“Morning,” Nika greeted Jack as they both quietly snuck outside for morning exercises. “I don’t know about you, but I’m keeping it light after last night. Calling everyone over and hauling all that electrical shit back before the crazies came out to play was a lot more effort than I could have predicted. Sooner we get the damn fabricator the sooner we won’t need to walk everywhere!”
“But the utilities are still gonna be a problem even if we get the thing, right?” Jack asked, and the Kizun nodded in agreement.
“Yep, all we need to do is we work out where our main lines run and do a cable hook to syphon some power from an office building or something so hopefully nobody notices, at least until we become completely self-sufficient. With luck it’ll be the same place as the water pipes…”
“How do these utility companies even work here?” Jack asked. “I can’t imagine they’d want to install measuring equipment at random places underground.”
“Is that how it’s done where you’re from?” Nika asked as she and Jack began stretching.
“Kind of, but usually attached to the houses and with less danger.” Jack shrugged. “How does it happen here then?”
“They provide the juice and give you a monthly allowance of it depending on what you pay. Once the cap gets reached, they can cut you off from where they are. Even worse, it’s based on what they send rather than what you receive. The Ring being as flawed as it is means it’s not very efficient, especially in the cities. In the country it’s much easier if the locals know what they’re doing, but here it basically means we can syphon enough for ourselves as long as we don’t get too greedy and probably never get caught.” Nika grinned. “I still think the first thing we should fabricate is some solar panels just in case though.”
“Sounds good, it’d be great not to have to be so paranoid about watching TV.” Jack chuckled as began to jog on the spot, before he suddenly stopped, seeing something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw Sephy jogging around the perimeter, who didn’t see them as she kept running.
“Damn, that’s not like her,” Nika commented worryingly. “She’s probably plugged into some music, let’s go check on her.”
It didn’t take much effort to catch up to the Skritta, though it was only when Nika overtook her did Sephy realise they were there.
“Oh hey guys! Am I making you look bad being up this early?” Sephy smiled, tired from the exertion.
“Not at all!” Nika retorted. “It’s just weird seeing you exercising is all. Sure I’ve seen you up at this time before, but that’s only when you’re pulling all-nighters! Didn’t you say you had scans running and didn’t need to do anything for the moment?”
“Yeah, I was tired, but I really couldn’t sleep that well.” Sephy sighed. “Last night was a bit much. I just needed to clear my head in meat-space for a bit.”
“I’m not surprised,” Jack said as they continued jogging alongside her. “I can only imagine what you found on their system that made you want to kill Viel.”
“No, you couldn’t.” The Skritta shuddered. “Or at least I hope you can’t. Viel was marked for death for a damn good reason, and I confirmed he did everything accused of and more.”
“At least he got justice.” Jack nodded. “Or at least what passes for it here.”
“Is it better where you’re from?” Nika asked. “Catching assholes like Viel?”
“Yes and no.” Jack shrugged. “Many get caught in honey trap operations or from being reported to the authorities in some way. However, rich criminals have a bad habit of getting away with their crimes, usually by corruption in the system.”
“Huh, guess it doesn’t sound that much better where you’re from then.” Nika shrugged. “At least we still did a good job stopping his group from scamming people.”
“An okayish payday for one raid too,” Sephy pointed out. “Even though it got split with Tagrilla’s people - and we picked up some good hardware, although I want to fully format and purge all the electronics before we do anything with them.”
“I’d be worried if you didn’t,” Jack agreed, as he slowed down his pace to allow his friends to keep up with him as they passed the remains of the shuttle they had parked by the district wall. “So when do we get to go for the fabricator? And how do we even get it?”
“Tagrilla’s gonna confirm the location with us when he says there’s a window of opportunity to grab it, and he’s told us to be ready to head out on short notice, which we pretty much are,” Nika told them. “Plan is to hook the fabricators up to some cargo drones, one of which we keep for ourselves, and ride out of the complex with our fabricator.”
“Wait a second - ride out of the complex?” Jack asked, eyebrows raised. “Seriously, what? You said it’s a drone, right?”
“Cargo drones can be pretty big,” Sephy pointed out. “We’d probably need to attach ourselves with climbing rigs or something, which we have. I can plot us a course that’ll take us somewhere safe, so at least we don’t need to try and pilot the thing, just hold on.”
“How reassuring,” Jack deadpanned. “We shouldn’t take Dante for this job then, unless some of us extract a different way? I remember how scared he was when we brought the shuttle here and when we went on that joyride the other day.”
“Since we don’t have a location yet we can’t do too much preplanning, except pack the gear we’re probably going to need, but I agree.” Nika nodded. “But yeah, he might be better suited sitting this one out and standing guard here while we’re away. It’s probably going to happen sometime during the night so we’ll be traversing the streets again, but at least if Tagrilla and his crew are assisting us then we should be alright.”
“The same Tagrilla that betrayed us in the past,” Jack pointed out. “It’s something we need to do, but it’s still sketchy.”
“True,” Sephy acknowledged, before suddenly turning her head back towards the house. “You hear that? I think someone else is up?”
“Heh, getting tired already?” Nika chuckled, before she heard it too. “Alright, let’s check it out before they wake everyone up!”
Still full of energy, the three of them walked back to the living room, spotting Vanya chatting excitedly with someone on her comlink, closely observed by a curious Chiyo, before the Ilithiii noticed them and moved to intercept the trio.
Svaarti’s awake, the Ilithii told them with a relieved smile. Given the circumstances, it might be best to leave them to it. She’s mostly fine, though she’s really confused. Apparently, House Mal’Kar got attacked last night by Commander Cocaine!
“Hah!” Jack smirked. “What a chad! Glad Svaarti’s alright too!”
“That means Clan Bharzum will probably want to hold their ceremony to honour those that fought against the Klowns soon,” Nika pointed out. “There’s no way they were going to do it without her, she saved a hell of a lot of people during the attack!”
“Maybe they’ll have fixed your gauntlet, Jack?” Sephy added excitedly. “They said they were going to try and improve it too!”
It’s unlikely they’ll invite everybody to their compound at the crack of dawn on short notice, Chiyo pointed out in amusement. Probably tomorrow afternoon once they confirm with Svaarti if she’s able to make it. They’ll want to invite news reporters too - Hoduth Clans take honour seriously, but they’ll still take the opportunity to advance their reputation and interests.
“Will that be a problem?” Jack asked. “Considering we ended up on the news for our joyride the other day? Not to mention everyone that wants to kill us?”
“While we did appear in the headlines, us messing around on the motorway wasn’t the most notable thing to happen that night, so I wouldn’t be too worried. And Clan Bharzum will go overboard with security this time,” Nika pointed out. “They can’t take the chance not to, even though not many of our enemies would risk trying something at an event like that.”
“Oh no,” Sephy disagreed. “There are definitely enough crazies after us that it’s possible!”
Possible,but unlikely, Chiyo allowed. We won’t be the only ones there. House Mal’Kar and the Red Legion will bring their own formidable entourages to keep the rest in check, and several of the local groups with an interest in proceedings will also want to keep their people safe.
“So we shouldn’t need to worry about anyone coming to kill us specifically, more the attending factions trying to kill each other if someone throws a bad enough insult.” Nika grinned.
“Speaking of…” Jack segwayed. “What about Dr Grine? Any news on him?”
Nothing, Chiyo confirmed. He’s probably gone to ground now that it’s publicly known he’s worked with the Klowns. It’s easy to hide on the Ring if you really want to, even if you don’t have some power to disguise yourself.
“Wait…” Sephy pointed out. “Could Grine have been-”
No. Chiyo smiled patiently, knowing what Sephy was thinking. I don’t think it could have been Dr Grine who tricked us and sent us to Scraphaven. Whoever that was, they were highly skilled in the arcane and in trap-building, whereas Grine is a scientist and a mutant.
“He did have a mage associate…” Jack began, before a small noise from the living room alerted them that a few more people had woken up. Alora was quick to walk up to them, rubbing her eyes as Dante padded along dutifully.
I would have been able to tell if there was more than one individual, Chiyo reasoned. But though it could have been your mysterious mage, that doesn’t explain the residue left behind.
“Just as it could have been one of the numerous other psychos on the Ring.” Nika shrugged. “We can’t know for sure, but we have that grey goo to hold on to. It’s the only lead we have on whoever that was.”
“Morning Alora! Hey Dante!” Jack greeted as she reached them. “What are we getting up to today?”
“Not much. I want to keep it light and have a somewhat lazy day today.” Alora sighed. “We have stuff to sort through and we’re on call for a heist. With luck that’ll be tonight or in the early hours of the morning so we can get our fabricator set up. I was hoping today we could gather some scrap and raw materials and pile them up, maybe start going through a few of the other buildings while I’m here to supervise. They may be ancestral structures of my House, but a significant portion of it is beyond repair, and won’t serve anybody by continuing to rot. The rest at least might be preservable in some form.”
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“We’ll be respectful, Alora.” Sephy nodded, knowing how important the area was to the Eladrie. “If just the five of us go through it, we can task the others with adding to the pile from scavenge runs or sort out what we already have.”
“Thanks.” Alora nodded in agreement, before snorting in sudden amusement. “I can’t believe we’re all up this early! What’s wrong with us!”
“Doesn’t look like we’re the only ones either,” Jack noted as he saw a group of their new housemates jogging along the perimeter of the district, just like he and Nika liked to do. “I think we’ve inspired a few of them!”
Speaking of… Chiyo slyly replied. Jack, have you thought about what activity you want to run?
“Uhhh….” Jack began. He really hadn’t thought too hard about what he wanted to run for the group, originally thinking about football before Nika ‘borrowed’ the idea. He did have a few things he could try…
Suddenly, he was hit with a spark of inspiration as he saw people jogging around the district, past several piles of wood that were just laying there, giving him an idea.
“My ‘official’ activity can be tonight, but until then…” Jack grinned. “Have any of you heard of Parkour?”
*****
“So…” Jack nervously began as a bunch of alien students were all staring at him in excitement. “Parkour is the French martial art of running away, and is also sometimes known as ‘free running’, and basically focuses on getting from one point to another in the most efficient way possible, and overcoming physical obstacles in the way!”
“So that’s why you’ve made a mess of the garden!” Alora chuckled in amusement, joined by the rest of the group that were now looking at Jack’s obstacle course with a fresh perspective.
“It’s not that bad!” Jack snorted in amusement. “They all represent obstacles that you might face if you were doing it in the streets! You just need to get past them! Vault, jump and climb your way to the end of the course as quick as you can! I haven’t made it too risky or anything, and obviously I’m working with what I’ve got, but if you’re not feeling confident…”
How do we get past that!? Chiyo asked, as she pointed to several large, thick planks of wood that Jack had attached between several poles to act as an impromptu fence next to the district wall, which Jack had set up as the most difficult obstacle, though he’d be there to catch anyone that botched trying to get past it.
“How indeed?” Jack asked mischievously, giving them all a wide grin. “Part of the fun is working out how to get past an obstacle, kind of like a puzzle!”
In that case… Chiyo shrugged, simply levitating over the fence, making a show of going up and down as several of the spectating students jokingly booed.
“Technically that counts.” Jack chuckled. “But that won’t help you every time! It’s good to try and find different solutions to a problem so you can pick the best one in a given situation.”
“This something you actually did back on Earth or is it just something cool you’ve wanted to try?” Sephy asked Jack with a cheeky wink.
“Hah! A lot of us guys got into it during our lunch breaks at school,” Jack replied truthfully. “The internet loves it and it’s cool to do, so we were always competing with each other until whenever the teachers yelled at us to stop. I wasn’t the best though, there were some kids who did gymnastics so they were naturally better at it. At most I could do a few vaults and jumps but that was about it, I wasn’t going to try the flippy shit and injure myself. I just thought since a lot of people want to get their exercise in we could spice it up a bit! I have something planned for tonight when it gets dark too!”
“And you still have something planned for tonight?” Alora clarified. “Alright, well I guess we can look forward to that too! Who wants to go first?”
“I’ll give it a try!” Sephy grinned as she stepped up to the starting point, before looking curiously at the stones in front of her. “Uhh Jack, how is this an obstacle?”
“Try jumping from one to the other like skipping stones!” Jack grinned.
Sephy shrugged, then did so, effortlessly jumping from one rock to the other while using her wings to keep her balance.
“Very good!” Jack praised, “though that was just the first obstacle - you’re not going to quit, are you?”
“Hell no!” Sephy scoffed, before briefly considering the next obstacle - a low, horizontal broomstick that was raised off the ground by a few poles. Quickly leaping over it without much effort, she jogged to the next one.
“What the fuck?” the Skritta asked Jack, as she found a ladder held up horizontally in the air with enough poles that it held his weight, though he was still crossing his fingers that there wouldn’t be any botches. “How the hell did you set all this up in thirty minutes anyway?”
“Did it with the Scouts a few times,” Jack admitted. “Setting stuff like this up is pretty much second nature to me at this point.”
Sephy shrugged, jumped up high to grab onto the improvised ‘monkey bars’, then used her wings to propel herself on top of them to walk across in a move that completely took Jack by surprise before the human was quick to join the roaring applause of everyone watching.
“Jack, that one might be too harsh for the others,” the Skritta pointed out as she carefully dropped to the other side.
“Actually you were meant to use your arms to climb underneath it!” Jack pointed out to raucous laughter from everybody else.
“Thought you said I’ve gotta work this out myself?” Sephy grinned as she practised using the monkey bars as intended, clearly having fun.
“I did say that, yes…” Jack snorted, not having expected the Skritta to pay that much attention to him as she made it to several different sized barriers with gaps and space to go over and under, though the Skritta simply used her wings to use all of them as stepping stones, before rushing to the final larger one that she tried to leap, before clipping the top and tumbling to the ground, with Jack catching her in time.
“Alright.” Jack smirked. “Who’s next?”
*****
“A bit naff, but it’s a bit of fun.” Jack grinned as more and more people decided to join the queue of wannabe freerunners. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen it yet here.”
“Oh, it’s definitely a thing,” Nika pointed out. “Several species and cultures practise some form of advanced ground traversal, including the Kizun. I guess you don’t see it as much because it’s something military or security forces would train in, rather than something you do for fun. Still good practice to do, though maybe once we get the fabricator set up you can make some better obstacles.”
“Or we could find a good place outside to practise!” Sephy pointed out. “It’ll be good to be able to hang out in the city again, I should show you a few of the pieces I have around, assuming they’re still there!”
“Pieces?” Jack questioned.
“Her graffiti, it’s actually really good!” Alora confirmed. “It’s been a while since you’ve done one Sephy, what are you planning?”
“I haven’t decided yet, it’s gotta fit the location.” The Skritta shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to do a piece at Corvin Enterprises or Myrodin territory for the street cred, but honestly I might go for somewhere hit hard by one of the recent conflicts. Kinda like a tribute piece or something?”
That could be a good idea, as long as you don’t piss anyone off, Chiyo pointed out.
“Only if they deserve it.” Sephy grinned. “No Mom-and-Pop shops, but I’d do a CorvMart if I could.”
“Careful if you do!” Nika warned. “Last thing you want is for Corvin Enterprises to catch you and make you a contestant on ‘Hell Ring’ or one of their other fucked-up gameshows!”
“I know.” Sephy rolled her eyes. “I’m not suicidal! I’d just try and go for one of their billboards in the neutral districts””
“Sounds fun!” Jack grinned. “I suck at art, but I can always keep a lookout!”
“Speaking of,” Nika interrupted, turning serious. “We need to work out what we need to prepare for our heist. No idea on location, so we should have this stuff out and ready to chuck into a bag.”
“I’ll normally be taking a lot already,” Sephy pointed out. “Datataps, tag erasers, scanners, that kind of thing. But most important of all is we use burner commlinks and either wipe or destroy them afterwards. Maybe ditch another one nearby just in case we need to contact the others as part of a fallback plan.”
A little pricey, but good practice, Chiyo acknowledged. Don’t want anyone to link us to the scene. I would also say we pack emergency food and stimms just in case we’re caught in a bad spot. At least this time we can afford to be trapped for a day if the worst should happen while the battle lines shift.
“Extra bags,” Jack added, grinning at Sephy. “We kinda forgot those last time and had to improvise!”
“Heh, at least it worked out!” The Skritta grinned back. Don’t worry, we have some that can be unfurled if needed. Extra loot is always good, especially if we’re stealing from a corp!”
“That’s always true! On that note - your rigs should be on top of whatever stealth clothing you’re wearing,” Nika cautioned. “Make sure they can hold your body weight and whatever stuff you’re carrying too. You’ll all have plenty of carabiners and spare cables to attach you to our escape route, so just make sure you’re able to move and get there if we need to run!”
“So we need to prepare what we can while trying to keep the load light.” Alora sighed. “I guess we should mostly take things we can afford to leave behind in a pinch and make sure we eat well before we go there.
“Great.” Jack sighed. “Then let’s narrow down what we’ll need…”
*****
“Good evening everyone.” Jack grinned as he shined a torch right up against his face. It was evening now, and after relaxing most of the day, and having received a VIP invitation from Clan Bharzum for the next day, many of the students were now lazily sitting around the firepit they had recently added next to one of the allotments set aside for crops. The fire crackled with lowly burning embers, sending a few sparks into the dark night sky.
Jack allowed a moment to silently pass as he gave a theatrical sinister chuckle at seeing the confused faces. “A tradition from my world with people our age is telling scary stories at night, and that is what we shall be doing. Try not to get scared…” He ended with another menacing chuckle, happy to see that at least a few others around the circle looked taken by the atmosphere.
“There was once a boy who lived in a small town surrounded by thick woods, and children often dared to play by the edge of the forest. But there was one rule everyone knew: never venture too deep, especially when the fog rolled in. Legends spoke of the Slenderman, a faceless, abnormally tall man with long, tentacle-like arms, who was said to lurk in the heart of the woods, waiting for unsuspecting children.”
Several of the faces around the camp grew nervous as Jack told the story, which he simply recalled as best as he could from various creepypastas he had seen online. However, it seemed to do the trick for his captivated audience…
“One evening, after a day of playing hide and seek, the boy and his friends noticed one of them was missing. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the ground, and a thick fog began to blanket the forest. Panicked, they called out for their friend, but there was no response. Bravely, or perhaps foolishly driven by concern for their friend, they ventured into the enveloping fog. Their calls for their lost friend echoed through the trees. Hours seemed to pass as they searched, but the more they walked, the deeper the fog became, and the more disoriented they felt.
“Suddenly, the boy stumbled upon a drawing on the ground. It was a circle made of twigs with a cross in its centre, a known symbol connected to the Slenderman. Nearby, pinned to a tree, was a crudely drawn picture of a faceless figure with numerous arms. The boy's heart raced, as he knew, right at that moment, that the legends were real.”
He ended that sentence by lowering his voice into a low growl, building up the suspense.
“Panicking, they decided to head back. But as they tried to retrace their steps, they realised the path they had taken was gone, replaced by an endless, fog-covered maze. The only sound was the crunch of their footsteps and their own shaky breaths…”
“Didn’t any of them have a commlink?” Sephy asked, confused. “Just use the map setting to retrace your steps or something?”
“Rule of horror, Sephy!” Nika snorted in amusement.
“Then,” Jack continued. “A faint rustle echoed from the trees behind them. Turning around, they saw a glimpse of an impossibly tall, faceless silhouette lurking in the fog. The Slenderman. The children ran, their breaths ragged, hearts pounding in their chests. Every so often, they'd see the looming figure of Slenderman just beyond their vision, sometimes appearing ahead of them, as if he could teleport at will. Eventually, somehow, the children were able to escape the woods, and ran all the way home. Escaped…or allowed to leave?
“Their friend was never found, despite many search attempts. Eventually the boy grew up and moved away, leaving the bad memories behind. But every year, on the anniversary of their friend’s disappearance, he would find a drawing on his doorstep, no matter where he went. It was a circle made of twigs, with a cross in its centre, like an eye, always watching.
“The Slenderman never forgets…” Jack finally ended his story, enunciating his words to sound as dramatic as possible.
Once a collective sigh had escaped the mouths of everyone around them, the students gave an enthusiastic round of applause at the story, and there were even several volunteers to go next. It was a fun several hours as Jack learned about various monsters and legends that he wouldn’t have thought would be possible, until he, Alora, Sephy, Chiyo and Nika all received the same message on their commlinks.
It was time to get to work.