Chapter 41
Ryker
Once my two roommates finished their theatrics, Red reached up and grabbed me by my hand, leading me to an open mat in one corner of the gym area. As she stepped onto the mat, her shoes dematerialized, and she gestured for me to join her, then said, “I know you're still in pain, so let's start you off with some light stretching.”
I nodded and stepped onto the mat, observing my feet being exposed by the nano fabric of my suit. I took a spot next to Red and mirrored her shoulder-width stance. As she guided me through the stretches, I could feel my body transitioning from stiff and painful to loose and relaxed just minutes into the exercises. While stretching my hamstrings, I asked Red, “I have been wondering. Do you know everything that Ruby knows? Because I have questions and I am unsure how much I should or shouldn't discuss with you.”
Red’s features softened, and she answered, “I was born with every memory that mom had. She regularly uploads new information to me every 30 minutes pertaining to your other friend and your condition. So you can feel confident in sharing any sensitive information with me if you want.”
At her statement, Ruby's right hand popped into my field of view and gave me a thumbs up before fading away. With Ruby's stamp of approval, I was sufficiently put at ease and asked Red, “So what do you think about the synergy Silvar pointed out?”
Red’s face lit up even further at the question, and she responded, “Oh yes! That is definitely a happy accident.”
I leaned towards her, eager for more information, and asked, “Really? What do you mean by that?”
She was humming with excitement by this point and was happy to elaborate. “Well, with you initially getting mom's nanobots that use your existing flesh and stamina to fuel their healing capabilities you could have counted yourself fortunate for the boost. Then you and Silvar merged and you awakened your own innate affinity for vitality, which shot your healing through the roof. These two factors alone would have made you a real pain to kill, but when you unlocked Rejuvenating Nano Swarm, you became a nightmare to kill.”
I could feel the excitement in me begin to build. The idea of being able to come back from my injuries faster and become harder and harder to put down was a huge relief. Something occurred to me, and I asked, “So you're saying that my body alone will be working much faster to heal me. BUT as long as I have some meat on my bones and some stamina to burn, Ruby’s nanobots will be working in concert with my body to get me back to normal. AND as long as I have mana, Rejuvenating Nano Swarm will be speeding everything along even faster?”
While I tried to fully comprehend the state of things, Red had moved back to a standing position and was pulling one arm up and behind her head while using the other to reach over and hold her elbow to the sky. She nodded after listening to my question and answered, “Exactly! As long as you have mana and stamina, you will be able to heal at a breakneck pace and will be hard to stop. We just have to leverage your healing into growth. Your little freak-out earlier netted you gains in your strength by 1 and your constitution and vitality by 2 each!”
I looked up at Red and snapped my fingers. “Dang. You're right; I forgot all about that notification. How did that happen?”
Red pointed off at the others working out and said, “The others don't have access to the growth system like you do. So measuring any statistical gains would be an guesstimate at best, but as they use their stats, they will be growing them. Specifically for you, when you lost control and beat up those mean old stones and broke my robot, you seriously exerted yourself, which resulted in a gain in your strength. And when you sustained your injuries, your newly awakened body used that trauma to adapt your body ever so slightly to be more resilient to that kind of damage in the future. The way you gained your vitality increase was simply by recovering from your injuries. Increasing your stats is simple to understand; the more you use a stat and the more strain you put said stat under will result in increases in that area. Do you understand?”
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I gave Red a grunt of confirmation and paced as I mulled over the information and what it meant for my development then said. “I see, so with the Emperor running things will we have the flexibility needed to reach my full potential?”
Red doubled over laughing and said, “Ha! The empire isn't running the show; I am! While you were recovering earlier, I dropped in on the fleet commander and caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. So I gave her a choice, and she decided to join our team! Yayyy!!”
The way Red announced that fact so flippantly was a little jarring, and I had to get more clarity, so I asked, “Red! What do you mean? What cookie jar? What choice? Our team?? Explain yourself!”
Red looked put out by the barrage of questions and just rolled her eyes and said, “Ugh, fine. Tetra is the name of the fleet commander. Mom had been ordered originally by her creators to closely monitor her actions due to anomalous behaviors and rumors that she may be involved in rebellious activities towards the empire. After mother freed herself while helping you, she made the decision to support you in every way possible, and when she created me, she ensured I had that same drive. It was roughly 1 minute after I was born that the commander decided to use the fleet-wide blackout created by mom's actions to jump into a Vren tank and illegally awaken herself. This action is strictly forbidden, and if anyone in the empire discovered that she had successfully done so, they would have her executed immediately. So, I popped in on her when she was waking up and asked her politely to join our cause or I would have her killed. She eagerly accepted and has been working for me ever since.”
While Red had been giving her lengthy explanation, she slowly lowered herself down on the ground and curled up into the fetal position, holding her knees tightly to her chest. Apparently, the act of an A.I. taking the time to explain themselves was a big inconvenience.
The idea that Red had essentially taken control of the entire fleet was an earth-shattering revelation, and I couldn't help myself and blurted out, “GREAT! Let's just take everyone and fly away to a safe planet! We won't have to be slaves or fight at all!”
Red heard the earnestness in my voice and sat up and crossed her legs before telling me, “I am afraid that won't work, Ryker. There is no place in our galaxy that we could run that the empire wouldn't be able to find us. But even if we could escape, almost all of humanity would die of starvation before we ever found a suitable home for your people. There just aren't enough planets capable of supporting your species' specific needs.”
The air seemed to be driven from my chest. I had been so excited and so hopeful of cutting our losses and getting out of dodge, but it wasn't meant to be. I took a deep breath and asked, “Ok. So if we can't run, what can we do?”
A solemn look crossed her face, and she said, “The only thing you can do is fight. Your people will have to depend on the emperor's resources to survive, but you have a chance to grow stronger and save them.Outside of that I know of no other means of freeing your species, Ryker.”
My disappointment was palpable but it soon was eclipsed by something greater than itself. Determination, It took hold of my heart, and I prepared to make a decision that I knew would bring me more pain and suffering than any other that had come before. I straightened my back and said, “Fine. Red, Ruby, Silvar…”
A second later, Silvar and Ruby both made their trademark entrances. Ruby conjured a cherry blossom tornado to Red's left that dissipated and revealed her beautiful form standing there holding up a fan and covering her face. Then Silvar stepped out of Red's shadow to her right, and all three gave me a nod. Then I said, “I task you all to observe. Throughout the day, I will be testing my new capabilities and seeing what I actually can and can't do. I expect by tomorrow you will have all the data needed to push all of my stats to their maximum. There is nothing I am not willing to do, and no amount of pain I am not willing to endure to gain the power needed; we must break down this frail body of mine and rebuild it, a million times over if we must, until it can withstand anything the empire can throw our way. Do I make myself clear?”
All together, the three snapped to a position of attention and briskly raised their right arms up to their eye level in a sharp salute and held it there, waiting for me to return the gesture. A knot of anxiety was compressed in my gut when I thought of the pressure I was under to save my kind, but with these allies, there was hope. With our combined efforts, I feel there is nothing we can't overcome. I assumed the proper position of attention by mimicking the others and raised my hand to the corner of my eye and then crisply cut the air downwards and set off on a course towards the weights muttering, “No pain, no gain.”