Alastair looks around the city as he follows the woman. Tiny and desperate as she was, being forcibly towed toward the massive skyscraper in front of him was the last thing he had in mind for starting Neos. As he got closer to the building he was being led to, he noticed it was different compared to the other surrounding skyscrapers. Revolving doors, steel frames on the windows, and the occasional lead-like lining along the edges of each entrance or exit.

Every door, every vent, every crinkled edged window, everything was encased in a lead lining. As he approached the building, he glances up to see a name hovering above the doors, “Operational Headquarters.”

“I thought you said that you worked for the military? Doesn’t that mean something a little more… military-ish?” Alastair asks.

“I do, but I can’t tell you any more than that.” She replies, looking back without a hint of pearly white teeth. Dragging him inside the doors, he couldn’t help but stare upwards at everything around him.

What must go on here that precludes this kind of layout? He thinks looking around.

The inside of the building looked similar to an underground war bunker with guards almost everywhere, and the occasional lab coat streaming past. The guards were wearing the same kind of uniform as the woman he was following only deep grey and not so stiff. He felt like he had just stepped into a tech-ed out representation of the Pentagon. Before he could take more than a couple steps inside, 20 guards surround him at gunpoint.

I should probably let missy here deal with this, he thinks trying to maintain an appearance of calm.

All the guards have some sort of weapon the size and shape of a paintball rifle with a strap hanging off in their hands. Each rifle was black in color and humming with bright blue energy.

“Relax boys, he’s here for the big guy.” The woman states. Her voice wavering slightly as she didn’t know how this was going to pan out.

“Are you sure ma’am? He doesn’t seem like someone with the connections to know him.” One of the male guard’s replies, not taking his eyes off Alastair nor lowering his weapon.

“And how would you know who the big guy knows, hmmm? I thought we were all in the business of protecting people not filling them with holes. Or has that changed in the 20 minutes that I’ve been gone?” She replies coldly before holding up the shackled hand. “Besides, he isn’t going anywhere that I’m not.”

“……. point taken Ma’am, but I don’t feel right with this guy. He feels…. odd. Like he’s not from here.” He replies uncomfortably.

If they only knew.

They all put away their weapons and go back to standing guard situated seemingly at random within the lobby and other areas of the ground floor. Alastair and the woman continue going towards the back where 3 sets of elevator double doors stand silent amidst the bustle of the surrounding lobby life.

Walking inside the center pair, he wonders what kind of material it’s made from. The inside was dark and metallic with a single light shining fervently from the top.

“So I’m going to see the head honcho around here am I?” Alastair states as the elevator doors close. “That’s convenient.”

“You picked that up did you? I thought you should meet him, considering the circumstances.” She replies while pushing the button for the top floor and nodding briefly to the briefcase.

“And what circumstances are those?”

“That’s……. a secret.” She says quietly.

The remaining minutes in the elevator are quiet, as if neither of them know what to say to the other. The elevator chimes for the top floor, but the doors don’t open.

“When do they hide?” A cold low male voice comes from a loudspeaker placed somewhere near the buttons.

“When they realize it is the end.” The woman replies before taking off the stun cuffs linking the two of them together.

The doors slide open silently… revealing a spacious room with a large desk facing the elevator. The walls, black and unyielding as they are, pulse with blue neon light coming up from the floor.

Entering the room, Alastair wonders what exactly is held within the briefcase that precludes a meeting with someone who sits in a dark room. Dark rooms to him usually meant someone important was hiding until the very moment they decide to come into the light.

“Put the case on top of the desk, please.” The same cold voice says from behind them, as if punctuating his earlier thoughts to masterful effect.

Alastair whirls around… only to find nothing behind him. The woman is still standing stock still next to him, almost trying not to make herself a beacon to something she had no wish to come into contact with. Taking the briefcase in both hands, he walks forward and lays the briefcase down on the desk.

“Thank you, Agent Rilke for bringing him to me. I had gotten reports that Spacers were on the station, but not here on Terra.”

The cold voice continues seemingly everywhere.

“He has helped me greatly for the time being. He took out Rhyme.” She states with barely any emotion, almost monotone.

“Hmmmm. Let me guess, you were on your way here from the Terminal and Rhyme swiped it off you as you were flirting with the blonde headed security guard from NetX. You pursued Rhyme and eventually lost sight of him. This Spacer here saw him running, followed him, killed him, and came back to you with the case. And finally, we are all gathered here because of his actions that saved your ass.”

“……”

This is getting kinda creepy. Alastair thinks as he hears the exchange.

“Wait a sec, you said all of us. Then where the hell are you?” Alastair chimes in for the first time looking around.

“Hmmmm, you are fairly perceptive Stranger.” The cold voice answers seeming impressed.

“I would like to know whom I am addressing as well. I don’t do well being left in the dark.”

“Sometimes the dark is the only place one need look,” the cold voice answers.

As he says this, he starts materializing. Alastair stares in awe as what he could only comprehend as some sort of stealth field is released. The light filtered through his person as a field of patterned energy releases from the top down. The man whom they had been talking to steps to the side of the desk as the last of the patterned field releases.

“I am Director Tal. I believe you have questions for me Spacer?” The man says lightly.

Achievement Unlocked!

I met someone important!

+50 N

Alastair studies Tal before he says anything. Personal armor seemed to be a sort of hallmark for the dark skinned man, but with the overly ostentatious trench coat draped over his frame, it seemed to hide most of the man’s various knives that poked their outline from beneath the coat.

Dark eyes, overly white teeth with surgically lengthened canines, most likely trained to kill from a young age. I should be careful about this. Alastair thinks to himself. I really don't want to test out his skills with those knives if at all possible.

“Ummm, I’m interested in learning and testing myself if possible. Do you know any way that I can go about accomplishing it?”

“……… Out of all the things I expected you to ask, that was the one I least expected.” He says with a sigh.

“Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases.” Alastair replies with a smile.

“That is an interesting saying. Where does it come from?” Tal says, a smile gracing his face. His incisors almost seeming to glint under the overhead light.

“It comes from where we Spacers come from.”

“Fair enough. What would you like to know first?”

“I want to know about my status. The ins the outs, everything that I should know about when it comes to status and skills.”

“Alright. State clearly ‘Status Display: Administrator Mode’. This way I can see it for myself so I can explain it to you. Otherwise, just say 'Status Display' for a Safe Mode.”

“Alright, Status Display: Administrator Mode.”

A bright yellow circle appears in front of him with his status attributes appearing along the edges. Each attribute had a connector, each heading out from the circle attached to a skill tree. Only 2 of them had something attached to them. In the middle of the circle is his personal information accompanied by a number next to each attribute.

Status Window

Name:

Alastair Thawn

Alignment:

Neutral

Level:

1

Class:

None

Race:

Human

Gender:

Male

Titles:

None

Achievement Score: 50 N

Fame:

200

Infamy:

0

Currency:

0

Health:

100/ 100

Health Regen:

.5 / Sec

Stamina:

100 / 100

Stamina Regen:

.5 / Sec

Psi:

100 / 100

Psi Regen:

.5 / Sec

Satiety:

95/100

-

Strength:

15

Agility:

20

Vitality:

10

Dexterity:

10

Intelligence:

13

Wisdom:

10

Presence:

10

-

Attack:

1-4

Defense:

0

Physical Resistances

Slashing:

0

Piercing:

0

Crushing:

0

Elemental Resistances

Fire:

0

Water:

0

Wind:

0

Earth:

0

Mental Resistance

0

“That’s a lot of information…” Alastair says with wide eyes, looking over everything while wondering how the system was computing all of this per person for every tester within the game. The amount of processing power alone was more than he could fathom.

“Well that’s interesting, it’s been a while since I last saw someone with Psychic capability.” Tal whistles impressed.

“Where do we start?” Alastair asks eagerly.

“Well let’s start with the physical attributes and their skills. Highlight with your hand the Strength, Agility, and Dexterity Attributes.”

Alastair does so and the portion of physical abilities pops out of the circle, straightens out, widens for him to see everything.

“These Physical Attributes are all tied together. Some skills that you get will be shared between 2 of them but there are cases when there has been a skill that uses all 3 attributes. The Strength Attribute is pretty self-explanatory; it allows you to hit things with your body harder. Whether that means you are practicing on a training bot or lifting things that would normally take more than one person to lift, it all depends on how the Strength attribute is used.

The Agility Attribute allows you to move your body faster. And the Dexterity Attribute makes aiming and focusing on things easier. True Marksmen in this age use this attribute to the exclusion of all else.” Tal explains while pointing to each attribute as he states them.

“If that is the case, then aren’t the other Attributes connected to each other as well as these?”

“They are but we haven’t gotten there yet.” Tal chuckles and points to something connected between the 3 attributes.

“It seems that you already have a 3-way skill. Do you see the skill connected to the Strength, Agility, and Dexterity Attributes?”

“Yes I do; it says ‘Death from Above.’ Does that mean it counts how hard I hit something, how fast I am going, and where I hit it come into play?” Alastair asks.

“It does but it can also only utilize certain attributes if you are using different weapons such as a hand gun. Like I said, everything is interconnected. The physics of the natural world can be utilized in that way and most people use it to great effect. Now, swipe your hand across to bring you back to the main status screen and highlight Intelligence and Wisdom Attributes.”

He does so and the same thing happens as before, except only the Intelligence and Wisdom come up this time.

“These are the Mental Attributes. The Intelligence Attribute is mainly used by people that create, repair, or use their brains to solve problems. That could range anywhere from a gunsmith to an architect. Sometimes this attribute makes use of both Dexterity and Agility but it doesn’t happen that often. Most often this attribute is increased by reading manuals or testing your mental acuity within the arts.

The Wisdom attribute is a combination of your mental acuity and your intelligence. This is mainly used for your psychic powers and there are multiple ways that you can train this. Most of those ways include putting yourself either under the tutelage of another, or being mentally assaulted and using them constantly.”

“That’s interesting, but I see a connector for the skill ‘Parkour’ between Intelligence, Agility, and Dexterity. So this basically lets me see how my environment can be used to my advantage by navigating with my body!” Alastair asks, wondering what kind of AI was computing all of this.

“It would seem so. If you don’t mind my asking, what is your name Spacer?” Tal asks inquisitively.

“Alastair Thawn… is there a problem?”

“No particular reason. Alright now let’s talk about the Miscellaneous Attributes. Swipe your hand again to bring you to the main status screen and highlight the Presence and Vitality Attributes.” Tal says pointing to the 3 on the bottom.

He does so and the same thing happens but only the selected attributes show.

“These are the Miscellaneous Attributes. They usually don’t get a skill attached to them because they aren’t that easy to get skill in to begin with. The Presence Attribute is basically your overall effect on the world around you. This could mean the people close to you, companions or enemies, living or dead, everything regarding how you interact with your surroundings is affected by this attribute. Whether this is headed toward more of the natural realm versus the astral realm is something I’m gonna let you figure out.

The Vitality Attribute is connected to your Health, Stamina, and Satiety. Sometimes this can work in conjunction with the Leadership skill, but there has only been a few who have gotten them over the centuries. I think the last Human to acquire one was a lieutenant a few weeks back.”

“Really? Then what skills are those?” Alastair inquires.

“I can’t tell you that. It’s best to find that out on your own.” Tal says smiling.

“Alright well if that is the case, can I train with your operatives to increase my Attributes?” Alastair asks hopefully. “And maybe gain more knowledge from the library? I heard that there was a library nearby.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think that that should be a problem. But don’t expect to get any favors from them, they aren’t that gracious to outsiders.”

“Alright, just one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“Why is it so dark in here? Can’t you get some natural light in here?”

“……”

“What?”

“Raise blinds,” Tal orders.

Looking around, Alastair notices that the walls are slowly getting brighter, as if they were losing their pigmentation. The moments pass as the walls finish their pigment transition before settling on their natural function. Watching the transition, Alastair stands there in rapt fascination as the walls he had thought to be walls were in actuality windows.

The entire room was surrounded on all sides of windows. Walking to one side, he looks over the tops of the city, taking in every stark rooftop, every sky garden sitting atop their storied pillars, every sun bathing citizen taking in the moment to enjoy the fruits of the sun. He could just barely see the edge of the city line to the east, ships ranging in size from the smallest dingy to the largest military barge stopping by for a quick juicer.

Looking to the west, he was beset by a sea of greens and browns. Forest tops almost as sky reaching as the scrapers of the city, found purchase against the mountain seemingly leagues away. Where civilization seemed to have ended, nature took over.

“Every now and then I open the blinds to remind myself of what I aim to protect. Although that pales in comparison to the monumental task of a couple other friends of mine.”

A casino inside Sautens Red District…

A lounge with mahogany floors, lavish furniture, and drinks spread around a redwood bar, stands filled to the brim with a sea of patrons. Men and women of all ages dressed in their best, frequented the billiard hall... very few were of the elderly variety. Each one a killer in their own rights, each killer making their mark upon the age they lived in. Each method as different as the clothes each person wore. A bald bartender in a grey suit stands behind his counter cleaning glasses. An elevator stands to one side while a luxurious couch sits on the other facing the winds overlooking the ports of the wide sea.

The elevator doors open and an old butler walks out and scans the room before noticing whom he needs. Walking over to the couch in a slow manner, a man lay draped across it dressed a black suit while a bowler hat covers what's left of his face. He stops just short of a meter away from the couch before saying,

“Rhyme is dead, Mister Badon. Master Tyule wishes for his murderer to be eliminated.”

“Who did it,” answers the man. The words were slightly slurred, whether it was from the bottle resting empty on the floor or the drowsiness of sleep, the butler couldn’t tell.

“We don’t know yet. We looked through the holo files of where he was murdered and have the photo of the man who had managed to… catch him.” he says before reaching into the folds of his suit to find the picture.

“…Compensation?”

“Master Tyule offers your choice of 5 items from his vaults. He wants your best.” the butler asks.

The man rubs his chin with his hand and as he thinks for a moment. By leaving the hat resting on his face, he makes it seem as if he was too lazy to take care of it while he was thinking.

“Ray!” He says a bit louder.

Everyone stops what they are doing, and looks toward the bartender.

“I’ll take care of the matter.” The bartender replies in a cold voice before setting down the glass he was polishing.

Director Tal watches Alastair leave, noting the various bits of information that his perception skills were telling him. Drawing, measuring, getting a feel for the Spacer that had been introduced to him. The doors to the elevator shut quietly as he proceeds to take out a phone from his coat pocket. He punches in a number and listens for the other end to pick up.

RING…. RING…. RIN-

“Papa Bear, what is it?” An old gruff voice replies.

“I think I’ve found the one we’ve been looking for.” Tal says smiling.