CHAPTER 4 DEPUTY

My first goal was to reach level 2 in the Sheriff profession to get an NPC companion. The progress bar was already a quarter the way full from my helping Marie Valentine. One of the available quests was ‘subdue the local gang’. I thought that would be a great place to start. I walked outside in my full sheriff outfit, cowboy hat and all and utilized my streetwise skill. Walking from the garment retailer to the local inn to the local bar I talked with numerous NPCs learning what I could. I also want to note that I was the only person in this town who was wearing a cowboy hat and after the first day of questioning people I noticed a few pop up here and there. I was a fashion setter!

I learned the ‘local gang’ was the Bonner Family. This family consisted of a father, 3 sons and a daughter. They provided ‘protection’ from the local wildlife in getting ranchers and farmers goods to the cargo shuttle and manufacturing facilities. About four months ago a farmer refused to hire these men and the truck and farm hand driving disappeared. Also some local farmers who did not deal with the Bonner’s had run ins with the local wildlife and sometimes died. The Valentine Family was one such family. A side quest appeared for me when I learned this bit of information, New Mission Available: Sherlock Holmes, find evidence that the Bonner family killed the Marie Valentine’s parents, reward: 500 experience, improved relationship with Marie Valentine, profession of detective unlocked. I accepted immediately. It was obvious these thugs needed to be taken care of. My streetwise skill also allowed me to learn the location of their residence, a two story house 7 miles outside of town. Two of the brothers, Wade and Russ, typically drank at the local bar once a week and then sought companionship at the brothel. The family owned three hover cycles and a cargo truck. The father, Bart, ran the family protection business. The eldest son, Carl, acted as the front man and did most of the purchases in town. The daughter, Ellie, was rarely seen in town.

I decided on my path of action. Since I was still 66 days away from gaining my drive hover skill I decided I would hoof it out to their house and recon the property. The next morning I collected my gear and headed out the back door. The holo-display provided a great map to follow and the destination and major roads were clearly marked. I also had the survival and recon skills. During my hike I encountered some of this fearful wildlife. A rabbit was chewing on some grass 30 feet down the game trail I was on. It was large for a rabbit, about a 18 inches at the shoulder. I figured the creature would hop away as I approached. When I got within 10 feet of the furball it turned to face me startled. It was a rabbit only in it bodies shape, the face was flat and sported sharp fangs. Its mouth was face was covered in blood. The ‘grass’ it was munching on was actually a modest sized lizard. After we both got over our shock the fanged beast was the first to react jumping straight toward my face. I threw up my arm to block the attack and tried pulled my gun with my other hand.

You have taken 7 points of damage! flashed in display. With the rabbit firmly in locked onto my forearm I pointed my colt into it floppy ear and pulled the trigger, headshot double damage! You have done 22 points of damage to Fanged Lapin. You have made your first kill! Total experience gained 55. I still had to pry the beasts jaws open to get it off my arm. My adrenaline was still pumping as a sat down and began wrapping the wound which had 12 marks almost to the bone. Even with this damage and some pain the arm still functioned normally. I knew ‘how to’ skin this beast from my skills but thought better of wasting my time. I was still over 5 miles away from the Bonner house. Athena then chirped in the helpful news if I had not approached the fanged lapins fresh kill it would have probably left me alone. I let her knew that informing me of such information before I do something stupid would be helpful in the future.

The rest of the trip allowed me to see some dog sized lizards and another lupin but they all headed away from me. Some vulture like birds could be seen through the upper foliage flying about but also did not bother me. I began to wish I had little more firepower just incase.

The orange sun was about zenith when I had finished circling around to the back of the house that was owned by the Bonners. It was a single story dwelling about 20 meters long with an obvious basement from the raised first floor. Six windows dotted the back of the house and a single door. A partially dismantled cargo truck centered the backyard, looking long since dead. All foliage was cleared out to 100 feet from the house. Right now I squatted in the brush around 250 yards away. I went prone and pulled out my binoculars. They were electronic and had up to a 50x zoom. I also munched on some horrid rations and drank some warm water. The only movement I noticed was in the far left window. A figure, obviously a woman, seemed to be doing laundry inside. After 20 minutes she came outside and started to hang wet clothes on a clothesline I didn't notice earlier. She looked to be in her late teens and sported a black eye and massive bruise on her bicep. Her clothes looked well worn and her long black hair hung to her mid-back. With the zoom I could see a vacant look in her blue eyes. After she completed hanging the laundry she returned back inside.

After an hour of waiting I heard the rumble of a truck and hover cycle come zipping down the road in front of the dwelling. I decided to move around to side of the structure for a better view of the front. After making a slow swing around I could easily see a beat up hover cycle and a newer looking cargo truck through the binoculars. Athena chimed in, The serial number on the hood of that vehicle matches your truck.

“What?” I asked in confusion, “I don’t own a truck.”

You currently own two trucks. One is in transit from Wellington City and the other was on your property. She emphasized the last bit. The Valentine farm! These bastards had robbed me! They probably figured out no one was working the farm and just moved in to take it. An older man came out of the house and grabbed a bag out of the truck before heading back inside.

So far I had not seen any weapons and wondered if I should just walk up and claim my property. Be the bold sheriff who fears no one! Well my mamma didn't raise no fool. Even though I knew I would respawn I was not about to risk my VR life with odds of 3 to 1 against. On my stomach I moved slightly further toward the front to have a view of the front door and 4 windows. I could see movement but I was almost 400 yards away and the glare on the glass made it difficult to discern anything. After another hour the glare subsided and I could see the older man drinking in a lounge chair and watching some holo vid. The back of head was seated on a body length couch. The young woman was nowhere to be seen. Athena let me know I had 5 hours of daylight remaining and getting caught out in the night would be a bad idea. I suddenly had a nightmare flash of lupins flying at me from all directions in the dark.

Decision time. My life points had completely recovered from the nasty rabbit incident so that was not a factor. If I approached and was killed the NPCs would not have memory of the incident but their level of distrust increase toward me. Frankly they already stole my truck how much could they like me anyway? Why not steal it back? Seems like a good idea. Just hope in and drive away before anyone is the wiser. I swung further around and put the vehicle between me and the house and moved in.

I was about 10 meters away from the truck when a black pole in the ground flashed a yellow bulb. I stopped wondering what had just happened. I assumed it was some kind of motion sensor but could it be a landmine? Or worse some automated security? The front door opened lazily and a young man walked around the truck holding a shotgun. His eyes popped out when he saw me and not some local critter. “In the name of the law hold it right there!” Yes that lame statement spewed from my mouth. And rather than pull my own gun I just kept thinking of something better I should have said.

My opponent raised his gun and I forced my legs to responds jumping behind the truck for cover. A slug slammed into the vehicle’s thin side and a puff of smoke rose a few meters behind where I was standing. On my side I pulled my gun. All I could see were from his knee down. I unloaded three quick rounds at the target. You have done have done 28 damage Carl Bonner. He is crippled and at half move. He had dropped his gun and was holding his bloody legs.

I could hear the front door fling open with a loud bang and some quick steps. Carl was screaming in pain and distracting my focus. I heard him blurt out, “The fucking sheriff is behind the truck.” Time to move. I got to my feet and circled trying to listen for the old man’s movement. But this guy moved quietly and the screaming made it hard to hear. I didn't want to circle all the way around and have my back to the house as I knew there was one more Bonner inside. I started to back up for the tree line scanning both ends of the truck waiting for him to appear. The old man rushed wide of the vehicle with a rifle aimed at me. His aim was dead on. A round hit me in the naval and I was pushed back a bit by the impact, You have taken 17 damage! Oh shit that hurt! I was only 10 meters away from this criminal. Once Carl was back in the fight I would be a goner. I aimed my pistol and pulled three rounds off aiming for his unprotected head. One round put a hole in the window on my stolen truck. Luckily the other two rounds connected, one in his cheek and the other in his forehead. Critical hit, you have done 59 points of damage to Bart Bonner. You have killed Bart Bonner! 250 experience gained.

There was no rest however. As soon as Bart’s body hit the ground Carl limped around the vehicle and fired his shotgun at me for the second time. The massive slug hit my shoulder and swung me around and to the ground. You have taken 19 damage and have lost the use of your right arm for the duration of this encounter. Well good thing I was left handed. I aimed the best I could and fired three more rounds. Only one connected, You have done 9 points of damage to Carl Bonner. Shit, he was still alive. He leaned on the truck and took aim at me again. I rolled in the dirt away from him to evade and felt the spray of gravel as his shot missed the mark. I stopped my roll and took aim planning to finish this bastard. Click! Click! Click! What the hell? Then it hit me – I had fired three three round bursts and a 10th round into the lupin. My gun was empty. Carl seemed to be ready for death but then realized my predicament. He smiled as he raised his shotgun with blood outlined teeth. Bang!

Carl’s smile faded as he slumped to his knees and fell forward. The young women stood behind him shaking slightly with a second shotgun in her hand. “Thank you miss,” was the only thing that came to my mind to reply. She still seemed to be in shock looking at Bart and Carl’s bodies.

I stood and could feel my life points returning meaning the encounter was at an end. The women’s eyes seemed to come to life, “Sheriff are Russ and Wade dead too?” Hope lined the question.

“No mam, I have not run across them yet.” I marveled at my response, adding a slight cowboy twang to my speech. In a veiled way I had let her know I would take care of them when I found them. She seemed to slowly come to life.

“Sheriff they will be back at sundown. We should head back to town. Did you come to rescue me?” There again, hope lined the question. She obviously needed rescuing and who was I to burst her bubble. New Mission Available: Stop the abuse, get Ellie to safety away from her abusive father and brothers, reward: 500 experience, improved relationship with Ellie Bonner.

“Yes mam. Your Ellie right? I was coming out here to make sure you were alright.” She immediately broke down crying. Sliding slowly to her knees, dropping the shotgun. I walked over to her and held her while she finished. “Ellie, why don't you go inside. I am going to clean up out here. I put the bodies, hover-cycle and weapons in the back of the truck and pulled it around back. While I was parking it Ellie walked out back with a plate of food.

“Your are going to kill them aren't you?” I ate the food ignoring the question for now and sat down in the sun. My wounds had just about finished healing. I didn't have a plan just yet. Ellie seemed to be willing to wait for a reply to her question.

“I am going to try to avoid it if possible. Right now I have your brothers on theft and physical abuse of you. If you have anything else to add it would help me prosecute them to the full extent of the law.” She seemed to be thinking while I drank some iced tea in a blue glass. She went in the house after a few minutes and a heard this loud crash as two hidden doors in the ground flew open. Three horse sized mechanical beasts shaped like wolves lunged out of the ground. Dry blood covered their body and I nearly shit my pants, thank god I turned off that setting! I stumbled backward tripping spilling ice tea on myself and fumbling for my gun. Ellie walked calmly out of the house holding a large tablet computer.

“This was keyed only to my dad but now that he is dead I was able use his palm to transfer control to a new operator.” Oh shit was my thought. She could kill me, her brothers and live happily ever after with her mech guard dogs. “These robo dogs record everything they see when active.” She walked over to me and showed me the screen. I saw horrible images from the eyes of this beast as it hunted humans and tore them apart. I lost my lunch right there. I was a little light headed after purging myself. I hoped Ellie didn't think any less of me. This however allowed me to cement my plan.

I would wait for the brothers to come back and once they entered the house they would be surprised with me holding a gun on them and three vicious beasts ready to tear them limb from limb if they didn't surrender. Well everything almost went according to plan. Wade dropped to the floor with his arms behind his head but Russ ran for it. He had straddled his hover bike when the three beasts had jumped through the window and pressed him to the ground ‘accidently’ crushing the life out of him. I realized I did not have any handcuffs. But Ellie had restraints ready for Wade and made sure they were tight. Just like any good game I searched the place for loot with Ellie’s help and loaded everything I could into the truck. Three hover cycles, 5 shotguns, 3 rifles, 1 laser rifle with no charge packs, a few thousand rounds of ammo, 3 robo wolves, 26,324 credits (which I gave to Ellie), 5 cases of some fine whisky and the bodies of the Bonner family.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It was late by the time I finished so we spent the night in the house. The motion alarms went of a few times but Ellie had the mech wolves guarding the house so I slept well enough. In the morning we drove my cargo truck back into town. As soon as I put Wade in the cell at the sheriff station I received some notifications. Mission Complete: New Sheriff in Town, 1500 experience, 2500 credits. Mission Complete: Stop the Abuse, reward: 500 experience, relationship with Ellie Bonner improved to Friendly. Ellie transferred the video data from the mech wolves to me and I uploaded it to the system’s criminal database in Wellington City. Mission Complete: Sherlock Holmes, reward: 500 experience, relationship with Marie Valentine improved to Confidante. New profession of Detective unlocked. Profession Leveled: Sheriff II, 250 experience, +1 companion, +1 social standing. New Mission Available: Prisoner Transport, escort Wade Bonner to Wellington City for trial, reward: 250 experience, Capsulite System Honorary Award.

Level Gained, you are now Level 5, +1 to stat point, +1 skill point, please note a skill requires training in weeks equal to the sum of your current skills (currently 22) times the level of the new you are training divided by your education bonus (currently 2). I tapped the screen and dropped the stat point into intelligence as planned. Not bad at all. I sat at my desk in my office with the truck parked outside. Some of the town folk stopped in to congratulate me on my effort. Ellie used her money to check into the hotel. She was definitely damaged from her experiences and I did not think I would get any special favors from her. I accepted the prisoner transport mission and noted the shuttle would be here in three days. I wanted to see Wellington and also I was curious if my relationship improvement with Marie would yield something.

I almost forgot to feed my prisoner. Wade was looking horrible after two days without food. I had been so absorbed with selling the spoils of victory. Fortunately he didn't die. I was not certain what would happen to the mission and its rewards if he died but I did not want to find out. The 120 bottles of whisky sold for 6000 credits and to a socialite in Wellington City and the booze went out on a cargo transport. The laser rifle was put in my stores. I had all three hover cycles transferred with my truck to the Valentine farm. I kept the best rifle of the group and sent the rest of the weapons and ammo to my farm as well. I was uncertain to do with the robo wolves. These mechs were worth about 7500 credits each but I had no skill to operate them and I didn't want to give them to Ellie. Athena said I could insert a small A.I. program into them and be able to give them voice commands but it would cost about 3000 credits for each. In the end I sold these beasts for 21,000 credits as I was pretty hard up on cash at the moment. An outlying farmer purchased them to protect his cattle from local wildlife.

It was about now that my family arrived to work the Valentine estate. They arrived with all the new equipment and huge smiles on their faces. I surprised them by greeting them as they got off the shuttle. The father’s name was Able Kommish. His wife was a lovely woman named Adeline. The boys were both 10 and named Grant and Jackson. If I had to guess Adeline was of Persian decent and Able was Indian decent. I showed them the hover cycles, and additional equipment in the truck. Able confided in me that he didn't know how to use a weapon. I just told him there was plenty of ammo in the truck to practice with. I was disappointed in the field drones. They were about 3 meters round, 4 meters high and had a noisy hover device on them. They were the best this star system offered but I thought my money would have bought something more…substantial. I purchased the family a huge lunch at the only local restaurant and discussed their futures. The boys were excited to learn to use the hover cycles and the mother just kept giving me the evil eye for sending them to the estate. Able was the farmer and Adeline was the mechanic. There skills meshed well. The only thing at diner that Adeline was excited about was the prefab workshop. After the meal the family took the two trucks loaded down to their new home.

I spent the next days in communication with the Kommish family. Apparently the warehouse was full as the drones had continued to harvest and plant. Some potatoes had spoiled but not much. After the goods were delivered to the distilleries I would be 5,340 credits richer! I asked if there was anything they needed before I left to transport my prisoner. Able mentioned there were 12 square miles of available land for sale adjacent to the property. Almost all of it was ready for farming. I looked up the property was abandoned apple orchards. Most of the trees had died, as they didn't do well in this soil. It had no equipment and the homestead was destroyed. It cost only 20,000 credits. Sure why the hell not! So that is how my estate increased to 27 square miles.

The day came to transport Wade to Wellington City. My plan was to drop him off. Locate a deputy, hire a deputy and then visit Marie before heading back. Athena had made sure to note I would find a more skilled companion in the large city than in this small town. I even put up a post and set up interviews the day before. Pay was listed at 10 credits a day which was pretty good money in game. I found some shackles in the office and got Wade ready for transport. A bunch of the town folk turned up to watch his walk of shame. I was please to note about 70% of the populace had cowboy hats on, men and women both!

The shuttle that landed was dark gray and two guards armed in full combat armor stepped out to take over the prisoner. They just scanned his palm and escorted him in. I followed. There were 3 other prisoners in the shuttle already, all were shackled to the wall of the craft. Wade joined them. The two guards took their seats and said I could sit up front. I heard one whisper something about my hat to the other but didn't catch the whole exchange. The cockpit of the tiny shuttle was cramped. A pilot and co-pilot sat side by side in dark gray cloth military uniforms. The pilot smiled and motioned to seat behind the co-pilot. It was a fold down seat with a seatbelt. The guards commed the pilot ‘All secure’. And the pilot took off. He expertly manned the controls. I had the skill pilot spacecraft but it didn't cover small vessels like this one. I had a good understanding of the displays and most of the controls and might be able to fake it if I needed to but I just admired his skill. Once we left the atmosphere I felt the absence of gravity and almost heaved, one of the prisoners did. The co-pilot slowly turned up the artificial gravity to max of 0.75 g. This small ship couldn't handle the energy requirements for more than this. The guards argued about whose turn it was to clean up the mess. I, however, was enthralled with the small 2 meter by 0.5 meter viewport. I sat transfixed while the planet disappeared beneath us and we accelerated toward a small bright light. It took 12 hours to get there, accelerating and decelerating, but I never took my eyes off it. The planet Barstow was not as rich in color as Bruin IV. It had some white cloud layer and large expanses of blue oceans but the continents only had minimal green vegetation. The original colony ship had apparently come into the system with Bruin IV on the opposite side of the sun. They only detected Barstow and Captain Prahym Bryant ordered the ship to land on Barstow, which was named after the captain’s great grandfather. One hundred years later the settlers colonized Bruin IV as well but so far it had mainly been used as farmland to support the 26 million people living on Barstow.

The landing was just as spectacular as the take off. As the planets gravity increased the co-pilot dialed off the grav generators and the shuttle entered the atmosphere and glided to a city in the distance. I was still night and the bright lights of Wellington outlined the tip of a continent. The ship landed and the guards in the back commed the pilot that they were taking the prisoners off. An armed vehicle pulled up next to the shuttle and two more guards stepped out. The exchange went smoothly. I thought there might be some brash attempt to free the prisoners but finally my screen flashed, Mission Complete: Prisoner Transport, reward: 250 experience, see constable Avery Johns at system control for Capsulite System Honorary Award.

A black car came and picked me up and brought me to fancy hotel. The hotel was nicer than any place I had ever been in the real world. A young man took my bag and escorted me to the elevator and then to my room. My room was actually a suite with a dining room, two bedrooms and two full baths. A lite meal was set at the dining room table. I ate and went to the bed. I was exhausted and drifted to sleep quickly. I woke to a soft buzzing which I figured was the door bell for the room. I walked to the door in my just my underwear. I well dressed man was there to met me, “Sir, your appointment is in two hours. I am,” he coughed, “here to get you ready. A suit will be sent up shortly. Your schedule today is 11:00am presentation by the chief constable of your award for valor in your duty. The ceremony will be broadcast system wide then you will be having lunch in public with the system governor and his family.” I just kind of nodded dumbly. My handler went on to explain my heroics of taking down four villains single handed had spread through the city. Apparently video of the murders of the 17 civilians by the robo wolves had spread. The story was I had located the culprits and brought them to justice all by my lonesome. I was pretty sure that was not the report I had filed. The case against Wade was pretty rock solid as it showed him some videos laughing as the wolves tore people apart. The politicians were going to make the most of my accomplishments by riding my victory to points with the civilian population.

I suffered through it all. The award ceremony gave me a nice medal that was solid gold and encrusted with the emeralds in the figure of an oak tree, the symbol of House Bryant. It was probably worth quite a few credits and during the ceremony my display pinged bonus award: +1 to social standing. I had to admit I looked pretty good on camera in the suit, quite dashing. Lunch with governor Brandon Bryant, the brother to the president, went well. Except for the fact his two daughters stared at me the entire time with puppy dog eyes. I also could of sworn his wife rubbed my thigh during the meal discreetly more than once! I let the governor know my plans were just to hire a deputy, pick up some supplies and head back to my duties on Bruin IV. He offered my a position on his staff which I politely turned down. The lunch was positioned such that the media could easily get their money shots without interfering with the meal. As soon as the meal finished I excused myself and returned to my room at the hotel.

Athena had narrowed the applications for my deputy down to three candidates. I wanted to meet them as soon possible. I had a personal message from the governor’s wife, which I ignored and deleted. I changed into my more comfortable clothes and had Athena call in candidates. The first one would be there in about two hours. His name was Malcolm Rhyne. His dossier was mostly military in nature. He was a true-blooded warrior. He specialized in heavy weapons seemed fearless with medals for bravery in the service. He was fifty-three years old. He was not what I expected when I finally met him. He was all smiles and very talkative, too talkative for my tastes. He was very competent and knowledgeable with military tactics. For over an hour we talked, eventually I thanked him and said I would let him know by tomorrow.

The second candidate was a male in his mid thirties, named Chet Lavigne. He was supposedly a tech genius. He had experience with everything from small gadgets to starship engines. But lacked in personality. I struggled to get him to open up. The interview lasted thirty minutes before Chet was dismissed. I don't think I could spend eternity with such timid person. I hoped Athena had changed the best for last.

It was nearing midnight and I had ordered dinner to be sent up at the hotel. Athena said the last candidate, a Lina Senova, had to travel from the far side of the planet to meet with me. I was getting sleepy when finally a knock occurred at my door. I walked to the door and on the other side stood a blonde amazon. She was easily six feet tall, short blonde hair, deep green eyes, muscular and lean frame, a models face then I realized that I had not read her resume as I was too busy eating. I stumbled over my words, “Ms. Senova please come in. Can I get you anything to eat?”

“No, Mr. Knight.” She spoke with a Russian accent. She came to the dining room table and sat across from me. I could not stop starring into her eyes. She noticed I had not said anything, “I am not certain I am interested in what you are offering as it is a step down from my current job. But in truth women can only rise so far on Barstow and I have reached that ceiling.”

Regaining my faculties I pulled up her resume. She was educated at the top university on the planet and spent four years after college in the army and commanded a small platoon. Her last four years were spent as a detective in the second largest city on the planet, Bekova. She had the highest closed case record on staff but hadn’t risen in rank in four years. “Well, Ms. Senova you have the skills I am seeking. What do you want to hear from me?”

“I want assurances that I will be given every opportunity to rise in your command. I know you currently only oversee a small town but I have it on good authority you will soon be put in command of all seven major settlements on Bruin IV.” She spoke clearly and evenly with her Russian accent.

She was either well connected or there was some mission I was not yet aware of. I queried Athena, am I paying her salary as a personal companion or is she employed by the government?

Athena replied, A companion is paid by you and under your command. They will gain a percentage of your social standing gains for themselves. I believe this is what this applicant is referring to.

Hmm, “To be honest I plan to leave this system in a few years time to explore the galaxy. So if your goals are to become the chief constable in Wellington then perhaps it might be best if I find someone else to work for.” I started thinking Chet would be a good solid addition to forming a small combat force.

Lina interrupted my thoughts, “I’m in.” I was confused. She continued, “It is obvious you don't think small. I am also trusting that you will treat me fairly and with respect.” Her poise was phenomenal. Truthfully her confidence scared me a little. In the real world I would have never approached such a woman.

I smiled genuinely in response. “Always.” I was having a hard time believing these NPCs were not real.

My display flashed, Lina Sinova hired as companion #1. Companion limit reached. Her stats and skills can be accessed in the companion screen. I brought it up to see how effective she would be:

Lina Sinova

Level 4

Strength 8

Dexterity 8

Constitution 6

Intelligence 5

Education 5

Social Standing 2

Life Points 68

Admin 1

Comms 1

Computer 1

Drive: Hover 1

Drive: Ground 1

Drive: Tracked 2

Explosives 2

Tactics: Ground 1

Investigate 2

Leader 1

Stealth 2

Streetwise 2

Gun Combat: Rifle 3

Gun Combat: Sniper 2

I was pleased. She would be good in combat support but not much of a crew addition for a spaceship. I needed to make sure my next companion was an engineer or at least had some basic skills. I dismissed the thought that I was thinking with the wrong head. “Lina, you can have the small bedroom over there,” pointing to the small side room in the suite. “Order anything you want from hotel room service. I will be gone most of tomorrow and our shuttle will be leaving at 5:12pm in the evening from spaceport pad C. Don't be late. I am transferring 5,000 credits to your account as a bonus for signing on with me. Use it to get whatever equipment you think you will need.” I transferred the funds and turned without waiting for her response went to my own room and shut the door.