Yuma was crouched behind an old decrepit crate, it didn’t look like it could hold up for long if she came under fire. She paused. She turned her head slightly and saw that there was a hole through the metal where she had a direct line of sight to one of the laser turrets. It swept past her and took advantage of another person’s less-than-ideal cover.
Following a whim, she stood up, exposing herself to the lasers. She looked around, the turrets spun between targets, trying to create opening for the robots that were locked into close combat with the Clan. Most of the robots seemed makeshift but, not all of them.
She saw a multi-limbed robot’s spinning arms fire high-intensity laser cutters from each of them. The Clan lured it behind a large lifter and surrounded it with a wall of shields. Carbines fired out from ports in the shield and they quickly stepped back. It spun a final, furious ring of laser-cutting death before collapsing.
The squad reformed and moved out, ready to make a fresh approach on the door. She was impressed by their strength and coordination. She was glad she asked the Clan Head to join her.
She realized she had been standing fully into the open. Still, no fire.
She continued towards the door. She heard someone shout, “cover her!” It was echoed around the room.
“No!” She yelled and turned to make eye contact with some of the soldiers she noticed that were moving, her Senses, or about to move, a combination of her Senses and EQ. She turned and continued unmolested to the Door.
She took it in, it was huge. A new, nearly cobbled together robot ran past her. A scream of pain somewhere behind her broke her transfixed state and she walked to the Door Terminal and read the text on the screen..
Prime Ship Authority… Communication Compromised.
Cryo-Core Prime Authority… Destroyed.
UnKnown Cryo-Lab Threat… Reasonable.
Emergency Door Protections Engaged.
CryoLabs Door Primary Defense Mechanisms… Offline.
CryoLabs Door Secondary Defense Mechanisms… Offline.
CryoLabs Door Tertiary Defense Mechanisms… Salvageable.
Improvised Defensive Measures… Online… Engaged.
[https://i.postimg.cc/GpfjDm3s/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-12-30-18-PM.png]
Yuma glanced at the following before quickly placing her hand on the HandPad.
Detecting… User Found.
Security Personnel Team C3: Personnel #2 Yumata
Secondary Security Personnel Authority Detected.... Recognized.
Modify Door Defensive Parameters?
YES> NO>
[https://i.postimg.cc/L5tkGktz/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-12-31-09-PM.png]
She nearly tapped “NO” then realized that modifying the Door’s defensives might be a good idea. She tapped “YES” and waited as the next text populated on the screen.
Current Alignment: Defend and Delay
OverCharge Defenses: Will Limit Defensive Longevity>
Modify Current Defensive Algorithm>
ShutDown Defenses>
[https://i.postimg.cc/hj711RhZ/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-12-31-39-PM.png]
It didn’t take long to decide. The turrets were firing and then they were retracted into their ports. The robots immediately ceased attacking and, the ones that weren’t cut down the instant after by the Clan, retreated into the Door’s closing portcullises.
She breathed out a deep sigh.
“How did you do that?”
Yuma turned to see the Clan Head standing there, Clan Members surrounding them.
Cura, somehow next to her, filled the silence with hard words, “You don’t need to know.”
A few of the Clan Members scowled and tightened the grip on their weapons. Yuma’s mind raced, she had seen how Jack had avoided discussing the AI disk with others. She didn’t know anything about the Clan.
“Jack added me to the system as a…”
“SuperUser.” Korl looked annoyed at everything as he rubbed the end of his missing forearm. “At least that’s what I heard Jonah call it.”
Yuma nodded. Sounded good enough for her. She disliked being the center of attention good or bad, it seemed more like a Jack thing to her. Well, now that she was thinking about it he didn’t care much either way. Yosef the new Head Monitor, spoke up, “I believe this makes her immune to most automated defenses on the Ship.”
The Clan Head looked to Yosef, “What about the ones controlled by other SI?”
Yosef’s head shot back, “I… I uh… I don’t know. Perhaps not.”
The Clan Head was nodding, “Then it is even more imperative that we find Jack.”
Yuma placed her hand back on the Pad and sorted through a quick menu.
Open Door?
YES> NO>
She paused for a brief fraction of a second before clicking “YES>”
Emergency Authority Successful.
Yuma waited but nothing happened. The screen populated the next lines in bursts and spurts.
Critical Condition of CryoLabs… Confirmed.
Emergent Security Personnel Communication… Established.
Routing Emergency Connection to Head Security Office…
Security SI… On… Off… Offline.
Head Security Office… Notified.
She didn’t know what any of that meant but the next line stopped her cold.
Notification… Confirmed by Head of Security.
[https://i.postimg.cc/pVmLkXWL/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-12-35-38-PM.png]
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Did that mean… that someone at the Security Office confirmed this? Someone was… alive out there?! This thought stopped her. Does that mean the rest of the ship is doing fine?
Interrupting her, and everyone else’s chain of thought, were near-deafening sirens that blared through the room matched by red-strobing lights that popped out along the frame of the door.
Everyone tensed and took defensive measures.
Yuma stood and Yuma watched. She would make it. This, she knew.
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In a series of connected and dim rooms in a long-forgotten corner of the ship a blue eye opened. It was followed by another eye, this time, red. They glowed in unnatural hues. A finger that looked to be Human in the faint light, tapped "CONFIRM>" to the received message.
So. Someone sought to violate the safety of the Ship. Discipline had obviously fallen in the Cryo-Labs. It was time.
Heavy, measured steps moved to an adjoining room. The feet, not typical by any standards, left deep imprints in the metal as they passed.
A row of gleaming red dots appeared on the wall across from the entered door.
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The first thing he smelt was burning hair. They were entering the the mushroom place, then he noticed was the relative normality of the room. Where was he? He breathed out. A Terminal, where did that appear from? A HandPad, when had he put his hand on there? Who was he? A lot of people. No. Just one person was left. Jack. Lea, how long had she been laying there unconscious?
A small trickle of information flowed from the recesses of his mind. Dammit. That was dumb to eat that crab. It just looked so tasty, especially after he got blasted in the face with its spores. To be fair, it didn’t only look delicious, it also tasted delicious.
Leanne looked in terrible shape. She was missing the toes of her right foot. Her other leg had gotten worse, the normal clean line of a shin bone was visibly skewed. A ripped section of her uniform showed extreme bruising around her ribs. Someone had sloppily applied Medjel to a large ripping wound on her skull. It looked painful, even to Jack.
“Jack?"
"Yeah..."
"What are you doing there?”
He froze and turned to the Terminal. The screen was blank but the voice… At the moment his grip on reality was still meagre but, returning at least. He could have sworn he…
“Julia…?”
“Yes yes! It’s me. You made it out of the Cryo-Labs! What happened there? What are you doing down there? How did you even find that place?”
“I… Uh… It’s a long story. What happened? How are we talking?”
She sighed. He definitely didn’t miss that.
“You are at a Security Terminal in the BioPrison. Extraordinary levels of toxins were detected through the HandPad so I used the connection to purge your system and ran some electricity through you. It has a direct emergency connection to the Bridge Core. I’m surprised you found it considering your state.”
“Yeah…” Jack looked at Leanne. He probably had her to thank for that. Ugh, couldn’t he owe one to someone… he didn’t know the word he wanted to use, less annoying?
“I had some help.”
“Oh good! You’ve found helpers. I’m glad to hear there are still functional Humans on the ship.”
There was some particular phrasing there, but his interactions with others had showed him that he also wasn’t really on the "normal scale" himself. He deemed it, not strange. He was still trying to stop himself from labeling things ‘strange’ until he could make a proper baseline for what was supposed to be ‘normal’.
“Yeah… they’re great, so if this is a Security Terminal can I Level Up with it?”
“Yes! Just insert your AI disk into the slot and you should be good to go.”
Jack checked his pockets, it wasn’t there. He looked to Yum… Leanne and her pockets.
“Can you release my hand? My…”
Friend? Companion? Squadmate?
“She is unconscious, can you release my hand?”
“Sure, but you need to put it back within a minute or the connection will be severed permanently. Do you understand?”
“Sure.” Jack pulled his hand away and moved to Leanne. His hands wandered over her body as he searched for the AI disk. She had a lot more pockets than first appeared and most seemed to have something in them. Nothing that felt like an AI disk.
“Jack!”
He ran back and slapped his hand down.
“Whew, you made it just in time. Now-”
Jack interrupted, “This ship seems pretty… well. I don’t know how else to say it. Fucked. Why can’t we just launch the escape craft?”
Another sigh, Julia had pretty quickly gone from ‘only ray of light and knowledge’ to ‘annoying’ fairly quickly. He rubbed his eyes. Maybe it was just a remnant effect of him being poisoned by… whatever it had been.
“This is a colony ship Jack. There are countless people still stuck in cryo. Not to mention the speed we are currently traveling. Any craft would be torn apart and lost in the void-”
There were a lot of questions from that last statement of hers that all competed for his conscious attention. One particular word won, “What do you mean… lost in the void?”
Jack ignored the imminent sigh.
“Besides, you’d be leaving me stuck in the Bridge Core!”
Jack would absolutely be comfortable leaving her in the Bridge Core at this point. The memories trickling back had shaken his confidence in getting this done. This situation was way more out of control than he had first thought and that was after he had blown off his hand killing that first crab.
“Alright yeah, fair enough.”
“I’ll sever the connection while you insert the AI-”
Jack interrupted her again, “I don’t have it.”
The silence awkwardly filled the room.
“Where is it?”
Jack knew that was a loaded question, regardless he found that he didn’t care as much as he thought he would. He felt like sleeping for a couple of cycles.
“I don’t know.”
“You must be kidding me.”
“Wish I was.”
“Let me see what’s connected to this Terminal…” He waited as she presumably did something. “Here it is. Someone used the AI disk to access… Oh. Oh no. Cell Block B. You need to get there. Quickly.”
That was probably Jonah and Tule.
“What’s in Cell Block B?”
This time, it was an awkward pause for Julia. “The BioLabs were… the Secondary Brig. More of a testing facility really. A place where failed Nano-experimentation subjects were held. Unchecked violence, mental instability, strange powers. They were placed in Cryo, if possible, and stored down there.”
That did sound bad. From bad to worse. No. From worse to worse.
“Ok so can I still Level Up here?”
“I can bypass some restrictions for you but won’t be able to modify skills. Do you have Magno-Tubes?”
“Plenty.” Jack smiled as he started fishing through the mini-duffel bags around his belt.
Security Personnel Team Leader C3 Jack
Personnel Level 16 -> 19.5
Strength: 22 (MAX)
Dexterity: 6
Agility: 20 (MAX)
Endurance: 24 (MAX)
IQ: 11
EQ: 5
Wisdom: 5.5
Grit: X*
Senses: 6
Psi: X*10
Psy: Null
Available Allocation: 9
Energy Capacity: N/A, not tethered to Normal Stat Distribution
Constitution Tier: Zeta E - Security Personnel Initiate (Trainee Soldier)
Present: Psi Gland - Non-Standard
Soul Core: Shattered
Remote Terminal: Suitable Portable Not Present
[https://i.postimg.cc/L8Cst1t8/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-12-16-54-PM.png]
“Can you see my Allocation levels?”
“No, you’re classified as the Primary Security Personnel on board. I can unlock the Terminal to do some basic things but you would need your AI DISK to grant me permission to view it.”
He didn’t appreciate the hint of judgement at her phrasing of “AI DISK,” it’s not like he tried to poison himself. He wiped off some slime at the bottom of his foot. Well, maybe he did technically poison himself.
“What’s the max Allocation level at Tier 2?”
“It should be 20, why?”
“My Strength and Endurance are above 20.”
“What are they?”
“Strength is 22 and Endurance is 24.”
“Hmm, that shouldn’t be, are you sure?”
Jack rolled his eyes, “Yeah, pretty sure that’s what I’m reading.” Jack was hoping the Constitution Tier prompt would show up after he distributed his Allocation. He didn't know how he felt about the AI disk. He must have left it behind for a reason, he just wish he could remember it. Regardless, he had 9 Allo to distribute. He remembered how he had calculated it earlier. He should have gotten 2 Allo at level 17, 3 at 18, and 4 at 19. He didn’t know what ’19.5’ was supposed to mean? He sighed, obfuscated, unclear bullshit, standard practice at this point.
“Why does it say 19.5 on my Personnel Level?”
“I… assume it’s a consolidation half-step to the next Constitution Tier.”
That was interesting. He was testing how much she could answer. This didn’t seem like something that someone trapped in the Bridge Core should know.
“Julia. How do you know so much about this stuff?”
“…As a member of the Bridge Crew we are informed of developments on the ship when we come out of Cryo.”
Hmm, he guessed that made sense. Something still felt off. Well, as long as his hand was still on the Pad he wouldn’t push further.
“Alright, there’s just so much I don’t know. Thanks.”
“No problem Jack.”
An inkling stuck out and he turned towards Leanne. She was still unconscious. He swore she was breathing slower than before. He turned his attention back toward the Terminal screen.
He could distribute in Dexterity, it was at 6, like his Senses. That being said, his shield was kind of stuck to his arm so he wasn't worried about lacking the finger dexterity to hold it. For his Senses he thought he perceived things just fine. Both were passes.
Surprisingly his EQ had risen. He did feel a bit different, well. Maybe. He didn’t really know how to compare it like Strength.
At least that made it easy. He depressed his finger until all 9 Allo were put into IQ bringing it to 20.
It started as an itch on his palm. It crawled up his arm then down to the base of his spine, the itch worked its way up towards his skull.
A deep, looming sense of dread twisted deep in his gut. It continued to spiral up his spinal cord.
It stopped, struggled against a resistance in his head. Jack paused at the resistance and dove into his Affinity to sense what was wrong.
Before he could isolate and identify what was going on, it went through. Sparkling white lights exploded in his vision and he had to stabilize himself with his other hand.
With his new ability to sense the Nano he was able to feel the changes on a deeper level. Neurons receptors were modified, changed. Electrical pathways were optimized and reinforced. Even his eyes burned. Well, at least the eye-stalks did. He didn’t know enough about how a brain was supposed to work to tell much beyond that.
He looked around, his vision was sharper too. He looked back to the Terminal. His Senses were still at 6.
“Why is my vision sharper?”
“Well, your eyes are directly connected to your brain. I couldn’t tell you why IQ increased your ability to see but if it’s running more efficiently it makes sense that your eyes were somehow optimized as well.”
“That makes sense, what about upgrading my Constitution?”
“One second,” He heard tapping, “It seems like you have a couple of catalysts in you.”
Jack wanted to ask what catalysts were but she continued and so he paid attention.
“It should be displayed. That being said…”