State Poland, Free Rzeszów, TACTA, Sunflower Hostel
Ghosts of the Future Team, August 17, 2049, 6:01 AM
“Looks like I’ve picked up a new little morning ritual,” Nikola thought with a playful smile as she quietly shut the door to Maksim’s room behind her. She darted back to her own space, her heart racing slightly, and felt a wave of relief when she confirmed that no one had noticed her “morning mischief.”
Since they’d gone to bed fairly early the previous night, everyone was up earlier than usual. Unfortunately, the hostel’s kitchen wasn’t just occupied — it was jam-packed, bursting at the seams like a subway car during rush hour. With no free tables in sight, they decided to regroup in Alisa’s room. Grabbing their breakfasts to-go, the team headed there, ready to dive into the important matters that needed discussing.
Everyone settled into their usual spots — Daria sat cross-legged in the armchair, her legs tucked comfortably beneath her, while Nikola was at the table, cradling a steaming cup of coffee in her hands.
“Alright, everyone’s mostly caught up,” Maksim began, “so let’s get straight to it. Tonight, we’ve got a critical mission — arguably the most important one we’ve ever had as a team. It’s going to get heated. Expect plenty of running and shooting. It won’t be easy.”
He pulled up the mission card in AR and displayed the key details.
//SYSTEM: Mission Analysis and Management Module
Mission: Manufacturing Complex “Accelion Labs”
Type: Assault and Clearance (Reconnaissance-Combat Operation)
Difficulty: High (8/10 on the City Scale)
Expected Category: C
Urgency: Critical (must begin no later than 4:00 PM, August 18)
Strategic Importance: High (valuable equipment, destruction of Shaiszu Nest)
Estimated Duration: 10–36 hours (including recon, combat, and cleanup phases)
Base Reward (excluding bonuses): 250,000 grants
DESCRIPTION:
The experimental manufacturing complex “Accelion Labs” houses production, laboratory, and storage facilities containing valuable AI-related equipment. However, nearby, Shaiszu entities have begun constructing a Nest. Once fully developed, this Nest would render the location virtually impenetrable. The mission demands the immediate elimination of this threat, securing the area, and safeguarding the critical equipment and resources of Accelion Labs.
(Details collapsed)
//END MISSION DESCRIPTION
“As you can see,” Maksim began, expanding the operation description for clarity, “our objectives are straightforward: eliminate the Shaiszu Nest and secure control of the ‘Accelion Labs’ complex. The base payout for this mission is 250,000, plus bonuses worth about the same. That’s solid money. But the real prize isn’t the payout — it’s the right to purchase up to 10% of the recovered hardware.”
With a quick swipe, he moved the mission card aside and pulled up the map, highlighting the route to the target.
“It’s about an hour and twenty minutes’ drive from here. The area falls into neutral territory, so we need to be ready for anything. Drone production, which Alisa started yesterday, will run until midnight, with another hour needed for testing. At 2 AM, the Rzeszów Inspector is scheduled to verify that our equipment and weapons meet mission standards. Once we get the green light, we load up and hit the road. We roll out no later than 4 AM. Questions?”
After a moment of silence, Maksim nodded with satisfaction and concluded:
“Good. That means we need to prep thoroughly today — no unnecessary risks. The better prepared we are, the safer this will go. I want everything running as smoothly as possible.”
“This mission will also serve as a perfect testing ground for the new version of the System,” Alisa added. “Dasha and I will deploy it to the servers today. We’re preparing everything, including setting it up to handle operations with a large fleet of drones. Essentially, this operation will be a real-world trial of the combat strategy focusing on unmanned combat systems.”
Nikola set her empty coffee cup aside and said, “Looks like drones are going to be our everything because when it comes to people, we’re screwed. I already dropped a report in the group conference, but I can give everyone the highlights now if that’s cool. Max?”
“Go for it,” Maksim nodded. “It won’t take long, and everyone will be on the same page. Let’s hear it, Redhead. After that, we’ll do a quick run-through of the tasks and get to work.”
“Alright,” Nikola said, shifting in her seat to get more comfortable. “It’s bad. Like, seriously bad. Rzeszów is facing a brutal manpower shortage — especially when it comes to experienced military personnel. Most teams were formed on the very first day of the invasion, and those groups turned into the current clans and guilds. There’s no one left unattached in the city.”
“What about newcomers? Some people must still be coming into the city, right?” Dasha asked, tucking a vape she’d been fiddling with back into her pocket.
“Not really,” Nika said with a shake of her head. “I mean, there’s traffic, sure. But it’s mostly fully formed teams coming and going. Solo arrivals are almost unheard of. I pulled this from the forums — there’s even a whole scouting thread. Any fresh people are immediately targeted by clan and guild recruiters. They’re promised big payouts, steady supplies, exciting missions — the whole package.”
“That’s going to be hard to compete with,” Maksim remarked, already familiar with the details Redhead had dug up. “Especially since we can’t reveal our biggest advantage — the System. Not yet, at least. It needs to gain a stronger foothold in the world first. Nika did her best to make us sound like a solid option, but so far... nothing. No responses. Barely any views, either.”
The cyborg girl sighed and ruffled her fiery hair. “So yeah, I’m betting on random encounters and building our own network. When we hit the bar later, I’ll poke around, see what I can pick up.”
“Alright, main points covered. Let’s move on,” Maksim said, wrapping things up. “Dasha is handling the System. Redhead and I are heading to Radoslaw’s, and we’ll grab the reactor on the way. Alisa, are you stopping by the workshop to check on production?”
“Yes,” his sister nodded. “I planned to stop by briefly. I’ll see if I can at least finish assembling one combat android like I intended. And I’ll join Dasha, throwing all the free resources I’ve got into helping her.”
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State Poland, Free Rzeszów, TACTA. Radoslaw’s Auto Workshop
Maksim Chernykh and Nikola Kowalski, August 17, 2049, 7:45 AM
Maksim and Nikola stepped into the sun-drenched streets of Rzeszów’s industrial quarter. Despite the early hour, the district was already bustling with life — crowds filled the streets, and most of the workshops were open.
Radoslaw Skiba’s workshop greeted them with a symphony of industry: the clash of metal on metal, the bright crackle of welding equipment, and the mechanical hum of numerous busy robots. Just yesterday, after the team had finalized the paperwork for the semi-truck, the Master had asked them to bring it in.
Overnight, his robotic workforce had completed the necessary preparations with machine precision, cutting down hours of labor. At the far end of the cavernous hall, the truck and trailer stood elevated on massive industrial auto lifts, gleaming under the bright overhead lights.
“Well, look who’s here — our morning ‘Ghosts’!” came a slightly gravelly voice. From behind a metal shelving unit stepped a stout man, holding an oversized coffee mug in one hand.
This time, though, his usual sharp glare and perpetually sour face were nowhere to be seen. It was clear that the unusual and challenging project had completely drawn him in, leaving him energized.
“Morning, Radoslaw,” Maksim greeted, firmly shaking his hand. “We’ve brought the reactor for the semi-trailer.”
Nikola gave a brief nod and followed up with her own handshake.
“Great! As you can see, we’ve already got things rolling,” the Master said with a wide gesture toward the tractor-trailer. “Cleared my schedule as much as I could. My guys are handling everything else, so I can focus entirely on this. Stayed late yesterday to map everything out. The robots spent the whole night checking every bolt and system, prepping for the work. I’ll try to wrap it up by midday as promised, but let’s just say this job’s no walk in the park.”
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As they moved closer to the truck, Maksim couldn’t help but notice the impressive array of professional equipment surrounding it, alongside the standard bots. What really caught his eye were five top-tier engineering androids, their shoulders and chests marked with bright orange accents. These weren’t just any robots — they were premium models built specifically for high-complexity work alongside humans in advanced industrial settings.
“Noticed them, huh?” Radoslaw smirked, catching Maksim and Nikola’s curious glances. “Rented these bad boys from the city for the day. Damn expensive, I’ll tell you that, but worth every last grant. They can weld, assemble, run tests, handle logistics — you name it. With these and my crew, don’t worry. We’ll hit the deadline, no problem.”
Redhead scanned the setup, her eyes lingering on the neatly stacked crates of mounting components and the massive frame positioned next to the trailer.
“Hmm… Looks like you’ve done way more than you’re letting on. A lot more,” she remarked, raising an eyebrow.
Radoslaw nodded with satisfaction. “Of course I have. Your safety — and my workshop’s reputation — are on the line here. If I can properly install this gravity compensator for vibration protection, I’ll have half the city’s caravan operators lining up at my door. They might not care much about vibration resistance, but the extra payload capacity? Oh, they’ll jump at that. So, yeah, I’m throwing everything I’ve got into this.”
Wasting no time, Maksim opened Radoslaw’s latest message in his AR interface to double-check the updated cost breakdown.
“Speaking of orders...” he looked up at the older man. “We need to talk about this price of yours because what I’m seeing here is... obscenely high.”
“Well,” the mechanic spread his hands, clearly ready for this conversation, “this isn’t just some routine job. Just installing the gravity module alone would cost a minimum of 120,000 grants. But here? We’re talking about a custom frame, cooling systems, vibration control, reactor installation, rewiring — and let’s not forget integrating it with your surgical module. My estimate came to 185,000. And that’s me being reasonable, especially considering the rush job, which makes everything exponentially harder.”
“Radoslaw, my dear partner,” Maksim said, his faint smile laced with sharpness. “Explain to me how your labor costs ended up being three times the price of the gravity module itself?”
“Quality,” the Master replied curtly, his expression unflinching. “You’re not just getting a vibration-resistant, high-capacity trailer. You’re getting a fully functional mobile surgical unit with unshakeable vibration stability. You could perform neurosurgery in there if you wanted to. And if I cut corners? The whole thing might collapse, crush your patients — or, even worse, the compensator might tear the trailer apart, like you so eloquently put it.”
“Sure, I get that,” Nikola interjected, her voice firm. “But let’s be honest — you’re also planning to use this as your big breakthrough, aren’t you? You’ll be the first in Rzeszów to professionally integrate a ‘gravity compensator’ into a trailer. That’s quite the selling point for future clients, isn’t it?”
“Fair point,” Radoslaw admitted, a sly grin tugging at his lips. “But work is work. And don’t forget — the TACTA consultation doesn’t come for free.”
“Which we’re already paying for,” Maksim countered, his tone sharpening. “Along with the compensator, the materials, the custom components. And now you want to tack on nearly 200,000 more?”
The mechanic lowered his voice as they walked deeper into the workshop. “Look, if you want this done right and on time, my team has to work nonstop, around the clock. They’ve been at it since last night, no sleep. That kind of commitment comes with an urgency fee.”
“We talked about this yesterday, Radoslaw,” Maksim said, meeting his gaze directly. “What’s the real number here? Let’s be honest — we’re partners, right?”
The mechanic paused, glancing at his assistants who were quietly tinkering with their tools, then let out a long sigh.
“Alright,” he said grudgingly. “I’ll drop the urgency fee and cut part of the service charge. Ninety-four thousand. But that’s final. Not a grant less. Not even a single lesser.”
Nikola crossed her arms, tilting her head as if deep in thought, while Maksim shifted his attention to his AR calculator, running quick numbers, weighing the odds of pushing the negotiation further.
“Fine,” he said at last. “Ninety thousand, plus all agreed expenses. And in exchange, you get to announce to the whole city that your workshop was the first to install a gravity compensator on a heavy semi-trailer in Rzeszów. That’s a big win for your reputation, isn’t it?”
Radoslaw let out a short laugh, his eyes lighting up with a spark of excitement. “Ninety-two, that’s the deal. Now, shake on it before I change my mind.”
Maksim smirked and extended his hand. They shook firmly, sealing the agreement.
“So, that settles it,” Nikola concluded with a grin. “You deliver the masterpiece trailer, and we give you fame and future clients.”
“And we split the profits from those clients as agreed,” Maksim added.
“Absolutely!” the Master replied with a broad smile, signaling to his androids to get started. “We engineers don’t cheat our partners! No surprises, no hidden costs. I’ll have it ready by one o’clock — well, maybe three at the latest. Not a minute later!”
At his words, the lift platforms let out a low hum, raising the trailer slightly higher. The androids kicked into action, tool-equipped robo-carts and assembly bots moving into position. Several human assistants grabbed engineering tablets preloaded with the project plans. The workshop buzzed with coordinated energy as the work began.
“Thanks, Radoslaw. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call,” Maksim said, giving the mechanic a nod. “We’ll be close by.”
“Got it,” he replied with a wink. “And make sure to bring that surgical module once it’s ready. We’ll install it right on the spot. Good luck and see you soon!”
Maksim gestured lightly toward the exit, and Redhead followed. They walked past the busy workstations, where material assemblers hummed, machines clattered, and welding sparks danced in the air, before stepping out into the golden morning sunlight. The sharp contrast between the workshop’s noisy energy and the calm of the street outside was almost jarring.
“That was still a steep price,” Nikola said, squinting against the brightness.
“Yeah,” Maksim agreed with a nod. “But a mobile surgical module is totally worth it. Plus, we’ll be the first in Rzeszów to pull off something like this. Radoslaw’s gonna make a killing on future orders, and we’ll profit from using the trailer and our cut of his contracts. It’s a win-win. Let’s get to it — we’ve got plenty left to do.”
Nikola smiled and leaned in to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. “Alright. Let’s get moving.”
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Alisa’s Island (DeepVR location)
Alisa Chernykh, August 17th, 2049, 9:55 AM
Alisa was lounging comfortably on a wooden sun lounger, perfectly positioned at the edge where golden sand met the pristine lawn of swaying palm trees. The virtual sun shone warmly in a flawless azure sky, while a gentle breeze stirred the palm fronds, carrying the faint scent of sea salt through the air.
Two vibrant blue parrots glided gracefully right through the holographic video screen hovering in midair. On the screen, a mesmerizing four-armed alien woman with cobalt-blue skin was draped in a nearly transparent gown. Her bald head was crowned with a bone crest, framing three vivid crimson eyes, a tiny nose, long, slender lips, and pointed ears adorned with elaborate piercings.
This was the Princess-Mentat of the Galactic Empire Octagon Prime, a character from the series ‘Babylon Station: Deep Space.’ It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Daria’s endless collection of DeepVR avatars could fill an entire book...
“And…” the blue-skinned beauty exclaimed, fidgeting with a vape in her lower pair of hands and flashing a wide grin full of razor-sharp teeth. “Connection to the network validation nodes is live! Bifröst is stable, channel is solid — we’re good to go, yeah!”
Princess-Dasha practically bounced with excitement, taking a deep drag on her vape — both in the VR and the real world, thanks to her avatar perfectly mirroring her actions and emotions.
“We’re absolutely killing it, yeah!” she declared, snapping the fingers of her upper left hand with a satisfying click. “Alright, initiating the connection for the ‘first thousand’ list. IDs verified. Here we go…”
Before the girls, an enormous interactive map of network connections unfolded. The counter started spinning: 100… 200… 500… 999… 1,000!
@SYSTEM: Initial deployment of the primary node network successfully completed.
“Woo-hoo!” Dasha cheered, narrowing all three of her crimson eyes in delight as she swiped the panel aside with a dramatic flourish. “We nailed it, Alisa!”
“Fantastic work,” the blond replied with a satisfied smile. “Moira’s running at 67% capacity right now. I’ll let the Club know we’ll be ready to connect another thousand users in twenty minutes.”
“Perfect,” the lead developer nodded. “I’ll take a quick vape break and then dive into the module update registry. We’ve got a ton of great feedback and a pile of small fixes — most of them are quick to implement.”
Dasha’s avatar faded away as she disconnected. Alisa breathed in the warm, salty breeze, a sense of satisfaction blooming in her chest as a notification popped up. A million grants had just hit the clan’s account — the next milestone payment from the Club for onboarding the first thousand users.
“Not bad for a team that was barely scraping by on minor missions a few days ago,” she thought, rising from the lounger, and heading toward the dark wooden bungalow nestled by the lagoon. On the veranda, a table draped in airy gauze seemed to call her over, inviting her to sit down and get back to work.
With a casual snap of her fingers, Alisa summoned a tiki mug filled with a “Tiki Master” cocktail and leaned into analyzing the System updates. That was when the incoming call caught her mid-thought.
The screen lit up, showing a young ginger-haired man dressed in a sleek gray shirt with subtle 3D-printed patterns and matching trousers.
“Hello, Pan Jacek,” the hostess of the scene greeted him with a nod. “What’s the latest?”
“Always a pleasure to hear your voice, Pani Alisa,” he replied, his tone calm and friendly. “I’ve got nineteen Quantum Cores for you at an average price of 125,000 grants per unit. The truck is fully secured and ready to roll. Which city in State Poland should I deliver to?”
After a moment’s thought, Alisa decided to name Rzeszów. After all, Jacek had guaranteed maximum security and complete confidentiality for the high-value cargo.
“Free Rzeszów,” she confirmed, forwarding a geotag. “This secured parking lot. Send me the details of the drivers and vehicle so I can arrange clearance. What’s the estimated arrival time?”
“Around 11:30 PM,” Jacek answered after a quick glance at his map. “Oh, and you might like the armored medium-duty truck transporting them. It’s the perfect base for a mobile data center. I’ll throw it in for free — just give me three System connections in return.”
Alisa smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Free? For three connections? That sounds quite expensive actually... But fine, you’ve got a deal. Send me the ID list for twenty-two independent TACTA partners. Connections will be activated as soon as the delivery is complete.”
“Already on it. Always a pleasure doing business with you,” Jacek said with a smile before his avatar faded into the virtual air. “See you soon!”
The video call ended. Alisa leaned back in her chair and quickly sent a voice message to Maksim:
[Hey, big brother! The Quantum Cores are arriving tonight, and I managed to snag an armored medium-duty off-road truck as a bonus. It’s practically a ready-made foundation for a mobile data center. We should get ready for hardware installation ASAP. Moira needs a serious upgrade — the Club is expecting additional connections by tomorrow. Also, we’ll have to figure out how to set up the first truck since all the hardware won’t fit in the one vehicle.]
Maksim’s reply came almost instantly:
[Great job, sis! I’ve already started designing the perfect mobile command post from the first truck. We’ll add a gravitational compensator, enhance off-road capabilities, upgrade the armor, and equip it with TACTA’s energy weapons, kinetic shields, and its own defensive drones. Basically, we’ll transform it into an unbreakable mobile fortress — the core of our clan’s operations. We’ll install three of the new Quantum Cores along with the additional modules we’ll grab after the mission. I’ll let Radoslaw know the fun’s just getting started!]
[Perfect plan. Let’s make it happen,] Alisa replied with a nod.