Aidan’s Ibis was the first to take off. It didn’t need to build momentum to launch off of an airstrip. Instead, it ascended vertically in the air on nearly silent gravitic engines. The massive anti-gravity modules were embedded in the four blocky engines that studded each wing of the Ibis and were powerful enough that the Ibis could maneuver just as well as an aircraft several times smaller.
It rocketed away from the camp’s airfield, and Aidan knew his escorts would be right after them.
Aidan removed his communication buds, took out his Spectre helmet, and glanced at it before putting it on his head. In the past six months, Agano had made iterative improvements to all of the Spectre’s equipment, but only their helmets had undergone a complete version change. Their XSM1s looked vaguely skull-like with thin visors and embedded breathing apparatuses in the jaws, but the XSM2s took the undead motif a step further.
The entire helmet had been slimmed down until it fit perfectly on his head. Each helmet had to be custom-made for each Spectre’s different dimensions. The visor had been thinned down even further until the outer edges looked like the empty eye sockets of a skull.
The rebreathers had been slimmed down and incorporated into the nose and cheeks of the helmet. Now, they, too, were inspired by their undead namesake. The rest of the helmet, including the cheekbone, jawline, and chin, had been further thickened and exaggerated to make it look like an artificial skull. In its natural state, the helmet was white with a black visor and rebreather.
The colors were intentional, but the helmet could also change its appearance, just like its predecessor. The technology inside had been completely transformed as well. A quick look at its description revealed the new details.
XSM2A1 Spectre Assault Helmet
This duralloy helmet is part of the Power Assault Armor system. The helmet has embedded synthetic chromatophores to allow the wearer to change the item’s appearance according to predetermined colors and patterns. It plugs directly into the XS1/DEE Neural Interface to connect the wearer to the Spectre communication network. This is the command variant with an embedded strategic command network.
Attributes:
An integrated strategic command network to interface with all vehicles, aircraft, drones, and other helmets within the faction.
An integrated rebreather prevents chemical and biological weapon attacks and will recycle carbon dioxide to extend the life of onboard oxygen reserves.
An integrated sensor suite that includes Infrared, LIDAR, and night vision.
The helmet powered on quickly, and Astra immediately networked it with the Ibis’ onboard sensors. After a second, Aidan could see through the aircraft’s hull to the air around them. He looked in front of the plane and found two Banshees escorting the Ibis.
The fierce multi-purpose fighters were almost as advanced as the Wraiths. However, the Banshees were built for maximum destruction and only carried one pilot. To Aidan’s knowledge, no other faction had the technology necessary to make something comparable. They could blow an enemy aircraft out of the sky before the adversary knew they were there.
He looked behind the Ibis and saw three craft following them. The Wraith holding his Spectres took point while two Ghosts full of Troopers took up positions on either side of the flagship. Aidan took the opportunity to inspect the new troop carriers.
The Ghosts were almost half the size of the Wraith, but they weren’t meant to hang over a battlefield. Instead, they were designed to ferry troops or supplies to the battlefield quickly. They resembled the V-22 Ospreys on the other side of the System if gravitic versions had replaced their rocket engines and the entire aircraft had been remodeled for stealth operations.
The Ghosts also boasted more firepower than their more mundane cousins. Single-barreled psi cannons on sphere mounts were attached to the front of the engines, and a rotating kinetic gun sprouted from the nose of the aircraft. They could clear a drop zone, dislodge their troopers, and provide close air support if necessary.
Aidan thought they were bringing more firepower than strictly necessary, but he wasn’t one to argue with Gray and Cooper’s plans. Time after time, they had proven to be valuable allies and even better strategists.
Once he had verified that their escorts were in their places, he turned his attention inward. It had been some time since he had been in battle, and he wanted to check his status sheet.
Commander Aidan Steele. Human. United States of America.
Level-40 Envoy
Attributes:
Strength 217 | Constitution 218 | Dexterity 218 | Intelligence 217 | Perception 217
Parameters:
Health 2180 (10.90%/min.) | Stamina 2180 (10.90%/min.) | Mana 2170 (10.85%/min.)
Social:
Notoriety 50 | Authority 40
Skills:
Stealth 46 | Athletics 48 | Discipline 45 | Targeting 47 | Medium Armor 48 | Small Arms 53 | Light Weapons 47 | Melee Weapons 52 | Psionics 49 | Telekinesis 49 | Diplomacy 46 | Leadership 44 | AI Operations 48 | Linguistics 49 | Hand-to-Hand 46
The six months between their last major battle and now had been kind to the faction, but it hadn’t been as generous toward Aidan’s character sheet. His skills had evened out nicely, but only because he spent considerable time practicing his lowest-level skills. After level fifty, his skill gains slowed considerably. Without another colossal battle, it was probable that his skills would continue to stagnate. The System didn’t reward peaceful negotiations as much as mass engagements.
The only things that had seen constant use were his linguistics and diplomacy skills. Those gains were mainly due to his negotiations with his Canadian, Mexican, minotaur, and gnome allies. Hopefully, his talks with the Gran Colombians would be fruitful enough that he leveled his soft skills enough to take new perks. The perks he chose before had been beneficial and even led to the psionic credits that had become the default currency within his faction’s sphere of influence.
Thankfully, the flight to their designated meeting sight wasn’t too far away. It was about a four-hour trip, and he spent the time joking around with the two troopers accompanying him or talking with Astra. Nikita remained a silent observer, content to be alone with her thoughts, but Aidan saw the other troopers giving her sidelong glances. Aidan was used to the behavior, and when the conversation died, he turned his thoughts to his AI.
Astra was probably the most crucial part of his faction’s success. She had embedded herself into every network and communication system in the camp. The Directors didn’t realize it, but Astra had been subtly prodding them along. Even when she was actively engaged with Aidan, she was helping the camp leadership with their own pursuits. Her ability to simultaneously engage in multiple goals was difficult for Aidan to conceptualize.
She subtly guided Agano in their equipment development, helped Cooper coordinate the woman’s elaborate plans, kept track of all the minuscule personnel details for HQ, and was a constant companion to the envoy. She was indeed the ghost in the machine that guided the faction along. Every new aircraft, vehicle, weapon, or technology had been influenced and perfected by Astra. She was the only reason the Americans didn’t find more obstacles in their development.
They were now at the point where Astra wanted Aidan to quickly increase his AI operations skill because she wanted a perk that would allow her to create inferior copies of herself. She planned to augment their operations with more drones to make their lives even more effortless. They could get by with the minotaurs’ labor and the gnomes’ technical and commercial expertise, but they weren’t getting enough new blood to keep up with the demands of their rapid growth. Even crime was starting to become a problem in the camp as more races were introduced and forced to live alongside each other.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
We’re here, Envoy. Astra reminded him.
Aidan had been thinking over his future plans and was startled by his companion’s notification. He looked through the bottom of the Ibis and confirmed they had arrived. At some point, his escorts had dropped back without him realizing it. They were only a mile away and could be here within moments, so he wasn’t bothered by the fact.
Instead, he looked at the proposed meeting place. The Gran Colombians had invited them to a clearing in the middle of the expansive jungles the faction called their home. The Colombians had strategically chosen it because the clearing wasn’t big enough for the Ibis to land. They expected him to rappel down with his entourage or drop the goods they held like they would for the gnomes or dwarves.
Aidan had a bad premonition over the choice. It spoke to a calculating fear that shouldn’t have been present over a mere trade delegation. Yanonva echoed his thoughts.
“I don’t like this, Commander.”
“I agree,” Aidan told her. “We could land the Ibis in the trees, but I’m not sure we want to escalate any tensions.”
“They’re not even here yet,” Nikita commented icily.
They are, Astra disagreed.
The AI rapidly switched between the various spectrums their sensors gave her access to before collecting the multiple images into one cohesive picture. She identified at least a dozen people waiting in the jungle shade. None of them bothered to step into the clearing at the appearance of the Ibis.
“Now, I really don’t like this,” Yanonva said.
Aidan glanced at the two troopers assigned to their detail. Compared to the Spectres, they were little more than ornamentation. The idea was that they would attract attention as the most apparent protectors while Nikita and Aidan, in their armored bodysuits, would only bear casual scrutiny. The two Spectres didn’t even intend to wear their armor and helmets. They would only wear their boots, gauntlets, and camo cloak on the ground. They only had a pistol strapped to their thighs, which wouldn’t stop a determined foe.
“How do you two normally drop to the surface?” Aidan asked them.
“We have anti-grav boots, Commander,” one of the troopers informed him. “We rarely use them, but we’ve practiced until we know how to drop with our eyes closed.”
Aidan nodded his understanding before taking his helmet off and stowing it into his inventory.
“Alright, we’ll still treat this like a peaceful delegation,” he decided. “It’s understandable the Colombians are a little leery of our presence.”
Nikita stowed her helmet while the troopers hefted their weapons. Their white armor and helmets would make them prime targets in the gloom of the jungle, but their armor wasn’t advanced enough to have the chromatophores the Spectres were used to. The commander decided it would have to do.
Astra, tell the aircrew to get as low as they can. We’re going to jump out. Once we’re on the ground, I want them to ascend out of weapon range.
Message away, Envoy.
Aidan took out a communication bud and put it in his ear. He wanted to talk to his escorts even without his helmet. When he finished, the cargo ramp in front of them lowered while the Ibis descended.
The Envoy stood up and unclipped himself from his troop seat. Nikita and the troops copied his motion. When the Ibis was still again, Aidan strode down the ramp and casually jumped off the edge. He fell three stories through the air before the anti-grav technology in his boots kicked on. He floated down the remaining feet until he lightly touched the ground. The anti-grav turned off, and the floating sensation disappeared. Nikita and the two troopers landed just behind him.
Aidan looked up and watched as the Ibis ascended into the air until it was nothing but a bird-sized dot in the sky. It would hold its position until Aidan summoned it. Satisfied they were safe, Aidan tapped the bud in his ear to activate it.
“Reliquary One, this is Spectre Actual, over.”
“Copy, Spectre Actual, this is Reliquary one, over,” Guzman responded.
“Copy, Reliquary One, we’ve dropped into a small jungle clearing. Our Ibis doesn’t have clearance. No visible guests. Deploy TODs to our location, over.”
“Wilco, Spectre Actual, eyes on deck in ninety seconds, over.”
“Copy Reliquary One, Spectre Actual, out.”
Aidan removed his hand from the bud and looked around the clearing. TODs would be overhead in ninety seconds. They would be nearly invisible to the Colombians but would provide valuable overwatch for his quick reaction force. Astra couldn’t pipe their feeds to him without his helmet on, but she would guide the others to his location if the negotiations went south.
Aidan waited patiently for the Colombians to reveal themselves. They didn’t know that he knew they were in the jungle around him, and they probably thought this was an excellent technique to take away the initiative. They were wrong, of course. Aidan merely found the tactic mildly annoying, but he could feel the rage coming off of Nikita through his psychic powers. His other trooper felt simply bored. They were intimately familiar with the concept of hurry-up-and-wait.
Some five minutes after Aidan touched down, the Colombians decided to reveal themselves finally. Eight individuals detached themselves from the jungle’s shadows. The envoy didn’t miss that the Colombians decided to double their numbers.
Their equipment wasn’t much to speak of. Most of the delegation wore dark green fatigues with gold bandanas tied around their foreheads. He spotted machetes strapped to their hips and automatic weapons in their grips. Instead of a machine gun, the leader wore a pistol in an underarm holster.
The only surprising thing about the delegation was that it was made up of more than humans. Two golden-scaled bipedal lizards bracketed the leader of the group. Their equipment was more interesting. They wore elaborate crimson garments topped with a golden segmented hauberk. It matched the golden boots, bracers, and helmets they also wore. The helmet had a vertical crest that made it look like a stylized sunburst sprouting from their skulls. He would’ve thought the equipment mundane, except it sparkled with barely concealed energy. They didn’t appear to have weapons, but Aidan inspected them as a matter of course.
Lvl 40 Lizardfolk Light Shaper
Lvl 40 Lizardfolk Assassin
Aidan frowned at their choice of classes. He wasn’t sure what a light shaper was, but bringing an assassin to a trade meeting seemed like a bad decision. He didn’t comment on the class as the group approached, and the leader introduced himself.
“Welcome to Gran Colombia,” the man said in heavily accented English. “My name is Daniel Carrasco, and these are Grask and Inka.”
The man gestured to the two lizardfolk but neglected to introduce the rest of his party. Aidan could’ve informed Daniel that he spoke Spanish—a language he learned in preparation for this meeting and to boost his linguistics skills—but he didn’t bother. If the Colombians were going to show up late with an assassin in tow, then the envoy wasn’t inclined to make it easier on them.
“Thank you, Daniel. My name is Aidan Steele,” he said instead. He also decided not to introduce the rest of his party.
When he was done, he noticed the two lizards studying his party’s equipment. Their eyes didn’t even roam across their faces, merely looking at their gear like two serpents who spotted a den of rats. He saw one of the lizards, Grask, lick its scaley lips in anticipation.
Aidan tore his gaze from the lizards and studied Daniel again. Every bone in his body was telling him this was a bad idea, but as the representative of his faction, he needed to make an attempt here. His mission as the System Enboy was to unite the various factions one way or another. He preferred trade and peace, but he wasn’t afraid of conflict if it was necessary.
The envoy pointed up at the hovering Ibis. “We’ve brought a bunch of materials our analysts thought you might find useful. It’s all things difficult to acquire within the jungle.”
The man looked up and then laughed snidely. “Just like the Americans to tell us what they think we need.”
Aidan frowned but didn’t want to argue the point with the man. “If you find nothing useful in the goods we brought, that’s fine. It’s only a sample of the items we could trade with your faction. What kind of goods does Gran Colombia need?”
Daniel returned his gaze to Aidan before he said anything. One of the lizardfolk spoke to him in a hissing, sibilant language. The man listened to the lizard and occasionally nodded his head. Aidan found the whole exchange strange, but the man finally responded when the lizard was finished.
“We’re interested in the technology you have. We don’t have the means to create ships like yours. Nor do we have the weapons that you Americans possess.” Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “We’re a humble nation and don’t have much to trade. We’ve created elixirs and medicines from the nature around us. We’ve also discovered some interesting minerals that we know you won’t be able to get anywhere else. We’ve only extracted a limited amount due to a lack of manpower.”
The man laughed, “We’ve even been able to bring coffee to the System.”
Aidan nodded thoughtfully. The dwarves would be interested in new exclusive minerals, and if they had technological applications, the gnomes might also find them valuable. As for medicine and other elixirs, the Canadians and their elven allies always searched for natural remedies to improve their own. There was value in both Colombian goods. Aidan was personally tempted by the coffee alone. He was an addict on the other side, and hadn’t had a good cup of coffee since he entered the System.
“Our military technology is off-limits,” he finally said. The envoy didn’t want the Colombians to mistakenly think that the Americans would give up their only advantage in the System.
“However, we’re willing to trade plenty of other goods. We have contacts in Canada and Mexico and could get your products to the international market. Are you interested in something other than weaponry?”
Daniel frowned, and the lizardfolk looked aggravated. The Colombian representative gestured to the trees around them. “The jungle provides everything we need to survive, but it also holds its dangers. We only need better weaponry to defend ourselves.”
Aidan sensed another way he could help the Colombians. “What kind of dangers? Maybe we could help you in exchange for goods.”
“My allies here are the smallest clan in their race,” Daniel gestured to the lizardfolk. “They’re peace-loving and kind. However, they’ve been at constant war with other lizardfolk. There are green-scales, black-scales, and red-scales who all want to eradicate their kind. They’ve sought shelter with us, but that’s only caused their enemies to attack our settlements.”
Daniel’s eyes grew cold, and his body language subtly changed. Aidan could feel aggression coming from the Colombians in dark-red waves.
“You should understand why we don’t want you Americans meddling in our internal affairs,” Daniel said cooly. “You’ve done enough of that throughout history, and we don’t want to repeat the past here. We only want your weapons.”
Aidan knew he had made a misstep, but he wasn’t sure where. He tried to diffuse the situation and raised his hands.
“We don’t want to influence the internal affairs of Gran Colombia.” He quickly said. “I can’t trade away our military technology and only wanted to help you in other ways. If that isn’t possible, I’m sure we can find other ways to trade peaceably.”
Daniel snorted, “It seems that we can’t reach an agreement. If you aren’t willing to trade your weapons, we’ll need to take them off your bodies and reverse engineer them ourselves.”