04 - Yositari
“Say the words, Tender.”
“Shit. There goes our salvage.”
Maya chuckled and looked at the large tank that had been behind a false bulkhead. “Well, it’s not Ellen Ripley, more a… I don’t know what it is”
Tender ambled up to the tank and hooked up the diagnostic scanner to the tank. The module was a hand held device they had taken from Shen’s ship. The Necro wasn’t an [Engineer] so a lot of the devices on his ship were simple and direct. That made it easier for Maya to co-opt the tech and discover their abilities.
Maya often wondered who had built most to the stuff Shen had been using. She knew the Necro wasn’t the brightest bulb in the multiverse, even if he had been a Tier 2 being. He claimed there had been others he had traveled with, his boon companions that eventually ‘failed’ him. Which Maya figured was code for him turning insane and then tearing his pals apart to remake them into eternally suffering mockeries of their former selves.
She didn’t regret killing the jerk, but she wished he had left behind logs or a diary to tell more of his story. A lot of her information was conjecture and assumptions. The real Shen was a mystery; one she had no desire to unlock, but the Story of Shen was another matter. She needed to know what he had seen, what he had witnessed, and how many others were out there in the dimensional plane; trapped, alone, and slowly dying of starvation.
“One problem at a time,” Maya muttered to herself. It was enough she already had to deal with Veskari, now there was this other creature in a large tube; not to mention all the problems she was already having here on the dimensional plane, the plans she had made, the objectives she had planned to accomplish. “If you wanna hear god laugh, tell her your plans.” Pops’ motto, of sorts.
“Looks like an emergency stasis pod,” Tender announced. Maya walked over and looked at the readout from the computer. “Officers were given stasis pods to fall back into if they were ever stranded or the ship went derelict.”
“Only the officers?” Maya wondered.
“Most likely. High leveled and high Tiered SIL are valuable in any society.”
“Right.”
Maya peered into the tube and gave Tender a look of confusion. “If I’m mistaken, this little guy doesn’t look anything like Nan.”
Inside of the cylindrical tank was a figure. The Nerigana were a short demonic looking people with horns, but the figure inside of the tank was even smaller and slighter. Maya guessed it was about four feet tall and more reptilian than Nan was. The figure reminded Maya of a commercial mascot for an insurance company with a hint of velociraptor; before people began claiming they were covered in feathers and no bigger than dogs.
The figure was naked, the head was large, the body slim, with thin arms that ended in webbed fingers, the knees were inverted, and it had a long tail that was curled around its torso. The coloring was bright, almost neon purple on it’s back moving into teals and greens throughout the body.
“I’m not one for reptiles, creepy little buggers, but this one’s pretty cute,” Maya said. “What is it? A baby Nan?”
-THAT IS YOSITARI. PLEASE, HELP HER.-
“Dude, chill out with the yelling, okay? I can hear you fine, just tone it down a bit.”
-Sorry.-
“Better.”
“I believe it is an entirely different species than the Nerigana,” Tender said.
“Weird. I haven’t seen any of their skeletons on the ship. Did it come later? An Unstable Survivor like me? Or was it apart of the crew?”
-Yositari was a Class Two Lifeform in the Nerigana Consortium. She was the only survivor of this ship. Please, help her. -
“Sole survivor? Honestly, how was I able to obtain salvage rights if there were still crew on board?”
-Class Two Lifeforms are not classified as SIL. They are not given the same rights or status. They are slaves.-
“Well, then. Fuck the Consortium up it’s authoritarian butthole,” Maya growled and repeated the conversation to Tender.
“Ah, Class Two have it rough in any sovereign polity.”
“Yeah, don’t tease me, Tender. Just tell me what a Class Two is already.”
“Uplifted species,” Tender said. “On any living world there are varying levels of sentience and sapience that evolve naturally. But with the introduction of mana and its effects upon all life, some of those higher leveled sapient and sentience creatures rapidly evolve into full intelligent species, with levels, skills, and abilities.”
“So SIL?”
“Not entirely,” Tender said.
-Class Two Lifeforms are a SIL Addition to the System. Billions of nations have all decided that they do not like sharing a planet with newly risen species, so they had the system classify them as Class Two Lifeforms. They are still SIL, but they aren’t as you are. They are not seen as true individuals by any nation.- Veskari’s voice dripped with anger and rage. He was not a fan of the classification.
“Damn it. The System and I are going to have to have a little chat,” Maya growled. “Just because they gained sentience and sapience via mana, they’re not considered to be full SIL?”
“Yes. They are viewed in the same vein as artificial intelligences and thereby can be sold, traded, or used as their owner wishes.”
“That’s disgusting.” Maya clenched her hands and took a deep breath.
-Please, revive Yositari and see to her safety. I don’t care about myself, but save her. Please. -
Quest: Save Yositari
- The Class Two Lifeform, Yositari, has been trapped in a stasis pod for twenty thousand USY. Revive and ensure her survival.
- Rewards - EXP
Maya immediately accepted the quest. “I can multitask,” Maya said. “We’ll get you both outta here.”
-Thank you-
Maya turned to the tank and tapped on the glass. “What’s powering this tube?”
“Crafted mana batteries,” Tender said. “Long lasting and highly durable. Only the best for the officers.”
“I like that tone of dismissal you’re cultivating there, Tender.“ Maya slapped Tender on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. “Now, buddy. How long does this fella got in that there tank, because with our luck, it’ll be hours.”
“Two days, seven hours.” Tender replied.
“Of course.” Maya grinned.
***
Maya decided to loot while thinking on what to do with the critter in the tube and what Veskari had told them.
It seemed the ship had entered the dimensional instability as they had planned and everyone promptly died. Veskari managed to set the ship down and after that was done, realized that only a singular crew member of the ship had survived the instability.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The slave Yositari.
Another fact Maya learned was that if the named ended in -ari, it usually meant they were property. Tari for class two lifeforms and -kari for Teir 2 golems. AIs got -seto if they were ship AIs. The Nerigana sure liked to keep things organized. San-Huvano literally meant Property of Huvano, aka, the captain.
Veskari explained that Captain Huvano had brought along his personal golem to oversee the ship. It was the right of any Tier 2 SIL on a ship to have an artificial servant that was completely and utterly loyal to them, a bit like a rich guy buying the most overpriced sports car they could, but in this case it was status symbol and also a practical thing. The paranoia of the high leveled was not a thing to be taken lightly.
That made Maya wonder where the shady doctor’s personal golem was. There were still dozens of unexplored quarters and a few of them were the suites given to the higher ranking officers in the ship. She really needed to get on looting the entire ship, especially if those quarters held as much loot as the bridge did.
Maya shook her head to get rid of the tiny greedy monster that was gnawing for more loot. She looked back at the orb she had replaced upon the shrine. She couldn’t take Veskari’s constant worry over Yositari’s condition. It seemed the golem had some small measure of control in its shrine, which was as connection port.
They just added power from a mana battery they had been lugging around and the golem core got to work.
As Veskari and Yositari weren’t considered fully SIL and not apart of the crew, properly, they could not claim rights to the ship. They could not make changes and they could not override the locks that had slammed down the moment Huvano had died. It had been more luck that Veskari had set the ship down in the first place.
As Maya looked around the bridge, she noted the difference between the bodies of the Nerigana officers and the bodies of the Tari slaves. It seemed Yosi had moved her dead compatriots into a side room and laid them to rest among their worldly goods. Now, Maya was all about looting, but she left those little dinosaur bones alone. She didn’t show the same respect for the rest of the officers on the bridge.
She rooted through the remains of the dead like she was being paid to do so. Respect for the dead had faded once she learned slavery was a thing among the multiverse.
The hopes of gaining something from willing the bones into her Inventory had been dashed. She had hoped it would be similar to how she had taken the bodies in the pub and they had released experience and credits to her. The bones didn’t offer up anything, nor were there any questionable Abilities forced on her for taking them. It seemed once they were just bones or too old, the System didn’t judge.
It was what lay under the bones that had gotten her attention. The first officer, Telmorva Gubvano, didn’t have much on themselves, besides a flashy jumpsuit. But as Maya shook out the cloth, she saw a familiar bag tumble to the deck.
It was a dimensional bag and it held wealth. Perfectly preserved wealth and… food. Maya was shocked to feel a still warm tart she pulled from the bag. She sniffed it and it didn’t smell very good.
“How?” she asked.
“I would not eat that, it’s poisonous.” Tender replied.
“I need to get this Evaluation up.”
Gin’s Excellent Dimensional Bag - Mid grade, Tier 2
40 slots, 50 kilos per slot
“Your Dimensional Inventory would work far better. You can keep hot and cold food in there until the day you eventually die and it will still be hot or cold.”
“Awesome.” Maya dug around in the bag and stopped. “Wait, if this guy had a dimensional bag, they must have all been carrying.” She grinned and Tender perked up a bit.
***
“Cripes, Tender. How much wealth does one SIL need?” Maya draped herself in a long chain of iridescent metal and slightly glowing jewels.
Necklace of Protection - mid grade, Tier 1
Creates a mana shield to protect from one high velocity kinetic attack. Recharges every 2 hours
.
“I wouldn’t stack so many enchantments upon yourself, boss,” Tender said.
“Why?”
“Resonance. Too many enchantments together will cause the mana in the local area to warp and create a resonance feedback loop that will destroy the enchantments and usually the wielder.”
“Oh, shit.” Maya muttered and tossed off the rings and necklaces she had draped herself with. “It’ll be fine if they’re in a dimensional bag, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Awesome.” Maya grinned and slapped down five different bags. “Choose one, Tender.”
He randomly selected a bag.
“You sure?”
“You said choose one. There were no stipulations given on how to choose,” he replied.
“Well, choose one that you want to keep as your own personal dimensional bag,” Maya clarified.
“I do not need-“
“This isn’t about need, Tender. This is about splitting up the spoils. This is about being fair. This is about us being partners.”
“Partners?”
“Yeah, bud. You’re my Coo, Red.”
“I think that’s COO.”
“Coo or COO. You’re still it and you deserve some of the spoils. I’m not even paying you, buddy. I need to fix that.”
“But you need-“
“There you go again. So selfless. I understand your minimalistic needs for comfort and that you haven’t come into a style of your own, but take a bag and own something. Having something to lose makes life all that much better.”
“Having something to lose? How does that make life better?”
“Having nothing to lose means you have nothing to lose, but having something to lose makes every decision you make more meaningful. Because you’re putting that thing you have on the line.”
“But I already have something to lose, boss.”
“What’s that?”
“You.”
“Hot damn, when did you install a silver tongue?” Maya grinned and slapped him on the back. “Pick a bag, Tender. Own something. Cherish something that doesn’t make any kind of sense logically.”
“Okay, boss. I’ll take the red one.”
“Matches your eyes.”
The red dimensional bag was a chest strapped version that was used under clothing. Like the bag she had gotten off the battle bear so long ago, this one was a higher grade and make, so it had lasted well over twenty thousand years.
***
[Looter of the Dead] level 2
Maya grunted at the message. She had seen the same message before, long ago. She didn’t remember if it were in the pub or the Hangy when she had originally leveled her [Looter of the Dead] ability.
When she had defeated Shen, the Necro, she had seared herself with destructive essence mana; Maya had been stripped of all her levels and the experience she had gained. It wasn’t too bad, she reflected. She hadn’t been some high leveled powerhouse, instead she had been only level 11. The searing had also reset all of her Abilities. She still had the abilities, but she had to re-level them. In truth, it wasn’t too bad either.
She had trouble with finding the right tools when building things, but that was because her Tools was only level 1. The ability had only given her a hint of which tool was the right one for the job, although Tender claimed that at high levels she would be able to conjure actual tools to do a job. But that was a dream, as that required mana channels.
The biggest kick to her growth, Maya mused, was that she could not channel mana in the normal way an Integrated SIL could. Sure, she could technically channel essence mana, the greatest and most powerful form of channeling, but her body was weak and fragile. She would have to gain a hundred levels before even trying to play around with channeling essence mana. In a normal world, she would have access to the mana channels in her body, being able to make herself stronger, smarter, and create magic, but those had been destroyed by her own essence mana abilities.
That left Maya in a unique position. She had been upgraded to Tier 2 by the System, in return to becoming a Point of Contact to the rainbow sky hellscape. Yet, due to Searing herself; she had burned up even that little bit of mana channels she had left. Low leveled, high Tiered, but with no way to use the mana in the world, it was like a joke. She was considered powerful, but she was in actuality very weak.
The only way to increase her levels was through combat. The destruction of enemies dropped experience points. If she had mana channels she could have devoted herself to what she was currently doing, building and salvaging, and that itself would have raised her levels. Channeling mana and doing things is how a normal person would gain levels. It was the whole reason there were crafters and non-combat SIL.
Maya hated fighting. She had survived by the skin of her teeth on far too many occasions. She had been stabbed, concussed, lost an eye, lost a hand, tortured, and nearly killed so many times.
Her father, Pops Sullivan, used to say “a person’s character is revealed through combat”. Maya didn’t entirely agree with that statement, but her father’s words had once been the gospel upon which her life had been shaped around. It had been his words that had helped her in the first days when she arrived in the rainbow sky hellscape.
But these days she found herself relying on his words less and less. Perhaps she was growing up, perhaps she didn’t need them, perhaps she was already forgetting what his voice sounded like and what his words were supposed to mean. Maya didn’t know.
She realized she didn’t know a lot.
Every day brought up something new and strange. Veskari and Yositari were just another addition to the strangeness of the world.
Maya looked down at the bone she had been looting and turned the red coin over in her hand. She had seen the coins in the bodies of the Nerigana crew and had never fully found out what they were for. This coin had a closed fist and the scowling demon visage on the faces.
Not from decency or respect did Maya will the bones into her Inventory. Digging through bones, even the bones of slave owning assholes, still creeped her out. She literally lived in a ship full of dead people and she hadn’t gotten used to it. Every day she would see a random pile of bones where a crew member had died. Every time she had been rushing to get somewhere else and had never bothered to collect or inter the remains.
She didn’t feel guilt about it anymore, but she knew that she would have to collect them all eventually. She had made a promise so long ago to treat the dead with more respect. After all, this whole plane was filled with the dead.
Maya looked up from her morose thoughts and watched as Tender busied himself with trying to attached his new dimensional bag upon his body.
She chuckled and continued looting.