Chapter 5.1 - Learning 1

I have a lot to do, spending that attribute point, picking a new spell, and most excitingly picking a new magic hack! But before all of that, there was one final door to explore through. If what Nania had told me before we left the ship was true, this should be the treasure room for the dungeon and filled with tons of loot. Okay, tons is probably an exaggeration since this is a low-level dungeon after all. Jerilda and I approach the door and as we get close it automatically opens. Inside is a treasure trove of weapons, armor, and crates with who knows what inside. I turn to Jerilda and give her a smirk, "We're taking everything, we can sort through it all on the ship."

While she starts collecting some of the gear I do the same, storing some of the crates in my [Utility Belt], the weight reduction property on it is coming in really handy here, and I didn't have much more than grenades and the grenade launcher in it to begin with so there was still plenty of space. While I'm storing things I take the time to look at some of the weapons, a couple catch my attention but one, in particular, is deserving of attention.

Supernova Plasma Sniper Item Level: 5 Toughness: 15 Hit Points: 30/30 Damage: 3-18 Fire and Electrical Range: 300 Feet Magazine: 20 Charges, 20 Charges per Shot Reload: 5 Seconds Type: Sniper Rifle Description: The Supernova line of Plasma Sniper Rifles are some of the most powerful and deadly in the galaxy. Unfortunately, they have one small flaw; their power consumption. The Supernova's fire an intense bolt of plasma surrounded by a highly charged magnetic field. Creating the plasma and charging the magnetic field takes a full second and drains the entire battery when the trigger is pulled. All Supernova class weapons automatically come with the Burst Weapon Fusion installed, it cannot be removed. Burst: The Burst Weapon Fusion can only be installed onto weapons that deal energy damage. The Burst fusion causes the projectile fired from the weapon to explode in a five-foot radius dealing the weapons damage to everything within range.

Not a weapon I was technically proficient with, but thanks to [Technomantic Proficiency] that wouldn't even be a remote issue. I hadn't been in any combat that a sniper weapon would have helped with, but it was always nice to have one just in case. I store it in the [Utility Belt] with the rest of the gear I'm collecting. It would definitely take some time to go through all of these crates and examine all of the weapons, but that's what the black of the corridor was for. As we're packing up the last of the gear I find two more interesting pieces.

Unknown Ancient Technology Description: A completely unknown piece of Ancient Technology. No one knows exactly where Ancient technology came from, but everyone agrees it is millennia older than all known technology in the Pact systems. Unknown Skill Crystal Description: Skill Crystals are somewhat rare items that instantly grant a single rank in any skill when used.

I look over the item, it's not exactly impressive it's just a black cube about three inches on a side. I think Reginald mentioned something about needing to find a piece of [Ancient Technology] for me to make custom items. It must be pretty common to be finding a piece in such a low level dungeon. As for the [Skill Crystal], my best guess is that it has something to do with the black box. For both of them to be unknown and together makes it seem likely that they are linked to each other somehow. Aside from the cases, weapons, armor and the [Ancient Technology] we also find a few credit sticks totaling two thousand six hundred and twenty credits. With the room completely emptied out Jerilda and I head back through the dungeon and exit it.

Outside nothing has changed and the [Hover Bike] is still sitting where I left it. Thankfully there aren't many thieves hanging around in the middle of nowhere. I walk over and disable the security on the bike then mount it. I turn to look at Jerilda and arch an eyebrow at her. With an overly dramatic sigh, she walks over and mounts the bike behind me. I start the bike up and take us on a flight back to the CR Spectrum, this time Jerilda willingly holds onto my waist and doesn't try to crush me to death. It's still not a pleasant feeling though.

As we approach the ship I speak up, "Celeste, open the cargo hatch and let Nania know we're coming in for a landing."

Celeste chimes up in my earpiece, "Done, Captain."

I bring the bike into the cargo hold of the ship and land it near the [Personal Racer]. After Jerilda and I get off I move it to its spot next to the racer. As I step out from behind it the door leading into the interior of the ship opens and Nania walks out. For once she's actually smiling, "I take it you completed the dungeon?"

Jerilda just nods and heads into the ship, hopefully, to deposit the stuff she's brought out of the dungeon, I don't know about her but my [Utility Belt] is uncomfortably heavy. While she does that I give Nania a rundown of our activities in the dungeon. When I finish Nania looks surprised, "Wait! You found a piece of ancient tech?"

I nod and open my [Utility Belt] inventory and select the small cube to show it to her. She immediately snatches it out of my hand and examines it, "Holy shit!"

She turns to look up at me and I swear I can see stars in her eyes, "Do you know what this means?"

Obviously, I don't since the description told me nothing about it, "No, what?"

She holds up the cube and lets me take a look at it while she explains, "The locals believe that the ancients are the ones who invented the system that grants experience, class levels and so on. Ancient tech can circumvent some of the rules of the system. For example, I read a forum post from another player that found an ancient rifle. The rifle's item level goes up, along with its stats, as he levels up. But it gets even better. When he ascended the item level of the weapon did go down but all the stats of the weapon stayed where they were at item level twenty and as he leveled up again the stats continued to grow as they had before. Right now it's one of the most powerful known weapons."

I whistles, "That is impressive. Alright, so how do we find out what this thing does?"

She looks the cube over, probably reading the pointless description again, "From what I understand there are only a handful of NPC's that can identify what Ancient items do. We'll need to find out exactly who we should take this to."

She looks up at the ceiling, "Hey Celeste?"

An emitter lights up and the full-sized version of Celeste appears. She turns to look at Nania and smiles, "Yes, Nania?"

Nania lifts her arm and types into her personal computer, "I'm giving you the access codes for the guild communications network. Use them when connecting to the FTL-CN to join the guilds private communication network. We can ask them if they know who we need to meet with to get this thing identified."

Celeste hums a soft tune for a few seconds then stops to speak, "The connection has been established Nania. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Nania shakes her head, "That's all. Thanks, Celeste."

Celeste nods her head, "You're welcome Nania." and then she vanishes.

I look at Nania, "Looks like you two are getting along."

Nania nods, "She's really sophisticated for an Artificial Personality. She almost seems like an actual A.I."

I shrug my shoulders, "Between the ships computer and my upgraded personal computer she has a lot more processing power than she did before. It's probably making her emulation software more effective."

I briefly contemplate turning Celeste into an actual artificial intelligence, but something like that will need to wait. Nania turns around and gestures for me to follow her. I clear my throat and hold out my hand to her when she turns to look at me. She chuckles and gives the Ancient item back to me so I can store it in my [Utility Belt]. On our way to the bridge, we stop near the armory so I can drop off all the excess items I have, aside from the sniper rifle I haven't taken the time to do a full examination on what we got, and it could wait until we were in the corridor.

With all of that dropped off we head into the bridge where Nania uses one of the communication computers to contact the guild. Because of the number of people communicating at the same time the guild channel is in text, though there is an option for video call if it's needed. Nania spends a few minutes talking with members of the guild while I relax in the captain's chair, it's good to be the boss.

When she finishes talking to the guild members Nania turns in the chair and addresses me, "Well, looks like one of the nearest NPC's who can tell us about the artifact is back in the Valencia system on the VC-5A orbital. Seems he's a research professor and has an office there."

I can't help but laugh, feels like we're going in a galactic circle, but that's okay. Last time I was in the Valencia system I was in a bit of a rush so I didn't really get a chance to explore. Hell, I didn't even leave my ship at the orbital. It would be nice to do a little exploration. I nod and speak to Nania, "Do we have contact info for him? Probably best to call someone like that and make an appointment instead of just showing up on his doorstep."

Nania nods, "One of the guild members gave me his contact info." She does some typing, "Now Celeste has it."

Celeste turns on one of the projectors at the mention of her name and sits in one of the seats on the bridge. I grin at Celeste, "I assume you've been listening?"

She nods, "Of course, Captain."

"Good, use the contact info Nania gave you and call the professor."

After a few moments another holo emitter lights up and an old man appears on the bridge of the ship. He's pudgy, hunched, with a balding head and glasses. He also appears to be a humanoid feline rice, a cat-person. The ears on his head are slightly wilted and he looks to be missing a few whiskers on his face. I climb to my feet and give him a polite smile, "Hello Professor..." FUCK! I forgot to ask his name!

Nania leans close and whispers, "Professor Relix!"

"Ah yes, Sorry. Hello Professor Relix, it's an honor to meet you."

He doesn't look very happy that I didn't know his name and just scoffs at me. He doesn't seem to be in a pleasant mood as he glares at me from behind the lenses of his glasses, "What do you want?"

His tone of voice definitely conveys his annoyance with me. I smile wryly, it was my fault after all. "I apologize for that Professor. I am Captain Darkrose of the CR Spectrum and a Traveler. On my latest travels, I found an item of interest that I was told you might be able to help me with."

The professor huffs and waves a dismissive hand, "I have no time to waste helping rude Travelers."

He reaches for something off screen, likely to end the call. I hurriedly pull the Ancient item out of my [Utility Belt], "I found a piece of Ancient tech and I was hoping you could tell me what it is!"

His hand stops and he slowly turns to look at me, or more specifically the small cube in my hand. He studies it for a moment then looks at me, "Hoh. And where did you find that?"

I take the time to explain about the dungeon. I don't give the whole story though. I simply explain it was inside of a [Goblin] run research facility guarded by [Orcs]. After listening he nods slowly and I finish with, "I asked some friends and they told me you would be the best person to talk to about identifying what this piece of Ancient tech will do."

The professor studies me in silence for a moment, then looks to the device and I can see the shift in his attitude. His curiosity is plainly overflowing in view of all three of us. He's practically drooling as he looks at the small black cube. Finally, he turns to look back at me, "Very well. How long until you can arrive at the orbital?"

"It will take us two and a half days in the corridor to get back to the Valencia system. We can meet anytime after that.", I reply.

He nods, "Come to me as soon as you dock with the orbital. We'll take a look at your little item then."

I smile and give him a small nod of my head to show a little respect, "Thank you for your time Professor Relix."

He says nothing and ends the call.

Diplomacy +2

With the call finished I turn to Celeste, "Begin the calculations for the trip back to Valencia."

Celeste nods in reply. I turn to Nania, "Get us off this planet and on track for entering the corridor." I press a button on the armrest of my chair to turn on the internal comms network, "Jerilda, we're taking off and heading back to Valencia."

Celeste and Nania follow my orders. Celeste doesn't need to move, but Nania stands up and walks over to the pilot's seat. She starts to warm up the thrusters so we can take off. The larger the ship the longer the thrusters need to charge up. While they charge Jerilda joins us on the bridge wearing a simple grey jumpsuit with only a pistol as a visible weapon. She walks over and sits at one of the weapon control terminals, I think it's the one for the forward arc.

Once the thrusters are warmed up Nania skillfully lifts us off of the planet and guides the ship through the atmosphere and into space. It only takes a few minutes but it's a pleasant trip with only a few shakes here and there. Nothing like my death-defying attempts at piloting. Once we're in space I turn to Celeste, "Are the calculations for entering the corridor done?"

Celeste nods, "Yes, Captain. As soon as we are far enough away from the planet and aligned properly we can enter the corridor on your command."

I nod and lean back in my chair to relax while I wait for that. Despite its size, this ship was still considered to be on the small side so it was pretty quick. It wouldn't take too much longer before we were in the corridor. I grimace a bit at that, the corridor is still creepy as hell. Jerilda turns to look at me, "Master, there is a ship on the scanners."

I shrug and wave a dismissive hand, so what? Then Celeste chime in, "Captain, we're being hailed by the other ship."

I let out a deep and annoyed sigh and turn to Celeste, "Wonder what they want. Go ahead and answer."

One of the emitters lights up and a man appears before me. He's human looking, maybe middle-aged, wearing a smart looking outfit with clearly visible armoring and weapons on his hips and back. He gives me a creepy smile, "Greetings. I am Captain Roger. Power down your engines, shut down your shields, and prepare to be boarded."

I frown at him, what the fuck was this guy saying? I shake my head, "And why on gods green earth would I do that?"

I'm not an idiot, it's kind of obvious this guy is a pirate, I mean seriously what the hell kind of obvious name is 'Captain Roger' for a pirate? I bet he's a Traveler and thought it would be a fun name for a pirate character. True to my expectations he replies with, "Because if you do not we will destroy your ship, kill you, and take all of your cargo from space."

I sigh dramatically and push a button on my armrest to end the call and look at the others. Nania turns to look at me and frowns, "Captain, we can't beat them in a fight and we're still too close to the planet to enter the corridor safely. This ship is extremely understaffed at the moment, if we get into a fight we'll lose."

The moment she stops talking something slams into the ship's shields and shakes the whole ship violently. Jerilda speaks up, "Master! They hit us with a kinetic weapon of some kind, there was nothing on the sensors but our shields are down!"

I click my tongue in annoyance and look at Nania, "What should we do?"

Celeste chimes in, "They're hailing us again, Captain."

Nania follows Celeste, "I say we let them board and kill them person to person instead of fighting a losing battle in space. We can't beat them without more people manning these stations."

Grumbling I turn to Celeste, "Open communications back up."

Captain Roger appears once again and I let out a dramatic sigh, "You've made your point Captain. We'll power down our shields and wait to be boarded." I turn to Jerilda and give her a nod to power down the shields. As she does that I turn back to the captain of the pirate ship, "Our shields will be down in a moment."

The pirate gives me a smug smile, "Wise decision."

I cut the communications again and turn to my two crew members, "Nania, Jerilda, hurry up and get your gear. We're going to kill every fucker that dares to set foot on our ship."

They both nod and rush out of the bridge and into the interior of the ship. Nania was still wearing her armor but she would need her weapons. Jerilda looked like she needed both, but I guess her [Artillery Laser] could be inside of her [Utility Belt]. I hadn't stripped myself of my weapons or armor so I was ready to shoot these mother fucking pirate's to death right now.

I climb out of my seat and head to the armory, I want to get an automatic gun. As I walk I speak out loud, "Celeste, lock down all of the ship's systems under a random fifty character alpha-numeric password and keep a record of it. Once you do that lock the authorization to use that password to me and me alone."

"Done. All systems have been locked down.", she chimes in through my earpiece.

When I arrive at the armory I walk over to one of the lockers and open it. Inside is an array of different submachine guns. I pick up one of the ones near the top, I had ordered them by item level with the top being the lowest levels. I examine it to make sure it's the one I want.

Submachine Gun (PDW) Item Level: 4 Toughness: 13 Hit Points: 27/27 Damage: 1-6 Piercing, Ignores up to 5 Kinetic Armor Damage Reduction Range: 60 Feet Magazine: 40 Rounds Reload: 5 Seconds Type: Small Arm Description: Unlike Machine Guns, Submachine Guns are smaller and more compact. To reach these smaller sizes they use pistol ammunition giving them less overall power, but making them easier to use. This model is a personal defense weapon (PDW) utilizing small armor piercing rounds.

I smile as I look at the stats of the weapon. Using a kinetic weapon might not be the best idea, but the fully auto laser weapons were all extremely heavy and unwieldy. I wasn't convinced I could even properly carry one to use it in combat. I store the [Submachine Gun] and a few spare magazines into my [Utility Belt]. As I finish loading up Jerilda comes stomping into the armory wearing the lowest level [Power Armor] we had on the ship. It's not as extensive as some of the others I've seen. It's really little more than an exoskeleton giving her enhanced strength and armoring.

She gives me a cheeky grin as she easily pulls out and hefts one of the larger [Gatling Laser] weapons we have. I give her a grin in return, "I guess this means you got to level five in the dungeon?"

She nods and plops the huge weapon on her shoulder like it weighs nothing, "Yeah. I got a new ability too that should help with this. It's called Bulwark. When I use the ability it will generate an immobile wall of solid light to protect against weapons. It only lasts for a minute but it can take a solid beating in that time. If I put it down be sure to get behind it."

I nod, "Thanks for the advice."

Since we've got a moment I open my character sheet and quickly drop my attribute point into [Reason], it won't have much of an effect until next level sadly. I need to get my [Reason] higher, the higher I get it the more spells I can cast. I also pull up my spell selection and grab the [Spider Climb] spell, I figure that combined with [Chameleon Cloak] will let me get into unexpected positions for ambushes. The ability to move on any surface, even the ceiling, would also make it awkward for people to target me.

After selecting my new spell there is a jolt that lightly shakes the ship. Celeste appears, "Captain, the pirates have docked with the ship." She points to the hatch I used when I first boarded the ship.

Nania comes rushing around a corner and we all head for the hatch. When we arrive I immediately open my [Utility Belt] inventory and pull out a little surprise for the pirates. It was something I packed for the dungeon but never got the chance to use. From the [Utility Belt] menu I select an item called a [Sticky Tripmine]. It's a simple non-lethal device with a laser sensor. Once tripped it explodes and releases a glob of a super adhesive to lock anything down. While the pirates work on opening the door I set half a dozen of them along the very short corridor. It was going to become a mire once the mines were tripped.

We all hide around the corners of the short corridor and wait for the pirates to finish opening the door. It doesn't take them very long at all. Nania is on one side of the corridor alone, she's the highest level among us so that's fine. Jerilda and I are on the opposite corner, Jerilda is in front of me. As soon as the first group of pirates get about halfway down the corridor, it's only about a dozen feet long. There's a soft popping sound followed by a rather disturbing splattering sound.

"What the fuck is this goop?!"

"What the hell?"

"It's everywhere!"

"I can't move!"

Various pirates let out various complaints as the [Sticky Tripmine] does its job by detonating and binding them in place with the adhesive. I tap Jerilda on the back and give a thumbs up to Nania at the same time. They both leap into the corridor and open fire with their various weapons. Jerilda's [Gatling Laser] begins to spin while emitting popping sounds as the multiple capacitors expend their loads to fire the invisible laser beams into the pirates. Nania is using the small weapon she carries on her hip. It looks reminiscent of an old-fashioned revolver except blockier and larger. From the barrel, large bolts of red plasma are launched to slam into the pirates.

For their parts, the pirates barely get a moment to react before a mass of lasers and plasma bolts slam into them repeatedly.

Party Experience Gained: 500

Personal Experience Gained: 249 (166+50%) Party Experience Gained: 500

Personal Experience Gained: 249 (166+50%) Party Experience Gained: 500

Personal Experience Gained: 249 (166+50%) Party Experience Gained: 500

Personal Experience Gained: 249 (166+50%)

Just like that four pirates are put out of their misery. Jerilda and Nania keep aiming down the corridor at the hatch that now leads to the pirate ship. I step up behind them to take a look at their work. All four pirates are in a miserable state. They're all covered in scorch marks and stuck in various positions because of the adhesive. Two of them are even stuck to the walls in slightly comical poses. I turn to look between to two women, "Good work."

I touch Jerilda's shoulder and whisper, "Spider Climb", I feel my mana drop and repeat the process with Nania.

Lastly, I cast the spell on myself followed by [Chameleon Cloak]. Casting four rank two spells was not cheap, my mana dropped by a significant amount, but it was necessary

"Alright, here's the plan. It should take a moment for them to notice the boarding party got wiped out. I'm going to cross over into the ship and scout the entrance. You two follow behind after a minute, walk on the ceiling to avoid the mines. The ones that didn't detonate should trap anyone who tries to board while we're gone." I give the two of them their orders, they both nod.

Invisible to them I walk over to the wall and place a foot on it. I don't usually play a spellcaster and this was my first time walking on a surface that wasn't 'down'. I quickly lift my other leg and plant my foot on the wall, instantly my perspective shifts and the wall is now the 'floor'. It's a little disorienting at first but doesn't present much of a problem. Quickly I walk up the wall and onto the ceiling. I look up at Jerilda and Nania and laugh a little, this was really weird. Not wanting to waste time I quickly move along the ceiling and pass from our ship and into the pirate's ship.

Unlike in a cheesy movie the pirate's ship is just as well lit as our own. It would be monumentally stupid for anyone to fly around in a mostly dark ship. Inside the pirate's ship, I don't see anyone else right away. It looks like the four sent to board us weren't expecting us to fight back since we gave up so easily. As softly as I can I whisper to Celeste, "Any signals?"

In a soft voice, she replies via my earpiece, "Yes, Captain. I am detecting multiple weak signals. If I had to guess I would say they're from personal computers and things like power armor. I can also detect an access point for the ship's systems."

I can't help but grin, I'm starting to think that hacking is an extremely over-powered ability to have in this game. Still whispering I reply to Celeste, "Lock onto the ship's systems and initiate a hack."

I kneel down on the ceiling as a holographic display doesn't appear, "Celeste?"

She chuckles in my earpiece, "Captain, you're invisible."

I avoid the urge to facepalm. I dismiss the [Chameleon Cloak] spell and become visible. As I do the display appears and shows me the hacking minigame. As I initiate the hacking process Nania and Jerilda walk into the pirate's ship on the ceiling like I had. They silently take up positions on either side of me while I do the hacking.

"Jack, report."

The voice comes from one of the dead pirates on our ship. I grimace, I was really hoping that would take longer. Both women hear the voice as well and become even more vigilant. They both aim their weapons down the corridor leading in both directions from the pirate ship's hatch. I continue the hack until I'm into the ship's systems.

"Goddamn it Jack, quit fucking around with the girls over there and report!"

Just as I finish the hack and gain access to the system a grumpy looking pirate walks around a corner at the end of the corridor. Nania wastes no time and pulls the trigger on her weapon. The red plasma bolt flies out and slams right into the pirate's unprotected face before he can even notice the three of us crouched on the ceiling.

Party Experience Gained: 500

Personal Experience Gained: 249 (166+50%) Hacking +2

Smarts +1

The pirate collapses to the ground with a large portion of his face missing and a stream of smoke rising from the cratered remains. Nania turns around and whispers, "More will be coming, be prepared."

I smirk but don't take the time to answer her. Instead, I address Celeste, "Celeste, lock down all the ships emergency bulkheads and put them all behind different passwords."

"Roger that, Captain."

Without a moment even passing we can hear loud clangs coming from the various corridors as the emergency bulkheads all come crashing closed blocking off the passages through the ship. Normally the bulkheads were there to prevent the atmosphere from venting out of the ship in case of damage to the hull. I'd just used them to turn the entire ship into a prison. "Celeste, lock onto any life signs you can locate on the ship."

The screen on my [Personal Computer] changes to a schematic of the ship. Various dots begin to appear in the interior of the ship at various locations. The densest cluster is on the bridge of the ship. According to what I see this ship is about three hundred feet longer than the CR Spectrum. They had us outsized and outgunned, not that it would do them one bit of good with me inside now.

"Celeste, lock them out of their weapon and propulsion systems. Borrow processing power from the CR Spectrum and build a firewall that their hackers will have a hell of a time getting through."

I didn't know if they actually had any hackers or system security experts. Their own systems were not that hard to get into so it didn't seem likely. I just wanted to make sure that their systems well and truly belonged to me. Celeste chimes up a moment later, "The ship is yours, Captain."

I grin wickedly and make my way from the ceiling to the floor, [Spider Climb] only lasts for a few minutes. I gesture for the two women to join me and explain the situation. There are another thirty-seven pirates on the ship and they're all locked behind the safety seals on the ship. Nania whistles and Jerilda just smirks. Nania has never seen me in action before but Jerilda knows exactly what I did in the dungeon. I focus on my computer, "Celeste, activate the ships fire extinguisher systems, override all the safeties."

"Sorry Captain, but the overrides are locked and I can't access them."

I nod, "Alright, initiate a hack, I'll get through them."

The holographic screen changes to the hacking minigame and I frown. The security around the overrides was pretty intense, even stronger than the security back in the dungeon. There are a massive number of bits I need to drop into the main code to make the hack, and the main code is scrolling fast. Grimacing I begin to drag and drop the bits of code into the holes as fast as I can. The screen flashes green repeatedly until I make a mistake and it flashes red. Nothing seems to happen though so I continue the hack until I finish it.

Hacking +2

The moment I complete the hack I speak to Celeste, "Okay initiate the fire suppression system everywhere but where we are."

In the distance, we can hear the various shouts of pirates as they get really loud. It's impossible to make out what they're saying but I doubt it's good things. Grinning I stand up and turn to look at Nania, "They'll all be dead in a little while."

Fire suppression systems in ships all used gas meant to remove the oxygen from the room to snuff out the fire, after all, spraying water all over electronics is just a fucking terrible idea. Plus water is a precious resource on a ship and shouldn't be wasted on putting out a fire, period. So ships used gas.

As I turn around to address Jerilda she shouts, "Pirates!"

I have no time to react before something slams hard into my right arm. I don't feel any pain but I see a damage notification.

Damage Taken: 33 (36-3) Fire

The impact of whatever dealt the damage sends me into a spin and throws me to the ground. Another notification window appears as intense pain rips up through my entire arm. Darkness creeps in on my vision as pain floods through my brain and paralyzes me. I can't even read the last notification before my vision turns completely black and I pass out.

You are Unconcious.