At the end of the day if you've created a net benefit for Ad Astra, you should feel proud. You are a tiny yet vital part of our thriving corporation. On the other hand, if you've created an overall net loss please report to the closest employee review booth for assessment and guidance. Our privacy screened and noise canceling E.R booths can be located directly beside every waste disposal chute. Please do not enter if the red light is on.
-Chairwoman Nina Ellory, Ad Astra Space Shipping, Passenger, Mining, Acquisitions, Exploration and Exploitation Corporation.
Silence followed the speech as the hologram of Old Gus vanished. Alex mused over what had been said, and what carefully hadn’t been said in order to intrigue him into looking deeper. It wasn’t a subtle push, but it was probably all part of the event and so the likelihood of it being important was high.
After a minute he happened to glance at Patina who was looking at the space where the hologram had been. “Hey, you okay there?”
“He didn’t leave me a message.” she said quietly. “I thought he would, for some reason.”
Not being sure what to say, Alex patted the little goblin on the shoulder comfortingly. She seemed startled by the gesture, and took a few steps backward before clerking her throat.
“It’s fine. Fine.” Patina took a deep breath and looked around. “This place could use a good clean. Yeah.”
The goblin started to pull various cleaning supplies from the same pouch that her mop had come from. When a long-handled broom joined the growing pile, Alex felt it was time to assuage his curiosity.
“How does all of that fit in there? Is it some sort of magic bag?”
“Spatial folding. Yeah, it’s magic. Standard issue for folks that need to carry around a fair amount of stuff to do their jobs. The orange-trim pouches are specifically made to only hold things that a sanitation worker would need.” Patina’s voice was heavy, and she radiated a lack of desire to talk.
“Do you need help? I mean, this is apparently my workplace now…”
‘I’m a [Cleaner]. I’m fine.” These words were delivered in such a way that also expressed that Alex would definitely be in the way if he tried to lend a hand. He put up his hands in surrender and decided to poke around instead.
The floor leading to the tipped-over locker needed to be navigated with care, but when Alex reached it he found amidst the dusty junk a rugged pair of long dark trousers with many pockets, a long-sleeved shirt with oddly shaped clasps instead of buttons, and a flat cap made of some dark material. He saw a stylized “A” logo that suggested this was the uniform.
Fingering the cloth Alex felt that it was thick and stiff, but not rough. Out of curiosity he used his [Evaluate] skill on each item.
>Evaluation of Ad Astra Technician Uniform (Pants): Working at 100% efficiency.
>Evaluation of Ad Astra Technician Uniform (Shirt): Working at 100% efficiency.
>Evaluation of Ad Astra Technician Uniform (Cap): Working at 100% efficiency.
That told him what the items were but nothing further.
>Incoming Message: [Evaluate] isn’t the same kind of skill as [Identify], [Inspect], [Assess], or [Assay]. It’s looking for problems. -Peri
And I guess the other ones you listed are looking for other things?
>Incoming Message: [Identify] returns data on living things, generally, and almost all sapients. [Inspect] is for non living things. Yes, including corpses. No, I don’t know why. [Assess] goes into worth and uses, and [Assay] is all about providence and history. -Peri
Is there some amazing all-in-one skill that does everything?
>Incoming Message: It’s Syntropy. Of course there is. [Analyze]. It’s hard to get. -P
Of course. Aloud, looking at the uniform, Alex muttered “At least it’s not a jumpsuit.” and began to pull the clothing over the top of his own. It fit comfortably, and Alex felt concerned as to why the uniform seemed made just for him when he felt the fabric slowly adjusting itself around him.
“Automatic adjustment? Okay, cool.” Alex brushed down his uniform with his hands, checking each of the pockets just in case - you never knew, right? Unfortunately they were all empty, but Alex quickly filled several with regular tools and items from his backpack. “Hey, shouldn’t I get one of those magical space pockets too?”
“Hah, “ Patina grumbled, “When I said ‘standard issue’ I meant you could purchase one with duty points or glim. The Adjunct has a store.”
Something else to keep track of, Alex sighed. In an effort to figure out what he could do in his new role, Alex investigated the three pieces of equipment that the hologram had pointed out. He started with the strange metal framework on one wall with all of the broken glass shards.
>Evaluation of Alchemical Manifold: Broken.
I mean…yeah. Thanks, skill.
>Evaluation of Small Matter Disassembler Unit: Broken.
You don’t say. I wonder if-
>Incoming Message: Yes. -P
I…okay. Thanks, but that’s a little uncomfortable. Can you wait until I finish my thought first? Alex shook his head. He’d started to wonder if as he got better at the skill it would give back more detail on exactly what was broken, or even how to fix it. Peri was a little too eager, it seemed.
>Evaluation of Small Matter Reconstructor Unit: Critically Damaged.
Okay. That’s all thr-wait. Critically damaged? That’s a different message. Not broken, just really really badly damaged?
Leaning in closer, Alex examined the device that his skill had labeled the small matter reconstructor unit. He had to move several bits and pieces out of the way to expose the pyramid-like device completely. With a keypad and a dial on one side, and a large opaque glass panel on the front with a knob that turned at the top point of the pyramid, the device gave no real indication of either how to use it or what was wrong with it.
The childish part of Alex wanted to press the buttons, but he held off from that. Instead he slowly turned the knob, which allowed the front panel of the unit to fall forward like the drawbridge of an old castle. Once it reached its maximum extension the panel snapped off entirely and hit the floor with a clatter that caused Patina to give Alex a look. Alex grinned.
“Sorry, just poking around,” he explained. Patina shook her head. Alex did a double-take when he saw that the goblin had already cleared a patch of floor to near-sparkling cleanliness, and had started stacking and organizing various bits and pieces of miscellaneous junk out in the corridor to be organized.
“Just be careful.” the goblin cautioned. Alex put a hand on his chest and winked, which rewarded him another patented Patina snort.
Now that the front panel had snapped off, Alex hit the machine with another [Evaluate]. As expected it gave him a more terminal response for the poor device.
>Evaluation of Small Matter Reconstructor Unit: Broken.
“Well, “ he muttered, “fine. You fix some things, you break some things. Such is life.”
Now that the front panel was gone, Alex had a quick look inside. There was something laying on a metal plate within the reconstructor. After making sure his gloves were on, Alex reached in and gingerly pulled the object out.
As he held the thing at one end, letting it dangle downward, he examined the thin metal framework carefully. It was built to look like a glove - if gloves were a mesh of metal that looked more like the structure around which a glove would one day be built. Thin wires and glass-like threads wove across the structure, giving it a junkyard-fishnet look. Each of the fingertips had what seemed to be a thimble, and the palm of the structure was a wafer-thin round plate.
Old Gus must have been working on something before he died. [Evaluate].
>Evaluation of Omnitool (Experimental design G-06): Incomplete.
Alex’s face lit up with a gentle smile. Well now, he thought, there’s a thing. “Hey Patina?”
The goblin looked up from her cleaning and glanced at the thing Alex held up between two fingers. “Any idea what this would need to get it working?”
“What’s…” Patina trailed off as she narrowed her eyes and then almost jolted back, startled. “Voidfuckers…what in the hells is that thing doing here?”
“You recognize it?”
“I’ve never seen it before, but my [Inspect] skill tells me what it is.”
“I didn’t get that one.” Alex groused, Can I get that one?
Surprisingly Peri was silent on the matter. He shrugged. “What does your skill say?”
“Omnitool, “ she said, talking forward with her eyes wide. “Experimental design G-06. Incomplete.”
“That’s about what I got, too.”
“There’s more. It says…” Patina took a deep breath, “Designed by the scientists of Ad Astra’s covert research branch, this experimental omnitool has a uniquely unobtrusive design paired with the ability to store large amounts of materia within its six spatial-fold storage vaults. This particular model was created in an attempt to allow the user the ability to still use both hands whilst wielding the omnitool, therefore increasing work efficiency and convenience.”
“Wow. Okay, this is cool then.”
“Warning: “ Patina added, “The G-06 design’s flaws are its increased power need and requirement for a neural linkage with the user. Ad Astra management does not feel this design delivers an appropriate amount of benefit for the expense, and research on it will be discontinued immediately.”
“Ah. Well, not everything is going to be kittens and rainbows. The point is, this is an omnitool, right?”
“An incomplete one.” Patina pointed out.
“That I think we can fix.” Alex argued. “In time.”
“Alex, that thing came from the research labs.” the goblin practically whined.
“You say that like it should mean something.” Alex said, placing the experimental device down on the nearest bench. “What’s got you so bothered?”
“Several things!” Patina exclaimed, coming to a halt right in front of Alex. She held her broom in one hand and a small dustpan in another, and looked like she wanted to use both on the experimental omnitool. “Firstly, Ad Astra’s research labs are a not-secret secret that kept their funding by creating increasingly deadly and dangerous things. Most of which were promptly sold off to galactic governments. They’re not nice people Alex, and that’s me saying that.”
“And secondly, “ she added before Alex could speak, “The research labs. They aren’t in car 9997. They’re, like, up around the 1400’s somewhere. So how in the void did it get here? I’d say the same with the tech tools like the deconstructor, but those at least make some sense. R&D items only ever leave their labs when they’re complete, and profitable to the company - and never come back here.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Is there anything in the description that says it’s dangerous?” Alex pressed. Patina sighed and shook her head.
“No, but my [Inspect] skill is only rank two.”
“That’s a lot of information for rank two. My rank one [Evaluate] just tells me the name of it, and that it’s working or broken.”
“Some of that seems like it should come from the [Assay] skill instead?” Alex mused aloud, “But I really don’t understand all this yet.”
“The explanation was actually built into the design of the thing - like a combination of an advertisement and research notes. The creator added it themselves so that the common [Inspect] skill would bring it up.”
“So what you’re saying is that we have an omnitool - not a standard one, not a working one, but an omnitool nonetheless. Right?” Alex asked. Patina reluctantly nodded. “And Harmony would recognize this as such?”
“I’m not sure how the Adjunct knows what’s what, but she should at least get that, yeah. She’ll also know that it’s not working.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Alex grinned. An idea had blossomed in his mind and he was eager to carry it out.
“You can [Jury-Rig] it somehow?”
“Oh, god no. Well, probably not. My skill is shit right now. But let’s find a place where we can talk to Harmony.”
“Why? Just put the thing somewhere safe for now - if we don't have a way to fix it. It’s better if we got this place into some sort of organized cleanliness, and you started practicing your skills to improve.”
Alex picked back up the omnitool and waved it about excitedly. “Because I think I just achieved my next win condition.”
“What?”
“To go back home I need to score well. To score well, I need to do my job here. Probably fix this place up and, let’s be honest, investigate these mysteries the universe is throwing in my face like the whole ‘save us’ image from earlier, and these conveniently out of place devices.” Alex took a deep breath, powering through Patina’s half-voiced objections, “And to do my job I need to complete tasks assigned by Ad Astra - Harmony, specifically. To get assigned these tasks, I need to have a uniform, and an omnitool.”
Alex struck a pose, one hand holding up the experimental device, the other offering a sweeping gesture over his new uniform. Patina scowled. “Boss, I’m not really a negative person - ah, yeah, actually I kinda am but I’m working on it in, like, tiny sporadic bursts - but a broken omnitool won’t help you.”
“But it will.” Alex chuckled. He stepped forward and took the surprised goblin by the hand. She only just managed to transfer her dustpan to her pouch as he did so. “Come on. It’s time to talk to Harmony, because you know what she didn’t say?”
“Wh-what?” Patina managed as Alex practically pulled her out of the room and into the corridor.
“She didn’t say anything about the omnitool being in good working order, only that I have one.”
Go with the flow? Alex mused as he smiled and walked down the corridor, Absolutely. But sometimes you need to paddle a little to avoid being carried off down a distributary and into a stagnant slough.
*
It took longer than Alex would have liked to locate a room with a working screen. They didn’t have to travel back up to the upper decks, but the scavenger hunt was worrisome in that there was so much broken crap. It would, of course, be up to Alex to fix.
Flickering to life on an unbroken screen, Harmony surveyed the pair. Patina looked ready for rejection, but Alex stood proudly before the AI in his new uniform brandishing the experimental omnitool.
“I’m ready to work, “ he declared.
“You killed the- no, that’s not…” Harmony frowned as whatever she used to see focused on Alex’s hand. “That is not a corporate approved omnitool.”
“Ad Astra designed it.”
“That thing has never been released for employee usage. I would have a record of it.” Harmony argued, “And I can see that it’s not working - it’s missing a power converter, a power cell, and a neural linkage assembly.”
“And?” Alex grinned. Thank you for telling me what I need to get it working, too.
“And so I cannot assign any tasks to you.”
“Of course you can, “ Alex waved his hand cheerfully. “Your instructions were to find a uniform and an omnitool. I have both. And before you start arguing further about it being a nonworking omnitool, that was not part of your original instructions.”
“I didn’t think it had to be!” Harmony exclaimed, her voice growing heated.
“I’m sorry, but I’m super keen to start my work for Ad Astra.” Alex said. So that I can save my life, and then go home.
Harmony frowned. “Your enthusiasm does you credit, Alex, but without a working omnitool there are many tasks that you cannot complete. Vital tasks. Tasks that will result in the survival of-”
“Yes?”
“Ad Astra’s legendary profit margins.” Harmony replied quickly. The screen glitched out for a few moments, her face rippling with static. Alex sighed.
I have to be careful I don’t make her pop a circuit board or whatever by making her admit too much, he thought. Aloud he added “It’s a start. We can start somewhere. Surely not every task requires the omnitool.”
“It would make all of them much easier.”
“Which means they’re still possible. Right?”
“Possible, yes.” Harmony let out a frustrated huff. Alex wondered why such an expression would even be programmed into a machine that didn’t require breathing. “Fine. This is all to avoid my incredibly vital and wonderfully rewarding task of killing Fabian Vod, isn’t it?”
“Harmony, I am eager to commence performing the key tasks of my role as a Grade Four Junior Technician with Ad Astra.” Alex said with a straight face.
“I can’t fault you for this. I don’t have to like it though.” Harmony groused. “When the time comes, you’ll have to do it anyway you know. The working omnitool isn’t just a whim, and I seriously doubt you could get the neural linkage assembly needed to make your current aberrant item workable.”
>Syntropy Task: Event #1283 - Updated - +0.5%
I win, Alex grinned as he winked at Patina who looked surprised by the AI’s capitulation. “Okay. Job me up, task captain!”
“What?” Harmony asked, puzzled.
“Can you assign me some tasks now, please?” Alex amended, blushing slightly.
>Corporate Add-on: Duties List updated.
“Tasks assigned. I’ve taken the liberty of assigning them to suit your current low level and skill set. Please inform me when you advance, and when you gain new skills.” Harmony stated, “Though I have no in-depth knowledge of the [Mender] Path due to…proprietary reasons the company will not divulge outside of its directorial board…there are certain skills that have a likelihood of being generated: [Repair], [Schematic Design], [Construct], and [Fine Tune] for example.”
“Good to know.” Alex said, and then opened his task list eagerly. The red background of the Ad Astra section of his interface felt warm and invigorating - whether this was Alex being on a small high from getting a win, or because the Interface itself fed him serotonin or something, he had no idea, and Peri was silent on the matter when Alex thought questions about it.
~AD ASTRA TASKS~
Kill the Fake Overseer
A miscalculation based on insufficient data has resulted in an unsuitable candidate being promoted to a minor leadership position within the company hierarchy. This must be resolved outside of the usual means. Kill Fabian Vod. Come on, Alex. It isn't that hard.
Reward: 900 glim. 1000 Duty Credits. Omnitool.
~
Complete Daily Duties
In order to receive daily wages, within the current daily cycle you must complete the following:
12 hours of work in your current role
or
5 pieces of Ad Astra property repaired
or
5 Ad Astra tasks completed.
Time Remaining in daily cycle: 13:36:55
~
Repair Cracked Seals
The seals around airlock 12 located in Upper-C-11-Beta-Yellow-19 have become brittle and are estimated to fail in three days, creating a loss of atmosphere and necessitating locking down a significant portion of the above decks between compartments 114 to 200.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit.
~
Repair Ductwork
Though the atmospheric ductwork throughout carriage 9997 is in severe disrepair, a portion from junction A-664 to A-667 (Lower-C-25-Beta-Green-95) has been wholly torn out of place, lowering the efficiency of atmospheric cycling by 68%.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit.
~
Seal Room
Sometimes it is an unfortunate necessity to completely close off and seal access to a compartment, section, or room. In this case, Lower-C-11-Gamma-Taupe-67 has become so badly damaged that its continued use will place employees in higher than allowed danger.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit
~
Bilge Rat Infestation
Lower-D-4-Alpha-Red-0 is under close monitoring for an active bilge rat infestation. A midden is suspected, likely in the access conduits. Entry to the access conduits is granted via an automated sensor, which has malfunctioned.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit
Note: It is not part of your duties to eliminate the bilge rats. If you choose to do so, an additional duty credit and 5 glim per kill will be awarded.
~
Repair AWDF Leak
Arcane Waste Dispersal Fluid is extremely toxic, as you know from your earlier encounter with the yellow liquid informally known as ‘diss piss’. The transportation pod you arrived in still has a rupture in the pipeline that carries spent AWDF for disposal, and it is leaking down into the lower decks.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit
~
Unstick Door
An entry door to Lower-B-4-Alpha-Green-11 has been jammed. Repair the door sufficiently to allow entrance and egress.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit
~
Rewire Network Node
Network Node A-6222229d has irreparably damaged sections that need to be bypassed. Instructions on how to rewire the node to utilize only the working portions will be sent to your Interface.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit
~
Survey and Evaluate Security Cameras
Not currently a repair task, but an evaluation of the security cameras in all locations you traverse. Notate how many are not in working order, and what would be needed to bring them all back online.
Reward: 1 Duty Credit per 10 cameras.
Note: “Daily Duties” will be updated by 1 per 10 cameras surveyed.
Note: Current skill level of [Evaluate] may not be sufficient, but make the attempt anyway.
~
“Do you know what I find most interesting about this task list, Patina?” Alex asked, as Harmony displayed it on-screen even as his interface showed him in his vision. The goblin looked at him questioningly. “In the task list, at least, there’s no dissembling. The issues are clearly noted.”
“Huh. You’re right.” Patina raised an eyebrow at the display. Harmony said nothing, staring directly ahead as if ignoring the conversation entirely.
“So I really don’t want to touch the leaky death-fluid one, but if it’s dangerous to leave it as-is then it should be one of the first things I do, “ Alex reasoned, “And if we can avoid fighting by repairing the thing that keeps the bilge rats from leaving their nest that would be handy as well.”
“Your uniform should protect your body at least somewhat, but you still don’t want to touch diss-piss.” Patina suggested, “That’s a place where the omnitool would really have come in handy - not that I’m suggesting we go kill an evil, wicked, no good, very bad, horrible….” she trailed off under Alex’s stare. “Sorry.”
“Alright!” Alex slapped his gloved hands together. “Let’s get to work. Patina, which of these is the closest?”
“I could display that for you on any available screen.” Harmony objected.
>Incoming Message: And you have a map in your Interface, Alex. -Peri.
Can the map show me places I haven’t been yet?
Silence came from his helper, so Alex queried the AI. “Do you have many working screens between here and my destinations?”
“Some might perhaps be in standby mode during this ongoing…uh…” Harmony suddenly smiled, “During this time of solidarity with the less fortunate of the galaxy, where Ad Astra is utilizing less power and giving our passengers and crew an insight into how the less fortunate (i.e, those who do not work for Ad Astra) live.”
Wow, that was a stretch. What’s the deal, anyway? She can tell me what’s wrong through tasks, but finds it harder to say them aloud? Alex thought, But there have been times she’s half-said something or started to say something before stopping. Being forced to stop? Maybe.
“So the answer is ‘not many’, " he said aloud. Patina had been studying the job list.
“How enthusiastic do you feel?”
“Pretty enthusiastic. We do need to get enough things done to complete my daily duties task. Speaking of, are you squared away for the day, work-wise?”
“It doesn’t really matter at this point in my crushing black hole of a debt load, “ the goblin grinned, “But my one ‘duty’ right now is ‘Assist Technician’. So, if you feel like putting in some work we could go this way, hitting this job…then this one…and that one…”
Alex followed Patina’s long green finger as she traced a route for them. He agreed, mostly because he had no idea of the train’s actual layout and what all the area labels like twelve-chartreuse-mushroom-omega or whatever meant but also because the little goblin looked genuinely excited to be doing something other than cleaning.
“Also along this way there should be quite a few cameras or other monitoring devices we can survey.” she finished. “Because the Adjunct is supposed to be able to see everywhere and everything and, well…”
>Corporate Add-on: Duties List updated.
Alex checked it out. No new ones had been added, but a third note had been added to the task for surveying the security cameras that simply read ‘I need to see’. He nodded.
“Sounds good. Let’s hit it.” Alex declared, making sure his gloves were on and his gear was set. The experimental omnitool and everything else from his backpack that he’d packed minus the tools and a snack bar were left behind.
“Do not hit my property.” Harmony declared quickly, and flashed up a quick image of Alex when he’d hammered off the panel to get to the pod door’s wiring. She had put a big red circle with a line through it over the image. Alex grinned.
“Only if it needs it, “ he promised.