Several hours had passed since Angelica and I had had the little discussion in the caboose, and I currently found myself guts-deep in working on that power armor frame I’d found earlier, trying to fix the damn thing. So far, I’d managed to detach both arms from the servos and structural bracing, as well as the chestpiece. I was still questioning the sanity of the original creator of the armor piece, and their decision to have the leg armor swing inward, thus causing a potential problem for all male occupants who weren’t careful of exiting the armor.
During the hours I’d had to myself, I’d also wondered a few things, like the System box and the physical attributes of the Artillery Car I now possessed not matching up precisely. Or the fact that I was slightly wrong when I talked to Gurk earlier, and the ‘two thousand or so’ years was in fact, closer to ten times that. How I interpreted “Two hundred and fifty Cycles” and “Each Cycle is one-hundred years” into “two thousand years or so” I chalked up to a temporary fit of dyslexia.
As it was, a bolt was currently giving me difficulties as I was attempting to loosen it, causing me no small bit of irritation.
“You do realize you are now the last Conductor here in the Tutorial Plane, right?” I suddenly heard from behind me as the bolt gave way without warning, letting my hand smash upwards into the frame of the suit.
“MOTHERF-” I bit off the curse as I brought my injured fingers to my face and held them close. I directed a slight glare at Angelica as I replied. “Nothing stopping me from staying a little longer, is there?”
“No, but you won’t have a choice in where you end up now,” she shrugged. “So you’re either going to find yourself in a safe Station, or one that was abandoned long ago that still has an intact Engine Gate. Though I suppose on the latter point, you have a train that will more than likely survive that kind of scenario.”
“How often do Conductors find themselves in that kind of trouble?” I asked as I stood up from the kneeling position I was in.
“It’s... surprisingly common,” she hesitantly replied with a sigh. “It happens every Cycle, generally it is the first dozen or so Conductors that rush out, thinking they were ready. Some Conductors are even on their second, third, or higher number of Cycles when the Gathering happens.”
“Waitaminute,” I held up a hand. “You’re telling me that even if a Conductor dies... they can be resurrected in another Cycle?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “It isn’t too common, but sometimes a Conductor commits an epic deed, is of an extremely high level, or has gained heavy favor with one or more gods, and thus can return. Switching topics, I’ve done some more digging into the old Titan Conductor information in the System.”
“Find anything?” I asked as I stretched.
“A few things,” she leaned against one of the empty maintenance bay walls. “For starters, each Titan Conductor must have an Emblem that is displayed prominently on the exterior of their Engine, which provides various... benefits and maluses, we’ll say. You’ll have up to a year to select it, else one will be forced upon you by the gods, according to my research. Secondly, there are at least a dozen different types of Titan Engine, typically they have just two letters, I’m still trying to figure out what the latter two mean.”
“Oh, so what do mine mean?”
“The K-A means Kinetic Assault. I can give you three guesses as to just how it got that designation, but the first two don’t count.”
“Fancy,” I said as I looked back at the frame. Aside from the removed bits, the panels actually worked again after I applied some lubricant I’d found nearby to them. The left arm was completely dead, I’d have to remake the motors and servos from scratch, the right arm however did still work but I’d had to remove it anyway so I could remove the front chestpiece. My trait was trying to flare up, letting me know just how I could do the repairs, but I was trying to work it out the best I could without relying on it, for now. “So, are there a bunch of pre-made Emblems, or do I just... design it myself?”
“Both options exist, you just have to bring it up via your System interface once you reach level five.” At her words, I decided to check my stats.
Name: Thomas Smith
Level: 4
Class: Titan Conductor
EXP: 45/50
Health: 99.98%
Skills: 9(5)
Mana: 100%
Skill Points: 5/Level
Stamina: 100%
Traits: 2
Resources: 2T(Metal)+, 10T(W)+, 10T(C), 200G(Wa), 1T(Cargo Crates)+
Hmm, only five exp to go... I thought to myself wistfully. And hitting my hand took off a negligible amount of Health, good to know.
“Know of any ways to get five experience points?” I asked aloud, not expecting an answer.
“Well, for starters, you could turn on your Engine for the first time, but doing so will also mean that you would then have to leave soon.”
“So, me not turning on my Engine, is partly why I’ve been able to stay here for so long?” I incedulously asked. She nodded in response. “And that’s why a lot of people were leaving within the first hour?”
“Yes, and I’d give those Conductors a fifty-fifty chance of still being in control of their Engines at the end of the day.”
We lapsed into silence at that, which started to stretch uncomfortably long.
“Of course, if you finish your little project there,” she finally broke the silence with an adjustment of her glasses. “It should put you over the threshold. If you need me, I’ll be over in the Titan’s cabin.”
“Alright, talk to ya later,” I said to her retreating form. My gaze stayed for perhaps a bit longer than was polite, but I did eventually return to working on the frame.
Another hour later, and I was rewarded with both a finished frame, and finding myself at level five. The very first thing I decided to check out were the new Stats tab.
Stats:
Bonus Points:
Mental: Also known as Intelligence. Points earned are evenly split between the three below stats, with leftovers going to the User’s choice. Mana Total is calculated via (Sanity + Acumen +(1/2 Vitality Total)) x 2, rounded to the nearest 100.
+50
Sanity:
47 (30)
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Reduces the strain of spells that alter the world, and makes them slightly stronger. Some spells require Sanity at a certain level.
Acumen:
26 (10)
Understanding and Enhancement of spells. Every ten points equals one more spell to be learned.
Presence:
56 (40)
Affects your ability to tell lie from truth, as well as how well you get along with others.
Physical: Also known as Vitality. Evenly split between the three below stats, with leftovers going to the User’s choice. Stamina is determined by the sum of the three below stats, divided by two and rounded up to the nearest 10.
+25
Strength:
98 (65)
How strong you are, affects lifting, and carrying, capacities.
+25
Dexterity:
43 (35)
How flexible you are. Affects speed, manipulation of objects, and aim.
Endurance:
109 (100)
How much of a hit you can take. Every ten points equals one hundred hit points.
I whistled at the new information I had access to, but had no idea if they were good or bad, compared to normal people of the world. With this information in mind, I set the frame in my inventory, noting that it took a solid fifty percent of my encumbrance, and over half my current inventory slots.
From there, I tidied up, and then teleported over to my Engine. There was an almost palpable aura of eagerness to get underway from the machine.
“Angelica? You still in here?” I said as I entered the main cabin. I looked around, and spotted her sleeping on the little cot that was next to the stairs. Judging by the loud snoring coming from underneath the little Titan Conductors 101: A System Primer Guide book on her face, I would not be able to wake her up anytime soon.
Enduring the noise, I gently walked up the stairs and sat in the only chair on the upper level. As I sat down, I opened up the Emblem menu, which let me know that I could only choose one, and if I wanted to change it, I would have to wait ten years.
I scrolled through the premade options for a few minutes, not finding anything that I particularly felt enamored with, so I decided to open up the make-your-own-emblem part of the submenu.
Within five minutes, I had the likeness of my Engine in front of a tri-towered castle, all over a field of blue in the top quarter of the emblem, with the remaining three-fourths of the large rectangle I settled on having a total of thirteen stripes in alternating colors of red and white.
Warning: Your Emblem contains a pattern that may cause you trouble in the future. Continue?
[YES]
[NO]
I shrugged and hit the [YES], thinking that it was the depiction of the Engine that probably was what was doing it. Instinctively, I knew that the Emblem had appeared on either flank of my Engine, at the same time as a small version appeared on the wall in front of me, just above the door leading to what I could only assume is the reactor.
“Doesn’t look half bad, if I do say so myself,” I said quietly. I looked over the console in front of me, and saw a big keyhole with the word IGNITION above it.
Taking the key I was still wearing around my neck, I inserted it into the hole, and gave it a turn with surprising ease.
I felt the Engine come alive with a quiet hum as a few lights I had not noticed earlier came alive, and a handle rose up out of the console.
With a firm grip, I gently eased the throttle forward, and felt the Engine begin to slowly move. Within moments, I heard a clunk from behind me, followed by a rapid series of similar clunks, and the Engine began picking up speed.
I looked behind me, thinking something had fallen, but only saw the Barracks/Armory car through a now revealed window. An armored panel on either side of the wall had slid down to reveal it, allowing me to gaze outdoors. Similar panels had fallen down all around me, letting in some natural light as well as letting me see in front of me, along the spine of the Engine.
As we picked up speed, I activated my Titan Automation skill, and selected the artillery car as the target from a handy drop-down menu. From the five turrets, I was able to select two to activate, so I selected one of the mortar turrets and the main top turret. I felt an immediate drain upon my mana reserves, but I was able to ignore the discomfort with relative ease. I checked my stats screen and noted some immediate changes.
Name: Thomas Smith
Level: 5
Class: Titan Conductor
EXP: 0%
Health: 1000/1000
Skills: 9(5)
Mana: 200/300* (400)
Skill Points: 5/Level
Stamina: 130/130
Traits: 2
Stats: +
Resources: 5T(Metal)+, 10T(W)+, 10T(C), 400G(Wa), 1T(Cargo Crates)+
I shrugged, but was happy to know some somewhat hard stats, and also noticed that the Experience bar now read a percentage instead of a number, to which I was secretly thankful.
The Engine continued to pick up speed, and within ten minutes was chugging along at a rapid pace. We came to the distant mountain, and entered the tunnels beneath, going well over eighty-eight miles per hour (which pleased my American blood extremely fiercely.)
I had a moment to marvel at the stonework above me while noticing a light at the end of the tunnel approaching steadily. I looked down to see a still-snoring angel, and wondered if I shouldn’t wake her up.
The perfect device to do such a thing was hanging right next to me, after all. I could not resist.
With a tug, the Titan Engine Horn blared out in all directions. What surprised me a moment later, was the massive jolt as we crashed into something, throwing my unbuckled behind onto the console with an OOF, and from the tide of cursing coming from below, waking up sleeping beauty.
=====================================================================
Raleigh felt as if his day could not get any worse. First the near heart-attack from the falling shell earlier, to finding out his home was swarmed with hostile invaders, and now he found himself pinned behind a marble planter near the north end of the Engine Gate.
His group had encountered no resistance while traveling the length of the Engine Gate up until they reached the exit. There, they found that three locomotives had been set up perpendicular as a form of barricade, and a veritable wall of guns, including the missing weapons from the Royal Guard they found earlier.
Thankfully, none of the people that The Colonel had gathered got hit, a minor miracle all things considered.
“How’d they even get those locomotives like that?” Roy asked the air from next to Raleigh while firing back at the wall of guns. The tsk he made indicated that he more than likely failed to hit his target.
“Best guess? They just derailed them there, probably trying to capture the Conductor that’s meant to arrive ANY TIME NOW!” The Colonel yelled the last bit out at the column near them, whose rune had dimmed to nothingness five minutes ago. “Any of you lads got any ideas on how to get us out of this sticky mess?”
“Afraid not, sir,” someone nearby replied. “Closest way around is-” the man had to duck as a fusillade of shots hit the column he was hiding behind. “-is a hundred meters back and takes us up to the top!”
A rocket screamed overhead, detonating against one of the Engine Rails. Everything stopped for a moment, then a single shot rang out, but Raleigh noted that said shot was not aimed at his group. The rail itself was undamaged, but Raleigh had heard tales of the Cult of the Engine hunting down anyone who managed to damage one of the rails, or tried to repurpose them into a new form. Another moment later, and the fire resumed from the raiders.
“Not much use like this,” he sighed. At that precise moment, the lights in the Engine Gate all flickered and suddenly turned off, startling everyone.
“Who hit the lights?” Roy asked, barely visible from the outside light coming from the north.
“Now’s our chance to move!” The Colonel ordered. “Everyone, up the sta-”
It was at that moment that everyone felt a sudden wave of danger rapidly coming at them from the south. Raleigh looked back and saw a pair of large spotlights rapidly approaching, idly noting that the far away central archway of the Engine Gate had a blue glowing T shaped rune in the very center.
The sound of an approaching Engine caused everyone to look back at the approaching behemoth as it let loose its horn.
A roaring, wrath-filled sound issued forth, driving a spike of fear into anyone who heard it. Raleigh had never heard of an Engine’s horn doing such a thing, and he did not notice as the raiders all froze in fear, with many suddenly turning tail in fright to the north, back to their Fleet.
As if in slow motion, Raleigh watched as an Engine of a type he had never seen before rushed forward mere meters from his position on the passenger platform, crashing through the barricade of locomotives, scattering debris and bodies for hundreds of feet around.
The Colonel also watched in both fear and awe as a living legend came to life before his very eyes, trepidation flowing down his spine as he noticed a variant of The Forbidden Emblem along the side of each heavily armored Engine Car.
“A Titan,” he whispered, wondering what god had seen fit to let loose such an ill omen back into the world.