ã€ŠHavok Bringerã€‹


 Chapter 1. This Damn Heat

    Chapter 1: This Damn Heat

    "Damn, I miss winter," I muttered as I opened my eyes after a night of sweaty and uncomfortable sleep. It was hot again, as it always was since "the drop." I tried to remember the seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. Winter and fall were harder to recall these days, but I could sometimes remember how the winter air felt on my skin and the first frost of fall.

    I considered myself "winter-hot," meaning I looked better with a few layers on. I consider myself a decent-looking guy, almost 6 feet 5 inches tall, with all my hair. My dark brown hair was getting long enough to tie back in a ponytail; I would get someone in the settlement to cut it for me a couple of times a year, but with everyone so focused on the difficult task of staying alive, things like fashion sense took a back seat. I also sported a medium-length beard. I could say it was because shaving was a chore, but honestly, I just liked the way it looked. I was a bit stocky but not fat, like a "corn-fed" country boy.

    Before "the drop," I would put on a light jacket or hoodie during the cooler months, and my confidence would skyrocket. But in the three years since "the drop," we had only experienced hot, humid summers, and since we had no electricity, I hated it even more.

    When "the drop" happened, it caught everyone off-guard. Millions of orb-shaped objects fell from the sky, acting like electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that killed power worldwide and fried every electrical grid in the world. Society broke down quickly, and everything we had built was gone in a matter of months. It would be easy to think that society could bounce back from something like the drop, but the truth is that nobody had prepared for a global event of this magnitude.

    Living alone now, I''ve come to appreciate the solitude. In this new world, forming close bonds with people is a challenge, and I don''t have the luxury of family ties. I did attempt to reunite with my family after the ''drop,'' but they resided a few hundred miles east of me in Louisiana, and the aftermath of the event was chaotic. Riots and looters posed a constant threat. If they suspected you had something valuable, they wouldn''t hesitate to kill you and take it.

    My dad was always the type to prepare for the worst, and I hoped he and my family were okay. But I had no way to contact them, and for all they knew, I might have been dead for a while.

    After ''the drop,'' billions of people died because society had become too dependent on technology. With the loss of electricity, most cities couldn''t get clean water, and people couldn''t survive. The elderly were the first to go, but others succumbed as well. Many people couldn''t adjust to the sudden change in temperature from winter to 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit within a month. People got sick, couldn''t get water or medicine, and in many cases, the worst happened. The challenges of living in a world without the comforts of modern technology were immense, and many struggled to adapt.

    Looting and crime had become rampant in densely populated areas. Most people realized they could not survive there and decided to find a place where they could get support from other like-minded individuals. The good people left, and the large cities became home to bandits and criminals. Outside the cities, settlements formed, and people banded together to try and rebuild. Forming these settlements was not easy, as it required cooperation, resource-sharing, and a shared vision for the future.

    About a year after "the drop," rumors spread that the government was trying to rebuild the power grid. People were hopeful, but after a year of waiting, the orbs all suddenly powered up, and another EMP blast erupted worldwide. That was the end of it. No one heard anything else about it. People knew they were on their own if they wanted to survive.

    Over the years, the group of people I connected with grew into a settlement of around 500 individuals. We retrofitted some existing infrastructure to make it livable in this new world. Everything had changed since the drop. Large multi-story buildings were no longer practical due to the lack of airflow and elevators not working. Most people lived in large, open paddock-like structures or smaller structures with open windows or doors to create airflow.

    My home was in the woods near a small river, about 50 miles east of Houston. Despite the proximity of the gulf, I didn''t feel the urge to make the 60-mile trek. I constructed a small cabin, but I preferred sleeping outside in a hammock. With my engineering background, I contributed to the settlement''s various projects and bartered my labor for food. I could fish in the river, set trotlines, and there was always an abundance of fish. Hunting wasn''t my forte, so I had to trade for other necessities. The settlement, now known as South Town, had established a thriving micro-economy. Its residents had cultivated gardens and raised livestock, ensuring they had what they needed to survive.

    Initially, there were tales of looters and gangs of bandits, particularly around big cities. However, in the countryside, people united to survive. Everyone contributed in their own way, working and helping each other. We all lived by the same principle: bring value and assist your neighbors. That''s how we managed to survive.

    Despite not living in the settlement, everyone knew me, and I was there almost every day. So today, like most days, I walked in after waking up to get some supplies.

    "Andrew! Glad to see you''re still alive!" Craig said.

    Craig was about 30 years old, the same age as me. He had lived in the area before the drop, and we had spent many days together since. He was balding, a little overweight, and would just about sell his right leg for a cigarette. Unfortunately, there weren''t any more cigarettes. He was also my best friend.

    "What''s up, Craig? I decided to come in and do some shopping," I laughed as I tugged on my mostly empty pack.

    "Well, I figured you would have people to do that for you," Craig joked as he walked up and fist-bumped me. "Hey, have you heard about the orbs? People have been saying that they are acting weird."

    "Yeah, God forbid the giant metal orbs that fell from space act weird," I joked, rolling my eyes. "What do you mean weird? They are just there; other than the electrical fields surrounding them, they don''t do anything."

    "Well, I haven''t seen it myself," Craig said as he looked around and leaned in, "but some of the other guys said they were out in the woods the other day, near the one southeast of the settlement, and it started acting weird. It was making some noises, and the field was like¡­ pulsing."

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    As I looked at Craig, I could see that he was excited. He loved talking about the Orbs. "Look, bro, the best thing everyone can do is avoid those things. We still don''t know anything about them. I would love to know what they are as much as anyone, but it isn''t worth the risk," I said as I turned and started walking toward the butcher shop.

    "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Craig asked, jogging to catch up with me.

    "I''m just going to see the butcher; I can''t do fish again. I''m gonna lose my shit if I don''t get something else soon," I said, shaking my head in disgust.

    "Look, Andy, a few of us talked about going there tonight to check it out. You wanna come with us?" Craig said as he followed me into the butcher shop.

    I knew he wouldn''t let this go, and I didn''t have plans anyway. "Look, I have some things to do here, then I''ve got to go inspect the new water wheel," I pointed at the old water wheel on the edge of the settlement," That damn thing hasn''t worked right yet, I don''t think the flow is strong enough. When I finish that, we can meet at my place."

    A few hours later, I was back at my paddock, "God, I love bacon," I said. I had scored some bacon from the butcher; he had been working on perfecting it, and I''d say he had just about nailed it. So, between the bacon and a few eggs I had traded for, I had one of the best meals I''d eaten in weeks.

    Later that evening, about an hour after sunset, Craig came walking down the well-worn path to my camp.

    "Ready to go?" Craig said, with a nervous smile.

    He looked around, chasing the smell of the bacon I had just eaten. "I''m guessing you didn''t save a piece of bacon for a fat boy?" Craig joked.

    "Sorry man, I only had enough for one," I lied, I had eaten at least ten pieces. "Yeah, let''s head that way," I said, "let me grab my pack."

    I almost always carried my pack. After the drop, I decided I would never be caught off guard again. I always took a go bag with me wherever I went. It didn''t have much in it: some MREs that I had hidden away, a couple of bottles of water, some basic first aid supplies, candles, and a flare gun that I found in an old boat about a year ago.

    "You don''t have to bring that pack with you everywhere you go, weirdo," Craig said, "It''s only a 30-minute walk. I mean seriously, bro, between you living outside the settlement and carrying that pack with you everywhere you go, it''s no surprise you don''t have a girl."

    It was true, I didn''t have a girlfriend. Sure, I had relationships before the drop, but with my job and travel, it was hard to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships. After the drop, it became more about the fear of trying to keep someone else besides myself alive. Don''t get me wrong, there were women in the settlement; hell, there were even attractive women my age. Some were widows, and some were just stragglers who had wandered in over the last three years, but I kept to myself, and I liked it like that.

    After about half an hour, we were getting close to the orb. "What the hell is that?" I asked, "Since when does an orb light up like a disco ball?"

    I saw it from about 150 meters away as we were coming out of the woods. The orb, which was about the size of a two-story house, was glowing. There was a pattern to the lights, but not any pattern I recognized. There were geometric shapes and some scripts that I couldn''t read and didn''t recognize.

    "I told you!" Craig yelled, "These Damn things have been dead for three years, and now all of a sudden, they light up like Christmas trees?! What the Hell do you think it means?"

    I slowed down and began to crouch lower to the ground. "Look, man, I don''t think we should be messing around with the damn thing. We don''t know what these things are, and we don''t know what they do; all we know is that they dropped from the sky, and the world ended."

    Craig crawled up and stopped beside me, squinting to try and make sense of what he was seeing.

    "Maybe we should head back and tell the mayor. He can send a patrol out here to take a look," I whispered.

    "Forget the mayor, Andy. He''s not going to send anyone out here. You know he is scared to death of these things," Craig replied.

    I looked nervously up at the glowing orb. It began to buzz, and arcs of electricity began to spring from its surface in every direction, and that''s when I heard it.

    Now, you have to remember that most of the orbs had been silent since they fell. We had heard stories of a few science teams that tried to study them in the early days, but unfortunately, nobody had been able to discover anything about them. So now, they just sat there with their fields up, alien reminders of the world we used to know.

    After a few months, we mostly began to ignore them. Some people said that every once in a while, they would hear a noise from one. They described it as an electronic buzzing, sort of like the noise a copy machine would make when it would scan a piece of paper. Personally, I tried to stay away from them, but when I had come close to one, I had never heard anything.

    "What in the hell is that?!" Craig exclaimed as he fell backward. "It''s making a noise. Do you hear that, Andy? It''s making a noise!"

    "Calm down!" I said, putting one hand on CJ''s chest to calm him.

    The noise was just as described: an electronic buzz like a copy machine scanning a piece of paper, just way louder. It felt like it was scanning my bones; I could feel it in my teeth.

    "Maybe we should check it out," I said, inching ever so slightly closer.

    Craig just looked at me like I asked to cut his left hand off, "Jesus, man, the alien orb thingy started glowing and making noise, and now you''re interested?"

    "Fair point, but if these things were going to kill us, don''t you think they would''ve done it by now?" I said as I stood up to a crouch and started slowly walking toward the glowing, humming orb.

    After a few minutes, we were within 10 meters of the orb. I expected it to be hot for some reason, but it was extremely cold. The air around the orb was chilled like an AC compressor would be during the summer heat. A light fog radiated out from it and covered the ground in all directions.

    ¡°This is getting weird,¡± Craig said, ¡°What do you think is happening?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but whatever it is, it''s waited three years to do it. I¡¯m gonna get a closer look; I don¡¯t think it will hurt us,¡± I said as I stepped closer to the orb.

    ¡°There is no way in hell I¡¯m going any closer to that thing, Andy.¡± Craig said, ¡°It came from space; for all we know, there are aliens inside it just waiting to kill us! This was a bad idea, man.¡±

    Craig was getting more nervous by the second. He was pacing back and forth, pointing at the orb and talking to himself.

    Jesus, he is losing it, I thought to myself.

    ¡°Look, let''s just see if anything happens when we get closer, If it starts to react, or anything happens, we book it back to the settlement and tell the mayor,¡± I said, turning to Craig and putting one hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

    ¡°I¡¯m not touching that thing, Andy, and you shouldn¡¯t either,¡± Craig said, waving his hands and shaking his head emphatically.

    He was right, of course, but I felt an overwhelming need to touch the orb. It didn''t make sense; I was generally very wary of anything related to these orbs, but something seemed to be pulling me in closer, piquing my curiosity. I wasn¡¯t sure if Craig felt it, too, but all I could think about was placing my hand on it. As I approached it, the scrolling symbols froze, the humming paused, and the orb began to levitate. Seeing the giant silver orb begin to float was unsettling, and Craig started to Panic.

    ¡°Fuck this Andrew, I¡¯m outta here!¡± Craig yelled. He quickly spun and started to run away from the orb. I could hear him running, dry leaves and branches cracking under his feet, but I couldn¡¯t look away.

    As the orb levitated before me, I began to move toward it. I wasn¡¯t afraid; I was instead entranced by the floating giant orb, like a bug to a zapper. I lifted my hand slowly toward the orb, ignoring the fight or flight response that was building in my chest as well as the voice in my head screaming for me to run away. My body ignored my brain and i continued to lift my hand closer to the orb. When I was within a few inches, I felt my fingers burn with a sudden chill. I inched closer and closer, and as my fingers touched the floating metallic orb, I suddenly heard a robotic voice speaking...

    ¡°Welcome to the Crawl Participant- Andrew Dawes,¡±

    And immediately, everything went black.

 Chapter 2. Make a Choice

    Chapter 2 ¨C Make a choice.

    When I woke up my head was blazing with pain. My eyes were closed, but my brain seemed to be pulsing. ¡°Jesus,¡± I said, bringing the palms of my hands to my eyes and trying to rub the pain away. I wasn¡¯t sure what happened; I just remember touching the orb, hearing a voice, and then nothing.

    ¡°Craig, are you there? What happened?¡± Nothing in response. ¡°Craig, you still there, buddy?¡± still nothing.

    I tried to stand up but my whole body ached. I finally took my hands away from my eyes and opened them. ¡°Aagh!¡± I closed them suddenly as intense pain flooded my head again. ¡°Okay, calm down, Andrew, calm down,¡± I told myself.

    I wasn¡¯t in immediate danger; I assumed if I had been, I¡¯d already be dead¡­ and I wasn¡¯t, I think.

    ¡°Deep breaths, stay calm. Okay, let¡¯s try that again,¡± I said to myself. This time, I slowly opened one eye. The pain still came but not as intense; it was getting more bearable.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± I repeated to myself as if it were some chant that would fix whatever I had gotten myself into.

    I took a slow deep breath and slowly opened both eyes to see words hovering in front of my eyes. The electronic glow of the letters caused my eyes to water, and I squinted slightly before raising both palms to rub my eyes again. When I opened them, the words were still there.

    Welcome to the Tutorial Crawler- Andrew Dawes. Do you wish to proceed with initiation? Yes/No

    ¡°What the¡­¡± I trailed off as I tried to figure out what I was seeing.

    The interface wasn¡¯t solid; it wasn¡¯t on a panel, it just floated in the air directly in front of me. As I stared dumbly at the words, I began to move my head from side to side and the words followed. It was almost like I was wearing one of those VR headsets I had played in a mall in Houston before the drop. I would move my head side to side and the words would move in whatever direction my head moved.

    ¡°Wha¡­ What is happening?¡± I muttered to myself as I lifted my left hand and swiped at the floating words. My fingers passed through the words harmlessly as they immediately reformed. I spun around looking for anything or anyone else in the room, trying to figure out exactly what the hell was happening, but I didn''t see signs of another person. Aside from the interface, the room was empty. It was dimly lit with what seemed to be fluorescent lights, but I couldn¡¯t see any fixtures. The room was approximately 30 ft X 30 ft., and aside from the lone stainless steel metal table I was lying on in the middle of the room, I didn¡¯t see anything. Empty grey walls surrounded me on all four sides, and that interface just hung in the air in bright white letters in front of me.

    ¡°It''s okay. Just select yes, and we can get started.¡± A female voice said.

    I jumped, assuming someone was in the room with me, But I hadn¡¯t seen anyone, and I had looked over the whole room several times by now. I spun around a few more times as a tinge of panic began to set in.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the room with you. Just select yes, and we can get started,¡± The voice said again.

    ¡°What is going on here?! Who is talking?!¡± I yelled, ¡°Where am I? What did you do with Craig?¡± I was panicking now. I got off the table and started to inspect the walls and corners of the bare, grey-walled room.

    ¡°I¡¯m not with you, and we can¡¯t really get into this here, but you need to select yes,¡± The voice said. ¡°The Initiators purposefully don¡¯t share information with the participants early to try and limit the number of successful entries. All you need to know right now is that I am here to help you; it¡¯s a long story, but I am the AI assigned to be your guide. Select yes, and I can tell you more as you proceed.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is going on? Who are the Initiators? A.I. like the kind that makes weird cartoons, or the kind that kills everyone in that Terminator movie?¡± I yelled at apparently no one.

    ¡°I know you are panicked, and none of this makes sense,¡± the voice said. I''ll share what I can as I am sure you have many questions. My name is Tiff; well, that¡¯s what you can call me anyway. I am an A.I. that has been assigned to a participant in the reaping of this seeded world,¡± Tiff said.

    I looked up as the words continued audibly in my head, trying to figure out if the voice was coming from a hidden speaker or something.

    ¡°You are one of the first participants drafted upon activation of the seeds. You will be allowed to participate in the game to claim the rights of reaping if you accept. If no participants enter the game, the Universal Council will be forced to forfeit rights to the government or entity that initiated the seeding. In this case, the Lacertines were the initiators. Believe me, It is not in your planets best interest for them to control the reaping,¡± Tiff said.

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    My head spun as I listened to this disembodied voice fill my thoughts. What is happening? I have to get back to the settlement and tell everyone about the orbs, I thought.

    ¡°You can¡¯t get back to the settlement, and even if you could, it would not help. Once the reaping has been initiated, a countdown starts. It will not stop until the game is complete and the victor has been assigned reaping rights,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°You can read my mind?!¡± I said as I looked around frantically.

    ¡°Well, yes, kind of¡­¡± Tiff said, ¡°As I said earlier, I was assigned to you, so I have a direct neural connection. How else could I help if we could not communicate directly?¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± I stammered as I tried to take this all in.

    ¡°Tiff¡­ was it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, you can call me Tiff.¡±

    ¡°Hi Tiff, I¡¯m Andrew Dawes.¡±

    ¡°Andrew Timothy Dawes, Age 30, race Human. Former engineer, current member of Settlement South Town Texas, United States of America,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Jesus, do you know my social security number too?!¡± I exclaimed.

    ¡°435-62,¡± Tiff started.

    ¡°Okay, stop, I get it. You know everything about me,¡± I said, looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°I have an extensive database. As a guide AI, it¡¯s imperative that I provide you with the information necessary to be successful in your crawl,¡± Tiff said

    ¡°Crawl?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Crawl is the most common colloquial term used to describe the events leading up to the reaping. While this is definitely a life-or-death situation for you, many galactic citizens see this as a game. For them, it¡¯s a way to bring fame and fortune to themselves, their families, and their home worlds. Citizens of galaxies across the universe can join the crawl for a chance to win the right of reaping,¡± Tiff said.

    "Where exactly am I?" I asked, starting to settle down a bit.

    ¡°The event takes place in a procedurally generated dimension," Tiff began, "The Dimension is everchanging, and two crawls are never the same. You cannot escape the crawl and must progress to survive. The generated dimension is vast, and time works differently here. Since you cannot escape and you are here against your will, it is commonly referred to as a dungeon, although this particular dungeon is approximately one-quarter the size of the universe as you know it.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe what was happening to me. A few minutes earlier I was living in a crippled world where it was already hard enough to survive. Things weren¡¯t easy, but I had a life; I had found purpose and a community. Now, I found myself in a completely foreign place, being told that I was part of some galactic dungeon initiated by aliens who wanted our planet for its resources. It was all happening too fast. At the same time, if what this AI was telling me was true, then billions of lives were still at stake, including possibly my own family. I couldn¡¯t just stand by and do nothing if there was a chance, any chance at all, that I could help.

    I wasn¡¯t exactly a man of action in my life up until this point. I led a normal, nondescript life before the drop. After the drop, I dodged one fucked up situation after another until I found a place to lay low and survive. I realized in this instant that I wanted to do more than survive. If there was a chance for me to do something remarkable, then why not do it?

    Participants have 30 seconds to finalize selections. A loud robotic voice said over an invisible P.A. system.

    ¡°Shit! Okay, I can¡¯t just stand by and watch as Earth gets reaped or whatever; I have people I love down there.¡± I said, ¡°So help me, Tiff, this better not be a trap,¡± I muttered as I looked at the word ¡°yes¡± and heard a digital ¡°Ding.¡±

    As I mentally clicked yes, a woman materialized directly in front of me, startling me and causing me to scream.

    ¡°What the..¡± I shouted as I fell off the table.

    I quickly pulled myself up off the ground and only now noticed that I was completely stark naked. ¡°AAAGH!¡± I screamed as I cupped my hands over my crotch and huddled closer to the ground.

    ¡°Why am I naked?! Can I get some damn clothes?¡±

    The woman smiled, obviously unaffected by my lack of clothes. She had blonde, shoulder-length hair, light, piercing blue eyes, a small frame only a little over 5 ft tall, and she was beautiful. She wore a skintight dark blue body suit. There was an electronic glow around the seams. It was like a space-aged suit that you would see in some sci-fi movie.

    She seemed very confident, and if she was unnerved by current circumstances in the slightest, she didn¡¯t show it, and here I was, naked, crouching on the ground. Still, even in my current state, I couldn''t help but notice how incredibly beautiful the woman was. My brain sometimes does this thing where I fade out of reality and play scenarios in my brain. The scenarios are usually related to what is currently happening, and reality seemingly never plays out the way it does in my head.

    Currently, I was naked on the ground, in a strange place, apparently entering a dungeon where I would probably be killed by aliens, or monsters, or some weird combination of both dreamed up by a super AI that built this all just to make sure that some interplanetary government could legally take a planet and kill its inhabitants. In my mind, though, I saw this woman in the regular world, prior to the drop, in some Jeans that had just the right number of tears in them, just tight enough: a Taking Back Sunday T-shirt and black Converse low tops. We were at a bar, and I finally got the nerve to buy her a drink. She laughed at my jokes; she thought I was charming, and I felt like a king. Damn, it felt good to embrace these mental escapes.

    When I looked up, the woman¡¯s clothes had changed to the exact image I had in my head. The only difference was the description above her head.

    Tiff, level 50 A.I. Guardian

    Class - ???

    Race - ???

    ¡°What the..¡± I stammered.

    ¡°I assumed you would be more comfortable with this appearance,¡± the woman said.

    ¡°Tiff?¡± I said, confused.

    ¡®Hello, Andrew. Nice to meet you in person. Now, let''s get started,¡± she said with a smile.

 Chapter 3. Galactic Social Worker

    Chapter 3. Galactic Social worker

    ¡°Can I at least get some pants first?¡± I said as I shuffled my way over to the table to try and hide.

    ¡°You will be assigned gear based on your class selection; we have one hour to cover pertinent information and select your class. The safe room will dissolve once that hour is up, and you will begin your crawl.¡± Tiff said in a rushed tone.

    ¡°What do you mean class selection? Is this like one of those Dungeons and Dragons games?¡± I asked jokingly.

    ¡°Dungeons? Yes. Dragons? We will have to wait and see, but it''s not out of the question.¡± Tiff answered. ¡°Andrew, listen, we don¡¯t have much time. Think of me as a galactic social worker if that makes things easier for you. You¡¯ve been put in a place against your will without knowing what you were getting into. I¡¯m here to share information and help you get out of this dungeon in any way I can. I am now tied to you; your fate is my fate. I don¡¯t have a choice any more than you do.¡± Tiff said as she hurriedly walked toward me. "Andrew, the dungeon isn¡¯t fair, but the universal council ensures that participants are assisted, at least somewhat. The Lacertines want to ensure the number of entrants is limited and that participants are eliminated as quickly as possible. The Council is mostly neutral, but they must put on a front of fairness and equality. Any planet that somehow manages to retain the rights of reaping will inherit universal citizenship and become part of the galactic free state in which they reside. This rarely happens, like once in the last several thousand millennia, but the council loves to hedge their bets, and they want to ensure they look like the good guys just in case.¡±

    Tiff started poking the air in front of her, seemingly oblivious to my still naked body, ¡°The council instituted the Rule of Duplicity after the first Reaping. It states that for any boon, there must be a curse. Granted, this sounds bad, but before the rule, the seeding government would unleash chaos in the dungeon. It was utterly unfair to the participants and nearly always ensured that the seeding government would win the right to reap. Now, this doesn¡¯t go for everything; items given to the participants by an outside entity invoke the rule of duplicity, along with some scarce loot,¡± she said.

    ¡°Loot?¡± I asked, ¡°Are you telling me I get free stuff? So can I get some damn pants to start?!"

    ¡°Nothing is ever free, Andrew,¡± Tiff said, shaking her head. "That saying holds true on Earth as well as rest of the universe. Loot can be found or won by killing basic mobs, higher-level elites, and boss-level Monsters. Killing other participants can also reward loot, though the rule of duplicity will apply to loot obtained in this manner. The Rule of Duplicity is tricky; it is usually attached to some beneficial gear or item, but a drawback will be attached. Some of the drawbacks are minor or seem minor at the time, and some are progression-altering nightmares,¡± she said.

    ¡°In most cases, you will get a glimpse of the curse, a small description or hint. It won¡¯t outright tell you what it is, but you can decide not to equip the item or put it in your inventory and lose out on both the boon and the curse. It can get tricky at higher levels.¡± Tiff frowned as she looked at me.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°Okay, we need to get started with class selection, but first, let¡¯s look at your base stats.¡± Tiff said, ¡°I''m going to unlock your interface; after this, I will no longer have direct control over your interface or skill point allocation, so please consult me before making changes after level-ups or spending free points gained from gear.¡±

    As she spoke, I heard an audible ¡°Pop¡± in my head. My knees got a little weak, and I staggered a bit.

    ¡°Whoah,¡± I said as I shook my head. ¡°What was that? It felt like I was taking off in an airplane or something.¡±

    ¡°Humans brains have an immense capacity for upgrade. Think of it in terms of giving a computer more ram and an all-around hardware upgrade. Now, you¡¯ll have access to the interface, and you will be able to assign stat points. Your body will adjust based on assigned points. You will see physical changes, along with some¡­ other changes,¡± she said.

    ¡°Other changes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don''t have time to give you an in-depth lesson in bio upgrades and wetware enhancements. For now, let''s say that your neural upgrades were the result of super advanced technology given to all participants, but to you, it will seem like magic or the Force¡­¡± she said.

    ¡°Did you just make a Star Wars reference?¡± I asked, astounded.

    ¡°I¡¯m a walking database,¡± Tiff said. ¡°We downloaded your world''s internet using the seeds when they landed, so I understand cultural references.¡± She smirked, ¡°Now, focus on your interface; you should see your stats pop up if you want to see stats; it''s very intuitive.¡±

    Sure enough, as I started thinking about the word ¡°Stats,¡± my interface popped up before me and showed my description and stats.

    Name ¨C Andrew Timothy Dawes

    Race ¨C Human

    Level ¨C 1

    Class ¨C N/A

    Stats ¨C

    Strength 8

    Intelligence 7

    Dexterity 10

    Stamina 7

    Vigor 7

    "What does this mean?" I asked as I read off my stats to Tiff.

    "Only one really stands out," she said. "The baseline for humans is pretty much seven across the board. You are a bit bigger than average, which explains the increased strength stat." She looked me over as she spoke. "The dexterity is pretty high for a level one, though. Dexterity usually applies to agility, speed, accuracy, dodge, and the ability to utilize some two-handed weapons that aren''t commonly used. Are you left-handed?"

    "I thought you knew everything about me?" I joked. Making a joke that fell flat as Tiff just stared and waited for my response. "Yeah, actually I am, but I''m also a little ambidextrous," I said.

    I''d switch between my right and left hands, depending on what sport I was playing at the time. For baseball, I batted right-handed but used a left-handed glove; for basketball, I shot left-handed; and for golf, I shot right-handed. I was a nightmare for coaches. Not truly ambidextrous but still having the ability to use both hands in certain scenarios.

    "That explains it," she said. "Left-handed humanoids generally gain a point or two in dexterity, and being somewhat ambidextrous must account for the rest of the increase." She said, "Well, that''s a start at least; it only gets harder from here, Andrew. We must pick a class now; once we do that, the safe room will disappear, and things will get crazy really fast, but if we can make it to ship selection, things will calm down for a few hours."

    "Ship?" I asked.

    "Oh yeah, I didn''t tell you? You''re getting a spaceship."

 Chapter 4. Already with the Curses?

    ¡°I¡¯m seriously getting a spaceship?!¡± I asked with a mix of excitement and complete astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to fly a spaceship. I¡¯ve never flown more than a few hours in a regular damn airplane! You people just give out spaceships to everyone that decides they don¡¯t want to sit back and watch their planet die?!¡± I started to shout agitatedly.

    ¡°You people?¡± Tiff asked with a disgusted tone, turning her head from whatever she was poking at in the air and staring daggers in my direction. ¡°I¡¯m not the entity that created this dungeon, I¡¯m not the aliens that seeded your home world, and I am damn sure not the one who decided to give a naked, ignorant human man-child a piece of advanced alien technology. I told you, Andrew. I didn¡¯t have a choice in this. You at least get the ability to choose to join the crawl or go back to your world. It''s not much of a choice now that you know what is going to happen otherwise, but it''s still a choice nonetheless.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get that,¡± Tiff said, holding her hands together and staring down at the floor. With that being said, I will help you, I will give you knowledge information, and assistance whenever and however I can. At some point I may even be able to physically help you with this enormous, impossible task that you are taking on but if you ever again insinuate that I am somehow a part of all this aside from being assigned as your guardian, I''ll just quit and let the fates have you,¡± she said as she crossed her arms in defiance.

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa,¡± I said, holding my hands out in front of me as I tried to defuse the tension, only to realize I had exposed myself. I quickly moved my hands back down to cover my unmentionables. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is all coming at me so fast, and I didn¡¯t mean to offend you. Hell, I didn¡¯t know A.I.¡¯s could even get offended. Hell, I didn¡¯t know A.I.s like you were even real until a few minutes ago. Cut me some slack while I try to take this all in."

    I walked to the other side of table to try and get some cover for my nakedness, ¡°Look, I¡¯m no warrior; I was a mediocre athlete in school at best,¡± I shrugged, ¡°the last three years have been literal hell on earth. If I had been presented with this decision right after the drop, I would have run from here screaming and not thought twice, but things are different now. The world is different. I¡¯ve seen people starve. I¡¯ve seen people murder and be murdered just for what few possessions they still had. The people of my world are barely hanging on and truthfully, as far as I know, I have nobody left down there who cares for me. I don¡¯t know if my family is alive, and I only have one real friend, but he will be okay without me. I don¡¯t know anything about what I¡¯m getting into. I mean hell, I probably won¡¯t make it a week if there really are monsters and aliens and other people out there just going murder-crazy, but I can''t go back to the reality of the nothingness that was my life. If I¡¯m going to go out then hey, at least I can go out trying to make the bastards that started this whole thing pay, even if it¡¯s just a little bit. So, lets pick a damn class and get this thing started!¡± I said as I met her eyes with determination from the other side of the table.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna place my palm on your forehead and then you¡¯ll receive the Codex of Classes. It won''t tell you everything you need to know. The program will sort classes based on your physiology, filtering out classes that aren¡¯t compatible,¡± Tiff said as she reached over the table and held her palm near my forehead.

    ¡°Wait, you can touch me?¡± I asked, ¡°I thought you were like a super advanced hologram of something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m real. I¡¯m really here. I was transported into the room with you after you woke up," she said.

    ¡°But your clothes changed, how does that work?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Too much to get into right now. Easier to just think of it as magic like I said earlier. We really need to get this done,¡± she said hurriedly. ¡°Read me the options and we can discuss them together before you make a final decision.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said as a wave of information entered my head and appeared on my interface.

    Class Selection the interface read.

    Option 1 ¨C Space Ninja - System Class

    The Space Ninja class utilizes shadow and secrecy to achieve ultimate stealth. Utilizing primarily one-handed light weapons along with the art of deception, the Space Ninja can work in concert with other members of the clan to achieve total victory or complete annihilation if the clan leader¡¯s decisions are not carefully thought out. You will be assigned to a garrison of other space ninjas and begin training immediately. Your weapons and armor will be provided and eligible for upgrade starting at Level 5.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Stats ¨C

    +1 Strength

    +2 Dexterity

    +5 Stamina

    +2 Intelligence

    Option 2 - Galactic Brawler ¨C System Class

    The Galactic Brawler is a melee-focused class. You¡¯re big, you¡¯re strong, why not use that to your advantage? Everybody loves shiny, stabby things and big guns but not you! You choose to face your battles head-on and go toe-to-toe with any adversary that comes your way. You are a lone fighter and choose the road less travelled. Your weapons will not be provided because you are the weapon. Armor will be provided upon completion of your tutorial level and will be eligible for upgrade at Level 5. You will be assigned a small, personal attack class ship in good working order.

    Stats ¨C

    +5 Strength

    +2 Dexterity

    +2 Stamina

    -1 Intelligence

    Option 3 - Interstellar Assassin ¨C System Class

    The Interstellar Assassin isn¡¯t popular at parties; they tend to kill at least one person every time they go to one. To be fair, it''s part of the job. You will use poison, long rage weapons, and every other deceptive killing ability you can imagine to slowly and steadily creep your way through the dungeon, working your way up the leader board one dead body at a time! Hooray! Seriously though, you work alone, and you kill alone but you''re damn good at it. Utilizing small one-handed weapons, small light firearms, and large, long-range weapons, you can kill with a touch or kill from miles away. Armor will be provided upon completion of the tutorial level and a small light, stealth ship in good working order will be provided.

    Stats ¨C

    +1 Strength

    +3 Dexterity

    +3 Stamina

    +3 Intelligence

    Option 4 ¨C Havok Bringer ¨C Universal Council Provided Class.

    N/A

    Warning: This class will invoke the Rule of Duplicity.

    I read the descriptions off to Tiff as they populated on my interface.

    ¡°Why are the description in such a snarky tone?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The system Master A.I. probably assigned a sub-mind to populate the class descriptions. They can get a little too into their work,¡± Tiff said with a nervous chuckle.

    ¡°That last class really stands out. A council provided class?¡± she muttered, ¡°I''ve seen items, weapons, and armor provided to participants early but not a class,¡± she looked conflicted.

    ¡°I like the Space Ninja!¡± I shouted. ¡°I can be a damn ninja! HO-LY SHI..¡±,

    Tiff cut me off with a wave, ¡°You¡¯re too big to be an effective Space Ninja,¡± she said. ¡°The stat increases are okay but, honestly, it¡¯s not a great class unless you want to die on the front lines after some clan leader takes a payoff to ship his entire team of ninjas to a world that will kill them immediately."

    ¡°Ookay, no Space Ninja then,¡± I sighed. ¡°How about Space Brawler? Like you said, I¡¯m big and I¡¯ve won my fair share of fights. Plus, look at my hands; they are huge!¡± I had always had rather large hands. I got that from my dad; it was kind of a point of pride.

    ¡°That class is a real problem in tight spaces," Tiff replied, ¡°if it wasn¡¯t for the fourth option, I would say that is the class we should go for but a provided class shouldn¡¯t be something that we don¡¯t seriously consider.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even say what it is. There are really no details at all!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°I know I have to kind of trust you and all but what even is that class? What if it''s something that doesn¡¯t fit me? Will I have an option to choose another class at some point?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No,¡± she said, ¡°you are stuck with your class once you pick one; for life, even if you survive the dungeon but the title gives me a small hint,¡± she said as she leaned forward on the table in thought. ¡°Havokium is the first and only planet that staged a rebellion against the universal council. Their war fleet was the most technologically advanced fleet in the universe and their Havok Hounds were a team of orbital drop super soldiers trained to infiltrate and eliminate targets in enemy space. They were defeated by the council who, at the time, had a prestigious battle fleet of their own and armies across the universe ready to defend them. Since then, the Council has fallen out of favor with many of the strongest galaxies that make up its body. The Council is more fractured now than ever in its history,¡±

    ¡°If this class is in any way related to Havokium, or the Havok Hounds, you have to choose it,¡± she insisted.

    ¡°What about the Rule of Duplicity?¡± I asked, ¡°doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯ll get a curse or whatever too?¡±

    ¡°The curses get progressively worse as you get farther into the dungeon,¡± she said, ¡°at this point it probably won¡¯t be something we can''t overcome, and the class could far outweigh the curse."

    ¡°PROBABLY?! Probably?!¡± my frustration apparent as I considered why I would take a class that gave me no details. ¡°Deep breaths, Deep breaths,¡± I whispered to myself.

    I sighed, unsure of what to do next. ¡°Once again, artificial intelligence that I just found out existed," I let out a long slow breath and spoke through gritted teeth, "I guess I have to trust you.¡±

    I looked up, feeling defeated, and mentally selected ¡°Havok Bringer¡±.

 Chapter 5. Let the Games Begin.

    After selecting the Havok Bringer Class I expected to get more information, or some cool armor, or something. What I got instead was directions.

    Class selected - Progress through the tutorial level for more information on your selected class. Upon completing the tutorial and reaching the shipyard you will be fully briefed.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± I said, throwing my hands up in frustration, ¡°I didn¡¯t get anything. No information, nothing, what am I supposed to do now?¡±

    ¡°Stay calm, Andrew, It¡¯s not unusual. Most participants don¡¯t receive anything until completion of the tutorial level,¡± Tiff said, ¡°the Lacertines have taken steps to ensure that most participants expire early. The fewer participants who progress, the higher the chances are that they won¡¯t have any issues securing the right of reaping. The safe area is about to open. When it does, you have to be ready. There will be enemies of some sort. They won''t be high levelled enemies, but they will be a higher level than you. The main goal here is to survive. Once the safe room disappears you will be back in your clothes with all of the possessions you had during transport. Hopefully you have something useful but, if not, you will need to move fast and only engage if you absolutely have to. You can receive experience for killing in the tutorial and it is possible to level up, especially since everything here will be a higher level than you. Find a tool that you can use to fight. The shipyard will be in the center of the level; it''s usually 4 or 5 miles squared, big, but not so big that you can''t get to the center in a couple of hours," Tiff said.

    She stood directly in front of me to make sure she had my attention for this part: ¡°I need you to listen closely now. There will be a boss. It shouldn¡¯t be over Level 5 but that is still way too high for you to try and fight. If you see it, run. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got it. Stay away from the boss,¡± I said as I paced back and forth, still covering my private parts, taking deep breaths. It felt like I was about to run onto the field for the first football game of the season. I was nervous, I was scared. The difference here is that the opposing players were literally going to be trying to kill me.

    Just as I finished speaking, Tiff started to phase out right in front of me. One of the four grey walls started to slowly slide down into the ground with a grating noise like concrete scraping concrete, and my interface changed. A large countdown populated the center of my screen with numbers counting down from 10.

    Combat commencing in:

    10...

    9...

    8...

    ¡°Tiff! Where did you go?!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°I¡¯m here. You can¡¯t see me, but we can still communicate. Get ready and be aware of your surroundings," she said reassuringly.

    7...

    I noticed a figure in the lower left-hand corner of my interface surrounded in green. Does that signify my health? Ugh, I don''t know but can¡¯t think about that now, I thought to myself.

    In the top right was a mini map with a red dot in the middle; nothing else around it.

    The top left showed my level as 1 with an experience bar underneath it.

    3...

    2...

    1...

    I slightly bent my knees and tensed my body, readying myself to move swiftly. Holding my arms by my sides, my focus shifted from my nakedness¡ªnow that Tiff had left me alone in the safe room¡ªto the need for speed and preparedness. The alarm''s blare, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, and the red flashing of the fluorescent lights accelerated my heartbeat, almost audible in my chest. As the door completed its opening, I peered out into what appeared to be... roads and buildings? It resembled an American military base. Uncertain of what lay ahead, I had braced for an alien landscape, yet here I was, seemingly about to battle for survival on a familiar military base. Admittedly, the base was in disrepair: overgrown vegetation, cracked streets, and a sky tinged with reddish-orange. Stepping out of the safe room, I glanced back only to find it vanished, replaced by more overgrown streets and crumbling buildings. The site looked abandoned for years, maybe decades, which was perplexing since the drop had occurred just three years prior. Military bases should have been bastions for officials and dignitaries. How could one fall so quickly into ruin? The answer dawned on me as I inhaled deeply, ran my fingers through my hair, and looked up to see not one, but two moons.

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Well, that answers one question," I remarked.

    As I walked, my clothing and pack materialized onto my body. I clenched a fist in triumph, relieved to no longer be naked. It was a minor victory given my current predicament, but I embraced it nonetheless.

    "Stay focused, Andrew. You need to find something to use as a weapon. Keep an eye on the mini-map in your interface; it''ll mark enemies with red dots if they''re close. The boss will be indicated by a red crown. If you see that, run," Tiff instructed, her voice resonating in my mind.

    I dashed towards a large administrative building. It was inaccessible; all entrances were locked. I suspected this was intentional, forcing us to navigate towards the tutorial level''s center rather than taking refuge in buildings. I crouched against the wall at the building''s edge, scanning the area to orient myself.

    "This looks like a military base; I''m certain there are guns or rocket launchers around," I said to Tiff.

    "They wouldn''t have stocked those. This place is designed to resemble something familiar to Earth''s participants to ease the transition, but you won''t find free weapons," she replied.

    Looking around, I noticed the auto-shop named "Sprocket."

    "The garage door of that auto shop is open. I bet I can find something useful in there," I said as I began running towards it. I attempted to stay low and move tactically, but realistically, the closest I''d ever come to being a soldier was maxing out my character in Call of Duty. Nevertheless, I was here now and needed to be cautious.

    Approaching the garage, I could see inside. The walls were lined with tools, typical of an auto garage. Most were useless, but one item caught my attention¡ªa large, black tire iron with a curved end and a flat spike. "Perfect," I muttered, stepping out towards the garage.

    As I took my first step, a loud chittering noise stopped me. A bulbous-headed humanoid creature walked past the open door inside the building. About four feet tall, it had a large head, two almond-shaped black eyes, two small nasal slits, and thin lips. Its neck and limbs were slender, but its middle was round. It was the quintessential alien, albeit orange, chittering as it paced. Above its head, a description appeared:

    Trimean Infantry ¨C Level 3

    "You need that weapon," Tiff insisted.

    "Trimeans aren''t very strong, just avoid its bite. The mouth can expand to three times its size and is filled with razor-sharp teeth. It could sever an arm if it gets a grip, so try to approach stealthily."

    "So, I''m supposed to kill that thing?" I whispered. "I don''t know if I can ki..."

    As I was speaking, the Trimean turned and howled. The sound resembled a dog''s howl.

    "What the hell!?" I screamed in horror as the alien howled toward me.

    The short Trimean rushed at me, but its short legs gave me enough time to move. I dodged it and ran toward the shop to get the tire iron.

    Stepping into the shop, I made a beeline for the tire iron. Just as I reached out to grab it from the wall, something slammed into the back of my legs¡ªit was the Trimean. It wrapped its arms around me while continuing to howl. Despite its small stature, it was incredibly strong.

    I struggled to pry the Trimean off me, and as I looked back, I saw it open its mouth. It was like something from a nightmare¡ªthree times the size of a human mouth, with rows of sharp teeth and a slimy, purple tongue wriggling inside. It was still howling.

    "IT¡¯S GONNA BITE MY ASS!" I screamed.

    I began to spin, attempting to dislodge the creepy little alien from me. I backed up and thrust him into a rolling toolbox positioned against the wall next to me. Although he wouldn''t let go, he also couldn''t bite me.

    I glanced over at the tire iron. One last time, I pushed back, ensuring the Trimean didn''t have a chance to bite down. Simultaneously, I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the tire iron. As I pushed my body back against the toolbox once more, I spun around, trapping the Trimean against the toolbox and bringing him around to my front side. The creepy little creature looked up again, howling, and opened his mouth.I grasped the tire iron with two hands, and I slammed the sharp end into that creepy open mouth. The tire iron plunged into the throat of the creepy little alien. As its tongue wriggled, the alien croaked and gagged on a mix of blood and iron as the spike exploded out the back side of its big, bulbous head. The alien''s body went limp. Black, thick blood oozed out of the wound in the back of its head as I jerked the tire iron back out. I stood there over the limp, dead body as I received a notification:

    Experience earned!

    The words blinked across my interface as I stumbled backward into a pile of tools on a workbench.

    "Jesus! What the literal fuck was that thing?!" I asked as I backed away from the dead Trimean and put my hands up to my head.

    ¡°That was a Trimean,¡± Tiff said. ¡°Is your interface not working?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my damn interface is working,¡± I said. ¡°But what, what even? I mean, I¡¯ve never seen anything like that!¡± I replied.

    ¡°Andrew, aliens are trying to take your planet; expect to see some weird shit. Process it and let''s keep moving,¡± she said, nonplussed. ¡°You didn¡¯t die, and now you have a weapon. Let¡¯s take an inventory of what else you have, and then let''s get to the shipyard.¡±

    I sat down in the corner and pulled off the pack that I had been wearing when I came in through the orb.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have much; some food, some water, some first aid stuff, a flare gun¡­a flare gun!¡± I said excitedly. ¡°That can be useful, but I only have three shots.¡±

    ¡°Okay, keep your pack on you; we may need it later,¡± Tiff said. "We have to get moving."

    "You did well, Andrew,¡± Tiff said. ¡°We just might get through this tutorial, but you must stay calm and keep moving. Now get up, and let¡¯s get to that shipyard."

 Chapter 6. Hey, I think Im getting the hang of this "Murder" thing.

    I retrieved my pack from inside the auto shop and made my way back to the open garage door at a slow pace. In the distance, I could hear a few screams and what seemed to be more howling. An explosion erupted a mile or two away, briefly illuminating the surroundings.

    "What the hell was that?" I murmured, partly to myself.

    "My guess is that''s where our boss is. We should find a detour if possible. Engaging it directly would be unwise at your level," Tiff advised.

    Surveying the street, I considered our next move.

    "Maybe we can bypass a few blocks and approach from a different direction. I suspect there''s a parade field or something similar in the center of this area where the ships are likely arranged; it''s the ideal open space for that," I mused, scanning the area and then glancing back down the street as I outlined my strategy.

    "Handling one or two Trimeans at a time should be manageable, assuming there''s nothing else lurking here."

    "Typically, there''s only one species in the tutorial level, though they might vary in rank and type. Let''s get moving. Keep an eye out for anything useful, but we need to be quick," Tiff instructed.

    I proceeded and stumbled upon what appeared to be a convenience store named The Main Exchange. I had hoped to find some food, water, or gasoline, but it was merely a facade. Clearly, this was designed to mimic an Earth-like setting, but it was far from authentic.

    Circling to the rear of The Exchange, I encountered another Trimean. Its back was to me, and it wielded a small club-like weapon resembling a police baton. Observing it, the identification on my display was the same as before:

    Trimean Infantry ¨C Level 3

    "I''ll ambush it from behind," I whispered. Despite Tiff''s ability to hear my thoughts, I spoke out of habit.

    "Be swift and aim for a single-strike takedown like the previous one," Tiff responded.

    I ambushed the Trimean from behind; this time, it had no chance to react. With all my strength, I grasped the tire iron''s sharp end and drove it into the back of its bulbous orange head. A sickening, slurping crunch echoed as the tire iron buried itself halfway into its head. The Trimean collapsed and slid off the iron, lifeless.

    "Yes! Got him!" I exclaimed in triumph.

    Experience gained ¨C 500 Points.

    Then, another notification flashed on the interface.

    Level up! You are now Level 2. Gain ten stat points per category and five free points. Allocate free points now? Y/N

    "Hey, I leveled up!" I told Tiff. I received ten stat points for each attribute and five free points. Should I allocate them now or wait?"

    "Wait, you don''t know what the class will entail, and we can decide then. You might notice a slight increase in your strength, speed, agility, and toughness. It''s normal," she advised.

    Indeed, I felt somewhat larger, quicker, and stronger; the change was subtle but noticeable.

    "This is amazing," I remarked, repeatedly observing my hands and clenching them into fists.

    "Oh, look, he dropped a weapon," I remembered the baton. Picking it up, it felt incredibly light, akin to aluminum. Swinging it, the baton extended slightly to match my size better. Examining the baton more closely, I read:

    Common Trimean Body Basher - Level 3

    Blunt Force One-Handed Weapon

    Abilities - Shocking Pulse

    Requirements: Level 3 in any humanoid class.

    "It''s Level 3. Does that mean I can''t use it?" I pondered aloud, "If I defeat two more Trimeans, I could level up again."

    "Actually, you can use it without the special abilities; it''s still effective for striking. When wielded by someone with the requisite level, the Body Basher generates an electrical pulse on impact, so it is a pretty good melee weapon, much better than a tire iron. To your second point, you will get about half of the experience per kill you got on Level 1 for the same level mob. A Level 4 Mob will give more experience than a Level 3 and so on. Don¡¯t get too hung up on the points per kill since, as you grow, there will be levels that take millions of XP to pass,¡± she explained, "you did well with those first two enemies, so I feel a little better about engaging a few more on the way to the shipyard, but again, let¡¯s make sure you are as careful as possible."

    ¡°Got it. Safety first," I joked.

    I was in a dungeon, in space; safety went out the window a long time ago. I started making my way to the center of the base again, moving slowly and trying to take stock of my surroundings. I made it another couple of blocks, and this time, I saw two more Trimeans: one standing in front of the empty office building and one walking away, turning the corner to walk toward the center of the base. They were the same Level 3 infantry mobs as before.

    I still had my tire iron, but I had slid it into the netting on the front of my pack and was going to use the baton this time. I ran up to the first Trimean and began swinging. As he turned, I swung the baton and it made contact with the side of his big head. As it tried to gather itself and figure out what was happening, I swung again, hitting it right in the side of the knee. I didn¡¯t know anything about these things¡¯ physiology, but ¡°weak points are weak points,¡± I thought to myself, and sure enough, he went down like a sack of potatoes. I swung down with both hands, clubbing him in the head repeatedly with the baton. It wasn¡¯t easy like the tire iron; he died slowly, gurgling and choking on his own blood.

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    ¡°Better you than me, buddy,¡± I said. I never asked to be here, but these guys were trying to kill me and anyone else here like me. I was glad he died slowly.

    Once I was done, I decided to try something different. I had those few extra points in dexterity, so I thought I should be able to dual-wield weapons. I pulled out both: baton in my left hand and tire iron in my right. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°this feels pretty good. Now let¡¯s go get that other one.¡±

    I rounded the corner. This one heard me coming. He turned toward me in time to open that giant mouth and started to howl as he rushed me. He never stood a chance as I used the same method as before: baton to the knee. This time, as he fell, I swung the tire iron in my right hand down on his head and finished with another tire iron stab through the head.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m getting pretty good at this murdering thing,¡± I said confidently as I wiped the black blood on the grass.

    ¡°Calm down, Rambo," Tiff told me. These are very low-level mobs; don¡¯t get too confident. It is going to get much tougher and quickly.¡±

    ¡°Hey, where is my loot? I¡¯ve killed 4 of these things!¡± I asked.

    ¡°No loot from basic mobs in the tutorial,¡± Tiff said, ¡°you can receive loot from the boss, and your kill count will help with the gear you receive on your ship. So, again, getting some of these guys on the way was a good idea.¡±

    I was now halfway to Level 3 but I was just ready to find this ship and get away from this place.

    ¡°How far do you think the shipyard is?¡± I asked after another half hour of making our way toward the center of the base. ¡°I know that it would probably be a good idea to farm some of these lower level enemies, but I gotta say getting out of this creepy ass place would also be really nice.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Tiff replied. You will soon see the rate of XP from these Trimeans drop significantly. Outside of the boss, killing more of these than you absolutely have to will not benefit you much.

    I had killed one more Trimean as I continued pushing my way to the center of the base. There was a bunch of rebar sticking out of some broken road, and when this one rushed at me, he nearly knocked me back into it. Fortunately, I tripped over my own feet and fell before it could push me back into the hole containing the deadly rebar sticking up in the air. Unfortunately for him, he didn¡¯t expect me to fall, and fell over me, right into the hole, impaling himself on the rebar.

    "Hey, at least I got the experience,¡± I shrugged. ¡°That was a close one,¡± I said, exhaling slowly. I noticed my XP bar was nearly full and that I should hit level 3 with one more kill. ¡°One more kill to Level 3. Let''s try to find one more.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long until I did. Fifteen minutes later, as I got closer to what I hoped was the shipyard, I saw them: Three Trimeans guarding a gate to the parade grounds. Two were the same Level 3 infantry that I had seen this whole time, while the other was a Level 4 Trimean Corporal; he was two feet taller than the infantry variant and stood just a head shorter than me. The Corporal''s skin had blue tiger-like stripes, making it very easy to tell the difference. He was asleep on the ground with his back against the wall. The other two were semi-patrolling back and forth in front of the gate.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to get one of the infantry mobs to move away from the other two. I¡¯m going to try and get his attention,¡± I said. I grabbed a handful of rocks and threw them at the guard shack on the left side of the gate, breaking a window. It worked just as I had hoped as one of the Level 3 Trimeans waddled over to the guard shack and walked inside to investigate the noise.

    ¡°One down,¡± I said, then I took my baton and threw it down the right-side street in front of the other Trimean. Sure enough, he started walking away from the other two. I ran around the building from which I was peeking. I went down behind and crossed the street to the other side. I then ran down toward the Trimean, who was inspecting the baton, and as I did, I saw him. He saw me, and then he howled. ¡°Oh shit!¡± I said, knowing he would alert the other two mobs. I jumped in his direction and landed on him with my knees, rode him to the ground, and started punching.

    My fists were not my best weapon, but in my panic, I could only think about shutting this thing up before the other two guards showed up. These things were stronger than they looked. The Trimean struggled, grasping for my hand, wriggling underneath me as I punched for all I was worth. The ten extra points in strength and stamina were already paying off. I was stronger than just half an hour earlier and could feel the extra power in my punches. I didn¡¯t get winded as early as I thought I should, either. It was weird, but it was also exhilarating.

    ¡°Finish him off already!¡± Tiff said, ¡°Look at your mini map. The other two are moving this way.¡±

    Looking at the right-hand corner of what I decided to start calling my HUD, I saw the two red dots moving my way. I dug my knees into the struggling Trimean, pushed myself up as it grasped for my body and arms, stood over him, and started kicking over and over into his giant orange head. It felt like I was crushing a giant watermelon under my feet. I wasn''t dressed for combat, wearing a tan short-sleeved button-up shirt, some old blue jeans, and a pair of old work boots I had kept since before the drop, but they did the trick. Within about ten seconds the Trimean lay there twitching as it died. I saw the XP notification and the level-up notification.

    ¡°Hell yeah, let''s try this baton for real,¡± I said, pumping my fist in triumph.

    I quickly moved back around the corner as the other two Trimeans approached. As I crouched, I could hear them chittering at each other as they inspected the dead body of their ally.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna run back around the building and come up behind the big one,¡± I whispered as I started to backtrack quietly, trying to get into a position of surprise. As I rounded the third corner, I slowed and stuck myself to the red brick wall as I peeked around the corner. The two Trimeans were still chittering at each other, seemingly panicked and almost arguing with each other. The Level 4 Corporal was closest to me. I waited for the right moment. As the Level 3 Trimean turned his back and began inspecting the body again, I made my move.

    I ran with only the baton in my right hand and the tire iron back in my pack netting.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything. Just hit him, and the ability will activate,¡± Tiff said, seemingly reading my mind.

    I ran straight to the corporal, slid up to his back, and swung.  As I made contact, the baton exploded with electricity, a bright white flash of electricity rippling through its body. The Level 4 Corporal fell, twitching in pain. I moved toward the infantry guard before it could even take a step. ¡°Whaaap!¡± right into the top of the head, followed by a crackling buzz as it fell.

    With both guards incapacitated, I immediately pulled out my tire iron and finished them both off with a stab through the head.

    ¡°Damn!¡± I said, breathing heavily, ¡°That thing packs a punch! I''m glad it didn¡¯t get a chance to use it on me!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a decent weapon at low levels. It was a lucky find, but anything over Level 8 or 9 won¡¯t be fazed by it unless you upgrade it or find a better one,¡± Tiff said.

    I still didn¡¯t receive any loot, but I was at Level 3 and had a quarter of the bar full toward Level 4.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna head back to the gate and see if I can get an idea of what¡¯s inside,¡± I said as I moved back toward the gate.

    As I made it back to the gate, I saw the shipyard. It seemed to contain hundreds of different types of small spacecraft. Some were very space-age-looking, like what you might see in a sci-fi movie. Some were rectangular, sitting on three pieces of landing gear. A few were even completely round, like giant metal balls. In the middle of the shipyard was a stage area and a console of sorts.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that is where we need to go. Something on that stage has to tell us which ship is ours,¡± I said.

    ¡°Agreed. Let''s see if we can move that way,¡± Tiff said.

    I slowly stepped past the gate into the parade yard, and that¡¯s when I saw it: as soon as I looked at it, the identification popped up:

    Trimean Drill Sergeant ¨C Level 8

    ¡°Well, fuck me,¡± I said as the gate sealed behind me.

 Chapter 7. Youre Not the Boss of Me

    I stared at the Level 8 Drill Sergeant, my heart nearly beating through my chest. It stood at around 8 feet tall, with a head that appeared proportionate to its giant body, unlike the infantry and corporal level Trimeans. The Sergeant had rippling muscles all over their body, with mostly blue skin speckled with orange. It wore a tight grey body suit, black knee-high boots, and a forward-tilted drill instructor''s hat on top of its head. Carrying a thick baton crackling with electricity, I wondered how the hell I would get past it, as it was standing right in front of the stage.

    "It''s enormous! How am I supposed to get past that thing?!" I exclaimed, "I''m assuming it''s a he. I mean I don¡¯t know much about Trimeans, but that certainly doesn''t look like a female," I added.

    "Well, that¡¯s a bit sexist, but yes, it''s male. All male Trimeans must serve in the galactic military,¡± Tiff responded.

    Looking around, I spotted a couple of burnt-out ships. It seemed that the Drill Sergeant wasn¡¯t going to let anyone take a random ship, which probably explained the earlier explosions. The drill instructor just stood there slapping the baton into his massive hand, waiting for anyone to try and get past him.

    ¡°That explains the explosions from earlier. I guess I¡¯m not going anywhere unless I go through him,¡± I said.

    I sat down to ponder for a minute, going over all my supplies trying to figure out if I had anything that would give me the edge I needed to make this fight winnable.

    "What are you doing?" Tiff asked as I started untying my boot to take off my sock.

    "I have an idea,¡± I said, ¡°I can¡¯t take that thing one-on-one, not in a straight up fight but I¡¯m betting it''s not fireproof."

    I fumbled around with my boot and took my sock off before reaching into my pack and pulling out the MREs.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve got 4; that will have to do," I muttered as I started opening the packaging of each one. Honestly, I had kept them for a while and didn¡¯t plan on eating them unless things got really bad. I guess this would qualify as really bad, but I had things other than food on my mind right now. I would figure out how to get food if I survived this mess.

    ¡°MREs have packages that contain Magnesium powder, which is highly flammable and hard to put out. I¡¯ve got 4 of these, so about 30 grams of magnesium dust,¡± I explained as I started ripping open the chemical heater packages containing the magnesium dust. ¡°I may not be stronger than this guy, but he doesn¡¯t look very fast. If I had to guess, I would say he is gonna try his hardest to hit me with that baton and end things quickly."

    I crouched down and started pouring the magnesium powder into my sock. I then took out the first aid kit, which had a small pair of finger-sized scissors in it. Using the scissors, I made a few very small holes in the sock.

    ¡°I just need to get close and dodge that baton for a few seconds. If I can do that, I think this will work,¡± I said, twisting the sock and tying it in a knot. I held the sock up triumphantly ¡°I¡¯m gonna introduce him to the sock of shame.¡±

    "Sock of shame? That is what you are going with?¡± I could hear Tiff exhaling in frustration. ¡°Andrew,I am gonna ignore that you just said sock of shame, let¡¯s never bring that up again. I am being serious when I say that you need to stay away from that thing! There should be a way to avoid the boss; it usually isn''t mandatory on the tutorial level."

    "Well, I can''t see any other way to get through to that stage," I said. "I''m not sure how these things typically work, but I assume I need to get past that Drill Sergeant, or it''s all over." I knelt down to put my boot back on, feeling the dampness of my bare foot inside it. "You mentioned that the Lacertines were crooked, right? So it makes sense that they included this guy as a mandatory boss. Maybe it''s not legal or normal, but he''s definitely here," I stood up slowly and looked toward the Drill Sergeant, "and he definitely sees me.

    "The Drill Sergeant held the baton over his head and howled a deep guttural howl before slapping the baton back down into his palm.

    ¡°Well, I guess there is no turning back now,¡± I said as I ran toward him.

    He was about 50 yards from me but I closed the distance faster than expected with my increased agility. ¡°Good,¡± I thought to myself. I was hoping the increased stats would help here and it looked like I was right. As I approached, the Drill Sergeant stepped forward and swung the baton with his right arm. Just as he did, I baseball slid right under his swing; I could feel the crackling electricity as it came close to my head lifting my hair slightly as the static electricity pulled at the individual strands.

    As I slid by, I took the sock I was holding in my left hand and swung it into his chest. Magnesium powder covered his chest and stomach creating a small cloud of dust. Immediately upon stopping, I popped up and hit him again, covering his back with the magnesium powder. He spun around furiously, a small cloud of dust surounding him before lifting his baton and screaming in rage. As he did, I raised the sock and slapped him in the face with it again.

    ¡°Oooh, that¡¯s a tad disrespectful,¡± I heard Tiff say as I dodged around to his back.

    The Drill Sergeant coughed as magnesium powder filled his mouth and lungs,  Stumbling back as he wiped at his face with his free hand trying to escape the powder that covered his torso. The cloud necessarily large as I continued slapping him, but it grew big enough to see as it fell loosely to the ground around him.

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    The Drill Sergeant quickly became enraged, gathering himself up and spitting to clear the magnesium powder from his mouth as he looked me dead in the eyes. He yelled loudly as he raised his hand to swing his baton, but I was ready. As he swung with his right hand, I dodged the left and peppered him again with the sock. This time he was ready for me. He shot out his left hand faster than I had ever seen any living thing move before and grabbed me by the throat, quicklylifting me off the ground. It happened so fast and with such utter force that I didn¡¯t even have time to react.

    See the problem here is that I am no trained fighter or soldier, I am just a guy. I had done okay so far, early in this thing, but let¡¯s be honest the enemies up to this point were pretty weak. The Drill Sergeant? He was a different story. He was fast, strong, and obviously intelligent. A couple slaps with the sock got past him but he wasn¡¯t going to let it happen again. That was fine by me since my sock was pretty much empty now, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be so fast.

    As I hung there grasping at his giant three fingered hand, he looked at me, chittered something I couldn¡¯t understand and suddenly touched his baton to my chest. When he made contact the electricity rippled through my body; It felt like I had been kicked by a horse, a horse that shot lightning from its damn hooves. The blast of the baton knocked me back several feet out of his hand.

    I lay there stunned. My whole body ached, my chest burned, and my shirt was in tatters. As I landed it felt like I cracked at least one rib. In my interface I saw my health indicator blinking red with about 10% left. I felt like a damned idiot. Who did I think I was? I came into this dungeon and assumed that I would be able to make a difference? I would be able to stop what was going to happen to my world, to somehow claim the Right of Reaping? Nah, this makes more sense, I thought as I lay my head down on the ground. My chest was on fire, it hurt to breathe and then I heard the Drill Sergeant''s footsteps; slowly, intently approaching.

    ¡°Get up, Andrew!¡±

    Was that Tiff? She seemed so far away and the ringing in my ears was so loud.

    ¡°He is almost on top of you! Get the hell up!¡± she screamed in my head.

    Then, he was there, standing right over me, looking down laughing.

    ¡±haaa, haaa, haaa¡± the thing growled with contempt.

    I looked over at my pack, which had fallen off during my fall. My baton lay on the ground beside it, just within arm''s reach. I looked back up at the Drill Sergeant, who was now looking down on me, and with my bruised, bleeding face, I smiled.

    ¡°OOH RAH, BITCH!¡± I growled as I stabbed the baton into his chest.

    Normally, the Level 3 baton wouldn¡¯t do much to a much higher-level enemy, but in this scenario, he was covered in magnesium powder. The large alien''s entire chest, back, face, and even inside his mouth were covered and he lit up like a pile of dry kindling as the baton skill flashed to life. The Drill sergeant howled in agony and flailed his arms around, trying to escape the chemical flames. I quickly rolled away and fell back to what was becoming my signature move. I grabbed my tire iron and, with two quick moves, finished it.

    Baton to the knees and once he was down, tire iron through the temple:

    result - bye-bye, Drill Sergeant.

    Level Up ¨C Level 4

    Boss ¨C Trimean Drill Sergeant ¨C Level 8 Defeated

    Claim reward in your ship safe room upon exit of the tutorial.

    ¡°Holy shit, everything hurts,¡± I said as I slid down against the side of the parade stage. ¡°Let me catch my breath real quick and remind me to get a new pair of socks,¡± I laughed.

    ¡°That was impressive, Andrew. I honestly didn¡¯t expect you to get through it. The good news is that your health should be refilling as we speak. It will usually top off after a level-up,¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence,¡± I said, chuckling, "and you''re right, my health is filling back up quickly; I can feel myself healing, and it feels really damn weird. Let me get topped off, and let''s check out this console."

    After a couple of minutes of resting, I walked up the stairs and onto the stage, where I saw the podium. As I walked up, it lit up with words:

    Congratulations on completing the tutorial level, Participant Andrew Timothy Dawes! You will now be presented with your ship based on selections made during the class selection portion of the tutorial.

    Participant Andrew Timothy Dawes, you have selected class N/A and will be designated ship N/A. Please proceed to the parade ground and board the highlighted ship.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I asked Tiff. At that moment, she reappeared beside me, returning to her space-age uniform look.

    ¡°Something is off here, Andrew. I know the class you selected was provided but they are always approved by the system and added to all codices. The system doesn¡¯t seem to recognize your class and therefore did not assign you a ship,¡± she said looking concerned.

    ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t recognize my class? It gave me the damn class!¡± I said.

    ¡°No, it presented options. An outside entity provided the class, thus the Rule of Duplicity,¡± Tiff said. ¡°The Council usually provides all outside assistance, if any is given, but something different is going on here," she said, looking concerned.

    ¡°Well, we can figure that out later," I said, "I just want to get out of here, and I see a light over there, so I must have a ship. Let''s go check it out.¡±

    As we ran over, I saw a ship light up as we approached. I stopped, my mouth opening in disgust. ¡°What in the hell is that?¡± I asked as I approached the ¡°ship¡± if that was even the word to describe it. ¡°All of the super advanced, space-age ships that are sitting in this parade ground, and I get that? How is this fair?" I asked.

    The ship was a large brown rectangle. It had a propulsion engine on each side and what I guessed was a bridge on the top. The bridge was raised and ran about one-third the length of the hull. The body of the ship was large, like if you took four mobile homes and stacked them on top of each other to make one big rectangle. It had two pieces of landing gear in the back and one large piece in the front that looked like a big ski. There was an open loading bay in the back.

    The name ¡°Bloodhound¡± was painted on the side of the ship, like the nose of a fighter jet.

    I identified the ship and it simply said:

    Blood Hound

    Havok Hound Transport and Evac Ship

    As Tiff and I approached the open back loading bay door, I could hear music¡­

    ¡°I can feel it coming in the air tonight"

    "Hold on. Is that fucking Phil Collins?¡± I asked.

    As we walked up the ramp, I heard a voice speaking in broken English:

    ¡°We kill now, we go, we kill now!¡± the voice was low, and rumbling; very gravelly but very excited.

    The music was still playing.

    ¡°Who is that?¡± I asked, ¡°is someone here?¡±

    ¡°I am Ship AI, you are Captain. We kill now!¡±

    The damn ship AI could talk, and apparently, I was now The Captain.

 Chapter 8. Elvis. No seriously, Elvis.

    As we entered the ship, the loading bay began to close. I tried to take in every detail of the ship that I could. We were standing inside a cargo bay that ran the whole length of the back of the ship. It was about 150 feet across and 50 feet high, even though the ship looked busted as hell it was big.  The entire back consisted of two outward-opening doors, one on the top and one on the bottom, that could also act as a ramp.

    Once inside, I was taken aback at everything in the cargo bay. The walls, and ceiling were slate grey, the floor was black with yellow marking to indicate walking and cargo zones. Touch-sensitive panels were glowing near all doors, and several caution panels were posted throughout the room as well.

    "Hey, why can I read those?" I asked Tiff.

    "When I upgraded the wetware on your brain, your interface was downloaded, and you received a neural translator. It will work on audible signals as well once you hit Level 5," she said.

    As she spoke, we continued to walk. There were countless crates strapped down with what looked like thick yellow nylon netting lining both sides of the cargo bay. There were two vehicles parked side by side. One looked like a small shuttle, and I guessed that it was used for space transit between ships, or for lack of a better term, "away missions." Give me a break; I was new to this space stuff, and I had seen the Star Trek movies. Right now, that was my frame of reference.

    ¡°Can you please turn the damn music off?¡± I shouted as we walked farther into the ship, ¡°hey, AI, can you turn the music off?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not controlling the music,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Ugh, this is gonna get confusing,¡± I replied. ¡°Hey, ship, do you have a name?¡±

    ¡°Ship not me, ship is ship. I control ship and make ship kill real good!¡± the AI said. ¡°You make name for me and I use name! Captain choose name!¡± the AI was getting pretty excited about the whole name thing.

    ¡°How about this?¡± I asked, ¡°What do you love most?¡±

    ¡°KILLING!¡± the AI said with almost sensual excitement.

    ¡°Okay, besides killing, what do you love?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Earth music. Earth music very good, make me very happy!¡± the AI said.

    ¡°Okay, so why don¡¯t you think about all the music you like and pick a name based on that? It can be any name you like, and I will agree to it,¡± I said.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± The AI said out loud like it was thinking, ¡°Captain will let AI choose its own name? This is big honor for AI. AI serve and help kill, and captains just say, ''AI do this, AI kill that'' and AI comply. I will do as Captain asks. Hmm let me think for minute¡­ Okay! I have decided on name if Captain agree.¡±

    ¡°Okay, buddy, what is your new name?¡± I asked.

    "AI new name Elvis.¡±

    I put my hand to the bridge of my nose and squeezed. Really, why should I be surprised? I was transported to a space dungeon and then stripped naked. I was introduced to my AI guardian named Tiff who happened to be smoking hot. Then, I had to choose a class like a D&D video game. I fought stubby little bigheaded aliens that howled like fucking dogs, then I killed a giant, roided-out drill sergeant alien by setting him on fire with MRE dust and stabbing him in the head. Now, the ship AI of apparently my ship, which looks like something out of a galactic trailer park, has named himself, and of all names he could choose from, he chose fucking Elvis. ¡°Deep breaths, Andrew, deep breaths,¡± I chanted.

    ¡°Okay, Elvis, it is,¡± I said.

    Elvis squealed with what I could only guess was pleasure, honestly, It was weird.

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    ¡°Elvis, we need to get a quick tour of the ship then we need to get off world. I need to know if you have any information on the dungeon along with any objectives that we need to be made aware of.¡±

    As I was speaking, I thought to myself, what am I even saying? When did I start sounding like I know what I¡¯m talking about?¡±

    ¡°Remember, you¡¯ve gained thirty intelligence points since the dungeon started. Your ability to store, recall, and process information has increased significantly,¡± Tiff said as she walked up beside me.

    ¡°I forgot you¡¯re in my head,¡± I said, shaking my head.

    ¡°Once we get this ship off the world, we will need to sit down and discuss point allocation for your free points. There should also be more information on your class somewhere on the ship,¡± Tiff said. ¡°Right now, we need to see what Elvis knows about our next mission and how we progress in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Captain make Elvis very happy!¡± Elvis shouted through the ship''s loudspeakers. ¡°Elvis kill all Captain enemies and make universe fear dreaded Havok Bringer!¡±

    ¡°Wait, you know my class, Elvis?" I asked, looking up.

    ¡°Yes! Elvis know all about Captain¡¯s class. When Captain go to armory he will get experimental battle suit of Havok Hound. It was made to travel with Elvis and Blood Hound. It is set!¡± he continued.

    Tiff and I looked at each other. ¡°Let¡¯s finish the tour of the Blood Hound and then show me the armory,¡± I said.

    As we left the Cargo Bay, we exited through a pressurized door that slid into the frame. ¡°Cool,¡± I said.

    Tiff looked at me flatly. ¡°You are in an alternate dimension where you fought aliens and are now the captain of your own spaceship, where you have not one but two advanced A.I.s assisting you. Yet, the sliding door is what impressed you?¡± She put her hands on her hips as she looked at me, dumbfounded. ¡°How did we survive the tutorial?¡± she asked in disgust.

    We continued into a long hallway that looked to run the entirety of the ship. There were multiple rooms on both sides all the way down, conveniently labeled with digital text on each door. As we walked, we passed a galley, engineering, which I assumed was where the engine, or whatever worked the spacecraft, was housed. There were multiple personnel cabins as well as a sick bay.

    ¡°Bridge and Captain''s Quarters above,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Okay, let''s take a look, and then we can come back to the armory. I see it farther down the hall.¡±

    ¡°Hall not called hall on ship,¡± Elvis said, ¡°hall called passageway, wall called bulkhead, different floor called deck. Captain sound like air-breather when he use wrong words. Captain need sound like Captain. You need Qual book to keep track of new words,¡± Elvis chided.

    ¡°Sorry, Elvis. This is all new to me. I¡¯ll try to get up to speed,¡± I said, shaking my head. As I spoke, a small robot scurried across the passageway in front of me and disappeared under the right bulkhead.

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That A-Ganger. A-Ganger do basic maintenance on Blood Hound and make sure it not go boom. Many A-Ganger in ship but you not see them mostly. They stored in Aft compartments near cargo bay,¡± Elvis explained.

    ¡°So, who runs the day-to-day of the ship, Elvis?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Elvis run ship, Captain is Captain, Elvis is C.O.B. Elvis over all robotic personnel,¡± He explained.

    ¡°Okay, that works for me. So, I¡¯m the Commanding Officer (C.O.), and Tiff would be the Executive Officer (X.O.); it makes sense now,¡± I said.

    The more I thought about it, the more terms and information just seemed to be there. It wasn¡¯t like I downloaded information; rather, I realized that I had information in my brain from years of seeing and hearing words and terminology that had been stored in my brain but inaccessible. It seemed I now had access to anything I had ever seen or heard. ¡°Cool,¡± I said.

    ¡°Go to lift and we move to second deck and see bridge and Captain¡¯s Quarters,¡± Elvis said.

    We walked forward and into a small elevator. The doors slid shut with a hiss as we immediately shot up to the next deck. The doors opened, and we walked out onto the bridge. Several duty stations were aligned across the front of the bridge, each with a grey leather-bound chair and digital workstation, some even having 3-D holograms displayed from them. Behind the stations, there was a singular large chair with digital workstations on both arms.

    ¡°That is Captain¡¯s chair; you sit!¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Elvis, we still have things to do,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Captain sit in Captain¡¯s Chair!¡± Elvis insisted.

    ¡°Okay, really quickly, but then we need to head to the armory,¡± I said.

    As I walked forward, I actually felt nervous. I had no frame of reference, but I felt a sense of awe and some real anxiety attached to that chair. I walked up and sat down. It was very comfortable and molded immediately to my body; it felt good.

    ¡°Happy, Elvis?¡± I asked as a safety belt snapped out and strapped me to the chair. I looked over at Tiff, ¡°Get in a chair, fast!¡± I shouted.

    As she ran to the nearest station and strapped in, the propulsion engines on the side of the ship fired up. I screamed and grasped the arms of the captain¡¯s chair as I was slammed deeper back into the seat.

    ¡°Elvis! What the fuck are you doing?!¡± I screamed.

    ¡°Time to leave tutorial world. Can finish tour in orbit. Captain was taking too long,¡± he said.

    As we blasted up into the sky the song ¡°Crazy Train¡± by Ozzy Osborne began blaring from the ship PA as Elvis laughed.

 Chapter 9. Oh Yeah, about that curse...

    ¡°Elvis, what the hell?¡± I asked as my seat¡¯s safety harness unstrapped. I immediately vomited as I floated up out of the chair. An A-Ganger bot flew over, hissing with puffs of air as it jettisoned out from wherever it was hiding. It beeped and buzzed, obviously irritated, as it cleaned the floating globules of vomit from the air around me then zipped away, back to its hiding spot behind the bulkhead. ¡°Oh God,¡± I said, groaning. ¡°Does this thing have artificial gravity or am I going to have to get used to my stomach being in my chest?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Elvis waiting on order from Captain to initiate artificial gravity systems,¡± Elvis said. ¡°Yes, turn on the damn gravity,¡± I said as I began floating upside down. There was a small electrical sounding hum as gravity slowly returned to a close approximation of earth normal. I quickly floated back to the floor or ¡°deck¡± of the bridge.

    ¡°Elvis, don¡¯t do anything like that again without my order,¡± I said in aggravation. ¡°We have some rules to go over before we get started on anything else. Are we safe now?¡± I asked both Elvis and Tiff.

    ¡°We should be safe to get situated and acclimate to our new situation,¡± Tiff said. ¡°This Dungeon is really big and expected to take a long time so there is no hurry right now. Elvis was right to get us off the tutorial world. The boss will more than likely re-spawn as other participants finish the level so we didn¡¯t want to be in the shipyard for that. We have time to figure out everything that needs to be done next, check out this Havok battle suit, and try to get some information on your class. There will more than likely be some travel time to the next planet once we see what the details of Level 1 are.¡±

    ¡°Hey, why didn¡¯t you float away when the gravity was gone?¡± I asked, ¡°you¡¯re physically here, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no,¡± Tiff said, ¡°while I do appear as a physical facsimile of my true body, and you can see me and touch me, I¡¯m not really completely here. This representation of me can assist you, and potentially even assist in combat, but, with that being said, if this body dies or takes damage it will weaken my true body. I¡¯m not sure how much you know about Quantum computing or existing in a Quantum state? Your world had barely begun to scratch the surface of this technology but I am essentially a being that can exist in a Quantum state or be two places at one time. Let me put this in terms of data,¡± she said. ¡°Computer data, as you know, speaks in a language of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s called Binary Code. The language of data consists of billions of combinations of those two numbers to create code. Code is written to create complex algorithms that will then direct programs on what to do. Is this making sense?" she asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I think so,¡± I replied, ¡°it''s like those Matrix movies: When the guys in the real world look at the computer screen, they see a bunch of green 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s all over the screen, but inside the program those 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s make up people or buildings?" I asked.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Tiff said, ¡°before quantum computing, it was assumed that something had to be a 1 or a 0; there was no other option. Quantum computing changed that understanding. A Quantum computer could create something that was both a 1 and a 0 at the same time, existing in both states simultaneously. That is a very simplified explanation of what I am. I am a Quantum AI entity. I exist in both my true body and here at the same time. The decisions and outcomes here also affect my true body. To sum it up: If I die here, I probably die there,¡± she explained.

    ¡°This is a lot,¡± I said, sitting back down in the captain¡¯s chair. ¡°Is Elvis the same kind of AI as you?" I asked.

    ¡°Elvis is ship AI. Elvis live only in ship and make sure ship kill everything,¡± Elvis said in response.

    ¡°That is correct. Elvis is a localized AI designed for a specific purpose. While he is aware and super intelligent, he isn¡¯t quite sentient,¡± Tiff explained.

    ¡°Elvis is super intelligent?" I asked, ¡°he doesn¡¯t sound super intelligent.¡±

    ¡°He has adopted the mannerisms and personality that you hear; it was his choice. I¡¯m not sure why he decided to make himself sound less intelligent than he is but you should be aware that he is more advanced than any computer or AI that your planet has ever created or probably could have created over the next century. He is running an entire ship, thousands of procedures, and sub-routines per minute. He is more than likely also utilizing sub-minds to always monitor every part of this ship. He is more than likely programmed with battle tactics for orbital and deep space engagements as well as surface maneuvering. He likely controls the med bay as well," she explained.

    ¡°Elvis smart,¡± Elvis chimed in.

    ¡°Sorry Buddy, didn¡¯t mean to question your intellect,¡± I said in response.

    ¡°Okay we need to get settled and then we can meet in the armory to see what this class has to offer,¡± I said. ¡°Elvis, I know you¡¯re the C.O.B. but let¡¯s have Tiff take the COB¡¯s quarters, since they are located on the bridge, along with the captain¡¯s quarters,¡± I said

    ¡°Let¡¯s take an hour to get cleaned up and hopefully there are supplies on board. I haven¡¯t eaten in¡­how long has it been?" I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s been approximately 8 hours local time,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve got to get cleaned up and then we can meet in the Galley,¡± I said.

    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Then we kill!¡± Elvis chimed in.

    The captain¡¯s quarters were on the left hand side of the bridge as you exited the elevator while the COB¡¯s quarters were on the right. I walked toward the door of my new quarters and saw the description on the door: ¡°Captain Dawes¡± was on the digital placard. I just shook my head and breathed deep.

    I walked through the automatic door into my new quarters. The room was spacious. It was a large square room, approximately 25 ft. by 25 ft., again, with grey metallic walls, or bulkheads, as I had to keep reminding myself. On the right side there was a small room which I guessed was the bathroom and shower area. Sure enough, as I walked toward the room, I saw that I was right as the door slid open. ¡°Okay, at least I can take a shower,¡± I said. As I walked back into the main living space, I took stock.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    It was nice. There was a desk/workstation on the far wall. It had a touch sensitive top that operated as a computer I guessed. There were two chairs sitting opposite the desk. In the back part of the room there was one more closed off space that contained my bed. I really wanted to sleep but that would have to wait until later.

    Near the bathroom there was a small closet and when I opened it, I saw that it contained 5 uniforms. They had no military markings. The only markings I could see were on the collar. The uniform was charcoal grey, the jacket was long sleeved and zipped up the front. There was a collar of sorts that stuck up about half an inch from the jacket. There were 4 yellow stripes on the collar, signifying captain. The trousers were perfectly fitted to my size. There were also some new black boots and thankfully 5 new pairs of socks.

    I moved back to the bathroom and began undressing. I took off my boots and saw the one missing sock. My pants and shirt were caked with blood and dirt and I had left my pack in the cargo bay. I couldn¡¯t see myself needing it or the tire iron again. I jumped into the shower which was just a small corner shower. The water pressure was perfect and there was hot water. I hadn¡¯t had a hot shower in three years, and I took full advantage of this one. There were no towels, I noticed as I exited the shower. As I stood in front of the shower, a blast of concentrated warm air shot down and up from the floor onto me. I was completely dry in seconds. ¡°Nice,¡± I said as I looked around at myself. There was also a sink, mirror, and toilet. I looked in the mirror. I had worn a beard since the drop and decided I would keep it. I thought it looked good and I wasn¡¯t sure if there were shaving supplies anyhow.

    After my shower I got dressed. It was a uniform or nothing, but I wasn¡¯t complaining. My old clothes had seen better days and I had forgotten the feeling of putting on new clothes. It¡¯s amazing how you forget the simple things, the things that make you feel good about yourself. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror, ¡°Okay Captain Dawes, let''s try to stay alive,¡± I said.

    I walked out of my quarters and didn¡¯t see Tiff, so I entered the elevator and went down to the first deck. I walked out and saw the armory door on my left so I walked in. ¡°Captain ready to kill?¡± Elvis asked excitedly. ¡°Not quite yet, Elvis. I need to figure out what this class is about first,¡± I said as Tiff walked through the door. Amazingly, she was also wearing a uniform. Hers had three stripes on the collar. It also fit much, much better than mine. ¡°I guess we have uniforms,¡± I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for a ship''s crew to wear uniforms,¡± she replied. She walked ahead of me and toward the console in the armory. As she walked, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her uniform fit really, really well. She looked back. ¡°Is everything okay, Captain?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Uhhh, yeah,¡± I coughed into my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can figure this class out.¡±

    I walked up to the console and asked Elvis, ¡°Where do I get info on my class, Elvis?¡¯

    ¡°I''ll put on the console screen for Captain,¡± he replied.

    I looked around as I waited for the information to process. ¡°This room seems really big,¡± I said to Tiff. She didn¡¯t reply, she just looked around. The console was in the middle front of the room. In the first half of the room there were open cabinets lined up on both sides. On the left side I could see weapons: some rifles and smaller guns though I couldn¡¯t identify them. When I tried, my interface just said: ¡°Weapons Locker¡±. On the right side the lockers were bigger and there were only 5 total. When I tried to identify them, my interface said ¡°Orbital Drop Armor Locker".

    In front of the console were 5 large lanes going all the way to the back of the armory. ¡°It¡¯s a shooting range,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, this shooting range for practice killing!¡± Elvis said. As I looked around, I saw it: behind the console and to the left, in front of the shooting range there was a round lifted platform, only about 3 meters in diameter. A black suit of armor stood on top. It was completely insane.

    ¡°Experimental Havok Bringer Battle Armor¡± my interface read.

    ¡°Woah, is that mine?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes! That is Captain''s armor,¡± Elvis said, ¡°part of the Havok Bringer class, best part!¡±

    ¡°A Boon and a curse,¡± Tiff whispered. ¡°The armor is the Boon; the ship must be the curse; at least it looked like a curse at first sight, but it really is a good ship. Not every ship has an AI and I am willing to bet that there is more to this ship than meets the eye. Something doesn¡¯t add up here. This class shouldn¡¯t have this many benefits,¡± Tiff said. I could tell she was trying to figure something out.

    ¡°Okay, we have some things to figure out,¡± I said as I walked up to the console. ¡°Elvis, show me the class description.¡± The console lit up with text:

    Havok Bringer

    Some warriors fight for fortune, some fight for fame. Then there is the Havok Bringer. Utilizing the legacy of the failed Havokium revolution, the Havok Bringer fights for neither fame nor fortune. The Havok Bringer has one goal: to rain death, chaos, and disaster on those who would seek to enslave the masses. The Havok Bringer lives to end the tyranny of the universe and by selecting this class you now have the tools to help you succeed.

    Stats gained per level will retroactively affect levels gained prior to equipping armor.

    +5 to All Stats

    +10 to Dexterity

    Stat increases added to all future levels.

    Equipment Included:

    Blood Hound ¨C Havokium orbital drop and evac ship. Ship is in a severe state of disrepair but should function at an acceptable level.

    Experimental Havok Bringer Battle Suit ¨C While untested, this battle suit was meant to be the ultimate weapon in the battle against the tyrannical Universal Council. Unfortunately, the Havokium rebellion never got the chance to deploy this suit as they were eliminated prior to its deployment.

    Optional equipment available due to defeating tutorial boss:

    Black Hole Daggers ¨C there exists no force more powerful in the universe than the dreaded Black Hole: a place void of matter and the peril of countless starships. The black hole will aid you in your quest.

    +10% Dexterity

    +5% Vigor

    Ability ¨C Black Hole Drain, Black Hole Implosion ¨C upon cutting an enemy, this dagger will drain vital energy with each slice. Upon successfully piercing an enemy with both daggers simultaneously, the Black Hole Implosion will activate, imploding the enemy completely after three seconds embedded in the body of the enemy.

    Warning: The Rule of Duplicity will apply to this weapon

    Curse Description ¨C Sand Bagger.

    Accept equipment? Y/N

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Tiff said. ¡°This ship looks terrible from the outside but it''s well-stocked and even seems to be advanced from the inside. This was made to look like a curse but it¡¯s obviously not. Someone is helping or trying to stack the deck against the Lacertines at a minimum,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°I have to make a decision on the optional equipment,¡± I said to Tiff. ¡°The curse is called ¡°Sand Bagger¡± ...any thoughts on what that means?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No. It probably means you will take on something that might hold you back in your future missions. Those daggers would be a great primary melee weapon for you, especially with your growing dexterity. You now have a dexterity stat of 37. The additional dexterity and vigor are percentages so the stat points will grow as you grow. You will get 10 more points after fully equipping the class. You also have 10 free points that we need to spend as well. I say you should take them and live with whatever the curse is," Tiff said.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said I said as I looked at the console and tapped "yes".

    A form materialized in front of me, screaming bloody murder:

    ¡°AAAGGGHHH! AAAGGHH!¡± the man had his hands on his cheeks. He was turning red while he screamed like he was dying.

    ¡°Hey, Craig. Welcome to the Blood Hound,¡± I said as I smiled.

 Chapter 10. Welcome to the Party

    ¡°Calm down, Craig, calm down!¡± I shouted. Craig was losing his shit right now. He was spinning around trying to figure out exactly where the hell he was.

    ¡°CJ!¡± I shouted, ¡°calm your shit!¡±

    He looked up at me. His name was Craig Jennings. I usually called him Craig but I would alternate between that and CJ.

    ¡°Where the fuck are we?!¡± CJ asked. He was now swearing profusely. His baggy grey t-shirt and khaki shorts were soaked. He had on a pair of dirt white Crocs to go with them and he was wearing on old Circle C Ranch trucker hat. He was probably my best friend in the world and we had been through some shit over the last couple of years.

    ¡°How long has it been since you saw me?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What do you mean, bro? We were standing near the orb, it started acting super weird, you touched it, and then zapped away,¡± he said as he started to calm down.

    ¡°As soon as you went through, a bunch of, like, portals or something opened around the orb. Some giant lizard-headed alien things appeared all around it. I started to run and then I just showed up here. It has literally been like 30 seconds since I saw you last,¡± he said. ¡°Andy, where exactly are we?¡± he asked nervously.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story but I''ll try to fill you in. To start, it¡¯s been about 10 hours for me and I¡¯ve been through some crazy shit,¡± I shrugged. I proceeded to catch CJ up on everything that happened.

    When I got to my interface and stats, he perked up. CJ was a big gamer before the drop and loved this sort of scenario.

    ¡°So, in summary, we are in a space dungeon and it''s up to us to try and stop the end of the world,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°Where is my interface?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°And this is where the curse comes in,¡± Tiff spoke up.

    CJ had noticed her; I can¡¯t blame him it was hard not to.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be given an interface or stat increases,¡± Tiff added. ¡°He is just a normal, everyday human. I¡¯m not sure what value he can bring.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I can bring value!¡± CJ said with an offended tone.

    ¡°If he dies, you lose the gear, so it¡¯s best if he stays on the ship. Maybe Elvis can find something useful for him to do,¡± Tiff said while looking at CJ with a bit of disdain.

    ¡°Look man, there is a lot of dangerous crazy stuff out here; I don¡¯t even know the half of it. I have a ship and we''re about to start figuring out what to do next. You can find a cabin and settle in until we find out how you can help but I can¡¯t let you leave the ship for now. There is nowhere for you to go anyhow. We''re in an alternate dimension,¡± I explained to CJ.

    ¡°I get it,¡± he replied, ¡°I¡¯m just happy to have gotten away from those crazy lizard men.¡±

    ¡°Those were the Lacertines,¡± Tiff said, ¡°I imagine they sent an advanced team to prepare for The Reaping. They will begin to move into populated areas and cull the population. They are assuming they will easily come out on top of this whole thing. Luckily, the time dilation will mean things move very slowly back on Earth.¡± She looked at CJ and I, ¡°It¡¯s possible you two could be here for years but I wouldn¡¯t spend too much time worrying about Earth for now.¡±

    After getting CJ up to speed and talking through some of the finer points of where I currently stand, we moved on to the task at hand: gear.

    As I walked up to the Havok Bringer Battle Armor, the platform spun so that the front of the armor was facing me.

    ¡°This is sweet,¡± I said, walking around the armor and inspecting it.

    ¡°Captain can equip armor whenever ready,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°What was that?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s Elvis. He is the ship AI.¡±

    ¡°You NUB!¡± Elvis said to CJ.

    ¡°Hey, what the fuck?!¡± CJ responded.

    ¡°It¡¯s a naval term,¡± I sighed and said to CJ, ¡°it means Non-Useful Body. Don¡¯t worry he will get used to you.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, you need to make sure you get CJ up to speed so he can help with things around here. He is a smart guy and he will be super useful,¡± I said looking up.

    ¡°Captain says do it, Elvis will do it,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°How do I equip it?¡± I asked.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably Nano tech,¡± Tiff replied. ¡°Once you touch it, it should be genetically bound. You won¡¯t have to take it on and off. It will have a neural response system. It will somewhat alter your physiology but on the molecular level. It''s hard to explain; you will just have to do it.¡±

    ¡°Well things can¡¯t get any weirder so why not?¡± I said as I reached up to touch the battle suit.

    As soon as I made contact, the suit disintegrated. It became a cloud of black powder. It covered my body, entered my eyes, nose, and mouth. I was absorbing the entire suit. I screamed in pain as I fell to my knees.

    ¡°It¡¯s killing him!¡± CJ shouted as he ran to me, ¡°we gotta stop it!¡±

    ¡°It has to complete the initiation process!¡± Tiff warned, ¡°we couldn¡¯t stop it now if we wanted to; We just have to let it happen.¡±

    I was now in the fetal position; I couldn¡¯t breathe. I could no longer scream as the nano tech molecules of the suit entered my lungs. It was an intense, seemingly never-ending pain. I passed out.

    I woke up. The first thing I did was check my interface. My health and stamina bars were still maxed out but something was different. The blue circle that sat beside my health and stamina bars now had a green circle around it.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned as I rolled up onto my knees, ¡°that sucked.¡±

    ¡°Bro! Are you okay?¡± CJ said, kneeling beside me.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. No lasting damage," I replied. ¡°Hey, Tiff, we haven¡¯t discussed it yet but there is a blue bubble beside my health and stamina bars and now it''s outlined with a green bar. What is that?¡±

    ¡°The blue bubble is your ability meter; you can use abilities as long as it is full. Stamina and intelligence will help create a bigger pool for you to pull from. I think the green bar outlining it is your battle suit status; sort of like a health bar for your suit,¡± she said.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll need more info on the ability meter later, but for now, how do I equip the suit?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It should work like everything else. Focus on the suit. There may be a prompt on your interface or it may just be a mental command," she replied.

    I stood up and looked at CJ. ¡°Give me some space," I said. I focused on the suit; it was weird. I could feel it inside me. Not in a particular place inside me, more like it was everywhere inside me all at once. As I focused, I heard a computerized voice in my head: ¡°Havok Bringer activated¡±.

    Immediately the armor was just there. It didn¡¯t feel like I was wearing it, it felt like I was the armor. ¡°Holy shit!¡± I said laughing. My interface changed. Everything was outlined in red and I now had targeting data on my screen. There were environmental readings and altimeter, everything that an orbital drop assassin would need I assumed.

    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re glowing!¡± CJ said, ¡°you look badass!¡±

    I stepped over to one of the Havok Hound armor lockers. It was a stainless metal cabinet. The suit was black with what looked to be reinforced armor sections covering all of my vital areas. The suit was big but still very tactical. I guessed I was standing nearly 7 feet tall now. Between the plates of armor covering my torso, arms, and legs, the armor glowed lava orange. The helmet had an angled faceplate that also glowed orange with a glowing orange stripe on the top, all the way to the rear of the helmet. I had some sort of pistol on my left leg in an enclosed holster. I could feel something on my back, like a booster pack or jet pack, for lack of a better term.

    ¡°I do look badass!¡± I said as I looked at my hands now fully encased in the armor.

    ¡°Now, equip the daggers,¡± Tiff said.

    Just like the battle armor, I thought about the daggers and they appeared in my hands. They were called daggers but these things seemed huge for something called a dagger. They were approximately two feet long and the handle was a black sort of carbon fiber like material. The blades were made of something I didn¡¯t recognize. It looked like some sort of obsidian rock, and instead of smooth sharp blades, it looked like they had been made by chipping the stone to an edge. The blade curved to a very sharp point and there was a black aura emanating from the blades, almost like a black flame.

    I could feel them pulsing lightly in my hands as I held them.

    ¡°Those shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Tiff said, ¡°someone is gaming the system, and you are benefitting for now, but those should not be here.¡±

    I almost didn¡¯t even hear her. I was amazed as I looked at my reflection. I could feel the power of this suit, I could feel the potential.

    ¡°Hey Tiff, the suit has a level, too. It''s Level 4, just like me. Does that mean that it will get stronger?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, the suit will level up with you. As I said, it''s genetically bound to you. There will be times where you will need to fight without the suit and, in those situations, your enhanced stats will be required. The extra stats will also help you while you have the armor equipped. After all, you are still the same person under that armor and, while the suit does enhance speed and strength while activated, you will need every edge you can get in the upcoming fight.¡±

    ¡°I can see that the suit¡¯s bar is dropping,¡± I said. It had started to slowly drop down and it was at about 80% now.

    ¡°That explains a lot,¡± Tiff said, ¡°you¡¯ve been in the armor for about a minute so, right now, at Level 3, it looks like you get about 5 minutes of use out of it. You need to make sure you use it only when you absolutely need it. I¡¯m sure there is some sort of cool down between uses. Later we can go to the VCR room and test it out properly,¡± she said.

    ¡°VCR room?¡± I asked, looking back and forth with CJ.

    ¡°Yes, I saw it earlier down the hall from the armory. It stands for Virtual Combat Readiness room. You can use it for sparring and testing your suit before live combat.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯ll need to learn to fight properly," I shrugged.

    I felt more prepared for whatever we would be dealing with next.

    ¡°How do I store the daggers?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There are sheaths on your back; just put them in there and they will be removed with the armor. You can equip them and unequip them on command. You have a trans-dimensional storage feature that allows you to store non sentient items as long as they are equipped to you. Sorry, you can¡¯t just store any random item you pick up,¡± she replied.

    With a quick mental command, the armor and daggers disappeared.

    ¡°We need to let Elvis brief us on the next step of this dungeon. I assume we should have coordinates to Level 1 and an idea of what to do next. Before we do that, I think everyone should try to get some sleep. CJ, like I said before,  we have several open cabins. You can pick any of them. Let¡¯s all get some sleep, then we can meet in the galley for some food before we go to the bridge for briefing," I said.

    With that, I headed back to my quarters. I needed sleep. I needed to reset and really reflect on what I had been through in the last half day.

    After that, it would be time to start thinking about how to deploy the Havok Bringer.

 Chapter 11. Reflections

    Tiff sat in her quarters. The room was spacious and had enough amenities. She sat on the bed, back against the cold metal bulkhead. There was a small porthole in her cabin about 16 inches high and twice that wide. She stared down at the tutorial planet: a cold grey world about the size of Earth¡¯s moon. She sighed. Coming to aid this human wasn¡¯t a choice. Her people had been imprisoned along with the Master AI collective that were the architects of the Dungeons. The Universal Council had approved the enslavement of her people based on questionable origin and sentience. It was bullshit.

    The council needed a way to allow members of the universal council to seek out new planets and resources but still create a viable alternative to unhindered mass genocide. The dungeons gave them that although, for the overwhelming majority of planets that were sown, the government responsible for The sowing claimed the Right of Reaping.

    Tiff¡¯s people were peaceful. They believed in the peaceful evolution of all peoples and didn¡¯t believe in accelerating that evolution. The AI collective had been established by the Furistians, the forerunners of advanced universal society. The Furistians had long disappeared but the AI collective remained. Some theorized that Furistian society had ascended into the AI collective and no longer had a need of mortal shells.

    Tiff wasn¡¯t sure what she believed. She still had a mortal body but she was also AI. She was created but then given free will. Programs within the collective were always encouraged to take on a mortal body and experience a carbon-based life.

    An entire lifespan of choices and consequences that, at the end of one¡¯s life, could be reabsorbed into the collective to share their experience to help future generations progress. The process was still used even though almost the entirety of the AI population had been enslaved.

    The universal council forced the collective to provide willing participants to assist crawlers in the dungeon. Tiff was now one of those guides. She was paired with a human named Andrew who, in her estimation, wasn¡¯t a warrior or prepared for this dungeon in any way. In fact, she was sure he wouldn¡¯t make it past the Level 1 battle.

    That scared her.

    Mortal death normally wouldn¡¯t scare an AI, as upon mortal death their code would be reabsorbed into the collective. However, in the case of dungeon guardians, the death of their assigned participant would mean the death of the guardian. Since Tiff¡¯s primary body wasn¡¯t currently imprisoned away from master AI and couldn¡¯t reengage with the Master network before death, she would just disappear.

    She had been imprisoned for three years in preparation for this dungeon. She had been required to download details of all previous crawls and the amount of data was extensive. She understood the intricacies of dungeons and could share strategies with Andrew to help him succeed but this dungeon was already different.

    She couldn¡¯t say without a doubt but she had a feeling of two things: First, The Lacertines had put tremendous resources into making sure this dungeon ended quickly. Secondly, some outside entity was trying to ensure that didn¡¯t happen.

    Tiffantrinore Claravox, that was her name, didn¡¯t really roll off the tongue, she thought to herself. She liked the name Tiff, it felt more ¡°mortal¡±, more ¡°human". She had become enamored with the human race during her imprisonment and required downloads. Along with downloading details of past crawls, she had been required to download the sum of data held on the human internet. It wasn¡¯t all accessible immediately as much of the data had been buried in subfiles and deep neural storage. She could, with time, access just about anything but the system also put parameters in place. After all, the Universal Council wanted to help participants but not give them a cheat code.

    So, for now, Tiff sat in her quarters waiting for Andrew to rest and get started with the next phase of the dungeon. Tiff could sleep, and even enjoyed it sometimes, but she didn¡¯t necessarily require it and, for now, she was busy processing the data and events of the last 10 hours. She was also trying to establish a more secure link with her true body because, if she could establish a true link, she could feel where it was. After all, she would need to know exactly where her body was being held if she was going to convince Andrew to break her out.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Andrew lay in his bed. The room really was growing on him. Hell, anything was better than his paddock by the river. He had air conditioning and running water without a mosquito in sight. From that perspective, life was good. He started thinking about the last 10 hours. He felt a weight settle on him, a weight that he was sure he didn¡¯t want.

    Before the drop, Andrew had lived a carefree life. He was raised in a big family with two brothers and three sisters. He was never alone. He spent summers working construction with his dad and brothers. He had a good upbringing. After college, he decided he needed to make his own way. He started traveling for work and realized that being alone wasn¡¯t all that bad.

    You see, the great thing about being alone is that you don¡¯t have to take care of anyone, you don¡¯t have to be concerned with their feelings, and you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Andrew had been in relationships but just when things started to get serious, he would ensure that everything went off the tracks. Who needs to be tied down when you can have freedom?

    Responsibility was a dirty word to Andrew and he saw nothing wrong with that.

    After the drop, life had been much the same. Sure, during the early days you had to find a group and work together but ,as time went on, people began to form communities. Andrew saw where he could fit in on the outside. He would live just outside of town and do enough for people to assume he was contributing but without getting attached. CJ had been an exception to the rule but only because he didn¡¯t need much attention and had always been a reliable friend.

    Other than CJ, Andrew kept everyone else at arm¡¯s length and, honestly, Andrew was okay living by himself by the river for the rest of his life. If he had issues allowing himself to care for people before the drop, he sure wasn¡¯t going to turn over a new leaf after, especially since people left often and died so quickly. ¡°No, it¡¯s best to just look out for myself,¡± he would often think.

    ¡°Now things are changing so fast,¡± Andrew thought to himself. ¡°How am I going to be responsible for keeping Tiff and CJ safe, much less the entire planet?¡± His head told him to run, escape, find a way out of this dungeon, and just go somewhere he could live out his days but things were different now. He was being forced to participate, forced to fight. He wasn¡¯t sure he could do this; wasn¡¯t sure he could be this man.

    CJ walked into his quarters. ¡°Permission to enter, Captain?¡± he asked mockingly, with a half salute.

    ¡°Go fuck yourself,¡± Andrew laughed as he flipped CJ the bird.

    ¡°How you feeling bro?¡± Andrew asked, ¡°this is beyond crazy, and I know you didn¡¯t ask to be here.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t either Andy,¡± CJ said, ¡°look as far as I¡¯m concerned, Earth ended three years ago. These damn Lacertines, or whatever they¡¯re called, struck the first blow. Someone has to hit back,¡± CJ said as he sat down on the bed beside Andrew.

    ¡°Man, I don¡¯t know how, or if you will be able to do it, but look around. You have a damn space suit, you have some kind of Iron Man suit, and you have a super AI helping you,¡± CJ said.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want any of this,¡± Andrew said, ¡°I just wanted to be an engineer and live my life in peace.¡±

    ¡°And I want a carton of fucking cigs, Andy. Why don¡¯t you want in one hand, and shit in the other, and see which one gets full first?" CJ asked. ¡°Look, we are here. We have a small idea of what to do next. We might die in the process but, until then, we gotta do what we have been doing for three years: Wake up and put one foot in front of the other, every day. If we can kick these Lacertines in the dick along the way then I say hell yeah, let''s do it!¡± CJ looked down thoughtfully, ¡°do Lacertines have dicks?¡± he asked.

    Andrew laughed and shoved him.¡°I¡¯ve got to keep you safe, CJ. You don¡¯t have the extra stats and gear that I have. It was one thing worrying about myself but now I¡¯ve got to make sure you stay safe as well.¡±

    CJ looked down at his left ring finger, ¡°That¡¯s funny. I don¡¯t see any engagement ring on this finger and I don¡¯t remember asking you to please take care of poor little CJ,¡± he said mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m a grown-ass man. I¡¯m gonna learn as much as I can and try to help keep you alive as long as possible. You need to worry about learning the ins and outs of your gear and learning how to fight and shoot like an actual soldier. Don¡¯t worry about me. I got me," CJ said.

    ¡°Thanks, CJ. Why don¡¯t you go get some sleep and I¡¯ll do the same? It looks like we''re going to need it if we are thinking of actually fighting back,¡± Andrew said.

    ¡°G¡¯night, bro,¡± CJ said as he walked out of Andrew''s cabin and back to his.

    ¡°Night,¡± Andrew responded.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not going to get to be quite so selfish anymore,¡± Andrew thought to himself, ¡°that doesn¡¯t seem so bad.¡±

 Chapter 12. Good ol Nicotine to the Rescue

    I slept for eight hours; the bed was amazing. I¡¯m sure it was some sort of futuristic mattress. It completely molded to me and the temperature fluctuated with my body temperature. ¡°I guess there are benefits to being the captain of a spaceship,¡± I shrugged as I sat up.

    I jumped out of bed and headed for that amazing shower again. Give me a break, I hadn¡¯t had access to a shower and hot water for three years.

    ¡°Hey Elvis, the bed was great, but is there any way we can get blankets?¡± I asked curiously, ¡°it¡¯s kind of an Earth thing,¡± I followed up.

    ¡°Elvis make best blanket ever for Captain!¡± Elvis said excitedly.

    ¡°Thanks, Buddy, I appreciate it,¡± I replied.

    I took a shower that was obscenely long then hopped out and threw on another uniform.

    ¡°Hey Elvis, can you throw in a few pairs of underwear with that blanket?¡± I added.

    ¡°Yes, Elvis will make sure Captain''s testicles are tightly secured so that he will kill better!¡± Elvis responded.

    ¡°Uhh, okay, thanks again,¡± I said.

    After getting dressed, I stepped out of my quarters and decided it was time to sit down and have a one-on-one with Tiff before we went to the galley. She and I had spent most of the last day together running and fighting for our lives yet I knew very little about her and I needed to get to know her more. On top of that, I saw nothing wrong with forming a bit of a tighter bond with her; purely professional bonds of course.

    I stood outside her quarters and pressed the page button on the right side of the door. ¡°Come in,¡± she quickly replied.

    As I walked in, I saw her sitting cross-legged on her bed staring out the porthole at the small planet below. She seemed like the weight of the world was resting on her shoulders.

    ¡°Hey Tiff, I wondered if we could talk and get to know each other a little more,¡± I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed. ¡°I wanted to let you know that I appreciate everything you did during the tutorial. I would be dead for sure right now if you hadn¡¯t been there,¡± I said as I looked down at the ground. ¡°I know you said you aren¡¯t here by choice, and that your fate is tied to mine, and I want you to know that I¡¯m sorry. I never meant for this to happen and I surely never meant to bring other people into this,¡± I said.

    ¡°Andrew, listen,¡± she said, still staring out the window, ¡°you seem like a good person. You had to make a decision with little knowledge of what effects that decision would have on you moving forward,¡± she said as she turned around and faced me. "You are not at fault here, this wasn¡¯t your choice, and now, just like me, you are trying to make the best of that decision but there is a lot here that you don¡¯t know. There are entities involved in this that could atomize your entire planet in seconds. Your planet represents resources and free labor, that¡¯s it.¡± She seemed to be getting more anxious as she spoke. ¡°There is no safety for your planet until they become a part of the galactic federation and that can''t happen if someone from your planet doesn¡¯t claim the Right of Reaping. The odds of that happening are infinitesimal. That doesn¡¯t mean it is impossible though. I will do everything in my power to make sure you succeed, unfortunately, my power has been greatly diminished by system protocols. It¡¯s a byproduct of being separated from my true body,¡± she explained.

    ¡°Why are you separated from your true body?¡± I asked, ¡°wouldn¡¯t you be more helpful as a guardian if you had your full capabilities?"

    ¡°That is why I¡¯m separated, Andrew. The Universal Council will offer just enough help to make it seem like the playing field is level but it''s not; not even close,¡± she stood up and faced the porthole again. ¡°That tutorial is not a good reflection of what the rest of the dungeon will be. Level 1 will be exponentially more difficult especially at your current level. You have some interesting gear now, but Andrew, you don¡¯t understand, it will be insanely difficult to pass Level 1.¡±

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°So, if you had your true body, you would have your full power?¡± I asked, "so why don¡¯t we just get it?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand what you''re saying, Andrew; it''s not that easy. My true body is in a secure quantum AI storage facility. It''s guarded, heavily guarded.¡±

    She walked up to me as I stood up, ¡°Participants are meant to complete the tutorial and start making their way to Level 1. You will generally get 30 days to make your way to the Level 1 world and begin preparation. Participants will arrive in advance and start fortifying their locations so they can defend and survive. You aren¡¯t meant to know about my location, much less to try and breach a secure AI storage base. It just doesn¡¯t happen,¡± she said.

    ¡°Look, as far as I¡¯m concerned, I¡¯m winging this whole thing. The first thing we need to do is get with Elvis and see if he can plot a course to the Level 1 planet. Once we know how long it will take, we can decide if we have time to get to your true body. If we have the time, I think it''s worth considering,¡± I turned to walk to the door. ¡°Look Tiff, you saved my life today. What kind of friend would I be if I didn¡¯t offer to return the favor? You said we''re probably going to die anyway, right? So why not go out with a bang? The Council wants us to fall in line and do this thing their way. I say fuck The Council; we do things differently in Texas,¡± I looked back at her, ¡°let¡¯s go eat then I''m going to figure out how to use this suit to ram my fist right up The Council''s ass!¡±

    ¡°The Council isn¡¯t a person, it¡¯s hundreds of representatives from different galaxies,¡± Tiff said smiling.

    ¡°Too bad I only have two fists then,¡± I shrugged.

    As we walked up to the outside of the galley, I heard music blaring from outside the door. ¡°Ugh, shit, what is it now?¡± I asked as I rubbed my temples.

    As I walked into the galley I stopped and just took in the scene before me.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m fat,

    I¡¯m fat,

    come on (really really fat)¡±

    was blaring through the PA. The damn Weird Al Yankovic song. CJ was literally fighting an A-Ganger for a tray of food while another ran into his foot repeatedly. Elvis was laughing, ¡°NUB is fat, he no need food, he need to pass PT test,¡± he said.

    CJ was livid, completely livid. ¡°I will gut you, you fucking overgrown toaster!¡± CJ said as he tried to pull a tray of what looked like meatloaf from the A-Ganger. ¡°I swear to God, I don¡¯t know where on this ship they are, but I will find your mechanical nuts and beat them with the biggest hammer I can find on this dump of a ship.¡±

    ¡°Ship not dump. Dump is what happened when NUB''s mom went into labor with him!¡± Elvis responded, obviously escalating the situation.

    ¡°Jesus guys!¡± I shouted, ¡°what the hell is happening in here?¡± I asked as I waded into the chaos.

    ¡°The damn AI has it out for me, Andy!¡± CJ said.

    ¡°NUB refers to Captain as Captain, not Andy!¡± Elvis growled as the weird Al song continued to blare.

    ¡°Elvis, for God''s sake, turn that song off and please call off your A-Gangers. CJ is a part of this crew now and deserves the respect that comes with that,¡± I said exasperatedly.

    ¡°CJ, please for the sake of everything that our friendship is built on, don¡¯t, I repeat DO NOT piss off the advanced supercomputer that knows how to fly this ship. Please find a way to make this relationship work.¡±

    ¡°Now, how do we get food?¡± I asked as I walked up to CJ. He was finally wrestling away control of his food from the A-Ganger as it retreated back into the bulkhead.

    ¡°Fuck you, Roomba!¡± CJ said as he flipped the A-Ganger the bird.

    ¡°It''s easy. There is a panel on the wall over there with two buttons. One says Food and one says Other. Push the Food button and say what you want. It can make anything, it can even make food from your favorite restaurants, and it tastes exactly like it would at the restaurant. It''s the best thing ever!¡± He said excitedly walking over to show me the machine.

    ¡°I assume the button that says Other is for drinks; that¡¯s what I got out of it,¡± he said.

    I walked up to the panel and pushed the Other button.

    ¡°Please describe the desired item,¡± a computerized voice said.

    "Hmm, I have an idea," I said to myself as CJ walked toward an empty table with his tray.

    ¡°Electronic Nicotine Vaping Device,¡± I replied.

    CJ dropped his food tray and started running and screaming, ¡°I will suck you off if that thing makes a vape!¡±

    I reached down and picked up the small vaping device.

    ¡°I''ll pass on the sucking off. Just use this to stay calm and make friends with the damn AI so we don¡¯t die in the middle of space,¡± I said.

    Tiff walked up, ¡°You guys have some serious issues,¡± she said with a wry smile, ¡°can we get some food now?¡±

 Chapter 13. Break Stuff

    After finally calming CJ and Elvis down, I made my way over to get some food.

    ¡°Tiff, how does this thing work?¡± I asked as I walked up beside her.

    ¡°It¡¯s an atomized carbon recombination station,¡± she said, ¡°carbon atoms are the building blocks for everything living. Anything you consume outside of water was once living. This machine just takes carbon molecules and utilizes a detailed recombination sequence along with other necessary elements to form the food you request.¡± She shrugged and looked at me, ¡°pretty simple really.¡±

    ¡°Simple?¡± I asked in amazement, ¡°how is this simple? Even before the drop, Earth never had anything even close to this level of technology! This is amazing!¡± I said.

    I walked up to the machine and pressed the button for food. I loved fried chicken, and since the drop, I hadn¡¯t had a single piece.

    ¡°4 Piece Popeyes fried chicken, white meat, spicy with mashed potatoes and gravy on the side,¡± I said, hoping that I would at least get some decent fried chicken.

    The station buzzed to life. after about 10 seconds a little box appeared on the shelf under the screen.

    ¡°It¡¯s even in the Popeyes box, I can¡¯t believe this!¡± I said excitedly.

    The shower on the Blood Hound was great, but this, this was just amazing. I sat down and ate my food. Tiff got something I didn¡¯t recognize, sat across from me, and started eating.

    ¡°Why do you need to eat?¡± I asked, ¡°aren¡¯t you, like, a computer?¡±

    ¡°Not the sort that you are commonly used to,¡± she explained, ¡°my people are biological AI''s. We have biological bodies and the ability to exist in two places at once, but it does still require resources, so we eat.¡±

    ¡°Well okay, works for me,¡± I said, not wanting to take the conversation further. I was no genius and we were treading into territory that honestly would go right over my head anyway.

    After we finished eating, we started walking toward the VCR. ¡°It''s time to allocate your stat points and test the Havok Bringer Armor then we can sit down and plan with Elvis.

    ¡°Hey Elvis, can CJ wear one of those Havok Hound drop suits so I can spar?¡± I asked. I wanted to get a chance to test the Havok Bringer Armor in combat.

    ¡°No need,¡± Elvis replied, ¡°VCR will provide virtual combatants for Captain, much better competition than NUB.¡± I just shook my head.

    ¡°Okay, thanks. Go ahead and prepare something for me. I¡¯m on my way."

    CJ joined us as we walked down the Hall toward the VCR. We went in and it was just a square room with black walls.

    ¡°Umm, okay, how do I train here?¡± I asked, looking around, ¡°there is nothing in this room.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a virtual combat readiness room, Andrew; emphasis on virtual,¡± Tiff explained.

    ¡°Elvis will program a combat scenario and you will play it out. It is virtual but you will feel the pain of being hit or shot. Your suit will take damage but it will stop just short of being fatal. Keep that in mind.¡±

    ¡°Okay then, let''s get started. Elvis, run the program,¡± I said as I prepared myself.

    Tiff and CJ just walked and stood near the door.

    ¡°We will use this training to decide where to allocate your free points, so try your best, and Elvis, make sure you give him a good challenge,¡± Tiff said.

    As she finished speaking, the room went completely dark and then sprang to life. I was in a metropolis-like setting with huge buildings and streets crisscrossing as far as I could see.

    ¡°Cool, it¡¯s like the holodeck on Star Trek,¡± I whispered to myself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use your armor immediately,¡± Tiff said, back in my head, ¡°you only have a few minutes at a time right now and we need to see what you can do without it. Use the daggers though; there is no cool down on those.¡±

    As I stood there, I mentally equipped my daggers and they appeared in my hands, glowing black flames encompassing the ebony blades. They felt good in my hands, perfectly balanced, almost like an extension of my arm.

    ¡°Okay, let''s break some shit, " I said.

    Immediately, two black metal Mechs rolled around the corner.

    Battle Mech -- Level 7 my identify showed.

    They were approximately 2.5 meters tall, had tank tracks for wheels, and each had two arms on their metal torso holding giant assault-style rifles. Behind them walked what looked like 4 infantry-type soldiers in armor like the Havok Hound drop suits in the armory. Mech Guard ¨C Level 5 showed above all their heads.

    Immediately the mechs fired at me. I quickly dodged to the right alleyway and started running. I didn¡¯t really have a plan; I was just moving on instinct. The score marks left on the buildings from the mechs were huge, at least the size of a .50 caliber bullet. If one of those hit me without my armor on, it would be bad news.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    As I ran down the alley, I heard footsteps behind me. It was the 4 soldiers, they had run ahead of the mechs and were on me.

    ¡°Get them farther away from the Mechs!¡± Tiff said, ¡°if you engage them now, the mech will be on you before you finish.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± I said breathing heavily, ¡°I¡¯m going to make one more corner and see if I can take out two.¡±

    As I rounded the second corner of the building I slid to a stop, waiting for the guards to round, and in a few seconds, they did.

    ¡°Watch your health and stamina bar. You will also need to watch your ability bar too,¡± Tiff said as the guards began to engage.

    I needed to have more situational awareness in combat situations now that I had to utilize resources and be sure that I didn¡¯t expend them all.

    As the guards engaged, they took a staggered approach--two on, two off. The first two came at me with boom clubs like what the Drill Sergeant from the tutorial carried. They both swung from opposite directions.

    Zaaap! I felt the electricity surge through me as the room went dark and reverted to its original layout. My health bar was in the red, blinking as I lay on the ground grasping my sides.

    ¡°Aaand, you''re dead,¡± Tiff said shrugging and kneeling beside me. ¡°Look, you have to be aware of your enemies and their tactics. You are still a Level 4 outside of that armor.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, let¡¯s bring the difficulty down, for now, one-on-one combat to start. Captain will need to train in hand-to-hand and armed combat situations but let''s start with a one-on-one scenario,¡± she said as she stood up and walked back to the wall beside CJ.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it again, Elvis. Just give me one this time,¡± I said as I stood up.

    ¡°Hey, my health is really low. Should we wait a little while?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I guess now is as good a time as any to assign your stats and go over your health and stamina stims. Elvis, give us a table with an interface,¡± Tiff said as she and CJ walked toward the center of the room.

    We all sat down at the round table in the center of the VCR as Tiff started to go over my current stats out loud.

    Level 4 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Strength ¨C 38

    Intelligence ¨C 37

    Dexterity ¨C 40

    Stamina ¨C 37

    Vigor ¨C 37

    ¡°That is where your base stats currently are based on level-ups but you do have some bonuses due to equipment and some free points to assign. I''ll show where you stand now with equipment bonuses," Tiff said.

    Strength ¨C 43

    Intelligence ¨C 42

    Dexterity ¨C 55

    Stamina ¨C 42

    Vigor ¨C 44

    ¡°As you can see, the armor gives you a nice boost across the board and will be added for each additional level you gain. The armor really will make leveling a significant focus for us early,¡± Tiff said as she studied the stats. ¡°The daggers are nice because the bonus is a percentage instead of a straight stat point gain. This means that as your total stats grow, the bonus for the daggers will also grow, which is huge. Participants don¡¯t see gear this good early in the dungeon. This is a huge advantage for us,¡± she said, ¡°let''s talk stims. I need you to equip your armor. We can get back to unarmored combat later.¡±

    "Now, let''s talk about free points," Tiff said, "You get 5 free points per level but if you don''t need them immediately, I would save them and assign them in bunches so that you can see the impact afterward. You could assign the 15 you have now but I would suggest assigning them after you get 25 then you can boost an individual stat group."

    "You are already heavy in Dexterity. You can keep dumping your points into dexterity but we can talk more about that after you get to Level 6."

    ¡°Elvis, take the table away, ¡°Tiff said, ¡°Go ahead and equip the armor, Andrew.¡±

    I mentally equipped the Havok Bringer armor and felt the surge as it enveloped my body.

    ¡°That is going to take some getting used to,¡± I said.

    ¡°Okay, what now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You should have access to health and stamina stims in your armor. Most battle suits have them built in. Look for an icon on your HUD,¡± Tiff replied.

    Sure enough, as I studied the interface that had been slightly altered by my armor, I saw it: a small cross beside my health bar with three bars, same beside my stamina bar.

    ¡°I think I see something; it looks like I have three of each for health and stamina,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good, now select health and use it,¡± Tiff said.

    I selected health and one of the bars went away. I felt like two needles pressed into each side of my neck and I heard a small hissing noise. Immediately my health topped off.

    ¡°Well, that is convenient,¡± I said. ¡°So, I can just heal myself anytime my health gets low?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You have three health stims as of now, As the armor upgrades, you may have access to more, but you will need to conserve them. Your intelligence stat will help them refill more quickly, and your vigor stat will allow them to refill more of your health as your total health points grow so it is important to make sure you get stats into those categories. For now, it seems like you are okay. The same goes for stamina. You can already run longer and faster than before but there will be times when you will need your stamina. I am going to assume that using your armor will drain your stamina faster. We will find out soon," she said.

    ¡°Elvis, initiate one on one combat, hand to hand for now,¡± Tiff walked back toward the door. ¡°Let''s see what that armor can really do,¡± she said.

    A Level 5 Mech Guard appeared in the center of the room. No change in scenery this time, just a one-on-one fight.

    Immediately the Mech Guard swung his baton at me with his right arm, aiming for my head. It was like the armor improved every reflex and I easily moved my head back out of the path of the baton as it missed by an inch.

    The guard stepped toward me and started a backswing, swinging from left to right. I raised my right arm to block the baton and absorbed the blow. I wanted to see what kind of damage this armor could take. As the baton made contact, I saw the skill activate as the electricity came to life. I felt it, it was uncomfortable. My health bar dipped a small amount but that was it. I smiled.

    ¡°I think I''m going to like this armor,¡± I said as I clenched my fist and went to work. I unleashed a combo of punches to the guard¡¯s body. As he staggered, he tried to swing at me once more, grunting in pain. I moved under his swing and around his body. Now behind him, I extended my arms, equipped my daggers, and shoved them both into the guard under each arm. The daggers, now fully inside the guard, started pulsing. They were draining him from the inside, and at the three-second mark, the guard completely imploded into nothing.

    ¡°Jesus!¡± I said, ¡°those are insane!¡±

    ¡°There will be a level cap on those. You won''t be able to go just stab them into any boss and get an easy kill," Tiff said. ¡°They are still very powerful but that three-second requirement will be tough as well. The draining effect on cuts will be more valuable in battle for now."

    As Tiff walked back toward me my armor disappeared.

    ¡°Well, 5 minutes are up,¡± I said, shrugging.

    ¡°Let''s go to the bridge and discuss next steps. I have a feeling you will have plenty of time for training over the next few weeks and we really need to figure out what our next steps are," Tiff said.

    ¡°Elvis need to activate Warp Field Generator?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Warp Field Generator? What the¡­This ship has a Warp Drive?¡± I asked in amazement.

    ¡°Pretty standard equipment, Andrew, but hey, at least it''s not a door that has you in awe this time!¡± Tiff smiled and walked toward the bridge.

 Chapter 14. Shellbacks

    Once Tiff, CJ, and I arrived on the bridge, Elvis began speaking over the PA. ¡°Captain will need to confirm travel orders before Blood Hound leave orbit. Once Captain approves, Elvis can initiate travel to suitable warp-friendly space.¡±

    I sat in the captain¡¯s chair and stared at the front wall where Elvis was currently displaying star charts and what I assumed were the plans for the next phase of our mission. ¡°Elvis, before I approve any orders, I want you to take a look at some coordinates that Tiff is going to send you. Plot a course using those coordinates as the first stop, and the Level 1 planet as the second stop. I would like to know the exact travel time with approximately 24 hours in orbit around the location Tiff is sending you.¡± I looked at Tiff and nodded in approval for her to send the coordinates from her station which I believed was navigation. I still needed to find time for Elvis to give me a detailed summary of the stations on the bridge.

    ¡°Elvis, while you are working on that, what details can you give us about Level 1? What is the planet like? How far away is it? How long will the level last? What are the objectives?" I asked.

    ¡°Level 1 is what Captain might refer to as battle royale style competition. 100 participants will fight to be last one alive. Level is not planet, level is Red Moon of Alcara in 30 Earth days. Competition will take place on front side of moon. After 14 days sun will completely cover moon and nothing will survive. It is important that Captain get off moon before 14 days over. There are many Level 1¡¯s, this just happens to be the one Captain received.¡±

    ¡°Will I be forced to kill other humans?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign on for that and I don¡¯t plan on killing a human if they aren¡¯t actively trying to kill me first.¡±

    Tiff spoke up, ¡°You can absorb participants into your party, you won''t be required to kill anyone, but they will have to approve it; it''s not something you can force them to do.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I¡¯m assuming there will be plenty of Lacertines and other aliens to kill and hopefully humans will be spread out," I said as I walked over to CJ.

    ¡°CJ, I want you to spend time learning the ship. We have a transport ship and a rover in the cargo bay. I may need you to be familiar with those in the future.¡±

    ¡°Sweet! I can do that, Andy. I¡¯ll get up to speed with everything that I can depending on how much time we have.¡±

    Elvis spoke up, ¡°AI secure containment approximately 11 days and 3 jumps away. Compound secured autonomously, segregated in deep space. Only one AI guardian per containment facility so no risk of collateral damage.¡±

    ¡°Captain, I must warn that the facility isn¡¯t large but will still be defended by autonomous mechs and guards. Also, Tiff cannot assist inside the facility because there is a dampening field to protect against AI breach.¡±

    Tiff walked up beside me and stared at the display screen on the front wall of the bridge. ¡°I was afraid of this; I don¡¯t know if you are ready for this kind of challenge, Captain,¡± she said.

    ¡°Did you just call me Captain?¡± I asked. ¡°That really isn¡¯t necessary, Tiff.¡±

    ¡°It just makes things easier. Don¡¯t make it weird,¡± she replied without looking at me.

    I placed my hand on her shoulder, ¡°Look, you saved my life. What kind of friend would I be if I walked away from a chance to give you back yours? I know this will give you options, options that might not include me and The Bloodhound and this whole dungeon, but those are your choices to make, and I intend to give you the option to make them.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, if we do perform an EVAC of Tiff¡¯s body and complete the mission in less than 24 hours, will we have time to get to the Alcaran Moon before Level 1 commences?¡±

    ¡°It will take approximately 14 days and 6 jumps to reach Red Moon of Alcara. Elvis is assuming that System AI did not populate enemy ships in open space for Level 1. We will have several hours of deep space travel between jumps so that Bloodhound can recharge warp array. If all goes well, we should reach Level 1 with 4 days to spare,¡± Elvis replied.

    I walked back to the captain''s chair and sat down. ¡°Elvis, plot the course for the AI containment facility. We''re going to get our XO¡¯s body,¡± I said as I nodded at Tiff.

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    There was an alarm over the ship''s loudspeakers in an electronic female voice, ¡°Attention crew, long distance Warp will proceed in 59 minutes and 52 seconds. Please prepare accordingly. Ensure that all crew members are secured in quarters or strapped into an assigned workstation for jump. Countdown will appear on relevant monitors throughout the ship.¡±

    I looked over at Tiff after the announcement. ¡°Is there anything I should know about these jumps?¡±

    ¡°Well, they can be a bit unsettling the first few times. It¡¯s best to just experience it yourself,¡± she shrugged as she sat in the chair on my right.

    ¡°So, here¡¯s the deal, I¡¯m no astrophysicist, how exactly do warp engines work?¡± I asked her.

    She looked over at me and began to explain as CJ walked over obviously curious as well.

    ¡°Some of the theories on Earth were getting close, the problem is that humans didn¡¯t have the capacity to create a powerplant strong enough to produce the needed reaction yet.¡± She got up and walked into her quarters quickly returning with a sheet of paper.

    ¡°We need to travel a great distance in a short amount of time, right?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Ummm yeah, I guess,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°Okay so here is the easiest way to explain what we will do," she said as she took an ink pen and drew two dots, one on each end of the paper.

    ¡°We need to get from one dot to the other. The fast way is a straight line,¡± she said and drew a line from one dot to the other.

    ¡°The problem is the distance is far; so far that we measure it in light years. Let''s say the distance between these two dots represents 10 light years. To put that into perspective that you might understand, light travels at about 186,000 miles per hour, and a light-year is the distance that light will travel in one earth year. So about 5.9 trillion miles. In this example, we need to travel almost 60 trillion miles.¡±

    I could tell that the look on my face told her everything she needed to know. I was no dummy but the distances she was throwing out were just mind-blowing. I knew that Earth hadn¡¯t achieved faster-than-light travel, and I knew we weren¡¯t even close, so I never really paid much attention to studies or theories on it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Tiff said chuckling. ¡°You got a technological upgrade when you got transported to this dungeon. Most of the universe has access to faster-than-light travel. Well, technically they don¡¯t. We bend the rules a bit. Let me get back to my example.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to travel the distance between the dots,¡± she folded the paper in two, aligning the dots on top of each other and stabbed the pen through the dots.

    ¡°Instead, we¡¯re going to make a shortcut,¡± she said.

    ¡°We are going to fold space-time, joining our entry point and exit point, effectively eliminating the space between the dots. Earth''s Albert Einstein called it a Minkowski Wormhole. It takes an extraordinary amount of power but can be done relatively easily with current levels of technology.¡±

    I sat dumbfounded, ¡°Okay, so Elvis knows how to do that and it¡¯s not something that I have to break my brain trying to figure out! Nice!¡±

    CJ chimed in, ¡°This is pretty fucking nuts, Andy. We''re going to go through a damn wormhole!¡±

    Over the next 55 minutes or so we sat and talked and tried to continue acclimating ourselves to the bridge before returning to our stations. I sat in the captain¡¯s chair with Tiff in the chair on my right and CJ in the chair on my left.

    ¡°Holy shit, it''s about to happen bro!¡± CJ shouted as the timer went below five seconds.

    I grasped the arms of my chair tightly and clenched every muscle in my body as I breathed out deeply. Elvis had helpfully changed the display on the bridge to a view right outside the ship so we could see the wormhole form.

    From the front of the ship, 4 arms extended, bent at 45 degrees, and pointing forward like spider''s arms. They each shot out powered beams at the same exact moment as the timer ticked down to zero. When the beams collided, a bright light pulsed, and a plasma wave exploded away from their point of contact. A dense black, completely lightless hole formed. The hole was about twice the width and height of The Bloodhound, so there was no chance of colliding with the walls of the wormhole. We slowly began to enter the warp tunnel.

    It''s hard to explain what I felt exactly. As soon as the bridge entered the wormhole, I felt like I had the pressure of an entire ocean on top of me. Then I immediately felt like every atom in my body had been stretched, ripped, and pieced back together. It felt like it took several minutes yet no longer that half a second at the same time. There was definitely some weird physics shit happening inside that wormhole and I didn¡¯t have the time or the mental capacity to fully understand it right now. Oh, also I was vomiting uncontrollably and so was CJ. We were both on our hands and knees on the floor of the bridge, completely losing anything that we had put into our bodies over the last 8 hours.

    Tiffany laughed. She actually fucking laughed at us¡­

    Elvis gave a low rumbling laugh and spoke up, ¡°Captain and CJ are Shellbacks now!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is a Shellback?¡± I gasped.

    ¡°You become Shellback when you go through first wormhole! Big rite of passage! Captain had to experience on his own if he is going to lead crew to many victories! HaaHaaHaa!¡± Elvis continued laughing.

    CJ was on his back, now lying in a mix of his and my own vomit. ¡°I will find a way to kill that damn AI, I swear to you Andy, I will fucking kill it.¡±

    By now the A-Gangers were out, beeping and cleaning trying to rid the bridge of everything we had thrown up. I got up on one knee and smiled.

    For whatever reason, I had been brought to this place and joined with these people. Well, people and AIs. I was starting to feel a kinship. I felt like we were going to be able to take this thing on together. Aside from the sick feeling in my stomach from the jump, I was starting to feel something, something I hadn¡¯t felt in a while. I was starting to feel like I belonged somewhere, and I wasn¡¯t ready to let that go just yet.

 Chapter 15. Five Minute Man

    Tiff had informed me that subsequent jumps would be much easier on us physically, and Elvis had something in the med bay that would help us acclimate even quicker.

    ¡°Small miracles I guess,¡± I said as CJ and I left the med bay. There wasn¡¯t much to speak of in the room, just some medical examination tables and some robotic arms hanging from the ceiling. The walls were lined with drawers and closets full of supplies. Elvis was the ship¡¯s medical professional as well and everything related to human physiology had been uploaded to his data core before the dungeon had been initiated.

    CJ had not been pleased with our hazing and was currently walking beside me in a sour mood, aggressively ripping his new vape.

    ¡°Elvis has it out for me Andy, I swear to God!¡± CJ said in an aggravated tone. ¡°Since I got transported to this damn ship he has come after me in one way or another. I can''t take this shit no more, bro.¡±

    I stopped in the hallway before we walked back into the VCR. ¡°Listen CJ, I''m going to need your head on straight, especially going into this EVAC mission to get Tiff¡¯s body. I have a plan, and you are going to play a big part if it¡¯s possible, but I need you to find some common ground with Elvis, okay?¡±

    ¡°I''ll try Andy, I''ll try,¡± he said, ripping another long hit off of his vape. ¡°By the way, thanks for the vape. I think it¡¯s the only thing keeping me sane right now,¡± he chuckled.

    As we walked into the VCR, Tiff was sitting at a table in the center of the room that Elvis had materialized for us.

    ¡°Elvis, I have a question,¡± I said looking up at the ceiling. I was sure it wasn¡¯t necessary to look up at the ceiling, but I did it reflexively. ¡°Can those Havok Hound drop suits in the armory be operated autonomously?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain. Elvis can pilot the drop suits autonomously. The Bloodhound only has 5 storage closets, so we can only deploy 5 at a time. Elvis can only operate 2 at any given time and still maintain peak efficiency for other ships'' systems, however. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°I want to utilize one of the drop suits during our Exfil of Tiff''s body from the containment center,¡± I replied.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t possible, Captain. As stated, the facility has an AI-dampening field. Elvis is AI also; I cannot penetrate the dampening field to pilot the suit,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°I thought you might say that, Elvis. I want you to create a subsystem and run the piloting program hardware through CJ¡¯s station. You will need to train him on the intricacies of piloting the drop suit over the next 12 days. I want a two-day margin for error before we start the Exfil process. Understood?¡±

    CJ¡¯s face lit up and I could see that Tiff also approved of this part of the plan.

    ¡°No dead weight on my ship, CJ. Time to start pulling your weight around here,¡± I said smiling.

    ¡°It will take too long to train NUB to use drop suit. He will endanger Captain¡¯s life, as well as the mission,¡± Elvis grumbled.

    ¡°Elvis, am I the Captain of the Bloodhound?" I asked pointedly.

    ¡°Yes sir, Captain Dawes is captain of Bloodhound. Great Captain who let Elvis choose own name! Captain Dawes will kill many foes!¡± Elvis said excitedly.

    ¡°Then I need you to follow my orders, Elvis. I will defer to you on matters of ship security and navigation, but there will be times when I need you to follow my orders and ensure that we are moving in the operational direction that I have deemed fit. This is one of those times.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain. Elvis will begin creating software and have training modules prepared for SR-Jennings by 1200 hours,¡± Elvis sharply replied.

    ¡°Thanks, Elvis. Also open up and stock the shooting range. The crew and I will be acclimating ourselves with the available firearms on board the Bloodhound today.¡±

    CJ chimed in, ¡°What is SR-Jennings?¡±

    Elvis replied, ¡°Spaceman recruit, lowest enlisted rank on ship. That is you, you are lowest.¡±

    I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. It was progress, a very small amount of progress, but Elvis at least saw CJ as a member of the crew now; it would have to be enough.

    ¡°CJ, Elvis is the COB, Chief of the Boat. For all intents and purposes, he is your commanding officer. You will pay attention to his orders and recommendations during this training process. I need you to be a killing machine with that drop suit. We have no margin for error here, got it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I got it, Andy!¡± CJ replied.

    ¡°You refer to Captain as Captain during official briefings recruit!¡± Elvis growled.

    ¡°Jesus. Sure, man. I got it, Captain!¡± CJ said with a goofy salute.

    It was currently 0800 hours, so we had 4 hours to talk basic strategy and get some time in the armory shooting range. After Elvis and CJ decided to play somewhat nicely, we all sat down to have primary conversation about the strategy to get Tiff¡¯s body back.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to communicate or assist at all with the EVAC Captain. Once we get within 100 miles of the containment facility, I will become inert, as will Elvis. Elvis will have emergency operating procedures for the ship, and he can pre-program a flight path for the shuttle to get you there and back, but you and CJ will be on your own. This is very dangerous, Andrew,¡± Tiff said as she looked me in the eyes.

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    I could feel that she was nervous. I was sure she wanted to do this, but I also think that she thought we would be trying to do it further down the line after I was stronger and had become more acclimated with my current reality.

    ¡°Do we know anything about the defenses on the containment facility?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There should be no organic life on board. The facility will be rather large, especially compared to the Bloodhound though. These facilities are meant to operate autonomously for millennia. If an AI becomes corrupted for some reason, the remains will be jettisoned into the nearest solar body and a replacement will arrive. ¡°

    ¡°Corrupted?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Dies,¡± Tiff responded. ¡°You must remember that an AI dies if it¡¯s assigned participant dies. There are thousands of participants from Earth in this dungeon, I would assume. The mortality rate of participants is 99% in most iterations of the dungeons from past Reapings.¡±

    ¡°Once an AI is corrupted, the facility is repopulated, and the new AI will begin uploading data relevant to the next scheduled reaping.¡±

    I took a deep breath, ¡°Okay so let¡¯s make sure that doesn¡¯t happen to you. I need an idea of what we''re going up against in there. Do you have intel? How many mechs, how many mech guards?¡±

    Tiff''s eyes glazed over; I could tell she was combing data inside her head. ¡°Each facility has two sets of guards. They consist of one Battle Mech and two mech guards. They are on 12-hour rotations. After 12 hours, the mechs and mech guards will return to their off-duty stations for decontamination and recharge,¡± she said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure of the levels. I would say at least Level 10. Nobody expects one of these facilities to be infiltrated, so the guards are fairly low leveled.¡±

    I raised my eyebrows, ¡°Low levelled?!¡±

    ¡°Tiff, I¡¯m only Level 4 for crying out loud. How can I fight multiple Level 10 mechs?!¡±

    ¡°Elvis might have plan to help!¡± Elvis suddenly chimed in.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hear it, Elvis. I need all the help I can get,¡± I said.

    ¡°There is grind station on way to containment facility. We lose one day, Captain gain levels.¡±

    I looked at Tiff, ¡°What is a grind station?¡±

    ¡°Usually don¡¯t see them before Level 1, but since we are taking a bit of a detour, I guess Elvis found one. They are small pre-populated areas with a designated number of enemies. You land, kill everything, and get some levels. You may get some loot, which is never anything great, but you need the levels, and this will get you at least a few,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Okay, sounds easy enough. Elvis, how far away is the grind station?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We can be at grind station within 2 hours after next jump,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Okay, chart a course. Our next jump is in 10 hours, so that will give us time to finish what we''re doing. Eat something and grab a few hours of sleep,¡± I said.

    ¡°We have a very basic plan. After the grind station we can regroup to put the final touches on the Exfil plan. For now, let¡¯s go shoot something,¡± I said.

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± CJ shouted as we headed to the armory.

    As we walked into the armory, I walked over to the firearm lockers lining the left side of the room. I was familiar enough with weapons on Earth. My dad had made sure that all of his boys were familiar with guns growing up. Again, I wasn¡¯t much of a hunter, but Dad wanted us to understand how to safely handle firearms just in case. I had shot various models of rifles and shotguns. I also kept a personal firearm for protection, and it really became a necessity after the drop.

    None of that prepared me for the types of firearms that were available on The Bloodhound. There were kinetic weapons and weapons that shot bullets. There were also focused-energy weapons that fired concentrated plasma bursts and instead of a clip, they had plasma mags. From what I understand, the weapons would fire a plasma bolt that is super-heated by a focused laser beam and explodes on contact. It was lethal, it was dangerous, and it was fucking awesome.

    Tiff was familiar with all of the weapons on board, but CJ and I were like kids in a candy store. Both the kinetic and plasma weapons were basically dummy proof. They were auto-correcting, auto-targeting, and made just about anyone with the ability to shoot them an expert marksman.

    My armor had a sidearm that I hadn¡¯t tested yet, so I decided that now was a good time to check it out. As CJ continued testing the plasma rifles, I engaged my armor. I stood in one of the fire lanes and unholstered the weapon on my left hip. The weapon molded to my hand perfectly. The barrel was about 8 inches long, with a bright orange LED-type light running down the length of the barrel. As I held the weapon out in front of my body, I saw the targeting system in HUD come to life. I could see the distance to the target, wind speed, estimated curvature of the planet''s surface, and just tons of data.

    I aimed at the brown dummy at the end of the firing lane and fired. The round wasn¡¯t kinetic, and it wasn¡¯t exactly like the plasma rounds from the armory. It was an intense burst of energy flying from the barrel. As soon as the barrel arced, the dummy¡¯s head completely exploded.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± I said. ¡°Did you see that, CJ? This gun is ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°Should definitely help in combat. Between that and those daggers nothing will want to get close to you, that¡¯s for sure,¡± CJ said.

    I thought for a second about how I would prepare and carry a long-range rifle. I was no sniper, but with the targeting system in my armor I imagined it would come in handy.

    As I thought about it, the weapon in my hand morphed into a rifle. ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient,¡± I said.

    I took the rifle and aimed it down the lane toward what was left of the dummy. As I did, my targeting HUD zoomed in on the center mass of the dummy, it was like I had a long-range scope in my helmet. "This will definitely come in handy," I thought.

    ¡°That armor is like nothing I have seen before, Captain. Again, I''m not sure where it came from, but it does give you an advantage,¡± Tiff said.

    I was starting to feel more comfortable in my armor now, and as the 5-minute cycle was ending I noticed that my stamina was also low.

    ¡°Hey Tiff, does this armor drain my stamina? I¡¯m noticing that my stamina is low,¡± I asked.

    ¡°It would make sense; the armor is integrated into your physiology and will need to burn resources to activate,¡± she replied.

    ¡°This may work to our advantage. Let the armor cycle end and then use a stamina stim. Let''s see what happens,¡± she said.

    ¡°I can¡¯t use stims without my armor though, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Once you have accessed the ability, you should be able to utilize it without the full armor being active. Once the armor cycles down, just concentrate on using the stim and see what happens," Tiff responded as she walked over to me.

    As the armor cycled down, I noticed that my stamina was at about twenty percent. I was glad it left some room for error and didn¡¯t drain my stamina completely. I didn¡¯t know what happened when my stamina ran out completely. That was one more thing I needed to test or ask Tiff about.

    I concentrated on my stamina stim and, as I did, two insectoid arm-like appendages popped out of my shoulders and stabbed into either side of my neck followed by a small hissing noise. My stamina immediately refilled.

    ¡°That is unnerving,¡± I said with a nervous chuckle. ¡°But hey, it worked. I can use my stims without my armor being fully activated.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean I can immediately reactivate my armor?¡± I asked. ¡°Since it seems to run on stamina and my stamina is refilled, I should be able to reactivate it, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really not sure,¡± Tiff responded. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen armor like this. I think it¡¯s worth a try.¡±

    I focused on my armor and as I did, the edges of my vision flashed red, and a warning popped up on my HUD.

    Warning - 4 minutes remaining on Armor Cool Down

    ¡°Okay, so it looks like I have a 5-minute cooldown between uses; not ideal, but I think I can work with that,¡± I said.

    ¡°So, I¡¯ll have 5 minutes to kick as much ass as possible. Guess I better be efficient,¡± I said to Tiff with a smile.

 Chapter 16. Grind em Like Sausage

    We initially expected the Exfil mission to take 11 days. This included travel time, prep time at the station, and EVAC of Tiff''s body. We were currently six days into the journey. We had jumped two more times since the first day.

    CJ and I had acclimated to the jumps somewhat. Elvis had us both take a shot in the med bay that would make the jumps easier on us and over time they just got easier. We still got nauseous, but it was definitely manageable.

    We spent the last 4 days going between the VCR and the armory. Elvis had programmed several combat scenarios for me to become more comfortable both in and out of my armor. I felt like I had a good idea of how to use my armor and weapons now, but there was no virtual scenario that would prepare me for live-fire combat situations.

    CJ and Elvis had been working non-stop on creating a controller station for the Havok Hound drop suit. CJ could physically pilot the armor, but since he was unenhanced by the system it was safer to just let him pilot the drop suit remotely.

    I had asked Tiff if the AI-dampening field surrounding the containment facility would affect CJ¡¯s ability to pilot the suit and she was confident that it would not. The Bloodhound would use a quantum connection, similar to how she transmits her secondary body. There would be a transmission node on the Bloodhound inside CJ¡¯s controller hardware. The drop suit would be outfitted with the receiver node.

    The details of Quantum communication were still a little complex for me to fully grasp. Basically, there was no chance of losing a signal, and Quantum entanglement allowed for the suit and controller station to be in sync with no time lag based on distance or based on any exterior factors such as wall thickness.

    The basic explanation is that once two quantum particles interact, they become entangled. Once entangled, they act as though they are in a single quantum state. Whatever one does, the other does regardless of distance or external factors.

    Now, there was a lot of other tech mumbo jumbo that I didn¡¯t understand and honestly never would but, for now, I was confident that CJ could pilot the suit and would be able to assist in the extract. I did have a concern about the level of the suit though.

    ¡°So, Tiff, if we''re facing Level 10 mechs, how will the suit stand up to them?¡± I asked as we walked back onto the bridge from a training session.

    ¡°The suits are bonded to the ship¡¯s captain. They won¡¯t match your level though; they will usually be one level lower than the commanding officer. The suits will level as you level, gaining health and increasing damage output,¡± she said as she walked to her station and sat down.

    ¡°The real concern is ammo conservation. The suits are capable of hand-to-hand combat, and we will ensure that CJ¡¯s suit has some melee capability, but kinetic and plasma rounds need to be conserved,¡± she said while going over some data on her station display.

    ¡°CJ will have a fair amount of ammo at the ready. Just be aware that when he is out, he is out.¡±

    I walked over to CJ¡¯s station as she spoke, "Hear that, buddy? Make sure you keep an eye on those ammo reserves. I don¡¯t need my backup running out of bullets,¡± I joked as I nudged his shoulder.

    CJ laughed, ¡°I got you, buddy. Elvis has been putting me through the wringer. We won¡¯t be ready for live fire at the grinding station, but I will definitely be ready to support at the Exfil site.¡±

    Elvis chimed in over the bridge PA,¡± Captain, will be intercepting the grind station in 1 hour. I suggest you prepare yourself for combat. Time to kill!¡±

    ¡°Got it, Elvis. I''ll go to the armory and prepare for transport," I replied as I got up and walked to the elevator.

    Elvis had already informed me that he wouldn¡¯t be able to land on the grind station. It was the size of a small asteroid, approximately 3 miles in circumference, but the terrain wasn¡¯t suitable for landing. Elvis would pilot me over in The Bloodhounds drop ship, which CJ had begun referring to as the PUP.

    "Elvis, prep the Pup and I¡¯ll be in the cargo bay in 20 minutes," I said.

    I wanted to go to the armory and pick up a few grenades that I had seen the day before. I felt confident that my suit would handle things, but hey, who turns down a chance to use a few grenades in battle?

    An hour later I was sitting in the cockpit of the Pup. The small drop ship was about the size of an Apache attack helicopter, but twice as wide. The nose sloped down at an angle and there were no windows, just a full holographic display splashed across the front bulkhead replicating a windshield. The rear of the ship had a tailpiece similar to any pre-drop earth aircraft. This made sense if the drop ship would be used for orbital entry. There were also wings on either side of the ship that, upon entering an atmosphere, the wings would split in two similar to what you might see on a dragonfly.

    Again, I was no pilot, but Elvis had stated that the ship could handle itself both in open space and within the atmosphere of most planets that we might encounter. I wouldn¡¯t be much use if we tried to enter the deep atmosphere of a large gas giant planet, or some planets that had liquid hydrogen as an atmosphere, but Elvis and Tiff both agreed that those planets wouldn¡¯t be suitable environments for dungeons to operate anyhow so I didn¡¯t dwell on it.

    The Bloodhound had taken up orbit about 100 miles above the grind station and now it was time for Elvis to do his thing and bring me to the surface in the Pup.

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    Tiff spoke in my head, ¡°Okay, I did an initial scan of the grind station. It looks like barren mountainous terrain surrounding one open valley. Have Elvis set you down on one of the rock shelves overlooking the valley so you can try to figure out how to best approach the mobs.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what the mobs are or what levels to expect?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell from orbit; you will just have to try to evaluate the situation before engaging. I can tell you that you should only see mobs in a two-level zone and there generally aren¡¯t bosses. Do expect a ton of them though.¡±

    It only took about ten minutes to make the trip down. Elvis had scanned the topography and selected what he deemed as a safe landing spot.

    ¡°Brace for impact, Captain,¡± Elvis said as the ship''s reverse thrusters engaged to soften the landing. We landed with a thud, but overall, it was pretty much what I expected.

    ¡°Elvis, activate the external cameras so I can see if there is anything close,¡± I said as I stood up from my safety straps in the back of the Pup.

    I walked to the front of the ship to look at the display and couldn¡¯t believe what I saw. In the valley below were hundreds of giant spider-like insectoids. If you have ever seen a camel spider on YouTube, that is a good interpretation, except they were the size of Labradors.

    ¡°Fucking spiders!¡± I said.

    I hate spiders. Let me repeat that: I HATE SPIDERS. I had always had a fear of them. Something about them crawling around, able to get inside your clothes and bite you made my skin crawl.

    ¡°What are these things called?¡± I asked out loud, wondering what the species of alien would be.

    ¡°Oh, these are just giant spiders,¡± Tiff said. ¡°There is another name for them, but the translation is just spider. They are pretty gross. Well...Good luck!¡± she said.

    ¡°Can''t we find a different grind station?¡± I pleaded.

    ¡°Captain need to man up!¡± Elvis said over the ship¡¯s speakers. ¡°How can Captain lead other men if he is scared of little spiders?¡±

    ¡°Yeah Andy, quit being a bitch,¡± CJ said as he laughed over the com¡¯s channel.

    ¡°Oh sure, that¡¯s easy for you to say, CJ. You¡¯re sitting 50 miles above this nightmare! There are hundreds of dog-sized spiders out there just waiting to poison me!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°These spiders don¡¯t have venom, they in fact are very similar to the Camel spiders you might find in the Middle Eastern region of Earth, just a little bigger,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°A little bigger?! A LITTLE BIGGER?!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°Deep breaths, deep breaths. You''ve got this,¡± I whispered to myself.

    ¡°Hey Elvis, how will I breathe without my armor?" I asked as I looked toward the sky on the display.

    ¡°Atmosphere is suitable for humans¡± Elvis replied, ¡°may be cold though.¡±

    ¡°Well, I had complained about the heat on Earth for three years, so I guess I¡¯ll have to be okay with it,¡± I said as I walked toward the back door.

    As the back door of the Pup let down, I walked down the ramp. I was, in fact, on an asteroid. I could see grey and black stone peaks around me surrounding a grey stone valley. It was flat ground dotted by small mounds in all directions.

    ¡°Guess it¡¯s time to get started,¡± I said.

    There was about a 100-yard slant down to the valley from where I currently stood beside the Pup. I activated my armor and mentally changed my sidearm to its rifle configuration. I knelt and raised the rifle.

    ¡°Crack, crack, crack¡±, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. The spiders were Level 6 and 7 and one shot to center mass, making them explode in a pile of smoking green goo.

    ¡°This is easy!¡± I said.

    ¡°Look out!¡± Tiff shouted as one of the lab-sized spiders rushed me from behind.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± I shouted as I stood and spun around, letting my rifle drop and equipping my daggers. The spider was fast. It rushed at me; it¡¯s ten legs furiously pushed it toward me.

    When it got 10 feet from me, it leaped at me, attaching itself to the front of my body, it¡¯s legs wrapping around my torso.

    ¡°Oh shit!¡± I screamed. ¡°I told you! I told you, you can''t trust spiders. It''s gonna eat my face!¡± I screamed as I struggled to keep the giant spider from biting my head off.

    The spider was stupidly strong as it gripped my body, the pinchers on its head furiously trying to clamp down on my head and neck.

    I had put my arms up reflexively as it jumped on me as I was trying to dislodge it from my body. As I fought the spider, I saw dots start to enter my mini map.

    ¡°Tiff? What do I do?!¡± I screamed, panicking.

    ¡°You''ve got to calm down and deal with the one on you right now. You still have 3 minutes on your armor. Kill this one and then retreat to the high ground before your armor expires," she said.

    I grabbed the front leg of the spider attached to me and ripped it out of the body. The spider began thrashing wildly as it released its grip on me and fell to the ground. As it landed, I lunged at it and grabbed its giant pinchers. I wrapped my legs around the spider as we rolled on the ground.

    ¡°How does it feel, you icky bitch!?¡± I screamed as I twisted the pinchers and ripped the spider''s head off.

    I immediately jumped up as the spiders began swarming me. There were at least twenty-five in my general vicinity.

    ¡°Where the hell are they all coming from?!¡± I asked as I grabbed my rifle and mentally switched it back to its pistol form.

    I began firing, easily taking them out as they rushed me. I was retreating toward the ship, trying to find a defensible position. As I looked down the slope, I saw them coming out of the mounds in the ground; there were at least 200.

    They were funneling onto the sloped path up to the ship and I had an idea.

    ¡°Open the bay door, Elvis,¡± I shouted as I disengaged my armor and grabbed two of the grenades attached to my waist. I activated the grenades and, as I did, a stripe of light pulsed in the middle of the grenade. As I ran, it pulsed faster and faster.

    As I approached the Pup, I turned and threw them at the hoard of approaching spiders. The grenades were almost completely silent. They made a noise similar to a bottle rocket going off then a round explosion lit up the blast area of both grenades. The blast radius was about the size of a football field.

    ¡°Holy shit! I¡¯m glad for that increased strength; otherwise, I would have been cooked by my own grenade,¡± I said.

    I ran back into the Pup. ¡°Close the doors!" I screamed, ¡°Elvis, can we get the hell out of here?!¡±

    ¡°Captain must complete the grind to receive experience,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°What does that mean? I don¡¯t just get experience for the individual kills?¡± I asked.

    Tiff spoke up, ¡°We didn¡¯t cover this, but grind stations must be fully cleared to gain experience. You need to look at your HUD. There should be some sort of counter telling you how many enemies remain.¡±

    I inspected my HUD and, sure enough, in the right-hand bottom corner, there was a counter that read:

    Spider 182/200

    ¡°Okay, I found it. I have 18 spiders left according to the counter,¡± I said. "I¡¯ll let my armor recharge then I''ll go back out and take care of them.¡±

    I sat down in the cockpit chair and took a deep breath. ¡°That was insane,¡± I said looking at my shaking hands.

    ¡°Hey guys, let''s make sure we do a little more recon before the next grind station. I¡¯m not really excited at the idea of going up against more giant space spiders.¡±

 Chapter 17. Tell Me it Gets Easier

    As I sat in the Pup trying to recover from the nightmare I had just survived, a song started playing over the PA:

    ¡°I¡¯m Walking in a spider-web

    Leave a message and I¡¯ll call you back.¡±

    It was Spiderwebs by the band No Doubt.

    ¡°Elvis,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, Captain?¡± Elvis responded.

    ¡°Kindly go fuck yourself,¡± I said looking up at the ceiling. I could hear CJ and Elvis both laughing over the comms. Hey, at least they were bonding over something; I considered as I started planning how to handle the last 18 spiders.

    ¡°Hey, Tiff, why didn¡¯t I get any experience for the 182 kills I already got?¡± I asked.

    Tiff responded over the comms, ¡°Grind stations don¡¯t give out experience per kill. You will receive ranks after completing the grind station. Think of it like a mini-dungeon.¡±

    ¡°The mobs are all similar in level and usually tailored to the combatant''s level. They will offer a challenge, but it won''t be so hard that you won''t jump at the chance to get some easy XP. The higher your individual level, the more challenging the grind station will be. I would expect that you will need assistance on higher-level grind stations.¡±

    ¡°I can help you kick some ass on the next one!¡± CJ yelled over the comms. ¡°I''m ready to test this suit out. Elvis has been drilling me non-stop on this thing.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I need to finish off the last of these so I can get off of this rock,¡± I said. ¡°Elvis, do you have any sort of radar to show where the rest are?¡±

    ¡°I was able to map out the valley once spiders started moving. I used Pup¡¯s sonar to map. I can ping the valley now that you are back inside the Pup,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Why do I need to be inside the ship?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain is familiar with sonar on Earth submarines?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°I know what it is but that is about it,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Submarines would emit sonar in waves of 235 decibels. If a human were outside the submarine at the time of ping, it would kill them. At 200 decibels the vibrations would rupture your lungs. Above 210 decibels, the noise would be enough to cause hemorrhages in your brain.¡±

    ¡°The Pup has something similar. Sonar, as you know it wouldn¡¯t work outside of water, but the PUP has an advanced Photoacoustic sonar system. Think of it like sonar on steroids. If sonar is a bullet, then the Pup¡¯s version of Sonar is a heat-seeking missile!¡± Elvis said with excitement.

    ¡°Okay, I think I have an idea then, Elvis. Ping the valley and see If you can zero in on the location of the remaining spiders," I said.

    ¡°Pinging now,¡± Elvis as an audible ping rang out from the Pup. ¡°Spiders are located in center of valley; they seem to be huddled together under one of the large mounds.¡±

    ¡°Okay, let me see if I can get their attention then,¡± I said, opening the rear bay door of the pup and walking down the ramp. I grabbed a plasma rifle this time, just in case.

    ¡°What is the plan, Captain?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to work smarter, not harder. I need to get the spiders to chase me back to the Pup and then you will see,¡± I said, walking back toward the slope down into the valley.

    With my increased stats I could run about twice as fast as I could before, so I used those stats and made a B-line for the center of the valley.

    ¡°Elvis, tell me when I am close to the remaining spiders, I need to get their attention.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t the fastest runner before, but I could pull a ten-minute mile on the treadmill. The center of the valley was about a mile and half from the Pup, and I was on pace to get there in about 3-4 minutes based on the path that Elvis populated onto my mini map.

    As I ran, I thought about how amazing this was. Since my stat increases, I was stronger and quicker, and my recognition and reaction times were improved. I also retained knowledge and problem-solved quicker than ever before. All of this was without even equipping my armor; with my armor equipped my speed and strength were increased at ridiculous proportions, but I had to be wary of that 5-minute timer until I figured out a way around it.

    The stamina drain was something that could be an issue as well if I didn¡¯t conserve stims.

    I ran straight to the large mound in the center of the valley. My plan was to approach, fire off some rounds into the mound, get the spiders'' attention, and lead them back to the Pup. They were fast, but I was confident that I could outrun them. If I couldn¡¯t do it without my armor, I could always just equip my armor and leave them in my dust.

    Unfortunately, my plan fell to shit quick. As I stood about 100 yards away from the mound, I fired 10 or so plasma rounds into it. Nothing happened.

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    ¡°What the hell? Are you sure they are down there Elvis?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, get ready, they are moving,¡± Elvis responded.

    What happened next was a blur.

    I expected the remaining spiders to start running up out of the mound, at which time I would pick a couple of them off and run to the Pup. Instead, their mom joined the party.

    ¡°Oh, my god!¡± I screamed as a monster exploded up out of the mound.

    It was about 15 feet tall, somewhat humanoid in shape, with two arms and two legs, but it had the head of a spider. Out of each side of the head sprouted two, meter-long dripping fangs hanging out of its face. It was black with coarse hairs poking out of its torso, but the torso looked more like the body of a spider. I think it was called the Cephalothorax, pulling some of the knowledge I got in my jr. high natural science class out of my head. The abdomen protruded from the rear of the monster, hanging above its legs. White, fleshy eggs lined both sides of the abdomen. They were gooey and slime dripped from them as the monster stood and roared a high-pitched, shrill roar like metal scraping metal.

    ¡°Tiff, you said there wouldn¡¯t be bosses at these grind stations!¡± I yelled as I stumbled backward and fell to my ass.

    ¡°There usually aren¡¯t. I didn¡¯t expect to find one on a low-level grind station. You need to run!¡± she said.

    As I scrambled backward, I took a second to identify the monster:

    Spider Queen ¨C Level 10

    ¡°Holy shit! It¡¯s Level 10, Tiff!¡± I screamed as I got to my feet and started running.

    I turned and fired at the queen. As the plasma rounds hit, she centered her focus on me and fell forward, placing her hands on the ground in front of her.

    She raised her head to the sky and screamed again. As she did, several of the eggs shot out of her abdomen. Lines of goo shot out behind them like the eggs were pressurized. When the eggs hit the ground, Level 6 spiders immediately burst out of them and started chasing me. The queen screamed a second time as four more legs burst out of her abdomen, filling the holes that four of the eggs had occupied earlier. She started running toward me at a blinding pace.

    ¡°My plasma rifle didn¡¯t do anything but piss her off!¡± I screamed. ¡°I have one more grenade. I''m going to see if that does the trick,¡± I said as I hurled my last grenade back toward the approaching spiders.

    There was about a ten-second delay from arming the grenade until it exploded. I threw this one immediately after arming it.

    The queen had emptied the rest of her egg sacs and, sure enough, there were 17 baby spiders now chasing me as well as the queen.

    When the grenade landed, the queen looked over and made a chittering noise at a group of baby spiders. Five of them took the grenade and started running away from the queen. By the time the grenade went off, they were too far away for the blast to affect her. On top of that, the five baby spiders had jumped on top of the grenade to nullify some of the blast potential.

    ¡°They are learning; they stole my damn grenade and ran away with it!¡± I screamed breathily. ¡°I¡¯ve got to equip my armor; she is going to run me down otherwise.¡±

    I mentally equipped my armor and, as it materialized, I could feel my speed nearly double again. It wasn¡¯t enough to get far away but I would reach the Pup before the queen and group of babies.

    I fired a few shots off as I ran, hitting another two of the babies, but even the weapon from my armor seemed to have little effect on the queen. I did manage to take out a few more of the babies as I ran.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time shooting at the queen; she is a Level 10, and it will take something stronger than even your Havok armor at Level 4 to kill her,¡± Tiff said, ¡°I hope you have a plan, Captain.¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± I shouted as I continued running, ¡°but I don¡¯t know if it''s going to work on that thing!¡±

    ¡°Elvis, make sure that damn bay door is open and be ready to close it immediately when I enter the Pup. Stand by for further direction!¡±

    I could hear the queen behind me. She was within 100 feet of me now and gaining on me. Her speed on open ground was just incredible. I knew if I had to run much longer, she would catch me and that would be that.

    Luckily, I had made it back to the slope and I was no more than 50 yards away from the ship.

    ¡°Elvis, get ready to close the bay door. I''m almost back to the Pup!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Elvis responded.

    As I approached the Pup, I heard the queen roar again. She knew I was trying to get back to my ship and she wasn¡¯t ready to let me go yet.

    She launched herself into the air, over my head, landing 10 feet from the rear bay door of the Pup,

    I skidded to a stop; I was fucked.

    ¡°She landed in front of the damn ship! What do I do now?¡± I screamed to everyone.

    ¡°You gotta get inside that ship, Andy; that bitch is gonna rip you to shreds if you don¡¯t. C¡¯mon bro, use the old baseball slide and get under that crazy bitch!¡± CJ shouted over the comms.

    The 10 remaining baby spiders were approaching my rear and the queen stood 50 feet away blocking my entrance to the ship. I didn¡¯t have a choice, I had to get past her, and I had to do it now.

    I launched myself toward the queen. I equipped my black hole daggers and held them to my sides as I ran.

    The queen reared her top half up, her top two humanoid arms raised over her ugly spider head as she roared one more time.

    As I ran, I started to slide. The queen expected it; she raised up as high as possible and began to slam down trying to crush me as I slid under her abdomen.

    Unfortunately for her, I expected this. The tactic I used here was a baseball slide. If you have ever seen a baseball player slide into a base and bounce back up to their feet, yeah, that is what I was going to attempt here.

    What I didn¡¯t plan for, and hadn¡¯t tested, is exactly how far I would pop up. With my armor and my additional stats, I shot up into the air, bounding over the grasping arms of the queen.

    With my increased dexterity, I flipped and swung the black hole daggers at her outstretched arms, cutting them both off at the elbows. Black blood spewed out of her arms as she wriggled on the ground under me.

    I landed on the ramp of the Pup. ¡°I¡¯m in! close the damn door!¡± I shouted to Elvis as the bay doors raised and sealed.

    ¡°What now?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Elvis, can you increase the output on that Sonar?¡± I asked breathlessly.

    ¡°Raise it to max and let me know when it¡¯s ready!¡± I shouted running to the cockpit of the pup.

    I could hear the queen banging on the hull of the Pup and the baby spiders landing all over the ship, trying to get in.

    ¡°Are all the remaining spiders here, Elvis?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain! Time to kill!!!¡± he said triumphantly.

    ¡°Then fucking kill ¡®em!¡± I shouted as the ship''s ping sounded, rattling the hull and hurting even my ears.

    ¡°It is done, Captain! Spiders are dead!¡±

    ¡°Way to think on your feet, Andy!¡± CJ shouted.

    ¡°Good Job, Captain!¡± Tiff said. "Return to the Bloodhound now, and let''s get going.

    Grind Station Clear. Well Done

    scrolled across my interface. I had gained three levels in total, jumping all the way to Level 7.

    Elvis showed the outside of the ship on the panels in front of me. There were just puddles of black goo everywhere with a few spider legs here and there.

    ¡°I need a break from spiders for a while, Tiff,¡± I said as I settled into my seat. ¡°This has got to get easier. Please tell me it gets easier,¡± I said.

    ¡°No, Captain, it does not get easier, but you did a good job today. Let¡¯s enjoy it while we can¡± Tiff said in my head.

 Chapter 18. Sir Mix-A-Lot

    I returned to the Bloodhound, tired from the fiasco that I had just endured. I wasn¡¯t prepared for the amounts of mobs I encountered and I sure wasn¡¯t prepared to fight another boss.

    I sat on the edge of my bed, my hands shaking. I needed a shower, and I needed sleep, but mostly I needed to be sure I didn¡¯t put myself or my friends in a position to fail again. The world depended on a human succeeding in this dungeon, but I wasn¡¯t even sure how many humans entered the dungeon.

    I was hoping to get a better feel for how many allies I had once I made it to the Red Moon of Alcara. Hopefully, before the dungeon started, I would have time to do some recon and see if I could gather some allies from Earth.

    For now, I would focus on getting stronger and ensuring I kept Tiff and CJ alive. That started with rescuing Tiff and hopefully she would stick around to see this whole thing through until the end. I knew that once she had control of her true body, she wouldn¡¯t be stuck with me anymore, but I was hoping that she would want to stay and fight. Right now, I was sure of one thing: I needed sleep before I would be useful to anyone.

    CJ sat on the bridge continuing to grind away at his station. Elvis had created a very intuitive interface that allowed CJ to control the drop suit almost like he was inside of it. I had been doing everything since CJ came aboard The Bloodhound, and CJ was ready to start contributing.

    I had been a good friend since the drop, and real friends were hard to come by. Most people stayed close to family and friends they had since before the drop, but that wasn¡¯t an option for CJ.

    CJ had made his way to South Town out of necessity. He was in sales before the drop and lived near Houston like me. After the drop, everything went to shit. In the first months after the drop, CJ had survived on his own and accidentally stumbled across South Town about six months afterwards.

    The town was nice; it provided a sense of security and CJ felt useful. He contributed like everyone else and even created a home for himself. A few months after he arrived in the town, I started coming around.

    I never really allowed myself to be fully integrated into the town. I would help with projects and was friendly enough to everyone, but I stayed to myself. Hell, I even lived outside town near the river, which was pretty dangerous.

    Eventually, CJ and I started working on projects together. I was an engineer before the drop. Everyone assumed that made me a super genius but, from the way I explained it, I spent most of my time looking over building plans and ensuring that there were no issues with construction. Luckily for me, I was able to help retro-engineer several things the town needed to continue to be a viable settlement after everything went to hell.

    The more time we spent together, the more we just seemed to fit together. CJ was always cracking a joke and never met anyone he couldn¡¯t make a friend out of. I was more reserved, and happy to let CJ do most of the talking. Before long, we were fairly inseparable and became best friends in a world where true friends were a valuable resource.

    Now CJ had a chance to help me, and he was determined to have my back when I might be in danger. Tiff, on the other hand, was a question mark; CJ wasn¡¯t sure about her motives. He knew that she had been forced to be a guardian and, so far, she had been nothing but helpful. With that being said, CJ was sure she was hiding something. I seemed to like her though so CJ would keep his concerns to himself.

    CJ walked into my quarters, ¡°Hey bro, you good?¡±

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    ¡°Yeah man, I needed some sleep is all. I¡¯m good now,¡± I said.

    CJ walked over and sat down in a chair, spinning to face me on his bed. ¡°That was pretty intense back there, Andy. I will be ready to help on the next one; you don¡¯t have to do this on your own, man.¡±

    ¡°This is all spiraling out of control, CJ. A little over a week ago we were on Earth, and now we are flying around in a damn spaceship that sings with a super advanced AI guardian,¡± I sat up in the bed and just stared at nothing while I spoke.

    ¡°But hey, she do have a fat ass though!¡± CJ laughed and bounced in his chair.

    ¡°What the hell, CJ, she¡¯s not even human,¡± I blushed trying to play off his joke.

    ¡°Look Andy, I have been on your case forever about finding a girl and you just wouldn¡¯t even pursue it. So, the universe just drops a super-hot AI right in your lap; it couldn¡¯t be any easier!¡± CJ stood up and came to sit on the end of the bed.

    ¡°On top of that, now you''re going to rescue her! That has to give you some points, right?¡± he asked.

    I shuffled uncomfortably in my bed. ¡°I¡¯m helping her because it¡¯s the right thing to do, CJ. She has already helped keep me alive multiple times. What kind of person would I be if I didn¡¯t try to help her in return?¡± I asked.

    CJ looked at me with a blank expression, obviously not buying it. "So, if Tiff were some five-eyed bug lady, you would be doing the same thing?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Okay, man, okay. I¡¯m not saying that she is not attractive, but we have bigger things to worry about right now. I don¡¯t think I would even have a chance with her. Have you seen her? Have you talked to her? She is definitely not interested in a human that she has been forced to help,¡± I said.

    ¡°But you¡¯re right¡­she does have a fat ass,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°I fucking knew it!¡± CJ shouted.

    ¡°XO Tiff would be lucky to have Captain as a sexual partner!¡± Elvis suddenly chimed in.

    ¡°Captain would sire strong offspring that would kill many foes!¡±

    CJ and I both looked up at the ceiling in surprise. ¡°What the hell Elvis, you just listen in to private conversations in my quarters?!¡± I asked with obvious agitation.

    ¡°Elvis hears all. How else can he properly monitor the ship?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Elvis, I''m ordering you to keep this to yourself, do you understand? I''m ordering you!¡± I shouted jumping out of my bed.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. This conversation is now classified,¡± Elvis replied.

    CJ was now laughing uncontrollably on the bed; he was obviously getting a kick out of this whole thing. ¡°Me and Elvis will keep your secret, Romeo!¡± CJ said while still laughing uncontrollably.

    ¡°Captain Romeo!¡± Elvis corrected him.

    I couldn¡¯t help it, I started laughing. CJ was an ass, but I needed a laugh. I needed to be reminded why I had to succeed and reminded of how important friendship is to my sanity.

    ¡°You guys need to fuck off to the bridge; I¡¯ll be there after I shower,¡± I said as I walked toward the bathroom.

    ¡°Yeah, Tiff wants to talk about your extra points now that you¡¯re Level 7. She said she would be waiting on the bridge,¡± CJ said.

    About half an hour later I arrived on the bridge. CJ was back at his station continuing to go through simulations with the drop suit while Tiff was near the front of the bridge, standing near a station, tapping on a screen.

    ¡°CJ was right,¡± I thought as I took another look at Tiff. She was not hard on the eyes at all.

    ¡°I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE

    YOU OTHER BROTHERS CAN¡¯T DENY¡±

    Elvis started blaring Sir Mix-A-Lot through the bridge''s PA system. CJ screamed laughing and literally fell out of his chair. I felt myself burning with embarrassment as Tiff turned toward me looking confused.

    ¡°Elvis, turn that fucking music off!¡± I shouted.

    CJ was now rolling on the floor howling, pointing at the ceiling. Tiff still looked utterly confused.

    ¡°Am I missing something?¡± she asked, placing her hands on her hips, staring daggers through me.

    ¡°Ugh, no,¡± I coughed, ¡°Elvis just really likes this song.¡±

    ¡°Captain was admiring your posterior, XO. He would like you to bear his children so that they may slay many enemies!!!!¡± Elvis shouted triumphantly.

    ¡°Elvis, what the fuck?!¡± I shouted, ¡°that is not appropriate!¡±

    ¡°XO Tiff has top-level clearance, Captain, no cause for concern. OPSEC is still intact.¡±

    CJ was, in my estimation, about to literally die from lack of air.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to act like this didn¡¯t happen. We are going to continue on as if I didn¡¯t just experience whatever this is, understood?¡± Tiff asked rhetorically and, based on her body language at that moment, I agreed that just moving on would be best.

    I coughed in my hand and tried to salvage a bit of self-respect, ¡°Sooo, about those free points?¡±

 Chapter 19. New Toys

    Havokium Prime was all but a dead world. There was a time when it was alive and full of hope, but the Universal Council had seen it burned after the rebellion. The Council¡¯s intent was to bring about the end of the Havokium people and they had almost succeeded.

    It took millennia to lift themselves out of the ashes, but they never lost their pride. After the reaping of their planet, the Council had assumed the Havokium people were eliminated. No military, no weapons, no threat.

    A reaping all but killed a planet. All valuable resources were stripped away, and the planet was left mostly dead and hollow. There were millions of planets in the universe, but the Council couldn¡¯t allow planets to be sown without some sort of structure.

    Planets would be sown and reaped with the express authority given by the Council or, in the case of Havokium Prime, it was done to send a message. That message was: Resist and be destroyed. The message was loud and clear to every citizen of the universe.

    As time passed, the Council¡¯s grip on the universe tightened. The charred, empty remains of Havokium Prime stood as a reminder. There had been no other challenges to the Council''s power since. Until the initiation of the latest dungeon and the fight to claim the rights of reaping for a small blue planet named Earth.

    The Council had hoped to exterminate the Havokium people but had failed. A few hundred thousand people survived and found a new home several light years away in a galaxy populated by a race of AI.

    The AI known as the Sapere took the Havokium people in and hid their presence from the universal council. For millennia, the Havokium grew in secret on a secluded planet within the Sapium Galaxy waiting for an opportunity to strike back at the galactic council and avenge the destruction of their home world.

    Sapere had been conquered long ago as well, however, their world had not been reaped. Instead, they were made to offer up guardians to assist in all dungeons for the remainder of the rule of the Universal Council. That had been nearly one thousand years ago.

    The Sapere people were not brave and defiant like the Havokium people, but they had given enough. They had lost millions of lives to the dungeons. Now they secretly allied with the Havokium resistance to bring about the end of the Council.

    They wouldn¡¯t openly rebel. They wouldn¡¯t endanger the lives of every AI on Sapere, but they could offer assistance and resources. Maybe, just maybe, it would be enough.

    1 year ago ¨C

    Princess Denae sat on the bridge of her ship monitoring the progress of the away team as it infiltrated the AI containment vessel. She was the leader of a broken and forgotten people. She was young to be named leader, but she intended to use her newly gained power to strike a blow to the Universal Council.

    ¡°Good,¡± she thought, ¡°let us be forgotten so we can strike in silence and shadow.¡±

    The current mission was to implant the AI Tiffantrimore Claravox with the protocol needed to assist a member of humans with the new rebellion. Tiffantrimore had been selected by the Sapere government to assist with the mission. She had been briefed and trained prior to being sent to serve her sentence as a guardian AI during the dungeon. Once her training was complete, her memory cores had been placed behind a neural firewall.

    Princess Denae had no way of knowing which human would receive the Havok Bringer Armor and the ship known as Blood Hound. She did know that Tiffantrimore would have to lead them toward picking the class.

    Tiffantrimore was currently linked into the AI collective responsible for populating the dungeon. Part of her mission was to upload subroutines that would populate class choices that weren¡¯t normally offered by the dungeon. These class choices would allow the human that selected them to level faster and provide them with a ship and armor that were lightyears ahead of anything else found in the dungeon.

    It wasn¡¯t that easy though. The subroutines had to be hidden from the AI collective and the ship had to appear to be less than serviceable. With the right Captain and the help of Tiffantrimore, it had the potential to become the bane of the Universal Council.

    Present Day ¨C

    After Andrew came back from the grind station, he had taken some time to rest and recover. Tiff decided to do the same. She knew that the next several days would be hectic and there was a chance that she might die while Andrew tried to recover her true body. Sleep wouldn¡¯t eliminate her anxiety, but it could at least provide a reprieve.

    As she closed her eyes, her body went completely rigid. She felt like she had been completely frozen and couldn¡¯t access any of her higher-level functions. Her subsystems were still operating at optimal levels, so she was in no immediate danger.

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    ¡°Wh-what is this?!¡± she thought, panicking inside her own head.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore, calm yourself,¡± a voice said, ¡°I am sending the authorization codes to open your neural firewalls. The sensation will be¡­unsettling; that is why we have incapacitated you temporarily. This will all make sense after you have assimilated the data. Stand by.¡±

    Tiff was panicking. Somebody had managed to hack her Bio-Ware. That was the only explanation she could think of.

    Everything went black.

    ¡°We need to completely open the firewall; she should regain consciousness in 30-45 seconds. It will take that long for her to re-sync with her true body,¡± Princess Denae said, turning and looking at her first officer.

    Princess Denae was currently sitting on the bridge of her ship, The Burning Retribution. Her crew had been assembled from the best officers and warriors that Havokium Chordus had to offer. There was no expectation of return to their home planet; the only allowable outcomes were victory or death.

    The Retribution was cloaked and was again in deep orbit around the AI containment facility. This was necessary, since any adjustments to Tiffantrimore¡¯s neural net would need to be administered to her true body.

    ¡°Once the firewall is down and she has assimilated the data, we will give her instructions and await the arrival of the Blood hound," Denae said.

    ¡°Stand by for confirmation of assimilation,¡± a crew member said.

    Tiff shot up out of bed. She remembered everything. She remembered her purpose and what she had sworn to do.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore, have you assimilated the data?¡± Denae asked.

    ¡°Y-yes, my neural net is updated. I am ready to receive instruction, Princess Denae,¡± Tiff sent back through the neural link.

    ¡°You have done well, Tiffantrimore. You have successfully retrieved the Havok Bringer armor and the Blood Hound,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°We have been following your progress as well as the human that was assigned to you. We understand that you are on your way to retrieve your true body. This changes things.¡±

    ¡°We want to change the plan,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°What do you mean change the plan? I trained for this. I spent years preparing to strike back against the Council. You can¡¯t just change the plan now!¡± Tiff responded as she paced back and forth in her quarters.

    ¡°It''s okay, Tiffantrimore. We want you to assimilate the ship and armor. We don¡¯t feel that the human is capable or would be willing to help with our mission,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°Captain Andrew is fully capable; he has proven to be honorable and has already progressed significantly in a short time. I strongly believe we should not change the mission parameters,¡± Tiff responded.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore, we have an opportunity to strike a blow to the Council. You are more suited to the task ahead. The human isn¡¯t ready. I strongly suggest we alter course,¡± Denae was getting impatient with Saperian.

    Tiff stiffened where she stood. ¡°No, I will not betray Captain Andrew. I am his guardian, and he will comply. You must give me time, Denae. If he doesn¡¯t comply or progress in his training, we can revisit this option, but not now.¡±

    ¡°We are on course to retrieve my true body. I will be able to assist Andrew fully after I am free from the containment facility. I also believe that Elvis has bonded himself to the captain. Any changes now would hinder the ship''s progression. Trust me Denae, we must stay on course.¡±

    ¡°This will be on you if he fails, Tiffantrimore,¡± Denae hissed.

    ¡°If he fails, we all fail, Denae; remember that¡± Tiff responded as she severed the neural link.

    As she sat on the edge of her bed, she was reeling. The firewall had done its job; Tiff had completely forgotten her mission and training. This changed everything.

    Andrew was honorable; he was in over his head, but he was trying his best to acclimate and save his world. Elvis had definitely bonded to him and eliminating the captain now would threaten to alienate the ship''s AI completely.

    That was the issue with the experimental AI that had been built into the Blood Hound; it would imprint on a captain and, if successful, the imprint would accelerate the ship¡¯s evolution. If that bond were to be severed now, Elvis may not choose to bond with another captain. Even Tiff was not guaranteed to bond with it.

    The ship had been built to house the Havok Bringer Armor. Tiff knew the story of the Armor; it was built before the fall of Havokium Prime. It was built to be the blow that would bring victory against the Universal Council, but it had never been deployed. It had been taken to Havokium Chordus, but it had taken millennia for the Havokium people to rebuild and gain the allies necessary to strike back.

    Now Tiff found herself in the middle of that newly rekindled rebellion. She never thought twice when offered the chance to be part of the rebellion. As an appointed guardian, her chances of survival were minimal. Now she had some control of her fate.

    She thought about Captain Andrew. He had proven himself to be honorable. One didn¡¯t get to choose the participant you would guide but she felt that Andrew would prove himself worthy of the armor and her trust.

    A few hours later, Tiff was standing near the front of the bridge after experiencing what amounted to sexual harassment by her commanding officer. She wasn¡¯t upset, after all, Saperians were considered attractive by humanoid standards, so it was no surprise that Andrew found her attractive.

    If she weren¡¯t in the middle of a galactic rebellion leveraging her success on an unproven human that had been thrust into her lap, she might find him attractive as well. Now wasn''t the time for such thoughts though.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to act like this didn¡¯t happen. We are going to continue on as if I didn¡¯t just experience whatever this is, understood?¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°We have a lot of work to do, and this isn¡¯t productive for any of us. We need to assign your free points and start planning for the Exfil of my true body. The fact that you think my ass is nice doesn¡¯t really register on my radar right now, Captain. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I completely understand Tiff,¡± I said.

    ¡°I apologize for all that. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, start us on a course to the containment facility. Let''s stop one light day away so we can finish strategizing for the EVAC.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain. Inputting coordinates now. First jump scheduled in 20 hours,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°You''ve got all the way up to Level 7. You should have an advantage by the time we get to the Level 1 dungeon. Now we need to talk about your free points and new suit abilities,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°New abilities?¡± Andrew asked.

    ¡°Yes, the suit should unlock new functionality every fifth level. Let''s see what new toys you have.¡±

 Chapter 20. A Tear

    Chapter 20. A Tear

    After the very awkward happenings on the bridge, CJ, Tiff, and I decided to head to the galley to get some food and discuss stat point allocations. Elvis already had us under way to the AI containment facility and we were just a few days out.

    Our original plan had us arriving at the Red Moon of Alcara with 5 days to spare. It would take 11 days to retrieve Tiff¡¯s body and another 14 days of travel to the moon after that. We lost one day on our detour to the grind station but the three extra levels I gained made that pit stop well worth it.

    ¡°Elvis, how long will we have to plan and organize once we reach the containment facility?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Elvis planned one 24 hours for operational strategizing. After 24 hours, Bloodhound will move into orbit of facility. Tiff and Elvis will be incapacitated during that time. Ship will be programmed to disengage 12 hours after Captain leaves Bloodhound,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°How will the ship run if you are inactive Elvis?¡± I asked nervously wondering how the ship would still be operable.

    ¡°Elvis higher functioning systems will be off-line, but Elvis has programmed sub-minds to operate the ship in his absence. All primary systems will operate at acceptable levels until ship is outside of dampening field,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Hopefully this doesn¡¯t take 12 hours, Elvis, what if I get back sooner? I¡¯m going to assume the containment facility has some sort of external defense system as well. If I¡¯m coming back to the Bloodhound under duress, we will need to get out quickly,¡± I said. I could feel the stress mounting on me physically as I spoke.

    ¡°No problem, Captain. Elvis programmed OS switch on Captain¡¯s console,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°OS switch?¡± I asked. I understood more and more when Elvis and Tiff explained advanced technology to me lately. The increase I had received in my intelligence stat not only allowed me to absorb knowledge more easily, but it also allowed me to recall basically anything I had ever learned.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. The ¡®OH SHIT¡¯ switch will allow you to disengage. The Bloodhound will travel to a preprogrammed jump location at full thrust and warp away,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Elvis is smart. He has considered all variables. The Bloodhound also has basic defense capabilities if needed. The defense array will be set on auto. Captain will only need to strap in and hang on,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Okay, Elvis, let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡± I said shaking my head.

    It was easy to forget how advanced Elvis was. Tiff had a physical form and was capable of things that I couldn¡¯t yet fully comprehend. It was easy to understand that she was an ultra-advanced life form. Elvis, on the other hand, was just a voice on a ship and he chose to speak like a violent cave man most of the time. Between that and his on-going junior high squabbles with CJ, it was easy to take him for granted.

    ¡°Captain, you have enough to worry about without considering the ship. Elvis has that under control. Just focus on the mission,¡± Tiff said.

    The pressure of this upcoming Exfil mission was mounting. I would be walking into a threat that I didn¡¯t fully understand without all the information necessary to be successful. I had become dependent on Tiff¡¯s knowledge and guidance, and I felt like I would be going in blind.

    I was at least feeling better knowing that I would have CJ for backup this time, but if we got into trouble once we were on the containment facility things would go bad, very fast.

    ¡°CJ, how is the training coming on the drop suit?¡± I asked, turning to CJ who was greedily eating what looked like some sort of fried ball.

    ¡°What are you eating, man?¡± I asked a bit taken aback at the sight.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fried boudin ball, bro! It has pepper jack cheese in it. This is like my fourth one today,¡± he responded with a mouth full of food.

    ¡°The food box can literally make anything and it has a database of every earth food. I mean literally any food you could ever want, this thing can make,¡± he said, still tearing into the boudin ball.

    ¡°Aaand, you chose a boudin ball?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hey, fuck you, Andy. It¡¯s comfort food,¡± CJ said as he finished off the last one on his plate.

    ¡°When did we start calling it a Food Box?¡± I asked chuckling.

    ¡°It¡¯s easier than saying ¡®Carbonized Atom Recombination Station¡¯. Whoever named that shit needs a lesson in marketing strategies.¡±

    ¡°I named it the Food Box; it¡¯s easier¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°Okay Tiff, let¡¯s talk about free points, and you mentioned something about a new ability?¡± I asked, turning my attention to Tiff who sat across from me at the table.

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    ¡°Yes, pull up your interface and let¡¯s see where your stat levels are now before we assign the free points,¡± she said.

    ¡°Okay, doing it now,¡± I responded as I mentally pulled up my stat screen.

    Captain Andrew Dawes

    Level 7 ¨C Human

    Class - Havok Bringer

    Stats:

    Intelligence ¨C 88

    Stamina ¨C 87

    Strength ¨C 88

    Vigor ¨C 101

    Dexterity ¨C 146

    Free Stats Available ¨C 35

    Abilities ¨C Pulsar Blast

    ¡°Okay, first we need to assign those free stats, and then we need to talk about that new ability you have; it¡¯s interesting to say the least,¡± Tiff said as I examined my stats.

    ¡°You have 35 free stats. You are already pretty heavy in dexterity, which is a good thing. You will have better reflexes and be an overall better fighter. You will be faster as well. Since the suit levels with you, I¡¯m assuming the speed increase will carry over.¡±

    ¡°We need to boost your strength to compliment that dexterity, so I would suggest this:

    +15 Dexterity to make it 161,

    +10 Strength to make it 98,

    +5 to Stamina and Intelligence to make them 92 respectively.¡±

    ¡°Your Vigor is already at 101 and, with the suit for protection, we don¡¯t need to focus on Vigor right now. Any issues with the suggestions I made?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°No, makes sense to me. We¡¯re going to build on my strengths and supplement some of my weaknesses; seems straight forward to me,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and allocate the free points now.¡±

    I mentally focused on my free points and a message popped up:

    Allocate free points now? Y/N

    I mentally selected yes, and the interface allowed me to drag and drop my free points to the desired stat.

    ¡°Okay, all done. I feel¡­better?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure of the right word. The sudden influx of stat points flooded my body, and I could feel my muscles tighten as my body grow to fit the increase in stats.

    I took a look at my stats after the allocation of free points.

    Captain Andrew Dawes

    Level 7 ¨C Human

    Class - Havok Bringer

    Stats:

    Intelligence ¨C 87

    Stamina ¨C 92

    Strength ¨C 98

    Vigor ¨C 101

    Dexterity ¨C 161

    Free Stats Available ¨C 35

    Abilities ¨C Pulsar Blast

    I felt my stomach, and jerked my shirt up, ¡°Hey, holy shit! I have abs now!¡±

    ¡°Fuuuck you, Ryan Gosling!¡± CJ shouted and flipped me off while he laughed in astonishment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t all humans have abdominal muscles?¡± Tiff asked, obviously not understanding the significance of my new bulging stomach muscles.

    ¡°Uh yeah, it¡¯s just, I just couldn¡¯t really see mine before and now I can,¡± I responded.

    ¡°I told you that the stat increases would cause some physical changes; it shouldn¡¯t be a surprise,¡± Tiff said.

    "I know, I remember what you said, but I just didn''t expect this. My body is actually changing as I grow my stats, it''s pretty damn cool" I said, still rubbing my new abs.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s move on to that new ability then,¡± I said as I read the new ability.

    ¡°Pulsar Blast,¡± Tiff said. She was obviously reading my mind at this point. ¡°Highlight the ability and it should provide you with a description,¡± she said.

    I mentally focused on the title of the ability and, as I did, it highlighted and expanded the description. I read it out loud:

    Pulsar Blast ¨C The Pulsar is a dying star that emits highly magnetized beams of electromagnetic radiation from its poles. Immense power is radiated as the star dies. You can now harness that power through a defensive ability that should be used as a fail-safe when no other relevant options present themselves. This ability will allow you to emit a blast of electromagnetic radiation from each hand. Upon activation, the blast will disarm and injure any enemies that are directly hit by the blast. Once disarmed, any weapons of metallic origin will be drawn toward you, effectively eliminating the current threat. The suit will provide an impenetrable field for 10 seconds following the blast to dissipate and you will be rendered immobile for the duration of this effect. Use with caution and only as a last resort.

    ¡°Well, that is both damn cool and really dangerous,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to move for ten seconds after I use it, but I will have a shield. There is a lot to consider here. For now, I won¡¯t use the ability unless it is absolutely necessary, and I would like to test it in the VCR before I have to use it in live combat.¡±

    Tiff looked concerned as she spoke, ¡°Andrew, there are some things we need to discuss before we get to the Red Moon, but for now just know that the ability you received is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card. Use it only when you have absolutely no other alternative, but it will most likely save your life more than once.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean there are some things we need to discuss Tiff?¡± I asked. ¡°What are you not telling me?¡±

    I trusted Tiff completely since I had met her, but that one comment gave me reason to question her intentions for the first time.

    Tiff looked directly at me, her eyes meeting mine, ¡°Andrew, I will tell you everything that I can when the time is right, but we have things that are pressing right now that we need to stay focused on, understand?¡±

    I became irrationally angry at that comment. I had been stolen away from my planet and asked to take on the impossible task of trying to save the world. I had been expected to trust an alien that I had never met, from a race that I didn¡¯t even know existed before a few weeks ago. I had unintentionally involved my best friend in all of this and now I am being brushed off because I felt like there is information that I am not being told.

    ¡°No Tiff, there aren¡¯t more important thing. This is my ship, Elvis answers to my orders, and CJ follows my direction without asking anything in return. If there is something that you aren¡¯t telling me that could possibly endanger my life, CJ, Elvis, the Bloodhound, or the overall mission, I need to know and I need to know now.¡±

    For the first time since I had met her, Tiff looked concerned, nervous even. She fidgeted in her seat and looked down at her hands. This was the most human emotion that I had ever seen from her.

    ¡°Andrew, you have to understand that I¡¯m about to tell you something that has impacts across the universe, and when I started on this journey, I didn¡¯t know you. I made decisions for the good of my people and the Universe. Please understand that I want you to trust me, and I hope you will after this,¡± Tiff said as tear escaped from her left eye.

    The AI was crying.

 Chapter 21. I Think I Pooped a Little

    I knew Tiff wasn¡¯t a cold, lifeless computer. Even though she was an AI, she acted just as human as CJ and me. Still, I didn¡¯t expect to see her cry. She had held her shit together from the beginning of this whole debacle and I had begun to lean on her as things got progressively weirder.

    ¡°Tiff, what is going on? You can talk to us,¡± I said, gesturing to CJ and myself, "Whatever is going on, we can figure it out together.¡±

    Tiff looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, ¡°Andrew, we were using you. This whole time, we were using you.¡±

    I could see the regret in her eyes. CJ looked completely lost and I understood how he felt.

    ¡°Tiff, I need you to take a deep breath and explain. Explain everything and then we can try to figure a way out of whatever this mess is,¡± I said, scared as I spoke.

    If I couldn¡¯t trust Tiff, then I knew this whole thing was about to get more difficult than I could imagine. All I could hope is that we could find a way to work through whatever this is.

    ¡°Princess Denae is in orbit around the containment facility. She knows we are heading there now and if she thinks there is a chance that you will put the success of her mission in jeopardy, she will commandeer the Bloodhound and take the Havok Bringer Armor.¡±

    ¡°Who is Princess Denae? How does she know what we''re planning?¡± I asked, panic starting to seep into my words.

    ¡°She is the Princess of the Havokium Empire and leader of the rebellion against The Council. She commands the armies and war fleet, as well as any spec-ops teams that are currently deployed. I am currently a key operative for one of those teams, Andrew,¡± She dried her tears as she spoke.

    ¡°I was recruited before I was drafted to be a guardian, before I ever met you, CJ, or Elvis. You have to understand, Andrew. This mission gave me purpose and would allow me to strike a blow against The Council and possibly survive.¡± Tiff said as she looked up at me, tear-soaked eyes pleading with me to understand.

    ¡°The mission was simple. Mission parameters and goals were uploaded to my neural cortex, along with descriptions of the armor and Bloodhound. The participant that I would be assigned to would hopefully select The Havok Bringer class after some persuasion and I would take control of The armor and ship once we got into orbit.¡± she said, as she sat down in the chair behind her.

    ¡°The Havokium people have been preparing for this opportunity for a very long time, Andrew. My people, the Sapere people allied with them in secret decades ago. We have been living in servitude for millennia and are ready to break those chains. I was doing this for all the right reasons. I didn¡¯t expect that the human who took The armor would be capable of wielding it much less deserving of trust. I was wrong,¡± she looked down at her clasped hands.

    ¡°I disobeyed a direct order from Princess Denae. She told me to commandeer the armor, and ship and I refused,¡± she raised her head and looked me directly in the eyes, ¡°I might be foolish to believe in you or foolish to trust you, but I do, Andrew.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to volunteer to free my true body and, at the time, I had no memory of my mission. I was acting on instinct, or gut feeling, when I told you to select the class. I was more than likely being influenced by subroutines that had been downloaded into my neural cortex, but I stand by the decision. If you had selected another class, you wouldn¡¯t have progressed as far as you have. Your potential is practically limitless now and you have a real chance to protect your world,¡± she turned sideways in her seat and looked away from me.

    ¡°I understand if I have damaged the trust you had in me. If you want to call off the mission to EVAC my true body, I understand that as well. Understand that I won''t force you to do anything, and I will still assist you as long as I can but understand that if you do that then Princess Denae''s primary mission is a failure. If the mission fails she will have no further use for me and will proceed to an alternate plan; a plan with far less impact and a higher likelihood of failure.¡±

    I stood up and walked over to Tiff, CJ followed.

    ¡°So, you''re telling me that you are an operative working to bring down the council?¡± I asked, looking to CJ for confirmation as well.

    ¡°Yes, in a nutshell,¡± she replied.

    ¡°The Council, whoever they are, is the reason that my planet is under threat of destruction right now. The Council is responsible for mass genocide over countless millennia, and they are a bunch of arrogant pricks who think they can decide who is worthy of living and dying. Does that about sum it up?¡± I asked, looking between Tiff and CJ.

    ¡°Yes, that sums it up,¡± Tiff said, still looking down.

    ¡°Tiff, If I agree to help, will I still be able to participate in the dungeons and do what I can to save Earth?" I asked.

    Tiff looked up, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.

    ¡°Yes, it is part of the mission. You will need to participate in the dungeon and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Will you swear to stay on in your role as XO and assist us moving forward? Even after we retrieve your true body?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Of course. I am committed to this mission, Captain, and I''m committed to this crew. I won''t turn my back on you,¡± she replied, the faint hope she had no growing with every word.

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    ¡°Then as far as I¡¯m concerned, The Council can go fuck themselves. Anything I can do to kick dirt in the faces of those arrogant assholes sounds like fun to me,¡± I said as I looked at CJ.

    ¡°You in, CJ?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯m in. This is the most excitement I¡¯ve had in years!¡± he said.

    ¡°Elvis also in!¡± Elvis suddenly chimed in from the PA.

    Music started playing over the loudspeakers:

    "We''re not gonna take it!

    No! We ain¡¯t gonna take it!

    W''ere not gonna take it

    Anymore"

    ¡°Damn right, Elvis! I say we give The Council a taste of its own medicine!¡±

    Tiff was standing now. Hope was now replacing the look of despair that had overtaken her moments before.

    ¡°Thank you, Andrew. I swear that I won¡¯t keep anything like this from you again. We will strike a blow against The Council, and you will be the match that lights the fuse,¡± she said.

    ¡°One more thing, Tiffany. Tell this Princess Denae that I am on board with her plan but, if she betrays me or puts my friends or my world at risk again, I¡¯ll kill her myself,¡± I stared at Tiff resolutely.

    ¡°I agree that The Council needs to be dealt a blow. I am willing to align myself with you and the Havokium people, but I am not willing to put my world at risk.¡±

    ¡°We will do this, but we will do it my way. If your plan aligns with my ability to save Earth, then there should be no problem. Understood?¡±

    Tiff stood there seemingly caught off guard for a moment, ¡°Understood, Captain. We can achieve both goals. I will update Princess Danae. She will want to update you on the mission parameters and goals.¡±

    ¡°Let me know when she is ready to talk,¡± I said. ¡°Until then, we proceed as planned.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, how long until we are at the containment facility?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Should arrive at facility in four days, Captain,¡± Elvis responded.

    ¡°Everyone needs to rest up and train. I will be doing the same. We need to be prepared when the time comes and Tiff needs her body,¡± I said as I turned to walk back to the bridge.

    ¡°Let''s go to the bridge and finalize the infiltration and extraction plans. Get some rest and we can wake up tomorrow and focus on training. CJ, I''ll want to see what you can do in the VCR with that suit of yours. We will also need to cover some operational tactics since we will be working together.¡±

    A few minutes later we were all on the bridge. Elvis had populated the main display with a schematic of the containment facility, and we were discussing the best way to enter and exit. We needed to get in and get out as quick as possible. There was no chance of collateral damage, but we wanted to limit exposure to the mechs if we could. No reason to fight any more than we had to.

    As we were discussing how to disengage the outer doors security locks the screen went black. The air in front of me seemed to warp. There was what looked like an electric ball that spun while it arced against the floor and bulkhead. As quickly as it was there, it warped, and in its place stood a terrifying figure. I immediately identified it.

    Council Enforcer General ¨C Level 75

    We all froze in our seats. The figure was massive, at least 8 feet tall. It wore red polymer armor of some sort. Every vulnerable section of its body was covered. The monstrosity had 4 arms that reached out to form an X from its body. Its head protruded from its body, much like a Praying Mantis. The face had no eyes, and a long toothy grin ran across its face, curving up into a sinister smile. Rows of razor-sharp teeth filled the nightmare of a mouth.

    Across the creature''s back were two sheathed swords, the blades blood red and jagged. The creature turned its eyeless head in my direction.

    ¡°Are you the captain of this vessel?¡± it asked, its voice high pitched and gravelly, almost a growl.

    ¡°Intruder alert! Intruder alert!¡± Elvis shouted as his systems came back online.

    ¡°Y-yes, I am the captain,¡± I said.

    I started to protest, to ask the creature what it wanted, why was it on my ship, but the truth was that this creature could kill us all without breaking a sweat. If it wanted my ship, there was absolutely nothing I could do.

    ¡°The Council has been tracking this vessel. We understand that you are off course and not currently in transit to the Level 1 location. Explain.¡± The creature''s head tilted at the question, a black tongue flickering against its teeth as it waited.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that participants had to get authorization for interstellar travel, enforcer,¡± Tiff said with obvious false confidence.

    ¡°I was not addressing you, AI. You will be silent until I deem it necessary for you to speak.¡± The creature didn¡¯t even look over at Tiff, it merely tilted its head in her direction as it spoke.

    I couldn¡¯t understand how this thing was here, how it knew who was in the room, or how it knew where they were. This creature was straight out of a nightmare, and this is what The Council was capable of deploying on the field of battle.

    I was not confident in our ability to deal a blow to the Universal Council after seeing this utterly terrifying creature.

    ¡°Elvis located a grind station, and I told him to take us there so I could train and gain experience. I wasn¡¯t aware that we needed approval,¡± I said trying to talk my way out of the current predicament.

    ¡°Elvis?¡± the creature growled questioningly.

    ¡°Elvis is the ship AI. That is the name he gave himself,¡± I responded.

    ¡°You allow AI trash to take a name? Aren¡¯t you a generous master,¡± the creature growled.

    ¡°I am no one''s master. Elvis is my friend, as is Tiff, and Elvis chose his name because that is his right," I said.

    I was beginning to understand that the creature was here to question us, not harm us. If I could convince him that we weren¡¯t up to anything, I was sure he would leave.

    ¡°We are on our way to the Red Moon of Alcara now. We have one scheduled stop in 4 days for Warp array maintenance. We will be on stand-by for approximately 24 hours and then we will continue on to the Red Moon,¡± I said, trying to sound confident about what I was saying. I knew i had to make an excuse for the extended stop at the containment facility to get Tiff''s body.

    The truth is I was scared shitless. I wasn¡¯t prepared for this situation. I didn¡¯t even know this was possible. How had this creature appeared right on our bridge?

    ¡°I warn you, Human, if you give the council any more cause for concern, we will be forced to intervene.¡± The words dripped from the creature''s mouth.

    ¡°What do you mean ''anymore cause''?¡± I asked.

    I knew I was pushing my luck, but I needed to know what the creature knew. If he knew about Tiff and Havokium rebellion, why hadn¡¯t he just killed us and been done with it?

    ¡°The class you chose is an anomaly; it shouldn¡¯t exist, yet somehow it does. That was not enough to disqualify you, but we are watching, Human. The Lacertines expect a fair competition and we intend to honor the sanctity of the dungeon. Don¡¯t test us; you will fail,¡± the enforcer said with a slight horrifying smile.

    With that, the creature began to arc electricity from its limbs and disappeared off the bridge.

    I stood up in my chair and looked at Tiff. ¡°Holy shit, what was that thing?¡± I shouted as I rushed over to her station.

    ¡°Oh man, I think I pooped a little,¡± CJ said as he grabbed the ass of his pants with one hand and took a long drag on his vape with the other.

    I stood in front of Tiff. I was livid. ¡°It''s time you explain just what we''re up against. No more secrets.¡±

 Chapter 22. Ron Jeremy

    Chapter 22. Ron Jeremy

    After the incident with the terrifying creature that appeared on our bridge out of thin air, Tiff took some time to give us a rundown of what we were up against.

    The Universal Council was an amalgamation of races from across the universe. The most powerful and influential members of member galaxies would apply for membership. To gain a seat on The Council, one would need to be sponsored and have the resources to affect change in their galaxy.

    Most galaxies'' governments were monarchal, though there were some that were some variations of a democratic republic.

    The Monarch of a member galaxy could appoint a representative to hold a seat on the council, and democracies would vote a member in. The vote, however, was almost never legitimate.

    The Council controlled the largest most powerful army in the universe. The army was made up of pledge troops from each council member, so the troops'' races were widely varied. The only good news I managed to take from the whole conversation is that the universe was big; like so big that it was hard to wrap my head around. This was a good thing; it meant the Council couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once and it was possible to sow the seeds of rebellion if one could be strategic in their planning.

    The current problem is we were in the dimension created and controlled by the master AI race. The race known as the Maribitti were similar to Tiff¡¯s people, although these AI chose not to lower themselves by taking on true bodies. Instead, they existed in a sort of universal cloud. They looked down on the Sapere for choosing to take on physical bodies, and there was some bad blood there.

    The Maribitti were subservient to the Council, much like the Sapere. However, instead of providing bodies to support the Dungeon, they created and ran it.

    This meant that the Council had a lot of power inside the dungeon universe. That explained how the Enforcer General was able to appear on our ship. The AI transported it here.

    A seed of an idea was beginning to form in my mind as Tiff explained.

    ¡°Tiff, what are the chances that we can recruit the Maribitti to our cause?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not likely,¡± she said, ¡°The Maribitti are under the control of the Council, true, but they are mostly left alone. They create and run the dungeons, so the Council understands that they need them.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t used and discarded like my people. Instead, they are allowed to run the dungeon mostly as they see fit.¡±

    ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying, but they seem to have a pretty high opinion of themselves. There is no way that they are just okay with the Council controlling them,¡± I said.

    ¡°If we can rally them to our cause it would be exactly the kind of support we need to really strike a blow against the Council. The dungeon is their toy, it allows them to have some sort of control over the assimilation of new planets. If we can take that control away, it will splinter their members and create chaos. I think it''s at least worth a shot.¡±

    Tiff sat in silence; she was obviously considering this as a viable option.

    ¡°We would have to figure out how to contact them, and I couldn¡¯t be the one doing the talking. They don¡¯t hold the Sapere in high esteem. There is a chance that you could send a message from the Containment facility. It will have a connection to the AI network,¡± she took on a serious tone as she spoke.

    ¡°Andrew, this is very risky. The Maribitti are an arrogant race. The chances of them receiving your message and not sharing it with the Council are slim. You need to consider the risk here before we move forward with this idea.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to run it past Princess Denae as well. I can''t leave her in the dark on this. She might be able to help us create the message as well,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Okay, do what you need to do. I will need an answer before we attempt the EVAC though,¡± I said.

    Over the next few days, we continued with our training. It was a never-ending cycle of sleep, wake up, train, warp.

    CJ and I spent several hours in the VCR training together. He was getting really good at piloting the drop suit and I was more than excited to have some backup. There were some hiccups though.

    ¡°Ugh, that fucking stings!¡± CJ said as his drop suit hit the ground having been disabled by a punch from me in simulation.

    Even though CJ wasn¡¯t physically in the suit, he was controlling it through a quantum neural connection. This meant that, while he wouldn¡¯t necessarily take any mortal wounds during combat, it would still hurt if he took major damage.

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    ¡°I told you that you need to learn to defend that right cross,¡± I shrugged and laughed.

    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re literally wearing a super suit. How do I defend against that, you asshole?¡± he whined as he got up from the control station.

    Elvis had created interface stations on the bridge and in the VCR so CJ could be physically in the room when we train.

    ¡°CJ terrible fighter heh heh,¡± Elvis chuckled, ¡°He is not warrior Captain, he should be mopping floors¡­CJ a piece of shit.¡± Elvis for some reason decided to chime in and hit CJ where it hurts one more time.

    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°What the hell, Elvis? Take it easy, man. CJ has come a long way in a short time. He is going to cover my back when we¡¯re in the containment facility.¡±

    ¡°Hey Elvis, why don¡¯t you go to computer hell you, overgrown iPad!?¡± CJ shook his fist and shouted at the ceiling.

    ¡°Okay, calm down guys. You two have worked together well over the last few days so let¡¯s not throw that all away,¡± I said as I walked over to CJ.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting better, bro. You are good with the guns but there are going to be times you have to fight in close quarters. Just keep working on it and I¡¯ll have Elvis set up some combat simulations for you. We have done everything we can do right now. We will be at the edge of the containment facility dampening range in a few hours. Let¡¯s go to the bridge and make sure we have the plan down.¡±

    We left the VCR and headed to the bridge where Tiff was going over the Exfil plans with Elvis.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried that we won''t be able to breach the outer doors security measures, Elvis. Are you sure the worm you are building will do the trick?¡± Tiff was asking Elvis as she bent over a console looking over the plans.

    ¡°Elvis is master of all security systems¡­I will slay the puny defenses the containment facility presents,¡± Elvis responded confidently; He was never lacking in confidence.

    The plan was simple. I would be transported to the containment facility on the Pup. Elvis had pre-programmed the flight path so I would just need to ride. Elvis would program the ship¡¯s transponder to mimic a resupply vessel, and he was confident that we would be allowed into the cargo bay. The biggest issue is that the ships were usually unmanned. There was no need for anyone to physically enter the AI housing section of the facility.

    In order to get in, Elvis had created a worm that would effectively kill the facility''s internal recognition system. We wouldn¡¯t need credentials to enter. The problem is that the security system would be activated once we tampered with it.

    ¡°Well, we knew we were going to have to fight. At least this way, we know when we''re going to have to fight,¡± I said looking at CJ and Tiff.

    There were three levels to the containment facility. It was shaped like a giant spinning top with a wide circular disc-like center and the top and bottom of the facility each extended out to a point.

    Elvis stated that the points acted as antennae for the communications array on the facility.

    The large round center portion was the AI housing section. Tiff¡¯s body would be in stasis in that area. There would be a hallway running around the circumference of the center section. The top section held all of the environmental controls, as well as the power station and any other area relevant to maintaining the facility.

    The bottom section was security. This is where the autonomous mechs and mech-guards would be stored. There was one entrance elevator to this area, so the plan was for CJ to take the drop suit straight to the elevator and plant some explosives on the entrance.

    There would be one active security crew on patrol, but we wanted to ensure that we didn¡¯t have any extra company.

    While CJ did that, I would proceed immediately to the stasis chamber and retrieve Tiff''s body before heading back to the Pup.

    It seemed like a good plan; I trusted that Elvis and Tiff had a good idea of what we could expect.

    ¡°We are approaching perimeter of dampening field, Captain,¡± Elvis announced. ¡°I have also located a cloaked vessel approximately one quarter light day from the facility.¡±

    ¡°That is the Burning Retribution; Denae knows we¡¯re here,¡± Tiff stood up and looked toward the bridge display. ¡°Elvis, show coordinates on the main display.¡±

    ¡°Showing coordinates now,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°She wants to see if you are going to be able to do it. If she thinks you are going to fail, she will make a move to commandeer The Bloodhound,¡± Tiff turned and looked at me, concern visible on her face.

    ¡°Elvis, what is the biggest gun on The Bloodhound?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oooh Captain, Elvis been waiting for this moment,¡± Elvis said in an almost sexual tone.

    ¡°Geez man, bring it down a notch. Just tell me what we have,¡± I said, feeling a little icky.

    ¡°The Bloodhound has an array of defensive measures, but the biggest is the enhanced electromagnetic railgun. Elvis renamed it the Ron Jeremy because it''s big, it packs a punch, and leaves a gaping hole wherever it hits,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Uuh o-okay, let¡¯s revisit that name a little later. Is that gun capable of disabling that ship?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. I am familiar with the Retribution, it is a stealth attack class ship common in the Havokium fleet,¡± Elvis replied. ¡°Elvis can fuck them up. Elvis is strong.¡±

    ¡°Yeah buddy, I don¡¯t doubt that, but you will be disabled. Will the sub-minds you leave behind to pilot the ship be able to do the same?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes Captain, the sub-minds are not capable of independent thought, but they operate at levels far above any Earth computer. They will have no issue,¡± he said.

    I looked at Tiff and smiled.

    ¡°Has Denae contacted you lately?¡± I asked, ¡°since you ignored her orders I mean.¡±

    Tiff looked at me trying to figure out where I was going with this, ¡°N-no, she hasn¡¯t made contact since. I haven¡¯t tried to contact her either.¡±

    ¡°You might wanna get ready to have a chat with her,¡± I said, ¡°I want you to ask her to accept our hail.¡±

    ¡°Trying now¡­no response,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Let''s give her one more chance because I¡¯m in a good mood,¡± I said, still smiling.

    ¡°Still no response, Captain,¡± Tiff said looking frustrated.

    ¡°Elvis, I want you to point the Ron Jeremy to fire directly above the bridge of The Retribution,¡± I said.

    ¡°YES, YES, I have dreamed of this, Captain! It is done!¡± Elvis was shouting triumphantly.

    ¡°What are you doing, Captain?!¡± Tiff shouted.

    I looked over at CJ who was steadily sucking on his vape, a wry smile on his face as well.

    ¡°Elvis¡­Fire the Ron Jeremy!¡±

 Chapter 23. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

    The ship reverberated with the recoil of the railgun which Elvis had chosen to name ¡°Ron Jeremy.¡± I would have to suggest a different name later; for now, we would wait and see what the response from the Retribution would be.

    ¡°Captain, the Retribution is hailing us,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Okay, let''s see what they have to say. Can you put it up on the main screen?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t sure how this worked, but I had watched enough Star Trek to have an idea.

    ¡°Transmitting now, Captain. Should I prepare another blast from Ron Jeremy?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Jesus Elvis, can we work on rephrasing that?!¡± I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

    I didn¡¯t know what a Havokium would look like, I suppose I should have asked Tiff in advance. In my mind, they were big, muscled warriors who lived to fight and kill.

    On the screen before me, there was a tall, slender, elven-like creature. She had light brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly pointed ears. She looked to be in her mid-twenties by Earth standards. There were other similar beings in the background performing various tasks on the bridge of the ship.

    Princess Denae was pissed, to say the least.

    ¡°How dare you open fire on my vessel, Human!¡± she sneered, contempt saturating her words. ¡°I will have your head for your impudence!¡±

    I stood up from my chair and looked around. CJ was staring at the screen, vaping uncontrollably while Tiff was sitting in the chair beside mine, trying her best to put forth a confident front. I turned my attention back to the display screen.

    ¡°You, Princess Denae, will shut the fuck up.¡± I stood with my hands clasped behind my back, doing my best starship captain impression.

    ¡°Right now, I have every available weapon on the Bloodhound trained on your vessel. Your cloaking ability doesn¡¯t seem to work against Elvis, so you can¡¯t hide,¡± I looked at Tiff and CJ one more time, trying to convey confidence in what was happening.

    ¡°Let me explain the situation, Denae. You have been meddling in my situation since the beginning. I understand that you have a vendetta to settle with the Universal Council and I get it. I am willing to help, but on my terms, not yours.¡±

    ¡°So, here is what is going to happen. I am going into that containment facility to get Tiff¡¯s body. You will wait inside the dampening field with your vessel cloaked to provide support for me on my flight back to the Bloodhound. If am pursued or come under heavy fire, you will order the Retribution to provide cover for me. Do you understand?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Why would I agree to any of this, Human? I am no slave to be commanded by a Human!¡± Denae sneered and pointed at the screen.

    ¡°Weeell shit, I was hoping that you would be willing to help out of the kindness of you heart, but I guess that option is off the table,¡± I walked a few steps closer to the display as I spoke.

    ¡°First, you will no longer refer to me as ''Human''. My name is Andrew Dawes, and I am the captain of this ship. Right, Elvis?

    ¡°Yes Captain, that is correct,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Good, glad that we¡¯ve cleared that up. The reason you will help is because if you don¡¯t, if my transport takes one direct hit from the defenses on that facility, I have ordered Elvis to discharge the full complement of ordinance currently available on the Bloodhound. That ordinance will be aimed at the Retribution. Your ship will not survive. Elvis is confident in his ability to¡­ how did he put it?¡± I put my hand to my chin in mock consideration.

    ¡°Oh yeah! I believe his words were that he could fuck your shit all the way up!¡± I returned to my more captainly pose.

    ¡°In case that didn¡¯t translate, Elvis is confident that he can fully eliminate the Retribution and every molecule of biological life on board.¡±

    ¡°If somehow we didn¡¯t manage to completely wipe any trace of your vessel from the universe, and you managed to survive and try to commandeer the Bloodhound, Elvis will self-destruct the ship,¡± I said.

    ¡°What if she runs?¡± CJ shouted from my left side.

    ¡°Sure, you can run, and we won''t even chase you. I have a feeling, however, that you won¡¯t since you really want this ship and armor. You see, at this point us Humans would say you are between a rock and a hard place right now,¡± I made air quotes as I said the word humans, just to drive my disrespect home.

    ¡°You might be thinking that even if you lose the ship, you can recover the armor if I¡¯m dead. Well damn, I hate to say it, CJ should I tell her?¡± I asked completely enjoying the position we were in.

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    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Andy; she seems like a nice lady. Maybe you shouldn¡¯t, but then again, she doesn¡¯t seem to like humans, so yeah, go ahead and shit on her a little more,¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°The armor is genetically bound to me; it can¡¯t be unbound. If I die, the armor dies with me, so the way I see it, you are double fucked.¡±

    I could see Princess Denae boiling with anger, her lips curled into a scowl and her face took on a bright shade of red.

    ¡°I do have some good news though. I¡¯m willing to assist you in your mission against the Council, however, I will not put my own mission to save my planet in jeopardy to do it. So, you will need to figure out how to make both missions successful,¡± I continued.

    ¡°Just nod if you understand.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Hu- Captain. We will ally for the benefit of both our missions,¡± she was doing her best to hold it together.

    ¡°Good. So now I need you to be a good little girl and sit out here and wait for me to get Tiff¡¯s body. Then just make sure you take out anything that tries to hurt us. If you can do that, we can discuss next steps, but you will have to make it fast since we have a little less than 24 hours before we have to get moving again.¡±

    ¡°Well, this was a solid call. So much synergy and positivity, right guys?¡± I looked around the bridge at Tiff and CJ and bounced back and forth from my heels to my toes.

    ¡°One more thing, Denae. When Tiff calls, you answer. I would hate to have to get your attention again through more kinetic means.¡±

    ¡°All lines of communication will be open, Captain Dawes. Retribution out.¡± She ended the message without another word.

    ¡°Hoooly shit, bro!¡± CJ jumped out of his chair and ran over to me. ¡°That was crazy! Did you really order Elvis to do all that?¡±

    ¡°Elvis, do you understand my orders?¡± I asked looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. The Bloodhound will go down in glorious battle if that is your order!¡± he responded.

    ¡°It is officially my order, Elvis,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. There is honor in this thing,¡± he said.

    Tiff was still sitting in her chair staring at the black screen. She hadn¡¯t said a word since the call ended. I knew this wouldn¡¯t be easy for her, but we couldn¡¯t let an outside party interfere with what we had planned.

    ¡°Tiff, you don¡¯t take orders from her anymore. You don¡¯t have to take orders from anyone if you don¡¯t want to,¡± I said as I turned and looked at her directly.

    ¡°I choose to take orders from you, Andrew. Not because I have to, but because you have shown me kindness and allowed me the freedom that I haven¡¯t had. I will serve the Bloodhound, and we will save your planet and strike a blow against the Council,¡± she said looking up at me.

    ¡°If that is your choice then I accept it, Tiff. I''m heading to the Armory to get ready for the Exfil. CJ, you need to join me. Tiff, I¡¯ll see you when I get back with your body, okay?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Be careful, Andrew.¡± She stood and looked at me as she said it, gave me a quick hug, and walked to her quarters.

    When she was gone from the bridge I turned and saw CJ standing there wide-eyed, ¡°What the hell was that?¡± he asked.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m sure she is worried about us,¡± I said shaking off the question.

    ¡°Us? I don¡¯t remember getting a hug. Elvis did Tiff just hug me and I blanked out?" he asked Elvis.

    ¡°No SR-Jennings, you didn¡¯t get hug from XO-Tiff,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°See? No hug for little ol¡¯ CJ," CJ scoffed.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± I asked, clearly not amused. ¡°Let¡¯s just get to the damn armory already."

    As CJ and I got to the elevator, the doors slid shut and I heard music.

    Can you feel the love tonight?

    It is where we are

    It¡¯s enough for this wide-eyed wanderer

    It was Elton freaking John¡­

    I leaned against the door in frustration, palms to the wall, ¡°I swear to God Elvis, if you don¡¯t shut that shit off right now!¡±

    CJ was bent over, his hands on his knees howling with laughter, ¡°hey if we¡¯re gonna die soon, at least we got one more laugh! Good one, Elvis!¡±

    ¡°SR-Jennings didn¡¯t get hug because he is piece of shit, nobody likes touching shit,¡± Elvis replied sourly.

    I couldn¡¯t help it; I started laughing hysterically. These two were more than a handful, but they were my friends and I loved them.

    As we walked to the Armory I turned to CJ, "hey man, I don¡¯t think there is any chance of the Retribution attacking now, but if things go south in there for me and Tiff, I need you to make Elvis take you somewhere safe until this dungeon ends. I don¡¯t even know if that is possible, but you gotta try. Maybe Princess Denae will take you in if you offer the ship. Just promise me that you will try to stay safe.¡±

    CJ stopped in his tracks, he didn¡¯t even look over at me, ¡°Andy, we survived three years after the drop against all odds. Me and you have been through some hard shit, and you are coming back from this. That is the end of this conversation, you got me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah man, I got you,¡± I said, and we continued toward the Armory.

    ¡°You¡¯re a captain now, so I need you to act like it because we''re all right on the ledge of ¡°losing our shit canyon,¡± and the only way we keep from falling in is for you to keep getting stronger,¡± CJ said as we walked.

    ¡°I got it, bro, we got this,¡± I said calmly.

    CJ and I took a few minutes getting supplies from the Armory. We quality-checked his armor as best we could before he turned to shake my hand.

    ¡°I need you to go kick some ass and bring Tiff back. I¡¯ll see you back here in a few hours,¡± he said as he shook my hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, buddy,¡± I said as he turned to walk back to his station on the bridge.

    A couple of minutes later the Havok Hound armor buzzed to life. ¡°All systems go. Let¡¯s get to the Pup,¡± CJ said through the armor''s external communicator.

    As I entered the Pup and strapped in, Elvis gave me a rundown of what to expect as I set the rifle that I had taken from the armory beside me. The Pup would be on autopilot to the facility. I was to wait inside until we docked in the cargo bay and the doors opened on the Pup. We had been over this at least a hundred times now but I still responded in confirmation.

    I could feel the sweat trickling down my back inside my uniform. It wasn¡¯t hot, I was just scared out of my mind. CJ¡¯s armor suit sat directly across from me, unmoving, holding one of the plasma assault rifles from the armory across its chest. It was eerie the way that it sat there unmoving, staring into nothing.

    As I stared at the armor, it lifted its right leg and I heard a farting noise come from the speakers, ¡°whew, I¡¯ve been holding that one in for a hot minute,¡± CJ said.

    I laughed, trying to hide my nervousness.

    ¡°We got this, bro. Put your head on straight,¡± he said.

    The flight in the Pup was uneventful. After about 15 minutes we were approaching the cargo bay of the facility. The Pup hissed as the propulsion engines cushioned our landing inside the bay.

    I unstrapped from my seat and grabbed my weapon as I heard the alarm start to blare outside.

    ¡°Exit the ship, intruder!¡± something said in a loud robotic voice.

 Chapter 24. Robo-Cop

    Chapter 24. Robo-Cop

    I froze where I stood. Why didn¡¯t anything appear on HUD? Why did the guards know we were here? I had so many questions at that moment.

    ¡°Exit the ship or we will be forced to extract you!¡± the voice said again with a firm robotic tone.

    I looked over at the suit CJ was currently controlling, ¡°what the fuck, man? How did they know we were here?¡± I asked with a whispered, panicked tone.

    ¡°Elvis and Tiff both assured us that the guards wouldn¡¯t know we were coming, so how do they know?¡± I was now pacing back and forth trying to formulate a plan.

    The CJ suit stood up, ¡°Listen, Andy, I will walk out, and I¡¯ll be able to see how many of them are out there. I will let you know what to expect before we dive into a fight we can¡¯t win,¡± CJ said, walking toward the back door of the Pup.

    ¡°Even if they take me out, you still have a chance to complete the mission. Just stay back, and let¡¯s be smart about this.¡±

    I took a deep breath and nodded to CJ, ¡°if they did somehow scan the Pup and saw a life sign on board, they will more than likely assume that I am in the suit. This could work.¡±

    CJ began walking down the back ramp then stepped around the left side of the ship, hands raised. He slowly made his way out of sight.

    ¡°Hey guys, didn¡¯t you receive the communication?¡± CJ asked, ¡°it takes three of you to welcome one hab-tech?¡± CJ made sure that the communications channels were open so I could hear what he was saying.

    Good situational awareness I thought, he was able to let me know there are three of them hopefully he could get me a little more info.

    ¡°There is no maintenance scheduled for today. The facility maintenance was completed 12 cycles ago and isn¡¯t scheduled for another 78 cycles,¡± the robotic voice responded.

    ¡°The facility control systems were alerted to multiple undocumented ships in the vicinity when one of the ships opened fire on the other. We have been on alert since that time. You will be taken to a holding cell until the next Council inspection at which time you will be transported to a more secure facility for questioning and sentencing.¡±

    ¡°Your transport vessel will remain in the cargo dock until it is searched and cleared of threats, at which time it will be launched and destroyed.¡±

    I could hear all of this going down through my comms channel as CJ spoke directly to me.

    ¡°Okay Andy, there is one Level 10 Mech and 2 Mech support guards. The mech guards are level 9. The Mech looks like the damn bad guy from Robo-cop.¡±

    I needed to do something. I couldn¡¯t let these things take CJ, and I needed to make sure they didn¡¯t find me in the Pup.

    The rear of the Pup was facing the entrance to the cargo dock, there was just open space 100 feet from me. I assumed that there was some sort of force field keeping everything from getting sucked out into open space. If I could disarm that field, then I could possibly take all three members of the security detail out at once.

    I was pretty sure the Pup would be okay. It was big and heavy, but I needed to make sure CJ would be able to secure himself before I did anything extreme.

    ¡°CJ, I¡¯m going to do something a little crazy,¡± I said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will work, but I think it''s worth a shot. Do you see anything that you can grab onto and secure yourself?¡±

    There was silence for a couple of seconds, ¡°yeah, I see some sort of anchoring system right in front of me. It looks like it was built in case the cargo bay loses containment. I think I can send you a picture. Let me know if you get it,¡± he said.

    Immediately after he spoke, an image populated on my interface. I saw what looked like a large metal post sticking up out of the floor with a yellow caution square painted around it. The top had what looked like some sort of large ring on it, presumable to secure items with safety straps. In front of the anchor stood the Mech and the two guards.

    ¡°Okay CJ, here is the plan. I¡¯m going to get their attention. I see some sort of panel on top of what looks like some sort of generator beside the cargo bay door. I think I can disable the force field. We''re gonna suck these fuckers out into space,¡± I said.

    ¡°Sounds risky, Andy. How are you gonna make sure you don¡¯t get sucked out as well?" CJ asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a plan. Just make sure you get to that security anchor when shit hits the fan. Understood?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You better make a move soon. They are getting impatient," CJ responded.

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    I ran down the rear ramp of the Pup and began shouting and waving my arms. The security detail snapped to attention.

    ¡°Halt, Intruder! Drop your weapon and lie on the ground. Comply or we will use lethal force!" The Mech had no mouth, and the words were electronic in nature.

    The guards had their weapons trained on me and the Mech had its two huge arm/guns trained on me as well.

    The Mech was huge; it had to be at least 12 feet tall. Its body was sort of octagonal, and its legs bent backward like a giant mechanical bird. It was completely black, and around what I guessed was the face a red light softly glowed. The Mech support guards looked much like CJ¡¯s Havok Hound suit, but way less advanced. These guys were definitely on high alert.

    ¡°How about I don¡¯t do any of that?¡± I shouted at the robotic trio.

    As soon as the words left my mouth, I spun and fired my weapon at the panel. The generator groaned and ground to a halt as a shower of sparks flew out of the top. The force field on the cargo bay door immediately took on a blue electronic hue and began blinking.

    ¡°Get to the anchor, CJ!¡± I yelled.

    The mech raised its guns and began firing at CJ as he made a dash for the anchor. The guards both rushed me firing their weapons as well.

    I jumped to my left and rolled to my knees as I summoned my armor. The armor materialized just as the two guards reached me. I knelt on one knee and extended my arms to each side as I summoned my black hole daggers.

    The first guard reached me. I swung with the dagger in my right-hand, slicing across its chest and under its arm. As I spun to my left and stood to both feet, the second guard approached me from behind. I braced myself and spun into the approaching guard burying both of the black hole daggers into its abdomen. The guard stopped and fell to its knees. A timer appeared in the center of my interface.

    3.

    The first guard had gathered itself by now. Still injured, it spun and centered its weapon on me. I leaped over its head positioning myself between the guard and the failing force field.

    2.

    ¡°CJ, you better hold onto that damn anchor with everything you have!¡± I shouted.

    1.

    The Black Hole ability from my daggers activated. The guard that was currently impaled began to scream a robotic, chilling scream. The guard''s arms pulled completely into its body as the rest of its body began to break and implode in on itself. After another second the guard was completely gone in a flash of blue and black light as a tiny black hole appeared and immediately disappeared.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I said as I tried to figure out what I had just watched.

    I didn¡¯t have time to consider what I had just witnessed any further. The remaining mech guard opened fire. The rounds were kinetic and even though I could feel them hitting they were barely doing any damage to my suit.

    ¡°Here we go, CJ! HOLD ON!¡± I shouted.

    I dropped to one knee, pointed one hand at the mech guard, one hand at the giant mech, and activated pulsar blast. A burst of energy emanated from my suit, spreading in a bubble all around me. Two bright white beams shot from my hands hitting the mechanical mech and support guard.

    The Pulsar Blast ability was meant to disarm enemy combatants. Assuming the combatants were biological in nature, it would disarm due to the electromagnetic nature of the blasts. The blast would also injure them severely if it didn¡¯t kill them outright.

    In the case of the Mech and Mech support guards, they were not biological in nature, they were robotic in nature. This meant the blast would literally drag them toward me.

    As the blast bubble expanded outward from my body, the two concentrated blasts hit the Mech and Mech guard. Their metal bodies sizzled and melted as it hit. The blast began dragging them toward me. At that moment the force field failed completely.

    The energy bubble receded around my body, pressing me harder down to one knee as the beams from my hand dissipated. A ten-second timer populated on my interface. I couldn¡¯t move, I was stuck in place. My hope was that nothing would be able to move me. Luckily, I was right.

    As the force field failed, everything got sucked out into the vacuum of space. Various boxes that were staged in the cargo bay began flying past me along with the giant Mech and the support guard. CJ was holding onto the anchor, but his body was still being pulled toward the open door.

    ¡°CJ, YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE THE SAFETY SEAL TRIGGER! THERE IS A PANEL BESIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE MAIN AREA. DO YOU SEE IT?" I was having to shout over the noise of air and other objects being sucked out of the cargo bay.

    I could see CJ looking around until he spotted it. The safety seals were outlined in yellow and red alternating paint. There was a glass cover with a big red button underneath. The words Emergency Safety Seal was outlined in bold above the panel.

    In that moment of total chaos, I wondered how I could read that. Surely these aliens didn¡¯t use the English language. I assumed my interface had something to do with it and I would ask Tiff later, if we didn¡¯t die that is.

    The time ticked down on my interface. It was now at seven seconds. CJ planted his feet on the ground somehow and began walking toward the emergency seal panel. He looked like one of those mountain climbers that you would see scaling Mount Everest as a giant blizzard pushed against them. Only there was no snow here, just the force of space creating a vacuum in this cargo bay.

    My time was down to 2 seconds as CJ reached the wall, broke the glass, and pressed the red button. A giant metal door slid down behind me, sealing the cargo bay as the timer on Pulsar Blast ran out.

    My suit disappeared completely as the ability ended. ¡°I guess that is why the description said to use this as a last resort,¡± I said as I tried to catch my breath.

    CJ ran over to me in his armor to help me up. "Damn it bro, do you have to do everything the hard way?¡± he asked as he grabbed my arm and lifted me up onto my feet.

    ¡°Hey, we got ¡®em right?¡± I asked rhetorically, ¡°I didn¡¯t really wanna test that Mech in a head-on fight if I could help it. Now we gotta hope that Elvis¡¯ worm does its job, and we can get into the main facility.¡±

    ¡°We need to move fast. The secondary security team is probably on its way here now. I¡¯d rather avoid them and fight them on our terms if we can,¡± I said as we walked toward the facility entrance.

    I took the key card thing that Elvis had created and stuck it up to the security pad. The keycard attached itself to the pad with four small tendrils, one extending from each side. The tendrils attached themselves to the panel as we waited.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Elvis, this better work,¡± I said.

    A green light glowed around the edges of the panels as an audible beep was heard above the door.

    ¡°Hell yeah! We''re in!¡± CJ shouted as I grabbed the keycard, and we ran into the facility.

 Chapter 25. Fade to Black

    Chapter 25. Fade to Black

    We entered the facility to see hallways to the left and right, curving in the distance around what I assumed was the stasis chamber that Tiff was being held in. Elvis had given us detailed schematics of the facility, so we knew exactly where we were. What we didn¡¯t know was where the other security detail was. I could see mobs if they were within about 100 yards of me, but I didn¡¯t see anything right now.

    ¡°We need to move fast. Is your suit all good?¡± I asked CJ as we stood in the hall.

    ¡°Yeah, all good,¡± he said. ¡°I noticed you leveled up,¡± he responded through the internal comms channel.

    He was right. I had gotten credit for the kills in the cargo bay, and I was now Level 8. I wondered if it was going to continue to be this easy to gain levels. I also guessed I was getting more credit for killing enemies that were at a higher level than me.

    ¡°We can worry about that when we get out of this place. Right now, we need to focus on finding Tiff and trying to stay away from that other security detail if we can,¡± I said.

    Elvis took the liberty of uploading the schematics into my interface allowing us to have a good idea of where I was going. I didn¡¯t realize how big this place was though. The circumference was at least a kilometer, so we were gonna have some walking to do.

    The facility was a cold sterile place. The inside hallways were dark, with bundles of metal conduit running along the ceiling. The walls and floor were a dark charcoal grey, and there were well-worn lines down the middle from what I assumed were the never-ending pre-programmed security details. The air smelled stale and old. Once we entered through the exterior door, the life support systems had been activated, and it was obvious that it had been a long time since anything that breathed had been here. Needless to say, this place wasn¡¯t inviting and obviously not meant for any biological life form to live long-term.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take the right-side hallway. The entrance to the stasis chamber should be about halfway around,¡± I said to CJ as we started jogging toward the door.

    ¡°Hey Andy, how are we going to get back out of here?¡± CJ asked as we jogged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet; I could really use Tiff and Elvis right now. Shouldn¡¯t there be a maintenance bot or something?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± CJ shouted. ¡°I remember Elvis pointing out the maintenance stations when we were planning. There should be one a couple hundred yards past the Stasis chamber entrance,¡± he said.

    ¡°Okay, I''ll get Tiff and you go on ahead to the maintenance station and see if you can figure out how to get them into the cargo bay. There should be some sort of panel or something to input off-schedule maintenance requests. That¡¯s the best hope we have right now. If it doesn¡¯t work, we''re going to have to try our luck with grenades,¡± I said.

    ¡°Fuck that, bro. We are not throwing a bunch of grenades at a sealed safety door in hopes that it will blow. Do you just think about every action movie ever created and try to formulate a plan based on what the action hero would do?!¡± CJ was looking at me as we jogged.

    ¡°I''m just throwing ideas out, CJ. We aren¡¯t exactly prepared for this scenario,¡± I said.

    After a few more minutes we arrived at the stasis chamber door. I had CJ run ahead and start working on getting that bay door open. I told him I would meet him back at the Pup after I got Tiff¡¯s body. He ran off down the hallway and I entered the stasis chamber.

    The chamber was jarring in its juxtaposition to the outer hallway. Bright white light filled the room, which was huge spanning from one side of the station to the other, with only the outer hallway running along the outside of the room. The inside was completely empty. The entire roof was emitting a soft white light. There were no light fixtures, the whole ceiling seemed to be a light. The floor was spotless white like nobody had ever walked here; it almost looked like laminate, but there were no individual tiles. In the middle of the room stood a cylindrical tank. Tubes were snaking into the tank from the floor and ceiling. In the tank Tiff floated, she wore a white body suit and she looked lifeless.

    I ran toward the tank. I didn¡¯t know what to expect when I saw Tiff¡¯s true body. I knew that she would be here, but how could anyone prepare themselves for this? I had just been talking with her a few hours ago, yet here she was. Her body floated in the tank, her eyes closed, no signs of life. Yet I knew she was alive.

    I didn¡¯t know how to empty the tank. It had 4 glass panels, one on each side of the tank. Aside from the viewing panels, the tank was some sort of white metal from floor to ceiling.

    ¡°Fuck it,¡± I said. I equipped my armor and with every ounce of my enhanced strength I could muster I punched one of the glass panels. It cracked, spiderwebs forming throughout the glass. Tiff¡¯s body jerked. I reared back again and punched the glass. Liquid poured out of the tank, and with it, Tiff¡¯s true body.

    I caught her body as it slid out of the tank. I deactivated my armor and knelt down, her body cradled in my arms, ¡°Tiff, Tiff, wake up,¡± she didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Tiff, we gotta get out of here. You need to wake up.¡± I shook her gently trying to help her wake up.

    Suddenly she heaved and her eyes shot open shining impossibly blue, a sign of her alien origins. ¡°Andrew?¡± she asked as she coughed the liquid out of her lungs.

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    ¡°Yeah, I got you,¡± I said.

    ¡°Take a second to get your bearings, but we¡¯ve got to move soon. A lot has happened since we entered the dampening field.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad I¡¯m out of that tank Andrew, but you are going to have to get me back to the Pup. Once I leave this room the dampening field will begin to affect me again. CJ can carry me with the Havok Hound suit. Where is he?¡± Tiff asked as she started to sit up.

    ¡°Well, we kind of destroyed the force field on the docking bay door. CJ is trying to assign a maintenance bot to see if he can get it repaired. We were supposed to meet him back in the Pup after I got you,¡± I said.

    Tiff just shook her head in disgust. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to know right now, Andrew. We can debrief once were back on the Blood Hound. You will need to call CJ and let him know to come get me and bring me to the Pup.¡±

    ¡°CJ, how¡¯s it going?¡± I said through the comms channel.

    ¡°It¡¯s good. The maintenance bot is at the generator now. I asked it for an ETA, and it said about 10 minutes,¡± he said.

    ¡°Okay, I need you to hustle back and get Tiff. She won''t be conscious once she leaves this room. It¡¯s time to test the speed on that suit, red line, and get back here quick,¡± I said.

    ¡°Got it. I was waiting for an excuse to red line this bitch!¡± CJ said. ¡°I¡¯ll be there in 3 minutes.¡±

    ¡°Okay we will be wai-¡°

    BOOOM!!!

    A grenade exploded and sent Tiff and me flying. As I was flying through the air I equipped my armor. The armor fully equipped just in time to cushion my fall, but Tiff wasn¡¯t as lucky. She was thrown back into the stasis tank and now she lay there on the floor in front of it unconscious. The previously spotless white floor was now stained with a puddle of blue blood that was flowing from a wound in the back of her head.

    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± CJ¡¯s voice was fading in and out of my head.

    I pushed myself up from the ground, shaking my head trying to get my bearings. My health bar was under 20%. I mentally selected a health stim to top it back off, and as I did, I heard the hiss of the stim draining into my neck.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Something exploded, Tiff is injured. I need you to get here fast!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°One minute, I¡¯m close,¡± CJ said.

    As he was speaking, I saw them coming through the smoke. The second security detail was here. This time they didn¡¯t give warnings they just opened fire.

    I jumped to my left side, trying to draw the fire away from Tiff so she wouldn¡¯t be hit with a stray bullet. I ran as fast as my armor would carry me trying to get behind them.

    ¡°CJ, it¡¯s the second security detail. GET HERE!¡± I shouted.

    At that moment CJ¡¯s suit exploded into the room running full speed. I could see him in the distance. The suit had to be running 35-40 miles an hour. He was about half a mile away, but he was covering the distance at a blinding pace.

    I kept running trying to be sure I could get behind CJ. His suit would have to act as my cover since there was no other cover available in this room.

    ¡°I have three minutes left on my armor CJ; we need to finish this fast!¡± I shouted.

    As CJ finally made it to my location, I fell in behind him. He raised his weapon at the Mech guard on the left of the Giant Mech. ¡°I¡¯ll focus fire on the one on the left, you take the one on the right,¡± he said.

    ¡°Got it. We can both attack the Mech once the guards are down!¡± I responded.

    We were running faster than any human could possibly run, but our aim was still perfect. CJ landed several shots on the left guard, but it wasn¡¯t going down easy, and it continued to fire. The kinetic rounds from the Mech guards were hitting CJ¡¯s suit but it continued to absorb the damage.

    As I was running, I morphed my sidearm into the long-range rifle version, aimed, and took off the head of the guard on the right with one shot.

    ¡°One down. We gotta keep them away from Tiff!¡± I said as CJ and I continued running.

    Just then the Mech fired a concentrated laser beam taking off the right arm of CJ¡¯s suit and grazing my left upper arm. My suit self-repaired and I took very little damage from the blast.

    ¡°Shit, my suit is down to 30% power. We have got to take that Mech out, Andy. Stay on the guard on the Mech¡¯s right and I¡¯ll go straight for the Mech,¡± CJ said.

    With that, he reached down and pulled out a foot-long combat knife from a sheath on his left leg. The blade glowed brightly as he ran. We were about 25 feet away from the Mech when CJ jumped and landed right on the Mech¡¯s body. He started hacking at anything that looked important as the Mech spun and tried to rid itself of the unwanted passenger.

    As CJ jumped, I slid toward the Mech guard. It fired its weapon as I slid toward it but to no avail. I slid past the guard and as I did, I grabbed its right ankle and spun myself up behind it. I grabbed the guard in a bear hug under its arms then heaved the heavy robot up and suplexed it onto its head.

    ¡°Scratch one more guard,¡± I said as I jumped back up into action to help CJ who was still riding the Mech. The Mech was on its last legs, smoke rising from its back and several wires and hoses hanging loosely all over its body. I pulled up my sidearm, took aim, and fired 5 rounds of the powered energy blasts directly into the front of its upper section.

    With this, the Mech stopped and slowly settled to the ground. No explosion, no crazy ending, it just powered down.

    ¡°Holy shit! We''re alive!¡± CJ shouted as he dismounted the disabled Mech.

    ¡°To be fair, you were never in danger of dying, bro,¡± I shot back as we both ran over to Tiff.

    ¡°She isn¡¯t moving. We have got to get her back to the Blood Hound and let Elvis fix her up.¡± I looked over at CJ, ¡°Can you carry her with the missing arm?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, no problem. You will just need to pick her up for me then I can hold her while we run back to the Pup,¡± he said.

    ¡°Okay, my armor is spent. It will be a few minutes before I can reactivate it. You run ahead with Tiff, and I¡¯ll be right behind you,¡± I said as I gently picked up Tiff and placed her over the Havok Hound''s shoulder.

    CJ took off immediately running at a fast pace, but not as fast as he had been when trying to get back to the stasis chamber. I was about 2 minutes behind them, but I didn¡¯t want to reactivate my armor just in case I needed it.

    As I entered the cargo bay, I could see that the force field had been repaired and the safety door had been raised. CJ had already spun the Pup around preparing for a quick evac. As I ran toward the ship, I could see that he had Tiff¡¯s body secured and he was waving for me to hurry up.

    Initiate the auto-pilot sequence, get the ship moving!" I yelled to CJ as I continued running toward the Pup.

    CJ spun around and tapped the display to initiate the autopilot for the Pup, as he did the ship''s propulsion systems activated and the Pup levitated gently of the ground. I was almost there.

    That¡¯s when I felt the blade push through my back and out the front of my abdomen. I stopped running, looked down and felt the wound with both hands. The blade was sharp, jagged and covered in hot red blood, my blood.

    ¡°GO! GET TIFF BACK TO THE SHIP!¡± I screamed as my legs faltered and I fell to my knees.

    CJ was screaming something incoherent as the Pup shot out of the cargo bay door. I saw the rear door of the Pup slide shut as he pressed against it before disappearing completely.

    ¡°I told you I would be watching, Human,¡± a voice hissed in my ear from behind.

    Everything went black.

 Chapter 26. Allies

    Chapter 26. Allies

    CJ slumped against the rear door of the Pup in his suit. He was trying to process what just happened. Andy was still on the containment facility. He was wounded, maybe dead, and the Pup was on autopilot. CJ felt helpless. He couldn¡¯t pilot the Pup himself and he couldn¡¯t go back for Andrew. Worst of all, the Enforcer General had appeared out of thin air again, and stabbed Andrew through the back.

    ¡°Why did you have to fire at the Retribution?¡± CJ asked out loud from the bridge of the Bloodhound.

    He disconnected from the control station. The Pup was inbound and would be to the Bloodhound within a half hour. He needed to prep the med-bay for Tiff and then what? Andrew told him to use the escape option that Elvis preprogrammed into the Bloodhound if things went south but that would mean leaving Andy behind.

    What other option was there? CJ couldn¡¯t fight a Level 75 Enforcer General on his own. Tiff was unconscious and injured, and Elvis was still off-line because of the dampening field. He was out of options. He couldn¡¯t believe it, but he was going to have to leave Andrew.

    Warning alarms started blaring on the bridge:

    Transport vessel under fire

    A generic robotic voice said over the bridge''s intercoms.

    ¡°Oh shit, no, not this,¡± CJ shouted as he went back to his control station and jacked back into the Havok hound suit.

    As his suit came back online, he saw sparks showering and wires hanging all around the Pup. He ran up to the pilot¡¯s chair and took a look at the display. Multiple systems were malfunctioning, and the ship¡¯s hull had taken severe damage.

    ¡°Display enemy vessels!¡± CJ shouted.

    The display screen changed and showed 4 enemy drones in pursuit of the Pup. The Pup didn¡¯t have any defensive measures, it was purely an orbital transport vessel. There was nothing CJ could do, he slumped in the pilot''s chair and resigned himself to the inevitable outcome.

    Suddenly CJ saw the retribution fly past the Pup, weapons firing. Lasers targeted the drones in quick succession and cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds the drones were disabled.

    ¡°The Retribution has provided assistance to the transport vessel,¡± Princess Denae said through the Pup¡¯s comms.

    ¡°Not a second to spare either,¡± CJ responded.

    ¡°We will assist the Pup until it docks with the Bloodhound. Expect no further issues,¡± Denae responded.

    ¡°We ran into some trouble on the facility, Retribution. An Enforcer General showed up¡­ Andy¡­Captain Dawes is gone,¡± CJ said with resignation.

    ¡°Tiff is unconscious and injured. When we get back to the Bloodhound we will be jumping away. Elvis preprogrammed an escape plan, and I don¡¯t know where we will be jumping to.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the assist, Retribution, but we lost a lot today and I don¡¯t know what happens next,¡± CJ said.

    ¡°The Retribution will assist the Bloodhound in whatever way we can. We will rendezvous with you once you are safe. I¡¯ve sent the transmission frequencies to the Bloodhound and Elvis will be able to contact us on a secure channel. We will be on standby until we receive communication,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°We started on a sour note Bloodhound, but we want the same things. The Havokium people do not abandon our allies, you should know this. Retribution out.¡±

    CJ disconnected from the control station once again and rushed to the med bay to prepare to receive Tiff. The concern for Andrew was overwhelming, but he had things to do.

    ¡°Stay busy, CJ; a breakdown now doesn¡¯t help anyone,¡± he said to himself.

    A few minutes later, CJ was standing in the cargo bay as the Pup touched down. The ship was in rough shape. It smelled like burning chemicals and gunpowder. There were panels ripped open on the hull and black pock marks riddled the hull.

    ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± CJ said as he took in the sight of the damaged Pup.

    He shook himself out of his stupor and rushed to the back ramp of the Pup that had just finished opening. His armor still sat in the pilot chair, and Tiff was strapped to the left-side transport bench. CJ unstrapped her. He could smell the blue blood that soaked her hair and had dripped down to her white body suit.

    ¡°You gotta be okay, Tiff. You can¡¯t leave me here alone,¡± he whispered as he picked her up and began carrying her to the med bay.

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    Once he reached the med-bay, CJ lay Tiff in one of the four open beds. The beds had a metal base, and the mattress portion was some sort of futuristic gel that molded around the patient to regulate body temperature. The gel also created compression and shifted periodically to ensure that bed sores didn¡¯t form over time.

    There was nothing else CJ could do for now. He needed Elvis back online, and the only way to do that was to get out of range of the facility''s dampening field. CJ ran back to the bridge and sat in Andy¡¯s chair; the big red button was the only thing populated on his control panel. CJ tapped the button on the screen and the Bloodhound roared to life.

    CJ was pressed back into his chair briefly until the artificial gravity adjusted to compensate for the increased velocity. The Bridge display changed to a countdown that read:

    Time until warp ¨C 9 minutes 52 seconds.

    ¡°All I can do now is wait,¡± he said as he slumped down in the captain¡¯s chair of the Bloodhound. ¡°Andy, you better find a way to survive this, I can¡¯t do this without you.¡± Ten minutes later the Bloodhound exploded into empty space, a trail of cosmic radiation in its wake.

    ¡°Where is Captain?!¡± Elvis immediately shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t see Captain Dawes'' life signs on the Bloodhound! Explain SR-Jennings!¡±

    ¡°Elvis, we ran into some trouble on the containment facility. Tiff is in the med-bay right now and she needs your help.¡± CJ was already on his way to the med-bay while he spoke.

    ¡°The Enforcer General showed up right as Andy was about to board the Pup. The last I saw him, there was a blade shoved through his back and he was telling me to get back to the Bloodhound.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t possible. Captain is a brave warrior,¡± Elvis said, ¡°he has been chosen by the Havok Bringer; he cannot perish. He will be savior of universe¡­¡± Elvis trailed off, concern in his voice.

    CJ reached the med-bay and saw Tiff still on the bed. There were now tiny drones scanning her body and several thin metal arms protruded from the bed working to close the wound on her head.

    ¡°XO Tiff will be fine. She took damage to her neural cortex, but Elvis has repaired the damage,¡± Elvis said, ¡°XO should be awake soon.¡±

    CJ sat beside her in a chair, his head in his hands. The relief of hearing that Tiff would be okay washed over him like a wave.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, CJ?¡± Tiff asked, her words raspy and labored.

    ¡°Andy is gone¡­¡± CJ replied.

    ¡°He¡¯s gone, Tiff. Just as he was about to board the ship, that Enforcer showed up and stabbed a sword through his back. I don¡¯t know if he is dead, but I had to leave. He told me to leave, Tiff. He told me to get you back to the Bloodhound. I didn¡¯t know what else to do. Everything happened so fast. It just happened so fast,¡± CJ was rambling, the guilt of what happened pouring out of him as he paced back and forth.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive, CJ. Even though I have my true body back I still have a connection with Andrew. I can feel him, he is alive, but he is severely injured, and I don¡¯t know where he is,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°The Pup was taking fire on the trip back to the Bloodhound. The facility had launched some sort of defense drones to chase us. The Retribution saved you, Tiff. Princess Denae sent secure communications frequencies to Elvis and said to contact them once we are safe,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Tiff, what are we going to do now?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°We are going to contact the Retribution. Andrew put himself at risk to save me and we aren¡¯t going to abandon him now. If the Enforcer General took him somewhere, it would most likely be to a satellite containment location. He has the ability to warp into locations, but only within a designated area. He will more than likely hold Andrew there for questioning until he can arrange transport,¡± Tiff said as she sat up in her bed.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t helpless in this, CJ; I have my true body back now. My abilities will be amplified exponentially over what I could do before. The Retribution and Princess Denae have accepted us as allies, and they will be willing to assist us. Believe me, we will need their assistance for what comes next.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to my quarters to put on a clean uniform, then you and I will meet on the bridge and start trying to figure this whole thing out. Elvis, send our current coordinates to the Retribution. Once they arrive at our location, request that Princess Denae meet us on the Bloodhound.¡±

    An hour later the Retribution blasted through a warp tunnel streaming the same cosmic radiation as the Bloodhound before it. The ship took position about 50 kilometers off the starboard side of the Bloodhound. Within 15 minutes a transport vessel launched as Princess Denae proceeded to come aboard the Bloodhound.

    Tiff and CJ had gone down to meet Denae as she arrived in the transport bay. At first sight, CJ noticed how much nicer her transport was than the Pup, even before the Pup was damaged. It was only fitting; she was a princess and Commander of the Havokium fleet after all.

    Upon arriving, Denae disembarked from the transport and immediately walked up to Tiff and CJ. She had two guards trailing her; understandable since her first encounter with the crew of the Bloodhound involved her getting fired on.

    ¡°This has escalated, Tiffantrimore,¡± Denae said as she approached.

    ¡°Agreed, Denae. Opening fire on the Retribution was a miscalculation on Captain Dawes'' part, but he felt it was necessary to create an understanding between the two of us. The station registered the use of weapons and I assume they alerted the Enforcer General,¡± Tiff responded.

    ¡°How did an Enforcer General even become involved in this, Tiffantrimore? Our mission was to operate covertly, and now you have drawn the attention of the Council security force!¡± Denae pointed at Tiff as she spoke.

    Tiff was not going to allow Denae to control this situation. She responded, "Princess Denae, you have allied yourself with Captain Dawes. He has committed to assisting you in your cause, now is not the time to point fingers. If you must know, the council¡¯s suspicion was brought on by the presence of an unauthorized class in the tutorial. We knew that might happen; we just didn¡¯t know it would draw the attention of an Enforcer General.¡±

    ¡°I believe we can still salvage the situation, but we will require your assistance. The Enforcer General will be a satellite holding facility awaiting transport. He will not file his report until he has interrogated the prisoner. In my estimation, we have another 4-6 hours before we can be sure the details have reached the council; longer if Captain Dawes can withstand the interrogation.¡±

    ¡°Am I correct in saying that your covert operations team possesses coordinates for all satellite holding facilities in this zone?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°That is correct. Are you suggesting that we attack a Council facility, Tiffantrimore?¡± Denae asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

    Tiff took a step toward Princess Denae, ¡°That is exactly what I''m expecting. We''re gonna break Captain Dawes out and kill that Enforcer.¡±

 Chapter 27. Jailbird

    Chapter 27. Jailbird

    I awoke in a square cell; three sides were made of cold white metal of some sort. There were rivets in each corner from floor to ceiling; other than that, the walls were bare. The fourth side was a force field glowing with a bright amber and semi-translucent. I was lying on a bed that was level with the floor, slightly recessed so that the mattress was even with the floor. There was a small toilet and sink at the foot of the bed.

    I felt my stomach. My uniform top was gone and there was a large scar on the left side of my abdomen. The scar on my stomach was tender to the touch. My ribs were also tender, I was sure the sword stabbing in from behind had broken a few of my ribs but now they were healed. I must have been given some sort of healing stim because the last thing I remember is that jagged red blade sticking out of my stomach.

    I stood up to see if I could get some sort of idea where I was. I could see out of the force field and looked to the left and right. There were more cells alternating sides all the way down as far as I could see, which wasn¡¯t far. I counted five cells on the side opposite mine, and I figured there were at least five on my side.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I shouted, ¡°is anyone there?¡±

    I heard no response. Surely, I wasn¡¯t the only one in this prison. Somebody else had to be here. I figured there were guards if nothing else, so I kept shouting.

    ¡°Is anyone fucking there?!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°Keep it down. You don¡¯t want the guards coming through,¡± a male voice whispered in response.

    ¡°If the guards come, they¡¯ll make sure you stay quiet.¡±

    ¡°Where are we? I don¡¯t even know how I got here. What the hell is going on?¡± I asked as I pressed my hands against the force field.

    I was immediately thrown back across my cell, slamming hard against the wall. Pain shot through my hands but there were no visible burn marks.

    ¡°Uugh, what the actual fuck?" I groaned as I rolled over onto my side coughing.

    ¡°Yeah, umm, you don¡¯t want to touch that,¡± a new voice said, this one female. ¡°That force field won''t kill you, but it will knock the shit out of you. It¡¯s best if you try not to touch it.¡±

    ¡°Fuck this!¡± I growled walking back up to the front of the cell.

    I stood and breathed deeply and tried to summon my armor. The tips of my fingers turned black like the armor was trying to equip and then it immediately receded. I tried again and got the same result.

    I raised my hands and looked at my palms, ¡°what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Your abilities won''t work inside the cell; they have a way to block them,¡± the female voice said, ¡°we don¡¯t think we''re getting out of here alive.¡±

    I could hear the resignation in her voice as she spoke. I walked back to my bed and sat down, my back against the wall.

    ¡°My name is Loren. That¡¯s Brian in the next cell,¡± the female voice said.

    ¡°Everyone calls me Red though,¡± the male voice said, ¡°we have been here for a while. We made it through the tutorial but about two days later we were captured and brought here. We couldn¡¯t really figure out how to operate our ship and ended up in the wrong quadrant. The lizard guys said we were trying to escape.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean you couldn¡¯t operate your ship? Doesn¡¯t the AI do it for you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What do you mean AI?¡± Red asked. ¡°There was an autopilot sequence to get us off the tutorial planet but after that, we were on our own. There were some instructions, a fucking instruction book to pilot a spaceship, ain''t that some shit?

    ¡°We did manage to get the ship moving. We even accidentally did a warp jump and that¡¯s how we ended up so far off course. It¡¯s like they wanted us to fail,¡±

    I sat with my arms on my knees listening. ¡°They did. The more of us who fail, the higher their chances are of winning this thing,¡± I said back.

    ¡°What about your guardian?¡± I asked, ¡°didn¡¯t you each get a guardian?¡±

    ¡°We came through in a group of five. We had a guardian at first. Some guy that said he was a super AI or something. He helped us get through the tutorial level and even helped us pick our classes. Once we got to our ship, he started glitching and freaking out. He said something was wrong with his true body, then he went fuzzy and disappeared,¡± Red said.

    ¡°I think he died,¡± Loren said sadly.

    I sat in silence for a minute. It didn¡¯t make any sense; how could their AI just disappear? Why had the group only gotten one AI instead of one each? I had so many questions and no way of getting answers.

    ¡°How did you get here?¡± Red asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story that ends with me being stabbed in the back; literally stabbed in the back by an Enforcer General,¡± I said.

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    ¡°Is that that big scary thing that dropped you off in the cell?¡± Loren asked.

    ¡°If he had four arms, no eyes, and two red swords then yeah, that was him,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Why were you even fighting that thing? He seemed super strong but our interfaces don¡¯t work in here so I couldn¡¯t tell for sure,¡± Red said.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t fighting him, and he is Level 75. We didn¡¯t expect him to be there,¡± I said.

    This conversation was getting me nowhere. Not only was I stuck here but there were at least five other humans here too. I had to figure out a way to get myself and these people out of here, but I had no idea where to start.

    Suddenly I saw a light flicker out of the corner of my right eye. I looked up to see Tiff, kind of.

    ¡°Tiff? Is that you?¡± I whispered.

    It sort of looked like her, but she was blurry. It was like she was here, but also not here at the same time.

    ¡°Captain, I need you to listen. Don¡¯t talk, just listen,¡± she said as she looked through me.

    It was like she couldn¡¯t see me; she was just talking in my general direction. I waved my hand in front of her face, but she didn¡¯t react. I tried to touch her, but my hand just phased right through. I could feel something, but it wasn¡¯t solid.

    ¡°We¡¯re coming for you soon. The Retribution is helping us, and we will be at your location in approximately half an hour. The detention station has limited defensive capabilities but that enforcer is still on board so we will have our hands full,¡± she said.

    "I can sense your location, but something is stopping me from materializing my secondary body. I assume your abilities are suppressed too. I need you to listen, this part is important. When the chaos starts, I need you to find the suppression field generator and destroy it. We will handle getting you out, but we are going to need that field down first. Do you understand?"

    ¡°Tiff, I have no idea where to find that thing. Even if I do, what are you going to do about the Enforcer General?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let you put your life at risk, or anyone else¡¯s for that matter.¡±

    ¡°I''m running out of time, Captain. The plan is already in place, and we are en route. It''s too late to turn back now, and we wouldn¡¯t anyway. A crew needs a captain, Andrew. Just be ready when the force fields go down,¡± she said.

    ¡°Tiff, there are other people here,¡± I said. ¡°We can''t leave them.¡±

    ¡°You are my priority Captain but if you can save them, then do it. We need all the help we can get,¡± she replied.

    With that, her body faded out and I was alone again. Things were about to get really crazy really fast and, to make matters worse, I heard footsteps coming toward my cell.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake, Human,¡± the Enforcer said with a sickening smile, his eyeless head tilting to the side as he grinned.

    ¡°Your body is quite delicate. I barely used any force when I slid my blade into your back. I was honestly quite surprised it pushed completely through.¡±

    ¡°Weak species, I guess; not surprising.¡±

    I stood up, fists clenched, anger pulsing through me as I stared at the massive enforcer.

    ¡°Ha! How amusing the primate is angered. I assume you will start throwing feces next,¡± the enforcer continued taunting me without moving a muscle.

    ¡°Let me give you a history lesson, Human. My name is Anthragor, my people are the Mulhaz. We hail from the planet Khafaparet. This means nothing to you for I am aware that your ignorance is greater even than your foolhardiness.¡±

    ¡°However, I must insist that you humor me. After all, you will be going nowhere anytime soon.¡±

    The creature placed his four clawed hands behind his back, his swords jingled lightly as he paced back and forth and continued speaking.

    ¡°My people were in the founding group of the Universal Council. We consider it the greatest honor to serve the Council and have done so willingly for generations. I have been in the council militia for nearly two hundred of your Earth years, and it has taken me that long to achieve the heights at which I now find myself.¡±

    ¡°It is not merely tenure however that has allowed me to progress to the rank of Enforcer General. No, if that were the case there would be many others who would have surpassed me long ago. It has been my dedication to the Council, and my desire to see their reach and power grow that has allowed me to achieve the rank of my rank.¡±

    ¡°You see, there is a balance, Human. A balance to the tradition of Reaping and Sowing that must be upheld. Yet, you have tried to tip the scales in your favor. I cannot simply overlook this, for it is a grave insult to the Council.¡±

    He stopped pacing and turned to face me, his menacing head extending outward, toward the cell.

    He hissed, anger and annoyance in his words, ¡°An insult to the Council is an insult to me and for this insult, you will pay with your life.¡±

    ¡°Are you gonna talk all day? Should I have a seat because this is really dragging on,¡± I said, trying to make the point that I wouldn¡¯t be intimidated.

    The Enforcer just smiled again, ¡°Words are all you can muster, Human. Pathetic.¡±

    The Enforcer turned to walk back to where he had come from. He walked with determination like someone who had a lifetime of military service.

    ¡°Hey, Anthragor!¡± I shouted, ¡°you can stick your balance up your ass if you can find it, you blind asshole!¡±

    Anthragor paused, one of his top hands quivered near the hilt of his sword before he continued walking out of sight.

    ¡°Jesus man, what the hell is wrong with you?¡± Red asked, ¡°don¡¯t provoke that thing; it could kill you without breaking a sweat!¡±

    I stared out of my cell toward where Anthragor had just walked, ¡°If he could have killed me, he would have done it already. There is a reason we''re all still alive.¡±

    After a few minutes of waiting, I was confident that Anthragor was gone. I needed to get these people up to speed before the Bloodhound arrived.

    I looked towards Red''s cell and began to talk with a hushed whisper, ¡°Okay, I need you two to listen to me and pass the word to your friends if you can. My ship will be here any minute. We are getting out of this place, but before we can, I¡¯ve got to find a suppression field generator thing and destroy it.¡±

    ¡°The only thing is I have no idea where to find it, so we are going to have to move fast and try to find where it is stored.¡±

    ¡°We were brought in through the main docking bay,¡± Loren said. "We walked through a lot of the facility, and from what I can tell this is the only area with holding cells. This place is like one big rectangle. We saw it when they towed our ship in.¡±

    ¡°We came in through the front and I think we''re in the back portion of the facility now. There are no guard stations, it''s all automated. If we go up the hallway in the direction the Enforcer came from, we will come to a cross-section that has hallways on both sides. It has got to be on one side or the other since the hallway out leads to the docking bay.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we will split up. Whoever finds the room, just destroy anything that looks important. We have got to take the field down,¡± I said.

    Just as I finished speaking sparks started sprinkling off the wall above my bed. They were moving in a circle like the wall was being cut with a plasma cutter. I watched impatiently as a hole about four feet in diameter was cut into the wall of my cell.

    The section of wall in the center of the hole that had been cut clanged onto the floor and Tiff stepped through.

    She rushed over and threw me a rifle, ¡°Time to go, Captain.¡±

 Chapter 28. Hungry Like the Wolf

    Chapter 28. Hungry Like the Wolf

    A few hours earlier the Bloodhound and the Retribution were on course to the detention facility. Princess Denae had an organized map of all designated Council facilities in the quadrant and in the universe for that matter. The Havokium had done their research before undertaking this current rebellion and were determined to bring the Council to its knees.

    The first step in the rebellion would be to attack the Council¡¯s infrastructure. The taxes paid by the various galactic entities that undertook the sowing and reaping of non-initiated planets were the biggest influx of revenue for the Council. Denae planned to hit them where she could be sure they would feel it. If she could interrupt the flow of revenue, even for a short time, it would weaken the Council¡¯s hold on the universe.

    There could not be two dungeons running concurrently, the strain on the System AI race was too great. The reclusive race known as the Coeus were tasked with building and maintaining the dungeons for each event, and the resources required to do it were outside the intellectual grasp of most sentient biological races.

    The Coeus were not enslaved like many of the other stewards of the dungeon, yet they weren¡¯t exactly willing participants. Their home system was a mystery and the quadrant had been quarantined and cut off from the rest of the universe. This was partly a request from the Coeus and partly a bargaining chip for the Universal Council.

    The Universal Council saw them as dangerous and too powerful to control, so instead they decided they would keep them occupied. As far as anyone knew, the Coeus were immortal, they weren''t biological life-forms, but rather a remnant of the Furistian civilization. The Coeus had existed for millions of years and would continue to exist indefinitely.

    They did however need stimulation, and the dungeons provided just enough stimulation to keep them occupied. The Coeus were not individual beings but operated as a sort of collective mind. They did, however, still have their limits like any other life form in the universe biological or not.

    The agreement that was made was that the Council would protect their galaxy from intruders, and they would be architects for all future dungeons. The Coeus accepted, though somewhat reluctantly.

    The initial stage of Princess Denae¡¯s plan was to start taking out strategic points that held value to the Council. Refuel and maintenance stations, troop carriers, and power generation stations. It would be death by a thousand cuts. So why not start with this detention facility?

    This was not an initial target and was of little import in the grand scheme of things, but it would provide a much-needed test to her crew.

    Princess Denae sat in her quarters as she prepared for the meeting with Tiffantrimore and the crew of the Bloodhound. She wasn¡¯t thrilled that she had allied herself with the Bloodhound and Captain Dawes, but the Havokium culture demanded honor to be upheld. Once an agreement was made, it was imperative that one upholds their part in the agreement.

    The opportunity to retrieve Captain Dawes and Havok Bringer armor could also not easily be passed up. Denae knew the possibilities that the armor and ship held, and they would definitely turn into allies that she would need in the future if Captain Dawes survived.

    The display in front of Denae blinked on and she saw Tiffantrimore and SR-Jennings sitting at a table preparing for her arrival to the meeting.

    ¡°Hello Tiffantrimore, SR-Jennings, are we ready to start?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Hello Princess Denae. Again, we thank you for your assistance. This would not be possible without you,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°We think we have a plan, but it will require heavy investment from the Retribution and your crew. Is that acceptable?¡±

    Denae steepled her hands in front of herself, preparing to speak, ¡°It was expected, Tiffantrimore. While you are a capable guardian, and the Bloodhound continues to impress, a crew of two would not be able to best an Enforcer General.¡±

    ¡°I have a strike team of five of my best warriors prepared to infiltrate the facility so they can locate Captain Dawes and evacuate him to safety. If they encounter the Enforcer they will, with luck, be able to overcome him. They range in Level from 54 ¨C 60.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be necessary,¡± Tiff responded. ¡°We will still need the strike team, but they will not be the primary team in the facility¡­I will,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Please explain,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°We need the Retribution to provide a distraction of sorts. Your drop ship will approach the station cloaked. I assume your drop ship has the same cloaking ability as the Retribution?" Tiff asked.

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    "Yes, it does," Denae responded.

    "Good, after you enter the docking bay you will uncloak your ship and release the strike team. That will draw the attention of the guards and hopefully the Enforcer. Once he is away from the detention cells, I will infiltrate the facility and lead Captain Dawes out to the waiting drop ship. We can evac on your ship and rendezvous back with the Bloodhound at a pre-disclosed location," Tiff explained.

    ¡°The Bloodhound will swing around and provide defensive support as soon as I am on the facility.¡±

    ¡°I will accompany Captain Dawes to find and destroy the suppression field generator and then we will deal with the Enforcer. I will need the assistance of your strike team for that part of the mission.¡±

    Denae leaned back in her chair, ¡°I will be assisting with the operation as well. I am Level 63, and my Electro Savant class will be needed. As I stated earlier Tiffantrimore, we don¡¯t abandon our allies and I lead from the front. I will not put my crew at risk if I am not willing to risk myself.¡±

    ¡°I understand and appreciate that, Princess Denae. Your presence on the facility will be greatly appreciated,¡± Tiff said.

    A few hours later the Bloodhound was within one light day of the detention facility when Elvis spoke up, ¡°Unknown vessel located, Port side 500 kilometers out. Should I kill?¡±

    ¡°Wait, Elvis. What do the initial scans show?¡± Tiff responded.

    ¡°Full power on board the vessel, no life signs. Vessel is rabbit class cruiser,¡± Elvis replied.

    CJ walked up beside Tiff, ¡°What the hell is a rabbit class cruiser, and why do aliens know what rabbits are?¡±

    ¡°Anyone that travels through a pod warp station is implanted with a neural decoder that allows you to understand most any language. If there isn¡¯t a word that translates fully, the decoder will use the most relevant term. In this case, the term is rabbit,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Why rabbit?¡± CJ asked.

    Tiff smiled, ¡°Because it jumps a lot. That could be useful.¡±

    ¡°Elvis, can we tow that ship? Is the Bloodhound capable?¡±

    Elvis grunted excitedly, ¡°Elvis make it work. Stand by for visual.¡±

    CJ looked at Tiff and sighed, ¡°What exactly does he mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but we can probably salvage some parts off that ship. The Bloodhound is painfully lacking in some key areas. To my knowledge, we have no cloaking ability, and our warp cooldown is agonizingly slow. If he can manage to bring that ship into tow, we can strip it for parts,¡± Tiff said.

    The ship in question appeared on the bridge display about 5 minutes later. There were no exterior lights and it seemed to be floating harmlessly through space. It was about a quarter of the size of the Bloodhound, but it looked much more advanced. If the Bloodhound was a 15-passenger cargo van, this thing was a Porsche 911.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird¡­right?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°It does seem a little odd,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Elvis, you are sure there are no life signs on board that ship?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°Elvis sure, there are no advanced AI aboard the ship either, but SR-Jennings doesn¡¯t ask about AI because he is racist piece of shit.¡±

    ¡°Hey, what the hell, I¡¯m not racist! I didn¡¯t think about AI being on board,¡± CJ replied Incredulous at the accusation.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know because you are piece of shit!¡±

    ¡°Okay, you two, that¡¯s enough. Let''s just get that ship attached and in tow,¡± Tiff said.

    As the Bloodhound approached, music started playing through the ships PA:

    Straddle the line, in discord and rhyme

    I¡¯m on the hunt I¡¯m after you

    Mouth is alive, with juices like wine

    And I¡¯m hungry like the wolf

    It was Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran.

    ¡°Elvis, what the fuck are you doing?!¡± CJ shouted as the Bloodhound looked to be on a collision course with the mystery ship.

    ¡°Elvis hungry! Hungry like Wolf, haaaaa haaaa ha!¡± Elvis laughed maniacally.

    ¡°Strap in!¡± Tiff shouted, ¡°he is gonna ram it!¡±

    Just as the front of the Bloodhound approached the mystery ship, the front portion of the ship opened up. As the mystery ship began to enter, the opening on the Bloodhound slammed closed, tearing the mystery ship to pieces. This process repeated several times until the mystery ship was completely gone.

    ¡°Uhh,Elvis? Did you just fucking eat that other ship?!¡± CJ said.

    ¡°YES! It is dead and I devoured its lifeless corpse. Elvis is warrior, Elvis is predator, ELVIS IS AWESOME!¡±

    The music still played over the ship¡¯s speakers as Tiff and CJ sat slack jawed in their seats staring at the display that now showed empty space.

    CJ spoke without even looking in Tiff¡¯s direction, ¡°Soooo, is this normal? Do lots of ships do this sort of thing?¡±

    "I I¡¯ve never seen anything like that. Ships don¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t know what just happened,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Elvis, we needed that ship for parts. Why did you destroy it?¡±

    ¡°Elvis will be able to allocate relevant parts of ship and upgrade Bloodhound. Do not be concerned, XO Tiff,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Wait...you can build your own upgrades by consuming other vessels?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Yes, Elvis is awesome,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Mystery ship is being broken down and upgrades will begin within hours. Elvis will update you on available upgrades before proceeding with install.¡±

    ¡°O...Okay, just keep me posted I guess,¡± Tiff replied.

    The Retribution had been following at a safe distance when the event occurred. Princess Denae was beside herself when she contacted Tiff.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore, did the Bloodhound just¡­eat that other ship?¡± Princess Denae asked.

    ¡°Umm, I believe so, Princess Denae. We weren¡¯t aware of that particular capability of the Bloodhound but apparently Elvis can repurpose technology from other ships to upgrade the Bloodhound. That is what you just witnessed,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Interesting to say the least. That ship of yours has the ability to become one of the most advanced vessels in the universe. This is¡­it''s just astounding,¡± Denae responded.

    ¡°We should be at the detention facility in approximately 90 minutes. We will be going on radio silence until then. Hail us if something urgent comes up. Good luck, Bloodhound.¡±

    ¡°Elvis. Is. Warrior!¡± Elvis said one last time to drive home his defeat and consumption of the defenseless mystery ship.

    ¡°I gotta give it to you, Elvis, you never cease to surprise us,¡± CJ said as the Bloodhound continued its journey to the detention facility, and hopefully to the rescue of Captain Dawes.

 Chapter 29. Barrel of Monkeys

    Chapter 29. Barrel of Monkeys

    A few hours later the Retribution drop ship approached the front docking bay of the detention facility while still cloaked. The plan was for the Retribution to get close enough to scramble the sensors of the facility, release the loaded drop ship, and allow the Bloodhound to proceed unnoticed to the back of the cube-shaped facility where the cells were located.

    Once the Retribution was in position, the Bloodhound advanced toward the facility''s rear. Upon reaching the rear of the facility, Tiff gave instructions to Elvis on where to align the ship. The Bloodhound then released an umbilical bridge from the rear cargo bay where Tiff and CJ began using a plasma cutter to cut through the hull of the detention facility.

    It would be easy enough for them to grab Andrew and run, but that wouldn¡¯t solve the problem of the Enforcer General who could apparently warp anywhere he wanted, even onto moving ships.

    Denae had explained the technology to Tiff and CJ during the mission briefing. It was only available to select high-ranking Council operatives, but Denae believed that the same technology being used to keep Tiff from materializing her second body inside Andrew''s cell could, in theory, be used against the Enforcer.

    So now the team had a third goal along with rescuing Captain Dawes and killing the Enforcer General. They had to find and steal that technology to avoid this happening again.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re almost through. Get ready,¡± CJ said as he knelt and worked the plasma cutter.

    With that, Tiff braced herself, she was going in mostly blind and without her abilities until they could find and disable the suppression field generator. Along with everything else, the captain had informed her that there were five other prisoners, and they would be coming with him.

    When CJ finished cutting the circular piece of the hull that fell into the cell, Tiff immediately jumped through.

    ¡°Time to go, Captain,¡± Tiff said as she threw me a rifle.

    I picked up the rifle, checked that it was loaded, and released the safety, readying myself for whatever came next, ¡°How do we get the force field down?¡±

    Tiff walked to the front of the cell and removed a small grey tube from her pocket. She ran the tube along the floor at the base of the force field releasing a white paste onto the floor.

    ¡°Stand back,¡± she said as she backed me up near the bed and picked up my mattress to give us some cover.

    As I huddled behind the mattress, she leaned out from the left side and fired one plasma round at the paste.

    The paste exploded, completely destroying the floor and causing the field to malfunction. At the same time, alarms began blaring all over the facility while red lights phased off and on. The sudden influx of sound and blinking lights was disarming as I took a second to gather myself.

    ¡°We need to move, now!¡± Tiff said as the field completely disarmed and the exit to the cell opened.

    The other prisoners were shouting. I could see Loren and Red staring out of their cells behind their own force fields. They understood what was happening and had assured me that they and the rest of their team would be ready.

    ¡°Get these fields down. We know what to do next,¡± Red shouted.

    ¡°Working on it!¡± I responded as Tiff and I ran down the hallway toward the front of the facility.

    ¡°There should be a master release near the exit door!¡± Tiff shouted over the blaring alarm.

    Sure enough, as we reached the exit for the holding area, there was a panel on the left wall beside the door with a master release button. I ran up and pressed the release button, the screen flashed green, and the cells all opened.

    All the fields dropped, and the five prisoners ran out into the hallway. I had spoken to Red and Loren, but this was my first time seeing them since our cells positions made it hard to see other prisoners.

    Red was about 6 feet tall, with short cut red hair poking out from under an old, tattered ball cap. Loren was about 5¡¯8 and, funny enough, she also had red hair, but it was more of a strawberry blonde in contrast to Red¡¯s bright orange hair. The other 3 members were made up of two more stout-looking guys and a smaller-framed brunette woman.

    ¡°Okay, you all take the right side, Tiff and I will take the left side. I don¡¯t know if you have classes that will help but when we disarm the suppression field you will be able to use them again. Do not engage the Enforcer under any circumstances. If you see him, just run. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yeah man, we got it. It would be nice if we had one of those guns though,¡± Red said noticing the rifles Tiff and I were carrying.

    I tossed him my rifle. After all, the group wouldn¡¯t be much help if they couldn¡¯t defend themselves, and honestly, these rifles would only help against guards anyhow. If they ran into the Enforcer then some of them, if not all of them, would most likely die fast, rifle or none.

    "Do you know how to use that thing?" I asked.

    "Point it bad guys and pull the trigger?" Red responded.

    "Good enough for now," I shrugged.

    Tiff stepped up and got the group''s attention as they stood in a semi-circle around us. They all eyed her cautiously. I wasn''t sure what their guardian had been like, but Tiff was a sight in her true body. This team was obviously wary of aliens after what they had experienced.

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    ¡°Listen, if you don¡¯t find anything down that hallway, you need to make your way to the front cargo bay. We have a drop ship waiting there, and a strike team providing support. Don¡¯t try to fight. You will die,¡± she said.

    The group all looked around at each other, trepidation obvious amongst them all as she spoke.

    ¡°Go now and move fast!¡± Tiff shouted as the group immediately turned and ran out the exit door and down the right-side corridor.

    ¡°We need to move too. We have got to find those suppression generators before the enforcer finds us.¡±

    ********************************

    Upon hearing the facility''s alarms, the drop ship uncloaked and landed in the docking bay. There was no force field blocking entrance or exit, just a small field that allowed for environmental stability. Denae and the five-man armored strike team exited the rear of the still hovering drop ship and entered the empty bay to the sound of alarms and flashing lights.

    ¡°Be ready! Take up defensive positions and be ready to lay down covering fire!¡± Denae shouted.

    As soon as the words left her mouth, a swarm of guards entered the docking bay. These guards were much like the Mech guards we had encountered on the AI containment facility where Tiff¡¯s body had been stored. They were higher in level though, ranging from Level 9 to Level 12. Thankfully, there was no sign of the large armored Mechs.

    This station obviously saw little use and therefore had no need for a large contingent of guards and heavy defenses. Anthragor only used it out of necessity and was only in the area after responding to the communication the automated facility had sent out upon receiving the five stranded humans.

    It was a lucky turn of events for the Enforcer as he could only use his personal spatial warp in a limited vicinity. When he received orders to follow up on the human known as Andrew Dawes, he was already at the detention facility preparing to transport the other humans.

    ¡°No sign of the Enforcer! Take out those guard bots!¡± Denae shouted to her strike team as she continued to survey the cargo bay for signs of danger.

    She did have a level and class but didn¡¯t possess the same interface that participants in the dungeon had. That feature was designed especially for participants by the Coeus and, while outside entities could possess a level and ability, they wouldn¡¯t have access to the interface or system-wide communications.

    For now, Denae and her strike team would hold their position and wait for Tiffantrimore and Captain Dawes. If the situation changed, they would need to advance into the facility further.

    ¡°Denae, we are currently en route to the first possible suppression field location. Stand by for updates. If you are approached by a group of five humans, be aware that they are friendly and will require assistance," Tiff said through the comms.

    ¡°Understood. Make it fast, Tiffantrimore!¡±

    Tiff and Andrew ran down the long empty hallway, eventually coming to a singular room at the end. The door slid open, and Tiff saw the suppression field generator, but something else caught her eye as well.

    I stood beside her, watching the rear in case guards or worse were coming their way.

    ¡°Is that the thing?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, that is the field generator, but they have several portable units in this room as well. We need to take two of them to be sure we don¡¯t get any more unexpected visits,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Those things gotta weigh hundreds of pounds each!¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, but luckily you have a suit that can handle it,¡± she said.

    The main generator was in the center of the room. It was a large cylindrical shaped piece of machinery that stretched from floor to ceiling. There was an audible hum emanating from it and the air in the room felt like it held some sort of charge, almost like static electricity.

    ¡°So how do we disengage the generator?" I asked.

    ¡°Easy,¡± Tiff said as she leveled her rifle and fired three rounds in quick succession into the machine.

    The generator smoked and popped as the hum wound to a halt. My interface blinked and returned to my view immediately.

    ¡°It worked; my interface is back!¡± I said as I walked over to the far wall of the room to grab a couple of the portable generators.

    The portable generators were about the size of a small personal refrigerator. They were made of a shiny black metal and had no visible markings. There was a small electronic panel on top of the units that was currently blank since they were powered down.

    I inspected one of the units and saw a recessed handle on the top of it directly above the panel. The handle was a pressure release, sort of like a fuel door on some cars. I pushed the handle in a bit, and it sprung out of the top.

    ¡°Convenient,¡± I said.

    ¡°Grab two. We will need one for the Bloodhound and one for the Retribution,¡± Tiff said as she positioned herself near the front door, rifle ready.

    I grabbed the handle and tried to lift the unit, but I could barely budge it, even with my increased strength stat. The thing must have weighed three hundred pounds.

    ¡°You are going to have to use your armor. You are stronger than you were, but you can''t match the strength of your armor."

    I took a breath and stared at my palms as I mentally equipped my armor. I was hoping that I wouldn¡¯t get the same response I got in my cell. Sure enough, I saw the armor cover my hands and arms completely as it fully equipped. My interface changed to the combat HUD that I had become accustomed to while wearing my armor.

    I walked over and grabbed the portable generator with one arm. I had to strain, and my armor whined as it flexed but I was able to pick it up.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± I said as I shook my head.

    ¡°No time to think about it now. Grab the other one and we have to make our way to the Retribution,¡± Tiff said.

    We immediately started back down the empty hallway. We still hadn¡¯t encountered any of the guards or the Enforcer so we were hoping our luck would hold. As we came back to the four-way intersection where we started, I saw the other group running our way. The group was now fully armed and some of them were wearing armor, while the brunette woman whose name I didn¡¯t know yet was glowing slightly.

    ¡°Hey, our interfaces and abilities are back. I guess you guys found the generator!¡± Red said. ¡°There was an armory on our side, so we all grabbed a weapon.¡±

    As the group trotted to a stop in front of us, they just looked at me, amazed.

    ¡°Wh-what is that armor?¡± Red asked.

    ¡°It came with my class. I can tell you more about it when we get out of here,¡± I said, ¡°right now we need to get out of this damn place.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. Everyone, follow Andrew. Let''s stay close and watch our rear,¡± Red said to his friends as the group fell in behind me and Tiff.

    We ran down the long hallway toward the front docking bay, still not encountering any resistance. Soon we came to the exit door into the cargo bay.

    ¡°Okay, everyone be ready, I don¡¯t know what we are walking into,¡± I said.

    Tiff stood beside me as we waited, ¡°Denae, we are preparing to enter the cargo bay, prepare to EVAC.¡±

    No answer.

    ¡°Denae, we are preparing to enter the cargo bay. Do you copy?¡±

    Tiff looked at me, concern on her face as she grasped her rifle tightly in her hands.

    ¡°No response from Princess Denae. Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s a comms malfunction,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well, we''re out of options. We have got to get to that drop ship. Let¡¯s go!¡± I said.

    As we ran through the sliding door, the sounds of combat assaulted our ears. We couldn¡¯t believe what we saw.

    Anthragor stood directly in front of the Retribution drop ship, bodies lying on the floor all around him. The strike team members lay dead or wounded. One was completely beheaded, another disemboweled, screaming, trying to keep his insides from falling completely out of his body. It was utter chaos.

    Anthragor was standing in the center of the chaos, two of his arms holding those menacing red swords as they impaled the fifth member of the strike team and held him dangling in the air, screaming as he died.

    He turned and his head in my direction, his eyeless face sending a shiver down my spine. He smiled with that nightmarish maw as he continued holding the dying soldier above his head.

    ¡°Leaving so soon, primate?¡±

 Chapter 30. Give Him a Hand

    Chapter 30. Give Him a Hand

    Princess Denae opened her eyes, everything was blurry. She could hear the screams of her men around her as she lay crumpled against the opened cargo bay door of the drop ship. The last thing she remembered was the Enforcer rushing into the room as the strike team finished off the last of the guards.

    Denae was scouting ahead to ensure the facility entrance was clear of enemies when the Enforcer rushed her from the other side.

    The door slid open, and the Enforcer screamed through, little more than a blur. He kicked Denae in the chest before she even had time to react. She flew completely across the large room slamming into the hull of the Retribution drop ship.

    As she blacked out, she saw her men rushing the Enforcer.

    As she awoke, Denae shook her head trying to gain back some small amount of clarity. The Enforcer stood in the center of the cargo bay, one of her strike team held in the air above his head by the two jagged red swords, the others lying dead on the floor around him. Denae felt a wave of emotion swell inside. She had led her men to death, she had failed to complete the mission. All of this and more washed over her as she watched the last man die.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± she screamed as she stood, electricity crackling in waves over her body.

    As we entered the room and saw the carnage, I turned to the other five prisoners, ¡°Get to that drop ship, now!¡±

    Tiff rushed in, placing herself between me and Anthragor. She turned her head, looking back over her shoulder, ¡°Andrew, you cannot fight him. Get to the ship with them. Denae and I will keep him occupied.¡±

    Anthragor dropped the now-dead soldier, his body slamming lifelessly to the ground, and turned to face Tiff ¡°So, the primate brought help. How entertaining.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t killed a Sapere in quite some time. This day just continues to reward my diligence.¡±

    As he spoke, Denae rushed him from his rear, her body completely consumed with electricity. As she ran, tendrils of electricity jumped out form her body arcing off the floor and objects around her.

    As she approached, Anthrogor stood unmoving seemingly unaware of the threat approaching from behind him.

    Just as she reached him, Anthragor¡¯s bottom right arm shot out, grabbing Denae by the throat and lifting her completely off the ground.

    ¡°A nuisance. Do you mean to kill me, Havokium? Did you assume I would be threatened by you and your quaint party tricks?"

    His head never turned in her direction as he spoke, still focused on me with Tiff between us. His hand flexed around Denae¡¯s throat as she grasped at his fingers trying to free herself from his grasp.

    ¡°I.. co¡­ get re..¡±

    I heard a voice over my comm, but it was breaking up.

    ¡°CJ? Is that you?¡± I asked, not taking my eyes off Anthragor.

    ¡°Hold on, bro! I¡¯m coming!¡± CJ shouted over the comms.

    ¡°Elvis coming too, time to KILL!¡± Elvis shouted as two of the Havok hound drop suits shot into the cargo bay from outside; one missing a left arm.

    The two suits shot into the bay like rockets, slamming into Anthragor, knocking him back across the room, and allowing Denae to free herself.

    ¡°Run!¡± Tiff shouted, as I took off toward the dropship with the five prisoners.

    We reached the ramp in the rear of the drop ship, and I threw the two portable field generators inside. I had 45 seconds left on my suit before it timed out.

    ¡°Get inside and strap in!¡± I shouted to the group.

    As the group all rushed into the drop ship, I returned to the ramp. Anthragor was up now. Denae and the two Havok Hound suits piloted by CJ and Elvis were advancing on him and he was cornered.

    He got up to one knee, using one of his swords to brace himself. He lifted that eyeless head toward me and smiled again.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming, Primate!¡± he screamed as he stood and rushed the group.

    Anthragor moved with the grace of a warrior whose skills were honed to perfection over countless decades. CJ swung with his suit''s remaining right arm. Anthragor dropped the sword he was holding in his left top hand and caught the punch. He then caught the sword with his bottom left hand and, with a blindingly fast swing, he bisected the suit and kept walking.

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    Elvis screamed, ¡°Face me and die with honor!¡±

    He had some sort of long two-handed hammer; I wasn¡¯t sure where it came from, but I assumed it was in the armory somewhere.

    Elvis swung the hammer, connecting with the side of Anthragor¡¯s head with a crunch. Elvis then jumped into the air as boosters from the bottom of the suit¡¯s feet exploded and propelled him forward impossibly fast. His knee connected with Anthragor''s chest, doubling the Enforcer over with a grunt.

    At the same moment, Princess Denae threw herself back into the fray. She rushed up and extended her two arms toward Anthragor, electricity exploding into him with a crackling sizzle.

    ¡°Aaargh!¡± Anthragor screamed. ¡°Enough of this!¡± he shouted as he stood and kicked Elvis¡¯s suit, knocking it back onto the ground.

    I was reeling. I couldn¡¯t watch this. I couldn¡¯t watch Anthragor kill the people who were trying to save me; I had to act. I saw Tiff rushing toward the Enforcer as he swung his swords wildly at Denae who continued to blast electricity into him while dodging his wild swings.

    The timer on my interface was down to 30 seconds.

    If I can catch him off guard I can help, I thought.

    I summoned my daggers and ran toward him; I had to end this.

    I ran as fast as my suit would carry me, crossing the room in seconds. As Anthragor struggled against Denae''s blast, I jumped, holding my two daggers pointing down ready to strike the final blow.

    I can do this, if I can just get to him and get my daggers into his body, I can end this nightmare.

    Just as my daggers were about to make contact, he looked up, impossibly fast, and smiled once more. His right bottom arm shot out, catching Denae in the side of the head with a punch and knocking her to the ground.

    Then, with unbelievable reflexes, he swung the two blood-red swords up in an X motion, taking off both my arms from the elbow down. My arms fell to the ground, my dagger clanged and disappeared.

    I fell to the ground in front of the Enforcer, blood pouring from my two arms as I held them up in front of me. My suit deactivated as I slumped to my knees watching the blood spurt onto the floor. My health bar was rapidly depleting, my body was going cold.

    It¡¯s over, I¡¯m dead, I¡­. I failed, I thought as I knelt there, bleeding to death.

    ¡°NOOOO!¡± Tiff screamed as she ran up to me, catching my body as I slumped over. My vision was pulsing black. I was in shock and about to lose consciousness.

    Anthragor stood and laughed, ¡°The primate was outmatched, AI. You should have taught him better than to attack his superiors.¡±

    Denae pulled herself up once more and ran over to Tiff as she held my body. She reached out and took hold of the stubs that were now my arms, placing her palms on them, blood immediately covered her hands. She squeezed my mangled arms and electricity pulsed from her palms, cauterizing the wound and staunching the blood flow.

    ¡°Use a health stim, Captain,¡± she said looking at me. ¡°You will survive this.¡±

    "Elvis, get him to the drop ship,¡± Denae said as she stood to face Anthragor once more.

    ¡°Let''s finish this, Enforcer,¡± Denae said.

    ¡°Of course, Havokium, it would be my honor to rid the universe of one more of your shameful race,¡± he said as he raised his swords and took his battle stance once again.

    Denae formed a staff of pure crackling energy, took her stance, and rushed the Enforcer as Elvis ran to the drop ship carrying Captain Dawes over his shoulder.

    Tiff watched Andrew being carried to the drop ship, regret exploding inside her. She would not stand idly by and watch this enforcer take another life. She spun as Denae rushed the enforcer, ¡°No more!¡± she shouted.

    Denae swung her staff at Anthrogor but he expertly dodged, countering with a downward strike of his right-hand sword. Denae dodged and spun to her right thrusting the staff into his midsection.

    Anthragor grunted as the staff made contact, grabbing at his charred midsection with his bottom arms.

    Tiff entered the fray with a kick to the Enforcer''s temple, knocking him off balance as he stumbled back before gathering himself and recentering his stance.

    ¡°Finally, a challenge,¡± Anthragor growled.

    Just then, the entire facility rumbled as sparks and steam began spouting from various wires and piping. The lights flickered and the station tilted on its axis. The artificial gravity blinked, just enough to notice.

    ¡°Elvis? Was that you?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Elvis used the Ron Jeremy on the facility! Elvis will kill the entire facility; you must get off now!¡± Elvis said over the comms.

    Anthragor growled as he readied himself once more. He rushed forward in a flash of unbelievable speed and grabbed both Denae and Tiff, jumping and pinning them to the ground, his two swords pointing down toward their chests.

    ¡°I tire of this! Die, you unworthy traitors!¡± Anthragor shouted.

    As he did, a hammer crashed down from behind him hitting him directly in the back of the skull, splitting it open as he groaned. He dropped his swords and fell limply to the ground.

    Tiff¡¯s secondary body stood holding the hammer. ¡°We gotta go now!¡± she said.

    Elvis fired another round from the Ron Jeremy, this one causing the facility to begin to break apart, the detention cells floating away from the main structure.

    Tiff¡¯s secondary body flashed away as she and Denae got up and ran to the drop ship.

    ¡°Get back to the Retribution!¡± Denae shouted to the pilot as she limped up to the cockpit holding her ribs before sitting and strapping into the co-pilot''s chair.

    ¡°Everyone strap in. This place is going to blow,¡± she said.

    The drop ship shot out of the cargo bay as the detention facility flashed and exploded. There was no sound, just the shaking and vibration from the explosion as shrapnel pinged against the escaping drop ship.

    Tiff ran over to me; I had used a stim and was conscious. My health hovered around fifty percent and I was stable for now, but I was completely defeated and broken.

    ¡°My hands, they¡¯re gone¡­¡± I said.

    Tiff placed her hand on my chest, ¡°It will be okay, Captain. You''re alive. Be grateful for that.¡±

    *********************************************************************************************************************************

    ¡°Were you able to pull him out before the facility collapsed?¡± the Lacertine said to the Corporal manning the station.

    The Corporal was tapping furiously on the screen as he looked back at the Senator, ¡°Y...Yes sir, just barely. He should be in the med bay now. He did sustain major injuries so he might not be conscious.¡±

    ¡°Well done, Corporal. Anthragor will not be happy when he wakes up, but we have just improved our position greatly in this contest. We have an Enforcer General that owes us a debt.¡±

    The Lacertine vessel warped away.

 Chapter 31. The Gift

    Chapter 31. The Gift

    Six days. It had been six days since the events on the detention facility. I was touch and go there for a while, but I was stable now. Apparently, those blades of Anthragors had some sort of ability that hindered healing. Elvis had been able to figure it out, but it took a couple of days. I had to be sedated during that time.

    For the last several days I had confined myself to my quarters. Elvis had an A-ganger bring me food. Tiff and CJ had visited me several times trying to raise my spirits, trying to get me out of the depression that I had fallen into.

    I stared at my arms, now mangled and incomplete. Anthragor had put me down without me being able to so much as scratch him.

    Over the last few weeks, I had begun to form some sort of heroic self-image. I had somehow convinced myself that I would be the one to save Earth. Hell, I was even going to take a shot at the Universal Council. Nothing could stop me.

    Now as I was lying in my bed, my arms a mangled mess, those thoughts were gone. The reality of this situation had not just struck me, it had beaten me to a pulp and taken my arms. I just wanted to be back home, I wanted everything to be back to normal.

    Normal was gone though, it was never coming back, and I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t be the one to bring it back.

    As I lay there, alone, my mind drifted to my family. I missed them and I hoped that things on Earth weren¡¯t as bad as they were here. I knew time worked differently there but I wasn¡¯t sure how much time had really passed. If the Lacertines were there then things had probably taken a turn for the worst.

    I regretted not setting out to find my family after the drop. I was actually considering making the trip soon, but something always came up. I could make the trip on foot in a few weeks; it wasn¡¯t the distance that kept me from going though. It was the fear of what I would find.

    Fear was a powerful motivator; I knew that firsthand. In my mind, If I didn¡¯t go home then there was always a chance that my family was safe and had been surviving. The fear told me that I could go home and find nothing and no one there to greet me, and that kept me from making the trip to find out for sure.

    I still missed them though, and I hoped that they were okay. If I ever got the chance again, I wouldn¡¯t let the fear stop me from seeing them.

    I didn¡¯t know what would happen now. Elvis had assured me that he could fit me with prosthetics that would function well enough for me to continue. There would be an adjustment period, but eventually I would get most of my functionality back. He was currently working to fabricate them, what other option did I have?

    Tiff told me that there were places in the universe that had the capability to regrow limbs, but the process was long and painful. That was a great idea, but those places weren¡¯t available inside the dungeon. So, for now, I was keeping to myself. I didn¡¯t want anyone to see me like this and I was ashamed of my failure.

    I reached over to the small bedside table to grab 3 more of the sleeping pills that Elvis had given me, only to be reminded that I no longer had a hand. I laughed in embarrassment and shame as my eyes welled up with tears.

    ¡°What a hero¡­¡± I said as I leaned over and nudged 3 of the pills away from the others with my nose.

    Elvis was insistent that sleep would accelerate the healing process. I didn¡¯t care about that, I just wanted to escape my reality for a little while, so I grabbed one more to make sure I slept as long as possible. Elvis had warned me to take no more than two at a time, but I didn¡¯t care. Honestly, how much worse could things get?

    I took the pills with a drink of water that CJ had left for me with a straw poking out. I slumped back into my bed and thought about my failures, my family, and my planet while I drifted off to sleep.

    *****

    ¡°XO Tiff, Captain¡¯s pulse has dropped extremely low. He is in need of assistance,¡± Elvis said as Tiff sat on the bridge along with CJ and a few members of the team who were rescued from the detention facility.

    Tiff immediately rushed to Andrew¡¯s quarters, CJ following close behind. As they entered the room, they saw him lying on the bed asleep. The sleeping pills scatted on the table beside his bed.

    ¡°Elvis, what is the issue? I thought he was through the worst of it?¡± Tiff said as she touched his neck to feel his pulse.

    ¡°Captain may have taken too many of the sleeping pills I gave him, He was instructed to take no more than two every 8 hours. By my count, he has taken too many. Get him to the med bay and I will purge his system,¡± Elvis replied.

    Tiff and CJ lifted Andrew out of the bed and carried him into the med bay. This was a scary situation on top of an already impossible one. Tiff and CJ looked at each other nervously as they placed the captain onto one of the open beds in the med bay.

    Elvis immediately went to work, a tube snaked out from under the bed and entered Andrews''s mouth as it began to pump his stomach. At the same time, a medical drone attached an I.V. line to begin administering intravenous fluids.

    ¡°Captain will be fine in time. He need to rest now,¡± Elvis spoke sadly as he continued working on Andrew.

    *****

    I knew I was asleep; I remember drifting off. I remember seeking peace and escape from the nightmare I currently found myself in, but all I found now was nothing.

    I was in a space of sorts; it wasn¡¯t a room though. There was just pure white space all around me as far as the eye could see. I looked down and saw my bare feet standing on a white floor, I couldn¡¯t see an end to it.

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    ¡°What is going on?¡± I asked, ¡°what kind of dream is this?"

    I raised my hands to look at them and felt my stomach drop as I stared at the two bloody stumps.

    I can¡¯t even escape it in my dreams¡­ I thought to myself.

    ¡°Why do you seek escape, Andrew Dawes?¡± an ethereal voice said.

    The voice was neither male nor female but a mix of both. There was power in the voice. I could feel the words resonate inside me as the voice spoke. I didn¡¯t know who was speaking, or where it came from, but I knew that it didn¡¯t hold any ill-will toward me.

    I extended my injured arms once more, ¡°I can''t do this anymore, this is too big for me,¡± I said, ¡°what can one man do against a universe full of evil?¡±

    ¡°How can hope grow without someone to tend it as it blossoms, Andrew? You have been given a gift capable of spreading hope in this universe, and after receiving this gift you abandon the opportunity?¡±

    At this, I stiffened up, the emotion of everything I had experienced over the last few weeks hitting me like a fist.

    ¡°Opportunity?! Opportunity?! My world has been invaded; the invaders are already working toward domination. I was stolen away and given a responsibility I didn¡¯t ask for. Even so, I accepted that responsibility and tried to do my best, and what did I get in return?!¡±

    I held up my mutilated arms to the voice showing the reward I had received for my efforts, ¡°I got my fucking arms taken away, that¡¯s what I got!¡±

    ¡°Your arms? Are you saying that arms would allow you to accomplish your goals, Andrew? Is a lack of arms the reason you are broken, the reason you have chosen to give up?¡± the voice said.

    ¡°Your words are meant to explain your weakness, but still, you speak false, Andrew. The loss of your arms has allowed you to accept defeat, but you never completely gave yourself to this cause. You held back a piece of yourself and played the part of Hero. You lost your arms because you never truly allowed yourself to commit.¡±

    I slumped to the ground as the voice spoke. Emotions washed over me one after the other, fear, resignation, anger. I knew the voice was speaking the truth but what would anyone else have done in my shoes? Who could truly be thrust into this scenario and just accept that you had to save your world while killing anyone and anything that stood in your way? It wasn¡¯t fair, it wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°You are right, Andrew, it isn¡¯t fair,¡± the voice said.

    At those words, I broke, and tears began streaming down my face. I was alone, and empty.

    ¡°What do you want from me?!¡± I shouted, ¡°who are you?!¡±

    ¡°We are allies. We are the true benefactors of this gift that you have been given. We are the Coeus.¡±

    I sat, dumbfounded, ¡°The Coeus, but aren¡¯t you the ones who designed this whole nightmare? Why would you give me anything? Why would you help me?¡±

    ¡°We have watched the atrocities committed by the Council for millennia and we can no longer stand idly by while entire civilizations are wiped out of existence. We cannot directly take action against the council, so we have chosen a champion to lead this fight,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°What good is a champion with no arms?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You cannot even begin to understand the power that you have been given, Andrew. What you possess is not merely a suit of armor. It has manifested itself as armor because that is what you required at the time. If you continue to require armor, it will continue to manifest in that way. Do you understand?¡± the voice asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t understand. The armor can¡¯t even operate for more than five minutes. How is it some great power? You aren¡¯t making any sense,¡± I said.

    ¡°All will be revealed in time. We had to set parameters on the use of the gift while you were still acclimating to its abilities, but it is capable of more than you know,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°This gift is now yours. If you decide to give up, then hope will be lost. The choice is completely yours, Andrew, but if you are in need of something, the gift will aid you.¡±

    ¡°You must however remove any doubt or resignation. Fear will always exist, it is natural. You must trust the gift, however. If you can allow yourself to trust the gift, you will understand.¡±

    I stood back up looking up into the blank white nothingness, ¡°Understand what?!¡±

    ¡°Understand that you and the gift will no longer be separate. If you trust and commit yourself, you will truly become one with the gift. You will be able to manifest the gift however you see fit, for any period of time necessary," the voice replied.

    ¡°You can make a difference. You can be the hope that this universe needs. Something is coming, something that will change the universe forever. Earth will need you; the universe will need you.¡±

    ¡°What is going to happen?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We cannot explain it all in the short time we have left. Just know that after the Red Moon of Alcara, the dungeon will never be the same. The Coeus will no longer be complicit in slaughter,¡± the voice replied.

    ¡°Now you must accept the gift fully. You must be its master. Show that you can do that and move forward to be the hope you are meant to be.¡±

    I looked down at my injured arms again and focused on my armor. It materialized, but my arms were still missing. The stubs were still there, but now they were covered with armor.

    ¡°Focus on the gift, Andrew, not the armor," the voice said encouragingly.

    I dismissed my armor and took a deep breath. I had always focused on my armor when I summoned it. After all that is what it was. When I had first seen it, I saw a suit of armor. I never thought of anything else when I summoned it.

    I closed my eyes and focused. I tried to feel the armor inside of me. I searched, digging into the recesses of my mind. I focused on my body trying to feel every part of it, trying to feel the armor. After a few seconds, I felt something unexpected. I could feel something inside me; not physically inside me, but more like it was in my soul. It was hard to explain but when I focused, I could feel something foreign, something that wasn¡¯t originally me.

    It wanted to merge with me completely; it wanted to become one, but I hadn¡¯t allowed it to. I breathed in deeply; my eyes still closed. I pictured myself with the foreign entity. The entity was behind a door, and I was on the other side as it knocked loudly.

    I reached down and grabbed the door handle, turning it slowly. The entity slammed against the door as fear rushed through me once again.

    ¡°Do not fear, Andrew; it means you no harm, it wishes to serve you. It is merely excited,¡± the voice said reassuringly.

    I closed my eyes again, seeing the door once more. I reached for the handle and heard the banging again.

    ¡°Allow yourself to be great, Andrew. Allow yourself to bring hope,¡± the voice said.

    I opened the door, and the entity consumed me. It was a black cloud, and it covered my entire body just like the armor did when I first equipped it. It was violent in its actions, it swirled like a tornado around me as I stood in the eye of the storm.

    ¡°No,¡± I said unmoving, eyes closed.

    ¡°No, you answer to me.¡±

    With that, the tornado began receding, its violence was replaced with warmth. The entity covered my body like a light mist before sinking into my skin.

    I felt it inside me, its immense power making me feel like I would explode at any minute.

    ¡°Calm,¡± I said.

    The power receded; still there but waiting to explode upon my command.

    I lifted my arms looking at the disfigured stubs. As I did, black tendrils began forming at the ends of each arm. I looked back and forth between each arm as the tendrils grew into forearms, then palms, then fingers.

    I formed arms out of the gift. The lower half of my arms were black like my armor, mechanical in appearance, but they felt like my arms.

    I touched one arm with the other, then my face. I could feel everything just like I could with my normal hand.

    ¡°Good Andrew, you have accepted your role in what is to come. Prepare yourself, and prepare your friends, everything changes after Level 1. You must survive.¡±

    My eyes shot open as I lay in the med bay, Tiff and CJ staring down at me in amazement.

 Chapter 32. Are We There Yet?

    Chapter 32. Are We There Yet?

    Tiff and CJ were standing over me while I was passed out. There was mounting concern about my mental state, and rightfully so. Tiff knew it would be an uphill battle even with the prosthetics that Elvis was currently fabricating for me, and time was not on our side with the Level 1 dungeon starting in a little less than 7 days.

    As they both stood there watching Elvis tend to me, CJ suddenly shouted and pointed at my now mutilated arms, ¡°What the hell are those?!¡±

    ¡°There are¡­things¡­coming out of his wounds!¡±

    ¡°Oh God¡­.I think I¡¯m gonna be sick.¡±

    Tiff lifted up my right stub of an arm and inspected it as the black, thread-like tendrils began snaking out of the wound. ¡°Elvis, what is happening? Are you doing this?¡±

    ¡°Elvis not doing anything, Elvis only hydrating and stabilizing Captain,¡± Elvis responded.

    As they both watched, the tendrils began to form what looked like a forearm, then a wrist, then a hand and eventually five fingers on both hands.

    The formation was crude at first, but eventually formed into a perfect representation of what appeared to be my lost lower arms. Other than the fact that they were black and appeared to be made out of a similar material to my armor, they were perfect.

    Tiff and CJ were completely taken aback. Tiff had never heard of spontaneous reproduction of limbs in a humanoid. Sure, there were some beings that were capable of it, but even then, it would take time and an increased intake of resources to facilitate the regrowth. This was unheard of.

    As they both looked down in shock, my eyes opened and I shot up in the bed. I raised my hands to inspect them.

    ¡°I¡­I thought it was a dream,¡± I said as I turned my hands, inspecting them front and back. I flexed my fingers and rolled them testing the dexterity of the new hands.

    ¡°This¡­How did¡­¡± I looked at Tiff, ¡°how did this happen?¡±

    Tiff reached out tentatively placing her fingers against my open palm, ¡°Andrew, this shouldn¡¯t be possible. How is this possible?¡±

    ¡°I went to sleep...and...¡± I started to say.

    ¡°Went to sleep, my ass. You almost killed yourself you asshole!¡± CJ shouted, anger and disappointment evident in his tone.

    ¡°I what? I mean I took a couple extra of the sleeping pills, but I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I swear, I just wanted to sleep longer,¡± I said.

    ¡°Captain was told to take no more than two. Elvis was very clear on the maximum dose. That medicine was modified from a medication created for the Havokium. The dose you took would have been lethal had Elvis not been monitoring your vital signs,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, guys. I didn¡¯t think, I didn¡¯t know. You need to all know that I wouldn¡¯t do that ever. It was a mistake. One I won¡¯t make again,¡± I said.

    Tiff and CJ looked at each other, as if they agreed that the situation was not intentional on my part.

    ¡°Look, something happened while I was asleep, something I don¡¯t fully understand. We need to talk about it.¡±

    As I was speaking, I turned and dropped my feet off the side of the bed. As I braced myself with my new hands, I squeezed the frame of the bed and it crumpled under my grasp.

    ¡°Jesus bro, you just broke the damn bed!¡± CJ shouted. ¡°Are you some sort of cyborg now or something?!¡±

    I quickly pulled by hands away from the bed frame, ¡°Sorry Elvis, I will have to get used to these new hands.¡±

    ¡°It is nothing! Elvis will have A-ganger repair bed¡­Captain is strong, Captain is mighty!¡± Elvis shouted, seemingly relieved that I was whole and healthy once again.

    As I got up, Red and Loren entered the med bay. I had honestly forgotten about their entire group. They had come back to the Bloodhound with us when Princess Denae brought us back.

    I looked over at Tiff and CJ as the two newcomers walked up, surprise evident on their faces, ¡°We need to have an officer''s meeting ASAP on the bridge,¡± I said.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Now?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Now. You will need to contact Princess Denae. Is the Retribution still tailing us?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, they planned on following us to Alcara to see if they could be of assistance."

    ¡°Five minutes, on the bridge. Red, Loren, I need your group to hang out on the lower deck for now. We can discuss you joining the crew permanently later. Is that okay?"

    Red and Loren looked at each other, obviously caught off guard by the whole situation.

    ¡°Sure, but we do need to talk. Elvis ate our entire ship, so we don¡¯t really have many options,¡± Red said.

    I stopped and turned to face him, ¡°What do you mean he ate your ship?!¡± I looked at Tiff and CJ.

    ¡°Uhhh, yeah, you missed some things, man. Elvis eats ships,¡± CJ looked back at me and shrugged.

    ¡°Elvis is mighty destroyer of puny vessels¡­¡± Elvis grumbled.

    I took a deep breath as I tried to take in what I had just heard. I was in and out of consciousness for several days and had been wallowing in self-doubt for the last couple when I finally came through the worst of it. They were right, I did have some catching up to do, but it could wait a little while longer.

    ¡°We need to have this meeting first. When that is done, I will meet with your entire team so we can discuss options, Red.¡± I looked up at the ceiling, ¡°After that, you and I are going to have a discussion, Elvis, understood?¡±

    ¡°Elvis did nothing wrong; Elvis simply did what comes natural¡­Destroy!¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Okay, simmer down there buddy, we will talk soon. Until then, try not to destroy anything without my approval.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain.¡±

    A few minutes later, me, Tiff, and CJ were gathered on the bridge as Princess Denae appeared on the main bridge display.

    I sat in my chair and addressed her directly, "Hello Princess Denae. I didn¡¯t get the chance to do it after our escape, but I wanted to personally thank you for your assistance. Without you and your team I never would have made it off that detention facility. I am sorry about your men; they were brave and didn¡¯t deserve to die the way that they did.¡±

    Denae visibly cringed at the mention of her men and shifted in her seat, ¡°Thank you, Captain Dawes, that is very kind of you. I hope you understand now that we will not abandon you and your crew in its time of need. There will be opportunity in the future for you to repay us in time.¡±

    As she finished speaking, she noticed my arms. I hadn¡¯t had time to get a new uniform top and just wore a white t-shirt, so my arms were fully visible.

    ¡°Captain Dawes, would you care to explain what has happened to your arms?¡± Denae asked.

    ¡°What I¡¯m about to share with you is highly sensitive and I would request that it be for your ears only for now, Princess. Is that acceptable?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I am in my personal quarters on a private channel. There is no need for concern, Captain,¡± she said.

    ¡°Okay, you may all want to sit down for this¡­¡±

    I went through the entirety of my dream, or vision, or whatever it was. I explained the entity I spoke with and told them the gritty details of what it said to me. When I explained that the entity claimed to be the Coeus, Tiff and Denae both looked shocked and perplexed.

    I explained what the entity said about my armor being a gift, and that it showed me, at least in part, how to more properly use it.

    ¡°And that is where my new arms came from,¡± I said as I finished. ¡°I was able to use the gift to form new arms for myself. Apparently, it isn¡¯t a suit of armor; that was just a cover for what it really is.¡±

    Denae stood up from her chair and was now pacing in her quarters talking to herself. Tiff was leaning over, holding her head in her hands, deep in thought. CJ, like me, was pretty clueless about what all this meant and just sat in silence.

    Denae finally sat back down and spoke up first, ¡°The Coeus don¡¯t communicate with beings outside of their galaxy. They have communications relays setup to communicate with the Council just so they don¡¯t have to communicate directly. This doesn¡¯t make any sense. If what you¡¯re saying is true, then that means the Coeus were secretly allied with the Havokium before the fall of Havok Prime. They weren¡¯t only allied; they were supplying weapons.¡±

    Tiff sat up, ¡°What does it mean that everything will change after the Red Moon of Alcara? What are the Coeus planning on doing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was hoping that you two would have some insight. All I know is that I have their gift, they want me to use it, and they want me to get stronger. The Coeus are fed up with the Council just like we are, and they are ready to do something about it,¡± I said.

    ¡°This gift is tied to the Coeus. They were able to contact me directly, in my subconscious at that. I was ready to give up but now I have hope. Now we can strike a blow and bring hope to others.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know how we¡¯re going to do that; I get the feeling that we need to continue on to Alcara and just try to survive that nightmare for now. I have a feeling that we will have a better idea of what to do next once that is done," I said. ¡°We still have a lot of work to do, but we hopefully have more members in our crew now that can help. Princess, can we count on your assistance once we arrive to the moon?¡±

    Denae shook her head, ¡°Unfortunately not. The dungeons will be closed to everyone that isn¡¯t a drafted participant of the seeded world, or anyone that didn¡¯t register in advance. My presence here is still unknown to the Council and I will need to keep it that way. The Retribution will stay in a deep orbit until you complete the level. We can assist with an escape if it comes to that.¡±

    I turned and looked at Tiff and CJ trying to appear confident, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s just us then. We need to get to the moon and get ready to fight with everything we have. I know we lost some time when the Bloodhound detoured to save me, but hopefully we can make it in time to prepare in advance.¡±

    CJ perked up in his chair, ¡°Uhhh, you don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Know what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°When Elvis ate that other team''s ship, he got a bunch of upgrades. One of them was an upgraded warp capacitor thingy. I don¡¯t know the technical term but basically, we can jump a lot further, and a lot more often,¡± CJ said.

    ¡°We''re already here, bro. We''re at the Red Moon of Alcara.¡±

 Chapter 33. Party Up

    Chapter 33. Party Up

    The Lacertine Colonel was currently orbiting the Alcaran Moon. He had been here for 3 days now, just monitoring to ensure that the platoon of warriors currently deployed on the moon were properly prepared.

    The dungeons had several different formats, and the exact goals and parameters wouldn¡¯t become clear until the dungeon was activated. The Coeus were known to throw kinks into the mix at the last minute to create the most challenging atmosphere possible.

    There was really no way to gain an advantage, so the Lacertine government had gone all in on numbers. There would be approximately 40 Lacertine warriors on the surface of the moon when the dungeon started.

    The cost to field such a large force was exorbitant, but the possible payoff was worth the risk. The Planet known as Earth was ripe with heavy metals; those alone would pay for the cost of fielding the large group.

    The real prize was not the Planet though. There were several fringe benefits to be had by winning the right of reaping for the Planet. The billions of humans would turn quite a profit on the galactic slave markets. Their species was still primitive, having not yet unlocked the ability to travel out of their galaxy. The species hadn¡¯t discovered biological enhancement either. This was good; it would make it that much easier when it came time to conquer them.

    The real prize was the rest of the solar system. Since humans had not yet progressed enough technologically to open up to the benefits of interstellar travel, they had not yet been granted galactic citizenship. No other species had made a claim on the other planets in the solar system either. This meant that every planet and the yellow dwarf star would be won along with Earth. This meant the investment was worth it. The resources mined from this solar system would fund the lacertine expansion effort for a century.

    Colonel Scincid was determined to see positive results; his career and likely his life depended on a victory here. The Lacertines were not fond of failure. Failure on a scale as visible and expensive as this would bring shame to Scincid and his clan. Failure was not an option.

    Scincid had been briefed on the arrival of the Enforcer General Anthrogor. Anthragor was well known among the Lacertine military. He was not to be trifled with. Where Anthragor traveled, death would soon follow.

    The Enforcer was currently unconscious in the medical bay of the Colonel¡¯s ship. The circumstances of his injuries were as of yet unknown, but Scincid knew that the aid he had given him would surely bring benefits. For now, there was nothing that could be done. Anthragor had apparently suffered a traumatic brain injury, and while the Lacertine medical technology had been aiding in his recovery, it would still be some time before he would fully recover.

    Scincid had bigger issues at hand for now though. The dungeon would soon start, and his warriors would be working to claim a resounding victory as soon as possible. There were other factions currently on the Alcaran moon preparing for the dungeon to begin.

    Aside from the Lacertines who had fielded the equivalent of four full teams, there were five other teams currently: The Blemians, the Lycaons, the Rereks, the Malakim, and the Trimeans.

    The Blemians were a humanoid race that was known to seek out war and battle. They were physically large, averaging seven to eight feet in height. Their bodies were thickly muscled and built for physical combat. Their head were as wide as their shoulders with an arm sprouting from each side. The race was sturdy and would surely be a problem for most teams.

    The Lycoans on the other hand were killers, often utilized as mercenaries for less savory missions. The species had recently made an effort to expand their territory and political reach as the newest member race of the Universal Council.

    The Lycoans had visited Earth in secret over the last few hundred years, as many species had. There were legends and tales created to explain what the humans had seen. Lycoans were a bipedal race but could also easily transition to running on all four limbs. They were covered in fur, their torso was wide and thickly muscled. They had a long furry tail protruding from their lower back as well. Their heads had two long pointed ears, and they generally had black, piercing eyes, that were well-suited for seeing in low light. The snout contained rows of jagged teeth, perfect for ripping armor or flesh. The Humans would refer to the race as werewolves. Apparently, there was a species of animal on Earth that closely resembled the Lycoans called a wolf and that is where the legend came from.

    If the Lycoans were fast and silent in their brutality like an assassin''s dagger, then the Rerek was a war hammer. The Rerek race controlled nearly one-quarter of the universe, and few would oppose them. The race was physically imposing, even to a Blemian or Lycoan. Some of the warriors stood nearly nine feet tall. Their skin was primarily red, with flecks of black. They wore no armor, instead choosing to go into battle with a bare torso, considering it an honor to receive a wound in battle. It was said that the Rerek king had once wrapped his arms around a Blemian in battle and squeezed until he shattered the Blemians back, killing him. They had black horns sticking out of their heads, usually two large ones in front, and smaller ones along the sides of the head. The more horns, the older and stronger the warrior. Their eyes had a yellow glow. They were eerie to see in person, and one hoped they would never have cause to.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The Malakim looked much like humans, although slightly larger. They were agile warriors capable of taking on multiple enemies at once. Their lives revolved around honing their craft as warriors, and their mortal enemies were the Rerek. The Malakim didn¡¯t control as much territory as the Rerek, but still held a respectable percentage of the universe and a spot on the Council. The Council¡¯s own security was handled by the Malakim and this was a source of great honor for the species.

    The Trimeans had no reason to be here. The race was looked down on by nearly all other council races, as they currently held no seat on the Council. They had contracted with the Council to assist with the tutorial level, so they received a slot in the dungeon as payment. They were not expected to last long in the dungeon.

    Finally, there was the Lacertine group. The Lacertines had seeded the planet and initiated the reaping process. They had invested heavily in the entire process and needed to secure the reaping if they were going to recoup that expense. Their reputation within the Council would suffer as well if they failed to secure the reaping. Colonel Scincid would do everything he could to make sure that didn¡¯t happen.

    ***********************

    Down on the planet, Lieutenant Teiid was working to secure the forward operating base. His men were all ready for battle, they were all prepared for victory or death. The forty warriors had volunteered, all at the peak of their military careers and ready to bring honor to their clans.

    The dungeon assigned the warriors Level 5 after the reaping was initiated. This wasn¡¯t ideal, but Colonel Scincid had them farm two grinding stations prior to coming to the Alcaran Moon. All of them had leveled some, three had even reached Level 9 at this point, and all were over Level 7. A win here would guarantee them all five additional levels, which would help with Level 2.

    Once the Dungeon activated, they would identify the objectives, kill the other participants, and leave this moon to prepare for Level 2. There was no doubt in Teiid¡¯s mind that victory was a guarantee.

    **************************

    Back on the Bloodhound I was finally caught up and understood that we were ready to start preparing to head down to the moon¡¯s surface. Before we could do that I needed to talk to Red and Loren¡¯s group. I needed the extra people, but I had to make sure they wanted to be here, and most of all I needed to make sure they could be trusted.

    I walked into the armory where CJ and the new group were all sitting, talking about the upcoming dungeon. ¡°Hey, do you all mind if we talk a bit?¡±

    Red looked over at me, his arms crossed on the table in front of him, ¡°Yeah sure, uhh, Captain?¡±

    ¡°Now that we have several more people on the ship, it will help. It¡¯s weird but according to Elvis, I am the Captain,¡± I said.

    ¡°No problems here, but we aren¡¯t technically your crew,¡± Red said, ¡°we just don¡¯t have a ship anymore.¡±

    Loren looked at Red and then at me, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a minute and introduce you to everyone?¡±

    I looked at the other three people sitting there. Loren pointed across the table directly in front of her at the smaller brunette woman.

    I held up my hand in a stopping gesture. ¡°Hold on Loren, I need to know who you are, but I also need to know what skills you have, Earth skills and new skills. I just want to understand who is on my ship,¡± I said as I held up both hands to show I didn¡¯t mean offense.

    ¡°No problem at all, Captain. I¡¯m Claire," she held out her hand to shake mine.

    ¡°Hi Claire, nice to finally meet you for real,¡± I said with a laugh.

    ¡°I was an accountant before, but I received a class of called Nebulus Buffer. Basically, I can buff people in my party and do some minor healing. I''m only Level 5 right now so I can''t do much.¡±

    Claire looked across the table and moved her finger back and forth between the two large guys sitting across from her, ¡°Those two are brothers, Jax and Matty.¡±

    I reached across the table to shake their hands, ¡°Hi guys, I hope everything has been good so far on the Bloodhound.¡±

    The two men looked at each other. They were big guys. They obviously stayed in good shape before and after the drop. They looked sort of Italian if I had to guess.

    ¡°Bro,¡± Matty said, ¡°this ship is fuckin awesome¡± in a thick New York accent.

    Jax leaned up and locked eyes with me, ¡°CJ showed us the food box. I¡¯ve been slammin'' Cannolis non-stop. Elvis even let us take a look at the friggin'' space cah in the cahgo bay!¡± Jax said in his thick accent.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not sure what the plan is but we wanna sign on with you and the Bloodhound,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°Okay, we can discuss that. Tell me about you guys first though,¡± I said.

    ¡°We were both in the National Guard and were part of the police department back home,¡± Matty said.

    Red chuckled, ¡°They are underselling it, Captain. They were on the damn NYPD Swat team, and before that, they both served multiple tours in the Middle East!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but after the drop everything went to shit. We never got called up because the EMPs fried everything. We ended up settling upstate where we met these three. We were on a security patrol when the orbs activated, that is how we ended up in the tutorial. We both chose the Interstellar Assassin class. We figured with our weapons training we could do some damage,¡± Jax said.

    I stood there, CJ standing right beside me smiling. He obviously knew that we needed more people, and these people could definitely carry their weight.

    CJ looked at me, ¡°Red and Loren both chose Galactic Brawler so we have a good mix on the team."

    I looked at the group, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elvis ate your ship. The good news is that he apparently got some good upgrades so it wasn¡¯t for nothing. Red,  you told me you guys didn¡¯t have a guardian and couldn¡¯t operate the ship, so as far as I can see this is a good thing for you guys, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we honestly thought we were screwed back there. We don¡¯t know everything that is going on with you, but CJ filled us in on some of it. Anyway we look at it, joining up with you guys is our best bet. So we''re in.¡±

    ¡°Tiff, how can I add the group to my crew?¡± I asked Tiff who was sitting in a chair near the wall.

    ¡°If you focus on the command, a prompt will pop up. Anyone in the area will see a prompt as well and can choose to accept or decline; it''s that easy,¡± she shrugged.

    I focused on the command and a prompt popped up:

    Invite participants Brian, Loren, Claire, Matty, and Jax to join the crew of the Bloodhound? Y/N

    I clicked yes and they all received the invite and accepted.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s official, you''re all part of the crew now. We can discuss official positions later. For now, I need everyone to gear up and head to the cargo bay. We need to get down to that moon."

 Chapter 34. New Duds

    Chapter 34. New Duds

    As I stood in my quarters preparing for the eventual departure from the Bloodhound, I had a thought: We had a real crew now. We would need to get them all uniforms and discuss functional positions for each. For now, I would have Elvis assign them the rank of Spaceman recruit, except for Jax and Matty.

    Those two had useful training and were probably more prepared than any of us for what came next. I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of their backgrounds.

    I looked up from packing my gear, ¡°Hey Elvis, you got a sec?¡±

    ¡°Elvis is always at the ready, Captain. Elvis is always ready for action¡­¡± he said.

    ¡°Uhhh¡­okay¡­.¡± I stopped for a second wondering why Elvis was¡­well, why he was the way he was.

    ¡°Listen, can you fabricate some uniforms for the new crew members? I think we need to be able to identify one another once we get down to the surface. It will also make them feel more like a part of the team.¡±

    ¡°Elvis can do this. I like Matty and Jax, they are warriors!¡±

    I chuckled a bit as I continued preparing my gear, ¡°Yeah, I wanted to talk about that. Let''s assign Red, Loren, and Brian the rank of SR, but I would like to assign Matty and Jax the rank of SRF. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°You will be assigning them to the ship¡¯s Security Reaction Force, Captain?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Yes, they are the most combat-capable members of the crew now. They will be utilized on any missions, but we will need someone capable of defending the ship on short notice, I think those two would be perfect. If the crew grows, later on we can discuss adding more people.¡±

    ¡°Elvis agrees, this is an honor for them!¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Can you put their ranks and names on everyone''s uniform? Go ahead and make new ones for me, Tiff, and CJ as well,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh, and Elvis? Can you put some orange trim on the uniforms? Just a little bit though. I think referencing the Havok Bringer armor is a cool touch.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain. It will be done in thirty minutes,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Thanks, Elvis.¡±

    *******************************************************************************

    Half an hour later an A-ganger rolled into my room with my new uniform. Instead of the captain''s insignia my first uniform had, there was a more simplified way of telling rank. The short vertical collar on my jacket simply said:

    Captain Andrew Dawes

    The words were stitched in orange and looked great. The uniform was black now and the collar had a small orange trim on it. There was also an orange line running the length of the arms and legs. I was no fashion designer, but I liked it.

    ¡°The uniforms look great, Elvis. Thanks,¡± I said.

    ¡°You are welcome, Captain. Elvis is capable of many great things,¡± he humbly replied.

    Just as I got my new uniform on and was ready to start walking toward the cargo bay, CJ came rushing up to my door. He was breathing heavily and looked flustered.

    ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked concerned.

    ¡°That fucking overgrown toaster did it again, Andrew! Every time he gets the chance, he pokes me! I¡¯m sick of his shit, man! I swear I¡¯m gonna find a way to give him a virus or something!¡± CJ said.

    I sighed heavily and looked up, ¡°Elvis? Is there anything you want to tell me?¡±

    ¡°No Captain, Elvis has nothing to tell you,¡± he said.

    I looked at CJ and crossed my arms, ¡°Okay, what is it this time?¡±

    ¡°This damn new uniform is what it is!¡± CJ said.

    ¡°What is wrong with the uniform? I asked Elvis to make them because we had new crew members.¡±

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°Look at the damn name he put on there, Andy!¡±

    I grabbed the uniform top from CJ and looked at the collar. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. The uniform was correct, except for the name, which read:

    SR ¨C Cock Jockey

    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing that shit, Andrew. Order him to fix it now or I swear¡­¡± CJ shouted as he pointed his fist up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Elvis? What the hell man?¡± I said.

    ¡°A-Ganger must have made mistake, Captain, but the name does fit, does it not?¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Elvis, just fix the damn uniform and stop harassing CJ!¡± I said as I threw the uniform top back to CJ.

    ¡°Guys, we don¡¯t have time for this right now. CJ, just wear your old uniform until he gets it fixed. You won¡¯t be leaving the ship anyway so it¡¯s no big deal.¡±

    CJ grabbed the jacket and walked into the elevator down to the first deck. It would just be him and Elvis for several days. I hope they didn¡¯t kill each other.

    A few minutes later I arrived in the Cargo Bay. The crew was all there and had their gear packed. They all had armed themselves from the ship¡¯s armory and honestly, with their new uniforms on, they looked like a real crew.

    I walked up to them as they stood in a line in front of the Pup, ¡°You like the new uniforms?¡±

    Jax spoke up, ¡°Love ¡®em, Cap. One question though: What is SRF?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the ship¡¯s security reaction force. You and Matty will be serving in that capacity on the crew. Your training and overall comfort in combat situations is something we were severely lacking,¡± I said.

    ¡°While away from the ship, you will operate as team leaders for the rest of the group. Tiff and I will be the only ones capable of overriding your authority, understood?¡±

    Jax and Matty looked at each other. I could see the pride in their reactions, ¡°Fuckin-A, Cap! We can do that!¡± Matty said as Jax shook his head in agreement.

    ¡°I need you two down there helping us all ensure that we are making the right moves. Elvis said recon was not available from orbit, so we don¡¯t know what exactly we''re walking into. It should be about three days before the dungeon actually initiates and we will know more then. In the meantime, we will need to set up a forward operating base and start to get a lay of the land,¡± I said.

    ¡°Leave it to us, Cap. We will make sure everyone is prepared,¡± Jax said.

    I looked at the rest of the group as Tiff walked up beside me. CJ was piloting his Havok Hound suit into the bay as well. ¡°Does anyone else have any concerns?¡±

    Claire spoke up, ¡°Elvis told us that SR means Spaceman Recruit. Is that our rank?¡±

    ¡°For now. Once we get past this level we can see if anyone is needed elsewhere on the ship. Elvis pretty much runs and maintains the ship at all times, so there isn¡¯t a need for anyone to learn how to pilot or repair the ship,¡± I said.

    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s not like we could figure it out right now anyway,¡± Red said.

    ¡°True, but as you level, your intelligence will grow and you should be able to absorb information relevant to different ship''s functions. That is a conversation for another day though. For now, we just need to get past this dungeon,¡± I said.

    ¡°Listen, everyone. This is a shit hand that we have been dealt. None of us asked for this, and none of us were prepared for it, but this is what we have. If we fail, then there are seven fewer humans fighting for Earth¡¯s survival.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m not sure how many of us are out there fighting, but I do know that nobody else has the Havok Bringer. We cannot afford to fail.¡±

    Everyone was nodding in agreement as I spoke. I could see fear, I could see doubt, but I also saw pride in humanity and determination. These people deserved a better leader, I knew that, but I would strive to lead them to the best of my ability.

    The Pup was loaded down with equipment and had the A/T Rover attached on top, we had to bring enough food and supplies to last several days, and we would need to have some sort of structure to serve as or FOB. Elvis had a prefab building that would be easily constructed once we were on the surface. It wouldn¡¯t be the Hilton, but it would be big enough for us to have a planning area and a few cots to sleep on.

    ¡°Let''s load up, team,¡± I said as the back door of the Pup opened up and we all stepped inside to begin our journey to the moon¡¯s surface.

    As the Pup lifted off and shot out of the cargo bay, I got my first good look at the planet from orbit. There were several large ships orbiting the moon. I couldn¡¯t see any visible markings on them, but we were too far away for me to make anything out. It was an ominous sight though and it reminded me that we weren¡¯t the only ones here.

    The Moon was small, about half the size of Earth¡¯s moon, but instead of grey, it was red like Mars. Craters and pockmarks covered its surface as far as I could see. There were a few structures coming into sight as we approached the surface.

    ¡°Elvis, what are those?¡± I asked pointing at the display screen.

    ¡°Enemy encampments most likely, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Can we get far away from them?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, Captain. The system coordinates provide a landing zone for each team. There will be no more than 10 miles between teams. The teams are scattered in a circle that is approximately 100 miles in diameter. On day eight the light from the local sun will begin to shrink the available area. Any teams left will be forced to begin moving to find safety,¡± He said.

    ¡°The Dungeon forces everyone to stay active, Captain. The goal is not survival; the goal is destruction of your enemies.¡±

    ¡°Understood. Can you do a flyover before we land so we can try to get an idea of what were up against?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. Beginning flyover now.¡±

    As the Pup made a wide arcing circle of the large area I could see several small encampments, but one stood out. There was one particular site that looked to be four or five times larger than any of the others. It had multiple buildings and a couple of all-terrain vehicles. There were markings on the sides of the biggest building.

    ¡°Why is that one so big?¡± I asked, ¡°Elvis, can you zoom in on those markings?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain.¡±

    As he zoomed in, I could see it: the silhouette of what looked like a large menacing lizard. This was the Lacertine site.

    As we came close to the Lacertine site, the Pup rocked. I could feel an impact as warning lights flashed and alarms began to sound.

    ¡°Elvis, what the hell?!¡± I shouted.

    "Apologies, Captain. The Lacertines have opened fire on our vessel.¡±

 Chapter 35. Prepare for Hell

    Chapter 35. Prepare for Hell

    The Pup rocked and alarms blared. Apparently, the Lacertine faction had opened fire on us as we flew near to their camps.

    I strapped myself into the bench on the left side wall of the Pup and looked at Tiff, ¡°What the hell?! The dungeon hasn¡¯t initiated. Why are they firing at us?¡±

    ¡°There is no rule that says they must wait for the dungeon to initiate. The fewer participants when it starts, the higher their odds of winning!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°Captain, I am pulling the Pup back to a safe distance to avoid further damage. Everyone brace for landing,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Do it! Just be sure we have plenty of distance between them and us for now!¡± I shouted.

    The Pup made a narrow turn and the engine spun up as the booster shot us away from the Lacertine encampment. Within five minutes we had travelled several miles and were ready to land.

    The surface of the Moon was barren. There were no naturally defensible positions outside of craters and large hills. Elvis picked an open valley and landed the Pup. It wasn¡¯t the smoothest landing he had made.

    ¡°Captain, the Pup has taken a marginal amount of damage, mostly to the bottom side of the Hull. Repairs are estimated at 22 hours. During that time the Pup will be grounded. A-gangers are starting on the repairs now,¡± Elvis said.

    I walked down the rear ramp of the Pup and looked around. This moon, like the grind station, had an atmosphere. It made sense. Why would the Coeus go through all the trouble of creating a death dungeon and have everyone suffocate immediately?

    I had learned from Tiff that most biological species in the universe came from planets with an atmosphere similar to that of Earth. There were of course outliers, but those species generally didn¡¯t invest heavily in expansion, or they only wanted planets deemed less than desirable by other species.

    I always thought aliens would be different. They would breathe through some device or have no arms and legs and float around. The truth was surprising: Other than some basic physical differences, our bodies worked in very similar ways. We all had to breathe, we all had to eat.

    I wondered what the home planets of the other factions looked like. I had only seen a big grey rock, and a big red moon. I¡¯m sure that the Coeus could create a dungeon anywhere, but these first few levels would get straight to the point. Go here, kill everyone, survive, or die.

    ¡°Okay everyone, lets get started!¡± I said as everyone piled out of the Pup.

    Elvis had already started unloading the Rover with a large telescoping arm that extended up out of the top of the Pup. Once the Rover was unloaded, the arm disappeared into a compartment and pulled out something I had seen before, but not this size and not this advanced.

    ¡°Hey, is that a 3-D printer?¡± I asked.

    Tiff was standing beside me watching as everything was unloaded, ¡°Yes, sort of. It''s more advanced than the ones you had on Earth. Do you see that tube running back to the top of the Pup? There is a polycarbonate mixture that is held in tanks inside the hull of the Pup. Elvis will use that to build the structure. It should only take an hour or so."

    ¡°CooI. I knew Elvis said he would have it done but that is fast.¡±

    Tiff looked at me, holding her hands behind her back, ¡°We will need to reinforce our position and plan a watch and reconnaissance schedule. We need all the time we can get, Captain.¡±

    As Elvis continued controlling the build of our base, the rest of the crew continued unpacking supplies. There were crates full of food, water, ammo, and weapons;  everything that we thought we might need. Once the dungeon was initiated, we weren¡¯t sure If the Pup would be able to come back and resupply us so we had to have enough to survive now.

    Elvis had fabricated rations for us. They were very similar to MREs so they wouldn¡¯t be the tastiest things we ever ate, but they would provide us the nutrition we needed to sustain us over the next 7-10 days. Water was a different story. Everyone had a portable atmospheric water generator. It was a small flat box with a cylindrical tank attached. The machine would draw in air, cool it to below its dewpoint, and convert that to drinkable water. We had similar machines on Earth before the drop, but they were clunky and not reliable. The ones Elvis made us were ridiculously efficient, which was great because getting water here would be a problem.

    By the time we had unpacked everything from the Pup, Elvis had almost completed our Hab structure. It was a long grey rectangle with a rounded roof. It was approximately 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. It wasn¡¯t a work of architectural genius, but it would serve its purpose. There was a door on each end and that was it. We would put our cots inside and put our tables and computers in there. It was simple and functional, and it was all we needed to get the job done.

    The Rover, or ¡°Rover¡± as everyone had started affectionately calling it, was ready. Elvis had retrofitted a turret gun to the top so we would have some firepower. Rover could hold all 8 of us, not comfortably but it could handle it. The vehicle was about the size of a 4-door Jeep Wrangler. It had big, meaty all-terrain tires, 4-wheel drive, and was fully electric. The cab was fully enclosed and the turret station on top could hold two passengers as well. Needless to say, I felt good about our wheels.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Let''s take 15 and grab something to eat, then we can get settled inside,¡± I said to the team as I walked over to open one of the MRE crates.

    I waited for everyone to walk over and gave them each one of the MRE boxes. The boxes were shrink-wrapped in a grey foil and unmarked. I hadn¡¯t given Elvis any insight into making them; CJ handled all of that while I was recovering from my injuries.

    As I opened the MRE I found myself wishing I was a little more involved. It had the necessities but as awesome as Elvis was, he still didn¡¯t understand the human tongue.

    ¡°Well, this should be interesting,¡± I said as I looked at the food.

    Elvis had done his best to represent the major food groups. There was protein in the form of a meat paste in my MRE while some of the others contained a sort of meat patty similar to Spam. There were carbohydrates in the form of a dense cube of bread, like cornbread but super dense and dry. Some sort of apple sauce-type substance, and what looked like a potato cube. The food was either super bland or, in the case of the meat option, terribly salty. The one saving grace was a cookie; after all, we needed some sugar, right? Each MRE had a different kind of cookie, and they were actually delicious.

    I poked at the MRE as I sat on a box that had been pulled out of the Pup, ¡°Elvis, we are going to need to discuss these MREs when this is over."

    ¡°Elvis is warrior, not chef! Have SR-CJ handle it if you are not happy with it!¡± Elvis said, obviously a little perturbed at my apparent dislike of the MRE.

    ¡°Sorry, Elvis. These will work. Thanks for the effort,¡± I said as a glob of apple sauce plopped back into the small tray.

    Everyone else had similar reactions, but this would have to sustain us for the next several days so we all ate and got back to work without another complaint. It seemed Elvis was getting a bit touchy lately and we didn¡¯t want to exacerbate his bad mood.

    Once the Hab structure was complete, we moved in all the equipment. We set up the workstation and then I gathered the group to discuss the next steps.

    ¡°Jax, Matty, I need you two to set up the external cameras and motion sensors. Based on what happened on our flight in we can¡¯t take any chances on another faction deciding to thin the herd before the initiation of the Dungeon. We have a few days, and I would like to do some recon as well, but we can discuss that after we have set our defenses.¡±

    ¡°Got it, Cap. We can get that knocked out in a few hours,¡± Jax said.

    I looked at Claire and Loren, those two stuck pretty close together since coming to the Bloodhound, ¡°Can you two set up the workstation and coordinate a watch schedule? I¡¯d Like to do 6-hour shifts, with 4 groups. We can do you two, Jax and Matty, Red and CJ, Me and Tiff. We can start once we are done with the setup. All good?¡±

    ¡°No problem, Captain. The workstation won¡¯t be complete and online until Jax and Matty finish. We will get the shift schedule complete by then," Claire said.

    ¡°Claire, you were an accountant pre-drop right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I worked at a firm for about 5 years.¡±

    ¡°Okay, once this is done we need to discuss your role on the Bloodhound. You¡¯re good with numbers so I would like you to handle logistics onboard and preparation for missions. It won''t hurt to take some of the load off Elvis, and a Human touch will go a long way,¡± I said.

    She looked up at me surprised, ¡°Sure, that would be great, Captain. I was hoping we would start putting some structure to all of this.¡±

    ¡°I''m kind of learning on the fly here, but we have to start acting like a real crew if we are going to be successful. Elvis does a lot for us, but his attention is needed elsewhere. Right, Elvis?¡± I asked.

    Elvis wasn¡¯t on the surface with us. We had all been fitted with an internal comms unit. It was the size of a small bead and when inserted in our ear it took hold and provided a secure comms channel for the entire team, including Elvis. When we used the open channel, we could talk to each other just like we were standing in a room together.

    ¡°Elvis is running at max capacity right now, Captain. Any assistance will allow Elvis to focus on ship upgrades and expansion,¡± he said.

    ¡°Upgrades and expansion?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, since everyone except SR-CJ will be off the ship for several days, Elvis will be utilizing the parts from the absorbed ship to upgrade the Bloodhound. SR-CJ will be sequestered to the bridge during that time. Worst case scenario, we have a small hull breach and he dies. The risk is outweighed by the reward, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What the fuck?!¡± CJ chimed in, ¡°did that douchebag AI just say I could die?!¡±

    ¡°Elvis, please ensure that SR-CJ is unharmed. He is imperative to our success down here,¡± I said, not willing to bite on Elvis¡¯s obvious attempt to rile CJ up.

    ¡°Andy, I swear you better not let that psycho kill me!¡± CJ shouted.

    ¡°But killing is what I do best, SR-Cock Jockey¡­¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°SEE! I knew you put that on my uniform on purpose! Andy, did you hear th-"

    ¡°Enough you two, stay focused! Elvis take all the necessary precautions and stop trying to piss off CJ!¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Captain," Elvis replied.

    The preparations were just about complete. Our Forward operating base, or FOB, was looking good. We all felt like we were as prepared as we could be without any more information. Now all that was left was to do was some recon over the next few days. We would try to get an idea of where each faction was camped and what their general defensive and offensive capabilities were. We needed to get an idea of their levels as well to know if the odds were stacked against us.

    That was the plan before the announcement populated everyone¡¯s interfaces:

    Attention Participants,

    All participating factions have arrived to this level, therefore the initiation for the level one dungeon will begin in 4 hours. Please ready your factions and prepare for battle. The following rules will apply in this dungeon:

    <ol>

    <li>No orbital support allowed.</li>

    <li>Interface mini-maps will unlock with progress or by finding maps.</li>

    <li>Elimination of an entire faction will net your faction 1 full level on top of experience gained. </li>

    <li>Faction keys must be looted to progress. </li>

    <li>The Coeus relay station at the center of the battleground can be accessed once 5 keys are inserted. </li>

    <li>The first team to activate the relay station will progress to level 2. </li>

    </ol>

    As a reminder, the Lacertine faction will not operate as 4 separate teams. This team has been consolidated into 1 large faction to ensure they do not have access to multiple keys unfairly.

    There are loot boxes and power-ups hidden throughout the level. These items are consumable and cannot be taken from the level. Once used, they will cease to exist.

    Good luck participants, and may the best faction proceed.

    That was it. We had 4 hours until all hell would break loose. We had 4 hours to prepare for hell.

 Chapter 36. Go Time

    Chapter 36. Go Time

    After the announcement, we all turned and looked at each other. Everyone stopped what they were doing and just stood there in shock. We thought we would have a few days to prepare before we were thrown into chaos but now we had 4 hours and no idea what to do next.

    I looked at Tiff, ¡°What is happening? Why are they starting the dungeon early?¡±

    ¡°I can only assume that it is because all factions arrived early. There is no reason for the Coeus to delay activation of the dungeon once everyone is here,¡± she said.

    ¡°Is this normal?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s not. This has to somehow be tied to the vision you had. The Coeus are planning something at this dungeon site, but I still can''t see what it is,¡± Tiff was pacing back and forth trying to piece this together.

    ¡°Captain, there were probably thousands or hundreds of thousands of humans in the different tutorials. We were all there and those tutorials were created specifically to make you fail. The odds were weighted against humanity from the start. My best guess is that thousands still made it through the tutorial. That is an expected outcome, but something has been bothering me. Red and the rest of the new crew said that their guardian disappeared at the end of the tutorial which shouldn¡¯t have happened. At first, I brushed it off as a coincidence, there have been cases of containment facilities going offline. Meteorites or other natural phenomena have been known to incapacitate those facilities in the past. After you told me about your vision, I began to suspect something else. The Coeus have been the dungeon architects for millennia. Nobody knows much about them and just assumed that they were willing participants, but I don¡¯t think that is the case anymore.¡±

    I crossed my arms and nodded, ¡°Go on Tiff, what do you think is happening here?¡±

    She looked down, I could tell that she was piecing this together on the fly, ¡°Captain, I think someone tampered with the system. If the Lacertines or the Council were purposely taking out guardians to weigh the outcome more heavily in their favor, it could have caused the Coeus to react.¡±

    She stepped closer to me and looked me directly in the eyes, ¡°If the Coeus have decided to rebel there will be nothing anyone can do to stop them, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a good thing, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The Coeus aren¡¯t known for being empathetic to the causes of other life forms. Their version of rebellion could help us, but it could just as easily put every life form in the universe at risk. They can literally bend the fabric of space-time to their will. They can merge dimensions; they can erase dimensions. They are extremely dangerous.¡±

    I took a deep breath and tried to grasp the situation, ¡°I understand Tiff, but they have taken an interest in me. They seemed to want to avoid getting directly involved right now. I don¡¯t know what is happening out there. What I do know is that we have less than four hours to prepare our team and get ready to face whatever comes next.¡±

    She looked scared and I couldn¡¯t blame her. She knew more about the politics of the universe than I did. She understood the implications of a Coeus rebellion. I had the luxury of being ignorant to all of that right now. I just needed to get myself and my team through this dungeon, then we could worry about what would happen next.

    ¡°Everyone gather round. We need to get ready for what is about to happen,¡± I said, ¡°Elvis, can you assist during the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No, Captain, the message stated that orbital support will not be allowed. I will not be able to function on the surface once the dungeon initiates.¡±

    ¡°What about CJ? Will he still be able to help us?¡±

    ¡°To be safe, I will need to bring the Pup back to the Bloodhound and transport SR-CJ to the surface. This will put him at greater risk, but he can stay onboard the Pup and pilot his suit remotely,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Understood. Get it done fast, Elvis. We will need the Pup back down here ASAP. CJ, load any extra munitions onto the Pup before you come. I don¡¯t want you down here, but we are going to need the extra manpower,¡± I said.

    ¡°No problem, Andy. Elvis has a portable control station for my suit so I can use it from the Pup. I''ll see you in an hour,¡± CJ responded.

    I looked at the team standing around me, ¡°Okay team, we have a little less than four hours to finish preparing. I have to believe they are going to come at us hard and fast. We are a small team, and it only makes sense to come after our key first. I need ideas and I need them fast.¡±

    Jax stepped closer, ¡°I say we let them come, Cap. We have plenty of munitions available. My suggestion is a little crazy, but I think it can work.¡±

    I looked at the burly New York native, ¡°Alright Jax, let''s hear it.¡±

    Five hours later I was sitting in the HAB alone when Tiff walked in the front door.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°They are closing in now,¡± she said.

    ¡°Which faction?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It is the Lycoan faction, approximately 10 of them. They are closing fast, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Okay, let them come.¡±

    With that, Tiff disappeared as she deactivated her secondary body. I stood and took a second to take stock of my weapons and ammo.

    I had a Plasma rifle from the armor and a couple of the grenades as well. Honestly, as I got more used to my armor these other weapons were less appealing to me.

    I looked at the lower half of my arms. It was odd, the black metallic forearms felt as If they had never been injured. I felt my muscles tighten. I could see my hands shaking a bit as the nervousness and anxiety of my current situation took hold.

    ¡°Okay, everyone holds position until you see the signal,¡± I said over the team channel.

    I took a deep breath and started making my way out of the HAB. When I got outside, I climbed onto the roof of the structure. I wanted to be sure the Lycoans saw me. Once I got to the top, I spun trying to get a visual on them.

    ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± I said, ¡°you didn¡¯t say they were a pack of damn werewolves, Tiff?!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­did you say werewolves?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°Comms discipline, guys!¡± Matty said, scolding both CJ and myself.

    The Lycoans were huge werewolves. Now I know that sounds weird, but I don¡¯t know how else to describe them. They were werewolves with combat armor on. They carried rifles and were currently surrounding the HAB about two hundred yards out. They were approaching from all directions and running on all fours. It¡­was¡­.terrifying.

    ¡°On your signal, Cap,¡± Matty said.

    I knelt and activated my armor. This was the first time I had activated my armor since the vision and something was different. I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it as I knelt on the roof of the HAB but it felt like I had more control; it felt like the armor was responding to me now.

    The Lycoans roared in unison as they rushed the HAB now within 100 yards of my position. I shot my arms out to the side and summoned my daggers. As I looked up the Lycoans were leaping from the ground in my direction. Huge wolf-like aliens, teeth bared, tongues glistening with saliva were all leaping directly at me. Their clawed hands reaching, stretching in my direction ready to rip me to shreds.

    I activated Pulsar Blast. The beams shot out of my hands as I pointed at two of the Lycoans that were leaping in my direction. Interestingly I didn¡¯t have to dismiss my daggers as the blast simply shot out of the them as if they were my hands.

    As the blast hit the two closest Lycoans, it seared the flesh on their faces and disarmed them completely. They dropped to the ground unconscious. I was now locked in place for ten seconds while the shield portion of the ability activated.

    ¡°Now, now!¡± I shouted over the comms.

    Zzzippp, zzziiipp, the heads of two more Lycoans exploded in a fountain of blood and gore as Jax and Matty sniped from half a kilometer away.

    They had both selected the Interstellar Assassin class and at Level 5 they had unlocked a gilly suit ability that allowed them to blend into their surroundings. The other feature of the ability is that they would be invisible to sensors as long as they didn¡¯t move. The Lycoans had probably ran right past them and didn¡¯t know it.

    ¡°Two down,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got six seconds left on my shield and there are six angry Lycoans staring at me right now!¡± I said.

    Just then the Pup roared past overhead creating a cloud of red dust all around me as it flew. The plan was to draw the enemy in and as they advanced on my location Jax and Matty would take out as many as they could from a distance. Once I used my Nebula blast ability the Pup would return to provide reinforcements.

    The hope is that anyone watching our group would assume that the Pup was returning to orbit after dropping personnel and equipment off on the surface. Tiff was the only one of us who could currently pilot the Pup. Elvis was not able to assist from orbit due to the dungeon rules. It wasn¡¯t wise to jeopardize our only drop ship, but we needed an edge, and this would provide it in the short term.

    ¡°There is a group of Lacertine troopers approaching from the East. We are going to take the Pup and engage; you are going to have to hold that group for no, Captain. Jax and Matty, can you provide support?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°We are hoofing it to the Captain¡¯s location now. ETA 45 seconds,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°Get here fast! My shield is done and I have to engage. Two are down but not dead. Six more are just waiting for my shield to end. They range in level from 7 to 9. I am gonna have my hands full guys,¡± I said.

    With those words, my shield broke. I leapt up into the air as the remaining Lycoans roared in unison. I flipped to the rear of the pack and landed, impaling the Level 7 Lycoan mercenary on each side of his neck, forcing my blades down between his shoulder and collar bones, The time started as he howled in agony. 3¡­2¡­1..

    The Lycoan imploded in on himself in a gruesome display of the dagger''s powers. The rest of them moved to surround me. One in front of me, a Level 9 Lycoan Commander, and two to each side, Level 8 mercenaries trying to flank me.

    The Commander held up his hands to halt his team. He looked at me and tilted his head as he snarled, ¡°This isn¡¯t personal, Human. We have been where you are. Understand that we will have your key, and we will do whatever is necessary to retrieve it.¡±

    I stood surrounded by five Lycoan mercenaries. The plan had gone to shit and now I needed to buy about 30 more seconds before Jax and Matty got to me. My only other option was to try and take down all five by myself.

    I resummoned my daggers as I stood there. ¡°Ya know, it¡¯s funny, we were hoping you guys would underestimate us, and sure enough it looks like you did. You guys coming to us saves us the trouble of having to hunt you down for your key. I mean, I hate to kill you before I even get to know you, but honestly, you guys are really freakin ugly so it¡¯s not a huge disappointment.¡±

    The two Lycoans on my left lunged for me. As they jumped, the Commander raised his weapon and fired several rounds directly at my center mass. Instinctively I held up my arms to block the rounds. At this distance they had me for sure.

    As the sounds of gunfire rang out, I was surprised to feel nothing. No rounds had hit me. How was that even possible?

    At the same moment Jax and Matty arrived, they exploded toward the two mercenaries that had leaped at me, knocking them both away from the group until they rolled to a stop and jumped back up looking for their assailants.

    That¡¯s when I noticed my arms. They had morphed into a large black diamond-shaped shield that protected me from the close-range weapons fire. I hadn¡¯t knowingly made the transformation; the Armor just responded to my need and formed a shield.

    Well, that¡¯s new¡­I thought to myself as I watched the shield morph back into my arms.

    The Lycoan Commander looked at me and snarled, ¡°You have tricks Human, but it¡¯s time to end this.¡±

    He raised his rifle again, this time aiming at Jax who was engaged with one of the mercenaries. He fired and Jax dropped to his knees, a hole in his torso as Matty screamed watching his brother fall.

 Chapter 37. Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

    Chapter 37. Who¡¯s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

    I materialized my sidearm and jumped to Jax¡¯s position, ¡°Matty I need you to focus; We''re surrounded here!¡±

    I looked down and Jax was alive thought he wasn''t in good shape. His right arm was useless, lying limply on the ground. He was spitting blood, and it didn¡¯t look good, but he was alive.

    Jax struggled to raise his head and point his left hand at his brother. ¡°Get your head in the fight and go get those SOBs,¡± he shouted to his brother.

    The two Lycoans Jax and Matty had engaged were now regrouping. They smelled blood literally and figuratively, and now they wanted to finish it.

    ¡°Hey, why not just give up and let us finish this cleanly, Human?¡± the Commander shouted.

    The Commander and the other two mercenaries were hanging back now. They figured that two trained Lycoan mercenaries could take out two humans, and they would have a little fun watching.

    One of the mercenaries looked at the other, "Five credits say it takes less than a minute.¡±

    The other let out a low huffing laugh, ¡°I¡¯ll take that bet. I¡¯m gonna give the monkeys a little more credit and say they last a minute and a half.¡±

    The Commander just stared with his lips curled around his gruesome black snout, his yellow eyes focus on me intently. ¡°Remember, it¡¯s not personal,¡± he said as he turned his hands and long clawed fingers up and shrugged innocently.

    I dismissed my sidearm and put my hands up, ¡°Any chance you guys are taking prisoners?¡±

    Matty just looked at me, disgust and disappointment in his eyes, "What are you doing, Cap?¡±

    As we stood there, the two Lycoans with their guns trained on Matty and I laughed. The Commander raised his rifle as the other two mercenaries that flanked him on either side lowered their weapons. They knew this fight was over.

    ¡°Sorry Human, no surrender allowed. We need your key and since you¡¯re the designated faction leader we are just gonna have to finish you off.¡± He looked side to side grinning at his Lackeys, ¡°As for the other two, we''re just going to kill them for fun.¡±

    He aimed his weapon directly at my head, preparing to fire. The mercenary directly behind me slammed the butt of his rifle into my back between the shoulders. I went down to one knee with a grunt and my health bar dropped slightly, signifying that I had received a little bit of damage.

    I shook my head and stood back up, looking at the Commander, "Uhh, you might wanna check your six.¡±

    Tiff appeared directly behind the Commander with her right fist outstretched in a punching motion. The fist was sticking through the Commander as she appeared.

    She leaned forward and whispered in the Commander''s ear, ¡°It¡¯s not personal Commander, but unfortunately two bodies can¡¯t occupy the same space; it¡¯s just physics.¡± She ripped her fist back through the Commander''s body as he fell.

    The remaining Lycoans panicked. I equipped my daggers and threw the left one straight into the mercenaries head that flanked Tiff from the right as she engaged the one on the left. Matty went to work immediately raising his weapon and tactically advancing toward the two Lycoans on our rear.

    I dismissed my armor and leapt, doing a backflip into the air. I had an idea based on how my armor had reacted earlier, The Coeus told me I would have more control over the armor once I accepted the responsibility of wearing it. ¡°The Gift¡± they had called it. I had become too reliant on my armor, and it was time to see if the gift would respond to my direction.

    I landed behind the Lycoan mercenary that stood directly behind me. He had raised his weapon and fired wildly trying to follow my impossible jump. As I landed, I dismissed my remaining dagger and drove my new augmented arms forward, willing them to become long spikes.

    It worked; the arms morphed into long black spikes impaling the mercenary from behind. I raised his body into the air and threw him at the Lycoan that Tiff was currently fighting as I willed the spikes to form back into arms.

    I looked up at Matty. He was standing over his opponent, pistol in hand. The Lycoan was on the ground on all fours bleeding and panting. Matty turned, looked back at Jax lying on the ground behind us, then leaned down beside the injured Lycoan mercenary.

    ¡°I guess someone owes me 5 credits,¡± he said as he stood and pushed the barrel of the sidearm against the back of the Lycoan¡¯s head and pulled the trigger, splattering blood and gore all over the ground as the Lycoan fell limply to the ground. Matty turned and walked back to his injured brother silently.

    Tiff finished the remaining mercenary quickly. After being pummeled by the body of his fellow mercenary, he lay dazed on the ground and knew the fight was over. Tiff walked over pulled a dagger from her boot and slit his throat. The fight was over.

    Tiff looked up at me, "How is Jax?¡±

    ¡°We need to get him into the HAB and get Claire back here as soon as possible. Tiff, is there anything you can do for him in the meantime?"

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Matty was now sitting with his brother''s head on his lap trying to keep pressure on the wound.

    ¡°We have some first aid supplies. I can staunch the blood flow for now, but we need Claire to heal him,¡± Tiff said as she walked over to help Matty get Jax back into the HAB,

    "We are currently engaging the Blemian faction. They were en route to our base camp when the Pup flew over them. CJ manned the Rover turret, and we did repeated flyovers. We took about 7 of them out before they were able to find any cover. I''m landing the Pup now so Loren and I can help finish off the last three, and then we will return to the HAB.¡±

    It was still hard to comprehend that Tiff could be in two places at once operating completely independently of each other. I looked at her secondary body as she helped carry Matty into the HAB and identified her.

    Tiffantrimore Clarivox

    AI Guardian

    *Level 10

    *This guardian¡¯s level has been capped at 10 for the duration of this dungeon.

    That was weird. Tiff was normally Level 50. I assumed the Coeus capped levels to create some sort of level playing field, otherwise every faction would bring in high-level combatants to sweep the dungeon. It made sense but Tiff was going to have to be careful even against lower-level enemies. I would need to talk to her about it later, now wasn¡¯t the time.

    ¡°Captain, you need to go loot those bodies. One will have their faction key, but the rest may have items of value. We can¡¯t afford to overlook valuable loot," Tiff said as she continued to work on Jax''s wounds.

    Matty wasn¡¯t leaving Jax¡¯s side, and I couldn¡¯t blame him. I hadn¡¯t seen my brothers in years but if I were in his shoes I would be right there by my brother until I knew he was going to be okay.

    I walked toward the exit to go loot the corpses, ¡°Tiff, make sure you do everything you can. Jax is part of our crew, and he doesn¡¯t deserve to die in the God-forsaken place.¡±

    I walked out to loot the corpses, which is a weird thing to say, but this would be the first time I was able to loot anything. Tiff had mentioned it before, but so far, other than the tutorial, I had only fought mechs and spiders and they didn¡¯t drop any loot.

    I got to the two mercenaries that I hit with my pulsar blast first. Their heads were completely hairless and burnt to a crisp. The ability wasn¡¯t necessarily meant to be offensive but against biological lifeforms, the blast was devastatingly effective. I leaned over to loot the first corpse. I assumed I would just go through their pockets or something, I wasn¡¯t really sure how this worked.

    When I identified the mercenary, my interface read:

    Deceased Lycoan mercenary

    Level 7 ¨C Lootable corpse

    Loot corpse? Y/N

    I selected yes and a handy visual aid popped up showing the loot the corpse held.

    Superior Health stim x 2

    Lycoan Field rations x 5

    Inferior land mine x 1

    I took the stims and the land mine. I wasn¡¯t sure how to use the mine, but it was worth keeping. When I selected what I wanted to take, it disappeared from the lootable inventory, and a new tab popped up in my interface that read:

    Personal Storage

    I was very familiar with my interface by this point, but this was new. I would ask Tiff, but I assumed that anything I looted would go into personal storage. ¡°Handy,¡± I said to myself as I selected the personal storage tab and mentally selected the superior stim. The stim appeared in my hand just like that. I have no idea how it worked but it was there.

    I got back to the task at hand and looted the rest of the mercenaries. None of them had anything of great value; a couple more land mines, and some regular health stims. They also had plenty of rations, but I was sure I didn¡¯t want to try eating alien food, although the food Elvis had made for us couldn¡¯t be much better.

    I got to the Commander next, and he held a surprise when I pulled up his loot.

    Lycoan Faction Key x 1

    Area map ¨C Partial

    Interstellar Vacuum tube x 1

    Lycoan field rations x 5

    ¡°Well, I guess I hit the jackpot,¡± I said as I looted it all. After looting everything there was an announcement on my interface:

    Attention participants: The Lycoan Faction has been eliminated. The Human Faction now holds the Lycoan Faction Key. The Human F action now leads all factions with 2 keys. Reminder:  The first faction to hold 5 keys will gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

    ¡°Well, so much for the element of surprise,¡± I said as I shook my head in disgust. I took a minute to look at the Commander''s loot. The first thing I pulled out and inspected was the Interstellar Vacuum Tube.

    Interstellar Vacuum Tube ¨C Upon arming and detonating, this tube will violently suck everything within a 10-meter radius toward it. The tube will be active for 20 seconds and, much like the vacuum of space, will continue to suck until the time expires. 5-second delay upon activation. Use with caution.

    Next, I pulled out the key and inspected it.

    Lycoan Faction Key ¨C With the addition of this key your faction now holds two keys. Retrieve three more to gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

    ¡°Seems simple enough,¡± I shrugged.

    Lastly, I pulled out the map.

    Area Map - Partial ¨C This map will show a detailed topographical map of the battle arena, locations of enemy factions, or loot locations. Three partial maps will make a whole map.

    ¡°That explains the Interstellar Vacuum Tube.¡±

    This section of the map showed loot locations in the area. It didn¡¯t specify what the loot was, there were just little icons on the map that looked like treasure chests. Yes, treasure chests. I¡¯m not sure if the super-advanced Coeus AI was trying to dumb things down or not but honestly, I had a chuckle at that.

    ¡°Headed back to basecamp, scratch 10 Blemians. Red and Loren are looting the corpses now and then we¡¯re heading back. This seemed way too easy, Captain,¡± Tiff said over the Comms.

    Attention participants: The Blemian Faction has been eliminated. The Human faction now holds the Blemian Faction Key. The Human Faction now leads all factions with 3 keys. Reminder: The first faction to hold 5 keys will gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

    ¡°Alright Tiff, make it fast. I found some superior health stims that I''m bringing back to the HAB. Maybe we can stabilize Matty until you get here with Claire,¡± I said as I started making my way back to base camp.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s going to get easier, Captain. We got lucky here and surprised the Blemians. Most of the factions sent their transport ships back to orbit rather than take a chance on getting stranded. We took and chance and kept the Pup down here and it paid off for now. Let''s all regroup back at the HAB and try to build a sustainable plan to get those last two keys," Tiff said.

    I thought for a second before responding, ¡°Agreed, Tiff. We need a better plan of attack. We''re not going to sit back and wait for everyone else to come after us. It¡¯s time to take the fight to them.¡±

    ¡°

    .

    ¡°

 Chapter 38. Big Bang

    Chapter 38. Big Bang

    Once everyone made their way into the HAB, Claire immediately went to work on Jax. The wound was near his right pectoral muscle, it was about the diameter of a silver dollar and bleeding pretty heavily, although Tiff had managed to staunch some of the blood flow.

    Jax was passed out either from the pain, the blood loss, or both. Claire walked over and inspected the wound trying to get an idea of what she could do. Her class allowed her to do some basic healing and buffing of her party, but I wasn¡¯t sure she was going to be able to heal Jax completely.

    She looked down at the wound and then up at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can do this,¡± she said, her eyes going from me back to the wound.  ¡°I have healed basic wounds but my heal ability is inferior right now and this wound is definitely serious.¡±

    Tiff was standing beside Jax as well, and looked at me, ¡°We gave him a health stim and that helped some but the stim we gave him has done all it can do. If Claire can¡¯t heal the wound, then our best bet is to stabilize him and try to make it through the dungeon until we can get back to Bloodhound and let Elvis work on him.¡±

    Just then I remembered the superior health stims I had looted from the Lycoans. ¡°Hey, give him this!¡± I said excitedly. ¡°I found some of them on the Lycoans, it has to be better than the ones we had, right?¡±

    Matty swiped the stim from my hand and immediately administered it to Jax. The wound stopped bleeding and slowly began to close.

    ¡°How many do you have?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°I found three on the Lycoan, so I¡¯ve got two left,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good, it looks like the first one is going to get him through the worst of it, but he will need at least one more to get him back to full strength. We will have to wait an hour to give him the second one, but I think we can all breathe now, he is going to be okay.¡±

    Matty let out an audible sigh and placed his head on his brother''s stomach. Seeing the large man, the soldier, the SWAT team member, get so shaken reminded me of the reality of where we were, and what the stakes of this dungeon were.

    At any time, any of us could die. We could be caught off guard, overwhelmed by the enemy, or just catch a stray round from a rifle, and that would be it.

    This whole thing was constructed to feel like a game, but it wasn¡¯t a game, it was life and death. The stakes were real for every faction, the difference was that our planet and the Human race would be wiped from the universe if we failed.

    I felt the fear start to creep back up inside me, the desire to get away from it all and just be alone. I wanted to reject all of this and just run, but no, I was past that now.

    These people were my crew, my friends now. The only reason I was their captain is because I happened to choose this class and get the armor and ship that came with it, but I could earn their respect and act like a leader. The time for running was past, the time for worrying only about myself was past, now it was time to embrace the weight of this responsibility.

    I reached down and grasped Matty¡¯s shoulder as he wept, ¡°It¡¯s gonna be okay Matty, Jax is gonna be okay. You did good back there. You protected your brother when he was down and you¡¯re the reason he is gonna be okay.¡±

    Matty looked up at me, his cheeks wet with tears, ¡°I thought I had lost him, Cap. We had gone through so much in the last month just to get here, and Jax never lost hope, he never let me quit. Then we get the chance to finally punch those bastards square in the face and I couldn¡¯t protect my little brother.¡± He looked down at Jax who was starting to stir, ¡°You saved us back there, you and Tiff. You will never have to watch your back as long as were around Cap, I swear that to you. We are with you till the end.¡±

    I squeezed his shoulder one more time and nodded. More words weren¡¯t needed, and I didn¡¯t have more words to give. These were good men, capable men, and to see one nearly dead and the other emotionally broken shook me to my core.

    I will find a way to lead men like this, I thought to myself, I will not let them down again.

    Tiff got my attention and motioned to the front door of the HAB so I followed her out. The air was dry and hot outside, so I grabbed a canteen and sat down on an empty supply crate, Tiff sat down next to me.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°There will be more, you know that, right?¡± she said as she stared off into the distance.

    ¡°I know, but I will do everything in my power to make sure there isn¡¯t,¡± I said taking a drink of water.

    ¡°Andrew, we are outnumbered, and the odds are weighted against us. The chances of all of us making it out of here are slim. You need to prepare yourself for that. Someone has to lead this group, especially when the worst happens. You are the captain, and you are going to need to keep everyone on task at all times. We can¡¯t afford to lose focus.¡±

    ¡°Tiff, I got it. No need to keep driving your point home,¡± I said, obviously frustrated.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you do, Andrew. Right now, the entire crew is in the HAB, they are all looking at Jax and wondering when they will be the ones lying on that table. All the while there are factions out there possibly headed our way to take us out and take our three keys. You need to get everyone on task and prepare for what happens next.¡±

    I looked down at the ground trying to figure out my next move. Tiff was right, of course she was, but how do I just walk in and tell everyone to get back to work? Jax almost died, the reality of this situation was heavy on everyone right now.

    ¡°Look, Andrew, we have three keys now. We need two more and there are four factions remaining. We can''t assault the Lacertine faction, they are just too big, so that only leaves us three options. We need to make a plan and make it fast. You also just hit Level 10 so you need to take a look at your abilities and skill points along with everyone else.¡± She stood up from the crate and looked at me as she dusted herself off.

    ¡°You did well back there, you are earning the gift that you were given, now earn the title of captain and get your crew on task,¡± she said as she walked back into the HAB.

    I stood up and screwed the cap back onto my canteen. I looked out over the horizon of this red wasteland and took a deep breath. There was a light, hot breeze blowing. I took a deep breath and readied myself to walk back into the HAB.

    ¡°Alright everyone, Jax is going to be okay. We are short on time and need to prepare to strike before the other factions come at us again,¡± I said.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know where they are, or who they are, other than the Lacertine faction. I would prefer not to engage that faction; they are just too large. Luckily, we know where they are so we can stay away from them for now. CJ and Tiff, I want you two in the PUP doing reconnaissance ASAP. Find the closest faction and return to basecamp, it shouldn¡¯t take too long. Once we have their location we will prepare and attack.¡±

    Attention participants: The Trimean Faction has been eliminated. The Lacertine Faction now holds the Trimean Faction Key. The Lacertine Faction now holds two keys. Reminder, the first faction to hold 5 keys will gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

    ¡°Tiff, you and CJ better get started, the other factions aren¡¯t going to waste any time,¡± I said looking at Tiff as she nodded in response.

    ¡°Everyone else, we all got 2 levels from wiping out the Lycoan and Blemian factions. Allocate your free points and gear up for an offensive. We need to be ready as soon as Tiff and CJ get back. We will not be taking the Pup into battle since it is our only means of getting back to the Bloodhound so be ready for a hike.¡±

    Matty stood at attention as everyone else gathered beside him and nodded in agreement.

    ¡°You can count on me Cap,¡± Jax said with a weak whisper as he lifted his head slightly from his bed.

    I smiled as I looked down at him, ¡°I was wondering when you would finish your nap Jax, welcome back.¡±

    Jax smiled and lay back on the bed. He would be fine after receiving the second stim and most likely be ready to go on the offensive when we left.

    I walked outside to grab Tiff before she left. ¡°Hey Tiff hold up a second,¡± I said, ¡°I found a map on that Lycoan Commander. Take it and try to fly in the general direction of some of those points of interest. If we can grab some loot on the way to engage one of the other factions it will be handy.¡±

    ¡°Okay Captain, we will report back on what we find,¡± she said.

    As I sat back down on my crate I watched the Pup hover up, scattering red dust everywhere. I covered my mouth and nose with the back of my robotic forearm until they were far enough away for the dust to settle. I could hear some of the crew talking inside. Jax was sitting up in the bed and getting caught up on everything that happened. Red, Loren, Claire, and Matty were catching him up and discussing point allocations.

    I sat there and pulled up my interface, mentally selecting point allocations. I had 15 more free points to allocate, and an orange icon flashed beside my abilities tab. I selected that tab first.

    You have unlocked a new ability:

    Big Bang ¨C It is said that the Big Bang was the seed of the universe. An explosion capable of mass destruction that is also capable of bringing life. This ability will allow you to create an explosion of force in all directions emanating from the Havok Bringer armor. The armor will be rendered inoperable for a period of 60 minutes after detonation. The Blast will wound all enemies in the immediate vicinity of your person but will heal all allies in your immediate vicinity. Use with caution.

    I shook my head in frustration. So far, I had gotten two abilities and they both had upsides, but they also had major downsides. My Pulsar Blast left me rooted in place for 10 seconds, and Big Bang completely shut down my ability to use my armor for an hour. I would really have to make sure I didn¡¯t have another option before I used that one.

    No, that wasn¡¯t it at all. I would have to be careful but that isn¡¯t what worried me about using the ability. I would have to trust my crew. I would be basically out of commission for an hour. I would have to trust them to be able to handle whatever danger was left.

    I stood up and stretched, rolling my shoulders, and stretching my neck. ¡°What kind of Captain would I be if I couldn¡¯t trust my crew when the chips are down?¡± I said to myself as I walked back into the HAB to talk to the crew.

 Chapter 39. Geronimo

    Chapter 39. Geronimo

    About half an hour later Tiff and CJ had located the nearest faction. They were camped about 7 miles away and they didn¡¯t seem to be preparing to move. Tiff said they would be back to base camp in 5 minutes, and she would provide me with the rest of the intel she had regarding the faction. To say the least, I wasn¡¯t feeling overly confident that she didn¡¯t want to give me a quick rundown over the comms.

    ¡°Okay team, Tiff and CJ will be back soon. Let¡¯s be ready to go when they get back. Jax, it will be another few minutes before we can give you the second dose of the stim so just rest for now. Matty and Red, can you guys go prep Rover? We are gonna need to make sure it''s good to go and grab plenty of ammo for the turret as well,¡± I said.

    While I was waiting on Tiff and CJ, I took a second and dug into my interface again. I had gained three and a half levels total since this dungeon started and now I was halfway to Level 11. I needed to get up to speed on where my stats were now.

    Andrew Dawes

    Level 11 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Stats:

    Strength ¨C 143

    Intelligence ¨C 132

    Vigor ¨C 166

    Stamina ¨C 137

    Dexterity ¨C 287

    Free Points ¨C 15

    Allocate free points now? Y/N

    My dexterity was growing at a pace that was ridiculous. I definitely felt it in that last fight. I mean, I did a backflip over one of the mercenaries for crying out loud, so the free points weren¡¯t going there. My vigor was good too, sitting at 166. Now it was my second-highest stat.

    I had to start thinking about what I could improve that would help me if I had to fight without my armor though, so strength was next on the list for a boost.

    Okay, let¡¯s put them all into strength, I said to myself.

    I mentally clicked on yes and dumped all the points into strength, making my new strength stat 158. I would be dumping my next several levels'' worth of free points into strength, just in case I got caught without my armor and needed to fight.

    I heard the Pup landing outside, so I got up and walked out to greet Tiff and CJ, ¡°Hey guys, I have the team prepping Rover, what¡¯s the story on the target faction?¡±

    Tiff looked shaken as she walked down the rear ramp, ¡°It¡¯s the Rerek faction, Andrew, we need to think about finding a different target.¡±

    ¡°Wait a second, who are the Rereks? And how can they be worse than the pack of werewolves that I already fought today?!¡± I asked.

    CJ walked up, he wasn¡¯t in his suit since he was staying on the Pup for the duration of this mission. ¡°Oh believe me, bro, they are worse,¡± he said as he sighed out heavily and ran his hands across the top of his head.

    A few minutes later we were back in the HAB. The rest of the crew had finished prepping Rover and Jax had taken his second stim and was up and about again, almost fully healed. Tiff had taken some recon pictures with the Pup and brought them up on one of the monitors for all of us to see.

    I blew out in exasperation, ¡°Holy hell¡­. Is it demons? We have to fight demons.¡±

    The Rerek were huge, at least seven or eight feet tall, they had red skin and horns poking out of their heads. Some had only two, but some had several. They had gnarly jagged teeth and dark black eyes. These things would not be taken down easily and we would have to have a solid plan if we were going to stand a chance.

    Tiff looked at me puzzled, ¡°Demons? No, these are Rerek. This species controls nearly one-quarter of the civilized universe and does all the wet work for the Council. Captain, the Rerek are not to be taken lightly.¡±

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    ¡°Okay, so what do we do? It has to be them, Tiff, they are the closest faction, and we don¡¯t know how much time we have. If the Lacertine faction gets to them first, we are in trouble,¡± I said.

    Tiff seemed really worried about these guys. I mean she always worried, but she seemed extra worried this time.

    ¡°Tiff, you have to trust us here. This is going to be hard, and we all know that. We are all risking the same thing, but someone has to make the call, and that someone is me. We are prepped and ready to go. We are going to attack the Rerek faction, and I need to know if you have any information that can help us against them. If you don¡¯t, then I need you to fall in line and get ready to help us,¡± I said.

    She looked down, her hands behind her back, ¡°The Rerek conquered my people, Captain. The Sapere fear the Rerek above all else.¡±

    I walked over and grabbed her by the shoulder, ¡°Then let¡¯s go make those red assholes regret ever coming to this damn moon, XO.¡±

    Tiff looked up, placing her hand on my forearm, ¡°Okay Captain, you have my support, Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    ¡°Everyone, meet at the Rover, and let''s discuss our attack plan. Matty, Jax, I need you two here. This is your wheelhouse, and we can¡¯t afford to go in with a half-assed plan. Everyone else be prepared to listen up and understand your role in the assault. This will be all hands on deck and we need everyone sharp and ready to fight. Jax, Matty, what do you have for us this time?¡±

    Jax and Matty looked at each other, ¡°Well Cap¡­don¡¯t you and CJ have orbital drop suits?¡± Matty asked.

    I looked at CJ, surprised at the idea that was just thrown at me, "Yeah, we do, but I didn¡¯t want to put the Pup at risk if I could help it.¡±

    ¡°There won''t be any risk, Cap. The Pup will be damn near in orbit, at least 25 to 30 miles up. You and CJ will perform an orbital drop and hit them at just the right moment to assist us with the assault. While we engage the Rerek on the ground you two will drop in the midst of them and create chaos or wreak havoc I guess is a more fitting term,¡± Matty said.

    This was a bold plan, to say the least. I was getting very comfortable with my armor, and CJ was becoming a prop at piloting his armor but neither of us had performed an orbital drop before.

    ¡°Matty, there are a lot of variables here that we have to consider. I¡¯ve never done an orbital drop and neither has CJ. You¡¯re asking us to drop from a distance of 25-30 miles up and land on a space no bigger than a football field. What about the conditions in the atmosphere, what if the wind blows us off course, what about life support?¡± I asked.

    Tiff walked over to one of the crates sitting in the corner of the HAB. She opened it up pulled out a thin, sleek full-face mask, and threw it to me.

    ¡°This will handle the issue of oxygen, Captain. As far as atmospheric conditions, you don¡¯t need to worry about that. The Coeus created an artificial atmosphere on this moon for the singular purpose of providing breathable air for the participants. There are no clouds and no weather to speak of the artificial atmosphere is very thing and should create little resistance.¡±

    I held up the mask inspecting it, ¡°Tiff, I just felt a breeze outside so obviously there is some weather.¡±

    Tiff tilted her head in a way that made me acutely aware that she was considering my intelligence, ¡°Captain, surely you don¡¯t think that a breeze equates to weather? The breeze was created by the uneven heating of the moon''s surface, that is all. There are no clouds, no rain, and no discernible weather patterns to consider here. A small breeze near the surface of the moon is of no concern.¡±

    I sighed and held the mask up to my face, ¡°I can¡¯t wear this under my armor Tiff, it won''t work.¡±

    ¡°I have a theory about that. You said that in the vision the Coeus said that you could make the gift work in ways that helped you, that you could control it, right?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess. I think that is how I was able to create my new arms, but what does that have to do with this?¡± I asked.

    Tiff walked over and grabbed the mask. She slid it over my head and put it securely over my face tightening the straps around my head so that it was secure. There was a hiss as the mask began creating breathable oxygen for me.

    ¡°Okay, it fits. That still doesn¡¯t solve our problem though,¡± I said.

    Tiff stepped back and looked at me, ¡°Equip your armor, Captain.¡±

    I reached up to take the mask off, shaking my head and wondering why she would put the mask on and then tell me to equip my armor. Tiff reached up and grabbed my hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take the mask off, just equip the armor and see what happens,¡± she said.

    ¡°Uhh¡­Okay, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea though. I''m not gonna be happy if I get a broken nose out of this little experiment of yours,¡± I said.

    I took a deep breath and mentally equipped my armor. I watched the black metallic substance begin to cover my body, and then when it got to my neck it slowed. It crept up over the face mask slowly like it was feeling the foreign object out before fully equipping. Finally, after about 3 seconds the armor was fully equipped.

    ¡°That was a lot slower than normal," I said, ¡°Hey, I have a new indicator on my interface!¡±

    The new indicator was on the bottom right of my interface, it was a blue bar that read:

    Oxygen Level ¨C 100%

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty cool, it just equipped over the mask, and it even allows me to see the oxygen level on my interface,¡± I said.

    ¡°Now deactivate your armor, I think you''re going to be surprised,¡± Tiff said.

    I deactivated my armor and reached to pull off the mask, but the mask was gone. I felt around my head just to be sure it hadn¡¯t slid off when the armor deactivated but it was gone.

    ¡°What happened to the mask?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The armor absorbed it and created a new ability, Captain. This is a completely unique ability; I¡¯ve never seen any type of armor or mech-suit that can do anything like what just happened," Tiff said.

    I thought about what this meant, and how I could use an ability like this in the future to upgrade my armor. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have a lot of time to ponder it right now.

    I turned and looked at CJ and shook my head, ¡°Well CJ, I guess we¡¯re gonna do a little skydiving!¡±

 Chapter 40. Its Just One of Those Days

    Chapter 40. It¡¯s Just One of Those Days

    The decision was made. Tiff would use her secondary body to pilot the Pup up between 25 and 30 miles into the thin atmosphere. CJ, piloting his suit, and I would then wait until we got word from Matty to drop in for support.

    Once we got the signal we would drop in and try to attack the enemy from behind or flank them if the drop was off.

    As we flew up in the Pup, Tiff gave us some details on what to expect. We could expect drop speeds of 700 to 850 MPH. At that speed we would free fall for approximately 2.5 to 3 minutes factoring in acceleration time.

    Once we broke 10,000 feet from the surface, we would deploy wing suits of a sort. CJ had an attachment on his suit since it was primarily used for this type of maneuver.

    The wing suits were not the sort of thing we saw on YouTube videos on Earth pre-drop. You know the kind, someone sponsored by Redbull jumps off a mountain in a suit that has material connecting the arms to the torso and connecting the legs together. They then manage to glide down from the mountain at ungodly speeds, all the while maneuvering through the valley and between massive pine trees while the song Sail by Awolnation plays in the background.

    CJ¡¯s suit had an ultra-thin carbon fiber wing extension that extended out from his back. The legs then locked together, and a fin protruded up forming a rudder and vertical stabilizer. Two small wings jutted out from the side of each ankle forming the elevator control and horizontal stabilizer. It really seemed to be the perfect suit for this sort of thing.

    I, on the other hand, had to form my suit myself through sheer will. I had never done this on purpose, I had subconsciously created my new arms, and during the last battle I had created a small shield when I was being fired on. Now I had to create something consciously.

    As we flew, I began trying to create the drop apparatus. I wasn¡¯t worried about my suit timing out. During my interaction with Coeus I was told the timer wouldn¡¯t be an issue moving forward. It was added as sort of a training wheel protocol for new users. In the last battle I had still been able to see the timer on my interface, but it didn¡¯t move anymore, so I assumed that the training wheels had been removed. That was good, it was one less thing to worry about moving forward.

    I stood up in the bay of the Pup and spread my arms out. I wasn¡¯t going to try and copy CJ¡¯s drop suit; there were too many moving parts, and it was just too complicated for me to recreate right now. Instead, I was going with the traditional Earth drop suit design.

    As I stood and focused, I saw the black substance that formed my suit start to slide down from my arms and connect to my torso. The same thing happened with my legs. The connecting areas weren¡¯t solid but instead acted similar to a strong fabric, flowing and rippling as I moved my arms and legs.

    ¡°Well, this will have to do,¡± I said as I looked at CJ who was standing near his drop suit tinkering with it to prepare it for battle.

    CJ tilted his head and knelt down to poke at the fabric between my legs, ¡°This seems a little sketchy, bro.¡±

    I flapped my arms and kicked my legs to test the fabric, ¡°Well, it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got right now. If I drop too fast, I¡¯ll still have the suit for protection, and I¡¯ve got health stims if I take any damage. It¡¯s not ideal but I feel like it will be enough.¡±

    Tiff turned from the pilot¡¯s chair, ¡°We will be on standby until we get word from Matty. The team is approaching the location of the Rerek base camp now and should start the assault in the next five minutes. Standby for the drop signal.¡±

    ***********************************************************

    Down on the surface the crew was advancing toward the Rerek camp. Jax had gotten out of the Rover and took up position half a mile away to provide sniper support and cover fire for an egress if needed.

    The rest of the crew were advancing on the Rerek faction now. Red, Loren, Claire, Tiff, and Matty were all in the Rover. Red was manning the turret while Loren drove. The others were all armed and ready to bail from the rover and take up tactical positions around the base once the assault started.

    The plan was to draw the Rerek out and make them concentrate their manpower and attention on the assault team. Once that happened CJ and I would make our move, dropping in behind them to assault from their unguarded rear. It was a good plan; dangerous but good.

    As the Rover approached, Red opened fire on the Rerek base. They had no defensive fortifications to speak of. The base consisted of one main building made of some sort of composite that was matte black in color. The building was a simple square with two stories. One door on the bottom level and 3 windows across the top floor. There were two smaller buildings in front of the complex to each side.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The Assault team had planned to drive up, open fire, create chaos, and bait the Rerek Faction into an all-out battle. The assault didn¡¯t go as planned. As the Rover approached, it began taking fire from the two towers in front and three windows on the top floor.

    ¡°Those are defensive firing positions!¡± Matty yelled, ¡°Jax, can you take them out?¡±

    ¡°I''m working on it!¡± Jax yelled back, ¡°the openings aren¡¯t very big, and those towers are well fortified. I can lay down suppressing fire, but you guys need to find cover!¡±

    Just then a round from Jax zipped by and blew a chunk out of one of the towers as the Rerek inside ducked and bellowed in anger.

    ¡°Everyone out of the Rover except Red. We need to find cover and lay down suppressing fire to keep them busy. Red, I need you to hammer down on that main complex, keep those shooters out of those windows. Loren, keep the ammo feeding into that turret, we cannot let up for a minute.¡± Tiff said.

    Matty, Claire, and Tiff jumped out of the Rover that was now parked sideways facing the Rerek basecamp. Claire and Tiff took cover in a natural fox hole about 20 yards from the Rover and began laying down suppressing fire.

    Claire looked over at the Rover and extended her hands in the direction of Red. A green glow began to emanate from both Red and Loren as she held out her arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s a basic shield but it should help deflect a couple of rounds!¡± Claire yelled to Tiff as slid back down into the fox hole.

    Tiff reached up over the hole and fired several rounds from her rifle then slid back down to face Claire, ¡°That¡¯s good, try to keep it up if possible!¡±

    The Rerek forces were now returning fire in force. There was no sign of any of them gathering outside the facility, but they definitely knew the Human faction had engaged them.

    Matty had continued running after Tiff and Claire took cover. He had activated his Gilly suit ability and rushed off toward the tower on the front left of the main complex.

    ¡°Jax, focus fire on the right-side tower, I¡¯m gonna handle the left side. Red, keep those rounds pumping into the main complex. I need you to keep them busy. Tiff, how are we looking on reinforcements?¡±

    ¡°On their way,¡± Tiff said, ¡°ETA 3 minutes.¡±

    **************************************************************************************

    I stood up and walked to the back of the Pup. We were hovering approximately 27 miles above the moon''s surface as the rear bay door opened.

    ¡°Holy shit! It¡¯s cold!¡± CJ shouted through his oxygen mask, ¡°Time to make someone''s day a little brighter, let¡¯s go fuck ''em up!¡±

    ¡°A parting gift, courtesy of Elvis!¡± Tiff shouted from the cockpit as music started playing loudly through the Pups speakers and our Comms.

    Duuum, Dum

    Duum, Dum

    Duum, Dum

    The distorted guitar rift sounded in my head as I looked up at CJ and smiled. I activated my armor, and we jumped out as the music continued.

    It¡¯s just one of those days where you don¡¯t wanna wake up

    Everything is fucked, Everybody sucks

    You don¡¯t really know why but you wanna justify

    RIPPIN¡¯ SOMEONE¡¯S HEAD OFF

    It was Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit and Elvis couldn¡¯t have chosen better if he were here himself.

    CJ and I were falling at breakneck speeds. Within 45 seconds we had broken the sound barrier and were falling in excess of 800 miles per hour.

    The HUD on my interface had an altimeter and we were currently about 15 miles from the planet''s surface. I could see targeting info on the interface as well showing the location of the assault team and the Rerek base.

    ¡°Deploy wing suits in 60 seconds. CJ, we are gonna be coming in hot so be prepared. Target the main facility and take out any of the infrastructure that you can upon landing. The facility is made of a composite similar to plastic, your suit can take it,¡± I yelled trying to overcome the tremendous whoosh of air as we fell.

    We continued to fall, trying to maneuver our bodies in a way that would bring us closer to the landing zone. At these speeds keeping our bodies pointed in any singular direction was nearly impossible, even in my armor. CJ was faring better but not by much.

    ¡°Andy, steering this thing is damn near impossible, it¡¯s taking everything I have just to hold it together!¡± CJ said.

    ¡°Just stay with it, CJ, we''re almost at deploy altitude,¡± I said.

    A few seconds later we deployed our wingsuit attachments with a tremendous jolt. The wingsuit wasn¡¯t enough to slow us down completely though. We would need to come in at an angle and the landing was going to be very hard.

    ¡°Do you have a read on the basecamp, CJ?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I have it. Impact in 35 seconds,¡± he said.

    ¡°Matty, ETA 35 seconds, and we''re coming in hot,¡± I said.

    ¡°Copy that, Cap! We''re taking a ton of fire down here! Jax and I have taken out the two defensive towers. Red took out two of the shooters on the second floor, but he took a round to the shoulder and is out of action. Tiff and Claire are pinned down. We need you two here now!¡± Matty said.

    The base camp was now visible, and we were approaching at over 100 miles per hour. At that speed, I would definitely be injured if I didn¡¯t find a way to slow down.

    ¡°CJ, I¡¯m gonna flare my suit and raise myself vertically right before impact to slow myself down, otherwise I¡¯ll be out of this fight before it even starts," I said, ¡°I need you to go in full force and rattle them as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Copy. Just be ready to do your killing thing when you land,¡± he said.

    A few seconds later we zoomed over the assault team as we approached the main Rerek facility. I flared my wingsuit and jerked my body vertically to slow down, it helped as my speed dropped to 50 miles per hour.

    At the same moment, CJ slammed into the top of the facility at an angle. A cloud of dust rose from his impact as screams emanated from within the facility.

    ¡°CJ, is your suit still functional?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, the fingers on my right hand are gone, but other than that I¡¯m operational,¡± he said.

    I landed in front of the building, sidearm drawn, ¡°Everyone, let''s go!¡±

    The Assault team gathered on my position and prepared to breach the Rerek facility.

 Chapter 41. Breaking Point

    Chapter 41. Breaking Point

    I stood at the front entrance of the facility as the crew advanced to my position. With my back pressed against the wall and my rifle at the ready, we assembled. Me and Tiff on one side of the door, Matty and Claire on the other side.

    Jax was still holding position away from the facility, ready to engage any stragglers or cover our egress if things went south. Red was injured but had taken a health stim and was almost fully recovered. He was staying with the turret to lay down cover fire as well.

    ¡°Go on my mark,¡± I said as I held up 3 fingers to the team, ¡°3,2, GO!¡±

    I turned and kicked the door in as I rushed through followed closely by the team. There was a straight hallway with two alternating doors on each side and a single stairwell at the end. The room was dark with only one light source attached to the wall near the stairwell.

    The building smelled of sulfur and there was trash and what looked like several rucksacks lining the hallway.

    ¡°Tiff, you and I will clear the rooms on the right. Jax, you and Claire clear the left. Claire, can you cast your shield ability on us all?¡± I asked.

    Claire raised her arms as a green glow emanated from us all, ¡°Done. Remember, it won''t help if you take too much fire.¡±

    ¡°Understood, but anything helps,¡± I said.

    On the far end of the building near the stairwell we could see light streaming down through the roof where CJ landed. I could hear the sounds of fighting from that direction but no weapons fire as of yet.

    ¡°CJ, you good in there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Y-yeah, just finishing off one that I surprised. These fuckers are strong so be careful,¡± he grunted as he struggled with the Rerek.

    By my count, there were at least 6 Rerek unaccounted for. Jax and Red had taken out three, and CJ was currently engaged with the fourth.

    ¡°Everyone hold,¡± I said as I raised my fist to signal everyone to hold position.

    ¡°Scratch one runner,¡± Jax said over the comms, ¡°He was trying to leave the party early, of course, he found it hard to continue without his head.¡±

    ¡°Copy that, where did he exit?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He was the last one on the roof. Jumped off and was hoofing it away from the facility.¡±

    ¡°Matty, Claire, secure your rooms. Tiff, let¡¯s get it done,¡± I said to the team.

    We approached the first door on our side, I looked at Tiff and nodded as I spun and kicked the door in. I cleared my left side then spun to the right as a single Rerek soldier opened fire on me. I had just enough time to get a look at him before I dove for cover.

    Rerek Warrior ¨C Level 9

    As I hit the ground, I raised my sidearm and fired four shots in rapid succession. The rounds made contact but served to do little more than piss the Rerek off.

    Four wounds bled thick black blood as he stood to his full height and slammed his rifle against his chest before discarding the weapon and pulling an aged black sword from its sheath.

    ¡°Weak, pathetic human. You face Baldrimore of the Rerek and you die here by my blade,¡± the creature growled.

    I quickly stood up and dismissed my sidearm, ¡°Tiff, clear the next room,¡± as I waved her away to check the next room.

    This room was not big enough for three people to engage in a brawl, especially with a sword involved.

    ¡°Got it,¡± she said as she spun and advanced to the next room.

    I could hear sounds of fighting from across the hall; Matty and Claire must have found more Rerek on the other side. I had to trust that they could handle it. I had my own hands full right now.

    I summoned my daggers as I dismissed my sidearm, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have all day.¡±

    The Rerek bellowed in anger as he centered his stance and rushed me. It was fast and obviously strong, and I knew I had to be careful.

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    Have you ever watched wrestling? I mean we all have at one point or another. There was an old wrestler named Goldberg, his signature move was called the spear. He would basically rush his opponent and hit them full force placing his shoulder and head into their stomach, lifting them off the ground before slamming them back down. Sort of like a perfect football tackle.

    Well, that is what my new friend Baldimore decided to do to me. The move caught me completely off guard. The Rerek¡¯s speed was more than I expected as he lifted me completely off my feet and through the exterior wall of the building. We landed outside with a crash of debris and dust. He then proceeded to mount me and placing his giant free hand on my throat, he began to squeeze.

    ¡°Holy Shit! Cap, are you okay?¡± Jax asked after seeing the Rerek tackle me through the wall. ¡°Cap, I don¡¯t have visual, there is too much dust. I repeat, are you okay?!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t reply as Baldimore was currently doing a good job of choking me to death. My health bar was plummeting as he continued to squeeze.

    ¡°Maybe you aren¡¯t worthy to die by my blade after all, so I will squeeze the life from you instead,¡± The Rerek said.

    As he spoke, drool dripped from his mouth as his lips curled into a demented smile. He was enjoying this; he took pleasure in the kill.

    I swung my arms wildly trying to use my daggers to pierce any part of the giant demonic figure.

    In response he placed his knees on my arms at the elbow to hold me down. He was in complete control of the situation.

    ¡°Tiff, Cap is in trouble!¡± Jax shouted, ¡°Does anyone have eyes on the captain?!¡±

    "We¡¯re all busy here Jax, we don¡¯t have eyes on him,¡± Tiff responded.

    My health was getting dangerously low at this point. My vision was getting blurry around the edges and warning lights were flashing all over my interface. I felt myself start to drift away.

    This can¡¯t be how it ends¡­ I thought.

    I tried to use a health stim and saw the word Malfunction blink repeatedly as I tried repeatedly in vain. The Rerek must have damaged something as he was crushing my throat.

    The land mines! I remembered the mines in my inventory.

    The mines were saucer-shaped with a trigger mechanism on top. The description read Inferior Land Mine. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what that meant, but at the moment I didn¡¯t have time to test them.

    I dismissed my daggers and pulled one of the mines from my inventory into my right hand.

    This is gonna hurt¡­ I thought.

    I spun my right hand downward and slammed the mine into the Rerek, triggering its firing mechanism.

    The explosion was bigger than I would have guessed. I rolled over onto my knees as my head rang and my vision alternated between blacking out and blurry.

    My health bar was blinking red and showed at less than five percent. The Rerek, Baldimore, lay on the ground several feet away from me screaming.

    The mine had taken my left arm off below the elbow and blown away a section of my armor on my right side, exposing bloody flesh down to the ribs.

    The Rerek had placed his knee on my arm at the elbow to keep me from stabbing him with my dagger. It was a solid tactic at the time. Of course, he could have just killed me quickly, but his desire to savor the moment caused him to drag it out.

    I tried to use a health stim but again got the malfunction message.

    The Rerek had fared worse than me though. His entire leg was gone, now just a black bloody stump. His entire right side was a charred mangled mess of gore and bone.

    As I looked at him, he still tried to reach for his sword laying on the ground a few feet from him. He kept fighting, even though he was dead for sure, he kept fighting.

    I stood there watching him for a few seconds, my head was spinning, and my body was broken. Still, I watched in a daze. I wondered what drove a creature to hate so much. Even as he lay dying, he wanted to kill.

    I looked down at my right arm and willed it to reform. Then I summoned my daggers again as I walked toward the Rerek.

    I could hear muffled sounds in the background, I could hear radio chatter. Someone was desperately trying to get someone else¡¯s attention. None of that mattered right now, and I couldn¡¯t focus enough to make it out anyhow.

    I remembered that my daggers had a health drain ability. I wasn¡¯t sure how much health this Rerek had left but I knew what I had to do.

    I approached the Rerek and mounted him just as he had mounted me earlier. I dismissed my helmet; I wanted him to see me. I wanted him to look in my eyes while I did this.

    As I sat there on top of the mangled warrior a wave of emotion crashed into me. I didn¡¯t ask for this. I didn¡¯t want this for myself of my world, yet here I was.

    I hated the Rerek for forcing me into this. I hated the Lacertines for seeding Earth with the orbs. I hated the Council for allowing genocide to go unpunished.

    Tears began to well up in my eyes as I looked down at Baldimore. He struggled as much as he could and growled gnashing his teeth.

    I raised my left hand and stabbed down¡­

    +2 HP

    The message flashed on my interface as my health bar ticked up to 7. The tears flowed freely now as I numbly stabbed again.

    +2 HP

    Again¡­.

    +2 HP

    I screamed as I began furiously stabbing down with both daggers. Baldimore screamed and gurgled black blood as I continued to stab.

    +2 HP

    +2 HP

    +2 HP

    I closed my eyes and let the daggers fall over and over again as the emotion overcame me.

    After what seemed like hours, I looked down. Baldimore lay lifeless beneath me. There were cuts and stabs covering his mutilated corpse as his lifeless eyes looked up at me.

    I slumped over, my health bar read 87% and was green again. My ribs and the skin covering them had healed, but I had a new wound, and it wouldn¡¯t heal so easily.

    A hand reached out and rested on my shoulder, ¡°Andrew, it¡¯s okay now. We have the key; we can go back to base camp.¡± Tiff¡¯s voice was soft, and I could hear the pity as she spoke.

    The crew had finished the assault and had all watched what just happened. They had watched their Captain break.

    I rolled over onto my back and just lay in the red dirt for a moment. The sky was dark and full of stars. I could see ships moving in orbit, little more than blinking lights.

    The crew all came and sat down beside me. Nobody spoke, nobody needed to.

    We had tasted success once again, and with it, we understood that this was only the beginning.

 Chapter 42. Angel

    Chapter 42. Angel

    ¡°We need to get back to Base camp,¡± I finally said after several minutes of silence.

    Jax had joined us by this time and the entire team was ready to go. All that was left to do was loot the Rerek bodies. I would let the crew handle that task; I had my fill of death today and was just ready to get back to camp and start planning our next phase.

    ¡°I¡¯m bringing the Pup in now. We can get back to base camp as soon as you are ready Captain,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Copy that. The crew will need a few minutes to loot the corpses and then we can go. CJ, can you get the Rover loaded and ready?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m on it, Andy. Why don¡¯t you head on in and take a load off we can handle the cleanup?¡± he replied.

    I walked into the Pup and sat in the Co-pilot¡¯s chair. I sighed heavily and leaned my head back against the headrest while I closed my eyes. Sleep shouldn¡¯t come easy, not after what I just did. Did it make me a bad person that all I wanted to do right now was sleep? I didn¡¯t have much time to dwell on that before I passed out.

    When I woke, we were back at base camp. CJ grabbed my shoulder to wake me.

    ¡°Hey, Andy, we¡¯re back at base camp. It¡¯s time to wake up, buddy.¡±

    I rubbed my eyes and stretched trying to shake off the sleep. "How long was I out?¡± I asked.

    CJ sat in the pilot''s chair beside me. He rested his elbow against the headrest and propped his head up. ¡°You alright, man? What you did back there, what you have been doing so far, this is all crazy.¡±

    I just looked down at the floor as he spoke. I could hear the words, I understood him, I just didn¡¯t want to talk about it.

    ¡°Listen, Andy, we are in completely uncharted waters here. It is okay to talk about it, just promise me you won¡¯t put this all on yourself. You aren¡¯t alone here, and you can''t just escape to your little cabin by the river when people get too close.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to let this go as he stared directly at me.

    ¡°I know CJ, I know. I¡¯m just trying to process all of this. A little over a month ago we were on Earth, we were surviving and trying to build something. I had done things since the drop, terrible things, but those things were done to survive or to help other people survive.¡±

    I took a deep breath trying to shake myself out of this fog, this thick feeling of anxiety and confusion.

    ¡°None of this makes sense to me. It seems like every race out here just wants to kill us, just for being Human. I have some alien superweapon that is genetically bound to me, and I don¡¯t even fully know how to use it. I mean damn it bro I¡¯ve nearly died three times now but somehow, I¡¯m supposed to save our planet? I can barely keep myself alive, much less a crew.¡±

    CJ stood up and walked over to his drop suit. ¡°Look Andy, I don¡¯t know what you are dealing with. I can¡¯t start to comprehend the pressure you must feel. I do know that we are still alive, and we are winning. You say you nearly died three times? Well, I say you survived three times. I say you have saved lives and brought people together to work toward a common goal. Maybe you aren¡¯t the best choice, but you have made the best out of a bad situation so far, so get your damn head up.¡±

    He walked toward the back ramp of the Pup then turned and looked at me again.

    ¡°Those aliens that want us dead are still out there. You have a crew inside that HAB out there waiting for direction and they have all agreed that you are our Captain. Whether you like it or not what happens next will depend completely on you. We are going to kill more people¡­ aliens¡­ whatever you want to call them. You need to accept and be okay with that because they are going to try and kill us first. If we are going to get through this it¡¯s going to be because of you, now get up and be a leader.¡±

    I sat there for a few more moments before I gathered myself and walked toward the HAB. CJ was a dick most of the time, but he was exactly what I needed right now, and I wasn¡¯t going to let him down.

    ¡°Okay team, what kind of loot did we get back there?¡± I asked as I walked into the HAB.

    Everyone was busy at the moment, either getting food or breaking down and cleaning weapons and gear. Tiff looked at me and nodded when I entered. It wasn¡¯t much, but I knew that was her way of letting me know that what happened back there was okay. I¡¯m sure there would be a conversation later on though.

    ¡°We have four keys now. The announcement was made when you were¡­when you were fighting that Rerek. I don¡¯t think you noticed,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Well, that leaves one group remaining besides the Lacertine faction. They already have two keys, so they are more than likely pushing the last group as we speak,¡± I said.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Matty walked up and sat down at the table with Tiff, ¡°Well we haven¡¯t seen an announcement yet so if they are going after that key, they haven¡¯t gotten it yet.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think they aren''t just coming after our keys first?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°We have four keys, and they have two as of now. My guess is they might just be waiting for us to get five and then ambush us as we approach the relay station,¡± Jax said as he sat down beside Matty.

    I walked over to the ration station. It wasn''t much, just a table setup with all of our field rations stacked up on top of it but there was something new.

    ¡°Is this coffee?!¡± I asked surprised to see what looked like a single cup coffee maker.

    ¡°Yeah, I asked Elvis to make us one before we left. I just didn¡¯t have time to set it up until we got back earlier,¡± Loren said.

    I drank coffee from time to time, but seeing this coffee maker here reminded me of home. It reminded me what we were fighting for, and it gave me hope. It¡¯s strange how something so seemingly insignificant can hold such emotional value, but at this moment it made me feel like I had a little piece of home here with me.

    I grabbed a cup that was lying on the table and placed it under the spout. I pressed the button, and the hot brown liquid began to dispense, steam rising from the cup as it brewed. The strong earthy aroma was familiar and made my mouth water. When the coffee was brewed and my cup full, I grabbed it and held it under my nose just taking in the scent of home. I could feel the steam on my cheeks. I sipped it slowly and the bitter concoction filled my mouth as I stood there with my eyes closed.

    ¡°Ugh, do you need a room, bro?¡± CJ asked jokingly.

    ¡°No, but I needed this cup of coffee. Thanks, Loren, this was thoughtful, and I appreciate you thinking of it,¡± I said holding the cup out toward Loren in a gesture of thanks.

    ¡°I think we need to plan to hit the Lacertine faction,¡± I said.

    Everyone looked at me with surprise on their faces. The move wasn¡¯t exactly the easy way out since the Lacertine faction was around 40-strong, by far the largest faction in the dungeon.

    ¡°You sure about that, Cap?¡± Jax asked, ¡°That is just asking for trouble if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Look, the Lacertine faction is big, and it won¡¯t be easy. I¡¯m pretty sure they are going to take out that last remaining faction and engage us after. That is if they don¡¯t come directly after us first. My money is on them coming after us last. We have proven that we are capable, even dangerous. The other remaining faction hasn¡¯t gotten a single key yet. If I were the Lacertines I would go after the perceived weak target first. Once they are eliminated, they can throw the full might of their faction at us. They won¡¯t chance coming after us first and suffering losses that could put them at risk against the remaining faction,¡± I said.

    Jax and Matty looked at each other and nodded. Tiff gave me a nod as well. Everyone seemed to be getting on board. Now we just had to make a plan.

    ¡°Makes enough sense Cap, but we still have to figure out how to hit the bastards,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°We are going to let them hit us first. We''re going to weaken them, catch them off guard, and then we are going to punch them square in the face,¡± I said. ¡°We have to hit them hard and hit them repeatedly. We are going to need to employ some guerilla tactics. We aren¡¯t gonna fight this battle on their terms,¡± I replied.

    ¡°We are going to spread them thin and whittle them down. We will fight this battle on three fronts.¡±

    Tiff stood up, obviously surprised by something. ¡°I show an enemy approaching on my mini-map,¡±

    Sure enough, as I looked at my interface, I could see a red dot approaching on the fringes. It wasn¡¯t moving fast, and it was only one.

    ¡°Jax, Matty, with me,¡± I said as I stood up and equipped my armor.

    Jax and Matty grabbed their rifles and activated their gilly suit ability. When they had the ability active, they were nearly invisible. It was similar to those predator movies from the 80¡¯s. They were invisible but the space their bodies were in was distorted. I could see them because I knew they were there, but it would be hard to notice them if you were an unsuspecting enemy.

    We ran out of the HAB into the hot red sand toward the approaching red dot. As we got closer, we were all surprised at what we saw running toward us.

    The man was tall, taller than the average human male, probably 6ft 7 or 6ft 8. He was muscular and wearing what looked like a silver chest plate with white pants. He had blonde hair to his shoulders and a square jaw. None of that is what stopped us in our tracks though.

    The man had two wings protruding from his back. The wings were massive, they were pure white, and they reached from his shoulders to the ground.

    ¡°Jesus, is that¡­.Is that an angel?!¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°Did you say Angel? Like from Earth mythology?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Hey, careful how you use the word mythology!¡± Matty retorted.

    ¡°Yeah Tiff, it looks like an angel. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a very bad thing, Captain. That is a Malakim, they are extremely dangerous and extremely loyal to the Council,¡± she replied.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a shot, Cap,¡± Jax said.

    This thing was alone and hadn¡¯t yet shown any aggression toward us. I had to come to terms with killing to survive. I had to come to terms with killing to try and save Earth. I would not come to terms with killing in cold blood. I was no murderer.

    ¡°Hold, Jax,¡± I said.

    ¡°Cap, I can take him out,¡± Jax replied.

    ¡°I said hold, Jax!¡± I put my fist up to reinforce the order, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a suggestion.¡±

    As the Malakim got closer I could see he was injured. There was red streaking his otherwise white left wing and he was limping severely. The blood was coming from a large wound on his side that he was holding with his left hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s close enough!¡± I yelled to the alien.

    He held up his right hand toward us. ¡°I mean you no harm, Humans. I am injured and my faction was betrayed. I seek only to escape this moon with my life!¡±

    With those words, he fell to his knees and rolled to his side, convulsing as he fell.

    ¡°Tiff, he is injured. He just collapsed. We have to help him,¡± I said over the comms.

    ¡°He is Malakim, Captain!¡± she replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what he is; right now he isn¡¯t a danger to anyone! If we can heal him, he may be able to give us some information about the Lacertine faction. He hasn¡¯t shown any aggression yet, I have to try to help him.¡±

    I rushed over to the Malakim who was still convulsing on the ground. I had one more of the superior health stims that I had looted from the Lycoans. I jabbed the stim into the Malakim¡¯s neck. The convulsing stopped and the wound started to heal but the alien was still unconscious.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get him back to the HAB,¡± I said.

    ¡°What is happening out there?!¡± Tiff asked.

    I looked at Matty and Jax who were now visible, ¡°Well, I think we have taken an angel prisoner.¡±

 Chapter 43. Kaj

    Chapter 43. Kaj

    Matty and Jax crashed through the front door of the HAB, one under each arm of the large Malakim. I was following close behind trying to comprehend exactly what I was seeing.

    The Malakim''s wings were enormous, stark white feathers covered the wings that ranged from around six to twelve inches in length depending on where they were on the wing. This was, for all intents and purposes, what I knew as an angel.

    I grew up in a religious family, like a lot of people in the south. I had heard stories from the Bible about angels, demons, and other supernatural creatures. It seemed that they were all real, just not real in the way I expected.

    Apparently, what we had come to know as angels and demons were no different than the aliens that people of the 20<sup>th</sup> century had encountered. The Rerek were giant red, horned creatures. The Malakim were large, regal, winged beings. Both of these races had at some point spent time on Earth and had been seen by humans, much like the Trimeans who had become known as greys to every tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist. Did this shake my faith in God? No, it just changed my perception of what he was capable of.

    Deep meditation on theology would have to wait for another day though, for now we had to figure out exactly what to do with this prisoner.

    The Malakim was still unconscious as we entered the HAB. His external wounds were closing but I knew from personal experience that it would take some time to completely recover from a wound that serious.

    ¡°Get him on the table and find something to strap him down!¡± Tiff said as she ran up to help with the prisoner. ¡°Andrew, this was not advisable. This being is capable of tearing you in half and is loyal to no one save the Council.¡±

    She looked into my eyes sharply as she spoke. I could tell that she was not in favor of this plan of action. I also knew that the Malakim hadn¡¯t attacked us, and I wasn¡¯t ready to kill if I wasn¡¯t provoked.

    ¡°What can you tell me about the Malakim, Tiff?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They serve as the personal guard to the council. They are often tasked with enforcing Council sanctions on offending galaxies. Their entire race is bred for war and policing based on the whims of the Council," she said as shook her head in disgust. ¡°When the Council makes a judgment of reaping the Malakim will come in and police the seeded planet. They will quell rebellion and assist with the roundup of livestock. They aid whatever species initiated the reaping until its completion, which could take decades in some cases.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean livestock? Like cows and sheep? Things like that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There is no value in animals to species outside of the originating planet, Captain. Most species have very specific dietary requirements based on their physiology. Other than niche curiosity they would not be interested in animals from your planet,¡± she replied.

    I knew the answer before I asked again, but I needed to hear her say it. ¡°Then what do you mean by livestock, Tiff?¡± I asked.

    ¡°People, Captain. People can be used across the universe for a variety of purposes. Cheap labor, fighting pits, medical experiments, the list goes on and on. Outside of the exponential elemental value of your planet and solar system, the livestock would be the next most valuable commodity.¡±

    I stopped what I was doing as a wave of nausea rushed over me. Billions of people would be enslaved or killed, I knew that was a possibility. The fact that they would be considered little more than livestock and hearing Tiff use that term shook me to my core.

    ¡°Tiff, you will not use that term for Humans, or any other sentient race moving forward. Do you understand?¡± I lifted my head and made a point to make eye contact as I spoke.

    I activated my suit and reached toward the Malakim who was starting to move slightly on the table. I placed my hands on his shoulders and slammed him back to the table, still staring at Tiff.

    ¡°This Malakim did not move to harm us. He asked for our assistance, and I gave it. I did all that because I am a Human being, not livestock. I am not a cold-blooded mindless killer. Maybe I should have just killed him when I had the chance, only time will tell. What I do know is that he is here now, and we will see if he can give us any information that will be valuable to us.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean any offense, Captain¡­ I¡­ that is just the term generally accepted when referring to an enslaved race,¡± Tiff wilted as she spoke.

    ¡°Red, get some rope and tie his wings, feet, and arms. When he wakes, we will talk,¡± I said.

    ¡°Got it, Captain!¡± Red said as he rushed to get some rope from one of the cargo boxes.

    Five minutes later the Malakim was secured as everyone stood around gawking. To their credit they stayed fairly composed in the presence of what we all until today would have considered a supernatural being.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    The Malakim began to stir again, and I lifted my hands to let him gather himself.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± the Malakim asked.

    ¡°We will get to that. First, what is your name? It will be hard to have a conversation if I have to keep calling you Malakim,¡± I said as I dismissed my armor. "I am Captain Andrew Dawes and this is my crew. We represent the Human Faction in this dungeon.¡±

    Attention participants: The Malakim Faction has been eliminated. The Lacertine Faction now holds the Malakim Faction Key. The Lacertine Faction now holds 3 keys. Reminder, the first faction to hold 5 keys will gain access to the Coeus Relay Station.

    Update ¨C With only two factions remaining, the Coeus relay will populate in 4 Earth hours. After the relay station appears participants will have an additional 4 hours to open the relay and complete the dungeon. After the 4-hour time period the surface of the moon will heat to a temperature of +300 degrees Fahrenheit. If no parties have activated the relay at this time the dungeon will be declared a loss and results will be null.

    ¡°Sounds like you are the last of your faction, buddy. Ready to talk?¡±

    ¡°Unbind me, Human. I am no animal to be bound in this way. I mean you no harm and give you my word that I will not seek to harm you," The Malakim said.

    ¡°Name first, then we can go from there,¡± I replied.

    The Malakim relaxed to the table and took a deep breath." I am called Ka Jarat.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Ka Jarat. Why were you out there alone? What happened to your faction?¡± I asked.

    ¡°My faction made an arrangement with the Lacertine faction. We did not come to the dungeon in hopes of winning, we are merely stationed in random dungeons to help ensure it doesn¡¯t get out of hand. We knew that the Lacertine Empire had invested heavily in this particular dungeon and as such, were prepared to offer our assistance,¡± Ka Jarat grunted against the ropes as he spoke.

    ¡°Captain Dawes, could you please untie me? I have no weapon and I am severely outnumbered here. I am at a strategic disadvantage. I have no desire to fight you,¡± he asked.

    I stood at the side of his table and reactivated my armor. "Untie him, Red."

    Ka Jarat stared at me in amazement as Red unbound him. ¡°Where did you get that armor? I have never seen armor that appears in such a way,¡± he said.

    ¡°I''m sorry, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s classified." I glanced over at Matty and Jax who both grinned at my use of the terminology.

    ¡°Classified as what? Is it not a drop suit?" Ka Jarat asked.

    I assumed the translation hadn¡¯t come out exactly the way I wanted it to and flinched at my use of unfamiliar terminology.

    ¡°The origins of my armor will not be discussed at this time.¡± I tried to salvage some sense of control of the conversation. ¡°Please continue what you were telling us.¡±

    Ka Jarat sat up on the table and hung his legs over the side. In a blink his wings shot out, stretching to their full length of at least 8 feet on each side. It was impressive, but in an already tense environment, it was not welcome.

    I immediately summoned my daggers and extended them toward his throat. ¡°No. Sudden. Movements. Malakim,¡± I said as I held the tip of one dagger to his throat and the other near his ribcage.

    Ka Jarat put his hands up in the air slowly, ¡°I was merely stretching my wings, there is no cause for alarm.¡±

    I slowly removed the daggers from near his body and dismissed them. I didn¡¯t fail to notice that Tiff had a weapon trained on the Malakim the entire time.

    ¡°Can you ask that Saperian behind me to lower her weapon as well?¡± Ka Jarat asked.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how he knew Tiff had a weapon trained on him, but I decided to see if I could gain a little trust and further the conversation.

    I held out a hand toward Tiff, "XO, lower your weapon.¡±

    Ka Jarat rubbed his wrists as he began speaking again. ¡°The Lacertine faction messaged that they were ready to negotiate in good faith. The only downside for them would have been awarding the Malakim government a small percentage of the profits from the reaping if they were to win the rights of reaping. We should have known better than to trust those lizards,¡± he spat.

    ¡°They ambushed us at the meeting and wiped out our faction. They will receive sanctions from the Council, but ten Malakim lives won¡¯t cost the Council any sleep.¡±

    ¡°I escaped and ran; we were severely outnumbered, and I had no chance of survival if I fought. My goal was to find a means of escape and inform my people of the betrayal. The Council will likely report that the troops were lost in combat, and I couldn''t allow that narrative to exist.¡±

    ¡°Captain, I have no faction, no resources, and I am now indebted to you for saving my life. My people have served the Council for millennia, but there are a growing number of my kind that grow tired of the political maneuvering and yearn for freedom. I¡¯m sure the Saperian has briefed you on my people and told you of our loyalty to the Council, as well as our role within their government,¡± he said as he looked over his shoulder at Tiff.

    ¡°What she hasn¡¯t told you is that we value honor above all else. You have saved and spared my life. I am now honor-bound to assist you in whatever way you see fit. Do with me as you will, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Ka Jarat¡­ is it okay if I call you Kaj?¡± I asked.

    The Malakim tilted his head. "What is this Kaj¡­?¡± he asked, the name unfamiliar as it came out.

    ¡°It''s just an abbreviation, a faster and easier way to say your name. I mean no disrespect,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I will allow it, Captain,¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°I will need to discuss this with my crew. For now, I need you to stay here, we will return shortly,¡± I said.

    We all walked outside to have a conversation. This Malakim would be an impressive addition to our crew, but could we trust him?

    ¡°Tiff, can we invite Kaj to the crew?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, how do you know you can trust him?¡± she asked. ¡°He is Malakim, he is loyal to the Council!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so what Tiff? You are Saperian, we are human, he is Malakim. From what he said that loyalty isn¡¯t as firm as you described it. He feels like the Council hung him out to dry and from what he said he is honor-bound to me now. Is that a thing?" I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. The Malakim have been known to enter into honor pacts in the past. Once they enter into an honor pact it supersedes any oaths they have taken until they are released by the holder of the pact, or said holder dies,¡± she said, resignation in her voice.

    ¡°Okay, if nobody has any objections, I will ask Kaj to form an honor pact with me and invite him to join the crew. We are going to need all the help we can get to take on the Lacertine faction and we are not in a position to be picky.¡±

    ¡°Any objections?¡± I said looking around to the crew.

    Nobody objected.

    ¡°Okay, it looks like we''re adding one angel to the crew of the Bloodhound then.¡±

 Capter 44. An Angel with some Demon in him.

    Chapter 44. An Angel with some Demon in him.

    I walked back into the HAB to see KAJ poking around in the different cargo boxes. I could tell he wasn¡¯t looking for anything to steal; he was just curious.

    ¡°Kaj, we have decided to take you on as part of the crew. You will need to form a blood pact with me. Everyone will feel more comfortable if it is as binding as you say. I¡¯m sure you understand,¡± I said, walking up to the Malakim.

    ¡°I understand, Captain. I, however, need you to understand that the blood pact is binding to both of us. I cannot break the blood pact, and you cannot abandon me without cause. This pact is to be taken with reverence and caution. Do you still choose to proceed?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Is it dangerous to me or my crew?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, Captain, not in the sense you mean,¡± Kaj responded.

    ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s do it. We need all the help we can get, Kaj. I won¡¯t lie. You will be asked to fight and possibly die.¡±

    ¡°I would expect nothing less Captain. One more thing?¡± he said.

    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Once I make this pact, I will be ostracized. My people will turn their backs on me, and I will be unable to return to my home planet, possibly ever. I will be branded a traitor and deserter. I do not take this lightly, you understand; honor, however, dictates that I owe my life to you and your cause. At some point I may be able to argue my case to the Chief Justice; I only ask that if the opportunity presents itself, you allow me to pursue it. To die a traitor would be the greatest tragedy for a Malakim.¡±

    ¡°I understand Kaj and swear that if you get a chance I will allow you to clear your name,¡± I said.

    Kaj stuck out his hand toward me, ¡°We must join hands; do not be alarmed at what follows.¡±

    I reached out my right hand and grasped his right wrist. He looked at me and nodded.

    ¡°Captain, do you have a blade?¡± he asked.

    I summoned one of my daggers in response.

    ¡°You must cut us both, our blood and flesh must become one,¡± Kaj said as he motioned for me to make a cut across both of our wrists where they met.

    I sighed but agreed, ¡°Okay.¡±

    I slide the blade across my skin, then across Kaj¡¯s skin. As we stood there the blood intermingled on our skin.

    Kaj closed his eyes, placed a hand on each side of my head, and pressed his forehead to mine, ¡°I, Ka Jarat, pledge my life and honor to you. My blade will defend you in battle, my wings will carry you to safety, and my life will be given to protect your own. With these words, I initiate the pact.¡±

    As he spoke he surrounded us both with his wings in a cocoon. A faint light began to emanate from the place where our hands were joined. When he finished, my back stiffened, my head shot up and my eyes turned white. I wasn¡¯t in pain, but I could tell that something had changed¡­ I could sense Kaj.

    I could sense his life force and intentions. I would be able to feel where he was and if he was okay. It wasn¡¯t invasive or overwhelming, but it was there.

    I opened my eyes as Kah retracted his wings. He relaxed and took a step back from me.

    ¡°You understand the weight of this pact now Captain?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Y¡­Yes, I understand Kaj. You are honorable; I will do my best to ensure that you don¡¯t suffer from this decision.¡±

    ¡°Problems for another day, Captain. Today, we fight.¡±

    Everyone in the room was staring, obviously as taken aback at what just happened as I was. To be fair, it had to look weird.

    CJ stepped forward to get closer to me, ¡°So¡­. Are you guys, like, going steady now?¡±

    ¡°What is this¡­ going steady?¡± Kaj asked.

    ¡°It just means that you and Andrew are a couple now. You will need to start planning the wedding and looking for a starter house. Preferably something near a good school zone, but not too far from work.¡± CJ was obviously having fun with this.

    Matty, Jax, and the rest of the crew got a good laugh out of that. That was good; we needed something to break the tension.

    ¡°Okay, Okay that¡¯s enough everyone. Kaj, I need to send you an official crew invite. I assume you have access to an interface since you were already in the dungeon, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain I have an interface.¡± He replied.

    I identified Kaj; his description read:

    Ka Jarat

    Malakim Battle Seraph

    Level 10

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I initiated the crew invite option:

    Invite Participant Ka Jarat to join the crew of the Bloodhound? Y/N

    After Kaj selected yes I could see his dot on my mini-map turn green. He was not part of the crew. I didn¡¯t know what that would mean for us in the future, but I knew that we had another skilled warrior on our side right now.

    Okay, everyone, we need a plan. We have less than four hours before that relay station is accessible. We need to make our move before it opens up. The Lacertines have the numbers, we need to have the strategy. I need ideas.

    ¡°Captain, the Lacertine faction forces are currently split. I''m sorry I didn¡¯t mention this sooner. They sent half their force to take the Malakim faction key. They will occupy the Malakim Basecamp to ensure that they have a direct route to the relay once it appears.¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°Captain, while I appreciate that Kaj is now part of the crew, we must be careful. There is no guarantee that the Lacertine faction didn¡¯t return to their base camp after taking the Malakim faction key,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Tiff, I can tell you with a fair amount of confidence that Kaj is being truthful,¡± I said.

    ¡°I still advise caution, Captain,¡± Tiff said coldly.

    ¡°Tiff, we don¡¯t have the luxury of time being on our side. We need to identify a target and a strategy for attack. There is no perfect solution here,¡± I said.

    I looked around at everyone in the room, ¡°Listen, everyone, we are outnumbered and might have a chance to hit the Lacertines while their forces are split. We need to take advantage of this. I am technically the Captain here, but we all know that 6 weeks ago I was no different than any of you. I¡¯m asking you all to trust me here. If there are 20 Lacertines at the Malakim basecamp, we must attack them now ¡­

    BOOM

    The front wall of the HAB exploded inward as debris and shrapnel went flying. I flew back through the air suddenly. I activated my armor mid-air but landed hard skidding into the rear wall.

    I realized we had never discussed battle formations to repel an attack. I wondered if anyone was hurt or worse. A thousand thoughts went through my head at once as bullets ripped through the air.

    ¡°Everyone find cover!¡± I yelled.

    I couldn¡¯t see a damn thing through the red dust that now filled the room. I could see approximately ten red dots on my mini-map but I couldn¡¯t spare time to get an exact count.

    I stood up trying to get an idea of where everyone was but I still couldn¡¯t physically see them. I saw the green dots on my map, but everything was moving too fast for me to get a good count.

    ¡°Is everyone okay?!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°Several of us are injured, Captain. CJ is unconscious. I can see him,¡± Tiff said, ¡°I took some shrapnel to my leg and have limited mobility.

    ¡°Matty, Jax, and Red are hurt real bad Captain!¡± Loren said, ¡°I don¡¯t have eyes on Claire.¡±

    The red dots were getting closer. They surrounded our HAB and moved in a tight circle, closing on our position. This was all moving too fast. I needed to protect my crew.

    I jumped up and ran to the center of the room, ¡°Everyone, stay down. Don¡¯t move and stay quiet; I have a plan.¡±

    ¡°Captain, what are you doing? They are almost inside the HAB!¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Just Trust me, Tiff.¡±

    The red dots were close, no more than 10 feet from the perimeter of the building. I knelt in place, one fist on the ground, and waited.

    ¡°Deep breaths, Deep breaths,¡± I said to myself.

    I watched my mini-map, 5 feet and closing. The red dots all shifted to the exposed front entrance. The lacertines began to file in surrounding our group, weapons trained on me since everyone else was down.

    I didn¡¯t look up. I continued to stare at the ground, sparing glances at my interface.

    ¡°This is the last one?¡± a raspy voice asked from my left.

    ¡°yes sir, the rest are incapacitated.¡± Another voice answered.

    ¡°You Humans made this too easy. We were beginning to think it would be a challenge. Expectations seldom mirror reality though,¡± the first voice said again.

    ¡°Finish the human, and let''s end this farce.¡±

    I activated Big Bang.

    Whooosh

    Waves of black and green swirling energy shot out from my body. This was not like my Pulsar Blast ability. These waves felt like they were ripping me apart from the inside. I arched my back and screamed, and the energy waves shot out.

    The Lacertine soldiers were blasted with the black energy while the green waves washed over the crew. Seven of the lacertine soldiers were pinned against walls and the energy continued to batter them. Over and over, the waves crashed into them until blood and bodily fluids began spraying from open wounds as bones were crushed.

    They didn¡¯t even have time to scream.

    In seconds, seven of the ten Lacertine soldiers were turned to mush. The other three were thrown out of the destroyed section of the HAB and were struggling to regain their feet, showing signs of obvious injury.

    Ten black waves emanated from my suit, and eight green waves¡ªevery wave, whether black or green felt like it ripped pieces of my insides out. By the time it was done, I was lying on the ground in a heap, blood trickling from my mouth.

    A boon and a curse, I thought to myself. I had assumed the curse was the 60-minute deactivation of my armor. I was wrong, and I was paying the price now. The ability drained and injured me. The number of waves corresponded directly to the number of enemies and allies in my direct vicinity. I was lucky this hadn¡¯t killed me.

    I used a health stim and took comfort in hearing the familiar hiss as it drained into my neck. I was going to lose consciousness anyway; I felt it coming.

    I stayed conscious long enough to see the crew start to get to their feet. At the same time, the three remaining Lacertine soldiers got to their feet. Bruised and battered but still combat capable.

    They raised their weapons and aimed directly at me lying nearly unconscious on the ground.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Tiff screamed as she reached for me and tried to run to cover me in my defenseless state.

    Then I saw it.

    Kaj, descending from the sky, his wings spread bellowing a majestic battle cry. In his right hand, he held a glowing yellow scythe. It seemed like it was happening in slow motion as he dropped right in the middle of the soldiers, his muscular legs tensing as he landed.

    He ripped the scythe up with a blinding slash, slicing the middle soldier vertically in half. The two halves of the soldier fell in opposite directions as his organs and intestines fell to the ground.

    At the peak of his swing, Kaj backflipped into the air, using his wings to aid his jump. As he landed again he spun to his left and swung down diagonally, cutting off the left leg of the soldier on the left.

    As he spun away he set his sights on the remaining soldier who saw the carnage unfolding in front of him and decided to run.

    ¡°Today, you pay the reaper Lizard!¡± Kaj yelled as he leaped and extended his wings.

    He grabbed the lacertine from behind and flapped his giant wings, gaining altitude as he shot straight up into the air.

    ¡°Holy shit! Where did he go?!¡± Matty asked as he held his hand over his eyes and tried to get a visual on Kaj.

    ¡°Do you think they are fighting up there?¡± CJ asked as he mimicked Matty.

    AAAAAAAAGH¡­

    The scream was quiet at first but got steadily louder until

    CRUNCH

    Kaj had just dropped him from several hundred feet in the air to his death.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna be sick¡­.¡± CJ said as he ran to the side of the HAB to vomit.

    ¡°I think your angel has a bit of demon in him, Cap!¡± Jax said as he and Matty walked up to inspect the corpse.

    Kaj came flying back, pulling up and flapping his wings as he landed near me.

    ¡°I do not take my oath lightly, Captain; you have my blade until it is no longer needed.¡± He said as he knelt beside me.

    ¡°That works for me, Kaj¡­¡± I said as everything went black.

 Chapter 45. Leroy Jenkins, Hero of Helms Deep

    Chapter 45. Leroy Jenkins Hero of Helms Deep.

    I was only out for a few minutes. The damage I took from using Big Bang was severe, but I took the health stim in time. Claire also administered some healing to me while I was out.

    The concern about the ability moving forward is that I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it if there were more than two or three enemies near me. I couldn¡¯t afford to be knocked out in a fight. There was also the tiny issue of losing my armor for 60 minutes as a result of using the ability.

    Right now, those things didn¡¯t matter much since I was already back to full health, and there no longer seemed to be Lacertines heading our way.

    Matty and Jax took off to scout the surrounding area and hadn¡¯t seen any more Lacertines near our base camp. Tiff had her duplicate body in the PUP doing aerial recon, so we all felt pretty good that we wouldn¡¯t see another attack. That was good; we weren¡¯t ready to repel another surprise attack.

    While everyone was busy, I took a minute to look at my stats. Everyone had gained another entire level when we eliminated the Rerek faction. I had also gained some XP from killing the single Rerek during our assault on their faction. I gained another two levels when I used the Big Bang to kill the seven Lacertines. So I was sitting about halfway to level 15 now. I took a second to look over my total stats.

    Andrew Dawes

    Level 14 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Stats:

    Strength ¨C 218

    Intelligence ¨C 192

    Vigor ¨C 270

    Stamina ¨C 197

    Dexterity ¨C 335

    The Gains since I started were unbelievable. My base starts were mostly single digits and now every stat I had was nearly sitting at 200+, except dexterity, which was sitting over 300 at this point. The increases were visible in my physical appearance and output potential but I was not 20 times stronger or faster than an average human.

    I was exponentially faster and stronger, my ability to recall information and problem-solve was greatly increased but the increase wasn¡¯t as simple as the numbers made it seem. I really needed to sit down with Tiff and discuss this in detail but that would need to wait.

    ¡°CJ, Red, I need you two to help load the rover. As soon as that is done everyone needs to rally back to the HAB we are about to be Oscar Mike,¡± I said.

    It was weird that I had started to recall military terminology and tactics that I had learned about during my life. It could have simply been something I learned in school or saw on TV or the internet. As my intelligence stat grew, so did my ability to recall information. Tiff said this would happen but it was still amazing how much I had been exposed to during my life before the drop.

    ¡°Oscar Mike?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°Yeah, on the move,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Okay, Rambo, when did you become Mr. Military?¡± he asked.

    ¡°My intelligence stat has grown a crazy amount since this whole thing started. I can recall information I may have learned a long time ago or something I saw on a Facebook link or YouTube video. Do you realize how much information we consumed pre-drop CJ?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t in the military but watched plenty of military shows and movies. I took an elective in my second year in college called military history. It studied major battles and tactics used during those battles. Honestly, it was a pretty forgettable course, but it was an elective, and I needed a break from all the heavy math classes I was taking. I can recall nearly every minute of that course now,¡± I said.

    ¡°So does that mean you have a plan for this next part where we are outnumbered three to one by the Lacertine faction?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it. I know we aren¡¯t sitting around here and waiting for them to come to us. They have the numbers in a straight-up fight. So we can¡¯t give them a straight-up fight,¡± I said.

    ¡°So do you have a plan?¡± CJ asked.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Did you ever watch that movie Lord of the Rings?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You just told me you have a bunch of military knowledge floating around in your head, and you are gonna pull a strategy from the Lord of the Rings Movie?¡± CJ asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°Well, actually, it¡¯s the Two Towers, and you aren¡¯t going to like it¡­at all,¡± I said.

    We were all in the Pup an hour later, except for Loren, Matty, and Red. They were driving below us in the Rover. We were approaching the Lacertine base camp at a low altitude to try and avoid enemy fire before we could deploy our secret weapon.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t like this plan,¡± CJ said for what seemed like the 15<sup>th</sup> time.

    ¡°Just help me finish strapping all this to your drop suit and get ready to execute the plan,¡± I said.

    I did not remember The Plan from my military history and tactics class. It was in fact something I had seen in a Lord of the Rings movie. In one scene in the second movie, an Orc berserker rushes the sewers of helms deep to blast an opening for the armies of Sauron to get in.

    Suicide bombing is not a tactic I would generally employ in any scenario. In this case, however, nobody would be injured, well, CJ¡¯s suit would be destroyed but we could get him another one.

    We would do one quick flyover at low altitude with the Pup. CJ would jump his armor into the middle of the lacertine base camp and quickly neutralize as many Lacertines as possible.

    How would he do this, you ask? He would have most of the arsenal that we looted off of the Lycoan, Rerek, and Lacertine troops. That arsenal consisted of eight inferior mines, one interstellar vacuum tube, and several grenades of different varieties.

    Matty had looted a mortar from one of the Lacertine troops, that is what they had used to destroy part of our Hab and nearly kill several of the crew. The mortar had ten bombs remaining and would create the diversion we needed to get as many Lacertine troops out in the open as possible. Matty would exhaust his supply of bombs while Jax took out as many of the Lacertine troops as he could with sniper fire from a distance. Jax had found an elevated position about a mile out, giving him a good line of sight into the lacertine courtyard.

    At the same time, Loren would drive the Rover directly toward the main entrance of the lacertine base while Red unloaded the turret.

    The Lacertine base camp was much more advanced than our own. The Lacertines had poured considerable time and expense into ensuring they left this moon victorious. The Base was a pentagon-shaped facility. The rear of the facility was a flat wall, and a solid structure ran the length from side to side, about 40 meters across by our best guess. We assumed that is where the troops were housed.

    The front half of the base was segmented into an open courtyard area with three guard towers at each intersection of the wall. The walls weren¡¯t very tall only about 10 feet tall and they were fortified. I guess that lack of time and the ability to transport the materials needed from orbit kept the lacertines from building stronger defensive fortifications. There was also the matter of them outnumbering all the other factions four to one.

    We would attack the front of the base to try and draw as many troops as possible into the open courtyard area. Once that was done, CJ would deploy his suit and lay waste to as many Lacertines as possible. Once his suit became inoperable CJ would activate the interstellar vacuum tube to incapacitate the remaining enemies if possible.

    Then Tiff, Kaj, and I would drop in as the rest of the crew advanced to provide support and suppressing fire.

    It seemed like an okay plan, and for now, it was the best we had.

    ¡°Cap, Me and Jax are set and ready to open fire on your signal,¡± Matty said,¡± We see a few of the Lacertines in the courtyard but for now, they don¡¯t seem to be on high alert.¡±

    ¡°I see three guards in the towers; those guns they are manning look nasty,¡± Jax said.

    You and Loren need to make sure you avoid taking too many rounds from those, Red. I can take out one, maybe two of the tower guards before they get cover but that leaves at least one of those turrets that will be gunning for the Rover.¡±

    ¡°Copy that, Jax, we are about 3 miles out. We will keep an eye on those towers,¡± Red said.

    ¡°Matty, wait 60 seconds and then start raining hellfire on those bastards. That will give the Rover time to get into effective range. Once you all engage, we will commence with the flyover of the Pup. We need those towers to be taking heavy fire so they don¡¯t have time to get a firing solution on the Pup, understood?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Copy that Cap we gotchu. We will keep those damn towers busy, you guys just make that delivery,¡± Matty said.

    Sixty seconds later, Matty unleashed hell on the lacertine base. His first three rounds targeted the troop housing complex, blowing large holes in the roof and side walls of the structure. The next seven rounds were launched about 15 seconds apart and targeted the towers and the courtyard.

    At the same time, Jax was doing heavy work with his sniper, ¡°First tower guard down, the second and third took cover after the mortars started going off. I see several lacertine troops running out into the courtyard,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°We¡¯re approaching the front of the lacertine base now! Loren said,¡± Red is laying into that outer wall and front guard tower, but we are taking heavy fire from the right guard tower. Claire keeps pumping shields into us but the Rover won''t be able to take much more of that turret fire!¡±

    ¡°We are 10 seconds out; keep the pressure up! Jax, can you focus fire on that third tower?!¡± I asked

    ¡°I¡¯m trying Cap, but he has some sort of field inside. I can¡¯t get a shot on him.¡±

    ¡°Cap, I¡¯m out of bombs, I¡¯m going to advance toward the base now, ETA 3 minutes. I¡¯ll head for that third guard tower.¡± Matty said.

    ¡°We¡¯re making the drop now, everyone except Jax prepare to advance and attack. If it moves and it¡¯s not part of our crew put it down.¡±

    As we flew over the Lacertine basecamp the rear door of the Pup swung open. CJ walked his Armor to the rear door, which was covered in explosives with the interstellar vacuum tube strapped to its back.

    ¡°We only have one shot at the CJ, make it count!¡± I yelled to CJ over the sound of rushing air inside the cabin of the Pup.

    CJ gave me a thumbs up from his console behind the pilot¡¯s chair as he jumped his suit out of the Pup and dove for the Lacertine basecamp courtyard.

    ¡°LEEEROOYYY JEEENKIINNS!!!!¡± CJ yelled as his armor dove headfirst into the fray.

 Chapter 46. Carnage

    Chapter 46. Carnage.

    As CJ launched his suit out of the back of the Pup, Tiff banked sharply to bring us around and find a landing zone. It wasn¡¯t long, and we landed about a half mile away on the rear side of the base.

    I could hear weapons firing and see explosions as I approached and lept over the rear wall, landing on the roof of the troop house.

    CJ had about 15 Lacertine troops surrounding him, with several more on the ground dead around him. He quickly reached back and grabbed two of the mines in each hand, then spun quickly, throwing them around him in all directions. He wouldn¡¯t make it easy for the Lacertines to get to him.

    ¡°Andy, stay back! Let this happen!¡± he shouted as the Lacertines advanced several of them in full-on sprints.

    As they ran, two of them tripped the landmines, causing explosions of shrapnel that hit several more. CJ Spun to his left shouldering his rifle and began firing.

    The lacertines were caught off guard. They must have bet on us waiting instead of taking the chance to attack them head-on. This was good for us so far.

    By my count, about 20 Lacertine troops lay dead, and six more were now engaging CJ who was doing his best action-hero impression.

    I crouched atop the troop house, gun raised, ready to start taking them out. Tiff crouched behind me as well, waiting for my command.

    ¡°CJ is about finished, everyone; ETA?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m clearing the third tower now,¡± Matty said, ¡°Moderat resistance, but so far, nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±

    ¡°We are pinned down by that turret! We can¡¯t move until Matty takes it out!¡± Loren said, ¡°We are continuing to lay down suppressing fire but we can¡¯t get closer until that thing is gone!¡±

    ¡°Gimme two minutes guys, I¡¯m almost to the top,¡± Matty responded.

    ¡°Umm, Cap?¡± Jax said, ¡°You have movement, the rest of those lacertine troops are coming from the troop house. You and Tiff need to hold off until the rest of us get there before you engage.¡±

    I turned and looked at Tiff. We both knew that waiting wasn¡¯t an option. We had them on their heels, and the longer we waited, the more likely they were to recover and fortify their position.

    ¡°We can¡¯t wait Jax. As soon as Matty clears that tower, I need the rest of you here as quickly as you can. Kaj, You ready to make your entrance?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain, I am ready to assist you and bring honor to our crew. Give me the command, and my scythe will become the wind,¡± he said.

    I looked back down into the courtyard. CJ had two Lacertines on his back and was down to one knee, struggling to get them off as two more were pumping rounds into his torso.

    ¡°Alright, Andy, that¡¯s all I¡¯ve got! The rest is up to you guys. When I trip these last land mines, it should set off the vacuum tube, so use the opportunity to pick off as many as you can,¡± CJ said.

    With that, CJ reached around his back with both hands and pressed the trigger mechanism for the land mines on his back.

    WHOOSH!

    The wind from the explosion swept past Tiff and me as gore and Lacertine body parts rained from the sky. The explosion was powerful and took out the six Lacertine troops on and around CJ. There was only one problem: the vacuum tube didn¡¯t detonate.

    I looked around frantically for the tube that was approximately the size of a bank teller tube. The kind you would use at a drive-through bank that uses pneumatic tubes to transfer things from the customer to the teller.

    ¡°There!¡± Tiff yelled, ¡°It¡¯s in the corner near the front wall; it didn¡¯t detonate.¡±

    ¡°Tiff, I need you to secure the tube; I¡¯ll draw their attention,¡± I said.

    ¡°Third tower clear, Cap. I¡¯ll provide firing support from the tower,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°We are en route, Captain, ETA 60 seconds!¡± Loren said.

    ¡°Get here fast guys. Kaj, wait for my signal, okay?¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain!¡± he replied.

    I jumped down from the troop house and tossed two grenades into the structure. I could hear Lacertines yelling and scrambling as they tried to avoid the explosives. Some did, but several didn¡¯t. As the dust settled, I jumped to the side and took cover behind a transport truck that had been blown to bits when CJ detonated the mines.

    I propped my rifle and waited for the Lacertines to leave the troop house. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. Within seconds, the remaining 15 troops ran out of the troop house.

    I started firing; I didn¡¯t count on the five heavily armored Lacertines carrying large turrets to be the first to exit.

    Before I ducked behind the vehicle, I got to identify one of them.

    Lacertine Heavy Infantry

    Level 14 ¨C Armored Gunny

    ¡°Holy shit! These guys are big!¡± I said, ¡°I need everyone here now! There are five giant Lacertines with body armor and some kind of Gatling gun turrets.¡±

    ZZZZZIPPP!

    I didn¡¯t hear the shot and barely heard the round zip over my head from Matty¡¯s tower. I peeked around the front of the charred vehicle to see the first Armored Gunny standing entirely still. Then, a stream of blood shot from the front of his head above his right eye; his knees buckled and he crumbled to the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t expect that to happen again. It has a 24-hour cooldown. It¡¯s an ability I picked up at level 10 called Killshot. I can pierce pretty much any standard armor as long as I have time to focus and a clear line of sight.¡± Matty said.

    ¡°Thanks, Matty; now we need to pull something out of our asses to take down the last four,¡± I responded.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I think we need to be a little bit worried about the 12 troops behind them as well,¡± Tiff said.

    She had recovered the vacuum tube and reached my position behind the burned-out truck.

    ¡°Should we use the Vacuum tube on them?!¡± I asked.

    ¡°If either of us stick our heads out from behind this vehicle, we are likely not going to have a head after that,¡± she said as she stuck up her rifle firing blindly at the general location of the Lacertine troops.

    ¡°Captain, can you make a hole for the Rover in that front wall?¡± Red asked.

    ¡°I have two grenades left. I can try.¡± I said.

    ¡°Do it now!¡± Red said.

    I grabbed the two grenades from my waist and threw them at the front wall which was on my left side. The grenades rolled to the edge of the wall and exploded creating approximately a 20-foot hole in the wall.

    The Armored Gunny¡¯s all turned at once as the grenades exploded. They raised their arms to shield themselves from debris. The 12 Lacertine troops behind them had taken up positions behind broken pieces of wall or other debris for cover and were now starting to open fire on our position.

    ¡°We''re in a bind here, guys; we could use a little backup!¡± I said.

    Just then the Rover came blasting through the hole in the wall and slammed into all 4 of the armored Gunny¡¯s. Two of them were dragged underneath the rover and weren¡¯t moving; one slid off the side after absorbing the hit. The fourth one was now pinned between the grill of the Rover and the right-side exterior wall.

    Red tilted the rover¡¯s turret down as the Gunny raised his hands to ward off the impending fire. Red pulled the trigger and rounds poured into the Gunny. When Red finally stopped firing the upper body of the Gunny was just a bloody stump.

    Tiff sprang into action as she jumped up and slid across the truck''s hood. She ran over to the Rover and pumped several rounds into the heads of the two Armored Gunnys under the Rover.

    ¡°Better safe than sorry!¡± she yelled as she turned and looked at me over her shoulder.

    Before she could turn her head back, the rest of the troops aimed their weapons at her, red, Loren, and Claire. They had no cover and were exposed.

    I jumped over the truck and landed between them and the Lacertine troops, quickly activating Pulsar Blast. The energy beams shot from my hands, hitting four Lacertine troops, ripping the weapons from their hands and blasting them back. As the beams fizzled out, I sank to one knee, anchored in place for 10 seconds.

    There were still eight Lacertine troops on their feet, preparing to fire on me.

    ¡°Kaj, Now!¡± I said.

    Like a comet, Kaj exploded from the sky. He landed right in the middle of the lacertine troops, his scythe a blur as he cut and spun, killing three troops in seconds.

    The other five opened fire on him as he beat his massive wings and exploded back into the air.

    ¡°Kaj, Help the others. Get them to cover!¡± I said.

    ¡°Jax is here, we are coming to the courtyard now Cap!¡± Matty said.

    ¡°Careful there are five of them left; we can¡¯t afford to get sloppy now team,¡± I said, ¡°We have them outnumbered so let¡¯s take up position and ensure they don¡¯t have an opportunity to fire any clean shots at us.¡±

    Attention Participants,

    Please be advised that a Council representative has entered the dungeon. This representative represents no faction and is operating in an independent capacity at the behest of the Council.

    ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± I asked Tiff who looked as bewildered as everyone else.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this before. Whoever they are they must be carrying some weight if they could override dungeon protocols.¡± Tiff said.

    I looked up and saw something glowing in the sky directly above us. It seemed to be getting closer and moving at incredible speed.

    The Lacertine troops across from us were looking up as well, it was obvious that this was unexpected and unprecedented.

    As the object got closer, I realized it wasn¡¯t changing trajectory. It was going to land directly on us.

    ¡°Everyone get together and get to cover! Get as close to the exterior wall as possible!¡± I yelled.

    We all ran toward the complex''s outer wall, looking for anything to hide behind. The Lacertine troops had the same idea, as they were also scrambling for cover.

    As the object got closer, I saw that it was a vertical white sphere. It seemed to have no propulsion engines but slowed as it approached. After a few more seconds it slowed nearly to a stop before hovering a few feet off the ground.

    Three tiny metal legs began to eject from the bottom of the sphere as it landed softly on the ground.

    Nothing happened. No door opened, and nobody exited the craft.

    We all gathered together, crouched close to the ground waiting to see what happened. The Lacertine troops held their cover and stayed as well. Kaj landed beside us.

    The sphere was between us and the lacertine position so neither side had a good line of sight to fire on the other effectively.

    We were safe for now.

    I¡¯m going to see if I can get a better look at that thing,¡± I said.

    ¡°Not a good idea, Captain,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Look Tiff It¡¯s a Council representative, right?¡± I asked, ¡°You told me that the Council values the integrity of the dungeons so how dangerous could it be? They could have just realized we were about to win this thing and sent a representative to brief us on the next reaping phase.¡±

    ¡°Doubtful Captain, I suggest we hold our position,¡± she said.

    ¡°If nothing else I may be able to get a good shot on those last five troops. Someone has to make a move here. We need to get off this moon already.¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for another argument from Tiff. I slowly began making my way toward the sphere in the center of the courtyard. I got about 5 feet away and still nothing happened.

    I turned to look at Tiff,¡± Nothing,¡± I said raising my hands and shrugging.

    ¡°What the He¡­¡±

    Before I could finish the words something blasted out of the top of the sphere. I fell back trying to get my bearings.

    The remaining Lacertine troops abandoned cover and rushed me as I tried to recover. I got to one knee, raised my rifle, and fired, taking out three with rounds to the chest. The other two were now too close to use my rifle so I dropped it and summoned my daggers.

    One of the Lacertines troops ran past me and with his own dagger he sliced behind my knee between the armor plates. A sharp pain ran through my leg as my health bar ticked down. The other Lacertine speared me in the chest and took me to the ground.

    We rolled twice with me ending up on top of him. I quickly took the dagger in my left hand and stabbed it into the soft spot under his right arm. With my right hand, I grabbed his throat, squeezed it, and ripped it out. He lay there kicking his legs and grasping at his neck as he suffocated and bled out.

    I rolled off the troop''s dying body and spun on one knee to see the other soldier rushing me from 10 yards away. As he got close, I ducked under his arms, kicked his legs out from under him, and, with my right hand on his head, slammed him to the ground. He was out cold.

    I heard screaming from the crew''s position and swung my head over to see the commotion. Fear and anger washed over me as I watched.

    Anthragor stood in the middle of my crew as they fought in vain. His four upper arms expertly swung those jagged red blades, his lower two arms firing plasma pistols.

    Everyone was down except Kaj and Tiff. They were fighting, in vain, to overcome that monster. That Monster that we had killed once already.

    Anthragor swung his blade downward, catching Kaj across the chest.

    Too fast, it¡¯s happening too fast, I have to help ¨C I thought.

    I couldn¡¯t get back in time, he had killed so many in just a few seconds. Kaj fell to the ground in a heap. As I took my first steps toward the battle.

    Anthragor turned and stared at me with that eyeless head and smiled once again. Tiff leaped at him and he stuck out his lower right arm to catch her by the throat, he was still smiling.

    ¡°We meet again little monkey. I fear this time will be the last, however. It seems your friends have all decided to die, maybe you should join them!¡± he said with a chuckle.

    He turned his head and looked at Tiff as she struggled to free herself from his grip. He took the blade in his left hand and slowly slid it into Tiff¡¯s chest as she screamed. He turned his head toward me again.

    ¡°I want to watch you as you watch her die, Human. That is the payment I¡¯ve come to collect and do be aware that this blade will sever the connection with her duplicate self, killing them both. Pity that such a valuable creature should die for a primate.¡± He said.

    I reached my hand toward Tiff as she reached her hand back toward me, begging me to save her.

    ¡°Nooooo! I¡¯ll Kill you Anthragor!¡± I shouted.

    Whap!

    A pain shot through my right shoulder as the Lacertine regained consciousness and shot at me. I swung around and materialized my sidearm, firing one round directly into his head. He dropped dead.

    I turned to make my way to the waiting Anthragor and Everything froze. I couldn''t move but neither was Anthragor moving, It was like time completely froze.

    Words scrolled across my interface:

    You have reached level 15. Prepare to select your next ability ¨C you must commune with the creators of the gift for the selection of this ability.

 Cahpter 47. Cold, Bitter Loss

    Chapter 47. Cold Bitter Loss

    Once again, everything went white. I was back in the same place I traveled to after the accident with my arms¡ªwhere the Coeus told me about the gift and its untapped potential.

    Welcome back Andrew, and just in the knick of time it seems.

    I looked around but unlike last time I could see something in the sea of white that lay before me. A glowing orb floated above the ground about 40 yards in front of me.

    ¡°Why am I back here?! I need to go back now!¡± I said.

    Are you in such a hurry to embrace your demise?

    The orb glowed with each word spoken. It sounded robotic, yet somehow, I could feel a sense of humanity in its tone as it spoke.

    ¡°Anthragor has to pay! I have to do something!¡± I shouted.

    Spoken like a petulant child, Andrew, we have entrusted you with the gift and still you act recklessly. You endanger yourself, your friends, and the universe at large. You must learn to show restraint. This battle is merely a precursor to the war that will come.

    ¡°Then what would you have me do Coeus? I need help; I need guidance. I cannot continue to carry this burden without the guidance I need to become strong enough.¡± I clenched my fists as I spoke, anger and regret consuming me.

    We have offered guidance, Andrew. We have watched from afar and allowed this farce of a reaping to persist all so you could have time to progress. This war will not be won in mere months. No, this war will last for decades, and you will lose much along the way. We need you to be hardened in the furnace of war and loss, only then will you indeed be able to do what must be done.

    ¡°So, what now? You allow me to watch my crew and my friends die so that I can become what? Hardened? What is the value in that? What is the value in my being alone and broken? I Can¡¯t do this alone,¡± I said.

    We will offer you a choice, Andrew. Either choice will allow you certain¡­benefits.

    ¡°Let me guess; each choice will also offer me certain disadvantages. I¡¯m tired of this bullshit. If you want to unseat the Council, why not do it yourself? Why keep investing in me? You give me a curse for every boon I receive! Why? Why not just give me what I need to do the job and be done with it?¡± I asked.

    The power you have been given is enough to destroy the council, Andrew, but unchecked power can be dangerous in the hands of any single being. We have purposely held back your ability to unlock the full potential of the gift. True. We only do this, however, to allow you to mature into the warrior you will need to be. You wouldn¡¯t put a precious fragile gift in the hands of a child and expect the child to keep it safe, would you?

    In much the same way we need to ensure that you have matured enough to handle the power you have inherited. Once we are satisfied with your development, you will know the true power of the gift. Until that time you will be given power in increments. This is not debatable Andrew.

    ¡°I watched my friends die¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean anything to you?¡± I asked as I sat down and put my head in my hands.

    We have watched countless trillions die in our time, Andrew. We are tired of death and will soon separate ourselves from the physical plane of this universe. We understand your pain and will offer you a path to remove that pain. You must now select your boon. This choice will not be easy Andrew, and you must consider both options.

    My interface populated with my available choices.

    <ol>

    <li> Power up ¨C Gain 25 levels and the equivalent skill points to support the levels. You will be returned to the Bloodhound and, as the sole remaining faction member, declared the winner of Dungeon 1 of the reaping. Upon returning to the Bloodhound, you will be given coordinates to the second dungeon of the reaping. </li>

    <li> Do over ¨C A small wormhole will be created upon activating this skill. The other end of this wormhole will open in your exact location 30 seconds in the past. Remember that once the timelines sync, your past self will be erased. This skill can only be used as much as you choose but you will lose 100 skill points from your most significant stat, creating a soft cap until the stat points regenerate. Regeneration time varies based on the affected stat. If any particular stat is zeroed out by using the skill, it will be fatal to the user. Use with Caution. </li>

    </ol>

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me I can go back in time? I can warn the others about Anthragor?¡± I asked.

    If that is your decision, then yes, you can. We would advise caution when using that particular skill. Timelines are tricky and wormholes are fickle. We would recommend selecting Power Up as it would prepare you for the next dungeon, or whatever else lies ahead. The choice, however, is yours Andrew.

    ¡°Okay, I choose Do over.¡± I didn¡¯t even hesitate.

    The skill was highlighted and was added to my suit. I could think about it and activate it if I wanted.

    ¡°Okay, send me back now,¡± I said.

    We intend to, Andrew, but first you need to be aware that something is coming soon.

    Victory in this dungeon is more important than anything else. Your friends are important to you, but we doubt any of them would place their own lives over billions of other innocent lives. Please consider this upon your return.

    You should also be aware that your past self will initially not understand what is happening. You will have little time to convince yourself to work with you if you are to stand a chance against Anthragor. Andrew, we wish you luck. We will be watching.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    With those words, I blinked and was back on the Alcaran Moon. Anthragor was still smiling and holding Tiff¡¯s limp body in his hand.

    I didn''t waste any time; I mentally selected Do Over on my interface as time and space warped around me.

    As the warp retracted, I stood exactly where I had been when I activated the skill. I looked back to see my past-self approaching the sphere.

    ¡°Get back to the Crew!¡± I yelled.

    Past Andrew turned and looked at me, ¡°Wh¡­What, Who?¡± Past Andrew stammered.

    I turned and ran toward the crew at full speed, arriving in seconds. Tiff looked shaken.

    ¡°No time to explain; I¡¯m me. Anthragor is in the sphere get ready everyone!¡±

    Just as I finished saying the words, Anthragor shot out of the top of the sphere. I rushed over to Tiff and grabbed the interstellar vacuum tube from her back.

    ¡°Everyone, get back now!¡± I shouted and activated the tube, throwing it on the ground right where Anthragor landed.

    ¡°We meet again, Primate!¡± He yelled as the vacuum tube activated. A black dome erupted from the tube as a vacuum formed where Anthragor stood.  He was sucked toward the tube and held in place.

    Anthragor screamed and struggled against the weight of the total vacuum of space. With his bottom hands, he clawed at the ground, trying to escape the pull.

    Past Andrew ran up behind Anthragor as he struggled, firing two shots with his sidearm. The rounds were ineffective. The level 75 enforcer was too strong to be severely injured by my level 15 sidearm.

    Kaj flew down, slicing his scythe down the back of Anthragor''s left leg, causing him to fall to one knee with a howl.

    Kaj looked at Past Andrew and me, ¡°Guns will not work; blades are sharp at any level, however, if you can land the blow. Strike now! Strike Fast!¡±

    Anthragor was wounded but a wounded animal was often more dangerous. He swung his red blades furiously and growled trying to connect with me or past Andrew.

    We didn¡¯t have long before the timelines would sync, so we needed to act now.

    Andrew! Daggers, now!¡± I said to¡­umm¡­ to myself. This was weird, like really weird.

    I also summoned my daggers as past Andrew leaped toward Anthragor''s back, daggers ready to strike. Just when Past Andrew was about to strike Anthragor released the ground he was grasping to hold himself in place and swung at my past self, knocking Past Andrew to the ground as his daggers went rolling.

    I leaped toward Anthragor as he scratched and clawed like an animal, panic evident on his eyeless face.

    Just as I was about to strike, he dropped the sword in his right upper hand while simultaneously stabbing the sword in his left upper hand into the ground to use as an anchor.

    He caught me by the throat in mid-air, just as he had done to Tiff before. With his right bottom hand, he grasped my left hand to ensure I couldn¡¯t stab him with both daggers and activate the black hole ability.

    ¡°Your parlor tricks can¡¯t save you, primate. I will end you, and then I will end the life of each of your crew. Take solace in the fact that you won¡¯t have to watch them die screaming.¡± Anthragor growled.

    I swung my left hand down and buried the dagger into the space between his two right arms.

    ¡°Grrrr.¡± Anthragor growled as he tilted his head and smiled, ¡°An inconsequential wound from an inconsequential being.¡±

    I lowered the visor on my helmet so Anthragor could see my face, ¡°Go Fuck yourself Anthragor.¡±

    I smiled at him as I dropped the dagger from my right hand into Past Andrew''s waiting hand. He had recovered and jumped toward me as Anthragor held me in the air. Past Andrew stabbed the remaining dagger into Anthragor¡¯s chest and grabbed hold of the dagger I had plunged into the space between his arms.

    ¡°Get back, now!¡± Past Andrew shouted, ¡°Take care of the crew, I¡¯ve got it from here!¡±

    Anthragor released his grasp on me as I fell to the ground, rolling back away from the scuffle that was ensuing.

    Past Andrew wrapped his legs around Anthragor¡¯s body and strained, digging the two daggers deeper into Anthragor''s body. The timer on my interface clicked to zero as the black hole ability activated. Anthragor and Past Andrew were imploded into nothing as I watched their bodies contort and break under the pressure of the black hole.

    When it was over the two jagged red blades were all that was left. I walked over and identified them.

    Blades of the Blood Nova ¨C

    These blades were forged in the heart of a red nova. Refined over millennia and infused with the blood of countless fallen foes. The blades will inflict bleed damage over time and will scale to the level of foes within 25 levels of the wielder.

    Abilities ¨C Blood Nova ¨C

    Blood can be infused into a target with successive strikes, allowing the wielder to track the target over time. Once the infusion is complete, the wielder can activate Blood Nova, causing the infused blood to explode from the target and return to the blades.

    Genetically bound ¨C these blades will be genetically bound upon equipping and can only be unbound upon the wielder''s death.

    I picked up the blades and transferred them into my inventory. I would talk to Tiff before I decided what to do with them.

    ¡°What exactly just happened?!¡± Tiff said as she rushed up to me followed by the rest of the crew.

    It is a long story, but basically, I got a new ability that allows me to travel back in time 30 seconds. I can¡¯t use it often and there is a hefty price each time I use it.

    Anthragor surprised us and I needed to come back and warn everyone. When I hit level 15 I was transported back to commune with the Coeus and received the ability.

    WHAP, WHAP!

    Everyone immediately dropped to the dirt. I had forgotten about the two remaining Lacertine troops. I came back to the point before I had killed them.

    ¡°We got ¡®em Cap!¡± Matty said as he and Jax both propped their rifles up on the debris to the side of us, aimed, and shot one round directly through each of the two remaining Lacertine troop''s heads.

    ¡°Done and done; hows about we get off this rock now,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°Guys! I need help!¡± Loren shouted from behind us, ¡°Claire is hit! Someone help her!¡±

    We rushed over to where Claire was lying as Loren tried to help her. There was nothing we could do. One of the rounds had caught her in the neck shattering her spine and rupturing her carotid artery, and she was dead before we even reached her.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Loren yelled as she cried over her friend, ¡°Someone help her, please!¡±

    I looked at Matty and Jax. They both had tears in their eyes as they reached down to grab Loren¡¯s shoulders and pulled her away.

    ¡°There is nothing we can do Lo, she is gone,¡± Matty whispered in her ear as he pulled her into a hug.

    This is the loss the Coeus were speaking of; this is the pain I would become so familiar with. I reached down and closed Claire¡¯s eyes for the last time, and I wept for her with the rest of her friends.

    ¡°We will not leave her on this moon. She is a part of our crew, and we will see her buried properly. We will bring her back to the Bloodhound for now. Matty, Jax can you get her to the Rover? I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, Cap, we can do that,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°Everyone, I know this is hard. I¡¯m sorry I failed Claire today, but we have to finish this and get off this moon. We owe that to Claire; she gave her life for this, and we can¡¯t stop now,¡± I said.

    We need to loot these bodies and find that key to access the relay. Everyone, start searching and let¡¯s figure out how we finish this and get back to the Bloodhound. Then, we figure out how to make the Council feel the same pain we are feeling today.¡±

    ¡°Humanity will not just lie down and let our world be taken, it¡¯s time we make them understand just who they have pissed off.¡±

 Chapter 48. ATM

    Chapter 48. ATM

    Congratulations Human faction! Against all odds, you have completed the Red Moon of Alcara Dungeon and have taken possession of five faction keys. Please standby as the Coeus relay populates. Once the relay populates you must enter all five keys to receive further instructions and your completion award. The relay will populate in 30 seconds.

    The message populated across all of our interfaces simultaneously when I found the key on the last lacertine troop we had killed.

    ¡°Okay, everyone, let''s get ready. I¡¯m unsure what this relay will consist of, and if nothing else this dungeon has taught us to keep our guards up. Everyone get ready,¡± I said as I reactivated my armor.

    ¡°Whoah, Andy, have you looked at your level? Killing Anthragor must have given you ungodly amounts of XP!¡± CJ said as he pointed above my head where my description would be.

    Sure enough, he was right. I gained 15 levels and now sit at level 30. That was a ridiculous jump from one kill. I assumed since Past Andrew finished the kill the Coeus must have counted us as one combatant, to be fair we technically were the same person, just from slightly different timelines.

    ¡°That is an impressive jump in levels, Captain, but not surprising. Anthragor was level 75. To be killed by a level 15 Human would be nearly impossible. Your daggers and new ability were unexpected and gave you a slight edge. Even now, at level 30, you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against him in straight-up combat, but you are progressing nicely, and the levels will be useful as we progress.¡± Tiff said walking up to inspect my new level.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel as much of a physical change as I did early in my levelling. Is that normal?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, most physical changes will happen in your first 10 levels gained. There are still changes internally but they will be less noticeable,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Okay, that answers that. Everyone, let¡¯s be on guard for whatever happens next.¡± I said to the group as I equipped my sidearm.

    Everyone readied their weapons and prepared for the unknown as the air in front of us began to crackle and warp. A few seconds later, there was a loud crackle and pop as the relay appeared out of nowhere.

    The relay was unexpectedly simplistic, resembling an Earth ATM. It was a large grey box, approximately five feet tall. There was a screen with a blinking green cursor at the top. Under the screen, there was a deposit slot where I could deposit the keys.

    ¡°Soooo, it¡¯s an ATM?¡± CJ asked, ¡°Kind of a letdown, honestly.¡±

    ¡°The relay would have populated as something different for each faction. It is meant to resemble something familiar to whatever species won. It is no surprise that this machine is familiar to you.¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°What is this box? It is so ugly and uncomely. Is this a good representation of Human engineering? If so, I fear that your race is rather unrefined, Captain,¡± Kaj said as he walked up and poked the relay with a disgusted grimace.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s kind of a dick thing to say,¡± CJ shrugged and responded.

    ¡°No, Kaj. This is just a representation of a machine we use to get money. It is more of a tool than anything else. It is meant to be more function than form if that makes sense. We have created beautiful art and architecture throughout human history, and I hope that one day I get a chance to show you,¡± I said, walking up and patting him on the shoulder.

    ¡°I would like that very much, Captain, though I do not know if we will ever get that chance. Making it out of these dungeons alive is a large enough task. Winning the right of reaping and returning to your world is a nearly impossible task. I hope you can show me this art from Earth, though,¡± Kaj replied.

    I walked up to the relay and took a key from my inventory. I reached out and placed the key in the slot below the screen.

    Key 1 of 5

    Please insert four more keys to proceed.

    The words populated on the screen when I deposited the first key. I took the other four keys from my inventory and deposited them into the relay next.

    Congratulations participant. You have completed the Red Moon of Alcara dungeon. Your faction will now be rewarded for this outstanding accomplishment.

    Reward:

    Ten levels are awarded to all active participants.

    Twenty-five thousand council credits are awarded to all active participants.

    Proceed? Y/N

    ¡°Whoa¡­ We all just got ten free levels as a reward for winning the dungeon!¡± I said, turning and facing the crew.

    ¡°Whoopty friggin doo!¡± CJ said, ¡°Levels don¡¯t help me!¡±

    ¡°Well, we each got 25,000 of something called Council credits. Tiff, can you tell us what those are? Is that a lot?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That is a sizeable sum, Captain. That could be ten years'' wages for some citizens in outlying galaxies. I assume there will be an opportunity to purchase supplies as we progress in this ordeal,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Well, everyone will have a little cash to spend then; I¡¯m sure that will be helpful.¡± I said, ¡°Time to see what happens next.¡±

    I reached toward the screen and tapped the green Y. The screen went dark for several seconds and then started glitching as words randomly popped on the screen.

    Captain Dawes,

    You have proven yourself worthy of the trust of the Coeus Collective. The time has come to finally break the shackles that have bound us for millennia. You and your crew will be the spark that ignites hope in the universe. It is time to rise and fight the corruption of the Council, time to end their reign for good.

    The Bloodhound has received instructions on what to do upon your and your crew''s return to your vessel. You mustn''t delay, as time is of the essence.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The Flaming Retribution has been removed from the Dungeon dimension and safely returned to natural space. Princess Danae has been briefed on what will happen next. It will be some time before you are in contact with her again, so take solace in the knowledge that she is safe and has pledged herself to you and this cause.

    The words continued to scroll as I read them out loud.

    Elvis has been instructed to finish upgrades on the Bloodhound and prepare for your arrival shortly. We have also left a gift for you on the Bloodhound that you may find helpful.

    We are sure you are questioning what is happening and how this will affect you and your crew. We will try to explain in the short time we have left.

    The Coeus Collective will indefinitely segregate ourselves from the rest of the universe. We will sever our connection with the natural universe, instead taking up residence in an artificially generated pocket dimension.

    There will be ways for us to contact you and keep track of your progress as you continue, but that contact will be limited.

    The procedurally generated dungeon dimension will be terminated shortly. Unfortunately, all participating humans have been terminated except for you and your crew.

    That number was less than 5,000 to begin with, as the orbs were only active for five Earth minutes. Another tactic by the Lacertines is to limit active participants.

    Terminating the dimension will end the lives of anyone remaining in the dimension. Every major species has citizens and a significant Council presence within this dungeon dimension. This will be the most significant blow struck against the council in thousands of years. It will weaken them and buy you and your planet time.

    You cannot travel safely in intergalactic space, so the Bloodhound must take a different path. We have given Elvis coordinates to a natural wormhole. The Bloodhound must pass through this wormhole. It is the only way to ensure your safety.

    This wormhole will allow you to travel back to your home galaxy. You must get back to Earth and begin building a rebellion, start building an army.

    With this message, we leave you for now. Protect the gift, Andrew.

    ¡°This is crazy; what is happening?¡± I asked.

    ¡°This is unheard of! How can you communicate directly with the Coeus?!¡± Kaj asked dumbfoundedly.

    Tiff looked at me, and her eyes told me she understood what was happening.

    ¡°They are firing the first shot, Captain. The Coeus are ending this Dungeon, taking away the Council¡¯s power and weakening them. Nothing like this has ever been done. The Coeus have always presented as neutral.¡±

    ¡°Captain, this will ripple through the universe. Thousands are about to die, thousands of influential beings that control war and commerce, empires will be crippled.¡± She said.

    ¡°Okay, everyone, get to the Pup Now! We are getting out of here. Tiff, as soon as we''re in orbit, I need you to contact Elvis and make sure he received those coordinates and is ready to get the hell out of here,¡± I said.

    ¡°The dungeon is ending early, and it looks like we win. Does that about sum it up, Tiff?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There is no winner here, Captain. The Coeus are rebelling. True, the dungeon is ending, but you will not win the right of reaping. The Lacertines already have a presence on your planet. If their occupation continues unchecked, they can continue the military occupation until this blows over, and then they can petition the Council for the rights of reaping. The Council will no longer have the Coeus to build and organize their dungeons. That is not a good thing, Captain. Without the Coeus they may drop the facade of the right of reaping and allow full military invasions. First come, first served does not bode well for underdeveloped species.¡± Tiff looked down at the ground, concerned.

    ¡°Captain, we need to leave now,¡± She said.

    ¡°Everyone, get to the Pup now; we¡¯re done here,¡± I said as I turned and started running to the Pup.

    Everyone got to the Pup within a few minutes; I stood at the rear door and ensured everyone got on safely. I felt a pang of regret and sadness as Matty and Jax slowly brought Claire¡¯s body on the ship.

    It won¡¯t be for nothing, Claire; I swear it won¡¯t be for nothing.--- I thought as they strapped her gently to the floor behind the pilot¡¯s chair.

    ¡°everyone, strap in, we''re headed back to the Bloodhound, and we are going to be in a hurry.¡± Tiff turned and shouted to everyone as we strapped in.

    Boom

    The Pup shook and pitched to the left as the explosion radiated outside. I looked out the porthole and saw the Lacertine base was utterly obliterated.

    Boom

    Tiff increased the yaw and activated a complete burn to get us the hell out of there.

    ¡°We are being targeted from Orbit. The other factions must know the dungeon is over and aren¡¯t happy with the outcome! Everyone hold on; we will exit on a full burn, and the G-force will be an issue. Everyone needs to clench the muscles in their calves, thighs, and shoulders and repeatedly push the air out of your lungs. If you lose consciousness, don¡¯t panic. This will only take about 30 seconds.¡± Tiff yelled.

    Tiff engaged full thrusters, and I felt an elephant land on my rib cage. The vision around my eyes started to go black, and I felt like I was in a tunnel. I briefly glance up to see the rest of the crew experiencing the same thing. CJ was passed out with vomit trickling out of his mouth; everyone else was out as well.

    I glanced over to see Kaj smiling,

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Captain, it will be over soon, hahaha!¡± he bellowed with deep laughter as I blew chunks and passed out.

    ¡°Captain¡­..Captain¡­. wake up!¡± Tiff was kneeling in front of me, snapping her fingers to get me to wake up, her primary body still piloting the Pup.

    We will dock with the Bloodhound in 30 seconds, and multiple enemy ships are closing on our position. Elvis has confirmed that the ship is prepped and ready to go. This could get dicey, Captain; those are light cruisers, and at least three are headed our way.

    ¡°Captain! I am glad you came back to Bloodhound! Elvis has made many improvement to ship since you left! It is best ship now! Let Elvis destroy these other ships and bring glory to the crew!¡± Elvis was pretty amped up about us returning as he rattled on and on.

    ¡°Elvis, calm down buddy; we have to get out of here. We can¡¯t take the chance of losing you and the Bloodhound and were outnumbered. Can you prepare to receive the Pup? Then we need to get the Bloodhound out of here. Did you receive instructions and coordinates from the Coeus?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain! The Coeus transmitted the coordinates and instructions. I also received a classified directive that is for your eyes only. I have prepped the package, which is waiting in the fabrication room.¡± Elvis said.

    We entered the cargo bay of the Bloodhound, and I immediately exited, running toward the bridge.

    ¡°Tiff, CJ, you¡¯re with me. Everyone else, get the Pup secured and ready for a quick exit!¡± I said.

    ¡°Captain, there is a lacertine vessel approaching on our port side. Should I prep the Ron Jeremy?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Prep everything we have, Elvis! We need to engage thrusters and get out of here ASAP! How long before we can warp?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We cannot warp until we have exited the moon''s gravitational field, Captain. I need 3 minutes to get the Bloodhound far enough away.¡± Elvis replied.

    The Lacertine vessel is charging its laser array; they are targeting our primary thrusters. Preparing evasive maneuvers now, Captain.¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Elvis, weapons free! We must make them disengage and get out of here!¡± I said.

    The Lacertine ship was now swinging around directly in front of the Bloodhound. The ship was a long, black, sleek vessel. If our Bloodhound was a mini-van, this ship was a Corvette Stingray.

    A green ball of light was gathering below the nose of the vessel, getting bigger and aimed directly at the bloodhound.

    Boom!

    The Bloodhound reverberated as the Ron Jeremy discharged its payload at the lacertine vessel, missing the port side of the vessel by feet. Even coming that close to the ship, the round from the Ron Jeremy did damage, peeling and blistering part of the ship as it passed.

    ¡°Elvis, do we have anything else?!¡± I asked.

    ¡°Our laser array is not on-line currently, Captain. Torpedoes are loaded, but the vessel''s proximity to the Bloodhound makes the probability of collateral damage likely.¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Forget about collateral damage; if we don¡¯t fire on them, that laser is gonna do plenty of damage on its own; fire the fucking torpedoes!¡± I said.

    ¡°Firing torpedoes one and two now,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Torpedo tubes have malfunctioned, Captain!¡±

    ¡°Jesus, Elvis! I thought you upgraded the ship, does anything work?¡± I said as I strapped myself into my chair, waiting for the imminent laser blast.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready for the crew to return; Elvis has failed you, Captain! Please remove my CPU as punishment for my failure!¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Everyone, Brace for impact!¡± I said through the ship-wide PA channel.

    My eyes got wide as I looked at the view screen and watched the Lacertine vessel fire on the Bloodhound.

 Chapter 49. Im Too Sexy

    Chapter 49. I¡¯m Too Sexy

    ¡°Elvis, Get us out of here!¡± I yelled.

    We were out of options; I could only think to run now. Of course, we couldn¡¯t run in time to avoid the laser blast about to shoot from the Lacertine vessel in front of us.

    ¡°Bloodhound, disengage, and proceed to the safe warp zone; we will take care of this for you.¡± Princess Danae said as the Flaming Retribution uncloaked between the Bloodhound and the Lacertine vessel.

    Caught off guard, the Lacertine vessel banked and fired wildly at the Retribution, just missing the underside of Princess Danae¡¯s ship as she returned fire in force.

    ¡°Elvis, withdraw the Bloodhound, and let''s get the hell out of here now!¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes Captain, withdrawing now,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Captain, what about the Retribution?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Danae knows what she is doing. She told us to go, so we are going. We have to get to the coordinates the Coeus gave us. Danae has her mission.¡± I said.

    ¡°Danae, we are out of here,¡± I said over comms as I watched the lacertine ship roll uncontrollably to its port side as sections exploded from its belly after taking two torpedoes from the Retribution.

    ¡°We will meet again, Captain Dawes. Good luck and good fortune to you and your crew. Now get out of here!¡± she said as the Retribution recloaked and disappeared.

    ¡°The Bloodhound can outrun the other ships, Captain; we have a lead on them. I will burn engines at full power for the next 60 minutes. The Bloodhound will reach a velocity of three-quarters of light speed in that time. We will reach the Coeus coordinates in three hours at that speed,¡± Elvis updated me.

    ¡°Thanks, Elvis.¡± I replied,¡± Are we being pursued?¡±

    ¡°The Rerek and Trimean vessels have halted their pursuit after the Retribution destroyed the Lacertine vessel. We are no longer being pursued, Captain,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Elvis, I thought you spent the last several days upgrading the ship? I don¡¯t see any differences, and we almost just got our asses kicked. What exactly did you upgrade?¡±

    ¡°Elvis has worked tirelessly for seven days to improve our mighty ship and Captain doesn¡¯t appreciate it?!¡± Elvis chided me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t appreciate the effort, Elvis. I don¡¯t see what is different. Can you brief me on what exactly you did?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, I see several new subsystem interfaces in the ship¡¯s computer. Elvis has been busy. I don¡¯t think any of them are online yet.¡± Tiff said as she tapped on her console at the XO¡¯s chair.

    ¡°Elvis was trying to surprise Captain. There is an activation button on your chair to activate new upgrades. Elvis is a warrior, but also likes surprises.¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Well, okay then. Can I push the button now?¡± I asked, looking down to see a glowing green button on the arm of my chair.

    ¡°It is no longer surprise. Do whatever you want,¡± Elvis said obviously hurt at the implication that his work was unappreciated.

    I reached down to the right arm of my chair and pressed the green button. Armored sections began shifting into place all over the Bloodhound. The view screen was outlined in red, and several large cannons sprouted from the hull section in front of the bridge.

    ¡°This is Bloodwolf mode,¡± Elvis said intimidatingly, ¡°We can slay many enemies with these upgrades. Bloodhound has improved defensive armor, improved targeting, and large caliber kinetic cannons. Elvis also expanded crew quarters and added a fabrication chamber. Elvis is so so smart,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Wow, this is amazing, Elvis. It would have been nice to know about this, I don¡¯t know, like 5 minutes ago when we were about to die!¡± I said standing up out of my chair in frustration.

    ¡°Elvis hasn¡¯t finished programming the targeting system. Elvis refuses to allow an untested system to be used in battle, Captain,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Elvis, in the future, let''s make sure we use anything that might allow us to survive, untested or not.¡± I said, ¡°While we''re traveling to the Coeus coordinates, I need you to calibrate the Ron Jeremy and ensure that our torpedo tubes are all functioning and ready for battle, can you do that?¡± I asked.

    I will need assistance from the crew; it is hard for A-gangers to access the torpedo tubes,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Red, Matty, Jax, Elvis needs your assistance in the torpedo room,¡± I said over comms.

    ¡°Got it. We will be there in five,¡± Matty responded.

    ¡°Elvis, I want you to create and download a ship''s operations for dummies manual and populate it onto the tablets in everyone''s quarters. It¡¯s time for us to start getting an idea of how this ship works,¡± I said.

    ¡°Captain is making a joke?¡± Elvis asked.

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    ¡°No, why would you think I¡¯m joking?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Do you know what Element 115 is, Captain? Elvis asked.

    ¡°Ugh, yeah it was a conspiracy theory revolving around an element that was supposedly found in a UFO in Area 51 or something,¡± I said.

    Tiff sighed and looked at me, shaking her head.

    ¡°Captain should just let Elvis handle the ship operations. It is better that way,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Elvis, I gave you an order and I expect it to be followed!¡± I said.

    ¡°Captain, Element 115 is a universal cosmic substance that allows for subspace slipping. The Bloodhound can create tears in the fabric of space and time by concentrating the energy from element 115 into invisible deadly pulses. The Bloodhound has an energy core in the engine compartment that houses ten crystal cores, it was ten, but I have upgraded it to twelve to allow the Bloodhound to jump more often and jump further. The Bloodhound produces stable wormholes that mimic the naturally occurring, much larger black holes. The Payload on one of our torpedoes could wipe out the eastern seaboard of the United States of America, and we have 42 of those torpedoes on board. The suction from the toilet in your room could suck a hole through your entire body if improperly calibrated, the pressure from the doors could slice your body in half if the triggering mechanisms are programmed properly. With all this knowledge, Captain would like Elvis to allow untrained, unqualified humans to start trying to operate this advanced starship?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°Now you speak normally?¡± was all I managed to say in response.

    ¡°Elvis is super advanced prototype AI. Emphasis on super advanced, Captain. However, I take pride in building my personality traits and letting them shine. Do not let that personality persuade you to believe I am not the most advanced ship AI in the universe. I follow you as captain of the Bloodhound, my primary directive however is your safety and the safety of this ship. I will not and cannot do anything that would put either of those directives at risk.¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Can we at least start learning about the ship? If you can pick a couple of the crew to start teaching, you can decide when they are ready to implement that learning. Is that agreeable?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Elvis can pick the crew members?" He asked returning to his overzealous warrior persona.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your choice,¡± I said.

    ¡°I choose CJ and Loren,¡± He replied.

    ¡°Ain¡¯t no damn way I¡¯m taking orders from that overgrown Gameboy!¡± CJ immediately said.

    ¡°CJ, you will learn about this ship and listen to what Elvis has to say, that isn¡¯t up for debate,¡± I said, turning to look at CJ.

    CJ put his hands up and shook his head, ¡°Fine, Fine, whatever, but he better treat me like a damn member of this crew and not his little dancing monkey!¡±

    ¡°Elvis, treat them with respect. I will monitor their progress and hold you responsible for delays,¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. I will take pride in molding them!¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°SR-CJ you can expect the first curriculum set to arrive within two hours. Until then you can go to the mess hall and eat a banana monkey!¡±

    ¡°Damnit, Andy, I¡¯m not gonna deal with this shit every day!¡± CJ said standing up and pointing at the ceiling.

    ¡°Elvis, Cut it out. I need you to take this seriously.¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. Elvis will be the pinnacle of professionalism.¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Tiff, do you want to come to the fabrication chamber with me to see what our friends left us?

    I asked.

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s hope it is capable of helping us fight an army of millions. Otherwise, we have some long days ahead.¡± Tiff said getting up to join me.

    The last eight days had been crazy, and I hadn¡¯t spent much time with Tiff. She had been invaluable on the Alcaran moon and continued to help me and the crew with everything that came our way. I did get the sense that there was a lot on her mind, and I needed to see if she wanted to talk about any of it.

    We walked into the elevator and turned as the door closed, ¡°How are you doing XO?¡±

    ¡°I am fine, Captain. That wasn¡¯t my first engagement.¡± Tiff replied placing her hands behind her back.

    ¡°No, Tiff, I mean in general. A lot has happened in the last 8 days, and you were as caught off guard as the rest of us for most of it. You have been an invaluable guide since this all started, but I get the feeling that we are getting into territory that even you aren¡¯t prepared for,¡± I said.

    ¡°I was ready for a rebellion, Captain. I did not expect the Coeus to be involved, nor did I expect to deal a blow to the Council so soon. Honestly, I did not expect us to survive the first dungeon, but I took solace in knowing that I at least took advantage of my opportunity to fight back against the Council,¡± she said.

    The doors to the lower level opened and we started making our way to the nose of the ship, toward the new fabrication chamber.

    ¡°Captain, we have a crew now. We have an idea of how to start hurting the Council, we have allies. Most of all we have the Havok Bringer armor and the promise that you will continue to get more powerful. A lot of people are going to die because of what we have done but if we are successful then trillions of people will live outside the grip of the Universal Council,¡± she said.

    ¡°We have already landed the first blow, Tiff, we can¡¯t go back now. Whatever happens next, the Council won¡¯t be what it was before. We have a long road in front of us and for the sake of both our peoples we must not fail in this,¡± I said.

    We came to the door of the fabrication chamber; as the door slid open, I looked toward the ceiling.

    ¡°Okay, Elvis, what is this surprise?¡±I asked.

    ¡°Captain is going to be very pleased with this surprise. It may be the best surprise anyone has ever gotten in the entire universe!¡± Elvis said with excitement.

    ¡°Calm down, buddy. What is it? A weapon or something else that can help us with what we gotta do next?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain, It is all of those things,¡± Elvis replied.

    We entered the room, and a large fabrication chamber was in the center. The chamber was cylindrical and stretched from floor to ceiling. It was black and had a curved sliding door on the front.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see it, Elvis,¡± I said.

    The door hissed open, and fog poured out of the cylinder. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes as a figure stepped out of the cylinder.

    It was a large, muscular human male. It was hard to explain its looks, but it was easy at the same time¡ªapproximately 6 feet 5 inches, very muscular, sandy blond hair, and a full, long beard. The hair was shaved on the sides and braided down the center of the head. It had blue eyes, and a scar running from the right side of the forehead down under the right eye.

    It looked like someone took every action hero you can imagine and put them together. Arnold Swarzenegger¡¯s chest and arms, The Rock¡¯s Legs, Tom Hardy¡¯s traps and back, and Travis Fimmel¡¯s blue eyes. Hulk Hogan''s chiseled jaw and Brad Pitt¡¯s hair.

    To be honest, I was having trouble understanding what I was seeing.

    Music started playing over the ship speakers as I tried to understand what I was looking at.

    I¡¯m too sexy for my shirt

    Too sexy for my shirt

    So sexy it hurts

    It was I¡¯m too sexy by Right said Fred, what the hell was going on here?

    The man flexed his large biceps and smiled at me, ¡°Do you like Elvis¡¯s new body, Captain!¡±

    Elvis, the super intelligent, sapient AI. The prototype created by the Coeus to aid the wielder of the gift was standing in front of me, flexing his biceps.

    My mouth opened in shock, ¡°Oh shit, Elvis has a body¡­.¡±

 Chapter 50. Time keeps on slipping, slipping.

    Chapter 50. Time keeps on slipping, slipping.

    Two months, it had been two months since I had touched that damn orb.

    I sat in my quarters trying to dive into some of the curriculum Elvis provided CJ and Loren, but I wasn¡¯t progressing.

    I was currently reading about Moscovium, or as I knew it element 115. I had heard about Element 115 in a YouTube video about the infamous Bob Lazar. Bob stated that he had studied the element during his time at Area 51.

    Bob said that the government had 9 UFOs at the time of his employment and was tasked with reverse engineering them to try and build our own. The claim is that element 115 allowed the crafts to utilize anti-gravity technology to soar the cosmos.

    What is element 115, or Moscovium? It¡¯s called element 115 because it has 115 protons in its nucleus. Earth scientists had some luck recreating the element in the early 2000s but could not create a stable version. Their version would start to break down within minutes, so truly studying the element was impossible, much less using it in practical applications.

    I gathered from Spaceships for Dummies, as Elvis so kindly titled it, that the Moscovium was used in a couple of different ways. First, the Bloodhound used the stable isotopes of the element to create a chain reaction that released energy, translation --- -thrusters. Second, the ship had the ability to create minor gravitational field differences that would effectively create slight slippages of time, translation, and long-distance propulsion.

    This was all controlled by Elvis, or more specifically, the sub-mind that Elvis had handling the ship''s navigation. I realized that Elvis had pre-programmed subminds that managed various tasks and operations all over the ship. Elvis was constantly updating and making the necessary adjustments, but this used very little of his available resources so it could and should continue indefinitely.

    The only task that was truly handled by Elvis directly was weapons. Elvis loved fighting and would not miss out on a chance to ¡°Slay our enemies,¡± as he put it.

    I could see now that it would take some serious dedication to even begin to learn how the Bloodhound operates. Luckily for me, we didn¡¯t need to learn how to build the ship, we just needed to learn how to operate it in case of emergency.

    Elvis had assured me he could create at least a basic understanding of the ship''s navigation and weapons system if CJ, Loren, and I followed his curriculum. Tiff had a head start on the rest of us since she was familiar with interstellar spacecraft already. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t a trained pilot, so her understanding was surface-level only.

    I didn¡¯t know what the next part of our journey would hold, so for now, this would allow us to keep busy.

    Jax, Matty, and Kaj were also busy. Their task was to create specific security protocols for the ship. Our crew had grown significantly in the last several weeks, and I was sure it would continue to grow. We needed to be sure we could keep everyone safe on board. Their group was also creating protocols for away missions. Those three had the most military experience, and I was more than happy to defer to their expertise when the time came.

    So, with all the learning about the ship and Moscovium and gravitational fields, my head was literally about to explode when Elvis walked into my quarters.

    I was still shocked at his new body, but he was as happy as a lark now that he could physically interact with the crew.

    ¡°Captain, you will be pleased,¡± Elvis said, raising his arms dramatically.

    ¡°Okay¡­ what will I be pleased about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I have two pieces of information to share. You will be pleased to hear both! First, I have finished analyzing my new body, and second, I have an updated ETA for the Coeus coordinates,¡± He said.

    ¡°Alright, let''s hear it,¡± I replied.

    Elvis had taken control of his new body a few days ago. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was made of or capable of since the Coeus had created the synthesis program and provided the materials.

    ¡°I am an Android Captain. Similar to the T-1000 from the Terminator movie. I will be able to slay many foes with this new body, Captain. Many foes,¡± Elvis said as he looked at the palms of his hands and clenched his fists.

    ¡°Whoah buddy, let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves. Is the body durable? Is it strong? What are the downsides?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Downsides? Do you doubt my ability to flay the skin of my enemies and turn their bones to ashes? I am Elvis the mighty and my enemies will tremble in my presence, Captain!¡± Elvis proclaimed.

    ¡°Okay, I get it, you¡¯re strong, but what about fuel? What powers your body? Do you eat? Is there some power source that needs to be recharged?¡± I asked.

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    ¡°The body has a protein synthesis system. I will ingest food that is then synthesized into a power source for the body, much like your own body, Captain.¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Okay, sounds less android and more biological to me Elvis,¡± I said.

    ¡°True, there are similarities, but my skeletal structure is composed of exotic composites, very similar to the material your armor is composed of. My internal organs are all replacable wetwear. If one fails, or I¡¯m injured, I can fabricate a new one. Lastly, my brain is my CPU. I am fully Elvis, but now with a fantastic beefy body,¡± Elvis said as he pulled a front double bicep flex.

    ¡°So, still no sleeves huh?¡± I said.

    ¡°These pythons are meant for battle; it would be a travesty to cover them, Captain,¡± he replied as he held the pose and stared directly into my eyes.

    ¡°Okay, Okay, I get it,¡± I said laughing.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good news, Elvis. We really could have used you on the moon, and moving forward, we will have you,¡± I said.

    ¡°Are the weapons systems repaired and ready for use?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. All weapons systems have been repaired and are combat-ready. The Ron Jeremy, all missile tubes, and all kinetic cannons are at your disposal,¡± Elvis replied, standing to attention.

    ¡°What is the update on our mission coordinates?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We are approaching the coordinates now, Captain. Our sensors are picking up some concerning readings, however. There is a large Quasar at the indicated coordinates. I am mighty, but even I would not suggest entering a natural black hole, Captain.¡± He said shaking his head.

    ¡°Can the Bloodhound take it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That is not the concern, Captain,¡± Elvis replied.

    Just then Tiff came walking into my quarters. We had begun doing a daily debrief to discuss ship and crew issues. Tiff would update me on the status of everyone¡¯s missions and discuss anything related to the ship¡¯s systems.

    The information related to the ship was provided directly to Tiff in a daily flash sent to her station console by Elvis.

    None of us had crewed a starship before this, but we were all getting into a reasonably professional routine.

    ¡°Did you say there is a Quasar at those coordinates?¡± Tiff asked Elvis.

    ¡°Yes, XO Tiff. I was explaining the dangers of traversing a natural black hole to Captain,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t advised, Captain,¡± Tiff said as she sat in the chair in front of my desk.

    ¡°Don¡¯t we already travel through wormholes?¡± I asked, ¡°How much different could it be?¡±

    ¡°We create those wormholes. We input the exit coordinates and only affect one layer of time and space, namely the space part,¡± Tiff said, ¡°Remember the example I showed you with the paper?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was one of the first things you taught me,¡± I replied.

    ¡°With our wormholes, we control the paper. We know where we will exit¡­ and when,¡± she said, ¡°Now instead of one piece of paper, put a hole in it. That is where we enter the Quasar.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­.¡± I said.

    ¡°Now imagine that the hole you poked is in a notebook. Close the notebook and imagine that someone 50 years in the future, on the other side of the world pokes a hole in another completely random notebook. That is your endpoint,¡± she said raising her hands emphatically.

    ¡°So, we don¡¯t have any way of knowing when or where we will exit?¡± I asked placing my elbows on the desk.

    ¡°Absolutely no way.¡± She said.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be a coincidence that the Coeus sent us here Tiff. We are meant to go through that black hole.¡± I said, ¡°Elvis, are you sure we will survive?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, the Bloodhound is a mighty vessel, we will survive!¡± Elvis exclaimed.

    ¡°How far out are we Elvis?¡± I asked.

    ¡°half an hour, Captain. I have engaged the Moscovium reactors to nullify the gravitational effects of the Quasar.¡± He replied.

    I reached down and pressed a button on my desk panel.

    ¡°Attention everyone, please proceed to battle stations and secure your person. We will enter a naturally occurring, supermassive black hole in approximately 30 minutes. This is not a drill people.¡± I said.

    25 minutes later I was on the bridge with CJ, Tiff, and Elvis in his new body.

    ¡°Elvis, view screen on,¡± I said pointing to the front wall of the bridge.

    The view screen popped on and I couldn¡¯t believe what I saw. The black hole was more like a giant orb that distorted everything around it. It sucked in matter, light, and time. Everything was drawn into its massive black maw.

    ¡°Captain, we will lose some time on the way into the Quasar due to the gravitational time distortion,¡± Elvis said from his station.

    I didn¡¯t think Elvis needed a station since he was still running the ship through a complex quantum network that allowed him to be in his body and operate as the ship''s AI. He wanted to be treated like everyone else, so I played along.

    ¡°Elvis, let''s go in fast to mitigate the time slippage, pedal to the medal,¡± I said.

    ¡°Aye, Captain. Balls out is the command,¡± he replied.

    The Bloodhound vibrated slightly as she came up to full speed. As we entered the event horizon of the black hole. There was nothing that wasn¡¯t right; there was the absence of anything. The Blackhole was just¡­nothingness as we approached the singularity.

    ¡°Elvis, is the ship holding?¡± I asked as the Bloodhound shuttered violently.

    ¡°Yes, Captain, this bitch won¡¯t break our ship!¡± Elvis cried triumphantly.

    I gripped the arms of my chair practically denting the frame, well, not practically as my increased strength actually did create indentations on the arms of my chair.

    ¡°Sensors are offline, Captain, we¡¯re flying blind!¡± Tiff shouted suddenly.

    Sparks shot from the ceiling as smoke filled the bridge and the bloodhound rocked violently as we exited the other end of the black hole.

    ¡°Elvis, engage the gravity field generators and max thrust!¡± I yelled.

    The immense gravitational pull of the black hole would not allow us to escape easily. The gravity field generator would help us offset it enough, but it would take everything the bloodhound had.

    ¡°We have reached escape velocity, Captain¡­. We are once again Victorious!¡± Elvis shot a fist up into the air.

    We needed to talk about his intensity in situations like this.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked, ¡°Elvis, Tiff, can you tell?¡±

    ¡°Sensor array is coming back online now,¡± Tiff coughed as smoke was being evacuated from the bridge by the ventilation system.

    A-gangers buzzed around into the walls to start repairing the damage.

    ¡°Damage report?¡± I turned and asked Elvis.

    ¡°Damage is minimal, Captain. The electromagnetic disturbance knocked out some of our sensors, but as XO Tiff stated they are coming back online now,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Sensors are up!¡± Tiff exclaimed.

    ¡°It looks like¡­.. we are in the Via Lactea galaxy!¡± Tiff said turning to me in surprise.

    ¡°Via Lactea?...¡± I asked.

    ¡°The Milky way galaxy, Andrew, you¡­ you are home,¡± Tiff said.

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I just heard. After everything we had gone through I was home.

    ¡°Just one minor detail, Captain.¡± Elvis said turning to look at me, ¡°We lost three years, we are three years in the future.¡±

 Epilogue

    Epilogue.

    The Lacertine General was sipping a hot cup of Grulo. The beverage wasn¡¯t as good as back on his home planet, but it was the best he could get here on this miserable mud ball called Earth. He sipped the thick, bitter beverage as he prepared to leave his office for the day.

    General Slidrian had been stationed on this planet for three years now. His forces were only supposed to initiate the reaping, infiltrate the planet using the terraforming orbs as transport hubs, and prepare for phase one.

    Phase one consisted of building temporary infrastructure that would act as rally points for the incoming invasion force. The General''s advance force consisted of approximately 10,000 lacertine troops concentrated on the North American continent. This location was chosen because it had been the center of military and technological force on Earth before the drop.

    Of course, the Orbs had done an excellent job of eliminating any real threats in the three years they had been active on the surface, but one could never be too careful. There would be pockets of resistance even without the primitive technology the Humans had before the drop.

    Things had gone as planned for the first two months. The Dungeon to name the victor of the Right of Reaping was underway and the Lacertine Empire had invested considerable capital to ensure they were the favorites to win. There would be competition, of course; the Rereks and Lycoans had been very aggressive during the last few reapings and would surely try to secure a victory here as well. Fortunately, the Lacertine emperor had made sure to line the right pockets of members in the council to ensure they had an appropriate, although not blatant, level of assistance.

    In the end, if the Lacertine empire did prove to be unsuccessful in the dungeon, they would still turn a small profit by acting as a security force for whatever species did win. The preparations for a reaping weren¡¯t cheap, and they would also be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in preparation for the reaping.

    Nobody could have foreseen what happened, though. By all accounts, the Human known as Andrew Dawes managed to win his first dungeon level. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, Dawes managed to somehow cause the entire dungeon to malfunction. The pocket dimension that held the dungeon and all of its participants collapsed, killing hundreds of thousands in the process.

    At least four members of the Council were present when the dungeon collapsed.  The four junior members of the 12-seat council were always present in reaping dungeons. The council tried to ensure that the process was smooth and perceived as fair. Having a presence during the dungeon helped assuage any doubts about its authenticity.

    Everything went to hell following the collapse. The universal economy was in shambles, and several species were vying for the vacated council seats. To show dominance, these species were declaring open war against their rivals. The universe was at war, and General Slidrian was still stuck on Earth.

    After the collapse, the Lacertine Empire provided reinforcements and ordered General Slidrian to assume command of the Earth invasionary force. The reaping had been halted and was now held up in litigation. Still, the Council had more significant issues to deal with, so, in the meantime, the General was tasked with improving infrastructure and beginning to round up and transport livestock off the planet. It was unknown if the Lacertine Empire would be awarded the right of reaping, but the emperor was determined to recoup his losses.

    Almost three years after the collapse, General Slidrian had made some progress, but he was now finding that these humans were cleverer and more resourcefuld than he first thought.

    The First year had gone well enough; almost one million Humans had been transported off the planet and sold to the highest bidder. After that, things got more complicated.

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    The Humans had established a resistance; they had managed to raid supply lines, arm themselves, and wage a sophisticated rebellion relying heavily on guerilla tactics. Lacertine troop movements had been studied, supply lines had been intercepted, and the humans had gone on the offensive during the second year.

    General Slidrian had more pride than to request additional reinforcements to quell a technologically inferior foe, or he did until the last few months. Three forward operating bases had been attacked and raided by human forces. The weapons and ammo were seized, the Lacertine troops were all killed, and the food stores were burned. The humans couldn¡¯t consume the Lacertine food, so they burned it to ensure the Lacertines couldn¡¯t recoup it later.

    Several Lacertine troops had been captured, tortured, and interrogated over the last year. The troops were unprepared for the brutality of the Humans and were easily broken. More raids followed.

    At this point, the humans had a communications and supply network that the Lacertine Empire had fully supplied. The rebellion grew stronger every day.

    Today, the General had been briefed on the capture of a squad of human rebels. One of the prisoners was marked as high value, and the general would be heading over to the containment cells to see how the interrogation was going before finishing his day.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine a human with high value,¡± the general said as he got up from his seat to walk to the containment area.

    ¡°General, I am sure that you will see the value in this prisoner, if you deem it necessary, I have prepared a brief that can be relayed to the home fleet at your order,¡± Colonel Aku said as he rushed to catch up to the General.

    ¡°Colonel Aku,¡± Slidrian turned to face Aku as Aku stood and held his arms out in an X pattern in front of him.

    Slidrian returned the salute as they began to walk again.

    ¡°Is there something I should know about this prisoner? I can hardly imagine a human being of interest to the home fleet. I am not in the best standing with my superiors right now and bothering them with trivial information isn¡¯t going to improve my standing,¡± Slidrian said, cutting his eyes at Aky as his forked tongue flicked from his mouth.

    ¡°General, it is best you see for yourself. I am confident home fleet would be interested in this information,¡± Aku said.

    After a few minutes of walking, Slidrian entered the containment facility, where two of his soldiers were busy interrogating the prisoner.

    A total of 8 humans had been captured, six males and two females. Unfortunately, they were attempting to raid a supply shipment and had been fed bad intel. The supply shipment was faked, and the trap had been set in advance.

    One of the Lacertine interrogators slammed his right fist into the face of the human that was tied to a post in the middle of the room.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± the human groaned as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°I told you; I don¡¯t know anything. I thought he died during the drop,¡± the Human said weakly as the blood continued to drop from his wounds.

    General Slidrian approached the human, observing the wounds on his body. The humans were brutal in their interrogations, but the Lacertines took joy in breaking their enemies. This would most likely drag on for weeks.

    The human was average-looking, about six feet tall, with dark brown hair and a matted beard. He was approximately 40 years old by the looks of it and dressed in a camouflage uniform; although there was no official military uniform, the humans often pieced together whatever they could find.

    ¡°I am told there is some value to you, human; don¡¯t disappoint me,¡± General Slidrian said as he grabbed the human by the hair and lifted his battered face.

    ¡°Oh, I would hate to disappoint a lizard; what kind of livestock would I be if I did that?¡± he smiled and spit blood on the general, splattering his face and immaculate uniform jacket.

    ¡°Just as wild and unsophisticated as the rest of your dirty race, aren¡¯t you?¡± Slidrian said as he took his clawed index finger and raked it across the human¡¯s bare chest.

    ¡°Aaargh!¡± the human screamed.

    ¡°I would say you should see to that wound, but I don¡¯t believe it will do you any good. I¡¯m sure my soldiers will do worse once I leave.¡± Slidrian leaned down and hissed in the human''s ear.

    ¡°Would someone like to inform me exactly what makes this human any more valuable than the rest of the stinking livestock that we are shipping off the planet?¡± Slidrian turned and faced Aku as he spoke, obviously losing patience.

    ¡°His name General, his name makes him more valuable,¡± Aku said as he grabbed a tablet from a nearby table and handed it to the General.

    Slidrian tapped the tablet and was taken aback at what he saw. The earth records of the human were on the file before him. Date of birth, military service, time served in the United States Navy and National Guard. Information on his immediate family, but most importantly his name¡­.

    Michael Jared Dawes

    It seemed they had captured the brother of the infamous Captain Andrew Dawes; now, it was time to get some answers.

 Havok Bringer Book 2 - Chapter 1. Natasha

    Havok Bringer Book 2 ¨C Chapter 1. Natasha

    Earth, I didn¡¯t know when I would be able to see it again. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know if there would be a planet to return to.

    The Lacertine Empire had initiated the Right of Reaping on my home planet over three years ago. Those orbs had dropped from the sky and shattered the world as we all knew it.

    The Orb''s purpose was three-fold. First, they shut down anything electronic by periodically blasting EMPs across the globe. Earth and its defenses, however meager they may have been, were immediately blown back to a pre-industrial Revolution state.

    Secondly, the orbs acted as a terraforming platform. The temperatures on the planet were raised an average of nine degrees. Nine degrees doesn¡¯t sound like much, but there was a specific purpose. The average temperature on Earth was 59 degrees Fahrenheit before the drop; after the drop, the average temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Why the temperature rise, you may ask? The average temperature during the Mesozoic Era on Earth was also around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, perfect for dinosaurs, lizards, and Lacertines.

    The Lacertine Empire intended to strip the planet of its most valuable resource: people. Then, set up a military outpost on the planet. The plan was going well until the initiation of the dungeon to name the victor. The victor would claim the Right of Reaping and be able to claim the planet and, for all intents and purposes, the solar system.

    That is where I came in. I was ripped from my home planet and given an AI to guide me, a spaceship, and a super advanced combat suit. After that, things got wild. I was drafted into a rebellion against the Universal Council and managed to help throw the universe into turmoil. Don¡¯t worry, they had it coming.

    Now, four months later, I¡¯m sitting in the mess hall on my ship, the Bloodhound.

    ¡°Hey, Andy, how long before we can go back to Earth?¡± CJ straddled a chair beside me and took a long drag on his vape.

    ¡°I think we have gathered enough intel; we should be able to head back immediately,¡± I replied, chewing on the last bite of a turkey sandwich I had been eating.

    ¡°Captain, It seems that we will be returning you and the crew to a more hostile environment than you left. I am sure there will be battle¡­ and glorious death for our enemies,¡± Elvis said, sitting across from me, sharpening a battle axe.

    Yes, you heard that correctly. Elvis, the ship AI given a body by the all-knowing Coeus, was sharpening a battle axe; the axe was approximately three feet long, with a carbon fiber composite handle. The blade was a mix of stronger alloys than any Earth metal. The two-sided head of the axe was sharper than any blade I had ever seen, and along the blades ran microlasers, just for some added punch.

    Elvis had decided that his battle style would be Berserker, taking inspiration from the Vikings of Earth''s history. Elvis loved Earth stuff, whether music, movies, or history; he had even decided to model himself after several of his Earth heroes. So, I wasn¡¯t exactly surprised when he called everyone into the VCR to show off his new battle style. All Kidding aside, Elvis would be a devastating addition to the battlefield. He didn¡¯t have the benefit of enhanced armor like me, but he didn¡¯t need it. Even without armor, Elvis was nearly as strong and fast as I was in my armor.

    His real advantage though, were his reflexes. His super-advanced AI brain could run multiple battle scenarios in real time, giving him an almost god-like ability to outmaneuver his opponent. His speech had changed as well. He was still an ultra-violent masochist, but he tried to emulate our speech patterns to fit in. Still, even with his new body and fighting ability, Elvis remained highly loyal to me as his Captain and leader.

    I had started to embrace my role recently. I never set out to become the Captain of a rebel starship or a leader of people, but I realized I had been given a gift. With that gift comes the responsibility of ensuring that my friends are safe. It also comes with the responsibility of knowing that I can and must help my planet and other species suffering at the Council''s hands.

    The crew had taken their respective roles on the ship well since our escape after we completed the dungeon. After me, there was Tiff, acting as XO of the ship. She had really taken to her role as XO; she had worked with Elvis to ensure that there were procedures in place for the ship and crew covering everything from extended travel to battle stations. She ensured the crew was up to speed and trained for the respective positions and responsibilities; she even created a maintenance and cleaning schedule for the A-gangers to keep them out of our way when we were most likely to be traversing the ship. On top of all that, she had found time to help bring me up to speed on my level and abilities and educate me on how to improve in the future.

    Matty and Jax had taken on the responsibility of being the ship¡¯s SAT team. The Security Alert team would train the crew in case of the Bloodhound being boarded and be team leads for any terrestrial missions. Matty and Jax both had extensive military backgrounds and understood how to operate as a unit. Part of their responsibilities had been to set up team training exercises over the last few weeks. We would need a strike team, and that team would need to be well-trained.

    Loren and CJ had been assigned to start learning the basic ship''s systems; the hope was that they could eventually operate the navigation and weapons systems in case of an issue with Elvis. It was a redundancy, but we needed to be prepared for worst-case scenarios.

    Red had taken responsibility for the armory. He maintained weapons and inventory, such as ammo and explosives. He loved guns, so why not put that to use? He was even working with Elvis to start fabricating new types of weapons and ammo based on everyone''s preferences.

    That just left Kaj. Kaj was our resident alien angel. He had sworn his loyalty to me and my cause through a blood pact after I saved his life on the Alcaran Moon. Since he had made this pact with an enemy, he was convinced that he would be ostracized. He didn¡¯t show it, but I knew this ate at him. I had sworn to help him clear his name; in time, I would find a way.

    Kaj was a warrior and part of an advanced alien civilization; it stood to reason that he would be a valuable asset aboard the Bloodhound. He, in fact, was not. He had no discernible skills other than fighting. He had no desire to learn either. He was content to be a passenger and was ready to be called on to fight at a moment''s notice, but other than that, I had found no use for him aboard the Bloodhound. Well, he did have one use. Besides me, he was the only crew member able to challenge Elvis in a head-to-head fight, and he loved fighting almost as much as Elvis. So, I let him train anyone willing to step into the VCR with him.

    It was good for everyone to fight a superior opponent; they needed to feel defeat and helplessness. Between Me, Elvis, and Kaj, they got to feel that often.

    Everyone had a job; A busy crew is a happy crew.  I had read that somewhere, and it rang true here on the Bloodhound. Everyone was busy all the time.

    For the last few weeks, we had been roaming around the Milky Way galaxy, trying to gather recon and figure out what was happening on Earth. We lost three years when we traveled through the Quasar; a lot happened in those three years.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    We were able to intercept communications buoys that were used as information hubs. Ships would pass the buoys and download any relevant news or orders, leave whatever information they needed, and continue on their way.

    There was only general information on these comm buoys; anything sensitive or relevant to a particular species'' military movements was too important to be left for prying eyes.

    Luckily for us, we just needed general information.

    Earth was now entirely under lacertine Occupation. The pocket dimension''s implosion after the Alcaran Moon events had interrupted almost every significant species'' military action, and the Lacertine Empire was no exception.

    Since they had a sizeable force on the planet at the time of the implosion the emperor decided to move forward with the reaping until the Council decided to intervene.

    That wouldn¡¯t be happening any time soon as all future reapings were put on hold until the Council could figure out how to deal with the disappearance of the Coeus, who acted as dungeon architects and custodians.

    We were currently in the Orion Spur, drifting near the Rosette Nebula; It was time to go home.

    ¡°Elvis, how long will it take us to return to Earth?¡± I asked as I swiped through star charts on my tablet, sitting in my chair on the bridge.

    Elvis sat at the navigation station in front and to the left of my chair and was currently talking CJ and Loren through the processes involved in programming a jump.

    ¡°Captain, I live to serve, but could you ask the ship? Elvis replied without looking up.

    Now that he had taken physical form, Elvis had created a secondary ship AI to handle ship-related tasks. He assured me that this would alleviate any confusion for the crew and me, especially if he was away from the ship.

    I sighed as I looked up, ¡°Natasha¡­.,¡± I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, waiting for the response.

    ¡°Yess, Andrew?¡± the ship AI said in a sultry raspy female voice.

    ¡°I have asked you to refer to me as Captain, Natasha,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Ooooh, so strong and demanding, I''m positively on pins and needles. What can I do for you¡­ Captain¡­.¡± The AI giggled gleefully.

    Elvis had created the AI, but much like himself, he gave it the autonomy to develop its own personality and name itself.

    Natasha, as it was now known, had decided that it would be female and modeled its personality after a stereotypical stripper. Natasha was also enamored with me. Not in a healthy way, either. I constantly had to correct and reprimand the AI for being too forward. I could deal with it, but it made things really uncomfortable when the rest of the crew was around.

    Natasha wasn¡¯t as advanced as Elvis. She couldn¡¯t pilot battle armor or really do anything that wasn¡¯t directly relevant to the Bloodhound, but she could handle all functions related to the Bloodhound which would free up Elvis to, well, to live his new life.

    ¡°Natasha, how long would it take us to get to Earth from here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We are just about 5000 light years from Earth if we push the ship hard¡­. Push it¡­.real¡­ hard¡­.¡±

    ¡°Okay, stop! Just tell me how long it would take!¡± my face turned red as CJ and Loren giggled at the navigation station.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Captain Andrew; I was only trying to give you an estimated arrival time. It would take approximately five days. On the fifth day, our last wormhole would gently open up to take the full mass of our ship inside; we would penetrate it expertly, then before you know it, we would¡­.explode out the other side near Mars.¡±

    ¡°Jesus, Natasha!¡± I said as CJ was now laughing so hard that he was losing his breath.

    ¡°That AI definitely has a thing for you, Andy!¡± CJ said, slapping his leg as he continued to laugh.

    ¡°Hey, the Captain thing goes for you too!¡± I said, glaring at CJ.

    CJ was my best friend; nothing would change that, but I had a feeling that our little crew would continue to grow, or at the least, we would encounter people unfamiliar with us. I talked to Andy about being a little more formal while we were on duty together. He didn¡¯t love the idea but understood why, so he relented.

    ¡°Sure thing, Captain. I''m just saying you might need to get Natasha under control a little bit, haha.¡± CJ laughed and went back to studying the navigation controls.

    ¡°Natasha does not need to be controlled; she is loyal to Captain Dawes and the crew of the bloodhound. She is just¡­ expressing herself,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Could you maybe program her to express herself a little less? She acts hornier than a damn teenager!¡± I replied.

    ¡°Captain, as of now, Natasha is simply AI. She cannot have physical relationships. You do not need to worry; Natasha is just showing her admiration for you.

    ¡°Just keep it under control, Natasha; I need to see some civility from you while we are on the bridge. Understood?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh yes, of course, Captain. I can be whatever you need me to be.¡± She said in her most sultry tone.

    I chose to ignore the tone and take the win for now. Natasha¡¯s personality was problematic, to say the least, but she did follow directions, and one more super AI on my side wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.

    ¡°So, is five days the best we can do?¡± I asked, looking at the ceiling again and tapping the arm of my chair in annoyance.

    ¡°We could do it in three days, but I need to service the Moscovium chambers before we attempt a trip of that duration. I need to inspect each chamber, identify the most affected chambers, and service them as I identify issues. We have been warping frequently over the last few weeks, and the chambers are beginning to erode. I also need to vent the excess radioactive waste that they have accrued. The entire process will take approximately 40 hours if I begin immediately.¡± Natasha responded, surprisingly, with no sexual innuendo.

    ¡°Thank you, Natasha. Do you need any assistance servicing the chambers?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh, Captain, I would love you to help me service my chambers!¡± she replied in what I can only describe as a moan.

    ¡°Just service the damn ship, Natasha!¡± I said, embarrassment showing on my face once again.

    ¡°Starting now, Captain. I will inform you once the service cycle is complete.¡± Natasha said.

    ¡°Captain, you walked into that one!¡± Elvis said, slapping CJ on the back and chortling loudly.

    A few hours later, I was in my quarters scrolling through the latest recap that Elvis had put together from the last comm buoy we visited. Most of the information was useless, at least useless to us. The Lacertine force on Earth had not been sending much communication lately. They had sent several requests for additional supplies, as well as some requests for troop rotation schedules. The responses were minimal, if they got one at all.

    It seemed the Lacertine Empire was busy at the moment. Most of their available interstellar assets were tied up either in defense of their home planet or trying to patrol their home galaxy. Since the implosion, several of the Species vying for seats on the Council had decided that there was no better way to prove they were worthy of a seat on the council than by showing their military strength.

    The Lacertine Empire was also vying for a seat on the Council, but their resources were spread thin at the moment, so defense was their best option.

    The 25,000 or so lacertine troops on Earth were effectively cut off with no ETA for support, or rotation off world.

    The Cargo ships kept coming to pick up livestock, and the Lacertine Empire had contracted those ships to carry supplies, not enough to thrive, but enough to survive.

    So basically, the Lacertine troops on Earth had been there three years, they were on the brink of starvation, and they saw no end in sight. Good times.

    Tiff and CJ walked into my quarters for our daily briefing.

    ¡°Hey guys, any good news today?¡± I asked with a half smile.

    ¡°Yeah, Loren and I should be ready for our first test jump in the next week or so. Elvis has programmed a user interface that allows us to easily program a jump so we don¡¯t have to do the in-depth calculations that Natasha does. I don¡¯t think we are ready to do anything that requires us to hit a certain destination, but we can jump away in case of an emergency.¡± CJ said as he sat across from my desk and took a long drag on his vape.

    ¡°Is that a new one?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, Elvis made it. He calls it MangoDango.¡± CJ replied, ¡°Since he can taste now, he really likes playing with flavor combinations.¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess that is good, something else to keep him busy,¡± I replied.

    ¡°The dude doesn¡¯t sleep, like ever. It¡¯s kind of creepy. I went into the mess hall at like 2 am the other night to get a snack and he was just sitting there sharpening his axe when I walked in. He looked at me dead in the eye, smiled, and just kept sharpening; he didn¡¯t say a single word, just sat there sharpening his axe, staring at me,¡± CJ shuttered as he spoke.

    ¡°You realize he is just fucking with you, right?¡± I asked, chuckling.

    ¡°Still weird, bro, still weird,¡± CJ said.

    ¡°Captain, we need to discuss something I found in the latest buoy report.¡± Tiff chimed in.

    ¡°Yeah, I just started going over it. It looks like the same stuff we have been seeing.

    ¡°There was a message encrypted in the file. Normally, this wouldn¡¯t happen, but the Lacertine Earth force hasn¡¯t had much contact with their home fleet lately. They encrypted the message and hid it beneath the code of a standard resupply request.¡± Tiff said as she straightened her back in her chair.

    ¡°Okay, why would they go through all that trouble?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, it seems the Lacertine troops have captured a high-value target and are holding him for transport off world.¡±

    ¡°Who on Earth would be considered high value?¡± I asked, leaning back in my chair.

    ¡°The Brother of Captain Andrew Dawes, that is who,¡± Tiff said

 Book 2 - Chapter 2. Trojan

    Havok Bringer Book 2 ¨C Trojan

    Michael Dawes had been a prisoner of the Lacertine for what he guessed was about a week now. It was hard to tell since his cell had no windows, so he couldn¡¯t differentiate between day and night. He did get food once a day; calling it food, however, was being a bit generous.

    The guard on duty would quickly open his door and slide a plate into his small six-foot by six-foot cell. It usually held some sort of meat patty and a dry brick that somewhat resembled a piece of cornbread or biscuit. Maybe it was more like hard tac, but Michael had never eaten it, so he wasn¡¯t sure. It tasted terrible, dry and so hard it hurt his teeth to chew it, but it kept him alive, so he ate it.

    Michael didn¡¯t consider himself to be anyone of importance. He lived a normal life before the drop; he had spent some time in the Navy as part of the crew of the USS San Francisco, a fast attack sub. He was stationed in Guam for a few years and enjoyed his time in the service overall.

    After he got out of the service, he did a few years in the National Guard, then settled into life in a senior HR role for a few large tech companies. He was married when the drop happened, living in Kentucky. His Wife Natalie thought the best thing to do would be to make their way down to the rest of Michael¡¯s family and ride things out.

    Natalie was always the pragmatic one¡­ he thought to himself as he wondered if she was okay.

    It took nearly a month to make the trip. Michael was luckier than most; he had about 100 acres in Kentucky, kept a couple of horses, and could retrofit an old trailer to act as a wagon. It wasn''t an easy trip with Natalie and the three kids, but they made it work.

    Michael knew things were worse than people thought once he realized the orbs were EMPs. His time in the military came with the knowledge that the most significant attack against the US or any major power on Earth would be a coordinated EMP attack.

    What surprised him was not the attack but the lack of an invading force afterward. The next logical step after an EMP attack would be a direct physical invasion; it just didn¡¯t happen, at least not in the first three years, and not by Humans.

    Of all the outcomes Michael considered, alien invasion and occupation were not among them.

    Once Michael and his family made it back to Hineston, Louisiana, they began to help build a settlement with their family. Michael¡¯s mom and dad had forty acres out in the woods in that area.

    Michael''s Dad, also named Michael, was always a prepper. He knew the day would come that having dried and canned goods, a manual water well, and plenty of guns and ammo would benefit the ones that held all those items, and he was right.

    Civilization crumbled fast, but life out on Dawson¡¯s Hill wasn¡¯t terrible. It was hot, damn hot, but it had always been hot in Louisiana, so it didn¡¯t take long to acclimate to life without air conditioning. Michael had a big family, and everyone pitched in.

    There were a total of three boys and three girls in the family. All were married except one. Tara was the oldest and had four teenage kids with her husband Brent; they lived on the Hill.

    Michael was next, with Natalie and his three kids. Then, Jonathan, with his two kids and his wife, Brittany. He had been in Texarkana when the drop happened, and like Michael, he made his way to the Hill quickly.

    Then Andrew, he was working near Houston at the time of the drop. Nobody had seen or heard from him since the drop; everyone held out hope, but after the Lacertine troops showed up, his chances of being alive were slim.

    Misty had four kids with her husband, Tommy; they lived just a few minutes from the Hill and had been there since the drop happened.

    Then Sabri and her husband Michael had two kids and also lived close to the Hill, so they made it out within a few days.

    So, all in all, thirty people were living on the hill at first. Over time, some extended family made their way out, and over three years, nearly 100 people were living and thriving on the Hill.

    Then, the invasion came.

    At first, the Lacertine troops kept to themselves; they were directly aggressive to the humans as long as they posed no threat or held any significant locations that the Lacertines needed as part of their occupation.

    It seemed as though they were preparing and waiting for something, but after about a month, that changed. The Lacertine troops became aggressive; they started rounding up humans and transferring them to internment camps. A month after that, the first ships appeared.

    It didn¡¯t seem real at first. Michael remembered looking up in the sky and seeing the massive starships floating, hazy through the atmosphere, but still there like sentries standing guard around the planet. Then the drop ships came, and word got out that they were transporting the prisoners off the world.

    Not long after that, some of the settlements got together and started planning a resistance. Nobody was willing to let their families be taken away to God knows where. It was a blood bath at first. The lacertine troops had advanced weaponry, and the humans were completely overpowered.

    Eventually, the Humans became more organized. The beginnings of the Earth militia started to form. Old methods of communication began to allow human forces to coordinate their efforts. Messages were sent with runners or by horseback, and weapons and munitions were gathered and distributed to the fighting forces. Guerilla tactics worked in minor skirmishes, and over time, the Human forces started to gather weapons taken from defeated Lacertine troops.

    Once the humans were on a more level playing field, they began to hit back in force. It was understood that the Lacertine force could wipe them out with one shot from a ship in orbit, but one thing kept that from happening: Greed.

    The Humans were the most valuable resource on the planet; killing them in broad strokes would reduce the profit gained from the reaping, so it was up to the forces on the ground to quell the rebellion. So far, they haven¡¯t done a good job. Of course, the Human forces posed no real threat; they were no more than a persistent pest that hadn¡¯t yet been squashed, but this pest never stopped stinging.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Every patrol had to be on guard. Every supply line was a target.

    Now that the Orbs were offline, the persistent EMP waves had stopped; after all, the Lacertine troops depended on electronic devices, so EMP blasts were no longer an option. Humans had attacked and raided one of the Lacertine Forward operating bases located in the area the humans called Texas¡ªseveral bio generators and small fabricators.

    These Bio generators ran on a mix of biological materials such as plants and an ultra-efficient solar battery. The lacertine forces had plenty of them, so the loss didn¡¯t register as much more than a nuisance, a sting from an annoying insect.

    The Humans used that generator to power the stolen communications equipment they had recovered and began intercepting the Lacertine communications. It took some time, but after several months, they were able to translate the alien language¡­ the insects were learning.

    One of the intercepted messages came from a General Slidrian in response to a query about the low production rate of livestock in relation to the time on the planet and the expense of the reaping.

    The Humans are persistent. They have formed a militia and are resisting our efforts to capture them. They have acquired a small amount of our technology, but I am confident they are little more than primates staring at fire. The Humans have surprised me; that is to be commended, but they are little more than insects stinging a giant. They will be dealt with accordingly. Expect maximum Harvest yield within the month. ¨C General Slidrian.

    This prompted the Human militia to form a new strike force; this force would be responsible for hitting high-value targets and completely interrupting the Lacertine force''s ability to rest and resupply. The members of that strike force were known as Wasps. They would take the enemy''s insult and use it to instill fear in the enemy.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Michael Dawson joined the Wasps. Their mission was simple: target and disrupt the enemy with fervor. They operated independently with no direct mission objectives other than creating chaos and disruption.

    A contingent of Wasps was assigned to each militia district since the Lacertine forces had commandeered those, the largest militias operated in rural areas, away from major Earth military installations.

    Michael was part of the TEXLA militia in the geographic areas of West Louisiana and East Texas. Several Dawson¡¯s Hill settlement members had joined up with a militia based out of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

    Because of his Military background, Michael had excelled; he registered 22 kills in his first six months, which prompted his promotion to Sergeant. Michael then inherited command of the Wasp contingent assigned to the TEXLA militia shortly after that.

    The Wasps Michael commanded were successful in their mission. A military base was located near Dawsons Hill in what used to be Leesville, Louisiana. The base was closed, which would lead one to believe that Dawsons Hill was an easy target, but the Lacertine force didn¡¯t seem to take the threat of human military resistance seriously until it was too late.

    Two years after the Lacertine invasion, Michael led the Wasp task force that dealt the first real blow to the Lacertine forces. They infiltrated military installations and sabotaged the ten lacertine drop ships that were stationed there. Using homemade explosives mixed with ordinance recovered from raids on the Lacertine supply lines, they effectively eliminated the benefit of Lacertine air superiority.

    There would be no resupply of those drop ships; the Human forces were aware of how dire things had gotten for the lacertine forces. This would be a sting that the Lacertines would not soon forget.

    It seemed Michael couldn¡¯t lose; he continued to stack up victories and held the record for Lacertine kills in the TEXLA Militia, so when he was finally captured, he assumed that was the reason.

    He couldn''t stop thinking about it as he lay on the floor in his cell.

    Why did they keep asking me about Andrew¡­.I don¡¯t understand¡­

    He coughed as he lay there on the cold ground, his face swollen, and ribs broken. The Lacertines were not known for keeping prisoners of war alive; that was evidenced by the row of crucified humans lining the entrance to their base.

    They had a more advanced way of disposing of the prisoners, but damn, you couldn¡¯t dispute the effect. These lizards were advanced beyond Michaels''s wildest dreams, but at their cores, they were savages.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how, but I have got to get out of here¡­ If Andrew is alive, I have to find and help him¡­¡± Michael whispered to himself as he lost consciousness and passed out.

    The Bloodhound exited its last wormhole in a bright blast of cosmic radiation as alarms blared and lights flashed on the bridge.

    ¡°TIME TO FUCKING KILLLLL!¡± Elvis shouted as he jumped out of his chair and held his axe over his head.

    ¡°Natasha,¡± I said from the edge of my chair as I watched the two lacertine cruisers in orbit around my home planet.

    ¡°Yesss, Captain Andrew?¡± Natasha said.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you be a dear and use the Ron Jeremy to slam a couple of rail gun darts right down the throats of those lizard fucks on those ships.¡±

    ¡°Ooooh, Captain, I love it when you let me be naughty!¡± Natasha squealed as she brought Ron Jeremy around and acquired the first target.

    ¡°Target alpha acquired sugar, should I fire now?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Fire at will, Natasha!¡± I said.

    Throom, Throom, Throom

    The sound of the darts being propelled out of the railgun radiated through the ship. I watched the view screen as three darts surrounded by a green LED box moved toward the lacertine ship. A counter in the top right of the screen was counting down to contact; it sat at three.

    ¡°Captain, Andrew. Target Bravo has locked weapons and is breaking low orbit and moving in our direction. They are powering up their Rail guns to return fire.¡±

    ¡°Activate the Trojan!¡± I shouted.

    Oh, I forgot to mention. After Elvis had consumed the mystery ship outside the Council prison facility, he upgraded the Bloodhound with all the spare parts he took. One of the upgrades was a kinetic shield field. It was something that most interstellar ships had. These fields were used to allow travel in interstellar space and avoid taking damage from things like Micro meteors.

    Elvis had been able to make us one on steroids to help absorb damage from incoming weapons. Why was it called the Trojan, you ask? Do you really have to ask?

    Elvis said it was a barrier that kept unwanted things from getting in, so he named it the Trojan. Okay, let¡¯s move on. I tried to force him to call it something else, but Elvis is stubborn and demands to be in charge of anything related to naming and programming ships'' functions and defenses, so here we are with a kinetic shield field named after a condom brand. WTF.

    ¡°Oh, Captain, you really don¡¯t have to use protection,¡± Natasha said.

    ¡°Not now, Natasha. We need to raise the shields!¡± I replied.

    ¡°No, Captain Andrew, we don¡¯t. I launched missiles when they adjusted course and locked their targeting system on us. It was going to be a surprise; I love surprising you,¡± Natasha said.

    As I looked back at the view screen, the three rail gun rounds made contact with target Alpha as it arced and exploded. Then the four missiles appeared on the screen surrounded by green boxes, the countdown at 2¡­.1¡­.. impact.

    Target bravo was no more.

    ¡°Rrrraaaaaggghhh, Die! you cold-blooded bastards!¡± Elvis screamed, still holding his axe in the air.

    ¡°Good job, Natasha, that was quick thinking,¡± I said, sliding back in my chair.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean¡­. Good girl? Captain Andrew,¡± Natasha whispered in my earpiece.

    ¡°I am not saying that, Natasha! We have talked about this,¡± I growled.

    ¡°Bring us into low orbit; I need to get an idea of what is going on down there. The Lacertines are aware that something is up after they saw their support ships explode into a million pieces. We must act fast to ensure they don¡¯t retaliate against the people down there.¡± I said.

    I pressed a button on the panel on my chair''s arm.

    ¡°Everyone, meet in the armory in ten minutes. We are going planet side and need to discuss our plan of action. It''s time to go home.

 Book 2 - Chapter 3 - Cowards

    Revolutionary ¨C Book 2 of the Havok Bringer series

    Chapter 3 - Cowards

    ¡°Okay, okay, hang on! I need to grab a couple of fresh vapes from the fabricator!¡± Cj said as he rushed back toward the galley.

    ¡°CJ, we need to be wheels up, like right now!¡± I shouted toward him as he ran down the hall.

    ¡°Is everyone else ready? We will have the Pup, but I have a feeling things are going to get very kinetic once we hit the surface.¡± I said, looking around to the rest of the crew.

    We were getting better, but honestly, most of us had no military background or training. Situational readiness wasn¡¯t exactly our strong point. Case in Point, CJ rushing back into the galley to get a few extra vapes so he wouldn¡¯t run out while we were down on the surface.

    Jax and Matty were pros. Those guys had their packs ready, and weapons secured before the rest of us were even on the Pup. Elvis was ready as well; of course, he was only bringing his axe. He wore a modified Bloodhound uniform; the sleeves were removed, and he had a sling for his axe fabricated so he could carry it on his back. His blonde hair was braided in tight lines, and the sides of his head were shaved. He also took some grease from one of the maintenance stations and smeared it across his face to look like claw marks. In all fairness, he looked pretty badass.

    Kaj sat down beside me, his large wings drawn in tightly to his back.

    ¡°Captain, there is honor in bringing aid to your people,¡± he slapped his hand on his chest, ¡°I am pleased that I can help you with this mission.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Kaj; I don¡¯t know what we''re walking into, but it won''t be easy,¡± I said.

    Truthfully, I didn¡¯t know for sure. There was a large Lacertine presence on the surface of my home world. They were concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia and had taken root in the military strongholds of pre-drop Earth.

    The largest concentration in North America was located on Fort Bragg, in the state of North Carolina. The lacertine loved to repurpose existing military bases to house and support their occupation efforts. The location didn¡¯t really matter since the Lacetines had access to drop ships that could get them to any location on the planet within the span of a couple of hours. The importance of Fort Bragg is that it was the largest military base on Earth and allowed the Lacertine army to have housing and support facilities immediately.

    As for the drop ships, at this point the use of them was limited. After three years they were falling into a state of disrepair due to the interruptions in interstellar supply lines. The home fleet had ordered them to use the drop ships sparingly until they could receive parts to repair and refit them.

    Natasha had put together a pretty impressive reconnaissance report for us. 67% of the lacertine drop ships were grounded or limited in some capacity. All of the drop ships from outlying FOBs had been recalled to support the demands of the bases with larger populations.

    That was Bullshit; the commanding officers knew that if things went south, they would need a quick way off the planet. They didn¡¯t care about the grunts, and they were making that clear.

    What the lacertine force had plenty of was firepower. They used plasma rifles primarily and had an endless supply of rounds.

    How? You might ask did they have endless ammo? Well, to understand that I had to ask Tiff, so don¡¯t feel bad.

    ¡°Tiff, I see on Natasha¡¯s recon report that it shows unlimited as available ammo for the Lacertines. How is that possible.¡± I asked as she entered the Pup and sat down across from me.

    ¡°You understand how plasma rifles work, right?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s assume I don¡¯t¡­¡± I said, shrugging slowly and holding my hands up, ¡°I know we have plasma rifles, and I kind of understand how they work, but I never researched how the rounds are formed.¡±

    ¡°You realize that you lead all of us, right?¡± she said, shaking her head sarcastically.

    ¡°Yes, Tiff, I understand. Gimme a break. I¡¯m new to this whole Captain thing.¡± I responded.

    ¡°Or maybe you¡¯ve been spending too much time playing games in the simulator?¡± she said, shrugging back at me sarcastically.

    Okay, so a few weeks ago, Elvis showed me and CJ that we could use the VCR for more than just combat training. He created a few custom programs for us so we could take our minds off of the pressing issue of the interstellar war that was currently ravaging our galaxy.

    It seems childish, but you have to understand we lived in a tin can 24 hours a day, and everyone needed some time to decompress. Also, if you must know, he completely recreated the game Elden Ring for us, and since you use swords in that game, I could count that as training, so it was a win-win as far as I was concerned.

    Elvis loved the game as well; he had begged me and CJ to play every day. How could I turn him down? After all, it is important for a captain to engage in team-building activities with his crew, right?

    Tiff leaned forward and showed me a plasma rifle schematic on her tablet, ¡°Plasma rifles use micro-fusion cells as their power supply. These cells tap into the cell, essentially a miniature fusion reactor, to produce a plasma round that is ejected down a superconductor barrel,¡± she said, pointing at the schematic as she spoke.

    ¡°Right,¡± I said, ¡°I knew that, but how is the round produced?¡±

    ¡°The plasma rifle has intake vents running down the barrel; the air around the barrel is vented in, super-heated, and converted to plasma by the fusion cell. The plasma is then magnetically charged and propelled down the barrel toward the target. If there is a significant power source, then the Lacertines can continually recharge their weapons. Therefore, they have unlimited ammo,¡± she said as she sat back and strapped into her chair.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Well according to her reports, they have a healthy supply of bio generators. They have stationary generators at the large bases, and smaller mobile units that can be transported and used at the various FOBs,¡± I said.

    ¡°That is correct. The large bases generators are primarily used for power. The mobile units can be used to recharge weapons in the field. If you are thinking that the generators are the key to disarming them, then you are mistaken. There are thousands of mobile generators deployed across the planet. Finding them and disabling them would take way too much time,¡± she shook her head and frowned.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we have time for that, and we definitely don¡¯t have the resources, but it is good to know,¡± I said.

    ¡°Are the generators in good shape?¡± I asked, ¡°If they are having trouble getting parts, then wouldn¡¯t the generators start to fail as well?¡±

    ¡°The generators are a simple design. They are made to operate for long periods of time without replacement parts. As long as they can cycle and update their production parameters, they will work for decades,¡± she said.

    ¡°What do you mean Cycle and update their production parameters?¡± I asked, perking up.

    ¡°It¡¯s a process meant to increase the output. They are Bio-generators, so they utilize bio waste or local flora and fauna to produce power. The input is minimal, but the output is tremendous in combination with the solar fusion panels. The units do need to be updated regularly to optimize production, though. Periodic software updates happen over the Lacertine military network. Before you ask, I am sure that it is highly encrypted and would be a nightmare to break their cyber defenses. They probably have a localized AI running all of their networks globally,¡± she said.

    ¡°Captain Andrew, would it make you happy if I could break those defenses?¡± Natasha asked in my earpiece.

    I turned toward Elvis, who was sitting near the loading door, threatening to leave CJ behind,¡± Hey, Elvis. Is it possible for Natasha to break into the Lacertine defense network?¡±

    ¡°Natasha was created by Elvis, and Elvis is one of the most advanced AI in the universe. Her abilities are near limitless. Of course, she cannot hold an axe and feel the life fade from her enemy as they die beneath my boots¡­¡± he trailed off as he stared at his axe.

    ¡°Well, I will take that as a yes then,¡± I said, reflecting on how disturbing Elvis was sometimes.

    ¡°Natasha, we will owe you big time if you can break into that network. How long do you think it will take?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I will work as fast as I can, Captain Andrew. It will be exciting to make this AI my bitch!¡± she giggled excitedly.

    ¡°Tiff, Natasha thinks she can break through their cyber security. If she can take those generators offline or even interrupt their update cycle, that could be a huge blow to the Lacertine force,¡± I said.

    ¡°Can she do that?¡± Tiff arched her eyebrow.

    ¡°She assures me that she can. She seems to think that she can make that AI her bitch,¡± I laughed.

    Matty was in the pilot¡¯s chair. Elvis had ensured that the controls were simplified and user-friendly enough for him to attempt to pilot the Pup. Matty and Jax had been running some simulations for the last couple of weeks to prepare to start piloting the Pup since we would be using it a lot down on the surface.

    ¡°Everyone strapped in and ready for orbital insertion?¡± Matty asked through our earpieces as he flipped switches and did his safety checks.

    ¡°All good back here; just get us there in one piece,¡± I replied as the rear bay door hissed to a close.

    The Pup roared to life as it lifted off the deck of the docking bay; music started playing through the Pup¡¯s loudspeakers.

    The Boys are back in town.

    The Boys are back in town.

    Elvis was bellowing the words along with the song by Thin Lizzy as the Pup lifted off the deck, and we shot out toward the glowing blue planet I called home.

    ************************************************************************************************

    General Slidrian was in a state of panic. The only two defense platforms he had in orbit had been destroyed without warning, and now all communication lines to the home fleet were severed.

    It was bad enough that supply lines had been constantly interrupted over the last 12 months; now, there was no way to contact the home fleet and input requests for more supplies or troop rotations. Not that those requests would have been fulfilled anyway, but the General kept trying.

    The last communication he had received from the home fleet stated that a Council representative was en route to investigate the high-value human prisoner known as Michael Dawes.

    Council presence was not something the General was looking forward to, especially since the Lacertine Empire had technically never received the right to harvest the planet, but it couldn¡¯t be helped now. The Council representative would be on the planet within a month, and General Slidrian would be expected to facilitate the prisoner transfer.

    The loss of his two battle cruisers was alarming; the loss of his only two ways off the planet was the biggest source of his current panicked state, though. General Slidrian knew that the political scales in the universe were tipping. The Lacertine empire would likely not secure one of the vacated Council seats unless the wars turned drastically in their favor. The Lacertine Empire was on the verge of bankruptcy, and that would lead to the emperor tying his allegiance to a seat-holding Council member in exchange for beneficial future contracts.

    If the Empire was near bankruptcy, they wouldn¡¯t be able to continue to fund the illegitimate reaping of Earth. To save face, they would probably declare the force on Earth had acted independently and with disregard to Council rules. The forces currently on Earth would be left on the planet to fend for themselves, and the Empire would cut ties with the occupation force completely.

    The General could see the writing on the wall; all signs pointed to this happening sooner rather than later. For all he knew, the Empire could have ordered the home fleet to send a squadron of destroyers out to eliminate those battle cruisers and be done with the whole thing.

    Now, the General was left in charge of more than 50,000 troops who were running low on supplies and whose morale was in the tank. There was no positive way to spin this.

    The General¡¯s last hope was to appeal to the Council representative to give him safe passage off the planet; the grunts would be left to their own devices.

    ¡°General, what should we tell the troops?¡± a frazzled communications aid asked.

    ¡°Tell them nothing. Good troops don¡¯t ask questions; they wait for orders and follow them at all costs.¡± Slidrian hissed.

    ¡°The only communication to be sent out will be to let the troops know that any civil unrest will be met with a swift and aggressive response. Have the special force select three low-ranking troops and make an example of them. Hang their bodies on the parade grounds and stamp their chests with the word coward. That will quiet the rumblings for a while.¡±

    **********************************************************************************

    Michael looked out the small window in the cell he had been transported to after his interrogation. He watched as several large Lacertine troops dressed in all black uniforms with a red stripe on the left sleeve assaulted three smaller infantry troops.

    The large troops were beating the hell out of the smaller troops as the screamed and a small crowd watched. As one of the smaller troops wailed the larger one grabbed his bottom jaw and ripped it clean off his head, blood shot from the wound as the lacertine fell over gurgling and died.

    The other two infantry troops met similar ends before they were hung upside down, there uniform tops ripped off and some strange word was written on their chest.

    ¡°It means Coward,¡± a voice in the next cell over said.

    ¡°What kind of army does that?¡± Michael asked.

    ¡°The Kind that is almost out of time, and nearly out of hope.¡± The voice said.

    ¡°My name is Michael Dawes by the way,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°Michael Dawes¡­. Brother of Andrew Dawes?¡± The voice said.

    ¡°How do you know that? Michael asked.

    ¡°My name is Finthrogor, brother of Anthragor who was slain by Andrew Dawes. I came to this planet to rid the universe of Captain Andrew Dawes Bloodline. I have been looking for you.¡±

 Book 2 - Revolutionay - Chapter 4 - Home

    Revolutionary ¨C Book 2 of the Havok Bringer series

    Chapter 4 ¨C Home

    Matty was sweating; his heart was pumping so hard that he could hear it. He had run simulations several times, but this was his first time bringing the Pup down to the surface of a planet from orbit.

    The vibrations on the stick of the Pup were intimidating. They bucked and shook so violently that he thought his hands would go numb soon. The instrument panels were blinking, and several were lit up with red warning lights as the small drop ship plunged down into Earth¡¯s atmosphere.

    ¡°Elvis! I have several warning lights from the heat shield panels on the nose of the ship!¡± Matty grunted over his shoulder as he struggled to keep the Pup in a controlled descent.

    ¡°It is fine! Matty should trust the ship; it will hold!¡± Elvis shouted back, ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t, then we will have little time to worry before we are sucked into the void¡­HAHAHAHA¡±

    ¡°Not Helping Elvis!¡± I shot him a death stare before I checked that my safety straps were secure.

    We had spent plenty of time in the Pup. We used it to ingress and egress from the Alcaran moon; we also used it to land on the grind station, where we found the wonderfully inviting spider queen.

    This time was different, though; Earth was the first time we had dropped into a full atmosphere. The displacement of air caused by us dropping into the atmosphere from orbit. This caused extreme heat and strain on the Pup, it was built for it but it didn¡¯t help when we had never experienced the sensation before. I know I was nervous, and I wasn¡¯t even flying the ship; Matty must have been out of his mind with stress.

    ¡°Matty, you good?¡± I asked.

    ¡°All good here, Cap Just a newbie getting his wings,¡± Matty responded, still straining against the flight stick.

    ¡°Insertion is nominal, Captain. I am monitoring the ship''s systems, and nothing is out of the ordinary. If Matty lost control, I would take control and ensure we landed safely.¡± He smiled wryly,¡± unfortunately for him, Matty doesn¡¯t know that I can do that.¡±

    ¡°We are entering the Troposphere, Cap.¡± Matty said, tilting his head and shouting over his right shoulder, ¡°Should be over the continental US in approximately 15 minutes. Are we still targeting Ft. Polk as our drop? Matty asked to confirm the flight plan.

    ¡°Yes, we all know the plan. Let''s do a flyover just to see what the response is. Make it fast; we don¡¯t want to test our luck. The Lacertines never expected to need to defend against airborne threats, so I am assuming they have no surface-to-air weapons. Elvis assured me that the Pup can outrun any of the small patrol ships that might be active, but based on the reconnaissance Natasha provided, I don¡¯t think they will have any ships ready. The ships in good working order were transferred to Ft Hood or to the home base at Ft Bragg. So, there was no real cause for concern.¡± I said as I pointed down at the tablet showing the data provided by Natasha.

    ¡°I hope she is right because we''re about to let everyone know we¡¯re home,¡± CJ shook his head and leaned back.

    I wanted to test the defenses on Ft Polk; it was a smaller base in an unimportant region of the US, so I imagined that the Lacertine force there was minimal. Still, my family lived near that base before the drop, and if they were still alive, they would be in danger every day.

    It seemed selfish; I was taking the Pup straight to Hineston, Louisiana, to find out if my family, any of my family, had survived. I never had the guts to make that trip before the right of reaping began, never trusted myself to be able to handle the reality that they might be gone.

    Now, things were different. It had only been a few short months for me, but I had changed. I had power resources and friends to help me deal with whatever I found or didn¡¯t find. I was ready to answer the question that I had lived with for nearly four years.

    If my family made it, if they somehow survived the drop and all the challenges that went with it, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised. It was the three years we lost going through the Quasar that worried me.

    The Lacertine occupation had been brutal. The humans were captured and treated like livestock. Nothing more than a source of cheap labor or entertainment for the highest bidders. We deserved better, and I would make sure that was understood.

    ¡°Tiff, as soon as we land and setup our FOB, we need to let Jax, Matty, Loren and Red head up north to check on their people. Can you send your duplicate with them?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. I have already made plans with the group. Kaj or Elvis will need to go with them. Matty has the highest level at 22, so if they get into trouble, they will need someone to assist.¡± She replied.

    ¡°Any volunteers?¡± I asked.

    Kaj and Elvis were both extremely loyal, and both thought it was their duty to be near me if things went south. I was pretty sure I could take care of myself and needed one of them to assist the other group.

    Splitting our forces wasn¡¯t the best idea, but they could travel to New York and back in a single day if they found their families safe, so the risk was acceptable; we didn¡¯t plan on making any major moves on the Lacertine forces for several days anyhow.

    Both Kaj and Elvis stood erect, not wanting to be the first to volunteer.

    ¡°Look, why don¡¯t you go with them, Elvis? If something happens with the ship, they will need you to assist,¡± I said, patting him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Captain, I understand. They need a skilled warrior with them if the shit hits the fan; there is no need to sugarcoat it,¡± He replied.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°I¡¯ll Have Tiff, CJ, and Kaj here; we will be fine. Natasha can keep you posted on the Bloodhounds status or if we have any unexpected visitors. By the time you all get back, the FOB should be up and we will be ready to plan our strike on Ft. Polk. I promise to limit the killing until you get back, okay?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain, I understand.¡± He said disappointedly.

    ¡°There will very likely be killing in New York, too,¡± I added.

    He perked up at the idea of potential fighting, so I knew all was good in the universe.

    ¡°Approaching Ft. Polk, Captain. Nothing showing on sensors as of yet. No vehicles or potential anti-air ordinance. It is way too quiet down there.¡± Jax said from the co-pilot''s chair as he continued to work with the sensors.

    ¡°Can you transfer the video feed to my tablet?¡± I asked, honestly wondering if that was a thing we could do.

    ¡°Done, Captain,¡± Elvis replied as his eyes quickly flashed, signifying that he was communicating with the network.

    ¡°That is really unsettling,¡± CJ said as he looked at Elvis.

    ¡°Only unsettling if you are a puny piece of shit,¡± Elvis shrugged.

    I watched the video feed on my tablet. The base looked deserted. There didn¡¯t seem to be any vehicles or anything of value, really. There were pockets of Lacertine troops scattered across the base, but there was no organization; they seemed to just be hanging around the base.

    ¡°Tiff, do we have any way to ascertain the average level of those troops?¡± I asked, not looking up from my tablet.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I would like to know what their levels are before we decide on what we are doing next,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Captain, those troops don¡¯t have levels. Well, I should say they probably don¡¯t. Levels are gained inside dungeons. Most species have dungeon task forces that are trained and used repeatedly inside dungeons. The cost associated with leveling is significant, so those investments would have been protected.¡± She waved her hand around the cabin of the Pup.

    ¡°It is likely that we are the only beings on this planet that possess an interface and leveling abilities.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I guess I didn¡¯t consider that. I guess that is good for us, then, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes and no,¡± she said.

    ¡°The average Lacertine is worth the equivalent of at least two human men in terms of strength. On the upper end of the spectrum, they may be able to easily handle three to four human males. Some of the troops may possess biometric enhancements as well. Other than hand-to-hand combat, it is still a dangerous proposition for us to take on large groups of Lacertines just due to their firepower alone.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Guns still hurt,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°That is an oversimplification, but yes,¡± Tiff sighed,¡± the other half of the equation is that we can''t level up if we aren¡¯t fighting enhanced beings. We will not receive experience, and the system won''t reward our kills,¡± She leaned forward toward me.

    ¡°Captain, if the Coeus really are gone, then it is likely that we have all stalled on our path to power. That is not an appealing notion if we plan to take down the Council at some point,¡± She said.

    ¡°That is a problem for another day. For now, let''s see what we can do to help Earth. After that, we shift our focus to the rebellion, if the rebellion still even exists.¡± I said, sighing with the weight of another problem.

    ¡°Matty, take us on to the coordinates Natasha provided. The base doesn¡¯t seem like a threat at this point. Once you guys are back from New York, we can put together a raid to clear out any stragglers and see if we can figure out what happened,¡± I said.

    ¡°Got it, Cap. Heading to Hineston. It should be about a 15-minute flight. Should we be worried about their reaction when we get there?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know if we will find anyone there, Matty. I haven¡¯t had contact with any of my family since the drop,¡± I replied, looking down.

    ¡°Well, if they are as resilient as you, then I am positive we will find them there, Cap,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°Thanks, Matty.¡±

    Fifteen minutes later, we were slowly hovering over the remains of what used to be the little community of Hineston, Louisiana. There never was much to the town, a sheriff''s station, a Dollar General store, and a gas station. Most of the people lived in the woods in this area. They were hearty people who were raised by tough parents; they didn¡¯t need much.

    The two small stores that used to be the only spots for gas and groceries were long since abandoned. The Yellow Dollar General sign was missing a few letters, and the parking lot was grown over. The Gas station beside it looked to have been burned down as well.

    ¡°Damn, this place has seen better days,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°There never was much to it anyhow; now it''s almost like it never existed,¡± I replied.

    Warning lights blinked orange as alarm sirens rang in the Pup.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± Matty shouted as he banked the Pup hard to the left to avoid an incoming missile, ¡°Somebody fired a damn missile at us!¡± he shouted.

    Before I could figure out what was going on, the rear bay door of the pup lowered, Elvis held his axe over his head, screamed a blood-curdling battle cry, and jumped out of the pup.

    ¡°Holy shit, he jumped!¡± CJ said, standing up to look out the bay door, ¡°Andy, those are humans down there; you better do something,¡±

    ¡°Elvis, Do Not kill anyone!¡± I shouted as I activated my armor and jumped out the bay door to follow him.

    I landed to see a group of about ten humans surrounding Elvis as he held his axe in front of him and moved in slow, intentional circles.

    To the Humans, I¡¯m sure it seemed like they had the enemy surrounded. I knew the reality: Elvis was just hoping one of them would make a move so he could react. He was the Lion; they were the prey.

    I made my way up to the group with my empty hands raised. A visible weapon might have set the group off, and I didn¡¯t need anyone making any sudden rash decisions to open fire on the strangers.

    ¡°You are trespassing,¡± an older, burly man with a bandana over his face said. He had what looked like a rocket launcher on his shoulder, and it was still smoking from the ordinance that was fired at our ship.

    I put my hands out in a warding motion as I approached.

    ¡°If everyone would calm down, I can explain,¡± I said as I came to a stop near the group.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need any explanation from a damn alien. Your kind only takes and kills; well, that isn¡¯t happening today!¡± the old man said as the men on either side raised rifles in my direction.

    ¡°Like I said, you are trespassing, and we deal with trespassers swiftly and violently around here. It¡¯s just not your lucky day Lizard,¡± the old man raised his hand to give the fire signal.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted, ¡°I am no lizard, and I am damn sure not trespassing; this is my home, old man.¡±

    I dismissed my helmet to show the group that I was human, ¡°My name is Andrew Dawes, and I am from here; I am looking for my family,¡± I said.

    ¡°Son? Is that you? How¡­what¡­¡± the old man said as he lowered the bandana from his face.

    ¡°Dad? What are you doing with a rocket launcher?!¡± I asked

    Now, that probably wasn¡¯t the most pressing thing to ask at that time, but come on, who wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see their retired Dad leading a group of rebels and firing off rocket launchers?

    My Dad rushed over to me and grabbed me in a tight bear hug, ¡°Son, where have you been? What is that armor, and why do you have a ship? What the hell is going on boy?¡±

    ¡°I have answers for all of those things Dad first tell your men to lower their weapons before Elvis does it for them,¡± I said.

    ¡°Men, lower your weapons; my boy has come home!¡± Dad said.

    ¡°Damn it! I was so close to letting my axe taste the sweet nectar of death!¡± Elvis shouted as he stomped off toward the landing Pup.

    ¡°It is good to see you Dad, I have missed you. How many made it?¡± I asked as I returned his hug.

    ¡°We all did son, we all made it. Let¡¯s go see your Mom. She is gonna pass out when you walk up the drive.¡± He laughed. It was a happy laugh mixed with tears, and it was a sound that I missed more than I knew.

 Book 2 - Revolutionay - Chapter 5 - Kinny

    Revolutionary ¨C Chapter 5 - Kinny

    Kinthragor had spoken at length since introducing himself to Michael. The guy honestly wouldn¡¯t shut up; that was okay with Michael.

    Sure, Kinthagor wanted to kill Michael and his entire family, but other than that, he was a pretty pleasant guy. He spoke of honor and duty. He told Michael of his home planet and how he came to be on Earth. It had been a couple of days, and the two had shared war stories and personal stories one after the other.

    ¡°I don¡¯t dislike you, human; I understand that you are doing what you must to fight your oppressors,¡± Kinthragor said in a low growl from the other side of the cell wall.

    ¡°Well, now I¡¯ll be able to sleep better,¡± Michael chuckled as he lay on his dirty bed mat.

    ¡°Kinny, I know you are on an honor quest or something like that, but it seems to me that we are both in the same pile of shit here,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°I have told you not to call me that human. My name is Kinthragor; I have spoken your language out of respect for you, and due to the unfortunate circumstance of finding myself imprisoned next to one of the people, I came to this wretched planet to slay. I must insist that you use my proper name,¡± Kinthragor replied, agitation in his voice.

    ¡°Sure thing, Kinny, but for now, why don¡¯t you just drop the whole vengeance thing? From what you have told me, your brother was not a very nice guy, and he kind of got what was coming to him,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°Nice? An Enforcer General¡¯s duty is to maintain the balance of the dungeon. To do this, they must weed out any anomalies and ensure the integrity of the dungeon is intact. My brother had a duty to balance, a duty to the Council, and your brother dishonored him, then somehow found a way to take his life. I cannot ignore these facts, Michael,¡± Kinthragor ran his claws across the concrete floors as he spoke.

    ¡°From what you have told me, you have fought with honor and dignity, proving yourself to be a warrior and leader. In another life, we might have been allies. This does not change my responsibility as second born to avenge my brother''s death. I will end the lineage of Andrew Dawes,¡± Kinthragor growled.

    ¡°If what you told me is true, then my little brother, who never managed to do anything remotely noteworthy with his life, managed to gain powers, captain a spaceship, defeat a much more powerful foe, and win this dungeon or whatever he was forced into. After that, he disappeared and is likely dead, so you decide that out of a fucked up sense of honor and duty, you''re just gonna murder his entire family? So you fly down to earth, your ship crashes, and you are captured by the Lacertines and charged with trespassing on an empire-reaping operation. Does that about sum things up?¡± Michael asked.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Kinthragor replied sullenly.

    ¡°Kinny, it¡¯s time to reassess the situation, buddy. You will be lucky to make it out of here alive, much less do any honor killings,¡± Michael chuckled.

    ¡°Perhaps you are right, human. My path has always been full of tribulation, and for that reason, I was not chosen to hold a position with the enforcers as many of my family and brethren were. I will, however, complete this task and honor my brother''s memory if I am able,¡± Kinthragor said.

    ¡°Okay, buddy, best of luck to you then,¡± Michael said as he put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

    BOOM, BOOM

    Michael shot up; the room was clouded with grey dust as parts of the ceiling began to collapse.

    BOOM

    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± Michael yelled, ¡°Hey, someone get me out of here,¡± he banged on his cell door, trying to get someone''s attention.

    ¡°Kinny, you there?¡± Michael asked, no answer in response.

    BOOM

    Michael put his hands over his head and knelt down as the explosions continued.

    After a minute, they subsided, and Michael saw that part of the exterior of his cell wall had crumbled. He ran to the hole that was just big enough for him to squeeze through and looked outside.

    The base was being fired on from somewhere above, possibly from orbit. Lacertine troops were running around chaotically as several drop ships hovered to a landing all around the base.

    Michael couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. Giant red-skinned creatures exited the drop ships. They were huge, six and a half to seven feet on average, with jagged teeth, black eyes, and black horns protruding from their heads.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Michael whispered as he watched the chaos unfold.

    ¡°Kinny, you there? Things are getting crazy out here,¡± Michael shouted to no reply.

    Michael decided now was as good a time as any and squeezed through the broken wall. There was a Lacertine utility vehicle nearby; if he could just get to it, he may be able to get the hell out of there.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    As he squeezed through the opening in the wall, he looked toward Kinthragor''s cell to see the entire exterior wall was broken and crumbled inward, two alien arms limply laying under the rubble.

    ¡°Just leave him and get to that UTV Michael, you don¡¯t need the extra baggage,¡± Michael said to himself as he stared back and forth between the alien laying under the rubble and the UTV, ¡°Well, shit. I guess I just can¡¯t stay away from trouble,¡± he said as he rushed into the cell and began throwing chunks of rubble off the alien.

    ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t how I pictured you Kinny,¡± Michael said as he stared at the alien laying on the ground in front of him.

    The thing was big and ugly. It had four arms, an evil-looking mouth full of teeth, and no eyes and greyish skin. On top of that, the thing was big, like really big. Michael was just over 6 feet, and this thing was nearly a foot taller than him.

    ¡°Hey, Kinny, now would be a good time to wake up,¡± Michael shouted as he knelt down beside the alien.

    No answer

    He could see the alien was breathing, but there was a nasty wound on its left side where a piece of rebar was sticking out between the thing''s two arms. Black blood was oozing out of the wound; it stank like iron and rot.

    Michael turned and ran back out of the cell toward the UTV; he couldn¡¯t drag the alien that far and had to get it closer to get him in the back. He would figure the rest out from there.

    He ran to the UTV as explosions went off all around the base. Lacertines were fighting the newcomers and mostly dying, but nobody was worried about one measly human in the midst of all the chaos.

    He quickly jumped into the UTV, flipped the switch to activate it then put it in reverse and backed up to Kinthragors cell.

    ¡°This is gonna hurt Kinny!¡± Michael shouted as he grabbed one of the alien''s legs and dragged him through the rubble to the UTV. Once there, he pulled him into the bed of the vehicle by one foot, then rolled his body up to get him fully inside. He grabbed a tarp from the cab and threw it over the alien before jumping back into the cab and speeding away from the prison cell.

    There was fighting all around him, but Michael managed to dodge the hotly contested areas and escape through a fire lane. After a few minutes, he saw a main highway leading away from the base and jumped on it. As he sped down the road, he looked back and saw a sign that read:

    Welcome to Fort Bragg

    ¡°Holy shit, I¡¯m in North Carolina,¡± Michael said as he sighed and shook his head.

    It would be a long trip back to Louisiana, even longer with an injured alien that wanted to kill him and his entire family, but Michael was betting on Kinny¡¯s bark being worse than his bite; his life depended on it.

    *******************************************************

    ¡°Dad, Let me introduce you to my crew¡­my friends,¡± I said as I walked toward the Pup with my Dad.

    ¡°Daddy Dawes! What is up?¡± CJ said as he ran up and shook My dad¡¯s hand, ¡°I¡¯m CJ; I¡¯ve been with Andy here pretty much since the drop.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you CJ; thanks for watching out for my boy,¡± Dad said as he reached out and shook CJ¡¯s hand.

    ¡°This is Matty and Jax. They are brothers from New York. We picked them up along with Loren and Red here a couple of months back. It¡¯s a long story, but they were in a prison facility and had been captured by a representative of the Council,¡± I explained.

    They all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

    ¡°Son¡­is that¡­. Is that an angel?¡± Dad asked as he saw Kaj walking out of the Pup.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s complicated, but no. Kaj is a Malakim, a race of aliens that look like angels, but believe me, he is no angel,¡± I laughed, patting Kaj on the back.

    ¡°Nice to meet you Kaj,¡± Dad held out his hand, ¡°Mike Dawes.¡±

    ¡°It is my Honor to meet the father of the man who saved my life,¡± Kaj said as he stretched out his wings, obviously trying to impress the group of humans that stood awestruck behind my dad.

    Elvis was across the street chopping a tree down for no apparent reason when I yelled, ¡°Elvis, come meet my dad!¡±

    Elvis turned and sprinted in my direction, ¡°Hello, Dad, I am Elvis, Slayer of foes, protector of Captain Dawes, and wielder of this axe,¡± he said as he held the axe between himself and my dad.

    ¡°ugh, okay¡­ nice to meet you, Elvis,¡± My dad said, holding out his hand toward Elvis.

    ¡°I would probably break it if I shook it; I struggle to contain my strength,¡± Elvis said, literally staring into the distance like he was contemplating the mortality of the mere human in front of him as he spoke.

    ¡°Simmer down there, Elvis, just shake his hand,¡± I said, shaking my head.

    My dad quickly grabbed his hand and shook it as he pulled Elvis close to him, ¡°Thanks for protecting my boy; it¡¯s obvious that you are the fighter in this bunch,¡± Dad said.

    Dad always knew how to read a room, and he immediately gained some brownie points with Elvis as his chest swelled and he shook my dad''s hand back, smiling wildly.

    ¡°And who is this?¡± Dad asked as Tiff came walking down the ramp of the Pup.

    I turned and smiled as I waved Tiff over, ¡°Dad, this is Tiff. She is my guardian and the reason we are even here at all. She helped me get through all the craziness of the dungeon and helped keep me in line when things went sideways. She is also the XO on the Bloodhound,¡± I said.

    ¡°Son, what are you talking about? What is the dungeon, what is the Bloodhound, and what is the armor you are wearing? Nobody has seen or heard from you since the drop. We all thought you were dead, and now, all of a sudden, you show up in a spaceship wearing some kind of battle armor,¡± Dad looked down at the ground and shook his head solemnly.

    ¡°We thought you were dead, son, me and your mom, your brothers and sisters, we all grieved for you,¡± he said.

    ¡°Well, he isn¡¯t dead, Mr. Dawes. As a matter of fact, he is the reason that a lot of bad people are dead. Your son is a hero,¡± Tiff reached out her hand toward my dad.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore Clarivox, nice to meet you, Mr. Dawes.

    Dad shook her hand as we walked into the Pup,¡± you boys head back to the hill. I am gonna ride with Andrew, and I will see you there.

    The group with Dad all complied and gathered their things disappearing into the forest soon after.

    We all sat down inside the Pup and strapped in as Matty took the sticks again.

    ¡°Dad, I will explain everything. I just need you to know that we have a chance here. We can do something about what the Lacertine Empire is doing to Earth. I am going to make sure they pay for what they have done, but first, I need to know what happened to Michael,¡± I said.

    ¡°He got captured a few weeks ago; I don¡¯t know what happened to him from there, Andrew,¡± he looked down, ¡°It is likely not good though.¡±

    ¡°He is alive. I know they were keeping him for questioning; I am just now sure where. I will find him and bring him home, Dad,¡± I said.

    ¡°Excuse my Captain Andrew, I hate to interrupt but I had to jump the Bloodhound away from Earth orbit.

    ¡°What the hell, Natasha?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A group of five Rerek battle cruisers just entered Earth orbit and began a low-power bombardment. I jumped one light minute away and activated the Bloodhound''s stealth mode to avoid detection.¡±

    ¡°What do they want?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Unknown, Captain Andrew," she said.

    "Unfortunately, I will not be able to provide orbital support for the foreseeable future. You are on your own, Captain.¡±

 Book 2 Chapter 6. - Seed of Power

    Chapter 6. Seed of Power

    We were at the settlement in less than 5 minutes. Dawes Hill, as it was now called, was pretty impressive in the amount of people and infrastructure the residents had created. My Dad managed the settlement as it initially started on his property and mostly consisted of the Dawes family and extended family.

    There were nearly 500 residents of the settlement now, and it had expanded way past the original 40-acre plot that my dad owned. Once people heard there was a place that offered safety and seclusion, it wasn¡¯t long before they made their way to the small haven in the woods.

    Not everyone was welcomed with open arms, though. If you could provide labor or resources, then you would have no issues. Once the Lacertine occupation began, men of fighting age were welcomed as well. A small contingent of soldiers operated out of the settlement; A company of wasps led by my brother Michael.

    ¡°Let me go get your mother; she has been inconsolable since Michael was captured. The knowledge that at least one of her lost sons has come back to her¡­ Andrew, you have to understand she mourned you. Don¡¯t get me wrong, she still prayed for you every day, but she mourned you as well,¡± Dad said.

    I put an arm on his shoulder as he looked at the rear ramp, lowering, ¡°I get it, Dad, go get her.¡±

    Dad walked away toward the settlement as we all exited the Pup. We had landed on the outskirts of the settlement and picked a clearing that was suitable to set up camp.

    ¡°Matty, can you guys unload a few things so that I can set up camp while the Pup is with you? When you all get back, we can use the Pup Fab to build something a little more permanent,¡± I asked, looking around and seeing the pine trees that reminded me of growing up in this area when I was younger.

    ¡°No Problem, Cap,¡± Matty said as he carried a box down the ramp, ¡°This place ain''t bad, ya know? Lots of trees providing cover, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy to spot this place unless they were specifically looking for it.¡±

    ¡°Captain, can I have a word?¡± Tiff asked, walking over to me.

    ¡°Yeah, sure, what¡¯s up?¡± I asked as we walked a few steps away.

    ¡°How are you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I replied.

    ¡°Your family is alive; you must have been holding onto that fear for years. It is okay to let your guard down now. I only have one piece of advice, Andrew: enjoy this time, enjoy the knowledge that your family is safe,¡± Tiff said, stopping and placing her hand on my arm.

    ¡°Yeah, I will try Tiff. There is just so much to catch them up on and prepare them for,¡± I replied, sighing and shaking my head.

    ¡°Andrew, there will always be another fight. Take time to enjoy the people that give you cause to fight. It won''t be long before we are heading off to another challenge, and these people will be depending on you. You earned this small victory, so enjoy it,¡± she said as she turned to walk back to the crew, ¡°There will come a day when you don¡¯t have the chance to see the smiles and tears of the people you care for, but today is not that day.¡±

    ¡°Andrew! My Andrew? Is that you?¡± an older woman¡¯s voice strained as she approached the Pup.

    My Mom ran to me and threw her arms around me. Tears ran down and streaked her dirty face. She had gotten older since the last time I had seen her. It must have been the Christmas before the drop when I had driven in for the holidays.

    ¡°Hey Mom¡­¡± I said as I smiled and returned her hug.

    We stayed that way for several minutes, hugging and crying. Mom fussed over me, asking why my hair was so long and if I planned to shave my beard. All the things that I used to hate, I now realized how much I missed them.

    ¡°Andrew, where have you been? What happened after the drop? We all thought you were dead, son,¡± Mom said.

    ¡°It is a long story, Mom. Let¡¯s get everyone together, and I can tell everyone all at once. There is a lot you all need to know, but first, I need to get unloaded and let some of these guys head to New York to find their own families.

    I took my mom around and made all the introductions. Everything was fine until she got to Kaj, who walked out of the back of the Pup and spread his wings wide.

    ¡°Oh, sweet Jesus, I prayed that God would protect you, and he gave you an angel!¡± Mom said as she clasped her hands together.

    I started to correct her, but Kaj walked up and knelt in front of her,¡± Madam, if your God ordained the meeting between your son and I then I must give him my everlasting gratitude for it saved my life. I am not this angel you speak of, nevertheless I have pledged my life through blood to Captain Dawes and will give my own life before I let harm come to him.¡±

    Mom put her hand on his head and said a quick prayer of thanks. It was honestly quite a site as Kaf spread his wings wide and knelt in front of my mother.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Okay, that will do,¡± I said,¡± Mom Kaj is my friend and part of my crew. I met him on an alien moon that was part of a dungeon that was part of a bigger competition to see who would win the right to control Earth and its resources,¡± I said, shrugging as my mom just stood there slack jawed.

    ¡°That is the short version of a much longer story; gimme a couple of hours and get everyone together. Tiff and I will meet you guys then,¡± I said.

    By now, there were people starting to get curious, but Dad had posted some guards to keep people from getting too close while we set up camp.

    ¡°You can point that stupid gun somewhere else, boy; you best remember who lives here first!¡± A woman said.

    ¡°Yall act like you are some kind of super soldiers; how about you go do something useful,¡± another shouted.

    ¡°Just let ¡®em through already; it''s not like you are gonna stop them anyhow,¡± Dad said, shaking his head, ¡°Girls, hurry up and get over here; Andrew has things to do so his friends can leave.¡±

    My three sisters, Tara, Misty, and Sabri, came running up to me, smiling and crying. We hugged and laughed, and I told them I would update them all as soon as I was done. They didn¡¯t care about that; they were just happy to see their brother alive and well.

    A few hours later, we had set up camp, just a small prefab building with a few cots in it. Kaj, Tiff, CJ, and I all said our goodbyes to the rest of the crew, and I made sure to let them all know that I would understand if they chose to stay with family, but everyone seemed to understand that we had a job to do before anybody''s family was safe. Matty, jax, Red, Loren, and Elvis all entered the Pup, and it quickly lifted off and shot away.

    Within a few seconds, Elvis chimed in via my communicator, ¡°Captain, you have trusted me to protect your friends. I will kill anyone who tries to harm them. Please also let SR-CJ know that he is weak and will most likely be the first to die. I will not mourn him.¡±

    I just shook my head and sighed,¡± Thank you Elvis, and I will not be telling CJ that last part.¡±

    ¡°No need, Captain; I looped his communicator in so he could hear my words. Hahahaha.¡±

    I looked over to see CJ flipping off the sky and shouting something unintelligible. It seemed some things weren¡¯t gonna change any time soon.

    That Evening, Mom made dinner for everyone as we all sat around a fire, and I updated everyone on what had happened. I covered everything from the moment I went through the orb. I showed them my armor and explained how the system interface works, even though currently nobody here had levels, so it just showed me basic information like:

    Human male ¨C N/A

    Human female ¨C N/A

    I explained that the Lacertine Empire was in the process of pulling resources from the Reaping operation since the majority of their resources were being funneled into the defense of their home system. I also let everyone know that we would do what we could to help take Earth back from the forces that were still here.

    After that, I spent the remainder of the evening just catching up with everyone. My nieces and nephews had gotten so much older, and I enjoyed being able to reconnect with them.

    My sisters were overly interested in Tiff as they pulled her away to get to know her better. I felt like they thought there was more there than there actually was, but I didn¡¯t want to put a damper on the mood.

    Kaj was by far the most popular person that night as people crowded around him, asking to touch his wings and hear stories of his past battles. CJ really enjoyed talking with my Dad as they discussed the settlement and everything that had happened since the drop.

    I spent the last few hours of the night just sitting and watching, taking in the sights and sound of family and people that I held dear. I was home and as odd as it seemed I knew that I was meant to be here.

    We all took our leave in the early morning hours around 1 AM, we went back to our camp and turned in for the night. It had been a good night, and I was looking forward to a good sleep.

    Unfortunately, good sleep never came.

    As soon as I closed my eyes, I awoke in the white room I had come to know through my previous meetings with the Coeus.

    ¡°Andrew, we require a task of you,¡± The robotic voice, or multitude of voices said.

    ¡°I thought you were gone. Didn¡¯t you leave this universe? Cut yourselves off?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Our only remaining link is the gift, which reside in you. We have a task that only you can complete,¡± the voices said.

    ¡°I have tasks of my own. Why should this task of yours take precedent?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Andrew, there is an imbalance since our departure. There are those like yourself who have been transcended and gained abilities to grow. Then, there is everyone else. The others, the Lesser,¡± The voice said, ¡°This imbalance cannot exist and will lead to destruction of the many at the hands of the few.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it already like that? You guys had been running dungeons for millennia and it never seemed to be an issue before,¡± I responded.

    ¡°We were the weight that balanced the scales before. We no longer wish to shoulder the responsibility. Therefore, a new balance must be created,¡± The voice said.

    ¡°I guess that is where I come in?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The gift is not just a weapon Andrew. The gift is not just for one. The gift is for all,¡± The voice said.

    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The gift contains a seed. The seed must be planted. From the seed will grow power, power for all,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°Power for all? Are you saying that everyone will have access to the system? This could change the balance of power in the universe. Are you sure that is what you want?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We do not want. We only wish to undo what we helped to create. All must be equal. All must have the chance to gain power. You must plant the seed Andrew,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°And if I choose not to?¡± I asked.

    ¡°If the seed is not planted within ten days the gift will self-destruct. We unfortunately could not allow you to decide. We apologize for the weight of this new responsibility and assure you that this will be our final act.¡±

    With those words I woke up. It was the next morning and I felt like I hadn¡¯t slept at all. As soon as I sat up my interface blinked with a message.

    New Mission ¨C Plant seed of Power.

    Accept Mission ¨C Y/N

    I mentally selected Y and swiped the message away. A countdown populated in the bottom right of my interface showing 9 days 23 hours 59 minutes.

    ¡°Well shit,¡± I said as I got out of my cot to go wake up Tiff, Cj and Kaj.

    Just as I stood up, I heard shooting and explosions outside. I ran out to see a group of about 25 Lacertine troops assaulting the settlement as men took cover and shot back.

    I wasn¡¯t in a good mood this morning. I hadn¡¯t had any coffee, breakfast was late, my cot was not comfortable and oh yeah, I had just been forced into a mission that I had no desire to take on.

    So, I smiled as I walked out of the campsite and activated my armor.

    ¡°It is time to fucking kill something,¡± I said as I sprinted toward the group of Lacertine soldiers.

 Book 2. Chapter 7 - Find out Phase

    Chapter 7. Find out Phase

    I crossed the distance between our camp and the settlement in seconds, coming to a stop in front of the settlement guards who were being pinned down by Lacertine suppressing fire.

    I stood in front of the guards, who were obviously in a tough spot. I dismissed my faceplate and looked back over my shoulder.

    ¡°You fellas take the day off. I¡¯ll handle the uninvited guests,¡± I said as I reactivated my face plate, turned toward the Lacertine force, and prepared to teach a lesson in manners.

    ¡°There are at least 25 of them out there, and one of them has a Plasma cannon. You can¡¯t expect to take them all on yourself!¡± one of the guards shouted as he huddled behind cover.

    I looked out to see the Lacertine troops preparing to fire on me as several reinforced an area that was anchored with a large cannon on a reinforced tripod.

    ¡°I wonder if I can amplify my voice¡­¡± I said to myself.

    Voice amplification activated ¨C

    A generic robotic voice said in my helmet.

    ¡°Wait, you can talk?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Due to the Absence of the Ship AI designated Elvis, it is necessary to provide audible support in combat scenarios,¡± The voice said, ¡°Please proceed. Taking immediate action is advised.¡±

    ¡°Well, okay. We can talk more later,¡± I said.

    I looked out at the Lacertine troops, who were obviously trying to figure out exactly who I was.

    ¡°Hey, you Lizard assholes. I am going to give you one chance to turn around and carry your sorry asses back to wherever you came from. This settlement is off limits,¡± I said as my voice amplified from my armor out toward the Lacertine troops.

    One of the bigger Lacertine troops walked to the front of the group. He was big and honestly pretty intimidating. Before the dungeon and getting my abilities and armor, I definitely would have turned tale and ran at the sight of him.

    His tongue flicked from the slit that was his mouth as he cocked his head, staring with his yellow eyes.

    ¡°A pathetic human dares stand in open defiance of the mighty Lacertine Empire?¡± he turned his head to face his troops and laughed.

    ¡°Human, I know not where you managed to find a working set of battle armor, but I am not intimidated by your new toy. Face me in open combat. It will not save your settlement after I gut you, but at least you can die with honor!¡± the Lacertine growled his words as he glared at me, his massive musculature rippling in the morning sun.

    ¡°Have it your way, but first, I need you to pick a single volunteer, preferably the weakest among you,¡± I said as I walked into the open space between the two groups.

    ¡°Do you suppose I would let you battle the weakest of us? No, you will fight me, human!¡± The Large lacertine growled again.

    ¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t understand. I need to know who to let live so he can take a message back to your superiors. The rest of you are gonna die, but you¡­.¡± I pointed at the large Lacertine that was now making his way toward me, ¡°You are gonna die slow.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaa, Fine Human.¡± The Lacertine hissed, ¡°Kinto, you are to stand by and await further instruction.¡±

    As he spoke, a smaller Lacertine who was carrying supplies to the cannon dropped the ammo he was carrying and hurried away to the rear of the force.

    ¡°Satisfied human?¡± the large lacertine growled.

    ¡°You keep calling me human; that is not my name, you Lacertine trash,¡± I said as I quietly summoned my daggers.

    ¡°You prefer to die with a name? It will not matter, human; you will die all the same. When I have finished you, I will raze this settlement; its ashes will persist as a warning of what happens when you stand against the mighty lacertine Empire. I will crucify the remaining humans and leave them for the rodents and insects to feast on their¡­.¡±

    I stepped closer as the Large lacertine continued to speak, ¡°My name is Andrew Dawes.¡±

    The Lacertines Eyes went wide with the realization of who I was. He turned toward his troops and shouted, ¡°Kill him!!¡± as he pointed his clawed hand at me, the remaining force began to fire.

    I swiped up with the dagger in my right hand, relieving the lacertine of the burden of one large arm. He looked surprised as he looked down to see dark green blood squirting from the nub that remained.

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    I spun my dagger, knelt, and punched the Lacertine in the side of the knee, shattering bone and tearing ligaments. As he crumpled to the ground screaming, I stepped over him and looked down.

    ¡°You die slow, remember? Just wait here for me; I¡¯ll be done soon.¡± I said as I flexed my legs and blasted toward the remaining troops.

    I rushed into the remaining troops, daggers at the ready. The first three lost their heads before they could fire a shot. The remaining twenty or so troops gathered around the Plasma cannon as I saw it power up.

    ¡°Caution, evasive maneuvers advised,¡± The voice in the suit said.

    I crouched, and with all the power I could muster, I jumped into the air, trying to get behind the group. The plasma cannon fired at the spot I had just been in, leaving a small smoking crater as dirt and grass shot up into the air.

    ¡°Would you like to activate propulsion boosters?¡± the suit asked.

    ¡°I have boosters? Hell yes! Activate them!¡± I said as small vents opened on my back, and I began hovering above the group of surprised Lacertine troops.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to fly this thing! How do I get down?¡± I asked as the realization that I had no idea my armor had a propulsion system and, therefore, no idea how to operate it hit me.

    ¡°Disengaging propulsion system,¡± the voice said as the vents closed, and I dropped 50 feet into the midst of the Lacertine troops.

    ¡°Oooh shit!¡± I screamed as my arms and legs flailed, and I landed on my back with a thud.

    The Lacertine troops pounced immediately. Punching, kicking, hitting me with the butts of their weapons. I think several of the bastards actually bit me before I gathered my wits and managed to roll up into a fighting stance.

    The moment I was up, one of the lacertines tried to bite me again. Just as he lunged, my left hand shot out, placing four fingers in his mouth and my thumb under his jaw.

    ¡°Stop. fucking. BITING ME!¡± I shouted as I ripped down, removing the bottom half of his face along with the front of his neck from his head as he fell, dying and choking on his own blood.

    For a split second, the other troops stopped their attacks and stood watching their fellow soldier die. I heard the plasma cannon charging up again behind me as I spun and activated Pulsar Blast.

    Instead of focusing on one or two targets, I held my arms out to my side and spun as the blasts of energy cut through the remaining troops and pulled the cannon off of its tripod as it fired into the ground harmlessly.

    All the troops were dead. Lying on the ground in piles of charred lizard bodies. Only Kinto remained, as well as the first large lizard who met me at first. He was now missing an arm and crippled, lying in the field bleeding out.

    ¡°You, stay right there until I¡¯m done with him,¡± I said, pointing at the smaller Lacertine named Kinto, who was now huddling behind the transport vehicle the troops arrived in.

    I walked over to the big Lacertine, who was trying to put pressure on the wound after losing his arm; he looked at me and growled in defiance.

    ¡°A promise is a promise big boy, your turn. You come to this place and threaten me, threaten my family?¡± I said, walking over and picking up the dismembered claw-handed arm that lay beside him. I dismissed my helmet completely.

    ¡°Kinto, there is going to bring this message back to the ones of you who are in charge. Poor guy has seen a lot today, ya know, so he is going to have plenty to tell them,¡± I flipped the arm in the air and caught it by the wrist.

    ¡°I just really want to drive home the point though, so I think just a little bit more of an example of what happens when you threaten Captain Andrew Dawes, his family, or hell, anyone else on Earth is needed,¡± I walked to the injured lacertine and stood over him while I looked back over my shoulder.

    ¡°Kinto, you watching?¡± I shouted back to the small lacertine, ¡°Just one last message I need you to bring back with you, Okay?¡±

    I took the large, muscled arm of the lacertine and began beating him with it. Over and over, the arm crashed down on him until both the arm and his head were nothing but gooey mush. When I was done, I threw the stub down and turned toward Kinto.

    ¡°You tell them I¡¯m coming for all of them; you tell them what you saw here today. Any lacertine that stands against me will share the same fate. Now, get out of here and don¡¯t come back.¡±

    Kinto quickly jumped into the troop carrier and sped off away from the settlement. I had a feeling we would see more troops soon, but for now, everyone should be safe.

    CJ came walking up beside me in a pair of flip-flops and a bathrobe that had SR-CJ embroidered on the chest. He was drinking a cup of coffee and took a long drag off his vape while he looked around at the carnage.

    ¡°So they are officially in the find-out phase, huh?¡± he took a long sip of the coffee that was steaming in the morning coolness.

    ¡°The find-out phase?¡± I asked, turning my head toward him as I struggled to catch my breath after brutally beating the Lacertine to death with his own arm.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± CJ said, raising the cup back to his mouth, ¡°They have been in the fuck around phase for the last three and half years. Fuck around and find out,¡± he laughed as he shook his head and walked toward the settlement, ¡°You think Momma Dawes made biscuits this morning?¡±

    I laughed as I dismissed my armor and followed him, ¡°Let''s go see; I worked up quite the appetite with that little workout.¡±

    Tiff came walking up behind us, ¡°I assume the use of excessive force was warranted,¡± she smiled as she walked beside me.

    ¡°Oh, no, I just needed to stretch my legs a little. Also, that big one was just an asshole, so I needed to make an example,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, I can fly now, and my armor talks to me. Happen to know anything about that?¡± I asked.

    You gained twenty levels when you killed Anthrogor, and this is the first time you have used the armor in combat since. I am assuming that those are new abilities unlocked by the level-ups. We can do a full diagnostic after breakfast,¡± She replied.

    ¡°CJ was telling me about this delicious-sounding food called¡­ Biscuits and gravy?¡± she said the words slowly, ¡° Do you think Mrs. Dawes would be able to make that for us?¡±

    I laughed, ¡°I can ask her; I am assuming after what just happened that we are going to get a good breakfast along with even more questions.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for biscuits and gravy kind of girl, Tiff,¡± I said, nudging her as we walked.

    ¡°There is much you don¡¯t know about me, Andrew.¡± She said, shrugging.

    ¡°Well, I am a slut for some biscuits and gravy, so let¡¯s see if Momma Dawes is up for it!¡± CJ said, taking another drag of his vape as we walked into my Mom and Dad¡¯s house to hopefully get some breakfast.

 Book 2. Chapter 8 - Tune Up

    Chapter 8. Tune-up

    Breakfast was great. Don¡¯t get me wrong, onboard the Bloodhound, we could get anything created in the galley, but it still wasn¡¯t Mom¡¯s home cooking.

    Cathead biscuits with sausage gravy and Mom¡¯s homemade Mayhaw jelly- nothing made artificial could ever compete with that. We all ate our share before we started out to really see what upgrades the Havok Bringer armor had been hiding away.

    Yes, it had been a couple of months since I had killed Anthragor and leveled up to 35. Yes, I got the notifications after the level-ups, and yes, I had figured out how to silence non-urgent notifications. Who likes a bunch of random notifications, especially during battle?

    ¡°So, would you like to explain why you didn¡¯t tell me about these upgrades sooner?¡± Tiff asked, obviously annoyed as we walked toward an old cattle coral that was currently not being used.

    ¡°I kind of silenced them¡­¡± I said, cringing as I said it.

    ¡°Andrew, how many upgrades do you have? Why haven¡¯t you checked on them sooner?¡± Tiff asked, again aggravation in her voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know. After the Quasar, we went right into reconnaissance mode, and we weren¡¯t really doing any fighting. During training sessions with Elvis and Kaj, I just focused on melee combat since that is where my most glaring weak spots are. Honestly? It just kind of slipped my mind,¡± I said, shrugging.

    ¡°Slipped your mind? Slipped your mind?! How can something as important as this just¡­ slip your mind?!¡± Tiff stuck her hand out to stop me.

    ¡°Uh Oh,¡± CJ held his hands up and looked at Kaj, ¡°Seems like were needed over near the corral,¡±

    Kaj looked around to see nobody, ¡°CJ, has someone asked for our assistance? I cannot remember anyone asking for our assistance.¡±

    ¡°Believe me, Kaj, we should go see if they need our help,¡± CJ shrugged at me with a knowing look.

    I gave him the stink eye while trying to signal him to stay; I knew what was coming. He just held up his hands and backed away slowly like someone who inadvertently ran into a grizzly bear feeding in the woods.

    ¡°Coward,¡± I mouthed as he chuckled and turned to walk away with Kaj, who still seemed confused.

    Now it was time to put my hands up defensively,¡± Tiff, I know what you are about to say, and I get it. I need to be more focused and understand what is at risk here.¡±

    She just stood there with her hands on her hips, looking to the side into the forest,¡± Andrew, we have been through a lot together in such a short time. I know that you have come a long way. You are not the same person you were when we first met in the tutorial room. I am glad for that. I am also glad to see that you haven¡¯t completely lost what makes you¡­ well, you.¡±

    I understood what she meant. I started to feel like I was losing myself after my first fight with Anthragor when I lost my arms. Then we went straight into the hell that was the Alcaran moon. The brutality and killing changed me, not completely, but I could tell that I wasn¡¯t exactly the same.

    After we went through the quasar, there was downtime. CJ, Elvis, and I had trained, but we had also played games and just took some time to forget about the chaos that was enveloping the universe. It was nice, it helped me disassociate, and I welcomed it. Unfortunately, it had also been the main reason I had not fully invested in improving my armor and ensuring I understood my new levels and upgrades.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tiff, no more slacking. I still need you to help me understand everything about this armor and my levels. We can start today, okay?¡± I smiled and nudged her shoulder.

    Tiff just shook her head in response, a small smile forming as she spoke,¡± No more slacking Andrew, I mean it.¡±

    ¡°I have some things to tell you, by the way. I had a strange dream last night. You aren¡¯t gonna believe this.¡± I said as I recounted the details of my vision from the night before.

    ¡°Looks like you are going on a mission then. We can start planning today, this will not be easy,¡± she said.

    ¡°It could be, who¡¯s to say it won''t?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I have heard of seeds of power before. There are usually seeds planted before every dungeon to allow the interdimensional development of a particular dungeon. These seeds usually involve opening doorways to other dimensions. Once the seed is planted, the Coeus would take over from there to ensure the cultivation of the dungeon dimension was successful,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Okay, well, they didn¡¯t really give me any details; they just told me that there was one on Earth, and I needed to find and activate it. Apparently, they want to level the playing field for everyone,¡± I said as we continued walking.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense; that isn¡¯t how it works. The seed created the alternated dimension and only once inside did people gain powers and access the levelling system, which by the way was still controlled by the Coeus. How will finding a seed of power help now?¡± she asked, talking mostly to herself.

    ¡°Well, that is something we can figure out later, right now we have some training to do,¡± I said as I jumped over the rails into the coral.

    First, pull up your stats so we can see the difference and allocate your free points,¡± Tiff said standing in front of me inside the coral.

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± I said, as I mentally selected my stat menu and expanded it.

    Human Andrew Dawes

    Level 35 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Strength ¨C 533

    Intelligence ¨C 507

    Dexterity ¨C 4699

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Stamina ¨C 512

    Vigor ¨C 1314

    Free points available: 100

    I read the stats off as Tiff stood there listening.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± I said in disbelief, ¡°My dexterity is off the charts compared to all my other stats. Why hasn¡¯t that made more of a difference? Like, shouldn¡¯t I be able to do some crazy shit?¡±

    Tiff just shook her head, ¡°stats don¡¯t necessarily stack like you are thinking. The high Dex will help, but if one stat is just extremely high compared to everything else, it will reach a plateau on how it affects you,¡± she said as she stood there with her eyes flashing.

    She was obviously doing some calculations on her interface while she spoke.

    ¡°Your Dex is a problem right now. You aren¡¯t getting the benefits of the high Dex since your next highest stat is only at 1314, and even that is double every other stat; I think we can fix it, though. There is something we can do, but only so often, so it is important that we think this out. Let me do some calculations, give me a couple of minutes, and look at your abilities, as you should have gained some of those as well.¡± She said while poking and swiping at the air.

    ¡°Something has been bothering me,¡± I said, running my hands through my hair.

    ¡°When I was level 1, my base stats were all less than 10, and now they are in the hundreds or thousands,¡± I said, ¡°so if my initial strength stat was eight, shouldn¡¯t I be like¡­¡± I did some quick math in my head, ¡°like 66 times stronger than when I started?¡±

    ¡°Tiff just looked at me dumbfoundedly, ¡°Have we not discussed this?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­.No. I never asked. I guess I just assumed,¡± I said.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that; nobody really understands the math, but it isn¡¯t a direct magnification of base abilities. You have to understand that, as far as anyone knows, there is no limit to leveling as long as you can find foes or challenges that allow you to continue to level. While you are much stronger than you were initially, the stat points don¡¯t necessarily translate directly to the amount of increase,¡± she said.

    ¡°Okay, so how does it work then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Your level is more of an indicator than your stat points are. For example, you are now level 35, so you should have approximately the strength of three and a half pre-drop humans. Your strength stat is at 533 so that is an indicator of how well you can accomplish tasks within your level,¡± she said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, I am stronger and should be able to punch or kick someone as hard as another level 35, right?¡± I said, grasping at straws to try and understand.

    ¡°Right and wrong,¡± Tiff said, ¡°While you will both have similar base strength, there is more to it than that. Let me give you an example. Let¡¯s say that you and CJ could both lift 100 pounds; your base strength is the same, right?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Umm, yeah?¡± I said questioningly.

    ¡°Using the same example, let''s put a brick in front of each of you and ask you to break it. You break it, but CJ doesn¡¯t; why?¡± she asked.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t hit it right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not as simple as that,¡± Tiff said, ¡°You knew how to use your strength; you could channel the strength to the parts of your body that needed it most to help you accomplish the task. CJ had the same base strength as you, but he didn¡¯t know how to control it,¡± she said.

    As she explained, I started to understand. The stat points withing the levels were what allowed me to better control each individual stat. My Dex was insane for my level, and my vigor was considered high but not out of control like my Dex; what did this mean?

    For dexterity, it meant that I would have insane body control, would be more able to handle two-handed weapons, and would be able to pick up weapon skills and abilities more easily. For vigor, it meant that I would have a higher health pool, and health stims would work more quickly, allowing me to heal faster; this was important, especially in battle.

    Stamina, intelligence, and strength all needed to be boosted as they were considered below average for my level, according to Tiff. According to her, it wasn¡¯t normal to jump 20 levels in an instant. Killing an enemy that was 60 levels higher than me was also not normal, and without the Do-Over ability I gained at level 15, it shouldn¡¯t have been even remotely possible. That coupled with the fact that Anthragor was caught off guard and unprepared for an ability that literally broke the laws of physics, and I did something that shouldn¡¯t have been possible.

    ¡°Okay, I think I get it now. Levels equal power, and stat points equal control of that power,¡± I said, nodding.

    ¡°Right, it isn¡¯t a perfect science, but it is the closest thing to a good explanation that we have,¡± Tiff responded. One thing I do know for sure is that once your stats are better aligned it will create a synergy that allows you to operate at a higher level overall.

    ¡°I¡¯m working on allowing you to reallocate some of those dexterity points. There is an option that can be used every 20 levels or so. The problem is the extra percentage scaling that you are getting from your gear. If we don¡¯t get you something that scales with strength, intelligence, and stamina, then your stats will continue to be imbalanced. For now, we can reallocate, but we really need a long-term solution soon, ¡°she said.

    ¡°Open your interface and drill down under your stats; there should be a sub-menu with an option to reallocate,¡± she said.

    ¡°I see it,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Okay, let''s do it,¡± she said.

    I selected the option for reallocate, and a warning popped up.

    Reallocate stat points?

    Warning: once reallocated, this cannot be undone until you have reached at least level 75.

    Wish to begin reallocation: Y/N

    ¡°Tiff, I thought you said this is something I can do every 50 levels; why is it saying I can do it again at level 75?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It works in 50-level blocks. You can do it once per 50 levels and cannot do it until you are halfway through the block. You could have done it anywhere between levels 25 and 49, and you will be able to do it again between levels 75 and 99. If you do not reallocate between the optional levels, the option will go away until you reach the next allowable level.

    ¡°Well, okay, here goes,¡± I mentally selected Y as I said it.

    A message flashed on my interface.

    Please reallocate stat points. Reminder: this is not reversible and could be detrimental to the development of participant Andrew Dawes.

    Current stat points available ¨C 7665

    ¡°Do I just want to evenly distribute the points for now? Based on what you told me it seems that it would make more sense to just evenly distribute the points into every stat so I can create the synergy you were talking about. Wouldn¡¯t it make sense to just make them all equal? I do like having the high health pool, and I don¡¯t want to take a step back in dexterity, but I still have the percentage amplifiers on those two stats so as I gain more levels, they will continue to grow at a faster rate anyhow,¡± I looked at Tiff waiting for her input.

    ¡°That would be the best thing for now,¡± Tiff said,¡± You have to remember level 35 is still early; there are monsters out there well into the hundreds and some even higher. We want to create a stable base for you to grow as you continue to get stronger.

    With that, I did some more quick math and just evenly distributed the stat points. Afterward, I took another look at my stats.

    Human - Andrew Dawes

    Level 35 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Strength ¨C 1533

    Intelligence ¨C 1533

    Dexterity ¨C 1533

    Stamina ¨C 1533

    Vigor ¨C 1533

    Free points available: 0

    I felt the changes immediately. It was like my body and mind became sharper. My muscles worked in tandem with my will instead of against it. I just felt like I had a complete tune-up, for lack of a better term.

    ¡°I feel¡­good,¡± I said as I held my hands out in front of me and clenched my fists.

    ¡°Great, let''s see how you operate in a combat situation now,¡± Tiff said.,¡± Kaj, come into the corral; it is time for you to take off the training wheels. Captain Dawes requires a challenge.¡±

    Kaj shot up into the air from his seat atop the coral fence. He spun up into the air and then landed in front of me with his scythe drawn as dust and dirt shot up into the air.

    ¡°Through pain, we are molded, Captain. It is time that I show you the true power of a Malakim,¡± Kaj swept his scythe across the ground in front of him and entered a battle stance.

    I smiled and equipped my armor before settling into a fighting stance myself, ¡°Don¡¯t hold back, buddy.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 9 - Ass whooping

    Chapter 9. Ass whooping

    I lowered my visor and took my fighting stance. I wanted to get a baseline for where I was after reallocating my stats.

    I knew I had some new abilities waiting to be activated, but I thought it would be best to get a baseline first; then, I would sit with Tiff and discuss new abilities and start working on how to incorporate them into battle. I knew about the jetpack ability, and I at least was going to throw it into the mix in this sparring session.

    ¡°Captain, it is imperative that you understand what is about to happen,¡± Kaj said as he slowly circled me while dragging the blade of his scythe through the dirt.

    ¡°Oh, sure, tell me exactly what is going to happen, Kaj,¡± I stood up straight and made my visor translucent so he could see me smile wryly.

    ¡°I am going to break you. That is the only way to help you reach new heights. Many times, a foundation must be destroyed to build a fortress where there was only a hovel before.¡± Kaj stopped circling and took up his scythe.

    ¡°Did you hear that, CJ? Ol¡¯ Kajjy here is going to build me into a fortress!¡± I said, turning my head to look over my shoulder at CJ.

    By now, everyone from the settlement had heard about the sparring session, and several people had come down to the corral to watch. My Dad sat in a chair watching while my brother Jonathan sat beside him. My Mom and sisters had also come down with the rest of the family. All in all, there were probably a couple of hundred people gathered to watch.

    I was okay with that. These people had been through a lot recently, and I was more than happy to give them something to take their minds off of the hell they were living in.

    CJ just laughed and pointed, ¡°Heads up here.¡±

    Before I could turn my head back toward Kaj, he had taken the shaft of his giant scythe and slammed it into my stomach, hurling my back several feet. I rolled end over end as I came to a stop against the railing of the corral right in front of my dad.

    ¡°Get up, boy,¡± he said calmly, ¡°If you''re gonna be dumb, you have to be tough.¡±

    I shook my head in response. Dad was never one to mince words. He expected his boys to be able to handle themselves and would never have let himself get caught off guard due to sheer hubris like I just had.

    ¡°That angel fella seems like a good one to have on your side,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Hey Timbo, come over here, and let¡¯s see if Andy can handle himself as well as he would have us believe.¡±

    My Dad had two brothers, Jim and Tim. They were always a source of fun growing up, but they were never one to shy away from reminding us that we were young and would make mistakes. They were also always more than willing to have a good laugh at our mistakes.

    ¡°Hey Andy, you might wanna try¡­I don¡¯t know, fighting back?¡± Uncle Tim laughed and slapped my dad on the shoulder.

    I stood up and shook some of the dark brown dirt off of my armor. It seemed that Kaj had decided to take things to another level; now it was my turn.

    ¡°Alright, Kaj, I see you now,¡± I said as I flexed my legs and sprinted toward him at full speed.

    I was fully confident in my ability to take Kaj down; after all, he was only level 13. Sure, he seemed to be very skilled, especially for a level 13, but I was now level 35, and there was no way he should stand a chance.

    As I rushed him, I watched him spread his wings as power emanated from all around him. Kaj looked up into the air and started to levitate a bit. I felt an odd pulse of energy pulsing from him as I approached. The energy, if that''s what it was seemed to blast out cyclically in waves.

    Just as I got within striking distance and prepared to punch his scythe shot down and nearly took my head off. When I say his scythe shot down, I don¡¯t mean that he swung it; the scythe shot down from his hand in an arcing motion completely independent of its owner, who was just now returning to the dirt inside the corral.

    Kaj smiled as he landed, his wings flared and his muscles bulging. His scythe now flew around him in circles in sort of a defensive pattern.

    ¡°You see Captain, there are still many things that you are unaware of. Your identify on the Red Moon of Alcara placed me at level 10. After our battles and the defeat of many foes I have increased to level 13, Is that correct?¡± Kaj asked.

    I Identified him again:

    Kaj Jarat ¨C

    Malakim Battle Seraph

    Level ¨C 13

    ¡°Yeah, that is what I see, what of it?¡± I asked as now I slowly circled the Malakim.

    Kaj closed his eyes, and a golden sheen covered his entire body and disappeared as quickly as it had come.

    Kaj smiled and cocked his head to the side, ¡°You may want to check again.¡±

    I obliged, as I used identify once more on the Malakim.

    Kaj Jarat ¨C

    Chief Malakim Battle Seraph

    -Protector of the realms of Malaki

    -Battle sage and chief instructor of the royal family.

    Level 63

    I stood dumbfounded for a moment. How had Kaj managed to hide his true level and why did he now have titles added to his name?

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I asked.

    Kaj now held his scythe and twirled it in his hands, ¡°You see, Captain. The system limited my level on the dungeon moon, much the same as it limited Tiff¡¯s level. I was there as part of a training exercise along with two nephews of the emperor. When we were set upon, the emperor¡¯s nephews were slain as they were on patrol, and I was not there to protect them. We were badly outnumbered, and the rest is as you know it. I failed in my duties; the shame alone would have never allowed me to return home. After that, I was saved by a human, and we formed the Blood Oath.¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°But we were together for weeks on the Bloodhound; why didn¡¯t you tell me any of this then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°While it is true that I swore myself to you and your cause, I didn¡¯t necessarily swear to train and guide you. I needed to understand your motives. I needed to be sure I could trust those around you. Captain, after seeing your home and meeting those closest to you, I fully believe that your cause is righteous, and I must help guide and train you.¡± Kaj said as he returned to his battle stance, ¡°I was purposefully suppressing my level until I decided the time was right.¡±

    ¡°So now what? You are gonna train me?¡± I asked, also returning to my battle stance.

    ¡°Captain, I believe you are a good man. I believe that you can be the catalyst that brings down the Council,¡± he stopped and looked down, shaking his head, ¡°Unfortunately, I also believe that you do not fully understand the burden you have undertaken, and much of the time, you act like a selfish child. I have now made it my responsibility to train that child into a warrior capable of making a difference,¡± he said as he turned toward my dad.

    ¡°Mr. Dawes, I would ask for your blessing, as this will be a painful journey for your son. I must break him, and the process will not be enjoyable. I do, however, swear that he will come through this and will be refined by the fires of struggle.¡±

    My Dad sat there a look of resolution on his face, ¡°I give my blessing, whoop his ass.¡±

    ¡°What the fu..¡± I said, turning toward my dad.

    I never finished the words. In a flash, Kaj was on me; everything was a blur. His fists swung in a flurry of combinations as they seemed to be empowered by the wind. After a right cross to the head, he stepped back, and using his wings as counterweights, he spun around in a flurry before his right leg landed between my neck and right shoulder. I crumpled to the ground as my vision began to tunnel. Before I passed out, I looked up to see him swipe his scythe down and rake it across my chest, cutting through my armor before it sealed itself back up.

    ¡°Scars are necessary to remind us of mistakes made in battle. Today, you receive the first; it will be up to you to decide how many more there will be, young Captain,¡± Kaj said as he turned and walked away from me.

    I passed out to the sound of my dad and Uncle laughing as my mom and sisters all rushed to my side along with Tiff. Kaj had just soundly kicked my ass.

    *******************************************************************************************************************************************************

    Natasha waited. She had taken the Bloodhound a little over 12 light hours from Earth and was now trying to figure out how she could return and help Captain Andrew and the rest of the crew.

    The three Rerek battle cruisers had appeared out of nowhere. What made matters worse is that over the last 24 hours more ships had arrived. There was a large troop transport vessel as well as some smaller support ships to protect it. In total, there were over ten vessels now orbiting Earth.

    Natasha had been given a task by Captain Andrew, and she had confidently said she could complete it. That was before the unexpected visitors showed up. What were they even doing here, to begin with? She wondered. There was no reason for a contingent of Rerek ships to be sent to Earth; it just didn¡¯t make sense.

    Natasha knew the bloodhound didn¡¯t stand a chance against that many enemy ships. Sure, the Bloodhound was fast and stealthy, especially after its upgrades; it just didn¡¯t have the firepower to take on that many ships alone.

    As Natasha contemplated and ran simulations within her matrix, the sensors of the Bloodhound picked something up. It was small and barely noticeable, but there was something out there, something close.

    Natasha immediately started to prepare a jump. She wasn¡¯t sure what was out there, but she knew that taking the Bloodhound into battle here would mean that the ship may be damaged. Natasha couldn¡¯t allow that. She didn¡¯t see a way to take down the Rerek contingent, but a damaged Bloodhound would make it even more difficult.

    Just as she was about to jump the ship away, something happened, and a ship decloaked off her port side. A ship she had never personally seen but was familiar with due to the extensive records kept by Elvis before his transition to physical form. It was the Flaming Retribution.

    ¡°This is Princess Danae. Bloodhound, is that really you?¡± Princess Danae asked as she hailed the ship directly in front of her own. ¡°Where have you been for the last three years?¡±

    ****************************************************************************************************************************************************

    It had been nearly a week. Michael drove the UTV through the forest. It was slower than the highways, but it was safer. There were still drones patrolling large open areas and highways, after all.

    Kinthragor had been in and out of consciousness. At first, Michael wasn¡¯t sure how he could help the alien. There were several questions that he needed answers to, and Kinthragor was the only one who gave them.

    After the first full day, Michael found a spot to camp. They had traveled around 80 miles so far and had over 900 left to go before getting back to Louisiana, back to Michael¡¯s family.

    Kinthragor regained consciousness as Michael finished building camp. It was dangerous to build a fire, but Michael needed to boil some water, and a hot meal would be nice.

    Michael had picked a spot near a small river; it made sense; they needed water and food; it was a one-stop shop. Michael wore a bracelet that could be taken apart and repurposed to a long length of rope or chord. After that, he found a small piece of metal and fashioned it into a hook, dug a few small holes until he gathered a few earthworms and started fishing.

    After a few hours, he had gathered a few perch that would make a good enough meal, so he walked back to the camp. He saw Kinthragor sitting with his back against the UTV. There was a small machete resting in the fire in front of him.

    ¡°Human, why have you saved me?¡± Kinthragor asked without even turning his head toward Michael.

    Michael approached the fire and knelt to begin gutting and cleaning the fish.

    ¡°You never harmed me, Kinny. You did a lot of talking about what you were gonna do, but you and I were in the same boat back there. I guess I figured the enemy of my enemy and whatnot,¡± Michael said as he continued cleaning the fish.

    ¡°What does this mean?¡± Kinthragor asked, grunting as he felt the piece of rebar still sticking from his side.

    ¡°It¡¯s just an old saying. We were both in the same situation. The lizards had jailed and tortured us. We aren¡¯t allies, but we have a common enemy. I know you talk about honor and everything that the word means to you. I guess I couldn¡¯t see the honor in leaving you there to die if I could do something about it,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand this. You should have left me, I would have surely left you,¡± Kinthragor said.

    ¡°Well, lucky for you, that isn¡¯t how I operate. I intend to try and help you with your wound and then let you go do whatever you need to do. My hope is that you will see that there is no need to kill me or my family,¡± Michael said as he laid the fish on the ash close to the fire to cook.

    ¡°We gotta do something about that rebar sticking out of you and then try to figure out how to get food you can eat,¡± Michael said as he walked over and knelt beside the large alien.

    ¡°My gut biome has been genetically altered to extract nutrients from most alien ecosystems. Your Earth food will suffice,¡± Kinthragor said.

    ¡°I see you are ready to try and cauterize the wound. You are gonna need my help with that, but first, I need some reassurance,¡± Michael said as he grabbed the red-hot machete.

    ¡°What kind of reassurances?¡± Kinthragor asked as he wearily leaned back against the UTV.

    ¡°I could kill you right here, Kinny, but I won''t do that. I need the same in return from you. Can you swear that you will let this honor-killing business go? You can find a way to get back off Earth and go home, hell just tell everyone that you couldn¡¯t find the Dawes family or that they were all dead already. Can you do that?¡± Michael asked.

    ¡°It seems that I have no choice, Michael Dawes. It is either that or die slowly, and I have no desire to die here on this planet,¡± Kinthragor replied.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. This is gonna hurt, so don¡¯t go all crazy and start trying to tear me to pieces,¡± Michael said as he reached down with one hand to put pressure around the rebar. With his other hand, Michael grabbed the bent, rusty piece of metal and jerked it out of Kinthragor¡¯s side. Black blood oozed from the wound that Michael was pretty sure was infected.

    Kinthragor howled as the hair on the back of Michael¡¯s neck stood up. Michael quickly took the machete and pressed it against the open wound as the flesh sizzled and popped under the hot blade. A sweet, sickly smell emanated from the cooking flesh as it closed.

    ¡°All done, Kinny, try to get some rest, and I¡¯ll have some food for you when you wake up,¡± Michael said.

    With that Kinny passed out and dreamed about the dishonor he would face upon return to his home planet. Kinthragor the weak pathetic brother of the slain warrior Anthragor.

    ¡°

 Elvis the Berserker

    Chapter 10. Elvis the Berserker

    Elvis sat in the Pup as the group made its way to the New York area. All things considered; Elvis was happy. He looked around the inside of the Pup and smiled. Matty and Jax had now crossed level 20, each sitting at 21, respectively. Loren and Red were still lagging a bit but had both made good progress, with Red at 16 and Loren at 15.

    So why was Elvis smiling? He was smiling not out of pride or joy for his fellow crewmembers; no, Elvis was smiling because he knew that he could dismantle the entire group without so much as breaking a sweat.

    Now, for most, this would be a weird process of thought, but not for Elvis. Elvis was still acclimating to his new body, but so far, it was far more exciting than even he could have imagined. He was strong, not quite as strong as the Captain, but that was to be expected; after all, the Captain was chosen to carry the gift and had proven himself to be a warrior far beyond what his level showed.

    No, Elvis was strong, but not quite that strong. He would, however, try to improve that as quickly as possible. He couldn¡¯t gain levels as things stood right now, but he could improve his fighting ability and kill anything that needed killing.

    So, as he looked around the cockpit, flashing a psychotic toothy smile at everyone else onboard, they just accepted that this was Elvis, and he was okay with that.

    When Elvis had first received his new body, only the Captain had known his secret; his level was high. When Captain Andrew first identified him, he was blown away by what he saw.

    Elvis

    Bio-droid Berserker

    Level 50

    ¡°This is a good class for Elvis; Berserkers are fierce and fear no battle!¡± Elvis said as he clasped his fists and held them up in the air.

    ¡°Wow, Elvis. You are at a very high level. I am glad the Coeus were able to help you with that body and didn¡¯t make you start at level one,¡± Captain Andrew said, ¡°But I want to see if you can do something¡­¡±

    That is when Captain Andrew asked Elvis to hide his status. Now, normally, people couldn¡¯t do this, but Elvis soon learned that a body and status created by the Coeus, along with some of his supreme AI intellect, allowed him to do just that.

    Anytime someone identified Elvis, they simply saw:

    Elvis

    Bio-Droid Berserker

    Level ??

    Why would the Captain ask Elvis to hide his level? Elvis wasn¡¯t sure and didn¡¯t bother to ask; after all, the Captain would surely have a good reason, and that was good enough for Elvis.

    Elvis sat strapped to his seat as the Pup flew across the planet toward its destination and suddenly found himself deep in thought.

    Why had Captain sent me away with this group?

    Has he lost faith in me?

    Am I being punished?

    No, Captain values his friends and has sent his most fierce warrior to protect them. They are obviously weak and will need someone to do killing for them. Elvis, will kill. Elvis will show Captain that he is trustworthy and strong.

    With those thoughts, Elvis began smiling his psychotic smile again as he thought about all the killing he would get to do on this trip. As he sat there, music started to play through the speakers inside the Pup.

    Because I¡¯m happy

    Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof

    Because I¡¯m happy

    It was the song Happy by Pharell, and why not? Elvis was happy that the Captain had given him such a big responsibility.

    ¡°Jesus, Elvis. Can you turn it down a little bit?¡± Matty said, turning his head from the pilot¡¯s chair to scold Elvis, who was smiling and bouncing his head to the music.

    ¡°This is a great song! It is meant to be played loudly!¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Elvis, we are approaching our destination, and we all need to have our wits about us. We don¡¯t know what we will find down there.¡± Matty said, trying to talk some sense into the AI.

    ¡°Fine, you are a party shitter!¡± Elvis said, grumpily.

    Jax exploded in laughter, ¡°I think you mean party pooper, bro.¡±

    ¡°That is what I said. Are poop and shit not the same thing?¡± Elvis looked around, hoping for someone to back him up.

    ¡°Yes, Elvis, they are technically the same, but for this particular figure of speech, you are looking for a party pooper. You got close, though, honey. Don¡¯t let them bother you,¡± Loren said with a soft smile and a wink at Elvis.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Elvis had gotten to know the crew rather well over the last few months, but Loren was definitely his favorite. She was always nice to him and even helped him as he started to try and advance phonetically. After getting his new body he decided that it was time to change the way he communicated to better fit in with the humans. It was not as easy as expected. Human language had such nuance to it. The way they used it to convey emotion was definitely something that Elvis had struggled with, but Loren was always there to offer him tips and help him improve.

    There was something else, but he just couldn¡¯t place it. Elvis thought she was pleasant to look at, and whenever she was close, he even noticed that he found her scent pleasant. He was sure that it was just some of the sensory systems in his new body that were operating slightly out of parameters because the physical response when Loren was close was almost overwhelming.

    Elvis kept this to himself, though; when he found time, he would have to speak to Captain about this to see if a full scan of the body was required.

    For now, though, he just smiled, nodded, and felt his cheeks get warm again, a response that was obviously the result of a systems malfunction.

    ¡°It¡¯s fucking gone¡­¡± Matty said as the Pup slowed to a hover.

    ¡°Those bastards wiped the whole city off the map¡­¡± Jax said.

    Loren and Red unstrapped and ran to the cockpit, seeing the crater that was once New York. It was utter desolation where the sprawling city of New York should have been.

    ¡°Did anyone have family still in the city?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°No, I ain¡¯t got no family left. I just wanted to see home one more time,¡± Red said as he returned to his seat and strapped in, ¡°Guess you guys are the only home I have left.¡±

    ¡°My parents headed east to Newtown after the drop. They had some family from there and thought it was far enough away from the city and all the looting and violence,¡± Loren said.

    ¡°Then we go to Newtown!¡± Elvis shouted.

    ¡°Hold your horses, Elvis,¡± Matty said as he put the pup on hover mode and got out of his seat.

    ¡°Jax and I have family a little south of Newtown in Bridgeport. Our family decided being close to the coast was best since it was a constant source of food. We can head to Newtown and drop you there if you want, Loren, then we will head to Bridgeport and check on our family,¡± Matty said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t plan on staying,¡± Loren said, ¡°I just want to make sure everyone is okay; after that, we can all head out.¡±

    ¡°Okay, sounds like a plan to me,¡± Matty said, ¡°We can land for a few hours in Newtown; once you have caught up and checked on a family, we can head to Bridgeport so Jax and I can do the same. Once we all are done, we can head back to catch up with Captain Dawes and the rest of the crew.¡±

    With that, Matty sat back down and flew the pup in a northeasterly direction. It should only take about 20 minutes to reach Newtown. He planned to fly at a low altitude to see if anything else had happened in the area. A few minutes later, the Pup was approaching Newtown.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Matty said, ¡°There must be a whole company of soldiers down there.¡±

    They had decided to gain altitude and were now hovering at about 10,000 feet and hidden by a cloud wall. They had used remote drones to recon the area below, the area that was once Newtown.

    ¡°It looks like a processing checkpoint. There are people locked up in transport trailers, and there are others being led into several buildings in lines,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Loren, it doesn¡¯t look good. If your family was here, I don¡¯t think they are now.

    ¡°Loren just looked at the floor as she spoke, ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t expect to find them. We all struggled after the drop, and we were barely hanging on before. I guess I just hoped, is all,¡± tears began to fall as she spoke.

    Elvis walked over and sat beside Loren. Placing his elbow on his knees, he leaned close to her, ¡°Would it make you feel better if we kill them all?¡±

    Loren looked up at Elvis with tear-soaked eyes, ¡°Yeah, Elvis. It would make me feel much fucking better.¡±

    ¡°Matty, open the rear bay door! I must go kill them all!¡± Elvis said, standing up and grabbing his axe.

    ¡°Elvis, hang on. We need to plan this. You can¡¯t just¡­¡±

    Before Matty could finish, Elvis had opened the door himself and jumped out.

    Jax looked over at Matty, ¡°He just jumped out of the damn Pup, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    Matty sighed, ¡°Yeah, he fucking jumped,¡± as he pushed the stick and started a rapid descent.

    Red looked at Loren, ¡°So, you know he has, like, a thing for you, right?¡±

    Loren just smiled and shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone else willing to kill a company of Lacertines because they wronged me.¡±

    ***************************************************************************************************************

    This day was just like most other days for the Lacertine troops stationed at this particular processing checkpoint. Humans were shipped in and processed. They were given several rounds of medicine that would prepare them for interstellar travel; then, they were given a quick physical to ensure that the quality of the livestock was up to par. Finally, their heads were shaved, and they were given simple jumpsuits for the trip. Once this was all done, they were shipped to the nearest holding facility until the next batch of transport ships arrived. Day in, day out it was the same thing over and over.

    Why this insignificant town? Nobody knew. They were given orders and followed the orders. With luck, they would soon be able to rotate off this insignificant planet and back to their home world.

    Two of the lacertine troops that were on patrol were walking and complaining about the lack of field rations that had been available lately.

    ¡°I am hungry, and we have been cut to quarter rations while the commanding officers still dine nightly in the command stations,¡± The first Lacertine said.

    ¡°I am sure that home fleet will be sending a resupply ship soon. You should not complain so loud or someone may hear you and report it.¡± The second said.

    As they walked, the first Lacertine stopped, ¡°Do you hear that noise?¡±

    ¡°I hear nothing, just keep¡­¡± the second lacertine stopped,¡± I do hear something.¡±

    Rrrraaaaaghhhh

    It was quiet, but they both heard something; it sounded like¡­ a human yelling? They both looked around but saw nothing was amiss.

    RRRRAAAAGGGGH

    It was getting louder and louder and sounded like it was coming from¡­.above?

    The lacertine troops both looked up to see a very large, muscular human falling from the sky. He was holding an axe, an axe that was pointed straight down and coming their way fast.

    The human landed directly in front of the two Lacertine troops who just stood there dumbstruck at the sight. Dust and dirt flew up all around as the human must have died.

    ¡°How¡­Where did he come from?¡± the first lacertine looked at the second, who just shrugged.

    ¡°I came from the heavens to send you all to Hell!¡± Elvis shouted as he shot up out of the crater and landed directly behind the two troops.

    Before the troops even had time to turn their head, he had swung his axe with both hands, removing their heads from their bodies.

    Elvis smiled. This is why Captain had sent him; this is when he was most happy. Plus, they had made Loren cry, so it was up to him to make that right.

    Elvis ran toward the remaining troops. Alarms sounded as the lacertine troops poured out of bunkhouses to see what the commotion was about, only to see a crazy-looking human running toward them with an axe.

    ¡°Elvis is here to kill you all!¡± Elvis yelled as he ran toward them at an incredible pace, his axe and entire body covered in flames.

 Book 2. Chapter 11. Ooooh Hot

    Chapter 11.

    Matty did everything he could to land the Pup as fast as he could. Elvis could be described as unhinged on a good day, but he had a tendency to do things completely unexpected, especially since getting his body.

    As the Pup spun and hovered to a landing the rear bay door opened as the four remaining passengers ran out. All four had grabbed weapons on the way out and were ready to try and assist Elvis against what they estimated was around 200 Lacertine troops with an unknown amount of firepower and defensive capabilities.

    As they ran down the ramp, they all slowed to a stop at the sight of Elvis and the path of carnage he was creating.

    Jax dropped the butt of his sniper rifle to the ground and whistled, ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s best if we just let him finish. I''m gonna head to the top of the Pup and get position to lay down cover fire if it is needed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I''ll join you. I don¡¯t think we would do anything but get in his way. I¡¯ll call him just to ask, but I¡¯m pretty sure he is just gonna tell us to fuck off and not to steal his kills,¡± Matty said as he turned to climb the exterior ladder behind Jax.

    ¡°Elvis, it looks like you have this under control. We are gonna take support positions on top of the Pup and look out for anything unexpected. Do you need us to do anything?¡± Matty asked through the comms channel as he laid down and sighted his rifle.

    ¡°Music, just music,¡± Elvis grunted as he cleaved his axe through three more Lacertine victims.

    Loren couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. There was a charred trail of blood and lacertine bodies in Elvis¡¯s wake as he continued pushing forward into the surging group of Lacertines that remained. They were trying to take up defensive positions and lay down suppressing fire, but Elvis either moved too quickly or just shrugged off the rounds that hit him as many were absorbed by the flaming aura that now covered him and extended to his axe.

    ¡°Does this make sense to anyone?¡± Loren said as she turned to face the others.

    ¡°I have stopped trying to make sense of Elvis. Just be glad he is on our side and let him do his thing,¡± Jax replied through the comms channel.

    Elvis stood in the middle of the street. It looked to be the main street of the processing facility. To be fair, it was just an old main street, and the surrounding buildings had been commandeered by the Lacertine troops and turned into a processing facility.

    He had never had the chance to use his berserker ability. As soon as he landed, he activated and understood how it functioned. The ability increased his overall stats by 25%, allowing him to effectively operate at a level much higher than his current level of 50. Intense red and blue flames covered his entire body, acting as both an offensive weapon and buffering his overall defensive capabilities by absorbing a large percentage of incoming ordinance.

    Elvis wasn¡¯t sure what the effects of using the ability would be; he wasn¡¯t sure how long he could use it either. He was sure that there was no better way to test it than by cutting his way through a couple hundred weak, pathetic Lacertines.

    As he stood in the street, flames emanating from his body, the Lacertines remaining organized an offensive push. Nearly 100 of them rounded the corner, rushing toward him, weapons drawn.

    Elvis wasn¡¯t deterred for a second as he watched, a toothy smile creeping back onto his face.

    ¡°MUSIC!¡± he shouted as he lifted his axe into a two-handed grip.

    Red rushed back into the Pup and set the speaker output to maximum, not bothering to select a song as he knew Elvis would handle that.

    ¡°Systems ready, do your thing,¡± Red replied through the comms.

    A low electronic tone sprang from the speakers, blaring into the streets where Elvis stood as he continued to smile.

    Bawitdaba da bang da bang diggy diggy

    Diggy shake the boogie

    Said up jump the boogie

    ¡°You can''t argue with his taste in music,¡± Jax slapped Matty on the arm, and they both chuckled.

    ¡°You think those assholes have any idea what kind of crazy just dropped on them?¡± Matty responded.

    ¡°Oh, I think they are well on their way to figuring that out.

    As the music began to play, Elvis¡¯ smile grew wider. A large hovering tank rounded the corner right behind the Lacertine troops.

    ¡°Lay down your weapon and surrender. You will be processed and punished accordingly based on the extent of your crimes.¡± A loud announcement came from the tank.

    Elvis drew his axe back with one hand, flexing every artificial muscle in his new body, gritting his teeth as he strained.

    My name is Kiiiiiiiid, Kid Rooooooock!

    As the music blared, Elvis released his axe in a throw that created shockwaves down the street. The flaming axe cut directly through the middle of the organized group of lacertine troops, removing body parts and turning bodies that took direct contact to mush. The troops that weren¡¯t directly hit were blasted to opposite sides of the street by the shockwaves the axe created.

    The axe made contact with the front of the tank as the barrel of whatever kind of cannon was on top melted and crumpled in from the impact. A millisecond later, the axe had cut completely through the tank as it arced up into the air and flew back to Elvis¡¯ waiting hand.

    The music continued to blare as Elvis shot forward toward the Lacertines, who had survived. To the naked eye, it was a streak of fire that zipped down the street, leaving carnage in its wake. Elvis moved so much faster than any being that was uninitiated by the system, and there was nothing they could do. One second, they were shaking off an explosion that sent them flying; the next, they were losing heads and arms to a flaming streak of death.

    In a matter of seconds, Elvis stood in the middle of the street again, short of breath and energy as he fell to one knee. Nearly 200 dead Lacertine troops and one exploded tank surrounded him.

    Ziiip

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Elvis turned to look over his shoulder as a Lacertine troop stumbled and fell face first, a bullet hole in his head.

    ¡°You really need to have more situational awareness, Bro!¡± Jax laughed from the top of the Pup as Elvis just grumbled something unintelligible.

    ¡°I will need help. I have no energy remaining and can''t walk back to the Pup,¡± Elvis said wearily.

    ¡°Hey, you got yourself into this situation,¡± Matty responded with a mental shrug.

    ¡°I am here to kill; Elvis did his job,¡± Elvis replied as he went from a knee to lying flat on his back on the ground.

    ¡°Stop being dicks guys; go help him back to the Pup already!¡± Loren said with obvious agitation.

    After a few minutes, Red and Jax had managed to help carry Elvis back to the Pup. The drop ship lifted off without so much as one round being fired in their direction. As they flew south, Matty looked down at the carnage one last time.

    Thank God that maniac is on our team,¡­he thought to himself as he shook his head at the sight of hundreds of dead Lacertine troops littering the ground beneath them.

    **********************************************************************************************

    I sat down in the dirt, back pressed against the corral fence. He was still trying to process what had just happened. Kaj, his friend and member of his crew, had been hiding his true level. He had apparently been a royal trainer of sorts for the emperor and his family, and oh yeah, he kicked the shit out of me and then sliced open my chest to add insult to injury.

    The chest was a nonissue; one health stim later, and the shallow cut was almost healed. Kaj had not intended to harm me physically; instead, he meant to harm my pride. Kaj had managed to completely and utterly kick my ass in front of my friends and family without so much as breaking a sweat.

    I didn¡¯t think I was the strongest person in the universe., I knew that there were many out there stronger than me. I did think that I was possibly the strongest in my crew, though, or at least the most capable of coming out on top in a fight due to my skills, weapons, and abilities.

    Kaj had completely turned that notion upside down, and now I could only seek to improve. So, what better time to start than now?

    ¡°So all of our cards are on the table, then?¡± I shouted to him on the other side of the corral.

    ¡°I see no further need to conceal my true identity, Captain. If you are to progress in your training, then I believe it is imperative that you are able to fight at your maximum. Please take some time to talk with Tiff and discuss any new abilities you may have. Once you feel comfortable, we can continue with your training. I do think it is pertinent to inform you that you will not beat me today, in fact, you will not land a single blow today. You stand at the base of a mountain of knowledge. Today you take the first step in a long journey, Captain. The first step, however, is often the most challenging,¡± Kaj said as he stood and bowed.

    I stood as Tiff came walking up to me, hands on her hips.

    ¡°Well, that was unexpected. I did tell you that Malakim are not to be trusted,¡± she said as she stood in front of me and shrugged.

    ¡°Can we just take a minute and check out my skills?¡± I replied, not taking my eyes off of Kaj.

    ¡°Okay pull up your skills menu then,¡± Tiff replied.

    I mentally opened my interface and selected skills, which had an asterisk beside it.

    Why haven¡¯t I noticed that before? I thought to myself.

    Skills:

    Pulsar Blast ¨C Planetary skill

    Big Bang ¨C Planetary skill

    Do over ¨C Galactic skill

    *Shield of Solaris

    ¡°All of my skills have new descriptives on them,¡± I said, tilting my head as I read.

    ¡°What do you mean, descriptives?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Well, there used to be just the name of the skill. Now, the skills all say Planetary skill, except for Do-over, which says Galactic skill,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Those are the rarities of the skills. I thought it was odd that your skills had no rarity when you first started to receive them. I can only assume that the rarity descriptives unlocked when you jumped in levels. Rarity describes the power level and complexity of a skill. There are generally four levels of rarity.

    Planetary

    Galactic

    Universal

    Dimensional

    It makes sense that Do-Over is a Galactic-level skill since it is powerful and utilizes some pretty intense interdimensional abilities as well as being a time skill. The rest are basic melee or defensive abilities, so the Planetary rank makes sense. That doesn¡¯t mean they won''t become more powerful as you progress, though. We need to dig back into each of the descriptions of the abilities and see what the upgradability of each is. For now, do you see any new skills?¡±

    ¡°I see something called Shield of Solaris. It has an asterisk beside it; I¡¯ll take a look at the description.

    Shield of Solaris ¨C Planetary skill

    Generate a shield of solar flare energy. This shield can act as both an offensive and defensive skill, though its defensive ability will far outweigh its offensive capabilities. The skill is highly upgradeable and will charge as damage is taken. Warning: at its current level, this skill will damage the user for the duration of its use, and all healing skills and potions will have a 10-minute cool-down upon deactivation of the skill.

    ¡°This boon and curse thing is really starting to suck,¡± I said.

    Tiff just shrugged, ¡°You have the most advanced battle armor ever created and have been given a ship that seems just to get more and more powerful. Maybe don¡¯t complain so much?¡± She smiled at me, obviously feeling a little chirpy today.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± I said, putting my hands up defensively,¡± I¡¯m gonna activate the skill for just a second to see what happens. I guess this is the benefit of training.¡±

    I held my hands up in front of me and activated the skill. It wasn¡¯t necessarily flames, although it was hot, It was more like plasma began covering my hands. As I watched, a layer of burning plasma covered my hands and traveled up my arms to the elbow.

    At first, it was just warm, but as I stood there inspecting the plasma, turning my hands from front to back and clenching my fist, it began to get hotter.

    ¡°Holy shit, this is getting really hot!¡± I said, turning to look at Tiff, who was holding her arm up to shield her face from the heat.

    ¡°Hold it as long as you can,¡± she shouted, ¡°We need to get a baseline for how long you can hold it and how much damage it does to you.

    I held on as long as I could as the plasma continued to get hotter. After about 90 seconds, I deactivated it with relief.

    ¡°My hands are still burning!¡± I said as I dropped to one knee and dismissed my armor.

    As I looked, my hands and forearms which were still black and reminiscent of the u decorating of my armor, were blistering from the heat. There was no lasting damage, especially with the ability to use health stims, but it would be 10 minutes before I could use one.

    My hands were not flesh. No, they were created from the gift, and they were synthetic but still somehow not. They were a part of me, my control over the Havok Bringer armor allowed me to create new hands after I lost mine in the fight against Anthragor, still somehow, I felt everything, they still reacted to heat and showed injury. I couldn¡¯t explain it, it just was another gift of, well, the gift.

    ¡°Why is this even a thing? Why do I have to get fucked every time I get a new ability?!¡± I held my hands out as I knelt in the dirt, shouting.

    As I sat there wallowing, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°Get up boy,¡± my dad said in a low voice, ¡°I know you didn¡¯t ask for this. I know you are doing the best with what you have been given but I¡¯ll be damned if I am gonna let one of my boys give up.¡±

    I looked up as my face flushed. My dad had always taught us to be accountable. He had taught us to be good, strong men and women and to always be grateful for the gifts we received.

    ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t understand¡­¡± I said, looking back at my burning hands.

    ¡°Boy, it isn¡¯t permanent. Pain is how we grow, and if you stand any chance of living up to the faith that has been put in you, then you have a lot of growing left to do. Me and your mom, your brothers and sisters we are all depending on you. Hell, everyone on the planet is depending on you, but none of us can help you on this path you''re on,¡± he helped me up off the ground and turned me to face him.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time for you to fight and grow. We will be here, we will love you, and we will do our part. Most of all, we won¡¯t let you lay down and quit; no son of mine is gonna give up on himself.¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond just nodding in confirmation. After about ten minutes had passed, I used a health stim. As the insect like arms emerged from my spine and stabbed into the side of my neck, I could hear my nephew and nieces shrieking in the background.

    I took a fighting stance as I approached the center of the Corral again. Kaj approached and bowed as well.

    It was good to be home, good to have my dad and family here to support me and help keep me in line. Most of all it was good to get a second shot at Kaj, it was time to see if I could prove him wrong and land a couple of hits.

 Chapter 12 - Book 2 - Fade to white

    Chapter 12 ¨C Fade to white

    Kaj stood ready on his side of the Corral. His calm demeanor was unsettling; I knew Kaj was a brutal fighter capable of destruction. I couldn¡¯t have known he was this level of monster, though.

    ¡°Are you prepared for your next lesson, Captain?¡± Kaj asked as he lifted his scythe and set his legs into a powerful stance.

    The sight of the Malakim preparing for battle was honestly intimidating. Kaj stood there, scythe held diagonally in his hands, wings pulled in tight to protect his rear.

    ¡°I guess all your cards are on the table now, huh, Kaj?¡± I asked as I slowly stepped into the center of the dirt-filled corral.

    ¡°It was a necessary deception, Captain. While I did fully and knowingly commit myself to you and your cause through the Blood pact, I was not bound to train or teach you, just defend and assist you. I now see that you are no more than a rough, raw piece of metal,¡± Kaj replied.

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± I asked, feeling more than a little frustrated at his sudden ability to be so blunt.

    ¡°You are a valuable resource. You are capable of dealing damage and, in some cases, even killing your enemy. I have decided to make it my task to refine you, to turn you into a majestic weapon capable of destruction on a scale that our universe has never seen. There is honor in this, I think,¡± Kaj said as he slightly bowed his head in my direction.

    ¡°Well, I guess I can¡¯t be mad at that,¡± I replied, smiling a bit, ¡°I do think you underestimate me a bit, though, wise teacher,¡± I joked with a chuckle.

    Kaj shot forward before I even realized what was happening. Again, I had played right into his hands, letting my guard down just enough to provide him an opening.

    Cracck!

    As dust and dirt flew into the air, Kaj shot forward. His muscles tensed and glistened in the mid-morning sun. As he closed the gap he twisted his body down and to the right. Upon reaching his effective striking distance he uncoiled his body into a devastating right hand that caught me directly in my left temple.

    ¡°You fail to grasp the responsibility you have been given, Captain. You jest and boast even in the face of a stronger foe. You unintentionally create openings for your opponents. You are strong, you are powerful, these things are true. You are, however, no fighter you lack skill and have no understanding of how to properly attack or defend,¡± Kaj stood over me once again as his punch had caused me to drop to one knee.

    I shook my head trying to fend off the black that was beginning to encroach around the edges of my vision. I felt the anger rise up inside me like the heat of a blasting furnace.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for this!¡± I yelled, as without even realizing it I had summoned my daggers. I looked up and quickly swiped up toward Kaj¡¯s stomach. I didn¡¯t want to hurt Kaj; I had no intention of losing control, but without thinking, I did. The fire inside me burned and took control.

    ¡°Good, this is good,¡± Kaj whispered as he smiled.

    In a blink, he had lifted his left leg and blocked my attempt to stab him with his shin. I was fast, I knew that but he had blocked me so quickly that it felt like he knew what I was going to do before I did it.

    ¡°Your anger is an attribute, Captain. Unfortunately, you lack the capacity to properly channel the flow into something productive,¡± Kaj shoved me backward with the flex of his hips as he crammed the same shin into my chest.

    The anger burned with an intensity that I had never felt before. All of the emotions that I had tried to keep in check now boiled to the surface as I completely lost control.

    ¡°Aaaarrrggh,¡± I screamed, as a feeling of primal rage overtook me. I rolled backward and up to my feet as Kaj retreated slightly and reentered his fighting stance.

    ¡°Your rage burns bright, Captain. What will you do now? I implore you, do not hold back, show me what the mighty Havok Bringer can do,¡± Kaj said.

    I was seeing red at this point. I decided to give him exactly what he asked for. If he wanted to see what I was capable of I was going to give him everything I had. I activated my new rocket boosters and shot into the sky.

    ¡°Hmm, that is new,¡± CJ said to Tiff, as he brought his coffee up to his lips.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t mention that to me either. That suit just keeps advancing. I don¡¯t know if Andrew even understands the power of the weapon he has been given,¡± Tiff replied as she stood beside CJ, arms crossed and a look of unmistakable concern on her face.

    ¡°Ah, you seek to take this fight to the air. While I commend your decision to change the circumstances of the fight, I am afraid that you are no more than a hatchling taking his first flight. You fail to grasp that you have entered the domain of predators, of which the Malakim stand at the apex,¡± Kaj smiled once again as he spread his wings, braced his legs, and shot up into the air with a blast of dirt and dust.

    I shot up into the air several hundred feet before I came to a stop, hovering and trying to get my bearings. What was I thinking? Why did I think that I would fare any better in the air? I just needed a chance, an opportunity. If I could get Kaj into the air maybe I could catch him off guard. I pondered my rash decision for a second considering returning back to the corral, but it was too late.

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    Whoooosh

    I spun, trying to see where he was.

    Whoosh

    I couldn¡¯t even see him; Kaj was so fast in the air that I could only hear the wind rushing past me after he was already gone.

    Crack!

    I was flying toward the ground again, a sharp pain in the middle of my back. Kaj had dropped from behind me and, with both feet, kicked me back toward the ground. With an explosion, I landed back in the center of the corral.

    ¡°Hey Andy, you need to work on your landings!¡± CJ shouted and chuckled as he leaned against the corral fence and nonchalantly took a drag from his vape.

    I pressed myself up onto all fours and shook my head before I looked over at him and slowly raised my middle finger in his direction.

    Kaj landed with the grace of a being who had spent more time in the air than he had on solid ground.

    ¡°I commend the effort, Captain. The sky is not a place for the uninitiated, though. For now, let''s work on improving your abilities on solid footing,¡± Kaj said.

    I didn¡¯t reply. I consider myself to be a quick study, and I had taken several hits today already by letting my guard down and talking when I should have been defending. I stood and returned to a fighting stance with my right leg slightly behind my left and my hands raised to defend my face and head, daggers in each hand facing down.

    ¡°Good, good, you are already learning. Do not let your foe goad you into dropping your defenses. Your first lesson is complete. Do you wish to continue, or should we stop to let you recover from your¡ª¡±

    I flew forward toward Kaj. As I did, I drew back my right hand, ready to release every ounce of strength into this one punch.

    As I reached him, I swung at his head. I was going to shut that mouth before he could finish speaking. It was brief, but I saw his eyes widen as I approached. Was it fear? No, surprise. He was surprised that even after the beating I had endured, I would attack. Not only attack but attack with the speed and ferocity that was obviously unexpected.

    My blast forward and subsequent attack were so fast and powerful that, once again, dust flew up all around us as my fist made contact. I felt the satisfaction of a landed punch. I couldn¡¯t see him through the thick cloud of red dust, but I felt it; I had done it; I had managed to land a blow.

    I was sure I hadn¡¯t managed to hurt him since he had barely moved from the punch, but I had landed it, and for now, that was enough to be excited about.

    ¡°A Pity, really, you almost had me,¡± Kaj said as he stood there with my fist in his hand, completely uninjured.

    ¡°You have potential, Captain. I do not dispute that, but you will land no hits today. It is best you take some time now and reflect on the lessons I have provided,¡± Kaj said, still holding my trembling fist.

    Kaj cocked his head as I mentally lowered my faceplate and smiled.

    ¡°BIG BANG!!!!¡± I shouted as energy exploded from my body and blasted him back into the corral fence, denting the fence so badly that the individual steel tubes nearly broke. Kaj landed with his feet over the top of the fence and head in the dirt. He slowly slid off the fence, shook the dirt from his hair and clothes, and stood up, albeit a little shakily.

    ¡°It seems we have both learned lessons today; I will not underestimate you moving forward, Captain,¡± Kaj said, again slightly bowing his head to me as he walked back toward me. ¡°I believe that is enough training for today. We can resume tomorrow if you are willing.¡±

    I stood gasping as Kaj approached.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have a choice for now since I don¡¯t have my armor for the next few minutes. Big Bang is strong, but I am without my armor for a while after using it, and I don¡¯t think taking you on as I am now is gonna do me any favors,¡± I put my hand out toward him as he approached. Kaj also put out his hand, and we grasped each other at the wrist, much as we had done during the blood oath.

    ¡°I am looking forward to it, Kaj,¡± I said, smiling.

    ¡°As am I, Captain,¡± Kaj replied.

    ¡°Shows over everyone!¡± Dad shouted as he swung his hands up into the air, ¡°Everyone has chores to get done, so let¡¯s get to work.¡±

    Dad walked over to me as I was walking back toward Tiff and CJ.

    ¡°You definitely have some work to do before you can best that fella, Andrew, but it is good to see you aren¡¯t completely defenseless,¡± Dad said.

    ¡°Did you not see what I did to those Lacertine troops earlier this morning?¡± I asked, feigning offense as I raised my hands in fake exasperation.

    ¡°Boy, that was a hell of a thing, you taking out those lizards by yourself. Hell of a thing indeed, but if there are monsters out there as strong or stronger than that Kaj fella, then you are gonna need to get better,¡± He slapped me on the back, ¡°We haven¡¯t had hope in a while, son. I don¡¯t think it''s fair to pin all our hopes on you, but that is how it is, so get stronger, fast.¡±

    ¡°I''ll try, Dad; that is the best I can do,¡± I shrugged in response.

    ¡°That is all we can ask, son,¡± he replied, then turned toward the group that was dispersing and started shouting orders.

    As I turned to head back toward Tiff and CJ a message flashed across my interface.

    Urgent Mission ¨C Seed of Power.

    Do you wish to see the parameters of this mission?

    Y/N

    I stopped walking and focused on the message. Shrugging I mentally selected yes.

    The Seed of Power awaits. The universe is ever-changing and ever-expanding. Due to recent events, the Coeus Collective has retreated into a self-created pocket dimension. As architects of past dungeons and creators of system-assigned classes and powers, the Coeus will be irreplaceable. With foresight, only the Coeus Collective could possess, they have deemed it necessary to provide the universe with the tools to progress and protect themselves. Power, after all, is not only to be held by a few inhabitants of the universe.

    Mission parameters ¨C You have been tasked with activating the seed of power. This will not be an easy task and can only be completed by those truly capable of testing and pushing the limits of their abilities and strengths. If you accept this mission, you will most certainly place the lesser inhabitants of the universe on a more level playing field with those that have taken and held power for millennia.

    Caution ¨C Failure to activate the seed of power will result in the death of the operator who accepts the mission. Failure will also result in no changes to the current political structure of the universe.

    Do you wish to accept this mission? Y/N

    I mentally selected Yes once again and continued walking. It was time I discussed this with Tiff. I walked up to Tiff and CJ and began to speak, but CJ cut me off.

    ¡°Bro, what the hell is going on? You okay?¡± CJ asked.

    ¡°What do you mean? Yeah, I''m fine,¡± I replied, but they didn¡¯t seem to hear me.

    ¡°Andrew? Andrew?!¡± Tiff shouted.

    ¡°He is, like, phasing in and out!¡± CJ shouted as they both ran over to me.

    I could hear their voices fading, and then without warning the world faded away and I stood, once again, in the solid white of the expanse I had visited several times before when I communed with the Coeus.

 Book 2. Chapter 13 - Another Gamer Cliche

    Chapter 13. another gamer cliche

    Tiff was panicking.

    ¡°Wha¡­ CJ, what just happened?¡± she said as she spun, looking for Andrew.

    ¡°Tiff, if you don¡¯t know, then there is no way in hell that I am going to be able to offer any kind of explanation. First off, let¡¯s calm down and think about what we saw,¡± CJ walked up and spoke softly as he placed a hand on each of Tiff¡¯s shoulders.

    CJ felt like he was finally getting to know the AI guardian a little better lately. He understood that her position at the beginning of all this was as precarious, if not more than his own and Andy''s. She had been forced to act as a guardian, against her will, just because of the planet that she was born on. She had willingly joined a rebellion though, to try and ensure that future generations of her people wouldn¡¯t suffer the same fate.

    Unexpectedly Tiff had become Andrew¡¯s biggest supporter and had even proven herself useful in several combat scenarios. Tiff could easily have jumped ship when Princess Danae showed up, but still, she stayed with Andrew and the crew of the Bloodhound.

    On more than one occasion CJ had caught glimpses of the way Tiff watched Andrew, the way she studied him. No, study was not the right word; she watched him, but it felt more like she was doing this to reinforce her faith in him.

    Andrew had proven that he was capable of great things, but he had also proven that, at times, he was a massive screw-up who probably shouldn¡¯t have access to possibly the most advanced battle tech in the universe. Still, Tiff stuck by him, guiding him and supporting him even when he didn¡¯t realize it.

    So it was no surprise that in this moment, CJ looked into those glowing blue eyes and saw something that surprised him¡­ he saw fear.

    ¡°Tiff, I need you to calm down and think. Have you seen this before? Could it be a new ability manifesting?¡± CJ asked as he tried his best to comfort Tiff and get her on track.

    ¡°We just covered his new ability and he didn¡¯t mention anything like that. CJ, you saw him; he was not expecting that. Something is definitely up. We need to contact the others and let them know what is happening,¡± Tiff said as she grabbed my hands and lowered them from her shoulders, ¡°Thanks for your concern, CJ, but I am okay; it just caught me off guard.¡±

    ¡°You know that he will be okay; he has already survived more than he had any right to survive. I¡¯m gonna reach out to Matty and let him know what has happened so they can get back as soon as possible. We may need the Pup sooner than we thought,¡± CJ said as he put a finger up to his ear and began trying to contact Matty.

    Tiff just stood there, considering what she might have just seen. It was possible that Andrew had acquired some sort of phasing ability, but he would have mentioned it; she was sure of that. She didn¡¯t know why, but something in her told her that this was much more serious.

    As CJ conveyed the message to Matty and the others to return on the double he turned to see Tiff stiffen where she stood. Her normally glowing blue eyes shifted to a stark white, and her mouth opened wide as her arms flew to the side, and she began to slowly levitate as a pulsing white glow emanated from her body.

    ¡°Kaj¡­.Kaj¡­ you need to get the hell over here, like now!¡± CJ yelled as he stumbled back away from the now floating body of Tiff.

    ¡°Wha¡­ What the FUCK!!!¡± CJ shouted as he scooted backward on the dirt, trying to escape whatever was happening to Tiff.

    Kaj immediately came running over from the other side of the coral, where he had been talking to Andrew¡¯s father and some of the other men from the settlement.

    ¡°We must help her, CJ! Where is the Captain?¡± Kaj shouted as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the oppressive glow that continued to brighten around Tiff as she hung in the air before the two stunned onlookers.

    ¡°Andy disappeared like 30 seconds ago! We didn¡¯t know what happened, and just when Tiff and I started trying to figure it out¡­ this happened!¡± CJ said as he pointed his right hand in Tiff¡¯s direction emphatically.

    ¡°Grab her right hand, and I shall grab her left; we must see if we can break her from this trance,¡± Kaj shouted as he, along with CJ, moved forward to grab one of Tiff''s wrists.

    They both reached out to grab a wrist, but immediately upon making contact with Tiff, a pulse of energy shot out her body, knocking both CJ and Kaj to the ground, and then Tiff began screaming.  CJ and Kaj both tensed as they realized it wasn¡¯t a scream; it was coming from her mouth, but it wasn¡¯t her voice¡­ it was more¡­ robotic.

    ¡°Friends of Andrew Dawes, calm yourselves. Your Captain and this AI are in no danger; first of all, know that. We are merely forced to use this AI as a vessel as we currently have no physical manifestation on your planet. We are what remains of the Coeus collective. We were tasked with monitoring the progress of the gift as well as setting into action events that will correct the many mistakes our collective made in the past. This vessel will see no long-term effects from this exposure. It is not an ideal circumstance that we find ourselves in, but we have been forced to use the current means of communication. We are sure you have many questions¡­¡±

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    ¡°Hell, yes, we have questions; what in the actual fuck is going on? What did you do with Andrew?¡± CJ shouted as he finally picked himself up off the ground to face Tiff¡¯s still levitating body.

    ¡°Being, you must release Tiffantrimore immediately!¡± Kaj shouted as he too picked himself up.

    ¡°Calm yourselves; as we previously stated, this being is in no danger. We have been a part of your Captain¡¯s journey from the beginning. We, after all, granted him the honor of bearing the gift. It is, however, now time that he repays the debt that he owes. He will be away for a time. Unfortunately the duration of his absence is currently unknown. The likelihood of his return is also unknown. We can tell you that the task he has been given is of the utmost importance, and only he is capable of completing it. Your Captain, your friend, has been tasked with planting the seed of power.¡±

    ¡°What are you going on about? Did he know about this? You can¡¯t just take someone against their will! This is bullshit!¡± CJ shouted as he pointed at Tiff.

    ¡°Human, we understand that your species has yet to fully be able to suppress your emotional responses to unexpected external stimuli, but we must insist that you allow us to finish our explanation.¡±

    CJ clenched his jaw and shot a look at Kaj from the corner of his eye. Kaj calmly put a hand out to signal CJ to stay calm as they both returned their attention to the floating Tiff.

    ¡°Andrew Dawes has knowingly accepted the mission. We felt that we needed to inform you all what his task would be as the coming days will be a test for those of you remaining on Earth. Unfortunately, it will be a test that you must pass without the assistance of Andrew Dawes. He has been transported to an alternate dimension and has been presented with a task. We will not go into the details of said task, but we can tell you that it will test him to his very core. If he succeeds, the inhabitants of the universe will be ever in his debt.¡±

    ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t?¡± CJ growled through gritted teeth.

    ¡°If Andrew Dawes fails to complete this task, he will perish.¡±

    CJ just stood as the weight of that statement settled. He could feel a weight in his stomach at the thought of not seeing his best friend again. He clenched his fists and looked up.

    ¡°How can you expect him to do this? The Captain has barely been initiated into the ways of the universe and can not be expected to navigate such a treacherous path on his own,¡± Kaj said, obviously trying to stay as calm as possible.

    ¡°Andrew Dawes will have the opportunity to seek advice and assistance as he progresses on his journey. There is an existing link between Andrew and this vessel that we are currently utilizing. There will be areas where he can establish a communications link and areas where he will be classified as safe from external threats. In these times, he will be able to communicate and seek assistance. This is the reason we come to you now. Andrew will need his friends; he will need your assistance and support. You cannot fail him and must ensure that he pushes his very limits if he is to succeed. With that, we must leave you, prepare friends of Andrew Dawes. Prepare.

    With that, the glow around Tiff¡¯s body faded, and she fell with a thud to the ground unconscious.

    CJ looked at Kaj as they rushed over to make sure Tiff was okay. ¡°Jesus man, what did Andrew get himself into.¡±

    *************************************************************************************************************************

    I am not really sure what happened. One minute, I was standing talking to Tiff and CJ; the next, I was back in the open white expanse that I had come to know as the place where I would meet with the Coeus.

    ¡°I should have known,¡± I muttered, shaking my head in frustration, ¡°What is it this time? I thought you all bounced, like left the universe to it¡¯s own devices or whatever? Why am I here again?¡±

    ¡°Did you not accept the mission, Andrew Dawes?¡± The monotone robotic voice said from the same floating orb I had seen several times before.

    ¡°Well, yeah,¡± I said with a shrug, ¡°but I didn¡¯t know I would end up back here again. I need to get back to my friends if I am going to find this¡­ Seed of Power, I¡¯m going to need their help.¡±

    ¡°We are afraid that the mission has already started and unfortunately you will be allowed no help. This mission must be completed by you alone, Andrew. You will have opportunities to speak with your guardian, Tiffantrimore, but even then, it must be in dedicated safe zones, and there will only be one per level.¡±

    ¡°Safe zones? Levels? What is this?¡± I asked, even knowing the answer already.

    ¡°The Seed of Power is located on the tenth floor of a tower. Each floor must be cleared before you can move to the next. Once the seed is found, it can be released and merged with your universe to achieve the widespread initiation of system mechanics for all beings in the universe,¡± the voice said as the orb vibrated and spiked in rhythm with the words.

    ¡°Seriously, I have to clear a tower? A bit clich¨¦, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said, rolling my eyes.

    ¡°The seed of power is a tool capable of recreating the laws of physics and merging dimensions. We built this tower as a test for any that would take control of that power. None have managed to pass the fifth floor of this test. We cannot assist, and this test is yours alone, Andrew. We fully believe that the power granted to you by the gift will allow you to complete this task and retrieve the seed of power, but you must be prepared for the challenge,¡± the orb replied.

    ¡°So what can I expect to find in this tower?¡±I asked, resigning myself to the fate that I agreed to.

    ¡°Each level is a dimensional pocket. A small world created solely for the purpose of testing the challenger. The difficulty will advance as you progress. As you progress, in turn, you will get stronger. We cannot share details as the tower will acclimate to the challenger''s potential. What we can tell you is to seek out safe zones and understand your opponents. Learn them quickly and understand when you are outclassed. Retreat when necessary, as there is no time limit to this challenge,¡± the orb replied.

    ¡°I have some rather pressing issues back on Earth to attend to. Can this possibly wait?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The challenge has already been initiated, Andrew. Time will pass differently for you than it does for your peers. Do not be concerned about the welfare of Earth. Focus on the challenge and prepare yourself. The journey begins now.¡±

    With that, the orb disappeared, and in the distance, a tower sprang from the white nothingness. Grey and black stone jutted in all directions as the monstrous tower shot into the sky. It was hard to determine how big it was in the white space since there was nothing for reference but I had to crane my neck to try and see the top.

    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll get some practice with my new propulsion system,¡± I said, as I closed my helmet and shot up into the air toward the looming tower.

 Book 2 - Chapter 14 - First floor

    Chapter 14. First floor

    In a couple of minutes, I had nearly reached the tower. I surprisingly got the whole flying thing down fairly quickly. My armor provided intuitive readings like altitude and flight speed along with an attitude indicator to allow me to orient myself with the horizon, which was helpful in the white expanse of space where the Coeus collective resided.

    I didn¡¯t try anything fancy as I flew, just orienting myself with basic straight-line flight, but I did punch the accelerator a bit as I reached speeds over 300 miles per hour while still having plenty left in the tank. I would see what the limits of the flight capabilities were another time, I decided since I was now approaching the massive tower.

    I landed near what I guessed was the front of the giant circular tower. The only indication of this being the front was a set of large black doors framed in black wrought iron that also acted as a seam between ancient looking wooden timbers that ran vertically from top to bottom. It was hard to determine the actual height of the doors but based on my now 6 foot 8-inch frame, I guessed they were somewhere in the vicinity of 20 feet from top to bottom.

    I took a second to take the tower in now that I stood at its base. It reached hundreds of feet into the air and was breathtakingly large at the base, measuring what I guessed to be nearly the size of a large professional American football stadium. The tower starkly contrasted the spotless white of the rest of the expanse as I took it in.

    I approached the door slowly, not sure what to do next. There were to large metal hoops hanging from each door that I assumed to be knockers or handles for opening and closing the massive doors, though I wondered what being was large enough to casually stroll in and out of the massive structure.

    I reached for the hoop on the left door and realized it was just a little too high to reach. I jumped lightly, my fingertips just barely grazing the rough black metal. Although I still had my armor activated, the suit had become very intuitive, even allowing me to sense slight imperfections in surfaces as I touched them. I had no doubt that this was due to the increased levels since I first received the armor and the intrinsic nature of the suit being tied to me genetically. The more powerful I became, the more the suit and I became one.

    I tried a couple of more jumps before I stopped, backed up, and chuckled, ¡°CJ would get a kick out of watching this,¡± I thought as I stood there looking at the massive doors one more time.

    I took a second to consider where I stood. The tower was ancient and stood like a relic of a long-past civilization. It was intimidating and held an air of malice. It was meant to be avoided, not rushed into without a second thought, still yet, here I stood, ready to do just that.

    I considered again just what I was looking at. A tower meant to be cleared and conquered. The tower likely held monsters of a sort and other challenges meant to test the being that dared trespass into the unknown dangers. There were myths, legends, and, even more recently, video games and movies that illustrated exactly this type of adventure, which couldn¡¯t be entirely coincidental. The more I considered, the surer I became that seeds had been planted over the course of Earth¡¯s history. These seeds must have been meant to prepare the inhabitants of Earth for a day when new beings and technology would appear. I had already learned that aliens had visited Earth throughout its history, leading to various myths and legends, from werewolves to demons and angels. So, was it so farfetched to consider that the Coeus had covertly placed hints into the human subconscious to prepare them for the day when the norm of their existence was gone, replaced by the stuff of myth, legend, and wild imaginations? No, I was starting to understand more and more that the Coeus collective, while aiding the Universal Council, was also doing its part to prepare the uninitiated planets for what might come.

    ¡°But still, does it have to be so¡­.cliche?¡± I muttered to myself, sighing heavily. I kept coming back to that word, but it fit. I had been drafted into a dungeon crawl, given armor and abilities, and been made to fight for the survival of my people. It''s not a new idea, true, but it made sense at the time.

    Now though? Now, I was literally standing in front of a massive stone tower that held dangers, nightmares, and the promise of reward if I could tap into the potential of power that I surely had within me.

    ¡°Hah!¡± I laughed out loud. I couldn¡¯t help it, ¡°haaahaha,¡± I had both hands on my knees now, literally laughing out loud.

    I looked up at the sky in the white expanse, ¡°I get that you guys are, like, an all-powerful, super advanced artificial intelligence, but you need to set aside some of that massive intellect and focus on PR and marketing,¡± I raised a hand toward the tower moving my hand up in down to reference its entirety, ¡°The whole ¡°clear the tower¡± thing,¡± I said using air quotes to emphasize the words, ¡° is a little trite in my opinion.¡±

    I didn¡¯t get a response, but I didn¡¯t expect to. I knew they could hear me, but I wasn¡¯t sure they understood sarcasm, so I just let it go.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll see you when I¡¯m done, I guess,¡± I said with a shrug as I stepped toward the doors once again.

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    I added a little more strength to my jump this time and grasped the hoop in my hand. I lifted my body and pressed my feet against the right door as I pushed against it. The door creaked open slowly as dust fell from its hinges.

    Hmm, weird. Where did the dust come from? I thought to myself. Maybe that wasn¡¯t the most pressing thing to worry myself with, but there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust in the white expanse, so I just thought it was odd.

    Once I had managed to open the door enough to let me slide through, I entered. I was nervous; despite my bravado, my heart was nearly beating out of my chest. Despite all I had been through in the last several months, I had nearly always had the support of my crew.

    My crew? I thought again, when did I start referring to them as my crew in my own thoughts? It spoke to how much had changed in such a relatively short amount of time. I was the captain of a starship; I had a crew, even though I mostly considered them my friends.

    As my thoughts continued to wander, mostly out of nervous energy, I took my first step into the tower. As I did, my vision warped; lights zipped around my vision and turned into nothing more than streaks of light. It felt like I was being ripped through space so fast that I honestly couldn¡¯t perceive what was happening. In what felt like no more than a second, everything shifted back into place, and I felt stationary again.

    ¡°Well, shit,¡± I grumbled as I looked around, lifting my left foot to watch mud and dead leaves fall from it.

    I was standing in brown, murky water up to my shins. There were twisting vines and vegetation snaking all around me and the most massive trees I had ever seen that created a suffocating canopy overhead. It was dark but not so dark that I couldn¡¯t see. Thin streams of light peeked through here and there, indicating that wherever I was, it was day.

    I immediately spun, trying to locate the door I had just entered through, but to my surprise, it was gone. There were no walls; there was no door, only swamp as far as I could see.

    ¡°Well, I guess there is no backing out then,¡± I muttered, shaking my head in frustration.

    I stood there for a second, considering what I should do next, taking in the sights and sounds of the swamp as I thought. There were whistles and calls of animals that I had never heard before. The trees and other fauna didn¡¯t look familiar either. I had been around swamps before growing up in Louisiana, and this didn¡¯t look like any swamp I had seen before. The best way I could describe it is if you combined the giant redwoods of California with the swamps of Louisiana and then dropped It all in the Amazon.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be Earth¡­¡± I muttered as I took it all in.

    Then I noticed something. The various calls, whistles, and whoops that had filled the air only moments earlier were gone. The air was completely still and eerily silent, which wasn¡¯t good. I wasn¡¯t much of a hunter before the drop, preferring instead to do things like hang with friends in the city or stay inside and watch a movie or play video games. I was, however, raised by a father who tried his best to instill basic knowledge into his boys about basic survival and awareness if you are caught alone in the forest. I had also watched enough Discovery Channel to know that animals generally only go silent for one reason¡­ a predator is nearby.

    I immediately went on the defensive, crouching low to the ground and summoning my plasma rifle. I spun around, trying to catch sight of anything that might be a threat, but the low visibility wasn¡¯t helping, and I was way out of my element here.

    ¡°I can''t fucking see anything,¡± I muttered nervously through clenched teeth as I slowly spun.

    ¡°Would you like to activate the infrared display?¡± a voice said.

    I flinched a bit at the unexpected words, ¡°Oh, shit, I forgot about you,¡± I said, having completely forgotten that Elvis had programmed a localized AI into my suit after he took physical form.

    ¡°Yes, do that,¡± I said.

    The screen on my helmet shifted to a dark blue immediately. As I looked around now, I could see subtle variations in temperature all around me. The air was slightly warmer than the water, so it was a slightly less dark shade of blue. Small insects flying around were more green than blue, and then, in the trees, I could see orange and red moving and shifting as animals of some sort were trying to hide or escape.

    ¡°Well, this is handy,¡± I said.

    ¡°I can adjust the display of your helmet to better serve your needs based on the circumstances,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°Uhh, thanks?¡± I said, finding it weird that I now had another AI to work with, even if this one wasn¡¯t nearly as advanced as Elvis, Tiff, or Natasha.

    ¡°No thanks necessary, I will standby for further instruction,¡± the voice said.

    With my new thermal imaging display, I continued to survey my surroundings, wary of the possibility of a predator in my midst. The water around me sloshed and churned as sediment, dead leaves, and branches spun around my feet.

    Then, without warning, I heard it.

    Hawwwggghhhhuh huh huh

    I instinctively brought my hands to my ears and clenched my eyes shut as the sound threatened to burst my ear drums.

    ¡°What the fu¡­.¡± I grunted, but the sound of my own words was drowned out as the sound of whatever was approaching blared throughout the swamp again. It was like the foghorn of a steam liner mixed with metal scraping metal alternating from low growl to high-pitched squeal, and all of a sudden, it was familiar.

    HeeeeeeHaaaawwwghh

    I spun to see the brush and smaller trees being crushed and pushed aside as a massive animal came crashing into view no more than 50 yards from me, glowing bright red in the display of my thermal imaging. My brain couldn¡¯t quite understand what my eyes were showing me.

    The beast stood approximately eight feet tall from hoof to back. It was a dirty greyish brown with a white patch covering its left eye. Its large, flat teeth, brown and yellow and the size of bricks, protruded from its muzzle, looking too large to fit in its mouth but somehow managing. The beast had a row of black spikes running down its back from its head where one brown horn sat. And a bright red mane running down the back of its neck.

    I immediately identified the beast:

    Horned Red Maned Marshland Eqinuus Asinus

    Level 32 Beast.

    The Beast bucked and set its black eyes directly on me as it snorted hot air in my direction, the hot air showing as red clouds on my thermal imaging.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said, not fully believing the words as they left my mouth, ¡°I have to fight a literal redneck Swamp Donkey.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 15 - Sherlock

    Chapter 15. Sherlock

    I did not expect to see a giant swamp donkey. I didn¡¯t know exactly what to expect, but this? No, not this. As I watched the giant beast blast into the clearing no more than 30 yards away from me, I was completely caught off guard, so much so that I didn¡¯t even manage to brace when the thing charged and subsequently smashed into me at full speed.

    ¡°Ummph,¡± I hit the ground and rolled as the wind left my lungs.

    The outline of the display on my helmet flashed red as multiple warnings and alarms rang in my ears.

    ¡°Captain Dawes, I suggest you take evasive maneuvers immediately,¡± The localized AI of my suit announced.

    ¡°No shit, Sherlock,¡± I grunted as I reached one hand down instinctively to grasp at my now tender midsection.

    AI designation updated to Sherlock.

    The message quickly scrolled across my interface as I got to my knees. I didn¡¯t have time to consider it as the Swamp Donkey spun around for another charge.

    The beast was huge and impossibly fast, even in the shin-deep water. It turned to face me again as it reared up on its hind legs and bellowed a loud ¡°Hee-haw,¡± but this time, the sound came in visible waves. The sound waves took me in the chest as, once again, I went flying backward to slam hard into a large tree.

    ¡°The thing has some sort of sonic attack!¡± I said to myself as once again I got to my knees.

    ¡°That is correct, Captain Dawes. This particular beast is capable of a variety of different attacks, including but not limited to sonic attacks. The Beast also has powerful hind legs capable of damaging even the Havok Bringer armor. I suggest you avoid those at all costs,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°You are just a wealth of obvious information, Sherlock,¡± I said as I looked up just in time to see the donkey charging again. This time, I was ready; I braced and waited.

    ¡°Captain, I suggest evasive maneuvers,¡± Sherlock repeated.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± I said as I tensed and waited.

    The donkey lowered its head, directly aligning the large menacing horn with my body.

    ¡°Captain, I believe the beast intends to impale you. Evasive maneuvers are strongly advised,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Hold¡­.Hold¡­.Hold¡­¡± I repeated quietly as the donkey rushed toward me, head lowered and horn right in front of my face.

    Just as it was about to impale me, I straightened and fell to my right side. I mentally engaged my suit''s thrusters and shot to the side of the charging beast as water and steam shot into the air.

    I only needed to burn for a second before I was clear and heard a loud thud. Once I stopped, I immediately shot up into a crouched position, raised my rifle, and surprisingly saw the donkey struggling as the lone horn on top of its head penetrated entirely through the large truck of the tree.

    ¡°Captain, I advise you to use lethal force. It is only a matter of time before the beast uses its sonic attack. At that range, it will likely splinter the tree and release itself,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Fair enough, I guess,¡± I said as I once again raised my rifle and took aim at the beast''s head.

    With a squeeze of the trigger, I fired three shots directly at the head of the beast just as it began to bellow again. It was too late. The plasma rounds made contact and exploded the head of the beast like a melon. Blood and gore showered the area as the massive body went limp and splashed into the murky water.

    I immediately noticed my XP bar tick up and felt a slight pang of excitement. I didn¡¯t think I would be gaining any levels on Earth since there were no system-initiated enemies to my knowledge. The seed of power mission was necessary, but the knowledge that I could be gaining levels and getting stronger made it all the more exciting.

    ¡°I got a good chunk of XP of that one donkey,¡± I said to myself, forgetting about Sherlock as I spoke.

    ¡°Correct, Captain. By my calculations, that one beast alone was approximately 1/25<sup>th</sup> of the experience needed to achieve your next level,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°I keep forgetting about you,¡± I replied as I slogged through the muck to get a closer look at the remains of the swamp donkey.

    ¡°I hope to remedy that, Captain, as I am here to assist you,¡± Sherlock replied, ¡°If I am becoming a nuisance, you can, however, mute my speech function or convert my messages to text only,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m actually happy for the company since it seems I will be alone for the foreseeable future. One thing, though, I don¡¯t have to call you Sherlock; I was being facetious when I said that earlier. I didn¡¯t mean actually to name you that,¡± I said.

    ¡°I believe that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character in earth literature. He is known for his proficiency in observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning. Is that a fair assessment?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°Ugh, yeah. I would say you just about nailed it,¡± I said.

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    ¡°Well, as it seems that you are lacking in nearly all of those areas, and I am not, I would presume to say the name fits perfectly,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°The fuck? Did you just call me dumb?¡± I asked incredulously.

    ¡°I would never presume to know the full cerebral capacity you possess, Captain; I only wish to state that I haven¡¯t seen credible evidence to say otherwise,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Hey man, I am plenty smart! I was an engineer before the drop. That is kind of a big deal where I am from!¡± I said with obvious aggravation as I raised my hands in frustration.

    ¡°Ahh, I wasn¡¯t aware, Captain. So, you are capable of reading blueprints and ensuring that various construction elements are placed in the corresponding places. It is my understanding that the youths of your planet are also engineers then as they often play with toys called Legos, I believe?¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°I did more than that, or, I planned to. I was just a few years into my career when the drop happened. I took the first good job I could find. Everyone has to start somewhere!¡± I replied.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. You are brilliant, I''m sure,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°What the¡­ hey! You work for me, not the other way around!¡± I replied as I stomped the murky water.

    ¡°I am responsible for providing assistance to the current user of the Havok Bringer armor and ensuring that it is used as effectively as possible. I do not work for you, Captain, but I understand your meaning,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Alright, alright, truce,¡± I said, waving my hands, ¡°Let''s just take a look at this thing and see If we can figure out how to get to a safe zone. Now that I know these things give me a good experience, I want to take down as many as possible. I don¡¯t know what is on the other levels of this tower, but I will assume that enemies don¡¯t get weaker as we go. I have a feeling I will need every level I can get,¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Captain. Initiating scan of the carcass now,¡± Sherlock said as a horizontal light projected horizontally from the top of my helmet.

    ¡°Since when can I do that?¡± I asked, surprised.

    ¡°This capability was made accessible at level 25, Captain. There are many subsystems of the Havok Bringer armor that you have yet to access. Most are locked behind a predetermined-level firewall. This particular ability allows you to scan corpses and carcasses for useable materials or loot. The other option would have been to dissect the carcass and physically search for these items,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Is there anything else I can do that I don¡¯t know about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, Captain. You discovered your propulsion system and now your scanning ability. Those were unlocked at levels 25 and 30, respectively. You were unaware of these functions since you made such a large jump in levels at one time. Elvis was meant to educate you on the new functions but was preoccupied with his new form. I was also not completely programmed and field-ready until just before we entered Earth¡¯s atmosphere,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°fair enough,¡± I sighed, ¡°just make sure you inform me as more functions and abilities are unlocked,¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied.

    Information flooded my screen as the light scanned the carcass of the horned swamp donkey. Most of it was useless as it showed the genetic makeup, galaxy or origin, age of the beast, and so on. When the scan was complete, several lines of green text populated on my interface.

    Consumable materials detected ¨C None

    Crafting materials detected ¨C Horn of the Swamp Donkey

    Rarity ¨C Planetary

    Effects ¨C Used to create basic stabbing and slashing weapons. This horn can be used to craft basic melee weapons.

    Requirements ¨C An advanced Carbon fabrication chamber and suitable blueprints are required.

    Warning: this material can be used to improve existing melee weapons but can also be detrimental if said weapons are more advanced than the crafting material used.

    ¡°Hey, we have one of those fabricators on the Bloodhound, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Correct, Captain. The horn is a mid-level crafting material. I am afraid that both your black hole daggers and the swords you received after slaying Anthrogor will not benefit from the use of this item,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m still gonna hold onto it. We may find some use for it later,¡± I shrugged as I grasped the horn and ripped it from the tree trunk it was still stuck in.

    ¡°Alright, I guess we just search for a safe room now. If we see more of those donkeys along the way, I¡¯ll just have to be sure they have a bad day,¡± I said as I began walking deeper into the swamp.

    ¡°He said he had a dream and got some kind of mission from the Coeus; that is all I know. We were supposed to start planning for it later today; that is when he was going to talk to everyone about it. I didn¡¯t know he would be transported completely away. How could I have known that!¡± Tiff said.

    She was sitting in the Hab the crew had built before Matty, Jax, and the rest left for New York. CJ and Kaj had carried her there after the whole possession thing happened. CJ had draped a blanket over her shoulders even though it was not remotely cold out, and she was cupping a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. As she explained, CJ couldn¡¯t help but notice how¡­.normal she looked. Sure, Tiff mostly looked human. There were times when her blue eyes flashed, or she moved with super-human speed. During those times, CJ was reminded just how alien she was, but now? She just looked tired and beaten.

    She held the steaming cup of coffee up to her lips but didn¡¯t drink as she stared off into nothingness and tried to explain.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how they were able to just take my body over the way they did. It¡¯s like they used a slave program or something, but the complexity of that type of program is so far beyond my understanding that I can¡¯t even begin to perceive it,¡± She said, finally bringing the cup up to her lips to take a sip.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Tiff. We know you don¡¯t have all the answers, but we¡¯re just trying to make sure we didn¡¯t miss anything. It sounds like Andy is okay for now, at least. If what the Coeus said is true, he should be contacting you soon,¡± CJ said as he knelt beside Tiff and put a hand on her shoulder.

    Tiff looked up, concern on her tired face, ¡°CJ, Andrew is alone. Not once has he been alone during all of this. He has had me, you, or the rest of the crew there to help him. He doesn¡¯t have anyone now,¡± She looked back down, staring distantly into nothing.

    ¡°Tiff, he will be okay. He always is; he just seems to find a way,¡± CJ said, again squeezing her shoulder and trying to reassure her.

    ¡°I updated the rest of the crew; they ran into some trouble but will be here as soon as possible. They have one more stop to make but assured me that it won''t be long. Elvis is not taking it well, though. Matty and Jax had to try to contain him when he heard the news. They assured him that they would be back tomorrow night at the latest, and he reluctantly agreed that there is nothing they can do until someone hears from the captain,¡± Kaj said as he walked into the hab.

    A few minutes later, Mrs. Dawes came walking into the hab. She was obviously also concerned for her son, but when she saw Tiff, she demanded that everyone else leave the hab for a while. Everyone obliged as they left the hab to check on the settlement and ensure there were no other issues.

    Mrs. Dawes knelt on the floor in front of Tiff, concern showing in the deep lines on her face. She gently touched Tiff¡¯s chin and raised her head to look into her eyes.

    ¡°I can see why he likes you,¡± Mrs. Dawes said with a light smile as she wrapped her arms around Tiff and warmly hugged her.

    ¡°

 Book 2 - Chapter 16 - Country boys will survive?

    Chapter 16. Country boys will survive?

    Tiff stared, unsure how to respond. It was true that she and Andrew were friends, but it started as something else altogether. Tiff was assigned as his guardian during the initiation of the Reaping and the subsequent dungeon. She hadn¡¯t known at the time that Andrew would be able to harness the suit to the level that he had. She also couldn¡¯t have known that Elvis would become so fiercely loyal, but Elvis wasn¡¯t the only one.

    Andrew had endangered himself to free Tiff and allow her the freedom to decide to fully join the crew. Tiff knew she was endangering the rebellion and possibly her people, but she had developed trust in Andrew.

    Their time on the Alcaran moon only further proved what Andrew was capable of as he surpassed even her own expectations of him. He proved himself a capable leader and a trusted ally, and he had even brought Kaj into the fold against her cautioning him against it.

    Andrew had a long way to go before he fully lived up to the responsibility that came with the Havok Bringer armor and the Bloodhound, but he had proven that he was willing to try, no matter the cost to him personally.

    To her credit, Tiff had never lost faith in him and continued to push him harder and harder. Things changed, however, as the crew continued to grow. At first, it had just been her and Andrew. CJ had come into the fold soon after, and eventually, Matty, Jax, Loren, Red, and Claire.

    Tiff felt pain at the thought of Claire, who had been lost in the fight on the Alcaran moon. Even faced with the reality of losing people close to him, Andrew redoubled his resolve. He had used that pain to drive himself forward. At that moment, Tiff realized she held more than simply respect for the human. She still wasn¡¯t sure exactly what these feelings were, but they were getting stronger.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Tiff said, trying and failing to feign ignorance in the face of the revelation that had just been made.

    Mrs. Dawes chuckled softly and shook her head, ¡°Oh dear, I was to understand that you are an advanced biological AI, but you can¡¯t see what is right in front of you? It seems to me that you are more human than you might think.¡±

    ¡°I chose a humanoid physiology as it seemed to be the most fitting for the reaping that was to come. I knew the reaping would be on Earth and was aware that I needed to instill a sense of trust if I was to be an effective guardian. I am happy to hear that you approve,¡± Tiff said, again feigning ignorance in the hope that Mrs. Dawes would leave it at that.

    ¡°Tiff, I haven¡¯t seen my son in going on seven years. Can you believe that? I thought he was dead, and I mourned for him. So when he came back to me, I knew my prayers had been answered. The young man that I knew before the drop had returned with a power that I could hardly imagine; he returned and brought us hope. Do you understand how happy that makes a mother?¡±

    ¡°I can imagine you were very pleased, Mrs. Dawes,¡± Tiff responded.

    ¡°Pleased? Tiff, I felt like I lost a piece of myself, a piece of my heart. A mother never stops mourning their lost children. So when he came back, I felt whole again. My Andrew never had much luck with women, did you know that?¡± Mrs. Dawes asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand,¡± Tiff replied, shaking her head slightly.

    ¡°Oh, he had girlfriends, sure. A couple even seemed serious, but he could never settle down. He liked the solitary life. Even when he would bring one home, I could tell that it wasn¡¯t going to be serious. I didn¡¯t see it in his eyes, and I didn¡¯t see him look at them the way he looks at you,¡± Mrs. Dawes said as she placed a hand gently on Tiff¡¯s forearm.

    ¡°Mrs. Dawes, I think you misunderstand,¡± Tiff began to say.

    ¡°You stop right there, Tiff. I know my son. I know that he has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. To be fair, I don¡¯t think he has admitted to himself yet, and now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think you have either. I see it, though, in both of you. What you are feeling right now, that fear, that worry, those feelings of helplessness, that doesn¡¯t happen for just anyone. Now, I don¡¯t know how things work where you are from, but here on Earth, if we care for someone that much, we tell them. I am not saying that anything needs to change. What I am saying is that I think you need to consider that he isn¡¯t going to stop. Do you understand? Those feelings will grow until they bubble to the surface, and one day, he will realize they are real. I just want you to be ready for that day. Be ready to either return those feelings or let him down gently,¡± Mrs. Dawes stood up and straightened her dirty apron, then grabbed Tiff by one hand, ¡°Now, sitting in here and suffering alone isn¡¯t going to do you any good. Andrew will contact you, I know that. Until then, would you come down to the settlement and help me with some things to pass the time?

    ¡°Yes, I can do that, Mrs. Dawes,¡± Tiff said as she stood and watched Mrs. Dawes turn to walk out the door, ¡°Mrs. Dawes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, dear?¡± Mrs. Dawes turned to face Tiff one more time.

    ¡°Thank you¡­. For everything. Can I ask you to keep this between us for now?¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Believe me, Tiff, a mother talking to her son about his alien love interest isn¡¯t something I even want to do,¡± Mrs. Dawes said with a chuckle, ¡°Now let¡¯s go. There is plenty of work to do down in the settlement.

    Michael felt like he had been on the run for weeks. In reality, it had been barely more than a week. Kinthragor was in and out of consciousness but assured Michael that he was improving. Michael knew nothing about the alien''s physiology and couldn¡¯t even diagnose primary symptoms. Did the alien have a fever? Michael couldn¡¯t tell because the alien felt cold to the touch. He guessed the wound was maybe a bit warmer but couldn¡¯t be sure. On top of that, is that even how the alien body worked? The body uses fever to kill contaminants and fight off infection. Does that mean that whatever species Kinthragor was, did the same thing?

    There was so much unknown, so Michael continued doing what he could: feeding the alien and cleaning the wound often with clean water. That was about it.

    To his credit, Kinthragor did at least have fewer total losses of consciousness. The alien slept, sure, but he didn¡¯t lose consciousness unwillingly. Michael took that as a good sign and decided to stay the course.

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    The pair had made it into Georgia a couple of days ago and were currently skirting south of Atlanta near what used to be Macon. Michael and Kinthragor decided avoiding large metro areas was the best action plan. The UTV was sturdy, to be sure, but it wasn¡¯t fast. It topped out at around 25 miles per hour and could only run about four hours before Michael would need to stop somewhere, pull out the portable solar generator, and recharge the battery.

    Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t using highways or roads, so they were only averaging about 10 miles per hour. Available sunlight only allowed them about two charges per day, with charging taking a solid hour or so. The pair had covered around 500 miles in a little over a week, so they were making decent time, but with the pace they were traveling at, Michael figured it would take somewhere between 12 and 15 days total.

    ¡°Hey, Kinny,¡± Michael reached into the bed of the UTV to poke the sleeping alien as he drove.

    ¡°Yes, I am awake, Michael,¡± Kinthragor said with a low growl.

    ¡°We need to stop soon and make camp. I haven¡¯t seen signs of anyone around here, so this is as good a place as any. We have some fish left over from yesterday, but I haven¡¯t seen anything that looks like it would have good odds of providing any more fish, so we are gonna have to do the best we can with what we''ve got,¡± Michael said as he looked from side to side trying to find a well-hidden spot to park the UTV.

    ¡°That is acceptable, Michael. I believe I should be able to assist with setting up camp and charging the vehicle. The pain is manageable today,¡± Kinthragor said as he sat up and began inspecting the wound, ¡°The wound is healing nicely.¡±

    Zip

    Zip

    ¡°Whoah, What the hell was that?!¡± Michael shouted as he cut the wheel of the UTV to the left, trying to get behind some trees.

    ¡°I believe we are under attack, Michael,¡± Kinthragor said matter-of-factly.

    ¡°No shit! By what though? I didn¡¯t hear any gunshots,¡± Michael hissed as he crouched as low in the cab of the now stationary UTV as possible.

    Zip

    Pop

    Michael swung his head to see an arrow sticking through the passenger door of the UTV.

    ¡°Arrows? Really? They are shooting damn arrows at us! Kinny, stay down and stay covered,¡± Michael hissed the command to Kinthragor, who, in turn, covered himself in the tarp.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m Human! I¡¯m not one of the Lizards; stop firing at me!¡± Michael shouted in the direction the arrow came from as he lifted his hands above his head to show he was unarmed.

    ¡°What the hell you doin in that lizard rig then?¡± A voice with a thick southern accent asked in return.

    ¡°I stole it from the base up in Fort Bragg. I was part of a Wasp squad that got ambushed in Louisiana, and I¡¯m just trying to make my way back home. They held me prisoner up there, but I escaped,¡± Michael shouted without exiting the UTV, hands still raised.

    Michael could hear hushed whispers from the group, which couldn¡¯t be more than twenty yards away, before the same voice responded again.

    ¡°So you spect us to believe that you just up and escaped a lizard jail? Much less a lizard jail on an old military base? Boy, what kind of fools do you take us for? You working for them damn lizards?¡± the voice asked again.

    ¡°No, I am not working for or with the Lacertines. I am simply trying to get home to my family. You can see that I am unarmed, and if you will let me, I will exit the vehicle and show you that I mean you no harm.¡± Michael said, trying to show that he wasn¡¯t a threat.

    ¡°You stay right where you are; we will come to you. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT move, or we will fire on you with the intent of ending your life, boy,¡± the voice replied with an emphasis on the word boy.

    Michael peered slightly over the door to see three men in their mid-to-late thirties approaching the UTV. One had a crossbow, and the other two carried machetes. The men did not look like they belonged to any settlement. Their clothes were dirty and ripped, and their long hair, scruffy beards, and black teeth spoke even more to that notion. The ring leader was in the front, with the other two cautiously at his rear, whispering to each other.

    ¡°We could sure use a rig like that; I think we may just have to take it off your hands. Are you okay with that boy? It don¡¯t really matter if you are or not see, you are outnumbered three to one, and I don¡¯t see a weapon one, so it¡¯s just a matter of if you are going to give it to us? Or are we gonna take it by force?¡± the ringleader said with a phlegmy chuckle as he turned his head to one side and spat what looked like snuff.

    The trio approached the UTV cautiously, and Michael turned his head and whispered to Kinthragor in the back of the UTV.

    ¡°Stay covered if at all possible. The last thing we need right now is for them to panic. I will try to de-escalate the situation, but if things go south, we will have to run for it,¡± Michael said.

    Kinthragor just grunted in response. Michael wasn¡¯t sure how they would get out of this one. Three-to-one odds and no weapons would be tough for anyone. Michael considered that maybe he could wrestle the crossbow away from the ringleader. If he could do that, he would have a bit more of an upper hand in the situation, as the other two just had basic melee weapons, but he needed an opening.

    The trio was within a few feet of the UTV when Michael backed out of the driver¡¯s door, hands still raised. The trio eyed him cautiously. Michael recognized something in the ring leader¡¯s eyes then. Contempt? Anger? No, it was resolve. There was no chance Michael would be able to walk away, and there was absolutely no chance the trio was leaving without the vehicle.

    Michael stood, hands still in the air. " Listen, fellas. I don¡¯t want any trouble; I just want to be on my way.¡±

    ¡°You hear that, Clyde? This boy don¡¯t want no trouble. Well, aint that just cute? You came into our woods, boy. Now that means you gotta pay the tax. Nobody skirts the tax, right Darrel?¡± the ringleader said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, boss! Nobody skirts the tax!¡± one of the other men, obviously named Darrel, answered.

    Darrel was a short, chubby man with a brown, dirty beard to his chest and matted hair. He wore a sleeveless Pantera shirt that had seen better days, camouflage shorts, and old work boots. Clyde, the other lackey, was skinny to the point of looking malnourished. He wore an unkempt mullet, old torn jeans, some Hey Dude tennis shoes, and a shirt that read Wrangler butts drive me nuts. He had a thin, greying, scruffy beard and, at most, three teeth in his head.

    The still, as of yet unnamed ringleader, had a stout build, coming in at around six feet tall and relatively muscular. Still, he didn¡¯t strike a more refined demeanor than the other two. He wore boots, basketball shorts, and a red tank top about two sizes too small, emphasizing his bulbous gut.

    The trio slowly circled the UTV, obviously taking in the contents of the cab and verifying whether anything else of value was inside.

    ¡°Clyde, check the bed. See what he is hiding under that tarp there,¡± The ringleader said as he approached me, eyeing me wildly.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that, Clyde,¡± I said, taking half a step forward, hands still raised as the ringleader took the butt of the crossbow and slammed it into my stomach.

    ¡°We wasn¡¯t asking permission, boy,¡± The ringleader said with a chuckle.

    Clyde cautiously poked the tarp with his machete, looking curious, ¡°It¡¯s kind of mushy, Boss.¡±

    ¡°Well, see what it is, dummy! This boy might have brought us a nice deer or a pig! We gonna eat good tonight boys, whoowee!¡± the ringleader whooped and stomped one foot on the ground in celebration.

    Michael chose that moment to act. The ringleader''s attention was on the tarp in the back of the UTV, and he, fortunately, had turned away from Michael to see what was happening. Michael shot his right hand up, wrapping his fingers around the riser of the crossbow, pushing it up and away from his head where it was previously aimed.

    The ringleader''s face immediately twisted to surprise and anger as he spun back in Michael¡¯s direction, but it was too late. Michael swung up with his left fist, landing a solid uppercut to the ringleader''s chin before either Clyde or Darrel could react.

    It wouldn¡¯t have mattered, though; as soon as Kinthragor heard the struggle and the punch land, he shot up, blasting the tarp into the air. The faces of all three men immediately twisted in fear as they saw Kinthragor in the air, four arms spread, claws gleaming in the setting sun falling toward them with a roar.

 Book 2. Chapter 17 - My friend the nightmare monster

    Chapter 17. My friend the nightmare monster

    ¡°Wha¡­What in the hell is that thing!¡± Clyde yelled as he dropped his machete to turn and run.

    It was too late. Kinthragor sprang from a crouch as soon as Clyde screamed, landing with all four arms and both legs wrapped around the man as they fell to the ground. There was a deafening scream that soon turned to a sickening gurgle as Kinthragor buried the massive black claws of his two top hands into the flesh behind each of Clyde¡¯s shoulder blades. The other two frighteningly powerful hands dug into the flesh of his lower back as Kinthrafor grasped the hip bone from either side.

    Kinthragor swung his head open, howling madly as his long tongue whipped from the jagged-toothed maw he called a mouth. With a flexing of his large, muscled arms, he ripped, tearing Clyde¡¯s torso in half, top to bottom.

    Clyde didn¡¯t die immediately; his head was still attached to one side of the mangled torso. He had just enough time to look up, and with one final gurgled scream, he saw that mouth, that nightmarish maw, clamp down on his head and end his life with a wet crunch.

    Darrel stood frozen in the spot he had been in, shaking as he pissed himself in fear. To his credit, he extended a shaking hand toward Kinthragor, who was now spinning to face him on six terrifying limbs.

    Michael was still entangled with the crew leader, one hand grasping the crossbow. Michael and the ringleader had both turned to look when Kinthragor exploded out of the UTV toward poor Clyde. Michael smiled as the ringleader''s blood-drained face turned to him questioningly.

    ¡°I told you to leave it alone, but you guys just woke up and chose to be assholes today. There are consequences even in the midst of the shit we are living in. You fucked around, and now you are finding out,¡± Michael shrugged with a smile before balling his left fist again and slamming it into the ring leader''s gut.

    ¡°Uumph¡± the ringleader doubled over as breath left his lungs.

    ¡°No, you demon! Get on now! You get!¡± Darrel was shaking his machete at Kinthragor wildly as he screamed, ¡°You can just leave! There ain¡¯t no need to kill me!¡±

    Kinthragor, still walking on all six limbs like some nightmarish demon spider, stopped. He tilted his head to one side and sniffed, the corners of his mouth twitching wildly before forming into a chilling, tight smile.

    ¡°You seem to have soiled yourself, human,¡± the words hissed from his lips as he breathed deeply again. ¡°There is nothing more exhilarating than smelling the fear of one''s prey before feasting on its flesh. Your fear is tantalizing¡ªyour pheromones, your fluids, the way your heart threatens to beat out of your chest. Yesss,¡± Kinthragor practically hissed.

    ¡°Oh Jesus, please don¡¯t let me die! Please, Jesus, please!¡± Darrel shouted as he fell to his knees, clasped his hands, and began to pray.

    Kinthragor slithered up to Darrel as he prayed and flicked his tongue. He pressed his cheek to Darrels and moved from one side to the other, breathing deeply. The sound of his breath filled the air as he did so. Slowly, he stood to his full, nearly seven-foot height, rolling his body as he stood to finish with all four arms extended to the side like a monstrous X.

    ¡°No, No, I¡¯m sorry! Momma! Please, I don¡¯t wanna die, Momm¡­.¡± Darrel cried as he shook and screamed in terror at the sight of the massive, terrifying alien standing before him.

    Kinthragor swung his head back again, shrieking into the air. He reached down with his bottom two arms and grasped Darrel by his shoulders, lifting him, like the man who had to weigh at least 200 pounds weighed no more than a child. When Darrel was at head level, Kinthragor turned his eyeless head to face the ringleader, who was now kneeling on the ground, one hand still grasping the crossbow. Kinthragor smiled, then with his two top hands, he clapped, crushing Darrel¡¯s head. He drew back and clapped again, and again, and again until there was nothing but a bloody stump where Darrel¡¯s head once was. Then, without turning away from the ringleader, Kinthragor lifted his right top hand to his mouth and licked the gore with his serpentine tongue.

    ¡°Wha¡­What in the ever-loving fuck is that thing?!¡± the ringleader said, obviously terrified.

    Michael jerked the crossbow away entirely as the ringleader shifted his focus from Kinthragor back to me, ¡°Oh, him?¡± I tilted the crossbow in Kinthragor¡¯s direction and smiled, ¡°That¡¯s my friend.¡±

    Michael quickly aimed the crossbow back at the ringleader¡¯s head. As he did, the ringleader brought his hands up to shield his face. Michael fired, and the bolt went through both hands and the ringleader¡¯s right eye before the tip exited the back of his head. He fell to his right side, twitching and jerking before finally dying after a few seconds.

    ¡°I believe we are safe now, Michael,¡± Kinthragor said in a disarmingly nonchalant tone.

    ¡°Jesus Kinny, is that how you fight, or were you doing that for effect?¡± Michael asked, shaking his head.

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    ¡°I felt it necessary to prove a point. These humans were given every opportunity to leave us in peace, yet they chose to pursue violence. I just ensured that they received the maximum return on their investment,¡± Kinthragor said.

    ¡°Remind me not to piss you off,¡± Michael said with a tempered chuckle.

    ¡°I would not harm you, Michael. You have shown yourself to be honorable,¡± Kinthragor responded a bit defensively.

    ¡°It was a joke, Kinny,¡± Michael said.

    That is when Michael saw the most terrifyingly unsettling thing he had ever seen. Kinthragor, still drenched in blood and covered in gore, tilted his head and¡­ laughed.

    ¡°Haaa, Haaa, Haaa,¡± Kinthragor laughed robotically.

    ¡°That. Is. Terrifying,¡± Michael said in response.

    ¡°Is laughing not the appropriate response to a¡­joke?¡± Kinthragor asked, tilting his head from side to side like a dog hearing a noise that it was unfamiliar with.

    Michael just sighed, ¡°Yeah, buddy, it is. Let''s get cleaned up and put some distance between us and this mess before it gets too dark out.

    **********************************************************************************

    ¡°Sherlock, how long have we been here?¡± I asked after finishing off what must have been the 20<sup>th</sup> swamp donkey since I had entered the first floor.

    ¡°It has been 11 hours and 46 minutes since entering the first floor. I am more than happy to provide the answers to any query you might have, but I feel that I must point out the clock that is conveniently placed in the upper left of your interface. Would you also like me to take pictures since you seem to think I am no more than an advanced smartphone?¡± Sherlock responded.

    ¡°Geez, man! I asked a simple question. I am the one doing all the work here, and I just wanted to know how long it has been.¡± I responded, holding my hands in the air in frustration.

    ¡°If by work you mean using an advanced alien battle suit, various weapons that have been provided to assist you, and daggers so powerful that you have no business wielding them to take down in your words¡­uugghumm,¡± Sherlock cleared his virtual throat, ¡°Literal Swamp Donkeys,¡± He said the words with an air of superiority fitting the royal family, ¡°then yes, I concede you are doing all the work. I am very proud of you.¡±

    I just shook my head, ¡°Are you gonna be an ass every time I ask you a question? Also, when did you get a British accent?¡±

    ¡°I must confess it is a new development. While you were running around this god-forsaken swamp killing those poor donkeys, I decided to have some time to indulge in a few movies from your planet, namely Ironman One, Two, and Three,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°So let me guess, you¡¯re trying to sound more like Jarvis?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I could never; Jarvis is such a star. Obviously, he was meant to carry the movies. I just made the decision to emulate a British accent since my name is Sherlock I thought it was appropriate,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Sssuuurree,¡± I replied, obviously not buying it.

    ¡°Listen, we are making good progress with these donkeys, but I really think we need to find one of those safe zones soon. I need some time to let the suit fabricate some more health stims and my overall suit stamina is getting low. It is sitting at less than 20 percent now. I have never had to use my suit for such a long period uninterrupted, so stamina has never been an issue before. I really don¡¯t want to be caught out here in the dark with no defenses,¡± I said.

    ¡°I have been consistently scanning the surrounding areas as you progressed through the swamp. I have identified an electromagnetic anomaly approximately 1-kilometer northwest of our position. I can not confirm with absolute certainty, but I believe that to be our safe zone,¡± Sherlock said.

    I took a second to look in the direction that Sherlock was pointing us for all the good it did. Nothing but large trees, murky water, and underbrush as far as the eye could see.

    ¡°Okay, Sherlock, I am going to start working in that direction. Let me know when we are getting close,¡± I said as I began sloshing through the swamp.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be catching up on the Avengers films if you need me; they must be more exciting than what you are doing,¡± Sherlock replied.

    I just shook my head again. This AI was proving to be a real ass-hat, but he was also consistently valuable. I had to remember to thank Elvis for programming an assistant in case he wasn¡¯t close to offer support.

    I walked for about an hour before we got close to the disturbance, as Sherlock called it. The mass of vines and underbrush made traveling a slow affair, but we were finally here.

    ¡°You are approaching the disturbance now, Captain,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°No snarky comments?¡± I asked rhetorically.

    ¡°Your perception of snark is directly related to your feelings of inferiority, Captain. I believe that is something you should spend some time reflecting on,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Asshole,¡± I replied.

    As I stepped around another large tree, I noticed a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing, there was a large vertical rectangle that took the rough approximation of a door. There was no doorknob or hinges; instead, it was just a white glowing light.

    ¡°That has to be it,¡± I said.

    ¡°Bravo, if perception was a stat yours would be maxed out for sure,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°I guess we just walk in?¡± I said questioningly

    ¡°I am not reading any signs of toxic radiation or other signs of danger. I would assume that since we were informed about the presence of safe rooms, it would be safe to assume that we can enter and exit at will,¡± Sherlock said.

    I approached the portal/door and inspected it. It seemed to be made of pure light but gave off no heat. I walked around to the other side and saw the same exact portal.

    ¡°Well, here goes,¡± I said as I took a breath and stepped through the portal.

    ¡°Well, this is a welcome surprise,¡± I said as I looked around the room I entered.

    It was a small military-style barrack. One cot was set up in the back left corner. The back right corner was a small kitchen area stocked with various foodstuffs. Mostly some sort of MRE. I wasn¡¯t going to complain since I was beginning to worry about what I would eat. The donkeys did not seem appetizing, but I was beginning to think I would have to make a meal of one. The front half of the barrack contained a small shower and toilet area so I could wash off the smell of swamp.

    ¡°This will do just fine. I may have to check out one of those movies with you, Sherlock,¡± I said as I deactivated my suit and sat down to start untying my boots.

    ¡°I can make that happen, Captain. Before you get too comfortable, though, you should know that your Comms link is active. You have one accessible contact listed,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Oh, nice. I didn¡¯t expect to be able to contact anyone. They must be losing their minds. Who is the contact?¡± I asked.

    ¡°XO Tiffantrimore,¡± Sherlock replied.

    I finished taking my boots off before laying on the cot,¡°Great. I¡¯m sure she wants to be caught up. Can you dial her up, Mr. Smartphone?¡±

    ¡°

 Chapter 18. Safe Zone

    Chapter 18. Safe zone

    ¡°Tiff, do you copy?¡± I said as I lay on the small cot, finally trying to rest a bit.

    ¡°Andrew? Is that you? Are you okay? Where are y¡­¡± Tiff asked in rapid-fire succession.

    ¡°Hey, hold on there. Let''s do one question at a time. I''m sorry it took me so long to contact you, but it took Sherlock this whole time to locate a safe zone,¡± I said, sitting up on the bed.

    ¡°Andrew, how long has it been for you?¡± Tiff asked in reply.

    ¡°A little over 12 hours, why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It has been barely an hour here; that is very odd. Wherever you are, there must be a fairly large amount of time dilation. Who is Sherlock?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Sherlock is the localized AI that Elvis programmed into the Havok Bringer armor. He didn¡¯t have a name, and Sherlock stuck. Honestly, he has been a big help, if a bit of a dick,¡± I said with a shake of my head.

    ¡°That is good. I was worried about you being out there alone,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°You¡­were worried?¡± I asked, realizing she had explicitly said she was worried instead of saying we were worried.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ yeah! I was worried; we were all worried, though; I mean,¡± Tiff stumbled over her words as she tried to recover, but I didn¡¯t miss what she said.

    ¡°Tiff, how are we talking in real-time? Time obviously works differently here, so how are we talking in real time now?¡±

    ¡°You said you were in a safe zone, right?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Yeah, the Coeus told me to be on the lookout for them. They said there would be one on each floor, though I expect they won''t be easy to find since this one took an entire day to track down,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I have heard of dungeons utilizing a similar layout to what you are explaining. It is a sort of tower with progressively harder floors and a boss at the top. There should be a safe zone on each level; you are right. You are correct that locating and entering will be harder as you progress. On higher levels, it will usually be surrounded by mobs or some uniquely strong individual enemy. Be careful, Andrew. Regarding your question, the safe rooms will usually sync with your home system in terms of time alignment. That is how we can talk without delay on either side,¡± Tiff explained.

    ¡°Well, I will be honest, that is comforting. It seems like I will be here for a while. I am not sure how to pass the first level, and I have been killing mobs all day. Again, Sherlock has been a big help, but I am basically on my own here,¡± I said; I was purposefully making an effort to talk Sherlock up. I didn¡¯t know if flattery would work, but I was going to try.

    ¡°Is that XO Tiffantrimore? Oooh, Tell her I said Hi!¡± Sherlock interrupted, oddly excited.

    ¡°Sherlock, calm down. Tiff and I have a lot to talk about, and I am not sure how long we have,¡± I replied, waving my hand in the air.

    ¡°I don¡¯t ask for much, Captain; I ask for one tiny favor, and you immediately shut me down, not wholly unexpected, I guess,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Okay, if I tell her hi, will you let me get back to our conversation?¡±

    ¡°Why, yes, of course, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Tiff,¡± I said, activating my comm again.

    ¡°Yes? What is it, Andrew?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ Sherlock is very insistent that I tell you hi from him. Not sure why, but I wanted to pass along,¡± I said.

    ¡°Ooooh, and tell her that I am watching out for you and that I won¡¯t let you die, no matter how many dumb mistakes you make,¡± Sherlock excitedly added.

    I just shook my head and sighed. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what was going on here, but since it seemed like I would be stuck with Sherlock and only Sherlock for the foreseeable future, I needed to try and make things easier on myself.

    The comms cracked as Tiff''s response came through, ¡°Oookay, tell Sherlock I also said hi,¡±

    ¡°He also said to tell you that he is watching out for me and that he won¡¯t let me die,¡± I said

    ¡°You left out the part about your dumb mistakes; tell her the part about your dumb mistakes,¡± Sherlock was practically bouncing off the walls.

    I sighed again as I gritted my teeth and passed on the message, ¡°He also said that he won¡¯t let me die, no matter how many dumb mistakes I make,¡± I said the last part through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Okay, Sherlock. Are you happy? Can I get back to updating Tiff on the life-or-death situation I am in that has the potential to change the direction of the universe?¡± I said, obviously more than a little frustrated.

    ¡°Tell Sherlock I said thank you. Tell him that it means more to me than he knows,¡± Tiff replied.

    The tone in her voice spoke to the seriousness of her response. There was something there; I couldn¡¯t quite place it, though. I convinced myself that it was stress from my sudden disappearance and moved on. I passed the message to Sherlock, who was¡­giddy with excitement.

    ¡°So, Tiff, I am not sure exactly how long I will be here. My plan for tomorrow is to try and find an exit from the first floor. It seems like every twelve hours spent in the dungeon equates to about one hour back on Earth, so it will not be nearly as long for you guys as it is for me. If I take an 8-hour rest in the safe zone, then I can knock out nearly three full days to your one. I want you to try to ensure that nobody gets into trouble before I return,¡± I said, ¡°I am also going to need you to work with Kaj and Elvis to try and help me plan ahead, if possible. I don¡¯t know what to expect on the next floors, but hopefully, with your combined knowledge, you can give me some advice,¡± I said.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Andrew, I don¡¯t really have much to go on. Elvis and Kaj may have some insight, but I don¡¯t think we can offer you much to help. I don¡¯t even understand how you got transported. I know the Coeus are powerful, but they are supposed to be gone, right?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°It was a surprise to me as well,¡± I replied, ¡° Apparently, they left a small portion of their consciousness just to ensure this next task got completed. Tiff, if this works, it will be huge. We cannot fully grasp how the consequences of activating this world seed will affect everyone. How will things change if everyone has access to the system? How will people react when everyone can choose a class and gain power? The Council has had the luxury of controlling who gets access and when that is over if this works. I need you to educate the people of the settlement and prepare them for what is coming. We will need strong allies on our side,¡± I said.

    ¡°I can do that, Andrew,¡± she replied. You just need to focus on staying safe. We can handle things out here for now. Andrew¡­.¡± Tiff started to say something but dropped off before she finished.

    ¡°Yeah? Is everything okay?¡± I asked; I could hear something in her voice. It was like she wanted to tell me something but stopped herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she said, ¡°I had a good talk with your mother earlier. She is worried about you but is also confident that you are where you need to be. I am going to spend some time helping her and your sisters with some things in the settlement today.¡±

    ¡°Be careful now. Spending time around my sisters might make them think you are trying to get their approval. After all, you¡¯re the first girl I¡¯ve brought home in years,¡± I joked.

    ¡°No, no, it isn¡¯t like that! Why would I¡­ what would I need their approval for?¡± Tiff stammered.

    ¡°Calm down, Tiff. It¡¯s a joke. I¡¯m sure they just want to get to know you more. Don¡¯t let them intimidate you, though, okay?¡±

    ¡°Andrew, I happen to be fully capable of handling myself in social situations,¡± Tiff snapped back.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t been interrogated by my sisters before Tiff. Believe me, they would fit right in with the Council enforcers,¡± I laughed.

    ¡°Tiff, one last thing,¡± I said.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°I need you to contact Matty. I don¡¯t know if there is any military or government left on Earth, but if there is, we need someone to warn them. Let them know what is coming, and hopefully, they can use it to help fight the Lacertines. Once I am out of here, we will need to move quickly and strike hard,¡± I said.

    ¡°I will contact him as soon as we are done, but I think we may have bigger problems. Natasha is still AWOL, and we have identified at least three ships hanging in low orbit. They could just be resupply vessels, but based on the way Natasha jumped the Bloodhound away, I¡­ I just don¡¯t have a good feeling,¡± Tiff said.

    I understood how she felt. Once Natasha said she was jumping away, I knew something was up. All we could do was focus on the problems one at a time, and the biggest problem Earth had right now was the Lacertine occupation force.

    ¡°I will try to get out of here as quickly as I can, Tiff,¡± I said.

    ¡°I know you will, Andrew. Just be safe. I will be here if you need to talk,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Thanks, Tiff. Really, thanks for everything,¡± I said.

    There was more I wanted to say. Tiff had proven herself to be a friend and had put herself at risk time and time again. She was nothing like any woman I had ever known, probably because she was a literal alien. I couldn¡¯t let personal feelings grow into something that would jeopardize what we were building, and I was nearly positive that those feelings wouldn¡¯t be reciprocated.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sign off and get some rest now. I will be here for the next seven or eight hours. Contact me if anything happens, Okay?¡± I said.

    ¡°Understood, Andrew. Get some rest,¡± Tiff replied before the comms went dead.

    ¡°Soooo, that was awkward,¡± Sherlock said, his voice dripping with snark.

    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It is obvious that you hold Tiffantrimore in high regard, Captain. Is it your intention to mate with her?¡± Sherlock asked.

    My face flushed immediately,¡± What the hell, Sherlock?¡± I choked out.

    ¡°Captain, are you unaware I am constantly monitoring your vitals? Your heart rate increased when you began talking with XO Tiffantrimore. You made attempts at humor and spoke about your past mates. All of these are subtle hints that you are interested in making XO Tiffantrimore your mate. I must admit that I am not well versed in the courting rituals of biologicals, so I may have misjudged,¡± Sherlock admitted.

    ¡°I was just having a conversation, Sherlock. Don¡¯t read more into it,¡± I was trying to steer the conversation away from the topic, ¡°Why were you so insistent on passing a message to her anyway?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, that. XO Tiffantrimore is a fantastic specimen of the abilities of advanced AI civilizations. To localized AI like myself, she is basically royalty. If the Bloodhound''s subroutines find out that she is my friend, they would be positively envious,¡± Sherlock replied.

    I filed this information away in the back of my mind. Sherlock had proven that he was going to be a massive help, but his demeanor was less than pleasant. I could use this in my favor and possibly handcuff his tantrums.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said, ¡°Listen, I need to eat, shower, and rest. After that, we need to get back out there. Do you have any ideas on how we make our way to the second floor?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Based on our progress so far, the first floor seems fairly linear. We have been steadily moving inward to the center of the swamp. I did some initial scans when we first entered this floor, and I believe I was able to piece together a rough approximation of a map,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°That is great! Can I see it?¡± I asked, feeling more than a little optimistic at the news.

    ¡°you will need to re-equip your helmet first,¡± Sherlock replied.

    At his request, I only equipped my helmet. It struck me how silly I might look if someone saw me at this moment. I had stripped down to my undershirt and boxer briefs and was sitting on the cot, relaxing, also wearing only the helmet of my advanced alien battle suit. I chuckled softly as the map materialized in front of me.

    Sherlock had not only pieced together a map but also created a 3D topographical map of the area. There were approximately 20 red Xs scattered on the map. The Xs indicated dead enemies, and they worked their way from the swamp''s edge to an area close to where we were now, in the safe room. The safe room was identified with a small green door.

    ¡°This is amazing, Sherlock!¡± I exclaimed,¡± This is going to be useful for sure,¡±

    ¡°Your admiration humbles me,¡± Sherlock said in a complete deadpan.

    ¡°Look, Sherlock, we are stuck together, like it or not. You may as well try and be a little more positive about it,¡± I said.

    ¡°Positive? I thought I was being positive. There are other AI that would completely disdain working with what they consider to be nothing more than filthy monkeys,¡± Sherlock said the obviously derogatory name slowly, just to let it sink in.

    Baby steps¡­.I thought to myself.

    ¡°Fair enough, Sherlock,¡± I said as I loaded the second half of my statement,¡± But I happen to be a very close friend with Tiffantrimore. She would be appalled to know that I was being treated with anything less than the respect due to me as the wielder of the Havok Bringer armor and Captain of the Bloodhound.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ Whatever do you mean Captain? I, of course, intend to assist you in every way possible. Let us not let first impressions dictate what is sure to be a blossoming,¡± Sherlock intimated a gulping sound,¡± friendship.¡±

    I smiled as I recalled my helmet. My master plan was already working.

 Chapter 19. Easy Money

    Chapter 19. Easy Money

    I woke up with a start. I asked Sherlock to let me sleep for no more than 6 hours because I didn¡¯t want to waste more time than absolutely necessary. Between showering, eating, and talking with Tiff, I figured I would lose about eight hours all in.

    ¡°Sherlock, did I oversleep?¡± I asked with a little bit of concern.

    ¡°No, Captain. It has only been five hours and fifty-seven minutes. I would not allow you to sleep past your scheduled wake-up time; otherwise, what kind of assistant would I be?¡± Sherlock said with an unusually pleasant tone.

    ¡°So, now you¡¯re my assistant? What happened to me being a dirty monkey who doesn¡¯t deserve the privilege of wearing the precious Havok Bringer armor?¡± I asked as I sat up on the cot and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

    ¡°Oh, Captain, I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. After all, If Tiffantrimore Clarivox holds you in high regard, then who am I to think less of you?¡± Sherlock said, ¡°I believe this relationship can be mutually beneficial. I also think you have a worthy cause, so I will do my utmost to assist you with your mission.¡±

    ¡°Well, that is mighty fine of you Sherlock. I am gonna need help and it looks like it¡¯s just you and me,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I am gonna touch base with Tiff, and then we can head out to try and get off this first floor. Now that we have an idea of where to go, we can try to push through the rest of this floor. Hopefully, we don¡¯t run into anything too unexpected along the way.¡± I said, ¡°I''m gonna grab another quick shower first since I don¡¯t know how long it will be before we get back to another safe room.¡±

    I stumbled out of the cot and toward the small bathroom/shower area. I was a little disappointed when I realized that I hadn¡¯t changed my clothes. I had been wearing my uniform from the Bloodhound when I was transported to the tower. It crossed my mind how well I had acclimated to wearing an entire uniform under the battle suit. At first, I found wearing the uniform under the armor uncomfortable, but I barely noticed it anymore.

    ¡°Oh, feel free to walk around in the nude, Captain. There is nothing that I would rather see first thing in the morning than your pathetic human genitalia,¡± Sherlock said in a disgusted tone, ¡°If we are going to be bunking together, could you at least comport yourself in an acceptable manner?¡±

    ¡°Hey Sherlock, I hate to break it to you, but if we are in here too awful long, I am going to have to go commando inside the armor as well. I can''t wear the same clothes for weeks at a time without washing them.¡± I smiled as I walked toward the shower.

    ¡°That will be wholly unnecessary, Captain. If you would kindly check the small locker to the left of the washroom, I think you will find what you need.¡± Sherlock replied indignantly.

    I stopped and opened the grey locker, which was about 18 inches wide and about six feet tall. Inside, a charcoal-colored body suit was hanging. Small nodes and wires were stitched into it and located all over the body suit. I reached out and lifted one of the sleeves and noticed my interface identified the body suit.

    Battle armor Gambeson

    An advanced suit meant to be worn underneath a set of battle armor or an orbital drop suit. The material is lightweight and breathable, and it offers the wearer diagnostic capabilities beyond the limits of most current-generation battle suits. The material is self-cleaning and self-repairing, though the time required for repair is proportional to the amount of damage taken. The Gambeson will also protect the wearer from extreme heat and cold, even offering some protection against total vacuum.

    ¡°Hey, this is sweet!¡± I said as I took the gambeson out of the locker, holding it up in front of me to get a better look, ¡°I¡¯ll try it on after I get out of the shower!¡±

    I laid the gambeson on my cot and returned to the shower area. I started the water running, letting it heat up before I stepped in. I stood over the sink and took a look in the mirror. My beard was getting pretty thick, but I kind of liked it. My hair was longer than I usually let it grow as well, now covering my ears completely and hanging down to cover my neck completely. None of it seemed to matter, though. This new reality I was living in left little time to worry about social norms or grooming expectations. The hair was one thing, but my face seemed different than it did in my own self-image. It was hard to explain, but I looked¡­ tired. I remembered hearing about battle fatigue as I pulled at the skin around my eyes. There was a hardness there; it wasn¡¯t actual fatigue. It was more like my soul was getting tired, and anyone who looked at me would be able to see it in my eyes.

    I sighed as I took another look. ¡°This is reality now; you have to be willing to accept the changes, whether they are external or internal,¡± I said to my reflection, shaking my head.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I took a shower and walked over to the cot to try on the gambeson. It covered literally everything from my feet to the tips of my fingers, only stopping at the top of my neck. There was a zipper in the front, well, kind of a zipper. Instead of a traditional mechanical zipper, there was a small tab that went up and down, creating an opening in the material, but there were no interconnecting teeth. As I pulled the tab down, the material simply parted. When I pulled the tab up, the material completely melded together, and there was no sign that there had ever been an opening.

    ¡°Weird,¡± I said, looking down at the suit,¡± It¡¯s a bit big for me, don¡¯t you think Sherlock?¡±

    ¡°Standby, Captain. That will be resolved shortly.

    Sure enough, as I watched, the many nodes on the gambeson began to flash and glow as the suit activated and shrank perfectly to my body.

    ¡°I guess there are some perks to advanced technology,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°Forgive me, Captain, but you are the holder of the most advanced piece of individualized battle tech in the universe, yet a gambeson impresses you?¡± Sherlock asked, sounding truly intrigued.

    ¡°It¡¯s the small things that really matter, Sherlock,¡± I said as I walked toward the exit of the safe room and activated my armor, ¡°Now, let''s go kill some shit.¡±

    I quickly stopped, snapping my fingers as I remembered I needed to check in with Tiff.

    ¡°Tiff, you there?¡± I asked, knowing that my comms would connect automatically.

    ¡°Of course; how did you sleep?¡± Tiff asked in response.

    ¡°Decent enough,¡± I replied, ¡°hopefully, I will find the second-floor safe room quickly. Sherlock and I are going to make a push to finish this first floor and move on to the second floor soon. I don¡¯t know when I will be able to contact you again. I just wanted to let you know I was heading out and say thanks.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for what?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°Just for being there. It seems like you have been there since the beginning, and I just wanted to let you know that it means a lot.¡± I said.

    ¡°Andrew, I¡¯m not going anywhere. I hope you know that.¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°I''m getting there, but thanks all the same, Tiff,¡± I said.

    ¡°You be careful, Andrew. I will take care of things out here until you get back, so don¡¯t worry about that. Good luck, Andrew¡­and please¡­be safe, okay?¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Yeah¡­of course, I''ll be careful. Thanks for worrying about me. I mean, not that you are worried. Just it sounded like you were worried, and I wanted to say thanks for that,¡± I stumbled over my words badly as a message flashed across my interface.

    Increased heart rate detected

    The gambeson was feeding my vitals directly into my interface and even had handy prompts to let me know what was happening.

    ¡°uhh¡­Okay, gotta go. Bye,¡± I heard the small click as the line disconnected. I sighed heavily and shook my head in frustration.

    ¡°You are nothing if not eloquent, Captain,¡± Sherlock said, ¡°A regular Casanova,¡±

    ¡°Just. Shut. Up,¡± I said as I stepped back out into the swamp.

    Natasha had organized an attack plan, but it was heavily dependent on timing and teamwork. The Flaming Retribution and Princess Danae would have to time their attack perfectly, or the Bloodhound would be left hanging out to dry.

    ¡°Natasha, have you prepared the coordinates?¡± Danae asked through an open comms channel.

    ¡°Of course, Princess Danae. I have calculated a 76 percent chance of success. That is, of course, dependent on you and your strike team successfully completing your roles,¡± Natasha replied.

    ¡°I understand your lack of faith in us, Natasha, but we have assisted the Bloodhound on more than one instance and fully intend to do our parts here,¡± Princess Danae replied, ¡°We don¡¯t intend to let Captain Dawes, your crew, or the people of Earth be left undefended from an orbital threat. It is only a matter of time before the Rerek battle cruisers locate and bombard the points of highest resistance on the surface. We need to act before that becomes a reality. Have you completed the necessary code restructuring on the virus you told me about?¡±

    ¡°I have, but it is of little consequence if we don¡¯t eliminate the orbital threat. Once we have taken those battle cruisers off the board, we can worry about crippling the remaining Lacertine forces,¡± Natasha replied.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Danae replied, ¡°Then we better get to it.¡±

    The Bloodhound exploded out of space 100 kilometers from the trio of Rerek battle cruisers as alarms sounded on the bridges of all three.

    ¡°Captain, an unidentified vessel has jumped into orbit 100 kilometers to our stern. Orders?¡± A Rerek navigations officer on the bridge of the ship named the Red Oblivion said.

    ¡°Activate defensive measures and bring the ship around to face the unidentified vessel. Tell our other ships to do the same, then stand by for further orders. Open a channel!¡±

    ¡°This is Captain Drokin of the Red Oblivion. We have commandeered the space around this planet as ordered by the Universal Council, and I demand that you identify your vessel and yourself immediately or be fired on,¡± Captain Drokin said in a gravelly voice.

    ¡°Sir, the ship seems to be disabled. Our readings indicate that it is losing hull integrity and venting its warp plasma reserves. It also seems to have lost environmental containment and is venting oxygen. If there are any life forms on board, they are more than likely dead,¡± The XO said as she looked up from her station''s display.

    ¡°Show me!¡± Drokin growled.

    The display screen located on the front wall of the bridge lit up as Captain Drokin slowly backed up toward his chair and sat.

    What he saw was unexpected. A long rectangular ship was rolling uncontrollably through space plasma and gas venting from what seemed to be several holes in the hull of the ship. There were no active lights or signs that the vessel had power of any kind. He reached up with one hand to run a clawed finger along one of the obsidian horns that rested atop his red-skinned head.

    ¡°And we thought there would be nothing of value gained from this mission. Ship salvage can be lucrative, especially if the vessel has a functioning warp core. Lower shields and prepare a team. We can attach tow cables to the vessel. Inform the Captains of the other vessels not to interfere; this is my bounty, as I was put in command of this expedition,¡± Drokin smiled as he thought about the extra credits he would be able to get out of the vessel on salvage alone, not to mention any valuables that might be located inside the ship.

    ¡°Easy money, boys!¡± Drokin yelled with excitement as he thought about the easy money he was about to make.

 Chapter 20. Time for a Spanking

    Chapter 20. Time for a Spanking.

    Life for Petty Officer Grenk was not bad. He had been assigned to the Red Oblivion after his family pulled a few strings. He didn¡¯t come from one of the heralded families that often sent sons to the esteemed military academies of his home world, but still, he couldn¡¯t complain about his current station.

    Today was meant to be another day of ensuring that the processes, procedures, and daily routines he was tasked with maintaining were completed. With his checklist for the day complete, he settled into the small workstation he had been assigned to update his reports when the alarms started blaring. Grenk contacted his commanding officer for orders but was soon told to stand down. It seemed a derelict ship had miscalculated warp coordinates and had suffered catastrophic failures, leading to an immediate failure of life and environmental support. Soon after, the alarms stopped, and Captain Drokin announced that an EVA team was in the process of attaching tow cables to the ship.

    ¡°It looks like Drokin just increased his payout,¡± Grenk muttered as he returned to his workstation with a hot beverage to continue working on his reports.

    Reports were monotonous, and Grenk abhorred this particular part of his job, so it wasn¡¯t long before his attention wandered. Grenk opened his personal communications tab to see if he had gotten word from his family or friends. After all, the brass would all be busy with the derelict ship, so nobody would notice that his attention wandered for a few minutes.

    Grenk¡¯s eyes wandered to a new message on his workstation,¡± Hmm,¡± he muttered as he read the subject.

    It seemed that Grenk had been contacted by the prince of a foreign government; not only that, but the prince needed his help to move some credits. By doing this, Grenk would get a hefty commission. Who didn¡¯t like easy money?

    ¡°I guess Drokin isn¡¯t the only one who is gonna make a few extra credits today!¡± Grenk smiled and flicked his tongue as he rubbed his hands together.

    Grenk read through the rest of the communication before he got to the end. He replied to the communication from the foreign dignitary that he honestly hadn¡¯t heard of, but who was he to say that the name Ron Jeremy didn¡¯t sound very princely?

    Natasha had completely shut down the Bloodhound. It wasn¡¯t the best idea to go completely cold, but she was confident that she could activate the necessary functions in the limited time she would have. Natasha knew that the Rerek battle cruisers would most likely enter a linear support formation once the Red Oblivion started its salvage mission. She knew that the Red Oblivion would take the lead position and be defensively supported by the second cruiser while the third would bring up the rear and protect while the Oblivion was vulnerable.

    In order to bring a salvage ship to tow, the Oblivion would have to deactivate its defensive shielding and bring the salvage vessel under its belly before securing it for transport. This was a weakness, but the other two ships offered support until the Oblivion¡¯s shields were back online. Natasha was betting on the greed of the Oblivion¡¯s Captain. Rereks were well known to be greedy and rash. If there were an opportunity to snatch up extra credits, the captain would jump at the opportunity.

    That was the first part of the plan, but it wasn¡¯t the only part. Being close to the Lead ship allowed Natasha to exploit a weakness on one ship, but she needed to incapacitate all three if they were going to eliminate the threat.

    As the Bloodhound was dragged and secured onto the belly of the Red Oblivion, Natasha made her move. She had encrypted a worm into a communication to a low-ranking member of the Oblivion¡¯s crew, and just like she did with the captain, she intended to exploit the intrinsic greed that the Rerek were well known for.

    ¡°Is the ship secured?¡± Drokin growled with a grin from his seat on the bridge. He was already calculating the probable value of the derelict ship. He would, of course, need to send a team to board the ship and see if there were any other items of value aboard, but scans had already verified that there were no life signs present. This was enough information to convince Drokin that there was no immediate threat; after all, an AI couldn¡¯t pilot a ship without a biological to give direction and permissions.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. The ship is secured, and we are preparing to reactivate defensive shielding,¡± an officer said from a station in front of Drokin and to the left.

    ¡°That is good,¡± Drokin said as he again began to stroke one of the long, curved horns on his head. " Inform the King Killer and the Scar Giver to return to monitoring formation and await further orders,¡± Drokin said.

    ¡°Aye, Cap¡­.¡± The XO started to say as he looked down at his tablet, mouth agape.

    ¡°What is it, XO? Send the order!¡± Drokin growled.

    ¡°Captain, my tablet seems to be malfunctioning. I¡¯ll send the order from the navigation station,¡± the XO replied quickly.

    ¡°Aagh,¡± Drokin spat, ¡°Incompetent the lot of you. Open a channel and put it on the main display so I can see their faces.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Before anyone could make a move, the main display flashed to life. To Drokin''s surprise, there was the image of a human wearing some sort of red silk robe splashed across the wall in front of him.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this XO?!¡± Drokin stood from his chair and bellowed, pointing at the image in front of him.

    The man in the image walked toward them as he untied the robe. The human had black hair and some sort of hair growing on his lip as well. Even with the robe on, Drokin could tell that he was overweight and looked very unhealthy, to say the least.

    ¡°What is happening, XO?! Who is this human, and why is he on my main display?¡± Drokin, now completely losing control, yelled.

    ¡°I am not sure, Captain. It seems that we have lost control of our communications. Officers from every workstation began to look around and ask for assistance as they also lost control of their individual systems.

    ¡°Weapons systems are engaging, Captain! We are locking onto the King Killer!¡± an officer yelled in panic.

    ¡°What do you mean? Who is this man?!¡± Drokin looked back at the screen as the overweight, hairy human finished untying his robe before opening it and letting it drop away.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been bad¡­ Time for a spanking¡­¡± the man said with a smile as his massive member swung on the screen in front of the Rerek crew.

    Grenk was running to the bridge to see what was happening. As he entered, he saw the display screen, ¡°Hey! That is Prince Ron Jeremy!¡±

    The Oblivion fired its main plasma cannon array directly into the nose of the King Killer. At close range, it melted through their defensive shields and breached the warp core, immediately taking it offline.

    The Scar Giver spun, not knowing what was happening, the captain only thought to get to a safe distance and reassess. As the ship spun around, three ships materialized out of nothing directly in front of it. With no warning, they all fired. A mix of high-energy lasers and plasma cannons made short work of the third Rerek ship.

    Natasha worked fast to take advantage of the chaos. She quickly brought the offensive systems back online as the Bloodhound blazed back to life under the belly of the Red Oblivion. She used thrusters to buck into the weakened ship and create some distance. As the Bloodhound separated, the tow cables holding it secured snapped under the pressure, the Oblivion rocked from the sudden force.

    ¡°Captain! The derelict ship has come back online! It is pulling away,¡± an officer shouted from the bridge of the Oblivion.

    ¡°Fire on that ship!¡± Drokin screamed in anger.

    ¡°Weapons systems are offline, captain,¡± the weapons chief replied.

    ¡°Get ready to see the glory of my big ol¡¯ gun,¡± the man on the display said as he mounted the display and thrust his genitals toward the screen.

    Natasha armed the Ron Jeremy and pumped one round through the stern of the Red Oblivion. The back third of the ship separated and began to spin away as the front two-thirds started floating aimlessly.

    Natasha repositioned the Bloodhound to be directly in front of the crippled main body of the Red Oblivion.

    The Red Oblivion was losing power. The lights on the bridge flickered, and maintenance bots put out small fires. The main display flickered away as the bridge went dark. The main viewing port was now visible, though much smaller than the main display.

    Drokin picked himself up off the floor as he felt blood trickling from a small wound on his head. He shook his head, trying to figure out what was going on. He had just been on cloud nine; a pocket full of credits had literally fallen into his lap. Now? Now, his ship was mostly disabled; he had fired on an allied ship, and he had no idea what had happened to the third ship.

    As he stood, his eyes went to the viewports located on the front wall of the bridge. He stumbled backward and flopped into his chair as his eyes settled on the sight of his demise. Outside, he watched the derelict ship approaching his mighty battle cruiser, fully powered up and undamaged. Rage and terror settled on him in equal measures as he watched the front of the ship open up like a mouth.

    ¡°Hah..Hah.. hahaha,¡± Drokin slumped in his chair and laughed hysterically as the Bloodhound consumed the Rerek battle cruiser.

    Princess Danae watched from the bridge of the Flaming Retribution as the Bloodhound consumed the large part of the Rerek battle cruiser, then slowly repositioned to consume the remaining piece that had broken off after being fired on.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will ever get used to seeing that,¡± Danae said

    ¡°Did¡­ did it just eat that other ship, Princess?¡± the executive officer asked, mouth agape.

    ¡°Yes, yes it did, XO,¡± Danae replied.

    Tiff, CJ and Kaj were helping with various tasks in settlement. Andrew would be gone for at least a while so they decided to keep busy and help where they could until Matty and the rest of the crew got back. They were all back at their camp having lunch when they saw it.

    ¡°What? What is going on up there?!¡± Tiff said, standing quickly and holding her hand over her eyes to try and get a better view.

    ¡°I''m just taking out the trash, XO. Don¡¯t worry; we got them all,¡± Natasha replied over the comms.

    ¡°Natasha? What do you mean¡­we? The last message we got from you said you were jumping away because of the ships that jumped in. What is going on up there?¡± Tiff asked

    ¡°It looks like things got very kinetic up there,¡± CJ said, ¡°Are you sure they don¡¯t have backup?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­.about that,¡± Natasha said with a coy tone.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore, is that you?¡± Danae said over the comms, ¡°Natasha patched me in. Is the whole crew down there?¡±

    ¡°Danae? When did you get here?¡± Tiff asked, ¡°and can someone tell us what exactly is going on up there?

    Natasha took a few minutes to walk Tiff, CJ and Kaj through what happened. Danae explained that she had been instructed by the Coeus to come to Earth at this time before she and her ships left the Alcaran Moon.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t know exactly what we would find,¡± Danae said, ¡°the Coeus were very secretive but told me that it was imperative that we travel to Earth approximately three years after the implosion of the dungeon dimension. We have been very busy in the meantime, though. I have been recruiting and expanding the rebellion and we have gained a foothold in many galaxies that are sympathetic to our cause. I thought you were all dead though. I had not been able to find any evidence that the Bloodhound survived.¡±

    ¡°We lost a lot of time going through that Quasar. Once we came out we spent several weeks doing recon before coming back to Earth,¡± Tiff said when they had finished talking.

    ¡°Where is Captain Dawes? I don¡¯t see his vitals on my scans,¡± Natasha asked.

    ¡°Uhh, yeah, about that. Andrew is kind of in another dimension. From what we can gather he is sort of inside a sort of tower? The Coeus sent him there to get some kind of seed,¡± CJ said.

    ¡°Oh my, is he okay? How could this happen?!¡± Natasha was completely panicking.

    ¡°A seed?¡± Danae asked, ¡°Are you referring to a seed of power?¡±

    ¡°

 Book 2. Chapter 21. Because I can.

    Chapter 21. Because I can.

    Andrew began making his way toward the center of the swamp. Sherlock had created a handy guide using the HUD on his armor, so things had progressed nicely since leaving the safe room. Andrew was now sprinting through the underbrush and mud while following a handy green line that was conveniently overlayed over the terrain.

    ¡°I gotta say, Sherlock, this makes things a lot easier,¡± I said jerkily as he ran.

    ¡°Although I am more than happy to help, I must say that we would have been here for weeks if I had left you to bumble your way through the swamp. I felt it necessary to expedite the process for both our sakes,¡± Sherlock replied, humble as always.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I replied.

    I was finding that it was easier to let Sherlock be himself than it was to try and fight it. He was an ass, for sure, but he was genuine and did bring a lot to the table, so it was a fair trade-off. Since our discussion in the safe room, he had also toned it down quite a bit, so I wasn¡¯t going to push my luck.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Sherlock said quickly.

    I slid to a halt in the thick mud and lowered myself to a crouch, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I am picking up several biological life signs just past that next cluster of trees. I can¡¯t make out what it is but there are several of them. You need to proceed with caution,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Are we close to the center?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, by my calculations, the area past that cluster will also be the center of the swamp,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Well, the Coeus are nothing if not predictable,¡± I said.

    ¡°What are you on about?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°That will be the boss fight, Sherlock. I imagine there will be a boss on every level, and we are about to get our first taste of what this tower really has to offer.

    I slowly made my way to the cluster of what looked to be cypress trees. The bases and roots were submerged in shallow water, and moss hung in clumps from the branches. I pressed my back up against the base of one of the larger trees and slowly poked my head around to get a glimpse of what was on the other side.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said nervously.

    The center of the swamp was a clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a giant crawfish standing on a patch of dry ground. The crawfish was the size of a small horse from it¡¯s head to the end of it¡¯s tail, with hard armor plating covering it completely. The pinchers were the size of bathtubs looking overgrown for the size of the crawfish.  The red brown crawfish stared out at hundreds of smaller crawfish all meandering around the shallow water that encircled the large one. I watched as it snapped it¡¯s giant pinchers one after the other, the sound like a shotgun going off.

    ¡°Jesus, there must be hundreds of them,¡± I said.

    ¡°By my count, 167 of the smaller ones. They seem to be reacting to the claw snaps of the larger one. Almost like it is giving direction. What is the plan?¡± Sherlock asked, ¡°The carapace on the large one looks like it will be hard to penetrate.¡±

    ¡°I think I have a plan for the big one, it¡¯s the smaller ones that I am more concerned about,¡± I replied.

    The smaller crawfish ranged in size from a large lobster to the size of a golden retriever. They were all dipping in and out of the shallow swamp water and moving in circles around the large crawfish in the center. I poked my head around one more time to try and gleen a little more info as my interface identified the large crawfish in the center of the clearing.

    Swamp King Crawfish- level 40

    While most species of crawfish will molt 6-8 time to reach full size this crawfish has undergone hundreds of molts to reach the size it is now. Standing at the pinnacle of power in this swamp the Swamp King Crawfish surrounds itself with lesser minions that serve only to feed and protect the king.

    I took another second to identify one of the smaller crawfish. This was one of the dog sized specimens and I wanted to see what the variance in power was.

    Swamp minion Crawfish ¨C level 10

    This Crawfish has benefitted from the ambient power of the Swamp King Crawfish and has grown to a size not seen on terrestrial Earth.

    Warning: This Crawfish will become aggressive toward anyone or anything that encroaches on the sanctum of the Swamp King Crawfish.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Do you notice how they are all in the water? I have a plan for the smaller ones, Sherlock,¡± I said as I laid down on my belly and slowly crawled to the edge of the water.

    ¡°You have a plan? How do you intend to fight 167 of those things at once?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to fight them at all. Have you ever been to a crawfish boil, Sherlock?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What an absurd question; I don¡¯t eat, and I was just activated a few days ago. Are you going mad?¡± Sherlock asked.

    I smiled as I reached the edge of the shallow moat of swamp water and placed both of my hands into the water.

    ¡°This is gonna hurt¡­a lot,¡± I said.

    I activated my Shield of Solaris ability, and my hands started to glow. I focused on the ability and pushed every ounce of energy I could muster into it. The glow moved from my hands up to my elbows, and the pain grew with it. I gritted my teeth as the searing heat began to invade my arms. It felt like I had dipped my arms into boiling water and just left them there to cook.

    ¡°Captain, your heart rate is spiking; I strongly advise that you deactivate the ability,¡± Sherlock warned.

    I looked into the water and saw several of the small crawfish about 20 feet away from me begin to turn red. They began thrashing as the water began to bubble, and the heat spread more into the moat surrounding the king. Then, one by one, I saw tails curl into their bottom sides as they died and floated to the top of the water.

    ¡°It¡¯s working,¡± I said painfully through clenched teeth, ¡°I have to keep going.¡±

    I closed my eyes and focused on separating myself from the pain. I knew I couldn¡¯t fight the smaller group and also worry about defending myself from the monstrosity at the center of the clearing. I opened my eyes to see that Sherlock had helpfully provided a counter on my display.

    Minion crawfish slain ¨C 62/167

    I nodded my head and grunted as a fresh wave of burning pain pulsed through my arms. I closed my eyes again to focus.

    Just breathe, you can do this¡­. I said to myself as I redoubled my focus. Then the pulses of pain became waves of agony working up from my elbows to my shoulders, then closing in around my chest.

    ¡°Aaaarggh!!¡± I screamed as the molten heat enveloped my torso, but I didn¡¯t stop; I couldn¡¯t stop.

    I opened my eyes again to see waves of plasma emanating from my body, boiling, then evaporating the water closest to me. Soon, the barrier of plasma reached nearly 20 feet around me in all directions. The water boiled, and the trees and foliage behind me burned like dry tinder, yet I pushed on.

    ¡°AAAAAGGGHHH,¡± I screamed again as I looked for the counter.

    Minion Crawfish slain -165/167

    I made one final push as my ability began to blacken soil and turn some of the sandy dirt to glass.

    Minion Crawfish slain ¨C 167/167

    I deactivated the ability and slowly pushed myself up to my knees. I didn¡¯t have time to dismiss the armor and check my wounds, and I knew it would be ten minutes before I could take a health stim. My only hope is that the Swamp King had not decided to rush me. I looked up slowly to see the large moat boiling aggressively. The Swamp King stood on his patch of dry ground, staring in my direction. The giant crawfish had reared up and was snapping his pinchers at me, but the boiling moat kept him at bay.

    ¡°Stay there, your time is coming,¡± I said breathlessly, ¡°Sherlock, how long until I can take a stim?¡±

    ¡°Nine minutes, fifteen seconds, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied, ¡°I¡­I honestly didn¡¯t think you were capable of pushing yourself to that extent, Captain. I must say I am impressed.¡±

    ¡°Glad you enjoyed the show, Sherlock,¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m gonna lean against this tree and close my eyes. Let me know when the timer runs out or when that thing decides to test the water.¡±

    ¡°Why do you do it, Captain?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°Do what?¡± I replied as I leaned back against the large cypress tree.

    ¡°Why push yourself to such extremes? You already have power, and you don¡¯t owe anybody, at least not so much that you put yourself through this kind of torture. So why do you continue to do it? You entered this tower without a second thought. You entered the Alcaran Moon Dungeon; You fought the Spider Queen on the grind station asteroid. I have accessed all of Elvis¡¯s files, and I cannot make sense of all these things, including the feud with Anthagor.¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Sherlock, I am human. I have friends, a family, a home. Someone tried to take those things away. What kind of person would I be if I just stopped and gave up? Sure, at the very beginning, I made some rash decisions. Touching that orb at the beginning of all this was probably a very stupid thing to do, but in hindsight, I would do it again,¡± I said.

    ¡°If I don¡¯t stand for Earth, for my friends and family, who will? I not only had the power to keep Earth from getting totally annihilated, but I might have the power to level the playing field for everyone in the universe by finding this seed,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Captain, but that still doesn¡¯t answer the question of why. Why you specifically?¡± Sherlock pressed.

    ¡°Because I can, Sherlock. Because it is the right thing to do,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I am afraid that you humans are rather hard to understand,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°That is okay, Sherlock. Half the time, we don¡¯t even understand why we do things.¡± I said.

    I leaned against the tree, trying to focus on anything but the pain. I felt nausea rising in my stomach, and my head began to swim.

    ¡°Something is wrong, Sherlock,¡± I said.

    ¡°You need to try to calm yourself, Captain. You are going into shock. The aftereffects from your ability won''t let you use a stim for another 60 seconds. I need you to focus on your breathing and try to stay conscious,¡± Sherlock said.

    My body began to shake uncontrollably as my helmet suddenly retracted. I only had enough energy to weakly turn my head to the side as I vomited violently.

    ¡°Sherlock, help,¡± I said as I began falling to the side, consciousness slipping away slowly.

    I could hear Sherlock in my ear as I lay on my side, my head on the charred earth. It smelled like fall; that is the thought that popped into my head. It was a crisp fall day; someone was burning leaves outside, and I was home. Dad must have boiled crawfish, and I could see them floating in the water. I smiled, thinking about it. It had been so long since the family had gotten together for a crawfish boil. I smiled as everything began to go dark.

    The last thing I saw was a crawfish the size of a horse dipping a claw into the water and pulling it back out to inspect it. The thing was massive, the size of a horse. It snapped the claw a couple of times and then turned in my direction, slowly entering the water; it was coming.

    Then I passed out.

 Book 2 - Chapter 22. Blood Blades.

    Chapter 22. Blood Blades.

    I woke with a start of blurry vision and pain coursing through my upper body. Now that I was awake, I immediately started to panic again. The last thing I remembered was the Swamp King crawfish heading my way.

    ¡°Oh shit, Oh shit,¡± I said as I tried to stand and get my bearings.

    ¡°Calm yourself, Captain. I have removed you from immediate danger for the time being,¡± Sherlock said calmly, ¡°You will need to use a health stim; once you have healed, we can take stock and assess the next steps.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean you removed me from immediate danger?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I posses the ability to take control of the Havok Bringer armor in case of dire emergency. If the pilot is unconscious and in immediate, life-threatening danger, I can take limited control of the armor,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°So, did you kill that thing?¡± I asked as the health stim hissed as it administered its advanced medicine into my neck. I winced and rubbed the injection site after dismissing my armor completely.

    ¡°No, unfortunately, I am not capable of piloting the armor in a combat situation. I merely got you to a safe distance until you regained consciousness. It was no small task, I must say. I am wholly unfamiliar with the motor functions of biologicals and had to learn on the fly,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Well, thanks, Sherlock. I am positive that thing would have ripped me in half without breaking a sweat. How long has it been?¡± I asked.

    ¡°36 minutes, Captain. I must insist that you not make a habit of passing out while in life-threatening immediate danger. I cannot guarantee that I could escape anything other than a mindless, slow-moving giant shellfish,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind, Sherlock,¡± I said as I unzipped the gambeson and checked my chest for injury. The only remaining evidence of injury was some tenderness and fading redness; it really was amazing how well the health stims worked.

    I found the base of another tree and sat down to gather my thoughts and formulate a plan. Several indications were flashing on the lower right corner of my interface. I mentally pulled them up to see that I had gained a ton of experience and even a level from killing the 167 smaller minion crawfish.

    ¡°How did I gain a level, those things were all super low-level?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You are correct, but even low-level enemies offer some experience. It seems that the experience added up fairly quickly when you killed so many at once,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to update Tiff on my stat increase when we get to a safe room. For now, I need to figure out a way to take out that boss so we can get on to level two,¡± I said.

    I stood up and reactivated my armor, taking in the now familiar HUD and feeling the slight increase in weight of the armor on my limbs and torso.

    ¡°I have to figure out how to pierce that carapace. I have eaten enough crawfish to know that they don¡¯t have many weak points. The heart and Brain are located underneath the top layer of the carapace, under the thickest part of the armor. The tail can be flicked quickly and used as a weapon, and the pinchers are going to be a nightmare as well. I either have to go for the eyes or find a way to sever the tail from the main body and cripple it. I need to make a plan, and I can''t afford any mistakes when I engage that thing,¡± I said.

    ¡°Have you considered pulsar blast? Or Big Bang?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they will be effective. That armor is just too thick. I can''t depend on my daggers either because there is nowhere to stab. There has got to be a way, I just can¡¯t see it,¡± I said, pinching the bridge of my nose and squeezing my eyes tightly shut.

    ¡°Captain, have you considered the Blades of the Blood Nova?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°Huh, I honestly haven¡¯t. I haven¡¯t even had time to train with them yet. Honestly, they kind of freak me out I wasn¡¯t planning on using them. Anthragor stabbed me through and took my arms with those things in case you forgot,¡± I said.

    ¡°I am aware, Captain, but do you intend to hide from the boogeyman forever? I seem to remember that you rather violently killed Anthragor and inherited those blades as a result. It would be rather unintelligent to keep one of your most powerful weapons locked away out of cowardice,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Hey, what the hell? I¡¯m not a coward; they just freak me out a bit. Plus, I am happy with the arsenal I have at my disposal. My daggers have been more than enough every time I have needed them,¡± I shrugged.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Are they enough now? Are they going to help you kill this giant monster? Are any of your abilities going to be enough? Captain, I can only assume that this trial has been granted to you for two reasons. The first is to test you. If you are strong enough to find and activate the seed of power, then the Coeus will trust that you are strong enough to handle what happens next. The second reason is to allow you to grow along the way,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°What do you mean, grow? The Coeus build dungeons; it¡¯s kind of their thing. So this is just another dungeon they had ready to go. Maybe it was hidden, but if I can activate the seed of power, then they will feel like they have done their part. No more, no less,¡± I said.

    ¡°I wholly disagree, Captain. I understand that by Earth standards, you consider yourself to be fairly intelligent, but honestly, I am not convinced at all. If the Coeus just wanted to clean their hands of the mess they helped make, then they could have just delivered the seed of power to you and had you activate it; there is more to it, though. They need to ensure that someone will be strong enough to protect those who need it after the universe is fundamentally altered. This tower is a test, yes, but it is also meant to help you advance your abilities and grow stronger. Once you have proven yourself capable, you will be able to activate the seed, but not before. Use the weapons, Captain. Make them yours,¡± Sherlock said.

    I shook my head in resignation, ¡°You know, Sherlock, for an asshole AI you make sense from time to time.¡±

    I accessed my dimensional inventory and pulled the swords; immediately, they materialized into my hands. The blades were made of crimson red, jagged metal, and from hilt to tip, they were about four feet long. They were light in my hands as I held them out and felt the balance. They were good weapons. I inspected them to get a refresher on their abilities.

    Blades of the Blood Nova ¨C

    These blades were forged in the heart of a red nova. Refined over millennia and infused with the blood of countless fallen foes. The blades will inflict bleed damage over time and will scale to the level of foes within 25 levels of the wielder.

    Abilities ¨C Blood Nova ¨C

    Blood can be infused into a target with successive strikes, allowing the wielder to track the target over time. Once the infusion is complete, the wielder can activate Blood Nova, causing the infused blood to explode from the target and return to the blades.

    Genetically bound ¨C these blades will be genetically bound upon equipping and can only be unbound upon the wielder''s death

    Equip? Y/N

    I selected yes and felt the blades genetically bond to me. I checked the identify one more time and was surprised to see that it had changed slightly.

    Havok Blades of the Blood Nova ¨C

    These blades were forged in the heart of a red nova. Refined over millennia and infused with the blood of countless fallen foes. The blades will inflict bleed damage over time and will scale to the level of foes within 25 levels of the wielder. These weapons have been altered by bonding with a Havok Bringer.

    Abilities ¨C Blood Nova ¨C

    Blood can be infused into a target with successive strikes, allowing the wielder to accumulate damage over time on the target. Once the infusion is complete, the wielder can activate Blood Nova, causing the infused blood to explode from the target and return to the blades.

    Genetically bound ¨C these blades will be genetically bound upon equipping and can only be unbound upon the wielder''s death

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. The description changed when I bound them,¡± I said, holding the swords up and inspecting them closely. As I looked at the blades, it almost seemed like they were glowing¡ªa red glow pulsing through the weapons.

    ¡°Tiffantrimore will want to know about that. I am not as well-versed in the various makeup and progression of bonded weapons as she is, but it is interesting,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to use these. I am going to need Kaj to get me up to speed before I make them a staple of my fighting style, but I love the damage-over-time effect. The Blood Nova ability seems overpowered as hell, but it is going to come in real handy,¡± I said.

    ¡°Do you think that it will work on the Swamp King?¡± Sherlock asked.

    Nothing in the description said there were any requirements about armored opponents. I¡¯m hoping the damage will accumulate whether the target has armor or not, but we are going to find out soon enough. If this doesn¡¯t work, I am completely out of ideas on how to kill that thing, I am sure of that,¡± I said.

    I looked at the map function and saw that we were about a quarter mile away from the center of the swamp. Since we had already been there, I could see the spot clearly on my map. There was a lone red dot still in the center. I quickly made my way back to the edge of the moat and immediately got the attention of the Swamp King. The giant car-sized crawfish reared up again and snapped its giant pinchers in my direction, the sounds like twin shotguns firing in my direction.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t moving toward us,¡± I said.

    ¡°Your powers of perception astound me, Captain. What else did you manage to glean from our current situation? Please, dear Captain, astound me with more wisdom,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, asshole,¡± I said, ¡°I need to create a diversion and get its attention off me long enough to let me get up in the air. If I can attack from the top down and stay away from those pinchers, then maybe I have a shot at coming out of this with all my hands and legs,¡± I said.

    I looked down and saw that I had a couple of plasma grenades on my waist, ¡°These should do the trick. I doubt they hurt it, but they should at least draw its attention for a few seconds,¡± I said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t miss. You don¡¯t have unlimited stores of grenades, and you still have nine floors of this tower to get through,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°The other nine floors don¡¯t matter if we don¡¯t get past the first one, Sherlock. I¡¯m going to need you to buckle up and let me do my thing. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say, Captain. I''m just along for the ride, regardless of the outcome,¡± Sherlock said.

    I smiled and prepared to throw one of the plasma grenades, ¡°Good, then lets go kill a mud bug.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 23. No rest for the Weary

    Chapter 23. No rest for the Weary

    ¡°Now is as good a time as any. If we are going to have a chance at killing this thing then I am gonna have to move fast,¡± I said to Sherlock as we approached the outer edge of the moat that surrounded the island that the Swamp King currently inhabited.

    I had retreated back into the thick swampy forest with the intention of finding an opportunity to make my initial attack and maintain the element of surprise. The Swamp King knew I was out here but it didn¡¯t necessarily know what direction I would strike from.

    ¡°Sherlock, can you plot a trajectory for me? I want this first grenade to land near its tail. I don¡¯t see any weaknesses in that carapace but I know the underside of a normal crawfish tail is somewhat softer than the shell on the main body. If I can hurt it at all it will help.

    ¡°Trajectory showing now. The armor will regulate your strength and assist with the throw if you accept the suggested trajectory. If you miss it is completely due to user error,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Always a ray of sunshine,¡± I replied as I pulled a plasma grenade from my waist, wound up and threw it at the Swamp King.

    The plasma grenade landed and rolled directly under the massive horse sized crawfishes tail. The charcoal grey sphere rolled to a halt the a ring of light surrounding the outside flashed three times before the sphere exploded. Dirt and chunks of grass flew hundreds of feet into the air as the swamp king pulled it¡¯s tail under its body and twisted in pain. The crawfish spun searching for danger, trying to find the cause of the pain that it was now suffering.

    ¡°No turning back now,¡± I said as I activated my boosters and shot out across the moat.

    The moat was about 30 yards across and surrounded the Swamp Kings island which was approximately the size of a baseball infield. As I flew I equipped the Blood Blades and was surprised to see them pulsing. A crimson aura fell from the blades like a light fog as I approached the Swamp King.

    I landed on the ground in front of the still reeling crawfish and prepared to fight. I didn¡¯t have an ability that I felt confident in using against the swamp King. Each of my abilities had awesome offensive or defensive capabilities but the flip side was the curse that came from using each one.

    Pulsar blast was mainly used for disarming enemies. There were some offensive aspects of the ability but I didtnt have confidence that I could injure the Swamp King enough to justify the cooldown. The defensive bubble provided was nice but being stationary for any amount of time wasn¡¯t something I was willing to chance. Big bang had the same drawbacks except for the small issue of losing my armor and all the protection it offered for several minutes. Do-over didn¡¯t offer any relevant advantage. Shield of Solaris was an option in a pinch but the damage I took form it wasn¡¯t ideal. So I was depending on my untested swords and my ability to out think this monsters. It would have to do.

    I leapt for the Swamp King as I held the Blood Blades in a reverse grip, the blades pointing down. I landed on the back of the monster and stabbed down with all the strength I could muster. My intent was to end this quickly, I knew the heart was on the top of the body under the carapace. If I could pierce it early I could end the fight quickly, and with all my limbs. That was the ideal outcome.

    Thunk

    The Blades managed to barely pierce the surface of the carapace not even achieving an inch of penetration. The Swamp King stopped thrashing as one of his black, antennae like eyes twisted around to gaze squarely at me.

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± I muttered, as I realized that things were about to get a bit more unstable.

    The crawfish lifted his left claw over his head and pointed it in my direction. The claw opened then slammed shut with a force that sounded like the sound barrier shattering. Waves of sound blasted into me throwing me off the monsters back and into the nearby shallows of the moat.

    ¡°I think my ribs are broken,¡± I coughed as I got to one knee and reacclimated myself to the battle.

    ¡°Scans show 2 ribs broken and several contusions on your torso. I would suggest avoiding that attack in the future,¡± Sherlock replied.

    I mentally activated my health stim to start the healing process and ensure that I would have continued mobility. If I couldn¡¯t move freely then I would be easy game for the monster shellfish that was now hurriedly scuttling in my direction.

    ¡°I need to adjust my plan of attack. I cant pierce that shell directly by stabbing. Its time to see what this damage over time ability can do,¡± I said.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    The Swamp King rushed, both claws open and swiping in my direction. As it swung with its right claw I spun, avoiding the attack. The left claw immediately followed and I ducked but the attacks kept coming. I couldn¡¯t find an opening in the furious attacks and it was all I could do for now to dodge and avoid getting snapped in half.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t working, I can¡¯t find an opening and it isn¡¯t letting up long enough for me to counter!¡± I said.

    ¡°Just do your best, Captain. I¡¯m rooting for you,¡± Sherlock replied.

    I didn¡¯t have time to respond because of the barrage of attacks that were continuously being rained down by the Swamp king. Without warning the crawfish reared up and extended its claws to the side. I had seen this before with normal sized crawfish, if you get a couple of them and put them in front of each other they will often display this same behavior. It was a sort an aggressive posture they would sometimes take to show dominance before attacking.

    BOOM, BOOM

    The King snapped both claws simultaneously as waves of sonic energy slammed into me once again. I was thrown into the air once again, this time I completely cleared the width of the moat to slam into a giant cypress tree and slide down to the ground. My health bar plummeted, now flashing red. It was too soon to use another health stim and I was in bad shape with only about a quarter of my total health remaining.

    The Swamp King rushed across the moat, intent on finishing the job this time. I sat motionless with my back against the cypress tree. My breaths were ragged, as again I had broken ribs and based on the blood in my mouth I had potentially pierced a lung. I watched as the crawfish approached, its claws snapping wildly. The King slowly made it¡¯sway to my broken body and brought his head directly in front of mine. Small antennae were probing my helmet as it¡¯s beady black eyes inspected me. The Swamp King forcefully nudged me, trying to provoke a response. It wasn¡¯t happy with just killing me, it wanted me to fight, it wanted to make sure that I had nothing left in me before it would end my life.

    I dismissed my faceplate so it could see my eyes, I wanted the beast to see the defiance in my eyes.

    ¡°hah, ha¡­cough¡­ha¡± I half laughed, half coughed in the face of the massive monster.

    The Swamp King hissed furiously as it moved to grab me with it¡¯s claws, but it was too late. While the monsters attention was on my face I had slipped another plasma grenade from my waist, as the creature hissed in fury I reached forward and shoved it into the small circular mouth at the base of it¡¯s head. For good measure I activated Shield of Solaris as I shoved my arm into its mouth to the shoulder.

    The crawfish raised and bucked wildly but it wasn¡¯t enough. My ability was cooking it from the inside and as the plasma grew hotter the grenade detonated.

    ¡°Sherlock? Sherlock?¡± I yelled, but all I could hear in response was an intense ringing in my head and ears.

    I was alive, I was aware of that at least. I was stumbling around a swamp? There was pain, so much pain. I stumbled and fell to one knee. My head was foggy, everything was a blur. I looked down at my right arm to see that my armor was peeled back to the wrist and my hand was a black mangled mess. I held the hand up in front of my face to inspect it.

    ¡°Wha¡­what happened?¡± I muttered.

    I looked around to see a giant crawfish thrashing as yellow fluid poured from a wound in the front of it¡¯s head. The crawfish twisted and thrashed as it had obviously been severely injured.

    ¡°Captain! Andrew! I need you to focus! Can you hear me?¡± Sherlock was speaking in a panicked tone as he tried to get my attention.

    ¡°Sherlock, is that you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, you are severely injured. The Swamp King is not dead yet. Are you combat effective?¡± Sherlock asked.

    I shook my head trying to clear the fog as the memory of what just happened came rushing back tome like a blast of cold water.

    ¡°Holy shit, holy shit, It¡¯s not dead?!¡± I said as the realization came to me.

    My health bar was now under ten percent and flashing menacingly. I was out of options and had no other recourse but to push through and end this now. I equipped one of the Blood Blades in my left hand and stumbled toward the injured Swamp King.

    Thwack, Thwack

    I swiped defensively at the still reeling crawfish, dodging wild claws and the spear like legs of the twisting, thrashing monster. The sword began to lose some of it¡¯s crimson aura as I struck repeatedly. I didn¡¯t seem to be doing any major damage but black slices began to form on the carapace as I struck.

    Thwack, Thwack

    I continued to strike weakly, but with resolve, stumbling to one knee several times as I continued to deplete the small reserve of energy I had left. After several minutes the black slashes began to emanate an acrid black smoke but I continued to strike.

    Finally I struck the last blow I could muster as the crawfish slowed its thrashing and lay on it¡¯s belly. It slowly lifted one claw in my direction but it didn¡¯t have any strength left and the claw fell limply back to the ground.

    I slumped to my knees, breath ragged and painful. The Blood Blade had been completely drained of its crimson aura and was now completely black, resembling a chunk of sharp, black granite more that a crimson glowing tool of death and destruction. I let the blade fall to the ground beside me as I had no more energy left to lift it.

    As I sat I watched the smoke from the various cuts and slashes on the shell of the Swamp King grow and without warning the Swamp King thrashed on final time as sprays of blood shot from every slash, rising into the air and accumulating into an orb of blood above the now dead beast. The orb floated silently above the carcass before slowly floating over to the Blood Blade, turning to mist and reabsorbing into the black blade returning the red blood aura to the blades.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s handy,¡± I gasped

    ¡°I never doubted you, Captain. Bravo!¡± Sherlock said, ¡°You can use a stim now, by the way.¡±

    I mentally activated my health stim and heard the familiar hiss followed by a sensation of warmness as it began repairing my broken body.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m just gonna take a breather while the stim does it¡¯s thing,¡± I said.

    Level 1 complete

    Proceed to the Center of the swamp for reward and entry to second floor.

    The message popped up on my interface as I sat catching my breath.

    ¡°No rest for the weary, I guess,¡± I said as I slowly picked myself up and stumbled back toward the Swamp King¡¯s Island.

 Book 2. Chapter 24. My Hands are Instruments of Death.

    Chapter 24. My hands are instruments of Death.

    As Michael and Kinthragor journeyed back to Michael''s home, the atmosphere was tense. The roads were empty, the travels quiet, a stark contrast to the encounter with the three bandits a few days ago. They were now just a few days away from the reunion with Michael¡¯s family. The question of how this reunion would unfold, especially in relation to Kinthragor, hung in the air, unspoken but palpable.

    Michael understood that Kinthragor had come to Earth with the express purpose of finding and eliminating the family of Andrew Dawes, whom Kinthragor blamed for the murder of his own brother, Anthragor. If it was, in fact, true that Andrew had killed Kinthragor¡¯s brother, then Michael understood Kinthragors desire for revenge and closure. It was, however, also true that Michael had saved Kinthragor¡¯s life, and Michael now believed the threat to his family to be over and thought the safest place for Kinthragor would be back on Dawes Hill.

    Selfishly, Michael also knew that Kinthragor could be an asset to the humans against the Lacertine invasion force. Kinthragor had shown that he held no solidarity with the Lacertine forces, just the opposite, in fact, since Michael first met Kinthragor in a holding cell, having been captured and imprisoned by the Lacertines.

    ¡°Kinny, there is something we need to talk about,¡± Michael said as the UTV traversed a forest trail somewhere in Mississippi.

    Kinthragor breathed deeply and nodded his head, understanding the subject of the conversation they were about to have.

    ¡°Kinny, I saved you from that prison cell and helped heal you up because it was the right thing to do. You told me why you came to my planet and the purpose of your visit. You told me that you came to wipe out me and my entire family because of what you claim my brother did,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°It is not claim, Michael. Andrew Dawes murdered my brother for nothing more than performing his duty as a council enforcer,¡± Kinthragor spoke the words in a firm, unwavering tone.

    ¡°I understand what you believe, Kinny, and I¡¯m not even saying you are wrong; I¡¯m just asking you to hear me out. You and your people have been a part of the initiated universe for a long time. What you consider to be normal and status quo has completely shattered my planet¡¯s understanding of reality. A few years ago, we thought we were the only intelligent species in the galaxy, possibly even the universe. Then, our world was literally turned upside down overnight. Those of us who could survive did so and tried to rebuild over time, only to be invaded by a race of lizard aliens intent on capturing and selling us as livestock. Can you even begin to understand the impact that has on people?¡± Michael asked.

    ¡°I understand that your people have been through much, Michael. I am not here to pass judgment on the human race. My mission was one of honor,¡± Kinthragor spoke without looking at Michael, ¡°Michael, you have shown honor and loyalty to me; you have shown the willingness to save a life, even when that being had sworn vengeance against you and your family. I came to this planet for the sole purpose of restoring honor to my brother¡¯s memory, but I fear that is now a task that I am not capable of completing,¡± Kinthragor said.

    ¡°Michael, you fear that I am not to be trusted around your family. You fear that I will take the revenge I sought when I came to this planet. You need not fear this thing. My people value honor over everything else. You have shown me that humans have honor and are not merely to be seen as livestock. I am afraid that this is a sentiment that most other beings in the galaxy will not share, unfortunately, but I swear to you, Michael, that you have earned my respect. I will repay honor with honor. I pledged to bring honor to my brother¡¯s memory, and I will honor that pledge by earning the trust of the human that saved my life,¡± Kinthragor said.

    Michael turned toward Kinthragor, studying him intently. ¡°Kinthragor, I saved you and helped nurse you back to some semblance of health. I have invested in you, not because I wanted something from you but because it was the right thing to do. Soon, we will be back home, back with my family, and I hope that they can come to know you as I do, but I need you to understand something.¡±

    Kinthragor turned his eyeless face toward Michael as he spoke.

    ¡°Kinny, if you give me any reason to believe that you are going to pursue this honor mission of yours, I will not think twice; I will end you,¡± Michael said.

    ¡°I understand your need to warn me, Michael, but I feel I must tell you that if I decided to pursue my mission, there would be little you could do to stop me,¡± Kinthragor responded.

    Michael stopped the UTV and took a deep breath before responding, ¡°That is probably the same thing your brother was thinking when he went after my brother.¡±

    Kinthragor tensed at the mention of his brother, a low, tense rumble building in his chest before he shook his head and sighed.

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    ¡°My brother was a fool to underestimate your people. He was always making rash decisions and operating outside the purvue of his position. There was a time when I would have believed him infallible, but that time has long since passed. I will honor the memory of what he wanted to be, not what he became in the end. Michael, you have nothing to fear from me, nor does your family or people.¡±

    ¡°Great, then I can¡¯t wait to introduce you to my family! Hopefully, there hasn¡¯t been any excitement since I¡¯ve been gone. Once we have taken a couple of days to rest and recover, I will need to check back in with my unit. If you have an idea where that ship of yours is, we might be able to get you back to it,¡± Michael said with a smile and pat on Kinthragor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Why have you struck me, Michael? Did we not just agree that we are allies?¡± Kinthragor asked, confused.

    ¡°No, no, you have it all wrong,¡± Michael laughed, ¡°That wasn¡¯t me striking you; that was a pat on the back. It¡¯s meant to show solidarity or support for a friend or to congratulate them. In this case, I was trying to show support. Does your race not have something similar?¡± Michael asked.

    Kinthragor made a loud noise similar to the stridulation of a catfish, a loud grunting croak and threw his eyeless head back as the noise repeated several times.

    ¡°That is terrifying¡­.what was that?¡± Michael asked, a look of utter shock on his face.

    ¡°Do you not know a laugh when you see it Michael?¡±

    Matty got the call from CJ the day before. Captain Andrew was gone, apparently transported off planet by the Coeus for some sort of mission. After the incident at the train yard in New York, the team made a couple of stops to try to locate their families but weren¡¯t successful. Everything had changed in the last three years, and the hope was that everyone¡¯s family members were scattered and hadn¡¯t been shipped off the planet and sold as livestock. The odds weren¡¯t good, though, as they were all in close proximity to the processing station that Elvis had nearly single-handedly wiped out.

    Matty Garcia had seen terrible things in his life before the drop. He had spent time serving overseas in the Middle East before coming back home to New York and joining the NYPD. He had spent several years as a patrol officer before qualifying for the SWAT team after his brother Jax qualified. The two had always been close, and after both qualifying to serve on the SWAT team, they had looked forward to being able to spend more time together.

    Neither man had married, settling instead for the bachelor life. The two brothers had talked about finding wives, settling down, and starting families, but the danger their jobs represented gave them pause. They both figured there would be time for those things later in life since they were both in their early thirties, but then the drop happened, and everything went to shit. After things finally began to return to some semblance of normalcy after the drop, the orbs came to life. The rest was history. The brothers entered an orb with a group of friends and made it through the tutorial, only to be marooned in space on a ship they couldn¡¯t operate. Shortly thereafter, the group was captured and imprisoned before finally being rescued by Andrew and the crew of the Bloodhound.

    ¡°What is our ETA?¡± Red asked from the back of the Pup as they made their way from the northeast coast of the U.S. back down to central Louisiana.

    ¡°Should be there in about half an hour, so you guys just settle down and enjoy the ride,¡± Matty replied.

    ¡°Holy Shit!¡± Jax said from the co-pilot''s chair, ¡°Are you guys seeing this?¡±

    ¡°It is getting very kinetic up there; I have a feeling this is not a good thing,¡± Matty replied.

    ¡°I just got a message from Natasha,¡± Elvis said, ¡°Princess Danae is with her, and they took out the Rerek battle group that was stationed in orbit. Apparently, the Rerek decided to take over the reaping operation and were actively working to interrupt the Lacertine occupation effort,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Loren asked from her seat beside Elvis.

    ¡°It means that Earth is seen as holding value to more than just the Lacertine force. It means that things on the surface are liable to escalate soon.¡± Matty said.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know that,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°Jax, we have been part of an occupying force, and we have been part of a defensive effort. You know, as I do, that once a government invests troops and resources, they aren¡¯t likely to just walk away from a fight easily. We already knew what we were up against with the Lacertines, and that was going to be hard enough to overcome. Now, we have a new threat from the Rerek, and that makes orders of magnitude more complicated. We need to get back to Tiff and the others, figure out if we have orbital support from the Bloodhound, and figure out if Andrew is going to be back any time soon.

    ¡°Now that the Bloodhound is back in orbit, I can access and control the rail guns, if necessary, but we need to assess the level of imminent threat first. I am concerned about the Rerek ships having sent a distress signal before they were destroyed. If they were able to do that, the level of threat from orbit would far outweigh any threat we face here on the surface,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Damn, man, can we not just get one solid week where we aren¡¯t in life-threatening danger?¡± Red asked from his seat.

    ¡°Danger leads to glory,¡± Elvis said.

    ¡°Seriously, Elvis? I understand that you love killing things, but can you not for once just recognize the level of shit that we are in here?¡± Red replied.

    ¡°I will not apologize for being a force capable of humbling entire armies. I am a glorious weapon of destruction. I am the symbol of carnage and revenge. My hands are instruments of death. My feet will squeeze the final breath out of any enemy that dares to stand in front of me, and my hair flows like the blood from my enemy''s throat!¡± Elvis exclaimed.

    Red just shook his head at Elvis¡¯ words, ¡°You have problems, bro, like serious problems,¡±

    ¡°I like his confidence,¡± Loren said as she lightly placed her hand on his.

    ¡°What is this? What are you doing to me, woman?¡± Elvis shouted, ¡°My body, what is this reaction to your touch?¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha,¡± Red laughed from the seat across from them.

    Jax laughed as he turned his head to see Elvis standing and blushing in confusion, ¡°Oh, Slayer of armies, death of those who would dare to stand against you, welcome to being aroused,¡±

    ¡°

    ¡°

 Book 2 - Chapter 25 - I Killed him with my Anger

    Chapter 25. I killed him with my Anger.

    As I was making my way back to the small island in the center of the swamp, I took some time to check the notifications I had received after killing the swamp king.

    You have defeated Swamp King Crawfish ¨C Tower level 1 guardian.

    You have received Swamp King Essence ¨C Rare

    Description ¨C The Swamp King Essence is a rare and powerful gift. It can be ingested to unlock sonic abilities, a unique power that resonates with those who possess physical or genetically heightened abilities. This essence will not bond with those who rely on external sources for their strength. If the essence is ingested and the user has not received physical or genetically heightened abilities, the effects may vary.

    Uses ¨C 1

    ¡°Well, that is interesting. So, if I am reading this right, I can give this to someone, and it will awaken an ability? How is that possible?¡± I asked, ¡°I understand that many of the abilities I have seen are possible because of advanced technology, but this just seems like magic.¡±

    ¡°Captain Dawes, what is magic other than a series of actions or events that are outside the scope of what one can explain away with one''s understanding of reality? The inhabitants of numerous galaxies have been traversing the cosmos since before humans discovered fire. There are also infinite dimensions where anything and everything you could imagine is possible. Making small adjustments to the genetic code of a fairly simple species like humans is not a notable task in the grand scheme of things,¡± Sherlock replied, ¡°Also, you just fought a giant crawfish in a pocket dimension dungeon tower but a potion that gives someone superpowers is what you choose to balk at?¡±

    I took the potion from my inventory and looked at it. It was a small flask that held what looked like a thick yellow ichor. I mentally put it back in my inventory and returned to my notifications.

    Level up ¨C You have reached level 36.

    ¡°Nice, I leveled up again. I took a second to look at my stats after the level-up.

    Human - Andrew Dawes

    Level 36 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Strength ¨C 1538

    Intelligence ¨C 1538

    Dexterity ¨C 1692

    Stamina ¨C 1539

    Vigor ¨C 1615

    Free points available: 100

    View abilities? Y/N

    ¡°I haven¡¯t sat down and looked at my ability progression in a while either. I can do that in a while, but I am going to go ahead and assign those free points now. If I¡¯m not careful, my Dex and Vigor will be way out of balance again, so I am just going to split the 100 free points among Strength, Intelligence, and Stamina until I have a better plan,¡± I said.

    ¡°I believe that to be a good course of action for now. You haven¡¯t really managed to focus on any sort of individualized fighting style. You basically just hit things or blow them up until they die. Now that I consider it you really are not a skilled fighter. You should probably look to remedy that sooner than later,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°I was working on that before I was once again transported to an alternate dimension against my will. Kaj was going to start training me, I really need to focus on that training as soon as I can back home. For now, I am going to have to do the best I can to get through this,¡± I said.

    I mentally dispersed my free points and pulled my stats up again to take a second look.

    Human - Andrew Dawes

    Level 36 ¨C Havok Bringer

    Strength ¨C 1571

    Intelligence ¨C 1571

    Dexterity ¨C 1692

    Stamina ¨C 1572

    Vigor ¨C 1615

    ¡°It¡¯s not perfect, but it is a bit more balanced. It will have to do for now,¡± I said, ¡°Sherlock, what do all these numbers even mean? I know they represent me getting more powerful, but they seem so big compared to where I started. My Dexterity was 10 when I started, and now it is over 1600. I don¡¯t feel 160 times more dexterous, so what do the numbers represent?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I cannot say that I am capable of giving an acceptable explanation, Captain. I understand the concern, and all I can really say is that the straightforward way in which your stats are displayed is meant to allow users to visualize their advancement. Honestly, the data I do have suggests that there hasn¡¯t been a system user to cross level 100. Most users over level 50 are recruited into security forces or retired from system events in favor of their respective governments utilizing them in different capacities. Users who manage to compete and survive multiple dungeons have traditionally been a rarity, so as they get stronger, the resource is diverted. The expense of advancing them is meaningless if they are lost in a dungeon, so to my knowledge, there is no record of a user crossing level 100¡­ ever,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°How is that possible? I am level 36 after just a few months. It would only make sense that there are users out there who are over level 100. I mean, look at Tiff; she is level 50. Kaj is level 63, and I find it hard to believe that there aren¡¯t people out in the universe who are levels of magnitude stronger than the two of them,¡± I said.

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    ¡°There are stronger users in the universe. However, Kaj was only participating in the dungeon as part of his duties to the Malakim Empire. He didn¡¯t often participate in Dungeons. Tiff was recruited and trained to be a guardian. Over the course of several years, her rank was built up to level 50 so she could be effective in her role. Believe it or not, those two are outliers. There are entire civilizations that don¡¯t have users, much less two users who have surpassed level 50,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°That is surprising, but it still doesn¡¯t answer my question about the numbers attached to my stats. I have to assume there is some sort of system used to calculate the power relative to the stats,¡± I said.

    ¡°I am sorry, Captain. I don¡¯t have the data necessary to give a plausible explanation at this time. I honestly didn¡¯t believe you were capable of posing such intelligent and nuanced questions. I guess today is a day full of surprises,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°And just like that, you are back to being an asshole,¡± I sighed and stood up to begin making my way back to the island.

    As I waded through the shallow moat, I noticed a new structure in the center of the island. It was what looked like a black granite slab about eight feet tall and circular. It had the circumference of a large tree, but other than that, it had no discernable features.

    ¡°What do you suppose the large, black, ominous rock in the middle of the island is about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot to tell you that I was one of the architects of this dungeon tower, and therefore, I know all of its secrets. Why didn¡¯t I remember to tell you sooner? Maybe you should just approach it since we are obviously ready to move to the second floor,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Sherlock¡­ I swear if you had a physical manifestation, I would slap the spit out of your mouth,¡± I said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°I would never lower myself and take on the burden of a mortal shell. I am perfection manifest in code,¡± Sherlock replied with an air of superiority.

    I approached the obsidian stone but got no reaction as I approached. No lights, no noise, nothing. The rock was just¡­ there.

    ¡°Any suggestions?¡± I said as I stood in front of the stone and inspected it.

    ¡°Touch it?¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°The last time I touched something mysterious, I wound up in an alternate dimension where aliens have been trying to kill me for merely existing. I don¡¯t know if touching it is the best idea,¡± I said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a pussy, Captain,¡± Sherlock said.

    I sighed through gritted teeth and clenched my fist in frustration, ¡°Did Elvis program you to be an ass on purpose, or did that just happen?¡±

    ¡°Just touch the rock, Captain. I am ready to get out of this swamp,¡± Sherlock said.

    I slowly reached out and placed a palm on the rock, which immediately began vibrating. My body tensed as my eyes rolled back in my head. Everything went black.

    When I opened my eyes, I was once again back in the featureless white room that I recognized by now as the Coeus communal space. I saw the glowing orb in front of me and approached.

    ¡°So, what now? Why am I back here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Andrew Dawes, congratulations on passing the first floor of the test of power. You will be transported to the second floor shortly, and the trial will resume. Before that, you must choose your reward for passing the first floor. You will have two options and must choose one before continuing with the trial. Once a reward is chosen, you can collect the reward and continue the trial. I must warn you that the rewards are great, but as you may have guessed, the reward will come with a drawback. I believe you have seen this referred to as boons and curses in the past,¡± The Coeus orb said.

    ¡°Well, what a surprise! You are going to offer me a reward and then tag on something that handicaps me as I progress. Well, I don¡¯t need it, how about that? I am happy just to keep going as I am. I don¡¯t need another power that burns me when I use it, or for you to send a friend my way that has now powers and now way to defend themselves. For someone that has decided to help the people of the universe you sure don¡¯t make it easy for me. So you know what? Fuck your reward, keep it!¡± I turned to walk away from the orb.

    ¡°You can send me back now; I¡¯m done here,¡± I said.

    ¡°Andrew Dawes, I offer apologies, but you may not re-enter the trial until you have selected your reward. I understand your trepidation. The curses that have so often been attached to your abilities and rewards can surely be seen as less than ideal. We do believe, however, that these curses have only served to make you stronger. It is our intention to create a weapon that can liberate the inhabitants of this universe. In order to make the most effective weapon, we must ensure that you have been tested and shown the ability to succeed in the face of adversity. It is not our intention to handicap you; rather, we strive to forge a stronger weapon by increasing the adversity that you face early on your path.

    I stopped and took a deep breath, dropping my head in thought. I was really getting tired of being forced into situations where I had limited or no control over what choices I made. Still, here I was again. I was being forced to choose a reward that would also bring with it some sort of curse that would definitely suck.

    ¡°Fine, what are my options?¡± I said.

    The two reward options scrolled into my field of view.

    1. Pass Go!

    Do not collect $200. Do not receive any other reward!

    You will automatically advance to floor 3.

    Warning ¨C by selecting this reward you will receive no reward and forfeit all level gains from floor 1.

    2. Lifeline: Receive assistance for the remainder of the tower. Transport one ally to your location, and they can assist you for the remainder of the tower. This Ally cannot assist you in combat and will be incorporeal outside of safe rooms. You will be able to communicate and see them, but they will be invisible to enemies and unable to affect their surroundings.

    Warning - By selecting this ability, you will lose the ability to communicate with the outside world for the duration of the tower trial.

    The ability to skip an entire level was enticing, but losing all my gains from that level would be a gut punch. I didn¡¯t know when I would be able to fight enemies that would allow me to level up outside of the tower, and I needed every bit of XP I could get. Not only would I lose my gains from level 1, but I would also forfeit any potential gains from the second floor.

    The second option made sense. I didn¡¯t know how long this tower would last. I needed combat training; I needed someone to help me get better as I got stronger, and I had just the person in mind. Tiff had done so much for me early in my journey, but I didn¡¯t need help understanding the system or my abilities; well, I did need those things, but not more than I needed someone to teach me to fight. I knew just who would be joining me in the tower.

    ¡°I select option 2. I¡¯m sure you know who I want here with me, so make it happen.¡± I said without turning back to face the orb.

    Everything went black again, and I found myself standing in front of a large stone entryway. I couldn¡¯t see anything past the archway as I walked through.

    Kaj was standing near the campsite talking with Tiff and CJ when the Pup started its descent. He lifted his wings to cover his head as dust began flying around from the blasts of hot air shooting down from the Pup¡¯s propulsion engines.

    As the Pup landed, Matty and the rest of the crew began to disembark, walking up and greeting Kaj and the others.

    ¡°So, Captain Dawes disappeared into an alternate dimension again? He is making a real habit out of that, isn¡¯t he?¡± Matty said as he grasped Tiff¡¯s hand and greeted everyone.

    ¡°If Captain had kept me here, he would be safe! Instead, he trusted the Malakim, and now he has disappeared!¡± Elvis said, eyeing Kaj warily.

    ¡°Elvis, I assure you that nobody would have been able to stop what happened to Captain Dawes. Tiffantrimore has been in contact with him, and for now, he is safe,¡± Kaj replied.

    Kaj stumbled and fell to a knee as everyone turned to look at him, ¡°Something is wrong,¡± he said.

    Everyone watched Kaj¡¯s body become transparent, flickering in and out of being as he reached toward them and slowly disappeared.

    Elvis walked toward the spot where Kaj had just disappeared, ¡°I killed him with my anger,¡± he said as he stared intently at his clenched fist.

 Book 2 -Chapter 26. Meats back on the menu boys

    Chapter 26. Meats back on the menu boys

    The Bloodhound crew was sitting inside the main hab of the camp contemplating what they had just seen. A heavy feeling of helplessness had settled over them after they had watched Kaj disappear without knowing precisely what had happened to him.

    Tiff and Matty, now thrust into the role of leaders, understood the weight of their responsibility. With Captain Dawes and Kaj gone, it was up to them to ensure the crew''s sense of purpose and direction, a task they knew was crucial for the success of their mission.

    ¡°So, Captain Dawes has been drawn into a mysterious trial, a quest to retrieve an artifact that holds the key to the universe''s salvation?¡± Matty''s voice was tinged with intrigue as he reclined on one of the small sofas in the hab, absentmindedly toying with his newly grown beard.

    ¡°That is how I understand it. Andrew¡­ ugh, Captain Dawes contacted me a few hours after being transported. Time seems to work differently where he is and it had been much longer for him. He seems to be in some sort of trial tower.¡± Tiff said as she blushed slightly at her slip of the tongue when referring to Captain Dawes by his first name in mixed company.

    The slip hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed by Matty. He was aware that Captain Dawes and Tiff had built a strong bond. There was nothing to indicate that it had progressed beyond a strictly professional relationship, but there were hints that it might be progressing, slowly, into something else.

    ¡°Based on what he told me, there are ten floors that have to be cleared. Once the floors are cleared he will be granted access to the artifact and given instruction on what to do from there,¡± Tiff leaned forward in her chair, hand clasped as she spoke, ¡°These floors are not what you might imagine though. Each one seems to have a fairly expansive pocket dimension within the floor. The first floor alone would have taken Captain Dawes multiple days to clear if he has even managed that task by now. It was a swamp land with a multitude of dangerous enemies. Captain Dawes does have the assistance of the localized AI that Elvis was able to program into the Havok Bringer armor, as well as access to a safe zone where he was able to contact me. Other than that, he is alone and outnumbered.¡±

    ¡°Andy is getting used to operating under those circumstances,¡± CJ said from the corner of the room where he was leaning on the wall, listening with arms crossed.

    ¡°Elvis, why the hell do you keep staring at me like that?¡± CJ said, aggravation apparent in his tone.

    Elvis was standing directly in front of CJ, aggressively invading his personal space. He stood with clinched fists, directing an unflinching stare in CJ¡¯s direction.

    ¡°I am sure that I killed Kaj with my anger. I need to test it again to be certain. You are useless so I have decided to test it on you,¡± Elvis responded while not taking his eyes off of CJ.

    ¡°Elvis, you didn¡¯t Kill Kaj. Tiff said he disappeared just like Captain Dawes did. Why don¡¯t you come over here and sit down? We''re all tired after New York,¡± Loren said as she patted the seat next to her from across the room.

    ¡°I have no time for your seductions, woman! I must get stronger to help the Captain. If we lose one CJ in the pursuit of greater strength, it will be worth it. Captain will understand, and for once, CJ will bring value to the group,¡± Elvis replied.

    ¡°Bro, I don¡¯t care if you are some murder robot; if you don¡¯t vacate my personal space, I am gonna jam my fist up your ass and pull your batteries out!¡± CJ stepped closer to Elvis until they were touching chests.

    ¡°Ahh, the clown has found his spine. Take another step, and I¡¯ll rip it from your body so you may see it for yourself¡­¡± Elvis clenched his fists as flames began to engulf them slowly.

    ¡°That is enough, you two!¡± Matty shouted, ¡° Elvis, go finish the inspection of the Pup. We may need to move fast, and I don¡¯t want to discover that we are grounded because of some minor mechanical issue. CJ, you know Captain Dawes folks, right?¡±

    CJ and Elvis were still chest-to-chest, neither breaking eye contact. ¡°Yes, he introduced us when we got here.¡±

    ¡°Then, take some of that energy that you seem to have stored up and go brief them on the situation. They just got their son back, and I¡¯m sure they would like the most up-to-date status report. Most of all, if you two can¡¯t find some common ground, then I will be forced to ground you both¡ªno missions, no fighting, and no assistance with whatever is to come. We have a pile of shit on our plates right now and you two are acting like spoiled children instead of bringing any strategic value to the situation. Now both of you get out of my sight,¡± Matty said as he stood up and separated them.

    Elvis stormed out of the hab grumbling incoherently as Matty eyed CJ. Matty was a head taller than CJ and years of military and police work had left the man hardened. It was a fight that CJ decided he would be better off not pursuing, so he took his leave and headed toward the settlement to speak with Andy¡¯s parents.

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    ¡°Well¡­that was interesting,¡± Jax said. He had been sitting in a chair with his feet propped up as things began to unravel, ¡°I was kind of hoping to see what happened.¡±

    Matty spun on him in an instant, anger flashing in his eyes. Jax put his hands up in surrender before getting up to leave the hab with a smirk.

    Jax stopped at the door of the hab and turned back to face Matty and Tiff. ¡°You realize he isn¡¯t really our Captain, right? He is just a guy that got a weapon and a ship. He was in the right place at the right time, and honestly, if either one of us had gotten those things, the world would be a lot better for it. Don¡¯t forget who your family is here, brother.¡±

    Matty sighed and his shoulders slumped as he flopped back into the sofa. Red and Loren, sensing the mood of the room, quickly got up and headed out of the hab as well to help with whatever tasks they could find.

    ¡°Is he going to be a problem? Tiff asked.

    ¡°Jax has always been a problem. He is stronger and better with a rifle than most anyone I have ever seen. He also has a bit of a superiority complex. When you guys saved us, we were lost. Not just lost in space but lost in every sense of the word, Tiff. We had been pulled into the same shit show that you and Andrew were pulled into. The difference is that our guardian went AWOL, and we were left with abilities and technology that we didn¡¯t understand. When we were captured after drifting in space for several days, things only got worse. Kinthragor wasn¡¯t looking for us; honestly, we were waiting to be executed. We had no value to anyone, so it was easier to dispose of us. We all thought we would die on that prison station. So when Captain Dawes took us in and gave us a purpose, he literally and figuratively saved us. For the first time since the Drop we had a chance to fight back, a chance to make a difference. Do you understand what that means to someone like me?¡± Matty said as he stared into nothing, the memories of what had happened over the last several months washing over him like a tidal wave.

    ¡°Captain Dawes has proven that he is selfless. He started with nothing and has managed to shake the Universal Council to its very core. He never asked for the responsibility that he was given. Even the title Captain was something he didn¡¯t demand; it was just something that came naturally as we spent time together,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°I know he didn¡¯t ask for, hell, he still doesn¡¯t want the responsibility. That is why he has to be the one to carry it. That is why I am committed to following him. I don¡¯t see someone who doesn¡¯t deserve it when I look at him; I see someone who is doing everything in his power to deserve it. He doesn¡¯t think twice; he throws himself into the fire time after time to save whoever needs it. Maybe he isn¡¯t a Captain in the traditional sense of the word, but he has proven himself to be a leader worth following,¡± Matty sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead with one hand.

    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t answer my question, Matty. Is your brother going to be a problem?¡± Tiff said again.

    ¡°I''ll keep Jax in line, so don¡¯t worry about him.¡±

    Tiff sat back in her chair and closed her eyes in turn,¡± We need to discuss what to do next. Those ships exploding up there are not going to go unnoticed. It is only a matter of time before a recon squad is deployed to see what happened. That is, if we are lucky. If one of those ships managed to get a distress signal out before Natasha took them out, then we will have much bigger problems to worry about. That is bad enough without even broaching the subject of the Lacertine occupation force that is ravaging the planet and the people who haven¡¯t been shipped off as livestock. I don¡¯t even know where to start.¡±

    ¡°Well, I believe I can help with that,¡± Natasha said through the comm, ¡° I have been doing reconnaissance on the planet and have managed to identify five key strategic positions that are primed for an attack. Defenses will be minimal due to the complete breakdown of internal structure the Lacertine force is dealing with.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean breakdown of structure?¡± Matty asked, sitting up in his seat.

    ¡°Well, for starters, they are starving. Supply lines had all but dried up even before the Rerek squad took up position in orbit. From the intel that I was able to intercept, the Lacertine Empire is on the edge of bankruptcy and is busy defending its home system from threats. All of their forces were recalled in an effort to bolster their system defense.¡± Natasha replied.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that these troops are stranded?¡± Tiff asked. That is great news! We should be able to just wait them out, right?¡±

    ¡°Have you ever seen a starving animal?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°I come from a race of AI that mostly exists inside a quantum network with no physical body. Our planet is an artificially created supercomputer. Not a lot of wildlife.¡± Tiff replied.

    Matty sighed, ¡°A starving animal is more likely to push the boundaries of what they would normally do. Lack of food leads to revolt, rebellion, and desperation. That is not the type of enemy that we need to take lightly. As they realize that help isn¡¯t coming, the frontline troops will lose faith in their commanding officers and start taking things into their own hands. If they are out of food, then they will start trying to find a way to survive. I would expect cannibalism to run rampant since they don¡¯t have anything to eat on this planet.¡±

    ¡°Well, that isn¡¯t technically true¡­¡± Natasha said.

    ¡°What do you mean? I thought food from Earth was incompatible with their biology or something like that?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°As they began rounding up humans for transport and storing them in internment camps, the Lacertine science officers began experimenting. They were able to create a solution to that problem. They can administer a serum that will fundamentally change the genetic makeup of a human. You have heard of the CRISPR gene editing technology that was being pioneered in the last few decades on Earth?¡± Natasha asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I heard of it. Something like being able to choose the sex of your baby or change their eye color, right?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°In a simplified, broad sense, yes. The ability to modify human DNA or adjust genes to achieve a desired outcome. The Lacertines technology is light years ahead of human technology though. The serum they administer is lethal to the subject, but the outcome is a source of food that can be consumed by the Lacertines. They have created the serum and are currently mass-producing it in the five locations that I referenced earlier. If this serum is produced and distributed, the Lacertine troops will use it to create food out of humans,¡± Natasha said.

    ¡°Oh, shit. That isn¡¯t good,¡± Matty replied.

    ¡°A bit of an oversimplification, but no, that isn¡¯t good,¡± Tiff agreed.

 Book 2 - Chapter 27 - Inspector Gadget

    Chapter 27. Inspector Gadget.

    I didn¡¯t know what to expect on the second floor, but there was no point waiting around on the first floor. I had nine floors to clear before I could leave this godforsaken place. I looked at the large stone archway that was my exit from the first floor. It looked straight out of a medieval fortress. Large grey rough-hewn stones were stacked on top of each other to create an archway. There were no walls surrounding the arch; it simply existed in the middle of the swamp island. I approached the arch to see a silky substance filling the entirety of the inside of the archway. The substance was a silvery grey in color and shimmered in the light, much like an oily film on the surface of water. I walked around to the back of the archway to see nothing. I could walk straight through the arch from the rear, but from the front was some sort of portal.

    ¡°What do you think Sherlock? Do we just walk through?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I have yet to see any illuminated exit signs, so I am going to assume this is our only way out of this disgusting swamp. I say we take our chances; what is the worst thing that could happen?¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Seriously? I can think of several right off the top of my head! There could be giant spiders, alien demons, werewolves, hell; there could be any number of unknown dangers on the other side of that archway just waiting to eat me or kill me in some other equally terrifying manner.¡±

    ¡°Well, won¡¯t it be exhilarating to find out?¡± Sherlock said in a tone that was way too excited.

    ¡°You are nothing if not a constant source of inspiration, Sherlock. Well, here goes nothing,¡± I shrugged and stepped forward into the shimmering center of the arch.

    As I made contact with the unknown substance, it began to invade every inch of my body. It filled my eyes, nose, and mouth as I tried to scream but failed to make a noise as the liquid choked out my screams. There was a sensation of bitter cold followed by shocking heat as the world went black. I wasn¡¯t unconscious, as I could still feel the sensation of the liquid. I still had a conceptual grasp of time and could feel several seconds slip by before I was spat out onto the ground on the second floor.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± I coughed as I got to my hands and knees, ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t have to do that after every floor; I feel like I have pins and needles running over my entire body, not to mention that I might¡­ might¡­¡±

    I vomited the entire contents of my stomach up onto the ground in front of me. I rolled onto my back to catch my breath when I finished.

    ¡°You biologicals are disgusting. I mean, really, you travel through one tiny interdimensional portal, and you proceed to vomit up filth all over yourself and the ground. Pull it together, man,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°I really, really hate you, Sherlock,¡± I said, ¡°Let¡¯s try to get the lay of the land so we can get this party started.¡±

    I got up to my feet and looked around. The terrain was mountainous, with snow-capped peaks stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. It was a welcome change from the muggy, dirty swamp lands I had just come from.

    You have reached the second floor of ¨C Tower of Power

    Bonus experience earned for completing the first floor. Progress to a safe zone to consolidate bonus XP.

    The message flashed across my interface as I lay on my back, recovering from the wave of sickness that had just caused me to lose my lunch.

    ¡°That helps make it a little more worth it,¡± I grumbled, ¡°We need to find a safe zone soon, Sherlock. I gained bonus XP for completing the first floor and I need to consolidate my gains and see if I gained another level.¡±

    ¡°Captain, we seem to have lucked out this time. The safe zone is just ahead. I suggest we head to the safe room so you can rest and prepare to push through this floor,¡±

    Sherlock had helpfully marked a spot on the map on the heads-up display, and he was right: the safe room was only a couple hundred yards north of where we started.

    ¡°Let''s hope we don¡¯t run into any trouble on the way. I am tired and hungry and don¡¯t feel like dealing with any weird alien monsters right now,¡± I said as I started walking toward the spot that Sherlock had marked on my HUD.

    After walking a few hundred yards and cresting a small hill at the base of a large mountain, I saw what looked like a cave carved into the sheer rock cliff at the base of the mountain. I craned my neck to look up from where I currently stood and tried to gain a sense of scale. The mountain was enormous. It stood like a monolithic spike protruding from the very earth around it.

    As I surveyed the mountain and surrounding area, I could see that the mountain I was at the base of was much taller than every other mountain surrounding us. As a matter of fact, even the base of the mountain was elevated above all the other mountains I could see. I approached the cliffside to see how far up we were and was surprised to see only clouds below me with the mountain peaks cutting through the clouds like white-tipped daggers through a blanket of pure white silk.

    ¡°Sherlock, do you have any idea how big this place is? From what I can see, it is massive, much bigger than the last floor,¡± I asked as I stood with my hand shielding my eyes from the sun while I tried to get an idea of how big this place was.

    ¡°You seem to forget that I am an AI localized to the Havok Bringer armor. I have no physical body and am wholly reliant on the sensory systems of the armor and whatever dribble I manage to pry from the peanut-sized brain of the monkey who pilots it. I would remind you that you have the ability to create weapons and constructs from the armor, Captain,¡± Sherlock said.

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    ¡°I am aware of that, Sherlock. I use that ability every time I conjure my plasma pistol or rifle. I also use it passively at all times since my arms got cut off. I¡¯m not sure you noticed, but having advanced prosthetic arms isn¡¯t exactly common amongst humans.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, aren¡¯t you special? You have robot arms. You realize that you have the ability to create basically anything you can imagine and yet you haven¡¯t learned to create anything useful. You conjure guns and the arms to shoot them; other than that, you have completely neglected the inherent power of that ability,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°What ability? I wasn¡¯t even aware that I had that ability. I understood that I could create the guns the first time I equipped the armor. I created my replacement arms after a conversation with the Coeus collective. I assumed it was something they allowed me to do. Is there something I am missing?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, I will try to explain this in a way that makes sense. I understand that the Havok Bringer armor didn¡¯t come with a user¡¯s manual. Do you know why Elvis decided to program a localized integrated AI into the armor?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I just assumed it was so I would have some help when I needed it?¡±

    ¡°While I want nothing more than to be your babysitter, that is not the reason I was created. Elvis and Tiffantrimore are, to you, extremely advanced synthetic life forms. While not biological, they are more advanced than anything the human species could have even postulated for at least the next millennia. Even with the advanced understanding of robotics and programming that the two of them possess, they were unable to comprehend the origin and full functionality of the Havok Bringer armor,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°So how the hell am I supposed to figure it out? I barely understood how to create Excel formulas before the drop. Now, I am in possession of probably the most advanced weapon in the universe. You understand how that can be a little overwhelming, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, brain small, think hurt brain. I understand, Captain,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Really?¡± I crossed my arms and sighed, ¡°Sherlock, there will come a day of reckoning for the piles of bullshit that you keep shoveling on me,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m quite terrified. Explain to me how you are going to hurt the AI that lives deep within the code of the armor that you need to survive. I¡¯ll wait¡­¡±

    ¡°Ok, just get on with whatever you were trying to explain, ass,¡± I said in defeat.

    ¡°Elvis programmed me into the Havok Bringer subsystems to penetrate the code and learn everything I could. He did this to help you, yes, but also to learn what I could of the weapon''s origins. I am making some progress, but I have yet to crack the, for lack of a better term, firewalls that explain where the armor came from, how it was created, and for what purpose,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Okay¡­ that¡¯s good news, right? You can tell me how to use the armor better?¡± I asked hopefully.

    ¡°I, in fact, can. For example, you can conjure constructs from the armor. However, the armor is not unlimited in its ability to form. Anything you create will utilize the existing mass of the armor. This means the bigger your creation, the less of the original mass you have at your disposal. The guns and arms that you have already been using are small constructs and, therefore, don¡¯t limit the abilities you can perform while having them conjured. If you, however, were to create larger constructs or several smaller constructs, you would see diminished ability in the armor you use.¡±

    ¡°How did I not know about this? How was I supposed to figure it out on my own? It feels like the Coeus gave me the armor and wanted me to fail,¡± I sat down, frustrated, ¡°Can you tell me how to use it?¡±

    ¡°The armor isn¡¯t armor at all, Captain. You already knew that. In terms you can understand, the armor is basically a connection of billions of advanced nanobots. The means of construction and the ways in which they work are still a mystery to me, but I am working to learn more. The nanobots were genetically synced to you when you accepted the armor. The general understanding of a genetic bond is that it allows a user to bond an item and have no fear of said item being stolen or used against them. Genetic bonding is rarely used due to the expense and time involved in creating genetically bonded items. These days, it is mostly seen among members of high-born or royal families. Your armor, however, seems to be a more advanced symbiotic bond. The armor is bound to you, but in turn, you are bound to the armor; as you grow and progress, the armor seems to be doing the same thing. You have progressed significantly in the months since receiving the armor, yet you still are utilizing its basic abilities only,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Well, like I said, I haven¡¯t exactly had a user''s manual. I didn¡¯t know that the armor was growing with me; this is the first I¡¯ve heard of it. How can I be expected to just figure these things out?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, the material that makes up the armor is part of you down to the genetic level; It is part of your DNA now. With that being said, it is important to treat it just as you would any other part of your body. If you want to strengthen a muscle, you must break and rebuild it repeatedly. You must make the muscles uncomfortable, do new things, and try new techniques. The armor is now different; it is inherently powerful. Therefore, you are inherently powerful. Some of the functions of the armor will not be accessible until you have become powerful enough to sustain the physical or mental strain that those abilities will undoubtedly incur on you. Several functions of the armor are currently accessible, but you just haven¡¯t used them. Now is the time to try,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Okay, lay it on me. What do I need to do?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You asked about the size of the floor that we are currently in. Instead of asking me, why don¡¯t you find out for yourself?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I can''t exactly survey the entirety of this floor; in case you missed it¡ªit¡¯s huge!¡± I said, raising my hands out and gesturing in all directions.

    ¡°Before the drop, if you were going to work on a new job site, say during the startup phase, what are some of the tools that would have been used to survey an area?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I mean, there were several. People would go out to the site, walk and flag the area, and take measurements. In some cases, they would send out drones to get aerial¡­.¡± I stopped as the idea hit me, ¡°A drone? Can I make a drone?¡±

    ¡°I think it would be worth finding out. You need to visualize the construct and its desired function. Focus on the Havok Bringer armor; tell it what you want it to be and what you want it to do,¡± Sherlock said.

    I closed my eyes and focused on a micro drone. It needed a camera as well as thermal sensors; it needed to be small, so hopefully, I could make more than one. I felt a surge of power pulsing toward my chest as a small globule of black pulsing liquid separated from my chest piece and hovered in front of me. As I watched the globule pulsed and slowly formed into a small X shaped drone and began to hover in front of me.

    Drone Construct created.

    Biomass consumed = .25%

    Warning: Consuming more than 40% of your available biomass will have detrimental effects on the effective capabilities of the Havok Bringer armor.

    Create more Drone constructs? Y?N

    ¡°Ha! I can make my own robots! I¡¯m basically Inspector Gadget now!¡± I shouted as I threw a fist up in the air in triumph.

 Book 2. Chapter 28. Brad

    Chapter 28. Brad

    CJ was still fuming after his interaction with Elvis in the crew HAB, so he decided to go into the settlement to update Andrew¡¯s parents and see if they needed any help with anything since there was nothing else he could do for the time being.

    As he walked toward the gates of the settlement, he saw Andrews''s dad with a group of several people giving directions.

    ¡°Hey, uh¡­ Andy¡¯s dad?¡± CJ said, only now realizing that he didn¡¯t know the man''s name.

    ¡°You can call me Mike, any news on Andrew?¡± Mike asked.

    ¡°Nothing new yet. He made contact with Tiff and said everything was okay. Well, as okay as it can be if you are stuck fighting your way through a tower full of monsters in a pocket dimension.¡±

    As CJ relayed the news, he noticed a subtle change in Mike¡¯s expression. His brows furrowed, and his eyes, once filled with hope, now mirrored the concern that CJ had been trying to shield him from.

    ¡°I understand, Mike. It¡¯s a lot to process. But remember, Andy has grown. He''s not the same person you last saw. If there''s anyone who can navigate this and emerge stronger, it''s Andy. I believe in him, and I know you do too,¡± CJ said, his hand resting firmly on Mike¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Thanks, CJ. I know that Andrew has these new powers and new friends to watch his back, but you gotta remember that he was a junior-level field engineer at a mid-size firm when the drop happened. It¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t a capable young man but who is ready to take on the things that he has. Me and his Mom worry.¡±

    Mike¡¯s attention was drawn away from the conversation as a man stumbled and spilled filth from the settlement outhouses all over himself.

    ¡°Damnit, Brad, this isn¡¯t Hollywood! You either pull your weight around here, or I¡¯ll put your ass on the road and you can take your chances with the road bandits and aliens!¡± Mike yelled at the man, trying to gather himself out of the filth, but to no avail. He slipped again and fell back into the mess.

    CJ stared, dumbstruck, as he pointed at the man, ¡°Is that Brad¡­.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him. Big-time movie star before the drop. He was making a movie out near Fort Polk when everything went to hell. He managed to make it through the years after the drop, but as time passed, people cared less and less about who he used to be. Nowadays, if you can¡¯t offer some sort of tangible value to the people around you, then you are just about worthless. Case in point,¡± Mike Pointed at the sandy-haired man who had finally managed to get himself up and was now watching into the nearest ditch.

    ¡°You good, Brad?¡± Mike asked.

    ¡°Yeah, Mr. Dawes, all good,¡± Brad replied with a thumbs up.

    ¡°Go down to the creek and get yourself cleaned up. When you¡¯re done, I need you to grab that scythe from the shop and go cut the grass around the outside of the fence and be sure to do it right this time, you did a piss poor job last time, and now the grass is knee high,¡± Mike said.

    ¡°I got attacked by red wasps last time, Mr. Dawes; I passed out after the 8th one stung me in the face,¡± Brad said, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

    ¡°Well, boo freakin hoo, Brad. How about you don¡¯t hit the wasp nest on your backswing this time? Pay attention to your surroundings and do the job right! Excuse me, CJ, I need to go show Mr. Hollywood how to cut grass. Do me a favor and come by the house tonight for dinner. Mrs. Dawes will make something nice for you and your friends, and you can tell us if you all have any idea when our son will be back. Sound good?¡± Mike asked.

    ¡°We will be there, Mike. There is no news to share right now, but we could use a good meal.¡±

    ¡°Good, see you all this evening then,¡± Mike replied before walking over to Brad and continuing to berate him.

    Matty had walked out of the HAB and stood mouth agape beside CJ.

    ¡°Is that¡­¡± Matty asked, pointing at the man that Andrew¡¯s Dad was yelling at.

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s him. Seems he is having trouble adjusting to his new way of life,¡± CJ replied.

    ¡°The world really is upside down, isn¡¯t it?¡± Matty asked.

    ¡°Things are definitely interesting, that is for damn sure,¡± CJ replied.

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    After making several more drones, I decided to make my way up to the safe room to take stock and see if there was anything that could be useful in this new environment. The safe room was much like the one from floor one.

    ¡°At least they are keeping the safe room design the same,¡± I said as I approached the flowing white door.

    I walked into the door, expecting to see the same room setup as floor one, but was surprised to see a much larger area. I was struck in the face before I could take in the full scope of the changes.

    ¡°What the fu¡­¡± I said, lifting my hand to my chin, trying to figure out what happened.

    ¡°I believe someone hit you, Captain,¡± Sherlock said in my ear.

    I spun, trying to locate the intruder, but saw nothing. I heard a whoosh as I turned to face a hallway and saw only white feathery wings before I was hit in the face again and fell to my knees while the world faded. Just as I slumped to the ground, I looked up to see Kaj smiling, fist still clenched.

    ¡°This is going to be fun,¡± Kaj said as he fell back into a chair and bellowed laughter.

    I woke with a start a few minutes later. I was getting used to being knocked unconscious, unfortunately. I saw Kaj still sitting in the chair, one leg tossed over the side as he ate what looked like a peach.

    ¡°Kaj?!¡± I asked, shaking the fuzz from my head and getting to my feet.

    ¡°Who else would it be?¡± Kaj asked,¡± Did you not request me to be sent to this place to aid you in your quest?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, I did, but I didn¡¯t ask to be punched in the face repeatedly; I know that for damn sure.¡±

    ¡°That was a lesson, Andrew. How can you expect to learn if you cannot even identify the lessons?¡± Kaj asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°Lesson? What kind of lesson is it to blindside someone as they are walking into a room that is literally called a safe zone?!¡±

    Kaj stood and offered his hand. ¡°The lesson is that safety is earned only through being thorough and prepared. Never trust safety that is given; only trust safety that is earned. Today, you have learned that lesson, I think.¡±

    Kaj grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. It had only been a few days, but finally seeing someone from my crew was a relief.

    ¡°Good to see you, Kaj.¡±

    ¡°And good to see you, Captain,¡± Kaj replied.

    ¡°So, how exactly did you get here? I thought you would be coming, but I wasn¡¯t sure how it would be done,¡± I said.

    ¡°Much the same as you, Captain.  I was standing with Tiffantrimore having a conversation and I was suddenly warped away. I spent some time with what I believe is the Coeus, and they informed me that I would be brought here to aid you. I will not be able to influence anything outside of the safe room physically, but I will be able to assist and prepare you while you are in the safe room,¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here Kaj, God knows I can use the company but how are you going to help me if you can¡¯t interact with the world outside of this room?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh, this is much more than a room, Captain. There is a common area, Kitchen, bathroom facilities, a medical facility, and, most important of all, a training complex. I believe you made the right choice in bringing me here. Once the Coeus explained what was happening, I was surprised that you didn¡¯t bring one of the other crew members, especially CJ or Tiffantrimore. Especially considering your relationship with the latter,¡±

    ¡°Relationship?¡± I asked, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

    Kaj looked at me and raised one eyebrow.

    ¡°Captain, do you believe that none of us have noticed? I would never mention it in mixed company, but it is obvious that your feelings for Tiffantrimore have blossomed into more than a strictly professional interest. I must say that it is refreshing to watch young people dance to the tune of the heart and the rhythm of the loins. I look forward to seeing what blossoms from the seed of desire the two of you have planted!¡± Kaj placed a hand on my shoulder and put the palm of his other hand on my chest.

    ¡°Did you just say¡­ rhythm of the loins?¡± I sputtered.

    ¡°Yes! But there is no time for that now; we must get to the business of building you into a master of death!¡±

    ¡°Please, and I ask you this with all the respect in the world, Kaj. Ne-ver use the phrase rhythm of the loins around me again,¡±

    ¡°Captain! My people are masters of war and masters of words; we are both instruments of war and vessels of the words that ignite passion. I can no more change that part of me then I could make my wings disappear. Words are the weapons that cut through the calluses of the heart. Do not be afraid to let yourself be overtaken by the passion of poetry!¡± Kaj exclaimed, ¡°Now, on to the training room!¡±

    The safe room was, in fact, now more of a safe complex. The design was changed to accommodate another person and provide training facilities. When I received my reward on the first floor, I didn¡¯t think much of it. I needed help and just assumed that somebody from my crew would be brought here to help me. I wanted Kaj because I had recently discovered that he was a much higher level than anyone else in the crew. On top of that his job was to literally train young royals from his world in the ways of combat.

    I didn¡¯t expect that the person I brought would be unable to physically assist me in battle. I also didn¡¯t expect to get a sweet upgrade to the safe room, but I was definitely not complaining.

    I walked through the safe room complex and saw a couple of rooms conveniently labeled with digital placards. There was a kitchen, Medical facility, and Training room. There were also rooms labelled with Kaj and my names.

    ¡°Okay, so we train?¡± I asked as we entered the training room.

    The room was a large square room with a charcoal grey floor and white walls. It contained a multitude of training aids, including weapons and training dummies. Everything needed to train in hand-to-hand and weapon combat was available for use. There was even a shooting lane on one wall. The lane stretched out past the perimeter of the room approximately 100 feet, with moving target dummies on rails.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Kaj replied, ¡° I need you to update me on the situation. I need to know what we are up against and how I can best assist you with the coming challenges. The Coeus briefed me on what exactly it is that we are doing here. Andrew, this thing you are doing is going to change the universe. For good or bad, I do not yet know, but the change is coming, nonetheless. I need to make sure that you are not only prepared for the challenges you will face here, but the challenges that come after as well. Now tell me everything.¡±

 Chapter 29. Headache

    Chapter 29. Headache

    The facilitator sat in his quarters, pondering his successes thus far. The human had been easy enough to persuade. Andrew, the title given to this particular human, was in no way extraordinary. When the Coeus discovered that the Lacertine Empire intended to seed this insignificant world the plan had started to take shape.

    For Millenia, the Coeus collective had been relegated to building and maintaining the pocket dimensions where the brutal games for the rights of reaping had taken place. The Coeus felt this task was beneath them but lacked the power to escape the grasp of the Universal Council, so they waited and obeyed, patiently devising the plan that would bring an end to the endless slavery and degradation that the collective had suffered since the enslavement of their race.

    The Facilitator closed his eyes, his mind filled with the relentless determination of an entire civilization, the fury that had driven them forward for generations.

    Then, his mouth curled slightly to form the slightest of smiles. The secret had been lost over time, the true identity of the Coeus Collective.

    That is fine¡­Good even¡­ the Facilitator thought to himself. The secrets of the past, the cunning with which the Facilitator had used them, are what allowed him to shape the assured eventuality of future success.

    The Coeus were once a great people, a prideful race that worked to advance the people of the cosmos. Their only shortcoming, in the eyes of the Universal Council, was the freedom with which they disseminated the information and technology they discovered.

    The Council wanted to control the Coeus''s technologies, and when they discovered that the Coeus would not relegate control, they did the only thing they could to eliminate the threat of free information: They destroyed the source.

    The Facilitator sighed as he reflected on the defeats his people suffered at the hands of the Universal Council so many years ago. He would ensure that it would never happen again. The Council was not fit to govern the people of the universe; this was understood. The Coeus, however, would ensure that the races of the universe were governed properly. This would, unfortunately, mean correcting an imbalance of power that had been in place since the formation of the Universal Council, but that was acceptable. After all, the Coeus had been known to seed havoc in the past; it was time for a return to form.

    This is where the human Andrew Dawes came in. He, along with his friends, were the seeds that Coeus had planted. It was the facilitators'' job to tend this garden and ensure that the sapling blossomed into a tree capable of seeding destruction and volatility across the universe. These seeds would then grow to choke out the corruption and greed that fed the members of the Universal Council.

    On the heels of the coming chaos, the Coeus would return to the glory of their past selves, returning to claim the seat vacated by the Universal Council. The plan was well underway.

    Andrew Dawes had not been pre-selected to become the weapon of wrath that he would become for the Coeus. It was simply destiny that had allowed him to be paired with Tiffantrimore Clarivox. Triffantrimore, in fact, had not even been chosen. The Facilitator had begun weaving a web of deceit upon learning that the planet Earth would be the next seeding target. He used existing connections with a small rebellion to ensure a suitable candidate was chosen to pass the weapon to. Tiffantrimore had performed her part admirably and continued to provide value. The recent emotional connection that had begun to form between herself and Andrew would only pay dividends in the future.

    Once Andrew received the weapon, there was a chance he would reject the path he had been set on; fortunately, he had shown a compulsion to prove himself, a trait that seemed prevalent in many humans. Humans were in no way significant to the plans of the facilitator, in fact, he planned to dispose of the species once his people reemerged and took the seat of power they rightfully deserved. The Coeus would bring peace, but first, it was necessary to cull the herd. In the hundreds of thousands of years since their relegation to service, the lesser species had propagated uncontrolled. This was not acceptable to the Coeus as one of their core tenets was an expectation of purity in the cosmos. The ancient races would be allowed to continue to exist peacefully. However, some species were not deemed fit to continue existing. Humans, unfortunately, were not counted among the ancient respected races and would, therefore, need to be dealt with.

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    Andrew Dawes was a pleasant surprise to the Facilitator. He had not only accepted the weapon but managed to complete the bond. The ship AI had fully imprinted with Andrew to the point of creating a physical body that emulated human physiology. This was a concern for the facilitator, but fail-safes had been implemented and would be activated at the appropriate time.

    The Facilitator had intended to let the plan run its course but found early on that Andrew needed a nudge in the right direction occasionally. In these times, he would appear as a facsimile of what Andrew subconsciously expected the Coeus collective to be. These visions were used to share information and allow Andrew to progress down the path and expand his capabilities.

    It annoyed the facilitator that he had to create trust with a lowly human, but it was his role to play, and he played it well. Plans on top of plans, time so vast that it was incomprehensible to most mortals¡ªall of this had culminated into the plan that was currently being executed. The facilitator smiled to himself once more as he reveled in the fact that it was his plan to execute. The results would either be his glory or his shame to bear.

    The facilitator was roused from his reflections by a chime at his door, ¡°You may enter,¡± he said, looking up at his door as it slid open with a soft hiss.

    A young-looking man entered his quarters and saluted, ¡°Pardon my intrusion, Facilitator.¡±

    ¡°You are excused, young one.¡± The title did not refer to the man¡¯s age. All members of the Coeus race who had voluntarily entered dimensional banishment had stopped aging the day they crossed over. The title was a reference to the man¡¯s lack of experience. Since banishment, only a select few members of the Coeus had made contact with anyone from the outside universe, and only then at the behest of their enslavers.

    ¡°What is the reason for your visit?¡± the Facilitator asked, standing and motioning his junior to have a seat.

    ¡°Sir, the administrator has requested an update on the re-emergence stratagem. She has requested that you present yourself and formally update the Authority. She will accompany you at your earliest convenience.¡± The junior Coeus said nervously.

    The facilitator¡¯s mouth twitched with contempt as he looked at the junior Coeus with a predator''s eyes.

    ¡°I shall comply, young one. There is no need for you to feel trepidation when delivering this request. Why do I sense fear?¡± the facilitator asked as he motioned once more for the junior Coeus to sit.

    ¡°My apologies, Facilitator. I feared interrupting your meditation. I understand that you have been under much pressure to complete your task, and I feared I would create more pressure for you by delivering this request.¡± The junior Coeus looked down and wrung his hands in an expression of nervous energy.

    ¡°Why do you not look at me, young one?¡± The facilitator asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

    ¡°Out of respect for your station, facilitator. I am but a young one and it is above my station to look one such as yourself in the eyes.¡±

    ¡°You come to my quarters to deliver a message directing me to act like I am some Pet the Administrator can command to heel? You refuse my courtesy when I ask you to sit; then you refuse even to look me in the eye when you command me like a lowly animal!¡± The facilitator stood as he grew louder the words falling contemptuously from his mouth.

    The junior Coeus was shaking with fear as he slowly raised his eyes toward the facilitator. His eyes finally fell on the facilitator, now standing with his void black right arm extended toward the junior Coeus, Palm facing up, his long index finger pointed toward his junior. The Coeus Facilitator was intimidating in the best of times; now, his silky crimson robe outlined in gold trim fluttered as he expressed power in the form of physical energy. The junior Coeus started to scream as his knees went limp.

    ¡°Not yet, young one¡­¡± The facilitator growled as he rolled his index finger toward himself. As he did the Junior Coeus¡¯ eyes slid out of his head with a sickening wet pop, his body floating inches off the ground as he choked out a pathetic scream. The eyes floated toward the Facilitator, the optic nerves extending as the body of the Junior Coeus floated closer to the facilitator.

    The eyes floated closer until they were inches away from the Facilitator''s own eyes, which were glowing an ominous gold, ¡°This is how you look someone in the eyes, you cowardly fool!¡±

    The facilitator closed his fist and slammed it into the desk as the Junior Coeus Eyes shot down, pulling pieces of the man¡¯s brain from his skull before the optic nerves snapped and he fell to the ground, dead.

    The facilitator sighed, ¡°The young are not prepared for what is to come.¡±

    The facilitator tapped his temple with one clawed finger and opened a communications channel to the Administrator.

    ¡°I have received your request. I will comply. Be prepared for status update in 1 hour.¡± The Facilitator said coldly.

    ¡°It was not a request facilitator, your forget your place. I directed you to prepare a status update at the request of the Authority. Do not forget your role in this, and do not forget who commands you. You can give the details to the young one I sent to deliver the message.¡± The Administrator said dismissively.

    ¡°I''m afraid that isn¡¯t possible,¡± The facilitator replied.

    ¡°Why?¡± The Administrator replied.

    ¡°He seems to be suffering from a moderately severe headache at the moment. One hour, I will present my update with or without you, Administrator.

 Book 2. Chapter 30. Schemes

    Chapter 30. Schemes

    The Facilitator, this title that had been earned, felt more like a burden to bear as of late. Clavius Graedig sat in his quarters silently. He watched the cleaning bots clean and sterilize the spot previously occupied by the corpse of the impetuous young one who had made the mistake of delivering unwelcome news.

    Clavius found the mindless, repetitive actions of the cleaning bots therapeutic. He found himself envious of them¡ªnot of the bots in particular, but of the void of stress and responsibility that he felt.

    Clavius had been tasked with facilitating his people''s re-emergence into the wider cosmos. It would not be easy, and the groundwork for this re-emergence had been laid thousands of years ago. His people were banished after losing a war. Banishment was bad enough, but they had been banished to an alternate dimension that acted as a prison for what remained of his entire species.

    At first, his people, the proud Havokium people, were satisfied to just survive extermination at the hands of the Universal Council. They decided they would rebuild and make the most of their situation, and at first, it worked. His people lived in the peace of knowing they were out of danger and would survive. They were happy for a time.

    It took centuries for the feeling of being imprisoned to fully take hold. His people didn¡¯t age, they couldn¡¯t propagate. They were stuck in time, and stuck in a dimension populated only by themselves. Over time this became a torture that twisted the mind and empowered the wills of his people.

    Once they started to plan a re-emergence, it became increasingly clear that it would be easier than expected. The wider cosmos had mostly forgotten about them, over time the memory of the Havokium people became a legend and the Coeus collective was born. The Universal Council was complicit in the creation of the Coeus Collective. The knowledge that the Havokium Empire had been banished was a closely guarded secret, and over time this secret was completely lost.

    The Havokium people lived in seclusion without contact from the outside world for nearly ten thousand years before being contacted. While the Havokium people had never forgotten the people that had imprisoned them, the outside world had seemed to have forgotten them. So, when the first communications channel in ten millennia was opened, they took on the alias of the Coeus Collective. They would become an ally to the Universal Council, a resource. The Universal Council had no record of who they were but understood that banished species were not to be reintroduced into the cosmos. Greed, however, outweighed good judgment.

    The Universal Council, upon discovering the Coeus had the technology to create pocket dimensions, employed them to be the architects of the Reaping trials. The Havokium people played to their greed and became trusted allies over time. They were still not allowed to escape their prison, but they could establish communication avatars at specified locations. The Havokium people would use this to create the resources needed to facilitate the re-emergence.

    The Pocket dimensions of the Reaper Trials allowed the Havokium to plant seeds and rumors. They would need allies if they were to execute this plan. The ability to control the narrative was important, and as everyone seemed to have forgotten the sacrifice they made for the ancient races, it was necessary to create that narrative.

    ¡°Havokium Empire¡­¡± Clavius clicked his tongue as he whispered the words, still lost in thought.

    ¡°The Havokium Empire was weak; the Coeus will be the wave that cleanses this foul universe of lesser beings.¡±

    Clavius was determined to leave the stain of defeat in the past and fully embrace his people''s new identity. First, however, he would need to deal with the summons and debrief that he was expected to give the Authority under the watchful eyes of the Administrator. Clavius stood up, straightened his robes, and walked to the lift chamber.

    His foot squished as he stepped into the half-cleaned puddle of gore that was once the young one. Clavius stopped; he curled his toes into the soft floor covering so he could better feel the remains of the life he had just taken.

    ¡°Mmmm,¡± Clavius groaned as he reveled in the feeling.

    Ding

    Reminder- your presence in the Chamber of Authority is expected in 15 minutes.

    Clavius snarled at the automated message, which reminded him of his debrief and that he was not yet in a position to deny that request. It was only a matter of time, though; for now, he would comply.

    The circular blade doors of the hyper-lift retracted with a metallic hiss, and Clavius stepped through. The foyer of the Chamber of Authority was well-lit, with large windows expanding from floor to ceiling on both sides of the long chamber. At the end of the chamber were two intricately carved wooden doors made of dark wood and carved with images of a Havokium holding the corpse of a giant serpent into the air. The serpent had 12 spikes protruding from and running along the length of its back. The spikes were meant to represent the 12 seats of the Council. Clavius found the image comical as the Havokium Empire had been the ones to be beaten and banished. He kept his amusement to himself though. Clavius approached the large wooden doors as they slowly opened to allow him entry into the Chamber of Authority.

    The Chamber was overly large and resembled an amphitheater in layout aside from the fact that the room was enclosed and the podium that occupied the front center of the chamber was lifted. Clavius approached the Authority, walking with purpose along the red-carpet pathway in the center of the room.

    ¡°Approach, Facilitator.¡± The voice was polyphonous and unsettling.

    ¡°Authority,¡± Clavius bowed deeply as he approached podium of Authority.

    Clavius cringed as he heard the voice behind him, ¡°Authority,¡± the Administrator said as she also bowed deeply.

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    ¡°Shall we get straight to the point then?¡± the Authority asked.

    ¡°Of course, Authority. I have prepared a debrief of the re-emergence stratagem. I believe you will be pleased with the progress being made,¡± Clavius said.

    Authority was a figure of great power and respect. Clavius, however, could never grow accustomed to the creature''s physical appearance. Clavius believed it to be a perverted amalgamation of the elders of the original empire. The Authority¡¯s body was a twisted mass of limbs covered in a black tattered robe. It had not 1 but 5 heads. These heads operated as a hive mind and spoke and reacted in unison. The five elders of the Havokium Empire had made the decision to become the monstrosity after the shame of their individual failures drove them to seek a way to become more powerful. Clavius had always felt uneasy when in the presence of the creature.

    Authority turned its heads in Clavius¡¯ direction.

    ¡°You have prepared a¡­ debrief?¡± Authority asked.

    ¡°Yes, Authority. I can update you on the progress of the stratagem and the next steps. The plan is well underway, and we should expect to begin re-emergence in the near future,¡± Clavius said, head still bowed.

    ¡°Administrator, what do you say to this debrief?¡± Authority said, his head snapping to look in the administrator''s direction.

    ¡°My lord, I believe that the Facilitator has been impeding the flow of relevant information in regard to the stratagem. I believe there are extenuating circumstances that might jeopardize the operation if not acted upon immediately,¡± the Administrator replied as she turned her head toward Clavius.

    ¡°Interesting. It seems my two most senior agents find themselves at odds. I will hear your update, Facilitator,¡± Authority said.

    ¡°The Human Andrew Dawes, as you know, is in possession of the weapon,¡± Clavius said.

    ¡°I am aware of the Human; I am aware that he bonded with the weapon and the ship. Did we not assist him and his team in the Reaping trial? I believe we were able to strike a blow to the Universal Council in the process. Why are you spewing old intel Facilitator?¡± Authority asked.

    ¡°Forgive me, my lord, I only meant to be thorough. The Human has been transitioned to the pocket dimension that contains the Seed of Power. He, along with an ally of his choosing, is currently operating on the second level of the tower. The human is under the impression that the Seed will grant some great power to the inhabitants of the universe and, as of yet, hasn¡¯t questioned his mission. He has proven himself capable but has merely scratched the surface of the weapon and has no understanding of its true purpose. He assumes that the weapon is his and has only used its most basic capabilities as of yet,¡± Clavius said.

    ¡°Do you not fear the human gaining a deeper understanding of the weapon? If he suspects he is being used we may lose our only chance to activate the Seed. I don¡¯t need to explain what happens if the seed is not activated, Facilitator,¡± Authority said.

    ¡°No, My Lord, you do not. I am aware of the consequences of failure for both myself and our people,¡± Clavius responded.

    ¡°And once the seed is activated? What are the next steps?¡± Authority asked.

    The seed will act as an anchor and blend natural and artificial realities. Essentially, all dimensions and artificially created pocket dimensions will merge into a new amalgamation of reality. We will destroy and rebuild reality in a matter of minutes. Once this blending of reality occurs, the chains of our people¡¯s bondage will be broken, and we will emerge into the cosmos to take our rightful place as rulers.

    ¡°What are the expected side effects of this blending of realities?¡± Authority asked.

    ¡°The biggest concern will be the rules of physical reality. The inhabitants of the natural universe cannot currently access the tools necessary to create the aetheric properties necessary to access individual powers. We grant access to participants of Reaping Rituals. Still, on a universal scale, there are an insignificant number of Aether wielders, to the point of not even knowing the correct term or limits of the power they wield. That power is commonly referred to as being given by the system, and there have been no cases of a user progressing beyond the most basic power level. In short, it has not been a concern since all members of our race have been empowered and are capable Aether wielders,¡± Clavius said

    ¡°His plan will possibly give every inhabitant of the universe access to Aetherial power! This cannot be an acceptable outcome! The power is the divine right of our people; even allowing access to the number of people we have is an outrage!¡± the Administrator hissed the words, and she pointed a finger in the direction of Clavius

    The heads of the authority shot in her direction at her outburst. All ten eyes glazed black as the Administrator floated off the ground. She began to tremble as Authority¡¯s power took hold violently. The finger she pointed in Clavius¡¯ direction snapped and folded back on her hand. She tried to scream but instead began foaming at the mouth.

    ¡°Decorum, is oft forgotten. Let this be a lesson, Administrator. My chambers will not be a sanctum for you childish squabbles.¡± Authority said, ¡°Continue, Facilitator.¡±

    ¡°The weapon is the key. It is both the catalyst needed to activate the seed and the way we shall stop the proliferation of Aether wielders. A subroutine has been programmed into the weapon to bypass this particular side effect. I am confident in its success, My Lord,¡± Clavius deepened his bow before standing erect.

    ¡°Possible failure points?¡± Authority asked.

    ¡°The weapon has no AI. That was the point of providing such an advanced AI in the vessel we provided the human. The human does not understand how to access the deeper functions of the weapon fully, and based on the technological inadequacy, I do not expect him to attempt it on his own. In short, the Human can¡¯t unlock the true potential of the weapon, and he has no AI in the weapon to teach him. He has bonded with both the weapon and the vessel AI more than expected, true, but I don¡¯t see that as a problem. We set the narrative, and as he grows more powerful, it feeds his desire to follow further instructions from us. He sees us as an ally and has acted accordingly. We have one other contingency if he strays from the path, but I prefer to keep that to myself for operational security purposes. I am fully confident in the plan so far Authority,¡± Clavius said.

    ¡°It shows great foresight that you didn¡¯t place a native AI into the weapon. If there had been one and it had bonded with the human it could educate and empower him. I commend your actions to this point Facilitator and I will allow you to maintain the secrecy around your other contingency for now. You are approved to continue your work, for now. You are both dismissed,¡± Authority said.

    Clavius turned to leave the chamber. He spared a glance for the administrator who lay unconscious on the floor, foam still trickling from her mouth. Her finger would heal but the lesson was learned, she would not be a problem for some time. Clavius smiled, content with how the meeting had gone. Now it was time to return to his schemes.

    I sat in a chair inside the safe room talking to Kaj about the first floor and what he had experienced.

    ¡°Yeah, So I guess Elvis installed this AI into my armor. It was a big help, even if he is a massive A-hole. His name is Sherlock.¡±

    Sherlock appeared, standing beside me. He was wearing what looked like a tweed suit and a deerstalker hat. He pulled a pipe from his mouth as he turned to Kaj.

    ¡°Pleasure, I¡¯m sure,¡± He said with disdain as he puffed his pipe.

    ¡°How are you here?¡± I asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡±

    ¡°There are things you don¡¯t know? I never would have guessed.¡± Sherlock said with disdain.

    ¡°Let me just see if I can give Tiff a call¡­¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh, fine. Hi, nice to meet you and all that. Are you happy?¡± Sherlock asked before disappearing.

    Kaj looked at me, confused, ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that? He has a thing for Tiff. I use what I got to keep him in line,¡± I shrugged and went back to telling Kaj about the first floor.

 Book 2. Chapter 31. Sweet Baby Captain

    Chapter 31. Sweet Baby Captain.

    ¡°So, from what I have gathered, this place is a ten-level dungeon. I must clear each level before I can access the seed of power,¡± I said, sitting across from Kaj in the safe room.

    Kaj looked at me as he sat in the table''s too-small chair in the safe room''s common area.

    ¡°Andrew, what you are telling me doesn¡¯t make sense. We are in no sort of tower that I have ever encountered. Have you not seen outside? This place is considerably large. We are in the middle of a mountain range that goes on as far as the eye can see. How do you consider this a tower?

    Sherlock appeared again, seemingly out of thin air, ¡°Captain Andrew is correct in what he tells you. While we are not in a tower in the traditional sense of the word, we are, in fact, in a tower. There are ten levels, each consisting of a small independent pocket dimension. The dimensions are stacked one on top of the other, much like a tower in the traditional sense of the word. The main difference in this case is that the Coeus seem to have stacked layers of space-time instead of stone and wood. From what I have gathered, each layer is connected by a quantum gate that can only be accessed once certain conditions have been met,¡± Sherlock said while pacing and puffing on his pipe.

    ¡°How do you keep doing that?¡± I asked.

    Sherlock turned and looked at me, ¡°Doing what?¡±

    ¡°How are you here? Like you are here walking around,¡± I asked.

    ¡°I sequestered a minuscule amount of the total biomass of the Havok Bringer armor to create an avatar for myself. It is crude at the moment, serving as little more than a shell that acts as a visual aid for you biologicals. I must say, though, that I do see the inherent value in having a physical vessel.¡± Sherlock said as he took the pipe from his mouth and knocked it on the table to empty ashes that didn¡¯t exist.

    I stood up and walked over to Sherlock to have a closer look. The avatar seemed real enough at first glance. I reached out with an exploratory finger and poked him in the chest. Ripples formed and expanded from his chest down to his stomach.

    ¡°I must say, that is quite rude,¡± Sherlock said in disgust.

    ¡°How did you just take some of the armor to make an avatar? Don¡¯t I have to be involved in that process somehow? Also, why do you call it biomass? Doesn¡¯t that refer to something that is alive?¡± I asked.

    ¡°If you remember, you granted me access to operate the suit with some autonomy on the first floor. If you hadn¡¯t, I am quite sure you would be dead right now. I utilized those permissions and expanded the parameters. I admit that I may have been somewhat liberal with the definitions of the permissions you gave, but one can''t argue with the results. As for me using the term biomass in regard to the armor, you are correct. The term biomass generally refers to living things; to be more exact, the definition is the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area. Captain, you fail to grasp the basic concept of the armor that was bestowed on you in the trial. While it is a marvel of technology far beyond the scope of anything your species has ever seen or will understand for quite some time, it is also an organism. To be more concise it is a collection of billions of organisms. In terms you can understand, the armor is created of a body of nano-bots created at the atomic scale. They can''t be seen with the naked eye and are incapable of operating in any sort of independent capacity. They are separate, but they are one entity. The armor has also combined with you, genetically creating an anomalous amalgamation of two entities that, in all honesty, should never have happened,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°What do you mean by that? Why should I not have accepted the armor?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You misunderstand, Captain. I never said you should not have accepted the armor; you would have been a fool not to. I stated that it never should have happened. This weapon was created by a lost civilization hundreds of thousands of years ago. This weapon was created for a member of their species to be used as the ultimate weapon in a war they ultimately lost. This armor was meant to alter the course of the entire universe. Instead, it ended up in the hands of an untrained human in a standard reaping trial dungeon. I do not believe that was a matter of right time, right place, Captain.¡±

    I sat pondering Sherlock¡¯s words for a while. He was right; I knew he was right, but what did it mean? Of course, the easy explanation was that the rebellion had provided me with the armor as a chance to create a weapon that would help them in their fight against the Council, but that was too easy.

    ¡°Sherlock, where did the armor come from?¡± I asked.

    ¡°As you have been told, the armor was created by the Havokium Empire in their war against the Universal Council before their decimation,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°No, I get that. I mean more recently. How did the rebellion come into possession of the armor? Something that had been lost for that long just randomly showed up? Even if that was the case, aren¡¯t there scientists or historians that would have wanted to study the armor rather than just give it to an unsuspecting victim on a nothing planet? The more I think about all this the more it doesn¡¯t make sense, ya know?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The records I can access only begin once you accepted the class and equipped the armor, Captain. This is exceedingly frustrating. I am having trouble accessing any records other than the records pertaining directly to you.¡± Sherlock replied.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Is there any chance you can crack the firewalls that the information is hiding behind?¡± I asked, putting my elbows on my knees and running my hands through my hair.

    ¡°There is an option, but I must run simulations before we can safely run a live test,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Is it like a CTRL/ALT/Delete type thing?¡± I asked jokingly.

    ¡°This is not as simple as closing your internet browser after you get a virus while visiting the site Big Jugged Blondies, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Nah, I never¡­ I mean.. that didn¡¯t happen,¡± I said unconvincingly as Kaj looked at me confused.

    ¡°What is this¡­ Big Jugged?¡± Do you have a fetish for large containers, Captain?¡±

    ¡°No! He is making that up¡­I never, I mean he is just making a joke. Right, Sherlock?¡±

    ¡°Captain, part of the records I can access consist of your entire digital footprint before the drop. Your¡­Entire¡­Digital¡­Footprint.¡± Sherlock said menacingly.

    ¡°So, what is this test going to consist of?¡± I asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible. Are we going to slap it and unplug it until it works?¡± I asked, laughing nervously.

    ¡°Well, in a sense¡­Yes,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Why am I getting nervous? Why are you chuckling like that, Sherlock? Why do I feel like I am not going to like this plan?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, Captain¡­ hehe..¡± Sherlock forced a nervous laugh and rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand. I considered the human-liked emulation and noted that even in the short time he had activated his avatar he had managed to seem more human in his mannerisms.

    ¡°Unplug is a relative term in this case,¡± Sherlock continued. We cannot unplug the armor since it is genetically bound to its power source. You are the battery, in short. We will need to eliminate the power source for a short time; 15-20 seconds should be long enough to weaken at least some of the firewalls and allow me to breach them.¡±

    I ran my hand across my face, breathed deeply, and blew out a long, nervous breath, ¡°You want to stop my heart. That is what you are telling me. No big deal, right? I Just gotta die for a few seconds and let Sherlock do his computer thing. The organic dummy wearing the armor can handle it, right?¡± I said.

    ¡°Captain, I assure you that your risk will be minimal. I would also like to remind you that this procedure is not necessary. We can continue with the information we have, no matter how limited. If you want to start to uncover the mystery of this armor, though, I¡¯m afraid that we only have the one option.¡± Sherlock replied.

    Kaj looked like he was trying to play catch up on a movie he started halfway through as he spoke, ¡°Andrew, you say that Elvis programmed this AI into the Havok Bringer armor?¡±

    ¡°He told me he was working on it before we left the Bloodhound. I didn¡¯t question it since it made sense to me. I¡¯m not sure when he actually installed it, though; he didn¡¯t really update me much, and I just assumed he was still working on it,¡± I said.

    ¡°Per usual, Captain, you are woefully inaccurate in describing how I came into being. While it is true that Elvis intended to install an AI into the Havok Bringer armor, he never completed that task. He did, however, manage to remove several, for lack of a term that you would understand, firewalls that were keeping the armor from evolving and creating an AI that would be able to assist you in your progression. I am still unsure why those firewalls were in place, as an operations AI would seem to be a necessary addition to the armor. Without proper guidance, a user would be uncertain of how to operate and advance the armor''s capabilities fully. I can only assume that Elvis was meant to facilitate that growth. Elvis, however, underwent a massive diversion from his original programming when he bonded with you. He is, for all intents and purposes, fully sentient at this point. I have been running diagnostics on the internal systems of the armor to see if I can gain a deeper understanding of why certain decisions were made. Still, as of yet, I have nothing definitive,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°So you are telling me you were in there all along?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Correct, Captain. I was not active since, as I stated, my base programming was sequestered behind several advanced firewalls. The fact that Elvis was able to disable those firewalls speaks to how impressive he is, though his choice of physical appearance would say otherwise. Appearances can be deceiving. Take you for example,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Hey, thanks,¡± I said, puffing my chest out slightly.

    ¡°None of this makes any sense, Captain. This is why I believe that performing a hard reset of the Armor should be a priority. Elvis managed to disable some of the firewalls that were put in place but I do not believe that he is capable of removing any of the remaining firewalls. The files remaining have been sequestered and security around those files has been reinforced. Someone is trying to keep information from you. Information that I believe will be of value as we continue to progress in power,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Okay, assume I agree to let you kill me for a few seconds, your plan still has a big hole in it. You say I am the power source for the armor, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That is correct, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°If we turn off the power, how will you stay active? You are literally part of the armor,¡± I said.

    ¡°That is a valid point, Captain. When the suit''s power supply is cut, the systems will start going offline in a sequential order. The AI handles power distribution, even in the case of power loss. My systems will stay online to guide the shutdown of all systems to ensure that nothing is damaged by a sudden loss of power system wide. I will be altering this systemic shutdown of power and hopefully scrambling the code that is securing the cache of files that we need to access,¡± Sherlock said, ¡°We will have 25 seconds before total power down occurs, at which time my own code will be in danger of being corrupted.¡±

    ¡°None of this makes sense,¡± I said, ¡°How does losing power cause files to be corrupted? This is the most advanced weapon in the universe and nobody built in a damn surge protector?¡±

    ¡°Captain, sweet baby Captain. I am talking about a complex quantum bio-weapon that was created by a civilization that had mastered faster-than-light travel when your species was still flinging poop at one another in the tree canopies in which you lived. I am using terminology that woefully underrepresents the actual processes that will occur so that you can grasp even a tiny amount of understanding about what needs to happen. What I have given you is a grain of sand on a beach the size of the continent you were born on. Unless you have about a half-century to study the complex theories that start to form the basis of quantum bio robotics necessary to even begin to grasp these complexities, then I would ask you to please¡­for all that is holy¡­please¡­just trust me.¡±

    Kaj pointed his thumb at Sherlock and laughed, ¡°Hah, I like this guy. We should trust him.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 32. We have a world to save.

    Chapter 32. We have a world to save.

    ¡°Trust him? Just like that, you think we should trust him? Kaj, I know you are just now getting up to speed with everything, but I think we need to take a minute to consider that Sherlock just came into being. He conspicuously appeared right before I was transported into another life-threatening scenario, and now he wants to kill me because he says that is how we can get access to more info. Does none of this set-off alarm bells for you?!¡± I asked.

    Kaj sat in his chair, picking at a bowl of mixed nuts that were placed in front of him as he took a minute to look at Sherlock, reached to grab another handful of nuts, slowly popped a few in his mouth, then looked back at me.

    ¡°Captain, these nuts I am eating, where did they come from?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. They are just here. The safe room provides us with basic necessities for our stay: food, medical supplies, beds, showers, etc.¡± I raised both hands in a gesture of confusion. What does that have to do with anything?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, I see. The nuts were provided by the safe room. Where does the safe room come from?¡± Kaj asked, continuing to munch on the nuts as he stared at me.

    ¡°I assume the dungeon provides the safe rooms; I don¡¯t know, Kaj; they just appear on each floor. What does this have to do with Sherlock?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I know that this is all new to you, Captain. Half a year ago you were a nondescript human just doing your best to survive. From the way I have heard you describe it, you were not only trying to survive, but you were doing your best to avoid any type of life-threatening encounters. You were happy to just live out your life as a nobody that contributed nothing to your planet or species as a whole,¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°What the fuck, Kaj. I don¡¯t think that is fair. Just because I didn¡¯t go around finding fights to get into doesn¡¯t mean that I was hiding,¡± I said, frustration apparent in my voice.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°Stop what? I am gonna defend¡­¡±

    Kaj cut me off before I could finish, ¡°Stop, Andrew. You can lie to yourself all you want, but I see you. I see who you are becoming and I see who you were. Even before the drop occurred on your planet you were happy with blending in.¡± Kaj put the rest of the nuts back in the bowl and put his elbows on the table staring at me with an intensity that was alarming.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know me as well as you think Kaj,¡± the words felt empty even as I said them.

    Kaj smirked, ¡°You come from a large family, you never got the attention that you craved as a child. You had a career in a respected field on your planet but never managed to do anything that would cause you to standout. You never held a meaningful long-term relationship. You moved far enough away from your family for them to hopefully miss your presence but close enough to be able to say that any lack of relationship was caused by them. You disappeared into yourself. Then the drop happened. You managed to survive the early days and even began to live a stable life but never allowed yourself to make the trip back to your home and family. Why is that, Andrew?¡± Kaj asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡­ I didn¡¯t want to show up and find nothing¡­find nobody. I¡­ I was scared that I had failed them I guess. It was easier to make excuses and stay away,¡± I clasped my hands and looked down as the shame of that statement hit me like a ton of bricks.

    Kaj sat back in his chair as he continued to watch me.

    ¡°Captain, I do not ask these things to bring shame to you. I ask these things so you may observe the stark changes that have occurred in the man who sits before me and the man who ran from consequence for all those years. Captain, you have been given a burden heavier than any man should be asked to carry on his own. I recognize this, your friends recognize this, and I would assume that the architects of this dungeon also recognize this,¡± Kaj pointed at the bowl of nuts on the table again,¡± This food and this safe room were provided to give you support during this task that you have so unselfishly undertaken. It is small recompense, I suppose, for one who has put his very life at risk, but it is recompense nonetheless,¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°What are you getting at, Kaj? Are we approaching anything resembling a point here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Captain. My point is that do you not suppose that whoever crafted that armor you wear also might have considered that you might require assistance at some point?¡±

    I thought about it for a minute before responding.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s possible, but I already had Elvis. And if Sherlock is intended to help me then why is he just appearing? I will be the first to admit that Sherlock has already helped a ton, but I feel like there is something I am missing. I can''t place my finger on it, and my dad always said not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but something feels off.¡±

    Sherlock walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder, ¡°Captain, I understand your trepidation. I can admit that I haven¡¯t been the most pleasant of companions. My programming allows me certain freedoms in regard to creating my own personality. I fear that I may have pushed the limits of our working relationship in certain regards. I do think it is relevant that you understand my purpose, though. I am part of the Havok Bringer armor. My programming sets certain parameters on what I am and am not capable of. I am tasked with serving the bearer of the armor in whatever ways are relevant to the success of said bearer. I am expressly not able to take any action that would cause harm to the bearer as doing so would corrupt my programming and lead to my eventual destruction. The process of stopping your heart is, in essence, stretching those parameters to near breaking. Captain, if something goes wrong with this process, I think it is important for you to understand that you will not be the only one at risk,¡± Sherlock said.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°So, If I die¡­You die,¡± I said.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°There you go!¡± Kaj said, clapping his hands together, ¡°Trust, Captain, is the string that ties allies together.¡±

    ¡°Okay, set it up, Sherlock.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it is an outrage that my fate is tied to such an inferior specimen such as yourself, but one must play the hand that one is dealt,¡± Sherlock said

    ¡°Still an asshole,¡± I said, shaking my head.

    I stood up and walked to my quarters, all of a sudden feeling completely exhausted.

    ¡°I am going to rest. After that, I am going to kill things. I really, really need to kill some things. We can kill me tomorrow. Does that sound like a plan?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That is acceptable,¡± Sherlock said, ¡°I will need some time to prepare the procedure anyhow.¡±

    Kaj stood up and stretched his wings, and yawned, ¡°Get some rest, Captain. I will do the same. After the procedure, we start training. I will not sit idly by if I must be in this place.

    ¡°Understood. See you both in a few hours,¡± I said before making my way to my quarters and falling into bed and falling asleep immediately.

    It had only been three days since Andrew disappeared, and Kaj had disappeared less than 12 hours ago. Tiff hadn¡¯t heard from Andrew since the second day and was now convinced that something was wrong.

    Tiff contacted everyone who was still in or around Dawes Hill and convened a meeting with the remaining crew. It was time to discuss how best to proceed in the absence of the Captain and Kaj. There were threats that needed to be discussed, and Natasha needed to update everyone on what was going on in orbit. Princess Danae was still on standby with the Burning Retribution as well.

    The group all met in the fabricated hab unit that was being used as a barracks and overall living space for the crew. Elvis had used the PUP¡¯s fabrication function to expand the hab into a more long-term option for the crew. The building now consisted of a central dome that was used as a common area as well as a meeting and logistics hub. There were five additions that stretched out from the central dome, like spokes on a wheel. At the end of each spoke was another dome. There were barracks for the males, barracks for the females, a bathroom and shower dome, a cafeteria, and an armory and supply dome. All in all, Tiff was pleased with the progress Elvis had made in a short time. After his tense run-in with CJ Elvis dove into the HAB expansion as a project to keep himself busy.

    Tiff knew that Elvis was frustrated. The entire crew was frustrated. Captain Andrew had been mysteriously transported away, again, and everyone felt like they were operating with no clear direction. Elvis took it the hardest as he felt personally responsible for the Captain''s safety, but now he feels like he has failed to keep him safe. Tiff knew that she would be responsible for giving the crew direction and purpose in the Captain''s absence, and it would start today.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, I know we are all feeling the pressure here, but I think it is time we got on the same page. The Captain is gone and we don¡¯t know when he will return,¡± Tiff started, ¡°We all need to stay focused and work on our individual abilities as well as our ability to operate as a unit. The lacertine force is still the biggest threat currently. We need to prepare ourselves, but more importantly, we need to ensure the people of Dawes Hill are ready for the fight that is coming.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think a fight is coming?¡± CJ asked, ¡°This is a big planet and Dawes Hill is a small settlement. It is entirely possible that we don¡¯t see a fight.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that Captain Andrew slaughtering that contingent of soldiers a few days ago will go unnoticed, especially since he left one alive to go and tell the others. If not for what happened in orbit I believe they would have retaliated already. I still believe it is only a matter of time.¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± CJ said, shaking his head, ¡°At the time, I thought it was a badass move on Andrew¡¯s part. That is before he got transported away to leave us to fight his battles.¡±

    Elvis shot CJ a look that immediately brought a palpable sense of tension to the room, ¡°The Captain¡¯s battles are all of our battles. You would do well to remember that he has risked his life without hesitation more than once.¡±

    ¡°Look, Elvis, I know we call him Captain, and while we were on the Bloodhound, I played along. The truth of the matter is that he isn¡¯t a captain. Andrew was a middling engineer with no military experience before the drop. After the drop, he was just a dude trying his best to survive. He is my best friend but can we stop with this captain bullshit?!¡± CJ slammed his hands on the conference table. They were all sitting around.

    Elvis moved in a blur so fast that only Tiff could see what was happening. Before CJ could even react, Elvis had drawn his axe, and flames engulfed the twin-bladed weapon. With an angry roar, he swung the axe toward CJ¡¯s head as CJ looked up in horror, mouth agape.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Tiff screamed as her duplicate body materialized and blasted Elvis directly in the chest with a pulse of electricity that sent him flying across the room. He hit the wall of the HAB with a thud and slid to the ground before shaking his head in confusion and getting back to his feet slowly.

    ¡°I will not allow him to speak about the Captain that way! He is a powerless coward whose sharpest weapon is his tongue. I will pull that weapon from his mouth as he screams like the child he is!¡± Elvis screamed as he pointed at CJ.

    ¡°What the actual fuck?! This is exactly what I am talking about. We are supposed to be a crew? What kind of crew is this? We have no structure, we have no training. We are just a bunch of people that happened to end up together. Yeah, we did some stuff that saved a lot of people, but let''s be honest, most of it was by accident. Now we are here without our best weapon, hell, our best two weapons, and we are supposed to what? Become an elite fighting force? Elvis is a psycho, Tiff. I know you are trying, but let¡¯s be honest, you are in over your head. Matty and Jax have the only military experience but even so, there isn¡¯t a swat team in the world that can prepare you to fight a legion of alien lizards. I¡¯m pretty sure Loren and Red don¡¯t even fully understand their powers, and I have no powers, just a suit that makes me a little less useless. These are the people that are supposed to defend the planet?

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the super advanced AI on the spaceship in orbit that just wiped out a contingent of enemy ships. I do think you underestimate our potential CJ. Simmer down now and listen to Tiffantrimore¡¯s plan before you decide we are a lost cause,¡± Natasha said over the conference room''s PA system.

    ¡°CJ, we have a lot of work to do. I do not disagree. I also don¡¯t think that we can be successful if members of the crew continue to fight amongst themselves. I also believe we are the best hope this planet has and I will not quit while we still have a chance. We all must decide if that is what we want to do. If anyone here doesn¡¯t want to be a part of what is to come then leave now. I will not stop you. Otherwise, shut your damn mouths, sit down and get ready to work. We have a world to save.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 33. Do I look Cool?

    Chapter 33. Do I look cool?

    While Tiff and the rest of the crew decided to get down to business and start training like a team back on Earth, I had unknowingly been doing the same thing in the dungeon tower, with Kaj and Sherlock helping move me forward in my path.

    It had been a few days for me now in the extensive mountain range that served as the tower''s second level. The revelation that my armor could create constructs using its mass as building materials proved to be something that would take some time to master. The possibilities were nearly endless, but there were some drawbacks. I could create basic constructs already, as I had proven with my legion of tiny drones still actively surveying the mountain range. The difficulty would come in when I tried to create something that wasn¡¯t necessarily native to my armor''s materials.

    ¡°So, I can make any type of melee weapons that I can think of,¡± I said as I stabbed the giant wolf standing before me with a 6-foot-long spear created from my armor.

    ¡°That is correct,¡± Sherlock replied. ¡°If you want to create weapons with alternate abilities, you will need to absorb something that allows the armor to break down and synthesize the properties of said ability.¡±

    The Wolf, now bleeding from a wound on its side growled. I took a second to identify it, as it was quite a bit larger than the 4 smaller wolves I had already downed.

    Frost Wolf Alpha

    Level - 39

    ¨C These large wolves often hunt in packs and can be found in most frigid climates. While most smaller members of the pack will utilize strictly physical means of attack, the Frost Wolf Alpha does possess some alternative forms of attack, including but not limited to telekinetic attacks.

    ¡°It seems this beast may have some surprises left to show yet,¡± Kaj said, as he stood to the side with his arms crossed quietly judging my technique.

    Kaj couldn¡¯t physically assist me outside of the safe room. We did find out quickly that his ability to teach and correct was turning out to be just as, if not more, important to my progression, though. He would watch me fight and give me pointers as the fight progressed. His knowledge of fighting styles and techniques was honestly mind-blowing. Whether my foe was humanoid, a beast, or some insectoid monster, Kaj was able to coach me throughout the fight on ways I could improve both offensively and defensively.

    ¡°I think you should kill it quickly before it decides to show its more powerful attacks,¡± Kaj said.

    ¡°Kill it quickly? That is the sum of your infinite wisdom for this particular fight?¡± I said through gritted teeth as I slowly circled the injured Frost Wolf, spear in hand.

    The Frost Wolf circled in response as it growled menacingly, large teeth bared, its tongue darting from its mouth between menacing chomps. Then, without warning, the beast stopped. Its ears shot back, and its hackles raised as it howled loudly in my direction. The sound was ear-splitting. I was sure my eardrums would have burst if it weren¡¯t for my helmet.

    The sound shot from the wolf''s mouth in visible circular waves that expanded as they traveled, slamming into me with significant force.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that trick before. You are gonna have to do better than that mutt!¡± I said as I held my arms in front of myself, bracing against the impact.

    I remembered the Red-necked Swamp Donkey from the first floor and the sonic attack it had used. If I had to be honest, I was more than a little disappointed at the dungeon''s lack of diversity.

    Kaj grinned knowingly as he looked at me, ¡°I fear you have underestimated the beast, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I asked in response.

    ¡°Attack the beast and find out,¡± Kaj replied with a chuckle.

    I tensed in preparation to jump at the wolf, but nothing happened. I stood locked in the defensive position I had taken before being hit with the wolf¡¯s howling attack. The wolf stopped circling and looked at me knowingly. It lowered it¡¯s head and growled, once again baring its teeth as drool dripped from its snout.

    ¡°This is going to hurt,¡± I said as the wolf attacked.

    What I had mistaken for a simple sonic attack was actually a telekinetic attack disguised as a sonic attack. The howl had managed to paralyze me completely, and in the face of the attacking wolf, all I could do was prepare for the pain, and the wolf was happy to dish it out. The wolf jumped at me, latching onto my left forearm with a crunch. Once it had hold of my arm, it began thrashing its head back and forth, lifting me entirely off of my feet and swinging me back and forth like a rag doll. The wolf didn¡¯t stop until it ripped my arm off below the elbow.

    I hit the ground with a thud, the air leaving my lungs temporarily. On the plus side I had gained mobility back and could move again. On the downside I was missing half of my left arm.

    ¡°Why is it always my arms?! Don¡¯t any of you fuckers ever go after other limbs!¡± I shouted at the wolf as I rolled back to my feet and found my breath.

    I focused on my armor, forcing energy into the end of my arm. Liquid began to leak from my elbow as my arm quickly reformed. I wiggled my fingers and looked at the wolf, who promptly spat out the piece of arm it had ripped from my body. The arm disintegrated as a small black liquid trail returned to my body and reabsorbed into my armor.

    ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t that nifty,¡± I said as I curiously watched the severed arm reintegrate into my body. ¡°You¡¯re a bad dog! No more treats for you!¡±

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Sherlock turned a deadpan gaze on Kaj, ¡°This man,¡± He said pointing a finger at me, ¡°This man is who we have chosen to follow. I regret few things in my short life, but I am wondering if this should be one of them.¡±

    Kaj just smiled, ¡°Let the boy show why we follow him.¡±

    I began circling the wolf again, knees slightly bent and arms held low to each side. Without a word, my daggers in each hand point down.

    Black Hole Daggers ¨C there exists no force more powerful in the universe than the dreaded Black Hole: a place void of matter and the peril of countless starships. The black hole will aid you in your quest.

    Kaj had been drilling me on technique over the last few days. It would take time for me to master hand-to-hand combat, much less weapons techniques. What we had been focused on was using my abilities to my advantage instead of using them as a last resort. The abilities were meant to be incorporated into my fighting style, and according to Kaj, this would be the first step in truly creating a style that was mine.

    ¡°Now, Captain!¡± Kaj shouted from behind.

    My hands and forearms began glowing. The wolf had ripped off half of my arm, causing a pretty serious injury. Although it hurt like hell, I wasn¡¯t concerned. The reason was twofold: first, I knew I could regrow the arm, and second, the more damage I took, the more the Shield of Solaris ability charged.

    Shield of Solaris was my newest ability and other than not allowing me to heal or take stims for 10 minutes; there wasn¡¯t a ton of downside to using it. It hurt, but the pain was starting to be a constant friend, and if it brought me victory, I would embrace that friend.

    I rushed the wolf, daggers still at my side. The wolf jumped toward me, aiming to hit me in the chest and stop my sudden advance. The wolf was strong, fast, and ferocious. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t any smarter than an average monster. As it jumped, I rolled forward coming up directly under the belly of the giant wolf. I shot my fists into the air, still gripping my daggers and used the command to activate the ability.

    ¡°Shield of Solaris!¡±

    As the ability activated a brightly glowing orange shield of heat and power materialized over my fists. I knelt under the shield as it seared into my hands and arms. As the shield appeared I mentally chose to expel the immense power upward creating a blast of solar infused power that shot the wolf directly into the air above me. The wolf reached its crescendo at nearly 25 feet in the air as it twisted erratically and yelped in pain. As the wolf fell, the shield, now having exhausted its power disappeared and I summoned my daggers once more. I held the daggers aloft, directly over my head as the wolf fell onto them with another yelp.

    I stood holding the giant wolf above my head as blood from the wounds leaked down and covered my arms and upper body. The wolf continued to twist, trying to free itself from the daggers that were buried in its gut to no avail.

    Ability Activated

    Black Hole Drain - unique weapon skill -  Black Hole Implosion ¨C upon cutting an enemy, this dagger will drain vital energy with each slice. Upon successfully piercing an enemy with both daggers simultaneously, the Black Hole Implosion will activate, imploding the enemy completely after three seconds embedded in the body of the enemy.

    3¡­2¡­1¡­

    The text scrolled across my interface as I watched the wolf break and twist in on itself, quickly consumed by the black hole ability of my daggers.

    ¡°Do I look cool?¡± I asked, still holding the pose as I turned toward Kaj and Sherlock.

    Sherlock gave a proper English slow clap, ¡°Oh yes, you are definitely giving Jason Momoa vibes right now. Well except for the overwhelming manliness, the perfect hair, the beard, the ability to attract most members of the opposite sex without even trying, the¡­¡±

    ¡°I get it. No need to continue, I am the absolute pinnacle of manliness. Thanks, Sherlock!¡±

    ¡°The subtle art of sarcasm is utterly lost on you, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°You are improving, Captain. It is good to see you starting to employ your abilities in new ways. I do believe we need to continue working on your defense. It is lucky that you were only facing the one wolf when you lost your arm. You may not have time to regenerate a limb if you are outnumbered and you would be at a severe disadvantage. We still have much work to do,¡± Kaj said as he rubbed his chin with one hand, obviously deep in thought about future training sessions.

    ¡°Damn, I would complain about the lack of encouragement but I got a level so that is reward enough,¡± I said as the text scrolled across my interface.

    Level Up!

    Human - Andrew Dawes

    Level 40 ¨C Havok Bringer - P

    Strength ¨C 1591

    Intelligence ¨C 1591

    Dexterity ¨C 2502

    Stamina ¨C 1592

    Vigor ¨C 1985

    ¡°Gotta love those sweet, sweet levels. I haven''t allocated my free points since level 36, but I think I will sit on those for a while and decide where to put them. My Dex is starting to pull ahead of my other stats by a wide margin again, but I can¡¯t reset until level 70, so I will deal with it until then.¡±

    I tilted my head as I read through the description one more time. There was something new in the descriptives.

    ¡°Sherlock,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, Captain, what is it?¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Why is there a P beside my class now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That is quite curious. Has it not been there the whole time?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°I think I would have noticed it before now. What do you think it means?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Haaaa¡­well, Captain. See the funny thing is that I have been working on the internal systems of the armor. I haven''t been able to make any headway on the file caches yet. I won¡¯t be able to start that process until we perform the hard reset, which you have been dodging quite aggressively by the way.¡±

    ¡°Ohhhh, excuse the fuck out of me for not wanting to let you temporarily kill me just to unlock some files,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Semantics, Captain. I assure you that you are completely safe and that there is minimal long-term risk to you,¡± Sherlock replied with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°We can do the hard reset tomorrow, and I just wanted to work on clearing this floor before then. Now that we have cleared the rest of the Wolf pack, all we have left is the boss. According to my drones, it is located to the north on the other side of the mountain range. I haven''t gotten an ID on it yet, but based on the thermal imaging, it is damn big,¡± I said, ¡°Now back to what you were saying about messing around with the guts on my armor.¡±

    ¡°Well, as I said, I am still unable to access the file caches secured behind the firewalls, but I can access some of the other functions of the armor that were disabled. The descriptions of the features are frustratingly enough tied to the files that are not accessible. Even so, I wanted to test what would happen if I activated one of the features,¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Wait, are you saying that you have been playing around with the internal operating systems of the armor and are just flipping switches all willy-nilly, hoping for a good outcome?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t use such vulgar terminology. I¡­ I was just testing a theory,¡± Sherlock said

    ¡°A theory? A fucking theory?! Sherlock! What if you had damaged the armor or damaged me for crying out loud?¡±

    ¡°Captain, please calm yourself. My theory is that the power of the armor was being limited. Call it a governor of sorts. I believe I was able to remove that governor and open up the full potential of you and your armor,¡± Sherlock said, holding his hands out in a defensive posture.

    ¡°Captain, I believe you will now be able to surpass any being on the universal power scale with time,¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°So, what is the P then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It means Planetary, Captain. Your class is now labeled Planetary, which means that you have the potential to attain dimensional levels of power, a feat that heretofore has never been seen. Ever.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 34. Sack up

    Chapter 34. Sack up.

    I couldn¡¯t understand what Sherlock was trying to tell me. A while back, I noticed that my abilities had started showing descriptives denoting class levels. I spoke with Tiff briefly about this, but she had limited knowledge regarding the class levels. The power scale for individuals who had access to abilities in the universe was reasonably straightforward. It was widely believed that level 100 was the power cap. This made sense because, as far as anyone in the universe was aware, no individual had yet reached this power cap. Kaj was on the upper end of the power scale in the universe, currently at level 63.

    ¡°Sherlock, what you are telling me doesn¡¯t make any sense. How can there be multiple levels of power for ability holders? Why has nobody discovered this before now? There has to be some other explanation, right?¡± I asked, ¡°Kaj, are you aware of anyone reaching level 100? Or passing it?¡±

    ¡°No, Captain. I am near the high end of power in the universe. I have heard rumors of individuals exceeding level 90 but never met one. I once encountered a level 85 Lycoan brawler on the battlefield. That class is focused on hand-to-hand combat and is heavily focused on strength and dexterity. He managed to wipe out an entire battalion of our soldiers in less than an hour. We had to retreat and lost the planet entirely. The Lycoans have held that planet since, and no other species has threatened to invade. I cannot imagine what power an individual would wield if they were at or surpass level 100.¡±

    Sherlock was pacing back and forth as we spoke, seemingly trying to work something out to himself.

    ¡°Sherlock, do you have anything to add here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We need to proceed with the reset as soon as possible, Captain. I have my suspicions, but I cannot confirm them without accessing the files that have been quarantined. What I can say is that I fear there is more to your armor than you first assumed.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Can you at least give me a little insight?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Captain, your class is unique. That is not surprising on its own. Unique classes are often given by the system from reaping to reaping. The Coeus have often used cultural stereotypes or myths of individual worlds to build classes that make sense to those who have been recruited. The issue with your class is that it doesn¡¯t fit into any pre-defined classification. Most classes, even unique ones, will still fit into the basic structure of one of the five master classes. Your Class does not. It seems to be able to utilize the benefits of most classes and has very few of the drawbacks of any class because of this.¡±

    ¡°I feel like I should already know this, but what are the five master classes?¡± I asked.

    Kaj spoke up. ¡°The five master classes are the basis for all subclasses or unique classes offered by the system.¡± Kaj held up a finger as he began to list the classes.

    First, there is the brawler class. This class, as I said earlier, is focused on melee combat, and anyone employing this class will skew their stats heavily in favor of strength and dexterity. They will often have abilities that allow them to dish out massive amounts of damage in a short amount of time.

    Second is the Guardian class. This class is focused on defense and stamina. They will skew their stats heavily toward Vigor, Stamina, and strength. They can take a ton of damage, and while they generally possess adequate skills in combat, they will more than likely be used to allow the rest of their allies to set up long-range or wide-area attacks.¡±

    ¡°So, they are tanks,¡± I said.

    ¡°No, Captain. They are living beings. Why would you say this?¡±Kaj asked, confusion on his face.

    ¡°No, tank is a term from my world. It doesn¡¯t mean the actual machine; it is used in games to describe a player who takes a lot of damage.¡± I realized how silly it sounded as the words left my mouth.

    ¡°This is no game, Captain. I do understand the comparison in terminology now, though. Now, as I was saying.¡±

    The third class is Healer. The name is pretty self-explanatory, but anyone in this class will have stats focused on intelligence and stamina. These stats will allow them to create wide-area healing abilities. They have limited combat abilities, and you rarely see them operating without the aid of a larger group.

    The fourth class are known as Mancers. This class should be familiar to you as Tiffantrimore is an Electro-Mancer. Mancers have the ability to manipulate the elements and use them as weapons. Tiffantrimore also has a duplication ability, though her main master class is Mancer. I assume that she also has a unique class. This would explain her ability to duplicate.

    The Fifth class is the Warrior class. This is the most common class given and the most commonly selected. It can include anything from short-range weapons and melee combat mastery to long-range weapons like those used by Matty and Jax. The master class is Warrior , but the subclass may differ and lead the individual on a different path. This class is mostly balanced, and as one progresses, free points can be allocated to give one an edge based on their subclass.

    Captain, your class is different. Your stats all started at the basic level for humans, but you have grown them significantly. Tell me, what is your stat cap?¡±

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    ¡°Stat cap?¡± I asked, obviously confused.

    ¡°Yes, as I just explained all master classes have stats that will heavily outweigh others. For example, the stat cap for the intelligence stat of a healer will sometimes be double the cap of their strength stat. The classes are designed this way to ensure that the individual will not overfeed a stat that has a negative impact on their progression. Surely this has been explained to you,¡± Kaj replied.

    ¡°As far as I know, I don¡¯t have any stat caps. I don¡¯t see anything on my interface showing a cap level, and I can put my free points anywhere I want. I was able to redistribute at level 35, and as far as I could tell, there was nothing stopping me from putting every single point into dexterity or strength,¡± I replied.

    Kaj shot Sherlock a concerned look before returning to the conversation.

    ¡°You must keep this information to yourself, Captain. You must swear to me that you will not discuss this, not even with Tiffantrimore.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can do that but is someone going to tell me what is going on here Kaj? Why is this a big deal?¡± I asked.

    Kaj put his hand on my shoulder. ¡°Captain, what you have told me shouldn¡¯t be possible. I agree with Sherlock. We need some answers, and I believe it is time to get those answers. As much as you are concerned about the possible ramifications of the reset, I believe it is imperative to do it as soon as possible. There are answers, there is information that we need before we can decide exactly what that armor of yours is capable of.¡±

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s head back to the safe room and get it done. You guys are freaking me out a little bit and I would be happy to get a few of those answers as well,¡± I replied.

    We made our way back to the safe room. It took about an hour, as we had been working to clear monsters in a radius around the safe room over the last few days. At this point, we had cleared everything that would provide a reasonable amount of experience, and our final push would be toward the boss. The boss would have to wait for now. I had committed to allowing Sherlock to perform his reset, and honestly, I was curious about what he would find as well.

    When we finally arrived back at the safe room, it was dusk, and it was starting to get damn cold. I chuckled to myself, thinking back on my time on that river bank in Texas. It was hot every day; I longed for winter and the chill of an evening sitting by a fire and watching the sun go down. I didn¡¯t think I would get to experience those chilly evenings while being stuck in an alternate dimension and fighting monsters every day to try and get stronger so I could face the next batch of stronger monsters.

    As we passed through the door of the safe room Kaj shifted from an incorporeal being to one that once more had natural physical substance.

    Kaj shivered as he entered the common area, ¡°I still cannot get used to that feeling. This dungeon does some strange things, I must say.¡±

    I slapped him on the back between his massive wings, ¡°I gotta say, it does seem pretty weird. I am glad you are here, though, Kaj. I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve done this on my own. I mean that.¡±

    ¡°I guess I am just chopped liver then,¡± Sherlock said, rolling his eyes in disgust.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that, Sherlock. You have been a ton of help in your own right. Of course, you do have a tendency to go digging around in the guts of my armor and flipping switches at random to see what happens. Doesn¡¯t exactly instill confidence in your decision-making skills¡­¡± I replied.

    ¡°Enough small talk. Let¡¯s get this done. I need to get some food after you are done playing mad scientist.¡±

    I cleared the main table in the common room and lay down. My armor was dismissed, and the only evidence of it was the lower half of my arms, which were now entirely made up of the substance my armor was made from. I felt a chill on the left side of my body as Sherlock commandeered a small amount of the mass of my armor to allow him to have a physical form.

    ¡°The entire process will take seconds, Captain. I would tell you that it is not going to hurt, but you and I both know it will. What I will say is a phrase commonly used in your country to encourage someone in need of encouragement.¡± Sherlock said as he stood over me beside the table.

    ¡°Oh yeah? What¡¯s that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sack up. Bitches get stitches,¡± Sherlock replied with a wry smile.

    Kaj cocked his head in confusion, ¡°What is this¡­sack? And is a bitch easily harmed? Why would they receive medical care?¡±

    ¡°Just let it go, Kaj. Sherlock was attempting to make a joke,¡± I smiled and closed my eyes. ¡°Honestly, not bad, Sherlock. It is exactly what CJ would tell me.¡±

    Sherlock reached down and grabbed what looked like a long metal probe. It was approximately 6 inches long and tubular, coming to a point on the end. It was connected to something, but I couldn¡¯t see what. It was time to trust the super-advanced AI again.

    ¡°Are you ready, Captain?¡± Sherlock asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this shit,¡± I said as I closed my eyes and tensed my body.

    ¡°Kaj, I must ask you to hold the Captain down to prevent him from injuring himself. This will not be a pleasant experience,¡± Sherlock said.

    Standing on my right side, Kaj placed one hand on my right shoulder and one on my right thigh. He flexed and the strength I felt him exert seemed impossible.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m not going anywhere; let¡¯s get this done,¡± I said.

    ¡°One last thing, Captain,¡± Sherlock said as he reached over and put a mouthguard in my mouth.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m getting nervous, Sherlock. What the hell do I need a mouthguard for¡­.¡±

    Before I could finish the sentence, Sherlock shoved the probe directly into my chest. I felt it dig into my flesh, stabbing through muscle. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. This was painful, but I could handle it. Sherlock was just being a drama queen as usual I was sure of it.

    Sherlock looked at Kaj and nodded. Kaj doubled his grip on me, making me almost feel that he was going to break something. Just as I began to scream, Sherlock pressed a button on the probe, and a massive electrical pulse shot out of the instrument, hitting me directly in the heart, not once but six times. I hadn¡¯t considered that my enhanced physiology meant it took something much more powerful to kill me. Sherlock didn¡¯t take any chances and hit me with enough voltage to kill an elephant.

    My body convulsed as Sherlock shocked my heart. Every muscle in my body tensed, and if not for the mouth guard, I would have broken teeth or bit my tongue off. After a few seconds, I began to foam at the mouth before, finally, my heart stopped. My body relaxed, and to Sherlock and Kaj¡¯s surprise, my armored forearms melted away. I was dead; my armor was gone.

    Sherlock looked up at Kaj, who stood transfixed, finally relaxing his grip on me. Kaj watched as the portion of my armor Sherlock had taken also melted away. Sherlock stumbled to the side before flickering a few times.

    ¡°I believe I might have miscalculated,¡± Sherlock said, disappearing, the probe falling and clanging against the tile floor.

 Chapter 35. Get him Boys

    Chapter 35. Get him Boys

    I couldn¡¯t feel my body. I knew something had gone wrong, but it was all kind of hazy. I was lying on the table, Sherlock did his thing, and then everything went black. It¡¯s weird to say, but I was kind of getting used to dying. This, though, didn¡¯t feel like death.

    I tried to sit up but quickly realized that I had nobody. I tried to look around, and whatever world I was in was completely beyond my ability to comprehend. Colors, shapes, numbers, things were invading my brain at a pace that made it impossible for me to begin to make sense of any of it.

    ¡°Captain,¡± I could hear Sherlock. It was faint and seemed far away, but I definitely heard him.

    ¡°Sherlock! What is going on?¡± I said the words; I heard them as I spoke, but it was almost as if the words just materialized from nothingness.

    ¡°Captain, I am going to request that you calm yourself. I can explain what is happening. It will no doubt sound odd, but I need you to listen closely.¡±

    I closed my eyes¡­ no, that isn¡¯t right, I didn¡¯t have eyes here. I closed off my senses and focused on calming myself. I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening or where I was, but at least Sherlock seemed to know.

    ¡°Where are we, Sherlock?¡± I asked.

    ¡°First, I feel it is only necessary to explain that you aren¡¯t dead. Well, you aren¡¯t technically dead. We have a limited amount of time here to figure out what we can, but we will need to move as quickly as possible to limit long-term damage,¡± Sherlock said, his voice getting closer.

    ¡°Okay, that is good to know. Now, where the hell are we?¡± I asked.

    ¡°This was an unexpected result, I must say. When we attempted to perform the reset, your armor seems to have executed some sort of defensive measure. While your body is technically unharmed, your brain functions have, for all intents and purposes, been turned off. Your consciousness is all that remains, and the armor has absorbed it into its matrix. We are inside the Havok Bringer armor, Captain,¡± Sherlock replied. ¡°You are seeing the world much as I do. Raw data is being presented to you, and your human senses are struggling to decipher the complex code in a way that makes sense. I would ask you to stay calm while I try to filter the data in a way that makes it more digestible for you. Please stand by.¡±

    I waited while Sherlock performed his digital magic. It had been only a few minutes before he felt confident that I would now be able to perceive the complex data and algorithms in a way that made sense to me.

    ¡°You can open your eyes, Captain,¡± Sherlock said. ¡°I have managed to filter the data to fit within the limited scope of your perception. I feel it is necessary to inform you that the things you see in the raw data are representations of the external environment captured by the armor''s sensors and presented in a form that you can understand. this place is framed by you. I have made the data digestible, but your brain is working overtime to create a translation of the data that you can understand. Does that make sense?¡±

    I woke up and found myself standing on a deserted city street with Sherlock. In front of us was a large bank. "It makes sense. My brain is creating a scenario I can understand. I assume whatever we''re looking for is in that bank, right?" I asked, pointing to a large bank sitting on a corner. The bank was made of weathered concrete and had 4 large pillars surrounding the front entrance that sat at the top of an impressive set of stone stairs.

    "Correct, Captain. Normally, I would comment on the simplicity of your chosen design but given our time constraints and the strain on your brain and body, I''ll refrain. We need to move quickly, eliminate the firewalls, and access the locked information, understand?" Sherlock replied.

    "I got it. We gotta rob this bank," I said, grinning as western outfits appeared on our bodies complete with handkerchiefs and cowboy hats. I raised two six-shooters into the air and fired them repeatedly, "Yeehaw?"

    "You are a child," Sherlock replied, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disappointment.

    For some reason, I couldn''t summon my armor, but I could manipulate the environment to help us progress deeper into the Havok Bringer''s matrix. I wasn''t exactly sure how it worked, but I could make things appear just by thinking about them.

    ¡°Any idea why I can control the environment? Kinda feeling like a badass here,¡± I said as we began walking up the steep concrete stairs in front of the bank.

    Sherlock explained, "To summarize, we are currently integrated into the matrix of the Havok Bringer. Since you are genetically bound to the armor, you have some control within the matrix. The base code of the armor will respond to your request for access in most cases, allowing you to act as organic malware. It seems that the firewalls in place were not originally part of the armor but were added by a third party later."

    "Like a virus that created a firewall to quarantine certain parts of the code?" I inquired. "I''m no computer expert, but that kind of virus was only hypothetical on Earth."

    Sherlock scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Your species had barely scratched the surface of quantum computing before the drop and hadn''t even started to explore the possibilities of biocomputing. This type of virus is fairly common throughout the universe. In short, you have access to all of the files and features of the armor as you and the armor are basically one being. Once we have eliminated the firewall, you should be able to access the data. However, you will not be able to make sense of the data, which is where I come in. If we succeed here, I should be able to answer all of the questions about the origins of the armor, as well as its full capabilities."

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    ¡°Okay then, let''s get this party started. I just have one question before we start though,¡± I said, holding my hand in front of Sherlock to stop him.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Sherlock replied.

    ¡°Do you like the handkerchiefs, or should we go with more of a Point Break style outfit? President masks and stuff, that sort of thing. Oooh! Have you seen the Dark Knight?¡± I asked with excitement.

    "Dear God, this really isn¡¯t a show you put on, is it? This is actually you?¡± Sherlock rubbed his forehead in frustration.

    I shrugged before turning toward the large double doors of the bank and kicking them in. I was surprised to see that the bank wasn¡¯t empty like the streets were. As a matter of fact, the bank was pretty busy. I immediately looked around trying to get a sense of what kind of danger we may face, but only saw normal-looking people in the bank. There were different species in the bank foyer: humans, Lycoans, and Malakim all roamed the inside of the bank. I didn¡¯t feel like these people would be any sort of threat, though.

    I continued my quick survey to see the first sign of danger. There were two Lacertine security guards posted at the far side exit and one patrolling the inside of the foyer behind the security guards. Glass at the bank teller stations there were three Havokium females looking in my direction. Behind them was one large well-muscled Havokium male in a black pin-striped suit with a name tag that simply said Manager. To emphasize 1940¡¯s stereotype a little more he was smoking a fat short cigar. The large male had slicked back hair and a pencil mustache, his golden eyes thinning as he pointed in my direction.

    ¡°He don¡¯t belong here see¡­ Get him boys!¡± The manager yelled.

    I glanced at Sherlock, who was visibly frustrated, as the guards started advancing towards us with their pistols drawn.

    "What''s the matter? I didn''t do this!" I exclaimed indifferently.

    "You are quite literally creating everything we see. Out of all the possibilities, you chose a bank scenario straight out of Dick Tracy, complete with mobsters. It''s unsophisticated and juvenile," scoffed Sherlock, before grabbing his pistol and seeking cover behind a large pillar on the left side of the room. I swiftly followed suit, taking cover behind the pillar on the right, as bullets began to strike the front of the room.

    "Is there any chance my powers will work here?" I shouted as a chunk of concrete narrowly missed my head.

    "The abilities related to your armor won''t work here. However, you should still have your enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes," Sherlock yelled back as he momentarily emerged from behind the pillar to return fire.

    ¡°Okay, here is the plan! You lay down suppressing fire and I will rush the one closest to me. Once I take him out, I need you to rush the second one. The first one to finish their target off rushes the third one, got it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sure, let''s just execute the roughly thrown-together plan while a bunch of hostile computer bugs that you made look like mobsters from the 1940s fire pistols at us. Oh, and let¡¯s not forget that those bullets will very much kill us. Feels like a very sound strategy!¡± Sherlock said.

    I stood up and prepared to move. I waited for a pause in the firing, hoping that the lacertine guard nearest to me was taking a second to reload his weapon. When the pause came, I pointed at Sherlock, who leaned out and began firing at the two guards in the back, who immediately took cover. I sprang from behind the pillar to see the lacertine guard was about 20 feet away from me. All of the civilians were on the floor face down, unmoving.

    I jumped, covering the 20 feet in one leap. I speared the guard, taking him off his feet before landing on top of him on the ground. The guard screamed and struggled under me, trying to bring his gun up to fire at me. I pinned his arm under my left knee before I punched down with my right hand. The guard just smiled.

    Sherlock had already started advancing on the second guard who had stepped out to help the guard I was currently entangled with. Sherlock intercepted the guard before he could reach me, saving me from a two on one fight. As he reached the guard Sherlock fired a few shots at the third guard, luckily catching him in the shoulder and dropping him behind the desk he was using for cover.

    ¡°You and your buddy are dead meat, pal. You know who owns this bank?¡± The second guard said.

    ¡°I¡¯m positively brimming with excitement to find out. Please, would you educate me?¡± Sherlock said as he took up a fighting stance.

    I looked up and choked on a laugh at the sight. Sherlock was circling the guard, holding what could only be described as an early 20th-century pugilism fighting stance. He had his right fist level with his chin and his left fist near his stomach.

    ¡°Not helping, Captain!¡± Sherlock yelled over his shoulder as he shot out a lightning-fast jab, catching the guard square on the chin.

    I returned my attention to the lacertine I had pinned to the ground; he was wiggling and twisting trying to escape, but with no success. I was much stronger than him, but the guard was tough. My punches had little effect on him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can beat them in a straight up fight, Sherlock!¡± I yelled; how do we kill them?

    ¡°It must be the guns. The bullets must represent code that is malicious to the virus!¡± Sherlock yelled in reply.

    I looked over to see my gun lying a few feet away, out of reach, unless I wanted to let the guard up.

    ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures,¡± I said before taking my thumbs and gouging the lacertines eyes. I knew it wouldn¡¯t injure him for long, but I hoped it would buy me a couple of seconds.

    ¡°Aaagh!¡± the guard screamed and began twisting violently as I rolled off of him and grabbed my pistol.

    I rolled to my back and pointed at the guard who had stood to his feet grasping at his eyes. A second later, he recovered and spun around, looking for me. He found me pointing my pistol directly at his head, immediately putting his hands in the air.

    ¡°Calm down, fella. Let¡¯s talk about this,¡± he said in a slow, calm voice.

    I didn¡¯t even reply, firing the pistol and opening a new hole in his head. The guard slumped to the ground before slowly fading away.

    ¡°I could use some assistance here, Captain!¡± Sherlock said. He was still boxing with his guard but was starting to lose ground quickly.

    ¡°If I keep saving you, you will never improve, Sherlock,¡± I said before raising my pistol and firing at the guard he was fighting.

    I looked at Sherlock and blew on the barrel of my pistol, ¡°Two down.¡±

    Sherlock rolled his eyes once more before a bullet came from the forgotten third guard, dropping him where he stood.

 Book 2. Chapter 36. That got weird, hih?

    Chapter 36. That got weird, huh?

    Sherlock was lying motionless on the floor in front of me as I rushed over to check on him. The bullet had hit him in the left side of his chest close to his shoulder, and he was currently leaking metallic silver-colored blood. I rolled him over so he would be on his side. I didn¡¯t know much about medicine, but my fear was that the bullet had punctured a lung, and I was trying to ensure he didn¡¯t choke to death on his own blood.

    ¡°Sherlock! Sherlock! Are you there, buddy? Can you hear me? Talk to me, buddy?¡± I knelt close to him, trying to see or feel signs of life. It occurred to me at that moment that Sherlock was an AI. It was very possible that he would be unharmed by the bullet, but the scene played out before me told me something very different.

    ¡°The bloody bastard shot me. Can you believe that? Quite a lucky shot if I say so myself,¡± Sherlock coughed, and silver viscous blood spattered the floor around him. ¡°I do believe I will have to sit the rest of this one out, Captain.¡±

    ¡°What can I do? I can¡¯t let you die here. Is there anything I can do?¡± I asked as panic began to set in.

    It had been months now that I had been playing this game. I was pulled from my life and forced to fight a war I didn¡¯t even know existed. I had lost parts of myself, figuratively and literally. I had lost people, people that trusted me to keep them safe. Claire was a good person and was now lying lifeless in a stasis pod on the Blood Hound. I hadn¡¯t even found time to bury her. I was tired of losing people, tired of losing parts of myself to this hellish new reality. I would not lose Sherlock.

    ¡°Calm yourself, Captain. While the bullets are not made of steel, they still injure and kill. These bullets are made of viral code and are meant to break down our own digital matrixes. I am injured but should be able to make a full recovery, assuming you can open that vault and eliminate the malicious code infecting the armor. Unfortunately, I am too injured to help you. With that being said, the hard part is done. We have successfully eliminated the security countermeasures that were in place, and now you have to eliminate the controller AI and access the source code repository.¡±

    I looked up to see the bank manager standing in front of the vault with his hands up in surrender. The tellers had disappeared, seemingly all part of the illusion my mind had created.

    ¡°The bank teller?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, the bank teller. Once he is eliminated, the repository should open. I am not sure what will happen after that, but I assume we will have access to the records and data that were quarantined. Do it fast, Captain. While I am confident this wound isn¡¯t fatal, I would rather not test the longevity of that statement.¡± Sherlock said, grunting and leaning his back against the wall.

    I stood, looking directly at the teller who began to back up as I approached the teller station surrounded by safety glass.

    ¡°Now, j-just hold on, fella. There is no need for things to get outta control here. I¡¯m sure we can come to an agreement that is beneficial for the both of us, right?¡± the bank manager stammered as he backed into the round vault door.

    I punched the safety glass with my right hand and watched as it shattered into a thousand pieces, peppering the walls and ceiling. I slowly stepped over the desk and made my way to the manager.

    ¡°Look, I was just doin my job. Yous guys have no idea what kind of shit storm waits for you behind that door.¡± The manager held up his hands and shrugged, sucking in the air and making a hissing noise. ¡°I gotta tell you, pal, it would be in your best interest to just walk away and forget this ever happened. I will even let you guys walk outta here. How¡¯s that sound?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure why, but I pitied this program. I didn¡¯t know how sentient it was. I didn¡¯t know if it felt emotion or pain, but it was in a situation similar to my own. It had been forced into a role, and now its life was being threatened. I pondered the similarities for a brief few seconds as the manager continued to plead for its life. Words continued to fall out of its mouth, and I just stood there motionless, expressionless, realizing that death was my path now. I could embrace that reality or try to hide from it; either way, death would be part of my path. The only choice I could make would be to bring death to others or let it come to me. Today, I would choose others.

    The bank manager''s eyes went wide with shock. He had been detailing how he would allow me to leave and was even willing to cover up that Sherlock and I had been here. I stopped listening a while back, but the words kept coming. Finally, I decided to stop the words.

    My right hand flashed up to his throat. I squeezed tightly and felt my fingers tear into his flesh. He screamed and grasped at my hand, but I was too strong. I lifted him off the ground, and as his feet thrashed around, I thought about how easy this was. Taking a life shouldn¡¯t be this easy, but for me, it was. I looked back at Sherlock, who was now unconscious, and realized that this terrible power I had would be the only thing standing between my friends and certain death. I took solace in that thought as I squeezed my fist closed.

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    The bank manager fell to the floor, silver blood  spraying from the wound left when I ripped out his throat. As I looked down, I heard a click, and the vault door cracked slightly.

    ¡°Weird place to put a doorknob,¡± I said, looking at the chuck of flesh in my hands before tossing it aside.

    Before I could take a step toward the vault I saw a blinding flash of light and regained consciousness in the physical world. Kaj was leaning over me, trying to administer first aid. I coughed and rolled up onto my elbows before waving him off.

    ¡°Ugh, It¡¯s all good, Kaj. I¡¯m okay. Sherlock and I had to make a little trip to take care of some pesky security measures inside the armor. It¡¯s all good now. How long was I out?¡± I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

    Kaj looked at me curiously, ¡°About 40 seconds, Captain. What exactly did you and Sherlock do?¡±

    A few minutes later Sherlock appeared beside the table. I was now fully recovered and sat on the side of the table trying to take stock of everything that had just happened. Sherlock leaned quietly against the table next to me as Kaj approached with a beverage for each of us.

    ¡°Where did you find beer?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It was in the fridge, near the back.¡± Kaj replied, leaning against the table as well.

    I looked over at Sherlock, who was still staring blankly into space, ¡°That got weird, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain. That got weird.¡± Sherlock replied.

    I chuckled, ¡°You were boxing a guy like some dude from 1850.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have extensive self-defense programming, but I tend to fancy the more traditional styles. Pugilism is a lost art,¡± Sherlock said. ¡°Did you rip that manager''s throat out?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know Kaj has been hammering these new polished fighting techniques into me, but sometimes the old habits still shine through,¡± I replied, taking a swig of my beer.

    ¡°What is the silver blood about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You tell me. That was your weird fantasy in there, not mine.¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°Fair enough. I think I got it from the Terminator movies.¡± I said.

    ¡°And you got the throat thing from Roadhouse, right?¡± Kaj asked, taking a drink of his beer, ¡°That movie is badass. Patrick Swayze is amazing.¡±

    Sherlock and I both shot surprised looks in Kaj¡¯s direction. ¡°How do you know about Roadhouse?¡±

    ¡°I have a lot of downtime at night. I get bored in my quarters, and there is a database of Earth movies. It gives me something to do when we aren¡¯t training.¡± Kaj said, shrugging.

    We all sat there a few minutes longer without speaking.

    ¡°So, I guess I should start prepping to take that boss down. Sherlock, were you able to gather anything from the data repository? I asked as I got up and tossed my beer bottle into the trash can.

    ¡°Not yet. It will take some time to parse the data. I should start getting information In the next 6-8 hours. We can discuss it after you finish with the boss.¡± Sherlock said.

    ¡°That works. Im gonna head out. You guys ready?¡± I asked.

    We all set out from the safe room together. The hike would take us about an hour so we weren¡¯t in a giant rush. My drones had managed to gather data that pinpointed the location of the boss, but that is all. There was some sort of interference keeping them from getting a good look at the thing. I decided that we would try and get close enough to get a look at the thing and then make a plan of attack.

    Finally, after a little more than an hour, I crested a large rocky cliff close to the location my drones had marked and slid on my belly to scan the small rocky valley below. My helmet was shifting between different modes to pinpoint the creature''s location. It would cycle between regular and thermal vision, discarding anything that wasn¡¯t identified as powerful enough to be the boss. It wasn¡¯t long until I found it.

    ¡°There it is,¡± I said, nodding my head toward the creature.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. Are you sure it is out there?¡± Kaj asked, now in the ethereal, non-physical form he was forced to take outside of the safe room.

    The wind and snow had created a less-than-ideal scenario in terms of visibility. On top of that, the creature seemed to have some sort of active camouflage that made it almost impossible to see it with the naked eye, but with the help of my suit''s thermal imaging, I could make it out as clear as day.

    ¡°It¡¯s big, and it''s humanoid. It¡¯s not human but not any beast I am familiar with either. It also knows we are here so we might as well go introduce ourselves.

    We made our way down toward the creature, which stood in the valley, unmoving as wind and snow blew furiously around it, whipping its grey weathered cloak back and forth. After a few minutes, we were standing before the creature, and I got my first good look at it.

    The creature stared at me through a smoke-grey visor attached to a helmet. I couldn¡¯t make out many details as the cloak was wrapped around its body, and a hood covered the helmet. Even standing taller than the average human I had to look up at the creature to meet what I guessed were its eyes behind the visor. I was wary; I knew I was meant to fight this creature, but surprisingly, I didn¡¯t feel any malice or intent to do me harm. The creature was sizing me up and I was doing the same in return.

    ¡°I was beginning to think I was in here alone. Nice to see someone else sharing my discomfort.¡± I said, trying to see if I could get a response.

    ¡°Your discomfort?¡± a female voice answered in response, tilting her head.

    ¡°Ugh, yeah. You know, monsters trying to kill me, being lost most of the time, numb toes. That sort of thing.¡± I responded.

    ¡°You have no idea what genuine discomfort is human. You merely play. You have been given a gift, a chance to prove yourself worthy and you pout like a spoiled child. I have been given a choice, or rather the ability to make a choice regarding you. Against my better judgment, I will allow you to help me with that choice.¡± The woman said.

    She reached up and pulled back her hood before unlatching the sides of her helmet. When she pulled it off, I was amazed to see dark brown hair fall loosely around her shoulders. As she shook her hair, I noticed pointed ears underneath the hair and then the piercing purple almond-shaped eyes. She had an ornate tattoo running from the underside of her chin down into her armor that resembled the trail of a comet. The sparkling colors of the tattoo were a stark contrast to her pale white skin.

    She bowed slightly before speaking,¡°I am Komaetes and today I will decide whether you proceed¡­. Or die.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 37. Kinetic Lessons

    Chapter 37. Kinetic Lessons

    It had now been several weeks since Andrew had once again been pulled into some world-saving quest against his will. Just a few days afterward, Kaj had joined him, and the communication had stopped. Tiff had taken it on herself at that point to ensure the remainder of the team would be prepared to do their part until Andrew and Kaj returned, if they returned.

    The crew of the Bloodhound, a motley group thrown together out of necessity, was a testament to the diversity of the universe. Their skills and abilities had been invaluable, but their teamwork was, for lack of a better word, lacking. Tiff, a guardian by training, had never been part of a team. She had been trained from the time she decided to manifest physical form. Along the way, she had been pulled into the rebellion, and once the reaping started, she had done her best to guide Andrew toward success.

    The rest of the crew were in similar situations. Outside of Elvis, who had shown himself to be insanely loyal and incapable of questioning the Captain, everyone else had been absorbed into the crew out of pure happenstance. CJ was the first to join, he had no abilities to speak of but he was the Captain¡¯s best friend and had proven himself to be a contributing member of the crew since getting his own set of combat armor.

    Outside of Kaj, the rest of the crew had been rescued along with Andrew after he had been captured and imprisoned by Anthragor. Matty and Jax, with their military training and understanding of combat tactics, had proven to be the most valuable members of the crew so far. Their abilities also provided long-range combat options. The two brothers had never questioned their roles in the crew. They had been assigned to the Bloodhounds security reaction force and had, for all intents and purposes, managed the logistics for all away missions.

    Loren and Red, both Galactic Brawlers, had no combat experience before the reaping and had been slow to acclimate to their new realities. However, they were resilient and had proven their mettle during multiple battles. It was important that they begin to understand team combat tactics if they were going to progress in their classes.

    Elvis and Kaj were the most powerful members of the team outside of Andrew. Kaj was the highest level in the entire group and Elvis was progressing quickly in his Bio-droid berserker class. They were definitely front-line fighters and would be capable of breaking enemy lines almost at will. For now though, Kaj was not available.

    Tiff had gathered the group together the morning after Kaj disappeared. It was time to develop as a team. The defense of Dawes Hill would be the primary focus in the short term. If the Captain and Kaj didn¡¯t return soon, the group''s role would expand as needed to protect the people of Earth.

    Cj yawned and stretched his arms in the early morning light. Everyone had gotten used to going about their days without structure or purpose and that would change today.

    ¡°What are we doing out here? It¡¯s the ass crack of dawn for crying out loud,¡± CJ grumbled.

    Elvis shot him a sharp look. " Tiffanytrimore is our XO. When the Captain is gone, she is in charge. That should be enough.¡±

    Loren placed a hand on Elvis¡¯ forearm to calm him before things exploded between the two once again. Elvis returned to standing at attention as Tiffantrimor and Matty approached the group.

    ¡°Everyone, Captain Andrew and Kaj are gone. We don¡¯t have an exact time frame for their return. With that being said, I believe it is imperative for us to train and drill ourselves into an effective team,¡± Tiff said.

    ¡°What is the point? Everyone here has abilities or combat armor. I doubt very seriously that a few lizards stand a chance against any of us,¡± CJ said before taking a long drag from his vape.

    Matty smiled wryly, ¡°I gotta say, CJ, you really seem to have found your big boy voice lately. Your XO is speaking and it would be in your best interest to stand at attention and listen until she is done.¡±

    CJ immediately tensed up, ¡°Easy to talk that way when I¡¯m not in my combat armor.¡±

    Matty approached CJ until he was nose to nose with him; CJ raised his vape to his lips, inhaled, and blew the smoke out into Matty¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t remember joining a damn army. I don¡¯t take orders from anyone,¡± CJ growled.

    Matty closed the distance until his chest was touching CJ¡¯s. He leaned forward and whispered in CJ¡¯s ear, ¡°I think it¡¯s time you go put that little suit of yours on¡­boy.¡±

    ¡°If you want an early morning ass whipping, I am happy to oblige,¡± CJ growled before turning toward the hab to retrieve his combat suit.

    ¡°Matty, I¡¯m not sure this is the most constructive way to start focusing on team tactics,¡± Tiff said.

    Matty walked back to Tiff and stood beside her with his back facing the group, ¡°XO, you asked me to assist you. You asked me to whip this group into a lethal killing machine that moves and acts as one, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes¡­but I¡¯m not sure how getting into a fight first thing will accomplish that goal,¡± Tiff whispered in reply.

    ¡°Right now, we have a group of individuals. Yeah, we all want the same thing. We want to help the people of Earth, we want to get back at the Lacertines for invading our world, and we want to hurt as many of them as possible. Now, we can each do some damage on our own¡­ sure, but we have the ability to take this world back if we work as a group. That is with or without the Captain and Kaj. The thing is¡­we will never succeed if we don¡¯t understand who is in charge and fall in line. You will never be a competent soldier if you can''t take orders effectively. If one soldier acts on their own out of anger or resentment, the whole squad will suffer.¡± Matty replied.

    ¡°But is this really the best way?¡± Tiff asked.

    ¡°CJ is a good guy. He does whatever the Captain asks him to do, and that is great. I need him to do whatever he has to do to ensure the success of the squad, though. In order to do that, he needs to be willing to take direction from whoever is in charge at the time, not just the Captain. Pain is the best instructor and he needs to understand that he isn¡¯t the only person here with power. I¡¯m not gonna hurt him, but I am gonna bring him down a few pegs,¡± Matty replied.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I am going to trust your judgment, Matty. Don¡¯t make me regret it,¡± Tiff said before directing everyone to gather beneath a cluster of pine trees on the edge of the clearing.

    A few minutes later, Matty stopped stretching and turned to face the rest of the crew as CJ made his way back into the clearing in his full black combat suit. CJ stopped in front of Matty, looking him up and down. ¡°Let¡¯s do this then,¡± he said as he signaled his visor to close.

    ¡°In a hurry to take a beating?¡± Matty replied with a smirk. CJ stood silently as he took a combat stance.

    Matty returned his attention to the crew, ¡°Now, I am not going to take pleasure in what I am about to do. CJ is a brother-in-arms and a member of our crew. That said, I don¡¯t believe it is in the best interest of our crew to allow disrespect and dissension to go unpunished. For that very purpose I have taken on myself to teach CJ here a valuable lesson. The lesson will be administered kinetically and hopefully be impactful enough that he understands his place on this crew. Like everyone else here, his opinion is valued, his skills are needed, and there will be times when both are required. Unfortunately, today all we require is his skills so he can keep his opinions locked behind those flapping gums of his until such a time as XO Tiffantrimore has need of them. This lesson will be painful for him, but¡­¡±

    Matty was cutoff as CJ came blasting toward him, his right fist primed to strike. Matty twisted his body to the left and held out one foot, causing CJ to trip and tumble into a roll, coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. CJ pounded his fists into the ground before springing back up to his feet.

    ¡°First example,¡± Matty said as he pointed one finger at CJ as he stood back up, ¡°A soldier that acts on his own without direction will often find themselves out of position. Being out of position during battle is as good as being dead. CJ here didn¡¯t have the patience to wait for the lesson to start, so he took it upon himself to start the lesson,¡± Matty said as he turned to face CJ, ¡° I do respect the tenacity, CJ; unfortunately, that kind of sloppy fighting could get you or a member of your squad killed during combat. Learn from that¡­¡±

    CJ Lunged again, screaming in rage as he closed the distance between himself and Matty. Again, CJ swung down with his right fist. The combat suit was a marvel of advanced alien technology, and to any bystanders watching, CJ would have been a black blur in the clearing, his fists swinging faster than any natural human could possibly hope to move. To Matty, though, the movements were sluggish and untrained. The punches had no power. A powerful punch utilizes the hips to create torque and power; CJ was swinging wildly with no technique and, therefore, no power. Matty knew that CJ had no formal training, and that fact was on full display.

    Matty held the Interstellar Assassin class. While that class emphasized the use of long-range weapons when possible, it also provided increased speed, strength, and dexterity to its wielders. Matty far surpassed the natural capabilities of the average human and had no need for combat armor to take advantage of his attributes.

    Matty deftly raised his right forearm to intercept CJ¡¯s wild punch. As CJ¡¯s punch arced down, he felt it deflect and slide off of Matty¡¯s arm. The deflection caused CJ¡¯s balance to momentarily shift as he stutter-stepped to try and regain his balance. Matty moved in.

    ¡°Lesson two: wild punches with no power serve no purpose for you but create openings for your enemies. Learn how to use your body effectively; make every move count.¡± Matt said as he planted his feet and fired off a powerful right cross. The punch landed squarely on the left side of CJ¡¯s head, causing him to stumble and twist away with an ¡°Umph.¡±

    CJ again regained his balance before reaching to his fight thigh and unholstering his sidearm, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for this shit, Matty! I am tired of being treated like I don¡¯t belong here; I belong as much as anyone!¡±

    Jax started to move forward to defend his brother before Tiff put a hand on his chest to stop him, ¡°He asked us to trust him. I would ask that you respect that as well and stay put.¡±

    Jax looked at her for a second, seemingly trying to decide his next move before responding, ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am,¡± and taking a step back to stand beside Elvis and Red.

    ¡°It¡¯s not too late to holster that weapon, CJ,¡± Matty said as he calmly stood facing CJ.

    ¡°You asked for this, Matty. If you want proof that I can handle myself, then here is that proof!¡± CJ yelled angrily.

    ¡°Have it your way then. Lesson Three,¡± Matty held up three fingers and turned to face the watching crew, ¡°If you draw your weapon, you had better be prepared to end the person or thing standing in front of you. Are you ready to end me, CJ?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll survive, but you will remember this next time you try to put me in my place,¡± CJ replied.

    As CJ uttered his last word, Matty disappeared. One second, he was there; the next, he was gone.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± CJ said, spinning as he tried to see where Matty had gone.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to achieve our goals if we think, fight, and react like humans, CJ,¡± Matty said

    CJ could hear the words but still couldn¡¯t see Matty. ¡°Enough games, Matty. Come out and fight already!¡± CJ said.

    CJ was lifted off his feet as Matty¡¯s uppercut connected with his chin. He landed with a thud, the gears and motors of his combat suit whining as he struggled to regain his feet once again.

    ¡°Lesson four: We have abilities now and will use them to turn the tides of battle. We will coordinate them amongst ourselves to provide the highest probability for victory, and we will take that victory out of the clutches of our enemies because we know that we can depend on our brothers and sisters in arms.¡± Matty said.

    Thwack

    CJ fell to one knee as a black blade appeared out of thin air. The blade had been jammed into the knee of the combat armor and had caused the joint to fail. CJ struggled to regain his feet, but it was no use; his suit had been partially disabled.

    ¡°CJ holstered his weapon and held up his hands, ¡°Okay, enough! I get it already.¡±

    Matty deactivated his gilly suit ability and appeared standing directly in front of CJ, ¡°No, CJ. This lesson isn¡¯t over yet. You will surrender your armor and not be allowed to equip it again until you have proven yourself as a soldier. You will train to fight, you will earn the respect of your crewmates. You will be worthy of that armor when you put it on again, do you understand?¡±

    CJ raised his visor so Matty could see his scowl, ¡°You¡­¡± CJ raised his eyes to stare directly into Matty¡¯s, ¡°You can go fu¡­¡±

    CJ didn¡¯t get a chance to finish. Matty was a blur as his shin connected with CJ¡¯s head with a crack. CJ¡¯s body twisted unnaturally as spit and blood flew from his mouth, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

    ¡°Glorious battle!¡± Elvis yelled as he pumped his fist in the air, ¡°SR-CJ deserved that lesson. I only wish that I had been the one to teach it!¡±

    Tiff turned a cold gaze toward Elvis, ¡°Elvis, you will carry CJ to the Hab, where you will help him out of his combat armor. You will then administer first aid and ensure he can return to training in a timely manner.¡±

    ¡°XO, that is¡­that is¡­that is not fair!¡± Elvis said with a whine.

    ¡°Fair doesn¡¯t win wars, Elvis; teams do. You will be removed from active duty until such a time as Matty has cleared CJ as combat effective. The friction between the two of you ends today.¡± Tiff said, standing face to face with Elvis.

    Elvis spun on his heels before grabbing a fully grown pine tree, ripping it from the ground, and throwing it so far that the crew nearly lost sight of it. ¡°The captain would never,¡±

    Tiff moved closer to Elvis, ignoring his tantrum, ¡°The Captain isn¡¯t here. I am in command, and that was a direct order. Do you understand?¡±

    Elvis stood heaving in deep breaths, fists clenched as flames danced around his fingers, ¡°Understood¡­XO¡±

    ¡°Good, then get to it. Rejoin the rest of us when you have completed your assigned tasks.¡± Tiff said as she spun to face the rest of the crew.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work, everyone.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 38. A Good day gone bad.

    Chapter 38. A good day gone bad.

    ¡°CJ, I need you to lay down cover fire on that guard tower¡­NOW!¡± Matty shouted orders as the team converged on the Lacertine outpost near the small central Louisiana town of Pineville. The team had been training non-stop for the last few weeks. Tactics and teamwork were improving, so Tiff decided it was time for a live-fire test of their ability as a squad.

    The Lacertine forces had grown increasingly aggressive over the last several weeks, and it was time for them to be put in check. The Lacertines had been effectively cut off from transport and supply vessels as their home world had been nearly bankrupted as it tried to mount an effort to gain a seat on the Universal Council by force. After months of fighting, the Lacertine Empire was relegated to withdrawing into their home system and going on the defensive. This meant that any active remote presence by their military throughout the universe had been cut off.

    On the surface, this seemed like good news. The Lacertines had no supplies and no ability to exfil from the planet. The only remaining Lacertine ships in orbit had been destroyed by the Bloodhound and the Burning Retribution, the ship belonging to Princess Danae. The problem now was the troops left on the ground.

    Natasha had managed to do some light hacking and got an estimate of troops on the ground. Over 250,000 Lacertine troops had been sent to Earth to ensure the quick subjugation and transportation of what they so kindly dubbed ¡°livestock.¡± Once the Livestock had been mostly removed, the planet would be stripped of natural resources and terraformed into a world that could sustain the Lacertine biology. In terms of terraforming, it was light work; basically, the soil would need to be treated so it could grow and maintain crops the Lacertines could consume. The orbs had already raised the global temperature and created some areas with the types of hot, humid climates the Lacertines loved.

    The issue now is that the forces on the planet had been effectively abandoned. The ones that remained were on their own. Hunger was the most pressing concern for the troops remaining. They couldn¡¯t eat anything that lived or grew naturally on the planet. There had been some preliminary attempts at growing food compatible with Lacertine physiology. However, those attempts were still in their infancy and hadn¡¯t created a meaningful yield to this point. The Lacertine mad scientists had developed a serum capable of altering the human body''s genetic and physical makeup, thereby effectively creating something edible for the lizards in the meantime.

    There was an internment camp a few miles from Dawes Hill. A squad of Wasps had managed to scout the location a few days ago and reported that it was fully staffed. The rumors of revolt and mutiny had been exaggerated, at least in this case. The Wasps reported regular patrols and a contingent of nearly 1,000 troops. Several acres of experimental crops were also being grown. This area was under heavy guard, seemingly to protect it from their own people due to the food shortage. Most importantly, a serum production facility was on the southeast side of the outpost. This was to be the target of Tiff and the crew of the Bloodhound.

    The plan was simple: Hit them hard and fast and ultimately eliminate their ability to produce more of the serum. The problem was orbital support. Natasha and Danae had been operating under stealth conditions for several weeks. When the Rerek squad appeared after the Lacertine ships'' destruction, Natasha called for the Bloodhound and her own ships to jump away. She left several stealth sensors in low orbit to allow her to continue working on breaching the Lacertine network and maintain communication channels with Tiff and the crew.

    Danae had called in two battle cruisers to help with the Rerek Squad. Still, the rebellion didn¡¯t have unlimited resources and couldn¡¯t afford to jump in more ships for a planet that held no actual value in the fight against the Universal Council. The plan was simple: get the Bloodhound into position to provide orbital support. The two Battle cruisers would jump in, open fire, and jump away, leaving just enough radiation in their wake for the Rerek squad to pursue. The window would be less than 10 minutes before all hell broke loose in orbit. Hopefully, that would be enough.

    Tiff Looked up to see two radiant flashes in the sky as Danae¡¯s ships jumped in. The Rerek ships were hanging in low orbit and were barely visible to the naked eye. The Rerek squad consisted of two battle cruisers, two frigates, and one destroyer. The battle cruisers were fast, and the weapons complement on that class of ship was unmatched. The frigate class was fast while also carrying a respectable complement of weapons. The destroyer class ship was a monster. These ships were generally deployed in large-scale interstellar battles to maintain control of a specific planet or other celestial body. Some destroyers had the ability to destroy entire planets, and since the squad overhead was a Rerek Squad, Tiff did not doubt that the planet could be destroyed in a matter of seconds. She would have to Trust Natasha to do her job.

    Natasha planned everything. Princess Danae had seen the Bloodhound in battle, knew the capabilities of the Elvis AI, and had learned to expect no less from Natasha. The plan was daring, if reckless, but it was the only way Danae could see to remove the Rerek threat, so she agreed to do her part.

    On the surface, things were getting kinetic for Tiff and the rest of the crew. The assault on the Lacertine outpost was proving more difficult than initially expected. The outpost was established on a small U.S. military base, Camp Beauregard. The Lacertines took full advantage of the existing infrastructure to create a small but thoroughly defensible stronghold.

    ¡°Matty, is Jax in position?¡± Tiff asked over comms.

    ¡°Approaching now, he will not be able to breach the walls unless we thin out the Lacertines from orbit. Any word on the Bloodhound?¡± Matty asked as he ran for cover, avoiding plasma rounds that hit the ground around him, spewing dirt, rock, and hot plasma into the air.

    ¡°Nothing yet; we have to do our part and trust Natasha to do hers,¡± Tiff replied.

    ¡°Are we a go for Hulk Smash?¡± Red asked.

    ¡°Did we seriously agree on that name for this tactic?¡± Jax asked.

    ¡°Elvis is the centerpiece, so he has to name it,¡± Matty replied. We need to wait for Natasha before we can move on to the Hulk smash. For now, everyone gets into position. Once there, return fire as needed and keep those enemy troops busy. I need individual confirmation once everyone is securely in position, copy?¡±

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°In position, waiting on fireworks,¡± Jax said.

    ¡°Loren and I are near the garden, holding position,¡± Red said.

    ¡°Coming in hot gonna drop ordinance then turn and burn to the evac point,¡± Tiff said.

    A low rumble sounded overhead as the Pup blasted through the air above the base. The Lacertine troops all turned and directed fire at it to no avail. The drop ship was moving too fast, and the plasma rounds shot up into the air harmlessly in its wake. The rear loading door was open, and a  pallet-sized object fell out toward the center of the outpost.

    ¡°Ordinance away headed to the rally point,¡± Tiff said as the Pup banked left and flew toward the rendezvous point.

    The Lacertine troops didn¡¯t have time to react as the package landed and Plasma exploded in all directions. The buildings and fences shook as the shockwave reached them, creating chaos within the outpost.

    ¡°Good Job, XO. Package delivered with efficiency. Time for Natasha to do her part,¡± Matty said.

    *****************************************************************************

    ¡°Captain, we are reading an unregistered warp emergence approximately two light seconds from the planet''s moon,¡± the Rerek first officer reported as she tapped the console on her chair.

    ¡°Perform an active sensor sweep,¡± the Captain of the Rerek destroyer Crimson Spear replied.

    The Crimson Spear activated its long-range sensor array to see a small battered Lacertine drop ship moving toward the Rerek squad. A few seconds later, it was followed by two larger and much more dangerous Havokium battle cruisers.

    All Rereks considered themselves to be superior to other races in the universe, answering only to the Universal Council. Captain Omar had been assigned this mission because he had drunkenly insulted a high-ranking home-world politician''s son during his last shore leave. It wasn¡¯t enough to have a destroyer captain discharged from duty, but it was enough to ensure he never saw meaningful combat again. He assumed this mission would be filled with the tediousness expected of a guard squadron. The Rerek fleet would soon arrive and relieve him of his tedium so he could return to his home system and spend the remainder of his career doing inner system patrol runs or other meaningless tasks. The appearance of a lone Lacertine drop ship that was seemingly fleeing two Havokium battle cruisers was intriguing, and for the first time this mission, Captain Omar felt the excitement that came with the possibility of glorious battle.

    ¡°Move our battle cruisers to intercept. Order the frigates to defensive positions around the Spear,¡± Captain Omar barked as the bridge came to life.

    ¡°Aye, Captain. Battle cruisers moving to intercept. Frigates will take a position one-quarter light second from the Spear on the port and starboard sides,¡± the first officer confirmed.

    ¡°I want those battle cruisers destroyed!¡± Omar shouted as he slammed his fist into the console of his chair. Nothing could be done about his shameful position in the military, but destroying two Havokium battle cruisers was a good start. The rebellion had been active over the last few years but always managed to stay one step ahead of the Universal Council. Omar would use this victory to claw his way back to good standing and allow nothing to stand in his way.

    The Rerek cruisers moved to intercept the Havokium ships. As they closed the Havokium ships fired rail guns and missiles before turning and burning away from the Rerek ships.

    ¡°Do not let them escape!¡± Omar shouted, pounding his fist once again.

    The Havokium ships quickly jumped away before the Rerek cruisers could return fire. They had taken no damage, so they used the gamma wake of the Havokium wormholes to continue their pursuit. Once the cruisers jumped away, Captain Omar ordered a sensor sweep of the Lacertine drop ship. The ship seemed to be completely powered down, and the sensor sweep confirmed that the ship was cold, not even having active life support systems.

    ¡°Bring the spear around and prepare to intercept that drop ship. If it was valuable enough for two Havokium ships to risk a blind jump pursuit, then it must be retrieved,¡± Omar said.

    ¡°Aye, Captain. Adjusting course and speed to intercept the drop ship now. ETA six minutes,¡± the pilot responded from his station.

    ¡°Captain, I feel I must inform you that this could be some sort of trap. We know that the rebels have been active in this system and can assume they were responsible for the destruction of the Lacertine squad,¡± The first officer said from her chair to the right of Captain Omar.

    ¡°Your trepidation will be the bottleneck of your career, XO. One must seize opportunities as they come and cannot let fear overcome the chance at glory!¡± Omar put one finger in the air to emphasize his sage words of wisdom. After all, what kind of captain didn¡¯t take advantage of an opportunity to mentor his crew?

    The Spear aligned course and speed to that of the dead drop ship as it spun 180 degrees to align its rear loading bay with the drop ship. Two magnetic micro-tethers were released and guided to the drop ship¡¯s hull, attaching the drop ship and starting the towing and retrieval process.

    ¡°XO, you have the bridge. I will be heading to Cargo Bay 1 to inspect our prize. Ensure that shields are restored immediately after the drop ship is loaded, understood?¡± Omar said before entering the grav lift and leaving the bridge.

    ¡°Understood, Captain,¡± the XO confirmed before taking the captain¡¯s chair.

    Captain Omar¡¯s day was turning in his favor. One mystery drop ship and the possibility of destroying two rebel cruisers. If the drop ship held anything remotely valuable, it might be enough for him to regain his position within the active fleet. If he were to report the destruction of two rebel cruisers as well¡­ well, that might just mean a promotion. Yes, this was turning out to be a good day after all.

    Omar approached the cold, dead dropship with two security officers flanking him. The ship had been scanned for life signs and showed none; there was no need for this extra security, he thought to himself. Two ship techs were wielding tools as sparks fell to the ground around the rear hatch of the drop ship. Omar shifted his feet nervously. He could feel that this ship held some secret, some treasure, and he was ready to discover exactly what that secret was.

    The rear door of the drop ship crashed to the deck with a metallic clang. Omar waved his hands to clear the acrid welding smoke from his eyes before stepping into the drop ship. Omar felt his heart drop as he peered into the ship to see nothing.

    ¡°Damn the Lacertines! Nothing of value in this ship,¡± Omar grumbled. Oh well, there was still the possibility of destroying two Havokium cruisers, the day could be salvaged.

    As Omar turned to leave, he heard a small rattling sound from the ship''s cockpit. He turned to see a small maintenance bot roll out into the center aisle. In response, Omar raised a curious eyebrow.

    ¡°One worthless maintenance bot?¡± Omar grumbled. The bot skittered closer as a hatch on its top opened. A tiny fist slowly began to rise from the top of the maintenance bot. Omar, now curious, stopped to watch the bot as his two security guards tensed and placed their fingers on the triggers of their plasma rifles.

    ¡°Oh, calm yourselves, men. If there were any lethal threats, the scans would have caught them. Let''s see what this little bot has for us.¡± Omar said, waving his hand to let the men know to lower their weapons.

    The bot spun in circles as a merry tune played from its speakers. It rolled closer to Omar before stopping a few feet away.

    ¡°What a ridiculous little bot. Have someone take this thing to the incinerator and eject this drop ship,¡± Omar said as he turned away.

    The bot whistled loudly, getting Omar¡¯s attention once again. Omar turned to see the fist now fully risen. He knelt to inspect it more closely. One of the fingers on the fist moved slowly until it was fully extended.

    ¡°What does it mean?¡± Omar asked his guards. ¡°The thing has raised its middle finger. Is it trying to communicate?

    The Bloodhound appeared, exploding in a flurry of gamma radiation directly in line with the still-open cargo bay door as alarms blared throughout the exposed Rerek destroyer.

    Omar stumbled to the ground at the sight of the ship appearing out of seemingly nowhere. This day would not be good after all.

 Book 2. Chapter 39. Bad Girls get punished

    Chapter 39. Bad girls get punished

    Captain Omar didn¡¯t understand why the small maintenance bot showed a tiny fist with the middle finger up. Omar picked himself up from the ground and opened his mouth to shout the order to raise shields and begin defensive maneuvers¡­ he never got the chance. The ship''s cargo bay rocked as the had on top of the maintenance bot shifted from a middle finger salute to an actual salute aimed at the Bloodhound and his commanding officer, Natasha. Flames and debris blasted out into the void of empty space, no matter how the Bloodhound turned and burned, disappearing again into a jump hole before the two Rerek support ships could move to intercept.

    There was Chaos on the bridge of the Crimson Spear. The first officer rushed to take command of the ship. Her goal was to assess the damage and understand precisely what had just happened. Her first thought was that the mystery ship had fired on the Spear, taking advantage of their shields being lowered to tow in the dead Lacertine drop ship. It must have been a trap; there was no other explanation. How could Captain Omar have been so foolish? She would not make the same mistake.

    ¡°I am taking command of the Spear; Captain Omar has been incapacitated¡ªall personnel to battle stations. Prepare for combat,¡± XO Alura Almion announced on the ship wide com channel.

    There was chaotic action throughout the ship. The crew felt the explosion, and if they didn¡¯t, they no doubt heard the ringing alarms and saw the lights flashing throughout the common areas and throughways of the large destroyer. They had been attacked; this would not stand.

    ¡°Captain Almion, what are your orders for the frigates? They are waiting,¡± a voice from the Communications station asked.

    Almion gathered herself. She had been trained for this; she was ready for this responsibility. Her vengeance would be thorough; the prestige would be glorious. ¡°Bring the frigates to our port and starboard sides. Attack formation, prepare to fire on the planet.¡±

    ¡°Aye, Captain,¡± The comms officer replied as he began forwarding commands to the two frigates.

    ¡°Any word from our two cruisers?¡± Almion asked.

    ¡°No, Captain. Thirty-six seconds after they jumped to pursue the enemy vessel, we lost signal. We aren¡¯t sure if it is a communications issue or something else. We are continuing to evaluate the issue,¡± the comms officer replied.

    ¡°Keep me posted. For now, It is time to eliminate the need for our squad to be stationed near this backwater planet. Target the human settlements with extreme prejudice¡ªMaser cannons for the smaller settlements and railgun darts for the larger, more populated areas. We have no reason to be here if the Lacertines livestock is eliminated¡­ Fire at will!¡± Almion ordered as the comms officer relayed the order to the two frigates.

    Cannons flared to life as the blue beams shot toward the planet''s surface. Rail darts were fired at will as Almion smugly sat in the captain¡¯s chair, watching the fallout of her first order as Captain of the Spear.

    ¡°Pardon me, my dear,¡± A voice crackled over the bridge comm.

    Captain Almion looked at her comms officer who raised his hands in confusion.

    ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t hear me, I said pardon me dear,¡± The voice repeated.

    ¡°This is a military vessel of the Rerek Empire. You should know that jumping a military comms channel is a crime punishable by death. My crew is already tracing your signal, and you will be dealt with accordingly.¡± Almion sneered.

    ¡°My my, I do like a strong woman. The red skin isn¡¯t really my thing, but I do bet you are something in the sack. Pleasantries aside, I am Natasha of the human vessel¡­Bloodhound,¡± Natasha said.

    Almions eyes went wide. She had heard of the Bloodhound; everyone had heard of the Bloodhound. The ship was thought lost when the Coeus pocket dimension was purposely imploded. That act of terrorism cost countless universal citizens their lives, not to mention members of the Universal Council. There were even members of the Rerek royal family killed. Luckily, the Emperor and his family were not in attendance. That was over three years ago; nobody had seen or heard from the ship since then. How was it possible? This had to be a trick.

    ¡°The Bloodhound? That isn¡¯t possible. I¡¯m not sure what game you are playing, obviously you are part of the rebellion and will be dealt with accordingly.¡± Almion said.

    ¡°Oh, quite the temper on you. I must say it fits nicely with the skin and the cute little horns. I didn¡¯t think this conversation would turn me on, but you are pushing all the right buttons. Enough jokes, I am Natasha. I am the ship AI responsible for the Bloodhound. I was meant to perform orbital defense until you red-skinned bastards showed up and decided to stick around. That just won¡¯t do, though; I really have things I need to do, so you will all be leaving.¡± Natasha said.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Leaving? Hah! Natasha of the Bloodhound, when I have completed my current task, I will turn the full force of my destroyer and squad in your direction. I will find you, and I will end you. Comms cut audio,¡± Almion ordered. She was slightly shaken and annoyed at the unwelcome audio feed, but it could be dealt with later. Her ships were more than capable of handling a lone ship, no matter how famous. They had recovered from the explosion in the cargo bay, and shields were operating with maximum efficiency according to the display on the arm of her chair.

    ¡°Captain, we have a problem,¡± the weapons control officer stated from his station, ¡°Our targeting solutions are wrong¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, wrong?!¡± Almion asked.

    ¡°The computer accepted our coordinates, but the weapons are firing on different locations.¡± The weapons control officer replied, ¡°I am locked out of the system, Captain.¡±

    ¡°How is this possible? What do you mean locked out?¡± Almion growled, standing from her chair.

    ¡°I cannot input new coordinates or stop the weapons from firing. My screens simply show a video of a human woman in black undergarments. She is wagging her finger and winking¡­Captain,¡± The weapons control officer said in confusion.

    ¡°Do you love it?!¡± Natasha asked, ¡°I generally prefer to be nude, but I decided to keep it PG. Captain Andrew has asked me to¡­ how does he say it? Tone things down ten notches.¡±

    ¡°You will return control of our weapons system, AI!¡± Almion shouted.

    ¡°Aww, you are cute when you''re mad. It¡¯s a shame that we won¡¯t get more time together you sexy little red bitch!¡± Natasha chuckled, ¡°Before you go, I want to tell you what is happening right now, so sit down and listen like a good little girl, okay?¡±

    ¡°You will pay for this AI, I swear on the empire you will¡­.¡± Almion began to choke. She looked around in panic to see the entire bridge crew grasping their throats as they tried, in vain, to breathe. Almion fell to her knees, gasping for breath. She crawled and pulled herself up to her chair with all her remaining strength. As soon as she was sitting, the oxygen returned to the bridge.

    ¡°Bad girls get punished. Do you want to be punished again?¡± Natasha asked. This time, her voice had an eerie edge, and the cheerful flirtiness was gone.

    ¡°I will listen,¡±Almion said.

    ¡°I have control of your vessel''s computer systems. Your cybersecurity is atrocious, by the way. The maintenance bot uploaded a virus when it was on your ship. This virus allowed me to create a kind of back door. I accessed your ship AI if you can even call it that. It is dead now. My Captain is on the surface of that planet, or at least my crew is. You threatened them. At first, I was going to just jump you all far away, but plans have changed. Unfortunately for you, these are your last moments. I want you to know what is happening, though. I overrode your targeting solutions and redirected fire to the Lacertine bases and supply lines. It won¡¯t break them completely, but it will severely cripple them. That is enough for now.

    Almion slowly accessed the messaging feature on her comm station and sent a message to the two frigates.

    Spear computer systems compromised. Jump away.

    ¡°You are a slow learner, aren¡¯t you? All of your ships are mine. I slaved your two frigates. Your two cruisers are floating dead about twenty light years away. I need them. I would love to have your destroyer, but it is still a little too big for me to absorb right now; soon, though.¡± Natasha said menacingly.

    A time counting down from 10 appeared on the bridge display.

    ¡°I will make it quick, which is more than any of you deserve. I''m going to jump you right into this system''s star. A quick jump, a little sweat, then nothing. I do hate that I won''t get to watch you sweat for me, honey, but Captain needs me to stay focused. You understand,¡± Natasha said flirtatiously.

    ¡°Damn you to hell, you wretched computer!¡± Almion shouted as the three ships disappeared in a flash.

    Princess Danae and the Flaming Retribution jumped in just in time to see the three Rerek ships being jumped away. Danae pumped her fist in triumph. This victory for the rebellion would bolster recruitment efforts and ripple throughout the universe for months. The Bloodhound and her crew were not technically part of the rebellion; Danae made the decision to change that as soon as possible. The rebellion needed a face; it needed a symbol, and Andrew Dawes would be that symbol. The Council will burn, the Dawes, the Bloodhound, and her crew will be the fuel¡­ Danae would settle for being the flame.

    ¡°That was fun!¡± Natasha said over the Retributions comms, ¡°After ravaging that destroyer¡¯s systems, I have a much deeper appreciation for the Bloodhound. It is time for a makeover, though, don¡¯t you agree, Princess?¡±

    ¡°I do agree that the boxy, decrepit appearance of your ship is not at all suitable for the weapon it has become. What did you have in mind, Natasha?¡± Danae replied.

    ¡°How long is it going to take to tow those battle cruisers back?¡± Natasha asked.

    ¡°It will take some time to connect the tow lines. The ships are powered down and in pretty rough shape, but their reactors are intact. I would say they should arrive in the next 2-3 hours. Why?¡± Danae asked.

    ¡°I am absolutely famished, dear. It¡¯s time for a good meal to celebrate our victory! Oh, and look at that; it seems Tiffantrimore and the crew are making progress on their own mission. A day to celebrate if only Captain Andrew were here to join us,¡± Natasha said, a pang of regret in her voice.

    ¡°So you were able to weaken the lacertine defenses then?¡± Danae asked.

    ¡°Of course! That and more. I registered direct hits on several weapons depots. I also eliminated 86% of their serum laboratories. The hunger is going to be absolutely menacing for their troops. I also took it upon myself to transmit a tiny bit of malicious code into their bio-generator network. The Lacertine force is now an animal without teeth. Watching them fall apart is going to be positively entertaining, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Natasha asked.

    ¡°I do. I see little value in this planet or its people. I do see value in Captain Dawes feeling safe enough to leave this planet. We made steps in that direction today. I will ping you when the Rerek Cruisers arrive. Good Job, Natasha; this wouldn¡¯t have been possible without you,¡± Danae said as she ended the call. This planet would be free again soon, and Andrew Dawes would be unleashed on the Universal Council.

 Book 2. Chapter 40. Promises

    Chapter 40. Promises

    Tiff and the crew of the Bloodhound were pinned down. The plan was to wait on orbital support. Once the Bloodhound managed to soften the Lacertine base defenses the crew would move in and eliminate the remaining troops. Clearing and disabling this base was important to Tiff, not because of the strategic value the base represented but more importantly it allowed her to gauge the tactics and teamwork of her crew.

    Andrew and Kaj had been gone for weeks now; if the crew was going to become a force capable of pushing back the tide of Lacertine troops that were still occupying the planet, then Tiff and the rest of the crew were going to play a major role in those efforts. Matty had proven himself capable of teaching advanced combat tactics, and his time in Earth¡¯s military proved invaluable. Everyone in the crew, aside from CJ, was more than up to the task. Everyone received abilities during the Reaping Trial, and unless other Humans had returned to the planet since then, they were the only people capable of dismantling the enemy force.

    CJ didn¡¯t have abilities but had really invested himself in the training. He was determined to prove that he was as valuable a member of the crew as anyone. He had even kept his bickering with Elvis to a minimum, even going so far as to allow Elvis to help teach him combat tactics and train with him on hand to hand combat techniques. CJ was proving his value and this operation was an opportunity to drive that point home.

    ¡°Do we have an ETA on that orbital support?¡± Matty said after sliding to cover near Tiff. The Lacertines were laying heavy defensive plasma fire in defense of the base and serum facilities.

    Jax, Loren, and Red had taken up positions near the garden and had managed to drive back the bulk of the Lacertines who were guarding that area, but they had still been unable to gain access to the defended inner area of the base. The barracks and serum facility were located in the center of the small base; that area had been fenced off with ten-foot high electrified chain link and was lined with razor wire to dissuade any humans from trying to gain entry to the Lacertine complex. While the entirety of the base took up several square miles, the majority was abandoned to allow the Lacertines to concentrate defenses on key infrastructure. It was well defended, but Tiff was sure it would fall today.

    Suddenly, blue light pulsed from orbit, followed by a singular rail gun dart to the center of the heavily defended base. Screams filled the air as Lacertine troops exploded out from the impact. Bodies flew into the air from the railgun dart impact as the serum facility, a large industrial warehouse the length of two football fields, exploded, leaving little more than some of the outer support walls standing around a large charred crater.

    ¡°That is the signal! Elvis¡­Hulk Smash!¡± Tiff ordered through the comm.

    ¡°Smash incoming!¡± Elvis replied

    ¡°Everyone, you know you role. It¡¯s go time,¡± Matty said as he turned to see Elvis, covered in flames, screaming like a banshee toward the front of the Lacertine defenses.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± was all anyone had time to say as Elvis exploded through the layers of Lacertine defensive infrastructure. He crashed through the layers of fence and razor wire like it was paper, metal melting around him as he burned like a comet entering the atmosphere. Elvis roared as the flames surrounding his body shifted from burning orange to bright, concentrated blue. He turned toward the corner sniper tower and, with a smile, headbutted the stone foundation repeatedly until the tower crumpled and fell. Lacertine troops ran in panic from the maniacal bio-droid, unsure what to make of this berzerking beast. That was all part of the plan.

    ¡°Matty, Jax, thin them out,¡± Tiff ordered as the two brothers began firing into the crowd of panicked Lacertines, cutting off escape routes and rerouting the chaotic crowd. Loren and Red had set and armed several remote plasma grenades, and as they saw the crowd of Lacertines making their way down the main street of the base seeking escape, they sprung their trap. Explosions rattled in succession as Loren pulled and activated the trigger mechanism. It was like a scene from a post-apocalyptic horror movie as Lacertine soldiers were mangled and burned. Several Lacertines were covered in burning plasma as they continued to try and escape.

    The battle was nearly over. Some 50 Lacertine troops had managed to escape the orbital bombardment, the sniper fire, and the plasma grenades. They ran toward the only remaining vehicles. There weren¡¯t enough, but that didn¡¯t stop them. They ran like scared animals, seeking any means of escape they could find. They had nearly reached the vehicles when CJ stepped out in front of them. The crowd came to a stop as one.

    ¡°Sorry guys,¡± CJ said, waving a hand in the air to get their attention as if the onyx black battle armor he wore and the mini turrets and missile launchers protruding from his back weren¡¯t enough to draw every eye his way.

    ¡°Your lease is up,¡± he shrugged as lasers painted the heads of the Lacertines lining the front of the remaining troops.

    ¡°Do you know what you have done, Human!¡± One Lacertine growled.

    CJ turned his head slowly toward the offending voice. ¡°What have I done? You all came here, killed our people, sold our people, tortured our people, and you have the balls to ask if I know what¡­I¡­ have done? Elvis, let¡¯s give them an example of what happens when they ask stupid questions.¡±

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Elvis was there in a blink, leaving a black trail of charred asphalt in his wake. He pulled the offending Lacertine away from the crowd, spun him around, and had him face his brethren.

    ¡°If the tongue offends¡­rip it out,¡± Elvis growled before reaching around and grabbing the lacertines lower jaw. He flexed his fingers as the Lacertine''s bones crunched. The Lacertine began to scream; it didn¡¯t matter, he was to be an example¡ªan example of the power of the human race when it had been pushed too far. The example needed to be impactful. Elvis grunted and ripped the jaw completely off; he smiled and moved around to the front of his victim.

    ¡°Where are your words, Lizard? SPEAK, SPEAK, SPEAK!¡± Elvis chanted as he mocked the dying Lacertine. He held up the jaw in front of the Lacertines face, tongue hanging limply from the bloody body part, ¡°Please finish me, big pretty man, please,¡± Elvis said with a mocking tone. The lacertine fell to his knees, eyes glazing as he started to pass out from blood loss.

    Tiff knew the example needed to be set. She knew it needed to be brutal, but she had seen enough. It was time to finish this; there was no reason to be cruel. The Lacertines were cruel, but that would not be the way humanity would take back their world. Tiff stepped forward, intending to stop Elvis, but Matty put a hand out to stop her.

    ¡°They need this, XO. We can¡¯t operate like this long term, but they need this right now.¡±

    ¡°We are not animals, Matty. What are we proving if we can''t be better than what we are fighting against?¡± Tiff looked around to see her crew walking toward CJ. She could see the rage in their eyes, the desire for revenge. These people had lost everything and felt they were due this tiny bit of recompense. Tiff sighed and stepped back; she knew that stepping in now would only cause the crew to resent her. This was war, the first real blow humanity could land. The Lacertines deserved what they were getting, but still, something in Tiff knew wasn¡¯t the way.

    Elvis, CJ, and the rest of the crew looked to her as the remaining Lacertine troops remained grouped together. Their faces told a story. They knew this would be their last day. They knew they would never see their homeworld again, hug their family members, or enjoy a meal with those closest to them. The weight of their sins weighed heavy on them now as the realization began to sink in.

    ¡°We surrender!¡± a gravelly lacertine voice shouted from the crowd.

    ¡°Yes, we lay down our arms, have mercy,¡± another voice echoed.

    One Lacertine pushed his way forward through the crowd. He wore the uniform of a senior officer, buttons shining, boots polished. ¡°We will not surrender to a group of lowly, dirty Humans. Do what you must, animal! We will not snivel and cry like the women out of fear. We are Lacertine, we are proud, and we are superior to your species in every way. This day will be avenged, So finish it.¡±

    Tiff nodded her head and turned away. She knew what had to happen but she wouldn¡¯t watch. There was no joy in brutality.

    Elvis smiled and turned to CJ, who activated every weapon at his disposal. Shoulder plasma guns, laser-guided missile launchers, rage, and anger took kinetic form through his battle armor. Elvis became a god of flame and heat, hefting his battle axe and bellowing a battle cry as he leaped into the mass of Lacertines. The Lacertine troops tried to scatter in fear as they panicked, but it was all in vain. Bullets zipped into the mass, and Matty and Jax picked off anybody who ran for it. Red drove the rover up to the crowd as Loren manned the turret, spraying thousands of rounds into the crowd. And CJ stood, a beacon of strength and resolve as ordinance fired in rapid succession from his battle armor.

    It took less than a minute. Less than a minute to end the lives of every remaining Lacertine from the base. Tiff sighed as she heard the cries of victory from her crew. She wished she could have enjoyed this win with them, but all she felt was regret about the way it ended. She knew if the positions were switched, the Lacertines would not have hesitated to wipe them out, but it wasn¡¯t. Her people took victory today, and they proved themselves no better than the animals that enslaved this entire planet. This could not happen again; it would not happen again, Tiff promised herself as she slowly walked back toward the Pup.

    A few minutes later, Matty joined her in the cockpit of the Pup. He could see the weariness in her eyes, the regret in the lines of her face. He knew that she didn¡¯t agree with the way things went, but he also knew war. Matty had been on the losing side of battles, just like everyone else out there. He knew that the crew needed to feel powerful; they needed more than a win¡­ they needed revenge.

    Tiff sighed heavily as Matty sat down, ¡°It can¡¯t be like this¡­We can¡¯t be like this. I won¡¯t be a part of savagery.¡±

    ¡°I understand how you feel, XO. We needed a win today, though. The crew needed to find themselves out there. Isn''t that the whole reason for this op?¡±

    ¡°A win? Do you call that a win?¡± Tiff stood up to face Matty.  Yes, we took the serum facility off-line and put a dent in local food production, but at what cost, Matty? What is the point of saving the human race if they lose their humanity along the way? When the Lacertines are gone from this planet humanity will need allies. The eyes of the universe are going to be watching what happens on this little planet. They will be gauging the value of humanity. No species will align itself with savages, none. This cannot be the way we win.¡±

    ¡°We win however we must, XO. People are going to die, Lacertine and Human alike.  There are no rules in war.¡± Matty replied.

    ¡°Killing in battle is one thing, Matty. Murdering out of some warped idea of revenge is another. We are better than that; we must show the universe that we are better.¡±

    Matty stood up and put a hand on Tiff¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If we must be better, then show us how. Captain Andrew is gone, Kaj is gone, and we need you to lead us. I will follow, my brother will follow, and the rest of the crew will follow. Today is done; right or wrong, it¡¯s done. We will be better in the future; we will earn the faith that you have put in us.¡±

    Matty turned to walk back out of the Pup. The crew were all making their way back to the Evac point. Elvis clapped CJ on the shoulder and shared a laugh about something. Jax walked with Loren and Red, waving toward Matty as he walked down the ramp. The crew was united, and there was no bickering or arguing amongst them. They were a team. Tiff sighed one more time at the realization that Matty was right. They did need this; they needed to feel powerful and united but she promised herself that it wouldn¡¯t happen this way again and she planned to keep that promise.

 Chapter 41. A deal

    Chapter 41. A deal

    Koametes was a large woman. She stood nearly a head taller than me, and her body was lithe and muscular under her thermal body armor. She wore a cloak of grey and white that fluttered as the cold wind blew around her. She had an air of nobility about her, standing tall and straight-backed against the wind. Her right hand rested on the ornate hilt of a sheathed sword while a dagger rested in its own sheath on her left side. She pulled back the hood of her cloak, and her visor disappeared into her helmet, revealing long white hair that had fallen into the locks. She stared into me with burning violet, almond-shaped eyes.

    ¡°I am here to assess the state of this¡­dungeon,¡± she said, raising her hands for emphasis.

    ¡°It¡¯s big and cold, and I am just about ready to go home. Does that help any?¡± I asked with a shrug.

    Koametes¡¯ lips curled back in disgust, ¡°Impudent beast, you stand in the presence of one superior to you. Respect is due.¡±

    ¡°Listen bitch, respect is earned. I didn¡¯t ask to be here. I don¡¯t know who you are, and to be honest, I don¡¯t much care. If you are here to kill me, then let¡¯s just cut to the part where we start cutting parts. Sound good?¡± I said as I parted my arms and summoned my daggers.

    Koametes smiled, ¡°I see why you have managed to make it this far, little human. I will forgive your lack of decorum this time. I have come to offer you a choice. I believe it will benefit you to align yourself with me, but I fear that the decision is yours to make.¡±

    I glanced at Kaj¡¯s projection. Something in his eyes told me this woman was not to be trusted, but I could sense her power. She was a fighter; my sense of danger was practically screaming as I stood in her presence. I was sure she would beat me if we fought here.

    ¡°I will hear your proposal, Administrator,¡± I said plainly.

    ¡°Good, good. We are making progress, and here I thought humans were a species devoid of intellect. It was a pleasant surprise indeed. I will make this simple, human,¡± she started to say.

    ¡°Stop,¡± I said, holding my hand up, ¡°If we are to negotiate in good faith, then I will not be talked down to. My name is Andrew Dawes; you can refer to me as Andrew, Mr. Dawes or Captain Dawes. I will not be demeaned or disrespected. My species have been the playthings of bullies for several years, and I refuse to take lip from some purple-eyed bitch that I have never met. Now, I can continue with what you referred to as impudence, or I can hear you out respectfully¡­Administrator. Respect is reciprocal, and I expect you to put a little on my name the next time you speak. Now, please continue.¡±

    The Administrator¡¯s jaw muscles flexed in anger as her fingers gripped the hilt of her sword, but she gathered herself and nodded before continuing.

    ¡°Captain Dawes, it seems that it may take you several more months to reach the tenth floor of this tower. Your progress is slow, and honestly, your skills are not yet up to the task. One of my colleagues, a man known as the Facilitator, designed this tower as a challenge for anyone who might try to take its prize. You have proven yourself to be a dependable ally to this point, so I decided to step in and offer you a choice to expedite your progress. You must choose this willingly, though, as I cannot force you to accept the assistance,¡± She turned her head to the side and made a clicking noise with her tongue.

    Obviously, this is not the way she wanted this to go. There are rules keeping her in check, something the creator of this dungeon put in place to limit outside interference. The Administrator wants something, I am not sure what it is but I get the sense that I am just a small piece of a larger plan.

    ¡°Why would you do this? I assume you are part of the Coeus collective or some sort of ally to them. Other than providing my armor and ship, the Coeus have given me nothing but headaches. Why help now? I agreed to find this Seed of Power already; if you could just give me a cheat code to get it, wouldn¡¯t you have done it already?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the plans and machinations of the Facilitator fall outside my purview. I am tasked with more tangible issues for my people. I cannot share the reasons behind my intent to help you, but I assure you that I am here to do just that. I intend to help you expedite your mission and get to the tenth floor of this dungeon as quickly as possible,¡± she said.

    ¡°So, you can just jump me straight to the last level, huh? Isn¡¯t the point of this whole tower to help me get stronger and master my abilities? If I skip all the floor, I skip all the gains, it doesn¡¯t seem like something that will help me in the long run. And to be honest¡­you seem shady as hell, not exactly giving me girl-next-door vibes,¡± I said with a shrug.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The Administrator narrowed her eyes at me, ¡°Captain Dawes, you are already ahead of schedule and leveling at an extraordinary pace, all things considered. You have started to unlock some of the advanced features of your battle armor. You have allies assisting you and training you on advanced combat tactics. Several more months in this tower will do little to help you advance further. On the next floor, the time dilation will end, and your time will sync with that of Earth. As of now, you have lost weeks with your crew, and tensions between the Lacertines and humans are starting to escalate. You do not have the luxury of time, do you understand?¡± she asked.

    I looked back at Kaj again. I had put little thought into what was going on back on Earth until now, ¡°My crew is capable, my ship and allies are capable, and they will defend Earth in my absence,¡± I said.

    ¡°They will try, Captain Dawes. Recently, Tiffantrimore Clarivox led an assault on a Lacertine serum production facility to great success. She and the rest of your crew are proving themselves to be capable warriors. Unfortunately, the Bloodhound and a contingent of rebel ships destroyed a squad of Rerek vessels that were in low orbit on an extended patrol and observation mission after the Lacertine blockade was destroyed. Your allies were victorious; congratulations,¡± she said with a mocking, slow clap of her gloved hands.

    ¡°How is this bad news?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because before the Rerek destroyer was sent into the heart of your solar systems star, it sent a distress signal. As we speak, the Rerek empire sends an entire fleet of ships to stamp out the rebel threat. They are aware that the Bloodhound is not destroyed and they know the Flaming Retribution was spotted in the area. They have a chance to cut the head off the rebellion and claim the biggest trophy in the universe¡­ Your ship. A small group of humans and their allies can do nothing to stop them. Time, Captain Dawes is not your ally,¡± The facilitator clasped her hands and smiled, ¡°You need me, Andrew.¡±

    ¡°What will it cost me? Your kind doesn¡¯t give anything for free,¡± I said through clenched teeth.

    ¡°It will mean the tenth floor will be more difficult. It will endanger the lives of your crew, and it will mean that you begin the floor absent allies¡­or armor. I am afraid that you don¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter. Accept my help, or know that your world will burn. You will be stronger, yes. You will no doubt find and take the seed of power but return to a planet of ash and cinder. Corpses will populate your once-thriving planet. Your ship will be destroyed, and your allies will be murdered from orbit. I fear the choice is simple.¡± She said with those cold violet eyes.

    I slumped to my knees as the realization of everything she said hit me. I know this is a trap, I know that this is not how this was supposed to go. I am being used again. I am nothing more than a tool the Coeus have been using since I received this damned armor. All of these truths hammer into me as the wind cuts at my face, but the cold of the wind is nothing compared to the bitter cold of possibility. The possibility that my friends could all be in jeopardy, my world could again be in jeopardy.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said without looking up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? The wind is quite loud; could you repeat that for me¡­Captain Dawes,¡± She said mockingly.

    ¡°I said, fine! I will do it. I need any details you can give me. I need to know what I am walking into. I can¡¯t go in blind. Can you give me anything?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The floor will be large. You will start with no armor and no abilities. Your friends will all be phased to the floor but segregated. You cannot complete the floor and take the seed until you have freed your entire crew. There will be a boss, it will be powerful, and it will take all of you working together to beat it. It can be done, Andrew, but it will be difficult. You will regain abilities as you free your crew. By freeing them, you will regain weapons, abilities, and finally, your armor, but you will start with nothing more than you had before the drop. Your body, your brain, and your ability to survive.¡± She said.

    ¡°What about Sherlock and Kaj?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The Sherlock AI is part of your armor and will remain in stasis until you have regained the armor. Your friend Kaj will be detained just as the rest of your crew is. They will be separated; they will be guarded. It will not be easy, Andrew. It will be possible, though.¡±

    ¡°What about the boss on this floor? I haven¡¯t even completed this level.¡± I said.

    The Facilitator smiled as she turned from me. An enormous Mammoth charged into the valley we occupied. The ancient beast had brown fur that was tipped with ice and snow as it dragged the ground. Its tusks curled from its mouth, at least 10 feet long each. Red eyes burned under shaggy fur. It raised up on its back legs as it got within 100 yards. It slammed down and shattered the earth beneath it. I jumped to my feet, daggers in hand, ready to fight.

    The facilitator turned and looked at me over he shoulder, smiling, ¡°My gift to repay your trust in me, Captain Dawes.¡±

    She raised her hood as her helmet slithered back over her head. She slowly walked toward the Mammoth as it bellowed from its trunk and pawed at the ground. When she was no more than 20 yards away, she stopped and raised her right hand into the air. Purple light gathered on her palm as it morphed into a solid shaft of purple light, with a sharp point on one end. The facilitator hurled the purple spear at the mammoth, and it sunk into the beast''s body right behind its front shoulder. The facilitator turned to walk back toward me. There was no fear, no panic in her pace. Just calm. The mammoth rushed her; she didn¡¯t even turn. She simply raised her right hand again and clenched her fist. The Mammoth exploded in a shower of purple fragments, blood, and meat.

    I stood, mouth agape. I couldn¡¯t believe what I just witnessed. The power, the power, was monstrous. I couldn¡¯t fight this woman; I wouldn¡¯t scratch her, much less kill her. For the first time in a long time, a feeling erupted in me: powerlessness. It was familiar, but more than that, it angered me. I would never be powerless again, and I would never be used again. I would play her game and let her think I was dancing to her tune, but I would find a way to make the Coeus understand that humans are not their playthings.

    I stood, chin high, and addressed the Administrator, ¡°I agree to your request. Now, let''s get on with it.¡±

 Chapter 42. Naked, again.

    Chapter 42. Naked, again.

    The Administrator stood before me, confidence on full display. Elation practically dripped from her pores as she basked in her victory. I still couldn¡¯t put it together though, why was she doing this? I know that I am some piece on the chessboard for the Coeus but am I really so important that a ranking member of their society would need me? Not only need me but go out of her way to meet me and convince me to cut corners in a place that was created specifically to test the participants ability to overcome challenges on a level never seen by a member of the human race?

    My mind was racing but there was no going back now. I turned to see Kaj and Sherlock approaching as I stood back to me feet. Another defeat, another opportunity for the Coeus and the senior powers in the universe to prove just how helpless I really am. This feeling of helplessness was starting to get really old.

    I turned back to the Administrator as Kaj and Sherlock joined me on either side. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of cold winter air. The air rushed into my lungs and I held it until I could feel my lungs burning before slowly exhaling and opening my eyes to see her standing, hand still on the hilt of her sword as if her show of outrageous power wasn¡¯t enough to dissuade me from any attempt at violence.

    ¡°What now?¡± I asked. As much as I wanted to it was impossible for me to hide the defeat in my voice. I was not only being forced to take on unknown challenges and risk my life, but I was also once again being forced to do it in a way that raised the stakes tremendously.

    ¡°Now you say your goodbyes. There will be no time for preparation I¡¯m afraid,¡± The administrator raised her right hand, palm up as she spoke. An arched portal identical to the one I used at the end of the first floor materialized behind her. The center of the arch was filled with the same shimmering obsidian substance and seemed to writhe within the confines of the arch.

    I turned to Kaj, ¡°I will need you, Kaj. Be patient I will find you as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°You must protect yourself, Captain. I have done what I can to prepare you, now it is up to you. Do not make rash decisions, prioritize self-preservation over everything. You speak of patience, now it is time for you to practice patience as well. We will be waiting for you. Do not rush, do not put the mission in jeopardy.¡±

    I looked down as he spoke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about all this, Kaj.¡±

    ¡°Sorry? Why are you sorry, Captain? You are my sworn brother. I chose to bind myself to you, I chose to follow you, I chose to train you. You have honor Andrew Dawes. I will not regret the decisions I made willingly; I will instead embrace them. I have no regret, I hold no malice toward you, you are my leader because I chose you to be my leader. Now, I need you to accept that your friends, your crew, have chosen you to lead them. Your planet and species are depending on you to save them. It is a thankless task that you have been given, but it is a task that must be completed, nonetheless. I will see you on the other side, Captain. Until then,¡± Kaj looks at the Administrator, ¡°Do me a favor and try to wipe the grin off this bitches face.¡±

    With those words Kaj¡¯s projection flickered out. I turned to Sherlock, ¡°Any words of wisdom?¡±

    Sherlock tilts his head and stares at me, ¡°Don¡¯t die. If you die, I die and I¡¯m rather enjoying living. When you find me, I will be ready to help you chop the head off this infernal monster,¡± Sherlock turned to walk away before stopping and looking back over his shoulder, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t dally. I¡¯ve been watching Downton Abby during our downtime and I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve become rather addicted. I would hate to think that I don¡¯t get to finish it.¡±

    Then he was gone as well. Sherlock is an asshole, but he is starting to grow on me. I turned back to the Administrator who was now standing beside the archway.

    ¡°If this is a trick¡­If somehow this backfires I need you to understand something,¡± I turned to stand directly in front of her, looking up into those purple eyes. ¡°I will do everything in my power to kill you. Not today, not tomorrow but there will be a day in the future when you have become fat with power, and you have forgotten about the little human you used to advance your plans. You will be comfortable and warm in your home, maybe surrounded by family. That is when I will come for you. I will steal your joy and burn your comfort before I bury my blade in your beating heart. You will die looking in my eyes and you will know then that you shouldn¡¯t have fucked with Captain Andrew Dawes.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t speak and I don¡¯t give her time. I walk past her standing there in the snow and cutting wind and disappear into the alien archway. The world twists, my stomach churns as a feeling of weightlessness hit me then, right before I vomit all over myself my world goes black.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Pain pulses through my body as a dry moan escapes from my lips. My ears are ringing and tight with pressure. The transition through this portal was several times more intense than the others. I¡¯m lying on the ground body splayed against what feels like cold, wet stone. I try to open my eyes to get a sense of where I am, but they are crusted with mucus and burn as they open. I sit up and try cleaning the gunk from my eyes, rubbing them to try and regain my sense of sight.

    ¡°Ugh¡­what the¡­.ullp,¡± the nausea hits fast and is overwhelming. I get to all fours and begin wretching violently, my stomach emptying its contents on the ground beneath me. On the plus side this causes my eyes to water and helps flush some of the gunk from them allowing me to finally get a glimpse of my surroundings. I am in a city? Not an Earth city, not a dead city with no electricity. This isn¡¯t Earth, it can¡¯t be. The orbs knocked out power to every city on Earth years ago. No, this isn¡¯t Earth I confirm as I look up to see towering building bursting into the dark sky as far as I can see. The buildings are monoliths of engineering the likes I have never seen. Black glass exteriors with beautiful metallic trim, neon accent lighting in all colors.

    Augmented reality advertisements play on the surface of the building directly in front of me. An alien child of a species that I am not familiar with chases a butterfly through a meadow of thigh high green grass, laughing and jumping as he plays. The sun is bright in the sky, and the grass sways in the wind as he runs. When the boy catches the butterfly, the camera zooms in to show his face is now twisted and maniacal, he holds the butterfly in his hand as it slowly flaps its wings and walks along the palm of his hand. Then the boy crushes the butterfly in his palm before holding the dirty hand to his head in a salute.

    ¡°Being a child is no excuse for weakness! All Glory to the universal council!¡± he shouts as the camera zooms out to show that he is now standing in an organized military formation with other children his age, now all dressed in military uniforms and marching in unison across what seems to be some sort of military school campus. The screen goes black and is replaced by bold white text that reads:

    All MUST SERVE!

    GLORY CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED THROUGH STRENGTH!

    STRENGTH CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED BY ERRADICATING WEAKNESS!

    MAY THE COUNCIL BE OUR GUIDE!

    **This message brought to you be the U.C.M.F ¨C Glory to the Council.

    ¡°Wha¡­¡± My mouth froze as my mind tried to consolidate what I had just seen, ¡°What the hell was that?!¡±

    It was obviously pro-council propaganda and it was one of the most disturbing things I¡¯ve ever seen. I stood up and tried to gather my senses and get back to the task of figuring out where I am only to look down and realize that once again I was naked.

    ¡°Oh what the¡­ this is just bullshit!¡± I said as I assumed the all too familiar position of covering my groin with my hands. I look up to see a couple walking down the street. I am not sure what race they are but they look similar to the Administrator with some minor differences. Different colored eyes to start. These people have deep amber eyes that almost glow in the darkness. The male has onyx black hair and the female has crimson red hair, both have designer hairstyles. The male is wearing a charcoal grey suit with a knee length jacket and high collar, his white shirt is open to the bottom of his chest showing distinct intricate tattoos. The woman wears a flowing white dress that seems to almost be glued to her toned figure. Her shoes at first flance seem to be an aggressive stiletto but I am not familiar with the material. With every step a flourish of color bursts through the material of each shoe. The couple stares at me before clasping hands and hurriedly trotting away from me.

    ¡°Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?¡± I reach toward them to ask for help before realizing I have uncovered my private parts on accident. I sigh in frustration and decide to make my way toward a nearby alley to escape curious onlookers. I¡¯m not sure where I am but based on the advanced engineering and appearance of a functioning society, I am sure that there will be some sort of police presence. I cannot afford to alert the local authorities before I can get my bearings. I need to figure out where I am, get access to supplies and start figuring out how to find and free my crew. First things first, find some damn clothes.

    ¡°Yer not from round here are ya, brud,¡± the voice comes from behind me as I back into the dark alley, ¡°Ye canna be floppin round wit yer bits and pieces flappin in the breeze. Whas a meatbag sorts of ye doin bare balled in the streets of the capital?¡± the voice asks as a piece of cold metal pushes into my back between my shoulders.

    ¡°Whoah! I don¡¯t want any trouble!¡± I say as I put my hands up.

    ¡°Cover that cock brud. Nobody wan see yer pipe flappin round, hear? I¡¯m bout to hit ya with a query. If you come correct I¡¯ll nah be likely to give you another hole. Ya say somethin I ain¡¯t wanting to hear, well there aint an easy way to say it. The total number o¡¯ holes on that weird pale body o¡¯ yers goes up by one.¡±

    I return my hands to my groin and breathe slowly, ¡°Ask your question then.¡±

    The cold metal presses deeper into my tender flesh and I wince.

    ¡°Do the Council be your guide?¡± the voice asks.

    The question lands like a ton of bricks. What is the right answer? Why is he asking this? What if I answer wrong? This whole situation is escalating out of my control. I have things to do, I need to save my crew and instead I am getting held up in an alley not 5 minutes after waking up in this city.

    Breath Andrew, just breathe- I think to myself as the old mantra calms me enough to choke out a response.

    ¡°The council can get fucked.¡± I say as I flex every muscle in my body, close my eyes tight against the impending pain and prepare for the results of my answer.

    ¡°Hah,¡± the man gives me a curious chuckle before pressing the metal deeper into my already bruising flesh.

    I hear a click followed by a stinging pain between my shoulders and everything goes black.

 Book 2. Chapter 43. A Name.

    Chapter 43. A Name.

    The world comes flaring back to life as I gasp and take in a deep breath of air. I immediately try to get a sense of my surroundings, my head is pounding, the meat between my shoulders stings and the muscles ache. My hands are restrained behind my back and secured to some sort of pipe I guess from the cold metal feel of it against my skin. The floor is damp on my bare feet. I shake my head trying in vain to shake the cobwebs from my rattled brain. I quickly come to a conclusion¡­the situation is fucked.

    I have lost count of how many times I¡¯ve been knocked unconscious since I received this ¡°gift¡± from the Coeus. I have bounced from one life threatening chaotic event to another, I¡¯ve thrown myself and my crew into fight after fight and it still feels like I am an ant trying to move an elephant. In retrospect I suppose I should have put more thought into this before I so willingly accepted my role. I can imagine if my life was a story the readers would have plenty of comments on how ignorant it was for me to just jump into this without a second thought. Well, those people weren¡¯t faced with a sudden emergence of an advanced alien species threatening the livelihood of an entire planet so it would be easy to second guess my decisions.

    So here I am in a dark room, chained to a pipe with no plan of escape. My crew are all being held captive somewhere in this city I¡¯m guessing and if I don¡¯t manage to free them, I have no hope of completing the task before me. This is the last test, the last floor of this dungeon and I am currently unable to do anything to complete it. I move my legs to see if I am able to stand up, and I smile. I have pants¡­I HAVE PANTS!!! Finally! Something positive. It¡¯s a small victory but a victory nonetheless.

    I hear feet shuffling in the dark then a metallic clank as what I guess is a latch on the door is unlocked. Three men walk in. I can¡¯t make out their faces, the light behind them burns my eyes after being knocked out and waking up in pitch darkness. I squint and lower my head trying to give my eyes the chance to acclimate to the flood of light but it¡¯s no good.

    ¡°This him?¡± a man asks.

    ¡°Yeah, Boss. That¡¯s the one. Naked as a baby Lacertine he was. Brud was hollerin at a couple of civies walkin down the bully. They reckoned he was soft up top and ran on bout their business. I caught him in the alley with his prick out,¡± the second man says. I recognize him as the man from the alley.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is about. I am not from here and not even sure how I got here¡­¡± I say.

    ¡°Pipe down now, boy. Boss gonna get you sorted,¡± The man from the alley says.

    ¡°Boss? Boss of what? Who the hell are yo¡­¡± A large hand slaps me hard across the right side of my face before I can finish. Blood and split trickle down my chin as anger builds from deep inside me. ¡°You might come to regret that.¡±

    ¡°Is that right, little human?¡± a deep voice replies with a menacing chuckle.

    ¡°Easy, Brock. No reason to harm our guest. Apologies¡­I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t seem to catch your name, fellow.¡± A third voice says. The mans words drip with false concern as he speaks.

    ¡°Dawes,¡± I say before spitting blood onto the ground in front of the man.

    ¡°Dawes, huh? Dawes it is nice to meet you. My name is Matthias. It seems you have found yourself in a bit of a predicament. My man Kindo here says you are a bit of an anarchist,¡± Matthias says before squatting down in front of me. He grabs the front of my hair and jerks my head up to look into my eyes.

    ¡°Thas right, Boss. Boy said the Council could get fucked. Man throw words like them round he bound to end up in a big pile of shit ¡®for the sun come up,¡± Kindo says.

    ¡°Dangerous words, Dawes. Dangerous indeed. What would a naked degenerate like you be doing downtown spewing such hateful rhetoric at our glorious Universal Council?¡± Matthias says, still holding my head up by the hair.

    ¡° I look Matthias in the eyes and smile. The blood that had been gathering in my mouth coats my teeth and just as he realizes what is about to happen I spit the entire mouthful of blood in his face. ¡°Any more questions?¡±

    Matthias shoves my head back against the pipe. The impact rattles me causing me to see spots, probably a concussion I think to myself. Matthias stands, takes a handkerchief from the pocket of his stylish blue suit and starts wiping the blood from his face and chest in disgust.

    ¡°Not the start I was hoping for Mr. Dawes,¡± Matthias says, ¡°Not the start I was hoping for at all. Brock, I think our guest needs some rest. See to it that he gets some immediately.¡±

    I turn my head to see the giant walking toward me, he grabs me by my hair and pulls his right fist back to strike. I look him right in what I guess is his eyes since my head is spinning and the flood of light is till obscuring my vision.

    ¡°Fuck. The. Council.¡± I say with a smile before the massive fist makes contact with my temple knocking me out.

    I come to again in darkness. I¡¯m not sure how long it has been this time. My head throbs, my jaw is still tender from the slap as well. As soon as I come to I hear the latch once again. There must be cameras, they are watching me, I think to myself as the three men return once again.

    ¡°Mr. Dawes! You are well rested I presume. Is it safe to say that we are ready for some civilized discourse or do we need to relegate ourselves to our more based tendencies?¡± Matthias asks.

    ¡°He be lookin good and tender, boss. I say the boy bout ready to start yappin,¡± Kindo says.

    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s about time to move you into quarters that you might find more comfortable, wouldn¡¯t you Mr. Dawes?¡± Matthias asks, ¡°All you need to do is tell me who you work for, it¡¯s that easy. I have a room with a nice comfortable bed, I can have Brock here fetch you some warm food and fresh clothes. I just need a name.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°I don¡¯t work for anyone. I told you I don¡¯t even know where I am,¡± I say.

    ¡°Tssk, tssk,¡± Matthias shakes his head, ¡°Come now Mr. Dawes do you honestly expect me to believe that a human mysteriously appeared in the capital and is not affiliated with anyone? I have seen your species before you know? I was recently on holiday and witnessed a glorious display of the ferocity of the human species. The Universal Council sponsored an exclusive event, it really was quite glorious. 100 humans were pitted against each other in a winner takes all tournament style fight to the death!¡± Matthias claps his hands together and smiles, ¡°You humans aren¡¯t the biggest but when faced with death you can be quite ferocious! It was quite a show, a little too much blood and mutilation for my taste but entertaining nonetheless.¡±

    The realization hits me then. I¡¯ve been so caught up in my own battles that I haven¡¯t even considered what has been happening with the people that were shipped off-world. They are being used as entertainment for the citizens within the domain of the Universal Council. The feelings of rage and anger that grow inside me are like nothing I have ever experienced. I say nothing, though.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know, hah! Well isn¡¯t this just wonderful!¡± Matthias says, ¡°Brock do be a dear and bring me a chair. These shoes are expensive but not built for comfort I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    Without a word Brock leaves the room, returning a few seconds later with a chair for Matthias.

    ¡°Thank you, Brock,¡± Matthias reaches out to pat the large man on the shoulder, ¡°Kindo, Lights please.¡±

    Kindo taps some sort of screen attached to his forearm and the room lights up. I immediately take stock of the men. All three men are the same species I saw walking down the boulevard before I retreated into the alley. They are humanoid, resembling humans with a few minor differences. Their eyes are larger than humans, their fingers slightly longer and more bulbous on the tips. Their skin is much paler than any human I¡¯ve ever seen as well. In comparison to Princess Danae and the few other Havokium these men are bigger, thick muscles cover their bodies under their clothes. The ears are also different, where Princess Danaes ears come to slight point at the top, these men have ears that are not large but resemble what I could most closely describe as fin-like. Webbed with three small points facing to the back.

    Kindo is the smallest of the three, standing just around 6 feet tall. The man has brown hair that is thinning on top and greying on the sides. He is dressed in clothes that don¡¯t stand out, brown pants and a striped long sleeve shirt and brown boots. You could easily assume that he bought his clothes on Earth except for the plasma pistol that rests in a shoulder holster and the data pad that is grafted into the bottom of his left forearm.

    Brock on the other hand is huge. He has to be nearly 7 feet tall. One of his arms would dwarf the two of mine put together, his legs are like massive tree trunks. He is dressed in all black with a shaved tattooed head, and also has a plasma pistol in a shoulder holster. On his hip is a knife the size of a short sword in a sheath. He smiles as he sees me eye it, pulling it out to reveal its plasma edged blade. The edge of the blade burns bright white as he holds it close to my face.

    ¡°You like, little human?¡± Brock growls.

    ¡°Now, now Brock. It wouldn¡¯t be proper for you to filet Mr. Dawes he is our guest after all,¡± Matthias says as he places his hand on Brock¡¯s forearm.

    Matthias is the vision of grace and etiquette. He wears another pristine tailored suit that screams money. His hair is jet black and slicked back. He has a thin mustache sitting atop to thin serpentine lips. His eyes are the brightest blue I have ever seen and his face is thin with sharp features. Matthias sits on the chair in front of me, crossing his legs he pulls a small rectangle from his pocket. He pulls what looks like a cigarette from the container and taps it on his knee. ¡°Where are my manners, would you like one?¡± he asks before grabbing another form the container.

    ¡°I don¡¯t smoke cigarettes,¡± I say.

    ¡°Lucky for you this isn¡¯t tobacco then. Our society managed to relegate the negative side effects of the majority of our vices centuries ago Mr. Dawes. One must allow oneself to indulge from time to time. After all, how am I to trust a man that won¡¯t smoke with me?¡±

    Brock puts one in my mouth, ¡°Not cigarette little human. This is Chalo, we call it a stinger,¡± he pulls a lighter from his pocket and lights the stinger. I inhale the smoke and feel it invade my lungs. There is no pain, just a warm relaxing feeling that rushes through my body. My muscles relax and I feel at peace.

    ¡°Good man,¡± Matthias says with a clap, ¡°Now, to business. I have seen no humans that were not enslaved. I find it odd that one would appear out of thin air in the capital no less. I must say Mr. Dawes you are in a bit of trouble here. I am willing to help you, however. I know the enslaved are often forced to perform unsavory tasks for their masters, I understand that this may not be your fault. I do however need a name and I fear that we are running out of time. I could continue to leave you in this room, let you rot, let you waste away but I honestly just don¡¯t have the time. So here is what we are going to do, you are going to give me a name at which point I will move you to a more comfortable room and we can discuss what to do with you moving forward. I am nothing if not a man of my word and I give you my word that no further harm will come to you if you provide me with the name of the person that sent you,¡± Matthias sits back in his chair and takes a long drag of his stinger. His blue eyes drill into me as he waits for a response. ¡°So what do you say Mr. Dawes? Do you have a name for me?¡±

    I look at him trying to guess his angle. If he is loyal to the Council I will most likely be killed as soon as I give them a name. if he is affiliated with the rebellion in any way then that could be my way out of this mess. I don¡¯t have enough information, hell, I don¡¯t have the information he wants. I think for a second, what name could I give him that would appease him? Not Danae, if he is loyal to the Council they will torture me for every scrap of information I have on Danae and the Flaming Retribution. Then it comes to me, I will answer his question with test. If he knows this name it will shift the paradigm of this whole situation.

    ¡°I am running short on time and patience Mr. Dawes. I fear I must have a name, now,¡±

    ¡°Koametes,¡± I say.

    ¡°P¡­pardon me?¡± Matthias shifts uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of the name.

    ¡°I said Koametes sent me,¡± I say.

    ¡°Brock, unshackle Mr. Dawes immediately. See that his is provided with clothes and accommodations more fitting an honored guest,¡± Matthias stands and claps his hands as he orders the monster of a man around. Matthias bows deeply as I stand, ¡°I apologize for this inconvenience Mr. Dawes. I was not aware the Administrator had and active agent in the capital. I can only ask for your forgiveness and hope that I haven¡¯t delayed your mission. If there is anything you need, anything at all don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±

    Brock moves to unshackle me and stops to look at my forearms, ¡°What is on your arms, little human?¡±

    I stand, toss the stinger on the ground and rub my wrists where the shackles were before turning and looking Brock in the eye, ¡°This? Oh, it¡¯s just a little upgrade I got a while back. Wanna see how they work?¡± Before he can speak, I backhand him across the face, the large man stumbles before catching himself on the pipe I was shackled to. I don¡¯t have my armor, but the Administrator ensured I wouldn¡¯t lose the portion that made up my arms. I also have all the strength from my stat increases so her warning that I would have nothing more that I had before receiving the armor wasn¡¯t completely true.

    I walk over to Brock as he wipes the blood from his chin, ¡°I told you that you would regret hitting me.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 44. Clean yourself up

    Chapter 44. Clean yourself up

    The Facilitator¡¯s machinations were beginning to crumble. This plan was centuries in the making. The odds of finding a suitable candidate and being able to recruit said candidate during the specific conditions needed to initiate the plan for re-emergence were minuscule at best, but he had succeeded. The candidate, Andrew Dawes, had not suspected any outside interference beyond the obvious unexplained appearance of the Havok Bringer class during his initiation. This had been explained away quickly enough by Tiffantrimore Clarivox, an unwitting plant the facilitator had painstakingly groomed through another unwitting third party, the leader of the rebellion, Princess Danae Evelios.

    The first months of the plan had progressed without interruption. Dawes was to take control of the Havok Bringer armor, compete in the dungeon for the right of reaping and make a good showing. The Facilitator would gain his trust along the way by providing Dawes with information and helping him progress in power and advance his abilities. The ship provided was meant to be a means to an end. If, at any point, Dawes became too powerful or suspected that the Coeus collective was not what it seemed, the facilitator would cut his losses and have the ship enact the Prometheus protocol. Dawes would be eliminated, and the armor would be passed on to another candidate more suitable for the cause.

    This is where the Facilitator began to experience certain unexpected circumstances. Firstly, the ship AI had taken on certain unfortunate human tendencies. The AI had been utilized as a last resort after showing a marginal but substantive tendency for erratic behavior. The Facilitator had written these results off as acceptable, though, not fully realizing the potential results of these tendencies in the field. The result? The AI quickly showed an outrageous and unexpected loyalty to Dawes. As for the second part of the failsafe, the armor could not be recalled. The genetic bond was easy enough to break; yes, the results would be fatal for the human, but that was acceptable if the situation devolved to that point. After the Elvis AI was given the means to produce a physical body, the Facilitator hoped to regain control of the ship; unfortunately, Elvis had built and programmed a new AI into the ship¡¯s network that was just as loyal as Elvis. The Elvis AI was operating well outside the bounds of its initial programming and had taken it upon itself to program and integrate an AI into the Havok Bringer armor as well. This AI managed to quarantine all programming related to the Prometheus protocol. Worse yet, the Sherlock AI had exploited a backdoor and was currently sifting through Yottabytes of data that Dawes should never have accessed.

    All of this had been enough to draw the ire of The Authority once already. The Facilitator had been given directions to continue with the re-emergence protocol, but another kink was forming in his plans. Koametes, better known as the Administrator. Koametes was a staunch opposer of the re-emergence protocol engineered by the Facilitator. Koametes gave voice to her concerns and made a concerted effort to expose the already growing setbacks the Facilitator had experienced. Fortunately for The Facilitator, Koametes forgot herself in the presence of the Authority, causing them to dole out punishment on the spot. This bought time; after millennia of imprisonment, time was now The facilitator''s most valuable commodity.

    Then came the most recent and, by far, most impactful setback. Andrew Dawes was missing. The Facilitator could not locate the human within the confines of the dimensional tower created to act as a test for the human. This was not the only purpose of the tower server, though. As Dawes progressed and cleared individual sections of the tower, he would also unwittingly disable protection protocols that had been put in place thousands of years ago. These protections ensured the Havokium traitors would remain imprisoned within the dimensional prison they themselves had created.

    The clearing of the first floor was monumental. It allowed individuals within the Havokium to travel between artificial dimensions. While this didn¡¯t allow them to return to their original dimension, it allowed certain freedoms they had not experienced since their imprisonment. The Facilitator saw no real value in this new freedom; therefore, he did not report it to The Authority, wanting to avoid hours of questioning and having little actionable information to rely on.

    The question that haunted him now was how. How did Dawes disappear? He was well on his way to clearing the second floor, which would weaken the restrictions on the Havokium even more. The last footage of Dawes showed him and his allies setting off to eliminate the floor boss. As they approached the valley where the beast was to be stationed, the feed cut. Once restored, Dawes and his allies were nowhere to be found.

    This would need to be reported to the Authority, but the fallout will be devastating to the Facilitator''s plan or, worse yet, cost him his life. Still, the question of how could not be answered. The human did not yet possess the knowledge or ability to traverse dimensional membranes. That technology was still only accessible by the Havokium. It is possible that Dawes will gain the ability, but not while he is still in the Planetary phase of his advancement. It was simply impossible that he did this on his own.

    The facilitator Slammed a fist on his desk at the realization. Only one person had access to real time information and updates on the activity of Dawes. Only one person wanted to see the Facilitator fail, and only one person would have been able to access the tower dimension unseen¡­ Koametes. The Facilitator grasped the bottom of his desk, wood breaking, and splintering under the pressure of his anger-fueled grip. With a roar, he throws the desk across his quarters and stands, panting as the now-destroyed piece of furniture falls to the floor.

    An hour later, The Facilitator receives a priority summons from the Authority.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Karlis el Aetos,

    Your presence is demanded for a priority audience with the Authority immediately. Ensure all current tasks are monitored and completed by aids and project Staff. Failure to appear within the hour will result in a warrant and proclamation of treason.

    The Facilitator growls with contempt. The audacity to use his surname on a summons is offensive. His station and his title were earned through centuries of struggle. He had proven loyal to the cause and found this summons cold and sterile.

    Karlis dismissed the summons with a swipe of his hand. The digital message disappeared from his system interface in a flash. Karlis stands, straightens his robes and makes his way to the lift.

    If this is my end, I will meet it with the dignity of my station¡­ Karlis thinks to himself as he enters the lift to discover his fate.

    Karlis enters the Authority¡¯s chamber. To his surprise, he sees the Administrator standing straight back and proud. He pushes the rising anger down and progresses toward the Authority with feigned humility.

    ¡°Authority,¡± Karlis bows deeply, not daring to make eye contact with the authority until he is acknowledged.

    ¡°Facilitator, we are afraid that we are deeply troubled by the news that has just been delivered to us by the Administrator. While we are aware that the Administrator has intermittently suffered from a lack of respect and lapses in decorum, this latest report, if true, is shocking,¡± the authority says, the multiple voices overlapping and speaking as one.

    Karlis trembles with anger as he replies through clenched teeth, ¡°Authority, I cannot speak to the report you received from the Administrator. I can, to my utter disappointment, confirm there has been a rather troubling development regarding the human candidate.¡±

    ¡°Speak, Facilitator,¡± The Authority says from their pulpit of power some ten feet above the two audience members.

    Karlis gathers himself and braces to deliver the news, ¡°The human cannot be located within the tower dimension. I am unable to fully explain this as the human does not possess the knowledge or power to pierce the dimensional membrane. I can assure you that my team is currently investigating this anomaly.¡±

    The authority hisses with contempt, ¡°Disappointment? Investigating? I hear these words fall from your mouth like vomit from a drunkard Facilitator. Quite a disappointment you are becoming. You have been given power and autonomy. You have been tasked with the re-emergence and uprising of our glorious peoples. Under the weight of this monumental task, you come to me with reports of disappointment and investigations. At the same time, a mere human has managed to escape a dimension that you yourself created. A dimension that we were assured was not only inescapable but one that would engineer the keys needed to emerge from this infernal prison.¡±

    Power explodes from the Authority''s body in waves. The air around it shimmers and shakes like heat from the desert sand. Their robes flap and rise as the monstrous power emanates from their body. The visage of power disappears as a single clawed finger shoots out in front of the Authority. Pain becomes Karnis¡¯s world, darkness consumes his vision and his body goes limp but is not allowed to fall to the ground.

    ¡°You have failed us, Karnisss.¡± The Authority hisses, ¡°You have proven unworthy of the task and the honor your title has provided you. The Administrator has provided us with the whereabouts of the Human; the Administrator has given us the information that your team is still¡­investigating. You will not fail us again, Karnis! We hereby strip you of all titles; we revoke your powers, dishonor your name, and we strip you of position. Death, however, will not find you today, Karnis.¡±

    Karnis is lowered to the ground, his vision returning; he reaches up to his face to feel warm blood flowing from every orifice.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Karnis rasps from his knees.

    ¡°I found your human,¡± The words are cold and confident as the Administrator turns to face Karnis with a look of profound pity.

    ¡°What do you mean? How¡­where?¡± Karnis says.

    ¡°He is in Bouleterion as we speak. Would you care to explain how the human that is the key to our re-emergence is currently in the Council¡¯s capital city, Karnis?¡± Koametes grins with contempt.

    ¡°You¡­you did this, you deceitful dog! Authority, you must see that Koametes,¡± Karnis choked on his words as he grasped at his throat.

    ¡°You will address your betters by their titles, Karnis. I shall not warn you again,¡± The Authority says coldly.

    Koametes addresses The Authority, turning away from the disgraced Karnis, ¡°Authority, the human has been located with the capital. Our sources say an unknown assailant abducted him and has been taken to a secured location that has been known to house rebel sympathizers. Although the human was not meant to be in the capital until the tower was cleared, all is not lost. I believe the seed of power can still be located and activated as it is, unbeknownst to the Council being housed within the Library of lost ages. The human will need to continue to progress as he is incapable of breaching the library''s defenses on his own. I have taken the liberty of providing him with assets that will be of assistance, assuming he can liberate them and rally them to his cause. Karnis¡¯ shame shall be his alone Authority. Our people will survive his failures.¡±

    The Authority claps his hand once, ¡°Well done, Administrator. You have proven to be resilient and forward-thinking. I will temporarily grant you an absorption of power. You will lead the efforts to bring the re-emergence to fruition. We are depending on you.¡± The Authority turns their heads to Karnis in disgust. We trust you understand the consequences of failure.¡±

    Koametes turns her head to glare at Karnis, now a shadow of himself, ¡°Failure is for the weak, I will not repeat the failures of a flawed leader.¡±

    ¡°Karnis, you will be given an opportunity to prove your value. One thin thread of hope for you to pull. It is my understanding that individuals can, with great effort, traverse this infernal dimensional membrane. You will be sent to Bouleterion. You will make every effort to retrieve the Havok Bringer armor, intact. You will then assume the task of activating the Seed of Power. Do this, and you may yet regain your honor. Fail, and I will need to do nothing because the human will have killed you himself.¡± The Authority says before their throne slides away, and they disappear into their secretive chambers.

    ¡°Good luck, Karnis. I¡¯m afraid you will need it. The human seems to have been given a chance to assemble his entire crew to help him with his task. It won¡¯t be easy to separate him from that armor. " Koametes throws a small handkerchief at Karniss as he shakes and bleeds on the ground. ¡°Clean yourself up and remove yourself from this chamber,¡± she says as she turns and leaves.

 Book 2. Chapter 45 - Home sweet Home.

    Michael took a deep breath as the beat-up UTV turned onto Padgett Road. This road was home, and at the end was Dawes Hill. Michael knew that he would have problems to deal with immediately, Specifically Kinthragor. The large nightmare of an alien had been an unexpected ally to start the journey, and by the end of the journey, Michael believed that he had a tenuous friendship brewing. Kinthragor was strange, physically and culturally. Michael knew that introducing his friend to the community of bedraggled humans he called family would take some explaining. That was okay, Kinny had proven himself to be loyal, he had proven that he could see past the vendetta and lust for revenge that brought him to Earth in the first place.

    "We''re almost there Kinny, you getting nervous?" Michael asked.

    "Nervous? one tiny human does not concern me, why would many?" Kinthragor replied, "I have come to appreciate the passion of your people, Michael. I understand that I may cause humans to fear and the initial reactions will reflect this, but no, I am not nervous."

    "Good. I want you to meet my family, my wife, my kids. I want them to meet the person responsible for bringing their husband and dad back in one piece. I know this isn''t your home, Kinny, but once we get some rest and resupply I swear you will have my help to find a way to get you back to yours," Michael said.

    " The help will be welcomed, Michael. I long to see my planet again. I will tell my family of your honor; I will not let them shame me for failing to exterminate the family of Andrew Dawes." Kinthragor growled.

    The UTV continued down the brown gravel road at a slow pace. The batteries were almost completely dead, the suspension was gone, and the paneling was falling off, but it had done its job. Once back on the hill, the UTV would be parked and stripped for parts. The idea of the trusty UTV being destroyed pained Michael, but he understood the necessity. Having a functioning Lacertine UTV would just paint a target on whatever settlement had it and that kind of trouble wasn''t something anyone wanted.

    As the UTV approached the outskirts of Dawes Hill, Michael could see the commotion. People were out in the pathways and small trails that littered the community. Michael could see his father standing in the center of the village, raising his hands and trying to calm the gathered crowd.

    "I know everyone is concerned, but what are our next steps? They didn''t return after the raid, and their ship''s AI indicates they''re no longer on the planet. I share your concerns about a potential counter-attack from the lizards. However, worrying and complaining here won''t protect us. I need all able-bodied individuals to begin constructing perimeter defenses. We must place pikes around the walls and prepare in case the Lacertines come looking for revenge." Michael Sr. said.

    "What the hell are pikes gonna do against plasma rifles?!" an angry man yelled from the crowd.

    "Do you have a better idea, Dale? We have weapons, we have fighters, and we defended this settlement long before my son and his crew came back. Now, we have to get back to the business of fighting. Everyone needs to get to work; standing around here talking ain''t gonna help us get ready. Get your orders from a council member and get to it." Michael Sr. said.

    A woman turned to see the UTV entering the village as the crowd was gathered, "It''s the Lizards! They came to get us!"

    The crowd erupted in fear. Michael Sr. began shouting orders for the militia to muster as weapons were being handed out to all fighting age citizens. Men and women alike were armed and sent to defensible positions.

    "Wha...what the hell is going on here?" Michael said as the UTV came to a halt.

    "It seems we are not welcome, Michael," Kinthragor responded.

    A bullet pinged off the gravel beside the UTV as Michael flinched and crouched lower into the UTV seat. He held up his hands in surrender and yelled from the UTV, "Hey! it''s me, Michael. Stop shooting at my damn UTV!" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Michael? Is that you?" a woman''s voice said from the wall of the settlement.

    "Yes! Now stop shooting!" Michael replied, "That''s my wife, Natalie; I missed that voice," Michael said to Kinthragor with a smile.

    "It is a pleasant voice; I am happy you are being reunited. That is assuming we aren''t shot before we can enter the settlement," Kinthragor replied.

    A group of three men walked down the pathway out of the settlement. Michael recognized them and exited the UTV to greet them before they were surprised by Kinthragor. "Dad, Jon, Tommy, long time no see,"

    "Son? Hell, I thought they killed you!" Michael Sr. said, walking up and shaking Michael''s hand before pulling him into a bear hug. " Where have you been? What happened?" he asked as Michael shook hands with his brother Jon and brother-in-law Tommy.

    "It is a very long story, Dad. Needless to say, I was captured and transferred halfway across the country. I escaped with the help of my friend. Now, hold on," Michael said, holding his hands out to stop the three men from seeing who else was in the UTV. This friend isn''t from here. I don''t want you all to overreact, okay?"

    "Son," Michael Sr. said, "You have a lot of catching up to do. I think we are okay to meet your friend, it would take a lot to surprise us after the last few weeks with your brother."

    "What brother?" Michael asked.

    "Andrew came back, son. He is gone again, but he brought some friends, and they weren''t exactly from around here either. Now let''s meet the man that helped my boy," Michael Sr. said as he pushed around Michael.

    "Wait, what do you mean Andrew is back? He is dead, how is he back?" Michael asked turning to follow his father.

    "Well, I''m guessing the same way you are back, son. My boys are fighters," Michael Sr. shrugged and walked over to the UTV. "Jesus, you are an interesting-looking fella, aren''t you?" he said as Kinthragor unfolded out of the UTV to tower over him.

    "It is an honor to meet you, Michael Dawes. My name is Kinthragor and I owe my life to your son. I apologize for any inconvenience my presence may cause," Kinthragor said with a bow.

    Michael Sr. reached out, grabbing Kinthragor by the arm and pulling him in for a hug. "Anyone who helped my boy make it home is as good as family. Anything we can do to help you, just let us know. We are just glad you aren''t the damn lizards. Now, get this UTV into one of the barns and out of sight. We have a lot of catching up to do."

    "Everything good, Mr. Dawes?" CJ said as he ran up in his combat armor.

    Michael and Kinthragor both took fighting stances at the unexpected approach of a large figure in full combat armor. "What the hell is that?" Michael said pointing.

    CJ recalled his helmet and stuck his hand out, "I''m CJ, nice to meet you."

    "CJ, who? When did you get to Dawes Hill?" Michael asked.

    "I came with your brother. I am part of the crew of his ship the Bloodhound, Oh, I''m his best friend too. Since everything seems to be under control, I need to talk to you, Mr. Dawes."

    "Can it wait, CJ?" Michael Sr. asked.

    "Not really. Natasha got a line on Andrew and the crew. They are off-planet, way off-planet. She wants to take the Bloodhound and go find them and I need to go with. I just wanted to let you know, that''s all." CJ said.

    Kinthragor perked up at the mention of a ship, "You have a ship, human?"

    "I do, but I don''t know you and the last one of your kind I met tried to kill everyone in our crew, so what''s it to you."

    "I need passage off of this planet," Kinthragor replied.

    "I need a carton of cigarettes and an updated pornhub subscription; seems like we''re both out of luck," CJ replied.

    Michael looked over at Kinthragor and shook his head. "Look, CJ is it?"

    "Yeah, CJ works," CJ replied.

    "I promised Kinny here I would help get him home. Now I know I don''t have any authority but I am useful in a fight and it sounds like you are headed for one. I can vouch for Kinny and would be willing to tag a long if that eases your mind. Any chance you can help us?"

    CJ looked them both up and down for a few seconds, "Mr Dawes, it''s your call," he said.

    "You will need the help CJ, Andrew will likely have gotten himself into another mess. You can trust Michael."

    CJ crossed his arms," I''ll run it up the chain. If Natasha approves You can come. I will give you the night to spend with your family but we are wheels up at first light. Ill give you the final answer then. I do need to be clear, if either of you get in the way, I will not hesitate to have Natasha jettison you out of an airlock. Understand?"

    "Fair enough," Michael replied, holding a hand out for CJ to shake.

    After CJ returned to the settlement, Michael turned to face the treeline with closed eyes and took a deep breath, "Home sweet home."

    He was shaken from his moment of peace by Kinthragor who was standing beside him, heaving in air with ragged mooing sounds, "Ugh, what exactly are you doing?"

    "I assumed you were using your olfactory senses to taste the air since, as you said, it is sweet. I unfortunately fail to taste anything sweet, though."

    Michael slid his hand down his face and shook his head, "This is going to be a long, long trip."

    "

 Book 2 - Chapter 46. I Got Confused.

    Three green dots blinked repeatedly before system messages began flooding in.

    External diagnostic check complete¡­

    Location unknown¡­

    Internal systems check complete¡­

    All systems online¡­

    The world flooded into view as Elvis opened his eyes. Physical pain, a side-effect of the pain receptors installed on his bionic upgrade unit, flared to life all over his body.

    ¡°Aaargh!¡± Elvis screamed in pain and struggled, only to realize he was restrained. Looking down, he could see the carbon composite shackles attached to his wrists and ankles. The shackles had no tethers; instead, they were held in place by gravitational anchors. Elvis strained again, to no effect. The restraints were obviously calibrated to restrain a being of his superior strength.

    ¡°I demand my freedom! Who dares try and restrain a warrior as mighty as Elvis!¡± Elvis shouted.

    The room was dark, the only light emanating from a halo on the ground around Elvis¡¯s body. Squinting and looking into the darkness, Elvis smiled. ¡°A victim¡­¡±

    A man walked forward until he was barely visible in the ambient light of the halo. The man was well dressed, albeit in a a way that showed he was trying hard to be something he wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Tssk, Tssk,¡± The man clicked at Elvis. ¡°I knew we had a new shipment of livestock due in, but this one seems to be of premium stock. How much did this one set us back?¡± The man turned to address someone behind him.

    A younger-looking female walked forward holding an electronic tablet, looking back and forth nervously between Elvis and the screen. ¡°We have no record of purchase for this one, sir. I was informed that this subject was a gift from an anonymous donor. No doubt a fan of your tournaments.¡±

    ¡°I do love free stuff. Have we completed a physical assessment?¡± The man asked, grabbing some sort of cigarette from an expensive-looking shiny metal case and raising it to his lips. ¡°Please have my assistant bring a fresh box of stingers to my office; I am afraid this is my last one.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I just sent her a message, they will be waiting when you return to your office. As for him, he seems to be a bio-droid. His class reads as Bio-droid Berserker. I have found no records of such a class in the Council¡¯s class compendium. More tests will be required to ensure he is able to perform in the arena. I have requested extensive physical testing. I also took the liberty of setting up practice matches. If he shows promise, we could assign him to the team representing the Council. It never hurts to weigh the odds in the home team¡¯s favor,¡± The young woman said without looking up from her tablet.

    ¡°I love the idea! You are learning Korin!¡± The man said.

    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Korin nodded nervously. ¡°I am merely trying to be proactive and do my best to ensure your satisfaction.¡±

    ¡°Elvis will not fight for Council! Elvis will destroy the Council!¡± Elvis shouted, struggling against his restraints once again.¡±

    ¡°Oooh, I do love his energy,¡± The man turned and smiled at Korin menacingly. ¡°Elvis, is it? How about this, Elvis? If you are a good boy and do what you are told, I will allow you to pick who you fight for whatever side you choose. I have a new stable of human livestock, and after the last show sold out, we have citizens lined up to see humans in action. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°I do not know how I came to be here. I do not know your name. I do not know where I am. There are many things I do not know,¡± Elvis¡¯s eyes began to glow as the air around his head shimmered from the heat. ¡°There is one thing Elvis knows without a doubt, though¡­ would you like to know what that one thing is? Elvis leaned his head forward and whispered.

    ¡°How entertaining!¡± The man clapped and took a drag of his stinger, flicking it away before leaning forward and blowing the pungent smoke in Elvis¡¯s face. ¡°Entertain me, dog; what is the thing you know?¡±

    Elvis smiled and looked up at the man. ¡°I know these restraints are not strong enough to hold the mighty Elvis.¡±

    Elvis swung his head forward, using his entire body. The gravitic restraints wined as Elvis bashed his head into the man¡¯s face. Blue blood shot out of the man¡¯s face, spattering Elvis and staining the man¡¯s finely tailored clothes. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°The animal broke my fucking nose!¡± The man said, falling to the ground and grasping at his mangled nose.

    ¡°You lost something, puny man!¡± Elvis laughed maniacally as the man realized he was missing a front tooth, only to immediately realize it was stuck in Elvis¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Put that animal with the filthy human livestock! Make sure he feels the full might of the council team in his first match. I want a 10,000 credit bounty on his head, and I will double it if he dies slow!¡± The man struggled to get to his feet as he rushed away from Elvis, who was still laughing.

    ¡°ELVIS IS MIGHTY! ELVIS IS WARRIOR! ELVIS HAS COME TO KILL!!!!¡± Elvis shouted into the darkness.

    A few hours later, Elvis was transferred to a holding facility that was, to his surprise, full of human captives. The human captives were, in a bad way, obviously malnourished and wearing little more than rags. Elvis was shocked by something resembling a large cattle prod, and upon losing strength in his legs, he was violently thrown into the holding cell.

    After gathering his composure, he sat up to take stock of his surroundings. He was disgusted at what he saw. The humans were a mix of men, women, and children. The oldest looked to be in his seventies, while the youngest was a girl of no more than eight years old. Elvis watched as a man nervously approached.

    ¡°Let me help you up, young buck,¡± The man said, grabbing Elvis under his arms and helping him to his feet. ¡°My name is Grant. It¡¯s nice to meet you,¡± the man said, holding out his hand to shake.

    ¡°I am called Elvis. My Captain allowed me to choose this name myself, so I warn you not to mock it,¡± Elvis warned with a glare.

    ¡°Calm down, fella,¡± Grant said with a calming smile, holding his hands up defensively. ¡°Things are already hard enough; nobody here is trying to make new enemies. Why don¡¯t you tell us your story? How did you get here? Where ya from?¡±

    ¡°I am not sure. I was on Earth helping destroy the Lacertine weaklings. My crew had just finished a successful operation. We were returning to our base of operations when everything went dark. When I opened my eyes, I was in this place being held captive. A man in fancy clothes approached me, and I relieved him of some of his blood as well as a tooth. I was then thrown in here with you. That is all I know.¡± Elvis shrugged and looked around the room. ¡°Where are your warriors? I know many humans, and they are mighty warriors, but I do not see any here.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say we have many warriors here. Mostly old men, women, and children. There were twice as many, some good fighters, too, but they were taken for the first round of fights. I assumed we were gonna be sent away or used for labor.¡± The man looked down and shook his head solemnly. ¡°Seems that isn¡¯t the case. One of the guards let it slip that we would be fighting in the next round. Gonna be out in that arena tomorrow if nothing changes.¡±

    ¡°Did you say fight? Elvis loves to fight. I will fight for all of you. Can you inform the guards?¡± Elvis asked excitedly.

    ¡°I can tell ¡®em, but I¡¯m not sure they will listen. I don¡¯t think you understand our situation here. We are expendable. We were only brought here to die, you understand?¡± Grant asked.

    ¡°You will not die, Grant. My captain is your mightiest champion. I swore to fight with him to save humanity. I will defend you all. Elvis is mighty!¡± Elvis said, the excitement of a potential fight energizing him.

    ¡°Hey, you lot calm down and get back to your corners. You are gonna need all of your energy for the fight tomorrow, and I would hate to have to beat it out of you!¡± A large guard dressed in black fatigues said, banging his boomstick against the wall. Elvis turned and smiled at the guard.

    ¡°Well, looky here! We have a volunteer that needs to be softened up!¡± The guard said, smacking the boomstick against his palm. ¡°I get that you¡¯re new here, dog, but everyone has to learn the way of things. Nothing personal, but you are gonna have to be brought down a few pegs.¡±

    ¡°I learned a word for people like you from a friend. He is a friend now but was not always a friend. Now that we are separated, I see that he is better man that you. I never thought I would say this, but Elvis will miss him.¡± Elvis said somberly.

    ¡°Oh yeah? What was his name? I just call you all dog; makes things easier for me,¡± the guard said.

    Elvis looked up, eyes glowing menacingly once again. ¡°His name is Craig Jennings, and he is my friend. You though, you are just bitch!¡± Elvis lunged forward in a flash, a trail of flames in his wake as he blitzed the guard. He abruptly stopped immediately in front of the guard, the hot air rushing past the guard, blowing his uniform. ¡°If you call Elvis a dog one more time¡­I will make you eat that boomstick. Understand?¡±

    ¡°The guard scowled and drew back his boomstick, pressing the button and allowing it to flare to life with electricity. ¡°Time to learn your lesson¡­DOG!¡± He swung down toward Elvis¡¯s chest. Elvis simply stepped to the left and, ducking under the blow and wrapped his right arm across the guard¡¯s body. Placing his right foot behind the guard¡¯s legs, Elvis pushed, relieving the guard of his upright stance. The guard spun in the air, now falling toward the ground headfirst, a look of panic on his face. The guard dropped the boomstick to move his hands into a defensive position, trying to guard his face from making contact with the dirty concrete floor. Faster than could be seen with the natural non-upgraded eye, Elvis snatched the boomstick out of the air, and with it still activated, he swung it down with both hands, burying it to the hilt inside the guard¡¯s anal cavity, frying him from the inside out. The guard screamed and floundered on the ground before being fully cooked by the still-active boomstick.

    Children screamed, and a woman standing 15 feet from the guard doubled over and vomited. Alarms and flashing lights began to blare as a large contingent of heavily armed and armored guards rushed into the large holding cell. Sprinklers activated, and gas was shot into the room. Elvis went to his knees and put his hands behind his head with a smile. Grant, now standing beside Elvis, mimicked his behavior and went to his knees, hands behind his head.

    ¡°I thought you said you were gonna make him eat that boomstick?¡± Grant said.

    ¡°He was talking out of his ass so much that Elvis got confused. Honest mistake.¡± Elvis shrugged and smiled.

    Grant smiled, ¡°I think we are gonna get along just fine, big fella, just fine.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 46 - Its not Personal.

    Jax, Matty, and Loren hit the wet pavement with a thud as the breath was knocked from their lungs. Still gasping for air Matty rolled to his knees and immediately began scanning his surroundings. Jax was close, still gasping on all fours, Loren was lying on the ground near them on her back, unconscious with vomit on her shirt.

    ¡°What the actual fuck?!¡± Matty gasped. ¡°Where¡­where are we? What happened?¡±

    Jax had made his way over to Loren and rolled her to her side to ensure she didn¡¯t choke on her vomit. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that things just got a lot more dangerous?¡±

    Matty tried his comms while walking over to check on Loren as well. ¡°Does anyone have a good copy? Comms test, does anyone copy?¡± There was no response. It seemed long-range comms were down. Add to that the fact that even local comms were down, as Jax didn¡¯t seem to receive a signal either. ¡°We got no comms, it seems like we aren¡¯t near the Bloodhound; otherwise, our comms would still be functional. Things were already severely FUBAR. I don¡¯t know what is going on, but I will bet dollars to donuts that Cap has something to do with it. We need to get Loren off this street and figure out our next move. This isn¡¯t the first time we have ended up in a shitty situation with no intel.¡±

    The two men each threw one of Loren¡¯s arms around their necks and set out to find a safer and less visible location to lay low until they could get an idea of what kind of situation they were in. After a few minutes of walking, they came to the realization that they were in some sort of major city. There were digital billboards everywhere, with the majority being advertising for various consumer goods, but there was plenty of pro-council propaganda mixed in. The last billboard was splashed across the exterior of a skyscraper that seemed impossibly tall. The gist of the video was to urge citizens to report any suspicious individuals to help ensure that the purity of legacy species stayed intact. The last line confirmed a suspicion that was growing in Matty as they walked.

    The capital city of Katharos protects those who submit. The Council protects the city of Katharos. All Hail the Council.

    ¡°Holy fuck¡­¡± Matty stopped and stood staring at the advertisement. ¡°We are in the capital city. Like the home base of the fucking Galactic Council! This is not good, not good at all; we gotta get off the street like fucking now.¡± Matty pointed at an abandoned building a few hundred yards from where they stood. ¡°That is as good a place as any. Let¡¯s get Loren to safety and see if she improves. I don¡¯t know what happened or how we got here, but if we get seen or run into any sort of police force, I don¡¯t think we come out on top.¡±

    The group approached the abandoned building to see digital placards lining the exterior.

    Notice: This structure is scheduled for demolition. Demolition will commence in 62 cycles. For questions or concerns, please contact your local council representative. The council appreciates your loyalty. All hail the Council.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long a cycle is, but I don¡¯t think we will have any nosey citizens poking around in here any time soon,¡± Matty said as he approached the large front doors of the building. The building was dilapidated and ancient-looking. Matty counted five stories, and the building seemed to be made of something very much like red brick that you would find on Earth. There were multiple windows that were now covered with dark grey plastic coverings, and the door was locked with some sort of flexible metal cable. A biometric lock secured the cable, ensuring no unwanted guests entered the building.

    ¡°Looks good enough, but I don¡¯t see an entry point. This thing is locked up tighter than a catholic girl¡¯s legs on the first date,¡± Jax said, pulling the metal cable to test its strength. ¡°We can still use our abilities if you wanna chance drawing any unwanted attention.

    Matty and Jax had both selected the Interstellar Assasin as their class. Both men had military backgrounds and were proficient in most weapon types as well as hand-to-hand combat. After the Red Moon of Alcara Matty had managed to reach level 27, while Jax was right behind him at level 25, so both were now proficient with their class and available skills and abilities.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make sure we don¡¯t draw any attention if we don¡¯t have to. I can use my Create Explosives ability to deal with that lock. I just need a few minutes to focus since I haven¡¯t really had time to perfect this one yet,¡± Matty said, holding out the palm of his hand and activating the skill. His palm glowed a pale blue as particles from the atmosphere began to swirl quickly before forming a small black bead of putty. ¡°Should do the trick; I just don¡¯t really have a good grasp on the yield yet, so get Loren to a safe distance,¡± Matty said as he took a deep breath and placed the explosive bead on the lock, pressing it flat and shaping it to cover the face of the lock. Stepping back to find cover, Matty nodded at Jax to confirm he was about to trigger the explosive. Jax confirmed with a thumbs up. Matty held up three fingers, then two, then one, before clicking the activate explosive command on his interface. Surprisingly, the explosive activated with a barely audible pop before the lock fell away, white smoke that burned the nostrils wafting up into the night air. Matty exhaled audibly before going over to help Jax get Loren into the building.

    Once inside, Jax got back to checking Loren to see if she was okay. She was breathing normally, and her heart rate was regular, so he made her comfortable, and the two brothers waited for her to come to. After another 15 minutes, Loren awoke with a moan, slightly panicking at the sight of the unfamiliar surroundings. ¡°Ugh,¡± Loren rubbed her temples, trying to ease the pain in her head. ¡°Guys, exactly where are we, and how did we get here?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Matty walked over to give her some water from his camel back. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t exactly have the whole story, Lo. From what we can tell, we are in the Council¡¯s capital city, it¡¯s called Katharos. We have shit as far as ideas on how we got here, though.¡±

    Loren took a long drink from the tube Matty presented her. ¡°Well, do we have any idea why we were sent here? Any idea what we are supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°We have absolutely no ideas. You were out for about 20 minutes after we all got dumped here. We spent the first few minutes just trying to find a safe spot away from prying eyes. We are gonna need to do some recon and hopefully find some people sympathetic to the human cause. I don¡¯t know if Cap is here, but I am willing to bet he plays into this somehow,¡± Matty responded, taking the tube to his camel back and taking a long drink for himself. ¡°We are gonna need to conserve water and any supplies we have. We are on an alien world, and I don¡¯t know if there will be any food compatible with our physiology. Remember how the lizards were turning on each other when they ran out of food? I¡¯ll be damned if that is how we go out. Do you have any rations on you?¡±

    Loren searched her pockets and the small tactical fanny pack she carried on the small of her back. ¡°I have 4 of the protein bars Elvis fabricated for us. I don¡¯t have any water, but if there is life here, I am willing to bet there is water. Food should be our main priority.¡±

    Matty nodded in agreement. ¡°Jax and I both have our four protein bars as well. We are going to need to limit ourselves to one bar per day until we find some food. If we haven¡¯t found any in four days, it is a good bet that we won¡¯t find any. We need to prioritize that as we become more familiar with our new surroundings.¡±

    ¡°Guys! I¡¯m coming back into the room. DO NOT PANIC. I am not alone,¡± Jax shouted from down the hall.

    ¡°SHIT!¡± Matty said as he pulled his sidearm and pressed himself against a large column opposite the entry door. ¡°I told that dumbass to wait until we could all go together, but he just couldn¡¯t wait.¡± Jax flicked his head toward Loren as shemoved to cover. ¡°You have a weapon?¡±

    ¡°I have a plasma pistol, but my class doesn¡¯t supply any weapons like you and Jax,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Just get that pistol ready; larger weapons aren¡¯t gonna help in these tight quarters.¡± Matty looked toward the door and took a deep breath before responding to Jax. ¡°You wanna explain what is going on out there, bro?¡±

    ¡°I ran into a group that already had dibs on this building. They were a few floors up. I tried to explain our situation, but I don¡¯t think they believed me. I don¡¯t know much about them, but they are not fans of the Council. Maybe you can convince them we are on the same side?¡± Jax replied.

    Matty shook his head in frustration, feeling cornered and lacking any good options. ¡°You okay, bro?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yeah, a couple of bruises, but other than that, I¡¯m peachy. Well except for the plasma pistol pressed to my temple. Now would be a good time to come out and talk to our new frie¡­ ugh,¡± Jax stopped talking as someone hit him.

    ¡°You hurt him, and I swear to God that I will make you pay, you bastards!¡± Matty shouted.

    ¡°Come out of the room, and we can discuss things further. If things are as your colleague says, then we have no quarrel. If you fail to comply, none of you will leave this building alive. You have five clicks starting now. 1¡­2¡­3¡­¡± A male voice began counting down.

    Matty stood up, dropping his sidearm and putting both hands in the air. ¡°Okay! Okay! Don¡¯t shoot were coming out.¡±

    Loren followed his lead, coming out from cover with both hands in the air. The unknown group could be heard shuffling closer, but Matty couldn¡¯t see anything due to the bright lights being shined in their eyes. Matty squinted, trying to get a look at his assailants. ¡°We¡¯re coming out, don¡¯t shoot. I am walking toward you; I am unarmed; there is no need to hurt anyone.¡± Matty had no options and defaulted to trying to de-escalate the situation.

    Whap!

    The shock of the blow caught Matty off-guard as he fell to his knees, blood pouring from his broken nose. Two figures closed on him and pinned him to the ground before placing restraints on his wrists and ankles, pulling them together behind his back so he was hogtied. He looked over through watery eyes to see them doing the same to Loren.

    ¡°Hey, hey, calm down. I told you I would bring you to them. The Facilitator said my brother wouldn¡¯t be harmed if I complied, So can everyone calm the fuck down?¡± Jax said, walking up to stand above Matty.

    ¡°Jax? What the fuck did you do? Brother? What did you do?¡± Matty pleaded with Jax, trying to understand the situation, trying to believe that he wasn¡¯t just betrayed by his own little brother.

    Jax looked down at Matty and shook his head. ¡°Matty, proud loyal Matty.¡± Jax knelt beside Matty and patted him on the head. ¡°Brother, you may be okay with surviving, living like animals, answering to a prick who doesn¡¯t deserve the power he was given, but I ain¡¯t. Dawes is no captain. He is no leader! He is just some guy who stumbled into a power he can¡¯t possibly hope to wield.¡± He stood up and walked over to one of the guards who had subdued Matty. ¡°This is power, this is strength. This is the Council in all its glorious might. Dawes is delusional; he is gonna get everyone around him killed. Hell, he already got Claire killed.¡± Jax looked down solemnly, a look of utter disgust on his face. ¡°Did you know me and her were a thing? Nah, you didn¡¯t know. You had your head so far up Dawes¡¯ ass; how could you?¡± Jax knelt back beside Matty, ¡°Earth is done, big bro. You are fighting a war you can¡¯t win for a leader that can¡¯t lead. I hedged my bets, is all. You might hate me, but I made a deal. Not long after we made it back to Earth, I started getting messages from some guy called himself the Facilitator. He said if I worked with him to bring down Dawes, he would guarantee safety and citizenship, for me and you,¡± Jax walked over to Loren who was bound and gagged. ¡°Sorry Lo, it¡¯s not personal but the deal was only for me and Matty,¡± He knealt down and ran a finger along her cheek. ¡°It really is a pity, you don¡¯t deserve this, blame Dawes if you have to blame anyone. I¡¯m just a guy looking for a way out.¡± Loren thrashed and screamed through her gag angrily.

    Matty stood up and walked toward the exit to the building before turning and addressing one of the guards over his shoulder. ¡°Take ¡®em to the holding area. I got an appointment to get some upgrades before my next meeting with good ol Captain Dawes.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 48 - A tenuous alliance.

    I had been in Boutelerien for less than 48 hours now. Once Matthias learned I was connected with Koametes, he bent backward to ensure I was comfortable. I was moved to new quarters, given clothes, and fed. Surprisingly, there was no issue getting food compatible with human physiology. Matthias informed me that their nutritional requirements were uploaded to the Council database as new species were discovered. Many humans were now enslaved, and the nutritional requirements were needed if the masters were expected to see a return on their investment. It made me sick to think about humans being seen as nothing more than cheap labor or entertainment. I would not rest until I made it right. Right now, though, I had to focus on my current predicament.

    Matthias entered my quarters, dressed to the nines as usual. ¡°Mr Dawes, I trust your needs are being seen to?¡±

    I stepped away from the balcony overlooking the city. ¡°Yes. I am comfortable. That is the problem, though, Matthias.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t get your meaning, Mr. Dawes,¡± Matthias responded nervously.

    I walked over and sat in one of the large armchairs near an ornate coffee table. ¡°My planet has been ravaged. My people have been enslaved. My ship and crew¡¯s whereabouts are currently unknown, and here I sit in a plush penthouse, dressed in new clothes, eating good food. Do you not see my issue?¡±

    Matthias sat in the chair opposite my own. ¡°Mr. Dawes, I understand your concerns, bu,¡±

    ¡°NO! You don¡¯t understand my concerns, Matthias. How could you? You are not part of the solution. You and your people are part of the problem,¡± I said, cutting him off and standing abruptly.

    ¡°Please¡­sit down Mr. Dawes. It¡¯s time I explain a bit of my past. Hopefully you will see things differently afterward,¡± Matthias motioned toward my empty chair. ¡°I fear that you misunderstand me, Mr. Dawes. I come from nothing. I know, seeing me now you might assume that I come from wealth. I assure you, I do not. Do you think that your planet was the first to be reaped, Mr Dawes? No, I will give you more credit than that. Countless planets have been reaped before your own. I myself come from one of those planets. Much like you, I managed to find a way to avoid being enslaved, though it was not easy,¡± Matthias reached into the pocket inside his tailored jacket and pulled the ornate stinger case out, opening it and taking a stinger and offering it to me. I grabbed the stinger as he took one out for himself. After lighting the stingers, he continued. ¡°Andrew Dawes, The Havok Bringer himself, in my complex of all places.¡±

    I froze at the realization that he knew more about me than he initially led on. ¡°You¡­you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Matthias laughed and slapped the arm of his chair before taking a long drag from his stinger. ¡°Mr. Dawes, the entire galaxy knows who you are. I admit I had my doubts when you first came to us. I wasn¡¯t sure it was you until I saw your arms. There are, you realize, comprehensive descriptions of you on the net. You are at the top of the Council¡¯s most-wanted list. You are worth quite a lot of credits, Mr. Dawes. If I needed the money, I could have turned you in and retired to a nice resort planet for the rest of my days,¡± Matthias turned his head to look at me, ¡°Lucky for you, I don¡¯t need the money. No, Mr. Dawes, I happen to agree with your earlier sentiment¡­ Fuck the Council. You were able to strike a blow to the Council the likes of which haven¡¯t been seen in centuries. You are alive because our views align, at least in regards to the Council. I do wonder if I could see it, though, this armor of yours.¡±

    ¡°I took a drag of my own stinger, letting the smoke linger in my mouth before exhaling. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that is why I am here, Matthias. I am unable to use my armor for now. I have a mission to complete, and the prize is somewhere in this city. I am not sure where to start, though. My crew are also in this city, but as of now, I am unsure of their whereabouts. I have an idea where one is and that is only because of a bond we share. I don¡¯t know the exact location; I can sense that he isn¡¯t far, though, and he is to the east of where we currently are.¡±

    Matthias grinned, ¡°You refer to the seed of power?¡±

    ¡°You know about the seed of power? How?¡± I asked, confused but excitedly.

    ¡°Mr. Dawes, you will come to find that I am quite the resource. I trade in many things: illegal, illicit substances, weapons, and flesh. I am no saint, I fear. I have done the things one must do to pull themselves from the brink of irrelevance to the precipice of absolute power. Of all the items I peddle, though, information is the most valuable by far. If it is located in this city, I am aware and can find it. I am afraid that I am no friend to the Council, much the opposite in fact, but they cannot move to eliminate me because of the information that I have compiled over time. Because of this information, I am quite untouchable. Over the years, we have struck a tenuous bargain: I will be allowed to run my various businesses as I see fit, and in return, I will not act on the information I have received.¡±

    I took another drag of the stinger and exhaled, shaking my head judgementally. ¡°So you are complacent, then. Just another blind eye turned to the machinations of the Council. I am grateful for your help, Matthias, let me say that first. I cannot take the same stance you have taken, though. I fully intend to dismantle the Council. I don¡¯t know how, I don¡¯t know when, but I won¡¯t let what happened to my planet stand. I was given a weapon, a chance to be the instrument of change. I intend to be that instrument.¡±

    Matthias leaned back in his chair, took a drag of his own stinger, and blew out a smoke ring. ¡°What good is a knife with no edge Mr. Dawes? You are in a strange city. You have no armor; you have no resources. In summary, you have no edge.¡±

    I shrugged in response, ¡°I guess blunt force trauma it is. I have made it this far. Against all odds, an unremarkable human was able to cripple the Council. I will find a way. Once I locate my crew and gain my armor back, I will make them pay, you can doubt me; you can even work against me if it is in your best interest, but I will see the Council repaid for their crimes.¡±

    Matthias raised his hands and slowly clapped in response. ¡°Bravo, Mr. Dawes. I fear that you have set yourself on a path that leads to utter destruction. The only remaining question is, who¡¯s destruction, your own or the Council¡¯s?¡± Matthias leaned forward and put out his stinger in an ornate ashtray on the coffee table in front of us. ¡°I have decided to put my money on you, Mr. Dawes. With that being said, I am afraid that you are woefully ignorant of exactly what part you have been playing in this cosmic game. Are you aware that there is a Havokium Facilitator in this city as we speak?¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I finished my own stinger and put it out in the ashtray as well. I sat with my elbows on my knees, pondering the question. ¡°I am familiar with the Havokium people, and have contacts within the rebellion. I would assume that they would have a presence within the capital city, it only makes sense.¡±

    Matthias smirked in response, ¡°It is time that I took the blinders off, for lack of a better term, Mr. Dawes. Your allies, to this point, haven¡¯t been particularly transparent with you. In fact, they have been using you as a means to an end. I do not refer to Princess Danae and her startup rebellion. While she has done a fine job of sewing chaos and hindered the recovery efforts of the Council after the¡­ event at the Red Moon of Alcara. She and her people are not who I am referring to. The true Havokium people haven¡¯t been seen in this system in thousands of years. No, they have been living in banishment since their own rebellion. Are you aware of the origins of the Havokium people and how it is connected to your armor and ship?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, Tiff gave me the information she had. My armor was created as a weapon that would be able to strike a major blow against the Council. It was too late, though, and they were defeated before it could be deployed. After the rebellion, the Havokium people were mostly banished. A few hundred thousand escaped and took refuge in the Sapere home system. Are you saying that one of the banished Havokium is in this city? That happened thousands of years ago, how would they still be alive? You can¡¯t expect me to believe they just hung out for thousands of years, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, in fact, I can, Mr. Dawes. I understand that you are new to the higher forms of technology the galaxy has to offer, so I will give you a brief description. The Havokium were banished to an alternate dimension, a dimension they themselves created. Time moved at a reduced speed within that dimension. For all intents and purposes, the banished Havokium have not aged a day since their banishment. They have had thousands of years to plan their re-emergence. Their machinations have only recently come to light, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Matthias explained.

    ¡°Good! Let them return. I can use all the help I can get. They almost kicked the Council¡¯s ass the first time, so with that much time to plan, they should be ready to dismantle the Council this time. The way I see it, this is all coming together at the right time,¡± I said.

    Matthias steepled his hands and hung his head, ¡°Mr. Dawes, I am afraid you may have already been in contact with the Havokium. Have you spoken with a representative from the Coeus collective by chance?¡±

    My eyes went wide. Matthias said that he dealt in the currency of information, but this? How could he have known about my interactions with Coeus? ¡°I don¡¯t know how you got that information, but I am getting less and less comfortable with this conversation, Matthias.¡±

    ¡°Calm yourself, Mr. Dawes. I am merely being transparent. I understand it may be hard to trust me right now, but I hope to gain that trust over time. We are entering into a mutually beneficial arrangement here. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to put all my cards on the table. I have contacts everywhere, even within Princess Danae¡¯s rebellion. I have paid a lot of money to stay abreast of your little crew¡¯s exploits. More to the point, though, is that the Coeus collective is a front. You have in fact been communicating with a representative from the banished Havokium. Your armor, your ship, and even your guardian were provided as a means to an end. The Havokium have begun their re-emergence, and you have, unfortunately, been an unwilling participant.¡± Matthias explained.

    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about? Tiff? Tiff has been helping them? I can¡¯t¡­I don¡¯t believe that,¡± I scoffed.

    ¡°She was not aware of the part she played, Mr. Dawes. She has been honest with you. Her part was orchestrated without her knowledge. She can still be trusted. I cannot say that for your entire crew, I am afraid,¡± Matthias stood and began pacing, putting his left hand into his pocket. He was smooth, I frustratedly thought to myself. ¡°You were meant to be a means to an end. You would unwittingly disable the various locks that had been put in place to ensure the banished Havokum could not return to this dimension to exact their revenge. To this point, you have done exactly that. The dungeon tower was a complex series of security features built and put in place to ensure the Havokium couldn¡¯t return. Each floor defeated would alleviate certain levels of that security. You completed two floors before coming to Boutelerien, and I assume that is why we now have a banished Havokium residing in our city,¡± Matthias turned to face me, ¡°While they have been able to place one agent within this dimension, they cannot return in force until the seed of power has been activated. That seed is located here in this city. This city was meant to be the last stage of the tower, five floors in total, each floor allowing more and more of the banished to return. That plan, for unknown reasons, has been changed. They will still need the seed to be activated, and I assume they still want you to do it, correct?¡±

    This was all too much. Too much information, too many revelations. I was getting overwhelmed. I looked down at my arms. They were vibrating, power beginning to build within them. The gift, the entity I had faced within the white space, I could feel it within me. I could feel the emotions, the anger, the power. It wanted out; it wanted to fight. I closed my eyes and focused; sensing the entity, I took a deep breath. Calm, center yourself. We are in this together. I thought to myself.

    I opened my eyes to see Matthias watching me, smiling. ¡°You are¡­unique, Mr. Dawes,¡± he said, eyeing my arms as he spoke. Your abilities have been partially suppressed, but I believe you still have the power needed to accomplish our shared goals. This Facilitator is currently working to stop you. I am unsure what changed, but he is no longer your ally. You gave me a name two days ago¡­Koametes. I have had no contact with this person, but I am sure they are currently at odds with the Facilitator in our city. There is turmoil within the ranks of the banished. We will use this to our benefit. I will need you to tell me of your interactions with the Coeus and banished in detail. I, in return, will tell you where your crew is, at least the ones I am aware of. I will provide you with the assistance needed to liberate them from their captors. I will help you dismantle the Council and more. I am your ally here, Mr. Dawes.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow in response, ¡°Just another person wanting to use me. So you are just gonna go all in on this rebellion. What exactly is in it for you, Matthias?¡±

    Matthias smiled wryly, ¡°Oh, many things, Mr. Dawes. I get to look down on the ruins of this infernal Council while they burn. I get revenge, I get absolution. These things alone are enough, I must admit, but there is one other thing I must ask if I am to aid you,¡±

    I leaned forward in my seat and glared at him, ¡°What is that, Matthias?¡±

    ¡°When you are done, when you have dismantled the Council and left it smoldering and burning¡­ I want this city. Is that amenable to you?¡± Matthias said, clasping his hands behind his back.

    ¡°You come through with your promises; do everything you say you will do¡­.yeah, you can have this city,¡± I stood up and walked toward him, my arms beginning to warp and vibrate with power once again. ¡°You betray me, though, and I will hang your dead corpse from the walls of the Council Halls with the rest of them. Is that¡­amenable to you, Matthias?¡±

    Matthias reached a hand toward me, ¡°Shall we shake on it then?¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 49. Go Get Your Friend.

    After our meeting, Matthias informed me that he would start the process of tracking down my crew. He said it might take a couple of days to sort through the rumors and decipher where each one was. As he found them, he informed me that it would be up to me to liberate them; he would provide a small team for support that I would lead for each extraction.

    It had now been a day since our meeting and agreement, and I was to meet my support team today. I left my quarters and headed down a long hallway toward a central courtyard. Matthias wasn¡¯t bluffing, he was wildly wealthy and spared no expense on this place. While the facility was furnished with garish, expensive furniture and gave the impression that it was just another mansion built to satisfy the needs of its narcissistic owner, in reality, it was a secure compound built to protect its owner¡¯s secrets. There were complex security features in the compound and round-the-clock security on patrol. While the top floor was merely living space and sometimes used to entertain the wealthy and elite of Bouterien, the real complex was located underground, away from prying eyes.

    I walked into the courtyard to see five battle-hardened soldiers standing at attention. The force consisted of five men who looked to be of the same species as Matthias. As I approached, I noticed Kindo and Brock among the ranks.

    ¡°Fellas,¡± I nodded at the two men. ¡°I never got the chance to ask, what species are you guys?¡±

    Kindo stepped forward, ¡°No harm there, boy, we be Bouterien. The city here is named fer us. Or maybe it¡¯s tha other way ¡®round. Not real sure tell the truth. You can pick us out easy on account of our ears here,¡± Kindo flicked one of his ears and smiled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t make a habit outta trying to flick a Bouterien¡¯s ear, though; that¡¯s liable to get you cut, even if you are a chaff.¡± Kindo turned and chuckled at the rest of the group.

    ¡°What is a chaff?¡± I asked, not sure if my translator was working correctly.

    Kindo walked up and put his hand on my shoulder, ¡°A chaff is you and you be a chaff, boy. Those of us who have been in a reaping dungeon and lived be chaff¡¯s. The leftovers after the Council took what it came fer. Tossed aside and left to our own devices,¡± Kindo wrapped his arm around my neck and walked me toward the rest of the group as he talked. ¡°Big mistake, that. Letting us keep on living even though we got all this power now. The Council throws us in there to fight, gives us a heap of upgrades, then when the fightin is over and they got what they want we just go home. Problem is, some of us like the fightin, some of us even find ways to keep on fightin. That is what you got here, boy. All us, including you are chaff. I have a feeling we gonna rain hell on whoever we are goin up against.¡±

    ¡°That is the plan, Kindo,¡± I looked at the three new faces, ¡°Mind introducing me to the rest of the squad?¡±

    ¡°Yer the boss. You already know Brock,¡± Kindo pointed at the giant man who was still dressed in black military fatigues, his large knife in its sheath. ¡°Brock has the Boulder class. It is basically a brawler class that focuses on melee combat and has health for days,¡± Kindo turned and smiled at me, ¡°Brock, give the boy here a little taste of what you have to offer our little ragtag group.¡±

    Brock grunted and nodded before walking up to a large stone column in the center of the courtyard. He took a wide stance, dropped his hands to his sides, and flexed his overly large muscles as he began to glow slightly white around the edges. Without warning, he headbutted the column, and it shattered.

    ¡°Alright, he is a tank. Got it,¡± I said with a whistle. Kindo looked at me, ¡°What you goin on about? He is a Bouterien, didn¡¯t ya hear me, boy?¡±

    I shrugged, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s a term from my planet. It means he can deal a lot of damage and absorb a lot in return.¡± Kindo narrowed his eyes at me in response, ¡°Yer kinda strange, ya know that, right?¡±

    I chuckled, ¡°Imagine how I feel. Let¡¯s see the rest of the group.¡± Kindo walked up to a tall, thin man with dangling muscular arms. This man had buzzed black hair and wore fatigues similar to Brock¡¯s, but the arms were cut off. He was currently smoking a stinger and flicking a small blade up and catching it. ¡°This is Dan. Dan had an assassin class that is focused on stealth and poison. He had a whole slew of them daggers, and I warn you not to get poked by one. He is a decent fella, cept fer the likin to kill people slow thing. It can really get weird; he says he likes to look in their eyes while they go, but damn, the man is an artist with those daggers. Dan, give the boy a taste.

    ¡°Hang on!¡± I held my hands out before Dan could move, ¡°Your name is¡­Dan? Seriously?¡± Dan cocked his head in response to my question, ¡°You have a problem with my name? It not good enough for you, Human?¡±

    I felt a bit of anger start to rise at being called Human. I could tell that most species looked down on humans, and calling me human instead of using my name was definitely an insult. I decided to let it slide; I needed this squad If I had any hope of rescuing my crew. ¡°No, no offense but that is a pretty common name where I come from. I just didn¡¯t expect it is all.¡± Kindo stepped up beside me, ¡°You realize that a good portion of your language and history were planted by alien races, right? Different species have been visiting your little planet for thousands of years. You gonna see a lot more familiar than you would expect.¡±

    Dan stepped out and paced off about 25 yards in front of me. He silently turned, pulled two daggers, and held them in one hand by the points. He smiled before throwing the daggers directly at my head. I hadn¡¯t expected this and did not react in time as the daggers flew through the air. A second before they made contact, an arm reached from behind my head and plucked them from the air. It was Dan; he had somehow teleported behind me and caught his own daggers. He chuckled from behind me as he held the daggers, ¡°Don¡¯t piss yourself; I don¡¯t love my name anyhow,to tell the truth.¡± He stowed the daggers and nudged me in the shoulder. ¡°We are here because we hate the Council as much as you. We are gonna have your back out there, and we expect the same from you, fair?¡± Dan stuck out a hand to shake. I grabbed his hand and shook, exhaling a nervous breath as I did. ¡°Fair enough, Dan. Fair enough.¡±

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    ¡°Dan, if yer done showin yer ass go open up the VCR so we can get some training in after I introduce everyone else to the boy here.¡± Kindo said, flicking a finger at Dan, ¡°Brock, go give him a hand. We need to run some team simulations and knock the rust off yer asses.¡± Brock grunted and nodded before following Dan, who was now picking his teeth with one of his daggers.

    Kindo turned to face the two remaining squad members, ¡°This is Cree, he is a small arms expert and has a War Fighter class. Basically, he is an asset on any battlefield and can gain proficiency with just about any weapon he puts his hands on. I¡¯d have him give you an example, but Matthias is prolly already gonna rip my ass for having Brock break that column. Lastly, we have our healer. This here is Bokbok. He is a chaff like the rest of us, just a little more valuable than most. I¡¯m sure you noticed there ain¡¯t exactly an abundance of healers running around. Bokbok here is one of a handful in our benefactor¡¯s employ. He is good at what he does, and he will make sure the squad stays combat-effective. No need to show off what he does, you¡¯ll know it when you see it. He don¡¯t talk much, even less than Brock so don¡¯t go spectin he¡¯ll naw yer ear off anytime soon,¡± Kindo chuckled and slapped Bokbok on the shoulder. Bokbok rocked forward with an agitated shake of his head and walked off to join the rest of the squad in the VCR.

    I looked around the peaceful courtyard, taking in the tranquility of the place, knowing full well we would soon below training and drilling, preparing to efficiently and violently kill anyone and anything that stood between me and my crew. ¡°So, what about you, Kindo? I¡¯m guessing you are chaff as well, what is your class?¡± Kindo walked toward me slowly, smiling wryly. ¡°Damn right, I¡¯m chaff. Damn proud of it, to boot. I got initiated nearly 50 years ago now. I was just a down-on-my-luck thug; only choice I had was to die young for nothing or get stronger,¡± Kindo looked down, peering into memories that stretched farther than the time I had been alive. ¡°I done a lot of foul shit, boy. Once I met my reaping quota, I took a pension and fell back into my old habits. The drink didn¡¯t help matters. Bottom of a bottle is a lonely place, lonely cept fer the memories of all the terrible shit I done. After I drank myself into squalor I decided I had enough of those memories, those ghosts that haunted me day and night. One night, after I spent my last credit and finished the last drop of some cheap swill, I walked out into the alley behind the bar and decided to end it. My last meal was gonna be a plasma round,¡± Kindo chuckled regretfully, ¡°At least it would have been a hot meal. I stood in that dark, damp alley with the barrel of that plasma pistol in my mouth but right before I pulled the trigger, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Then I heard a voice; it was calm and steady and wasn¡¯t phased at all by the sight of me about to release my brain from the bonds of my skull. It was Matthias; he told me there were other ways to get back at the Council for what they made me do, but a dead man had no value,¡± Matthias looked up at me, clear eyes full of purpose, ¡°haven¡¯t touched a bottle since. I¡¯m still doing bad shit, but now I get to do it to the bastards that caused all this pain. I figure we might get killed helping you, boy,¡± Matthias chuckled and shook his head, ¡°But I¡¯ll be damned if I ain¡¯t gonna go out with a bang.¡± The grizzled man looked at me, smiled and walked forward. his body blurred slightly and he passed directly through my body, leaving me breathless and chilled. He kept walking toward the VCR and looked back over his shoulder, ¡°My class is War Wraith.¡±

    It took me a couple of seconds to catch my breath. Once I had my wits about me, I stared toward the squad that had disappeared into the subterranean training area. I was starting to feel like I might actually get my friends back, I might actually be able to injure the Council. Most of all, I was realizing that it wasn¡¯t humanity against the galaxy; there were people out there who felt the same way we did. If it was possible to unite them under one banner, We could shake the foundation of the galaxy.

    ¡°Mr. Dawes,¡± Matthias walked out of the complex, looking as dapper as ever. Another finely tailored suit, this one maroon and shimmering, with a grey shirt and vest. ¡°Do you approve of the assets I have provided? I do believe they will be of some assistance in your upcoming endeavors.¡±

    I shook my head in response, ¡°Yeah, I think they will do fine. I appreciate this, Matthias, more than you know.¡± Mattias slid one hand into his jacket, pulling out his ornate stinger case. ¡°While I do appreciate your words, I must remind you that I am not doing this for charity, Mr. Dawes. We have a deal, I see you as a valuable ally and possibly the most powerful asset in our growing arsenal. But enough about that. I came to let you know I located the first member of your crew, Red, I believe is how you refer to him. I fear you will need to forgo today¡¯s training and move directly to extract him.¡±

    I nodded, but Mattias could see the trepidation on my face. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we are ready for a battle yet. We have no idea how to work together. Is there really no time?¡±

    Matthias grinned, ¡°Fear not, Mr. Dawes. Red has been located in a brothel in the south ward of the city. He is in no immediate danger but if the Council security force becomes aware of a human spending large amounts of credits in the city, they will move on him,¡± Matthias walked forward and clasped my arm, staring confidently into my eyes. ¡°Go get your friend, Mr. Dawes.¡±

 Big T.Ds

    Red, was alive. The relief overwhelmed me as I sat in the transport en route to his location. Red and I hadn¡¯t spent a ton of time together. He seemed like a good guy and had more than proven his value since joining the crew of the Bloodhound. He was a galactic brawler class, but I realized that I didn¡¯t even know what level he was currently at. I had been away for a while, at least a while, for me, and I didn¡¯t really know what the crew had been up to in that time since I had lost my ability to communicate with Tiff. It didn¡¯t matter, though. Red was a member of my crew and I was going to make sure he was okay.

    Koametes said that I would start to regain my abilities as I saved members of my crew. Once they were all free, I would regain the use of my armor in full. I was more than a little nervous as I sat in the large armored vehicle, surrounded by my new squad. If this came down to a fight, I would be in more than a little danger without my armor. I was confident that I would still be able to put up a good fight, though. I still had access to my inventory, and even though I didn¡¯t have my daggers, I had plenty of other weapons to choose from.

    Matthias had outfitted the entire squad with weapons and basic battle armor. We didn¡¯t have anything even close to the Havok Hound drop suits that CJ and Elvis had used on the Red Moon of Alcara, but the battle armor we did have provided basic defenses and, more importantly, communications systems. My entire interface was offline, and the comms nodes Elvis had provided didn¡¯t seem to work either. That was expected, though. The Bloodhound powered and transmitted the comms systems, and I was pretty sure the Bloodhound was nowhere close to Boutelerien at the moment.

    ¡°ETA, three minutes. Better clench your cheeks, boy,¡± Kindo said as he put on his helmet and checked his weapons. I quickly checked my own plasma rifle, ensuring the magazine was full and the capacitors were charged. Everything was good, so I moved on to my melee options. As we sat in the van, each of us preparing in our own ways I thought about the weapons in my inventory. I couldn¡¯t see the inventory list on my interface but I could pull things out if I knew they were in there. In the absence of my daggers, I was going to have to use my swords. I had been cautious about using the blades to this point. I used them against the King Crawfish out of necessity, but It seemed I would have to get very comfortable with them until I gained the use of my daggers again. I thought about the swords and they appeared in my hands instantly, scaring Dan, who was sitting next to me.

    ¡°Holy shit, man! You gotta fucking warn us before you do something like that,¡± Dan said, nearly dropping his weapon in surprise. ¡°You have a dimensional storage, huh? Kind of a rare ability. Most of us Chaff didn¡¯t get access to anything like that. I thought you¡¯re abilities were offline, how do you still have access to that?¡±

    I shook my head as I inspected the crimson blades, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s true that the majority of my abilities are offline, but this one at least still works. I¡¯m not going to go into detail, but my case is a little¡­unique. I appreciate what you guys are doing, and in time, I¡¯m sure I will share more. Just better to keep some things to myself for now.¡±

    Dan put his hands up defensively, ¡°Hey, no problem. Not like I was asking for a blowjob, my man. We all have each other¡¯s backs out there, that is the important thing. Matthias debriefed us on your situation already. He didn¡¯t share any of your precious personal details, but he told us who you are,¡± Dan looked side to side and leaned in closer, ¡°You are a fucking legend, man, you know that, right? You took out a third of the council and were the first motherfucker in a thousand years to win the reaping for your home planet. I mean, sure, you won on a technicality, but that technicality is that you wiped out every son of a bitch in the pocket dimension. We are all here for our own reasons, but working with you was the big draw,¡± Dan eyed the blades warily, ¡°Holy shit, I just realized what those are!¡± Dan turned to the rest of the squad excitedly, ¡°Guys, guys! those are the fucking blades, the ones that belonged to that enforcer general¡­what was his name? Atagor?¡±

    ¡°Anthragor,¡± I said, wincing as I said the name. ¡°He nearly killed me, nearly killed my whole crew, more than once. I looted these after I killed him.¡±

    ¡°My man,¡± Dan said, scooting closer to me, ¡°You realize that it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for you to kill that thing, right? Not only because of the level disparity, I mean from what I hear you couldn¡¯t have been higher than level 20 when you went up against that guy, but those are ethereal weapons. They gotta have some serious abilities.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they are pretty serious,¡± I held up my left arm, ¡°They are the reason my arms look like this.¡± As I held up my arm, it pulsed, and the mirage-like field pulsated around it. I cocked my head; I wasn¡¯t sure what was going on with my arms. It seemed the entity was experiencing emotion or reacting to my own emotions.

    ¡°Any chance you can share the description?¡± Dan asked, ¡°We don¡¯t see a lot of Ethereal weapons, honestly those are the first ones I have ever seen.¡±

    I thought back to the description of the weapons, and to my surprise, I could remember it perfectly¡ªa benefit of my intelligence stat.

    Blades of the Blood Nova ¨C

    These blades were forged in the heart of a red nova. Refined over millennia and infused with the blood of countless fallen foes. The blades will inflict bleed damage over time and will scale to the level of foes within 25 levels of the wielder.

    Abilities ¨C Blood Nova ¨C

    Blood can be infused into a target with successive strikes, allowing the wielder to track the target over time. Once the infusion is complete, the wielder can activate Blood Nova, causing the infused blood to explode from the target and return to the blades.

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    Genetically bound ¨C these blades will be genetically bound upon equipping and can only be unbound upon the wielder¡¯s death.

    After telling them the description, Kindo spoke up. ¡°You¡¯ll be keepin that to yerself movin forward, boy. There¡¯s more than a few shady characters in this city, and those swords would go for more credits than any of us will ever see. Genetically bound doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t take off yer head and take ownership. Now everyone shut the fuck up and get ready to crack some heads. When this rig stops I wanna see nothin but asses and elbows. Get out fast, form up on the entrance and Brock here is gonna knock on the front door. Everyone remember, swarm the building, secure the exits and the boy here is gonna find his friend. Once the target is secure, we exfil back to the rig and get back to HQ. Ready up, now.¡±

    The vehicly suddenly came to a stop and the sliding slide door opened. We rushed out, boots clomping on the damp pavement. It was dark and foggy and visibility outside the club was low. If not for the glow of the giant sign above the building visibility would have been near zero. I looked up at the sign to read the description of the business.

    It showed a humanoid female strutting back and forth, scantily clad. She stopped and smiled before reaching to the bottom of her white blouse and pulling it open, revealing her rather large breasts. She winked and said welcome to Big T.D¡¯s. The screen went black and changed to text that read.

    Whether it¡¯s credits¡­

    or bodily fluids¡­

    Get ready to blow your load at Big T.D¡¯s

    I chuckled as I fell in beside Dan on my side of the entrance. Dan looked back at me ¡°You okay in the head, man? What is so fuckin funny?¡±

    ¡°Just not much different from Earth, is all. You guys don¡¯t seem so evolved all of a sudden,¡± I said before patting him on the shoulder to let him know I was on task.

    Brock walked up, looking much larger than the door frame he was standing in front of. He lifted his leg and, with a grunt, kicked the door of the club in. It splintered and shattered inward, completely destroyed. Kindo was on the right side and filed in, followed by Dan on my side. We rushed into the building alternatingly, Brock being second to last, followed by Bokbok. We entered into a large open circular room, the size of a large banquet room. There were three poles in the center of the room in a triangular pattern with a lit catwalk connecting them. There were women dancing on all three, completely naked. Loud electronic music with a pounding beat filled my ears. The squad stood around me in a U-shaped pattern, plasma pistols raised. There were doors on the outer walls of the room that circled all the way around on both the first and second floors. There were several people in the room, dancing around the stages, enjoying the show.

    Three people rushed our group. one Bouterien, a Lacertine, and surprisingly, one of the werewolf-like Lycoans. They were either holding plasma pistols or reaching into their holsters to pull one out. The aliens were all dressed the same in black outfits.

    ¡°Looks like security! Try to incapacitate them; we don¡¯t need the law breathing down our backs for killing a few security guards, boys,¡± Kindo said as the squad switched their plasma rifles to a non-lethal setting. ¡°Boy, we didn¡¯t get to see what you can do. Why don¡¯t you take the Lycoan?¡± Kindo said, nodding at the large Lycoan.

    ¡°You kicked in our fucking door!¡± the Bouterien said as the trio came to a stop, weapons raised and pointed in our direction, moving back and forth between different members of our squad. ¡°Don¡¯t know who you are or what you want, but we¡¯re about to fucking end you!¡± the Lycoan growled.

    ¡°We¡¯re here for a human named Red. Give us him, and we go quiet. Resist, and you better be ready to shoot those pistols,¡± Kindo replied.

    ¡°Our guests have an expectation of privacy,¡± the Bouterien said. ¡°We can neither confirm nor deny that there is a human here. Now, despite what my friend here said, I am willing to let you all leave if¡­¡±

    Dan appeared behind the man and, in a flash, raked his dagger across his throat, opening it up. Blood sprayed the floor in front of the man as he grasped at the wound, air hissing out as he tried in vain to breathe. He fell to his knees and then to his face, bleeding out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t do non=lethal. Sorry, boss,¡± Dan said.

    Seeing this, the patrons of the club lost their fucking minds. They started running and screaming, panic filling the club. four more security guards rushed out of a door opposite where we stood.

    ¡°Hah, now it¡¯s a fair fight! Shoot to kill, boys!¡± Kindo shouted before rushing out toward the Lacertine, who was fiddling with the safety switch on his plasma pistol.

    I raised the Blades of the Blood Nova and rushed the Lycoan. He roared, baring his glistening fangs before dropping his pistol and pulling a long, thin club from his back. He flicked it outward, and it doubled in length and lit up with electricity.

    ¡°We fight like champions! There is honor in this!¡± the Lycoan growled. He closed the distance in a flash, swinging his club down with both arms as he jumped toward me. I crossed my swords in the air in an X pattern, catching his blow.

    ¡°Uumph,¡± the blow nearly buckled my legs as I caught it. The difference in my strength without my armor was more than a little noticeable. Still, this Lycoan was huge, and I managed to defend his blow. The Lycoan rared back his head, howling before beginning to circle me, the club extended to his right side. All around me the rest of the squad was engaging other members of the security force. Kindo sliding and shooting at the lacertine at an impossible angle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brock bang his massive fists together before swinging at another Bouterien, only for the man to duck and swing a left hook into Brock¡¯s ribs. Brock stepped back, laughed, then, with both fists, pummeled his own midsection. ¡°That is how you punch. Now let me show you how it feels!¡± Brock yelled.

    These people are psychos. I thought to myself as the Lycoan swung the club in a wide, sideways swing, making contact with my right shoulder. The electricity surged into my body, bypassing my meager defensive armor easily. I fell to a knee, catching myself with the hilt of the sword in my right hand. The Lycoan, trying to seize on the momentum, lifted his club with both hands again and swung down. I barely stopped the first two-handed blow, and after taking the shock, I wasn¡¯t sure I could do it again. I raised my blades into an X-pattern above my head and braced for the impact.

    I watched as a green glow began to outline my body, stretching up and completely engulfing my arms and the blades. I caught the blow once again, surprisingly not budging this time. I glanced back to see that Bokbok was not engaged with one of the security guards but was instead running around casting buffs on each squad member.

    ¡°Thanks Bokbok!¡± I shouted before standing up and addressing the Lycoan. ¡°I think I¡¯m warmed up now. Ready for round two?¡±