Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  “Once upon a time, I promised not to seize your home planet after its term of safety expires. And I will forever keep my word. But the political situation could change a great deal. The Geckho will soon be severely weakened and tied up with the war against the Meleyephatian Horde, while the Union of Miyelonian Prides is famed for the flexibility of its politics and the speed of its decision making. The rulers of my race might vote that we must take advantage of the situation and ‘take a bite out of’ our enfeebled neighbor’s territory. In any case, war will be declared on the Geckho. Your home planet, as a Geckho vassal will be designated an enemy. And I as fleet commander will simply be obliged to attack the enemies of my race in my zone of responsibility. Furthermore, Earth will have no protection, as I already said. I can’t say for sure whether the council of Miyelonian rulers will decide to let some of your people live as slaves for resource gathering on both planets, or to exterminate all fifteen billion humans. But in any case, I will abide by the council’s decision and treat the enemies of the Union of Miyelonian Prides with no mercy. So, think about that, Human!”

  Chapter Eight. New Home

  THE MEETING with Keetsie was long over, but I still just couldn’t come back to my senses, running our conversation through my mind over and over again. The ancient Relict laboratory. Technically, it rightfully belonged to the last Relict in the galaxy, and thus it was not proper to discuss the fate of the ancient lab without Urgeh Pu-Pu Urgeh present. But the Technician had transferred control over all the station’s systems to me, technically making me its administrator, while leaving himself as a mere backup. Sure, I was nowhere near figuring out all the hardware, but the computerized security system considered me “chief director,” the one whose orders would prevail in case of contradictory commands. So on a purely technical level, if Urgeh Pu-Pu Urgeh dared to balk or try and stop me, I could always wrangle the station on my own. The capable Truth Seeker had probably read all that from my head, so any excuses such as, “I don’t have a solid grasp of all the complicated hardware” or, “I don’t have the authorization” would certainly not work. Keetsie knew that I could complete the difficult mission and deliver the ancient laboratory to Miyelonian space all on my own.

  It was a pity to give up the ancient laboratory after all the hard work it took to get it. An insane pity, really. But the laboratory was really nothing more than a trophy, albeit an extremely rare one. And if I had to part with my trophy for the sake of humanity’s survival, I would not hesitate one bit.

  But that wasn’t what I was caught up on. In fact, an unambiguous ultimatum to all humanity had just been conveyed through me: purchase your freedom from your suzerains, then voluntarily relinquish that newfound freedom and become subjects of the Miyelonians. Then and only then would our new masters promise not to squeeze humankind’s collective throat too hard, limiting themselves to a mere thirty percent tribute. Meanwhile if we did not accept that “generous” offer, Earth could expect harsh occupation by the Meleyephatian Horde or the Miyelonians resulting in massive loss of life and perhaps even the complete extermination of all humans on Earth from suckling babes to the most ancient of our elders. And at that, I felt I had a pretty good idea of the Miyelonian fleet commander’s character, so I didn’t have the least bit of doubt that the Great One would act on her threat if her heart’s desire were not met.

  Meanwhile, I found myself unwittingly comparing Miyelonians’ offer to the previous one made by the Prelates of Tailax and the Meleyephatian Horde behind them. And I actually found the Horde’s offer more enticing — it would have furnished my race with new technologies, something the Miyelonians hadn’t so much as hinted at. On top of that, the Meleyephatians didn’t demand humanity get together a big wad of cash to liberate themselves from vassalage. Nevertheless, I had in fact passed up on the Horde’s offer and immediately informed the Viceroy of Earth about it and the threat to my home planet from the Meleyephatians. And I was planning to do exactly the same thing again. I.e., tell some influential Geckho the Union of Miyelonian Prides had taken an unhealthy interest in our Geckho vassal system and it was implied that I stood to gain personally if I helped them take it. As for the price of liberating humans from vassalage and the fate of the ancient Relict laboratory — I had decided not to jump the gun and instead wait for my business partner Uline Tar’s wedding to Viceroy Kosta Dykhsh. There I could have a private conversation with the representative of the Geckho on Earth.

  Having thus made up my mind about galactic politics, I tended to personal affairs. First and foremost, I ordered myself a decent set of clothing from a vending terminal to replace the hospital pajamas and tailed costume. In a trade hub as large as this, one could purchase clothing for practically any size human, and more luxurious attire could also be ordered custom at automated ateliers. I tried both, choosing a track suit and day-to-day clothing from the catalogue, then ordering a tailored outfit for official meetings.

  I also rented a fancy apartment long-term with a view of space, which was very similar to the one I had in the virtual game. And though that purchase ran me thirty thousand crypto, more than half of what I had in my wallet, I didn’t feel the least bit of regret. First of all, it probably reassured Miyelonian intelligence, which was most likely tracking me. They’d probably take it as a sign Gnat was happy with his life here, and not planning to vanish suddenly from their territory. In light of my recent conversation with the Great One, it was important to demonstrate loyalty and a willingness to live in Miyelonian territory. Second, it was no less important for upholding my Authority — could the famed Free Captain Leng Gnat really be expected to stay in some cheap capsule hotel? Well and third, in my very own comfortable bedroom, I was finally able to get some decent sleep.

  PURE DÉJÀ VU. I WAS delicately awoken by a female visitor perched on the edge of my bed. Without even opening an eye, I already knew it was Ayni the Miyelonian. But I was extremely caught off guard to discover the cute little orange kitty in the real world in the apartment I’d just paid for, and so I had yet to determine how I should react to the intrusion and didn’t open an eye, pretending to still be asleep. But Ayni just stayed put. Then her little clawed fingers ran down my back. Next her hot tongue licked at my shoulder. A tickle at my neck and cheek from her whiskers, then she bent down right next to my ear and purred out quietly:

  “Get up, captain! I can tell you aren’t sleeping! Your breathing pattern sounds like that of a wakeful human.”

  So, had Ayni been observing me for a long time? It seemed stupid to keep pretending. I opened an eye and found myself face to face with a pair of glimmering peepers set behind the contented snout of my assistant. And given the Miyelonian was so close to my face, I decided to do something foolish and take advantage of the convenient situation. Sharply extending my arms, I embraced the alien girl, pulled her toward me and planted a kiss square on her lips. To be honest, I was expecting her to be ashamed and pull away or even try to wriggle her way out of my embrace. In that case, of course, I’d have immediately let go. But I was utterly unprepared for what actually happened. Instead of any of that, the Miyelonian woman pressed closer and embraced me forcefully, even wrapping her front and back paws around my body! The situation had clearly gone outside the bounds of normal playful foolishness, and I was scared myself.

  Carefully taking the palpably warm body of the now rigid Miyelonian off me, I sat up. I just about had to use psionics to stun the overly passionate member of a different spacefaring race. Fortunately, that was not necessary. I had once heard from Ayni herself that Miyelonian females went stiff when struck by amorous moods, and their body temperature rose sharply as well. But this was the first time I was seeing it myself. Things got awkward. I’d gotten her all steamed up, flipped out and backed off. She would probably be offended. Although there was nothing else I could have done. It was all wrong and physiologically, as members of different species, we’d hardly have made a good match. Which was to say nothing of the fact that my apartment was almost cer
tainly jam-packed with spy cameras in nearly every corner, and such footage would make Ayni and I famed as pioneers in a new genre of adult film.

  I breathed a heavy sigh, got up off the bed and went to go wash up. When I came back, the orange kitty was already back to her senses and sitting in an armchair, embarrassed and even afraid to look in my direction.

  “Let’s forget that little incident, we were both wrong,” I suggested and immediately changed the subject, asking Ayni to explain what she was doing in my bedroom.

  “Gnat, would you like an honest answer? Or shall I embellish, fog things up, invent some action-packed story full of peril and intrigue?” the Miyelonian had seemingly already come to her senses and even started joking around.

  I replied that I wanted the most honest answer possible.

  “In that case,” she took an electronic key on a chain from her shorts pocket and twirled it around her claw. “I was given this and told where you had moved. I was advised to visit you sometimes so you wouldn’t feel too alone among all these strangers. I myself live in a different sector of the Kasti-Utsh III station, also in a well-guarded apartment, though perhaps a bit more modest. I moved from the Medu-Ro IV station just five days ago. By the way, thanks for paying for my ticket.”

  Ayni did not clarify who gave her the key to my room, although it was not too hard to guess. Miyelonian intelligence (whether on its own initiative or after getting the go-ahead from Keetsie-Myau) had me on a short leash and was watching my every step and even interfering in my personal life. But I didn’t feel any resentment — it wasn’t a good time for that. Furthermore, let them think they were monitoring my every step.

  “I know that another key was issued to the girl from Tailax,” Ayni continued revealing secrets of her race’s intelligence service. “Valeri-Urla was put back into the game that bends reality to accelerate her recovery from the operation. But you can expect the Tailaxian to come visit you in the next day or two. And yes, the corridors here are packed full of security, while the rooms next to yours have been reserved for First Pride fighters.”

  I couldn’t tell whether Miyelonian intelligence had fully enlisted Valeri, or simply found yet another member of my crew and done everything in their power to make sure I “wouldn’t feel too alone.” Although, after how hard the Tailaxian had striven to rid herself of the controlling leash of Tailax, she’d hardly be willing to jump right back into a similar situation. But the First Pride? So they really did have to get Kung Keetsie-Myau involved. The Great One was taking a very close interest in my fate. She really, really wanted the ancient Relict laboratory from me, and Keetsie was doing everything in her power to keep such a valuable prize from slipping through her tenacious paws.

  “Would you maybe wanna go get lunch?” the orange beauty suggested after noticing the anxiety and pensiveness running across my face. “There’s a pretty good restaurant a floor below here with a great view of space. You can order human food there, too.”

  But I refused. First of all, I didn’t have the appetite, and I still just felt awkward talking with the Miyelonian. And for the record, I could sense that she felt the same way. Second, it was hard to explain logically, but somehow I knew that I needed to be in the game. And so I told her I was going back in. Ayni then I told to be back on our virtual ship in two ummi — by that time, the ancient laboratory’s subatomic reactor would be ramped back up to full operating capacity and a long-distance null transport would be possible.

  THERE WEREN’T MANY people on the starship — the crew was still following my order to take leave in the real world and not to enter the game before the appointed time. Only the copilot was on the bridge, and he immediately assured his captain that the ships hunting us had totally lost our trail and were all on the opposite end of the star system. Through the surveillance system, I also noticed the senior Engineer at his workstation along with a couple guards.

  That made it all the more surprising to discover a whole group of ladies yakking it up in the frigate’s common room. I went over there to get to the bottom of things. Princess Minn-O La-Fin was sitting in a big armchair and conversing with Valeri, who was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and combing through her pet’s fur. They were accompanied by Nefertiti the Dryad, splayed out erotically on a beanbag and San-Sano, who was eating a meal at a little table. I knew why the Beast Master was there — she was recovering from her recent surgery, because the game quickly healed wounds and injuries sustained by the real body. That was all good. San-Sano then was taking a short meal break and soon the assistant Engineer would go back to work. I also understood what the Dryad was doing — she was an NPC and didn’t have even a theoretical way of leaving the game. But why had my wayedda broken captain’s orders and entered the game ahead of schedule?

  “My husband, I have come with an important message,” Minn-O hurried to get out in front of my discontent. “Gerd Tamara has finally surfaced! She is in Second Directory territory, General Ui-Taka has officially provided her asylum and assigned her a personal guard. Tamara is tirelessly making appearances on the news and even on squares of large cities, giving fiery speeches calling on the people to unite against the mages. She is gathering mobs of fanatics that would be willing to follow her to hell and back, even put their lives on the line to ‘emancipate the planet from mage tyranny.’ But not all are fond of Tamara’s activity. They say she has survived four assassination attempts in just the last few days.”

  The news gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was glad to hear the former leader of the Second Legion was alive and well. On the other hand, the reckless things the girl paladin was doing had me very afraid. Tamara always had a knack for convincing and inspiring. The Second Legion, for example, nearly worshipped her and always went into battle willing to give their life for their dear leader. But now, by all appearances, the very same thing was happening on a much larger scale. The girl paladin had found fertile ground for her abilities and understood she had thousands and thousands of people behind her. I just didn’t know how Tamara had managed to break the rules and spent more than seven days in a row outside the game. I asked my wife.

  “Things are quite bad, my husband. Some of the guards assigned to Tamara’s capsule were supporters of hers. And so the wanted terrorist was able to enter the game that bends reality unimpeded. And after that she exited in some other location. I meanwhile was not informed until it was too late. Now Tamara has left the ranks of our Relict faction and created her very own faction with the evocative name ‘Emancipation from Mage Tyranny.’”

  Intriguing. Very intriguing in fact. I was only able to create and name my own faction after I hit the rank of Leng. Apparently, my friend had also attained the Fame and Authority needed to reach that status. But on a purely technical level, where were the nodes belonging to Leng Tamara’s faction? And what was the role of the ruler of the Second Directory in all that? In his world, General Ui-Taka was considered an ingenious strategist and, in the game, he had confirmed that reputation to devastating effect. Based on the fact that the ruler of the Second Directory wasn’t the least bit afraid of retribution from the mage rulers of the neighboring directories and had provided asylum to the wanted mage killer, the Strategist must have been betting on Tamara and her rebellion succeeding.

  As if reading my thoughts, Minn-O added:

  “My husband, General Ui-Taka has requested a meeting with you. Either in person at the Geckho spaceport, or long-distance. It seems the general has something to offer you. And your Chief Advisor Mac-Peu Un-Roi the Mage Diviner said he had many questions that require the faction leader’s personal attention. For example, we have reached a dead end with the Human-25 Faction that must be resolved. It no longer has any nodes, but you also refused to transfer its players into the Relict faction, or vassalize them. Serious differences of opinion have also arisen with the Human-3 Faction and the Mage Diviner has foreseen another great war in the possible future...”

  Minn-O La-Fin had to stop her speech because
the door into the common room burst open loudly and Ayukh basically flew in, clearly having just entered the game. This was the first time I’d ever seen my Navigator so shaken up:

  “Captain Gnat, Krong Daveyesh-Pir, overlord of the race of Shiharsa has expressed a desire to speak with you! The Krong is already in a long-distance communication booth waiting for your call!”

  Chapter Nine. Voluntold into War

  MY FIRST DAY under the Dome immediately sprang to mind. Ivan Lozovsky showed us this same majestic and mighty Geckho all decked out in combat armor up on a big screen. Krong Daveyesh-Pir, the all-powerful ruler of the Geckho race. It would obviously be wrong and even perilous to keep him waiting and thus express disrespect. And that meant I had to leave the game right away and fly like a speeding bullet to the nearest long-distance communication point on the Kasti-Utsh III station. But would some run-of-the-mill terminal even be able to connect me with the mighty leader of a different race? Just in case, admitting my poor understanding of the subject, I asked Ayukh what settings or possibly passwords I would need to tell the Miyelonian operators to get me connected with the Geckho ruler.

  My Navigator spent a few minutes batting his eyelids cluelessly, then facepalmed in frustration and told me in a crushed voice:

  “Captain Gnat, Krong Daveyesh-Pir is expecting you in the game, so it won’t be possible to get in touch with him from the real world. It’s a shame nobody considered that. I was so shaken up I totally neglected the fact that long-distance communication between the real world and game is not possible.”