by Eden Blue
Evan rerouted power from a second battery in his E-pack, shields blazing once again. The engineer lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Lydia’s waist, shields in front of her. The cyborg reached down with one hand and closed fingers around the shield emitter. Parts shifted from her hands and connected with the emitter and her rifle. Her aiming went down a few levels but now everything was connected. Activating her Boost ability, the shield output blazed with power. At the same time, the plasma rifle surged and the barrel exploded with power. A large bolt flashed down the street and hit the hover van so hard, the side caved in and it went spinning into a wall. The power core burst and flames roared up, twisting what was left of the metal frame.
A spark of hope filled Evan as the shield maintained power and bolts slammed into it. Hugging Lydia’s waist, the cyborg returned fire, blasting at anything that moved. A rocket launched and streamed through the air. Evan shifted his weight, moving Lydia as the rocket shot past. Vickers stumbled through the battlefield to Evan and Lydia as the rocket blazed on and hit a building. The explosion rattled the area but did not dampen the amount of plasma bolts in the air.
“We have to get out of here!” Vickers shouted as he placed a big hand on Lydia’s neck.
Nano-drones crawled off the doctor’s hand and streamed up the cyborg’s skin. They attached themselves to blackened synthetic flesh and began repairs. Some chained to one another, crisscrossing the large crack on her cheek, repairing and rebuilding several molecules at a time. To Evan, it looked like gray liquid was moving along Lydia’s cheek, sealing the breach in her features.
Evan’s mind worked as he tried to figure a way out of the firefight when a ping lit up his visual display. A smile crept into his cheek just before the area was buffeted by swirling air. The three players looked up to see the Shield Maiden right above the buildings, hover jets keeping the ship stable. Quad cannons rotated under the wings, one set turning to the building filled with Crimson Blades and the other set aiming down the street at the Blades gathered behind building corners.
“Stand down,” Venna’s voice boomed, filling the area.
Evan watched as the bottom bay doors shifted open and Pris stared down, her eyes locked on the Engineer. Bruiser and Hera stood at her side, thrusters blazing to life.
Nika aimed her rocket launcher at the ship. She whispered a curse as she aimed and pulled the trigger. The rocket launched, streaking through the air and slamming into the Maiden’s shields with a muted explosion.
Inside, Venna rolled her eyes, “Initiate surpassing fire.”
Quad Cannons spun for a second before a torrent of plasma bolts stabbed out. Blades took cover only for the cannons to blast through the corners of the buildings and splitting their bodies into a red dust. The Shield Maiden hovered as plasma blast through metal, steel and concrete, ripping the enemy guild to shreds.
The Crimson Blades in the building pulled back as the cannons turned the walls into Swiss cheese. The noise was deafening as the cannons spun and spit out plasma bolts. Players screamed before they were sawed in half. Bodies burst and heads separated from bodies. Flaming limbs rained down onto the floor before floors took heavy damage. The structure of the building buckled and cracked.
Venna watched as the building began to cave in, “I warned them.”
Bruiser and Hera stepped off the edge and floated down with maneuvering thrusters. When they landed, Evan and the group pulled back. Lydia continued to fire, covering their escape. Bruiser opened his big metal hands, Vickers and Evan climbing on. Large metal fingers gently closed around them, the exo-suit’s thrusters blazing. Hera stepped closer, arm out. Lydia stepped back as the power suit’s arm closed around her. Thrusters firing, the power suits ascended to the bay as the Shield Maiden’s quad cannons silenced the enemy.
Pris reached out as the power suits floated up and the bay doors closed. Evan grinned as the android took hold of him and pulled him to her. Pris stepped away with Evan in her embrace, pulling him deeper into the ship and away from the closing bay doors.
“I’m okay,” Vickers shouted with a smile as Bruiser set him down.
Hera gently placed Lydia down and stood at attention. The Cyborg looked to her and smiled.
Venna watched the main screen, letting the cannons continue to fire for a few seconds longer. The enemy had long fled or was destroyed, but the Shri-Ka just liked to hear the sound of plasma cannons a bit longer.
“Nyn, you may stop the suppressing fire,” Venna said with a calm edge.
Nyn nodded and outside, the cannons stopped and rotated to a halt.
Korr looked up as the ship turned in the air. The Krekken’s eyes took in the devastation. Jamie Spiral sauntered toward him. Korr lifted up a communicator bracelet, ready to call in every ship in the area. Before he could open his mouth, Jamie stepped in close as the remaining Dumon aimed their plasma rifles at the Shield Maiden. With liquid ease, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, tongue sliding in and playing with the sub commander’s tongue. Smoke billowed around them as the Sub-commander’s eyes widened and then closed, lost to the sweet taste of the Terran.
The Shield Maiden’s engines roared and the ship blinked away as Jamie and the Sub-commander were lost to their warm and wet embrace.
Nine
Ships streaked across the sky, scanners taking in every inch outside of Rekkus Spire. Pilots looked out the sides of the cockpit windows, trying to find any evidence or sign of the fugitive ship and their crew. Strange trees dotted the land in clusters as shallow blue pools of water reflected the system’s bright sun. A breeze ruffled large leaves as fighter ships crisscrossed the beautiful clear day. Unknowingly, they passed over a cluster of trees where a medium sized ship stood, cloaked from scanners and camouflaged against the alien fauna.
Nyn turned from her controls, the landing cloak on and reflecting scans hiding the Shield Maiden among the planet’s greenery. The crew stood or sat on the Bridge, the mood somber as Evan finished informing Venna and Nyn of what transpired back in the city. Lydia sat at a bridge station, elbows on her knees and a dead gaze in her eyes as she stared at the floor. Doctor Vickers stood behind everyone, large arms crossed and head tilted forward. Venna looked to Evan as he leaned back against a Bridge railguard, his eyes looking away as if deep in thought. Pris stood like a statue, eyeing the crew as the silence grew deafening.
Pris’s holographic skin shuddered for a moment before she began speaking, “The odds of infiltrating and recovering a Tempest Crystal from a military installation are astronomically not in our favor.”
Evan nodded, “We will just have to adjust those odds to be in our favor.”
Venna lifted her eyes, looking to the Engineer, “We mean to still go through with this?”
Evan returned her gaze, “We have too. Ryan wouldn’t have us go through all this trouble to back out now. He will speak to us once we have the crystal.”
Vickers cleared his throat, “I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but your brother isn’t looking into your best interests. It sounds like he is using you and us to get something done, which like you said earlier, he could have done better. He is a high-level Soldier. I’m sure he has allies and friends that could have taken something like this on and succeeded. We barely made it out of Rekkus Spire.”
Nyn’s skin color along her neck and face shifted to a swirling orange, “We do not have any schematics or plans of the installation. We do not know their defenses or capabilities. We could be stopped before we even start.”
Evan eyed the Lyress grimly, “I’m sure we have enough talent here to make it happen.”
Venna’s tail moved slightly across the gray floor, “We do not have the levels, equipment or forces to pull this off.”
Evan was silent for a moment before looking to each one of the motley crew, “Obstacle, Design, and Implement. These are the main tenets of the Engineer class. They teach every engineer these basic truths so they can overcome nearly any situation. We just have to look at each p
roblem and come up with solutions in a viable order.”
The Bridge was silent.
The engineer continued, “We have an obstacle and we must overcome it. It’s a military installation.” Evan looked to Venna, “You must have some experience.”
The Shri-Ka’s face became a blank mask, “Only from what I have heard from attack squads.”
Evan let a small smile slip, “It’s a start. We need to design our way through the obstacles and implement them. Part of the design process is setting out all our tools and experience to see what we have. We take anything useful into our current situation and come up with positive ways to overcome it.”
Nyn’s head dipped a little, “All bases and ships use signal bursts for large scans. Each one is set off at timed intervals. Depending on the security level and range, it could be minutes to seconds; the farther the scans, the longer the interval.”
Evan smiled at the pilot, “It’s a start.”
Nyn’s face glowed a pinkish red.
The engineer turned to Doctor Vickers, “You made an EMP grenade when we first met. Could you make several? We could use that to help take down their defenses.”
The Doctor kept his arms crossed as he looked to the player, “I was only able to make the one. I still have it but don’t have the components to make another.”
Evan raised an eyebrow.
Doctor Vickers let his arms drop to his sides and let out an exaggerated sigh, “I’m a Nano Weaver, but it’s not magic. The reason my body is so large is because I purposely use it to store nano-drones, components, and chemicals. About 20% of my nano drones enforce my skeletal structure and enhance my muscle strength. Another 40% uses places in my body to store items I can use at another time or provide batteries and added power. It’s a network of drones I can use to help create items, heal players, and even keep a few surprises ready.”
“We can see what equipment and supplies we have left. It’s not enough to build another exo-suit but maybe you can create another EMP grenade,” Evan smiled. “You managed to find the sentries behind the walls. Can you use your nano drones to disable defenses or scout out the area?”
Vickers nodded, “I can but it has a limited range. If they have sensitive scanners, which they most likely will, they will know I’m probing their defenses.”
Venna shook her head, “They won’t. Base scanners cannot be too sensitive due to wild life. It may work on a barren moon but not a habitable planet. The smaller life forms would set off the scanners all the time. They have to calibrated to handle humanoids or larger.”
“I could interface with the base’s sensors to mask and distract. I will have to access a terminal, but defense AI’s will know something is wrong. Time tables vary depending if they are engaged or not,” Pris added.
Venna eyed the android, “We have sentries in the walls of the ship. We could deploy some to keep the base busy.”
“It would require the sentries attacking seconds before I access a terminal. They would have to sustain an extended fire fight to ensure the defense AI’s won’t detect me.”
“I could assist with an internal attack. I could have my nano-drones perform a chaos effect where they swarm random scanners. The effect is draining and I won’t be good for much else. A large enough base will have hundreds of scanners. Plus, I have to do it from the inside,” Vickers added.
Evan rubbed his chin, “That leaves us with a bigger problem, getting inside to make it happen. If the sentries attack and we are still on the outside, we will be detected.”
Lydia looked up, “What about the Landing Cloak? Couldn’t we put it on one of the exo-suits?”
Evan’s brow furled as he thought it over. The Engineer moved to a console and brought up the cloak’s diagrams and capabilities. Eyes moved from left to right as the rest of the crew watched him.
“The cloak only works if the ship is not active. Any movement will disrupt the cloak and we will become visible to scanners. The cloak modules are big. I don’t think we have the right equipment for me to build another. I would need days to design and construct one for our purposes,” Evan said, not looking away from the console.
“We could use the Shield Maiden’s modules,” Lydia added.
“It would leave the ship exposed. Krekken forces are on high alert and trying to locate us,” Pris said with no emotion.
Evan looked away from the console and turned to the crew, “Well, we could pull the modules when the sun goes down. The cloak hides us from scanners and visual identification. Pris, can you scramble their sensors? It wouldn’t have to be forever but maybe for a few hours?”
Pris nodded, “I can scramble sensors on each fly by, but Krekken AI’s will piece it together with each pass. I can maintain the ship’s presence as background noise but they will detect us eventually.”
“We just need a few hours, long enough to get in, get the crystal and get out.”
Evan’s mind worked and he could feel it all coming together, “With Pris’s help, we can pull the modules and connect them to Bruiser. He will be able to carry us and the load. The only other issue I see is power. The modules require a lot, which is why most systems are shut down when the cloak is up. Even with Bruiser’s power generators, he won’t be travelling that fast. We need to find out the time intervals between scanner bursts and he needs to cover the distance between them in short order.”
Lydia stood up and smiled at her cousin, “I could pilot and boost him. With my added CPU capabilities and my own internal power, I could make him efficient enough to make it there.”
Evan smiled, “That may be enough to power the cloak and keep us airborne. Once we know the scanner intervals, we have to cross the distance, land and put up the cloak until the burst passes. Then we can get up and continue. It will be a bit of a leap frog thing but we shouldn’t be detected.”
“Tempest Crystals are big, five feet by three feet. If Bruiser is carrying us, how will he carry the crystal?” Vickers asked.
“I can build a casing unit behind one of his shoulders. It should be easy enough to do,” Evan said and looked to the Doctor, “You think you’re strong enough to carry one?”
“I can carry it,” Pris stated.
“We need you disrupting the sensors. We should be preparing for anything that might go wrong. We need to have backups and you will be the backup.
Vickers smiled, “I can carry it.”
Evan nodded, “Bruiser will be too big and noticeable to go in. When we breach the perimeter, he will hunker down and we’ll make our way inside. Once we get Pris to a terminal, she can direct us to where the crystals are.
Venna curled her tail closer, “It sounds like we have a plan.”
“All we have to do now is implement it, Pris, how long before sundown?”
“Three hours and twenty-seven minutes,”
The Captain looked to her crew, her smooth face falling into business mode, “Begin preparations. Nyn, prepare several flight paths in case we are discovered. We will need to circle back to pick everyone up or keep the enemy busy. Evan, prepare Bruiser and make sure your team is ready and able.”
“You don’t have to talk like that, we’re right here,” Vickers laughed.
Venna shot him a stare, her lips curving into a smirk, “My ship, my command.”
Vickers gave a bow, “Yes, your majesty.”
“Time is short, let’s move people,” Venna directed as she sank back in her chair.”
The crew exited the Bridge, filing down the main corridor. The Doctor peeled away, heading to Medical while Pris, Evan, and Lydia walked toward the stairwell and began their descent to the exo-suit bay. Pris walked ahead while Evan and Lydia walked side by side. The engineer could see the faraway look in Lydia’s eyes. His stare moved to her cheek, it had completely healed and her skin was back to its natural color.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Evan asked with concern painting his brow.
Lydia remained silent, her lip wrinkling in dismay.
Evan turned and looked ahead as they walked. They reached the bay and Pris moved to the equipment racks. Bruiser and Hera were in their holding alcoves, silent as statues. Pris pulled out welding equipment and placed them on the floor. Next, she pulled out metal sheets and then went back, picking up spare modules.
Evan was about to join her when Lydia reached out and took hold of his arm. The player looked back to see the Cyborg’s sad gaze, lips pressed together tightly. Evan turned and moved to her, a sense of understanding in his eyes.
“I never thought I would be in a situation where I would be killing players so soon,” Lydia said in a low tone.
Evan bowed his head, “Yea, I know. Most lower level players gain levels in Player vs Environment systems. The Rim is a hot spot for PvP encounters.”
“After what happened at the station and the fight in Rekkus Spire, those players won’t be able to play for seven days.”
Evan wasn’t sure what to say. Player death was seen as a cardinal sin. Most players who talked about it said it was worse than death because they couldn’t be in Nova Sky. Some would fall into a depression, not eating and sleeping most of the time. It was truly a terrible fate. Evan could remember hearing stories of earlier players not caring if they died. They treated it as a vacation, but over the last three decades, it had become something else. Nova Sky had reached a level where it wasn’t something to entertain the masses. It had become an important way of life. Seven days dead left your accounts open to attack or hacks. Your whole virtual life could be destroyed and there was nothing you could do about it. Powerless, most would return, expecting the worse and sometimes it became a true nightmare. Like the man in the streets, you could become a beggar, stuck on a world with no means of escape.
Evan looked to his younger cousin. He saw she was suffering knowing that players would not be able to come back for days by her hands. It was a weight she never expected to carry starting out.