I climbed the stairs rapidly, alert for any possible counterattacks.
The first door on the first floor was locked. No problem.
Bodycharge smashed it down.
Two girls were in the room, dressed in nighties. They screamed.
“Quiet,” I ordered.
The girls stilled.
“I’m here to rescue you. Get your things and get to outside the lawn.”
The two looked at each other, then back at me.
I quickly cast Observe at the first girl.
MARIA SINS
FACTION: GRUNTERS (ENSLAVED)
CLASS: SLAVE
MARIA HAS BEEN A GRUNTER CAPTIVE FOR THREE YEARS, EVER SINCE SHE CROSSED THE BORDER. SHE HAS LOST CONTACT WITH HER FAMILY IN MEXICO AND HOPES THEY THINK HER DEAD. SHE IS SCEPTICAL ABOUT ANY WOULD-BE RESCUERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO SHOW UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH FIRE AND EXPLOSIONS.
Dammit. I’d hoped for a potentially receptive audience.
CHARM MARIA SINS?
Seriously, power, no! Not the time!
Persuade might work, though.
“Maria,” I rumbled. “Get your friends. Get the girls and get them out of the mansion. Go to the lawn - a sign will be there to guide you.” Fifty points of Persuasion, let’s hope that works.
MARIA SINS IS TERRIFIED! MARIA DOES NOT KNOW HOW YOU KNOW HER NAME.
MARIA SINS IS PERSUADED. FOLLOWING AN ULTRA’S ORDERS IS SOMETHING SHE CAN’T BE BLAMED FOR. BESIDES, SHE IS ONLY GOING TO THE LAWN, NOT ESCAPING, SO THE GRUNTERS MAY NOT PUNISH HER IF SHE IS CAUGHT.
Maria grabbed the other girl’s arm. “Let’s go, Wanda,” she said. Then she looked at me. “Sir, the doors to the other rooms are all locked.”
“I’ll deal with that,” I said.
Then I launched myself at the next door.
Bodycharge broke through doors easily. I went room to room - well, door to door - shattering the flimsy wooden barriers. No need for lasers yet.
Maria and Wanda followed me, calming the girls as I left the doors in splinters, reassuring them that this was a rescue.
Another door smashed, another round of screams, followed by another hasty counselling session by Maria. An older woman seemed to be accompanying her - Daisy, I overheard her name.
The next door was not locked. Instead, there was a very naked man with a handgun crouched behind the bed as I entered.
He paled as he took in the armour. His hands shook.
“Drop the gun,” I ordered.
The man dropped it and got on the floor.
“Who are you?” I barked.
“J-just another customer,” he stammered.
“He’s lying,” piped up the girl in the bed. She was naked, and her face was swollen red.
The man shot a hateful look at the girl.
“Don’t bother,” I laughed. “I can tell when you’re lying or not…. Fitz Harris.”
Observe was deadly useful sometimes.
FITZ HARRIS
FACTION: GRUNTERS
CLASS: ACCOUNTANT
FITZ HARRIS RUNS THE FINANCES OF THE GRUNTER BASE YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN. A MICROMANAGING BOOKKEEPER, HE NONETHELESS KEEPS A TIGHT WATCH ON EXPENSES, PROFITS AND CASH BY DAY, AND UNLEASHES HIS FRUSTRATIONS ON A VICTIM OF HIS CHOICE BY NIGHT.
Harris went white. “I… I don’t know anything.”
“How many girls in the mansion? Total?”
“I can pay you…..”
I walked over and grabbed Harris by the neck. Then I hoisted him into the air.
The Battlehammer was poised at his groin.
“All I need to do,” I whispered, “is strike upwards.”
Warm liquid splashed on the Battlehammer head.
Ugh. Why do so many criminals pee themselves?
“That was annoying,” I growled. “Don’t annoy me further.”
“Eighty-three,” Harris stammered out. “Please. Let me go, please.”
“You’re going to go to the lawn,” I rasped. “You’re going to take the girls, all eighty-three of them, and get them past the gate guards. And the outer gate as well. You’ll tell the guards it’s Grumman’s orders.” I cocked my head menacingly. “My colleagues will be watching you. If you run? If you try to rally the guards? We’ll put a laser through your brain.” I laughed mirthlessly. “And you won’t even know.” I hit him with 200 points of Persuade.
YOU HAVE IMPLANTED A COMPULSION!
The man’s eyes glazed over. “As you say,” he stuttered weakly.
I walked over to the bed. The girl’s hands were tied to it by a thick rope. “What’s your name?”
“Donna,” she replied. “He’ll run the minute you leave.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to rip off the rope now.”
“I’m ready.”
I grabbed the ropes and pulled.
The ropes snapped. Donna winced, then got up and flexed her arms. “Thank you.”
“I’ve got a job for you,” I said, and gave her the handgun. “Can you use this?”
Donna shook her head. “It’s DNA-locked. I can’t fire it.”
I shrugged, then pulled the Laser Sniper Rifle from my inventory. “Take this then.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that…..”
“Insurance, in case that one tries to run off. But he’s not going to, is he?” I glared menacingly at Harris.
The man turned even paler. “No, sir.”
“Good. Donna, you’re going to march him up to the gate, with the other girls behind you. If the guards shoot? Make sure he dies first.”
“Got that,” Donna replied.
Back to door smashing it was.
We made quite a crowd, me breaking down doors, panicked girls screaming, Maria and Daisy rushing in to reassure them, and Donna prodding Harris forward with the rifle. Still, it was less than two minutes before I went through the rest of the doors on the second floor and raced towards the third.
“Start moving out,” I barked at the girls. “Get to the lawn.”
I broke through yet another door.
This time, there was a young man hiding behind the bed. He screamed when he saw me.
I pointed my Battlehammer at him. “On the ground,” I hollered.
“Stop!” yelled Maria from behind. “He’s one of us!”
I whirled back to look at Maria.
She flinched but didn’t cower. “That’s Junie, sir,” she said. “He’s like us.”
I turned to the young man and snapped off an Observe.
JUNIE MARQUEZ
FACTION: GRUNTERS (ENSLAVED)
CLASS: SLAVE
AT FOURTEEN, JUNIE RAN AWAY FROM HIS ABUSIVE UNCLE. IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS, AND AS WE CAN SEE, THINGS HAVEN’T GONE TOO WELL FOR HIM AFTER THAT.
CONDITIONS: TRAUMATIZED
Crap.
He was younger than Anne.
“Hey,” I said. “I’m not here to hurt you. Will you go with Maria?”
The boy nodded.
“I’ll take him,” added Maria. “We’ll get him out.”
Donna nodded too.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I hadn’t the heart to disagree.
Three minutes more, and all the doors were down.
Time to head downstairs.
I turned to Maria, who was still behind me. “Get to the lawn and start getting the girls to safety.”
“The guards at the gates have guns,” replied Maria. “Sir… your colleagues. Will they help?”
“They will. Get going now.”
She nodded, then ran down the stairs, followed by a dozen other girls.
I marched through the door.
An arrow of green light appeared in mid-air. I smiled. It had taken Anne some time to learn this trick, but she could make the nanobots glow with a faint light - and in clusters, they could form shapes.
Letters, too.
The shaft was wide enough for a man, indeed. A large air-conditioning unit sat there, humming along quietly.
Like the Fullerite Cutters, the Nanofiber Weave Rope was another useful tool in my kit. It could suspend several hundred kilos of weight in a strand only millimetres thick. I tied mine to the AC unit, secured myself at the other end, and rappelled down.
At the basement level, the AC shaft ended in an access door. I quietly turned the knob. Open.
An arrow lit up in front of me.
No time to argue. I kept my Battlehammer ready as I went through the next door.
The Grunter guardsmen had positioned themselves behind makeshift cover, in the form of tables and benches, as they trained their guns at the base of the stairs. The Captain stood behind his men, with the Heavy Laser armed and aimed - right next to a massive futuristic cannon.
MASER ASSAULT CANNON
+6000 DAMAGE/HIT
400/400 HP
CREW REQUIRED: 2
FIRE RATE: 1 SHOT PER 10 SECONDS
Wow.
That was the highest number I’d seen on a weapon so far.
THE MASER ASSAULT CANNON IS DESIGNED AS ANTI-TANK WEAPONRY. A SINGLE SHOT FROM IT WILL CRIPPLE MOST FIGHTING VEHICLES. HOWEVER, IT IS SLOW TO TURN AND MANEUVER.
I was glad I hadn’t tried to take the stairs.
400 HP, huh?
I chucked the Fuel Bomb at it.
Waves of fire exploded as the bomb went off.
MASER ASSAULT CANNON -285 HP! MASER ASSAULT CANNON IS BURNING: -10 HP/SEC!
GRUNTER GUARD -300 HP! GRUNTER GUARD DEFEATED, +50 XP, -1 ETHICS!
GRUNTER GUARD -300 HP! GRUNTER GUARD DEFEATED, +50 XP, -1 ETHICS!
GRUNTER CAPTAIN -166 HP! GRUNTER CAPTAIN IS BURNING, -5 HP/SEC!
Panic ensued.
The other guards scattered, screaming. The Captain swung around, looking for a target.
Bodycharge.
I rammed into the armoured, flaming hulk of the battlesuit, knocking it over. The Grunter lurched, tipped over, and started shooting - wildly. Bolts crashed into the walls, the roof - everything except me.
I swung with the Battlehammer, driving a Deadly Blow onto the Captain’s helmet.
A crunch! as the Battlehammer met flesh.
DEADLY BLOW! GRUNTER CAPTAIN -400 HP! GRUNTER CAPTAIN DEFEATED, +500 XP, -1 ETHICS!
Screams and yells erupted.
One brave guard opened fire at me at full auto.
DAMAGE TAKEN! ASSAULT RIFLE, -22 HP! ARMOR 378/400.
DAMAGE TAKEN! ASSAULT RIFLE, -22 HP! ARMOR 356/400.
I whacked him with the Battlehammer.
GRUNTER GUARD -80 HP! CONDITION INFLICTED: UNCONSCIOUS. +50 XP.
The man flew backwards.
The remaining guards were racing up the stairs in a panic.
I headed deeper into the basement. The Grunter Lieutenant couldn't be too far…
The darkened shadows of the basement cast a pall of gloom over the scene as I went further in.
Well, my jammer beacon had caused the darkness, and for gloom we had the dead Grunters, so I shouldn’t complain.
I darted from door to door, checking to see how far we were from the surveillance room.
Battlehammer ready, I crept up to the door. The Grunter should be behind it… still, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling of … well, doom.
Or the creepy feeling of someone watching….
There was definitely someone behind.
I whirled around.
Nothing.
The feeling was back…. Someone was behind me!
Pain shot through my head.
It was the mother of all migraines. And it hit like a jackhammer.
35 DAMAGE FROM PSIONIC ATTACK!
YOU ARE UNDER PSIONIC ASSAULT! SINCE YOUR CURRENT ARMOR DOES NOT HAVE PSIONIC RESISTANCE, THE ENTIRE DAMAGE WILL AFFECT YOUR HEALTH POINTS.
HP REMAINING: 95/130.
INITIATE ACTIVE DEFENSES?
I winced and grabbed the Yes option.
PSIONIC ATTACKS WILL NOW ERODE CONTROL POINTS BEFORE IMPACTING HEALTH.
ONCE CONTROL POINTS ARE ERODED, DAMAGE WILL TRANSFER TO MENTAL ENERGY POINTS, AND THEN TO HEALTH.
Another jolt of pain shot through me, but this time, the damage reduced from my CP instead of HP.
YOUR PSIONIC DEFENSE IS 45. PSIONIC DEFENSE IS THE SUM OF WISDOM, CHARISMA AND ATTRACTIVENESS ATTRIBUTES.
Another sharp spike of pain.
ACTIVE DEFENSE AGAINST PSIONIC ATTACK SHUTS DOWN MP AND CP REGENERATION. USE WISELY.
Indeed, my CP had dropped by 70 points. Another spike raced through my head, dropping it by another 35…
Another spike, this time even worse. I stumbled to the ground, dropping the Battlehammer.
“You know,” a sing-song voice said, “for a newbie you’re surprisingly strong. Most people don’t last four blasts.”
The voice was gentle, soothing…. Almost like a friend.
“One blast is for soothing,” sung the speaker, “two is for sleep. Three is for killing, and widows to weep.”
The pain returned again. My CP was now 90.
YOU HAVE SUFFERED THE STATUS EFFECT: DISORIENTED. TIME REMAINING: 03:00.
“Will you sleep now, my child?” whispered the voice. “Will you sleep or will you die? What will it take to end you, my oh my?”
The Grunter Lieutenant.
I turned to the door. It was closed….
TEST OF PERCEPTION: PASSED.
No.
It was open.
And the Grunter Lieutenant was standing in the door.
Observe!
DREAMSPEAKER
LEVEL 16
FACTION: GRUNTERS
CLASS: MASTER
HP 200/200 + ARMOR 500/500
DREAMSPEAKER IS THE GRUNTERS’ SECRET WEAPON. ABLE TO PROBE MINDS FOR SECRETS, EXTRACT VALUABLE INFORMATION, AND CRUSH THE MINDS WHEN HE’S DONE. A CRUEL, AMORAL SOCIOPATH WHO TAKES PLEASURE IN THE SUFFERING OF HIS VICTIMS.
Crap.
An ultra.
And I was not prepared…
“You’re strong,” whistled Dreamspeaker. “But not strong enough.”
No, scratch that. I was always prepared.
My Fullersteel Pilum snapped out in a perfect Javelin Strike.
The force of the throw knocked Dreamspeaker backwards.
DREAMSPEAKER -320 HP!
The pressure on my brain vanished.
“No!” screamed Dreamspeaker.
I launched myself from my position and slammed into the Master with a perfectly executed Bodycharge.
Both of us fell through the door.
Dreamspeaker’s psionic attack returned in full force, hammering my brain.
I punched him in the jaw.
DREAMSPEAKER -18 HP!
The pressure vanished.
So the way to stop the attack is to hit him?
I was on board.
I slammed my fist into his stomach for another 18 damage and grabbed for my backup weapon.
The Fullersteel Pilum can be used to stab as well as throw.
I thrust mine down with Deadly Blow.
DREAMSPEAKER -200 HP! DREAMSPEAKER’S ARMOR CRACKED!
The strike ruptured something on the armour, as vapour started to hiss out.
The Master tried to push me off, but failed. He kicked out weakly.
I slammed my fist into his jaw for another 18 damage. Then…
I hit him with Lightning Strike.
DREAMSPEAKER -30 HP!
Another strike, and another.
DREAMSPEAKER -30 HP! DREAMSPEAKER -30 HP! DREAMSPEAKER -30 HP! DREAMSPEAKER -30 HP!
DREAMSPEAKER DEFEATED! +800 XP!
I stopped.
The room smelt…. Burnt. Like charred meat.
Dreamspeaker’s corpse.
I stood up. Took off my helmet.
Once again, I threw up.
I put my helmet back on. “I am now,” I croaked. “It just… got to me.”
I smiled. In all the chaos I’d forgotten about Harris’ initial reaction to the Advanced Battlehammer.
I frowned. That could be trouble.
A blinking arrow of nanobots appeared, pointing the direction.
I followed.
A door had slid open in the wall. Beyond, eerie green light glowed.
I carefully crept through, Advanced Battlehammer at the ready.
The door opened up into a cavernous chamber. A glowing green column dominated the centre, with massive spools of wire and computer monitors connected to it.
I snapped off a quick Observe.
PLASMA MICROFUSION REACTOR
HP 10,000/10,000
GRUMMAN’S HOMEMADE FUSION REACTOR PROVIDES THE MAJORITY OF POWER REQUIRED TO CHARGE AND OPERATE HIS BATTLESUITS. THE REACTOR IS AT LEAST TWO GENERATIONS BEYOND MODERN TECHNOLOGY, BUT YOU CAN LEARN A LOT BY STUDYING IT.
QUEST ALERT: ANALYZE THE REACTOR 20 TIMES TO UNLOCK SOME OF THE SECRETS OF ITS CONSTRUCTION. ANALYSIS PERFORMED: 0/20
REWARD: NEW BLUEPRINTS UNLOCKED, NEW SKILL UNLOCKED
I whistled. “Grumman has a small fusion reactor in here.”
I switched off my Active Psionic Defences - now there was an ability I’d never expected to have - and used Analyze on the reactor.
ANALYSIS PERFORMED 1/20
ANALYSIS PERFORMED 2/20
ANALYSIS PERFORMED 3/20
I grinned.
That had been the last leg of the plan. There was no way we could get eighty-three women - and, as it turned out, four boys - to safety in the autocar.
So Anne had done the sensible thing and called the police.
From Elise Ogden’s phone.
Just as planned.
ANALYSIS PERFORMED: 19/20
ANALYSIS PERFORMED: 20/20
NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: ENERGY SYSTEMS
GENERATION, STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION OF ENERGY IS CRITICAL TO TRULY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.
BY STUDYING THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE PLASMA MICROFUSION REACTOR, YOU HAVE GAINED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO SAFELY DISMANTLE ONE, AS WELL AS HOW TO CONSTRUCT ENERGY REACTORS TO POWER EQUIPMENT.
LEVEL 2: BLUEPRINTS UNLOCKED: SMALL FUSION REACTOR, PLASMIUM.
QUEST UPDATED: ARMOR UP!
TO UNLOCK THE SKILL POWERED ARMOR FORGING, YOU NEED THE FOLLOWING SKILLS:
1. MECHANIC LEVEL 10: ACHIEVED
2. ELECTRONIC ARTS LEVEL 10: CURRENTLY LEVEL 6
3. EXPLOSIVES LEVEL 5
4. ENERGY SYSTEMS LEVEL 5
On the way out, I took a moment to admire the Maser Assault Cannon.
Then I blew it up.
Good use of a Fuel Bomb.
As I crossed the lawn, Anne continued to update me on the situation.
As I ran up, I could see the hostages assembled in clusters around the walls.
Donna was there, in a nightie, and still pointing the laser rifle at a still naked Harris.
Maria Sins stepped up. “Belessar? Sir?”
I nodded at her. “What’s the situation?”
“They’re not letting us leave. There are… They’re saying there are cops outside.”
“I know,” I replied. “I called them.”
Maria paled for a moment, then nodded. “They’re your allies?”
“In a manner of speaking. They will help you.”
“Some of the girls… they’re not here legally.”
That was a wrinkle, but a minor one. “I’ll speak to the police. For now, take shelter while I deal with the rest of the Grunters.”
As Maria nodded in acknowledgement, I marched towards the gate. I could see the corpse of the dead Grunter guard there, his head drilled through by the laser.
Good riddance.
I stashed my Battlehammer and switched to the Laser Rifle.
The Grunters at the gate were pointing their guns outward. I could hear the sound of a police loudspeaker.
“.... last chance,” the cop was saying. “Turn over your weapons and come peacefully….”
“Screw you!” yelled the guard. “Back off before Grumman comes out himself!”
Perfect timing.
I messaged Anne.
Glowing nanobots condensed into massive, twenty-foot letters in the sky.
GRUMMAN IS NOT HERE.
The cops, startled, looked up. Some exclaimed.
The nanobots reformed.
DREAMSPEAKER IS DEAD.
YOUR CAPTAINS ARE DEAD. YOUR SOLDIERS ARE DEAD.
The Grunters stared at the messages, startled. They turned.
And saw me.
The message in the sky reformed again.
SURRENDER TO THE COPS NOW.
OR FIGHT ME.
YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS.
The message lingered, and I fired a single shot.
The laser sliced through the gate guard’s cap. Startled, the man tripped over and fell back.
I could almost hear the smirking as Anne ordered her nanobots to spell the letters in the sky.
The Grunters paled at the message.
The number 10 changed to 9, then 8, then 7….
“We surrender!” yelled one of the guards.
Suddenly, the remaining Grunters were dropping their weapons and falling to the ground.
The battle was over.