Joshua ducked down, taking cover behind a low wall, as the blaster shots blanketed the area. A glaring red bolt barely missed the top of his head as dust and debris rained down on him. He clutched his blaster pistol, replaced the heat sink, and prepared himself.
He was about to peek over and take a few shots when he heard some scuffling behind him. He didn’t turn around but fell backward, raising his blaster, and fired just as the Gravun mercenary came around a corner. Joshua’s bolt hit the man in the forehead, boring a hole through his head.
“Great shot! Now, deal with the rest. Go, Go, Go!”
“Yeah, yeah! I got it. I’ll just deal with the dozen murderous mercs alone then, won’t I?”
“Hihihi. Yup!”
Joshua grumbled as he rose back into a crouch, finally peeking over the wall, blaster ready.
Three mercs were running across the inner courtyard, and he fired three quick shots. Only one struck lethally, hitting the merc in the chest, while one missed, and the third hit the firing arm of the third goon.
Joshua dipped down, taking cover, and moved further back, now entering some corridors.Blaster bolts hit the walls behind him as he ran, trying to keep low, and he made it through the doorway. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of gray metal, while the floor used to be covered with something. Whatever it was had long since rotted away or been worn down, somehow.
Joshua tried the consoles on the doors, but they were sealed shut, and he didn’t have time to hack them. He kept running through, taking blind shots behind, hoping to keep his enemies at bay.
“Left! Go left!”
He did as requested and found himself running at a dead end with a single, large door.
“Sile, Ternu, Charl, Nores.”
Josh dashed to the console, which activated, and inputted the code. The door slid open, and he scrambled through, taking cover by the side, and slammed on the console.
The door slid shut, and Joshua took a breath.
The room was large but in ruins like the rest of the compound. The only exit was the door he came from, so he was stuck for now. Consoles flickered and sparked, but most remained dormant or dead.
Joshua heard the merc slam into the door behind him, and the console flickered, indicating someone was trying to hack it. According to what he saw, it would take a long time before they managed.
Josh looked around the room, walking between the various consoles and stations.
“A research lab?” he wondered out loud.
“Yup!”
“And how am I gonna get out of here?”
“No clue, but that orb over there holds something good. Go check it out.”
The orb in question was a glass sphere. Joshua walked up to it and noticed some cracks in the glass, but it remained whole. It was filled with a silvery gray liquid, but Joshua had no way to identify it. The sphere stood on a metal plinth, connected to a console with thick cables, but the console was dead. The screen was broken, and sparks were flying from a few torn wires.
“Just crack a hole in it, and reach your hand in.”
“What? What the hell!? There’s no way I’m doing that.”
“Come on, don’t you trust me?”
Joshua looked down at his wrist, where the new armband rested. An orb on the armband house the incredibly advanced AI. He’d snagged the thing from right under the noses of the Gravun mercs, which is why he was in this situation, and now it wanted him to shove his hand into some unknown liquid.
“Fucking fine! This better lead to something good, alright? Preferably a way out of this mess.”
“Don’t worry! It’ll all work out. You’ll see!”
Joshua picked up a broken piece of metal and slammed it into the top of the sphere, creating a hole. He repeated the action several times until the gap was wide enough for his hand to fit.
He took a deep breath and shoved his hand in.
At first, he only felt the cold liquid around his hand, but it quickly became a searing pain. Tendrils of metal dug into his hand, and his muscles locked up, keeping him from pulling his arm back. The pain raced up his arm, and Joshua felt his consciousness fade.
The last thing he heard was the voice of the AI.
“It’ll all be fine. Perfectly fine.”
***
Space warped around him, and ripples threatened to tear him apart as something brushed against his mind, something unfathomable.
Joshua felt so small, like a grain of sand against the mountain, as the presence seemed to lock onto him.
Space warped around Joshua as a massive eye opened up before him.
***
Josh woke up with a jolt, the lingering pain drawing a gasp from him, but it quickly faded.
“Good morning, sunshine! About time you woke up. The mercs are about to break through.”
Something about the voice sounded different, but his head was swimming, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Joshua looked up and saw the sphere had been emptied. Recollection caused his eyes to widen, and he looked at his arm, but it was fine.
No wounds, no burns, nothing.
He looked confused, remembering the pain and the sensation of something crawling up his veins, but that confusion was replaced by something else when he noticed the orb on the armband had disappeared.
That orb house the AI, so how was it speaking to him if it was broken?
“Right, you noticed.”
“I noticed what? What the hell is going on? How are you still working?”
“You know, you could call me alive, right? I mean, I’m in your head now.”
“In my head!? What the fuck?!”
“Calm down, bucko. I’m not your enemy. That liquid was a whole lot of advanced nanomachines. They created a sort of implant for me to inhabit inside your head while improving your body.”
“Nanites? Does that mean?”
“Are you connected to the Great Consciousness? Yup!”
“How?”
“This lab was one of the earliest researchers of the Profound Connection and the arrival of the Great One. A hostile faction wiped them out, and everyone has been scrambling to catch up to them ever since. What you’ve gained is leagues ahead of what the others get. Except for the true elites of the Universe, perhaps. Who knows what those factions have achieved in secret?”
Joshua sat silently for a while, stunned by the revelation that he had been granted a Connection.
“Other research stations might have been breached, and some factions may have figured out how to use that. Anyway, none of them have me! So, you’ve got an advantage anyway.”
Joshua remembered the talks about the Profound Connection and how it enhanced people. Earth had been very late to the party, and missed the window of opportunity to claim a Connection on their own, and was reliant on the greater factions. Many had tried to get trade deals going, but nobody wanted to empower other factions. The only way Earth could gain Connections was to join a faction, but every vote went against it.
Humanity enjoyed its independence and remained somewhat xenophobic, even after decades.
But, now he was Connected and would reap the benefits of it.
“So, how does it work?”
“Just focus, and will the Connection open.”
Joshua did as instructed, and words appeared before his eyes like an overlay over his normal vision.
Joshua Reed
Class-1
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 9
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 4
Accuracy: 9
Speed: 7
Toughness: 4
Stats, like an old rpg appeared, and had quantified his abilities. It had gone above and beyond what the standard Connections could, though, as it would typically only show two or three stats. Joshua’s eyes widened at the implications. A Connection could only improve on the stats it showed. If he could see these stats, then he could improve them.
“Stats like Accuracy, Speed, and Toughness are limited to their respective main stats. Accuracy and Speed are Dexterity, while Toughness is both Endurance and Strength. It’s strange, but Endurance plus half of your Strength is the limit for Toughness. I can tell you right now that more Stats can be unlocked, but you’ll need to find or create some very advanced nanites for that.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Joshua felt better than before and couldn’t wait to get even better. This was his ticket to the big leagues. For years, he’d been scrounging around, scavenging for scraps. He’d come to this planet by stowing away on one of the Gravun’s ships after he heard about some newly discovered planet in the uncharted sectors. It was a risk, but if he weren’t willing to go through hell, he’d be better off finding some crappy job back on Earth. He’d left home to find adventure, wealth, and fame, and this was his way to achieve that. He was weak at the bottom of the barrel for now, but he’d rise to the peak.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re still weak as hell, but the Connection has unlocked your current potential, allowing you to make full use of your stats.”
“And, how do I improve my stats?” Joshua wondered.
“Train. The nanites still flow through your body, drawing power from the Great One. Your stats will rise based on your actions. You’re weak now, so you’ll improve quickly, but it’ll slow down eventually. I’d say your current maximum is around 25-30 points in each stat. More nanites will increase that limit.”
“Alright, so train, get better, find more nanites, and git gud. I got it!” Joshua couldn’t help but grin as he thought about it, but it was quickly wiped from his face and replaced by a frown when he heard the sounds from the door. The Gravun were about to break through.
He took cover behind a solid workstation and aimed his blaster at the doorway. It opened a moment later, and a hulking brute took a bolt to the head, and he dropped as Joshua hit the next one. A storm of shots flew through the doorway, but he only managed to kill the one guy. The woman next to him took a hit on the shoulder, but she survived.
The standoff lasted five minutes until a small ball was thrown into the room. Joshua’s eyes widened as he followed the grenade’s arch but acted without thinking. He rushed out of cover toward the grenade, leaped, grabbed it, and threw it back. It blew just as it passed the threshold, and Joshua was sent flying back. He slammed into the wall, and the wind was knocked out of him.
Joshua gasped for breath and recovered in seconds but still tasted iron on his tongue. Shards of glass and some metal shrapnel had dug into him, and the concussive force of the grenade had scrambled his insides.
“Careful, J. You’ve got some internal bleeding, two cracked ribs, and twenty-three bits of glass and metal in your body. Let the nanites work on fixing you before you strain yourself.”
“Can’t… Gotta-Heurgh. Gotta get out now before more show up.”
He staggered to his feet, his vision swimming and coughing blood, but he pushed himself to move. He walked toward the exit step by step, picking up his blaster from where it fell.
On the other side of the doorway was a massacre. Blood and viscera covered the floor, ceiling, and walls. Joshua gritted his teeth and kneeled next to the console. Some bits of equipment had survived the explosion, proving them to be quality stuff. He picked up a few wires, plugs, sockets, and a pad with a cracked screen. It still worked, but some circuits seemed to be damaged, so it wasn’t in its best condition. He stowed them in his pack, snagged a couple of fresh heat sinks, and staggered back to his feet.
He heard shouts in the distance and the sound of steps, but he sped up down the corridor, this time taking a different route, avoiding the inner courtyard from earlier. He kept walking for a while, evading the few patrols he encountered. Most of the mercs had rushed toward the research lab, but some remained, and they kept watch on the area.
Joshua eventually found a storage room with several crates, which gave him some cover. His wounds had worsened as he walked, and he had to speed up and push himself a few times to avoid the Gravun. He settled down, grunting as his ribs shifted in his chest.
“So, how long do I have to wait?” Joshua asked. He could already feel the nanites working, but his recent activity had exacerbated things.
“It’ll take a while. That blast took a toll on your body. The surface wounds are easy enough, but the internal damage and the ribs are not. Additionally, your activity means some nanites prioritize improving you, meaning many of them are not actively healing your wounds. That’s why you should always relax when healing,” Joshua groaned as he heard the Ai, but he could do nothing. He closed his eyes and leaned back, hoping the Gruvan mercs didn’t think to check this room.
***
He’d been resting for half an hour when he heard steps outside the door, followed by voices. Joshua tried to move closer to the door while avoiding any sudden movements. He was still injured, but his surface wounds had closed. The internal ones and the ribs still hadn’t fully healed, but he was better than before. It took a minute of slow, careful movement to get close enough to listen in.
“We’ve checked everywhere. He hasn’t returned toward the ships, and we’ve had this area locked down,” a gruff voice said. That’s Araev. That means-
“Well, obviously not everywhere, you dumbass! Well, there aren’t any other ways off this rock. Let’s head back to the Recluse. If he wants off the planet, he’s gonna need a ship,” the other voice was more authoritative and quite angry. Yeah, Thraik. I must get to the ship first, or I’m stuck here.
“Stop. You’re in no state to be running around. There’s another way. Just wait and heal, alright?” Joshua hesitated. The AI had been helpful so far and hadn’t lied to him. He didn’t dare speak, so he settled back into hiding and waited for his wounds to heal.
***
Three hours later, Joshua was finally ready to leave. His ribs still hurt, but he wasn’t bleeding internally anymore and could breathe without much trouble.
“Alright,” he whispered. “Where to next? You said there was another way.”
He didn’t dare speak too loudly and didn’t want to run around blindly.
“Right, you’re gonna want to head left outside the door. Follow the corridor, going straight for a while. I’ll let you know when you need to take a turn.”
Joshua decided to trust the AI again, but he’d have to get some answers before long. He peeked his head out of the door, looking both ways and listening for any sound. Finding nothing, he started moving, following the AI’s directions.
The corridor wound deeper into the complex, and Joshua remembered how it seemed dug into a mountain. The metal walls provided a monotonous pattern as he kept pushing forward, the odd ache keeping him awake even though he was getting very tired.
“Head right here, then straight. There’ll be a door. That room overlooks a hangar, and if we’re lucky, we’ll find a workable ship,” the AI said in his mind. “Don’t get your hopes up, though. If there’s a working ship there, it’ll be little more than a rust bucket.”
Joshua nodded and kept walking. The AI’s directions proved accurate, and he soon found himself in a room with a window looking down on a hangar. He spotted three ships, but only two of them looked whole. The vessels would look very nice when whole, with flowing lines. They had a sharp front, widening into two wings that curved forward. The rear of the ships formed a triangle with three thrusters and atmospheric steering flaps. The third had fallen apart. Joshua looked at the door leading into the hangar and found it locked. The console on the side lit up, but the AI remained silent.
“Got a passcode for this one as well?” he asked.
“No, sorry. You’ve got to breach it. I’ll help with that, though; just jack in.”
Joshua did as requested and brought up the pad. He connected the wires and the plugs, and a data stream flowed onto the screen. It took some time to get used to it, but the strange language wasn’t too challenging to understand with the AI translating. Still, it took him over thirty minutes to finally break through the encryption, but the door finally slid open. Joshua packed the equipment away and walked through.
The first of the seemingly fine ships was a dud, as most of its internals had fallen apart, but the last wasn’t much better. A lot of parts had been worn down over time, but it should be salvageable. Fortunately, Joshua had spent some time in a shipyard, working with mechanics and engineers to repair ships, and he had learned a few things—his time as a scavenger had also taught him how to find usable parts.
He jacked into the ship systems and took a small battery pack out of his backpack. It was something any scavenger kept on them, as most old tech was out of power. He connected it to the system, giving it some charge and lighting up certain parts. Most remained dead, but it was a good sign. With some power, he could start the diagnostic, and every time he encountered a dead system, he’d have an idea about a part to replace. His AI companion also helped draw up some ship schematics, and they set about repairing the ship.
***
Three weeks later, they had repaired or replaced the most vital parts, and the ship could fly. Not well, but it would get them from point A to B. It was just in time, as Joshua saw signs that the mercs were still around. They’d managed to access some of the internal systems of the complex and learned that the Gravun were still hacking into some doors, trying to make their way deeper into the complex. They hadn’t found their way to the hangar yet, but it was only a matter of time.
“Alright, let’s get out of here. I don’t think we have much more time before they find us. How is the ship looking?” Joshua said as he sat in the pilot chair.
“The most important systems are working, and we should be able to fly out of here. It won’t be fast, mind you, but it’ll fly. We don’t have any weapons, though, as you know.”
“Right, sure. Let’s hope my hack on the hangar doors works, or we’re screwed.”
Joshua pressed some buttons and flicked some switches, and the ship burst to life around him. The engine hummed, and the ship lifted slightly off the ground. The landing gear retracted into the ship, and Joshua typed some codes into a console. He took a breath and pressed execute.
The code was sent to the hangar door system, and the large doors opened with a rumbling groan. While it opened, Joshua prepared the final systems for launch, knowing they wouldn’t have much time once they left. They had to leave the planet’s gravity well and enter hyperspace very quickly, or the mercs would catch up.
The engine thrummed as he set the ship to thrust forward. The ship burst from the hangar, which appeared hidden in a valley on the other side of the mountain from where he entered, and Joshua immediately pointed the ship upward. He could hear the engine strain against the planet’s gravity, but he kept pushing it until they finally left the atmosphere. A quick scan showed the merc vessel, The Recluse, was on its way to them, but he had already started charging the hyperdrive.
Alarms sounded through the ship as the hyperdrive activated, and Joshua scrambled to make emergency repairs. Their patch job hadn’t fixed everything, and the activation had overloaded some of the parts connected to the hyperdrive, but there wasn’t much he could do. They’d get this one jump, maybe one or two more, before it failed entirely. It would have to be enough.
Joshua didn’t allow himself to rest, though, as the jump would take a few hours. He ran from one place to the other, patching things up. He reduced the strain on one area, increasing the time until it would fail, or swapped out one part for a spare to extend the lifespan of the hyperdrive. It wouldn’t last forever, but it should let them get away.
He’d hopefully manage to squeeze a total of three jumps, including this first one, which would take him to Rak’sethi. The planet in the outer reaches of charted space was a safe haven for scavengers and explorers, though it would appear lawless to most. The rules of the planet would protect him from the mercs, as the leadership believed in a first come, first served philosophy. He got there first; he got the AI, the nanites, and the ship first, which meant it was his. He obviously couldn’t reveal the AI, or the nanites, since that would make him a target from the large factions of the universe, but he’d deal with that later.
The most risky part of his escape was after the first jump. Usually, you’d give the hyperdrive some time to cool down before jumping again, but Joshua couldn’t afford that. He had to make another jump immediately, so The Recluse couldn’t see where he went. If he managed that with a few minutes headstart, he’d be able to avoid detection or tracking. Doing so would put an immense strain on an already overloaded system, and the risk of critical failure was high. The unfamiliar systems didn’t help either, but the AI was very familiar with the tech since it was made by the same people.
Joshua dashed back and forth, running between fires, but the first jump went as well as possible. He immediately started the second jump, and the entire ship groaned and trembled from the strain, but it held. He just had to get through this jump, and he could take it a little easier. Still, he was forced to fix countless minor and major issues before they turned catastrophic, and by the time the second jump was over, he was panting and trembling from the tension.
He settled into a chair and closed his eyes. By his calculations, the ship would need a few hours to cool off from the last jump, so he had time to rest for a while. There was nothing else he could do except wait.