'This is starting to become quite tiresome.' So far, the excitement that always seemed to follow my dear friend around had eluded me. The elevator had brought me up but one level and, true to their last rattling, the two Guard Drones I had dispatched earlier had put their colleagues on alert.
The bothersome part of the situation was, to begin with, the dim lighting only broken by green and red emergency lights as the floor –metallic and chrome shine on walls, floors and doors- had gone into a security lockdown. Then, there were the new kind of drones that had come to face me, shoulder to shoulder with the baton-armed kind I had encountered earlier. These ones were nowhere near as armored but sported a large gatling gun in place of their left forearm.
GATLING DRONE Attacks! (DEX+INS)(8+4)+1=13 HIT! DAMAGE: 8+4=12
"Ugh!" And they seemed quite adept at keeping their close-range prone colleagues between themselves and me, while also caring little about their wellbeing if the hail of bullets managed to chip me while ripping through them. "...you dare?" I found myself whispering harshly, as if the Drone was even capable of reacting to it...
Or my glare before I pushed my blade through the midsection of its now motionless companion...
????? performs a Check! (MIG+DEX)(1+7)=8 DL10
'What could one find...' I then rushed in its direction with a battle-cry of frustration. The mechanically minded cur seemed ready to dodge me at the last moment...
????? invokes a Bond! ????? gains the strength of the Bond for his check! 8+3=11 SUCCESS!
'Even remotely fulfilling about this!' Thus, I summoned further speed and my burst allowed me to slam into the Drone. The blade cut through its side and slammed against the wall behind it. I felt something metallic fall to the floor. The tip was chipped. "...my dear friend, I think your mind might be addled after all." I grunted out as the ranged-prone construct flailed pathetically, now unable to defend itself.
I grabbed the handle of my blade with both hands.
?????'s Indomitable Spirit Activates! ????? Regains 10 Hit Points! ????? Attacks! (DEX+MIG)(5+10)+1+5=21 HIT! DAMAGE: 10+6=16
GATLING DRONE is Vulnerable to MELEE ATTACKS! DAMAGE: 16x2=32!!!
The chipped blade grated against the metal of the wall with a high-pitched wail as I sliced both Drones in half from hip to shoulder, sending them sprawling motionless on the floor.
?????'s PARTY WINS! EXP REWARD: 5
"...absolutely..." I wiped the sheen of sweat from my forehead. My right leg stung from where the bullets had clipped me. I raised the blade to my face. It wasn't going to survive another encounter of that kind. I felt my temper raising rapidly, my resolution to emulate him already dying in the fires of rage.
I needed a break. A mental one as much if not more than I needed a physical one, I admitted to myself with a certain frustration. I peered down the dim corridor and found a door with a green light above it, signaling that it was open so long as one possessed the right keycard.
So far, the keycard from the third level hadn't opened any door I had come across. I walked –no, limped, cursed be all the gods- to it... And, this time, it worked, I found with a certain level of surprise. Whoever had possessed this card before me was specifically allowed inside this room in particular, apparently.
I contemplated it for a brief second before walking in, spurred on by far steps.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
-III-
"...more specimens?" I said out loud as I walked into a pretty spoil room, with exception made for a series of large pods on the northern end of the room. They looked heavily armored, tied to complex machinery and panels. Two of them open, revealing a human sized enclosure. A far cousin to the one I had been confined to, for a different purpose... A different kind of experiment?
No matter. I walked a few more steps, the doors sealing noisily behind me. Then I found a spot on the western wall, against which I slid down to a sitting position on the floor. I closed my eyes and rested back my head against the wall, breathing deeply.
?????'s Party rests in a safe place! All Hit Points and Mind Points Recovered!
'The unknown was exciting at first but running around aimlessly with nothing but an endless supply of nuisances nipping at my heels is starting to be aggravating.' If that was everything to my friend's forays, I would have to ask myself if he'd taken leave of his senses... The frustration mounted with each set of nuisances. They didn't provide any challenge but they succeeded quite well in wearing me down, nonetheless.
They were mechanically programmed and as such, there was no intimidating them. They would keep coming my way no matter how many I slaughtered. 'Just fighting my way through won't be useful, nor satisfying... Hm.' I slowly re-opened my eyes as something hit me. Mayhap that was the reason why his interests were so... Variegated?
I had recently, before our fated last duel, come to realize the usefulness of a diverse approach. Then as well, simple might and intimidation hadn't managed to earn me what I wanted… Was this but a similar situation? If I couldn’t yet rely on my old strength, if I ever could, I needed to do something different. Differently.
Weakness now defined me just as it defined him in the past. So, how did he survive our first encounters? Other challenges? With resourcefulness and adapting to the situation that presented itself. ‘This is not a hunt. I have no hounds to circle and push my prey in my direction. It’s not a battlefield, nor a duel…’ It was just me and my surroundings and from those surroundings I should try and glean victory.
"Seems like such tedium” I slowly re-opened my eyes, settling them on the ceiling. “Still, I am starved for choice. Let's resolve to be more inquisitive from this point forward." Starting with the room I had found refuge which, I now understood after my brief rest, the drones outside would not come in.
The security lockdown didn’t affect some of the rooms which, I surmised, were important enough that they needed to be accessed easily even in such a situation. Whatever was inside was too important… Important enough that they couldn’t risk it getting damaged in random battles. The heavy armor of the cylinders was clearly made for defending what was inside…
…
Or maybe to keep what was inside inside? I approached the left-most of the full enclosures on the northern wall, and noticed a panel on the wall behind it.
The screen showed a green human silhouette on a black background, and white words made out of the unfamiliar alphabet of this star. This figure was filled with white about a third of the way, up to above its knees… A visual aid: this experiment, whatever it was, was only complete a third of the way?
I checked its twin to the right, finding a similar silhouette on an identical panel… With one difference. The panel was bright red instead of black, and a bold font displayed some kind of warning. This experiment had somehow failed.
Lastly, I found myself drawn to the last of the filled metal coffins, all the way in the corner where the northern wall met the eastern. As I inspected its panel, I found a human silhouette full of white, the black screen here shining with a soft green. The total opposite of the second one so, I could but assume that this experiment had been a complete success.
‘Very well… And what do I now do with this information?’ I crossed my arms, staring at the metal, a small window obscured by the lack of light from the inside. Limited and hunted as I was, the most prudent course of action would have been to leave it unbothered. All the creatures encountered in that place so far had obeyed the same will. Chances was, this one would too.
Yet, there was a chance it may not be so. That, if this really was another excellent experiment like I was to be, maybe this one would have free will. Still no assurance that it wouldn’t be hostile.
There was no reason whatsoever to just start touching random objects, opening random doors and containers on the slim chance that they would relinquish a useful boon…
…
Beep.
When touched, the panel produced an electronic noise and then produced a smaller screen, with an empty field at the top and ten symbols grouped together below. I had now learned the base numbers of this world’s alphabet but I was no closer to learning the passcode for opening this metal coffin.
“Well, then, my friend.” I extracted my blade. Chipped and damaged, it wouldn’t survive another battle. “I believe that if you were me, in this moment…” Thus, I decided to sacrifice its last swing on another task. I noticed the cables that connected the metallic cylinder to the wall, being supplied with energy and maybe more. I wondered, if whatever was inside was so important, if the power to the coffin were to be suddenly be cut off…?
I slashed down, again and again. The cables started giving in a shower of sparkles and metal chips from my weapon. Then, as I hacked through it and started cutting at the large tube behind, a loud alarm started echoing in the room. The dim light of the room got filled with red and a pneumatic hiss echoed from the cylinder.
Its cover started moving, following an automatic imperative to protect whatever was inside. Steam filled the environment as it slowly moved forward and then rose, slowly exposing its contents… ‘Well, then.’ As the pneumatic steam dissipated, I could tell that the cylinder’s captive was no drone.
And yet she looked so different that I didn’t know what to expect.
A metallic coffin opens, revealing a mysterious woman... [https://i.imgur.com/3PxmCb2.jpeg]