Condition Evolution 3: A LitRPG / Gamelit Adventure

by Kevin Sinclair

  “Sounds good to us. Just one more thing before, well, before we go our separate ways. Astrid, I wanna see your stats, or you can just tell me them. We need to know where you're at.”

  “Oh, right. Sure, just come over and see. I wanted to see them myself, like, an hour ago.”

  “You know what to do, Rufus?” I asked.

  “I think? Is it just the same as entering a mind in our normal training?”

  “Pretty much, yeah,” Ember said.

  We all jumped over to Astrid’s Mindscape again and went to her Cognition Room.

  Name: Astrid Vaughan

  Age: 31 GY

  Transcendence Level: 60

  Strength: 79/1000

  Agility: 79/1000

  Speed: 75/1000

  Intelligence: 49/1000

  Constitution: 50/1000

  Wisdom: 52/1000

  Mental Resilience: 40/1000

  Mental Clarity: 22%

  Potential: 80%

  “What the fuck, Astrid? How is your Mental Clarity so high?” Ember said.

  “I don’t know.” She said, looking puzzled but proud. “I mean, I’ve always been an extremely careful person, I suppose. Before Anatoli I avoided as many situations as I could where anything unexpected could happen.”

  “What, like going to watch a horror movie?” I asked.

  “I never went to the cinema. I never really left the house.”

  “What about shopping?” Ember asked.

  “I had it delivered to the door, and my mother would deal with the delivery driver.”

  “Oh, wow. I’m sorry. So, how did you end up in Anatoli? Sorry! You don't have to answer that,” Ember said, looking a little embarrassed that she’d pressed Astrid.

  “No, it's fine. I’m quite over it now. When I look back over my life before Ogun and his therapy, it's like I’m watching a TV show.

  “Basically, my mother died. I spent two weeks alone in the house with her body. I couldn’t bring myself to ring an ambulance, or anything. I just covered her up and tried to carry on as normal. The food ran out after a little while, but I remember not minding too much. I didn’t eat a lot anyway, back then. When they found me, I believed I’d gone quite mad.

  “I was taken to a hospital and was about to be committed to a mental institute when Ogun appeared and offered me a lifeline. Not that I chose it; I was incapable of choosing anything at that point. He actually worked with me for a month before he put me into Anatoli. I don’t think I’d have lasted an hour in there otherwise.”

  “I guess you feel extra hurt by Ogun disappearing, then,” Ember said.

  “I really do, though I’ve a developed the ability to cope with unexpected situations now,” she laughed, which I was bloody grateful for, because it had turned morose as fuck for a minute there.

  We all came back to our normal states and walked back with Rufus and Astrid to their waiting shuttles. This time we had a group hug. The whole Mindscape tour and the transcending stuff coupled with Astrid’s story had pulled us all together. Closer than I would have expected. I realized that Rufus was probably just as fucked-up in the past too, and that I didn't need to compete with the pair of them. We all just needed to grow stronger together to face whatever came our way.

  We waved them off, then went to find Elyek.

  C16

  Six P’s

  We entered Elyek’s quarters and took a seat, and I began what I hoped would be a positive conversation. “Hey, Elyek. One of the Veiletians, Acclo, has made some changes to how things are run around this place. I’ve warned them that they would only stand until you came back to approve them.”

  “Okay,” Elyek said, raising one eyebrow.

  “They’ve, um, set up a roster for permanent bridge crew, except for a few blank positions to allow a place for newcomers. One of the things they’ve suggested is that pilot might not be the best role for Calegg, but I’ve straight away stomped that down. Still, I did agree with Acclo that Calegg shouldn’t be covering both posts. Especially since we have a lot of skilled people now.”

  “Oh, that is fantastic news. I had hoped one of the newcomers would be skilled with logistics. That will take a huge amount of pressure off me, and yes, we need to reduce Calegg’s workload. He will not like it, but he does need support. Let him choose of course between engineering or piloting the ship.”

  “So, you're okay with Acclo taking charge with this?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yes, Captain. Only, what will I do? Be Calegg’s copilot?” Elyek said with a laugh.

  “Whatever you want. You’ll always be one of the most valuable leaders in the Uprising. You could just hang about the place, causing trouble like me and Ember.”

  “Sounds like fun! Let’s go speak to Calegg. This needs to be addressed immediately in order that we can plan for the rest of the crew.”

  We all agreed and went off to find Calegg.

  He was on the bridge, as always. “Calegg! Old buddy, king of open space, can we have a word in my office?”

  He looked over to Elyek, Ember and me and nodded grimly. Saying a few quick words to the Veiletian next to him, he followed us to the captain's office.

  Before we could even get a word out, he spoke. “I know, I know. There’s much better pilots here than me. At least let me serve as a copilot?”

  “What! Calegg, no. You’re chief pilot here, and where everyone else has nine-hour shifts, you’re the only lucky bastard that gets to pull double.”

  “Seriously? I thought for sure I was getting a demotion.”

  “You are dude. Sorry.”

  Calegg looked confused.

  “We need to be the best we can be. You’re a founding member. There’s four of us, and will only ever be four of us who made this happen. But you do double shifts day in and day out when you don’t need to.

  “And yes, here comes the boom. You can’t be both pilot and engineer. You’ll have to choose. We’ve too many good people who are deserving of jobs. You decide which. We’ll give you space, of course, and you’ll be in charge of whatever uh… department you settle in.”

  “Oh, right. I mean, yeah. You’re totally right of course. It’d be stupid for me to continue to work 18-hour shifts covering two important posts when there are so many people now. Um, I’ll think about it as I work. I'll let you know in a few hours, at most.”

  “Okay, thanks Calegg. You're still the man!”

  He smiled, then headed for the door. When he stopped, he turned around slowly. “Engineering,” he said as he finally faced us.

  “Really?” I asked, surprised.

  “Absolutely. I’ll take other responsibilities as you need, but I’ve to face the truth. Even if Elyek or Hwista trained me, I’ll never be as good a pilot as them, and I accept that. Though I do love being in control of the Uprising, and I will miss it.”

  “Well man, I’m sorry it’s a decision that has to be made, I know you love flying this baby,” I said, patting the wall I was standing next to.

  “Well, my main skills are in engineering. Not to mention the fact that I’ve nearly exploded about five times when we’ve had to escape life-and-death situations. I still like to think I'm getting better. One of these days, who knows?” he paused, looking thoughtful. “No. I came on as a ship's mechanic who can fly a bit, and it’s what I’m best at. Elyek, I’ll happily hand the pilot position over to you.”

  “Oh, Calegg. I'm honored, but I hope you know you're highly skilled and would have easily been as capable as me or Hwista with a little time. We are technophiles as a race, so it stands to reason we have a natural affinity. Plus, we all have a lot more practice than you. But if you ever want to join in as co-pilot just let me know, yes?” Elyek said, coming across as both sympathetic and informative. I would have just sounded like a patronizing asshole.

  “Well, that was pretty intense,” Ember said loudly. “But for what it’s worth, Calegg, we all would have been happy with whatever you chose.”

  “Thanks, Ember. I thi
nk I’ve made the right decision. I'll finish my shift, so it’s not awkward or embarrassing.”

  “Whatever you want, pal. But if you are going to switch full-time to engineering, I want this ship running like a damned dream. No excuses.”

  “You’d better believe it, Captain.”

  “Good. Now, get us to the Perseus system so we can go and fight in this war, for an Empire that hates us and hunts us like criminals!”

  As one they all looked at me and gave me a what-the-fuck expression.

  “What?” I said petulantly. “It’s the truth!”

  “Just don't say that in front of anyone else, Shaun. We need to build morale! Now, we should probably let Acclo know about Calegg.”

  “Yeah. Give them a call to get up here.”

  “What? You give them a call, you lazy bastard. I think this captaincy has gone to your head.”

  I laughed, “Yeah, you're probably right. I mean you literally have never listened to anything I’ve ever said. I don't even know what got into me.”

  “Acclo is on their way,” Elyek interrupted, pulling the comm away from their mouth.

  “Elyek!” Ember grumbled, unhappily. “We should have made Shaun do it!”

  “Not really. Although you say we four are the founding members of the Uprising, and we are, Shaun is the one who freed me. And we did all agree that he was the captain. Not to forget the fact that he is Onnekus, which we also previously discussed.”

  “We should still wind him up, though. It’s fun!”

  “It is difficult for me, nonetheless I will continue to try,” Elyek said, looking genuinely conflicted.

  “Good! Keep trying. He already has a big enough head. We need to keep him grounded.”

  “I’m not that bloody bad,” I protested.

  Ember laughed. “Nah, you're not at all. But it's fun, remember?”

  Acclo came in at that moment, and I was glad for the reprieve. “Hey Acclo,” I said, while everyone else greeted the diminutive Veiletian in their own way.

  “Hello, everyone. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s all good. Just need to catch you up on a few things.”

  They raised an eyebrow, then looked at Elyek, who smiled warmly in return and said, “Acclo, it appears you are going to be our new logistics officer.”

  “Oh, thank you Elyek, that is fantastic news!” they said, seeming to almost shudder with happiness. “I love coordinating everything to where it should be. It consumes me.”

  I looked around to see if anyone else thought Acclo’s' intensity for organizing was hilarious. It seemed I was alone in this. Never mind. I spoke to them instead: “Acclo, we’ve spoken to Calegg. He’s assuming the engineer's role, full time.”

  “Excellent. That is perfect for him. I am most happy he chose that role. He was unsuited to flying the Uprising.”

  “Yeah,” I grimaced, “but please never tell him that. Despite seeming like he’s chilled out, I think it’d affect him to hear it said out of someone else’s mouth.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement; I don't think any of us wanted to hurt Calegg’s feelings. He’s a pretty cool dude.

  “Okay. With that all sorted out I'm gonna have a lie down. Acclo, organize your heart out.”

  “I will, Captain. I assure you we will have this whole operation organized to the second.”

  “Brilliant stuff, Acclo. You are now our official Six Ps Officer.”

  “Six Ps?” Acclo asked, inquisitively.

  “Yup, it’s short for Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance Officer. It’s a new role, but an important one, and I know you’ll crush it. So long as I don't have to hear about every second. I want to know when big decisions need to be made, but otherwise just crack on.”

  Elyek looked concerned by my statement and spoke to that effect. “Acclo, you can speak to me about all aspects of what you're doing. The captain has an incredibly special kind of intelligence. We must work around it, but I am always here for you.”

  “Thank you, Elyek, I am very grateful for that, and will speak to you often.”

  Ember looked a little unsure about where she wanted to fit in. The next words out of her mouth made me chuckle internally a little. “Acclo, think of me somewhere between Shaun and Elyek.” And that was it; all she had to add. Fucking hilarious.

  “Right! I really am going this time. Catch you guys later.” I said

  “Me too!” Ember said behind me. “I could do with a shower, seeing as I couldn't get in it earlier,” she grumbled, looking pointedly at me.

  C17

  Alpha Team

  I stretched out on our room’s chaise longue, enjoying a few blissful moments of peace and quiet.

  “Hey, Shaun. Don't think you're just gonna be sitting around on your ass for the next two weeks. We’ve some serious inventory work to do,'' Ember said as she walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her.

  “Ha, ha! Yeah. We’ve plenty to do on that score, I’m thinking we also need to build some togetherness with our crew mates. I was just mulling over the danger of people feeling alienated… Shit, can I even say that now? Is it racist or something?”

  Ember stood silent for a moment, thinking. “You know what, you might be right. Shaun, I think I’m sensing an improvement in your Wisdom already!”

  “Ha fucking ha! Ember, do you think when you up your Intelligence stat some more, you’ll be less bloody obnoxious?”

  “Hope not. It’s part of who I am. I mean, yeah. I want to be max level on all available skills, but not to the point of no longer being me. Would you even like me anymore?”

  “What? Would I like you if you weren’t constantly giving me shit? Yeah, I think I’d be okay with that,” I laughed.

  “Well, don’t get your hopes up, Shaun. It's my favorite bit of entertainment. So, you were talking about togetherness?”

  “Yeah, maybe we should make sure to form mixed groups to train in. People are people, and will always be a little competitive. Let’s have them compete group to group, rather than race to race.”

  “I’ve no doubt some dickheads will have made their way over from the Thoth and Seshat,” Ember replied, “but I think once they get a feel for what our alien friends can do, they’ll soon change their tune.”

  “One-hundred percent,” I agreed. “And if they don't, I'll shoot them out into space.”

  “You know you can't do that, don’t you?” she chuckled. “Even if we really want to.”

  “Why? Racist fuck nuggets deserve to get ejected into space.”

  “Yeah, but everyone on the Uprising will then be fearful that if they make a mistake, they’ll get the same treatment.”

  “Mmm, so what should I do? Maybe just give them a good beating? Show that I'll deal personally with bullies.”

  “What if it's a woman? Or a Torax? Or Veiletian?”

  “Easy! You beat the women up, Elyek can beat Veiletians up and Koparr can beat Torax up.”

  “Just when I thought you were showing signs of improvement, you come out with that shit,” she laughed. “You really are a fucking idiot, Shaun. You're a leader now, and you’ve gotta start thinking like one. Your days of beating people up because they were assholes needs to become a thing of the past, with the crew anyway. We need a solid, fair and consistent set of rules for discipline… for everything, really.”

  “Shit, you’re right Ember,” I sighed. “I suppose we’ve been flying by the seat of our pants.”

  “Well, to be fair, we haven't really led a big crew before. It’s just we need a fair set of rules on the Uprising that people can rely on.”

  “We should have a meeting with Elyek, Acclo, Koparr, Mick and Gus to look at the best way forward for training the crew and setting rules.”

  “What about Calegg?”

  “Yeah,” Ember agreed, “might as well. I wouldn't want him feeling left out.”

  “Okay, then. It's a plan. Get Acclo to get everyone together in the captain's office.”

  “
I’ll do it, only there’s one more thing; we need to start transcending humans.”

  “Yup. But,” I paused, “I say only transcend Mick and Gus for now. They’re the only ones we trust enough. Then we’ll ask them to find the next candidates.”

  “Agreed. They’ll know the other people here better than us, anyway.”

  I walked over to the desk and pressed the comm for Acclo. A few seconds later their voice came back at me. “Hello, Captain. What can I help you with?”

  “Acclo, I want to hold a meeting in 20 minutes with Elyek, Koparr, Mick, Gus and Calegg. Oh, and yourself. We’ll meet in the captain's room. Can you arrange that for me?”

  “Of course, Captain. I will get right on it. Is there anything else?”

  “No thanks, Acclo. See you there.”

  The connection died, and I turned to Ember. “Sorted,” I announced, grabbing my suit from over the chair. “I’d better get ready then.”

  “You could’ve given me a bit longer. Twenty minutes, you ass. Let’s hope no one else is in the shower, or you’ve put them in a right stressful situation, haven’t you?”

  “Do you think I should change it?”

  “Nah, you'll just look stupid. We need to avoid that as much as possible.”

  “Well, there's a lot you could do to help with that perception, Ember.”

  “Yeah, I know. I am going to try harder.”

  “That would be nice,” I grinned, then turned to pick up Havok, who stood in the corner. “Hey, pal,” I said, “Do you want to come with us to the meeting?”

  “Oh no, Shaun. I want to stand alone in the corner of this room.”

  “Do I sense sarcasm?” I laughed at Havok. “Come on, then. On you get.” I grabbed him and swung him over my shoulder, where he settled into position.

  Within ten minutes, Ember was ready, and we made our way to the office. We passed humans on the way who looked like they wanted nothing to do with me. I realized that maybe they weren't being assholes, they just probably didn't know how to act around me. So I made the effort to be friendly with them, whether I wanted to or not. “Hey,” I smiled, offering a wave to those I passed.