As Rex recklessly approached the ship, Alfred was about to obtain more data. His helmet's viewport began to outline objects for him. "What is that next to the glowing chain?" He focused on the weapon, and the image zoomed into focus.

[It holds some semblance to ancient ballista weaponry. The goblins are all preoccupied with that crank-like device.] Alfred cleared the viewport. [That mast we're heading at will skewer you in half, and it's made of wood, I'm betting. Mag boots won't save you.] Saving some power, he turned off the mag setting.

"Wish you told me that sooner. What's that?" Rex squinted as space seemed shimmering and wavy like a water surface. He curled into a ball, bracing for impact. All that met him was the pull of gravity. "Who turned the gravity back on!?" Rex screamed, tumbling above the ship as if he was free falling. "I need a knife!"

[Sword on the left hip!] Alfred called out. Rex grabbed what he hoped was the handle and pulled—gripping it with two hands while screaming bloody murder. Finally, he crashed into the first sail on the mast. It gave little resistance while letting the falling continue downwards.

"I regret everything!" Rex has spun around, yelling profusely. A looming sail greeted his view. As quickly as possible, he reversed the sword to swing down. But, instead, he stabbed into the sail. "It worked!" The blade sunk into the sail to the hilt.

[Hold on, Rex!] Alfred encouraged him. His arms felt like they were dislocated, holding onto the sword as it sliced through the sail. It ended all too soon.

"Shit!" Rex cursed aloud as he let go of the sword when it stopped at something it couldn't slice through. "So that's what part of the old ship looked like." He got a view of his wrecked ship as he fell back towards the deck. "Going out with a view ain't so bad." He closed his eyes, awaiting the splat followed by pain.

*boing* "I'm alive?" Rex groped his body in disbelief. Then, finally realized he was lying on the ship's deck he jumped upon. "Holy shit, it worked! Alfred, it seriously worked! Dammit, I think I dislocated my shoulder." Alfred materialized over him.

[Be happy it was ONLY that, and nothing serious.] Alfred placed his hands over Rex's shoulders. [Try not to get injured too much. Supplies are limited.] The shoulder snapped back into place, making Rex yell again. [I only have enough Nano-aid to heal minor injuries twice more. Your body isn't even a day old yet, so don't break it!] Alfred scattered into light motes again as Rex managed to sit up.

"I'm guessing the weird feeling under my skin is some sort of nanite tech? I only heard about it in the sims." Looking around, he found himself on a large open wooden deck. "Where's my sword?" He asked while rubbing his swore arms.

[Dodge!] Rex rolled away to his right, just as his sword landed blade sinking through the deck. [Grab it, and let's go, we aren't alone, remember.] He stood up and shakenly struggled to pull the sword out. [Not possible.]

"Hey AL, what kind of sword did you make?" Rex was holding a sleek-looking glowing sword. "Why is it glowing now?" Beeps and pings on his HUD informed him of incoming movement. "I hope it still works!" A duo of goblins was running his way, waving their glowing swords around.

[The bright side is the bladed side, so turn it around, smart guy.] Alfred huffed at Rex. He turned it around and lifted it like he was about to hit a pitch. [It's a sword! Not a baseball bat!] Alfred was livid.

"I've never used a sword before!" Rex yelled out, slowly backing away at the charging goblins with their flailing sabers of light. "I never got into those types of sims either; knives and guns were always my thing!" He tensed up as two goblins stopped a few places away, creating a stand-off. "Why don't they have suits on? Are they laughing at me?" The two goblins were making gestures at him while seeming to yell at each other.

[If I were an enemy swordsman, I would laugh at your stance. You had literal centuries to try out almost every sim there is. How could you not learn basic swordsmanship?!] Alfred appeared next to Rex pointing in accusation. The goblins seemed spooked by his sudden appearance. One decided to charge while the other ran back, shouting something. [They must be calling for reinforcements, so you might want to learn fast.] The goblin plunged his sword through Alfred's holographic body, surprise on its face as it passed through harmlessly.

"Swing! *Clink* Huh?" Rex took advantage and swung for a home run, and his opponent deflected his blade. "My arms are ringing; how is something so small so tough?" He backed up a bit while the goblin rebalanced itself. It looked at the sword in its hand then sneered at him. "You're on, you little bastard." Rex let go with his right hand, and he turned sideways while holding the blade in front with just his left hand. "Take the bait, ugly." He gripped his pistol tightly, waiting.

[More are coming, not all of them, but enough to overpower you.] Alfred warned Rex as he was squaring off with the goblin. [I'm getting strange readings from their weapons and wardrobe. You have more company.] More goblins started to run towards the lone goblin to back it up. It screeched out as it began to charge forwards.

"How was I able to hear that?" Rex blinked in shock; the sound shouldn't be possible in space. The goblin didn't let him have any time to think. It charged him; it slashed from the ground up, knocking the blade away leaving Rex wide open. The goblin smiled victoriously while Rex stepped back, drawing the revolver and opening fire. A long bang echoed out, followed by the soft thud of a corpse hitting the ground. "Alfred, what's going on?" He asked while scanning the weapon in disbelief.

[Shoot first, questions later! I think that's a crossbow.] The farthest goblin raised the crossbow-like device, and the bolt burst into light glowing red with flames dancing around. [Dodge it!] Rex instinctively jumped out of the way, rolling back into a crouched position. The flaming bolt soared past him, slamming into the mast in a bright burst of flames. He returned fire at the goblin archer.

"You've got to be shitting me!" The bullet slammed into an invisible wall, bringing a shimmering glass-like texture into sight. The impact point is visible in the center of the spiderweb-like cracks. "They have invisible shields?! Do I have those AL?" Rex switched his target to one of the two sword goblins; he hit it in the chest plate. The plate armor it wore shone brightly then the light shattered with effects. The goblin had a dent in its armor as it was pushed back. Its partner continued the forward charge.

[You did, but the power was drained earlier. It wasn't that capable, sadly. It seems like the sword wielders don't have shielding, but their armor can take a shot before armor shields fail.] Alfred appeared next to the goblin about to attack Rex. [They aren't familiar with Holo-tech, which could be a good thing.] The goblin struck out, spooked by the sudden enemy appearing besides it, whiffling through the projection. Its head exploded from the near-point blank range gunshot.

"Just have to avoid the armor while trying to break those force shield thingy." Rex fired at the recovering armored goblin again. The first shot tore through the dent, with no exit wound. The next round ended its life while opening its skull. "Let's find out how many it takes to break that shield." He pulled the trigger aiming at the last goblin, the archer. Nothing happened, but a slight click and a goblin flinch. Both stared at each other's way for a moment before the archer returned fire. "Fuck reloading!" Rex fell backward in hopes of dodging another flame bolt.

[Quick load rounds are on the belt, right side. Just squeeze the handle and think of reloading.] Rex followed Alfred's instructions. Crouching on a knee, he grabbed something that looked like bullets. Squeezing the gun's grip, the cylinder ejected out the right side with empty slots for the ammo. Once inserted, it automatically snapped shut. [I tried to make it as easy as possible to load.] Alfred sounded pleased at his craftsmanship while Rex stood up.

"Smooth and- fuck!" Rex yelled, his left leg giving out under him. He dropped to the ground, a bolt or metal sticking out of his leg above the knee. "That hurts!" In a rage, he grips the gun aiming towards the archer. The first shot cracks the shimmering shield, shattering after the second shot. The third takes off an arm, the fourth misses, the fifth hits lower center mass, and the sixth the neck. "Dammit! *inhale* I'm glad it's not one of those fire bolts…." Rex was breathing hard through clenched teeth. He quickly pulled out the bolt, causing blood to gush and muscles to spasm.

[Why would you do that!] Alfred appeared in a flash kneeling beside the spasming grunting Rex. [Even though I can heal you one more time because you got lucky, don't think it's a miracle cure-all.] His glowing holo hands were hovering over the wound, which was slowly closing. [If it were any lower or to the sides, it would have been terrible.] He gives the man a stern look in pain, which causes Rex to laugh and wince while his leg is mended.

"We just survived a major catastrophe in space. Survived a stupidity planned out suicidal move by some miracle. Then proceeded to fight goblin pirates, with glowing weapons, on a ship, sailing through space. So why are you worried about an arrow to my knee?!" Rex holstered his weapon while pacing around, shouting in his helmet. He was completely unaware of the rest of the goblin crew gathering at the ship's front end.

[I am aware. You need to realize supplies are limited, including ammo, first-aid, air, and power.] Alfred floated along with his pacing. [If that bolt went through your knee, you would have been one leg shorter.] He turned into a giant arrow pointing in the goblin's direction. [Now hurry up and reload, they don't look happy.] He disappeared as Rex turned and ran the other way.

"This day just keeps getting better!" Rex shouted sarcastically. He made it to stairs that led to an upper deck. Looking back, his HUD highlighted six more goblins chasing him. "At least I don't see any crossbows, and wait, is that a fireball?." Eye wide, Rex burst up the staircase with renewed energy. He dove for the next floor, just barely managing to miss the incoming fireball. "They have a pirate wizard now?!" Rex reloaded his gun and fired three shots. Three small cracks appear on a shield again.

[That pirate wizard of yours seems to be the source of the shields.] The bullets fell harmlessly from a shimmering translucent shield protecting the goblins. Alfred highlights the one in the back with a funny hat on. [Maybe the rifle rounds could penetrate it.] The five nonwizard goblins pull out a small glowing round shield to match their bright short swords. They protectively surround the wizard goblin while slowly moving forwards. The cracks mend themselves and vanish after the wizard glows and shouts.

"See-through-man says what now? Why didn't you start with that earlier?" Rex attempted to hit the shielding in the same spot for each shot. "I don't remember packing a rifle!" His grouping was close, and the cracks spread half the visible shield. A wave of glowing light washed over the shield healing the damage at a visible rate. The goblins halted their advancement.

[That's because it was in its compressed mobile state. It's in the pack along with a shotgun, SMG, sniper, scout, and assault rifle. A collection of fully-loaded magazines each, one full clip of special rounds apiece, and a few explosives.] The pack on Rex's back hummed to life; panels shifted around in mesmerizing fashion. [How does the ass-]

"Sniper!" Rex held his hand out. "Now, please." His excitement was evident. A shift in the pack took a moment. Then, from the top formed the butt of the sniper rifle, light shone brightly as he pulled out the weapon. "What a beauty! Gimme ammo." He felt a vibration from the vest he wore. In his chest pocket was an entire magazine ready to be loaded.

[I used your old sim records to remodel the weaponry while adding in the more updated materials myself. It loads all personnel-sized calibers and most small vehicle caliber rounds. It currently holds only four rounds, with only three magazines including the special bullet.] Alfred gushed over his creation with pride. Rex loaded the ammo, working the hammer to arm it. [Best part is the holo-scope I developed just for your devices! No more glass or bulky cameras. Now you have heads-up scope displayed with smooth zooming functions depending on sensors.] *BANG* The roar of the rifle shut Alfred up.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about!" Recovering from the recoil, Rex surveyed the enemies. Their shield was shattered, their morale was low, and the wizard lost his head. Then, working the hammer back, a loud hiss was released as another round was loaded.

[New type of bullets, I'll bore you with details later, so finish up.] Alfred watched the large smile grow on Rex's face as he aimed again. After firing and stumbling from recoil three times, he finally decided to use the deck railing for support. [Try aiming at the runners now, focus on trying to see them up close.] He squinted over the rifle as the image zoomed in on his target.

"AL, you have outdone yourself. *BANG* This is so worth all the trouble." Two goblins got away from the area they came from. "How did this fit in the pack?" He held out the long weapon inspecting it.

[Just put it over your shoulder like you're putting it back in the pack, and it will automatically compress to repack itself.] Following the instructions, Rex repacks the gun away. [You might want to check where that leads.] Alfred appeared, pointing towards the only door on the upper deck. [If you're lucky, there is an air supply in the room. You barely have an hour left before you suffocate.]

"What were the goblins breathing then?" Rex starts to make his way over to the door. "Does the shotgun have any slug-type shells?" With his back against the wall next to the door, he waits. A shift behind him lets him know the shotgun is ready to equip. His belt shakes as well, now holding multiple colored shells.

[I was working with limited materials, so I could only make four different kinds of shells. The gun holds seven shots. The slugs are blue colored.] Alfred appeared on the other side of the door. [All the sensors are reading is the void of space. They have picked up the noise, yet I'm not sure how that's even possible. How are the guns even working?] Alfred hung his head, posing in a thinking position while mumbling inaudible words.

"Got it, don't think too hard, just enjoy the fact you're alive, and shit works." After loading all the slug-colored shells, Rex rammed the forearm back to load the first shell. He got a running start and leaped at the door to knock it down. "Lucy! I'm home!" *Bam*