New Title Unlocked!

[Beast Slayer I] - You have slain hostile enemy fauna, and begun to develop an understanding of how to combat them. Grants an extra Stat Point to allocate as you choose.

New Title Unlocked!

[Shield Control I] - You have begun to learn proper shield use, taking a small amount of cumulative damage and having your shields restore to full again without them breaking. Grants a 3% increase to Energetics.

Malan allocated his stat point to Cognizance and closed the title notification windows after a quick scan of their contents, before concentrating on Elena’s question, and the small silver object in her hand.

“Drugged,” he asked, peering at the small silver dart held between her forefinger and thumb. “Why?”

“It’s possible it's some less than ethical chem testing,” she said, but the tone of her voice suggested that even she didn’t believe it was a realistic possibility. “Far more likely is that Standarr has people trying to arrange us an unfortunate accident at the hands of this dangerous jungle he so kindly warned us about. That crack before they found us was an explosive. The creatures were drugged into a rage and frightened right towards us.”

“That grants a lot of credence to the note.”

Elena shrugged. “Possibly. It’s also possible they don’t have a clue why we’re here right now, they just can’t afford us poking around any further. There’s no chance they thought this would kill us. It’s a final warning.”

Malan nodded, before stretching out his already stiff limbs. “Not a message I have any interest in listening to, at this point.”

“You sure?” Elena asked, her expression hard enough to be carved from stone. “Beyond this point they could come for us at any time. Real human people, trying to kill you. You might have no choice but to kill them right back. So far you’ve only had to fight monsters and animals. This is a whole different ball game.”

“If it comes to that,” he said, steadily as he could manage. “I don’t plan on hesitating. If you’re right about things, they’ve already tried to kill us, and have every intention on doing just that. I don’t want to kill anybody, but I want to die even less. If they attack, I’ll do everything I can to make sure they go before either of us.”

Elena held his gaze for a moment before nodding in approval.

“I figured as much. Had to check, though. Let’s keep moving, but we’ll have to stay on alert—there’s no telling when they might try it on.”

Malan’s pulse still hadn’t fully calmed from the fight even a quarter of an hour later, but he forced himself to focus on the path ahead as they battled once more through the dense undergrowth. They weren’t far from the location the note’s co-ordinates indicated and the threat of an ambush weighed heavily.

Elena had kept quiet after their brief exchange, but Malan could tell she was just as on edge, though she handled it far better than he was. Her gaze never stopped scanning their surroundings, and her fingers stayed wrapped tight around her holstered pistol. Given what they knew, he couldn’t blame her. Every snap of a branch or rustle of leaves had his gauntlet-heavy arms twitching.

Deeper and deeper into the jungle they walked, toward a point that wasn’t marked with any notable features on their maps. Malan’s mind raced through the potential outcomes—most of them unpleasant. This could easily be a trap, another attempt by Standarr and his cronies to take them out before they uncovered whatever dark secrets this colony was hiding. Or even simply to try and separate him from Tanwen. But if there was even a chance the note was genuine, they had to investigate.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“There,” Elena said, her voice low. She pointed toward a shadowed structure ahead, two storeys high, with several outbuildings scattered around it. The jungle had almost completely swallowed it whole. Emerald vines curled around bent and rusted metal, and large swathes of ivy covered most of the walls.

An outpost, most likely. Some sort of resupply or perhaps research station that served as a waypoint to no longer used locations further out into the jungle.

Malan took comfort in the weight of his plasma gauntlets against his arms, and the reassuring pulses of energy flowing through them as they approached. Elena took the lead, stalking forward, predator-like. She raised a hand to signal for him to stop, then crouched low, peering through the thick foliage toward the building.

A faint silhouette moved in the shadows.

“Someone’s there,” Elena whispered. She shifted her grip on her pistol, but didn’t draw it just yet. “Stay sharp.”

Malan nodded, mouth dry. A moment later, she waved him forward, and they advanced toward the outpost in silence, their boots barely making a sound against the forest floor.

As they drew closer, the figure stepped out of the central building. It was a woman—with dishevelled hair and clothes that looked like they hadn’t seen a proper wash in days—likely since the last time they’d seen her. It was Bessna, nervously wringing her hands as she watched them approached with wide, almost frantic eyes.

“Starbound?” she rasped, her voice quivering.

Malan lowered his gauntlets slightly, suddenly unsure of himself. “That’s me. You sent the note?”

She nodded rapidly, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting someone to burst out of the jungle at any second.

“I did,” she said. “I... I didn’t know who else to turn to. You’re Starbound—you can help me. Please, you have to help.”

Malan glanced toward Elena, who frowned but gave him a slight nod. He took a step forward. “Tell me everything. What the hell’s going on here?”

The woman took a steadying breath, and then spoke in a hurried whisper, words tumbling from her mouth. “My name is Bessna. My husband, Iven, runs one of the pharmaceutical facilities on the outskirts of colony ground. He... he oversees production there. But it’s not what it seems. They—” She hesitated, wringing her hands, her eyes darting around nervously. “Eclipse. They’ve taken over. The facilities—they’re not producing medicine anymore. They’re using them to make chems and shipping them out of system.”

Malan’s stomach tightened. He’d known something like this had to be going on on Mykeser, but hearing it confirmed still made his skin crawl. “Pirates?” he asked, his voice sharper than he intended. “Standarr’s one of them?”

Bessna nodded. “He’s the man they’ve put here to keep us in line. But it goes deeper than him. An entire division of Eclipse has made the entire system their home. They have Caezo in their pocket. Everyone there is paid off to turn a blind eye, and they’re threatening Lugh with executions en masse. Iven... he tried to keep up with their demands, but they’re impossible. And when he failed to meet a production deadline, they... they took our children.”

Her voice cracked, and for a moment, she looked like her legs might give out beneath her.

“They told him he’d get them back once he’d made up what he owed, but as soon as he did, they just upped their demand. They’re going to kill them—and him—if I can’t find a way to help...Please, you’re our only hope. You have power. You can save them.”

Malan stood frozen for a moment, the weight of what she was asking pressing down on him from all angles. As much as he hadn’t been able to let it go, he had been hoping beyond hope that they would get here and it would all be some elaborate hoax. Hell, he’d have preferred it to be a straight trap than children being in legitimate danger.

Elena stepped in, eyes narrowed. “Where are they keeping the kids?”

Bessna wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know. But I think they’ve been moved to one of the hidden chem facilities at the outskirts. They’re heavily guarded—only those working for Eclipse are allowed anywhere near it.”

Malan clenched his fists. That should have been obvious. These facilities would have to be one of the most secure places in the colony by their nature. Breaking in would be difficult and dangerous—but, he thought grimly, not impossible.

“No offence,” Elena said, her tone sharp but not unkind. “Why the hell are you even still alive?”

Bessna winced. “I know how to synthesise the chems correctly, and run the facilities to do it on a large scale—same for Iven. The benefits of having a spare on hand has kept me alive until now. But I can’t just sit by and watch them destroy my family.” She looked at Malan, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Please, you’re our only chance. Even with me and Iven driving production to its highest limit, we won’t reach their demands this time. They’ll either kill him or one of the children.”

Malan stared at her, the weight of her desperation settling on his shoulders. He felt the familiar surge of uncertainty rise in his chest; the doubt creeping into his mind. Could he really do this? Was he ready to go up against an organised, ruthless force like Eclipse. To kill or be killed?

But Malan already knew his answer. He’d known it the second he’s seen Bessna’s face outside of Lugh’s office. He couldn’t turn away from this. Not now.

“Of course I’ll do it,” he said quietly, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him. “I’ll get your children back.”