by Tao Wong
Once that’s done, I do a quick check and wince. Nearly two hundred million to set up an anti-teleport formation. As useful as that might be, I decide against it. Not that I can afford it, but it’s the thought that counts. After all, a long-range teleport Skill that includes more than one individual is pretty rare.
Stepping away from the orb, I assess my surroundings again. Sabre’s lying on the ground, its Mana battery slowly recharging, nanites crawling over the frame to fix gouges and burnt-out components. Traces of dried blood lie all across the exterior and interior, somehow not washed away by the water. I raise my arm, ready to cast Cleanse on it and pause, staring at the trembling digits.
Strange. I stare at my hand, puzzled, unable to grasp what I’m seeing. Then the shakes hit my legs, a wave of weakness taking me to my knees as my breath shortens. I struggle to draw a breath, my chest tight as my hands tremble uncontrollably. The shudders reach my body, my teeth chattering as memories of the battle erupt, taking me back. The laser beam, a sword that cuts through armor, a bone fist. Moments of crisis, of imminent danger. One after the other.
Aftershocks. I know what this is, understand the effects. How could I not? The reliving of memories, the shakes, it’s all natural. Now that I’m safe, my mind is finally releasing the clamps that have kept me from unraveling. It’s good for me even as my mind processes the violent encounters, reorganizes, and resets my nerves and body.
Natural perhaps, but tears drip from my eyes nonetheless. A woman thrown aside by an explosive, brown eyes filled with shock and betrayal. An innocent caught in the midst of my grandstanding. A green-eyed, slit-pupiled alien staring at me from inches away as his life drains. Screams of pain, a still-kicking leg against a grey concrete sidewalk. Memories.
The shudders slowly stop, the memories subsiding as my breathing evens out. I scrub my face, wiping away the tear tracks, and spit to clear the blood from the lip I bit through. Perhaps I could, I should, be able to handle this better with the System’s help. Certainly I don’t fall to pieces like this all the time. Perhaps I could wipe away all of this with an application of will and Skill.
But I’m glad I don’t and can’t. So little of me that I can unilaterally point to as being human is left. So little of the quiet programmer I was pre-System. Better to have a breakdown once in a while, to hate and regret the lives I take and the violence that has happened, than to remove it all. Because if I did, I’m not sure I’d like the person left.
By that point, my stomach’s growling and occasional bars of chocolate eaten while working is no longer sufficient. Thankfully there’s a restaurant—the Loose Goose—nearby, which I visit at Ali’s insistence. Truth be told, I don’t have much energy to gainsay him. I have to admit, I nearly choke when I see the sheer amount of Credits they’re asking for—until I realize they’re offering an all-you-can-eat buffet. Still, I’m amused that they changed the name but not the red-and-steel décor of the previous chain.
Food paired with blessed peace and silence all slowly pull the shards of my calm together. By the time Sam finds me, I’m mostly myself once again, my mental and emotional equilibrium restored. Just another “gift” from the System. Or perhaps too much experience.
“You know, as the titular owner of the city, you shouldn’t be trying to eat your people out of house and home,” Sam says, grabbing a seat next to me.
“Nice to see you too,” I greet the Technomancer, nodding at the silver-haired gentleman.
“You do what you planned to do?” Sam says.
“Pretty much. Attacks still coming?”
Sam nods, his face grim.
On seeing that, I add, “What?”
“We nearly lost Mikito two days ago. The Blood Warrior and his team hit her group while they were hunting in the park. Focused their entire attack on her, and since she refused to run away…” Sam shakes his head.
“How’d she survive?” I say, concern tingeing my voice. Only a little bit, since he said nearly. Anything that doesn’t kill us in this world quite literally makes us stronger.
“Her trainee stuck by her side long enough for the team to get far away enough and sneak back to counter-ambush the group. The team managed to kill a couple of their people and let Mikito injure the Blood Warrior. Her trainee didn’t survive though.”
Shit. I wonder how the Japanese woman is handling that. Losing a trainee, an apprentice can’t be good for her.
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Out.”
Of course she’s out, hunting and dragging the groups around to Level them up. Whether it’s because she’s got an over-developed sense of responsibility or just a need to bury her grief, she’s out with her people.
“Lana says she needs some time,” Sam says softly at seeing the worry on my face.
I nod, accepting his words. Still, I make a note to see if I can have a word with my friend.
“The night attacks?” I ask.
Sam makes a face, telling me all I need to know. Of course, he does explain it anyway, listing all the different ways Mel has tried to catch the group before they run away. Even having the entire town up and watching with groups ranging around at night has done little to stop the annoyances of the midnight attacks.
“We could have used Ali for the night attacks,” Lana says, dropping into a chair next to me as I finish picking my latest plate clean.
Stomach finally satisfied, I push the plates away and stare at my some-time girlfriend. From her unhappy expression, I can tell she’s still not gotten over my abrupt departure.
“Hi, Lana. Ali couldn’t find them the last time. Don’t think he’d be of much help even now,” I say with a shrug. “And I needed him.”
“And how many times did he almost get killed?” Lana asks Ali sweetly, violet eyes glinting with the promise of violence if Ali doesn’t tell the truth.
“Ummm… we talking total or number of battles? Just two major fights. About… a dozen times? Something like that,” Ali says with a shrug. “I kind of lost count.”
“Only a dozen. I take it that happened in Vancouver,” Lana says, still ignoring me.
“Mostly. Running away in Merritt was tougher than we thought—they had a tracker,” Ali says as way of explanation.
“Ah. And of course, buying a Stealth Class Skill would not have helped,” Lana says again, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
I twitch, recalling her asking me to take her Credits to buy myself that Skill and my subsequent refusal. Pride—for using only my own Credits—and idiotic stubbornness stopped me from doing so. Even if she doesn’t say it directly, I can hear the “I told you.”
“Well, a single point probably wouldn’t have helped boy-o against the tracker,” Ali says, coming to my defense.
“Maybe not a lot. But what is it you guys keep saying? That everything’s on a razor edge?” Sam says, getting into the conversation. “Me, I like having lots of Skills. Even if I can’t use all of them very well, having more options seems like a good idea.”
“Yes, but you can also integrate those Skills into your machines,” Ali says pointedly to Sam.
I blink, since I didn’t even realize that that was an option for Sam. Someday, I really need to explore Sam’s full Skill list and what he can actually do. I have a feeling I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
“If we’re done talking about how stupid I was…” I glare at Ali, who opens his mouth to retort, before I continue. “I did Level. How are we doing on the rest of the plan?”
There’re a few quick smiles at that one, but Lana looks around at the obviously unsecured area. I nod to her to go on.
After a moment, she does. “We’re getting there. We’ve managed to double our revenue, so we should be able to pick up some decent upgrades for the city. The hunting groups have picked up a few more Levels as well. However, morale continues to be down and we’ve lost a full group since you’ve been gone.”
“Good,” I say, considering her words. “There’s a lot I need to talk to you all a
bout.”
“Tonight?” Lana asks, glancing out the window to the sky outside.
It’s only a few hours left till dusk —time enough for me to wash and rest and Mikito to get back. Still, I hesitate, judging my mental and emotional balance.
“No. Tomorrow,” I say.
Lana frowns, seeing something in my face because she just nods and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight then.”
I open my mouth then close it, shutting down the automatic rejection. Mentally cursing myself, I keep quiet. Why would I reject her presence tonight?
“At a guess, because you’re stupid and don’t want to look vulnerable to your girl,” Ali says then chuckles softly as I shoot him a startled glance. “Oh please. I’ve lived with you for over a year. Reading you is easy.”
I grunt, watching the redhead walk away before glancing toward Sam and realizing the older man has already left. A moment of scanning shows he’s working his way through the buffet tables with a giant pile of meat. I’m in worse shape than I thought if I missed his movements that easily. On that note, I decide to take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow and all that it will entail will still come.
Chapter 18
Surprisingly, at least to me, the evening with Lana progressed pleasantly. Annoyed or not, the woman seemed to understand that I needed a bit of time to decompress, and so we spent the evening mostly in companionable silence. With a very pleasant massage that did not lead to anything too strenuous afterward. Perhaps it was because of that that I found myself waking up late the next day, alerted by Lana shifting on my arm to stand up.
“Morning, beautiful,” I greet Lana with a smile. Once again, I admire the redhead, her pale skin and lightly freckled body combined with a subtle level of athletic muscles that enhanced her femininity.
“Morning,” Lana says, turning to smile at me as she dresses. “Feeling better?”
“Yes,” I say, tilting my head. “Was it that obvious?”
“To those of us who know you? Definitely,” Lana says.
“You seem better…” I say slowly, cautiously. She does seem less agitated, less angry, than the day before.
“I just needed a night off. Time to understand, to know, that you’re back. Alive.” Lana sits back down next to me, clad only in her shirt, and puts a hand on my arm. “I know you are who you are. I even… well, it’s what attracts me to you. But it’s not easy, knowing you’ll always throw yourself into the fire.”
I blink, stopping to consider her words. After a moment, I squeeze her hand and smile at her wryly. “Sorry. I didn’t really think about it that way.”
“No, of course you didn’t. You idiot,” Lana says affectionately before kissing my forehead. “Now go brush your teeth. The rest are waiting for us.”
I nod, watching as Lana finishes getting dressed before I move, a strange feeling in my stomach. It’s been so many years since I had someone who actually cared about what I did or where I was that it was strange. It was a feeling that I had been missing with Luthien, an aspect of our relationship that I probably should have taken as a sign. Shaking my head, I promise to try to be better.
Pushing aside the remnants of my breakfast, I stare at the group around me. This time, it includes everyone on my team and the erstwhile council, including a very tired-looking Mel. Curiously, no attacks were made last night, though it didn’t stop the Gunslinger from staying up all night.
“Right,” I say, cutting through the conversations. “Let’s begin.”
For the next hour or so, my team and the council gives me a more thorough briefing about the city’s status. It can all be boiled down to not much change but mostly for the better. More Levels, a growing economy, a more settled populace are all the positives. The negatives all concern the Sect and their continued presence.
“Thank you,” I say after everyone finally runs down. “Ingrid’s reported in, as many of you know. We aren’t going to get much help from the US, but it’s unlikely the Sect is willing to risk pulling out more forces to hit us. Not until they can stabilize their situation down south. That means we only need to concern ourselves with the players in BC.
“Vancouver’s doing worse than we hoped for. The Sect’s a lot stronger there than what we’ve seen here.” I quickly fill them in on the revolution, the deportation, and the Advanced Class members I fought. More than a few of my audience suck in a breath or show their uncertainty as I describe the fight. “That’s pretty much where we stand now.”
After I’m done, there’s a bit of conversation, whispered words between the council members and Mel, between Sam and Lana and the others. Mostly, my team holds off on talking to each other, knowing me as well as they do.
After the initial conversation trails off, I break in. “The way I see it, we have the same two choices we started with weeks ago. Hunker down, keep growing our people, and hope we can Level everyone faster than the Sect can shift resources to the planet. All while they have free rein to attack us and whittle our people down. Of course, they’ve got to divert their people to bothering us but…” I shrug, figuring they understand the point. The Sect doesn’t need to Level their attackers, not the way we do.
“Or…?” Torg says.
“Or we take a little risk. It’s why I left.” I pause before committing to telling these guys what I planned. The team knows, of course; it’s why we argued. “We take the fight back to them. Hit Vernon again, then Kelowna in short order. Except instead of just my team, this time we take a large portion of our fighting force and do it properly. At the same time, we attack the group that’s been hounding us at night.”
“We don’t even know where they are!” Mel says bitterly.
“We can buy their location from the Shop,” I say. “It’d be expensive and probably take most of our savings, but we can do it.”
“You’d be leaving the city undefended! It’s only a few hours’ drive from Vancouver. If those Advanced Class members or a few groups come, we’ll lose everything,” Benjamin says, shaking his head. “I can’t agree to a risk like that.”
“And you’re talking about hitting at least two, if not three, groups. We don’t have the people,” Mel adds.
“We’ve still got the Hakarta here. And that’s the other reason I left. You see, I’ve got this Skill now,” I say with a smile.
It doesn’t take long to fill them in on Portal. Mel grasps the advantages first, the others requiring a little more prodding before they understand. I don’t mind. It took me a bit to really grasp what Portal can do. In the end, it comes down to a simple thing—mobility.
“I’ll admit, you’ll be able to reinforce us quickly, especially if we use Skills and technology to keep you informed but…” Ben says, doubt in his tone. “It’s still a risk. The Sect has a lot of Advanced Classers out there.”
“That’s why we asked some friends to visit,” Lana says with a smile. “They can’t leave their homes for long, but for a quick strike, they’d be happy to help.”
“Friends?” Mel says, something glimmering in his eyes as his gaze sweeps over my team. “I take it they’re tough.”
“Some of the toughest we know,” I say, smiling.
“When were you thinking of doing this?” Ben says, worry on his face.
“Well, today,” I say, looking up as Ali signals me that we’ve gotten a reply.
As the council streams out unhappily after being railroaded, I find Lana standing beside me, waiting. It’s only when they’ve left that she speaks.
“Why did you bother?” she says, her tone filled with curiosity.
“Bother?” I repeat.
“Giving them an option. You knew you were doing this anyway,” Lana says.
“Ah… I was told that as a leader, you should at least try to explain your reasoning to others.”
Lana stares at me, her eyes widening incredulously before she giggles. I frown, a bit annoyed by the giggling. Fine. I’m not exactly used to leading. At least not like this. Hell, even pre-System, I
mostly just did my own thing in the jobs I worked.
When the giggling comes to an end, Lana says, “I’m sorry. But next time, maybe you can work on giving people more time to get used to the idea before insisting on your way.”
I consider what I’ve seen of her skillsets then nod. A glance at the time shows I’ve still got a bit of time before I should open the Portal.
“John?” Lana draws my attention back to her. “Why are you still the owner of the town?”
“Hmmm?” I say, tilting my head.
“Why haven’t you just given it back to the townspeople?” Lana says. “Set up some democratic elections or something? Keeping it isn’t really your style.”
“Tired of me giving you all the hard work?” I say, teasing her.
“Actually, yes,” Lana says huffily before she relents slightly. “People do like to know what the hell is happening. You keep things too close to your chest sometimes.”
I pause before nodding. “Sorry. And you’re right. I’ve gotten a little more paranoid since the System. It’s just that since everything said can be purchased…”
“You’re worried someone might learn what you’re doing?” Lana says.
I nod. “It’s stupid really. All-encompassing surveillance might be great in theory, but it doesn’t help if you don’t look. And we’re so insignificant…” We really are, in the greater scheme of things. “But I can’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t talk about my future plans.”
Lana stays silent while I grapple with the practical and the emotional considerations. At times, I open my mouth then shut it, finally giving in to the practical.
“Do you know much about how the Galactic Council operates?” At her denial, I continue. “Think of it like the UN. Each world gets a representative on the general Galactic Council. Within the Council itself, there’s an inner circle, a smaller group that makes all the decisions, like the UN Security Council. Except these guys actually have a lot of power and get things done. They’re the ones who made Earth a Dungeon World, for example.