CHAPTER 004: Space Piracy

Adam Rytman

TCS Cutlass/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:05

The difference in ability between the Infantry Bot and Soldier Bot was… massive. I discovered it almost instantly - rather than slowly activating and then getting shot by me, the machine immediately leapt towards the nearest cover. After a pretty roll, it disappeared behind it.

What now?

I was about to keep him there by a suppressing fire when something flew from behind the cover.

Wh… OH SHIT, IT’S A GR…

YOU DIED!

Cause: Hardlight Grenade

You can respawn immediately or logout.

Warning, dying again within an hour will cause debilitating debuffs!

RESPAWN

LOGOUT

Riiight. So the Soldier Bots are a pain.

We were in a hurry and as far as I knew the in-game time would not stop itself when I was away… so let’s continue immediately.

“What?” Nymphae was obviously surprised. “What just happened?”

I stood right beside the hatch I used to enter the ship. No enemy in sight. My assault rifle in my hands. The suit didn’t look damaged. Hmph.

“Well, it’s about the implants.” Now, how should I describe it properly? “I was supposedly influenced by some rather wide range event with some ancient technology. I can’t die, I have memories of living in another world, this sort of thing.” Is it enough?

“I see.” Hmm? “That does sound like ancient technology.” WHAT?! This whole ‘ancient technology’ business seems both crazy and serious. If it can do something like that and Nymphae just goes ‘I see’ on me. “Doesn’t sound like any ancient tech I know of, so I’ll update the database.”

“Before that, what should I do now?” I mean, the Soldier Bot is still there, right? “Can I somehow defeat it?”

“No.” Hey, that’s harsh! “Your chances of winning in combat against a Soldier Bot are non-existent. It’s faster, more experienced, better equipped. The only option of winning is using your ability to return to life. If you keep dying for a few hundred times, it will run out of energy.”

…

“This… isn’t an option.” Ugh. So what now?

“You can increase your chances of winning against it if you visit the ship armoury.” … WHY COULDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT FIRST?! “First: You didn’t ask. Second: Visiting it was the part of the plan right from the start. Unfortunately, the Soldier Bot is standing right in front of the door to the armoury.”

…

“That’s… bad?”

“Well, there are alternatives.” Huh?

***

TCS Cutlass/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:11

The ‘alternatives’ were vents. Or narrow maintenance corridors. According to Nymphae, they were there mostly because having alternative ways of reaching places aboard the ship meant that the chances of someone getting trapped somewhere. For example, after the ship got hit in battle.

So they weren’t literally vents. But close. The ventilation itself was done via a pipe in the maintenance corridor's wall.

Hmph.

I reached the destination and entered the armoury - or to be exact, I jumped down from the ceiling hatch. Well, I doubt I can make it back there, so I guess I must leave through the door. Ugh.

They were lots of guns - of various shapes and sizes - on the walls. And some vertical, transparent tube in the corner.

“Enter it.” Hmm? “The tube.”

Alright.

I entered it - the front part of tube kinda let me through (like nano-doors?). After I stood inside, I suddenly felt something overriding the control over my body.

What is it n… oh.

An armour. I stood there in a fixed position and some plastic ‘hands’ dressed me up in armour. Light one. Pretty much plastic-like plates over the suit. Covered my chest, arms, legs and feet… pretty much every part of my body, though it was even thinner outside of the chest and abdomen area.

There was also a helmet. With transparent visor. Hmph.

“This body armour was created with typical threats in Pontifex system in mind.” Nymphae decided to inform me. “Which means civilian pulsers… like the pistol you used earlier, and hardlight weaponry.”

“So, if Soldier hits me again, I’ll survive?”

“No.” What? “This is not some ancient science fiction. Armours like that aren’t impenetrable. They only increase your survivability. Whether or not you survive a hit depends on many factors, like the distance, exact weapon model, bullet trajectory and simple luck.”

Right, so we are closer to the realism end of the scale.

“It will be especially useful on grenades.” Nymphae added after a while. “As long as you aren’t hit directly, the shrapnels tend to have lower velocity and cause less damage than pulse rifles.”

Yes, well, that sounds VERY useful.

The armour didn’t restrict my movements at all. And I could glue things like a pistol to it as well. Hmph. Now, a weapon.

There were many types of guns to choose from. Pistols. Submachine guns. Assault rifles. Battle rifles. Shotguns. All of them pulse weapons, so pretty much compact size MAWs. A riot shield and what looked like a stun baton. Three ‘unique’ weapons were tucked in the corner - anti-tank rifle, sniper rifle, and… RPG?!

I have no idea how a sniper rifle or an anti-tank launcher could be used aboard a frigate. Oh, right, they might fight OUTSIDE. The weapons here are capable of working in vacuum according to the description.

Hmph.

“I suggest taking an assault rifle.” Nymphae interrupted my doubts. “While it lacks the firepower of the battle rifle, it’s better in close quarters fighting. You can also attach a grenade launcher beneath it. It works better against Numbers’ than hardlight weaponry, especially if you use anti-armour rounds.”

I have no idea what’s the difference between the assault rifle and battle rifle (besides the fact that the latter seems a bit bigger) so… let’s go with that.

AWD K-23

Type: Assault Rifle

Ammunition: 3,7mm S-FS/FS Type 3 Power Cell

Manufacturer: Antonov Weapons Development, Free State

Standard-issue assault rifle used by the Truthseekers Corporation infantry.

Based on pulse weapon technology, it uses electromagnets to propel relatively small (when compared to older, chemical reaction based guns) bullets with great speed (initial velocity is 2100 m/s).

Can work in a vacuum. Requires both ammunition to be launched and a power source for electromagnets.

AWD G-7

Type: Attached Grenade Launcher

Ammunition: Any disk grenade.

Manufacturer: Antonov Weapons Development, Free State

Standard-issue attached grenade launcher used by the Truthseekers Corporation infantry.

Based on pulse weapon technology, it uses electromagnets to propel relatively small ‘disk’ - approximately five centimetres in diameter - grenades.

Can work in a vacuum. Requires ammunition, and some energy from the weapon to which it's attached.

Attaching the grenade launcher was easy. Though I once again had to admit the weapon itself looked… not very militantly. I’m not a fan of skulls and flames imagery, but it was… too… round and plastic. Barely had a shape of a gun.

Sigh.

I took three magazines for the gun - all anti-armour rounds - and nine grenades. Small disks. Heh. I stacked them in three piles of three and glued them like that to my armour.

According to Nymphae, they do not explode when hit - unless armed - so…

***

TCS Cutlass/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:19

Unfortunately, I did not surprise the Soldier Bot, despite emerging from the door right behind him.

Because the asshole moved. Didn’t help him much. He noticed me a second too late. Rather than playing with the gun, I fired a grenade launcher.

The little disk flew forward, rotating mid-flight. I think I scored a critical hit - the grenade hit him directly. It attached to him for a split second, and then…

Electricity. A lot. Everyone standing right beside him would get electrocuted. Good choice for facing robotic enemies.

The soldier dropped his gun. I fired three consecutive bursts of bullets from my assault rifle - nearly recoilless, so precise. Anti-armour bullets were perfect for this type of enemies.

The Soldier Bot collapsed.

Phew.

I came closer and fired a few more bullets right into his head. Point blank. The head of the bot broke into pieces.

Good. Now wh…

“ENEMY BEHIND.” SH...

It shot me in the back. Seems like I was so busy with getting my revenge on the soldier that I got sneaked upon. But I survived. Ah, shit, my back hurt.

I collapsed on the ground after it hit me, which had a side effect of hiding me behind a cover. I turned towards the new enemy and rose.

Another Soldier Bot. Looks like the first guy called for reinforcements after killing me just in case. Or maybe the bot I killed were the reinforcements?

I dived behind the cover before he shot me again. I could hear his bullets hitting the crate I hid behind.

Suddenly I heard a Nymphae’s voice. “He is throwing a grenade.” Oh sh…

I rose immediately and fired another electric grenade. Another critical hit - he had an old-school grenade (though a hardlight one) in his hand, already ready to explode. And when he got immobilized for a while by an electric grenade detonating right beside him…

KABOOM.

A sudden burst of colourful light shred big part of him into pieces. His arm disappeared completely, and so did half of the corpus. A few parts fall off from him, a weird version of bleeding for a machine being. A lot of electric discharges.

Then it collapsed.

Ah, shit. That was close.

“You have a lot of luck, you know?” Thank you Nymphae… for pointing out the obvious. “You are wounded.”

“Is it bad?” I couldn’t reach the place of the wound. Not with the armour on. I guess it did restrain me a bit.

“No. The rear plate is busted, but it stopped most of the shards.” So, the enemy ‘bullets’ are called shards? Good to know. I guess they look like shards if you think about it for a while. “You are bleeding, but it’s nothing urgent.”

“Good. Lead me to the Heart.” After we got the ship computer system running, Nymphae should have access to security systems. Like, cameras. It will make cleaning the ship easier.

“Yes, captain.” The colourful line on the floor showed up ahead. “I wish to inform you I finished waking up the 18S. Do you wish me to relay orders to him?” Oh, right, so it’s about an hour per clone. “Depends. It’s a complicated procedure, and everybody reacts to the freezing differently.” Right.

“Give him a pistol. And tell him to watch for Numbers’. Actually… have him weld shut all doors and hatches leading outside, besides the hangar and the Axis door.”

“This will take a while.” Nymphae didn’t have to tell me. I saw that there was a lot of entrances. I wouldn‘t exactly call the Alum a defensible place, I guess boarding actions aren’t too frequent in this universe.

“I know. Start from those nearest to the rear part of the ship.” If they attack through the Axis… well, that’s at least a somehow defensible position. And we can always flee through the hangar.” I’ll bring 18S some true weapons as soon as possible.”

***

TCS Cutlass/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:25

There were few more Infantry Bots on the way, but taking them down was easy. Most of them collapsed after a single burst of bullets, I didn’t even have to use the grenade launcher.

NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!

Assault Rifles

Type: Weapon Proficiency

This skill governs your ability to use assault rifles in combat.

Level: 1

Got something out of it, though.

“I believe the majority of the ship is guarded by Infantry Bots.” Nymphae informed me. “There are several Soldier Bots, but they are placed near critical ship locations. Armoury. Bridge. Heart. Engine Room, probably. Hangar. The second one you encountered must have been from the enemy reserves. After one of them encountered the enemy, they send him to help.”

“Which means… there is a reserve group placed somewhere.” And it‘s probably strong.

“Yes. However, getting to the Heart and reactivating the ship computer system is still the best idea for now.” Hmm? “We can then locate the reserve group through the use of ship security systems.” Oh, right. Sometimes I’m dumb. “Also, you’ve reached the destination.”

Oh.

The door in front of me opened… and I faced two Soldiers at once.

Ugh.

I fired a grenade. But they dodged it by rolling away. I then jumped back, with the door closing right before me… avoiding the enemy fire narrowly. All shards hit the door.

I don’t think they are stupid enough for me to just jump in and out of the room and use the door as a rotating cover, right?

Sigh. I guess I’ll have to… wait. “Nymphae, is there a maintenance corridor leading inside?”

“Yes. Follow the line.”

***

TCS Cutlass/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:28

I opened the hatch… and discovered that I was right above one of the Soldiers.

Heh.

Looks like their orders were to defend the place… and whoever programmed them, forgot to leave them an option for pursuing the enemy.

The yet another electrocuting grenade landed on the top of his head. Then, I used the rifle. He collapsed… and I jumped down.

It surprised his friend who was pointing his rifle at the hole in the ceiling. Split second, yes, but it was enough. It cost me half of the magazine, but I finished him.

The Heart was ours. Looked similar to the reactor room of the Alum. Lots of computer terminals. Glass window. A room that looked like a rather high-tech server room. Hmph.

“Enter the ‘server room’”. Right.

Soon it all lit up. I stood there, and Nymphae did all the job.

“I have control over the ship now.” Nice. “It still lacks a lot of programs, but it’s mostly the things that aren’t precisely required right now. Like the main armament. But we can move the ship. I can also use the security systems to… oh.”

I don’t like the ‘oh’ part. Not at all.

“The ‘reserve group’ is… composed of seventeen Soldiers, five Grenadiers and five Commandos.” … I’m so dead, right? “Don‘t worry, I have it covered.” What?

“What are you doing?!” I’m not sure if I like ‘my’ AI doing stuff without telling me.

“They were in the hangar. So I opened the gate, and they got sucked out.” … “Give me a second.” What is it now.?! “I improvised basic programming for one of the ship AVD turrets. I stole most from the Alum. All thirty Numbers’ scorched by a laser before they could return to the ship. Though the turret will need repairs as the cooling system malfunctioned.”

“Nymphae, you are a lifesaver.” Now, time for business. “How many of them are left onboard?”

“Sixteen Infantry. Three Soldiers.” Nothing we can’t handle, as long as they won’t storm us all at once. “Do you want me to set a course towards the Alum?”

“Yes.” That was the plan - eighty-seven kilometres were too far for my taste. “Also, have the shuttle return on its own.” I’ve programmed autopilot for that, but someone had to give it a green light.

***

TCS Alum/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 15:55

Aaand… home sweet home. Hangar of Alum was pretty much as I remembered it. Too bad this place will be destroyed in a few more hours. Hmph.

Nymphae brought Cutlass closer to Alum. It parked three kilometres from ‘our’ side of the armed transport vessel. The shuttle docked on its own, I crossed the distance in the vacuum.

I eliminated all Numbers’ on the Cutlass on the return journey. They shot me two more times, ones in the abdomen - but the armour stopped it - and once in the head. Helmet stopped it, though I still felt a ringing in my ears.

I hope it’s not a concussion. Ugh.

4T was waiting for me in the hangar. Aww, half of my pain left my body after I could see her.

“I’ve compiled a list of things you should move from Alum to Cutlass.” Nymphae interrupted our sweet reunion. “Food, water, spare parts. You should hurry.” Right, right. Sigh.

“So, we’ll do it like this.” I turned towards 4T. “You bring the goods from the Alum cargo holds here.” There were automatic ‘carts’ she could use to do that, together with some exoskeleton used for carrying heavy stuff. “We load the shuttle together. Then I fly it to Cutlass and unload the goods there. You, in the meantime, will prepare another delivery. Questions?” After a short while of thinking it over, she nodded.

Alright, so the work starts. Ugh. I think I preferred the FPS part.

***

TCS Alum/Pontifex-A System

Long War

28 March 2547, 16:26

“I’ve finished waking up Clone 6.” Nymphae suddenly spoke, interrupting my meal. I sat in the shuttle's seat, waiting for 4T to finish the loading procedure. “She exhibits signs of the same anomaly as you.”

Ah, crap. I guess it was the matter of time for me to encounter another player, huh.

Until now the job was going nice. According to Nymphae, we carried 700 tonnes of supplies. I also met 18S. He looked like a rugby player. Big. Wide. Tough and strong. Also - black. About as intelligent as 4T, so he obeyed me, at least for now.

He was also rather handsome. Hmm. The general prettiness of the clones was… I hope it was merely for aesthetics’ sake. I didn’t ask Nymphae since I’m not sure if I want to hear the answer.

I brought him over with me to the Cutlass. I could bring weapons with me to Alum, but the armour-machine needed to take measurements to make sure the armour fit. According to Nymphae, it could then replicate parts of armour… but he still had to visit the armoury.

He then returned to welding. He finished most of it so any attack on us would be much harder. Especially as Nymphae made sure that hacking through the Axis gate control would be painfully slow… and our AI activated some visual sensors of the Cutlass - so we would get an early warning if Numbers’ tried something funny.

The situation wasn’t bad. Wasn’t great, though.

And now I got a Player as a companion.

“Lead me to her.”