Chapter 4

Kayden was lounging against a wall on the second floor of a dilapidated building. He was pretty sure that it used to be a hotel before it was destroyed, but he couldn’t be sure. He had his interface open as he went through the different icons and menu options. He still had 23 in-game hours to complete his mission, but he was still unclear about what would happen at the end of the time limit. As he browsed the menus, he came across an icon that looked like an open book. Scrolling over it revealed the name to be “codex”.

It turned out that the codex was evolving digital record of all the enemies he’d beaten and all the places he had been. Since the only place he’d been so far was Parria and the only enemy he’d beaten were Red Talon Raiders and their hounds, those were the only entries. Out of curiosity, Kayden opened the section of his codex for planets and read up on Parria.

[Planet: Parria

System: Axiom Space, Sector A

Age: Unknown

Biography: Parria was a sanctuary planet meant to house the families of those who worked to construct the Hyperion space station. Years after the completion of the astral structure, some chose to stay on Parria, rather than make residence on Hyperion. Years later, the planet thrived just as much as the space station to the point where both were exchanging needed resources. This period of peace lasted until the first invasion of the Red Talon Raiders. Parria is now a shell of its former self under the control of raiders who use the planet to conduct various forms of depravity.]

Reading the codex entry filled Kayden with a mix of emotions. It also confirmed his earlier speculation that the raiders were a problem that needed to be taken care of. However, now he knew that they weren’t just a problem for him, they were a problem for many many others as well, especially the people of Parria. Reading further into the codex, Kayden found an entry for the Red Talon Raiders.

[The Red Talon Raiders are a loose association of pirate factions that span across Axiom space. The separate sects have a wide array of different specialties. Some specialize in slave trading, while others specialize in smuggling and others in a number of forms of infiltration (including political intrigue and corporate espionage). Their exact goals are unclear, but it is safe to assume that what they wish to accomplish does not bode well for the balance of Axiom space.]

The mix of emotions Kayden was feeling earlier immediately went to righteous indignation. Back in reality, slavery had always been one Marlen’s button, real or virtual. In games that had groups that participated in slavery, Marlen would prioritize taking down those groups first and finding ways to make sure they couldn’t rise again or any other person or group couldn’t rise to take their place. Knowing now that the Red Talon Raiders were a scourge to all of Axiom, Kayden knew he had a set of goals for his time in the game: Find out the Raider’s goals, stop them and make sure they can’t come back.

Wanting a change, Kayden switched menus to view his character Stats.

Name: Kayden Shaw

Level: 2

Race: Human

Class: Mercenary

Attributes:

Health: 60/60

Resolve: 30/30

STR:11 (+1 from equipment)

AGI: 8

END: 6

INT: 4

PER: 5

CHA: 4

Skills:

[tracking] 2, [piloting] 1, [stealth] 1, [computers] 1, [intimidate] 1, law 1, [unarmed fighting] 2, [pistols] 2, [rifles] 2, hardy 1, survival 1, leadership 1, tactics 1, [Melee weapons] 2, bravery 1, [thievery] 1, [escape arts] 1, [acrobatics] 2, [climbing] 1, [running] 1, [bluffing] 1, [carousing] 1, [crafting] 1, Reactions 1

Character Abilities: Stagger Shot

Deeds: Marksmanship

This was the first time Kayden had a chance to closely examine his attributes and skills. He decided to take a look into some of the less standard items in his character options. He started with his attributes.

[Strength is the measure of one’s overall brawn and physical prowess. A higher strength score translates to more damage done with melee weapons and unarmed attacks. Strength also determines carry capacity, weapon recoil control and one’s ability to pick up and wield certain weapons.

Agility determines one’s movement speed, rapid movement ability, and overall body control. As well, agility affects attack speed and ranged weapon accuracy.

Endurance contributes to a player's total health and resolve. A high endurance score helps with staying on one’s feet after taking a big hit or withstanding poisons, sickness or fatigue. Every point to endurance adds 10 points to a player’s total health and five points to total resolve.

Intelligence is a measure of brain power and memorization ability. This stat affects every class differently, but for the most part, it affects one’s ability to tackle difficult tasks.

Perception measures one’s sight, smell, and hearing abilities. A high perception score means a player has heightened awareness of their surrounding. Boosting this score makes it easier to pick out hidden enemies and obstacles (such as traps) and it will be harder to sneak up on you.

Charisma assists players in dealing with others, mostly the natives of Axiom. A higher score in this stat makes it easier to persuade people to see things your way and get better deals when making transactions.

Note: These attributes and their values are only approximations. How they affect you as a whole is not set in stone and new effects are always being discovered. It is up to you to find how your stats and skills work together to make you stronger.]

Kayden’s eyes were darting back and forth as he read through the info dump that was the explanation of his stats. He had to shake his head and rub his eyes after reading everything over three times to make sure he had it all understood.

The next thing he did was familiarize himself with his skills. Currently, Kayden only had one class ability and one deed and he already knew what both of them did for him. As well, a lot of the skills he had were general enough to be understood even though they were only one word. A few of his skills stood out as something that needed further explanation. He started with hardy.

[The skill known as “hardy” makes it easier for a player to power through detrimental effects such as debilitating pain, poison, etc.. Every point invested in hardy increases total HP by four points and resolve by two points.]

“Ok, note to self, put a point into hardy at least every other level,” Kayden said.

The next skill he looked at was labeled “bravery”, he focused on the skill and got a more detailed explanation of the skill,

[Bravery is a skill that makes it easier for you to resist fear and other mental impairment effects. The more points you invest in this skill, the more likely you are to resist being frightened, intimidated, or sent running from a frightful presence of an enemy.]

The final skill he needed clarification on was labeled “Reactions”.

[Reactions assist you in responding to surprise attacks, moving away from dangerous situations and responding to open weak points in enemy defenses during combat.]

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The explanation for reactions wasn’t as helpful or detailed as Kayden would have liked, but it was better than nothing.

Kayden could’ve stayed in that broken building all day reading and researching, but when he realized he was falling further down the rabbit hole he closed the game menu and stood up. He made his way to the top floor of the demolished building in order to get a better view of his surroundings. The building only had five more floors to it. The final floor was nothing more than a roofless platform that was completely open to the elements. The walls were nothing more than crumbling barriers and the doorframes were bare. All the windows were missing except for jagged remains at the base of the edges and some scattered patches broken glass, which Kayden accidentally stepped on from time to time. He made his way to every corner of the floor as he looked out into the distance in an attempt to see anything out of the ordinary.

As he approached the final corner at the top of the broken building, Kayden was able to see a pillar of smoke billowing out from somewhere far off. He looked in the direction of the smoke trying to get a better look. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to glean anything new. With a new destination in mind, Kayden made his way back down to the stairs and began to walk back downstairs.

Kayden was moving at an even pace as he moved through the building on his way back to the ground floor. When he made it to the fourth floor, something caught his attention. A single gunshot rang out from a nearby forest that bordered the cityscape. The loud sound caused a flock of birds to go flying away from the greenery. Kayden ran to a nearby window to see what the heck was going on. At first, he was thinking that Neela, the player from earlier, was simply sniping enemies in the shrubbery before making her way to the tall building. When he saw three figures come sprinting out of the green, he knew he was wrong. A woman and two gruff looking men dressed in black came bolting out of the forest. The woman had a number of bruises on her face, arms and stomach, which Kayden could only see because her clothes were ripped. She had brown hair and fair skin that somewhat sun-touched which gave her a light tan. The woman crashed to the floor when she failed to realize the transition from forest to concrete. She hit the ground hard, but still tried to get up. When she tried and failed, Kayden could see that she might have twisted her ankle in the fall. As the two men got closer, Kayden’s tightened in anger as he recognized them as Red Talon Raiders. That realization spurred him to start sprinting downstairs.

Once Kayden landed on the ground of the first floor, he drew his pistol and his new long knife before pressing himself against the wall next to the open door. He could hear the woman whimpering as she tried to drag herself further away from her assailants. He could also hear the two raiders laughing maniacally as they made their way closer to her. Kayden wanted nothing more than to rush out and help the woman, but he was out of breath and his hands were shaky from the exertion of sprinting down three flights of stairs. He took half a minute to get himself under control, while all the while he was able to hear the raiders babble as they stood over their quarry.

“Looks we finally caught her, Fritz!” The first raider toned

“‘Bout time to Sarl. That twisted ankle of hers means we got some time, but we need to get back to camp with this one before Dresker gets suspicious,” Said the second raider.

The belts coming undone became audible as the woman’s whimpering go louder at the approach of the two men. When Kayden noticed the two men had dropped their weapons and one was removing his pants, he seized the initiative and charged as he fired two shots from his pistol. Both shots hit the pantless square in the chest and he was knocked off his feet.

[You shoot Red Talon Raider for 11 points of kinetic damage!

You have killed Red Talon Raider! You gain 45 XP!]

The second raider saw his cohort get flung backward and he turned to see Kayden barrelling in him holding a pistol and a blade. He instinctively reached for his belt, but then the idiot remembered that it was at his feet. Kayden fired two more shots in the second raider’s direction, but he dropped to his belly causing both shots to miss. Once on the floor, the raider was able to get his own pistol from the grounded belt. The raider fired one shot at Kaden as he continued to move forward. Kayden narrowly avoided the shot, but the sudden movement caused him to lose balance and almost fall. Kayden kept on his feet, but was slowed almost to a stop and was unable to respond to a second shot as it hit him in the shoulder.

[You have been shot for 12 points of kinetic damage! Remaining HP: 48/60!]

Kayden let out a sharp grunt of pain as he hit the ground from the impact of the bullet. He was able to maintain the grip on his pistol, but before he could get back up to take aim, the other raider was already hovering over him. The raider brought a heavy boot down on Kayden’s pistol hand.

[You have been struck for 10 points of kinetic damage! Remaining HP: 38/60!]

Kayden screamed at the impact on his. Then another one came as the raider slammed his other foot down on Kayden’s chest, which promptly knocked the wind out him.

[You have been struck in a vulnerable area for 24 points of kinetic damage! Remaining HP: 14/60! WARNING! YOU ARE BELOW 50% HEALTH! SEEK MEDICAL HELP OR ADMINISTER HEALING QUICKLY!]

Kayden coughed and sputtered from the impact of the foot to his sternum. The Raider had a cocky grin on his face as he looked Kayden in the eyes.

“Well well, looks we got ourselves another failed freelancer. Lucky for you, or maybe unlucky I’m not quite sure, I never get tired of taking out the trash,” Toned the raider as he brought his pistol up.

The gun went up past where Kayden thought. The raider used the gun to scratch his chin, as if in contemplation, before speaking again,

“Hmm..or maybe I should turn you in for the reward Dresker set up for freelancers. Although he did say dead or alive and you seem like trouble. Especially since you killed Sarl, I just can’t let that slide.”

The raider slowly lowered his pistol toward Kayden’s head and pulled the hammer back. This was it, this was how Kayden was going to figure out how death worked in Axiom. He kept his eyes open and focused on the raider and the gun he held in his face. He waited for the shot to come that would usher him into oblivion. Finally, the crack of a gun came and the raider standing over Kayden was jerked forward as a bullet passed through the side of his chest opposite to his heart. The boot on Kayden’s chest lifted and he was able to breathe. The raider turned to see the woman he and his cohort were chasing with a gun in her hands aim at him with smoke still coming from the barrel.

“WHY YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LITTLE BI---,” The raider’s words were cut off as a shot from below took him in the chest. As soon as he was able to breathe, Kayden brought out his newly acquired scattergun and fired the shot from under the raider’s boot.

[You shoot Red Talon Raider for 12 points of Kinetic damage! You have Killed Red Talon Raider! You gain 45 XP!]

The Shot from the scattergun caused the raider’s corpse to fly backward and crash to the ground with an audible thud. Kayden breathed a sigh of relief at the message saying the enemy was dead. He then groaned as he sat up on his butt to see the woman still holding the smoking pistol, her eyes were locked forward and her breathing was ragged as she took stock of her situation. Kayden got to his feet and slowly made his way over to the woman, who was obviously in shock.

When he was about four feet away from the woman, he knelt to one knee and attempted to make eye contact with her. When she finally looked him in the eye, Kayden spoke as softly as he could despite his voice still being raspy and being out of breath from the foot to his chest,

“Are you okay?”

The woman just gave a short nod. Kayden nodded in return and stood back up. He walked over to the corpse of the first raider and started the looting process. The first adversary only had 50 credits and two pistol magazines. Since the woman to Kayden’s right had the dead man’s pistol, the gun wasn’t on his body. Next, Kayden made his way over to the body of the second raider, the one who had damaged him so badly. The items found on this enemy were much better,

[You have found Enhanced Raider Boots!

Quality: Standard

Rarity: Uncommon

Damage Resistance: +2 Kinetic/+2 Energy

Upgrade Slots: 1

Traits: +1 Agility, +5 to kicking damage

Description: These boots are reinforced with light metal inlays which increase both defense and damage done with kicking strikes while not interfering with the wearer’s mobility.]

[You have found Mk. II Flak Vest

Quality: Standard

Rarity: Uncommon

Damage Resistance: +5 Kinetic/+2 Energy

Upgrade Slots: 1

Traits: +2 Strength, +2 Endurance

Description: This vest is an upgrade to the original flak jacket. It comes equipped with a low-grade energy dampening lining allowing it to absorb small amounts of energy and kinetic damage types.]

[You have found Yellow Shield Generator

Quality: Standard

Rarity: Common

Recharge Time: 5 minutes

Traits: Surrounds the user in a translucent shell that absorbs 15 points of damage before breaking and needing to be recharged.]

[You have found 100 credits]

[You have found Medkit x3]

Kayden nodded in appreciation at the sight of the new items. The boots were similar in appearance to the combat boots he currently wore except that they had small patches of metal over the heel, toes and on the sides. The flak vest bore a resemblance to any old bulletproof vest he had seen and worn back in reality. It fit right over his military shirt and covered his chest and abdominal area.

He quickly equipped the boots and vest, then clipped the shield generator to his belt. The generator was a palm-sized hexagon with a faintly glowing yellow core in the center. A few seconds after putting the circle on his belt, a hexagonal grid began to form from the generator on his belt and it quickly overlayed itself to fit his body. Kayden tried to feel the shield, but couldn’t and once it had finished forming it disappeared. The raider also had his pistol still gripped in his fist. Kayden took the other gun and equipped it as well. It appeared with a holster on his hip just over the scattergun.

After putting on all of his newly acquired equipment, Kayden turned back to the woman clasping the other raider’s handgun. He was hoping enough time had passed for her to recover, at least a little bit so that he could get some information out of her. He turned back to face her.

“My name is Kayden Shaw. Is it okay for me to ask you a few questions?” Kayden asked in a soft voice.

The woman brought her eyes back up to meet his. They were hazel and still somewhat glassy. Which wasn’t surprising considering what she had been through. Her lip quivered a little before she finally responded,

“I’m Tala...Are you going to help us?” The woman said in a shaky voice that was almost a whisper.

Kayden raised an eyebrow at the question.

“Us?” Kayden asked with no small amount of concern present in his voice.

“Yes. There is a camp to the east where they are keeping a lot more people in captivity. They have a ship that they plan to use to transport everyone to where they will be sold.” Tala said in a much stronger voice than before.

It was good to see that she was regaining her strength, but Kayden was reeling from the idea that he would have to deal with slavers much sooner than he thought. Before he started to ask any more questions, Kayden removed one of the medkits he looted and gave it to Tala.

“Use that to heal your wounds. While you do that, tell me everything you can about the camp.”

The battered woman graciously took the medkit and began to use it. As she started to wrap one of her wounds in gauze, she looked at Kayden with a speculative gaze and then spoke,

“As far as I know, there are at least ten raiders, their hounds and the leader. He commands the alpha hound of the camp. According to what they’ve said, this is just a small outpost on one planet. They are spread all over Axiom space and they aren’t going to stop. Please, you have to help the others.”

Kayden’s brows furrowed at the mention of their numbers in the camp. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but this was shaping up to be impossible. Tala continued to speak as she gave him a rough outline of the camp’s layout. As he listened, the remnants of a plan began to form in Kayden’s mind. Impossible turned into somewhat likely as she continued to speak. As he thought, he applied one of the medkits to his own wounds and was soon back to full health and resolve. Kayden then checked all of his equipment one more time and then gazed into the forest where Tala said the camp and the other prisoners and raiders were. Impossible didn’t come to mind anymore, but neither did easy. Putting the difficulty aside, Kayden set his resolve. It was now time to put up or shut up.