prismatic Magazine III (10 variable elemental damage added per bullet)
Ability: Gravitic compensators reduces recoil by 50%
* * *
Well, I could never accuse the Illuminator of giving her goons cheap weapons. While it didn’t match end-game gear from Star Conqueror, it outclassed the weaponry Tulip and I had on hand, especially when you factored in the liberal enchantments added. While we might be stuck to axes and whips in most of the mines, having the best firearms possible for the assault on the magitech research lab would be critical.
I set aside a Scarab to replace my still-broken Arclight, and two of the Fangs for Tulip. My Swarmer was still good, and the rest of our war party needed weapons as well, so I left it at that. As for Alyra, well, her combat magic was better than a crate of Stingers. I rested my old friend off to the side, giving the old Arclight a wistful look before scooping up Tulip’s new pistols.
The catwoman was still busily tapping away at her tablet, even though her eyelids were starting to droop. Her cracked ribs hadn’t been as serious of an injury as Alyra’s torn shoulder, but the Quick-Juv still drained her so much it took severa
l seconds for her to notice me standing over her.
I shook my head as I finally spoke up. “Maybe you should sack out yourself. You look beat.”
“Oh!” Tulip started at the sound of my voice, almost fumbling her tablet in a rare lack of grace, before glancing up at me. “Yes, you’re probably right, David. I just wanted to get some codebreakers running, give them time to do their damage while we slept.” Her eyes lit up as they focused on the two wicked, bronze-and-crystal-fitted pistols in my hands. “Did you go get me some presents? You know I love presents, especially highly lethal ones!”
“Hey, I pay attention.” I chuckled, spinning the Fangs around to present them to her grip-first. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I thought Alyra would like, Enzio’s little baby hand Cestari will need to get resized if anyone is going to wear them, but I’m sure I’ll have some more chances to go shopping before this mission’s over.”
Tulip mounted her tablet back on her wrist before plucking the weapons out of my hand. “Considering where you plan on taking us tomorrow, I’m certain you will.” She gave the Fangs a close inspection, nodding slowly as she did. “I’ll put my Starshots into the stash in the morning, make sure they get a good home.”
Setting the pistols next to her pack, she stifled a yawn, eyes turning towards where Alyra slept as I settled down myself. “You know, I wasn’t so sure about her at first. I mean, obviously you did the right thing in freeing her, but I wasn’t sure if she would, you know, click. With the rest of us, I mean. The way she clung to you after we beat her, well, she tried to hide it, but it was obvious she’d follow you through Hell and back afterward.”
I chuckled at that, tapping at my wrist screen to check on upgrades next. “I take it your assessment has changed since then.”
Star Conqueror: Recompense: An Epic Space Harem Adventure Page 16