System Announcement!

Congratulations Player: Damian Fern! You have gained the Passive Skill - Charge.

Charge - Player may Charge at an enemy up to fifty feet from his location at extreme speed. -WARNING- Charge is a set rank and may not be upgraded. -Informational- Charge is an automated rush attack primarily used by Protoss through Psionic and Cybernetic means. The Player may use it naturally.

Oh, well that seemed kind of useless. I used fucking guns, why the hell would I want to bum rush into an enemy location while they might be shooting at me? I mean...I can see it being useful in non-combative situations that have the chance to escalate. I’ll take it as a so-so reward for now.

I went ahead and pulled up Nova’s stat screen shortly after, a bit worried about what it might say in its entirety.

Nova Terra - The youngest child of the Terra Household, has an elder sister and brother. Nova lost both her parents in a raid made by a rival faction within the Confederate hierarchy. Her sister, married to another House, declared her killed during the assault which led to her Psionic powers awakening and her induction into the Ghost program, her brother is presumed dead.

Level: 7

Hero Grade - Epic

Rank: Elite Ghost

Kill count - 271

Damage - 45

Defense - 30

Loyalty - 100/100

Trust - 100/100

Attraction - 95/100

Desire - 63/100

Unique Buildings - Star Base Mobile (The Orion)

Elite Marines Promoted - 2

Abilities - Snipe +1, Detection +1, Cloaking +1, Load-out change +1, Energy Regeneration +1, Health Regeneration +1, Psi-Image +1.

Attraction - How much one is attracted to you, be it romantically or platonically.

Desire - How much one desires for something more than the current status quo.

Alrighty then...I’m pretty damn happy about that Attraction score, regardless of the implications it means she likes me. Desire was even better, that kiss was certainly because of this...yep! The Stat Screen had updated to show her ownership of The Orion as well as her Bio, a bit less depressing to actually read it than relive it through her words.

She had also leveled up twice, but no notifications had come across. Did it only notify you when they gained a new skill? If so I was glad. I was only looking at these things now because I needed to go over their personal strengths a bit. Next was Fernando, we had spoken early, briefly. He wasn't willing to go into his past, and I hadn’t pushed much at the time, but we had come to a common understanding about his oppressive desire to ensure everything was done properly to protect me. I'm to now actively consider his advice, and he would stop putting me in situations where I had to accept his demands concerning my state of being.

Lieutenant Fernando - A man of mystery and a shrouded past.

Level: 8

Rank: Imperial Guard Trainer

Kill Count - 290

Damage - 40

Defense - 50

Unique Skill - Imperial Trainer.

Trust - 75/100

Loyalty - 75/100

Abilities - Military Discipline +1, Coordinated Movement +1, Command Structure +1, Defensive Formation +1, Resource Management +1, Precision +1,

Well, I was right. The Stat Screen changed based on the information you actually learned about the Unit, as well as their Trust and Loyalty values. I was actually fairly glad I couldn’t see the two additional values I could with Nova on Fernando. I was a bit confused about the Trust and Loyalty but took it at face value for now.

Following their stats, was mine. Not something I was really looking forward to, but I needed an idea of my own changes now as well.

Player: Damian Fern.

Level: 3

Title: Commander

Communal Standing: Colonial Magistrate

Military Standing: General - level 3

Profession - Ghost (Unable to make use of Ghost abilities)

Kills - 79

Equipment - C-10 Rifle Mark V, Marine Armor, Signet Ring

Damage - 15

Defense - 10

Psionic Power - 1/1 (Psionically crippled)

Abilities - Cloak (Gear reliant), Snipe, Psionic Storm, Psi-Blast, Stabilizing Round, Burst Shot.

Perks - Regeneration +3 (Passive), Charge (Passive)

Nothing unexpected at all there. The shit in parenthesis was annoying, but I could get over it. I couldn’t cloak without the actual Ghost Gear. I had a few ideas for that later on though. Apparently, my own abilities changed based on equipment as well, the Perks were what I gained as active passives? No clue, it could just as easily be The System, or the Alien bastard fucking with me. My personal level also appeared to grow with my General or Commander level? This shit was genuinely confusing and I was honestly glad that aside from being guidelines and reminders, nothing was actually full on stat reliant, everything was based on gear and training...of which I currently seemed to lack both.

I eyed the Charge skill a moment, deciding it meant Passive in the sense it wouldn’t activate unless I willed it, but was always available. Kind of...weird, but workable.

Next up, the Utility Hero Card. I assumed the card would summon a Hero based on some aspect of the community that was more in line with building, training, entertainment, ETC. I crushed it, and a white light engulfed the area in front of me. What came out was an average height man with a spiked crew cut, a massive beard, overly muscled body, and a massive metal arm. Holy shit…

System Announcement!

Congratulations Player! You have used the Utility Hero Card to summon Hero Unit - Rory Swann!

Congratulations Player! Summoning Rory Swann has granted you the Passive Ability - Armor

Armor - Increase your natural defense by five when wearing heavy armor.

Congratulations Player! For having three Heroes you have been granted the ability to create automated Refineries!

Congratulations Player! Rory Swann reduces the material cost of all mechanical units and buildings by a flat twenty-five percent.

Congratulations Player! Unique Building ‘Swanns Mechanics’ has been made available to you!

“Hey there Scooter! Good to meet ya.” Sweet Baby Jesus and a pineapple, it was Rory Swann. The literal backbone behind ‘Raynor's Raiders’ mechanized units and personal unit upgrades. I struck pay dirt! That and another Unique Building. I blinked a few moments, stunned out of sheer joy...then I realized what he called me.

“Scooter?” I asked, and Rory tilted his head, clanking his metal lift-hand-thing at me.

“Yea, Scooter, seems to fit. What ya got for me to do?” I blinked again and sighed. Of course, he gave everyone fucking nicknames. I think Nova’s was Skippy? I absently wondered what it would mean for two Characters from the game to meet here.

System advisory! All Hero Units who knew each other from the game will carry over their shared history, altered only so much as to fit the Game Universe. Small details will change to fit the settings, larger ones will remain.

First, fuck you, second good to know. I pulled out the Primary Building Card and immediately selected the building that came with Rory.

System Announcement!

Congratulations Player! You have gained the Unique Building ‘Swanns Mechanics’.

Swann's Mechanics - A unique Building ran by Hero Unit, Rory Swann, capable of researching and creating unique adapted versions of all known Vehicle Schematics, and several new ones - Able to be specialized.

Specialization options -

Mechanical Might - Focuses entirely on a mechanized division, increases the success chance of discovering new, Unique, versions of Mechanical Units by fifty percent. Reduces production cost of Vehicles by fifty percent (Capped at seventy-five - System advisory! Rory already lowers the cost by twenty-five percent) Armor is love! - Focuses upon all infantry armor. Increases the odds of creating a Unique Unit variations by fifty percent. Reduces production cost of armor by seventy-five percent Research it all! - Will focus on all aspects of the military, the chance of finding Unique variations to each Unit, Mechanical and Infantry, increased by thirty-five percent. Reduces the production costs of all Units by forty percent.

Oh, my...I think I just had a dream. It was so beautiful, I had siege tanks everywhere around me and I was laughing while buildings went up in flame. Moving on from my small break in my sanity at the idea of becoming a mechanized warlord, I looked at Swann and gave him a big smile.

“Swann, I want you in your shop and working on upgrades for my forces. I need everyone in top shape, no expense is too great. I’ll provide resources you might need as I obtain them. I also want you to work with Caspian, my leading scientist in research and development. I’ll have him write you soon, he is...different. Nova is here as well, I’m sure she will find you at some point.”

Swann clanked his metal hand again and laughed, making his belly jiggle. Good lord, he was fucking adorable. “Skippy is here! Oh good, I have a lot of ideas for her gear. I’ll talk to your Scientist as well, but if ever see him near my tools I’ll find a way to launch him out of an airlock, even on a planet.”

I stifled a laugh as he left, he was a character. One of my favorites, outspoken and strong-willed. The man was a legend with machinery as well. I’d have to pick a Specialization as well, each had its merits of course. The seventy-five percent reduction to every unit, depending on my choice, was amazing as hell. The Unique Unit production/research and discovery rate? Broken as well.

I’m sure both had massive costs, but it would be worth it. More so if they were anything like The Orion or the Imperial Guard. I’d work on specializing them later today as well. For now, I had to go see Nova, she should be somewhere near my quarters. I had an upgrade for the blond beauty, I also needed to discuss the kiss with her...in a private setting.