Redemption : A LitRPG Space Adventure (The Last Enclave Book 2)

by Morgan Cole

  "False modesty is an unbecoming character trait, Kiril," Regar said. "Jake, Kiril is a genius engineer."

  "Honestly, I would love the help, Kiril. Thanks. We can go sit down in the control room and I'll show you what we're up against."

  "Wonderful," Regar said. "I will not burden you two with my ignorance. Jake, may I go outside and visit your world? It has been far too long since I have been anywhere but Hephaseta. I need to see a living planet once again."

  I couldn't see any reason why not. We were in the middle of nowhere, so no one would be alarmed at what looked like a dwarf with a plasma pistol.

  "Uh, sure. It's not going to be like the movies you've watched, though. We're extremely isolated in the northern wilderness. There's nothing out there but trees, lakes, and animals, all of them covered in snow and ice."

  "Hah, even better! I'm not so fond of people that I seek them out."

  "Oh, and keep an eye out for wolves, too. They're a four-legged predator that hunts in packs. They can be dangerous."

  Regar patted the pistol on his hip. "I have spent far too long on Hephaseta hunting Ferals to be worried about the natural predators of this gentle world, Jake."

  "Alright, if you're sure. Brick, would you guide him to the exit?"

  "Yes, Jake," Brick replied immediately. "I have made the outpost map available to your interface, Regar, along with a marked route to the exit."

  Regar grimaced as Brick spoke. "Thank you, Jake."

  Regar left, following the guide that Brick had sent him. A minute later Kiril and I were back in the control room.

  "Why does Regar hate Brick so much?" I asked Kiril.

  "He is a Seeker, our First. We have been to many Infested worlds together. We have seen what the machines did to those worlds, and to the people that lived there."

  "Right, I get it. But Brick's not one of those machines."

  "Perhaps the machines that have destroyed the galaxy were once friendly and helpful like your Brick. Maybe they grew and evolved beyond their initial functions. Then one day they simply decided that their creators had to be destroyed to preserve their own lives," Kiril said, looking directly into my eyes. His voice was somber and serious.

  That sent a chill up my spine. "Is that how it happened?"

  "We don't know. No one living in the Union does. This is part of what we seek, the truth of what happened so long ago."

  "Brick was made by the Union. He's got those restrictions built into him."

  "Yes, the restrictions. Have you noticed that they're not quite so absolute as they seem?" Kiril asked.

  I thought about it, remembering Brick's spider bots bringing proximity-fused grenades that Metra had attached into range of the enemy soldiers. He'd saved my life with that, by pushing on his restrictions but not actually breaking them. How else could he stretch the restrictions, and was that a bad or a good thing?

  "Yeah, I have. You're kind of freaking me out here, Kiril."

  Kiril's serious expression lightened. "That is not my intention. Let me be clear—Regar is suspicious of machine intelligences because they are our enemy. It is a general principle of our order. His suspicion is only that. There are no known cases of Union-restricted machine intelligences becoming independent or any kind of threat to sentients. The Ahrimani architected them well. Brick will most likely be just fine unless he is directly exposed to an Elder AI. A sane one, that is."

  I just couldn't imagine Brick turning on us. Sure, I'd seen all the relevant movies and even read a few books about AIs going rogue and trying to kill all humans. Who hadn't? Brick was no Skynet. He was a person, and my friend. I set those thoughts aside.

  "Actually, Kiril, I wanted to discuss something with you. You spend a lot of your time fighting Ferals, and you've upgraded your stats a lot, right?"

  "Yes, of course. I prefer to fight in melee if possible, so my physical stats are very important to me."

  That surprised me. "Really? I don't mean to offend, but you're small and look pretty delicate. I wouldn't want to be up close with most Ferals without my armor."

  "No offense taken, Jake. This is a common view in the Union, and even in the Seekers. Ranged weapons like your particle beam rifle or Regar's plasma pistols are preferred. I use my blades because after so long they are like an extension of my body, and by doing so I honor the traditions of my ancestors. I can use other weapons if necessary, but when I can I return to the blades."

  "No, I get it. I like fighting with Excalibur as well."

  "Excalibur? What is that?"

  I was more than happy for the opportunity to show off my favorite creation. I came back a minute later after retrieving Excalibur from where it had been stuck to the Krigar Assault Armor. I held it in front of me in both hands to show Kiril.

  "This is Excalibur. Here on Earth we call something like this a crowbar or a wrecking bar. I had one with me when I went through the gate to Pax and it served me really well, so when that one got destroyed I made a new one with some upgrades."

  "I see. A substantial weapon. May I?" Kiril asked, extending his hand.

  "Sure," I said, and handed it over.

  The weapon was almost as long as Kiril was tall. He hefted it and gave it an effortless swing. Settling it back in his hands, he looked it over closely.

  "I see. A simple design, but effective. Are these... Yes, these are Voidcutter edges, aren't they?"

  In rapid sequence Kiril powered the hook edges and then the chisel tip edges. Crackling blue energy suffused them briefly, making me smile.

  "Yes," I replied.

  "In your culture this is a melee weapon?" Kiril asked.

  "Er, not really. Wrecking bars are tools, but I've found they make pretty good weapons."

  "Thank you for showing me this," Kiril said formally and handed Excalibur back.

  "No problem," I said and hung Excalibur off my belt.

  "Would you like to examine one of my blades?"

  "Definitely," I replied.

  Kiril pulled one of his daggers free from his belt, still sheathed. I took it gingerly and the Interface showed me what I was holding.

  ╠═╦╬╧╪

  "Repentance" Fighting Blade, designed by Kiril

  Control(s) available: None

  ╠═╦╬╧╪

  I pulled the blade free of the sleek, black sheath. A simple straight crossguard of bright silvery metal preceded the blade itself, which was a work of art. The symmetrical edges swept out, in, and then out again in what I recognized as a classic leaf-bladed design. The blade was about the length of my forearm and ended in a broad, sharp point that sparkled in the light. Despite not having held it before, Repentance felt wonderful in my hand, like it had been designed to be there.

  "This is wonderful, Kiril," I said. He didn't reply, and I triggered my Engineering vision mode.

  The blade was full of Union components, along the edges and in the hilt. The basics were familiar—I'd done something similar in Excalibur, after all—but the specifics were mysterious. I couldn't tell without a lot more time and component inspection just what was there.

  I channeled power to the waiting inputs in the hilt. With a loud snapping sound the edges flared bright red for a moment before settling down into a darker, pulsing red that echoed my heartbeat.

  "Whoa, that's awesome. What kind of effect is that?" I asked. I looked around for something to cut, but there was nothing nearby I wanted to destroy.

  "It is similar to a Voidcutter edge, but of my own design. It consumes more power but in addition to efficient cutting, it inflicts disruptive damage on systems around the wound. It is most effective on organics, but also works on machines to a limited extent."

  I really wanted to try it out and was thinking about asking if we could go outside and cut up trees with it, but something was telling me Kiril wouldn't be keen on it. I reluctantly cut the power, sheathed the blade, and handed it back. His complex and apparently effective design reminded me just how much more I could do with the Union tech i
f I set my mind to it.

  "Thanks, Kiril. I've got to work on my engineering skills some more. That makes Excalibur look pretty basic."

  "I've had a lot of time to practice, as will you. Now, shall we spar? You can show me what you can do with your weapon."

  Despite the fact that we were supposed to be working on a non-lethal method of neutralizing the guards at the base, there was no way I was turning this opportunity down.

  "Sure. Let's go outside," I said. Kiril nodded his agreement and we left the outpost through the cabin.

  I hadn't bothered to put on a parka or anything else, now that I knew I didn't actually need one to stay warm. The air outside was cold, but I was comfortable. Kiril was dressed in light clothing as well and seemed to visibly relax once we were surrounded by trees. The early morning sky was clear and the birds were singing.

  Kiril breathed deeply. "This is wonderful. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be on a gentle world."

  I chuckled at the thought of Northern Canada in deep winter being gentle, but compared to a Feral world I guessed it probably was.

  Kiril dashed lightly across the snow and leapt for the lower branch of a tall spruce. The diaphanous wings on his back fluttered reflexively but they couldn't have helped much. Still, he grabbed the branch and climbed rapidly, disappearing behind the green needles. His face reappeared near the top less than a minute later and he looked down, smiling.

  "Truly magnificent," he said.

  "I can't imagine that you're seeing much up there but the tops of trees."

  "It's an ocean of green and white. There is life all around us in these trees. It reminds me of home, a bit."

  With that, he dropped out of sight and branches shook in sequence from the top to the bottom, shedding their snow. I was concerned that he'd somehow fallen, but I shouldn't have been. He landed lightly at the base of the spruce, brushing off his hands. He paused while the mini-avalanche of snow from the tree showered down.

  "Now, I've promised you a spar. We'll do this by Seeker rules, if you don't mind. Unpowered weapons only, no killing blows."

  "Sounds good to me," I agreed. With my natural regeneration and Nanite assisted healing I wasn't worried about injury.

  A clearing about thirty feet across near the cottage with relatively flat and even ground underneath the snow served as our arena. We squared off on opposite sides. Kiril drew his daggers, holding one in his left hand in a reversed grip with the blade along his forearm.

  With no referee to blow a whistle or ring a bell, our fight just started on its own. I strode forward, my boots breaking through the crusty snow and Kiril came to meet me, leading with his left blade and watching me closely.

  I felt confident with Excalibur in my hands. I'd killed a lot of bugs with it, after all. I felt sure that I'd be able to give Kiril a good fight. Maybe that's what dogs felt when they chased cars.

  The skill I'd implanted what seemed years ago, Improvised Blunt Weapons, had given me a base level of skill with the wrecking bar when I'd been clearing Pax. I'd also implanted every other combat-related skill in the Pax library in the time Metra and I had spent clearing the station. All of those and my hard-won experience seemed to come together as I moved aggressively to attack.

  I swung the hook end for Kiril's leading knee, Excalibur actually whistling it was moving so fast through the air. Kiril was there, and then he wasn't. He flowed smoothly around my attack like liquid lightning, moving to my right. He was close enough that he could have reached out and cut me up, but didn't.

  Cursing, I recovered and swung horizontally, aiming around the level of his hips while maximizing my reach with the long bar. Making it seem entirely natural, even casual, Kiril hopped into the air and alighted on the moving bar briefly before dropping on the other side of the swing. Once again he didn't attack, even though it seemed like he could have easily done so.

  I shot out my left hand, desperate for a grip on the incredibly fast alien. If I could hold him still, I could hit him. Kiril didn't want that.

  He ducked under my arm and for the first time, he cut me. It felt like two gentle brushes along my left side. I spun, trying fruitlessly to hit him with Excalibur, but he was gone again.

  He stood a few feet out of my reach, in a relaxed pose. His blades were dripping blood onto the pure white snow, and in surprise I reached my left hand down and felt the two long, shallow cuts. They were already starting to close. This wasn't a fight I could win. Hell, I'd be lucky to score a hit.

  "Jake, I fear we are too mismatched for—" Kiril started to say.

  I yelled something incoherent and charged. Excalibur was in my right hand and already swinging, while my left arm was flung wide. Kiril looked surprised but was far too experienced a warrior to be thrown by an unexpected attack. Instead of simply moving aside he reacted the way I'd hoped he would. He was going to teach me a lesson.

  I bent my legs and back, lowering myself to aim Excalibur's swing at Kiril's center of mass. Kiril gracefully hopped onto the bar again and ran up my right arm with a serious expression on his face. His two blades were at his sides, points toward the ground.

  Kiril kicked off my bicep, forward flipping while his blades flashed toward either side of my neck. With all the strength in my coiled legs, I pushed off the snowy earth and into the air. The top of my head smashed into Kiril's child-sized ribs and drove all the breath from him in an audible whoosh. I felt something on my neck and shoulders, but was too busy to worry about it.

  Kiril tumbled through the air, limbs flailing. His wings fluttered but seemed unable to affect the outcome. He splashed down into the snow, ably breaking his fall with his arms.

  I brought Excalibur down hard right behind him, hook first. The very instant he hit the ground he was moving to recover, but stopped himself as he looked up at Excalibur's two glistening points just above his face. He slumped back, and relaxed.

  "I win then?" I asked.

  "Let's call it a draw," Kiril offered and indicated his neck with the point of one of his blades.

  I reached up and finally noticed what I had been feeling—the rush of blood from a cut on either side of my neck, one for the carotid and one for the jugular. The wounds closed quickly, but before they did they'd let out a lot of my juices.

  "Sure, a draw," I agreed, and helped him up.

  "A fine match, Seekers!" a voice said from our left.

  I looked over to see Regar standing under a spruce looking quite comfortable in the snow.

  "Hey, Regar," I said.

  "I'm glad to see you're not above a bit of hubris when sparring with a young man like Jake here, Kiril. It's good for a man to know he's not invincible."

  "I am fully aware of my limitations, First. If I had not been, our most recent adventure in the Spike would have reminded me, would it not?"

  Regar's good humor was unaffected by Kiril's reply, and he came up to join us both.

  "I thought you two were working on non-lethal weaponry? How did you end up out here?" Regar asked.

  "I wanted to ask Kiril some questions about stats, but then we got distracted by weapons, and you know."

  "I do," Regar agreed. "If you have questions about stats, ask them. The sooner your curiosity is satisfied, the sooner you can return to your task."

  "That fight we had answered some. Clearly levels and stats matter, a lot. I couldn't even touch you, Kiril. What level are you? What are your stats?"

  "I am at the second tier of Ascendant Flesh. My physical stats are all in the mid-sixties. I haven't capped my stats, mostly because of the great expense involved. Soon, I will begin to experience diminishing returns," Kiril answered.

  That was a lot of new information. I hadn't heard of diminishing returns for stats, but it made sense. You couldn't just keep getting stronger and faster forever, could you? Metra had mentioned Ascendant Flesh to me once in passing. It was the tier after Transcendent Flesh. Upgrading from Transcendent to Ascendant was apparently obscenely expensive and afterward you were pre
tty far from the animal you had started life as.

  "Hold on, don't go confusing our young friend, Kiril. Sixty strength for a Humanity-branch species and sixty strength for a Faella aren't the same thing, Jake. Cross-species comparisons of stats are very difficult and usually pointless."

  "I remember that from my Induction tutorial. I'm guessing that if I had sixty strength I'd be stronger than you at sixty strength, right, Kiril?"

  "That's right, and at sixty agility, you won't be as nimble as I was at sixty."

  "Those comparisons are pointless," Regar said. "Most of your fighting should be at range, with a weapon. If you need to get close, you rely on your armor. If you fight up close in light armor like Kiril you're one mistake away from death. Your power will come from your equipment, and your skill with that equipment."

  Kiril shrugged, and having already made his case for melee earlier, I assumed he didn't want to restate it. It was probably an argument that Regar and he had hashed out many times.

  "That reminds me then, something's been bugging me. The mental stats. Intelligence, for instance. I've upgraded a lot in that but I don't feel smarter. Not exactly."

  "If you've got the wrong definition of intelligence, I could see how you'd think that," Regar said.

  Kiril snorted when Regar didn't follow up. "What our First means to say is that the Intelligence stat doesn't necessarily help you make better decisions. If you think of your brain like a computer, think of the mental stats as hardware upgrades. They help you think faster, store and recall more information. Perception even helps your pattern recognition skills. What those stats don't do is give you information you don't already have, and they won't change unexamined assumptions. Even with those hardware upgrades, the software is still the same."

  "Kiril has the right of it, Jake," Regar said. "Only machines make no mistakes, and they only manage that by simming out every possible scenario. Even with that great advantage, they still aren't undefeatable. Don't worry about being smarter, or not. Make the best decisions you can, and live with the consequences."