Quest Complete.

New quest received. Rebel Scum (part II)

Aid Hunter Gabriel in his hunt for rebels.

Complete the task assigned by Gabriel (0/4)

Reward: A weapon of choice.

Stretching over 10 metres wide and over 40 metres tall, they walked past the oversized entrance and into the majestic hall of the hunters. A large semi-circular counter stood in the middle. Above the reception counter floated a massive three tiered chandelier that illuminated the entire area.

‘It is likely supported by an anti-gravity device since I can't see any strings attached to it’ thought Gulliver to himself as he look around taking in the impressive looking lobby that screamed lavish.

Two flights of stairs shaped like a crescent moon wrapped around the side of the counter leading up to the second level with a floating platform that seemed to act as an elevator transporting people up and down the towering institution located right behind the counter, just between the stairs. Around the lobby were filled with plush sofas and tables with hunters casually lounging around.

Not giving the party of young adults any time to admire the impressive futuristic architecture, Gabriel led the party left, into one of the smaller corridors located at side into what seemed to be a training hall which stretched over hundreds of metres long as well as wide. Most of it served as a shooting range with obstacle courses and a gun rack. Gulliver also saw fighting rings and melee weapons such as bowie knives and other weird looking hand-held weapons. Suddenly, Gabriel turned around to face the party.

“Alright kids. This is where we hunters train,” Gabriel said with a nod of his head to direct the attention of the four of them to the back. “If you look behind me, you will see racks of weapons along the wall and further behind it, you’ll see a shooting range. Ignore the close quarter combat area.

“I want each of you to try as many types of ranged weapons available and score at least 8 out of 10 hits at the shooting range for each type of weapon. If you have any questions regarding any of the weapons, feel free to come to me for help.

“Now begin”

Gulliver and the others make their way to the wall filled with weapons of all sizes. From small handguns to medium sized rifles all the way to heavy duty rail guns that looked too big to be lifted. The variety of weapons displayed were astonishing leaving the party to stare at the wall of lethality with eyes of a goldfish. Gulliver opted to start with plasma based weapons. Phoenix and Horn instead went for the traditional kinetic weapon while Helix ignored the weapons at the front and beelined towards the largest looking rifle.

He looked ridiculous holding the laser rifle. His small stature combined with the ridiculously large heavy laser rifle made for a comical combo. He inspected the weapons, smiled to himself. Helix then brought the weapon close to his face and started stroking it, earning the ire and disgusted look of Gabriel. Realising the glare of the big man, he half dragged the oversized rifle with him to the shooting range.

Gulliver shared a look with Horn and they both laughed. Horn shrugged his shoulders and followed Helix to the shooting range and started practising. Gulliver chose to start with a plasma pistol because coolest looking handgun among the bunch. There were no grooves with sleek line which lighted up along the length of the pistol and a miniature screen located at the top indicated the remaining charge left for the pistol. After about a few hours of target practice on both moving and stationary targets, all four of them completed their first task.

“Good job. Next is the maintenance of weapons”

Gabriel proceeded to teach them how to maintain each type of weapon and its variants. How to dismantle them, check for stress and wear, and some of the common problems of some of the more sophisticated weapons. It took them over two hours to go over all the major type of weapons. Finally satisfied that all 4 of them knew the basics of weapon maintenance and field repair, he proceeded to the next task.

“In this space age, it is paramount that everyone knows how to pilot a spacecraft. Even if you..”

The receptionists who Gulliver recognised from earlier came running up to Gabriel interrupting his spiel. Panting, she cried out, “Gabriel, we have an emergency quest issued. Mandatory participation. Rebels launched a surprise attack on the space port. The defending fleet is struggling to hold and is requesting our assistance”

“Alright” waving to the bunch of freshies he was teaching earlier, “let's go. Guess you’ll be learning on the go.” Four dings rang and the four quickly checked their holo-watch for the notification.

Quest updated. Rebel Scum (Part III)

Help the planetary defence force to repel the rebels from invading the space station.

Contribution points: 0

Rewards: ???

***

The four were excited when they read the updated quest. They quickly shuffled along with Gabriel into a small, not so rectangular shaped shuttle. Their eyes twinkled with unbridled joy and anticipation when they realised they were going to space, let alone fly in a spacecraft.

‘Finally! Space.’ was what everyone thought.

“Discuss among yourselves who wants to be the copilot, coms, engineering and weapons. Keep in mind this is a crash course on piloting smaller shuttles. Bigger vessels have more roles, but the shuttle is a small ship so it's easier to learn and beginner friendly. In the event that you blew it up, it dosen’t cost us much” Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly.

‘If we blew it up and you'll die. What the hell is wrong with this man?’ Gulliver cried out in his mind.

“You will all observe how the crew behave and perform. This will familiarise you kids with how a bridge crew functions in space.

Any questions?” Gabriel asked with a no-nonsense tone.

None of them had any and shook their heads. Gulliver decided to shadow the comms officer, sitting at the seat beside her. The officer was a freckled skin redhead called Tessa, another hunter NPC. The ship shook as the engine started and it quickly took off to space. Gulliver was amazed at the propulsion and wondered how anti-grav worked in this game. Approaching the space station, Tessa started tapping the holographic screen in front of her.

“Marking friendlies as green and enemies as red. They should be highlighted on everyone’s HUD. Sending ship ID to the defence force now for identification” she reported.

The yellow dots on his screen started changing colours according to their designations, with a large majority of greens found around the station and it was surrounded by red further out. Gulliver could barely follow what was happening on the holographic projection of the battle as the dots zipped around, green mixing with red. He could not keep up with the fast paced development of the battlefield. Gulliver tried looking out the small window on his left to have a better understanding. It made his situation worse as outside was a chaotic mess with ships dwarfing the shuttles floated en masse as they circled each other and were in a slugging contest lugging shells and rockets at one another. Explosions dotted the wide stretch of space while smaller crafts like them could be occasionally seen darting about. If it weren't for the colour coded friendlies and enemies, Gulliver would have no idea who is who, not like the colour code was helping that much.

He tried his best to keep track of what Tessa was doing while also keeping track of the battlefield. He noticed the display showed smaller red circles slamming into the station while shuttles highlighted in red were landing at the hanger. The dimly lit interior of the ship started vibrating harder as they entered the battlefield proper. Gulliver could hear faint thrums from the continuous fire from the two railguns located on the sides of the shuttle. Silent blue explosions of plasma lit up the area as ships around them disintegrated from missiles and kinetic projectiles hurling across space.

“Station's been boarded. The station security is requesting help to repel boarders” Tessa announced.

“Shields are at 40%. We’re not going to last, the rebels’ modified weapons and battleships are too strong. Our combat shuttle isn’t built to take this amount of firepower. I suggest we dock at the station and help repel the boarders. Should give the freshies some good combat experience as well” the engineering specialist, a man in his 30s sitting next to Horn suggested.

“Alright, I'm bringing her to the dock. Spark! Get on your exosuit” Gabriel shouted over the rattling shuttle. He expertly steers the ship toward the dock while trying his best to avoid missiles and rail gun projectiles. Jerking the joystick manoeuvring the shuttle as soon as the beeping indicator notified him that weapons were heading their way. Occasionally performing a barrel roll by bringing their limited PDCs to shoot down any missiles locked onto them. The constant vibrations worried the four green youngsters trying to learn how to fly a ship. Earlier enthusiasm forgotten. They sweat harder every time the engineering specialist announces the dwindling integrity of their shield. “Shield at 30%” the specialist reported. The ship lurched and shook violently. “Shield at 20%” and the same thing repeated over and over again. After a nerve wracking five minutes, the ship managed to land at the dock with barely 7% of the shields remaining. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the engine finally switched off.

Gulliver could hear Horn muttering in the background “We’re alive. We’re fucking alive. Absolute-fucking-miracle.” Gulliver thought the same but at least he managed to keep what scarce sanity he had left. Not giving the newbies much time to mull over their near-death experience, they were each quickly ushered to pick a weapon from the weapons rack located at the back of the shuttle and equip a pair of goggles that provided them with a simple heads up display more commonly known as a HUD and a built in communications device. Unsurprisingly, Helix chose the biggest weapon available, a heavy railgun that resembled a cannon more than a gun. The rest of them selected a standard high powered rifle.

Gabriel gave a predatory smile and grinned, “Alright boys and girls, the fun starts here”. He slammed his fist on a button next to the hatch and it started lowering itself to the ground. The scene that followed shocked the party with their mouths hanging agape. They were horrified. The intensity of the firefight happening in front of the hangar was unreal. The sound, vibration, and shockwave left them terrified even before joining the firefight.

The voice of Spark loudly rang into the earpiece embedded in the goggles, "Snap out of it kids and follow me. I'm taking point. Stay close behind me till you find cover and you’ll be fine. Helix, focus your shots at their deployable turrets. It will be highlighted on your HUD.

"Move!'' Spark shouted as he jumped the last metre before the hatch fully extended to the ground. He landed, pointed both his hands towards the red marked rebels and started firing the rotating mini-cannons embedded into his wrists. The bullets wrecked havoc onto the densest group of rebels. Spark took multiple hits in return only for the bullets to be stopped by a thin layer of shield in front of him thrumming a few inches off his exosuit.

Gulliver and the rest took a deep breath and followed after the juggernaut. They ran forward to a barricade set up in the front like their life depended on it.

"Holy shit. You sure this is still the tutorial? It's too intense'' Horn cried out over the sound of gunfire and explosion. Phoenix looked pale and held her gun above the barricade and blindly fired. Gulliver and Horn did not even dare to peek. Hands trembling, they tried mirroring her motions. The one who seemed to be enjoying the situation was Helix.

"This is great!'' Helix wickedly grinned. He stood up, aimed his enormous railgun at an elevated machine gun emplacement that was suppressing the station's defending forces at the other end of the landing bay and pulled the trigger. Helix flew back from the recoil and skidded a few metres just as the emplacement blew up sending him further back. Shards of metal and debris dealt heavy damages to the surrounding rebel forces as the fortified location they were hiding behind were blown apart.

Helix just layed on the floor with a stupid smile plastered all over his face. Phoenix, Horn and Gulliver took a deep breath and looked over the cover they hid behind. Seeing the opponents shell shocked and in disarray, they calmed down slightly and took this opportunity to rack up the contribution points by killing more enemies.

Tessa's order came in not long after. "Their line is broken, we're pushing forward. Take extra care to not stick so close to each other, don't want a stray grenade to wipe the party. Let's go''

Gritting his teeth and tightening his sphincter, Gulliver rushed out from his cover and shouted at the top of his lungs while taking shots at enemies who were on the ground struggling to reform the defensive line. He took advantage of the obstacles littered across the hanger, courtesy of Helix's initiative by making his way from one big obstacle to another. His move was mirrored by his party and the other players who arrived not long after they began to engage the rebels.

“Next time, don’t shout like an idiot. You’re announcing yourself and were just asking to be shot” Gabriel’s voice cut over the comms, chastising the three of them. Apparently Gulliver was not the only one who shouted to manage his fear.

They arrived at the former defensive stronghold the rebel forces set up and began to shoot towards the rebel's second defensive line. As the adrenaline kicked in and they survived the first ordeal, their nerves started to calm down, Gulliver, Phoenix and Horn started listening to Gabriel’s instruction, occasionally peeking out of cover to shoot at the rebels, preventing them from regrouping. The station's defensive force soon streamed out of an adjoining tunnel and joined them. Their numbers were surprisingly few.

When Horn asked over the radio, they found out that the majority of the station’s forces were responding to the other boarders who were scattered across the station. With the successive defence of each section in the station, additional security forces were redirected to the hangar which reinforced their slow and disastrous push towards the rebel dropships. Gulliver and the defending forces were occasionally pushed back since there were also players on the opposing side fighting for the rebels. The situation created a stalemate where both sides gained and lost ground. All the while Helix couldn't stop laying down heavy ordnance into the limited entrenched positions of the rebel invaders while laughing like a possessed maniac.

As the firefight drew longer, Gulliver increasingly felt embarrassed from the weird stares his party were receiving from the other player groups. He noted some parties coordinated better than others. One party particularly stood out. They consisted of serious looking men and women that carried an aura of lethality around them. From the coordination and methodical movement to how the 6 men party handled their weapons screamed military. Everywhere they went, destruction ensued. It was because of them that they weren’t losing more ground than they should.

Gullivers' suspicion was confirmed when he heard some military-speak from them. Phoenix and Horn each took minor damages from stray shots. However, the damages were largely mitigated from the shields that came with the combat kit they equipped when they boarded the ship. After a harrowing two hour of firefight, more players and security forces arrived and with overwhelming force, they were finally able to brute force their way and successfully repel the rebel invaders.

Soon after, the space battle concluded with the arrival of additional reinforcements from neighbouring sectors. The defending forces lost two-third of the defending fleet, while the rebel force lost more than 80% of the battleships they bought. The conclusion of the impromptu battle brought them back towards the Hunters' Hall. The whole way back was spent in silence as the team felt weary, tired and shocked as the adrenaline wore off.

As they made their way out from the back of the shuttle, they wanted to return the weapon and personal shield to Gabriel but were promptly rejected. "Keep it. You guys more than earned it. I’m proud that you freshies didn’t turn tail and run or just squat in a corner and cower like a little mouse. You can exchange your contribution point anytime at the reception at the front.

"I hope this battle taught y'all all the basics of combat and space battle. If you want to learn more, just look around the Hunters' Hall.''

Gabriel walked away after he finished his short speech.

"Good job kids. Come find me by the maintenance bay if you want to learn more about space combat. See you guys around'' Tessa waved as she walked away with the rest of the crew.

Quest complete. (Rebel Scum Part III)

You have successfully prevented the rebels from inflicting serious damage to the crucial space station of Palladium. Contributions points have been awarded based on your number of kills and assists.

Contribution points: 1267 points

Rewards: Standard Personal Armour MK II (Tier 0), KTX Standard Issued High Powered Rifle (Tier 0)

The team stood in silence after the NPCs left, still baffled and shocked by what transpired for the past few hours. Phoenix broke the silence after a while, “That was intense. I wonder if the tutorials were like this in other starting areas.”

"I'm sure it’s something similar to what happened here given how much Future Games emphasise on equal opportunities. What now?'' Horn added feeling lost as to what to do now. Looking around, everyone felt the same. "Let's see what we can exchange with our points we accumulated. Then we can explore the Hunters' Hall to unwind and see what other stuff we can pick up'' Gulliver suggested.

They found out that contribution points could be exchanged for all sorts of stuff. From weapons and armours to spaceship components all the way to fully decked out battleships of various classes as seen in the space battle they were just a part of.

The party's accumulated points totalled to an insignificant sum of 4,798, barely enough for a basic space-capable cargo shuttle that cost 5,000 points. None of them were too keen on exchanging it since the shuttle was, in all sense, basic. It lacked any armour or weapons. The ship was nowhere near to the one they just disembarked from. Even then, they were not interested in exchanging the points for a similar shuttle piloted by Gabriel. The shuttle barely avoided getting blown apart in space. Such shuttles were usually personnel transports and were not built for major ship engagements or travels between star systems. They lack the necessary FTL drives for long distance space travel.

“It seems if we want a proper ship, the cheapest option would be a light frigate that costs 15,000 points” Phoenix pointed out.

“We could take on various missions from Hunters’ Hall to build up the credits, work our way up to afford a simple light frigate” Horn added.

“15,000 is the bare minimum. The specs aren’t pretty. The shields are nominally better than the shuttle we were just on. Not to mention there are just missile embankments and a single main battery.” Helix added his own observation as well. As he continued scrolling the list, he added, “We would need at least 10,000 more points to upgrade that frigate for us to be able to sufficiently defend ourselves. Nothing much is said about space by FG, but it’s known that there are space pirates who are definitely going to be a problem.”

“Good point. Maybe we should check and see if it's cheaper to build our own ship? I'm sure there's an option'' added Gulliver.

"I think we should look around Hunters’ Hall and see what other skills, points and missions we can pick up. We also haven’t fully investigated what the city can offer. Let’s go back to our original plan and explore our options before committing to the corvette. If that’s how combat is in this game, I definitely will need time to unwind. It's pretty fun now that I think about it but it’s not something I would do everyday.” asked Phoenix.

She smiled when her friends each gave a nod to her suggestion. Gulliver took a glance at the holo watch on his wrist and noted that it was almost time for dinner. While he could spend days in the gaming pod, he did promise his parents to have dinner with the family. After the tutorial, he definitely needed it. Gulliver quickly bade his friends farewell and logged out.