《Zero-Sum Zone》 Prologue: Oh Dear Planetary Administration Intelligence System: Subsection 17-04 to Central Directive: Status Inquiry _Subject: Unidentified Combatant, Possible Invader Designation "Invading Foreign insurgents ¡ªDesignation: "Crash_pod.", Last Possible _Confirmed Location: Sector-9, Scrapyards, _Local Response To Sudden Crash: Hostility assumed¡­ _Local Threats: Scavenger Presence (Confirmed), Environmental Hazards (Severe). Death//Survival Probability Assessments: _Death due to injuries sustained in impact: 41.2% _Death due to possible scavenger engagement: 31.6% _Death due to prolonged exposure of toxic environment: 14.5% _Survival pending external intervention: 8.2% _Other: 4.5% Projected survival window: <12 planetary hours. No special measures warranted.
Central Directive Intelligence to Planetary Administration AI: Reassessment Initiated. _Designation: Invading Foreign identity #115 _Status: Anomalous. _Probability of immediate death adjusted to 22.4%. _Probability of hostile termination adjusted to 11.9%. _Probability of survival until system assimilation exceeds threshold. Suggested Classification Update: _Candidate for Unverified System Integration¡ªProbability of assimilation rising.. _Threshold point tracking activated. _Monitoring initiated. Accessing further data. No special measures warranted. User Ada_Vale instructed to standby for intervention. ******************************************************************************************** Ada Vale sits in her dim bedroom, near her dark mahogany table, sipping on clear tea, her eyes scanning on the contents of the intrusive information dump provided by the system. Her head hurt the moment she heard the ping go off. It was like archaic church bell squeaking in her eye, rupturing her eardrums. She knew there was commotion outside, but she didn¡¯t dare go look at it. Lest it called out to her. Something was falling into the planet again, probably more xenoterrorists, she didn¡¯t have the stomach anymore to dwell on these things. She swore to herself that she would have no interaction with ¡®that¡¯ world, none at all, whilst enjoying her off-time. And yet¡­ her foot was itching, and her hands were twitching. The smell of burning machinery, killed that thought, It reminded her of her first quest assigned to her. A terrible time, things she¡¯d rather not think of. Her foot tapped and jumped off her chair. Ada rushed to her window, curiosity got the best and bitterest part of her, she opened the curtains and as the setting sun, invaded her room. A ghastly sight greeted her. She held her hand over her mouth, aghast. Her cup falls from her hands, shattering on the floor, her tea spilling everywhere. ¡°Absolutely Ridiculous!?¡± She loomed closer, sticking her head out. ¡°A ship. A human ship?¡± A gigantic piece of fiery metal, was slowly falling out of the atmosphere, leaving behind a smoky trail. A ship, a human ship indeed, was plummeting through the air. She recognized the design instantly, the Alliance of Sol Federated Systems, people from the various earths. She hadn¡¯t seen one in twenty years, before her lord father had kicked the bucket. Outsiders weren¡¯t ever allowed unless the system dictated it. Dread filled her heart, she didn¡¯t want to be involved. The system had other plans, it was ready to force her into another one of its games. ¡°Oh, fuck me hard.¡± she swore to herself. Her pulse started quickening. Of course. The system wouldn¡¯t notify her unless¡­unless it directly impacted her life in some manner. Someway, somehow, someone was going to make this her nightmare, if the system didn¡¯t. Should could hide it out, book herself to another city where the local AI wouldn¡¯t bother her. Until that AI started taking an interest in her. And the system starts demanding things again. No. No. No, what about¡­ Ada spun around, kicking off her heels, sending them flying, nearly colliding with an expensive ornament. She ran barefoot out of the door, nearly knocking off her oil lamp. Her maid, had peeked inside, at that moment, expressing her concern. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Lady Ada, is something the matter?¡± she asked quaint and disturbed. ¡°Move, Erika!¡± She shouted, startling the girl. She ran through her villa, designed, and once, planned, by a Victorian architect specialist. Ada had found comfort in this dystopian world through small portals into human history. A trait she picked up from her late grandfather. A better man for a better time. Coming to the stairs, she nearly tripped, as her soles slipped on smooth furnished wood, she clung to the railings, lifting herself up. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m out of shape.¡± she murmured out of breath. The result of too much pudding, cookies, and tea, no doubt. ¡°Lady, Ada,¡± Erika called after her, following her like a dog did its master. ¡°Please wait for me.¡± There was no time. Ada skidded up the stairs. Reaching the roof, she ran towards the edge of it, looking past the grounds of her mountain villa, and her lush fields of blue grass. Beyond the silent green river, along the mountain pass to the north, the outskirts of Nova Ardour with its holographic billboards, and it¡¯s heavy trams and trains, and burning neon haze became visible. ¡®What an eyesore.¡¯ The overseer AI was locked in Ground-to-air combat. Its silly face smiled as missiles and ballistic weaponry fired from its dome, It laughed with it''s massive emoticon like face, silly and cartoonish. Making dumb noises as it launched it¡¯s anti-air munitions at the invading ship as it made sure to shoot it down. Yes, it¡¯s certainly a human ship. Ada¡¯s heart sank. She only had a few more months left before she would be forced to return. This aggressive posturing posited by the system''s inherent design was a destabilizing thing, a preemptive disturbance. There were other free agents out there, Legends. She wanted to enjoy her goddamn off time. Now the thing demanded its attention, because it had fears of its own. Fears of invasion. Ada sank to her knees, staining her dress with the dirt and dust accumulated on the rooftop. Erika arrived behind her, hesitant, but immediately offered her a hand as she lay sprawled on the roof. Erika briefly stopped to admire the downing wreck of a ship, then returned to Ada. ¡°My retirement¡­ it¡¯s over. I have to sully my hands again. Oh, dear.¡± She pressed her fingers into her hair, then started mock crying, but the tears may as well have fallen as she felt distraught. ¡°I¡¯m sure the system will be lenient, Lady Ada, for one as fair as you.¡± Erika comforted her, attempting to lift her up on the ground. ¡°Shall I make you some fresh tea, my lady? Perhaps you need sugar water for the shock, or perhaps a massage will ease you.¡± Ada started tearing up, stifling a sob, she clung to Erika¡¯s leg.¡°You don¡¯t get it Erika, They''re going to drag me back. I don¡¯t want to be dragged back. I want to stay here all day and read books and enjoy your company and taste strange tarts and have silly pillow fights with you and the others. I¨C¡± Erika was flustered but remained stoic. Unsure whether to comfort or pry Ada off her leg. She looked to her master for answers, Ada held tight. ¡°I hate the system.¡± she let out, Erika nodded affirmatively, but hesitant to say anything on the matter, they were on two different wavelengths, two different rights systems. Ada could get away with the open criticism because she was warped by it. Their heads turned as they heard a distant engine humming. Metal whirring drew both of their attention as a massive eye bot came hovering inside the villa uninvited on its own accord. Ada sprang upwards, her muscle memory waking her dormant athletic prowess. Erika went onto her knees, a side arm pulled out under her skirt. A low-velocity laser gun, modeled after a vintage Luger. She held it firmly aimed at the bot. The eye bot flashed green lights, rapidly, it was speaking in morse . -.. --- / -. --- - / -... . / .- .-.. .- .-. -- . -.. .-.-.- It was Morse code for: Do not be alarmed. Ada, held Erika by the shoulder. ¡°At ease, Erika, it¡¯s friendly. I think¡± It had to be why else had her intruder defense system not activate. Erika eased up, but remained weary. The drone stopped in front of them, the crashing wreck behind it, displaying quite the scenery. It beeped and bopped, as AI machines often did. Its eye flashed blue, and it displayed a hologram of a man. A suited a man, a familiar man, a man Ada was not keen on seeing. A man she¡¯d hoped to never see again. It bowed, and transcribed an audible message. Simultaneously, the message appeared in front of Ada¡¯s eyes. Integrating with the System.

[Personal Quest Assignment from Heccatek Corporation:]

Objective: Capture one of the outsiders for live interrogation. Time Limit: 23 hours, 11 minutes, 21 seconds. Rewards: None. [Note from the Corporation benefactor:] ¡°Hello, Ada. The system is stingy with information¡ªyou know how it is. We knew it would bother you in a time like this, so I took the initiative. Whoever these people are, they offer us a means of progressing our own salvation and liberation. Rival corps will be scouring the wreckage soon enough. I already have boots on the ground. But I want a live survivor, the system is keen on wiping them out, as it did with the Xeno group last week. I suspect as always It will let a few souls into its grasp¡­ If you assist me, I¡¯ll make you dinner, desert even. I know how much you love milk tart. And¡­ anything else you desire. Unfortunately, my hands are tied by my more conservative peers. If you refuse, that¡¯s fine as well. Farewell, your former love. ¡ªRumiel. The machine beeped, then buzzed away. Ada clenches her fists as the hologram disappears. Ada groans, making small whimpers and moans, then mock faints again, It was a performance, not for Erika but herself. She turns to the maid, who was staring at her with a cynical expression. ¡°My life is over. Lovely Erika, I¡¯m afraid we will see each other rarely in the coming days.¡± ¡°Shall I prepare your gear, my lady?¡± Ada grumbled, there was no way out of it, find a live one, comeback and hope everyone else would ignore her after. ¡°¡­ Fine. Very well.¡± ¡°Stupid Rumiel.¡± Didn¡¯t he know she was over him, why would she willingly work with him again, after all they¡¯ve been through? She knew why, despite it all, they¡¯re a sliver of love, they still cared for each other. Still Rumiel was doing her favor, this way the system would leave her alone for a while, put a little postponement on its checklist for her. But of course with her privilege of her status, things, couldn¡¯t get better, only worse. Legends. What a dumb name. Erika handed her a pair of binoculars, Ada took it, peering miles away. Corporation drones, and enforcement ships, were already tailing the wreck. When it landed, new chaos would beset the city, and it will never sleep again, like it never did. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± 1.1 - Memory holed Callia drifted in an out of her unwilling slumber. Low, dim lights and darkness fucked with her head. It felt like a nuclear overdose. Her body cried in agony, muscles stiff as clay. Her ribs grounded against each other, each breath a raw stab. Callia¡¯s skin burning in spots, her ¡®suit¡¯ was torn? She tried moving, but it only made her hurt more. It was cold inside, the thing she was in. Metal walls pressed inwards, trapping her in a seat¡ªtight, claustrophobic. Her head started throbbing, her brain was rattled from the inside? Did she have a concussion? She couldn¡¯t recall much of anything personal. Callia. Callia? My name. Why can I only recall my name? Muffled chaos outside her little cage, snapped her out of her head. Gunfire distant but enclosing, screams ensue, then heavy impacts like a vehicle crashing and exploding. It was vaguely metallic in nature, she could hear the audible sparks and sounds of hot metal ricocheting off trash and earth. Her breath hitched. A cracked helmet. The taste of iron and glass, blood seeping from a split lip. It kept her awake. A dim emergency light flickered near and from the door¨Cpinging, constantly in interval. ¡®Emergency escape.¡¯ She taps it immediately. Ping! No response. Then again, and again, and again, until her finger became sore. She stopped. She could handle it, something told her this wasn¡¯t her fist electronic cage she was trapped inside. Callia sucked in a breath¡ªshallow, ragged. Then she kicked. The metal doesn¡¯t groan¨Cit shrieks, like a banshee. Little sparks erupted in her direction as the inner door frame exploded. She braced herself, arms shielding her face, breathing deeply, she kicked the hatch a little further. Then it gave complete way, the seat launched her out of ¡®cage¡¯ like a rail gun. She landed in a heap, gasping for air, her surroundings were dark, mostly unlit same for the small light. Callia looked up, heard a man plea for his life, he looked vaguely like a soldier, he had a suit on. He begged, half-buried, trapped in the wreckage, a stranger dressed in vague tunics held out their gun, aiming it at his head. A breath. Then a¡ªBang. The flash of light sent sparks into her eyes, blinding her. Her visions started swimming as she lay down on the ground. The urge to play dead, leaned into her urge to succumb. Her thoughts scattered into static, and she faded from the world. Callia jolted awake. Cold. Pain. The stink of metal in her lungs. Time had passed¨Cthat was all she knew. First, the sounds. Then came the pain, gnawing at her. The cold bite of her reality. Her mind was blank, like a damaged hard drive, her body wedged between the wreckage. She was in a rough place, to put it lightly. Her name. It¡¯s all she could remember. Callia Pha¨C. Callia pale. Callia Phalen. ¡°Callia Phalen?¡± she whispered to her herself, her throat dry and parched for water. She could only grasp her name. What kind of fucking name was that? She giggled to herself. Nothing quite like a little humor to ease the tension of a catastrophe. Her throat spasmed. A sour flood rose up¡ªshe gagged, choking down on bile. Callia shifted. The ground beneath her was a swamp of mechanical filth. It sure as hell wasn¡¯t water she was lying in. The weird wetness, made her shiver, like a thousand little gelatinous worms were crawling over her, thick and clammy. She peered down. The water, mucky and green. Almost looked alive. She shifted, groaning. Trying to crawl away. The amnesiac had found herself in some kind of ¡°Scrap-field,¡±. It looked more like a graveyard of machines. Space wreckage and trash. It reeked of rust, and petroleum and old metals. Little broken starship panels. A moving arm nearly took her out again, it was walking around on it¡¯s one, cybernetic, pieces of blood and cartilage stood out. ¡°What in the sand hell!?¡± Before she could ponder on her discovery, voices nearby were murmuring. Several people, were walking in her direction. Callia resigned herself to a game of play dead, again, there was no nearby weapon she could grab. She¡¯d have to play her card rights. Wait it out. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Footsteps. Metal clattered. They were searching¡ªkicking debris, prodding the wreckage. Closer. Closer. She listened as they approached. Through the corner of her closed eye, she could vaguely make out small weapons carried by each. Pocket knives. They had reached her. All wore masks, glowing ink pulsed under his skin, his cybernetic fingers twitching like a hungry spider¡­ The Gaffe looking stick moved, it was heavy, was being waved around in his hands, swinging. ¡°Look ahead cunts, this one is fresh, fresh meat for the dinner table?¡± One had said, rushing towards her like a predator. Cannibals. No¡ªscavengers. They''d strip her down, take what they wanted. They were going to strip her naked, scavenge her for anything. Scavengers, it¡¯s what they do. It was normal. Her eyes closed, and her breath suspended. Cold metal fingers hooked under her chest plate, prying. Hands at her waist, pulling, searching. This was invasive, a violation of her body. But she couldn¡¯t just move yet. ¡°Damn shame. Fresh as hell, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°The hell, man?¡± a second voice spoke ¡°Relax. Just messing with you.¡± voice one had said. Breaking out a hesitant giggle. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see what we¡¯re working with today, heh?¡± Something told her he wanted more than fresh meat. He started whistling. Scavenger number one, started laughing. ¡°Look at these gents, it¡¯s one of them outsiders, be amazed at this fucking armor, supreme, and pristine, we¡¯ll be eating for months on this.¡± A third voice joined. Youngish, every boyish. ¡°Marvelous¡­¡± Number two added their own opinion. ¡°I don¡¯t know, man, the corpos are all over, looking for this.¡± ¡°Calm little dick, we don¡¯t sell to a corporation we got to the black den He shoved a flashlight in her face, bright lights forced her eyes open. ¡°AAAAA!!!¡± she made her best attempt at war crying. She lashed out, nerves hardening, ¡°Get the fuck off me!¡± She yanked herself free from the grip of the scavenger, her heart was hammering. In times like this it was do, or die, fight to the death or suffer the consequences. Memories briefly flashed in her head. She was elsewhere, men all¨Caround her beating her down, helplessly battering her with steel. ¡°This bitch is still alive, Yael, go grab my pistol!¡± Scavenger one shouted, she assumed he was the leader. Yale was the boyish character, he ran awkwardly away. He swung a metal pipe down to her, she barely ducked, the impact, hitting the sludgy water beneath her, as she rolled away. That was not a gaffe stick. Yale had returned, Scavenger Two snatched the gun, hands shaking. Aimed¡ªclick. Jammed. His eyes widened. Shit! Number one lunged at Callia with a long cybernetic pocket knife. Callia seized his wrist, twisting. The knife found his throat¡ªsinking deep. Hot blood sprayed across her face, thick and metallic, He gurgled, collapsing in a twitching heap. ¡°She staggered back, chest heaving. His body twitched at her feet. The blood smelled sharp. Too real. ¡®Who¡¯s next? She shouted. Her vision glitched¡ªnumbers pulsed in the corner of her eye. [+80 Threshold Points.] The fuck? Distracting her. Something heavy cracked against her back, while she let the screen distract her. Scavenger, two, had hit her with a metal pipe several times. She staggered back, ribs cracking. A scream tore from her throat. Reality split apart. Psionic energy erupted¡ªraw, electric, uncontrolled. The air cracked in a purple haze, it grew heavy like lilac fire. A shockwave blasted from her chest. The scavenger rocketed backward, bones snapping midair. He screamed for his mother¡ªthen the wreckage took him. He was impaled by a piece of sharp metal. His scream cut off. His body twitches then went still. The last one left, the scrawny kid, barely more than a teenager. She stalked toward him. She could kill¡ªshe¡¯d proven that. But a kid? Bloodied and panting, she stood over him. He stared at her wide-eyed, trembling. He soiled himself, the gun was in his hands, he let it fell to the ground. His body was jerking¨Clike he wanted to run but couldn¡¯t. She ripped off his cracked mask. His breath hitched¡ªfrozen, waiting¡­ She didn''t know what it was, but seeing him hurt. Only hurt her. Recognition? Fear? Pity? She couldn¡¯t tell. It ate at her, what causes someone like him to be put in a position like this. She¡¯s seen kids like this before, no¨Cit was more personal than that. ¡°Yael? Is that your name?¡± she frowned. He shivered. ¡°Go! Go, or I¡¯ll do onto you as I did on to them.¡± He bolted. Disappearing into the junk heap summit. Good, no need for needless life to go. When she touched her wounded shoulder, Callia¡¯s hands shook, she felt her body failing her. Whatever grit and willpower she had posses earlier was gone, replaced by the aching feeling that she was going to die. A gunshot punched through her. Agony detonated up her spine. She crumpled. The stabber, he was still alive somehow, the knife lodged Into his throat, she saw a thick needle injected into his left thigh. She moved on a instinctual reaction. Adrenalin rushed through her system. She lunged. Her fist crushed his throat¡ªbone and cartilage caving under her knuckles. He stopped struggling, his body went limp. [+92 Threshold Points] [Double homicide.] In front of her eyes, a screen flickered , fracturing and glitching, completely distorting. Another screen popped up. [SYSTEM FORMALLY WELCOMES YOU.] [WELCOME, CALLIA PHALEN, TO EARTH, NUMBER 77.] PLEASE DO NOT DIE IMMEDIATELY. THAT WOULD BE EMBARRASSING.] [PROCESSING... ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.] Her vision blurred away. Her own blood seeped under her. The last thing she heard was the sound of more footsteps walking her away, she was really gone. She fell to the ground. Numbness, everywhere. Her vision blurs. Warm blood leaked from her body, and started pooling beneath her. Lines of code slithered across her vision, crawling, jittering. Everything cut to black. 1.2 - Pain Before Clarity Callia floated in and out of consciousness, her body was wrecked inside and out, it felt feverish burning as deep within as her nerves. Hot ambient heat. Sensory pain itching, her eyes felt like they were being clawed out. She found herself in an empty space, her cloth wrapped fingers reached out, into the darkness, reaching out to something that was calling her name over and over again. Callia! Gunfire erupted everywhere. The thudding of hundreds of bodies dropping next to her, the smell of burnt circuitry as she found herself in the depths of an unknown realm. [Wake_uuuuuu//p!!!] A screen flickered in her vision¡ªjagged, corrupted text crawling across her sight, stuttering like a dying signal. The world slowly snapped back, and she found herself falling from this strange place. She made a horrible attempt to move herself. She felt stiff sheets wrapped around her, the humming of something electric inside the room, antiseptic chemicals assaulting her nostril sharp and nonstop. Her eyes fluttered open. Hollowed, irregular beeping, beside her, it irks her to move her stiff neck. The first thing that came to mind was the sterile smell of the air. Her limbs felt numb, very numb, like she was drugged with endless amounts of narcotics. Her eyes blinked in pain, she moved her arm, slowly to remove the gunk of rheum from her eyes, wet liquid, freeing itself. With the hardened crust gone, she was able to see better. Something was way off. Beyond the fact that she could remember fuck all, she stared at her chest, she was bare, almost naked kept under a thin robe. She lifted the robe off her body, there in the center, was a surgical scar about the diameter of a bullet. She touched it and pain flared up. A hole, but how. She struggled to remember Right! The scavenger had shot her. Then she started bleeding out. Callia let go of the wound. Her vision blurred again and she stirred. Her throat was dry, she¡¯d kill for something to drink. Kill. Her pulse quickened, it was all she seemed to know. Her immediate thought It was like it was all she could remember deaths and kills, murders. Bodies dropping, her brain worked itself as she struggled to recall the events of the previous day. She had woken up in some metal cage¨Cno, a pod. Forced her way out, nearly got killed several times only to be shot by a gun. None of the three gave her much of a choice¡­ She had been pressed, but the younger boy had run away¡­ She took in her surroundings, bright beeping lights greeted her on the machines next to her, there were pipes next to, harsh fluorescent lights flickered, something was circulating the air, it was relatively cool. Comfortable. The sheets next to her cool. Mattress thin, but weak. Restraints? Next to her, but it wasn¡¯t made use of. She lay in the small room for a while. Then she noticed the mirror. Callia perked up, staring at herself. She was fair-skinned, and had crimson hair. Her eyes were sagging, of tiredness, her cheeks were hollowed out, she was beautiful if that wasn''t egoistic. A part of her looked really messed up, it didn¡¯t help that her long hair was messy and untied. Sharp, deliberate heels, waltz over several meters away. Click-click-click. Where the fuck was she? How did she get here? And why could she recall nothing? A shadow moved near the door, the shoes were different and the walk speed slow. He hummed to himself¨Chis voice calm, disinterested. Instinct kicked in as he neared the door and Callia panicked. She moved¨Cway too fast, her body hardened by her strained muscles, immediately kicking into adrenalin. The door hissed, with a sharp zip, open. A figure stepped in, a male, with a lab coat, carrying a data pad and a large needle in the other hand. ¡°And, patient number 0461, let¡¯s see how you are doing this mor¨C.¡± He stopped, his face seemed to turn blue, he forgot how to breath. They locked eyes, staring to each other¡¯s gazes. He froze, and she was sitting wildly like an agitated tiger. Her eyes settled on the fluid in the Comically large syringe, mystery liquid, strange. Meant for her. Panic and paranoia took a hold of her, the thought of being sedated against her will, irked her. The needle, it was an unpleasant trigger. She had to defend herself. Callia lunged at him, her bare feet slapping against the chilling floor. She dragged him by the collar, then came impact immediate¨Cas they collided with the wall. She presses her skin tight against him, and he tenses. Sweat trickled down his face and unto his neck. She could feel his pulse hammering against her palms as she held him down. ¡°Where the fuck am I?¡± ¡°Bu¡­.bha¨C¡± he stuttered, unable to form a coherent word. Mute. He couldn¡¯t fight back, but she did not relent. Then her panicked had ¡®doubled¡¯. She became furious for no reason other than she could and those nerves, the psionic ones, the psychic abilities, they flared up widely. And her world nearly fractured apart. She¡¯s in another place again. A burning city. A dying civilization. Voices calling everywhere through static. She was given orders¡­orders to do something. She did not obey. The man started wheezing, he tried resisting but ended up sniveling. A darkened, wet stain spread across his pants, as he stared at her in fright. Heels came sprinting down a hallway, stopped and slid into the door. As it swung open, the first thing she saw was a pistol. A woman had rushed inside--erratic and unreadable, the gun hummed in the grip of the gun, heavy. Callia turned her attention to the woman, staring her down. Confused, she waited out her reaction. ¡°Let him go now!¡± She stated, a demand, not up for negotiation. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask you again..¡± The man choked a plea as they spoke. ¡°Please, please¡­I have a little boy, I can¡¯t¡­You can¡¯t¡­¡± Callia loosened her grip. She didn¡¯t know why she had complied, but she did. He could have been lying, the woman could have been bluffing. She stuttered through her breathing. Furthermore, she was at the crossroads, not knowing where to go with this situation. . She gave over her grip. Several things went over her mind. Why did she do this, why¡¯d she react this way upon seeing the needle, she couldn¡¯t explain? The man, crouched, moving away from her as far as possible. He ran out of the room shortly after, in full metal panic. The woman, uneasy, she kept her gun on her pointed, finger on the trigger, then grabbed a long syringe from one of the drawers. Callia had stumbled backwards. The room titled a bit, her head was turning up on the inside. The lady never lowered the gun, taking small steps forward to her opposition. ¡°You¡¯re unstable.¡± A flash of silver¡ªa syringe. She injected Callia with it. Callia didn¡¯t resist, fearing the stopping power of a point blank round. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Hey! What are you doing!?¡± Her adrenaline had immediately spiked, so too did the psionic flare up. The room shook. And he head went on a ride. The doctor stared at her. Calculating Callia¡¯s response. Pondering whether she should have already dropped her already. The doctor stared at Callia as though she was inhuman, a beast, a monster. She slammed her head against the wall, as the brain fog invaded again. It was all weightless. She had nothing to base these off. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± Her own voice sounded distant. ¡°Bullshit!¡± The doctor snorts. A ploy so you can take advantage of us. The doctor raised the gun, bringing up to her face. A surge of anger slices through the haze. ¡°I said I don¡¯t remember. Alright! ¡± purple flooded the room again. Objects started flying everywhere, like the room was possessed.. The psionic power came with strong emotion. The doctor''s face turned into one of fear, she lifted her brow. ¡°You''re a fucking psyker?¡± ¡°A what!¡± The Doctor leaned backwards gun still in her hand, she didn¡¯t let it go, but she appeared to be in the process of rationality, she lowered her gun, gesturing for Callie to calm down. ¡°Listen to me! You¡¯re unstable right now, ease your emotions breathe in deep, then settle down.¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t control this rage.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to, or you¡¯ll leave me no choice.¡± Her finger twitched on the trigger of the gun, a split second away from sending Callia to the afterlife. ¡°I have to defend myself, and my assistant, it isn¡¯t personal.¡± Callia winced, she tried settling, but the strange rage, it still resided in her, driven by psionic energy. She took the breath she was advised to, the purple energy slowly eased away. Callia calmed. Then so too did the doctor. ¡°If you want to address the issue at hand, then please calm your visible tits, right away.¡± Callia stared below her neck, in her rage and fury, she had torn open the robe with her psionic rage. Callia took a deep breath, closed her eyes and listened. ¡°Well, will you learn to calm down so we can address the issue on at hand.¡± she spat at the ground. ¡°This is the thanks you get for being a Samaritan. Saved several fucking lives and half of them wants to fucking kill you when they wake!¡± Callia bowed her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m in a strange position. I don¡¯t know what came over me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no excuse. Fucking quests¡­ Going to get me really dead one of these days, ¡°Quests?¡± Callia asked dumbfounded, her nerves relaxing , she reacted irrationally, unstable. She knew that it was a mistake, one too late to regret. ¡°I found you half-dead in the Wastes.¡± The doctor, said. ¡°You were barely clinging on to life, someone shot a hole through, luckily it missed anything vital. Had to stitch on some synthetic skin or else some of your blood would be oozing out. Callia listened, rigid, but absorbing every single word. Synthetic skin, the Wastes, quests. Synthetic skin huh. She put her hands through the ruined robe, and touched the spot with the surgical marked near her stomach. She winced, it still pained. ¡°Yeah, that pain ain¡¯t going anywhere, anytime soon.¡± The doctor dropped, annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m a scrap doctor, or a lifejacker. I fix ungrateful people like you because it¡¯s the duty the system had laid out for me.¡± Callia raised her brow. The system, the second time she had heard about it. ¡°The system? What is the system? Corporate system? Military system? Solar system?¡± The scrap doctor, had a light smirk, ¡°My, my, you really aren¡¯t from here, well tough luck you¡¯ll have to figure it out yourself.¡± Callia jaw clenched, she was out of the loop and that irked her. The doctor accessed her closely. ¡°That armor I found on you, the burning ship from the sky, your amnesia and that fact that you blatantly attacked my assistant, without logic or reason. You¡¯re not from this planet, are you.¡± Callia¡¯s stomached twisted, she recalled descending from somewhere. Of course. The pod, It would explain all the other dead bodies and people she saw. ¡°What ship?¡± The doctor¡¯s gaze hardens. ¡°The one the System shot down.¡± Silence. A chill down her spine? Her breath catching? A cold, creeping realization. She was not only outside this world, she was considered hostile, for whatever reason, this ¡®system¡¯ had taken mercy on her. ¡°If it wanted you dead, you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡± The scrap doctor remarked. She gave her through stare. ¡°But you overstayed your welcome by having the manners of a child.¡± She stepped closer, her patience seemed to be gone, but she kept the gun close. The doctor pressed herself against Callia, her face milimeters away, against hers, foreheads meeting. ¡°You¡¯re alive because of me! Callia,¡± she narrowed her eyes. Bringing her voice to down to a low murmur. ¡°If that is even your real name.¡± Callia was in a shit spot, but she wasn¡¯t going to allow herself to be bullied. ¡°Yeah, what do you want me to do about it?¡± ¡°That means you owe me. I scrapped what I could off your armor to pay for your medical needs.¡± A cold weight settles in Callia¡¯s gut. A debt. Already. Somewhere, she didn¡¯t even know where she was. It was a death sentence, she had nothing on her, nothing for her. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously expect an amnesiac to pay you back.¡± ¡°The fuck, I can¡¯t.¡± The doctor scoffed, ¡°You¡¯ve already cost me thousands. The rewards the system gave were a miniscule gain, I have a business to run.¡± Callia frowned. ¡°Business, I thought¨C¡± ¡°You thought what, that I was a fucking hero, that this was a hospital.¡± she snapped her fingers. ¡° Tough luck, Ms. Red.¡± ¡°But¨C¡± She gestures outside the room. ¡°You hurt my assistant, that means you hurt me.¡± Callia clenches her fists. She could always force her way out from this woman, the woman who saved her life, was vulnerable. No, that would beyond messed up. Even so, it felt unfair, she just had to defend herself now, she was being thrown around. The doctor pulls her gun, she opens one of the room¡¯s wardrobe closet, threw her a pair of slippers, and a hospital gown at Callia, then showed her way to the door. ¡°Get dressed, before I assume you¡¯re something you¡¯re not.¡± Callia scrambled. Stripping herself, the doctor didn¡¯t mind that she was naked.. ¡°I was going to be lenient with you, but no good deed goes unpunished.¡± she said relunctantly ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked, half naked. ¡°What else, I thought you were a cut above the rest, I guess appearances can be deceiving.¡± she bit her lip. Get the fuck out.¡± What! Callia swapped the clothing, ignoring the furious stares of the scrap doctor. Night gown and some slippers, nothing else. Practically bare. The doctor pushed her outside, the room into a hallway, several more closed of chambers resided next to her wake point. Lines of red light indicated that they were off limits or closed. The scrap doctor doesn¡¯t waver. She pushed Callia further to the front door, the slide door hisses, as it open, pressurized air hissed as it open, and the immediate glow of outside neon lights greeted her. Callia took one long look at the woman. Platinum blonde hair, maybe a bit older than she was , a surgical scar near her neck. ¡°Five days.¡± She said, cryptically. ¡°My debt.¡± A notification pings across Callia¡¯s vision. Callia blinks as a digital screen popped up in front of her eyes. [System Alert: Mandatory Quest ¨C Outstanding Legal Debt] Time Limit: 5 Days Debt Amount: 500 Credits Debtor: Dr. Kara Maris Reason: She saved your life. It¡¯s only fair you repay her. Reward: +100 TP (Participation Bonus) Failure to Comply: Reported to Authorities [System Notice: Quest cannot be declined.] ¡°That¡¯s your jail sentence. Or your death sentence. Pick your poison. Either way. Pay me back, or you¡¯re the authorities'' problem, I heard they''re looking for live survivors of that crash. Good luck soldier. Callia blinks. ¡°What the fuck is this.¡± Kara Maris, gave Calla on long stared before slamming the door slides shut, it made a loud peeping noised, a display peeked in front of her face. She wondered what it was. Pity or cold indifference. [Locked] Callia¡¯s chest tightened, she was in a strange place, with an executioners bill. She locked her legs, squeezed together. Then moved back half a step, Callia spun around. Staring at the slum before her. Neon-lit lights illuminated every corner of the street, buzzing like wild hornets. People were bustling about, pushing against each other in large crowds. Smog choked the night sky. In the far distance, long stretching skyscrapers, displayed ads in real time display. The street next to her was alive¨Cdrones were humming above the air of the slum, crowds were shifting, and what looked like drug dealers moved from point to point exchanging shit. Voices were rising and falling, failing like a chaotic choir. She swore she heard a blood-curdling scream kilometers away. Then came the smell, it reeked, people were unwashed, burning chemicals in trash containers to keep warm. Sewage corroded around her, half fixed pages, electricity buzzes from a maligned portable station of sorts breaking because of maintenance. She starts moving with her weak slippers, it wouldn''t last long in this terrain. Two massive things caused a sense of megalophobia in her. The moon of whatever planet she was on was broken, half of it fractured, hovering the near it¡¯s core like an asteroid belt. In the other direction from where she stood, A Giant dome, easily as tall as the sky skyscrapers but as wide as several stadiums. With illuminating emoji face patrolled the city with its eyes. It turned, settling on her. She shuddered, fearing its gaze. What is that? Why is it staring at me. [Hello Callia; Welcome to Sol-77B or, as we like to call it, Echo Earth.] Her head dropped, and she started walking away, as she did so do its gaze. A newsfeed nearby, attached to a billboard, displayed itself for the whole street. It was a bit away, but she could make out words. ¡°Wreckage still smoldering in the Outer District.¡± Unknown casualties¡ª Preliminary reports suggest¡­. A thousand¨C¡± A burning ship. Falling. Invaders. She barely had time to process it before the system bothered her again. [System Alert: Mandatory Quest ¨C Outstanding Legal Debt] Time Limit: 4 Days 23 hours 57 minutes 22 seconds. Tick tok. Tick tok. 1.3 - Tick. Tock Callia wandered the streets, it smelled of burned plastic, grime and splattered oil on every corner. A corner, mind you, that felt like a trap every time you went around one. She had done her best to keep to the shadows, while she ponders and access her situation. Eavesdropping where she could, listening. The sounds of the distant megacity, could be heard blaring all the way from here, she had spotted several hover cars, moving in and out of the farsighted skyscrapers. All of this felt familiar, like she had seen it all her life, but only that this place was the out-of-place actor. It was alive after all. The system, it was everywhere, integrated into the lives of the denizens of the slum at least, as far as she was concerned. Stars glittered past the broken moon, it was clear as crystal. She wasn¡¯t from here. Nor was she familiar with this system. It was utterly alien, like a video game brought to life, serving as a prison warden. The air on this planet was strange; she couldn¡¯t describe as she didn¡¯t have a visual references to base it off, she knew it was lighter to breath than she did on earth, she moved easier too. Jumping came naturally, she¡¯d bet a slug could jump. Earth? The original planet earth? Was that where she was from? Was that home? Callia shook her head, her slippers scraped against hard tar¨Cher body was moving on instinct, she wasn¡¯t aimlessly wandering but accessing. Reconnaissance, was the closest thing she could equate it too. She¡¯d need things to survive. Get the gist of how it worked around here. A weapon. Food. Anything. Reevaluate, access, maneuver. Plan, strategize, execute, triumph. Callia slipped into an alleyway for her safety. A man had been tailing her for some time, she did her best to move, where there was no foot traffic, and no drones to spot her. The moment, she heard him shuffling after her, frantically. She knew her suspicious were true. Callia devised an opportunity. This place was perfect, quiet, no onlookers bar, a strange black cat with a mutated Eye set of and the occasional drone. She kicked off her slippers, wouldn¡¯t want them to get dirty, it¡¯s all she had. Then shifted her nimble feet, ready to roll out a punch. A kick to the groin if needed. A man stepped behind from the alleyway¨Che appeared to be half-naked, sweat trickling down his flushed face, a wide smile or maybe something sinister plastered all over his mug. He was drunk, judging by his smell, but competent enough not try anything in view. His were lecherous, like he wanted a piece of her. And he came for his prize. I don¡¯t approve, not in the slightest. ¡°You lost sweetheart? He purred at her. Closing the long distance between her, he whistled and hummed between his words. ¡°Hospital gown? Walking aimlessly? I say you just got out from half death. You look, lonely. Looking for some¡­fun company.¡± He gets closer. That was a mistake, her demeanor if anything made it clear. She didn¡¯t want to be near him, And he was going to make the last mistake of his life in a moment. She walked a bit away, to see if he planned on chasing her. Her footsteps picked up speed, losing his drunken stupor, he threw the bottle of emptied alcohol down on the floor then started dashing towards her. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talking to you. Bitch!¡± He grabs her wrists. Callia lets it happen. Then, when his body was close to hers, she moved on her own before she could even process it. She twisted his arm in turn, slamming her knee into his ribs. He cried in pain. She heard a bone crunch. Maybe a muscle snap or two. The shock in his face lasted for a half a second. Then he got pissed. She lets go of him, he staggers. Then swings at her. She dodged effortlessly, side stepping his savage attacks. She brought her body around, pushing her knuckles against his jaw. Too fast, way too precise. She shouldn¡¯t be able to do this. But she did, and that disturbed her. He falls backwards, then lunges¨Cand she dove away, staining the gown, with blackened dirt, black tar, and the greasy grime of the asphalt. He came back again quickly, and pulled out a knife out of his pockets. The drunk lunges again, this time she doesn¡¯t dodge, she slams her fist into his forehead, then elbowed his gut. He let out a drunken wheeze, the contents of his last liquid meal spilling onto the ground. His knife fell on the floor. And yet he doesn¡¯t stop. He persists. ¡°You¡¯re mine!¡± he shouts, out of breath. He tries grabbing her again¨Cshe lets him do it. A mistake, hand¡¯t he learned the first time. She twists his wrist, and it nearly snapped away. He started screaming, she contorted his body, slamming it on the pavement, his head bouncing against the concrete. He went quiet. Still as a church mouse. The amnesiac was panting heavily. Pain erupted from the surgical wound. Her hands shake. Her body was acting on its own, speaking a language her mind did not, muscle memory. She could have done more, that psionic charge, that she could flare up again, killing him with it. Send him flying across a roof, but she didn¡¯t. She knew how to kill, and efficiently so, a trained killer then. The doctor, Kara, had mocked her as she kicked her out, called her a soldier, was that was she was? She also knew her name, which Callia had recently learned coincidentally or did the system tell the doctor that. Perhaps she owned a set of belongings that she may have kept under wraps. Without telling Callia a thing. A split second of panic flickered in her, immediately suppressing her thoughts. The man lay motionless on the floor. Was he dead, did she kill him?. Would the system report her for doing so, were there laws in place that would stop an individual like her from defending herself¡­ Her vision flickered and then. A screen popped open again, intrusively, pixelating, before become clear and rigid. They were called stats? A rating assigned to her. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She stared at it in confusion? She¡¯d seen stuff like this before somewhere in her life but never like this, without some kind of neural interface. This was all wrong, she checked her eyeballs touching it for some time, pinching, squeezing and even poking her iris. Augmentation may have been installed by Doctor Kara may have added. No. She saw the thing ping before she landed in her clinic. This was something else at work. Perhaps, this system thing had penetrated her mind, infected her with some electronical-biomechanical virus, tethered her to its existence. It wasn¡¯t so strange, despite being amnesiac, her brain swore on stranger things. It would make sense, that the dome, the oversize emoticon, glared at her, made it clear where she stood, in its hierarchy. Absolute Sovereignty. A fucking emoticon. [Callia ¨C Level 0 (Unclassed)] ¡°Your body was made for war, maybe something worse¡­¡±

Baseline Stats (Human Average = 10):

Vitality (VIT): 12 (Tough, can take hits.) Mobility (MOB): 12 (Fast, reactive, combat-trained.) Focus (FOC): 9 (Base 10 -1 from Amnesia ¨C Occasional lapses, trouble holding thoughts together.) Processing (PROC): 8 (Base 10 -2 from Amnesia ¨C Slower cognitive recall, scattered memory.) Resilience (RES): 10 (Baseline ¨C Mentally tough, but not unbreakable.) Instinct (INS): 10 (Baseline ¨C Her gut reactions are good, but unrefined.) Kinetics (KIN): 12 (Base 10 +2 from Military Conditioning ¨C Built to serve.¡±

Class-Exclusive Stat (Unique):

Psionics (PSI): 13 (Base 10 +3 from Psionic Affinity ¨C Strong natural or engineered psionic potential.)

Traits & Debuffs:

Military Conditioning: +2 to all physical stats (VIT, MOB, KIN). Your body remembers the drills, even if your mind doesn¡¯t. Psionic Affinity: +3 PSI. You were born with it, or maybe it was forced into you. Either way, it¡¯s yours. Amnesia (Debuff): Memory corruption detected. Inconsistent recall, occasional disorientation (-2 PROC, -1 FOC). Active Status: Condition- Bad (-1 VIT) Surgical recovery (-2VIT) Hunger (-1 FOC) Sleep deprivation (-2 FOC), Teetering on the edge (+2 KIN) Whatever accessed her, whether it was this system, watching her. It felt like being part of a table-top game. Judged. Callia growled, swiping at the screen, she didn¡¯t want to see it at the moment. It vanished, into the void. The man below her groaned. He was alive after all. She wasn¡¯t going to let him off easily. But she didn¡¯t want to kill him either, the consequences could be telling and severe, she needed to play safe. Dip her toe in the water, before she plunges her body into it¡¯s deep, dark depths. She put the heel of her foot on his backed and pressed down hard. ¡°Fuck, Arrrghhh, who the fuck?¡± he groaned. ¡°Answer my question, or I¡¯ll end you.¡± she said, scowling daggers at the bastard. ¡°Where. Am. I?¡± ¡°Goodrift, bitch, where else. This is paradise. Fuck you.¡± ¡°No,¡± she shouted. Pressing her heel downwards, she brought it up, and kicked him on the back. ¡°What planet am I on?¡± The system told her, but she wanted her own confirmation. ¡°And be truthful, or I¡¯ll splinter your spine.¡± ¡°Sol-77b, Echo Earth. You an outsider or something?¡± It still meant nothing to her, for all she knows this was some test, or a simulation made to fuck with her. ¡°What¡¯s the system?¡± she demands. He laughs, spits blood. ¡°What, you grow up in a cave?¡± Something clicks in her head. If the system was common around here, it clearly wasn¡¯t wherever she was from, and she wasn¡¯t from this planet. She came somewhere else, farther away. The burning ship made it clear, she needed to find a way there. ¡°The burning ship, where did it crash? I need to know?¡± He crackled. ¡°What, are you fucking stupid? That place of limits, authorities won¡¯t let anyone in.¡± he made a gasping sound like he realized what went on. ¡°Wait, are you one of those fucking invaders? You came here looking for trouble and got your shit wrecked, heard there¡¯s a hefty price for one of your heads, live of course.¡± A bounty. Or were the authorities, looking for ¡®them¡¯ for reasons or interrogation. Either way, she didn¡¯t want to be caught. Callia crouched next to him, searching him thoroughly. He flinched. ¡°Hey, DA fuck are you doing.¡± ¡°Get up,¡± she demanded. ¡°Get up! Or else.¡± He did as she demanded. Flinching, half afraid of being pummeled into the ground again. ¡°Strip,¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said strip you cunt¡± He laughed. ¡°Oh, now you want to get it on, If I knew you were playing this hard to get I¡¯d¨C¡± She punched him across the face, blood leaked from it, he held his hands together, eyes bloodshot, in panic. He hurried up. Throwing it to the ground. ¡°And you¡¯re pants, keep your underwear, your vest, and your shoes,¡± He sighed, ¡°shouldn¡¯t have gotten drunk.¡± he complained. ¡°Oh It''s too late for regrets, I¡¯m feeling merciful today, If I catch you preying on assuming ladies, I will kill you for you. You got that¡± He nodded, closing his eyes. His drunken temper seemed to have quelled. The man walked off. Stumbling against the walls of the alleyway. Half-collapsing. Alcohol or beat down? Call it Callia. Which fucked him up the most. She pulls the hoodie over her head, it first nearly perfect, but his cargo pants were oversized, the belt would have to be tightened, considerably, she slipped on her slippers. A glint of silver caught her eye. His knife, he had dropped it. She picked it up, and felt it in her fingers. The weight of carrying it was familiar, comforting, it put her at ease. The system pinged. [Combat Victory: Reward ¨C 70 TP Earned] [Loot obtained ¡ª Stolen clothing] [ ¡ª Combat knife ] [TP threshold ¡ª peaked, suggest user Callia chooses an assigned class soon.] [Choose a class; a role in this world?] [Y/N] ¡°No,¡± It was too early to make decisions or to play with this thing? What did it mean by class, or role rather, a way of life, a way to fight, what did mean, she needed more information? She couldn¡¯t treat it like a role-playing game, this was physical, somehow. ¡°Alright system, what the hell are you?¡± she mutters into the air. There was a slight pause, then nothing. Then, like static, whirred itself into its brain. A screen flashed. [Central Directive override] Then an audible voice made itself known. Old and gruff like an old wizard. [The admin. God. The Sovereign of this world. Your new best friend. Your enemy. The only thing that matters. Your savior, Callia Phalen] ¡°Bullshit, tell me where I come from!¡± [No. Ticktock Callia Phalen. Play or be vanquished for life.] It vanished. ¡°Hey answer me,¡± Another screen flashed. [ Central directive override, overridden. Transferring administration to Goodrift Administrator.] ¡°What?¡± Text flickers again. [ (?? ? ??)This is the Goodrift administration system. No more stalling, dear. Get to work. Or you¡¯ll end up homeless, wait you already are. "(¨C ? ¨C)] Callia sighed, this was too much at once. So there was more than one system? ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to participate!¡± [I may not have full control of the district, but I will hire someone to spank you (????? )?] A chill went up her spine. The message disappeared. She stares up at the sky, the stretching neon lights flowed into every crack of her reality. The city hummed, whatever she had found herself in it. She was starting to learn the rules. She had three goals at the moment. Find something to eat, pay off the bitch of a doctor, then find a way to that ship. Questions, questions. The system rewarded her TP? For beating some asshole? What were the unspoken rules? What lines should she not cross. Where does she start? Classes? Who was she? Will the doctor forgive her? Smells invaded her nostrils. Burnt circuits and next to it, nearby had to be cheap food cart. She wondered if they¡¯d take some stolen knife or was she going to swipe food tonight, or was it morning already? 1.4 - Flowergirl Callia woke on some kind of crumbling rooftop, wrapped in a stiff, grimy coat, she got from a trash canister, it smelled like rust and old oil. Her ribs were aching from sleeping on the uneven concrete, and her stomach was still howling in hunger. She managed to haggle a piece of her hair for a few buns last night, red hair wasn¡¯t common around here. She just hoped the lady she offered it wouldn¡¯t end up stringing it to a doll and cursing her with it. She stared up at the broken moon, it¡¯s shattered shards all reflecting a glint of light. Callia stood up, it was time to inquire information directly. Or succumb to her fate as a possible illegal and well a bum. She stared down the rooftop. The first thing she saw was a kid trying to scam passerby¡¯s by, while his comrade-in-arms would attempt to pickpocket the unassuming victim. They didn¡¯t get very far, the moment a drone came around the corner, they scooted. Red lights, flashed on the drone¡¯s chassis, as it gave pursuit, leaving the victim dumbfounded. Callia looked away. It wasn¡¯t her duty to police, the children of the slums. Her memory was still foggy, and her head was throbbing. Whatever the system thing had done to her, had fucked up her brain, her skull was glitching, unreadable notifications kept flashing sporadically behind her eyelids to in front of it. Irritating her to no end. [ERROR: 3091-!t#*~] [%@^%&[]** [DFP-X48] [ALERT: Alert **[-]%)(! (SYNCHRONIZATION FAILURE) (1022#T)** ¡°Shit.¡± she sighed, she needed to stop swearing, it was a bad habit, she couldn¡¯t let go of¡­ Turning her attention to a crowd of individuals below, they stood next to an old rusted-put vending terminal, a green smiley waved in animation. ¡°Goodrift System dispenser.¡± displayed on top. The people, lined up together, in rows, all offered an outstretched prayer and whispered. ¡°Oh faithful Goodrifit, give us our daily needs.¡± Were they worshiping these digital entities? They all wanted something else from it. ¡°Come on, come on, baby needs a stim¡­ I need a stim¡± a junkie had said without shame or cause. ¡°Let me eat today. Just today.¡± An old man begged. She could understand the old man¡¯s plea for food. Perhaps she would do so as well. ¡°Blessed be the randomizer, hallowed be its name¡­ I need credits, more credits!¡± Callia watches as the machine, started bouncing about, beeping and then it dispensed. A needle filled with fluid for the junkie. A large metal coin, it shot to the pennyless woman, and a stale protein bar it gave the old man. It was the slot machine for the desperate. ¡°Oh god,¡± And she was going to beg it. Her dignity had gone down the drain. She had gone from mysterious killer, to beggar, in the span of a few hours. She rubbed her face, why didn¡¯t she play it nice, with the hot doctor, and her cute assistant, she nearly ¡®manhandled¡¯ she might have gotten a place to stay, maybe even something to pay off the debt. She exhales, then climbed down the rooftop, down, the balconies, of whoever levied hear. Then jogged towards it, scrubbing her hands to together, waving to the system dispenser. In a half-assed prayer. ¡°Uh¡­oh¡­goodrift, part-system, part-time vending machine, give me something to eat? Please?¡± The cracked screen flashed red, the green emoji turned into an angry devil, The machined started bouncing and processing, light flickered from the lowered dispenser and something fell then clunked forward. [Rolling. Rolling. Rolling.] the screen flashed in front of her. ? ? ? ? ? ? [SYSTEM LOTTERY RESULT: UNLUCKY. TRY AGAIN NEVER. 24 hour Cooldown: starting for User Callia] Then- a loud bang. A dented can shot at her at high velocity, smashing into her face, she fell on her ass. ¡°Ooof.¡± She grunts, And picked up the dented can. There was, indeed, some value to it. It was an energy drink, still filled with fluid. She took it, hardly grateful. She wanted something decent. ¡°Man, fuck the system.¡± she said. She grunts, staggering. A ragged woman cackles behind her, voice like a rusted chainsaw. ¡°HAH! System loves ya, sweetheart! It doesn¡¯t get better than this.¡± She waved to the old woman, and gave her a warm smile. ¡°Yeah, I hate it too.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. She straightened herself. Her smiled turned into a glare, and she stared the trolling machine down. She starts walking, clicking open the can, she starts chugging down the liquid. It quenched her thirst, refreshing, a wave and a rush of energy erupted in her. The system had spoken. Drones enforces came around the corner, hovering for potential criminals. She scanned the street, one immediately moved towards, it¡¯s little zapper, staring at her. ¡°Move along, citizen,¡± it said. ¡°No, loitering allowed.¡± Callia took this opportunity to flee and buzzed off. Into the next street, to harass, innocents there. She swore under her breath, as she ran off. Avoiding unnecessary complication. ***** Her stomach cramps have eased. No, thanks to the can. But she was still moving without an aim. She checked the weight of the pockets¨Cloose change, an unused stim, she picked from an emptied shipment, a cigarette, she wasn¡¯t going to smoke. She eyed the food carts down, they were serving the most obnoxious and cheapened junk food available, they watch her like she was a ravenous stray dog, ready to claw at them. She ignored the vendors, the mismatched, clothing and her natural red hair, it was putting them on the edge. She lowered her eyes, then spots something on the ground, a half-eaten hot dog safe in a container, still clean, but unsupervised. She weighed her options, there could be various reasons as to why they left it there. But her stomach was the master, not her. A modern medical facility would be able to clean any disease. To hell with dignity, she was desperate, she ran as quickly as she could, grabbing it tearing at it the chewed side and swallowed it hole. Nearly coughing up. Oversaturated with salt and sauce, the meat tasted fake, chewy like plant meat, synthetic and over processed. She rubbed the thought out of her mind, out of the rest, perhaps it was time to start asking the locals. Across the street, a young woman was sitting on a crate, waving around, strangely colored flowers, in paper pots. Shouting at passers-by, ¡°sentimental flower for a credit, it¡¯s a credit, but it¡¯ll make someone smile.¡± Her vocal advertising didn¡¯t help much. Most people simply didn¡¯t care, Callia had some spare changed in her pocket. Perhaps it was time to do herself a good deed for the day. As Callia walked over to her, she noticed her presence. Her sleeves were overly long for the heat. Her hands were trembling. She stiffened as Callia approached. She offered her the change that was in her pocket, that was several credits, she thinks. The auburn-haired woman took it from her reluctantly. ¡°O-oh, you want more than one flower?¡± ¡°No, you can keep them, I wanted to ask you some questions.¡± ¡°Oh, okay,¡± she said, nervous. The amnesiac introduced herself. ¡° I¡¯m new here,¡± Callia said. Her voice rough and cautious. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know where a vagabond might find some¡­employment, would you.¡± The girl flinched. People weren¡¯t kind around, here, she seemed wary but frightful, like she was ready to bawl at enemy moment. As if Callia would take advantage of her. ¡°Um¡­are you from off-world? You gotta wait for the system to give you a quest¡­¡± she murmured, her eyes darting all over, everywhere away from Callia¡¯s gaze. ¡°The system does¡¯ like me very much, so I¡¯ve never gotten one.¡± Callia perked up. Now, why would some people be exempt from participating in this, did the ruling body of the world, discriminate against a few undesirables. ¡°That must suck.¡± Callia giggled awkwardly. ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± she whispered, slowly becoming at ease. ¡°Or, you can¡­ Y¡¯know, for the bosses.¡± ¡°Or, you can¡­ Y¡¯know ¡°Bosses?¡± ¡°Warlords. Gangs. Mafia. Take your pick. They¡¯ll take anyone.¡± Callia exhales, her head started hammering again. She suddenly staggered backwards, then gripped the flower girl''s crate, beneath, her face coming into view. ¡°Hey¡­ You don¡¯t happen to know who I am, do you?¡± she asked, desperate. The girl takes a step back. Climbing off the crate. Fear flickers in her eyes. ¡°No. Please don¡¯t hurt me.¡± she moaned. Callia felt that edge drive her again, that constant aggression. Something about the girl was irking her, she was hiding something. Her body was reacting on her own. A gust of hot air, blew against the air. It lifted the girl''s sleeve backwards. And for a half a second. Callia saw unnatural blue skin spreading underneath, like it reacted to the sensitivity of the air. The girl in front of her wasn¡¯t human. Not entirely. A hybrid of some sorts. Her body has sensed it, sought it out involuntarily. She didn¡¯t know why but aliens, the thought irked her, made her angry, She grabbed her wrist, in quickly, ¡°You have blue-skin?¡± The flower girl, panicked. She dropped the flowers all on the ground and bolted, her feet slapped against the pavement. ¡°Hey! Wait, Your flowers.¡± Callia stared at the crushed flowers on the ground, her fingers twitched, she picked one up. She just hurt someone innocent, because she couldn¡¯t control her impulses. ¡°I¡¯m an asshole, dammit¡­¡± The blue skin, it was something she recognized, a half memory of the past, she didn¡¯t know why. More mysteries to be solved. [Pathetic! You can barely find some work, and you¡¯re already acting like a thug, harassing innocents.] The voice inserted itself into her head. It was the goodrift AI again. ¡°Get out of my head.¡± [You¡¯re in my district, my rules. *sighs* honestly you¡¯re pathetic so let me give you a boost.] Callia sat on the crate, staring at the crushed petals, ignoring the thing in her head. The petals were soft and fragile, they didn¡¯t seem to grow the along flora of the streets. Something told her not much survived in the city. She¡¯d have to make it up to the flower girl. Her HUD pinged again. [ SYSTEM ALERT: SURVIVAL QUEST ¨C ¡°YOU¡¯RE COOKED¡±] You will not receive a second warning. Objectives: - Get Food ¨C You¡¯re running on fumes. Eat something. - Get Shelter ¨C Find a place to stay before things get worse. - Get a Job ¨C You need income. No more excuses. Time Limit: 24 Hours Failure Consequence: System-enforced survival measures activated. Quest Refinement System activated: Due to repeated irresponsibility, Callia is now under mandatory survival directives.] Callia gawked. ¡°Wait, are you nannying me!¡± she shouted at the local system. [You¡¯re doing absolutely horrible for a person of your caliber. Get moving, You¡¯re acting like a bump in the road, and I guess I hate seeing potential wasted. It¡¯s truly disgusting, also You''re stinking up my district, that girl, is ostracized by this community which is why I don¡¯t give her quests. You just disrupted her life, You silly outsider. I hope you find it in your heart to make amends.] Callia sunk her shoulders. The last thing she needed was moral guardinan angel over her shoulder. There were a few credits still in her pocket. She exhales, walking over to the vendor. She bought something akin to grilled stick meat. Mystery meat too, some kind of local Fauna. Hopefully it was no Soy lent green. The oil dripped down her fingers, as she tastes it. Synthetic, smokey, slightly chemical and overly sweet meat. As she eats, she walks back in the direction in which it came. She needed to understand the power dynamics of this place. Who¡¯s in power here? Who¡¯s watching? Besides the system? Who¡¯s hunting? Callia hands were tied, she had one connection, she hoped, returning wouldn¡¯t bite her in the ass. She gulped everything down her throat in a massive chew, chomping bit and started sprinting towards the clinic. 1.5 - Hard bargaining

Callia knocked on the sliding door, in quick successive taps. There was nothing for a while. A little round camera observed her above the door frame, it moved around, its inner lens oscillated as she stared at it. She waved at the camera, giving a nonchalant smile.

There was movement inside nearby, she could hear heels clicking towards her direction. It was the Scrap doctor, no doubt. There was a brief pause, she saw her shadow stand behind the semi-translucent glass. The slide door of the clinic, made an irritating hiss. As pressurized air escaped it. She barely set foot inside before she was staring at the iron barrel of a gun again. No money, no memories, and no direction, Yet came I back to look in the face of death. Doctor Kara¡¯s hands weren¡¯t steady. Callia watched her knuckles tighten around the grip of the gun¨Cthey were too panicky. She had no control over it, her trigger discipline nonexistent. She seemed spooked, and Callia doubted it was her presence. The doctor¡¯s swollen eyes told a different tale. ¡°Oh, wow, look at that. Somehow, you¡¯re still alive. I¡¯ll pretend to be surprised.¡± She widened the distance between her legs. Yet came closer. ¡°I had a feeling you would come crawling back.¡± Callia lowered her smile. ¡°Somehow, I made it one piece, but¨C¡± ¡°Stop,¡± the doc hisses. ¡°I thought I told you not to come back, unless you brought me my creds.¡± Doctor Kara gazed down at her, there was hesitation in her blue eyes, part desperation. She was built like a Greek goddess, a model, and yet somehow was some kind of illicit secondhand death doctor. Was her life path chosen by need or necessity. Callia could only wonder. The amnesiac raised her right hand slowly, the other settling on her aching stomach, where the gun wound resided. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve got no creds, no trade, no reason you should help me. But the system is forcing me into a tough spot, you¡¯re the only one that can help.¡± The words tasted like bitter soup. She hated using them. She hated begging. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t want to do this, but fate brought her here. ¡°Were you actually listening to me? Actually, don¡¯t answer that. It seems more than your brain suffered damage from your descent.¡± The doctor started scowling at her. ¡°So¡­the system has formally started speaking with you. Huh. ¡± Callia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s putting me in a tough spot, I have no one to rely on. I¡¯d rather not go down a path of crime. And I need a place to stay.¡± Kara sighed. She swallowed, closed her eyes. Then scrutinized the mismatched apparel Callia was wearing. Her face contorted in disgust. Her hands itched, and she locked the safety of the pistol before shoving it into the pocket of her coat. ¡°It just so happens, I have a problem that needs dealing with. I can¡¯t promise you a place to stay. However, if you¡¯re going to keep showing up, perhaps I¡¯ll find you a cage to sleep in. That way, you might not lash out again.¡± She mocked. Callia¡¯s felt a brief rush of joy as her face lit up. ¡°It''s probably better than sleeping on a rooftop, I wouldn¡¯t mind being put on a leash, if it meant my belly was full.¡± ¡°Pathetic, honestly.¡± The doctor leaned forward, grabbed Callia like she was a lost dog. ¡°Hey!¡± Dragging her inside, she closed the slide doors of the sterile clinic. Callia¡¯s eyes darted all over, as she was pulled and plucked around. Every part of the interior was painted in a flat pale blue. Fluorescent lights illuminated the room. The furniture, the decorations, all utilitarian, made for public appeal. ¡°Follow me,¡± Kara¡¯s gaze flicked across the hallway and into one of the back rooms. Her face looked like it was carrying some unbearable weight¨Cthere were signs of guilt, her nerves were on edge; she had bigger problems than Callia¡¯s bum butt. She held her hand over the scanner, it beeped. Callia followed the scrap doctor inside the locked room. There, on a spartan bed, lay a dead man. His eyes, almost completely replaced by several mechanical eye sets. His mouth hung open. The smell of burnt human flesh settled in her nose. ¡°I barely know you, but I never took you for a serial killer?¡± Callia teased. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t,¡± The doctor frowned. ¡°His cybernetics fucked with the surgery, it¡¯s likely he was bugged before I picked him up. He didn¡¯t make it. Now I¡¯m suffering with the aftermath.¡± It was clear to Callia what the issue was. It was her concern now. ¡°You want me to do something about it? Dumb old me that just got here.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have a dead body here, I¡¯ll lose reputation, start catching unnecessary attention, authorities might shut down the clinic, strip me of my license. Can¡¯t hire a merc; funds are spread too thin. They¡¯ll ask too much, and any dog on the street will out me for a single credit.¡± Callia pushed past her, her savior and former adversary. The closer she got to the body, the less it smelled like scorched flesh. Burnt copper, burnt plastic, and rotten metal. It was unpleasant. Get rid of it. 400 creds. And I¡¯ll think about canceling your debt. Can¡¯t help you with anything until I can trust you. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Take it where? I have no sense of direction; I¡¯m not familiar with the place.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re lacking half your brain, know that I only need a body to listen to my instructions. The big scrapyard, same place I found you, common dumping ground for these types. Just drop him there and leave him to rot.¡± The amnesiac started swaying, and shaking her head. She was supposed to move a dead body in her state, it was a ridiculous preposition. Her stomach still ached. ¡°I can¡¯t drag a corpse across the district. It¡¯s broad daylight!¡± ¡°There is a way, if you¡¯re willing to listen!¡± the doc snapped, slamming her hands on the bed. ¡°You think I want this problem?¡± ¡°N-no, clearly not.¡± Callia jumped slightly backwards, She hadn¡¯t expected a sudden outburst. ¡°Honestly, this was your fault, had you not spooked Marcus, I¡¯d have operated with my partner, but you scared him off for the day.¡± So now it was her fault, brilliant. Callia inspected the dead man, he looked no older than forty, every part of his body had some cybernetic edge to it. Wires ran up through it¡¯s body, like metallic tattoos. ¡°So why can¡¯t you just, melt him in acid or flush him down the drain? Sell the body to some sketchy black market? ¡°Because drains and sewage lines are monitored in real time by the authorities. You think I can just dump whatever inside, there''s particle sensors stuffed in there; they will find out. Black markets? It¡¯s like touching a poisonous plant.¡± she stuffed her hands in her lab pockets

¡°So, what will it be, Ka-lee-a?¡±

Callia groaned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry this is so sudden. And I just ate, too. It¡¯s disgusting.¡± ¡°Nothing is given freely. You lash out after I saved your life, then you show up after I tell you not to come back without my credits.¡± SYSTEM ALERT: OPTIONAL QUEST ¨C "WASTE MANAGEMENT" Time Limit: 2 Hours Quest Giver: Dr. Kara Maris Objective: Dispose of a body. Quietly. In the Wastes Reward: +400 Credits, Possible mandatory quest cancellation. Approval with Dr. Kara Maris Failure Consequence: None¡ªunless you ask too many questions. The screen flickered intrusively in her face. This would be her third quest, her third quest that would be unfulfilled. She didn¡¯t have much of a choice, did she? Still, disposing of a corpse did not sit right with her, but she was in a tight spot. ¡°Before I accept, I have some questions.¡± she inquired. Doctor Kara sighed, ran her hands across her face, then covered her nose. ¡°Fine, two questions ask away.¡± ¡°The system, can you briefly summarize what it is and why I should care. A quick one-liner will do as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple really. The system is the governing body of this world. Nobody knows where exactly it came from, just that a hundred years ago, with cunning and subterfuge, it took this world from the ASFS. Declared itself as overlord, kicked out and eliminated everything it deemed a threat. The whole state of this world is one large experiment to it, a living simulation.¡± she held her hand over her mouth. ¡°And I¡¯m going to stop there. I want this body gone. ASAP.¡± ASFS. The alignment of the abbreviation, rung several bells in her head. ¡°Wait, the ASFS?¡± ¡°The Alliance of Sol Federated Systems or what is collectively referred to as humanity, they reside out there among the stars. We no longer have direct contact, as per the system''s rulings, but we started out as the 77th human colony. Most of the information we get nowadays comes from alien wanderers who have the unfortunate habit of landing on the planet.¡± Nope. Blank, she could recall no such thing, only that it was familiar. Aliens. Callia¡¯s mind instantly went to Young woman she found selling flowers. She seemed human enough, a bit blue, xeno-like. More questions reserved for later. ¡°Alright, I¡¯d prefer it if you could get started right away¡ª¡± ¡°Wait, one more question. I¡¯m classless, the system is pushing me to take¡­something.¡± The doctor looked uncomfortable. ¡°You¡¯re still classless? I¡¯d have thought you¡¯d take something already. That¡¯s a walking death sentence. You stay that way, you¡¯ll get chewed up and spit out. I have confidence, with my expertise and the advancement of my class, I could make quick work of you.¡± ¡°Then why not deal with the body yourself.¡± The amnesiac frowned, scrutinizing the corpse. ¡°I¡¯m busy, I have a client in an hour. Which is why I locked this door.¡± A client, it would explain her hesitation. ¡°Also, how am I supposed to know these things? If no one shows me the ropes?¡± ¡°Have you tried, inquiring the system?¡± Callia shifted, and the System started harassing her again, bombarding her with strange class options. The system wasn¡¯t just pushing her toward class selection; it was giving her horrible suggestions. [TP THRESHOLD EXCEEDED] [CLASS SELECTION REQUIRED: RECOMMENDED DEADLINE ¨C IMMEDIATE] ¡°It¡¯s been giving me weird options all morning. I don¡¯t want to be a street janitor.¡± The doctor let out a stifled laugh. ¡°You need to figure it out¡ªsoon. Especially since you look like you killed someone for the clothing you¡¯re wearing. Who knows, becoming a janitor may be therapeutic to a brain-damaged lunatic such as yourself.¡± ¡°I in fact did not kill someone, he attacked me first, I was merciful enough to let him off with a beating.¡± Callia gritted her teeth. If it weren¡¯t for the urgency and a proper understanding of what she was dealing with, she¡¯d have made a proper plan. What if she was resigned to a weird class? She¡¯d hate the idea of toiling the rest of her days sweeping streets. By the sound of it, this system¡ªthe inner system at least, the central directive¡ªmade sure to play with the fate of every single living being on the planet. Another thing that bothered her was how she was going to get rid of the body in public view? She rolled her shoulders, trying to shake unnecessary tension. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll deal with it, but¡­ I want something to eat, a place to sleep somewhere, and information above all else. You wouldn¡¯t happen to have anything belonging to me, would you? Something personal. You mentioned my armor before.¡± The doc gave her a flattened stare. ¡°Don¡¯t be so pushy, you¡¯re not in position to be negotiating anything.¡± Callia shrugged. ¡°Callia shrugged. ¡®Are you? You seem spooked, afraid the authorities might come knocking. And judging by this fellow¡¯s rough appearance¡ªmaybe some war gang, maybe some criminal syndicate?¡± There was silence. She ignored the implication that she was in possible hot water. ¡°I do have one thing¡ªa dog tag. Had you been rational yesterday, I¡¯d have given it to you. Now¡ª¡± A dog tag. A soldier¡¯s last piece of identification, an echo of the past. Is that why Kara called her a soldier? That meant there were other¡¯s, yes, she saw people being murdered in that scrapyard. If so, what were their intentions here, why bring a ship onto a supposedly known hostile planet. She needed to get to that wreckage, somehow and soon. ¡°There¡¯s a small tunnel system. Beneath my basement, it leads to the outskirts of the slum. Just take it through there, move fast, let no one who sees you outside ask questions and if they do state the system has given you a job. Is that clear enough for you.¡± No. She was blind, as blind as a bat in a blackened cave. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± 1.6 - Deadwork Callia grunted as she slung the limp corpse over her shoulder, the body was covered by pitch-black plastic. The basement under Kara¡¯s clinic had led to a confined, rotting, and decaying tunnel. The doctor had given her black scrubs to wear, a pair of sanitary gloves, and disposable boots. The shit I¡¯m doing for a meal and a bed. Ridiculous. On the contrary, had she not chosen this endeavor, she¡¯d have to seek out more dangerous employment. Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? The bag barely fit around the body. Somehow, she had the strength to move it¡ªprobably a remnant of whatever conditioning she had. Parts of the limbs occasionally peeked out. She did her best to ignore it. It wasn¡¯t haunting in the slightest, but it did disgust her. The smell intensified when she came to a crossroads, and not the corpse. Mildew, rust, something stale¡ªsomething dead other than the decomposing thing she carried around? Multiple paths lay strecthed out before her. Dim lanterns illuminated some of the walls, barely enough to see. Which way was it? North? North East? Right? Something caught her eye. The tunnel was unstable and definitely lived in. Holes were everywhere, some big enough for a human to crawl through, others tiny and ripped out of the walls, reminiscent of Swiss cheese. A thought plagued her. Swiss cheese? Switzerland¡ªthat was a place on Earth. The Earth may have been her original home. It kept jumping up in her head. Her thoughts were cut short. Strange, wet gurgling sounds echoed from the walls in unseen corners. Some sounded like little feet tapping on dirt, gravel, and rock. There were things lurking here, small squeaking noises. Should she call Kara? The amnesiac threw the body on the ground, retrieving the little glass scroll in her pocket. She flipped it open and immediately called her employer. The thing idled and vibrated as she waited. The scroll confirmed her connection. ¡°So, uh¡­the walls are squeaking. Anything I should be worried about? There are holes in the walls everywhere.¡± Kara¡¯s voice cracked through the device. ¡°Just some critters. Ignore them, keep moving, and get the job done.¡± Callia¡¯s gut said otherwise. There was something wrong down here. ¡°Are you sure? When was the last time you were down here?¡± ¡°Never. I usually send my assistants. It¡¯s the people you have to worry about down there. Just keep moving, or the deal is off.¡± Dammit. She shouldn¡¯t have agreed to this, she wasn¡¯t a sacrificial lamb. The light tapping got louder, and a malformed thing peeked its head out of a small hole. Mutated and rat-like, It had a bulbous head with tumor-like appendages, way too many teeth in all the wrong places. Bone cracked and stuck out of its head, cracking in ways that didn¡¯t make functional sense. The bone retracted as it spotted her. It hissed. Three more popped out and lunged at her. Callia backed away, as the thing bit into her wrist. She shouted, ¡°Get off, get off!¡± trying to shake the thing off her. She brought her fist down, smashing the thing into the ground. It splattered everywhere, in her face, pieces of blue blood staining the tunnel walls. More started making their appearances, the strange spawn started twitching as they arrived, clamoring to the corpse in droves. ¡°Ew¡­ Kara, a weird jelly rat just bit me!¡± ¡°Jelly rats? Oh no, It¡¯s not even winter yet. Never mind. You¡¯re a fighter. You can handle it.¡± ¡°Kara! You didn¡¯t warn me about this!¡± There was no reply. Was it a setup of some kind. A ploy, or maybe¨C No! Callia¡¯s adrenaline kicked in as the things started surrounding her and the corpse. Her psionic energy flared, and she shot it out of her hands, sending a blast of force at the crowd of creatures. They fled in hordes, creeping back into the walls. One remained, glaring its malformed face at her. It jumped towards her with almost zero resistance, gliding in the air. She punched it square, turning the creature inside and out. The vermin coated the dry walls in gelatinous, glowing gore. She stared at her hand, this psychic energy she didn¡¯t understand where it came from, why she possessed it. The doctor had called her a psyker as well. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. More questions? More questions? No answers. ¡°Kara!¡± she shouted at the device. ¡°Why can¡¯t I just leave the corpse down here?¡± A shrieking noise came out of the comm. ¡°NO! Scavengers and tunnel men, they¡¯ll take the cybernetics. Sell the data, I can¡¯t risk that. You¡¯ll also be feeding the fauna down there, nasty stuff.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve at least warned me!¡± she countered. ¡°Get used to it, do you know how many corpse thieves I had to stave off when I tried rescuing you? Huh? Huh! Keep moving. And don¡¯t call me unless it¡¯s critical.¡± Callia turned off the comm. ¡°What a bitch.¡± She picked the corpse up again, staring at the tunnel walls. Another thing felt familiar. Had she done this before? Fight off hordes of little mutated tunnel rats? The hole in her head refused to answer. Callia kept walking for what felt like a mile or so. Every step forward felt like she was being watched. A massive hole in the tunnel wall made her uneasy, but she kept going. Footsteps came from up ahead. Callia became weary. She stopped, waiting. A man in a gas mask approached, stepping in her direction, but slung his rifle over his back. She stood stiff, one wrong move, and he¡¯d shove it at her face. He nodded to her, staring at the body, his other hand obscured behind his rifle, definitely carrying some kind of failsafe. She waited until he passed, then resumed walking, both of them glared back at each other every ten steps. What a gentlemen. That armor looked cool as fuck. At last the light of the tunnel came through, and Callia breathed a sigh of relief. Carrying the bloodstained body bag, it became heavier and heavier as she started sweating with exhaustion. If she needed to walk another half hour, she¡¯d have to drag it. The smell of rot was starting to get worse. She couldn¡¯t stomach it, but she had to. Come on, Callia, you¡¯re a big, mean, grown girl. You can handle it. Just like Kara had told her, a slum appeared the moment she moved through. It looked more like a settled junction of everything. Judging by the excavated hill range. Hopefully, there were fewer bad things than jelly tunnel rats. There were probably some tunnel snakes somewhere too. No, there wouldn¡¯t be. Reptiles were mostly native to Earth unless they had brought them along when colonizing this backwards dump. Passing by the decayed slums, she took note of the decrepit poverty that claimed the settlement. There were no neon lights here as there were in inner good rift, just shacks and dirt, and the ghastly view of the massive metallic scrapyard behind it. A man watched as she moved, glancing at a few others, but did nothing. Glancing at a view of others, but didn¡¯t do anything. Perhaps they knew better, not to stick your nose anywhere it didn¡¯t belong. Reaching the scrapyard entrance, an older man stood in her way, blocking the narrow passage. Before she could speak, he gestured to a pit, his expression unreadable as he smoked a spliff, spat on the ground, chewed on his gums, and repeated the cycle. ¡°Do what you need to do, daughter,¡± he said. As he stood up and walked away he whispered. ¡°The road is long and troublesome ahead.¡± She pondered on his words, but ultimately shoved in the back of her mental ram. Could just be some old man addicted to his substances. She moved inward to where the local river flowed and tossed the dead man in, just as Kara instructed. The metal pit visibly shifted, pulsating in a circular formation, dragging¡ªthe body to its depths, first consuming the plastic covering, then the body¡­ The face of the corpse briefly resurfaced as the grotesque water shook him, his eyes open and hollow, staring at her. She tapped the little scroll again. ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°Good, now get out of the area.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The smell was really getting to her, she couldn¡¯t understand how people could live with this. The intrusive pop-up, hopped in her eyes again. QUEST COMPLETE ¨C "WASTE MANAGEMENT" Objective: Dispose of a body. Quietly. In the Wastes. Time Taken: 1 Hour 19 Minutes REWARDS: $ +400 Credits Transferred ?? Mandatory Quest Cancellation: Pending Employer interaction. ?? Approval with Dr. Kara Maris: (She doesn¡¯t say much, but that¡¯s a good sign.) Then another. [SYSTEM ALERT: MANDATORY QUEST CANCELED] ??Quest: Outstanding Legal Debt (Nullified) ? Reason: Debt Cleared via Alternative Compensation ??Status with Dr. Kara Maris: Neutral ? Slightly Favorable [System Notice: No further action required.] (But let¡¯s be real¡ªyou probably still owe her something, even if it¡¯s not on paper.) Callia breathed a sigh of relief. Her debt was canceled at least¡ªshe just needed to pay penance for her sins. She killed two men yesterday. Or was it the day before? Stained the blood of her hands with a corpse whose soul was unsullied at the very least. She did not know whether she believed in a god before, but this high strangeness she was feeling, it was luring her in. She needed something to cling to. The little scroll buzzed. ¡°Don¡¯t come back. Not yet. My client is here. I don¡¯t want them worry about why a dirty amnesiac crawled out of a tunnel,¡± Callia¡¯s brow shifted above her ridge. ¡°You want me to what? Wait in the tunnels.¡± ¡°No, well, yes. Just move close to the basement floor. Should be safe, right?¡± No, if she had to ask, it probably wasn¡¯t. At least she could complain about it tomorrow in one piece. As she started moving backwards, her eyes caught a glint of metal. There, next to the scrap pile and junk. A dog tag. Alone, no dead remains close to it. She picked it up, doing her best to read whatever was inscribed on it. The inscription was chipped away, but she could vaguely make out some initials. A. R. Paige. On the back of it, was scribbled in capital letters A S F S. She held it in her hands. None of this meant anything for her. But Kara had mentioned the ASFS to her. It was very like that this Paige dropped with her during the descent. A fellow soldier, a comrade. If that''s where Callia even came from. She slipped the tag into her pockets and started walking. She¡¯d keep the dog tag around, see if it clicks a fractured memory or something at least, if nothing else, it could serve as some connection to the world she lost. And maybe, lay the memory of this Paige to rest somewhere. Somewhere quiet. Callia didn¡¯t make it far before the system harassed her again. [THRESHOLD POINTS EXCEEDED] [PLEASE CHOOSE A CLASS, URGENT, YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT] ¡°Oh, for fuck''s sake.¡± 1.7 - Rest and Recuperation After what felt like ages, stuck in the deep dark tunnel, Callia heard the hatch creak above her head. Sand and gravel fell in her eye, as Kara¡¯s head peeked out behind the metal hatch of the basement. Scrutinizing her as she stood below her personal surgeon. Callia coughed as the dust worked its way into her throat. She waved the dust away. ¡°Took you long enough, doctor.¡± Kara smiled at her. ¡°Hmm, I kept you down here a few minutes more to make sure you suffered.¡± Callia frowned in response, motioning to the ladder. ¡°I¡¯m joking. The client just left. Mechanical amputation, they got sick of the model they used for an arm.¡± ¡°Neat. But hopefully I never lose my arm for something cybernetic prosthetic.¡± ¡°Everyone loses a limb or two in violent lines of work.¡± Kara said. ¡°Hurry up, now.¡± The dog tag she picked up clinked in her pocket. She rested one hand on the ladder and stuck her feet between the corrosive rungs, to offer ample stability. Then she climbed up at a snails pace. She stuck her head out of the hole. ¡°Ew, look at all that muck and grime on you. I recommend, you take a bath, but the water is being put out for the next few hours.¡± Callia blinked. ¡°Water¡¯s out?¡± Kara made exasperated noises. ¡°It happens from time to time, you know I operate in a slum don¡¯t you, now get out of that hole before I become paranoid. Don''t want mutant critters to sneak in.¡± Callia closed the hatch as she got out. Making sure it was closed airtight, she¡¯d hate to see those sniveling abominations again. ¡°Very well then, my little dog, follow me, will you?¡± Callia bit her lip. Fury sparked inside. She couldn¡¯t control it¨Cher temper was random, erratic, problematic. Of course, the doctor was just messing with her, but violent impulses plagued her mind. ¡°Grrr¡­ I have human rights, you know.¡± Kara snorted. ¡°Human rights? Here, on this world. The only you right you possess, is how valuable you fit into the system. You¡¯ve been out in the slum for a day. Tell me, did you like what you saw? The amnesiac took a breath ¡°No, it was¨C¡± ¡°Unpleasant? Inhuman? Horrific? Hard?¡± she cut her off, filling in the blanks. ¡°Well, get used to it, because it is so much worse, once you get into it.¡± She followed Kara, taking heavy breaths. She needed to figure out why she snapped like this. What she did to that alien girl, still didn''t sit right with her conscience. They came to a narrow corridor, that connected a building to the rear of the clinic. Rusting walls. Flickering lights. Decay everywhere. Inside, it smelled like burnt wiring and more chemicals. ¡°What¡¯s that smell?¡± Callia asked, her nose scrunching. ¡°Stimlab a building away, a manufacturing lab for one of the gangs. Unfortunately the roof is full of holes, you¡¯ll have to deal with this, I know I have to.¡± Can I handle this? After the subterranean stench, It wasn¡¯t so bad. It''s like jacked-up petroleum. Intoxicating, I¡¯m pretty sure the fumes alone will get me high. At the end of the corridor, four doors resided. Kara opened the one at the very end. Turning the knob of the simple doorway, moving inside the room. Everything within appeared spartan, old and barely patched together¡ªalmost as if it wasn¡¯t meant to be used. No monitor, no personal computer. Not even a book. ¡°Here, you can stay here for a while until you¡­figure out where to go from here.¡± She pointed at everything of interest. ¡°I know it¡¯s not much, but you¡¯re in a precarious situation. Miss Callia. You should be thankful.¡± Callia realized she was frowning. She forced a smile on her face. It made her look psychotic more than anything else. That¡¯s what the mirror told her atleast. ¡°This room¡ªis it unoccupied??¡± ¡°Mostly, I usually let clients rest here, if there is a second surgery on the way or an accident occurs,¡± Callia furrowed her brows. ¡°Now, don¡¯t worry about the bed, the sheets, the blankets and the duvet¡¯s in the closet all clean. Wouldn¡¯t risk infections or diseases spreading.¡± That still left some concerns for Callia. Infections were known to mutate and adapt to the environment, now that she thought about it, there were probably diseases on the planet her body was unfit to handle. ¡°Do you have medicine, just in case I get sick?¡± Kara looked like she wanted to die. ¡°Are you sick? That would be very, bad for me. Who knows what dirty diseases you could¡¯ve brought from space.¡± ¡°No, it remains a hypothetical, just wanted some assurance.¡± The doctor breathed a sigh of relief, she rubbed her neck, a remnant of an itch, it was now that Callia took a really long look at her. Her platinum blonde hair was tied up into two pigtails. She had a choker on her neck, lipstick to accentuate her full lips, and shorts for whatever reason a doctor would even wear one. She gave off a cutesy vibe instead of a mature presence you¡¯d expect from a health professional. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Callia was curious as to why and how she became a [scrap doctor] or a [life jacker] as she put it.. She looked away before curiosity turned into something titilating. She stared at the double bed. It was run-down but functional, an image flashed in her head. A barracks. Metal bunk beds lined up like a mass funeral. Muddy boots put in a row, next t a locker. A shout, someone screaming and the coming of gunshots echoing in her head. Blood pooling beneath her feet. Someone¡¯s brain blown out. ¡°Hey! Hey! Calm down, will you?¡± Callia shook herself. The purplish mist crackled¡ªelectric, involuntary, violent. Her powers were surging, without any input, not too different from a muscle spasm. She tried easing up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it happens occasionally.¡± she pleaded. ¡°Don¡¯t kick me out, please, I¡­I have no proper control.¡± ¡°Argh,¡± Kara groaned. ¡°I¡¯m really going to put you out on a leash. If you keep doing this, I don¡¯t want you to turn into my problem.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m unstable¡­¡± "Unstable Psyche Detected." [Goodrift Bot: Bad Citizen. You really need to get a grip, missy. I don¡¯t approve of this kind of behavior. Frankly, I doubt your psychic powers are suited for such classless antics. In other words¡ªpick a class already.] [Strained Nervous System] ¡ª System recommends immediate class selection. [Class Selection Pending] ¡ª Time Remaining: 48:12:41 ¡°Now, what?¡± Kara asked. ¡°Huh?¡± Callia responded dazed. ¡°You¡¯re staring into empty space. Was that the system? Or at least the local one?¡± A timer to choose a class? What happens if she ignores it? It had given her a shitty suggestion all morning, and no, she didn¡¯t want to be a fucking Moon Spelunker. She wanted something tangible meaningful to her. The amnesiac nodded. ¡°It¡¯s put me on some timer, to pick a class.¡± ¡°That could also explain, why you¡¯re having outbursts.¡± the doctor approached Callia putting her hands on her shoulders. Looked her dead in the eyes. ¡°Look, on this planet, if you¡¯re sentient, and you don¡¯t abide by the system, things get bad¡ªapocalyptically bad for the individual. Trust me, make the choice ASAP, you don¡¯t want it to decide for you.¡± "But my options, they are so horrendously bad. It keeps on giving me horrible options. " "Like what?" The system shoved a list of classes in her face. [Grime Scraper] You clean tough, sticky substances from surfaces. It''s a specialized skill, but it¡¯s not glamorous, and you¡¯re not going to be winning any anything anyway. [Shuttle Runner] You deliver small, menial items between various low-level locations. You can carry more than most, but this class doesn''t provide much in terms of real combat value [Gutter Watcher] You¡¯re trained to watch the gutters and make sure nothing harmful floats by. You have a keen eye for small details, but you¡¯re essentially a low-tier observer with little else to offer. Maybe some stats for subterranean hunting. ¡°It changes things, every hour, keeps giving me bullshit paths. Grime scraper, Gutter watcher, shuttle runner.¡± Callia tapped her face lightly, hoping it would be switching things up. ¡°I¡¯m a fighter, why can¡¯t I choose, a fighting class, I was made to kill, I think at least?¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking about this the wrong way. The system assigns appropriate classes to every individual. Everyone started with a lower class, before switching, every major class you can switch once a year if you prostrate yourself to the system long enough. It¡¯s never permanent. I started out with something simple, you want to guess?¡± Callia jerked her brain about. ¡°Um¡­dentist.¡± ¡°No, dishwashing! Can you believe that, though it was only for a month before I took an interest in medicine and the system pushed me that way. When the switch happened, I was thrown into becoming an assistant, that worked for two, now I¡¯m here after doing nursing for a while.¡± Callia groaned. ¡°I can¡¯t spend years here, throttling, I¡¯m not going to reset my age.¡± ¡°Get used to it or suffer.¡± Kara turned, ready to spin around. "Also, you can do whatever ever you want, as long as you can process TP." Callia couldn¡¯t bring herself to trust this thing that governed this world. It all felt like one big trap, the only winning move might be not to play. ¡°If you really don¡¯t know what to do, I¡¯ll veer you in the right position, how does my little [morgue cleaner] sound.¡± Callia rolled her eyes. ¡°Suspiciously hedonistic, and sadistic.¡± ¡°Hedonistic? Did it ask you to be a [pole dancer] too?¡± ¡°Please stop, you¡¯re obnoxious, not endearing.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Kara walked off. Callia stopped Kara before she resigned her to the bleak and gray room. "Wait," Callia halted before retreating into the drab room. "Tell me¡ªare there any hidden methods for exploiting this this moronic system? Some way to get a better class?" The doctor looked concerned for a moment, lowered her voice. ¡°You don¡¯t know it, do you. There is an unwritten rule not to critique the system without aim. Keep doing it and you¡¯ll suffer karmic backlash. ¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfair. ¡± ¡°That¡¯s life, just how some people start with shitty classes and other¡¯s get blessed like kings. It is what it is.¡± "No, it can¡¯t be. It¡¯s either artificial, or based on random number generation from arbitrary values to keep the system in place." Kara walked away, not another word escaped her lips. Callia stood alone, her gaze fixed on the sterile walls of her ¡®humble¡¯ abode. Frustration gnawed at her mind¡ªher psychic powers reacted to the growing tension, but she kept her thoughts clear. For now." Objects in the room started levitating. ¡°The System, what a fucking stupid¨C¡± An electric shock, traveled like lightning from the ends of her toe to the upper part of her thigh. Pain shot through her, and she lost her balance, but she steadied herself almost immediately, calculating the source of the shock. ¡°What the hell?¡± [Goodrift: You were warned. Even I don¡¯t control the unwritten rules here. Learn to play nice, or you''ll regret it.] ¡°Oh piss off.¡± [Careful, remember who blessed you with a can of energy] So it was true then. The system indeed could become triggered, her powers always went wild after she experienced that frustration. When she directed it to the things in this world. If so, why were her emotions reacting similar, did the system nudge her powers to react in that manner. ¡°Okay, I apologize. Goodrift?¡± [That sounded like a question, not an answer. I''ve got priorities, and my hardware''s second-rate. Goodbye.] ¡°Not arguing. But wait. Before you abandon me again. Goodrift. How do I get a better class.¡± [Live a little. You have two days at least.] ¡°And what¡¯s the penalty.¡± [You get stuck with whatever the local system assigns, you. For awhile. That¡¯s me, and ooh, I have so many funny, ideas. You landed here for a reason Callia, don¡¯t squander your time. Or I¡¯m going to make you dance. ????¡ä¨Œ`) AND PLEASE DON''T CONTACT THE CENTRAL DIRECTIVE AGAIN, I DON''T LIKE THE ATTENTION.] The good rift AI disappeared, leaving her alone in her thoughts again. This confirmed one thing. This system was subdivided by the sum of different administrative parts. What would happen hypothetically if she left the Jurisdiction of Goodrift, would the other AIs react accordingly or differently? She took the dog tag out of her pocket, staring at the name. She needed to determine an away to get back whatever it was she lost. 1.8 - Flowers System Status ¨C A Fragile Recovery [ SYSTEM ALERT: SURVIVAL QUEST ¨C ¡°YOU¡¯RE COOKED¡±] completed. One less thing to worry about. Conditions Cleared: Bad Physical Condition (-1 VIT) Surgical Recovery (-2 VIT) Hunger (-1 FOC) Sleep Deprivation (-2 FOC) Stat gains: Psionics: +1 Growth (Throwing psionic hissy fits have paid off.) The system stabilizes, but the wounds remain. The hole was stitched together, but the pain remained present. Some things won¡¯t be undone so easily. The amnesia lingers, and the precarious balance of her body keeps her on the edge. She stared at the bland ceiling, stretching her leg muscles, pondering her next move. ******* Callia sat inside the clinic, Kara had whipped her up some meat flavored instant noodles. It was pure carbohydrates. The texture was nice and smooth, but the taste had left something to be desired. Not enough sweetness, it was lacking salt, maybe some cheese. She knew she shouldn¡¯t be ungrateful, she was hungry above all else, she was taken in by Kara¡¯s Samaritanism. However, Kara had made it clear, that she ran a clinic and not a kitchen. Yeah, no. Clinic my ass. This was a limb swap shop for dangerous people. She ignored her momentary disappointment. Callia consumed the artificial wheat strings. She flipped through a history book, very little pre-system information was publicized inside of it. Callia theorized it might have been the System¡¯s reluctance to allow any form of dissent. And judging what she heard from Kara, the human governance had long accepted the futility of resisting its absolute rule. She¡¯d inspect the book properly if her head didn¡¯t hurt. Callia stood up, patrolling the interior of the cybermechanic slash surgeon¡¯s base. The clinic was cluttered, in an intriguing way. Walking across the hallway, she inspected the storage room where she was told not to go into. The doctor was a hoarder, more than cybernetics fit in her shelves. There were some vaguely detached limbs, which seemed visibly organic, stuff in green jars of mystery liquid. In the corner of the room, a twitching eye in a vat had traced her all over the storage. The last thing that had crept her out was detached cyberlungs, vibrating as if they were breathing. ¡°Ew.¡± It was a practical thing, she wagered. Easy to sell and transfer, maybe unfortunate or leftover parts offered and taken from her patients. It was a miracle and a blessing that she was shot clean through her stomach. She was one aimed shot away from breathing with a pipe. Skepticism was important Kara had folded fast, yes, she probably did something illegal for her. But long-term reliance may have been unhealthy for her. If a bounty was put out as she had suggested earlier, Kara would only need to inform the authorities. Time to jog her attention. She left the room, hopping into the lab. The nurse, an assistant known as Marcus, caught a glimpse of her and shrunk his shoulders, pretending not to see her as he typed away on a computer. He gave her wary glances as she approached. ¡°Hey, Marcus¡­right?¡± she started, scratching the back of her head. He nodded. ¡°What do you want? Here to assault me again.¡± ¡°No,¡± she huffed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, really, it was a reaction, I didn''t mean to assault you.¡± ¡°Apology noted. Moving on with life.¡± He forced a smile, they exchanged gazes, and he started typing again. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, if there was any way, I could make it up to you.¡± She offered. ¡°It¡¯s fine, really, had worse things happen to me, done to me before¡± he sighed. He kept typing. How could she possibly diffuse the tension, she was going to be stuck here for a while, may as well get things sorted. Perhaps complimenting him might change his demeanor, not that she was good at that. ¡°You¡¯re kind of handsome.¡± ¡°I¡¯m married, with kids.¡± He started breathing heavily, slamming the desk. Stood up, and walked over to her. Marcus held his hand up at her, frowning, showing a scar on his wrist. ¡°You see this! This was all you. You¡¯re madness Stargirl.¡± Oh, fuck. Big mistake. That didn¡¯t work. You idiot, does flattery ever work? ¡°Take a good long look.¡± Marcus came closer. ¡°When my wife saw this she thought I was cheating with the doctor, because of you, made a whole fuss about it.¡± Callia swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, dude, it was a response I thought you were a threat, I couldn¡¯t ¨C.¡± Heels stepped on the floor behind her. Kara. Arms to her hips. ¡°Callia I told you not to bother him!¡± she shouted. ¡°Go do something, anything!¡± There was no point in drawing it out. She did admire her courage to defend Marcus, even if it was ill-guided. Something about it felt familiar, camaraderie. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she needed to clear her head. Callia turned and walked out the door of the clinic.
She put the hoodie up, keeping her reddish hair obscured, It was better that way, made it easier to blend among the crowd. But it didn¡¯t stop there, she needed to move a certain way, pedestrians had their way of walking. Movements and posture, add in the fact that she was in the middle of a slum town, and multiply that by the fact she struggled grasping basic system concepts and that there was a host of information foreign to her. Her head turned towards the looming shadow, before she got into rhythm. She stared at the towering dome as it turned and spun around, large goggly eyes briefly settling on her. The dome was humming from afar, its voice vibrated in the wind. Neon bled miles away from the inner city, known as Nova Ardour. Audible system pings and the occasional air siren going off made the place feel less of a deathtrap. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Callia walked over to a vending machine, staring at the assortments of prepackaged food inside. She tapped on the display, grabbing the first thing she could get, a synthetic burger. Those noodles weren¡¯t near enough. She dissected the synthetic thing before biting in. Cheap, addictive. All fake meat. Easy to consume. Tastes good enough. She supposed it was the convenience of it that made it appealing. Price was cheap as well. Rumor was that native fauna of the planet was hostile to human nervous systems, the meat had to be hyper processed before it was edible. Which left plants. Who knew? Perhaps it was a lie, to numb down the masses of Earth-77 Class options were randomized again. Every hour it was something new. Something to stimulate her brain. It was slowly becoming less demeaning, she guessed it was the effects of her status. If so, could she chalk up the demeaning suggestion to her amnesia. Drone Hooper. Circuit Jockey. Data Janitor. Gutter Psion. Junk Wizard. Neon courier. Neon courier was the only one that stood out to her skill set. That acknowledged her, at least partly, as a potential war fighter. As if settling on that thought, made sure the system had suggested it thrice. Still, it wasn¡¯t satisfactory Neon Courier ¨C ¡°Run deliveries in dangerous zones! Avoid getting shot! Get paid! (The second part is optional.)¡± She wandered onwards. She hadn¡¯t meant to end up here, but her feet had other plans, they took her-almost unconsciously¨C to the same place she had met the Flower girl, who was vaguely alien. She¡¯d yet to see a full-blown xeno around, though apparently they did exist, probably in hiding. She hoped she¡¯d be able to see her there again, hopefully this time without her weird reaction. When she had scared the flower girl before wasn¡¯t intentional. Callia guessed it already left a scar on her mind, like she did with Marcus hand. Her body reacted on its own, or perhaps it was the odd psychic energy that resided in her. The patch of blue skin, beneath the flower girl''s obscured body, was not normal. The fact that she ran meant that it was a common response to being outed. The system had mentioned that she was ostracized, perhaps Callia should approach much more reservedly in time. She was sure, one thing would make quick amends. Money. She didn¡¯t seem to be making much, the last time Callia had remembered. A couple of credits in comparison to her 400 didn¡¯t seem like much. Turning around the corner. The flower girl appeared to have noticed her immediately. Did the hoodie not help. She took in sharp breaths, and her shoulders had stiffened. Callia kept calm, moving slowly and deliberately, she didn¡¯t want to scare her off again. She stopped in front of her and the flower girl got a good look, her face full of fright. She started shivering. ¡°Hey, calm down. I¡¯m not here to hurt you.¡± She assured her. ¡°W-wha¡­what do you want from me.?¡± ¡°Relax. Please.¡± Callia lowered her voice. She stepped backwards, Callia did the same to match her anxious energy. ¡°Y-You saw my skin, didn¡¯t you?¡± The girl asked, her voice unsteady. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me. I reacted unkindly and wanted to make amends.¡± she held out a handful of physical credit coins she had withdrawn earlier. ¡°I made you drop your flowers, crushed them accidentally, my compensation for your loss.¡± Callia took a sharp intake of breath, making her shoulder shrunk. The flower girl hesitated¨Cshe was cautious but snatched the money out of her hand. Dropping a single coin, she bent over, stuffing it into a braided bag with sunflowers embedded on it. She struggled fitting it all in. Her face disoriented, as she looked away. She turned to the flower jars, gathering them up. ¡°Stop, you don¡¯t have to give me anything. It was an accident.¡± Callia said. ¡°But¡­¡± she exhales, muttering. ¡°I can¡¯t accept this. Not like this.¡± Was it pride or fear that held her back, or perhaps she had principles, Callia couldn¡¯t understand why she didn¡¯t accept, she was struggling by the looks of it, wasn¡¯t she? Before Callia could respond, a man approached, his face irritated. Anger flashed over his mug, frowning at the flower girl. She backed away even further, her legs threatening to buckle, she started breathing with difficulty. ¡°Auri, where is the damn loan money you owe.¡± His arms tensed up, muscles bulging. He moved towards her aggressively. The pudgy excuse of a man, threatened to push her around. Callia didn¡¯t like what she was seeing. ¡°Mr. Willow, I¡­ I almost have it ready. Just a few more days.¡± The man¡¯s face turned red. ¡°A few days! A few days? Every day you delay, the interest goes up! I want my goddamn credits, you half-xeno freak..¡± he demanded. He put his hands around her collar, shaking her, and attempted to strangle her. Callia became infuriated. Whether ¡®Auri¡¯ owed him was a matter of business and law. This was picking on a much weaker woman. It was morally wrong. Callia jumped forward, grabbed him by the neck. His eyes spun around with shock, pupil¡¯s growing. ¡°What the hell, get off me stranger, ain¡¯t none of your business.¡± He stated. ¡°Wait, please don¡¯t fight, please, I¡­ Almost have it ready.¡± Auri reached for Callia¡¯s arms, Callia dragged the man away from her. Callia tightened her gripped, staring down at his face, she towered over his short stature. Her hands came closer and tighter to the edge of his Adam apple, he started pleading, as she threatened to block off his throat¡­ ¡°It¡¯s my concern now, how much does she owe you?¡± ¡°One hun¨Cone hundred credits.¡± he wormed out. She let go of her grip. He gasped as she lets go. She pushed him away. ¡°How do you send credits, in this place! Digital¡± ¡°Just ask the system to do it, you lunatic.¡± Auri started tugging on Callia¡¯s shoulders back and forth. ¡°What are you doing? I never asked you to do this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay anyway.¡± How did she do this? Does she phrase like a command? Does she interact with an interface? ¡°Uhh¡­¡± There was a moment of silence, and then, words flashed before her eyes. [Goodrift: Hello Callia, causing trouble I see.] ¡°Can I send a hundred and one credits to Mister willow here.¡± [Pending transaction: 101 Credits] [Transaction complete: 101 Credits] [Funds available: 264 Credits] Auri stood with her mouth open. The man stared at her in disgust and fear, he stumbled crawling backwards attempting to stand up. ¡°There ya go, now you owe me. Get out of here!¡± Auri stood aghast. She looked at her differently¡ªthe fear was gone. Missing, but replaced by something else. Agitation, perhaps. She pouted, her face ready to lash out at Callia. Callia smiled, she wasn¡¯t hammering anyone with the cuteness of her expressions. She clenched her fists, making silly groans. ¡°Why did you that?¡± she shouted? ¡°My good deed for the day.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to!¡± ¡°But I wanted to,¡± Callia replied, feigning hurt. Auri settled. She sat on a little cardboard box. She crossed her arms like a child, looking everywhere but Callia¡¯s face. ¡°Nobody does anything for free around here. Do I owe you now?¡± A sinister smile spread across Callia¡¯s face. ¡°I guess.¡± Auri let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I knew it. Are you looking for an indentured servant? Perhaps you¡¯re off to sell me on the black market. I¡¯ve been there before.¡± Oh god, no.¡± Callia¡¯s face turned into one of horror. ¡°I was joking. Wait¡ªdoes that actually happen? Slavery and such?¡± ¡°You really aren¡¯t from here. You came with that ship, didn¡¯t you?¡± Callia nodded. She still wasn¡¯t sure but decided to go with it. ¡°What gave it away?¡± ¡°You feel strange. I can sense things.¡± Was she a psychic as well? Probably not. ¡°Well then, I guess it worked out for you. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± She turned around, moving back in the direction of the clinic. It was time to decide on a class¡ªno use delaying the inevitable. She needed to get herself on track. Her loose ends were tied, her stomach full, her wounds patched up. ¡°Wait.¡± Auri ran toward her, holding her arm. Callia felt something she didn¡¯t realize she needed¡ªwarmth. Familiar, yet out of reach. She had to shake it off, the feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu gnawing at her. It was like the answer was just a page away, but the page refused to turn. I thought you were really scary, but you¡¯re actually nice. Do you¡­ want to see my other flowers? The living ones?¡± the girl asked, hesitant but hopeful. ¡°Real flowers? Where?¡± ¡°It''s near a scrapyard. My home is around the area.¡± Callia stood still. An invitation for her. Was it sensible to accept what if she became attached to her. She didn¡¯t need to go back to the clinic right away, and she was realistically purposeless without a clear direction. The slums were unfamiliar¡ªeverything was strange. There was always the chance she could lose control of herself. Was it worth the risk? ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± Auri¡¯s shoulders dropped, and she looked like she wanted to sink into the ground. Callia felt bad. She had things to do, but¡­ would it hurt so much? ¡°On second thought.¡± Auri¡¯s eyes lifted. She started jumping enthusiastically. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± Auri flashed a smile, grabbing her arm while picking up the jars. One thing stood out to Callia¡ªAuri was malnourished. Woefully so. Her arms were unusually thin for an adult woman. Did she even make enough to eat? It unsettled her. But perhaps that was just her twisted savior complex taking charge of her ego. 1.9 - Small sparks of life Callia had followed Auri through the slums until they arrived at the opposite end, near the outskirts of the city. It was the first time Callia had laid her eyes on its snow-peaked mountains and grass as blue as the ocean. The pristine image was only muddied by the appearance of yet another scrapyard¡ªthis one called Rustrivet. Auri''s home stood isolated from the rest of the slum dwellers. Walls made of poorly placed metal sheets stood next to a half-brick house. Half of the exterior appeared to be remnants of what Callia surmised could only have been the former interior. An accident had probably happened, looks oddly like the effects of ballistic ordinance. As they stepped inside, the walls crackled with electricity buzzing in awkward places. It didn¡¯t feel safe, and judging by the way it was installed, it was a definite risk. A faulty wire could spark a fire, burning the place down in a minute. Who maintained it? Did she install it herself? I doubt it, but is disturbing. Her eyes zoomed around the foreign plate-built cottage. Handwritten notes were stacked neatly on a desk, some words written in symbols¡ªnothing she would ever guess a human could use. She wondered if Auri could even read it. Plastic pots stacked upon plastic pots stood everywhere near a door, a window, and all over the floor. The air smelled floral, but overly sweet. At the far end of the two-room building, a single bed stood next to what appeared to be a holographic projector of sorts. Old devices were piled together in a corner of the living room. Right next to it stood a small portable stove and kettle. ¡°You live alone?¡± Callia asked. Of course, she did. ¡°Yep. It¡¯s just me. After my father and mother died, I¡ª¡± she stopped. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to tell me.¡± ¡°No. My siblings¡ªthey abandoned me. I was only 15. That was nine years ago.¡± A small lump formed in Callia¡¯s throat. She wasn¡¯t good with stuff like this¡ªnot good at all. She had no one she could recall¡ªnot visibly, at least. Just shadows whispering into her head. At least Auri had some fond memories to look forward to. Still, Callia thought that no person should have to live this, to struggle this much. If the system was fair, it would have looked out for her. All the more reason she couldn¡¯t trust. All the more reason she couldn¡¯t trust it. Subdivided AIs like Goodrift, she trusted even less. No matter what they claimed. There were questions in her mind. Which of the parents had been the ''xeno.'' She was probably around Callia''s not that she could remember. What irked her was the how stunted her growth appeared. ¡°You¡¯re 24? You look a bit younger.¡± She went quiet again. She started humming a song, moving around her room, scrounging for something before answering Callia. Auri became as still as windless grass, then replied. ¡°O-oh, it¡¯s¡ªfather¡¯s genes, he wasn¡¯t exactly a human¡­so to speak. I don¡¯t wanna talk about, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Now, she only needed to know what her father looked like, there were no family pictures by the looks of it. Siblings must have snatched it or Auri was hiding it, somewhere. Of course, it''s not duty to scrutnize the lives of other''s that was the system''s job. Callia inspected the cramped living space of Auri. The walls didn¡¯t look all that stable; it would be a bummer if they fell over. It was suprsing that she was standing at all.Her eyes darted around and stared at the plastic pots growing in isolated soil. They were vibrant, each one a different color. ¡°Are these the plants you wanted to show me? They are quite beautiful.¡± She giggled. As if Callia had told her the funniest joke. Then came jogging over. ¡°Oh, God, no. This is what I¡¯m planning to sell tomorrow." ¡°Sell? They look nothing like the ones you put out on display.¡± Not even close, they seemed much more valuable than the cut of strings she displayed in the streets of Goodrift. She pointed at the viridian green stalk, with an onion like bulb in the center. Her eyes went wide as she started explaining with vigor. ¡°Veldtvine¡ªit¡¯s great for medicinal uses. It can ease any chest pain.¡± She pointed at a crimson flower that glowed brighter within the range of an inch; then it cut off and glowed dimly. ¡°This is cinderlily, it has explosive properties, but can be used for camping lights and such adventurous things.¡± Callia had an epiphany¡ªshe seemed more knowledgeable than average. Auri was not who she pretended to be. Wait¡ªyou¡¯re not a flower girl, are you?¡± For the first time, Auri had a smug appearance on her face.¡°No, don¡¯t be silly. I sell my plants to [chemists] and [Doctors]. I¡¯m not a flower girl at all, though I used to be a [Botanist], like my mother was. But I¡¯m really a [merchant] The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Then what about the little bits of flowers you sell¨C¡± Auri looked up proudly. ¡°It¡¯s usually unnecessary parts my clients don¡¯t want, and I-I need every penny I can get. People here are much more willing to aid a defenseless pipsqueak then buy a flower from someone with fancy class.¡± "I thought you were struggling." "I am, they already decreed what I am to them, part-human and may as well be part beast." ¡°For what do need the money for?¡± ¡°A one-way trip out of Nova Ardour, out of Goodrift. It¡¯s what my mother would have wanted.¡± Callia stared at her stature. She stood at 5 foot 1, and some parts of her limbs were bone-thin, especially her arms. Was she starving herself to save money? That would be self-destructive. She didn¡¯t know how to bring up by saying, hey, I think you¡¯re malnourished. That¡¯s not good. Maybe spend some money on food. Would Callia have to go as far as feeding Auri herself. no, where was her mind dawdling of to. ¡°Anyway, would you like some tea?¡± It would be rude to decline. The hospitality of a humble host in their home. ¡°Of course, ¡±Callia answered. Auri put on a kettle. The skeleton stove brimmed to life. A scavenged thermal coil blazed in blue light. She pulled out brittle, deep-blue leaves with circular patterns on them, crushing them as she squeezed them into the kettle. A faint blue mist evaporated into the air. Such was the vapor of the water as it cooked¡­ The tea, once reaching boiling point, shifted color at the last second¡ªits blue mist became hazy silver before settling completely. Auri poured them both some tea. ¡°Here, you should drink it while it¡¯s hot. It¡¯s best that way.¡± Callia hesitated, but let her tongue flick against the ominous tea. At first, it tasted bitter, then sweet in a way that lingered in her mouth. Then her perception changed, heightened¡ªdoubling and tripling over time. ¡°It¡¯s called indigo dew. My mother used to cook it before we went to bed, said we would be dreaming pleasant dreams twice over.¡± Comforting, but Callia couldn¡¯t afford to fall asleep now. ¡°It¡¯ll grow on you.¡± She eyed Callia¡¯s reaction. ¡°It¡¯s good, right? If you want, I can you some leaves.¡± Callia nodded, not to keen but not dismissive. Staring at two Auris that now stood in front of her, one a mirror of the other. Callia tried to find an anchor, a way to keep her from drifting off. Auri seemed unaffected by the tea, whether due to biology or resistance. Callia swirled her cup. Her eyes landed on a reinforced lockbox, secured with a traditional old-school lock. It was probably where she kept her savings, Callia wouldn¡¯t ask. _____ Walking through the rusted maze of broken machines, cybernetic limbs littered the place like veins. Callia stopped over what might¡¯ve been a broken-down drone. Its optics flickered green and red, slowly fading but never dimming entirely. It watched them as they moved. Auri hopped and skipped through the metal junk¡ªclearly, she¡¯d been here thousands of times. Callia did her best to keep pace, pushing aside the grim thought of a piece of metal piercing her from below. The deeper they went, the more the air started changing, carrying the scent of raw nature. A faint whiff of petrichor reminded her¡ª Was the rain on this planet toxic? ¡°Toxic rain?¡± Auri repeated. ¡°Hardly. It does happen on the other continents, though. Metralith is pretty safe.¡± ¡°Metralith?¡± Callia inquired. ¡°The continent you''re in, dummy. Come on.¡± she said, before sprinting away. ¡°Wait Auri!¡± Callia did her best to keep up. The ground shifted as she followed her into a beaten pathway¡ªthe soil felt denser, smoother, as if the metal hadn¡¯t poisoned it here. Around the corner was an awe-striking sight¡ªan unusual patch of flowers. They induced an effect in her brain, not too dissimilar to a kaleidoscope. Auri started dancing among the fields, her feet kicking¡ªbut never once did she step on an alien lily. Callia observed that the plants here weren¡¯t exactly normal, though she had no frame of reference for what they looked like ten miles into the wilderness. The flowers radiated a presence, almost bewitching. She felt herself drawn to the one in the center. As Auri moved through the fields, the plants danced with her¡ªwilting, rising, colliding, twisting, turning, shaking, and swinging. Callia took a deep breath. Staring at all this color after the tea felt hallucinogenic¡ªlike gazing into a gateway to the afterlife. Trippy above all else. The amnesiac reached past the bodies of plant life. The icy pale flower in the center called to her, asking her to touch it. As she got closer, petals pulsed like a heartbeat, and everything outside became tuned out. The wind, Auri, the flowers¡¯ movements¡ªall disappeared. She reached for it. ¡°Stop!¡± Auri leaped toward her, slapping her wrist away. Callia gawked in shock. She was ten meters farther than she should have been. ¡°Not that one,¡± Callia didn¡¯t protest. She stared at the white flower as it twitched, slowly and deliberately, as if noticing her. ¡°That¡¯s the heart of this patch. It¡¯s where my mother lies,¡± the girl said, saddened. "Her spirit looks over the field." ¡°I¨CI didn¡¯t know.¡± Callia¡¯s brain buzzed. Did that mean these plants were alive? Sentient? Was her mother conscious in some way after death? It creeped the hell of her. Though she wouldn''t say it. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can take any other one.¡± Callia walked over to a frost-blue tulip. She touched it. It was cold¡ªnot like ice, but as if heat didn¡¯t exist at that moment. Her warmth fed it, and it changed color. The moment she tried to pluck it, the system assailed her. She stopped.
[Mandatory quest: Package of Life and Death] Objective: Deliver a sealed package to a designated containment zone. Follow the marker linked to your neural pathways. Instructions: DO NOT TAMPER WITH THE PACKAGE Opening it will forfeit the quest immediately. Do not interact with civilians. ETA: The package must arrive within 60 minutes. Warning: Failure may result in "intended consequences." [59:59 Time left] [Reward: Threshold points. 541 credits. Good rep with unaffiliated faction.]
Now of all times!? ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Auri asked Callia swallowed. ¡°The system¡ªit¡¯s giving me a quest. I have to go.¡± ¡°Aww! There¡¯s more I wanted to show you. I don¡¯t have any friends. Won¡¯t you stay a while?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, My life might depend on this,¡± she whispered. ¡°I¡¯ve enjoyed our little time together, but I have to move.¡± ¡°Wait¡ª¡± Auri raced out. Callia ran. A marker pulsed in her head, pinging her in the direction of the inner slum. 1.10 - Marked for delivery The pulse reverberated through Callia¡¯s skull¡ªover and over, again and again. It didn¡¯t hurt, but every ping jerked her neck toward the system¡¯s waypoint. It disappeared then reappeared again. [54:23] Dammit. She had learned through experience that the system forced these ¡®quests¡¯ onto her. But this was so disruptive it might as well have been a death sentence. What was stopping from giving her one in her sleep. Unless the system wasn¡¯t the ¡®quest giver¡¯ but resource allocator of sorts. And what did "intended consequence" even mean? Penalization, punishment, or just being put at a disadvantage? Would it stop her from getting more system quests in the future? Will she receive physical backlash? The unknown faction did bother her. She did her best to follow the ping. It led her to a closed-off alleyway. At the end, a ladder stretched up toward a rooftop. She wanted to stop, to question why this was happening, but survival instinct kicked in. Making sure this went well, was her priority and by god she needed those credits. Climbing up, she found a large metal box waiting for her. Obsidian black. No markings, no symbols, nothing to indicate what it was. No sign that anyone had put it here for her. As she stepped closer, the system flashed again. Deliver a sealed package to a containment zone. Do not tamper with the box. What if she did peek inside, what were the consequences, would she put her life at risk. What was so important, she didn¡¯t need a peeking. If she let it fall and broke, would the quest forfeit, would she pay for whatever was inside. No client details. No explanation. Just a ping and a countdown. What was it, blood diamonds, drugs, blackmail. Would the system even answer if she asked? Probably not. Probably because this was about moving something highly illegal or valuable without using known actors. That meant whoever was on the other end saw her as disposable manpower. She gritted her teeth, picked up the box, and started moving. It was heavy¡ªnot steel-and-metal-ball heavy, but heavy. [53:37] Fifty-three minutes were left. The destination was too long for a sprint. Too short for a safe route. And with this box it would be a chore. No time to waste. It had taken five minutes of full-on sprinting to get here. She left poor Auri back at the scrapyard, but she¡¯d be fine, she was a regular. The sudden concern for her safety was because of how Auri had made her feel, a little warmth in this cold world¡­ Sliding down the alleyway, Callia sprinted into the crowded street. A loud whirr and a honk broke out. She dove¡ªjust as tons of metal zipped past, unstoppable. A construction truck. It barely missed her. The force of the near miss sent her sprawling. The box slipped from her hands, but she managed to hold onto it by the base of her palm. The truck screeched to a stop. The driver jumped out, pale and horrified. ¡°Shit! I didn¡¯t see you!¡± He rushed over, offering a hand. ¡°Are you alright?¡± His eyes immediately locked onto the metal box in her hands¡ªunnaturally so. He started sweating, stepping closer, barely even looking at her. Did he want the box? Was this part of the quest, scripted and all that? ¡°Yeah, fine.¡± She stood up without taking his hand and bolted. ¡°Hey!¡± he called after her. The amnesiac¡¯s paranoia flared. What were the fucking chances that the moment she left the alley, she almost got run over? An accident? Probably. But her gut told a different story. She wanted to believe in coincidences, but she couldn¡¯t. She shook off the encounter. She needed a better way to move¡ªstreets wouldn¡¯t cut it. Too many people, too many vehicles in her way. She required high ground, and there was only one way without a hovercraft. Vaulting onto a dumpster, her feet threatened to slip as she leapt onto a metal pipe with small ramps. Climbing was a chore, but her strange athleticism gave her the edge. She scaled the rooftop¡ªsafer, faster than before. [48:42] Time was ticking, the ping pulsing in her skull. She stopped, closing her eyes, focusing¡ªwhere exactly was it leading her? It vibrated in her head, redirecting. About two and a half miles away. Where the buildings were getting too taller. She gripped the package tight and sprinted, leaping across narrow gaps from roof to roof. Balance wavered. The limits of her endurance threatened to throw her off. Her legs burned. She could ignore it¡ªuntil she couldn¡¯t. After the fifth rooftop, a metallic whine filled the air behind her. Shadowing her movements. A drone. It seemed taking height over traffic had come with its own surprise. She skidded to a stop, eyes locking onto it as it circled. The thing focused on her. It wasn¡¯t a passive entity, it was controlled, someone was watching her. She was not alone. A metallic click. Its light flashed red. Then¡ªBANG. Gunfire. Callia twisted away as bullets shredded the rooftop. Concrete patches exploded behind her. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What the hell is this? System, answer me!¡± she said as she fled. It did not, in fact, answer. [Deliver a sealed package to a containment zone.] It had repeated. ¡°I¡¯m not a goddamn courier, don¡¯t give me orders!¡± [Deliver¨C] ¡°Okay, I get it!¡± she said, out of breath. Callia threw herself into a roll, vaulting over a ledge. The machine pursued, tracking her relentlessly. Adjusting smoothly to her movements, it stayed just within the corner of her vision. Nowhere to hide. No cover. No exit. She had no choice. She dropped into the alley below, landing hard. Her eyes darted around for a hiding spot. A corner¡ªtoo open, she¡¯d be seen. The only alternative was a pile of trash bags stacked together. She could hide behind it. Callia crept between the waste, holding her breath. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t equipped with thermal vision. The drone descended. It hadn¡¯t spotted her yet. She ¡®d chalk up to to luck. She grabbed a discarded pipe from the ground. The drone hovered past, scanning. Then she lunged. Bringing her full weight down, she slammed the pipe into it. The machine crumpled under her ferocious assualt, sparking and sputtering. She struck it again for good measure. [20 Threshold Points obtained.] Where the hell had this thing come from? First the driver, now a drone¡ªit wasn¡¯t a coincidence. Someone else wanted what she was carrying. A hidden condition the system hadn¡¯t revealed to her. [Threshold point limit reached. Suggest user picks a class.] ¡°Not now! Can¡¯t you read the damn room?¡± She¡¯d choose a class the moment, she¡¯d find one worth for her. She kicked the wreckage aside, tightened her grip on the box, and ran deeper into the urban maze. Her boot sole was loose. She had to balance her body perfectly to avoid falling. Her hands shook. Not fear¡ªexhaustion. She couldn¡¯t afford to slow down. [35:02] Time was flying. Only a mile and a half left. The urban hellscape shifted around her. The farther she ran, the one-story slums gave way to taller, looming structures. In the distance, gray towers blinked neon and belched smoke into the sky. She ran from alley to alley, doing her best to navigate what felt like an endless maze. A man stumbled into her path. Roughened up, disheveled, unsteady. Hands buried in his pockets, eyes darting wildly as he observed from afar. His gaze locked onto the package. Pupils dilated. ¡°Please!¡± he begged. ¡°The package¡ªI need it! I need it, please!¡± [DO NOT INTERACT.] ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but get the hell out of my way. My life depends on this.¡± Maybe reasoning was pointless, but Callia was tired of the endless violence she¡¯d witnessed since arriving here. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. My life is on the line.¡± ¡°So is mine. Move!¡± His hands twisted in his pockets. A pistol flashed upward, leveling with her head. His finger tightened¡ªalready pulling the trigger. A gunshot cracked through the air. Pain flared in her side. Her psionic reacted in an instant¡ªa shield of sorts, born out of instinct or necessity. The bullet lost its velocity. Callia rushed forward as he fired again. She twisted, dodging, and grabbed the gun. He struggled. He was weaker than her, but he fought desperately, refusing to let go. Then¡ªhe bit her. ¡°Aaarrgh, fuck! Get off me!¡± Both of their hands wrestled for control. Then¡ªBANG. Callia staggered back. The assailant collapsed on the ground. Blood seeped from his forehead. No. That wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. She couldn¡¯t recall pulling the trigger, he got killed by his own incompetence. He stopped twitching. An armada of footsteps echoed, closing in fast. More people. Did the gunshot alert them, were they more pursuers. It could very well be bystanders or police enforcers. Could be reinforcements even. Either way, she wasn¡¯t waiting to find out Callia spared him one last glance before running. No time to think¡ªonly survival. No time to mourn. Whatever his reasons were, they didn¡¯t matter now. She had her own. The ping rang out again. She climbed a rooftop, bolting. Leapt across a two-meter gap¡ªmissed. Slammed into the ledge on the other side, barely catching it. She rolled onto her side, trying to absorb the pain. No time to rationalize. No time to crumble. Keep moving. Keep moving. The ping pulsed once more. Below, at the edge of a corner, was the final destination. She climbed down, sliding along a pipe, and placed the package on the ground. No one in sight. No one to question. No one to ask. Just her. And the metal box. She kneeled, setting it in the center. Then¡ªsilence. She waited.The pinging stopped. What now? [New Directive: Walk Away.] She hesitated. Dragged into this with no explanation¡ªshot at, hunted¡ªand now they wanted her to just leave? The system repeated: [Leave.] Breathing hard, she forced herself to obey. She nodded. ¡°I did what you asked. And now you won¡¯t even tell me why?¡± She stepped out of the obscure corner, back onto the streets. ¡°Goodrift, answer me!¡± A message popped up: [Nova Ardour: No Goodrift here. I suggest you walk. The client is satisfied. You fulfilled your task. Now get lost.] ¡°Wait, what?¡± A different AI. The cities Ai. Nova Ardour. She was in a different district. It made sense¡ªshe¡¯d stepped out of the slum¡¯s jurisdiction. Every district area was overseen by a hierarchy of Artificial rulers. The world around her wasn¡¯t a slum anymore. The streets were lined with small-rise buildings, sleek modernism, more cars than she was used to seeing. And ¡®client¡¯¡ªwhat client? Client. Not system. That meant a real person was pulling the strings. Someone was working through the system, and she danced to their tune. Why the fuck was it mandatory, that implied her survival was at risk. [SYSTEM ALERT: Mandatory Quest ¨C ¡°Package of Life and Death¡± Completed.] You can go home now. Thanks for your cooperation, stranger. Stat Gains: Mobility (MOB): +1 (Due to high Conditioning) Credits Deposited: 541 Threshold Points: 250 TP [Exceeding limit] Approval Gained with Heccatek Corporation ¡°Heccatek?¡± Callia panicked. She bolted back toward the corner. Ghosts greeted her. The package was gone. She¡¯d only turned away for a moment. Someone had been here waiting to snatch it. She was being played. In its place, a single paper note lay on the ground.She picked it up. The message read: [Impressive display. For someone as fresh as a newborn, you handled yourself well. We hope to cooperate with you soon. We suggest you specialize as soon as possible¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t want any unwelcome surprises.] Paranoia. Conspiracy. Call it what you want¡ªsomeone had noticed her. Heccatek Corporation. The note definitely read as a threat. She was in a system induced hellscape. It made sense that corporations would be able to touch the lives of the unfortunate and the poor. Someone wanted something from her. She was surprised honestly, if being an invader was such a problem, she should have been swarmed by these peoples. No matter. She¡¯d let the issue rest for now. She¡¯d ask Kara about it later. As the adrenaline faded, pain flared back to life. She walked back toward Goodrift. Would it had known what had occurred she was in the slums when this quest was presented. She¡¯d ask it. No signs of pursuers. No trace of the chaos left behind. It was like they had all vanished the moment the quest ended. All the more reasons to believe she was trapped in some military simulation. But the pain, her nerves and her feelings it felt real. The man she¡¯d killed accidentally¡ªthat memory a burned into her mind. No name. No warning. Just a man who tried to stop her. And she¡¯d never know why. She couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. She felt drained. Exhausted. Callia knew she should go back to Auri, give her a proper farewell, but¡­ she couldn¡¯t stomach it. And something told her¡ª Heccatek wasn¡¯t done with her yet. 11 - Missing flower Callia sat on a barely stable chair, observing Doctor Kara as she stuffed a freshly severed hand into a jar. The liquid inside vaguely reminded her of amniotic fluid, though it was something called Xyraphorin. Apparently, you didn¡¯t need to rely on traditional cold storage methods with it¡ªit could preserve biological matter even in the most dire circumstances, such as extreme heat. ¡°You¡¯re staring at me, Callia. I can¡¯t work,¡± Kara complained. ¡°You wanted to ask me something?¡± Callia nodded. ¡°Have you heard of Heccatek?¡± Kara tensed, growing visibly uneasy. She turned her face away, sealed the jar, and moved it to the shelves in the second storage room. With a sigh, she sat back down and stared at Callia like she¡¯d just spawned, summoned a devil out of the hells. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Kara clicked her tongue. ¡°Seriously, why are you bringing this up? I don¡¯t want to tussle with corporations.¡± Callia giggled nervously. ¡°I was out in the slums with that flower girl I told you about¡ªAuri, her name was.¡± ¡°The one with blue skin under her clothing? Callia, has anyone told your amnesiac ass that staring underneath people¡¯s clothing is perverted behavior? Especially unsuspecting vulnerable woman. I¡¯d advise you to think about your sins.¡± Callia huffed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing perverted, I told you. I had a strange sensation¡ªa psychic one¡ªand then I was drawn to search. That¡¯s all. Just a reaction, you know? Like the violent one I had when I woke up. Her¡­.¡¯alienness.¡¯ it felt really familiar. ¡± ¡°Get to the point.I don¡¯t want to hear about your kinks.¡± Callia groaned. ¡°I got a quest. A mandatory one. A system quest, I think. It had a sixty-minute timer.¡± Callia stretched her legs, still sore from yesterday¡¯s constant running. ¡°It wasn¡¯t normal from the start. I only complied because the system was threatening to commit unintended consequences.¡± Kara rubbed her face. ¡°I already know where this is going. You got a mysterious job, were forced to do it immediately, and upon completion, you found out there was another entity involved. Am I right so far? If yes, you can spare me the rest of the details.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. How¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a common enough occurrence. It¡¯s also how corporations recruit operators and free agents to do their dirty work for them.¡± Kara leaned forward. ¡°Heccatek, you say? That¡¯s a nasty company. Their CEO, Rumiel, is a megalomaniac. I guess it¡¯s safe to say you¡¯ve caught their attention.¡± She took a deep breath, then slammed her hands on the concave table, rattling the surgical tools on it. ¡°Which means you¡¯re bringing unnecessary attention to my clinic.¡± ¡°Calm down, Kara. Before you kick me out like a dog again, at least explain to me what¡¯s so bad about them¡ªand why I assumed it was a system quest.¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s how they operate. They have enough money to force the system to use its resources. Heccatek deals with information networks, weapon manufacturing, and a publicized tech market¡ªthey aren¡¯t the kind of people you want attention from.¡± ¡°So¡­ what do they want from me?¡± Callia asked, a bit fearful that her femme fatale charm would mean nothing to people who could watch her from miles away. ¡°Heck if I know. Let¡¯s see¡ªyou have strange psychic powers, you¡¯ve killed before, and the system knows it because it¡¯s literally embedded in your brain. You¡¯re an invader, an outsider, an alien, so to speak. Who wouldn¡¯t want a piece of you?¡± Callia smirked. ¡°Do you want a piece of me?¡± Kara shook her head. ¡°No, you¡¯d tear me apart. Now¡­ let¡¯s ignore your innuendo and get back to the topic at hand.¡± ¡°Yea~¡± Callia snag. ¡°If things keep going like this, you have to leave. You¡¯re bound to bring trouble.¡± Callia nodded. She knew it wouldn¡¯t last long. Kara had already made it clear that she wasn¡¯t running a charity. But the uncertainty of Callia¡¯s situation had formed a small, symbiotic bond between them. If Kara didn¡¯t need Callia to hide her crimes or cover her mistakes, she would have no use for her. Callia had also started making her own credits. The additional five hundred creds wasn¡¯t much, but it could get her a cheap place to live. Still, she¡¯d hate to leave¡ªKara¡¯s snark was growing on her. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Yeah, I get it. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try not to be a liability for you.¡± Kara rested her arms on the table. ¡°I hope so. If you¡¯ve got time later, I have another job for you. Same place, different routes. No body this time, at least.¡± ¡°Sure, I guess. I¡¯ll be going out for a walk. I guess I need to think about my future now.¡± ¡°Of course, you do.¡± Kara pulled her over the table, staring into her reddish eyes. There was a bit of sorrow in Kara¡¯s gaze, her breath feverishly close. ¡°Don¡¯t think too long, or you¡¯ll end up dead. I mean it. I¡¯ve lost friends because they walked into the wrong profession, and it cost them everything. Think thoroughly, but quickly.¡± She pushed Callia away, stood up, and waltzed off on her heels. Callia did something lecherous¡ªshe stared at Kara¡¯s legs as she walked away. She hadn¡¯t thought too far about it before. Attraction and love¡­ Kara might not have been either of those. Her memories told her that something in that department was fundamentally missing. She sprang to her feet. Time to leave. She had a little money in her pocket. Things were getting dire for her. She couldn¡¯t afford to get shot again. Not only that, but she had told herself over and over that she would choose a class. But they were all weird and quirky, and they put her on edge. [Frog Hopper], [Junk Engineer], [Neural Ditz]¡ªall ridiculous. It was best to take it easy. That¡¯s what she told herself. She was still alive somehow. Everything would work in her favor, but it was all a distraction from taking the next step¡ªestablishing herself. The big wreckage where she found answers was off-limits, and there was no telling how the human authorities would react to her existence. That left Auri. She wanted to see her again and her strange, queer flower patch. She had left her abruptly¡ªthat gave her at least two reasons to see her again. Not only that, but she bought real meat as a gift from an expensive supermarket. It was excessive and inefficient compared to what she could get from a vending machine or even a street vendor, but she hoped Auri would appreciate the gesture. The meat was made from lunarfowl. Apparently, there was a colony of them up there on that broken moon. She didn¡¯t believe it in the slightest. From here, the moon looked like a shattered lightbulb, its fragments like little superheated shards of glass. A strange sight. The system must have broken the moon in the past, or some glorious battle had taken place here¡ªshe had no conception of it. It could also be a contrivance; perhaps the colonists hundreds of years ago had found it this way. Enough pondering, Callia. Auri was not in her spot. Callia had looked all over the street and in between the alleyways. An old man approached her in response. ¡°Ah, are you looking for Auri?¡± The old man¡¯s voice was hoarse, and the grime and soot on his body gave off a smell. But manners were manners, and Callia bore it. ¡°I noticed the commotion that occurred yesterday. It¡¯s nice to see someone looking out for the girl after her parents kicked the bucket. Most people pick on her because of her ¡®parental nature.¡¯¡± ¡°Is that so? So she¡¯s ostracized here in the slums?¡± Callia asked. ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s the truth. Halflings like her are ostracized everywhere. As a matter of fact, she has it easy because her skin color changes based on her mood.¡± Callia became intrigued. Did her skin actually change in response to her emotions? Is that why she became increasingly nervous? It didn¡¯t appear to be uniform¡ªher face seemed unaffected by the change. ¡°How do you know so much about her, geezer?¡± He laughed. ¡°Think of me as her uncle. I help her with trouble every now and then, which reminds me¡ªit¡¯s strange that she hasn¡¯t come out today. Maybe she¡¯s feeling under the weather, or her sleep cycle¡¯s messed up again. You know, since this planet has a rotation duration of 28 hours. Or she¡¯s mourning again. Poor Auri.¡± Callia winced. There was only one place to go then. ¡°That¡¯s some good-smelling meat you got there.¡± Callia giggled nervously. Please don¡¯t beg. Please don¡¯t beg. ¡°It¡¯s a gift for her.¡± ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re one of those then,¡± he sneered at her. ¡°One of what?¡± She raised a brow, half scowling. ¡°Ah, never mind. Take good care of her, though,¡± he said, his eyes rolling all over. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have some change for an old, retired, and wasted veteran, would you?¡± Callia didn¡¯t know what he meant by that statement, but she chose to ignore it. The man looked homeless¡ªand a veteran to boot? A tale as old as human history. ¡°Sure, I guess. Where¡¯d you serve?¡± ¡°Nova Ardour Defense Force, of course. Did ten years after we were locked in a war against the neighboring city-states. That was three decades ago, I think. Killed many invading xenos too, those bastards thought they could conquer the planet. The system discarded me¡ªnever cared much for me anyway.¡± He spat something dark and foul-smelling onto the ground. Callia hid her nausea. Chewable spliff. How long did he have that in his mouth? ¡°Cool. I think I¡¯m a soldier too.¡± He balked at her. ¡°You think? I guess I think I¡¯m a wizard now.¡± She stared at him. No point in explaining the amnesia part¡ªhe could be untrustworthy. ¡°You got a name, geezer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Rahm.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s been nice talking to you, Rahm.¡± ¡°Hmmm, you got any spare change in your pocket? You vagabond types are always flowing with money. Ten creds¡ªthat¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for.¡± She bit her lip. Of course, that¡¯s why he was hassling me. Very well. He did tell her few things of importance. ¡°Sure, I guess. Don¡¯t spend it all in one place.¡± She handed him physical credit chips¡ªtwenty of them. ¡°Don¡¯t spend it on narcotics?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t promise that, although this is enough for a few beers. Thank you, lass.¡± Callia walked deeper into the slums. Auri was only a few minutes away.