To my surprise, therapy turned out to be a great and relaxed affair compared to the battle of words and wit that I had expected. Since I could not lie to Namatha I spent the two hours of communicating with Namatha, using an allegorical account of the events leading up to my arrival in this world. I told her that for the entirety of my life I had been a slave, but upon finally freeing myself from my slaver I got attacked by fools and sent into the galaxy against my will. None of these were technically speaking lies, and I believe that they were sufficient to obscure the truth and still recieve the emotional healing. It initially seemed humiliating to have to reveal my innermost thoughts and the feeling of hopelessness that is plaguing me, but despite that it became clear after consulting with my NVR that the experiment had bore fruit. I recuperated 10 mental health over the course of the therapy session, and while the conditions had not been affected by it. I am confident that repeated therapy sessions would make me able to purge myself of these weaknesses and fully heal my mind.
The next six days blended together in a tiring but comforting routine. Every morning I woke up and praciticed cloaking and using the NVR until my body collapsed from the mental effort, and usually I would bleed from my nose or vomit as a side effect of the effort. However, the pain bred success and on the fifth day I could only laugh in triumph as my NVR notified me that my Insight attribute had increased to 2 along with my cloaking and basic use skills. Given time I would soon gain full mastery of the infernal contraption within me, and through it finally begin the journey to reclaim my old powers.
The early afternoon periods up to the lunch meal would involve me swallowing my pride and listen to Morgeras lecture. Despite my initial disgust at the animal I have to admit that the lessons he gave had merit. Through these lectures I got a far more comprehensive grasp of not only the galaxy, but the technology that it's citizens considered to be basic. I learned how I could send messages to the other crew members through the NVR, the nature electricity had played in making all these advanced machines and about theories such as evolution and gravity. These snippets of knowledge I decided would be excellent if intermarried with my magic.
The lunch that Captain Torran would serve afterwards turned out to be consistently enjoyable and while the inane socialization that took place during these was not to my liking, I could ignore them and that made these meals far more tolerable. Afterwards I would have a quick therapy session with Namatha and then spend the evening either wandering the ship or practicing even more with the NVR or other skills. I dared not even touch my magic while on the ship, it became quickly clear to me that Mara watched my every move and action. Risking to reveal even more about magic to here besides the tiny gobbets of knowledge I allowed her to learn, was simply out of the question for me.
The Nights were spent fending of the inquisitive eldritch abomination that had become my Patron. I presented Mara with carefully pondered lectures that would only give her tiny inklings of knowledge about magical theory, while not actually being overly helpful to her if she seeked to rapidly expand her power. The only thing I can hope is that these lessons keeps her satisfied and makes her hold back from experimenting on her own, juggling all these other tasks while manipulating a fledgling deity turned out to be more difficult than I had expected.
I wake up on my seventh day on the ship and with the wakefulness I just feel that today will be different. I can feel an increased tension flow through the ships emotional resonance and while it is only conjecture for me at the moment. It is obvious to me that back in my glory days I would have been able to tastethe auras of the people here ripe with dread and battlelust. Fantasies about my old self are irrelevant here, so I shake of the nostalgic yearnings and roll out of bed.
No Schedule Today, ration packs rather than meals. Myself and the Captain are overseeing new intelligence regarding the target, we are to exit no-space in 7 hours. Spend the time preparing and or relaxing, plz don't overextend or I will flay you....just kidding ;). PS: Glyphnax please check if you are properly equipped for the mission.
I blink the notification away and sigh, since we are to raid a fellow starship today it would be unwise for me to expend unnecessary energy. The notion of relaxing, however, is a foolish one and if anyone else on the ship seriously contemplates it then they are contemptable. Relaxation before a mission or a great task are for High Elves, lazy Goblins and useless lordlings of all species. Fortune favors the prepared as they wrest control away from the fickle mood of destiny and make their own reality.
The upcoming task leaves me few ways to prepare in my current state, but after spending a minute or two pacing in my quarters I arrive at the only logical options. Firstly, I should go through my spells again and see which out of the ones I am unfamiliar with would be useful. Besides that the only other option is to secure myself a proper weapon to use during the boarding process. Thankfully, I have something in mind for that last task but first things first I focus my mind to open up my NVR Grimoire. This time I use a trick that I learned over the last few days to only focus on the spell section of the Grimoire.
Spells
Eldritch Servant(1):
Summons a minor Eldritch spawn for 1 hour based on your patron. Either in a corporeal or in an ephemeral form, the eldritch spawn is incapable of being an effective combatant, but can serve as a laborer or assistant.
Grasping Hands(1):
Conjures various grasping limbs through a stable surface like a floor or walls. The limbs strength are based on the caster's magical attributes. The limbs are primarily meant to impede targets, not to kill them.
Lesser Dominate(1):
A spell meant to dominate living creatures and bring them to heel, sapient beings and magical creatures usually have too much willpower to be affected by this spell for long. This spell lasts 10 minutes per level in the control attribute and is immediately broken if the caster makes it's thrall do something suicidal.
Sublimate Tool(1):
Sublimates manmade items no larger than an average saw. The sublimated tool does not return to a solid state unless magically compelled to by another spell. Magical items are not eligble for this spell.
Lesser Absorption(1):
This spell makes the caster capable of absorbing and converting energy they come into contact with into mana. This spell is not capable of absorbing more than a minor amount of energy at a time. This spell lasts for 30 minutes.
Transform Hand(1):
This spell allows the caster to transform one of their hands in whatever way they imagine with a few limitations. The hand must still essentially be an organic hand, so it cannot be fully transformed into stone or other non organic materials. This spell lasts for 1 hour.
Lesser Limitbreak(1):
Lesser Limitbreak allows the caster to add a number of manapoints equal to their standinglevel to two attributes of their choice. This spell lasts for 15 minutes and only one instance of the spell can be active at a time.
Jam Technology(1)
Patron Spell
Use magic to interfere with a manmade device and halt it's effectiveness or completely shut it down. The larger the device is the briefer the effect will be, NVR nanites are immune to this spell due to being too smal to be individually targeted. This spell until the device has been fixed or re-started.
I can't help but smile as I see that with the spells there is now information, which I could either not have accessed with my pitiful Insight attribute or that only appears when the individual section is read. Either way the information is not perfectly detailed, but it clarifies things even with the spells that I knew previously. Lesser Limitbreak and Jam Technology were spells I had never encountered before, so it pleased me to learn more about them. Lesser Limitbreak especially seems useful, as that spell would grow exponentially more powerful as my standing in the system increases. Jam Technology would also be a powerful weapon in a world where power seemed tied to manmade devices.
The other spells which I all had known before my fall were slightly altered in some ways, but in general they functioned as I remembered they had. It would be fascinating to experiment with them, but sadly I dared not even do it in my dreamscape while I am on this ship. Proper Warlocks rely far more on subtlety and cunning useage of magic rather than the brute force spells favored by Sorcerers and Wizards, so it did not sadden me that none of my direct attack powers had survived the transition. I would relearn such petty tricks soon enough and beyond that I had a new weapon in mind to make up for my lack of brute magical force.
I dismiss the grimoire page as my deliberations about spells were no longer needed and I turn my attention to my next objective. Specifically, I look over at the two stun sticks that I had taken and used for my first murder in this universe. There is an ancient power in such act and those two stun devices would undoubtedly be coated in the resonance of it, a properly qualified enchanter with the right items could truly make something special out of something so rare. Sadly, my enchanting capabilities are somewhat limited at the moment. However, those would return to me in time and these objects could still be enhanced temporarily as I knew the closest to an enchanter this world have to offer.
I grasp both stun sticks and walk from my room and down the only staircase that I had not yet wandered down in the commonroom. The one which goes down to the workshop of Tlokbur on the lower tier, I would need her skills if these items were to be turned into a more fitting weapon for one such as I. Tlokburs working area greeted me with a cacophany of clanging, banging, and sounds of concentrated fire filling the entire space. The transition was so sudden that it was almost like stepping through a magical portal, the moment I lef the staircase the various sounds hit me like a fireball spell. Tlokbur herself stood by a long bench near several racks of strange tools, and around here there were several metallic automata milling about that must have been her assistants.
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My knees buckled at the concentrated sound and I almost fell as I bent over to cover my ears. The pain quickly subsided and the sound stopped as Tlokbur noticed my arrival and ended her tinkering. She slapped two tentacles together in an approximation of a clap and said, "Build Squad! Take a break please." Tlokbur then stepped towards me and asked with a cheerful tone, "Soooooo Glyphie, what can mama Tlokbur do for ya today? Or are you just hear to grace me with your company. Either or aum happy to see you down here in my domain."
I tried to smile through the headache I started to develop and extended my hands with one stun stick in each. "We are likely to face battle this day and I need a proper weapon if I am to join you all. I dislike having weapons like that and need something more akin to a long staff or a spear fashioned out of these." Tlokbur took the two items without hesitation and seemed to examine them carefully as she brought them closer to her massive bulk. "Ahhh these are pretty standard stun sticks to be honest, I could make you something better than these in the time we have." I lift up my hand to make it clear that I want it to be these specific sticks. "Buuuuuuut, I can still make these into a wicked staff before the time comes. Hopefully, you are better with a staff than you are with a bow." She says the last one with what my NVR translates to a laugh and gently bops my shoulder with a tentacle.
I grimace and ignore the insulting comment and only bow my head respectfully. "I give you my thanks Miss Tlokbur, your help is appreciate," Tlokbur stops me with a tentacle that she moves up in front of my face. "No Miss Tlokbur here Glyphie, Mama Tlokbur or Tlokbur the Princess of All things Mechanical for sure. Engineer Truefang if aum mad at ya and Tlokbur works in general. Titles do not interest me unless they are to my liking and we are friends so you should not feel you need to address me like that over simple favors." She then shoos me with all her remaining tentacles and says "I need to be in my quiet space for my work, I will hand ye your weapon at the briefing meeting later."
It takes me all my carefully cultivated self-control and my mastery of my emotions to not unleash all my anger at Tlokbur in that moment. Instead of attacking her I just gracefully turn and leave the area while stewing in anger. How dares that child lecture me about social interactions, I have seen Empires be born and other Empires fall and that overgrown plant thinks to embarass me like that. A tiny voice in the back of mind interjects that she might have just tried to give me a friendly rebuke, but I ignore that voice. Clearly, it must come as a byproduct of the mental damage I have taken since coming to this world. Spite serves me far more than silly little voices in my mind.
I leave the workshop that somehow is louder than Hobgoblin Warforges behind along with the Commonroom as I retreat to my own quarters. Upon entering my quarters I spend the a few hours carefully practicing meditation along with the Cloaking skill, I strive to not overly tire myself this time as I test the limits of my skill. I also work on cloaking while opening different sections of my NVR at the same time, as this seems to make it even harder to maintain the cloaking of my "signals."
Hunger rather than tiredness drives me from my practice this time, as I walk down to the eating area to grab ration packs from the so called "Refigrator Unit". Truly that device is even more impressive than preservation spells and based on questions I had subtey given my crewmates, it seemed to be a rather robust device as well. A petty merchant could make a fortune selling such devices to innkeepers, cooks and similar people back in my own world. Such ambitions are beneath me, however, so the financial side of this was only given a seconds consideration before I dismissed it.
I had hoped to eat the ration pack in peace but before that wish could be fulfilled, Mary stepped down the staircase to join me in the eating area. The human female gives me the languid smile I have come to expect from this predator. "Well hello there Glyphie, fancy meeting you here on the eve of battle...figuratively speaking I mean." Mary slips into a chair opposite me and casually upnods me. "Mara says that based on her reading for your sheet, you are actually more handy in a fight than one would expect. Well I hope that is true as I expect that you will accompany me on the boarding team rather than staying back here on the ship."
Her half-question causes me to groan internally and I can't help it but rub my forehead for a second. What is it with warriors, and wizards for that matter, and posturing and overemphasising crude things like personal combat skills. I sigh and focus on answering rather than raging at stupid warriors and magical duelists in my head. "I am efficient in a fight, no more and no less than that. Despite my people's reputation I was not raised to be warrior, personal combat training is just an ancillary aspect of my education." My eyes widen at the mistake I just made and before the predator could dig deeper into the wound, I attempt to redirect her attention to something else.
"So who else will join us in the boarding of the ship?" I ask while attempting to smoothe things over by innocently smiling at her. Mary watches me intently for a few seconds, before she says. "Well that is still undecided I think, I ain't in the briefing meeting. Namatha and Torran are the tacticians here, I just break kneecaps and shoot idiots who get in our way." Mary shrugs at that and gets up to retrieve a ration pack as well. I focus on rapidly consuming the remnants of my own meal, so that I can get up before Mary returns to the table. I mumble a quick phrase before I briskly walk out of the room and back up the stairs. All the while I scream internally at my own stupidity at slipping in such a crude manner while talking to her. My thoughts are in the dark until I reach the top of the stairs and force myself to put that issue aside. I focus on keeping my thoughts centered and avoiding the rest of the crew until finally the NVR summons for the briefing meeting comes to me.
Once again the gathering is in the commonroom, but this time with a far more serious air than the last time we had a meeting here. Everyone has taken a place at the end of the circle surrounding the projector device that was used last time. Captain Torran and Namatha stand in front of the device and I rapidly find a seat next to Morgera's golem body on one of the couches. Tlokbur is the last one to join the meeting as she is rapidly bounding up the stairs from her domain and carries what I presume must be my staff wrapped in some kind of cloth. She inclines her black ribboned venus flytrap mouth at me before she plomps down on the floor.
"Now, that we are all here the briefing will begin. We don't have a lot of time available to us and we need to get everything ironed out before our target is here." Torran says with a far more commanding tone than usual as he claps his hands, and a sleak, shiny, and sharp-looking starship appears in the air behind him. Namatha gestures at the ship and says, "This is the enemy vessel. It is a duchy-class lunar star-fighter. A good ship for sure, but far beneath our own Incredulous by comparison. It is equipped with a single particle cannon along with hull-piercer torpedos and a blaster turret. As you can see their ship is far smaller than ours and is more focused on speed than comfort or armaments." Namatha gives Tlokbur a smile when she mentions the Incredulous and stops her lecture as Captain Pierce enters the explanation.
"The initial stage is simple, we will ambush them as they near the legal n-space entering point. This sector is not exactly renowned for it's security forces, but we will still have to act quickly. Mary and Namatha will be overseeing the armament strike, which is meant to only disable their ship as we need to board it. When the ship's engines and weapons have been disabled, Mary will leave the turret and join Glyphie and Tlokbur to lead the boarding assault team." The image of the starship vanishes and is replaced by individual images of the entire crew, with myself included in the collection. My own image along with Tlokbur's and Mary's are currently highlighted with some kind of blue glow to them.
"The infiltration is meant to accomplish three things. Firstly, to disable the entire enemy crew either permanently or in some other fashion that leaves them unable to warn Shieldmaiden. Secondly, to help retrieve the ID-codes of the ship as well as other useful information we might need. Thirdly, to scavenge materials we might need as the boarding assault team retreats from the ship. Remember, this mercenary group is about equal to our entire crew in number and they are trained fighters. You will be disadvantaged when working there, but we have decided that it is not viable to send all of us in there." Namatha takes over after Torran explains the goal of the assault.
"I myself will remain in control of the armaments during this time, Torran and Morgera will leave the cockpit area and the medbay to be on stand by while the assault team works, they are still needed here in case the ship comes under attack or there is damage to repair. Normally, this would be Tlokbur's responsibility, but seeing as Mara's Cracking Protocols are not perfected yet we cannot leave things to chance when it comes to extracting the ID-Codes. Lastly Mara will be attempting to aid the assault team by using her Cracking Protocols, while she also is in charge of the ship's autopilot." As the explanation moves on each crew member that is in focus has their picture highlighted by the blue glow while the others fade back to a normal grey.
"When the assault team is done we are going to N-Space strand their ship and then we ourselves will leave, hopefully before the system security forces have managed to reach us." Torran finishes the explanation and claps twice to end the projection. He surveys the group and says with a slightly less tense voice, "Are there any questions from you guys?" Mary replies rapidly but without losing her relaxed tone, "Do you prefer lethal or non-lethal in this case?" Torran seems to consider that for a few seconds and hmmms before stating. "I am not in the habit of encouraging y'all to murder people, but do keep in mind that these guys are massive corporate tools and most likely horrible douchebags. So, I won't shed any tears if you kill some or even all of them, but it is at the end of the day up to your distrection. I trust you three to do what is best for not only your own conscience but also for the team."
After Mary's question he glances to each of us to see if I or any of the others have any questions. I only deign to give him a determined nod in response, as I still can't stop the embarassment I feel when asking for information from a mere human. Everybody else in the crew seems to be happy with the information given to them and Torran then smiles to us all. "This is going to be fine, just keep your focus and it will work out for us all." Before he can say anything else Mara's voice can be heard through the ship. "Announcement: The Incredulous is now leaving N-Space." And with that announcement all the time for preparation had come to an end.