Bobby leaned back against a crate. The raiders holding Sprocket weren't just well-armed; they were augmented with System tech. He didn't know how the raiders had such tech advantages only three weeks after the coming of the Dominion, but it was something he had to overcome.

"Alright," Bobby said, rubbing his temples. "We need to think this through. What kind of immediate skill improvements can I make that might give us an edge?"

Mic's eyes lit up with that familiar spark of inventive excitement. "Oh! Well, considering their augmentations, we might want to focus on..."

Before Mic could finish, Rem's voice cut through Bobby's mind, sharp and urgent.

Bobby frowned. "Thanks for stating the obvious."

That you've survived this long is more a testament to your Lucky Seven perk than any real combat readiness,> Rem continued.

The harsh assessment hit Bobby like a punch to the gut. He'd known things were dire, but hearing it laid out was another matter.

"So what you're saying is, I need a lot more than just a few skill points to stand a chance," Bobby said, his voice grim.

Rem confirmed.

Bobby turned back to Mic, who had been watching the one-sided conversation with a mix of curiosity and concern.

"Alright, Mic," Bobby’s voice was tight with determination. "Rem's made it clear we're in over our heads. We need to get creative. What else can we do to improve our odds?"

Bobby watched Mic’s face scrunch up in thought, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.

"Mic, do these raiders have any anti air weapons? Or anything that can knock out ships?"

"Anti-air weapons? Oh, well, you see, from what I’ve seen, these raiders seem to be more, well, ground-based. They’ve got some nasty toys. Oh yes, quite nasty indeed! But nothing specifically designed to take down aircraft, I don’t think."

Bobby nodded, processing the information. "So, what about the ship? Any chance we can get it airborne soon?"

Mic's expression shifted, a mix of excitement and frustration crossing his features. "Oh, The Starling's Gearshift! She's a beauty, but..." He trailed off, gesturing at the battered hull. "We're missing some crucial components. The quantum flux capacitor is shot, and the gravitational stabilisers are completely fried."

"Can't we just... I don't know, jury-rig something?" Bobby asked, hope creeping into his voice.

Mic shook his head. "No, no, no. These aren't parts you can find lying around Earth, even before the System arrived. We'd need to either fabricate them from scratch or trade for them."

Bobby's shoulders slumped. "And I'm guessing fabricating them isn't an option?"

"Not without access to a proper gnomish workshop," Mic said, his voice tinged with longing. "The precision required... it's beyond what we can manage here."

"So trading is our only option," Bobby mused. "But who would have parts like that? More Kra'zak?"

"Oh, Kra’zak traders? Well, um, possibly..." Mic winced. "But after our last encounter - oh my, what a close call that was! - I’d rather not risk it, if we can help it. There will be other traders around, you know." Mic’s enthusiasm dimmed as he continued, "But, um, finding them could be dangerous. Who knows what we might run into? And we don’t have, um, anything valuable in exchange. I don’t think they will swap quantum parts for, err, earth trinkets?"

"So, we can't get the ship to fly anytime soon?"

Mic's shoulders slumped. "Oh, um, I'm afraid not, Bobby. Not without those crucial components. My beauty, oh, she’s in an awful state."

"Alright, then," Bobby said, as he thought about any alternatives. "What about onboard weaponry? Does the ship have anything we could use against these raiders?"

Mic let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, no, no. The Starling's Gearshift is a research vessel, not a military ship. We don't have turrets or, um, missile launchers or anything like that."

Bobby tried to hide his disappointment. "Nothing at all? What about lasers or other tools that we could repurpose?"

"Well..." Mic scratched his chin, his eyes lighting up. "We have some equipment that could be modified. There's a high-powered spectral analyser that uses focused light beams. It's not designed as a weapon, but with some tinkering... yes, yes, we should be able to increase its output!"

Bobby leaned forward, interest piqued. "That sounds promising. What else?"

"There's also a gravitational field manipulator," Mic continued, his enthusiasm growing. "It's used for collecting samples in zero-g environments, but if we overcharge it... oh, the possibilities! We could create localised gravity distortions. Imagine that!"

"Yeah, imagine," Bobby said. "Anything else?"

"But, um, all that will take time," Mic’s excitement deflated, his earlier enthusiasm fading. "I can't do all of it. We'd have to choose one of them to focus on. Oh, if only we had more time!"

Bobby frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Is there a way of jury-rigging the analyser to the Gearswizzle?"

Mic's bushy eyebrows shot up, his eyes widening. "The Gearswizzle? Oh! That's... that's actually quite clever!" He paced, muttering to himself and gesticulating. "We'd need to recalibrate the power output, of course. And the focusing mechanism would require some adjustment to compensate for the movement... but maybe if we... oh, yes!"

Bobby watched as Mic's excitement grew, the gnome's hands moving faster as he worked through the problem aloud. This idea had sparked something in the inventor's mind.

"It won't be easy," Mic said, turning back to Bobby, his moustache quivering with excitement. "But I think it might just be possible. We'd essentially be creating a mobile, high-powered energy weapon. Not as potent as a military-grade laser, mind you, but it could give us a significant advantage. Oh, the possibilities!"

Bobby nodded, a grim smile spreading across his face. "That sounds like exactly what we need. How long do you think it'll take?"

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"Two hours to make it strong enough to do some damage and another couple of hours to rig it to the Gearswizzle and make sure it all, err, works."

"Alright, that gives me some time to work on my own improvements." Bobby replied.

He settled down on a crate, leaning his back against the cold metal of the Starling's Gearshift. As Mic bustled about, gathering tools and muttering to himself, Bobby closed his eyes and focused on his internal interface.

The skill tree materialised in his mind's eye, a sprawling network of abilities and potential paths. He had three skill points to allocate, and given the dangers they faced, he knew each choice could mean the difference between life and death.

His eyes roamed over the various branches. Combat skills tempted him with promises of increased damage and better defence. Survival skills offered ways to endure the harsh new world they found themselves in. And then there were the more esoteric options, like his newly gained fire manipulation.

Bobby's brow furrowed as he opened up the skill descriptions. Each option seemed vital in its own way, making the choice even more difficult. He could almost hear Rem's voice in his head, urging caution and strategic thinking.

As he pondered his options, Mic's tinkering provided a strangely comforting background noise. The gnome's occasional exclamations of triumph or frustration reminded Bobby of the immediate task at hand - preparing for the rescue mission.

With a deep breath, Bobby refocused on the skill tree, determined to make the most of this opportunity to improve himself before facing the raiders.

Bobby focused his attention on the Lucky Seven perk that had kept him alive so far. He figured if it had gotten him this far, maybe doubling down on it could give him an edge against the augmented raiders.

A translucent window appeared in his mind’s eye:

Lucky Seven Perk

Effects:

- Luck stat temporarily increased

- Enhances probability of favorable outcomes

- Improves chances of survival in dangerous situations

- Increases likelihood of opportune encounters and discoveries

Note: The higher your inherent luck, the greater the boost this modifier provides.

Duration: 7 days

Current Day: 3

Time Remaining: 4 days, 6 hours, 23 minutes

I’ve still got a bit left then. He thought as he looked into the rest of the skill tree. He filtered the results to show a branch dedicated to luck-based abilities. Each option promised a different way to manipulate chance in his favour.

"Lucky Strike" caught his attention first. The description hinted at increased critical hit chances during combat. Then there was "Fortune's Favour," which seemed to boost the likelihood of finding rare items or resources.

A skill called "Lucky Break" stood out as particularly intriguing. It promised the ability to influence random events in his immediate vicinity. Bobby wondered how that might play out in a firefight or during a stealth operation.

I can't put it all on luck though, he decided.

Bobby noticed a new option in his system menu: "Hold for Comparison." Intrigued, he selected it, and the Lucky Break perk moved to a side menu, allowing him to come back to it later. With that option set aside, he delved deeper into the other aspects of his skill tree.

Well, that makes things easier to remember.

His looked at the weapon skills section. The crossbow he'd been using had served him well so far, and he considered investing in "Precision Archery" to improve his accuracy and reload speed. However, the neutron blaster they'd gained from the Kra'zak caught his attention. A skill called "Energy Weapon Proficiency" promised increased damage and better energy management for such advanced weaponry.

As he weighed these options, Bobby's mind drifted to one he hadn't considered before: "Tactical Analysis."

This set of abilities seemed to focus on improving situational awareness and decision-making in combat scenarios. One skill, "Weak Point Detection," had the ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in enemies and structures alike.

Bobby found himself torn between these options, each offering a different approach to gaining a combat edge. He knew he couldn't master everything at once, but the variety of choices made him feel like he was slowly becoming more equipped to face the challenges ahead.

Bobby spent the next half hour combing through his skill tree, selecting several perks for comparison. He tried to imagine what he would come up against, but he was so under-prepared, he didn’t have a clue. Instead, he focused on his System menu. Looking at the various skill trees, he added "Energy Weapon Proficiency," and "Weak Point Detection" to his shortlist. After some consideration, he also included "Improvised Engineering," thinking it might come in handy given their limited resources.

As he explored further, a few more caught his eye. "Adaptive Metabolism" promised increased resistance to toxins and faster healing, while "Stealth Tactics" offered improved sneaking and silent takedown abilities. Bobby added these to his growing list of potential choices.

Bobby blinked, realising he had lost himself in concentration for quite a while. He looked at his list.

The options glowed in his menu screen, each one promising a distinct advantage. Bobby weighed them carefully, considering how each might help in the upcoming rescue mission and beyond. He re-read them again.

Lucky Break:

Influence random events in your immediate vicinity. Improves chances of favourable outcomes in unpredictable situations. Higher levels increase frequency and impact of lucky occurrences.

Exotic Weapon Proficiency:

Enhance your skill with energy-based weapons. Increases damage output and energy efficiency. Unlock special firing modes at higher levels.

Weak Point Detection:

Identify vulnerabilities in enemies and structures. Increases critical hit chance and effectiveness. Higher levels reveal tactical weaknesses in enemy formations.

Improvised Engineering:

Create tools and solutions from available materials. Enables quick repairs and basic trap creation. Higher levels allow for more complex and effective creations.

Adaptive Metabolism:

Improve your body's resilience and recovery. Increases poison resistance and natural healing rate. Higher levels grant unique metabolic advantages.

Stealth Tactics:

Enhance your ability to avoid detection. Improves silent movement and concealment. Higher levels unlock advanced stealth techniques.

Quantum Intuition:

Gain limited foresight of immediate future events. Provides split-second advantage in dangerous situations. Higher levels extend prediction range and clarity.

Synaptic Overload:

Temporarily boosts mental processing speed. Slows perceived time in crucial moments. Caution: May cause mental fatigue if overused.

Adaptive Camouflage:

Your gear subtly adjusts to blend with surroundings. Significantly improves stealth in various environments. Higher levels may mask other detectable signatures.

Bobby looked over this list, each skill promising a unique advantage in the challenges ahead. He knew he had to choose wisely. It wasn’t just his life at stake, but Mic's daughter as well.

Rem, what do you think? He thought, directing his thoughts at the bodiless dwarf.

What do you mean, Rem? Which ones are unusual?

Bobby sensed a feeling of bewilderment from Rem.

So this is unusual then?

What about the others? Are any of them useful for our situation?

Duly noted.

He re-read the descriptions again, trying to imagine what scenarios each would be best suited for, and which would work best for him. Am I really going to rely on luck against these raiders? He wondered. I mean, my luck stats aren't even high. Will it even be enough? Damnit, this is hard.