Chapter 13

The 15th Cycle.

Taking apart the wrecked corvettes to remove functional technology was a slow process, and I only had the cycle to finish the task. After that, everything got auto-sent to my reprocessing factory, so I spent every waking hour pulling as much technology as possible out of the wreckages. There wasn’t just the shield emitter. There were power regulators, heat sinks, and about a thousand other pieces of technology. Each one added a new blueprint option that I could purchase. I wasn’t going to use most of them, but Tee said you never knew when something might be important. You might need the technology of a dozen different species to put together a weapon that none of them could make individually. It was worth gathering as much as I could.

So the rest of the cycle was devoted to that. I spent my few days off on earth looking for a new apartment and trying to help The Librarian develop a proper defense plan. The apartment search was a dead end. The moment anyone found out it was me, things got complicated. Life was getting incredibly problematic. The only thing that wasn’t was the game. Everything made sense there.

So I was happy to return to my command chair. And I was delighted that clearing the station of rats helped me level.

Congratulations, you have reached level 39

You have 1 path points to spend.

You have 635 station points to spend.

You have 1680 dungeon points to spend

I added another point to my station tech path and got comfortable. It was finally time to build my dungeon. I wanted it to be ready for the Kilocksin when they arrived. I was willing to bet good money that it would be today.

“Tee, I can move rooms around, but I can’t remove them once they're added, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I want to fight their warlords. I’m thinking of putting an extra room after the sixth room with just Tumpa and me. That way, I can talk to them before they enter the kill room.”

“You’ll be weakening your kill room.”

“You don’t think I can beat them in a fight?”

“Do you?”

“No.”

“Good, you’re not delusional. Why do you want to talk to them?”

“This is going to be my only chance to make a good impression. If I can make that impression, they might be willing to work with us in the future. These people have the influence necessary to make sure that happens.”

“You don’t know that they will come?”

“But if they do, I need to be there.”

“True. It might be worth weakening your kill room for that. You’ll have to give a bigger reward for killing you, though. It would be kind of insulting if they only got a few credits and a shield bracer.

“I’ll give them 100,000 Tokens. A life for a life.”

Tee whistled. “That’s a reward.”

“Exactly. They will have to take notice. And if it brings them back, then the more, the better. So, let’s get started.”

I pulled up the immortal soldier upgrade path.

Immortal Soldier Upgrades

Description

Available

Cost

Skill Upgrades

Unarmed Combat

0/10

10

Knife Combat

0/10

10

Particle Pistol Combat

0/10

10

Particle Rifle Combat

0/10

10

Basic Tactical Training

0/10

10

Kilocksin Culture

0/10

10

Weapon Upgrades

Tactical Knife

0/10

10

Particle Pistol

0/10

100

Particle Rifle

0/10

200

Particle Rifle Grenade Launcher attachment

0/1

500

Particle Rifle Mini Missile Launcher attachment

0/1

1,000

Grenade Belt

0/1

500

Explosives Pack

0/1

500

Particle Sniper Rifle

0/10

2,500

Particle Light Machine Gun

0/10

5,000

Particle Heavy Machine Gun

0/10

10,000

Grenade Launcher

0/10

5,000

Missile Launcher

0/10

10,000

Shoulder mounted Particle Cannon

0/10

100,000

Proximity Mine

0/10

10,000

Armor Upgrades

Combat Armor

0/10

200

Power Armor

0/10

5,000

Nano Armor

0/10

100,000

Personal Shield

0/10

10,000

Accessory Upgrades

Automated Turret

0/1

100,000

Shield Installation

0/1

250,000

Combat Drone -Ground

0/10

50,000

Combat Drone -Air

0/10

50,000

Physical Upgrades

Strength

0/100

100

Dexterity

0/100

100

Agility

0/100

100

Perception

0/100

100

Toughness

0/100

100

There were so many options, and all the coolest ones were out of my price range. Tee wasn’t joking when he said immortal soldiers were the most versatile mob he’d ever seen. Everything in my station master knowledge package said he was right. My station was only level 4, so the full upgrade path hadn’t appeared yet, but the list was already twice the size of what most had access to.

There was a lot of talk earth side around this subject. Humanity seemed to have two strengths. One was our ability to build quickly. The other seemed to be extremely strong and versatile infantry. Station masters weren’t the only classes that had received AI’s as traits and the military AI’s all agreed that we were capable of fielding an extremely exceptional ground force.

But in order to use that infantry, we had to get them planet side. No one was sure how to do that yet. None of our technology allowed us to do that.

I scratched my jaw as I looked through the list of upgrades. Right now, the only weapons the immortal soldiers had access to were the particle pistol, the particle rifle, and the tactical knife. And I couldn’t afford to upgrade any of them. All my dungeon points were going into skills.

You have spent 550 dungeon points to buy the Unarmed Combat Skill upgrade from level 0-10.

You have spent 550 dungeon points to buy the Kilocksin Culture Skill upgrade from level 0-10.

“That was painful.”

“I told you to invest differently.”

“If this pays off, it will be worth it.”

“That’s a big if.”

“Buy the rest of what we talked about.”

“I’ll need your approval.”

A prompt appeared.

Dungeon Name: The Crucible

Level: 3

Room Limit: 8/13

Entrance Limit: 1/3

Dungeon Challenger Limit: 6

Mob Limit: 78

Room 1:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 1, 100 credits

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers

Skills:

-Unarmed combat III

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 3

Room 2:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 2, 200 credits

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers:

Skills:

-Unarmed combat IV

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 4

Room 3:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 3, 300 credits

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers:

Skills:

-Unarmed combat V

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 5

Room 4:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 4, 400 credits

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers:

Skills:

-Unarmed combat VII

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 7

Room 5:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 5, 500 credits

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers:

Skills:

-Unarmed combat X

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 10

Room 6:

Loot: Shield Bracer Tier 5, 1% chance of loot upgrade.

Challenge:

6 Immortal Soldiers:

Skills:

-Unarmed combat X

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 15

Room 7:

Loot: 100,000 Tokens

Challenge:

Station Master, Morgan

Kilocksin Liaison, Tumpa

Room 8:

Room Upgrades:

Mob Limit: 42

Loot: 100 credits.

Challenge:

Dungeon Master:

The squad:

Dungeon Turrets: 7

Immortal Soldiers: 42

Skills:

-Unarmed Combat X

-Kilocksin Culture X

Enhancements:

-Dungeon Integration

-Physical Tech 19

I was spending 20 of my dungeon master reduction points on the dungeon integration upgrade. It made the dungeon integration free for my immortal soldiers, which was important, because it meant that my mob could learn and level with the station. Each level gave the mobs a handful of physical upgrades that they could spend on themselves. Each time this happened they would use their past battle experience to decide where they were weakest or strongest and make improvements. These changes might seem small, but apparently they were far more effective than the mass upgrades I gave them.

So it was the first thing I selected.

One of the cool things about immortal soldiers was the more there were, the better they got. If I had six, then the sixth one would be a sergeant who was tougher. The sergeant, however, cost 15 to integrate, which is why I’d spent more. Every time I had 30 in a room, I got a lieutenant, and he cost 20 to integrate, hence why I’d invested 20.

Physical and personal tech clone upgrades for my immortal soldiers were surprisingly cheap. They cost whatever level the upgrade was at, but the level couldn’t go above whatever level I had that path currently at, so I was pretty sure they would max out at 50. That was great for early game, but not late.

So I spent the other 19 points of my dungeon master reduction on making the physical tech clone upgrade free for all my dungeon mobs up to that level.

I was planning to spam my immortal soldier, and the combined cost would eventually crush me if I didn’t use my dungeon reduction to reduce the cost of the individual upgrades.

Thankfully adding loot didn’t cost dungeon points. If it did, I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford this. But once I purchased the blueprint, I could build the equipment for RP. Any credits I offered came out of my pocket which is why I’d only offered the bare minimum.

I looked through everything several times. Everything seemed right. My dungeon was ready to be invaded.

“Yeah, that looks good. Spend it.”

“Your dungeon should be ready within the hour.”

“I guess now all there is to do is hurry up and wait.”

***

The Kilocksin hadn’t sent their warlords. But they did send almost 100 waves of warriors to challenge the dungeon. I sat in the dojo chatting with another group of Kilocksin warriors while Tumpa proceeded to win against each of them in unarmed ritual combat. Some of the warriors were respectful but standoffish. Others, like these ones, were regular chatterboxes. They were happy to sit and talk with a human Ma’Lock. They had heard about me through Rass and were honored to challenge my liaison for the right to fight me.

Finally, they broached the subject that all the talkative ones always got to. “Ma’Lock Morgan, why have you built such a strange dungeon? You show respect every step of the way. But the challenges, until now, have not been insurmountable. We only lost three on our way here.”

“The challenges are not for you. They are for your children.”

“If you build your dungeon for our children, you will lose your station to our warriors.”

I smiled. “Beyond this room is the one that is made for your warlords. One day, I hope to move it further back with rooms that will challenge warriors like yourselves. But for now, all I can offer is a challenge for your children.”

“What will be beyond this room?”

“Group combat,” I said.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“When my station reaches level 10, I plan to have 10 entrances like the ones you came through lead to a room where there are sixty warriors for your sixty to fight. One day, you will fight through six rooms like those you fought to get here only with much larger numbers.”

The reptilian soldier grinned. “That sounds like clan games.”

“Yes, my clan against yours.”

“It sounds fun, but you will not last long enough for me to see it.”

Tumpa finished off the Kilocksin’s ally and immediately challenged the next member of their group.

I smiled. “Unless your warlords come to challenge my dungeon, you have little chance of taking it.”

“It is not us you need fear, since our warlords are not going to challenge you. Alliances are being formed against your faction all over the galaxy. Taking your station only to then lose it to them in a few cycles would be fruitless.”

That was considered tactical information. Kilocksin didn’t just give that away, not unless they intended to do it. The fact that this one had meant something important, “what do you leaders wish to share with me?”

“Your actions with our fleet have impressed our clan. We do not speak for our faction, only for ourselves. If you wish for us to take your offer to become mercenaries seriously, then we offer you this challenge. On the 20th cycle, a conglomerate of factions will attack every station your faction has and then set out to conquer your sectors. Should your sector survive this incursion Ma’Lock Morgan, my clan will consider your request.”

“I’ll need more than your word to take to my faction.”

“I have a data chip on my person. Defeat me in combat and it is yours.”

“Who are you to deliver such a message?”

“Just the son of a bored Warlord and Rass’s older brother, Tulk.”

“Beat my liaison, and you will have the honor of fighting me, Tulk. I won’t change the rules.”

Tulk hiss chuckled. “I wouldn’t respect you if you did.”

***

My viewscreen showed almost a thousand faces, every race, every branch of the military, and leaders of all nations were here. There should have been more, but not everyone had access to interstellar communication yet. This was only those I could connect to. I’d sent out the call and they’d all answered.

Tee finished giving his briefing on what the data package Tulk had given us held. We didn’t have the technology to make this conversation private. And I didn’t want to do this on earth. They needed to see what we had been given, not just take our word on it. And our opponents weren’t doing this in secret. This was public knowledge. We just hadn’t known where to look for it.

“Currently, this information is unconfirmed,” I said when Tee finished. “What I can confirm is that the Octorin and Clack who border my station are part of this conspiracy, and Tee’s scans of their systems confirm that they are building up for a major attack on the supplied date. I need all Station Masters and those with access to the mercenary guild system to make all efforts to confirm whether or not this information is true. Thank you for your time. If you have any further questions, please direct them to Tee.”

I pressed a button on the arm of my chair, disconnecting me from the conversation, leaving someone else to sort out the chaos.

“Alex is hailing you,” Tee said a moment later.

“Put her on the viewscreen.”

Alex appeared. Her hair looked amazing in-game. And she was hotter than usual when angry. “What was that? You can’t just drop a bomb like that and walk out.”

“Sure I can. I just did.”

“People need direction. They’re all yelling at each other right now.”

“I’m not the person to give it to them. I’m not a politician, general, or admiral. I’m a station master. I’ve helped where I can now I need to make sure that The Crucible is ready to deal with the attack.”

Alex scowled. “You’re the only one who’s on speaking terms with aliens. You need to ask them for help.”

“I’m not going to do that. This is a test. We need to prove ourselves. You’ve got three factions on your border that will be part of this attack. I’m going to ask the fleets in the system near my station to move to the system bordering yours. I’m also going to ask them to sell resources through your station.”

“I don’t need help.”

“Yes, you do. You’re the only one dealing with three factions. The Librarian and Daniel only have one faction that is part of this. You are going to get rolled without help. These aliens have already divided up our territory, so only one of the factions will fully commit. The others are going to try to soften you up. You need fleet support to stop them from crippling you before the real enemy arrives.”

Alex stared at me dumbfounded.

I decided I liked it when she was stumped.

“Have you been sitting on this information for days?”

“No, only an hour. If it makes you feel better, I have my physical path at level 19. I’m basically functioning at my peak every second of the day.”

“An hour.”

“Yeah, like I told you all, it’s definitely worth investing in the physical path at least up to eight.”

“We didn’t all receive 90 free path points,” Alex said.

I smiled because I knew it would annoy her. “I earned those by being the perfect troll. You’re just envious.”

“Of course, I’m envious. You own Mars!”

This was why Alex and I wouldn’t work. She wasn’t happy for my success. She’d hated every time I’d beaten her at a tournament whereas I’d been impressed even when I didn’t like her.

“That old thing.”

“You are so annoying. I’ll talk to you once I’ve had a chance to look through the data package.”

“You might have to schedule that for when we are earthside. I’m about to head back into the dungeon. I’ve still got Kilocksin trying to raid it. The opportunity to talk to them and make a good impression is not something I want to lose.”

She nodded. “Do what you need to do to make sure we win.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t about winning. This is about survival.”

***

For 8 minutes and 11 seconds, the world stopped. Every country’s leader broke the news at the same time. Humanity was going to war. And this was war. We were fighting for a chance at immortality. A chance to push forward and eliminate poverty, disease, and pointless existence. We had a chance to turn earth into Eden. But to do that, we needed to stay in the game. We needed to go to war. So we were mobilizing. We were uniting.

In five cycles, we would face a threat to the beautiful future we’d been offered. And we would beat it. That was what they said. It wasn’t true. We weren’t going to win. But we might survive.

For that reason, I was throwing around my influence. I was making a request that I usually wouldn’t have, but it was something that I felt needed to be done.

I was sitting in my hotel room when a familiar face appeared on the screen of my phone. I’d only met him once three months ago, but he was the person I needed to talk to.

“Commander Prime, I know your time is precious, so I will make this brief. You and I both know our leaders plan to try to hold every sector is going to fail. We only need one station to fall to lose a sector. I know you can’t work against them. But in your opinion, how many sectors can we keep?”

Commander Prime sighed, looking exhausted and depressed. “Your separation of warriors and scholars will be your undoing. I’m happy to talk to someone who understands your faction’s delicate position. By my estimates, humanity could keep eleven sectors if you pooled your resources and were willing to sacrifice the other sectors. But with the current plan of action, you will likely only keep five. The leaders I’ve spoken with haven’t accepted my guidance. They are actively ignoring it. I have not been able to participate except in the initial selection process. I only need one leader to work with me and I believe I can improve humanities chances.” Commander Prime looked at me pointedly. “But to have such a leader, at this point, would require them to have their own country and planet and declare national and planetary independence. Otherwise, I would be forbidden from dealing with them in the way I should. If humanity had two worlds, with two governments, my time would be divided evenly between them.”

I took a slow breath to calm myself. It didn’t work. This was bad. “They’re refusing to work with you, as in completely refusing?” I couldn’t hide my disbelief.

Commander Prime was our greatest asset. My station master knowledge told me that his time was the most precious in human history, which was why I had hesitated to contact him. His time was literally the most valuable asset on earth. To misuse it was a waste. To not use it was insane.

“The majority of those best suited to hold the position of leadership on earth were culled. Those that survived are mostly minor officials who have never had this sort of responsibility. They see me as a threat, something to be distrusted. They fear I will try to take power. I don’t just need a leader to rally humanity. I need someone who is willing to work with me.”

I knew the legal process for what he was asking because the knowledge had been uploaded to my brain after receiving my own planet and country, and Commander Prime counted as a Peacekeeper official. The fact that they had sidelined him was the only reason I didn’t hesitate to do what he said. That wasn’t a mistake. It was a disaster.

So while wearing no pants and sitting on a couch in a hotel penthouse suite, I changed humanity's entire governmental structure within the Collective.

“I declare myself the independent sovereign of an unnamed nation, on the planet earth, renouncing my citizenship to the United States. I declare myself the independent sovereign of Mars, renouncing my family and middle name and take the last name Mars in accordance with Collective law. I claim dual planetary citizenship under this unnamed nation and Mars, and approve this under my own authority.

Commander Prime smiled. “Morgan Mars, first of his line, thank you for your help. But you could have kept your family name.”

“I’m not going to rename Mars to keep my last name. You have no idea how pissed off people were when they said Pluto was no longer a planet. I’m not going to step into that wasp nest by renaming Mars. Now, what did you need me to renounce my citizenship for?”

“Your military’s oaths do not extend to the game. Nothing is stopping you from independently contacting the station masters and fleet admirals of the eleven sectors to try to get them to work with us. To be clear, I am not offering that you lead these forces. You don’t have the skill. I would be using you as a figurehead to form under and lead humanities forces as I should have from the beginning.”

“How do you want me to do that?”

“I will walk you through the process-”