“Yes. Need commendations. Several. And a guarantor. You vouch for me. Then I can go in. Understand?”
I nodded. “Sure.” Apparently, a few commendations could efface her status as a wanted criminal. Then I’d have to vouch for her like I had for Tara, allowing her to enter the Monolith even though technically she was still a Renegade. I didn’t have a very good idea of how it was supposed to work. I was about to find out.
I stepped onto the round translocator platform. Behind my back, Alice stared at the black wall of the Monolith rising up to the sky. Her eyes were cold.
Chapter 22
“RECRUIT GREY, welcome to Base Asia 3.”
Inside, nothing had changed. The same Spartan hall, the black translocator platforms, and Stellar’s silver three-point star. The translucent shape of Kate 7, the Monolith’s military cogitor, stood to attention and saluted me.
This time, her holographic image in a stern tunic rippled with so much interference I could barely recognize her. Was it supposed to be like that? Or was it an indicator of some major problems in the Monolith’s power system?
“The purpose of your visit to the base, Recruit?”
“I need to use the terminal,” I said.
“Accepted. Clearance granted. You also have the full use of the base’s recreation facilities as well as its medical center and the observation post.”
“Kate, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Affirmative.”
“I need to get access to the Monolith’s transmission center. Where is it?”
“Access denied. Your rank is insufficient. The access to the transmission center requires the rank of Allarch or above.”
So Miko had been right, then. In order to send a mayday to the City, I had to use some of my commendations.
After a pause, I asked the question which had troubled me the most. “Who was the last commander of this Monolith?”
“Access to the garrison’s personnel archives denied. Your rank is insufficient.”
Never mind. At least I’d tried.
Concerned about Alice still waiting for me outside, I beelined for the terminal. I had to deal with the pressing matters first, before embarking on loot sharing or worrying about getting some rest.
Please wait while the connection is complete...
Authorization complete!
Welcome to Project Stellar, Incarnator Grey!
The stylized three-pointed star slowly rotated on the screen, encircled with interface icons. I unhesitantly selected Missions.
My list of active missions had turned green. Most of them flashed with the message Mission completed! Let’s claim our rewards, then.
Update the Reference Book: Mission completed!
Rewards:
Commendation
10,000 Azure
The familiar squat cylinder of an Azure capacitor materialized on the small round platform of the mini-translocator. Then my own system unexpectedly informed me:
Congratulations! Your group has received a commendation!
Issuer: Stellar System
Total commendations: 1
As the group leader, you can assign the reward to any group member of your choice.
I opened the group interface. Aha. Creating a group had proved to be a much more drastic step than I’d thought. Stellar’s commendations weren’t personal anymore. Now they arrived at the group’s account, while the leader had to distribute them between the group members. And I used to think they would be doubled, with each of us getting one! But no, the smart system wouldn’t let us cheat. I had a funny feeling it might be the same with reprimands too, with the whole group suffering from a single member’s misdoing.
However, this system still allowed for a lot of leeway — manipulation even. Like rushing the weakest group member through the ranks or raising a criminal’s reputation. All such a group needed was one legit Incarnator with access to the Terminal.
Actually, this was exactly what I was about to do. Did the system have any sort of safety switch to prevent this from happening?
“This is exactly how the Stellar system works, Grey, to ensure that anyone can redeem themselves by completing missions. System missions take priority over everything else. I’d venture a guess that this was one of the reasons why the Incarnators brought terminals to Monoliths, to avoid any potential abuse.”
I hadn’t looked at it that way. There must have been a serious reason for the First Legion to retrieve terminals by all means possible. And that reason had been staring me in the face all along. They were trying to create a structure which would allow them to control the access to Stellar System – possibly, to prevent any criminals, renegades and other antisocial elements from cheating the system. The Incarnators were only human, after all. There must have been just as many bad people among them as good ones...
Miko distracted me from my thoughts by a little giggle, hand on mouth.
“Talking about Alice and the mission to apprehend her. Just for the record: are we declining it, Incarnator?
Reading my thoughts, she made a face and turned away.
Dead or Alive: Mission failed!
You’ve received a reprimand!
One of your group’s commendations has been revoked.
Current commendations: 0
Never mind. Next!
One after another, I laid out the Azuric artifacts I’d procured in the A-zone onto the translocator: the hearts of the Armorclad Bloodhounds and the spiky hairs I’d farmed off the sundew plants. Once the number of items had reached ten, they began to shimmer, then disappeared down Stellar’s mysterious main inventory.
Harvest: Mission completed!
Elimination: Mission completed!
Hunt: Mission completed!
Cleansing: Mission completed!
Each task I’d clocked in gave me a commendation and a capacitor for 10,000 Azure. The system was especially generous with Hunt, accepting it for a whopping 30,000 Azure. Nothing to complain about.
Now the more interesting stuff...
The Fate of Blizzard: Mission completed!
Rewards:
Commendation
30,000 Azure
And finally, the sweetest morsel I’d saved till last:
Rat King: Mission completed!
Rewards:
3 commendations
A random item from the Arsenal.
Please choose the type of the item you’d like to receive:
Weapon
Protective gear
Azure artifact
Oh wow. For the first time, the System had offered me a choice. Which meant that the central arsenal was undamaged and that the system of missions and rewards worked without a glitch.
“I advise you select protective gear, Incarnator. The rest might be of little use to us.”
My thoughts entirely. I’d long parted with my Fox suit, and the wretched jumpsuit I’d got on board Avenger had almost disintegrated in the course of our journey. I was fed up walking around like a street bum, and I could use the protection that came with decent gear. That’s it, then. Protective gear it is!
Two items materialized on the bigger platform of the central translocator. One was a jumpsuit with a stiff integrated breastplate; the other a closed black helmet. This Legion-issue set was a curious color, an opalescent black-and-turquoise, and although it didn’t look cumbersome, it was heavy enough. Apart from the anatomical breastplate, it also had reinforced elbows, shoulders and knees. The material it was made of was rather weird. Smooth, hard and shiny like glass, it was flexible at the same time, a bit like a springy tree branch.
“That’s an excellent acquisition, Incarnator! This is a replica of the standard-issue Utopian Legionnaire kit. The material it’s made of is a special-purpose specular composite which repels both mechanical and energy attacks. Modifiable and multifunctional, it comes with medium-class protection and ensures excellent survivability. Nothing extraordinary but useful anyway.”
Accordin
g to my interface, this was a Lorica, a “suit of partial armor which made up part of the Legion’s Beta kit”. I promptly changed into it and spread my shoulders wide, getting used to the new sensations. Now that its weight was spread evenly over my body, I didn’t really feel it. This was no Angel’s wingsuit but it wasn’t at all bad for what it was. It had an integrated urgent-aid surgery, built-in aircon, light-powered chargers and magnetic connectors for optional equipment. Interestingly, its right bracer had an integrated mini-cryptor which replaced a standard-issue knapsack. It might have been “nothing extraordinary” but its hugging shell made you feel so much more comfortable and secure.
Summing it up, I had eight commendations, several Azure capacitors coming up to 100,000 Azure in total, and a decent set of protection armor. How cool was that? I hadn’t expected anything like it.
I hurried to open my genome bank to give my adorable virtual assistant something to sink her teeth into:
Assessing the available genomes...
Hydra Genome: 100,000 Azure
Rattus Genome: 5,000 Azure
Ice Anubis Genome: 50,000 Azure
Armorclad Bloodhound Genome: 20,000 Azure
Sundew Genome: 20,000 Azure
Phenotype of Evelynn Mail: evaluation failed
??? (unidentified genetic material): evaluation failed
Excellent. I promptly got rid of Sundew, Bloodhound and Rattus genomes. Another 43,000 Azure in the kitty, excellent. I was reluctant to part with Anubis, though: it had some powerful and very unusual properties. I might need it myself in the future, you never know.
I picked up one of the capacitors and absorbed its contents.
“Grey, I advise you to keep two charged 10K ones in case of emergency. We don’t need them right now but they might come in handy whenever you run low on Azure.”
That made sense. I already had enough A-energy to make my craziest dreams come true. I emptied the capacitors one after another, watching little pink neurospheres light up next to my DNA spiral. On top of the three I already had, I’d gotten four more – seven in total. My Azure meter was at 23100/30800, plus another 20,000 (two spare capacitors of 10K each) to keep for a rainy day. Very good.
Without further ado, I created a neuronucleus, upgraded Blood Circulation twice and finally implanted myself with Hydra Genome.
The familiar indescribable spasm surged over me. Even though I saw no visual proof of the change, I heard Miko’s calm voice:
“Congratulations, Incarnator. From now on, we don’t depend on the degree of our host’s Integrity. We can reincarnate anyway. Hell, we can even grow our host back from the tiniest sample.”
“Does that mean I’m now well and truly immortal?”
Miko’s voice rang out with laughter.
“What makes you think so? Don’t hold your breath! The regeneration processes can still be stopped or slowed down. Your host’s body can still be disintegrated. Also, this thing doesn’t prevent natural aging processes in body tissues. In some cases, Regeneration can become the bane of an Incarnator’s existence, dooming him or her to eternal torment. Like Alice, for instance. Luckily, you have me.”
Oh yes, Alice. She was still waiting outside. I needed to look into this commendation thing and see how badly her Incarnator status had suffered. But first I needed to raise myself through the ranks in order to get access to the transmission center, so I could finally do what Rico had asked me to: report the Possessed Ones’ attack on Fort Angelo to the City.
I opened the group interface.
I had eight commendations available. Plus two personal ones I’d earned before we’d created the Amnesia group. Let’s get this show on the road, then.
I distributed the first commendation to myself and was rewarded with a little icon: a tiny three-pointed star which flashed to life and fluttered into my status where it pinned itself to the right top corner of my rank chevron, glinting like a little spark.
Congratulations! You’ve been promoted to Private!
Your status has been updated. New clearance level unblocked. New options available. You’ve received a Private Starter Kit. Congratulations on your first star, Incarnator!
My reward materialized on the black translocator platform.
A handgun. Matt black and brand new as if it had just jumped out of a Replicator. This was a regular kinetic weapon, and not very powerful at that. My Crusher was infinitely better than this. Next to it lay a few cylindrical ammo clips.
A black cryptor bracelet. I had three now, counting the heirloom signet ring and the one in the suit’s bracer. I didn’t need so many. I might give it to Alice.
Next, a full set of injector cartridges for a Legion-issue urgent-aid kit in a vacuum pack. And finally, a small toolbox packed with all kinds of little essentials I’d missed so badly in my first days here: a water bottle, a compass, a length of rope, a knife, etc., etc. Apparently, those who’d compiled this “starter kit” expected it to help a freshly-baked Incarnator to survive in the harsh conditions of this brave new world.
I shook my head. By now, I didn’t really need any of it. But the very fact of receiving a reward got me thinking. In order to receive their rewards, new Incarnators had been supposed to arrive in this world somewhere close to Stellar terminals. How interesting...
I invested three more commendations into my status one after another.
Congratulations! You’ve been promoted to Allarch!
This time too I was deemed worthy of a reward. I received the familiar silvery rod of an Azure extractor exactly like the one Evyl used to have. It allowed one to syphon Azure from living beings without killing them and use the harvested A-energy to fill empty capacitors.
I was beginning to understand how such capacitors ended up as rewards in Stellar system. They were some sort of local currency that Incarnators would pay in exchange for more powerful items like weapons, armor or artifacts from the Arsenal.
“That’s not a secret, Grey. Actually, now we have lots of new system functions available, including expanded access to the Archives and public-access bios of other Incarnators. I’m downloading it now.”
“Can we check how many more commendations Alice still needs?”
“Now we can. I’m sending the data to the screen for your convenience.”
Next to Alice’s icon, I saw the number of reprimands she’d received.
Minus 33.
We needed to earn 33 commendations for her to get her cogitor and interface back. That was the thick and thin of it.
A wave of relief mixed with awe flooded over me. There was no way we could get her Incarnator status back in the nearest future. How many trips to the A-zone would we have to make in order to help her? How many missions to complete? Loads. She probably had no idea herself how many of them she still needed.
But at least now I knew where to go from here.
I unhesitantly invested the four remaining commendations into her status. Minus 29. Predictably, her Dead or Alive status hadn’t even budged. Which meant she wouldn’t be able to get inside the Monolith this time. What a shame.
What now? The transmission center. I had to contact the City. Hadn’t Kate said that once I’d received the rank of Allarch, it would unblock the transmission center?
I opened the cryptor and started putting my old gear away.
“Grey? One moment. After you were promoted, I’ve received some new information from the Archives. It might be important. Do you remember the strange-looking cylinder we found at the site of Blizzard’s death?”
That’s right. At the time, Alice had insisted I put the item away into my cryptor.
I took it out and studied it, turning it in my hands. It was a red-tinged tube made of beryllium bronze, cold to touch and covered all over with some symbols – more like chaotic doodles really but they seemed to form a strangely logical pattern. It actually resembled a thin Thermos flask with a rounded top. Its bottom end was protected by what looked like a shut diaphragm. Could I open it, maybe?
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“The reason you don’t understand what it says is because it’s written in the ideographic symbols of the Shea language. This Azuric artifact is what they call an animarium, or ‘soul repository’. This is a xeno technology originating from the Bina Shea.”
Finally it dawned on me. “A soul repository? Do you want to say that...”
“Exactly. The Incarnators of old used them to trap and keep any immaterial entities. Like creatures of Azure or...”
“Or their own souls,” I completed her phrase for her.
“That’s right. They used them as transportation containers. This one is locked. We found it on Gerda’s own body. So there’s a high chance there might be something – someone – inside.”
Chapter 23
THE PENNY HAD FINALLY dropped. One of the reasons Blizzard had perished was because they’d lost their Enchanter. Could he have lost his body when the group’s flying craft rammed the undead giant? Gerda could have rescued his soul and placed it inside the cylinder. Or could it be that Gerda herself had realized she wasn’t gonna win the battle with the Azuric monsters, so she stashed her own soul away in the animarium? Then again, it was also possible that prior to that, they’d caught that Hades creature they mentioned in their message...
The Enchanter (Project Stellar Book 2): LitRPG Series Page 27