Aurelio and the rest of the crew placed Oja’s head in the scrapyard and waited.
A rust cloud of nanites formed around their head, piecing together their body limb by limb, from torso to toes. Their chest expanded with an open hole before becoming filled with a syrupy brown flame. Plates on their arms adjusted and locked together like puzzle pieces until a full metallic body was formed before them.
“Wow.” Phineas muttered in awe.
Aurelio couldn’t help but agree.
He looked at Cantwell, hoping to see what the engineer felt of the spectacle and found his eyes were unfocused. They were rapt and attentive to the center of the yard but the giant struggled to concentrate, their body swaying slightly.
The gates to the other side of the scrapyard retreated with the glimmering life in Oja’s eyes flaring up.
“It feels fantastic to move around again.” Oja admitted. They stretched their limbs, air hissing out from panels on their arms and legs. Their core churned the syrupy flame around like a turbine, liquid lava slowly flowing through the artificial leylines carved all over them.
Kalani crossed the threshold towards Oja and extended their hand, “We’re glad to have you on the team.”
Oja looked at the hand for a moment before grabbing onto it and smiling, “Glad to be the resident Sawbones in this iteration of the outpost. Can you point me in the direction of the medical ward so I can set things up for potential patients?”
“Medical ward…” Kalani looked to Aurelio, who shook his head, “Yeah, we don’t have a medical ward in the outpost.”
Oja furrowed their brows, “Huh? Why not?”
Phineas chimed in with the answer, “Because most of the buildings in this place are locked up by the fucking stone in the radar station and of the buildings we have access to, a medical ward ain’t one of them.”
“And from my limited understanding,” Aurelio added, “There’s unlikely to be a medical ward in the outpost that we won’t have to fabricate ourselves.”
The only mention of a medical ward building that Aurelio was familiar with was the optional facility that could be grafted onto a players ship for the final voyage at the end of the game. Juan and he had only managed to have a fully kitted ship with a medical bay once in the myriad campaigns they played through and it was a great boon then.
He had an inkling that the wing, if they found it in the Metal Mire, would be what Oja is looking for, but that wasn’t a guarantee.
Oja’s face soured at the mention of the Monolith, “I guess some things don’t change then, if the stone still resides in the center of the station.”
“Fuck me, you’re not in cahoots with the rock too, are ya?” Phineas asked.
Oja shook their head, “I’ve heard of a couple of scavengers having more intimate connections with the god encased in stone but I’ve since had that connection severed.”
They tapped their skull, producing a dull clanging noise, “Comes with the territory of being converted to metal. Gain the ability to interface with the Binary world while locking myself out of connecting with any obsidian based lifeforms.”
This must have been the in-world explanation for why the android set of characters were incapable of regenerating ignition in the game.
Phineas looked perplexed, “Wait, if you can’t tap into the rocks… stuff, how are you gonna ignite your weapons and abilities.”
Oja pointed to their core, “It’s artificial but I still got a fire burning in me. A power source as powerful as that ignition stuff you all use was bound to be repurposed by the mechanical denizens of the planet and I’m no different. I’ve got a great storage battery for the stuff but I lack the juice your kind have to feed the fire, as it were.” They shrugged.
I wonder how the other two races functioned…
“Well we can reorganize the barracks we have around to create a makeshift ward for you until we come up with a better solution. I’m sure Aurelio’s cooking up a plan as we speak.” Kalani gave him a knowing look that left his skin crawling.
The results of the latest settlement event left him uneasy. Was he just over analyzing her statement?
“I’d suggest doing so as soon as possible. I don’t need to run diagnostics to know those two back there are running ragged.” Oja gestured at Cantwell and Elena, who hung close to the metal mesh of the scrapyard with glazed eyes and labored breath.
That was strange.
Aurelio walked up to Cantwell.
“Hey, Canti. I’m gonna open your diagnostics sheet, alright?” Aurelio told his engineering friend.
The man nodded and turned his back to Aurelio.
[Name] - Cantwell Star
[Status] - FATIGUED
[Species] - Human
[Heart] - 3
[Ignition Regen] - 1
[Ignition Cap] - 11
[Role 1] - Engineer [3XP][RANK:NOVICE][NOVICE OPTION AVAILABLE]
[Role 2] - None [ADD?]
[Mov: +0 | Acc: +0 | Str: +0 | Eva: +1 | Spd: +0 | Lck: +0]
[Weapon Class Specialization] - HAMMER [3WP]
[Spark Level] - 4 [MILESTONE I ACHIEVED]
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
[Abilities and Impairments]
Inciting Spark - The first time this Scavenger wounds an enemy, all allies and this Scavenger gain +1 Heart
As with all things, there was good news and bad news to garner from the information he acquired.
Oja stepped to his side and observed the produced diagnostics sheet.
“How peculiar,” they mumbled, “This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Aurelio nestled that tidbit into the back of his head but maintained his focus on the issue at hand.
“Cantwell’s fatigued. If he’s like this, I’m certain that Elena is suffering from the same fatigue as well.” He illuminated the rest of the crew and clicked his tongue.
What a fucking nightmare.
Upon closer inspection, it made sense that they were worn out. The sparks that resided within their chests were dim embers, pale imitations of the chaotic flames that sat within the rest of his crewmates.
Fatigue was a condition in the tabletop game that felt more like a nuisance than a potentially major issue as it was presenting itself here. With the amount of scavengers at their disposal, having a couple of characters fall to fatigue in an event or from an impairment didn’t really matter because they were often caring for an army of twenty-odd characters.
His current crew consisted of six able-bodied members, with two now down and out for a solar cycle.
I need more members. Scavengers not tied to-
Aurelio shook his head. Doubting his crewmates so soon after they’d opened themselves up to him was a recipe for disaster. The Voice and their influence would come regardless of his mental state, so it was better to believe his crew had the best intentions for the rest of the colony over acting all paranoid.
“What do you recommend then, Doc?” Kalani looked to Oja for their expert opinion.
Oja shrugged, “Fatigue comes from an overextention of the body. Best they can do is rest up in the outpost for the solar cycle and leave things to us.”
“But,” Elena struggled to hold onto her train of thought, “We’re the crew's heaviest hitters. Leaving the rest of you to handle those monsters…” She trailed off.
Oja gave the soldier a stern look, “I don’t care if you’re tied at the hip to any of your mates. You asked for the doctor's opinion and you’ve received it. You’d be doing the rest of the crew a lot more harm than good by throwing yourself in harm's way in your current state.”
Cantwell shuffled to Elena and stared her directly in the eyes, “We should listen to Doc.”
The fire in Elena’s heart was a mere wisp of light. She glared at Aurelio with what strength she could muster, “Keep the commander safe.”
Aurelio nodded, “Her and the rest of the crew.”
The pair shuffled off to the barracks, with Oja and Phineas following closely behind.
“Are you going to get through your tasks, Aurelio?” Kalani asked him.
He instinctively gulped, “Y-yeah. Our haul of resources were large enough and varied enough that I think we can make a brand new suit and core for the crew to use. Maybe even fashion our first piece of supplemental gear and have resources left in the bank.”
“And will we have enough to feed the Monolith for another innovation?”
“Yes. So long as we keep acquiring resources in the hauls we do, the top priority is to expand the strength of the outpost.”
The commander absorbed the information he provided but her reaction was inscrutable. There were numerous thoughts churning in her head and he wasn’t privy to any of them.
Kalani smiled and clapped her hands, “Well Lio, you’ve got a lot of work to do in the meantime then. We’ll have our conversation in the archives once you’re done with everything. I’m sure you’re quite curious to find out what I discovered while the rest of you were gone.”
Was he imagining the hints of malice to her words? If he wasn’t, why would she antagonize him so soon before their meeting? Better to come to the table with good intentions.
He didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of his ancestors by assuming that the rest of the crew would simply fall in line and follow his directions because he was the Monolith’s chosen.
“I better get to work then.” Aurelio replied.
Kalani waved him off and left the man to his own devices.
---
“Always short. Always fucking short.” Aurelio grumbled. The game was all about scavenging materials and feeling the vice grip the world had on the resources he needed was wearing his nerves thin.
Earmarking a pile of scrap, a vial of sludge, and a clump of biomass for the Monoliths daily feast left the crew with a biotics resource shy of a supplemental gear piece.
He was happy, at the very least, for the new suit and core that they’d produced through their hard work but the efficiency goblin that dwelled deep within his gaming heart was crying foul over the insufficient resources.
Aurelio looked up at the center of the scrapyard and smiled at their latest addition.
The [Noble Suit] held the innate regal demeanor of the Pure Vessel, complete with a wispy shoulder cape and a white-gold color scheme that must have been pulled straight out of a fairy-tale book for shining knights in armor. Even the helmet was shaped to look less like the blocky visors that the [Scrap Suits] had and more like a royal knights helmet.
Paired within the [Noble Suit] was the [Pulsating Core]. Despite being inert within the shining armor, a pinprick of light would whir in the center before spreading out in a circle across the core's chamber.
It was the earliest core that the crew had available with a meltdown condition that wouldn’t kill any of them.
The [Noble Suit] was meant to be used by Elena as a competent end game piece of equipment, with the benefits that it provided for a front-line bruiser like her. The [Pulsating Core] also benefited the role that Elena used, passively providing her with an Ignition point whenever the core was warmed up. Honestly, each threshold of the core, from warm up to meltdown, were tailor-made for the abuse that the exonaut role was bound to give it.
He was a little jealous but this was the nature of the game and he was still a team player, through and through.
Despite being a team player, however, it didn’t escape him that the option to upgrade the scrapyard and gain access to the proper smithy (and his beloved Packrat suit) was a five salvage investment away.
Aurelio was certain that he could justify gaining access to the additional goodies in the smithy being worth the costly investment so long as he focused on the benefits the rest of the crew would garner.
It wasn’t like he had the damn supplemental gear to take advantage of the Pack Rat’s functions.
“One damn circuitry away…” He grumbled some more. The [Combat Optics] and his perusal of the gearworks foundry would have to wait after their next expedition.
His engagement with the Monolith and the innovations it offered for their sacrifice were also a mixed bag.
The expansion of the tech tree meant that the potential innovations offered to Aurelio were beginning to get cluttered up with niche branching points, like the {Art of Refurbishment} innovation or the {Absolvement} innovation.
Of the budding innovations that remained were the {Oration}, {Proving Grounds}, {Decryption}, and {Kindling} innovations, organized in the order of potential and immediate benefits that they were bound to provide.
His was a single-minded choice as far as the gaps between the innovations were concerned.
Aurelio offered up the crew's hard earned resources and advanced the colony towards progress.
{ORATION} {Entertainment Innovation Type} - The power of the spoken word, to relieve the mind of its worries and the body of its stress, is vital to the longevity of the SUBJECTS. | CHOSEN gains the SOOTHE action. | Increase Ignition Gauge for CHOSEN and SUBJECTS by 1. | All SUBJECTS gain +1 Heart at the start of the SETTLEMENT PHASE.
He used his INSPECT ability to gain information on his newfound SOOTHE ability and smiled.
It felt like he was finally getting his bearings in the world.
Aurelio hoped that whatever curveball that Kalani was planning to throw at him wasn’t going to immediately crack that hard-wrought foundation.